#once again luke has no charisma!!!!!!!!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

corviids · 1 year ago

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Birdie, I have something I HAVE share with you. I was reading about how Alysanne took after her grandmother Alarra Massey in her coloring and I simply must share a plea for Lucemond’s final surprise child in misty dream. Aemond’s prayers are finally answered when he gets a dark haired girl, a child who seems to be a carbon copy of her great-grandmother Rhaenys. The other children, while shocked at the late pregnancy, are somewhat relieved with their new sister. Children always seem to give Luke an energy boost and Aemond has finally gotten his dark haired daughter, but they’re mostly relieved with the idea that there will be a daughter to care for their parents when they age. Jokes on them because all this girl wants to do in learn to fight. She’s inherited Rhaenys spirit too: proud, highly intelligent, a cold and serious demeanor, stoicism and a skill with weapons that rivals Aemond own. But also like Aemond, she has no charisma—only successfully ever charming Luke and a few siblings. No rizz to be found here, just like her kepa. In adulthood, she’s taller than all her siblings except Gaemon. She’s also a staunch loyalist to Valyrian traditions. Once she claims Meleys as a child, a fiery temper makes itself clear.

Because she’s the dark haired girl Aemond has been waiting for, the spoiling gets even worse than with the others, meaning he allows her to train with weapons. In a sad way, she becomes the child he trains and hunts with, goes over military history with, flies with the most. This is something that causes a little resentment in Aenys-it would be one thing if she simply acted like the rest of his spoiled sisters, but even as child she proves herself to have the natural bearings of an heir, despite being the youngest. This causes a really strained relationship that lasts decades. She grows up during an interesting period in for Aemond and Lucerys marriage because it’s a point in time where Aemond has really matured and learned to step back from ruling Summerhall all on his own. He and Luke split the duties more evenly now which means that when his daughter is old enough to develop her personality and hold a sword, Aemond has a lot of free time to spend with her.

However this is what causes a lot of tension with Aenys. He should be having the time of his life: he has the freedom to shadow Luke, learn to rule from him—which means he gets to spend all day with his muna. However as the new sister begins to grow, he develops this idea she’s gotten the childhood he should have had, one not stifled by Aemond’s harsh way raising his heir to be. This is a feeling he’s struggled with before with Valerion, but that was easier to stomach because his brother never found interest in what heirs should be taught. Again, this causes a lot of resentment because this girl seems to be better at everything than he was at his age, and she’s smart enough to see right through him. It gets even worse when it becomes clear that while she doesn’t have her eye on the Summerhall, she wants nothing more to be to one to inherit One Eye from Aemond; a desire that only grows when her Aunts Baela and Rhaena gift her Rhaenys copper armor after Meleys has been claimed. Aenys thought he’d be free of a sibling rivalry when Gaemon left, but this new child is even worse. She’s also unimpressed with him, which fuels his inferiority complex. It’s like having a child with the personality of your father look down on you, though the actual kid looks like your mother.

She isn’t really close with Saera, Gaemon, Naerys, or Valerion since they’re away from home due to either marriage or study, nor Daenys who is fostering at Driftmark. Despite not really knowing him, she respects Gaemon the most since he’s a knight, but clashes all the time with Rhaella since a) she’s stolen Aemond’s attention in a way Rhaella can’t seem to understand (Rhaella goes through the same thing Aenys did when Valerion was born) and b) because she finds her rash behavior/personality childish. She’s protective over Maegelle because she sees her as a the perfect kind of Lady a knight and fighter would protect (actually Maegelle and her give me sapphic opposite coloring Lucemond vibes). However the two of them will eventually come to a crossroads in that she doesn’t believe Maegelle should worship the Seven (which you’ve sort of implied she’s dedicated to?). She believes the religion to be a weakness and a danger to their House. From her extended family she admires Rhaenyra and idolizes Baela, but finds herself the happiest with Viserys since he’s the only one to keep up with her intellectually; they speak for hours whenever he and Saera visit home. (Not sure if Elaena and Daena exist here but if they do this trio raises hell).

I’m not sure if you’ve made Rhaegar and Maekar official md kids, but I have thought of some characteristics for them as well if that is not too presumptuous? I like to think Rhaegar is basically a male version of Sansa. He dreams of marrying Princess of Dorne while spending the days writing poetry. Out of the entire family, he’s the one who has copied Luke’s fashion sense the most (though he’s definitely judged for it because unlike Valerion he doesn’t share the unusual nature of their muna’s body—meaning more feminine clothing can’t be explained away). Dorne is his only hope for a accepting spouse, but also like Sansa he really wants to be an official prince of the realm and manage (not rule) a great House. He takes inspiration from romanticized stories of Luke during those early years of Summerhall in that he wants nothing more than to rear children and support his wife who will run things (something he never voices aloud). (On that note I really do think seeing Luke, a man, play the part of a mother would most definitely influence the way his sons would act with their own children. Having a son who couldn’t get pregnant but still observes the way in which a man can act as a mother does and want to emulate that (but physically couldn’t) would def be something Luke and Aemond would have to reconcile with.) When it come to material goods, he’s spoiled more than anyone. Pretty boy gets pretty things. His own egg never hatched but when they’re old enough his sister takes him on rides on Meleys. Maekar becomes Summerhall’s own little Master of Whispers (nothing he loves more than gossip and reading his parents’ mail). He’s extremely devious but hides it behind a tired facade. His own dragon hatched when he was a teen, and it’s a blue version of Caraxes, the hatchling is a permanent fixture curled around his neck. There’s no one he respects more than Luke after growing up with all the trade deals he created with Essos. (Also he’s very much a dark horse in the regard that he’s the resident slut of Summerhall—no one else seemed up to the task and he definitely inherited the horny gene from his parents. Enjoys entertaining visiting lords’ sons (Lucemond def not seeing any grandchildren from this one). Maekar has a whisp of madness worse than any of his siblings that makes itself known when he hears vitriol about his brother Rhaegar (he’s beaten one or two people to near death who’s tongue became too loose in their judgements). So this final daughter sees Rhaegar as someone to protect just like Maegelle, and Maekar is her partner in crime when she needs one. I like to think of these three + Daenys as the “Post-Essos” babies. Aka the result of when Lucemond went majorly horny whenever Luke took a business trip. Daenys after that first trip he took with Rhaella and Gaemon to Pentos, Rhaegar is after the Summer Isles, Maekar after Volantis, and this last daughter after Braavos. I like to think these cities somehow influence each kid.

Make no mistake, she doesn’t want power, she only wants to fight, hunt, fly, and debate with Aemond. Btw all this time she spends with Aemond makes her develop an obsession towards Luke, less of a muna complex and more a need to protect. Lucerys actually has a special place in his heart for her, not because she’s the youngest or because of her hair color, but because of the calm that she brings Aemond; Luke doesn’t need a friend in these later years (he’s busy enough running Summerhall with Aenys by his side) but he is indescribably happy that Aemond has finally found a friend, a person to speak to in confidence (a role his brothers never filled). I absolutely adore the idea that Viserys prepares her to be the next Hand after himself (which will definitely fuel Aenys inferiority complex for the rest of his life). It’s bitter to acknowledge, but while Aemond knows Aenys is a fine heir for his legacy, he can truly entrust the safety of Summerhall’s place in the realm in the hands of his youngest daughter, with Meleys by her side and the Hand’s pin on her jerkin. Did this whole creation come from wanting Lucemond kid that Arya, Brienne, or Lyanna would look up to? Most definitely. But I also love the idea of Aenys going through a quarter life crisis because he is threatened by a child that would so clearly make a perfect heir. The only thing for this I need is a name! I was thinking Aelora or Jaenara, or maybe Luke gets inspired after a trip to Essos and chooses Shiera? Either way, I hope this is a welcome gift. By no means am I saying ‘add this oc to your story or else.’ Just me be like, hey the vibes of your story inspired this. Adopt her, use tidbits of what I’ve written, or just ignore!

oh anon i love this !!! i always love when yall come up with your own ideas for this little universe we’ve made up !!

any daughter that looks like luke is going to be spoiled ROTTEN. aemond is older and much softer by the time she comes around so he will let that girl walk all over him. she gets anything and everything and can do whatever she wants. she shows up to her married siblings keep on dragonback when she’s bored

as for the younger boys, i always envision rhaegar and maekar as opposite personalities that still get along really well. they still follow luke like ducklings but have to be more self sufficient since luke is a busy lord now 😔 they are more eccentric and wild since they are younger children and have less responsibilities. aenys finds them a bit annoying and maegelle generally dislikes anyone that stresses her out.

#asks

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wr0temyway0ut · 1 year ago

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AU for five headcanons: haunted walking tour au!

Oooh this one is so fun! I love haunted walking tours so much and this ended up as way more than 5 headcanons but i regret nothing

— So one of the many attractions at the Hollywood Ghost Club is a haunted walking tour through the hotel and the surrounding area. Willie, being the owner’s kid, has worked there since they were old enough to work and is now the club’s most highly reviewed and requested tour guide.

— The demand for tours always spikes around Halloween, so they hire seasonal workers to work as tour guides and as ghost actors to jump out and scare the guests. Alex, Luke, and Reggie join as a way to make some extra money to record their demo.

-- It very quickly becomes apparent that only Alex and Reggie have the charisma needed to be tour guides; Luke gets relegated to ghost actor because he has no idea how to talk to the guests in a professional manner and also keeps forgetting the stories he's supposed to be telling.

-- This leaves Willie in charge of training the two very cute new tour guides. Reggie doesn't need much training though, he very quickly starts to rival Willie in popularity among the guests. Alex takes a little longer to warm up to it, almost seems embarrassed about the job, but once he gets into character on the tours he's really good at it and it's so hot really impressive to Willie.

-- He keeps telling himself not to get too attached though, they keep telling him that they're only working there for the season, and he's like 98% sure Alex and Reggie are already dating.

-- Meanwhile Luke keeps himself entertained by coming up with new and extreme ways to scare the guests (within reason). One day Julie and Flynn come in for a tour and Luke scares them so bad that Julie goes running all the way back through the hotel, screaming the whole way. Luke chases after her because holy shit do you hear that breath control this girl must be an insane singer which only makes her scream longer. Once he finally manages to calm her down (with the help of Reggie, who's leading her tour) he asks her to join the band and she's so bewildered that she says yes on instinct. And thus Julie and the Phantoms is born!

-- A few days later Bobby and Nick come in for a tour (maybe dragging Carrie along with them but only because she likes the glamour of the HGC), and when Luke pops out to scare them Bobby panics and punches him in the face. Luke finds this incredibly hot and asks him out on the spot even as his nose is bleeding. Similar to Julie, Bobby is so bewildered he says yes. He ends up joining the band eventually too.

-- Alex decides that even if they do this again next year Luke will not be joining them bc at this rate their band is going to turn into a full on orchestra.

-- As the end of the season quickly approaches Willie is dreading it because he's become really good friends with Alex and Reggie, but he knows how this goes. They’ll promise to keep in touch, they’ll text a couple times in the next couple weeks, and then they’ll eventually fall out of touch and forget about each other.

— Except the day after their last day, Alex and Reggie show up to take the tour as guests. Willie is just happy to see them, so he pointedly doesn’t ask why Alex is so nervous even though he knows where all the jump scares are. After the tour ends the two of them hang out in the club until Willie gets off of work, and at that point Reggie and Alex tell them that they didn’t want to ask while they were still coworkers so as not to pressure on him, but they would really really like to take him out on a date and have him join their relationship. Willie of course says yes immediately and the three of them live happily ever after

#this was so fun #might have to write the fic we’ll see #ask games #jatp #julie and the phantoms #willie jatp #reggie peters #alex mercer #julie molina #luke patterson

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tsunflowers · 2 years ago

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I started drawing more outfits for kris and luke. I keep thinking about them

kris grew up in a lightly spooky manor house deep in the woods. all the women in her family are psychic mediums for real and people come from far and wide to hear the dead through them. most people with magic get it through the maternal line and every family has a specialty, with some talents appearing only once every few generations. kris is the only living member of her family to specialize in necromancy, physically raising the dead rather than just channeling them. her mom and aunts and grandma all hate it bc it is not marketable. they're not con artists, they really can speak with the dead, but they're businesswomen first and foremost. the people who come to them are Not interested in seeing what kris can do. for most of her teenage years she got put on entertaining the clients' kids duty and learned a lot of sleight of hand magic tricks (many of which she cheats at using blood magic bc if her blood is on something she can call it back to her)

but kris's true passion was always reading necromantic tomes and forbidden spells and raising squirrels in the woods and her family was like STOP!!! so they sent her to spend time with the youngblood family as a diversion and it was the worst mistake they ever made. although it did end with her getting out of their hair so maybe it was good

luke's family moved to the country for him to convalesce bc he's dying of fictional disease that has only the symptoms the writer wants it to. he loves reading but has been losing his eyesight due to this mysterious disease. his mom is old friends with kris's mom so they hatch a plan to keep kris out of trouble by having her come read to luke. they hit it off and started hanging out without being forced but eventually kris started talking about necromancy bc shes crazy for the stuff

luke's condition gets worse but kris's skill at necromancy improves and the topic naturally comes up. does luke want kris to kill him and raise him as a zombie. zombies have excellent night vision so he would be able to see and read again. they don't feel pain and they have enhanced strength. in a lot of ways it would be very cool to be a zombie. there is the problem of being entirely dependent on the person who raised you for continued survival but kris swore a blood oath that she would keep him alive for the rest of her natural life or until he wanted to pass on, and a blood oath from a blood mage is serious business. they really thought they had thought everything through and they hadnt but, young love, you know

kris's specialty returns the soul to the body in the condition it was in at the time of the ritual. since she and luke plan everything together and she's the one to kill him that means his body returns to about 30 seconds after his death at the age of 19 every month when she re-ups the ritual. they did not really consider how this will work out for them in the future but since luke looks like shit he can probably continue to pass for the same age as her into his 30s

they run away and join the circus where kris uses her charisma, sleight of hand skill, and dark magic to wow the crowds. luke as her handsome assistant mostly helps by showing off props and getting cut into pieces before "miraculously" standing up whole again. they put makeup on luke when performing so he looks a little more alive to the audience but I think everyone who spends any amount of time with them realizes that theres something wrong with them. but necromancy is a big taboo and most people wouldn't think of it so they're just like oh there's kris and her gaunt greenish boyfriend with the dead black eyes that don't reflect light

after they get tired of the circus they settle down in a big city with lots of crime and solve those crimes by reanimating the victims and asking them who did it

#this is so long #flowers ocs

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unohanabbygirl · 1 year ago

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We already know that there are documentaries, movies and series about dragon dancing, my question is, do you have an opinion about it? ???? No a that exist, but that some think that the actors in charge of interpreting them do not do them justice either in beauty or charisma and there are those who are like aegon, delighted that a young Leonardo DiCaprio interprets him. Is there shipp of them here? I can imagine aegon annoying jace with the fics they write about them, jace outraged because they pair him with aegon when he clearly had a relationship with cregan (since cregan didn't reincarnate, in this life if he can give aegon a chance) the whole family confused because the Lucemond is the 2 most popular shipp, jace outraged again because they pair Aemond with Luke, aegon insisting that Aemond should read a very good fic of the lucemond he found, the reason why Aemond doesn't read fics is because most of them are more tragic than the real story and for misfortune there is already his life, that doesn't stop him from occasionally going on Pinterest to see the fanarts they make of Luke and him (they don't look like them, but they make him smile) they Adults not understanding why people would be interested in his love life and why they match people who died decades ago.

In FMN canon media about the dance, Daenerys conquest, and really anything pertaining to Dorne are extremely popular. Some of the highest grossing movies are dramatizations of the secret romances and rivalries.

“The green queen” is a hbo show I mention briefly in Alicent’s separate story. I imagine that either Eva green or Carla Gugino played her which Alicent feels honored about despite not liking the inaccurate portrayal of her character.

Rhaenyra feels a way that every actress that’s played her has always been skinny. Not that she doesn’t think they slayed because she absolutely does, but she doesn’t agree with how her being plus sized has never been portrayed in popular media. However, there are plus sized cosplayers/theater girls who do a great job and Nyra always likes their posts and leaves nice comments telling them how amazing they look.

While I haven’t taken into account that fanfic is being actively made it is very much a possibility since there are many ships the general population gush over. For example, most people agree that Harwin was the boys father and more than a few short films have been made about their hidden love affair. All which Harwin had watched and cried to. (They always cast hot actors to play him which is a bonus)

There’s a viral tweet every once so often along the lines of. “So we all agree that Cregan Stark was bending Jacaerys over like a pretzel, right?” And it gets 100k likes.

It’s funny imagining Aegon reading Lucemond fanfic though. He’s just scrolling through his phone laughing and when Jace asks whats so funny he bursts out saying he’s reading a fanfic called GYBTM and Aemond is apparently this big dick dom into bondage and fucking in public.

Proceed to Aemond with his mouth wide open like ‘what?’

Jace : Who tf would write that? Luke is a pure angel?!?

Aemond : That’s Absolutely ridiculous and perverted.

Hel : it’s actually a compelling story. Very well written. I’ll send you the link.

Aegon : I wish I could tell the readers to stop thirsting over you though. You’re basically a wide eyed virgin, I doubt you could ever be that good in bed.

Aemond : 😐

Que to Aemond like 8 hours later crying into his sheets at night while reading AWHI.

Rhaenyra nearly has an aneurysm when Hel tells her there are a few fanfics centered around her marrying Otto.

#asks

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giornosaiyaman · 2 years ago

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unpopular opinion TCW time

AV Club’s Kevin Johnson once said he feels TCW starts going downhill post season 2, and I unfortunately agree with him-though he has changed his opinion over time.

For context, I hate Dave Filoni and love Genndy Tartakovsky.

Here is my take on TCW:

The TCW movie is underrated and a solid B+. Yes it has animation issues, but it also functions really well as the series pilot. It does a great job developing Anakin and Obi Wan’s friendship, Anakin and Ahsoka’s relationship, and Ahsoka’s psychology. She’s impulsive, hotheaded, slightly rebellious, and insecure. She really feels like a walking talking avatar of George’s love for teen rebellion-the Korra to Luke’s Aang. Her rebellious nature forces Anakin to mature, just like George wanted when he assigned her to him-yes really.

Throughout the movie, Ahsoka overcompensates for her insecurity. This overcompensation grates on Anakin throughout the film. Eventually, he asks her why she’s acting so unruly, prompting her to reveal her insecurity. This motivates Anakin to reassure her, which again, solidify their big brother little sister relationship and reveal Anakin’s maturity and compassion to the audience.

This scene is hands down the best scene in the film.

To make matters better, a phenomenal voice cast does a great job brining all of this solid character work to life. Although his British accent could be better, James Arnold Taylor brings so much charm, life, and humor to Obi wan. Matt Lanter injects Anakin with infectious senses of humanity and charisma, and Dee Bradley Baker does masterful work as the clones-even though his casting choice is problematic to say the least.

And of course Ashley Eckstein absolutely shines as Ahsoka. She delivers a truly phenomenal child hero performance, second only to Mark Hamil himself imo.

Now onto the show proper.

IMO Season 1 of TCW is the best of the bunch. Yeah, it makes some narrative mistakes-it sucks how Filoni nerfed the regular battle droids and grievous-but, for the most part, it didn’t mess with the prior established canon-with the exception of the godawful lair of Grievous-The writing team was-dare I say it-CREATIVE. A Filoni series being creative? What a novel concept.

Back then, the great Henry Gilroy-who worked on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go and Batman TAS-and Steven Melching-who would later work on Transformers Prime-headed up the writing. They alongside Lucas reigned in Filoni. Furthermore, they, alongside talented writers such as the great Paul Dini and Katie Lucas, delivered some really well done one of stories: Tresspass, Ambush, Rookies, Hostage Crisis, Cloak of Darkness, the Malevolence trilogy, Jedi Crash, the Ryloth arc, mystery of a thousand moons and so on. Gilroy-who unfortunately penned lair of Grievous-and Melching had years of experience writing comics and episodes of tv animation under their belts, and you can feel that experience all over TCW season one. It feels like a really well done SW anthology comic in animated form. I wish the entire show was like that. No bloated arcs, no messing with the prior established canon, no rehashing material from Micro series. Just fun, thoughtful, one of episodes. Once Gilroy and Melching left, Filoni took over, and things go to poop.

Not to mention, to paraphrase, Anti Anakin, Ahsoka genuinely shines in season one and season 2-with the exception of lightsaber lost-as the audience surrogate. Ahsoka works larelgy because the writers try to make her feel like an actual teenager rather than an idealized version of a teen. That said, her depiction can unfortunately come off as somewhat stereotypical and dated by modern standards. Furthermore, the writers occasionally take her “hot headed, rebel teen” character too far-think her stupid interrogation of Gunray for instance. Before we discuss the later seasons, let’s discuss the animation, although the movie and show suffer from stiff, weightless, animation and unimpressive posing, the actual artwork-delivered by the great Killian Plunkett-looks fantastic. When adapting Genndy’s style to 3D, the crew wisely tweaked his designs to look like oil painted wooden puppets-a la Team America-and the style simply works. It fits SW’s living painting aesthetic and pulp sci fi tone like a glove, and it straddles cg animation’s weakness of making human beings look like plastic toys. Furthermore, the crew supports the style with beautiful matte painted environments, and painterly lighting and character texturing-those last two elements were delivered by the truly talented Joel Aron in the later seasons.

Now back to the writing.

Season 2 has some really good episodes, but it’s also when Filoni’s gigantic ego, obsession with Ahsoka, and lack of creativity start rearing their ugly heads.

The good stuff in season 2 includes the cad bane trilogy, the boba fett arc, bounty hunters, the Zilo beast two parter, the last 3 episodes of Geonosis-landing on point rain bores me, and the deserter. Unfortunately, it also contains garbage like the mando stuff-I don’t like Karen Travis, but it doesn’t excuse what Filoni did to her, and a direct rehash of microseries in the form of the stupid cat and mouse.

Season 3 has good eps like heroes on both sides, clone cadets, but the cracks really begin to expand here. The show rips off microseries during the mortis arc-Anakin has ANOTHER vision of Vader, really Filoni-Ahsoka begins to transform from a really well done if dated portrayal of a teenager into a downright problematic “hero” whose faults go unpunished by the narrative, the show bastardizes the original backstory of the night sisters, and character assassinates Quinlan Vos.

Season 4 features the show stopping umbara, maul, Ventress, and Obi wan undercover arcs-that last one loses points for throwing in a pointless Dooku fight. However, it also throws in THREE unimaginative and pointless Anakin vs dooki fights, rips off microseries AGAIN with the water war arc, and fails to recognize ahsoka’s cold behavior to Anakin during the zygerrian arc.

Season 5 rips off microseries AGAIN during the youngling arc-for the record I like that arc, but also featured the solid if a bit bloated onderon arc, and the maul and Ahsoka arcs.

I want to love those last two arcs, but they are built on some immoral story choices. The maul arc relies on s2′s mando story and the s3 nughtsisters arc-both of which steamrolled the eu. Meanwhile, the wrong jedi arc, which has my favorite moment in all of fiction-Ahsoka leaving the order, character assassinates Barris.

S6 features the eu steamrolling fives arc, the problematic Clovis arc, the ok jar jar arc, and the darth bane disrespecting yoda arc.

Let’s not bother with Rebels seasons 2-4 or TCW Season 7.

It’s a shame that such a talented cast and crew were squandered on a talentless asshole like Filoni.

#anti Dave filoni #pro Henry Gilroy pro Steven Melching #TCW 2008 review

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skyhawkstragedy · 1 year ago

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I'm not entirely sure about this cast, I don't have any particular strong feelings about any of them aside from a couple. But who knows at this point. It's gonna be a long ride.

Blue - I just have a feeling that I'm gonna really like her. I like that she's committed to the chaos and chaos usually means fun feeds as long as they're game-related and not personal. I don't know where she's going to align, but I hope things turn out well for her.

Mecole - I know that people are turned off by her being a political consultant and it makes people scared that she's gonna be another Omarosa, but I think this could work out well for her? She could play dirty, she could be very knowledgeable with her words and have a good social game, or she could get by just enough to slide down the middle. Overall I think I like her, I just need more from her. Also I get a hunch that she likes Marvel or sci-fi. One of the two.

Kirsten - she is HOT, like BOMBSHELL hot. I find her very likely to hang with the guys more, but I also think she might surprise people.

Hisam - I think he can also do well, he could win but he could also fizzle out way too early and get shafted in the double. Could be iconic, but also probably thinks he's funnier than he actually is. I don't even know if there's anyone in the cast who has the natural charisma to be a narrator for the season like Azah/Turner.

Jared - It's been a while since we've had a reality show nepo baby on BB but the last time was Dani Donato and we all know where that went 😒 Ngl I was pretty interested in what he was gonna give. I think he can do very well but hopefully he isn't another Monte. Side note: I don't keep up with Survivor but from what I've heard Cirie is a treat so maybe like mother like son.

Felicia - I'm not too enthused on her as much as everyone else in the tag is, I think she's fine. She might win a memory comp or two but will probably be more known for one-liners if anything.

Cory - Another one I can't really pinpoint. I honestly think he's gonna be Turner but way less funny. Other than that... he's all right.

Jag - Seems nice but again not giving enough. He could also be funny.

Matt - He's giving Tyler, but he's also giving Daniel Durant. I know everyone has made up their mind about him, he could be a menace, but he could also be a sweetheart. Keeping my eye on him for now.

America - I feel like I should like her but after Paloma I'm more wary of the tiny girl who has all this pent up energy. That said... there's something about her and I can't pinpoint what. Into the middle tier she goes.

Bowie Jane - She'll either be great or she'll be irritating as all fuck. Or a mixture of both like BB21 Christie.

Luke - Soooooooo generic. 😴 I do feel like once we get into the house we'll start to peel off layer after layer (we're already doing that with him having been on Tumblr) but idk he's just not giving what needed to be gave.

Izzy - She bored me ngl. I don't think she'll be irritating... I think she'll be just there.

Reilly - She's giving me Alyssa S vibes and I'm not feeling that so we're just gonna scoot on over...

Cameron - SO BORING. Even his intro nearly put me to sleep.

Red - I've seen his archetype a million times and they almost never go well. He won't be the last. I really don't like him. If anyone is gonna end up pulling a Cornbread it's this guy.

I feel like I'm gonna have to wait for the season to start for me to get accustomed to this cast. I still feel attached to last season's.

#bb25 #bb25 tier list #bb25 blue

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destinyimage · 6 months ago

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Igniting Fresh Fire! Receive This Impartation of Holy Spirit Power

Have you brushed off the cobwebs of mediocre Charisma?

It’s normal at times to feel an odd mixture of dread and excitement! Your flesh is fearful because it knows it’s about to be driven back into proper subjection. Your spirit, however, is soaring in anticipation of increased power.

Relief will bathe your soul once you have firmly decided not to accept a half answer to your spiritual condition.

What you crave is a full measure of fire, a deeper baptism. You want a permanent break from nominal living. You don’t want to be sidelined during the next wave of God that is about to crash onto America.

Above all, you are convinced that God has more for you than what you have ever imagined.

So now doubts are gone, excuses are buried, and you will accept nothing less than fresh fire.

This is the first step. Renounce even the hint of com- promise! Accept no substitute. Do not pursue merely a safe dose of God.

In your proclamation of the need for fresh f ire, you have concluded that this is not a case of routine maintenance or of turning over a new leaf or of breaking habits by willpower.

A Light Swoon Won’t Do

You have discerned the issue is at the heart. You have resolutely decided that a light swoon will not do. You want a launching of Holy Spirit power! As at the first, you want dunamis at the core of your being that will radiate out of every member.

Now you become a seeker of God. He rewards all who diligently seek Him. James 1:8 warns us against being double-minded. We are not to be guilty of hid- den agendas or escape valves. We are asking in order to receive, not to go through a ritual to look spiritual.

You are here to stay because you want the treasure of fresh fire. You don’t want the old nature to reassert itself. You don’t want your forward progress hindered any longer. Above all, you don’t want to go down on the deck of this Titanic of Charismatic fluff.

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Waiting Worshipfully

Not only are you determined to seek; you want to seek correctly. To do so means to hark back to when you first received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. You came as a child, trusting the Lord’s mercy and believing in His desire to baptize you. Then you waited worshipfully in His presence. Do it again; come in that attitude again.

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Luke 11:9-10 NKJV).

You may need to tarry—and focused tarrying is a lost art! Some early Pentecostals reduced tarrying to legalistic torture. They believed you had to suffer to earn Holy Spirit power. On the other hand, many Charismatics have cheapened the act of waiting and the results are equally disastrous.

One extreme frustrates the seeker and adds unwarranted pain to waiting on God. The Spirit is hindered because He is ready to give us the gift, but we are too preoccupied with self-abasement to receive it.

The other extreme is “instantism.” The seeker is instructed to babble a few syllables and is excitedly told that they’ve “got it.” This has aborted many from truly getting the Holy Spirit baptism. The convert is sent home with a synthetic experience without truly encountering the power of God.

True tarrying is a marriage of expecting and persevering. You must see the vision of Christ as the willing Baptizer and yourself as qualified to receive, not because of your worthiness, but because He has imparted His righteousness to you.

You are set for the long run, because you know your waiting is a process of love, not punishment. Gratitude fuels your patience. Here is a divine gift you don’t deserve that promises to enrich your life, and you are overcome by the goodness of God.

So you wait, expecting at any moment that fire may fall; but if it doesn’t, you have nowhere else you’d rather be. And nothing else you could do would be more important, anyway.

God signals the end of your quest by baptizing you. And again, as before, you are not seeking tongues. Do you remember your first Pentecost? It wasn’t tongues that impressed you most about the baptism in the Holy Spirit! It was the encounter with the heart of Almighty God Himself! The same sense of Jesus as you had the first time, will pervade you again.

We must navigate the crucial act of waiting on God with care! Again, determine to balance your pursuit with an equal measure of faith to receive at any moment and with an attitude of being willing to wait.

Fresh Fire Falling

Fresh fire can be sought privately or corporately. God honors both. You may be driven by the Lord to the secret closet of prayer, or He may summon a church to a solemn assembly.

What could be more loving for a pastor to do than to organize a fresh fire prayer night patterned after Peter in Acts 4? Let the pastor be bold! Announce it as a night when the Holy Spirit Himself will run the service!

Let the church body come before the Lord saying, “We have come for fresh fire.” He who is God will answer by fire! Hallelujah!

What a mighty moment when we cry out as humble children to Him who will not fail to answer! Boldness will be increased and wicked influences will die.

Our great enemy is our schedule. Yes, our lives are complicated. Time is very scarce; routine is a bully who intimidates us into accepting an inferior life.

But remember, this is God calling. He considers our obligation; He knows the daily burden, yet He calls. If He calls, He will create the way of escape from our rat race to His Upper Room.

The next enemy will be revealed as you contend in prayer. The flesh and its toxic residue have built up over time, unbeknownst to us, and will rear up and agitate you. Suddenly you’ll feel like bolting from the place of prayer. Keep your eyes on the prize. Weather this attack, and you’ll reach rich fulfillment.

God deals with us for our good. When He surfaces a secret sin, it is to free us. The Spirit of God may even parade a band of unfinished matters. Unforgiveness may be anchoring your soul to second-rate living.

Face Your Need

Some of these issues are resolved alone, between you and God, while others will require going and making it right.

But what is your greatest enemy in your quest for fresh fire? The arrogant, smug presumption that your need is not urgent, because you are already Spirit-filled. This blind assumption is the lethal swill of flaky

Charismatics. These superficial believers are the Hemlock Society of our movement. They’ll gladly assist you in committing spiritual suicide!

These are the groupies who chase self-conceited teachers, who spout fantasy-laden promises and hollow victories. Their high-sounding words will lead us on field trips through futility. Remember that their teachings build no character, attack no meaningful demonic targets, and do not carry the gospel to the lost. Separate yourself from any and all foolish teaching. Face your own need for power, real power, holy power, power that is the deepest dread of Satan.

Do you vividly recall your first baptism? Now, as then, you will be transformed, and feeble prayers will become torrents of intercession. Old habits, like the bowstrings that bound Samson, will break like yarn touching fire.

The cry of the warrior within will erupt like a volcano. Climb above the stupor of this generation. Go now and find the place to seek this next infusion. Wait there in expectant obedience.

Fresh fire is about to fall on you!

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liketolaugh-writes · 2 years ago

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I’ve been wondering how Percy’s reputation builds over the course of the first series. In the first and second books, he’s kind of an outcast at Camp Half-Blood. But by The Last Olympian, they followed him above even Annabeth, even Chiron. And Percy has so little self-esteem that it’s sort of hard to track that progression through his eyes. But I think it went something like this:

In the first book, he was the new kid, and he was weird. He was scrawny and temperamental, volatile, obscenely powerful already and difficult to understand. He was kind of scary. Even once he went on the quest and came back - sure, he stopped World War III and all, but he also brought back more scary rumors about himself - beating Medusa, beating Ares, and eventually even bringing the news of Luke’s betrayal. He was just- he was a lot, that first summer.

Second book, he has maybe half a reputation, but the kids have other things to worry about. They know he’s competent, he’s strong, but so far they’ve only known 12/13-year-old, absolute rock bottom confidence Percy Jackson. Not exactly peak charisma. And he’s served the gods, but he hasn’t served Camp Half-Blood, not yet. He hasn’t proven his loyalty to them. But then he does, he helps retrieve the fleece, and he helps Thalia when she falls out of the tree.

Third book. I think, by this point, his reputation is firmly good. He’s helped to protect the camp, he’s helped Thalia, he has two years under his belt, and he’s starting to build some confidence. (Kinda.) So: the camp likes him now, and he’s no longer an outcast. Then he sneaks out (again) to help rescue Artemis, gains her respect, gains Thalia’s respect, holds the sky and faces a titan for the first time (again: sorta) and also becomes relatively firmly established as the child of prophecy. I think this quest is what pushes him on from ‘camper’ into ‘burgeoning legend.’

Fourth book, he, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson go into the Labyrinth. He blows up a volcano, he’s thought dead for weeks, and then he comes back. He and the others find Daedalus, and he gets a hellhound for a pet. He helps to defend the camp from absolute fucking untold horrors, and now that I think of it, this is probably also the first time most of the campers see Percy in such a serious fight. And his legend grows.

It’s relatively simple, I guess, but I like to have it laid out into a narrative. And that turning point in the third book, where Percy’s self-esteem is still absolute garbage but everyone else’s friendship begins to grow into awe - I really like that.

#yes this was mostly just so i could talk myself through it #pjo #percy jackson

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walkswithmyfather · 3 years ago

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“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there just as He told you.” —Mark 16:7

“When You Messed Up (Praying Through Failure)” By Elevation Church:

“When we first see Peter in the gospels, he is overzealous and filled with fire. Always quick to speak and tell Jesus what he would never do. But after his denial and betrayal on Good Friday, Peter’s fire was replaced with fear and his charisma was replaced with shame.

When faced with his failure, Peter abandoned his calling and went back to what was familiar — fishing. But Peter couldn’t even catch a break there. He fished all night and caught nothing.

That is, until Jesus showed up on the shore. In one of the most beautiful full-circle moments in the Bible, Jesus meets Peter in his frustration and tells him to cast his nets again — just like He had told him to do three years before (Luke 5:1-11). It wasn’t until Peter caught a load of fish too big to carry that he realized the man on the shore was Jesus.

Once Peter recognized Him, he immediately swam to shore, where he found Jesus standing by a charcoal fire. The four gospels mention a charcoal fire like this only one other time — when Peter denied knowing the Lord on the night of His arrest. As the smoke from the fire filled Peter’s nose, shame and guilt must have filled him as the memories came rushing back to him.

But Jesus didn’t build that fire to punish Peter. He wanted to set Peter free — to give him a new memory. No longer would the smell of smoke remind Peter of the time he blew it, but instead that memory would be replaced with how Jesus’ grace covered it all. Jesus brought him back to the point of his greatest failure so he could experience the deepest grace.

On the other side of Peter’s failure was an assignment, which is why God singled him out by name to the women at the tomb — He wanted Peter to know in spite of his denial, He had not deserted him.

God never changed His mind about Peter, and He won’t change His mind about you either.

Your story doesn’t end in failure. God has grace for you today and an assignment for you tomorrow. Jesus didn’t conquer sin just so you could go to heaven one day — He wants you to experience freedom, hope, and grace today. Your shame has been buried. New life begins now. Resurrection power is here.

Father, I praise You because of the new beginning You continually offer me. May the failures I’ve experienced be the starting point of Your grace. Today, I trade my frustration for surrender and I ask You to open my eyes to the assignment You’ve prepared for me. When lies whisper to me, remind me of Your truth — because You conquered death and sin, I don’t have to live in shame! What a gift. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

[Welcome Resurrection Devotional Day 6 of 7: https://bible.com/reading-plans/30678/day/6?segment=0]

“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there just as He told you.” —Mark 16:7

“When You Messed Up (Praying Through Failure)” By Elevation Church:

When faced with his failure, Peter abandoned his calling and went back to what was familiar — fishing. But Peter couldn’t even catch a break there. He fished all night and caught nothing.

God never changed His mind about Peter, and He won’t change His mind about you either.

[Welcome Resurrection Devotional Day 6 of 7]

“Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” —John 21:1‭-‬19 (NIV)

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frospino · 3 years ago

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The NXX boys as Dungeons & Dragons Players

This is what happens when you prepare multiple D&D adventures and play Tears of Themis in your downtime...

Artem

Considers himself not very creative and spontaneous, which is why he's not sure when you ask him to join an NXX game

You look at him with huge eyes and maybe one day, he'll learn to say no to you... But today is not that day

Wants to play a supporting class, so you both decide on a Dwarven grave cleric

He rolls well enough for his attributes, but one roll is an 8. It takes a while to assure him that one dump stat is completely normal

Makes charisma his dump stat because he believes the others (read: Marius who can't shut up) will cover for that

Rule of cool? No. The Player's Handbook is the Law and must be Followed

Steals the first boss kill from Luke and is so delighted that even Vyn finds him endearing

Luke

100% into D&D. Will come up with an elaborate backstory for his character because he couldn't sleep before writing it down.

A Way of the Shadow Monk (if you allow it, a Tabaxi) whose mission it is to secure blackmail material on people of power who abuse their position

Has A Plan for every situation. Naturally, the leader of the group (don't tell Vyn or Marius this)

Chaotic good through and through!

Pretends to hate shopping in-game, but catch him haggling with every merchant you meet

Lowest stat is a 10 in strength. Who needs strength when you have 18 dex (will not brag about having such high stats)

Marius

Will play a halfling for the halfling's luck feature. There will be no critical failures on his watch

(will only NOT use halfling's luck if it means Vyn's character gets in trouble, because pissing Vyn off is his hobby)

Plays a bard because how could he not? Typically tries to seduce every npc he meets, but it soon becomes a running gag because he keeps rolling poorly

Makes wisdom his dump stat (rolled a bloody 5, wtf) because he's here to have a good time and make bad decisions and everyone else will have to suffer through it (will brag about having low wis)

If there's a red button, Marius's character WILL press it.

The group lands in jail because of Marius at least once. Might even be on a friendly basis with one of the guards. "huh, you here again." "Yupp! Can you look away real quick? You know we're just going to knock you out otherwise"

Vyn

Has never heard of ttrpgs before but is intrigued when you ask him. Memorised all the rules in a single long night to impress you.

Plays a human variant wizard with keen mind.

Rolls disturbingly well for his stats. Honestly, these stats should be forbidden. What is a wizard doing with a 13+ in strength, constitution and dexterity, get out of here Vyn (will brag about high stats)

Will flirt with any npc that resembles you or that you use your normal voice for. Is he flirting with the npc or the dungeon master? Who knows?

(everyone knows, and some are jealous because he's such a smooth mf)

Eventually starts 'stealing' npcs Marius tried to seduce. Cue character rivalry because Vyn gets laid while Marius Does Not

Might be the brains of the operation, but is too focused on himself most of the time, meaning team player Luke takes over

Bonus interactions

Marius's character starts flirting with Artem's because Artem WILL blush furiously and Marius lives for it

His pick up lines are so bad that at one point even Vyn groans in 2nd hand embarrassment. He considers this a win

When Marius's character is killed in combat and has to be brought back via ritual, Artem's cleric confesses his love. Cue dramatic confession scene. They're dating now. How did this happen

Luke and Marius are a tag team because Luke's plans often involve bait and Marius's character either doesn't get it or Does Not Care

At one point, Luke and Vyn spend at least 30 minutes debating which plan is better until Martem's characters storm out because they can't take it anymore

For some reason, this ends in a prison break scene where Luke and Vyn have to work together to free the rest of their party. You consider it a team building exercise

#Tears of themis #tot headcanons #tears of themis headcanons #My writing

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austennerdita2533 · 3 years ago

Note

I was doing some idle musing on Rory's boyfriends and Austen heroes, and what I came up with was that Jess is part Mr. Darcy and part Frederick Wentworth, and Logan is part Henry Crawford and part (in his best moments) Henry Tilney. Any thoughts?

I think those are good Austen-to-GG-boyfriend classifications all around!

Jess has quite a few of Darcy's social anxieties in that he doesn't seem to like being around large groups of people at once, prefers to keep to himself, and doesn't talk or open up easily. Both characters also have a propensity for being taciturn and standoffish at times. They can rub some the wrong way as a result. In addition to that, they're introverted intellectual individuals who have embarrassing or disappointing relatives (i.e. Lady Catherine, Liz Danes). Their first "I love you" declarations are on par in Disaster Fireworks, too, don't you think? I mean, Darcy point blank calls Lizzie's entire family an embarrassment who is beneath him in social class AND manners and then still excepts her to accept his hand in marriage, which is so unbelievable it's hysterical, and Jess tells Rory he loves her after pulling a cross-country disappearing act that ended their relationship only to disappear AGAIN immediately after he blurts out the words, not even pausing long enough to blink, or like, to roll down his window so she can shout her reply at him as he drives by on his way out of town. It's next level Don't Do This romantic foolishness on both their parts. They deserve an award or a badge of honor or something to commemorate their mutual totally-bungled-that idiocy. 😄

Like Wentworth, Jess is the "suffer in silence" type. (I'd argue he takes after Luke in that way.) They both venture off on their own paths after they experience heartbreak, finding themselves, making something of their lives. For Wentworth, that means going to sea and amassing a fortune. For Jess, it means writing a novella and later working at Truncheon. And clearly they have the whole pining for the girl they love thing in common. Plus, there's that sense of mutual understanding that ripples through those two dynamics. Something that exudes "I know you better than anyone" energy because words aren't always necessary. They fall short. As Wentworth writes in his infamous letter to Anne at the end of Persuasion: "You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others." Jess and Wentworth are able to notice things about Rory, about Anne, that everyone else overlooks. Or plain don't see. The connection they share never truly dwindles no matter how much time has passed, either. It burns beneath the surface like an ember, waiting, flickering softly in the dust of what once was, of what still could be, perpetually on the cusp of catching flame again.

I'd also make an argument for Jess having some Mr. Knightley in him as well. They're both emotionally repressed as hell, for one. The frustration is rife, I'm telling you! Jess has a hard time expressing, sometimes showing, his feelings for Rory and I've always thought that falls in line with Knightley's "if I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more" vibe. And while Jess doesn't lecture in the same way that Knightley does with Emma, he isn't afraid to ask Rory the hard questions, he doesn't hesitate to deliver the harsh truths she needs to hear. Jess challenges Rory to be better, to be true to herself, in the same way that Knightley does with Emma.

Onto Logan now. I definitely see a lot of Henry Tilney in him and a decent amount of Henry Crawford as well. I've always considered Tilney to be Austen's most charming, sociable, good humored, and extroverted hero, and I think that tracks well with Logan. He's also outgoing, seems to have no trouble making friends, and when he puts his mind to it, will and can charm the pants off of almost anyone he meets. (Gilmore grandparents, especially. But he's no slouch with Luke, Lorelai, or Christopher either, is he?) Tilney and Logan are both bright, witty men with active playful minds. I think those traits act as catnip for Rory and Catherine, it's what attracts them. They like the stimulation. The never-know-what-they're-going-to-do-or-say spontaneity. It's adrenalizing emotionally, intellectually, and sexually. Another similarity between the two men is that they each have fraught relationships with their fathers who have an "image" or "expectations" for their sons to uphold. The fathers view their name, or the social strata where they belong, to be superior to that of other people. Tbh, Mitchum Huntzberger and General Tilney should form their own Cad Dad Club because they're both cads. 😂

Henry Crawford and Logan share a considerable amount in common, too. Wit, attractiveness, and considerable charisma aside, they also both come from wealth. They're privileged, entitled, and have essentially had free reign to indulge their whims and vices throughout their lives without many consequences. I think Crawford's more wanton in his exploits with the opposite sex than Logan, though. The man doesn't just flirt he seduces. And he does so without much remorse. Granted, I know Logan was a bit of a playboy, a casanova, or whatever you want to call him, when he and Rory first started up but he commits to her eventually and loves her. He does his best to make her happy. And he is a present, caring, devoted boyfriend most of the time (the bridesmaid shagfest and jetting off to base jump, cliff dive, I forget the specific thing rn when he's upset, notwithstanding) whereas Crawford's feelings/intentions with Fanny are a little more hazy. It's hard to know whether he was actually in love with her or if it was about the chase, since she wasn't responding to his advances in the the way he'd grown accustomed or had hoped she would. Fanny never trusts Crawford. Rory does love and trust Logan, so there's a marked difference there.

In addition to Tilney and Crawford, I also think it could be said that Logan has some of Mr. Willoughby's good traits. They're both passionate individuals, for one, and aren't afraid to show it. They lay it all out there. Go after things. Live life to the fullest. I admire that in both of them. Fanny and Rory needed a little bit of that in their lives, I think. It pushed them out of their comfort zones. In a good, productive way. That said, the men's zest and spontaneity could teeter into recklessness as well, which is behavior they both exhibited in different ways and at different times.

I'm sure I could come up with more if I thought about it longer but that's all I've got for now.

Anyway, thanks for the ask, sweets! This was fun to muse over! xoxo

#stellaluna33 #replies #the loveliest of lovely people #ashlee bree talks gilmore girls and jane austen

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justcallmefox89 · 4 years ago

Text

Truth or Dare Part 8 - Mammon’s Ending

During a private meeting Diavolo makes Arianthi a tempting offer while Mammon’s jealousy spirals out of control. With the end of the exchange program looming Arianthi has major decisions to make.

NSFW - blowjob, public hookup

TWs - potential triggers for those who have had experiences with physical violence.

Written from the perspective of my female OC Arianthi.

Mood List:

Snakehips & MO - Don’t Leave Trixie Whiteley - Breathe You In My Dreams Cigarettes After Sex - Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby The 1975 - Somebody Else Brandon Flowers - I Can Change

Solomon strides confidently into Diavolo’s office and I follow behind, making a conscious effort to hide in his shadow. Diavolo has his head down, rifling through some paperwork. Solomon and I each silently take a seat in the two chairs in front of his desk, waiting on him to acknowledge our presence.

After a few more minutes he looks up at us.

“Hello Solomon,” Diavolo says, giving him a polite nod.

“Diavolo.” Solomon smiles placidly.

“Hey princess.” He gives me a soft smile, the nickname slipping out easily. He flushes and looks back down at his desk.

“Hi Dia.” I fidget with cuffs of my jacket, guilt coiling in my stomach.

Diavolo looks pale, deep purple smudges beneath his eyes. Despite his enormous size he seems smaller somehow, diminished, all his natural charisma muted.

Solomon swoops in to save the day. “Did you need to speak with us about the exchange program?”

Bless you, you sweet sweet man. I thought I was going to suffocate in my own awkwardness.

“Yes. Yes, about the program.” Diavolo clears his throat. “I was hoping I could convince both of you to extend your stay in the Devildom.”

Solomon and I shoot a quick glance at each other, matching looks of confusion on our faces.

“How do you mean?” He asks.

Diavolo regards us both seriously. “This first experiment into the exchange program has been far more successful than I had even hoped. We will be increasing our number of exchange students during the next session. Solomon, I would like you to stay on as a professor of sorts, teaching magic to the new human students.”

Solomon’s mouth drops open. “I would be honored to extend my stay here.”

Diavolo nods, a smile on his lips. He turns to me. “Arianthi, I would like to ask you to stay on as an ambassador between the demons, angels, and humans. You seem to have a unique ability to get along with just about anyone. I think you would be the ideal person for the job.”

I think I’m in shock.

I can stay in the Devildom. I can stay with Mammon. With the rest of my friends.

“For real? Like, for real, for real?”

Diavolo chuckles. “For real princess. I wouldn’t tease you like that.”

The nickname again. The easy banter. As glad as I am to see a glimpse of the old Diavolo, I’m not sure this level of familiarity is good for either one of us. I don’t think about it for too long though, the joy of getting to stay with Mammon drowning out all my other thoughts.

“Yes! Absolutely yes! I would love to stay!” I say excitedly, bouncing a little in my seat.

Diavolo grins. “Fantastic. I will have the paperwork drawn up and have Barbatos deliver it to you in a few days for your signatures. And of course you both can continue your Devildom studies while working around your new responsibilities. ”

Solomon and I stand up to leave, but Diavolo speaks up, stopping us. “Arianthi, if you could stay a minute? There is something I’d like to discuss with you.”

I plop back down in my chair, looking at Solomon anxiously. He sends me a cheeky wave and a look that says I’m clearly on my own. Once the office doors have closed behind him, Diavolo crosses to the front of his desk. He pulls the unoccupied visitor's chair closer to mine and sits down, facing me.

Before I can say anything Diavolo takes my right hand in his much larger ones, slipping the ring he gave me for my birthday on my ring finger.

“You left this behind when you moved out of the castle,” he says reproachfully.

“It didn’t seem right to keep it,” I mumble, gently tugging my hand free of his.

He looks at me earnestly. “It was a gift. Anything I give you I give without expectations. I want you to keep it. It makes me happy to think of you wearing it.”

I nod, unable to form a response.

Mammon is going to hate this.

“Lucifer tells me that you and Mammon are doing quite well. He says it’s rare to ever see you two apart,” Diavolo continues.

“Keeping tabs on me Dia?” I quirk an eyebrow at him.

He huffs out a small laugh. “Nothing sinister I promise. Just occasionally checking in to make sure the woman I love is happy.”

“Diavolo.” I’m at a loss for words.

“Allow me that much Arianthi. I truly am happy for you and Mammon. It’s a rare thing for a demon to find a love as pure as what the two of you share.” Despite the smile on his face, Diavolo’s eyes betray his pain.

“Thank you Diavolo,” I whisper, not trusting my voice.

He shakes his head. “Don’t. I do it for my peace of mind. I need to know that you’re safe and loved, even if it’s not by me.”

He stands up. “I’ve taken up enough of your morning.”

I stand up and follow him to the door. He stops before opening it. “Once the paperwork is finalized and you’ve told Mammon your decision, I would like to put together a little something for you and Solomon. Maybe a party?”

“I think that would be fun.” I smile up at him, then open the door. I’m halfway through before Diavolo catches my attention.

“Arianthi?”

“Hmmm?”

“Don’t let Mammon get his hands on that ring.” He smirks at me and I laugh.

“I’ll keep it safe,” I say, before I slip out the door.

——————————————————————————

Mammon wanders out of the student council meeting, impatient to see Arianthi after her meeting with Diavolo. He stops in surprise, seeing Solomon chatting with Simeon and the chihuahua.

She didn’t message me.

Jealousy starts to creep up.

“Oi! Solomon!” He narrows in on the sorcerer, ignoring the angels completely. “Where’s Arianthi?”

Solomon raises his eyebrows, affecting a surprised expression.

“She didn’t message you yet? Diavolo asked her to stay behind for a private conversation. They must still be .............. speaking.” He lingers on the last word, his tone hinting at something unspeakably lewd.

Mammon grits his teeth and pushes past the group, heading for Diavolo’s office.

Damn it. Damn him. Arianthi is MY girl.

Simeon turns to Solomon, a disappointed look on his face. “That wasn’t very kind Solomon. You shouldn’t rile him up like that. You know Arianthi would never betray him.”

“I know that. I’m just wondering when Mammon’s going to figure that out, the jealous bastard.” Solomon smirks. “And it’s just too easy to push his buttons, especially when it comes to her.”

Luke and Simeon both give him a scandalized look, while he just shrugs, a self-satisfied smile playing across his lips.

Mammon storms through the hallways towards Diavolo’s office, stopping short when he sees the door is cracked open. He hesitates, remembering the last time he walked in on Arianthi and Diavolo. Despite his best attempts that memory is still burned into his mind, affecting his intimate moments with Arianthi at the worst times.

She’s been nothing but patient with me though.

He frowns, jealousy overtaking him, and moves closer to the door. He catches snatches of their conversation.

“Woman I love........happy.....told Mammon your decision.....a party........sounds fun........don’t let Mammon........ring.”

Then he hears Arianthi’s soft laugh, and a jealous rage crawls up his spine, clouding his vision and sparking fury in his veins.

Mine. MY human. MY girl.

Mammon hears the door begin to open wider and quickly steps back out of sight.

------------------------------------------------------------

I close the door to Diavolo’s office and pull out my D.D.D. to message Mammon, thrilled to tell him the good news, hoping he’ll be as happy as I am. A hand wraps around my wrist before I even manage to open the messaging app, and I let out a yelp as I feel myself being pulled forcefully down the hallway. I look up and see Mammon, mouth pressed into a thin line, more angry than I’ve ever seen him.

“Mammon? Mammon what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Concerned, I start to run through worst case scenarios.

Did something happen to one of his brothers? To Goldie? Did he get sucked into a new pact with some witches? That will be a major pain in the ass to deal with.........

He refuses to answer, eyes darting around but never looking at me.

I start to struggle against his grip. “Mammon! Mammon stop! What’s going on?”

He finds an empty classroom and pushes me inside unceremoniously, slamming the door shut behind us.

“What in the hell has gotten into you?” I hiss, worry quickly shifting into anger.

He presses me against the door, pinning me with his body, staring down at me with a coldness I’ve never seen before. “Wanna tell me what ya were doing in Diavolo’s office? Alone with him?”

I open my mouth to answer, to try to calm him down, reassure him, but he cuts me off before I get a chance.

“He still loves ya, huh? How long have you known that? And what decision do ya gotta tell me about?”

He grabs my hand.

“I see you’re wearin’ his ring again,” he snarls. “And what was he talkin’ about when he said “don’t let Mammon”? Don’t let me what, huh?”

Ok, he’s jealous. He’s insecure.

I understand, given the circumstances. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes.

“Open your damn eyes and look at me,” Mammon growls low in his throat.

My eyes fly open in shock. Even when we were fighting, I’ve never heard his voice like that. Low. Dangerous. Close to losing control and giving into his sin.

“Hey!” I raise my voice, jabbing him in the chest with one finger. His eyes snap up to meet mine.

Good. Got your attention.

“You need to calm down.”

“No, you need to start giving me some damn -”

I lift my hand up and softly press it against his mouth. “Mammon, baby, I know that you’re upset but you can’t talk to me like this. You need to get it together because I have something really important to tell you.”

All the jealousy and rage drain out of him, insecurity rapidly taking its place. His shoulders hunch and he voice goes small. “Are ya leavin’ me?”

“What? No!” I shout.

Mammon flinches a little at the volume of my voice.

“No. No, I am not.” I inhale deeply.

“Yes Mammon, Diavolo said he loves me. And I’m currently wearing the ring because he just gave it back to me. I left it at the castle when I moved out, but he wants me to keep it. And he doesn’t want you to get your hands on it because it’s mine, it was a gift, and he probably doesn’t want you to pawn it because you’re feeling jealous.”

He shrinks a little under my stern gaze.

“I’m not going to wear the ring, but it was a gift and a reminder of my time here, so I’ll have Lucifer put it in his safe.”

I reach up to push some of Mammon’s hair out of his eyes, and loop my hands around his neck.

“I can’t do anything about Diavolo still having feelings for me. But it doesn’t mean much when I’m in love with you.” I give him a quick series of kisses all over his face.

“Ya really mean that?” Mammon scrunches his eyebrows together.

I rub my nose against his. “Of course I do. You’re THE Great Mammon and I love you with all my heart.”

He drops his head on my shoulder. “Fuck, I am such an idiot. I can’t believe I lost it like that. I’m so sorry baby. Just knowin’ ya were alone with him, and hearin’ him say he still loved ya.....”

I press a kiss in his hair. “You really are my greedy, jealous demon aren’t you?”

I run my fingers across the back of his neck in what I hope is a soothing motion.

He pulls back and takes my hand in his, pressing soft kisses along my wrist. “Did I hurt ya when I grabbed ya?”

I shake my head. “I’m fine.”

I suddenly remember my good news. I wrap my arms around Mammon’s waist and kiss his neck. “Hey baby, guess what?”

“What?” He asks, returning my embrace.

“Diavolo wants me to stay in the Devildom.”

Mammon tenses at Diavolo’s name.

“He wants me to stay as an ambassador for the exchange program. I don’t have to go back to the human realm. I can stay here, with you.”

Mammon is totally silent and I move back so I can see his face. “Unless you don’t want me to?”

He pushes me against the door roughly, claiming my mouth in a fierce kiss. His tongue touches mine, stroking for just a moment, before he trails kisses along my jaw and down to my neck, his breath hot against my skin. His nips at my neck, fangs out, then sucks on the spot hard before soothing it with a soft lick of his tongue.

I let of a small yelp, instinctively burying one hand into his silky hair and giving a sharp tug.

“I can’t believe you get to stay.” Mammon murmurs against my neck, in between kisses and small bites. “MY human. MY girl. Staying with me because she WANTS to. All mine, and everybody is gonna know it. I’m so greedy for ya Arianthi. I never wanna let ya go. I crave ya, need ya like I need air.”

I bite my lip to stop a small scream when Mammon nips hard at my pulse point and slides one hand under my uniform skirt and between my thighs.

“Now you never have to,” I breathe.

He’s never been like this before. I’m not complaining though. I’ve been waiting a long time for him to touch me like this. But.......

I wiggle a little, and Mammon’s hands and mouth stop their exploratory trails.

“What’s wrong? I can stop if ya don’t like it.” He looks at me worriedly.

I huff out a laugh. “No, I definitely like. This seems a little, no, a lot sudden, since you’ve only wanted to kiss so far.”

I tuck a lock of unruly white hair behind his ear. “I’m not sure I want to do this if you’re just doing this because you were jealous. I don’t want you to regret it later.”

He puts his hands on my hips, and brings his mouth down to my neck. “It’s not just because of that. I’ve wanted ya for so long and I’m tired of waiting. Tired of bein’ afraid you’re gonna change your mind about me. Tired of second guessing everything. You’re everything to me and I’m yours as long as ya want me.”

The warmth of his mouth and the vibration of his words against my neck send a delicious shiver up my spine.

“Forever. Forever is good for me,” I murmur into his hair.

Mammon looks up, blue eyes locking on to mine. “Works for me.”

He lifts me up, hands under my thighs, and presses my back against the door. On instinct I wrap my legs around his waist. He groans and rolls his hips against me, and I feel just how hard he is. His mouth captures mine in a searing kiss, tongue and teeth insistent and relentless. When we finally break apart I’m seeing stars.

I laugh breathlessly as Mammon drops kisses from my neck down to my chest, taking the collar of my shirt between his teeth and tugging on it.

“Hey! I want you too but I am not having my first time with you be in a R.A.D. classroom.”

Mammon whines and nuzzles his head against my shoulder, rolling his hips against me again. “Baby.......”

My poor greedy little demon. It really would be cruel to leave him in this state for the rest of the day.

“Put me down.”

Mammon obeys immediately, and I quickly switch positions with him, pressing him against the door while reaching behind him to click the lock.

“W-w-what are ya doin’?” He stutters, the tips of his ears turning red. “Ya said ya didn’t wanna-”

“I may not want to fuck you right here, but there are plenty of other things I can do to for my greedy boy,” I whisper in his ear before taking his earlobe between my teeth and giving it a sharp nip.

“Fuuuuuck,” he whines, bucking his hips.

I kiss down his jaw, lingering on his lips, then move to his neck, alternating between love bites and soft kisses. When I reach his collarbone I give his skin a slow swipe of my tongue, then bite down hard, hard enough to leave a deep crimson mark. Mammon yelps, hands gripping tight on my waist.

I move back up to his mouth and run a finger over the bite while I whisper against his lips. “That’s going to leave such a pretty mark, baby. And everyone is going to know who left it on you. Do you like that?”

He nods eagerly, moving in to kiss me. I allow him only the briefest brush of our lips before pulling away. He whimpers, wanting more.

“I need you to be a good boy and use your words for me,” I say as I palm his erection through his pants.

Mammon throws his head back, eyes closed tight.

“Y-yeah. I l-l-like that a lot baby. It feels so good-” He groans as I tighten my grip on him. “More. More,” he demands, arching against my palm.

I move my hand away, and he cries out at the loss of contact.

I press two fingers against his lips. “Shhhh, my love. I need you to be good and be quiet for me. Otherwise people might find us and see you like this, one of the lords of the Devildom whining and begging for his human to touch him.”

I work my hands under his shirt and drag my fingernails down his chest and over his stomach. I feel his muscles twitch and shake under my touch.

Mammon’s eyes are shut tight and he shakes his head in frustration. “Don’t care.......don’t care. Please... baby I need ya.”

I smirk. “Well in that case.”

I bite down on his pulse point and my hands start working on his belt buckle.

His eyes fly open and he lets out a breathy gasp. “W-what are ya doin’?”

I start working his pants down over his hips.

“I was going to get on my knees for THE Great Mammon but if you don’t want me to....” I trail off as I take a half-step back.

He growls and yanks me closer to him. “Don’t ya even think about stoppin’ now. Finish what ya started.”

“Yes sir,” I murmur, giving him a light kiss.

Mammon’s eyes roll back as he groans. “Drivin’ me crazy,” he mumbles.

He quickly shrugs out of his jacket, folding it quickly and shoving it into my hands. I stare at him, confused.

“For your knees.” His cheeks turn pink.

Even as a horny mess Mammon is so thoughtful of me. I give him a rough kiss.

“God I love you.” I put his jacket on the ground, then kneel, working his pants down his legs as I go.

He runs his fingers through my hair, hands settling on the back of my head. He looks down at me through half-lidded eyes, darkened with lust.

“Love you too,” he replies, his voice hoarse.

I run my hands down his thighs, following with the occasional kiss. Mammon makes small sounds of appreciation, fingers moving restlessly through my hair. His erection is straining against his boxers, a wet circle of pre-cum leaking through the thin fabric. I mouth his cock through the fabric, grabbing his ass to keep his hips still.

He whines loudly, bucking against my tight hold. “Come on.... please, please, please,” he begs.

I smirk, looking up at him through my lashes. His eyes are closed, head thrown back, face flushed with desire as he bites down on his lower lip. I grip the waistband of his boxers with my teeth and tug them down, freeing his cock.

Oh, Christmas has come early.

Starting at the base of his cock, I move my tongue in a long, slow swipe up the sensitive vein on the underside of his shaft.

“Yeesssss,” Mammon hisses, leaning back against the door for support.

I spit into one hand and start to stroke him while taking the tip of his cock in my mouth, sucking and licking like it’s my favorite lollipop. Mammon rocks his hips against my mouth in a silent plea to take him deeper.

I remove my hand and slowly take more of his cock in my mouth. It takes some work; he’s not at long as Diavolo, but he is thicker. I hold him in the warmth of my mouth for a minute, then pull back and suck in a deep breath.

“Baby,” he whines loudly, arching his hips towards me.

I drop of soft kiss on the head of his cock. “Such a greedy, greedy boy.”

I swirl my tongue around him, bringing my hand back up to stroke his shaft.

“Fuck baby, just like that,” he breathes out. “So good, so fucking good.”

Encouraged by his praise I increase my pace, eventually resting my hands on his thighs so I’m only working him with my mouth. Drool runs down my chin and drips off his cock, and my throat is beginning to get sore from repeatedly taking him so deep. It’s all worth it to hear his whimpers of pleasure, words of praise, and whines of need when I pull away for a second to breathe.

After he gives one particularly inventive curse, I hum in amusement with his cock still in my mouth and his whole body shudders at the sensation.

Oh. Oh my. What an interesting development.

I do a little more scientific research, humming as my mouth slides up and down his cock.

I feel the muscles in his thighs begin to flex and tighten as his breathing becomes harsher, his moans a little breathier.

“Baby, baby I’m gonna, I’m -” He tries to pull back, but I grip the back of his thighs and hold him deep in my mouth, continuing my movements.

“Fuck!” He thrusts his hips against my mouth and I taste something warm, salty, and thick as he releases in my mouth. I don’t swallow immediately, waiting until I’m sure he’s looking down at me. His eyes are open, pupils blown wide and a thin sheen of sweat covers his face. His chest heaves as he attempts to slow down his breathing. I open my mouth wide, making sure he can see his cum coating my tongue, then swallow, opening my mouth after and sticking my tongue out to make sure he sees I swallowed all of it.

“Holy shit.” Mammon slumps back against the door, unable to decide what to do first. I scoot forward a little and use my tongue to lick him clean, removing any last traces of his orgasm. He whimpers at the sensation and squirms a little at the over stimulation of his softening cock.

Once I’m satisfied he’s all cleaned up I stand, pulling his boxers and pants up as I go. I buckle his belt and then pick up his jacket from the ground, shaking off any dirt and smoothing out any wrinkles. He reaches for me, bringing our bodies flush together.

“Ya really are something else, human,” he says, before giving me a kiss. I can feel his smile against my lips.

“It was good then?” I nuzzle my face into his neck, breathing in his scent and melting against him.

I can feel his breath ruffle my hair as he huffs out a soft laugh. “I’m ready to marry ya tonight after that. And now I’m even more impatient to get ya in my bed.”

I giggle against him, dropping kisses over the red marks I left on his neck. “Well there’s nothing stopping you from doing that when we get home.”

His arms tighten around me. “I say we skip out for the rest of the day. I wanna get ya home now.”

I laugh and softly push away from him. “Tonight, my greedy demon. And we need to tell your brothers that I’m staying. I hope they’ll be ok with it.”

Mammon shrugs into his jacket and puts an arm around my shoulders, unlocking the classroom door.

“Are ya kiddin’? They won’t care. They all love ya.” He pauses before adding, “But not as much as I do, ya know? Like a little sister.”

“I know baby. Should we just plan on telling them at dinner tonight?” I snuggle closer to his side as we meandering through the R.A.D. hallways, ignoring the demons that still give us questioning looks, even after months together.

“Sounds good.” Mammon drops one last kiss on the top of my head before we separate to go to our next classes.

Later that night at dinner we bide our time, waiting for the right opening to tell everyone else our news. Still worked up from our encounter earlier in the day, Mammon touches me at every opportunity. His hand on my thigh or creeping under my shirt to stroke the bare skin at my waist, kissing and nuzzling into my neck, making me giggle.

Finally Lucifer has had enough. “For the love of Diavolo can you take your hands off of Arianthi for one minute Mammon? Some of us are trying to eat!”

Mammon shoots Lucifer a dirty look, wrapping an arm tight around my waist and pulling me to him in defiance. The move, combined with his strength, means I end up sitting in his lap, the eyes of all his brothers now on us.

“Mammon,” Lucifer’s voice has dropped an octave, irritation morphing into anger.

“Let them be,” Asmo chirps. “I personally enjoy seeing them like this, all wrapped up in each other.”

He shoots us a suggestive wink.

Mammon just ignores them both, hugging me tightly from behind and resting his chin on my shoulder. I can feel him smile against my neck.

“We got some good news for you guys,” he tells his brothers.

“Oh dear Diavolo.” Lucifer visibly pales.

Satan looks at us in alarm. “Please tell me you’re not pregnant?”

Levi chokes. “You’re pregnant?!”

“What?” Beel and Belphie ask in unison, looking at us with matching expressions of confusion.

Asmo is the only one who remains calm, probably remembering our conversation from this morning.

“Stupidity is genetic Arianthi,” Satan continues. “I know you love him but I don’t think putting more of his genes out into the Devildom-”

“Satan!” I cut him off with a dark look. “Mammon is not stupid. Apologize to your brother.”

Satan stares at me grumpily for a few seconds before he mumbles, “Sorry Mammon.”

“Thanks baby.” Mammon whispers in my ear. I squeeze his hand in response.

“But are you really pregnant?” Poor Levi’s face is red and he looks like he’s close to hyperventilating.

Probably worried about the possibility of a baby getting into his collectibles.

I roll my eyes internally. “I’m not pregnant Levi.”

The brothers’ shoulders visibly relax.

“Yet,” Mammon says from behind me. I can hear the smirk in his voice.

The other six tense up again.

“Not helping Mammon.” I try to scold him, but I can’t keep the smile off my face.

Yet?

“I’m not pregnant.” I repeat. “With no plans in the near future to get pregnant.”

“Awww,” Mammon whines.

I lightly pinch his thigh.

“Ok, ok,” he mumbles, nuzzling his face into my shoulder.

I look around at the other six lords of the Devildom, demons I had come to view as family.

I hope they’re as excited as we are.

I take a deep breath. “Diavolo has offered me a position with the exchange program. I’d be an ambassador to the exchange students, and I’d still get to continue my Devildom studies. I’ve accepted, which means I don’t have to return to the human realm. I can stay here, with Mammon and you guys. Permanently.”

Mammon’s brothers stare at us for a moment, seemingly shocked into silence for the first time since I’ve met them. Then pandemonium breaks out at the dinner table.

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clumsyclifford · 4 years ago

Note

For the loss thing, 19 with malum?

i think it’s funny that i got this prompt once for malum and once for lashton but since i am a dedicated writer i wrote both so here you go madam distracting kisses from malum + notice by thomas rhett which is a song i’ve been meaning to write a malum fic around for a good while now

“Calum.”

Calum looks up from his phone and blinks. “Sorry. Sorry. What?”

Michael sighs, defeatedly, and it makes Calum’s heart clench, because it’s his fault Michael is sighing like that, like he should have known better than to expect Calum to be paying attention to him. It’s awful, because it’s not like Calum isn’t trying. There’s just so many people always trying to reach him, so many things he’s expected to attend to, and Michael has started giving him these glares when he checks his phone during dinner, so he has to resort to doing it at other times instead — like when they’re getting ready for a party.

“I asked if my hair looks okay,” Michael says coolly.

Calum gives Michael a distracted once-over. There’s a really important email on his screen right now but he tries to give Michael his best review.

Michael looks smashing, as always, and his hair is fine, but Calum sets his phone aside anyway. “Let me fix it for you.”

Michael raises an eyebrow. He’s standing in front of a mirror; he can probably see that his hair is fine, but he lets Calum reach up and muss it up a little bit, without complaint. Calum takes a deep breath in as he pats Michael against his chest, once, with finality.

“You look amazing,” he says softly.

Michael shakes his head. It looks like he wants to say something, but whatever it is must get swallowed down by the next comment, which is, “You’re not going to be on your phone during the party, right?”

Calum nods resolutely. “I promised I wouldn’t be.”

“Okay,” Michael says, though he looks skeptical. “I just want you to be there.”

“I will be, Michael. I promised.” Calum kisses his cheek swiftly. Michael doesn’t look reassured, but just shakes his head again and takes Calum’s hand as they go.

On the drive there, they play Michael’s party music playlist, which is just a lot of old-school upbeat pop punk to get them in the partying mood. Calum expects to hear zero pop punk at the party — no party that requires a suit is going to be playing New Found Glory — but he likes hearing Michael sing along anyway, and even when they park and the music is off, Michael keeps singing the rest of the line, quiet under his breath like it’s just for him. Calum notices; he picks up on the little things about Michael, even if Michael doesn’t believe he does. Like the way he forgets the lyrics to the end of Whiskey Rose and just babbles random syllables instead, tucking a smile away. The way he sways to himself to the phantom beat of the song, like Calum’s not standing a foot away watching him.

The party is in full swing on arrival; as soon as they’re in, Michael is swept up by Ashton, who hands him a glass of red wine and tugs him away without ceremony. Calum shrugs off his coat and tosses it onto the bed through the open doorway to the right, with all the others. He’s lost Michael, but that’s fine. Calum can be a social creature. Just because these are Michael’s work friends doesn’t mean Calum can’t find common ground with them.

“Hey!” Calum looks up, and it’s Luke. Thank God.

“Luke,” Calum says, relieved. “I was worried I wouldn’t know anybody else here.”

“You won’t know most people,” Luke says, grinning. There’s a flush on his cheeks, like he’s been here for awhile. “Don’t worry. I’ll introduce you.”

Luke and Ashton are Michael’s closest friends from work, which means Calum has met them enough times to consider them friends too. They’re lovely people, and also very sociable, which is to Calum’s benefit tonight. Luke takes off into the clamor of people and Calum trails behind, wondering when it’s appropriate to steal away to the kitchen for a glass of wine himself.

“So Michael ditched you, huh?” Luke asks as they stroll.

“Ashton snatched him up the second we walked in,” Calum says. “Eagle eyes, that one.”

Luke hums his agreement. “Ah, I’m sure they’ll be back around soon enough. Given Michael can’t stand to be separated from you for longer than five minutes.”

Calum blushes, even though it’s kind of true. That, too, makes Calum feel like shit, that Michael is working so hard to be there with Calum and Calum has been distracted for months. “He’ll have a hard time getting away. He’s looking delicious tonight, I can tell you that.”

“Gross,” Luke says, wrinkling his nose, but he’s smiling. “I don’t want to know that.”

“Seriously,” Calum says, unable to resist bragging a little bit. He doesn’t need to, because Luke has Ashton, but he likes to. “It’s a new suit, and it fits him so well, Luke. You’ll get it when you see him. He’s a knockout.”

Luke laughs. “You would say that.”

“Because it’s true!”

There’s an uproar of laughter from the middle of the room. Calum turns; sure enough, there’s Michael, the center of attention as usual. It doesn’t take long for his natural charisma to kick in, and the mostly-empty glass of wine in his right hand probably helps. Calum can see the dusting of pink across his cheeks. Michael always blushes when he drinks red wine, and it’s a dead giveaway to Calum.

(Which isn’t to say he shouldn’t drink red wine. As it happens, Michael looks very kissable with a flush on his cheeks.)

“Okay,” Luke concedes, “he does look pretty good.”

Calum chuckles. “Come on, let’s go join the circle.”

“I’m gonna grab a drink,” Luke says. “Want one?”

“Yeah, actually. Thanks.”

Luke disappears to the kitchen and Calum edges his way towards the circle forming around Michael as he recounts a funny story from earlier in the week. Calum knows the story — actually, he was there when it happened, and then heard Michael retell it to basically everyone in his contacts list — but in Michael’s voice it’s just as good this time as it was the first. There’s something so captivating about Michael. He steals the attention of everyone in any room.

The story gets wilder every time Michael tells it. This time, though Calum can see Michael smiling a little bit as he fibs, it ends with, “and the fire alarm still wouldn’t shut up, so Calum smashed it in with a hammer.”

Well. There is no way Calum will be thrown under the bus. As everyone laughs, he sidles up to Michael and plants a kiss on his cheek. “I won’t stand for this slander,” Calum says. “I would never take a hammer to a fire alarm, since I’m not a complete moron.”

“Hey!” Michael protests half-heartedly.

“Michael smashed the fire alarm,” Calum tells the group, and they laugh at that, too.

“Okay, well it wouldn’t shut up!”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t have,” Calum says, with a winning smile at Michael. Michael rolls his eyes fondly, moving to brush his hair away from his eyes. Calum resists the urge to do it himself, just for a chance to see Michael’s green eyes glitter the way they do whenever Calum does anything sweet. These days, the look is tinged with hesitance, so Calum doesn’t do it as often. “I see you’ve made the wine your bitch tonight.”

“Do you want me to get you a drink?” Michael asks.

Calum shakes his head. “Luke said he would.”

Ashton peeks his head around Michael. “You know where Luke is?”

“Right here!” Luke says brightly, showing up on cue with two glasses of wine. One he hands off to Calum, and from the other he takes a sip.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Ashton tells him.

“Well, you found me.”

“Well, good.” Ashton grins at him. “There’s someone I want to introduce you to, come with me. See you two later!”

Calum and Michael wave as Ashton pulls a dimly protesting Luke away to some other part of the room. The crowd has dispersed now that Michael’s no longer speaking, and Michael looks at Calum and smiles.

“I’m happy you’re here,” he says.

Calum returns the look. “I’m happy I came.” The weight of the unread emails, all the correspondence he needs to get to, all the people asking things of him, sits heavy on his chest, but he forces the thought out of his mind. Michael wants him to be present, and Calum is going to be present. He’s done a bad enough job as it is.

“Michael, hey,” says someone, and Calum turns to see two people approaching, both dressed nicely. Michael waves amiably.

“Oh, Calum, this is my boss Alex Gaskarth and his husband Jack,” he says. “Alex, Jack — my boyfriend Calum.”

“Finally, the boyfriend Calum!” Alex says, holding out his hand to shake. Calum accepts. “I don’t think there’s a single recorded moment of company time where Michael isn’t talking about you, so it’s nice to put a face to the name.”

“You know, that’s so funny,” Calum says. “I was going to say the same to you.”

Alex laughs. Calum decides to like Michael’s boss, although he’d already kind of decided that the day Michael came home gushing with the story of his promotion and the way Alex had watched him burst into tears in surprise and then patted him on the back until he’d calmed down, without telling anyone.

“Cal, would you mind —” Michael holds out his empty glass of wine, a hopeful smile across his face. Calum sighs.

“If I must,” he says.

“That’s it,” Jack says. “Put the boyfriend to work. If he’s not working for us I have to assume he’s a slacker.”

“Jack, you don’t work for me,” Calum hears from Alex as he makes his way to the kitchen. He snickers.

The kitchen is calm and quiet, except for a few murmured conversations in corners. Calum uncorks the wine and fills Michael’s glass. After a moment’s thought, he drains his own glass, then immediately refills it. In the safety of the kitchen, Calum is sorely tempted to check his messages. There’s probably something urgent in there, something that can’t wait for this party to end — someone waiting on an immediate response, or requesting advice that won’t be pertinent anymore tomorrow. Calum’s supposed to be responsible. He’s expected to deliver. And Michael won’t know, because Michael is chatting up his boss.

But even as his fingers itch to check his screen he sighs, takes a swig of his wine, and steels his resolve.

Michael said no checking his phone. Whoever needs Calum can wait. If it’s that urgent, they shouldn’t be asking Calum anyway, not on a night he specifically explained he’d be needing time away for.

This is the least Calum can do. He owes it to Michael. And, quite frankly, he owes it to himself. It’s possible that work stuff is starting to take over his life, and equally possible that Calum should start trimming down the amount of time he’s actually expected to be on-call.

Slowly he makes his way between people in conversations until he finds Michael again, mid-conversation with Alex about stuff that sounds very businesslike.

Calum kisses his shoulder as a greeting, holding out the wine glass, and Michael ignores the kiss, though he takes the wine. Jack smiles cheekily at that. Calum wraps his arms around Michael’s neck from behind and kisses him again between his shoulder and neck, then on the back of his neck, then just underneath his ear.

“Calum,” Michael says distractedly, turning to face Calum. “I’m in the middle of —”

“Don’t let me stop you,” Calum says sweetly. “By all means.”

Alex grins like this is funny to him. “Yeah, by all means, Michael.”

Michael huffs. “I was saying — I figured there had to be a faster way to move the files, right?” Calum presses a kiss to his temple, then moves his head to the other side of Michael’s face and continues down that way. Jack’s grin grows. So does Alex’s. “The file transfer protocol we usually use was crashing, so I was doing everything by hand, which — Calum!”

Calum stalls in the middle of kissing Michael on the corner of his mouth — a feat in and of itself, because Calum really isn’t tall enough to reach that far, but not for lack of trying. The wine in his glass sloshes dangerously. Possibly Calum should drink it.

“Yes?” Calum asks innocently.

Michael shakes his head. “You’re impossible. I’m so sorry about him,” he tells Alex and Jack. Jack gives Calum a secret thumbs-up.

“No, it’s really fine,” Alex says. “If only my own husband loved me that much.”

Jack makes an offended noise. “I could assault you with kisses!”

“Not here,” Alex says, holding up a hand; Jack grabs the hand and immediately starts kissing each fingertip, and Michael snorts in laughter.

“Well, forget what I was saying,” Michael tells them. “It doesn’t matter. Long story short, there’s a new FTP on my computer. I think I’m going to go discipline Calum now.”

Calum pats Michael’s face, giving his boss and his boss’s husband a cheeky grin that Alex returns wryly. “Have fun,” Alex says. “Michael, we can talk later. Have fun tonight. It’s a party.”

“Yes sir,” Michael says, dry. Then he turns and tugs Calum away, Calum waving a farewell as they go.

“What has gotten into you?” he asks the moment the door shuts behind them. Calum glances around them at the overly neat bedroom — probably a guest room — and furrows his brow.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m trying to talk to my boss and you’re, like,” Michael makes a helpless gesture.

Calum frowns. “They thought it was cute. And I was trying to remind you that I love you the most out of anyone ever.”

Michael, in his move of the evening, shakes his head. “By distracting me in the middle of a conversation?”

“Okay,” Calum admits. “In hindsight, not my best move, but it did get you alone.”

“This is my boss’s house,” Michael says. “We are not fooling around in my boss’s house. At a work party.”

“Mhm,” Calum says, stepping closer. “You know, now that I think about it, your hair actually looks too neat. Probably best to mess it up a little.”

“Calum,” Michael says exasperatedly, with an obviously fond undertone. “Come on. What are you doing?”

Calum smoothes the front of Michael’s shirt and sighs. “I just…I know I’ve been bad at, like, being your boyfriend recently.”

“You haven’t,” Michael says immediately.

“I have,” Calum insists. “I know I have. And I’m sorry. I’m trying to be better about it, but I don’t want you to think I love you any less or anything like that. I have a lot on my plate, but that’s no excuse.”

“Calum.”

“You knock me out,” Calum says softly. “All the time. Every single day. I’m the luckiest guy at this party. I’m the luckiest guy in the whole fucking world.”

“Not as lucky as I am,” Michael answers, one hand cupping Calum’s face. “Look, I’m not going to say you haven’t been distant, because you have, but I get it. You’re dealing with a lot of work stuff. I’ve been there. The important thing is that you’re trying.”

“I’m trying,” Calum affirms. “But I could be trying harder. Mikey, come on. You act like you miss me when I’m in the same room as you.”

Michael winces. “It’s been a hard year for you. I know you can’t always be with me. You can’t always be paying attention to me. I’m not the only thing in your life.”

“I’m listening to you,” Calum swears, because he is, when it matters. Out of every voice in the world, Michael’s is the only one Calum would willingly hear day in and day out. “I’m paying attention to the important stuff. Every day I get to notice all the things I fell in love with you for, and I fall in love with you again.”

Michael exhales. “I could be more patient with you. It takes two, you know.”

“Well, nobody said we’re perfect.” Calum smiles and pulls Michael in for a kiss, what he realizes is their first of the evening, not counting the attack leveled against Michael, minutes prior. The tang of red wine is on Michael’s lips, and when they break apart he’s blushing, this time from the kiss and not from the drink. Calum can tell the difference, somehow.

“I think you’re perfect,” Michael whispers.

Calum breathes a laugh. “Well, I know you’re perfect.”

“Mathematically,” Michael says, “I think that should mean we’re perfect together.”

“Don’t bring math into this.”

Michael laughs, crowds another kiss onto Calum’s mouth, and is smiling as he pulls away. “Okay. Back to the party. Together.”

“Together,” Calum agrees, and the word sits comfortably on his tongue. An idea is starting to form in his mind, just bits and pieces, but it involves a gleaming ring and the words I do and Calum suddenly, violently wonders if he has to keep it under wraps, because Michael could ask him right now and Calum would say I do and mean it in his bones.

#very vaguely employed by office jobs calum and michael #michael clifford #calum hood #malum #malum fic #5sos #5sos fic #fic #my fic #i actually think i worked in every like piece of notice EXCEPT the beach sunset line sadly #it just wouldn't have fit #unless id made the fic a bit longer which i did not feel like doing #jalex cameo!!#and my frustration with file transfer protocols <3 #pixiegrl #ask #answered

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archivingspn · 4 years ago

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The Essential Supernatural [Revised and Updated Edition]: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester

URBAN NIGHTMARES: CREATING SUPERNATURAL (...) “I had a really good relationship with Warner Bros., "Kripke says. "They really appreciated how hard I worked on Tarzan, and I loved working with them. They said, 'What are you passionate about?' So I pitched them my [TV series] idea." Only, the pitch wasn't Supernatural as we now know it; it focused on a reporter who investigated urban legends. Warner Bros. still didn't bite, but they asked him if he had anything else. Fortunately, Kripke had an alternate approach prepared.

He pitched them the same idea, this time saying the TV show would revolve around two brothers cruising the country on a road trip. And this time Warner Bros. bit.(...) (...) Kripke used the tagline "Star Wars and Truck Stop America" to shorthand the show. "Who wouldn't want to watch Han Solo and Luke Skywalker with chain saws in the trunk?" he asks rhetorically. The idea of having heroes who traveled Route 66 and “Truck Stop America" appealed to Kripke's personal sensibilities. "Small towns, blue-collar lifestyles, greasy diners, dive bars, beer, and cheeseburgers are the things I understand," he says, referring to his roots in Toledo, Ohio. But what's a road trip without great tunes? To Kripke, that means classic rock blaring as loud as possible while speeding down two-lane roads that stretch into infinity. "There's something so mythic, so American, about that, and that's the energy I wanted the show to have." He was adamant that the show should have an "ass-kicking soundtrack."

Yet none of that would matter if they didn't find actors with the charisma of Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill. Especially since Supernatural only has two leads. Jensen Ackles read for the role of Sam Winchester first, but it quickly became clear that he suited the devil-may-care attitude of Dean perfectly. "Jensen's as charismatic in real life) as he is on-screen," enthuses Kripke. Then in came Jared Padalecki, and he was Sam Winchester. "Jared's just so likeable, Kripke explains. As soon as they got the two Texan actors together, the camaraderie and chemistry was unmistakable. Ackles and Padalecki were everyone's first choice. "They're truly good, smart, down-to-earth guys,” says Kripke, “and the bond that they have on camera is the bond they have off camera.” (...) [14-15 pg]

LEADING THE WAY: JARED PADALECKI “Like Sam, I have an older brother," notes Jared Padalecki. “And Jensen has a brother, too, so we were both comfortable with that brotherly dynamic from the start. We're both Texans, as well. Jensen's laid back; he's a pretty relaxed guy. He and I just hit it off pretty quickly, really.” It's a good thing, too, since as the only two leads on Supernatural, they were destined to work together pretty much all the time.

Padalecki explains, “There were no other series regulars, which I've never heard of. Usually he and I —or if not both of us, then one of us— are working all day every day, which is really intense." That actually strengthened the actors' bond because, as Padalecki relates, “We knew we were both in this together.” (...) The show's irreverent humor has helped ensure its continued success, and Padalecki is now going into his eighth season as Sam Winchester. “The show has changed so much," he reflects. “Jensen and I have grown up! It's been a growing process for everybody. The writers have paid attention to our portrayal of the characters over the years and have written to how we play them. Working with everyone on the show, all the writers, producers, and crew, has been a nice collaborative effort. It’s like we all got on this winding road together and we just keep following it." [16-17 pg]

AN ANGEL NAMED CASTIEL Angel. Soldier of God. Defender of humans. Castiel is all these things and more, and from his very first appearance, he has established himself as one of the most powerful and intriguing figures to enter the Winchesters' lives. His powers are vast, proven from the beginning when he pulled Dean out of the very depths of Hell to once again walk the Earth and fulfill his mission to stop the impending Apocalypse. He can also travel to the past, become invisible to humans, incinerate monsters, and smite demons with a simple touch. In the Winchesters’ fight against evil, Castiel is an invaluable ally.

But he is not without his flaws. His bond with Dean and his affection for humans makes him weak in the eyes of other angels, and eventually his devastation at being unable to find the missing God leads him to form an unholy alliance with the Crossroads Demon, Crowley. While these all have consequences that affect both him and those around him, Castiel touchingly proves himself a little bit human along the way. Until he declares himself the new God, however, and destroys anyone—and anything—that stands in his way.

His newfound status, however, comes at a price: in addition to absorbing all the souls from Purgatory to form a new angelic army loyal only to him, Castiel absorbs the ancient and incredibly [99 pg]

A GUIDE TO ANGELS "The angel mythology really expanded and improved on the show, but we were not sure when we introduced them whether the angel storyline was going to work," admits creator Eric Kripke. "If we'd cast the wrong person in the Castiel role, it might not have worked. We might have tried it and abandoned it! I really give Misha Collins the lion's share of the credit for saving the angel mythology." (...) [101 pg]

The Word On Season 10 (...) Supernatural's landmark tenth season parallels the launch of this revised edition. After nine seasons of playing Sam and Dean Winchester, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles still remain true to their characters and make the show feel as fresh and exciting as when they first hit the road to begin their long battle against evil. For Jensen Ackles, the reason Supernatural remains at the top of its game is relatively straightforward: "It's a show about monsters, about ghosts, about archetypical characters and crazy storylines, but what it boils down to is a show about brothers and their struggles together and apart. People may not identify with our stories, but they can with that relationship."

That relationship is one that has kept viewers glued to their screens for nine seasons and will keep them coming back for more with season 10. Supernatural's avid and loyal fans are part of the reason the show has been so successful, and everyone behind and in front of the cameras is keenly aware and appreciative of this fact. As Jared Padalecki says, “Our show is about a kind of large dysfunctional family. And that extends to our fans. We are not kidding when we tell them, 'Y'all are a part of our show. We've made episodes about you.’" It's that love and appreciation that makes the show so unique and special, and it's why viewers will watch for as long as new episodes are created. Each new season adds greater depth and layers to the overall story of Sam and Dean Winchester, and it looks as though viewers will get to enjoy Supernatural for many more years to come. But when it does come time for an end, how do its two stars feel about their characters' fates?

"They're not going to walk away saying, 'Cool, we got all the monsters—we're going to Hawaii.' The only way I'd be happy for the show to end is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid-style," says Padalecki. Ackles adds his own hopes for how the show should end: "They go out in a blaze of glory! I want the heartbreaker ending. The great thing about these characters is that they'll fight to the end.”

Here's hoping that end is still a long way off. [217 pg]

#2014-Oct #2014:October28 #*SMT #*BOG #*codependency #*CCTOF #*destiel #c/m saved the show #Eric Kripke #Jared Padalecki #author: Nicholas Knight #The Essential Supernatural Revised and Updated: On the Road with Sam and Dean Winchester #*books

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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F9 Review: Boldly Going Where No Fast and Furious Has Gone Before

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Fast and the Furious movies really are the strangest phenomenon in blockbusters. Once borne out of the humblest of origins—the first film is about stealing DVD players!—the series has mutated time and again into a pseudo-heist franchise, a pseudo-spy franchise, and now with F9 a pseudo-cartoon franchise.

To be clear, I do not mean this as a criticism or compliment. It’s merely an observation that the espionage thrills in Vin Diesel’s latest joy ride resemble less a 007 flick than what a child might imagine a 007 flick to be before they’ve seen one. If you asked the wee version of myself, who was raised on reruns of G.I. Joe and James Bond Jr., what Bond movies were like, I might say they’re where the bad guy has a giant magnet that catches his Mustang in the air after driving off a cliff, and the good guy then swings his car from a rope like it’s Tarzan.

And you know what? All of that is fine. In the hands of director Justin Lin—who returns for the first time since Fast & Furious 6 to the franchise he saved from direct-to-video doom—it’s even better than fine. It’s the exact kind of lunacy you want from a movie with “9” in the title. This really might be the most asinine movie yet in the series in terms of character motivations and set pieces, but it commits to its madness with such earnest conviction that, like a kid watching their Saturday morning stories, fans will be enraptured by the way Diesel mumbles “family”—plus there’s that Spider-Man car.

The airbrushed theme of family is heightened to soap operatic degrees this time, as well, since the big heavy of F9 turns out to be Jakob (John Cena), the little brother you don’t know Dom Toretto had. The story begins with a flashback to 1989, dramatizing the day Dom’s father died. It turns out Papa was a Formula 1 driver, and young Dom and Jakob were his grease monkeys. But maybe Dad shouldn’t have kept it in the family because he soon dies in a fiery crash, and Dom and Jakob will quickly lose each other in the fallout.

Cut to 2021, and Dom is living his best life in retirement with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his infant son. However, the Family with a capital F soon shows up, revealing their arch-nemesis Cypher (Charlize Theron) has returned. As the woman who murdered the mother of Dom’s child, the paterfamilia is also not ready to invite her to the cookout. Yet things get worse once Dom learns she’s partnered with a high-performance rogue spy named… Jakob Toretto. It’s time for another “one last ride,” and this one will see the family destroy major streets and sidewalks in London, Edinburgh, and Tokyo, plus be rocked by the shocking twist that Han Seoul-Oh (Sung Kang) is back from the dead. Oh, and did I mention the Pontiac Fiero they’re trying to launch into space?

As the ninth movie in a franchise which has seen Diesel drive convertibles between skyscrapers, the late Paul Walker pilot a car out of a moving plane, and Dwayne Johnson once single-handedly catch and redirect a torpedo, F9 still somehow boldly goes where no Fast and Furious movie has gone before. It even leaves one wondering if those weird Fast and Furious and Jurassic World crossover rumors are true, because there are now few absurdities left for these goofy movies to exploit.

Luckily, unlike the bland The Fate of the Furious (F8) or the deadly dull Hobbs & Shaw spinoff, F9 feels like a revival. For the first time since Walker’s Brian “left,” the series is doing more than spinning its wheels. F9 is just as dumb as you think it is, but Lin is able to resurrect the series’ perverse sense of sincerity.

At nearly two and a half hours, F9 is the longest film in the series, but the thing handles surprisingly smoothly. This is partially because with a franchise this convoluted, Lin can rely liberally on the nostalgia of seeing old faces pop up again—they even shoehorn Gal Gadot’s deceased Gisele via flashback. But it’s also due to Lin, more than any other director who’s worked on these movies, balancing the tonal whiplash between melodrama and cartoon histrionics. Somehow his approach finds the precise formula for devoting equal horsepower to Dom and Jakob’ soapy showdowns and the wackiness that comes with shooting a Pontiac into orbit.

It’s a strange alchemy between the stupid and sweet that goes a long way in stringing the set pieces together. Also, since many of those action scenes unmistakably (and regrettably) occur inside computers, the addition of Cena as Diesel’s new foil is a boon for the series. With Dwayne Johnson unlikely to ever return as Luke Hobbs in the mainline movies, the franchise is in desperate neefor an injection of charisma from anywhere—seriously, it’s eerie to see young Dom played with a pulse by Vinnie Bennett—and Cena is more than capable of providing a pick-me-up. Theron is also still on hand to steal the movie during her handful of scenes, including by throwing the shadiest insult I’ve heard in years.

At the end of the day, F9 probably doesn’t need to exist. It’s ridiculous, silly, and often nonsensical. Yet in an era where all Hollywood franchises are endless, and many of them rely on sitcom levels of self-deprecation to justify their returns, the wide-eyed earnestness that F9 brings back, and the willingness to commit to fervent paeans about “family” and “honor,” makes for an irresistible charm offensive. You want to go to their barbecue, and hell, see them probably time travel back to the Old West or the Cretaceous period in the next film. Bring on “Back to the Furious.”

F9 opens only in theaters on Friday, June 25.

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