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incorrect-riordanverse · 1 year ago

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final part (tg)

did nico just get mad at will for tricking amphithemis ru joking? nico is not this soft can we bring back him being cool please

like will just outsold with that. it was a very peeta mellark if-it-werent-for-the-baby move. and nico got angry??? he really is better than me…

now theyre arguing and crying again. hehehe. more hurt/comfort for me yayyyy

wish this was written in first person. the characters just don’t feel like they have their own voice within the prose. i feel like first person pov mayyy have helped it better

small bob is literally CARRYING them dude. these two would be so dead if not for this cat

“i remember annabeth and percy saying cheesy stuff helps” “lay it on me, i’m your grilled cheese.” <- that’s terrible omg. and not in a funny haha way 😭

sorry i can’t imagine anyone hitting a high note mid fight. apollo child cringe

“i am the ghost king!” <- doing too much

LMAOOOO NOT NICO BEING NYX’S BABY DADDY AYO LAWSUIT

WHAT KIND OF PLOT TWIST IS THISSS 😭

‘you are the father’ type of moment 💀🙏

“no i can’t abandon them” <- nico seriously annoying the shit out of me. soon as disney+ bought pjo every character actually started acting like a disney character. and here yall go telling me ‘this book is for middle schoolers’ a middle schooler can understand running away from literal demons trying to attack you and this is the… like… fourth time nico’s been so soft on the things he has to fight in tartarus. like i get the meaning of redemption and healing but cmonnnn. this shit’s for pussies 😭

cocoa puffs is such a cute name to call ur demon kids stop

if these mfs dont start skedaddling

nico kissing bob had me flinch ngl 😭 were those two always so close?

will had to open his fatass mouth asking some shit like “did we do it?”

these bitches are crying every two pages and im sick of it. like i know its an emotional time but jesus 😭 every single chapter???

i take back what i said in the first reblog. bob is cool asf

the cacodemons warming up to will makes me so… aww. theyre so cute tbh.

are we ever going to actually know what the sun and the star is. like what. such a stupid metaphor if its supposed to represent will and nico LOL

THAT DREAM SEQUENCE?? with bianca and maria and hades?? jailllll (im in tears)

“i need to let you go” <- GOD IM IN TEARS

i feel like this book is so tell-y about the meaning of healing but it is for middle-schoolers so im gonna lay off it and go kick rocks

something about nico being a hugger now makes so much sense actually. bro would hug anyone real and true

why is mr d. so nice? make him mean again cmon

nico & piper bromance was something i never knew i needed until now (still random as hell though— where was reyna or hazel? why is nico opening up to characters he hadn’t known well until this book instead of the ones he alr knows?)

nico and will now married with kids lets go

such a full circle ending i love it (wish the insecurities will had at the start of the book were more developed towards the end)

conclusions: the plot was good, all the concepts were good, but repetitive minor things from the writing really irritated me ranging from the stale dialogue to the cringe humour (pop culture references should be illegal to include in books), especially humour added at the wrong times of the book. like they could have so easily been fixed and the story could be much stronger as were the emotionally compelling scenes (because nico is suchhhh a good character), but its always offset by a badly timed joke that i could never really get into it. making the characters cry is not going to make me cry. find a build up and a release and dont break it up with humour, i swear the middle schoolers reading the book will survive some darker parts. like damn. it also didnt have the magic the other pjo books had imho, maybe because it was cowritten.

either way tsats is mid, and it’s disappointing because it didnt NEED to be mid. im going to gaslight myself into forgetting the bad parts though

finally reading tsats here are my live thoughts (spoilers, obviously):

i’m so excited because some pages are darkly decorated and its so cool. still don’t vibe with the title though (the sun IS a star and its peeving me)

why are we talking about dating darth vader 😟 where are we rn (anakin is a yes, but DARTH VADER???)

maybe i’m too old but the jokes are not funny 😭

“this whole place feels like my soul. empty and dark. dark as the pit of the underworld.” <- i don’t care if he’s joking nico would never say thissss 🙏😭 we’re only 10 pages in but please stop butchering my fav character he’s not himselffff i am cringing so bad

i know i’m being dramatic but if they do nico dirty in this book i’m going to end it all

oh my god i don’t think i’ve thought about the words “significant annoyance” in so long. bringing back good memories for sure.

i can tell which parts were written by riordan and which parts were written by oshiro. i don’t think their voices are blending very well together…

also, maybe it’s because it’s the start of the book and they’re trying to familiarise new readers quickly with the characters but it feels like they’re making nico the caricature of ‘emo and shadow and ebony darkness dementia raven way 🥀⛓️🖤’ and will the caricature of ‘happy and sunshine and blonde and flower gleam and glow ☀️🌈🫧’ and i usually like this dynamic when it’s not blatantly pointed out every other page. i have faith they’ll show more complexity than this later on though. future yan will let me know by the end.

oh ok so it is bob the titan

since when was nico’s actual name niccolo??? how did i forget this detail??

“you have to listen if not you’ll share my fate.” “ominous much?” <- ok he’s finally himself again guys it’s all good

the one-sided beef nico has with percy will never not be funny

“cookie monster appeared over the mouth of the jar, reached inside and gobbled up nico like the chocolate-chip cookie he was.” <- nevermind i’ve gone back to hating this book again

“what was one straight boy when you spent your whole life longing for the impossible?” <- i’m reminded of that time a few years back where everyone made ‘having an unrequited crush on percy’ nico’s whole fanon personality, so i’m glad they addressed this somewhat. this boy has been through so much and people really thought crushing on percy was the biggest thing to focus on about ‘nico angst.’

“we made a mistake. you have to fix it.” <- call me a red flag but if i was nico i would do anything and everything to not go. i would medicate myself so highly on sleeping pills that i can’t dream (doctor bf can go kick rocks). i would track percy and annabeth down and haul their asses into tartarus instead to do it. and if i had to go i would only go in to kill bob myself for sending me those traumatic ass nightmares. no thx. bro willingly jumped in himself and now wants me to save him. nuh uh.

not cupid being will 😭 its like his aphrodite 😭 i am not well.

they always have a really good and emotionally moving scene and they ruin it with a dumb joke. let it be heavy 👏👏

something’s really fishy and i have a feeling that it might not be bob calling for him

if this whole “grumpy ball of darkness” thing continues i will actually lose it

you can’t tell me the percabeth pep talk was actually needed. i will forgive it because i miss them though

im sensing tension in the gap between nico’s connection to the underworld and his relationship with will and i’m here for ittttt. give me the dramaaa

who is the gorgyra girl and why is she in their business sm?

oh shit a will solace pov??? christmas came early 🙏

nevermind that whole nightmare sequence was so fucked up 😭😭

somebody HELP HIM i never thought we would get will angst (nico angst fs, but will???)

DONT JUMP IN THE STYX PLEASE

SOMEBODY TELL HIM HE’S HELPFUL OMG

nico strangling epiales in his sleep is so fucking cool he’s literally HIM he’s literally THAT GUY

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thundergirl007 · 2 years ago

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feeling nostalgic for TAG

going through and reading those thunderbirds fanfictions i saved because i started getting nostalgic whilst saving them and decided to actually read some of them tonight and yeah i’m kinda teary and nostalgic

so here’s the thing. Thunderbirds was my first internet experience, really. I found Thunderbirds fanfiction on ff.net totally by accident sometime in 2013 and was enamoured and inspired to write my own fanfiction. I was a teenager, my fics were cringy, i deleted 3 of them out of embarrassment years ago. However I have kept a few on my fanfiction profile if people are interested. I was very into Tracy sister stories so. Whoops.

Then around the time of TAG 2015 getting announced I joined tumblr. I remember creating my account AROUND Thunderbirds. I think there was lenleg and danielstss (??) and laylaanne and artisticrainey and politelyscribblingaway (now reallyhardy!) and ladygrimblossom.

Looking in my archive i feel quite embarassed that some of my interactions were quite reactionary. Not in a hostile way as such, but as an example, i wondered why it took Scott 10 seconds to notice a suit missing in one episode and when discussion offered some reasons i was pretty rude in me “calling bullshit”. I was a very emotionally charged 16 year old when i joined and fam i am sorry for some of the tones in which i wrote posts. It was the first time i experienced blogging like this. Sorry that you all had to deal with that 🥺

It makes me really sad to go through my archive to my earliest posts (oh god i was an eager beaver back then but cringe culture is dead i am glad i was so into it) and notice how many of those blogs are deactivated. Like, i know some of them simply changed blog names (i know that lenleg and reallyhardydraws are two people still around) but the others i mentioned had a profound impact on my fandom experience and i’m sad that I can’t find them on here to tell them that.

SO i just wanted to give a very late, nostalgic shoutout to some of my favourite early TAG community peeps here on tumblr all the way back in 2015 (it’s an AGE ago my goodness). I do hope the people that i can’t tag eventually see this post because I really hope you’re all well and happy, and at the very least if you are still on here (i haven’t changed my username lmao XD) i’d love to know who you are now so i can update my memory a little XD.

- @reallyhardy. i know you’re still around, not exactly TAG, but i still love seeing your work. Especially when I compare it to your work back then! It reminds me of such a simple time in my life and I thank you for it. Your art is still one of my favourite chill and cool depictions of the Boys TM ever!

- @lenle-g. same here, I know you’re still here. Loved your art AND your writing (the goose fic. legendary). You were so nice to see on my dashboard and even though i don’t think i considered anyone a real “fandom friend” bc i was young and naive but i think it was so nice to chat headcanons and stuff back in the day!

- @artisticrainey. Tumblr says you’re not here, but I was rereading your Butterflies series tonight and it was the thing that compelled me to make this post because i remember so much of YOU back then. You were such a staple - your writing AND art were incredible, I still recognise your style when I go through my archive. I do hope you see this because you did a few of my prompts (the boys learning to drive!! was definitely one of them!! i was on holiday when you tagged me in it and i REMEMBER)

- Balek (on ff.net - not sure if they’re on here?). You wrote some of the funniest banter between the bros on ff.net that i’ve ever read and i love rereading them. They always do make me smile :D

- @ladygrimblossom. A peep that i remember being involved in all the discussions. My archive is full of reblog chains featuring BOTH of us. I remember one of my most validating (feeling) moments was when i wondered why Scott, described as a “level headed” brother, stopped what he was doing in a high rise rescue to call Alan during Space Race. And you agreed with me. Taking my point further bc i was like 16 and articulating myself badly XD

- @laylaanne. I know you’re still around too, but same again. I just remember you being a big contributor to fandom discussion and in jokes and it makes me happy.

- @doyouheartheangrymen. here’s the thing, i typed that out and i’m JUST now, after 7 years, realising that it is supposed to be read as “do you hear the angry men” when i have been reading it as “do you heart the angry men” (adding an extra t for some reason lmao.

- @duchessnibenhu-ofpyromania. A fandom peep that again i remember interacting a lot with in discussions. I remember we shared an ikea dresser (i have replaced mine now 😥) and we’ve visited each other’s animal crossing islands!

- @daniellestitt. Someone else that was absolutely here posting meme-y content like this and you know what, i agree. In trash we trust, may he rule over us all.

- @thunderbirdgordon. I remember really liking your art style!! I thought you drew the boys really well and i really loved seeing you on my dash :D

ok so i think that’s everyone. Well that’s not true, i’ve probably forgotten someone. But all the same - to anyone that was around on tumblr in the TAG fandom from 2015-2017 during my formative years...

thank you for such a good time. Thunderbirds is my comfort fandom and whilst i don’t interact much nowadays, i would like to change that. I truly loved all my time in the fandom and I hope that everyone is happy and well. Feel free to shoot me a message if you see this post, i’d love to chat with more people!

#thunderbirds are go #tag team #thunderbirds #tag 2015

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lovethestars1966 · 3 years ago

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STEREK, falsely accused FBI CH17, complete

IT IS COMPLETE! Yo it is FINALLY finished. And I dead ass forgot to post it on here. It has actually been done for about a week so I am really sorry for my tardiness posting it here. Below is a small snippet of the epilogue,

WARNING does contain spoilers.

Also I apologise for the spelling and grammar errors, I always seem to miss a few.

I’ve put a keep reading because it’s a lot of words, hit that to read the full snippet and his the link to see Stiles crush it as a lawyer.

FINALLY, thank you all so much for the most amazing reviews and compliments, all of them undeserved. You are so fucking amazing and I can’t tell you how much this all meant to me!!! I love you all.

LINK

CH one:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31853854/chapters/78866347

Epilogue: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31853854/chapters/85028854#workskin

—————

“This is not going well,” Stiles hissed into Derek’s ear five days later, the last day of Gerard’s trial.

“Shh,” Derek hissed back, Stiles ignored him.

“Like on a scale of one to ten, one being the best outcome possible, and ten being them overthrowing the case and handing Gerard the presidency, this is a fucking one hundred,” he continued, and Derek turned to him with a quirked eyebrow.

“What could be worse making a sociopathic megalomaniac President?” Derek pondered quietly and Stiles looked to contemplate the question for a moment.

“Making him an omniscient ruler of the universe,” he suggested, and Derek nodded judgmentally.

“Yeah,” he muttered to himself, but loud enough for Stiles to hear, “it was my own fault for engaging.” Stiles frowned and pinched his side.

Suddenly there was a banging from the front of the room, “I will have silence in this courtroom,” Judge Ryder sneered towards them, “if you two are bored of these proceedings, please feel free to excuse yourselves.”

Stiles bit down on his snide response and slouched back into his seat defeatedly. From the corner of his eye he could see Gerard ginning manically, victory well within reach, but Stiles refused to give him the satisfaction of looking over.

Derek turned a bright shade of pink at being called out and choked out an apology that Stiles didn’t plan to echo. This whole trial had been a show.

“He’s just drunk on power,” Stiles huffed quietly once the rooms attention slipped back onto the defences expert they had on the stand, he was currently ripping their own expert testimony apart. Derek didn’t respond this time, just gave him a swift kick to the ankle in warning. “Ow,” he griped and glowered at his husband.

“The defence rests your honour,” one of Gerard’s many lawyers announced smugly and sent Derek and Stiles a mightily superior look as he sat down. Stiles doesn’t regret poking his tongue out at the man for a single second, not even if it earns him another ankle kick.

“And the prosecution?” Judge Ryder asks reluctantly, and turns to face their own team of lawyers the DA of Sacramento lent them. Babies, the lot of them. Stiles was sitting just behind the babies as it so happened, and so he was privy to their hushed conversation.

“Do you have anything?” The man asked leaning over to first chair, a woman in a clean cut pants suit who Stiles could tell really wanted to win, she just didn’t know how.

“After that?” She muttered in shock, “no way, we’ll just leave it for closing statements and finish it then,” he heard her whisper back, and Stiles was growling and then springing forward out of his seat faster than anyone could catch him.

He leaned over the railing, into their little brain trust and pulled both of their seats back until his head was neatly in the middle of them both, just as she was about to tell the judge their decision and hissing a little harsher than necessary.

“Don’t you fucking dare say that!” He whisper shouted, and the whole room erupted in hushed mumblings.

“Excuse me?” The woman balked back, shocked at his intrusion.

“Order!” Ryder yelled, banging his gavel incessantly, “order!”

“If you don’t discredit that testimony right now, you may as well make your closing statement a resignation letter, because no one will hire you after that.” He warns, and he sees a flare of anger shine in her eyes, for a second he thinks she’s going to do it just to spite him, but looking sideways at the jury, she turns back and leans in closer.

“What do you mean?” She asks genuinely interested, although clearly still pissed off.

“You cannot let that be the last thing the jury hears,” he tells her, a bit more calmly now that he knows he has her attention, “they will come into closing already on the defences side, do you know how hard it is to win a jury back with closing, harder than you can achieve I’ll promise you that.”

She growls at the challenge, “Well what would you suggest?” She demands.

“Anything is better than nothing,” he growls.

“Order!” Ryder orders again, and finally settles the court room down,

“Don’t let the the doctor go, cross-examine,” he pushes her, voice urgent. She rolls her eyes.

“And just what could I say up there that wouldn’t make him sound more convincing?” She questions clearly losing faith in him.

“Agent Stilinski!” Ryder calls commandingly, Stiles ignores him.

“Stiles,�� Derek hisses more worriedly from behind him, “sit down,” he tries to tug Stiles back into his seat.

Stiles shrugs him off, “Look at his watch, his clothes, for fucks sake his tie pin has a diamond on it,” he growls, and both lawyers flick their eyes to the so called Doctor.

“Agent Stilinski, you have five seconds before I hold you in contempt!”

“Stiles is so badass,” Erica whispers to Lydia beside her.

“I still don’t understand,” the lawyer whispers back, eyes panicked now.

Stiles growls and hangs his head, “I don’t know his name,” he urges her and then lets Derek pull him back finally, and glares heatedly at Ryder.

“Are you finished?” The judge asks, rather condescendingly.

Stiles just holds his hands up as indication, refusing to speak.

Ryder looks disappointed that he couldn’t kick Stiles out, but looks back towards the prosecution lawyers who stare back wide eyed. “Well?” He prompts, “do you wish to release the witness or not?”

The woman freezes momentarily, and then looks back towards Stiles. Stiles bulges his eyes as an indication that she should do what he said already, and she gulps before placing her hands face down on the desk, and using them to heave herself up slowly.

Stiles reflected back on the expert witness and his testimony. He was clearly only here to throw doubt on all of their accounts, unfortunately he had done a very good job of it, and the look on the juries faces, prior to Stiles outburst, was very compelled.

His main schtick had gone along with the theme of Gerard’s entire defence, and that was, ‘the prosecution is mistaken’. He had given evidence that a person like Joseph could be mislead to believe he was following Gerard’s orders, that he was crazy, which was true, but not in that way. He had taken all of their testimonies into question by implying a lack of objectivity, and since this was just a trial on his involvement with Joseph they couldn’t use any of the evidence they had found connecting him to senators and joint chiefs to compound their argument, since that was a much more confidential trial.

Stiles closed his eyes and the woman, Cassidy Taylor, turned away from him and looked up at the judge. This was not going to go well.

“Your honour we do wish to cross,” She spoke shakily and Stiles cringed, he willed her to speak more confidently, not show any fear, and then suddenly, his wish was granted. “Yes,” she said with dawning realisation, “we do,”

Stiles flicked his head up, curious as to what caused this abrupt change, and saw her grinning over at him.

It would seem she had a plan. Stiles felt a tremor of nervousness run up his spine, because she seemed dangerously certain.

“We do,” she repeated, and then stepped out from behind the desk and made firm eye contact with the judge, it was enough to have even Ryder shifting in his seat, “but to do the cross, we wish to invoke emergency council.”

Stiles eyebrows flew to his forehead, and the courtroom, again, erupted into murmurs. That hadn’t been what he was expecting.

Derek looked to him with the same question in his eyes that was floating around Stiles mind, “does she mean you?”

#Sterek #sterek fic #Team Sterek #sterek fanfiction #sterek fics #Stiles #Stiles/Derek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #stiles x derek #SCOTT AND DEREK ARE BROTHERS #related Scott and Derek #FBI BAU #teen wolf #teen wolf fic #complete

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that-shamrock-vibe · 3 years ago

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Movie Review: Cinderella (Spoilers)

Disclaimer: I am posting this review the day after the movie airs on Amazon Prime, so if you haven't yet seen it don't read on until you do.

General Reaction:

It is slightly weird to think of another movie studio taking on one of the classic fairy-tales that isn't Disney, because, as I am sure is the case for a large portion of the mainstream audience, Disney have almost claimed fairytale adaptations as their own.

However, as identified, Cinderella, is a fairy tale and one created long before Disney came about. As such, other studios are allowed to put across their own interpretation of these classic stories that we have seen a lot of times adapted at this point.

That being said, we have seen many different adaptations of Cinderella at this point from the classis Disney Animation version and it's live-action counterpart, to modern-day reworkings like A Cinderella Story of the mid-noughties starring Hilary Duff.

It's quite an easy story to tell and adapt to a variety of different settings, and what this 2021 retelling does with the story blends the old-fashioned with the modern. Does that mean it is set apart from the others? Well in my opinion yes and no.

While this is a Sony movie, it plays a lot like a Disney Channel Original Movie. From the comedy to the settings to the costuming and the music, it plays like the best of those types of movies. I'm talking the High School Musical franchise and the Descendants franchise. It is by no means bad or corny, but it isn't even on the level of the 2016 live-action Cinderella.

While that version was pretty much a straightforward live-action version of the original animated version, the style of the movie outweighed the substance.

Here however, there is a great blend of both style and substance. The story takes the classic elements of the original Cinderella fairy tale but tries to inject a modern and feministic twist that the recent live-action Beauty and the Beast tried to do.

In terms of whether this version of Cinderella stands out in the crowd of Cinderella movies, I would say it does. Not only is the titular character race-bent and the setting she is in seemingly plays into that, but the reworking of the Fairy Godmother as the Fab G as well as giving the Stepmother a more humanised backstory allows for a more compelling take on a classic.

Cast:

Because this is just the one all-in review I'm not going to do an in-depth character analysis and instead group the characters as who were my favourites, who did a passable job, who was bad and who were for some reason just there.

Favourites:

I have a top 3/4 favourite characters in this movie. Idina Menzel's Stepmother Vivian, Billy Porter's Fab G, Minnie Driver's Queen Beatrice and additionally Beverly Knight's Queen Tatiana.

Idina Menzel was always going to be fantastic in this movie, but to see her portray what is traditionally the villain character in the movie as a sympathetic character as part of the movie's feminist agenda was an interesting twist. No cat for a start, I don't know if Lucifer was a part of the original fairy tale but of course in the Disney adaptations Lady Tremaine is always accompanied by her faithful feline, but also the fact that her backstory parallels Ella's current story and the fact Vivian was so willing to have Ella reject her passion to do what is expected of her just as was forced on her was actually great motivation.

In truth I have only ever seen Billy Porter in one other thing aside from this movie and that was American Horror Story: Apocalypse. I have never seen Pose though I have heard good things, but from what I understand, Billy Porter only really has one speed. However, as the character's name states, that speed is fabulous. I loved Fab G in this movie, the fairy godmother is usually one of my favourite characters in the movie and every interpretation I have seen has brought something different and memorable. If this version of Cinderella is remembered for anything it will be for this very modernised take on the Fairy Godmother, not only gender-bending and race-bending a traditionally white female character, but with Porter choosing to make the character non-binary and that outfit speaks for itself, Fab G was simply a fabulous character.

In both Disney adaptations, I have never heard mention or reference to Prince Charming having a living mother...or a dead one for that matter. So to not only have the Queen being in a chunk of this movie, but also having her own story branch tying into the feminist agenda running through the movie and being portrayed by Minnie Driver, I was in love with this character.

Pretty much similar to the Fab G, if you've seen Beverly Knight's one second in the trailers you've pretty much seen her in the movie. She contributes to Ella's story in the movie and only appears in the latter half of the movie in 2 maybe 3 scenes but she makes an impact because she's Beverly Knight. My only gripe with her is she does not sing in the movie, you have Beverly Knight with not even a solo in a group number?

Passable:

Unfortunately the star of the movie Camilla Cabello is just passable in this movie as Cinderella. She does have some humour about her and her singing is great despite maybe being autotuned because I know how she can sing, but she doesn't feel like Cinderella to me, it actually feels more like a version of what Emma Watson was doing with Belle in the live-action Beauty and the Beast rather than Cinderella but at least she tried.

As for Nicholas Galitzine, he's definitely more engaging as a modern-day Prince Charming, Robert is definitely more engaging a character than Ella unfortunately, which to be fair is still good as the 2015 Cinderella is the only other adaptation to really make the Prince interesting, but I can't quite put my finger on exactly which movie it is but there is another movie I have seen where the Prince Regent doesn't want to be king but the Princess does and has to fight for her right to be it...that's pretty much this story for them.

Also Pierce Brosnan as the King, despite jokingly singing towards the end, did a great job at being the archetype of old-fashioned values with his on-screen wife Minnie Driver's queen pushing him into a modern-day thinking.

Bad:

As for who's bad, I have to say it pains but the British comic relief characters really let the side down in this movie.

In the three mice defence, Romesh Ranganathan and James Acaster are somewhat funny but unnecessary. James Corden however is abismal in this movie. I get he produces it, but particularly after Cats I do not understand 1) Why he'd want to portray another CG animal or 2) Ever think that one shot of him changing back from human to mouse with his head on a mouse body was funny...it was terrifying.

Also this movie is supposedly a family-audience movie...so why include a crass joke of Corden's character talking about peeing out of his front tail?

Additionally to the three mice, Rob Beckett has a surprising role in this movie as a potential suitor for Vivian's daughters, but he simply portrays such a creepy, cringe-worthy character it's almost uncomfortable to watch.

New Additions:

So as well as the two queens and the British comic relief there is also the addition of Princess Gwen to the movie who is the sister of the Prince and the one who wants to be ruler. It's kind of the same story as Jasmine's in the live-action Aladdin as wanting to be Sultan but being a woman isn't taken seriously, however here it is treated more comedically as every time there is a serious moment with the King trying to force Robert to grow up and be King, she always tries to interject with "Would this be a bad time to tell you about an actual real reason why I would be a good ruler" and they make sense but she's always dismissed until the very end.

Then there's a town crier, who is also inserted as a musical number while he's reading his proclamations but as a rap. Honestly I don't know Doc Brown as an artist but I did happen to enjoy what he contributed.

Music:

Which brings us on nicely to the music of the movie as this is a musical and I usually break down the songs. Again this time I will be doing groupings of best to worse.

Honestly my favourite number is probably "Shining Star" mostly performed by Billy Porter with verses by Camilla Cabello and, unfortunately, James Corden.

I also enjoyed the two original songs of the movie, "Million to One" which is Cabello's "I Want" song of the movie and used a lot through the movie, and then also "Dream Girl" which is Idina's main other song but also sung by basically the women of the movie, it's Idina Menzel if you don't give her an original song it's an insult.

Idina's other song is a cover of "Material Girl" and honestly it is a lot of fun, Nicholas Galitzine's rendition of "Somebody to Love" was also fun and surprising as I did not think this guy could sing that well.

The group numbers were fun and well choreographed but they are also somewhat forgettable. The song at the ball of "Whatta Man/Seven Nation Army" was probably the most memorable but still just mediocre.

Recommendation:

So with all that said, would I recommend watching Sony's Cinderella? Honestly I would say it is worth at least one viewing, and I do recommend watching all the way through just to get the full experience. I do think it will do better as a streaming movie than it would have done as a theatrical release, but I cannot pinpoint a market for this movie.

I don't think this will go down as one of the great adaptations, but there are moments and aspects of the movie that sets it apart from the crowd.

Overall I rate this movie a 7/10, it's not as fantastic as I feel the trailers were making it out to be, but having seen the movie twice there are definitely elements of the movie I looked forward to watching the second time around.

So that's my review of Sony's Cinderella, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

#cinderella #cinderella 2021 #camilla cabello #nicholas galitzine #pierce brosnan #idina menzel #minnie driver #romesh ranganathan #james corden #james acaster #billy porter #rob beckett

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thebrotherssalvatore321 · 4 years ago

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Keeping Secrets Ch. 22

Keeping Secrets Masterlist

Pairing: DamonxOc, TylerxOc, ElijahxOc then KlausxOc endgame.

Katie lied in Caroline’s queen bed between Bonnie and Caroline. She was having the best sleep she’d had since she turned thanks to Bonnie casting a one time spell on her to keep her from dreaming. So when Elena’s phone started ringing waking them all up they groaned grumpily. “Go away.” Caroline groaned right before Elena fell out of bed pulling the covers off of Katie and Bonnie. Elena grabbed her phone and answered it. “Elena.” Caroline complained at Elena being loud.

Katie could hear Stefan’s voice on the other end of the line. “Why do the Salvatore brothers have to be such early birds?” she groaned as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it back over her and Bonnie. She was about to drift back off to sleep when she remembered that she would probably dream about Elijah. So she slipped out of the bed, doing her best to not wake the two other girls, then grabbed her phone out of her shorts from the previous day and headed to the kitchen.

She had made a pot of coffee and was pouring a cup when Elena walked in. “Good morning.” Elena greeted her as she grabbed a pack of pop tarts out of the pantry.

“Yeah it was, before someone’s boyfriend called and woke me up.” Katie complained as she sat down at the small table in the room.

“Sorry.” Elena told her as she opened the extremely sweet pastries then threw away the silver wrapper.

“Don’t worry about it.” Katie told her flatly as she stared down at her steaming mug.

“Are you okay?” Elena asked with a worried look at her friend.

“Yeah.” Katie gave Elena a tired smile. “I just haven’t completely woken up yet.”

“If you say so.” Elena told her as if she didn’t believe her. “I’m gonna head out. Tell the girls I said I had fun and see you later.”

“Will do.” Katie told her with a sarcastic salute that Elena didn’t see because her back was already turned as she walked away.

Katie turned her eyes to her phone and unlocked the screen to see two messages, one from Damon and one from Elijah. So she opened the one from Damon first. “Call me when you wake up.” With a heavy sigh she pressed the phone icon next to his name and called him. “Hi.” Damon answered.

“Are you still mad at me?” Katie asked with a cringe, waiting for whatever his answer may be.

“Believe it or not…no.” he answered making Katie cock her head to the side, confused. “Your silence tells me you’re just as surprised as I am.”

“I don’t think surprised is a strong enough word.” Katie replied as she picked up her coffee and took a sip. “You were so pissed when you left.”

“Yeah I was and I wanted to rip his head off, but I stopped and thought about everything you said, not just the part about you kissing him.” he told her, making her eyes water.

“You did?” Katie asked, managing to keep her voice from cracking.

“Let’s just say I’ve lost control and made some mistakes of my own in my lifetime.” He told her and she smiled as she wiped a tear that fell.

“Are you high?” She laughed in confusion. Damon wasn’t usually a rational thinker.

“No. I told you I wouldn’t let him come between us and I meant it.” he told her. She could hear hangers moving around in the background. “So, the Lockwood’s are hosting a high tea for a writer that’s in town writing a book on small town Virginia. Want to come with me?”

“Let me guess, this writer is Elijah and you want to dangle me in front of him like a piece of meat that he can’t have.” She said as she picked up her cup and took a drink.

“Mmhmm.” He hummed making her shake her head at him. “So will you go with me?”

“Nope.” she answered.

“Aww come on.” He begged thinking she wouldn’t be able to say no.

“Do you know what happens to a piece of meat that gets tossed into a lion's den?” Katie asked. “I’ll pass.”

“Fine.” He whined. “How was the sleepover?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Exactly what I needed. Bonnie cast a spell on me so that I could have one night of dreamless sleep.” She answered then frowned and scratched at her brow. “I still need to fill you in on everything that Elijah told me yesterday.”

“Meet me at home after the party.” He told her as Bonnie stuck her head outside to get Katie’s attention.

“Okay.” She told him as she gave Bonnie a smile and held her finger up at her. “The girls are awake. I’ll talk to you later.” Bonnie went back inside.

“I love you.” he answered back.

Katie smiled. “I love you too.”

After hanging up with Damon, Katie opened the message from Elijah. “I apologize for my behavior. I should not have kissed you back. However you should remember that because we are linked I feel every extremity you do. Forgive me?” with a frown down at the text Katie decided not to answer him. Instead she went back inside and filled Bonnie and Caroline in on everything that Elijah had told her the day before.

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“So tell me about this witchy plan you’ve been cooking up.” Caroline prompted Bonnie where the three of them sat at a table in the grill.

“We still don’t know the extent of what Elijah’s up to. I mean, we know that he wants to kill Klaus, but we don’t know how. He purposely didn’t tell Katie that part, right?” Bonnie asked Katie.

“Right.” Katie answered with a nod.

“So I’m gonna ask Luka to tell me what he knows.” Bonnie finished.

“And he’s not gonna tell you anything.” Caroline replied.

“I didn’t say he was gonna have a choice.” Bonnie told them with a smile.

Caroline perked up when she saw Matt and waved at him, but he blew her off. “What was that about?” Bonnie asked.

“I don’t know. I thought we were…” Caroline said then looked down at her hands on the table clearly hurt. “I don’t know.”

“So how are you going to get him to talk?” Katie asked, changing the subject, getting a small thank you smile from Caroline.

“Consider it the witch version of a roofie. I’ll put it in his coffee then when he passes out we'll take him somewhere we won’t be interrupted then I’ll pretty much hypnotize him and make him talk.” Bonnie explained.

“We can use my house.” Katie offered. “I’ve compelled the one nosy neighbor I have to mind her own business.”

“Perfect.” Caroline said with a smile.

Eventually Luka came into the grill and started playing pool. “You’re on Bon.” Katie told her as Bonnie stood from the table.

She ordered two iced coffees and roofied Luka’s. Caroline and Katie were casually watching when Jeremy walked up. “How’s it going?”

“Jeremy, long time no see. What are you doin’ here?” Katie greeted him feeling like she hadn’t seen him in forever.

“Bonnie called. I wanted to help.” He said as he leaned on the table and glanced over at Bonnie and Luka. “How’s it goin’?”

“She’s fishing and he’s biting.” Katie answered.

“She’s giving him the sex smile.” Caroline added.

“Alright, Caroline. I get it.” Jeremy told her with an eye roll.

When Jeremy looked back at Bonnie, Katie and Caroline shared a look. “Does he like her?” Katie mouthed and Caroline arched a brow and shrugged.

When Bonnie looked back at the three of them they headed over to her. Jeremy looped Luka’s arm around his shoulder and started helping him walk to the back exit. “What kind of witch roofie was that?” Jeremy asked with a grunt from Luka’s weight.

“A strong one.” Bonnie answered, sounding a little cocky.

They put him in Katie’s car that she had moved outback and brought him to her house. Katie pushed the coffee table aside and they set Luka in the middle of the area rug. Per Bonnie’s instruction Katie gathered all the candles she could find and placed them around the room. “I’ll go get a lighter.” Katie said as she headed back to the kitchen.

“I got it.” Bonnie stopped her as the candles lit.

“Never gonna get used to that.” Jeremy said as he looked around at the candles.

“Oh, come on. That’s pretty hot and you know it.” Caroline told Jeremy with a smile and Jeremy tilted his head to the side as if to agree.

“I need a bowl of water.” Bonnie told Jeremy who went to the kitchen to get it. As soon as he was out of earshot Bonnie looked at Caroline. “Okay, what was that? It’s hot?” she asked.

“He’s so crushing on you.” Caroline told Bonnie as she moved to sit on the other side of Luka across from Bonnie.

“Yeah I’m with Caroline on this one.” Katie said when Bonnie looked at her.

“So?” Bonnie asked.

“So?” Caroline mimicked. “Would you rather be with a traitor warlock over here?”

“I’m not into Luka.” Bonnie pointed out as Katie sat down on the couch. “It’s just, you know, he understood me, and he was new…and different.”

“And you’ve known Jeremy since forever and you only see him one way, as Elena’s brother. But you’re a witch and Katie and I are vampires. You know it’s not like we’re in any position-” Caroline was interrupted by Bonnie.

“To be picky.” Bonnie finished.

Caroline laughed. “No, to…judge.”

Katie was about to add that now that Jeremy wasn’t doing drugs and wearing black fingernail polish he was kind of hot, but he walked into the room.

Bonnie dipped her fingertips into the bowl of water then placed them on Luka’s head. After a few minutes Caroline asked, “How long is this gonna take?”

“I don’t know, he’s fighting me.” Bonnie answered.

“Please stop. Please.” Luka begged, but Bonnie finally got him to stop fighting her.

“Why are you working with Elijah?” Bonnie asked him.

“Klaus. We both want him dead.” Luka answered quietly.

“You want to kill Klaus too. Why?” Bonnie asked with her eyes closed as she kept her hands on Luka’s head.

“Because he has her and we have to get her away from him.” Luka answered making everyone in the room look at him with confusion.

“Who are you talking about?” Bonnie asked what they were all thinking.

“My sister.” Luka answered.

“Why does he have her?” Bonnie asked.

“He’s searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelganger. He’s forced generations of witches to help him for centuries.”

“What has Elijah promised you?” Bonnie asked.

“If we help Elijah kill Klaus he’s promised to return her to us.” Luka answered.

“And how do you kill Klaus?” Bonnie asked. “How do you kill an original vampire?”

Luka started fighting Bonnie again as he lifted his head from the floor and shook his head no. “He’ll kill me if I tell you. Don’t make me.” Luka begged.

“I won’t let him.” Katie got down on the floor beside Luka. “Please, tell us and I’ll take full blame for this.”

“It’s okay Bonnie. We can find another way.” Jeremy spoke up disagreeing with Katie.

“No.” Bonnie told him as she closed her eyes and got Luka back under her spell. How will you kill Klaus?”

“After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It’s our only chance.” Luka answered.

“After the sacrifice?” Caroline and Katie asked at the same time.

“What do you mean, after?” Bonnie asked Luka.

“Klaus will be vulnerable.” Luka answered again.

“But Elena will be dead.” Bonnie replied.

“Yes.” Luka confirmed. “Elena has to die.”

Katie and Caroline stared at Luka with a combination of anger and sadness. “No.” Jeremy said as he shook his head.

“Over my dead body.” Katie said as she stood up and grabbed her cell phone, wallet and car keys off the coffee table.

“Where are you going?” Caroline asked with wide eyes.

“To get answers from the man himself.” She answered as she headed for the door. “Lock up when you’re done.” She told them as she walked out the door and shut it behind her.

She dialed Elijah’s number as she got into her car and cranked it. “Hello, Katie.” He answered formally.

“Hi.” She replied snippily.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

“We need to talk. Where are you?” she asked.

“I am in the boarding house, standing right across from your boyfriend. Would you like to meet me here?” he asked.

“Yes.” She answered then hung up and tossed her phone into the passenger seat.

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When she got to the boarding house she found Damon and Elijah in the library. Damon had blood all over his neck and looked a little weak so she ignored Elijah and went straight to him. “What happened?” she asked, pulling his collared shirt aside to look at his neck.

“The wolves found out about the sun and moon curse. They thought we had the moonstone and they’re still pissed at me for killing Mason.” He answered as he put his hands on her hips and looked into her worried eyes. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and looked at him with questioning eyes. “I’m fine.” She kissed him then turned and walked over to Elijah who didn’t look happy to see them canoodling.

“Damon, will you give us a minute?” She asked while staring at Elijah.

“Yep.” He answered, popping the p at the end of the word in true Damon style, then walked out of the study.

“You’re planning on letting Elena get sacrificed…?” she asked as she walked over to stand at the opposite end of the couch, purposely using it to keep them from being too close to each other. “You’re planning on letting Klaus go through with the ritual?” Elijah tapped the back of the couch in thought. “Don’t try to deny it.”

“I was not planning on denying it.” he told her with a little squint of his eyes. “How did you-”

“It doesn’t matter. Just answer the question please.” She told him trying, despite the pull she always felt around him, to stay mad at him.

“Yes. In order for Klaus to be susceptible to anything that could kill him, Elena has to die.” He answered looking at his fingers that still fiddled with the back of the couch.

“I knew you were keeping things from me, but I didn’t think it was as bad as you letting my friend die.” She told him, her disappointment clear in her voice.

“Where did you get your information from?” he asked looking up from his hands on the couch to her.

“If I tell you, you have to promise not to get mad.” She told him and he just looked at her, thinking about if he should promise her or not.

“I promise.” He told her with a nod.

“Luka, we didn’t exactly give him a choice. So it wasn’t his fault he told us that you plan on killing Klaus after the sacrifice because he’ll be weak.” She answered. “I need to know exactly what you’re planning because one way or another we are going to figure it out. We will not…let…Elena…die. It’s not an option.”

“Elena will be fine.” He told her with a smug smirk.

“How will she be fine if Klaus kills her!?” Katie yelled at him.

He whooshed around the couch and cupped her face in his hands. “I know how to save her.” he told her, looking deep in her eyes.

She knocked his hands off of her face and glared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that from the beginning? Why all the secrets?”

“Because the more people that know my plan, the higher the risk of Niklaus finding out and stopping me.” He answered. “You will find out everything you need to know in time.” Katie just glared at him. “As long as you are with him I can not trust you.” he told her as she looked into her eyes with a squint. “But you can trust me.”

“No, I can’t.” Katie argued with an aggravated shake of her head. “There are multiple sides to every war. Right now you are on one side and I’m on another.” the more she spoke the more she started talking with her hands. “Until we’re on the same side I can’t trust you either.” She told him, making him frown at her. “I’m starving. You can see yourself out.” She pointed to the front door as she walked away. Elijah watched her disappear through one of the many archways in that house that led to who knows where before he walked away.

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Katie was getting a blood bag out of the basement when her phone started ringing and she pulled it out of her back pocket to see Tyler’s name on the screen. With a confused frown she answered it. “Hey, Katie, can we meet somewhere? We need to talk.”

“Yeah.” She answered, “We can meet at my house.”

“Okay, see you there.” He replied awkwardly.

“Yeah. See you there.” She answered back then hung up.

She drank her blood bag on her way to Damon’s room where she found him in the shower. “You gonna join me?” he asked when he saw her watching him.

“I would love to, but Tyler called. He wants to talk.” She answered and Damon stuck his head out from behind the glass with a curious frown. “So I’m going to meet him at my house.” She told him as she walked over and leaned on the glass.

He growled in aggravation. “Fine, but make it fast because I really need you.” He told her with a pout then stuck his bottom lip out.

Katie laughed. “I’ll make it quick, I promise.” She kissed him on the lips then left.

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Tyler was waiting on her front porch swing, his hands clasped together in front of him where he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. When he saw her walk up the porch he sat up straight. “Hey.” She said awkwardly as she sat down next to him.

“Hey.” He answered back. “So… I figured there were a few loose ends we should tie up before I leave town.”

“You’re leaving?” Katie asked with a look at him across her shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m going to go with Jules, figure out this whole werewolf thing.” he answered.

She turned in the swing and pulled her feet up beside her. “Tyler, before anything else is said between us there’s something you need to know.” he gave her a look that told her to keep going. “I loved you.” she blinked fast, holding back tears. “You were…everything I wanted. You’re sweet, thoughtful, caring…I had a crush on you since jr. high.” She laughed as a tear slipped and he smiled and turned his eyes down. “But after I turned…after we lost the baby…everything changed.”

“I get it.” he told her with a nod. “We don’t make sense anymore.” He told her and she shrugged. “When you broke up with me…I was mad…when I found out you were a vampire, knew about me being a werewolf and didn’t tell me…I was livid.” He told her and she felt a tear slip down her face. “Then I realized that I was mad…because I loved you too.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about me. I wanted to be there for you, I did, but I’m not as brave as Caroline. I didn’t want to risk getting bitten. I am… a coward.” She told him as she moved her legs around in front of her and hugged her knees.

“I get it and you’re forgiven.” he told her as he stood up and turned to her so she stood up too. “I just didn’t want to leave with you thinking I’m still mad at you…I’m not.”

“Thank you.” she told him with a small smile. “You didn’t have to talk to me before you left. After how I treated you I would’ve understood if you never spoke to me again, but I’m glad you did. So…friends?” she asked awkwardly as she held her arms open for a hug.

Tyler laughed and hugged her. “Friends.”

They let go of each other and he headed for the jeep that had been parked across the street from Katie’s house. “Good luck.” Katie called as he climbed into the vehicle and he gave her a wave as they drove off.

When she got back to the boarding house she immersed herself in Damon. Being together was the only thing getting them through the hard days without going completely insane. He was always what she needed at the end of the day.

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The next day Katie and Damon slid into a booth at the grill across from Alaric. “So you two are together again?” Alaric asked with a disbelieving look.

“Yep.” Damon answered as he wrapped his arm around Katie’s shoulders.

“This is too weird.” Alaric scoffed causing Katie to smile and shake her head at them.

“So other than a lecture on the history of Mystic Falls did you get anything out of Elijah?” Damon asked Alaric to change the subject. Katie would’ve preferred to talk about anything else.

“No, it was boring.” He said with a sigh. “Of course Jenna thinks he’s charming.”

“You sound a bit jealous.” Damon told Alaric then looked over to see Katie smile and tilted her head to the side as if she agreed with Jenna. “What was that?” Damon asked with a point to her face.

“Elijah is really charming.” Katie pointed out getting a glare from Damon.

“Now who’s jealous?” Alaric pointed out with a laugh.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit unintentionally biased when it comes to him.” Katie shrugged. “How are we going to get information out of Elijah?”

“I just need the right opportunity.” Damon sighed with a frown. “Ah, there’s Jenna with her new boyfriend.” Damon perked up with a look at the front door that Jenna and Elijah had just walked through. “Hey.” Damon waved at them with a smile.

“Hey guys.” Jenna gave them a smile as she headed over, Elijah trailing behind.

“So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today.” Damon prompted.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Jenna replied with a look across her shoulder at Elijah who smiled at Damon then Katie who smiled back and she couldn’t tell if she smiled back because of the way Elijah always made her feel or if she was just being polite.

“Well as much as I’d like to continue this, I’ve got papers to grade.” Alaric said as he stood up.

“Have you gotten a chance to grade my make up essay?” Katie asked, stalling to think of a way she could give Damon the opportunity he needed to talk to Elijah.

“I did and if I’m being honest it wasn’t your best work.” He told her and she sank back a bit, now worried that she would never get back to her old self and she’d have to work even harder if she still wanted to remain in the top of her class before the school year was over, summer would be upon them soon. “But given the circumstances I understand why.”

“I have an idea.” Katie said as if a light bulb went off in her head.

“I’m sure it’s brilliant.” Damon told her as he looked across his shoulder at her with a closed lipped smile. “Why don’t we continue this at the boarding house?” she motioned around at the people standing around the table. “I’ll cook.”

“You cook?” Damon, Jenna and Elijah asked at the same time.

“Jeeze, do I come off as someone who would be a crappy cook?” she asked with a look at the three of them.

“Well, if memory serves you tend to burn everything.” Elijah spoke up with a smirk.

“You two know each other?” Jenna asked with a confused smile.

“He was a friend of my fathers.” Katie spoke up with a lie before anyone else could. “So what do you guys say? Tonight, say…six-thirty.”

“I’m free.” Jenna said at the same time Alaric said, “I don’t know if tonight works-”

Knowing that Jenna would get Alaric to come Katie and Damon looked at Elijah. “It would be a pleasure.”

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After they ate lunch Katie headed to the grocery store and bought everything needed to make fresh garden salad, three cheese stuffed shells and mini cheesecakes. After checking out she headed to the boarding house to find it empty. So she started cooking. The main course was in the oven when Damon came in. “Why didn’t you tell me you could cook?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind where she stood at the counter cutting up cucumbers for the salad.

“Because you never asked and it’s not exactly something I like to do.” She told him as she scooped up the cucumber slices off the cutting board with the knife and deposited them into the bowl with the lettuce.

“It smells good.” He told her then started kissing her neck. “So why don’t you like to cook?” he asked looking around the kitchen at the mess she had made.

“My grandfather forced me to learn how to cook and do everything a proper lady should.” She answered as she started halving the cherry tomatoes.

“Thank you for doing this. You didn’t have to.” He told her as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

“You needed an opportunity to pry info out of Elijah and I gave you one.” She said with a shrug.

“Have I told you lately how amazing you are?” he asked in his cute pouty voice making her smile.

“No.” she answered in a laugh.

“Well you are and I don’t deserve you.” he told her before someone knocked on the door. “Is it Elijah?”

“I can’t feel him, no.” she told him as she dumped the tomatoes into the salad bowl. Damon went and answered the door, letting Jenna and Alaric inside.

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She was setting the table with Jenna’s help when she overheard Damon and Alaric talking in the study. “It’s just a fact finding mission. It’s totally harmless.” She heard Damon.

“Just a fact finding mission?” Alaric asked not believing Damon.

“I’ll be right back.” Katie told Jenna and headed to the study.

“Listen, no sneak attacks, no surprise plans, nothing that’s going to put Jenna in harm's way. Okay?” Alaric told Damon as Katie stepped into the doorway.

“What he said.” She told Damon with a point at Alaric as she walked down the steps and over to Damon. “And I mean it. If you are up to something, tell me about it right now.”

“I’m gonna…go help Jenna with something.” Alaric dismissed himself as Katie crossed her arms and looked at Damon with serious eyes.

“I’m not up to anything.” He told her with an innocent smile and a shrug that only Damon could make look cute.

“I call bullshit.” She told him with a suspicious look.

“I promise you. All I want to do is talk to him.” he told her as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her into him. She kept her arms crossed. “Trust me.”

“Fine.” She said as she dropped her arms and placed her hands over his on her hips. “I have to go check on the desserts.”

“Ooh. What are we having for dessert?” he asked as she pushed his hands off of her.

“It’s a surprise, but I’m sure you can guess it’s nothing chocolate.” She told him as she walked away.

Katie was on her way to the kitchen when someone knocked on the door so she headed over and answered it revealing John Gilbert who let himself in. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Jenna mentioned she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah. I decided I couldn’t miss out on all the fun and games.” He replied as Alaric and Damon walked up.

“I’m hosting, you’re not invited, leave before I make you leave.” Katie told him, getting an approving look from Damon.

“There are not going to be any games tonight John. It’s just a friendly dinner party.” Alaric told him as Katie shut the door knowing that she couldn’t force him to leave as long as Jenna was around.

“Fine, but you don’t get dessert. I only made enough for the invited guests.” Katie told him as she walked past him purposely hitting his shoulder hard with hers as she did.

Katie was setting the salad in the center of the dining table when she felt Elijah near and a second later they heard the knock on the door. Damon went to answer it and Katie trained her ears on them. “Good evening.” Elijah greeted him.

“Thank you for coming. Please, come in.” Damon told him, sounding overly polite.

“Just one moment.” She got a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider.”

“No, nothing dishonorable.” Damon answered as Katie headed their way in hopes of defusing the tension. “Just getting to know you.”

“Hmm. Well, that’s good because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal,” Katie stopped just out of their sight, “if you so much as make a move to cross me, I’ll kill you and I’ll kill everyone in this house besides Katie. Are we clear?”

“If you kill me Katie will never have anything to do with you.” Damon answered not knowing Katie was standing right around the corner.

“I give her back her memories and she will forget all about you.” Elijah threatened.

“Boys.” Katie drawled as she stepped out from around the corner and walked over to them. “Play nice, please.”

“Katie, you look beautiful as always.” Elijah told her, taking in her black sequined spaghetti strap tank top and dark wash jeans as he walked over and placed his hand on her bare shoulder as he kissed her cheek in greeting. Damon didn’t miss the way her eyes fluttered at Elijah’s touch or the aggravated look that followed.

Damon walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her waist as they headed to the dining room.

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The six people sat around the dining table with John at one end and Damon at the other. Jenna and Katie sat on one side with Katie next to Damon while Elijah sat across from her and Alaric sat across from Jenna.

“I hate to break it to you Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town.” Jenna said as she grabbed the bottle of wine out of the ice bucket in the center of the table and poured more into her glass.

“Hmm, do tell.” Damon said as if he really wasn’t interested.

“Well as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690’s.” Elijah informed them and Katie couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of her bond with him or if she really did like it, but she found that she enjoyed listening to him talk. “Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution.”

“Because they were witches.” Jenna whispered mysteriously.

“I’d believe it.” Katie spoke up getting an eye roll from Jenna.

“You would.” Jenna laughed making everyone smile.

“Hey, don’t hate on my open mind.” Katie defended herself then turned her eyes to Elijah. “What else do you know about this town that they don’t teach us in school?” she asked, then took a bite of the pasta on her plate.

“Well the lore says that there was a wave anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement. So these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around as they were consumed by the fire.”

“I wouldn’t repeat this to the historical society.” Jenna laughed with a look at Katie who just smiled, because she wouldn’t be surprised if the historical society already knew.

“It’s starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me.” John spoke up making everyone look at him with a why-are-you-talking look.

“So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?” Damon asked then took a drink of his wine.

“You know…” Elijah shrugged. “A healthy historian’s curiosity, of course.” He answered with a smile at Katie then Damon. Katie found herself liking his smile and she once again pushed the thought aside. As the dinner conversation drug on Katie focused on her food and keeping her mouth shut. She was taking the last bite of her pasta when she felt someone’s foot brush against hers. She thought it was just an accident, but then it happened again and it was clear that it was Elijah, attempting to pay footsie with her. Butterflies stirred in her stomach as he brushed his shoe over the side of her leg. She gave him a glare as she pulled her feet back, tucking them under her chair. He smirked at her then turned his attention back to the conversation.

When everyone was finished with dinner Damon asked, “Would anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle I’ve been saving for ages.” Damon asked as he stood up.

“None for me thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit.” Alaric answered as he stood up.

“Why don’t you gentlemen go have drinks in the study while Jenna and I clear?” Katie asked with a polite smile at the men in the room as she stood from the table.

“I have to say, the food was surprisingly not burnt. It was almost as wonderful as the company.” Elijah told Katie with a smile as everyone else stood up.

Katie laughed getting a look from Damon. “Thank you.”

She started picking up the dishes as Damon and Elijah headed to the study. Alaric hung back and walked around the table to Jenna. “Here, put me to work.” He told Jenna holding his hands out for the dishes.

“Um, I got it.” she blew him off.

“Hey, Jenna, are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Rick.” She told him as she and Katie headed to the kitchen past John.

The girls were putting the dishes in the sink when Alaric came in looking like something bad was about to happen. “Katie, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked and Katie walked over to him and out of earshot of Jenna. “You need to get Damon away from Elijah, now.”

“Why?” she asked as they headed to the study.

“I can’t tell you right now.” He told her making her roll her eyes at him. “Just do me a favor and get him out of there.”

“Fine.” She sighed, not happy about having to spend alone time with Elijah or the fact that Damon lied to her and clearly had a plan of some kind tonight. Alaric walked into the study while Katie stopped in the doorway. “Dessert is almost ready.” She announced then held her hand out to Elijah and smiled. “Can I steal you away from the guys for a minute?” she asked and he smiled an almost cocky smile as he walked over to her and took her hand giving her a playful twirl before they walked into the hallway. “Footsie, really?” she asked as she held onto his arm as they slowly walked to the dining room. Once again butterflies took over her stomach as she looked across her shoulder at the profile of his face.

He smiled, “I could not resist.” He admitted as he looked over at her with a close lipped smile.

“I didn’t take you for the type to flirt by playing games like footsie.” She told him as they got close to the dining room.

“That is because you do not remember how fun I can be.” He told her with a challenging smirk.

“If that is your way of trying to get me to remember another random memory it’s not working.” She told him with a shake of her head. He was about to say something when the alarm on her phone started going off. “That is the timer for the desert.” She told him as she rushed off to the kitchen eager to get away from him.

She and Jenna were putting the topping on the mini cheesecakes, when a sharp splitting pain shot through her chest causing her to scream out in pain and fall to the floor on her hands and knees at the same time she heard Elijah yell out.

Fortunately Jenna couldn’t hear Elijah over Katie and rushed to her side. “Oh my god, Katie, are you okay?” she asked, placing a hand on Katie’s back.

“Yeah.” Katie panted as the pain faded and she stood up.

Damon came into the room with a worried look on his face. “Did I hear you scream?” he asked.

Katie just glared at him then looked at Jenna. “Will you finish these up? I might have to go home.” she asked and Jenna nodded.

Katie ignored Damon and walked into the dining room to see Elijah slumped in the chair, his skin blue with protruding veins. She turned to Damon with a death glare. “I can explain.” He told her seeing the anger in her eyes.

“Don’t bother.” She told him as she pushed past him. As she headed to her room she heard Alaric telling Damon to get Elijah out of there before Jenna came out of the kitchen and saw him. When she got to her room she grabbed her car keys off of the desk. Damon was standing in the doorway, blocking her way out. “Get out of my way Damon.” She told him flatly not looking him in the eyes.

“Please let me explain.” He told her with pleading eyes.

“No.” she told him, finally looking him in the eyes as she pointed at him. “I can’t talk to you right now and I don’t want to. So please, move.” Damon reluctantly stepped aside and let her leave.

TVDTVDTVD

She had just unlocked her front door when she felt a crippling pain shoot through her head stopping her in her tracks. She sank to her knees as the pain intensified until she eventually passed out.

A/N: Likes and Comments are always appreciated.

#damon x reader #damon x oc #damon salvatore #damon x oc fanfiction #Tyler lockwood #tyler lockwood fanfiction #Tyler lockwood x oc #elijah mikaelson #elijah mikaelson x oc #elijah mikaelson x oc fanfiction #multichapter fic #tvd fanfiction #the vampire diaries fanfiction

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jadelotusflower · 4 years ago

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March 2021 Roundup

Reading

Benevolence by Julie Janson - One of those books that caught my eye at the library (I’m a sucker for the “top picks” shelf) and I’m glad I picked up. The story of Muraging, given over in 1813 to the Parramatta Native School, but always trying to find a way back to her family and culture in the brutal early days of colonisation - resilient in the face of so much hardship. Janson is a Burruberongal woman of the Durag Aboriginal Nation, and Muraging is based on her great-great grandmother and Durag oral histories. An engrossing but often difficult read, about a period of history not often told from this perspective.

One Day by David Nicholls - A book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for so long I don’t even remember buying it. I vaguely recall seeing the movie adaptation on a plane once so must have enjoyed it, but can’t say I would recommend this book. Depicting St Swithin’s Day every year in the lives of two absolute character cliches, from one night stand, to friendship, romance and marriage. The concept is neat and the writing has wit, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care about Dex (insufferable twat) and Emma (not like other girls) or their love story. Okay, it’s not that bad. It kind of grew on me by the end.

Watching

Superman and Lois (episodes 1-5) - I’ve had reservations about this show because of this but am giving it a shot. I have not followed the Arrowverse/Crisis but a friend did her best to explain it to me, although honestly I found it this show works just as well as a standalone. The premise is simple - Lois and Clark return to Smallville with their twin sons for teen superhero angst part two. To be honest, it feels so much like a Smallville revival that...I kind of wish it was?

Tyler Hoechlin makes a good Clark, but that padded Superman suit is an embarrassment - get rid of those fake muscles and show us some super collarbones! Elizabeth Tulloch is growing on me as Lois - she’s very...subdued, but imo lacking that spark Kidder, Hatcher, and Durance had. Honestly, subdued it how I would describe the show overall. Also the colour palette is sooo drab because gritty realism I guess.

I enjoy the family drama aspect of it, although I wish one of the kids was a girl. I mean, I understand why they’re twin boys - the son becomes the father and the father the son and all that - complete with both sons being named after both of Clark’s fathers (is there a name for the trope of the hero’s kids being named after his dead family/mentors as if the mother had no input??). The Captain Luthor/Morgan Edge plots are still in the setup stage so hard to comment on them.

I sound harsh, I don’t dislike the show overall (and there’s some really good elements there). We’ll see, I guess.

Man of Steel/Batman v Superman/Zack Snyder’s Justice League - I’ve never really been a huge fan of the Snyderverse, and have been trying my best to avoid the Discourse about the Snyder cut over the past few years (from both sides). I have however been following what Ray Fisher has had to say, and can’t deny my interest was piqued by the idea that there was an entirely different film out there that did right by its characters. So I went back and revisited MoS/BvS before embarking on JL to give the franchise another shot.

While I still don’t really vibe with Snyder’s aesthetic (it’s just a bit bleak and muddy for me) I think these films are actually better when viewed together as one long story. I can appreciate that he made an effort to step away from the Donner nostalgia, and tell this epic modern myth of gods among men, and can enjoy it for what it is. The Snyder cut was entertaining enough, and I quite enjoyed aspects of it - Cyborg is indeed the heart of the film (but I honestly wish it had been explored in his own movie), and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash break up the dreary tone.

It was nice to see the Amazons again (and I loved “Amazon’s, show your fear”/“we have no fear”). I like this take on Clark and Lois, even if most of the relationship happens offscreen, and there’s certainly more in the Snyder cut - even if I wish there was greater depth to Clark’s arc in particular, less of the god and more of the man.

I did however notice a pattern in these films in that I was interested/compelled by the first world building/character half, and having my eyes glaze over in the endless action cgi-fest of the second half (I have this issue with Marvel too). And the Snyder cut is indeed endless - it rivals Return of the King for number of endings but is much less cohesive, like Snyder was throwing everything at the wall since this might be his last chance. There’s a nice montage at the end with a bit of hope, and I was thinking well this is a nice uplifting note to end on, thank you! But nope, twenty more minutes of grimdark prophecising (in isolation, an interesting scene, but felt so out of place to show the team torn apart again immediately after we’ve just seen them come back together).

I also lol’d at David Thewlis getting a front credit for what amounted to his cgi face behind a massive helmet. Collect that paycheck, my man!

Coming 2 America - I watched the original as a teenager more times than I can count, truly iconic. Look, I dislike the sequel/reboot/remake merry go round when it dominates the scene, but to be honest I am a sucker for a sequel that’s lovingly made and really just an excuse to get the band back together and have fun. Worth it for the costumes and dance sequences alone (especially the En Vogue/Salt n Pepper/Gladys Knight mashup), but I really enjoyed this overall. There’s nothing groundbreaking and it doesn’t try to be. Was it necessary? No. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely.

Actually, scratch that. The costumes and hair are absolutely necessary.

The Prom (dir. Ryan Murphy) - Now I love a movie musical and this was...fine. It’s sweet and I enjoyed Meryl Streep doing her best Patti Lupone, and Nicole Kidman clearly having fun (even if she can’t Fosse to save her life) although I can’t say I found any of the songs memorable. James Corden, however, is pure cringe for reasons outlined here. But overall it’s light and fluffy, and not a terrible way to spend two hours of your life.

Superstore (seasons 1-6) - I’ve been binging on this for a while, and it’s a fun little show about the employees of a big box store - it’s nice to see America Ferrera back on screen (with producer credit). A great, diverse cast, but MVPs for me are Lauren Ash as Dina (you may recognise her voice as Scorpia from She-Ra), and Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra. While it did touch on some real-world issues - corporation malfeasance, unionisation, etc - ultimately it’s lighthearted and pleasant, especially the series finale that just goes full happy ending with a nice break from grim reality.

Allen v Farrow (dir. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering) - I’ve never watched a Woody Allen film, and the clips I’ve seen of Woody Allen films haven’t changed my mind on this point. But what struck me seeing the clips of Manhattan in this documentary is just how young Muriel Hemingway was - this is not the Hollywood standard 22 year old playing 17 (which is problematic in other ways) but an actual teenager with a baby face and childlike voice, in bed with a 40+ year old man and I am baffled that this film is so highly regarded - if nothing else it’s right up there on the screen.

But of course there is so much else, which makes this documentary hard to watch at times. To those who have followed these events there’s not much new here, but it does an excellent job of compiling the sources together and giving a timeline of events, as well as refuting many of the pro-Allen arguments, and giving Dylan a chance to speak for herself. There’s also a companion podcast which is worth a listen for added perspective.

Writing

I actually finished something, finally! Posted Debrief, a Smallville one-shot (3920 words). 1670 words done on my other Smallville wip.

Posted chapter 41 of Turn Your Face to the Sun (1865 words). Now that the Obi-Wan show is actually happening, I need to get this finished before it all becomes moot.

Total: 7455 words this month, making 23,962 for the year.

#monthly roundup #reading watching writing #long post

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depressedkakashihatake-fics · 4 years ago

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It’s Finally Over

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai/Tenzo Yamato

2101 Words

Kiss: Top of the Head Kiss

For: @tenzoyamato

Celebrations still haven’t stopped. Ever since the day that they returned home from the war the festivities had continued day in and day out. Of course there was still a looming feeling of sadness. People who had lost someone had less reason to celebrate than the others, but they were still there. They still stand with everyone else, sharing memories of loved one’s lost and smiling a sad broken smile, because while they’ve lost someone they know what could have happened.

They understand that it could have been so much worse, and so they celebrate.

Watching from the top of the newly built Hokage’s residence, Kakashi smiles a soft smile. One saved only for himself as his eyes follow Sakura and Naruto running through the streets down below collecting their friends for shenanigans that he didn’t want to know anything about.

If they got into trouble, it would have to be someone else’s problem. Just for today. After all, while everyone else is celebrating he’s thinking back to the war that he had barely survived. A war that would have killed him if it hadn’t been for Obito’s intervention.

A war that he had no real desire to survive, thinking that his two most important people were dead. That he was alone in a world that seemed so desperate to make him suffer, never to see that blindingly bright smile that Gai always gave him, or the soft thoughtful eyes that Tenzo always had when he was looking at him.

Surviving that final fight had felt like an empty victory for so long. A victory for his students more than anyone, and one he had no real desire to celebrate alongside them until…

A smile pulled at his lips when he felt two very familiar chakra signitured directly behind him. “You shouldn’t be up here,” glancing back at the pair, he rolled his eyes when he saw Tenzo helping Gai back into his wheelchair. “I thought you didn’t want anyone helping you with that.”

“I made an exception for this,” Gai assured him, that blinding smile of his cemented on his face. From where he stood Kakashi could still see the scars left behind by the eighth gate’s intense chakra burning through Gai’s skin. Angry red marks that the doctors had told them would heal a little over time, but would always be there as faint scares for the rest of Gai’s life. “You said you were going to meet us downstairs to join the celebrations.”

“I’m not that late, am i?” judging by the unimpressed look that Tenzo gives him, he is in fact late. Possibly very late. “Sorry, i guess i got caught up in my thoughts.”

“Nothing new,” Tenzo dismissed with a playful smile. “You’re always thinking too much, Lord Sixth.”

Kakashi cringed at the use of the Honourary. ‘Senpai’ was bad enough most days, but this was a bit too far. “Please, drop the ‘Lord’,” he pleaded. “Just use my name, Tenzo. It won’t kill you.”

“You’re the Hokage,” Tenzo argued. “It’s proper to refer to you as ‘Lord’. To do as you ask and ‘drop the Lord’ would be…”

His sentence trailed off, never to be completed, when Gai reached out and laid a hand down over his knee. If there was one person Kakashi could always trust to have his side in an argument it was Gai. Even if the rest of the world was against him, Gai would always have his back.

“How about we have this conversation later,” Ok, maybe Gai wasn’t on his side this time. “Everyone is waiting for us downstairs. We shouldn’t keep them any longer than we already have.”

Wait? For them?

“What could they possibly be waiting for?” Kakashi inquired. “And who is ‘everyone’? Did you two...please tell me that you didn’t plan anything. You know i don’t like surprises.”

The proud looks on the pairs faces told him that they had, in fact, planned something and that he had little to no choice about it. Possibly because they had already told everyone what they were going to do, and it would be rude of Kakashi to leave his friends waiting.

Some days he had to wonder why he had ever fallen in love with these two. Of course as soon as he started to question his life choices on the matter, one of them would do something grossly adorable that would make him melt on the spot.

Like Gai, who was currently rolling up to his side and looking at him with the biggest, saddest eyes he had ever seen. And the man had the audacity to say that his puppy dog eye look was too powerful.

Clearly someone had never looked into the mirror while making that face.

“This is completely unfair,” he grumbled under his breath. “Why would you two do this to me?”

“You’re Hokage now, Rival,” Gai argued. “Given the title today in front of all of Konoha. It’s only natural for all of your friends to want to celebrate with you.”

A celebration was the last thing that he wanted after having the Hokage’s hat shoved onto him by Tsunade-sama. He was still trying to recover after she had suddenly announced her intentions to retire, and told Kakashi that he would be taking over for her.

Though, he did finally agree to it after he convinced her to hold off the ceremony to officially pass him the title until Gai was released from hospital. The thought of not having both Gai and Tenzo there with him when he took a job that he didn’t even want did not sit well with him at all.

“Just for an hour,” Tenzo offered, smiling when Kakashi turned his attention to him. “Let us celebrate for an hour, and then we can do whatever you want. Deal?”

Whatever he wanted? That did sound like a compelling offer.

“One hour and no ‘congratulations’” He bargained. “If i have to hear one person congratulate me for getting a job i did not want, i might scream.”

There was a moment of silence while the pair looked at each other, clearly having a silent conversation with one another before finally returning their attention to Kakashi.

“We make no promises about Naruto,” He wanted to be upset about that, but he really couldn’t be. Naruto was convinced that becoming Hokage was the highest honour that could be bestowed upon someone. There was no one who could convince him not to congratulate Kakashi for the new title, even if they carefully explained to him that Kakashi didn’t actually want the job. “But for everyone else, we will inform them to avoid any sort of ‘congratulations’ and focus instead on just having a good time.”

Since there was no way he was going to get out of this little party that the pair had organized, he was going to have to take this as a win. It was better than nothing at least.

“Five more minutes,” The words left his mouth before he could stop them. A soft plea followed by a hopeful smile. “I haven’t gotten a lot of time with just the two of you. Just five minutes, no one else but us.”

He could wait till tonight to have his alone time with them, but he felt like he needed it right now. Not forever, just a few minutes.

A quick reminder that he wasn’t dreaming.

That Naruto had saved Gai from certain death. That Tenzo hadn’t died at Kabuto and Obito’s hands.

Just a quick reminder that for once in his life, he didn’t have to lose everything that he held dear.

“There you go again,” Tenzo stepped up to Gai’s side and reached out to poke Kakashi in the nose, laughing when the Hokage glared at him. “Thinking too much, Senpai. You really need to stop that.”

“It’s hard,” he admitted, bringing a hand up to rub his nose. “Back there in the battle field… I thought…”

He doesn’t need to finish his sentence. The soft look on Gai and Tenzo’s faces tells him that they know exactly what it was he was thinking. They always knew him so well.

“We’re here, Rival,” Gai smiled up at him. It’s still weird, seeing Gai so much lower than him. Though, he’d gladly take Gai in a wheelchair and retired over never seeing him again. “We’re not going to leave you behind.”

Hearing the words said out loud makes something snap inside of Kakashi. Something that he hasn’t felt break in a long time. He’s not exactly sure when the tears start to fall, or when his knees give out. All he really knows is one second he’s looking at the loves of his life directly in front of him, and the next his head is buried in Gai’s lap and Tenzo’s hand is in his hair.

He should be celebrating, but his heart still hurts. Pain echoes deep inside long after it should have gone, screaming at him to let it out. To admit that he’s scared and hurt.

Instead, he had pushed it back. Refused to acknowledge it even when he felt like he was going to fall apart. The world needed him. His students needed him. His pain would have to wait until the world was safe once again.

And then the world was safe. Everyone woke up, Sasuke found his way back to Naruto. Tenzo and Gai had lived. Everything was ok, but the pain was still pounding deep inside of his chest, and he continued to ignore it.

What reason was there to be sad? He hadn’t lost Tenzo and Gai. His students were all alive. For once, he hadn’t lost as much as he could have. Even those he had lost had at least gotten to say goodbye to him. That was more than he could say for his father, Minato-Sensei, Kushina, Rin…

The sadness didn’t make sense, but it still sat there. Deep inside of him. A throbbing, constant pain that refused to leave him alone. It always felt worse when he sat by Gai’s beside waiting for him to wake up, or when Tenzo told him about what he had gone through while he was being kept prisoner.

Still, he continued to ignore it. There were celebrations going on around him. He had no reason to be sad.

“It’s ok,” Tenzo’s voice breaks through the fog in his brain as Gai rests a hand on top of his head. “We’re here, Kakashi.”

The pain is still there. A deep, soft throb, but it hurts a little less. It doesn’t suffocate him anymore, even as he cries into Gai’s lap. For the first time since he had heard the news of Tenzo’s capture he didn’t feel like he was being eaten alive by his own hurt.

“We’re here, Rival,” He can feel Gai’s hands combing through his hair. A gentle touch that helps to ground him to reality. Keeping him there with Gai and Tenzo even as his emotions flood out, an unstoppable flood of hurt and tears. “We’re not going to leave you. Ever.”

“Five minutes,” from the way Tenzo says it Kakashi knows he’s being promised as much time as he needs, and he appreciates it. The silent promise of comfort and confidentiality. “We’ll sit here with you.”

Bringing a hand up, he searches and reaches out for Tenzo. Searching desperately for anything that he can hold onto until Tenzo notices and tangles their fingers together and gives his hand a squeeze.

He’s not sure who kisses him on the top of his head. It would take too much effort to turn his head so he can see what’s going on around him, but he knows the feeling in the pit of his stomach when he feels that kiss.

Warmth.

Happiness.

An actual happiness that blooms inside of him for the first time in months. For the first time since his students had defeated Kaguya together he feels like it’s really over. As if the wounds deep down inside of him can finally start to heal.

Another kiss on the top of his head, and that warmth blooms a little more.

He’s not alone.

He’s never going to have to be alone.

For the first time since he was five, he’s not afraid of the world crashing down around him. For the first time since his fathers death, he feels safe with the feelings of love bursting in his chest, and he can’t imagine anyone more deserving of that love than the two men standing with him right now.

#Hatake Kakashi #Maito Gai #Tenzo Yamato #Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai/Tenzo Yamato #kakayamagai #Angst with a touch of fluff #sorry #XD

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gunmaestro · 6 years ago

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My Problems with Bungou Stray Dogs.

I want to preface this by saying that Bungou Stray Dogs is my favorite animanga. I’m not trying to tell Asagiri how to write the story and I’m not saying these things make it a bad concept--I just wanted to share my criticisms about the show and manga. These things absolutely don’t ruin it for me, and most of them are about the anime only anyway. Note that this list will NOT include the Tanizaki siblings although I do have a problem with their relationship because I’m focusing mostly on storytelling and character analysis. But without further ado, I’ll get into my first criticism. This one, my biggest problem with the series, will be above the cut, but the rest will be under it for length.

Dazai Osamu.

Given that Dazai as an author is a very significant presence in Japan, it’s understandable that he would play a large role in a series based largely upon Japanese authors. The fact that he has a large role is not the reason I dislike him--in fact, he’s been getting a lot less screentime in the manga recently. The reason I view Dazai as a problem with Bungou Stray Dogs is because of his mental prowess which borders on omnipotence.

It shouldn’t come to a surprise that Dazai would play a role in every major arc, given that he’s a main character and all. However, it’s very frustrating and almost boring to have arc after arc resolved because of Dazai. It’s even more frustrating when it’s implied that everything our protagonists do has already been specifically calculated by Dazai, as if their actions are not their own. Having an overpowered character like him makes the narrative seem boring.

At the time of this being written, the manga is in the middle of its arc with the Hunting Dogs and the Decay of Angels. I’m not sure if this is just me, but because of the characters (Ango, Atsushi, Dazai himself) admitting that Dazai had planned for certain events all along, I feel almost no stakes for the arc as a whole. It’s very hard to feel suspense whilst getting constant reminders that everything bad happening is all according to Dazai’s plan. I won’t even bother going into the dick measuring contest between him and Fyodor, either, because I’m sure we all know how that sort of thing can get annoying very quickly in stories.

Dazai being the super genius he is also weakens other characters around him. A striking example of this is Edogawa Ranpo, a character whom I have no problems with at all, speaking in terms of characterization. Ranpo’s entire character hinges on the fact that he is a brilliant detective and the smartest person in the agency--and to people like gifted kids, he’s a very relatable character. It greatly diminishes the quality of Ranpo’s character to introduce the idea that there are characters who know more than him; though Dazai has admitted to not being as smart as Ranpo, the narrative does not reflect this statement. Ranpo as a character works because there is grounds to his bragging--take away his status as the smartest in the series and he becomes nothing.

Similarly, Dazai negatively impacts the characters of Atsushi and Akutagawa. They’re two very interesting characters, but part of the reason they seem to fall flat to me is that they only ever act together when forced into it by Dazai. In fact, it feels like every single character on the side of good in this story would be helpless without Dazai there to guide them--and that makes them far less impactful characters.

Unresolved Plotlines and Bad Math.

Maybe I’m being nitpicky, and I didn’t mind this at first, but there are a lot of cliffhangers and inconsistencies throughout the story. Examples of the latter are easy to come by--Kunikida was initially stated to be a math teacher before joining the ADA, despite being only 22 at the present time in canon. Fitzgerald’s daughter would have been at most 14 at present assuming she was born when Fitzgerald was 18, which is hardly old enough for her to be sent to a boarding school in ANOTHER COUNTRY. These are small, but they somewhat decrease the quality of the story when questioned.

The unresolved plotlines and cliffhangers have a much bigger impact on the story during a time where it is still being released one chapter a month. John Steinbeck’s return has not yet come after two full arcs, despite it being teased by his appearance during Fitzgerald’s return. Going back further, we’ve seen astonishingly little of Agatha Christie--even though she was introduced around the same time as Fyodor.

In smaller cases, there’s the fact that we didn’t get to see what happened with Yosano, we don’t know where Akutagawa is at this point in the narrative, and we weren’t told what happened with the truck containing Margaret. These are small things that won’t be as annoying to read back on once they’re resolved, but having a story set up where everything is left open after every chapter is very disengaging for readers who just want to know what’s going on.

The Anime.

I know what I said at the beginning. The truth is, though, that there’s so much about the anime adaptation that bothers me that I have to summarize it by just saying the anime as a whole bothers me. I’m also aware that it’s very uncommon for mangas to get a perfect, spot-on anime adaptation.. but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a problem with it.

Here’s a speedround of things I don’t enjoy about the anime.

The art style. I’m sure we’re all very tired of the fish-eye lenses, and the weird smiles they’ve incorporated from Dead Apple. This being said, there are times when it looks good, but that doesn’t help the fact that I actually physically cringe whenever there’s a character who’s afraid or overly cocky making a facial expression that reflects this emotion.

The focus on certain characters (Dazai). I’m among the group of people that wanted untold stories to be animated this season instead of Fifteen, because it would have fit better with the plot of the season. The fact that the anime chose Fifteen was a good decision for drawing more attention to the show, since the fans of Chuuya and Dazai are in the majority, but it fits very poorly with the rest of the season. In fact, sorry for the spoiler, but Dazai and Chuuya aren’t even shown interacting in the main season, whereas Fukuzawa plays a major role in the cannibalism arc and Ranpo was visibly shown to have an important connection with him.

The tone. There’s not much to say, here. The anime takes everything very seriously, and one of my favorite parts of the manga are its humorous lines.

The humor. Speaking of humorous lines, they’re always said in a very obnovious way in the anime that makes it seem like they’re trying too hard. This is an opinion rather than an analysis.

The left-out details. Though the conversation between Fyodor and Agatha was not very important to the plot and nor was Steinbeck’s removed appearance in season 3, they both served as teasers for future arcs, and removing them shouldn’t have been completely necessary.

The changes to characters. The Guild is a particular victim of this particular point. Whereas the characters in this organization don’t come off as a completely serious group of people in the manga, they sure do in the anime. Logically, I can understand why this would be done--they’re the arc’s antagonists, and they’re more intimidating if they aren’t funny. But it completely changes some of their characters if you remove certain aspects of their personality.

The Fandom.

It goes without saying that no fandom is perfect, and a lot of them aren’t even good. The Bungou Stray Dogs fandom comprises mostly of s/skk fans, which is unsurprising, but what makes me compelled to put the fandom on a list of my problems with the show itself is how much they completely warp the characters of Dazai and Chuuya.

I know I have a whole section explaining why I think Dazai is a major flaw of the series, but despite that I actually do find his character interesting, if a bit annoying with how big his presence is. I dislike the fandom’s interpretation of him, specifically the way he interacts with Chuuya. Did he not blow up Chuuya’s car? Did he not let Chuuya suffer for a few more seconds just because he thought it was funny? Did he not make Chuuya embarrass himself for no reason other than his own enjoyment? It’s very disheartening to see him portrayed as someone who would never betray Chuuya’s trust and who is completely devoted to Chuuya.

Speaking of Chuuya, he’s probably the fandom’s biggest offense in terms of making a character unlikable. In my particular case, the way the fandom treats him has driven me away from his character, which I actually do like. Because of how often I’ve seen the fandom treat him like nothing more than a blushing tsundere whose feelings for Dazai are soooo obvious, I’m impacted by these interpretations when I read the manga.

To Conclude + A List of Things I Don’t Mind

No, I don’t think the series is bad and I don’t think these listed things make it bad, but I’d be lying if I said they didn’t bother me. But since I’ve been nothing but negative, here’s a few things that bother most people but don’t bother me at all.

Mori Ougai. I don’t condone his behavior or “preferences”, but I do not believe he is a problem for the show. He is not supposed to be a good character and, as we see with his behavior towards Yosano, his actions are not portrayed as good. There is nothing wrong with the villain of a series being a p*dophile as long as it is not treated as something positive, which it is not.

Tachihara + The Hunting Dogs. This is a spoiler for the more recent chapters of the manga, but despite the lack of foreshadowing I am not bothered by Tachihara’s reveal as the fifth hunting dog. I also don’t care that the dogs are hunting the agency, because it makes sense, story-wise. The agency are technically international terrorists because of what was written in the book.

Lucy and her supposed crush. Romance is not the focus of the show and, likewise, Lucy’s “crush” on Atsushi is not put at the forefront of the plot. However, I have seen fans get annoyed by the fact that she seems to like him.

I’d like to thank everyone who read this for taking the time to do so. I’m not the most coherent with my thoughts and I’m bad at putting said thoughts into words, but I hope you liked the things I had to say.

#bungou stray dogs #anti dazai #bungo stray dogs #bsd analysis

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kindredsoulsoftimesofold · 5 years ago

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Incoming TROS rant

yes, there will be spoilers as I will be breaking down everything I saw tonight. If I manage to type choking on my tears well after the movie finished.

----

FINAL WARNING IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS

Let’s start with a few opening words, this rant will indeed be a long one.

ALL THE LEAKS ARE TRUE. And I mean ALL of them. To a T. As soon as I saw the first half was exactly as I’d read, I was crushed. As I knew what was coming. On that note, i was probably the only person in the theatre who was crying like 15-20 minutes before we were supposed to, I’ll get to that in a bit. I’m saving the WORST for last. Let’s break this shit down.

1. The plot is a mess. An actual mess. I feel like every five minutes I was shaking my head and mumbling ‘what kind of nonsense is this’. The breaking of lore or COMMON SENSE really is substantial. But that is definitely not what I cared about, as I already KNEW this even without the leaks. When you can’t get your two directors to FUCKING WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE A COHESIVE STORYLINE it is bound to grasp for straws and make shit up. IT AIN’T NOTHING NEW.

2. Here’s the kicker. THE DIALOGUE WAS SO BAD, it makes Anakin’s AOTC speech seem like a hymn, or poetry or whatever. They CONSTANTLY say what they’re doing, they’re literally reciting the exposition to each other and it comes off as extremely annoying and makes you feel like a toddler. No hate against toddlers, but I’d rather not be one right now. It feels unnatural, forced and STUPID to the point where I would start WISHING for 3PO to come back on screen because Anthony Daniels somehow managed to snag some actually decent lines for once? I love the man, but the droid usually really annoys the crap outta me. He was literally the highlight of the film. Don’t get me started on the stupidity of all of Lando’s lines, poor Billy. Daisy has to stare angrily most of the time so I don’t really care to recall her lines. Adam, my dear Adam, he tries SO HARD to make do with what he was given but even his lines 90% of the time come off as stupid and out of place. Or the worst type in this movie, EXPOSITIONYY. Don’t get me started on Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. Boys looked like they didn’t sign up for this shit and were literally force choked to be there. I feel you guys, I feel you. ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF THE FORCE THE TIMES THEY REPEATED WORD FOR WORD LINES FROM OTHER MOVIES I WANTED TO SCREAM. Once is too much, THIS MANY TIMES IT IS A FELONY. And it needs to be punished somehow.

3. Let’s get the positives out of the way because there were FEW. The two scenes I actually REALLY enjoyed watching, for different reasons were:

Ben and Palps meeting. The scene was much longer than the clip and SUPER badass. Sheev’s voice echoes, Ben looks fucking cool and the whole scene is GORGEOUS.

The other is when Ben fights as a Jedi in the end. I’ll get to Ben later BELIEVE ME but without overexplaining, he fights with Anakin’s lightsabre, he’s really speedy and is doing all the Jedi spins and whatnot. I fucking ATE THAT UP. Replay that scene forever please CAUSE I LOVED IT. But I was already crying here so we’ll touch more on that later.

To conclude this segment, the visuals were SUPERB, the sound was AMAZING and (some) of the fights were jaw droppingly cool. But that about concludes the positives!

4. I will comment, as I know a lot of people will care even if I don’t particularily. Finn, Poe, Rose and the merry gang aside from our Jedi are reduced to EH this movie. If you thought you’d never miss Rose boy were you wrong. They introduce new characters and expect you to care about them when they SIDELINED the ones they’d hoped you’d care about BEFORE. And it made me care about NO ONE. Not to mention that, sadly, they are ALWAYS reduced to the boring side plot that really isn’t interested or key to much of ANYTHING. Sure they roused the people and all but would’ve been TOAST if Rey didn’t go all Jesus on the fleet. So at the end of the day, you MAY find some enjoyment with the side characters but their lines were some of the worst, you WILL be force fed new people and you might not really enjoy your previous faves here because even I found myself being completely indifferent this time. (I actually really ENJOYED Finn since TFA. He had a compelling storyline and John Boyega was alright. Couldn’t give two wits about him in this movie. Not a single one. But again, I may not be the perfect person to ask if you really,really like any of these characters.

5. Finally, we have arrived to the main event. THE REYLO.

The backbone of this clusterfuck of a new trilogy. The last Skywalker and Palpatine, coming together instead of apart. The arguably BEST actors (legacies aside) Disney managed to get. Now, I will start this off that I didn’t HATE Rey before this movie. I loved her in TFA, enjoyed her less in TLJ but the novelization fixed that. I was BACK ON BOARD to be her number one stan. In this movie, I couldn’t STAND her. Her lines are basically the director walking you through things, her plotline was obviously made last minute so almost none of it makes sense, I literally wanted to curl up and DIE from cringing so hard every time someone said ‘you’re a Palpatine’. I thought I was looking at a very expensive rendition of terrible fan fiction. (Not to diss fan fiction in any way, you guys will be my heroes after this catastrophe.) ‘Empress Palpatine’, COME THE FUCK ON AND GET OUT WITH THIS SHIT. Bring back crusty old Snoke for crying out loud! Or even HUX! Who got killed off in a second and had three lines of dialogue, not important I guess? Like a great many things I guess, JJ. But, EVEN Palpatine aside, it was great seeing him again and every scene he was in I got chills, who cares that it makes zero sense at this point. Back to reylo.

Ben. Ben Solo Organa Skywalker. The last hope. The final remnant of something I have loved FOREVER. I grew up with Star Wars, like many others just in a different, post prequel era and they are still my favourites. This might sound ridiculous but Star Wars was part of my heart, my happiness. It brought me joy to watch it, read it, fantasize about it and have it in my life when times were dark or miserable. It MEANT something to me, as I am sure many of you will agree. And Ben was part of that. He was part of something that MEANT something to all of us. He was the last line of the characters we all grew up with and loved. The GRANDSON of Anakin, my favourite character of all time. This was their chance to stop the trend that Loki’s death in IW and Daenerys’ death and turn and many others started and STOP killing people who did wrongs. PEOPLE can change, they can grow and they can learn. Hell, to not stray to far from this franchise REY has killed A LOT of people in this movie alone. She DECIMATES the room full of Palpatine’s followers and never blinks an eye. SHE NEARLY KILLS CHEWIE, DOES KILL BEN (for a minute) and SHE DOESN’T NEED TO DIE. Of course she doesn’t but BEN DOESN’T EITHER. After all that YOU JJ, YES YOU, show me that the LAST SKYWALKER has gone through, suffered, alone and frightened. I would’ve ENDED you if you’d suggested killing him off to me, EVER. He was your chance to do a reverse Vader, AS YOU CLAIMED YOU WOULD. To show a character can come back to the light and be worthy of it WITHOUT DYING. You even set it up as such, which is my next and CRUCIAL POINT.

I’ve been a reylo since 2015. Their dynamic has always been fascinating to me and beautiful. I LOVED all the moments in TLJ, LOVED THEM. In this one, every time they force bond (terrible dialogue aside, again) I was happy. I had a hope that she would bring him back from the darkness and he will keep her balanced. WELL, JJ, guess fuck me huh? And anyone with common sense and human decency. JUST WHEN you shove Ben’s turn in my face, you make him talk to Han, you make him strut in to fight alongside Rey in full Ben Solo Jedi mode, hair blown and casually dressed. It was when he runs onto Exegol that I started weeping. Because knowing that he dies as I did, it broke my heart how it was done. You give me the scene where he fights and you give me hope of what his future could’ve been if only you’d listened to reason and done what was supposed to be done. He is chucked into the pit, WHICH MIGHT I ADD WOULD’VE MADE ME MAD IF THAT WAS HIS END BUT WOULD’VE BEEN SOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT WE GOT, comes back. And now comes the scene that cemented this as the ABSOLUTE WORST insult to me as a fan, possible. Ben is heartbroken that Rey is dead, the moment is sad and he cradles her dead body and hugs her desperately. Which would’ve been a beautiful and GOOD DIFFERENT type of ending. Or rather not having her die at all and being NEAR her death and him saving her and both living happily ever after BUT NO. JJ AFTER THAT has her come back, smile happily when she sees it’s him, her love her hope and the other half of her SOUL literally (the diad or whatever it’s called is so rare that Palpatine was thrilled they’d formed such a bond, basically space soulmates), he has them kiss, then hold each other and smile at each other with genuine feeling of joy and belonging both of them had sought all their life AND THEN YANKS IT FROM UNDER YOU. The scene where Ben falls flat onto his back is quite comical and I couldn’t help but laugh in my misery and sobbing. Rey doesn’t even cry, we don’t even LINGER on his body or mourn him afterwards or even mention it or EVEN SEE her, THE PERSON WHO LITERALLY FOUND HER SOULMATE AND WAS SO HAPPY WHEN SHE KISSED HIM AND WAS LITERALLY SAVED BY HIM, but no guess that doesn’t require a scene, sure, fuck it LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE. The cheery music that plays up until the moment of his fall, YES THE FALL OF SKYWALKER MIND YOU NOT A FUCKING RISE, was an insult to every fan everyhwere, lifelong or recent or otherwise, it was a punch to the gut, a slap in the face and after this happened I no longer paid attention to the movie. I’d been crying for some time leading up to the moment, I knew what was coming and the execution only made it worse and a more desperate cry rather than only sad, I was hoping it wouldn’t happen somehow. I choked back tears until I finally got home and cried. One of the things which MEANT so much to me, was dead. I no longer have any doubts, that this was intentional. Look at Game of thrones, that was this year. It seemed intentional to make series stop, right? Everyone agrees. They wanted to finally bury the Skywalkers so they could make something unrelated? They kill off all the Skywalkers. Well guess what disney? YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO BRING THEM BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU MONEY HUNGRY PIECE OF SHIT. No one would have minded a new trilogy, with new characters doing NEW things. Why even drag the Skywalkers and the leagies into this if YOU DON’T WANT THEM HERE? All you got was millions of lifelong fans of the old movies who have already felt or are only now beginning to feel BETRAYED. I swear it disney, I don’t want to feel this misery again. You won’t take Star Wars away from me and the joy it brought me. I will without a care in the world dismiss this new trilogy as something completely separate from canon. You’ve killed your own fanbase. You could’ve had us but you LOST us. You dangled something we wanted in front of us for our money and then you ripped it apart.

If you are anything like me, anything like me at all and have loved SW for however long. if it MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU, I beg you not to see this movie or at the very least, pay for it. You WILL feel betrayed, insulted, heartbroken, devastated and miserable, as I am feeling right now. I was supposed to go see this movie another two times but i cannot and will not spend another CENT on a company that chooses to alienate me. Fine, have it your way. I’m done.

This concludes my rant as I am tired and upset. If I missed out on anything and you are interested in anything else, please do DM me or leave a comment :) We’re all in this together now, the reylos the antis the new fans and the old. We’re all in the same heartbreaking boat, I love you all. And I will love Star Wars. The REAL Star Wars forever. I wasn’t even sad the ‘FRANCHISE’ was ending because it wasn’t. It had ended a long, long time ago.

#star wars #star wars the rise of skywalker #the rise of skywalker #kylo ren #ben solo #rey #finn #poe #the rise of skywalker spoilers #spoilers #star wars spoilers

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itsswimmingtragedycollection · 6 years ago

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The Dumpster Fire that is ‘The Order’

First of all, why is his show labeled as a horror? My humble guess is that it was intended for younger audiences?? I genuinely wanna know. Because, even if it was for teens, some blood and a few dead bodies does not a horror make. Secondly, what the fuck? And I truly mean that. I mean, the idea itself doesn’t sound bad at all. A college student joins a secret society and finds out his supposedly evil dad is the head of it? He’s also in a werewolf club that fights that same secret society? Sign me tf up. But the execution just takes a really weird turn. From the get go, you kinda aren’t sure if the show wants to be takes seriously or not. And that question is never answered. Literally in the opening scene the letter changes from ‘we regret to inform you’ to ‘congratulations’ in front of Jack’s eyes and he has absolutely no reaction whatsoever to that peculiar development, which kind of screams ‘not to be taken seriously’ similarly to the whole ‘My evil dad killed my mom so naturally I’m gonna join a secret society, become someone important and powerful and eventually use that power to fight him.’ Who on earth plots a revenge along those lines? But then a second later, the plot falls back in the supernatural drama category. To top it all off there’s a whole lot of ‘woke humor’ which most of the time comes across as cringe worthy edginess we’re all happy we outgrew after HS. But, even if you could somehow get pas the not-so-subtle jumps from complete absurdity to realism, there’s nothing else to hold on to. No character, no relationship, no plot line we’re offered is strong enough to pull us in. In fact. one of the most annoying things about The Order is that basically no character has a personality. I am 8 episodes deep (and I don’t intend to finish it because that’s how boring it is) and I still don’t know anything substantial about anyone. And can we take a second to just look at Jake’s relationship with Alyssa? What even is that? Are they flirting are they not, does he really like her or is she a means to an end, is she into him or his dad, why are they kissing and why does it look so uncomfortable, did they just cast two people with the least chemistry on purpose or is bad writing/directing? So many questions. If we draw a parallel between Jack’s progress with her and him being on board with the wolves, it makes even less sense. He needs how many episodes to decide to try and kiss her, but when it comes to dedicating your whole life to fighting bad magic, you go from ‘no way, you’re all insane, you made me kill an innocent man’ to ‘I pledge my life to the cause’ within two seconds. Speaking of things that make no sense, I have to mention Jack’s ‘friendship’ with Amir. Don’t get me wrong, I get that we meet people and think to ourselves how that could grow into a beautiful friendship, but acting as if someone you just met is really your friend, and that odd flashback to like one beer they shared, when Amir was found dead, is just... I don’t even know what to say. The Order as an organization is equally puzzling. Who are they? Why are they? What’s the purpose, what’s the goal, the mission? I can’t settle for just a group of magic users who follow strict hierarchies but kinda all look out for themselves and don’t really like each other that much. And occasionally sacrifice goats. And change people’s memories.(And they can revive a golem and ask it who made it, but the fact that Jack, who found out about magic like yesterday, sabotaged their spell somehow goes right over their magical heads. ) But essentially it’s for the good of the whole wide world.????????????? And the masks are what makes me think an 8yo came up with the whole concept. If you thought the werewolf knights are any less confusing, think again. They hear noises when ‘bad magic’ happens and solve it by killing anything that moves. Heroes. Also, how do they know what they are supposed to do if they refuse to read anything? I mean, that’s not how a secret society, since that’s more or less what they are, works. Someone has to tell you, show you, teach you. Sure, you have the wolves inside you, but if you don’t know they speak a certain language, it’s fairly certain you don’t know a whole lot. And why is there only four of you? How can four knights take down an organization as big as The Order? Especially since their preferred method is violent murder, something that is not very subtle and does not go unnoticed for long, which basically ensures the rage of the entire Order falling on their heads before they even begin their so called mission. Once again: ????????????????? And what even does ‘bad magic’ mean? The term is so vague and abstract that I have a hard time understanding how can you form an organization that fights something barely defined. All magic can potentially be bad magic. What are the guidelines here? Help me comprehend. The show also has a very odd relationship towards death. One can sort of ‘forgive’ the wizards and the wolves for being chill about it, but if someone was targeting and butchering people on your campus, wouldn’t you be at least a bit worried? We don’t see any students panicking, we saw one police officer, there were no measures taken by the college, unless you count turning Amir’s death into a bike accident. And just when you start getting used to being casual about it, Jack has a whole meltdown over killing someone the first time he turned. And then also his professor. But even that meltdown is not very convincing, since most of what he does is just screaming ‘I KILLED AN INNOCENT MAN!!!’ into the void, without a much deeper attempt to deal with that. Which is why I don’t get why the show even made an issue out of it. I also don’t get Jack’s grandpa. Like not even a little bit. Because if you think about it, it’s not * that * unimaginable that a little boy would come up with the idea of joining a secret society to avenge his mother’s death, but it is * very * odd to imagine an old ass grown up who not only thinks it’s a good idea to direct your whole young life towards revenge, but encourages it to a point of making a detailed plan on how to do that, and basically spends your entire childhood grooming you to become a little rage fueled bundle of psychological damage. All of this is only scratching the surface of the mess that is The fucking Order, because the show is a giant entangled coil of nonsense and I barely knew where to start. It’s fair to say that the biggest buzzkill is failure to pick a direction and stick with it. You don’t have to look that close to see some of the influences. The biggest one being, obviously, The Magicians, followed by some Teen Wolf, there’s even elements from Scream Queens, a bit of Buffy, a pinch of the Craft, etc. Almost like someone decided to look up successful shows in the supernatural/fantasy/horror genre and just smash them all up together in hopes of making something appealing to the largest audience possible. Personally, as a * very big * fan of before mentioned The Magicians, I get the feeling that Netflix wanted to make something that could rival it, but better. Because TM is, dare I say so, one of the best, if not the best, shows of the decade. I honestly have not seen anything like it, that has the same platform, in literally a decade. If you have, please let me know.

Whit the BDE, edgy, but in a good way, humor, strong political views, strong female characters, fun twist and turns that actually do manage to mix absurd with normal life in a magical, no pun intended, way, sexuality representation, but not in a ‘we just want to please the gays so they give us the views’ way, great male characters we wish we saw more of, compelling character development and so on. Tho the most likable aspect of the series is probably the take on overdone story lines, where they twist the narrative just enough for it to become actually relatable. We all are tired of super special chosen ones who save the world because they are soo special and specially chosen by gods to save the world and all the dumb boring unspecial people with their pure hearts and strong characters. And also find true love. You see attempts at this within The Order on every turn, except that it doesn’t work nearly as well for them, precisely because they went for that AND MORE. More wouldn’t even be a bad thing if it was’t so all over the place that it just comes off as ‘WE WANT EVERYONE TO LIKE THIS, GIVE US ALL THE VIEWS, ALL OF THEM.’ I am very much inclined to think this is what happened, considering other stuff Netflix has put out there. (Mostly referring to endlessly stupid shit like YOU, which only has the intention of being controversial and attention grabbing, for the views. Tho they do have some fun shit too, don’t get me wrong.) So I guess what I’m trying to say is, the though of making something like TM, is not a bad one, I’m all for it, but you actually have to put a shit ton more imagination into it if you want it to work out. But that’s just my opinion.

#the order #netflix #jake manley #sarah grey #the magicians #teen wolf #syfy #hale appleman #jason ralph #social commentary

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thatfanficstuff · 6 years ago

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Bound (3)

Pairing: Klaus x OC

Warnings: death, killing, i.e. canon typical stuff

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long but the feelings.... There are probably errors here. Let me know if they are too distracting. (I kinda love this chapter)

***

When my morning started, I certainly hadn’t anticipated stomping through the woods in search of werewolves. My hybrid boyfriend was currently giving me a piggy back ride after making one too many snarky remarks about how slow humans were. He had refused to leave me behind for the length of time this journey was likely to take though I had all but begged. I’d just have to trust him to protect me. While Nik carried me, my head rested on his back though I would occasionally press a kiss to his cheek. Stefan carried the wolf they’d tracked down. Nik had fed the wolf his blood and broke his neck but the man had yet to wake up.

Nik came to a stop and lowered me to the ground. It took me a moment before I heard the sound of voices. I peered around his side to see a group of people setting up camp not too far from us. He placed a hand on my arm and gently pushed me back behind his body. “Stay here until we’ve properly greeted our friends, all right love?” I didn’t offer a response, but I knew he wasn’t really expecting one.

I hid myself behind a tree and kept watch. Stefan dropped Ray to the ground in the midst of his friends. He landed with a hard enough thud that it had me cringing in sympathy. Not that he was likely to feel it, he was technically dead after all. The other wolves justifiably panicked, demanded answers. When Nik announced who he was, the panic remained but the noise quieted immediately.

It was then that Ray woke. One of the campers was the human boyfriend of one of the wolves and Nik compelled him to act as dinner. It hadn’t even occurred to me to question what Nik had intended to feed them to help them transition. Hell, knowing him his initial plan was to let them run wild and find their own food. As much as I loved Nik, I had to admit he lacked forethought sometimes.

“Cassie,” he called. “You can come out now, love.”

I tried my best to keep my gaze locked on him rather than the bodies that littered the ground around us. He’d made quick work of the wolves. As if sensing my unease, he hooked a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into his chest. He made soothing sounds as he nuzzled against the side of my head.

“They’re dead. They’re all dead.”

The sudden outburst had me pulling back in surprise. Nik turned to face Ray who was now on his feet and crouched, an angry scowl pulling his features.

“It’s your fault. You killed them,” he yelled.

Nik tilted his head as he stepped in front of me, casually placing himself between the raving hybrid and myself. “Easy, mate. Calm down. They’ll be right as rain in no time. You’ll see.” He held a hand in front of him in a calming gesture and took a step in Ray’s direction. “You’ll all be much better off. No longer a slave to the moon. Won’t that be freeing?”

If the way Ray snarled and ran off was any indication, he wasn’t convinced by Nik’s spiel. “Bloody hell,” he grumbled, just audible enough for me to catch it. “Stefan, do you mind?”

Stefan’s mouth quirked as if he was amused. “Yeah, I got it.”

As he ran off the wolves slowly began to wake. Nik moved the poor human around to feed them one at a time, then he would offer his own blood to the human so he could heal before continuing the cycle. I was so caught up in watching him, I barely heard the crack of a branch breaking to my left. I glanced toward the sound to see a woman with her attention focused solely on me.

“Nik?” I did my best to keep my voice calm as if that would somehow keep the werewolf from making me her meal.

“Yes, love? I’m a bit busy.” He sounded distracted but I didn’t dare take my eyes from the woman to check.

Before I could make another move the werewolf lunged at me, flashing yellow eyes and fangs. A scream tore from my throat and I closed my eyes bracing for the impact there was no time to avoid. When nothing happened, I opened them to find Nik holding the woman by the throat. His entire body was tense and his face showed that quiet fury that made him so terrifying. “Now that’s not very nice,” he said, his voice sharp.

The woman struggled in his grasp for a moment longer before he shifted his grip and ripped out her throat. I gasped and Nik spun to face me. He closed the distance between us in one long step, his face still full of fury. Even though I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, instinct overrode logic and I stepped backward away from him, the rocky ground making my steps unsteady. His hands found my arms, steadying me even as we continued to move.

When my back hit the trunk of a tree, Nik crowded against me, boxing me in. “Why?” he bit out.

“What?” I asked, not understanding what he was looking for.

“She would have killed you had I not reacted in time. Why would you allow this?”

“You’re blaming me?” My chest ached with the shock.

“For not protecting yourself? Yes!” He all but roared. “You’re a witch, Cassie. Whatever you may think, you’re are far more important to me than any of them.” With the last word he gestured to the werewolves that surrounded us. No. Not werewolves, not anymore. Hybrids. “I nearly lost you to the ritual. I will not lose you do to your failure to put your life before theirs. Do you understand?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. He was right. I did think he valued the hybrids over me, but that of course had nothing to do with my reasons for not defending myself. Despite his fury, despite his claim that I was more important, I still found myself reluctant to admit my magic was gone. My gaze found Stefan as he reentered the clearing and dropped Roy at his feet.

Nik grasped my chin gently and turned my head back to face him. He looked half-crazy. “Please tell me you understand, Cassie.” All the fury was gone from his voice to be replaced with a plea. His eyes searched my face.

“It’s gone,” I managed to choke out.

“What’s gone, Cassie?”

When I didn’t immediately respond, he pressed his forehead against mine. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what you’ve been hiding.”

Apparently I hadn’t been as sneaky as I thought all summer. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. “My magic. It’s been gone since the ritual.”

There was a long stretch of silence. The voice that broke it surprisingly wasn’t Nik’s, but Stefan’s. “What the hell, Cassidy? Why didn’t you say anything?”

I shrugged and kept my eyes cast down so I wouldn’t see the disappointment on Nik’s face. After a moment, Nik pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Stefan, take Cassie to the car. I’ll be along as soon as I have a word with our friends here.”

He stepped away as Stefan approached. “Damon, Elena and Alaric were here. Ran into them when I caught up with Ray.”

I looked up in surprise, the motion catching Nik’s eye. He gave me a soft smile and winked in my direction. What the hell did that mean?

“I assume Alaric was checking on his niece. I can’t fault him for that. What did your brother and your girlfriend want?”

“They still have a problem believing we’re here under our own free will,” Stefan said.

Nik rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time to be bothered with their antics at the moment. Protect Cassie. I’ll deal with this lot.”

Stefan nodded as he scooped me up in his arms. “Close your eyes, Cass.”

I did as he ordered and we arrived at the car moments later. He tried to start a conversation with me several times, but I wasn’t about to explain myself to anyone but Nik at the moment.

Sooner that I anticipated, the hybrid himself appeared and announced his presence by opening my door, startling me. He held out a hand to me and offered a smile of apology. “I need a minute with my girl, Stefan. Turn on some music and relax for a bit.”

Stefan nodded as he started the car and flipped on the radio. Nik helped me from the car and shut the door behind me. He led me a short distance away and frowned down at me. I squirmed under his inspection but waited for him to ask his questions.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked finally.

“At first, I wasn’t sure. I just felt unsettled, incomplete. I’d barely survived. I wasn’t going to freak you and Elijah out by mentioning I thought something was wrong but didn’t know what.”

“And once you were certain your magic was gone?”

I shrugged and shook my head. “Our relationship started based on my usefulness. I already feared you would have no further use for me after the ritual was completed, I wasn’t about to tell you I couldn’t even light a candle any more.”

“You really think so little of me?”

I couldn’t miss the hurt in his voice so I was quick to correct him. “It’s not you, it’s me. My entire purpose since the accident was to break your curse. I did that. We did that. What good am I now, especially without my magic?”

“You can’t honestly believe that is all you are worth?”

“I went from Cassie, kick ass witch willing to pay the price for her magic and able to cast some killer spells to Cassidy Grimes, overly smart anthropologist specializing in a curse that no longer exists. What value do I have? I am just like every other human out there. A liability in the supernatural world and you know it,” I said, finally voicing the fears I’d been holding onto for months.

Nik huffed a laugh of disbelief. “You are more valuable than anything has been to me in my thousand years of existence. You will never be just anything. You will always be my Cassie. My love. Did you really think I would abandon you once I knew the truth?”

“I didn’t know what you would do, Nik. I only knew I was terrified to find out. I’m not sure I would want to live a life without you in it. Without Elijah. I’m a Mikaelson now, I’m afraid, whether you two want me or not.” I forced a teasing tone into my voice.

He grinned then. “As if we would ever let you go.” He looped an arm around my shoulders. “Come, love. Time for Stefan to drive us to Chicago.”

I pressed against his side as he walked us to the car. “What’s in Chicago?”

“Besides history? A witch that just might have some answers for us.”

Tag List: @deadmanwalked @the-doctor-9-10 @kawaiirepublic @xlosttdreamss @tkdgirl2012 @cacti-succulents-andlesbians @killerheelsanddullknives @readeity @kayla-03-blog @star-incandescent

@bookwormstrawberry - this is the first time I’ve gotten your tag to work for some stupid tumblr reason. Sorry!

#the hybrid's witch #bound #Klaus x oc #the vampire diaries fanfiction #Klaus Mikaelson fanfiction #Klaus Mikaelson x oc #series

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maevefiction · 6 years ago

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Your Light in the Mist - Chapter 8

I managed to wake up on time, despite the fact that I’d forgotten, yet again, to set my alarm. After putting on my glasses, I padded over to the dresser to grab my phone. I checked my notifications as I crawled back under the covers and saw there were four texts waiting for me, three of them from Tom sent late last night.

Meeting’s finito. They dragged us out for drinks. It’s 3:00 AM. I want to see you. – T

Mean Nanny Luke says it’s too late and he hid your room key from me. Asshole. – T

We meeting again with Skull people again at 11 morning tomorrow. 3:17. Bed. Night. – T

I figured he’d still be out cold and I was overwhelmed by the urge to ring his phone and rouse him unpleasantly, solely for my own amusement. I resisted, telling myself that he surely would have turned it off prior to retiring for the night. So tempting, but I decided to take the high road instead.

Good morning, Thomas. Hope you and Luke managed to get some rest and that the meeting goes well. Looking forward to seeing you both later. – M

The fourth was from Anne, sent fifteen minutes ago.

Hey kiddo, I’d love it if you’d give me a call. It’s been entirely too long since we last talked. – A

While it wasn’t a complete surprise to hear from her, given Luke had spoken with her yesterday, I honestly hadn’t expected it to happen so damn soon. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I closed my eyes for a few moments, exhaled and decided to postpone dealing with it and order breakfast instead.

My stomach grumbled as I reviewed the room service menu, my index finger tapping my lips. I grabbed the in-room phone and dialed, and my call was answered on the first ring by an obnoxiously pleasant-sounding woman.

“Good morning, Ms. Gallagher. What can we get for you today?”

Funny, they hadn’t a clue who I was when I’d ordered in over the weekend. I guess Tom Hiddleston answering your door when a meal for two was delivered elevated one’s social status.

“Good morning to you as well. May I please have an order of Belgian waffles with bacon, a large orange juice and a cup of tea? Earl Grey if you have it, sugar and cream on the side. Thanks!”

There was dead air for a few seconds. “Will that be all?” I rolled my eyes. Subtle, lady, really subtle. Sorry to disappoint, but he’s not here at the moment.

“Yep, that’s if for now, thank you.”

“Your meal should arrive in approximately twenty minutes. Aloha!”

I re-read Anne’s text and sighed, running a hand through my hair. If I called her now I could use the arrival of my meal as an excuse to get off the phone, though twenty minutes could seem like an eternity if the conversation turned to a topic I didn’t care to discuss, which it always seemed to do.

“Come on, Maude. Like a Band-Aid, right off. Pee first, then call. That should waste at least two minutes, more if you walk really slow.”

After the bathroom, I sank down into the oversized wing-back chair, phone in hand. My heart began to pound as I located her in my contacts, under ‘L’ for Lestat because it amused me to no end when ‘Lestat calling…’ came up on my screen. Anne had been a part of my life since I was ten years old. In 1988, only a few months after my parents had moved into the neighborhood, she’d returned to the Garden District of New Orleans. After rejoining the Catholic Church she met my father, a devout Irish Catholic himself, and they became fast friends.

She’d been a friend to me as well, offering unwavering support and becoming my lifeline during some incredibly difficult times. One of the hardest decisions I’d ever had to make was distancing myself from her emotionally in order to force myself to move on as I tried to heal. Though it had been a necessity, I still felt terrible about it, and I deeply missed having her to turn to for comfort.

My hands clenched and grew clammy as the pounding of my heart morphed into a dull, throbbing pain. I silently vowed to cut her off immediately if our chat veered into the past and hit the ‘call’ button.

“Maudie, honey! You took the job!” I wondered how the fuck she knew that already, then remembered she followed my twitter account and must have read the letter I linked to last night.

“Yes, Anne. I took the job. Though I wasn’t looking for one. And thanks for your glowing recommendation. Which established preconceived expectations that I will never be able to fulfill, by the way.”

“You will not only fulfill them, you will exceed them. Never underestimate your abilities, Maudie. You know better. So who is this Luke fellow? Is he as handsome as he sounds?”

I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling, trying to prepare myself for the onslaught of Matchmaking for Maude that was about to ensue. “He is indeed.”

I could picture the sly grin that had surely spread across her face. “So? Is he single?”

“No, Anne. He’s actually engaged.”

“Well, you’re very attractive and, you know, anything can happen…”

“And he’s gay.” I thought that would do the trick. It didn’t.

“You have to introduce him to Christopher.” At least I wasn’t the only victim of her matchmaking…she’d been trying to find Mr. Right for her son as well as me forever.

“I haven’t met his fiancé but I hear they’re deliriously happy. So what’s new with you? How’s my next Lestat installment coming along?”

“I’m still researching some things, but the initial draft is essentially complete. You know, I Googled up Prosper PR and went to the facebook page and that amazingly talented actor, what’s his name…right, Tom Hiddleston, is one of his clients. I would love for him to take on the role of Lestat when the reboot of the Vampire Chronicles gets underway. Will you be working with him? Plant that seed for me, will you? Hmm, maybe he’s single?”

The thought of Tom as Lestat de Lioncourt rendered me mute for a solid thirty seconds, followed by lord knows how many more as I attempted to figure out how to weasel my way around her last question.

“Maudie, are you still on the line?”

“I…erm…yeah. Still here. Sorry, I was…multitasking. I have no idea if he’s single or not.” I was grateful that she couldn’t see my face because she��d know I was full of shit if she got one look at me. “But yes, I am working with him. I’m starting as his social media manager, which he desperately needs because he has issues with keeping his existing accounts updated and his overall presence is lacking, to say the least. Once I’ve gotten him back on track I transition into the role of social media director for Prosper. But please keep that between us. We haven’t announced anything yet, though we’re meeting tonight to discuss timelines and such.”

She chuckled, and I cringed, realizing that she still knew me entirely too well. “No idea if he’s single or not my ass. Don’t lie to Auntie Anne. You’ve already met him, haven’t you? And he’s a component of the ‘we’ and ‘we’re’, isn’t he?” I said nothing. “That incredibly long pause, in conjunction with your use of ‘am’ as opposed to ‘will be’ working with him gave you away. So, is he as beautiful in person as he is on film? And is his personality as lovely as it appears to be in interviews?”

There was a knock at the door, and my gratitude for the delivery person’s impeccable timing was boundless. “Sorry, my breakfast is here and I have to dash becau…”

She cut me off. “Maude, I did want you to call so I could congratulate you, but I also wanted to speak with you about something else. Your mother…”

I could feel every muscle in my body tensing. “Anne, how many times have I told you that I will NOT disc…”

“Please, hear me out. Her health is failing, Maude.”

“All those years of sucking down bottle after bottle of booze finally catching up with her?” The venom in my voice caught me completely off guard. As much as I insisted to myself that it was all behind me, the reality was that it was always with me, here, in the now… lurking just below the surface, ugly and dark and awful.

“I know, Maude, I know. And I hate to bring it up, but she’s in hospice and, well, I felt compelled to tell you in case you wanted to see her. Before it’s too late.” I counted to ten before I responded, focusing on all the positive things she’d done for me, hoping I could end the call courteously.

“Anne, I have to go. Be well.” I hung up before she could reply…and, thankfully, before I said something I’d wind up regretting.

************************************************** Breakfast was eaten in silence, but I’d showered and gotten ready with my iPod cranking out tunes from my ‘Fuck Off’ playlist. I’d even done a passable job on covering up the hickey. I frowned when I glanced at the clock. It was only 8:15, and I knew I had to keep moving or I’d start thinking again. As I stood on the balcony, gazing out at the azure water rolling in and out, I determined that a walk on the beach might be an ideal distraction.

Shoes in hand, messenger bag slung across my chest, I wandered down as far as I could go without getting soaked by the lapping waves. I breathed in, then out, in, and out, ever so slowly, trying to match the rhythm of the ocean. The sun warmed my face, my hands, my feet, my body…but it couldn’t quite reach into my heart. I closed my eyes and lowered my chin to my chest, using nothing but the sheer force of my will to shove the anger and pain back in the box I’d crafted for it so long ago.

I remained stock-still until the tide of somber memories began to ebb, carrying them further and further away from me, back into the turbulent sea of my past…where they fucking belonged. Always a part of me, but no longer controlling me.

My eyes opened slowly as I raised my head, and I bent down to pick up a handful of sand, letting it sift through my fingers, just as I had less than forty-eight hours before. Everything I’d overcome, the life I’d made for myself, and the promise of what was to be hit me all at once and I could feel the corners of my mouth curl up in a tiny smile. I stood, took one last look at the ocean, then turned around and headed for the conference room.

I checked my phone as I slowly worked my way down the hall, deleting five new texts from Anne without reading them. Nothing from Tom, which I fully expected. He was probably still sound asleep, all cozy and warm. Bastard. I put the phone away and pulled out my tablet to check my email, cursing myself for not doing so since Monday afternoon. One hundred and fifty-eight messages in my inbox. Fuck. I scrolled down as I walked, starring items that were urgent, until I collided with another body. My tablet went flying, landing on the floor behind me. I bent to grab it without looking up, apologizing.

“I am SO sorry…totally my fault. Reading and walking is not my forte, apparently.” I turned as I rose, and the device fell from my hands and back onto the floor as I realized just whose body I’d run into.

He was wearing black shorts, a white T-shirt and a black sweatshirt that he’d left unzipped, the hood up over his head. Aviator sunglasses hid his eyes, but he quickly removed them as he spoke softly. “Good morning.”

He leaned down and picked up my tablet, slipping it into my messenger bag before encircling me with his arms. I slid mine under his sweatshirt, ran my hands up his back ever so slowly, finally coming to rest on his shoulder blades.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted to see you, but what in the ever-loving fuck are you doing up and about? It’s only 8:30. You’ve got another hour and a half to sleep, at least.” He bent to kiss me instead of replying, parting my lips gently with his tongue, then delving in to explore as his hands fell to my hips and pulled me against him. He was commando again, and rock hard. I groaned and broke the kiss, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Christ, do you even own a pair of underwear?” He laughed, then flinched. I slipped my right arm out from under his sweatshirt and gently grabbed his chin as I inspected his face. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes that made him look bruised. “You appear to be significantly worse for wear since we last met, sir. Do I need to have a word with the gentlemen from Legendary?”

He began rubbing small circles on my lower back with one hand. “Honestly, I’d seriously consider having you stand in for me at today’s meeting if you didn’t have prior obligations.” He took the hand that held his chin and brought it to his lips, then sighed. “They just kept buying round after round…Luke and I could barely keep up. We got mortifyingly clobbered at pool and darts. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

I fished a bottle of water from my bag and offered it to him. “Here. Drink.” He stared at me, pouting.

“But I’ll have to let go of you in order to open it. And I don’t want to.” I shoved it back in my bag. He brought me in closer, bending to nuzzle my neck. “I hope my late night texts didn’t disturb your rest.”

“I didn’t hear a thing. Wish I had, though. I would have told you to get your ass up the stairs and into my bed.” He snickered, and I felt his teeth tug at my earlobe. I wiggled my hips against him. “Thank you for the note, by the way.”

He pulled back to look at me and smiled timidly. “Did you like it?”

“No.” His eyes widened, and I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I loved it. So much so that I held it in my hand while I slept.” He grasped the back of my neck, fingers easing into my hair as he pressed his lips to mine, both of our mouths falling open, tongues colliding. I sucked on his lower lip, sliding my leg up to wrap around him as he bucked against me. We froze at the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly. I leaned sideways to peek around Tom and found Serena staring back at me.

I wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand, then wiped my hand on my tunic as I stepped away from Tom. He took it in his and turned around to face her with me. My brow furrowed as I wondered what the fuck one was supposed to say in this sort of situation. Should I apologize? Should I pretend it hadn’t happened? It appeared that Tom had no clue, either. Serena burst out laughing and patted me on the shoulder.

“Good morning, Maude. I should probably give you a lecture and tell you to get a room, but I won’t because my god, the two of you are just so adorable. Dante’s loading the rest of our equipment onto the dolly. He should be here in a sec.” She opened the doors of the conference room, engaging the stoppers so they’d remain that way, then entered and began rearranging a few pieces of furniture.

I turned to Tom, shaking my head. “Public indecency. Told you so. I’m a ticking time bomb.” He smirked.

“I’m afraid I must leave you to your work, Maude. It would appear that something’s come up and needs my immediate attention.” He pulled at his shorts, adjusting himself as he whispered in my ear. “Though it would most certainly prefer your attention.” I pinched his nipple, delighting at his gasp.

“No one likes a tease, Thomas.” Dante was quickly approaching. I sighed. “On with the show, I guess.”

Tom pulled me to his chest and kissed my forehead. “Last one. And then you’re all mine.”

I poked his chest. “You need to go right now or I’m going to disappoint two hundred people when I run off with you.” He grinned. “Good luck with your meeting. I’ll see you at 4:15. Be ready to hula.”

“Oh, I’ll be ready. And I’ll bet you dinner that you can’t get Luke to join in.”

“Well, in that case, you’d better make sure there’s lots of room on your credit card, sunshine.”

“Not necessary. Won’t ever happen.” He waved as he turned and walked down the hall. I called after him.

“You are so very, very wrong.” I watched him go, biting down on my thumb. Sex on legs. Absolute truth. Serena spoke from behind me.

“Maude, Dante needs you to stand on a few marks.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Thanks.”

“If he happens to come back before we leave, would you mind terribly if I asked him for a pic with me?” A light blush colored her cheeks. I laughed, shaking my head.

“Nope. Not one single bit.”

************************************************** It seemed as if it was over as soon as it began, and I even managed to keep my shit together when the attendees gave me a send-off standing ovation at the end of the last lecture hour. Though my emotions were mixed about being done with something that had kept me going for so long, I couldn’t help but feel…free.

Tom had stopped in during our first break, transformed from hung over frat boy to runway model after a hot shower, a huge breakfast and a gorgeous charcoal bespoke suit. He hadn’t worn a tie, and his white dress shirt was open at the neck. It took five tries on my part to get a decent shot of him and Serena, mainly because she kept looking at him instead of the camera, but my shaking hands factored in as well. I’d need to get over that shit pronto if I was going to be on photography duty for the foreseeable future. She asked if she could post it online, and I told her it was fine as long as she didn’t include location details.

It was 4:08 when I got back to my room, leaving me just enough time to change into my hiking shorts and vintage X-Files T-shirt. I did a little happy dance at the prospect of being able to spend more time in casual clothes…I’d amassed quite a collection of graphic tees over the years that I hardly ever got to wear, and now that a good portion of my work would be behind the scenes, I could.

“Well, that’s a fucking plus I hadn’t even considered. Comfy clothes, baby. Bring it on!” I ended the dance with a fist in the air as I entered the bathroom. I put my hair up in a ponytail, not even bothering to brush it first. My black Rio Birkenstocks were nowhere to be found, and, thinking about it, I hadn’t seen them since Monday. After tearing the rest of room apart, I spotted them in the little open cubby under one of the nightstands where Tom must have tucked them when he did my laundry. I strapped them on, grabbed my wallet, keys, phone, and iPod from my bag and stuffed them in my pockets, making up a little song as I danced some more.

“I love pants with pockets and I can wear them all the time and that is fucking cool because…shit. Because I’m a mime? Because I like to rhyme? Damn, I used to be GOOD at this. Ah, fuck it. POCKETS!”

One of the things I abhorred most about dress clothing was the lack of pockets. Carrying any type of bag made me feel weighed down, plus they always either fell off my shoulder or smacked me in the ass as I walked, yet I had stuff that needed to be stored somewhere. Men’s pants had the best pockets, and I often opted for those over the women’s version.

I took a last look at my reflection in the mirror. “Off you go, Maude. New chapter and all that.” I opened the room door and meandered down the steps, hand trailing along the rail. Tom and Luke were waiting for me outside their suites.

I flung my arms out to the side. “Who’s ready to HULA?!”

Luke groaned, rolling his eyes as Tom raised his hand and shouted, “I AM, I AM!”

I put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Come on, Luke, let your hair down a little.” He snorted.

“I tried that last night and found it to be rather disadvantageous.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Tom smirked at me and mouthed ‘this is a bet you cannot win’. I threw him double birds. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to his rental car dangling them in front of me.

“Shall we?” I shook my head.

“Let’s take my Jeep. Feel the breeze. Be rugged.” Luke held up his hand.

“Please, no. The jouncing around might kill me.” I huffed.

“Fine, fine. Have it your way. But if the car has an auxiliary jack you might be sorry I acquiesced.”

He was indeed sorry, as Tom and I sang the entire 11 minutes it took to get to the Kaua’i Museum. Towards the end of Pharell’s ‘Happy’ he appeared to be contemplating opening the door and leaping into traffic.

“I’m not sure what’s making me more nauseated…the hangover or the two of you caterwauling up there.” I reached back to pat his knee.

“I promise I’m not always this obnoxiously elated, Luke. I’m just on a quit-my-old-job-today-and-have-a-super-cool-new-one high. It won’t last.”

He nodded his head. “Mmm hmm. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with our chauffer.”

I glanced over at Tom, put my hand to the side of my mouth and looked back at Luke, whispering. “He is awfully pretty, isn’t he?” He rested his head in his hands as the car made an abrupt right turn into the museum parking lot.

It was a lovely place, located on Rice Street in the Albert Spencer Wilcox and William Hyde Rice buildings. Hula classes were conducted by members of the Daughters or Hawai’i in the courtyard, as the museum itself closed at five. There were a total of eleven of us, and just as Tom predicted, Luke immediately sat on the sidelines while the rest of us gathered around the instructor. Her name was Iolana and she appeared to be in her late fifties. As she explained that hula is a dance accompanied by a chant (oli) or song (mele), the dance portraying the words in a visual format I stared at Luke and tapped my foot.

Iolana asked us all to move behind her, at least three feet apart, and I flung my hand out at Luke and then pointed to the open space next to me. He shook his head. I pouted. Then I put my hands together, silently begging, mouthing ‘please?’ while batting my eyelashes. No way in hell was I losing this bet. He sighed, put his chin on his chest and hefted himself out of the chair to join us. I turned to Tom and stuck my tongue out. He shook his head and stepped closer so he could whisper in my ear.

“He hasn’t actually danced yet, Maude.” I slapped his arm.

We were instructed to stand with feet apart, left knee bent and our hands on our hips, then step with our left foot and slide our right foot next to the left, bending that knee. The process was repeated in the opposite direction. After we mastered the steps, it was time for some hip action…raising it in time with and in the opposite direction of the step, keeping both knees bent. Iolana turned to check our progress and immediately went to Luke, putting her hands on his hips and pushing them in the correct direction. I turned to Tom and grinned. He shook his finger at me.

“He’s not using his hands.” I rolled my eyes. Iolana had moved back to the front to continue the lesson. One arm bent at the elbow in front of the body, the other extended out from it in the direction of the step, head facing that way as well, fingers together and hands moving at the wrists like a wave. Again, the process was repeated in the opposite direction when moving that way.

Iolana taught us a few more arm motions and explained what they meant, advising that they were only the chorus of a mele called Eleile, which we’d be ‘telling’ over and over for the duration of the class, then turned on the music. I glanced at Luke, then turned to Tom and started doing alternating wave motions rapidly with my hands in front of me. He tilted his head.

“That doesn’t look like a legitimate hula hand motion, Maude.” I grinned.

“It’s not. Do you want to know what it means?”

“No.”

“Sure you do. It’s my visual interpretation of ‘you lose, sucker’.” I thumbed in Luke’s direction. He was dancing, and it looked like he might even be enjoying it a little. Tom hung his head in defeat, and I tried to refrain from drooling as I watched him roll his hips. I kept missing steps and had to close my eyes in order to focus. The tempo of the music increased, and without the distraction of keeping an eye on Luke or ogling Tom I completely lost myself in the dance. It was an incredible feeling, moving faster, back and forth, the rhythm and motions of my body conveying this brief chapter of a story via a method that had been used for generations, dating back to ancient times when indigenous peoples worshiped volcano goddesses.

I heard clapping, faint at first but louder as more people joined in. I opened my eyes, discovering that I was the only one still dancing other than Iolana. And that everyone was staring at me. I stopped. A huge grin spread across her face.

“Miss, where did you study hula, if you don’t mind my asking?”

I swallowed. “I’m Maude. And, just here. I’ve never done it before.”

Her eyes widened. “Well, Miss Maude, it’s very unusual for someone to catch on so quickly, especially a first-timer. I guess you’re just a natural.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “You dance beautifully, my dear. I’m sure your boyfriend would agree.” She smirked knowingly at Tom, then began to circulate amongst the other participants, stopping to speak to Luke first.

Boyfriend. Is that what he is? I turned to face Tom, and what I saw in his eyes was overwhelming. Desire, passion, admiration, awe, joy, and something else that I didn’t think I was ready or willing to hang a name on quite yet. I waved self-consciously.

“Hi there.” I watched him take several deep breaths, and I noticed he had his phone in his hand.

“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, did you film that?!” He nodded. I groaned and covered my face with my hands. He pulled them away gently, and now that he was right in front of me I could see his eyes shone with tears.

“Sorry. My original intent was to video Luke so I could email it to Simon, which I did, but then you…and I had to. It was one of the most breathtaking things I’ve ever seen. Here, watch it.” I shook my head.

“Nope. Maybe later.” He reached out to touch my face, fingers feathering over my cheekbone and down to my jaw.

“Alright. Later. But I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. The rest of us, we were just moving. But you, you told a story. An ancient, timeless story.” He waved to get Iolana’s attention. She excused herself from her chat with two older ladies and came over to us.

“Hello, Iolana. I’m Tom.” She shook his proffered hand. “Do you happen to have an English translation of the chorus you taught us today?”

“Yes, I do. Right up here.” We followed her to the table that held her portable stereo and paperwork. She pulled a sheet out of a purple folder. “I’m so pleased you’re interested in learning more. An hour is such a short period of time and I have to focus intently on the dancing, so I rarely get to talk about the song itself. This is the chorus of the mele. Eleile is a dark swirling pool on Maui, also known as the water that returns the ti. It is customary to break a ti leaf stalk and throw it into the pool. As the water swirls, the leaves are unfurled, then pushed back into a long, tight bud.” She handed it to him. He read it, then passed it to me without saying a word. I read it. Then I re-read the chorus again. And again.

Dark is the water of Eleile The cold dwelling place of the mist It is made warm by love That stood close at my side

I felt his hand on my forearm. I refused to look away from the words on the paper. He spoke, voice fraught with emotion he struggled to contain.

“Looks like you were telling our story.” My hands were shaking, eyes still fixed on the mele chorus. He put his on top of them, steadying me. “When you danced…I swear I could see your soul. And oh, how it called to me, Maude.”

Silence surrounded us, and as I raised my gaze I noted that everyone was staring at me. Again. I inhaled, then let it out with a whoosh as my eyes found his. I still couldn’t quite manage to form words. He took a step closer to me, moving his hands to my shoulders.

“I know it’s only been two days since we met, and that you’ll very well likely think me certifiably insane for saying this, and perhaps I am, but every fiber of my being is screaming at me to do so and sometimes you just have to fight your fears and say fuck it, come on, so…Maude, I am totally, completely, utterly, madly in love with you.”

My mouth dropped open, then closed as I bit my lower lip. Right. Fight my fears. Sure. Fuck it, why not? I shrugged. “Well, Thomas, in that case we’d best pick out some matching straitjackets because I, too, have clambered aboard the crazy train. Wildly, wholly, entirely, absofuckingloutely in love. With you.”

He kissed me, briefly, sweetly. The tiny crowd oohed and ahhed, then began to disperse. As we said our goodbyes and thanks to Iolana Luke came over, phone raised, smiling. I rolled my eyes.

“Let me guess. You filmed all of that. What is with you people?” He laughed, and I shook my head. “Well, now we have even more details to discuss. And I want pizza. Can we get pizza? Let’s get pizza. LOTS of pizza. Tom’s even buying. Right, Tom? Or was all this a distraction so you could welsh out on our bet?”

He put his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head as we exited the courtyard. “You can’t blame me for trying, can you?”

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “What bet?”

I looked at Tom. “You tell him.”

He shook his head. “I’m not telling him.”

Luke ran in front of us, stopped, arms crossed. “Someone had better tell me.”

We remained silent and walked around him to the car. Luke groaned as he got in. “Already conspiring against me. Fine. Don’t tell me. But I’m going to order ten fucking pizzas, just for spite.”

He took out his phone, clicked something, and the sounds of hula music filled the vehicle.

“Thomas William Hiddleston, did you send Simon a video of me doing the hula?” Tom started to chuckle.

“Me? Why on earth would you think I’d do such a thing?”

Luke snorted. “Because you fucking did, that’s why. Hmm, I think I’m starting to see how this went down. Your bet involved whether or not I’d dance. Maude suckered me into it and won. Tom, I’m going to kick your ass when we get out of this car. Maude, I’m impressed. Mildly disappointed in your behavior, but impressed just the same. And Simon says to tell you you’re a wonderful dancer.”

I turned to see Luke’s phone, hoping to catch a glimpse of Simon’s face. I got lucky…it was his lock screen background, or so I assumed. “Is that Simon?” He nodded and passed me the phone. “Damn, Luke, he’s gorgeous.” Luke grinned.

“Even more so in person. You’ll get to meet him tomorrow. He’s flying out to stay for a bit. In the beach house we’ll all be sharing.”

I turned to Tom, tilting my head quizzically. “Um, beach house? What beach house?”

He smirked, then shrugged. “What can I say? The meetings with the Legendary people went well. Really, really well.”

#your light in the mist #chapter 8

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minaminokyoko · 7 years ago

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A Love Letter to Black Panther

Disclaimer: Y'all gon' get tired of hearing me scream, "WAKANDA FOREVERRRRRRR!"

Because I mean it. Bless this movie, man. This is everything I have ever dreamt of seeing from a black superhero with an all black cast. They couldn't have done a better job. This movie is a vision, fully realized. It's going to leave a very important impact on pop culture at large and I am so here for that. I've been a black nerd since birth, and to be given a big budget film with a 90% black cast that is backed by a studio giant is so gratifying I can see why some people left the theater in tears of joy. It's not that we haven't had black films before that did well. It's not that we're not giving credit to Blade for being a (mostly) successful film franchise with a black hero at the helm. It's all the elements lining up from having Ryan Coogler direct to grabbing actually African cast members to being marketed during the Superbowl--which is the most expensive ad time you can buy on television--to seeing an amazing integration of tradition, science fiction, and modern topics that are relevant to the black community. I sound like I'm overstating things, but I truly am so happy with how this film turned out. It wasn't a cheap cash grab. It was a genuine attempt to weave a story about African and black culture based around a whole lot of ass-whuppin' and I can't wait to dive in. Follow me, Wakandans.

Naturally, spoiler alert.

Let's start with the man himself, the King of Wakanda, T'Challa. First of all, I knew I'd love him since Civil War. Most people went for Tony or Steve and came out of that movie going, "OH MY GOD BLACK PANTHER IS THE FUCKING BADDEST I CANNOT WAIT FOR HIS SOLO MOVIE DUDE." We all knew he was a total badass, but what I left this movie with was a sincere love for the mercy and compassion he showed us in this film. It's very easy in a position with that kind of power to let it corrupt you and become jaded, but the gestures he made in this film were so lovely. I love that he was outraged by his father trying to erase history with what happened to his uncle and cousin. He was genuinely angry and hurt by it all and in the end, he showed so much kindness by letting Kilmonger see the sunrise before he died that it was honestly touching. I love T'Challa because he has such a big heart. It’s an incredibly important perspective to provide, as much of the world still sees black men as angry, dangerous thugs incapable of kindness. He has flaws as well, like his anger issues and naivete, and that's what makes his journey so compelling. It's very easy to write a royalty character as above it all, but that's why Thor: Ragnarok was so well received recently: they knocked Thor off his princely pedestal and brought him down to our level. We understand what T'Challa is going through even though we aren't royalty. He has a homeland to protect and a family to look after in his father's absence, much like we have our own responsibilities trying to tug us in a thousand different ways. I love that he challenged his father and brought about a new era, extending his help to the world. T'Challa is an excellent character and Chadwick Boseman did a hell of a job with him.

As a black woman, you know what's coming next. My girls Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri. Where do I even start? First of all, let me raise my fist for some lovely dark-skinned women getting the spotlight in a major superhero film franchise. Now, don't get me wrong--I absolutely freaking LOVED Tessa Thompson in Thor: Ragnarok. She slayed. But my heart is just bursting with pride at these beautiful badass women who are given weight, agency, and attention in this film. I have absolutely nothing against light-skinned women at all, but I do acknowledge that they tend to get roles easier than dark-skinned women because society still has this idiotic aversion to them because of the establishment's idea of beauty. It was such a rush to see each woman on screen having inner conflict and deciding what side of the line they would stand on. I love Nakia's stubborn nature and her hesitance to join the fray, but the second T'Challa was gone, she switched into spy mode and she did the damn thing. She saved the people who cared about her, she saved Ross, and she stood up for her country as well as the other people out there who needed her help. You are a diamond, Nakia. Okoye is probably going to come out of this film as the runaway favorite, if you ask me. I mean, Danai Gurira is already worshiped for her role as the amazing Michonne on The Walking Dead, but seeing her here, slicing and stabbing and beating the tar out of everyone while struggling with her loyalty to the Wakandan throne just gives me all the feels. I adored her sharp tongue and her grumpy frown and her impossible awesomeness. Then there's Shuri. I can't express my delight with her. She was such an adorable, witty addition to the team. I fully admit that I fell for the low-hanging fruit: the "WHAT ARE THOOOOOOOSE!" joke was hilarious even though I know no one over the age of thirty is going to have a single clue what she was referencing. I loved her calling Ross "colonizer." Shuri was throwing shade left and right and it was glorious. Furthermore, having her be the gadget gal of the film was brilliantly done. I loved her enthusiasm and her amazing tech. I loved that she bravely fought even though she was inexperienced. She was such a great character and I look forward to seeing beautiful little girls idolizing her mind and her strength in the future.

Kilmonger is definitely one of the strongest villains in the MCU so far. Most people ding Marvel for having thin villains, and that's not an unfair assessment. In my opinion, it's Cutting Room Floor issues. When you have to tell a story in two and a half hours, sometimes there's just too much content that you're excited to fit in and you just can't get it in there, so you take out chunks related to the villain to avoid the hero having an unsatisfying character arc. It's not a great idea, because then your villain isn't three dimensional and it can diminish the overall enjoyment of the film. Kilmonger is the answer to that problem. He had a reason for what he did, and while it wasn't an excuse for his cruelty, it definitely made you think about the fact that every good villain is a hero in his own mind. Kilmonger's plan even tempted someone in T'Challa's camp because it had a serious amount of relevance not only to Africans but black people all over the world. Wanting to stomp out oppression, especially in this day and age, is a trap I think a lot of people can fall into. I love the almost Shakespearean tragedy of it all, that maybe this could have been avoided if T'Chaka stayed behind and explained to the boy where he came from and that he had no choice. It probably wouldn't have worked, but just abandoning the kid with his dead father was ice-cold, and it's more tragic that it was done out of good intentions in T'Chaka's mind. I love that T'Challa sympathized with Erik and even offered to save him in the end. That has weight. That's excellent writing. I do admit, though, that Michael B. Jordan is definitely a young actor, because he was hamming it up pretty hard in certain scenes, but overall the kid did well with the role.

The costume design and scenery were just breathtaking. Man, I love the visuals we got to see. African culture is so vibrant and interesting. I'm really delighted knowing millions of people will get some exposure to all the different aspects and traditions it has to offer.

The soundtrack is killer. From the score to the tracks, it was done truly well.

Andy Serkis as Claw (although I don't appreciate the bait and switch, I can live with it; Marvel always kills their villains that are not Loki and even he is probably going to die in Infinity War). I knew he was an oddball in Age of Ultron, but damn, was he a complete nutcase. I appreciate how completely insane he was the whole time with no real explanation as to why. The simple glee on his face when he giggles, "I made it rain!" was just flawless. He might have the market corned for wackiest Marvel villain thus far. I'm sad that we only got to enjoy two performances from Serkis, but they were still entertaining as hell.

The action sequences had me floored. This is one thing I've always adored about Marvel films. The pacing is always excellent and they know how to wow you. If you follow me at all, you'll know one of the numerous reasons I hated the Justice League movie is that there was NO imagination in ANY of the fight scenes. Black Panther offers some of the best and most creative scenes to enjoy, from hand to hand combat to flipping cars with a fucking vibranium spear. I was cringing and twitching in my seat like I was playing a VR of Tekken, for God's sake. These fight scenes were so well done (though I will ding the film for lighting issues; the jungle scene suffered badly from that problem, as did at least one other one to my chagrin) and I loved everyone's various weapons and fighting styles.

MY BOY BUCKY AT THE END CREDITS YOOOOOOOO. I am infatuated with the idea that the Wakandans analyzed him and have been slowly helping him recover from being brainwashed and abused. It made my cold, petrified heart all warm inside when he smiled and looked out over the water. I just want Bucky to be happy, okay?! Leave me alone!

Well, I've gone on long enough, haven't I? I regret nothing, honestly. This is like The Dark Knight all over again: one of those rare instances when the hype for something was so crazy that we were sure it couldn't deliver, but not only did it deliver, it kicked the hell out of all expectations. I can't wait to see where the road will lead from here. My wish and hope is that this movie does so damn well that Hollywood opens its damned eyes and listens to what we have been saying since the beginning: we want diversity and we want it well done and we want it now. Stop relying on the old ideals of a market that we outgrew decades ago. Black people are just as complex and interesting as everyone else on the planet, and it's time you woke up. We've been doing it ourselves with all kinds of various projects from comic books to novels to short films and you can either lead, follow, or get out the way, as Jidenna once said. Your move, Hollywood.

WAKANDA FOREVER.

#Black Panther #marvel #Marvel Cinematic Universe #T'Challa #representation matters #movie review #sorta #film review #Black Panther So Lit #spoiler alert #spoilers

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its-love-u-asshole · 7 years ago

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Slipping Underneath [Ch. 4]

Pairings: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei

Summary: Tsukishima was in some deep shit he realized, but common sense told him he should have been rather happy about the discovery he’d just made. Of course, that didn’t stop him from freaking out.

“Tsukki? Did something happen?” Bokuto asked.

Dejected, the blond lifted his head, giving Bokuto the flattest stare he could manage. “The neighbor downstairs hates my voice.”

Rating: T

Tags: soulmates, mythology/sirens AU, some iwaoi and bokuaka thrown in bc why not, first meetings, fluff, Kuroo is a nerd and Tsukki can’t help but be charmed, Siren!Tsukki, Siren!Bokuto

Note: Helloo I am not dead lmao and I’m almost done with finals! I’ve obviously been busy with the kurotsuki exchange and other deadlines, but don’t worry! I don’t plan on abandoning any of my fics <3 Big thanks to @emeraldwaves for checking this over! Enjoy ^^ (also I’m sorry for any formatting issues should there be any, I just got a new computer and I’m not super used to it yet??)

AO3

The walk up to Tsukishima's apartment took longer than it ever had, as if each step did a piss poor job of actually covering any ground. Everything felt off, but not...in an unpleasant way, which only served to make his body thrum in anticipation more. His fingers slid occasionally against Kuroo's, and he even dared to wrap their pinkies together as the elevator climbed up to Tsukishima's floor.

The craptastic lights flickered, and the carpet looked even more disgusting than usual, but Tsukishima was hardly bothered by it this time around. In fact, he didn't mind at all. Something was wrong.

It's called a good mood, probably.

The fuck. But from how the heat traveled up his neck, it was probably a correct assumption. He'd had a lot of fun, and he bit his lip to keep his smile from showing.

He hadn't questioned it when Kuroo only pressed for Tsukishima's floor, for several reasons. The first was that Kuroo had obviously shown himself to be a good date, albeit a cheesy one. Cheesy dates included walking the askee to their door (or at least, that's how it worked in movies). Second, and as much as it pained him to admit it, Tsukishima really really did not want the date to end.

God, even thinking it was astounding.

Tsukishima never wanted outings to continue, not even with his friends, whose company he actually enjoyed believe it or not. It wasn't anything against anyone personally, just...being forced to socialize for more than a few hours at a time got overwhelming, and being alone with his thoughts was much needed aftercare.

But Kuroo...he didn't make things tiring. Their conversations were easy, fun, enticing. Tsukishima wouldn't have hated the idea of sitting in the car with him for the rest of the night, talking about anything or just...sitting in that comfortable silence they seemed weirdly capable of. It scared him, jarred his senses into high alert.

It was slightly less concerning now though, in the sense that Tsukishima sort of knew why he felt that way. And no, not from the magical power of soulmates, though he could begrudgingly concede that the universe had picked right for once.

He fucking liked Kuroo. A lot.

And he had no idea what to do with that information. Excellent.

The slow of his pace and the image of his door brought Tsukishima back into the present, shivers travelling up his spine, and not from the peeling paint. Why was everything so aggravating?

I don't want you to go.

A brief thought, but one that had the force to knock him onto his ass had he not been leaning against the door frame.

Kuroo smiled at him, sincere and bright in the dim lighting of their shitty apartment building. They both sort of smelled like french fries, and Kuroo had tripped over the curb and almost ate shit on the way from the parking lot, but the atmosphere still seemed to charm Tsukishima to no end. Dangerous.

"Your lovely abode awaits you," Kuroo said, gesturing grandly, and his high pitched voice carried obnoxiously down the empty corridor. Normally, the potential of attracting attention would make Tsukishima cringe, but this just made him hold back a laugh. Screw his neighbors.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, scratching at the faded wallpaper. "I don't know if lovely is the best adjective. I find a cockroach at least once a week."

"Ugh lucky," Kuroo replied, shoulders sagging in a full performance of drama. He winced as a part of the wall's plaster fell off from where Tsukishima was fiddling with it. Needless to say, he stopped. "For me it's twice a week, and there's spiders too."

"Why do we live here?" Tsukishima smiled despite himself, fidgeting with his fingers behind his back. The wall had been a better distraction.

It was a fair question however, not just to Kuroo but to the universe at large. This place was falling apart. It'd been around for decades. There were ghosts in the basement. And no, not just 'shadows in the corner of the eye' ghosts, like legit ones. Musically inclined ones.

Tsukishima didn't sing in the basement anymore.

That was all a story for another time though, given he'd ever tell Kuroo his little secret. This was what he'd meant though, about things just being easy with Kuroo. Even when it came to the most mundane things. Hell, if Kuroo really wanted to stay and complain, Tsukishima was more than ready to pull out his water bill.

"Mm, because we're broke and it's close to campus?" Kuroo offered, hitting the nail on the head.

Ouch. Yeah. That hurt more than he expected it to, truthful or not.

"Guess we have no choice then," Tsukishima muttered, voice softening as he reached for the door handle. As much as conversations were infinite, even he had to know the night was over. The novelty of that feeling hit him again, but at least if he got inside his apartment, Kuroo wouldn't have to see him pace the floor over it.

The raven's laughter died out too, and before Tsukishima could offer an awkward farewell, their hands were connected again, the texture of Kuroo's rough palms not unwelcome in the least bit.

"I'd never complain about it. About you living here, I mean," Kuroo confessed, idly playing with Tsukishima's long fingers. Tsukishima didn't have room to feel self conscious about them either, not when Kuroo's voice was soothing him, lulling him into contentment. "I got to meet you so, shitty building or not, I'm hoping you stick around..."

Somehow, even Tsukishima knew the statement wasn't completely in reference to his living situation. It carried the feeling of an invitation, maybe to another date or...several other dates.

Dating.

Dating Kuroo. Wow, okay.

That thought was...nice. Very nice. Goddammit.

The thought made him outright laugh though, because on that night when he'd come face to face with an unlikely trespasser, the last thing he'd expected was to end up here. He hadn't expected Kuroo to hate his singing, or to be so considerate, or attractive, or anything to him at all.

And now here Tsukishima was, crushing on the guy with a terrible laugh and even more terrible hair, and it made complete sense to him. How did he get here?

Oh yeah, he was a siren, and Kuroo was a surprisingly determined bastard. Right.

"You just want me around so you can break into my house again," Tsukishima said, tightening his grip on Kuroo's hand.

Kuroo's face fell, and he sent a playful glare Tsukishima's way. "You're never going to let that go are you?"

"Never," Tsukishima replied, the thoughts in his head fighting to be heard. They were on the tip of his tongue, words far too intimate and personal to be shared, but he couldn't help it. With Kuroo, he felt compelled in every way, and he was beginning to not see the point in resisting. "But I'm...not unhappy, that you were on my balcony that night."

His voice was small, muffled, not clear or refined like his singing, but he couldn't tell the difference, not when Kuroo smiled so brightly.

As Tsukishima shut his door behind him, he couldn't help but feel totally weightless, and he did his best to fight off a grin as he leaned against it. His apartment was dark, which was odd, considering Bokuto was usually home by then, whether it be alone or with Akaashi in tow.

That was fine with him. Less explaining to do about where he'd been.

But just as Tsukishima was about to move to turn on the main overhead lights, the lamp by the window flicked on, giving the room a subtle glow. The rotating armchair they had in the living room spun around, revealing a serious looking Bokuto in a strange rendition of a mafia movie.

What.

Bokuto had his hands folding in front of his mouth, his eyes accusing Tsukishima of all sorts of things, like a parent catching their kid sneaking out of the house. The effect was seriously dulled by Bokuto's owl slippers, but oh well.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Bokuto asked, his arms crossing slowly.

"Please tell me you haven't been sitting there for hours waiting for me just for the dramatic effect," Tsukishima deadpanned, slipping off his shoes and moving to the kitchen without paying his friend much mind. He was caught yeah, but like hell was he going to look all guilty and shit.

"Forty-five minutes, but that's not important!" Bokuto jumped up from the chair, following Tsukishima with the same impressive persistence as when they were kids. "You were out with your soulmate!"

"I was out with Kuroo Tetsurou yes," Tsukishima corrected, still not entirely bent on attributing this connection to fate. It was the first romantic bond he'd ever felt, and as cheesy as it was, he felt it was far more important than some dumb prophecy. Even if that's what drew them together, he had agency dammit.

"I knew it! I totally figured it out!" Bokuto leaped in triumph, barely missing hitting his head on the ceiling, which Tsukishima was thankful for. They did not need to make another embarrassing maintenance call.

"Akaashi told you," Tsukishima stated.

"Well...yeah but, I had a feeling!"

"No you didn't."

Bokuto threw up his hands, thwarted, and Tsukishima did his best to keep his face neutral. They always got like this over the most trivial things, and surprisingly, the score was pretty even. Sometimes Bokuto would win, sometimes Tsukishima. But oh, when Tsukishima won, he gloated like there was no tomorrow.

"Kei...would you...just...please?" Bokuto pouted.

Then again, Tsukishima did have his fair share of soft spots to be preyed upon, and his gloating would be short lived.

Tsukishima sighed loudly as he poured himself some water, fixing Bokuto with a flat stare. "Fine...how on earth did you find out? You must tell me your genius methods."

"Well," Bokuto began confidently, not missing a beat. "It was so obvious. The clothes, coming home late, being all pissy these past few days, there was no other explanation!"

"Uh huh..." Tsukishima moved out of the kitchen, flopping onto the couch and settling in for what was sure to be a long conversation. He wasn't sure he was ready for this yet, the whole 'gushing about first dates with friends' kind of thing. Tsukishima did not gush. He did not have the capacity.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me! I told you everything about Akaashi when I first met him!"

"Yeah against my will," Tsukishima muttered, not that it deterred Bokuto in the slightest.

"No more secrets! Tell me everything. How was it? What did you guys do? Do you like him? Ha, what am I saying? Of course you--"

"Of course I do." The words were out of Tsukishima's mouth before he even had a say, before his brain had fully processed the several responses he could've given, any response other than that. He clapped a hand over his mouth, hearing the words echo into their tiny ass apartment.

Even Bokuto shut his mouth.

It was weird, knowing something but actually admitting it aloud. It was like it finally clicked into place, and once more, Tsukishima felt utterly lost. But his heart sped up, his skin tingled, and all he could think about was seeing Kuroo again.

"Shit," he whispered, glancing at Bokuto for help.

He didn't have much to offer. "Shit."

So wise.

"This...this is great Tsukki! I'm so happy for you and--wait, why do you look like that?" Bokuto stopped mid cheer, peering at Tsukishima with wariness laced in his expression.

Tsukishima was pale enough on his own, but at that moment, he probably looked like a ghost. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you look like you just crapped a giant load?"

Or yeah, maybe he looked like that. That worked too.

Tsukishima didn't have the strength to rebuke the statement, or fire anything intelligent back. The power of his confession was sinking into him, and all he was capable of was the truth.

"I don't know what to do about it," Tsukishima whispered into the silence of their home. "I like him. What am I supposed to do about that?"

How did any of this work? He was a siren, how did that affect things? He couldn't just come out and tell Kuroo. What if Kuroo thought he'd been tricked or something? What if he decided he didn't really like Tsukishima?

It was all way too much, but even on the surface of it all, Tsukishima was lost. Where did he go from here?

The question seemed heavy, an impossible problem with an encrypted answer. The selfish part of him weighed in there too, because above it all, he did want to spend more time with Kuroo, wanted to get to know him. It was a convoluted mess of logic and emotion, topped with uncertainty, and Tsukishima stared at the ceiling in confusion, unsure of what to do.

Nothing seemed easy in this situation, the road ahead wasn't clear.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Bokuto shrugged, his head shaking as if Tsukishima had asked the dumbest question in the world. His smile was easy and calm, obnoxiously so, but his reply still felt like a punch to the gut.

"Uh, you date him," Bokuto scoffed, turning around to retreat to his own room, gesturing for Tsukishima to follow. "Fool."

And somehow, Tsukishima felt like that's exactly what he'd end up doing, sure of himself or not.

After that night, Kuroo had solidified his status as a total goner.

Dating Tsukishima was great.

More than great.

He was salty as hell with a great sense of humor and legs to die for. His skin was soft, and his eyes surprisingly softer once he let his walls down, and his laugh made Kuroo want to give him whatever he wanted.

It had barely been a month since they'd met, and Kuroo was completely and totally enamored.

After their bowling date, it had been impossible for Kuroo to stay away. It was like an invisible magnet, drawing him towards the blond, and he couldn't complain. They walked each other to class sometimes, went to the movies, and met between lectures whenever they could.

Kuroo confessed that maybe he'd even neglected a few measly homework assignments just to be with Tsukishima, but he was slowly getting the hang of balancing the relationship with school. It helped that Tsukishima had a bit more self control too, making sure they didn't overwhelm each other.

As if it were possible.

The weird transition into becoming boyfriends never really happened, it was like they just knew, as unbelievable as it is. Still, Kuroo had yet to refer to Tsukishima as such. He was waiting for the right moment, specifically a moment where he'd be able to see Tsukishima's face light up from a blush, but no one had to know that.

Point was, Kuroo had no intentions of seeing anyone else, didn't want to. His friends could say he was whipped all they wanted, he was happy with it.

Kuroo sighed dreamily as he walked down the road from his last class, his heart already racing in anticipation with the thought of meeting up with Tsukishima. Man, the honeymoon phase was a force to be reckoned with.

Kuroo slowed his steps, hearing them scuff against the pavement while he adjusted his pace. Maybe he was a little too eager. He pulled his coat tighter around him as a gust of wind hit, and he could already smell the damp earth from the greenhouse as he approached it.

Tsukishima had asked him to meet him there so they could walk back together, and Kuroo had jumped on the opportunity. Plus, it was nice to see Tsukishima in his element, planting flowers and managing the greenhouse's general upkeep. He looked calm when he gardened, whether it be on his balcony or on campus, and Kuroo was hoping to get a few candid pictures today. At the thought, he pulled out his phone. Gotta be prepared.

The greenhouse would be a good background too he figured, and Tsukishima deserved the best (not that he'd approve of the photos at all, but he didn't have to know).

Kuroo had never actually set foot in the greenhouse before meeting Tsukishima, in fact, he barely remembered its existence. It always looked a bit abandoned and overgrown, and he didn't understand why Tsukishima felt the need to do all that work by himself everyday.

Kuroo figured it was mostly for alone time than anything else, but damn, he had to give Tsukishima credit for not going mad.

He was looking at his phone, absentmindedly flicking through the few notifications on his screen, when he bumped into someone, hard.

With an 'oof,' Kuroo stumbled back, catching himself before he landed on his ass.

Oh shit, nice going.

Kuroo wasn't exactly scrawny. He wasn't even being arrogant when he said he knew he was well built. Whoever he'd bumped into, they had to be hurting.

"Hey, I'm sorry I--" Kuroo began, but the sight in front of him made the words die in his throat. First off, the guy he'd bumped into wasn't even looking at him. The guy didn't seem concerned in the least bit that he'd just been nearly mowed over, but not only that, he wasn't the only one blocking Kuroo's path.

The greenhouse was surrounded by eight or ten guys, all pushing and crowding to get a glimpse of...something. Kuroo wasn't really sure.

"Uh, excuse me," Kuroo tried, but all he managed to do was nudge a few guys out of the way as he fought to get to the entrance. No one paid him the slightest mind, no glances, no complaints, nothing.

What the hell?

As he neared the front of the pack, he could hear muffled voices, accompanied by hushed whispers.

"Do you need help? I'll do anything you need me to do!"

"I need you to leave!"

"Can I carry those for you?"

"Wow, you're pretty..."

"No I don't need help! God, you morons, go away! Snap out of it!"

Huh? Tsukki?

Something burned in Kuroo's chest, a mix of jealousy and worry. Was something wrong with Tsukki? He finally pushed past the last few people, not caring about his manners anymore as he used his strength to move in the sea of guys. He came face to face with his blond, who looked downright exasperated. It was...cute, but Kuroo filed the thought away for later. When Tsukishima caught sight of him, he tensed up instantly, his delicate features etched with worry.

The protectiveness in Kuroo surged.

He grabbed Tsukishima's shoulders, pulling him close. He sent a few glares out into the group of onlookers for good measure, upset they weren't giving Tsukishima ample room. What the hell were they doing at the greenhouse anyways?

"Hey, is everything alright? Did something happen?" Kuroo asked, looking Tsukishima up and down as he prevented the dudes from moving closer.

But as the words left his mouth, something changed. The air around them stilled for a brief second, and then in the next, everyone was moving away. It was like time had stopped and jump started right before him, and Kuroo shook his head from the feeling.

He looked around as the crowd of guys began to wander off, looking confused and massaging their temples. A few stopped to apologize for being weird, but otherwise, they all quickly dispersed.

In his grip, he felt Tsukishima exhale deeply, and Kuroo's eyes locked on him once again.

"What...was that about?" Kuroo asked, not trusting his perception of things after all that. "Were they...hitting on you or something?"

Somehow even that inference felt wrong. Kuroo did not know what the fuck was going on, but going off what he heard, it was his best bet.

In a flash, Tsukishima found his voice, and the blond shrugged, though the movement wasn't natural in the slightest. "Yeah there was uh...a broken window in the greenhouse, I didn't notice and I dropped some stuff so...those guys heard and offered to help, but it was fine," Tsukishima said, his breathing still not quite even. The blond's fingers twitched at his sides, and his shoulders were far too stiff for the nonchalance he was trying to force.

"Why were you telling them to leave then?" Kuroo asked, squinting at the hole in one of the nearby windows.

"Well, they helped clean up but after, some of them started to flirt with me, and so I was getting annoyed," Tsukishima said, and it was believable, funny even. Of course the blond would get angered by all the attention. It made Kuroo happy to hear too, knowing Tsukishima wasn't interested in anyone else.

"Are you sure?" Kuroo had to make sure, he was still trying to navigate Tsukishima's nervous ticks and personality traits, and he seemed like the type to potentially bottle things up. Kuroo wanted to make sure everything was truly fine, he wanted to be there for Tsukishima in any and every way.

Man, you are whipped.

Whatever.

"Positive," Tsukishima breathed, smiling softly in a way that completely destroyed Kuroo's thought process. Seriously, his heart probably stalled for a few beats, but it was the best feeling ever.

And well, Kuroo had no reason to question Tsukishima, though he remained sort of tense. Maybe all the attention had just made him flustered, or maybe Tsukishima had a stressful day in his classes. Whatever the reason, he knew Tsukishima would tell him the truth eventually.

Kuroo smiled, brushing off the weird feeling in the back of his mind. "As long as no one was bothering you too much, that's good. I thought I'd have to deck someone."

Tsukishima snorted at that, giving Kuroo a playful shove before locking up the greenhouse. "Not necessary. And if it had been, I would've done it myself."

"I don't doubt it," Kuroo said with a grin, pocketing his phone. Pictures would have to happen later. "Are you ready to go?"

Kuroo was already grabbing Tsukishima's hand, watching their fingers interlock gently, a perfect fit. The blond nodded, and they fell into step easily, eager to get home and share the evening together.

Kuroo hadn't gotten to take any pictures in the end, but the smiles on Tsukishima's face made up for it.

See, dating Tsukishima was a dream. There was just one thing, one little thing, which Kuroo couldn't help but find strange...

He hadn't noticed it at first. It hadn't come up, hadn't even made itself known. But ever since the greenhouse incident, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Every once in a while, he'd find one or two guys crowded around Tsukishima, obsessively so. Tsukishima would eventually chase them off, or Kuroo would, but it was getting more and more frequent.

Tsukishima was attractive, incredibly so. It didn't surprise Kuroo to see him get hit on, though his blood still boiled with every encounter. But this...this was weird. It's like the guys had no self control or care in the world when they did it. Hell, Kuroo had even seen some guys he knew had girlfriends or boyfriends, shamelessly flirt with Tsukishima.

It was getting stranger by the day.

Not to mention the fact that Kuroo had found out about Tsukishima's countless singing awards from grade school. Ribbons, plaques, small trophies, the whole thing. All first place. Now again, Kuroo was totally enamored with Tsukishima, like wow, it was nearly intoxicating how stupid in love he was getting. But Tsukishima was not a good singer. He was probably the worst singer Kuroo had ever heard in his life. It wasn't him being malicious, he was simply stating a fact. He respected Tsukishima's love of singing, and would let him do so whenever he wanted, but it was the truth. The blond had a horrid voice, so how in the hell did everyone love his singing?

Kuroo...may or may not have started asking people. From people he'd seen hitting on Tsukishima, to mere acquaintances, Kuroo couldn't help it.

"Oh yeah, I don't remember much about talking to him, it's kinda fuzzy, but I definitely remember him being a good singer!"

"Oh yeah man, his voice is like an angel's or something!"

"The best choir performances were the ones Tsukishima participated in! It's a shame he doesn't anymore though..."

"Oh yeah, he was at my elementary school. Great voice."

Kuroo's head flopped down onto his dining table, causing Oikawa to jump as he cooked in the kitchen. Kuroo groaned loudly, his hands coming up to tangle in his unruly hair. "It doesn't make sense...maybe I'm crazy. Or tone deaf. Something."

Kuroo's head shot up when Oikawa settled across the table from him, those chocolate eyes boring into him warily. Gradually, Oikawa picked up his utensils, trying to eat his stir fry without breaking eye contact with Kuroo, like Kuroo was some sort of lunatic.

"Kuroo...I'm starting to get worried. You've been sitting here for like...an hour, babbling at the wall," Oikawa said, mouth full. "Whatever it is you're thinking, you're probably just being paranoid."

"I'm not though! C'mon, isn't it a little weird?" Kuroo asked, throwing up his hands. He could hear loud footsteps above him, no doubt those of Tsukishima's roommate, and he willed himself to lower his voice. The walls were thin in this shithole.

"What, that people think your boyfriend can sing? Big whoop," Oikawa said. "He can't be that good, I'm sure people agree with you. It's a taste issue."

"You don't get it Oikawa, something's off about it. It's like I'm missing something," Kuroo continued, his voice a harsh whisper. "Think about it. Everyone else thinks his singing is amazing, but I somehow can't appreciate it? Me? His boyfriend? And not only that, he gets hit on all the time, in the weirdest ways. It's like people can't help themselves!"

At that, Oikawa cackled, and Kuroo was two seconds away from punching him. "He can join the club then. I get hit on all the time, or I used to anyways..." Oikawa sighed dramatically, holding up his hand and showing off his shiny engagement ring.

Fucker.

"It's not the same, I don't know," Kuroo tried to reason. "You have to see it. It's like they're possessed."

All of a sudden, Oikawa's plate clanged from the force of having chopsticks crash against it, and Oikawa shot up from his seat, mouth agape and his mind obviously running a mile a minute. "Oh my god! Do you know what this sounds like?!"

Oikawa's hands were beating against their shitty table, and Kuroo thought it might actually break this time. Oikawa's gaze was intense and menacing, practically begging Kuroo to have whatever revelation had just occurred to him.

"Uh...what?" Kuroo replied, not bothering to hide how dumb he was feeling.

Oikawa scoffed, rolling his eyes and immediately retreating to the living room, where their two unstable bookcases sat. He then proceeded to completely fuck them up.

Books were flying left and right, and soon they littered the floor, half open and pages bent from Oikawa's fury. The brunet continued to rifle through the shelves, throwing out anything unsatisfactory in a blink of an eyes as he continued his search. Oikawa was ruthless in every area of life it seemed. God help the school librarians.

"Hey I spent hours organizing that last week!" Kuroo yelled over the clamor, but all he received was an unimpressed stare. Yeah fine, not the coolest thing to say, but he valued some order goddammit.

"Shut it Kuroo, I'm trying to help you," Oikawa said as more books hit the floor. Eventually, Oikawa pulled a large, tattered looking guidebook from the top shelf, his face lighting up in triumph. "I found it!"

Not wasting a second, Oikawa was back at the dining table before Kuroo could even reply, slamming the book down.

Mythology and Tales of Old, was written in spiraling bronze on the front cover, the color dulled from years of use. It was a decent sized book, but Kuroo had yet to see what knowledge it had to offer. Myths were myths, as in, they weren't real.

Before Kuroo could make the point though, Oikawa was already flipping from the table of contents to the correct page, his fingers deft and his movement purposeful. As he turned to the page he needed, a bit of dust blew up into the air, but the brunet paid it no mind, moving around the table until he was seated next to Kuroo.

"I knew it would pay off to keep this book! I took that mythology class in my first year, and I still remember a lot of stuff! What you were saying sounded familiar, and naturally, I was right," Oikawa said a gleam in his eyes before pointing at the book. "Look!"

Kuroo glanced at the page, noting the darkness of the illustration. It was of a ship full of men, being lured to their doom by the voices of beautiful women. At the top of the page, the word 'Sirens' stood out in bold, black print.

"Sirens," Oikawa began to read, "were beautiful but dangerous creatures that lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful and enticing songs, and would often cause the ships to crash on the reefs near their island. Siren songs were said to be heavenly and impossible to resist, making even the loyalest and strongest men lose their free will."

Below the description were more facts about references to the sirens in literature, or other variations of the myth, but Kuroo didn't care to hear more. Oikawa was being ridiculous.

"My boyfriend is not a siren Oikawa," Kuroo said, closing the book, much to Oikawa's annoyance. "First off, he's not a woman, and second, there's just no way."

Oikawa rolled his eyes, clutching the book tight against his chest. "So close minded Kuroo. This book was written by humans. Humans don't know shit. There could totally be male sirens. And admit it, it would make sense."

"No it wouldn't! If Tsukki was a siren, shouldn't I think his voice is incredible too? Isn't that how it works?" Kuroo asked, pacing the floor of their apartment.

Oikawa's face twisted, combing his mind for a possible reason, but in the end he came up with nothing. "Maybe you're an exception."

Kuroo laughed, flopping down onto the couch in defeat. "Is there such a thing?"

"Who knows..." Oikawa moved back to the living room, his movements slow as he began to pick up the array of books he'd displaced. As much as Kuroo was happy to see Oikawa not be right for once, he couldn't help but be disappointed. He still had no clue what was going on, or if he was overthinking things.

Something felt off, but maybe he was imagining it? Either way, all he wanted was to forget about it, and maybe go visit Tsukishima. Source of the confusion or not, the blond always had a way of making Kuroo's problems feel less heavy.

As Oikawa finished putting the books away, Kuroo thought their conversation was over, and made a move to lift himself off the couch.

He was wrong.

"It can't be helped," Oikawa sighed, causing Kuroo to freeze mid step. "We're just gonna have to test it."

Kuroo's eyes widened, but as always, Oikawa didn't wait for him to catch up. Phone in hand, Oikawa sent out a flurry of texts before grabbing his notebook (Kuroo called it his 'evil plan' notebook, so yeah, this was not good).

"Wait...we can't just...how are you--"

Oikawa cut Kuroo off with a groan, his hand still scribbling notes a mile a minute. "Kuroo, you may not believe it, but I know you. If you don't eliminate all the possibilities, you're going to get obsessive. So, let's just prove me wrong, even though I'm not, so you can move on yeah?"

U g h.

Kuroo whined, and Oikawa must've taken it as a 'go for it' because he promptly returned to his notebook.

The worst part was, he was probably right. Not about the siren thing, that was bullshit. But about Kuroo needing to exhaust all potential explanations, stupid or not. Oikawa put this siren idea in his head, so now they'd have to see it through, or Kuroo would never have peace of mind.

Leaving Oikawa to his planning, Kuroo went to his room, deciding he needed a serious nap before he did anything else.

Whatever Oikawa had up his sleeve, Kuroo only hoped it didn't mess up what he had with Tsukishima, or make him look like a total idiot. But as his eyes started to drift closed, the weird feeling in the back of Kuroo's head seemed to grow, seeping into every thought and dream he had.

#kurotsuki #kurotsukki #haikyuuwriters #adri writing

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