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vintagercfreak · 1 year ago

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Mercedes-Benz C11 1990: #TAM47484

A few weeks ago I saw a YT video about this kit and instantly got rememmbered about the older days. This was back then one of my favorit kits in the Tamiya catalog.

Since I was a child back then I couldn't afford it and my parents refused to buy it. In addition there wasn't an "on road" track nearby to drive it properly. So it remained a dream.

But now it's time to make this dream become reality :-)

Racecar history:

Whenever Group C sportscars are shown nowadays the're well known for their pure insanity and a lot of people well remember cars like the C11, hte 787B from Mazda and the XJR-11 from Jaguar.

The car had its race debut in 1990 at Monza and scorred a pos 1 / 2 with well known drivers like Karl Wendlinger, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jochen Mass and Maro Baldi. During the 1990 season of the World Sports-Prototype Championship the car managed to win a total of 7 races. However the C11 didn't take part of the famous 24hrs of LeMans. Sauber decied to not defend their victory in 1989 since the 1990 24hrs of LeMans didn't count for the Sports-Prototype Championship.

Most of the other Sports-Prototype drivers, including Martin Brundle in his XJR-11, sayd, that it would have been nearly impossible to follow the car since it was way easier to drive, had more power and more efficient aerodynamics than other group c racecars back then.

In 1991 the successor was the Sauber C-291 but due to some techincal issues in the early season Sauber decided to run the C11 along the successor.

More details can be found in this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_C11

RC kit history:

In 1990 Tamiya first released the Sauber C11 as kit with item-Nr 58088. 14 Years after its initial release there was a second kit with Item-Nr 58351. While tha chassis itself stayed more or less the same the newer kit included an allready painted and finished body.

The box cover changed in 2009 when they released a second batch / version from the Tamiya specific white box art to a black box art.

In 2022...18 Years after the last release...Tamiya decided to bring it back to customers not with the item-nr 47484 and again with a black art box cover.

While the chassis remained almost the same the newest releases all contain a clear polycarbonate body (1mm) and a sports tuned motor as well as high grip foam sponge tyres.

More details about the dimmensions and a detailled parts list are available here https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/110-f-1gtindy-cars/rc-1990-mercedes-benz-c11/ and here https://tamiyabase.com/tamiya-models/47484-47484#original

The build:

I found the kit at a nearby hobby shop in Switzerland for about 150$ https://www.scamora.ch/pi/RC-MODELLE/Auto-Modelle/Elektro-On-Road/Bausatz-Modelle/rc-kit-tamiya-sauber-mercedes-benz-c11-1990-110.html

Compared to other vinatge kits and re-releases this is a rather easy one to find.

The kit is easy to build and it's quite fast since the manual only consits of 20 build steps with additional 6 for the painting and livery.

Since I first saw a build clip on YT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4oZGuvd84o I got hooked to the few hop up options and decided to add them as well.

Hop-up parts:

Unfortunately the YT clip isn't listing a detailled hop-up parts list. So it was a bit of fiddeling around with "pause" and "zoom" into the clip to get all the parts together. I doubt they do have much of an impact but if you can go with blue alloy tuning parts there's no doubt you should do :-) Here's a list of the used tuning / hop-up parts:

TAM42375 - 1280 Sealed Ball Bearings (2)

TAM54158 - Full alloy diff (F104)

TAM54240 - F104 Clamp Type Wheel Hub

TAM53008 - Kugellager 11x5x4mm (4)

TAM53901 - TRF Damper F013/F103GT/F104

Since there are no official hop-up parts for these vintage kits they need a bit of adjustments and I had to design and print some parts on my 3D printer to made them fit perfectly. But it's no big deal and you might find "fitting" parts in other kits out of the box.

If I find some time I'll publish the printable *.stl files on Thingiverse later on.

And like every other tuned rc car with hop-up parts from Tamiya this one looks great even if you don't see them with the body on.

#Tamiya #Sauber C11 #TAM47484 #VintageRC

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ggukkiereads · 4 years ago

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Hello!! Just a few days ago I stumble upon your blog and I'm wondering if you have some recommendations for Hybrid AUs, much appreciated if it is an OT7 and completed, but if so I will still be so thankful. (I just need some cure from the stress that modules brings) Thank You in Advance (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

🌷 Hello! welcome to my mini fic-reading land. I’ve actually received asks for Hybrid AUs (I pinned the requests in the navi) but I just have a very messy draft.

But to help you with your stress, I think I can share a few of my ongoing reads (sorry they won’t be complete but they’re OT7). But, I added completed ones I could remember too (●'◡'●)

*note: will edit this later and organize this per member - maybe add other fics I’ll remember*

Fic Recs | BTS Hybrid AUs

→ A Place Called Home @agustdakasuga - OT7 x Reader

series [27/27] | 88k | Hybrid AU, Poly AU, Soulmate AU, Romance Humor | Fluff

Having saved your own injured hybrid, you were determined to try and help any other hybrid that crossed your path who needed saving. But being a vet in a small hospital wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to do more, you wanted to make a difference. You wanted to give them a home.

→ If I Can Never Give You Peace @candlewaxandp0lar0ids - Jungkook x Reader

series [3/?] | 17.6k+ | Mafia AU, Enemies to Lovers | A (so far)

It starts like quite a few stories do, in your world. Girl meets boy, who happens to be a hybrid, girl buys him at an auction where hybrids are sold, boy falls in love with her, girl gets bored of him. Then it’s not so typical anymore, when the boy ends up forced into illegal fighting rings, until he makes a wrong move and her father decides he needs to be killed.

Where does that leave you? Well, you’re the one who handled Jungkook’s fight and generally organized his life, and, when the girl’s father, your boss and mafia leader, tells you he wants him ‘put down’, you’re the one who has to get it done. Except, instead, you let him escape, and everything turns out fine.

🌷ggukkienote: I am so hooked on this (because I am a sucker for Mafia AUs too). This is such a great story and the OC is really different from the usual OCs. Very interesting.

→ Eunoia @wishesunderthestars - OT7 x Reader

series [15/?] | 100k+ (I just assumed this, masterpost doesn’t have wc but it’s 6k per chapter or more?) | Director!Reader, hurt/comfort | fluff, eventual smut

You are a world famous director and you have dedicated your life to your job. You have everything you could ever dream of; wealth, recognision, talent, your friends and family. But loneliness ins’t cured by success. So what happens when you somehow rescue seven hybrids? Can they fill the void?

→ Restitution @cloudteawrites - OT7 x Reader

series [7/?] | 48k+ | slow burn, poly, mystery, romance

when an estranged uncle leaves you his massive fortune you wonder if the universe is playing a joke on you. when that fortune comes with seven hybrids, you know for sure that it is.

→ Lacuna @barbika1508 - Jungkook x Reader

series [42/42] | 324.3k | Hybrid AU, check for TW | Fluff, Angst, Smut

Lacuna - (n.) a blank space, a missing part

Y/N just wanted to go back home, to enjoy her peace and quiet away from problems and people. But typically, her luck strikes as she stumbles upon a horrific scene of two guys mistreating an already beaten down hybrid. Will she take matters into her own hands and help him? Or let someone else help along the way???

🌷 This is on AO3 and I got a recent ask about author’s tumblr. So if you prefer AO3 you can check their profile

→ A Hundred Percent Human by wrienne- OT7 x Reader

series [12/?] | 88k+ | Hybrid AU, fluff, angst, smut |

In which you (reader) are forced to take care of seven hybrids in a twist of fate. Drunk and down on life, you finally decide to deal with the house and the unsavory business your mother left behind. However, to your shock, you find that seven very different hybrids are included with both the house - and the business. Seven hybrids you never even met before - even less agreed to take care of.

🌷 This is on AO3. I don’t normally reco AO3 since my blog is focused on tumblr fics but someone sent an ask about this so I’m including it

→ Inferiority Complex @starlightauroras-writes - Jimin x Reader

series [10/?] | 88k+ | political themes, themes of abuse (hybrids) | A, S

You had never liked hybrids. You disagreed with their very existence, and you never wanted to have anything to do with them. And then one day, you discovered a hybrid who was more scared of you than you were of him, and everything changed as you realised you were the only hope he had…

→ Sanctuary @chimchimsauce - Jimin x Reader

series [16/16] | 20k | Wolf Hybrid!Jimin, Barista!OC, feat sanctuary staff Taehyung, hurt/comfort | F, A

YN is a young girl, bright and ambitious, but due to her busy schedule, she's been unable to make any real friends. When an ad for Saint Mary's Sanctuary catches her attention, she never expected her life to be changed by a certain hybrid named Jimin.

→ Summer Nights @marginalmadness - Jungkook x Reader

series [4/4] | 23k | Hybrid!Fantasy, Romance | F, S

A freak weather anomaly leads to a chance encounter with a rabbit-hybrid, and your kind nature results in you gaining a small, fluffy lodger, who questions your taste in television shows. It’s won’t be for long...will it?

→ Risk it All @/httpjeon - Jungkook x Reader

series [5/5] | 8.3k | hybrid au, alpha wolf!jungkook | A, F, S

ripped from your family, you find yourself in a warehouse filled with predators. just your luck, you’re right across from a caged alpha wolf.

🌷 (I linked Chapter 5 because for some reason others couldn’t find this chapter so they thought it’s still incomplete)

→ Outro Love is Not Over @kiirokero - Hoseok x Reader

series [12/?] | Daycare Teacher!Hoseok x Single Mom!Reader

You are the single mother of a beautiful 6-year-old golden retriever hybrid who you named Yunho. But you’re a human. You can’t show him the ropes of being a hybrid, and you can’t teach him things the other moms can. So, when a handsome German Shepard hybrid comes into your life, helping you and guiding Yunho in a way you can’t, you can’t help the cozy home he sets up in your heart.

→ It Takes Two To Make A Thing Go Right @imaginethisbts - TaeKook x Reader

two shot [2/2] | 11k | dom/sub themes, heat cycles | S

What’s better than one dogboy lover? Two dogboy lovers. But when Tae and Jungkook seem unusually clingy, it can only mean one thing. That time of the month has snuck up on you and your dogboy lovers do not want to share.

🌷 Also try their other Jungkook hybrid series Out of the Blue

→ Peculiar Park @daydreamindollie - OT7 x Reader

series [9/?] | 38k+ | imagines, slice of life | Writer!Reader, Psychologist!Reader, imagines | fluff

you’re a successful hybrid writer and psychologist who takes in seven hybrids on one stormy night after finding one of their pack stealing from your garden

→ Yeouiju @nomseok - Namjoon x Reader

one shot | 33.7k | Mythical AU, Hybrid AU (if you squint), suspense | A, F, S

you find an ancient stone in the middle of the mountains and bring it home with you, oblivious to the consequences of taking a dragon’s yeouiju.

→ Beautiful Stranger @/nomseok - Taehyung x Reader

one shot | 19k | circus AU | A, S, F

your dream is to take care of animals for the rest of your life in the big city, making sure that they’re cared for. but you stumble upon a malnourished, rare tiger in your local circus, and you can’t help but want to take care of him.

→ Evolution of You and I @readyplayerhobi - Jimin x Reader

one shot | 10.2k | kind of epistolary (letters), chat, childhood friends | F

For 15 years, Park Jimin has been in your life in some form. From childhood penpal’s to the closest of friends now, you can’t imagine your life without him even if you’ve never actually met him in person. It doesn’t help that you’ve fallen for him, even across the distance that separates you. But what happens when you finally meet up and you discover he’s been keeping something secret?

→ Fish are Friends @httpjeon - Taehyung x Reader

one shot | 10.2k | seahorse hybrid!taehyung | A, S, F

after moving to the seaside, there is a dreadful storm. when all is clear, a man washes up on shore…only he isn’t quite human.

🌷 you know seahorses mate for life and it’s the male that gets pregnant? Interesting huh

→ Pink Panther @gimmesumsuga - Seokjin x Reader

one shot | 13k | boss-employee | F, S

The one where your boss, Kim Seokjin, tries to show you how beautiful you are.

→ Ragdoll @ausblack - Jimin x Reader

series [17/17] | Hybrid AU, College AU | F, A

As you were studying to obtain your medical & veterinary degree, your professor came up with the idea of organizing an internship - where you found yourself side by side with a sick hybrid that needed nothing other that complete care.

→ Jagged + Catnap @opaljm - Jimin x Reader

one shot + sequel | 18k | jaguar/black panther!jimin, sand dune cat!reader, mutual pining, friends to lovers, established relationship (sequel)| S, F, slight A

The pretty little sand cat hybrid Jimin has been in love with for the past year experiences her first heat and Jimin would love nothing more than to be the one to guide her through it and breed her with his kittens.

🌷 there’s also a possible spin-off for Taehyung (Eye of the Tiger)

→ Owner @jessikahathaway - Jungkook x Reader

series [6/?] | 17.4k | Fake Dating AU, Hybrid AU, based on Kimi Wa Petto (Japanese anime) | F, S, A

With your mother hounding on you (no pun intended), you decided to get a little help from a hybrid, who was also in need of assistance.

→ Loving Him Was Red + Somewhere Only We Know @userseok - Jungkook x Reader

series [3/?] | 12.8k+ | enemies to lovers, childhood friends (sorta), college au, jock!jungkook, unrequited love (for OC) | S, F, A

you’ve been chasing after jungkook for years. after a harsh verbal altercation between both of you, you decide to leave him alone and pursue a relationship with someone who seems genuinely interested in you, thinking he would never return your feelings.

I would like to recommend the catalog of these writers:

@ditttiii - so I realize I’m following them on AO3 when I realized the fics looked familiar 🤭. They have an ongoing series called Enchanted to Meet You which you might want to check out if you like Soulmate AUs too! I recently reblogged a Jungkook two-shot comfort fic (hybrid au too) so I recommend going through their masterlist!

@aroseforyoongi - who I discovered because of Gossamer (KTH). It was completed but I think it’s up for re-write/re-post? You can try the others:

Navy Blue - Jungkook [completed]

Forever Yours - Yoongi [one shot, prequel to Navy Blue]

Let Me Love You- Jungkook [one shot]

@magicalsalamander - another favorite author of mine I just feel like I’m reading a great tale every time I start on a series or one shot. They have great fics with supernatural themes too

Rabbit on the Moon - Jungkook | if you’re in the mood for police officer Jungkook [6/6]

The Act of Persuasion - Seokjin | if you are in the mood for Single Dad AU x Arranged Marriage too [one shot]

Firefly that Guards the Fox - Taehyung | if you are in the mood for mystery [11/12 - just epilogue left]

Kitten’s Little Flame - Yoongi | if you like BF to Lovers between dragon and a cat [6/6]

There’s more so please check their Masterlist

@hollyhomburg - I just love Of Fire and Love (hello dragon!yoongi and baby!jungkook? 🥺) But you can check:

their masterlist of all their hybrid fics

Dance to This series which I’ve added to fic recs based on an ask about stories that include members/readers with disability.

Don’t care if it Hurts - Jimin | this is probably my favorite (again I’m a sucker for Mafia AUs) , guard dog hybrid!jimin [12/13, just epilogue]

@angelicyoongie - I got hooked after reading their stories on AO3 but they have tumblr too! Check their masterlist for ongoing hybrid fic (Abundance - OT7) but these are completed ones:

Desolate - Yoongi, grumypy cat hybrid [14/14]

Out of the Woods - Namjoon, wolf hybrid, strangers to lovers [3/3]

@worldwidebt7 - if you like webtoons! I read parts of Jungkook’s webtoon and I think currently we’re on Yoongi’s story. Access it here

@jincherie - One of the first hybrid fics I remember encountering is Inheritance (MYG). Other fics:

Perihelion - Hoseok, college, roommate, enemies [2/?]

Butterfingers - Namjoon, teacher au, this is cuuuute READ IT if you’re looking for something fluffy [one shot]

4 o’ clock - Taehyung, single dad au (I included this in the singel dad fic recs too) [3/?]

Under the Bridge - Jungkook, found jungkook under the bridge [one shot]

@whitesparrows97 - a writer I discovered because of a Yoongi soulmate fic but I found that they also have other hybrid fics:

Cat’s Cradle - Yoongi, bestfriend [5/5]

Underdog - Taehyung, shifter, brought home what she thought a stray dog [5/5]

@foxymoxynoona - and what would my reco be without foxymoxy? So they have tumblr but their works are on AO3. I’ve listed their current works here but I didn’t include their completed works which are must-reads:

Sugar Fairy - Jungkook, mating, adopted hybrids [48/48]

A Sea of Indigo - Jungkook, ex-fighter [48/48] ⭐⭐⭐

@therealmintedmango - They have a whole masterlist of their hybrid!au fics. I recently finished Kingdom Come and I always remember Jimin from King (for some reason)

@joonbird - check their Zodiac Hybrid Masterlist of one shot per member

There are more (usually one shot per member) but I’ll probably put them in another Fic Rec List for Hybrid AUs. Sorry this list is kind of all over the place (not even organized per member 🤭). But good luck with your modules and I hope these help!

(❁´◡`❁)

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carsai-precisionparts · 3 years ago

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mmguitarbar · 4 years ago

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Oh the wild and fancy-free days of Fender Japan, when they made whatever they pleased and did it with style. A couple rare birds here, with a Thinline Jaguar outfitted with @masterybridge hardware and @lollarpickups , and a non-catalog Matte Black Jag with matching headstock and plastic parts. So tough. #Fender #Fenderjaguar #offsetguitars #FenderJapan (at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/CG8mOQJg2uk/?igshid=1e3oqjdn6yd9u

#fender #fenderjaguar #offsetguitars #fenderjapan

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sciencespies · 4 years ago

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This Ecuadorian Cured His Arachnophobia... And Became A Spider Scientist!

https://sciencespies.com/news/this-ecuadorian-cured-his-arachnophobia-and-became-a-spider-scientist/

This Ecuadorian Cured His Arachnophobia... And Became A Spider Scientist!

Juan Pablo Jordán, a spider biologist at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador.

Juan Pablo Jordán

Ecuadorian scientist Juan Pablo Jordán didn’t just conquer his childhood fear of spiders to become a spider scientist (arachnologist), he is helping to document his country’s wide variety of spiders before they disappear forever.

Orb-weaver spiders have been found in the fossil record all the way back to the Jurassic era, but in many parts of the world, including Ecuador, unique species are under pressure from a wide range of threats.

“We are racing to document the orb-weaver spider diversity in the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Amazon, which is heavily threatened by deforestation, oil exploitation, and illegal mining,” he said.

Jordán says his main project is to use comparisons of the physical features (morphology) of the genus Taczanowskia, a group of Orb-weaver spiders, to work out where in the evolutionary tree they belong, in comparison to other spiders.

“This project came hand in hand with a larger project in which we are looking to document the biodiversity of orb-weaver spiders in the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Amazon,” he said, “Using morphological data, we test the placement of the genus within the great Araneidae (family) phylogeny and propose the first phylogenetic tree depicting the relationships among the species.”

MORE FOR YOU

Fear to Fascination

Jordán says growing up in Quito, Ecuador, he was constantly surrounded by “natural richness”, which captivated his curiosity and “saturated my senses”.

“Naturally, I spent most of my formative years exploring the outdoors which inevitably influenced my decision to become a biologist,” he said.

But as a kid, Jordán never suspected that he would go on to study spiders in such detail for a simple reason: he was terrified of them.

“I vividly remember that as a child that I did not like spiders, I couldn’t be in the same room as one, and I couldn’t see pictures of them,” he said, adding that in an effort to cure his arachnophobia, he started forcing himself to interact with them outside.

Jordán says that as a freshman studying biology at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, he was able to expand his knowledge of spiders by joining an expedition to document the biodiversity of orb-weaver spiders on the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

“After spending three weeks deep in the Yasuni National Park, I was determined to join more expeditions to remote parts of the country to keep documenting the outstanding diversity of this group of invertebrates,” he said.

Jordán would then go on to be awarded a fellowship to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York as an international exchange student, focusing on the genetic relationships between spider species.

Orb-weaver spider -Araneidae- in warning coloration sitting in the center of a web, Tiputini, … [+] rainforest, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador, South America

getty

Indigenous Knowledge

Jordán says the biggest challenge in his work is accessing the areas where the spiders he studies are found: the remotest places in Ecuador, many which still haven’t been surveyed.

“These are extremely isolated areas that most of the time need days to access on foot,” he said.

However Jordán says that a bonus of working in such remote regions is that he and his fellow researchers get to work side by side with local indigenous communities and leaders that provide their knowledge and support for our expeditions.

“Without them it would be impossible to uncover the biodiversity of Ecuador, and therefore their evolutionary relationships,” he said, “In fact, the new species is named in honor of the Waorani people and their fighting spirit.”

Jordán is currently back in Ecuador, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to cut short his studies at Cornell.

“I remain optimistic that I will be able to go back and finish my studies, but at the moment the US consulate in Ecuador is not granting extensions on US student visas, and the OPT (Optional Practical Training visa) is looking like my only option,” he said.

Eustala spider working on its web

getty

Jordán isn’t the only Ecuadorian cataloging the amazing biodiversity of his home country. Another is Juan de Dios Morales, a nature photographer and principal founder of the Wild GYE Initiative who says his group has been using camera traps to look for the last remaining individual Jaguar of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populated city.

MORE FROM FORBESConservationists Are Solving A Big Cat Mystery In A Big City In EcuadorBy Andrew Wight

Morales said a one-year camera trap project by Wild GYE yielded a total of 80 species of reptiles, birds and mammals including grey-backed hawks, king vultures, Agouti, Red Brocket Deer, Ocelots and even a first record of a Neotropical Otter found in this critically endangered tropical dry forest.

#News

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itsjackgilbert · 4 years ago

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Situation Comedy

INSCRUTABLE MUSIC-VIDEO GENIUS MAKES MOVIE. IT'S VERY GOOD. INSCRUTABLE FILMMAKER DOES MAGAZINE INTERVIEW. IT'S VERY BIZARRE. A VERY SMALL GLIMPSE INTO THE INSULAR WORLD OF SPIKE JONZE, WHERE MAKING AWESOMELY STRANGE FILMS, WEARING FAKE PENISES, AND GETTING BEAT UP (SORT OF) ALL ARE PART OF THE SCENERY

BY ZEV BOROW

"He came to visit me once and when he first arrived I got a phone call that I had to come pick him up because his car had been impounded because he'd been chased by, like, ten cops on bikes after he drove his car onto these little fairgrounds and did a bunch of doughnuts. So, then I had to drive him around all weekend." — Three Kings director David O. Russell

"Actors are more consistent. They tend to land their tricks." — filmmaker Spike Jonze, on who is easier to direct, actors or skaters.

"He wanted his brother to be in Three Kings, so he shot an audition tape with his brother doing the Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct, crossing and uncrossing his legs. It was the weirdest fucking thing I've ever seen." — David O. Russell

I meet Spike Jonze at the production offices of his new movie, Being John Malkovich, which is a bizarre comedy about a love triangle between three people who find a secret portal into John Malkovich's head behind a file cabinet in an office building where the ceilings are four feet high. John Cusack and Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener are in it. So is John Malkovich. It's really good and weird and funny, though not always in that order. Spike Jonze directed it.

Jonze is 29 years old and sort of famous for directing some of the best music videos ever made: the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"; Fatboy Slim's "Praise You"; Weezer's "Buddy Holly"; Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet"; and other really good ones, too. He's also made some excellent commercials and two interesting short films. However, mostly because of the exceedingly cool videos he's done for, mostly, exceedingly cool people, Jonze has also become famous for being exceedingly cool. A wide and deep selection of the hippest people alive dig Jonze. They are his friends. This past July Jonze married actress, filmmaker, and fellow sort-of-famous person Sofia Coppola. Tom Waits sang at their wedding. Tom fucking Waits.

Jonze is small and wiry, with the body and demeanor of a skateboarder, which he is. He is relaxed, unfailingly polite, and has a voice suggesting a 15-year-old boy. When we meet he is wearing a T-shirt and scuffed-up $350 Marc Jacobs shoes. He tells me he's supposed to meet with Knox, an as-yet-unknown guitar player, to discuss ideas for his video and invites me along. But first we go to buy a big bag of cat food for his cat.

Jonze says Knox plays "sort of country-funkabilly-Prince-like music...really beautiful stuff." A friend gave him a tape, he says, and he fell in love with it. We get lost trying to find Knox's house.

When we finally arrive, Knox says he was asleep because Jonze was supposed to arrive hours ago. Jonze says he's sorry, that it must have been his assistant's fault. Knox is tall, with short, dark hair styled vaguely pompadour-ish. His apartment is small. Neil Young in on the CD player. An acoustic guitar rests in the corner.

"I'm the only one in the band, so I do the whole gig," Knox says. "My old man was a guitarist and my mother was, like...well, she was a capable pianist, not great. I'm from Tenness–Knoxville–that's why I go by Knox. My mother ahd a baby two years before me, a little boy, and it died at birth, and I am, like, the copy of that kid. And my little brother almost died at birth 'cause of me, so it's kind of all cyclical. But I'm still tweaking it. So, uh, what kind of ideas do you have?"

Jonze talks about making a video that's not very commercial, about something that's cool in and of itself.

Knox: "I just don't want it to be cute. Don't take this as an affront, but some of your videos are...cute. The 'Buddy Holly' thing was little fucking cute. I was thinking more of an early John Cugar-type of thing. Like 'Jack and Diane.' Maybe with some of the words on the bottom of the screen."

Jonze: "Uh, cool.... But it’s also cool to do something maybe not as literal.” He asks Knox if he wants to be in the video. Knox says maybe just his face, as a child.

Jonze says he could come over with a video camera and they could try some stuff out.

Knox: “Like what?”

Jonze: “Well, I don’t want to just throw stuff out.”

Knox: “Well, I’m not going to steal your stuff.”

Jonze laughs, sort of. There is an awkward silence.

Jonze: “How about a video with Xeroxes, just as a cool medium?”

Knox: “Yeah, well, that sounds schticky. Xeroxes are schticky.”

Jonze tries to say something about form. Knox says he likes “the Jazzercize” video Jonze did.

Jonze: “‘Praise you.’ Cool.”

Knox turns toward me and says he doesn’t think Spike looks very into it. Jonze says he doesn’t want to do anything he’s done already. He asks Knox if he saw the video he did for Sean Lennon.

Knox: “Nah. That guy’s too fuckin’ avant garde for me.”

Jonze: “No, I’m not saying that. It’s just I don’t want to make something silly out of your song, but at the same time....” He trails off.

There’s a tense silence, then Knox turns to me and asks if I have any ideas for videos. I tell him I don’t. Knox says “fuck,” loudly.

Jonze: “Look, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do, and if you don’t really like my stuff maybe we shouldn’t work together. I like working with people who are....”

Knox: “Yeah, well...fuck.... Well, if you come up with some ideas, any ideas, call, but I just...shit.”

Jonze: “I should go.”

Jonze gets up. Knox begins to pace. Then he screams, “Fuck!” and throws a small wooden chair Jonze had been sitting on against the wall. It shatters.

Jonze: “Dude, chill.”

Knox: “I think you better leave!”

Jonze: “I was just....”

Knox: “Just fucking leave!”

Then Knox pushes Jonze into a wall, hard. I think to myself: Spike Jonze is about to get his ass kicked. Then, like a panther (or jaguar), Jonze jumps at Knox. They hit the floor. Jonze is on top of Knox, throwing punches at his head. After about 15 seconds, I pull them apart. Knox gets up and screams, “Wait right fucking there!” and runs into a back room. Jonze looks at me and says, “Let’s get the fuck out of here!” and runs out the door, fast.

Knox jumps out from the back room, glowering and holding a baseball bat.

DRIVING AWAY, JONZE MUSES ABOUT HOW “HECTIC” things got with Knox. He repeatedly pushes his face toward the rearview mirror and asks if I think his eye looks swollen. It doesn’t. He says nothing like that has ever happened to him before, except once “with Everlast, but it never got physical.” We pull into a 7-Eleven and he gets a juice and some Advil.

I try to ask some more questions about the movie. “I’m apprehensive about talking about it at all,” he says, “because I feel like it’s going to cloud someone’s opinion. You think about all the movies you had preconceived notions about, about all the ones you read stuff about until you were sick of them before you even saw them.

SPIKE JONZE’S REAL NAME IS ADAM SPIEGEL. He isn’t interested in talking about why, or when, he started going by Spike Jonze, or how much it has to do with Spike Jones, the 1940s band leader, but it’s probably related to the fact he grew up hanging out with a lot of competitive BMX bikers similarly fond of pseudonyms and alter egos. He was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, a well-heeled suburb of Washington, D.C., where his mother enjoyed photography and his father enjoyed being the scion of an extremely successful family-owned catalog company. Jonze is the middle child (younger brother; older sister) and was into skateboarding, photography, lots of Dischord-era punk rock, and, most of all, BMX.

In the mid-’80s, BMXing’s popularity was exploding, and Jonze was spending much of his time at Rockville BMX, a legendary retail and mail-order BMX shop in nearby Rockville, Maryland. At age 15, he accompanied the Haro pro-BMX team on a summer tour of the U.S., serving as part-time roadie, contest announcer, T-shirt salesperson, and using an old 35-millimeter camera, team photographer. By the time he was 16, he was writing and taking pictures for skate and bike magazines. At 17, immediately after finishing high school, he moved to Torrance, California, to work at Freestylin’, the sport’s preeminent glossy. There, he met Mark Lewman and Andy Jenkins, two kindred spirits.

“We were all living together in this apartment across the street from the magazine’s offices, in the Valley, which was like the epicenter of the skateboarding and BMX world,” says Lewman, who was 18 at the time and is now a creative director at Lambesis, a San Diego–based advertising agency that deciphers youth culture. “We’d skate to work, ride ramps, listen to Black Flag and Eric B. and Rakim, and get into adventures drinking Night Train, being weird, and stomping around downtown L.A.”

They’d also make zines. First, in 1991, Homeboy, then, two years later, Dirt. Clever and funny, they became popular with the 25-and-under, proto-extreme-sport, punk/rap-inclined hipster set. During this time, Jonze also started getting hired to take photos for magazines such as Details and Interview. And he began filming skateboarding videos, including one particular deft collaboration with ‘80s skate god Mark Gonzales titled Blind Skateboard Video.

One night, backstage at a Sonic Youth concert, Gonzales gave a copy of that tape to his friend Kim Gordon, who dug it so much that she asked Tamra Davis��who had just directed her first film, Gun Crazy, and had yet to become the wife of Beastie Boy Mike D.–to work with Jonze on shooting some skateboarding segments for Sonic Youth’s video for the song “100%.” He was 21.

Jonze has always lived in something of a rarefied world inhabited by bikers, skaters, emerging rock icons, and movie stars. Even so, he notes, he first met the Beastie Boys through his sister. She and Adam Yauch met in traffic school. The Beasties and Jonze share an appreciation for the absurd. Yauch and Jonze used to do things like rent police uniforms so they could direct traffic in Manhattan.

A few short years after “100%,” Jonze was established as America’s preeminent director of unusual music videos. This fact seemed to bore him. In 1998′s Fatboy Slim “Praise You” video, the one with the dancers in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Jonze credited the direction to Richard Koufey and the Torrance Community Dancers. To this day, Jonze denies having been a part of it. Earlier this year, a typed letter arrived at the Spin offices vehemently demanding Spin retract its report that Jonze directed the video. It was signed Richard Koufey and included a detailed résumé for Koufey that stated he was a dancer in the “Thriller” video, the “Love Shack” video, the film Dirty Dancing, and something called “Dancextravaganza” at the opening of a Dellamo Fashion Center.

IN ADDITION TO BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, Jonze has another movie coming out, one in which he acts. It’s called Three Kings and was written and directed by David O’Russell. The two met when Jonze hired Russell to help him write a script for Harold and the Purple Crayon, which was to be a partially animated adaption of the children’s book, and Jonze’s feature-film debut, but never made it into production. Jonze costars in Three Kings with George Clooney, Ice Cube, and Mark Wahlberg. They play four U.S. soldiers who try to steal a secret cache of Kuwaiti gold at the end of the Gulf War. It’s a different, very sharp war-genre picture. Jonze plays a redneck private who is the sidekick of Wahlberg’s more seasoned soldier.

“I’d never really acted before,” Jonze says. “A few little things with friends, but nothing serious. And it’s not like I really want to get into acting. But David was really into me doing it, and Mark was especially supportive. In some ways I feel like I had no right to do it. But it was a lot of fun.”

Russell recalls Jonze’s commitment to the project. “He stayed in character a lot on set, and I think he eventually regretted it because Mark started beating the shit out of him as if Spike was really his tagalong sidekick. We tried telling Mark to go easy on him, but he was in character too. I think Spike was upset that that was happening.

AMONG THOSE IMMERSED IN THE CULT of Spike Jonze, the Weird Al prank is infamous. As partially recounted in an issue of the Beastie Boys’ zine, Grand Royal, Mike D. and Russell Simins, the drummer for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, interviewed by Weird Al. During the interview, they got the conversation to come around to the Beatles. Precisely at that moment, they had Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono walk by and staged something weird and funny. No one at Grand Royal can remember exactly what happened, but it included Spike Jonze dressed up as a waiter.

I didn’t know of the Weird Al prank until weeks after meeting Jonze. As such, I spent a good portion of my evening immediately following the Knox vs. Jonze incident breathlessly telling friends all about their fight, until a friend, a longtime skater, looked at me and matter-of-factly said: “He staged it.”

Two days after the fight I go to meet Jonze for lunch, and, even though I’m not sure, I tell him I now that the afternoon with Knox was staged. Jonze demurs. “That would be gnarly” he says. “Maybe we should come back to this topic after lunch.

We pull into a Carl’s Jr. Things between us are slightly tense. I keep pressing him on the issue as we walk into the restaurant. Jonze doesn’t say anything until he’s just about to order at the counter, then he says we should walk outside. I follow him into the parking lot toward a parked black sedan. There is a guy in dark sunglasses sitting there, sipping on a Coke.

“Dude, it’s off,” Jonze says. “We’re busted.”

Jonze then reveals that he’d “planned something” for right there, right then, at the Carl’s Jr. We all had back inside the restaurant, where Jonze begins walking around the seating area and tapping on what appear to be lonely Carl’s Jr. diners on the shoulder. There are four of them, strategically placed; two have video cameras hidden on them, on has a regular camera. Two of them, including the guy from the car, who is Jeff Tremaine, the art director of the skateboarding magazine Big Brother, are wearing hidden microphones.

“This was going to be an all-out assault,” Tremaine says. “I was going to walk by and bump into Spike and my drink was going to fall all over me. And then I was going to get all jacked at Spike and knock some shit on him and get into a fight.”

“I was actually going to take a punch this time,” Jonze says, “but I was also going to bite down on some blood pellets.” He shows me two small capsules of fake blood. “I wanted the whole article to be about how I keep getting my ass kicked.”

“I was going to knock over the salad bar,” Tremaine says. “We were going to have the whole thing on tape. I twas going to be a turkey shoot, like Kennedy.”

“You are all extremely fucked up,” I tell them.

Jonze says he started planning for it late last night and tells everyone he’s sorry he didn’t go through with it. Tremaine tells Jonze that he was excited to punch him. Then, everyone tells me some stories of previous pranks, the best of which is described as simply the Hard-On One. It goes something like this:

The guy who played Knox yesterday–a friend of Jonze’s who also pulls stunts like getting himself hit by a car (for a Big Brother photo shoot) and shooting himself with a gun while wearing a bulletproof vest (for fun)–puts on a pair of flimsy gym shorts, out of which sticks a large, fake rubber penis. Then, he goes out and gets into a pickup basketball game. Next, he walks into a guitar store, where, when a salesman hands him a cord to plug in, the salesman is pulled toward the fake rubber penis. After that, he makes a quick stop at a karate studio, from which he is quickly removed. Finally, he goes to get measured for a tux, where, according to Jonze, the tailor exclaims [in a thick Indian accent], “What? You always run around with your dick sticking out?”

“It’s amazing,” Jonze says. “We’ve got the whole thing on tape.”

After Carl’s Jr., Spike lobbies me to concoct a wild, made-up story with him, one I could submit in lieu of the article. He’s got some funny, clever ideas for it, too.

“SPIKE DIDN’T GROW UP WATCHING A TON OF FILMS or even TV,” says Kim Gordon, who has known Spike ever since he worked on “100%.” “So he’s not tied to any sense of history image-wise, the way most people are. He just has a real instinctual feel for what people like. And he’s willing to try absolutely anything.”

“I think he kind of looks at everything like it’s a chance to take a golf cart and make it go 60 miles per hour,” says his old friend Lewman. “It’s always been about having a really good time.” Even so, by all accounts Jonze is meticulous, tireless even, whether it concerns a feature film, or taking down a Carl’s Jr. salad bar. His willingness to go to almost any lengths to maintain the integrity of any project–no matter how seemingly small, trivial, or twisted–is nothing short of spectacular. It is probably the one quality that best portends him making very good movies for a long time. A vast portion of Jonze’s creative energies are consumed by these tiny, hysterical performances that will never make any money, that are solely for the benefit of himself and his like-minded friends.

“But it’s not about being weird for weird’s sake,” Lewman says. “I mean, Malkovich is a movie that, at its heart, is about something everyone can relate to–desperately wanting to be someone else.... I think a lot of how [Jonze] looks at the world might come from skating and biking. You do that as a kid and you don’t look at things normally. You look at a hockey rink and see a place to skateboard. You look at a bench as a thing to do tricks off of.”

I SEE JONZE ONE MORE TIME. HE MAKES IT OBVIOUS he’d rather I not write about the Knox and Carl’s Jr. pranks. Further, he mostly turns off my tape recorder any time I start to ask him anything. He tells me he doesn’t know what to do because he doesn’t want to come off as a guy who is lucky enough to make cool movies with big stars but is all petulant about talking to the press. He tells me again how anything he says as far as explanation of his own work is less interesting than someone’s own interpretation of his, or any, movie. About an hour passes. I ask him to name some of his favorite movies and filmmakers.

“I like stuff that is unpredictable in terms of tone,” he says. “I like Tim Burton, The World According to Garp, Being There, all the Coen brothers’ stuff. I feel really lucky to even have the opportunity to try to make those kinds of movies.”

I ask about his movie, about what Malkovich was like.

“He’s just amazing. Really genuinely eccentric. He heard about the script and contacted us, loved the idea. It was weird because he plays himself in the movie, but it’s not really him, it’s the script’s idea of him. Whenever I see him do the Dance of Despair and Disillusionment, I’m like, this guy is my hero.”

The Dance of Despair and Disillusionment is reason alone to see Being John Malkovich. In the movie, John Cusack plays a puppeteer who enters the body of John Malkovich and forces him to give up acting for puppeteering. At one point, Malkovich acts out the dance he wants to be his ultimate master-puppeteer work, the Dance of Despair and Disillusionment. Just out of the shower, he acts it out in a towel. David Fincher, the director of Seven and Fight Club, fellow former music-video director, and close friend of Jonze, calls it “up there with Butch and Sundance jumping off the cliff, as far as greatest movie moments ever go.”

I try to get Jonze to talk about other things, videos, his commercial work. (Jonze often shoots commercials, the most recent being Lee Jeans’ “Buddy Lee” spots.) He won’t. A few days later, we talk on the phone. He asks how I’ve decided to “handle” the article, says he knows I’ll write “something good.” The next day, I call him back, ask him to clear up some factual stuff, dates he worked on things, how he first met certain people. He’s not into it. But, before we get off the phone, he does answer one question.

Me: Where did the idea for the “Sabotage” video come from?

Jonze: “Australia.”

#spike jonze #spin magazine

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televinita · 4 years ago

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Books Read In 2020: The Why

In a tradition I accidentally started for myself in 2016 and now quite enjoy, at the end of the year I look back at my reading list and answer the question, why did you read this particular book?

Below, my 100 reads of 2020 are split into groups by target readership age, plus nonfiction at the end, now with a bonus note about how I heard of it. Which I probably won’t continue to do next year, but it was fun to try.

ADULT FICTION

I read each of these books because...

A Glitter of Gold - Liz Johnson. 2019. It had me at "her pirate tour business," but between the shipwreck & the museum-director love interest it was like BLOOD & TREASURE ROMANCE AU LET'S GOOO.

How I heard of it: a book blog

The Last Woman in the Forest - Diane Les Becquets. 2019. Recommended by a dog lover; I'm down for a thriller about a woman who has a dream dog-inclusive job like this.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. 1990. I really enjoyed the miniseries and wanted to see if the book everyone loved so much was as good (for the record: it was not. at least not if you’ve seen the miniseries first; otherwise they are probably equal).

This Is Home - Lisa Duffy. 2019. Attractive cover + I flipped it open to a random page and just liked the writing style.

How I heard of it: library

Dear Mr. Knightley - Katherine Reay. 2013. I'd had this on the back burner for a while because the MC sounded like me, and one day I got sick of not being able to find any fluffy contemporary romances with beta male heroes and decided Matthew Gray Gubler was gonna star in this one. (spoiler alert: it is a good book but that did not work)

How I heard of it: a book blog

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer. 2013. Criminal Minds sent me into a tailspin so I went hunting for books to cast Spencer Reid in again; the Asperger's/case-solving/difficult relationship with mother combo sounded promising. (spoiler alert: the med-student element + his social cluelessness proved too strong and I was only able to picture the kid from The Good Doctor)

How I heard of it: Googling keywords

The Swiss Affair - Emylia Hall. 2013. I got a random hankering for a student/teacher novel, and after scrutinizing the library catalog this was the only one that fit my parameters for gender, lack of adultery, and focus on romance over sex.

How I heard of it: library

Love At First Bark - Debbie Burns. 2019. I was trying to cast Wes/Jules [Dollface] in a romance novel, so I browsed through a Goodreads friend's "dog-romance" shelf and accidentally landed in a Jeid AU [Criminal Minds]. Which may or may not have been a large part of what turned me into a Jeid shipper (outside canon only).

The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid. 1995. One final attempt to cast Reid in a novel -- a user in a Reddit post asking for this very thing suggested this, and "profiler with idiosyncracies" certainly fit.

The Wire in the Blood [and 9 subsequent novels] - Val McDermid, spanning 1997-2019. Turns out aside from being British, Reid paints onto Tony Hill EXCEPTIONALLY well, and I accidentally found myself with a little Jeid AU in the process, so obviously I read the entire series. Good crime-solving fun and all that.

Horse - Talley English. 2018. Random library pull because I connected with the writing style and it appeared to actually focus on horses.

How I heard of it: library

A Sparkle of Silver - Liz Johnson. 2018. I liked the author's other book and this was pretty much a remix of the same story, but now with a cool mansion/estate setting.

How I heard of it: looking up other books by this author

Everyone Is Beautiful - Katherine Center. 2009. Went looking for stories about strong marriages, found this on a Goodreads list of "second chance marriage" books, tripped into something like a season 9 Jim/Pam scenario. How I heard of it: Googling keywords

The Lost Husband - Katherine Center. 2013. Loved the previous book of hers I read, and the "starting life over on a goat farm" angle sounded like an ideal life to try on.

How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Shadow Year - Hannah Richell. 2013. Fixing up an old house?? I am THERE. Doing this in two timelines, one of which involves off-the-grid homesteading, is even better.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Mandrake Root - Janet Diebold. 1946. I needed a non-library book to bring on vacation, and after spinning in circles over what I thought would appeal to my mood in that setting, my brain randomly said "reread this one."

How I heard of it: estate sale

Path of the Jaguar - Vickie Britton & Loretta Jackson. 1989. Bought cheap for cheap thrills: a Yucatan adventure/mystery. Read now so I could get rid of it. How I heard of it: library sale

Burying Water - K.A. Tucker. 2014. The library didn't have The Simple Wild, but they DID have a book w/ an equally pretty cover that talked about a badly beaten young amnesiac (!) recovering on a horse farm (!!). What is: my top romance trope (hurt/comfort, bonus points for animals and rural setting).

How I heard of it: library

Happiness for Beginners - Katherine Center. Established quality author + summertime hiking inspiration.

How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Visitors - Simon Sylvester. Cool cover + setting, and a teenage protagonist usually makes adult fiction more accessible. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Becoming Rain - K.A. Tucker. 2014. I was in this companion novel solely for mentions of Alex and any people by the last name of Wells, but figured I might as well read all of it to ensure I didn't miss any. How I heard of it: looking up more from this author

The Guest List - Lucy Foley. 2020. Honestly, it just sounded like a cool thriller (and cool setting). How I heard of it: a book blog

You Deserve Nothing - Alexander Maksik. 2011. Fell down a Will/Rachel [Glee] rabbit hole and ravaged the student/teacher keyword in my library catalog again to scratch the itch.

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson. 1959. Mom's been trying to get me to read this for years, and this time when it came up in conversation it was the right time of year, so I randomly decided to give it a shot. How I heard of it: Mom

The Walker in Shadows - Barbara Michaels. 1979. Gothic ghost story + beautiful architectural details in a historic house = yeah!

How I heard of it: Goodwill

YOUNG ADULT

People Like Us - Dane Mele. 2018. Needed an audiobook; a girls' boarding school murder mystery seemed most likely to hold my attention of the limited options. How I heard of it: Library

The Possibility of Now - Kim Culbertson. 2016. I will read anything by this author, and girl having a meltdown over a test = me. How I heard of it: looking up other books by this author

Rob&Sara.com - P.J. Petersen & Ivy Ruckman. 2004. Mostly I wanted to go back to my high school days and enjoy the format of a novel written in emails, but also, I like Ruckman. How I heard of it: used book sale

For Real - Alison Cherry. 2014. Fictional Amazing Race!! + awesome summery cover + sisters How I heard of it: library sale

The Summer After You + Me - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski. 2015. The awesome summery cover, mostly. How I heard of it: a book blog

You'd Be Mine - Erin Hahn. 2019. Gorgeous cover + the chance to vicariously follow a budding young country music star on tour for the summer.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Juniors - Kaui Hart Hemmings. 2015. The neat setting(s): a live-in guest on a wealthy estate in Hawaii. How I heard of it: Dollar store

Lion Boy's White Brother - Alden G. Stevens. 1951. Bought cheap because vintage juvenile book in a unique setting. Read now to see if I could get rid of it (NOPE).

How I heard of it: used bookstore

The O.C.: Spring Break - Aury Wallington. 2005. I keep meaning to finish this short series, and it was an easy title to count for my Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Echo Island - Edward Karlow. 2017. Bought cheap because of the beautiful summery cover; easy read for Mount TBR so I could get rid of it. How I heard of it: library sale

Confessions of a High School Disaster - Emma Chastain. 2017. Read because of THE SUPER CUTE SUMMERY COVER (and diary format).

How I heard of it: Dollar store

Kentucky Daughter - Carol J. Scott. 1985. Working my way down the “Inappropriate Student/Teacher Relationships in YA" list because I'm in that kind of mood this year; chose this because 80s books tend to deliver the subject best*, the character reminded me of the girl in Send No Blessings, and Open Library had it. *this one was just blatant sexual harassment, though, and belonged very literally on that list

How I heard of it: Goodreads

What They Always Tell Us - Martin Wilson. 2008. I sorted the library catalog to see the oldest contemporary YA novels they still have before they get weeded, and "loner being taken under the wing of his older brother's (male) friend and falling in love with him" hit a couple of good tropes. How I heard of it: library

Bobby's Watching - Ted Pickford. 1993. Browsing around on OpenLibrary and saw they FINALLY had a copy of this book that scared me too much to finish as a kid, and which I've wanted to revisit ever since I remembered what it's called (Interlibrary Loan doesn't have it and it's Not Cheap to buy).

How I heard of it: library

Powwow Summer - Nahanni Shingoose. 2019. Always interested in modern-day Indigenous girls connecting w/ their heritage, especially if they're from my home state's tribe.

How I heard of it: a book blog

The Princesses of Iowa - M. Molly Backes. 2012. Appealing cover + heft suggesting a solid Midwestern contemporary, plus I liked the student teacher element (without a slash this time, as in "college student who is almost a teacher")

How I heard of it: library

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares. 2001. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares. 2003.

Long-intended reread of a college fave because I wanted see Mike Vogel in the movie, and it was summer so the stars aligned. Continued because the first book was as good as I remembered. (I would have kept going but Life distracted me for a bit and by the time I was back on track, it was no longer summer) How I heard of it: I...can't remember. Am the worst!

The Distance From Me To You - Marina Gessner a.k.a. Nina de Gramont. 2015. Hiking inspiration + an appealing-sounding romance. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Where Have All the Tigers Gone? - Lynn Hall. 1989. Will read any of her books, but specifically read this one because it seemed fairly autobiographical, and I read it NOW because it seemed durable enough to take on vacation. How I heard of it: looking up books by this author

And Both Were Young - Madeline L'Engle. 1949 (text of 1983 edition w/ material from original manuscript added back). Something reminded me of its existence and I requested it because it was the only non-animal-focused vintage teen novel I could physically get my hands on before Interlibrary Loan opened back up, and I had a craving for just that.

How I heard of it: library

The Other Side of Lost - Jessi Kirby. 2018. Established quality author + throw me ALL the thru-hike novels!

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Vow - Jessica Martinez. 2013. Perfect scenario to run an Abed/Annie [Community] AU!

How I heard of it: I want to say...an article on a book website (not personal blog this time) back in 2013.

Moon and Me - Hadley Irwin. 1981. Was just in the mood to read an 80s teen novel and this one helped me knock off a title for the Mount TBR challenge. From an author I like, w/ bonus horse content.

How I heard of it: used book sale.

Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls - Lynn Weingarten. 2015. I bought a blind bag at the library sale and this was one of the only contemporary YA novels in it; figured I might as well read it since I'd liked a previous book of hers.

How I heard of it: Library

History Is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera. 2016.

With the Glee rabbit hole came a Klaine spiral; this was my season 4 Tragic AU dream for them and I've been saving it for a Klainey day ever since it was published. (No I am not sorry for that horrid pun.)

How I heard of it: googling keywords

The Museum of Heartbreak - Meg Leder. 2016. The cool cover/concept of a "museum" of items reeled me in; I bought a copy a while ago 'cause the library didn't have it. Read now to see if I could get rid of it (NOPE).

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Me & Mr. J - Rachel McIntyre. 2015. Student/teacher novel that looked especially appealingly tame so I'd been saving it, but then Open Library notified me it was now only available in 1-hour increments, and I got paranoid it would disappear altogether (it's not cheap to buy or available via ILL), so I wanted it in my brain.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Dear Evan Hansen - Val Emmich w/ Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. 2018. Fell in love with the DEH soundtrack. Play's summary sounded good -- getting to experience it in YA novel form?? Amazing.

How I heard of it: Wikipedia

Saddle a Thunderbolt - Jo Sykes. 1967

Bought a while ago because vintage horse story. Read now specifically to alleviate my pre-homesickness about moving by imagining living in an even more beautiful place than home.

How I heard of it: either a used book sale or a used bookstore...

Learning to Breathe - Janice Lynn Mather. 2018. This was mentioned on a lost-book forum and "girl with unplanned pregnancy supports herself by getting a job cleaning" piqued my interest; the setting (Bahamas) and cover made it better.

How I heard of it: Reddit

Everglades Adventure - James Ralph Johnson. 1970. Standard vintage boys' adventure-in-nature story; I like those.

How I heard of it: Goodwill

CHILDREN’S/MIDDLE GRADE

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott. 1868. Seeing the new movie and falling head over heels was what it took to FINALLY convince me to reread this childhood fave.

How I heard of it: can't remember; I was a kid

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1905. I was perusing a lot of books about classic children's books and it started to bug me that I had skipped this appealing-sounding one as a kid.

How I heard of it: can't remember; I was a kid

Little Men - Louisa May Alcott. 1871. LW sparked a fandom revival and I wanted more detail about the Marches' adult lives (esp. Jo & Bhaer), even on the fringes.

How I heard of it: library

Lady and the Tramp - Ward Greene. I saw a quote from the new movie under a gifset on Tumblr that sounded like it came from a book, and upon Googling out that one existed, I obviously could not allow the book version of a beloved childhood animal-movie fave to go unread. Especially after finding out it was super rare so reading it would be a privilege.

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1910. Read for the same reason as A Little Princess. Can’t have one without the other, you know.

How I heard of it: was a kid; can't remember

The Mother-Daughter Book Club - Heather Vogel Fredericks. 2007. Much Ado About Anne - Heather Vogel Fredericks. 2008.

Always thought the series looked cute/reminded me of The Teashop Girls, but the fact that the first book they read is Little Women gave me the impetus to finally read this one. First book was darling so I continued to the next (but failed to continue beyond because COVID shut the library down until I was out of the mood).

How I heard of it: library

Nature Girl - Jane Kelley. 2010. I wanted walking inspiration.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

From You to Me - K.A. Holt. 2018. Mistook it for a similar-looking book I'd seen at the same time (See You On A Starry Night), but figured I'd give the 8th grade bucket list idea a shot once I had it. How I heard of it: Goodreads

Semiprecious - D. Anne Love. 2006. Cute cover + I'm starting to be a big fan of what I call "contemporary historical," for stories set mid-20th century.

How I heard of it: library

Dandy's Mountain - Thomas Fall. 1967. Vintage horse-inclusive children's book in a rural setting, I'm sold. Not to mention, love reading a summer setting in summer.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Littler Women: A Modern Retelling - Laura Schaefer. 2017. The only way to make the Little Women MORE magical is to make them younger, modern, and written by a proven quality author.

How I heard of it: a book blog

Behind The Attic Wall - Sylvia Cassedy. 315 pg/1983.

A Goodreads friend strongly recommended it as similar to but better than Mandy, and reading about it in 100 Best Books For Children sealed the deal. Read now for the Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Jigsaw Jungle - Kristin Levine. 2018. I am a COMPLETE sucker for books told in non-traditional/scrapbook-esque format.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Runt - Marion Dane Bauer. 2002. Wolf story by a quality author. Read now after owning it for a decade to see if I could get rid of it.

How I heard of it: used book sale

The King of the Cats - Rene Guillot. 1959. Bought cheap for a quick read because vintage animal story. Read now so I could get rid of it.

How I heard of it: used book sale

Just The Beginning - Betty Miles. 1976. Found cheap; always down to read a vintage book about an average girl (and I wanted to know how she'd cope with her mom being "a cleaning lady in a town full of classmates who HAVE cleaning ladies").

How I heard of it: used book sale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling. 1997. Been meaning to reread the series for a while now; finally got motivation to check out the illustrated edition 'cause Christmastime.

How I heard of it: originally Mom; a book blog for this edition

Echo Mountain - Lauren Wolk. 2020. Almost entirely because of the incredible clipart cover, promising me nature and a dog (and because I could get it as an e-audiobook from the library).

How I heard of it: a book blog

Knock Three Times - Cressida Cowell. 2019. I needed another audiobook for bedtime/walks and I know that David Tennant will provide.

How I heard of it: more by this author (more accurately, narrator)

NONFICTION

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming A Life Through The Pages Of A Lost Journal - Lily Koppel. 2008. I'm kind of obsessed with the concept of historical 5-year diaries -- and finding one like this is The Dream.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life - Anne Bogel. 2018. Attractive and compact book about the pleasures of being a reader? A headspace I want to be in.

How I heard of it: library

100 Best Books for Children - Anita Silvey. 2004. I'm big on looking at lists of books for children this year. These are the kind of books I know, love, and want to hear people talk about, now that I know books about these books exist.

How I heard of it: library

The Coming of Saska - Doreen Tovey Originally bought because it was cheap and featured animals, I needed a non-library book to bring on vacation, and this one is a durable ex-library copy in plastic wrap that featured a similar setting to where I was going, so: thematic.

Cats in the Belfry - Doreen Tovey. 1957. Wanted more of her books, and lo and behold the library had the first one.

How I heard of it: more by this author

Sorry Not Sorry - Naya Rivera. 2016. I'll read anything the Glee kids write, and this doubled as an easy number for the Mount TBR challenge.

How I heard of it: entertainment news websites

Living Large in Our Little House - Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell. 2016. I love tiny houses. And this one specifically mentioned living with dogs. And had color photographs.

How I heard of it: used bookstore

I'm Your Biggest Fan: Awkward Encounters and Assorted Misadventures in Celebrity Journalism. - Kate Coyne. 2016. Found cheap at a library sale -- loved the chapter headings and the fact that they were all about celebrities I knew.

Adrift - Tami Oldham Ashcraft w/ Suesea McGearheart. 1998/2018 edition. The movie was so awesome that I couldn't wait for more details about the real story in her own words.

I'll Be Gone In The Dark [NF] - Michelle McNamara. 2018. Been reading a lot of true crime write-ups on Reddit lately; decided it was time to pick up this well-received one.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Dear Evan Hansen: Waving Through A Window - Steven Levenson. 2017. Much like The Grimmerie for Wicked, once I fell in love with the DEH soundtrack and looked up the plot summary, I wanted to read the musical's detailed background/behind the scenes story + libretto before I watched it.

How I heard of it: Wikipedia

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune - Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell. 2013. Love me a story about a mansion (or three). Or the reclusive and insanely wealth heiress who owns them, that works too.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

JUVENILE NONFICTION Mascots: Military Mascots from Ancient Egypt to Modern Korea - Fairfax Downey. 1954. Animal book from an author I like; read now to see if I could get rid of it (yes).

How I heard of it: secondhand bookstore

Come on, Seabiscuit - Ralph Moody. 1963. Bought because vintage kids' horse book; read now to see if I could get rid of it (and to count it towards my Mount TBR challenge 'cause it was short).

How I heard of it: secondhand bookstore

#why i read

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magiaesabiduria · 4 years ago

Note

💋 Didi and Ere, and Didi and Sev?

SEND 💋 TO SEE IF MY MUSE WOULD KISS YOURS… AND WHERE.

Ere:

He looked at his life-long friend and confidant, a slight look of confusion on his face at the question as if he wasn’t sure whether this was a serious inquiry or not. What should he say? The truth... or what was likely expected of him as Didi’s liege? A look into his most trusted companion’s eyes and the decision was really made for him. It wasn’t as if Didi didn’t recognize when Erebus was being deceptive or otherwise withholding. The jaguar shifter really was the only one who stood a chance at picking Erebus’ moods apart. He gave a slow nod after a couple of minutes had passed, “Yes,” and if there was a sliver of hesitancy or even nervousness in his voice... well, only Didi would be able to tell regardless. Erebus considered the second part of the question, frowning a bit -- he’d already kissed Didi in a few places, not nearly as many as he wanted to but.. enough to know he enjoyed it more than any other person’s touch or taste. Erebus swallowed, looking away for a split second; he knew there was a place above all others that he yearned to taste. Their various nights and days together hadn’t given him this opportunity just yet. Perhaps one day. He flicked his gaze back to Didi, holding his stare and shrugging. “I would start with your mouth, you are an excellent kisser after all. Then... I would make my way.. there,” a pointed look at Didi’s crotch before shrugging again, he could say plenty more about the fantasies he’s had regarding Didi -- the ones that occasionally wake him up from their intensity or the ones that carry through to completion... he could, but he keeps that bit to himself, for now. Maybe in the future said fantasies would help initiate splendid lovemaking... but for now, they served as little more than sexual torture for him.

Sev:

The question was unexpected, something that managed to throw him off in the middle of his cataloging of his ingredients. Severus cursed mentally and set his quill down, knowing he would have no choice but to wait to return to work until this particular conversation had run its course. Didi was distracting to say the least - not that he had any issue with it.. on most days. He walked over to him, humming softly, a pensive look on his face as hand moved up to cup the side of Didi’s face, fingertips pushing into Didi’s hair and rubbing at his scalp for a few seconds before he met his gaze. Anyone else may have felt the need to ask what this was about, what triggered such a question now of all times but ... Severus knew what it was like to have doubts even when things were already established. And maybe he was wrong, maybe that was not what this was about at all and maybe Didi was just feeling like spending time with him and this seemed like the fastest way to get there. Regardless, Severus would answer truthfully. “Yes, dearest, I would..” hand dropped from Didi’s face, fingers trailing down his shoulder and ghosting over the back of his hand until they laced with Didi’s. Severus brought their hands to his lips, kissing Didi’s knuckles once then turning his hand and kissing the inside of his wrist, “I’d trail my lips over every single inch of your form.” A light kiss brushed to Didi’s fingertips, tongue flicking out and over the pad of his index finger for half a second before he finally let Didi’s hand go, choosing instead to rest both hands on Didi’s waist. Severus hummed quietly, pulling Didi closer to him until their bodies were pressed together. A hand slid over Didi’s stomach, a soft noise of contentment leaving him as he felt the flesh ripple and muscles quiver under his touch, “I would start here, worshiping your gorgeous stomach and working my way out with all the patience in the world.” At least, with all the patience until the moment where both of them snapped and gave in to urges.

@from-elphame

#〖 Erebus :: answers 〗#『 walk while ye have the light lest darkness come upon you | Erebus :: historical verse 』#〖 Severus :: answers 〗#from-elphame

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justthehiddleswrites · 4 years ago

Text

The Reluctants | Chapter 8 | The Reluctant Trip

Pairing: Adam (OLLA) x OFC (Charlie Bock)

Summary: Charlie can’t believe her luck when she lands an apartment all to herself in Quincy, Massachusetts in a decaying triple decker. But life gets more complicated when someone moves into the basement. Specifically her landlord, Adam, who also happens to be a vampire. As life collapses around Charlie, these two forge an uneasy and unlikely relationship. But is their relationship as doomed as the building they live in?

Chapter: Adam and Charlie continue to explore their relationship and a new couch needs to be procured.

Warnings: Violence, Smut, Frottage, Dry Humping, Teasing, Coming In Pants, Oral Sex, Vaginal Sex. Couch Sex. Kidnapping. Stalking. Non-Graphic Violence, Character Death

Charlie helped Adam carry the broken couch to the sidewalk.

“You don’t need to do that? I am a vampire, I am unnaturally strong.” He lifted the heavier end with ease.

“No, I helped contribute to its demise. It seems only right.” Charlie heaved the other side to her chest. The height difference not making matter any easier. “Which door?”

Adam lifted his chin to the front door and Charlie lifted onto her toes to walk backwards.

“Why in the fuck are you walking like that?” Adam scrunched up his nose.

“If you walk backwards on your toes, you don’t fall down.”

“And you learned this, where?”

“None of your business.” Charlie glanced behind her. “Watch the door.”

“I can see it just fine. Answer the question.”

“Aren’t you pushy all of a sudden?”

Adam smirked. “A nasty habit I picked up from my girlfriend.”

Charlie dropped the couch, narrowly missing her toes. “What?! What did you say? What… What….” she sputtered. Charlie fanned her face. “But we… we weren’t…”

Adam moved towards her, sidestepping the bits of wood and debris. His hands engulfing her face. He kissed both her cheeks. “I said we didn’t need labels, but I lied. However, I fear there is not a word to describe us. The imperfect word ‘girlfriend’ will have to do.”

Charlie nodded. “No, girlfriend works. Much preferred to lover.”

“That was my second choice.” Adam smiled. The first smile in days. “Now pick up this couch you destroyed by parading your magnificent tits around in those fucking sweaters.”

Adam moved back to his side and Charlie lifted back on her toes. They dumped the couch on the curb and hurried back inside as Charlie’s thin shirt did little to protect her from a November night in Quincy.

“You still didn’t answer the question.” Adam stated as he shut the door and rubbed her arms to get the blood flowing again.

“Hmm.” Charlie leaned in his chest. “What question?”

“How do you know to stand on your toes?”

“Marching band.” she blurted out before walking into the living room. Adam grabbed her wrist.

“You play an instrument and you didn’t tell me?” He narrowed his eyes at Charlie.

“I was in the Color Guard. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.” Charlie smiled and walked away.

“Right.” Adam followed her. He found Charlie staring at a pile of stuff where the couch once stood.

“Is that my favorite t-shirt?” Charlie pointed to a ball of jersey covered in dust and bits of paper.

“Yes.”

“How did it end up underneath the couch?” Adam stood still. “You shoved it under there, didn’t you?”

Adam’s lips pulled tight, and he nodded.

“You are going to need to get a new couch.”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to take my couch?” Charlie offered, the two of them still staring at the mess.

“No.”

“Why not?” Charlie twisted to look at him. “Is there a problem with it?”

“Yes. It is ugly and uncomfortable.”

“Tell me how you really feel.”

Adam turned to face Charlie, his lips twitching. “It’s ugly and uncomfortable. Besides, There’s a couch in storage. We can rent a truck tomorrow to fetch it.”

“What is this ‘we’ business?”

Adam scooted over to wrap his arms around Charlie’s waist, pull her back against his chest. “You help break it, you help replace it, love.” His nose nudged Charlie’s curls and behind her ear. Charlie giggled.

“So what happens if we break the bed?” Charlie turned in his arms to face him.

Adam nipped Charlie’s bottom lip. “Then I fuck you against the wall.”

“Challenge accepted.” Charlie took off running towards the bedroom.

Charlie woke the next morning in a tangle of sheets. Adam’s side of the bed was cold and empty. She tugged on the black dressing gown and padded down the hallway to the other bedroom.

“How did you realize I was here?” Adam questioned when she pushed open the door to find Adam sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Process of elimination. There’s no couch remember?”

“Right.” His voice melancholy. Charlie sat down beside him and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. She placed her other hand on top.

“You miss Eve? Feel guilty?” Adam glanced away. Charlie grabbed his chin. “It would seem the both of us brought some baggage to this relationship. I want to learn about her, Adam. She is a part of you. Will you tell me?”

Adam bit his lip and nodded. “Yes.” He tilted his body to lean against her. “But not now.”

“That’s fine. I can just sit here with you for a bit.”

“Thank you, Charlie.” He kissed her temple. She lifted his hand to her lips.

“You’re welcome.” And they sat in silence until Adam got up and so did Charlie, closing the door.

“I am working today.” Charlie rumpled her hair. “I am heading upstairs to get ready.”

“I can pick you up when shop closes and we can go pick up the couch?”

“You leave the house?” Charlie raised her eyebrows, mocking Adam.

He rewarded her with a classic Adam eye roll. “Yes, I do when the need arises.”

“I mean you realize you will need to put on actual clothes? It is generally frowned upon to go out in public in pajamas?” Charlie could barely contain her laughter.

“Go, before I change my mind.”

“You mean I could get out of moving furniture. Excellent.” Charlie doubled over in laughter. Adam swatted her ass.

“Keep it up.”

“Why, darling, I didn’t realize we had that kind of of relationship.” Adam glared. “I’m going! I get off at 6. Or sooner, if you follow me upstairs.” Charlie wiggled her eyebrows.

“Your sofa can’t handle me.”

“Fine.” She rose up on her toes and kissed him. “Try to get some sleep because I want to test out this new sofa tonight.”

“I am planning on it.” Adam wrapped his arms around her.

“Have I told you about the pigeons, Charlie?” Mr. Simmons asked as he handed her a stack of newly acquired records to price and sort.

“Not today, Mr. Simmons.” Charlie sighed. It was a quarter to six, and she glanced out the window in hopes Adam would appear early.

“Well, you recognize the government is spying on us?”

“Hmmm.” Charlie nodded, not looking up. If she acted disinterested enough, sometimes Mr. Simmons lost his train of thought.

“Never trust a zombie. Particularly a politician zombie.”

“Adam!” Charlie squealed, leaning over the glass display cases.

“Mr. Streiff.” Mr. Simmons straightened his glasses. “I wasn’t expecting you. I don’t have a delivery for you.”

Adam strolled to the two of them, not bothering to remove his glasses. “It’s all right, Simmons. I am here for your lovely clerk.” He smiled at Charlie.

“You know him?” Mr. Simmons hooked his thumb at Adam.

“Yeah, he is my…” Charlie could sense Adam glared through the sunglasses. “… landlord! And he offered to give me a ride to the storage unit to pick up some furniture.”

“That explains the truck.” Simmons commented. “No way to fit furniture in that Jaguar of yours.”

Charlie stared Adam down.

“I understand it is early, Simmons, but do you mind if I steal her away?”

“Of course! Anything for my best customer.”

“Thank you, Simmons.”

Charlie hopped from behind the counter to stand next to Adam. She resisted the urge to grab his hand.

“I promise to get those records cataloged tomorrow.”

Mr. Simmons waved her off. “Go. The work will wait.”

Adam held the door open for you and opening the door to the beat up truck he borrowed from god knows where.

“A Jaguar?”

“Not a word.” Adam turned on the truck and shifted into drive. He flicked the radio on, not realizing it was set to a Top 40s station.

Slow, slow hands Like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry No, no chance That I’m leaving here without you on me I, I know Yeah, I already know that there ain’t no stoppin’ Your plans and those

“Turn that shit off. That song is awful.” He spun the dial until he found a blues station.

“I don’t know. It’s seems catchy. But I always get stuck it in my head.”

“My point exactly.”

“Why are you wearing sunglasses, Corey Hart?”

Adam grunted. “My eyes.”

“Yes you have eyes.”

“They give my true nature away. Make people uncomfortable.”

Charlie squirmed. “I hadn’t notice.”

Adam leaned over to kiss the side of her head. “That is because you are extraordinary.”

Inside, Charlie bristled at the compliment. “And the gloves? I have never those before either.”

Adam looked away. “When you turn, it heightens certain senses. The gloves block out some of that.”

“Oh…” Her lips pursed. “Sorry. For any discomf—”

“Stop it!” Adam didn’t yell, but his words pointed. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” Charlie blinked.

“Apologize. For everything. For existing. Like your some kind of burden. You are not a burden, Charlie. You need not earn your place in my life.”

“I’m s—” Adam grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight, stopping her words. “My parents, my family, have made it abundantly clear since I was very young that I wasn’t wanted. And I have spent my lifetime doing everything in my power to earn my place at the table. I’m not used to compliments. I’m not used to being cared for.” Charlie sniffled.

“You weren’t fucking joking about the baggage, darling.” He squeezed her hand again.

“You can imagine my romantic life has been a disaster. Until… you.”

Adam smiled. “Fortunately for you, I have been pretty lucky in love. I’ve got you. I’m not letting go. I will be there every step.”

“Thank you.”

“And I will fucking kill your family.”

They both laughed, but Charlie wondered how serious Adam was. She didn’t have time to ask as they pulled up to Extra Space Storage.

“I still can’t understand why you own a storage unit. What is in the other apartments? Is it wall to wall instruments? Stacks of lesbian porn DVDs? Machinery ready to fall through the floor and crash upon my head, killing me?”

“Yes.” Adam grunted, parking the car.

“Can I organize it? I’m superb at alphabetizing. Ask Simmons.”

“Don’t you dare go into those apartments. Now come and help me.”

Charlie hustled to catch up with Adam’s long stride. They continued into the building and down a hallway. Adam fished out a key, stopping in front of a large metal rolling door.

“Stand back.” He extended his arm in front of Charlie. “I have no idea what is coming out of here.”

Charlie tucked herself behind Adam, gripping his leather jacket. He opened the lock and yanked the door up. A box of faded paperbacks tumbled out. Charlie spied the title of one. Cheerleaders in Chains.

“I assumed you were kidding about the lesbian porn.”

“I wasn’t. But that is another story entirely.”

“Can I alphabetize it?”

Adam dropped the stack of books in his hand. “What is your obsession with alphabetizing?”

“I like order. It gives me control of some part of my life.”

“Perhaps another time.” He stepped over a few more boxes. “We are here for this!”

Adam pulled back a holey sheet to reveal a dark green couch with a high back and ornately carved legs. Charlie took a running leap to flop on the couch. She stretched the full length.

“I don’t think there is enough room on here for you.”

“Then we will have share the space.”

Adam propped himself up on his hands, caging her against the cushions. He growled as he kissed Charlie, pressing her into the couch. Charlie pulled him deeper in an embrace, moaning against him. Adam raked his hands along the curves of Charlie’s body.

“It will be light soon. We should get going.” Charlie pushed Adam off her by the chest.

“How dare you be practical?” He pulled her up along with him. His fangs dragging along her neck.

“Someone has to be. Now get up and use those muscles to help me lift this.” Charlie smacked his thigh.

Adam rolled his eyes but got up and went to the opposite end where Charlie now stood. The couch was heavier than the last one. Charlie huffed and puffed all the way to the truck. Adam didn’t even break a sweat. Not that vampires sweat.

The drive back to the house was Adam talking about some of the music on the radio and Charlie nodding along.

“Can’t we leave it to tomorrow?” Charlie grumbled as Adam pulled up to the curb.

“No. Someone might steal it.”

Charlie pouted, slamming the door. “Fine.”

He smiled at her. “That’s the spirit.”

Adam jumped from standing into the truck bed.

“Impressive. Do you also have a killer jump shot?”

“Do you want to insult me or get this inside?”

She lowered the gate and helped him scoot it out. About ten minutes later, they lowered the massive piece of furniture on top of the mess Adam wouldn’t let her clean up.

“No one will see it.” Adam grumbled.

“But I will know it’s there.”

“Just forget about it.”

“I can’t.” Charlie twisted her fingers around, eye twitching.

“Let me take your mind off of it.” Adam dragged her to the bedroom.

“I hoped we were going to test out the couch.”

“Another time. I need more space.”

“For what?” Charlie’s brows knitted in worry.

“To show my appreciation.”

Adam pulled her shirt off over her head. With nimble fingers, he unhooked her bra. Her breasts fell softly. Adam planted sloppy, open-mouthed kisses along her collarbone. Charlie shivered as his mouth traveled down to the tops of her breasts. His fangs nipping and marking the skin.

“Oh…” she sighed, arching her back.

Adam gripped her hips. He sucked hard on her nipple. The mix of pain and pleasure went straight to Charlie’s core. She moved to Adam’s jeans. He swatted her hand away.

“No.”

“But, I want to…” Charlie moved again to undo his pants.

Adam threw Charlie onto the bed. He pinned her hands above her head.

“Let me do this. Let it be about you. Can you do that for me?” Charlie nodded but struggled against his hold. “I’m not letting go.”

He pressed his hips into her, pinning her against the mattress. His lips trailed along her torso, leaving wet marks on the soft flesh of her stomach. Charlie wiggled in discomfort as Adam’s lips ghosted along her faded stretch marks.

“Please don’t…”

His nails dug into her wrists and he grunted, crushing his lips against Charlie’s, swallowing her excuses and apologies.

“What did I say about denigrating yourself?”

“You said don’t do it.” Charlie bit her lip, Adam’s stare making her uncomfortable. “But I was going to say—”

CRACK! Charlie yelped as Adam’s hand came down hard on the side of her thigh. Even through her jeans, it stung.

“Next time it shall be your behind. Can I continue?”

“Yes.”

Adam shifted his grip on her wrists, freeing one hand. He undid her pants with one hand after a struggle.

“I will let go of your wrists. You need to behave yourself, darling.”

“I will.”

“Good girl.”

He balanced on his knees and Charlie lifted her hips. Adam peeled her jeans and underwear off, dropping them to the ground. He kissed her ankle before moving along the inside of her leg. He bit along the inside of Charlie’s thigh.

“Please Adam.” she begged.

He ignored her pleas and repeated his ministrations on her other leg. Charlie squirmed and moaned when his nose nudged along her folds.

“Hmm.” Adam hummed. He licked Charlie’s folds, collecting her sweet arousal along his tongue. Adam commented to himself that he imagine never growing tired of the taste of Charlie. All of her tasted as Adam imagined nectar tasted.

Adam sucked Charlie’s bundle of nerves and she fisted his hair, pulling his head into her. His chuckle against her, sending more jolts of pleasure throughout Charlie’s body. He slipped a finger inside her. Her pussy clenching tight around him. With long and languid strokes, Adam continued to finger Charlie while using his mouth to bring her closer to orgasm.

“Adam! I’m…” Charlie’s words falling away when she came. She gushed upon Adam’s face who did not stop licking nor did he remove his finger, curling and curving inside Charlie.

He finally removed himself from her core. With a jerking motion, he tugged his pants down just enough to release his cock. The tip angry and weeping. He hissed, teasing her with the tip before pushing inside of her. Adam’s head fell back once he fully seated inside of her. With a roll of the hips, he thrusted in and out of Charlie.

Adam took his time, pulling her leg to his shoulder, caressing the skin, kissing the bone, biting at the thing skin. Charlie covered her face at the pleasure. It was too much, and she came again, sobbing.

“I’m close, sweetheart. Do you have one more in you?” Adam pleaded, putting her leg down. His torso against hers. His breath even while Charlie panted. She managed a weak nod from underneath her hands.

“Show me your face.” Adam peeled away her fingers, his lips soft against her wet cheeks. “I want to see you in all your glory when I come inside you. When gush upon my cock.” His words purred against Charlie’s ear.

She whimpered as Adam thrusted into her. His pubic bone grazing along her already sensitive pearl. She fluttered around him.

“That’s it, darling. Come on me. I’m close.” Adam’s body tightened, and he grunted softly, spilling inside of her.

He fell to the side of Charlie and pulled her tight, enveloping her with his legs and arms. His chest hair tickled along her nose, but she didn’t move. Charlie inhaled the scent of sandalwood and sex and exhaled in relief.

“I’m not letting go, my love.” Adam whispered, smoothing out her curls, only to have them bounce back against his chin.

Charlie’s breath was long and even. A soft metronome against Adam’s chest. His own eyes heavy as the sun threatened its ascent. A slight twinge of guilt plucked at his heart. He attempted to shove it aside but burbled up, destroying his peace and contentment for a while. He resolved him to not wallow in it any longer.

“I’m falling in love with her, baby.” He called out to Eve.

#adam #adam fanfic #adam angst #adam fanfiction #adam fluff #adam smut #only lovers left alive #only lovers left alive fanfiction #adam x ofc #the reluctants

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not-a-gotham-villain · 5 years ago

Text

Part 2

TW: Death, Extreme violence, slight swearing, Guns, Kinves

(i cant do under the cut on mobile so be ready to scroll sorry..)

Her broken Jaguar mask works surprisingly well considering what it's been through. Perhaps it's because whoever sees her face now doesn't live to tell the tale. She can only think of one time anyone got away alive seeing her face over the past Three days.

She had walked her way into the iceberg lounge an hour before penguin hightailed it out because her tip line had gone cold and she could feel how close she was to finding Falcone. Needless to say, Penguin was not happy to see her.

"Ah, Jaguar! Long time no see my dear!" His voice was condescending and his men were armed. "I've heard you've caused quite ruckus all around town recently. Any reason you've stopped by?"

"Buzz off Penguin. I'm not here to kill your goons."

"Character development." Nygma quipped. He was seriously unnecessary and proved to test Jade's already thin patience.

"I just need information. My wells gone... dry." she ground out.

Penguin huffed a laugh before he relaxed his guards and gestured Jade to sit next to him. She refused.

"Falcones at 213 30 Primrose street. Red warehouse."

".....how did you know who i was after?" Jade asked.

"Because i've worked with you since you were definitely not 17, and the only person you ever talked about was him. I did the math."

Jade's eyes narrowed as she collected her things. "You aren't gonna try and stop me, are you?"

Penguin laughed, a little bitterly, a little mockingly. "I'm not sentimental dearie. I will say though," his face got deadly serious then "that his son's died. You two are the only ones left."

Jade stared at penguin for a bit before heading for the door.

"Just for the record, Im sorry Jade. I truly am. Most of us had no idea." Penguin said it a way so plaintively he could have almost mean it.

Jade slammed the door shut on her way out.

☠︎

Falcone's private room security is painfully understaffed. A single man, a whisp really, stands outside his office door.

"What's your name kid?"

Jade resents that.

"Jade Dawes."

"Really? Ya know that used to be a DA's name. Till we bumped him and his family off. You knew him?"

Jade really resents that.

"A little."

He gives her a look before searching through a clipboard, as if Falcone was a legitimate buissness man and not a Class-S Mob Boss. Jesus, she was already planning on killing the guy but he's just making it too easy.

"You got an appointment?"

"Yeah. Five years in the making."

"Wha-"

The silenced bullet goes cleanly through airheads brain. She wasn't really planning on killing him, but everyone else in the buildings dead, so she guesses due diligence won't hurt.

The door opens as millions of others close.

"Janessa. Pleasant surprise. Please do sit down." The man who says the name she hasn't heard in five years looks the same now as he did then. Falcone is still tall, and lean, and his voice still reminds her of beach houses in the summer, before her father had found out about his job and their lives had gone to hell.

"I'm not here to talk Uncle Carmine." She hopes the title comes off as mocking. From the way he reacts, it does. "You know what I'm here for."

Falcone stares at her for a few more seconds before he sighs deep and turns away from his windowed perch towards her.

"Will this" he gestures to her aimed gun with his bourbon "really accomplish what you want Janessa?"

"It doesn't matter what I want." She lies "Its what you deserve." He's far enough away so that she doesn't need to strain her head too much to see his face.

"We are the only ones left little one. Your family is long gone. So is my wife. Mario died Saturday night. If you were to do this, you would be all alone." He's taking languid steps her way, and with each one she feels smaller and younger.

"You killed my family Carmine." She sets her jaw in determination.

"And your family locked away mine, an eye for an eye my dear."

"You shot them right in front of me! You burnt their bodies in a pile! I can't even go near restaurants without -"

She cuts herself off, her voice beginning to shake.

"Piccola, that is why we must start over. Live a new life. Be like my daughter again. Don't you remember how it could be?"

Unbidden, memories of a lifetime ago crop up. She remembers sitting silently at the beach, just seven years old, watching as uncle Carmine taught her how to make a drip sand castle. She remembers thinking he was the greatest man she'd ever seen, right after her dad. Her heart sinks.

"That-that can't happen now. We're-it's-it's all too far gone." Falcone is right up in front of her now. She feels seven years old again next to his six foot three.

He sighs again, and places a hand on her shoulder. She thinks she might cry.

"Well then my dear, do you think we should get it all done with together? After all, what did you have planned for after you killed me?" He points his gun to her temple and her gun to his own.

Jade is silent. Her head is racing. She needs to decide.

Needless to say, she doesn't get to.

Glass shatters everyone, and Falcone is pushed out of her line of sight by something large and black. Upon further inspection she realizes it's Batman. If Jade was in any physical or emotional capacity to she would scream.

"Get away from her you slimy bastard!"

They tussle for a while, a second, a minute, an hour, forty days and forty nights? She can't tell. However eventually Falcone's gun is confiscated by the more powerful Batman and the former is left slumped on the floor, defeated.

"You should let her decide who to go with, Dark Knight." They must have had some important conversation about Jade's autonomy while she was out.

The Bat tenses again, starting at the hands and working up to his temple and then down again. It's strange, being able to see the Batman in full detail. She never got to catalog his responses to jabs or taunts. Yes, she's worked with Batman before, but at the time he was more concerned with Tori's stubborn demands to join then properly introducing himself to Jade. (The green beast whose name she refuses to say spins in her stomach at a very inconvenient time)

"Fine." The Batman spits out. "Jade, what do you want to do?" His voice is paradoxically soft and terse.

"How—how did you find me?" It's not what she meant to say, but it works. "Were-were you tracking me?!"

The responding silence should make her feel indignant, however she is also feeling very overwhelmed.

"He does that often piccola, no respect for personal privacy." Falcone makes no effort to move, slumped up against the wall. His arm is covering his stomach, he's bleeding.

"You stabbed him!" Jade's voice comes out more panicked then she wanted.

"Come here la mia piccola farfalla."

"Jade.." Batman says.

Jade ignores him.

"Zio.." her italian's a little rusty, but she seems to get the message across.

"Listen my little butterfly. We must move on from this." He places a calloused hand on her cheek. "My empire is all but collapsed now, thanks in part to you. Come with me, we can rebuild in Italy, or perhaps just live. You can find a good husband and settle down. I could finally have grandchildren. Please, let me be your Uncle again."

Jade is shaking like a leaf now and she prays she isn't going to cry. "I can't Zio, not after what you did."

Falcone sighs "Well, thats alright, I was going to die anyways."

Jade feels more than see's the knife slip out of his pocket. She acts on instinct, and before Batman can say anything there are three shots ringing out into the night.

Falcones hand goes limp, and falls to the floor.

Jade does the only thing she can do in this situation. She screams.

☠︎

Jade can't tell how long she screamed before she started to sob, but it must have been a long time, because she doesn't get her senses back until she's speeding down an avenue in the Batcar.

She thinks she remember him carrying her. Is she really that light now? She must be, she cant remember the last time she ate.

"Ah. You're awake. I'm getting you to your apartment, but I'm going to be stripping it out. All your identifying objects need to go, otherwise the gangs will track you."

Batman wont look at her, but she thinks he looks the tiredest she's ever seen him.

"Why?" she can't form anymore words than that. He seems to understand.

"With the stunt you've pulled over the last few days, the crime families will be worse than ever trying to fix themselves up, and they'll be aching for blood. So no more Vigilante work of any sort, no more crime, hell, don't go out without asking me first. I'll set up an allowance so you can quit your job, and I'll drop off some old clothes of the robins for you to wear. Jaguar and NightFawn are dead, you hear me?"

She sits silently, taking in the new information. She can't feel anything.

"Am I adopted?"

Batman laughs. "Not exactly." They pull up to her apartment complex's fire escapes. "You're almost home." He walks out of the drivers side and circles over to pick Jade up out of the passengers seat. She'd be embarrassed if she wasn't so empty.

"I don't have a home." She says. She's still crying, she doesn't know why.

"You will one day kid, you will."

#ooc #We are finally done baybe #Jade be like: i have a tragic tm backstory #left shoe rp #left shoe saga #gotham gcu rp #broken mask #gotham u rp #left shoe dc rp #gotham rp #left shoe gcu #left shoe gcu rp

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