#but omg if he did do that. just travelled a mere 10 minutes into the future. scully would just be so deadpan about it like

[ladiesandwitches]

"But if what you're saying is true, doesn't simply having the newspaper, having access to that knowledge, negate the events entirely?" Scully posited in quiet challenge. "That paper, if it really is from the future, is from a timeline in which you never visited, never had access to that information, and therefore everything is already changed. The future isn't fixed, Dr Brown, it isn't immutable...it's constantly changing, responding to decisions we make in the present. It isn't some fixed destiny we're all heading towards."

It was one of the great discussions of theoretical time travel; how much could or couldn't be changed by someone hypothetically moving forwards or backwards in time. All timelines existed in a world pre-time travel or existed because of the time travel; it was a paradox of never knowing what was changed or what was already altered. Even if time travel did move from the theoretical to the practical, it didn't change the fact that the future was too unknown, too dependent on hundreds of thousands of small factors in the present, to ever really be certain. But Emmett Brown seemed to be of the opinion that not only was the future a fixed point, but that his own actions could be capable of directly changing it.

She was beginning to believe it would be exhausting to be in his mind; it was almost exhausting simply being in the room with him.

"Believe me, Doctor Brown, I have seen more than my fair share of cases which have challenged so much of what was thought to be known about this world, realities and discoveries that show us that the science we know only takes us but a distance towards the truth, but all that still requires evidence. Solid proof. What my partner usually begins with is an idea and an urban legend," she concluded with an affectionate exhaustion. She wouldn't change Mulder's way of seeing the world, but that didn't mean it didn't sometimes tire her.

The talk of time travel, however, a real, honest scientific discussion, with the thrilling possibility of something real and tangible, that it might actually be achieved, only energised her. As she listened to him describe the years and money it had taken, the effort towards his supposed success, Scully felt inside her the kind of eager excitement she'd had when researching her dissertation.

"But wouldn't the energy required be simply too much for the human body to handle?" Scully asked, already drawn in, unable to resist the temptation of something so scientifically astounding that any other breakthrough would pale by comparison. "Besides, every debate about time travel only hypothetically accepts the possibility to travel forward in time, not backward. To be able to travel not only into the future but into the past would require the--"

Scully's growing enthusiasm was cut off by Mulder's return, the door slamming a little against the wall.

"Let's go get your car," he announced with an eager grin, moving further into the room.

"They agreed we could take him out of custody?" Scully asked as Mulder took her hand and pulled her out of her seat effortlessly, the thrill of a time machine clearly making him feel more carefree than usual.

"What can I say? I'm charming and persuasive, Scully" he replied, looking down at her with a grin, before turning to the time travelling doctor. "Your car is still at the crash site. Apparently thinking you're an alien has made local law enforcement reluctant to get too close until it's been checked for radiation. I informed the sheriff that the FBI would be more than happy to help with that."

"That's how you got him to agree to taking doctor Brown out of custody," Scully realised aloud as she looked up at him.

"I simply offered our services," he replied with a knowing grin and Scully sighed, fast coming to the inevitable conclusion that this was a pointless battle. She turned to Emmett Brown, finding herself hoping he wasn't insane, realising that some small part of did desperately want this to be true, that they'd be driving out to look at an actual time machine. The more logical, cynical part of her brain however said to prepare herself for disappointment and to look at nothing more than the dangerous vehicle alterations of a mad man. She took a breath.

"I suppose this means you'd better come with us, Dr Brown."

As she passed Mulder on the way to the door, she put a finger at his chest pointedly. "But if this thing turns out to have radiation after all, you're on your own."

❝It's not the newspaper itself so much as it is the events published in the newspaper. What I found is the first in a series of increasingly unfortunate events for his family that results in him losing both of his children in the span of two days.❞ Just recalling the events makes him shudder. ❝I didn't have the heart to throw it out and the information about the event was extremely valuable, so I brought it back with me.❞

Emmett sighs heavily, hunching over in his seat from the sheer weight of the knowledge he should have never learned, yet knows he could never part with. ❝I learned a lot of disturbing information regarding the trajectory of his life and while I know I'll be able to fix that problem in the future, I can't guarantee anything I try to do will prevent the events that send him on this downward spiral.❞ It would be fixing a symptom, not the cause. And the cause is Marty's inability to maintain any sort of composure when being called a name—but if their proximity over the years hadn't taught him by now that an insult is just a weapon of the weak and only has power when given it—

He shakes his head. There may be no correcting that problem.

But if nothing else, he can spare the McFly twins a terrible tragedy. The sins of the father should not be passed on to the children and they deserve a fighting chance.

It doesn't take any sort of complex mental gymnastics for him to understand Agent Scully's scepticism the more he unveils about the night of the first temporal experiment. Sometimes, when he sits and thinks back on the individual events that not only led up to Marty's displacement, but that occurred during that paradoxically too-short and too-long week, it all seems unbelievable and he had lived it.

❝Accidentally,❞ he reiterates, placing heavy emphasis on the word. ❝He wasn't even supposed to be in the time machine that night. But there were❞—Emmett pauses, hesitating for a fraction of a second as the chill of fear cuts through him, draining some of the colour from his face—❝we were attacked.❞

❝I did the first thing I could think of. I told him to run while I got their attention and that's what he did. He got in the car and ran for his life. I know I disengaged the time circuits, but he must have activated them during his escape and didn't realise.❞

That's another problem I'll have to sort out once I get back. If they'll be looking for me... God, if they come after Marty—

Emmett clears his throat, unwilling to take a ride down that slippery slope right now. There's more than enough worry to be found seated right across from him, in the probing and expectant gaze of Agent Scully, in the uncertainty of his own fate, and at least this problem has a clear and tangible outcome for better or for worse: either Agent Mulder will return having secured his release or he is stuck here for the foreseeable future.

❝No,❞ he concedes, the colour slowly returning to his complexion, ❝it doesn't automatically make it true, but it does suggest that maybe his way of looking at the world bears some merit. That there's a possibility, no matter how crazy it sounds. If there's evidence that supports his theory, even if that evidence goes against every preconceived notion we have of the universe or every commonly held belief, then it warrants investigating, doesn't it? It may just be the case you're not seeing the whole picture yet.❞

A sceptic and a believer. He has to admit his curiosity as to how they ended up partners in such a unique unit.

The words of an old colleague come flooding back—belief belongs in religion, not in science—and while he can appreciate those words now, he's always had trouble accepting that as the whole truth. Belief should never cloud a scientist's judgment or blind someone to the truth when the evidence disagrees with a beloved theory, but its importance as a driving factor cannot be underpinned.

He meets her gaze, offering a small half-amused smile. ❝How? By making it my life's work. Thirty years of research, trial-and-error, my entire family fortune, and the unwavering belief that time travel is possible and not just something out of science-fiction. And a few calculations that would make even the finest mathematician's head spin.

❝The tricky part was designing and assembling the necessary equipment. For a while, the energy requirements were the biggest hurdle; the amount of energy it takes to achieve displacement is astronomical. So everything had to be either built from the ground up or had its preexisting design heavily modified. Which you'll see for yourself when we get back to my car.❞

[dudeandduchess]

Rating/Genre: NSFW, Modern AU Characters: Rengoku Shinjurō x F!Reader, Mentions of Sanemi x F!Reader Chapters: 2/10 Summary: Shinjurō and (Y/n) are in a D/s arrangement, but he wants more so he tries to lay the world at her feet in the hopes that she would say yes to being his. Unfortunately, (Y/n) shoots him down every time, since she’s not swayed by his money or influence.But Shinjurō is more determined than ever to keep her, so he will stop at nothing to keep her for himself. Warnings: Smut, Daddy Kink, Spanking, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Dirty Talk, D/s Themes, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Unsolicited (but not unwanted) Dick Pic

NOTE: Thank you so much for all the feedback, bbys! I honestly didn’t expect this to get the attention that it’s gotten so far. LIke, omg. I’m so happy. And just... thank you! 💜✨

***

(Y/n) raced through the dark streets, revving up her car’s engine as she overtook two cars on the highway. Normally, she would be much more careful because she didn’t want to get caught for speeding, but she wanted to get back to her house and change as soon as humanly possible.

If it meant seeing Shinjurō sooner, then she would risk it and break a few speeding laws. After all, it wasn’t something that her PR team couldn’t sweep under the rug.

She shifted gears the moment she passed the two other cars, going up to the sixth gear to increase her speed— effectively leaving her non-competitors behind in the dust. And in no time at all, they were nothing but a speck in her rearview mirror.

Had her lover seen that little stunt, however, she was sure that the self-satisfied smirk on her face wouldn’t even dare to show itself. He would most likely punish her for being so reckless, even though she was more than capable of handling herself; though, she didn’t really mind his punishments.

From its magnetic holder on the dashboard, her phone lit up with a notification which read:

My cock’s so hard, baby.

She almost swerved right into a barrier when she read it, because it had her feeling all sorts of horny— enough to make her mind focus on nothing but Shinjurō’s dick for a brief second.

And, to make matters worse— or better— her phone pinged once more with a preview of an image that made her mouth go dry. Immediately, her index finger swiped the message open and typed in her passcode.

“Fuck me,” (Y/n) muttered under her breath, while her gaze flickered between the picture of Shinjurō’s cock on her phone, to the road ahead of her.

The head was already leaking precum, while his hand gripped the base of his erection to show her that he was already getting started without her. The vein that ran along his length was so pronounced as well— making her lick her lips subconsciously. She wanted nothing more than to have that inside her— either in her mouth or her pussy, or even her ass; she didn’t really mind as long as Shinjurō fucked her.

At that thought, she shook her head and focused on the road instead of her own lust. It was difficult, since her eyes always strayed over to the picture on her phone— but she locked the device to help her focus on her main task of getting home in one piece.

After a few more minutes, and haphazard drifting around sharp corners, (Y/n) finally made it to her sizeable home in the middle of Azabu.

To say that she was impatient as she waited for a housekeeper to open the gates for her was an understatement. Her fingers drummed against the steering wheel incessantly, while her eyes stayed on the dormant phone on her dashboard.

Her hands itched to reach out and reply to her lover, but she didn’t want to frustrate herself even more. Because to feed in to his teasing was to fuel her own desires, and she didn’t need herself feeling so overly horny while making the half hour drive to their home.

(Y/n) hit the horn twice once more, before sighing huffily and turning off the lights as well as the engine. She got her purse from the passenger seat, then threw her phone in it, before exiting the car and locking it behind her.

She looked up at the tall gate in front of her, then at the ode to modern Japanese architecture that was her house— before sighing once more. If she were to be honest, she preferred the warmer aura that hers and Shinjurō’s home radiated, as opposed to the cold and foreboding atmosphere that the house in front of her exuded.

If she could live in Saitama permanently with the Rengoku Group’s Chairman himself— without being judged for it— then she would have done so in a heartbeat.

But that was nothing but a pipe dream. She wasn’t deluded enough to think that he wouldn’t eventually get tired of her.

Her heels clacked against the pavement, as she walked up to the smaller side gate and pressed the doorbell incessantly. After waiting for almost a minute, she was close to bursting with irritation that she wanted to yell and throw a tantrum, but she held herself back as one of her housekeepers answered.

“Oh my, (Y/n)-sama,” The older woman gasped out; her words colored with fear as she saw the dark look on her mistress’ features. “The young miss is here. Hurry.”

No matter how hard she tried to keep herself from doing so, she still found herself glaring at the older woman. Normally, she was nice and extremely considerate of her housekeepers and other employees, but one thing she hated was being kept waiting.

“Just let me in,” The (L/n) heiress growled out, before adding, “Please.”

The moment that she heard the lock on the gate unlatch itself, she marched through and closed it behind her— unmindful of the barrage of people headed towards her with panic clearly displayed on their features.

She wanted to be mad, as they weren’t alert enough to have heard her blaring her horn in such a quiet area but— at the same time— she wasn’t so stuck up in her ass that she didn’t think that they had nothing else to do other than wait around for her. Partly, it was her fault for not telling anyone that she was already on her way back.

But it wasn’t the time for that discussion at that moment. So, she pressed her car keys into hands the first person to reach her, before saying, “Please take the car inside and put it in the garage. And also, please get the white Civic ready.”

***

After changing into less flashy clothes— which consisted of a plain sundress and sandals— she immediately set off towards Saitama, with just one short text to Shinjurō:

I’ll be home soon, daddy.😘

And she was. In her haste to see him, she cut her travel time by ten minutes. However, she didn’t even bother to stow the car in the garage— as it was seemingly plain for the purpose of not arousing suspicion.

Instead, she left it out in the driveway; out in plain view next to Shinjurō’s grey 2019 Mazda 6. She was confident enough to park it out there, even though their home didn’t have an actual gate, but merely had high concrete fences to ward people off their property.

Almost the entirety of Japan knew that she drove a Porsche Panamera— and had owned much flashier cars before that— which stood to reason that no one would think that she would drive a seemingly-plain 2018 Honda Civic.

It wasn’t part of her plan to get it at first, but when Shinjurō had pointed out how her car was going to be easily recognizable, she immediately made an investment— by using one of her housekeepers to purchase the car under their name.

The plan wasn’t entirely foolproof, as it could still be traced back to her if the media tried hard enough, but it was the best solution that they could come up with— so that (Y/n) wouldn’t have to rely on a driver or anyone else to drop her off.

(Y/n)’s fingers fiddled with the key fob in her right hand— more in restless anticipation than anything else— before locking the car behind her.

She then fished for the keys to the front door inside her bag and quickly entered the house. No time was wasted after that, as she locked the door behind her and immediately stripped herself of her clothing.

“I’m home!” Her voice rang out in the seemingly empty home, as she placed her purse on the table right by the front door.

Shamelessly, (Y/n) flung her dress to the floor, before unhooking her bra clasp and throwing the lacy material at her feet as well. She would have to pick those up in the morning— but she couldn’t care less about those now.

All the while, her feet brought her closer and closer to hers and Shinjurō’s bedroom on the second floor, and she could feel her anticipation building up inside her. Because, after almost two weeks without seeing each other, she was going to finally be with him again.

With only her panties on— the very ones that her lover claimed were his favorite— the young woman entered their bedroom.

Shinjurō’s cock was still so hard even though almost an hour had passed since he’d sent the dick pic, since he merely kept stroking it to keep it ready for his baby.

Slowly, a smirk lifted the corners of his lips, and he crooked his right hand’s index finger at her. “Come here, baby.”

Nothing and no one could have kept (Y/n) from following her lover’s orders, even if they tried.

She practically skipped over to where he was on the bed, before moving to straddle his hips. “Hi, Daddy.”

Slowly, the older man’s hands made their way into her hair— tangling in the soft strands before tugging gently. He then pulled her down for a chaste kiss. “Did you miss me?”

“I did, Daddy. So much.” (Y/n) nodded, and leaned down once more to taste his lips a second time.

“Were you a good little slut for me? Did you touch yourself while I was gone?”

“I didn’t. I promise. I was a good little slut for you.” She purred, before nipping at her lover’s lips. Her heart was racing so uncontrollably in her chest with just a kiss from him, and that was one of the things that she loved the most about being with him— simply being near him sent her heart out of control, in a way that Sanemi never could.

“Really now?” Shinjurō chuckled, as a self-satisfied grin made its way onto his lips. “Turn around and show Daddy that tight cunt.”

Instantaneously, (Y/n) got off of her lover’s hips, before getting down on all fours near the end of the bed. And she almost mewled when she felt Shinjurō’s warm hands squeeze the globes of her ass, before taking her panties by the sides and pulling them down to her knees.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so fucking wet already. Such a filthy fucking slut.” The older man growled, before bringing a hand down and landing a spank on one of her ass cheeks.

The action made (Y/n) gasp in surprise, before devolving into quiet whimpers when her lover began landing hit after hit on each of her cheeks. Every sufficient slap had her gripping the sheets tighter, as her toes curled in pleasure.

She’d mentally counted up to ten, when she felt his warm breath fanning across her slit. “I’ve missed this pretty little cunt.”

And with that, Shinjurō licked a stripe up her folds, teasing her entrance with the tip of his tongue before moving down to take her clit into his mouth. He gently nipped at the tiny nub, playing it perfectly with his teeth, while his tongue flicked it back and forth.

(Y/n)’s moans were so sinful and loud, as the room was soundproofed specifically because Shinjurō loved to hear the noises she made while being pleasured.

“Please, Daddy! I’m so close,” She pleaded desperately, as Shinjurō didn’t let up on his assault on her pussy. Her thighs quivered uncontrollably, while her hands pulled at the sheets beneath her, so he decided to have mercy on her and let her cum.

After all, he loved his baby too much to let her suffer any longer.

His fingers joined in the foray; with his index and middle finger sliding inside her tight cunt and making scissoring motions to prepare her for his cock. However, it was when he curled them and began pumping his hand that she let out the loudest moan he’d heard from her.

Apparently, being subjected to almost two weeks without any sexual relief had taken its toll on her.

“That’s it, baby. Tell Daddy how much you want it, and then I’ll give you my cock,” Shinjurō muttered gruffly, as he kept pumping his fingers in and out of her. “You want that, don’t you? To take Daddy’s dick like the cockslut that you are.”

“Yes, Daddy! I want you to feel your cock inside me. Please fill me up with your cum. Please!” (Y/n) cried, almost desperate as her last plea came out like a sob from her lips.

And in turn, Shinjurō relented and pulled his fingers out of her— lifting them up to his lips and sucking them clean— before gripping his cock with one hand, while the other held her left hip. Then slowly, he pushed the head of his dick inside her; which earned a relieved moan from his younger lover.

“Thank you, Daddy,” She murmured through blissed out sighs. “Thank you. Fuck-”

The last exclamation had been gasped out, as he pushed his cock all the way in and hit the entrance of her womb in that one move. And slowly, he pulled his dick back out— letting the head drag along her tight walls— before thrusting back in, and slowly establishing a rough and borderline punishing pace.

Every thrust had her ass jiggling so beautifully, that Shinjurō couldn’t resist not landing a few more smacks to the already-red cheeks.

(Y/n) was close to delirious with pleasure, as her lover worked her expertly. Both hands were once again on either side of her hips, as he practically slammed himself inside her. Her arms shook with the strain of being fucked so roughly until, eventually, they gave in.

It left her with her cheek pressed against the mattress, but she couldn’t care less if her makeup got ruined. She would rather have had it ruined through sex than through anything else, really.

And when she thought things couldn’t get any better, Shinjurō leaned down over her and pressed his lips against her shoulder. He then trailed kisses up to the crook of her neck, which highly contradicted the brutal pace that he was fucking her in, before biting down on her sensitive skin.

It wasn’t a hard bite, but it was enough to have her eyes rolling to the back of her head— as her neck was one of the most sensitive areas on her body.

“Fuck, baby. I’m going to fill you up with so much cum that you get pregnant,” The older man muttered gruffly against her skin, then trailed his lips up to her ear before biting down on the shell of it. “You want that don’t you? To get pregnant with my child, so that we can stop fucking hiding.”

The last bit shook (Y/n) out of her sex-induced reverie, but she could only gasp as her lover readjusted the angle of his hips so that he was brushing against all of the right spots inside her with every drag of his cock along her walls.

She couldn’t deny that she wanted that— badly— but she also knew that it wasn’t the wisest choice for both of them. Being together publicly would cause so much controversy; and that would spell disaster for both of their careers.

Still, she didn’t have the heart to tell him no— at least, not while she was getting fucked within an inch of her life.

Once more, a hazy cloud of lust fogged up her brain, and she found herself moaning so wantonly as Shinjurō kept fucking her. Every thrust brought her closer to her own orgasm, until the tight coil in her abdomen felt like it had snapped.

Her pussy clamped down on his cock, while her walls pulsed around him while her orgasm coursed through her— as if trying to milk all the cum out of him. Still, through that, Shinjurō kept moving his hips as he tasted his own release on the tip of his tongue.

The hands on either side of (Y/n) balled themselves up into fists, while the man above her pushed his hips flush against her ass— if only to press the head of his cock right against her womb as he painted her walls with his cum.

Completely breathless and nowhere near sated, Shinjurō leaned down once more and pressed his lips to the back of (Y/n)’s neck. “I’ve missed you, baby.”

Masterlist

[brightlycoloredteacups]

Beef Stew

Series: A Season for Revenge

Summary: It seems like working on the Winter Soldier Program is bad for one’s health. You tend to come down with a bad case of death.

Warnings: General violent imagery. Mentions of rape. Under-aged drinking.

Tag list: @charliexowrite @persephone-is-here-omg @salimahbicharara-comun @curvybihufflepuff

*******************************************************************************************

             INGREDIENTS

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch     cubes

5 teaspoons vegetable oil/margarine

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 cup red wine

3 ½ cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

2 bay leaves

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch     rounds

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into     3/4-inch cubes

2 teaspoons salt

PREPARATION

1.     Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.

2.     Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.

3.     Cover and cook, skimming broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

When Bucky cooks, the room is silent. No chatter, no music, silence. Normally, he cooks so he has something else to concentrate one while keeping his auditory skills sharp. This time, it’s different. He wants to remember. Being very careful to sift through the fog of his mind, he knows he isn’t ready to face some memories just yet. Today, he’s once again focusing on face and number. They’re coming at him with ease.

           As he remembers, he takes a break from chopping vegetables to write them down. Most of the people on the list he knows are already dead. But, in the end, there’s more than enough to satisfy him. It’s a long list of handlers mainly, but then there are those that worked on his arm, and the higher ups that called the shots. Nothing was too trivial for him. The list keeps getting longer until he stops at twenty-five names, most of them without faces. He can’t recall them so easily any longer.

           Well, that takes care of one aspect of his problem. The other? How is he going to find them? Unfortunately, HYDRA didn’t rank technological knowhow among the top list of skills he needed. He places the carrots in the pot and stirs the vegetables. They aren’t sizzling yet, but at least the butter has melted.

           He was sure there was someone he could enlist for help. There were a bunch of skeevy people all around the world today he could easily intimidate. Or, he thinks, putting stock in the pot, I could just ask my neighbor. He adds fresh herbs to the pot, sinking them with the spoon.

           Blaire Valentine was a runaway. A teenager, no more than fifteen, she seemed to be doing well for herself, despite the rough streets of New Orleans. If anyone knew where he could get some help, it would be her.

           Bucky adds the browned meat into the pot and stirs. He turns the heat down and covers the pot, then gathers all the utensils and cleans up. Blaire had been his neighbor for nearly three years. And while they weren’t exactly chatty, Bucky knew her well enough to invite her over for dinner. He’d done it on multiple occasions.

           He finishes his dishes and checks his fridge to make sure he has something to drink. Shutting it, he strides over to Blaire’s apartment and bangs on the door. He always amazed at how quietly she can move. He doesn’t here her rustle around inside at all. She wrenches open the door, face angry. “Look asshole-” she stops when she sees it’s him. Her face immediately breaks out into a grin. “Hey, Bucks Bunny! What’s up?”

“Dinner?” He says, jerking his head back towards his own apartment. “Sure.” She says, walking out, shutting the door behind her. She doesn’t bother to lock it. No one does in this place.

           Blaire makes herself at home, plopping on one of his dining chairs. Whipping out her phone, she begins to amuse herself. As usual, Bucky studies Blaire intently. He can’t help it. Fifteen years old and a kingpin for the underbelly of New Orleans. He’s created an entire backstory for her. Most of it is probably wildly inaccurate, but it was something to occupy his mind with. Bucky likes her because it’s easy to be alone. She doesn’t feel the need to fill space with small talk. She doesn’t try to get to know you, she just sits there, quiet, amusing herself.

           “I need a favor.” Bucky asks. He yanks two bottles of beer out of the fridge and hands one to her. He sits heavily in his seat opposite her. “What can I do you for Buckaroo?” She says, popping her bottle open, not bothering to look up from her phone. “I need some information.” This stops her texting. Looking at him with one pierced eyebrow raised, she smirks. “Information one what?”

“The Winter Soldier.” Her brows knit together. “You been talking to Old Joey?” She says, amused. “You know you can’t trust him, alcohol’s gone and fried his brain.” She taps her temple. Bucky doesn’t crack a smile. “Wow, shit, ok, you’re serious. What specifically about this guy do you need?”

“Everything you can get. Anything that’s tied in with this guy, I want it.” Blaire regards him for a few moments before returning to her phone. “When’s dinner gonna be done?” She asks. He gets up and checks the pot. The rich smell of stew fills the room in what seems like mere seconds. “About another hour and a half.” She downs her beer and gets up. “Give me about thirty and I’ll see what I can find.” She tells him, walking out of the room. He nods, good, this is good. He’s getting somewhere at the very least.

*

           Even though she’s only fifteen, Blaire has been through enough to last her a life time. The beginning of her life story is one bad cliché after another. Her father, a pimp, knocked up her mother, his prostitute. Nine months later, and she was born. For the first six years of life, Blaire didn’t even realize she had parents. Her mother was gone half the time, and her father bounced the moment he found out Blaire was a girl.

           Another ten years and Blaire was on the streets trying to help her mother with her addictions. Stealing bottles of booze, dealing drugs to kids at school. One fine day, when Blaire had grown up enough, her mother decided it was high time Blaire got into the family business. Bringing some friends over, a mother just watched as her daughter cried for help getting away from four strange men. That night, Blaire skipped town and never looked back.

           To make sure she’d never get taken advantage of again, she honed her body into one for strength. It was easy to kick ass when no one expected it from you. She settled in New Orleans when it was painfully obvious no one cared that she was some street rat, as long as they got their drugs on time.

           Blaire’s best kept secret was how good she was with computers. She’s hacked into nearly every ‘secure’ network she can, just for fun. Gathering information on this Winter Soldier guy, was surprisingly a piece of cake. The information was all over the internet. Encrypted files she didn’t bother looking at before she unencrypted them. Her hardware was top notch, stolen from a supply truck just a few months ago. Chopped and put back together. Untraceable.

           If she knew what she was dealing with she probably would’ve paid closer attention. She grabs the drive the downloaded files are on and heads back to Bucky’s, letting herself in. He’s standing in the middle of the room, arms cross, face in full frown. He doesn’t acknowledge her. She doesn’t mind. She knew the thousand-yard stare of soldiers well enough to know not to bother him. If he wanted her help, he’d ask.

“Did you get the files?” She waves the drive in the air and puts it on his side of the table, then goes back to playing Angry Bird on her phone.

           It’s an hour of complete silence after that. Bucky, standing in the middle of his crappy ass kitchen, Blaire, in her chair. He’s placing a plate in front of her when he freezes. “Bucky, I’m not going to eat out of your hand.” Blaire says, looking up at him. He’s looking intensely at the window, his eyes travel back to her, back to the red dot sitting securely between her eyes.

           Before Bucky can grab her, she throws herself away from him. Just in time too. The shot misses her by centimeters. “Fuck!” She calls out, diving for Bucky’s door. Bucky heads the opposite way for his bug out bag.

           It’s strange for Blaire to be in the midst of a shootout after so long. It’s nice to know she can remain calm and think clearly after all this time. Get your bag, she tells herself. Don’t stop for anything, just get your bag. She does, without little issue. Gathering a few other things, she’s out her bedroom window in seconds, crawling down the fire escape. Safe house next, she thinks. She knows the back-alley route by heart.

           Just as she’s making her last drop, she lands on someone. As they throw her off, she points her gun at them. “Blaire?”

“Bucky?” A shot whizzed between them. Blaire shoots blindly to her right, getting up and running for it. “This way!” She calls over her shoulder. Hopefully the old man can keep up.

[nothingneverforever]

Yesterday (2019)

When I’d just seen the trailers and promo stuff for Yesterday, there was some great excitement in me. I loved The Beatles years ago, I mean, I really really loved them, I’ve got about 15 books on them, borrowed my mom’s credit card to shop online for DVDs of all their original movies when I was 14, etc etc, so Yesterday’s premise added up and seemed to look like something I’d enjoy: Danny Boyle, mysterious ultra-niche alternate reality in an otherwise utterly regular world, some kind of deadpan irony about the whole situation…

Then it came and went in cinemas and I never got down to seeing it. So I watched instead this film review by DazzReviews on Youtube, titled “Yesterday Missed A MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY (SPOILERS)”.  It’s a short and simple analysis of key weaknesses of the film, being that its actual contents greatly pale in comparison to its great potential. Even without watching the film, I understood Dazz’s gripe because even seeing snippets of the film bored me. It is such a unique, and almost cute idea afterall: a blackout causing selective loss of memory in every single individual in this world (save for 3, later to be discussed) where post-blackout, The Beatles and other cultural/social phenomenon do not and have never existed. Our protagonist, who pre-blackout was a struggling singer/songwriter, then decides to release Beatles songs from his memory as his own, thus gaining global popularity and attracting immense adoration. It’s not novel, perhaps reminiscent of time-travel narratives idk, but it’s still fun right?  

Yet even after watching this review video and understanding the film’s flaws and being able to imagine how disappointing the film would have been, watching it in full for myself was still an upsetting experience. Google tells me that Yesterday is of the ‘Drama/Fantasy’ genre, which gives me a good starting point for my critique: how utterly un-fantastical it is.

Our protagonist Jack Malik is LITERALLY the most vanilla, ungrateful, boring, not-alive, nothing-at-all, annoying, pathetically male (in terms of tantrum-throwing and ingratitude) character I have ever seen. None of this is hyperbolic, his character literally sucks so freakin much omfg, absolutely devoid of any redeeming or even remotely INTERESTING qualities at all. In fact save for maybe one scene (which I will talk about below), I don’t think there was another single second in the entire film where we saw him smiling. This is not to say that he’s portrayed as especially tortured or depressed in demeanor, merely to indicate his absolute dearth of warmth and personality.

Meanwhile, it becomes clear as the boring film progresses boringly that Yesterday is in fact nothing more than a love story. The cute Beatles twist is merely a device to show us how Jack and his “love interest” Ellie (inverted commas cos their love sucks omfg I cant imagine that ANYONE viewing it is convinced) were in fact meant to be, with Jack’s momentary superstardom existing to show him that all he ever wanted was his old life, the one with Ellie (even though they were never together because THEY ARENT EVEN MEANT TO BE IN THE FIRST PLACE OKAY….). But, just as Jack’s character itself is flawed and awfully written, our female protagonist Ellie is SOOOOOO early 2000s. Just think of the most typical stock supportive, sweet, pretty, unfailingly kind and patient female whose presence is taken for granted etc etc… So her stock sweetie pie female character coupled with the most unbelievably charmless and unlikable male character make for the most unshippable couple you could possibly imagine. We are supposed to be charmed by her obvious-to-everyone-except-him love for Jack, supposed to have our heartstrings tugged by the singular scene of teenage schoolgirl her standing by the wings of the stage with hearts in her eyes while teenage schoolboy him sings a most soulless rendition of Wonderwall but it literally does absolutely nothing. The means has not met the end! This is a grossly uninspiring love story and there is no fantasy whatsoever!!

Honestly how is this even a Danny Boyle product? But then again… Zhang Yimou, boasting the incredibly genius Raise the Red Lantern (1992) on his resume, also did The Great Wall (2016) so I guess even heroes have the right to bleed or even the best fall down sometimes or something. OMG WAIT  I just googled the film again and not only is it directed by Danny Boyle but also written by Richard Curtis LOL wtfffffffffff okay this is the worst film ever seriously

Early on just after the global blackout thing, before Jack becomes the huge superstar that he does after his music (“his” music) is released into the world, when he first decides to use the songs of The Beatles, he is cajoled by his parents into performing for them in their humble living room. (by the way his parents are played by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal who I have LITERALLY seen in about 1000 British TV shows and movies by now… idk maybe Yesterday was intended as a semi-ensemble cast film? Since there are other “appearances” by other known faces… ok whatever.) I guess this scene of him, superstar-to-be, sitting down at his piano in the claustrophobic living room with his parents exaggerating their domestic inclinations and comforts (by holding their cups of tea and settling themselves into their sofa-chairs etc) is meant to be comedic, we’re meant to laugh at how his parents have no idea the genius that is about to be released unto the stratosphere embodied by their all-great son Jack Malik, and it’s a predictable scene: his parents get disturbed by the bell and other things in the first 10 seconds of his performance, so Jack has to begin Let It Be 4 times over and never gets past a few lines… and okay, it’s funny because they are treating Jack’s “performance” as such because he has never before produced anything worthy of actual attention and has never performed in any manner that has demanded any respect given that he was an absolutely mediocre singer, but the scene is ruined by how Jack was written to have to react. Instead of taking it in his stride and recognizing that his parents are taking it so lightly because they have no idea how big the song is going to be because they have had no reason to expect anything great of him before, Jack throws a big fucking tantrum and asks why they cannot and have not respected the greatest song to ever be written etc etc… and okay, maybe this was intentional because we are to infer that Jack’s reaction is a projection of his own insecurities about releasing entirely unoriginal songs as his own, perhaps he has doubts about whether they would do as well as they did when The Beatles themselves released them, perhaps he has doubts that he is the right person to do this at all, anxieties and fears about being able to get away with it all… Sure, but I don’t want to give the writers the benefit of this doubt. If I were to watch the scene with my eyes and ears and not my brain, all I’d see is a dumbass manchild with a temper and ego problem incapable of accepting responsibility for the decisions he’s made, plus being unnecessarily cruel and disrespectful to his simple parents who want only to support him, if superficially. Basically, he’s dumb and the worst protagonist you’d want for a romcom.

But let it not be said that I am an extremist with my views: there was one sub-plot that showed promise and that made me think perhaps there was more to this film than the nothingness it had conveyed hitherto. When Jack played in Moscow, as an opening act for Ed Sheeran, we saw the haunting face of a large man in the crowd, carrying a knowing look in his eyes. It gave us a great sense of unease, seeing his concerned face contrasted with the throng of pretty girls screaming their hearts out (you know, à la “Moscow girls make me sing and shout”). Then later we see an English lady (played by the iconic amazing Sarah Lancashire who I know and love so so much from Happy Valley), who like the Russian man, carries the same speculation in her sharp eyes, as she sees Jack manically making his way through Liverpool, visiting key landmarks like Eleanor Rigby’s grave, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane etc because, as she says to him later, “you cant write songs about places you’ve never been to”. So anyway, this odd pairing make up the only 2 other known humans in the world who for unexplained reasons also remember the existence of The Beatles, and thus recognize that Jack’s positioning of the entire Beatles discography as his own original work to be fraudulent.

So we as audiences who hardly care for this dumbass Jack but have still held on to some hope that the film would bring us some element of surprise and karma for this annoying fraud (whose singing voice by the way is literally the most forgettable ever), we would have loved nothing more than for Jack to face the sound of music (as Mother Mary comes to him). But instead of, I dunno, chopping his head off or outing him to the world, the mysterious duo thank him for bringing their much beloved Beatles songs back into the world, the whole who has forgotten them. They thank him for doing justice to the memory of the greatest band of all time, and together the duo and Jack dance and cheer in a side room minutes before Jack goes out to perform for the biggest crowd he’s ever played to. It’s just…  lame and not even a satisfying easy way out. Oh remember above when i said there was literally only about one scene of Jack smiling, this was it. And he only smiled because obviously he was relieved at not having his secret revealed to the world by these two..... ughhh WE DONT WANT TO SEE YOU HAPPY!! WE HATE U!!

Okay haha I shall end this as I do all my other ‘reviews’… by saying that I’m lazy already and cant really be bothered to continue but shall conclude by proclaiming that this film sucked… not in a remotely camp or quiet or interesting manner either. It was just boring and bad and of great disrespect to the music of The Beatles.

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Omg I have just attempted to read some actual reviews of this film and some actually think it’s ‘charming’ and ‘surprisingly moving’ and that the leads have ‘chemistry’………….. that’s literally the fakest thing I’ve ever heard lol bye bye!