#i met reed yesterday

[fereldanwench]

also got hellman last night so i had to do an obligatory old school goro ship shot (complete with relic malfunction artifacts lmao)

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

YES YE S YESSSSSS!!!!!!/‘shja sibKAVWUGSJWGSKAGW

Ohhh yeah, I remember you saying that before!!

Honestly, The Maybe Man (album name) gives me Neotheatre vibes :0 Especially with the opening and closing songs!!

THERE’S A NEW FREAKING AJR ALBUM WBAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!

I’M SO EXCITED I HAVE NOT LISTENED YET

AAAAAAAAH

!!!!!! YOOOOO I SAW THEY RELEASED A SINGLE AND WONDERED IF THEY WERE GONNA RELEASE A WHOLE ALBUM SOON BIG EPIC

I’ll have to listen to it soon I’m excited :DDDD And also apprehensive cause my fav albums are Neotheatre and The Click, but I didn’t love Ok Orchestra so much so I’m curious if I’ll like this new album

[marvelmcumania]

Blazed in Love

Pairing: Johnny Storm x Reader

Summary: Johnny and Y/N met each other in school and became great friends but one misunderstanding broke the friendship and they went their separate ways. Many years later a space mission has brought them together will the friendship rekindle or the romance?

AN- You can find the same name on Wattpad Updates won't be frequent will be updated at any time English is not my first language Do not repost Feel free to reblog and let me know your thoughts

Chapter 1 - 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐

Today was a good day, Y/N repeated when she got up from her deep slumber sleep. That was her daily mantra until yesterday when her senior colleagues Reed Richards and Ben Grimms told her about a quote talk with none other than Victor Von Doom. Now, she was furious and irritated.

The very mention of Doom's name had ruined her mood. How could Reed think this dream project meeting with Victor would lead to anything productive? He was manipulative, power-hungry, and dangerous—a toxic combination. She couldn't understand why they hadn't learned their lesson yet.

Y/N tossed the blanket aside with a frustrated sigh and got up to freshen up. She rethought why this happened and wished Reed would not accept the deal. Walking to her closet, she pulled out her favorite outfit: a pair of sleek black pants and a fitted dark blue blazer. Professional yet practical, these outfits were perfect for what was likely going to be a long day.

As she buttoned her shirt, her thoughts kept circling back to Victor the guy who had always humiliated them, and herself who was their junior and a friend she shall never name.Y/N shook her head, trying to push away the frustration. She steps into the living aroma of breakfast, hitting her nose 

"Yep, this is what I live for," she says to Matthew, who glances at her smiling.

"And that is why I love you." He answers, preparing the breakfast. Y/N comes inhaling and kissing him "Well why the so professional dress up?"

Y/N goes towards the refrigerator takes out an orange juice and pours it into a glass "Well we have a meeting with the Doom"Matthew makes a face he knows what kind of a man Victor is and how he manipulated news about himself But Matthew's one motto was to being opposite of him.

"But why?"

"Reeds Idea Matty Reed's Idea," she shrugged while Matthew handed her breakfast.

"Is he out of his mind?"

"I don't know, Matty. I had the same doubt."

"And the weird looks he gives you Even though he has a gf, "Matthew grits his teeth.

Y/N stays silent knowing those two never deserved this after having more discussion it is her time to leave "Alright Honey if the deal gets accepted" she says approaching Matthew and keeping a hold of his hand "then I won't be available for weeks"

"Yeah, and then you have to meet him." Referring to the Person, Y/N had stopped talking. She gives him a nod

"I hope not." Giving him a bitter smile, she kisses him and starts walking away when Matthew stops her.

"Also don't forget the date."

"I would never" and starts on her way to the meeting with none other than egoistic Victor Doom

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

Y/N meets Reed Richards and Ben Grimms on her way to Victor's headquarters. The welder's torch sparks the hands of a sculptor on the structure. Y/N's eyes fall on the large statue of an epic 20-foot going-up of a business tycoon, none other than Victor Von Doom, whose generously extended hands sit two intertwined columns of DNA. His face is chiseled, angular, and perfect.

"Typical of Victor Von Doom to build a 30-foot statue of himself."

They stood before it and headed toward the soaring glass-box atrium of VDI Headquarters. Designed to inspire awe making an attraction spot for them and the public

"High open space, exposed structural elements. Obviously aimed at first-time visitors to create feelings of... smallness, inadequacy." Reed says smiling at Ben and Y/n who snorts at him.

"Very Funny Reed"

Ben agrees with her and turns towards Reed who looks a little nervous"I agree with Y/N Good thing it ain't working... " they start heading towards the headquarters "Reed, what are we doing here? This guy's fast-food, strip-mall science --"

"This wasn't our first stop, in case you forgot Nasa. And Victor's not that bad. He's just a little.." He looks at the statue "Larger than life." They move past the statue, into the sprawling atrium.

"He's financed some of the biggest breakthroughs of this century"

"Yeah" Y/N chuckled "and one of them being his ego" Reed sighed giving her a look who shrugged at him "I only came just to see if he the great  Victor Dumbass accepts the deal"

"You'd never know it," Ben says, giving a part to Y/N's head and motioning to a high-tech orb. The orb shows footage of Victor's accomplishment of a safe and clean nuclear facility, the first private Space Station. All images include Victor with huge people. Then an image appears of him holding the America's Cup. "Jesus. That too?" The three of them reach a stern receptionist.

"Reed Richards Nen Grimms and Y/N L/N to see-" The receptionist cuts him off, handing them a pass.

"Executive Elevator, top floor."

"What's the price for a smile around here?" Ben comments to the stern receptionist who doesn't look at them.

"I guess a bit of an ego from their bosses stops the smile" She glares at Y/N who gives her a small smile 

Reed then drags Y/N "Sorry she is new"

"What I am telling you the truth"

"Not the time" Ben snickers and from there they head into the elevator he carries a small black box as they enter the elevator the steel door shuts in front of them.

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

In a large dim office, Ben and Y/N are in the corner he yawns as he watches Reed giving a presentation Y/N looks down at her nails both of them bored

A bright hologram of stars and planets hovers in the air making the room beautiful "My research suggests that exposure to a high-energy cosmic storm born on solar winds might have triggered the evolution of early planetary life" Reed stands among the holograms explaining to a mysterious figure sitting behind the desk.

An ominous pulsating red cloud covers the stars. It washes over a hologram of earth. "In six weeks another cloud with the same elemental profile will pass Earth's orbit. A study in space could advance our knowledge about the structure of the human genome, and help cure countless diseases, extend human life --" The shadow clears his throat. Reed speeds up, emotional Y/N gives a side eye to Ben both agreeing that this was too much in front of the person they hate.

"Give kids the chance to be stronger, healthier, less prone to--" but the voice cut him off.

"Turn it off Please."

"But I haven't fully explained my--"

"Yes, you have... Imagination. Creativity. Passion. Those were always your trademarks."The figure gets up from his sit revealing it to be none other than Victor Von Doom the 35-year-old handsome, commanding looks almost airbrushed he drops the wired magazine to the desk Y/N's eyes fall on it Reed in the front cover of the magazine the words saying Reed Richard Bankrupt

"But dreams don't pay the bills do they?" Victor says giving a condescending smile to him and a wink to Y/N who rolls her eyes and then back to Reed "Same old Reed, hopeless optimist. Still reaching for the stars, with the world on your back."

"At least he is positive Victor" Y/N claps him back "And that is why he is still better than you."

Reed hisses a small Y/N telling her to stop and Ben holds her back by shaking his head not to escalate the things. Victor nods his head when Reeds begins to speak."You remember in school we talked about working together. That's what I was about to explain..."Reed presses the remote another hologram appears a shuttle slowly approaching an orbiting the space station both bearing the Von Doom Industries logo Victor gives a more intrigued smile.

"So it's not my money you want. It's my toys..." Y/N cringes at the word toys "Tell me if NASA doesn't trust why should I?"

Victor has always been a step ahead Reed pauses thrown for a beat.  Y/N balled her fist not bearing the insult to her long friend who was also her senior Ben woke up from the suspicious glancing at Reed Victor noticed the change in Y/N and Ben, Victor started  laughing

"That's my job To stay a step ahead. To know what other men don't" he speaks getting up from his chair and taking a sit on the desk.

Ben gets close to Reed and Y/N "I can't take this"he whispers to them.

"Me too Reed," She tells him giving a glare to Victor who smirks at her.

"Y/N Ben this is business Just work," Reed says in a low quiet voice.

Victor cracks a smile looking at the tension between the three of them.

"He's right Ben" They all turn and see none other than Sue Storm "and Y/N" giving her an acknowledging nod she stands in a corner possibly during the whole presentation."It's just business" 

Victor swoops in "I think you three know my Director of Genetic Research, Susan Storm."

"Heya Susie" Ben greets her and lowly mutters "One more thing he's got."

"Ben stop it"

Sue gracefully walks into the office only taking her eyes off Reed to give a warm hug to Ben and Y/N

"Ben it's been too long" and she turns to Y/N "And Y/N you look marvelous I hope Matthew is good too"

"Yeah he's fine"

Susan gives Reed a polite handshake. Victor observes Ben and Y/N watching the interaction uncomfortably Reed looks insecure under her gaze and tongue-tied.

Reed began to speak "You're, you've, I mean, how have you bee--"

"Never better"

Victor sizes them up. He puts a hand on Sue's shoulder. "This isn't going to be a problem is it?"

"Not at all"

"Ancient History" Victor smiles eyeing Sue

"Good. Then you're just in time to hear the great Reed Richards ask me for help" He turns to Reed "You know, you made a lot of folks at MIT feel like a junior high science fair. So you'll excuse me if I savor the moment."

They all stop for a moment. Reed sucks it up, "You back this mission, and I'll sign over a fair percentage of any applications or -"

"The number's seventy-five. And it's applications and patents."

"What about his firstborn?"

"Ben, the money's not important we could save lives." Y/N sighs Reed's good deed which makes him better than Doom Sue gives a thin smile a flicker of old feelings.

"Twenty-five percent of a billion is enough to keep lights on, isn't it? Maybe even pay off your fourth mortgage of Baxter building."

They all look at Victor. How did he know about this? "Deal...?" Reed looks at Ben who softly shakes his head no and then at Y/N who doesn't know what to say But Reed drops a nod. Victor smiles offering a handshake. "Well then to our future. Together" Victor says squeezing Reed's hand harder his other hand on Sue's shoulder. "Funny how things turn out, isn't it?" 

"Hilarious"

Reed and Sue lock eyes Ben watches Victor warily. Before they all start moving" By the way Y/N" Victor calls her out when they all stop"The offer still stands"

"I am good Victor and Thank you," she says stepping into the elevator.

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

Reed Y/N and Ben are in the elevator now."Good call for declining him" Ben gave her a proud smile.

"Having been doing long back" her face furrows "But how did know about NASA?"

"Yeah what if he made the call to shut us down--" Ben gets interrupted by Reed.

"Ben think about all the people we can help if this works--"

"Maybe you should think about yourself for once. You always let this guy push you around--"

"We got what we wanted. That's enough."

Y/N clears the throat."I know I know we are just worried about what he wants and obsession with pulling you down...Speaking of which" Reed follows Y/N's eyes to Sue. She joins them and the doors shut.

"You sure about this Reed?" Reed nods keeping his head down

"Those solar winds are flaring, but I factored them into my coordinates and--"

"I am talking about us working together," Sue says keeping her gaze on Reed He is uncomfortable Y/N and Ben give a grimacing look at each other.

Reed thinks "Well uh based on our history..." he starts talking fast "You can handle the biogenetics and I'll focus on the molecular physics or, uhm, maybe I should take the biotech, you work the microscopes. since you have some background in electropho--"Y/N mentally wants to slap her forehead after seeing Susan's face annoyed.

"Right. That's exactly what I meant" She shakes her head  Ben smiles, patting Reed on his shoulder.

"Way to overthink it." Ben glances at Sue "So when do we leave?"

"I'll schedule the launch. Call me in the morning to talk about resources and crew" Sue offers a business card. Reed doesn't take it.

"I, uh, think I remember the number."

"It's been changed" Ben and Y/N grimace Reed takes the card keeping his head down.

"As far as the crew I was hoping Y/N could pilot the mission--"

"Well, she's welcome to ride shotgun, but we already have a pilot on our payroll. You remember my brother Johnny..." Sue speaks looking straight to Y/N who sighs rolling her eyes this is what she was scared of and somehow it came true.

[thelongestway]

I thought it would be one chapter for about half of this one, but no, it's going to be two.

The structure took me a while to figure out, too - I think this is the most formal epilogue to a long story I've ever done in my life.

Chapter 14: Plans

Indah cleared all planned engagements from my schedule for two days after the hostage incident. ("Go watch your shows in peace, SecUnit. I'm banning the terrorist spaceship from the station until further notice, and we can handle the humans just fine.") But my humans somehow managed to have an internal group rhythm of their own, and contacted me at annoyingly regular intervals, starting from the handover itself which was overseen by Mensah in her capacity as planetary admin (and probably in her capacity as my guardian, since I was the one who had been body-jacked). She was one of the contact group that met us at the Tenacious' primary body. It made my job easier, because I could use the appropriate codes to tell her that no, Dandelion didn't still have me compromised after she said she'd let go (and actually did let go), but also harder because now we'd have to change them, and changing security codes too often fucked up the humans' ability to use them correctly. This was annoying.

Even more annoying was that Mensah actually insisted on going onto the Tenacious to show a very agitated Captain Reed that no, the potential alliance didn't completely blow up in the Trellians' faces despite their medical officer's best efforts, and that meant Indah had to call me back in that same day, muttering about planetary leaders and their stupid stunts in the name of diplomacy. Dandelion wasn't at that meeting either, by her captain's order, which was kind of ridiculous because it was in her body and she could have run circles with surveillance around her humans if she wanted to. But apparently this research transport actually listened to humans telling her they wanted privacy, so the room in which the talks took place was itself shitty and feedless.

(Although it was pretty entertaining to watch Captain Reed open the conversation with "Dr. Mensah, as you may remember, yesterday I spent several hours assuring your work group that Dr. Tenacious was one of the most level headed people in the entirety of Arborea Cosmica. Well. All I can say is, I don't know what you think about the rest of us now."

It was a lot less entertaining to watch Mensah talk about her history of being held hostage by GrayCris and us having to break her out in order to get Reed to agree that it was the long-reaching consequences of Corporation Rim policies which ultimately led to the whole situation and that Trellin and Preservation should therefore remain friends. The fact that this worked on Captain Reed made me like kem a lot less. I did not like having to wrangle my humans into double rest periods.)

The next morning it was Pin Lee (who talked to me together with Indah in her role as my legal council; they agreed that if I refused to press charges against panicking humans, augmented humans, genetically augmented humans, or human-based constructs a third time, they'd start a betting pool on when I finally would). And then Bharadwaj, who was denied a direct conversation with Dandelion and the Public Universal Friend, had to resort to asking me about the new and exciting ways humans managed to fuck things up by turning themselves into constructs. (I told her these were old and very un-exciting ways. She didn't agree).

Then Ratthi poked at my feed until I agreed to go together with him to tell Gurathin about the whole situation because I was the one who had the best feed view and he would like to know all of the "technical details." (There weren't many interesting technical details. As far as interactions with bot pilots went, this one didn't even end in me getting surgery or having to put my brain back together). And because it was Ratthi, we wound up sitting somewhere uncomfortably loud while we talked. (Which wasn't the worst for anti-surveillance. I gave him that).

And then, when we were sitting in the uncomfortably loud place, we were approached by Dr. Mrinal. They waved awkwardly at Ratthi as they weaved through the crowd, and then stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me.

"Dr. Mrinal!" Ratthi said cheerfully. "Did you get that break sorted?"

"Faster than I've gotten one approved in my life. Longest one ever, too," they scoffed, and then said to me, "Sorry. The last time I saw you, you were being a zombie." They gave Gurathin a scathing look. "I told you people brain augmentations are a shitty idea."

Gurathin rolled his eyes.

"And I'll tell you again that there have been many times when if it weren't for someone with a functioning data jack and good processing speed, we'd be screwed so hard that the screw would've been stripped straight off. Case in point, SecUnit getting to talk down your doctor-slash-bot pilot just because it could actually keep up a conversation even while being a zombie."

"Oh, fuck you, Gurathin." Mrinal sat down, avoiding looking at me (which suited me just fine) and rubbed the back of their neck. "Right. SecUnit. Kind of good you're here, actually. I might have a request. Security tells me you're one of the people who has clearance to go on board the Tenacious?"

"Yes."

"There's. There's stuff the refugees wanted the… The Friend to have. Because… Because it saved them. Could I ask you to pass it on? It's not a lot. Just a small box. I was actually on my way to hand it to station security when I saw you three, but if it's going to end up with you anyway…"

"As long as it's not anything private. Everything in and out gets to be checked by security."

"Of course. I've been through the box myself. It's mostly stuff like hard currency cards and a couple of letters saying they're really grateful." Mrinal chewed on their lip. "I didn't know how to tell them it… Won't really appreciate that. So I didn't."

That was fucking bullshit.

Ratthi thought so, too, and said a little sharply: "You don't know that, Mrinal."

"Yeah?" They looked up, wincing. "You saw the damn scan. Even if it somehow wanted to become, well, that… the facts stand. It can't form bonds with people. What would it care for the people it saved?"

Ratthi groaned.

I was having an emotion, so I stood up and extended my hand.

"The box."

"Uh… Thank you?" Mrinal said and handed over a small metal box which sounded like it had lots of paper in it.

I turned and left.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Met Gala Thoughts

Best in "I thought you were someone else"

(L) Sydney Sweeney as not-Billie Eilish (R) Kendall Jenner as not-Kim Kardashian

Honestly, Kendall looks more like Kim than Kim does at this point.

Best in "Live from Broadway"

Usher, giving Phantom. I hope someone asked him about the Drake/Kendrick beef.

Best in "One Outfit, Two Looks"

(L) Rebecca Ferguson (R) Demi Moore

Best in Technology

Ambika Mod. It's a 3D print of a dress on top of a dress.

Best in "You Could've Done Something Really Meta"

Nicholas Galitzine, whose character in his new film "The Idea Of You" is based on Harry Styles.

Best Rihanna 2.0

Cardi B, who needed 9 assistants to lay out her train.

Reminds me of Rihanna's omelet dress.

Best in "New Look, Who Dis"

Zendaya in her second outfit of the night. Very Blake Lively-ish.

Somewhere inside The Met, Jennifer Lopez was screaming at her assistant for not preparing a second look.

Best in "Couples Who Slay Together, Stay Together"

(L) Eddie and Hannah Redmayne (C) No idea (R) Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols

Best Cinderella

Quannah Chasinghorse

Best in "Get These People a Career Revival"

L-R. Jude Law, Meg Ryan, Charlie Hunnam, and Michelle Williams

Best of the Gents

(L) Jonathan Bailey (C) Barry Keoghan (R) Colman Domingo, in a tribute to Chadwick Boseman and Andre Leon Talley.

Best in "I Don't Know What You Were Going For But I Guess It Works"

(L) Harris Reed. No idea who that is. (R) Uma Thurman

Best in "Better From The Back"

(L) Tommy and Dee Hilfiger (R) Mindy Kaling

Best "Where Can I Get This I NEED One Yesterday"

A relative is obsessed with dachsunds. I would win Christmas if I got my hands on this. Or a cheat knockoff.

Best in "The More I See Them Appear Together Because They're Contractually Obligated, The Less I Want To See Their Movie"

Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Galinda), who've been joined at the hip for the last year to promote Wicked, which comes out in November so there are still six more months of this to go.

Best in "Celebs, They Get Peckish Just Like Us"

Michael Shannon, with a Balenciaga bag. So disappointed it wasn't a party bag of chips. The Balenciaga retails for $1,850 or 115 party-size bags of Lays potato chips from Walmart.

Best in Vintage

(L) Nicole Kidman (R) Lana Del Ray

I was so happy to see a McQueen antler dress show up.

Best in "Oh Dear God Why Are You Here Go Away"

Ben Platt

Kardashians

Jerry Seinfeld and Jimmy Fallon

Lea Michele

Lauren Bezos (though I didn't actually mind her dress)

My Top Looks of the Night

L-R: Karlie Kloss, Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, and Gwendoline Christie.

Ultimately...

It was an underwhelming red carpet. The Met Gala serves an incredible purpose, but they've moved too far away from fashion and costume. There are too many actors and people-famous-for-being-famous involved now that have really watered down the fashion, the themes, and the cultural significance of the event. It needs to go back to being the New York elite and High Fashion - people who know how to wear clothes instead of posing with their hands on their hips, sticking out their butts, and pouting.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Living Weapon Whumpee *BONUS* Scene part 14

Warnings: forced living weapon/fighter, aftermath of being a weapon/semi-retired weapon, lost family, fractured memories, rejection

She could worry about what to do with all this new knowledge later - and decide if she wanted to confront Weapon about it.

-------------------------------------------------------

Whumpee awoke later than everyone else despite the sun shining in his face, and found himself alone in the sleeping quarters. He sat up with a grunt, stretching the stiffness out of sore muscles. His body ached after his outburst yesterday, nerves protesting as he stood up and headed toward the dining area.

Everyone who spotted him on the way mysteriously vanished or ducked out of sight -- news of what happened yesterday must have spread fast, and no one wanted to risk crossing him in a bad mood. He was used to being met with fear by now, but it still bothered him, because no matter how hard he tried to fit in and prove he meant no harm -- all it would take is one outburst, one tiny flicker of anger from him to send everyone diving for cover, scattering like mice. The image that the soldiers weren't afraid of him anymore was always an illusion.

Even Max looked a bit wary when Whumpee grabbed his meal and came to sit next to him at the table in the corner of the room -- furthest away from everyone else. No one else but Max and occasionally Jake ever sat with him to talk or engage in friendly conversation. But it was better than nothing, he always told himself.

The atmosphere of the dining area had instantly shifted the moment Whumpee showed up, but he didn't meet any of the gazes he knew were on him as he dug into his meal.

Whumpee and Max ate in uncomfortable silence, before Max cautiously cleared his throat to catch Whumpee's attention.

Whumpee raised an eyebrow, silently showing he was listening.

Max leaned back in his chair, staring at his half-finished plate to avoid eye contact. "Are you... feeling any better than yesterday?" He hesitantly asked, voice low and quiet to prevent anyone from overhearing.

"...Barely," Whumpee muttered under his breath, thinking back to his conversation with Flint that night. It had given him a new perspective, and a lot to reflect on.

Max scratched the back of his head, glancing sideways at him. "Are you... planning to try and talk to her?"

Whumpee knew who he was referring to, and his chest seized with phantom pain. He'd been trying not to think too hard about it.

"--Sorry," Max hastily apologized when he noticed him stiffen. "I didn't mean to pressure you or--"

"--Relax," Whumpee said flatly, "I'm not mad at you. I'm just... working through a lot, and not sure what to do. I do want to speak with Miranda, if only to explain myself... but I'm unsure how she'll react, and I don't want to scare her more than she already is. I don't want to ruin my one chance at possibly making things better." He bowed his head with a heavy sigh. "...She only knows me as Weapon. And Weapon kills and destroys everything he touches."

"Not true," Max chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "You did a pretty fine job of saving us when Reed betrayed our team," he pointed out. "I wouldn't even be alive right now if not for you. If you had chosen to leave me behind when I was shot..." He gestured at the permanent round bullet scar on his leg. "...I wouldn't be here. You didn't destroy the team, despite everyone thinking you would."

"Does 'everyone' include you too?" Whumpee grumbled.

Max's smile wavered. "I did have my doubts at first, but I was one of the first of our team to trust you. And you proved that trust wasn't ill-placed." He shrugged. "I know the situation with your wife seems hopeless, but... You'll drive yourself mad thinking about all the 'what ifs'. All you can do is try, and see how it plays out. You both deserve to have answers. And that will only come if you take time to talk."

"But what if she's still terrified of me?" Whumpee growled.

Max gave him a cocky grin. "What did I just say about 'what ifs'?" He teased lightheartedly. "But if you need hope, look around you. Everyone here used to be scared to death of you. Some still are, but... there's others like me who are learning how to live alongside you, as allies. It will take time, but... you need to give Miranda a chance to accept the new you. Or you'll never feel whole."

But what if she never accepts me? What if she will hate and despise me forever? Whumpee's thoughts echoed. I'm a literal monster... and monsters don't deserve to be loved. What if I deserve this pain, as payment for all the blood on my hands?

But Whumpee forced a strained smile on his face, despite the war raging inside him as he stood up from his seat. "Thank you," he said to Max, and walked off to speak with Flint. Both for advice… and permission.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @i-don't-know-sal @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222 @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl @cepheusgalaxy

@dragongodryss @theforeverdyingperson

[thevampirelevi]

Adventureland | Part I

Masterlist

"Flight of Icarus." (part 1/7)

cw: vampire!eddie x fem!reader, mentions of grief, mentions of blood, introduction; no actual interaction between reader and eddie (yet)

wc: 1041 ☆

After the events of the Upside Down, a confused- albeit somewhat the same - 'Eddie the Banished' crawls his way back to Hawkins and seeks refuge in the now abandoned theme park, where he one day finds an equally confused - albeit somewhat the same - you.

The horizon ahead of you resembled something of an unfinished Michelangelo project with all of its ‘cadmium orange’ and ‘cobalt blue.’ The further south you drove, the more you found evidence of a burning ‘sienna’ in the mix as well, brushed onto that plaster sky still wet from the rain earlier today. You thought if you pushed the gas just a little more, you might soon start to see outlines of God extending his hand to Adam, but you were going 55 now and the only change in scenery was that the clouds were quickly taking on a darker hue.

The sun is setting and you’ve not even touched the asphalt of the fairgrounds yet. Maybe you should have admitted that you were somewhat lost one ‘Sattler Quarry’ ago, but you were too determined to turn back now. You had your mother’s Lou Reed cassette in your car stereo, playing “Perfect Day” from side A. You could sometimes listen to the whole tape without crying, and you had already had your mind set on today being one of those days.

You were also fixed on reliving some of your favorite memories with her, which is what brought you back to good ol’ Hawkins in the first place. Before the days of factory smoke pollution and L trains, you went through a good portion of your growing pains in Roane County. Then your father’s job pulled your family of three to Bloomington, before dreams of your own pulled you out of ‘Indie’ altogether.

But now you’re back, for the first time since the funeral. Has it been a year already? It felt like only yesterday to you, but so did all of your other resurfacing memories at the very moment you drove into your old hometown. Most of which plagued you the second your car neared that playground. You didn’t dare look in the direction of the schools, it took one year in Chicago and a whole other sabbatical year in New York for you to at least try to forget every classroom you’d ever entered since kindergarten. You had to practically reinvent yourself just to be free of any of the names you’d ever been called haunting every mirror you met. You prayed you wouldn’t recognize anyone, and moreover that no one would recognize you, especially those whomst had made you hate this town in the first place.

“You’re going to reap just what you sow,” sings your janky car radio as you cruise down Morehead Street, passing an abandoned house just as the Roane County Fairgrounds come into view. 

It had only just now occurred to you to consider whether or not you were dreaming as you silently sat in your car, staring past your rearview mirror and at the broken bulbs of the large and all too familiar ‘Adventureland’ sign. Last time you had caught even a glimpse of this place was in February of 1986, surely it couldn’t have been completely stranded since then?

The flecks of light snow you’d seen giving the place an almost powdered sugar finish last time, were now replaced with heavy and mangled vines, as well as wilder patches of moss. You could see that a bird had made itself a home in the ‘U’ of the buzzing sign, but there was no telling if it had belonged to the murder of crows that quickly flew away from the pavement at the creaky sound of your car door slamming once you stepped out of your station wagon.

It wasn’t the cold suddenly nipping at your nose that made you regret stepping out just as soon as you did, nor the fact that you were seemingly utterly alone. Rather, it was the slight prick of fear at the possibility that you weren’t.

Be it your intuition or not, you pushed that and all of your other worrying thoughts aside. Catching a peek of sunlight dancing on the broken glass of one of the carousel’s mirrors ahead of you, you used what little daylight there was left and the fact that there was still electricity powering the very broken sign as motivation to tread farther and approach the gates for a closer look at least.

Almost as if a sign to continue and no doubt only fueling your curiosity, you found the undone chain hanging from the rusted iron wickets of the gate to clearly have been cut with bolt cutters or something alike, as if anticipating your arrival. Determined to get at least half of what you came here for, and even more determined not to run away and cry at what might arguably be the biggest roadblock to your plans, you made your way inside the at least somewhat abandoned theme park.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───── ⋆⋅ᓚᘏᗢ⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The sound of metal scraping against the gravel of the ground made Eddie’s head snap toward the direction of the park entrance hundreds of feet away. Of course, thanks to his annoyingly heightened senses, he’d heard the sound of slightly balding tires screeching to a halt before that - but that itself wasn’t a rare occurrence here.

Occasionally, someone would journey too far past Forest Hills, only to find a more and more desolate and straight up abandoned version of Hawkins. But, like clockwork, they’d all turn right back around and rejoin the rest of society. This, along with the scavenging raccoons in the trash cans and squirrels climbing up and over the fences, or even the whisperings of things lurking in the woods nearby, were all sounds that Eddie had learned to ignore. In fact, most of his time here was spent trying to ignore all signs of life.

But this rare sound, a sound so rare he’d stopped worrying about locking the gates back up long ago, meant that not only was a human nearby, but now they were coming closer. 

So close, in fact, that he could smell the iron in her blood and hear just the faintest ‘thump, thump, thump,’ of her heart synchronizing with the steps she made drawing nearer and nearer to his hiding spot; his favorite ride when both he and Adventureland were alive, ‘Flight of Icarus.’

And man, Icarus sure was flying too close to the sun.

[biggerbetterbat]

[17] AND DARYL'S HERE

Daryl Dixon x OC!Charlie Reed

Summary: The group reunites and Charlie spends some time alone with Daryl.

Warnings: language, blood, walkers. fluff, mention of sex

Song: Brazil Declan McKenna

A/N: Hello :) Yesterday I had a good day to write and almost have ACT2 completed and waiting to be published. Please like, comment, so I could get a feedback if you like it or no. ENJOY AND SEE YOU SUNDAY!

WITH YOU ON WATTPAD

The funeral was like any other funeral. Maybe more emotional because a whole actual family was crying after the man, not just random people he met a month ago. Those people were crying, but wasn't it better for him like this? Every day was getting harder and harder, and there was no improvement on the way. There was no hope. So was it really a reason to cry that she was gone? At the same time, the funeral felt funny and pointless. Building the grave with rocks, praying like in old times, believing that God is still listening.

"It's good they are here," Charlie said. Charlie and Glenn worked together to erect the tent on Hershel's farm. They hammered stakes into the ground, pulled the tent fabric taut, and secured the poles. Despite a few fumbles and laughs, they managed to set it up just in time before the sun set, proud of their accomplishment amidst the rustic surroundings of the farm. They were putting up tents and making a camp as Hershel let them stay but not in the house. It was between the trees, all together, just like before in the quarry.

"Yeah," he said. "And Daryl's here."

Charlie furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him, not really knowing what he was talking about."Well, everyone's here."

"Yes, but you are happy that he's here." he looked at her. "You've been talking in your sleep...When you are asleep."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Glenn shrugged. "I think you know."

"Glenn..."

"I've noticed you tossing and turning at night. You haven't been sleeping well...or at all."

"Just some nightmares, nothing to worry about," she shrugged.

"And we won't be talking about what happened at CDC?"

"And what happened at CDC?"

"Look, Charls, I get it. We've all been through a lot," he said. "We're a team. I'm here...for you."

"Thank you, Glenn," Charlie said, moved by his support, but then she saw a person approaching them. "But now...you better be just here."

"What?"

But she didn't get to explain.

"I hear you're fast on your feet and know how to get in and out," said Maggie, looking into Glenn's eyes. "Got a pharmacy run. You in?"

"Uh..."

"Miss, what's the water situation here?" Dale asked.

"Got five wells on our land. House draws directly from number one. Number two well is right over there. We use it for the cattle but it's just as pure. Take what you need. There's a cart and containers in the generator shed behind the house. she informed while Charlie was exchanging stares. Then Maggie turned to the Asian boy. "I'll go saddle your horse then."

Charlie snorted.

"Horse?" he asked with a weak voice.

They were walking in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was rather pleasurable. She had another chance to observe him in the woods- in a natural environment it seemed. How he was moving, for what he was paying attention to the smallest leave. Where he was placing his feet and how his body was changing, how his muscles were flexing when he heard a twig snap- it was probably snapping under her body. It was so interesting.

"You slept?" he asked.

"Am I your kid?" she asked, looking around. "All we talk about is me eating or sleeping."

"It's cause you can't take care of yourself," he said.

"I think otherwise," she answered and looked around. "Oh, I hate it here. Just like when I was little."

Daryl looked at her with curiosity in his eyes.

"The summer camps," she explained and he nodded his head. "If I gave my heart to them, I would be just like you now, hunting squirrels."

"Nah." he shook his head. "You talk too much. The more time I spend with you, the more I'm sure that you just need to talk like others need breathing."

"Might be the truth."

Then they fell silent again, walking a couple miles- or at least that's what Charlie thought. But she was overwhelmed by the silence and her surroundings, so she opened her mouth again. "So..."

Daryl snorted. "That's what I'm talking about."

"What were you doing with Merle?"

"What do you mean?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Like in your free time." she corrected herself. "Going fishing, Playing poker. I don't know."

Daryl looked at her and scoffed. "We were doing all those things, but just to get drunk. He was making up games or other stupid shit just to get shit-face drunk. And I was getting drunk because that was the only way to bear him."

Charlie smiled "Merle was a talker."

"Actually...you two are very much lookalike," Daryl said and took a shove with a small smile. "He would punch me harder, though."

"Because that's offensive!" she chuckled. "So basically you were just drinking."

"And smoking." he shrugged. "Sometimes it was by the lake, sometimes in the house, and sometimes in some shithole," he said. "I imagine you never was in a place like that."

"Wrong." she made a funny noise. "On my twentieth birthday, I sat in a car with Zac and my friend and he just drove us to some kind of bar...I guess," she said. "That's a funny story, actually. I remember going in, but I can't recall how I managed to walk out. But Casey told me I was dancing on a table, showering in tequila, and I tried to pull out some guy double my age..." She looked at Daryl. "I think that if you lick me right now, you could still taste tequila."

"I'm not gonna lick you," Daryl answered and fastened his steps, leaving Charlie behind.

They walked and they walked and nothing was worth stopping. There was no sight of Sophia herself or any signs of her, which sucked. So when they finally came across the house that looked abandoned, she was praising the Lord. Charlie touched his arm to stop him as he was looking in a different direction. "Look,"

"Good." he nodded and she thought that she saw a faint smile on his face.

"You think she's in there?"

"I hope," he answered. "Get behind me."

Daryl entered the house first, after kicking the door open and she followed right behind him. She decided to go upstairs, so she patted his back and pointed up. As an answer, she got a nod, and without further thought she just climbed up the stairs, holding her little axe tightly.

There were four rooms and three of them she already checked. There was no sight of Sophia or anyone in general, there was no place to hide either, so she just decided to leave. As she came up to the last doors, she heard banging and she knew exactly what was behind them. That's why she prepared her axe and kicked the door open, to not come close. Immediately she faced the Walker who used to be a man before. It was snarling and trying to bite her, so she took a couple steps back. Then she saw another Walker- a woman this time.

Charlie was terrified. Everything inside was shaking and even though she wanted to call Daryl, her throat felt stuck. And she knew that there were just two options for getting out of this: bitten or alive.

"No romantic dinner this time," she mumbled under her breath and took a swing. With one swift motion, an axe was stuck in the head of the first one. She tried to take the weapon out, but it seemed to be really deep inside the skull.

She saw how the second one was sticking its hands towards her. She was observing the jaw as it was moving as the Walker was closer and closer. Charlie gave up the axe and she just took out the knife that was attached to her belt. She let the Walker grab her but pushed it a little, so it wouldn't reach her with its teeth, and then she just stabbed it in the head just like previously, but this time the blade came out smoothly. When she felt the weight of the dead and this time lifeless body in her arms, she almost gagged. With a groan, she threw the Walker from the stairs.

"You good?" Daryl asked her, as she walked down covered in blood.

"I almost panicked."

"But you killed a Walker."

"Yeah, two Walkers." she corrected him. "Are we done here?"

He nodded and looked in the direction of the kitchen. "I found a hiding spot. Small enough, so she could hide there."

"That's great." Charlie smiled. "But nothing sure?"

She sighed as he shook his head. They walked out of the house, ready to head back, but Charlie saw something. Big white flowers that she hadn't seen before entering the house.

"Sophia!"

"Daryl!" she called his name and immediately he was ready to fire from his crossbow. "Cherokee's Rose."

He looked at her a little surprised, not expecting her to know the story. Daryl saw her picking it up and handing it to him.

"I'm sure it's a sign that we're close to her. Here," she said. "Give this to Carol."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the main Sophia searcher."

The road back home was much quicker, even if it was spent in complete silence. As soon as they entered the territory of the farm, they saw their people were making themselves a home. The tents were already put up, they strained the laundry lines and created a small fire pit for a fire in the middle of the tents.

"Charlie!" she heard her name being called. She tore her eyes from the surroundings and turned them in the direction of the voice. Glenn was going in their direction, waving his hand.

"You're back already?" she asked, holding her hand to her eyes, shielding herself from the sun.

"Yes." Glenn nodded, trying to cover his giddy smile and bouncing. He looked over at Daryl awkwardly. "I have to tell you something."

"Okay. Can I wash myself? I'm dirty." she said looking down at her t-shirt covered in blood.

Glenn nodded energetically and turned to walk away. "I'll be waiting in our tent."

She was watching his happy walk with his back straightened and head high up. It had a little bounce to his step as he was strolling away. He was definitely proud of something. "He did it," said Daryl.

"Hmm?" she turned to him, not really knowing what he said, as she was too focused on watching her friend.

"Funny business with the farmer's daughter."

"What funny business?" she furrowed her brows.

"Sex."

She gasped and opened her eyes wider. She didn't think that was the issue because in her opinion Maggie had different types of men. Besides, Glenn didn't look like a guy that is sleeping around, he looked innocent and pure. There was no way that he had sex with a girl he just met. However, Daryl was a man, he knew things. "You don't know that."

He scoffed and passed her by, to talk with Carol who was in the RV.

Charlie decided to throw the shirt away because it would be a waste of time to try and wash off the blood stains. So when she cleaned her face and arms, she entered the tent and took off her top clothing- not minding Glenn just sitting there. He tossed her a clean shirt, so she could cover up.

"Everything is good? You found something?"

"Daryl found a hiding spot in a farmhouse, but...I don't know." she shrugged.

"Are you hurt?"

Charlie shook her head.

"So? What's so exciting?" she asked, sitting on her sleeping bag and soon she was glad that she did because she would most definitely faint.

Glen smirked and nodded his head like a plastic dog that would be put in a car. "I had sex."

[previous] [masterlist] [next]

[kabillieu]

Yesterday I listened to a podcast episode about a woman experiencing a stillbirth at 23 weeks, and then I read an article about a woman running for office because she had to fly out of the state of Tennessee to get an abortion after an ultrasound discovered a devastating fetal abnormality incompatible with life, and then I had to grit my teeth and endure the rest of the day. Grief is so weird. Some days I feel like all those bad things happened to an entirely different person. I feel very divorced from it. And then yesterday it squatted in my body like a ghoulish black cloud, and there was nothing I could do about it. After all, it lives here in me. Where else can it go?

I also made a very disappointing sweet potato and black bean chili. It made me sad because it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't very good. I made a ton of it though, and I feel responsible for it, so I'll probably eat a lot of it in the next few days.

I ended last night by watching Past Lives. I'm glad I did, though I can't say it helped my mood! Something that it made me remember though, is this feeling I have that if I hadn't met Dominic I would be single. He would have always gotten married and had a family. But I feel like I would be Donna Reed's character in It's a Wonderful Life. An old maid! And I think I would have been lonely but mostly okay with it.

Anyway, I do not recommend making the spicy black bean and sweet potato chili from The New York Times cooking section. It is very mediocre. And while it is not 100% responsible for sending me into this weird grief spiral, it also did not help at all.

[pinkyjulien]

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT Actually I'm going to share my fresh, sleep-deprived thoughts that I wrote yesterday- or more like, this morning gfhhgf bear with me cause I was loosing it :>

⚠ Heavy spoilers under read more!

As a heads up as to why the formating is all weird, this was sent to a friendo who worked on PL :3 Did a list of things that stuck to me in those 4-5 first hours right before falling asleep! I stoped at the little hideout with Myers, didn't met Reed or Kurt or MrHands or Anybody elses yet really 👁👄👁✋ taking my sweet time with it!

The start : I LOVED the glitchy holocall with songbird, it set the tone immediately

God walking up to the gate and seeing all those cars and npcs waiting to enter- THE BIT with the cops who cant go in ?? omg loved it, again its such a tiny thing that set the tone right up

Songbird introduction oh my goddddddd…. HGJG I love HER SHE'S SO COOL… When she was like "were going to crash so I woobled into your relic" I was???? Ok so How and What and What and What UH… Also I can see why people won't like her, already just cause she mute Johnny and isnt a Samurai fan fhdjbqg BUT I PERSONALLY REALLY LIKE IT

Dogtown itself???? Holyshit. Like, I remember dev saying that Night City itself was a character, the main character even, and they nailed it hardcore with Dogtown too- all of the civilians are fucking so memorable too??? how good the random crowd npcs look as well!! Its a glowup from vanilla and it shows (special kudos to the netrunner kid vendor, and the flame thrower elbow guy and his little dance ghdjs)

I wheezed when trying the AR googles HGKHQ

The crash : God. Even tho I knew what was going to happen, the amount of chills I had during that scene!! It reminded me of one of my favorite DLC from Mass Effect 3, Citadel, there is a scene where Shepard eat shit and fall through a big aquarium / building and is truly alone, hurt and all- gave me the same vibes of "the world is too big, too Much and I'm just one Guy" ??? It got me so hookt, god. ALSO THE TITLE POPING??? UUUGGGHHH. GOD.

Rush to the crash, the sneaking to the ship and getting Myers got me Alert and excited

Escorting Myers feels nice cause she's not useless, she knows how to handle herself (DUH!) but I mean her A.I as a NPC, I like that she also sneak attack on ennemies when you do, like Jackie did

Part I had struggle with was the Driving Myers to the Garage bits, was getting frustrated- I love driving in FPP but with this car, in those streets and in this stressful situation YUOOOCK it wasnt IT FHFJJG switched to TPP and managed after a few tries UwU

OK GOD. The museum- amazing visuals and lore crumbs ofc BUT THE CHIMERA???? HELLO???????? THEY FUCKING POPPED OFF. I havent felt this stressed on a boss battle in FOREVER! Funny enough it reminded me of my first time against Nefarious from Ratchet and clank 3, and its positive HKGJ I was a wee kid back then and its my favorite game from the ratchet serie (which is my favorite console serie tbh) and it made me so nostalgic of that time??? REALLY Comf, really challenging, I shat myself.

District itself is FUCKING INSANE. Of course, it looks amazing, the sound design, the VIBES- I thought everything was already done in night city, how much different nuance of CyberPunk can you do when you already have such a big city with such different districts?? but dogtown is so different and yet fit perfectly

I LOVE. THE. NOMAD DIALOGUE OPTIONS… One of my big "fear" was being left out of the fun cause yeah Nomads really just have the badlands kinda hfjdjg but!!! I already been fed from the few choices I had, especially the one when cutting out the tracker from Myers neck, mentioning the uhh ritual thing, I was !!!!!!! AAAAAH FOOD FOR THOUGHTS AND ROTS I LOVE IT

talking about Nomads I LOVE THE DIVERSITY in the new garments!! Had a lot of corpo and barghest armor loot at the start, so I didnt expected to see some cool denim harnesses, practical jeans and worker gears OwO Excited to see more cause AZHHHGFH

[thedawningofthehour]

I meant to send this yesterday, but did you ever mention what exactly Josh is? I honestly don’t remember there ever being clarification (and if there was it totally went over my head) and while i was rereading for the umpteenth time Josh was referred to by splinter as “the copper one” and my mind kinda went “Excuse me, Copper???” I figured he was a Yokai of some kind but then we know that Rose is a witch/from witch town (right?) so whenever I vision Josh is just a very wobbly image of some nerdy buff guy idk and he’s always wearing a blue shirt for some reason :P

Lol well you're pretty close! Josh and his brother and sister are all witches from Witch Town and look vaguely humanish, as Yokai witches are shown to be.

Like yes, these people are undoubtedly Not Human, but unlike many other Yokai they don't seem to be anything else in particular. (in general-I see Lion Dude up there, but he's an outlier) (I've actually thought a lot about the lore of Witch Town and I have no idea if I'm going to end up using any of it so I might do a write-up one of these days)

Josh and his family (his twin sister, their little brother, and the little brother's husband, and maybe his niece I haven't decided if she exists here) all live in Witch Town and run an apothecary. They actually met Bella because the little brother Reed (who I apparently haven't even referenced by name yet, sorry Reed) was her bodyguard while she competed in the Nexus. He got into some debt and the debt was then purchased by Big Mama, and he refused to fight for her. Big Mama basically rigged his contract so he could never pay her back, effectively enslaving him, and had his tongue cut out for talking back to her too many times. He got assigned to Bella because she already knew how to sign, they became friends, and when she left she bought out his contract. Turns out his sister was hot and his brother was her platonic soulmate, so happily ever after. (Bella and Reed are still really good friends, they're just less reasons to mention him because his skills aren't really plot-relevant)

Josh is definitely a nerd, he's pretty tall and broad-shouldered but skinny. He's kind of pink, not intensely so but definitely a few shades into 'not a human skin color'. His hair is either blond or he's a very light redhead, depending on how I feel that day. He has an extremely prominent nose, which...I just realized that doesn't sound good, considering he's Jewish. Okay, to be fair, when I designed him he was not Jewish. He's a Dishonored OC, the Dishonored world does not have any real-world religions, they have one twink who is also a whale as their god and their religion is centered around hating on him. I made Josh Jewish because Bella was Jewish and I kind of liked the idea of her bonding with him and his family over that. (I don't know why Bella is Jewish, she just Was) (also Bella and Josh aren't religiously Jewish-they're atheists)

Rose looks pretty similar, except she's much shorter (which vexes her greatly, as she's the oldest) and her hair is more of a ginger color. Reed however is massive, taller than his brother and super buff, like 'body of a Greek god' but unironically. His coloring is more pinkish-purple and darker because he has a different father. Everyone thirsts over him and he is entirely oblivious. His husband got a lot of high-fives when he put a ring on it. (and a lot of jealous glowers, especially when the story of how he proposed with a BBQ sandwich came out)

Splinter calls him 'the copper one' because their last name is Copperspoon but he couldn't remember. (he's old) And they have that name because their mother is this bitch:

Delilah Copperspoon, bisexual poly witch and bastard daughter of an emperor. She's such a wonderfully evil character.

[dominickeating-source]

Starburst Issue 69 (2005)

LIEUTENANT REED OVER AND OUT!

Actor Dominic Keating, who plays Lt Malcolm Reed in Star Trek: Enterprise, talks to Ian Spelling about his final voyages in the Starship Enterprise Dominic Keating goes down joking. Ask him to preview These Are the Voyages...and to provide a sense of what Malcolm Reed is up to in the Star Trek: Enterprise finale, and he cracks, "Well, I'm finally outed."

When the laughter stops, the actor turns only slightly more serious. "No, no it's a tie-up of 18 years of Star Trek, of a grand piece of work," he explains. "So it's not just pertaining to our series, which I understand. That's understandable. If I were maybe the captain I'd be a bit more disconcerted by this episode not really being my series finale, but I understand from the producers' point of view.

"They have nearly two decades of Star Trek to tie up," adds Keating, referring to the fact that Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis are back in action as Riker and Troi, as These Are the Voyages... controversially folds the last Enterprise story into an episode of Next Gen. "So they've nicely woven our series into a bigger picture. I did a scene yesterday with Jonathan and I know Marina. She, like myself, is the queen of convention circuit. So we're kind of the two queens. And I'd met Jonathan before, when he was on the lot doing Nemesis. He's great, just an actor's actor, straight in with the jokes and the quips."

Lt. Malcolm Reed started out as the ship's armoury officer and,as the show fades to black, he's pretty much the same guy in the same position. "I think he's a little wiser now," says Keating, as he relaxes in his trailer during a break from shooting These Are the Voyages , which will wrap production a few days after this interview. "I don't know that my character changed in any great discernable ways in the four years. They played him as a type. He was fleshed out nicely here and there, and he had a couple of runs. This last run with Harris (Eric Pierpoint), the Special Ops guy, was fun. I guess he's just not as green as he was at the beginning. When I look back to the pilot (Broken Bow) and the first episodes, he's grown alongside me, as the actor who was playing him. I was two shades greener. But I kind of made my peace back at the end of season one that this show was never going to be about Malcolm Reed in any kind of in-depth way..It was always going to be about the captain (Scott Bakula) and Trip (Connor Trinneer) and T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), the babe."

Despite drastic changes and improvements to Enterprise over the past two seasons, viewers dropped like flies. Though this season's ratings have been stable and in fact spiked up a bit after UPN's announcement that it would bring the show back for a fifth season, only about three million fans tuned into Enterprise on a regular basis, thus sealing its fate. "I'm not entirely sure what the figures were, but my understanding is that this year we were heading up in the ratings, incrementally, in tenths," the British actor notes. "We were getting 100,000 people or so more each week than the week before for the most part. But, really, the big drop-off happened in season two. And once that happened, it was impossible to get those people back. We did everything that was humanly possible. We came in here week after week and did absolutely the best job we could. (New executive producer and show-runner) Manny Coto did a great job of reinvigorating the show, the scripts, but I guess it was too late already. No matter what we did we couldn't get back the fans we lost and we weren't able to pull in new viewers. So there you go."

And here Keating goes. It's time to look forward to the rest of his career. The actor grins mischievously when queried as to how, in a perfect world, his post- Trek career might play out. "In a perfect world?" he asks, repeating the question. "In a perfect world...in a perfect realistic world or a perfect imaginary world? There's a big difference. In a perfect realistic world I would segue into a really snappy comedy and show that feather in my cap. I did five years in a British sitcom and I did a film here with Tim Allen called Jungle 2 Jungle, for which I got a bit of notice. The respected American film critic Janet Maslin actually said I was the funniest thing in the movie - but a lot of f***ing good that did me or the film! Tim Allen paid to have her shot. So I would like to do a comedy. But, realistically, unless it was a completely horrible script, I'd do anything. I want to work. Actors want to act. It's what we do. It's how we make our money." 

Keating turns in his chair and reaches for a script on the table before him. It's not a Trek teleplay. "This is a funny half hour show," he says, brightly. "If I get the part it would be a series regular. It's very funny. I read it last night. It's called Don't Ask . I'd be auditioning for the role of Garrett, the gay psychologist who steals the lead husband away from his wife - who he is also the therapist for. And the whole story is told from their 12-year-old son's perspective. It's very witty. I don't think anyone is cast yet. So I'm already looking ahead. You have to."

FAVOURITE EPISODES # 1

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE may never have been mistaken for The Malcolm Reed Show, but Reed and Keating enjoyed the occasional moment to shine. Keating points to "Shuttlepod One" and Minefield , as well as The Shipment, Harbinger and Countdown as personal favourite episodes. "Shuttlepod One was cracking fun, just that little mini-play in a shuttlepod with Connor," the actor says. "He's such a good actor and we had a blast doing that. And then Minefield was my first venture working with Scott, really. We'd gone a whole season and really had nothing to do with each other than the perfunctory scenes on he bridge and a couple of running around the corridors with phase pistols scenes. But Minefield was the first one that Scott and I, as actors, had some real scenes to play together. I got nervous beforehand, I remember, going into that. But we bonded. It was the first time we discovered our actor camaraderie. So that's one.

FAVOURITE EPISODES # 2

Season Three provided more fun for Dominic Keating, as he explains. " I really was the action man in that season and I loved all that stuff with Hayes (Steven Culp)," Keating continues. "Steve was so much fun to work with, and I knew him before. We'd done a radio play together years ago and we'd stayed friends. We go to the same gym together. So when he came in to play my nemesis I was great fun. It was fun to work with him and I felt like I was part of the acting community in LA. 'Oh, I'm working with my buddy.' So that was great fun, and the action sequences were great fun. And the death scene (in Countdown ) was quite moving. Steve is now in Desperate Housewives . He's playing the ginger-haired girl's (Marcia Cross) sort of sappy-soppy husband, and I can only hope I'm as lucky finding roles after we finish up here." 

Source: www.dominickeating.com

[r4d14t3lov3]

Chapter 16 is finally up.

From late in chapter 16:

Over on the rich lawns beside the settlement’s gate a group of children were playing with a ball Fashav knew to be woven of reed and softened with moss. When they saw him draw nearer they raced towards him, greeting him cheerfully, bouncing up and down, dancing around him.

“Marshal! Marshal!” they called, and joined him the rest of the way, chatting lively. 

Fashav’s heart lifted a bit, and he bent to pick up the little girl who always clung to him whenever he visited. 

She threw her small arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re back, Marshal Fashav,” she whispered into his ear. 

Fashav smiled, warmth spreading through him, though it broke his heart at the same time, tears burning in his eyes unexpectedly. 

Fashav carried her through Riverhymn’s gate, the kids clouding around and in front of him like a great entourage, his guards walking off to find food and rest. 

People turned and waved, Fashav said many hellos and gave one-armed hugs, the little girl still holding on tight. 

Fashav saw her long before Nel even turned from the commotion the children were causing in the settlement. There she stood in all her slender beauty, her dark hair shining, her shoulders a bit sunkissed; she had probably spent too much time under yesterday’s cloudless sky. 

His heart skipped a beat when their eyes met, her face lighting up with such joy and a glow on her cheeks he hadn’t seen before. She was positively radiant. 

Nel clapped her hands over her mouth and nose in disbelief, then came running towards him. Apologizing to the little girl, he sat her down, then caught Nel in his arms, as she came flying towards him, twirling her around and around, their noses buried in the other’s neck.

“Oh, my darling,” Fashav whispered, and Nel wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on, never wanting to let go. 

“I have missed you so,” she whispered back, her hands cupping his face, her lips inching closer to his. 

“And I have missed you,” Fashav said, as their lips finally met.

[brasideios]

Snippet Sunday

I wanted to share something new this week, because I’m really vibing with what I’m working on (extremely casually) just now. Feeling very chill and enjoying myself.

A tiny bit of background: Titus (Apple-Blossom 🤦‍♀️) appeared as a very complete character out of nowhere in a 2019 thought dump, maybe six pages long. I was just starting to write about Rome at the time, and he was a false start, but I never forgot him.

I started mulling over this false start a couple weeks back, and have begun tinkering with a few small scenes.

So… here’s Titus Lartius. Single dad and dutiful son, who has a lot going on behind the scenes.

The springtime morning was dark and cold. Titus pulled his cloak tight around his shoulders. The sound of rain dripping into the compluvium of his mother’s house was loud in the atrium as he followed Nonius to the front door. He carried a lamp before him, which caught the mosaic into a circle of twinkling stars around his feet. He liked to be awake so early, before anyone else in the house was awake, when it wasn’t so cold at least. Nonius unbarred the door, and opened it, allowing Titus to slip through into the street with muted thanks. Outside, the moon was high in the sky, a fingernail moon on the wane. He adjusted his fur-lined cloak again, tucking his hands into his armpits, and hurried towards home. The nails of his boots were loud on the paving stones, but once he’d reached the main thoroughfare, there were many others like him, huddled against the cold, on their way to a morning salutatio with a servant in tow, their faces pinched in the cold, though some relaxed a little when they saw him, greeting Titus with a respectful bow of the head. Some were his own clients, on their way to his door. ‘Phillipus,’ he said, greeting one of these cheerfully. ‘It’s good to see you. When did you get back from Rome?’ The middle-aged man, reed thin with rheumy eyes, smiled warmly. ‘Just yesterday afternoon. What a to-do there was on the road. Some Capuan, a centurion apparently, had been attacked by bandits, and he’d got together a band of men from the caupona in a nearby town to hunt the thieves down. They were roughing up anyone they met.’ He chuckled, which turned into a cough. It was a moment before he continued, ‘They questioned me and my bodyguard for an eternity, in the pouring rain. I kept saying, do I look like I have the wherewithal to attack a man of thirty-five, in his prime, who’s fought off barbarian hordes?’ Titus laughed along with him. ‘You were fast enough in your time.’ ‘Ha! In my time, but that time’s long past.’ He sobered a little. ‘I think I’m going to take myself off to the shrine of Hygeia, at the thermal baths in the hills next week. This cough, you know, it just will not shift.’ Titus looked at him with concern. ‘You think it’s serious?’ He nodded solemnly. ‘I do; but it’s in the hands of the gods, of course.’

~~~

Oh but I have to add this extra tiny snippet, too, because Titus is a package deal with his son, Quintus :)

~~~

Titus was trying to leave his house, but he was hindered by his son Quintus who, with a fierce scowl on his chubby five-year-old face, had wrapped himself around Titus’ leg. ‘Pater, I want to come too!’ Titus couldn’t quite smother his smile behind his severe frown. ‘Quintus, I don’t have time for this.’ ‘Then take me with you.’ He leant down and scooped up his son into his arms, and held him so they were eye-to-eye. ‘I’m only going to visit your grandmama; I won’t be long, and you don’t really want to sit with her and her boring friends, do you?’ Quintus wrinkled his nose, no doubt thinking of the last time, when he’d been chastised constantly for not sitting still; but he said, ‘I might. Novia gave me cake last time.’ ‘If you stay here, and behave for Anthia, I’ll bring you some cake myself. How does that sound?’ He pursed his small lips and pushed his unruly black curls, much like Titus’ own, out of his eyes impatiently. ‘Alright - if it’s the kind with the almonds in it.’ Titus smiled. ‘I promise.’ He set Quintus back onto the floor. ‘Do we have a deal?’ He held out a hand to his son, who shook it enthusiastically. ‘Deal.’

[trollprincess]

Watched the Teen Wolf movie.

… well, that happened.

I read a spoiler-free review a couple of days ago that was like, “You have to have seen the show before to know what’s going on,” but I’ve seen every episode, like, ten times at this point and I was still asking myself what the fuck was going on multiple times.

This feels like something Jeff Davis wrote on a napkin when he got bored and then didn’t edit. Like, it’s one thing to be like “Lydia left Stiles and he’s off ‘fighting his own fires’, whatever the hell that means.” You can’t get Dylan back, you can’t get him back. Whatever. But why the hell is Derek saying so many very, very dim things? That “your eyes!” line is funny, but it makes him sound like they put a Stiles line in his mouth. Melissa and Argent are in multiple scenes together and I literally had to stop myself and try to remember if they even *spoke* to one another. Are they together? Who the fuck knows? “Did you tell your mom?” doesn’t tell me shit. Maybe they are, maybe they’re not. There’s just so, SO much of this.

Addendum: I mean … Adrian? Really? Seriously?! What, did he get picked out of a hat?

Addendum, part two: Does Eli have a personality? He has no mom so he only has Derek who talks to him like he just met Eli yesterday, he’s on the lacrosse team but in Beacon Hills which guys aren’t, he has no friends that we see, all he does is steal Stiles’s jeep. Oh, and he’s got past trauma from seeing Derek wolf out, but JD can’t write people dealing with past trauma to save his life. That ending is hilarious because “teen” and “wolf” are literally the only two things I know about Eli. At all. I mean, he seems very nice, but it’s not enough to make me want to watch a new show about him. At least Scott had Stiles and lacrosse within that first episode.

So much of a two-and-a-half hour movie had me going, “Okay, that could have been written better.”

I said, “Well, that was A Choice,” out loud twice during the movie, which is two times too many.

Okay, I want to preface this by saying it is NOT a criticism. Crystal Reed is 38. She has had a little work done, which there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with. *However*, these actors are all notably older than they were during the show, which makes sense given they AND THEIR CHARACTERS have aged. So are we just handwaving Allison’s aging? I mean, she’s clearly physically *not* a teenager, but is Allison supposed to have come back as one? Okay, fine, we dangled some keys over the Nemeton and now Allison’s back? I just …

The fact that there are at least two characters who are like, “I haven’t used my powers at all in the last fifteen years!” is annoying as balls. I just have a hard time believing that overachiever Lydia is really going to let her banshee abilities slide. I feel like the Lydia I know, over the course of fifteen years, would have been able to send a dart into the bullseye through an open bar door from a block away from absurd amounts of practice. She might not have been fighting monsters the same way she had in high school, but STILL.

Jackson could have not been there and the flimsy plot would have still worked, and yet Colton was enjoying himself immensely in a way everyone but maybe Ian was not. Also, Jackson and Ethan are still together! Awww. Wish we could have gotten two and a half hours of that.

NGL, I laughed when Derek died. It was mostly because I could see the strings. Which I probably shouldn’t be able to, but I could see “well, he’s Superman now and we can’t bring him back for more movies and episodes” tugging that little plot point into position. To be fair, you can’t really have the character walk that plot point into existence when you’re writing him from minute one as if he banged his head off something.

Scott and Allison … just … can we stop for a second and go back to that question of where she’s at when she comes back? Because I feel like we’re going back to the issues with Malia when she returned from being in coyote form for years, except in that instant she lived those years. And it was still problematic for her to be having sex with Stiles and going to regular high school classes. Allison hasn’t been *alive* for fifteen years. She hasn’t even been a CORPSE. She’s been ash in an urn. And now she’s back after dying when she was a teenager, and it’s just back with Scott and everything’s normal? Come on. Come ON.

Meanwhile, Malia and Parrish. I’m fine with that. Provide that man as many fitted uniforms and fireproof underwear as he needs to rip and/or burn off.

I’m mad about Hikari, because I’m sure she’s great, but also it feels like they wrote Kira in and then when Arden wouldn’t do it they erased Kira and drew Hikari in but without giving her much to do as a person instead of a kitsune. (And if she and Liam were together together, then let them be? I don’t fucking know at this point.)

I know this sounds like I didn’t like the movie, and that’s because I didn’t, but also I appreciate it being so badly written because watching badly written things makes me throw things and shout “I can write better than that!”, and in this case I have a first draft inspired by Teen Wolf crossed with Yellowjackets which I can direct my annoyance at.

[weaversweek]

1 "Since yesterday" - Strawberry Switchblade

writers Rose McDowall, Jill Bryson

12 points (DOUZE POINT!)

Like sixteen swans taking flight at once!

Part of the UncoolTwo50 project, marking the best singles from 1977-99.

Jill: "We get different categories of letter. Ones like 'we think you're a really great pop group', ones from people struggling in other groups saying 'can we support you' and really long, dead sincere letters. I like the long sincere ones the best."

Strawberry Switchblade met at Glasgow School of Art; originally a four-piece, they slimmed down to Rose and Jill. The group was named after a fanzine written by Orange Juice that never came out; it took its name from a James Kirk song.

They hung out on the fringes of the Postcard Records scene, and were particularly close to Edwyn Collins and his group Orange Juice. Supported them on a tour in late 1982, and seemed to be on the gentle nursery slopes, the fringes of fame without ever breaking through to the public consciousness.

Strawberry Switchblade are deceptively strong and marvellously strange. The knowledge that Rose used to be in a group called the Poems who once made a single financed, at least partly, by shoplifting tends to imbue her current endeavours with a somewhat sterner significance. Their songs are sometimes cute, sometimes irksome, sometimes fun, sometimes twee. If I was 10 they'd be on my wall. -- Mick Sinclair, Zig Zag

"Since yesterday" started life as "Dance", changing almost the entire lyric over three years before being released to the world in late 1984. Its minor-key horn riff comes from Sibelius's fifth symphony - the third movement has a recurring motif inspired by swan calls. Perhaps that's what proved key to their success - here's something vaguely familiar, being re-interpreted and literally shattered before our ears.

despite the ribbons and bows falling from their curls, the sentiments that Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson project through their songs are often as pretty as Lou Reed's sugar-coated 'Heroin'. For these two girls, Scots by birth, populist and perverse by and large, are not in the business of soft selling sweet Pop. After all, the twist in the name Strawberry Switchblade could hardly be anything but intentional. -- Adrian Devoy, International Musician and Recording World

"Since yesterday" became an unlikely, unexpected, and wholly welcome hit in early 1985. It opened doors for Rose and Jill to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in pop...

Until he accepts his second award - after which he leaves - Prince and his two bodyguards sit at the same table as Strawberry Switchblade. "What did you talk to me about?" I ask them. "We were struck dumb," confesses Jill. Apparently there was no conversation whatsoever. -- Neil Tennant, Smash Hits

...but it proved to be the one and only hit. A number of other singles from Strawberry Switchblade fell short of the top 40, and the group broke up a little later.

They'd made an impression.

ROSE AND JILL of Strawberry Switchblade may look like Macbeth's weird witches but sisters they aren't. "We actually think we dress quite differently," complains Jill, "but other people still get the wrong name in the third meeting!" Rose remembers having a polka dot dress when she was wee and claims that, "everyone wears polka dots when they're six months old." Once the girls had polka dots everything just evolved. "If you get the idea, everything just seems to sprout from it…" Everything includes all kinds of accessories, from earrings that look like chandeliers to ribbons that are almost floor-length. Strawberry Switchblade have fertile heads like overgrown gardens and hair like Egyptian haystacks. Witches always invent themselves. Why else would the church have burned them but for their independence and knowledge of nature? After punk, Rose and Jill formed a group and began to learn guitar (not necessarily in that order). Their inspiration came from the softer songs of the Velvet Underground. As followers of Orange Juice, Aztec Camera and the rest will know, everyone in Glasgow has the Velvets "Banana" album on the coffee table. Next year we'll be hearing a lot of Strawberry Switchblade's quietly haunting songs, folk ballads on the eerie side of twee. Meanwhile the girls are concerned to convey the right impression. "People expect us to sound punky because of the make-up so we try to smile a lot to reassure them: we're lovely people, really. The people who hear our music tend to describe it as 'lovely or nice or beautiful' rather than 'great'. Everybody can be great — not everybody can be lovely. Our main problem is the ribbons falling on to the guitar strings while we're playing. We need a ribbon roadie and someone who'll iron our clothes before we go onstage. Oh, and someone to tune the guitars…" -- Mark Cooper, Record Mirror

Some would argue that Strawberry Switchblade still influence fashion. They brought a certain style, sweet polka dots and malevolent attitude, and it clicked with the people of Japan. Did Rose and Jill spark off the enduring "Gothic Lolita" scene? Certainly they're well-remembered and well-loved - I haven't had to go deep into The Internet Archive to find Strawberry Switchblade.net, servicing fans since 2005.

Life has inflection points. They were on the cover of Smash Hits magazine. Inside was a gripping feature on Band Aid, and some serious writing about trivial subjects. Writers like Sylvia Patterson, Mark Ellen, Linda Duff, Dave Rimmer, and the masterful work of Tom Hibbert. Their mixture of breezy chat and intense knowledge is something I try to replicate - in the Week, and in this collection of essays.

Pop music changes lives. Random chance changes lives. I wouldn’t be the same person without a chain of events kicked off by “Since yesterday”, and that’s why it gets the lot - token, teatowel, and my DOUZE POINTS.

Thanks to #UncoolTwo50 sponsor and numbercruncher Arron. And to you for reading, if indeed you still are.