#mostly hit hammond in the head

[salakmaral]

Johnathan doesn't need to stop Gennaro from going on his business trip. What he needs to do is send over the shovel ASAP. I want him to go to commit violence

#letdonaldgennarocommitviolence2023

[theodorecanaryhood]

Roy’s brother

Jason Todd x Roy Harper x Male! Reader

Jason (top right) Roy (bottom left) and reader (bottom right)

Author note: Hello 👋 took a short break to meet my little nephew, my brother and sister in law are doing great and I’m ready to entertain you all again!

It was a long night for Roy as he found his body aching, his arms tired and shaking and his head pounding.

The hot water hit Roy’s skin as he took a deep sigh, soap cleaning him up as he stood under the shower.

The nights sleep was a great one, Roy slept deeply as the sun rose against his freckles.

‘Morning’ Jason spoke gravelly as he sipped his coffee.

‘Morning J-Dog’ Roy smiled a little as he poured himself a coffee.

The two best friends were in a comfortable silence, waking up from the hit of caffeine. Patrol was rough for the two, but the day was going to be filled with adventures.

Jason sprayed his cologne as Roy came out of his room, Jason smiled a little.

‘Nice outfit’ Jason winked as Roy laughed.

‘Thanks, you too. Great choice of fashion by the way’ Roy complimented his best friend.

‘Well, gay guys don’t spend all that time in the closet for nothing’ Jason joked.

The two strolled the streets, got lunch and got a few drinks at the bar across town. The day turned later as Jason started to feel hungry again.

‘Grab us a table, I’ll meet you there. Y/n just pulled up’ Roy said as Jason went into the restaurant.

Roy hadn’t seen his little brother since graduation, you’d moved once you left education and saw the world.

Jason hadn’t met you before as you weren’t on the scene, you’d visited Roy over time but it was always just the two of you.

Roy walked in laughing as Jason looked up from his phone, he saw two red headed men walking towards him.

‘Jay, this is y/n, my baby brother. Y/n this is my best friend Jason’ you two were introduced.

Jason seemed a little shy as he spoke to you, the couple of times that Roy took a bathroom break Jason would seem shy to talk to just you.

You’d been there for a week already, time had flown by. You decided you wanted to stay where you were.

Travelling was done, now it is time to settle and work. Live in one place and see where you go.

‘So, celebrity crush?’ Jason asked the table as the three of you sat drinking.

‘Emily Blunt and Margot Robbie’ Roy said with no hesitation.

Jason rolled his eyes at the obvious choice for Roy, you chuckled.

‘Y/n?’ Jason asked as you thought, mostly because you didn’t know the reaction you would get.

‘Vinnie Hacker and Kaden Hammond’ you answer, Jason raised his eyebrows.

‘Tattooed and bad boy type, it’s hot’ you finished.

‘I guess mine is a guy with red hair’ Jason smiled a little, as he blushed.

Roy felt the need to make a comment as he saw Jason had been checking you out.

‘I bet his big brother would beat the fuck out of you if you hurt him’ Roy said sternly as Jason nodded.

‘Am I missing something?’ You asked, both men shook their heads.

A few more days, you decided to wake up early to clean and cook for Jason and Roy. They’d been having hard patrols.

‘Morning handsome’ Jason whistled as he walked in, wearing just his briefs.

‘Hey’ you almost gasped as you saw Jason’s tattoo filled, rock hard abs.

Roy walked in the door as he saw you handing Jason a cup of coffee, noticing that you were now checking out Jason.

‘Morning you two’ Roy announced his presence, you handed your brother his coffee.

The three of you sat and had breakfast as well as watching movies together in the afternoon.

‘Right, patrol time. Behave yourselves’ Roy said as he stood up and went to get ready.

Jason didn’t know how to approach his new attraction to his best friends brother, he went outside for a smoke break - only to be approached by you doing the same thing.

‘You smoke?’ Jason asked you, you nodded a little.

‘Yeah, Roy doesn’t know’ you revealed as Jason chuckled.

Jason placed his and your cigarette in his mouth as he lit them both, handing you yours.

You inhaled the smoke deeply as Jason checked you out, admiring your presence. Feeling calm and wanting only to grab hold of you.

‘You ok?’ You asked, Jason nodded, still not sure how to tell you.

He’d been picturing you in his head, lying next to him in his bed. Your bare body pressed against his, it made Jason spend nights having to relieve himself plenty of times. You in his head.

Jason threw his cigarette end on the ground, the orange tip fell to the floor as you did the same.

‘Beer?’ You asked as Jason smiled a little, with a slight nod.

It was a slow night as the two of you got to know each other better. The two of you smoked and drank together.

Jason felt himself burning as he saw your red hair flop as you ran your fingers through it. Roy knew from the start that Jason liked you, Roy knew you probably did too.

‘Jason?’ You said his name for the fifth time as Jason zoned out.

‘Sorry’ he replied as he caught you staring into his eyes, your e/c eyes burned through his.

Jason caught himself reaching for your hand across the table, surprised to see you greeting his touch.

Before long, Jason’s lips were on yours in a passionate kiss. Your bodies tangled together as you both shed your clothes.

‘You a top or bottom?’ Jason asked you, you chuckled.

‘Verse’ you sighed as Jason threw you on the bed, crawling on top of you as you kissed him again.

Jason’s body was on top of yours in seconds, his length buried deep inside you.

Jason was an animal that night, he had you in positions you’d never heard of. He was gentle with you, making sure you were ok.

Jason made you feel things you’d never felt before.

The sun rose strong this morning as your red hair was messed, your naked body splayed on the bed next to Jason.

You saw the time, realising that it was morning. You’d fallen asleep and realised Roy was probably home.

‘Shit’ you whispered as you rolled out of Jason’s bed, searching for your underwear.

You snuck to the shower, seeing marks on your body from your wrestle with Jason last night. Some you wouldn’t be able to hide as well as others.

Jason appeared in the shower behind you, placing his hand over your mouth.

It wasn’t too long before Jason was inside you again. The hot water hit your skin as Jason found a rhythm inside you.

With Jason’s hand over your mouth, you let out muffled moans. Feeling Jason empty himself inside you once again.

‘Good morning’ Jason whispered in your ear, you kissed him as you smiled.

You finished in the shower as Jason shaved and brushed his teeth at the sink, watching you get out of the shower.

‘Hand me the towel’ you pointed as Jason handed you the towel. Very reluctantly.

‘Think Roy’s awake yet?’ Jason asked, you shrugged as you dried yourself off with the towel.

Breakfast was awkward as Roy was none the wiser about the events of the night before, he sipped his coffee sleepily.

‘You guys get along?’ Roy asked, you saw Jason shoot you a wink.

‘Yeah, you could say that’ you replied, Roy nodded.

‘Get upto much?’ He followed, Jason smiled, standing behind Roy as he poured his coffee.

‘No’ Jason replied, as deadpanned as he could.

Over the next few nights, the two of you would sneak into each other’s bed. Have nights of passion, and sneak back early morning before Roy got up.

You began to feel bad, lying to your older brother wasn’t how you wanted this to go. But damn, Jason was with the thrill.

After a month, Jason was becoming more intense, not liking when Roy came up with the bright idea of setting you up with someone.

Jason was a little rough that night, he became very possessive. Some would say, protective.

Jason rested his head on the pillow as you lay your head on his chest, the two of you sharing a cigarette as you waited for the heat to rush back down again.

‘Y/n, I have to tell you something’ Jason broke the silence.

‘Mmm’ you hummed, turning your head a little to look at Jason.

‘I love you’ Jason stared into your eyes, you smiled brighter than you ever had.

‘I love you too’

Another shared kiss as you both celebrated a revelation, celebrating the love you two shared.

‘What the fuck?’ Roy almost screamed, standing in the doorway.

You jumped as Jason bolted out of your bed, standing in nothing but his underwear.

‘What the fuck Jason? My little brother? You and my little brother? I can’t believe this, the two of you’ Roy raged, his skin colour matching his red hair.

Jason stayed where he was, even though Jason is much bigger and taller than Roy, he’s seen what he can do when he’s angry.

‘Roy, I can explain’ you tried to reason.

Roy was fired up, ready to hit someone and you didn’t want it to be your boyfriend.

‘Roy, we’re in love, please. Don’t be angry, we both wanted it’ you said, walking slowly to your older brother.

His heart began to feel less heavy, his eyes turned back to emerald as Roy felt himself calm down.

‘Is that true? Do you love my brother Jason?’ Roy asked sternly, Jason nodded.

‘I do, I love him’ Jason confirmed, Roy sighed, running his hand through his red hair.

Roy would never be ok with his best friend dating his little brother, but he also would never be ok hurting either of you.

‘You break his heart, I’ll break your fucking kneecaps’ Roy pointed to Jason.

Jason nodded, believing it, you smiled a little as Roy shook his head a little.

It was a rough night as Roy didn’t sleep, thinking everything in his head. He never asked the gory details, he figured you two had slept together.

Roy smiled when he saw Jason kiss the top of your head, it was the next morning in the kitchen.

Jason kissed your head, you held onto Jason’s hand. The two of you shared a quick kiss as Jason walked with you to the table.

‘You ok?’ You asked your older brother, who was smiling a little.

‘I will be’ was all he said in response.

[sheetmusiclibrarypdf]

Count Basie LIVE concerts

Count Basie LIVE concerts

https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PL2QBk93EadFJO7quwDc6BZAZdgstuD_Aj&layout=gallery

American jazz musician William Basie, (b. Aug. 21, 1904, Red Bank, N.J., U.S.—d. April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Fla.) popularly known as “Count,” was noted for his spare, economical piano style and for his leadership of influential and widely heralded big bands. Basie studied music with his mother and was later influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, receiving informal tutelage on the organ from the latter. He began his professional career as an accompanist on the vaudeville circuit. Stranded in Kansas City, Mo., in 1927, Basie remained there and in 1935 assumed the leadership of a nine-piece band composed of former members of the Walter Page and Bennie Moten orchestras. One night, while the band was broadcasting on a shortwave radio station in Kansas City, he was dubbed “Count” Basie by a radio announcer who wanted to indicate his standing in a class with aristocrats of jazz such as Duke Ellington. Jazz critic and record producer John Hammond heard the broadcasts and promptly launched the band on its career. Though rooted in the riff style of the 1930s swing-era big bands, the Basie orchestra played with the forceful drive and carefree swing of a small combo. They were considered a model for ensemble rhythmic conception and tonal balance—this despite the fact that most of Basie’s sidemen in the 1930s were poor sight readers; mostly, the band relied on “head” arrangements (so called because the band had collectively composed and memorized them, rather than using sheet music). The early Basie band was also noted for its legendary soloists and outstanding rhythm section. It featured such jazzmen as tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry “Sweets” Edison, and trombonists Benny Morton and Dicky Wells. The legendary Billie Holiday was a vocalist with Basie for a short stint (1937–38), although she was unable to record with the band because of her contract with another record label; mostly, vocals were handled by Jimmy Rushing. The rhythm unit for the band—pianist Basie, guitarist Freddie Green (who joined the Basie band in 1937 and stayed for 50 years), bassist Walter Page, and drummer Jo Jones—was unique in its lightness, precision, and relaxation, becoming the precursor for modern jazz accompanying styles. Basie began his career as a stride pianist, reflecting the influence of Johnson and Waller, but the style most strongly associated with him was characterized by spareness and precision. Whereas other pianists were noted for technical flash and dazzling dexterity, Basie was known for his use of silence and for reducing his solo passages to the minimum amount of notes required for maximum emotional and rhythmic effect. The Basie orchestra had several hit recordings during the late 1930s and early ’40s, among them “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” “Every Tub,” “Lester Leaps In,” “Super Chief,” “Taxi War Dance,” “Miss Thing,” “Shorty George,” and “One O’Clock Jump,” the band’s biggest hit and theme song. It had continued success throughout the war years, but, like all big bands, it had declined in popularity by the end of the 1940s. During 1950 and ’51, economy forced Basie to front an octet, the only period in his career in which he did not lead a big band. In 1952 increased demand for personal appearances allowed Basie to form a new orchestra that in many ways was as highly praised as his bands of the 1930s and ’40s. (Fans distinguish the two major eras in Basie bands as the “Old Testament” and “New Testament.”) The Basie orchestra of the 1950s was a slick, professional unit that was expert at sight reading demanding arrangements. Outstanding soloists such as tenor saxophonists Lucky Thompson, Paul Quinichette, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and trumpeters Clark Terry and Charlie Shavers, figured prominently. Singer Joe Williams, whose authoritative, bluesinfluenced vocals can be heard on hit recordings such as “Every Day I Have the Blues” and “Alright, Okay, You Win,” was also a major component in the band’s success. Arrangers Neal Hefti, Buster Harding, and Ernie Wilkins defined the new band’s sound on recordings such as “Li’l Darlin’,” “The Kid from Red Bank,” “Cute,” and “April in Paris” and on celebrated albums such as The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957). The 1950s band showcased the sound and style Basie was to employ for the remainder of his career, although there were to be occasional—and successful—experiments such as Afrique (1970), an album of African rhythms and avant-garde compositions that still managed to remain faithful to the overall Basie sound. Throughout the 1960s, Basie’s recordings were often unremarkable, but he remained an exceptional concert performer and made fine records with singers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra. When jazz record producer Norman Granz formed his Pablo label in the 1970s, several established jazz artists, including Basie, signed on in order to record unfettered by commercial demands. Basie benefited greatly from his association with Granz and made several recordings during the ’70s that rank among his best work. He recorded less often with his big band during this era (although when he did, the results were outstanding), concentrating instead on small-group and piano-duet recordings. Especially noteworthy were the albums featuring the duo of Basie and Oscar Peterson, with Basie’s economy and Peterson’s dexterous virtuosity proving an effective study in contrasts. Many of Basie’s albums of the ’70s were Grammy Award winners or nominees. Suffering from diabetes and chronic arthritis during his later years, Basie continued to front his big band until a month before his death in 1984. The band itself carried on into the next century, with Thad Jones, Frank Foster, and Grover Mitchell each assuming leadership for various intervals. Basie’s autobiography, Good Morning Blues, written with Albert Murray, was published posthumously in 1985. Along with Duke Ellington, Count Basie is regarded as one of the two most important and influential bandleaders in the history of jazz. Read the full article

[subbyfoxelf]

[movie review] jurassic park (1993)

i remember my first viewing of jurassic park quite vividly. the theater was packed so we had to sit uncomfortably close to the screen, leading to the dreaded situation where you have to keep your neck craned for the entire movie. but i was a child at the time, so that didn’t bother me. we also seemed to be pretty close to the speakers, so the sound was nearly deafening at times, which honestly only added to the experience. at the time, to my young mind, this actually seemed like the ideal way to experience this film. my main reason for seeing it was, after all, “DINOSAURS ARE COOL!” and being physically overwhelmed by the sound and picture could only enhance that.

as such, the things that jumped out at me at the time were mostly the obvious iconic moments, the times when the sheer majesty (or terror, or awesomeness) of what was happening pretty much hit you over the head with all the subtlety of a baseball bat. it doesn’t matter if you’re fifteen or fifty, if it’s the first time you’re seeing the film or if you saw it in theaters and then proceeded to nearly wear out your vhs copy, it’s pretty difficult to suppress the instinctual “whoa!” response during some of the film’s most famous moments. dr. grant seeing a live dinosaur for the first time and removing his sunglasses in disbelief, the elation of the t-rex coming seemingly out of nowhere to save our heroes at the last minute, or on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum the mounting dread of the famous water impact tremors followed by the incredible sequence of the t-rex attack.

but looking back on the film now with older, hopefully wiser eyes, what really jumps out at me are the little moments and details that build the foundation upon which these big moments can confidently rest their enormous weight. you could literally teach a class on the importance of setup/payoff in filmmaking using this film. sometimes it’s as simple as tim making fun of his sister for being a dorky “hacker” and her computer skills coming in handy much later in the film. other times it’s much more involved.

for instance, did you notice that basically the entire beginning of the film takes great pains to convince you that velociraptors are really, really dangerous? the very first scene of the film is the delivery of a raptor going horribly wrong despite numerous precautions, resulting in the brutal death of a park worker. shortly after we get dr. grant using his knowledge of raptors to scare the hell out of a little boy (which is simultaneously setting up grant’s emotional arc, by the way, talk about story/character economy!) and lastly we get the terrified reaction of dr. grant upon learning there are raptors in jurassic park, and no-nonsense game warden robert muldoon’s personal observations of the beasts’ cunning and sincere belief that they are too dangerous to be kept alive. this might sound excessive when described this way, but you really don’t notice it when you’re watching the film. and consider how much of the film’s final act relies on the audience being sincerely convinced that raptors are the most dangerous thing on two feet.

or there’s the emotional arc alan goes through with respect to his feelings on children. the film establishes early on that alan doesn’t like kids, and it doesn’t just tell us. it shows us via his aforementioned almost-cruel lecture to a young boy about how dangerous velociraptors were, leading into a conversation with dr. sattler that hammers home the point without overdoing it. and with this thoroughly established, we get grant’s cold reaction to meeting hammond’s grandchildren, followed by him warming to them after saving their lives and being forced to spend time with them.

this is all weaved in so seamlessly that you probably don’t even notice it happening if you aren’t consciously thinking about it. it’s little things here and there that just add up over the course of the film. on top of that, even the minor characters have little details that make them feel more like real people without eating up much screentime (lex is a vegetarian, muldoon is deadly-serious, nedry is a slob, arnold is an easily-frustrated chain-smoker, etc). you also get little moments like alan pretending to be electrocuted by the inactive electric fence to help break the tension. the film is actually so infused with personality that even the dinosaurs themselves have enormous (no pun intended) screen presence and very distinct-feeling personalities. the way in which the t-rex is terrifying is much different than the way in which the raptors are terrifying, and its overall sense of imposing majesty carries over from when it’s terrorizing our heroes to when it’s saving them.

it’s also kind of jarring to realize how many of this movie’s best/most famous action scenes are in the second act, because the post-mcu blockbuster world has basically conditioned me to expect second act action scenes, if they happen at all, to be obligatory and underwhelming compared to the big third act setpiece (with obligatory giant blue beam of energy shooting into the sky).

… okay, you’re going to have to indulge me for a second, but i need to nitpick a few completely inconsequential details because i’m me. velociraptors are babies. the “velociraptors” were actually deinonychuses (and not utahraptors, which is what i kept hearing and repeating in grade school when “um actually”ing).

also also, lex makes a big deal about being a vegetarian early in the movie and even though i’ve seen this roughly 45,000,000 times i keep expecting them to bring up her vegetarianism when they reassure her about the brachiosaurus but they never do? i don’t know, just feels like a weird missed opportunity to me. and speaking of lex’s vegetarianism, in the famous bit where her and timmy are gorging themselves and then she freezes in terror because she sees a raptor shadow, she has jello on her spoon because it adds a nice effect when it’s shaking and it’s kinda funny and scary at the same time, which is genius! except jello is NOT VEGETARIAN, so that’s kind of awkward.

… okay, sorry! pivoting back to things that actually matter.

aside from all the obvious and aforementioned, i think one of the most interesting things about this film is the seeming mismatch of crichton’s worldview (cynical, reactionary, paranoid, technophobic) and spielberg’s (optimistic, striving for at least the appearance of being apolitical, enthusiastic, humanistic), and how interesting it is that we got such a fantastic film out of it. and honestly, while the film is frequently saying things that are 100% crichton, it’s saying them in a very spielbergian way that frequently dilutes or shrugs off what crichton is trying to say. i know crichton has the scriptwriting credit here (along with david koepp), but i see a lot more of spielberg’s ideology in the film than crichton’s, and i have to wonder how satisfied crichton actually was with the final product.

but yeah, you can probably also just enjoy the whole “running away from dinosaurs before they eat you” thing. that’s probably okay, too.

s-rank

[campusbcys]

"Working   at   the   local   burger   place,   flipping   patties   for   a   living,   is   surely   the   worst   outcome   possible."   Just   the   thought   of   having   to   work   some   dead-end,   minimum   wage   job,   common   job   like   that   sent   a   shiver   down   the   pampered,   elitist   spine.   "Worse   even   than   killing   you."   He   managed   to   recover   some   from   the   horrors   in   his   mind,   the   thoughts   of   living   the   life   of   someone   with   lower   income,   and   smile   as   he   shook   his   head   at   the   notion   of   having   Jason   offed   as   if   they   were   in   some   old   school   mafia   movie.   "--but,   thank   you,   I   appreciate   you   understanding."   He   mumbled   in   another   rare   moment   of   vulnerability   and   honesty.   It   was   nice   having   people   he   could   trust.

"That's   really   a   hard   choice,"   he   mused   as   he   combed   his   sleek,   perfectly   moisturized   dirty   blonde   hair   back   out   of   his   face   with   a   gloved   hand.   "You   do   have   a   pretty   face,   like   you   said,   and   it's   obvious   I'm   a   fan   of   your   abdomen,"   as   he   spoke   his   eyes   dropped   down   to   stare   at   the   other's   bared   torso   again   before   the   slowly   dropped   lower.   "Maybe   there's   even   something   else   about   you   that   peaks   my   interest."   

He   was   speaking   with   the   confidence   of   someone   that   didn't   just   completely   whiff   their   hit;   he   was   acting   as   if   Jason   taking   his   shirt   off   hadn't   just   flustered   the   hell   out   of   him   as   everyone   watched.   Which,   speaking   of,   he   peaked   back   over   his   shoulder   just   to   make   sure   his   parents   and   their   guests   eyes   were   still   on   them.   Good.   They   looked   queasy   and   uncomfortable.   Perfect.   That   was,   honestly,   all   they   really   had   to   worry   about   because   even   if   they   managed   to   push   things   further   and   really   get   under   their   skin   Hammond   wouldn't   let   anything   happen   to   Jason.   He   might   not   have   been   the   best   at   being   friends   but   he   was   still   very   protective   of   what   he   considered   his.

"I   am   not   flustered."   He   argued   with   a   smile   that   was,   basically,   him   admitting   that   he   was.   "These   sunglasses   are   just   too   dark.   I   couldn't   see   well,   that's   all."   As   Jason   approached,   to   commit   to   his   excuse   Hammond   took   off   his   sunglasses   and   folded   the   arms   before   hanging   it   from   the   neck   of   his   shirt,   resting   over   his   chest.   "I   doubt   you'll   embarrass   me,   mostly   because   I   didn't   invite   you   to   play.   I   wanted   you   to   look   the   part   and   you   more   than   look   the   part   Jeremy...   but   if   you   think   we   can   up   the   ante   I'm   all   ears.   If   it's   anything   like   you're   last   impulsive   choice,   I'm   sure   it   will   do   wonders."

"Can't say that I relate." Jason laughed and raised an eyebrow at the threat that followed the confession. "Are you thinking ruining my life so bad that I won't even be able to get a job at the local burger place flipping patties or something more serious like having me swim with the fishes?" he asked with a playful grin, letting his words hang in the air for a few seconds before laughing again. "I understand, won't tell a soul."

Hammond had nothing to worry about, Jason could keep his mouth shut. He had no issues being Hammond's eyecandy. Running a hand through his curly locks and fixing the pair of sunglasses on his face, he turned to give the blonde a small smirk. "Am I your favorite because of my pretty face or is it the abs?" he asked with a chuckle. Jason looked over to see people gawking at his shirtless body, among those people were Hammond's parents but the frat boy didn't think much about it, if any trouble arose from his stunt, Hammond would protect him, hopefully.

"You want to give them something to gawk at, we could raise the bar even higher." He suggested and let out a laugh when he saw Hammond's swing after their exchange. "You getting flustered over there?" he teased as he walked over with club in hand for his swing. "I'll try not to embarrass you too much in front of you parents."

[the-sun-hawks]

Chapter 1: The Good Hunters Two

“I told you this wouldn’t work,” Vae’lin says as Hawk gets another punch to his jaw. He grunts, spitting some blood as he watches the assailant walk away and shrugs. 

In a chilly glade in the early morning light, just inside a long-abandoned town, Hawk and Vae’lin sit. Beaten, though mostly on Hawk’s part. Around them, the camp is full of the sounds of people going about their business, muted conversation, and the occasional curse.

“I mean we aren’t dead yet, so we don’t know that for sure.”

“We’re tied up to posts, Hawk, we may as well be dead.”

“Why are you always so pessimistic?”

“Why are you such an idiot?” Vae’lin scoffs, rolling her head to look away from Hawk as his laugh draws the ire of another passerby, this time a tooth flying out of his mouth and onto the ground. 

The assailant goes for another hit but is stopped by a crooked-backed half-giant man, his large yellow eyes staring down the bandit. His fist turns into an open hand and he steps away from Hawk. The half-giant looks down at Hawk and Vae’lin. 

“I am Cazra, the assistant to Lord Hammond. The Lord wishes to speak with you.”

Hammond Derix is not yet a lord, but he will be if these people from The Order keep their word, and it certainly seems they will be. Hells, they had already provided him with a small army. Albeit, most of that army are common bandits, and bad ones at that, but not every army needs to be trained. Sometimes numbers are enough. 

But these two bounty hunters that had come in today were famous in and around the border regions. Killing them may spare him the trouble of having to deal with them later, sure, but he has a far better idea. A Klannossian Bladesinger and a Lyskan huntress who knows her way around a bow better than every member of his camp combined. They could be useful. Then his army would be a proper one, just like the one he’d ridden under King Silas Ducas during the border skirmishes with Lyska all those years ago.

 Hammond’s reminiscing is cut short by Hawk’s voice. “If he wanted to talk to us, don't you think he could have done so sooner? It would have been much easier don’t you-"

“Shut it,” Cazra growls as the flaps of Hammond’s tent open, revealing the two prisoners and their half-giant warden. Cazra shoves the two to the ground, grabbing the two by the backs of their necks and forcing them to look at the dirty temporary wooden floor. 

“Lord Hammond, the prisoners you asked for.”

Hammond nods, waving a dismissive hand towards Cazra that the giant receives with a nod before leaving the tent once again. 

“You killed twelve men in less than an hour today and injured several more that may as well be dead. Even on a good day, most real soldiers don’t kill that many on the battlefield. Your reputation really does precede you.” 

Hammond takes a dagger from his desk, thumbing the edge before bringing it to the bottom of Hawk’s chin. A young man halfway through his second decade, certainly far younger than Hammond, who has the tawny brown skin along with the wavy silver hair and crimson eyes that all Klannossians seem to have. “Hawk Olier, the Bladesinger, member of a dying people, winner of several Phillian tourneys and even one in Gwann if I remember right. A downright bastard to put down in a sword fight too, from what I’ve seen and heard today.”

Hammond moves the knife to Vae’lin’s chin only to find her already staring defiantly up at him, onyx black hair framing her pale face. Her large pointed ears have many silver piercings dangling from them, dotted with emerald gems to match her eyes, and behind one a tattoo of three crescent moons curls up from the back of her head. “And Vae’lin Mournshaw, a strider of the Mournshaw clan up in Lyska. A dead shot with a bow and a sneak thief in your downtime. Don’t think I haven’t heard of the Elven burglar that apparently roams around the big houses of Phillia.”

Hammond steps behind the two, the hand holding the dagger gaining a white knuckle grip on the hilt of the blade. “The two of you have caused me quite a bit of grief today,” he says, bringing the tip of the blade to rest at the top of Hawk’s back. 

And despite the threat of death, the man laughs. 

“Grief? Lord Hammond excuse me for saying this but those men you sent out to kill us may have been some of the worst bandits we’ve seen. If anything I think we did you a service by getting rid of them.” 

“We only started having trouble when that half-giant took command,” Vae’lin mumbles beneath her breath, shooting a distinct glare at Hawk even as she nods in agreement. 

Hammond sighs, frowning. “This is true.”

In a swift motion, Hammond brings the tip of the blade away from Hawk’s neck and down to the ropes that bind his wrist, cutting them away and then moving to do the same for Vae’lin. “Which is precisely why I haven’t killed you yet. I wish to hire you,” Hammond says, moving between the two and across the canvased room to sit behind his desk, watching the two as they stand and rub their wrists. 

“Hire us?” Hawk asks, his face one of confusion as he looks from Hammond to Vae’lin and then back again. “We were sent here to kill you. And now you want to hire us?”

Hammond nods, gesturing towards the two seats in front of the desk as he leans forward, elbows planted on it as he looks down at the note on his desk. A note from the Order promising that they’d send a proper regiment soon. That had been nearly three months ago. “You are correct when you say you did me a service. And I wish you to do another for me. I want you to train the men and women under me to be proper fighters.”

“You… want us to train your crew?” Vae’lin asks, the scornful look now just as confused as Hawk’s. 

“Cazra!” Hammond calls, the half-giant immediately stepping into the room almost before his name had finished. Hammond points down to a long chest on the floor behind him. “Set that on the desk for me, and get my guests something to drink.” He looks at Hawk and the large bruise beginning to swell on his cheek and jaw. “And some ice for the young man.”

Cazra opens his mouth but before the man can say anything Hammond stands, pointing a finger at the Half-giant, a fiery hatred in his eyes. “I did not ask you to speak. Do as I say and nothing more.” Cazra’s mouth shuts, his head lowering as he moves around the desk and lifts the chest, setting it on the table before leaving the tent once again.

Hammond watches the man leave before grunting as the flaps of the tent close, giving his best cordial smile to the man and woman sitting in front of him. “What is my bounty again? A thousand pieces of five?”

“A thousand and a half. Your raid on the Turisian merchants last month upped the price a bit more,” Hawk says, crossing one leg over the other as he leans back in his seat, eyeing the chest like a wolfhound stares at a flank of raw steak. 

He had them.

Hammond grins, starting to unlock the chest as he speaks. “Seventy five hundred minted coins between the two of you. Not a bad payday, even after the split. But I am willing to pay far more than that.” He opens the chest, revealing the contents to the two bounty hunters. The chest had been filled to the brim with gold and jewels. Even when Hammond had found it on that Turisian trade caravan he couldn’t believe his eyes. 

“Twenty five thousand pieces of five and whatever jewels are in this chest are yours if you agree to work with me. Train my men, go on raids with them, make them worth something besides the useless bushwhackers that they are now. There will be more money for you in the long run.” 

Vae’lin lets out a terribly long gasp as Hawk’s brows shoot up, eyes shifting from her to the contents of the chest as Cazra comes back in. He sets the drinks in front of the bounty hunters, handing a leather bag filled with ice to Hawk before standing at the entrance of the tent, waiting for the next command from Hammond. 

Hawk says something, not in a language Hammond can understand, something flowing and elegant that makes Vae’lin’s ears twitch even through her coughing, making her look at him as she clears her throat and catches her breath. She responds, confused for a moment before realization crosses her face, finishing her response. Hammond frowns as Hawk responds and closes his eyes, taking a long deep breath before nodding. 

“We accept your offer on one condition,” Hawk says, his eyes opening as he leans forward in his seat, taking the drink that Cazra had set down. “We need our weapons to do any kind of training.” 

Hawk offers Hammond a small grin as he raises his glass in the older man's direction before taking a sip, placing the leather bag on his cheek. 

Hammond laughs, slamming his hand on the table before he looks to Cazra. “You heard the man you miserable whelp! Get these fine people their weapons and start gathering the men. It’s time for them to learn who will be training them from this day forward.” 

Vae’lin grins, shaking her head as she takes the drink in her hands too, finally relaxing as she clinks glasses with Hawk and mutters something in that elegant language. 

Cazra hesitates for a moment, beginning to open his mouth to speak but that hateful glare returns to Hammond’s face. He retreats out of the tent again, leaving the three to converse for a few moments. They discuss what the priority of the new training should be before Cazra returns with the weapons for Hammond’s new soldiers and then leaves again, this time without Hammond’s approval. He would have to reprimand Cazra later. 

For Hawk, a long straight blade with barely any semblance of a crossguard to speak of. To Vae’lin, a beautiful bow carved from a soft white wood, a pair of sharp and curved pieces of metal tied and slotted into the front curve of the bow for things that dared to get too close to her. 

Hammond purses his lips as he watches the two prepare, leaning back in his seat as he thinks to himself for a moment before he speaks. “I have only ever met a few Klannossians in my time, and none of them I have ever seen a fight or fought myself so I must ask; what is a ‘Bladesinger?’” Hammond asks, eyeing Hawk’s blade as it goes into its beautifully made red sheath, the etchings showing that of a Hawk soaring over a landscape towards the rising or falling sun. “And why does every single Klannossian I've met have a sash like yours?” He asks, pointing to the deep red sash tied around Hawk’s waist, the loose silk emblazoned with the same motif. 

“Well, one of those questions is much easier to answer than the other,” Hawk says as he grabs onto the loose fabric of his sash, running a thumb over the iconography displayed on it. “The sash is an identifier for us, it’s our name.” He taps the bird with his thumb. “I am The Hawk…” his thumb moves to the sun behind the bird and its splayed wings. “Of the Sun,” Hawk finishes as he lets go of the fabric. 

“As for what a Bladesinger is…” Hawk draws the blade, sucking his teeth as he tries to find the words. “It’s not something that I can really explain, but I could show you if you like,” Hawk says, raising a brow at Hammond, a small grin on his face.

Of course, the man would want to show off, Hammond had never met a Klannossian that didn’t like to show everyone up at even the smallest of things. But even then, getting to see a Bladesinger in action…

Hammond waves his hand, giving Hawk the signal to do as he wishes. Hawk’s grin turns into a flash of white teeth before his eyes close, both hands coming to rest on the grip, bringing Hammond’s eyes to the single wing curling around the handle of the blade that stops just before touching the pommel, a bird's beak forming where the blade begins. A deep resonant hum emanates from Hawk’s throat and at first, nothing happens, but then Hawk’s eyes open as he takes a quick step forward. The blade comes to an arc over his head before he brings it down in a quick slash over Hammond’s throat. 

Hammond felt nothing, his confusion profound as his vision begins to slide before he tumbles to the ground. Had he fallen out of his chair, had the slash done something to his body? His vision rolls till he finally stops his vision falling to rest on his body, now missing his head. 

“Start skimming, who knows when that Giant will be back,” Hawk says, sliding Gambit back into its scabbard and hopping over the desk the papers spilling onto the ground as he makes for the now dead man's head. He pulls a canvas bag from his sash, grunting with disgust as he takes hold of the oily hair before stuffing it in the bag and tying it closed. He turns to Vae as she shovels gold and jewels into another leather bag. 

“I told you it would work, didn’t I? So that means next time you take the punches,” Hawk says, grinning as he moves back to the desk and begins to look through the papers, moving the chair with Hammond’s now headless body out of the way for more room. 

“You had no idea that Hammond would want to hire us. As far as you were concerned we were going to fight all of his men and make our way here to kill him without so much of a wink of espionage. We got lucky,” Vae’lin says, looking down to the blade on his hip. “I’m starting to learn why you called that thing Gambit.”

Hawk opens his mouth to say something before his eyes stray to the entrance of the tent, the half-giant Cazra staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Hawk reaches for his sword but before he can even begin his song the man runs, shouting “The bounty hunters have killed Lord Hammond! Lord Hammond is dead.”

“Motherfucker!” Vae’lin hisses in the Lyskan tongue, throwing the strap of the leather bag over her shoulder and glaring at Hawk. “You and your big fucking mouth. Run!” 

Vae jumps over the desk past Hawk and towards the back of the tent. She tears a hole in the canvas with the blades of her bow and disappears through it. Hawk grabs a fistful of coins from the chest, dropping them in his sash and grabbing the closest paper he can find that hadn’t fallen to the floor. He shoves it into his sash along with the coins before running out of the tent through the escape that Vae had made. 

At first, Vae is nowhere in sight, leaving Hawk to wonder if she’s finally left him for dead. His plan, if it could have been called a plan to begin with, being the straw that finally broke the camel's back. He doesn’t blame her of course, that’s just how bounty work is. She’d get the whole cut too, which-

“What are you standing around for?” Vae shouts as she comes streaking by, mounted on a horse and grabbing Hawk by the collar of his coat. She lifts him onto the back of it and relief washes over him.

Followed by immediate nausea.

“Did you really have to get a fucking horse?” Hawk asks, scrambling to try and swing his leg over the horse's flank, an arm grabbing at the saddle in front of Vae while the other pulls him up onto the horse. Looking over his shoulder, he sees bandits mounting their own horses and chasing after them, several already in pursuit. 

“It’s not my fault your stomach is a child when it comes to riding a horse. Now shut up and hold on to me,” Vae says, yanking the reins of the horse at a sharp angle to steer it into a thick patch of trees. Hawk immediately wraps an arm tight around her waist, the other going for the grip of Gambit as he continues to watch behind them. Not many of the first few bandits manage to make the sudden turn, several of them falling from their horses in the attempt. The others behind them had been able to see Vae’s course and make a gentler turn into the woods after her. Some gain on them even with Vae expertly weaving between trees at speed. 

“Starting to think not all of Hammond’s men were useless, Vae,” Hawk says, facing the front to watch the trees pass while Vae looks behind him and curses yet again in Lyskan.

 “Of course, he had to have good riders, what use is a bandit if he doesn’t know how to chase after someone he’s trying to rob,” she grumbles, spurring the horse to make it go faster just as an arrow whizzes past their heads, far too close to be an accident. 

“Not just good at riding horses, Vae,” Hawk says, drawing Gambit and turning as much as he can towards the bandits chasing them. “They ride and shoot like they’re fucking cavalry. Hammond was a soldier wasn’t he?” 

The question hangs in the air for a moment before Vae curses under her breath again. 

“Yes, he rode with the King.”

“Who was in the cavalry?”

“Yes, Hawk, you are right. Now, what do you expect me to do about it? We’re being chased down by Ex-Kingsmen on a horse that’s already starting to get worn down and eventually they’re going to start getting their aim right with those arrows.” 

Hawk sucks his teeth for a moment before he loosens his grip on her waist, leaning back to grab her shoulder instead. “When I say, rear the horse,” Hawk tells her, shifting his weight to get his feet beneath him. Crouched on the back of the horse, half turned to the riders behind them, he sees them gaining. The arrows get nearer their mark and two of their pursuers get close enough to draw their blades in confidence. 

Hawk shifts his weight again, letting it rest in the heels of his feet as he readies to spring himself. “Now!” 

Vae yanks back hard on the reins of the horse, bringing it to a sudden halt, and it rears up. Confusion immediately crosses the riders’ faces as they try to pull on their reins as well. Hawk leaps for the closest rider, launched by the momentum. He doesn’t bother to strike the man with Gambit but instead tackles him off of his horse. They collide hard with the ground, causing the man to cough and sputter. 

That man down, Hawk stands on him, his boot pressed firmly on his throat as he begins to hum. The other man who had drawn his sword curses and begins spurring his horse towards Hawk, but is too slow. The metal of Gambit's blade extends as Hawk finishes the first part of his song, and he flicks the blade towards the man's raised sword arm, cutting it clean off. 

An arrow punches through the man's temple almost immediately after, cutting off the shriek that he’d been fixing to let out. Vae rides by and towards the oncoming riders who level their bows at her and fire. They scream and shout in confusion as every one of the arrows pass right through her and the horse as though they're made of nothing more than air. Hawk grins, running into the group of confused riders, pulling one from their saddle and down onto the ground. He kicks them hard in the temple before stabbing upward into the next one's throat. Another falls off the saddle without Hawk’s aid, two arrows placed directly in their heart, quickly followed by another with an arrow in their eye. Hawk reaches to grab one of the last three with his clawed gauntlet. The sharpened points dig into their gut as he pulls them down to the ground, nearly disemboweling them in the process.

The last two are in absolute terror, still on their horses as Hawk locks eyes with them. One, an older man maybe around Hammond’s age before his passing, grunts, cursing beneath his breath. He charges with his horse, raising his sword and swinging it for Hawk’s head as he gets near, only the swing loses power halfway through. The blade falls from his hand as his body goes limp, the head of an arrow shining through the back of the man's skull. 

Hawk makes eye contact with the last, a man younger than him and clearly just good on a horse and not much else. “You don’t have to die here. Hammond’s crew is done,” Hawk says, beginning the same humming he’d done but in reverse, the blade of Gambit returning to its original length before he sheaths it. He turns away from the younger man and waves his hand. “Take what gold Hammond gave you and go to the capital. I hear they take in more strays than even Phillia does. There might be work for you there too. The honest kind.” 

The younger man doesn’t say anything in return. With a quiet ‘hya’, he rides off, away from both Hawk and the remnants of Hammond’s crew. 

“You’re a bit too nice don’t you think?” Vae’s voice calls out, nearby but unseen. 

“Probably would have been me if Edmund hadn’t picked me up and then kept me like he did. Boy’ll be fine. Besides, not like it was his head that we were after,” Hawk says as he looks down at the bandit that he’d initially knocked off his horse, a thick wooden stump protruding from his shoulder, a bone peeking out of his arm. 

“I say we leave that one,” Vae says, her and the horse appearing as if from thin air. Hawk nods as he kneels and pats the panicking bandit's cheek. “I suggest you take my advice too if you live. Maybe more of Hammond’s crew will come in looking for us and find you and your dead friends, or that bone will get infected and you’ll bleed out from the shoulder. Either way, I suggest doing something better with your life.” 

He stands with one more affirming pat to the bandit's cheek before frowning at Vae and the horse as he steps over the bandit. “Do we really have to ride that damn thing all the way to Phillia?”

[viridiave]

NARUMITSU <ATTEMPTING TO READ THE SUBTEXT PLATONICALLY>

*Wrote all this some time last month so I might be off- really really off- also full disclosure I too am a Narumitsu shipper- this is just me giving myself a bad time doing the impossible and having fun XD

-I am going to fail sooner or later. Looking at you, Bridge to the Turnabout.

FIRST GAME >Turnabout Samurai -Yep. We're jumping right in with 'unnecessary feelings'. I'm going to be put on a stake for this. -This is going to become the main argument with any and all homoerotic subtext present in the first game- that it was unintentional. They didn't actively start making it gay until the second game, and even before then the producer for the games had to warn the development team not to try and insert these themes for fear of getting it wrong and lose the fanbase they'd accidentally caught the eye of. I can still create arguments for why this specific, hilariously meme-able line could be read romantically of course- but as far as the game development team at the time was concerned this interaction was never meant to be read as romantic. -Unease and uncertainty are... very valid feelings for Edgeworth to feel at this very moment and as much as I'd like to joke that he was feeling uncertain about his sexuality after seeing his childhood friend as an adult, this line was really just likely meant to lead up to the conclusion of Turnabout Goodbyes and Edgeworth's character arc for this game. His perfect win streak had just been shattered in a case prior. In this case, he was meant to persecute the lead actor of his favorite show- and in some ways his helping the defense can be taken as his biases getting the better of him. His sense of justice and his entire worldview is about to be overhauled, and I can see how he would regard this budding doubt in himself as an unnecessary (heh) distraction from what he believes is his true purpose in life.

>Turnabout Goodbyes -Edgeworth wanting to keep him away from DL-6 has its own section mostly because of how stubborn he becomes when it comes to Phoenix's insistence in particular. It's clear that this stubbornness is a front, I will concede with that- but there are merits to his initial reluctance in accepting Phoenix's defense. It's evident that Phoenix himself has grown over the course of the game so far, but in both of the times that he faced off against Edgeworth in court, his victories were... a tad bit contrived. For instance in Turnabout Sisters, Phoenix really only wins because Mia was being channeled and blackmailed White as he was about to leave the stand. Turnabout Samurai is a little better- but had him rely on quite a lot of coincidences (proven later to be substantiated) that surfaced during the trial. This is nothing to say of the deeper reason Edgeworth has over dissuading Phoenix from taking his case ("You in particular I cannot ask to do this.")- where I can make an argument for his pride and/or concern over Phoenix's career as an attorney. The stakes are relatively high here as well- if Phoenix fails, Edgeworth is incarcerated, Manfred von Karma goes free, DL-6 goes cold once again with no hope of getting re-opened, and everything that Phoenix has been working towards as an attorney would have been in vain. DL-6 is a case that has ruined many lives- it'd make sense if Edgeworth himself felt as though it would be a waste of time and effort to take this case because of how convinced he was of murdering his own father prior to Gourd Lake. He'd grown up for the past 15 years with a nightmare and a death sentence over his head- I wouldn't be surprised if he simply gave up and accepted that he was going to die at the hands of his prosecuting mentor. Even if he were acquitted for the murder of Robert Hammond, his perceived involvement in DL-6 would have thrown a wrench in his freedom- any lesser attorney would have given up on that. And this is unloaded BEFORE Phoenix tells him about the true reason as to why he became an attorney. -Phoenix's insistence to defend Edgeworth in this case can easily just be read as platonic- his complete, unfettered faith in Edgeworth's innocence is heavily influenced by that class trial, for better or for worse. While I'm perfectly happy to imagine that Phoenix's attachment to his idealized version of Edgeworth grew into something deeper sometime in the fifteen years that he hasn't seen him, I do believe that Phoenix in particular really is just that much of a sentimental person. This is to say nothing of his nature as a defense attorney- and what little time he's managed to spend with Mia has taught him that unbridled trust in his client is what gets him through the day, and he's putting it to practice here. Edgeworth was what he has been working towards the moment he decided he would practice law- as Phoenix at this point in time still believes that he could do no wrong despite seeing what Edgeworth is truly like in court. -Cutting into the meat of Phoenix and Edgeworth's shared past, I made a point earlier to say that Phoenix's perception of Edgeworth as a person is idealized. Every memory that Phoenix has had of Edgeworth prior to the events of the first game were from their childhood- and they had 4-8 months (plus one year if we're generous with the retconning some of the official art gave us) MAX to develop a friendship so strong that Phoenix makes major life decisions just to meet with this man. The fact that this time spent together was ENOUGH for Phoenix in the first place is... really hard to skirt around. To quote Dan from GameGrumps "this is something that you would only do for someone you're trying to marry" and if one of them was a woman I guarantee this ship would be canon already. But then again- since this is Phoenix Wright in particular somehow I can believe that he really is just that sentimental- and that isn't always a bad thing. He'd managed to save Edgeworth twice with this conviction after all. When Phoenix sees Edgeworth, he doesn't see a demon prosecutor, he sees his childhood friend who aimed to become a shining example of justice following in his father's footsteps. They address how shaky his foundations for becoming an attorney were in the Phoenix Wright Files once actually- going through a mini-existential crisis because he'd become an attorney with the main goal of saving Edgeworth from what he'd become, and now that he's accomplished that he's just kind of... lost. Edgeworth himself manages to pull him out of this, though. -man that hurts my case a lot actually but to be fair I was banking on failing -I just didn't expect it to happen so early even with the first game -in fact ESPECIALLY with the first game -though I cannot for the life of me wonder how I can come up with a heterosexual explanation for why the buildup towards Edgeworth telling Phoenix and Maya about his nightmares reads so much like a stunted love confession. I'm serious- just read any high school shojo manga ever. You'll find that it hits a lot of the same beats.

>Rise From The Ashes -It's in this case that we observe some of the consequences that the intial upheaval of Edgeworth's worldview in Turnabout Goodbyes causes him; distrust in the enforcement of the law. Not exactly the time for him to be dabbling in another, meme-able brand of unnecessary feelings. Several things like the Prosecutor's Office's relationship with the Police Department starts to waver with the murder of Bruce Goodman, and this becomes the final nail in the coffin for Edgeworth's worldviews and values as a prosecutor. His and Phoenix's teamwork in this trial becomes prevalent- the story behind the King of Prosecutors award represents this best despite it's currently incomplete state. The backstory behind this award paints an ideal of justice in the courtroom wherein the truth comes out as a result of the efforts of contradictory forces. A broken halberd that can cut through any shield (the prosecution) and a broken, unbreakable shield (the defense). Read as representation the text becomes something of a metaphor for the ideal justice that manifests itself in the best parts of Edgeworth and Phoenix respectively- the duality of their opposing professions rather than something that is limited to their relationship. -The same argument that I've used for Phoenix's unwavering belief in Edgeworth's innocence in Turnabout Goodbyes can be used for this case as well. -Though Edgeworth still goes M.I.A for a year after this case, it does grant his disappearance a bit more context as to why exactly it is that he left- and I'll be taking a tiny liberty with this and apply the interpretation that the Miles Edgeworth Files grants us, and that he left in order to better himself and grow as a person, a prosecutor, and as a friend to Phoenix Wright. It's... difficult for me to want to read this as anything but romantically-charged because the narrative beats are NOT lost on me (the dialogue makes this especially hard. send help.)- there's a possibility that Edgeworth at this point in time realizes the value in having a better, more functional dynamic with the one defense attorney who he considers a true equal in court. This dynamic will allow for less chances to encounter missteps and errors in any verdicts handed down in court, and if Edgeworth is to pursue his ideal of justice- Phoenix Wright is undoubtedly essential to this endeavor. The aftermath of Rise From The Ashes is indicative of this newfound goal of his- the symbolism behind the old King of Prosecutors award and the two halves of the evidence list certainly helps this case. -<"It seems all you do is worry about me." -Miles Edgeworth, Rise From The Ashes> For good fucking reason Edgeworth. You were accused of murder and have implicated yourself on the stand for DL-6 just a few months ago- and if the Investigations games are anything to go by, you're more of a danger magnet than PHOENIX is. I had to say it. The first Investigations game takes place over the course of 2-3 days and the sheer amount of shit that Edgeworth had to deal with in between that interval truly makes me wonder how Phoenix Wright ended up with the title of danger magnet. And THIS time- Edgeworth's car becomes a crime scene because his corrupt superiors needed a convenient way of transporting a corpse. There's VERY good reasons to worry about the livelihood of Miles Edgeworth. -Okay I... can't believe I forgot about the chessboard. Here's the kicker- the one we see from his office isn't even the only one he owns. I... legitimately cannot give you ANY purely heterosexual, platonic explanation for why Miles Edgeworth has THREE (THREE. I CANNOT OVERSTATE THIS. HE HAS T H R E E OF THESE FUCKING THINGS. GOOD GOD. HE CAN'T BE ANY MORE EXTRA.)(there exists a similar, portable set in the Investigations games- and he has a new set by the time of Dual Destinies) sets of custom-made chessboards with personalized, highly-specific red and blue designs made purely to depict his rivalry with Phoenix Wright. I fold. I give up. I forgot about the chessboards I wAS NOT EXPECTING TO FAIL THIS E A R LY- -You know what the real kicker is with Rise From the Ashes? The main argument that I have introduced back in Turnabout Samurai does not apply here. Rise From the Ashes was made as a DS-exclusive case and did not exist in the original GameBoy version of the Trilogy. Which means if there is homoerotic tension written in for this case (and there happens to be a lot. the chessboard is proof enough.), then we can safely assume that the writers at this point were well-aware. So yeah- maybe don't feel TOO bad about the unnecessary feelings line- because ever since then the writers have been playing off of that and it SHOWS. -Is there really a point to this I'm just- everything is stacked against me tryna interpret this platonically -Like I know I make a point to say that a romantic relationship isn't the end-all of all relationships because this franchise LOVES pushing the Found Family dynamic and I'm an absolute sucker for that -good god by the time Dual Destinies rolls around I'll probably just give up and happily say they're happily married -that's literally what they act like don't even pretend

[luninosity]

fanfic writers tag game!

I was tagged by the marvelous @musette22 for this lovely fanfiction tag game that was devised by the clearly very brilliant @thewaythatwerust, to discuss some of the fics I’ve written over time! Thanks so much! 💖

Let’s see, I shall tag... @thebestpersonherelovesbucky @turtletotem @gerec @whtaft and @ninemoons42 <3

Which of your fics…

* Did you think would get a bigger reaction/audience than it got:

Ah, a tricky one! I feel like I never really have expectations - I just write words because I can’t not! But maybe lines of light, which was my Steve/Bucky Fake Character Death Trope fic - it’s sort of a weird little fic, but I wanted more of that trope, but maybe that’s just me!

* Got a better reaction than you expected:

Oh, goodness - just about all of them! I remember being so shy and so nervous to share any of my writing, years ago, and now I write things that people seem to like...I think probably never mind the why and wherefore surprised me most, though! That’s my TJ Hammond/Johnny Storm fic, and when I started writing it mine was literally the third fic on AO3 for that pairing, and for that small a fandom, I’ve just been amazed.

Also, of course: I’m constantly amazed by how much people love Like Sugar! It was the biggest thing I’d ever tried to write, and it made me a better writer along the way, and I suspect it’s the Evanstan fic/series people might remember most, from my fics? (Also also, if original-fic-inspired-by-an-Evanstan-drabble counts: the love for Character Bleed has been overwhelming!)

* Is your funniest:

...am I funny? I don’t know! *waves hands about* I feel like I never set out to “write something funny,” but then again I like terrible puns and wordplay, so there’re probably funny lines in most fics? I hope?

Honestly maybe every inch of north and south, which has the Chris-turned-into-a-puppy plot, or Now That I’ve Found You, Stay, because giant patriotic dildos, or some of the banter in just a couple lovebirds, because I love Chris and Seb in that one. Or some of Bucky’s pulp fiction stories in tales to astonish. Or all the TERRIBLE autumn-related puns in the current Evanstan fic, A Place Not Far Away!

Or we could go REAL old-school and pull out the McFassy semi-crack fic in which James gets magically cursed to turn into a kitten. There’s that.

* Is your darkest/angstiest:

Ahahahaha. Um. *stares in Characters Having Emotions*

Okay, okay, um... Aside from certain specific chapters of Like Sugar and Amateur Cartography, it’s either The Tones That Tremble Down Your Spine (Bucky needs all the softness, after this! of course so does Steve...) (sometimes I think about adding a chapter, because it ends a little abruptly, but I also wanted it to - not everything’s 100% resolved, but it’s clearly on a healing trajectory!) ...

...or, over in Cherik-land, I hope we rise to the occasion, which does have a hopeful ending but is painful, or the balancing act stories (also Cherik) which were...personal in many ways (also originally written over on Livejournal, because I’m old).

* Is your absolute favourite:

Impossible! *laughs* It’s always the current story I’m (actively) writing. Which at the moment is the Evanstan autumn fluff-with-porn A Place Not Far Away. I don’t know if it’s my favorite-favorite, but it’s nice to get back to Evanstan and I love fall.

* Is your least favourite:

Also impossible! There’re things I love about all my stories. If I have to...maybe It’s Time To Bring This Ship Into The Shore, mostly because Michael’s such a dick to James for a lot of it. Which is also true in Loving Days (why was that a plot point in a few of my McFassy fics?) but I think I did a better job with his redemption in that one, and showing how much he changed and tried harder. And with Ship & Shore I wasn’t super-knowledgeable about the soul-bond trope (it was a request-fic) so I never felt quite sure I’d done it well enough!

* Was the easiest to write:

Amusingly, considering how epic and glorious and long the whole series became, I’d say Like O, Like H - the first Like Sugar Evanstan story. It just flowed. It knew what it wanted to be, and I tried to keep up. (Lovebirds was also one of those, as was the TJ/Johnny fic, never mind the why and wherefore.)

* Was the hardest to write:

the sound of rain on tin. It’s been the fic I’ve had the hardest time with ever. It’s my own fault for trying to do too much in terms of plot - sort of AU, an Evanstan-Stucky crossover, Lovecraftian elements - and then starting to post before I had it all properly sorted. I do know how it ends in general terms, I promise! but resolving plot/action has never been one of my strengths, and we’ve hit the point where I actually have to figure out How To Fix The Magic Portal-Thing, and I don’t feel like I’ve got it worked out well enough.

I mean if you all just want me to write the emotional Sebastian talking to Steve Rogers (and maybe a little curious kissing) and Chris talking to Bucky, and then *poof* suddenly Seb and Bucky are back in their respective universes and we get Emotional Reconciliation Scenes and Love Confessions, that part’s easy. I’ve had stray bits of those scenes done for years.

* Have you re-read the most:

Like Sugar, in part for continuity as I worked on later stories and in part because I’m really kind of proud of it.

* Would you recommend to someone reading your work for the first time:

Depends on what genres they like! I’m probably best known for - if anything - Like Sugar, and I think it’s pretty representative of my writing in terms of loving tender kink-with-emotions! But the person would have to not mind Evanstan RPF and soft Dom/sub kink and arranged (sort of) marriage tropes.

Other than that, for Evanstan, maybe Sweet Disposition (the third version of the clothes-sharing fic!); or (baby won’t you please), which is the Chris And Seb Go To A Sex Club For Research For a Role fic, or tempt me, tease me, which is...Sebastian leaves an unsatisfactory date with someone else (brief and random) to go pick Chris up from a bar, and then there’re lots of revelations about Feelings, and also porn-with-emotions. Those last two ‘feel’ similar in my head for some reason - mood, maybe, or story arcs about revelation and discovery.

...for Stucky, maybe when and where our eyes meet (Bucky falling asleep! soft blankets!)...or tales to astonish, because it’s such fun!

...if you want to go a bit older, I have weird affection for my first-ever Cherik fic, Know That It’s True, which is a Cerebro hurt/comfort fic, and then I love the slow development of the McFassy in No Wonder, No Wonder, which I occasionally still think about trying to revise as original, but it’s so character-driven that it’d be hard, but I love the feel of it, the hints of magic and the setting...

* Are you most proud of:

Like Sugar! At the time it was the biggest story I’d ever tried to write, both in terms of length and in terms of world-building and planning and characters growing closer together. Character Bleed got more complicated in terms of needing multiple outlines and plot, eventually, but I couldn’t’ve done that if I hadn’t done Like Sugar first.

* Has your favourite line/exchange/paragraph (share it):

Too hard to pick! There are so many! 

I sometimes say it’s this one, from tempt me, tease me, though not always:

“If you’d like,” Sebastian offers, “we can even tell them I borrowed your key and lost it, if you don’t mind asserting small untruths to hotel personnel.” Big blue half-plastered Captain America eyes stare at him some more. “…Chris?” “You…” One hand waves, a partial gesture, pulled back at the last second. As if Chris has meant to reach out, and thought better of that. “You really would? You wouldn’t, y’know, mind?” Sebastian half-smiles. Thinks of cars with broken-glass windows in Romanian capital-city streets, thinks of students waving flags and cheering with feral glee, thinks of saucer-eyed childhood memories and songs of revolutionary fervor and desperate upheavals of optimism like birthing-pains. Chris Evans is beautiful and genuine and real, and Sebastian would do far worse things, would splinter his body and perjure his soul, to give Chris one more day in which to eat pizza and laugh and clap friends on the shoulder with a broad happy hand. “No,” he says, “I wouldn’t mind.”

Or, from the WIP - the next chapter of A Place Not Far Away - because my favorite is often what I’m currently working on, there’s this! Enjoy? <3

They both watch Sebastian for a second; he’s nodding, jotting down a quote, hair bouncing with the motion. His fingers are quick and tanned, gathering notes; his jacket’s casually open, and dirt’s left a scuff on his right boot.

 He’s a New York City reporter in a black leather jacket and a stylish sweater, but he’s also a reporter who doesn’t mind getting dirty and will run through a corn maze and helped set out signs the first day Chris ever met him.

 Carly pats Chris’s shoulder, says, “Enjoy yourself,” and heads off to supervise some historical blacksmith demonstrations. The sky shimmers in clouds and satin and magic and unfallen rain.

 Sebastian bounces back over. “That’ll be fantastic, she was so excited, she’s already thinking about next year, which is so perfect for a pull quote, and it’ll get people thinking ahead about coming here then!”

 Would you come back, Chris doesn’t say. Would you come back next year, next month, next week, even if your story’s done? Would you stay and not leave?

 He can’t ask that. This is Sebastian’s job.

 He says, “That’s awesome. You want lunch?”

 “Absolutely. I haven’t eaten my way through your menu yet. Recommendations?”

 “Classic Oktoberfest? The whole German sausage, potato, onion thing? That one’s popular. And, um, baked apples. In maple cream sauce.” Food. He can talk about food. Promoting their menu. Not getting down on both knees and promising to bring home every pumpkin Sebastian likes, if that’ll make those happy eyes stay at his side.

 “Sounds good.” Sebastian’s eyebrows go up, beckoning Chris into the joke. “And I do like sausage.”

 “I like your sausage,” Chris tells him, and Sebastian’s laugh is a splash of sunshine through clouds and cold and tree-branches that stretch to the sky.

[athetos]

She shakes off a flickering patch of grass that clings to her boot as she walks up the hill, only to nearly step on another.

This place is falling apart more and more with each passing minute.

She has to find him soon.

Making her way to the top of the hill, she scouts the surrounding area, and that's when she sees it.

She almost misses it, but there's a figure up ahead. They look so small against the rest of the land, and they're moving very slowly, movements almost deliberate as though they expect something to jump out and attack them at any moment.

She realizes who it is when she sees the red shirt.

"TRACE!" she cries out, cupping her hands around her mouth so that he can hear her shout.

His head snaps back to face her, and she sees his face. His eyes are wide, with a confused expression that indicates he doesn't recognize her, before his eyes widen even more in surprised recognition and he runs towards her in a sprint.

She watches as he gets closer with each passing second, and when he makes it to the top of the hill, she grabs his wrist, pulling it tightly as she runs, dragging him along with her before he can say a word. Well, she can hear him say something, but can't make it out over the sounds of static around them that keeps increasing in volume.

Reality breaks around them, shattering itself with a spectacular lightshow of flickering destruction. They barely manage to make it to the portal out of here, and Hammond shoves Trace through before hopping in herself, just before the portal collapses in on itself, preventing any further travel through it.

------

Hammond gasps in shock once she has landed on the stable ground on the other side of the portal. They... they made it. They actually made it!

She and Trace- she turns to him, watching as he lay on the ground, curled up in a fetal position and facing away from her. Indra, Samara, and the other Traces, all watch in concern and anticipation.

Hammond gestures for all of them to step back as she slowly approaches the earliest instance of her friend. He's going to need his space.

"Hey, Trace," she coos, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. No response yet. "Hey, buddy, it's me, Hammond. And... I'm here for you, okay? You're fine. You're safe now, you're not- you're not on Sudra. You're here and perfectly safe, I swear."

Trace still says nothing, but Hammond is caught off-guard when he suddenly turns around and nearly tackles her to the ground with his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, the tightest that any of the Traces have ever given her.

She grasps onto him just as tightly, wincing just a small bit as his fingers dig into her back because of how tight a hold he has on her.

His head is buried in her shoulder as she rocks him gently back and forth, listening to his choked sobs muffled by the fabric of her shirt as she nuzzles his cheek with her own.

She can't imagine how this must feel for him.

"Hey.... you're okay now, bud. Let it all out."

It takes a very long time to do so. Hammond has all the time in the world for it if that's how long he needs.

Finally, after what seems like ages, Trace lifts his head up, before resting it on her shoulder once more as he looks up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"I thought you were dead. I- I could only remember the lab explosion as the last thing before I woke up on Sudra, and- and I thought- I thought you were dead, Hammond."

Ah. Right. The lab explosion. Trace had taken the brunt of the injuries sustained in the incident, mostly because he had shoved Hammond out of the way of falling debris, resulting in taking the hit of it himself.

"Well... I'm here now." She doesn't elaborate on the fact that they're all dead, actually. That's something that can be saved for when he's in a better state of mind.

"It was awful, Hammond," Trace mutters, tears flowing again. He talks on length about Sudra, of how he had been forced to fight a monster with a face that looked like approximations of human face, of how he had barely managed to survive the encounter, of giant robotic women who had made him their puppet on strings, of how he was bombarded by all manner of creatures trying to kill him, of how he had been ended by another monster with a human face that had killed him with a gun that looked much like one he weilded, and had subsequently found himself here.

When he was done, he buried his face in Hammond's shoulder again, breathing heavily as she continued to hug him and coo words of comfort and reassurance.

It took a long time before Trace had finally calmed down, and looked up at her with a small, tired smile.

"You look different," he says, an observation punctuated by a look of adoration.

Hammond chuckles. "I did realize some things about myself all the way back in 2007."

"Good for you, Hammond, that sounds great. You look great. New name too? Or....?"

"Elizabeth."

"'Elizabeth,'" Trace echoes. "That's a lovely name."

"Thanks, I chose it myself."

Trace laughs at the joke with her.

"Hammond?"

"Yes?"

"I... Are things going to be okay now?"

"Yes, they will be. I promise." She holds his hand and squeezes it for emphasis.

Trace believes her.

He really does.

(End!)

This is so 🥺🥺🥺 I love it!! They’re reunited and trace can finally vent to someone who’s human and NOT his clone… and I love how he’s “I thought you were dead!” And hammond and everyone else are probably thinking “who’s gonna tell him” but I guess death isn’t that big a deal when you’re still hanging out in another dimension. And hammond transitioning and her joke about picking her name out : ))) 🏳️‍⚧️ I loved reading this thank you so much for sharing!

[phoenixrisesoncemore]

I was tagged by @wangxianbunnydoodles (oh my, this is long and you might regret it; also I don’t follow instructions well 😉). I tend not to be very good at these things (sorry to anyone else who has tagged me in these kinds of things before—this is a rare event happening mostly because I wanna talk about Tolkien books and ships) but here goes:

Top 3 Ships

I don’t actively ship characters that often. I’m not sure why that is. I do enjoy reading fic with pairings either canon or not, but I don’t often go “all in” on ships in most narratives I consume. There are notable exceptions (more than three but these are the three most recent—I have no idea how to identify my top ships):

WangXian (CQL). This is surely obvious from the current state of my blog, right? I blame The Untamed and its impossibly tender, only-subtextual-by-a-hair’s-breadth romance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show express ultimate devotion, deep affection, true appreciation, complete understanding (eventually), and the sheer *necessity of the other* between two people quite like this one has. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen two characters and desperately wanted them together and happy as much as I have these two, so bravo to the cast and crew for generating such second-hand devotion in me.

Silvergifting (Tolkien). This is all @thearrogantemu’s fault. I’d read some Silvergifting before I read These Gifts That You Have Given Me, mostly out of curiosity (some good stuff, too!), but I had never read any Tolkien fic that convinced me it was *true* (on many, many levels, though the ship level is the one pertinent to this post). In any canon-like universe this ship hurts, but in the Gifts universe it hurts the most; it hurts like Hell. It hurts in the way only razor-sharp, sorry-the-universe-works-this-way, oh-are-those-my-entrails-on-the-floor-I-didn’t-even-feel-the-knife tragedy can hurt. And it’s so convincing that it’s just...a fact now. Tolkien just forgot to tell us. So now I ship Silvergifting, but most deeply, specifically THAT Silvergifting. (Meanwhile, 14 year old me continues to look at *significantly* older me like I’m insane.)

ZeLink (Legend of Zelda). Deep down I’m still 12 years old and no amount of fine lines and wrinkles is going to change that. When is Breath of the Wild 2 coming out?

Last Song

I listen to soundtracks and bombastic and dramatic orchestral pieces much more often than I listen to what people mean when they say “songs,” and a significant chunk of the “songs” I listen to are from musicals/operas.

Earlier today it was Hanz Zimmer’s soundtrack to Dark Phoenix (don’t start me up on the continuing disappointment that Phoenix adaptations continue to be to me—you don’t want to hear it; even I don’t want to hear it).

Before that it was Barbra Streisand’s The Broadway Album. (I prefer her outer space cover of “Somewhere” to the actual thing. Fight me.)

Before that it was Carmina Burana (One of my favorite things ever was when we went to a live performance of Carmina Burana and a boy who couldn’t have been more than 7 years old sat in the aisle in front of us and head-banged enthusiastically through “O Fortuna.” It was so metal. You go, kid. You get it.).

Before that it was a splattering of Billy Joel hits with emphasis on “2000 Years”, “River of Dreams”, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, “The Stranger”, and “Only the Good Die Young” (thanks to that outstanding WangXian interpretation!).

Of course the soundtracks to The Untamed/CQL have been on repeat for weeks around here, particularly every single iteration of “WuJi” and the flute-heavy instrumental pieces (man, those are good!).

Not long ago I had Sarah Brightman’s covers of “Figlio Perduto” from La Luna and “Glosoli” and “One Day Like This” from Dreamchaser burning through my iPhone battery (yes, I like popera).

Enya, and especially Shepherd Moons and The Track Which Shall Not Be Named has been on repeat a lot.

Last Movie

I don’t sit down to watch movies that often any more. It just takes too much stillness and undivided attention and more resistance to multi-tasking than I have. The actual last movie that I watched (in a “have it on on another screen while I work” kind of way) was Raiders of the Lost Ark, which, of course, I’ve seen umpteen times and which followed a similar rewatch of the Back to the Future trilogy. The last movie I watched completely without distraction was Book Smart; I don’t watch comedies very often, but I really enjoyed it in an “OMG, I can totally relate to this” kind of way (except for the class president thing—that would have required that I interact with other people my own age and also not be homeschooled). Before that I think it was the Tolkien biopic. Man, I still haven’t written anything about that.

Currently Reading (in order of when I started them)

Oh dear.

The Familiar: part 1, Mark Z Danielewski. *sigh* For as much as I think Danielewski is brilliant and House of Leaves is one of my favorite books ever, I’ve just not been able to get into much of his other work. It’s universally a time and energy investment to penetrate and puzzle through, and I just don’t have as much of that as I used to. House of Leaves makes that investment worth it from early on and is absolutely a page-turner once you settle in, but other than The Fifty Year Sword I’ve just not been able to get into the rest of his work. The Familiar: part 1 is supposed to be the first in a 26 part series which is currently halted at part 4, I think. Without a guarantee of all parts ever being published, I don’t think I’m ready to invest more time into part 1 and may end up abandoning it, unfortunately.

History of The Hobbit, Douglas Anderson. Anderson did what Christopher didn’t and gave The Hobbit the HoMe treatment (if a bit less literal and opaque in format). It’s fascinating (I mean, there’s the Beren and Luthien name drop you were not expecting right there in the first draft), but reading essentially the same passages with only small changes over and over can be a slog, so reading it has been an ongoing project for over a year now.

Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien’s World, Verlyn Fleiger. This is Fleiger’s look at Tolkien’s Middle-earth in light of his association with Owen Barfield. Particularly, she is examining Tolkien’s work in conjunction with Barfield’s Poetic Diction and his thoughts on language and meaning. I have not read Poetic Diction, but I probably will now since it apparently addresses language formation as related to the origin of human consciousness which is SO up my alley.

New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton. My late sister-in-law had a masters in theology from Notre Dame and became a huge Merton fan. Meanwhile, my best friend actually spent a weekend retreat at The Abbey of Gethsemani. Between hearing about him from the two of them, I developed an interest in Merton. I happened to read “Moral Theology of the Devil” a couple of years ago. It was one of the most illuminating theological things I have read and deeply inspired my own Tolkien fic-writing (let’s just say the progress there is otherwise slow). This book is a collection of pieces which happens to contain that piece, and I’ve been skipping around through it for a while now.

The Lord of the Rings reread (Tolkien, obviously). I hate this, but I am so deep in so many critical Tolkien books that I’ve not had the chance to really sit down and relax into my reread for months and months and will likely just end up starting over. Plus I want to read it concurrently with the next entry in this list and the next entry is taking longer to get through because of its format. That entry being:

The Lord of the the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, Hammond and Scull. This is a treasure trove of data and insights for those really wanting to dig critically-historically into The Lord of the Rings on a chapter-by-chapter, passage-by-passage basis. The only issue with it is that jumping back and forth between the two (as you have to: this is a reference book) tends to kill the mood of The Lord of the Rings when read as it’s meant to be read: for enjoyment!

The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture, Gyorgy Doczi. This has been an ongoing read here and there since Christmas, especially as I work on two personal projects.

The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Lesslie Newbigin. To be honest I don’t think I am going to finish this one. I like a few of the things he says, things I think are truthful and which need to be confronted in American Christian culture in particular, but it’s just too much Calvin for my taste, too many assumptions I do not share being the heretic that I am, and I spend too much time anger-notating about theology to read it with grace.

In Full Measure I Return to You, thearrogantemu. This is a reread of the (relatively) happy AU fic for my most favoritest Tolkien fic (Gifts), but I’ve put my reread on hold while I finish one of the two projects, after which I am diving in and screw the rest of this list for the time being.

Food Craving

Sushi. My kingdom for some good sushi. I’ve only had sushi once since we got back from NY and while it was the best sushi I have had locally IT WAS NOT OMAKASE AT SUSHI NOZ. It also didn’t require a personal loan to pay for, but *shrug* I’m spoiled now and will forever crave what I can no longer have.

People I’d Like To Get To Know Better

I hate tagging people in these things because I’m awkward and shy and do them so rarely myself that it feels hypocritical for me to ask it of others. That being said: if you’re a follower of my blog and you want to do this, please do! And please tag me! I’d love to get to know more about you 😊.

[fleetwoodmoth]

Cybernetic Burn

I realized I never posted this, so I thought why not now

The sun was nearly set as Selene stumbled down the sidewalk towards the Paradise Lounge, its neon sign glowing through the haze of the late afternoon downpour. They were curled in on themselves, arms held tight against their own chest, feet finding a twisting line towards the front door of the bar. Their shoulder met someone else’s hard, but they didn’t stop to apologize, their head hurt too much to form words as the person cursed at them and kept walking. The headaches weren’t a new thing, they had woken up with a soft tapping behind their eyes over a week ago, and by now it had become a full blown banging that had enveloped their entire skull. They pushed open the front door roughly, barely catching a “watch it” from a patron who pushed past them out into the rain. The music was still pounding inside, making their ears ache as they maneuvered their way to the end of the bar. Despite the drudgery outside the place was still packed, it was an Apex Legends hang out after all, owned by the charismatic Elliot Witt, people flocked there to get drunk with the rich and famous.

The bouncer to the VIP lounge barely looked at Selene as they slipped past into the back, his name was Garrus but he mostly went by Bear, and he knew Selene and the other legends by a first name basis. The music was a bit more bearable in the lounge, and the company was more to their taste. It was much sparser than the public area, red couches beneath changing RGB lights and gauzy curtains, low tables with a spread of booze and frankly a lot of personal belongings; it was more like a clubhouse for the Legends. Elliot was working this bar tonight, something he did when the public bar was too overwhelming, he liked talking and he liked mixing, and since most of the customers were his friends he got to do a lot of both.

Selene sat at the end of the bar beside the emergency exit which was barely obscured by the drapery that decorated the walls, at the other end Renee swirled a martini, while Elliot laughed at something Makoa had said as he mixed a new drink. Selene slumped onto a stool, pulling their hood away from their head and pressing their fingertips into their eye sockets, it almost felt like their brain was on fire at this point, and it had been that way since about midday. Ajay had checked them out on request, but insisted that she didn’t find anything, and tried to give them some sort of relief, but the drugs didn’t work. It was Natalie who had asked if maybe it was something to do with their cybernetics, if maybe it was the electronics sending pain signals and not their organic material. They had meant to look into it, but that was when the real pain had hit and they hadn’t had the energy to do much of anything. It was why they were here tonight, at the bar with Elliot instead of at home trying to hide from the pain beneath a comforter. Maybe all they needed was a drink.

“I thought you were staying home tonight,” as if on cue Elliot pulled them from their thoughts as they squinted up at him.

“I was but—“ they chewed their lip as they rubbed at their eyes again, the lighting was starting to get to them.

“Drink some water yeah? You look sick,” his voice was soft, nothing but concern as he moved to take a glass from beneath the bar.

“No, I don’t need water, I need—“ they paused again, pressing their fingertips into their temples “something strong please,” they muttered.

They heard Elliot sigh “it’s not good for—“

“Elliot,” their voice sounded like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing together as they took his hand in theirs “please,” they pressed, making full eye contact with him.

Elliot searched their eyes for something, what they weren’t sure, but after a moment he sighed and looked away “alright, but just one, and if it doesn’t work I’ll take you home, got it?”

Selene forced a smile, they knew he loved them and was looking out for them, and despite the want to climb over the bar and get their damn drink themselves, they still loved him for that. They let his hand go as he went to fetch a bottle, they glanced down the bar from under the palm of their hand which they kept above their eyes to shade them from the intense light. Renee raised her glass with a nod before returning her gaze to a blank spot on the wall, something she did often, Selene always wondered what she was seeing when she did that. Elliot returned with two shot glasses, and filled them to the top with a dark grey liquid.

“What’s this?” They asked as their shaking fingers took hold of the first glass.

Elliot took the other, they hadn’t expected him to drink with them, but they were beyond fighting it now.

“Don’t ask, brace yourself,” he said clinking his glass with theirs.

They chuckled as they watched him down it, but as they moved to bring the shot to their lips something snapped. It was like a spark had been lit in a room full of gasoline behind their eyes. Selene jerked in their seat, dropping the glass and letting it shatter on the ground as they groped at their face. They made a choked gasping noise as they felt their stomach toss and heard their name being called. They felt their shoulder hit the ground with a crack as their nails dug into their forehead, the music playing from the speakers now sounded far away, drowned out by a sickening howling sound.

Selene could feel their fingernails catch on the seams where false skin met flesh, and they couldn’t stop themselves from tearing at it, the soft suction of squishy synthetic skin peeling away from metal as they tried to pry open their maintenance port. Wires ran between scarred flesh and hard warm metal, a network of organic and mechanical material working together to keep Selene whole. There was a proper way to access where their bone had been replaced with metal, a way to deactivate artificial nerves which ran to organic nerves, but instead they tore like a wild animal. Their mind was alight with one phrase which they were desperate to prove wrong you are going to die, you are going to die, you are going to die.

In the next moment they felt hands on them, pulling them from where they had collapsed against the bar to face the sky, their wrists were seized and for a moment they felt utter terror grip them. Images of the Hammond lab they had awoken in, years after they had fallen into their coma after a Titan accident, echoed through their panicked mind. Masked faces and gloved hands, water choking their lungs as they were forced back into a coma, tubes shoved down their throat as they attempted to plead for their life. They hadn’t realized they were shrieking until they heard Elliot as they took another breath.

“Please Selene, stop it,” his voice broke harshly.

They tried to force their eyes open, to see him, but the lights were still too bright, they clamped their eyelids shut as they turned away from them, arms trying to come up in order to shield themselves from the pain, but someone was holding them. They struggled with stiff arms and legs but hands held fast against their wrists.

“Someone is in their head,” they heard Tae Joon to their left, and wondered where he had come from.

“What do you mean?” A strained voice came from directly behind them, so close it made their head spin in confusion. It was then they realized they were in Makoa’s lap, and he was the one holding their arms.

“Please!” They cried, forming words for the first time since they had hit the ground “Please, please, please, stop it!” Their voice peaked as they tried to struggle again.

Selene gasped for air as if they were drowning on dry land, throwing their weight against Makoa’s chest and kicking out their legs towards Elliot. It felt like someone had injected their veins with acid, a searing feeling that began to spread down their left arm, they let out a pained wail again as Makoa shifted and they felt a new hand on their bare shoulder. It was then that the familiar burn of an improperly disconnected nerve ending being stretched away from their cybernetics made them jerk further into Makoa’s side. They gasped for air again, but this time they were sure they were going to vomit.

The next thought Selene had was of how tired they were. Their throat was raw and painful as they swallowed with a dry mouth, their eyelids felt as if they had been glued together, their ears felt full of water. They pulled a hand up to their face, rubbing at their eyes as they attempted to force them open, and despite their disorientation at the very least they knew that the pain had stopped. Finally they saw light, this time it was dim, a soft blue glow at their side as they tried to orient themselves. Finally after what felt like hours, they pried open their eyelids and blinked. They looked down at where they had been laid, finding the dark blue comforter of their bed, and for half a moment they wondered if they had dreamed it all.

“Hey,” the voice startled them from their stupor, their head snapping to the left to find Tae hunched over a small screen by their bedside. It was then they saw their left arm was outstretched and resting on a small table, the synthetic skin of their inside wrist having been opened to their elbow, and the maintenance port beneath it opened as well. Three thin wires were connected to ports beneath the small metal hatch disappeared off the side of the bed before reappearing connected to Tae’s laptop.

“How do you feel?” He asked after he let them adjust to their new situation.

“Tired.”

He hummed a response as his eyes darted back to the small screen in front of him.

“Where’s Elliot?” They asked hoarsely.

Tae looked up again, before nodding towards them, and it took much longer than they would have liked to admit to realize he was gesturing past them. Beside them in bed Elliot was curled up on top of the blankets, still dressed for work, his forehead pressed against their bare shoulder. They reached up with their free hand, pressing their palm to his cheek, focusing on the feeling of his breath against their skin. They closed their eyes again and sighed.

“You have to rest, Natalie and I are keeping an eye on your cybernetics, Ajay is on call in the kitchen if you need any medical attention. You’re safe.”

He said it so earnestly, making sure he had eye contact with them as he said it. That was something about Tae Joon, even if he was secretive and quiet, when he did speak they could tell he was speaking the truth.

[spookyjiimfanfiction]

Chapter One

Tear in my Heart | Series Masterlist

Warnings: Some angst. Word Count: 2730 Author’s Note: We hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

July 2012 - Before the Regional at Best Tour

Your finger hovered over the bright blue submit button that sat at the bottom of the web page. You puffed your cheeks and slowly exhaled, trying to build up the small bit of courage that you needed to actually press it. It was only an application, there was no attached guarantee of a job. Or them even looking over your resume, for that matter.

You were about to bite the bullet and press it when you hesitated. What would Beau think when he found out you were going to be a manager for some small town band? The thought of his reaction was enough to make your stomach churn as echoes of things he had told you in the past rang in your ears.

Your fingers ran along the edge of the laptop, ready to close it and forget that you had ever considered this possibility. There would be plenty of other opportunities for you, ones that didn’t involve people Beau wouldn’t like - if that was even possible -, ones that didn’t involve traveling all over the country, hell, even ones that didn’t involve you managing people.

Then again, it was only an application. Being a band manager sounded more appealing than half the flyers Beau brought home from his own job, covered in promises of “good pay” and “flexible hours”. You didn’t need flexible hours and good pay, you needed excitement. Besides, what did Beau know about your capabilities? He wasn’t here to stop you, was he?

Before you had a chance to reconsider, you opened your laptop back up and hit submit.

The rush that you felt in that moment was enough to become intoxicated, but you knew that it was a one in a million shot. Moving your hand, you closed your laptop and placed it in its normal location on the edge of the coffee table in front of you, hopping up off of the couch to go and make some dinner for yourself and Beau before he got off of work.

*     *     *

Three Days Later...

Music blasted near your head, as an indication from your phone that someone was trying to call you. Lifting your head from the pillow, you sat up and threw your legs over the side of the bed as you reached forward to grab hold of your phone. Looking down to the screen, the number that appeared wasn't one that you were familiar with... and yet, you felt as though you should pick it up. Something about that number really stuck with you. Using your thumb, you accepted the call and brought the device up to your ear. "Hello?" You tried to answer with confidence, but slightly fell short.

"Is this Y/N?"

"This is she."

"Hi, my name is Tom Hammond and I'm a representative of Twenty One Pilots..." Your heart nearly stopped beating the moment that he mentioned the band. "...and we actually were going over your resume recently. We were hoping that you still had an interest in joining the boys as their band manager, because I'm calling to offer you a job."

It actually happened. Something actually went right for you.

“A job?” you repeated, hardly able to get the words out of your mouth. “You want to offer me a job?”

You didn’t even care if you were making a fool of yourself in front of this representative. Your hands were shaking so bad from disbelief and excitement that you could feel your phone tapping incessantly against your ear.

“If you feel so inclined to take it, then yes.”

“Um, yes, of course. I accept.” You stumbled over your words. “What do I need to do?”

“We’ll inform Tyler and Josh that you’ve accepted the position and pass your information along to them. They should be in contact with you shortly to let you know what they would like to do with you from here on out. I just have a few questions to ask you before we let you go.”

You listened carefully as Tom asked you a series of questions, mostly confirming contact information and addresses, all the while giving your answers as clearly and concisely as you could. The excitement was overwhelming, nearly making you forget phone numbers that were practically second nature to you any other time.

“We look forward to working with you, Ms. Y/L/N.”

You wracked your brain for the advice Beau had given you about phone interviews.

“Thank you for this opportunity.”

“Goodbye.”

Tom ended the phone call before you had a chance to get another word out. You sighed and set your phone down on the couch, temporarily forgetting that eventually you would have to tell Beau all about this new job you had. He wasn’t going to be happy, and when the thought of his reaction first made its way into your mind, you shuddered.

At least that was a problem for a different time.

*     *     *

The text came the next evening, right in the middle of the nice meal that you were sharing with Beau. He watched you carefully as you slipped your phone out of your pocket and scanned the screen. You weren’t normally one to check your phone in the middle of a meal, but the expectation of a message from the boys had made you set aside your typical rules.

The sight of a message from an unknown number was enough to put a smile on your face, even before you had read the actual text. This, of course, was also enough to make Beau start questioning you.

“Who is that?” he asked. The grip he had on his fork grew a little tighter.

As Beau's voice appeared, your eyes instantly looked up to his with dread and you locked your phone up to put back into your pocket. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a friend." You mumbled to him, before grabbing hold of your fork once again and trying to focus on your food. But, you didn't eat another bite after that as you were too busy thinking about the text that you never got to open - silently thanking whatever god there was for him not bringing it back up. You weren't ready for that conversation yet. After dinner, you watched as Beau sulked off to your bedroom to start prepping for his next work day as you finished up the dishes from dinner. Peeking to make sure that he wasn't coming back in, you quickly pulled out your cell phone and opened up the text that you had received earlier that night.

Unknown Number: Hey, I hope that this is the right number. This is Tyler. Are you free to discuss a meet up?

A smile splaying across your lips, you instantly decide to text him back before it got to be too late. Your thumbs moving as quick as lightning, your response was short, sweet and to the point.

Y/N: This is Y/N. You're safe. Name the time and place!

Slipping your phone back into your pocket, after hearing Beau yell at you from the other room to hurry up, you cringed slightly and started up the dishwasher. You quickly turned off all of the lights on the way, hurrying to his side. He knew that he had control over you and it made him mad with power.

*     *     *

Two Days Later…

After a short phone conversation - which you struggled to keep a straight face through, even with Beau’s careful eyes watching you - the three of you decided on the local Taco Bell for your meetup. You were almost glad that they chose such a casual place, it made convincing Beau that you were simply meeting a friend a whole lot easier.

One stern warning and a gentle kiss on the cheek later, you were in your car speeding down the freeway. Your music was blasting, subduing any nervous thoughts that were trying to make you turn your car around. What if one of Beau’s friends happened to see you at Taco Bell with these two strange men? Not that they were actually strange, but anybody that wasn’t familiar was a threat in Beau’s eyes.

Two guys were standing outside Taco Bell as you pulled into the parking lot, looking equal parts out of place and completely at ease. The taller of the two eyed your car as you shifted into park, your music no doubt audible from outside the car. At least you hadn’t been blasting their music, that would take a bit of explaining.

“Y/N Y/L/N?” one of them asked before you had even made it out of the car completely. His voice was familiar to you, meaning that it was probably Tyler, the one you had spoken with on the phone.

“That’s me,” you smiled, reaching back in your car for a moment to grab your bag. “You must be Josh and Tyler.”

“That’s us,” the other one - Josh - smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

You finally got a good look at them as you stepped up onto the sidewalk. Tyler was wearing a plain t-shirt that was half tucked into his dark jeans, making the bright buckle of his belt visible. His olive colored skin contrasted nicely with the pale fabric of the shirt. He reached an arm towards you for a handshake.

“You too,” you smiled, firmly shaking his hand. 

You studied Josh more closely as you shook his hand. His dark hair was a bit shaggy on his head, especially where it curled near the ends. Crinkles formed around his brown eyes when he smiled - a seemingly perfect smile, you might add. Your breath hitched a little when you locked eyes, unable to pull your gaze away from him for a moment.

You finally came to your senses and dropped Josh’s hand, returning it to your side. Your cheeks felt hot.

“You have really pretty eyes, you know,” Josh said.

He said it so nonchalantly that you almost didn’t register that he was talking to you. The corner of your mouth twitched for a moment, wanting to curl up into a smile, but thoughts of Beau wiped the expression from your face in an instant. Tyler was looking at Josh with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Um, thank you.” You swallowed hard, angry that you even had to say any of this in the first place. “But I, um, I have a boyfriend. Just so, like, yeah. I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”

Josh’s ears flushed bright red. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like - I just noticed and thought I should tell you. I’m not like trying to, you know,” Josh waved his hands idly in the air.

“No, I know,” you exhaled. “I just thought I should put it out there.”

“Right.”

“Alright, you two,” Tyler finally interjected. You were glad for it. “Let’s get some tacos before you forget how to talk at all.”

All agreeing to Tyler's mention of food, you and the boys finally headed for the front door; Josh moving ahead of the both of you to open the door. You figured that he was just trying to be kind and gentlemanly, which you were perfectly fine with, so you thanked him with a smile and made your way inside. The familiar Taco Bell smell hit your nostrils as soon as you stepped foot in the store, instantly moving to stand in front of the menu to see what you wanted. Josh and Tyler wasted no time and bee-lined straight for the register, where a waitress stood waiting for them. They both put in their orders and then, as if on cue, looked over their shoulders to you. Tyler motioned for you to come over to them with his hand with a straight face, not messing around when it came to his food. 

"Come on and get what you want Y/N. This is a serious matter and very urgent," he spoke, which caused Josh to grin before scooting out of the way for you and crossing his arms... which you had noticed earlier were very toned. You knew perfectly well that you would be trying to not look at them the whole meeting.

Once you placed your order, Tyler paid for everyone and then you all took a seat at a booth - Tyler and Josh sitting beside each other on one side and then you on the other. How awkward would it be to have two handsome men staring at you from across the table while you're stuffing your face with a taco? You were about to find out. Once Josh came back with your cups from filling drink orders, the real fun began: the interview. 

"So, Y/N, who's your favorite band?" Tyler asked.

"Um, well, I really like Y/F/B."

"Wrong answer. It's Twenty One Pilots now."

A feeling of sheer dread flooded over you at his response. Was he being serious? You couldn't tell with how straight his face always was. Josh laughed at his friend and then rolled his eyes, before looking over at you with a goofy smile on his lips. "Don't listen to him. He's just messing with you." 

A sigh of relief left your lips. "Whew. I thought that I was fired already," you said with a chuckle, looking between the boys before catching Josh staring at you.

He raised his eyebrows slightly as you looked at him, making the all too familiar heat return to your cheeks. You broke eye contact and focused on the receipt that was sitting in front of you. It crinkled as you pressed it between your thumb and forefinger.

“So, Y/N, have you ever managed a band before?” Tyler asked. 

“No,” you laughed quietly. “I pretty much submitted my application on a whim. I have a degree in business management, as I’m sure you know from my resume, but I haven’t really had a chance to use it yet.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out the ropes no problem,” Josh reassured you. He had leaned forward onto the table, making his arms impossible to ignore. “We’re a pretty easy band to manage, aside from Tyler here.”

Josh nudged his friend in the side, making Tyler roll his eyes.

“Speak for yourself.”

You were about to ask Tyler a question when his number was called. He quickly pushed past Josh and wandered up to the counter to collect his tacos, leaving you and Josh alone together at the table.

“Listen, about earlier-,” he started to say, but you cut him off.

“Josh, no, it’s ok. I really didn’t mean to make it weird. It’s just my boyfriend is kind of… insecure at times,” you said, casting a quick glance around the room. “And I really didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea. I’m just here to work.”

“Work, right,” he nodded. “Well, hopefully we can make it a little more exciting than ‘just work’.”

You smiled at him right as his number was called, glad that he didn’t press the topic of Beau any further. That was an issue that you still needed to work out yourself before dragging anybody else into it.

“I hope Josh didn’t bother you too much,” Tyler said, dropping his tray onto the table with a resounding smack. “He’s a nice guy, I swear.”

“Seems like it,” you said as you looked over the variety of hot sauces that Tyler had collected next to his food.

Tyler leaned forward, holding one of his tacos in his right hand. You noticed that he was waving it around as he spoke, occasionally throwing bits of lettuce onto the table.

“I know this all seems informal right now - I mean, we’re in the middle of a Taco Bell - but I swear you’re not getting yourself into some mess. We’ll get you an official tour schedule and a list of responsibilities in no time.”

You barely had any time to let the words “tour schedule” sink in before you were walking up to the counter to collect your own assortment of tacos. Josh smiled as he passed you with his tray, also covered in a mosaic of tiny hot sauce packets. Part of you was still in disbelief that you were standing in the middle of a Columbus Taco Bell, chatting with two strangers about the tour that you were about to leave on.

Beau definitely wasn’t going to like that idea.

Taglist:

@topownsmyheart @faceofcontvsions @ohprettyweeper @tylersheavydirtysoul @svintsandghosts @wearebxnditos @breadbinishigh @patdsinner33 @leam-2001 Photo Credit.

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol. 1 Annual 1976

Special thanks to @maxwellelvis for taking most of this one off my hands!

Mon Aug 12 2019 [09:46 PM] maxwellelvis: Okay. This is that Event I told you about. [09:46 PM] Wack'd: You tell me about a lot of Events [09:48 PM] Wack'd: Man it's weird that the Fantastic Four have a Danger Room [09:48 PM] Aleph Null: yes but you can't fuck this one [09:48 PM] Wack'd: If this were the 80s and 90s when suddenly the X-Men were the next big thing and people were bending over backwards to make the Fantastic Four fit that mold, sure [09:48 PM] Wack'd: Here in the 70s it's just weird [09:49 PM] Wack'd: God this is such a mom joke

[09:50 PM] Wack'd: A running gag that's gone unacknowledged as of late is Ben interrupting Reed before he can finish his technobabble

[09:51 PM] Wack'd: It's always hard to know spur of the moment what's worth pointing out and what isn't, until suddenly you realize that a pattern has been continuing for like six issues and you haven't said anything [09:51 PM] Umbramatic: rip [09:52 PM] Wack'd: Reed didn't you build a robot to fix things for this express purpose?

[09:52 PM] Wack'd: You did, way back in #119! [09:53 PM] Wack'd: Roy Thomas remembers 1962 better than he remembers his own damn issues

[09:54 PM] Wack'd: "Wait a minute! You guys are Nazis!"

[09:55 PM] Umbramatic: KILL THE NAZIS KILL THE NAZIS [09:55 PM] maxwellelvis: *Venture Bros music* [09:56 PM] Wack'd: I don't think you are going to be embarrassed. Not because these guys are Nazis but because beating up Nazi cosplayers is still a good thing to do

[09:57 PM] Wack'd:

Sue: Why are these men still fighting World War II more than three decades after it ended? Johnny: You might as well ask the Late Late Show the same thing, Sue.

[09:57 PM] Wack'd: Johnny confirmed for a big fan of Irish television [09:58 PM] Umbramatic: pffft [09:59 PM] maxwellelvis: I've got my 2-in-1 TPB with me so I can read this along with you. [09:59 PM] Wack'd: AND NOW THE RESOLUTION OF A PLOTHOLE THAT HAS BEEN BOTHERING PEOPLE FOR YEARS [10:00 PM] Wack'd: Yes, Doom did take his time machine back. Reed just copied the blueprints first and then made a new one [10:00 PM] Wack'd: Problem solved [10:00 PM] Umbramatic: oh my [10:01 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, Reed is started to learn that the Nazis came from 1946 London. Willing to bet this is something to do with the vibranium that fell in there [10:01 PM] maxwellelvis: You skipped over the part where, when Reed and Sue first start puzzling out how the heck these guys got here, the next page shows Ben just WAILING on one of the troops and yelling at him for making his friends all upset. [10:02 PM] Wack'd: I skip over a lot of things if they insufficiently amuse me or aren't relevant to any particular narrative [10:02 PM] maxwellelvis: "Now see whatcha gone an' done, Otto? You got my ol' buddy here upset an' I ain't even hit ya yet." [10:02 PM] maxwellelvis: I know, but I just found that amusing. [10:04 PM] Wack'd: So the Watcher shows up but is doing his damndest not to interfere after having been put on trial over in Captain Marvel [10:05 PM] Wack'd: *siiiiiigh* Okay, guess we're doin' this

[10:05 PM] Wack'd: I hate "what if the Nazis won" stories that don't account for the historical reality that these guys were kind of dipshits [10:05 PM] Wack'd: I hate them so much [10:05 PM] Wack'd: THEY DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO CONQUER THE UNITED STATES [10:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, but these are comic book Nazis, remember that. [10:06 PM] Aleph Null: not now max [10:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Shutting up [10:07 PM] Umbramatic: oh great the one way you could make Cleveland worse [10:07 PM] Wack'd: Thomas knows juuuuuuust enough history to irritate me

[10:07 PM] Aleph Null: LMAO [10:07 PM] Larena: People like to pretend the Nazis were these tactical geniuses but they really fucking weren't [10:09 PM] Wack'd: Seriously Thomas knows the Lee/Kirby lore better than he knows his own

[10:09 PM] Umbramatic: heck [10:09 PM] Wack'd: Also, all the long-range missiles in the world aren't going to change their lack of tactical proficiency, or Ally advantages, or the fact that the ground war was going poorly... [10:10 PM] Wack'd: Whatever, the longer I complain about this the longer this issue lasts [10:10 PM] Wack'd: Watcher, satisfied Reed has cracked this, vanishes, and the Four head off into the past [10:12 PM] maxwellelvis: Smack-dab in the middle of a strategy planning session being overseen by THE INVADERS in London HQ. They're planning a raid of Castle Wolfenstein--sorry, Castle Cherbelle. [10:12 PM] Umbramatic: lel [10:13 PM] Wack'd: Hey Max? I know you're enjoying having the issue on hand but if I have to wait for you to say things it's gonna drag this out and, as mentioned, I'm not super into this one [10:13 PM] maxwellelvis: Sorry [10:13 PM] Wack'd: Anyway yeah, what he said

[10:14 PM] Wack'd: ...actually...do you wanna do this issue for me? And I'll just put relevant images where needed [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Sure. [10:14 PM] Wack'd: Thanks! [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: So the inevitable fight happens. [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Some things of note: [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Namor is a hotheaded dick no matter what decade it is [10:14 PM] Wack'd:

[10:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Powerless or no, I feel like Namor calling Ben a Nazi would result in him being ripped limb from limb [10:15 PM] Wack'd: Hint that Ben is Jewish #354

[10:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Johnny is rather awestruck to see the Original Human Torch and Toro, and just barely manages to parry their last volley of fireballs [10:16 PM] maxwellelvis: Bucky is useless as always [10:16 PM] maxwellelvis: and Cap almost immediately realizes that the smart thing to do is to break up this little ballroom blitz. [10:16 PM] Wack'd: THE WINTER SOLDIER EVERYONE

[10:17 PM] maxwellelvis: Reed does the same, dousing the Torches and getting everyone to cool off. [10:18 PM] maxwellelvis: So the FF explain who, what, where, when, and why, a French Resistance liaison confirms that something rotten is up in Castle Cherelle, especially that the operation there is being overseen by one Baron Heinrich Zemo. [10:19 PM] Wack'd: ...was this really their catchphrase

[10:19 PM] maxwellelvis: Probably? [10:19 PM] Wack'd: Hehehehe [10:19 PM] Wack'd: What dorks [10:19 PM] maxwellelvis: I've not read much Invaders, but it seems like they're trying to channel the spirit of the All-Winners Squadron [10:20 PM] Wack'd: Every comic book website ever uses it as a headline when there's Invaders news [10:21 PM] maxwellelvis: So, they make it as far as France in one of Namor's airships, but are ambushed by Stukas. Toro is even more hotheaded than Johnny and wants to go out and flash-fry them, but Hammond tells him to stand down, they can't afford to give away their position to Zemo before they even reach the castle. [10:21 PM] Wack'd: This is even dorky or when you consider that the Invaders are an invention of the mid-century war comics scene [10:21 PM] Wack'd: And not a team that ever actually existed in the 40s [10:21 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, the All-Winners Squadron I think was a thing, not sure if they ever all teamed up though. It might have been before the JSA. [10:22 PM] Wack'd: Oh! Yep [10:22 PM] Umbramatic: oh huh [10:22 PM] Wack'd: Line-up did have Cap, Bucky, Namor, Toro, and Human Torch back in the 40s [10:23 PM] maxwellelvis: Just before the reach the castle, we get a shot of the Watcher's face in the clouds, indicating that yeah, they're on the right path. Bucky gets creeped out by it. Ben just feels even more nervous now. [10:23 PM] Wack'd: The name "Invaders" is a flagrant retcon though, as is the absence of Whizzer, Miss America, Blond Phantom, and Angel [10:23 PM] maxwellelvis: Miss America is elsewhere now. More on that later. [10:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Anyways, they land mostly undetected, have time for a character bit or two, and split up to cover more ground [10:24 PM] Wack'd: Well hang on! [10:24 PM] Wack'd: Don't gloss over character bits! Love character bits! [10:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [10:25 PM] Wack'd: Oh this is just exposition [10:25 PM] Wack'd: Moving on [10:25 PM] maxwellelvis: Reed realizes that while they're here, he and Ben are also just now signing up and gets goosebumps, which is rare for him. [10:25 PM] maxwellelvis: Namor professes his hatred of stealth tactics, showing yet again why he will be a Good King [10:26 PM] Wack'd: (So long as I'm tracking when the sliding timescale kicks in, the fact that Reed and Ben are still WWII vets is probably worth noting) [10:26 PM] maxwellelvis: Speaking of which, Reed also gets weirded out at teaming up with a younger Namor and scolds himself for playing Jealous Husband [10:26 PM] Wack'd: And Sue is apparently still a bit hot under the collar [10:27 PM] Wack'd: viagra joke

[10:27 PM] maxwellelvis: I can't blame her here. Dude just refuses to age. How DARE he be so good looking for so many decades? [10:27 PM] Wack'd: The Face of Beauty

[10:28 PM] maxwellelvis: The Torches all team up and it's... interesting at least in black and white to see how the pencils and inks try to make three guys with the same power all look distinct. [10:28 PM] Aleph Null: sue was a star trek fan and really liked spock [10:28 PM] Aleph Null: that's what i'm going with [10:28 PM] Wack'd: Historically what happens here [10:28 PM] maxwellelvis: How does it look in color, Wack'd? [10:29 PM] Wack'd: Is that Johnny is stuck with the all-red-with-stripes look, while Jim looks like actual flames are coming off him--in accordance with how he was drawn in the 40s [10:30 PM] maxwellelvis: And Toro has that look even moreso, at least here. [10:30 PM] Wack'd: I'm going to be completely honest, in this issue, I can't tell any of the three apart [10:30 PM] maxwellelvis: So Namor and the Richards' bust up a weapons plant. [10:30 PM] Wack'd: It's all down to dialogue quirks [10:31 PM] maxwellelvis: He floods the place in his temper. [10:31 PM] maxwellelvis: Skipping over that because the NEXT part is fun. [10:31 PM] maxwellelvis: We get to revisit the events that lead up to Cap getting frozen and Bucky's "death" [10:32 PM] maxwellelvis: Johnny's turn to get the willies as he realizes who these two guys are and what's going to happen to them, things he can't try to prevent or risk more damage to spacetime [10:34 PM] maxwellelvis: So they bust up central ops, then Cap has a confrontation with Zemo. The shield shatters the tank full of Adhesive X, trapping Zemo in his hood for the rest of his days, though in this retelling, Cap actually tries to help Zemo, who refuses and says that not only can nothing get it off him, but he'd rather die than surrender, or better yet, he'll just kill Cap. [10:35 PM] maxwellelvis: Zemo escapes down a tunnel and though Johnny CAN keep up with him, he simultaneously CAN'T because he has no way of knowing if the escape tunnel is booby-trapped and so he loses Zemo in his hesitation. [10:35 PM] maxwellelvis: Meanwhile, Ben and the other Torches take out the V2 bay. [10:36 PM] Wack'd: Yeah they're really going all in on the 60s look for all the Torches here [10:36 PM] maxwellelvis: One of the missiles gets fired, with Ben on it. Jim and Toro can't keep up, but Ben manages to sabotage the missile in midair and steer it back to the castle and pull a Slim Pickens. [10:37 PM] Wack'd: Just a little scruff of hair on the top to tell them apart

[10:37 PM] maxwellelvis: Which is weird because you wouldn't suspect that from just the lineart [10:37 PM] maxwellelvis: which is what I have. [10:37 PM] Wack'd:

[10:38 PM] maxwellelvis: "I thought I died an' went ta Heaven, but then how come I'm lookin' at YOUR ugly kisser, Stretcho?" They managed to get out in time and save Ben from scattering himself all over France. [10:39 PM] maxwellelvis: And assuming that no Vibranium survived the explosion, all is well that ends well. [10:39 PM] maxwellelvis: Well... [10:39 PM] Umbramatic: something something dr strangelove [10:39 PM] maxwellelvis: except Uatu is still in the Baxter Building [10:39 PM] Wack'd:

[10:40 PM] maxwellelvis: Ben realizes that, if the Watcher is still here, that means, that not all of the Vibranium was in the castle. Uatu says nothing, but subtly smiles, leading us in to Marvel Two-In-One Annual One [10:41 PM] Bocaj: Dammit Uatu [10:41 PM] Bocaj: And also the Watchers [10:41 PM] Bocaj: Just your presence is interfering [11:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Okay so, on to part 2 of this story: [11:01 PM] maxwellelvis: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #1 [11:03 PM] maxwellelvis: I'll just get the highlights out of the way. [11:04 PM] maxwellelvis: Whizzer. U-Man. Giant flying swastika. There's a guy called The Thin Man. Whizzer. The original Patriot. Ben throws himself off a flag pole. Roy Thomas shamelessly inserts himself into the story. Whizzer. [11:05 PM] maxwellelvis: Also there's a superhero called Blue Diamond. For some reason I thought that's funny in 2019.

[blackkudos]

Count Basie

William James "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, Basie formed his own jazz orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

Biography

Early life and education

William Basie was born to Lillian and Harvey Lee Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several wealthy families in the area. Both of his parents had some type of musical background. His father played the mellophone, and his mother played the piano; in fact, she gave Basie his first piano lessons. She took in laundry and baked cakes for sale for a living. She paid 25 cents a lesson for Count Basie's piano instruction.

The best student in school, Basie dreamed of a traveling life, inspired by touring carnivals which came to town. He finished junior high school but spent much of his time at the Palace Theater in Red Bank, where doing occasional chores gained him free admission to performances. He quickly learned to improvise music appropriate to the acts and the silent movies.

Though a natural at the piano, Basie preferred drums. Discouraged by the obvious talents of Sonny Greer, who also lived in Red Bank and became Duke Ellington's drummer in 1919, Basie switched to piano exclusively at age 15. Greer and Basie played together in venues until Greer set out on his professional career. By then, Basie was playing with pick-up groups for dances, resorts, and amateur shows, including Harry Richardson's "Kings of Syncopation". When not playing a gig, he hung out at the local pool hall with other musicians, where he picked up on upcoming play dates and gossip. He got some jobs in Asbury Park at the Jersey Shore, and played at the Hong Kong Inn until a better player took his place.

Early career

Around 1920, Basie went to Harlem, a hotbed of jazz, where he lived down the block from the Alhambra Theater. Early after his arrival, he bumped into Sonny Greer, who was by then the drummer for the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington's early band. Soon, Basie met many of the Harlem musicians who were "making the scene," including Willie "the Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson.

Basie toured in several acts between 1925 and 1927, including Katie Krippen and Her Kiddies (featuring singer Katie Crippen) as part of the Hippity Hop show; on the Keith, the Columbia Burlesque, and the Theater Owners Bookers Association (T.O.B.A.) vaudeville circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to blues singer Gonzelle White as well as Crippen. His touring took him to Kansas City, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Chicago. Throughout his tours, Basie met many jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Before he was 20 years old, he toured extensively on the Keith and TOBA vaudeville circuits as a solo pianist, accompanist, and music director for blues singers, dancers, and comedians. This provided an early training that was to prove significant in his later career.

Back in Harlem in 1925, Basie gained his first steady job at Leroy's, a place known for its piano players and its "cutting contests." The place catered to "uptown celebrities," and typically the band winged every number without sheet music using "head arrangements." He met Fats Waller, who was playing organ at the Lincoln Theater accompanying silent movies, and Waller taught him how to play that instrument. (Basie later played organ at the Eblon Theater in Kansas City). As he did with Duke Ellington, Willie "the Lion" Smith helped Basie out during the lean times by arranging gigs at "house-rent parties," introducing him to other leading musicians, and teaching him some piano technique.

In 1928, Basie was in Tulsa and heard Walter Page and his Famous Blue Devils, one of the first big bands, which featured Jimmy Rushing on vocals. A few months later, he was invited to join the band, which played mostly in Texas and Oklahoma. It was at this time that he began to be known as "Count" Basie (see Jazz royalty).

Kansas City years

The following year, in 1929, Basie became the pianist with the Bennie Moten band based in Kansas City, inspired by Moten's ambition to raise his band to the level of Duke Ellington's or Fletcher Henderson's. Where the Blue Devils were "snappier" and more "bluesy," the Moten band was more refined and respected, playing in the "Kansas City stomp" style. In addition to playing piano, Basie was co-arranger with Eddie Durham, who notated the music.Their "Moten Swing", which Basie claimed credit for, was widely acclaimed and was an invaluable contribution to the development of swing music, and at one performance at the Pearl Theatre in Philadelphia in December 1932, the theatre opened its door to allow anybody in who wanted to hear the band perform. During a stay in Chicago, Basie recorded with the band. He occasionally played four-hand piano and dual pianos with Moten, who also conducted. The band improved with several personnel changes, including the addition of tenor saxophonist Ben Webster.

When the band voted Moten out, Basie took over for several months, calling the group "Count Basie and his Cherry Blossoms. "When his own band folded, he rejoined Moten with a newly re-organized band. A year later, Basie joined Bennie Moten's band, and played with them until Moten's death in 1935 from a failed tonsillectomy. When Moten died, the band tried to stay together but couldn't make a go of it. Basie then formed his own nine-piece band, Barons of Rhythm, with many former Moten members including Walter Page (bass), Freddie Green (guitar), Jo Jones (drums), Lester Young (tenor saxophone) and Jimmy Rushing (vocals).

The Barons of Rhythm were regulars at the Reno Club and often performed for a live radio broadcast. During a broadcast the announcer wanted to give Basie's name some style, so he called him "Count." Little did Basie know this touch of royalty would give him proper status and position him with the likes of Duke Ellington and Earl Hines.

Basie's new band which included many Moten alumni, with the important addition of tenor player Lester Young. They played at the Reno Club and sometimes were broadcast on local radio. Late one night with time to fill, the band started improvising. Basie liked the results and named the piece "One O'Clock Jump." According to Basie, "we hit it with the rhythm section and went into the riffs, and the riffs just stuck. We set the thing up front in D-flat, and then we just went on playing in F." It became his signature tune.

John Hammond and first recordings

At the end of 1936, Basie and his band, now billed as "Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm," moved from Kansas City to Chicago, where they honed their repertoire at a long engagement at the Grand Terrace Ballroom. Right from the start, Basie's band was noted for its rhythm section. Another Basie innovation was the use of two tenor saxophone players; at the time, most bands had just one. When Young complained of Herschel Evans' vibrato, Basie placed them on either side of the alto players, and soon had the tenor players engaged in "duels". Many other bands later adapted the split tenor arrangement.

In that city in October 1936, the band had a recording session which the producer John Hammond later described as "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with". Hammond had heard Basie's band by radio and went to Kansas City to check them out. He invited them to record, in performances which were Lester Young's earliest recordings. Those four sides were released on Vocalion Records under the band name of Jones-Smith Incorporated; the sides were "Shoe Shine Boy", "Evening", "Boogie Woogie", and "Lady Be Good". After Vocalion became a subsidiary of Columbia Records in 1938, "Boogie Woogie" was released in 1941 as part of a four-record compilation album entitled Boogie Woogie (Columbia album C44). When he made the Vocalion recordings, Basie had already signed with Decca Records, but did not have his first recording session with them until January 1937.

By then, Basie's sound was characterized by a "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. His personnel around 1937 included: Lester Young and Herschel Evans (tenor sax), Freddie Green (guitar), Jo Jones (drums), Walter Page (bass), Earle Warren (alto sax), Buck Clayton and Harry Edison (trumpet), Benny Morton and Dickie Wells (trombone). Lester Young, known as "Prez" by the band, came up with nicknames for all the other band members. He called Basie "Holy Man", "Holy Main", and just plain "Holy".

Basie favored blues, and he would showcase some of the most notable blues singers of the era after he went to New York: Billie Holiday, Jimmy Rushing, Big Joe Turner, Helen Humes, and Joe Williams. He also hired arrangers who knew how to maximize the band's abilities, such as Eddie Durham and Jimmy Mundy.

New York City and the swing years

When Basie took his orchestra to New York in 1937, they made the Woodside Hotel in Harlem their base (they often rehearsed in its basement). Soon, they were booked at the Roseland Ballroom for the Christmas show. Basie recalled a review, which said something like, "We caught the great Count Basie band which is supposed to be so hot he was going to come in here and set the Roseland on fire. Well, the Roseland is still standing". Compared to the reigning band of Fletcher Henderson, Basie's band lacked polish and presentation.

The producer John Hammond continued to advise and encourage the band, and they soon came up with some adjustments, including softer playing, more solos, and more standards. They paced themselves to save their hottest numbers for later in the show, to give the audience a chance to warm up. His first official recordings for Decca followed, under contract to agent MCA, including "Pennies from Heaven" and "Honeysuckle Rose".

Hammond introduced Basie to Billie Holiday, whom he invited to sing with the band. (Holiday did not record with Basie, as she had her own record contract and preferred working with small combos). The band's first appearance at the Apollo Theater followed, with the vocalists Holiday and Jimmy Rushing getting the most attention. Durham returned to help with arranging and composing, but for the most part, the orchestra worked out its numbers in rehearsal, with Basie guiding the proceedings. There were often no musical notations made. Once the musicians found what they liked, they usually were able to repeat it using their "head arrangements" and collective memory.

Next, Basie played at the Savoy, which was noted more for lindy-hopping, while the Roseland was a place for fox-trots and congas. In early 1938, the Savoy was the meeting ground for a "battle of the bands" with Chick Webb's group. Basie had Holiday, and Webb countered with the singer Ella Fitzgerald. As Metronome magazine proclaimed, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's"; the article described the evening:

Throughout the fight, which never let down in its intensity during the whole fray, Chick took the aggressive, with the Count playing along easily and, on the whole, more musically scientifically. Undismayed by Chick's forceful drum beating, which sent the audience into shouts of encouragement and appreciation and casual beads of perspiration to drop from Chick's brow onto the brass cymbals, the Count maintained an attitude of poise and self-assurance. He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary.

The publicity over the big band battle, before and after, gave the Basie band a boost and wider recognition. Soon after, Benny Goodman recorded their signature "One O'Clock Jump" with his band.

A few months later, Holiday left for Artie Shaw's band. Hammond introduced Helen Humes, whom Basie hired; she stayed with Basie for four years. When Eddie Durham left for Glenn Miller's orchestra, he was replaced by Dicky Wells. Basie's 14-man band began playing at the Famous Door, a mid-town nightspot with a CBS network feed and air conditioning, which Hammond was said to have bought the club in return for their booking Basie steadily throughout the summer of 1938. Their fame took a huge leap. Adding to their play book, Basie received arrangements from Jimmy Mundy (who had also worked with Benny Goodman and Earl Hines), particularly for "Cherokee", "Easy Does It", and "Super Chief". In 1939, Basie and his band made a major cross-country tour, including their first West Coast dates. A few months later, Basie quit MCA and signed with the William Morris Agency, who got them better fees.

On February 19, 1940, Count Basie and his Orchestra opened a four-week engagement at Southland in Boston, and they broadcast over the radio on 20 February.On the West Coast, in 1942 the band did a spot in Reveille With Beverly, a musical film starring Ann Miller, and a "Command Performance" for Armed Forces Radio, with Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Carmen Miranda, Jerry Colonna, and the singer Dinah Shore. Other minor movie spots followed, including Choo Choo Swing, Crazy House, Top Man, Stage Door Canteen, and Hit Parade of 1943. They also continued to record for OKeh Records and Columbia Records. The war years caused a lot of members turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. Dance hall bookings were down sharply as swing began to fade, the effects of the musicians' strikes of 1942–44 and 1948 began to be felt, and the public's taste grew for singers.

Basie occasionally lost some key soloists. However, throughout the 1940s, he maintained a big band that possessed an infectious rhythmic beat, an enthusiastic team spirit, and a long list of inspired and talented jazz soloists.

Los Angeles and the Cavalcade of Jazz concerts

Count Basie was the featured artist at the very first Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field on September 23, 1945 which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. Al Jarvis was the Emcee and other artists to appear on stage were Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers, The Peters Sisters, Slim and Bam, Valaida Snow, and Big Joe Turner. They played to a crowd of 15,000. Count Basie and his Orchestra played at the tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert also at Wrigley Field on June 20, 1954. He played along with The Flairs, Christine Kittrell, Lamp Lighters, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, Ruth Brown, and Perez Prado and his Orchestra.

Post-war and later years

The big band era appeared to have ended after the war, and Basie disbanded the group. For a while, he performed in combos, sometimes stretched to an orchestra. In 1950, he headlined the Universal-International short film "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet. He reformed his group as a 16-piece orchestra in 1952. This group was eventually called the New Testament band. Basie credited Billy Eckstine, a top male vocalist of the time, for prompting his return to Big Band. He said that Norman Granz got them into the Birdland club and promoted the new band through recordings on the Mercury, Clef, and Verve labels. The jukebox era had begun, and Basie shared the exposure along with early rock'n'roll and rhythm and blues artists. Basie's new band was more of an ensemble group, with fewer solo turns, and relying less on "head" and more on written arrangements.

Basie added touches of bebop "so long as it made sense", and he required that "it all had to have feeling". Basie's band was sharing Birdland with such bebop greats as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. Behind the occasional bebop solos, he always kept his strict rhythmic pulse, "so it doesn't matter what they do up front; the audience gets the beat". Basie also added flute to some numbers, a novelty at the time that became widely copied. Soon, his band was touring and recording again. The new band included: Paul Campbell, Tommy Turrentine, Johnny Letman, Idrees Sulieman, and Joe Newman (trumpet); Jimmy Wilkins, Benny Powell, Matthew Gee (trombone); Paul Quinichette and Floyd "Candy" Johnson (tenor sax); Marshal Royal and Ernie Wilkins (alto sax); and Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax). Down Beat magazine reported, "(Basie) has managed to assemble an ensemble that can thrill both the listener who remembers 1938 and the youngster who has never before heard a big band like this." In 1957, Basie sued the jazz venue Ball and Chain in Miami over outstanding fees, causing the closure of the venue.

In 1958, the band made its first European tour. Jazz was especially appreciated in France, The Netherlands, and Germany in the 1950s; these countries were the stomping grounds for many expatriate American jazz stars who were either resurrecting their careers or sitting out the years of racial divide in the United States. Neal Hefti began to provide arrangements, notably "Lil Darlin'". By the mid-1950s, Basie's band had become one of the preeminent backing big bands for some of the most prominent jazz vocalists of the time. They also toured with the "Birdland Stars of 1955", whose lineup included Sarah Vaughan, Erroll Garner, Lester Young, George Shearing, and Stan Getz.

In 1957, Basie released the live album Count Basie at Newport. "April in Paris" (arrangement by Wild Bill Davis) was a best-selling instrumental and the title song for the hit album. The Basie band made two tours in the British Isles and on the second, they put on a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II, along with Judy Garland, Vera Lynn, and Mario Lanza. He was a guest on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, a venue also opened to several other black entertainers. In 1959, Basie's band recorded a "greatest hits" double album The Count Basie Story (Frank Foster, arranger), and Basie/Eckstine Incorporated, an album featuring Billy Eckstine, Quincy Jones (as arranger) and the Count Basie Orchestra. It was released by Roulette Records, then later reissued by Capitol Records.

Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with Fred Astaire, featuring a dance solo to "Sweet Georgia Brown", followed in January 1961 by Basie performing at one of the five John F. Kennedy Inaugural Balls. That summer, Basie and Duke Ellington combined forces for the recording First Time! The Count Meets the Duke, each providing four numbers from their play books.

During the balance of the 1960s, the band kept busy with tours, recordings, television appearances, festivals, Las Vegas shows, and travel abroad, including cruises. Some time around 1964, Basie adopted his trademark yachting cap.

Through steady changes in personnel, Basie led the band into the 1980s. Basie made a few more movie appearances, such as the Jerry Lewis film Cinderfella (1960) and the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles (1974), playing a revised arrangement of "April in Paris".

During its heyday, The Gong Show (1976–80) used Basie's "Jumpin' at the Woodside" during some episodes, while an NBC stagehand named Eugene Patton would dance on stage; Patton became known as "Gene Gene, the Dancing Machine".

Marriage, family and death

Basie was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. On July 21, 1930, Basie married Vivian Lee Winn, in Kansas City, Missouri. They were divorced sometime before 1935. Some time in or before 1935, the now single Basie returned to New York City, renting a house at 111 West 138th Street, Manhattan, as evidenced by the 1940 census. He married Catherine Morgan on July 13, 1940 in the King County courthouse in Seattle, Washington. In 1942, they moved to Queens. Their only child, Diane, was born February 6 1944. She was born with cerebral palsy and the doctors claimed she would never walk. The couple kept her and cared deeply for her, and especially through her mother's tutelage Diane learned not only to walk but to swim. The Basies bought a home in the new whites-only neighborhood of Addisleigh Park in 1946 on Adelaide Road and 175th Street, St. Albans, Queens.

On April 11, 1983, Catherine Basie died of heart disease at the couple's home in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. She was 67 years old.

Count Basie died of pancreatic cancer in Hollywood, Florida on April 26, 1984 at the age of 79.

Singers

Basie hitched his star to some of the most famous vocalists of the 1950s and 1960s, which helped keep the Big Band sound alive and added greatly to his recording catalog. Jimmy Rushing sang with Basie in the late 1930s. Joe Williams toured with the band and was featured on the 1957 album One O'Clock Jump, and 1956's Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings, with "Every Day (I Have the Blues)" becoming a huge hit. With Billy Eckstine on the album Basie/Eckstine Incorporated, in 1959. Ella Fitzgerald made some memorable recordings with Basie, including the 1963 album Ella and Basie!. With the New Testament Basie band in full swing, and arrangements written by a youthful Quincy Jones, this album proved a swinging respite from her Songbook recordings and constant touring she did during this period. She even toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s, and Fitzgerald and Basie also met on the 1979 albums A Classy Pair, Digital III at Montreux, and A Perfect Match, the last two also recorded live at Montreux. In addition to Quincy Jones, Basie was using arrangers such as Benny Carter (Kansas City Suite), Neal Hefti (The Atomic Mr Basie), and Sammy Nestico (Basie-Straight Ahead).

Frank Sinatra recorded for the first time with Basie on 1962's Sinatra-Basie and for a second studio album on 1964's It Might as Well Be Swing, which was arranged by Quincy Jones. Jones also arranged and conducted 1966's live Sinatra at the Sands which featured Sinatra with Count Basie and his orchestra at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. In May 1970, Sinatra performed in London's Royal Festival Hall with the Basie orchestra, in a charity benefit for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Sinatra later said of this concert "I have a funny feeling that those two nights could have been my finest hour, really. It went so well; it was so thrilling and exciting".

Basie also recorded with Tony Bennett in the late 1950s. Their albums together included In Person and Strike Up the Band. Basie also toured with Bennett, including a date at Carnegie Hall. Other notable recordings were with Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, and Sarah Vaughan. One of Basie's biggest regrets was never recording with Louis Armstrong, though they shared the same bill several times. In 1968 Basie and his Band recorded an album with Jackie Wilson titled Manufacturers of Soul.

Legacy and honors

Count Basie introduced several generations of listeners to the Big Band sound and left an influential catalog. Basie is remembered by many who worked for him as being considerate of musicians and their opinions, modest, relaxed, fun-loving, dryly witty, and always enthusiastic about his music. In his autobiography, he wrote, "I think the band can really swing when it swings easy, when it can just play along like you are cutting butter."

In Red Bank, New Jersey, the Count Basie Theatre, a property on Monmouth Street redeveloped for live performances, and Count Basie Field were named in his honor.

Received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 1974.

Mechanic Street, where he grew up with his family, has the honorary title of Count Basie Way.

In 2009, Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, were renamed as Paul Robeson Boulevard and Count Basie Place. The corner is the location of 555 Edgecombe Avenue, also known as the Paul Robeson Home, a National Historic Landmark where Count Basie had also lived.

In 2010, Basie was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

In October 2013, version 3.7 of WordPress was code-named Count Basie.

In 2019, Basie was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Count Basie among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Asteroid 35394 Countbasie, discovered by astronomers at Caussols in 1997, was named after him. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 November 2019 (M.P.C. 118220).

Representation in other media

Jerry Lewis used "Blues in Hoss' Flat" from Basie's Chairman of the Board album, as the basis for his own "Chairman of the Board" routine in the movie The Errand Boy.

"Blues in Hoss' Flat," composed by Basie band member Frank Foster, was used by the radio DJ Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins as his theme song in San Francisco and New York.

In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Brenda Fricker's "Pigeon Lady" character claims to have heard Basie in Carnegie Hall.

Drummer Neil Peart of the Canadian rock band Rush recorded a version of "One O'Clock Jump" with the Buddy Rich Big Band, and has used it at the end of his drum solos on the 2002 Vapor Trails Tour and Rush's 30th Anniversary Tour.

Since 1963 "The Kid From the Red Bank" has been the theme and signature music for the most popular Norwegian radio show, Reiseradioen, aired at NRK P1 every day during the summer.

In the 2016 movie The Matchbreaker, Emily Atkins (Christina Grimmie) recounts the story of how Count Basie met his wife 3 times without speaking to her, telling her he'd marry her someday in their first conversation, and then marrying her 7 years later.

The post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance have a song titled "Count Bassy" that is included on their 2018 album Artificial Selection.

Discography

Count Basie made most of his albums with his big band. See the Count Basie Orchestra Discography.

From 1929–1932, Basie was part of Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra:

Count Basie in Kansas City: Bennie Moten's Great Band of 1930-1932 (RCA Victor, 1965)

Basie Beginnings: Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra (1929–1932) (Bluebird/RCA, 1989)

The Swinging Count!, (Clef, 1952)

Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman (Roulette, 1958)

The Atomic Mr. Basie (Roulette, 1958)

Memories Ad-Lib with Joe Williams (Roulette, 1958)

Basie/Eckstine Incorporated with Billy Eckstine ( Roulette 1959)

String Along with Basie (Roulette, 1960)

Count Basie and the Kansas City 7 (Impulse!, 1962)

Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' with the Alan Copeland Singers (ABC-Paramount, 1966)

Basie Meets Bond (United Artists, 1966)

Loose Walk with Roy Eldridge (Pablo, 1972)

Basie Jam (Pablo, 1973)

The Bosses with Big Joe Turner (1973)

For the First Time (Pablo, 1974)

Satch and Josh with Oscar Peterson (Pablo, 1974)

Basie & Zoot with Zoot Sims (Pablo, 1975)

Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 (Pablo, 1975)

For the Second Time (Pablo, 1975)

Basie Jam 2 (Pablo, 1976)

Basie Jam 3 (Pablo, 1976)

Kansas City 5 (Pablo, 1977)

The Gifted Ones with Dizzy Gillespie (Pablo, 1977)

Montreux '77 (Pablo, 1977)

Basie Jam: Montreux '77 (Pablo, 1977)

Satch and Josh...Again with Oscar Peterson (Pablo, 1977)

Night Rider with Oscar Peterson (Pablo, 1978)

Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (Pablo, 1978)

Yessir, That's My Baby with Oscar Peterson (Pablo, 1978)

Kansas City 8: Get Together (Pablo, 1979)

Kansas City 7 (Pablo, 1980)

On the Road (Pablo, 1980)

Kansas City 6 (Pablo, 1981)

Mostly Blues...and Some Others (Pablo, 1983)

As sideman

With Harry Edison

Edison's Lights (Pablo, 1976)

Filmography

Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) – as himself

Top Man (1943) – as himself

Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet (1950) – as himself

Jamboree (1957)

Cinderfella (1960) – as himself

Sex and the Single Girl (1964) – as himself with his orchestra

Blazing Saddles (1974) – as himself with his orchestra

Last of the Blue Devils (1979) – interview and concert by the orchestra in documentary on Kansas City music

Awards

Grammy Awards

In 1958, Basie became the first African-American to win a Grammy Award.

Grammy Hall of Fame

By 2011, four recordings of Count Basie had been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."

Honors and inductions

On May 23, 1985, William "Count" Basie was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. The award was received by his son, Aaron Woodward.

On September 11, 1996 the U.S. Post Office issued a Count Basie 32 cents postage stamp. Basie is a part of the Big Band Leaders issue, which, is in turn, part of the Legends of American Music series.

In 2009, Basie was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

In May 2019, Basie was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Memphis, TN, presented by The Blues Foundation.

National Recording Registry

In 2005, Count Basie's song "One O'Clock Jump" (1937) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

[dykerory]

fanfic authors tag game

I was tagged by @madprinceofdenmark​, the bastard

Ao3 Name: Beware_The_Ravenstag. It was my old tumblr url and i’m really to lazy to change it on ao3

Fandom(s): Legends of Tomorrow mostly, with a smattering of other miscellaneous fandoms.

Number of fics: 17

Fic you spent the most time on: Boy Meets Heyworld, my submission for this years DC rarepair swap. I’ve never worked on one fic consistently for a very long time, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out

Fic you spent the least time on: Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I wrote this in a daze after Slay Anything aired, because the idea of Mick trying to write Ali in juvie while Len was just over his shoulder being jealous was too good to pass up. But yeah it’s very short and didn’t take very long. 

Longest fic: The Saga of Number 08, coming in at 15,561, but as yet incomplete. It’s an Umbrella Academy fic born of a 2am discussion about if Luther had gone to Mars instead of the moon and picked up Mark Watney, from the Martian. It only gets weirded from there. 

Shortest fic: A Matter of Taste, at 136. A short tumblr drabble I wrote a couple years ago, transferred to ao3 for safekeeping. 

Most hits: The Saga of Number 08, by a pretty significant margin. 

Most kudos: Break Your Heart, a short and sweet Hellwave fic I also wrote for the rarepair exchange. 

Most comment threads: The Saga of Number 08, mostly because I don’t usually respond to comments, but my cowriter does (I’ll tag their tumblr if i can find it). 

Fave fic you wrote: DEFINITELY Boy Meets Heyworld. I’m so proud of how it turned out, and I regularly reread it. Mostly because there aren’t many other marlie fics

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: It's Not The How, It's The Why. No idea why I made it multichaptered when I am notoriously bad at keeping up with those. I’d probably go back and rewrite it to be a longfic about if Mick had been made to forget that Doomworld was created, just as brainwashed as the other Legends.  

Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: 

The fic that I’ll post next is part of the witcher big bang, so I’m forbidden from posting snippets, no matter how much I want to show off. Here’s a snippet from a temeraire fic that may or may not ever be published, but I had to get out of my head. 

“Play! Mommy, play!” shrieked Lucille, barely two, her blonde hair bouncing.  Hammond darted a nervous glance at his sister, then at Churki. 

“Not ‘mommy’,” corrected Churki, “Churki. Chur-ki.” 

“Chookey!” screamed Lucille, delighted. Margaret hid a laugh behind a delicate cough.

I tag @deputy-ajay-ghale @zaritarazi and idk anyone else who sees this and wants to do this 

[alphawave-writes]

Siebren and Harold relaxing while listening to some songs until a romantic one pops up. They kinda look at each other and slowly start to dance. They're so into it that even when the song is over, they can't stop looking in each others eyes.

I was talking about this in the discord server and it got me by the heart strings, so congrats, anon. You get a story AND a draft of a drawing. I’m also opening up commissions, so if you’re interested, hit me up here or support me by buying me a ko-fi.

All SFW below. Pre-relationship

It’s become quite comfortable to have Harold in his room nowadays. Perhaps it’s because Harold mostly keeps to himself, reading his books and journal articles with very little interference into Siebren’s work. Sometimes he will bring Specimen 28 and Hammond in, but those moments are rare and usually done with prior notice. He doesn’t seem to mind the little radio set, the one thing Siebren smuggled in from Earth. A guilty pleasure, but one that Harold doesn’t mind indulging in.

Today, Siebren is in a particularly festive mood. He’s humming along to an upbeat electroswing song that’s playing, waving his fingers like a conductor. From this angle, Siebren can see Harold’s foot tapping to the melody. He’s reading his personal favourite book, Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami, for what must be the twentieth time already. Siebren doesn’t pretend to understand literature, least of all Murakami’s work, but it’s Harold’s favourite, and it has a few beautiful quotes within, and that’s all that matters.

Harold glances up from his book and stares at Harold, smiling fondly. He adjusts his glasses on his face. “Something on me?”

“I feel like dancing,” Siebren says all of a sudden. “Next song?”

“It’s on shuffle play, isn’t it? What if it’s one of your weird heavy metal songs you got on there?”

“If the universe wants us to dance to Van Halen, we shall dance to Van Halen.” Siebren puts his hand out. “Join me.”

Harold just smiles as he closes the book in his lap, takes his glasses off, and places them on Siebren’s desk. He takes Siebren’s hand, standing up slowly. “If it’s heavy metal, I must warn you, I have been known to have a killer head butt.”

“Always knew you were thick headed,” Siebren smirks.

The electroswing song fades away. The name of the next track flickers across the radio, but Siebren does not see it. Deep double basses and a jazz drum set begin their prologue, before the string orchestra comes in. Fly me to the moon. Rather ironic, Siebren can’t help but think. He’d say it out loud but Harold's eyes are wide and his cheeks are tinted pink. 

Siebren’s body runs on autopilot as he places his other hand on Harold’s back and dances slowly with him. It’s immediately apparent that Harold is the better dancer of the two. His steps are featherlight and the way he moves is intimately familiar to him, and yet he lets Siebren lead, clumsy old Siebren ‘lead foot’ de Kuiper. He does not stare at his feet or at his hands. Instead, he’s staring at Siebren’s thin lips.

He doesn’t know if it’s the song or the sheer proximity, but Siebren’s never noticed Harold’s eyes before. Most of the time they’re black as space, but in this moment he sees specks of gold in the chocolate rim of his irises. From this close, Siebren can see the stars glitter behind Harold’s eyes, and they’re beautiful to observe from afar, but they never looked as captivating as now. When the singer sings Darling, kiss me, Siebren can’t help but let his eyes flicker down to Harold’s lips, plump and pink and so perfectly kissable.

Their dancing is slow, barely a shuffle in the cramped conditions of Siebren’s bedroom, but Siebren is no longer aware of the four walls around him. All he’s aware of are the soft breaths that escape Harold’s lungs and the ardent look in his stare and the song that’s somehow perfectly able to articulate what Siebren could never find the words to say. 

In other words, please be true

In other words, I love you.

Siebren’s never had such an overwhelming desire to kiss someone before in his life. As the piano tinkles away, the strings high and the accompaniment low, all he needs to do is lean forward and feel those lips against his and be swept away in the magical, perfect moment. Instead, the music dies, until there’s no sound but the thump of his heart beating in his chest.

Harold doesn’t move away. He’s still holding onto Siebren, his touch tender and his gaze soft. He should push Harold away, but he doesn’t. He stays in the same position, staring down into those eyes, two black holes that tug him endlessly forward, breaking him down molecule by molecule. If it’s Harold, he’ll let him do it. Let him tear him apart and piece him back together. Let him be whole, just as long as Harold continues to look at him like this.

Harold is thinking the same thing as he takes in the ocean-blue of Siebren’s eyes. Lost to the world, they continue to stare at each other for several minutes, the ocean just as lost to the moon as the moon is lost to the ocean.