#do not put these femme fatales near each other they will fight each other until they end up KISSING

[frrrozi]

Soooooo....

If I were to create a hot buff lady in FFXIV, would Cielle flirt with her? Would she have a shot with her? :D

'Cause as it stands...Cielle is her type. ;)

so while I do fancy buff ladies Cielle is more into leaner, feminine girls. Her aura and nature is flirty unintentionally, does not initiate most of the time, and will try to stab you if she is flirting for real though!

[introvertguide]

Duck Soup (1933); AFI #60

The next film on the AFI top 100 is a throwback to before the Golden Age of Hollywood when "talkies" were new, Duck Soup (1933). This film was the last attached to a 5 feature contract that the Marx Brothers had with Paramount pictures. It was moderately well received at the time but has since become the most critically acclaimed of the Marx Brothers films. The movie is only 68 minutes and is absolutely packed with gags. It is not, however, packed with a storyline or plot. I want to very briefly go over the summary because that is not what this movie is known for. Let's unnecessarily start with...

SPOILER ALERT? THIS MOVIE HAS NO PLOT. IT IS ALL ABOUT SITE GAGS AND SET PIECES. READ AWAY!!! IT WILL NOT DO ANYTHING TO HURT THE EXPERIENCE!!!

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The film starts off with the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) insisting that a man that she is sweet on, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho), be appointed leader of the small, bankrupt country of Freedonia before she will continue to provide much-needed financial aid. Meanwhile, neighboring Sylvania is attempting to annex the country. Sylvanian ambassador Trentino (Louis Calhem) tries to foment a revolution and to woo Mrs. Teasdale, and he tries to dig up dirt on Firefly by sending in spies Chicolini (Chico) and Pinky (Harpo).

After failing to collect useful information against Firefly, Chicolini and Pinky are able to infiltrate the government when Chicolini is appointed Secretary of War after Firefly sees him selling peanuts outside his window. Meanwhile, Firefly's secretary, Bob Roland (Zeppo), suspects Trentino's motives, and he advises Firefly to get rid of Trentino by insulting him. Firefly agrees to the plan, but after a series of personal insults exchanged between Firefly and Trentino, the plan backfires when Firefly slaps Trentino instead of being slapped by him. As a result, the two countries come to the brink of war. Adding to the international friction is the fact that Firefly is also courting Mrs. Teasdale, and, like Trentino, hoping to get his hands on her late husband's wealth.

Trentino learns from his femme fatale spy, Vera Marcal (Raquel Torres), that Freedonia's plans of war are in Mrs. Teasdale's safe and tells her to assist Chicolini and Pinky in stealing them. Chicolini is caught by Firefly and put on trial, during which war is officially declared, and everyone is overcome by war frenzy, breaking into song and dance. Chicolini and Pinky join Firefly and Bob Roland in anarchic battle, resulting in general mayhem.

After a fierce battle, the end of the film finds Trentino caught in a makeshift pillory, with the Brothers pelting him with fruit. Trentino surrenders, but Firefly tells him to wait until they run out of fruit. Mrs. Teasdale begins singing the Freedonia national anthem in her operatic voice and the Brothers begin hurling fruit at her instead.

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There are many exceptionally good and bad aspects of this film. On the good side, there are a couple of amazing set pieces that the Marx Brothers did like no other. The mirror scene in which Groucho and Harpo stand in front of each other and Harpo perfectly mimics his brother's movements was outstanding. Specifically, there is a point where Groucho stands outside the reflection and moves in a ridiculous way past what he thinks is a reflection. The mirroring between the brothers is exceptional. Add in the same dressing gown and cap to the actual resemblance (they are full actual brothers) makes for quite an effect. This mirror gag was first done on film by Charlie Chaplin almost 15 years earlier, but this is likely the most well known and best done example of the bit by real people. It was repeated by Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, The Pink Panther, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, and the Smurfs. That kind of mirror quality action was only repeatable through animation, apparently.

The constant wardrobe changes during the frenzied war scene have caused full speculative articles to be written. Groucho starts out in a Union officer suit, then appears in a Confederate officer suite, then a British palace guard uniform, and then in what looks to be a boy scout officer suit, and finally a Davy Crockett hat? The deep cynicism and anti-war sentiment of the brothers was blatant. It is summed up by the line "while you're out out there risking life and limb through shot and shell, we'll be in here thinking what a sucker you are." The United States had just gotten out of a war and many militaristic leads felt the need to show off. This lack of care after feeling so dominant following WW1 was the mindset that in part led to the Stock Market crash and the Great Depression. There was turmoil brewing in Europe and many Americans wanted nothing to do with it after seeing so many young boys getting ripped apart by trench warfare and machine gun fire. The brothers were satirizing all of those figures that we use to teach boys to want to fight for their country. They also went after what they believed were the causes of many wars: money and moral indignation between powerful men.

Although the film gives the audience insight into the mindset of much of the population during those extremely turbulent times between wars, it also boasts some of the most unsophisticated humor of a new visual medium. The silly songs do not translate well and sound like something created by a child. With truly clever artists like Frank Zappa, the Dead Kennedys, and national treasure Weird Al Yankovic, the Marx Brother's songs just sound lame to me. I think the same of Groucho's one liners. With comedians like Mitch Hedberg, Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright, and Jimmy Carr, the work of Groucho Marx feels seriously dated and quite cringy.

The real let down for me in this particular film was the fighting between Harpo and the Lemonade salesman. In fact, the character of Pinkie was "The Joker" levels of psychotic. I know he represented the constant undermining of communism. That is fine and makes a good point. Practically speaking, though, he reveled in causing problems for no reason and he was a constant nuisance. I have been around a lot of teachers and they sat that students who act like that are the bane of everyone's existence. It may be witty, but it is not funny. I have seen movies like Borat and Jackass, who are at least very creative in the way they cause problems and mostly harm themselves. I legitimately hate the character of Pinky and find him devoid of any real humor beyond the mirror scene. I also realize that Chicolini is a play on Mussolini, but I didn't really find him funny either. I want to emphasize that these are my opinions and I welcome comments on why Pinkie and Chicolini are hilarious.

There are some things that I do forgive and almost find charming. Directors from the silent film era had to emphasize that their actors over dramatize their lines so that the audience could get even a modicum of tone. This over-the-top dramatic speaking continued with many actors into the era of talking pictures. You can tell that this film was made near the change over because a lot of the actors talk like they are making one continual speech. Just about everyone is projecting for the cheap seats, and I totally appreciate it and smile. I also appreciate that the Marx Brothers absolutely jam pack the film with gags. I don't think many of the gags are funny, but I acknowledge that the movie is 68 minutes of constant jokes and the Marx Brothers made a concerted effort to give their audience the most bang for their buck. Good for them.

So does this movie belong on the AFI top 100? I am actually going to say no. I think that Horse Feathers is a funnier film and has the iconic football scene that got a screen cap on the cover of Time magazine. If the AFI was going to choose a Paramount produced Marx Brothers film, this one seems to me to only be second or third choice of the five. Would I recommend it? Sure. It is definitely dated and the jokes will not make a lot of sense any more, but some of the scenes have become iconic and it is fun to see what has been so heavily referenced in current media. It is a pretty fun movie to sit back and just experience for an hour, so I would give it a shot.

[taezhu]

femme fatale - one

→ mafia!doyoung x f!reader, ft. jaehyun, nct, mentions of violence/drugs → kim doyoung dictates the life around him - they’re all pawns in his puzzle that he’s never going to finish. doyoung has an x right over your head and you’re the reason it’s there. jaehyun doesn’t need an excuse more valid than the girl he loves to have a knife in someone’s back.

[preface] [one] [two] [three] [four] [five]

“Be careful, won’t you?”

You hear an ungrateful, for a lack of a better word, scoff from the kitchen. You turn towards the door and roll your eyes, seeing Jeno appear with his cap in his hands. He’s been trying (and failing) to fix his hair for the past hour and you’ve been telling him to leave the hat but apparently it matches Jaemin’s so he has to wear it today.

“I’m always careful,” Jeno tells you. He smiles widely. “I’ve made it this far with a total of zero scratches on my body and no police trailing me yet. Can you trust me when I say that everything is okay?”

You shakes your head with the memories of the police statements on the news running rampant through your mind. “I’ll trust you when you’re a mile away from Johnny Seo and the rest of those assholes who follow him around like a lost puppy.”

“I thought you liked Jaemin?”

“I like him at face value!” You pinch the bridge of your nose as you recall the flirtatious, annoying and immature friend that Jeno enjoys the company of so much. “He’s a nice kid to you. It doesn’t mean he won’t throw you under the bus if the time was right or Johnny asked him to. I’m older than you, Lee Jeno, I know these things!”

Jeno rolls hiseyes this time, placing his hat down on his hair successfully. “You’re not in charge of who I’m friends with, you know. I know my parents check on me all the time but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I’m capable of making good friends and keeping myself safe without your help.”

Yeah, he’d eat those words.

Specifically, around 18:02 when you decide to take a bath and listen to the Dalkom Cafe playlist at full volume to ignore the ladies screaming at each other next door, the thought of only having two days left off work, and that Jeno wasn’t home yet.

Jeno was a childhood friend. He was three years younger than you, lived a few doors along from your parents who was best friends with his own. You used to spend a lot of time together until high school when you both lost contact, partially because Jeno went to a different school but also because you had no time for him. When you moved out you went to a new neighbourhood near to Nowon, you thought you would be alone but his parents were adamant that when he went to university in Seoul you could live together.

And they did, begrudgingly, live together now.

Jeno was a nice kid. More nice than Jaemin ever was, but not much more than that. He was usually quite shy and was kind to everyone, he was smart but not a prodigy, and kept you up at night when he would practice guitar. He never had girls home and similarly you never brought guys home, so you ended up with a pretty good routine between the two of you.

Until Jaemin and that lot got involved. They were friends in the university he attended studying music production together. The others were Renjun, Haechan and Yangyang, who studied Business, Sociology and Languages respectively. The five of them were runners, of the sorts, not that you really understood what they did. All you knew was that Jaemin knew someone called Johnny Seo who had a reputation where you worked.

You weren’t an employee of some fancy company. No, you worked in a community medical centre as one of the secretaries for a nurse who would visit those who were stuck at home. It wasn’t the most fun job, so you made it fun by tracking how many people were listing this guy named Johnny as the person paying for their care.

So a little digging later and you realised that Johnny Seo, as infamous as the glorified war leaders these days, was some kind a ring leader. For a gang, for a protection ring, you weren’t sure. It was something dangerous that involved more than just knives and guns. Past that, you had no idea what was happening.

You’re is distracted from the warm water and peaceful music by your phone’s ringtone, obnoxiously stealing your attention away from the bliss of silence and bringing you back to reality. You sigh, looking over to your phone as you decide whether it would be appropriate to answer it. You can’t be bothered, you want to relax, but then you remember that Jeno isn’t home yet and go into panic mode.

Especially when it’s Jaemin’s voice at the other end of the line.

“Hello?” he says, quietly. His voice is hushed and the sounds of other people talking stand prominent against his voice. “It’s Jaemin. Can you talk?”

“What’s wrong?” You ask.

Jaemin clears his throat, delaying his response for a moment. You can hear a door click shut in the background. “I’m at the hospital in Gongneung with Jeno, can you come here? I can’t stay here.”

“What do you mean you’re at the hospital?” you question. You’re trying to dry herself with one hand and the towel you picked up from the side, rushing to get your clothes back on. “Jaemin, what happened?”

“Just come here quickly, I can’t stay.”

“What do you mean you can’t stay? Is Jeno okay?”

You’re left with another pause, the muffled sounds on the other end of the line causing any voices to be drowned out. Jaemin is talking but you can’t tell who to. There’s the sounds of shouting and you panic, trying to pull your leggins on with one hand.

“Jaemin, answer me!”

“He’s in room 408,” Jaemin tells you, “tell them you’re his sister. If I can see you later I will but please just get here soon, okay?”

“But what-”

The phone call is cut off before you can ask, again, what is wrong. Your heart is pounding as your mind runs through a million scenarios of what could have happened. It could be nothing. He could have been in a freak accident. But there was something about Jaemin having to leave that told you it was more than that.

You’re there within twenty minutes, pushing past the staff who are asking you what you’re doing and if you needs help, finding your way to room 408 with your face pale and eyes wide. You must have over tipped the taxi driver almost 90 won, since you shoved all your money to him and ran as quick as you could.

The maze of rooms has you lost in the surge of doctors that are trying to get to their patients and nurses who think you’re a patient yourself, just until you catch sight of a room with a starting number 4 and you breath somewhat of a sigh of belief. 405. 406. 407.

“Jeno?” you call, pushing open the door without a care for who is inside. Luckily, you’re met with the innocent eyes of the very boy, laid on the bed with his clothes torn and patches of skin a purple colour.

You remember the time that he was 9 and you were starting to grow distant from him, but you found him at the park being picked on by a group of boys and stood up for him. When you took him to your house and put plasters on his cuts and said you’d stick up for him whenever he needed it. It was never that his parents trusted you with his care.

You breathe a sigh of relief, pushing your way into his room and wrapping your arms around him. He winces, pulling away a little, but eventually gives in and accepts your embrace. His breathing is heavy, he’s not moving that much. You’ll read his chart when you get a second to and find out what actually happened.

“I thought you were going to be…” You cut yourself off as you pull back from Jeno. Your eyes are a little tearful but you wipe it away as you look over to the window. “What the fuck, Jeno!”

Jeno pouts, struggling to move his arms beside him. “It’s nothing, I’m fine. It was just a fight. Honestly, I’m okay.”

“A fight that means you have to be in hospital? Do you think I’m stupid Lee Jeno? I work with people in medicine, I know what shit puts you in hospital and what doesn’t. What the fuck happened.”

“It’s nothing, seriously. Random guys wanted to steal my phone. It’s nothing.”

“I swear to god.” You take a deep breath as you narrows your eyes at Jeno. “Did Jaemin have something to do with this?”

Jeno pauses for a moment. He swallows, harshly, looking away from your eyes and over to the other side of the room. There’s a leather jacket left on the chair which you don’t recognise as his. “How did you know where I was?”

“Answer my question first. Was it Jaemin?”

“Jaemin didn’t do this to me.”

You rolls your eyes. “No, but he was something to do with this? Haechan and Renjun and Yangyang too? Johnny Seo? Was it them?”

“Please don’t say that,” Jeno says softly, “can you please just let me explain when we go home?”

“Jaemin told me that you were here. He told me he was leaving. Why did he leave you? If he’s such a good friend then why is he leaving you?”

“Please, I’m begging you. Can we please talk about this at home?” Jeno asks you.

It’s a plea, his eyes full of fear. You look back to the window and notices how empty the corridor is. You look around but can’t see anyone. Your priority is Jeno. You hasve to remember that. “Are you okay?”

Jeno sighs in relief. “I’m in a bit of pain. I’m… fine. It will be fine.”

“Do you need anything?”

Jeno shakes his head.

“And I suppose this room hasn’t been paid for?”

Jeno shakes his head again. He looks down to the floor and brings his hand to his face, pushing it over his forehead and back over his hair. “They just brought me here. I don’t have any more. I couldn’t tell them no. They have a doctor here they use, that’s why I’m here. I had to come to this hospital. I would have told them if I could have, I just…”

“I can pay it,” you tell him, “don’t worry about the money for it. Did you break any bones? Is it anything serious?”

“I don’t want you to have to pay it. I can ask Jaemin to when he comes back.”

“I don’t want you to rely on Jaemin for this. Then you owe him. He can ask you to do anything and use this against you. I’m going to pay for it and you’re going to stop talking to all of them until you tell me what is going on with them and what the fuck they’re making you do. Clear?”

A hesitant nod follows your question. You can’t find it in you to say I told you soto Jeno, nor can you be entirely sympathetic. He’s 18, he’s responsible for his own actions now. He can’t act like you need to sort it out for him and you can’t control his life, but this isn’t the same.

Johnny Seo is the reason Lee Jeno is in hospital and anyone could have worked that out. Whether he caused it to happen directly or indirectly, it was because of him, and people don’t get out of situations like this easily. The bill for the hospital treatment is a start, but you expect to see more of it soon.

You stays with him for a while. True to his word, Jeno doesn’t say a thing as to what happened to cause it. Not a little mention of it, you don’t even know where he was that day. He had lectures as far as you knew but you didn’t know his whole timetable. But, he’s okay. A few bruises and two broken ribs, as well as some suspected internal damage to his kidney from where he was kicked so hard in the back. He’s fine. Paying a dumb hospital bill doesn’t even phase you. He’d do it for you.

“Lee Jeno,” you say to the receptionist. You glance back to Jeno’s room, leaving him to call his parents and let them know he was okay in case they got an emergency call. “I need to pay the bill for the treatment?”

The receptionist smiles and begins to type on her computer. You spend a moment looking through your purse for your card before turning your attention back to Jeno’s room to check he’s still on the phone. “What’s the room number?”

“Four-oh-eight,” You reply.

Strangely, you can feel a pair of eyes on you. You dismisses it as being Jaemin, or someone from that crowd, checking to see if Jeno has told you everything and you’re now getting the police involved or something stupid like that. There’s no one around you recognise as being from that group, so you let it go for a moment.

Just for a moment. You think it’s your mind playing tricks on you until you look back to Jeno’s room and you’re met with the gaze of a tall man with black eyes and a white jacket. Messy hair, yet somehow kept well, with a terrifying appearance that drags spirits away down to your bones.

“I’m sorry Miss, the room appears to already have been paid for,” the receptionist tells you. You have to pull your attention from the man and back to the situation of Jeno’s room. “It was paid for on a private card by someone twenty minutes ago. Unfortunately I can’t tell you who it was but you don’t have to worry about the amount, Miss.”

Twenty minutes ago? It was impossible to have been anyone of importance to you. No Jaemin, no Johnny around. Unless that was Johnny standing by Jeno’s room. He didn’t look like someone with the nickname Johnny. He had the motives to be him, he had the persona to fit him just by looking him in the eyes.

So you take a deep breath and approach him. To thank him. To realise that you shouldn’t thank him for anything. To walk straight past and care for Jeno.

You try to. You’re so close to slipping through his reigns as he watches you walk all the way back to the room. You can smell the strange air freshener Jeno had chosen and hear his apologetic voice to his parents for worrying them. You’re soclose.

“No thank you?”

He slings an arm around you, catching you from walking forward. You almost feel frozen, though you realise something very quickly and it pains you to realise this isn’t the situation you ever thought it was.

This is someone worse than Johnny Seo.

“I believe we have to talk,” he continues. He uses his hand to turn you around, resting his arm over your shoulders to keep you close to him. “Did you think we would leave Jeno without any payment for risking his life for us? Do you not understand how we work?”

You bite her tongue. “I don’t know who you are. Who we are.”

“Playing dumb won’t get you anywhere, sweetheart.”

“Jeno hasn’t told me a thing.” His cologne is strong. It has a striking effect, like one of those men with too much money to spend. Or, one of the men who want to appear richer than they are. He dresses like someone with money, the casual wear appearing to be designer or limited. “You think he’s not terrified of whatever you all have going on? He wouldn’t even let me say names here.”

The man hums. “So you know my name?”

“You’re not Jaemin.”

“You’re not stupid then.” He takes you around the corner, to the main reception of the hospital where people are scattered. He stops you by the seats in the middle, sitting you down on one of them with a forceful push. “I like Jeno. He’s a good kid. I wouldn’t have been making this proposition otherwise. The only allies he has are me and Jaemin. You wouldn’t want to break that, would you, sweetheart?”

“Don’t call me sweetheart.”

He chuckles deeply at your comment. He’s got an innocent look to his face, though his eyes hold so much more. Darkness. Evil. “Okay, baby girl. Want to tell me how you’re going to repay me for looking after Jeno?”

“I don’t know who the fuck you are,” you repeat.

“I’m Kim Doyoung,” he tells you. He smiles, grins even, placing his hand on your forearm to hold you in place. His grip is tight, burning your skin as he squeezes you. “And I know who you are. You’re twenty one, you live about twelve and a half minutes from here in an apartment block with a broken lift. Your next door neighbour has a cat and your bed sheets are blue. Your top drawer has some pretty underwear in it. So tell me, baby, how are you going to repay me for Jeno?”

“I have money. Take whatever you want.”

Doyoung scoffs. “You think I need money?”

“I can’t give you anything else,” you answer, “you can take my house, you can take my money, you can take whatever you want.”

“I have something better in mind,” Doyoung says. His voice is full of sin, a force to be reckoned with in a world that’s too small for him. He’ll burn his name into your skin and make sure you remember every piece of him. Power, control. What if you forget him? It would never happen.

For Jeno. You tell yourself it’s for Jeno.

***

You stand in Jeno's doorway, awkwardly watching as he attempts to pull his jumper over his head. He insists he has to go out today, with Jaemin of all people, despite not being able to walk properly still.

You want to protect him yourself, but you know it's too much for you. You haven’t got the money, the power or the people to challenge someone like Johnny Seo or Kim Doyoung or anyone like that. Working with them seemed right, the most honest way to make sure Jeno didn't have a gun put to his head for any of his mistakes.

“Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?” you ask. “I was going to go out anyway, it will be easier for you.”

Jeno shakes his head. “I don't think it's a good idea if you come.”

“Because of Jaemin?” You question, only to be met with Jeno shaking his head. “Because of Johnny?”

“I don't want him to think you're getting too involved. If he sees you hanging around me then he'll think that you know stuff. He'll… don't get involved with Johnny. Act like you know nothing.”

Which you basicallydid already. “But you'll let me know you're okay later, won't you?”

“I'll text you every few hours.”

You reluctantly let him go, watching from the kitchen window as he disappears into the passenger side of a black Mercedes with blacked out windows. You can’t see anyone else in it, but you notice the second car that pulls away with it and assumes that it wasn’t Jaemin picking him up today.

So a few hours goes slowly, with you sitting on the couch waiting on a text from Jeno to just say he was safe. That’s all you wanted. Instead you’re met with a knock on your door about two hours after Jeno left, half expecting it to be Jeno with another broken bone that you need to fix.

Though you’re not stupid. You approach the door with caution and aren’t ultimately surprised to see the familiar face of your new worst nightmare on the other side.

“Nice to see you again,” Doyoung greets. He pushes past you, allowing himself into your home without any consideration for another. He stares down the pictures on the wall and the lack thereof, stopping on a picture of you and Jeno from the previous year. “I’d think he was your brother, but he’s not related to you in any way. What is it with you two? Why do you care so much about him?”

“Some of us having emotional connections to those around them.”

Doyoung hums, picking up the picture. “Of course.”

“What do you want?” you question.

His presence isn’t one you want to welcome, particularly not when he enters the doorway that leads to your bedroom and you imagines himall over your things. Though he ignores your question, you know why he’s here. Jeno. The deal. Whatever he has planned for you. This is just his way of scaring you into submission.

“I asked you a question.” Standing in the doorway, you observe as Doyoung picks up a book from the side of her bed. “Can you stop touching my things and tell me why you’re here?”

“Mrs. Dalloway. Interesting choice. I didn’t think you would be the type to read Woolf.”

You notice his hand which is wrapped in a bandage. You wonder if this is why he’s recruiting her. “I like the reference to flowers.”

“What’s your favourite?”

“Flower?” you ask him. Doyoung nods once, reading the back cover of the book before meeting your eyes and raising his eyebrows at your lack of an answer. “Chrysanthemum.”

Doyoung fails to answer her, instead placing the book down where he picked it up. He continues to peer around the room, stopping on a dress you have on a hanger that’s on the outside of your wardrobe. A small, black dress to match your black thigh high boots that were left in the hall which he most definitely saw. Doyoung hums to himself, before turning to you.

“How is Jeno? I believe Johnny has asked to see him personally today. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though. Johnny has realised that Jeno isn’t stupid and is worth keeping around here. Tell me, how much more about us has he told you?”

You pause for a moment. To lie to Doyoung has direconsequences. “He told me what happened yesterday. That there was other people who are your rivals that found him when he was dropping his things off.”

“Did you ask him about me?” Doyoung questions.

“Why would I do that?”

“I wonder if you’re curious about me, is all.” Doyoung proceeds to sit down on the edge of your bed and pick up your perfume on the bedside table, smelling the inside of the lid before placing it back down. “I suppose you know why I’m here, though. So let’s talk about what you’ll be doing. I’ve realised that having a woman in my team will be advantageous to me. You’re attractive. Men will tell you their deepest secrets for the opportunity to have you moaning for them. I want to use that to my advantage, and to NCT.

“Let me put it this way. Jeno is a wanted man. Not by the police, but by every one of our rivals who could easily have him taken down in a second. NCT are his protection. If anything happens to NCT, then Jeno won’t be able to escape any of this. Now you’re involved, neither will you. So tell me, honestly, are you going to work for me to help NCT or are you going to rat us all out? Jaehyun and his boys will have a field day if you are.”

“Look, Doyoung, whatever you want me to do, I’ve agreed to it already. Can you spit it out?”

“Can you hold on for a moment?” Doyoung asks. He pulls a black phone from his pocket, passing it in your direction. You only stare back down to it. “It’s yours. Your instructions will be on there. I will text you whenever I need anything.”

“I don’t even know what I’m doing to begin with. Can you tell me?”

“Say please.”

“Tell me what I’ll be doing for you.”

Doyoung bites his tongue. He turns away from you, back to the wall covered in some pictures and posters you’ve collected over the years. He observes the for a moment until there’s another picture of you with Jeno, this time with your families. “To ensure Jeno is protected, you will be completing some tasks for me. Nothing you can’t handle. Men who can’t control themselves, you’ll be watching them and getting information from them. Women, too. Whoever I need it from. It’s easier to have a beautiful girl like you to seduce them than send one of my men to do it. Sex goes further than money in a world like this.”

“Do you speak from experience?”

“Jungwoo will be at your side,” Doyoung states, ignoring your posed question. “He’s good. He will make sure you act appropriately before you start joining Kun and I on tasks. Don’t get too close to him, or I may have to intervene.”

“Why would you intervene?” you ask him, innocent to his words and the meaning behind them at first.

Though you may have liked an answer, Doyoung disappears without muttering type of goodbye to you.

***

“Are you Jungwoo?” you ask, sitting across from a cute looking boy that vaguely matched the description that Doyoung gave you. “I’m, uh...”

He looks up to you with wide eyes and a blank expression. You’re afraid at first that he’ll be the wrong person, but when he locks his phone and pulls out his earphones you find some luck. He smiles widely and turns his head slightly to the side. “Nice to meet you! Doyoung has told me so much about you, it’s great to finally meet you!”

“Yeah, uh…” You offer a smile in return that doesn’t quite match. “Nice to meet you too, Jungwoo.”

“I know Doyoung can be a little overwhelming but think about it reasonably, he has to be in this line of work. You and I don’t have to worry that much. Kun and Taeil help him out. All we have to do is what they don’t have time to do. Do you know what we’re doing today?”

You shake your head.

“There’s this guy who has been stealing some resources from NCT for the past while. We have this place where we store weapons in the South and it’s not that secure, but secure enough not to have lost this much.” You question if Jungwoo is a bit too open with you about NCT, though you imagine that Doyoung has done his research and Jungwoo isn’t that stupid. “I’ve been speaking to Chenle about it. Chenle is the guy to go to if ever you need CCTV or anything tech-related. I’ll give you his details. But Chenle told me that this guy comes to this cafe every day around 4pm so you and I are here to plant something on him. Are you a good actress?”

“I can try?”

Jungwoo hums, passing over a small microchip from his hoodie pocket. “Good! You just need to pretend to be my girlfriend until this is over. I need you to go and get a drink, then when you’re near to him get that chip in his bag. He’s a messy guy, never cleans it out. Once you’ve done that, everything is sorted.”

“I can do that,” you reassure him, “is that literally it?”

“Yeah, for the time being. Kun and Taeil have the important stuff. I don’t really know what’s going on with it, but I’m glad it’s not on me.”

You take the time to look over him with a careful gaze. He doesn’t look like he would be involved in this type of thing. He seems happy, like the only thing he had ever really worried about was that one time he handed an assignment in late. His clothes are washed well and he has a sparkle in his eye that means he hasn’t been in this situation for very long.

He reminds you of Jeno before that fight ever happened, and it hits home harder than you ever meant it to.

Jungwoo is Doyoung’s Jeno, pulled into this to advantage Doyoung. Just as you were. Just as Johnny did with Jeno. All of them are as bad as each other and you’re disgusted by the fact there’s so many. Kun? Taeil? The sounds of their names bring a bitter taste to your mouth.

At the very least you could help Jungwoo.

“Where are you from?” you ask, breaking the silence that looms between the pair of you. “You look like you’re from somewhere a bit nicer than here.”

Jungwoo finds the time to laugh at your words. “You’re right. I’m from Gunpo. It’s not too far, but it’s prettier than this. What about you?”

“Incheon. I prefer it there, too.”

“Oh, yeah! You and Jeno are from the same place. I completely forgot,” Jungwoo says. He waits for a moment, carefully picking his words to not give away the entire story. “How is Jeno? We used to see each other a lot but Johnny is targeting the East now.”

“He’s okay. You should come over some time to see him. I’m pretty sure that he hates living with me now.”

Jungwoo frowns. “I mean, I would but… We’re not really supposed to.”

“What do you mean?” you question, Jaemin’s uneasiness to visit yours and Jeno’s house becoming apparent to you as you remember each time he’d been over.

“Doyoung doesn’t really want me to spend that much time with you,” Jungwoo tells you with some hesitation, “I guess Taeyong doesn’t like when any of us spend too much time in groups. I’ve never seen Lucas outside of when we’ve done some work together.”

“Lucas?”

Jungwoo pauses for a moment at the mention of the name. You’ve not heard it before, though you’re sure they all must use different names anyway. There’s obviously people that Doyoung isn’t telling you about, which you had expected.

“Lucas and I were friends before we came into this,” Jungwoo tells you. He scrolls through his phone until he finds a picture of them both together and shows it to you with a solemn smile.

Lucas is a tall boy, even taller than Jungwoo who must have been nearing six feet. He is bigger, too. His large frame looks big enough to take down any man who was to approach him. Though his smile, wide and unapologetic, tells a story of someone who’s far happier in person and probably hurt people by accident. He doesn’t seem like one of themeither.

“Lucas is from Hong Kong. We used to live together since we met in university when Doyoung recruited me. He was going to take Lucas too but didn’t like the way he acted. He’s better with his hands. So, he gave Lucas over to Jaehyun and we don’t see each other much anymore. Jaehyun probably wouldn’t allow it, either.”

“Why wouldn’t he allow you to see each other?”

“Jaehyun has been trying to take Johnny’s position for a while,” Jungwoo tells you. You’re more interested than before. If you can make this a bitch fight and have something entertaining going on around you, you’ll take it much easier. Doyoung had mentioned Jaehyun’s name too? You’re sure you remembers it. “He’s below Johnny in ranking, but he’s cold blooded and doesn’t care about anyone. He’s the only one that I could say is as bad as Doyoung. The only difference is that Jaehyun will protect the people who are under him in order to protect what’s his. Jaehyun wants to kiss Taeyong’s ass so much that he’ll promote him to a higher rank too. More power, more money. There’s a lot too it.”

“And why doesn’t he just take Doyoung’s position instead of Johnny’s?” you ask.

Jungwoo pauses again, looking down to the table where his phone lays. He locks it, pushing it back into his pocket and taking a look around the room as though he’s fearful someone is watching him. Them. “Because anything Doyoung wants, Doyoung gets. He won’t give up his position here that easily.”

***

“I heard you did well on your first mission.”

Frightened to the point you had grabbed Jeno’s shaving blade off the side and pointed it in the direction of Kim Doyoung, you’re caught by the said man with just a towel and face mask on. You watch as his lips curl into a smirk, looking down your body before moving back to your eyes with high hopes.

“What do you want, Doyoung?” you ask, pulling the sheet mask from your face and tossing it in the bin, keeping the shaving blade in your hand. This is the first time you’d been thankful Jeno didn’t have a traditional method of shaving. “I thought I was Jungwoo’s problem now.”

“You’re mine,” Doyoung states, “if I want to visit you, I can.”

“I find it quite rude that you see me as property. What am I, an asset to you?”

Doyoung hums, taking a step towards her to pull the blade from your hands. You don’t have any strength compared to him. The blade is out of your grasp before you can even register it. “I have a question to ask you.”

You remain silent. You see some weakness in Doyoung, the way he leans against your door frame and his hands are loose at his side provides an opportunity for you to push him back just enough to shut the door and give you a chance to get changed. Doyoung doesn’t object so you assume he realises what you’re doing. Who’s weak now, Doyoung?

“The question?” you call, noticing that Doyoung has gone quiet too.

“Are you free tonight?” Doyoung asks. He pauses, leaving you to stare at the door with confusion as you pull your shirt over your head. “Of course I know you’re free. But, would you like to come to dinner with me?”

You almost miss the question he asks. You’re looking around for the shorts you were sure you had left on the radiator for you to put on and when you realise you can’t find them and will have to walk outside with just a tee shirt and underwear on, with Doyoung staring right at you, you lets out one long exasperated sigh.

“Is that a no?”

“I’ll say yes if you promise to close your eyes when I come outside,” you tell him.

“Why would I do that?”

You roll her eyes, opening the door an inch to see Doyoung staring right at you. He looks down briefly and notices your bare legs. You can sacrifice that for now. “So I come to dinner with you tonight. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Fine. Whatever.”

You know deep down that Doyoung doesn’t keep his eyes shut but the thought that he might have not stared at your ass makes you feel a bit better as you search for your shorts and eventually find them in the corner of the room. When you turn around Doyoung has his eyes closed, thankfully, and you take a moment to fully observe him.

He must wear some type of eyeliner, since his eyes look dark and full of vengeance. His clothes are still top brand, shirt ironed out of any wrinkles that could have presented themselves. If he wasn’t in NCT, you suppose your parents would have approved of him. How he looks, that he’s smart, that he’s tall. He was attractive, and no one could deny that. His morality just didn’t sit comfortably with your own.

“Can I look now?”

“Shit, yeah, sorry.” You turns around to look busy and finds your phone on the windowsill. When you turn around to Doyoung, he’s sitting on your bed like he did before. He looks good there. Dude, is that a crush on Kim Doyoung developing because you looked at him once? Get help. “Why do you want me to go to dinner with you tonight?”

Doyoung shrugs. He picks up the book on your nightstand are reads the back of it. “It’s poetic, I suppose. You hate me, so I make it up to you by making you spend time with me. I promise you I’m not all bad. Do you like Thai food?”

“Yeah?”

“Good. I have a table booked for 7pm. I’ll stay here with you until then.”

“You will?”

Doyoung nods with a sarcastic smile. “I will. Afterall, I have to show you that I’m not that bad or dinner will be terrible. You get to ask questions, too. So go ahead, ask me any questions you have about… me, NCT, anything you fancy. I’ll love to answer them.”

He seems legitimate. He leans back on his arms behind him, open to your questions which he expects to be fired at him any time soon. Unfortunately, the one time you’re supposed to have questions, you can’t find any that seem good enough to ask. There’s just one. The only question which you expect Doyoung might turn you down for. He’s full of surprises, though.

“Why’d you join NCT?” you ask him, pulling your desk chair to your side so you can sit opposite to him. “Where’s the appeal? What do you enjoy about this… job?”

“Let me answer your question like this. Taeyong joined NCT because it was his father’s legacy. He recruited Johnny and I straight after. Johnny joined because he was barely surviving college and needed money. He recruited Yuta and Jaehyun not long after. Jaehyun wanted power after spending his whole life chasing what others were doing. He wanted to be the person who was in control. Yuta joined because he wanted to be recognised everywhere. His name in flashing lights and a special place in hell for him. Everyone has a motive that is family, money, power or fame. That’s how NCT has always run.”

“And you? Which one is it?”

Doyoung meets your eyes with a harsh stare. “All of them.”

***

You find yourself at an apartment in the centre of Seoul in the middle of the night. You’d been watching a documentary when Doyoung and Jungwoo both text you at the same time to come to the same address. You assumed it was Doyoung’s apartment by the way it was stylised and the price tag that came with it.

You hadn’t seen Doyoung since two nights ago when you both had dinner. It was surprisingly pleasant, partially because Doyoung did most of the talking and described his entire life story. His time studying Law at college and his journey in NCT up until now. He left you to tell him your life story, too. His one was just more interesting. It was like a different Doyoung in front of you when he spoke about this like it was nothing.

“Hello?” a man says, opening the door widely to show the inside of the apartment as he finishes with your name. He isn’t as tall as Jungwoo or Doyoung, but has soft brown hair and even softer features. When you nod, he smiles and takes a step back from the door. “Thank you for coming.”

You shake your head, slipping off your jacket as you walk through the door. You take a look around the apartment and notices that it’s a little off Doyoung’s taste. Turning back to the man, you offer him your hand as an introduction. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Kun,” he tells you, “Doyoung has told me a lot about you.”

“Doyoung told me you do important stuff. I’m gonna take a guess that either he thinks I’m good enough to work with you or I’m in serious trouble and you’re going to kill me.”

Kun shakes his head and laughs your comments off. “You’re here because Doyoung has requested a meeting between us all. He’s downstairs, he wishes to speak to you before the Taeil and Jungwoo get here.”

“He does? Why?”

“To update you,” Kun says. He gestures over to the door on the wall to the right of you. “Follow the stairs down and he will be there. You can’t get lost. Don’t worry, he’s not down there to kill you, I promise you.”

Of all the people you can trust, Kun seems like one of them. It’s the vibe he gives off, like he cares about others and their safety. He’s like a mother. It’s nice. You notices how he immediately returns to the kitchen area when you start to walk to the door so that he can continue to cook whatever he was doing before. His smile was inviting, too.

Not your type.

If the short hair, dark makeup, the lip ring and the tattoos weren’t a give away, then it would definitely be the harsh attitude and absence of caring about anything.

“Doyoung?” you call down the stairs, taking each step with caution. You see some light come into view first, then Doyoung’s figure sitting on a chair in the centre of the room. He’s watching you carefully, lips pressed into a line. You figure he’s annoyed at something. “I came here as soon as I could.”

“You’re earlier than both Taeil and Jungwoo. Given that you live further than them, I have to make the assessment that you’re good at taking orders.”

“You think so?” you question. You thinkthat taking this a different route with Doyoung may get you some favours. “I’m better at giving them to people. Wait until you see that.”

Doyoung keeps his gaze for a moment before a scoff leaves his lips. “Are you flirting with me, sweetheart?”

“I can make it more obvious if you’d like.”

“On another day, I would say yes. This is important though, I need to speak with you about an issue persisting with us,” Doyoung informs you.

“Kun promised you weren’t going to kill me,” you return, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. “So please don’t kill me. If I did something wrong then… I’m sorry. I tried. You can give me to one of the other people and I’ll slave away there instead. Oh! I have an idea. I can infiltrate them and cause their team to fall from the inside out. I’ll ruin Johnny and you can take his power too.”

Doyoung rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t take Johnny’s position. Jaehyun or Yuta would.”

“But you’re thinking about what I said, so that means I did actually fuck up?”

“Just sit down,” Doyoung tells you, pointing to the chair beside him. You follow his words and takes the chair, turning towards him with a blank expression. “I have to say, though, I’m intrigued by how you manage to get every man around you to fall at their feet. Maybe I should send you to Yuta so I can take his power. We’d make a good duo, don’t you think?”

You don’t quite take in Doyoung’s words.

“Don’t look like you’ve seen a ghost. I have worse news. Someone is targeting NCT and it means that you’re in danger, as is Jungwoo, Kun, Taeil and I. When there is a problem like this, we all come to Kun’s as he has this lovely room down here that we store things in. Taeil is bringing weapons and Jungwoo is bringing the computers. All the important things we need to save are kept down here in order to preserve them. That’s why I brought you here.”

“To keep me down here?”

Doyoung sighs. “To keep you safe. I wouldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you under my watch.”

“Doyoung, I hate to tell you this but… we don’t even know each other that well. You don’t need to save my life.” You lean back in your chair and look around the room. “Surely it’s more profitable to save you, Kun and Taeil. The important people. Jungwoo and I will be just fine to make it on our own with different identities in Japan or China.”

“I’d rather you be with me.”

“When you say things like that it sounds as though you care about me,” you tell Doyoung, shrugging at the end. You watch as his expression fails and he looks away from you. “I mean… thank you for your concern. It means a lot. Thank you for offering to keep me safe and to help me with Jeno too. It’s appreciated.”

Doyoung looks back to you with wide eyes. You’d have thought he’d never heard the words thank you be mentioned before with eyes like that. You catch his gaze and just stare for a while. He’s pretty, as you said before, but even more so this close. His skin is perfect. He has lips shaped perfectly too.

Is that the only way to describe him? Perfect? Because he’s not. There’s so much blood on his hands that it covers him all over now. You can’t see pass that. Not really. It’s becoming easier than before, though.

“Protecting you means a lot to me.” Doyoung places his hand over yours, atop the table in the middle. “Do you think I offered to protect Jeno because I need him around? The less men Johnny has the better. I wanted you on my side. Jeno talks a lot, you know?”

“About what?”

“You. What else would I care about? He talked about you enough for word to spread around. Johnny is fond of Jeno enough to make him interested in recruiting you. Jaehyun too. Except you’re smart. You should have been with me this whole time. Not doing the drugs, not killing people who don’t know any better. You’re smart. You’re more than just an asset. You could take Jaehyun, Yuta or even Johnny’s place and we could both overthrow Taeyong one day. Sounds like a good plan, doesn’t it?”

You feel as though you’d had multiple confessions at once. Jeno talked about you? Doyoung cared about you? He wanted to overthrow NCT with you? Jaehyun and Johnny wanted you too? There’s a billion questions running through your mind, mixed with the thought that you’ve known Doyoung for no more than three weeks by this point.

None of your questions are answered, because Jungwoo comes bolting down the stairs with a both of files and USBs in hand which he drops on the table with a huff. He smiles at you, then turns to Doyoung with another USB being pulled from his pocket. “Everything you need is on this, I got a few copies of it for everyone. One of Jaehyun’s cousins was killed about an hour ago and he’s not happy.”

“By the same people who went after Jaemin’s sister?” Doyoung questions. His demeanour changes completely, as though the conversation with you never occurred. You’re left to hold onto his words and watch as he becomes the Doyoung from before. “Do we have any names?”

Jungwoo nods. “His sister, but no names. They’re invisible. Since they already targeted Johnny’s men and Jaehyun too, that means we’re next. I think they’ll go for... uh, yeah. She’s the most open, she’s easy to get to and she’s enough to get to Johnny again. They’re weakening us without going for the main leaders. They’re smart.”

“If they’re smart they won’t touch her,” Doyoung states, “give me all the information you have. I’ll find out who they are.”

a/n: so I originally wrote this as a character I made as the oc, so it was eunmi x Doyoung and I'm trying to go through it to change it to reader x doyoung so I'm sorry about the descriptions added in and if I have used the wrong tense, I hope it’s okay otherwise! if you would prefer to read this as eunmi x doyoung I will be posting it on ao3 in that format. much love!

[genngraymane]

America: Really THAT Bad? (spoilers btw)

BEFORE:

It’s been a while since I read anything Marvel in the last few years. I think I stopped reading around the time of Marvel Now! because I was too focused on DC’s New 52 at the time (plus I took a break from comics around that time shortly after). So aside from the few issues of Young Avengers I’ve read years ago, I know nothing about this character. Obviously, I’ve heard some polarizing things about this book, but I’m still pretty excited to see what the hubub’s all about. One thing I remember loving about Marvel was their teen heroes. Hopefully America rekindles the things I missed from Marvel.

AFTER:

Okay so I just finished the first 7 issues. Overall it wasn’t the horribly unbearable experience my buddies kept warning me about. No where near as offensively bad as they made it out to be. If anything my only gripe with the book is that it’s rather forgettable. With the exception of Kate, America’s supporting cast feel like they’re just background pieces with speech bubbles. Her girlfriend didn’t do anything aside from filling in a damsel in distress role. Her parents and Grandmother really only serve as plot-devices, and the rest the students of Sotomayor don’t really do anything except gush over America’s self-imposed greatness.

And it really is a shame, because Rivera introduces some really cool concepts like the interdimensional schooling of Sotomayor and the cosmic origins of Planeta Fuertona. There’s some really cool wacky Sci-Fi stuff in this book, and I’m pretty sure if that was the focus of the book then I would have enjoyed it a lot more. But unfortunately that’s not the case because the main focus of this book is also one of the things I can’t stand about it.

THE ROMANCE.

Oh my God is America an asshole to her girlfriend. If there is anything I can’t stand about romance, it’s needless drama. And holy shit, Rivera did not hold back from it. This is the first appearance of Lisa, one of America’s love interests.

I’m sorry, WHAT??? You’re not going to tell me jack about our MC’s love-interest and then break them off in just TWO PAGES? I’m generally used to teen drama bullshit like this from other teen hero books (I have Johns’ Teen Titans to thank for that), but this sequence here is just too much for me to ignore. We don’t know anything about Lisa aside from being America’s girlfriend, so that’s all she ends up being, and America just breaks things off and leaves before they even have a legitimate conversation? And America’s acting as if she’s in the right? This sets up every interaction we see between these two as needless melodrama. And that’s exactly what it becomes in later issues. There’s all but one scene of America showing remorse for dumping this chick, but then America acts like the victim again in a later issue with Storm.

Like, what is your damage, America? You’re the one who broke up with her and left in a fit but then you say shit like “SHE SENT ME AWAY” as if we’re supposed to sympathize with you throwing that necklace at her. And when Lisa finally shows up again, they act as if they spoke and came to terms, but this is the first and last time we ever see these two actually speaking to each other anyway, so what was the point?

America’s other love interest is an actual character this time around in the sense that she’s actually involved in the story, but when Magdalena is introduced, it’s almost as if Rivera forgot about the first love interest.

Either America has amnesia, or Lisa never gave America flowers, which probably puts America in the right for breaking up with her. I’d be pretty upset if my girlfriend never gave me flowers. What was the point of all this? Why didn’t Rivera just start with Magdalena as the badass action-girl love interest instead of having us deal with the damsel in distress bullshit from the non-character that was Lisa during the Chavez Guerrillas arc?

I think all of my gripes with the romance in here comes from a combination of two different things regarding this book. One is that nearly every character in this book has NOTHING going on with them. The other is that America is painfully unlikable in this.

I think the introduction of Sotomayor was pretty awesome. Rivera introduced us to a setting with a lot of potential for crazy, dimension hopping adventures while providing the framework of introducing new characters within a self contained story similar to that of Hero Academia or Avengers Academy. If America’s badly written relationships were at the background of the series while introducing a diverse, well-written cast that interacts almost exclusively with America through the school setting, then yes, I think this book would have won me over. But that’s not the case because nearly every student in Sotomayer doesn’t do anything meaningful to the story or help America progress as a character. How the hell do you have a character like freaking Prodigy on the sidelines with nothing insightful to say? They were on the same team before this! Even America’s parents, the main reason she became a hero, are constantly glossed over in this book until the reveal of her Grandmother. 

Speaking of this page here, why did Madrimar even wait to reveal herself to America until now? It’s not like anything was stopping her during all the time she spent at Sotomayor.

A lot of people I’ve talked to about this book says Rivera was trying too hard. In my opinion, she didn’t try hard enough. I know a bunch of people gave this writer shit for coming off as too preachy, but expressing positivity through diversity is a core part if America’s character and the reality we live in. The only problem I see with her writing regarding this is that it the way she portrays America makes it difficult. Rivera’s America just shouts out slogans and gets confrontational with anyone that challenges her way of thinking. America needs to be put in a situation where expressing her cultural and sexual identity isn’t accentuated through punching things while preaching about how awesome she is and getting constant validation from background characters (the prep-school cyborg fight is a jarring example). 

One of the only characters I actually liked in this book was Kate. She actually acts like she’s in the story. She talks to America about her problems, consoles her in times of need, and is generally a blast to have in this book.

With the exception of Magdalena, Kate is the only person in this book that America actually approaches like a civil human being. America doesn’t get all up in her face and throw snarky insults at her like she does with nearly everyone else. Kate is one of the only characters here that can actually get America to feel like a person instead of some impregnable brick wall. And Kate is actually involved in America’s story! She has presence! But the more I read about these two in here the more I notice Rivera was just queer-baiting them for no reason.

Like, we get Kate’s into her. But if Rivera had real control over this, why didn’t she just start things off with Kate as the friends with benefits into girlfriends angle? Why have us go through all the damsels in distress and generic femme fatale action girls in America’s life instead of a popular established character like Kate Bishop? They have a history together, so it wouldn’t be unbelievable at all. This book focuses so much on romance but never has its priorities straight on who these people are to America. It only seems to care who America is to them. And tbh I think that’s the core issue of Rivera’s America.

This is the first page of the book, and it got me super excited. I thought the approach Rivera was going to go was make America relevant not only as a hero but as a symbol. I thought this book would highlight the importance of expressing pride in diversity while expressing how America represents that pride and what that means to the people around her. I thought it would have been akin to All-Star Superman’s approach of finding the balance between the symbol and the person while struggling to understand what that might mean to the people of the world. But instead any concept of that constantly gets sidelined by the badly written melodrama bullshit all across this book. It just always stops me from getting into this.

Now if I’m not mistaken, this book is canceled at issue 12, so at some point I’ll go back and finish the last couple issues, but honestly I could see why this book got canceled. Rivera has some really cool concepts in this book, but falls short on the execution on multiple levels. Hopefully they bring America back with a new creative team because there is some cool stuff here and I don’t want it all to just disappear. Maybe even keep Rivera and give her a co-writer to help?

[melonoverlord]

New asks for Marcy

Which parent do they look the most like?

She looks a lot like her mom, with a lot of her softer features coming from her dad. That’s why it breaks her heart when she goes home to see her mom and she’s just not the same. Because that could easily be Marcy one day.

Is there a name they were almost given (either by their parents or during character creation)?

Marcy was very very close to being named Esmeralda, and that ended up being her middle name, but she’s glad that she didn’t get Esmeralda. Although she thinks its a pretty name and describes her eyes, she thinks Esmeralda is too mature for her. Marcy is fun and flirty. 

What were they like as a kid (if they’re currently a child, what would they be like as a teen)?

She was a fairly chill and happy child. She loved dancing and playing games with her parents and really just liked making the world happy and her family happy with her. But once her dad disappeared and her mom got sick, she started becoming angry, scared, and bitter.

What’s their drinking tolerance and what kind of drunk are they?

Marcy has been drinking wine and sangria since she was fifteen, so although she’s more experienced, her chi tends to make her weaker, so she’s about average at about 3 drinks and she’s the party drunk. She puts her dancing skills to the test and is the type of girl to start dancing on top of table tops and dancing up with anyone.

Where do they like to be touched?

She’s really not much of a toucher except for her parents, but when she does get closer to people, she does like being hugged around the waist. It’s where her parents usually hugged her, and it just feels safe.

What’s their favorite position (top/bottom/switch/pillow princess/etc.)

Marcy never was in the “cared for/younger” person position before except obviously her parents, but even now she has to be the caretaker to her mom, so she’s used to being the emotional top in all her relationships, so she’s more comfortable in that caretaker role, but she just wants to be taken care of and not have to do all the big decisions. Because when she has to make big decisions, she makes bad decisions.

What are their kinks?

So I’ll be honest, this is the last question I answered for this one, and after much thought, I really think Marcy is biro ace which is kinda funny considering her role is the femme fatale. So instead I will give her platonic kinks when she does get to be comfortably romantically. When she does get with Hera, Hera is the only able to touch her hair and the only one who’s able to see her hair out of a braid because Marcy absolutely hates her hair in her face. She also just loves dancing anywhere and everywhere with people she’s comfortable with. She will teach all kinds of dance lessons.

How do they feel about adrenaline (roller coasters, extreme sports, etc.)?

She’s not super into adrenaline, but she does love soccer a lot because when you’re Spanish, it’s in your blood. Otherwise, she tends to get nervous on roller coasters and high up places.

What is their fight or flight response?

She’s in the middle of fight and flight, in that she will tend to try to flee from the situation, but she will absolutely throw others in the way to block the trouble’s path. Sure it makes her some enemies, but she has to survive whatever it takes.

What’s their pain tolerance?

Especially when she’s astral projecting, Marcy has an incredibly low pain tolerance. She bruises super easily and cannot keep up in a one on one fight about half the time as the others can. That’s why she tries to win by using mind games rather than fisticuffs.

What character archetype are they the most like (the Innocent, the Hero, etc.)

Probably The Seductress, not because she’s actually seducing people, but more morally seducing people: “Help me with this and I can get you this”. Although she’s not exactly the best people person, she is good at figuring out people and using their wants and preconceived notions against each other.

What TV-Tropes trope would they be?

She is the classic Femme Fatale. She’s hot, a little evil (with a weakness for light hair and blue eyes apparently in both Hera and Archer), but deep down has a good side that just needs to be reached.

What John Mulaney quote/bit do they most embody?

“You have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair.” She would sell anyone (except Henri eventually) for a single corn chip.

With the exception of love interests and immediate family, who are they closest to?

At the current point in time, she doesn’t see Henri as family, but more so a child she’s babysitting. And even though she doesn’t really show it all that often, she would die and kill for that kid. They’re both the only one the other has left.

What is their moral alignment? What would have to happen for it to shift?

Listen. She’s neutral evil, but she’s very bad at being a villain. Really she’s more true neutral with a penchant for being a bitch. So she can switch into the more neutral spectrum if she is given a chance to improve and be better. The only way she’ll stay evil is if people block her out and don’t give her a chance to improve. Which although is valid of them, she needs that opportunity to grow.

Are they a morning person? What are they like before 8am?

Marcy’s somewhat a morning person because her school and work schedule really were tied around when things were open and closed, which would open at around 9 and close at 12 for lunch then back up at like 4. So she’s always up at 8am to get her day started and go to school and then in the evenings teach dance lessons. Before 8am, she just goes for the coffee machine without talking to anyone.

What are they like when they’re tired?

Contrary to popular belief, she’s not very snippy when tired. Really she becomes more lethargic and anxious, and will just make. So Much coffee and sit in a corner and work. When she’s tired, she doesn’t really want to talk to anyone, so you can tell she’s tired when she’s near the the coffee maker and staring into space.

What are they like in arguments?

Also contrary to popular belief, Marcy doesn’t argue that much. If it gets to a place where she has to have a verbal altercation with someone, she says whatever she can to not get hurt.

What is their dominant hand?

Right. Spain’s a bit of a bitch still when it comes to the devil hand.

Out of 10, how happy are they? How happy do they think they are?

Up until everything happened to her, she was a pretty happy kid at about an 9/10. But then her world fell apart and she became a 5/10. Bitter and angry at the world.

[oh-ishouldnt]

New moves

New moves | Josh Pieters | smut Word count: 1819 A/N: Based in the song Brand New Moves by Hey Violet. It wasn’t meant to be a smut, but I thought I could take a break from fluffy stuff for a while before heading back to the Joe’s imagine I’m working on. Hope you will enjoy this! You can find more of Buttercream’s content in here | requests are open

Don’t it feel it’s been forever? Don’t it feel it’s been a while?

He saw you from across the room. There were so many people that he couldn’t see you clearly, but he recognized who you were and smiled. Hey! That’s what he meant by raising his glass. You raised yours and gave a little wink, what he understood as a gesture to come at you.

He moved just as he did a couple years ago and smiled that Josh’s smile that you always found way too nice for the rest of the world. Josh was the most friendly guy you ever knew, although your intentions with him never were purely friendly.

As you were getting closer to him and less people were between you two, Josh noticed that you, unlike him, weren’t the same. You always been confident, but now you could be the femme fatale in some action movie and he wouldn’t even doubt it, there was a shine in your eyes that didn’t existed before and he was curious about it.

“Y/N!” He exclaimed.

“Hi Josh!” You two hugged. He still used the same perfume as when you met him. “Are you taller or something?” you joked, both of you laughed.

“How are you?” He asked.

“I’m fine! What about you? You finally got used to the city, huh?”

“Yeah…” he blushed. “I mean, eventually I needed to!”. You two laughed and when it stopped, he gently asked you “Can I buy you a drink?”

Your smile grew bigger. Of course he could. “That would be nice, I guess.”

You two headed to the bar, Josh realized you attracted a lot of looks from everywhere with your attitude, almost like being chilled and beautiful was your job.

When you started talking to Josh, you remembered how you liked of being his friend. I mean, you kissed him and made out with him more than once and the friendship thing didn’t covered these kind of activities. You were just having a really casual conversation, but your mind was running through your old memories.

When your favorite music started, you invited Josh to the dance floor, but he explained that dancing was something he didn’t was used to do still, encouraging you to break the dance floor anyway. You didn’t want to leave him alone, but you were almost dying to go, so you stood up and hit the floor, your hips shaking according to the beat.

As you enjoyed your time, you couldn’t stop thinking about how you missed Josh. You were really close to him a long time ago and that’s when the whole one night stand thing happened, but none of you were into the idea of dating and being on a relationship.

As a consequence of everybody saying to you get together and assume that Josh and Y/N were a couple, you moved away from him and he did the same to you. It wasn’t a fight, you two didn’t had even a conversation, but you knew Josh’s motivations and he knew yours were the same as his, that was how deep you and him connected with each other.

Now, there you were: in the same place as him, in the same night, a few years later. You almost forgot how the feeling of kissing someone just because of his soul and it really pleased you to feel that way again, so when the music changed and you saw Josh still was looking at you, you raised your hand and called him.

You were used by this time to only hook up with strangers. Actually, Josh was the only friend you ever slept with. You always thought that even kissing people you actually knew leaded to trouble, because it would be a comment in here, a whisper in there, so you stayed with the idea of only sleep with those you knew only their names. You weren’t into getting a boyfriend anyway and things were easier if you lead it this way.

He nodded his head, saying no to your proposal without words. You blinked your eyes and joined your eyebrows, making a face of lost dog. Please, Josh! He rolled his eyes and succumbed to your wishes, almost tripping to his own feet as he was trying to get to you, too busy making funny dance movements to pay attention on other things like people getting in between.

You laughed and when he was near enough, you took his arm and pulled him closer. You got so close to each other that, suddenly, he wasn’t in the mood of making jokes anymore and, when the music got into the slow part, his hands was firmly at your waist.

You didn’t disappoint Josh. You rubbed your hips is his body according to the beat and put your right hand in his nape, passing your other hand in your hair. When the music grew louder again, you winked at him again and turned back, getting low. When you stood up again, Josh’s lips pressed your neck.

“What are you trying to do, Y/N?” he asked whispering at the bottom of your ear.

You gave him a smile, your eyes sparkled the lust he was an expert in spot. “Just dancing in the name of the good times.”

His grip became stronger. “There are some things I still know from the good times.”

You stood face to face again to him. “Well, there are some things I learned since the good times.”

And that was it. You liked how Josh was a nice guy, but you loved when he lost his control, all his education and his good boy image, so when he took you by the hand and led you to the VIP area of the nightclub, you couldn’t take the excitement.

You two entered into a private area with a long sofa and a table, behind some curtains. There were a lot of stuff around so you guessed he was with his old friends in there, you knew they like to spend money into this kind of thing.

When Josh smashed your lips, you groaned straight away. He was hungry and when Josh was hungry, he knew exactly what he wanted and how. His hands moved through your body like a master, because he really was an expert when it was about you, he knew where you liked to be touched and knew that it must be hard, because if he was hungry, so was you.

Your legs hit the sofa, your hands took his jacket off, he leaned you in the furniture, you pushed all the wallets and purses that were in there to the ground, no one would need that for the next minutes. Your hands grabbed his hair and Josh hold your waist hard enough to leave a mark, the kiss coming more and more aggressive, with little bites and you started scratch his back. Josh took off your silver dress and you took his shirt, unbuttoning his pants afterwards.

“Fuck, Y/N.” he groaned when you moved your hips as you were doing on the dance floor, but now without his jeans and your dress in between, Josh could feel the warmth and the pressure of your body against his member.

You kissed his chest and Josh felt his arms getting weak, if you continued to do that, he wouldn’t be able to hold his own weight anymore and he would fall on you. Your hands started playing with his boxers’ borders and Josh let a grunt escape his mouth.

You giggled. “I wondered until when you could handle my teasing.”

“Not long” he answered, it was his turn to please you and he kissed your breast.

Your body warmed up as anticipation, you knew Josh’s next move. And as if he knew what you were thinking, he took of your bra and sucked your left nipple while massaging the other one. You sighed, holding his ginger hair.

He switched his mouth of boob and started give smacks in your abdomen, getting lower and lower as continued to massage your boobs. When he was almost getting in your V area, you heard voices outside your area.

You both stopped and looked at each other, holding your breaths. You could hear your heart pumping, your clothes weren’t anywhere to be seen. The voices started go away, you and Josh took a deep breath.

After that, you pulled Josh to a deep kiss, realizing that knowing that could have people outside where you were having sex only turned you more on. “Hurry.” you asked, your hands slipping through Josh’s body and taking his underwear off, he took yours too.

Josh was hard, so he was ready to get inside you, but he kissed you and, without a warning, he pulled his finger into your center, adding another soon after. You groaned loud.

“Shhh, Y/N.” You didn’t answer, only moved your hips to get him further. “You are so prepared, should I go inside you now?” you nodded, not being able to speak or open your eyes, biting your lips so another groan couldn’t slip.

“Come on, Josh” you said. He continued to push and pull  his fingers, so the only thing you could think of was opening your eyes, moving yourself and grabbing his member, feeling it throb in your hand as you went up and down it. Josh’s moan was even louder than yours.

“That’s not fair.” Josh complained as you dictated a rhythm to your moves.

“Josh, you aren’t fair to me.” you pointed out between your own moans.

“Fine then, Y/N.”

Josh positioned his body to penetrates you, finally pushing his fingers of you. He kissed your lips. A deep, long kiss, making you sigh. Then, out of nothing, Josh was inside you.

You wanted to scream, so you kissed him harder.

“So fucking tight.” Josh groaned, stopping kissing you.

You both started losing your breath as you went faster. You couldn’t hear the loud music downstairs anymore and even if hundreds of people showed up in that exact moment, you wouldn’t care. The pleasure was running in your veins. Your mind had only one word, one name on it and nothing more. Josh.

“Come on, Y/N. Pour yourself on me.”

And as he asked, you came, Josh accompanied you. Your orgasm hit you and you needed to bite your lip so hard it started to bleed. Josh, seeing you in that state, kissed you again.

Your legs went weak, Josh stood up so he could sat in the sofa.

“I missed you.” You said to him after calming down and putting your clothes back on, Josh dressed up too.

He laughed. “I bet you did.”

“I mean it, Josh.” you told, rolling your eyes.

He looked at you, that Josh’s smile once more in his face. “I missed you too, Y/N.”

[judieasley57]

The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir

By Jennifer Ryan

418 pages, ebook, hardcover, paperback, audiobook, audio CD

Broadway Books, Random House, LLC,

February 2017

Historical fiction, Women’s lit

This book also has a second cover, which is absolutely lovely.

This book is written in the form called epistolary. Written with notices, letters, journal entries and notes by the women of the ladies’ choir.

Epistolary novel – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistolary_novel

An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic “documents” such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use.

Using this format created an interesting insight into the story. It allowed the author to move the story along simply by changing to another journal or letter. Let the next person tell the story from their viewpoint, reveal their secrets, see things from their side of the village square.

I was sold on the beautiful cover that I saw originally advertised, the one on the hardcover version of the book. I thought it was so lovely with the women standing on the hills over their village and watching the planes. The colors were so soft and yet they glowed. I wish that had been on the Kindle edition that I purchased. The substitute cover is not anywhere near as nice.

The book is about the women in a village called Chilbury who form a women’s-only choir. They are almost scandalized at their own termidity, women-only. No men? Surely you can’t have a choir without men. But they do, and they do it very well. Prim, their new choir mistress, shows them the way. She shows them how to sing from their hearts and how it makes their music better. So much better that they win a contest. Prim is killed in the bombing and Mrs. Tilling takes the position as choir mistress. Mrs. Tilling really starts to change from that point. She finds her strength and her courage and she does what needs doing. Mrs. Tilling was a very interesting character. She starts out as a mother who is just trying to hold out until her son comes home from the war. She wants nothing to do with anyone from outside the village. She’s not even particularly friendly to those in the village. She’s a nurse by training, and has taken the midwife training so that she can help Hattie when it comes time for her to have her child. She’s worried about the other midwife in the village, Miss Paltry. As it happens, Mrs. Tilling is out of town the day the two babies due are born. And Miss Paltry takes advantage completely. Mrs. Tilling eventually figures out what has been done and makes Miss Paltry aware of the fact that she knows what’s happened. She also makes her confess. So she knows Miss Paltry’s secret. By extension, she knows the Brigadier’s secret, too. She collects secrets simply by being on hand when things happen. Nursing a fatally wounded soldier, she has an errand to do for him after he dies. She has to take a ring to “Carrington”. Carrington turns out to be another injured soldier on leave who was his homosexual lover. This is illegal in this time. But Mrs. Tilling doesn’t judge these two men. She delivers the ring and the message of love and keeps their secret. She even stands up to the young man’s father when he tries to interfere, Viscount Carrington. This earns her young Carrington’s respect and friendship, which she later needs to help with another matter. She initially doesn’t want anything to do with her lodger. She resents him because he is staying in her son’s room. Finally, she realizes that he is just a human being doing his job for the war and she starts treating him much better. She makes his meals and talks with him. They share the basement bunker much more congenially. They discuss his children, three little girls. She discovers he’s a widower. In the end, she marries him and moves to London with him. She loves him. She has come to accept that her son is a grown man now and will come home whether she is there or not, if that is his fate. The Colonel’s job is in London and there are plenty of hospitals in London where she can do a lot of good.

Venetia Winthrop is a young femme fatale. Taking every man around just because she can, not because she wants them. She even takes the man her sister, Kitty, desperately wants and believes will marry her. Venetia finally has to really work to get one particular man to give in. Alistair is mysterious. He’s an artist, but he’s much more. He’s into the black market and other things. She’s seen him speaking with a man in poor-fitting clothes speaking German and handing over a passport and papers. Then he disappears during the bombing. Venetia fears he’s dead. She also discovers she’s pregnant with his child. The word gets out and causes all sorts of trouble. A fight with Henry gets physical and puts an end to her pregnancy and their very brief engagement. Henry’s fighting with everyone and puts an end to Kitty’s allusions about marriage as well. It’s the loss of her child that helps Venetia finally to grow up and focus on being a decent person. Then when she sees Alistair in the audience at the concert, she knows she still loves him and only him.

These were the two women that I liked the best in the book. But much more happened. People died in the bombing. Babies got swapped. People got paid off. Money got stolen. People got taken advantage of. Bullies got straightened out. Women found their strength in joining together and singing. In supporting each other.

The author provided questions for discussion at the end. One of them was “What impact did the war have on women, work, and society? How do you think women’s equality has progressed since the Second World War? War made women stronger because they had to do the work men had been doing just to keep things running at home while the men were off at war. They worked the farms completely, even the hard, physical jobs the men used to do. They worked the factories the men used to work. It wasn’t easy at first, women had to build up the muscle to do some of these jobs and the stamina to keep going, but they managed to do it. The country didn’t stop because the men were gone. When the men came back, the women were in their jobs and some didn’t want to give up the well-paying jobs. It caused problems. The women lost their positions and the men were given their jobs back for the most part. But women had had a taste of running things and they knew they were strong and capable. They’d come out of the box and they really didn’t fit back in the box anymore. Men and women still aren’t equal in the workplace today. In the military, there are still more men than women. In combat, women are limited in what they can do. In regular workplaces, men are paid better than women for the same positions. There is still not equality, but not for lack of effort on the part of the women.

Physically, the average man and woman are not equal. Physically, the average man is more capable of heavier labor than the average woman. So, each should be paid according to their abilities. When it comes to brain power, gender has nothing to do with ability, so it should have nothing to do with recompense either. When that happens, we will have equality.

Highly Recommended