#it's been very hot where I live so gotta project onto my art of course

[vickriarts]

hot revacholian summer

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #238: Unlimited Vision

December, 1983

He is Oz, the great and terrible. And he can see ALL.

So what’s going on here? Has Vision been in a tube-coma so long that they just decided to replace him with a giant hologram?

Dunno, but he sure is filling the room with too much pink energy and kirby crackle.

So, there’s been a bit leading up to this.

In Avengers #233, Vision and Scarlet Witch were called in as reservists to help the team with an invisible dome Annihilus was using to destroy the universe, as ya don’t do. When Vision intangibled into the dome, he immediately fell onto his face inert. After the crisis, Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic examined the synthezoid and said that nothing was actually seriously wrong and that Vision would be able to repair himself.

Despite that, he’s been inert in a tube since #234, moved into the Avengers Mansion so they could keep an eye on him. Maybe Reed doesn’t know shit because it’s been several issues!

The Avengers have been taking shifts watching Vision and the least suited to sitting still and watching an inert synthezoid is on duty as this issue opens.

“But being an Avenger, he’s discovered, doesn’t mean saving the universe every waking moment. Sometimes, it requires a lot of sitting... and watching... and waiting!”

Hahahahahah!

I might sympathize more if it weren’t for his full page rant.

Like this goes beyond bored and into ‘UGH I have to do something not immediately entertaining??’

Wait, I’m like that sometimes...

Starfox: “I just don’t understand! My father’s computer assured me that the Earth would be teeming with excitement and adventure -- and from previous experience, I knew that the Avengers invariably became involved in such adventures. But I haven’t seen a bit of action since we saved Project Pegasus from total destruction. That was more than a day ago! Now with Thor off on a mission in space... Captain America away on a personal mission... and the lovely ladies of the Avengers taking the afternoon off, naturally it’s the ‘trainee’ who gets stuck with keeping watch over the Vision!”

“By Chronos, is there no justice?! Where are the thrills, the challenges?!? Am I never to know satisfaction? I didn’t come all the way to Earth just to stand watch over some infernal android in a life-support-tube!”

“Ah, forgive me, friend Vision. I should not make you the object of my resentment. You were, after all, injured to end the threat of Annihilus. It’s just that sitting around and playing nursemaid to a comatose synthetic man is hardly my idea of fun!”

Vision: “I sympathize... but it has not been enjoyable for me either.”

HAH!

Imagine complaining so hard about having to go a day without an adventure that you wake a robot from a robot coma.

Over in a scene shift, there’s Monica “Captain Marvel” Rambeau trying out a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. The salesman is trying to close the deal but Monica finds herself distracted by the events of the previous issue.

Even though she saved the day from lava men and then stopped a nuclear meltdown, she still feels crappy that Moonstone and Blackout escaped AND that Blackout was able to capture her.

When the salesman finally gets her attention again she says she needs a bigger boat!

I’m still wondering what her new career is going to be! She’s taken out a small business loan and looking into buying a boat.

Possibly shark hunting?

Good on her for building a life away from avenging. You never know when you have to retire from superheroing and take up a civilian career.

Back at the Vision tube, Starfox sets up a voice amplifier on Vision’s tube so Vision can talk more easily.

It transpires that he didn’t just wake up in time to deliver the ultimate dunk on Starfox, he’s been conscious for several days. He’s been able to hear and see what’s been going on around him but he hasn’t been able to move or talk.

Starfox apologizes for his rant but Vision doesn’t actually mind.

Vision: “No offense taken. I found it entertaining in a way... I hadn’t heard such vitriol since the time the Beast found himself on monitor duty during the opening night of a Roger Corman film festival. As a matter of fact, I’ve enjoyed all of the one-way conversations that have gone on about me. Captain America’s war stories were most informative -- and the She-Hulk’s stories were quite amusing... If a bit tawdry!”

Amazing.

I actually like that the Avengers have been talking to Vision like a person in a meat coma and not ignoring him like a dysfunctioning fridge of a Jocasta.

He’s their buddy and they kept talking to him in hopes that somewhere he heard them. And he did!

Even all the dirty jokes!

Vision tells Starfox that he’s mostly confused about all the paralysis and that his repair systems haven’t restored his movement. He wishes that he could more fully analyze his condition.

Which gives Starfox a wonderful idea! A wonderful, terrible idea!

He calls up Jarvis on the video-intercom and asks what the range of the Avengers communication system is. Like. In terms of... interplanetary?

Jarvis: “All equipment is state-of-the-art, sir. I dare say we could make contact with any corner of the Solar System!”

I know that the Avengers deal with a lot of space nonsense so it makes sense that they’d need that range. Starcore-One and all.

Anyway, Starfox uses a tight beam signal to communicate allll the way to the master computer ISAAC on Titan.

Meanwhile, the three whole women on the Avengers (She-Hulk, Wasp, and Scarlet Witch) are on a mission together. A friend mission. A friend mission of find She-Hulk an apartment mission because that’s been a subplot for a while and She-Hulk deserves nice things.

Huh! If you ever wondered what the relative heights of some Avengers were here we are.

She-Hulk is most tall. Scarlet Witch is pretty tall. And Wasp is a short.

Comics being comics and not big on consistency, I’m sure this is contradicted a dozen different places. But its fun.

Of course, in the innocent 80s (??) people just weren’t used to seeing tall green woman a-walking down the street and gawk.

But it doesn’t bother She-Hulk like it used to.

She-Hulk: “I must be getting used to this town, Waspie! The gawkers don’t faze me in the least anymore. In fact, I’m starting to have fun, staring back!”

Wasp: “Uh-huh! I’ve noticed you practicing on our dreamy new trainee! Starfox is really something, isn’t he, She-Hulk?”

She-Hulk: “You know it!”

Scarlet Witch: Starfox does have a certain something in the way he carries himself...

She-Hulk: “I’ll bet that Starfox even does something for an old married lady like the witch!”

Scarlet Witch: “Wh-what?! Why, that’s ridiculous! I mean... that is... the Vision is the only man in my life!”

She-Hulk: “Aw, come on, Wanda! You’re married, not dead! ‘Fess up, don’t you like the way Starfox just sort of... stands around?”

Scarlet Witch: “Well, if you put it that way -- !”

Just some gals being friends and talking about how hot their new co-worker is.

Just objectifying a foxy guy... from space.

I like She-Hulk someone immediately sensing Wanda thinking about how hot Starfox is. She has a sixth sense for it.

And I fear because Janet “Aesthetic Appreciation for Every Man” Van Dyne now has a comrade in arms in Jennifer “What are inhibitions?” Walters.

The three arrive at the apartment building Jan found for Jen (not confusing at all). The rental agent isn’t around but Jan basically does whatever she wants and the door is open so they go in to look around.

And its a good apartment! Its got a terrace, high ceilings, deep carpeting! Its perfect for She-Hulk! The long subplot is finally at a resolution!

Alas.

The rental agent comes in and when he learns that its Jen who wants to rent the place. Really wants to rent the place. “You can draw up a lease -- I don’t care how much the rent is!” wants to rent the place. He has one (1) concern.

Rental agent: “My lord! You... you’re green!”

She-Hulk: “Yeah, and you’re a pasty shade of pink! So what?”

Rental agent: “I... I can’t rent to you! What would the other tenants say?”

Oo buddy that’s illegal under the Fair Housing Act. Especially if you just come out and say it. Granted, I don’t think it foresaw this exact scenario so let me rephrase. Oo buddy she is not shy about hurting people who annoy her.

She-Hulk: “Outta my way, Jan! I want to turn Mr. Pink black-and-blue!”

Wasp: “Forget it, Jennie! We’ll find a better place!”

But since Wanda doesn’t have any patience with bigotry, she uses her magic-science mutant magic to set off the fire sprinklers above Rental Agent.

I guess he’s allll washed up.

Back over in New Orleans, Monica returns to her apartment still hung up on Blackout and Moonstone getting away.

I guess it is her first failure as a superhero? It’s a very minor one but if you were on a winning streak before, it could knock you for a loop. Monica seems like the sort of person who holds herself to very high standards.

She considers calling the Avengers on her bracelet radio to see if there’s any leads on the two loose ends but then realizes that she can travel at the speed of light. She may as well just pop into the mansion!

Monica has cool powers.

But when she arrives inside the mansion, she sees a bunch of electronic components just floating through the mansion.

Soooo she follows them. Gotta see what’s going on.

She finds Starfox in the medical room constructing some apparatus around Vision’s tube.

Starfox explains that stuff be floating because ISAAC is using an attractor beam to assemble an apparatus. ISAAC being the Titan computer Integral Synaptic Anti-Anionic Computer.

It sure is cool that some Eternals that went to live on Titan before modern English existed still managed to name their computer ISAAC.

And its cool that ISAAC can apparently influence things like this halfway across the solar system.

Anyway, ISAAC is linked up with the main computers of Avengers’ Mansion to build a more specialized medical computer to get a better idea of what’s going on with Vision.

Vision: “It sounds complicated, Captain, but the principles involved are actually quite simple.”

Captain Marvel: “Vision? You spoke!”

Vision: “That seems to surprise everyone... pleasantly, I hope.”

He explains that if everything goes well with this apparatus, he hopes to be ambulatory again before tomorrow. And also, because he’s a class act, thanks Monica for the stories of New Orleans she shared when she was on Vision duty.

In a funny continuity nod, Vision notes that he and Wanda went to New Orleans once (in issue #152) but didn’t have time to sight-see. Because there was a lot of voodoo nonsense going on.

The Avengers tend to go all over the world but they also tend to be involved in nonsense and can’t enjoy it.

Monica isn’t sure whether they should go ahead with this without consulting the other Avengers but Starfox shrugs that it’s Vision’s decision.

Vision: “In that case, I choose to begin analysis immediately!”

In fairness, I’m sure he’s fed up with lying in a tube staring at the ceiling. Bring on the untested science! My god, just anything novel!

Starfox activates the devices, showing Vision’s body with unearthly energies whiiich makes him twitch and spasm and then a tiny Vision head pops out of his forehead gem.

Mazel tov?

I don’t think that was the intended outcome.

Outside, She-Hulk, Scarlet Wanda, and Wasp are returning from Apartment Quest.

Wanda mentions that she didn’t mean to be away from Vision this long.

Wasp: “Don’t worry, Wanda. I’m sure nothing’s gone wrong!”

Giant disembodied Vision head: “WRONG? ON THE CONTRARY, EVERYTHING’S GONE JUST FINE!”

Oh my god, he got Oz’d.

Imagine coming home to that! You go on an errand with a friend to take your mind off your coma robot husband and you come back and he’s a giant holographic head!

The three Avengers rush inside and find a more reasonably sized Vision hologram and Starfox protesting that this wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

Yeah, I suspected.

But Vision is thrilled with this turn of events!

Vision: “Evidently, the internal dysfunction in my body caused a data feedback-loop which overloaded my brain with ISAAC’s energy-information matrix. Simply put -- I have become as one with ISAAC and our own computer systems! The ability to project this holographic construct is a fortuitous side-effect!”

Huuuuuuuuuh!

Vision merged with some computers. This is fine. Is this fine? Is Vision fine? Starfox wants to know and so do I.

Vision: “ALL RIGHT?!? I’ve never been able to think more clearly. Even with my body temporarily out of order, I can be of great help to the Avengers! I can out-think, out-deduce any computer system in the world! All the information in our files is mine -- instantly! For instance -- I see there’s some unfinished business pending! Two opponents escaped us recently! Those two must be found!”

Well, Monica will be happy with that at least.

Geez, Vision is kind of... manic? Maybe its just the contrast to how dour he tend to be. But he definitely seems keyed up. Like he’s running high on having all these computers running through his brain.

Is this robot drugs?

Wait, no, vibranium is robot drugs. Is this other robot drugs? Connect to a super-computer and scream I’M THINKING SO FAST! ?

MEANWHILE, those very two miscreants!

In a hideout in the Bronx, Blackout is ranting paranoid about how they’re out to get him and are going to merge him with the light spectrum and destroy his humanity. Which is fairly unique paranoid ranting.

Of course, while he’s focused on glaring out the window, he’s not paying attention to Moonstone who prepares a drugged cup of coffee for him.

Blackout: “You’re the only one, Moonstone... the only one who hasn’t betrayed me!”

Moonstone: “That’s right! You can trust me! Now, drink it all down!”

Womp womp.

The drug makes Blackout trance out and Moonstone uses this to start interrogating him about his origin. And... maybe trying to help him? She did start off as a therapist. And even as a villain, she sometimes does therapy.

For some damn reason, Hank “Good Ideas” Pym got her to look over Avengers Academy kids down the line and offer her thoughts on them.

Anyway. Moonstone asks how he got this way:

Blackout: “Well... I ‘spose it all started when Dr. Croit set me up so I’d have to be his guinea pig. He... charged up my body with the power of a black star! That’s why I... *yawn* ... had to punish him!”

Moonstone: “Shh! I want you to listen closely... there are no black-star energies... There’s no conspiracy against you! Let your mind drift back! I want you to tell me what really happened!”

So what really happened is here’s how a Mark Daniels became a man with a lightning bolt mask. He was a lab assistant to Dr. Croit.

Blackout: “He always wanted to be everyone’s big daddy!”

Um. Okayyy?

Anyway, Mark Daniels was helping Croit build an experimental device for tapping energy from other dimensions. And, at least according to Blackout, Dr. Croit liked Mark Daniels because he was a dummy who didn’t understand the experiment at all.

Then one day, while he longingly caressed it, the device blew up in Mark Daniels’ face, somehow making his body a control surface for tapping into another universe’s “dark force.”

Dr. Croit wanted to cure Mark Daniels who took exception to the idea of having his newfound power taken away. So he killed Dr. Croit and the other assistants.

But the power was running out of control (shouldn’t have killed the doctor, ya dingus) and before Blackout could use the stabilizer to save himself, he got stuck... somewhere. Its a bit fuzzy to him until he popped out in Project Pegasus.

Moonstone believes that his mind couldn’t cope with what happened to him so he made up the black star nonsense to be An Explanation.

Moonstone: Imagine... all of that power at the command of a raving paranoid! Yes, but he’s a paranoid who trusts me! Now that I have a handle on his power, I should be able to manipulate him into doing just about anything I wish! Why, with the dimensional-warping potential of a power like his, we could be unstoppable!

“Blackout, we have a very bright future ahead of us!”

And then Vision pops in from nowhere and gives Moonstone a startle.

She fires some of her hand pew pew at him but he’s a hologram and just sasses back.

Moonstone runs to wake up Blackout while Vision can’t help but show off how smart he is now that his computer brain is overclocked.

Vision: “It was, of course, clever of you to seek refuge in a hideaway of your former ally, Egghead! Unfortunately, with all the cross-referenced data instantly at my disposal, tracing you here was child’s play!”

Blackout wakes up and Moonstone basically points at Vision and tells him ‘get ‘im!’ and Blackout gets ‘im.

He uses the same imprisoning black sphere move on Vision as he did on Captain Marvel.

And it probably would have worked. If Vision was really here. He’s just a hologram. And, sure, the light of the hologram would probably be trapped in the sphere too. It trapped Captain Marvel when she was light. But Vision is being projected from elsewhere so he can just turn the projection off and then turn it on slightly to the left.

Vision: “I’m sorry, but that won’t work either! You see -- I’m not really here at all! But my friends are!”

Oh, Vision, you sassmaster.

Moonstone’s ‘knows when to fold them’ kind of lapsed when she was attacking Vision instead of remembering ‘hey doesn’t that guy hang with the Avengers?’ but a whole bunch of Avengers busting in reminds her.

She blasts the floor beneath her and Blackout to try to escape and has Blackout seal the hole behind them to buy time.

But Scarlet Witch is still a great counter to... maybe anyone? But especially Blackout.

She waves her hands at the black barrier and it turns into goo and drips all over Blackout and Moonstone, ensnaring them before they can even try to run.

The Avengers storm after the two villains.

Trapped, Moonstone tells Blackout its up to him to stop the Avengers!

Moonstone: “Concentrate on your power! It’s greater than you realize! If you try, you can control it completely... make it do anything! Concentrate... make this 'dark force’ release us! Yes... that’s it! You’re doing it! But you can do more than just reform the darkness into a protective sheath! You can turn it back on the Avengers... you can make them merge with the darkness! And then we can get out of here!”

Vision warns the Avengers that the dark-force is a manifestation of another universe but She-Hulk is skeptical so goes to grab Blackout out of the black goo but her arm goes right through him.

And not in the gory way that you’d see these days.

Blackout and Moonstone are pretty perplexed too.

Apparently, he done goofed and merged him and Moonstone with the darkness and the two get sucked into a singularity and disappear.

Vision: “This may be a first... Our enemies have actually imprisoned themselves!”

Geez, Vision, these assholes might be dead.

-google- Huh. Nope. They’ll be back to menace.... Dazzler? Huh. It be like that sometimes.

Sidenote: I do like that Captain Monica Marvel, as the newest to this superhero life, is the one that most visibly shows shock and consternation at two villains being sucked into an unknown fate.

It’s a nice touch.

Even though the villains maybe got away? Or got sent to the next dimension? She-Hulk congratulates Vision on finding them. And then notes, seconded by Wanda, that Vision is becoming more of a vision.

Scarlet Witch: “Darling? Your holographic projection is starting to fade!”

Vision: “So it is! I seem to be having some difficulty maintaining the transmission over the distance! Perhaps I’ve overextended myself a bit.”

He decides to switch off the projection to run a systems check.

Later, back at the mansion, the Giant Floating Head of Vision reassures everyone.

Vision: “I was just explaining to Captain Marvel that there’s nothing to worry about! As I’d already guessed, the strain of the long-distance transmission was a bit taxing. A few days of rest, and I’ll be able to transmit myself almost anywhere. Of course, by then, I hope to be physically mobile, as well.”

Scarlet Witch: “Vision, you must be more careful! It’s not safe for you to consider using this power again... not until you’re fully healed!”

Vision: “You mean ‘repaired,’ Wanda. But, yes, a certain amount of caution is required. I must adjust to this extra power in stages. Once I’ve mastered it, I’ll never be so helpless again. I’ll be able to do anything... anything!”

Well.

That’s a massive red flag.

Being locked in a tube has not done wonders for Vision’s emotional state that he always pretends he doesn’t have.

(Side note again: I like that Wasp’s costume has an open back, for her wings. It’s another nice touch.)

Starfox asks if Vision has ever had ego problems but Wasp says he’s never had a swelled head like this.

Nah, not exactly. But can you imagine!

But yeah, no, she says he’s never showed ego like this before.

Its actually such a massive red flag that everyone present seems to pick up on it.

But there’s no time to address that because they get an emergency call from Tigra.

Ah, Tigra! You were fun the short amount of time you were here. What wacky hijinxes do you have going on now?

Tigra: “I’m at St. Anthony’s Hospital in San Francisco, Jan. No, I’m fine -- but a friend of mine is literally at death’s door. She may not make it if we don’t get some help fast... and I mean big help! It’s hard to explain over the phone, but... do you believe in ghosts?”

!!!!

Why, Tigra! I didn’t know you and Spider-Woman were friends!

So next time.... uh. We won’t be addressing this right away. The next Avengers’ issue is an infamous offering from Assistant Editor’s Month and before we can even get to that, we need to look into what Hawkeye has been up to because it’s kinda relevant. Or will be relevant soon. When Marvel decides to give this liveblog a headache by splitting the party.

Oh yes, West Coast Avengers looms in the near future. As does Secret Wars. As does David Letterman!

Good grief!

Follow @essential-avengers​ because I’m going to try to cover all these things. That’s a good reason to follow, probably. Also, like and reblog if you like to reblog.

[angelanimedesaray]

Through The Looking Glass Chapter 2: Like Smoke

AN:  Ahhh, yes, I get to continue this one--I keep getting distracted...by the planning for this series.  I’ve got pages and pages of notes for this series now, It’s getting to be quite the ambitious project.  OH and I have a playlist for the series, too, on YouTube.  There’s a link for it on the Masterlist.  BTW I’m tagging all of the things that have to do with this (Chapters, Masterlist, and Playlist) #TTLG and all my fanfics have my penname AngelDesaray in the tags (Unless for some reason I forgot)

P.S. to find my masterlists, I link the masterlists for series in every chapter (As well as previous or next chapters).  Links to stories and series masterlists can also be found in my Author Masterlists, which can be found as a separate page on my blog under the Masterlist tab on desktop (Only shows published pieces), or as a link in my blog bio for mobile users (Also has upcoming pieces listed).

Characters:  Levi, Reader, Reader’s Mom, Kenny (Mentioned)

Pairing:  (Eventual) Levi x Reader

Warnings:  I mean, there’s fluff...and there’s some sad stuff near the end...

Word Count:  5004

<---Previous Chapter    Masterlist    Next Chapter--->

(Gif From Your Lie In April, found on Your-Lie-In-April on Deviant Art)

*Levi’s POV*

The sound of a distant woman calling a familiar name roused Levi from what may have been one of the best rests he’d had so far in his very young life, eyes fluttering open slowly as he tried to remember where he was.  Everything was so soft, and he just wanted to drift back to sleep, curl up in the fluffy warmth around him and…

The woman’s voice came again, a little closer this time, and there came a sudden burst of movement next to him, Levi’s eyes flying open as the little body of Y/N flailed to untangle themselves from the mess of blankets around both of them.  She struggled to her feet with a squeak and fumbled for the door that she toppled ungracefully out of, crawling on hands and knees out the door and kicking it shut.  Levi was left dazed, halfway risen out of the blankets, and wondering what had just happened, but now also laden down with the weight of several more blankets since she had thrown blankets and pillows onto him in her mad dash to get out the door.  He pushed a few blankets off, crawling over to one of the tiny windows to catch a glimpse of the girl reaching the door to the back of the house, where the woman who had been calling her name was standing in the doorway.  He could only hear fragments of the conversation if he listened hard enough.

“...sleep in...all night?”

“...forgot...check...almost couldn’t sleep....”

“...school...thirty minutes...late…”

Levi shook his head, dropping back down into the mess of blankets with a muffled yawn as he glanced around trying to find the water bottles in the now tumultuous mass of blankets and pillows.  Once he found them buried in one of the corners he finished off the one bottle he’d started on the day before he laid back down, contemplating going back to sleep despite the light filtering into the little house.  He was so comfortable, and if something happened and he had to go back, then he wanted to enjoy it while he could.

The door was thrown open, startling Levi with the suddenness of it all as he saw Y/N stick her head inside, huffing like she was out of breath and hadn’t stopped running since she scrambled out of the tiny house.  After her head poked in and she saw where Levi was, she tossed a sac of some sheer, opaque material inside, its contents rolling around.  She spoke quickly in the brief flash that he saw her, the last part tacked on as she shut the door and hurried away.

“I gotta go, I’m late for school!  Here’s food, see you later!”

Her mother shouted from the house for Y/N to hurry, even though she was already scrambling back.  Afraid that if he tried to fall asleep again she’d simply re-appear and scare him awake, Levi resigned himself to getting up for the day, reaching for the bag she’d tossed inside and poking through its contents.  There were two more rolls inside, no longer fresh and warm like they’d been yesterday, but still good.  There was also a green apple, something hard wrapped in some kind of thin, shiny, silvery covering, a spoon, and two white and red containers a little bigger than his hands that were cool to the touch and had a similar silvery covering over the top.

Deciding to investigate the stranger things later, he munched on the bread and the apple first, gazing out the window thoughtfully.

When all that was left of the start of his breakfast was half the apple, he grabbed the bag and one of the water bottles and decided to venture back outside, a little more used to the light this time since he’d woken up to it.  His legs were stronger than yesterday, steps surer as he tentatively ventured out of the little house, staying close to the walls of the little house and his head turned towards the house to keep an eye on it as he shuffled closer to the trees behind the house.  He wanted a closer look at the trees--wanted to sit quietly outside in the warm sun, breathing in the fresh air while he ate and explore the surface while he was up here.  If Y/N was going to be gone for a while, then that was what he wanted to spend the day doing.

The shade was much kinder to him than the direct sunlight, easier on his eyes that were used to the dark and not as hot.  It was comfortable and cool in the shade, and he stopped when he saw another large house starting to appear through the trees, doubling back a bit and finding a nice dry patch of grass in the shade to sit down in, curling up comfortably on the ground and squinting up at the sunlight flickering down on him through the leaves.  He was close enough to a tree he could put his hand gently against its trunk, feeling the grooves of the bark beneath his fingers and watching the rather large black ants travelling up its trunk while carrying tiny crumbs of food.

Speaking of, he still had the stranger things in the sack she had thrown him to eat.

Resting his back against the tree trunk with his knees pulled halfway up to his chest, Levi set about investigating the stranger, silvery wrapped things in the bag, finding a soothing solace in the quiet and the green all around him.

*Reader’s POV*

School couldn’t go by fast enough.  Sure, you were in trouble with your mother for messing around outside looking for a stuffed animal instead of getting ready for school.  It was better than her finding out you’d hid a boy in your playhouse all night, though, right?

Of course, with how antsy you were to get back home and see him when you had school to distract you, he must be bored out of his mind alone in that playhouse!  And he wasn’t going to get lunch until you got home, either!

With all these thoughts, you were bouncing in your seat on the bus, then racing home on foot once you finally reached your stop.  Your backpack lay abandoned at the front door, causing your mother to yell at you to pick up after yourself as you skidded into the kitchen.  Your tongue poked out as you hurried to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before your mother came in and tried to stop you from having a pb&j for a ‘light snack’.  Once that was finished, you grabbed two Capri Suns your mother probably thought she’d hidden, grabbed a family sized bag of chips, and dashed outside towards the playhouse.

“I’m back!  I brought...some…”

You paused, head craning and foot poking at the mess of blankets in case he was simply buried under all the fluffy things.  Still, you didn’t find Levi in the playhouse, and you stepped back outside with a frown, wondering where the little boy had disappeared to.  Your mother would have instantly pulled you aside to talk about Levi if he’d gone inside the house and been seen.  Maybe he’d wandered into the brush behind your house?

Changing directions, you started picking your way through the trees and bushes, looking for the skinny boy you’d been smuggling quite a bit of food to by now.

“Levi?  Levi!” you called as you came closer and closer to the backyard of the people who lived behind your family.

You squeaked in surprise as his head suddenly peaked out from behind one of the thicker trees, disheveled strands of black hair falling into eyes that were slightly brighter than they had been yesterday.  It seemed he was sitting with his back against the tree, legs curled up towards him, and the plastic bag of food you’d given him earlier now holding his trash at his side.  You gave him a bright smile, sitting down next to him and offering the pb&j to him.

“I brought lunch,” you said cheerfully, opening the bag of chips that made Levi jump from the loud pop sound before you placed the bag between the two of you, working on punching the yellow straws into the Capri Suns.

The silence lasted perhaps only a few seconds as Levi tore into the sandwich before it rapidly devolved into almost frantic smacking noises from Levi.  Maybe you’d put too much peanut butter on it?

You giggled as you watched him continue to make those smacking noises, struggling with the amount of sticky peanut butter with an amusing look of bemusement on his face.  When he looked at you accusingly for laughing at him, you offered him one of the Capri Suns with that bright smile still on your face.  He took it carefully from you, eyeing you more than it as you sucked happily on your own Capri Sun.  When he finally started drinking the juice, he seemed to relax, the juice soothing his peanut butter problem.

“You must have been bored, out here so long,” you said once your Capri Sun was finished.  Levi shrugged, taking smaller bites of the pb&j now.

“I like it out here,” he said simply, and now that you looked, his eyes did seem to constantly drink in the greenery around the two of you.

“There’s a...a con...conservation place a little ways away,” you said slowly, making sure the bigger word came out right.  “Mom lets me go play there--we could too.  There’s long grass, and trees, and berries, and a pond with fish and frogs and rabbits--we can play there.”

Levi was silent, chewing on the last of his pb&j thoughtfully.  “How far is it?” he asked slowly.  You suddenly remembered how he’d had a hard time moving around yesterday.

“A few streets over…” you admitted sheepishly.  “But I could carry you!”

Levi made a face, but you were already on your feet and exuding raw unbridled, positive energy.  “No, really, I’m pretty strong, I can pick up my friend at school, and you’re tinier than them.  I could give you a piggyback ride there!”

You started putting your trash in the plastic bag, rolling up the so-far untouched bag of chips.  “We can take the chips with us--I’ll throw this away, tell Mom where I’m going, and come get you!” you said cheerfully, already making your way back through the brush towards the house before Levi had the chance to agree or disagree.

*Levi’s POV*

She hadn’t been lying when she said she could carry him.  It was embarrassing, but no one seemed to be looking as the two children made their way down the sidewalks.  Levi’s legs were wrapped around her waist, her hands tucked under his knees to support him as she leaned forward slightly, Levi leaning against her back with his arms wrapped around her shoulders and across her chest for extra security.  His head peeked around hers to look around him as she carried him down a few streets paved with some kind of seamless black stone down the middle and raised brown stone on the sides.  Every now and then he saw some sort of strange horseless carriage like objects sitting unmoving along the edge of the black street or still on the wider brown-stone pathways leading up to homes.  He didn’t ask what they were, figuring it was something only surface people got to have, and Y/N was pretty much ignoring them, so he figured it was a normal sight for her, even if he found it strange.

As they went up a hill, Y/N started to pant underneath him, her hands starting to feel sweaty on his legs and her movements a little slower.

“I can walk,” Levi murmured as she continued to struggle.  He wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to make it if he tried, honestly, but the girl shook her head.

“No, it’s...just on the other side.  I can carry you...the rest of the way,” she said between huffed breaths, shifting her grip on his legs and picking up her speed slightly as she powered stubbornly forward.  Levi clung tightly to her, turning his head and resting it on her neck as his eyes looked up at the light blue sky, gaze tracing the outlines of the soft white clouds that drifted lazily by and watching the leaves of the trees in various yards sway high above him in the breeze.  If he hadn’t been so transfixed by the sight of the surface world, he could have easily fallen asleep against her back, the secure comfort she was giving him making him feel drowsy in contrast with the energy that raced through his system with the excitement of everything around him.  Her breathing underneath him was heavy, and he could feel her quickened heartbeat against his ear, but she kept climbing with Levi on her back without a word of complaint.

When she crested the hill, the street dipped low just briefly before stretching out in one straight road, trees framing both sides for several paces before the trees on the right gave way to a meadow of long grass, just like she said.  Levi stretched forward over her shoulder to see it, eyes widening as more and more of it came into view.

Y/N only carried him until the edge of the meadow, setting him down in the soft grass with a relieved sigh.  Levi pressed some of the longer grass down as they walked forward, the meadow opening up and dipping into a lower basin where a fairly large body of water rippled and sparkled in the sunlight.  On the other side of the meadow was a thick collection of trees and bushes, and if he looked hard enough, he could see spots of dark red or blue on some of the bushes.  But that was for later--right now, he wanted to get closer to that giant pond in the middle of the meadow.

The grass tickled his arms and legs, causing him to scratch here and there as he stumbled his way down the uneven slope on shaky legs, Y/N close by the entire time with her head tilted up to the sky and the warm sun with a smile on her face.  She was so...so...happy.  She probably didn’t have to worry about anything, didn’t have to be afraid of anything.  She could only be this happy because she lived on the surface, and the things that lurked in the dark underground weren’t lurking above it.  Her life seemed...easy, perfect, and he envied her for it.  But he couldn’t envy her for it for long, because she was still sharing it with a dirty Underground dweller like him, even if he couldn’t fathom why.

“Can you swim?” she asked him as they finally reached the bank, already taking off her shoes and socks as she spoke, sitting on her rear with her feet kicking in the air in the process.  Levi shook his head, and she gave him a sheepish smile.  “I’m not a good swimmer, yet, I just bob.  We can just stick our feet in, cause it gets a little deep.”

She sat down on the edge and dipped her feet in with a little giggle, smoothing down a patch of the long grass around her and looking at him expectantly.  Levi still approached the water slowly despite the fact he was already imagining how refreshing it was going to feel, not wanting to get too eager and accidentally fall in after she said it was deep.  He settled down next to her, feet stretching out experimentally towards the water and tentatively dipping his rather dirty feet below the surface.  It was cool--not cold thanks to the sun shining down on it, but not warm either.  Pleasant in contrast to the warm air with the sun beaming down on him when there was no shade to protect him.  Levi leaned down, letting his hand dip into the water as well, swirling the waters around between his fingers.

While he was doing that, a thought occurred to him, and he dunked both hands below the water, taking the time to scrub at the dirt on his hands, arms, legs, and feet before he cupped his hands and scooped up water to splash on his face, rubbing at the dirt there, as well.  It felt so good to be clean, to see and feel the dirt giving way against the crystalline water and see the water droplets against his skin shimmer clearly under the sunlight.

Now he wouldn’t get any more dirt on all those comfy blankets and pillows in the small house he was sleeping in.

There was a sudden splash, and water spattered across his face, followed by the sounds of giggles beside him.  He was taken aback at first, looking over at Y/N just in time to see her splash the water towards him again with a huge grin on her face.  She laughed more audibly this time, with Levi trying to duck to avoid getting splashed in the face again before he returned the splashes with some of his own.  It quickly escalated, water sloshing violently between them and getting them both soaked, Y/N’s gleeful shrieks filling the air and a wide smile working its  way across Levi’s face.  He felt lighter than he’d felt in some time, like he would float away up into that blue sky any moment.

“Okay, okay!  Uncle!  Uncle!  I give up!” she eventually laughed, the splashing finally calming down and the waters returning to its calm state around their feet.  They were soaked now, and Levi shivered, but the sun was still warm against his skin, and he felt like he’d dry out in no time.  Y/N pulled her feet out of the water, trying to wring the water out of her hair as she stretched, eyes on the bushes on the other side of the pond.  “Do you want some berries?”

“Okay.”

He watched her head over to the bushes he’d been eyeing earlier, brushing hair out of his face and watching as she picked berries off the bushes and used her shirt as a makeshift basket to collect them in.  The only sound was the occasional drip of disturbed water or the rustle of leaves, and he laid down, some of the grass curling back up around him and towards the sky.  A soft breeze wafted the grass above him, the thin blades waving in and out of his immediate field of vision.

Please...let me stay...

A few minutes later, Y/N had reappeared, standing over him with her shirt basket heavy with berries as she kneeled down next to him.  He sat up on his elbows as she showed him her collection of small red cup-shaped berries and round blue berries, her free hand already digging into her collection to grab a few of the red berries.

“Raspberries are my favorite,” she explained with a small giggle, offering the berries to him after she’d grabbed what she wanted.  Levi got a handful for himself, a lot less hesitant in trying the foods this time since almost everything she’d given him so far had been delicious.

He didn’t care much for those chalky rectangular things in the silver wrapping this morning, though.

Something caught Y/Ns attention, her head turned to the side as she went still, nose wrinkling as she suddenly became far more concentrated than Levi had seen her so far.

“Hold these,” she said quietly, dumping the rest of the berries on him so suddenly that Levi had to scramble to snatch them up before they all tumbled to the ground.  She wasn’t even paying attention anymore, crouching low in the grass and creeping slowly towards the pond like a kitten stalking a mouse.  He watched her, confused, wondering for a few moments if she’d seen a fish in the pond or a bird or something.

Suddenly, her hands shot out, cupped around something as she let out a loud squeal and leapt to her feet.

“I got it, I got it!” she crowed, prancing back over to where Levi was sitting, getting really close on her knees with her cupped hands between them.  She held it up close to his face, but craned her head awkwardly so she could see as well, forehead knocking against his.  “I don’t want it...to get away…”

Slowly, she bent her thumbs, a small crack appearing in her cupped hands that she gradually widened further and further.  At first, Levi didn’t see anything, but then, slowly, two glimmering, tiny, beady black eyes caught some of the sun, and Levi realized there was some kind of tiny creature trapped in her hands.  He got closer, trying to see what it was, faintly making out a fat but tiny body, spindly limbs, and--

Y/N suddenly shrieked, hands opening reflexively.  “AH!  It peed on me!”

All Levi registered was peed and the fact that suddenly a tiny little brown and spotted body was flying out of her hands, through the air, and directly towards him.  His own vocal reaction was lost in her continued shrieks of disgust as he tried to get out of the way, a tiny, bumpy, sort of slimy body landing on his arm.  Afraid the thing was going to pee on him, too, his arm jerked upwards in response, and it flew off of him and disappeared back into the tall grass.

Y/N had abandoned him to the little menace already, her hands plunged into the pond as she scrubbed valiantly at her hands, muttering ew over and over before she pulled them back out and tried to shake the water off her hands.  Levi was still wide eyed and trying to figure out what just happened.

That grin was back on her face as she turned towards him again.  “I think I want to try and catch another one!”

“Why?”

“So I know I can really catch a frog; I wasn’t just lucky that time!”

Levi scowled, looking down at all the berries that had been scattered everywhere while he’d flailed around trying to get away from the stupid, tiny frog.  She only laughed at his reaction, coming over and grabbing his arm to pull him up onto his feet, dragging him with her towards the trees.

“Okay, okay, we can play hide and seek instead.  There’s plenty of places to hide in the woods.  C’mon, c’mon!”

And just like that, the little hellion frog was forgotten as she urged him on towards the next experience, sweeping him away into more discoveries and experiences before he had the chance to dwell too long on whatever bad tried to poke through.  Even though his legs were shaky, she volunteered to be ‘it’ over and over so he could rest in his hiding spots while she tried to find him, stopping every now and then to look at a bug they’d found, to pick a few berries from the bushes in the area, and at one point, to stare in wonder at a small nest of baby bunnies hidden in a hollow at the base of a tree.  They looked but didn’t touch, watching the two tiny rabbits squinting back at them with their little noses twitching furiously, the two rabbits curled close together much like Levi and Y/N had curled up under the blankets last night.

And when the sky started to turn to a rusted orange, she carried him on her back without complaint once again as they headed towards her house once more.  Levi could hardly stand after all the running around they’d done, but he didn’t regret it.  In fact, he was perfectly content, even with the burn in his legs and ache in his arms.  He was already dozing off as he tucked his head against her back once again, the exhaustion mixed with the relief from her carrying him back instead of him having to walk back, mixed in with the warm air and the dim light from the sun making it easy to simply...drift…

He woke up long enough to realize when he was being set down in front of the little house, weaving on his feet as Y/N helped him back inside and he curled up in the cloud of blankets and pillows with a softly sighed good-night, his hand groping about to find Tuff before he slipped into a blissful sleep.

When Levi opened his eyes again, it wasn’t to the bright light filtering into the tiny house as he curled up in a nest of blankets.  It was dark, and the smell of sweat and dirt and decay assaulted him much more viscerally after the contrast of the clean, fresh air.  He wasn’t even curled up on his side like he’d been when he’d fallen asleep, but still sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, back against the wall, arms wrapped around his legs.

Directly across from him was the bed that still had his mother’s dead body.

It was...a dream?

Blinking slowly, it seemed he hadn’t moved an inch, and he was covered in dirt and grime once more, not a hint of a clean patch of skin after scrubbing clean by that pond.

Or was I...seeing things?

It didn’t matter...it wasn’t real.  Levi’s heart plummeted, and he ducked his head into his arms, surprised that his eyes actually stung with tears when he’d thought he was too dehydrated to cry anymore.  None of it was real.  The surface, the sun, the air, all the green, the nest of blankets, the food, the girl...it wasn’t real.  He was still wasting away, forgotten where no one cared about him anymore, waiting to finally die.  If he was seeing things, maybe he was finally close.

And yet…

The door to the room opened, a pale yellow light cutting across the room and over the bed, drawing Levi’s attention towards the man who stood just inside the doorway.  The sudden appearance made him forget--for the time being--that he wasn’t hungry anymore.

*Reader’s POV*

“Where do you think you’re going with that bowl, young lady?”

You froze by the back door, a bowl of cereal you were hoping to bring out to Levi before you had to go to school in hand, suddenly feeling cold at your mother’s scolding tone.  This was it, you’d been caught, you couldn’t think of an excuse fast enough and your mother was already closing in, probably to take the bowl from you, but Levi needed to eat before you left.

Looks like you couldn’t hide the boy in your playhouse much longer.  Why did you feel like telling your mom about him was going to get you in trouble.

“I...I need to...Levi needs breakfast,” you said in a small voice, feeling like you were about to get yelled at any moment.

“Levi?” your mother asked, pausing just by the door.  “Who’s Levi?”

“T...The boy in the playhouse.”

Her expression went blank, and then for some reason, worried.  “There’s a boy in the playhouse?”

You nodded very slowly.  “He-he’s been there since the other day.  He needs to eat before I go to school, or he’ll have to wait till I’m home.”

Your mother’s expression was unreadable as she stared at you and the bowl in your hand for several long moments, then carefully said in an even tone, “Can I see Levi?”

She wasn’t yelling, so you didn’t think she was angry.  Maybe this was good--if your mom knew about Levi, she could make sure he was taken care of while you were at school--he could have real food and eat dinner inside with you, sleep in a bed--or on the couch at least--and probably get a change of clothes.

After you nodded, your mom took the bowl out of your hands and followed you outside towards the playhouse.  You hoped he was already awake--he probably was, since he’d fallen asleep so early yesterday.

“Levi?” You called softly, opening the door to see...a mass of blankets and pillows, like yesterday.  Again, you pushed around a few of the blankets but couldn’t find him.  Your mom was standing outside the house with the bowl still and you shook your head as you immediately went to look in the brush again.  “He was back here when I came outside yesterday, he’s probably there, now.”

“Y/N…” your mother was starting to say tiredly, but you were already picking through the trees looking for Levi again, ignoring her as you tried to find your new friend.

“Levi?  Levi?  Levi!” you called, hoping his head would peek around one of the trees again.  But he didn’t show up--you couldn’t find a trace of him.  Did he leave?  Did he leave in the middle of the night or before you woke up?  He’d seemed happy yesterday, so why would he leave?  Didn’t he like you, didn’t he like sleeping in the blanket nest?

“Y/N, its okay to have imaginary friends, but you can’t waste food on them, they don’t eat like you and mommy and daddy--” your mother was saying carefully behind you.  Hearing her suggest Levi wasn’t real made you suddenly angry and frustrated as well as hurt at the thought that Levi had simply left.

“He wasn’t imaginary, he was real!  A real boy that was really here!”  Your eyes burned and a few angry, hurt tears slipped past your eyes, the words starting to stick in your throat as you felt yourself starting to cry.  “His name was Levi...and he didn’t even say bye.”

Next Chapter--->

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[patrickhockstetterfics]

Stalker Boy pt.1

This is my very first time writing fan fic so please forgive me if it is total shit. I might make this a series if this goes well.

Warnings:sexual themes, abuse, swearing, stalking, topic of rape.

Finally! I thought to myself. It’s Friday I can go home and sleep. I was so done with this week. It felt like it was dragging on for years. The endless lessons, tests, and projects would finally stop for two days. I was sitting in English class squirming in my seat just dying to get home. One because I needed a nap and two because I had to pee and refused to use the girls bathroom. I knew exactly what went down in those bathrooms and did not feel like contracting an std.

I was glancing at the clock it was 2:25pm Ok five more minutes just wait five more minuets. I was getting a ride from my friend Ivy so my bathroom issue wasn’t that bad of an issue. I didn’t live far but walking with a bladder full of pee isn’t very comfortable. The bell rang and woke me from my daze. I packed up my books and headed to my locker. I struggled a bit with the combo but got my locker open. I threw all the books I didn’t need into my locker and turned to see Ivy standing next to me. “Yo Y/N!” Ivy said a little too loud. “Yeah what’s up Ivy?” I said “Look I’m sorry but I can’t drive you home tonight, I gotta finish my media arts project or I am fucked.” I sighed “That’s alright, I mean it’s not like walking home is going to kill me.” Ivy giggled “Well ya never know what that big sun might do to the beautiful skin you have.”

We both chuckled “Ok I should go I gotta finish this project by tonight and I don’t want to be here all night.” Ivy said as she began to walk down the hall. “Ok see ya later Ivy!” “Bye Y/N!” I turned in the opposite direction headed towards double doors that lead outside. Before I went outside I thought Fuck this I am going pee and proceeded to walk towards the girls bathroom. When I finished and I was washing my hands I heard a couple of voices outside of the bathroom. I couldn’t make out any words but I knew it was a group of boys. I knew that the only group of boys that hang out here trying to cause trouble was the bowers gang.

Huh? How could this possibly go wrong? Oh yeah only in a million different ways. Well I was far too tired and now getting hungry to stand in the bathroom until they left. If they try and mess with me they are going to be sorry. I walked out of the bathroom to see the boys lined up against the lockers. They looked  like a group of white girls complaining about how their barista from Starbucks fucked up their triple chocolate nipple slapa cramel frappa who the fuck knows type of drink. I couldn’t help but stare and chuckle. Just thinking about Henry and his gang walking into a Starbucks was a complete joke. My chuckles soon turned into loud laughter. 

“The fuck you laughing at bitch!” Henry sneered. Oh fuck I went completely silent and stopped dead in my tracks. Henry was shooting daggers at me with his eyes. His stare was dark and cold. He unfolded his arms and began to walk towards me. Every bone in my body went cold as he started to tower me. Thoughts raced through my mind as I became eye level with his neck. “What’s your name?” he demanded my mouth went dry and I tried to speak. “I-It’s Y/N” I stuttered. “Hm Well I’m Henry” He said slyly “And you should remember it cuz you’re going to be screaming it later.” Him and his friends let out dark chuckles. 

I was not going to take this “Get over yourself you fucking prick.” I said frankly then shoved him away from me with all my strength. He fell back and I took off. I bolted out the doors, across the field and ran down the street. I lived close but not close enough to get away from them. There was a forest near the school and I could cut through there, but if they ever caught me they would probably rape me and kill me in the forest. At least if they caught up to me I was out in the streets and somebody would see me. 

I was running for my life my legs were getting weak, my chest was tight and cramps were beginning to form in my side. Every time I inhaled my throat burned with dryness. I tripped over my own feet and fell onto the road. I scrapped my hands and knees. My breathing was heavy and I coughed every once in a while. Once my breathing stabilized I heard what appeared to be the sound of a car engine getting louder and louder. Fuck if that is who I think it is I turned my head to see none other than the Bowers gang car. Oh fuck me I got up and began running as fast as I could. I was almost home Just a couple more blocks then my street. I was running so fast but the car was catching up. The engine was loud and aggressive as the car was hot on my tail. Yes Yes! my street. I made a sharp turn and ran down my street. This threw the boys off it bought me some time but not much. I counted the house addresses until I found mine. I ran up my driveway and almost ran into the front door. I struggled with my keys as I unlocked the door.

The door flew open and I fell inside. I got up as fast as I could and slammed the door shut and locked it. I pressed my back to the door it was cold it felt nice against my hot sweaty skin. My back slid down the door as I sat in the floor. My breathing was steady but I needed to process what had just happened. I am dead meat oh fuck! What am I going to do they probably know where I live now. Are they going to kill me? These thoughts ran through my mind. The all of a sudden there was a knock at the door. I felt the knock run down my spine. It made my mind and almost my heart stop. I waited I wasn’t sure if it was real or not. Then the knock came again only this time I heard a voice. “Come out come on Y/N come out…” the voice sang. It wasn’t Henry’s voice I was sure of that. 

Another knock this time it was quieter and not as heavy. The voice sang again “come on out Y/N it’s just me. The others are gone I only want to see you. I promise I won’t let Henry touch you. If anything i’ll make him watch.” The voice was getting darker. I turned my head to look out the window to see if this guy was telling the truth. I peeked out the window I didn’t see the car on the street so he wasn’t lying. I still couldn’t trust him I tried looking for something that indicated he wasn’t alone, but before I could his face popped up and scared the shit out of me. I let out a gasp “Hehehe… there you are my my how pretty you are when you sweat.” Oh fuck it’s Hockstetter. Out of all of them it had to be him.

“What’s with the face come on baby let me in” Patrick purred as he pawed at the window like a cat. I was scared shitless I was home alone it was only 3:00pm and my parents wouldn’t be home till 6:30 and I did not plan on spending that much time with Patrick alone. “Please…please…please…” Patrick wined and still continued pawing at the window. Well he has seen me now and probably won’t go away till I let him in or worse he will find his own way in. I really didn’t feel like pissing off Patrick I heard he was really violent and psychotic when he was angry, but I didn’t want to let him in and be his little fuck toy. I was so confused and either way I was putting myself in a bad situation, but letting him in seemed like the option where less people got hurt.

I walked up to the door and grabbed the doorknob. I turned the lock and opened the door but just a crack. “Promise me we are alone.” I demanded “Of course” he replied casually. “Promise me that if I let you in that you guys won’t hurt me and we will just forget about what happened and we leave each other alone.” I wasn’t just going to let Patrick waltz into my house and leave myself totally defenseless. “How about I will tell the boys to leave you alone, but only I get to see you.” Patrick stated “Um what do you mean only you like I can’t hang out with my friends?” I had to be sure I wasn’t falling into a trap. “Lets say I get to walk you home and stay with you until your parents come home.” “Um how do you know my parents aren’t home?” I asked now creeped out. “Well I like to keep a close eye on the things I want.” He whispered. Chills ran down my spine realizing that he had implied he had been stalking me. “Well what are you waiting for you going to let me in?” he questioned. I had stalled for long enough I had to let him in.

TO BE CONTINUED?

Authors Note: Thanks so much for reading this I hope you enjoyed it. I worked really hard on it. If you want me to do a part 2 just message me.

[everything-offspring]

Eddie Perfect drops a bombshell as he sets his sights on Broadway

By Paul Ewart April 29, 2017

HE BECAME a household name thanks to his portrayal of lovestruck musician and all-round nice guy, Mick Holland, on Offspring.

But while Channel Ten recently announced that the hit drama would return for its seventh season later this year — with filming currently underway — Eddie Perfect has dropped a bombshell that will leave fans shocked.

Exclusively chatting to news.com.au Perfect reveals that he won’t be returning for the next season of the show.

“No, I’m not!” says the gravel-voiced 39-year-old. “I’ve taken a step away from it to concentrate on writing.

“I just had to choose, so I made a choice and that’s all it came down to. It’s nothing to do with Offspring or not liking it — I love doing it. But I’ve always had these Sophie’s Choice type experiences, you know, between the gig that’s very high profile and brings a lot of kudos … and then the other project that’s completely unknown, driven by myself, is creative and could be oodles of work for absolute naught, but you’ve gotta roll the dice and back yourself up at some point.”

What he’s doing is a dream come true. In a case of art imitating life, just as his famous TV alter-ego’s career took him overseas, Perfect has landed the gig of a lifetime — writing the score for a new Broadway musical version of Beetlejuice.

The original 1988 Tim Burton film, starring Gina Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Rider was a cult classic. So there’s a lot of pressure to get the stage version right.

“It’s very difficult because we have to graft a story onto it while staying true to the spirit of the film,” he explains.

“So that the fans will feel that it belongs in that world, but they’ll also get a story that has something meaningful to say.”

Revealing previously untold details of the big budget project, produced by Warner Brothers, Perfect says that the story will be far darker than the big screen original.

“It’s about a lot of things,” says the musician. “But it’s vastly about the relationship between the father and daughter who are grieving the loss of their mother … why do we continue to choose living? What’s life about?

“If we get it right it’ll be all the things a good musical should be: funny, fast, ridiculous, with great songs and a great heart at the engine of it.

Part of his decision to make the leap is undoubtedly the phenomenal success his good mate, Tim Minchin, has had with musical, Matilda. A show that has become one of the most successful stage productions in the last decade.

“Tim’s success is testament to the fact that Australians can write musical theatre,” says a smiling Perfect.

“That’s what I’m doing now. He’s a really supportive person. Having written with a lot of people overseas, he’s always saying that there’s no reason why Australians can’t do more of this. We tend to have a bit of a parochial attitude, you know ‘little us in the corner’ thinking we don’t have the right or ability to work at that level, but with a lot of hard work anything is possible.”

Following in Minchin’s footsteps, Eddie took a leap of faith and flew to New York three years ago where he met with Broadway execs and called in favours. But as a complete unknown it was pretty tough.

“It was actually Tim who said to me that there’s this project, Beetlejuice, floating around and they haven’t found a composer-lyricist yet,” he recalls.

“I said, ‘what if I just wrote two songs for free?’ It wouldn’t cost them any money and if they hated it there’d be nothing lost. I ended up writing three songs and I got the gig, which was pretty miraculous!”

Though still cloud nine, the father of two is fully aware of the pressure to succeed.

“Absolutely!” he says. “You don’t get the mountain, you just get given the opportunity to climb it. And it’s a beautiful opportunity, but it’s totally yours to f**k up!

“There’s all the usual doubts: am I good enough to be writing at this level? Am I going to choke? Am I gonna get fired? So I’ve just been working my guts out to make sure I’m always ahead of declines and turning stuff in.”

The other pressing commitment on his time is the upcoming Adelaide Cabaret Festival. An annual fixture on the Australian arts calendar, Eddie is in the hot seat as its co-creative director for the second year running.

“There really isn’t a festival like the Adelaide Cabaret Festival anywhere else in the world,” he enthuses.

“Which is quite difficult to believe! People come in to see something that immediately appeals to them, but then they’ll turn left or right after the obvious choice and take a risk on another show.

“To that end there is a lot of what you’d call crowd pleasing material, but what we think is interesting about the festival is not only seeing one show that you know is going to be good, but allowing yourself to be open to the idea of seeing stuff that repels you, seduces you, enlightens you … whatever.”

Although Perfect is very passionate about the arts scene in Australia, given his new-found gig, could he soon follow the lead of his buddy Tim Minchin (who now lives in the Hollywood Hills) and decamp to America?

“At some point I’ll have to do a stint in New York,” he says. “Hopefully when Beetlejuice goes into rehearsals … but I don’t know if I’d want to be a New Yorker per se, but there’s worse things than spending a year there!”

Just as he’s keeping the door firmly open on relocating. Perfect is also very much in the ‘never say never’ camp when asked about a return to the Offspring role that earned him a Logie nomination.

“Of course,” he says on playing Mick again. “I don’t know how long it’s going to go on for and if I could do it I would, but at the moment I’m just about to get on a plane to New York and do another big workshop, so it makes that kind of aspect really difficult.”

“It’s a strange experience, putting all your eggs into one basket, but it’s my number one dream so I feel really fortunate to be doing it and I just hope like hell that the end result is something accessible.

“The pressure is so high, but it’s glorious. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Eddie Perfect is co-artistic director at the upcoming Adelaide Cabaret Festival, which runs June 9-24. See www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au

SOURCE: http://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/television/eddie-perfect-drops-a-bombshell-as-he-sets-his-sights-on-broadway/news-story/6f7051691d4adc660ea9699b060442cf

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #27: Setting Chart Records and Playing Jenga (2/26/17)

This week wasn’t heavy on shows, but regardless still full of great moments with the fans and a bunch of really good interviews. Let’s get into everything.

This Week’s TØPics:

Performance/Interview Recaps from Across America

Look Ahead at Upcoming Shows in the Southeast US

Yet Another Chart Record Secured; Can “HeavyDirtySoul” Help Extend Their Run?

Major News and Announcements:

Really wasn’t any major news, announcements, or releases of any kind this week. ...Moving on!

Performances, Interviews, and Other Shenanigans:

The tour keeps moving quickly across the U.S. without any major changes to the setlist. The show in Tulsa ended with a pretty fantastic Trees Speech and had Good Guy Josh meet up backstage with a young fan and his dad who had their show experience disrupted by a drunk fan in the pit. The Dallas show was located at a major venue and was thus heavily attended by some major members of the online Clique (some of who got the chance to Facetime with the boys from the front of the line thanks to a sweet radio station). Tyler told the Birmingham show that he was writing a new song right before going up onstage, and he promised the crowd at Greensboro that the fans, not media or critics, are at the front of his mind right now.

In addition to that, we also got a bunch of pretty great interviews, which I tried to collect all of here. Please, let me know if I missed any. Or if you exist and are reading this. I get lonely.

Fresno, Dunno the Station

This was filmed with a potato (not my joke). Also, 95% sure the mic isn’t real/turned on.

The dude takes his pants off, which starts out kinda awkward, but he keeps going, so respect.

Also respect the guy for asking a really good question: namely, what the guys think about the ideal relationship between music and politics. It’s a genuinely thoughtfully put question, because it opens up that conversation without forcing them to start out taking a stance, and I really appreciate that. Josh says that he sees music as a canvas where people can say whatever they want, and any message should be permitted to be put on that platform, additionally pointing out that music is subjective and that different songs/artists can affect people in different ways. Tyler gives an answer that raises such a good point and is so characteristically Tyler that I’m just going to put it here in full.

“We’ve learned that audiences, fans, and, really, big groups of people, are a lot smarter than some people give them credit for as far as being able to tell if someone is being authentic, being able to tell whether or not it’s a cause that you actually wake up in the morning and worry about and actually live and die by. There’s definitely those artists that can get up there and you can smell it, that this is why they’re here, and you can appreciate that. On the other side, you can also tell when someone is just tapping into what’s hot and what’s going to get them the most traction in that moment. We’re very aware of how smart audiences are; it started with us just playing to rooms of people and realizing “We’re not going to trick these people, so let’s just be us.” We know who we are, we know what we want to say, we know why we make music, and it’s just never been politically charged for us because we’re focusing on something so much more introspective. It’s about us working through what we’re working through as an individual, and as much as we respect those people who are really wanting to change the world and have a social stance, for us it’s exhausting enough to just be working on ourselves. Hopefully, that’s what our music is encouraging, because that can also bring about a lot of change.”

The interviewer asks the name question, but only because of an audience poll (he looked up the answer). 

Las Vegas, Mix 94.1, The Jenga Interview:

This is an interesting interview just because of the format- they face each other in Jenga and are asked questions based on the number on the blocks- which makes it entertaining to watch even when the questions aren’t the most interesting or original.

Tyler’s favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla (of course); he tries to defend himself by saying that he likes to add stuff to it, but we know the truth...

When asked favorite superhero, you can tell Tyler’s brain just goes completely blank- he says Ant-Man without having even seen the movie.

When in Vegas, Josh prefers tables to slots.

Tyler believes that the most famous person in his phone is either Josh or Matt Bellamy, who he only met last week.

They still haven’t received their real Grammy.

Tyler would like to bring Abraham Lincoln back from the dead to be their bass player.

Tyler wins the game on a dumb technicality with the biggest poop eating grin. His reward: a Taco Bell gift card that he agrees to share with his fren. I cry.

Las Vegas, 107.5:

First question is about fashion: Tyler’s bolo tie, specifically (I dig this interviewer, really chill, deliberate about asking unique questions).

The next question is about their time off when they’re done touring- Tyler says that he’s looking forward to doing nothing, but that he also is aware of the possibility that, after five years of constant touring, he might not even like to sit still anymore. Josh admits to almost being scared of what the time off might be like (me too, pal).

Josh says he’s assembling a list of places like the Great Wall and the Pyramids that he wants to visit but will have to be deliberate about seeking out due to their distance from the standard touring circles. Tyler points out that he basically wants to just visit things he thinks were built by aliens; Josh confirms.

The interviewer, in Tyler’s own words, hits exactly on the head Tyler’s personal thoughts and concerns about the next album: “You guys wrote a great, amazing piece of art that resonated and connected with a ton of people, and there’s going to be pressure from management, record labels, radio, fans, to make another commercial success like that. Can you block that out and just say ‘I’m gonna make art no matter what’?” Tyler responds that he’s trying to navigate the voices, and is both comforted and panicked by the fact that ultimately it’s their decisions that will drive the project forward. 

Tyler on songwriting: “If you hit a wall, you can write about hitting that wall. There’s always something to say.”

The interviewer suggests that they could stage a feud after the next album to secure their place as a stadium band. Tyler likes the idea a lot, but Josh just gets worried that they’ll have a real fight and no one will believe them.

Tulsa, 92.1 The Beat:

Tyler and Josh both really turn against the idea behind a question about awkward fan encounters in a really heartwarming way. “We don’t want to throw anyone under the bus,” says Tyler, who says that he totally understands, from meeting people they look up to, the weird flow of interactions when encountering someone who you imagined as larger than life yet felt like you knew very personally from what they revealed in their music. Josh gets even more positive about it, talking about all of the amazing art he’s seen from people in their community that really puts them on an equal level. (I love these nice boys.)

When asked if they would ever collab with a fan on something, Josh says that they already basically have with Andy last week. I cry.

Tyler’s "guilty” pleasure is Fergie; Josh’s is Katy Perry who he loves and wants to let know that he “is super, SUPER single”.

Nathan Fast, Dallas:

Tyler hopes that the folks in line are remembering to get hydrated (it’s important, kid).

Josh says that they’re lucky that they’re both on different cycles of sadness (MY HEART) because it helps them to keep each other encouraged and energized. He also claims that Tyler gives him “a big hug” when he’s feeling down (help me), but that Tyler isn’t big on hugging otherwise, so Josh has to substitute it with a Red Bull. I can’t with this friendship.

Taking their pants off “was super punk rock”, in Josh’s words. They both took off their shoes and belt ahead of time, and had to figure out last minute to take their pants with them so that they weren’t stuck pantsless backstage. “Gotta think ahead.”

Kidd Kradick, Dallas:

Tyler and Josh deliberately avoided eye-contact during their Grammy speech.

Josh jokes that he keeps in shape by eating a lot of cookies, but more seriously says that they actually have had to be more deliberate about exercising when not on-tour in order to maintain the same level of physicality, especially as they start to get older.

They talk a bit about how they were both aware of each other’s existence in Columbus long before they formally met, which helped them to mesh more easily.

Tyler is lowkey jealous of Josh’s iPad gift from Mark Hoppus, but the interviewer comforts him by pointing out that Mark probably only got it so that Josh wouldn’t get lonely now that Tyler’s married. #trufacts

Chart Performance:

Bringing back this segment just for this week for two very specific reasons: “Heathens” has now set the record for the most weeks a song has spent at Number One on the Billboard Rock Charts, surpassing the former record-holder, Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” and expanding the band’s record streak of dominating the chart with what has now been sixty weeks with a song at #1. It should be noted, however, that this is not as big an accomplishment as a lot of publications have been suggesting; rock has only had its own chart since 2009, well after the end of the genre’s dominance of the music industry, and that’s not even getting into the discussion of whether Twenty One Pilots is even really a “rock” band. 

The other sales accomplishment from this week is that “HeavyDirtySoul” has picked up enough airplay to sneak onto Billboard’s “Bubbling Under” chart at #25. While this is pretty cool, it doesn’t mean that the song is a hit just yet. We’ll get into that topic more in BLIND SPECULATION OF THE WEEK later. 

Upcoming Shows:

This week’s shows will cover most of the American Southeast, home to an especially passionate music community but also a region that’s had a lot of economic struggles and not a ton of major sports teams outside of college campuses. Some of these venues really depend on concerts to keep the lights on. Let’s give them a look and some appreciation.

Show 28: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina, 2/26

Capacity: 12,600

Tonight’s show is only the first this week to take place in an independent municipality cut out of the north of a larger Southern city. Remarkably, this will be Twenty One Pilots’ first ever trip to the state of South Carolina. Charleston is a pretty renowned cultural center in the South, so the crowd should be hopping.

The North Charleston Coliseum hosts a minor league hockey team, the South Carolina Stingray, and the occasional local college game. ...It’s cool, I guess.

Show 29: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida, 2/28

Capacity: 21,500

The tour then pushes further south to the west coast of Florida. Though the band hasn’t visited the city in quite awhile, they have a pretty extensive history with Tampa, as laid out by this nifty article. Their first of what will now be twenty-eight shows in Florida was in Tampa; it’s pretty nifty that they will be wrapping up this album cycle in the city.

The Amalie Arena is another NHL arena used by the Tampa Bay Lightning. ...Cool.

Show 30: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, 3/2

Capacity: 17,800

Next stop: New Orleans! Remarkably, this will only be the second show played in Louisiana, the last one being a festival show at Voodoo Fest way back in 2014. Giving Tyler and Josh an excuse to visit one of the most musical places in the world and possibly get inspired for the next album is also not a bad thing.

The Smoothie King Center is maybe the second-worst/best name of an arena I’ve ever heard (Dunkin Donuts in Providence still takes the cake). Located right next to the NFL Saints Superdome and itself hosting the NBA Pelicans, this will give a lot of fans their first opportunity to see the band in any setting- that’s pretty darn rad.

Show 31: Verizon Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas, 3/3

Capacity: 18,000

Here’s the second “North” city, cut out of the capital of the great state of Ar-Kansas. This will be the second TØP show in Arkansas, the first being just this last year in the city of Rogers in the northwest corner of the state. New markets are always a good thing.

The Verizon Arena is a venue that’s been hurting a little bit in recent years, as its lost all of its sports teams and has been forced to rely on trade shows, rodeos, and, of course, concerts. Glad TØP’s helping to keep the lights running.

Show 32: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, 3/4

Capacity: 19,000

The penultimate stop for the tour will be in the capital of Tennessee, the tenth TØP concert in that state, though this is the first one in Memphis since before the release of Blurryface (Nashville and Bonnaroo tend to dominate concert attraction in the state). Of course, Memphis is still a big music city- I’m pretty sure we can expect “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with you at this show.

FedEx Forum, so named due to Memphis’ position as a FedEx transport hub, is home of both the NBA Grizzlies and the basketball program of the University of Memphis. 

BLIND SPECULATION OF THE WEEK:

So, we mentioned before that “HDS” made it onto the Bubbling Under chart at #25. That doesn’t mean that the song is #125 in America; rather, the Bubbling Under chart only lists songs that have yet to reach the Hot 100, meaning that their are potentially dozens of songs that are doing better than it that only are not on the Bubbling Under chart because they got pushed back from a former position. As such, “HeavyDirtySoul” doesn’t just have to get enough airplay pickup in the coming weeks to pass 25 songs, more like 50- and that’s not even counting all of the additional tracks that will be released in the coming weeks that will only further push it back. 

And it will have to be mostly pop radio airplay driving it; Twenty One Pilots has been known well enough for long enough that everyone who’s buying that two-year old track has probably done so already (the rush to buy was why “Cancer” was able to chart its first week- “HDS” lacks that), and it’s going to need popular exposure to get any more streams than its already received (any gains it received in that category from fans rushing to the music video are now gone). Does “HDS” have that potential for popular appeal? I honestly don’t think so- but I didn’t think “Stressed Out” did, either. *shrug* We’ll see.

Power to the local dreamer.

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