#it’s a small studio and they don’t make games exclusively but it seems like their working conditions are nice than most of the industry rn | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

delicrieux · 4 years ago

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☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 23: PRETTY BOY

emotions run wild when everyone is drunk and hardly coherent. quackity is always loud, but tonight is a full on assault on the senses (the ears, in particular). bretman simps for corpse too much for your liking. rae is happy for once. there’s a confession of love somewhere in there. sister james makes a very good impostor, but that’s old news, the real question is who gave you a knife? a new persona emerges that leaves the roaches quivering in their boots.

─── corpse husband x reader, a lil bit of everyone x reader (because she’s a queen) ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: a lil over 7k.

author’s note: it’s the way i can’t follow a fucking calendar for me. sorry guys, i swear to god i thought i had one more day before thursday . the idiot award goes to me and i accept it with pride. anyway, i was excited to write this for a while! quackity is in mexico, that’s why he drinks, too. my fic, my rules, he’s too funny not to include. im also working on an extra w dream and mr quack so look forward to that, too! hopefully u like this part ily xx and as always lmk wat u think!!

ultimate masterlist. ҉ myso masterlist ҉ previous. ҉ next.

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The outfit for today was picked with care and consideration. Hot, as always- you had forgotten your roots, your hoodie and sweats lay hidden in the bottom of your drawer never to be worn on stream again. You’ve changed. Clout really does that to people. Some viewers, naturally, find your hotness near insulting: how dare you rub your beauty in their faces, and so unabashedly, too?! If only you had a twinge of self-awareness, perhaps you would tone it down. But you don’t, and whether that’s by choice or not is the mystery the whole internet tries to solve (ARMY has been working diligently, and you admire their effort, though in the end their tireless labor brings no tangible results).

You went from hot to hotter. In all truth, the fires eating away at California can be blamed on you. You carry this burden in stride, in your platform overpriced shoes some girl scammed you on Depop with, in your fishnets, in your skirt, in your corset, in your rings and necklaces and chains. You woke up today and chose violence. Decided your existence will be a plague to the rest of the populace, and meant it (that, maybe, you took inspiration from a certain faceless Youtuber that so happens to be your boyfriend or whatever). You feel powerful. Like you could step on the world and the world would let you. You decide that it’s the way it should always be.

The smile on your lips informs of nothing good to your quaint, small audience of 40k. You change the lighting in your room from the soft cherry blossom pink to menacing violet. As fitting for a villain.

Perhaps California’s hellish sun has finally purged you of your bubbly, docile nature (arguably, you had never possessed it to begin with); perhaps it’s the forth mimosa you’re mixing as people slowly trickle into the lobby. Who knows?! Not you, definitely. What do all of those boring dead white European philosophers say? Embrace the unknown? Cheers, you’ll drink to that.

In stark contrast to your appearance, your room is a fucking mess. A war-zone of epic anime scale. Everything is scattered, well, everywhere. A perfect representation on what’s going on in your mind, always. You don’t like how people focus on your surroundings-- you’re the main attraction, hello? Are you not enough to sustain them? Must they beg for more?! Totally ungrateful. You shake your head in disappointment, as if a mother scolding her children.

noooooo! mom pls forgive me i will never ask abt anything ever again T_T

yall looking at the room? lol couldnt be me

feels like im five and my mum just told me i cant eat a pretty rock i found on the pavement:(

You can’t contain your sly grin. Eyes twinkle with a purplish hue, appearing all the more menacing. You tricked them once again, oh how absolutely evil of you. In your blind delight you accidentally spill champagne on your lap.

“-Oop, fuck.” You snort.

why does she sound like goofy

The scandalous drunk Among Us stream is about to start. You had been eerily silent through the greetings, and those that chose to approach you were met with a cold shoulder and minimal replies. All on purpose, of course. You wish to plant a seed of unease within them, and so far, it’s working. There are questions unanswered, jokes unsaid, Quackity unteased. It breaks your heart, but it must be done. You look into the camera, all vulnerable and devout, as if to say: I’m doing this for you, all for you.

pack it up yandere simulator

idk whats going on but i think im into it?

villain arc villain arc villain aRC VILLAIN ARC

“Hey, guys,” Corpse’s voices rings in your headphones, and not a blink later his astronaut appears in the lobby in a cloud of smoke, “Hi, Y/n.”

More sharp, excited hellos follow after. You merely hum, though give no further reply. As Corpse strays to your side, Charlie steps in in front of him, “BDA access only. You have a permit, bitch?”

“Y/n is being quiet-she’s being quiet, guys!” Quackity helpfully informs, as if the rest failed to notice your cryptic silence, “Don’t be sad Corpse, man, Corpse don’t be-she didn’t say shit to me either.”

“Y/n has decided to not waste her breath on the SDS.” Charlie voices, “And you know what? I actually agree with her for once.”

“SD-what now?” Dream questions.

“The Small Dick Society.” Charlie explains, noting Dream’s whine of protest, “Oh no, don’t give me that shit, weren’t you bitching about not being invited and not belonging to exclusive clubs? Congratulations, you’re finally part of one.”

“Wait!” Quackity interjects, “Am I part of it too?”

“Guess, Sherlock.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Corpse says. You nod to your audience, like he just spoke the God honest truth, and follow in his example. Your tentative sip unexpectedly turns into a greedy gulp, but you’re not complaining. The only slightly coherent thought that rings in your mind is drink tasty.

“Ignore them,” Rae chimes, “Y/n’s probably plotting something and using Charlie as a cover up.”

“I’d never.” The words slip past your lips before you can stop them.

“Well you sure are very quick to deny it.” You can hear her smirking, can hear the proud lilt in her voice, like she caught onto your silly little scheme, like she has you all figured out. Your eyes narrow dangerously. The night behind your window pools dark, with far away city lights glimmering before they, too, seem to dim.

Your roommate is back on your shitlist. How her name was missed among the rest.

“I’m defending my honor.” You yelp, the playfulness back in your voice along with your sunny smile, “I can’t have my wifey slandering me online. At least do it in private, geez.”

If Rae’s such a good detective, you’ll give her a good chase. Perhaps you’ve been laying it on too thick. Made her too suspicious. She can’t out you yet--not when your plans are so grand, so fun. It would be a waste.

“Why weren’t you saying anything then?” Quackity questions.

“Do I need a reason not wanting to talk to you?” You shoot back. Your friends laugh and he tries to shriek something past their cackle. You lean back into your chair, the tension from Rae’s confrontation finally easing. You wink at the camera and bring a finger to your lips. The roaches swear to secrecy, elated by your wickedness. As appropriate, they spam devil emojis and various renditions of evil hohohos and hehehes. The apple truly does not fall far from the tree. You had raised them well. You raise your glass in solidarity. A few donations fall into your pocket, easily summed up as: make them suffer.

Muting the discord call, you give a single response, “Oh, I intend to.”

i hope this doesn’t awaken something in me

^already too late for me bro

As caught up in wreaking havoc among your viewers as you are, you miss Sykkuno’s entrance, though from what you can tell, Charlie gave a stern warning to back the fuck off to him, too. He’s playing into your plan so beautifully. Truly, you couldn’t do this without him. Back to stalking the chat you go.

Your eyes flicker to the game upon Bretman’s signature drawl and “Hi, daddy.”. You have no time to get offended at Corpse’s sweet “Hi, honey” back, because the next person to join the discord call and the lobby leaves you speechless. You knew, of course, you had been informed of the line-up, but still, you had never expected yourself to be so close to Jomes Chorles himself. You make a weird gesture with your hands, half wave half excited wiggle, as if you’re telling the audience to calm down, when, in fact, it is you that needs calming.

He goes saying his hello’s like doing a public service, name by name, before, lastly, uttering, “Hi, Miss Y/n. Loooove the vids.”

He’s a roach in disguise, who could’ve known?! Your audience is so diverse and unexpected, gosh, you’d shed a tear if the mascara wasn’t so expensive.

“Hi!” You reply with a grin, and it’s genuine this time, a glimmer of your old self, “Hi, I love your videos, too. It’s like, really cool to finally meet you.”

“Oh my God, you too!” Is his enthusiastic reply, “Okay, the energy in the studio today? Love it.”

“Is this all of us?” Quackity asks.

“Sadly.” James says with a note of disappointment.

“HEY!”

“Okay, guys!” Ash chimes, “Let’s do this! Proximity Among Us, round one, go go go!”

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Luck does not shine upon you during the first round- you are stuck as Crew Mate, your life cut short by Bretman who had the audacity to bite your head off. You’re positive Ke$ha wrote her hit single Cannibal about him, and if she didn’t, she definitely had a That’s So Raven moment and predicted it. It’s also insanely suspicious as after you are eliminated he sticks real close to Corpse, feigning innocence (and this is a controversial opinion you do not endorse) better than even you. It wounds your pride, having been picked off so casually, so quickly, and now stuck a ghost you roam the halls of the dying spaceship, lost, confused, heartbroken.

Charlie runs past you, not once even glancing in your direction. “Brother...” You mutter sadly, “Do you not see me here? Do you not feel... the loss of your twin’s heartbeat...?" Damn, these mimosas really are making you emotional. You sniffle and take a sip to calm the storm within you. No rage, just sadness. You are still processing your own tragic demise.

Suddenly, a meeting is called. There’s a horrible red X on your astronaut. You are the only one dead so far, and of course the rest won’t vote out the fucker. How bitterly you sit! With your arms crossed over your chest and your glare sharp enough to cut through glass. Fuck the sad shit, now you’re just angry. At the very least, the second Impostor could’ve given you some company!

“I knew something felt off.” Charlie is first to speak.

“Who the fuck killed Y/n?” Corpse questions, and his voice ignites a whole discussion that lasts much too short. The others skip, having no suspect yet. It’s much too soon to start pointing fingers, but you still feel like they should have at least tried. Pouting, you fix yourself another drink.

“Stop drinking!?” You gasp, exasperated at your chats demands, “I’m dead! What else should I do, the tasks?! Nah, fuck that. I’m done. I’m out. Charlie better employ his fucking detective skills because if the Impostors win, I will literally quit the game--yes I will, no I’m not bullshitting, fucking watch me.”

Thankfully, Bretman was caught venting, and you didn’t have to end the stream prematurely. The second Impostor, your roommate (oh, the betrayal, Rae, how could you?!) was voted out due to Corpse’s suspicion. Victory to the Crew Mates! The game restarts and you find yourself back in the lobby.

“Miss Y/n,” Bretman says, “I am sooo sorry for killing you first, baby. It was just too easy. I couldn’t pass it up.”

Giggling, Quackity chimes, “Sister slaughtered.”

“Oh my God,” James groans, “shut up!”

“Yeah, Y/n.” Charlie speaks, and there’s an accusatory note in his calm voice, “Why the fuck did you allow yourself to be eliminated first? Real noob shit, I expected more of you.”

“HUH?!” You frown, “What’s with the victim blaming?! I literally was doing my task and Bretman snuck up on me. It’s not like I had a weapon to defend myself!”

“You have been avenged,” Corpse states, “and that’s all that matters.”

“Thank you, Corpse!” You say, “At least someone cares.”

“Hey, I helped, too!” Dream pipes up.

“No, you didn’t.” Corpse shoots him down, “I was the only one.”

“You were not--”

“Literally was. Isn’t that right, Sykkuno?”

“Uhhhh-” Sykkuno trails off, “Well, we-we all helped!” You can hear his shy smile, and you just know he’s bobbing his head up and down at this exact moment, “We all helped. Team work!”

“Team work!” The rest echo, save for yourself, Corpse, Charlie, and the two Impostors. Silence speaks more than a thousand words or whatever. You pray to any higher power willing to listen to finally assign you the role of the villain, the one you were born to do.

Sadly, higher powers must have either shitty customer service or are in need of hearing aids, and you almost scream in frustration when your astronaut appears along with the others, the bold CREW MATE title chipping away at your master plan.

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“Hey, Y/n, hey! Hey, Y/n!” Rae finds you in Cafeteria, where you, metaphorically, are eating your feelings. Not that she needs to know, of course. She sounds chipper, a bit ditsy, and that must mean she’s sufficiently tipsy. You store that information for later, and forget about it as soon as you notice Dream and Sykkuno, like her very own personal bodyguards, trailing after her, “Wanna play a game?!”

“Is this Saw?” You inquire, somewhat lazy. You’d be lying if you said the alcohol wasn’t affecting you, it’s just instead of making you bubbly, it makes you mellow. This was supposed to be fun, you were supposed to terrorize everyone and laugh as they perished by your hand, yet here you are, wallowing in self-pity. The roaches start worrying. The donation jingle chimes.

BEATINGS & SLUTATIONS yns_fishnets donated 5$ mom just wait it out & dont worry youll get your vengeance soon lead them on!!!!

Your fishnets have a point!

“Saw?--No, no, haa, no it’s a drinking game.” Dream sounds like he has had one too many rounds of this mysterious game, and naturally, you are intrigued.

“Where we drink!” Sykkuno clarifies. Right, well that explains everything! If you had any questions, you surely have none now.

“Okay, so, name a category, and you have to, like, say a word associated with it...Or something along those lines.” You hadn’t even agreed and Rae is explaining the rules already. She knows you too well. It’s both a blessing and a curse, “Can be anything! Okay, Y/n, Y/n, Y/n start!”

“Uhh--” If only your brain computed as fast as she spoke! “Song lyrics! Wait--who drinks?”

“You fail, you drink!” She hurries, “Choke me like you hate me but you love meeeeee. Syk, go, go go!”

“Uhm, ah, I don’t wanna feel like this, uh, fuck?” He laughs--it’s a raspy, embarrassed little sound, “I don’t...wanna look like this? Dream, now you!”

“Wait, we’re singing Corpse’s songs?”

“Any song!” You urge him quickly, “Hurry! Or drink!”

“She say I kill her cat like I'm Luka Magnotta--”

“Hey! That’s cheating! You can’t use my song!” Rae protest.

“That wasn’t in the rules!” He counters.

“Y/n! Time’s running out!” Sykkuno exclaims.

“Oh, uh, will-will the real Slim Shady please stand up!”

NOT EMINEM WHAT THE FUCK

MOOOM WHT THE HELL THIS ISNT 2008 T_T

“Ra-Ra-Rasputin, Russia’s greatest love machine--”

“All...All the other kids with the pumped up kicks better, uhh, run better run, faster...-faster than my gun?”

“Uhh, shit--fucking hell.” Dream laughs, and Rae practically screams at him to keep going, “Alright! Okay! I’m singing--uh, you’re so golden, na na na na?”

“I tell you what a woman loves most,” You chime gleefully, “it’s a man who can slap but can also stroke.”

finally, the mother mother representation we’ve all been waiting for

i aint exactly gay but i aint exactly not gay >:)

the bis won

“I steal a few breeeeaaaths from the woooorld for a minute--”

“Mitski?!” You question, eyes bulging, “Baby, who hurt you?”

Even if you can’t see her, you know she’s waving her arms around and shaking her head, “Not the point! Sykkuno!”

“Uh, I-I, uhm, I don’t--”

“Drinnnnk!” You all chorus.

“It was a good concert,” You say, “Syk, I’ll drink with you.”

“Thank you, Y/n. That’s very kind of you.” He says softly, with a smile lining his lips. You grin.

“Oh, fine. Everyone, bottoms up!” Rae decides, and no one protest. A moment of silence passes, then, “Well, GG, GG, let’s do some tasks?”

Your enthusiastic Ariana Grande-esque “yuh” is cut short by the second meeting of game two being called. The first one to go had been Ash, voted out during a bathroom break as a joke, and you still feel a bit bad about that. Now, you notice Charlie has been eliminated. A sense of righteousness fills you--while you mourn for your brother from another mother and father and family tree, you feel like this is divine punishment for slandering you before the start of this round. Karma. Nothing much is discussed, and the meeting ends shortly with everyone skipping.

You spend a good ten minutes wandering around with Dream, who’s mission appears to be convincing you to join his Minecraft server, and really, there was no need for him to try so hard. You failed to provide him with a concrete answer only because it would've been to humiliating to admit that you agreed instantly upon hearing the word Minecraft.

That’s when things get fucking weird. Another meeting is called whilst you’re in the middle of fixing lights, and once the board with the members appears you audibly gasp. There had been 8 living, breathing astronauts rushing around the map, and now only 4 remain. You, Corpse, James, and Alex.

“What the fuck--what the fuck?!” You screech alarmed, noting Dream being among the perished crew, “I was just with Dream fixing the lights, I was just with him, what the fuck--”

“Okay, no one panic.” James says, “Let’s figure this out. Okay? Okay. Who else is close to Electrical?”

“I’m at Nav.” Quackity says.

“I’m at Cafeteria, but Y/n--” Corpse starts, “kinda weird that Dream died when you were with him?”

“I didn’t fucking kill him, I swear to God, Corpse, why are you accusing me?”

“Don’t be so defensive.” He says smoothly, “I’m just pointing out the obvious. We all have a reason to be sus, no? Considering you were right with him.”

“...It is suspicious.” James agrees, and a part of you dies inside. You understand their hesitance to trust you, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating!

“Guys, I didn’t kill him, I swear. He invited me to play Minecraft, I wouldn’t do that to him, not after that!”

Corpse merely hums, and it brings no comfort what’s so ever. The situation is spiraling, and not in your favor. Trying to salvage your chances at freedom, you try again, “Wh-James, James, you called the meeting, right?”

“Yeah, I found Rae’s body near Medical.”

“So I couldn’t have killed her and Dream at the same time!” You latch onto that piece of information, hoping it will save you.

“You could’ve vented.” Corpse points out, “Plus, there’s no telling how old the body is.”

“Killing five fucking people? It’s the work of one person, or else the game would have already ended. As it stands, I am no way sober enough to think all of this out.”

A brief silence hangs in the air; your lungs constrict from tension, from spilling words so hotly. You grasp your glass, as if for emphasis, and take a shy sip. It taste sweet, a bit too sweet for your liking. Must be your nerves. You drink again to wash the taste out of your mouth, which, surprisingly, doesn’t work. You whine a little, stomping your feet like a child about to throw a temper tantrum.

“...I believe her.” Quackity says. You breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Alex, thank youuuuuu!” You gush, batting your lashes as if he could somehow see you and that would somehow portray your innocence, “I knew I liked you for a reason!”

He mutes his mic, his spill of words lost to your ears, but chat helpfully informs that he’s screaming because you don’t hate him.

y/n out here collecting men like pokemon cards

Now all that’s left is to convince the others. You start with the one you know will work, “Corpse,” You address him in your sweetest voice.

“Y/n,” James warns, “don’t you dare--”

“Baby, I didn’t kill anyone, I’m crew mate, you gotta believe me.”

“She's innocent.” Corpse declare, thoroughly convinced.

“Oh my fucking God, you fucking simp!” James laughs, “She’s obviously manipulating you!”

“No, no, she isn’t. She’s innocent, I agree with Quackity. Now, it’s either you or him.”

“Could be you for all we know!” Alex accuses.

“Guys, time’s running out.” You mutter fretfully, noting the seconds tick by from white to red.

“I’m voting Alex.” Corpse says.

“What?! Fucking traitor! Fine, I’m voting for you.” Alex hisses.

“Ugh, hate agreeing with Quackity, but I’m also voting Corpse. Sorry, hon, nothing personal.” James says. The VOTED icons pop up beside their characters and you panic, pressing your mouse idly but it’s too late, there wasn’t enough time, and you cry as Corpse is thrown into lava. The chat spams F, and it feels like salt on a fresh wound.

In a second you’re back in Cafeteria, shell-shocked and trembling, and Quackity cusses because the Impostor is still among you. His frustration doesn’t last long as you watch in horror as Jams Chortles, beauty guru supreme, murders the only other crew mate in cold blood and all you can do is gape and let his cheerful laughter fill your ears. The screen bleeds red, informing of Impostor victory, the second one being Ash. Looks like you voted her off for the right reason, but little difference did it make.

“Corpse!” You yell past the cacophony of voices, all in varying forms of excitement or anger, beelining for his in-game figure, “Corpse, I’m so sorry, I panicked, I tried pressing the button but I wasn’t quick enough--”

“It’s alright, baby. Don’t worry about it.” He’s so calming, so gentle, you might burst into tears again. What did you do to deserve him? You wish he was with you so you could smother him in a hug. Alas, all you can do now is say “I kith you, mwah!” and rush to the other side of the lobby, as if to hide from such a bold display of affection, even if it was a joke (it wasn’t).

yall say corpse simps for y/n but the reality is y/n simps for corpse harder

queen stop its embarrassing

bhaddies can simp!! i wouldnt but its her choice <3

More deliberations, commentary, and short breaks. Once everyone has returned, the countdown starts. You’re still reeling from the chaos of emotions, the five stages of grief you experienced in 1 second upon Corpse’s unjust demise, that it takes you a moment, a single heartbeat to realize what you’re seeing on screen.

The letters IMPOSTOR hang above your astronaut, with Dream standing just behind you as your newly appointed partner in crime. And suddenly, all the sadness and the tenderness and sympathy vanish with a curt exhale. You slowly turn your head to the chat, muting the Discord call, your soft chuckle of disbelief turning into a full blown laugh.

it’s happening!!!!

omg omg omg omg

VILLAIN ARC VILLAIN ARC VILLAIN ARC

You slap your palm over your lips, trying to contain your wicked smile, to tone down your broken giggles, “N-No, I can’t laugh yet,” shaking your head softly, you look into the camera, “they’re all going to die.”

pack it up light yagami

this has awoken something in me.

^ same

The crew mates go their own ways, rushing to do their tasks like the diligent little workers they are. How adorable. Their grim fate is still miles away from them. The shit you’ll pull will be for the history books. Much like your outfit, which you picked keeping in mind your newfound thirst for blood, you had devised your plan of action with care and consideration. You had been mulling it over all day, drawing on paper like the absolute madwoman you are; hell, you even made sticky notes on who to go for first and what to say. Sure, being moderately drunk hinders your memory slightly (an understatement of the century), but you got a feel for what you’re going to do. It’s nothing short of evil.

Dream and you don’t exchange words, you merely nod at him-- which he, of course, can’t see-- but your criminal bond enables telepathic communication. You can hear his thoughts, ones that strangely sound like drink drink, drink drink. And really, who are you to refuse such an enticing offer?! As he fucks off to stalk his victims, or play pretend, you take a sip. The cocktail is still sweet, but this time it’s not the icky sweet you had tasted prior. You glance at your sticky notes, ones the roaches can’t see, and nearly spill your drink for the second time today as you jerk.

“Fuck!” You exclaim, shoving your headphones off and spinning in your chair. You hastily stand up, wobble -- the world is pleasantly funny right about now -- and giggle. Stepping past the mountains of abandoned clothes and pillows and blankets and anime plushies, you maneuver your way to your bedside table and yank it open, nearly taking out the whole drawer with you. In the mess of old diaries and bad drawings, pencils, jewelry, and stickers, you fish out something you should not be wielding in your inebriated state.

It’s a knife.

In midst of teenage angst you had ordered it off of Amazon with your mom’s credit card, all the while whining that it’s not a phase, mom, and it’s what all of my cool kid friends with fried hair have, and don’t you want me to fit in, don’t you want your daughter to be happy?! You think it’s about that time, the time of too much uneven eyeliner and black eye shadow, that she took to calling you little raccoon. Trash rabbit was your personal favorite, but she used it sparingly. When you presented your Macy’s outfit, holding up a fucking butterfly knife, to your dad, asking if it was a look, he glanced up from some boring business magazine all boring business dads read and said, with a bright smile might you add, “It’s a something!”.

Oh, how it gleams in the lilac light. You used to do tricks with it, back in eight grade maybe, and--what the fuck? Why did you parents allow you to buy it in the first place? Well, because you’re the only child, the only one important, of course they got it for you and clapped enthusiastically at your performances, because why wouldn’t they? The whining they’d face otherwise would’ve been harder to endure than a whole dance number to Panic! At The Disco’s greatest hits. Broadway looked so fucking shabby in comparison. Your mom said so, so it must be true.

Stumbling back to your extremely confused viewers, you take your seat, feeling a bit more grounded now that you’re not standing on your platform shoes anymore. Putting on your headphones, you grin at the chat that starts swimming, and not from too much drinking either. You do a quick flick of your wrist, one that thankfully doesn’t end in injury, and the sharp tip of the exposed knife points upwards, glimmering. It’s a rainbow colored one, because one, it’s pretty, and two, you weren’t hardcore enough for the jet-black or straight up military ones the other emo kids had. Cute and dangerous, just like you.

So you just sit there, holding it up, looking somewhat sly as the roaches capture this momentous moment with screen-caps. Someone definitely clipped you trudging past the obstacle course to obtain a weapon of mass destruction. You must be already trending on Twitter, though you can’t exactly log on and confirm your suspicions. You just feel like you might be, like you should be, because your audience wouldn’t let this slide. Thankfully, your friends don’t have time to check social media, or you’d be outed in an instant.

“Y/n?” Your roommates voice booms from your headphones, and you perk up with a stupid realization that you completely forgot about Among Us. Stuck at the start, at the lobby where Dream had left you, you see her astronaut waddling to you, “What are you doing here? Wait--Have you not moved from the beginning?” She can barely finish the sentence without giggling.

You grin, “I was looking for something.”

Your voice is soft, too calm for your usual frantic spill. You gently set the knife down, hand coming to rest on your mouse, fingers idly, slowly, bouncing on the buttons.

“...What were you looking for?” She’s none the wiser, the numerous drinks consumed tonight numbing her sharp mind. She would have noticed. Your eerie composure would’ve given it away in a heartbeat, or at least hinted at something being objectively wrong. But she sounds curious. Poor girl, hasn’t she heard? Curiosity killed the cat.

“A knife.”

“A knife?!” There’s something about her tone that implies a mental clicking, the puzzle pieces falling together, “You have a knife?!”

“Yes.”

“No!”

You think it would only be appropriate that the random sequence of killing animations renders the backstabbing one. You grin, biting your lower lip with a quiet snicker.

i love women

if evil bad...why seggy?

You take your time leaving her there -- in true serial-killer-to-be fashion, you stick around for a bit longer, admiring your handiwork, or more like the chat singing your praises. You joined today with the intent of making an interesting stream. You have no doubt in your mind that now it will be legendary.

You move down the hallway, and you let your imagination wander: you can almost feel the stuffy air of your helmet, can almost hear your loud footsteps echoing in all this hush, can almost see your reflection in the spotless tile floor. It’s not long before your second victim makes an appearance, running circles in Cafeteria. You hear his voice first before you see him, recognizing Alex by his unhinged screech of “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s goooo!”

“And what’s got you so excited?” How cool and collected you are, gosh, you barely contain the quiver of excitement that threatens to slip out.

“Y/n!” He exclaims, rushing to your side like a lost puppy--he’s really making this easy for you, he’s not even trying, “You just missed--Oh my fucking God, you just missed James, he-he called me tall, he called me fucking tall! Let’s go, let’s gooooo!”

“Well, you are tall, aren’t you?” You chime sweetly, almost as sweet as the drink that lingers on the tip of your tongue, “Real 6′3 energy, no?”

“Yes, yes, exactly! You get it, you fucking get it--” Once again, his mic goes mute, and you glance at the chat for help.

hard to transcribe what hes saying but hes taking shots and yelling that he loves you good job mom

hey, queen! girl, you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly

mom plz dont kill alex hes too cute hes all uwu rn

Oh, how you’re about to break his poor little heart. If you had any good left in you, you’d spare him. You don’t, and you’re not taking requests at the moment, so all you do is smile at your chat and they know. They just do. Hive-mind shit, you’re all two-faced little fuckers.

You giggle, and it sounds a tad fake, “You’re so weird, Alex,” You start, and he’s back in the call, a sound of confusion echoing in your ears, “but I get it, you know. You’re weird. You’re a weirdo. You don’t fit it, and you don’t want to fit in. I mean, really, has anyone even seen you without your stupid hat?”

“...Do--” He sputters, bellowing a laugh, “Do you have that whole fucking monologue memorized?!”

“Is it because you’re bald?”

“I’m not fucking bald!” His giddiness is quickly replaced by anger.

You hum, pretend to think, lastly barking a “Liar.” before you kill him. His scream is cut off, leaving only deafening silence at it’s wake. Unlike with Rae, you don’t stick around. You didn’t appreciate how little he enjoyed your recital.

You run into James near Navigation, most likely on his way to Cafeteria. He ends his song mid-note, and you breathe a sigh of relief, “Finally! Someone! I’ve been looking all over, where the hell is everyone?” You question, blocking his way, lest he accidentally stumbles onto the crime scene and easily pins it on you. You’re not done yet.

“Honestly? No clue. I’m searching for them myself, like, everyone’s scattered. I hope no one died.”

You smile. You tried not to, but you can’t contain it, “Me, too.” You echo the sentiment, urging him to join you, and he does. Too trusting. Everyone in this game is too fucking trusting. You lead him back to Nav, feigning that you have a task here. As you pretend to move the spaceship, you can’t help but ask, “Hey, James?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s your favorite scary movie?”

A beat of silence passes, “Oh no, fuck that, I don’t like this at all.” He states, about to spin on his heel and bolt like he should do, but you’re quicker-- killer instincts and all-- and he’s dead before he makes it out the doorway.

“See, after your No More Lies video, I figured you’d only tell the truth.” Yes, this is the part of the anime where the villain monologues, only the hero in this case is an astronaut cut in half, and not exactly alive to listen to you. You hope James’ ghost sticks around, “Case in point, why the fuck did you tell Quackity he’s tall?” You eye the chat, which’s mostly spamming W and comparing you to Ryo from Devilman Crybaby. “Such a shame...” You murmur, pressing the REPORT button.

“What?! How are so many people dead?!” Ash gasps, her kind voice tinted with fear and confusion. Your three kills, like military stars on an uniform of a distinguished officer, are displayed on the board. Dream appears to be slacking, having yet to take a life.

“Someone’s been real fucking busy.” Charlie observes. It’s true, you have been.

“I found James in Nav, but holy shit--” You begin, exasperated, “--what the fuck, guys, how did we miss this shit? Where is everyone?”

“I’m at Electrical.” Corpse voices.

“And I’m with Corpse.” One sentence is all it takes to figure out your next target: Bretman. Revenge for being killed first in the first goddamn round, and for spending so much time with your boyfriend.

Eep!!! Boyfriend boyfriend boyfriend!!! The word even makes you forget your thirst for blood, that’s how whipped you are. Sadly, it’s time to return to reality, to this grave situation.

“And what have the two of you been conspiring?” You keep your tone level, but that alone is enough to set everyone off. The unease you had planted within them before the game started is starting to bloom. However, if they suspect you, they don’t speak up, not yet.

“Fishnets, mostly.” Corpse says.

only partly a lie he was mostly talking abt u queen <3

corpse simping for y/n is the sweetest thing ever

the times corpse used y/ns name when talking abt y/n: 1. the times he used baby or my baby: infinite

“I’m wearing them right nyoooow.” Bretman drawls.

You hum, “What a coincidence. I am, too.”

“Wait--For real?” That seems to catch Corpse’s attention, because of course it does, you picked them with him in mind, after all.

“No peeping.” You tsk, obviously referring to his tendency to hop onto your stream unprompted. Whether he actually listens to your demands is beyond you, “Peeping means cheating.”

“For the love of fuck all, can we get back to the three dead bodies, please? Because I’m about to have a second coming of Christ moment and taste my consumed, digested beer for the second time.” Charlie interjects.

“I mean, anyone have any ideas who’d do this?” Dream takes hold of the conversation. Quiet, disappointed nos greet him. They have nothing to go on, no clues, not even a subliminal message. With everyone scattered, there is no way of locating the actual bodies and drawing a long red trail leading back to you.

You’re too good at lying, and Dream is too good of a publicist. People tend to trust his judgement, which is his main asset (besides his calm demeanor of course). When the Among Us gods chose you as Impostor, they made sure you had every advantage.

“Who-Who do you think it is, Dream?” Ash questions, “I trust you. I do. Just know that.”

“No fucking clue.”

“Y/n?” She tries again.

“Same. I’m a bit worried, though.”

“Let’s, uhhh, let’s skip?” Sykkuno offers. The consensus is to start voting at six. Your new mission is to make sure you dwindle the numbers down drastically before that can happen. You have no qualms about sacrificing Dream in order to meet your goals, either. Absolutely cold blooded.

Back at Cafeteria, there are words exchanged about Quackity’s body just laying there, forgotten. Blame is shifted: how come we didn’t notice sooner? Where’s Rae? And you mindlessly go along with their mourning, not really paying attention. Dream leaves with Charlie and Sykkuno, Corpse requests you stay with him and you sprout fake apologies. Not his time yet. Us girls need to stick together!, you sing, following after Ashley and getting further and further away from him, going deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of the spaceship.

You find yourself in Security with her, her cute astronaut pressed to the cameras, watching the live feed, “Let’s lurk here, okay? Maybe we’ll see something.” If only she saw who was standing behind her.

“Who do you think is the Impostor?” You ask, standing in the doorway, “Or, more like, who are the Impostors?”

“Honestly?” She ends her word with a little sigh, “I think it might be Corpse and Bretman. I haven’t seen them at all this game.”

You smile, raising your brows, tilting your heard, and you sound so kind, like a dear old friend about to deliver a tender message, “...Have you seen me?”

“SHIT!”

Too late. In one smooth motion she joins the afterlife. You cut the lights, venting mindlessly till you spot Corpse and Bretman panicking in Weapons. Your existence is still a mystery to them.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck--” Corpse mumbles, “Bretman, don’t you dare fucking kill me right now.”

“I’m not Impostor!”

“Okay, I’ll drink to that.”

They rush out of Weapons, most likely on their way to Electrical, and you trail after them like the Grim Reaper itself, biding your time till you can deliver the killing blow.

“Corpse?!” You call out, mild panic ringing in your voice, “Is that you?”

“Shit, Y/n? Where are you?” He questions. Crew vision is so sad, so small, how can he not see you standing almost right next to him? “Where’s Ash?”

“I dunno,” You say, “when the lights went out I ran. Please don’t kill me.”

“I’d never do that, baby.”

Too easy. They’re all too fucking easy. You bite your lower lip, trying to stop the laugh bubbling in your chest, to stop the lightheaded dizziness that overcomes you with a rush of excitement.

“Thanks, pretty boy.” You mutter, and it sounds a bit lower than you intended, a bit darker, something sinister lurking underneath cotton candy words. It instantly clicks in Bretman and he makes a noise, something like a whine, and you see him backing away, “I know I can always trust you.”

Whether Corpse notices the odd shift in tone, he doesn’t show it, “I like it when you call me that.” Is all he says, and you hear the smile in his voice, the appreciation. The trek to Electrical is all but forgotten. You slowly make your way to Bretman, “Where are you? Come here.”

“Just a minute,” You say cheerily, “I just need to kill Bret first.”

“Holy shit.”

“N-” Your victim’s sentence is cut off in a second, and you can’t contain your manic cackle this time, because the screen bleeds red, the words VICTORY splattered on it, depicting yours and Dream’s sneaky astronauts. You’re still laughing as the voices of your fallen friends ring in your ears.

“Y/n, what the fuck, you’re an actual monster.” Dream says, but there’s no actual weight behind his words, each syllable punctured with a laugh.

“I knew the second she asked me about my favorite scary movie that I’d get the chop.” James states.

“Wait, Y/n, did you kill everyone?” Corpse questions.

“She fucking did!” Dream answers for you, “I got Charlie and Sykkuno, and barely at that. What the fuck.”

“I’ve been waiting so fucking long for this.” You admit, giggling, raising you glass, “I toast to you, Dream. My perfect partner in crime.”

“I didn’t really do shit, but cheers.”

Quackity heaves a heavy sigh, “Y/n, Y/n, you don’t actually think I’m weird, right? Right?”

“No, she does.” James chimes.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID I EVER DO TO YOU, DUDE?!”

More commotion, more noise, and you just sit there, buzzed, snickering, reading the chat as the rest agree to play another round. You thank the people who donated that you had accidentally missed among the, you know, murder, reply to a few questions, bow dramatically to the many praises and invisible flowers you receive for such beautiful assassin work. When you look back at the screen, you throw your head back with a maniacal laugh.

Impostor again, only this time it’s with Charlie. Family bonds are often restored when united under a common goal. You’re so happy. So happy. You weren’t done terrorizing your friends yet.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @bingusmode - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse husband x reader #corpse x reader #corpse social media au #corpse husband x y/n #corpse husband fic #corpse husband social media au #social media au #myso #make you say oh #quackity #dream smp #corpse x y/n #imagine #imagines #reader #xreader

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script-nef · 4 years ago

Text

So why won’t you realise it '^' | Gojou Satoru

Category: fluff

1.9k words; Movie date [2/6]

Spoilers of Howl’s Moving Castle!! Beware!!

← Previous chapter | Masterlist

“Eh, Shouko! What do you mean you can’t make it?”

“I mean, another person is about to come in and they need me to heal them. By the time I’m done the movie will be finished.” Shouko’s voice over the phone is laced with annoyance and sadness coupled with lethargy. You don’t know how she pulls off such a unique combination of emotions but she somehow accomplishes it every time. “And I was looking forward to it…”

This would have been the first time you had a break with her since the trip to France. And while she enjoyed it a lot, the same couldn’t be said for the two males. Which was weird since Gojou is infatuated with sweets and Ken-chan agreed to come. So it was kind of weird when there was a tense atmosphere between them. You know your brother and Gojou are nearly polar opposites, but their animosity wasn’t usually that strong.

They brushed it off as nothing when you asked if something was wrong, which was sort of dubious since you could kind of see the black cloud looming over the both of them, but you let it go. If it was something important, they would be able to handle it themselves or report it to you. You couldn’t sense any cursed spirits nearby so you guessed that they were just in a bad mood for some reason.

Still, you had a wonderful time and found some new snacks that everyone enjoyed. So a day well spent, all in all.

And Ken-chan told you to tell him if Gojou ever offers overseas trips or anything similar, so he must have enjoyed it. Maybe you can ask Gojou to take all of you to Denmark one day.

“Ah… my dear Howl. Life and curses separate us again.” Her voice is full of sadness now, no doubt mourning over her chance of watching her favourite character on a huge screen with surround sound disappearing.

“It’s okay! I’ll bring you the figurine and we can watch it again here in about… uh…”

“Ten years?” She sounds like she’s about to drop dead.

“Uh… yes… But maybe five years? Hopefully? You know, I shouldn’t watch it without you. I’ll come back to school.”

“No, no. Watch the movie. At least you’ll get to see it. Ah, they’re coming now so I have to go.”

“Ah, okay. Bye, Shouko! Stay positive!”

A non-committal sigh accompanies a small “Bye” before the call clicks off. A frown takes over your face at the lost opportunity for her. She was looking forward to this for a long time and you leapt at the chance for another girls’ day out. Being able to watch a childhood favourite is an added bonus. But now you’re standing in the movie theatre, the ticket desk just across the room and an extra on your hand.

It’s a shame because it cost quite a lot. Shouko is definitely going to mope about this when you get back and maybe start smoking again. She always has a pack on her even if she said she quit, and smokes one if she’s stressed or angry. You should call someone and make sure somebody takes it away from her.

You should probably hold onto the ticket and give it back. Or maybe that would make it worse for her, serving as a reminder of this day. Conflict rages inside your head. There’s a high possibility of either decision breaking her heart. Again. A buzz from your phone saves you the trouble of deciding.

Shouko: I sent someone as my replacement.

A tap on the shoulder makes you turn as you type in a reply and you come face to face with a black jacket. Gojou’s head pops down.

“Hey there. I think you called for a replacement!” He seems to be in a ridiculously good mood, even more so than usual. Maybe his students successfully finished another mission. Which is great. It also means more paperwork for you. Which is not so great.

“How did you com—ah. Teleportation.”

“Ding ding ding! Correct!” He's been using the skill more frequently lately, popping in and out of places like one of those Whac-A-Mole games. . It gives you heart attacks all the time and you’re sure he gets a kick out of it. You saw how his smiles widen when you flinch or react. Thankfully it’s when you’re alone so other people never see you jump what feels like a metre into the air.

“Do you want popcorn?” He breaks you out of your thoughts. “I think they have the new caramel flavour. Apparently it’s way too sweet.” So perfect for Gojou. Even though he’s asking if you want it, there’s a spring in his step which definitely means he’s getting some. Probably the biggest option they have.

And you’re proven right because he comes back with two huge buckets which look impossible to finish. When you try to object, he cuts off with “I’ve eaten three buckets before. Alone.” With the smile he’s giving you, it really doesn’t sound like he’s joking. You try to take one to lighten the load but he says it’s alright.

He signals the way to the theatre rooms with his head, walking beside you as you find your way.

“So what’s the movie?” Your head snaps to him in confusion.

“You don’t know?” A shake and a shrug. “It’s Howl’s Moving Castle. This was Shouko’s idea since she loves it and this year is Studio Ghibli’s 40 year anniversary. The cinema is having an exclusive showing of their movies this month. Only one session per movie, for some reason. Surely they would make more money if they played it over multiple days, but. I dunno. Executives make weird decisions.” A light scoff from him to tell he knows exactly what that’s like. His hatred for the higher-ups runs deep. You don’t push it.

“So she wanted to come but got held back at the last minute?”

“Yeah. Ah, here are our seats.”

You’re placed in the very middle of the room and you both make yourselves comfortable. Shouko went all out for this movie, upgrading the seats and making it a recliner. Your poor back, abused after sitting in chairs and hunched over computers for so long, practically melts into the plush cushion. It’s so comfortable that you might fall asleep in it if it isn’t Howl that’s about to start.

Feet dangling in the air, you look over to Gojou to see him on his phone. It looks like he’s in a chatroom and you catch the words ‘Shouko’ and ‘favour’ before looking away. You didn’t mean to peek, but it’s not like you can consciously not read something. It was in your line of sight and you averted your eyes as soon as you realised what you were reading. Your brother brought you up better than to pry into other people’s businesses, even if it’s really, really tempting.

“Phones need to be placed on silent, you know.” The ads are coming on the screen. He smiles at you, slipping it into his pocket.

“Just talking to Shouko. She says she hasn’t even started properly.”

Disappointment fills you. Gojou is a good friend to watch this with but you hoped Shouko would somehow miraculously finish in time. She would be devastated.

“I’ll have to make this up to her when we get back. Give her the figurine and keep her hap—ah! I forgot! Gojou, I was supposed to ask someone to take her ciga—” He cuts you off with a light pat on your hand.

“Don’t worry, I did it already. All of them are safe out of her reach and I gave her packets of hot chocolate instead. When we get back, she’ll have drunk at least half of them and be in a good mood.” What a Gojou-like replacement. He smiles like a child wanting pats on the head for a job well done. You just barely catch yourself from moving.

Gojou gets a rep for being aloof and neglectful, but he does take care of the people he holds dear to him. His friends, members of the school, his students. You hope you’re included in the list.

Actually, the more you think about it, the more you realise he’s different from initial perceptions. You learn more and more about him as time goes on, in the most delightful sense. He’s somewhat like an onion, new characteristics being revealed every time a layer is peeled. A snicker escapes at the thought of Gojou dressed up like an onion, just waddling around. He shoots you a questioning head tilt which you wave off.

In the years that you’ve known him, he made himself into a trustworthy friend. One full of laughs and ridiculousness. Maybe it’s his childishness that puts you at ease, but he’s incredibly comfortable and easy to relax around. Thoughts trail and the words fly out of your mouth before you even think.

“You know, I think you would make a wonderful boyfriend.”

He freezes completely, like somebody’s zapped him in place. You stare at him, wondering what’s wrong, but the lights dim and by the time he gathers coherence, your concentration is on the opening sequence.

“Ah, that was so good! Ugh, I love Howl. Isn’t he so cool?” You skip out of the room, remembering to take the figurines provided at the exit, with Gojou trailing behind you. “You know how she asks him to wait for her in the past? The first thing he says to her in the movie is ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’ He searched for her the entire time! This is modern poetry. This.”

“Do you think Howl would be a good boyfriend?” The question stops you. It’s different than usual for some reason, the voice asking the question and the intensity of it. He’s still his aloof self, all smiles and grins, but there’s something you can’t quite place that’s wrong. It’s unnerving, but you diligently answer his question.

“Um, I mean, yeah? Look at how cute he is with Sophie. See?” The figurine is a frozen shot of Howl and Sophie dancing in the rain with an umbrella that’s not being useful at all. They’re both incredibly detailed, so much so that you can see their clothes and skin drenching wet. Wow, this is actually a phenomenal job. Shouko will be so happy. It makes your heart lighter knowing that at least something might light up her day.

“Why is he cool?” Gojou seems to be invested in Howl. It confuses you since he just watched the movie with you and he saw how awesome Howl is.

“Hm, well for one he can do magic.” He opens his mouth but you shush him with a finger to his lips. “Yeah, I know, what we have is kind of like magic too. But theirs is just… different. He just makes it seem kind of elegant. And he overcame his fear just for Sophie. Remember the scene with Sulliman and in the cluttered bedroom? He still found the strength to protect her even though he was so scared before. It’s admirable. I guess I like strong guys.”

“Hmm~” His tone is contemplative. “You know I’m stronger than him, right?”

A question mark forms over your head. He’s being really weird today. “Yeah? You’re the strongest in the universe, silly. What’s up with you?” Gojou just chuckles and ruffles your head.

“Nothing, nothing. Just making sure you know.” He slings his arm around your shoulder, the intensity gone and the light spring in his step back. “Who else do you think is strong?”

Next chapter →

#gojou x reader #gojou imagine #gojou satoru x reader #gojou satoru imagine #gojo x reader #gojo imagine #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru imagine #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk imagine #jujutsu kaisen imagine #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #gojou #gojou satoru #fluff #series #female reader

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wildernessuntothemselves · 4 years ago

Text

Prey for You | Part 4

Genre: Smut, angst, and some fluff this time

Word Count: 4.4k

Summary: It has come to this. After your landlord kicks you out, you’re at Chan’s mercy. Turns out, he might not be as bad as you thought he was.

Warnings: enemies to lovers, switch!reader, switch!chan, wolf!hybrid chan, fox!hybrid reader, thigh riding, really unheathly dynamics

A/N: this part is like the opposite of a tootsie roll soft on the outside hard on the inside

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Part 5, Part 6

“This is just for a short while.” You say, swallowing the bile that has risen up in your throat as you look at the smug wolf sitting in front of you on his couch.

“Sure.” He shrugs nonchalant, but the cocky arch of his brow says otherwise and you have to squash down your pride with everything you’ve got not to jump on him. Like it or not, you’re at his mercy now that your landlord has officially evicted you. Without his gracious help, you’d now be on the streets. “I’ll find another place as soon as I can.”

“You can take all the time you need.” He opens his arms wide, going for a welcoming vibe but the stupid grin on his face counteracts it.

“No. I’ll be out of here soon.” You deadpan, not wanting to owe him more than you already do. God knows he’ll hold his over your head forever. "And I don't feel comfortable living here for free so from now on until I leave, I'll be taking care of things around the house."

“Oh, how domestic.” He chirps sweetly.

"More like a live-in maid." You mutter under your breath but he easily hears it, the stupid grin finally dropping from his face as he sits forward and looks at you sincerely. "Don't say that. I meant what I said. You’re here as a friend."

"Yeah, sure." You snort. “You’re basically high from gloating.”

A smile tickles his lips again as he leans back. “I always enjoy the chance to one-up you, but that doesn’t mean I’m lying.”

“Wow, you really are a saint.” You jeer, grabbing your bag and heading towards the room that is to be yours.

_________________

To your great surprise, living with Chan was actually kind of nice. Aside from the obvious perk of living in such a comfortable, beautiful house that had everything you could ever need. Chan himself was proving himself to be a quiet congenial roommate. Most importantly, he left you the hell alone for the most part, staying cooped up in his studio the majority of the day so that you barely even saw him. And despite your agreement that you’d take care of things around the house, he still did most of his things himself, picking up after himself and washing his clothes before you got the chance to. He fed himself too as indicated by the boxes of takeout from every possible fast food place filling out the trash. So you were barely wasting any time on taking care of the house, and spending most of your days following up on your studies like you so sorely needed.

All in all, this whole arrangement was working out positively in your favor. Too positively, that you have to wonder what he was getting out of this. He can’t possibly really be doing this out of the goodness of his heart, especially since no one is even aware of this kind deed for him to gain any morality points off of it. He hasn’t even made a move on you for the whole three weeks you’d been here, seeming content to just coexist with you that you were starting to feel like you were taking advantage of him somehow. Even though this whole thing was his idea.

Maybe that, your momentary self-doubt, is what prompted you to do what you did next.

“Hmm, something smells nice.” Chan remarks, walking into the kitchen where you were making yourself some food. He stands behind you to take a look at what you were cooking, and you feel your heart skipping a beat at the now familiar scent of him filling your nostrils and his body being so close to you. And when he speaks, his voice deep and calm next to your ear, it makes your skin tingle. “Looks tasty too.”

And like a teenager who had the great fortune of being noticed by the popular jock, you twist your head around to look at him, dewy-eyed as the words stumble out of your mouth before you can think them over. “Would you like to have dinner with me today?”

He pauses, looking at you curiously and you turn back to the food and continue nervously, “I mean, that junk food you eat everyday can’t be good for you.”

“Aw, are you worried about me?” He asks cheekily, and your shoulders tense. “Never mind.”

“No, no, I’ll have dinner with you.” He rushes to say, plopping down on a seat resolutely. “No take backsies.”

“Idiot.” You mutter, finding yourself wearing an involuntary smile because of him once again.

__________________________________

You’re not the best cook, you’ll be the first to admit it, but Chan praises your food like you are a world class chef.

“Fuck off, Chan. It’s not that good.” You protest awkwardly, not really used to being complimented. But he insists, mouth full of food, “It is! It’s sublime.”

You look down at your food to avoid eye contact with him and put on your best snooty voice. “Poor thing. Your habit of eating exclusively junk food must’ve ruined your palate to the point where you think my cooking is anything but decent.”

“You sell yourself short. These hands--” He suddenly grabs your hands suddenly, startling you as he kisses them. “They’re magic.”

You yank them back to your lap, flustered, the adrenaline pushing your poor fluttering heart into overdrive and making you panic. You quickly grab your fork and shove some food into your mouth trying to distract yourself from the conflicting emotions clashing in your chest, and regretting it almost immediately as your nausea swells up.

“Is that how you woo prey?” You snark, taking a big gulp of your wine to wash down the piece of food you barely chewed. “Blatantly lie to them about their cooking skills?”

The atmosphere fully changes as Chan drops his cheery attitude. “Can we not talk about… that? It’s just you and me here. We don’t have to let the outside world in, do we?”

You still, your sense of danger rising up exponentially at his suggestion, and once again you find yourself wondering why he was doing this. What was his endgame here? Was he just messing with you? He puts on an honorable performance but you’ve seen him slip before. It must get tiring for him. Maybe he wants to see you hurt; it’s in his nature and he’s been repressing it for so long. You’d be the perfect victim too. No one even knows you’re here, and even if they did, they’d never believe your word over his.

Or he could be genuine. Maybe he’s as nice as he tries to be. But that just scares you more, because how do you deal with that? You’ve never had a relationship with someone that was open and trusting. You’ve always hid behind your games. They kept you safe. No one has ever truly hurt you because you’ve never allowed someone to get close enough. But if you trust Chan, if you let him in and he betrays you… you don’t know how you’d even recover from that.

You want to believe though. Everyone always says how much of a good person he is, how loyal, how selfless, how supportive. They can’t all be blind, right? And you’ve seen it too, in the way he always strived to protect his friends from you. He wanted the best for them. Maybe he could want the best for you too.

“Okay.” You answer in a small voice, heart pounding.

His answering smile is bright and big, but it does nothing to assuage your fears so you settle for taking another sip of your wine. That’s what it’s made for, right?

“So, what do you actually do? I never asked.” Chan makes conversation as he gets back to his food.

You clear your throat. “I’m a waitress.”

“Oh, and… um, is that what you want to be doing?” He asks unsurely.

You roll your eyes at him, feeling a little at ease at his naivety. “No. Nobody wants to work in the service industry. It’s basically slavery and all your costumers are either rude or crazy. I hate it.”

He pauses, looking like he’s thinking very hard for a moment, before he asks, perplexed. “So why do you do it?”

“To eat?”

“Oh. Right. Of course.” His ears turn red and it’s his turn to take a big gulp of his drink. “I’m, uh, apparently an idiot. Yes, people work to afford living. Of course.”

“I guess you’ve never had to think about that.” You note, surprised that you don’t feel any bitterness as you say it.

“No.” He stares at the food on his plate. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah but--”

“But I don’t have money so you feel sorry having money in front of me?” You grin, tone light, and he smiles back, face flushed as he obviously chastises himself in his head.

“So…” He starts again, and it’s a little endearing how nervous he is. “What do you really wanna do?”

You regard him for a second, wondering if you should really cross that line and let him in. Well, here goes nothing.

“I’m studying to be a doctor.”

His jaw drops to the floor. “You?”

“Yeah, shocking right?” You quip, taking another sip from your glass.

“I mean, yeah.” You would take offense at his words if it weren’t for the--you begrudgingly admit--endearing confused frown on his face. “Isn’t that a traditionally prey profession? Don’t you get, like, weird looks or something?”

“Yeah.” You snort, feeling the bitterness rise to the surface. “I get more than just weird looks. People feel the need to tell me every moment of every day how I’ll never be a good doctor. How no one will trust a fox with their life. How I should just quit and get into business or law or whatever other profession that can use my no-doubt nefarious skills.”

“That sucks.” He says then immediately cringes at his lame comment.

“Yeah, no shit. And guess who says it the most? Prey hybrids.”

A light bulb suddenly clicks above his head. “Is that why you dislike them? They’re really not all like that--”

You interrupt him sharply, already knowing where he was going with this. “They’re not like that to you because you’re powerful and rich and you could do whatever you want, but they’re ruthless to me. They’ve always been. So yeah excuse me if I don’t care too much for your prey apologism. It’s pretty infuriating actually.”

“I really think you should--”

“What about you?” You ask pointedly, clearly wanting to change the subject. “I mean, I know that you’re a producer. I suppose this is what you’ve always wanted to be doing.”

“Ah, yes.” He coughs, straightening in his seat as he reels back from the change of topic. “I’ve loved it since I was an angsty teen listening to hip hop and pretending like I’m so cool and gangsta.”

The thought of little rich boy Chan swearing it up and down and acting like a thug brings an involuntary and sincere laugh out of you. It doesn’t bother Chan though. If anything, he looks content to have made you laugh.

“Did you…” He begins after your laughter dies down, fiddling with the stem of his glass as he looks at you from under his lashes, “Have you ever listened to any of my tracks?”

“No.” You scoff, the word coming out automatically. I mean, why would you? It’s not like you like the guy.

His face falls at your flippant answer. “Ah. Of course.” He says flatly, bringing his glass to his mouth.

You feel a pang of guilt in your chest. Logically, you know you have no reason to feel bad. You two were never on the best of terms and you have no obligation to listen to his songs. And yet, as you look at his crestfallen face, the guilt still eats at you.

“How about you show me some after dinner?” You find yourself suggesting and his face immediately brightens up. “Yeah! I mean… you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He interjects quickly, even though he clearly wants you to.

“I want to.” You say firmly, and he smiles. ___________________________________

“I’m a nice guy who just has a lot of money?” You wheeze, cracking up and face flushed from the intoxication. You were somehow on Chan’s lap as the night progressed from him showing you his proudest works to his most regrettable ones.

“I know. I know. What was I thinking, right?” He laughs along with you despite his obvious embarrassment.

You lean in close to his face, humming, "I think it's endearing." You kiss him.

"You just like embarrassing me." He protests weakly, mouth opening against your lips.

“Guilty.” You pull away to take his shirt off. Caressing his exposed muscles, you grin, “Hmm...yummy.”

He bursts out laughing, “You like it?”

You shrug, “It’s not what I usually go for but I can get used to it.”

He scoffs at that, and pulls your own shirt over your head. Tugging your bra over your breasts, he cups them in his hands and murmurs against your skin, “Well, I don’t need to get used to these.” before his mouth latches onto them. He sucks marks onto the sensitive flesh while his hands grope and knead your breasts.

Looking up at you, he pushes your breasts together and laps his tongue over the nipples. Your arousal spikes as your gaze locks with his challenging one, and you start rocking yourself over his thigh.

"Fuck that's hot." He mumbles, lightly tugging on your nipple with his teeth as he pulls away, making you moan out and your hips swivel down to push your core harder against his thigh.

"Wait, wait," He pulls you to your feet, and you whine, protesting the loss.

“Hush, baby girl.” He soothes, yanking your pants down your legs along with your underwear before he slips his hand between your legs to drag a finger up your slit, hissing when he feels your wetness. "That's what I want." He groans, pulling you back down on his thigh and using his grip on your hips to make you move over his thigh again. "Want you to ruin my pants with your cum, baby girl. Show me how much you need me."

"But I don't need you." You retort, though your hips don’t slow down.

“Are you sure about that, my little fox?” He flexes his thigh under you, pushing it up more against your core.

“Uh-huh.” You breathe, squeezing your eyes shut and throwing your head back. He takes the opportunity to get back to sucking on your breasts, which only makes your movements more frantic.

“Come on, baby, tell me how good I am and I’ll help you.” He gasps between kisses. You tug on his hair, almost bouncing on his thigh now. “Why don’t you beg for it, pup?”

“Unbelievable.” He growls, pulling your head down. “You’re still so prideful even as you hump my leg like bitch.”

Whatever stinging remark you would’ve hurled at him is muffled against his lips as he pulls you into a hungry kiss. You let him push his tongue into your mouth, taking him in and caressing it with your own before you put your hands to his chest and push him back.

“You really want it? Want me to say how good you are for me? How wet you make me?"

He nods eagerly.

“What a sweet pup.” You praise, “Striving so hard to please me. You’re doing so well, baby. You’ll make me cum real soon.”

“Do it, please. I wanna see what you look like cumming up close.”

“Keep tensing your leg like that and you’ll have me cumming in no time, puppy.” You bite your lip, small but needy moans flowing out of you. “What a good boy you are, so good.”

“Please,” He whispers, his hands helping you move faster on his thigh. “Please, please.”

“So close---ah---oh god, so close...baby!” You gasp, grabbing onto him tightly as you finally cum, the orgasm surprisingly potent. He beams up at you, soaking up every little moan and shudder you let out. “So pretty.”

Gradually, your panting breaths turn into airy giggles as you get down from your high. You give his lips a peck before your hands fall between you and starts pulling his dick out from his sweatpants. You grin against his lips, feeling giddy. "I can’t believe I’m gonna let you fuck me in your studio. How cliche.”

His answering chuckles are punctuated with little moans as you glide your hand up and down his hard dick. “If it--ahh-- makes you feel any better, t-this is the--ahh, yeah like that, baby-- the first time I fuck anyone here.”

You giggles increase in pitch, “You’re so full of shit, Chan.”

“I’m serious.” He whines, leaning up into your touch as you swipe your palm over the leaking head of his cock. “This is kind of a... sacred place for me."

“Yeah, right.” You roll your eyes, “It can’t be that special if you’re here with me now.”

“It is.” He insists with a pout, and continues casually as if it was nothing, “Because you’re special.”

Your hand stills on his cock, your face turning to stone as you try and make sense of what he just said. He's messing with you. He has to be.

Fear and uncertainty makes your stomach churn and your skin loses all color, your face getting cold and sweaty as the bile rises up in your throat. You thought you could handle this but you can’t. You’re too much of a coward to risk it and your sense of self-preservation rears its deformed head once again.

Standing up abruptly, you croak through your suddenly dry mouth, "I think I’m gonna go. I need to lie down"

Chan gets up too, not letting you go. "Oh, is everything okay? Are you sick?".

"I’m fine. I’m just..." You explain weakly, wriggling yourself out of his grip as quickly as you can in your intoxicated state. "I gotta go."

“Hey, wait!” Chan calls after you, but doesn’t try to stop you. You hear him curse out just before you get out of earshot.

____________________

You wake up with a huge headache and an even bigger feeling of dread. The events of last night coming back like a bullet shot through your chest, and you’re even more confused now with the hangover shattering any hope of a coherent thought forming in your head.

You stumble out of bed and head to the door, resolving to get some water and some painkiller so you’d maybe start to feel like your head wasn’t likely to explode at any moment. But as you slide the door open, you hear bickering voices just outside in the living room.

"Chan, what the hell are you doing man?" You hear a familiar voice ask but your brain is too scattered to pinpoint the owner of it right now. Luckily, you don’t need to as Chan speaks up in reply, "It's fine, Jisung. It’s all under control."

"No, it's not. Isn’t that what you used to tell me? That no matter how much she makes it seem like she cares, she could flip the table on me at any moment and that I shouldn’t trust her. That’s what you said!”

You quickly pick up that they’re talking about you despite how much you don’t want to believe it. But that’s the kind of language that has always been directed at you, there is no mistaking it. Yet, against all reason, you hope it’s not true. Or at least, you hope Chan would deny it.

He doesn’t, of course. They never do.

“I know what I said!”

“And? Do you trust her now?” Jisung asks incredulously.

“Of course not.” Chan vehemently denies, the resoluteness in his voice piercing straight through your heart.

Of course not. Of course he doesn’t trust you. What a ridiculous question.

“Jisung is right, Chan.” A new voice adds and you focus on the sound of it, trying not to break down just yet. “You’re letting her sleep under your roof, man, and you didn’t even think to tell us. Has she been messing with your head?”

They are talking about you like you are some kind of monster, some wild beast that would pounce on you the second you turned your back to it. You’d find it amusing coming from anyone else, but not from Chan, because for once in your life you wanted to believe that someone could see you as something other than what the world thought you were. You blame yourself for this one.

“My head is fine.” Chan retorts angrily, letting out a forced sigh. “I’m just.... She was in trouble and I had to help her.”

“Oh, you had to?” The new guy interjects mockingly, “Tell me, would she have helped you if you were in her position?”

“That’s irrelevant.” Chan protests.

“No, it’s not. She would’ve let you suffer and laughed about it. She’s bad news, man.”

“I think you guys are being a little harsh.” Another voice speaks up, deeper than the rest. “Maybe she’s not as bad as you think. I’m sure Chan has a good reason for trusting her.”

“Yeah, I’m sure his dick does.” Jisung scoffs, “You know, I can’t believe you’d do this after preaching to me for hours about how I need to stay away from her and how stupid I am for letting her get to me. But hey, I’m just a stupid squirrel hybrid, right?”

You’ve heard enough. Pushing the door the rest of the way open, you plaster a smile on your face and step into the living room, the four boys’ head snapping around to look at you.

“Chan, you didn’t tell me we had guests.” You ponder theatrically, ignoring Chan’s dismayed exclamation of your name. "Oh hey, Sungie. I knew you'd be back for more." You wink at him and he immediately ducks behind the dark-haired stranger.

“Please go back to your room.” Chan asks, equal measure pale and tense.

“But aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?” Your eyes flit over the three guys, stopping when you get to the blonde, freckled one. “Especially this one. What’s your name, pretty boy?”

The boy blushes at the unexpected flirtation but extends his hand out to you nonetheless. "I'm Felix." He greets you unexpectedly cheerily, and you’re even more surprised to find out that he’s the one with the deep voice.

But before you can take his hand, Chan steps between the two of you.

"I need to talk to you." He grits, pulling you to your room and shutting the door behind you. “What are you doing?”

You shrug, feigning ignorance. “Saying hi to the guests?”

“Now is not the time for your games.” Chan rakes his hand through his hair, stressed out, but you keep up your innocent facade and he sighs in defeat. “You know what? Just stay in your room until they leave and then we’ll talk.”

“No, we’ll talk now. Are you ashamed of me or something?" You wonder, cocking your head to the side. “I thought you said I was special to you? But apparently you say a lot of things.”

“Baby--”

“Why, Chan?” You finally let your facade drop, letting the full extent of your disappointment and sadness break through. “If you don’t want me here then why did you offer in the first place?”

“I do want you here. I just wasn’t planning on anyone finding out about this.”

You laugh in disdain, “How do you always know what to say, Chan?”

“I’m sorry but you have to realize how bad this looks for me. I worked fucking hard to get to where I am today. There are so many people waiting for me to make the slightest mistake so they can watch me fall. And here you are… well, you don’t exactly have the best reputation. If people find out about us then--”

“Wow, you really are an angel, aren’t you?” You bite, venom lacing your every word.

He laughs cruelly. “Oh, yes, and the judgement comes out. You’re such a fucking hypocrite. You can judge everyone and treat them like shit, but as soon as someone does the same to you you’re suddenly the poor misunderstood victim that everyone bullies.”

You reel back at the harshness of his tone and words. He’s never spoken to you like that before, no matter how much he was upset at you. It was jarring. “Stop it.”

“Why? It’s what you’re best at, darling.” He sneers, continuing to ruthlessly attack you. “You judged me before you even knew me and went about treating me like a feeble predator because that’s what you decided that I am. And now you want me to take responsibility for your actions and stand up for you when other people treat you the way you’ve been treating them? But here’s the thing, baby; maybe if you had actually been a decent person and treated others with respect, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now. Hell if you'd been a decent person, you wouldn't be having such a hard time anywhere, not with me, not with school, not--"

"No, fuck you, chan. Don't you dare tell me this is all my fault. You know nothing about my life! I can't believe I actually--never mind.”

“No say it. You actually what? Liked me? Cared for me? Don’t make me laugh, fox. You don't give a shit about me. Every time I try to get close to you, you pull back like I make you sick. If it weren’t for me offering you a place to stay, you wouldn’t even be talking to me right now. You only care now because I have something to give you, but the second you’re done with me, you’ll throw me in the trash like you do everyone else. And I’m not going to sacrifice all that I’ve worked for to entertain you until you’re bored.”

“You may be right. I may be as awful as you all say I am.” You smile, tears falling down your face. “But at least I'm honest with myself. You on the other hand? Under all your pretense, you're just as fucked up as I am. And one day, everyone will see you for how ugly you really are. ”

_______________________________

A/N: sorry guys she (me) had to do it to you. leave your feedback uwu

#bangchan smut #chan smut #stray kids smut #bangchan angst #stray kids angst

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insanityclause · 3 years ago

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: There’s a great line in this season’s penultimate episode where your Loki and Sylvie are stunned at watch Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki recreate Asgard to distract Alioth and you say “I think we’re stronger than we realize.” There seems to be a great resonance in the line that there’s a whole lot of Loki coming in the finale and probably more …

HIDDLESTON: I suppose it resonates with the theme that we all wanted to highlight about purpose and about meaning. Loki’s someone who’s probably been deluded by the idea that he’s burdened with glorious purpose, and that perhaps that purpose has been revealed to be fraudulent or meaningless, and maybe his self-image or the role that he has condemned himself to play is redundant.

His experiences through this story have shown him that there are actually more opportunities available to him, and you know, it speaks to this idea, like, can we change? Can we evolve, and in that evolution, is there room to grow? You know, so, I think the stronger than we realize I think is Loki finally understanding that, really, by caring for other people, that maybe there’s power in that, and I found that very touching, and the whole thing is an extraordinary dream.

DEADLINE: Speaking of an extraordinary dream, you have been playing Loki for a decade now, since the first Thor movie, We know you are going to do some voice work in the animated What If…? series, but how has it been having this series directly centering on him, in all his variants, so to speak?

HIDDLESTON: You know Dominic, I have enjoyed it so much, because I felt it was a gift and a privilege to be invited to come and sit at the table and think about what the show might be. Also, I suppose so many of the things that I’ve discovered about Loki as a character in the comics and a character in the Norse myths, in the canon, aspects that I’ve always thought were interesting, and understandably, there hasn’t been time or space in the movies to explore them.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

HIDDLESTON: Those aspects of him have been externalized and embedded into this new story about identity itself and about integrating the disparate fragment of the many selves that he is or perhaps the many selves that we are. You know, we contain multitudes. Loki certainly contains multitudes. We have met many of those multitudes, including Alligator Loki (laughs).

DEADLINE: Sounds like you’re not done with those multitudes yet. From your POV, from conversations with Kevin (Feige) is there more that you see for the character as the MCU heads into its next stages?

HIDDLESTON: Well, I certainly don’t have Kevin’s brain or encyclopedic knowledge or capacity for invention. I’ve been on the ride for a while, and it’s been the most extraordinary journey, and to have lived through different iterations, different phases of the MCU, and I’m so grateful that I’m still here, and it’s been amazing to watch. I feel that the MCU is even more expansive, is even braver, more inclusive than it’s ever been.

DEADLINE: How so?

HIDDLESTON: I think the stories are getting really exciting. Not that they weren’t before, but I think they understand that the investment of the audience is very deep, and they don’t take it for granted for a second. So, yeah, I suppose the perspective I have on how Loki might affect the ongoing course of the MCU is this idea of the multiverse. People have already understood it when Miss Minutes is introducing Loki to the TVA. She talks about the multiverse and the war and that the sacred timeline, which is reality as we know it.

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

HIDDLESTON: It raises questions of, well, maybe there are other parallel or alternate universes. Maybe there are other realities, and the possibilities there are endless. I feel that at the end of episode five, Loki and Sylvie are close to discovering the answers to the questions that they have of who is behind the TVA and that, somehow, this will provoke even more curiosity about…

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

HIDDLESTON: Well, yes, maybe, as I say, all the kind of multiple alternate realities are …it’s taken me 10 years to get a handle on this sort of mono timeline. The idea that this might be a multiverse is actually beyond my knowledge of physics.

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: (laughs) I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions. So, I’m also aware that I’m only playing him because of the audience, really. So, it’s not up to me. But I do love playing him, and every time, I seem to find new, interesting things about him. So, yeah, I’m a temporary passenger on Loki’s journey, but we’ll see. We’ll see where the ride goes now.

DEADLINE: On the ride, as the finale looms, there’s a ton of fan speculation out there and so much that people have hooked on to from the show. So, as the man at the center of it, what was your favorite part of Loki the series?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?📷I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Making your bonkers show in Atlanta as the world, as America was still in the heat of the pandemic. What was that like, because you were in production and then everything stopped and then you came back, right?

HIDDLESTON: I mean, people have used this word a lot, but it really was unprecedented. I think we did six weeks of filming before the hiatus, and then the production was suspended for four or five months, and we came back. At first, it was unfamiliar because we had to make adjustments, but the thing I remember most of all, quite honestly, is the diligence and resilience and spirit of our cast and crew.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: In that vein, you have just come off filming The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes for AppleTV+. Very different from Loki, and yet also a tale of what is real and who we are. Is that what attracted you to it on some level?

HIDDLESTON: I read it and immediately connected to it. Read the screenplay, the adaptation. It’s based on a novel by Sarah Perry, which was published in 2016 and is set at the end of the 19th century. It’s an extraordinary story about uncertainty and about our deepest fears and how sometimes our fears can distort our imaginings and how our minds can lie to us. About how we have to guard against that, and Perry sets it in this extraordinary time with a beautiful leading character of Cora Seaborne, played by Claire. Anna Symon adopted it.

There’s this community on the east coast of England who believe that an ancient beast has been awakened by an earthquake and that it’s dislodged all these fossils. But perhaps, it has also dislodged this ancient underwater monster, which has been used to explain certain unusual phenomena. This was in the era when Darwin had just been published a few decades before and people are starting to think, this Charles Darwin, he’s onto something. Still, fear spreads very quickly, and it’s a very fascinating time where science and faith are in conflict.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

HIDDLESTON: Maybe the themes are very Loki. Maybe that’s where they join up, but I’m playing a 19th century vicar who is trying to contain his community. You feel very destabilized by all these rumors. So, yeah, to go from Loki to a vicar was definitely new, a new territory.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

HIDDLESTON: Well, it’s my first significant time in Essex, where we filmed, which I feel embarrassed about. I’ve been to Essex before, but I’ve never been to the very, very eastern, most eastern coast of Essex. It’s the Blackwater Estuary, which then feeds into the River Thames, and it’s a very ancient part of England. It’s so marshy, it’s where in Great Expectations, that’s where Pip meets Magwitch for the first time. It’s all foggy and muddy and marshy and quite atmospheric and a perfect place to set a story about of uncertainty and fear and gothic romance. Clio Barnard directed it, and working with her has been amazing.

DEADLINE: You know, it occurs to me that of all the main Marvel characters, Loki has been such a constant, yet so ethereal in so many ways too. Is it jarring for you to jump back into the role with all the uncertainty it brings?

HIDDLESTON: You know, I’ve always seen it as sort of an extraordinary and surprising constant in my life for a decade. But, I don’t take it for granted because I don’t often…you know, it may end. It has actually ended, and those endings have been conclusive. I really thought a couple of years ago, after I made Avengers: Infinity War, you know, we all know what happens in that scene, and I thought, that’s it.I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

#Tom Hiddleston #Interview #Loki #The Essex Serpent

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jorvikzelda · 3 years ago

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A Quick Look Back On Star Stable's 2020 Year In Review article, Because People Are Talking About It

extremely long post; here is the article

"Western fans can look forward to another favorite frontier breed next year"—American Paint Horse released

"You'll see a lot more of this breed, in its natural environment, as the rest of the Wildwoods unfold in the coming months", "Early next year you'll cross the living bridge to experience a wild new side of Jorvik"—herd quests introduced and given two additional small questlines later in the year—one in March which also introduced the new Gary Goldtooth model, and one in late November in which we saw the frequently mentioned tension between the herds develop

"For those of you who wish you had more control over when each coat [of Magic Horses] is displayed, stay tuned for good news"—a button for switching between normal and magical coats (which, notably, made up a whole update) was added on the horse's character sheet, later complemented with the hotkey H

"The Marwari and Freisian [sic] debuted with exclusive new bridle styles that will eventually make their way to other breeds"—the Marwari bridle is now accessible to the G3 Arabian, released in May, and The Medieval and Baroque bridles are available to every breed released this year as well as the G3 Lusitano

"You'll see more from all these creators, as well as new collaborations, in 2021"—a multitude of comics were posted on their Instagram account, several of their artists released new songs (including one which all of them collaborated on), they collaborated with the animation studio Ferly to produce a short animated series, and several new books were released, including one graphic novel

"There's a big milestone in racing coming up that we can't wait to celebrate with you! Races are one of the main ways you play Star Stable every day and we want to improve the authenticity and variety of options you'll encounter and make racing more rewarding"—while most people, myself included, were kind of expecting a huge update to the way racing works, it seems in hindsight like what they were talking about was really the introduction of Working Equitation and perhaps the updating of some props; it fits the "variety" checkmark, at the very least

"Reflecting on the important role Jorvik plays as a virtual world to sustain very real human bonds with friends," says Star Stable 'Thou-Shalt-Not-Contact-Players-Outside-The-Game' Online, "we're looking at the role of riding clubs and how to improve that experience for everyone"—clubs were given a new UI, new options for setting different club roles' responsibilities, the ability to mail from the club window, and a club riding hall; after complaints regarding the lack of dots on the ground, several dot and line patterns were added to both the club-exclusive and regular riding halls

"On the story front, we have big things in the works. The villainous Dark Riders will at last steal the spotlight. (They were teased last year, but this time we mean it!) In addition to a visual glow up, you'll get to know these characters more intimately than ever before"—if "visual glow up" means putting Sabine in plain view on a mountain for a full week and "get to know […] intimately" means a single shot of Sabine's leg and hair and Khaan's stiff hanging reins, then sur

(looks like we're facing a Dark Rider story quest delay again, folks; don't come in the comments saying it's because they're pushing out so many horses this is a factoid thanks)

"Finally, and most importantly, we’re revisiting the player model. Such a huge part of joining a virtual world like Star Stable is having an avatar that expresses who you want to be. We recognize how limited the current avatars are. They don’t reflect our values or the diversity of our players. We hear you when you tell us how much this matters and we totally agree. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we begin this journey and look forward to your thoughtful feedback in the process when we are ready to share. Updating the avatars is one of the greatest challenges we’ve ever taken on, but we’re committed to getting it right." (This is the paragraph that made me realise I could simply copy and paste the quotes instead of typing every single letter out.) Many people have been MAD mad about this, thinking—fairly—that this meant Character Update This Year. SSE sure made it sound like that. In hindsight, though, it makes sense that this being a project of huge scale—especially with SSO's often mentioned tech debt—does mean that they could not possibly do it all within a year, and the article does say that they "appreciate [our] patience", are going to "begin this journey", and describe this project as "one of the greatest challenges they've ever taken on". It's coming eventually. (Probably only with feminine body types and without pronoun selection, despite "Such a huge part of joining a virtual world like Star Stable is having an avatar that expresses who you want to be", but it's coming. Eventually.)

Lastly, some statistics, because I love those!

This year:

16 updates contained a horse release of some sort; out of these, 8 consisted of limited-time horses, and of those, 3 of part of an event (Jorvik Stables Open House, Halloween, and Winter), while 3 were rereleases of previously existing magical horses (Ayla and Umbra, Tellina and Kampos, and the Nixies).

9 updates contained a new quest; out of these, 1 was a story quest, 2 were associated with the Halloween event (out of which 1 was only made up of doing everything in Galloper's Keep, though it did give almost 1000XP total), and of the ones not associated with Halloween, 1 was only very short (I'm not counting the Big Bonny quests as very short because while the quests themselves technically were, the grinding required to do them made the content last longer).

16 updates contained (or will contain) a new race; out of these, 7 contained (or will contain) temporary races, and 4 contained multiple races in the same update.

13 updates so far have contained new tack or clothing (not counting Bonus Shop items); out of these, 6 contained tack or clothing which was only available for a limited time or as part of a recurring event.

#would compare the stats to last year's but my spreadsheet hasn't come that far yet #I'll probably do a comparison of all years eventually #sso #alex originals #star stable online #star stable #I was going to list every single sso media release this year but then I realised how much work that was going to take #just scrolling through their whole instagram for all the comics... no thanks

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yourfavouritetragedy · 4 years ago

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I was adding onto the DSMP Actor AU post, but it turned into Wilbur musician AU, haha rip me, and I only know SBI anyways so here’s a separate post. (It goes back to actor AU at the end.) It’s hypothetically still in the same universe though, and obviously inspired by it. If anything’s phrased weirdly, it’s cuz this was originally an addition to that.

tbh I kinda adhered to their IRL careers too much compared to the OP but whatever it’s fine.

Also frick the “Dream SMP” for not having a better title lmaooo

Wilbur is an indie artist really on the come up

Your City Gave Me Asthma was pretty good for a first release, popular with both new fans and fans of his acting.

He had starred in a short mystery/thriller-ish series that started off disguised as a normal sitcom: Chilly in Lincolnshire {Editor Wilbur ARG}

It had a prominent release because of Jack Massey’s involvement and previous fame, but production was abruptly scrapped before it tied everything up with a bow on top, so to speak. It’s still unclear if this was actually planned in order to tell the story the way they way wanted.

Even before that, critics had mixed reviews, either applauding the storytelling and acting or calling it “irrationally confusing, an amateurish attempt to box unconventional storytelling into a conventional medium.”

Also SootHouse was a sitcom that achieved a cult following during the two seasons it ran before cancellation. Either you’re a fan or you’re never heard of it, and people constantly forget Wilbur was in it.

(He was a few other old shows on his resume too. Wilbur always focuses on the newest project, so everyone always forgets about what he was in before.)

Maybe I Was Boring EP was initially just bonus tracks on his website, but his fans liked it so much he gave it a wider release

In between, he had a few comedy songs go viral on youtube. Everybody was so confused when they realized it was the same Wilbur as musician/actor Wilbur. He laughed about it in an interview, saying “How many Wilburs do you know?”

That’s when it came out that “Wilbur Soot” was actually a stage name. (”Ha, fair, only one.” “Make that zero-- my name’s not really Wilbur.”)

He kinda disappeared after that?? Didn’t do anything, really inactive on social media. It was semi-confirmed that he was both working on his mental health and prepping some stuff (music, auditions).

But anyways he just released a series of singles, combined into Digital Love {E-girl trilogy}-- he’s transformed his image yet again, but this time he does take ownership of all his past ventures.

The release of Digital Love bridges the end of SMP Earth and the beginning Dream SMP.

But before that there was MCC and the other stuff.

They are shows where celebrities team up do stuff-- you know the type

but Minecraft Monday is still inexplicably Minecraft Monday. Some Youtuber just managed to get all these up and coming celebrities to play a Minecraft tournament.

And that’s where the Sleepy Bois (minus Tommy) met IRL so that’s where they meet here.

SMP Earth, like Minecraft Manhunts, is also a former show they were on. I’m going to call it World Domination. Don’t @ me; I know that’s trash lol.

They and the Dream Team met up because of their shared fanbases and were even talking a crossover, but it didn’t really work that well for the stories so they scrapped it

They make a non-canon cross over episode anyways {no IRL equivalent, I think}

Everybody loves the cons. Everytime there’s a con, five friendships are made and eight ideas are created.

Techno backstory time

He’s done a lot of long running, though not exactly popular, serials and sitcoms: Blitz, Survival Games, and Sky Wars.

Winstreak: 1000 {Bed Wars 1000 winstreak} was so popular they made a second season, but it never got as big as the first. He worked nearly exclusively with Hypixel Studios.

He was doing lots of random content for their new Sky World universe {Skyblock} -- the small studio was big on experimentation -- , when a fictional documentary, The Great Potato War, went proper viral.

They made two sequels WHILE he was doing those celebrity team challenge shows and then World Domination, and they were actually good sequels.

Got a reputation for being shallow and a sell-out, but he makes a joke of it so much he gets away with it and constantly self-promos.

Also a kinda scary to work with for the first time because of how single-minded he can get, but once you realize how socially awkward he is it’s okay.

Now that’s he’s in a lot of stuff with worldbuilding, he practically has the wikis memorized.

Tommy mainly did limited series and movies before World Domination, where he met the SBI.

He’d had been a fan of Wilbur for a while, and was super star-struck at first, but got over it really quickly in his Tommy style

He still is a total fanboy at concerts and whenever a new music video drops. “I’m friends with the guy! I know him, Wilbur Soot!” “Tommy, you’re famous too.” “Yeah, cuz I’m practically in the video!” “No--”

Wilbur takes Tommy to one of his concerts and he’s so hyped the entire time, especially to go behind the scenes and on the stage.

Sometimes he gets stressed about the pressure of being a child star, but Techno, Philza, and Wilbur promise to stand by him and they make him feel protected

One time Wilbur’s drunk and almost hands Tommy a drink before swearing and going, “You’re a bloody child! You can’t have that! God, what would Philza think?” Tommy’s not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Philza laughs at the story and actually lets Tommy try a little in a more controlled, responsible situation. Tommy texts his mum first, and then hates the drink anyways. (”This is rubbish! I am a man, but I’m not drinking this!” Techno: “Alcohol is disappointing. I drink orphan’s tears instead.” “Techno WHAT--”)

Philza had been the star of a zombie apocalypse show: Golden Core

He did canonically die to a child zombie in the movie version. Yes, they made a movie version of the TV show, because the Golden Core franchise actually has had many other shows {other hardcore series}.

Everybody tries to get the child zombie props near him because of that (they’re puppets)

He’s done a lot of other things, like in the original actor AU post, but none of them came close in popularity.

He gives the rest of the SBI the knowledge he’s gained from being in the biz for so long.

There’s also a running joke about SBI meaning “Spy Boys Incorporated” and them starring in a comedy spy movie

The fans would very much actually like this to happen. There’s so many fanons for it (maybe I’ll write one....)

Back to the DSMP. Maybe I’ll call it Dreamland or smth.

Wilbur constantly asks Tommy if he’s okay after any difficult scenes

Especially when they were hanging out together a lot in the exile arc.

All the brother scenes were cut because Wilbur kept breaking down and crying in them.

Sometimes people actually ask Techno and Tommy if they’re actually brothers. Tommy tries to go along with it half the time on the basis of “it’s be funny,” so there’s a subset of casual fans that genuinely don’t know.

After Alivebur was killed off, Wilbur was going to leave the show to concentrate on his music

But he missed the SMP and hanging so much that he just showed up on set one day saying “I’m a ghost now,” and everyone just rolled with it

Alivebur was so popular that, seeing that Wilbur was willing, they decided to bring him back for Season 3. He’s been avoiding doing heavy scenes, but he still seems really invested and like he wants to come back to the show.

Wilbur talks with Techno about writing and lore a lot

it’s one the few times Wilbur actually seems like the older one

Wilbur attempted to get a D&D group going in the cast, but the show was already close enough, with the amount of improvisation they can get by with

Tommy’s Pigstep cover happened, but the background was Philza clapping barely in time with just Wilbur on bass instead (and of course Techno’s “BAHP”s)

It was a charity stream. They had put on their costumes (clothes only) for a previous goal.

This one was simply called “We rap.”

Some people were almost disappointed that Tommy was the only one actually rapping, but he was so funny it made up for it.

Okay I spent the whole morning on this and it got way too long but I think I’m finally out of ideas. sorry haha hope you enjoyed! ^_^

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twh-news · 3 years ago

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‘Loki’s Tom Hiddleston Teases Marvel Series Finale, What It All Means & Is There More Of The God Of Mischief To Come?

By Dominic Patten | Deadline

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

EXCLUSIVE: “I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions,” says Loki’s Tom Hiddleston as the hours tick away to the finale of the Disney+ series drops early on Wednesday morning. “We’ll see where the ride goes now,” the Marvel alum adds. As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.

Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

DEADLINE: How so?

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.

That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?

I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.

For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.

It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

#loki #loki series #tom hiddleston #interview #article #deadline #loki spoilers #spoilers #loki series spoilers

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homeformyheart · 4 years ago

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the perfect gift (part 2) - noah harris x mc (mtfl)

author’s note: part 2 in the sequel/follow-up to first choice. there are mentions of the crimson veil, the club owned by priya lacroix from bloodbound, danni from it lives beneath and justin mercado from save the date as a friends/classmates of emma’s.

copyright: all characters owned by pixelberry studios. song lyrics belong to their respective artists. series/pairing: my two first loves - noah harris x mc (emma price) cross-series references: danni asturias (it lives beneath); justin mercado (save the date); the crimson veil (bloodbound) rating/warnings: 18+; smut between 🔥⚡ and ❄💧 icons word count: 6.3k based on/prompt: club scene visuals inspired by the songs “jealous” by nick jonas and “shape of you” by ed sheeran summary: emma spent months carefully planning noah’s 21st birthday gift and drove up to surprise him at hartfeld for the weekend, but things go south after a big fight makes them both reevaluate their relationship after three years together.

read first choice to learn how they got together in the first place.

read part 1.

the perfect gift (part 2)

emma rubbed her eyes sleepily as she fumbled around her nightstand for her phone so she could turn off the blaring alarm. she got in late the night before after driving all night from hartfeld and collapsed on the bed, grateful that she was at least so physically exhausted that she fell asleep right away instead of being kept up by the emotional rollercoaster of that night. she turned off the alarm and checked the time. it was already noon and she did not want to spend all day in bed feeling sorry for herself. she also noticed she still had no new messages or missed phone calls from noah, but he was likely still sleeping off all the alcohol he drank the night before.

after a very long shower, emma stood in front of her bathroom mirror, taking stock of how puffy her eyes looked. her phone started ringing from the room and she hurried out to answer it. she felt a slight twinge of disappointment when she saw that it was her friend and photography grad student danni and not noah, but she answered it. she had forgotten they agreed to grab lunch after she told her about what happened as she was heading back from hartfeld. she was going to have to rush if she was going to make it to the restaurant in time.

emma plopped into the booth across from danni and gave her friend a tired smile. danni gave her a sympathetic smile. “you look like crap.”

“thanks,” emma replied sarcastically, quickly scanning the menu and putting her order in. “i’m just annoyed with myself. i have every right to be upset with him and i should be mad. but instead i just feel…” she bit her lip. “worried.”

danni took a bite of her burger and chewed thoughtfully. “that makes sense. you still care about him and love him. one fight isn’t going to change that overnight. but haven’t you guys argued about this before? maybe you need to reconsider the long-distance thing. i don’t like seeing what this does to you.”

emma nodded, forcing herself to eat the food in front of her. “yeah, but something feels different this time. usually he texts or calls right away but i haven’t heard from him. i just don’t know if he meant what he said last night or not. and whether it’s over and even worth talking about.”

“look, emma, i get that he’s your high school sweetheart and you guys have been together for a long time. but what he did last night was uncalled for and you should definitely not reach out to him first. he needs to own up to what he did first,” danni said with a sigh.

“you’re right. i know you’re right, but… it’s his 21st birthday today,” emma said softly, looking at her phone longingly at the photo of her and noah on her lockscreen.

danni snatched up emma’s phone from the table. “okay, here’s the plan. you get to send him one happy birthday text. just one. then you’re blocking his number for the rest of the day and going out with me tonight. we’ll go shopping for the perfect club outfit and we are going to be single ladies living it up tonight, just leave it all to me.”

emma knew better than to protest when danni doled out orders like that and she was too physically and emotionally exhausted to care. so when danni gave her the phone back, she sent a simple happy birthday text and blocked noah’s number. she could assume they were broken up for tonight, right?

* * * * * after buying the “perfect clubbing outfit,” grabbing a quick bite, and taking a long nap, emma stood in front of her reflection in the bathroom mirror, taking note of the dark circles under her eyes that she would need to cover up. she carefully applied gold on top of the violet shadow on her eyelids before lining both with a subtle smoky eye. the gold and violet would bring out the warmth of her form-fitting, dark red, off-the-shoulder, short-sleeve dress had a sweetheart neckline and fitted corset that definitely accentuated her curves. the dress went to her mid-thigh but had a wide slit up her left thigh. she pulled on her black leather stiletto boots, a pair of dangling leaf-shaped gold earrings, and swiped on a coat of matte red lipstick. she carefully styled her long, balayage dyed hair into a side fishtail braid.

even she had to admit, this look was perfect. she hoped she wouldn’t have to be outside for too long in the not-quite-winter autumn night chill since she wasn’t about to bring a coat to a club.

her phone buzzed with text notifications from danni:

[danni: hey, you ready yet? justin says he can sneak us in without IDs but only if we get there by 9:30!]

emma typed out a quick reply before double-checking she had what she needed in her wristlet. she took one last look in the mirror, her gaze falling on the small heart and “N” pendant nestled on a silver chain that she always wore around her neck. noah had given it to her as a birthday gift two years ago. without giving it a second thought, emma unclasped the necklace and left it on her nightstand before locking the door behind her as she headed out.

* * * * * noah pulled up in the visitor parking lot, which happened to sit between the drop-off roundabout and emma’s dorm building, and took off his helmet. the drive took a couple hours longer than usual, between the usual rest stops and extra stops he needed to make whenever he felt too nauseous or sleepy. it was already dark by the time he arrived and he ached all over. he took out his phone and tried to call emma to let her know he was here but the call went immediately to voicemail again. he sighed.

even though it was all he could think about when he wasn’t actively focused on how exhausted he was, he still wasn’t sure what he was going to say to emma. somehow, an apology alone didn’t seem like it would be enough. they had had these fights in the past where he would let out his bottled up insecurities after a night of drinking and he had promised to do better each time they reconciled. he was pretty sure he would need to own up to that.

“emma, come on, the dryve is here and i already texted justin a picture of your outfit so he’s definitely excited to see you!” noah perked up at emma’s name and looked up to see two figures walking across the quad toward the drop-off roundabout. even in the dark and from a distance, noah could tell which one was emma and the boots she was wearing was just enough for his imagination to start running south.

“slow down, i can’t run in these boots! also, why would you text justin that?” noah felt his heart ache when he heard emma’s voice. he really missed her and didn’t register right away that his feet had already started walking toward her.

“duh, because he’s had a crush on you since last year and i told him you were single.” noah froze. single? this had to be a joke, right? or maybe he was having a nightmare, some sort of hallucination from lack of sleep?

“danni, what the hell? i’m not… i mean, i haven’t,” emma stammered, frustrated.

danni just shrugged. “no one’s saying you have to do anything with justin. let him buy you drinks and then just blow him off by saying you’re not ready to move on yet. problem solved, now let’s go or we’re going to miss our chance to get into the crimson veil!”

emma sighed and let her friend drag her to the dryve waiting by the curb. as danni leaned in to double-check the driver’s identity, emma let her gaze wander across campus until she noticed a white motorcycle in the visitors’ lot that looked awfully familiar. she took a couple steps closer to get a clearer vantage point when she felt a hand on her wrist yank her back.

“what are you doing? come on!” she climbed into the car after danni but couldn’t help look out the window at the parking lot.

“that looks like noah’s bike,” she said softly, too soft for danni to hear.

noah watched as the car drove away. he desperately wanted to feel more like himself and then maybe he’d be able to come up with a game plan. it wouldn’t be easy to talk his way into the crimson veil, one of the most exclusive clubs in manhattan but he needed to get in before this “justin” person tried to make a move on emma. he looked back at emma’s dorm building with hesitation; he did have a copy of her room key and could let himself in to take a shower and change. it would show that he was serious about working things out with her, even if she got upset that he let himself into her room without her knowledge. he started walking quickly toward the building before he could talk himself out of it. he needed to look and feel his best if he was going to show up to that club and win back his girl.

* * * * * it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the club, and just like danni said, their names were on the list and the bouncer barely glanced at them as he let them in. emma followed danni toward the bar as her eyes adjusted to the dim club, accented by gaudy chandeliers and soft neon lights accenting the booths and dancefloor.

“this place is awesome! what do you want to drink?”

emma skimmed the drinks menu. “i want to take it easy with the drinks, you know my rule about emotional drinking. a gin and tonic is fine.”

danni rolled her eyes. “boring! as long as you do at least one tequila shot with me,” she turned away to relay their orders when emma felt the warmth of someone’s chest against her back. she shifted so she could see behind her and found herself looking up at justin mercado, his dark brown hair styled to the side. they had worked on a project together last year for their business communications class (she was double majoring in photography and media management with a minor in communications), but emma kept her distance and shut down any flirting immediately. tonight, however, emma was taken aback by how attractive he looked with his sharp, stubble-lined jaw and black dress shirt that highlighted his toned muscles.

“hey there,” he said with a smirk, reaching past her to hand his credit card to the bartender. “this round’s on me, ladies.”

“thanks justin!” danni beamed, handing him and emma a tequila shot and lime. hoping he hadn’t caught her checking him out, emma turned away to throw back the shot, cringing at the burn from the tequila.

justin led them to a corner booth in the back of the main floor once they got their drinks, far enough from the dance floor that they could somewhat hear each other over the music. danni pulled her hand as they climbed into the booth and emma knew she intentionally made it so justin would climb in after her, leaving emma sandwiched between the two. she inwardly rolled her eyes and tried to maintain a façade of interest in whatever justin had to say, while being aware of the distance between their bodies’ and the location of justin’s arm casually behind her on the back of the booth.

danni squealed as the opening lyrics of “shape of you” by ed sheeran started blasting from the club speakers, “the club isn’t the best place to find a lover; so the bar is where i go; me and my friends at the table doing shots; drinking fast and then we talk slow, emma, let’s dance!”

without waiting to see if emma would follow, danni got up and disappeared into the crowd. justin stood up next and held a hand out to her. “wanna dance?” he yelled over the music. emma hesitated and stared at his outstretched hand before looking up to give him a firm nod, letting him pull her up out of the booth. he held her hand firmly as he led them to the middle of the dancefloor.

girl, you know i want your love your love was handmade for somebody like me come on now, follow my lead i may be crazy, don't mind me say, boy, let's not talk too much grab on my waist and put that body on me come on now, follow my lead come, come on now, follow my lead

emma turned around and let justin place his hands on her hips. she put her hands over his to hold them in place as she swayed her hips from side to side; she didn’t want to lead him on, but they could still dance and have fun, right? she tried to stay aware of how close justin was dancing and avoid any unintentional grinding on her part while keeping up with the beat. she closed her eyes and allowed the warm buzz from the alcohol guide her movements to the music.

i’m in love with the shape of you we push and pull like a magnet do although my heart is falling too i’m in love with your body and last night you were in my room and now my bedsheets smell like you every day discovering something brand new i’m in love with your body

it took sweet talking a group of girls near the front of the line and bribing the bouncer, but noah finally made it into the club. given how difficult it was to get into, he wasn’t surprised to see that it wasn’t overcrowded like most clubs in the city. there were enough people to make the atmosphere fun but not so many that the only way someone could navigate the room is if they either squeezed through people or elbowed them hard enough to start a domino effect, which although comical in retrospect, would definitely result in getting kicked out.

he quickly made his way to the side of the bar furthest from the entrance, looking over his shoulder once to make sure the group of girls he snuck in with didn’t notice him sneak away. in case emma noticed him first, he’d rather not be surrounded by a group of girls in outfits that screamed “we’re competing for who can reveal the most skin and not get in trouble for public nudity.” he ordered his favorite drink and out of habit, briefly did a scan across the room to note the layout of the room, location of the bathrooms, security cameras, and all potential exits. once he got a lay of the land, so to speak, he leaned against the counter, sipping his whiskey. he started looking around more casually until his gaze landed on the woman who still took his breath away, dancing in a sexy dress he definitely hadn’t seen her in before.

noah’s eyes traced the way her dress left her shoulders and collarbone exposed, hugging her curves down to her swaying hips before he noticed that there were a pair of hands intertwined with hers. he frowned and lifted his gaze to the tall, dark-haired, handsome-looking man (he didn’t see anything wrong with acknowledging that men could look attractive without him being attracted to them) with a definite toned build dancing against her. they weren’t grinding even though they were dancing close; as far as he could tell, it looked like emma was keeping him at a distance, holding the guy’s hands in place, although it could also be wishful thinking on his part.

i don’t like the way he’s looking at you i’m starting to think you want him too am i crazy? have i lost ya even though i know you love me, can’t help it

noah realized he was clenching his jaw and rubbed his temples to try to loosen up the tension and anxiety he was feeling. now was not the time for what emma called his “jealous-and-overprotective boyfriend” mode. most of the time she found it endearing but letting it take over in this situation would result in him making unfair and hurtful accusations and noah already had enough to apologize for from last night. he quickly finished off his drink, took a deep breath, and started walking toward the dancefloor.

emma was definitely the first to notice the leather jacket-clad, brooding brunette with broad shoulders and sculpted arms that came with playing football heading determinedly toward them. she looked up and drew in a sharp breath once she realized it was noah. each stride was filled with a quiet confidence, his gaze never leaving hers, and his eyes smoldering with something she couldn’t quite name - desire, jealousy, anger, maybe all of the above.

‘cause you’re too sexy beautiful and everybody want to taste, that’s why i still get jealous ‘cause you're too sexy beautiful and everybody want to taste, that’s why i still get jealous

she released justin’s hands from her hips and turned to face him. “hey justin, i had a really great time tonight but i’m going to have to head out early. can you make sure danni’s okay?”

justin looked at her quizzically. “does this have something to do with the guy walking toward us that looks like he wants to murder me?”

emma winced and nodded. “yeah, he’s technically still my boyfriend, i think. i know danni told you otherwise.”

he shrugged and smiled. “seriously, don’t worry about it. i had fun. call me if things change with you,” he said, with a wink.

emma watched justin walk away and took a deep breath. she felt noah’s chest against her back, his fingers hovering at her sides, and his warm breath tickling her ear as he asked, “mind if i cut in?” she squeezed her eyes shut as though it would keep the memories from trickling into her mind - the last time she heard him say that was back in high school.

and i’m puffing my chest i’m getting ready to face you can call me obsessed it's not your fault that they hover i mean no disrespect it’s my right to be hellish i still get jealous

emma couldn’t bring herself to turn around and face him. the brief respite she had while dancing with justin was gone but she wanted to try to enjoy herself for a few more minutes before facing reality and having to listen to noah’s excuses. she could feel her resolve weakening as his cologne filled her senses and his breath cooled the heat of her skin from the crowded club.

he knew she was probably debating with herself inwardly and wished she would talk to him or at least look at him. noah felt disappointment creep in and started pulling himself away. emma reached behind and grabbed his arms, sliding her hands down until she looped her fingers with his, pulling him forward. he let out a breath of relief and gripped her hips tightly, pulling her as close to him as he could, falling into rhythm with her hips swaying to the beat. he lowered his head toward the crook of her shoulder as they grinded to the music, leaving loving kisses along her shoulder and neck. emma tilted her head to the side to give him better access to her neck and noah felt the weight in his heart lift a little at the gesture.

‘cause you’re too sexy beautiful and everybody want to taste, that’s why i still get jealous

i wish you didn’t have to post it all i wish you’d save a little bit just for me protective or possessive? girl call it passive or aggressive?

the rest of the song faded into the background as emma released his hands to wrap hers around his neck. emma felt a sudden urge to see him and see what he was feeling in that moment. without losing the beat, she turned in his arms until she was grinding her hips into his, using the arms wrapped around his neck to bring herself closer to him. she forced herself to look up and into his eyes, keeping her face passive, searching for a truth. what truth exactly she thought she could see, she wasn’t sure, but she did see a lot of fear and genuine regret.

noah felt like he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he looked deeply in emma’s eyes. he felt like she could see into his soul and in that moment, he wished she could, so that she could know the unabashed truth of how much she meant to him and how much he regret hurting her. his gaze dropped to her lips; he wanted to kiss her so badly but knew that he needed to tread carefully. it was a delicate, albeit often frustrating, dance to figure out when he needed to let her take the lead and when she wanted him to take initiative. the anxiety he felt in his stomach warned him to follow her lead this time. his fingers dug into her hips as if he was afraid she would slip out and run away from him at any moment.

emma dropped her gaze and leaned in to rest her forehead against his, closing her eyes. she slowed her movements so her hips were swaying gently against his in time to the music, relishing the feel of being in his arms. she closed the rest of the gap between their bodies, resting her chin on his shoulder, breathing in his musky, leathery scent. she had missed him, missed this, moments like these where it felt like the rest of the world didn’t exist and it was just them. when the song ended, she stood on her tip toes so she could murmur in noah’s ear, “want to get out of here? we should probably talk.” she noticed him swallow and nod, letting go of her hips so he could grab her hand and lead her out of the club.

* * * * * emma quietly looked out the window in the back of the dryve the entire way back to campus. noah kept stealing glances over to see if he could gauge how she was feeling, but she didn’t turn to look at him once during the entire drive. he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers both out of habit and a need to touch her. she resisted half-heartedly once but he held tight and couldn’t help the small smile on his face when she didn’t resist again. he tapped his finger against his thigh nervously, trying not to feel too hopeful that she would forgive him, but he certainly felt better about the likelihood of it after dancing at the club.

once they were inside her room, emma suddenly felt a pit form in her stomach. she really didn’t want to have this conversation with him but knew she couldn’t avoid it anymore. she motioned to noah to make himself comfortable while she stepped into the bathroom to wipe off her makeup and take off her boots and jewelry. she didn’t want to change into one of his old football shirts that she usually slept in quite yet and give noah the impression that things were back to normal.

while emma was in the bathroom, noah sat himself down on one end of her loveseat and looked around the room. he noticed the necklace on the nightstand as the “N” initial necklace he had gifted her on their first anniversary and his heart sank as he realized she had taken it off. he couldn’t remember a time when she wasn’t wearing it, so this definitely wasn’t a good sign. when the bathroom door opened he stood up reflexively. he thought he saw a ghost of a smile on her face as she approached the loveseat and sat down on the opposite end, tucking her legs under her.

he was debating whether or not to speak up first but she beat him to it. “i was not expecting you to drive down here today, much less show up at the club. how did you know where i’d be?”

“when i got here i saw you and your friend leaving the building. i overheard her say you were going to the crimson veil but before i could come up to you, she basically dragged you into the car,” he said, shifting in his seat. “i’m sorry, emma. for everything.”

emma maintained a neutral facial expression and gave him a long look. only her eyes betrayed how fast her mind was processing information and weighing the repercussions of different responses. finally, she said, “what exactly are you sorry for? do you remember everything from last night?”

noah bit his lip and nodded. “yeah, i remember most of it. i felt like we were growing apart over the last few weeks; i know we were both busy but it felt like our relationship was taking a backseat. so when you told me you couldn’t make it up to see me on my birthday… i was more upset than i thought i’d be. i drank way more than i should’ve last night and let my frustrations and doubts fester until it exploded like that. i really am sorry.”

emma sighed and looked away. “i know you’re sorry, and i know you feel really bad. but you’ve done this before and we’ve talked about this. it feels like you’re taking for granted that i’ll forgive you and i’m just so tired of doing this with you. you need to bring up your doubts and concerns with me instead of letting them build up and definitely not drink when you’re upset.”

“i know. i promise i’ll do better,” noah said, scooting closer to her so he could grab both her hands in his. “i love you, baby. can you forgive me?”

emma already knew what her answer was before he even asked. she loved him too much and she knew he was much harder on himself than anyone else and probably had been beating himself up over this all day. “i forgive you. i still feel upset, but i’ll get over it soon. i love you.”

“thank you, baby.” noah was thrilled. he leaned in without hesitation to wrap her up in his arms. emma let herself relax and enjoy the familiarity and warmth of his body against hers. noah shifted so he could pull her into his lap and emma cupped his face in her hands, leaning forward to give him a deep kiss. she pulled back and saw that he was looking up at her with pure adoration, and her breath caught with emotion – she loved this man so damn much.

noah’s eyebrow furrowed with concern. “what’s wrong, baby?” she was always surprised at how well he could read her. emma could feel tears prickling the back of her eyes.

“i just love you so much. and you pushing me away last night really hurt,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

noah raised his chin to give her a soft kiss. “i’m so sorry for hurting you like that. i’m going to make it up to you.” he left a trail of kisses across her jaw and down her neck, stopping to give a teasing kiss on her collarbone. “i’m going to worship you like the goddess you are. you are so goddamn gorgeous, emma. it took every ounce of restraint i had not to carry you out of the club when i saw you dancing,” noah murmured, kissing along her shoulder and down to the top of her breasts.

🔥⚡ 🔥⚡

emma shifted so she was straddling him and ran her hands through his soft hair. “were you jealous?”

noah paused and pulled back to look at her again. his hands roamed up and down her back until they settled on her ass. “you’re damn right i was jealous. i can’t stand the thought of you looking this sexy for another man.” his grip tightened and emma bit her lip to keep from moaning as she started grinding slowly on his lap, eliciting a soft grunt from noah.

“so what are you going to do about it?” she whispered in his ear, grinding up and down slowly, enjoying the feel of how much she was turning him on.

noah growled and stood up, gripping her tightly against him. emma wrapped her legs and arms tightly around him instinctively. “i’m going to make sure i’m the only man for you, starting by making you scream my name.”

he reverently laid her on the bed, kissing and touching her everywhere. emma felt warmth bloom from each spot he kissed and touched, as one hand massaged her breast while the other traced a finger up and down her thigh. she put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him back. “if i’m a goddess, then prove it. strip.”

noah smirked. he could take orders from her all day. he slowly pulled his shirt over his head, slowly revealing his abs before unbuckling his belt. he unzipped his pants and let them fall, stepping out of them and taking a step toward the bed. emma held up a hand and moved forward until she was sitting on the edge of the bed. she gave him the most smoldering look she could muster as she reached under her dress to pull down her panties before slowly spreading her legs apart. “worship me.”

emma watched noah’s eyes darken and he swallowed visibly. she let her eyes wander down his broad shoulders, sculpted abs, and very erect member, enjoying how it twitched when she gave orders. she laid back against the bed, stretching her arms overhead as noah started kissing up her thigh. she reached forward to weave her fingers in his hair and pulled his head gently back to look at her. “no teasing. worship me, now.”

noah surged forward, licking up her folds until he reached her clit. he alternated sucking and swirling his tongue over her sensitive spot, listening for her gasps and moans that would cue his movements. emma felt her hips rise and start moving involuntarily, his breath leaving a tingling feeling everywhere he touched with his tongue. he was incredibly adept at figuring out exactly what would get her off and it was all she could do not to squeeze her thighs around his neck to get closer. he pulled back slightly and emma whimpered at the sudden loss of warmth, although the contrast from the cooler air in the room gave her goosebumps. she felt him stroke her with a finger and resume his tongue ministrations and emma threw her head back, arching her back. she was getting close and noah knew it. he added a second finger and sped up his strokes, making sure his tongue swirled clockwise and then counterclockwise until he could feel her thighs start to shake.

“god, noah, i’m close— don’t stop, yes!” emma gasped, closing her eyes as he brought her over to the edge and continued to stroke and lick her so she could ride out her orgasm. she felt noah slow down and eventually stop as she tried to catch her breath. he hovered over her and emma opened her eyes just as he leaned down to give her a passionate kiss. she licked her lips as he pulled away, tasting herself.

she wanted more. “take my clothes off. now,” she ordered, watching with amusement as noah silently reached under her until he found the zipper, pulling it down and slowly taking the dress with it.

“this might be my new favorite dress of yours. although i definitely prefer you out of it more,” he murmured, leaving featherlight kisses on each her most sensitive spots as he freed them from the fabric. kisses on the top of her breasts, swirling his tongue over her nipples before continuing to kiss down her stomach and her hips. he let the dress fall to the floor and emma scooted higher on the bed so that he could lean over her more comfortably. he nudged her legs apart again with his knees as he hovered over her, kissing her passionately until emma literally didn’t think she could breathe.

noah pulled back, prompting emma to look up at him. “tell me what you want, baby,” he said breathlessly. emma reached up to trail her fingers down his back until she reached his ass and gave it a squeeze, eliciting a low moan.

“i want all of you, noah,” she murmured back. noah lined himself up and entered her slowly.

once he was buried to the hilt, noah stilled, looking at her to make sure she was okay. she loved the feeling of him being inside her and wrapped her legs around the back of his thighs to hold him tightly against her. she lifted her hips upward and started moving and he followed her lead; they fell into a familiar rhythm, grabbing, touching, and kissing each other everywhere they could.

her back arched and noah held her tightly as she felt pressure start to build in her abdomen again; she tilted her head back and noah kissed her neck and swirled his hips just the way she liked it. all she could manage was a gasp before crying out as the pressure peaked and cascaded over, drowning all her senses with pleasure. noah continued to thrust his hips to help her ride out her orgasm before he followed with a grunt, crying out her name as his seed filled her up. emma was too dazed to respond and wanted to enjoy the bliss before she came down from her high.

“god, that was definitely the best sex we’ve ever had,” emma breathed, placing a hand on her chest to try to calm her beating heart. “thank god i’m on birth control.”

“well, they say make up sex is the best kind,” noah replied, lifting his head from the crook of her shoulder. his breath was ragged and he wasn’t quite ready to leave the warmth of her body yet even though they were both spent.

❄💧❄💧

emma gave him a piercing look. “don’t go getting any ideas. i do not like being mad at you.”

“don’t worry, i hate it when you’re mad at me,” he said without a hint of his usual snark. if emma had any lingering doubts about noah’s feelings for her, which she didn’t, they would have immediately disappeared at the amount of heartwrenching love she could see in his eyes.

“well, i’m not mad at you anymore. lucky for you, since it’s your birthday for another,” she said with a smirk, quickly glancing at the clock before continuing, “four minutes. before i forget to ask, did you like your gift?”

“i loved it and i want to talk to you about it tomorrow, but this right now is the most perfect gift i could ask for,” noah murmured, resting his forehead on hers and trying to get his breathing back under control. emma’s chest was heaving up and down beneath his, her face flushed where it lay framed by his forearms.

emma opened her eyes and smirked up at him, lightly dragging her fingernails up and down his back. “what, sex? you’re really setting a low bar for future presents, casanova. although i will say this fits nicely within my budget,” she teased.

noah let out a low, husky laugh and emma could feel her body immediately flush underneath his. he was so damn sexy. he lifted his head to look her in the eyes before punctuating each point with a kiss. “no, this.” he kissed her forehead. “us.” her nose. “you.” her cheek. “here.” he worked his way down her face and left a few feathery kisses along her jaw. “with me.”

emma’s eyes fluttered closed as noah left a sweet kiss in the hollow of her collarbone and started working his way back up. “knowing i haven’t lost you.” he kissed the skin just beneath her earlobe and whispered, “knowing you still love me.” he resumed kissing a trail from her ear to her lips. “knowing you’ll still let me love you.” he hovered a hair’s breadth away from her lips when he murmured the word love, his eyes full of longing and adoration. she closed the gap between them, bringing her hands up to cup his face.

“i love you, emma. so much,” he said, giving her a lingering kiss before shifting his weight off her to lay on his back. emma curled her body into his and lay her head on his chest. his arm wrapped around her shoulders in an attempt to pull her even closer.

emma reached over to cup his cheek and turn his face toward her. “i love you too, baby. happy birthday.” she tilted her head up and gave him a soft kiss before sighing happily and letting the sound of his steady heartbeat lull her to sleep.

“goodnight, babe,” noah whispered as he pulled the comforter up around her shoulders. he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep to the sound of her even breathing and the feel of her in his arms, feeling ever grateful for the love he had in his life.

* * * * * mentions: @khoicesbyk; @nyastarlight; @chetachisblog; @robintora; @shows-simp-card; @brycesgirl;

#noah harris x mc #noah harris #my two first loves #mtfl #choices mtfl #my writing #choices #pb choices #playchoices #long fic #ns*w #not twc #mtfl noah #reposting for new blog #choices fanfic #choices fanfics #playchoices fanfiction #my choices fics

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blastoisemonster · 4 years ago

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Marmalade Boy

Before talking about today's spinoff, I'd like to take a step back for better context and briefly describe the interesting relationship Italy has with japanese culture: the two countries, despite being so distant and having developed from very different histories, have been called similar in their habits and in many aspects of the daily life, to the point of showing mutual affection for eachother’s society and products; in our case, we’re especially talking about entertainment.

Which takes us to the slice-of-life anime genre: true animated soap operas originally maybe only targeted at an audience of female teenagers but that, once in italian territory, end up catching interest of the whole family with its intrigues and linked episodes. 1980/1990s Italy clicked perfectly with them; not only a great amount has been brought in Europe thanks to our translations, but a selected few have been taken as inspiration for completely original work based on that universe. Basically, yes, our television companies have produced anime fanfiction dramas. One striking example is Love Me Knight - Kiss Me Licia, which became something like a pre-Pokèmon nationwide phenomenon: not even Japan (which produced only one season and then called it quits) understood how or even why the average italian loved this saccarine shit so much, and still today the girl who originally sang our Kiss Me Licia opening basically owes her whole career and popularity lasting more than three decades (she's still singing anime openings and even doing concert tours) thanks to the leading acting role she played in four live action Kiss Me Licia sequel series. You've read it right, four. All met with huge success from 1986 to 1989 for a grand total of 144 episodes. Original mangaka Kaoru Tada knew nothing about this and the studio responsible for the animated adaptation of the manga, Toei Animation, had not even been contacted for the rights: truly, our entertaining industry was making fanart just as the average kid on DeviantArt likes to post his not-so-traced Goku drawings for everyone to see.

The second most remarkable big shojo love Italy had is the subject of this post, Marmalade Boy, known in Italy as "Piccoli Problemi di Cuore" (literally translated: Small Heartaches). The Mediaset adaptation team wanted to create another big Licia phenomenon but, this time, instead of producing live action spinoffs, they went and actually contacted the original author, Wataru Yoshizumi, for permission on modifying the anime's plot. Piccoli Problemi di Cuore has been one of the biggest and most coherent works of animation "cut-and-paste" the team has done during that late 90s, resulting in a completely new italian anime series of 70 episodes (out of the 76 original ones) inspired by Marmalade Boy's plot. And as expected, this became a huge hit: it started airing at the beginning of 1997 and it captivated the audience so much that after a while they had to move it to another channel and time block because people were watching it more than the news. This also allowed Italy to export their own Marmalade Boy inspired creation as a whole different anime with the international name "A Little Love Story". Piccoli Problemi di Cuore was the anime all the big sisters and more romantic girls of the class followed almost religiously at the time of its original broadcast. Of course I wasn't part of that audience at the time, but after having researched the very interesting backstory of our adaptation, I'd be more than curious to at least take a look at it. And the manga? The original 8 tankobon got translated in my country by Planet Manga several times: the first publication was split in 16 volumes, the second one had 8 issues, and then there's the "Gold" edition of 8 volumes with alternative covers. Oh, and just to be sure everyone had bought it, a fourth edition has been published as recently as 2015. Be it manga or anime, Piccoli Problemi di Cuore was always absolutely famous and great.

And then there's the Game Boy spinoff, that instead is exclusive for Japan. How come? Released by Bandai in 1995, this title had been originally conceived for the Game Boy and only three months later a Super Famicom version showed up, making it a unique strange case of an handheld exclusive coming second for home console, and not the other way around. Also, it’s a dating simulator! Personally, this is the first of this genre I see on the small screen.

Adorned with cute checkers patterns all around and predictably nice-looking sprites and background scenes, this game has the player assume the role of female protagonist Miki Koishikawa and flirt with three suitors: Yuu Matsuura (technically Miki’s main love interest in the original anime), Ginta Suou (long time Miki’s classmate and secret -even corresponded- crush, but too proud to admit it), or Kei Tsuchiya (a talented yet troubled pianist, also Miki’s coworker at Bobson’s ice cream parlor). A lot of places from the anime, such as the protagonist’s school, workplace, and house, can be visited, and there’s many more characters to interact with; all in run-of-the-mill dating sim fashion, Marmalade Boy features tons and tons and tons of dialogue and, as rewards, special cutscenes featuring Miki and the boyo of her life. I really don’t like dating sims at all, so I’m not sure if I could judge it fairly, even if I understood japanese. >.> But as far as I researched online, the general public and fans of the original source do seem to enjoy it, meaning that at least it does justice to the anime. The game seems programmed with passion as well, as it can be used along with a Super Game Boy for an exclusive border and more colorful pixelwork; it also has a password system, in case one screws up an answer and ends up with an undesired ending.

Unfortunately, no one has yet provided a translation patch neither for the Game Boy nor the SuFami version, and it’s clear that back in the day of its release, which is two years prior to Piccoli Problemi Di Cuore’s television airing, there was absolutely no interest in seeing it marketed to a western audience. Though, just imagine if an italian developing house would have taken interest into this spinoff as much as the television companies did with the cartoon! We’d have an italian translated Marmalade Boy’s videogame re-adapted to follow our own version of the story. An exorbitant cost for surely meager earnings, yet unmatched peculiarity... and probably, pride!

#Photography

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macaronsforchat · 4 years ago

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Ladynoir July Day 7 - Interviews

@ladynoirjuly2020

read on ao3!

‘Prime Queen’s’ interview, but Ladybug and Chat Noir are secretly dating.

Ladybug landed hard, wobbling but seating herself on the couch, fixing her hair and putting on her best smile.

“I thought you decided to stand me up, m'lady,” Chat Noir smiled, and she turned to look at him, her anxiety dying down a little just at the sight of him. It had felt like years since she’d seen him last, but in reality she knew it had only been a few days, if that.

“And let the audience down? Never,” she smiled, gesturing with her hand and turning back to the host sitting across from her. “I'm sorry I'm so late, Nadja.” Mrs. Chamack looked stunned, but then she seemed to be listening for something anxiously, Ladybug’s eyes shifting to her earpiece.

Ladybug herself was pretty nervous about the interview. People wanted to know so much about her and her partner, but there was almost nothing personal they could tell them. She had a sinking feeling that Nadja would pry, but Ladybug wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

She was also anxious about leaving Manon alone with Alya, but she tried to put that out of her mind.

As Mrs. Chamack introduced herself and the show, the two heroes waved to the camera.

“Thanks so much for accepting this exclusive live interview,” Nadja said enthusiastically, and Ladybug smiled, ready to respond.

“Well, thank you Nadja. We're honored to be here,” she said truthfully, hearing Chat Noir sit up beside her.

“And hello to all my fans,” he said in a silky voice, blowing a kiss. Ladybug didn’t have to look at him to know that he’d winked, and she kept her giggles in, rolling her eyes briefly. She could tell that he’d said that particular line just for her, thinking back to him raving about all his ‘fans’ the other night because he’d known she would laugh.

“I'm sure thousands have tuned in to watch you tonight,” Nadja smiled, and Ladybug smirked, letting out a breathy laugh.

“Don't encourage him Nadja, or the cat won't stop purring all night,” she said, glancing over at Chat and seeing him shoot her a warm look.

“Don't listen to her. Bugaboo's just a spot jealous,” he retorted playfully, gesturing and smiling at Nadja. When he looked back to her, probably expecting her to play along, she felt her stomach clench, her eyes widening at him.

“Hey, I thought we agreed on no more Bugaboo calling,” she said lightly, trying not to alert anyone else that she was feeling panicked. Chat blinked at her, and she tried her best to communicate her thoughts through her eyes.

“Right,” he laughed, dropping his hand back into his lap. “My bad.” Ladybug let out a relieved sigh, both of them turning back to Nadja in hopes of changing the subject. The host was staring down at some sort of watch, and Ladybug worried at her bottom lip.

Ever since they’d started dating, they’d agreed that they needed to keep it a secret. There were a million reasons why, and although she wanted to be able to kiss her boyfriend whenever she wanted, she wanted to keep him safe too.

It was easy to slip into routine and tease each other, but it was important that there and then they did leave any room for suspicion. She’d mentioned it to Chat when she’d seen him last, but that had felt like so long, and she guessed that he was just as happy to see her as she was to see him. A gentle nudge in the right direction was sure to keep everything in check.

Nadja laughed somewhat nervously, trying to smile fully.

“It's obvious you two are very close,” she commented, and Ladybug tensed once more, subconsciously reaching up and rubbing the back of her head. She let out a short laugh, thinking of how to diffuse that statement but not coming up with anything adequate before Nadja continued.

“People know you, but they don't really know you. We see you saving Paris, but we don't know anything else about you,” she spoke, and Ladybug felt the muscles in her shoulders tighten, pressing her closed fists into her thighs. Where was she going with this?

“Well we do have to keep a few secrets, including our identities of course,” she said quickly, trying out a smile and hoping it didn’t look too forced. Nadja glanced back down at her watch, and Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows.

“Absolutely,” Nadja laughed nervously, glancing away. Ladybug could hear something coming from the host’s earpiece. Knots were beginning to form in her stomach. Something didn’t feel right.

“Uh, Ladybug, Chat Noir, um, so a lot of fans think of you as a couple of superheroes. But also, and I quote, unquote, as a couple. Period,” she said, becoming more confident as she spoke. Ladybug jumped in surprise.

“What?” she asked incredulously, hearing Chat Noir make a choking noise beside her. That was exactly what she didn’t want to hear.

“Can you confirm that you're dating, here, tonight?” Nadja grinned, making Ladybug feel like the air in the room was trying to asphyxiate her. Chat Noir had sat up from leaning back against the couch, and although she hadn’t looked at him, she could feel his eyes on her. She fumbled for words for a second.

“I'm very sorry Nadja, but we're superheroes. We're not here to answer such personal questions,” she spoke sternly, feeling heat rising into her cheeks from anger and embarrassment. It felt like the whole studio had been turned upside down in a matter of seconds.

“She’s right,” Chat said next to her, and she turned to him briefly, giving him a small smile. She was thankful that at least he was on her side.

“We're here to assure all Parisians that they're safe and that it's only a matter of time before we defeat Hawkmoth, that's all,” Ladybug reaffirmed, trying to calm herself and not let her emotions show through. Nadja pursed her lips, and more buzzing came from her earpiece. Ladybug scrunched up her nose a little, guessing that what she’d said hadn’t gotten through to their host.

“Fine. How do you explain these photographs then?” Nadja asked, swiping once on her tablet. The screen next to them lit up with a nightmare, a photo of her saving Chat Noir from Dark Cupid’s curse.

Ladybug felt her stomach drop as Chat’s jaw dropped, his ears sticking straight up.

“What? When did that happen?” he asked in disbelief, and Ladybug gasped, realizing that she still hadn’t told him about that.

“I was saving you, not kissing you!” she blurted out, trying to rush a conversation that she should have had with him months ago.

Nadja grinned, swiping on her tablet again and making Ladybug feel like the room was spinning. More and more photos appeared on the screen. Him carrying her when she sprained her ankle, her tackling him out of the way and landing just wrong, them blushing when their hands got a little too close. She was horrified, but she felt a little relief knowing that none of the pictures held any real weight. They were always careful to hide before they kissed each other senseless or pulled each other in for a much-needed hug. If any photos like that got out, it would be all over for them.

But Ladybug was still livid.

Standing up quickly, she drew Nadja’s attention away from the photos. She’d just said something about being in love, but Ladybug’s heart was pounding in her ears much too loudly for her to really hear.

“These are just a bunch of photos taken out of context! We're only doing our job,” she spoke tensely, feeling an intense urge to run away from the whole situation. “We save the city together every day, we're not a couple!” Chat Noir was silent behind her, and she hoped it was because he was still in shock.

“Why won’t you tell the truth?” Nadja asked, standing to meet Ladybug and making her feel even more like she needed to bolt. She couldn’t ignore the desperation in Nadja’s voice either.

“But it is the truth, Nadja,” she said, her nails digging into her palms as she clenched her fists. Nadja glanced out behind the cameras, her eyebrows furrowing together.

“C'mon, the audience awaits your answer,” she said almost tauntingly, like it was all some game. Ladybug felt like she could burst with all the anger bubbling up inside of her, holding back a growl.

“This interview is so over,” she said between gritted teeth, turning and locking a hand around Chat’s upper arm. He was hesitant at first, but then he stood up, her hand falling as she realized she wouldn’t have to drag him along.

“Hey! Wait you two, the show is not over yet. Your fans will be disappointed if they don't get an answer,” Nadja said as Ladybug practically stomped off the small stage, Chat trailing after her. She wanted to say a million things to Mrs. Chamack, but she composed herself, taking a deep breath and turning back towards the cameras that had swiveled to watch them leave.

“If they’re our true fans, they’ll understand,” she said, pulling the door open and leaving through it.

“The lady’s right,” she heard Chat say, his voice sounding darker than usual. He caught up to her as she pushed open the window at the end of the hallway, using her yo-yo to swing out and into the city. She raced across the rooftops for a few minutes, hearing Chat following a little ways behind her. Once her boiling blood simmered down a little, she stopped, taking a deep breath as she landed. They’d ended up near the edge of the city on top of an apartment building. There were no lights, just the dim glow of the moon.

“Hey, are you okay?” Chat asked, walking towards her. She sighed, turning to look at him and walking forward, meeting him halfway in a tight hug.

“That was awful,” she spoke against his chest, feeling his head come to rest on top of hers. His arms reached around and held her tight.

“She was willing to do anything to make sure her show would be a success,” he sighed, rubbing the area between her shoulder blades gently. She breathed in his scent for a little longer, and then pulled away.

“Thanks for having my back,” she smiled lightly, seeing his bright eyes soften down at her.

“Always, m’lady,” he purred, and she smiled wider, reaching up and pushing some of the hair from his eyes.

“I missed you, kitty,” she told him, her heart beginning to race for a different reason when he leaned into her touch, not taking his eyes off of her.

“You can read my mind too? Wow, you must be the most amazing girl ever,” he teased, his hands moving to her sides as he tickled her playfully. She laughed, the stress that was emanating from her just minutes ago floating away with the breeze. It was always so easy when she was with him.

Ladybug grabbed his hands, admiring his cheeky smile.

“Think anyone is watching us?” she wondered, glancing around briefly. He blinked at her, tilting his head a little.

“Probably not out here. Why?” he asked, and she smiled, blushing a little.

“Because…” she breathed gently, standing on her tiptoes and placing a quick kiss to his lips. He smiled widely as she pulled away, wrapping his arms around her before she could fall back onto her heels. He leaned down, kissing her once more and making her cheeks light up bright pink.

Their lips moved in sync, and the fact that they’d both missed each other badly was evident. She pulled away first, their breath mingling as they pressed their foreheads together. She blinked at him, seeing a strange look on his face.

“Hey, speaking of kisses…” he said, searching her eyes for a moment before she realized what he was asking about and let out a giggle. He waited for her to stop laughing, but she just leaned against his shoulder, her laughter continuing in lieu of an explanation.

“I’m genuinely confused!” he whined, and she laughed harder, leaning up to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. He gave her a cute pout, not helping her to stop laughing.

Even though Ladybug would look back on the interview with a frown, the way he’d held her afterwards was only one example of how he would always be on her team.

~~~~~

oooooh i liked writing this one! i love doing what if’s and retellings! let me know what you all thought :D

thank you so much for your support!!

#ladynoirjuly2020 #ladynoirjuly #ladynoir july #ladynoir #ladybug #chat noir #prime queen #what if #secret dating #miraculous ladybug #ml fic #my writing #interviews

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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years ago

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THE WEEKEND WARRIOR 6/25/21: F9, WEREWOLVES WITHIN, THE ICE ROAD, FALSE POSITIVE, I CARRY YOU WITH ME and More!

Well, June is quickly coming to an end, but that means it’s officially summer. No, for real this time. Summer started June 21, and that means we have the latest attempt to revive the box office, and really, if this doesn’t do it, then we’re sunk. Doomed. It’s over, and Jeff Bock, the Streamer Relations guy, has won. We’re in the endgame now. Go to the movies this weekend, and don’t let Jeff Bock win!

Before we get to the theatrical releases, the 20th Tribeca [formerly Film] Festival ended over the weekend, and it certainly “looked different” as we were reminded every time some local celebrity introduced a movie on the festival’s virtual platform. As far as the movies I saw, a few are mentioned below but generally, the documentaries once again outplayed any of the narrative features, which was pretty much the same with other festivals this year. Besides the Rita Moreno doc that I reviewed last week, I quite enjoyed A-Ha the Movie, a documentary that covers the famous ‘80s “one hit wonders” travails since their first hit album and the ubiquitous “Take on Me.” It’s a great doc that really shows what can happen when you try to keep the band together even when you stop travelling or even talking to each other. Also Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James was another great musical doc about a funk/soul singer who I really never knew very much about, so it was quite educational. I also liked 7 Days quite a bit, and that was one of the better narrative films at the fest.

It felt like there were two very different Tribecas. There was one for the elitist journalists who were allowed to attend all the in-person screenings and parties, and there was the one for the rest of us -- where we were just sitting at home watching stuff on our TV sets, just like we did with Sundance and SXSW. And make no mistake, as someone who has been covering Tribeca since Year Two (where I *bought* all my tickets), it definitely felt like I was being pushed aside by the current Tribeca regime who just wants to be seen as something exclusive just for certain people, including as a woke festival catering to the underrepresented (but not really… if that was the case, they would have given free tickets out to people who live in the areas of the city where they set-up their pop-up screenings). I only know a few locals who received the better in-person badge -- pretty much the entire staff at IndieWire, for instance -- but as someone who has covered the festival for years and received a Hudson Pass for the effort, it definitely felt like I don’t really need to cover Tribeca anymore. It’s just not the elite festival it thinks it is, and as far as I’m concerned, it will never be Cannes, it will never be Sundance, and it will never even be SXSW. It continues to be a festival with zero identity that caters to the rich, white New Yorkers that already get special treatment wherever they go. I’m not even sure how much of it even takes place in Tribeca anymore, since the premier location for movie premieres seemed to be at Hudson Yards, which is about four miles North of “Ground Zero,” the area affected by 9/11 that precipitated the need for something like the Tribeca Festival in the first place. I feel that this year’s festival was an even bigger disappointment than last year’s virtual only, but that’s because they’ve finally just given up on the press they don’t feel are worthy of covering them. So yeah, not for me.

It’s hard to believe that F9 (Universal Pictures), the ninth movie in the “Fast Saga.” is finally being released in North America, since I felt like I reviewed it five years ago. Actually, it was only a month ago, but it just seems like forever since I’ve been so busy this month.

In case you have no idea what to expect and wanna know: Vin Diesel is back as Dominic Torreto, and this time we meet another member of his real family, brother Jakob (John Cena), who is now working with the criminal spy organization Cypher. Most of the gang are back, except for Dwayne Johnson’s Agent Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, who you may remember went off to make Hobbs and Shaw a few years back. In fact, that last movie was the last movie in the franchise, which was supposed to act as a tie-over between 2017’s Fate of the Furious and F9, which was originally supposed to come out in 2020. Got all that?

Hobbs and Shaw opened with around $60 million in early August, which is generally one of the few weekends in the late summer where a movie could still open big. That was the lowest opening for the franchise in over ten years, because ever since 2009’s Fast & Furious, every single movie has opened over $70 million and closer to $100 million or more. 2013’s Fast and Furious 6 and 2017’s The Fate of the Furious didn’t quite hit a $100 million opening, but still, it’s a pretty good barometer of how big the franchise was in the before-times. James Wan’s Furious 7 still sports the biggest opening with $147 million in early April 2015, hampered by the year-long delay after one of the film’s stars, Paul Walker, died in a car crash a year earlier. Walker’s death may have helped drive audiences to the movie with the same morbid curiosity way as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight back in 2008. (Furious 7 grossed $353 million domestically, which is also a high watermark for the franchise domestically.)

The Fate of the Furious grossed slightly less than the previous two installments and then Hobbs and Shaw ended up with $173 million, which is nothing to sneeze at… unless your movie ended up costing $200 million, which that one did. We’re talking about very expensive movies here, and one presumes F9 is up there in that $200 million range, but it bodes a couple questions. Was the success of the franchise since Fast 5 mainly due to “franchise Viagra” Dwayne Johnson and was that helped by the addition of Statham? With the two of them gone, does that take away from the movie’s potential or do people like Diesel, Tyrese Gibson’s Roman, Ludacris and the other long-timers like Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster enough to make this an opening weekend must-see?

There might some questions whether theaters in bigger cities like New York and L.A., where F9 would generally do big business, will be as full as normal -- even with full capacity finally being allowed. The other question is whether Universal may have released this movie overseas too far in advance of the States. Think about it. When you start to think about movie piracy and where a lot of that comes from, it goes right to China, and a movie like this at a time like this when people are cautious about running to theaters, well if you walk down the street and someone is selling a copy for 5 bucks, why wouldn’t you buy it? That’s the reason why studios release movies day and date across the globe, or at least they try to. Piracy used to be a big thing hurting the movie business, but that seems to have been forgotten.

Reviews for the movie have been mixed -- I already reviewed the movie over at Below the Line -- but about the same as the last two installments, so those won’t necessarily stop people from going to the movies, since this is a classic summer popcorn movie where it feels like everyone should go see it opening week. Like in the past, F9 will open Thursday night for previews, but it seems to getting more Thursday night previews than normal -- I’ve seen five to six screenings in many locations -- and that might because Universal realizes how important this release is and how many people will be looking to see if it can revive theatrical.

I think I’m going to say that F9 will make around $72 to 74 million this weekend, which takes it back to Fast & Furious days, but I do think audiences will like the movie more than critics, and because of that, the decision to make two more movies will probably be warranted.

I was very excited to see Josh Ruben directing another movie so soon after last year’s Scare Me -- a terrific horror-comedy you can watch on Shudder -- and his latest film, WEREWOLVES WITHIN (IFC Films), based on the Ubisoft game, is just as funny AND scary. It stars Sam Richardson as Finn Wheeler, the new park ranger arriving in the small and remote town of Beaversfield, which seems to have just as much politics and backbiting as the biggest of the cities. He quickly becomes friends with the bubbly postwoman, Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), as she introduces him to the quirky townsfolk… oh, yeah, and there is something brutally mauling them to death.

The premise for Werewolves Within seems fairly simple, and maybe that’s because it is based on a VR game where I assume you have to figure out who is the vampire, so that’s pretty much what’s going on as Finn, Cecily and seemingly the entire town wind up locking themselves up in the Beaversfield Inn trying to figure out who is killing the others. Thankfully, there are more layers built into the ongoing relationships between the townsfolk.

Ruben’s got a lot of things going for his second feature film, the first thing being a super-funny script by Mishna Wolff, but also the amazing cast he put together that not includes Richardson and Vayntrub with some brilliant chemistry but also the likes of Michaela Watkins and Michael Chernus, who can never do wrong in my book. Those two elements alone would make Werewolves Within worthwhile, but Ruben ably takes on the challenges of a much bigger cast than his previous movie and finds a way to keep the viewer constantly on edge and interested in what will happen next, especially to some of the characters who are not as jovial or friendly as Richardson’s Finn.

But what works best about the movie is that there are plenty of unexpected twists, maybe some more obvious than others, and the fact you never really know who might die next or house keeps the movie quite entertaining. It also shows off Ruben’s great skills at combining horror and humor, something that’s very difficult for even the best directors, but when you’ve got it -- as Ruben proved so perfectly with Scare Me -- then you might as well use it to its fullest.

It’s hard to describe how well the humor works without using jokes ala something like Shaun of the Dead, but it’s more of a light-hearted charm that one wouldn’t expect to go so well with the dire situation in which the characters find themselves. It doesn’t hurt that many of the characters are so unlikable that getting their comeuppance adds to that humor. If you’re expecting a lot of werewolf transformations or even werewolves plural, you might be slightly disappointed, but it’s nice that a movie can be its own thing without trying to copy other films in the horror subgenre.

Either way, Ruben is 2 for 2 with his second attempt at comedy-horror, which ventures just far enough away from Scare Me to make me think that he’ll continue to be a great voice in the much-maligned and hard-to-muster horror subgenre.

Werewolves Within just debuted at the Tribeca Festival, and it will be released in theaters this Friday and then be On Demand and Digital starting July 2. I’ll also have an interview with Josh Ruben over at Below the Line a little later today, too, so check that out!

Not getting a theatrical release in the United States unfortunately is Jonathan Hensleigh’s THE ICE ROAD (Netflix), starring Liam Neeson as a truck driver in Winnipeg, whose special skill is driving that truck across the frozen lake up north. When a diamond mine collapses in the very north side of Canada, it’s up to him and a crew of other ice truckers to drive their big rigs across the frozen lake to save the men trapped in the mine.

I quite liked this movie that definitely marks a return of Hensleigh to some of those great action movies he wrote in the ‘90s, like Die Hard with a Vengeance, but this is also a significantly better action movie than some of the ones he’s directed, like the 2004 The Punisher. The sad fact is that I’ve been pretty disappointed with Neeson’s recent film choices, particularly in the last year when disappointments like The Honest Thief and The Marksman managed to get theatrical releases even during the pandemic. The Ice Road is a much better movie, maybe because Hensleigh wrote and directed it himself, but also he had much better source material in the docuseries, Ice Road Truckers, and he clearly did his research into these 18-wheelers on these dangerous trips across iced-over lake that could crack at any time. Hensleigh uses this idea well to tell a story where much of the movie takes place on that dangerous ice.

There are elements to the story that might not work quite as well, such as the decision to have Neeson’s brother Gurty (Marcus Thomas) be suffering from such horrible PTSD that it makes him almost a bigger hindrance than a help on the trip. On the other hand, the movie does have the always great Laurence Fishburne in a smaller role and the real breakout has to be Amber Midthunder, the bad-ass Indigenous Tantoo who proves that she can drive as well as the guys. I also found that Hensleigh’s use of the corporation as the ultimate antagonist in sending these truckers to their potential deaths more for the money than to actually save lives works well to add to what would have been a simple rescue mission.

The Ice Road is a pretty solid (ugh, bad pun) action-thriller that has some elements of other similar movies but then really throws the viewer for a loop with the amazing on-ice truck driving stunt work, that keeps one invested while really putting it ahead of some of Neeson’s other recent action fare.

You can read my interview with Hensleigh over at Below the Line.

Next up are two very different movies that played at the 20th Tribeca Festival over the past week

Heidi Ewing’s I CARRY YOU WITH ME (Sony Pictures Classics) finally gets a theatrical release after getting its Oscar qualifying run way back in December and premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020! Based on the true story of Mexican immigrant lovers Ivan and Gerardo, who travel from Mexico to New York City and are reunited after decades apart and many struggles to rekindle their romance.

This is an interesting movie for Ewing, best known for her award-winning docs like Jesus Camp, because it’s not an easy story to tell or movie to make, covering a span of decades, and using flashbacks to tell the individual stories of how these two men discovered their homosexuality while surrounded by a toxic culture who hates them for loving each other. We meet Iván as he’s cooking in a Mexican restaurant in New York before we flashback to Pablo, Mexico in 1994 when he’s younger (and played by Armando Espitia), married with a young son, but when he meets Gerardo (Christian Vázquez) at a gay club and the two click, he’s put in a place where he has to keep his sexuality hidden if he doesn’t want to lose his son. As the romance blossoms, Ivan realizes that he needs to go to America if he really wants his culinary skills (he even went to school) to be used, because in Pablo, he’s relegated to being a dishwasher.

Ivan decides to make the dangerous trek across the border with his best friend Sandra (Michelle Rodríguez -- not the one in F9) with the promise to return to Gerardo. Things don’t necessarily go as planned but decades later they’re reunited, and struggle to make it in New York City as restaraunteurs. As you watch their story unfold, you can fully understand why Ewing might want to tell this story, co-writing the script with Alan Page Arriaga, but there are still elements of documentary in this narrative beautifully shot by Cinematographer Juan Pablo Ramírez AMC.

Unfortunately, those elements of documentary are what really confused me, because there are moments in the present day when the real Ivan and Gerardo are playing themselves, but then there are times when the two main actors are made up to look older, and I couldn’t really figure out what was happening at times, maybe due to some of the more dream-like nature of the storytelling.

Even so, Ewing has created a terrific character piece and quite a warm and wondrous love story, even if it’s plagued by violence and discrimination due to their roots and their homosexuality. I couldn’t help but think that I might have liked Moonlight more if it wasn’t told in such a linear fashion, separated into three chapters. By using the flashbacks to keep the viewer fully focused on what’s happening, Ewing creates something more on par with Cuaron’s Y Tu Mama Tambien that feels just as authentic as if Ewing were a gay Mexican herself.

Probably the weakest part is the second act where we watch Ivan trying to get to America, because that’s been done in so many other movies, including Cary Joji Fukunaga’s earlier film, Sin Nombre, and that feels a little less unique or special compared to the rest of the duo’s story.

It’s a shame that I Carry You With Me wasn’t able to build any awards traction, partially due to Covid and the long gap between festival appearances. Either way, it proves that Ewing is a lot more than a “mere” documentary filmmaker, able to mix those skills with that of a sharp narrative filmmaker with a keen eye for storytelling. This is a particularly strong character piece and a beautiful love story based on two real men, unlike anything I’ve seen in recent memory.

Honestly, I’ve given up on figuring what Sony Classics is doing in terms of their theatrical releases. I guess this could be opening in New York and Los Angeles or in more cities. I have no idea, because no one tells me anything. But I also wanted to share the review by my friend J. Don Birnam that he wrote out of the New York Film Festival last year. He has reasons to be able to connect with this material much more than I can, which is probably why his review is so damn good: http://splashreport.com/nyff-film-review-i-carry-you-with-me-an-inspiring-story-of-triumph-by-rarely-depicted-peoples/

Not quite as good is John Lee’s horror-thriller FALSE POSITIVE (Hulu/A24), starring Ilana Glazer from Broad City, who also cowrote the screenplay with Lee. It’s a very different non-comedic role for Glazer in which she plays Lucy, a pregnant woman, who finds her pregnancy turned into a nightmare, as she puts herself in the hands of the nefarious ob/gyn Dr. John Hindle, played by the great Pierce Brosnan, who happened to be her husband’s (Justin Theroux) medical teacher.

Man, did I want to like this psychological thriller, because I think Glazer is just the best in Broad Street, and the fact that she co-wrote this and is trying to do something unexpected out of the ordinary just thrills me to the end. That being said, her character Lucy seems to be a rather standard powerful NYC woman with a good job where she’s better than the rest, who ends up going through a torturous experience as an expectant mother who isn’t able to trust her own doctor. Part of the conflict comes when Julie is told that she is having more than one baby, but she has to choose between twin boys or a single girl, because she’s told that she won’t be able to take all three of them to term.

It’s an okay premise dealing with the many worries that women must have while pregnant, and things get crazier and crazier as Julia begins seeing everything, and while Glazer isn’t bad while playing a straight-up no-humor dramatic role, it’s hard not to see her more as a Debra Messing type when she has her hair straightened out to look different.

The horror elements are decent whether it’s the body horror idea of having a number of dead baby fetuses inside you, which is pretty creepy, and Lee doesn’t do a bad job with the trippier parts of the movie, though I feel like it overuses and leans on the use of blood to step up the horror, and it doesn’t work that well. There are also aspects to the story that feel somewhat predictable only because there are only a few way things can go the way things are set-up.

It’s obvious that Glazer and Lee wanted to make social commentary on the male-dominated field of childbirth with some of the weirder aspects of the movie, like the Stepford Nurses that constantly surround Brosnan’s Dr. Hindle. Having them there smiling eerily always boosts Lucy’s suspicion that her husband might be cheating with one or both of them. Still, there are too many aspects of False Positive (including the fact it was produced by A24) that makes one think that this is another attempt at the kind of “elevated humor” that’s been done so much better by the likes of Ari Aster and Robert Eggers.

Ultimately, False Positive is okay, it certainly tries hard, it’s maybe not quite as good as I hoped or expected of what might have been a perfectly fine vehicle for Glazer. I certainly had high hopes for what she might do with a pregnancy thriller, that this movie just never quite delivers.

False Positive debuts on Hulu this Friday.

From Sweden comes the horror film THE EVIL NEXT DOOR (Magnet) from filmmakers Oskar Mellender and Tord Danielsson, which follows a new stepmom Shirin (Dilan Gwyn), who has moved into a duplex with her partner Fredrik and his young son, Lucas (Eddie Eriksson Dominguez), but they soon learn that strange things start happening that seem to be coming from the abandoned house next door.

I’m always open to see what’s coming from the Scandinavian countries, because there’s been a lot of particularly good genre over the years -- Let the Right One In, for instance -- but I got the impression right away that originality was not going to be in the cards for this one, which immediately has the small boy having an imaginary friend, who you know is either an evil spirit or one of the spirit’s previous victims. Sadly, that’s the case here, and without the originality of some of the original horror films it's emulating, The Evil Next Door just seems like an international copycat.

If you’re even a modicum fan of modern horror, you’re likely to have seen many better versions of this movie, which is just kind of bland overall, but constantly resorts to scenes of a woman walking through the house acting scared and the cheap scares that inevitably come. This one even uses the eerie “next day” chapters that have been used in so many other horror movies, including the Paranormal Activity movies.

Mellender and Danielsson certainly come off as capable filmmakers, and they could do far worse than the incredibly dramatic and emotional performance by Gwyn -- the movie does get slightly better as it goes along -- but the feeling that you’ve seen it all before and know what to expect completely detracts from appreciating any of the finer aspects. For instance, there’s some decent creature design work but even that sometimes goes for the expected in terms of the spirit’s look. The filmmaker’s skills are also evident from the use of music and sound design, which is crucial to a movie like this working in any fashion, but it’s hard to fully appreciate it when you feel you know where things are going.

The Evil Next Door just feels like a movie made by fans of the far superior “Conjuring” movies who managed to cop some of the tricks to scare the viewer, but without fully understanding why those movies work due to original characters and storytelling ideas. These are decent filmmakers, but I’d really like to see them do something more unique or original.

If you live in NYC and feel like going up to Harlem, Questlove’s documentary, Summer of Soul, is opening a week early, this Friday at the AMC Magic Johnson in Harlem, New York, and it’s also opening at El Capitan in Los Angeles. It will open in theaters elsewhere and on Hulu NEXT Friday, July 2, so I’ll write more about it in next week’s column.

Debuting on Apple TV+ Friday is Drew Zanthopoulos’ documentary FATHOM (Apple TV+), which follows scientists Dr. Ellen Garland and Dr. Michelle Fournet as they study the whale songs of the humpback whale and try to figure out ways to communicate with them and understand whale culture. Oddly, this is one of quite a few whale documentaries coming out over the next few weeks.

Another movie that I just don’t have time to review just now is Eytan Rockaway’s gangster thriller, LANSKY (Vertical), which stars Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington, John Magaro, AnnaSophia Robb and Minka Kelly. Worthington is down-and-out writer David Stone, who gets a call from the legendary gangster Meyer Lansky (played by Keitel), who has been of the grid for decades but worth a fortune. Stone meets with Lansky as the FBI closes in on the Godfather of organized crime, and he’s told about Lansky’s time with Murder Inc. and the National Crime Syndicate.

Other movies out this week, include:

SILENT NIGHT (Samuel Goldwyn)

SISTERS ON TRACK (Netflix)

TOO LATE (Gravitas Ventures)

Next week is the 4th of July (on Sunday), and we’re getting FOREVER PURGE (Universal) and THE BOSS BABY 2: FAMILY BUSINESS (also Universal!!?!?)... I guess someone really wants to dominate the box office again, huh?

#The Weekend Warrior #F9 #Werewolves Within #False Positive #I Carry You With Me #The Ice Road #Movies #Reviews #Streaming

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korgbelmont · 4 years ago

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Newsletter 22/01/21

In the midst of the difficulties and uncertainties happening around the world, we're pressing onward to produce books we hope you'll fall in love with. As we continue to support one another within our studio, we can truly say that your thoughtful feedback has encouraged us during these challenging times. While we can't predict what'll happen next, we hope our 2021 books will provide you an outlet to smile, laugh, and relax during these times...

Book Updates

Without further ado, we wanted to take the time to update you on the various books to expect in the coming year. Hopefully, these will answer your most pressing questions!

With Every Heartbeat

Aching for another heartfelt Choices story? We're releasing this VIP book to all players at the end of the month. (Eagle-eyed fans might notice we've even updated some of the main character hairstyles!) Be sure to follow our official social accounts for more previews...

So It looks like WEH MC will have some new hairstyles, I know for a fact that this book SOOOO good, can’t wait to see peoples reactions to it.

Open Heart, Book 3

This February, make the most of your third year at Edenbrook and reunite with your favorite medical crew in Open Heart, Book 3! Will the heart of Edenbrook remain the same in Leland Bloom's hands?

So it looks like they are setting up the plot to have Bloom as the villain and the gang finding a way to get rid of him whilst keeping Edenbrook open. I am still wary of this book, but will see it through as I do believe it is the final book of the series.

#ChoicesCookbook

Calling all food lovers! Our team is whipping up a new dish of choices in the kitchen. Get your pots and pans ready for this exclusive Choices VIP book! We'd love to see you all participate with recipes of your own... What delectable dish can you make with these ingredients? Let us know using #playchoices and #ChoicesCookbook.

So this is a part of their branching out into new genres, I have no clue what to expect, I will keep an eye on it. and see what it’s like

Laws of Attraction

Bring your A-game to beat out the competition in this brand new title set in one of New York’s premier law firms. With high-profile cases and a hard-driving, mysterious boss, you’ll be in for dramatic days… and steamy nights!

So it looks like we are getting another book that’s potentially gonna be on the more... mature side. I am curious to see how this will play out and what the premise is going to be.

Crimes of Passion

We’re hyped for this book, and although it won’t be out until later this year, we couldn’t resist sharing a little peek at what you can expect from this thrilling, unpredictable, and jaw dropping mystery book.

So I haven’t exactly been quiet about my excitement for this book, and this image gives off some SERIOUS culty vibes. Crimes of Passion is definitely my top book for this year to keep an eye on.

The Nanny Affair, Book 2

Book 2 of The Nanny Affair is in the works and will be releasing later this year. Can't wait to find out what's going to happen next? Here's the latest hint:

"We have a lot of exciting plans in the works for The Nanny Affair, Book 2 (and trust me, the art team is outdoing themselves). We don't want to give away too much, but let's just say, you may not be the only nanny in town this time around..." - Megan

As I said before, I enjoyed book 1 and am looking forward to book 2. I am curious as to how it will all play out, by the sounds of this, maybe Sam gets another Nanny in whilst they and MC work to sort out the fallout from the wedding??

Zombies

We know plenty of you have been dying for a zombie book. (Yes, we see those tweets and messages!) Until now, we were only able to share a zombie emoji… But we can make this official: zombies will be taking over Choices later this year, so stay tuned!

So I’ve been playing a lot of Resident Evil recently, and the creatures on the right give me serious RE vibes. I am now curious as to what the premise of this book will be and how it will all play out.

The Royal Finale

As mentioned in our last Choices Insiders email, the final book of The Royal Romance series will air later this year. Here's a quote from the Book Lead to tide you over until then:

"In The Royal Finale, you'll uncover new secrets, unravel old mysteries, and experience new heights of royalty with your family!" - Olivia

I hope the “unravel old mysteries” is in part, reference to what part Jackson played in Liam’s mother’s second child. And with the whole secret society thing, who knows what’s gonna happen.

Queen B, Book 2

You just can’t get enough of us, can you, newbie? Enjoy that high of being Queen B… Because what goes up, must always come down. - Kisses, the T.

Oooh, we're excited! Writers Chelsa and Maya have sent us this cryptic message:

🤫🙈✉️👑🐝🔥❌🎧🐍💋

What do you think it means?

Emojis and I have a terrible history so I ain’t gonna try and decrypt that (leave a reply if you do). As for the book itself, I am looking forward to it, aside from the forced Kingsley romance, I enjoyed book 1. I looking forward to the mystery element and hopefully seeing Zoey get her proper LI treatment, and hopefully see Veronica & Carter become LIs.

More New Books in the works!

We are continuing to work on more multi-gender books, including Blades of Light & Shadow 2 launching 2022.

More books. Yay (in theory (depends what they are))

News about Other Sequels

Many of you have asked when or if your favorite books would continue. We want to make sure we inform the community with confirmed and finalized details regarding sequels. To explain a little more in depth about how Choices sequels are decided, our Head of Content Max took some time to give us that insight:

After a great deal of consideration and discussion, we have decided that officially these series will not be getting additional books: Most Wanted, Hero, Nightbound, the It Lives series, The Elementalists, Distant Shores, and Ride-or-Die.I know this may be disappointing to hear, and the truth is, we’re always disappointed when we have to make this decision. I’d like to share a little bit of our process to help you understand why this happens.

Whilst it is a shame, it is nice to have clarification, especially with Most Wanted & Hero. I was surprised to see that Ride or Die won’t be getting a sequel, but sometimes these things happen. As for It Lives, Distant Shores, Elementalists, and Nightbound, I knew they wouldn’t get sequels, but it is a bit of a heart punch to see some personal faves get an official status of concluded.

About once a month, I, along with a small group of Pixelberry's senior staff, make the hard decisions about which books will be written next. Deciding whether or not we make a sequel is an evolving process that we've refined over the years. But even today, it remains ever-changing, and it's never simple.

So I don’t really know what to say here, it’s rather self explanatory. So, yeah.

Sometimes, we want to do a sequel but the Lead Writer is no longer available because they’ve moved onto another project or even left the company. We've tried changing Lead Writers in the past, only to watch sequels struggle, losing sight of what made the original great. This is what happened in the case of Ride or Die; we simply don’t have the team now with the passion and vision to give fans the sequel they crave.

I saw a post by @thefirstcourtesan that OH and ROD share a book lead and after what happened to OH2, it is understandable what happens, and sometimes these things will happen. As for ROD, it works as a standalone, and I am okay with there not being a sequel.

Sometimes a book is a critical darling, beloved by both fans and Pixelberry staff... yet the player numbers aren't there to justify doing another one. This is what happened, for example, with Nightbound, Most Wanted and Distant Shores; while these books were beloved by their players, simply not enough players were starting them to begin with. And these are the ones that hurt the most. We genuinely love these books, but if they haven’t found enough of an audience with our players, then it’s very hard to argue for making a sequel. Believe me, I can't think of a single writer on my team who isn't passionate about their book, but ultimately we are one company in an extremely competitive space, and we have to do whatever it takes to keep running well. If a Book costs significantly more to make than it brought in, it’s very difficult to justify a sequel.

Again, I don’t really know what to say here, again it’s rather self explanatory. Given how long it’s been since Most Wanted, it was safe to say BK2 weren’t happening.

Other times, everyone online seems to hate a book, but the numbers disagree. It's hard to believe, but your most loathed book -- the one that you feel no way deserved a sequel -- might actually be the one that's keeping the lights on for us. And without those books (and those players!), half a dozen other beloved titles may never have existed. We're thankful for sequels. They help us fund future books and projects to try new things. If it weren’t for the success of sequels to books like The Royal Romance and America’s Most Eligible, we would never have been able to try a risky experiment like Blades of Light and Shadow.

This comes across a tiny bit boasty, but it is kinda true, their more generally released romance books are why we get the big ones such as Blades, and I know people diamond mine the quicker released books for the big ones. So, yeah, I don’t really know how to say it, sorry.

We love our online fandom, and your passion, creativity, and art. At the same time, the most visible parts of the fandom sometimes represent a smaller percentage of our players, many of whom might have completely different taste. We have a vast varied player base, and our job is to try as hard as we can to create interesting stories for all of them.

Finally, saying no to one book almost always means saying yes to something new. And without new there is no Pixelberry. When we said no to Most Wanted, much of that team went on to write Endless Summer. When we decided to stop making sequels to Rules of Engagement, that team went on to create The Royal Romance.

With every new book we create, I hope against hope that it'll be our next hit, the start of a ten-volume series that fans will love and support! Some of them are. Some of them aren't. Either way, I hope you stick with us. Sequels are great. So are new things, and I hope most of all that your true favorite Choices book is still out there, waiting to be written.

The fandom is going to make up a small section of it and at the end of the day, they are a company, so the numbers are gonna be what counts. And in saying no to a sequel, it means they can go on to experiment with new story ideas.

Looking Forward

Internally we've been working on the representation promises that we made in June 2020. We've implemented some new Black hairstyles into With Every Heartbeat, and will continue to add more new hairstyles in our upcoming books. We plan on posting a representation blog in the coming months to share a full update of our progress.

So I am curious to see how VIP players would react to updates to With Every Heartbeat, but I am glad to see representation being shown and that they are working on it.

Last but not least... We appreciate you <3

We’ve seen a rise in constructive criticism in our social channels and want to personally thank you for all of your honest feedback. We read all of your concerns and continue to evolve our thinking and processes based on your feedback. At the same time we take our responsibility of crafting stories very seriously. Sometimes we disagree with suggestions or due to constraints can’t enable changes we agree with, but we do try to improve over time and learn from your feedback.

We also continue to ask that you communicate with each other respectfully. And keep in mind that just like with other parts of the internet, just because someone posts something doesn’t mean it’s always true. To everyone who helps keep our community a safe place to freely share your thoughts, opinions and love - thank you. Your respect and kindness goes a long way, and we are looking forward to spending more time with all of you in the coming year.

We’re looking forward to a great 2021 with you!

Finally, I’m glad that they’re reading what people are saying, it is understandable that there will be disagreements with suggestions, that’s just life, it’s human nature. I am curious to see what will be released in the coming year and how they will play out.

In summary

I had a feeling that books they said won’t get sequels weren’t, especially Hero and Most Wanted. It is sad to see that It Lives won’t be concluded, and I knew Nightbound & Distant Shores weren’t going to get sequels (unfortunately).

Glad to see them making more multi gender books, hopefully we will get more like Foreign Affairs with the different pro-noun options.

I am curious about Laws of Attraction and very much looking forward to seeing how Crimes of Passion will play out. I will post my thoughts and theories as we get new information

Stay safe everyone :)

#playchoices #thoughts and theories #very long post

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jeonsjiddies · 5 years ago

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summary- Jimin wasn’t sure when he had fallen in love with his best friend, he only knew that it was getting worse. rating- explicit / 18+ word count- 2623 pairing- yoongi x jimin genre- smut warnings- unprotected sex a/n - this is my first BTS one shot, I was dumb and didn’t realize how amazing they are until recently please be gentle lol

Jimin didn’t remember when he began to feel the way he did about Yoongi. Perhaps his feelings had blossomed between the contagious laughter and the soulful smiles. Perhaps it was the first time that Yoongi had cried in front of him, the pain and the brokenness flowing down his cheeks as Jimin held him close. Maybe it was the way he licked his lips subconsciously when deep in thought.

Jimin wasn’t sure when he had fallen in love with his best friend, he only knew that it was getting worse. The yearning, it burned in his stomach, so forceful and unrelenting. It wasn’t all sexual. Jimin loved the sparkle in Yoongi’s eyes when he rapped a whole verse perfectly. He loved the sass in Yoongi’s voice when someone woke him up. He loved the childlike wonder when Yoongi found the perfect beat. He loved the fierce determination in Yoongi’s eyes when he was about to prove someone wrong. He loved Yoongi.

Jimin would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t love the way Yoongi ran his fingers through his hair, or the way his hips moved when he danced. Speaking of the devil, Jimin thought as his best friend entered the dance studio to practice with the group. Normally Jimin was the late one, but after a particularly sleepless night, he’d been itching to get to Yoongi sooner rather than later.

Flashes of his dream the night before flitted through his mind before he could stop them. Yoongi’s hands trailing torturously slow down Jimin's chest, their mouths working together like choreography, the taste of Yoongi on Jimin’s tongue.

“Jimin!” Namjoon snapped his fingers in front of Jimin's face. “You in there?”

“What? Sorry. Must’ve zoned out.” Jimin muttered.

He glanced over at Yoongi who stood silent, but concern filled in his dark eyes. Jimin flashed him a reassuring smile before jumping on Namjoon’s back and demanding his noble steed to carry him away. This seemed to satisfy Yoongi, his worried expression melting away. He rolled his eyes with a fond smile.

Practice began and Jimin's focus transitioned to making sure he got the moves right. He might have been a lovesick puppy but he was not a slacker. He pushed his body as far as it could go. Faster. Faster. Don’t forget the drop-kick. Turn, down, jump.

After practice, he had just been about to leave, second to last when he noticed Yoongi rubbing his ankle tenderly. Having come down from one of the jumps a little too aggressively had made the area tender. Jimin leaned down to inspect the minor injury.

“You okay?” He questioned.

Yoongi’s eyes met his own as he sat up straighter and it took everything Jimin had not to suck in a breath. When Yoongi had adjusted his position on the floor, it had brought their faces mere inches apart. Jimin could feel Yoongi’s hot breath fanning his face, he could smell his minty toothpaste. Jimin shivered.

“I’m fine, just a little sore.” Yoongi explained, eyes flicking from Jimin’s own down to his ankle.

Jimin had always been touchy, always been affectionate with everyone around him. He’d never shied away from physical touch with anyone, least of all Yoongi. Jimin took every opportunity he could to press his skin against the older boy’s. He took Yoongi’s ankle in his hands and rubbed the inflicted area. Yoongi hissed under his breath and Jimin’s gaze snapped up to Yoongi’s face.

Wordlessly, Jimin dug into his bag for pain relieving ointment. He placed a small amount on his hands, then massaged it into Yoongi’s ankle. Small whimpers left Yoongi’s lips involuntarily, and Jimin’s sweats seemed to grow a little tighter. He tried to adjust discreetly, keeping up with aiding Yoongi.

“Fuck.” Yoongi hissed, head falling back to expose his neck, glistening with sweat. Jimin wanted to taste it.

Jimin’s hands stilled, concerned he’d hurt his friend worse by trying to help.

“Sorry, you okay?”

“Yeah, that actually feels so fucking good. It’s like you have magic fingers.” Yoongi said breathlessly, Adam’s Apple bobbing as he spoke.

All the air left Jimin’s lungs. His mouth went dry. His eyes transfixed on Yoongi’s throat.

“Don’t stop, please.” Yoongi urged.

Jimin could taste the blood in his mouth as he bit down harshly on his bottom lip to keep from groaning at the way Yoongi damn near whined. Jimin reminded himself this was not a sexual situation. His friend was hurt and he was helping. Tell that to his dick, which had sprung to life as soon as the first noise had left Yoongi’s mouth.

Jimin took a shaky breath and continued massaging the medication into Yoongi’s skin. Jimin tortured himself for another ten minutes before suggesting that they should go play games. If Jimin didn’t get his hands off Yoongi soon he was going to bust in his pants.

Yoongi deemed his ankle well enough for that plan. Jimin helped him up and they walked to Jimin’s apartment together. Yoongi made himself at home, pulling out two water bottles and handing one to Jimin before sitting on Jimin’s bed.

“What do you want to play?” Jimin asked as he turned on the game system.

“Hmmm.. call of duty?” Yoongi offered.

Jimin set up the game and they began working together to defeat the enemy at hand. Soon Jimin noticed that Yoongi was slowing down, his right hand often reaching up to rub his left shoulder as his face contorted.

“Dude, you’re falling apart.” Jimin joked, shoving Yoongi playfully.

“I don’t know what happened. First my ankle. Now my shoulder. My whole body hurts man.” Yoongi complained.

Jimin knew it was a bad idea. He knew nothing good could possibly come of it. He knew he should remain quiet. And yet, he heard himself speak before the decision was even fully made.

“Lay down on the bed.” He instructed, standing.

“Gonna take advantage of me in my weakened state?” Yoongi joked.

“You wish!” Jimin threw back at him with a grin.

“Nah. I’m more of a top myself.” Yoongi winked before spreading himself across Jimin’s bed.

Jimin swallowed nervously, unable to retort Yoongi’s last reply. He crawled over to Yoongi, and placed his hands on the boys clothed shoulders. He began to massage the tension out.

Yoongi closed his eyes for a while then he shifted uncomfortably, before huffing in annoyance and sitting up, flinging his shirt off and laying back down.

“Stupid thing was in the way.” He grumbled.

Jimin froze, his eyes scanning along Yoongi’s smooth skin. Muscles taut underneath. Jimin willed his cock to chill for a second and thought exclusively about vaginas until the hard on passed.

“Yo, why’d you stop?” Yoongi whined.

“Sorry.” Jimin coughed, placing his hands on Yoongi’s skin once more.

His firm, yet gentle touch moved along Yoongi’s shoulders, pressing in and moving in circular motions. Yoongi let out little grunts, and Jimin did his best to ignore them. He found it difficult to get the right angle to massage the knot out of Yoongi's lower back from his position beside him.

Despite all rational judgement that Jimin possessed, he swung his leg over Yoongi’s back, straddling the older boy and resting on his plush bottom. Yoongi let out a surprised gasp and Jimin almost died on the spot. He ignored the tightening in his stomach and put all of his strength into working the knot out of Yoongi’s back.

Yoongi’s small grunts turned to loud moans as Jimin worked. The sounds of pleasure escaping Yoongi’s plump lips were downright pornographic. Jimin closed his eyes and put all of his focus into the movement of his hands, doing everything in his power not to get hard while sitting on top of his friend.

Jimin was fighting a losing battle, and after one particularly shaky moan from underneath him, he bolted off of his friend and dove under the covers to hide. His dick was throbbing with desire and he prayed to anyone listening that Yoongi hadn’t felt it.

“What's wrong?” Yoongi asked, turning to face Jimin then making a pained face and laying back down.

“I uh… I-I” Jimin stuttered.

Yoongi grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his chest, effectively covering his lap as he sat up to face Jimin.

“Are you okay?” He asked

Jimin closed his eyes and willed the erection away with every ounce of strength he had. Yoongi ripped the blanket away to reveal Jimin’s face, and in the process, also revealed Jimin’s current issue: his rock hard issue.

Yoongi’s mouth fell open as Jimin’s stomach sank. Jimin attempted to flee the bed, but yoongi's hand darted out to catch him by the wrist, yanking him back. The bed bounced as Jimin fell into it and Yoongi hovered over the younger man. Jimin felt Yoongi’s hard cock press into his own through their sweats. A gasp left his lips as his eyes met the ones above him.

“Don’t try to run away.” Yoongi commanded softly, his gaze piercing through Jimin.

Both boys could feel Jimin’s cock twitch at Yoongi’s words. This caused Yoongi to smirk.

“You like that? Like it when I take control?” He hummed, lips brushing over Jimin’s pulse point. Jimin shivered.

“Yes.” Left Jimin’s lips in a whisper.

Yoongi’s lips ghosted down to the hollow of Jimin’s throat, placing a kiss there. Jimin lifted his chin to give Yoongi more access.

“Mmm.. so needy for me.” Yoongi smirked satisfactorily.

“I’ve been dreaming about this moment forever. I’m not gonna play hard to get.” Jimin tossed back, though he wasn’t even the slightest bit ashamed.

“Hmmm..? You dreamt about me?” Yoongi searches Jimin’s eyes.

“Every fucking night.” Jimin admitted

“What did I do in these dreams?” Yoongi inquired.

Yoongi’s lips sucking on Jimin’s collarbones did not help Jimin think clearly enough to voice his fantasies to the other man.

“A-ah, fuck. You’d tease me, just like this.” Jimin whined.

Yoongi smiled against Jimin’s skin, then sat up to pull Jimin’s shirt off of his body. Yoongi let out a low growl upon freeing Jimin of the offending fabric. His tongue ran across his lips before he put it to use on Jimin’s nipples.

Jimin moaned, tangling his fingers in Yoongi’s hair and tugging gently. This only spurred Yoongi on. His tongue flicked against Jimin’s taught nipples, teeth tenderly grazing against the nubs as he worked his way down Jimin’s chest.

Yoongi’s hand brushed lightly over Jimin’s clothed length, causing Jimin to let out a hiss.

“What do you want?” Yoongi asked.

“Touch me. Please.” Jimin begged.

Yoongi wasted no time in sliding his hand under the waistband of Jimin’s sweats, taking his length in his hand and pumping. Jimin’s abs clenched, and as much as he loved the attention, he wanted to touch Yoongi. Jimin's fingers found Yoongis elastic and pulled the pants and boxers down, exposing Yoongi’s swollen, dripping cock.

Jimin had never been so horny is his entire life. He jerked against Yoongi's hand, while reaching out with his own to cup Yoongi's aching cock with his own hand. Yoongi groaned and pulled away. Jimin was about to ask what happened when he watched Yoongi rid himself of his sweats and boxers in one swift motion. Jimin lifted his hips to remove his own but Yoongi was too quick, leaning over and yanking the clothes from Jimin's body. Both men completely naked, on display for each other.

Jimin pulled Yoongi onto the bed with him, and flipped them around so he was on top of Yoongi once more. Jimin took his time, admiring each and every inch of Yoongi's skin as his lips trailed their way towards where Yoongi was dying to feel Jimin. Jimin licked the tip of Yoongi's swollen cock and Yoongi’s uneven breathing picked up speed. He was dizzy with desire. When Jimin’s lips finally covered the length of Yoongi’s cock, when Yoongi could feel Jimin’s tongue swirling around his shaft, Yoongi couldn’t hold back his desperate noises.

Jimin was made to suck dick, Yoongi decided. He was torn between closing his eyes and relishing the feeling and watching Jimin’s every move. Yoongi loved when Jimin’s eyes met his own, his plump lips wrapped around his length. Jimin was so pretty. Jimin did his best to excel in all things, and bringing Yoongi to the edge of release was no different. Yoongi might’ve been embarrassed at how fast he’d come to the edge if he could actually think.

“Fu-Jimi- I’m gonna-“ Yoongi warned the younger boy, but Jimin didn’t move, only sucked harder.

Yoongi's whole body convulsed as he bucked into Jimin’s waiting mouth and came with a cry of Jimin’s name. He spilled down Jimin’s throat. Jimin, the good boy he was, drank up every drop and worked Yoongi through all that his orgasm was worth.

Yoongi couldn’t stop shaking for a few moments, his whole world was spinning with the earth shattering orgasm Jimin had just gifted him. It wasn’t until Jimin licked his lips seductively, eyes trained on Yoongi’s that Yoongi was brought out of his fog.

With a growl, Yoongi pinned the younger man beneath him, holding both hands above his head with one of his own and trailing a blaze of kisses anywhere he could reach. He nipped and licked and sucked purple and red bruises all over Jimin’s body. Jimin was writhing beneath Yoongi, feeling every breath, every heartbeat, every move Yoongi made with such intensity he was sure he would explode.

“Mmm.. you did so good for me baby.. I think you deserve something in return, don’t you?” Yoongi smirked as his lips ghosted over Jimin’s leaking tip.

“Oh fuck yes please.” Jimin begged.

He’d felt so powerful, rendering Yoongi speechless with a flick of his tongue across Yoongi’s throbbing length, but now felt helpless under the older boy's touch. Stars formed behind Jimin’s eyelids when Yoongi's mouth sank down on Jimin’s erection. Jimin squirmed, gasps leaving his parted lips as Yoongi worked his magic down below. Jimin did his best not to buck his hips up into Yoongi's mouth but it just felt so good. Yoongi didn’t complain, just adjusted his jaw and worked his skillful tongue to bring Jimin higher and higher.

Jimin gripped the bed sheets with his left hand, the fingers on his right threading themselves in Yoongi’s soft blonde locks.

“Yoongi… close…” Jimin barely got the words out, breathless and falling apart.

Yoongi ran his free hand up Jimin’s torso, interlacing their fingers in a surprising sweet moment, making the whole moment more intimate, more intense. Jimin couldn’t hold it in anymore, throwing his head back and shaking as his orgasm crashed over him in waves. Yoongi took it all, working Jimin through his high. Jimin’s abdomen kept spasming even after he’d come down. Yoongi smiled to himself and crawled up Jimin’s body, connecting their lips together in a slow, sweet kiss. Jimin kissed back with the same passion, before pulling back to catch his breath. He pulled Yoongi closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around him.

“Fuck… no wonder you call it tongue technology.” Jimin panted.

Yoongi chuckled and placed chaste kisses to the corners of Jimin’s mouth. Jimin turned, capturing Yoongi's lips with his own. He sighed contently, letting his racing heart slow down in time with Yoongi’s calming breaths. The silence was comfortable, and it stretched on as the two men held each other.

“Yoongi?” Jimin whispered.

“Yeah?” Yoongi looked up into the younger mans sparkling eyes.

“I… I love you.” Jimin bit his lip nervously, entire body tense as he waited for Yoongi to react.

Yoongi’s face softened, and his lips turned up in a tender smile.

“I love you too, Jimin. I always have.”

#yoonmin #yoonmin smut #yoonmin one shot #one shot #smut #bts #bts smut #jimin smut #yoongi smut #suga #suga smut #suga imagine #jimin imagine #yoonmin imagine #jimin x yoongi #yoongi x jimin

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ducktracy · 5 years ago

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happy birthday, tex avery!

today’s an important day for every cartoon fan. 112 years ago today, tex avery was born! probably one of the biggest contributors to animation, the man responsible for bugs bunny, elmer fudd, daffy duck, droopy, screwy squirrel, chilly willy, wild animation... there’s much to celebrate.

born in texas (hence the nickname, real name frederick), tex arrived in los angeles on january 1st, 1928 to start a new career. nothing much, just menial jobs: working in a warehouse, loading fruits and vegetables at the docks, painting cars, and finally painting animation cels for the oswald cartoons. moving from the short lived winkler studio to the universal studio, he became an animator in 1930.

(courtesy of tom klein.)

perhaps his work at universal spawned the most important event in tex's career. in 1933, he and a couple of his animation buddies were horse-playing. the game: shooting a spitball with a rubber band at the backs of peoples heads, yelling “bulls eye!” if shot successfully. the game evolved from spitballs to paperclips. animator charles hastings was armed with a paperclip and had his sights set on tex. someone yelled “look out, tex!”, and tex’s initial reaction was to turn around. vision in his left eye was gone in an instant. some people attribute the lack of depth perception to tex’s unconventional, warped point of view inserted in his cartoons.

universal was proving to be a lousy job for tex. he himself admitted that he wasn’t much of an animator. “i was never too great an artist. i realized there at lantz’s that most of those fellows could draw rings around me... i thought, brother! why fight it? i’ll never make it! go the other route. and i’m glad i did. my goodness, i’ve enjoyed that a lot more than i would have enjoyed just animating scenes all my life.” he was let go in april 1935 after the quality of his work declined thanks to a lack in interest. two days later, he and his girlfriend (an inker at the studio) got hitched and honeymooned in oregon. they arrived back in hollywood in may, where tex approached leon schlesinger.

to say warner bros was short staffed in terms of directors was an understatement. ben hardaway had just left, and friz freleng and jack king were the only directors there. tex flubbed his way in, citing his experience "'hey, i’m a director'. hell! i was no more a director than nothing, but with my loud mouth, i talked him into it."

(the termite terrace crew in 1935. from left to right: virgil ross, sid sutherland, tex avery, chuck jones, and bob clampett.)

though there were few directors when tex arrived, the staff was beginning to outgrow the studio. tex and his unit (virgil ross, sid sutherland, chuck jones, and bob clampett) moved into a rickety building they unceremoniously dubbed termite terrace as a result of the termite population within the bungalow.

tex’s first directed cartoon was gold diggers of ‘49, where he borrowed friz freleng’s characters of beans, kitty, and porky from the cartoon i haven’t got a hat. while beans was beginning to have his own small series of cartoons, this marks the second ever appearance of porky and is thusly an important occurrence. if tex didn’t use him, who knows what porky’s fate would be? gold diggers beans and porky are in the heart of the gold rush. beans strikes it big (tex’s love of gag shining brilliantly already as beans pulls a slot machine lodged into the side of a mountain) and invites all of his friends to dig for more gold. porky’s bag of gold is taken away from a villain, and he bargains that if beans can get the bag back, he’s allowed to marry his daughter (kitty). beans eagerly accepts and follows the villain. what ensues is an exhilarating gunfight turned car chase, tex’s knack for speed drastically picking up the pace of the cartoon. it’s exhilarating, rushing, and brought a much needed energy to warner bros at the time. perhaps even more amusing than the chase is the payoff itself: porky gets the bag back, which isn’t gold at all, but instead a hearty sandwich.

almost right away, tex rose to the top at the studio. some of his earliest merrie melodies (which had been exclusively reserved for friz freleng prior) include page miss glory and the classic i love to singa, both beautiful cartoons in their own ways. tex now served as the model. his gags were funny, his pace was quick, his cartoons GOOD, friz freleng and eventually frank tashlin adopting the change in pace. jack king, unfortunately, wasn’t faring well with the change, and his slower, duller cartoons stuck out like a sore thumb. he returned to disney in april of 1936.

porky’s duck hunt serves as an especially important cartoon directed by tex, marking a number of firsts. it’s the cartoon debut of daffy (who is unnamed, though model sheets label him as that crazy darn fool duck), and he first time mel blanc voiced porky. porky is also considerably slimmed down. the cartoon is exactly as it sounds: porky embarks on a duck hunt, but a screwy duck prevents him from getting anything accomplished.

the cartoon itself, in comparison to tex’s others, isn’t really that special. a bunch of drunken fish hilariously singing a rendition of “moonlight bay” serves as the highlight. it’s not a bad cartoon at all, i love it a lot and it’s one of my favorites, but it IS rather repetitive, and daffy is pretty stark in personality. 75% of his dialogue is reduced to quacks. but what DOES have personality, which would shape his entire character, is a particular exit animated by bob clampett.

porky fires his gun and strikes daffy, who flops into the water. ecstatic, porky sends his dog after him. all we see is a black blob in the water, and daffy haughtily tosses the unconscious dog on the shore instead of the other way around. flummoxed, porky pulls out some paper, flipping through it and protesting “hey, that wasn’t in the script!” daffy laughs it off. “don’t let it worry ya, skipper. i’m just a crazy, darn fool duck!” with that, he gives his signature hoo-hoo laugh as he literally flips into the horizon, twirling and hopping, clicking his heels, hoo-hooing all the way along. great animation by bob clampett and definitely entertaining, and a scene that would serve as the basis for his trademark laugh and his truly daffy personality (that would begin to die down as early as 1938).

tex made a number of other good cartoons, experimenting with daffy some more and playing with porky a little more until exclusively dedicating his time to merrie melodies in friz freleng’s absence (who was at MGM). the one that truly changed looney tunes was released on july 27th, 1940, titled a wild hare.

bugs bunny had existed before tex touched him, but didn’t at the same time. he was conceived by ben “bugs” hardaway in 1938 with porky’s hare hunt. very similar to porky’s duck hunt, the screwy rabbit taunts porky and prevents him from getting a good shot. the only thing bugs has in common with his prototype self is his species and name. (he wasn’t formally called bugs then, and thanks to a false story by mel blanc where blanc referred to the prototype as “happy rabbit” fans have assumed that was his prototype name. in reality, model sheets and illustrations from picture books around 1938-1939 name him as bugs’ bunny, possessive after ben “bugs” hardaway.) bugs is portrayed as a white rabbit with a hayseed voice and woody woodpecker laugh in hare hunt, not at all the cool new yorker we know and love him as. he reappeared in a few other cartoons, still his hayseed self in hare-um scare-um and a more collected take by chuck jones in cartoons such as elmer’s candid camera and elmer’s pet rabbit. hare-um scare-um turned the previously white rabbit into a gray and white rabbit with yellow gloves.

nevertheless, tex borrowed this strange rabbit and paired him with another character of his by the name of elmer fudd. elmer’s hunting wabbits, but bugs predictably taunts him the entire time and makes his life a living nightmare. the cartoon isn’t much different than the other hunting cartoons: prey drives hunter crazy, and prey ends up winning. it’s really just a glorified porky’s hare hunt. but at the same time, it has a certain charm. this previously unappealing, obnoxious rabbit is now cool, calm, and collected. an era of cartoons dominated by screwballs like daffy is now interrupted by the opposite, a smooth talking rabbit who always wins. bugs was rather temperamental in his early 40s cartoons, much more thin skinned, abrasive, and often a downright bully, but there was still something so different about him that audiences resonated with him regardless. so, while tex isn’t the true father of bugs, he absolutely is at the same time.

many fans believe that tex left warner bros after a dispute with schlesinger pertaining to his cartoon the heckling hare. in the cartoon, bugs (as the title suggests) heckles a dimwitted dog repeatedly. at the end, the two of them end up falling off of a cliff. both bugs and the dog cling to each other, screaming all the way. the scene is LENGTHY, nearing a minute of nonstop screaming. which, of course, is the joke. to see how long the audience can stand it. however, the cartoon cuts to an end rather abruptly. evidently, bugs and the dog were going to stop, with bugs remarking “hold onto your hats, folks, here we go again!” and thusly launching into a second fall. however, the “hold onto your hats, folks!” was a rather crude joke at the time, and thusly that’s assumed how the cut came to be.

story goes that avery left the studio as a result of the censorship, which seems plausible. however, that’s not the case. tex was itching to do a series of live-action shorts, with real, live-action animals talking and cracking jokes with animated mouths. tex wanted to do it, schlesinger didn’t. tex lived out his dream at paramount for a short amount of time, and thankfully for the rest of us got some sense and moved to MGM in september 1941 to make cartoons once more.

i’ve gone on way longer than i intended, and there’s still so much to be said about tex! all of tex’s best cartoons were at MGM, no doubt. he invented droopy, red, the wolf... red hot riding hood is considered one of the greatest cartoons of all time and spawned a number of sequels starring red and the wolf. all of the great qualities of tex’s cartoons from warner bros exploded at MGM. the fourth wall breaking, the gags, the speed... he also made the iconic “tex avery take”. limbs flying off characters and super big eye bulges... they’re absolutely fantastic. there’s so much to say about tex that can’t be articulated! he’s one of my favorite directors for sure and such an important figure in animation. he deserves all the praise and respect he gets and more.

happy birthday, tex!

#long post #analysis #this doesn’t do him justice you need to watch his cartoons yourself! esp his mgm stuff #avery

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