#i need to watch all of star trek right this minute

[vampireopossum]

“Surely, by the 24th century, they will have found the cure[…]”

“No, by the 24th century, no one will care.”

You know, when somebody has a magnificent head of hair – that, honestly, when I was nineteen I would have loved to have had - and they shave it all off… I feel that somehow they’re kind of infringing on my territory. [x]

[u5an5]

Just watched Deadpool & Wolverine with polish subs based on dub and I have to be honest, there's much more funny stuff than I expected, considering that the rest of it made me glad I'm not watching it with actual dub

So, things that picked my interest:

Instead "207 when I watch Gossip Girl" he straight up says "207 when I watch porn" (Gossip Girl isn't especialy popular show here so reference wouldn't mean anything for majority of audience anyway, but to straight up say it instead replacing it?)

"Ok peanut, 'guess we're getting that team-up after all" got replaced with "Okej ptysiu, nie ma to jak seks grupowy", which translates to "Okay cutiepie, nothing better than group sex" (??? we're still in the first 5 minutes of the movie)

"you know what they say, when one door closes, your locker at work opens" translated to "Jak to mówią… Jak zamykają od przodu, to ładujesz się od tyłu" which translates roughly to "Like they say... when they close the front, you get in the behind" which I find kinda funny

Peters line about seeing Wade in suit comes of gayish cause he doesn't say he wants to see him in the suit again, he wants to LOOK at him in it again, you know what I mean

intead "This guy looks ready to throw it all away for me" he says "This cutie would gladly get hugged by my bowels" which is a lot more straightforward than I expected

Wades spiel to comic acurate height Wolverine is much more insulting and instead being all "what a cwute short king you awe" translates to "Oh fuck, a furball dwarf? Was there even dwarf like that? Furballs mommy drank lots of booze when she was pregnant? Maybe daddy was a ratferret? Don't even come near me, 'cause you surely have ticks"

"I need you to come with me, right now" to "Zapraszam cię na randke, i to natychmiast" meaning "I invite you to a date, and I mean right now" (Logan replies with "Złotko, nie kręci mnie to" which translates to "Sweetie, I'm not diggin' it" and by "it" I'm honestly not sure if he means Wade himself, the fact that Wade said he's only here because he's the Wolverine just a second ago, or because his suit looks like fetish gear)

"It's quite common to Wolverines after 40" to "It's normal when going trough menopause, I get it"

they replaced "peanut" to different endearments to not be repetive but the most often used one is "ptysiu" (ptyś is a choux pastry; if I had to translate it as english endearment, I'd go with cutiepie). its cute imo

Logans "bub" also got replaced by endearments/insults losely fitting situation but the stupidest one has to be Logan calling Johnny "misiu", which translates to "little bear" and let me tell you, it's HILARIOUS cause it's equvalent of calling a random guy "sweetie" but in the "your grandma asking if you want seconds (yes you do, no you don't have any say)" way

"my boy's wicked strong" is translated to "mój chłopak zna się na rzeczy". It's slightly like the papi situation from spanish dub cause yes, "chłopak"'s direct translation is often "boyfriend" but it is also used as "boy", "guy" or "dude", usualy towards guys younger/about the same age as you. However, the addition of "mój"/"mine, my" makes it much more angled towards boyfriend, wherever they wanted to or not. There are at least three different ways to translate it and make it less gae I know and the've still chosen this one.

They made, in my opinion, the "its a common curtesy to ask" "Its good thing I don't give a fuck" lines better by translating them to "you shoud've ask, thats polite thing to do" "and you can politely fuck off"

they replaced Star Trek reference with Star Wars one, using Han Solo instead Spock and idk. on one hand they did it to THE spirk moment but on the other they made, and I may be reaching, but it seems like covert reference to "I know" scene so ??? (star trek is nowewhere near as known as star wars here so they would probs replace it either way but it also can be just "star trek and star wars sound so much alike, they have to be basically the same, right?" haha joke)

them instead innuendos using the most over the top forms of insult that no one ever heard is kinda funny but only because I only had to read them; if I ever heard somone call somebody "kutasina" irl I would find a way for at least one of us to not be able to hear anything ever again ("cockleter" is my best attempt to recreate this horseshit)

If you guys want to share some treasures from your native dubs/subs, feel free to

[readsaboutreid]

Detangling | S.R. imagine

this is just gonna be a short little imagine because i can't bring myself to write anything more right now and i could imagine spencer being the absolute best partner about a situation like this

You walk into the door and Spencer follows behind you. You hadn't spent as much time at your apartment since you and Spencer started getting serious, but your place was closer to the theater he had taken you to for a showing of a documentary on your favorite subject he had surprised you with tickets to go see.

After about 45 minutes of watching Star Trek on the couch together he asks you a question you'd been hoping he'd avoid asking. "It's really warm in here, love," he mentions, "why don't you take off that beanie?"

"I-I'm cold," you mutter, not meeting his eyes.

"You're flushed and sweating," he reasons, stroking a finger down your cheek before putting the back of his hand to your forehead. "You don't feel feverish. Is there another reason you're wearing the hat?" He asked with a knowing look in his eyes before you break down crying. "Wait no, please don't cry, I'm sorry I-I didn't mean to upset—" his panic is cut off by your sigh.

"It's okay, Spencer," you exhale shakily. "I'm just—I, uh, I've been feeling a little bit down recently and my hair is kind of a depression rats' nest." Your cheeks heat with embarrassment but you finally meet his eyes, which soften with understanding at your confession. "I've been hiding it with the hat until I can just go to a hairdresser and probably just have them cut it all off. It's what my mom used to make me do if I let my hair get this bad and it's kind of just the easiest way to make myself presentable again."

Spencer wraps you into a tight hug on the couch next to you. "What, uh, what if I were to help you so you don't have to cut it all off?" he asked softly, before hastily adding on, "unless that's what you want to do."

Next thing you know you're going into your bathroom and returning with a hairbrush and sitting down on the ground in front of him.

"I'm sorry about this, Spencer," you mumble as you wait on the ground in front of the couch, between his open legs. More tears prick your eyes from embarrassment and your lip trembles. "You shouldn't have to take time out of your day to take care of me like this."

"Hush, I won't hear any of that nonsense." Spencer chides from above you as he grabs the hairbrush you had approached him with. "I like taking care of you, and that's why I offered do this."

"But I—I'm an adult," the tears that welling in your eyes start to fall down your cheeks and your voice breaks as you pull your knees up to your chest. "I should be capable of taking care of myself by now!"

You hear Spencer sigh above you before you feel him shift around on the couch. He stands and walks around where you're seated until he's on his knees in front of you. He gently pulls your hands from your face, kissing each one of the palm softly and then holding them in his own. In his eyes you can see none of the shame or disgust you're expecting to see. Instead his eyes are filled with love, understanding, and concern.

He's quiet for a moment before reaching out to wipe your tears away gently. "Did you know that there are approximately 280 million people worldwide who suffer from depressive disorder? That doesn't even factor in those who suffer from depression as a symptom of an underlying physical or other mental illness." He leans in and kisses both of your cheeks. "I know there's no magic thing I can say to make you feel better, but just know that there's no shame in struggling. Or asking for help from those who love you."

"O-okay," you stammer as you look at him again before he stands and moves back to his spot on the couch. He slowly begins working his way through the tangles, holding your hair and pulling the brush through until eventually your hair is fully detangled and in need of a wash. "Th-thank you, Spencer."

He pulls you up and kisses your forehead before wrapping you into another tight embrace. "Never be afraid to ask for help when you need me, sweetheart," he whispers.

[ellaa-writes]

inspired by this, enjoy :) (unedited)

the bell above the door alerted you to someone entering you small little studio. It was right in the heart of downtown, use to be a bake shop. The smell of fresh bread still can be smelled if you pressed your nose up against the wall. You wiped at your furrowed brow, taking a step back to look at your latest painting. It was all wrong, you couldn't get the shading right. You abandoned your pallet and brush on the stool next to you, making sure you didn't have paint on your face as you walked to the front.

Usually Horace man's the front but he just stepped out for a smoke, leaving you alone in the studio for the next 15 mins. As you emerged from the back you looked around the small space. Not only do you sell original art work but you also sell local art work as well. It was hard to miss him, with the way he towered over everything around him. His back was turned to you and you thanked the heavens it was. You never hesitated to great someone before, your hands started to shake with nerves before you clenched them closed.

His back rippled before he turned his head back in your direction. You smiled quickly, rubbing the sweat from your palms onto your painters apron.

"Hi, sorry for the wait. Is there anything I could do for you.. Sir?" the sir came out hesitantly and nearly a whisper. His green eyes narrowed at you, taking in your form. They traveled down to your waist and back up, locking onto your own. His face softened as he flashed a smile.

"I'm in town for the weekend, thought I'd take a walk around before I saw a sign for an art studio. Do you run this place?" his voice had a thick accent but you were still able to understand him.

"Oh no, that would be Horace. He just stepped out for a minute. I just work in the back most of the time." you spoke lowly, coming around the counter to stand in front of him.

His eyes lit up at the full sight of you, your shoes were covered in many different colors on paint, fresh and old blending together. The warmth in his eyes shifted to something you couldn't quiet make out, but it did make the hairs on your arm stand straight as a small shudder rippled through your body.

"Could you tell me about this piece?" you had to step forward more has he was blocking the painting he was referring to. As it came into veiw and you could feel the heat radiating off his body the closer you got.

It was of the lake, with the mountains in the back. A soft glow from the stars bouncing off the calm waters. You painted in about 3 years ago, took you weeks too but mostly because it was mid December when you decided to trek out to the lakeshore. The black rocks surrounding the lake weren't kind to your feet those days.

"Um... sorry what was the question?" and this was exactly way you stayed in the back. You always struggled to communicate with others.

"The painting, is the artist still around?" he asked as his eyes scanned other paintings.

"Oh yes she is." you shifted from him, you need some distance to think properly. You walked over to a stack of painting, rummaging through them.

"Is it possible I could speak to... Her?" unbeknownst to you his eyes were trained in your backside. Watching as you bent over to look through the stack of painting before finding the one you were looking for.

"Sorry, speak to who?" you asked as you set the new painting next to the one he was looking at.

"The artist who made this." he pointed at the landscape in front of him.

"Oh, well. Your already speaking to her." you avoided his eyes as you looked over the twin paintings. "This one here" you pointed to the new one. "Was painted part summer, same area but different season." looking at the pink sky reflecting off of the water. You could still feel the warm breeze flowing around you.

"They are beautiful, the brush strokes ever so slight. Makes the water come alive." his voice was right behind you, you could feel his breath fanning against your ear as he leaned down to take a better look at them both.

"You have a real talent. How long have you been painting?" the bell dinged again as Horace came in, the slight smell of tobacco filling the space. You shoot him a glance as he takes in the giant.

"Sorry, didn't hear this damn bell. Been meaning to get it upgraded." Horace crossed the space and gave you a get back to work look.

"It was nice meeting you, uh-" you couldn't recall if he told you his name or not. "König, please call me König." his smile didn't quiet reach his eyes but it was big and gummy. You left the two men to make small talk. Horace was ways good at selling, even better at getting more than the asking price.

You focused back on your discarded painting. Standing back from it, looking at it like a lost map. The sound of low muffled voices wafted in, the sound of Horace too happy of a voice and the ding of the cash register. His footsteps entered into your space as he grabbed a packing box and slipped back out.

The chime of the door altering you to the departure of Mr. König.

After you finished up what you could, the sun setting behind the mountains. You gathered your belongings, slipping your purse over your shoulders.

"Horace?" you called out to the older man, and he rounded the corner to bid you far well. "Here" he reached out his hand, a small black card rested between his pointer and middle finger. "What's this?" you asked. Grabbing it and looking at the gold text.

Art Dealer

"Sold those two painting for well above the worth they are. Finally getting my moneys worth outta ya." Horace was a rough man, having taken over his father's operation begrudgingly.

"See you tomorrow!" you called out as he disappeared from view. The walk back to your small cottage wasn't far, and at this time of year the air before dusk was crisp.

You walked along the side walk, unknowingly being tailed by a sleek black car.

[terapsina]

My 5 Most Favorite Badass Middle Age & Older Ladies in various fandoms!

(because I realize they're a rare treasure that deserve some recognition)

Chrisjen Avasarala - The Expanse

The only politician I trust. Curses constantly and it's always glorious. Would have saved the solar system in five minutes if she wasn't surrounded by idiots and assholes. And a goddamn fashion icon.

Katarina Jones - 12 Monkeys

The best example of the duality of man. Like, Dr. Unethical Human Experimentation In Order to Create Time Travel and Save 7 Billion People but Actually Just One Person. Objectively The Worst. But also we all love her.

Toph Beifong - Legend of Korra

The Greatest Earthbender in the universe. Can still take upstart little dictators down a few pegs. Beats up the hero for training purposes... enjoys it a lot.

Mirror Universe Philippa Georgiou - Star Trek: Discovery

Evil. Genocidal dictator. No remorse. Unfortunately the alternate universe version of her dead adopted daughter is a goody two shoes. Typical.

Esme "Granny" Weatherwax - Discworld

I could try to describe her... or I could leave it to Sir Terry Pratchett himself:

"Witches are not by nature gregarious, at least with other witches, and they certainly don't have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders they didn't have."

&

"Granny Weatherwax was not a good loser. From her point of view, losing was something that happened to other people."

&

Granny’s implicit belief that everything should get out of her way extended to other witches, very tall trees and, on occasion, mountains.

&

We look to… the edges,' said Mistress Weatherwax. 'There’s a lot of edges, more than people know. Between life and death, this world and the next, night and day, right and wrong… an’ they need watchin’. We watch ‘em, we guard the sum of things. And we never ask for any reward. That’s important.

& finally

If anyone locked me in a dungeon, there'd be screams.

[etherealspacejelly]

ok so i just watched star trek the motion picture for the third time and this time it was the directors cut with the extra scenes, and i have some Thoughts™️that may or may not be entirely coherant but i need to share them

here is my in depth literary analysis of why star trek the motion picture is the greatest queer love story ever written (/hj). buckle up because this is gonna be a long one

so our story starts (after the klingon cold open ofc) with spock on vulcan, during the final ceremony in which he is supposed to acheive kohlinar, the purging of all emotion. now, right off the bat, i want to make a comparison to conversion therapy/being closeted/repressed here. spock is trying to repress an entire side to himself, a part of him that is inherantly different to those around him, in order to be accepted in society. spock is already a very queer coded character, and i think reading this scene through that lens is a valid interpretation, especially considering everything else that happens in this movie.

the ceremony stops before its completion. because spock has Not purged all of his emotions. a consciousness calls to him from the sky. now, i think this line could be interpreted one of two ways. either this 'consciousness' is v'ger, or its jim. i think the writers intended it to be v'ger, but in the context of the scene it sounds a lot more like jim. of course jim would be the one preventing spock from purging his emotions: jim is the reason for many of spocks emotional slip-ups throughout the series. he fears for jims life when he is in danger, he feels friendship for jim but also shame about those feelings (that shame is also queercoded, but thats not the point of this post so i wont get into it here). he feels compassion for jim. he feels loyalty and a sense of duty to him. these feelings are so strong that he cannot purge them fully.

so what does spock do? he off goes in search of something that he feels will help him achieve his goal. he wants peace within himself, to find a balance between his two opposing mindsets, that of logic and that of emotion. purging all emotion was unsuccessful, so what else can he do?

he feels that v'ger is a being of pure logic, and wants to understand it, in hopes of achieving that for himself. in the process he meets up with jim again. now, you would think, that a vulcan nearing kohlinar who has been training for years to purge all of his emotions and act purely logically would not stop to change clothes and cut his hair when on his way to acheive LITERALLY HIS LIFE GOAL that is super important to him. and yet. when spock turns up on the enterprise hes wearing his nicest black robes and has his classic bangs back. why is that mr spock?? why would you take the time to do that?? especially when he then immediately changes into his uniform.

and while we're on the topic of clothes, what does jim do immediately after spock boards the enterprise? thats right folks, he changes into a shirt that shows off his arms and has a v-neck to show off his chest. any. particular reason for that jim? when you said just a moment ago that every minute counts and the earth is in danger? hmm. interesting.

and then of course we get that exchange between jim, spock, and bones. where jim 'needs' spock. just like he needed bones. theres a desparation in his eyes, he wants HIS spock back, and hes not seeing that spock in front of him. the conversation ends with jim looking dejected, since spock only seems to be there out of convenience and not because he Wants to be. wonder why that is...

of course then spock mind melds with v'ger. and to do so he has to. go through a very sphincter-like opening. and says he has 'penetrated' the next chamber. now im just saying. if anything is a metaphor for gay sex, this has to be, right?

anyway.

spock mind melds with v'ger and is flung back into jims arms. because of course he is. and what did he learn from the whole experience? that v'ger is pure logic, and therefore cannot experience beauty, imagination, and "this simple feeling". wait. hang on. what simple feeling would that be, spock? the one you're talking about while holding jim's hand (HANDS?? VULCAN HOLDING HANDS?? HELLO???) and staring into each others eyes? what feeling would that be, i wonder?

and then. SPOCK CRIES. for v'ger. he 'weeps for v'ger as he would for a brother". v'ger is 'empty', as spock was when he came aboard. "incomplete, and searching. logic and knowledge are not enough," he says. bones asks if spock has found what he needed, and v'ger hasnt. spock says that v'ger wants to know what it was meant to be, to reach out and touch its creator.

spock is crying because he empathises with v'ger. v'gers journey parallels his own. they were both empty beings of pure logic. spock found his fulfilment in... what exactly? its not explicitly clear. but if we continue the spock/v'ger parallel to its conclusion, what do we find?

v'ger has taken ilia's form, and decker decides to merge with v'ger not only to save earth, but also to reunite with the woman he loves. v'ger becomes satisfied only when this happens. so... spock found his fulfilment by reuniting with someone he loves? if we take this in context with the 'this simple feeling' scene, the queer subtext is right there.

at the end of the movie, spock is offered to return to vulcan, and he refuses, stating that his business there is finished. he has achieved his goal of finding peace within himself. not by purging all emotion, but by embracing emotion, alongside logic, and allowing himself to feel what he has repressed his entire life. he resumes his place at jims side, which, as edith keeler stated, is where he belongs.

this movie is a queer story, and i will die on this hill. all of the evidence together stacks up that way. it is a story of repression, self acceptance, and love.

ALSO THE POSTER IS A RAINBOW-

[cherrycola27]

false god

Series Warnings: Mythology!AU. Language, alcohol, drinking. Military inaccuracies. Mutual pining, unrequited love. Allusions to and eventual smut. Minors DNI. 18+. Individual chapter warnings will come as needed. Banner Credit @thedroneranger

Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

...........................................

Chapter 6: My Type

You and Bradley were both thankful that you were at a good place again in your friendship. The two of you returned to your previous routine of your Wednesday night hangouts, and the rest of August slipped away into a moment in time. September brought you two closer together as you still danced around the line of friends or something more.

It also brought along Mickey's birthday, and after the way the last party ended, the squad was ready to have a fun night out that didn't end in chaos.

Fanboy had never outgrown his punk rock phase, and for his birthday, he asked that every attend a cover band concert La Jolla. He had gone all out and even rented a party bus to take the group to and from the venue. Unfortunately, you had plans that night and wouldn't be able to attend. You made sure to send him a nice gift, though. Mickey was over the moon when he opened the autograph Star Trek poster and immediately forgave you for missing out on the fun.

Bradley, however, was extremely disappointed in the fact that you weren't coming. He was hoping that tonight would finally be his chance to lay his feelings on the line for you, but instead, he was drinking a beer, sandwiched between Payback and Bob, while Jake and Coyote made use of the stripper poles in the bus.

When they arrived, he couldn't wait to get off and get some fresh air. He had texted you a few times, but you hadn't responded. He checked his phone again to see that his messages were still unread. He sighed in disappointment before tucking his phone away and heading inside with everyone else.

Inside, an EDM DJ was playing some throwback Coldplay while a few techs were setting up for the band. The Daggers found a section near the right side and settled in. They gave their drink orders to a waitress who winked and Mickey when she found out it was his birthday.

Moments later, she returned with drinks and the promise to come back and see if they would need anything later.

With his whiskey in hand, Bradley leaned over to Fanboy and asked, "What's the name of this band again?"

Fanboy rolled his eyes. "The Styx. They do a mix of punk rock, eighties hits, pop, and some original songs. I heard them at a festival about a year and a half ago, and I've seen them a few places here and there. I'm pretty excited to see them again, though. Their lead singer left the band about five months ago to go solo, and apparently, an old friend of the lead guitarist stepped up and has been with them. I haven't heard her, but apparently, she's way better than the old singer." Fanboy explains.

Bradley nods his head and sinks back into his chair as he and everyone else waits for the show to start.

About ten minutes later, the DJ finishes, and some filler music comes through the speakers. The owner of the bar tells everyone that the band will start shortly. More people pour in. Bradley's mind wanders to you, and what you might be doing tonight.

...............

"How's the crowd out there?" You ask Lyla as she checks over her guitar once more. "The energy is fantastic. The place is pretty packed, too." She tells you with a smile.

"Great." You sigh.

A packed house

More people to watch you fail

"Don't worry, babe, you're going to kill it like you always do!" Mariana, the drummer and Lyla's sister, tells you. "Exactly. Just relax, we've got this!" Derrick, the bass player, says to the group. "If anyone boos, I will jump off the stage and shove my keyboard down their throat." Trent, Derrick's husband tells you. You can't help but laugh. You want to say something witty back, but you hear the stage manager start to introduce the group.

You can do this

You love doing this

You're going to be great

You take a deep breath and give yourself a once over in the mirror before stepping out. You look good— really good.

Netted tights cover your legs before disappearing under your cut-off denim shorts that show off your thigh tattoos.

A cropped black vintage Bon Jovi shirt covers your torso. You've cut some of the neck out of the shirt, so the lace of your bralette underneath is visible. Layers of silver chains with charms hug your neck and cleavage. A red flannel is tied around your waist.

Heavy, black, Doc Marten boots are on your feet, and your hair is loose and wild around your face. Sultry dark makeup graces your features, and you've traded your signature cherry red pout for a sensual shade of burgundy.

Rings and bracelets adorned your fingers and wrists. You truly looked the part of a rock queen. You look like sex on legs

Maybe you should pay Bradley a visit after this was over

You were broken from your thoughts by the cheers of the crowd. You took a deep breath as the rest of the group stepped out onto the stage. It was dark, thankfully, you couldn't make any faces out, and they couldn't see you just yet.

You turned to Lyla and the rest of the band who gave you the go-ahead.

..........

The Daggers, especially Fanboy, waited with baited breath as the band set up. Bradley sat there with a fresh glass of whiskey and prayed they were as good as Fanboy had made them out to be. There was nothing worse than sitting through a shitty band.

Soon, the opening sounds of Fallout Boy's "Centuries" filled the room. The band stayed shrouded in dim lights until the opening chorus finished, and then bright lits illuminated the stage.

Fanboy screamed in excitement as he leaned over to say something to Fritz, but Bradley's eyes didn't leave the stage. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wasn't drunk. Surely, his mind had to be playing tricks on him.

Just as he was about to say something, it seemed like the entire group came to the realization at the same time.

"Oh my shit." Jake said. "It's that—"

"That's Hades." Bradley said before Jake could finish his question. "Holy shit." Bradley breathed out as he watched you on the stage.

You owned the space. You presses filled the room and demanded the attention of the crowd.

Bradley was captivated by you. He knew that he was attracted to you before. He'd tried so hard to keep his feelings pushed down, and when he kissed you, he knew he'd ruined his chances. But then—then you wanted to be his friend again, and he got the chance to fall for you all over again.

And this time, he fell harder.

Now, there was no denying his attraction for you. As he watched you on that stage, enthralled with your beauty and this new side of you he'd never seen before, Bradley couldn't help but let his mind wander.

The music continues, but now, it's all background noise to Bradley.

He isn't even sure what song you are singing right now. He's too busy watching the way your body moves to the beat and how he's sure you wore that outfit just to mess with him.

He knows that the last part isn't true because surely you didn't know that the Daggers would be here tonight. Fanboy had only asked if you were free tonight. He'd never told you the plans, but in the back of Bradley's mind, he likes to think that you wore that cropped Bon Jovi tee for him and the moment you'd shared months ago.

He watches the hem of your shirt catch on your fingertips as you drag your hands up your body and sway with the music. Bradley hasn't stopped staring at the patch of skin that is just visible between it and the waistband of your jean shorts. He is eager to know what you might have on under it and how it would look on his bedroom floor.

Maybe it was wrong of him to think it, but Bradley didn't care.

Haunting melodies poured from your wine colored lips. They weaved through the crowd and flooded his ears. Bradley was hanging onto every word you sang. His mind wandered as he wondered if his name would sound just as pretty as your songs did when it tumbled from your lips as he brought you to the peak of pleasure.

You were absolutely fearless in the way you put on a show. You worked the room and had everyone captivated. Bradley hoped that one day, he'd be able to find out if you would put on a show just for him in the privacy of his bedroom.

God, you were so fucking beautiful up there. And he knows he probably looks like an absolute ass because he has been ignoring the rest of your friends for almost the entire forty-five minutes you've been on the stage, but he can't help it.

He's so awestruck by you and this part of your life. It's another piece of the puzzle that makes you so unique and so amazing to him.

You're smart, witty, beautiful, funny, and talented on more than one front. Bradley loves that he's learned something new about you.

He wants to learn more new things about you. He wants to add more pieces to the puzzle until he has the whole picture.

He would give anything to spent eternity figuring you out.

You announce the final song of your set list, a rock cover of "Bad Romance," and Bradley finds it ironic because he would take any kind of romance with you. Good or bad.

With this being the last song, you go wild. You release all your inhibitions as you move about the stage and command the room, just like you command the sky.

Bradley has to discreetly adjust himself through his jeans because he gets distracted by the way your necklaces move.

The layers of silver chains of various lengths with charms scattered throughout them hugged your neck in the best way. Bradley didn't realize he could be jealous of a few pieces of jewelry, but as he grips his glass of whiskey tighter, he finds himself longing to replace them with his hands. He just knows that you'd look so fucking beautiful with his long fingers wrapped around your throat while he fucked you like the good girl he knows you would be for him.

Just when he thought you couldn't surprise him anymore, that night, you prove him wrong. When the bridge of the song comes up, you switch to singing in French. French? Since when did you know another language?

Now he wanted to know if you were fluent in it, and if you were, would you talk dirty to him in it. Fuck, you were still a mystery to him, in the best way.

As the song came to an end, you hit your knees for the final high note, and the entire crowd jumped up and screamed for you, the Daggers included. Bradley isn't embarrassed to say that he was definitely the loudest.

After you and the rest of the band thanked everyone for coming out and bidded the audience farewell, Bradley watched you disappear behind a black curtain.

More filler music started up as the squad sat down and looked at each other.

"So, Hades moonlights as a rockstar." Coyote said, breaking the silence of the group.

"Would it be weird if I asked her to get me an autograph from her band mates?" Fanboy asked.

"I don't think so. I just can't believe she didn't tell us." Phoenix said as she finished her beer.

"We all have things that we don't tell everyone about. Maybe she was afraid we'd make fun of her or something. Plus, have you met some of us? A few members of our group aren't the best at respecting other people's feelings." Bob said as he and everyone stared directly at Jake.

"For the last time, I apologized to her! Jeez!" Jake said as he threw his hands up in defense.

.............

Once off the stage, you downed a bottle of water and panted to catch your breath.

"We were amazing tonight!" Derrick cheers as he puts his bass away. "Hades, you killed it with the vocals!" Trent compliments you.

"I'm just glad you didn't have to fight an audience member, I doubt your husband would have bailed you out of jail—again." You needle Trent.

"Oh my gosh, it was one time, and they dropped the charges." Trent huffed.

Lyla and Mariana laugh as they put their things away. "You guys want to get a drink? To celebrate a successful show?" Mariana asks. "Absolutely. Hades, if you keep this up, we might not ever let you go!" Lyla tells you as she slings an arm around your shoulder.

"Lyla, I told you, I'm just helping you our until you can find someone to replace Candice." You tell her.

Lyla shakes her head as the five of you head out of the backstage area and to the bar. You take a seat with your back to the crowd. A few patrons come up and speak to all of you, but none linger too long. You've just put your pomegranate margarita to your lips when you hear a familiar voice call, "Well what do we have here? If it ain't Hades."

You set your drink down and spin on your stool. You're shocked when you turn around and see all twelve of your friends and coworkers standing in front of you.

"Oh my gods, what are you guys doing here?" You ask them.

"This is what I had planned for my birthday." Fanboy tells you.

"Oh, Mick, I had no idea. You should have told me, and I could have gotten you a front row spot!" You tell him.

"You could have told us you were a rockstar." Phoenix says.

You don't have a chance to respond before Lyla says, "Well, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Lyla, we were stationed together in Lemoore a few years ago. She was my wingman until she hung up her wings to be a mechanic. And this is her sister Mariana and Derrick and his husband Trent, and they are The Styx." You say.

"We are The Styx." Lyla corrects you.

After a few polite hellos, you turn to your squadron. "And guys, this is Fanboy, Payback, Halo, Omaha, Bob, Phoenix, Yale, Harvard, Fritz, Coyote, Hangman, and—Bradley." You say as you point out each one of them.

"Bradley—er—Rooster, is my new wingman." You tell your band mates.

"You are a lucky duck to be flying with her." Lyla tells Rooster. "She saved my ass several times."

"Don't let her fool you, Lyla had my back, too." You smile.

"So, Hades, how did you end up doing—this?" Bob asks you, never failing to address the elephant in the room.

"Lyla and I lived together in the barracks. We used to do karaoke on the weekends. She always played a little and decided she wanted to do music more seriously. Unfortunately, Lyla was in a training accident and shattered her left hip." You told them. You wince at that detail. It had been the one time that you weren't flying with her because an admiral had pulled you into a meeting.

"Not too long after Lyla's accident, I was transferred. We kept in touch, and she told me to call her if I was ever back in California." You told them.

"And I couldn't get back in a plane anymore after that, so I took to fixing them and playing guitar in my spare time. At an open mic night, Mariana and I met Derrick and Trent and Candice, our former lead singer. We hit it off, and The Styx was born." Lyla explains.

"But, Candice thought she was too good for us and moved to L.A. five months ago, " Mariana adds.

"Thankfully, Hades just happened to get station in San Diego. So, when she called me to catch up, I convinced her to do a show with us, and that's kind of led us here." Lyla finishes.

"Wow, that's insane." Payback says.

"Yeah, crazy." You shake your head, suddenly feeling on edge now that your work friends new more about your personal life. It wasn't that you were trying to hide this from them, but at the same time, you liked your privacy.

Secrets kept you safe

Bradley could tell that you were getting uncomfortable, so he tapped your knee to get your attention before grabbing your wrist and pulling you away from the crowd.

"You were amazing up there, Angel." He praises you as you tuck yourselves into a corner of the club.

"Thanks, maybe next time, you can join me, and we can hit them with some 'Great Balls of Fire.'" You laugh. Bradley chuckles.

A comfortable silence settles over the two of you. You both look at see the Daggers talking and drinking with your band mates.

"How did all of you get here?" You ask him.

"Fanboy got a party bus. Jake was recreating scenes from Magic Mike on the drive here when he was still half sober, I'm terrified to see what's going to happen on the way back." Bradley shutters.

"I didn't even get to have my drink, so I'm sober. I drove here, wanna ride home with me?" You offer him.

Bradley abso-fucking-lutely wanted to ride home with you. And then, when the two of you got home, he wanted to take you into his apartment, strip you down, and hear you sing for him in a different way. And he wanted you to sleep over so he could make you breakfast the next morning before he fucked you in his shower. However, he couldn't say that to you, so instead, he just said, "Yeah, Angel, that would be great."

The two of you quietly snuck out the back of the club. You had grabbed your things already. You made it to the car before Bradley, but instead of opening your door, you stood there, subconsciously waiting for him to do it. He smiled and opened the door and helped you in.

The drive back to San Diego was filled with playful banter, more singing, and flirty touches.

.............

Once you were back at your apartment complex, Bradley made sure to walk you to your door.

You wanted to invite him in, but it was late, and you were still high on adrenaline from performing, and you didn't trust yourself not to drag him to your bed. If you were going to do this with him, you were going to do it the right way.

So, you settled for a simple goodnight kiss on his cheek before tucking yourself inside your home.

After he said goodbye to you at your apartment door, Bradley bolted upstairs to his.

Tonight, he's thankful that he is your upstairs neighbor and that he has a corner unit where his bedroom doesn't share a wall with anyone.

Why? Because of the way your name sinfully falls from his lips while he touches himself and selfishly chases his release.

He's been hard for you all evening, and your flirty touches in your car on the ride home coupled with the way your soft lips felt on his cheek had him spiraling as he fists his cock.

He cums hard, spurts of it painting his hand and abs with hot white streaks. As he comes down from his high and cleans himself up, Bradley can't help but think about how his cum would look splattered on your thigh tattoo or dripping out of you. He groans, already hardening at the thought of it.

After quelling the fires of his desire with a cold shower, Bradley slips between the sheets of his bed and thinks of you and how he could make the two of you something more.

Taglist: @roosterscock @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @mayhemmanaged @wkndwlff @roosterforme @daggerspare-standingby @dakotakazansky @startrekfangirl2233 @hecate-steps-on-me @cassiemitchell @na-ta-sh-aa @katieshook02 @desert-fern @je-suis-prest-rachel @soulmates8 @sometimesanalice @diorrfairy @eli2447 @xoxabs88xox @djs8891 @roosters-girl @sebsxphia @rosiahills22 @dempy @callsign-magnolia @alchemxx @gretagerwigsmuse @withahappyrefrain @lt-spork @multifandomlover4life @beccaanne814 @bradshawsbaby @seitmai @kmc1989 @bcarolinablr @roosterisdaddy36 @itsdesiree86 @waywardhunter95 @hisredheadedgoddess28 @whatislovevavy @asshlyyyy @inkandarsenic @lillyrosenight @tomanybandstolove @jiminie-08 @dingochef @laracrofted

[worldsetfree]

Stardust Crusaders × F!Reader: Halcyon and On and On

(+ a bonus character card in this booster pack!)

Around the World in Eighty Days is what Joseph Joestar compared this trip to, and hooh boy, you are really feeling that right now. It's been a non-stop bizarre whirlwind trek across the globe, and yet somehow you've found a few minutes to breathe. Maybe the next train isn't for a few hours, or the group needed to split up to get supplies for the next leg of the journey, but regardless you've decided to spend this precious downtime with the person closest to your heart.

(Feedback is welcome. This is my first time posting this type of content, and I'm still playing with the formatting.)

I. THE MAGICIAN

There's something about a good street market that excites Muhammad Avdol so much. He loves experiencing the culture of the places you're traveling through, and for him, the markets are the best way to do that.

Doubly so if it's with you. Link arms, hold hands, whatever you want. Avdol is happy to bask in your presence.

He wants to impress you with his knowledge! He'll be your tour guide through these busy streets. He makes it look effortless.

He really likes books! If you find a bookstore or a stall selling old tomes, the flame in his heart will burn just a bit brighter for you.

V. THE HIEROPHANT

He is a bit shy, but my God is Kakyoin Noriaki happy to spend time with you.

Really wants to do something very specific to the area with you. Visit a famous landmark, try the local cuisine. He read about it in a travel book once. This boy really values sharing these experiences with you.

Kakyoin will do anything to see your smile. He's the type to buy you pretty things that he spots in the street. Jewelry, mementos... he's really sweet. Notices your style, tries to work with that. Will spend irresponsibly, bless his heart.

Find him something in return and he'll be a mess. Nobody's ever treated him quite like you. He doesn't know how to handle it, but it makes his heart melt.

VII. THE CHARIOT

Jean Pierre Polnareff will talk your ear off in two languages. Mostly showering you with compliments. And complaining, as is par for the course.

Wander the streets together in search of food, some shade, or a good bathroom. He has needs, you know? He's thankful for your company on this little quest of his. Makes him feel important to you.

He'll find some way to spoil you, of course. Flowers, a salon. Let him treat you right, belle! He's always looking for excuses to pamper you. And always hoping you'll reward him with a kiss!

I'm so sorry, but you're running into a Stand User. It's Polnareff, what did you expect? At least he'll keep you safe. Il est vraiment désolé, chérie!

IX. THE HERMIT

Watch this silver fox try to barter like he thinks he knows what he's doing. Joseph Joestar has travelled the world, he's got this! (He doesn't)

OH MY GOD! Is that American cuisine? He is either excited by it or absolutely furious (see: hot cola in Hong Kong). Has a lot of good trivia and insight about whatever he's discovered.

Rambles about this kind of thing specifically to make these strange and far-off places feel a little bit more familiar for you. He knows it's been a stressful trip.

But you've noticed the stress wearing him down too, so you tell the boys to handle the usual errands and take the time to get a bite to eat with Joseph. He's very grateful for the impromptu date.

XVII. THE STAR

On the outside, Kujo Jotaro is perpetually cool and mildly disinterested. Of the group, he is the most likely to want to stay put. But you want to explore? Good grief. He'd better come with you so you don't get into trouble.

Inside, his heart is hammering like he's about to beat down a Stand User. This is all so new and exciting, it's making him nervous. What does he even say??? Fuck, he's out of his element here!

You'll complete an errand and wander aimlessly, silently enjoying each other's company. Maybe you'll end up by the beach. You're looking out at the sunlight shimmering on the water and he's... watching you.

He might not understand what he's feeling in that moment, but someday he will. Love hits a Joestar particularly hard, his grandpa told him once. He'll never forget how beautiful you looked.

0. THE FOOL

(Platonic, he is a dog. I shouldn't have to explain this.)

Fuck you, Iggy goes where he pleases.

You're gonna be cleaning up the mess he leaves in his wake, or chasing after him.

He stole kebab from a child. You're mortified.

You're just gonna wait at the hotel next time.

Bonus Card:

XXI. THE WORLD (uh oh)

Hopefully you caught him in a good mood. Ah, but your presence is almost always enough to lift DIO's spirits.

Do you believe in gravity? (I'm only half-kidding.) He loves to talk philosophy like this with you. Your perspective is both intriguing and amusing to him.

He's surprisingly chatty with you. He's missed what, the past 100 years? He has so many questions for you. Civilization changed so much, and you are one of the lucky few he can trust with his idle curiousities.

Just don't bore him, or else.

[t00thpasteface]

just watched the....... second half(?) of the mash movie earlier—i set it up to record so it's fine that i missed part of it—man, i was not expecting THEEEEEE radar o'reilly to show up in it and i was like oh haha short character with glasses that must be radar haha wait wAIT HANG ON A DAMN MINUTE THATS ACTUALLY RADAR O'REILLY WHAT THE FU—

AND THEN I LEARN THAT FUCKING RENÉ AUBERJONOIS PLAYED FATHER MULCAHY?????? AND ROBERT DUVALL WAS FRANK BURNS??????? AND BUD CORT WAS THERE TOO????????????? WHO WASN'T IN THIS DAMN MOVIE HOLY FUCK

honestly i was half expecting alan alda or patrick stewart or idfk harrison ford to show up and be like "hey" and then never be seen again

sorry for dumping all this in your inbox i just wasn't expecting a crossover event in my black comedy film lol

i can't wait to watch the whole thing

SNGJDFNJG radar being the one consistency is so funny. radar is so IMPISH in the movie!!! it definitely shows up in the show too but he's a fucking RASCAL in the movie. he's the one who put the mic under houlihan's bed AND he "found a donor" during a blood shortage by "volunteering" henry for it. also his line about "oh captain pierce just asked major burns a question about anatomy!" explanation to henry right before the Final Frank Freakout is fucking g-o-l-d.

YEAH RENE AUBERJONOIS... I STILL AM LIKE. LOL???? small world man. when mom told me the actors i recognized that name as Odo Star Trek but i had totally forgotten he's ALSO MR. HOUSE? like. i do not think you could get two more polar opposite characters than father "dago red" mulcahy and mister bobby house. and my god he's just so precious in the movie. like, show mulcahy already just sounds like he's on the verge of tears (love him MWAH) but movie mulcahy already LOOKS like he's crying. and movie hawkeye is so much more of a jackass but mulcahy still knows to count on him when he needs to. i could go on. i think i already have gone on in other posts.

i'm insane. do not even breathe the vaguest whisper of father mulcahy to me if you want a response under 100 words. what the fucking hell were we talking about

[starcrossedxwriter]

Built for Love Part 7 (MBJ x Famous Black OC)

A/N: no warnings… just lots of cuteness, fluff and a side of smut :)

“So Charlotte, this is your first major film and you got to work alongside veterans in the industry like Michael,” the interviewer, Janelle, gestured toward Michael, who sat next to Charlotte, “And Sylvester Stallone. What was that like for you?” 

Charlotte immediately threw a glance and sweet smile toward Michael. “Oh it was so much fun. Really like showing up to a master class in acting every single day. I loved every minute of it. You know they were both so welcoming and warm and really made the set fun but also were more than happy to show me the ropes and give me a boost when I needed it. And this one,” she rubbed Michael’s knee, her smile growing from a professional small one to the bright wide smile he adored, the one that brightened every single day he was with her, causing his lips to curl into one as well. Her hand remained perched right above his knee, resting lazily as she continued speaking. “He really has a way about him that makes you feel so at ease and comfortable on set and in his presence in general. And he just went above and beyond to be an amazing and supportive scene partner. So it was great, I learned a lot from them.”

“And Michael, how was it working with Charlotte?” 

Michael’s hand went to rest on hers, squeezing it lightly as he showered well deserved praise on the love of his life. “I would echo what she said. But I think we all learned a lot more from her than she did from us. I mean I know she’s gonna have a long and successful career and anyone who gets to work with her will be extremely lucky. Because her process is just crazy and makes mine look like child’s play.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes with a smile. If she could’ve, she would’ve blushed. Though a Michael could see her skin flush red with embarrassment at his showering of kind words. “He’s exaggerating.” 

“Nahhh I’m not. I think bringing her experience from the theater, which I don’t have, really was, you know, interesting to see. Not only is she just a fun person to have on set, but she really is a student of this craft and you can see it in how she moves around the set. And not just of the script or source material, but of the other actors as well. You know I’d be doing a scene and she’d be on the side just watching, studying us. And she really gets to know you, your quirks, your tells, and she’s able to respond to them in the moment. If I wanted to go somewhere left field, I just did and she would be right there with me, no hesitation or anything. And I really only see that in people like Sly who’ve been doing this for decades and decades. For someone our age, it’s just talent and art I’ve never seen before. She’s just one of a kind.” 

He eyed her and the way she intently studied the black fabric of her dress, the way both of her cheeks flushed red with humility and embarrassment, how she chewed on her bottom lip to keep from grimacing at the praise, praise she did not hear enough and was not used to in his opinion.

 “And she’s crazy humble so I know she hates everything I just said,” he chuckled, elbowing her gently. 

Sure enough, one hand covered her face with embarrassment, Michael squeezing the other before turning his attention back to the interviewer. 

Though they had agreed not to tell people they were dating yet, the pair found the casting of “platonic co-stars” to be their most difficult roles yet. The subtle touches that passed between them were as thoughtless as breathing, second nature that they could not turn off and did not often realize what was happening until skin was against skin. Charlotte was hyper aware of every touch, every stroke of his fingertips that left a trail of heat painting the path he trekked. It was not always a sexual heat, sometimes it was more of a comforting warmth like a sip of hot cocoa in the winter, a warmth that lingers and makes you want ease into it. She craved that type of touch above all because she saw the intention behind them, nonverbal reminders that he was near, that his touch would always be gentle and safe, and that her guards could crumble. And many times, his touch set her body ablaze, leaving an inferno of desire and need etched into every inch of her skin. And those were the touches that she fought to resist, fought to remember the role she was meant to play. After all, platonic co-stars do not study each other as if they are waiting for the first private moment to rip each other’s clothes off. 

“I love how you both talk about each other and your work ethic. I think that is really great to see. So we are gonna play a quick game. To see how in tune you are with your characters. ” The interviewer reached into her bag and pulled out two paddles with their characters’ names on either side. “I’m gonna read the statement and you tell me who is more likely to do that thing or who would be better at whatever it is, Bianca or Adonis.” 

“Sounds easy enough.” 

“Ok so who would plan the better date? Bianca or Adonis?” 

Both of them raised the side that said Adonis. They glanced down at each other’s answer before nodding. 

“Yea I think Donnie is a bit more of a romantic than Bianca,” Charlotte supplied. 

“Yea but I think Bianca would show Donnie a better night out. He doesn’t get out much and being a singer, she probably knows all the local spots.” 

“Who are you most likely to call in an emergency?” 

Charlotte raised the paddle with her own character’s name, immediately busting out into laughter as she saw Michael raise Donnie’s. 

“Absolutely not! Just like I wouldn’t call you in an emergency,” she laughed, gesturing at Michael. 

“What?? I’m great in an emergency!” He immediately defended himself though his tone was playful because he knew she was right. 

“Maybe if the emergency happened like right in front of you. Like you know, if someone gets hurt or something like that, you have a great… super comforting and calming presence. But he literally doesn’t really answer his phone. So if someone were injured, they’d call him 8 times, go to the hospital, be totally healed, and two months later, he’d be like ‘aye what happened that time you called me?’” Her voice dropped down a bit to an unexpected but excellent impression of him that caused his body to double over in laughter, leaning into hers as they both laughed for several minutes before they calmed down enough to continue the interview, Charlotte wiping literal tears from her eyes.  

“Y-yea I’m really bad at calling people back. I got like five people who I’ll call back immediately and that’s about it. But I think Donnie would be good in an emergency. He’s got these hands,” Michael threw up a couple playful jabs, Charlotte playfully dodging them. “He’d be good at whatever you threw at him.” 

“I still say Bianca,” she shrugged with a smile. “That’s my girl, I gotta stand by her. So let’s say they’re equal.” 

“Who’d win in a fight?” 

Both of them immediately picked Adonis. 

“Did you learn any boxing moves while you were on set, Charlotte?” Janelle asked, pausing the game briefly. 

“A couple actually. I was against learning for most of our time on set,” she admitted, not that the fighting and learning how to defend herself did not intrigue her. She just always talked herself out of it when Michael offered. “But this one,” she pointed at Michael,” is quite persuasive and a great teacher so he finally got me in the ring randomly one afternoon while we were waiting around during our last couple weeks.” 

“So if we put you both in the ring, who would win?” 

“Me,” she answered immediately as if the answer was obvious. 

“Only because I’d let her. But she would gloat about it like she earned it fair and square,” he teased. 

“Very true! He let me win a lot but I just took it to mean he recognized my superior skill as a boxer and knew he didn’t stand a chance? So it must be true.”

“Of course,” Janelle joked with them, their banter providing great content for her interview. “Ok back to the game, who has the better Spotify playlist?” 

Once again, their opinions were split, each choosing their own characters though she could tell Michael hesitated. 

“Oh come onnnn,” her fingers gripped his forearm, shaking him lightly. “Bianca, easy. Music’s her whole life and you know she knows about all the good artists before they’re popular.”  

“Touche. Alrightly,” he flipped his paddle to her character’s name, Charlotte offering him a sweet ‘thank you’ for recognizing her character’s superior talent. 

“Who is the better cook?” 

Both of them stared down at their paddles before glancing at each other and laughing. 

“Ok so funny enough, we had this conversation on set a-” 

“We don’t think it’s either of them. Bianca gives strong quick meals and take out energy,” Michael interjected. 

“And we think Adonis is a boring meal prep or take out type of guy. Chicken breasts, rice, rinse repeat. Maybe they’ll learn how to cook together?” She offered with a shrug. 

Michael let out a soft noise in the affirmative. 

“Ok and lastly, who would confess their feelings to the other first?”

They both held up Adonis. 

“I think that’s a really hard one though and could go either way. I think they both are terrible at letting people in,” Charlotte laughed. “But when it comes to love, Bianca might be a bit more guarded than Donnie whereas Donnie is more guarded about everything else like his past, his career, and all that. So I think when pushed for an answer, Donnie’s gonna cave a lot faster than Bianca.” 

“Agreed. I think feelings and vulnerability aren’t easy for either of them though, which you know brings some fun conflict to the movie and in their budding relationship.” 

“Amazing, well I want to thank you both. This was a lot of fun and I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me.” 

“Thank you!” 

“Appreciate you.” 

The interview left, both of them immediately sagging back in their seats for a brief moment as the room turned over for the next interviewer. 

Charlotte rolled her neck, massaging her shoulder, an action that was immediately noticed by Michael who moved her hand out of the way to give her a firmer touch. 

“You’re doing great, Els,” he offered quietly.

“You weren’t lying,” she whispered. 

“About?” 

“How tedious this is. J-just the same questions after the same questions after the most random games. And we have like 8 more of these. It’s not so bad with you but the ones by myself? Fucking torture.” She was thankful there was no camera watching as her eyes lulled closed and she savored the firm massaging Michael provided. She had to stifle a moan that almost escaped her lips, the noise pettering out into a strangled sigh, as his ministrations hit a tense spot on her shoulder.

He dipped his head to her ear farthest away from the folks around the room, his breath tickled her ear and sent electricity through her. 

“Easy, Els…” two short words in a deep breathy whisper that signaled he knew what that sound originally was, a whisper that made desire pool between her thighs. 

“I hate you,” she whispered back with a shake of her head. 

And as quickly as their hidden moment started, she felt his hands drop to his sides, her shoulders suddenly feeling cold and deprived without his touch. A new camera crew and interviewer started to stroll in, forcing her to roll her shoulder, fix her face, and ignore the ache that he caused and only he could remedy. 

This is gonna be a long day, she uttered silently as she plastered a fake smile on her face for the next interviewer. 

***

“Hey, I’m Michael B. Jordan.” 

“And I’m Charlotte Bennett and we are playing, ‘How Well Do You Know Your Co-star?’”

“You ready?” 

“Born ready,” she joked. “I feel like this game was kinda made for us?” The pair completely ignored the cameras as they started pulling questions out of a bowl, each taking turns answering questions about each other’s careers and lives. 

Truth be told, this game would be the easiest of their press tour game-style interviews. Buzzfeed did not know this, of course, but since the pair was dating, they knew almost everything there was to know about each other. 

“Ok, I’ll pull first.” Her manicured nail reached into the bowl, searching deep for a question. “Oh this is actually a hard one. Where did I get my middle name?” She waved the little piece of paper before glancing away from Michael and to the camera. “I feel like this question is super pointed,” she laughed. “Like someone at Buzzfeed clearly wants that story themselves.”  

Michael let out a laugh. “Come on Els,” he shook her knee as he emphasized her nickname. “You gotta give me a harder one than that.” 

“That is hard! We talked about it being a weird name because-” 

“It’s German but no one in your family is German,” he interjected. 

“Yes but I don’t think we ever discussed how they picked it.” 

“We didn’t but I still know the answer.” At her shocked expression, Michael could only smirk. Of course he knew the origins of his favorite nickname for her. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t? “Your mom was a European history professor and read it in a book about the history of art in Germany and fell in love with it. But your pops hated it because…” 

“He knew his daughter was a black woman.”

“Which is fair. So they made it your middle name, combined with your first name, which was your great grandmother’s name on your dad’s side.”

“Wow, that’s insane. I’ve literally never told you that story! Because I hate the name so much,” she eyed him suspiciously, desperate to know how he managed that. “How’d you find that out?” 

“I’d never reveal my sources,” he winked at her. 

However, the wink gave him away. She immediately rolled her eyes, “My brother?” 

“For sure.” 

“I don’t know if I really like how close y’all have gotten??” And it was true, since officially meeting Jackson, the two couples hung out quite a lot and Charlotte was shocked to find out that Michael and Jackson hung out on their own time. “Ok, if you got that one, then you’re gonna get every other one in this bowl. Your turn.” 

“How’d I get into acting?” 

“A talent agent saw you and your mom at an appointment and encouraged her to sign you up for modeling. And then you got into acting and became a superstar.” 

“Correct.” 

“What’s my biggest pet peeve?” 

“Tardiness,” he answered immediately. “Which means she hates Hollywood and me because I’m literally never on time.” 

“Also correct. This man is literally allergic to being on time. The only place he’s on time to is set and he rolls in like right at call time. Everything else?” She waved her hand dismissively. “You can forget about it.”

“She always got jokes. Alright. Oh this is hard. What was my first TV role?” 

“Oh… darn… I know this! Don’t tell me.” Her hand went to rest on his forearm, her fingers drawing lazy patterns as she racked her brain for her store of Michael B Jordan knowledge. “Ummm… ok. I have to do it based on the Wire. Sweet sweet Wallace, RIP by the way, was the first major TV role. But little known fact, you had a small role in one episode of the Sopranos like 2 or 3 years before the Wire. And then I think you did one more guest role on a show, maybe Cosby, before you landed the Wire.” 

“Ooooo baby girl!” They high fived, their hands staying together for a few moments while he spoke. “That’s really good! Everyone assumes it was the Wire, which she just watched like two years ago by the way, y’all.”

Charlotte gasped and threw one of her pieces of paper at him, which completely missed him much to his amusement before covering her face in embarrassment. 

“They are gonna drag me on Twitter all week. Can we edit that out??” She asked production behind the camera to which they laughed and shook their heads. 

“Ok in her defense, she is actually not a big tv watcher at all unlike me. But I don’t think I ever found out why?” 

“Ummm, I dunno. Just was always busy in the evenings, missed a lot of primetime tv so I just never really got into it. Since streaming’s picked up, I’ve found my way to all the cultural phenomenon shows I missed, like the Wire. I’d seen episodes randomly because my brothers watched it but I just binged like the entire show two years ago.” 

“Oh another one, I just put her on to Game of Thrones like last week,” he added with a teasing tone, not giving her a break. He never did.  

“You’re making it worseeeee,” she moaned. “Gotta stop telling the people the shows I just discovered. He loves embarrassing me and making fun of me, y’all. I’m pretty far on GoT though for us to have just started it. Just started season 3, which Michael is on pins and needles for me to get to some episode about a wedding?” Michael threw a knowing glance at the camera before turning back to her. “But yea not a big tv watcher. Alright, next one,” she desperately wanted to move the subject away from her lack of TV knowledge. “What is my favorite food?” 

“My bolognese.” 

She made the buzzing sound just to annoy him. “Wrong answer!” 

At his faux offended look, she stuck her tongue out at him like a child. “That’s what you get for trying to get my black card revoked by the entire internet.” 

“She does really love my Bolognese,” she mouthed ‘I do’ at the camera as he spoke. “But I think her actual favorite food is pizza, particularly meat lovers pizza.” 

“Yes. Anytime, anywhere. I’ll always choose pizza.” 

“What is my favorite sport to watch and which team?” 

“Easy! Basketball, the Lakers, you have courtside seats and have a Kobe jersey hanging in your house. Speaking of, you still owe me a game.” 

“Name the time and place, baby girl.”

“What’s my dream role?” 

“Elphaba from Wicked.” 

She could not help but offer him a soft small smile, their banter dying as she remembered the first night they went out in Philly and she told him that, the first time she had to contend with the fact that her feelings for him stretched far beyond co-stars. He had been so interested in her, her career and her dreams. She had just been talking, never expecting him to hold onto that information after so long.  

“I told you that like the first time we went out to dinner on set. How do you remember that?” 

He merely shrugged and threw her a sly smirk that sent shivers down her spine. “I remember everything you tell me.” 

His words were colored with love and adoration, she could hear it and feel it. For a moment, she could tell they both forgot the cameras were rolling and that there was a small audience as her heart swelled. 

He cleared his throat, breaking the trance as he remembered they were not alone, before grabbing another piece of paper. “Umm… ok, soft ball, when’s my birthday?” 

She made a face and noise that signaled this question was beneath her expert level of Michael knowledge.

“February 9, he’s an Aquarius. This is a good mix of easy and hard questions.” She reached into the bowl. “What’s my favorite song?”

“Ummm Sweet Love by Anita Baker. You listen to it at least once a day.” 

“Very good, Mr. Jordan.” 

“Sing a couple bars.” 

Charlotte immediately shook her head. “No, no, no, no. You aren’t gonna get me caught up on this one. No one, and I mean no one, can do it like THE Ms. Anita Baker. I wouldn’t dare try.” 

“She’s being hella modest. Come on… you sang it at karaoke that time in Philly and got a standing ovation. It was flawless. Sing just the chorus and I’ll make you the bolognese when we get back to LA.”

Charlotte knew she could not retort that he was going to do that regardless, which was true. A well placed kiss or two was going to get her that bolognese either way. So she groaned, knowing she could not say no as the folks behind the camera also encouraged her to sing. 

“He knows I’m a sucker for that meal. Ugh. Loves for me to be his personal jukebox.” 

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, knowing if she looked at him while she sang this particular song, she would give it all away. 

With all my heart, I love you, baby

Stay with me and you will see

My arms will hold you, baby

Never leave, 'cause I believe I'm in love

Michael’s face immediately lit up as her flawless and smooth voice filled his ears. He loved to hear her sing, her voice was mesmerizing, a siren that controlled the waters of his soul and put his entire being at ease every time he heard her voice. She sang to him sometimes while they laid in bed, this song and others, and he never grew tired of it and believed he never would. 

Sweet love

Hear me callin' out your name

I feel no shame

I'm in love, sweet love

Don't you ever go away

It'll always be this way

She offered him a smirk as the last note left her mouth, both of them remembering the last time she sang that to him, their bodies a tangled mess as they cuddled in his bed.

Her heart soared at the applause she could hear from behind the cameras from the Buzzfeed staff and their team. She did a mini bow before the pair continued to answer two more questions before they heard “cut.” 

Michael helped Charlotte get down from her seat, her skirt a bit too short for the high chairs they had put out for both of them. She could tell his hands fought the urge to find their way up that short skirt. Anytime a camera was not trained on him, she could feel his eyes on her, drinking in her toned thighs and ass. 

Through all the events and interviews of the day, she desired nothing more than to feel those calloused hands against her smooth exposed skin. But she knew she had to wait, as always. The facade slipped occasionally for both of them throughout the long days. However, they knew when they were finally allowed to be them, and when they did, they could not keep their hands off each other. 

***

“Fuck. J-Just like that, don’t stop, don’t stop,” Charlotte begged as she pressed her fingertips into the floor, Michael fucking her from behind as he kept her hinged at the waist. She was barely maintaining her balance on her feet, his hands digging into her hips were the only thing that kept her from toppling over. However, they both chased their release with desperation, desperation to be one again, to feel each other in the most intimate ways. 

She loved the feeling, the snap of his hips against her ass, the way he spanked her, causing her ass to ripple lightly. If someone had asked her years ago, she would have scoffed at the idea that she would enjoy that during sex but she did… with him. Because his touch was still him, still safe, gentle and cautious. He was rough, at times, during sex, and used a firm hand but his touch managed to still maintain the rounded edges of tenderness to them, the caution of someone who knew the limit and would never cross it for sport or even come close to it. So she trusted his touch, trusted his actions, which always ensured his dominance in the bedroom bent toward her pleasure first and foremost. 

“Keep your eyes on the mirror for me, baby,” he ordered, his words loving but his tone left no room for arguments. She lifted her head to the floor to the long mirror in the hotel room to watch him fuck her.

She had never really seen herself in the throes of passion, shocked at how wild and uninhibited she looked. It was a difficult task to keep her eyes where he wanted them though, each stroke made her eyes want to roll back into her head or fall closed, the pleasure otherworldly and intense.  

“You look so fuckin’ beautiful taking my dick, baby. You gonna cum for me?” 

Charlotte was a blubbering mess, her words shallow and broken into pieces by her moans and pants of pleasure. Meanwhile, he always appeared unruffled, complete sentences flowing without issue.

“Y-Yes,” she could feel it, the precious peak of her orgasm. When she finally revealed to Michael one night that he made her orgasm for the first time, he seemed to take it as his personal mission to ensure she never went without again. And she hadn’t. Every time he nestled himself between her thighs, every time he touched her, she reached her mountain top. Every single time. 

“Watch yourself cum, baby.” As the instructions left his mouth, he increased his speed, slamming his hips into her with the force and strength of a superhero. 

Michael loved to watch Charlotte come undone, savored the faces she made and the way she screamed his name as pleasure coursed through her. This mirror allowed him to enjoy his favorite position with the perfect view of her. 

As soon as her eyes connected with his, her body shook with the force and strength of her orgasm. Michael continued his relentless pace as she came, reaching his own peak as he felt her tighten around him. 

He gently helped her over to the bed, Charlotte collapsing there. He placed soft kisses on her back for a moment before going to grab a towel to clean them both up. 

She took a moment before pushing herself up onto her forearms, her eyes brimming with lust as they followed his naked body through his hotel room. 

“Don’t get any ideas,” he warned, his tone not conveying any real seriousness. “We gotta go to bed. Our flight back is early as hell tomorrow.” 

“Ugh fine. I know,” she pouted. They were on the first flight back to LA tomorrow for another long day of press before the premiere. “If we go another round, I’ll definitely just fall asleep in here.” Her face planted into the bed for a moment, Michael chuckling at her dramatic but adorable antics. 

“Would sleeping next to me be so bad?” He asked as he laid next to her on the bed, more sensual and soft kisses pressing against her back. 

She moaned, painfully pulling herself away from him and his touch. “Now who has all the bad ideas?” She asked as she rolled away from him to grab her clothes. “Sleeping next to you is my preferred spot. I sleep far better with you,” she added under her breath though Michael caught it and clocked it for later. “But we don’t want a guest or housekeeping or anyone seeing me traipse outta here like a one-night stand. Platonic co-stars, remember?”

Michael sighed and nodded. He had agreed to this course before they left for Philly to start press but he did not realize how difficult it would be or feel in practice. It was a mutual decision, neither of the actors in them ready to burst the sweet bubble that was their ultra private relationship just yet. However, the regular guy in him who was madly in love with his girlfriend wanted to shout it from the rooftops. He wanted to post photos of them on Instagram and talk freely about his girlfriend. As ridiculous and corny as his friends would call him for feeling that way. In every interview, he wanted to praise her performance, work ethic, talent, not just as her co-worker, but as the man lucky to be with her. But he also understood that going public meant subjecting Charlotte and himself to scrutiny they did not want or need. 

“I know, I know. Just you leaving after I nut makes me feel like we’re a booty call. I miss sleeping next to you. I miss touching on you all the time.” 

She smiled and stood between his knees as he sat up. 

“You still touch on me quite a lot, according to Twitter,” she laughed as they recalled an intervention style meeting their teams had with them the day before about the fascinating and hilarious Twitter discourse on whether their great chemistry in interviews was truly platonic.

So they had tried to keep their hands to themselves throughout that day. However, all that did was rack up the sexual tension between them to such heights, even his utterly platonic touches created flames across her skin. They barely made it through dinner two hours prior before they stumbled up to Michael’s room and fucked for hours. His entryway was a blur of discarded clothes that marked a trail to his bed. 

“And it ain’t enough.” 

She rolled her eyes and kissed his forehead before resuming her search for her panties. She let out a disgruntled huff of annoyance. 

“Seriously, though… maybe we should think about just announcing it ourselves and getting it over- UGH.” 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Can’t find my damn underwear.” At his snickers, she let out a pitiful moan. “Not funny, Bakari. Help me,” she pleaded with a dramatic whine that had him searching his bedroom. He had no idea where he threw them off, having likely tossed them somewhere when they left her body. “But yea, the team might have a point that we should just announce it. If we don’t, it’ll leak eventually. I feel like saying it how we want to matters. People seem to think they got us figured out anyway. And we aren’t doing a very good job of hiding certain feelings.” 

He nodded, unable to argue with her on that point as he handed her the rest of her outfit. She now had her bra, dress, jacket, spanx and still no underwear to be found. 

“What do you think?” 

He sighed. “I think I like living in our bubble, the quiet of it. But I also don’t like hiding who I love. I mean we can’ hide it forever and why should we? I mean think about how much more fun this tour would be if we weren’t worried about saying the wrong thing or keeping up some dumb ass facade. I want to enjoy this time with you as you, my girl. Not just my coworker.” 

She nodded, finally giving up her search with a defeated shrug. “You sure? You’re gonna break hearts all across the globe.” 

He shrugged, his arms stretching out as he yawned, so deep Charlotte felt the exhaustion settle in her own bones. It made her move a bit faster to get out of his hair so he can rest. 

“They’ll find a new sexier guy and their hearts will mend.” 

She slid on her shoes before walking up to him. Even in her heels she had to stretch a bit to reach his lips. She pressed her lips to his, biting his lower lip before backing away and walking toward the door. 

“There’s no one sexier, baby,” she offered with a wink. 

He smiled and grabbed her purse for her, a lacy piece of fabric falling off of the side as he moved it. 

“Ah. Think I found them. But I don’t think they’re wearable?” 

“What do you me-?” Her words stopped as he held them up, the beautiful black, delicate lace torn apart by the brute strength of a boxer. 

“Seriously dude??” Her annoyance was clear even as lust curled in her belly. She could not tell if she was upset he kept accidentally destroying her most delicate lace items or if she was so turned on by his soft but commanding strength that she wanted to strip down for round 5. “You and those damn muscles.” She held out her hand for the destroyed piece of clothing and tossed it into the trash. “Please skip arm day before you destroy any more of my clothes.”

“If I skip arm day, how else could I do this?” He hoisted her up in the air with ease like she weighed nothing, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist as he backed her into the wall. 

His firm grip on her bare ass beneath her dress made her moan as he buried his head into her neck and sucked on every inch of soft skin he could find. 

“T-touche,” she moaned. “A-and not fair.” However, he had her right where he wanted her, one rogue finger already able to feel the wetness pooling between her thighs. She moaned as that finger caressed her clit. She knew she was not making it to her hotel room anytime soon. 

“We can sleep on the plane,” he muttered as he felt himself growing hard again. Charlotte could do nothing but cling to his shoulders and cry out in utter bliss as he entered her in one swift motion, filling her to the brim, fucking her against the wall. This time, she could see their reflection in the window and he did not need to command her to watch as she took in his perfect back muscles as he thrust in and out of her. 

By the time they finished, Charlotte was resigned to falling asleep in Michael’s arms, wanting to get good rest in the arms of the man she loved more than caring whether a housekeeper or rogue person with a camera caught her leaving. She just planned to sneak off a bit early to her room so they did not leave together. She was thankful she had the foresight to pack that morning so she would have minimal things to deal with tomorrow. As she settled on his chest, she heard his voice break the silence around them.

“Be my date to the premiere.” 

Charlotte knew it was a question, even if he did not phrase it as one, and a return to their earlier conversation. She propped herself up to look him in the eyes. 

“You sure? Once we go down that road…” 

“Without a doubt. I don’t want to hide what we have. We ain’t gotta tell people everything but we also don’t gotta hide.” 

She smiled and kissed him before settling back on his chest. 

“Yes.” 

Though they could not see each other, both of them fell asleep with soft smiles on their faces. 

***

Michael’s hand grasped Charlotte’s, an effort to stop her fidgeting as their limo took them to the premiere.

“It’ll be fun, babe. Just some photos, a couple interviews and then we get to finally see the film.” He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, the uneasy waters in Charlotte’s body relaxing to a soft rapids. “Relax.” 

She nodded. “I know, I know.” 

He eyed her for a moment. “You know we can just walk as co-stars. We don’t have to announce it or do anything tonight if you aren’t ready for it. I know it’s an adjustment.” 

She shook her head immediately, sliding closer to him. “That’s not it at all. I want to be beside you tonight as your girlfriend. I just…” she shook her head before sliding back into her seat, her insecurities flaring. However, she stomped them back. She did not even want to give voice to them, they seemed so foolish. “Never mind.” 

“You know I hate when you do that,” he chuckled, his hand rubbing her thigh. “Tell me. No embarrassment and no judgment.” 

She leaned her head back, careful to not disturb her team’s hard work. 

“I’m just worried about what people will say… with me on your arm,” she muttered, her voice small. Michael picked up on the tone as if there was something wrong with her. 

“What’s wrong with you on my arm?” 

She let out a merciless chuckle as if the answer was obvious. “You’re practically every woman’s wet dream, Michael. A-and I’m just…” 

“Just what?” 

“Just… me. Nothing particularly special,” she muttered, the insecurities she still could not shake flowing from her. She knew he saw her differently, and loved him for it. But the rest of the world? No one knew how they would see her and that terrified her. 

“I think there are plenty of people who’d disagree with that. But trust me when I say that I don’t care what a single person out there thinks… All I care about is what you think, what you believe. And I want you to believe you deserve all of this. Not just me,” his finger tilted her chin to meet his eye. “But praise, attention, and this moment. This premiere is as much yours as it is mine. And one of the reasons we decided to go together was to celebrate us and how far we’ve come, personally and professionally since we met. So for tonight, don’t think about what anyone else thinks o-or any of the other shit. Think about what you know and what I know. And that’s that you are beautiful and talented and any guy would be lucky to have you on their arm.” He snickered. “But they can’t because I got you.”

His last statement made a small chuckle escape her lips. “You always know what to say… it’s as infuriating as it is charming, you know?” 

“Yea I know. Listen, I'm with you every step of the way, aight? Anytime you feel unsteady, just squeeze my hand and I’ll catch you.” 

“You always do.” 

And that’s exactly what she did. Her insecurities ebbed and flowed but there was one constant through it all: Michael. His hand only left hers one as they posed on the carpet. She felt that unsteadiness creep up on her once and she tested it, giving his hand a light squeeze as they posed. 

He did not miss a beat, immediately snagging her attention from the reporters. However, to her surprise, he did not say anything, he just leaned in and kissed her. A kiss that melted away all those insecurities, all her fear, and steadied her immediately. It was short and chaste but it was all she needed, her heart soothing again. 

The yells from the reporters increased and it caused a stir but Charlotte blocked it out. His words echoed through her head. This was their moment to spend how they wanted and she did not want to waste it being afraid that she was not enough. Michael thought she was and if that was enough for her, it would be for the rest of the world. 

By the time they returned to Michael’s house, Charlotte was on cloud 9. He worshiped her body as he always did, the perfect ending to a perfect night with him. It was all she thought about as she meandered in his kitchen at 3 am. 

Charlotte’s leg jingled as she made herself a cup of tea, nothing but the light above his counter guiding her as she moved around his kitchen like she had been there for years. She did not want to be disrespectful, after all, it was not her space. But Michael seemed happy to give her free range so she took it when needed. 

And tonight, her free range activity was breaking into his mom’s tea collection. He was upstairs, dead to the world asleep, but the beast of sleep was too elusive for Charlotte to capture. She always struggled with sleep, only routinely getting 5 hours on a good night, less when things were busy or she had a lot on her mind. It did not bother her much anymore, her body accustomed to functioning on the little sleep she was able to get. But since she spent so many nights at Michael’s, she found it harder and harder to hide her persistent sleep issues. She slept better here in his arms, which is why she chose to be there more than her own. But some nights, she found it nearly impossible to get any rest. And since she wasn’t at her own home, she had none of her gadgets and hobbies to distract her. All she had was a pen and notebook, which she would use to write songs quietly in the kitchen while she drank her tea to pass the time. 

Usually, her energy was pained, sleep evading her for negative reasons. But tonight, it just felt different. She was happy, genuinely happy. A song formed in her head and tried as she might to sleep without writing it, she could not. She had missed this feeling, the creative restless energy that kept you awake, not nightmares and trauma. She knew it was him, there was no other explanation. His love had awakened in her a new energy and lyrics flowed from her mind to the page as she sipped her tea in the dim light, no interest in returning to bed until this was done. 

She was only pulled out of her writing as her phone started to light up. 

“Now who could be texting me this late?” She muttered to herself, glancing to find her sister in law and brother texting in their group chat. Unsurprising, since they were likely dealing with their twin toddlers. 

She opened it, her eyes growing wide at the screenshot from Michael’s instagram. 

Jackson: Why didn’t you tell us y’all were premiering your relationship tonight too??? Had to find out on social like a commoner 

LoLo: he really thinks he’s part of your relationship

LoLo: congrats girl! Glad to see the premiere was a success in many ways

Charlotte giggled before she closed her messaging app and went to Instagram. She had her notifications turned off for it, never being a big social user herself anyway. However, that often meant she missed posts she was tagged in. 

She immediately went to her activity page and found a notification from Michael. 

The picture was of the pair kissing and holding hands on the red carpet earlier that night with the caption: 

Celebrating tonight with my leading lady on screen and off. Here’s to many more Creed premiere date nights in our future. 

She opened the comments to find a million versions of heart eye emojis, hearts, and excited “I knew it” comments from his followers. 

Her heart swelled as she examined their photo, reveled in how carefree and happy they both looked. 

“God I love him,” she whispered as she added a comment of her own. 

Another perfect date night with you with a few heart emojis and a kissing face. 

“I love you too.” 

Her tea cup clattered against the granite counter, the scalding liquid splashing out onto her hand and the counter as Michael’s voice interrupted her quiet musings. She turned to find him perched against the entryway to the kitchen. She supposed she should not have been shocked to find him in his own kitchen but she was surprised she did not hear him coming down the stairs. 

“Busted?” She drew her lip in between her teeth, a drop of guilt coloring her words. 

Michael chuckled and closed the distance between them. “You were busted a while ago, babe. My mom noticed the tea disappearing faster than usual and mentioned that there might be a night time tea thief lurking around. Figured I’d catch you one of these days.”

Charlotte smiled. “Sorry, I was gonna replace it.” 

He shook his head. “I don’t care about the tea. I already got her some more. I do care about why you’re up this early? We just went to bed at 1.” 

He sat down on the bar stool next to her. She held up her notebook, which she allowed to fall closed. 

“Had a song and couldn’t sleep till I wrote it down. Got distracted by someone’s very sweet instagram post.” 

“I was wondering when you were gonna see it. You weren’t lyin’ when you said you don’t use social like that.” He paused. “So you enjoyed tonight?” 

She nodded, “It was perfect. You’re perfect. And the movie was fantastic.” 

“I thought so too. So when do I get to hear this song that kept you away from my bed?” He dropped his lips to her shoulder, his breath causing goosebumps to form.

Her hand tightened around the book protectively. It was not ready for his ears, not yet anyway. “Soon. I promise, it’ll be worth the wait.” She grabbed her tea cup and took his hand. “I got most of it down, it's enough for tonight. Let’s go back to bed.” 

He nodded, leading her back to his bedroom so they could rest.

Tags: @certifiedlesbianbaddie @bangtanxmegan @reelwriter19 @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @hi888888sworld @msniaimani @destinio1 @lynaye1993 @chaoticevilbakugo @blackerthings @pipsqueak-98

***

A/N: The next chapter will have a bit of a time jump and we head to NYC where the drama is realllllllll lol just fair warning. Drop a comment and let me know what you thought! Hoped you enjoyed it :)

[fely-v]

This art was created in a very funny way. My friend, whom I successfully hooked on Star Trek, was saying out loud some dramatic tense scene while I was literally sketching it all. When she saw that I had brought it to life, she wanted to supplement it with a beautiful passage. I hope you like it no less than me.

***

- You don't see!? He needs help! The captain shouted, trying in vain to escape, - Kirk was held by two men, diligently wringing his hands. Dumbfounded, McCoy only held his hand with horror over a fresh wound on his arm, from which blood was oozing profusely.

He quickly shifted his gaze from the attackers' phasers to the first mate. However, neither a way to get the first aid kit back, nor the thought of how not to run into a couple of shots, did not arise. The doctor's head was spinning, the sleeve of the torn turtleneck was soaked with blood. Mentally calculating the remaining time for himself and for Spock, whose unconscious body lay just a few steps away, he cursed inwardly.

One of the men holding Kirk pressed down on the scratches on his back, forcing the captain to clench his teeth harder and get down on one knee. He looked with hatred at the man leading the group, stealing glances at the medic present.

- What kind of creatures are you! Do you have at least a drop of humanity in you!? The captain, who was being pressed into the sand, continued to rage.

McCoy took a deep breath, glanced briefly at the mockingly green sky. Time was running out.

- Fuck, let me, your mother, bandage him! Bones pleaded. – I'm a damn doctor! He will die if you don't…

One of the men standing next to the doctor hit him in the stomach with his elbow, causing the doctor to bend in half.

- I'm a doctor! All I need is a bandage and time! Give me a damn bandage! -The doctor croaked, staring intently at the man holding his first aid kit. A few more minutes and he won't be able to bandage anyone at all, because he's unlikely to be in a more acceptable condition there than Spock is now.

A cold voice sounded above his head: "Give him a bandage." The man McCoy was glaring at took out a first aid kit and threw a couple of skeins to the ground, making their use potentially dangerous. Kirk froze, watching as his friend rushed forward amid the guffaws of the attackers. The captain could not tear himself away from the doctor's convulsive movements, from his trembling hands and the despair splashing in his eyes.

"It won't be enough," Bones whispered, barely audible, unwinding the bandages with jerky movements and, as if in some kind of madness, trying to stop Spock's green blood. Still hot, pouring from open wounds, the blood of the first mate of the Enterprise.

- Give him more! James rebelled again, causing a new wave of laughter.

The doctor now and then measured the pulse of the unfortunate, put his cheek to at least feel the weak breathing on the skin. He hated moments like this. When the seconds count, when someone's life hangs in the balance, McCoy's heart bled.

Supporting the unconscious Vulcan's back, McCoy froze for a moment, leaning his back against a boulder behind him. His head was spinning, goosebumps were running before his eyes, as if the disgusting guffaw and Kirk's scream could be heard through the water.

"Son of a bitch! Damn son of a bitch! Don't leave me... damn it! DON'T LEAVE IT! " - Bones scolded himself out of impotence, putting a new layer on top of the previous one. There were not enough bandages. His clothes were stained with blood, and the doctor's right hand was almost unresponsive.

Panic was rising in his throat., Spock's body seemed too cold, too pale. During the whole time he did not make a sound, only once he slightly lifted his eyelids. McCoy inadvertently looked into the Vulcan's pain-filled eyes, and a desperate plea flashed through Bones's mind: "... please."

***

There is an open ending here and everyone can quite imagine the ending they want. It all depends on how much you like to hurt yourself and others. Personally, I intend to write my own ending, which I will certainly post soon.

[t0ast-ghost]

Started watching the original series of Star Trek and my thoughts so far:

- I was skeptical at first but then the talk between the doctor and Pike was soooo fucking good, they’re bringing out ALL the issues right away, so pretty strong beginning

- oh lord the sexism (they try to kind of address it?)

- first teleportation is iconic! (Why did aos even TRY and change it?)

- Spock SMILES?!?

- THE VOICE!!! She’s so iconic (talking about the lady who voices the computer in next generation)

- Pike don’t follow her!! Nooo! Pike! Oh well get him I guess

- interesting monsters… hmm.. it’s a fucking zoo isn’t it.

- “the creature will throw himself against the transparency” *bong**bionng* *bonnng*

- nevermind it isn’t a zoo

- neat transition effect when they put him in the mind games

- *roar* “if you attack while it’s not looking” THAT IS A NORMAL MAN

- falling is a bad guys worst enemy and a plot devices best friend

- “zoo specimens like me” OK SO KIND OF A ZOO

- BRO THEY YOINKED HER OUT OF EXISTENCE

- THEY SENT HIM TO HELL HOLY CRAP- oh wait he’s back it’s fine haha

- horsies! Pike is a horse girl

- these episodes are 51 minutes each

- “‘cause you either live life, bruises, skinned knees, and all, or you turn your back on it and start dying” Holy damn that’s a good moment

- So this is how Orions came to be huh. Thank god they made it to Tendi

- Alien: which one of these women do you want?Pike: When I fucking get you-

- Spock was gonna leave, love him for that, live laugh love sweetie <333 (wait is live long and prosper their version of live laugh love?)

- “you think we’re gonna take this? Well what if we blow ourselves up”

- THAT VEIN BLUGE THOUGH

- “‘get your fuckin dog bitch’ ‘it don’t bite’ ‘YES IT DO’” when Pike shows up with a bomb

- IS SHE GOOD? What? no take her with?!? What kind of fucking ending? “and I agreed with her reasons” the fuck, fuck off

- Number one is so done with his shit AND SHE’S RIGHT

- So uhhh when does Kirk come in? Or Bones (mostly bones)

- okay the next episode started and I just needed to have some patience cause they’re both here now

If you read all that, thank you? Might do this again or just add onto this post.

Edit: I did do it again! Here’s the second one

Here’s all the others

Another edit: First episode is called “The Cage”

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s5 ep21: Someone to Watch Over Me

I'm all for comedy episodes, but this one is so full of old-timey gender stereotypes that I just can't enjoy it. Having the Doctor develop a crush on yet another younger blonde woman who he's supposed to be mentoring, and expect the audience to sympathize with him instead of thinking he's a creeper, is just too big an ask for this ep.

For starters, why does Seven need to date anyone? She's only been human for like two years, that seems a little fast to be getting into that, especially when she's never even experienced any kind of attraction to anyone. If ever a character was textually asexual, it's her, but because she's played by a hot actress, they will never allow her to be. So we get this exhausting compulsory heterosexuality, complete with godawful lines that sound like they were written in the 1950s about 'but you're a woman, Seven' and how that means she must naturally want or need a romantic relationship eventually, and with a man, of course. At which point I roll my eyes and grit my teeth and try to get through the sexism as best I can.

Star Trek really shouldn't steal plots from musical theatre- Deep Space Nine did that Brigadoon episode that wasn't exactly great, but Voyager trying to do My Fair Lady is worse. The whole point of My Fair Lady was that Higgins was a smug asshole who deserved to be miserable after how he treated Eliza, and she only comes back because it's a musical comedy from the 50s, and they have to have a happy ending. But he does get some comeuppance when Eliza walks out on him, and he realizes that his own poor behavior led to him losing someone he cared about. The Doctor gets no such comeuppance, beyond Seven being annoyed for a few minutes when she finds out, and he learns nothing from his little attempt to Svengali Seven into being his vision of what she should be- yet we're supposed to feel sorry for him when his crush isn't returned? No thanks!

I remember even as a kid being exhausted by having to watch another story about a bald middle aged man falling in love with a younger, blonde hot babe, especially since the reverse of that is rarely seen on screen. Maybe May-December Beauty and the Beast stories wouldn't creep me out so much if May-December Handsome and the Hag stories were just as common, but they're not. All I know is if you made twelve year old girls in the audience feel uncomfortable, you didn't make a good comedy.

Why the Doctor is even mentoring Seven in the ways of humanity, when he himself isn't even a human, and not very blessed with social graces himself, I have no idea. Honestly Tom was right when he said it was the blind leading the blind.

There are so many dumb rom com cliches here, right down to a scene with the Doctor taking Seven's hair down so we see she's actually beautiful (gag, but also doesn't that clue anyone in that her current hair and wardrobe doesn't look good on her? Please give her a uniform and a better hairdo!). There's some individual funny moments- the guy who played Lieutenant Chapman was great, his face journey when Seven asked him on the date was priceless, and Neelix trying to wrangle the drunk alien ambassador, then the crew having to figure out what to do with him so they wouldn't get in trouble when Mom the Captain got home, was actually cute. But after already having to deal with the Doctor's creepy crush on Kes, and thinking we're free of it once she left, only to have it restart with a new blonde girl dujour, was just too much. I wish they'd give Seven some good material, but instead we just get My Fair Borgy.

Tl;dr: A lightweight comedy that was too dependant on old timey gender stereotypes and heteronormativity to actually be fun.

[sshbpodcast]

To Be Continued: Multi-parters in Star Trek (Part 1)

By Ames

Back in the day when Star Trek series were less serial, stretching an episode out to two weeks was a sneaky sneaky way to stretch a dollar, applying two weeks’ worth of budget to one story. Relatedly/unrelatedly, this was also the heyday of the season finale cliffhanger, in which a show would leave their audience in suspense for a few months in order to ensure they’ll return next season to see how their heroes get out of their latest scrape. Trek of the streaming era does this less since modern series are arguably all one continuous plot, so that got your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By thinking: What makes for a good two-parter?

Over the years, we’ve very rarely been satisfied with multi-parters. Our constant refrain has been: “This should have been one episode.” So let’s look back at our first batch of two-parters from The Original Series and The Next Generation to see how the pattern emerged. Check ‘em out below and listen to our chatter on this week’s podcast episode (skip to 55:25) to see which ones actually had enough material for a sequel and which ones could have been trimmed to a 44-minute slot. And spoiler: it’s gonna be a cliffhanger!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

TOS: “The Menagerie”

The only two-parter we see in the ultra-episodic original series was really just a way to keep up with deadlines and to work around budget limitations, already thin mere months into the franchise’s existence. The unused pilot, “The Cage,” (which we talked about the other week in our pilots post!) already existed. The team had a full week’s worth of material right there to release at no extra cost! It was just a matter of writing a frame story around it to feature the current cast, and presto! It’s basically a clipshow that audiences wouldn’t realize is a clipshow!

And while the two-parter itself occasionally feels a little stretched (watching people watching Star Trek isn’t exactly riveting), we do have to admit that adding the Pike character and his fateful story into the canon would benefit us fifty years down the line. Is watching both parts of “The Menagerie” any better than watching “The Cage” on its own? Well, that may be a matter of taste and how tired you get of courtroom hearings.

TNG: “The Best of Both Worlds”

The next generation of shows would use the two-parter more commonly and to a new effect. TNG’s first foray into season finale cliffhangers is also one of its best uses of the mechanism. Ending season three with “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I”’s hair-raising final moments teases the audience so expertly that they are guaranteed to be champing at the bit after the summer hiatus to see what Locutus’s deal is, if Shelby will stay on the crew, how Riker will handle being in charge, and what the effects of firing on the assimilated captain will be.

By the time season four starts up, we also see another trend with two-parters: one part is usually far better than the other, and it’s frequently the first part. Part II is definitely laggier, and even the writers admit that they hadn’t planned how they were going to reconcile the actions of Part I until they’d already shot themselves in the face, quite literally. So while Part I was groundbreaking television, especially in the 90s, TNG still needed to learn to pace themselves.

TNG: “Redemption”

Lightning doesn’t strike twice, and the next season’s big twist in its finale is significantly less interesting than firing on a Borgified Picard. Instead, “Redemption” introduces us to another incarnation of Denise Crosby, this time as Sela. It’s more perplexing than mind-blowing, though, and the cheesy “Humans have a way of showing up when you least expect them” line doesn’t help matters.

This two-parter is on the more convoluted side, but we can forgive most of the rest of it because it’s the Klingons and Romulans at their best. From the Duras Sisters and Toral, to the Klingon Civil War, to the Romulans’ involvement, to the ship blockade, to whatever on earth Sela was supposed to be, these scripts feel as dense as one of the novels. Some may argue that there’s too much going on, but at least it doesn’t lag.

TNG: “Unification”

Oh good, Sela’s back in our next two-parter! “Unification” is plopped a couple weeks later in the middle of season 5, mostly as a way to cross-promote with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and to get Nimoy into TNG for the fans to cream themselves over. The Romulans are up to yet more shenanigans, as is their wont, and ambassador Spock is in the mix! What’s not to love?

Well, a lot, it turns out. As far as catering to fans goes, your SSHB hosts are frequently too skeptical to take the bait. And not being blinded by all the familiar guest stars, we were able to see all the flaws. The pacing of this one struggles more than ever. Even more than “Redemption,” there’s just too much going on, the pudding is thoroughly overegged, all the sideplots on on the Enterprise feel superfluous, and Sela is far too distracting as a concept. Like most Romulan plans, everything is just overwrought. Even if that does mean it has plenty to do over two episodes, we question if it’s worth it.

TNG: “Time’s Arrow”

What definitely isn’t worth it is the frustratingly repetitive and obnoxious “Time’s Arrow,” which is on so many of our bad lists, I get to pick and choose which links to cross promote! It’s another cliffhanger episode that bridges the gap between seasons, but since none of us could even remember how Part I ended, that pretty much shows you what kind of job it did at leaving an impact. (I looked it up and apparently the answer was Picard and crew following the Devidians through the temporal door, I guess? Yawn.)

While I can (and often do!) blame most of these episodes’ faults on the ear-splitting portrayal of Mark Twain, there’s not much here that’s actually compelling overall. Any elements that could be compelling (Data dealing with his own mortality, aliens who live out of phase and feast on human neural energy, etc.) are emphatically upstaged by the goofy hijinks in the past! It’s a pair of episodes that are tonally all over the place and agony to watch. Not only should it have not been a two-parter, it shouldn’t have even been a one-parter.

TNG: “Chain of Command”

In a rare instance of an episode for which the second part is significantly better than the first part, see “Chain of Command, Part II.” The first installment of this mid-season-6 two-parter is mostly setting up what will be a phenomenal acting showcase in the second, which could frankly just stand on its own with some very simple tweaks. The Cardassian torture chamber is where the action is. The rest can’t stand up to David Warner and Patrick Stewart.

And sure, you’d want to keep Jellico’s “Get It Done” attitude, Riker’s little temper tantrum, and getting Troi in a proper uniform for a change, so maybe cramming it all into one episode would feel bloated, but maybe it’d be worth it? Or maybe we could retain the two-parter and give Patrick Stewart the proper runway to get to his “There Are Four Lights” moment if we swapped Ro in for Crusher, who just seems out of place inexplicably spelunking around for a full episode. I posit Ro could’ve balanced a mediocre Part I with the stellar Part II.

TNG: “Birthright”

We’d take all the part ones of “Chain of Command” we could handle over “Birthright” though. Over the course of an episode and a half, Worf finds a colony of Klingons under the rule of Romulans while looking for Mogh (which turns out to be a red herring). And for the other half episode, we get some surrealist Data stuff plus a random Bashir cameo.

The writers seemed to know there wouldn’t be enough of the Worf plot to stretch over two episodes, so they stapled on this Data dreaming plot that ends by the time Part I is over. Which just feels weird because then Part II is nothing BUT Worf plot… and it’s just not that compelling. Part I ends with Worf just finding the camp, which makes everything up to that point feel like exposition. And thus skippable. I’d say it should have been condensed down to one episode and then you could move the Data plot to some other episode, but frankly they could have both been skipped entirely.

TNG: “Descent”

While I wouldn’t put “Descent” among my favorite TNG episodes or anything, it might actually be a decent example of a two-parter. There may be a little stretching of Part I to get to the cliffhanger, but overall it keeps the pace moving along. I can’t think of a time during either episode when I was feeling bored or thinking more things ought to be happening. Sure, the season 6 cliffhanger revealing that Lore has been behind the whole scheme is kind of a corny twist to keep fans abuzz over the season break, but it does its job.

It’s also a two-parter that keeps most of the characters busy, which is a rarity! Crusher flies into a sun. Geordi gets tortured by Lore. Troi tries (and fails) to help Data with his emotions. Everything is working toward the same goal instead of tacking on more and more disparate things. It’s not perfect, as the Borg would prefer, but it might be the most worthy of being a two-parter so far. Dang, that’s something I never thought I’d say.

TNG: “Gambit”

The final two-parter of TNG we get until the finale (which we talked about last week!) comes in the middle of season 7, and boy does it fall flat. Picard feels out of character, like he’s involved in this whole pirate shenanigan just for the sake of plot. Riker’s on top of things, but that’s pretty typical. But everyone else feels like they’re just spinning their wheels while the other plot unfolds.

Unlike in “Descent” where I felt like the other characters’ plots felt organic and in service of the whole concept, this one just feels like everyone’s doing busywork so they could justify putting them on the callsheets. In terms of our pirate friends, they keep momentum for the full two parts, revealing things as they go to open up new possibilities. So yeah, “Gambit” definitely fills its airtime. It’s just not that interesting.

—

Our story continues next week with more multi-parters, so make sure you’re following this space. Go to Black Alert with us over on the podcast as we catch up on episodes of Discovery on SoundCloud or wherever you like to listen, and compare cliffhanger theories with us over on Facebook. To be continued…

[inseasofgreen]

POTO Excerpt

wc: 860

POTO Tag List (i forgor) (send me a message or reply if you wanna be added!)

@lord-fallen @inkingfireplace @rhikasa

It was almost too much to take in; she wished to climb back to the safety of the carriage. Banners and flags of violet and green flew in the air. Songs of the Zaentiraeal, of her mother’s people, sang out. She looked over at a woman with a babe strapped to her chest. Tears streamed down her face as she sang praise and worship. As if the gods themselves had appeared before her. But there were no gods before her, only a frightened girl—a mortal.

Sciosa willed her feet forward. Every step was more difficult than the rest. As if every fiber of her being could not bear the weight of all she was to stand for. She snuck a glance at her father. His joy radiated from him, waving and offering kind words to all who spoke to him. Squaring her shoulders, she mimicked him. Trying to offer a smile to show her father’s people her love and appreciation. But the faces she had thought about while writing her speech were no longer imagination. They were real. Real and wholly dependent on her as their future queen.

“Our Princess!” people chanted.

“The gods bless us this day!” Others offered thanks to the gods.

She focused back on the trek up to the temple. Needing anything to stop her from crumbling. She was not her father, nor her uncles and cousins. She didn't flourish being the center of attention. She loathed it. What was a Queen who refused to look her subjects in the face? If she could not give them that, by what right did she have to rule over them? Her father, her father's father, and so on? They say to question the Kings of Dawn is to question the Gods. But fate was an entity of its own. Was this fate's command? Would it side with her when the time came? Or lay mockery to the gods once more and let it all crumble?

The marble staircase appeared sooner than she thought it would, so close. So close to the sanctum of the temple that towered over Maes Street. Gathering her skirts, she took one step after the other. Focusing all her efforts on not collapsing. All eyes were on her, and the weight of it felt as though it might crush her. This was nothing more than a few minutes in the eye of the gods for her father to proclaim her heir. There were no new revelations or surprises. But gods, gods, she couldn't breathe. She grasped at her chest; her heart was thundering. She felt her legs begin to tremble.

She is not worthy. She was nothing but a girl, a girl who loved to sing and dance, who watched the stars and wondered if they watched her back. One who dreamed of dragons and leviathans. Of knights in shining armor riding up on their white steeds, asking for her favor. Tears burned Sciosa’s eyes, clawing their way free. She let out a gasp, her chest heaving. A girl, nothing more. She closed her eyes, letting the tears escape.

The world went black.

The taste of salt and iron mingled on her tongue for a moment. Then, the tender, familiar touch of a lover she had yet to meet pulled her in, out of harm's reach. In her lover’s arms, she could hear the beat of a heart born anew, and smell the sweat on their skin. The Sun, Moon, and Stars looked upon them and bestowed a dynasty to rival that of her kin.

The hair on Sciosa’s arms prickled. She looked around her; she wasn't in Novaen. Or even Ivaenia. She saw a man, skin of copper, long flowing hair blowing in the wind. Blood spattered on his face; he looked out past her. No- he looked at her. He spoke, but she couldn't understand. He took two long strides to meet her; Sciosa reached out, wishing to touch him. To try and see dream vs. reality.

And then the vision had gone.

“Your grace?” Sir Daerion, her sworn shield, peered through his helmet. At some point, she had clutched his arm, one that he must have readily given, “We’re almost there; this will be over soon.”

“Thank you.” Is all she could muster, her head swimming. She tried to memorize the man's face. The sharp, pointed jaw and onyx eyes flickering with something sinister than to worry. The allure of his face.

The eye of the gods was a source of power, something that the gods themselves would commune through if they so chose. If they wished to comfort her, they did a poor job in doing so. Though, one could also use sources of power as a messenger. If a magic wielder was smart and skilled enough, they could easily target her.

She retraced the vision. The Glistening Sea had been in the back, but nothing about the room was anything she had ever seen. There was only one place the man could have been from. Vultis.

She swallowed hard. If the Dragonlords sought to disrupt the ceremony, they chose the wrong one.

[thegeminisage]

STAR TREK UPDATE TIME. last night we watched voy's "concerning flight" and ds9's "statistical probabilities."

concerning flight (voy):

this one sucked sooo bad this was the second-worst of season 4 so far after the racist one with chakotay in the woods

the sad thing is that as a bit character i really liked gimli i mean leonardo. it's one of only like a tiny handful of times when i didn't mind the holodeck as like a background device. so naturally we have to ruin it by giving him his own episode

yes he is a good actor. you saw gimli in him before he gimli'd. he didn't need his own episode because it didn't make any goddamn sense

firstly, playing the doctor losing his holo-emitter for laughs was MEEEAN please treat him very niceys. secondly, what was with that racist remark at tuvok...come on

like, whatever emotional arc janeway was supposed to be having about her childhood hero giving up on his dreams and then building the flying machine after all was lost under the weird pirate adventure that was boring and bad

all love and light to tuvok, whomst i love, whose outfit was perfect, but i think it was a bad idea to bring him along because what he did was point out how illogical the situation was in order for the writers to justify it, which they failed to do. there was no good reason to keep the hologram out when the emitter was needed on the ship except that janeway wanted to hang out with him

also, character assassination to say that tuvok wouldn't slay at small talk. he's very cunning and last episode he tricked the ao3 black market people into thinking he wanted to buy problematic fanfic but now he can't rustle up a distraction for a hologram??? come on

i did like seven in this episode. her moment with the emh was so good i love that she and b'elanna are like regularly almost coming to blows. but then pretty much all of seven's scenes are good

maybe this episode helped this guy get gimli...a small price to pay i suppose but sheesh

statistical probabilities (ds9):

WAH............................nobody look at me

i spent the first 15 or however many minutes of this episode going "boy this sure is heavy-handed commentary" and then we got to the scene where julian and obrien are playing darts and he's raving about how wonderful they are when they are some of the most horrifically offputting characters that have ever been on genuinely had me welling up

like maybe............sometimes people who are offputting and weird in an unpleasant way...............deserve to be shown compassion and understanding and deserve to connect with people who genuinely think they're cool. as someone who experienced the social consequences of being a weird and offputting child i love that this episode said with chest WEIRD OFFPUTTING PEOPLE HAVE PERSONHOOD AND RIGHTS!!!!!!!! good for them and good for me. i love to feel an earnest human emotion while watching star trek. that's probably the most authentic was to experience it

like forget all that shit about the war and surrendering. that was stupid. they presented us with like a handful of people who felt extremely difficult to care about and then julian cared about them and then we cared about them and by the end they seemed very charming in their own weird ways. you could stand this in for like autism, being ND, being disabled, whatever, but it's such a smart and good way to 1. illustrate julians compassion and 2. teach us that same compassion. for them. for ourselves. dont worry about it!!!!!!!

even though i thought the plot where they predicted the end of the war and tried to betray the federation was dumb (are we backtracking all that good work and making a point that autistic people/ND people/disabled people/etc ARE dangerous after all and should not be allowed in society?? come on), i DID like that it sort of touched on and played with development missing from the initial episode where we found out about julian being genetically modified

like, firstly that he got to go jesus christ i fucking lucked out SO good like what was done to me was horrible but at least i am able to pass in society and the privileges i got afforded as a result were MASSIVE compared to these people kept in an institute with very few personal freedoms who quite literally cannot function alone and whose living situations are actively making their various conditions WORSE

but secondly that he got to say aloud "yeah the reason they don't let us do stuff is because we could turn out like khan!" and believe that with his whole pussy (which shows that he HAS believed that for awhile) and then he gets to question his belief when they all do something good together. and like yeah in the end he has to sit back and go jesus christ like FOUR PEOPLE almost handed over the entire alpha quadrant to the enemy on a platter we ARE dangerous after all better send those fuckers back to the looney bin which i think negates the point of the episode somewhat but i do like that it gives him angst and problems. mwah.

like, i'd be lying if i said i'd be happy if his khan fears got cured in a single episode. live with that. marinate in it. have psychological problems about it. go have a deep space talk with garak about it and get him to work it out of you with his d--

TONIGHT: voy's "the mortal coil" and ds9's "the magnificent ferengi" both of which, love and light, look awful. manifesting strength.