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No fr it’s funny because even Ego says that like “you guys live in the comfort of Japan where you’ll never worry about surviving” so good that bllk is self aware but I agree the stakes in the beginning fr felt a bit intense which was refreshing!! Yeah im still a little irked about himizus backstory too like that could’ve been a gorgeous karasu panel instead but NOPE wtv also makes me a little sad that we won’t see karasus backstory animated since its in epinagi
HAHA its funny when you remember he has a second lead role in one of your reqs he will not get his happy ending quite yet it seems LMAOO but also I JUST SAW we literally called it yuki and Karasu certified gentlemen FRRR yayoi knew what she was doing!! I bet it’s also because granny Karasu lives with them too so he’s constantly surrounded by older women and learning to respect them! No because what am I supposed to do with the info in hioris profile he what?????? Hospitalized y/n era next /j I’m crying it just has me imagining like does that include like a whole ass full body cast where you can’t even see the person but yeah anyways and we all thought Karasu was the weird one for commenting on his leg this is a different level of freak
I’m convinced otoya is the animators’ fave because he looks so good?? Like they make him so majestic too I see so many edits of him trust yuki and nagi will get their moment when we see their match!! Very excited to see all the clips from there! Some scenes of Shidou are actually INSANE did you watch through the ep? Towards the end they have pics of the top 6 and when I tell you I fr got jumpscared by Shidou but I also could not care less like yesss save the budget for Karasu pls!!!
FR like how are they even connected…actually ik a lot of people ship megumi and sukuna because of sukunas plan for megumi and how he didn’t let him die etc but Karasu is wild…maybe someone mistook megumi for Karasu and went to town with it idk LMAO
IM CRYING THE STOCK PHOTO thats fr me whenever i have to be productive im crying well at least the sufferings over now!!! You made it!! LMAOO wait im kinda excited for when you have to get to the Isagi req too not just to read but to hear your commentary as you write LMAOAOA I love the classic Mira foreshadowing hint drops i like picking them out and being like “oh yk someone’s dying” or something LOL
AGAIN WITH THE HISTORICAL REFERENCE your research game is too strong but I loved the story overall I mean you know I’m not a Kaiser fan either LMAO but I certainly didn’t mind reading that!! Another win in my book wait again the Kunigami cameo LMAOOOO fr had me like “omg what are YOU doing here??” LOL
Wait your process for making the layout already sounds complicated to me LMAO ibis paint is fr pretty insane though for a free app!!
That panel is so good speaking of I can’t wait to see that animated too omg
LMAOAOAOA you are correct in fact those two edits actually made it to my fyp which was pleasantly surprising but YEAHHHHHH THAT KARASU SCENE CHEFS KISS he looks so good and LMAOOO the “mama a girl behind you” audio is so funny and it works perfectly with otoya being sneaky
- Karasu anon
LMAOO ego calling them out will always be funny to me like bro was not playing around 😭 but agreed it added a bit of self awareness to the show!! and yeah…idk why we needed an entire focus on himizu when we know he’s irrelevant moving forward…just another example of how bllk ends up on focusing on too many characters and spreading itself too thin 😫 it was a perfect chance to expand on karasu and/or kiyora who are both playing in the current match 🙁 but maybe i’m biased because i want more karasu i’m sure the two himizu fans out there were happy abt it
HFJDJSS KUNIGAMI FOREVER SUFFERING at least he’s entering the miraverse though…maybe one day he’ll debut in full probably not though because alongside being ginger he’s also kinda boring i fear 😭 perhaps if the wildcard backstory makes him rlly fascinating i’ll change my mind but idk…ANYWAYS YESSSS YUKI AND KARASU MY GLORIOUS KINGS also i think it’s funny that the rankings are voted by other blue lock characters and karasu’s constantly an asshole to like all of them?? yet they still voted him as the number two gentleman KDCNDJS bro has no enemies fr i love him 🥹 HAHAHA PLSSSS ngl the more i learn abt hiori with his ln and now his profile the more i’m like nah karasu is JUSTIFIED in fucking around with him LMAOAOA everyone thinking he’s the weird one when he’s just a slightly sassy guy who likes to say goofy stuff to his friends meanwhile hiori is like actually lowkey a freak 😰
SHIDOU CONSISTENTLY JUMPSCARING HE’S SO GOOFY I CAN’T 😭 pls i just know they’re going to do yuki and nagi so well in the next episode they show up in…okay but i saw a panel of manga karasu and i was fr like 😫 as glorious as he is animated he fr hits diff in the manga for some reason JSDHSJSJ anyways yeah they’re really eating it up with the otoya scenes ngl good for them otoya would be proud
yeahhh i think that’s why it’s such a popular ship!! since sukuna was all like “megumi absolutely cannot die” ofc we know that wasn’t romantic but when you’re a shipper anything works ig 🙂↕️ my only thought is someone who ships sukuna and megumi together started bllk and put the pieces together and created the rare pair of the century
I LOVEEE THAT PHOTO a guy sent it to a gc i was in whenever he had to do computer science hw and i IMMEDIATELY saved i think it’s hilarious 😭 literally me seeing all of my sae requests and zero nagi ones 😔 but YESSSS I’M FREE FROM KAISER AT LEAST not sure what i’m going to work on next but we’ll see!! hopefully it won’t take as long as that did to come out 😫
HISTORICAL REFERENCES ALWAYS #trust LMAAOOA yeah i don’t love kaiser as you know but he is fun to write abt sometimes he’s more on the karasu end of things where he lends himself to more plots…HELP i was thinking of leaving the guard anonymous but then i was like nah let me let kunigami get his first name drop KDJDJDDHJS anyways fun fact in the very first scene when reader takes kunigami to the art gallery and they leave the other guard to watch over her father the other guard is meant to be barou!! also if she didn’t get sick and meet kaiser/literally die she probably would’ve ended up marrying kunigami 🙁
SPEAKING OF HISTORICAL REFERENCES…rin said his fav historical figure is oda nobunaga apparently??? aka the person hollyhock y/n is based on 😭 rin is a hollyhock y/n stan wait imagine we were joking abt what it would be like if hollyhock characters met their bllk selves but imagine RIN meeting hollyhock y/n he’d genuinely glaze her i fear 😰 probably hollyhock karasu too since he’s also one of the three unifiers 😜 probably feels bad they got reincarnated into such “lukewarm” modern time equivalents
yeahhh ibis paint x fr goes hard i love it!! and it’s not too bad DJFHDJ the hardest part is picking what panel i want to use 😭 it wasn’t hard for kaiser because he doesn’t have that many panels with the long gold hair which is what i imagined him having while as an actual angel but i’m sure i’ll start to run out of sae panels at some point HAHAHA
UGH barou goal animated is going to be so good they always do him and his goals SO well i have full entire faith that he’s going to look amazing…barou my handsome amazing boyfriend…I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE KARASU SPAWNING INTO EVERY CELEBRATION TOO he’s literally in ALL of them (except nagi’s i think that’s just his fist pump and then we see isagi and chigiri running towards him) IT’S SO FUNNY LIKE BRO IS IN THE MIDFIELD WHERE DOES HE EVEN COME FROM 😭
THAT KARASU SCENE IS SOOOOO ugh he carried the episode i’m trying not to rewatch because i plan on rewatching all of s2 at once after it’s all out but it’s so tempting i want to see him again 😫 and the mama a girl behind you audio for otoya CRACKS ME UP it’s so him also wait lowkey is it just me or does otoya kinda look like rin 😭 maybe it’s the hair idk they’re kinda giving twin
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anti LO anon opinions
(1) Whats up with LO giving some characters random american names? In few fastpass episodes was characters that have bame anna, larry and derek and in previous episodes there was characters with american names. Isnt that supposed to be greek mythological beings that should have greek names?
(2) Maybe it’s my aroace ass but why do I have a feeling the relationship of HxP in LO goes too fast? I feel uncomfortable seeing them so close because nothing really has happened to bind them that much so early.
(3) I’m going to rant for a second here. I think the Kronos plot in LO is interesting but at the same time it’s also just so? Random? Like isn’t this supposed to be about Hades and Persephone? It have been over 150 episodes and they’ve only just now decided to do any basic romantic interactions, but there’s so many side plots that it just makes them seem so out of place?
It’s not great editing to jump from cutesy shipper moments to suddenly a new war is starting in the span of a few panels. The tonal shifts have to be built up, maybe split over a few episodes, but LO doesn’t put in the effort. It wants the stakes and writing of a deep epic but doesn’t put in the work to do so, so it ends up looking like shallow cliffhanger writing than actually planned.
Like you still have to deal with her murdering people (even if it was an accident), you now have to deal with Leto apparently being the real evil mastermind, redeeming (?) Apollo (🤢), Thetis trying to ruin Zeus’ marriage, Persephone being raped, her scholarship, her school work (?), Eros and psyche, semele and Dionysus, Daphne and Thanatos (gag), Minthe!, and now a whole new war all on top of the ACTUAL myth its popularity and readership is based off of.
For all we know Smythe does genuinely want to tell these other myths (the majority which have nothing to do with HxP to begin with) but just isn’t patient enough to just save them for a spin off series, so she shoves them all into this despite saying back in 2018 she was not going to do. Problem too is that doing that makes HxP, the actual selling point, completely minor in the grand scheme of it all. Who cares about Persephone cuddling her boss when they’re accidentally causing another war under their own noses? How are they good people at that point?
If Demeter or Zeus accidentally awoke a villain they’d be thrown in tartarus too, but we know Persephone will get off Scott-free for this and become queen with no push back. How is that fair? I will feel sympathy for her bad childhood and really bad two weeks on Olympus (good lord it’s only been like a month in comic and all of this is happening, what the hell) but why should we root for a character who is putting millions are risk and who we know won’t be punished or learn anything from it? From anyone not blinded by the rose-tinted glasses, Persephone and hades are villains as well, but because we get their POV we’re supposed to ignore that? No thanks.
Why isn’t the editing team cutting the fat, so to speak? You can’t write and market it off a singular myth and proceed to make it a b-plot because you got bored of it and don’t know how to get from point A to point B. There are a ton of super successful Webtoons that wrapped everything up strongly in less than 100 episodes, some with even less, but LO seems determined to be over 200+ at this rate with the actual plot/hook (HxP) being MAYBE 1/6th of the actual product, with everything else being unrelated side plots smythe found more interesting. Though I guess they do kinda matter in this case, it’s literally Persephone’s fault AGAIN she’s putting countless lives in danger, yet it still won’t be her fault somehow? It’s all just very stupid.
(4) What i find annoying about the LO marketing is they keep insisting it's this "global phenomenon" but that is only correct if you only go off the English speaking server. It was not received well in Korea, it doesn't even rank in the Latin American server, and only does ok in France, and it's not even on other Asian servers. I understand media tends to be very America-focused, but that seems to be twisting the truth. If they were honest True Beauty would be marketed as the "global hit", not LO.
(5) Whats up with LO giving some characters random american names? In few fastpass episodes was characters that have bame anna, larry and derek and in previous episodes there was characters with american names. Isnt that supposed to be greek mythological beings that should have greek names?
(6) what really makes me mad about LO is just that it has so much potential that isn't met. With a competent writer it could be a nuanced look into complex characters who aren't easily cut into black and white, and art wise, especially with the long strolling panels, it shows with a competent eye they can absolutely make something constantly visually strong, yet both genuinely good moments in either writing ad art are few & fair in between in over 150+ episodes. I'm sad over what could have been.
(7) I find it so weird that ppl are praising Rachel for giving Persephone stretch marks but the whole comic barely has diversity. There's only been a handful of plus sized women and I haven't seen any plus sized men so far (I could be wrong. Also, only one goddess is plus sized. Everyone else is skinny.). Nobody has kinky hair and a lot of the guys are extremely tall compared to the women.
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Stark Spangled Banner
Ch29. The Sokovia Accords Part 2: No, You Move.
Summary: Whilst discussing the proposed accords, Steve gets some bad news which makes everything pale into insignificance. And then, another ghost from his past comes back to haunt them.
Warnings: Bad language, Smut! (NSFW, Under 18s) Bad Language words.
Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark
A/N: Elements of this have been reworked/rewritten…for reasons which will become apparent at some point! And I’ve also added in the scene with Natasha at the church. I love the banner and edit too from @angrybirdcr.
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Chapter 29 Part 1
Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist
Steve had hoped that the more casual setting would defuse the seriousness of the situation. But that went out of the window an hour or so later when Rhodey and Sam started going at it. Steve was sat in the arm chair carefully reading through the accords packet with a deep frown, Katie perched on the arm of the chair reading over his shoulder. Tony was reclined on the chaise to their right with his hand covering his face as Sam and Rhodey argued, Natasha sitting patiently down by Tony’s legs waiting for them to be done. Vision and Wanda were on the sofa to their other side, neither having said much.
“Secretary Ross has a Congressional medal of Honour,” argued Rhodey from behind the chair. Katie turned to look at them both. “Which is one more than you have.” He mocked Sam.
“So let’s say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they Low-Jack us like a bunch of common criminals?” Sam shot back.
“A hundred an seventeen countries want to sign this. A hundred and seventeen, Sam, and you’re just like, no, that’s cool. We got it.”
“How long are you going to play both sides?” Sam snapped.
“I have an equation.” Vision spoke loudly before Rhodey could reply, causing both men to quiet down and everyone to look at him. Steve lifted his head from the packet bringing his arm up to rest on Katie’s thigh.
“Oh, now this will clear it up,” said Sam sarcastically.
“In the eight years since Mr Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. During the same period the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.” Vision steeped his fingers together as he looked around a everyone.
“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve asked tensely, his hand on Katie’s leg became heavier.
“I’m saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight isn’t an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”
“Boom,” Rhodey exclaimed, believing that Vision had solidified his point.
Katie shook her head sighing,
“Sorry Vision, I disagree.” Everyone’s attention now turned to her. “Being supervised is one thing. But from what I’ve read these Accords want us to give up total control of what we do and when we do it.” She paused as Steve’s arm slid from her leg to wrap around her back. She then turned her attention to Tony and looked at him as he remained still, hand over his face. "Clearly this has been in the pipeline for some time now, so why are we only just hearing about it?”
Tony glanced at her from underneath his hand, not offering an answer, as she continued.
“And less than a week to come to a decision on something like this? They’re trying to back us into a corner without giving us any proper time to discuss or negotiate the terms and its wrong.” She finished simply, shaking her head and crossing her arms.
“Boom.” Sam repeated from behind her.
“Tony.” Natasha addressed him as he removed his hand from his face. “You are being uncharacteristically non-hyper verbal,”
“It’s because he’s already made up his mind,” Katie raised her eyebrow.
“Kiddo, you know me so well.” Tony scoffed then groaned, standing up and moving over to the kitchen area with a sigh "Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache. That’s what’s going on. It’s just pain. It’s discomfort.” Another frustrated sigh escaped him as he faffed with something in the sink. “Who’s putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?”
Tony moved to the other countertop slapping down the coffee mug and coffee pot before pulling his phone from his pocket and dropping it onto the fruit basket, then turning it on revealing the hologram of a young man.
“Oh, that’s Charles Spencer, by the way,” said Tony with fake carelessness. “He’s a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk; see the world, maybe be of service. Charlie didn’t want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn’t go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun.” He spat sarcastically, “He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor guess where: Sokovia.”
He slammed his mug down as he stared round the room in anger, whilst Katie looked over at Wanda who bowed her head the moment her home was mentioned.
“He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We won’t know because we dropped a building on him while we were 'kicking ass’.” Tony ran a hand down his face before taking a drink of his coffee. “There’s no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I’m game. If we can’t accept limitations, if we’re boundary-less, we’re no better than the bad guys.” He concluded, walking around the counter to lean back against it holding his arms over his chest.
“Tony,” Steve began gently. “If someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.”
“Who said we’re giving up?” Tony questioned.
“We are for not taking responsibility for our actions.” Continued Steve. “This document just shifts the blame.”
“I’m sorry, Steve. That is dangerously arrogant.” Rhodey interrupted “This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council, it’s not SHIELD, it’s not HYDRA.”
“No, but its run by people with agendas, and agendas change.” Steve shot back, earnestly.
“That’s good.” Tony answered, re-joining the group. “That’s why I’m here. Look, Cap, me and Kiddo, when we realized what Stark weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, we shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”
“Yeah, but Tony, we chose to do that.” Katie jabbed at her chest as she blazed at her brother, her voice gathering momentum and volume. “If we sign these then the next time something like that happens we won’t have the right to choose!“
"What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go?” Steve continued his hand gently rubbing at Katie’s back. He was glad they were on the same page, but he didn’t want her getting upset and falling out with Tony. “What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us?” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”
Tony looked down at the couple who both stared back at him. He rolled his eyes again. Of course they would be united on this, they were united on everything. But there were bigger things at stake here. If they didn’t agree, they’d be forced to retire, and the team would be split up. And he couldn’t let that happen.
“If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s the fact. That won’t be pretty,” Tony explained, his tone almost pleading.
“You’re saying they’ll come for me?” Asked Wanda quietly.
“We would protect you,” Vision added placing a gentle hand on Wanda’s shoulder.
“Maybe Tony’s right.” Natasha spoke, turning her eyes to both Katie and Steve, trying to get them to see her point. Katie looked at her incredulously, and Steve’s mouth fell open a little in surprise. “If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-”
“Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?” Sam frowned, interrupting her in disbelief.
“I’m just…reading the terrain.” She sighed. “We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.”
“Focus up – I’m sorry, did I just mishear you, or did you agree with me?” Tony looked at her.
Natasha rolled her eyes. “I want to take it back now.” She groaned but Tony was quick to cut in.
“No, you can’t retract it.” He said, waving a finger at her. “Thank you. Unprecedented. Case closed I win.”
As Katie shot some annoyed response back to Tony, something along the lines of him being ‘an egotistical, arrogant prick’, Steve felt his phone going in his pocket. He shifted slightly to pull it out and glanced down. It was a message from Peggy’s son, Michael.
‘She’s gone, in her sleep.’
As the meaning behind the words sunk in, his throat tightened, and suddenly the damned accords didn’t matter anymore. Taking a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest, he felt the familiar sting of tears in his in his eyes but he didn’t want to break down, not here, not in front of the team.
“I have to go.” He breathed out, handing the Accords to Katie before standing and leaving the room quickly without meeting anyone’s eye.
He made it to the stairwell, leaning against the railings, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself down but he couldn’t. The tears began to fall and he slumped down onto one of the steps. Which was where Katie found him a few minutes later, shocked to see his shoulders were shaking. She said nothing until she had made her way down to him, wedging herself on the step beside him between him and the wall.
“Stevie?” She asked quietly inspecting his face, seeing the tears across his cheeks. “Sweetheart, what is it.”
“It’s err..” He sniffed and wiped at his nose with a finger, not looking at her “It’s Peg. She’s gone.”
“Oh, no.” Katie muttered, dropping her head. Poor Peggy. She had been quite ill over the last few weeks and the Doctors had said it was unlikely she would recover, but the both of them had been hoping to get to see her to say their goodbyes. Katie felt the tears sting her eyes as she opened up her arms and Steve immediately fell into them. Sometimes it was much too easy to forget how young and inexperienced life wise he actually was at heart and Katie simply held him, as she felt his tears hit her neck. Gently she ran her fingers through his hair as they sat still, not saying a word.
"Will you come with me to the funeral?” His voice was hoarse and muffled but she heard him anyway
“Of course I will.” she said looking at him as he pulled away, his eyes red. She reached up to wipe his face with the back of her hand as he rest his forehead against hers. “Of course I will.”
***** London was caught in the middle of a summer storm when they arrived, four days later. The wind and rain whipped Katie’s hair about her face as they stepped from the StarkJet onto the tarmac of Gatwick Airport. They made their way towards the waiting car, Steve’s large hand taking her smaller, and somewhat colder, one in his as they walked, Sam pacing at his other side. The drive to the hotel was filled mainly with Sam and Katie chatting as she pointed out various landmarks to the man, Steve remaining silent on the whole apart from chipping in when he was spoken to.
His sombre mood continued through to the evening, and when Katie told him that Sam was meeting up with some of his old Air Force buddies and suggested that the two of them head out for something to eat, he was torn between wanting to go out and try to enjoy some time with her, and this strange urge he felt to simply curl up in the relative safety of the hotel room with her, alone. And then there was the war which was raging inside him, an internal battle in the depth of his conscious and mind. He was married to Katie, he loved her, more than he’d ever loved anyone. And yet, here he was grieving so much for a woman who, when all was said and done, he hadn’t actually known for that long. Peggy was his past, Katie was his here and now, his future, his forever. So why did he feel this way?
“Stevie.” Katie’s voice gently shook him from his thoughts and he turned away from the view of the Thames he’d been observing through the floor to ceiling window of their suite and faced her. “We don’t have to go anywhere to eat if you don’t want to.”
“I’m sorry.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I just, I feel…”
“Upset? Tired of pretending you’re okay?” She supplied and he gave a little huff of laugher, shaking his head as he looked at the soft, deep blue carpet of the room.
“You know, are you sure you don’t have some kind of secret mind reading power?” He looked at her once more and she smiled softly.
“No, I just know you.” She stepped forward and held out her arms and Steve moved to fall into them, his cheek resting on her head as he let out a shaky breath. “You don’t have to hide it in front of me, you know.” She pulled back to look at him, her hands cupping his face.
“I love you.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. “You know that, right?”
“Of course I do.” She frowned before her head tilted to the side as she considered what he had just said, suddenly understanding. “Wait, is that what’s bothering you? How I feel?”
His lack of response spoke volumes as he looked down once more, his large hands gently wrapping around her wrists, moving her hands to her side so he could lace his fingers between hers.
“Oh, Steve!” Katie shook her head and her fingers tightened around his. “You’ve every right to feel how you do, Peggy meant a lot to you.”
“She did, yeah, but so do you.” He glanced at her, his blue eyes shining with tears. “In fact, you mean more to me than anything else ever has. I just wanna be sure you know that.”
“If I didn’t know it, I wouldn’t have married you.” Katie shrugged simply. “But, Soldier, just because you love me the way you do, doesn’t mean that you never loved Peggy, or that you still can’t in some ways.” When he didn’t reply, Katie studied him for a moment, before she took a deep breath. “Steve, look at me, please.” He did as she asked and she gave him a soft smile. “It’s okay, I promise you I understand.”
He gave her another little smile as she stood on her toes to brush her lips against his. “Now, I’m gonna draw you a bath. You’re gonna get in, and you’re gonna relax.”
“Is that an order, Ma’am?” He smiled and Katie chuckled.
“Yeah, it is. And you know what else I’m gonna order? A fuck tonne of room service.”
It was Steve’s turn to chuckle as she smiled. “Then we can raid the mini-bar and bunker down for the evening. How’s that sound?”
Steve smiled, his hand reaching up to brush a piece of hair behind her ears. “It sounds okay, but would be a whole lot better if you said you were gonna join me in the bath.”
Katie smiled, her eyes flashing a little as he leaned down and captured her lips with his, the kiss slow and deep. Her arms slid up round his neck, fingers softly skating along his hairline and he let out a contented sigh as she broke away, his forehead pressing to hers, hands softly flexing on her hips. Without another word she pulled away before taking his hand, and gently leading him through the suite to the bathroom.
***** Steve didn’t sleep well that night. His mind was in overdrive, his subconscious showing him people he hadn’t seen in a very, very long time. He dreamt about Peggy, Bucky, Howard, the Howlies…and Katie. Even in dreams about his past she was there, ever present, just like she was in his life. When he woke up from a particularly vivid flashback about crashing back into the ice, he jerked bolt upright with a yell, his breathing desperate and ragged. Katie sat up beside him, her hand on his clammy back as she gently soothed him, her calm and quiet. Steve swallowed, turning to face her as she sat looking at him, concern etched on her face. She made to get out of bed to fetch him a glass of water but he stopped her, his large hand curling gently around her arm. He needed her, and he wasted no time at all in making sure she understood that. As she lay underneath him, her hands wrapped around his back, nails biting his skin, he fucked her, hard and fast, into the mattress, the relief washing over him like a tidal wave. When he evened out, he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him, his hand carding through her hair as hers traced random shapes over his chest. The pair of them lay still, gentle and loving touches and kisses being shared as they simply talking until the sun rose. And then Steve found himself back over his wife once more as he stuffed himself insider her again, only this time he made love to her, as softly and as gently as he could, needing to feel every single inch of her against him as he surrendered to that bliss that only she could ever make him feel.
They took a room service breakfast and at just before Eleven they met Sam in the Reception of the hotel and made their way to the church. Steve, who had been asked by Peggy’s family to be a pall bearer, hung back outside as Katie and Sam took their seats along the front pew of the Church. It wasn’t long before the choir began to sing and Katie turned as the procession walked down the aisle. Steve held the front right-hand corner of the coffin, carrying it with stiff steps, his cheeks wet, eyes red rimmed and full of tears. Katie felt Sam squeeze her shoulder, and she turned to face him briefly.
“My heart is breaking for him, Sam.” She whispered through her own tears as Sam dropped his hand to take hers, as they both watched the six men place the coffin at the front of the church. Sam released Katie’s hand with another gentle squeeze and they shuffled down to make room for Steve who took her left hand, seeking out her comfort and contact as he stared at the picture to the side of the coffin. It showed the Peggy he had known, back in the Forties, standing tall and proud in her uniform.
When the choir song ended they all sat, Steve staring down at his wife’s hand wrapped in his, and he began to play with her wedding and engagement rings, twirling them round her finger, his mind straying to his wedding and how he had told Katie at the toasts he was only strong because she made him that way. He was so glad she was with him now. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt her hand contract around his, quite hard, and he looked up at her. When he did she nodded her head in the direction of the podium. Steve’s eyes followed then did a slight double take at who was stood there.
Agent Thirteen of Shield special service and his ex-neighbour.
“Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of Shield.” The woman who’s name Steve recalled being told by Natasha was Sharon, began, sounding nervous. “But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy.”
Peggy’s Niece? Steve couldn’t believe his ears. All that time she had been living across the hall, spying on him…and she was Peggy’s niece?
“She had a photograph in her office, Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But, it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I barely told anyone we were related.” Sharon glanced down at Steve, like she was offering him some form of explanation.
“I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage at a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either.” Sharon swallowed before she continued, her voice becoming stronger. “And she said, 'Compromise when you can. But when you can’t, don’t. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty, to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say, 'No, you move.”
Katie glanced at Steve then to Sam, the three of them sharing a knowing glance. Those words were powerful, especially given the situation with the Accords. And for Steve, it was almost like Peggy was speaking to him, still giving him advice even in her death.
Despite the utter sorrow he was feeling, Steve couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment.
Thanks Peg…
*****
Katie watched as Steve leaned against the end of one of the pews, lost in his thought. He’d by passed the part where they were actually putting Peggy into the ground, saying he didn’t want to see it so instead, Katie had given him a moment to pay his respects along, waiting for him to give her some direction as to what he wanted to next.
As always, he seemed to know she was there before she even made a sound and he looked up, giving her a small smile as she walked down the middle of the church aisle towards him.
“Hey, Sweetheart.” He smiled as she stopped in front of him, opening her arms to give him a hug.
“How you doing?” She asked softly, her lips brushing his temple as he pressed his face into her neck.
“I’m okay.” He assured her, pulling back. “Just, suppose it’s sunk in that she’s actually gone, you know.” Katie gave him a sad smile. “When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her.”
“She had you back, too.” Katie looked at him.
“Yeah, and at least I knew where she was, unlike Bucky.”
“Don’t give up on him just yet, love.” Katie rubbed his arm as he placed a kiss to her forehead. Steve glanced once more to the front of the church and Katie followed his glance to look at the flowers placed on the alter.
“It was a nice service.” She said, her arm looping round his waist.
“Yeah, it was.” A familiar voice spoke and both of them whipped round to see Natasha strolling towards them. Steve let out a little scoff and looked down, shaking his head.
“You know, I thought I saw you before but convinced myself I was seeing things.”
“Well, I was sorta in the area.” She shrugged. There was a pause before Steve voiced what was on his mind since he’d left the compound a few days ago.
“Who else signed?” Steve asked.
“Tony. Rhodey. Vision.”
“Clint?” Katie asked.
Nat smiled slightly. “Says he's retired.”
“Wanda?” Steve looked at her.
“TBD” Nat answered. Katie looked at Steve before Nat took a deep breath. “I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet.”
Steve sighed and bowed his head.
“Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path.” Nat continued. “Staying together is more important than how we stay together.”
“Are you trying to convince us or yourself?” Katie asked and Natasha merely held her gaze.
“What are we giving up to do it?” Steve shook his head as Natasha turned to him. “I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it.”
“Me neither.” Katie added. “Not as they stand.”
“I know.” Nat smiled.
“Then what are you doing here?” Steve looked at her.
“Well, like I said, I was in the area.” Nat’s eyes flicked to the alter. “Plus, knowing who she is and what she did. I might never have met her but, well, it felt right to pay my respects.” She then looked back at them both. “Plus, I wanted to see you, check you were okay.” She said the last part to Steve more than Katie and he gave her a little smile as she moved to give him a hug.
****
They decided to go to the wake, and Katie took the chance to seek out Sharon where she was standing among a group of people, making polite conversation but clearly looking for a way out, which Katie was happy to provide, squeezing her elbow gently, and gesturing with her head for the blonde woman to follow her.
“I really am sorry about Peggy,” Katie began as they settled at an empty table. “She was a phenomenal woman.”
"Thank you,” Sharon said softly. “That means a lot. You know she liked you?”
Katie chuckled “She told me once or twice.” “I think she was happy that Steve found someone.” Sharon smiled. “Someone that makes him happy.”
Katie glanced at where Steve and Sam were waiting at the bar. Steve shot her a glance over his shoulder and smiled softly, before Katie returned her attention to the woman opposite her.
“So this accords thing?” Sharon changed the subject “It’s really happening?”
“Looks that way, yeah.”
“And where do you stand on it?”
“I’m not signing” Katie shook her head. “Not the way they stand, that’s for sure. And seeing as they don’t seem to want to negotiate terms, it’s a non-starter.”
“Does Steve feel the same?”
Katie nodded. “And Sam.”
Before Sharon could question her further, Katie’s eyes flicked to a point over her shoulder and she gave a side smile as the boys approached.
“Ladies,” Sam baritone smoothly, sitting in the seat next to Sharon and setting down a drink in front of her. From the look on the blonde’s face, this surprised her, but she accepted nonetheless with a thanks. Steve sat next to Katie handing over another glass of wine, whilst pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“You okay?” She whispered before he pulled away completely. He nodded and cleared his throat.
“Yeah. I saw just telling Sam about what Nat said.”
“And I was cheering to an honourable discharge.” Sam snorted sarcastically as he raised his glass. “Again.”
“Sorry, for jumping in but, if you’re not signing the Accords then what does that mean for you all?” Sharon looked round the table
“I dunno.” Steve smiled softly, shaking his head.
“Ultimate fighting?” Sam cut in, and Steve snorted as Katie laughed. “I told you, you’d be great at it.”
"More like an early retirement.” Steve stated, a small smile playing on his face.
“Not really that early though is it, Cap?” Sam continued his ribbing “I mean like you are hundred or whatever…”
As was natural with these type of functions, a few hours later people started to leave and eventually Peggy’s children headed over to the table to say their goodbyes. As they all stood to offer their condolences once more, something Michael said about Peggy being a woman of many surprises, brought back something which had been weighing heavily on Steve’s mind since he had left the church.
When Sharon stated that she was heading back to her hotel, Steve suggested that she walked with them, but for the most of the short walk, he remained silent, brooding over his thoughts. And it was only when they reached the door to Sharon’s hotel that he spoke, telling Katie that he’d meet her and Sam in their hotel bar in a couple of minutes.
She shot him a puzzled look but he had simply shook his head in a silent instruction not to argue. So, she merely shrugged, linked her arm through Sam’s and they crossed the road and headed straight inside, crossing the lobby.
“What’s all that about?” Sam asked as he held the heavy wooden door open for her. Katie shrugged and stepped into the room.
“Beats me, he obviously has something on his mind.” She said, walking into the large wooden bar which curved along the back of the circular room. “Can I have…” she trailed off as she spotted the TV on the wall behind the bar tender, which was programmed to the BBC news.
Her eyes widened and she felt Sam stiffen besides her.
“Is this…is this live?” She asked the guy who was waiting to serve them. He nodded. “Can you turn the volume up?”
He nodded again and obliged.
“…at the moment we know that over 70 people have been injured and that number is rising. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda’s King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations.”
Katie swallowed as the picture of the suspect flashed across the screen. It looked like Bucky alright.
“Shit.” Sam said, from behind her.
“Go, get Steve.” She urged, “I need to call Tony.”
*****
“My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting, but, um, not Aunt Peggy. She bought me my first thigh holster.” Sharon smiled as they walked through the lobby.
“Very practical.” Steve nodded.
“And stylish.” Sharon smiled as she stopped by the elevator, pressing the call button before she turned to look at Steve.
“CIA has you stationed over here now?”
“In Berlin, Joint Terrorism Task Force.”
“Right. Right.” Steve nodded. “Sounds fun.”
“I know, right?” Sharon chuckled.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Steve took a deep breath, finally voicing what was on his mind. “When you were spying on me from across the hall…”
“You mean when I was doing my job?” Sharon interrupted but Steve ignored her.
“Did Peggy know?”
Sharon considered him for a moment, before she let out a gentle sigh.
“She kept so many secrets. I didn’t want her to have one from you.” Sharon lay her hand on his arm, and Steve felt the weight lift off his shoulders. He had been so scared that Peggy had been lying to him for the past few years, to hear that she hadn’t was a relief.
“Thanks for walking me back.” Sharon nodded to the elevator “Tell Katie and Sam I’m grateful.”
She moved to give Steve a hug, and he obliged, but the broke apart when they both heard footsteps running towards them.
“Steve…you gotta see this.” Sam urged and Steve frowned, looking at him, before he spotted Katie running into the lobby, and looking round.
He moved instantly towards her, and she spotted him, hurrying straight towards him.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” He asked, his hands gently curling round her upper arms.
“There’s been a bomb in Vienna.” She explained, taking a deep breath. “A deliberate attack on the signing ceremony.”
Steve felt himself grow cold. “Is everyone okay?”
“I got through to Tony and they’re all safe but the King of Wakanda. He’s dead, Steve” Katie took a deep breath. “And…” She trailed off licking her lips as she took a deep breath.
“Katie, what is it?” Steve’s voice wasn’t unkind but it was firm as he looked at her, and she threw her head back, looking at the ceiling for a moment before, with a monumental effort, she looked back at him, swallowing deeply.
“It’s Bucky, Steve.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “It looks like he’s responsible.”
**** Chapter 30
**Original Posting**
#stark spangled banner#steve rogers#Katie Stark#steve rogers fanfiction#steve rogers x ofc#steve rogers x original female character#steve rogers fic#mcu#mcu fanfic#chris evans#chris evans characters
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Action Comics #1023 Review
“The House of Kent: Part 2″
Action Comics #1022 “House of Kent: Part 1″ Review
Hoo-boy.
I actually appreciate this recap page, I really do, but it just rubs me the wrong way. I’m not sure if it’s the content of the recap that pisses me off or if it’s for the fact that they literally just took a page from the previous issue and slapped in some new dialogue (see Bendis’ Man of Steel mini for this to be taken to the extreme).
Most likely the latter, but there’s a good argument for the former because reading objective statements about what Bendis has done tends to do that. I guess what they could be going for is for something similar to when Svengoolie comes back from commercial break and it’s a still from the movie with Sven’s face superimposed somewhere and he makes a quip about the movie before it starts back up again.
But I digress. It fills me in on what’s been happening in the book and that’s what I needed it to do.
The art really goes down in quality since last issue. Romita, Jr.’s pencils aren’t as good, Janson’s inks are heavier and a lot more boring, and Anderson’s colors are bland and flat and not as lively. There are a few good spots and I’ll point them out, but they’re infrequent, and overall, the quality of the art is much more similar to the art in the Metropolis Doom arc than it is to last issue. This leads me to believe that editorial only gave the art team enough time over the pandemic-induced break in publishing to produce one good issue before forcing them back into a deadline where Romita, Jr.’s work is not as good and tends to suffer.
Red Cloud attacks and attempts to kill Jimmy Olsen instead of Lois Lane to send an even greater message to her and Clark.
For those of you that don’t know, the Invisible Mafia speak in code to avoid detection by Superman’s super-hearing and meet in areas surround by lead to hide from his supervision. In the beginning of this confrontation, no one says anything that Superman would respond to if he hasn’t already tuned it out, which is why Lois says out loud her nickname for her husband to get his attention.
It’s a sign of affection for them and could be utilized for such a scenario, but I don’t see why she had to say his nickname over anything else to get his attention. Maybe because since he revealed his identity to the world his real name is being said a lot more often in non-criminal ways, so he doesn’t respond to it as much as he has in the past. I’m not sure if I’m trying to come up with a rational excuse for what is actually a writer’s weird and out-of-character creative choice or if it’s what an actually competent writer intended for a discerning reader to infer and get joy from a successful analysis.
Regardless, it’s what got Superman’s attention at the end of Superman segment in the last issue. I don’t think what was supposed to be conveyed with those panels last issue was accurately conveyed by the art. Either Romita, Jr. didn’t sufficiently depict (but still beautifully rendered) what Bendis had directed him to draw, or Bendis had poorly directed Romita, Jr. in what he wanted him to draw. With this added context, however, these panels do make a lot more sense, but only with the added context. Without it, the scene is a little unclear.
You can clearly see the change in art with the two issues side by side like this. This issue, the art just doesn’t look as good. It’s just kinda blegh. It accomplishes what it needs to convey the story, but in a very boring and unspectacular way.
Also, this panel is very Harry Potter to me. Superman’s more subdued face is similar to that of book!Dumbledore in Goblet of Fire, but the almost hyperbolic dialogue is more akin to that of movie!Dumbledore. It’s very dissonant.
I really want to hate the humor of this panel, but it’s just so fun, so I won’t.
This is a really cool panel, one of the few standout moments, but I have issues.
First, I may have enjoyed the humor in the last panel, but Bendis’ attempt at humor with Jon here just makes me want to cringe. Whenever Bendis makes Jon talk, it just pisses me off and makes me want to stop reading.
Second, I see what they were going for with the glowing eyes, but this is some more of that dissonance between the art and the writing. It actually looks quite menacing, but the dialogue has a more humorous tone. Also, the actual effect for the glow is just two red circles, making their eyes look more like flashlights than radiating energy. I also want you to keep this moment in the back of your minds, I’ll refer back to it in a second.
I think the dissonance is the result of the Bendis-speak, where some of the characters are quippy, but other characters are playing the situation straight and are reacting accordingly to the incorrect behavior. There’s nothing wrong with a superhero comic being light-hearted, but it just doesn’t quite fit here. All the right ingredients are present, but they’re not all in the right proportions.
Another panel I really like. The smoke and its color are really well done, especially in contrast to the all black silhouettes except for their back logos of the Supers.
The eye glow effect looks much better here. It’s simple yet powerful.
I don’t know how important this revelation is actually supposed to be, so I’ll defer to the depiction of the comic instead of playing the fool and acting upset about something I’m ignorant about simply because I’m not a fan of the writer.
This moment is cool and all, but I don’t think Conner has super-breath. He doesn’t actually have the powers of Superman, he uses his tactile telekinesis to mimic some of the powers of Superman.
The “extreme high-velocity super-speed” was this issue’s first indication that Bendis might not know anything about this character he has stewardship over, but that can just be chalked up to Superman not remembering the powers of Conner. We don’t know the upper limit of Conner’s tactile telekinetic flight, nor should we care, it’s supposed to be a fun line.
The second indication is that Conner is shown to have heat vision when his eyes glow alongside Clark and Jon’s. He only has heat vision when he wears special goggles or a visor. Again, he doesn’t have all the powers of Superman. Tactile telekinesis only covers so much of Superman’s powers. But this can be forgiven because it is a pretty cool image.
“Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Third Time Is A Pattern.” This panel is the third instance of Bendis’ lack of understanding of Conner’s character. If this was the only instance, this would be fine, but it’s not. The moment is cool, but it’s a bridge too far.
Refer to my review of the first issue for more of Bendis not knowing anything about Conner.
EDIT: Thanks to @thebartallenblog for pointing out to me that Conner does in fact start developing more Kryptonian powers outside of his tactile telekinesis in the 2003 Teen Titans book by Geoff Johns, so Bendis does in fact know more about the character than I give him credit for, which is more than I can say for myself in this instance.
Also, this moment goes on for way too long, almost two entire pages. Beautiful, the art of decompression and wasting reader’s time and money.
“Should I super-inhale?” Shut up, Bendis.
Also, why is Red Cloud is so fixated on Superman’s family instead of just Superman. Does the Invisible Mafia have something against his family as well? It was my understanding that they have it out for him specifically, anything that is ancillary to him is extraneous and not worth their time.
“Hey! It’s not my favorite super-move on a good day.” Then why the fuck did you even make him suggest it, Bendis?
I don’t know if loved ones referring to Lois as Ma is something Bendis has been trying to push as a character quirk or if it’s some sort of weird one-off. Either way, I don’t like it. It’s not bad in of itself, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not my thing and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Again, I’m not sure how significant Jimmy figuring out Red Cloud's identity is supposed to be to the plot and the narrative, but this seems to be a bit of lampshading from a writer who literally has no right to be lampshading.
Couldn’t give a shit about the plot, I’m just here to nitpick. Next.
Feels a bit janky in the art department, but the dialogue is surprisingly in character. They all feel like they have their actual voices. It’s a nice little moment.
I would address all the instances of Bendis making Jon talk, but that would make this longer than it already is, so I’ll only do it when it’s particularly egregious.
Red Cloud comes back and attacks not!Jon and I couldn’t care less. Kill the bitch. Please.
The next two pages are a lot of nothing, just a boat load of Bendis-speak.
I’m pretty sure this played out a lot differently and more humorously in Bendis’ head when he wrote it down and Romita, Jr.’s art makes it all the more funny but for all the wrong reasons.
Who’s his partner? Officer Tomasi?
You know when I said that one panel with Lois, Clark, and Jimmy was written really in-character? This panel with Conner and Jon is the exact opposite of that.
Red Cloud and Ms. Leone have a fun back and forth for two pages. It’s a good example of Bendis-speak working well.
“Black Label Club?” One meta-reference is enough, but two is stupid. I actaully feel a little conflicted nitpicking this, but Black Label is in such a weird place right now, so why reference it?
But “Clark Kent walked into a bar...” is a pretty bad ass line, very John Wick.
A very cool sequence, but it’s full of Bendis-speak and very decompressed.
Why the fake-out of the Superfamily executing a gangland-style shooting with Jon being the one pulling the trigger? I get it’s a story beat the narrative is supposed to hit, but still.
The reveal is pretty funny, shrinking the club, so it’s a little forgivable, but the set up and the pay off don’t quite match. It’s just another example of that dissonance I’ve been mentioning.
I know that “supersons” line was put there by Bendis as a deliberate dig at his detractors, so I’m not going to take the bait and get pissed. Nice try, big guy.
All in all, this issue was not as bad as I initially thought. It’s series of some really big highs and lows.
#superman#superboy#conner kent#jon kent#lois lane#jimmy olsen#red cloud#robinson goode#ms. leone#invisible mafia#brainiac 5#clark kent#action comics#brian michael bendis
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Top 10 Niche Interests
Fixations? Obsessions? This is incredibly hard because I have wayyyy too many niche interests, so instead of stressing about it, I tried to channel the 10 things that immediately speak to me and maybe aren't so obvious from what I post here, like how much I'm obsessed with wigs, doll furniture, incredibly specific blogs, all forms of clothing with pockets, swimming pools, whimsical bus stops, over-the-top bathrooms, etc. etc Instead, I opted for some specifics that feel a little more evergreen and long tailed, like, so LIFE-long tailed that it's tough to nail down when or how they became part of the national psyche. I thank @alienfuckeronmain for the initial tag, and I'm tagging her AGAIN for round two because I know she has a billion additional niche things, and she'll post them, and I'll scream because it'll trigger five other things I neglected to post here, and I'll probably post my own round two, arggggh, insert aggressive sighing. Anyway, I tag ANYONE who wants to do it, just tag me so I can see!
1. Indoor Trees
I have no idea why this concept PULLS so hard because houseplants are kind of meh to me, but you want to plant an entire-ass TREE indoors, in the place where you live? Me, too, and I'd add a conversation pit plus a combo gold/red bathroom, among other things, and, bam, we're in my imaginary dream home, which I have literally, constantly ALWAYS mentally constructed from the time I was about six or so. (If you're curious, it has multiple themed rooms, and the closest I've seen to it recently is the outstanding Dita von Teese AD feature, but Amy Sedaris’s apartment comes close, too). There are two (2) 1960s houses in Long Beach with magnificent indoor trees, but I can't find them online, so have this modern interpretation and cry with me about how I can't visit the multi-story fake tree inside Clifton's Cafeteria for a good long while:
2. Conventions of Fans of Any Kind
One thing that I don't think I'll ever lose is how much I *love* people who are fans of SOMETHING, people who have a passion and create something about it or cosplay it or simply gather to celebrate it and connect to other people through it. The Internet provides in all kinds of ways, but I'm talking specifically about IRL conventions and the way my heart pitter pats when I first walk in those doors, SWOON! And it doesn’t matter how big the convention is or how random, I've been to smaller events like CatCon and the My Little Pony convention all the way up to biggies like WonderCon and Comic Con, and I have yet to be disappointed. I might know jack shit about what I'm walking into, but I want to see the merch, hear about the panels, and check out the people who are fucking PUMPED to be there. Sadly, I think it's gonna be a lonnnnng time until these come back, but I can live vicariously through my old photos, sigh:
3. Dutch Wax Fabrics and African Fashion
I'm not the snazziest of dressers, but textiles, colors, and patterns have been an obsession that has soothed my visual soul for as long as I can literally remember. Wax fabric marries all three of those touchpoints, plus throws in a healthy dose of style, and I count myself lucky to have seen two big exhibits on the subject (this was one of them), oh, how I wish there were more! For sure, there's a fucked up underlying colonial/imperialist history here, but there's also humor and color and vibrancy, a reclamation of sorts, and multiple levels of fashion that take my breath away. I cannot do the different patterns justice at all, but the fan motif is one of my faves:
4. Hearst Castle vs. Madonna inn
These two fall into my #home tag because they're where I'm from, and they speak to me as equally sublime and ridiculous, camp and kitsch writ large and small, different (yet similar!) versions of Xanadu that two rich white men built as shrines to their own personal "taste." And the irony is that a lot of people shit on Alex Madonna for being tacky (the Madonna Inn is...uh, something else), yet praise WR Hearst for all the high-class art and architecture, most of which is fully lifted from desperate churches between and after world and yet they're both more or less the same concept (lodging for weary travelers, self-aggrandizement, questionable taste-mixing). Hearst Castle edges out slightly for me because it's bigger and has spectacular scenery and history, plus it gives me doses of LA noir thanks to the way Hearst killed a guy in a jealous Charlie Chaplin-related rage and Hedda Hopper covered it up, all kinds of old Hollywood shenanigans happened up there, etc. But I'm low-key an expert on both houses of the holy, I'm OBSESSED with both, and we can leave it at that. I mean, come on:
5. Snow Globes
I had to cull my personal collection slightly just to fit it all on the dedicated shelf in my bathroom, and I seriously need to refill all the water lines, but nothing beats a snow globe in terms of memorable souvenir, especially when you put it in a bathroom. The majesty!!! The jewel of my collection is the one from Sherwood Forest because WHY NOT celebrate a historic place and moment in the basic way?? He robbed from the rich to give to the poor, and the gift shop about 100 feet from the tree he hid in does the same! The circle of life! The irony of all the watermarks on this blessed image...protect:
6. Highly Specific Museums
Look, we can all agree that the more venerated museums in the world are a form of garbage in terms of what they represent, what they've done, and who runs them, but I'm here for the museums that collect and celebrate things that tend to get overlooked. There are too many to list that I love that are still thriving, so I'm going to say goodbye to four recently departed faves. RIP to the Pez museum, I'm so glad I saw you and purchased your stale candy souvenirs. RIP to the museum of terrible food, you were a pop up when Phoenix and I saw you, and I will forever think about the worker describing people literally vomiting during their visits. RIP to the currywurst museum in Berlin, I've had currywurst exactly once and it was not for me, but I respect the Journey you took me on, including obscure east German TV shows that helped make you so popular (??). Finally, RIP to the velvet painting museum, there's no way to mince words, the person who owned you was crazy AS FUCK and had zero clue how to run a business, but I'm so glad I saw you multiple times and purchased my own velvet treasure (not this exact one, but remarkably similar):
7. Liminal Spaces: Grocery Store Edition
Confession time for those who don't know me all that well, I'm a big time voyeur, and nothing fills my heart with joy like a walk at 7 or 8 pm, the witching hour when people haven't pulled the curtains, and I can scope out their decorations/furnishings without it being "weird." Another confession is how much I unabashedly adore grocery stores in other countries and will spend at least an hour wandering aisle by aisle, falling in love with how much everything is different yet completely the same:
8. Agatha Christie Novels:
As a child, I was a fairly compliant reader--I had to read something for school? Okay! For my mom? Sounds good! But the books that sparked the initial fire for me to read something purely for myself were second-hand (probably fourth- or fifth-hand, judging by cover art) Agatha Christie short story anthologies, which were the gateway drug to full Agatha Christie novels, then other mystery novels, and so on. But getting back to Agatha, I obviously loved all the stories, but every decade spawned incredibly good cover art (like, exceptionally good), and this particular artist's are right up near the top for me (I go back and forth on a lot of the '50s and '60s ones):
9. Scopitones
I link my obsession with scopitones both to my love of music videos in general and a shop in Austin, TX, that sold DVD compilations of them in particular, but either way, they're underappreciated and kitschy all in one! Francoise Hardy and the rest of the ye-ye's are my forever girls for this medium, but seemingly every country cranked them out, both actual set videos and "live" performances? If you don't know what they are, scopitones were machines that played music videos in French cafes in the '60s (??), so it was sort of your proto-MTV way to see your faves sing and dance. Oh, Francoise...so moderne!!
10. Cover Songs
I have so much patience and love for cover songs of any stripe, the more genre-bending and/or surprising, the better! My only minor beef is the trend in slooooooooowing down songs to make a point, but even those ones have a special place in my heart if they're effective. Live Lounge feeds my hunger the best, but my meta fave for representing this concept is Pulp's Bad Cover Version, which was already lyrically INSPIRED, a song about bad cover versions in terms of relationships, but then they did a video that was a visual "bad" cover version, with actors lip synching over an audio "bad" cover version, and all of it just worked? The cover for the single is someone in the band as a boy, making his own bad cover version of a Bowie album cover, it's meta meta meta, and I love love love, here's the video, if you're curious. In the more sublime cover category, I'm absolutely addicted to all of Orville Peck's covers, I truly hope he officially releases them sometime soon, but I wholeheartedly support any artist who does it:
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You’ll never walk alone
Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin !!!!
I said it before in my previous post (here), but I’ll say it one million times again:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You’re one of my closest friends here and I love you so so so much!!
I know we’re living a hard, difficult world right now, but I hope you can find a way to enjoy your Birthday the way you deserve it!
Warnings: SMUT (that I know of, but I’m sure someone who’s really motivated can find something else 🤷🏽♀️.)
A/N: This is an AU but it takes place somewhere during the social season.
I hope this covers everything you were asking for. It has a slow burn, your favorite soccer team and a bit of Dublin because I know how much you were looking forward to go. DON’T WORRY, YOU’LL GO BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!
Word count: Euh… (coughs nervously) You asked for a slow burn so 7,000 words… `
PERMATAG: @burnsoslow @pedudley @mskaneko
Thank you to to the beautiful birthday girl ( @mskaneko ) for the beautiful edit in the mood board. To @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore for beta reading, and to @pedudley for reading and for the incredible mood board that closes this fic.
Alexis snuck out of the palace and called an Uber that took her to the local Irish pub in less than fifteen minutes.
The bar was a cozy place with large wooden panels, solid counters and Irish music.
She was about to sit on one of the stools when she felt someone’s eyes behind her, staring at her. She turned her head and there he was, Drake Walker sitting in a booth with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. He raised his glass towards her, trying to ignore the fact that his heart had skipped a beat when he had seen her.
After ordering a pint, she sat next to him with her usual perky attitude. “What are you doing out of you cabin in the woods, Walker?”
He squinted at her “The real question is what are you doing here, O’Brien? Out of the palace without a guard.”
She shrugged. “I wanted to watch the match, and I’m staying. You can take me back to the palace as soon as Barcelona kicks Liverpool’s ass”
God, she was exasperating. “Of course, you would be a Barcelona’s fanatic.”
“You mean the best club in the world?” She took off her leather jacket, she was wearing the famous blue and scarlet Barcelona’s shirt.
He growled. “You can’t sit with me wearing that.”
She gave him a flirtatious look. “Would you prefer if I took it off?”
Sometimes, he swore she was actively trying to torture him. He took her chin with his fingers fixing his piercing eyes on hers.
“You don’t want to play that game with me, O’Brien.” He said in a hoarse voice.
She swallowed hard, her heart beating furiously in her chest. When he finally tore his eyes away from her, she took a long sip of beer.
After a few silent minutes, she spoke. “I can’t believe you’re actually rooting for Liverpool. They haven’t won a Champions league in thirteen years.”
He growled. “I’m so sure we’re beating Barcelona tonight, that I bought tickets for the second leg.”
She sat on the booth cross-legged hugging a cushion. “You seem awfully confident that your team, a team that hasn’t win in ages, is going to beat the best team there is.” She gave him a confident smile. “Want to bet?”
“The best team…?” He shook his head. “What do you want to bet?”
“If Barcelona wins tonight, you give me your semi-final tickets.”
He raised his hands shocked. “Are you crazy, do you know how much I paid for those tickets?”
She reached for his arm and squeezed it with a fake empathic expression on her face. “Don’t worry, Drake if I were rooting for such losers, I wouldn’t want to bet the tickets either.”
He considered her proposal for a minute, well aware that she was provoking him on purpose, but he just couldn’t back out when she was challenging him. “I’m in, but if you lose you have to get me tickets for next year’s matches. All the matches.” He saw her stunned expression, so he added irritated. “You’ll be queen next year O’Brien, it’d be easy for you to get them.”
She didn’t know why but it really bothered her that he would assume she was going to accept Liam’s proposal. She reached for his hand anyway. “Deal, Walker.”
For the next two hours they sat next to each other, drinking and bickering playfully. In the halftime he challenged her to a game of darts, she wasn’t bad at all, and she certainly looked extremely cute when she concentrated but he beat her easily, reaching 501 points in ten minutes.
However, at the end of the second half of the match, he was seriously pissed, not only he had lost his precious semi-final tickets, but he also had to put up with her cocky attitude while she celebrated Barcelona’s victory.
After a while of singing and cheering with a group of Spaniards, she came back to the table, ecstatic, and extended her hand towards him pointing at her palm. “The tickets, Walker.”
He groaned “Do you think I carry them with me all the time, O’Brien? I’ll give them to you at the palace.”
She laughed truly enjoying her victory. “So grumpy! I didn’t know you were such a sore loser, Drake. I’ll go get another pint. What are you drinking?”
He rolled his eyes. “Dalmore, fifteen years. Just tell them to put it on my tab. I come here often.”
She mimicked a fake surprise. “That’s so shocking!”
He laughed in spite of himself. She added playfully. “And Dalmore, eh? Being a veterinarian definitely pays.”
He smirked shrugging “I don’t need much, O’Brien, but I definitely need good whiskey. How do you know Dalmore?”
“My grandpa loved whiskey. Especially that one.” Her eyes watered thinking about her grandfather but she shook her head to chase the tears.
Drake saw her eyes and his heart tightened; he raised his hand to stroke her cheek, but squeezed her shoulder instead, pouring his eyes into hers to make her feel comforted without words.
It worked because she gave him a small smile, he had rolled his sleeves, so she rubbed his forearm with her fingers softly, almost tenderly, making him crazy. Why did she have to make it so fucking difficult being close to her? He stood up.
“We better leave, Obrien. It’s late and tomorrow we have to travel to Applewood.”
She didn’t want the night to end. For a minute she allowed herself to think about the life she would have had with Drake if they were a couple, if she had met him alone. If she hadn’t been so stupid to be blindsided by Liam’s charm, but when he abruptly stood up, she understood. He didn’t feel the same about her. She had to forget her stupid crush and move on.
They drove back in silence, both of them embarrassed, both of them hurt and filled with unspoken feelings.
The next day, Alexis felt much better. She had drunk too much the previous night and the alcohol had put crazy ideas in her head. It was clear that Drake only saw her as an annoying friend, so she would do the same.
Liam was different, even if the little spark that had initiated at the Statue of Liberty hadn’t become the fire she was hoping for, he was there for her. He had been clear about his feelings for her. Maybe love wasn’t the crazy passion she thought. Maybe love was calm, peaceful and reliable.
Or maybe she just needed to think for a few days, put some distance between her and that stupid competition. She thought about the football tickets she had won. She was definitely going to that semi-final, Drake, Liam and royal court be damned.
She knew Liam would be having breakfast in the main hall, so she went looking for him. She entered the hall and stopped in her tracks. Liam was having breakfast, but he wasn’t alone.
She cleared her throat. “Hi guys!”
Liam’s face lit up seeing her. “Lady Alexis. Good morning.”
Drake gestured a quick hello with his hand and turned back to reading his paper.
Mr. Polite as usual. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Li. I want to leave the court for a few days. I’m going to England for the semi-finals of the Champions league”
Liam stopped eating and looked at her puzzled. “That’s in two weeks from now, Alexis. The coronation is in less than three weeks. I would’ve expected that you wanted to be here.”
“Yes! Of course, Li. It’s only for a couple days. England is four hours away. I just want to watch the match. It’s… important for me”
Liam was uncomfortable, he didn’t want her to leave. Even if he couldn’t tell her yet, he had decided he was going to choose her as his queen. And her place was there with him not at some dumb football competition. “Where did you even get the tickets?”
Drake took his head out of the paper. “we made a bet and she won them from me.”
Liam grinned “I told you Liverpool was going to lose, Drake. You have to pick a winner’s team.” He turned to Alexis, speaking to her in a soft voice. “As a suitor and especially as the woman I care about, I-.”
Drake stood up so fast, he almost spilled his coffee. “I don’t think I should be part of this conversation.”
Liam raised his hand. “Actually, Drake, yes. Stay. I was going to say that I care very deeply about you, Alexis. I can’t let you go alone because you’re a member of the royal court, you’ll need protection. Unfortunately, I can’t spare any guards right now, but if Drake accepts, he can go with you. He has trained with Bastien plenty of times and can assure your protection.”
Drake couldn’t allow that. Last night, he had barely slept thinking about her. Two days abroad and he’d go crazy. “I can’t. I have a lot of things planned for that week, Li. I’m sorry.”
Liam squinted at him, puzzled. “You were going to go to the semi-finals anyway, that’s why you bought the tickets.”
Fuck! “Yes, but as Alexis won them, I made new appointments.” He was a terrible liar.
Alexis saw through it. “I don’t need a glorified, grumpy baby-sitter, Liam. Thank you very much.”
“I’m sorry, Alexis, but you’re under the crown’s protection until the end of the Social season. I can’t let you go without a guard; it would be terribly irresponsible from me.” He had made up his mind, and she had to start to get used to the fact that a future queen had responsibilities and responded to him.
Alexis was fuming, she was seriously considering quitting her role as a suitor when Drake spoke seeing how much she wanted to go. “It’s fine, I’ll go with her.” He smirked at her “In exchange of the other ticket.”
Liam started to regret his offer. “I really think it’s better if you stay here, lady Alexis.”
She shook her head. She was going to go, no matter what and as she didn’t need the second ticket anyway, she accepted, strangely happy. “The second ticket is yours, Drake! I have to go get ready to bake an apple pie for the competition.” Before leaving the room, she turned to grin at Drake. “And thank you.” He felt his heart warming up with her smile.
After breakfast, Drake went to the stables. He needed a good day of intense work to forget the stupidest deal he had ever accepted.
It was already difficult to be around her and pretend to be only her friend when they were surrounded by the other suitors and the madness of the social season. Now, he was going to have her all for himself for two days. He shook his head at his own stupidity. She wasn’t there for him and she never would be. She was there vying for Liam’s hand. Liam, his best friend the king. The same man offering her a whole kingdom.
The truth was that Drake had never been jealous of Liam before. He had a good life, a life he enjoyed. He was passionate about his job and excelled at it. He was free to go fishing, hiking or drink a whiskey in a pub whenever he wanted. It was a life that he had been able to choose for himself unlike Liam who would have to lead the imposed life of a king. So, no, he had never been jealous of his best friend before Alexis O’Brien had arrived in the court. And now, every time Liam so much as looked at her, he wanted to punch him in the face. He definitely shouldn’t have accepted to take her to Liverpool.
Shaking his head, he put on his white coat and his rubber boots and went to check up on Mirabelle.
The next few days he tried to avoid her as much as he could, he had convinced himself that he only needed a little distance, a little space and whatever he was feeling, would naturally go away and they would be able to go together to Liverpool as friends.
A few nights before leaving, he saw her coming out of the palace and walk towards the maze only dressed in a big sweater and some sort of pajama shorts. He debated with himself, but in an impulse, he decided to go after her, just to make sure she was fine.
When he approached the center of the maze, he saw her, and his heart tugged. She was sitting on a bench with her knees up, her head buried in them, clearly crying. He sat next to her, and silently rubbed her back, soothing her. Slowly her sobs stopped, he leaned towards her and cupped her face turning her face to him.
“Do you want to talk about it, Lexie?”
Her heart jumped in her chest. He had never called her anything else besides O’Brien before. She knew she could open up to him. “My grandfather, Noah, died exactly one year ago of a heart attack. I really miss him.”
“I’m sorry, O’Brien” his heart broke seeing her so sad “Come here.” He opened his arms and she snuggled against him.
“He and granny practically raised me. He arrived in the States when he was twenty-two years old, but he never lost his accent” She smiled. “He used to call me his little ‘stor’. It means treasure in Irish... He’s …was the bravest man, I’ve ever met.”
He smiled down at her and brushed her cheek with his thumb to wipe a falling tear. “And most importantly he loved Dalmore whiskey.”
She laughed through her tears. “Yes, almost as much as he loved granny. His dream was to come back to Dublin with me and show me Trinity College where he went to school. He said that I would love the library there.” She brushed another tear. “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess.”
“Shh, I got you, it’s okay. It’s okay, O’Brien” He hugged her tighter “You never have to apologize to me for how you feel.” He had never held her so closely. Her cherry scent was intoxicating, “I always be here for you. I promise.”
She looked at him hurt. “Like you had been these past weeks?”
He shook his head. “I’m just giving you and Liam some space, O’Brien. We’re only friends and he deserves you”
She stood up trembling with fury. “I’m not a fucking prize either of you gets because you deserve it. Don’t you want to be with me?” He didn’t answer, so she insisted. “I think you feel something for me, Drake.” She waited for an answer that never came, he couldn’t tell her anything without betraying his best friend, plus, she was sad and confused and he wasn’t going to take advantage of it. “Got it. See you at the plane. Good night.” She stormed out leaving Drake more confused than ever.
Three days later, they were ready to leave for Liverpool, Liam had insisted in lending them his private plane so they could come back directly after the match. He wanted her back fast. Drake had required to leave for Liverpool one day earlier because he had business to attend at Kentwood stables, one of Liam’s horse dealers in England.
Alexis installed herself in one of the leather seats when she saw Drake talk to the pilot.
“What was that about, Drake?”
He shrugged “I have no idea what you’re talking about, O’Brien.” He took out a deck of cards from his bag. “Poker?” He wiggled his eyebrows adorably.
She grinned mischievously. “If you don’t mind losing.”
He observed her expression and smirked, she seemed relaxed and happy as he hadn’t seen in her for a long time.
They played the whole flight to Liverpool, teasing each other, Drake was great at poker, but Alexis used to play all the time in college, so they won two games each.
He smiled cockily. “Don’t worry, O’Brien. I’ll beat you later, I was just warming up”
She rolled her eyes playfully “Yeah, suuure.”
When they got off the plane, she saw Drake talking to the pilot again. She waited with her bag for a car to pick them up from the private tarmac, but Drake shook his head.
“Come on, O’Brien. We need to catch a bus to go to the city center.”
She was happy to do something normal for once, but it was unusual. “No car to pick us up?”
He beamed, he didn’t do it often but when he did he looked so handsome it actually made her knees weak. “Not today, come on”
She followed him through the terminal, not paying much attention. When they exited the building, she turned her head and saw a big sign on the top the airport:
“Welcome to Dublin”
She stopped in her tracks, incapable to move for a second. Drake stood next to her waiting for her reaction.
When she finally spoke, she had a small lump in her throat. “How did you do? I- d” Without thinking about it, she threw her arms around his neck pulling him for a hug. He pulled her against him too, allowing himself to enjoy a few seconds of closeness with her, inhaling her shampoo, feeling her against him. When she pulled away her eyes were brighter than usual “Thank you Drake.”
His raised his hands. “Hey, I have entirely selfish motives. A friend told me about this distillery where they supposedly have great whiskey.”
They went to the B&B where Drake had booked two rooms, a cozy, small place called The Blackrock. It was perfect, the lobby was full of books with a lit fireplace and the lady at the reception was warm and kind.
Before leaving, Alexis decided to change her clothes, she had woken up too early and had lazily thrown a pair of jeans and Converses on.
It was a sunny day in May, but they were in Dublin and it was relatively cold. She decided to wear a red, short sweater dress with a V neck, a pair of tights and her Doc Martens. She put on some black eyeliner, a touch of gloss, and sprayed her Lost Cherry perfume, on her wrists and neck. She felt giddy and nervous to spend the day with him. After a last look in the mirror she took her leather jacket and went downstairs.
She waited at the lobby sitting next to the fireplace, Drake had told her that he needed to make some calls to the Veterinary clinic at the Palace. It made her smile how much he loved his job. How much he cared about it.
Drake saw her as soon as he came down the stairs but waited for her to see him, before announcing himself. At the risk of sounding like a stalker, he wanted to watch her for a few seconds, he spent so much time trying to hide whatever it was she stirred up in him that he never let himself just admire her. She was incredibly beautiful, but it was the energy she irradiated that made his heart stop every time he looked at her. He shook his head; he was quickly approaching a very dangerous territory.
He cleared his throat “I see you’re warming up by the fire.”
She grinned. A true smile, just for him. “I was waiting for you, but I’m ready to go. Do you have anything planned?”
He gave her a conspiratorial smile. “I have some things in mind. Do you trust me?”
She couldn’t help the earnest look in her eyes, when she answered. “Totally.”
They decided to walk, it was a long stroll, but they wanted to make the most of their time there. She pulled her camera out of her huge handbag and took pictures of everything she could. She loved the vibe of the city open and colorful. Everyone seemed relaxed and stress free. Even Drake. She succeeded to take two shots of him when he wasn’t looking.
He knew he only had two days with her. He was trying really hard to keep his thoughts at bay but just the way she looked at everything and the joy she transpired while they explored the city was enough to make him forget his good resolutions.
He remembered the conversation he had had with Liam the day before. They had been drinking at his office when Liam had suddenly told him that he regretted having authorized the trip.
“What do you mean?
“I thought you were my friend, and maybe you still are, but I saw you in the maze last night, Drake. You were holding her.” Seeing that his friend was about to talk, he raised his hand “Just remember who she belongs to.”
Drake felt a rush of anger, his fists immediately balling. “She doesn’t belong to anyone, Liam. She can do whatever she wants. Last night she was sad, that’s all.”
“It may be, but just in case, remember that she’s here for me. She deserves the world, she deserves to be a queen, Drake. My queen.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Liam was right, she deserved the world and more, so he’d have to settle with being his friend.
They had been walking more than an hour, when they saw an imposing grey building. She screamed with excitement, recognizing it immediately. Her grandfather had showed her hundreds of pictures of it while he talked about his younger years in Dublin.
He was touched to see her eyes watering at its sight but didn’t dare to do anything else but stroke her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Aww, O’Brien. Come on, let’s see that library”
They were both amazed as soon as they entered the famous Long Room. It was majestic. The sight was imposing, high wooden ceilings and walls, millions of ancient books covering the shelves, and infinite rows of marble busts honoring the greatest writers and philosophers of history.
They looked together for Jonathan Swift, Noah’s favorite writer, while Alexis told him anecdotes of her childhood, and how he used to read her ‘Gulliver’s travels’ before bed. She seemed nostalgic but happy to remember him.
“He was a great man, O’Brien. And even if I didn’t know him, I’m sure he would be very proud of you.”
She sighed. “I don’t know… I think he definitely would’ve disapproved of the idea of me competing for a prince’s hand.”
Drake looked at her intently trying to figure out how she felt about it, he knew she was in love with Liam, but at the same time he couldn’t deny that there was something else going on between the two of them, something undefined and powerful.
After seeing the Book of Kells, they spent the rest of the day exploring the city. They took pictures next to Molly Malone, ordered a Fish and chips at Presto’s, and got lost in the Jaime’s Joyce museum.
Alexis bought a colorful painting portraying the famous Dublin doors, and Drake got his wish of visiting the Roe & Coe Distillery where he felt like a little boy in a candy store. It was a perfect day. Both of them yearned for it to last, but neither of them took a step towards the other.
They want out of the distillery slightly drunk, laughing like crazy. “Last stop ‘The workman’s bar’, O’Brien. Maxwell recommended it.” He grinned, she had never seen him so happy, so relaxed. What she’do to kiss those dimples. “I’m dying to show you the Temple Bar area. Come on!” He added when he saw she was lost in her thoughts.
The pub was packed, they had trouble finding a table but after a few minutes they found one close to the stage.
He asked for their drinks, two double whiskeys. She gulped hers.
“Easy O’Brien, this is not a competition” He beamed, again, she was almost getting used to it.
She looked at him with fire in her eyes. “I can do whatever I want tonight. And I want to drink. Oh, I know! Let’s play a drinking game!” She beamed.
“You want to play a drinking game, against me O’Brien?” He arched his brows “Are you sure?”
She gave him a devilishly smile, just what he needed to go insane. “I’m not playing, Walker, I’m winning”
He chuckled “You’re such a cocky ass. Let’s see that” His phone rang, it was the clinic. “Just a sec, O’Brien. I’ll take this outside.”
When he came back, he saw her talking with one of the guys from the table next to hers. He cut the distance between them as fast as he could. When the guy saw Drake sit next to her clearly angry, he babbled a quick good night and left as fast as he could.
She witnessed his behavior extremely annoyed. He had been clear, he only wanted to be her friend. So why did he behave like that?
“What the fuck, Drake? Why are you so angry?” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Are you jealous?”
He was tired too, tired of wanting her so badly, tired of months watching her from the distance, tired of pretending he felt nothing for her, when he couldn’t think about anything else. He fixed his eyes on her. “Like crazy.”
She leaned to kiss him, but Liam was in there, present between the two of them. He cupped her face. “We can’t O’Brien. You love him, I know that.”
She shook her head. How was it possible that someone that knew her so perfectly well, that could almost see through her soul was so incapable of reading her true feelings. “Forget it, Drake. It’s fine.”
He heard the hurt in her voice and started to wonder if maybe, only maybe, she felt…something for him.
They sat in silence until someone stood up on the stage and began to sing ‘Hey, Jude’ with a voice way off key.
“Fucking Maxwell, he recommeneded a karaoke bar!” He groaned but after a few more seconds of the singer torturing The Beatles they burst into laughs easing the tension. They played several games and talked about their childhoods and years of college. After several singers, the host of the evening called Alexis’s name.
She chuckled at his puzzled expression. “I wrote my name in the list when I went to the bathroom.” She stood up and went to the stage.
For the hundredth time that day, his mouth went dry just looking at her. She was so incredibly sexy that he couldn’t think straight. The red of her dress illuminated her face, making her black eyes darker, her full lips irresistible. The dress wasn’t tight but it was short so he could admire her long legs and thanks to the V neck, part of her cleavage. He was sure no one at that pub had seen anyone more beautiful or sexy than her. He smirked when the song started. She had chosen Marvin Gaye by Charlie Puth.
She began to slowly sway her hips with the rhythm of the song and started singing. He shook his head; Not only was she softly dancing, which was enough to push him over the edge, but he had heard her sing before and knew he was doomed. She had a low voice, sultry, soft. Like a moan.
We got this king size to ourselves
Don't have to share with no one else Don't keep your secrets to yourself It's karma sutra show and tell
She was slowly moving her hips and looking at him fixedly as she sang. He stared back, his black eyes looking at her so intently she felt like she was going to combust. He leaned against his seat, with the tumbler in his hand, licking his lips, savoring the moment as much as she was, letting his eyes tell her all the things he wanted to do to her.
You got to give it up to me
I'm screaming mercy, mercy please Just like they say it in the song Until the dawn, let's Marvin Gaye and get it on
She had chosen that song on purpose. Every time he heard her sing for mercy, he felt a twitch in his pants. Every time she moved her hips asking him to get lost with her until dawn, he was tempted to go on stage, take her and fuck her right there in the bathroom.
The applause took him out of his trance. He saw her approaching the table where they were seated. Fuck, he didn’t give a damn anymore, he wanted her, painfully, agonizingly. He left the money for the drinks on the table and intercepted her on her way to the table. He gripped her hand and led her outside. He had called an Uber but they had to wait for it. Except that Drake couldn’t wait another moment, he pressed her against the first wall he found and leaned towards her; whispering in her ear. “What are you doing, O’Brien? I told you not to play those games with me.”
She smiled biting her lip, and then shrugged “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He growled burying his nose in her neck, softly smelling her cherry scent; making her shiver “Fuck! You have no idea what you do to me, do you?”
Her heart couldn’t have beat faster. She felt like it was going to go out of her chest.
He fixed his eyes on her “If you want to scream for mercy, Lexie” He brushed her neck with his fingers, as his other hand stroked the small of her back and he kissed her earlobe. “I’ll make you scream all night.”
She was physically incapable to form words, so she nodded. A nod. All it took was soft movement of her head and hell broke loose. He placed his hand on her back and pulled her against him crashing his mouth with hers, caressing her face. He nipped her lips and let his hands wander through her body, desperate, impatient.
They arrived at her room fifteen minutes later, after a painfully long Uber ride.
She tried to open the door, but Drake was behind her, his arm around her waist, his lips on the nape of his neck. “Drake, god!”
Finally, she opened the door, and they almost stumbled inside. He was still behind her, still ravaging her neck. He took her by her waist and in easy movement turned her face to him kissing her lips again. They were better than he had imagined, with a sweet taste, soft and tender at his contact. He scooped her in his arms and took her to the bed. He stopped for a second to look at her. His goddess, gorgeous, with swollen lips and messy hair.
He smiled down on her “Are you sure you want this, O’Brien?” She nodded, lost in the sandalwood.
“I didn’t hear anything, Lexie”
“Yes, I’m sure” she panted.
He locked eyes with her as he put a strand of hair behind her ear “You better be, because if I make you mine tonight, I’ll never let you go again.” She nodded again, grabbing the back of his head to crash their lips again.
They took each other's clothes in desperate movements. “Fuck, Alexis you’re so damn gorgeous.”
He grabbed her from her waist and sat on the edge of the bed with her on his lap. She straddled him as his passionate kisses made her crazy. She threw her head back giving him full access to her breasts that he cupped kissing the spot where her jaw and neck connected, his thumbs slowly teasing her hard nipples. She moaned loudly.
“Drake, please”
Drake smiled against her neck “Are you asking for mercy, Lexie?” His question was joined by the movement of his right hand wandering through her body producing jolts of electricity everywhere he touched her, until he finally reached her core. He stroked her skin enjoying how soft she was, before circling the little nub inside of her with his thumb.
Drake growled “Fuck, Lexie, you’re so wet for me” He kept teasing her, touching everything bit of skin around her clit.
“God, Drake, you’re driving me crazy, please…” Drake’s finger suddenly entering her, not letting her finish.
“Is this what you want, Lexie?” He whispered to her ear. She nodded lazily too excited to answer. “Come for me” He slid another finger inside making her writhe against him, her breaths becoming shorter, and shorter as she clung to Drake’s back.
“Drake, I…I god Drake fuck!” She screamed when a powerful wave of heat ran across her body leaving her wasted.
Drake steadied her with his arms, stroking her back. He kissed the top of her head giving her time to recover.
“Fuck me, Drake”
He buried his mouth in her hair. “I told you I was going to make you scream for mercy.” He positioned himself with the tip of his dick rubbing her center “Look at me, O’Brien. I want to see your pretty face as I enter you”
She gasped and locked her eyes with him, her hands around his neck, his gaze piercing hers, as he entered her slowly, giving her time to adjust to him.
He growled again biting her shoulder. “Damn, Lexie you feel incredible baby, so fucking tight”
Drake didn’t know at what moment, but the energy of the room had shifted. He felt much more than a powerful lust for her. He wanted to have her, all of her, forever. They rocked their hips at the same pace, slowly at first but sooner increasing speed staring at each other as their movements became more passionate. He kissed her lips deeply, lost in her. They both felt a connection like neither of them had experienced before. He hit her spot several times making her moan his name over and over again. Without taking his eyes off of her, he stroked her clit as they both reached a point of no return.
“Drake!” She screamed his name yet again, as her muscles compressed around him. Feeling her come screaming his name pushed him over the edge, and he filled her completely.
They fell down on the bed, spent. He pulled her close to him and kissed her front.
“Are you staying?” His heart tugged at the vulnerability of her soft voice.
“If you want me to stay, O’Brien. I’ll never leave again.” She smiled against his chest as they both drifted to sleep, only to woke up a few hours later and made love again.
The morning light woke her up. He was hugging her tightly against him, with his chin on her shoulder, his breath in her ear. She had never felt safer or happier before, until a horrible thought crept into her head. What if he didn’t want her anymore? What if he decided again that she belonged with Liam?
She felt him move behind her. Maybe she should be casual about it, but she had no idea of how she would be able to do that. There was nothing casual about the way they had made love the night before. The expression was cheesy but it fit perfectly. The connection between them was deep and explosive.
His raspy voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Hi.”
She turned to face him and her heart skipped a beat when she saw his smile and the soft expression on his eyes. “Hi.”
Lucky. That was how Drake had felt that morning when he had opened his eyes. Like the luckiest bastard in the world. She was cuddled against him, bare and exposed to him, he could hear her soft breaths, smell her delicate scent. After all the reservations he had had, and the torment of thinking she loved Liam, he was elated to be with her that morning. He didn’t doubt anymore, not after the way she had given herself to him the previous night. He felt she was awake and whispered a soft hi in her ear. When she turned to him, he couldn’t control himself much longer. He had to make her his again.
After spending the morning making love, they took a shower together and got ready for Liverpool. Neither of them dared to talk about the future, unwilling to break their little bubble with practical matters or with Liam’s name.
They took the Ferry at Holyhead and arrived at Liverpool at 6:20, just in time to grab a little something to eat and go to Anfield Stadium.
The atmosphere was intense. Liverpool’s and Barca’s flags flooded the streets, mixed with chants in English and Spanish everywhere. It was electric.
Once at their gate, they had to wait in line to enter because security was checking people’s bags. Drake turned to watch Alexis’s face, she was almost jumping with exhilaration and a warm feeling spread all over his chest. He smiled to himself, never in his wildest dreams he could’ve anticipated coming there with her. He moved behind her and looped his arms around her waist protectively, there were too many people, too much excitement, she could easily get hurt.
They located their seats and Drake left to get a couple of drinks. He shook his head amused when he came back, she had taken her jumper off revealing her Barca’s shirt, a blue spot in a sea of red.
“Do you have a death wish, O’Brien?” He chuckled.
“It’s not my fault I have good taste” She shrugged.
“Come here” He cupped her face and kissed her softly, seriously considering the idea of skipping the match and taking her to a hotel room in Liverpool. “You have no idea how much I want you all time, Lexie.”
She smiled and kissed him too, overwhelmed by all the things she was feeling.
“Have you ever come to a Liverpool’s match before?”
She shook her head no. “It’s the first time.”
“Prepare yourself, everybody talks about the emotions of Liverpool's supporters, but it’s really something else when you see it in person.”
She opened her big eyes wide. “Are you telling me that the dark and brooding Drake Walker is capable of enjoying displays of emotion?”
He chuckled. “You’re a pain in the ass, O’Brien. You know that, don’t you?” He pushed aside the hair from her face and kissed her.
He was right; Liverpool supporter’s emotions were all over the place. They sang their hymn wholeheartedly, but it was when the first notes of ‘You’ll never walk alone’ played on the speakers that goosebumps appeared all over her arms. Every single person around her was singing passionately, pouring all their hearts on the song. One single voice for more than forty thousand supporters cheering for the players entering the field.
“Ready to lose, Walker?”
“Lose? Prepare for the greatest come back in the history of football, O’Brien”
She laughed cockily. “Love your optimist side, Drake. We’re three points ahead”
The referee blew the whistle announcing the beginning of the game.
Drake and Alexis were equally excited yelling instructions at their respective teams in a mix of English and Spanish.
At the seventh minute, Drake yelled emphatically as Origi scored the first goal. "Yes! Let's go!”
Alexis was fuming screaming in Spanish to the goalkeeper. “¡Pinche Stergen! ¡Muévete carajo!”.
He couldn’t believe how adorable she looked when she was that angry. He teased her in the hope to infuriate her even more. “That’s one, O’Brien, we have at least three more to go.” He said matter-of-factly, clearly enjoying the fire in her eyes.
The rest of the first half-time passed uneventfully, with no more goals of either team.
“You’re not so cocky now, are you, Walker?”
He groaned. “We still have a second time to go, O’Brien, don’t count your chickens just yet”
She smiled cockily, only a miracle could save Liverpool at that point. However, sixteen minutes after the whistle for the second time, the miracle happened when Wijnaldum scored two goals in a two-minute interval.
Twenty-three minutes later Origi nailed the final nail in the coffin scoring an historical goal, eliminating Barcelona from the competition.
Alexis screamed furiously at Stergen, Piqué and the rest of the team. Drake stopped his celebration for a minute to watch her as she jumped on her seat screaming. Her energy was exciting, contagious. There in the middle of a football match after the most incredible night of his life, he realized something he knew for a long time now, but that he hadn’t dared to accept before. He grabbed her by her waist taking her down off of her seat. She used the momentum to straddle him and kiss his lips passionately, as his hands wandered along her back sending electricity everywhere. When he parted, he cupped her face, an earnest look in his chocolate eyes.
“I love you, Lexie. I’m completely crazy about you”
God, she loved him so much that his words touched her profoundly. She cleared her throat and fixed her dark eyes on him. “I love you too, Drake. With everything in me.”
He crashed her mouth with hers again in the middle of the cheers and ovations of the Liverpool supporters.
“We’re definitely not going back to Cordonia tonight.”
.
.
Alexis snuck out of the palace and called an Uber that took her to the local Irish pub in less than fifteen minutes.
The bar was a cozy place with large wooden panels, solid counters and Irish music.
She was about to sit on one of the stools when she felt someone’s eyes behind her, staring at her. She turned her head and there he was, Drake Walker sitting in a booth with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. He raised his glass towards her, trying to ignore the fact that his heart had skipped a beat when he had seen her.
After ordering a pint, she sat next to him with her usual perky attitude. “What are you doing out of you cabin in the woods, Walker?”
He squinted at her “The real question is what are you doing here, O’Brien? Out of the palace without a guard.”
She shrugged. “I wanted to watch the match, and I’m staying. You can take me back to the palace as soon as Barcelona kicks Liverpool’s ass”
God, she was exasperating. “Of course, you would be a Barcelona’s fanatic.”
“You mean the best club in the world?” She took off her leather jacket, she was wearing the famous blue and scarlet Barcelona’s shirt.
He growled. “You can’t sit with me wearing that.”
She gave him a flirtatious look. “Would you prefer if I took it off?”
Sometimes, he swore she was actively trying to torture him. He took her chin with his fingers fixing his piercing eyes on hers.
“You don’t want to play that game with me, O’Brien.” He said in a hoarse voice.
She swallowed hard, her heart beating furiously in her chest. When he finally tore his eyes away from her, she took a long sip of beer.
After a few silent minutes, she spoke. “I can’t believe you’re actually rooting for Liverpool. They haven’t won a Champions league in thirteen years.”
He growled. “I’m so sure we’re beating Barcelona tonight, that I bought tickets for the second leg.”
She sat on the booth cross-legged hugging a cushion. “You seem awfully confident that your team, a team that hasn’t win in ages, is going to beat the best team there is.” She gave him a confident smile. “Want to bet?”
“The best team…?” He shook his head. “What do you want to bet?”
“If Barcelona wins tonight, you give me your semi-final tickets.”
He raised his hands shocked. “Are you crazy, do you know how much I paid for those tickets?”
She reached for his arm and squeezed it with a fake empathic expression on her face. “Don’t worry, Drake if I were rooting for such losers, I wouldn’t want to bet the tickets either.”
He considered her proposal for a minute, well aware that she was provoking him on purpose, but he just couldn’t back out when she was challenging him. “I’m in, but if you lose you have to get me tickets for next year’s matches. All the matches.” He saw her stunned expression, so he added irritated. “You’ll be queen next year O’Brien, it’d be easy for you to get them.”
She didn’t know why but it really bothered her that he would assume she was going to accept Liam’s proposal. She reached for his hand anyway. “Deal, Walker.”
For the next two hours they sat next to each other, drinking and bickering playfully. In the halftime he challenged her to a game of darts, she wasn’t bad at all, and she certainly looked extremely cute when she concentrated but he beat her easily, reaching 501 points in ten minutes.
However, at the end of the second half of the match, he was seriously pissed, not only he had lost his precious semi-final tickets, but he also had to put up with her cocky attitude while she celebrated Barcelona’s victory.
After a while of singing and cheering with a group of Spaniards, she came back to the table, ecstatic, and extended her hand towards him pointing at her palm. “The tickets, Walker.”
He groaned “Do you think I carry them with me all the time, O’Brien? I’ll give them to you at the palace.”
She laughed truly enjoying her victory. “So grumpy! I didn’t know you were such a sore loser, Drake. I’ll go get another pint. What are you drinking?”
He rolled his eyes. “Dalmore, fifteen years. Just tell them to put it on my tab. I come here often.”
She mimicked a fake surprise. “That’s so shocking!”
He laughed in spite of himself. She added playfully. “And Dalmore, eh? Being a veterinarian definitely pays.”
He smirked shrugging “I don’t need much, O’Brien, but I definitely need good whiskey. How do you know Dalmore?”
“My grandpa loved whiskey. Especially that one.” Her eyes watered thinking about her grandfather but she shook her head to chase the tears.
Drake saw her eyes and his heart tightened; he raised his hand to stroke her cheek, but squeezed her shoulder instead, pouring his eyes into hers to make her feel comforted without words.
It worked because she gave him a small smile, he had rolled his sleeves, so she rubbed his forearm with her fingers softly, almost tenderly, making him crazy. Why did she have to make it so fucking difficult being close to her? He stood up.
“We better leave, Obrien. It’s late and tomorrow we have to travel to Applewood.”
She didn’t want the night to end. For a minute she allowed herself to think about the life she would have had with Drake if they were a couple, if she had met him alone. If she hadn’t been so stupid to be blindsided by Liam’s charm, but when he abruptly stood up, she understood. He didn’t feel the same about her. She had to forget her stupid crush and move on.
They drove back in silence, both of them embarrassed, both of them hurt and filled with unspoken feelings.
The next day, Alexis felt much better. She had drunk too much the previous night and the alcohol had put crazy ideas in her head. It was clear that Drake only saw her as an annoying friend, so she would do the same.
Liam was different, even if the little spark that had initiated at the Statue of Liberty hadn’t become the fire she was hoping for, he was there for her. He had been clear about his feelings for her. Maybe love wasn’t the crazy passion she thought. Maybe love was calm, peaceful and reliable.
Or maybe she just needed to think for a few days, put some distance between her and that stupid competition. She thought about the football tickets she had won. She was definitely going to that semi-final, Drake, Liam and royal court be damned.
She knew Liam would be having breakfast in the main hall, so she went looking for him. She entered the hall and stopped in her tracks. Liam was having breakfast, but he wasn’t alone.
She cleared her throat. “Hi guys!”
Liam’s face lit up seeing her. “Lady Alexis. Good morning.”
Drake gestured a quick hello with his hand and turned back to reading his paper.
Mr. Polite as usual. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Li. I want to leave the court for a few days. I’m going to England for the semi-finals of the Champions league”
Liam stopped eating and looked at her puzzled. “That’s in two weeks from now, Alexis. The coronation is in less than three weeks. I would’ve expected that you wanted to be here.”
“Yes! Of course, Li. It’s only for a couple days. England is four hours away. I just want to watch the match. It’s… important for me”
Liam was uncomfortable, he didn’t want her to leave. Even if he couldn’t tell her yet, he had decided he was going to choose her as his queen. And her place was there with him not at some dumb football competition. “Where did you even get the tickets?”
Drake took his head out of the paper. “we made a bet and she won them from me.”
Liam grinned “I told you Liverpool was going to lose, Drake. You have to pick a winner’s team.” He turned to Alexis, speaking to her in a soft voice. “As a suitor and especially as the woman I care about, I-.”
Drake stood up so fast, he almost spilled his coffee. “I don’t think I should be part of this conversation.”
Liam raised his hand. “Actually, Drake, yes. Stay. I was going to say that I care very deeply about you, Alexis. I can’t let you go alone because you’re a member of the royal court, you’ll need protection. Unfortunately, I can’t spare any guards right now, but if Drake accepts, he can go with you. He has trained with Bastien plenty of times and can assure your protection.”
Drake couldn’t allow that. Last night, he had barely slept thinking about her. Two days abroad and he’d go crazy. “I can’t. I have a lot of things planned for that week, Li. I’m sorry.”
Liam squinted at him, puzzled. “You were going to go to the semi-finals anyway, that’s why you bought the tickets.”
Fuck! “Yes, but as Alexis won them, I made new appointments.” He was a terrible liar.
Alexis saw through it. “I don’t need a glorified, grumpy baby-sitter, Liam. Thank you very much.”
“I’m sorry, Alexis, but you’re under the crown’s protection until the end of the Social season. I can’t let you go without a guard; it would be terribly irresponsible from me.” He had made up his mind, and she had to start to get used to the fact that a future queen had responsibilities and responded to him.
Alexis was fuming, she was seriously considering quitting her role as a suitor when Drake spoke seeing how much she wanted to go. “It’s fine, I’ll go with her.” He smirked at her “In exchange of the other ticket.”
Liam started to regret his offer. “I really think it’s better if you stay here, lady Alexis.”
She shook her head. She was going to go, no matter what and as she didn’t need the second ticket anyway, she accepted, strangely happy. “The second ticket is yours, Drake! I have to go get ready to bake an apple pie for the competition.” Before leaving the room, she turned to grin at Drake. “And thank you.” He felt his heart warming up with her smile.
After breakfast, Drake went to the stables. He needed a good day of intense work to forget the stupidest deal he had ever accepted.
It was already difficult to be around her and pretend to be only her friend when they were surrounded by the other suitors and the madness of the social season. Now, he was going to have her all for himself for two days. He shook his head at his own stupidity. She wasn’t there for him and she never would be. She was there vying for Liam’s hand. Liam, his best friend the king. The same man offering her a whole kingdom.
The truth was that Drake had never been jealous of Liam before. He had a good life, a life he enjoyed. He was passionate about his job and excelled at it. He was free to go fishing, hiking or drink a whiskey in a pub whenever he wanted. It was a life that he had been able to choose for himself unlike Liam who would have to lead the imposed life of a king. So, no, he had never been jealous of his best friend before Alexis O’Brien had arrived in the court. And now, every time Liam so much as looked at her, he wanted to punch him in the face. He definitely shouldn’t have accepted to take her to Liverpool.
Shaking his head, he put on his white coat and his rubber boots and went to check up on Mirabelle.
The next few days he tried to avoid her as much as he could, he had convinced himself that he only needed a little distance, a little space and whatever he was feeling, would naturally go away and they would be able to go together to Liverpool as friends.
A few nights before leaving, he saw her coming out of the palace and walk towards the maze only dressed in a big sweater and some sort of pajama shorts. He debated with himself, but in an impulse, he decided to go after her, just to make sure she was fine.
When he approached the center of the maze, he saw her, and his heart tugged. She was sitting on a bench with her knees up, her head buried in them, clearly crying. He sat next to her, and silently rubbed her back, soothing her. Slowly her sobs stopped, he leaned towards her and cupped her face turning her face to him.
“Do you want to talk about it, Lexie?”
Her heart jumped in her chest. He had never called her anything else besides O’Brien before. She knew she could open up to him. “My grandfather, Noah, died exactly one year ago of a heart attack. I really miss him.”
“I’m sorry, O’Brien” his heart broke seeing her so sad “Come here.” He opened his arms and she snuggled against him.
“He and granny practically raised me. He arrived in the States when he was twenty-two years old, but he never lost his accent” She smiled. “He used to call me his little ‘stor’. It means treasure in Irish... He’s …was the bravest man, I’ve ever met.”
He smiled down at her and brushed her cheek with his thumb to wipe a falling tear. “And most importantly he loved Dalmore whiskey.”
She laughed through her tears. “Yes, almost as much as he loved granny. His dream was to come back to Dublin with me and show me Trinity College where he went to school. He said that I would love the library there.” She brushed another tear. “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess.”
“Shh, I got you, it’s okay. It’s okay, O’Brien” He hugged her tighter “You never have to apologize to me for how you feel.” He had never held her so closely. Her cherry scent was intoxicating, “I always be here for you. I promise.”
She looked at him hurt. “Like you had been these past weeks?”
He shook his head. “I’m just giving you and Liam some space, O’Brien. We’re only friends and he deserves you”
She stood up trembling with fury. “I’m not a fucking prize either of you gets because you deserve it. Don’t you want to be with me?” He didn’t answer, so she insisted. “I think you feel something for me, Drake.” She waited for an answer that never came, he couldn’t tell her anything without betraying his best friend, plus, she was sad and confused and he wasn’t going to take advantage of it. “Got it. See you at the plane. Good night.” She stormed out leaving Drake more confused than ever.
Three days later, they were ready to leave for Liverpool, Liam had insisted in lending them his private plane so they could come back directly after the match. He wanted her back fast. Drake had required to leave for Liverpool one day earlier because he had business to attend at Kentwood stables, one of Liam’s horse dealers in England.
Alexis installed herself in one of the leather seats when she saw Drake talk to the pilot.
“What was that about, Drake?”
He shrugged “I have no idea what you’re talking about, O’Brien.” He took out a deck of cards from his bag. “Poker?” He wiggled his eyebrows adorably.
She grinned mischievously. “If you don’t mind losing.”
He observed her expression and smirked, she seemed relaxed and happy as he hadn’t seen in her for a long time.
They played the whole flight to Liverpool, teasing each other, Drake was great at poker, but Alexis used to play all the time in college, so they won two games each.
He smiled cockily. “Don’t worry, O’Brien. I’ll beat you later, I was just warming up”
She rolled her eyes playfully “Yeah, suuure.”
When they got off the plane, she saw Drake talking to the pilot again. She waited with her bag for a car to pick them up from the private tarmac, but Drake shook his head.
“Come on, O’Brien. We need to catch a bus to go to the city center.”
She was happy to do something normal for once, but it was unusual. “No car to pick us up?”
He beamed, he didn’t do it often but when he did he looked so handsome it actually made her knees weak. “Not today, come on”
She followed him through the terminal, not paying much attention. When they exited the building, she turned her head and saw a big sign on the top the airport:
“Welcome to Dublin”
She stopped in her tracks, incapable to move for a second. Drake stood next to her waiting for her reaction.
When she finally spoke, she had a small lump in her throat. “How did you do? I- d” Without thinking about it, she threw her arms around his neck pulling him for a hug. He pulled her against him too, allowing himself to enjoy a few seconds of closeness with her, inhaling her shampoo, feeling her against him. When she pulled away her eyes were brighter than usual “Thank you Drake.”
His raised his hands. “Hey, I have entirely selfish motives. A friend told me about this distillery where they supposedly have great whiskey.”
They went to the B&B where Drake had booked two rooms, a cozy, small place called The Blackrock. It was perfect, the lobby was full of books with a lit fireplace and the lady at the reception was warm and kind.
Before leaving, Alexis decided to change her clothes, she had woken up too early and had lazily thrown a pair of jeans and Converses on.
It was a sunny day in May, but they were in Dublin and it was relatively cold. She decided to wear a red, short sweater dress with a V neck, a pair of tights and her Doc Martens. She put on some black eyeliner, a touch of gloss, and sprayed her Lost Cherry perfume, on her wrists and neck. She felt giddy and nervous to spend the day with him. After a last look in the mirror she took her leather jacket and went downstairs.
She waited at the lobby sitting next to the fireplace, Drake had told her that he needed to make some calls to the Veterinary clinic at the Palace. It made her smile how much he loved his job. How much he cared about it.
Drake saw her as soon as he came down the stairs but waited for her to see him, before announcing himself. At the risk of sounding like a stalker, he wanted to watch her for a few seconds, he spent so much time trying to hide whatever it was she stirred up in him that he never let himself just admire her. She was incredibly beautiful, but it was the energy she irradiated that made his heart stop every time he looked at her. He shook his head; he was quickly approaching a very dangerous territory.
He cleared his throat “I see you’re warming up by the fire.”
She grinned. A true smile, just for him. “I was waiting for you, but I’m ready to go. Do you have anything planned?”
He gave her a conspiratorial smile. “I have some things in mind. Do you trust me?”
She couldn’t help the earnest look in her eyes, when she answered. “Totally.”
They decided to walk, it was a long stroll, but they wanted to make the most of their time there. She pulled her camera out of her huge handbag and took pictures of everything she could. She loved the vibe of the city open and colorful. Everyone seemed relaxed and stress free. Even Drake. She succeeded to take two shots of him when he wasn’t looking.
He knew he only had two days with her. He was trying really hard to keep his thoughts at bay but just the way she looked at everything and the joy she transpired while they explored the city was enough to make him forget his good resolutions.
He remembered the conversation he had had with Liam the day before. They had been drinking at his office when Liam had suddenly told him that he regretted having authorized the trip.
“What do you mean?
“I thought you were my friend, and maybe you still are, but I saw you in the maze last night, Drake. You were holding her.” Seeing that his friend was about to talk, he raised his hand “Just remember who she belongs to.”
Drake felt a rush of anger, his fists immediately balling. “She doesn’t belong to anyone, Liam. She can do whatever she wants. Last night she was sad, that’s all.”
“It may be, but just in case, remember that she’s here for me. She deserves the world, she deserves to be a queen, Drake. My queen.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Liam was right, she deserved the world and more, so he’d have to settle with being his friend.
They had been walking more than an hour, when they saw an imposing grey building. She screamed with excitement, recognizing it immediately. Her grandfather had showed her hundreds of pictures of it while he talked about his younger years in Dublin.
He was touched to see her eyes watering at its sight but didn’t dare to do anything else but stroke her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Aww, O’Brien. Come on, let’s see that library”
They were both amazed as soon as they entered the famous Long Room. It was majestic. The sight was imposing, high wooden ceilings and walls, millions of ancient books covering the shelves, and infinite rows of marble busts honoring the greatest writers and philosophers of history.
They looked together for Jonathan Swift, Noah’s favorite writer, while Alexis told him anecdotes of her childhood, and how he used to read her ‘Gulliver’s travels’ before bed. She seemed nostalgic but happy to remember him.
“He was a great man, O’Brien. And even if I didn’t know him, I’m sure he would be very proud of you.”
She sighed. “I don’t know… I think he definitely would’ve disapproved of the idea of me competing for a prince’s hand.”
Drake looked at her intently trying to figure out how she felt about it, he knew she was in love with Liam, but at the same time he couldn’t deny that there was something else going on between the two of them, something undefined and powerful.
After seeing the Book of Kells, they spent the rest of the day exploring the city. They took pictures next to Molly Malone, ordered a Fish and chips at Presto’s, and got lost in the Jaime’s Joyce museum.
Alexis bought a colorful painting portraying the famous Dublin doors, and Drake got his wish of visiting the Roe & Coe Distillery where he felt like a little boy in a candy store. It was a perfect day. Both of them yearned for it to last, but neither of them took a step towards the other.
They want out of the distillery slightly drunk, laughing like crazy. “Last stop ‘The workman’s bar’, O’Brien. Maxwell recommended it.” He grinned, she had never seen him so happy, so relaxed. What she’do to kiss those dimples. “I’m dying to show you the Temple Bar area. Come on!” He added when he saw she was lost in her thoughts.
The pub was packed, they had trouble finding a table but after a few minutes they found one close to the stage.
He asked for their drinks, two double whiskeys. She gulped hers.
“Easy O’Brien, this is not a competition” He beamed, again, she was almost getting used to it.
She looked at him with fire in her eyes. “I can do whatever I want tonight. And I want to drink. Oh, I know! Let’s play a drinking game!” She beamed.
“You want to play a drinking game, against me O’Brien?” He arched his brows “Are you sure?”
She gave him a devilishly smile, just what he needed to go insane. “I’m not playing, Walker, I’m winning”
He chuckled “You’re such a cocky ass. Let’s see that” His phone rang, it was the clinic. “Just a sec, O’Brien. I’ll take this outside.”
When he came back, he saw her talking with one of the guys from the table next to hers. He cut the distance between them as fast as he could. When the guy saw Drake sit next to her clearly angry, he babbled a quick good night and left as fast as he could.
She witnessed his behavior extremely annoyed. He had been clear, he only wanted to be her friend. So why did he behave like that?
“What the fuck, Drake? Why are you so angry?” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Are you jealous?”
He was tired too, tired of wanting her so badly, tired of months watching her from the distance, tired of pretending he felt nothing for her, when he couldn’t think about anything else. He fixed his eyes on her. “Like crazy.”
She leaned to kiss him, but Liam was in there, present between the two of them. He cupped her face. “We can’t O’Brien. You love him, I know that.”
She shook her head. How was it possible that someone that knew her so perfectly well, that could almost see through her soul was so incapable of reading her true feelings. “Forget it, Drake. It’s fine.”
He heard the hurt in her voice and started to wonder if maybe, only maybe, she felt…something for him.
They sat in silence until someone stood up on the stage and began to sing ‘Hey, Jude’ with a voice way off key.
“Fucking Maxwell, he recommeneded a karaoke bar!” He groaned but after a few more seconds of the singer torturing The Beatles they burst into laughs easing the tension. They played several games and talked about their childhoods and years of college. After several singers, the host of the evening called Alexis’s name.
She chuckled at his puzzled expression. “I wrote my name in the list when I went to the bathroom.” She stood up and went to the stage.
For the hundredth time that day, his mouth went dry just looking at her. She was so incredibly sexy that he couldn’t think straight. The red of her dress illuminated her face, making her black eyes darker, her full lips irresistible. The dress wasn’t tight but it was short so he could admire her long legs and thanks to the V neck, part of her cleavage. He was sure no one at that pub had seen anyone more beautiful or sexy than her. He smirked when the song started. She had chosen Marvin Gaye by Charlie Puth.
She began to slowly sway her hips with the rhythm of the song and started singing. He shook his head; Not only was she softly dancing, which was enough to push him over the edge, but he had heard her sing before and knew he was doomed. She had a low voice, sultry, soft. Like a moan.
We got this king size to ourselves
Don't have to share with no one else Don't keep your secrets to yourself It's karma sutra show and tell
She was slowly moving her hips and looking at him fixedly as she sang. He stared back, his black eyes looking at her so intently she felt like she was going to combust. He leaned against his seat, with the tumbler in his hand, licking his lips, savoring the moment as much as she was, letting his eyes tell her all the things he wanted to do to her.
You got to give it up to me
I'm screaming mercy, mercy please Just like they say it in the song Until the dawn, let's Marvin Gaye and get it on
She had chosen that song on purpose. Every time he heard her sing for mercy, he felt a twitch in his pants. Every time she moved her hips asking him to get lost with her until dawn, he was tempted to go on stage, take her and fuck her right there in the bathroom.
The applause took him out of his trance. He saw her approaching the table where they were seated. Fuck, he didn’t give a damn anymore, he wanted her, painfully, agonizingly. He left the money for the drinks on the table and intercepted her on her way to the table. He gripped her hand and led her outside. He had called an Uber but they had to wait for it. Except that Drake couldn’t wait another moment, he pressed her against the first wall he found and leaned towards her; whispering in her ear. “What are you doing, O’Brien? I told you not to play those games with me.”
She smiled biting her lip, and then shrugged “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He growled burying his nose in her neck, softly smelling her cherry scent; making her shiver “Fuck! You have no idea what you do to me, do you?”
Her heart couldn’t have beat faster. She felt like it was going to go out of her chest.
He fixed his eyes on her “If you want to scream for mercy, Lexie” He brushed her neck with his fingers, as his other hand stroked the small of her back and he kissed her earlobe. “I’ll make you scream all night.”
She was physically incapable to form words, so she nodded. A nod. All it took was soft movement of her head and hell broke loose. He placed his hand on her back and pulled her against him crashing his mouth with hers, caressing her face. He nipped her lips and let his hands wander through her body, desperate, impatient.
They arrived at her room fifteen minutes later, after a painfully long Uber ride.
She tried to open the door, but Drake was behind her, his arm around her waist, his lips on the nape of his neck. “Drake, god!”
Finally, she opened the door, and they almost stumbled inside. He was still behind her, still ravaging her neck. He took her by her waist and in easy movement turned her face to him kissing her lips again. They were better than he had imagined, with a sweet taste, soft and tender at his contact. He scooped her in his arms and took her to the bed. He stopped for a second to look at her. His goddess, gorgeous, with swollen lips and messy hair.
He smiled down on her “Are you sure you want this, O’Brien?” She nodded, lost in the sandalwood.
“I didn’t hear anything, Lexie”
“Yes, I’m sure” she panted.
He locked eyes with her as he put a strand of hair behind her ear “You better be, because if I make you mine tonight, I’ll never let you go again.” She nodded again, grabbing the back of his head to crash their lips again.
They took each other's clothes in desperate movements. “Fuck, Alexis you’re so damn gorgeous.”
He grabbed her from her waist and sat on the edge of the bed with her on his lap. She straddled him as his passionate kisses made her crazy. She threw her head back giving him full access to her breasts that he cupped kissing the spot where her jaw and neck connected, his thumbs slowly teasing her hard nipples. She moaned loudly.
“Drake, please”
Drake smiled against her neck “Are you asking for mercy, Lexie?” His question was joined by the movement of his right hand wandering through her body producing jolts of electricity everywhere he touched her, until he finally reached her core. He stroked her skin enjoying how soft she was, before circling the little nub inside of her with his thumb.
Drake growled “Fuck, Lexie, you’re so wet for me” He kept teasing her, touching everything bit of skin around her clit.
“God, Drake, you’re driving me crazy, please…” Drake’s finger suddenly entering her, not letting her finish.
“Is this what you want, Lexie?” He whispered to her ear. She nodded lazily too excited to answer. “Come for me” He slid another finger inside making her writhe against him, her breaths becoming shorter, and shorter as she clung to Drake’s back.
“Drake, I…I god Drake fuck!” She screamed when a powerful wave of heat ran across her body leaving her wasted.
Drake steadied her with his arms, stroking her back. He kissed the top of her head giving her time to recover.
“Fuck me, Drake”
He buried his mouth in her hair. “I told you I was going to make you scream for mercy.” He positioned himself with the tip of his dick rubbing her center “Look at me, O’Brien. I want to see your pretty face as I enter you”
She gasped and locked her eyes with him, her hands around his neck, his gaze piercing hers, as he entered her slowly, giving her time to adjust to him.
He growled again biting her shoulder. “Damn, Lexie you feel incredible baby, so fucking tight”
Drake didn’t know at what moment, but the energy of the room had shifted. He felt much more than a powerful lust for her. He wanted to have her, all of her, forever. They rocked their hips at the same pace, slowly at first but sooner increasing speed staring at each other as their movements became more passionate. He kissed her lips deeply, lost in her. They both felt a connection like neither of them had experienced before. He hit her spot several times making her moan his name over and over again. Without taking his eyes off of her, he stroked her clit as they both reached a point of no return.
“Drake!” She screamed his name yet again, as her muscles compressed around him. Feeling her come screaming his name pushed him over the edge, and he filled her completely.
They fell down on the bed, spent. He pulled her close to him and kissed her front.
“Are you staying?” His heart tugged at the vulnerability of her soft voice.
“If you want me to stay, O’Brien. I’ll never leaving again.” She smiled against his chest as they both drifted to sleep, only to woke up a few hours later and made love again.
The morning light woke her up. He was hugging her tightly against him, with his chin on her shoulder, his breath in her ear. She had never felt safer or happier before, until a horrible thought crept into her head. What if he didn’t want her anymore? What if he decided again that she belonged with Liam?
She felt him move behind her. Maybe she should be casual about it, but she had no idea of how she would be able to do that. There was nothing casual about the way they had made love the night before. The expression was cheesy but it fit perfectly. The connection between them was deep and explosive.
His raspy voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Hi.”
She turned to face him and her heart skipped a beat when she saw his smile and the soft expression on his eyes. “Hi.”
Lucky. That was how Drake had felt that morning when he had opened his eyes. Like the luckiest bastard in the world. She was cuddled against him, bare and exposed to him, he could hear her soft breaths, smell her delicate scent. After all the reservations he had had, and the torment of thinking she loved Liam, he was elated to be with her that morning. He didn’t doubt anymore, not after the way she had given herself to him the previous night. He felt she was awake and whispered a soft hi in her ear. When she turned to him, he couldn’t control himself much longer. He had to make her his again.
After spending the morning making love, they took a shower together and got ready for Liverpool. Neither of them dared to talk about the future, unwilling to break their little bubble with practical matters or with Liam’s name.
They took the Ferry at Holyhead and arrived at Liverpool at 6:20, just in time to grab a little something to eat and go to Anfield Stadium.
The atmosphere was intense. Liverpool’s and Barca’s flags flooded the streets, mixed with chants in English and Spanish everywhere. It was electric.
Once at their gate, they had to wait in line to enter because security was checking people’s bags. Drake turned to watch Alexis’s face, she was almost jumping with exhilaration and a warm feeling spread all over his chest. He smiled to himself, never in his wildest dreams he could’ve anticipated coming there with her. He moved behind her and looped his arms around her waist protectively, there were too many people, too much excitement, she could easily get hurt.
They located their seats and Drake left to get a couple of drinks. He shook his head amused when he came back, she had taken her jumper off revealing her Barca’s shirt, a blue spot in a sea of red.
“Do you have a death wish, O’Brien?” He chuckled.
“It’s not my fault I have good taste” She shrugged.
“Come here” He cupped her face and kissed her softly, seriously considering the idea of skipping the match and taking her to a hotel room in Liverpool. “You have no idea how much I want you all time, Lexie.”
She smiled and kissed him too, overwhelmed by all the things she was feeling.
“Have you ever come to a Liverpool’s match before?”
She shook her head no. “It’s the first time.”
“Prepare yourself, everybody talks about the emotions of Liverpool's supporters, but it’s really something else when you see it in person.”
She opened her big eyes wide. “Are you telling me that the dark and brooding Drake Walker is capable of enjoying displays of emotion?”
He chuckled. “You’re a pain in the ass, O’Brien. You know that, don’t you?” He pushed aside the hair from her face and kissed her.
He was right; Liverpool supporter’s emotions were all over the place. They sang their hymn wholeheartedly, but it was when the first notes of ‘You’ll never walk alone’ played on the speakers that goosebumps appeared all over her arms. Every single person around her was singing passionately, pouring all their hearts on the song. One single voice for more than forty thousand supporters cheering for the players entering the field.
“Ready to lose, Walker?”
“Lose? Prepare for the greatest come back in the history of football, O’Brien”
She laughed cockily. “Love your optimist side, Drake. We’re three points ahead”
The referee blew the whistle announcing the beginning of the game.
Drake and Alexis were equally excited yelling instructions at their respective teams in a mix of English and Spanish.
At the seventh minute, Drake yelled emphatically as Origi scored the first goal. "Yes! Let's go!”
Alexis was fuming screaming in Spanish to the goalkeeper. “¡Pinche Stergen! ¡Muévete carajo!”.
He couldn’t believe how adorable she looked when she was that angry. He teased her in the hope to infuriate her even more. “That’s one, O’Brien, we have at least three more to go.” He said matter-of-factly, clearly enjoying the fire in her eyes.
The rest of the first half-time passed uneventfully, with no more goals of either team.
“You’re not so cocky now, are you, Walker?”
He groaned. “We still have a second time to go, O’Brien, don’t count your chickens just yet”
She smiled cockily, only a miracle could save Liverpool at that point. However, sixteen minutes after the whistle for the second time, the miracle happened when Wijnaldum scored two goals in a two-minute interval.
Twenty-three minutes later Origi nailed the final nail in the coffin scoring an historical goal, eliminating Barcelona from the competition.
Alexis screamed furiously at Stergen, Piqué and the rest of the team. Drake stopped his celebration for a minute to watch her as she jumped on her seat screaming. Her energy was exciting, contagious. There in the middle of a football match after the most incredible night of his life, he realized something he knew for a long time now, but that he hadn’t dared to accept before. He grabbed her by her waist taking her down off of her seat. She used the momentum to straddle him and kiss his lips passionately, as his hands wandered along her back sending electricity everywhere. When he parted, he cupped her face, an earnest look in his chocolate eyes.
“I love you, Lexie. I’m completely crazy about you”
God, she loved him so much that his words touched her profoundly. She cleared her throat and fixed her dark eyes on him. “I love you too, Drake. With everything in me.”
He crashed her mouth with hers again in the middle of the cheers and ovations of the Liverpool supporters.
“We’re definitely not going back to Cordonia tonight.
So, @pedudley made me this beautiful mood board of them traveling, and I immediately thought about this fic. So for me these are the photos they took to each other.
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BnHA Chapter 248: Internships II: THE MENTORING
Previously on BnHA: Endeavor asked Deku and Kacchan to give him the rundown on their character arcs, and Izuku said that he was trying to master his new definitely-not-a-second-quirk quirk, while Katsuki explained that he was trying to find “what he lacks” because he is going for 100% completion in his redemption arc and will accept nothing less! Gotta finish all those sidequests! Anyway so Endeavor was surprisingly into the whole mentoring thing for both of them, but then his own son was all “dad I’ve got something to say too” and Endeavor was like “oh shit” and Shouto was like “I still don’t like you as a person or a father and I only came here to learn flashfire from you!” and fandom was like “HOLY SHIT RIP THAT MAN HAD A FAMILY” and Shouto was like “YEAH I KNOW THAT’S THE WHOLE PROBLEM.” Anyways then they went on a walk, and Endeavor told the boys to try and take down a villain faster than him before the end of the winter break.
Today on BnHA: Endeavor and the Rowdyruff Boys take to the streets and fight some crime. Endeavor spends a lot of time giving the youths advice about how not to be so fucking slow, and even though he’s a bit of an ass about it, he makes some strong points about how a split second can mean the difference between life and death in a hero’s line of work. Anyway so he tells Shouto and Kacchan to work on storing up their power and releasing it all at once, and he tells Deku to work on making his Air Force as automatic as his Full Cowl is. They all sit around and munch on some bread, Deku does a bit of monologuing, and then we cut to ONE WEEK LATER and FUYUMI WANTS TO INVITE ALL THREE OF THE BOYS TO A FAMILY DINNER!? Motherfucker why does the last fucking panel have more exciting content than the rest of the chapter combined. Well anyways, at least we’ve got that to look forward to.
(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)
YESSSS IT’S MY GIRLS
is this a new dragon form for Ryuukyuu? it seems like something in between her big ol’ Smaug form and her human form? or maybe this is just forced perspective making her seem smaller than she actually is here. anyways she kicks ass as always and still want to see her breathe some fire
I just realized everyone on this team can fly? except maybe Hadou? but I seem to recall her hovering over some bad guys when using her powers a while back though. I really don’t remember much about her quirk; I’m glad the anime will be getting up to that soon, because actually seeing it in motion will probably help it to stick more in my memory
(ETA: she can release her shockwaves from her feet to levitate! everyone on this team can fly confirmed! well Tsuyu can’t, but her quirk is basically an offshoot Spider-Man brand so it’s close enough.)
moving on! looks like we’re getting some DEKU INNER MONOLOGUE
okay, several things that I like about this before we continue:
look how fucking comic-booky this is. the main character parkouring through the city streets, thinking Deep Thoughts in square boxes? pretty sure this is the first page of every single comic book ever made and I LOVE IT
that metaphor about learning to walk when everyone else was already focused on where they were going to run. god I love me a good metaphor. though Deku, you were technically 15 when All Might actually gave you the quirk. that’s not on you though, that’s on Horikoshi who I’m sure has already realized the error by this point and is probably kicking himself and will write a 10,000 word apology in the volume omake
the fact that SIXQUIRKS!! IS FINALLY BEING ACKNOWLEDGED AS A THING AGAIN OMG. I’ve only waited like 5 million years for more of this, so pardon me if I lose my fucking shit depending on where this is all headed. omg. this stupid manga
anyway!
they seem to have stumbled upon a game of Mario Kart in progress. at least I’m pretty sure this is a Mario Kart character. actually it might be Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog
so now Endeavor is MERCILESSLY CUTTING OFF HIS PATH WITH A WALL OF FLAME forcing him to abandon his bike if he doesn’t want to die a fiery death!
Endeavor truly does not give a fuck! not that All Might was any better, punching huge dents in the hoods of cars and shit. the moral of this story is, don’t be a villain. just don’t. because the number one heroes will fuck you uuuuuuup
now Endeavor is yawning and looking over his shoulder at Kacchan and Deku all, “oh you guys were there too?” but not really but basically though
(ETA: oh my god I just noticed the “hit-and-runner” part. have the people in this town never heard of brakes? do they know that red means stop?? also does Endeavor really spend the majority of his day just flying around dealing with traffic violations. I guess technically it’s still New Year’s, so it’s probably a slow day and also everyone is probably drunk.)
god you kids are so slow. it’s because you’re on that social media all the time! and watching all that MTV. kids these days don’t play outside in the fresh air anymore! back in my day!! anyways tough luck you young whippersnappers
Kacchan is grumping that he’s at a disadvantage because of the temperature. I forgot all about that
hey Kacchan I think your best friend has something he wants to tell you there
loool
OF COURSE HE REALIZED but uh, go ahead and spill it anyway if you want. but he definitely did realize. whatever it is that you’re about to tell him
so Shouto says that Endeavor is propelling himself by shooting flames from his feet, and that it’s probably a compressed version of the “jet burn” technique he used in Kyushu. you know, the one he used to fly, and Hawks was all “Endeavor you can fly!?” and Endeavor was all “this isn’t flying, this is falling with style” and we all rolled our eyes
anyway guys. if this is the beginning of Shouto finally learning to fly as well, I will get up and do some kind of happy dance, I don’t even know. do you even know how long I’ve wanted this. PLEASE
lol so Kacchan is all “okay I actually did know that, are you telling me you only just figured that out now” aaaaand yeah. I wasn’t gonna say it, but. Shouto how many times did you sit there and watch Endeavor blast off before you finally said “oh my GOD he’s BLASTING OFF!” sob. IT’S ALL THAT MTV AND AVOCADO TOAST! that noise isn’t even real music! get off your phone and have an actual conversation!
Shouto is so handsome and so good at accepting criticism. what an all-star. please start flying around soon my little Canadian flag
so now Endeavor is blasting off again and sassily hinting at which direction he’s flying off to next. “there’s a major street in that direction”
so now they’re taking off after him
that’s an interesting way of saying that he’s setting the whole town on fire. how do the people in Endeavor’s territory all manage with their daily commute? “almost there boss be there in five... oh hold up... Main Street’s blocked off by a raging inferno, I’ll call you back”
Endeavor says that heroes must be able to do “anything and everything” on their own, which is a curious thing to say in this manga which has time and time again made a point of demonstrating how teamwork gets the job done! I’m not sure I agree with this, Endeavor!
though I guess he just means they need to be able to handle it all if necessary. but I mean, sometimes that’s just not possible. using his own example of Kyushu, there’s no way he would have been able to handle the Hijinks Noumu while protecting all the citizens and fighting off all the other cannon fodder noumus all at the same time. I’m not even sure All Might would have been able to do that. maybe this is an example of how Endeavor still doesn’t have all of this hero stuff figured out yet
lol oh my god
Endeavor that was like four chapters ago, why are you only now bringing this up. act your age
OH SNAP GUYS HE’S MENTORING BAKUGOU. AND BY MENTORING I MEAN PICKING A FIGHT OH MY GOD
DON’T MIND ME I’M JUST WATCHING THIS OLD GRUMP TEACH THIS NEW YOUNG UPSTART JUST LIKE TOMMY LEE JONES IN MEN IN BLACK OMGGGG
so Kacchan is again saying that he needs more time in the winter, but like. Kacchan that’s not like you to make excuses. are you just going to hibernate for three months out of every year and only save people when it’s warm out?? or what
and Endeavor’s saying the same thing
oh shit y’all he’s getting real with them now
oh shit
by the way how fucking dangerous is this town, jesus. supposing that Endeavor wasn’t out here on patrol, what would be the daily casualty rate? first we had that glass guy rampaging downtown earlier, then that motorcyle guy who probably hit a dozen people, and now Tommy and Gina here nearly get run over by a speeding truck. what is this, Gotham City
anyway now Endeavor is saying TodoBaku rights so I’ll shut up
BECAUSE SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME KACCHAN THAT’S WHY! now hush!!
Shouto’s asking if this is related to him learning flashfire, because lest we forget, he’s here for ONE REASON and ONE REASON ONLY lol
so Endeavor says the two of them have to learn how to store up their energy and release it, and how to “condense” their power
you guys I am super hyped about this. not only because BEST FRIENDS PART TWO: THE FRIENDENING!!, but also because this will be the first time Kacchan has gotten a physical power-up in like, ever. (well, AP Shot I guess, but shh.) if he and Shouto are not both flying by the end of this arc then what even is the point!
anyway so Endeavor’s telling them all this technical shit about what to do, blah blah blah, but the short version is they need to be able to go from zero to sixty instantaneously, and release all the stored-up firepower focused into one single point, and to practice doing that until it’s second nature to them
omfg Deku’s so excited
BECAUSE HE HEARTS YOU KACCHAN lol this isn’t anything new, don’t be so shocked. ACCEPT HIS LOVE
though come to think, that really is impressive even for Deku that he knows about that particular technique, because Kacchan created AP Shot back when Deku was supposed to be developing his own ENTIRELY NEW FIGHTING STYLE, which you would think wouldn’t have left him with much time to spare to also keep tabs on his rival and write down his every move. so is his Big Hero Brain just that good, or is this chapter also promoting BakuDeku rights in addition to TodoBaku rights? you decide! but you already know which one I think it is lol
so now Endeavor is giving some bonus mentoring to Shouto
(ETA: why is Kacchan the only one who actually eats his lunch sitting down. these weirdos.)
you guys I love Shouto so much but does he really need it broken down for him to this degree? “son, you know all the things you do to control your right side? try doing those things to control your left.” Shouto: “!!!!” all those video games and participation trophies have fried his brain! too much Instagram! this new generation is going to the dogs
now Endeavor is turning his attention to Deku! but I’m more focused on the fact that they’re eating lunch, because my priorities are just like that
like lol, check out this panel of Deku talking with his mouth full
whole chapter was worth it just for this. boy you’re gonna get crumbs all over your super suit
Endeavor’s asking if Deku can raise his power level subconsciously, and he says he can for Full Cowl, but not for Air Force
so he says the first thing Deku should do is learn to control Air Force subconsciously, and forget about the Bloop for now
and Deku is all “what about parallel thinking” but more importantly, LOOK AT THIS
CAN I JUST GET A WHOLE CHAPTER OF EVERYONE EATING BREAD. LOOK AT THOSE CHUBBY CHEEKS. THIS IS AMAZING
Endeavor says a big part of parallel thinking is being able to do it without consciously thinking about it, and damn he’s right
IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT INSTINCT! also how does he know the man is yawning? you can see him from up there?? DOES HE JUST KNOW EVERYTHING
and he says that once Deku can do two things at once subconsciously, he just needs to add one more thing. damn, he really managed to break it down so that even this chronic overanalyzer can understand the concept
practice, practice, practice until it’s second nature. solid fucking advice
hey everyone Kacchan is still eating. just a PSA
that’s one for the family album. my handsome boy
okay like. it’s a nice speech, but we get it already dude. you can stop talking now and we can move on to something new
so then there’s some more Deku monologuing, pretty much the same stuff he was saying at the start of the chapter, and then Endeavor hits us with this little bait and switch gem
like, the first part sounded almost comforting, and then PSYCH!!!! but I guess he’s just trying to get them all fired up
(ETA: and like, just a few chapters ago we established how the success of these three kids is actually CRITICAL TO THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, APPARENTLY. so yeah this is a total bluff. deep down he’s actually sweating and thinking “holy shit they better not fail.”)
and Deku’s finishing up his monologue by saying his maximum speed is doing things one by one. well that’s fine. so now will there finally be a segue?
YAYYYY
OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!!
are we gonna finally get into that TODODRAMA I have my popcorn ready to go!
lmao “and he’s even got friends with him, right?!” ah Fuyu you are the best. she’s so happy Shouto has finally found himself some good pals
OH MY GODDDDDD
HEY WHAT THE FUCK!!!
YOU SON OF A BITCH!! TWO THIRTEEN PAGE CHAPTERS IN A ROW, AND YOU FUCKING END WITH “NEXT TIME, IT’S A TODOBAKUDEKU DINNER AT THE HOUSE OF DRAMA!” AND THEN YOU HIT US WITH THIS. NEXT TIME I’LL JUST HAND YOU A KNIFE AND YOU CAN JUST STAB ME DIRECTLY IN THE CHEST TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU, YOU BASTARD. WHAT AM I GONNA DO FOR THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS WHILE I WAIT FOR THIS CHAPTER OF EVERYONE SITTING AROUND AND EATING BREAD WHILE FUYU PRESUMABLY TELLS THEM THE STORY OF “THERE ACTUALLY USED TO BE A FOURTH KID BUT WE DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM ANYMORE BUT WE WILL NOW!” BECAUSE THEY GODDAMN BETTER
sob. this chapter was basically just a thirteen page trailer for the real meat of this arc. some nice mentoring did occur, I’ll give them that, and I very much enjoyed it. but I’m tired of feeling like we’re just treading water waiting to get to the next big thing! surely all of the set-up is finally done now, right? everyone has their goals established now, we’ve had a mini-time-jump and school is about to start again, and we’ve done our preliminary testing of all of the TodoBakuDeku dynamics and confirmed that all components are firing on all cylinders. basically what I’m saying is we are good to go! ready to get off of this bench! GO AHEAD AND PUT US IN, COACH
anyway guys so here’s a list of what I want to happen at this dinner:
Shouto being all “this is my sister Fuyumi” and Kacchan and Deku being all “COME AGAIN?” because they legitimately thought he was an only child
Fuyu chuckling about how Kacchan reminds her of her dad, and both Kacchan and Endeavor being grossly offended by this
Deku and Kacchan spotting a family photo on the mantel, and Shouto explaining “yeah, that’s my mom, and my brother Natsuo... AND... MY OTHER BROTHER, TOUYA” and then the camera rapid-fire pans to Fuyu and Endeavor and Shouto’s SUPER AWKWARD EXPRESSIONS, before ZOOMING IN ON THE PHOTO OF TOUYA, AND BOY DOES HE LOOK FAMILIAR OH MY GOODNESS
Deku and Kacchan eyeing each other all “holy shit wtf did we get ourselves into” as it begins to dawn on them that they wouldn’t have enough time to unpack all of this even if they had an entire crew of movers on the job. not even Marie Kondo could clean all this shit up. GOOD FUCKING LUCK BOYS
so yeah! lots to look forward to! so I’ll try and be patient. at least we’ve got the anime to keep us all occupied. who’d’ve thought the Basement arc would one day be our salvation. life sure is funny
#bnha#boku no hero academia#endeavor#midoriya izuku#bakugou katsuki#todoroki shouto#todoroki fuyumi#bnha spoilers#mha spoilers#makeste reads bnha#and it says a lot that one of the reasons I'm so sure it's finally going to be That Time#is because out of all of the remaining unresolved plot threads#the todoroki 'our dead brother who isn't actually that dead and has now turned evil' plot#is actually the *least* effed up of the remaining plots#so like assuming that we're going to keep escalating from here#this is actually the natural place to start#and from there we can move on to the child experimentation and afo theory reveals and the end of the world#lol we sure are in for some good times#bnha 248
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I won’t ask for much (but just this once, I’d like you) 2/10
Updates for this’ll probably come every couple of days or so, and I’m already bracing myself for a third wave of edits to come. But here’s the next part, and Sharky, I’m sorry about the skunk, but you were the one to mention it to begin with. ...And the resulting idea was too entertaining to pass up.
Pairing: Sharky Boshaw x John Seed Rating: E (but only for Ch. 10, the rest are a solid T) Word Count: 4.3K
Link to AO3!
Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 3 / Ch. 4 / Ch. 5 / Ch. 6 / Ch. 7 / Ch. 8 / Ch. 9 / Ch. 10
—
Sharky steals a boat. It just happens to be John’s boat, and when it’s damaged along with his boathouse, John proceeds to lay out a means of having Sharky pay him back. [No Cult AU]
———–
It took two and a half days to tear the old boathouse down.
John hadn’t lied when he mentioned wanting him to get in there and take it apart piece by piece, and hovered over him the entire time.
The whole monitoring bit was easily the part that annoyed him the most. Like he was waiting for him to screw up. To somehow find a way to take the already burnt building and set it on fire again through force of will alone. Which, while badass, was well out of his means, all the wishing and praying he’d sometimes do to monkey Jesus aside.
But that didn’t stop John from acting like he had the ability. Riding him further during smoke breaks, or barking order after order at him from the sidelines.
Every other word out of his mouth was a correction. To tell him to go back to read the blueprints again. To check his measurements. To put out that cigarette, pry out that misplaced nail, and to use some of that delicacy he kept on going back to, making Sharky’s eyes want to roll back into his head.
And music? The one time he’d tried to bring any levity to the situation with the soothing sounds of disco, John put an end to it immediately. Really just made it clear how much of a drag he wanted to be, and only wanted to push the point home.
Seeing as John was some big-shot lawyer, he really expected him to have more to do than nitpick and lord this whole thing over him. Like he’d stick around for a few weeks, use the time to get off on whatever power trip he was having over this, and then go back to bugging the department, the local businesses, Nick, shit, anyone.
But John Seed was also petty as fuck.
Local gossip hadn’t painted the guy as a kind or forgiving figure, and while the Seeds as a whole were alright at best and fucking weird at worst, over the past couple of years John had picked up a rep as a colossal asshole all on his own.
Tickets? Contested. Special orders down at the store or for parts? Made with specific instructions that needed to be followed to the letter. If not, he’d demand and get his money back, damning everyone with the fine print others would skim over.
Hell, Sid, one of the guys that worked down at the cattle ranch, had traded paint with him once. He’d done so while stopping at the general store, and hadn’t paid much mind to the fancy car parked in the lot, getting just close enough to leave a small scuff on the rear bumper.
In those cases, a person would trade numbers, or see what they could buff off before moving on, 'cause insurance claims were a pain in the ass, and half of the cars in the county were a little late on renewing registrations anyway. Shit, he was coming up on a year, and hoping to see how much longer he could go before any of the Deps cottoned on to it.
But no, the minute John caught on, Sid recalled the glint he got in his eye. Then told him he’d slap him with the largest fine possible for both the damage and the late reg. All over trading paint. Not major damage, not even a busted tire.
Just paint.
Sid was still spitting mad about it, months after the fact.
He’d even pulled a fast one when it came to setting up big bro Joe’s compound. Digging up some obscure property laws all but guaranteeing the land could be sold to them.
No, no one earned the title of mega-dick by being sweet and accommodating. His bro had smoothed over a lot of ruffled feathers by being pretty okay after that, even with all of the converts chilling the fuck out on his property, but John was still John.
And now he personally had that shit to deal with. Today, two days from now, and who knew how many weeks or months after that.
So much for those chicks wanting and keeping his number too. Hurk told him he’d snagged at least one number on the way back to their drop off, but when he’d tried to call them back the other day he got no answer. Ghosted him like it was nothing, and he guessed he deserved that.
What with getting himself caught and left to doing whatever the hell John wanted for as long as John wanted.
“As per our agreement,” John would remind him, whenever he felt the point needed pushing.
And he pushed.
Whenever Sharky would drop something, whenever he let his feet drag, whenever he cut something and John was ready to whip out his tape measure.
He pushed, and Sharky shot another prayer up to monkey Jesus, hoping that maybe this would be the day to go Human Torch on the situation. Or at the very least a little Cyclops.
Not today, but he’d try again tomorrow.
But on the days when Sharky was working, it wasn’t always just the two of them. He’d full on expected this whole thing to go on in its own little pocket, with Hurk eventually crashing the party due to a need to bust him out or worse.
The day that Joseph first showed up stood out, for one.
Joseph Seed was kind of like Pastor Jerome. Not his first pick to hang out with, considering they were both on opposite sides here. Of the whole preaching and managing earthly temptations, while not super indulging in the kind of shit that he knew he wanted in his life, period.
It came with the territory, being religious leaders and all that, but when Joseph first rolled in to the county, he’d brought his people with him.
And they were an interesting bunch. The People of Eden’s Gate were some kind of holistic commune where it was pretty hunky-dory roughly ninety percent of the time. The other ten percent was wondering just what to do about the men and women that wanted the simple life. Living humbly while offering help wherever needed.
While their hearts were in the right place, it was pretty boring stuff otherwise, Sharky decided. He’d even considered joining up for the hell of it only until Hurk reminded him that there wasn’t much fucking to be found there. Pretty women, sure, but the kind more focused on spirituality, and less on how many ways they could Clutch Nixon-ify their daily lives.
But Joseph on his own was a different story.
Watching John go from calmly sipping his drink, doubling-down on just how refreshing it was when Sharky happened to push the wheelbarrow past him, to spitting half of it out when Joseph materialized next to him was fucking priceless.
Greeting him warmly, Joseph pulled a sputtering John into a kind-of half-hug gesture, but John’s cool had already been lost, and in front of his entourage too.
Joe’s wife was with him, plus kiddo number one of a baker’s dozen, carrying them up and on her hip as they talked. With them was also a woman dressed in the modest clothes the Peggies stuck to. She wasn’t trying to stand out, but he didn’t need sharp eyes to see how damn pretty she was.
It had to have been a brother thing, Sharky gathered. Embarrassing the shit out of younger siblings seemed almost natural to Joseph, and it might’ve been petty of him too, but watching John try to get his shit back in line in front of all of them was like hitting the jackpot.
So, Sharky kept on working, sneaking looks over at the group every now and then, and at one point gave an awkward wave back whenever they tried acknowledging him. But whenever John glanced his way, Sharky didn’t hide his shit-eating grin. No, it stayed put for the rest of the day.
The next time Joseph came over, however, he didn’t stop by just to say hi. He approached Sharky, ignoring John’s loud protests, and insisted on helping.
He’d get water, and help with any items that needed anchoring, stepping in whenever it looked like Sharky needed another hand. It was the most contact he’d had with the guy outside of the times he’d tried preaching at the Eagle, and outside of that? He was actually pretty okay to be around.
Well, he personally didn’t have a problem with Joe, at least. John’s irritation skyrocketed with every suggestion, especially when Joseph did the impossible. Told him that with a three-person job, you needed three people, and John? John was capable.
“You sure are,” Sharky added, giving him a wicked grin, and John looked mad enough to spit.
But he didn’t say no. Didn’t even try, or attempt it.
Did more than his fair share under the loving supervision of his older bro, and come nightfall, Sharky realized he’d had a damn good day. It was the lightest he’d felt in weeks, and wasn’t about to turn that down. Not when it helped him jump back into things with some extra pep, and the progress was a boost too.
With the actual frame up and the panels and exterior being added piece by piece, Sharky was starting to feel pretty accomplished. Proud even, because he built this. Yeah, he was being needled at every step of the way, but he used his own two hands to get this set up, no one else’s, and at the end of the day could actually see more of this coming together.
If he kept this up, he’d also have some extra skills to add to his repertoire. Might even get a chance to twist Hurk’s arm into trying out that whole ‘building and flipping’ thing that seemed to be hot at the moment, provided he wasn’t here for the next ten years.
But goals. He had goals to work towards and something to show for it, and it was pretty damn nice in the grand scheme of things.
Today, however, John had a guest again. The same Peggie woman as before, holding a basket, flanked by a few other converts.
Full on expecting to see Joe with her, Sharky wondered if he was waiting out in the woods again. Hell, even John was checking the path back up towards his house, looking past her every now and then to see if he’d catch him.
But as the minutes ticked by, and Sharky kept on working, nothing happened. And long after the other Eden’s Gate members had left, the two kept on talking, having what seemed to be a hell of a time going off of the signals they were giving off.
Smiling, laughing. Facing each other directly as they spoke, Sharky had John’s back to him almost completely, which had his eyebrows climbing up.
And judging by the way she was reacting to John in turn, he had to have been turning on the charm. Smiling shyly, twirling her hair around her finger, hell, he’d put money on her being a two-word question away from dropping everything to get a piece of that.
It was annoying as fuck, really. Dry spell or not, watching John pull it off with minimal effort sucked.
Sure, he had a lot of things working for him. The guy was loaded, for one. Had more than enough money to net himself a fancy car, his large-ass ranch, and a plane. He’d also had a boat up until Sharky had wrecked it, but that was beside the point. Man had more money than sense, and worked the slick lawyer angle for all it was worth. He’d listened in on enough convos to know just how many women in the county dug it. Shit, men too.
Plus the whole property on the water was a real panty dropper. At least going off of what his Auntie had said shortly after John had first bought it, gossiping with Sharky about the costs and expenses that came with it.
Then she promptly turned the talk on its head by launching into talking about John’s ass instead.
His drink hadn’t stayed in his mouth for long, and she’d dropped her forlorn sighing long enough to tell him not to stain the carpet. That he had to hear and think about John’s ass at all wasn’t fucking fair, especially since he was pretty damn sure it wasn’t that much of a draw to begin with. He’d checked.
Whenever John’s back was turned towards him, he’d sneak a look to see what the deal was only to be disappointed. Better asses were walking around Hope County right this moment, his included, but good luck trying to argue that with her. Or even get three words in edgewise before wanting to slap some sense into himself.
Besides, John’s eyes were better. Hands down, Sharky knew they’d been his ticket to pound town on more than one occasion, needing only to show them off and say a few fancy words to seal any kind of deal.
Dropping the wood onto the ground, he crouched down low. Stared at the wood grain of the plank to clear his mind a little before shifting his attention back towards John.
Shit, were they still talking?
He rolled his eyes. Whatever John was saying couldn’t have been that good, and any joke? Nowhere near funny enough to get a giggle like that.
At that time, John turned, giving him a look over his shoulder as Sharky became well aware of two sets of eyes on him. The woman for one, and the pretty boy lawyer that had been eating up every last shred of her attention until now.
A cross between smug and expectant, John gestured towards him.
Well?
Sharky knew three ways to tell someone to get fucked, but picked the least subtle one just in case.
Shocked for a second, John closed his mouth. But soon after, he pressed a hand to his chest, looking hurt. It was pretty convincing, making Sharky feel for a moment that he’d done something shitty like kicked a puppy.
Shame it didn’t reach his eyes. Or match the sharp smile that crept in.
“Smug-ass, smirking fuckface,” Sharky muttered, throwing the wooden plank to the side.
But not even that stuck around either. No, John flashed his pearly whites at the woman with him too, making her melt right in front of them.
Salt in the motherfucking wound. That’s what it all was, but lucky for him he only had a few more hours left to go. Then he could go home, get in a kickass shower and see what Hurk was doing.
Standing up, he wiped his face down with his handkerchief. If this had been anytime during the summer he would’ve been dying, but at least the weather was working in his favor. The breeze took the edge off just enough, and he closed his eyes for a few seconds to soak it all in.
“Oh, Charlemagne?”
Grating right on his ears, the pitch John used never failed to make him want to grind his teeth together. That, and saying his name. Kept on doing that well after being told he could call him Sharky. Shit, even his grandma used it sparingly.
“What?”
“Shouldn’t you be focusing over there-“ John froze, and all smugness vanished.
That put him on edge. “Yo, you wanna expand on that, amigo?”
Slowly turning around, Sharky caught the small creature on the ground and felt every hair on him stand on end. Black and white, and assuming the posture any pissed off animal would, it stood tall for its small size with its tail up, ready and aiming right at him.
Skunks, though, had never liked him. Guess he’d earned that after the whole kissing one bit. So, staring down what he was sure had to be some distant relative out for revenge, he did what came naturally.
Yelled. Loudly, and might’ve sealed his fate right then and there.
Hit, but not in the eyes – thank Hurk’s monkey Jesus for that – he sprinted down towards the river and dove right in.
Grabbing his cap, he kept it in hand as he bobbed back up to the surface. The smell hit as he gulped down air, and he furiously paddled away from the shore when he realized he’d been followed.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
This was fucking bonkers, and it was only getting worse.
Could skunks swim? Did they have a sense for it, or was he getting played by the only one able to? Was this the moment some poor guy was going to have to act out in the movie about his life? Swimming out, smelling to high heaven as a rich asshole laughed it up from the shore?
Fuck, he hoped to hell not, 'cause he’d lived an okay life up ‘til now. And having that be the moment he’d be known for immortalized up on the silver screen was just lousy at best.
Looking back, he watched as the skunk gave him the evil eye for a minute, pacing back and forth as it thought about shooting at him again. Little fucker wasn’t done yet, but couldn’t fire another round off from where it was.
John on the other hand, was watching the whole thing develop from a distance. He hadn’t taken off, but wasn’t laughing like he thought he would either. If anything, his gaze was sharp as he aimed it over at the skunk camping him out, and kept it set in place as he approached the boathouse.
Whatever the hell he had in mind, Sharky hoped he’d do it, and do it fast.
Shit, if he ended up zapped too, that’d also make his week, but for now he needed to keep swimming, and tried to see if he could make his way back towards land. His arms and legs weren’t tired, but the water wasn’t getting any warmer, and this was more of a workout than he’d planned for.
The skunk did not let up, following his drift.
“Seriously? Don’t you got something better to get up to?”
No, it didn’t, and he paddled harder hoping to get some kind of a lead on it. Kicked enough with the intent of making a break for it as soon as he hit land.
Maybe he could shimmy up a tree? Nah, he’d be a sitting duck, worse off there than here. Get back to his car on the way? His keys were swimming in his pocket right now, along with-
Aw, dammit. There went that phone. Sputtering into the water, he coughed around the word that would’ve come out otherwise, then gave it up to keep on swimming.
On the edge of the shore, he dragged himself up and out and booked it. Didn’t see anything waiting for him, but didn’t waste time either. Just hit the nearest patch of tall bushes and stayed low.
Waiting was the worst part. Waiting, listening, and trying not to make too much noise on his end. Every branch, twig, and leaf was the enemy now, and he wasn’t about to let that skunk get the drop on him again.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
Loud squeaking sounded off in the distance, and he poked his head out from the bush.
Scanning left and right, Sharky checked for black and white. That and movement. When neither seemed to be present, he pushed his way forward and stepped out into the open.
Letting out a slow breath, he shook his hat out and slipped it back on. Then took in a tentative sniff as he raised his arm. The smell hung around him like a cloud, and getting a bigger whiff of it only made him want to gag.
Peeling the shirt off, he wrung it out, and gave it a smell as well. Now that made his eyes water. With his luck his jeans were just as bad, and he didn’t bother checking. Just pulled them off to get some of the water out of them too, and resigned himself to drip-drying the rest of the day outdoors.
“Charlemagne? You can come out now!”
John. Guess he’d found a way to deal with it after all.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
“Ugh, fucker. Took him long enough.” Groaning to himself, he slung his wet clothes over his shoulder and started heading towards the clearing.
“Well, there you…are?” John gave him a quick once over as he walked past, and pursed his lips. “Hmm.”
The woman with him didn’t even try to make eye contact. Just kept her attention directed elsewhere, her cheeks tinted red.
Great. Not that he was trying, but his odds of getting even a pity look in passing had all but tanked.
“Yo, I don’t wanna know what you did, but after that? My bullshit meter’s maxed, so fuck off.”
Prying his keys out of his pocket, Sharky unlocked the trunk of his car and threw the clothes into the back of it. Between the gas cans and propane tanks he’d thrown back there often enough, skunk wasn’t going to add much to the smell in there.
“Fuck off? That’s not very kind, all things considering.”
The trunk dropped, and he might’ve used more force than necessary. “Kind?”
“Not even a thank you?” John eyed him from a distance, smug, but only for a second. “After chasing off your little tormentor? Such a shame, really.”
“That I ain’t feeling, what? Warm gratitude towards you right now? Like happy and fuzzy shit?”
John scoffed. “Hardly.”
“'Cause you’re making a whole lot of noise for nothing, and I wouldn’t be out here busting my ass at all without you to begin with.”
“Oh, my dear Charlemagne,” he watched as John withdrew a blue handkerchief from his jean pocket, and held it up to his face to cover his nose, “I’m hardly the one at fault here.”
His patience snapped like a brittle twig. Rattling off words as fast as they came to him, Sharky scraped for the bottom, tried actively to come up with the most out of bounds targeted insults he could conjure up just to see if he could wipe what he was sure was a smirk right off of John’s face.
Then nearly crashed into the woman who had stepped into his path. Making full-on eye contact now, she gave him a hesitant, but soft smile. “I think this might help.”
In her hands was a towel. A nice, fluffy one, and she held it out towards him.
The anger drained out of him as he stared at her. Almost as if someone took an ice bucket and dumped it right over his shoulders.
Gingerly taking it, Sharky let it dangle in the air between them. “Uh, thanks?”
“Of course. For anyone in need, and you certainly seemed to be. Considering your lack of…clothing in general right now.”
Still had the underwear on, at least. Blushing five different shades of red, he quickly wrapped the towel around himself. “Yeah, um, thank you again, miss.”
She nodded, and headed back towards John. “We’ll be heading out, but can we expect you at mass later tonight?”
John lowered the handkerchief just enough for Sharky to catch the frown. “If work allows it. There’s still a lot left to do here, but you can let Joseph know I’ll try.”
Sharky pulled up a corner of the towel to wipe his face, no longer able to hear much of what was traded between them. Lady hadn’t even flinched at the smell up close, and the towel was a nice one. Nicer than any of the kind he had at home, and must’ve been in the basket she had with her.
Yeah, got that pity look after all. Great.
Staring down at his feet, he removed his cap to run a hand through his hair. The hushed voices behind him eventually stopped, and by the time John walked over he’d switched to looking out over the water.
“That was interesting.”
“Sure,” Sharky said, tired of arguing with him.
“And there went our progress for the afternoon. At least the morning wasn’t a complete waste, but our guest derailed us thoroughly. And I don’t believe you have a change of clothes, do you?”
Sharky rubbed his shoulder, and felt it twinge in response as he moved it. He badly needed a cigarette, and was desperate enough to see how many times it’d take for a wet one to actually light.
“Do you?”
“Look, I get what you’re asking. And no, I’d have-“ John raised the handkerchief again, and the words died in his mouth. “You know what? Forget it. And if you’re looking to avoid this shit, don’t stand downwind of it. Basic Scouting 101 right there.”
Sharky whipped the towel off and threw it at him.
John snatched it out of the air, keeping it from smacking him in the face. “Leaving?”
Not bothering to check behind him as he approached his car, Sharky flashed him the finger.
“You can take this with you, you know.”
That John didn’t take the bait, or fight him on it, only irritated him further. He also seemed to be following him, and Sharky scowled at him. “Don’t need it.”
John sighed, and put away the cloth. “Charlemagne, it’s a towel, and you’re still soaking wet.”
“And maybe I want the draft to help dry the swamp ass brewing here, okay?” he shot, climbing in behind the wheel. “And if you wanna give me shit for cutting out early, tack on more hours as a penalty, whatever, I’ll deal with that next time. Or, hell, the time after, as long as it doesn’t mean I’m still standing here talking any of this shit with you. That work?”
The thin line John had pressed his lips into told him otherwise, but he said nothing. Just crossed his arms before holding out the towel to him one last time.
Sharky hit the gas and didn’t look back.
#far cry 5#sharky boshaw#john seed#john seed/sharky boshaw#the skunk bit was actually going to be later in the fic in the original planning#but the outline was thankfully a flexible thing#b/c it fit so much better here#FC5 fanfiction#fanfiction#fic: I won't ask for much#fic series: we could make a home out of this
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My Dinner With Garfield: An AppVenture
Just because you’re smiling doesn’t mean you haven’t drowned --They Might Be Giants, Dark and Metric
There was a time in my life where I genuinely enjoyed Garfield. There has never NOT been a time in my life where I haven’t genuinely enjoyed free money. I consider myself a warrior of fortune--you can daily find me dutifully filling out surveys and watching ads in various services that will give you gift cards for being a cog in the capitalist machine, and I’ll put my hand in toward anything promising semi-paid semi-labor.
This is especially true with ground-floor terribly-planned enterprises, which is how I was able to legally flimflam Bing out of $15 worth of gift cards by searching for pictures of animals once a day. So of course after the initial wave of nausea and secondhand embarrassment over Garfield Go, I was installing it and ready to see how effectively I--and any other card-hunters--could grin and bear my way to some free Starbucks.
The Garfield emulation is so complete that you already know the punchline before reading it, but come along, won’t you?
WARNING: Yes I will be comparing it to Pokemon Go. To be fair, it knows EXACTLY what it’s doing.
WARNING THE SECOND: I batch-edited these and Tumblr doesn’t like the size, but in keeping with the true Garfield spirit, I’m too lazy to edit them again. You’re not missing anything.
The first thing I managed to do was break the app. I disallowed AR, thinking that it would have a stock background similar to PoGo, because that shit eats battery like...God, I don’t have it in me to make a lasagna joke, just let it be said that rather than issue a warning, it went to an entirely black screen. I fixed it manually and was greeted with Not Garfield on my coffee table, demanding food. Contrary to his nature, he refused to eat anything I didn’t curveball directly into his dish. My sister and warrior-in-apps commented on how I managed to land it in on my second try, and I realized I actually had an edge from never giving up on PoGo. Not a lot of edge, and not enough to get it more than one out of three times, but it set my spirits moderately high.
I did some checking around in the app, and wasn’t able to find much to do while stationary except bake food. I wasn’t sure what it was for, but when an app tells you to do a free time-based thing, you do it, and I threw a lasagna on. I was offered the option to bake it immediately for more in-game currency than it cost to buy one. I had a couple thousand free starter coins but also first-grade math skills, and declined.
The time was ripe. After trading comments on how janky the controls were (you have to use two fingers in a twisting motion to change the map view, which is one of the dirtiest sounding and looking mechanics I've seen since jerk-off jogging in Wii Fit), my sister and I parted ways and the experiment began.
My nightly walks tend to be heavy on the “nightly”. This led to the game’s first flaw disguised as a perk: While it’s true that it will gladly put its Pokestops anywhere (they’re Bistros here), “anywhere” includes “your neighbor’s apartment”. They’re also full minigames, which means instead of giving your phone a quick swipe, you stop dead and play a lackluster Simon expy, because there is nothing less awkward and likely to get security called on you than standing in front of someone’s house at 11:42 at night silently tapping away on your phone for an extended period of time. I threw the game, got some free food, and quickly moved on before I had to explain my motivations.
Things got dark fast. I mean that literally. One of the other reasons forced AR is a problem is that it isn’t built for nighttime play. Every time I tapped a hotspot, it gave me a “Waiting For GPS” screen before dropping Goblinfield in pitch black, enticing me to appease him with baked sacrifices. It’s a simple mechanic: If you successfully pitch food into his dish, Gerbfield will eat and then find a chest for you to open. It’s also a highly broken one. The food items are all made of lead that turns into rubber on the impact, requiring an unsatisfying Herculean toss to pitch a piece of cake that’ll most likely either miss or bounce back out again. You get three tries, which is somewhat generous, but the sheer frustration nullifies it. My frustration was amplified on the realization that GarGo does not allow you to throw high enough to even possibly hit Goobfield in the face.
"Hey kids, wanna see where I hid Lyman's body? Tap the box."
One of the things that is admittedly sort of clever is having a button to tap to refresh hotspots. One of the things that is not is not instructing the player that it's there. I was a third of the way through my usual route before I noticed it and could begin playing again. I stopped for a moment to relate the information to my sister. She replied that the app was claiming she was ten blocks from where she was and near an inexplicable horseshoe-shaped structure. I took a side-by-side of where I was to relate GerBo's...relaxed attitude toward geography and also the laws of physics.
Novelty was running low, but I got a boost in determination from getting my first gift card...fragment?
Well, that explained how the gift card scenario was going to shake down. I could guess how many first pieces of the promised $100 gift card were already being given out and how few of the next two would ever be found, much less that golden fourth, but that was fine. I play these for the little prizes, not the big ones, because expecting to win anything that isn't roughly 1/80,000th the value they squeeze out of you is a recipe for disappointment. I kept going.
The hotspots led me into the local Safeway, which happened to also house a Pokestop, and I ran flat against a new flaw: The game is NOT subtle. PoGo can be played with relative normalcy 80% of the time, since you can turn AR off and keep marching staunchly ahead as you catch. GerfCo requires either violently whipping around at 180 degrees or slowly turning the same distance with your phone up like a pod person, and I was quickly pressed to decide which was worse. I ended up buying a candy bar as a social apology for looking like a jerk in a public place and hopefully as an unspoken excuse for being there. Upon doing so, I realized I didn't have any cash on hand and was paying for a dollar candy bar at midnight in Safeway with a credit card, which made me look like a right pillock instead of a jerk, but now one hundred pennies deep into this venture, I soldiered on, chocolate in hand.
I had noticed by this point that the food system was tiered, so I switched to the one piece of lasagna starting the game had given me and stuck the landing. This gave me a "better chance" of finding the highest-tier chest, but I was unsurprised that it wasn't one. I was more surprised by what was inside.
I hope you weren't expecting "that $100 gift card". Ah, yes, Garfield's trademark white fedora, the one he's so known for wearing. Compelled to take every chance available to make this experience as viscerally unpleasant as possible, I equipped it immediately.
This is why I need meninism.
Things weren't getting better. The next refresh of the hotspots spawned absolutely every one on the other side of the street. I was now adding "crossing the road in the middle of the night" to the list of fun-filled family activities GlorpNo had to offer. I had run out of food and was now using the in-game currency to buy it fresh. My iPod, which has slowly developed sentience over the years, kept shuffling up Mountain Goats songs. I was starting to feel distinctly unnerved.
PoGo wasn't averse to getting its two cents in on the matter.
Standing outside of a dimly lit Pizza Hut where the cashier was closing out their drawer and probably wondering if the guy whipping around in half-circles outside the building was planning the world's illest-advised burglary, I won a comic strip panel. Not a comic strip. A single panel. Despite the ability to look up literally every Garfield strip ever made on multiple platforms with a casual Google search, I was being given a single panel of a single strip as a hallowed reward. I pictured a small child working for days for the RNG to let them read a three-panel strip in full, staring bleakly at the one they had in the meantime and wondering if it was the punchline or the setup.
I began redefining my understanding of the term "liminal space".
By this point, I was entirely out of food, nearly out of coins, and on my last percentage of patience. As if sent by Jim Davis’ automated humorbot itself begging me to reconsider, I got a notification that the lasagna I had started making an hour and a half ago was done. I hauled ass to the next hotspot and got ready to make good.
Yeah you all saw that coming. You know, Globeel, if I tossed a fiver toward a busker’s case and it landed behind it, they would just pick it up. I know it’s food but 1) you’re a cat 2) you are Garfield the Cat (question mark heavily implied) 3) at least the busker offers a return service.
I need to state that at this point I was actually going to stay with this game, despite my readily apparent feelings on it. It's not fun, it's not a mentally rewarding experience, but I am by nature a patient person, and I was willing to stick with it for the eventual gains. That's how you win at these things--being willing to put the time in for the gradual increments to stack up. I was actually looking forward to going home and checking in on food I was baking and slowly going after the gold.
Then I decided to check what I had earned so far, and the entire thing came to a screeching halt.
Here’s the grift, folks, here's how the carnival game works. Remember how the system is tiered? You have to have the highest-tier item to get a chance of seeing one of those diamond chests, and there's no guarantee the piece will be inside. Again, it takes an hour and a half to bake one piece of lasagna, or else 350 coins to buy one. You get a small handful of coins from chests and a slightly larger handful if you finish a "trinket" collection, but unless you are willing to devote your waking hours to the game, your recourse is buying your way there. And...how much are those coins?
Yyyyyeah. It's Vegas, baby. You pay to play and the house always wins.
So, friendly fast-buck-sters, this app definitely isn't worth it for money value. If it was a matter of staying inside and rolling the dice while I multitask, I might be on board for chasing the golden ticket, but GlerbGubler demands all of your attention in public spaces and turns out Sisyphean as a result, if Sisyphus was constantly aware of how awkward he looked pushing that damned boulder. Play Lucktastic, join e-rewards, get into the sites that actually reward you consistently for a reasonable amount of effort. Your time does have value, so make sure it's honored.
I uninstalled the app on the way home. Deleted all the data I had, torched it. Stood on the sidewalk laughing, watching it burn, all tabby cat orange and lasagna sauce red. Then I put on a top 40 station, got on the Hollywood Freeway, headed north.
Never could stand that cat.
#garfield go#garfield#apps#app review#e3 blogging#this is the nightmare bill watterson saw when he said no to merchandising calvin and hobbes#bless 'im for it#appventures#del's abuse of song lyrics#although i think mr. waits would understand#i spent too long on this#food tag
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Wednesday Roundups 7/6/17
Wow I had a lot to read and I still managed to turn it out faster than I turn out about 90% of these which I’m not sure if it’s a reflection on my reading and writing skills getting better or if I was stressing out over doing these way too much in the past.
Regardless, we have quite a variety this week and still seem to be celebrating Wonder Joy so let’s just get into it~
DC’s Batman, Creator Owned CBLDF Defender, Marvel’s Spider-Man/Deadpool, DC’s Superman, IDW’s Transformers: Lost Light, DC’s Wonder Woman FCBD, DC’s Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor, Viz’s Yona of the Dawn
DC’s Batman (2016-present) #24 Tom King, David Finch, Danny Miki, Clay Mann, Seth Mann, Jordie Bellaire
Okay, so I follow Batman at a distance because I’ll be completely honest: Tom King absolutely lost me with the Gotham and Gotham Girl plot because I just could not get into it, and it annoyed me, so I’ve been hands off with the title for the most part, a decision I only double downed on with the Catwoman debacle and my correct assumption in King really relying too heavily on TWISTS. a
....
But I absolutely picked up this issue because even if nothing in my thinking brain believes, at all, that this will be allowed to change the status quo between Bruce and Selina...
I love BatCat so much you guys.
He proposed. And I bought it purely for those pages.
I have to emphasize it was for those pages alone because I could not have cared less about Claire and Bruce’s conversation because I’m just so tired of how many people there are in Gotham and how this conversation would have been so much more meaningful if it came from Kate or Dick or Tim or Cass or Duke or Harper or Damian or Julia or Luke or Jean Paul or Leslie or -- THERE ARE SO MANY BAT CHARACTERS THAT ARE NOT BEING USED TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL RIGHT NOW DAMMIT.
The conversation itself is kinda stuff we’ve heard before, and while I like how it tied in thematically it just wasn’t in me to not criticize the fact that it’s coming from the current OC of the Day.
Anyway.
I came for the BatCat and I was happy for it even if it was basically only three issues and I had to deal with grown artists making Gotham GIrl’s skirt incredibly short while she was in weird positions for most of it.
So. That’s my take on that.
Now I can write 3 million fics about how this could be wonderful and that Helena Wayne gets to grow up with all her siblings and be loved by the world. byyyyeeeeeeee
Creator Owned CBLDF Defender Vol. 2 #2 Marc Adreyko, Gene Luen Yang
So this is mostly just an addition at the last minute both because it’s free and because it’s, well, an information brochure about uniting to subscribe or pledge money to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund for all those who have been encouraged into activism thanks to recent events and the collective consciousness surrounding events like last year’s Pulse nightclub shooting.
It’s a good idea and it’s pro-community messaging speaks to me. I’d like to spread awareness for people that these voices are out there and that if you’re interested in providing support you can check out this particular brochure on Comixology for free or google at your leisure.
Marvel’s Spider-Man/Deadpool Vol. 2: Side Pieces Scott Aukerman, Gerry Duggan, Penn Jillette, Nick Giovannetti, Paul Scheer, Joshua Corin, Reilly Brown, Scott Koblish, Todd Nauck, Tigh Walker
Okay, so... I like Spider-Man/Deadpool’s first arc... but it’s pretty much exactly like Trinity over at DC and it’s spiritual predecessors Batman/Superman and Superman/Batman in that, outside of what’s honestly a pretty stellar initial premise, there is not a whole lot of plan behind where the comic wants to go for the future.
So you get a whole lot of different creative teams and no cohesive narrative or direction for the comic to go.
But I guess that really brings into question what makes ongoing comics work and whether or not th idea of “hilarious monthly team ups of Spider-Man and Deadpool without a point, and assumedly without continuity consequences” is enough to work.
And as someone who honestly really enjoys one-shot one-and-dones, that’s honestly a pass for me.
But at the same tim... I mean there’s a reason I have both Spider-Man/Deadpool and Trinity on trade wait status now.
The whole is not equivalent to the sum of its parts, but honestly it’s got some genuinely funny and worthwhile parts as it stands. And I appreciate that.
DC’s Superman (2016-present) #24 Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Mick Gray, Joe Prado, Wil Quintana, John Kalisz
You know, sometimes being a comic fan is kind of like reading the newspaper more than reading a narrative story.
For me that’s kinda what this issue felt more like, I was getting information on where all the characters had moved since last time, the motivations, some backstories. Slight progress and movement in the form of an update on what happened to Lois and getting to see her still kicking Clark’s ass in gear despite his concern for her injury, which I liked, but overall this issue mostly felt like filler for the final moment where we see Jon fall completely into the control of Manchester Black.
Who... is a big whooping plot hole I am stil waiting to be addressed. Clark remembers Manchester Black from the New Earth continuity still and the “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” and knows about the Elite, but do they know about him? Or are they completely different from the Super Elite we knew? Are we going to get a Justice League Elite mention (which good god please spare me, though I’ll take Sister Superior).
This is one of those cases where I feel like my overly extensive knowledge of things in continuity actually puts me at a disadvantage to actually like... reading and taken things for granted.
I want things to make sense, or I want enjoyable Kent family shenanigans.
But this issue did have Krypto so, I automatically add a star to it. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
IDW’s Transformers: Lost Light (2016-present) #6 James Roberts, Jack Lawrence, Joanna Lafuente
Look, sometimes I think it’s important for critics, reviewers, readers, what have you, to bea ble to say that they’re confused and don’t know what emotion to feel or whether or not the comic accomplished exactly what it wanted to and I’m just. Like.
Yes that is my emotion at the moment.
A lot of stuff happened in this issue. Like lots of crazy, out there, amazing stuff was packed into a single issue and it’s like, there were panels where you’d blink and you’d miss important character development notes -- like Ratchet hugging their Rung once they got back. Like there’s so much good -- Rodimus had a lot of amazing moments throughout and I love the range of humor to anger to disappointment that he showed. Like his trust and faith in others is already pretty shattered at the moment and to feel Megatron’s apparent betrayal adding onto that is like a million times more stuff. I fear he’s nearing a very dangerous ledge, which is bad because this issue also tells us that Rodimus’ death wish and lowkey desire to put himself in dangerous positions to die heroically is still as prominent as ever.
Someone hug my trash fire of a son, please.
And then magical girlfriend romance bringing back her girlfriend as a baby and it’s kinda weird like is it still going to be the same Lug? Does Anode acknowledge that it’s weird? Is anyone going to point out that they could feasibly use protoform matter now to resurrect anyone whose spark remnants are available now? Including Skids and Ravage?
what is going on
Anyway.
There’s a lot packed into this issue which is why I am honestly kind of happy that next issue’s description is a “fallout” from this because holy shit, I need room to breathe and think through things.
Also. Dat smile when Megatron heard Optimus’ voice in the epilogue-ish finale. I like. Maybe had a fangirl moment. Just maybe.
Anyway. I’m shrug emoji right now until I can get my emotional state sorted out because wow there’s a lot at the moment. Like a lot. A lot a lot.
DC’s Wonder Woman FCBD 2017 Special Edition (2017-present) #1 Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajarado Jr.
Like last week’s Wondy special, this is a reprint, but it’s a reprint of the first issue of “Year One” which still holds up as the far superior of the two starting Wonder Woman titles from Rucka last year and is amazingly well held up...
...save of course for the exact same criticisms as the last time I went over the issue which is Dead Bro Walking trope and a whole lot of Rucka Why???? that comes attached to the really bizarre treatment of race in the first arcs of the series. It’s just so bizarre.
But honestly, again, these moves are meant to attract the new, excited audience after the box office smash that has been the Wonder Woman movie -- an audience that has been largely female of all ages. And if there’s one free comic I’m glad will show up immediately on their google searches this Wednesday, I’m very glad it’s going to be the start of what has quickly become my favorite standard bearer of Wonder Woman’s origin story.
Something I appreciate even more after having finally read the entirety of Azzarrello’s Wondy run which. Eck. Wash my mouth out.
DC’s Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor (2017) #1 Tim Seeley, Christian Duce, Allen Passalaqua
So this addition to my pull was kind of unexpected in that I had no idea that it was coming out this week and thought “why not” because I’m literally still so Wonderfully Pumped Up a the moment and as far as I can see, the more proceeds DC and WB can see attributed to Wonder Woman the better.
That being said, Tim Seeley really dug into his Grayson roots in this one because that’s about the only thing I really got from this issue is that Steve Trevor’s a badass secret agent with secrets and a deep seeded guilt thing. Which kinda felt like a harsher toned take on his Dick Grayson more than anything else. Which is fine.
Part of the problem here is that I did not read the New52 short term published book that was A.R.G.U.S. or whatever where Steve starred during the weird interim where Steve was not allowed around Diana and Lois wasn’t allowed around Clark but DC still wants to make money from fans anyway.
idk. And since those kinds of spy books are rarely my cup of tea, I don’t think this issue sold me on renigging on that instinct.
Still it was cute and Diana and Steve’s interactions, while minimal, are really the driving portion of his narrative which I think is always good.
But, just like the Annual, I’m left just sitting here going “why don’t we use this opportunity to show off the upcoming Wonder Woman creative team, DC????”
And I get no answer bc DC actually doesn’t care about some weirdo random blogger on the internet constantly screaming at them.
Viz’s Yona of the Dawn (2009-present) Vol. 6 Mizuho Kusanagi
I have actually been very interested in Akatsuki no Yona since I saw its anime show up in my Crunchyroll feed, and as with most anime I can’t help but immediately try to find the manga instead because I am impatient and want Answers Now. As I understand it, the Viz official translations are far behind the current run of the manga (makes sense, as the manga series has been ongoing since 2009 in Japan), and is only catching up to where the anime left off so far, but that’s more than okay for me right now.
Because oh my gosh, it’s so amazing to read such a beautiful story about the growth, empowerment, and pure will of a female character as told by a female author and artist. I’m not the biggest fan of Shoujo as a style of art, but having Yona strike a balance between beautiful and cutesy visuals with what is ultimately a fairly action driven plot with intense moral posturing and constant detail put into the grayness of life’s choices makes Yona of the Dawn honestly unlike just about any Shoujo I’ve read before.
Yona is one of the most compelling heroines I’ve ever seen, and her intensity of spirit and her meaningful examination of her kingdom makes this fairy tale story really unlike anything else out there.
And while I’ve really enjoyed Yona to this point, I have to say it is an amazing relief to reach Volume 6 an finally get more female characters than just Yona. I like the reverse harem appeal of the cast as it has been so far, and I have affection for several of the boys, but man is it so much more meaningful to have a few more compelling female characters backing up Yona in the representation department.
Especially since some of Yona’s crew still feel... a little bland to me. It’s usually not a good sign in a massive cast when the traits that come immediately to mind for me are purely character design.
I’m excited for what’s to come and to see how our Princess fully realizes her potential as the Crimson Dragon.
Also I should note some skeevy parts of this. One I don’t mind but am sure other people might, there’s the fact that Yona’s current storyline is dealing with Yona taking down a ring of human traffickers and slavers, which brings up the question of autonomy both for Yona as a woman in this honestly pretty traditionally sexist kingdom but also for the Dragons themselves and how their “service” to Yona is framed as a question of their own will. But it’s still a story about human trafficking and that could bother a lot of people. Another thing in this volume, which has bothered me in the previous volumes but really came to a head this time around, is Hak’s... weirdly possessive outbursts toward Yona. I get that they are meant as... idk protective and romantic to some and that we’re supposed to be compelled by his struggle to not show his affection for Yona, but honestly I’m just kinda... naw hoss. Like Hak’s a fine character and I like his relationship and history with Yona most of the time, but like.. the weird pushing her against walls and... licking honey off of her wrists and just. idk. We’re lost in translation here or something bc I’m not a fan.
I’m also not a fan of Viz’s weird changes in the font randomly throughout the book? Like just stop. It’s bad when your translations look lazier than the fan translations I’ve seen floating around on tumblr.
I’ll be honest, as high quality as I consider almost all of these comics this week, I would say the good majority of them did not give me a fully emotional experience or really captivate me in a way that satisfied me from start to finish. And I’m sure in the follow up issues to come there’ll be a lot for me to question into why that might be for the majority of them, but that time is not now. So, as much as it may feel like cheating to pick a volumed book over single issues, I can’t help but say that Yona of the Dawn by far is my pick of the week. It delighted, it changed up its structure and storytelling, built out its world and has started spending more time on the titular characters where before it often felt like we were just taking for granted that there was a dragon gained every volume. And Yona herself is just one of the most satisfying characters to see grow into their own.
But that’s just my opinion, I’d love to hear what you all think. Agree? Disagree? Think I missed a great comic this week? Please let me know!
#SPOILERS#Wednesday Spoilers#Rena Roundups#Yona of the Dawn#Wonder Woman (2016 )#Superman (2016 )#Transformers: Lost Light#Spiderman/Deadpool (2016 )#Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor (2017)#Batman (2016 )
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Astro-Mark
So! This is a new story I’ve started based on some of the aesthetics y’all have made of Astronaut Markiplier and Alien fan Amy. Many thanks to @http-jack for chatting with me and reading the story, and here we go!
Part I | Part II
SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE
“Your plants are coming along well, Mark,” Kathryn said as the astronaut came into the room.
“How did you – oh, right. The cameras.”
“I take every moment of practice I can get,” she answered with a smile, gesticulating at the wide panel of controls she sat in front of. “I have no doubt once you’re up there you’ll be dodging the cameras as much as you can.”
“Hey, I vlog as well,” he said. “People like seeing into the life of the astronaut without actually being an astronaut.”
“Alright, Mister Celebrity,” she called as he left the room.
“Space to base, space to base,” a voice spoke from a viewboard, and Mark slid into the rolly chair.
“This is base,” Mark answered. “What’s up?”
“’Ey, Mark!”
Floating upside down in the camera’s frame was Tyler, one of the astronauts with whom Mark had trained.
“Tyler! How are ya? How’s the bus?”
“It’s pretty good! I finally met Alexei. He’s super chill.”
As Tyler said this, an astronaut with a Russian flag on his shirt floated through the back of the frame.
“Alexei!” Mark called, and in the ambient noise of the video he heard a shouted greeting in Russian.
“So when’s your next mission?” Tyler asked, beginning to turn right-side up.
“I ship out in a month,” Mark answered, a dreamy smile on his face and a far-off look in his eyes. “It means Chica has to stay with Tom for a while, but NASA’s gotten new video tech for my mission so I’ll be able to chat with my little Chica-Bika.”
“Aw.” Tyler paused. “Did they tell you what you’re going to do?”
“I’m starting a station near Jupiter, or something like that,” Mark replied. “I dunno, I’m meeting with Ethan at 14:00 to discuss the specifics.”
“A colony? So you aren’t coming back? Do I get your channel?”
“Noooo, I’m just starting a station so we can look at future colonies like the one on Mars.”
“Yeah, I might see if I can’t settle down there when I’m an old, cranky, astro-Tyler.”
“What’s up, my craaaaaaaaanky crew?”
“That’s not – staaaahp!”
Mark looked over his shoulder and saw the bright blue hair of Ethan, an IT staff member that would be helping Mark on his way to Jupiter.
Both he and Tyler laughed. “Ethan says hi,” Mark giggled, adjusting his black glasses. Ethan appeared in frame over Mark’s shoulder and Tyler’s hand stuttered through the frame.
“We need to get you new video gear. That old stuff is from when SpaceX started using their Falcon rockets.”
“Man, that long ago?”
Tyler reached toward the screen and took the camera with him, zooming past astronauts of all nationalities doing botany, writing programming for the Martian colony, and 3D-printing tools for other astronauts and then tossing them across the corridor.”
“Yeah. The stuff is sturdy, but the video quality is kinda shit,” Ethan answered.
“Anyway,” Mark said, “I’ve gotta go. I heard you calling – it was good to see you – but you and Ethan can keep chatting.”
Both Tyler and Ethan said their goodbyes as Mark headed off to another meeting. Later, of course, he’d learn exactly what he was going to be tasked with doing.
“So, Mr. Iplier, as you already know, you’re going to be the sole crewmember of the Cancer I mission.”
“Yep.” Mark nodded, looking from the papers in front of him back up to the NASA directors.
“We chose you not only because of your experience with and knowledge of space, but also because of your… enthusiasm.”
Mark knew that the people at NASA watched his vlog channel, on which he occasionally posted videos of him doing other, space-related things. This time, somebody had sent him a link to a universe sandbox that he’d spent HOURS on. He’d edited the best parts together, and as a joke added in a counter for all of the times he said the word “cool” (It ended up being 41 times).
“Oh,” Mark said, chuckling nervously, “uh, thanks.”
“Thus, your training. And, as you also know, you’ll be launching in a month.”
Mark leaned back in his chair. “So, where will this station be?”
The woman across the table and to Mark’s right leaned forward.
“You’ll be orbiting Jupiter,” she answered. “Of course, this is like the beginning of the Mars colony, but we need more time with this one than with Mars because, of course, it’s further away and Mars is less harsh than Jupiter or other planets.”
“Yeah, I actually knew that,” Mark said. “I have a friend – Séan – who’s Head of Communications there.”
“Oh, Jacksepticeye?”
Both Mark and the female director turned to look at the other director. “What? I follow his blogs. It’s my job.”
“Yeah, that’s him,” Mark answered after a moment. “So I have to ask – how long is the flight?”
“Four days, two hours,” the woman answered. “But since the rocket has an autopilot and a manual control, you’ll be administered a cryo-anesthetic to speed up the journey.”
“You’re going to knock me out? Isn’t that a little dangerous?”
“In the undershirt that we put on under your suit, there’s a capsule that has both the anesthetic and adrenaline – that’s what we’re going to use to wake you back up. We’ll release the adrenaline when you’ve started orbit, and from there you’ll manually latch up to the pod.”
The door crashed open and a familiar figure stepped through.
“Sorry I’m late,” Ethan said, opening his laptop. “Director Jensen, I trust you’ve gone over the important details?”
She nodded.
“Now, Mark, Director McCullogh and I will go over your transmission guidelines. Obviously, you not only do work with us as an astronaut but you also bring attention to what we do with your vlogs. So we want you to keep that up both before your launch and once you get there.”
“The base is ready for you,” Director McCullogh continued, “so all that’s left to take is you, a few seed samples, and all of the video equipment you requested. So you’ll just be taking a standard Minerva II rocket up to the station which you’ll dock. You’ll then enter the base and your pod, the Bellona, will become the last room of the station.”
Mark nodded. “Which is why I did those docking exercises so many times. I can’t be a suck-ass when it really matters.”
Ethan snorted, Director Jensen looked surprised, and Director McCullogh looked amused.
“No, you can’t,” Director McCullogh agreed. “But your statistics were promising, which makes us confident in your abilities.”
“So do you want me to keep vlogging about this?”
“Yeah, your most recent videos gained a lot of attention and even have helped our views,” Ethan answered. “So do a couple more before launch, and make sure they know you won’t be vlogging for a while because of the sleepy juice.”
“Sleepy juice,” Mark remarked.
Ethan nodded. “That’s a technical term.”
There was a bit more discussion as to Mark’s duties before his launch date. Once he was fully aware of his responsibilities, Mark filled out the paperwork they had for him and was off.
Pulling a camera from his bag, he turned it on and began to film a vlog.
“Hey, everybody, it’s Markiplier,” he began. “So, I just got done with a meeting, and it sounds like it’s official! I’m headed out to Jupiter, they said, and I’ll be starting a space base out there.
“Those of you who know me know I’ve wanted to go out into deep space for the longest time. I’ve been up to the ISS – that’s where Tyler – slash – Apocalypto is now – but I was kinda jealous of Seán – slash – Jacksepticeye when he got sent to the Mars base. But now I finally get to realize that dream, and I’m so excited. I’m gonna make a video right before I take off since I’m going to be put to sleep for the journey to Jupiter. You’ll also hear from me afterward when I end up aboard the Ops station, since the docking process is kinda hard. But I wanted to let you guys know so I didn’t just disappear off the face of the world – heh, literally – and you guys hadn’t heard anything. So I guess that’s all for now! I will see you guys in the next video – buhbyeee!”
He shut off the camera and headed home.
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All the Podcasts I Subscribe to
I’ve been listening to podcasts fairly regularly for about ten years now, and my list of subscriptions has slowly increased over the years to its current epic proportions. The more recent parts (towards the bottom) of this list are in order of subscription (from about The Gist onward) but the older parts aren’t in any particular order.
I’ve been meaning for some time to add podcasts to my yearly Media Diet posts, but I’ve got to start somewhere if I’m going to mention what I’ve added and what I’ve taken away in a given year, so here we are! I’ve given them star ratings roughly reflecting my current opinion (which is obviously subject to change, as I’m forever editing the list).
BTW I listen at 1.5 speed, which is the only way I have any hope of getting through all of these!
** BBC: Great Lives - a half-hour profile of a (sometimes dead) luminary, suggested by another (living) luminary. The host is helped along by an expert in the field, so a three-way conversation ensues.
*** Slate: Lexicon Valley - Great podcast about language. Tends to be more topical than The World in Words, the other language podcast I listen to regularly. And it’s now hosted by a linguist, so has taken on more of the air of an expert explaining things rather than journalists uncovering stuff.
*** All Back No Front - a music critic presents a wide-ranging hour or so of new music. It’s a great way to encounter new stuff if you’re too lazy to dig it up yourself (that’s me).
*** BBC: More or Less - A short podcast about the dismal science by Tim Harford, The Undercover Economist. The team investigates uses of statistics in the news, and (usually) debunks them heartily. I’m very happy that the short version and long version now don’t overlap! Well done folks.
** Monocle: The Urbanist - A show about cities that actually goes some distance to include cities in the global south. The posh pose of the hosts can sometimes be grating, though correspondents do come from more varied backgrounds. They have recently started a short podcast released earlier in the week that covers a single item in a world city, which is quite diverting.
** Radiotopia: The Memory Palace - An extraordinarily gauzy and story-telling-inflected history podcast. This is NOT Just The Facts, Ma’am. Your mileage may vary w/r/t the host’s pause-heavy style of speaking, sometimes I find it grating and other times it suits my mood just fine.
***** Max Fun: Stop Podcasting Yourself - I held off on subscribing to this for a long time, since their old ad way back in the Sound of Young America days was SO off-putting. But now? This is the podcast I save to listen to when I have to do something distasteful (treadmill? cleaning the bathroom?) since it’s so consistently good it’ll make any bad task more tolerable. And Jesse Thorn is now otherwise completely absent from my podcast rolls, so we see who won THIS one!
*** Radiotopia: Love + Radio - With many reportorial podcasts, you can grasp a thread, see a connection between their topics from week to week. Not so with L+R, it’s always new, always interesting, always weird.
*** How Sound - this is some deep shit - a podcast about MAKING PODCASTS :O. On occasion, producers from podcasts I actually listen to show up, which is always interesting to get a peek behind the curtain.
***** Radiotopia: 99% Invisible - This is not like, a list of well-kept secrets, so if you’re a person who has any interest in how design functions in the world you’re probably already listening to this. This will change the way you look at any number of everyday objects, and, if you’re the envious type, cause you to think “why didn’t I think of that?!” at least once per episode.
** CBC: Under The Influence - An adman dishes Secrets of the Advertising Industry! The first incarnation of the show had a historical bent, but now stories come from the 21st and 20th centuries alike. I came up with CBC Radio, so I have some affection for its sometimes-repetitive production elements, but seriously: that music bed is HECK OF TIRED and needs to be replaced!
** The Smartest Man in the World - Comedian Greg Proops takes to stages around the world and combines tales of teenage drug adventures in the 70s, celebrity encounters, and (especially recently!) die-hard liberal (def not radical) Democratic politics. This can get weary after a while, but I like to get his take on the issues of the day.
*** CBC: Ideas - This long-running nightly show podcasts not every episode, but just the highlights. For those who’ve never listened, this is a serious-minded (with some exceptions) documentary series which includes some one-offs, some several-episode series, and some regular features (Ideas from the Trenches talks to PhD students, Wachtel on the Arts, Munk Debates). Wachtel tends to be a couple of steps too “public radio” for me, but the rest is generally listenable with occasional moments of brilliance.
*** NPR: Pop Culture Happy Hour - a weekly chat amongst a slightly rotating cast of NPR folks located in DC. Mostly concentrates on middlebrow TV and movies, with occasional forays into music and books/comics. Sometimes showcases shorter conversations during the week that respond to particular events (awards shows, sport things, interviews with pop culture figures) but the main shows usually cover two topics plus a “What’s Making Us Happy” recommendation section. Gives the impression of being more “loose” than the usual NPR fare but keep in mind that’s a low bar to clear.
** BBC: Food Programme - hosts travel around Britain interviewing food producers and cooks of various kinds, generally investigating one topic per show. Tends to be showcase a non-controversial, posi take on food, focusing on things like new food scenes developing in smaller towns, the revival of old techniques, and immigrant contributions to food diversity. Can sometimes tend towards the dull.
***** Too Beautiful To Live - TBTL used to be a radio show, so it’s the rare podcast that actually gets it together to put out an episode every single weekday. Success depends on perfect alchemy between the hosts, and their ability to riff amusingly on the topics of the day and their own lives. Don’t be put off by the inside jokes; let them marinate for a couple of weeks and you’ll find yourself drawn in.
**** Answer Me This! - It is a great and powerful tragedy that this hilarious Q&A podcast has, in its eleventh year, gone down to a monthly schedule. Understandable given the hosts new gigs, but still, these are people I like to spend time with! I miss ‘em!
**** Radiotopia: The Bugle - Oddly enough, The Bugle is hosted by the brother of one of the Answer Me This! trio, and was also formerly cohosted by John Oliver, who is clearly now too busy holding American feet to the fire on HBO to muddle about in the podcasting pool. The conceit of the show is that it’s an “audio newspaper” and so most of the content is a comedic take on the news of the day. The non-Zaltzman co-hosts join from a variety of parts of the world, which is helping move the focus away from strictly the US and Britain.
**** WBEZ: This American Life - The old faithful of podcasts, helped not a little by unnaturally passionate-yet-calm host Ira Glass.
*** BBC: Thinking Allowed - A wry sociologist brings in guests to discuss their papers and/or books on various topics of sociological interest. Feels like a brief & interesting class each week, sans homework! The host’s wry personality mainly comes through in his interstitial responses to emails and letters.
*** NPR: Fresh Air - Your classic NPR interview show, plus short review segments telling you about the latest in jazz records, oscar-bait films or Complicated Novels. The interviews I find the most enlightening are the political ones, I distinctly remember listening and re-listening to the episodes about the initial rise of the Tea Party. Over the past few years, the number of ads during the show has been ratcheting up, slowly but surely; I sincerely hope by this point that Terry Gross has a solid-gold toaster.
*** BBC: In Our Time - a stimulating academic panel show with host Melvyn Bragg discuss the “history of ideas” which in practice usually means an overview of a particular person’s intellectual output, a scientific discovery, or a historical event. Not overly combative in tone, though genteel disagreements do happen. I’m always a bit surprised, given that this is a BBC product that also goes out on the radio, at how uneven the production is - lots of sticky-voiced talkers too close to the mic, and a veritable epidemic of shuffling papers.
**** WNYC: Radiolab - Radiolab has drifted from science somewhat in recent years, but is still producing solid stories full of new insights.
*** Tiny Spark - A relatively rare totally independent podcast, intended to hold charities and non-profits to account. Really helpful to anyone who is wondering how best to spend money in a way that might help people in a meaningful way.
**** WNYC: On the Media - All week long, I know that if I’m reading something about American politics and I’m not quite getting the nuances, I can count on On The Media to help me out. Don’t think you have to be in the media industry to find this enlightening - it’s really for all news CONSUMERS.
**** Greg Proops Film Club - Every once in a long while, Greg Proops shows an old movie in a theatre with an audience, and this podcast consists of his comedic introductions (which are sometimes heavily connected to the films, and other times largely weird anecdotes about his life). Used to include a bit after the film wherein they discuss its particulars and take audience Qs, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside.
***** Previously.tv: Extra Hot Great - The greatest asset of this long-running TV podcast is its tight group of hosts, who have been working together since the dark-ass past of internet-based pop-culture criticism. This long experience gives them an unmatched rapport, even though the hosts now live in vastly divergent time zones across the US. I miss Joe Reid’s contributions, but that doesn’t stop this from being one of my favourite listens each week.
**** Slate: The Gist - I found Mike Pesca’s former NPR show, The Bryant Park Project (which Luke from TBTL was also involved with) shortly before it ended forever in around 2007. So I was delighted to find him with a daily show that covers politics, science and culture in a snappy 20 or so minutes.
**** Feral Audio: The X Files Files - Sadly defunct at the moment, but hey, this podcast seems to have had something to do with the fact that the X Files returned for a few eps (and certainly for the host Kumail Nanjiani’s appearance in a new episode!) so that’s quite a legacy.
**** Men in Blazers - Yes, I came to be interested in football originally because my partner is a die-hard watcher of the English Premier League. But it was these guys who gave me my own entry into this particular world of sports fandom. They made a great, funny series of videos about each national team for the men’s World Cup in 2014, and then I was totally hooked. I’m a big fan of the fact that Rog and Davo are supporters of women’s football as well, which I’m sure has a great deal to do with them being located in the US, the powerhouse of ladies-kicking-soccer-balls-with-great-aplomb.
*** BBC: Short Cuts - Josie Long hosts a charming show that seems inspired by the explosion of US-based storytelling podcasts. Sadly the show’s season is short, and a few months’ silence usually passes between each one.
**** WBEZ: Serial - The podcast that broke podcasts as a genre to the wider world! So far two seasons, each covering one story, have come to pass. It was unusual, when this podcast began, to cover a single story, ahem, serially, but the experiment worked; not only did Serial become wildly popular, other podcasts covering single stories (true, or no) have since abounded.
*** PRI: The World in Words - an offshoot of the PRI show The World, concentrating specifically on languages. It has a broader scope than the english-linguistics-focused Lexicon Valley, but tries hard to not fall back on the public radio trope of sadly looking on, shaking one’s head slowly while lamenting endangered languages.
*** No Such Thing as a Fish - a podcast offshoot of the Brit game show QI. The conceit is that the four hosts, all researchers for the show, each present the most interesting fact they came across at work over the course of the week. And each fact is discussed and riffed-upon by their colleagues.
*** David Cayley podcast - Cayley was a long-time radio producer for CBC’s Ideas, and this irregular-delivered podcast presents his various series as originally-presented on the radio. Each series is delivered all at once, allowing for serious bingeing. He does provide some context from the perspective of the present day, but only in text form on the podcast description, not in audio on the podcasts themselves. I greatly enjoy the nostalgia value of former Ideas host Lister Sinclair’s mellifluous tones. My favourite series of his is Origins of the Modern Public, available in the show’s archive.
**** Radiotopia: The Allusionist - Helen Zaltzman of Answer Me This has her own short podcast about english words and their origins. It’s on Radiotopia and has a great deal in common (plus has had some crossover eps) with that network’s 99% Invisible. Where Roman Mars investigates buildings and other objects, Zaltzman investigates words.
**** Gimlet: Reply All - I loved this little show about internet culture back when it was called TLDR and I love it still. This podcast has really broken the mould lately, with an episode covering 48 hours of the hosts answering a phone line of listeners’ questions, and one in which they secretly micro dosed with LSD to see how it affected their creativity.
**** NPR: Invisibilia - I used to listen to quite a bit more ‘hard science’ podcasts, and for one reason or another, most of those have fallen off my feed. This is one that has stepped into the breach, combining science reporting with more of the storytelling focus that we’re used to in other podcasts.
** Home of the Brave - You may recognize Scott Carrier’s distinctive voice and style of presentation from his appearances on This American Life, and now he’s off on his own, reporting on things that interest him. He goes into each topic with a remarkably open mind, and seems quite adept at getting people to speak with him who might otherwise be suspicious of a public radio-type interviewer.
*** Earwolf: I Was There Too - One of a galaxy of podcasts that depends on moderately famous LA people knowing other moderately famous LA people, and interviewing each other on their podcasts. The conceit here is more interesting than most, though: Gourley interviews (usually minor but not always) actors from very well-known films, to get their perspective on the both the production and the movies’ reputations. Quality varies a lot depending on interviewee.
*** WNYC: The Sporkful - a light and breezy food podcast, usually consisting of quick and concise interviews. They do occasionally handle larger topics (eating disorders, cultural appropriation) in several-episode arcs, but usually each show stands alone.
*** Max Fun: Baby Geniuses - Lisa Hanawalt and Emily Heller gab together for the first 20 minutes or so, about their lives & careers, and Martha Stewart’s pony Ban Chunch, then invite on a guest with whom they get into a wikipedia article suggested by a listener. Then we get into what, on a normal celebrity guest podcast, would be an interview about their latest project. But not here! Here they get to talk about some esoteric interest of theirs, unrelated to what they do for a living. Weird hobbies and so on! I find the last segment, an improv interview with a fake expert in something, to be totally unlistenable, thus the middling rating.
** ARRVLS - Documentary storytelling, but with a focus on stories about change and transformation. This is a broad theme, of course! And really encompasses most types of stories - why tell a story if it hasn’t changed you? I do admit that this blends in with the other doc storytelling podcasts I listen to, it doesn’t stand out a ton.
**** WNYC: Death, Sex & Money - Anna Sayle talks to guests about topics that are usually left out of polite society. Style is a former producer on TAL, so this is all part of the TAL-galaxy of podcasts, so it has a similar slick-yet-heartfelt quality about it. Style went on (terrifyingly short! poor Americans) maternity leave a few months ago and had former guests host the show in her absence - cute idea!
*** Call Your Girlfriend - two pals who live in different states get together over the internet and talk about whatever has interested them in the past week. Like many things, this ‘cast has taken a hard turn towards activism lately, which is great and I love it! They take a light hand with editing, but do use music breaks and sometimes ads to smooth over changes in topic.
*** Buzzfeed: Another Round - Of all of the “two people gabbing” podcasts that I listen to, this is the only one that features two black women. Given that radio (and podcasts too, maybe even more since you choose to listen at specific times?) is such an intimate medium, it’s important to hear voices that have a different background and perspective than your own. These ladies are a big deal! They met the president (not the terrible one).
*** The Weekly Planet - My friend Ryan recommended this podcast about comic book movies (mostly) by some dudes in Australia. Comic book movies are not my Main Jam, but these guys are really entertaining and I enjoy listening to ‘em gab while I’m washing dishes or walking somewhere. I HATE the theme song?!
** KCRW: Here be Monsters - documentary that sometimes edges over into the disturbing.
** America’s Test Kitchen Radio - this is the most practical food podcast I listen to, since it includes equipment testing, and recipe suggestions. The main attraction is the call-ins, wherein the hosts answer listener’s food questions - really useful! Hasn’t updated in a few months though, so not sure what’s up with that?
*** NPR: Planet Money - I listened to a few episodes of this back when it started, when the financial crisis first went down (for real: the Giant Pile of Money episode of TAL was listened and re-listened, by me) but for some reason I didn’t ever subscribe. I finally got around to it recently, and have no regrets (except for all the time I missed i guess??).
*** WNYC: The New Yorker Radio Hour - a weekly hour based on what’s appearing in the magazine on any given week. The only thing I find really unlistenable are the dramatized versions of comedy sketches, which never work for me.
*** After These Messages - I’m not a person who is exposed to much in the way of advertising, given my lack of television, but I do still like this podcast about TV ads. The hosts rant about commercials they hate, and even occasionally tip the hat to those they enjoy.
** Fashion Hags - three friends from fashion school get together and chat about the fashion world in general and their own forays into clothes-making as a career or avocation.
**** The Next Picture Show - rather than reviewing a new release on its own, the four movie critics look at a new movie each week by comparing it to a similar (or related) classic film.
*** NPR: Hidden Brain - Though the focus here is brain science rather than money/economics, the formula here feels pretty similar to Planet Money: draw listeners in with an interesting proposition, back that up with a couple of interviews and/or host talk, tidy conclusion.
*** Worst Idea of All Time - two comedians in New Zealand have a terrible idea: they commit to watch Grown Ups 2 every week for a year, and podcast about it! Since then, they’ve gone through two more terrible years, and have gained a loyal worldwide following (but lost…SO MANY HOURS OF THEIR PRECIOUS YOUNG LIVES).
** Making the Sausage - from the Previously.TV folks, this is an occasional, behind the scenes of TV podcast. As opposed to the other LA entertainment-scene podcasts, this one is strictly talking to people like PAs, writers, and directors instead of the front-of-camera folks. Has some persistent audio issues, but it’s an interesting perspective.
**** Radiotopia: The West Wing Weekly - Apparently everyone loves to podcast about long-finished television shows?! This one is terribly charming, hosted by podcast guy Hrishikesh Airway and former West Wing cast member Josh Malina. Since they have such a solid connection to the show, they’re able to get bigwigs like other cast members, directors and musicians to come on & chat about specific episodes.
*** You Must Remember This - episodic but connected seasons of stories about 20th Century Hollywood. The stories themselves are universally fascinating, but the delivery can be patchy - the host sometimes acts out quotes from her subjects, which is almost always some combination of embarrassing and irritating; and the production itself can be heavy-handed.
**** Our Debut Album - the Stop Podcasting Yourself boys are making an album, at the rate of one song a month. We get to listen to the song-writing process, as well as hear about how the producer actually puts the song together, element by element. A good idea and a fun one!
*** Guardian: Token - A black woman and a trans man talk about issues of race and gender. My favourite episodes so far involve Leah and Freddy being confronted with elements of the other’s world, and giving one another permission to ask potentially-awkward questions.
*** Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs - A sort-of offshoot of Extra Hot Great, involving one of the regular hosts and one of their frequent guests, talking about songs (usually one per ep but not always). If you want a great episode to start with, go for the one wherein they rank all of the songs in Madonna’s Immaculate Collection.
**** WNYC: More Perfect - A Radiolab offshoot, about the machinations of the US Supreme Court. It’s been forever since they released and episode, so hopefully it’s not dead & gone for good since I find it so fascinating.
*** Filmspotting - A long-standing film podcast that I’ve only come to recently, so it feels like jumping into a fast-moving stream. It’s mostly concerned with the higher-brow of filmmaking, with occasional exceptions. Keeping track of things like this makes me feel like at least I will be less likely to miss those movies that film critics are watching, or at least I’ll have some idea of which ones I can definitely afford to skip.
***** Election Profit Makers - Dearly departed! This was a pre-election betting podcast by David Rees and his childhood friend, produced by podcast impresario Starlee Kine, and oh GOSH it was good! It was exactly what everyone needed in the nervy pre-election days, and their single post-election episode was cathartic and emotional and very very real. Going back and listening again would be like time-travel, you should try it.
*** Radiotopia: Criminal - preternaturally soft-voiced Phoebe Judge tells complicated short tales of criminals of many kinds.
** WNYC: Sooo Many White Guys - This is a weird one for me. I really enjoy the interview part, which is the bulk of the show, but I can’t stand the host joshing around with her producer - putting a weird “sound-booth” effect on the producer’s voice is a strange and affected choice, but aside from the sound reasons I’m just not into the conversations they’re having; perhaps I’m just not interested in seeing behind this particular curtain? Interviews are still worth it, though!
*** Gimlet: Heavyweight - I have had a checkered past with Jonathan Goldstein - I enjoy his contributions to other people’s audio properties, but I’ve never been able to get into his CBC show. I was uncertain about this show (in which he tags along with someone to solve a problem from their past) but I’m finding it just Goldstein-y enough?
*** Revisionist History - Malcolm Gladwell takes his typical style of making complicated ideas seem simple. As with his books, there’s some great stuff and some eye-rolly stuff.
*** Radiotopia: Theory of Everything - Benjamen Walker’s been internetting around for a long-ass time, and this is the latest incarnation of his work. His most recent series has been on surveillance and the panopticon, which is obviously super in my wheelhouse. He will go at things in a different way than you expect, which is hugely admirable (and entertaining!).
*** Gimlet: Undone - Gimlet has done a great job of coming up with interesting concepts for their podcasts, such that the finished work can feel familiar to podcast listeners (soothing voices, great production values, good music, solid interviews) but they have a hook to catch new listeners. This one’s about old news stories that has had long repercussions, don’t you want to listen? Well you should. It’s been cancelled though, so this will move to my UNSUBSCRIBED list shortly.
*** NYT: Still Processing - I missed the sound of Wesley Morris’ voice since the demise of Grantland, and thankfully Tim https://twitter.com/doingitwrong tipped me off that he has a new podcast! I particularly enjoyed the episode in which Morris and co-host Jenna Wortham go to the new Smithsonian Museum of African-American History & Culture (or more succinctly, the Blacksonian).
*** Hello Internet - My friend Jenn https://twitter.com/jennipoos is a fan of CGP Grey’s Youtube videos, and a while back she posted one, and I fell into such a CGP Grey hole that I wasn’t satisfied watching every single video, I had to ferret out his podcast, which he does with another Youtuber, Brady Haran. Both are expats living in Britain, and (particularly Grey!) don’t pay much attention to the news, so it’s rare that they discuss any of the tire-fire things that are happening in the world today. A nerdy break from the news.
*** Guardian: Football Weekly - When I was looking for the Guardian Brexit podcast, I discovered that their #1 podcast is this one, which updates twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. It’s a bit more serious and analytical than Men in Blazers, and also covers european leagues, so it’s not too much overlap. This is the podcast that will make a lengthy Shakespeare reference about Leicester City’s sacking of Claudio Ranieri, so that will probably tell you if you will find it to your taste.
** Guardian: Brexit Means… - This is an occasional podcast about Brexit and related issues. Sometimes you need serious information!
** Book Shambles - Another Josie Long joint, this time featuring a co-host (Robin Ince) and regular guests. The chat is nominally centered around books, but in fact is quite wide-ranging and usually takes as its beginning point whatever the expertise of the guest happens to be.
*** Gimlet: Twice Removed - Every once in a while, marketing really hits on something that works. With all of these new (& older) podcast networks, most have one or two high-profile podcasts and some smaller ones. In this case, Gimlet ran almost an entire Twice Removed episode on Reply All, and I was intrigued enough to subscribe. It wooooorked!
** BBC: The Compass - I found this one due to its series (now archived) about creating a hypothetical ideal country made up of things other places are doing well (gun control in Japan, maths education in Shanghai). Not 100% sure I’ll keep it!
** The Royal Canadian Movie Podcast - found this one thanks to its review of New Waterford Girl, and yeah I’m inclined to at least consider the Canadian film industry, if not consume that much of it. This one is also potentially on the bubble, since I find one of the hosts a little on the JAZZ HANDS side of things.
NPR: Code Switch - covering NPR’s racism beat, this is a newish podcast that I’ve just managed to remember to subscribe to, since one of the regular contributors used to do a podcast I liked called PostBourgie. No star rating yet as I haven’t been listening long enough!
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April 25th-May 1st, 2020 Creator Babble Archive
The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from April 25th, 2020 to May 1st, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:
What is your warm-up routine before you write or draw something related to your story?
Page, Rambler Extraordinaire!
Honestly? I don’t have a formal warm-up, but I definitely like to have my fingers all warmed-up and ready for lots of typing! I really need to get in the mindspace for the particular image/idea being portrayed, though.
LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)
1) Seek out music that matches the energy of the page, 2) Draw some circles/spirals/hatchmarks to loosen up, 3) Pick the easiest thing on the page and finish it first to build momentum, 4) Repeat Ad Infinitum
shadowhood (SunnyxRain)
-listen to music from my playlist -read some fanfics -watch YouTube videos from my subscription -get some tea -stretch/workout -wear my comfiest clothes
CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)
i'm also another one that listens to music before doing story stuff. (sometimes either is a favorite song/song i'm obsessed with atm or one that matches the current scene)
Eilidh (Lady Changeling)
I usually reread my comic so far and listen to some music I associate with it to get me in the mindset and excited for it
eli [a winged tale]
I have a warm up character to go to! Usually I try for some gestures before getting right back to the panels. It gets the rustiness out of the way for me!
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
Ooh I love your warm ups, Eli!
eli [a winged tale]
Thank you! It’s easier for me to get into a routine when I have something fun to draw first (with zero expectations)
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
I don't always need a warm up, but doing panel borders for HoK makes for an excellent warm up. It gets my brain switch gears to comic mode. Music is great, but I only turn it on for important moments (or illustrations outside of comic). There are certain moods that... recur in important moments in my story, and I have playlists for those. e.g. 'sad emotional intimacy'
eli [a winged tale]
I love how music influences our work! I would love to hear all your playlists if you have them easy to share
shadowhood (SunnyxRain)
ooooh @eli [a winged tale] i like the motion in your warmups! They're very fluid and nice to look at @keii’ii (Heart of Keol) Keii, I agree with separating playlists for moods! I usually just group them all in my favourites and mentally search for them
DanitheCarutor
Gosh I'm one of the most boring people. Lol I don't have a routine, I don't need one since I'm always in comic mode. Like, all I ever draw is comic pages. I don't have a script or anything that requires writing, so no need for a warm-up for that. I just jump right into it.
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
Sounds like you live on the edge which is the opposite of boring 8)
eli [a winged tale]
^
DanitheCarutor
I dunno, it would be cool to do warm-up drawing. That would sure help for gesture/color/anatomy practice. I just don't have the time, a page takes about 4 days to finish without outside distractions, so I have to get to work right away.
eli [a winged tale]
If you can jump right in, that’s great! For me otherwise I just stare at the inks and wish it would colour itself
DanitheCarutor
Ffff I'm like that with dynamic shots where the perspective points are off the page, and I have to tape scrap paper to it, and sometimes my ruler isn't long enough. Working in a traditional medium can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. Lol
This panel is a good example.
Top view perspective lines went way off the page, I hate it.
Anyways, that's my complaint for the day.
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
When I draw warm ups. This was of my 'for practice' comic art. I wanted to practice the vertical scroll storytelling. A lady gets her purse string cut, and the thief runs off. Whenever I want to figure out action scenes, I do little character interactions. It helps me learn more about certain character behavior(edited)
eli [a winged tale]
Nice! Practice comics are great!
shadowhood (SunnyxRain)
yeah it's really good too!
it's also a great way to possibly have new stories/series
kinda like.....brainstorming, but applied
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
Thank you Eli, Shadow. I try to combine my knowledge of storyboarding, since vertical scroll sequences, are similar to that in some regards.(edited)
Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS
I.... Don't do warm up. I just... Start drawing(edited)
shadowhood (SunnyxRain)
dang Holmea you living the risky life
that's brave
Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS
I am pretty sure of my skill. Should I warm up?? Could be super to start warm ups! I check my mail, find out how we are doing online with our comic and just begin to draw. I guess since I have done it professionally as a 2d animator, and there is not really time to warm up, that I have learned to just start
FeatherNotes(Krispy)
I do warm ups for everything! though what I define as warmups depend on each creator. For me, it begins with stretches and sketching, ill doodle things i need to get out of my head so i'm not distracted by those ideas- they usually involve studies, certain character interactions, or thumbing out pieces I want to tackle later! I may sure to draw everyday to flex that too, so its also important to be able to relax those creative muscles with some pre-work!
also! my warm ups vary with what medium i work in. if Im working in watercolours, i practice fine pencil work and get my lines as loose as possible. when it's comic (so mainly inking) i do what I described above with character studies and what not
kayotics
I’m really bad at remembering to do warm ups. I should.... actually do them more, but the time I have dedicated to drawing is usually pretty limited
Deo101 [Millennium]
Because I usually finish off whatever I had been working on the day before, warmups for me are kind of the process of starting a new piece. All the sketching and thumbing to get my next idea out work pretty well for warming me up, and then I feel ready to go by the time I'm needing to do things like lines. I also get music going that fits the mood of what I'm working on, like lots of people seem to do! I also need to remember to do stretches more :/ And I usually get myself some kind of drink, tea or something, to keep me company while I work ;)
Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]
Sounds like you are pretty busy, Kayotic. Yeah warm ups can be a good practice before diving into a big illustration
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
Weirdly I don't think I've ever done warmups for illustrations. Only comic work!
Probably because illustrations, I just do them whenever I feel like it, so my brain is already ready (i.e. I don't start if my brain isn't ready)
whereas comic... I can't just wait for my brain to get ready. I need to keep updating it.
Page, Rambler Extraordinaire!
Pro-tip: if you decide to not do anything and procrastinate, you don't have to warm-up!
Eightfish (Puppeteer)
hmm, can't say i've really tried warming up for art before, but i've heard it can really help! What are you guys' art warm up routines?
Deo101 [Millennium]
For me it's just kinda mindless sketching til I hit what it is I wanna be doing
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
Make panel borders (not really a routine though, at least I don't think it is)
Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)
When I do watercolor, I usually don't do warm ups unless I'm planning from thumb-> sketch ->color thumbs and figuring out local colors for watercolor then doing my watercolor flats from there
Deo101 [Millennium]
Instead of staring at a blank screen and waiting, making little circles or scribbles or drawing like. Some arms or something til, eventually, my brain thinks we're working and then it's like "ah yes! Here we go!"
Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)
but digitalllyyyyy I shoullddddddddd
my brain when looking at my comic: "aight time to do the thingy lmao"
Deo101 [Millennium]
If I've already got a sketch waiting to go I can jump right in though
Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)
idk, I should but my time is usually limited so I haven't done a warm up in a while lmao.
now I have the time, I probably would
Eightfish (Puppeteer)
ohh i see
like some quick sketches
i see how that can help- whenever i'm figure drawing or drawing people in a cafe or something my later ones are always better
how is making panel borders a warm up? don't you have to do that anyways?
Deo101 [Millennium]
Lines with intent! Doesn't matter what the purpose is, same kinda thing as drawing a bunch of straight lines in a row or practicing ellipses a bit
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
It's something I can do with my brain turned off. While I do it, it wakes up the comic-making part of my brain
Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)
oh ye
Deo101 [Millennium]
Which I'd encourage doing things like drawing a ton of ellipses or straight lines, it gets your hand into the groove so you can draw stuff right the first time
Do I do it often? No But I do encourage it
Eightfish (Puppeteer)
ah i see keii
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
So for me, the panel borders can function like a warmup without being a "ritual." Kinda like if you're... say... hiking, walking from your parking spot to the trailhead can be a warmup even if it's not a ritual and is necessary anyway
Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)
ooo that's an interesting way of putting it
... man I really should consider warm ups often. I have been touching my sketchbook less and less so lmao
I do find making small thumbs and coloring them in relaxing for me, not sure that count as a warm up but its something I like doing when planning out watercolor illustrations lol
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
Relaxing/chilling/ "reward after a long day" arting is also an interesting topic, though not 100% suitable for this week's question...
I find it interesting how a lot of people seem to like, make cute ship doodles, whereas I uhhh
Eightfish (Puppeteer)
lineart is the easiest for me to do though. I don't have to think much about it
maybe i should like line a page as warm up?
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
I'll drop some examples in art share in a bit
Eightfish (Puppeteer)
ooh please do(edited)
keii’ii (Heart of Keol)
That sounds like a good idea! Worth trying
Feather J. Fern
I actually read in a artist self care comic "Draw Stronger: Self Care of Artist" that you are supposed to stretch and stuff before you art so your body is warmed up for long periods of sitting. Things i draw before getting into main art, the one line challenge where you draw something using one line, gesture drawing warm ups, and always becuase it's something I recently been doing, is drawing a thumbs up on a page that I can erase later or keep in a sketchbook as in like "Good job "(edited)
Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)
I don't have a warm-up routine before I sit down and draw / write comics. Besides making a cup of coffee before I dive right in. (edited)
sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)
I don't follow rules
snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)
i don't really have any warm up routines. it helps that 3d art is less physically demanding than drawing. during/after my work, i try to look away from the screen and relax my eyes every so often, but i can't think of anything i specifically do before working.
Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)
Another dive-right-inner here. I mean, I do loose pencil sketches before putting down lineart, but it's not like a separate warmup drawing before the real one, it's just the start of the real one.
If my brain isn't in "comics mode" and I need to get a page done...I find a nice secluded spot, sit down with the blank sketchbook, and stare at the empty paper until ideas start clicking into place. Unrelated sketches would be a distraction at that point -- same as checking twitter, just one more excuse for my brain to focus on something other than the page.
Used to do the seclusion in local restaurants( whether it's a nice place or just a plastic fast-food table), but obviously that hasn't been an option for a while :/
varethane
My warmup is working eight hours at an unrelated job l-lol
eli [a winged tale]
Haha aw that’s a mood
Miranda
Oh boy do I feel that
shadowhood (SunnyxRain)
oh that got real
#ctparchive#comics#webcomics#indie comics#comic chat#comic discussion#comic tea party#ctp#creator interview#comic creator interview#creator babble
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Chrono Trigger on Steam: Dang-o
Well It’s Not Exactly Pretty
By DANiEL SHAE
No driving thesis here, just some thoughts and observations of the port.
Like many of you, I’m a lifelong fan of this game. I still have my SNES (actually, I have four of them), and my original CT cart with a “got all the characters to ** and defeated Pink NU Spekkio” file on it. Even went so far as to get a NU tattooed on me. Because I am a sucker for this game.
As you’re probably aware, toward the beginning of 2018 SE granted us a “surprise release” of Chrono Trigger. Like so many others, I bought it immediately. Then? The backlash. Tremendous backlash. Mostly for the weirdly smoothed graphics that appeared to most like a “bad mobile port”. So, somewhat responsibly, six months later SE pushed an update attempting to appease the mobs of enraged fans by allowing the game to be viewed with graphics “similar to the original pixel art”. That description is straight from the in-game menu.
The release of the update was surrounding by a flood of articles purporting that “SE put the original graphics back in Chrono Trigger and now it looks WAY BETTER...” (I’m paraphrasing here). And to a degree, sure, it is certainly better than it was. But dang-o. Guys, this game is still pretty mangled. For a game whose original was so thoughtful, beautiful, and meticulous, this feels sloppy AF. And I know that some people likely worked their asses off, because I too work in the game industry and I understand how it goes. This isn’t just any game, though; it’s Chrono Trigger. I would think that, regarding a game which was completed 23 years ago and is considered by millions to be a masterpiece, people would be a thousand times more careful touching it now than even the original team who created it back then. That’s certainly the case with nearly any other art you’d find in a museum. But that’s not the case here. Square Enix has the resources to do it right, but this port is unfinished.
First 15 minutes of gameplay, I encountered some triggered events which caused me to become stuck inside another sprite and I had to reboot the game to continue (the specific one I remember is returning the girl’s lost kitty at the fair). Thank God for the “bookmark/resume” feature, which is actually a pretty cool addition to the game. Anyway, I’m now 20 hours in (Death Peak after a lot of grinding), and I’m glad to say that pattern has thankfully not persisted.
But there are other issues. Some minor. Some kinda hideous.
I won’t bore you with pixel uniformity (or the apparent lack thereof), but as you can see pictured above, there are some serious issues with mixed aesthetic. You may have to give it the ol’ “right click, view image” to better see what I’m talking about. Most of the assets are displayed in clearly defined “pixels”, but then there are bits like the Epoch, which appear more like, for my lack of real terminology, freaky blurred nonsense. Flying this bad boy around is a uh...well it’s a “trip”. I’m not one to easily embarrass, but between you and me I keep my head ducked and hope to God an NPC doesn’t walk out onto the world map to see my smeared-ass ride rippin’ across the sky to elevator jams. Also I tried switching between “Original” and “High resolution” graphics—Epoch appears to be the same in both. Maybe I’ve just unearthed a bug in my game, but then if so that’s still a problem.
There are lots of other graphical issues: Orphaned pixel noise that becomes painfully visible during effects like white screen flashes. Freaky solid black pixel chunks during the “cool parts” with the Ocean Palace and the Black Omen. The area around Giga Gaia’s face gets honorable mention for some extra weird shit going on when you slap him around (I was using Cube Toss/Iceberg Toss).
As they say: The list goes on.
I’m actually fine with how the battle menu and gauges look now, even if the gauges sometimes cover sprites a little crudely. I get it. Sacrifices must be made. However, the speech panels and game menu panels don’t look like they belong at all to the same game. They’re bizarrely clunky, a different resolution than the rest of the game assets, and frankly the texture on them looks as though somebody was just dicking around with the spray paint tool. Which might be fine if they were the same resolution as the other assets.
SIDE NOTES ON THE MENU: 1) “Settings” can be accessed from the title screen menu and from the in-game menu, and it offers completely different options depending on which you’re in. That’s what they call a UI/UX “no no”. 2) The behavior of the title menu is...weird. That’s as profound as I’m going to be on this bullet. 3) From the in-game menu, to find the “Quit” option, one first has to navigate to “Settings”.
How the hell is quitting a “game setting”?
The hit boxes, or colliders, or [whatever the hell they are] are unpolished as well. This version of the game feels much stickier in places than previous releases I’ve played (SNES, PS, DS). I’ve encountered several NPCs whose colliders are perhaps double their actual width/height, making it a real pain to traverse certain areas.
I can’t make up my mind about the anime cutscenes. I was super pumped at first when they added them to the PS release, but now I almost wish they were a separate thing from the gameplay. Watching those moments in anime, only to immediately see them again in the original 16 bits, ends up feeling a little disjointed. Plus, occasionally (specifically I’m thinking of Frog blowing open the cave to Magus’s keep), it causes the sound to break for a few moments when it comes back from the cutscene to the 16-bit animation. I dunno. Mixed feelings.
I’m still having a blast playing through it. It maintains maybe 85% of the original charm—and 85% of Chrono Trigger is still a hell of a party. I’m glad they added the DS content. I’m not overly pissed that they only opted to keep half of Woolsey’s localization (frog still charmingly speaks in Old English, just not when he’s having flashbacks to being a child/young adult for some reason) but modified parts of it to include some of the newer English dialects (featuring phrases like “nom nom nom”). OK. Cool I guess. We need the newer generations to “understand” our art.
OK, that’s more-or-less the end of my thoughts on this. It’s enjoyable, but extremely messy. I don’t recommend this version for first-timers to the game. If you can swing it, play the SNES cart. On a CRT. Play it with scanlines. Sweet, beautiful, hot, sexy scanlines. And if you can’t, get a DS copy.
Actually I’m not so obsessed with the “glory days” that I’d turn my nose up at a full-on remake of this game. Pls. I’d take a modern Chrono Trigger in a heartbeat.
EDIT: 49 hours. Beat the game. Multiple times. Got all 13 endings. The most noticeable of the graphical issues are: Epoch, beating Magus and warping to 65 Million BC, Ocean Palace appearing, Black Omen appearing, random buildings throughout the world maps, racing Johnny, scenes with the Gurus/Janus being warped away from Lavos, Black Omen after killing Mammon, and pretty much all of the endings. The Epoch and ending credits sequences are the worst. Still, tremendously fun—just not impressive looking compared to the product that was completed 23 years ago.
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CREATING YOUR OWN DCP’S – MEDIA COMPOSER SETUP
In our introductory article, I tried to get you thinking about the journey you’re about to go on, when it comes to creating DCP’s for Cinemas/Theatres. There’s almost as much work in the setup as there is in the actual creation itself. Now that we’ve covered all the important things you need to know about creating DCP’s, let’s get more specific, and talk about the process of getting your footage in the right resolution and color space, so we can then talk about the conversion to JPEG 2000. We’re starting things off with Media Composer in this article, so let’s get it going.
Before we get rolling, I want to stress something that’s very important. For the sake of these articles, we’re going to assume that everything was shot in HD and HD only. Your master timeline will be 1920×1080, at 24fps, and what the process for creating DCP’s is, from those types of files. Obviously, depending on your system and your workflow (4K, 8K, etc), your workflow for the first part of our lesson(s) will be slightly different, but overall, not that much different that it requires it’s own article.
THE FIRST BIG DECISION
We touched on this in the introductory article, but when thinking about DCP creation, the first big decision that you need to make is “FLAT or SCOPE”? Now, I know you’re probably thinking that you want to have both and, yes, you are going to have both, but it’s super rare that you will create a full frame Flat and full frame Scope DCP. You’re going to create one, and then create the other from the original. Think of it like this. If the DCP you are creating will be full frame Scope (2048×858), the Flat version you create will be letterboxed, as the scope version will fit horizontally in a Flat “frame”. If you have created a full frame Flat DCP, the Scope version will be pillarboxed, as the Flat frame will be scaled vertically to fill the Scope frame. So, again, let’s make another assumption for the purposes of these articles that you will have a full frame Flat version (as HD is almost full frame Flat), and we’ll make a pillarboxed Scope version from there.
XYZ LUT
If you haven’t copied over those LUT’s from Resolve yet, now’s the time to do it, and make sure you place them in a folder you’ll have easy access to. If you’ve forgotten where to get to them, or just don’t want to go back to the previous article, you can download them from the below location(s).
Mac Library>Application Support>BlackMagic Design>DaVinci Resolve>Support>LUT>DCI
Windows: C:/ProgramData/BlackMagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Support/LUT/DCI
There’s something else that’s exceptionally important, when talking about the LUT. If your plan is to use Resolve as the intermediary to create the JPEG 2000 files, you do NOT need to add the XYZ LUT inside of Media Composer. Resolve can do that automatically for you. If your plan is to use After Effects as the intermediary, you will need to add the LUT either here in MC or in AE (but it’s easier to add it here, and less of a pain in the ass later). In this article, we’re going to go through the process of adding the LUT here in MC, and obviously if you don’t want to add it at this step of the process, you can just skip over that section.
THE EDIT
If all the footage you shot it in 2K already (or even 4K for that matter), you can set up a project to work in either 2K Flat or 2K Scope. Whichever you prefer.
Now, also keep in mind that if you’re shot all your footage in a Flat aspect (Matted for Scope), but want to have it in a Scope Frame (or vice versa), now would be the time to set that up via the Frame Flex Options. I’ve snapped an example of the setup below to give you an idea of the type of setup you would want to use. Obviously there are a ton of different raster dimensions, but at the end of the day, if we’re talking about 2K Flat and Scope DCP’s, your FrameFlex options will be set to either 1.85:1 or 2.39:1 . So with that being said, don’t be an idiot, and work entirely with Linked To footage. Once you’ve got your footage looking the way you want in Frameflex, Transcode all your media to DNxHR (HQ) or ProRes, and start/finish your edit. As for audio, you will be delivering either stereo (2.0) or surround (5.1), so once your mix is done, you’ll need to prep it for a mixdown, that we’ll talk about in the next section.
EDIT IS DONE…..NOW WHAT
If you were editing in native 2K Flat or 2K Scope, you can skip ahead to the XYZ LUT section, as no adjustment is necessary to your footage before moving on. If you’re working in HD (1920×1080 24fps 1.78:1 aspect), you will need to take a step now to adjust your project and footage size to 2K Flat before moving on. You will need to do one of two things at this point. You will either need to mix your HD sequence down, or export it, and re-link to it, so you have a complete timeline as one clip. The mixdown is probably easier for the purposes of this article, so let’s go with that method. If you want to export and re-link the process is pretty similar. Once you’ve mixed down your sequence, we’re not ready to drop it into a timeline just yet. We need to make sure that we have set our project to be a 2K Flat project, and then we want to head back into our FrameFlex settings to make sure that our 1.78 HD clip is cropped for a 1.85 2K Flat timeline. Once that’s done, you can drop both the video and audio into your timeline. To be honest you really don’t need the audio, as normally the video and audio go to the DCP creation application as two separate files, but for right now, I’m keeping the video with the audio, so that there is no confusion down the road. Now, if you aren’t going to do the XYZ conversion in Media Composer, and you’re going to do the conversion and flip to JPEG 2000 in your DCP creation application, you can skip this step, and just export your file. Since you’re exporting larger than HD, if you’re on the Mac, export as ProRes, if you’re on WIndows, you can go with DNxHR (you could go with this on Mac as well if you wanted to), and since AE and Resolve both support the DNxHR codec, you should be good to go. Whether you plan on exporting with the XYZ LUT from Media Composer or not, you should apply it, and look at it, to make sure that you’re getting the proper look with your footage. With your content in the timeline at the correct resolution, add a video track above it, and add the Color LUT effect from the Effects Panel.
If you’re looking for a way to import a LUT from the effect window, you’re unfortunately out of luck, so go ahead an facepalm Avid for not adding this ability here. We have to add the LUT in another window, and then access it through the effect. Head back to a clip, any clip, right click on it, go to your Source Settings, go to the Color Encoding Window and hit the Color Management Settings button.
Hit the “Select” button, and navigate to the XYZ LUT that you have on your system. Now, if you are really clever, you would have thought to yourself, “Self, the easiest way to check that the XYZ conversion is working correctly is to convert from REC709>XYZ then add a LUT to go from XYZ back to REC709!” You’d be very clever if you thought this, but the big question is where would you find a XYZ to REC709 LUT? Well, Michael Phillips who is a Former Solutions Manager, Post at Avid Technology and who runs 24p.com has a great article about just this subject, so you can find an XYZ to REC709 LUT on his page, and you can add both of them at the same time! Once they are installed, you’ll get a super happy message telling you this.
Now, you can head back to the effects editor, and apply the XYZ LUT to your footage. You’ll notice that your two new LUT”s appear at the top of the LUT drop down.
You’ll immediately notice that your footage now looks a bit washed out, and a little on the green side compared to the original.
This “washed out” look is completely normal, and if you see this change, the conversion to XYZ was done correctly. To be honest, the REC709>XYZ LUT taken from Resolve is super good, and is really a no brainer. The hardest part is getting the LUT into Media Composer. Now that we’ve got our footage in XYZ color space, let’s convert it back to REC709 to see how close the round trip conversion is.
As you can see the roundtrip from REC709>XYZ >REC709 has altered the luminance of our footage, so this is something that you might want to take into consideration, when adding the XYZ LUT. Remember, You can always throw a Color Correction effect onto your footage at the bottom of the effect stack to make adjustments to your footage before the XYZ LUT is added.
Okay, with all of that being done, you’re ready to export your clip to an external hard drive, to make the conversion to JPEG 2000, but we’re going to cover that, in its own dedicated article!
Now, again, I cannot stress enough that you need to find yourself a reliable post facility that can QC your DCP. What do I mean by QC? I mean take what you’ve created, ingest it into a DCP Playout machine, and let you sit in a room at watch it. This way you can make sure that your DCP not only look good, when it hits the big screen, but you can also check things like audio, and what your REC709>XYZ color conversion looks like, so this way you know exactly what your audience will see, no matter where you’re sending it to. AND, if you do run into problems, the facility with the playout machine will probably be well versed in the DCP creation process, and can help you fix whatever problems you might have run into.
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