#ngl 24 year old me could cry

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

Holy shit we are officially 200 followers away from 3000!

Every milestone, heck every follower, absolutely blows my mind! Nearly 3000 people care enough and want to see what I post to the point they follow me?!?

If I told my 13 year old self that I had this many people caring about me and my thoughts she wouldn’t have believed it and then proceeded to cry tears of joy

Thank you all so so much, I already know what we’ll do to celebrate to share this or any of my fics to help us get to this milestone and we can all celebrate together!

Love you all (nearly 😉) 3000 🩵

[ya-what--ya-erster]

Goodbye Don't Last Forever

Javey. Kind of funny ngl. Enjoy.

David Jacobs was eighteen and newly graduated when his girlfriend, Francis Sullivan, left for Santa Fe, leaving no goodbye and no way to contact her.

David went crazy when she left. He loved her and she left without a word to him. He made some stupid (but not too regrettable) decisions in the time after. Dyed his dirty blonde hair a dark shade of brown. Started wearing his glasses again. Went outside only when required (as in almost never). Stopped talking to many of his friends.

Only two of the habits died, and fortunately it was those last two. He found himself to be pretty fine within a few months of her being gone.

Six years later, David Jacobs was 24 years old and getting a new roommate.

"Hi, are you David?" A confident voice came from behind him.

He turned to face- woah he's hot- the person asking the question.

"Yeah, yes, that's me. David Jacobs. Hi."

The man smiled and held out a hand to shake.

"Jack Kelly."

Those eyes... that handshake. So familiar. But the familiarity was out of reach in David's mind.

So he stood up a little straighter, smiled back, and said, "Nice to meet you in person finally. I mean I trusted Albert enough to not find me a serial killer roommate but... I feel very assured now, haha..."

"I won't kill ya, Davey."

Davey...

"Good to know. Same here. Do you need help taking anything up?"

Jack shook his head. "All I's got is this." He nodded to a moderately sized suitcase that he was gripping.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't-"

"It's nothing, Dave. I just had to leave kinda quickly and didn't have much anyways."

"Well, uh. Let me uh... I guess, follow me?"

...

David was down bad for his roommate. And, down bad as in like, Taylor Swift "if I can't have him/I might just die it would make no difference."

Something about him, Jack, felt so familiar in all the most wonderful ways. His smile was a smile David felt like he had seen dozens of times.

David wanted to know why. He wanted to know why this boy felt so natural in the environment. Why he seemed to be the missing piece in David's life.

He was going to find out.

Not today though, he decided, when Jack entered the apartment looking like he was about to burst into tears.

"Hey, are you okay?" David asked slowly.

Jack nodded stiffly, putting his head down and throwing his bag and coat to the floor.

"Jack, you look sad."

"I'm fine."

"Jack."

"I ain't- you don't gotta be all in my business." Jack was heading to his tiny bedroom, so David grabbed his arm to stop him.

"You can tell me, you know?"

Jack leaned forward, hugging David, beginning to cry.

"Woah, hey. Hey, it's alright, let it out..." David wished Jack would hug him more often, and not while crying.

Jack continued to cry for maybe three minutes, David didn't know exactly. What David did know is that when Jack made eye contact with him, he looked like he had done something horrible.

"I ain't a real boy, Dave."

David's heart could have shattered just then, hearing Jack sound so broken.

"What do you mean, you aren't a real boy?"

"I wasn't- I'm not- I am a boy. I know and promise that I am but I just- wasn't born that way and I feel like a fraud and I get sad sometimes."

"That's okay to be sad, Jack. But you're a boy, I know you are. If you say you're a boy, you're a boy. No, how old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Okay, Jack Kelly, you are no boy, you're a freakin' man."

Jack smiled a little, wiping his eyes dry.

"Thank ya, Davey."

...

David was having none of this "stay up until 3 AM painting" bullshit.

"Jack Kelly, you will start going to bed at a decent time or so help me-"

"I'm fine, Dave!" Jack defended himself.

"You drank four coffees today and three energy drinks. I don't even know how you're still alive!"

"Fine, fine. I will be in bed no later than midnight."

"Is that the best I'm gonna get?"

"Yup."

David sighed, deciding to give in.

"At least show me what you've been working on into the ungodly hours of the night?"

"Maybe someday." Jack smiled mysteriously and disappeared once again into his room.

David was not staring at his fine ass as he retreated. He wasn't.

...

"Davey, do you got any food?"

David was regretting getting a roommate but also enjoyed having someone around. He didn't appreciate having to buy random shit every other week because Jack had a craving and pretty much no money. (He spent his money on rent and art supplies, which David didn't mind because his apartment was cheaper and Jack's art was amazing.)

"We have fruit snacks and spaghetti-o's if that qualifies as food. We might also have a banana."

Jack strolled into the kitchen area after David's previous statement and pulled out a packet of fruit snacks, a can of spaghetti-o's, and the blender.

"What the fuck are you doing?" David asked, shocked and amused all at once.

"I'm making me some dinner, you want some?"

"Jack, there is no way in Hell you are going to eat- drink spaghetti-o's and fruit snacks put through the blender. It's gonna be terrible."

"Actually, no it isn't. My old friend dared me to do it and it actually tastes good."

David had a brief memory flash through his mind.

"Francis! I dare you to put the two most different things you can think of in the blender and then drink it." Race shouted.

"Okay, I'll do it." Francis smiled that daredevil smile of hers and got started. Spaghetti-o's and fruit snacks.

When it was complete, Francis took a long drink.

"Wow. That's actually not terrible."

"Davey, you good?"

David nodded. "Sorry, just. You just reminded me of something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Ex-girlfriend."

"Thought you said you're gay?"

"She kind of helped me out on discovering that."

"Well. That's nice of her. How so?"

"Uh. It's a long story."

"I bet I can handle it. Besides, I have an abomination to drink. I'll listen."

"Oh. Okay. Well. Basically, she decided she was going to Santa Fe and wasn't going to, you know, say goodbye to me or anyone. And I spent a long time angry and then realized I didn't really miss her romantically at all and just was pissed, and then me and my friend Albert accidentally fucked when we were drunk and I was like 'wow that's allowed?' and anyways uh Al and I aren't and weren't interested in each other at all, we were just drunk like I said, but then it all made sense why I wasn't like, sad over the 'love of my life' leaving because it was just a high school girlfriend and I'm not even into girls. So I'm not even mad at her anymore really I'm just gay and confused and I've talked a lot now sorry."

David looked up at Jack for a reaction. He was wearing this face... David could not name the emotion.

"What was her name?"

Huh. Weird question.

"Why?"

"Well, I was just wonderin' if maybe I met her, since I's come here from Santa Fe and all."

"Oh. Yeah, uh. Her name's Francis Sullivan."

"Have a picture?"

"Yeah, one sec." David scrolled through his phone's camera roll until he found her. "Here."

The picture made Jack frown, and David kind of would have done anything to make him smile again.

"You know her?" David asked.

"Yeah, uh. I knew her."

David's heart sped up.

"Really? Is she doing okay? Is she alright? Do you know where she lives, cause I might need to go-"

"Davey. Stop."

"What?"

"You can't exactly go visit her."

"Why not?"

Jack seemed to be looking inside himself instead of at David when he spoke.

"She was... the real depressed type, Dave. Always sad. She never smiled, I don't think. She was in a real bad state of mind."

"What're you-"

"She ain't alive no more."

Everything stopped in David's head.

"What?"

"I'm real sorry, Dave. She just ain't... But I'm here."

"What's that supposed to mean? 'You're here?'"

Jack hesitated before opening his mouth. "She didn't exactly... die the way you're thinking. She, uh. She just... more... changed? She ain't Francis anymore. She cut her hair and went on T and got top surgery and goes by a boy's name now, and he/him. So, uh, tellin' ya she died was probably not the brightest idea but that was an in-the-moment decision."

"Good for him. What does that have to do with you being here?"

Jack made absolute eye contact with David, wondering how he could be so fucking stupid, and held it. Held it as he crossed the room and held it up until the moment he pulled David into a hug.

"I'm sorry for leavin' you. I just had ta get away."

David jerked away from Jack in a quick movement.

"You? You're... You- I can't-" David's brain was moving too quickly and all he could think to do was punch Jack in the face as hard as humanly possible.

Which he did.

"Son of a bitch- Dave! I only told ya cause I thought you said ya weren't mad anymore!"

"Yeah, well. Now I am, asshole. You... You deep friend burnt-ass dino nugget dickhead. You absolute.... I can't even. How dare you? I fucking loved you, yes even if I'm gay now, and you, you just ran the fuck off and never bothered contacting me for six years. I would have understood if you needed to leave, needed to leave me, needed... whatever. I would have given you your space. I hate you."

Jack looked hurt. It made David feel good. All that pain he went through and it was being passed on.

"Davey-"

"David."

"Right, sorry. David. I'm really sorry. I don't- I never meant ta hurt you. To be honest, I thought you'd be glad if I left and never came back."

David felt less good.

"I just- I wanted to feel like I could be free. It didn't really... go as planned. Because I just realized I wanted to come back. Mostly for you."

David didn't stop to think. David just kissed Jack like he was hungry for it.

"I fucking hate you." He said, pulling away.

"No you don't."

"Don't test your luck."

A small moment of touching silence passed.

"So..." Jack started. "You slept with Al?"

"Now I actually do hate you. Get out, I'm calling him. Maybe he'll be nice to me."

"Davey... I love you. I always did."

"I'm... good to know. I can't- I'm still mad, bitch."

Jack just laughed, and he knew right then that it would all be fine.

A/N: hope y'all liked it :) It'll be on ao3 asap

[abracazabka]

I went out of my way (not really) to watch this movie TOGETHER WITH OP so I could read this monster. 

I'm sure like 5 people have watched this shitty lil movie. But it doesn't matter. I shall read this essay of my friend's insane I mean enlightened prose. 

Alright starting now:

In case one Showdown wasnt enough. Oh god there are two of them

These amazing shots of cinematography: NO MORE MERCY. KILL YOURSELF.

Omg i didnt notice he smoked the stolen pack i thought that was his own pack. Thats funny ngl

EVERYONE DOES LOOK AT LEAST 24 YEARS OLD

Yeah fr the vibe is so rancid there's no narrative at all about preventing violence, just which violence is intolerable (it clearly takes quite a bit to be intolerable) but I guess that makes sense…cop character…

NO FR THEY BRIEFLY MENTIONED, NOT IN THESE WORDS, THAT CAPITALISM LEADS TO VIOLENCE. THEN NEVER AGAIN. BROOOO

doomed by the narrative not for any compelling reason but because everyone is psycho crazy violent 

Nobody else will talk about this - you sure are right about that 💗

It is kinda funny the shitty nature of everyone doing crap for money, like some of the teen fighters and Kate, are a large part of the film and considered bad - and Ken's last name is Marx, implying a critique of capitalism. YET Ken fights in the ring while everyone makes bets and the teen fighters aren't mentioned again. Ffs

And no yeah fr Ken was not just dumb about trying to get Julie but also unapologetic about it when his Oh Lets Just Be Friendssss thing didnt hit

Our holy cannoli, Daniel/Ralph

WAIT CRYING I DIDNT REALIZE THAT. SORRY EDDIE 💔

Julie/Ken/Mike truther over here thats me thats right

Making me mad again with that unelaborated scene with Billy. But mostly confused. Literally why show that when it has no further purpose

Literally there were two or three montages you couldve characterized Billy more in that time 😐

Sorry what? What? Dude I did not register Lee knew Billy at all. Where the hell was that mentioned in the movie. I didnt get the revenge thing at all

Yeah I saw the picture but. Man lets be honest all these random white guys look the same. Didnt register that shit at all. Guess that makes more sense now 

Omg Kate is kind of like the Silver to his Kreese youre rignt…I wish she wasnt so erotically weird about high school boys. Haha nooo dont engage in predatory behavior youre so sexy…

I do like that point. They really do seem like partners, like no one has more power than the other. And yet theres no boss controlling them. They genuinely have their system as co-leaders of this thing. Thats actually a refreshing dynamic for a male and female villain haha

I mean yeah its mostly professional but there is that weird moment where Lee moves her hair off her shoulder. I didn't like that haha…

She has a bit of a mean streak but the movie doesnt know FRRRR but to be fair id be kind of an ass too having to deal with Tom

Reading through the bits about Julie and Kate accidentally merging in your mind makes me so disappointed again. It wouldve been so good!!! Alas a plot such as that is ahead of Showdown's time…

The first photo in the Tom section makes it looks like he's in a poly relationship with his friends which. Mightve saved him. Poly dynamics really would have saved all of them actually. 

GINA GINA GINA. Youre such a cutie pie. And a bitch. I want you.

Literally Tom barely pays attention to her but then is like DONT TALK TO ANOTHER GUY OR ILL KILL HIM like Tom Jesus christ maybe SHOW SOME AFFECTION THEN

To be honest maybe Julie looks so similar to Kate for the exact reason i said before. Shes a stand in. And Tom abuses her because he cant abuse Kate who makes him feel so powerless and small. 

Like whether I'm right or not I still fucking hate Tom. Lee's treatment of Tom also explains Tom's treatment of Julie but again, fuckin whatever. Tom can suck my dick and choke

Literally if Kate was a man and Tom a girl and the movie ended without punishment for Kate for being in a relationship with a minor, everyone would grab their pitchforks, hello???

Yeah the end with Tom is so dissatisfying. At least Johnny dissociates 

I HATE THIS MOVIE TOO. Compels me though.

HELD TOGETHER BY SHOESTRING AND DUCT TAPE LMFAO. YEAH. YEAH.

Oh I'll tell you about it…again.

The basic premise of The Karate Kid (1984) — down on his luck new kid learns how to defend himself and ultimately triumphs over his bullies with the help of a wise, old mentor — is far from unique. But since its release, a wave of movies in the 80s and even as far as into the 90s, clearly inspired by Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, came in with fists raised, ready to dominate late night television and home media.

There's No Retreat, No Surrender (1985), The Power Within (1995) (whose villain is played by none other than William Zabka), and my personal favorite of this niche genre: Showdown (1993), directed by Robert Radler

Also known as American Karate Tiger, for a reason that I could only assume has to do with the fact No Retreat, No Surrender is also known as Karate Tiger (no relation to these films however, besides in genre and story)

Anyway, make no mistake: this is not a good movie. I say it's my favorite, not because of its quality, but because there's just So Much About It that wouldn't leave my mind. This is besides the fact it's transparently derivative of The Karate Kid (hell, the main character in the movie references it in a scene! I was so mad!) — the way it's different (and worse) delights me to no end that the others hadn't achieved somehow.

tldr; a LONG assortment of words with some analysis because I need to tell people about this movie ahfkakfaf. NOT a coherent essay (or an essay at all really)

Part 1: Boring stuff like BACKGROUND or THEMES

First thing to know: there's another movie with the same name that was released in 1933 too, but that one's directed by Leo Fong. In case one Showdown wasn't enough.

Now, Showdown never calls it karate, and I'm not going to pretend and say I could easily tell from one type of martial arts to another by glance, so I'm going to refrain from calling this movie strictly any certain type. Anyway, Its fighting content is more reminiscent of another film that came out in the same year and that'd be familiar to Karate Kid fans and lovers of William Zabka's filmography: Shootfighter (1993).

Like Shootfighter, an underground, illegal fighting ring plays a significant role in Showdown, albeit being less fatal and a local scene. A group of teens and young (?) adults, led by their bloodthirsty criminal sensei, in a dojo make up some of its participants, which naturally incentivizes the high schoolers in the dojo to be aggressive in school — bullying, intimidation, cultish significance in aggression and domination blah blah blah blah we all know the type. Regardless, the high school the new kid moves to certainly doesn't need any help throwing him into the deep end of trouble. By the first five minutes of introduction, his new schoolmates are seen stealing, driving motorcycles on school campus, and contributing to these amazing shots of cinematography:

I'm sure they've all got their reasons and such for their misbehavior, or not because they're nothing more than dressing for the background when they aren't the Cobra Kai lookalikes. One thing I can assume is true for all students is a distinct sense of parental neglect, considering the only parents we see is five minutes of the main character's mom, who's job hunting is never quite resolved by the end of the movie and whom I could only guess decided to fit in to the new place by also abandoning her son to travel to the next state or two for a job.

In addition to this, the members of the school staff are either struggling to do their best or instead doing the bare minimum. The most effort disciplining and guidance we see is a pack of cigarettes taken away by the vice principal... before he's smoking it himself behind a building. Honestly, I don't blame him.

Including those involved with the illegal fighting ring, the only barely respectable adult figure around is the janitor, who is — you've guessed it — the "Mr. Miyagi" character of the movie. But considering we've first been introduced to him as a former cop who quit after having accidentally killed a teen (apparently? Everybody looks at least 24 years old) during the job, it's hard pickings around here.

Why am I introducing this all firstly? Well, it's not a deep movie at all, and yet the first thing Showdown introduces to the audience is this oddly grim mood that makes up a major theme of the film: the inevitability of violence. Even when the main character learns how to defend himself, it is with the sense of precaution to be prepared to fight, not for finding a way to end them. The aura of aggression never truly leaves the scenes to let the main character be in peace for long, and he eventually falls into the illegal fighting ring himself out of his own volition — only, it's the Mega Ultra Battle in the end so it's badass and not treated as bleak at all. Hell, the main tagline of the movie is literally "There is no other way."

It's interesting that the main character learns to defend himself because of the efforts from the former cop turned janitor. And while he busts the operation in the end, the janitor ultimately returns to the force, as well as takes up a job to teach the (now arrested) sensei's former students as his own. Sure, they wouldn't be strung into illegal fighting rings anymore, but I question how much the inevitability of violence is enforced because of the expectation of its existence in the first place. Even in the finale, when the main character and his mentor get their happy ending and defeat their respective rivals, it's not with a new future promising radical change for nonviolence and reconstruction, but a grim determination that they could rise to the challenge of the eventual call to aggression.

There is some effort to try and answer the question: "Why do people commit violence?" For example, the main character learns that many teens involved in the fighting ring are trying to pay for college. He himself empathizes, with his mother expressing frustration about being unable to find a good job. Nevertheless, both the main character and his mentor ultimately condemn the practice as exploitment and bust the fighting ring. While this frees the participants from any more physical harm, the question of how the teens fighting for money could support themselves (the reason that got them into illegal fighting in the first place) is never asked again.

This is not even to mention the actual physical — and even psychological — consequences of illegal tournament fighting that are barely portrayed, if at all. Most attitudes surrounding involvement by the teens are blasé, if content with the gigs they got. It's not hard to imagine that they've been manipulated by an intimidating sensei into what is essentially a cult of violence, but Showdown does not dwell on that. This is not the only thing it does not dwell on.

I'm not necessarily saying a former cop janitor and a high schooler in his midtwenties could singlehandedly rid their society of the deeper, insidious causes that breed the cycle of violence in communities. And frankly, this is a lot to ask for a movie that was never made to answer such questions, and it knows itself. I can recognize that. However, Showdown's fatalistic attitude towards violence feels particularly dooming in an otherwise stupid movie.

As a conclusion to this point, here are the opening words to Showdown as the first thing the audience learns about the film, with a sense of finality in its belief:

Part 2: You would think I'd introduce the characters first

Like the premise, the characters of Showdown share many of the same archetypes as the ones in The Karate Kid. The 1984 film however has a more nuanced and colorful cast, and I will be the asshole comparing the two films and their respective characters shamelessly. Admittedly, this section is the most like a summary, so I won't go through every single person but those I find interesting enough to talk about. I do promise to share whatever cool trivia I learned of the actors however, because nobody else sure will.

Firstly, let's take a look at the main character. Unlike Daniel LaRusso, who looks 12 but was played by a 22 year old at the time, Ken Marx looked as old as he did portrayed by someone who definitely was too old to be in high school.

'"I get it. When this is all over, I'm gonna know how to do all kinds of karate blocks, right? It's like, uh, wax on wax off, paint the fence, sand the floor..."

Ken Marx/Marks is a fine protagonist. New kid from Kansas, he's nice enough (especially compared to his new schoolmates) and has a strong sense of justice, but Ken seems to lack the same young, vulnerable angst as his predecessor Daniel about loneliness in someplace completely new. He, like any other supposed ordinary kid in high school, is embarrassed by the slight coddling of his single mother (who moved with him so she could find a job eventually), yet is understanding and wants to help her with money. Unlike Daniel, I could say with absolute certainty that Ken was trying to steal the girlfriend of the very guy who'd make it his mission to beat Ken up at every opportunity the minute he set foot in school. Arguably deserved some of the shit he got. Dick move, Marx (or Marks? Different sources say one or the other, but there's something funny imagining this All American guy with a name that's a little reminiscent of something... revolutionary).

One of the most notable differences between Daniel and Ken is in their state of origin: New Jersey versus Kansas. Not to profile, but I absolutely think it makes for more than just a minor change in their characters. Ken certainly doesn't have that "East Coast swagger" (as Ralph Macchio himself amazingly puts it) as Daniel does. His Midwest origins reflect through his easy kindness and endearing naïvete, but I've gotta admit that it doesn't do much to help him stand out as a protagonist. Still, even if I'm not especially invested in him, Ken's easygoing personality and humble origins are only boring and forgettable at worst, and I can admire his dedication to learn how to defend himself. That being said, Ken certainly could not be confused for Daniel and his Jersey Fire. The best example of this is Daniel versus Ken's reaction when their request to learn self-defense is first denied; while Daniel is openly upset and petulant, Ken is quiet but aquiesces with understanding. Ken is a nice kid sure, a little more mature and respectful than his predecessor, but that also makes him quite average. To further steal analogies from Macchio himself, it's like the difference between a cannoli and an apple pie.

Ken is played by Kenn Scott, an experienced martial artist. It's incredibly funny watching him throughout the movie be swamped in big jackets and whatnot to hide the guy's ripped abs, pecs, and biceps until it pays off at the end when he takes off his shirt in the big fight. Funnily enough, Scott is also in Shootfighter as Eddie, aka that guy who didn't want to go back in the ring and got killed for it.

RIP Eddie. We hardly knew ye.

Honorable mention goes to Ken's mom, whose name is only seen briefly on her shirt tag from work: Shirley. I can still hear her sighing about a job in her giant coat and 1989 Ford Probe to this day.

Ken doesn't feel as lonely as a character as Daniel does in The Karate Kid. While he is like Daniel in that they both quickly latch onto an older man who displays them a little bit of kindness, Ken finds himself another friend at school to keeps his company from feeling too lonely.

"Well listen, I just remembered I left my cat in the microwave."

Mike (played by John Asher) is meant to be funny and awkward, the wimpy but harmless guide to introduce Ken (and the audience) to his new setting. Mike even has a lackluster Clique Tour Moment à la Mean Girls of a couple distinct students or student groups to demonstrate his knowledge of the school populace to the new kid. He wears clashing patterns, says something funny for a moment or does something silly in the background, throws a few flimsy kicks and punches during a training montage, breaks the fourth wall, and walks away with the hero and his love interest in the most throuple-coded way ever.

Unfortunately, this is the most boy best friend Mike gets with Ken in the movie.

Mike has subtle growth throughout Showdown admittedly — from a cowardly goofball who shrinks away at the barest glare from the bullies and lets the new kid eat dirt on his own, to Ken's best friend that joins him in training a little, stays by his side til the end when he needs the most support, and even helps subsue one of the bad guys.

Of course, the real duo in Showdown — their rendition of the Daniel and Mr. Miyagi relationship — is between Ken and the janitor at school, who saves kids getting beaten up to make up for the fact he accidentally murdered one seven years ago.

"No, this is called toilet cleaning. It teaches humility. Then, I want you to startover here on those urinals."

Billy Grant is riddled with guilt for killing someone on the job, so much that he voluntarily quit the force afterwards — except, Billy expresses thoughts about coming back after being told by Ken of the illegal fighting ring, and eventually does return, so here's hoping Billy learned something in the seven years he "fell off the Earth" (according to his old partner at least, which I find highly doubtful. Guy's only left the force seven years ago, stayed in the area, and found a job as a janitor, but apparently disappeared?? Come on). Nevertheless, he's a Good Guy™ who saves Ken's ass at least three times — just as many times as Mr. Miyagi does Daniel's. This version of Wax On, Wax Off is just making Ken clean toilets, wash off graffiti, throw away trash, etc. — janitorial stuff — to help build his endurance. Let's be honest here though, this is infinitely more like child labor than whatever Mr. Miyagi had ever done.

One moment in the movie I find odd, because they never touch on it again after introducing it, is when Billy saves Ken from two of his bullies. In the end, he puts one of them in a headlock, which lasts for several seconds. It's strongly implied Billy would have continued holding it, if it weren't for Ken's cry for him to stop. The bully drops to the ground as he coughs for breath, and Billy literally runs off in horror.

Ken: Stop! Billy, don't.

It makes it seem like Billy could have some reason to lose control, like unresolved anger issues, his trauma, or perhaps a dark and hidden inclination to cruelty (if the movie wanted to go there). However, Ken never brings this up to Billy, and this lapse in judgement never occurs again in the movie. There isn't even a moment for him to reflect in solitude of what he almost did to those teenage boys to imply there is something more to his internal conflicts. And this loss of control is also absent in Billy's big fight against the criminal sensei.

I'm not even sure it makes sense at all with the trauma Billy actually has that influences his actions? He accidentally killed a kid by tossing him aside onto the floor, which had led to his head making contact with some stairs and killed him upon impact. This was a poorly decided action, but a quick one made in the heat of the moment nonetheless. How on Earth does this translate paychologically to losing control while holding someone in a chokehold? If the implication is that his trauma causes Billy to lose control when caught in a fight, not only does it not make sense, but it also never shows up again in the movie and thus makes the moment where he almost chokes a teenager too hard irrelevant. It sticks out, especially when Billy for the rest of the movie is otherwise unmistakenly altruistic and heroic.

Unfortunately, Billy just doesn't get to have the same room for depth as Mr. Miyagi does. Billy is kind, brave, strong, and wise, but there just aren't enough scenes in Showdown that reveal much of his human, vulnerable qualities to complement the heroic ones.

Billy may be the first major character introduced in the movie, alongside his guilt and regret, but Showdown doesn't dwell on how it's weighed Billy for long; his anger and efforts to bust the illegal fighting ring are all but stated outright to be fueled by a desire to make up for accidentally causing someone else's death years ago and wants to make sure no more young people are senselessly hurt, but the film does not let Billy open up about it. At Ken's question asking if that's the reason, Billy is silent before stoically taking a moral stance on the issue. He spins the topic back to Ken's training, and that's the end of Billy being allowed to be more than an archetype, instead a flawed human being who's been personally affected because of his mistakes:

Ken: Billy, I knew you always weren't a janitor. And I want you to tell the truth. Billy: Ken, I used to be a cop. Then I killed a kid. It was a mistake. Ken Did you have to quit? Billy: No, I couldn't handle it anymore. But I'm thinking about getting back into it. Ken: You want to bust the guys that are running the fights? Billy: ...They're hurting kids to make money, and that's not right. These people are dangerous. If you refuse to fight for them, it could be real trouble for you. Ken: Well, we'll just keep training, right? Billy: Yeah, go warm up.

Following this scene, Billy calls his old partner in the force to help him investigate a way to bust the illegal fighting ring. He's ultimately driven to action by his guilt, but do we as the audience get to see Billy afterwards emotionally open up about his choices, both in the past and the ones in the present made to rectify his mistakes? Nope.

It never feels like Billy's character could be anything else but Ken's mentor, or the big ultimate hero. For all we know, he's been dealing with the guilt of his wrongdoings all on his own for seven years, and he jumps into action the moment he thinks he could do some real, good change. But Billy's internal shift gets streamlined in order to prioritize training montages or cool cop shit. He is kind, brave, strong, and wise, but he does not get to be three-dimensional.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that no one in Showdown is. This isn't a movie that's meant to be beholden of dimensions. As I continue to compare it to The Karate Kid or lament about flatness or whatever, it's imperative to remember that Showdown is a stupid movie.

That being said, I nevertheless cannot help but feel especially disappointed by the flatness of Billy's character — not only because he is one of the most major characters of the movie, if not the most important, but also because Billy the most prominent person of color in the movie, and a Black character at that. Billy's role does not soley revolve around the White male protagonist, and he does have his own drives and motivation, but Showdown falls short in depicting Billy as a nuanced Black character with depth and vulnerability.

He's played by another actor who shares the same first name as him, Billy Blanks, whom I'm actually not that familiar with even though he is arguably the biggest name involved with Showdown. He's been in a bunch of other martial arts films, so that's cool.

Shoutout to his former partner Officer Spinelli, who gets a special shower scene in the beginning of the movie. Amazing.

Here's the crazy thing about Billy's accidental murder that haunts him: that kid was none other than the younger brother of the main villain, the "Kreese" character, who soon is driven to revenge upon laying his eyes on Billy again after seven years.

"I woooon..."

Lee is batshit insane. First of all, he's the ringleader, or at least the main attraction, of the local illegal fighting ring that occurs somehow secretly in his dojo with huge crowds of people. Second of all, he has his own version of the Cobra Kai mantra to drill into his child soldiers: "Success is control, control is success." Third of all, he hires his goons to, not only try and kill Billy, but also to make sure it's done on school campus so everyone could see the body, because this guy evades authorities so easily already. What the fuck is wrong with this man. The only trait Lee has that doesn't make him into even more of an aspiring supervillain is the protective love he has for his brother Max, and even that soon enough becomes revenge fodder for Lee when he witnesses his brother die in the prologue.

Max (left) and Lee (right), ready to take world together by storm...

Lee is played by Patrick Kilpatrick, who I can tell is having the time of his goddamn life playing such a Ham and Cheese PLATTER of a character. His performance plays jump rope with the line that splits between 'menacing' and 'ridiculous', and I love that for him. Kilpatrick was also on an episode of The Equalizer (though not an episode with William Zabka haha)! Patrick Kilpatrick wasn't the only choice to play Lee, however. Another was Bolo Yeung, but he would later turn out to have a role in another 1993 martial arts movie: Shootfighter (a William Zabka project again).

And he shares the same name as the villain of Shootfighter, Mr. Lee haha (played by Martin Kove, aka Kreese in The Karate Kid)

The greatest thing about Lee is that he has a right hand woman running the operation alongside him — almost like the "Silver" to his "Kreese".

"Relax! I don't bite — not unless you want me to..."

Kate is undeniably the brains of the of the two. While Lee uses his physical prowess, skill, and intimidation to dominate others into following, Kate smoothtalks and negotiates it all out to work in their favor with intellect, charm, and often times sex appeal. Kate is the most stylish of the cast, and probably the one with the most money, as she's seen reguarly with styled hair, classy jewelry, sleek dresses, and is in possession of a Mercedes Benz (as well as a Chysler Lebaron convertible, but who am I to judge).

Kate and Lee's relationship is professional, for the most part. He lashes out at her once, but she easily snaps at him back, and it's never clear if one is working for the other. Regardless, Kate and Lee have got their respective strengths they use to their advantage, so they each play a different role in their collective business. There are hints to some affection between the two business partners, but it's not a major focus at all.

Kate is also creepy as fuck. I'll cover more of her in the next part.

She's played by Linda Dona, whose role was initially invented when Bolo Yeung was set to be Lee. Since Yeung could not speak English, Kate was to be his translator. Of course, this was no longer needed once Kilpatrick took on the role of Lee, but Dona stuck anyway when the writers rewrote her role.

In these type of movies, it's uncommon to see more than one significant female character as part of the story, and so Kate stands out, especially compared to the love interest of Ken.

"You know, I thought you were on the track team or something. But you're not, you're working out with the janitor."

Julie doesn't have a lot to work with, besides being an object of affection for Ken and part of the source of the conflict between him and her boyfriend (the "Johnny" character, obviously). She's blonde and innocently pretty like Ali (unlike Kate's mature seductiveness), but Julie lacks the same assertiveness as the Karate Kid character. While Ali plays a pivotal role in helping Daniel and Mr. Miyagi understand the rules of the All Valley Tournament, Julie is reduced to the typical helplessness her type of character is often confined to, being pushed to the side as a spectator of the big fight in the end.

Julie does what she can in the plot — she tries to speak up against her boyfriend's actions several times, and she even stops (or at least delays) one of his attacks on Ken— but Julie, like Ali, is pacified by the narrative to do much of anything else besides express disapproval and side with the heroes. Julie also has a bit of a mean streak, but I don't think the movie knows that lmao.

Now, I am not the greatest with differentiating people, especially those with the same general look. So upon first watch, I had accidentally thought Julie and Kate were the same character, especially since Kate's introduction offered no close ups to differentiate her as someone new. AND IF THAT HAD BEEN TRUE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CRAAAAAZY; sweet and innocent high school girl secretly a greedy, manipulative, femme fatale in charge of an illegal fighting ring? IT BLEW MY MIND.

I WAS SEEING JULIE IN A WHOLE, DIFFERENT LIGHT. Her introduction for one thing made sense to me why it was so strange! Ken first lays eyes on her when he jumped onto the ground at the sound of firecrackers he thought were gunshots, which made the crowd of students around Ken to laugh at him. Julie is among the students shamelessly laughing at this kid, and it isn't until when they lock eyes does she stop laughing and walks away.

The scene cements to the audience that Ken's new peers are cruel, delinquent, and indifferent to his confusion — but Julie is part of that crowd! It's incredibly strange to frame Julie as the love interest by the language of cinematography, someone the audience is meant to invest in to pair off with the main character, when her behavior is indistinguishable from the callous mob, besides being pretty. She doesn't apologize for this in the scenes talking to Ken for the first time either.

Another moment that made me look back was how Julie was smart enough to calm her boyfriend down the first time he confronted Ken for trying to talk to her by alluring his attention away.

Julie: Leave him alone... Please...[...]He didn't know about you...! He's new here...

While Julie had good intentions, this demonstrates a level of manipulation towards people that she'd readily use if it meant getting what she wanted. As Kate is later introduced, this shared quality between them made me further convinced in my confusion that they were the same character — only, I thought Kate being manipulative was Julie's true colors being as sinister as they actually were.

Now, a teen girl laughing at some guy for jumping to conclusions (pun intended) and thinking gunshots in the middle of the hallway and using her attractiveness to turn her boyfriend's attention away from someone he intended to hurt are aren't glaring signs of evil or criminal behavior. But that is EXACTLY why I confused Kate for Julie and thought these actions in retrospect were subtle clues to her being more than just the bland love interest that the protagonist wins in the end.

In addition to this, Mike's first words to Ken about Julie would have been almost perfect foreshadowing:

Mike: I see, you have a death wish. Ken: ...Excuse me? Mike: The blonde, Julie... She's beautiful. She's elegant...! I mean– just forget about it. She's trouble.

Mike afterwards explains to Ken that Julie's boyfriend is dangerous and that's why she would be trouble, but if it would have been almost genius writing if she turned out to be a secret villain. The audience wouldn't think twice about that comment, especially since Mike himself only believes Julie would cause trouble for Ken because of her boyfriend specifically. There'd be no reason to think deeper about his warning!

Julie's grimacing apology the following day to Ken for her boyfriend's behavior transformed into being SLIMY, IT WAS AMAZING. I was so excited to watch him fall for someone who wasn't at all like what he thought she was — and then I figured out Julie and Kate were two, separate female characters. Damn.

You may recognize Julie's actress, Christine Taylor, because she was involved with another film William Zabka was in: To the Ends of Time. He just keeps being relevant somehow.

But speaking of William Zabka, what about his character's equivalent in this movie? I talked about the protagonists, the love interest, the villains — but who's the guy in the story that's actually the most prominent threat to Ken? Who's the third player next to Ken and Julie in their teenage love drama? Who's the student trained the hardest by Lee and treated as the best of the best, his strongest fighter, who falls at the end and almost dies at the hands of his sensei for it?

Part 3: We need to talk about Tom

warning for discussions of abusive relationships, as well as physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, unhealthy power dynamics, and grooming

I'm dedicating a whole section to talk about the "Johnny" equivalent, because I've got so much to say about Tom, the others around him, and parts of the film around his character.

"It's payback time, needledick."

So, Tom. I had briefly shown his character earlier when covering Billy, as well as Julie — kind of hard to talk around him when he's causing so many of the issues for others, little shit. Like Johnny, Tom is tall, blond, aggressive, and does not take kindly to the new guy being too friendly to his girlfriend (ex girlfriend in Johnny's case, but still). Like Johnny, Tom is the most formidable fighter training under his sensei, and his sensei also punishes Tom ruthlessly after losing in the ending fight, before being saved by the protagonist's mentor. Unlike Johnny, Tom looks well into his adulthood — but hey, so does everybody else in this goddamn high school.

He's played by Ken McLeod, who is a real life martial artist with a black belt in karate. Honestly, he's probably doing the best job acting in this film — that, or he's just so entertaining that his performance stands out by that alone. In general, the antagonists are just much more fun to watch than the protagonists. In McLeod's case, he gets the honor of spitting in people's faces with a mean smile or scowl, huffing and puffing when anything pisses his character off, and having his momenta to act with vulnerability to show some versatility in his performance.

White the picture may imply differently, Tom has his own group of loyal friends, Showdown's version of the Cobras.

If Rob on the left is familiar, that's because he's played by Michael Cavalieri, who would soon later play Ned Randall in The Next Karate Kid (1994). I don't know how much of it was in the script, but Cavalieri adds these small, humorous quirks to his character if you pay attention, and it's great. He's the most prominent of Tom's friend, who joins in on much of the bullying, but shows an surprising honorable side near the end. Rob is seemingly Tom's closest friend, as he is almost always by his side and encourages him the most of the group. However, even Rob has his limits, as Tom's worsening behavior almost drives him away. Nevertheless, Rob can't help himself but still support his buddy in his final fight when he fights against Ken. When Lee starts to beat on Tom for losing, the other characters have to hold Rob back from jumping in to defend him (which, is so weird??? Like, HELLO THAT GROWN ASS MAN IS TRYING TO KILL THAT GUY???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GONNA HOLD BACK SOMEONE TRYING TO HELP HIM?????)

Gina (played by Seidy Lopez) is the second/third most prominent female character in the movie, so that means she has to have at least one scene alluring a male character to get him to do what she wants, joy. Gina seems to be the calmest and most levelheaded one of the group — she reminds others that the best place to pick a fight is anywhere but the classroom — but even she coldly revels in terrorizing like the rest of those training under Lee. Gina may be the least troubled by his hyperaggressive leadership in fact, as she is the least visibly disturbed when Lee attacks Tom, and she is the only (former) student not to join in on the others when they start cheering for Billy after he defeats Lee at the end (she does however cheer when Billy accepts Rob's offer to teach them, so maybe Gina just ain't picky with who teaches them how to fight). We never see Gina do any fighting, unfortunately. It's clear she's not a girlfriend who hangs around the boys, as Gina not only attends the class but is seen practicing with a punching bag. Feminism win! This violent dojo is for all genders! So where's Gina's moment to give someone a shiner?

The Bill Skarsgård lookalike's name is unfortunately never said in the movie, but I'm preeeeetty sure it's Bob (credited as being played by Jeremy Duddleston)? It's the only male name in the credits I cannot easily attribute to another character, so I'll just call him Bob. It's hard listing another characteristic of his besides Loves To Fight, since he never utters a single line. While Rob may be Tom's closest friend, Bob is seemingly less significant to Tom, as there's a moment when Tom tosses his book/folder behind himself dismissively, before Bob catches it to carry it for him. But besides that uhhhh. Not a lot with this guy.

It should come to no surprise that Tom is an asshole and a bully. His introduction makes sure the audience knows that when he threatens a class monitor for daring to remind Tom that bells are a thing, before treating his girlfriend Julie with the big ol' triple three of Terrible Boyfriend Qualities: Neglectful, Controlling, and Uncooperative. And this is all before he even sees Ken! But don't worry, his behavior is just as terrible once they do meet.

I may have given Ken shit for his actions, however that does not justify the full extent of Tom's vigilance in making sure he gets violently targetted at every corner. While it gets hard to take the high school drama seriously because of how grown everybody looks, thus making their actions more comical than intended, there are times when Ken gets overpowered or made to feel smaller by Tom that could genuinely get you feeling bad for him — call me a softie, but even when Tom has his funny moments, he sure can make the audience feel as miserable as Ken does.

Tom: It's not about money Kenny. It's about respect.

Tom treats people badly when he doesn't respect them, and this includes a lot of people. In fact, he's consistently shown to be the least respectful towards his girlfriend.

It's undeniable that Tom is a godawful boyfriend to Julie. As you already know, he is infamously possessive and jealous; in addition to saying in her face that he owns her — word-for-word and in public — Mike makes it a point to warn Ken about Julie because of Tom specifically. The warning is justified too, because we know Tom spends the rest of the movie utterly despising Ken for "encroaching" on his "territory" (literally just talking to Julie). In addition to all this, Tom ignores plans he has with Julie because of his own minor reasons, and even forgets to talk to her for weeks, and yet has the gall to insist Julie must compromise and listen to his desires when she has an iota of a backbone.

Tom's behavior runs deeper than being an asshole, though. Because of him, I can confidently categorize their unhealthy relationship as being abusive, without exaggeration. The extreme control he expects to exert over Julie, her actions, and whom she interacts with taints every interaction they have together. Julie does what she can to assert herself, but it's difficult for those times to feel cathartic when Tom looks like he wants to beat or bully her into submission afterwards. Tom contantly uses his natural height against her, looming over Julie like he could intimidate her into listening, and even grabs her if he feels like it. If his treatment towards Ken is tough, it's nothing compared to how Tom abuses Julie.

Tom: I don't want you to ever talk to [Ken] again. In fact, if I catch you hanging around him, I'm gonna beat the– Julie: You can't control my life! Tom: Yes I can. You are my girl, and you'll do exactly what I say.

Besides feeling entitled to Julie as a possession than as an equal, Tom's mistreatment hits its peak when, after he approaches her like she didn't dump him the last time they spoke, Tom's rage overpowers him when Julie says Ken could beat him in a fight — Tom grabs Julie by her hair, calls her a slut, commands her to stay away from Ken, and slaps Julie. In the middle of campus. Ken soon comes to defend her, so it's not clear how far Tom would have gone to hurt Julie. However, several characters (including Julie) note Tom's worsening mental state since the their first interaction on-screen, which had been worsening before the events of the movie, and it's not impossible to imagine him sinking even worse towards Julie — in addition to the emotional abuse Tom was already subjecting her to.

While Julie ultimately finds the courage within herself to ends things with Tom, it wasn't without any conflicts, internal and otherwise — not only was Tom in denial, but Julie had her own reasons to stay with him. When Ken asks her why, she gives an explanation, and had given more:

Julie: It's just that I've been dating Tom for a long time, and... I just think he's a little confused right now... He kind of got involved with some– Ken: Look, pardon me, I'm not sympathetic where Tom is concerned, okay? Julie: No, I don't expect you to be! It's... Sometimes, I think about calling it off. But it's like I feel trapped... kind of like I have to stay with him for now. Ken: But you don't have to if you don't want to...! Julie: No, I do.

Julie's attitude insisting she has to stay because of a sense of duty towards her abuser is a common experience among many abuse victims, and so are her thoughts of feeling trapped. However, Julie recognizes that Tom's awful behavior is new. That does not excuse the abuse, but it does offer important context to his and Julie's relationship. According to her, they've been together long enough that she knows Tom's normal isn't as violent and controlling as it is now. Julie is hoping Tom reverts back, that she will see him get his sense back, and that she has a good idea who's been influencing Tom.

Julie: God. I swear, every day you sound more and more like that jerk, Lee. Tom: Listen, Lee's my sensei, don't talk about him that way.

We never see any of these kid's parents, and so they're next to nonexistent, thus Tom's most present role model and parental figure in Showdown is his sensei, Lee.

The respect Tom has for his sensei is only matched by his fear. The movie builds suspense for his reveal by having Tom be insistent in being on time for class, lest he angers Lee, a character the audience at that point could only assume is a little bit of a bad influence. They'd soon be affirmed by that when watching Lee's blaringly evil (re)introduction, giving a lesson that's half drill sargeant, half cult indoctrination. It's unclear for how long Tom has been around him, but it's been enough that it's started to affect his behavior and life in harmful ways. Tom however doesn't see it like that. While Julie makes excuses about him to Ken, Tom doesn't even consider that what Lee does is anything wrong. In fact, he takes pride in having "learned a few tricks" from him, and always defends the man whenever someone (Julie) so much as criticizes him. And of course Tom would, since Lee openly considers him to be his best fighter in the dojo, ruthlessly training him to be the undefeated champion in his illegal fighting ring. Tom is 17, 18 at most, and his involvement in crime is reinforced by the hand Lee has on his life.

Lee may care about Tom deeper than just as teacher-student, even calling him "my boy" during the final fight, but it is a relationship built on ruthlessness, domination, and abuse that easily turns violent the moment Lee is dissatisfied with Tom. He thinks of Tom as the best among his students, but Lee never hesitates to tear him down mentally, nor to physically beat him as punishment, going so far as to threaten Tom's life:

Lee: What have I told you about weakness? It's disgraceful. And when you disgrace yourself, you disgrace me. You do not have control, you have brought shame upon yourself and my dojo. Humiliation. The pain I give your outside should be nothing compared to the pain you feel inside. We are winners at my dojo. We do not let others control us, ever. If you fail again, you will be lucky if I decide to let you live.

Lee wants Tom to believe that his life is literally at the hands of his sensei, that he deserves any beating (psychological or physical) that Lee delivers because Tom's failure is justification enough, according to himself. He believes so strongly of this dominance over Tom's life that Lee does try to kill him after losing to Ken, in front of a giant crowd of people. He's a madman with full conviction that he could make a teenager his killing machine and murder him afterwards if that kid does not live up to his standards — his boy or not.

Even in the rare moments of tenderness, they're never soft. Lee always performs them in the shadow of violence; if he calls Tom "my boy", it's when Lee commands him to kill Ken. When he cradles Tom's jaw, it's so Lee can strike square in his face. The paternal role Lee has in Tom's life is poisoned with cruelty, and it's corrupted Tom into manifesting the same abuse onto others.

Tom becomes more and more like Lee, an aggressor losing his humanity in his descent towards fighting and crime, because of his sensei's own abusive influence. Lee makes Tom feel powerful, but like a tool to be used and sharpened — and inversely, Lee makes Tom feel powerless even more. And he isn't the only one that makes Tom feel powerless.

Lee and Kate are a team, so they're both invested in the careers of the former's students for the illegal fighting ring. Kate's whole business depends on them, making sure there's an abundant money flow as long as there are good fighters. She, like Lee, has a special interest in Tom — his best fighter.

Kate's mistreatment towards Tom is rather distinct from her partner's. For one, Kate never resorts to threatening his life. She does physically disclipine Tom, but it's with harsh slaps across the face, like a stern mother to her son. What she does threaten in his future in the fighting ring. Considering Tom is completely dedicated to his involvement, certainly encouraged if not groomed by Lee for it like a fighting dog, it's an easy method of controlling Tom. While Kate doesn't entertain the thought of killing him like Lee does, it doesn't make her behavior okay, because it still sends Tom the same message: Kate is the one in control of him, he isn't.

What stands out most about Kate's abuse towards Tom though is that she better manipulates him by other, insidious ways. Kate's age is never specified, but it's clear she's older, more confident, and capable of inflicting certain harm in ways teenagers can't. Kate has no qualms using her sexuality to get what she wants, and that includes preying on teenage boys. With Tom, she doesn't just disclipine him like a mother, but Kate coerces him into a sexual relationship as well. This, in addition to times when she treats him like more of a mother back-to-back, contribute to something truly appalling to watch.

To best explain the scene, here's a video of Kate's introduction, where she pulls Tom aside in the middle of instruction to take him to a dark room alone with her:

Just seconds after Kate hits Tom, she pulls him into a deep kiss, practically forceful. Note how limp Tom's arms and hands are as he's made to kiss her. Later scenes in Showdown depict Tom as more "consensual" in their relationship, but this is notably different in their first moment together on-dcreen. This is not to say that it would have been a healthier relationship if Tom enthusiastically kissed Kate back, but his passiveness as she assaults him only highlights the uneven power dynamics at play — in their first scene introducing their relationship at that.

(Remember when I thought Kate and Julie were the same person? Yeah, Kate stands in the back the whole time, only getting a little closer to the camera but not enough that it would distinguish her as someone new. In addition to them shrouded in darkness and the intimacy on-screen after, that's why I thought Julie was secretly evil and was abusive to Tom back. I became so quickly convinced that they were Evil4Evil, that it took me until several scenes later to realize that they were two different people and that something worse was going on.)

What concerns me as well is how easily Kate was able to pull Tom away from sparring, without much of a second glance from Lee or his students. How much did the other students question whenever she pulled him aside alone? Were they allowed to question? Or even worse, how much were they led to believe it was okay? Is Kate coercing more several teenagers, or is this a way to have more power over Tom to ensure he'd stay her and Lee's cash cow?

Powerlessness defines Tom's most prominent relationships with the two adults with abusive control of his life. With that in mind, it explains why Tom has gotten worse, lashing out and losing control of himself. It doesn't excuse his wrongdoings, but there is a direct, blatant connection to Tom's worsening mental health and the authority figures around him either encouraging his violent attitude or are the main causes of distress in Tom's life.

In addition to that, Tom's bullying and abusive behavior is an unfortunate expression of what he's internalized from Lee and Kate; he only treats a person well if he respects them. Due to Lee's influence, that simply means if they have power. Otherwise, Tom feels he can intimidate, belittle, and hurt them all he wants. In Julie's case, Tom mirrors the same mistreatment that plagues him and causes him to treat her badly, because Tom views Julie something he owns. Tom ultimately believes that he is allowed to abuse those that are less powerful, because those that are more powerful than Tom are allowed to abuse him.

The most alarming thing about Tom's sexual abuse is that... Showdown seems to be unaware of its gravity? Female-on-male sexual abuse and uneven power dynamics aren't often treated with the same severity as the opposite, if it is portrayed. Like I said, the later scenes with Tom and Kate show him receptive to her attraction. But even if Tom played along, Kate would have always had an uneven power dynamic over him. In the end, Kate never receives punishment for her abuse — she's presumably arrested for her involvement running the illegal fighting ring, but Kate's strongly implied sexual relationship is a total nonissue by the time the credits roll.

This is the same with Lee's own physical and psychological abusive behavior. He gets arrested for running the illegal fighting ring, and I suppose Tom could press charges afterwards, but he's oddly okay by the end of the movie, without any meltdown over losing or being almost killed by his sensei. It's not cathartic at all to see Tom calmly congratulate Ken and Billy in the end, as well as say a nice goodbye to Julie. Seriously? He's still got issues — we're just supposed to believe that Tom reverted back to being a normal kid just like that, without any psychological damage to work though?

And in the end, I suppose we are meant to believe that. Showdown is a stupid movie. Of course they weren't going to dwell on all that with sensitivity and nuance. But what if I wanted Tom to get therapy? I don't think he should date Julie anymore, when she shouldn't have been saddled with the responsibility and burden of having to stay with him. Tom should absolutely have some support system though, alongside professional help to guide Tom in processing how to live his life past Lee and Kate's abuse. I dedicated a whole section on him, dear god!! Why did Showdown do this. I hate this movie.

Conclusion: This movie is a hundred minutes long and none of it was worth it, and yet I keep coming back

Showdown is not a good movie. It's highly entertaining, completely laugh-worthy, and full of little pieces that I keep rotating in my mind to complete the puzzle, but it's held together by shoestring and duct tape. I don't recommend this movie to anybody, not Karate Kid fans, and certainly not cinephiles, except for those who want to have a quick laugh, preferably with friends to mock together — or inversely, want to be driven to madness like me. There are a lot of things I didn't mention about the movie, none of it interesting; Brion James plays the vice principal, they repeat the same song over and over again in the movie, there's a sick ass chase and fight in a theater set (because Lee hired hitmen to kill Billy at the school, remember), and so much more.

The Blu-ray Special Edition disk is like under $30, basically half off during the holidays, and contains a "Making Of..." documentary, alongside supplementary videos of the fight featurette and interviewed of various people from the cast and crew (including the director Robert Radler and Billy Blanks)! I need it.

Don't watch the movie. But if you do, tell me about it

[bearballing]

End of the year Asks exept they’re not asks and done like a livejournal/myspace answer thing

1) Song of the year? Rare Ould Mountain Dew - The Irish Rovers i actually discovered in on xmas eve last year, rare old mountain dew was mentioned in Fairytale of New York so I decided to look it up and this was the first version i found and then i fell down a rabbit hole of traditional irish music. lol. anyway this is still the best recorded version of mountain dew there is

runner up is Hell’s Comin’ With Me - Poor Man’s Poison it just so happened to be the perfect song for saints row 2022 AND for thaddeus. whomst i played as

notable mention is any version ever of The Rattlin Bog/Bog Down In The Valley-o. i found a youtube version of some irish wedding where the guests were drunkenly singing it at like 3am and even that slapped

2) Album of the year?

Not released in 2022 - The Irish Rovers 50 Years

Released in 2022 - Bronco, Orville Peck. and i had apparently forgotten to put the album on my phone until THE OTHER DAY???

3) Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

The Irish Rovers. Other notables are The Dubliners, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Strugill Simpson, The Protomen

4) Movie of the year?

Nope. like enoguh for me to Physically own it when it came out on bluray.

5) TV show of the year?

we watched Parasyte and Ghost In The Shell, first time I saw both of them and i love when shows make me like obsess over the lore lmao.

OH AND UH THE UK COMING /SECOND/ IN EUROVISION.

6) Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  i dont think there was a specific episode of anything.

7) Favorite actor of the year?

jim byrnes, every time we find out something about him it makes our heads explode lol. we still have to actually watch half the stuff he’s been in

8) Game of the year?

joint Saints Row and Pokemon Legends Arceus. 95% of the complaints about saints row are stupid i loved it. i still want to try to 100% it (I’M CLOSE) at some point

9) Best month for you this year?

january/february maybe

10) Something that made you cry this year?

hurricane ian. also the death of 2 cats

11) Something you want to do again next year?

go to maine lol. we May be able to

12) Talk about a new friend you made this year

well i gained several mutuals on here.....

13) How was your birthday this year?

it was nice!!! i got to do shit that i wanted and just chill. and i’m finally not in my 20s anymore

14) Favorite book you read this year?

i don’t think i read anything new, only re-read things

15) What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

fuck i dunno. procrastinating on vacuuming the house.

16) Post a picture from the beginning of the year

17) Post a picture from the end of the year

18) A memorable meal this year?

we had dinner at belle’s castle at disney world. IN THE WEST WING.

19) What’re you excited about for next year?

visiting my family in the uk. which i’m also nervous about ngl

20) What’s something you learned this year?

that gamefreak can truly get away with anything regardless of quality

21) What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

WE OWN A HOUSE WE OWN A HOUSE WE OWN A HOUSE WE OWN A HOUSE

22) Favorite place you visited this year?

didney wurl trip was gr9, really liked getting to go to new england again even though the circumstances sucked.

23) If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

house happens on the 31st don’t worry about it

24) Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

got a house lol

25) Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

no new ones but this was definitely the year of our lord Thaddeus2022. i played as him in saints row And in pokemon violet and accidentally created so much new lore for him. boxy also accidentally dreamed up yet another AU where he is the main character too lmao

[srirachvbi]

一 THEY HAVE A SUPER AFFECTIONATE S/O

characters haiba lev, kuroo tetsuro

requested by anon  hi! I’m not sure if you write for Lev, but could I request hcs for Lev and Kuroo with a s/o who loves hugging and cuddling them 24/7? thank you

warning(s) none

note thank you for requesting this because I needed to stop writing so much dad! haikyuu before I got literally submerged in it and never wrote anything else (sounds like a nice way to live tho ngl) also since people have been saying they’re not sure who i write for in haikyuu,,,, i write for everyone-- i love all those bitches smh (SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG) i honestly think these kinda suck but i think i should probably post these after so long

[ 灰羽 リエーフ ] haiba lev

this man... is so fucking tall you’d really have to climb him like a ladder

unless you’re tall haha can’t relate <3

n e ways

he’s an awkward fifteen year old and you’re literally his first s/o so he’s kinda confused at your affectionate habits

that doesn’t mean he hates it-- no. oh my god he loves it so much

you two would study together and after a while, you’d just move closer to him and like would rest your head on his shoulder and he’d be like

ANGEL

he’d literally cry every time you hugged him 

like your arms just going around his lanky waist and he suddenly feels so warm and comfortable

you’re definitely an anchor for him sometimes when he gets too frustrated about volleyball :((

like !! after really grueling practices, he’d just text you to come over and you guys would just cuddle the whole time because he just :((

he's never really been bothered by your habits because he finds it so endearing 24/7

why refuse hugs from his favorite person in the world???

the only time he doesn't want to cuddle/be affectionate is literally if its scorching hot-- thats the only time

after his games, you always run up to him and jump into his arms-- honestly its the sweetest shit

his teammates always make sure he knows that they hate the pda LOL

"GET A ROOM" "You're just jealous!"

yeah he doesn't survive that

rest in peace lev <3

[ 黒尾 鉄朗 ] kuroo tetsurō

okay but kuroo not actually being a sex god with girls constantly at his feet and actually being kinda nerdy is so funny to me

like yeah you're hot but you're not gonna be getting bitches if you're talking about docosahexaenoic acid the whole mfing time

lucky for him though, you exist!!

you guys started dating in his second year and everyone mfing loves you two

you're super supportive of how much time he spends practicing and you're always at his games (or at least you try to be at every one)

he helps you study for chem and you help him study for your best subject

but like studying doesn't always go so well because five seconds into the session and you're all over him

you're either playing with his hair, sitting on his lap, or playing with his hands

or all three somehow

when you guys are at school, you sneak attack him a lot with hugs

kenma's tired of seeing you guys hugging all the time-- it physically pains him

well he thinks it's cute but like...

the poor guy's had enough

kuroo doesn't mind it most of the time, but when he does he normally will just tell you cause sometimes he needs his space

when you guys started dating, you two sat down once and set boundaries and stuff

healthy relationships 101 with kuroo tetsuro

he just lets you know if he's not in the mood but if he doesn't and he gets mad at you, it leads to arguments sometimes

he feels this way like 10% of the time so this is just a once in a while thing

he apologizes almost immediately after you guys argue and tries to make it up to you

that normally includes cuddling and food

most of the time, however, he's almost as affectionate as you are

which is why you two are the banes of the volleyball team's existence

when you go to his games, you're always cheering so loud and he's always just :(( so happy to hear you cheering for him

the two of you on weekends are always just laying on top of each other at his house cause his parents are normally working

honestly, he just drapes himself all over you at any moment he can

he's way too affectionate but i mean

so are you

you guys are perfect for each other <3

[cherriesfineline]

Au Pair – Chapter I

It's finally here – I'm sorry this took so long, this past few weeks have been a mess but here it is, our first chapter for the Au Pair series; I kinda hate this, ngl- I always hate first chapters, a lot of introductory info and bla bla but yeah.

In the weird case you happen to enjoy this and want to be added into the taglist (starting next chapter) you can request it here.

Feedback, likes or reblogs are so, so appreciated! I'm very much new to the whole writing world so yeah it'd be really helpful to hear your thoughts about this <3

Love you all, have a wonderful week beauties!

Warnings: none specifically for this chapter – age gap.

WC: 6.6k

Masterlist

Y/N was tired, to say the least.

And it wasn’t the tiredness she used to feel after a long work shift at her previous job -where her boss was an old, grumpy lady with horrible manners- or the exhaustion felt after spending hours crying due to a fight with her mother. No, this was different. It was a tiredness she couldn’t get rid of; a tiredness no lavender smelling bath or hours upon hours of sleep could amend.

She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment her brain shifted in such a drastic way. Y/N could easily recognize and admit her life had never been an exciting one; a memorable one. Ever since she was a little girl it all seemed to fly by; graduations, birthdays, friendships – nothing ever seemed to leave an impact and nothing ever seemed as exciting as everyone else put it to be. She knew she struggled with allowing herself to enjoy things, but this far her life had been pretty average.

Maybe it was the fact that she was 22 years old and never been in a real relationship what skyrocketed her fear of dying alone. Now, she knew it might seem exaggerated – 22 years wasn’t a long life at all, but the pungent emptiness she’d been feeling felt like her inevitable destiny – like that’s how life was supposed to be for her.

England felt different, though. But in all honesty, her emotions hadn’t had switched into completely different ones like she’d expected to happen when she applied for this job as an Au Pair all the way back in February.

With a steaming hot cup of coffee between her cold hands, she sat down next to Coco (a very soft grey Scottish Fold) on the giant couch of her new home, scratching in between his tiny ears earning a low purr in response. Coco had become one of her closest friends so far, along with Anya, a three year old girl with cute blonde locks and a laugh so contagious it made the muscles on your cheeks ache after a long playdate.

Maybe moving away wasn’t the smartest choice. It actually might be one of the stupidest choices she had ever made, actually – moving all the way across the globe when she cried herself to sleep most nights due to her loneliness overcoming her (almost inexistent) self-awareness. Y/N liked to believe she had a wide understanding of her emotions, but it was a blatant lie.

At least she was distracted for most of the day – taking care of two kids and looking after a teenager wasn’t an easy task. It required a lot of mental presence; but by the time she was in bed at night, it all hit back again. She thought maybe this is how life is supposed to be for her, lonely – maybe it was not her brain playing her tricks but her brain making her see how her life truly was.

It’d been two weeks since the Lockehold family picked Y/N up from the airport, and on one side getting physically adjusted to this new life hadn't been as rough as she thought it’d be. She did have it easy, if she had to admit – a big room in a giant, beautiful home and a car to her disposal. Emotionally, on the other side, life was still the same.

She knew the moment she heard heels hitting the cold marble staircase Bella was on her way down with Ivy, the eldest of the three sisters, following close behind, complaining about a hangout she was apparently going to miss because they “are expecting a guest” as Bella announced, meaning neither of her parents could drive her. That’s how Y/N found herself sitting in her (borrowed) blue Jeep Renegade driving Ivy to her friend Lily’s house – who lived in the same rich, over-the-top neighborhood as her guest family, which meant the ride to and back was no longer than twenty minutes. During those minutes together, though, Y/N could physically feel the irritation running through Ivy’s blood because first, she still wasn’t too fond of Y/N because she is 16 and doesn’t need a babysitter -her words, not Y/N’s- and second, Y/N is still not accustomed to driving on the other side of the road.

Technically, Y/N had the weekends off. Living with the same people who employed her gladly didn’t mean working 24/7, but she hoped she could earn a couple of points in her favor if she took her free time to drive her around.

After a short conversation between the two (where Ivy refused to save Y/N’s number in case an emergency came up because she could always call her dad), Y/N dropped her off and drove back to the Lockehold’s. What caught her off guard, was the sight of someone in the driveway at the house next door getting suitcases out of the trunk of a black cab – there hadn’t been any movement in the old Victorian mansion since she’d moved in next door. A man, definitely very tall, dressed in a dark suit is all Y/N could decipher since it was already dark outside and she had to strictly concentrate on not switching to the opposite side of the road out of habit.

Alex was coming down the stairs when Y/N locked the front door – Bella’s husband was a very handsome man for his age, probably anyone could admit it. He was kind of scary sometimes, but was a true sweetheart on the inside; he’s in his mid-40’s and it was clear as day his family meant everything to him, he even treated Y/N like his own daughter, always making sure she’s comfortable and inviting her to most family hangouts – even though Y/N declined pretty often to allow them to have quality time as a family (and because being too socially involved drained her, but they needn’t have to know that)

“You wanna join us for dinner? We have a guest tonight. A family friend.”

“Oh, no, I'm good, you guys enjoy yourselves. I’ll say hello, though.” Y/N replied with a smile; and as before mentioned, even though she had the weekends to herself, they still loved to insist on her joining them for fancy dinners and whatnot. The Lockehold’s loved being hostesses, loved having people around (from what Y/N learned this past two weeks) but she really wanted -and needed- some time for herself after being with them the entire week, and even though she loved hanging out with them, she just wasn’t in the mood tonight.

“You sure? Bella made homemade pasta, from scratch. Her specialty.” Mouthwatering, Y/N thought. Bella was such an amazing cook, and even though she worked hours upon hours every day, she still came to her husband and kids in time to make dinner every night, not missing a single day.

“Sounds delicious, but I think I’ll pass, I’m just really tired.” And before anyone could make another comment, the loud bell ringing through the main floor of the house startled Y/N as it’s louder than ordinary – and sounded kind of old and creepy, in her opinion. By the time the constant thud in her chest lowered to a normal speed, she could recognize Bella’s voice in the foyer, meaning she was the one who received their guest, with a deep voice following after saying 'thank you for having me'.

"He's here!" Alex clasped his hands together, a wide smile appearing in his face. Y/N followed him into the living room where Bella was already chatting animatedly with a man; tall and with broad shoulders (but not excessively; just the right amount) his figure was leaning slightly forward as he listened to Bella rambling about all the 'good things he had missed while he was away'. His hands were clasped on his back and when he lifted his head, he made direct eye contact with Y/N without even having to search for her eyes. His brown curls were perfectly placed on top of his head looking extremely soft, and when he ran his hand through it Y/N couldn’t help but swallow harshly. He undoubtedly looked like someone who belonged in Hollywood next to a young Leo DiCaprio and he was definitely older than Y/N – probably already in his 30's, she guessed, but ageing like the finest wine. He had the softest looking wrinkles in the corners of his eyes – those eyes, forest green; reminded Y/N of what used to be home for her. His intense gaze held a lot of emotion, a lot of thought, unlike his face, that appeared stiff and cold, with a slight crease between his brows. His pink, heart-shaped lips were pressed in a line, a cute mole adorning one side of his chin.

"Harry! It's so good to see you, we've missed you." Alex's excitement forced him to drift his gaze away from Y/N, leaving her like a heated teenager salivating for him. Y/N honestly thought he might had left her speechless and most likely with increasing probabilities to make a fool out of herself if someone needed her to talk, as she was certain she wouldn't be able to formulate any coherent sentences.

Harry. It totally suited him, Y/N repeated his name a couple of times inside her head to check on its pronunciation. Alex reached him and pulled him in a big hug, patting each other's back, and Harry's lips broke into a huge smile making a line of pearly white teeth appear. And dimples. God, he had dimples.

This is how I die, Y/N thought.

"So good to see you, Alex." If sex was a sound, his voice would definitely be it.

"Your skin is glowing, Harry. Italy always does you wonders." Bella gushed. And she was right – his skin had this beautiful golden undertone, but it looked natural and radiant, almost like the sun itself kissed and caressed his skin with the softest touches. Alex snapped Y/N into reality when he turned to face her and grabbed her hand to pull her closer to them, starting a long introduction no one was paying much attention to, explaining how he’d missed her arrival, like he even cared, and how she was the Au Pair they’d all been talking about ever since February. It wasn’t until Alex mentioned something about Y/N and Harry probably seeing each other a lot she was suddenly interested in what was actually going on.

“He owns the school the girl’s attend.” Alex directed towards her. Now, Y/N assumed the moment she laid eyes on him he was probably rich – who wears a suit to a Sunday dinner with friends? Rich people are weird, that’s something we can all agree on; but owning a school which’s monthly fees per kid were worth three of her salaries? That was quite unexpected.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry." Y/N offered him her hand, trying to sound as casual as possible, even if her skin felt like it was burning under his intense gaze and her eyes were definitely betraying her.

"The pleasure’s all mine, Y/N." He shook her hand. His strong hold sent shivers down her spine; the cold rings making a big contrast against the heat his hand radiated and she couldn't help but fantasize about how his touch would feel in some other places.

The sudden embarrassment feeling hot against her cheeks made her turn around impossibly faster, feeling guilty at the dirty thoughts consuming her brain while around her bosses – and in front of him. Making a beeline straight to her room, announcing she was calling it a night, she sent Harry a quick -but quite charming- smile, and couldn’t help but soften at the sound of Anya running down the stairs yelling an excited ‘Harryyyy’ once she was past the kitchen.

She knew she got lucky with her commodities – an entire studio-like apartment past the main kitchen of the house, where the servant’s area used to be located a handful of decades ago; but she cussed in a whisper when she remembered half way through her making of a sandwich (four hours after she’d retreated to her bedroom and because she decided on skipping dinner that night, not having enough energy to cook) that her lazy ass still hadn’t bought mayonnaise. Her small kitchen had enough space to hold her snacks, along with some ingredients to make a few meals, since she only had to worry about food on the weekends. Reluctantly, she took the small plate holding her sandwich and made her way towards the main kitchen. There was no way in hell she’d eat a sandwich with no mayo – never in a million years, too dry to go down her throat.

I guess they won't mind if I grab just enough to put on my sandwich, she thought. The house was quiet, everyone probably already in bed, therefore she almost pissed herself when she found Harry sitting in one of the kitchen stools, looking down at his phone with an annoyed expression adorning his face. Almost as if he could sense someone was in the same room, he looked up to find Y/N standing at the kitchen threshold, his face abandoning any sort of emotion.

"Hey."

"Hi." Y/N walked towards the fridge on the far right of the kitchen, opposite from where she came in. "Sorry, I thought no one was here."

"Don't worry, just waiting for Bella and Alex to come back down to have some tea, they're putting the girls to sleep. Would you like to join us?" He offered. And honestly, she'd love to say yes and just listen to him talk with that deep, melodic voice, but her stomach was really hating her right now.

"I'm good, just grabbing some mayo. Thank you, though." She declined with a small smile.

"Next time." He sounded more demanding than suggesting, which slightly baffled Y/N. "Can I ask where you are from?" He asked respectfully.

"A small town in the Argentine Patagonia." Y/N replied with her back facing him as she busied herself with the mayonnaise container.

"Never been to Argentina. Or anywhere in South America, actually." And when Y/N turned around, sandwich in hand ready to go back to her room, their eyes met across the kitchen and she felt the heat creeping up her neck for the second time that night. Y/N wondered how his gaze was always this intense – she wasn’t a fan of how they’d barely exchanged a few words and somehow she felt so exposed.

"You should. It's beautiful." She almost, almost, choked on her own words and when she looked down at her fuzzy pink socks and back to him to try and calm her growing nerves down, he surprised her when she caught him looking up and down her body – in any other case she definitely would’ve felt creeped out, but there was something about him, the fact that he definitely didn’t do it with the intention of her catching him (she noticed how he shifted uncomfortably on his seat after the exchange) and how he simply added a “I’m sure it is," afterwards, she knew she was fucked right then and there – she wanted him looking at her. Was that something bad?

But then – then she remembered how she was wearing her soft cotton pajamas, and she began wondering if he was just laughing internally at her outfit instead of checking her out like she initially thought. And just like a save from heaven, Bella and Alex appeared in the kitchen discussing who was picking Ivy up from her friend's house. "Hi Y/N, still awake?"

"Yeah, got hungry. Stole a bit of mayo, hope you don't mind." She shyly held the plate up.

"Please, this is your house too." Alex waved her off.

"Thanks. Gonna go back now." Y/N pointed towards the small hallway that led to her room. "Goodnight." Turning her body to walk away, she caught Harry's eyes, again, still staring at her, but decided on simply walking away, breaking eye contact, making that small interaction their last one for the night.

&

The following week consisted of Anya and Y/N playing lots of fun games, trying to get a word out of Charlie and Ivy ignoring her for the most part. Her relationship with each of them was completely different, each trusting her at their own peace, getting used to having a stranger around. Anya seemed the only one openly excited to hang out with Y/N every day, and even though she could tell Charlie didn't exactly mind her presence, she still hadn't talked to her as much as she'd like her to.

"What are you up to, Charlie?" Y/N asked the seven year old as she sat next to her in the big playroom they had on the main floor. Charlie kept her gaze locked on her drawing with a handful of crayons on her right hand as she drew with her left. "You're left handed? That's so cool!" Bella had mentioned some time ago that Charlie had a really hard time letting people in, Y/N knew it'd take some time for her to see her as a friend -like she wanted her to- rather than someone who gets paid to hang out with her, but Bella confessed Charlie was actually really excited to meet Y/N, which felt like a small relief, knowing she actually wanted her there – unlike Ivy. Charlie spoke only when necessary and struggled with making friends but her psych pedagogue said she's just really shy and that ‘once she breaks out of her shell, she's unstoppable’. "I love the birds you drew here." Y/N pointed at some small birds sitting in a tree branch.

"Bluebirds." She murmured.

Getting a single word from her was considered progress, in Y/N’s opinion, but that’s all she got for the entire afternoon – even after constantly sending comments her way while playing with Anya so Charlie wouldn’t feel left out, not a single word came out of her mouth. Anya mentioned Harry at some point while talking about her favorite doll (which Harry had gifted her for her 3rd birthday) and the flash of captivating green eyes almost blinded her internally (she couldn’t deny she’d thought about Harry every once in a while this past week)

And it wasn’t until later that same day, after spending a long while sitting alone in a nearby park, she got the chance to see him again – even if he had scared her (almost) to death, she couldn’t help but feel an annoying flutter in her stomach.

She would like to say she loved her long walks during the most unreasonable times at night, but her reasoning behind her late night needs of distraction didn’t exactly thrill her. It was during the quietest and most peaceful times of the day when her mind seemed to speed faster than ever before; the sleepless nights and brain-wrecking thinking of how alone and empty she actually felt, along with the laziness and reluctance when it came to things that used to make her happy weighed her down like carrying a sack of potatoes on her back.

As she was walking past her neighbor's house (the one where she had seen that man with the suitcases last week) she noticed someone sitting on the large porch. Weird, she thought. She hadn't noticed any movement in the house since that night a week ago, to the point she even considered it being empty again. The silhouette seemed oddly familiar though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

"Y/N." She slightly jumped as she heard them call for her, in a strong and deep accent. Was that...

"Harry?" She asked befuddled. Did he live there? She watched as he stood up from his sitting position on the outdoor couch and walked across his front yard to take a closer look at him stopping at the bottom of the short staircase that leads to the porch. "What are you doing up so late?" And then something clicked in her brain – he was probably the man she saw that night, with his suitcases. It made sense, how he probably got home from vacation the same day he had dinner at the Lockehold's – the same day Bella mentioned something about him being in Italy

"Can't sleep." He simply replied, with a small sigh. He then nodded to the seat behind him, and Y/N could physically feel her brain going a thousand miles per minute. She sat on the far left of the couch as he retook his seat on the right, "what are you doing up so late?" He repeated her question.

And Y/N repeated his answer. "Can't sleep."

So they sat in silence, what felt like hours barely being a few seconds. "Didn't know you lived next door." Y/N took the time to take in his side profile - sharp and long nose, the tip curving slightly downwards when he spoke the next line.

"Never mentioned it." He replied apathetically. The unexpected switch in his tone made her immediately shut up, and even though it confused Y/N as to why he would want her joining him if he didn't want to talk, she was dreading going back to her room alone to drown in her thoughts again. She'd take uncomfortable company over being alone when her head got like this, it helped her get distracted; overthinking this situation instead of the same scenarios that constantly lived in her head.

They again sat in silence for a while, this time for longer than a few minutes, and even though it was slightly uncomfortable, there was an unspoken understanding between them. He just wanted company, and so did she. This time, however, it was him who tried for conversation. "Why did you choose England for your Au Pair program?"

"I was actually convinced I was going to choose France," Y/N shared with a soft tone, "but when I met the girls in one of my interviews I just knew I had to come here. Anya was so excited about meeting me, she thought it was already settled." She ended with a small smile on her lips. The memory of Anya smiling happily at her through the computer screen even when she hadn't had met her yet warming her heart.

It was true, the fact that she’d chosen England because of the girls. She wanted to learn French – she knew her way around the English language pretty well; but the French family whom interviewed her didn’t come close to the Lockehold’s at all – she thought maybe the experience of living in a whole different continent with a wonderful family was better than choosing a place because of the language – the experience was being experienced either way.

"Anya is a very special kid. They all are." Harry declared, the left corner of his mouth turning upwards in a small half smile.

Y/N nodded slowly before asking, "How long have you known them?" She could recall Alex saying he was a family friend – but she had no other information about him besides that.

"A while." The small conversation went for a long while, he shared the real reason as to why he was awake so late, explaining how he has struggled with falling asleep ever since he was young, but besides that comment, he kept his life very private; not sharing much information about himself during their chat, and every time Y/N reciprocated a question, he would either answer vaguely or didn't answer at all, changing the subject with another question. "It's really late" He commented, Y/N’s phone reading 1:08am.

"Yeah, I should probably go to bed." She lifted her head to look at him, who was already searching for her eyes. Y/N cleared her throat when a few moments passed by, again, with no one speaking a word. She wondered what could possibly be going through his head at the time, but he nodded, got up and said, "I'll see you around, Y/N." Her name flowed so nicely out of his lips it made her knees get weak. Locking herself in her bedroom (after entering it by the door at the side of the house – which leaded straight to her room) she laid in bed trying to understand why they’d just hang out in his front porch way past midnight when they clearly didn’t know each other very well – or at all, better said.

&

First day of classes came by in a heartbeat. The first Monday of September Y/N found herself getting up earlier than she was accustomed to, since the girl's sleeping schedule was different during the summer. 6:15am read her alarm when she lazily threw the soft covers off her body. A quick shower and minimal makeup application later, she stood naked next to her bed checking the weather app, as to know how to prepare the girl's clothes.

After putting a soft pink sweater on and a pair of flared jeans, Y/N left the warmth of her room to wake the girls up. Going for Charlie first (since she didn't need any help changing into her uniform and Ivy used her own alarm) she didn't give Y/N any work at all, waking up immediately after softly calling her name once. Picking her uniform from her closet and leaving it for her to change, Y/N left Charlie’s room to walk towards the next door.

"Morning, Anya." She whispered as she brushed some of her hair out of her face. Anya’s little nose scrunched up and a soft whimper left her mouth as she switched positions, now laying on her side, "gotta wake up, love." Y/N shook her arm softly, and she finally opened her eyes, a tired smile creeping up her face as she noticed it was Y/N sitting next to her. Y/N left her to rub the tiredness off her eyes while she picked her clothes (since her daycare was at the same school her older sister's attended -Harry's school, Y/N couldn't help but think- her uniform consisted of only a white t-shirt with the school logo along with any pair of bottoms she chose for the day.

After picking up her cute small rain boots and help her get dressed up, Y/N did a cute hairstyle on her with the small butterfly hair clips she chose, and went back to Charlie's room to do her hair, Anya coming along.

They arrived at their school; a big, period-like brick building with hundreds of students roaming around and a beautiful fountain at the front – which actually made Y/N’s childhood look like a big joke; the school she had attended was located in the middle of the mountains in a remote field.

"I'll be here at two thirty. Good luck, girls, I'll see you later." Ivy walked away sending a 'mhm' her way to let her know she heard her, and Charlie offered a small smile along with a wave and walked away like her sister. Y/N took Anya off her car seat and helped her get out of the car, her tiny backpack sitting on Y/N’s right shoulder as she grabbed the hand Anya offered her.

"Mommy said I have the penguins' classroom!" She said with excitement as they walked through the doors at the right wing of the building.

"That's so cool! I love penguins, let's search for the door which has penguins on it, shall we?" Y/N suggested even though she could clearly see their door at the end of the hallway.

"Yes! This one has elephants," she pointed at the door they were passing, "look, butterflies!"

"Like your hairclips!" Y/N exclaimed, and she giggled nodding her head. "Ah! Look what we found..." Y/N pointed at the next door.

"Penguins!" She skipped towards the door, dragging Y/N along. They entered the big and colorful classroom where they found some kids crying in their parent’s arms, others being as excited as Anya.

"Hi there! Anya, am I correct?" A woman who appeared to be around Y/N’s age came up to them, scrunching down to be on Anya’s eye level. She nodded frantically, excitement dripping from her smile. "My name is Miss Pia, I'm going to be your teacher this year." She introduced herself, Anya gave her an even bigger smile and slyly asked if she could go meet her classmates, to which Miss Pia agreed, asking her to first hang her small backpack in the rack at the back of the room, taking it from my hands and running excitedly to do it.

"You must be Y/N, then?" Miss Pia asked, getting back up to her feet. She was short with blonde curly hair sitting high in a ponytail, rosy cheeks and a cute teacher apron on top of her regular clothes.

"I am." Y/N offered her hand.

"The administration office said we would be having an Au Pair this year, they always give us a heads up with situations like these." She explained, and Y/N nodded as she continued, "we have the parents, nannies or in this case, Au Pairs," they both laughed," stay for the introduction, you can leave afterwards."

"Perfect, I'll sit at the back with the rest of the parents." Y/N ended up staying for about half an hour, smiling at Anya every time she turned to search for her when something exciting seemed to be happening. She won't be needing any adaptation, as Miss Pia said, and she was dismissed right before they had their first trip to the playground outside, taking advantage of the fact that it hadn't started raining yet.

Right when Y/N was walking out of the building, she spotted Harry at the main entrance, reading something on his phone. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a white shirt underneath, and he looked even more handsome in the daylight. She made her way towards him, walking up the marble stairs (marble stairs! In a school?), and when he noticed her, he put his phone away and slowly (and trying to be as discrete as possible – which he failed to, again) looked up and down her body. Something about him giving her his full attention made her insides burn, and she couldn’t help but bit her bottom lip to suppress a smile.

"Hi." She stopped in front of him, taking a moment to look at his eyes; they definitely looked a lot lighter now that there was natural light surrounding them.

"Hi." He repeated, "Dropped the girl's off?" He motioned towards the building with his head.

"Yes, just left Anya’s classroom." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Miss Pia?" He asked, squinting his eyes.

"Yes. She's nice, looks like she knows what she's doing." Y/N shrugged. She didn't exactly know her enough to have a conversation about her – and she most definitely couldn’t be one to talk, since she herself didn’t know what she was doing half of the time. “How’s the first day back been so far?” He got cut off from his next comment by his phone, and the small crease between his eyebrows grew deeper, which didn’t go unnoticed by Y/N. "I'll leave you to it." She announced, but his eyes found hers again, and it was almost like he was asking for her to not leave him to it, but Y/N didn’t trust her instincts, not with him – not when he made her so nervous her brain couldn’t process things around him, and she was scared of misreading his expressions; he was hard to read. Not like she was expert at reading people but he was frustratingly confusing.

&

They didn't see each other again until a week later on a Tuesday evening – the same day Charlie, Anya and her decided to go for a walk and treat themselves with ice cream from a cute shop across from (what had come to be) her favorite park, Harry and Y/N found each other's eyes across his front garden, just like that night, but this time it was easy for her to recognize him as she could see his face clear and glowing from the sunset shine. His eyes were glued to her until the fence that divided their houses blocked his view, and again, Y/N wondered what could be going through his head.

It wasn’t until after dinner, past her work hours, she decided to leave the house through the door on her room with the sparking curiosity to test if she would run into Harry. Stopping on the sidewalk in front of his house, she noticed he was not sitting outside, and even though that's exactly what she had expected -he was not going to sit there for hours and hours, right?- There still was a small feeling of disappointment that rushed through her, and when she snapped back into reality, it was too late to stop herself as she knocked on his front door.

And Y/N didn’t know where to hide – not like hiding would be less embarrassing but God she did hate herself that moment. The embarrassment running through her veins was painful and made her lightheaded – she knew she had trouble sometimes with not thinking things through, but this was beyond her. He barely knew her. And suddenly his door was wide open.

"Y/N?" Of course she was not lucky enough for him to be asleep and not hearing her knock – life would’ve been too in her favor for that to happen. Of course he was very awake with a half drank cup of tea in his hand and the softest looking pair of grey sweatpants hanging low on his hips. "Are you ok? You look really pale." His voice was calm, probably the softest it'd ever been in her presence. At least he doesn't sound mad, Y/N thought.

Harry wanted to be confused, but he was more curious than anything else. For some reason, he felt very intrigued by Y/N – how she seemed confident but insanely insecure at the same time; it reminded him of himself, if he had to be honest. He just learned how to hide the latter.

"Uh, yeah- um, I was-" she nervously turned around halfway to look behind her and back at him again. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity and Y/N really tried her hardest not to step over her words. "I was about to go for a walk, uh, I was wondering if you'd like to join me?" Stupid. So, so stupid, Y/N thought.

"No, I'm good." He replied, finding oh-so-amusing the way her eyes gave her embarrassment away – he was having fun, watching her like a lost puppy trying to think through her next words.

Her mind was, of course, over speeding. She now felt even more embarrassed. Of course he doesn't want to go for a walk, Y/N conscience spoke to her, it's a Tuesday night and he's probably tired and I'm his friends' Au Pair – he probably thinks I'm this young and annoying girl who has a stupid crush and- "would you like to join me?" He interrupted her self-beating up raising his cup and she noticed the half smile adorning his face, almost like he could tell the wheels in her brain were fast-moving.

"Wouldn't want to interrupt-"

"You're not. I wouldn't have invited you in if you were. C'mon in, now. It's kinda cold out here." He disappeared inside of his house, leaving her on his porch with an open mouth and a blank brain. After closing the door behind her and taking her black vans off, she turned on her left as she guessed that was the way Harry went – and she knew she’d guessed correctly when she stepped into a big open-plan concept living room with a giant kitchen on the far back, Harry standing with his back towards her preparing her tea, "sugar?"

"No, thank you." She sat in one of the stools at the kitchen island as she took the scene in front of her. Her very cute (and much older), very hot neighbor Harry, in sweatpants and a very thin white shirt, a small patch of skin showing on his hip, making her tea. His shoulders were broad and she could see his back muscles moving as he poured steaming hot water into the cup, the little curls on his neck so inviting, if only she could run her hand through his soft looking hair just once-

"There you go. Cardamom." He snapped her out of her (probably inappropriate) thoughts, and she thanked him as she grabbed the cup from where he placed it; he stayed in his position standing in front of her on the other side of the island, with his forearms against the cold marble, sipping on his own mug, thinking about how strange it felt to have someone he wasn’t close with sitting in his kitchen after so long. "Why are you up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"I figured. I couldn't either, looks like we both have a bit of sleeping issues, huh?" He sounded playful, but tired. Y/N knew exactly how it felt, being so tired but not being able to peacefully go to bed and get some needed rest.

"I remember you mentioning it before, I figured I'd check if you were up. Walking helps me relax, thought maybe you'd enjoy it too." OK, that wasn't entirely true but her reasoning to be there was quite similar – to check if he was up so they could, maybe, share a quiet night like that one a few weeks ago. None of them understood why they found such comfort in each other’s company – none of them felt like they needed to try too hard.

At some point during their conversation they moved to the couch, where they laid with a wide gap between their bodies. "Elton John's was definitely an interesting read. Lots of crazy anecdotes, you should read it."

"Probably not as good as Keith's, but I'll give it a go." He let a dimpled smile creep into his face, turning his head to look at her from across the couch and the annoying turn her stomach made obliged her to return it, just as bright as his. Finding out their music taste was quite similar made Y/N’s insides all warm and fuzzy, he showed her his vinyl collection (which was quite large) and ranted about how the modern industry was missing a rock star with some of that unexplainable essence old rock bands have – to which she respond saying maybe that something that makes them special was the fact that they were old bands... added to the fact that even though she was an old music lover, modern pop was her guilty pleasure.

Their third teacups were long forgotten on the modern coffee table by the time he noticed Y/N’s eyes were slowly beginning to close and he, as last time, said, "it's really late." And Y/N only nodded and tiredly got up from her position, with him following close behind.

"Goodnight, Harry. Thank you for having me even though I came unannounced." She shyly said, her actions still making her embarrassed even though it had already been a couple of hours.

"My pleasure. We should- do this again," He coughed into his hand, and uncomfortably continued, "I enjoy your company." That sentence alone made her heart explode with a thousand emotions, because even though they barely knew each other and it clearly pained him to admit he enjoyed having her around, his presence made her calm but anxious in a peculiar mixture of emotions. All she did in return was gift him a big smile, face hot of embarrassment (a nice kind of embarrassment, that feeling when you just want to smile really big and tightly hug whoever is making you feel that way) and slowly pushed herself up on her tiptoes to give him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Bye." He said lastly, and closed his front door with red cheeks and dimples on display.

- Joey.

[starwberycow]

I have been reading No longer human recently and I’m only up to notebook one but I’ve had so many breakdowns cause of this fucking book

“ I wonder if I have ever been happy” - I read this and cried can’t even explain why I just did. Like I started to over think, am I really happy and if not why am I not happy what can I change will dying solve it should I relapse or starve myself. Just what does it truely mean to be happy cause I don’t think I know and I don’t know if I ever will and I don’t know if I want to wait for I don’t know long just to potentially disappointed.

“It is almost impossible for me to converse with either people. What should I talk about, how should I say it? - I don’t know” - this quote hit me like a fucking bus. I struggle to talk to people and I always stress I’ve fucked it. This line said it perfectly and I hate that. It captured what I have been trying to vocalise to people for years it’s not even a long sentence but it’s still a impactful one in the worst fucking way

“I was always accepted the attack in silence, though inwardly so terrified as almost to be out of my mind” - my family fights a shit tonne and it always ends up being my fault in some way or another and I never react I just stand their like a deer in headlights. No matter how badly I want to say something to my hypocritical father or my brother who just needs a scape goat. I just stand there in silence with no emotion taking it because I’ve learnt from experience there is no point in arguing back I’ll always lose because I am a …

“What a failure. I had angered my father and I could be sure that his revenge would be a fearful one” - This is like self explanatory

“Mine has been a life of such shame” - it’s a bit edgy but every time I manage to not reach my super high expectations I feel like a failure and that I am a burden to all those around me. I don’t want to shame my family by being the social reject who is physically and mentally ill and on top of that I’m not even good at school or sports. All I do is embarrass them and I feel bad when ever I go out with family or friends. I feel bad that they have to be seen with me

“People have told me, really more times than I can remember, ever since I was a small boy, how lucky I was but I have always felt as if I were suffering in hell.” - I remember when I was like 9 or something like that. In a hospital room on verge of dying and this old ass lady saying I was lucky and I don’t know what for but I was luckier than she was. As I was dying from something I was unable to control as a kid my parents housed have been helping me but they were to busy being separated and fighting I’ve grow to look after me to actually look after me. And I feel ungrateful cause I’m alive now and I’m lucky now but I feel like I’m dying 24/7 so idk if that makes me lucky

But the first paragraph on pg 28 that talks about human true nature being that of an animal and a wild animal at that. It is described as a nature that people seem to be hiding. It’s a good analogy but also I started overthinking like I always do and how it’s nearly 12am and I’m crying my eyes out. It’s such a good analogy to compare wild animals to humans because when you think about it we are animals in a way but we consider ourselves above animals. Either due to religious viewpoint or your an egoist either way we see ourselves as better than animals. We say we are more advanced because we can think and communicate but so can animals and we have no way to prove that what we do is anymore advanced then what they do. I LOVE ANIMALS AND COMPARING HUMANS TO ANIMALS it’s such an interesting philosophical topic that I won’t shut up about. Ngl it gets me going 😍

[waitingforwinterwinds]

Game of Thrones - 24 BRAN IV (pages 230-241)

Bran tries to work through some things, because none of the Stark Children are okay, and Tyrion is almost mauled by wolves before he can deliver his gift for Bran.

-

No one really knew how old she was, but his father said she'd been called Old Nan even when he was a boy. She was the oldest person in Winterfell for certain, maybe the oldest person in the Seven Kingdoms. ... "I could tell you a story about Brandon the Builder," Old Nan said. "Those were always your favorite." ... Maybe one of the other Brandon's had liked that story. Sometimes, Nan would talk to him like he was her Brandon, the baby she had nursed all those years ago, and sometimes she confused him with his uncle Brandon, who was killed by the Mad King before Bran was even born. She had lived so long, Mother had once told him, that all the Brandon Starks had become the one person in her head.

ngl, I would love the lore drop on Old Nan. "all Brandon's are one" just making me think of Bran on the Weirwood wi-fi

"- Yet here and there in the fastness of the woods the children still lived in their wooden cities and hollow hills, and the faces in the trees kept watch. -"

sorry, I hear 'hollow hill' as a living space and my brain automatically goes "Bag End. Hobbits. Shire. Smial." Old Nan's stories are so dope. I hope we get to hear more of them, they seem relevant to the later plot threads.

Theon Greyjoy had once commented that Hodor did not know much, but no one could doubt that he knew his name. Old Nan had cackled like a hen when Bran told her that, and confessed that Hodor's name was Walder. No one knew where "Hodor" had come from, she said, but when he started saying it, they started calling him by it. It was the only word he had.

I'm not crying, you're crying. Fine, I am crying, but shush anyway.

The gargoyles watched him ascend. Their eyes glowed red as hot coals in a brazier. Perhaps they had once been lions, but now they were twisted and grotesque. Bran could hear them whispering to each other in soft stone voices terrible to hear. He must not listen, he told himself, he must not hear, so long as he did not hear them he was safe.

Oh, my poor boy, trying to process his trauma and work through a fear he doesn't even remember he has.

[mythiccheroacademia]

Single-Parent!Headcanons

Characters: Kirishima Eijirou, Kaminari Denki, and Bakugo Katsuki

A/N: Inspired by y’all. Enjoy <3

Warnings: fluff overload? one tiny curse word

Kirishima Eijirou:

the day his son was born was both the worst and best day of his life

his wife died upon delivery and he almost fainted when he heard the news, bakugo caught him before he could hit the floor

it took him 24 hours before he could gather the courage to go to the nursery and see his baby. he thought he wouldn’t be able to stomach the reminder of losing the love of his life

but when he held the small boy, who instantly nuzzled into his father’s chest, sighing with relief, kirishima was hooked for life

he just continued to hold his son into his chest and cry until he couldn’t anymore

from that day on, he swore he’d be the best parent he could be for his wife and his child’s sake

bc kiri is such a youthful and loving person, taking care of his son was easy, fun, and rewarding

ofc there were hard days, but it was all worth it when his baby would wake up with an adorable laugh, smiling up at him like he was his entire world

they’re two peas in a pod

he and his son are just the cutest pair

he takes his son everywhere, strapping him on his chest with a baby carrier

you bet your ass he’s taken him on (a safe) patrol around the block

kirishima is the kind of dad that puts his kid in a laundry basket, sits them in front of the tv, and acts out rollercoaster sounds

he lives for that loud laugh of his son’s

blows raspberries into the kid’s stomach whenever he starts getting cranky

his son’s first word was “manly” and kirishima spent the entire day bothering the bakusquad about it

everyone has 12 different copies of the video—y’know...just in case

when he takes his first steps, kiri’s swinging him around the house and giving him so many kisses on his chubby cheeks

when he saw his son had one spiky tooth growing in, he almost drowned from the cuteness

the kid gets himself into a lot of trouble tho. he’s always crawling towards the edge of something and putting his hand in things that could totally cut it off. kiri has a heart attack at least once a week

calls him, “son” “bud” and “buddy”

I hc that even though he’s lively around his dad, his son is very shy with new people and in new environments so school is kind of tough for him

but kirishima is always understanding of his troubles and tries his best to let him know that as long as he’s his son, he’ll always be his biggest supporter

if that doesn’t work, they go buy their fav meats and have a random bbq (kirishima just looks like the bbq dad™️ lmao). that always seems to do the trick

when his son enrolls in U.A., he’s there with a banner, his fav meat, and a bunch of tears when he sends him off

his son wears their matching crocs only to cheer up his dad. nothing else

aka he lowkey likes them but you didn’t hear that from me!

kirishima always has the urge to ft his kid, like, every hour. but he won’t bc he knows he’s busy training to be a hero

but he does send him uplifting snapchat videos from time to time

his son still wonders how in the world his dad even knows about snapchat

he makes sure nobody knows about this

when his son calls him about his insecurities, comparing himself to his classmates, kirishima is right there to lift him up. he also dealed with those same issues and tells his son that even on his worst days, he’s strong for just facing the day and he needs to believe in himself before others can believe in him

the next day, the bakusquad is watching the tournament together

kirishima has manly tears in his eyes as his little boy places second place in the sports festival

bakugo is threatening to kill him if he ruins his shirt

Kaminari Denki:

denki becomes a dad from adopting a pair of four year old twins (one boy, one girl) that were left homeless and without parents after a villain attack

he kinda knew the parents from hero work and felt it was an obligation to at least make sure their children were okay

he wasn’t planning on necessarily adopting them. he was young and inexperienced with children. how could someone like him raise a kid when he could barely raise himself?

but after two visits to the orphanage and seeing how miserable they looked, he couldn’t leave the building without signing the papers

the transition was awkward. the twins were not only traumatized, but distrusting and scared. they didn’t really know kaminari and now he was suddenly their adoptive parent

kaminari tried everything from ice cream, to late night movie snacks, to hide n seek to get them to relax but it wouldn’t work

he almost gave up hope, and thought maybe it was a better idea to take them back to the orphanage. but that was before the night he woke up to them crawling into his bed, scared from the thunder storm that rumbled on outside

kaminari froze, scared that he’d frighten them away with any sudden movement, but he soon relaxed and hugged them close to his chest when they snuggled into his sides. he sleeps with a peaceful mind that night

although, he’s awoken to them bawling their eyes out over the nightmares they had. he panics but takes comfort in how they still grip to his shirt, face in his chest, seeking his comfort

therapy becomes a regular thing after that

kaminari finds more focus in his life

and as those helpful sessions go on, kaminari finds the twins beginning to open up more and more

they all sleep together now bc cuddle piles always scare the bad dreams away

the boy starts asking for kaminari to help him pick out his outfits

and the girl starts asking him about his quirk

it’s small things like that that lead up to things like this:

they’re in the midst of playing tickle monster when they scream with laughter, “stop! stop, daddy, you caught us!”

the twins stare at him in confusion (and slight worry) when he scoops them up and cries like he broke his leg or something

they got two huge scoops of ice cream that night so they don’t question it

dad jokes are a must

he wears typical dad outfits like hawaiian shirts, cargo shorts, and flip flops

he calls them his “little rockstars” and yes, it’s still embarrassing

kaminari is a playful dad who doesn’t really take things too seriously

his children are always laughing at his dumb jokes and are never afraid to talk to him about anything that crosses their minds

although, they won’t talk to him about love interests bc he likes to play match maker

the last time his daughter told him about some girl she was crushing on, she found out she left her a personally signed chargebolt poster for the girl in her name

kaminari called it a little boost in spirit

her brother found it funny

she was horrified

kaminari swears up and down he’s the cool dad. his kids think otherwise, but their friends LOVE how much of a jokester he is. and he lets them stay up at sleepovers

plus, he’s literally chargebolt

how could they not love him?

denki has a little trouble being serious when he needs to be, but he has good kids so it’s not that much of a problem

there was that one time his son tried to help him during a villain attack. even though kaminari ordered him to get to safety, he didn’t and ended up getting hurt

the twins had never seen their father so angry. it was kind of scary. however, in the next moment, he gathered them up in a big hug and made them swear not to scare him like that again

overall, kaminari is the sweet, fun loving, dad that everyone wishes they had

Bakugo Katsuki:

katsuki became a father the day he found a baby and a note at his doorstep

the note read: “surprise! you’re a dad. i gave you all the legal rights, but you can place her up for adoption if you want.”

least to say, bakugo was pissed

he was even more pissed at himself for getting someone so cold and unloving pregnant

however, he decides to put the baby up for adoption. he cant take care of a baby! he’s at the height of his career. he can basically taste the number one hero spot on his tongue

he’s dead set w the decision, but as he stands outside of the orphanage, he freezes. he just can’t move

bakugo looks down at his daughter as she opens her eyes for the first time. he sees an identical pair of red eyes that make his chest tight with a feeling he hasn’t experienced in a long time

he turns back around and heads back home. it’s easily the best decision he’s ever made in his life

ngl though, growing into the dad role for bakugo was tough

before the girl, he only ever had to think of himself. he was still used to doing everything on his own time and for his own benefit. so being forced to put 100% of his attention to a small helpless human being was not easy

katsuki admits that the first couple of years weren’t his proudest. he was still short tempered, angry with the world, and frustrated bc he felt like his life was ruined

one time, the frustration and sleep deprivation would hit him all at once and he’d just start going off at the baby to just “shut the hell up!” before breaking down and crying with her

it was a dark moment for him, and yet, even after that, his little girl still curled up in his arms to rest when the tears tired her out

it had been a while since he felt unconditional love like that, and so he decided to change for the baby’s sake

you cant tell me that little girl isn’t spoiled rotten

bakugo is a hardass, but he’s all bark no bite. no matter what, he just can’t resist his little girl’s puppy dog eyes

he’s a girl dad to the t

yes he played the princess that needed saving from the big bad dragon. what about it?

his daughter is a firecracker. she started sassing him as soon as she could gargle

he pretends he hates it but his daughter is lowkey funny asl

they go at it when they fight. bakugo’s learned to be a little more patient, but he still has a bit of a temper and it doesn’t mix well when his mini-me has the same explosive anger

is the kind of dad that says sorry by asking her what she wants for dinner

they totally talk mess about other heroes together. he ignores the fact that she admires deku as long as she keeps it to herself

emotional talks are...awkward, but he forces himself through it

she finds it embarrassing (yet oddly endearing) that he got kicked out of a PTA club meeting for threatening to light up some mom for saying the art program didn’t matter

his daughter absolutely won’t talk to him about potential love interests unless she wants them coming up missing

bakugo won’t admit to watching baby videos of his daughter when he sends her off to U.A. and no, he didn’t cry, he got dust in his eye

doesn’t bother her too much, but jumps for his phone when he hears her ringtone

kirishima says he getting soft, but that’s just his little princess

[milfbenkenobi]

Star Wars Fic Rec List Part 2

All fics are complete, but I may rec something from an incomplete series.

to failure, sweet victor by littlekaracan

Word count: 20056 Chapter count: 1

The man behind the doorway is holding a vibroblade. He has a scar crawling down his face and a dozen more elsewhere, and he’s regained enough strength to knock the breath out of Obi-Wan’s lungs once he slams him into the wall and brings down the blade.

“Good morning,” Obi-Wan says, ducking out of the way.

The man wearing Cody’s face snarls and aims better.

Because we all need a bit of Cody trying to murder Obi-Wan daily due to the chip in his brain

——————

The Desert Storm by Blue_Sunshine

24 part complete series. Word count: 1,144,596

Four years after Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi Order, a grieving, struggling Ben Kenobi finds himself inexplicably taken back in time, crashing headlong into the foundations of fate. Grasping hope and vengeance with both hands, Ben rebuilds his identity and seeks to change the course of history: by saving Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Order, the galaxy - and just maybe saving Obi-Wan Kenobi along the way.

Featuring a heavy dose of Mandalorian involvement, overall world-building, cultural exploration, and every star wars plot I have ever wanted to write.

OHOHOHOHO. This is my favorite Star Wars fic out of all I’ve read. There’s so much world building, it’s amazing. I saw it a few times before I finally took the plunge and read it, and let me tell you this series is SO worth it. Warning, because I didn’t know, this is only the first arc of a story, the author said they’re going to start writing the second part soon. Definitely definitely recommend.

——————

What I Could Be by radneto

Word count: 15443 Chapter count: 1

Obi-Wan is twelve years old and has just become Qui-Gon Jinn's newest Padawan. On his first mission with his master, he somehow gets transported to the future and chaos ensues.

Or- I find an excuse to write a baby Obi.

Baby Obi-Wan gets YEETED to the future, and confuses the fuck out of all the clones wondering where their general is.

——————

Make Your Bed (lie in it) by glitterglanger

Word count: 58117 Chapter count: 5

Crys hissed, sounding awed, “You slept with the General?”

Cody tugged his bucket down fast enough to hide a wince. In the light of dawn, with his head not so fogged and bleary from fatigue, it didn’t seem half as logical as it had the night before. But he’d be kriffed before he told Crys that. He said, tone even, “Couldn’t have him freezing to death. Let’s go.”

OR, the one where Cody starts sharing quarters with Obi-Wan a year into the Clone Wars, and it changes many things.

Exactly what it says in the summary

——————

the family amidala by dirgewithoutmusic

Word count: 6829 Chapter count: 1

Padme lives. She runs.

——

Leia is growing in fits and spurts, eating greedily and crying loudly. She stays in a sling on Padme’s chest when they move, Luke held snug in a sling around Obi Wan’s. Luke gets a whole head of thick brown hair while Leia’s is still patchy and bald, but he never matches his sister’s powerful lungs.

When Padme had been sitting in her high senatorial apartment on Corsucant, holding Anakin’s sweaty hand, she had never imagined she’d be murmuring desperately soothing noises to her fussy daughter while she shot around a corner at stormtroopers, while R2D2 meddles with a ship’s blast doors behind her.

Luke starts teething on a hot jungle planet where they hunker down for three weeks, sleeping in an abandoned old temple and catching the local wildlife for dinner. Leia takes her first steps in the belly of a Corellian freighter they’ve stowed away on. She wobbles between Padme’s outstretched hands and Obi Wan’s knees and boxes of smuggled luxuries. When she falls down, Obi Wan surges forward, heart in his throat, but Leia laughs.

A Padmé Lives AU. She and Obi-Wan run around the empire trying to keep the twins alive and away from Vader, who thinks all four of them are dead.

——————

For the Glory by whatthenshallwesay

Word count: 92644 Chapter count: 22

CC-2224 is a good soldier. Good soldiers follow orders. The voice in the back of his mind? Not so much.

Commander Cody is about to take a roundabout journey into the Rebellion against the Empire.

Cody breaks free of the chip and proceeds to double agent the fuck out of the Empire

——————

Capture the Flag by Artemis_Neardos

Word count: 4625 Chapter count: 1

It's all fun and games, but a good portion of the galaxy is fairly certain that at least part of the GAR has quietly lost its mind. Obi-Wan isn't completely sure what's going on. His men are having fun and no ones getting hurt, so he has no problem playing along.

A game of capture the flag completely overtakes the GAR

——————

Decko and Lies by TwoBusyWriting

Word count: 3106 Chapter count: 1

In which Echo decks Fives to the ground in the middle of the mess, Fives decides to just lie there afterward, and some troopers have to change their perceptions of the Legion's ARCs.

Exactly as it says in the summary and also the title (love it when the summary makes things easier on me)

——————

Misunderstandings Are Born of Miscommunication by Fic_Request_Blog

Word count: 2210 Chapter count: 1

Or

The one where Kenobi is blind and no one remembers to tell the clones.

Everybody is different flavors of oblivious

——————

The Grace of Madness by LightningStarborne

Word count: 31008 Chapter count: 14

Based on this prompt:

Maybe Obi-Wan was tortured and captured on a early mission with Qui-Gon. Obi ends up acting like River(Firefly) by the time they are rescued/escape. The Council urges Qui-Gon to get a new apprentice because Obi-Wan will never be the way he was, they think he can't become a Jedi. Qui-Gon refuses, he believes Obi can still become a Jedi despite his mental instability.

Over the years Qui-Gon and Yoda are the only ones who can understand Obi and are both comfortable in his presence.

The Phantom Menace happens. Yoda approves Obi in training Anakin, the others on the Council disagree, but Yoda is da Boss.

How does Anakin do with Obi-Wan? Does Anakin still become Darth Vader?

NGL, it’s been a hot sec since I’ve read this one so I don’t have much to say, but it’s soooooo good

——————

PART ONE

[djinarocks]

Meme thingy

Copied and Borrowed from @crystal-indie-gal and @hyzenthlayroseart

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

Yes.

02: Who did you last say "l love you" to?

My Parents .

03: Do you regret anything?

I regret a lot of things.

04: Are you insecure?

Yes a lot.

05: What is your relationship status?

Single.

06: How do you want to die?

Be killed by Sexy and Handsome Man of My Dreams

07: Played any sports?

Not a big fan of sports. But l do love swimming (the only sport l love and enjoy)

08: Do you bite your nails?

I used to when l was 14, but not anymore.

09: When was your last physical fight?

Never fought in my life before.

10: Do you like someone?

Well, l love my parents, friends, family and famous people who inspire me.

11: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours?

Nope, but l wish l could.

12: Do you hate anyone at the moment?

A lot of toxic people in real life and on internet and some fictional characters who l can't stand (like Chris Hargenson (Stephen King's Carrie and etc.))

13: Do you miss someone?

Yes, my deceased relatives. Heck, my paternal grandfather died last year and l still miss him.

14: Have any pets?

Yes, one cat. His name is Francis. (did l give him name from cat from Animated Movie Felidae? Yes. Yes l did.)

15: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?

Great.

16: Ever made out in bathroom?

Well always.

17: Are you scared of spiders?

Nope, but l am scared of those big poisonous ones.

18: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?

Well duh.

19: Where was the last place you snogged someone?

Never kissed anybody on the lips.

20: What are you plans for this weekend?

Well l am gonna visit my parents and go on to the beach.

21: Do you want to have kids? How many?

Yes, three of them (two boys and one girl).

22: Do you have piercings? How many?

I don't wear them.

23: What is/are/were you best subject(s)?

English, Chemistry, Biology, Art and Math.

24: Do you miss anyone from your past?

Yes.

25: What are you craving right now?

To be in Miami. On beach reading book.

26: Have you ever broken someone's heart?

Yes.

27: Have you ever been cheated on?

No.

28: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?

Like l said, l don't have relationship status.

29: What's irritating you right now?

A lot of things like mosquitos, dramas on internet, toxicity between people and etc.

30: Does somebody love you?

Well if you mean platonically then yes. But romantically no.

31: What is your favorite color?

Pink, dark and purple.

32: Do you have trust issues?

Often.

33: Who/what was your last dream about?

Can't really remember right now.

34: Who was the last person you cried in front of?

My father.

35: Do you give out second chances too easily.

No.

36: Is it easier to forget or forgive?

Not sure.

37: Is this year the best year of you life?

Maybe, l don't know.

38: How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Five.

39: Have you ever walked out completely naked?HELL NO!

40: Favorite Food?

Chocolate Cake IS THE BEST! (NGL l have obsession with chocolate on healthy level)

41: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?

Yes.

42: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?

Just did some work.

43: Is cheating ever okay?

HELL NO!

44: Are you mean?

Not exactly. But l can be very sarcastic and grumpy at times.

45: How many people have you fist fought?

None.

46: Do you believe in true love?

Yes.

47: Favorite Weather?

Sunny.

48: Do you like the snow?

Yes.

49: Do you wanna get married?

Yes.

50: Is it cute when a boy calls you baby?

Yes.

51: What makes you happy?

Just having a peaceful and relaxing day.

52: Would you change your name?

Eh not sure about that.

53: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed?

Yes exactly.

54: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

I'd hang out with him like BFFs.

55: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around?

Yes.

56: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to?

None.

57: Who's the last person you had a deep conversation with?

None.

58: Do you believe in soulmates?

Yes.

59: Is there anyone you would die for?

My family and friends.

[zeawkwardpterodactyl]

Stray Kids' ODDINARY (I am deceased)

I said I would be back with a review of the album, and I am back with a review of the album, just probably 24+ hours later because it's late and I have school tomorrow, and I feel like I should proofread this before posting it on the internet.

AKA: yes, yes I did just write a thousand words on why my favorite kpop group's new comeback is amazing so I could post it on TUMBLR

Track 1: Venom - Overall rating: 9/10. This is FIRE, definitely title track material. I mean have had Hyunjin's "gomijul" stuck in my head since the first teaser, so all of my expectations have been fulfilled with this song. Pretty much it's amazing and you should go listen to it. Favorite part: Seungmin has these two lines right before the song ends that absolutely CAPTIVATED me. His vocal skills are definitely underestimated for the SHEER LEVEL they are on.

Track 2: Maniac - Overall rating: 8/10. I already wrote a whole review on this with my favorite parts, how each member did with the song, and my overall thoughts on the MV and song. The only reason it gets 8/10 rather than 10/10 is because Minho and Jeongin didn't get THAT MANY lines, but they still ate and left no crumbs so there's not a ton to complain about.

Track 3: Charmer - Overall rating: 7/10. Okay, ngl, this one threw me off a little bit. I'm used to the very fun, hype, almost "immature, party" vibes that skz gives off with their songs, and this was a little different than I expected. Of course, they experiment in their music a lot, so it wasn't a huge deal, and I really enjoy how they've expanded to do a sexier song, if that makes sense. I mean, their youngest member is 21 years old internationally, so they'll have to do quite a bit of maturing as time goes on, and if that really is what they were going for, they nailed it. I also really appreciate how experimentative (is that a word?) the raps sound, it's just very unique. Out of all the lines, I enjoyed Minho's the most (he just holds a special place in my heart), but my favorite part of the song was the INSTRUMENTAL, so good!

Track 4: Freeze - Overall rating: 9/10. I was looking forward to this one the most after the teaser dropped. I'm a simple person, I see fuel for a Mafia AU and I'm hooked. There's not much to say except that they did not disappoint. They showcased exactly WHY I love skz as much as I do, it's catchy, and I know it'll take forever for me to get sick of it, if I ever do. Also, bonus points for Seungmin and Jeongin's parts since I feel like they don't usually get that much attention on harder-hitting songs like this.

Track 5: Lonely St. - Overall rating: 10/10. The slap in the face I got when this song came on was the worst and also the best, if that makes sense. There are so many bops on this album and this one came out of nowhere to be a bop, but just the kind of bop you cry to. Bang Chan and Changbin wrote the lyrics, and you can really see how their personality shines through in their word choice. I'm not fluent in Korean, so I ended up reading the translations and I'm not even joking when I say I'm on the verge of tears. This is one of those songs where, as corny as it may sound to some, you can connect with the artist. The lyrics painted a picture that all of us are now able to gaze upon. It's not a sappy love song, it shows what struggles our boys have had to go through as kpop idols, living the life that they do. I can't say for sure what it's about, since I don't know them personally, but the line that really got me was "still astray", because, for one, they're Stray Kids. The whole point is that they were lost and found hope in each other. But just because the Stray Kids aren't completely alone now doesn't mean they aren't still Stray Kids. Even as successful as they are, even with each other, they can still be "astray". And that just hits different in some sort of way. I could talk for hours about the song, but I'll just say that for now. Also, Changbin's vocals in the beginning are GOLD.

Track 6: Waiting for Us - Overall rating: 10/10. Another sad bop, yet surprisingly wholesome. I don't know how to describe this song, but it wormed its way into my heart and holds a special place there now. I can already see myself finding so many different ways to relate with this song, and I know it will cheer me up on bad days. This is the kind of song I would want at my wedding, if I ever get married, y'know? It just feels so comforting and relatable.

Track 7: Muddy Water - Overall rating 6/10. Now, I was super excited to listen to this one, just because of the whole "Shrek" joke that went around with the title reveal + teaser posters. However, I think my expectations for the vibe of the song were a little off. I think it's safe for me to say that this song is my least favorite on the album, though this does not mean it's bad, it's just not the type of song I'm used to listening to. However, I find the lyrics really clever, and it feels like something that will grow on me over time, so there's not too much for me to say right now.

General consensus: THIS IS AN AMAZING ALBUM WTF. It's distinctly Stray Kids, it has a song for every type of Stay, it showcases why we love these boys so much, and it will be on repeat for the next several weeks in my house and other's. The general vibe is a little different than their past albums, but it's so incredibly them. I think it would be a good example of what makes Stray Kids, well, Stray Kids. It may not be the best album for getting into skz, but it's great after getting to know them a little bit.

[necr0bvnny]

I Want To Get Better - Part 1

Pairing: Lady Loki x Original Female Character

Genres: Action, Adventure, Enemies To Friends To Lovers, Slow Burn

Content/Warnings: Needle injection, mention of child soldiers, mention of child deaths

Summary:

A few years after Jacklyne has gotten used to her new life among the Avengers, she's assigned to work with one of their greatest enemies, Loki Laufeyson/dottir. It turns out that because one of his children prefers the company of humans while the other one is a war criminal, Loki's father Odin has slipped into the Odinsleep, leaving her mother Frigga in charge of Asgard. Jacklyne can't imagine ever loving the woman enough to set her free after what she's done to the people of New York, but that's a mother’s love for you. It takes a mission going sideways for Jacklyne to begin to see the value in Loki's company and for Loki’s opinion of humans to gradually turn positive.

A/N: Hi! Loki in this story will be presenting mostly as a female cause. Im gay gjvhmv. Think more like comic Lady Loki, NOT Sylvie from the show. Also ngl the first like 2 chapters or so will be setting up Jacklyne’s character and backstory so sorry in advance about the exposition! I promise we’ll get to the gay stuff soon enough :’)

Link to AO3 post

————

September 1999

After some struggling, the two large men in black combat uniforms finally got their small yet surprisingly strong captive to sit down in the cold chair in the middle of the interrogation room. As they removed their hands from her the girl attempted to bite one of the men but failed, catching only empty air between her teeth. She rattled the oversized handcuffs on her wrists anxiously, growling when she finally realized that there was nothing she could do in this situation but wait and find out what these men had planned for her.

Her large teal eyes scanned the room, observing the odd honeycomb patterns on the walls and unsettlingly shiny table in front of her. Then her focus turned to the men, both tall, muscled and well armed with large rifles in hand. They stood behind her chair, statuesque with their cold eyes glaring down at her, almost daring her to try anything and see what happens. She huffed and turned back around, innocently dropping her bound hands onto the table to show that she would comply.

As if on cue, the door in front of the girl finally opened and in walked an older, fair-haired man with a suitcase. He bared an almost smug grin on his face which made the little one want to lunge forth and slash his mouth open, then see if he'd still smile so brightly. But knowing that would get her nowhere, she resisted and instead kept her dagger-like eyes locked onto him.

"Hello there. My name is Phil Coulson. Can you tell me yours?"

"I'm not telling you anything, puto." She finally spoke up, her little voice thick with a Spanish accent.

Phil ignored the insult which he immediately understood. He pointed at the logo on one of her arms which displayed a skull with six curling tentacles underneath. "So H.Y.D.R.A. uses children for espionage now? Do you understand how much danger you’re in?”

He didn’t intend for that to sound like a threat, but the girl took it as one anyway. “You’ll be in even worse danger if you kill me.”

Phil frowned at her assumption. Did she really think they were going to kill her just because she was a part of HYDRA? “We’re not going to kill you, we just want some answers.”

“Si, I’m sure that’s what you told my family before you slaughtered them!”

His brows furrowed slightly in confusion. “Your family?”

“You know what you did, S.H.I.E.L.D. scum. My brothers and sisters came just like me, and they never returned.”

Agent Coulson suddenly realized what she was talking about. There had recently been several break-ins into the headquarters and other minor bases of S.H.I.E.L.D..Some of the intruders were shot on sight while others were caught but killed themselves via cyanide tablets before they could be questioned. All the bodies wore green and black jumpsuits with the H.Y.D.R.A insignia on their arms. But the strange thing about all of them was that upon closer inspection, all of these intruders were just children between the ages of 8 to 10.

Judging by how this girl had a slightly different uniform with more armor and weapons on her, Phil assumed that within whatever program these kids were in, she must have been in a higher rank. This one knew how to use guns and put up a decent fight with the full grown, highly trained male guards before she was finally subdued and captured, so she was clearly more trained and experienced than the others.

“Ah, your brothers and sisters, right. The ones who failed where you almost succeeded. I must say, you’re clearly more capable than your siblings, but I know you didn’t just teach yourself. Can you tell me who trained you?”

“The best of the best soldiers at H.Y.D.R.A’s disposal. I could kill all of you right now if I wanted to.” She hissed.

Coulson smiled, unintimidated. “I’m sure if you could, you already would have.”

“I can and I will once I get these esposas off.” She rattled her handcuffs.

He ignored this and continued on with the questioning. “Tell me more about your ‘family’. Do you guys have a name?"

"You won't get anything from me. I will protect them until my last dying breath!"

The girl lunged forward, hopping up onto the table and going straight for Coulson but he quickly backed away. Before she could reach him, the guards jumped into action, both grabbing each of her arms.

"Please, calm down. We don't want to have to sedate you." Phil calmly pleaded.

One of the guards shouted out, "Stand down before this turns ugly!"

The girl continued kicking and screaming and growling like a feral kitten, baring her teeth and desperately trying to get out of the man's rough grips but to no avail. Phil begrudgingly placed the suitcase onto the table and opened it to reveal several syringes.

He took one of them out and displayed it in front of her face. "Please, I really don't want to do this."

"Hail H.Y.D.R.A!!"

Agent Coulson frowned, not at all proud of what he was about to do. Glancing up at the two guards behind the girl, he said, "Hold her still."

Suddenly she felt a sharp pinch in her inner elbow, followed by whatever liquid was inside the syringe rushing through her veins. After a few seconds, her muscles relaxed on their own and all her strength seemed to drain from her body. Once the guards felt her stop fighting, they cautiously let go of her and went back to their spots in the back of the room. Tears began forming in her eyes, overwhelmed by how completely helpless she felt. She lowered her head into her crossed arms on the table, heaving and sobbing to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry... Now let's try this again. What is your name?"

She didn't want to say anything, but something in her forced the words out of her mouth. "... J-87."

Agent Coulson smiled, though there was a deep sadness behind it. "Okay. Good. And how old are you, J-87?"

"… I'm 12."

"Can you tell me about your.. family? Your brothers and sisters?"

The girl choked out a whimper at the thought of them. "They're all dead. All 24 of them."

Phil hesitated, but after a moment of silence he couldn't help but lay a reassuring hand on J-87's back. At first she flinched away thinking he was going to hurt her as well, but after a few pets she calmed down and allowed him. She wasn't sure why she did, but it had been so long since someone had comforted her. It may have even been the first time ever. All she knew in that moment was that it suddenly made her relaxed and not want to cry anymore.

"It's okay… If you keep answering our questions, we can find you a brand new family. And a real name, all for you. Would you like that?"

“Mhm..” She whimpered out and nodded.

"Good. Did your family have a name?"

"They called us Project Ocelot…"

[mltimse-a]

Me remembering ideas for characters I haven’t used yet, they’re under the cut because hella long. If you actually take the time to read theseand give input on which one you’d like to see, I’ll cry??

Archeron. Sea Serpent. He's a sea serpent that has a human form and loves to come annoy humans. He has this gruff way about him and could very well be considered a pretty boy. He can manipulate water while in his human form and if he gets wet while he’s in his human form, scales tend to appear in the spots where water touched. He has no goal really, other than annoy everyone in any which way possible.

Ivy. Poison Ivy plant somehow made human by a burst of magic. Still has the same affect as a human as they did as a plant, likes to be a little touchy just to cause mayhem. Doesn't understand how humans should act so tends to talk way too much and is kind of an ass ngl.

Tobias. Cursed Human. The curse on him to never be able to leave the old home of a witch that he trespassed on many years ago and cursed to never die, or rather, truly die, he can die but he just comes right back, so as the home rots around him, he’s stuck there, feeling hungry and lonely but never being able to die. The house is very haunted but he’s made friends with the spirits, well the good ones, the bad ones love to see him suffer. The home is a hot spot for occult lovers but the minute he appears and tells his story, they never believe him and leave him there. He has no idea how the curse can be lifted but he wants out.

Rivers, magician, A magician who grows tired of the worlds antics, of all the constant fighting and then peace for a tiny bit and then more fighting, is trying to figure out how to make world peace exist. A total pacifist. Specializes in defensive magic, especially light magic.

Yasmin, human, a bubbly little kleptomaniac who gets close with you only to steal all your stuff and then drop your friendship. She’s a runaway and does this to get money to live off of but also because she loves the thrill of stealing from someone that trusts her. She’ll steal everything from her friends, even their s/o. She just lives for stealing.

Ryan, human, owns a bar & smokes way too many cigarettes, gives good relationship advice to say he's never been in one, will honestly flirt with anyone if they're into it.

Gou, human but swears she's a magical girl, throws herself head first into dangerous situations to try and 'save the day' usually ends up in trouble because of it.

Brayleigh, magical being, can tell if a person is good or bad by looking in at their soul, bright souls are pure, shadowy souls are corrupted and horrible, murders the bad & takes the years they had left of their life and adds it to her own

Nym, Elf, monster hunter for hire, became one as a teen after his village was slaughtered by a gang of different monsters, his hunts sometimes lead him to the human realm.

Benjamin or Ben, cursed human, cursed to turn into a cat instantly after being kissed but turns back after 24 hours....But then turns back randomly when his emotions get out of control.

Atsuyoshi, spirit of good luck, being the spirit of good luck comes with a price, he has nothing but bad luck because he’s constantly blessing others with good luck. 

Hiei, tengu, pretends to be human with the help of his magical necklace, disowned by family and wanders around looking for his own way and his own people to be apart of.

Ayer, a demon that got kicked out of hell for falling in love with a soul he was meant to torture forever but instead did the whole fall in love and force reincarnated their soul despite them being a bad person so basically he unleashed evil back into the world

Kibiyo, an alien who has found peace on earth but works at some lousy bar. They are a server and the entertainment(singer) at the bar. They left their war torn planet because they were different for not wanting to just fall face first into a fight despite being born with the instincts and drive to fight, they just focused their mind on other things and wanted people to notice them and give them attention rather than fight in a war that might never end.

Wish. They're the 'wish granter', they're a monster that feeds on peoples souls while granting their wishes, sure you get the things you want but there's always a catch, always a bad bad side to the wishes and then you're losing your soul to the monster that has been fooling you from the very start. They're a sneaky little thing that has been around far longer than they look and well, they have no plans of going anywhere anytime soon.

Jacob. your neighborhood asshole. He likes to go and cause fights and used to be part of a street gang but got kicked out when he just about killed the leader of said gang, now he has to deal with that gangs lackeys coming at him and thinking they can kick his ass when he literally can take any of them. He isn't cocky, he isn't rude(usually), he just likes throwing his fists and likes causing pain and feeling the pain of someone fighting him.

Kii. They're a straight up killer for hire. They enjoy it so its a plus. So many people see their innocent and young looking face when they're hiring them and think that maybe they were blackmailed into their profession and this little shit right here just grins wide before giggling and saying 'oh no i chose this, it's kinda fun havin' that power of who lives and dies.' they just, really don't give a shit and just like to find creative ways to take down their targets.

[lovetorn]

one song [ricky bowen]

pairing: ricky bowen x reader summary: y/n isn’t as thrilled about the musical as her friends, but ricky promises to only sing one song from the production to his girlfriend.  warnings: fluff, and y/n is a bit of a debby downer when it comes to the musical, ngl.

a/n: hey! so i whipped this up in 2 hours? and i like it so here you gooooo 

{not my gif! credit to original creator}

You sat at a lunch table in the cafeteria with Ashlyn and Big Red, the chatter of the rest of the school was white noise as you stared at your food in front of you. Ash and Red were in their own little world whilst you waited for your boyfriend to get out of the music room. He had been in there for most of the day, missing most of his classes, so he could practice songs for the upcoming Spring musical, Beauty and the Beast. You loved him dearly, but the auditions date hadn’t even been posted yet, leaving him to practice songs that may not even be in the production. 

You took a bite from the other half of your sandwich, almost choking when you felt strong hands on your shoulders. You coughed and looked up, being met with Ricky’s beaming grin as his honey eyes gazed down at you. 

“Hi baby,” You said after swallowing, placing one hand over his on your opposite shoulder. Ricky leant down and pecked your forehead, squeezing your shoulders. Ashlyn and Big Red greeted him before he sat down next to you, placing his guitar and backpack behind the seat. Once seated, Ash and Red went back to their conversation as Ricky’s arm wrapped around your waist and he moved to sit sideways. You giggled at his positioning while he pulled you closer. 

“Do you wanna come over tonight?” He asked softly, kissing your cheek before he spoke. He then moved to rest his forehead on your shoulder. 

“No thanks,” You tried your best to hide a smile as he pulled away from you jokingly, sliding out from the table and standing up. 

“Ok, um, well this is awkward,” He said as he exaggeratedly looked around the room. He stood with his fingers threaded together, a slight sway in his stance. You laughed at his attempt to be angry as Ashlyn looked at the boy weirdly, 

“What are you doing?” She asked, furrowing her eyebrows as he flushed a light pink, his eyes widening.

“Uh, nothing” Ricky quickly sat back down, slightly embarrassed but choosing to sit down without a word rather than try and come up with some reasoning. You just laughed again and took his arm as he sat back down, grabbing his attention. 

“Meet me after school” You indicated, a smile growing on Ricky’s face as he pecked your warm cheek again. 

~

2:24

You sighed, staring at the hands on the clock. A million thoughts were running through your mind as your attention was brought back to the world. Nini snapped her fingers in front of your face, her eyebrows raised along with Ashlyn, who was also looking at you in confusion.

“Sorry, what?” You turned to her your right to look at her and Ash as you leant your elbows on the table, glancing around at the two of them. 

“The Spring musical! Are you going to audition?” Nini explained, glimpsing over at Ash who nodded in correspondence. 

Your cheeks heated up slightly as you shrugged, “I don’t know yet guys, I don’t think I’ll suit any of the roles,” Nini just rolled her eyes whilst Ashlyn deadpanned you. 

“Guys! Stop it, I’ll have to see when the audition date is and then I will decide” you continued, hoping to avoid any questions that would be thrown your way. But the girls didn’t take any of it, sharing a look before nodding.

“Y/n, you have to audition, no questions or doubts. End of conversation” Ashlyn concluded, turning towards the front of the classroom before the teacher came into the classroom. You looked over at Nini who simply shrugged, a glimpse of mischief in her eye as she too faced the front. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to audition, but it was just such a lengthy process and having done High School Musical, you knew the order. Some may call it lazy, but senior year was right around the corner and you had to focus on more pressing matters regarding your future. Plus, singing wasn’t a major talent you had. You preferred to sing in the choir and not solo, on stage, in front of hundreds of people. 

Shaking your head and sighing deeply, you closed your eyes as the teacher rushed in to start the last class of the day, mumbling multiple apologies for being so late. 

~

Once the class finished, you grasped your backpack off the ground and made a beeline for the door, hoping to dodge a conversation about the play with the girls. 

“Y/n! Wait, wait,” Nini came up next to you, “Do you want to stay the night tonight?” She looked hopeful, but you were quick to decline.

“Aw, I’m sorry, I’m going to Ricky’s tonight,” You said frowning, watching as Nini’s face fell,

“No, it’s okay, next week?” She asked and you nodded, smiling at your best friend as she glanced forward. 

“Oo, here comes Loverboy! I’ll see you Monday” She bid goodbye before leaving you alone. Ricky was approaching at a quick pace, guitar case in hand, making you laugh as he soon made it in front of you. 

“Hey, bub, ready to go?” Ricky asked as he slung his arm over your shoulders, the two of you making your way to and through the front entrance of the school. 

Spotting a certain bright orange Beetle, you slipped out from his arm and walked quickly towards the car. Ricky just shook his head and giggled, you could hear his laughs from 20 feet away as you stood at the passenger side door while he walked deathly slow. 

“Richard! Chop, chop!” You yelled, your voice mixing with small giggles as he slowed his pace even more. You whined, continuously pulling the door handle childishly. His eyes widened as he ran to his car, and around to the passenger’s side where you stood. 

“Aye, don’t do that to Beet” You cackled at the nickname he gave his car as he moved closer to you, pressing you against the car door. His guitar case was now on the ground next to you. 

A smile spread across your cheeks as you placed a hand on the back of his neck and brought his lips to yours quickly. 

“Let’s get going, Bowen!” You announced as you pushed his body away from you, turning towards the car door in hopes it had magically opened. 

Ricky groaned, picking up his guitar and walking around the front of his car, unlocking it from the driver’s side before the two of you hopped in. 

~

10 minutes into your drive to Ricky’s, he hesitantly brought up the topic of the musical.

“Listen, I know you hate talking about it, but, I was hoping you could give me your opinion on this one song for Beauty and the Beast,” His expression was hopeful and as much as you wanted to reject, you nodded. 

“I just want to show you one song, okay? I promise it’ll be worth it” He went on, stealing a glance at you. 

“One song.” You confirmed, rather wanting to watch tv and cuddle. Ricky nodded in agreement and took your hand from your lap. Your face heated as you looked over at him, noticing the small smile that was present on his cheeks. 

“You’re staring.” He commented, taking another glimpse at you whilst he drove. He expected you to look away, but you didn’t, making his heart race even more.

“That’s because you’re pretty, baby.” There was no doubt Ricky’s face was red as he squeezed your hand, “shut up” He whispered. You snickered, leaning over the middle console to press your lips to his hot cheek. 

Once he pulled into his driveway, you both got out, opening the backdoors of the car to retrieve the backpacks that you threw in there before you left school. 

You two raced to the front door, eager to enter and relax. 

Once inside, you went down to Ricky’s room as he entered the kitchen, grabbing two glasses of water and a bag of chips before he joined you.

Down in Ricky’s room, you got comfortable on his bed, pulling off your shoes. Ricky’s heavy footsteps down the stairs caught your attention. He threw the bag of chips at you as he balanced two glass cups in one hand, setting them down on his nightstand. You pulled open the foil bag before diving your hand in. 

Ricky quickly sprinted up the stairs, coming back a second later with his guitar. 

“One song” He repeated your words back at you, unclipping his case and grabbing his guitar by the neck. The mattress dipped as he sat next to you. You placed the chips onto the nightstand next to the cups before turning to watch him.

“Tale as old as time” He began, your heart skipping a beat at how soft his voice was. Ricky gazed at you as he sang, a smile wide on your face as tears stung your eyes. He continued throughout the song, pausing briefly a few times to fix his positioning on the guitar. 

“Certain as the sun” You suddenly got giddy, your heart practically soaring as you realised Ricky was singing for you. 

And as he finished, a tear slipped down your cheek. 

“Baby! Don’t cry” He laughed, tears clouding his own vision. 

You giggled, “Richard Bowen, did you just serenade me?” His cheeks blushed as he froze, racking his brain for an answer that wouldn’t embarrass himself.

“Yes,” He looked unsure, his eyebrows furrowed and head tilted while you fell backwards on his duvet, laughing at how cute he was. 

You cooed, sitting up and moving his guitar to the floor before you pulled him towards you. His head rested against your chest as you had wrapped your arms around his neck. 

“You’re a dream, bub,” You whispered, feeling his arms tighten around your torso. He lifted his head to gaze up at you, his eyes blurry as you whined at him. 

“Don’t make me cry, Bowen” He giggled softly as you ran a hand through his curls, “I would never make you cry, baby” He murmured, “unless it was for a good reason, like this one”. 

You shook your head and laughed, placing a kiss into his curls as you laid in comfortable silence. 

[ambitcxious-a]

* ABBEY LEE KERSHAW, FEMALE + SHE/HER  | you know ADELAIDE MONTSERRAT, right? they’re 27, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, TWO YEARS? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to EVE BY KAT CUNNING like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole FAWN-EYED, BOWED LEGS,  EXPENSIVE CHAMPAGNE thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is OCTOBER & 30TH, so they’re a SCORPIO, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( lenny, 24, est+2, she/her )

tw: depression, eating / psychological disorders, animal abuse, drugs

ABOUT.

name: adelaide montserrat

nickname: addie

age: 27

pronouns: she/her

occupation: socialite, philanthropist, prodigy ballerina

gender: cis female

sexuality: bisexual

pinterest

The Montserrat established themselves in Barcelona, Spain, over millennia ago,  known as fierce leaders and ruthless business men, quick to make a name for themselves the trading and exporting business,  while the women in the bloodline were promptly pushed aside from books and history, hiding somewhere between a stove and their husband’s fists.  

Adelaide Montserrat was different, that’s what everybody thought - she was graceful, even as a child, she didn’t cry, even as a toddler, and she never ached for her mother’s arms, even as an infant. An early bloomer of exceptional talent, she could dance as soon as she could walk. And yet Adelaide was never one to develop long-lasting or intimate relationships with her peers --- people never seemed to be comfortable sitting with her for long.  Maybe it was because there was never a girl there to begin with, and intimacy betrayed the act:  there was no child,  only a pale, wide-eyed zombie, always hungry,  always empty. 

If you dared to pry beyond the red curtains, you’d not find the delicate creature strangers saw twirling on the stage, but the bottomless edge of an abyss, waiting to swallow you whole as it looked back with smiling teeth. Little Addie, once a girl with pink tutus and ballerina shoes, was never one to be meddled with - while she could easily captivate the hearts of her peers and teachers with red cheeks and a clever tongue, there was nothing warm or kind about the little girl whose parents held so close she nearly choked to death.

Adelaide was the product of a one night stand and poor lack of judgement, or so her mother liked to recount. Her father — whomever he was, was a married man with a lot to lose, and her mother might not have known much — but she knew alimony payments would beat whatever he was willing to offer her in order to get rid of Adelaide. So, she kept the baby, and even then --- she was unbearable.  Adelaide kicked, day and night, as soon as her legs could muster, like she couldn’t stand to be trapped in the womb a moment longer.

They were living largely, manors and pools and cocktails, while Addie grew up receiving the best education money could buy, alternating between hunting and horseback riding on weekends, and training classical instruments such as the cello and piano in her spare time. Being praised for her dedication and skill, for some time, she indulged the idea of becoming a professional pianist, if only to please her parents, but the idea was soon took a backseat in her mind when she discovered just how good she was at ballet.

Adelaide had always been more of a shiny trophy to flaunt at parties rather than daughter or grandchild to dot upon, so by the time she was 13 her family was quite happy to ship her to Paris, if it meant she would enroll in the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School and make a name for herself. She’d still come home to visit on holidays, that was until her mother moved to New York in order to appease bachelor number three: CEO of Belmont Entertainment Industries (BEI), one of the largest record labels in the U.S, with a side of illegal activities they didn’t really care to discuss at dinner.

It didn’t take long for Addie to make an impression, she was dedicated — hungrier than the other girls, always willing to push a little further, go a little deeper, die a little more. All of the shouting, the groping, the self-hatred, she never broke. Had it been not for her ego and pride, she would’ve been flawless. You’d assume being the young and on the spotlight meant competing for attention - but she never competed. She never even considered it a competition. She won, plain and simple. You see, Adelaide didn’t lose, because she tailored the game to her whims and batted her heavy set of lashes to make it seem fair. And if she did lose - the game be damned; she’d destroy it and any evidence of her failure. She didn’t want to be daughter, or something for men to gawk at, or a pretty glittered thing for little girls to worship. She wanted to be something else. Anything other than this empty shell, dripping with self-loathing , cloaked in a veil of perfectionism. Something that wasn’t rammed into this golden mold before she even took her very first breath.

Fueled by her own insecurities and desire to obtain perfection, paired with the crowd of rich kids that were offered to her as friends growing up, it didn’t take for things to escalate; by the age of only fourteen, drugs, alcohol and kicking each other in the stomach while crouching over the toilet was considered as an act of solidarity. All that deep-rooted self-hatred had to spill someway, somehow, and what are friends for if not offer you relief from the agony of routine?  

It was easier to strap on those old ballerina shoes and put on a show until her toes were bleeding, than to try and show them what was behind the curtains. People don’t want to know what’s behind the curtain — they think they do, until they see it. To live in blissful ignorance is a gift, one she was denied. And all jewelry in the world, all praise, all money and countless designer bags she accumulated over the years could never fill up that gaping hole, that detachment she felt towards the outside world and inability to connect with things and people - even those supposedly closest to her.

With age, Addie learned how to put on a show, be it at home or on a stage; that’s the magic of a ballerina, to empty yourself of that hatred, all that pain, all that ugliness and fill yourself with stories other than your own -  while whatever had been good and soft rots inside you .

And while she made a name for herself, starring role in all the big plays, working with the best and only the best, the tabloids would instiguate: who is Adelaide Montserrat? The reincarnation of the Virgin Mary to some, the dutiful daughter to others, is she a saving angel or a spoiled heir?  She used to laugh, like it was a game - like the answer wasn’t there at all . Maybe what she truly was, was a game of smoking mirrors - a fragmented image, bouncing from broken piece to broken piece, scattered into so many tiny, pretty pieces, that when she looks into a it, the reflection that stares back is unrecognizable.

Adelaide was never their perfect little doll, tied to strings, sitting still waiting to be manuevered . For some time she had watched, prowling quietly in the shadows, observing, learning. She found distraction and excitement in the shadows, drugs, married men, booze, pills - and when those didn’t cut it, she dug a little deeper.

So the child prodigy suddenly moves back to the home, with a ring on her finger and a skeleton on her closet,  all to   shield   from the rising scandal and nonsensical, if you were to ask, accusations of pushing a fellow ballerina down a flight of stairs. Alas, the show must go on, and Adelaide had no plans to stay out of the spotlight for long, or take the fault for somebody else’s imbalance. With some reluctance, she agreed to lay low, but just for how long she’d able to tolerate it, that was anyone’s guess.

Parents often say kids will “grow out of it”; their fits of rage, their apathy towards other children, their unwillingness to share, their manipulative, spoiled ways of obtaining the things they want- but Addie never did. Somewhere inside there’s still that little girl who’d rather break her toys in half than to share it with other kids. Who’d bump into other little girls at school to watch them fall, and tell the nurse they tripped. The little girl who’ll sit in an empty throne, all alone, built with the bones of the people she once claimed to love.

here’s some wc ideas i thought might be cool, but ofc feel free to come brainstorm!!

husband  - it was a marriage of opportunity rather than love, at least for adelaide - a way to deflect attention, however how he feels is completely up to you. she’s manipulative and charming, but can also be extremely cruel if even mildly contradicted

bookclub ( 0/5 ) - just women she hangs out with while trying to fit in and “have ties with the community”. she usually sucks at bonding and sharing, so this could make for some interesting dynamics

lover - adelaide switches it up every couple months, but maybe she has a soft spot for them? maybe they’re also in a relationship? maybe it’s all fucked up and adelaide likes to be nasty, what the fuck else is new

ex - lover - fed up with adelaide? me too. join the club. 

childhood friend - i feel like she might’ve permanently scarred this person for life by ( animal abuse tw ) killing a bird in front of them or something. adelaide was truly a fucking... terror as a child, and i doubt she was a good friend, bc she still isn’t

prodigy that she’s taken under her wings - maybe a young person who loves ballet that she decided to mentor out of the kindness of her heart? *coughs boredom coughs*

drug dealer - probably has a crush on them bc they indulge her bad habits ngl

idk man giv e me   s t u f f  !!!

also romantic connections are open to men and women pls. the only straight she is is a straight up bitch.