#jordi gets to me in a completely different direction there's nothing personal about it i just find his story *fascinating*

[astranauticus]

stultifera navis rerun AKA thinking about Iberia hours again because a lot of the Iberians have such fascinating relationships with the concept of home but specifically Thorns and Lumen are eating at my brain. like where do you call home when the place that is your home Just Fucking Hates You? Elysium's rewinding breeze specifically makes a point to hammers home how differently Iberia treats its Liberi and its Aegir

(which is especially interesting since this comes right after a conversation where Purestream commented on how despite Leizi being a high ranking government official, there are still some experiences that are universal for all Yanese people - because the experience of what Iberia itself is like isnt universal for all Iberians)

But all that being said, Thorns also straight up states that Aegir is not his home, and yeah, how could it be? How could a place you've never been to, never truly known, ever be your home? How could it ever feel like a home?

so where do you go when the place that you are from hates your people and the place your people are from is completely unfamiliar and alien to you? Thorns' answer at the end of the conversation with Aya is: my home is where i chose it to be. my home is where there are people I care about and people who care about me

in the complete opposite direction, Lumen's oprec asks: why do you still stay in a place that wants you gone? because the people of Gran Faro like Jordi well enough but when push comes to shove, they will want the only Aegir in town gone

and yet, when Rald the messenger offers him a chance to leave Jordi turns him down and when he's forced to escape Gran Faro after the people there literally try to send him to his death (or worse) at the hands of the Inquisitors he keeps trying to go back because like everyone in stultifera navis, Jordi is clinging to his own dreams of a golden age

but the shape of that dream is unique to every character and for Jordi, his dreams are deeply, inseparably bound to the Eye of Iberia, the legacy his parents left behind

and it's this dream of becoming someone great, of bringing about that golden age that his parents devoted their lives to help create that ties Jordi to this nothing town because despite everything, despite the mistrust of the townsfolk and the hostility of the Inquisition and the danger from the ocean, he simply cannot leave it behind

(or, because i personally dislike the official translation,)

"I just see this place as my home"

so yeah. not sure what overall point i was trying to make here i'm just. deeply in love with these stories about chosing what is and isn't your home, of saying you will not call a place your home because it has given you no reason to or saying you consider a place your home even though it has given you every reason not to. deeply unwell about them <3

[angelz-dust]

masters of none (jason todd x reader)

summary: welcome to my jason x celebrity fic, based on this headcanon. pls enjoy. 

word count: 5.2k

warnings: gun mention. food mention. 

part 2

626 bedford avenue

baby let's have a conversation and god forbid we have a connection

...

"are you sure? i don't wanna leave your here alone," dex had said to you as he put his jacket on. the two of you were in the studio when he got a sudden invite to a party.

"i'll be fine. i just wanna finish this track tonight. or attempt to, i guess," you explained, spinning in your chair to face him. you watched as he used his wooden military brush to fix his waves. "everyone else is going so you should go."

"you should also go," he chuckled, shaking his head before sighing and pocketing the brush. "at least let me take you home now."

"i have to finish this, dex. seriously. just go," you told him, turning back around to face the monitor.

"fine, but i'm coming back when it's over and i'm taking you home. i don't care if you're not done or passed out on the couch," he told you firmly, grabbing his keys off the coffee table. "are you hungry? i can get you something to eat."

"i already ate."

you did not, but you weren't hungry. you were too invested in working to be hungry. you'd eat later when he picked you up.

"alright. make sure the doors are locked when i leave. you know where the gun is, right?" he asked and you lifted your arm up, giving him a thumbs up. you had your headphones back on and were about to focus on that again. he rolled his eyes before leaving, making sure the doors were locked himself.

your work in progress played loudly in your ears as you stared at the meticulously placed loops on the monitor. you didn't like hearing your own voice but you loved the rush of putting together the puzzle that was a song, so you let it go. you worked for hours, unmoving from your spot until you felt a familiar tingle make place in your temples. a hunger headache was coming on and staring at the monitor, probably without blinking, wasn't helping.

it was midnight and dex probably wouldn't get back until 2 or 3. you weren't sure if you'd last that long. there were snacks in the mini fridge that could tide you over but it wouldn't be satisfying. you stood up, your legs feeling like jelly from not being used for so long. your ass had gone numb, too.

you wobbled your way to the fridge of wonders, resting on it to balance yourself as you opened it. you were looking for the yogurt you had stashed in there but...

"fucking jordy," you breathed out, recalling how he had eaten it that morning before you both left for your video with gotham insider.

...

"hey, i'm jordy rivas."

"and i'm y/n l/n."

"we're here with gotham insider and we'll be answering your burning questions."

you had a bucket filled with slips of paper in your lap as you waited for the cue to start picking. you took in your surroundings, not being able to see much with the bright lights illuminating you from above and keep everyone else in the dark. sometimes you couldn't tell if you were on set or on an operating table. jordy, your group mate, noticed that you two had plenty of questions to answer as he peered into the bucket.

how you got here was still a blur. your rise to stardom alongside your friends felt so sudden, it was hard to believe. you didn't expect to have such a large following at this point, or ever. and you never thought you'd have a band of brothers and sisters who loved music as much as you did. it was like a dream come true. not only did you have them but you were able to expand your horizons musically. you were just a below average producer before but now you produced music of all genres at such a high caliber. hell, you even sang a little now.

being a celebrity was overwhelming at times, but you loved interacting with fans or the family, as you affectionately called them. you'd take a simple q&a or fan meet over an award show or social event any day.

"alright, go ahead and start," a staff member said from behind the camera and you stuck your hand in at the same time as jordy, both pulling out a slip.

"how did you guys come up with the name cloud 9?" jordy read from his slip.

"stockholm syndrome," you said simply, getting a little laugh from jordy and some staff before he spoke up to explain.

"we were unofficially going by seven heavens before y/n and dex came along. we had just dropped music under our own names before but we couldn't really do that if we were going to do a group album so we needed a name."

"we were just producing a song each for the album," you spoke up to clarify. "i decided to call our studio session 'on cloud nine' since it fit with the theme of the group and there were nine of us working together."

"then we realized y/n and dex were geniuses and we asked them to produce the whole album," jordy chimed in with a smile. "they had already put so much work into it, so we asked them to join the label and we dropped the album as cloud 9."

best decision i ever made, you thought to yourself, a smile playing on your lips. on cloud nine took ages to produce but the results were worth it. for you, it was more than the money and the charts. creating music was a labor of love and an extension of yourself. you helped create a piece of art that you loved and allowed others to love too. it was the greatest feeling in the world.

"next question is... how do you guys decide who collaborates on what and when you do it?" you read, shrugging your shoulders softly. "we just do it on a whim. covers, singles, eps, full albums, it doesn't matter. we still operate as a group but sometimes we wanna do our own separate projects. we're in charge of ourselves so we do what we want."

the rest of the questions were pretty tame, mostly asking about your music and your label mates. occasionally they got more personal, asking about your interests and families. you both answered with enthusiasm, joking around a little and keeping certain things private when you felt necessary or when you were contractually obligated to. can't go around spilling secrets about upcoming music and other projects.

you and jordy were actually working on an album but it hadn't been announced yet. that was why you two came together, as a way of hinting at it and getting ready for promotions to come. the album was nothing like what you both normally did in a lot of different ways. the sound, the aesthetic, all of it. it was an ambitious project and you were looking forward to seeing how it would be perceived.

you were just about done with the q&a, pulling out the last question from the bucket that jordy had then ceremoniously punted out of frame.

"who is your favorite vigilante? i don't know actually. i've never thought about it," you softly clicked your tongue with a pensive look.

"i like signal," jordy answered as you thought it over. "i saw him kick ass up close one time and he has a cool costume."

"i like nightwing's costume! uniform? whatever," you said with a confused shake of the head, not really sure what to call it. "the blue bird is cool. i personally enjoy the color blue, so he gets points for that. it's a sexy shade of blue."

that last part elicited some laughter from jordy. "is that some roundabout way of you saying nightwing turns you on?"

"it's a direct way of me saying i like the color blue," you corrected him. "but yeah, he looks like he'd be hot. it has no bearing on how i feel about the blue, though. two separate feelings."

"who else is there? you got batman and robin. red robin. uh..." jordy trailed off, trying to think.

"batgirl," you supplied, getting a nod from him. "orphan? right? and uh..."

"red hood!" jordy said with a smile. "that dude is cool as hell. i like his jacket."

"doesn't he shoot people?" the staff laughed again at your delivery of the question. clearly you were on a roll today.

"he doesn't have a hood, though," you realized, looking perplexed. "why is he red hood if he doesn't have a hood? why doesn't he just call himself... red helmet?"

"because that's fucking stupid," jordy said through his laugher, shoulder bouncing. that would have to be censored in post.

"he's fucking stupid."

that too.

the staff watched as the two of you managed to go off on this tangent that had nothing to do with the original question. one of the interns looked to the camera man, who looked equally intrigued and confused at where the conversation had gone. "do we... stop them? we're going over on time."

the camera man shrugged and the manager shook her head. "god, no. do not stop them. this is gold."

"he doesn't need a hood, y/n. it's just a name. nightwing doesn't have wings," he reminded you and you rolled your eyes, a subtle pout on your lips.

"yeah but the bird does. it's still on brand. just like batman. and robin. and red robin. and signal. and batgirl," you listed matter of factly.

"what about orphan? is she an orphan?" jordy asked you with attitude.

"probably, bitch. why else would she call herself that?" you said, the both of you riled up now, hence all the sudden cursing. you two kept it (mostly) clean up until this point. "red hood is the only one off brand."

"why are you being a hater right now?" jordy asked with lopsided grimace and you rolled your eyes. "you completely derailed the conversation."

"oh, i'm sorry. i didn't realize you were on his payroll."

"red hood doesn't need payola. he's cool by himself."

"why are you dick sucking red hood?"

"don't ever say that shit again," jordy said immediately, almost cutting you off at the end of your question.

he crossed his arms, looking annoyed as you looked into the camera with a blank expression. you were trying to fight it, but a tight lipped smile appeared on your face, making you look down and scratch the tip your nose lightly with your nail. then your ear. then back down to the side of your neck. your body shook with silent laughter when you glanced at him.

"i'm sorry," you said convincingly after having collected yourself in record time, just barely getting cut off by jordy again.

"no you're not."

"no i'm not," you shook your head, your facade dropping as quickly as it was put on. "you still haven't answered the-"

"i hope red hood shoots you," he told you seriously, giving you a blank look. your jaw dropped, a surprised noise that almost sounded like laughter came out of your mouth as you looked back at the camera. you knew that he was just playing around but it didn't change the fact that it outrageously juvenile.

it was silent. you and jordy knew this was just friendly bickering but the staff weren't too sure. you rubbed the inside of your cheek with your tongue, slowly dragging it over your teeth as you contemplated his words.

red hood wouldn't actually shoot you. right? he's a bit more morally gray from what you've heard about him but he wouldn't just shoot somebody for making a joke, would he? that seemed kind of ridiculous. overkill, if you will.

your eyes darted between jordy and the camera. back at him. then the camera. jordy again. your head jerked a little in his direction before fully turning to look at him.

"do you think he'd actually shoot me?" you asked quietly, looking at him with a smile on your face as your expressions quickly mirrored each other.

"i would," he told you and you laughed, looking at the camera again.

"mr. red hood, if you're watching his, m-my bad bro," you stuttered through yours and jordy's laughter. "i was just talking shit. please don't shoot me. i-if you don't i'll uh... i'll be your bard!"

"what the fuck?" jordy cried out, hiding his face in his hands as he laughed harder.

"i will write and sing about your adventures and conquests," you pleaded with the man who definitely wasn't going to see. you made a heart by lifting your arms up and having your fingers meet at the top of your head. it was really a waste of time in hindsight but you had to cover your bases just in case he did see it. getting shot was not on your bucket list. "please don't shoot me. seriously. i didn't meant it."

"that's all the questions we had," jordy's voice was pitchy from all the laughing. "i'm jordy."

"and i'm y/n," you smiled, doing a little dance as you stayed in your heart position before waving with jordy. "byeeee!"

...

you weren't entirely sure how long you had been standing there with the door open, letting all the cold air out of the fridge. you assumed it was too long since your nipples felt hard as rocks now, which only added a layer to how uncomfortable you felt. your stomach was touching your back at this point and that headache wasn't going anywhere. and now your nipples felt like they were going to fall off. you were pretty sure exhaustion was going to start claiming on you, too.

killing yourself seemed to be the only option and what you were thinking of doing was practically suicide. you wanted to go walk to the corner store that had the yogurt. your craving was too strong. you needed it and waiting for dex was not an option. there was nothing of substance in the fridge anyway. just drinks and snacks that weren't yours to eat.

a normal person could probably do it and not die. but you were in gotham and you were convinced that the moment you opened the door killer croc or one of the penguin's goons would be waiting for you.

taking the gun would be the smart thing to do but you didn't feel comfortable walking around with it. the feeling of cold steel against your skin was unsettling and the chance of it going off on you was even scarier. yes, you would have the safety on, but that wasn't enough to ease your mind. it felt like walking around with a bomb strapped to your chest. you didn't even wanna think about it dropping it or something while you were in the store. you were sure the ock wouldn't like that.

you grabbed your keys, slipping the wristband on. you had a little card holder and pepper spray hanging off the key ring. you also had a small switchblade for all your stabbing needs. you hadn't used it for murderous intent yet and you wanted to keep it that way.

i'll have red hood put me out of my misery, you thought morbidly to yourself. maybe jordy wishing death on you this morning was a blessing in disguise because you were progressively feeling more like shit with each passing moment.

you braced yourself for the crisp nighttime air and the dangers lurking around every corner before opening the door. it was dark, as expected. you had your hands stuffed in the pockets of your sweatpants. your right hand rested right on top of your phone carefully stashed away in the black polyester pocket.

your sense of direction was, to put it lightly, dog shit, and the pitch blackness of night wasn't helping. you had your airpods in with the gps telling you where to go. if it had a mind of its own, it would probably be judging you for needing to locate a building that was 5 minutes away. nevertheless, hearing the robo voice in your ears was oddly comforting.

the walk there wasn't that bad once you got to the area with all the traffic, illuminated with fluorescent lighting from the surrounding stores. it was the first time you felt comfortable under blinding white light.

you walked into the store quietly, beelining for the cold food section. you grabbed hot fries and sour skittles on your way over for dex, wanting to soften the blow for when you told him you left the studio by yourself. you spotted the salted caramel flavor through the condensation on the glass and you could already taste the creamy treat on your tongue. you smiled to yourself, grabbing the handle to the door when you heard the automatic door to the store open, accompanied by a chime.

"hey, man, what's going on?" you heard the voice of the cashier from behind you. you grabbed your yogurt and turned around, freezing in place when you saw who had entered.

red hood!

you could hear jordy's enthusiastic voice from this morning bounce around in your head like a pinball. the man you had been talking shit about earlier was right in front of you. jesus christ, was he there for you? how did he even find you? the video hadn't even dropped yet!

he must have felt your intense gaze burning a hole in the side of his head because he turned to face you. thankfully, you slid to the side, hiding behind the chips. he knew you were there and that you had been staring at him, even though he didn't catch you in the act. you attempting to hide yourself behind the buy two, get one free mini chip bags was slightly suspicious, but to be fair, he did just walk into a public place as red hood, so he let it go. turning back to salim, the cashier, he grabbed the bag of m&m's he had slid him.

he always paid for the things he picked out when he came to the store, but salim always gave him m&m's for free. red hood kept his store and community safe, so in salim's eyes, giving him candy that only cost a dollar anyway was nothing.

you started grabbing some other snacks, slowly weaving through the aisles as to not cause alarm to the huge man standing not to far from you. you knew he was big but fuck. he was built like a freight train. probably hit like one, too.

"anyone give you trouble tonight?" you heard a voice, his voice. it was distorted behind that mask... helmet... thing. it sounded robotic. was he actually a robot? like cyborg or something?

"nah, it's been quiet tonight," salim shook his head as the vigilante grabbed a little bag of cookies from the shelf behind him, setting it on the counter before asking for a carton of cigarettes. "i heard that jewelry store on bedford ave got hit though."

bedford avenue? your studio was on bedford avenue, tucked away from the main street. the store wasn't too far from it, either. you must have been so wrapped up in working that you didn't hear the commotion because it was definitely close enough for you to hear it.

"just came from there," the vigilante informed him, his robotic voice being both intriguing and off putting to you. he walked back over with the warm cup of liquid in his gloved hand, setting it on the counter next to the cookies.

must have just missed it then, you thought to yourself, if he just came from over there. lucky me.

"you alright, honey?" salim called out to you with familiar affection. he always treated everyone who came to his store with respect and like family. he was always very sweet to you and he felt a sense of pride knowing that he had both celebrities and vigilantes frequenting his store.

"don't tell me you're trying to rob me," he added on at the end, getting the attention of red hood. he wasn't sure if salim was being serious or not. it would confirm his suspicions about your weird behavior from earlier. it would be kind of ballsy to try something while he was standing there, though.

"uh... yeah. this is a stick up. give me everything you got," you said lamely, standing on your toes to peek at him over the shelf.

salim's rich laughter filled the store and he shook his head. "just checking," he said before redirecting his attention to red hood, who loosened up when he realized it was just banter between friends.

you realized the longer you spent in the store, the later it would get. you waddled your way over to the counter with your snacks in your arms a comfortable distance away from red hood, who set cash on the counter. he looked over at you again, making you shrink under his gaze. he was essentially faceless, which was a little unsettling, to say the least. he turned away, grabbing his things and moving out of your way.

you put all of your snacks on the counter, trying to ignore the man's presence. he wasn't doing anything but being intimidating.

"you here by yourself, honey?" concern laced salim's words as he rung up your snacks. "it's a little late, isn't it?"

"oh, uh, yeah," you nodded, pulling your card out to pay. "everyone else is at a party in maywood."

as red hood was walking out, his brow furrowed when he heard what you were talking about. maywood was where all the big social events took place. he had been out there a few times with bruce. not anyone could go to a party out there so...

"ah, one of those celebrity parties you all go to, huh?" salim grinned, giving you your bag of goodies. he still felt unsure about you being by yourself, though. "hey, red! you should walk her back home."

he was almost out the door when he heard salim call out to him. he turned, looking at the both of you. you felt awkward looking at him and you quickly shook your head.

"no, no, it's fine. the studio isn't far," you told him and salim firmly shook his head in protest.

"it's late. you shouldn't have even walked here to begin with," he scolded you a little. it was just out of concern, of course. "she's a big time celebrity, you know."

you frowned at salim's description of you. not being able to read red hood's expressions to gauge how he felt about this whole thing was frustrating, too. he was probably glaring daggers at you.

"i can take you," the robotic voice said. normally he wouldn't be escorting civilians around but he was done for the night and if you really weren't that far, it wouldn't kill him to walk you back to wherever you were headed. he was in a good mood, even if it didn't appear that way.

"see? let the man take you back," salim pushed and you complied, giving him a little nod. "you two stay safe out there! i don't need my favorite customers getting hurt."

you waved goodbye to salim, turning to see that red hood had already started walking off. you quickly shuffled your way out to follow behind him.

"where are we going?" he asked, not even giving you a glance as you both stood on the sidewalk.

"bedford," you said quietly and he turned to face you, his look of disbelief hidden under the mask. why the hell would you leave? you had to have left while the heist was still going on. no wonder salim asked him to take you home. clearly you had a death wish.

"lead the way," he said to you, trailing behind you as you listened to the gps tell you where to go. you hoped he didn't have supersonic hearing or something, because needing to use the gps was still kind of embarrassing.

you two walked in silence, the sound of your plastic bags and the ambient city noises being the only sounds ringing in your ears. you felt a little safer having red hood as your temporary bodyguard but you'd rather risk dying to avoid the awkward silence.

"so big time celebrity," red hood spoke up, startling you a little. you almost thought it was the gps talking to you. "what do you do?"

he knew you were feeling awkward and probably afraid walking with him. he wasn't trying to scare you, though. he figured talking to you would ease the tension a little.

"oh, uh... music," you said simply.

what a dry response. were you expecting him to carry the whole conversation? because he wasn't.

"why are you out here and not in maywood?" he asked, carrying the conversation anyway.

"the studio is here so i'm here."

"so you're working?"

"yeah."

you were not fun to talk to. he wasn't going to hold it against you though. he himself probably didn't come off as a guy who wanted to talk.

"do you shoot just anyone?" you asked suddenly.

well that was one hell of an icebreaker. did he just shoot anyone? where the hell did that come from? were you that afraid of him?

"no," he said, hoping you couldn't hear his smile in his words. it was such an odd question to ask. "why? you think i'm gonna shoot you or something?"

"are you?" you asked panicked, whipping around to face him.

he put his hands up in mock surrender, letting out a laugh this time. "relax. you haven't given me a reason to want to shoot you. or have you?"

"i hope not," you said honestly, turning back around to continue walking.

"i'm not going to shoot some innocent girl, let alone a famous one. it's a bad look," he explained to you, hoping the humor behind his voice would make you relax a little.

"why don't you wear a hood?" your line of questioning continued. "you're red hood but you don't wear a hood."

"why do you keep asking ridiculous questions?" he asked rhetorically before answering your question anyway. "a hood doesn't protect the face."

well, that made sense, actually. it looked like that helmet thing he wore was made of metal or something. much better protection than cotton. it was still off brand but you could respect it.

"what the hell are you wearing?" the man had exclaimed suddenly, making you furrow your brows and look back at him. his gaze was down at your feet. "how did i not notice those before?"

"clearly that stupid helmet obstructs your vision," you pouted, looking down at the cute bunnies that sat on the strip of your pink slides. "they're my slides."

"they're hideous," he told you seriously and you scoffed.

what an asshole. how dare he insult your babies like that? they were minding their fucking business, chilling on your feet. they didn't asked to be attacked like this.

"you're hideous," you retorted childishly. "my bunnies are cute, thank you very much."

"how am i hideous? you can't even see me," he reminded you, tapping on his helmet.

"your outfit is hideous. you look like... i don't know. ugly. your face is probably ugly, too," you huffed, crossing your arms.

you wished you could go back in time and not apologize for insulting him earlier. he deserved it.

"you wound me," he said sarcastically, placing a hand over his heart. "how will i recover?"

"give me your gun and let's find out," you said, holding out your hand jokingly before getting it swatted away by his.

okay, fine. he wasn't that bad. you were actually kind of enjoying the conversation and so was he.

"arrived," you heard in your ears, looking up and seeing the studio right before your eyes.

you had been so wrapped up in bantering with him that you forgot what you were doing in the first place: going back to the studio. you almost felt disappointed that you were about to go your separate ways. you had just gotten comfortable.

"this is the place," you said, gesturing up to the building. "thank you for walking me here."

"try to keep your late night excursions to a minimum."

and with that, he used his grappling hook and disappeared into the shadows of the night. creepy. kinda cool but mostly creepy.

you walked around back to the side door, letting yourself back into the studio and locking up immediately afterwards. another successful snack run. now all you had to do was wait for dex to get back.

...

it had been about two weeks since your encounter with the vigilante. jason had long forgotten about it. he had been at the manor, lingering around after a meeting in the cave with bruce and his brothers. he didn't like sticking around once business was taken care of but alfred offered to make him chili dogs. it was a calculated move to get him to stick around and it worked.

tim was lounging on the arm chair while dick and damian were both seated on the couch. jason stood off to the side, directing his attention to the television that sat above the fireplace. tim had been watching youtube videos all day and stumbled across a gotham insider q&a that had a clickbait-y title about vigilantes. naturally, he was intrigued and wanted to watch it with the rest of them.

"what am i looking at?" he asked, taking a bite of his chili dog.

"something hilarious. i've been waiting to show you guys all day," tim explained, grabbing the remote.

"i hope this isn't something juvenile, drake," damian chimed, resting his body against the arm of the couch.

"or gross," dick co-signed with a grimace. "we just ate."

"just shut up and watch," he sighed, unpausing the video.

jason felt a little tingle in the back of his mind at your face was on the screen. you looked familiar. he silently watched as you and jordy discussed your feelings about vigilantes. dick snorted when he heard your comment about nightwing. tim began to snicker in anticipating for the main event: the red hood argument.

as jason watched, everything made sense. you were that weird girl he walked home. that was why you asked him those stupid questions. he was a little annoyed at you calling him stupid and off brand but he had to admit the segment was funny. especially the part at the end where you were begging him not to shoot you. you seemed so much more relaxed and naturally funny than you did when he was with you that night. it almost gave him whiplash.

"you should shoot her. for good measure," damian told jason once the clip ended, making the older boy roll his eyes.

"nah. i can't shoot my bard," he smiled, making dick smile too. he had expected jason to be all grumpy about getting talked about but he seemed to be taking it fairly well. tim was kinda disappointed that jason didn't seem more bothered by it. he wanted to tease him a little.

"i think red hood payola is probably the funniest thing i've heard in awhile," dick said, laughing along with tim. even damian cracked a little smile.

jason walked back to the kitchen, recalling that night he ran into you now that he had seen the video, finally understanding why you were acting so strange.

his bard, huh? cute...

[bestsportmedia]

Lionel Messi talks FC Barcelona and more in exclusive Interview with Jordi Évole : Part 2

Elvole: What the shirt mean to you

Messi: I feel everything for this shirt. Barça is my life. I have been here since I was 13 years old, I have lived more in Barcelona than in Argentina and the club gave me everything as a person. I have a love relationship for what I have lived since I arrived here. My children were born here too.

Messi: As athletes, I admire many. Rafa Nadal, Federer, LeBron ... in all sports there are admirable athletes for their work. Cristiano in football too

Evole: With games being played twice a week now, do you feel your being exploited by the likes of LaLiga, UEFA or FIFA?

Messi: I understand that TV deals need to be adhered to but feel there is not that much consideration for the well-being of the players

Evole: Where did you get that old Newell's shirt that you wore as a tribute ? Messi: It was a old gift from the club..... I felt it was the right time to bring it out and pay my respect for Diego. Evole: Maradona showed his colors politically.... you've never been tempted to express yourself politically ? Messi:  No, this is something I feel better to keep to myself. I'm a football player and although I have my views, I feel it better to keep this personal. Politics became something rare for people. More than political parties they look like football teams. People fight for them. But I want the best for my country, that the people who have less can have things. But I don't I have no particular political definition. I just want them to move the country forward, without stealing or doing strange things. Evole: There were those who doubted your love for the club at the time... Messi: Yes, that bothered me ... I felt I'd completed a cycle and it was time to leave the club that had given me so much. I wanted to win titles and battle for the Champions League and felt it was time for change. The president then started to filter this and that to paint a negative picture of me.

Messi: It was far from easy for me to say I wanted to leave the club and the city....the family wanted to stay here, this is their home but I genuinely felt it was time to go. Luis Suarez's departure had nothing to do with the decision but I felt it was crazy the way his exit was handled and that Barcelona let him go to a direct rival.

Evole: How did you feel betrayed by Bartomeu?

Messi: I'd rather not comment on this now...it will come out in the future but there were plenty of things...

Evole: Were you advised by your legal team to stay?

Messi: No, although talking to them, they even conveyed the idea that we'd win a legal battle, but that was the last thing I wanted.

Evole: Referring to the tax issues that Messi experienced... do you feel that fans forgive everything ...

Messi: No, at some point they will fail to stand by you depending on the situation

Evole: Why do you always claim that Pep was the best coach you worked under?

Messi: His way of preparing games was exceptional and his way and the way of working that Luis Enrique empoued too was excellent .... I was fortunate to work with both men. 

Evole: Do you feel there is direction with Barcelona under Koeman?

Messi: Yes, it's difficult for him as we're in transition .... there are new players and young talent coming through so it's difficult too.

Evole: Are you a Barcelona club member ?

Messi: I am but not sure if I'll vote in the forthcoming presidential elections. Whoever comes in will find the club in a tricky state and will have to work hard to put the club back where it was. As yet none of the candidates have called me.

Evole: I find it strange that none of them have called you. Would you be prepared to stay if Xavi is brought in as coach or Neymar as a player?

Messi: Let's wait and see what happens and I'll make my mind up in the summer. The club are going through a tough period financially so it will be complicated to bring Neymar in.

Evole: Do you  have a Whatsapp group with Suarez and Neymar?

Messi: Neymar should be asked why he said we were going to play together. Yes, we speak a great deal and I speak to Luis every day. Last time I spoke to Neymar was after the UCL Round of 16 draw. I did not want to face him now.

Evole: Who do you get on with best in the dressing room? How do you get on with Griezmann?

Messi: My relationship with Griezmann is good. I never did everything that was said, that I did not want his signing. There is no problem with him, we even have mate together sometimes

Evole: You will be a free agent in a matter of days. Will you start to talk to clubs next week?

Messi: No, far from it, that would go against what I'm saying .... my plan is to all I can for the club at the moment. I have nothing clear until the end of the year. Now I only think about finishing the season and winning titles,

Evole offers Messi travel guides to Manchester and Paris

Messi :no, you hang on to them

Messi: I would like to play in the United States and experience life and the league there.... but ultimately come back to Barcelona in some capacity. I'm not thinking too far ahead in the short term and just want to see how the season finishes.  I know there are a lot of Barça people who still love me, but I'm going to do my best for the club and for myself. Besides, I want to live in Barcelona and be in the club in some way when I retire.

Evole: Do you feel if the Camp Nou was packed and you had fans chanting "Messi, Messi" week in, week out, then things would be different?

Messi: Possibly... I'm happier now and it took some time ...even with the new players coming in, that all takes time to build.

Evole: You'll notice that I didn't bring a Madrid travel guide.... that's not going to happen? Not even Atleti?

Messi: No, that won't happen....neither option.....

Evole: What will you do when you cease to be 'Lionel Messi, best player in the world'?

Messi: No idea.... something related to football but I don't see myself as a coach, maybe a sporting director. We'll have to see.

Evole: Things will end in a fairy tale ending if you decide to stay with Barcelona?

Messi: That's true, all my life in this city ...good and bad times and we'll just have to wait and see how things work out. It's a love story from a very young age with the club and the city. Either way, everything that my career meant should not be stained.

To the fans: "I don't know if I'm going to leave, but if I did, I would like to leave in the best way possible and be able to return to the club in the future. Barcelona is much bigger than any player. 

Evole: you cease to be 'Lionel Messi, best player in the world'?

Messi: No idea.... something related to football but I don't see myself as a coach, maybe a sporting director. We'll have to see.

Evole: I'd like to be able to hug you Leo but that's complicated with the pandemic.

Messi: Yes, I hope for better things in 2021, this has been a shitty year so let's see what next year brings. Many thanks for the interview and I wish you well for the year ahead.

[shianhygge-imagines]

In The Name Of Love [Wrench/Reader] Part 2

Well... You guys wanted it... so here... Enjoy the various emotions this will illicit! This gif is relevant to the end of the chapter. And gotta warn ya, there’s a bit of some NSFW imagery in the chapter... and I... I feel disgusted with myself typing it... but it’s essential to narrative because you all need to feel the hate that I’ve decided to instill into the narrative. Yes. 

edit 1: Disgusted with Lydia/Wrench. that is what I meant.

|Masterlist|

In the Name of Love:     Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4

Would you let me lead you even when you’re blind?

In the darkness, in the middle of the night

~~~~~

After your plane landed, you hurried through the airport once again, dragging your carry-on behind, face stern and urgent, and nobody dared stop you. You heart was beating fast, and you had every different type of plan for several different scenarios in your head. You were going to tell everyone in DedSec about Lydia. And there could only be a few outcomes:

Wrench would get angry at you as well as the others.

Wrench would get angry at you but not the others.

Nobody would get angry at you.

The first scenario had the highest percentage of occurring. You had to face it, the odds were stacked against you, especially if Lydia’s been flashing her body at people in the Hackerspace and being friendly. Your face darkened as you picked up your Tesla from the parking lot and drove it out towards the highway.

You suppose that Lydia was playing the long game. Luring a target, or in this case, a group of targets, into a false sense of security, and then striking to eliminate as many individuals at once as possible. There was no doubt in your mind that you were on her list of targets, and what with your ex-boyfriend’s big mouth sometimes, you guessed that Lydia probably already knew who you were. And if you suddenly arrived at the Hackerspace spouting out your suspicions, you’d make yourself the priority target. And when that happens…

Eyes still on the road, you took out your phone and dialed an untraceable number. When the person on the other line picked up, you only needed to say one thing, “So, I’m calling in that favor, Jordi.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

You pulled up into the driveway behind the Hackerspace with bated breath. You had around ten plans in place just in case any of the predicted outcomes should happen. They were all insurance plans of sort, each with varying degrees of loss to you personally. But all their end goals were to prevent the deaths of the other DedSec members and to prosecute Lydia of her crimes.

Taking a deep breath, you got out of your car and punched in the code to the garage. But once you walked into the workshop, you heard a deep moan, and promptly turned to the left, a look of disgust on your face at what you saw.

You’d long since gotten used to the sight of Wrench’s bare ass. You’d long since memorized the very sight of him naked before you. The sight of him above, sweaty, and hilt deep within you, breathing heavy with each thrust into your aching core. The sight of him below you, hypnotized, enraptured, scared to let out those beautiful sounds as his blue green eyes watched as you rode him to completion.

But never in your life did you think that you would have to ever witness him with another. It was a hot brand on your mind, tainting, and spurring intense emotion within. They were on your cuddle spot. The spot, the structure, where you often spent your time cuddling Wrench when you were together. A structure which you had built out of love for the man. But now it supported the passions of a man who you still loved, and the woman who plotted to kill you all.

And as they continued to pant, somehow out of rhythm in their gyrating, you could only scowl and slam your hand onto the giant red button that closed the garage doors and plod towards the doors located on the opposite of the room. Kicking the doors open, you could vaguely hear that woman ask Wrench, “Who the hell was that?”

I will not shoot her. I will not shoot her. I will NOT SHOOT THAT FUCKING CUNT. You thought, storms reflected in your eyes. Storms that Marcus saw and backed away from. Storms that drew Ray towards your side. Storms that Sitara and Josh didn’t know how to define. The first statement out of your mouth after your long absence was, “We need to talk.”

“Uhh… I don’t know if you realized, but not everyone is here, Y/N.” Sitara pointed towards the garage doors.

In hindsight, it was rather short tempered of you, but there was an all consuming rage within you. Resentment for the position you were placed in and betrayal. Betrayal of the heart and betrayal of a friend. “I KNOW THAT EVERYONE ISN’T HERE, SITARA.” You’d never yelled at anyone in DedSec before, and your outburst left everyone in the room wide-eyed. A loud moan resounded from the other room, and you could feel your expression more than the others could see it. The angry flare of your nostrils, the deep intake of breath, the rising hairs on the back of your neck, the shudder through your body as your grab the hidden knife in your workdesk and throw it with extreme precision and strength at the garage door, the blade being buried to the hilt. “I SAID, ‘WE NEED TO TALK.’ As in, EVERYONE!”

“Y-Y/N… relax.” Marcus attempted to soothe you, his hands raised, “What’s got you worked up?”

“My problem?” Your eyes squinted into small slits. “My problem, is that Horatio’s dead. And all of you guys are floundering around! And WHEN THE FUCK was it our policy to let anyone that wasn’t one of us into this place!?” It came out as a snarl once the two horndogs in the other room finally joined you guys. “Ooh Welcome to the party lovebirds! Did ya have fun shagging the daylights out of each other? Oh! Of course you did. ‘Could fucking hear from in here.” You gestured for them to stay away from you, “Please stand a respectable distance away from me. Don’t want any of your bodily fluids near me.”

“What the FUCK is your PROBLEM, Y/N?” Wrench yelled, pulling Lydia to stand behind him. Oh. Now you’ve gone and pissed the poor boy off.

“My problem?” You wondered softly, then started to pace the room aggressively, “My problem is that Horatio’s dead and none of you bothered to find out why he was killed!”

Wrench folded his arms, mask displaying an angry face. “The Tezcas did it. And we took care of them.”

You continued your pacing, “That’s a how, not a why.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” You heard Sitara scream, halting your pace to a sudden stop.

“Oh… there’s nothing wrong with me.” You mumbled, head tilted up and biting down on your thumb in thought. And then you pointed at Lydia, not bothering to face in the woman’s direction. “But there’s something wrong with her.”

You could heard the gasps of outrage, “What? Me? Wrench, baby, are you going to let them talk to me like that?”

“What the fuck, Y/N! I thought we were cool with this!”

You didn’t acknowledge Lydia. There wasn’t any point. The little cunt was trying to make Wrench do all the work. So by jov, you would make Wrench do all the work. Your head turned to stare at his mask directly, “Oh. I was cool with it. Was cool when you started losing interest in me. Was cool when you started cheating on me. Was even cool when I broke up with you to let you date her. The minute I wasn’t cool with this.” You motioned ‘this’ with a circular movement of your hands, “Was when she plot Horatio’s murder.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? How dare you accuse me, you bitch!” Lydia insulted with a shrill crack of the voice, looking very convincing in her outrage. And in your quick glance towards her, you noticed that her top was extremely low cut, furthering your distaste.

“What? Are you kidding me, Y/N!” Sitara was the first to speak up, standing up for Lydia like the big sister figure that she always was. “There’s nothing on her! She’s an innocent! She doesn’t know anyone from Tezca!”

“Yeah! She’s got no connection with Blume, either!” Marcus jumped in, defending his best friend’s girlfriend. “You can’t just throw accusations around!”

“She’s working for Blume even now! I did the hacking!” You insisted, outraged that everyone was taking the deceiver’s side.

“Actually, she’s an ex-Blume employee.” you heard Josh pipe up, and you had hope. “But she was a low ranked employee. She couldn’t have any power.” And your hopes were shattered.

“You, too, Josh?” You demanded weakly before turning towards Ray, “Ray?” Nothing left your friend’s mouth. “I’m not wrong!” You insisted, turning in place to look at everyone. “She’s plotting against us!”

“You know what, Y/N?” Wrench stalked over towards you, standing in your face as he yelled, “I’m sick and tired of you trying to take away my happiness! Why can’t you stop being a jealous bitch about everything? Huh? Now you’ve resorted to making up lies about Lydia? MY GIRLFRIEND? And making up shit about Horatio’s death? HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!” He shoved you into your workdesk. “I FUCKING KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING OFF ABOUT YOU! AND NOW WE ALL KNOW! YOU’RE SCUM!”

Angry and betrayed, you shoved Wrench back with everything you had, “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!” Your former friend fell to the floor and you sprinted out of the Hackerspace, through the garage and towards your car. A shot rang out and suddenly there was a dent in your car. Getting in, you quickly drove away from your former friends and towards your apartment.

Once there, you backed up all your files into a portable drive and shoved it into a dufflebag along with some extra clothes and some guns before deleting everything in your computer and hiding all your handwritten schematics in between the sheets of your mattress. Your meeting with the team had gone as well as you had predicted, but it had gone as planned. You’d successfully painted a target on your back.

So, after shoving the dufflebag under your bed, you waited.

And like you’d predicted, at around 2am, the doors to your apartment smashed open and two people ran in. You stood, gun drawn and started firing at the larger of the two individuals, hitting the person legs twice to make them bow, and another two shots were fired into the man’s lower torso. But you didn’t have time to do much else, when the smaller of your attackers came at you with a large machete knife, and you were forced to duck, attempting to maneuver your way around the room to avoid the slashes.

It was a dance in a way, you trying to get away from the knife while reloading the gun. But like most untrained dancers, you tripped and fell. You had been too busy looking out for the blade, that you’d forgotten about the larger man with the gun. It started off with a loud bang, and then the pain as you fell backwards in the bedroom. Then, your bladed assaulter was on top of you, and the blade went down, and you screamed, looking at the stump that was once your left arm.

And then the one on top of you giggled, pulling her mask off to reveal the person you’d suspected all along. “Ohh. Don’t want to move around too much, Y/N. It might just be,” the machete descended again, stabbing into your stomach, and you screamed, “agony.” You started to flail, not caring about the blade sticking out of you. “Now, now, calm down. We want this to be quick and painless, right?”

Your eyes narrowed as you continued to flail, determined to make this bitch pay. But then your foot came into contact with bedside table, where you had placed a lit candle. When you kicked it, the candle had fallen onto your bed. And soon, the room was engulfed into fire.

Lydia sneered above you and twisted the machete, drawing out more screams from your body. “Now look what you’ve done. Fine. Die slowly.” Your attackers withdrew, but before leaving, Lydia directed a wicked grin at you, “I’ll take very good care of Wrench.” she blew you a kiss, “Don’t worry. You’ll be seeing him again soon. I promise.”

Your vision started to swim from the smoke, but you had enough sight to pull out the machete with a scream, throwing the blade to the side, and making a beeline towards the burning bed, pulling out the dufflebag from under it and limping towards the window with the fire escape. From there, you waited, struggled for breath until you blacked out with one name on your mind.

Wrench

~~~~~

In the silence, when there’s no one by your side

Would you call in the name of love?

~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-fi!

[horror-movie-blog]

HMB: Creepshow 1 & 2 AND Tales From the Dark Side

Original Publishing Date: May 22nd, 2015 

So let's talk about horror anthology series. Whether it be mature like Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories, for children, like Goosebumps or Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, or even movies like the two we'll talk about today, there's just something so likable about a bundle of cheesy, campy horror movies. You're either going to get something absolutely terrible or something pure genius. So let's talk about two, or rather three, movies that fit this description, Creepshow 1 & 2, and Tales from the Darkside Movie. Tales from the Darkside was a horror anthology series like the examples I listed above. The reason why I'm talking about this movie along with the Creepshow francise is because many fans consider it the unofficial third installment. George A. Romero and Stephen King, the writer and director of the Creepshow series, had involvement in this movie when King's book Cat from Hell was turned into one of the shorts, and it was directed by Romero. So why the hell not include it? When am I ever going to talk about this movie again? So let's take a look at all the shorts from this movie series, starting with the first Creepshow movie, with the short, "Father's Day". It sucks. Plain and simple. It's just about some old fart who wants a birthday cake. He comes back to life and he kills a bunch of people, and places a woman's head on a birthday cake. Stephen King... the master of horror... sigh. The next skit is "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill". A hill-billy played by King himself, find a meteorite that seems to grow some strange alien plants. The plants take over his home and Verrill kills himself. Again... Stephen King, the master of horror. I'll admit it was fun seeing King act so silly in this short, but it doesn't distract from the lazy story. The third skit is where things get interesting. "Something to Tide you Over", which sounds stupid, is actually my favorite in the movie. Leslie Nelson, a man known mostly for parody, plays a rather sinister man who buries his wife and her lover neck deep in sand and leaves them to be drowned by the coming tides. Holy shit is that a scary concept, I mean, can you think of anything more scary then waiting to be slowly drowned. To make things even more creepy Nelson is watching them as they drown. The next one is probably the longest of the movie but it's okay, not as good as the third but better than one or two. It's called "The Crate", a man in a miserable marriage gets a create, and inside the create is a murderous Yeti. The man hatches a plan to try to get his wife to look inside the create. The majority of the short is just build up to the woman's destined death, and boy is it suspenseful. It's long, but it works. And finally we end on a weak note, "They're Creeping Up on You". A germophobe's house gets invaded by cockroaches. That's it. But it's okay, because he's a jerk! Stephen King, the master of... You know what, I've been picking on King too much. This was a great movie, I don't care if half of them were crap, for me, the middle two was enough for a watch. Okay, now let's move onto Creepshow 2. Keep in mind, King and Romero had nothing to do with this, although Romero did write. Instead of five skits, it's three. The first one is called Old Chief Wood'nhead. A giant wooden indian comes to life and kills a bunch of teens, but it's okay, because those teens killed an elderly couple. Make sure to throw in a naked lady to get that R rating, then pat yourself on the shoulder movie, you're a mature movie! Yeah, this skit sucks. The next one is called "The Raft". Side fact, there's a show called Lost Tapes on Animal Planet that completely stole this concept. Sadly I saw that first so the chills and suspense that came from this concept was gone when I saw this particular one. Although to be fair, Lost Tapes used an actual scary monster rather then what this movie used; a blob like piece of garbage. The plot centers around teens trapped on a raft in the middle of a lake. A blob monster circles around the raft so there's no way to escape. The teen are picked off one by one until one boy has the balls to swim to shore. This was a very suspenseful idea and is probably the best in the movie, too bad Lost Tapes ruined it. Lastly we have Hitch-hiker. A woman has an affair with her husband, and while driving home she strikes and kills a homeless man trying to Hitch-hike. She drives away but the man comes back as a zombie, only he doesn't seem to be attacking her, he just constantly says "Thanks for the ride, lady". That's it. The woman constantly tries to get away from the zombie, but it keeps poping up to say, "Thanks for the ride lady". I don't get it. So Creepshow 2 sucked. The middle part was good but the other two shorts didn't make it worth watching. Which I can unfortunately say the same thing about Tales from the Darkside. The first short from the unofficial sequel was "Lot 249", based on the Sir Conan Doyle's story of the same name. A man extracts his revenge on the people who wronged him by sending a mummy after them. If this sounds familiar to you, that's because this story is considered the first horror story to feature a mummy as the monster, so the Universal movies took inspiration from this when making The Mummy. Unfortunately this short doesn't try as hard as Universal. The acting is wooden, even with critically acclaimed actor Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore, the acting in this movie feels very bland. There's a scene where Buscemi is tied down to a chair and is about to be set on fire, and he looks like he doesn't care. There's a scene where Moore sees the killer mummy coming straight at her, and she doesn't seem to care. Basically this whole short felt like a simple Goosebumps episode with blood and gore to keep that R rating. The second short is called "Cat from Hell", adapted from Stephen King's story of the same name, and directed by George A. Romero. Even though the rest of the movie is directed by a different person, it's because of this short that people call Darkside the third Creepshow. And honestly, I can perfectly see why. This is by far the best in the movie, and if this was a franchise, I'd say this was the best in the franchise. It's about a dying old man hiring an assassin to kill a cat. Why? Because the old man is convinced the cat killed his sister, her friend and butler. I'll admit what ruins the short are the kills, the kills are just too goofy. The only death that was convincing was when the cat lied underneath the woman's legs, causing her to fall down the stairs. But besides that, the kills in this short really do ruin it. I mean, the cat jumps into the assassin's mouth and is shallowed alive. That's how the assassin dies. It's hilariously stupid. But the reason why I think this the best is because of how the story is told, up until the stupid deaths of coarse. Oh, and the cinematography. It feels like something straight from the 1940's, the muted colors, the amazing camera work, it feels like belongs in the golden age of horror. Romero did a great job in making King's work into a masterpiece. And finally we have "Lover's Vow". An artist sees a gargoyle kill his friend, but the gargoyle spares him if the man promises not to tell a soul. So the man keeps his promise, he marries, has children, his art career takes off, and it seems all is going right with his life. On their ten year anniversary, the man tells his wife the truth, feeling closer to her then ever and feeling she has the right to know. But... spoilers, SHE WAS THE GARGOYLE! And... OH NO, THE KIDS ARE GARGOYLES TOO! Oh the horror. So the gargoyle bites the man's neck, grabs the kids and flees. Okay, let's talk about everything else first. The short starts off with the gargoyle looking down at the artist's studio in stone form, giving us the idea that the gargoyle is always watching him, I thought that was pretty cool. But boy oh boy, is everything else dumb. The gargoyle effects are horrible, it looks like a broken puppet, and the twist doesn't make any sense. Why would she be so emotional over her husband telling her the truth? He did it out of love, shouldn't that tump her stupid rule? And she was a nice person, she could have understood. Or at the very least gave the man the choice of staying with her after discovering her true identity. You know what? That's what this short should have been about! A test of faith. Would you love me if you found out I was a murderous, friend killing gargoyle? But no... We have the horror equivalent of a kid breaking the friendship oath. So overall, check out Creepshow, try to only see the Raft part of Creepshow 2, and watch only the Cat from Hell from Darkside, but keep in mind some of the silly things.