#the fact that that issue starts with tim just. taking the biggest shit. not to be a child but its always gonna be funny | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bigskydreaming · 4 years ago

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Tom is already rehashing some things, like too many homages to the nineties run, Zucco's daughter plot point, Beatrice had ideas for societal reform he's taking that and giving it to Dick. It'll probably be half hearted, but it stings that Beatrice left just a few issues ago and she's already completely forgotten for the sake of DickBabs or a love triangle.

Like the thing about the nineties runs is I mean, as much flack as we give various elements of them, there’s so much from that time period that was good? Great, even! Just....myself and the writers seem to have very different opinions on what the most interesting elements of the nineties comics were, oh well.

And omgggggg I’m still so mad about Bea, and its literally Shawn Tsang all over again. The writers keep introducing new, interesting characters, investing just enough time and focus into them to have us interested in them and wanting to see more.....and then they toss them aside to go back to drawing from the same well as always.

And the thing is, this isn’t even about me not really being a Dick/Babs shipper, because honestly, I’m not enjoying the Dick/Kory stuff in what I’ve seen of Titans Academy either, and for the exact same reason:

When they create new characters like Shawn and Bea, they KNOW they’re starting from scratch and need to build interest in those characters from the ground up. So they’re forced to put their best foot forward. There’s no short cut there, if you want people to care about a brand new character you have to give them REASONS to care. You have to make those characters likable, you have to make people WANT to root for them, you have to hook them with intriguing backstories that don’t feel formulaic and new angles that don’t feel just derivative of older characters, and that’s how we got stuff like Shawn’s history as a former sidekick to a villain and now running a support group for rogues trying to turn their lives around, and Bea’s work in societal reform.

But then the second they stop having the patience to build the new characters up enough that the interest in them can actually start to reach the levels that lets older characters last and grants longevity....they just toss them aside and move on....except they never really move on, just backwards. Because the problem with so MANY superhero couples, far from just Dick and Babs or Dick and Kory, is just....how lazy it seems to make so many canon writers. They just fall back on rehashing the same old tropes and just updating popular moments that resonated with fans in the past, now just recreated with a slightly more modern twist but without ever really being anything new.

Even with ships that I’ve never really been sold on in the past like Dick/Babs, I’ve always said, there’s usually nothing stopping me from GAINING interest in them.....its just....the writers have to GIVE ME A REASON TO. And so many of DC’s writers just aren’t even trying. They’re just moving parts around and pushing characters together in various arrangements like everyone’s just a puzzle piece that you can mix and match however you want......and then just basically expecting readers to be interested purely because of who the characters are, or because it hinges on a nice moment that they then milk the hell out of without ever expanding that into building actual STORY around these moments but rather just squeezing each one til they get everything they possibly can out of it and moving on to the next as though its all just about chasing the next soundbite...because it is! LOL.

And honestly, this problem extends far beyond just the Nightwing title or the Batfam or Taylor’s run or writing in particular.....its a company wide issue right now. In fact I would bet just about anything that its a matter of editorial edict, that even before Taylor started his run DC said okay here’s the approach we want everyone taking with their stories right now:

And that’s like.....its all about banking on nostalgia and the comfort of the familiar right now. I think Taylor is drawing all these elements straight from the 90s Nightwing comics, like Blockbuster and Dick having been a cop, etc, because these are the elements of past Nightwing stories that are so well known. Its the same reasoning behind why they put Tim back as Robin and so many of their new characters are just new spins on old faves like Punchline and Harley Quinn, and why they’re pushing all these older ships that haven’t been together in ages and why specific team lineups are reappearing....its because nostalgia is the name of the game for DC right now, and all their writers are just pulling together threads of classic stories that have stood the test of time, figuring anything that landed particularly well with fans in the past will sell with people here and now, and weaving these threads together and brushing over them with a modern social issues veneer.

As an approach, its basically all just about repackaging previously successful story moments and elements with just enough changes or in just new enough a configuration that readers aren’t likely to complain en masse that like “hey we literally already read all this. We’ve already BOUGHT these issues. When we were kids.” Its minimizing creative risk while maximizing monetary profit. Spend as little creative capital as possible outside of anything that’s already been successful in the past and as such is a relatively proven quantity, instead of testing new material that’s an unknown and runs the risk of falling flat and thus not being profitable.

And see, I’d almost guarantee that all THAT, that whole line-wide approach to DC’s storytelling, is because the powers that be looked at the last several years of stories and how many of THEM fell flat with readers, and decided that the problem was they’d BEEN trying too much new stuff and readers just didn’t like it. Because they WERE concentrating on presenting totally new stories and building up new ideas throughout their books.....but readers have been pretty vocal for years now about being disenchanted with most of DC’s major stories. And so DC I think looked at that and came to the conclusion that okay, people just don’t want new right now, they want the familiar.

But like.....DC’s problem IMO was never that they were trying new stuff? The reason so much of their new and original storylines weren’t gaining traction or bringing in readers and kept shedding old readers had absolutely NOTHING to do with them being new and previously unseen storylines, which makes falling back on nostalgia very much a non-solution to entirely the wrong problem.

No, DC’s problem for years has been that they’ve been all about spectacle instead of story. There’s ZERO emotional pay-off to any of their biggest plot twists or character beats, and emotion is LITERALLY what people read stories for. Its all about racing to the climactic action packed finish of every storyline and then immediately resetting everyone back to square one and jumping straight into the next big story, without ever giving the events of any of their stories time or reason to MATTER to the characters.....and if they don’t matter to the characters, our proxies that we’re viewing these stories through, then why should any of it matter to us? Why should any of it linger, dig in roots, resonate with us as moments that left an impact and that we accordingly want more of?

And again, like because I’m a Dick Grayson focused blog I’ve obviously largely been focused on how much I dislike the SPECIFIC reactions or non-reactions to so many of the major beats in his stories.....but it was spread throughout their entire line.

Bruce and Selina almost got married....but why should anyone care outside of Tom King’s title when nobody else seems to, no other characters feel anything about this, and Bruce in none of his other appearances seems the same as ever without any reminder that he just almost got married but then didn’t.....and if the characters don’t ever seem to be affected by or feeling a need to revisit or reflect on recent stories, why should we bother remembering them either?

Jason was dramatically and fucked-upily (yes its a word, I totally looked it up and everything) exiled from Gotham....and then all of that is undone in a single issue with one low-stakes awkward conversation between him and Bruce. Damian quits as Robin and goes off the map and everyone in his family is like “hey don’t we have a littler brother, I feel like we did maybe” for one panel per story arc, and that’s it. Roy’s back from the dead and everybody’s like oh hey cool instead of the kind of return we used to get like when Donna came back and everyone was like oh shit, this MATTERS, because we MISSED you....just like Dick’s death never mattered to anyone but fans of his character because much like I was just saying earlier with them not really giving me a reason TO emotionally invest in Dick and Babs’ relationship if I wasn’t already, same thing with the aftermath of Forever Evil. They didn’t give anyone else reason to emotionally invest in that as something that HAPPENED to Dick and that he was AFFECTED by....because the writers didn’t bother writing him as all that affected by it and it was just like oh he’s a spy now, all that was last year’s content, we’ve moved on, keep up.

And on and on it goes. Ric Grayson was the same problem all over again. Rinse and repeat down the line with everyone from Wally to Donna and etc etc etc.

THAT’S why DC’s stories have been falling flat. It has nothing to do with people not being interested in new ideas, characters or directions, its that’s ALL they were giving us, but it was like just reading wiki summaries of events just alongside pretty art, but no real emotional weight or substance to anything we were reading....and thus, literally nothing that we couldn’t get much the same outcome from if we just...stuck to reading wiki summaries after the stories were over, with no real need to follow along with them. For years most fans have basically just been about keeping up to date with changes in the characters’ lives, but without feeling any real need to watch those changes unfold and play out.

And so honestly I worry we’re just gonna be subjected to a company wide rehashing of old and familiar storylines, directions and character beats, but repackaged and delivered in the exact same way DC was delivering us their new stories and ideas these past years....and its basically going to have the same results, because its the same problem. They didn’t actually fix anything by switching gears, they just shuffled around the actual issue.

And DC’s just gonna be like well now wtf are we doing wrong, we were so sure this would work, everyone LOVES nostalgia right? Did we pick the wrong stories and character beats to bring back?

When really its like......it honestly doesn’t matter WHICH stories and beats they rehash, because its not about them picking the ‘right ones,’ the real keepers, the stories that everyone really WAS eager to see brought back or made new again.....

Its about like, the only reason any of those stories or beats or dynamics stood the test of time and are still familiar and well-known....is because the stories AROUND those moments and ideas gave us reason to emotionally invest in them and retain them as crucial to our view of the characters and things that would resonate and stay with us for a long time.

It was never that any of those ideas or stories were just so innately brilliant that they couldn’t help BUT linger in the overall reader consciousness...it was the fact that we CARED about what happened in those moments and stories.

*Shrugs* But I mean hey, what do I know? I’m just a dude on the internet lolol.

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peeterparkr · 4 years ago

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perfidy;tom holland|14

chapter 14: the side-stories

enemies to lovers au/enemies with benefits

chapter summary: harry, tim, the oh shit moments and the ice cream.

pairing: tom holland x y/n

warnings: swearing, alcohol mention, smut mention, angsty (?)

word count: 8k

here’s a playlist

and here’s another one

and here’s another one inspired by 1D

social media before you read (IMPORTANT FOR THE CHAPTER) :

before boarding: Haz wants free breakfast, Tim reaches out, and James gets protective

On flight : Tom joins a club, y/n tweets from the sky and Emma reaches out

previous chapter next chapter series masterlist wanna be tagged?

So, the chapter came earlier because I had time and inspo and because I really wanted to get to this chapter already. Anyway, huge thanks to @hxpeysuenxs for helping me out to get my ideas straight and also... PLEASE!

Go read ‘the moment’ by @jambrosemc it’s a spinoff which I consider canon for Tim and y/n’s relationship.

In movies they always manage a “meet-cute” moment, you know the guy who's walking his dog and the dog runs off to the girl of his dreams, or the clumsy— why is she always clumsy?—The clumsy girl who accidentally spills coffee on the guy and then he immediately falls in love with her. Stupid and cliché but they never fail. The repetitive script that we all know and adore.

The guy who ends up with the girl, the girl who’s always so different from the rest. The girl who gives up her dream for a guy. You know, those incredible moments at airports when she runs to him and he declares his love, or he stops traffic or… any kind of cute crap we all know and adore. Those breathtaking moments.

The movies, however, never show the “oh shit” moments, the moments when you realize that you’re way deep in love with them. The moment when you know that there’s no going back. The moment when you feel like you’re screwed.

Harry knew of those. Especially of the ‘oh shit’ moment, he’d had it with Y/N, when she’d turned 16. He remembered it, she had only started dating that idiot, Louis. Complete idiot, but y/n didn’t realize it until he dumped her hours before prom, but we already know that story.

But when she turned 16, Louis had thrown her a party, under the … stars and the sea? It didn’t make any sense, not for y/n’s style. But Harry had taken her out after the party, to this café. And after hours and hours of talking and laughing. He remembered seeing y/n look outside, at the cars, and then chuckle to herself. And Harry thought she was the most beautiful girl he would ever see, with the most melodic laugh the most perfect smile.

And that’s when Harry thought: “Oh, shit.”

Harry also knew of the typical “meet-cute”, he’d heard of one and he’d lived one. Which wasn’t exactly how they’d met but… how one of them had realized of the existence of the other.

Timmy and y/n had had one, long before they officially met. Harry had heard from Tim how he’d “met her” long before they’d met, the meet cute turned into the ‘oh shit’.

Tim had already seen her, they had a class together, and the way Timmy described it, Harry knew it. Tim was perfect for y/n.

“She’d walked in, 16 minutes late to the lecture, she didn’t even have to explain what had happened. Her head was soaking from the rain, she was carrying like twenty bags and she was holding her car keys, to the convertible, now I know exactly what happened….and she’d bit her lip and tried to quietly make her way to the back, and she failed because she dropped everything, and I remember seeing her, stare at her stuff, scoff and then she cursed under her breath, pulled out her soaking notebook and glared at me because I laughed. And I thought she hated me, but I just—I saw a main character, you know? She literally just—God, she looked so pretty. And I thought oh, shit, I don’t even know her and I’m already in love with her.”

They were probably each other’s endgame, and Harry knew that. How difficult it had been for him to finally accept it when they had initially started dating.

But Harry wasn’t bitter about it, because Harry had seen y/n’s light turn off before Timmy. And slowly Timmy had brought y/n back from the death, if that made any sense at all. Y/N smiled again with Timmy, and she would laugh again and she would be herself, and that’s all Harry cared about.

Harry knew that y/n’s sudden downfall had all to do with Tom, even though his brother never addressed that matter. Harry was completely sure that Tom and Y/N would always have unresolved issues because even if Harry didn’t like to admit it to himself, Tom and Y/N made sense, in the most stupid way they could. Even if they didn’t. Such a complicated relationship that Harry knew was only a redundant way to cover up for the fact that they probably both loved each other. Yes, Harry was not dumb and he knew Tom probably had always reciprocated y/n’s feelings. In his own particular way.

It’s easy, when you’re in love with someone you see who else is, because you’re observant, because you know how it feels. Harry wasn’t observant but he knew his brother too well not to notice that Tom practically drooled every time y/n would walk into the room.

No, Harry wasn’t stupid. But Harry had probably been the only one who knew. Or he thought so.

He was very conflicted about Tom, because sometimes it genuinely seemed like y/n was his biggest enemy and that Tom was actually trying to destroy her. But there were other times when Tom wasn’t as good to hide up the fact that y/n made him blush.

Our bodies never help us to hide up our feelings, no matter how good we think we are at hiding it and no matter how good of an actor he was. We all get weak. Specially when we are in love, it seems to be the best way to tumble down our walls.

The eyes, Chico, they never lie. And Tom’s eyes didn’t lie. Whether he said he hated y/n or not, Tom’s gaze was only for y/n.

“Y/N only likes me because I’m a movie star,” Tom said once.

But Harry didn’t stomach why Tom had never understood how y/n had loved him way long before he even considered being an actor. She’d said to Harry after Tom had gone to prom with her, how she also quite could figure it out.

Harry remembered how Tom had broken her heart back then, he’d just been cast as Spiderman.

“Congratulations, you now get to say Spiderman took you to prom.”

Harry knew Tom and Y/N had kissed back then.

“I think it’s funny how Tom always forgets I loved him before he turned into whatever he is today.”

Tom often did forget that. Tom often forgot that y/n had loved him for a long while now. And he couldn’t really understand why his brother would continuously rip y/n’s heart apart. And why did she choose Tom over the course of the years? Harry had been right beside her, always. But he never said anything.

Harry had almost told her how he felt before she left for Rome. He hadn’t, but he thought that she knew it.

And it had almost happened.

Y/N was almost finished packing, she was roaming around the room.

“I mean it’s the whole summer,” she explained.

“But you’re gonna wash your clothes, y/n,” Harry laughed. “Hey, what if we—take a break? You know, let’s order a pizza or something and then we will come back and finish with all this mess.”

Y/N didn’t hesitate twice.

Harry barely remembered how it happened, they’d ended up on the couch. Like any other night, it wasn’t special, it was just another rainy night in London. The lights went out after a lightning stroke, and y/n only jumped to his arms.

Harry held her close, and she only hugged him back. This wasn’t weird, y/n was affectionate but of course, Harry somehow felt it was his last chance.

He only stared deep into her eyes, and she sensed it. His eyes travelled down to her lips, and they stayed quiet, for a bit. Harry hesitated on whether he should make a move or not. He only leaned in slightly, and her gaze was scared, but she was leaning over, too. But maybe they had been tired, or maybe it had been the moment. But both of them knew it was wrong, and both of them pulled away before they could even get closer. She stood up quickly, out of his grasp.

“Uh, I’ll… I’ll continue packing, sorry, I uh…” She didn’t say anything. “No…”

“I’m sorry… I yeah, let’s get to packing--”

And they had, so vigorously ignoring what just had happened.

“Y/N about what happened-” Harry had said before he left her apartment.

“We will talk when I come back.”

But they hadn’t.

Harry had noticed about three years ago just after she’d come back from Rome, how y/n’s eyes would brighten up even more each time Tom smiled, and how Tom would stop to listen whenever y/n spoke. Harry didn’t mind if they were dating.

Not really.

Though it was a burden to bear, the reminiscent smiles were only a hint for it.

Of course he’d be heartbroken, we can’t control our emotions and feelings. But he’d be happy because if anything, Harry cared too much for his brother. And he genuinely loved y/n too much to impede her from being happy.

And Harry himself had always been skeptical about his own feelings towards y/n. Had it been only a whim caused by a stupid childhood crush? No, it was love.

It was love. There is nothing more painful than to love and know you’ll never be loved back.

But he had accepted y/n and Tom were secretly dating back then, or whatever they were doing. Big was his surprise when they’d seen each other at the club.

Which brings us to our meet-cute, going back to y/n and Timothee.

Harry perfectly remembered how that night had gone, and he knew y/n, and he knew Tom. And Harry wanted an answer, if there was anything that Harry hated was the fact that Tom never admitted it. Why didn’t he?

Or was Harry too dumb and too jealous and blaming the fact that y/n didn’t love him back that he had made himself think that Tom loved her too?

Maybe Tom had never loved her.

But he’d seen y/n fade away that night, he had seen how happiness had left her body. Harry could swear he had heard y/n’s heart shatter on that nightclub when Tom was kissing that pink shirt.

And it wasn’t like this was the first time Tom broke her heart. He’d seen it again, and again, and again. And he’d seen how y/n would only take a deep breath, look away, and ignore the usual cold tear shedding. Harry would always silently offer his shoulder.

But that night, he hadn’t. And he wondered what could’ve happened if he had. Timmy had made her smile even at that precise moment when y/n’s heart had broken into pieces. That’s how incredible Timmy was. Even in the darkest time, Timmy had made y/n smile.

And Harry remembered wanting to fight Tom the very next day, without addressing what was really going on. He only wanted to kick his brother's ass and tell him off for breaking y/n’s heart again, but he hadn’t. Because Harry himself didn’t understand it, if they had been dating why had Tom so deliberately crushed her heart?

That’s what Harry never understood, why would anyone do that? Make them fall in love with you only so you could hurt them? And Harry had seen Tom do it again, and again. Gaining y/n’s trust only so he could break her, betray her in any possible way.

However, nobody had seen what had happened. Tom hadn’t gone home with that pink skirt, after y/n had left with Sam, Tom had drifted away from her, and then had left with Haz and Tuwaine.

Tom had only pulled an act to mess with y/n.

Harry had stayed with the other group, the one with Timmy and Emma. Emma… that was another story.

And the very next day, Harry had seen Tom with tears in his eyes in the kitchen, looking up and asking questions to the ceiling. Swearing to himself.

Harry didn’t talk to him initially, until he saw him coming back with yellow flowers. He seemed nervous.

“Tom, were you and y/n on a date?” Harry had asked him.

Tom watched him. “No.”

“Did she know that?” Asked Harry with venom.

“Yes.”

“Are you fucking sure?” Harry snapped. “You are very aware that she’s got feelings for you.”

Tom looked away. “Well she’s dumb,” Tom said. “She should clearly be in love with you instead.”

“That’s not what we are talking about,” Harry sassed. “Did she or did she not know that it wasn’t a date?”

“No.”

“What was it, then?” Harry asked. “And why did you buy her flowers?”

“How did—“

“Yellow flowers? She loves them.”

“I will go and apologize for making her believe that I could—I dunno.”

“Why do you insist on breaking her heart?” Harry wondered, “she’s—She’s the most amazing girl and you’re so fucking lucky that she loves you. Why would you insist on hurting her? She’s done nothing wrong to you, and her fucking biggest sin is that she loves you, and you did that? You think I didn’t see you? Strolling around giving her hope and making her fall in love with you? Go and tell her you don’t love her, because deep down she thinks you do, and she’s so stupid for believing that. But I swear Tom if you dare to keep that door open for her it’ll only get worse, let her be, and stop playing with her heart. Close that door forever.”

And he saw him leave and then come back, with a bag full of dirt. He saw him, kicking the couch, he heard him yelling and then he saw him, downing beer after beer.

Tom hadn’t spoken to anyone for a few days.

And then y/n hadn’t spoken to any of them for months, she barely answered his texts. She would cancel on their lunch, and she would blame it on school. He’d seen her on campus, without her smile and the usual sunshine that followed her. He’d try to reach out to her but she would back away.

But Harry saw someone there… Tim. Little by little he saw the green eyed fella walking with y/n more and more. And little by little, y/n’s sunshine was coming back.

He had seen her in the halls, walking with him. How Timmy would always make her smile, and blush. And Harry loved seeing that again.

Harry knew that they were probably made for each other. Initially, when Timothee had appeared he wasn’t as fond. You can never be too fond of someone who is also in love with the girl you’re in love with. But for Harry it was different.

For each and every rom-com he’d watched, for research purposes, he claimed, he had seen the perfect meet cute and the guy whom the girl is supposed to end with. And when Harry had once again heard y/n’s melodic laugh back, he knew Tim was her endgame.

And he decided that it was time to move on. And he had, exactly with his “meet cute”, Emma.

Emma had accidentally spilled her drink on Harry. And Harry would be lying if he ever said there wasn’t a strike of electricity when he’d looked into her eyes, like in movies, when the guy meets the girl.

Emma.

Who initially wasn’t fond of y/n, because of course, the girl didn’t even look at her best friend, and there was Timmy, all smitten with her. But Emma had become the perfect friend y/n could ask for.

And the perfect girl Harry could never imagine.

Emma had told him a lot about Timothee.

“It's amazing we bumped into you guys that night, Timmy here had always had a crush on the girl with the cute jeans and dirty sneakers.”

And he fell in love with Emma as an accident. He hadn’t planned it, and neither did Emma. Because it all started as two people hanging out because their respective best friends were in a relationship. Not because they had to, because they had wanted to. And they started to hang out, and Harry knew it, it had been one night under the stars, when Harry knew he was finally over y/n.

And it was great. Until… y/n broke up with Timmy. Old feelings resurfaced. But when it occurred, Harry remembered how she had walked in, around New Years.

He remembered how conflicted he’d been, trying to hold her hand, and how he had briefly opened his heart to her, but it hadn’t felt right. He knew it, he was over her. And though it hurt seeing her like this, he didn’t… feel the same. All he could think about when y/n was crying on her shoulder was Emma. And y/n had become a bittersweet song, an undermining memory.

Emma was an accident, and she’d changed all of Harry’s plans. Initially, she had become a distraction, from whatever Harry was doing at the time, but slowly she dug her way into his heart. Emma was someone Harry would’ve never thought he’d fall in love with, but she was someone who now he never wanted to lose. That’s why he had proposed.

But he had been… conflicted. When Emma told him she’d ask y/n to be her maid of honor...it felt weird.

Why did he feel weird? It was normal, right?

Maybe it was weird because he had a feeling that Y/N probably was again falling into Tom’s spell.

Of course, he had asked Haz and Sam. And they’d denied it. He had asked James, though. He hadn’t denied it, he didn’t confirm it..

“I don’t know.”

Simple answer.

And Harry didn’t, either.

Because maybe it hurt him. But it didn’t hurt him in the way one would think, it would hurt. It hurt in the way that he knew where Tom would go. Again breaking her heart.

So he wondered why y/n was so stupid. How was she going there again? And was she?

Did he have to reach out for her? And why did she keep ignoring him?

He knew he couldn’t be for her this time. Or did he have to?

Why did she keep ignoring him? Why did it bother him so much?

Harry knew. Because y/n was his own first love. And it hurt to think of it that way, but he looked back at it. Like an old memory. An old song.

And he found it funny, how y/n was someone who planned ahead and stuck to real thoughts, and yet she was always finding herself at the crazy curveballs. Which made her stay out of her lane. Out of Harry’s path.

But maybe they were meant to stay that way, with their paths never touching, and their words never colliding. Only for a friendship.

Maybe Harry had to let go off the plan, because he had a new one. With Emma.

That didn’t stop Harry from reaching out to her.

“Hello? Harry! Hello!” Y/N answered facetime. She was in the lobby, and she seemed tired, but her smile brightened up as soon as she saw her best friend.

“Hey! How is it going?” Harry grinned as soon as he had seen her.

“Good, good, uh, Tom and I just checked in on the hotel,” she explained, her voice was muffled then. “Wanna say hi to your brother?” She moved the phone and Tom gulped but waved.

“Hey!” Was all he said.

“Uh—y/n, I actually had to talk to you, I’ll talk to Tom later so maybe—“

Y/N stayed quiet. “I’ll—give me a sec.” She had turned off the camera.

Harry was sweating, he didn’t understand why he’d taken up the courage to call her. It was late for him, but he couldn’t sleep unless he reached out to her. Because he knew all of this would go wrong and he couldn’t be right beside her.

A muffled Tom could be heard, barely, but he was there. “Yeah, yeah, see you in a bit.”

Which had Harry wondering, were they in separate rooms at the hotel? And why the fuck did it matter?

“Harry!” A cheerful y/n said after she’d turned it back on, she still seemed to be somwehere in the lobby which only made Harry’s suspicion higher. “Hola.”

“Y/N,” Harry grinned. “Salut.”

It was a very stupid tradition they had. They had taken Spanish and French lessons together, yes y/n had learned french even before Timmy and it had stuck, they would randomly say words in either language.

“How’s New York?” Harry asked. “Finally you get to go to your dream place.”

“Well, the airport was nice,” she laughed as she plugged in her earphones. “And so far I’m… in love with the city, Tom said he’ll give me a tour because he…” She laughed. “Knows it so well because he’s Spider-Man,” she mocked

“Oh, don’t trust him, he’ll get you lost in five minutes,” Harry chuckled.

“Wait, it’s like 1 am over there isn’t it?” Y/N chuckled. “Why are you awake? Long day filming?”

“Yeah, a bit,” Harry admitted. “Gosh, it’s been crazy.”

“I bet, but you’re having fun aren’t you?” She wondered.

“A lot,” Harry admitted. “But uh-- I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Y/N cleared her throat. “Uhm… Is it about Emma’s… request?”

Harry didn’t answer. Had she not accepted it yet?

She smiled. “Because I haven’t had the time to answer her, but I’m going to say yes, don’t worry! I just wanted to sit down and write down a whole ass--”

“No, no, it’s not about that--But great!” Harry gulped. “No, no, it’s…”

“Yup?”

“It’s about Tom.”

The end of the line stayed dangerously quiet. She licked her lips and looked away. She didn’t move.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” she sighed. “I… What about Tom?”

Harry licked his lips. “I know you, y/n, I just… Don’t let him fool you again.”

“He’s not fooling me, I--where are you even coming from?” She coughed, she’d turned stiff. “I.. We’ve become friends and that’s it. We’re getting along.”

“I don’t have to be there to know you’re crushing on him again,” Harry explained. The tweets, the pictures, Tom and y/n constantly bickering on the group chat. James’ answer, the way Harrison had denied it so intensely and...The way that Tom had been ignoring Harry. Harry knew something was going on.

“I’m not,” she answered, but she had bit her inner cheek.

“Look, y/n,” he clicked his tongue. “I’m only worried because I don’t know if I’ll be able to be there with you, and--Tom sooner or later will hurt you.”

“Then you should call him up and tell him not to, don’t call me, I’m not… doing anything,” she snapped then squeezed her eyes shut. “Look, Harry, I can take care of myself, I’ve done it before and…”

“And how did that work out for you?” Harry frowned. “I’m just saying this because I’m your best friend.”

“But are you really saying it because of that, Harry?”

“What?” Harry frowned.

“No… Nothing, I’m just… I know where you’re coming from, but this time I won’t let him hurt me, and I.. I am not crushing on him.”

“Fine, I’m just… worried, okay? And I know it’s hard already...Having Timmy there and-”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I--Harry, I’m tired from my flight, okay? I need to go and take a shower and just…You know? I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Y/N I didn’t mean to-”

“Love you, bye!”

He shouldn’t have mentioned Timmy.

And Timmy truly didn’t know where he was standing. Timothee didn’t want to be too intrusive, but he couldn’t help it. He was jealous, that was unequivocally an understatement, Tom drove him insane. And Tim was getting prepared exactly just for that. Could anyone be prepared to see the love of their life happy with someone else?

Timmy had learned where they were staying. He had debated to himself whether or not he should bring her flowers, but over the course of the years he’d learned that y/n loved flowers, so it might give him a little… advantage.

There was possibly no way that he’d be able to bump into them. He didn’t even know when she’d arrive, and was it creepy? He probably was being creepy. He was standing in front of a hotel with little to no information of whether y/n would be there. He held the peonies as he headed to the entrance, he had to leave this was… no. He was being crazy right?

But he walked in, and he saw her, sitting down, bummed. Her hair resting against her hand, her hair falling down. She looked tired, but radiant at the same time, she looked like a summer song. And he wondered if this was the perfect movie moment, when the guy cheers up the girl and they fall back in love. He could easily run up to her and ask her to love him, and somehow, she’d do it.

But he couldn’t. He just watched her from afar, and if he knew her well enough, he knew she was about to shed a tear. She took a deep breath and tapped her foot anxiously.

What was troubling her? Maybe it had only taken a flight for Tom to break her heart. But… that wasn’t her ‘Tom screwed me over’ face. She seemed angry.

Tim was frozen, he wanted to approach her and be there to comfort whatever Tom had pulled this time but just as Timmy had finally managed to move, he saw Tom getting out of the elevator. Strutting with arrogance.

He stopped to watch the scene, he expected yelling. He thought y/n would turn around to Tom like she always did and yell at him. And Tim wanted to see the bickering, the usual fighting. But there… wasn’t any. Instead, Tom had come to wrap his arms around her from behind and placed a sweet kiss to her cheek. A smile came back to her face as she turned to face him, and they didn’t kiss this time, but the smile she dedicated him was all it took to break Tim. The glance y/n directed at Tom was the gaze Tim had fought so hard to get.

And it only took Tom a stupid kiss on her cheek.

Tim felt it again, the knife all across his chest as he watched them leave for the elevator, her hand clinging to his arm as he would lean over and whisper to her. And time stopped. And Timmy wished he hadn’t walked in to see that, he wished he hadn’t had the incredible idea to give her flowers. He wouldn’t have seen that, he shouldn’t have bought the stupid peonies.

Honestly, he would never get used to seeing that. He felt like someone had cut off a piece of his heart and crushed it right in front of him. Timmy never really understood why she loved Tom. However, he knew y/n didn’t know it either. She’d deny it, she’d avoid the subject. She’d never speak of Tom, unless it was to assure him she despised him. And yet, as the elevator door closed, he saw her, slowly placing a kiss on his lips.

That image had kept Timmy awake all night long, he’d blame it on the jet lag but it was unbearable. Because he wondered where had it all gone wrong? When had he stopped reading y/n?

But had he really?

The next day on set it got even worse, he saw them arrive, fingers locked and that smile Tim had gotten familiar with. The usual tender chuckle. But… was she happy?

She seemed to be, but… Maybe Timmy hadn’t completely forgotten how to read her. She seemed confused, was she?

Tim had brought the flowers again, though he probably shouldn’t have. He should’ve thrown away the peonies. But he couldn’t, y/n loved peonies.

Of course, he couldn’t… give them to her, so he just arranged someone to leave one at Tom’s trailer. Even when he knew that y/n could think they could come from Tom.

But maybe y/n hadn’t forgotten that Tim’s signature flowers were peonies. Hopefully she really hadn’t. But Tom did take the credit for, he’d seen y/n kiss Tom’s cheek.

And it hurt Timmy, but then she saw him�� when she saw him, it felt like she knew. She just gave him a sad smile.

Filming for the next few days had been…painful. Y/N and him hadn’t talked, not really. Tom didn’t let her be around, not that he had forbidden it but anytime Tim would get close, Tom would rush in, and pull her close to him.

However, Timmy hadn’t stopped with the flowers, not big arrangement every day, a single peony every now and then, and he’d seen y/n with one, outside the trailer, confused...but she was too busy with Tom. And Tim had gotten to the idea, even if they hadn’t really talked about it. It was obvious. But Timmy faked blindness, even when it was too much to handle.

Like that day when Tom and Mad had slipped while dancing, and y/n let out a loud laugh as she rushed to see him...to see Tom.

“Did you just laugh?” Tom asked, chuckling.

“No,” but y/n couldn’t stop laughing. “Well—I—I… its cause you—“She let out a loud cackle that could even be confused with a snore.

Tim smiled to himself, he missed that laugh. The messy one, the one that told Tim she didn’t care anymore.

“You are still laughing,” Tom now started to laugh with her, as they threw their head back.

Timmy saw it, and he felt it. The way Tom has probably felt throughout their whole relationship. Because what hurt Timmy the most wasn’t that he couldn’t kiss her, what hurt Timmy the most was he wasn’t the reason for her smile anymore.

“Stop laughing!” Tom said.

And then y/n kissed Tom, repeatedly. Her hands cupping his face as she only smiled against his lips.

Well, maybe it did bother Tim.

Because there was just so… much kissing. It seemed like Tom never missed an opportunity to get his lips on y/n. It was so annoying, especially when Tim was around, he seemed to have a magnet to her lips, and his hands always on her waist.

They were disgusting. Other people called them adorable, but Tim called them disgusting.

Because it bothered him, and because he had been right. About all of this. That troubled Timmy enough, let alone the fact that they didn’t care if he was seeing, it was the fact that he had been right all along.

Never would have Timmy thought he’d end up with a cigarette on his mouth as he listened to a pianist on a New York bar. He had a scotch in his hands, and he could only wonder where y/n was. Probably with Tom, Tom probably was taking off her clothes and kissing that sweet spot on her neck that drove her crazy. Her clothes probably were on some fancy hotel floor, and her lipstick would be tattooing Tom’s body. And she probably was smiling, and Tom would get to hear her laugh, and she’d probably be moaning Tom’s name.

And Timmy couldn’t believe it. Where had he gone wrong? What in this world did Tom do to have y/n making a fool of herself for him?

And Timmy cried, even though he wasn’t really a crier, he couldn’t help it. Really, he couldn’t help it. But he soon forgot it, he started drinking with some random girl he’d met at that bar, with pretty eyes and a southern accent, she told him she was there looking for her dreams. And they had gone dancing instead because the piano had bored him, for the first time he was bored of a conversation, and he told her: I just want to dance, and the blue lights had barely helped him to forget y/n, as the girl kept grinding against him, and wrapping his arms around Timmy, but he could only think of y/n and how they were always dancing. But he kept drinking and smoking, and dancing. But y/n stayed on his mind, in his imagination. No matter how loud the music was going, and no matter how good looking the girl was, he couldn’t see anyone but the image of y/n. Because she was everywhere, in the music he was dancing to, in the shirt he was wearing, everywhere.

And Timmy wasn’t the guy to have a one night stand, and yet... He found himself walking out of a random wannabe New Yorker small studio to go back to his hotel. He wasn’t pleased with himself. That wasn’t him. But he had felt lonely, and he wasn’t over her, so he really only wanted to get his mind off of it. It hadn’t helped.

If anything, this was y/n’s fault, because he couldn’t help but think about it. He’d slept with a stranger, but that wasn’t what was bothering him… It was the fact he had danced with a stranger. And dancing, dancing was their thing.

Timothée was crying on the subway.

“I fucked up,” he texted Emma. “I miss her so much and I can’t stand this.”

Emma had called him immediately.

“Talk to me, Tim.”

“Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was… already awake, tell me,” Emma said.

“It’s just hard, Em,” he explained. “I don’t even know what to tell you, now, I feel like I’ve lost her and now, I just I know I fucked up by proposing but I--”

“Timmy, don’t say that.”

“But that was it, she faded away when I proposed, and that’s on me,” Tim sighed. “I should’ve known she wasn’t ready and that we--fuck, I don’t even know, I just want to win her back and be how we used to be, I miss her and her smile and her laugh and-”

“Aren’t you guys talking? I thought you told me you were on talking terms,” Emma answered.

“Not here, not in New York, and fuck, it makes it harder, New York makes it harder,” he explained. “Just before the proposal, we were planning on coming, you know? We had our whole trip planned, and in my head, I would have been walking down this city already engaged, and here I am, walking down to my fucking hotel after hooking up with some-”

“You hooked up with someone?” Emma questioned. “You?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, then it must be bad.”

“I… just, I can’t stand seeing her with Tom,” Tim said. “I just… out of everyone.”

“Hold on-Tom?” Emma asked.

Tim bit his lip, did they not know about this?

“Yes, Tom… I thought you would know,” Timmy frowned. “Didn’t Harry tell you?”

“I don’t think Harry knows this,” Emma explained. “Which… is technically better for me, I guess.”

Timmy didn’t answer.

“I asked her… to be my maid of honour,” Emma explained. “Which I know, I’m sorry I would’ve asked you but…”

Timothée kept quiet.

“We both know she’s got history with the Hollands,” Emma sighed with sadness. “And although these are bad news for you, it…”

“I know.”

“Is it wrong?” Emma asked. “I know you love her Tim but… Is it wrong I still fear how she’ll act around Harry?”

“It’s not her who you’re worried about,” Tim sounded convinced.

“You’re right, but… You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” she explained. “And though she is not my enemy per se, I just can’t help but be anxious around her, after all she was Harry’s first love, and you’ve heard her say it.”

“True love might only be the first one,” Tim answered. “I know, but… I really think you shouldn’t worry.”

“And I really think you shouldn’t worry about Tom,” Emma insisted. “After all, he’s her enemy, and she might just be doing the same thing I’m doing, keeping her enemies close, and we both know Tom will eventually fuck up.”

“You’re right.”

Tim had texted y/n afterwards begging to go out for dinner, and y/n had eventually agreed, but it wasn’t really dinner she’d agreed on. Still, Tim was thinking about it. How he’d been right all along.

Tom did have feelings for y/n, and even if y/n had never admitted it. She had feelings for Tom.

And Timmy knew this, but it’s easier said than done. He couldn’t stomach and map out any emotions, how could he? He had been right, this whole time. But he also knew y/n, and he knew that y/n was someone who always had her mind busy. Thoughts, creativity, lists… many lists. And guilt, y/n would often have to settle down her mind at night if something was bothering her. Even with simple stuff, like if she hadn’t tried an ice cream flavor even when Tim would assure her she wouldn’t like it , she’d have to go the next day to try it. Or whenever a new movie came out and y/n would read the reviews and know she’d hate it, but went and watched it anyway just to be disappointed by it.

So maybe that was what was going on. Tom was the coconut-pistachio cheesecake ice cream y/n so wanted to try, but wouldn’t like in the end. Y/N was dating the terrible reviewed movie right now.

However, the ice cream bumped into Tim, anyway the same day he’d go out for dinner with y/n, holding a peony that Tim had given her that day.

“What are you doing?” Tom frowned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tim said, looking down at the schedule he had to follow, he spoke then through the radio and walked past Tom.

“You really think I don’t know these are yours?” Tom frowned.

“Well, I’m helping you out, man, take the credit, for all I know you already are taking it,” Timmy rolled his eyes.

“Why are you doing this?”

Tim watched him. “I just gave her flowers man.” And really that’s all he’d done. He hadn’t even tried to talk to y/n. He didn’t want to intrude. One flower a day didn’t hurt anyone.

“No, no, no, why are you trying to-”

“I’m not trying anything,” Timmy answered calmly.

Tom clenched his jaw. “You lost your chance.”

“It’s funny you out of everyone say that,” Tim snaked. “Seems like chances are given for free.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Why are you angry?” Timmy shrugged. “She is your girlfriend, you don’t have to worry about me--”

Tom didn’t answer.

“Ah, she’s not your girlfriend, yet.”

“Well but she might be.”

“Then why are you worrying?” Tim cackled dryly. “If she is in love with you then she won’t even look at my flowers. And as I said, take the credit man.”

“Exes don’t give out flowers,” Tom frowned.

“Well, I do, I love giving her flowers, and at least I know for a fact she doesn’t cry whenever I give her flowers,” Tim shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me-”

“You don’t have the right to mention that,” Tom frowned.

“Seems like I already did,” Timmy rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you, you go be happy with her.”

Tom watched him. “You don’t even know what we’ve gone through, and we are very happy.”

Timmy stared at Tom. He truly didn’t understand why Tom was being so bitchy about this, yes, probably it wasn’t fair play giving her flowers. But honestly, Tom had been worse while y/n and Tim were dating, always big gestures, that of course would be erased by any kind of mean words Tom directed as y/n. Always hurting y/n. Yes, Tom had never been a fan of Tom, because he always managed to turn y/n’s light off, only with a glance and y/n would be on the verge of tears. Tom was a monster to y/n. Why the hell was y/n now sprinting with him? Why the hell did y/n kiss Tom the way she was kissing him?

“I don’t have to know much to understand you’ve broken her so many times,” Tim argued back.

“I’ve changed.”

“Have you really, Tom? And does she know that?” Tim had started to walk away.

Tom stayed quiet for a bit, “She does.”

Tim turned around. “I think you’re scared because even if you know her from your whole life, you don’t actually know her.”

Tom frowned. “I know her perfectly.”

“But for your own conveniences, you know how to make her cry, you know how to break her, but that’s it,” Tim raised his arms, shrugging.

Tom clenched his jaw. “You’re just angry that she’s screaming my name now,” Tom snapped.

Timothée had to look away. “That’s the issue with you, Tom. You don’t know the magic of y/n,” he told him, shaking his head as he stared down at the floor. “Maybe you managed to get her in bed, but you won’t get to have her completely and you know that, because it’s the little moments that count for y/n, and you don’t get that, you always have to put up a show for her.”

Tom rolled his eyes. “You dated her for only two years, what makes you think you know her more than I do? I’ve known her my whole life.”

Tim chuckled. “I didn’t buy a Polaroid, for instance, I don’t have to fake around her,” Tim explained. “I made her smile with a single peony, because I know she doesn’t need whatever big flower arrangement I know you’re already planning to give her. I know her.”

Tom scoffed. “I don’t need to give you any explanation, and I don’t even know why I’m bothering to argue with you, y/n doesn’t even love you, if she did she would’ve accepted your proposal,” Tom snapped with venom. “Now please stop sending her flowers, and don’t dare to bring her flowers tonight.”

With that, the bad-reviewed movie had walked away. Tim looked away, he was hurt. But not because he’d said that. But because y/n had told him. It just… Didn’t make any sense.

They’d meet at her hotel’s bar. A less formal thing, and Timmy understood.

He had seen her walk out of the elevator, and… Tom had, too. They seemed to be tense, but Tom kissed her cheek anyway before leaving for the entrance.

Timmy really didn’t like elevators anymore.

Y/N walked over to Tim, she didn’t seem… excited.

“Hi,” he greeted her. He hadn't brought her flowers this time. Not because Tom had asked him to, but because he knew it wasn’t the place for it.

“Hey,” she gulped as she watched him. “Let’s… go for a drink, shall we?”

And it was awkward at first. They’d never been awkward but she had been this time, quiet, and she looked sad. They were sitting on the tallest stools in the bar, where y/n was swinging her legs, trying to get a hold of the film canister she’d pulled out at the beginning of their conversation. She had Toyed with it, long enough for Timmy to wonder which of the many film canisters was it. He’d given her thousands of them, with notes, with films… and one with a ring. The canister seemed more interesting than Tim himself. But she looked beautiful, and Tim only wished and longed to go back in time, and have her smile at him like she used to.

Instead they were barely even looking at each other.

“So, have you been exploring the city?” Tim asked her.

Y/N shrugged and smiled. “Not...really,” she admitted. “We—“she cleared her throat. “I’ve barely had the time, you know? Always filming and then I am tired but—Tomorrow I might,” she told him. “Tom has a free day so—“

“Yeah,” Tim watched her. “Anywhere special you want to go? New York has always been your dream.”

“Dunno yet, Tom probably has something planned, something big,” she smiled to herself. “He only keeps surprising me…”

“So uh, you and Tom huh?” Tim had asked as smoothly as he could’ve.

“I… well,” she shifted on her sit. “I guess.”

“It’s okay, I knew it was coming,” he smiled. “I’m happy-“

“Timmy I’m sorry I—“ she looked at him, finally looked at him.

“No, no, I’m happy, as long as he makes you happy,” Tim lied with the most convincing smile he could pull.

“I’m very sorry Tim,” she sighed.

He reached over for her arm, “Y/N, no, I don’t want you to be, really,” he squeezed her arm and then pulled back his hand.

“Are you okay?” She looked at him.

“I feel like I am, but I mean, you can’t really—I mean, I’m as fine as I can be,” he chuckled to himself.

“Tim,” she gave him a sad smile.

“I’m being honest, y/n, one can only be as cheerful as they can while they see the love of their life taken away,” he had said and he’d felt his heart become smaller as he said it.

Y/N watched him. “You really think I’m the love of your life?”

Tim looked at her, she timidly smiled. “I know it.”

Y/N bit her lip. “How do you know that? Who the love of your life is?”

Timmy watched her. Somehow that question felt like an old conversation, of the ones they used to have. He didn’t know why she’d asked it. But maybe his answer would get her back to her senses.

“Well, you feel it. You know?” Tim chuckled. “It’s that breathtaking moment y/n,” he explained as he looked at her. “I guess it’s the person that makes you feel like you’re watching your favorite movie, the one you know you’d never get tired of,”he looked at her lips and then at her sight, she seemed conflicted but she was listening. “The person you feel calm with, the one you only need a smile from and everything turns better,” he grinned. “It’s walking under the rain and feeling warm. It’s… you.”

She looked at him, and then stared at the film canister again.

“What’ve you got there?” He looked at it.

“Ah, nothing,” she gulped. “It’s—Nothing,” she smiled at him. “But uhm, have you had time to explore New York?”

“A little bit, yeah,” he chuckled. More than he wanted to, if he was honest. “I actually got lost in the subway, you know how distracted I am—“

“You’re kidding,” she smiled again.

“No, no, but—“And he started telling her stories, like he used to do. And she listened, and she laughed and she smiled.

And eventually, she put the film canister back in her purse, making Tim wonder what the hell was in it. But it didn’t matter, because she was finally smiling again, and with every single story and with every single sentence, he felt like he was falling back in love all over again. And hours went by, and they didn’t even notice how time had passed. And it felt like old times. Older...times.

But eventually she kissed his cheek goodbye, because she of course had to go back to Tom. Who had walked back into the hotel. But maybe had imagined it, the whole conversation maybe hadn’t gone as espectacular. And this wasn’t a movie, the girl and the guy probably wouldn’t fall back in love just after a conversation at the bar, and maybe it wasn’t breathtaking. And he saw her walking back up to Tom, and kissed his lips. Not his cheek, his lips.

But Tim did have an oh shit moment, it was different from that moment when y/n had walked into the lecture, 16 minutes late. It was the oh shit moment when Tim realized it, the repetitive script we’ve all learned and adored from movies wouldn’t replicate in Tim’s life. Not for now, at least. Because y/n, for once, had liked the ice cream.

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sonicasura · 4 years ago

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Balan Wonderworld Improv #3

If you haven't noticed or I didn't tag properly, this is a review split into multiple parts and suggestions.

I'm really enjoying Balan Wonderworld so far. If you are someone who plays Super Mario Odyssey, then this isn't your cup of tea because this game is the embodiment of a puzzle. There are over 80 costumes in the game, each costume being an option to a maze of puzzles when it comes to the Collectibles such as hidden Costumes, Balan Bouts and Balan Statues.

You start off with the weaker costumes at the start of the game, the more worlds you unlock the better costumes you can find. Every world has an obstacle to keep you from grabbing every collectible, areas or enemies that need particular costumes to solve.

People have issues with a lot of costumes performing similar tasks but they shine for the ingenuity hidden underneath their adorable designs. The devs want you to take in the worlds at a reasonable pace, uncover the secrets you couldn't find through your first run.

It's a test of your creativity and problem solving skills. To see what you can do with as little as you are given. They want you to figure it out, not spoon feed it to you like some games do. Biggest example of a spoon feeder is Kirby Star Allies, it gives you the combination needed to solve all of its puzzles.

Balan Bouts are a very interesting take to quick time events. The line up for each event actually gets faster the further you are in the game. Balan will even use trickier moves to raise the difficulty of later bouts, including his infamous butt stomp. Also, getting an Oops with Balan or a Balan Cardboard Cutout is bloody hilarious. One second your a badass and the next you are sent flying like Team Rocket for messing up a quick time very badly. 😂 He's just a minty haired goofball.

I did come across a glitch. World 7 Act 2, there's a blue mushroom you need to use to reach platform needed to go the door floating far away with the flower costume. You can jump off the mushroom and it'll just makes the noises your character does when jumping.

I suggest getting the Double Jumper Costume from World 2 Act 2 to bypass the glitch should it happen. Normally you need the Fixer Upper Costume from World 12 but can use the Snow Fairy Costume in World 8 Act 1 to also reach it. You have to scale to the top of the ruins and coral but you can reach it albeit barely.

Improvements needed

Ability to manually restart the level. You need get all Excellents in a Balan Bout to get the Balan Statue. You can revisit the level but you need to beat the boss if you do fail and restart the entire world.

In-game map. It would make navigating certain worlds way easier if you are looking for costumes, Balan Bouts or Balan Statues. Even better if you can mark the map with symbols, tracking icon and used to warp to different checkpoints.

Island of Tims upgrade system. Change how you can upgrade the Tower of Tims as the normal way is quite slow. Ability to play with the Tims, you can't have an equivalent to a Chao Garden without playing with the adorable critters. Mini-games can affect the Tims' abilities or even get rare Costumes.

Name tags for bosses and characters. I didn't know any of the visitors or bosses' names until I looked it up. I had to go by their titles in each Chapter.

I do suggest you guys get the game on sale if you want to play it. Balan Wonderworld has been a fun and decent experience so far but the normal price isn't really fair since bad marketing being the reason.

Now for a more pressing matter.

I've been getting news that people are attacking Balan Wonderworld fans just because they like the game. Whoever it is, you guys are petty little shits and need to stop. You don't see anyone attacking you for having a different opinion, so what gives you the right to do it to us?

Reminds me of a similar issue with popular fandoms like Undertale, I've been personally attacked by my own sibling just because I don't want to play the game. Undertale is an interesting game but isn't my cup of tea, in fact, all of the attacks makes me avoid the game like the plague.

This is the same thing you are doing it to Balan Wonderworld fans, you are making them avoid their favorite game and feel like garbage because of your foul attitude and dickish threats.

You know what I have to say about these petty haters?

Everyone has the right to play the games they love and neither of us want your bullshit. So keep your nasty comments to yourself and quit harassing others.

Hope y'all have a good day!

#mun sonicasura #sonicasura #my personal opinion #mini reviews #how to improve #balan wonderworld #balan company #balan wonderland #square enix #improving a game #videogames #video game review

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hlupdate · 4 years ago

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Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.

“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than in person. Even via videoconference, the Brit is effortlessly charming, as anyone who’s come within earshot of him would attest, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath that genial smile is a well-honed media strategy.

To wit: In an interview that appears a few days later announcing his investment in a new arena in his native Manchester (more on that in a bit), he repeats the refrain — “There will be a time we dance again”— referencing a much-needed return to live music and the promise of some 4,000 jobs for residents.

None of which is to suggest that Styles, 26, phones it in for interviews. Quite the opposite: He does very few, conceivably to give more of himself and not cheapen what is out there and also to use the publicity opportunity to indulge his other interests, like fashion. (Last month Styles became the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo.) Still, it stings a little that a waltz with the former One Direction member may not come to pass on this album cycle — curse you, coronavirus.

Styles’ isolation has coincided with his maturation as an artist, a thespian and a person. With “Fine Line,” he’s proved himself a skilled lyricist with a tremendous ear for harmony and melody. In preparing for his role in Olivia Wilde’s period thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” which is shooting outside Palm Springs, he found an outlet for expression in interpreting words on a page. And for the first time, he’s using his megaphone to speak out about social justice — inspired by the outpouring of support for Black people around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

Styles has spent much of the past nine months at home in London, where life has slowed considerably. The time has allowed him to ponder such heady issues as his purpose on the earth. “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken,” says Styles. “I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it actually means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this �� moments of uncertainty.”

In truth, while Styles has largely been keeping a low profile — his Love On Tour, due to kick off on April 15, was postponed in late March and is now scheduled to launch in February 2021 (whether it actually will remains to be seen) — his music has not. This is especially true in the U.S., where he’s notched two hit singles, “Adore You,” the second-most-played song at radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar” (No. 22 on Variety’s year-end Hitmakers chart), with a third, “Golden,” already cresting the top 20 on the pop format. The massive cross-platform success of these songs means Styles has finally and decisively broken into the American market, maneuvering its web of gatekeepers to accumulate 6.2 million consumption units and rising.

Why do these particular songs resonate in 2020? Styles doesn’t have the faintest idea. While he acknowledges a “nursery rhyme” feel to “Watermelon Sugar” with its earwormy loop of a chorus, that’s about as much insight as he can offer. His longtime collaborator and friend Tom Hull, also known as the producer Kid Harpoon, offers this take: “There’s a lot of amazing things about that song, but what really stands out is the lyric. It’s not trying to hide or be clever. The simplicity of watermelon … there’s such a joy in it, [which] is a massive part of that song’s success.” Also, his kids love it. “I’ve never had a song connect with children in this way,” says Hull, whose credits include tunes by Shawn Mendes, Florence and the Machine and Calvin Harris. “I get sent videos all the time from friends of their kids singing. I have a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they listen to it.”

Styles is quick to note that he doesn’t chase pop appeal when crafting songs. In fact, the times when he pondered or approved a purposeful tweak, like on his self-titled 2017 debut, still gnaw at him. “I love that album so much because it represents such a time in my life, but when I listen to it — sonically and lyrically, especially — I can hear places where I was playing it safe,” he says. “I was scared to get it wrong.”

Contemporary effects and on-trend beats hardly factor into Styles’ decision-making. He likes to focus on feelings — his own and his followers’ — and see himself on the other side of the velvet rope, an important distinction in his view. “People within [the industry] feel like they operate on a higher level of listening, and I like to make music from the point of being a fan of music,” Styles says. “Fans are the best A&R.”

This from someone who’s had free rein to pursue every musical whim, and hand in the album of his dreams in the form of “Fine Line.” Chart success makes it all the sweeter, but Styles insists that writing “for the right reasons” supersedes any commercial considerations. “There’s no part that feels, eh, icky — like it was made in the lab,” he says.

Styles has experience in this realm. As a graduate of the U.K. competition series “The X Factor,” where he and four other auditionees — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — were singled out by show creator and star judge Simon Cowell to conjoin as One Direction, he’s seen how the prefab pop machine works up close. The One Direction oeuvre, which counts some 42 million albums sold worldwide, includes songs written with such established hitmakers as Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha and Teddy Geiger. Being a studious, insatiable observer, Styles took it all in.

“I learned so much,” he says of the experience. “When we were in the band, I used to try and write with as many different people as I could. I wanted to practice — and I wrote a lot of bad shit.”

His bandmates also benefited from the pop star boot camp. The proof is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members — Payne, Malik and Horan in addition to Styles — each of whom has landed hit singles on charts in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.

This departs from the typical trajectories of boy bands including New Kids on the Block and ’N Sync, which have all pro ered a star frontman. The thinking for decades was that a record company would be lucky to have one breakout solo career among the bunch.

Styles has plainly thought about this.

“When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, that wasn’t me! Now I get to do what I really want to do.’ But we loved being in the band,” he says. “I think there’s a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it.”

Indeed, during the five-ish years that One Direction existed, Styles’ schedule involved the sort of nonstop international jet-setting that few get to see in a lifetime, never mind their teenage years. Between 2011 and 2015, One Direction’s tours pulled in north of $631 million in gross ticket sales, according to concert trade Pollstar, and the band was selling out stadiums worldwide by the time it entered its extended hiatus. Styles, too, had built up to playing arenas as a solo artist, engaging audiences with his colorful stage wear and banter and left-of-center choices for opening acts (a pre-Grammy-haul Kacey Musgraves in 2018; indie darlings King Princess and Jenny Lewis for his rescheduled 2021 run).

Stages of all sizes feel like home to Styles. He grew up in a suburb of Manchester, ground zero for some of the biggest British acts of the 1980s and ’90s, including Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Oasis, the latter of which broke the same year Styles was born. His parents were also music lovers. Styles’ father fed him a balanced diet of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Queen, while Mum was a fan of Shania Twain, Norah Jones and Savage Garden. “They’re all great melody writers,” says Styles of the acts’ musical throughline.

Stevie Nicks, who in the past has described “Fine Line” as Styles’ “Rumours,” referencing the Fleetwood Mac 1977 classic, sees him as a kindred spirit. “Harry writes and sings his songs about real experiences that seemingly happened yesterday,” she tells Variety. “He taps into real life. He doesn’t make up stories. He tells the truth, and that is what I do. ‘Fine Line’ has been my favorite record since it came out. It is his ‘Rumours.’ I told him that in a note on December 13, 2019 before he went on stage to play the ‘Fine Line’ album at the Forum. We cried. He sang those songs like he had sung them a thousand times. That’s a great songwriter and a great performer.”

“Harry’s playing and writing is instinctual,” adds Jonathan Wilson, a friend and peer who’s advised Styles on backing and session musicians. “He understands history and where to take the torch. You can see the thread of great British performers — from Bolan to Bowie — in his music.”

Also shaping his musical DNA was Manchester itself, the site of a 23,500-seat arena, dubbed Co-op Live, for which Styles is an investor and adviser. Oak View Group, a company specializing in live entertainment and global sports that was founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015 (Jeffrey Azoff, Irving’s son, represents Styles at Full Stop Management), is leading the effort to construct the venue. The project gained planning approval in September and is set to open in 2023, with its arrival representing a £350 million ($455 million) investment in the city. (Worth noting: Manchester is already home to an arena — the site of a 2017 bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert — and a football stadium, where One Love Manchester, an all-star benefit show to raise money for victims of the terrorist attack, took place.)

“I went to my first shows in Manchester,” Styles says of concerts paid for with money earned delivering newspapers for a supermarket called the Co-op. “My friends and I would go in on weekends. There’s so many amazing small venues, and music is such a massive part of the city. I think Manchester deserves it. It feels like a full-circle, coming-home thing to be doing this and to be able to give any kind of input. I’m incredibly proud. Hopefully they’ll let me play there at some point.”

Though Styles has owned properties in Los Angeles, his base for the foreseeable future is London. “I feel like my relationship with L.A. has changed a lot,” he explains. “I’ve kind of accepted that I don’t have to live here anymore; for a while I felt like I was supposed to. Like it meant things were going well. This happened, then you move to L.A.! But I don’t really want to.”

Is it any wonder? Between COVID and the turmoil in the U.S. spurred by the presidential election, Styles, like some 79 million American voters, is recovering from sticker shock over the bill of goods sold to them by the concept of democracy. “In general, as people, there’s a lack of empathy,” he observes. “We found this place that’s so divisive. We just don’t listen to each other anymore. And that’s quite scary.”

That belief prompted Styles to speak out publicly in the wake of George Floyd’s death. As protests in support of Black Lives Matter took to streets all over the world, for Styles, it triggered a period of introspection, as marked by an Instagram message (liked by 2.7 million users and counting) in which he declared: “I do things every day without fear, because I am privileged, and I am privileged every day because I am white. … Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti racist. Social change is enacted when a society mobilizes. I stand in solidarity with all of those protesting. I’m donating to help post bail for arrested organizers. Look inwards, educate yourself and others. LISTEN, READ, SHARE, DONATE and VOTE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

“Talking about race can be really uncomfortable for everyone,” Styles elaborates. “I had a realization that my own comfort in the conversation has nothing to do with the problem — like that’s not enough of a reason to not have a conversation. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve been outspoken enough in the past. Using that feeling has pushed me forward to being open and ready to learn. … How can I ensure from my side that in 20 years, the right things are still being done and the right people are getting the right opportunities? That it’s not a passing thing?”

His own record company — and corporate parent Sony Music Group, whose chairman, Rob Stringer, signed Styles in 2016 — has been grappling with these same questions as the industry has faced its own reckoning with race. At issue: inequality among the upper ranks (an oft-cited statistic: popular music is 80% Black, but the music business is 80% white); contracts rooted in a decades-old system that many say is set up to take advantage of artists, Black artists more unfairly than white; and the call for a return of master rights, an ownership model that is at the core of the business.

Styles acknowledges the fundamental imbalance in how a major label deal is structured — the record company takes on the financial risk while the artist is made to recoup money spent on the project before the act is considered profitable and earning royalties (typically at a 15% to 18% rate for the artist, while the label keeps and disburses the rest). “Historically, I can’t think of any industry that’s benefited more off of Black culture than music,” he says. “There are discussions that need to happen about this long history of not being paid fairly. It’s a time for listening, and hopefully, people will come out humbled, educated and willing to learn and change.”

By all accounts, Styles is a voracious reader, a movie lover and an aesthete. He stays in shape by adhering to a strict daily exercise routine. “I tried to keep up but didn’t last more than two weeks,” says Hull, Styles’ producer, with a laugh. “The discipline is terrifying.”

Of course, with the fashion world beckoning — Styles recently appeared in a film series for Gucci’s new collection that was co-directed by the fashion house’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, and Oscar winner Gus Van Sant — and a movie that’s set in the 1950s, maintaining that physique is part of the job. And he’s no stranger to visual continuity after appearing in Christopher Nolan’s epic “Dunkirk” and having to return to set for reshoots; his hair, which needed to be cut back to its circa 1940 form, is a constant topic of conversation among fans. This time, it’s the ink that poses a challenge. By Styles’ tally, he’s up to 60 tattoos, which require an hour in the makeup chair to cover up. “It’s the only time I really regret getting tattooed,” he says.

He shows no regret, however, when it comes to stylistic choices overall, and takes pride in his gender-agnostic portfolio, which includes wearing a Gucci dress on that Vogue cover— an image that incited conservative pundit Candace Owens to plead publicly to “bring back manly men.” In Styles’ view: “To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes. And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”

But acclaim, if you can believe it, is not top of mind for Styles. As far as the Grammys are concerned, Styles shrugs, “It’s never why I do anything.” His team and longtime label, however, had their hearts set on a showing at the Jan. 31 ceremony. Their investment in Styles has been substantial — not just monetarily but in carefully crafting his career in the wake of such icons as David Bowie, who released his final albums with the label. Hope at the company and in many fans’ hearts that Styles would receive an album of the year nomination did not come to pass. However, he was recognized in three categories, including best pop vocal album.

“It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff,” Styles says. “I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.” Citing the painter Matisse, he adds: “It’s about the work that you do when you’re not expecting any applause.”

#harry styles #variety #021220

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chaotically-cas · 4 years ago

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Could you repost your seven deadly sins post? Pls?

I got you anon!! I deleted it cause I didn’t know if I vibes with it, but I got you :)

Words: 1.9k ish

Some dark/mature themes

Aka I try & explore Jally through the 7 deadly sins

Pride.

Dallas Winston had an issue with pride. He was too proud. Too proud of his rap sheet and most definitely too proud of his reputation. Like it was practically the only thing he valued, the only thing that mattered to him. His pride in everyone he hurt or stepped over. Every minute he spent in the slammer or every time someone flinched or went all white at his name. Everyone but Johnny Cade. That was probably their biggest difference. The fact that Johnny was proud of nothing, not even the clothes on his back, and Dallas too proud of everything. Proud of the way he lived his life to the point he was a walking dead man. Spitting at cops shoes and keying at random Soc’s cars. His pride was dangerous.

It’s what got him in the most trouble. With his friends and the law. Like the night Johnny got jumped, Dallas was supposed to be with him. Walk him home and keep him safe from whatever harm his parents had inflicted on him that day. But he was too busy protecting a reputation with an empty revolver and a ten inch blade. Building up his pride while Johnny’s got torn down and he was torn a new one. Again and again and again. So he didn’t know how to answer the question when Darry asked him why he hadn’t been with him that night. Johnny spoke up instead. Said Dal had business to attend to, life or death, something way more important than just walking him home a few blocks. Life and death. Pride and shame.

Envy.

Johnny Cade envied the way Dallas carried himself. How he drove fear into the hearts of those who even knew of his name. How he was able to command the response and respect of every lousy person he came across. Johnny thought he would be the most jealous of Ponyboy Curtis, at first. How he had a nice family with nice brothers and a real nice brain that got his every report card hung on the refrigerator. While Johnny’s parents could only take their best guess to what grade he was in. He supposed he could be jealous of Two Bit Matthews, too. How he had the closest thing to a perfect family that someone in their part of town that you could get. He figured he should be jealous of them, he tried to be jealous of them, but it could never really compare.

Compare to the way his heart clenched and his mind ached whenever he saw Dallas. He hated the fact that he couldn’t help himself but to antagonize over the fact that he wanted nothing more than to be like him. Because then, maybe, if he was more like him, he wouldn’t get his ass handed to him on a silver platter every single day. He wanted to live like Dallas. On his own, without his parents, doing well enough for himself that at least he was alive. And that seemed to be the only thing that matters. Because he felt like he wasn’t living. And all Dallas was doing was living. Sure, it was a lousy way to live your life. In and out of jail for crimes your ego is too big to commit. Crime and punishment. Envy and ego.

Sloth.

Dallas Winston was as lazy as you can get when it comes to… well. Just life. He dropped out of school at fourteen and never looked back. Never got a job. Never moved on. Never did shit. Got thrown in the slammer for the first time at an age so young it was commonly debated by everyone in town. Twelve. Ten. Even seven years old. The only thing about him that wasn’t the most utterly lazy, was his taste for trouble. Or as he liked to call it, adventure. Whether it was riding at the rodeo, drag racing down town, or just robbing small businesses so blind they’d probably never see again. Or maybe that was the most lazy thing about him. The fact that he would do anything to avoid any sort of responsibility.

Darry forced him to get a job once, he showed up three days in a row until he stole everything in the register and skipped town for two weeks. Even his methods of ‘work’ were lazy. Although if you asked Johnny, he would say the exact opposite. He would say that Dallas worked harder than anyone else he knew for everything he had. He would say that Dallas never really had a chance, growing up in New York and being surrounded by nothing but malice deeds his whole life. That it wasn’t his fault, that he wasn’t lazy for following suit. But he was braver and better than anyone else he knew. That it took guts to live the life he did. Guts and strength. Hard work and slouth.

Greed.

Johnny Cade never wanted anything more in his life other than to just life it. But Dallas wanted everything there was. If there was a dollar on the street, Dallas believed he was entitled to it. He believed he was entitled to anything that was in his way or that he forced to be. But Johnny wasn’t like that, he didn’t want anything. Dallas didn't understand that with the way he was raised and the way he was treated, how he didn’t want more. To Dallas, Johnny should want everything in the world. He should be more greedy than only wanting consistent meals and a good education. And even then he doesn’t feel like he deserves that, he must be crazy, according to Dallas. He has to be. He has to want more.

Dallas got everything he wanted once he decided that’s what he needed to happen. He asked for it as nicely as he could with whatever blade and heater he had, and then he got everything he asked for. He was selfish, and everyone knew it, but no one bothered to question it or his greed would have your ribs wrapped in ace bandages too. He stole and lied. Johnny only lied to himself. Dallas lied to everyone that’s ever met him. His whole facade was a lie. His whole personality was a lie. Nothing but a greedy lie mixed with an attitude that made him undesirable for anyone to be around. Anyone but Johnny. Undesirable and filthy. Greedy and indifferent.

Wrath.

Dallas Winston was the angriest person there was. Maybe even in the entire world. If there was a single thing Dallas couldn’t find to be pissed at, that would be the day. He would get mad at a tiger for having stripes. Johnny thought he had every reason to be mad. And in some ways, he did. He had every right in the world to be as mad as possible for his innocence being stolen, even if in a way, he sold it. He sold it for a bottle of Jack Daniels and a ghost of a name. For long nights with strange girls and odd bets with dangerous men. Everything fueled his rage. Everything and everyone. Especially Tim Shepard and the cozy house of the Curtis’s. Everyone in the world but Johnny. Johnny made him mad for different reasons.

Johnny made him mad for every time he didn’t get the hell out of his house or seemingly let himself take every punch and every foul word. He didn’t understand how Johnny could be so patient and not get as mad as he did. Or even if he did get mad, he sure had a funny way of showing it. Or hiding it. He tried to ask Johnny one day how the hell could always stay looking up and looking forward. How he didn’t want revenge on the entire world and everything else that had fucked him up. But in a calm voice, calm as ever, Johnny explained that there was no point in getting back at a world that doesn’t even want you in it. Pointless and dumb. Revenge and wrath.

Lust.

Dallas Winston had a lust for life. Johnny Cade did not. Dallas could go out and live, get any girl he wanted to, start whatever fight he felt like it, and win over anyone who gave him a dirty look. And it wasn’t like Johnny wasn’t capable of that, he was just as capable as anyone else, especially Dallas. But he didn’t have the lust to live in the same way. Not at all. He didn’t want to fight, he didn’t need to. He didn’t need to pick up any girl he saw, he didn’t want to. You could say that Johnny really only lusted after one thing. Only wanted one experience. Only needed one person. And that was Dallas.

But Dallas’ lust was unmatched. When you want something bad (sex, drugs, alcohol, blood), it clouds your judgment. However most of the time it is only a light fog, a brief passing mist. Not for Dallas. For Dallas it was so thick that the air wouldn’t clear no matter what Johnny tried, what anyone tried. The smoke from his cigarettes only adding to it. But if you asked him, even Johnny, if he desired anything from life; they would both say no. Because he never wished for anything, everything just seemed to. Happen. It was difficult. Desire and will. Lust and life.

Gluttony.

Johnny Cade couldn’t define the word if he read it straight from the dictionary. He had never experienced it once in his life, that’s what he would tell you. That’s what anyone who knew him would tell you as well. But truthfully, the only time Johnny ever had a reason or a time to be gluton was when he was with Dally. Not only because he made sure he was fed, that he was warm, and he had anything he needed for the basic pillars of life; but that it was the only thing he took in excessively. Johnny wasn’t someone who things belonged to. Who claimed things as his own and took them in access. He wasn’t like that at all. Only with Dallas.

Dallas wouldn't agree. He would say that Johnny wouldn't let himself indulge in any sort of behaviors that didn’t revolve around the fact that he had always wanted others to be more than he saw them as. Or maybe that he had seen them for who they wanted to be, who they were at heart. That’s what he saw in Dallas. So to him, he was the furthest thing from wanted or needing or having of any sort of gluton. That was Dallas’ responsibility. To stuff himself full with any sort of anger and selfish want he could gather. For every bit that Johnny didn’t have, Dallas had it all. Or maybe that’s just how he saw it. Wants and needs. Gluttony and moderation.

#the outsiders #Jally

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aflyingcontradiction · 4 years ago

Text

The Magnus Archives Relisten: Episode 79 - Hide and Seek

Tim: Yeah, and then he said, “Sorry for everything”. Something’s up. Martin: You don’t think he’s going to… y’know… Tim: I don’t know. But he’s going to do something, and it’s going to be bad. And I don’t mean like ‘sneaking a cigarette’ bad. Like properly bad. Martin: So we need to help him? Tim: We need to stop him.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that what Martin is thinking here is that Jon might harm himself whereas Tim is much more focused on Jon potentially harming someone else (I mean, Tim is kinda right here, but only because Jon was being a complete and utter idiot!)

Martin: Court? Tim: Yeah. Er, tribunal if we’re lucky, inquest if we’re not.

I'm not sure if this is UK-specific terminology, but I sure as fuck didn't know what Tim was on about and kind of ignored it during my first listen, so now I've looked it up. For anyone as clueless as me "tribunal court" is the kind that you'd think of when someone says going to court whereas an inquest court is specifically about examining an unexplained death. Yikes, Tim.

Martin: You did use a new tape, didn’t you? Tim: Yeah, I took one off the pile. Martin: Was it blank or… Tim?

I'd say "Priorities, Martin!" but the fact of the matter is that I've got some shit I recorded on tapes as a child and teenager that I would also be pretty crushed if someone just went and taped over, so I can understand Martin's anxiety here.

Tim: Martin! What do you think is happening here? This isn’t office politics. It’s not like he’s had one too many at the Christmas party and started ranting about the Greeks.

That's ... really specific, but an oddly plausible group of people for a racist from the UK to rant about in an inebriated state.

Martin: So you really think the Institute is, what, haunted? Tim: I used to. Now I think it’s worse. Martin: Worse how? Not!Sasha (breaking through doors, screaming distortedly): JooooOoooOn!

Perfect comedic timing by the Not!Them!

Jon: At least it didn’t leave me trapped in some corridor hellmaze… a different corridor hellmaze, at least.

I was, at the time, wondering why Distortion!Michael kept being so fucking helpful? I mean, helpful in a terrifying, disturbing way, but still, helpful. I guess in hindsight some motivations have become a bit clearer.

Jon: God, I’m an idiot. Smash the table, kill the monster, stupid! Lazy, sloppy assumption. Of course the table was binding it. The table is webs and spiders. Spiders are something else. They don’t help each other, they oppose, they… they weaken. It was caught in a web, and I… All the pieces were there. And I just… I couldn’t see it.

YOU DON'T SAY!

Tim: I… I’m not just going to leave you down here. Martin: You were all about quitting. Tim: Oh, for God’s sake, this isn’t about you. Martin: It never is.

Oh. Oh, ouch. Yeah, maybe this counts as a bit manipulative on Martin's end, but I think it's also a genuine expression of abandonment issues tinged with self-loathing. The way I read Martin, I don't think he's standing there thinking "How do I get Tim to stay", I think that's just a side effect of his emotions bursting out of him, bypassing the brain-to-mouth filter.

Martin: No, no, okay, because there’s two of us and there’s one of you, okay. He’s not killing anyone! Tim: Martin, look at his hands! Martin: Oh.

Oh god, somehow this scene is so much creepier if Michael's NOT revealing his full distortion form from the start. You've just got the inhuman sounding voice and yeah, they must know he's not actually human but they don't yet know HOW not human he is and then he slowly distorts, so gradually that they don't even notice there's a change. Or maybe - maybe there was never a change at all... Oh, I like this version of the scene a lot. It's just become so much better in my head!

Jon: I just hope this tape works the same, that my voice remains intact. Even if I’m gone, even if it wears a face that people think is mine, pulls me apart, becomes me. Listen, it’s not me! Whoever hears this: it is not me.

Oh god, shivers all over. He's so desperate, so scared and yeah, dying and being replaced so that none of your loved ones ever knows it's not you (or that they're in horrible danger for that matter) would be so much worse than just dying. Even if you're not around to experience it either way, the thought alone...

Jon: I don’t even remember what she looks like. Even now that I know, now I’ve seen it twisted and… I still don’t remember her. The only face I can picture is…

And now you've gone and made me sad.

Not!Sasha: I’m going to wear you, Jon. I’m going to wear everything you are. Like you never existed. No-one will even know. And it will hurt. Oh, yes, it will hurt. It hurt Sasha.

And back to being creeped the fuck out while also being a little sad.

Not!Sasha: So the monster got its friends to carry the table all around, and it still got to take faces and scare people.

Oh, okay, Breekon and Hope were specifically "hired" BY the Not!Them somehow.

Not!Sasha: Then one day it was sent to the house of its enemy, which had the biggest eyes you ever did see.

I'm loving the fairy-tale tone of this. Also, in hindsight the "biggest eyes you ever did see" is just so ... I'm not sure how to describe my emotion about this line but it does make me squee a bit at the writing.

Jon: I’m sorry. Martin, Tim… Sasha. I’m so sorry. I should have… I didn’t… I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.

And back to being sad again at Jon's final words (or what he thinks will be his final words) being an apology, a cry for forgiveness at his inadequacy, that he should have been better, that he should have somehow prevented all this...

Not!Sasha: I wonder, if I wear you, will I really become the Archivist? Rob the eye of its pupil?

These lines are SO MUCH BETTER now that I know what they mean. I think I just sort of glossed over them on my first listen.

My impression of this episode

In one word: Woah! There's just a lot going on here. The magnificent horror that is Not!Sasha finally revealing herself. All the personality-revealing details of Tim and Martin's conversation. The emotional roller coaster that is Jon's absolute desperation. Michael being his usual self. And then that last minute rescue by a mysteeeerious figure, which made for a very nice cliffhanger at the time (I remember that I was very glad I'd come to TMA late so I could just go on to listen to the next episode without having to wait for a week.)

#tma relisten #the magnus archives

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incoherentbabblings · 4 years ago

Text

Earth 3 Stephanie is a Sad Person and Tim Kinda Made Things Worse Whoops

Earth Three Steph is sad for a lot of reasons but the inadvertent taunting Tim gives her by simply loving his Stephanie lots is certainly up there.

Like, if we are taking Bendis at face value here, either not everyone on Earth 3 is evil, or Stephanie Brown is legitimately one of like...three examples of not evil people on Earth 3... somehow?

Side note. This sounds so mean but YJ... is not a complicated series. Some folk were desperately trying to pull threads saying Bendis was building up this really intricate theory that the reason Zatanna’s mind magic didn’t work on Steph was because she wasn’t actually Steph she was EVIL!Steph and not the real Steph and that was the reason Earth Three Steph was good is because Earth Three is after all supposed to be the morality of the main heroes and villains flipped and maybe these two Stephs has switched places at some point and this is why Tim and Steph are going to break up my dislike of her character is totally justified guys...

The truth is... Bendis just didn’t go with that cause it didn’t suit the story he was trying to tell. Either he doesn’t know how Earth Three works or he didn’t care (or both). YJ 2019 is not the place for morally complex superhero comics. The good guys are friends who love each other, the bad guys are obviously bad and kinda incompetent.

So Main Earth Steph is good. Earth Three Steph is good. Or rather, is good in that she hates short sighted selfish people. Which is what her Young Justice are.

Long post under the cut because it’s me and I can’t do brief to save my legs if they were tied to a woodchipper.

Hey! You! Yes you! Are you a young fellow with a big brain and big ideas and a slightly off kilter mental state? You may have a Stephanie Brown forming a crush on you! Are you a young fellow with a big brain and big ideas and a slightly off kilter mental state with a desire to better people’s living standards? Congratulations! Somewhere there’s a Stephanie Brown falling in love! Oh what’s that? You’re not using that big brain and big ideas and off kilter mental state to better mankind? You’re literally just doing it for shits and giggles and to impress another girl? Well now there’s a Stephanie Brown who thinks you’re a waste of space! You’re a self-absorbed lazy git!

Joking aside, it’s interesting that her biggest umbrage with these guys is their lack of foresight and hedonism. The inequality of the power they hold over others, and the fact that they are wasting that power on benefiting themselves and trying to one up each other. She’s been trying to slow the decay nearly singlehandedly, seemingly before the Crime Syndicate ever made their way across for events like Forever Evil. But she’s been doing it alone for a long time, and her drive was starting to falter when YJ crashed up.

So, you have this girl who somehow is one of the only genuinely kind hearted people on this planet - trying to do right by the downtrodden - who apparently knows Earth 3′s Tim Drake well enough to not be frightened or threatened by him. And maybe she liked him romantically? Idk I guess it’s how relevant you take her snarking about Drake’s crush on Amaxon, could be just her snarking, could be partial resentment - like a sort of why her and not me sort of tone. Idk, ymmv there. We get no indication of how Earth Three Tim feels about anything really (like I said, Bendis is not aiming for complexity in this title).

Point is, this is a Stephanie Brown who, from what we see, is very, very, very alone. And what’s the very first thing Tim says to her?

How loved his Stephanie is. There’s a lot of that. Our Tim’s Stephanie is very, very, very, loved. Earth Three Stephanie...is not. But Tim’s language here is just him conflating the two girls into one. ‘I am in a very intense relationship with you’, ‘all I want to do is get home to you’, ‘God, I miss you so much’.

And Tim doesn’t flipping help matters by going off on her like this. And then when Bart punches her out Tim’s body language is not the way you hold an unconscious stranger plus Bart just takes Tim’s word for it that because this girl is Steph she’s not evil??? Like where is the logic? I love her on my Earth so on this Earth it must be the same? Tim...

And he continues to be overly familiar with this Steph (‘mesmerizing’ TimoTHY please) and she’s just trying to do right by them to get them back home. She’s trying to draw a boundary. She’s not his girl back home. That girl is waiting for him.

But Tim just cannot make the distinction at all.

She’s trying to do the right thing but this Tim is making things complicated. How awful must it feel to be faced with someone who loves you, but not you. Someone who has a big brain with big ideas and wants to help you help others. Someone who is in love with you.

But it’s not you.

Someone who crashes into your world, and helps liberate a city. Just because he can and it’s the right thing to do. He won’t go home to his girl until it’s done. He came here for a reason.

Stephanie Brown is still so closely tied to hope, even on Earth Three. She holds on to it for what looks like a helpless fight. She thanks YJ when they restore it to the city. She implies that the people of Earth Three aren’t inherently bad or violent, it’s just all they've ever known and give them some time to readjust. Hope springs anew and all that. She’s still really good with kids, and she’s really protective over them still.

And apparently a few other of these visiting folk again immediately warm up to you the moment they hear who ‘you’ are like oh ‘you’re’ really are liked over the border and ‘she’s totally in love with Drake too!’

Wait what? BART whaT? Does Bart have like...super people reading skills? Is it that obvious how much Stephanie is kinda yearning for that other Stephanie’s life and relationships? Is that it? Can he see that she’s jealous? Can Tim?

Side note: Still going feral over Steph and that little dark haired child heavens above

Considering in the previous issue she was all ‘this world is not your problem’ only to say ‘Come with me. Or don’t.’ and ‘I mean, it’s up to you. It’s a hell of a leap of faith’. Like, she’s not discouraging them from leaving at all, it’s just... half hearted do you want to go? Yeah. You do. You should. You’re sure? You should... You sure?

Tim leaves her with just a simple kindness. A thank you. And a lingering stare. I don’t know how to read that. Maybe something did get cut from the script? What is it implying? That Tim is reluctant to go? Regardless, Steph cries.

Say goodbye to that boy who has a big brain with lots of clever plans and a good heart and holds you gently and has nice friends who just want to help and be friendly to you. And you’re loved. Loved beyond dimension boundaries.

But it’s not you.

And that’s why Tim kinda made things worse for Earth Three Stephanie Brown. You can’t miss what you’ve never had. Except now she knows what she is missing out on. Now she knows what she’ll never have. And ouch my heart just broke.

#dc #timsteph #tim drake #stephanie brown #timsteph meta

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koriandrsucker · 4 years ago

Note

Hey it’s miss geek here I’ve finished the story I will need to post it in sections so I will label them part 1 by MG part 2 by MG etc

Thank u so much! It was really sweet. Reading Jason getting some love is always the best. If you want me to erase this, I will, but, I’ll post it whole here.

AU where Kori is the best baby sitter in the entire universe… or is she?

by Miss Geek.

“What the hell is this Harper”

“Well I’m pretty sure it’s called playing Jaybird”

“No you moron I mean why is Kori here” Jason growled in Roy’s ear away from the giggles and laughter.

Roy gives him his signature shit-eating grin and replies “I would have thought Bruce would’ve given that talk Jay, Ah well seems I have to do it you see young grasshopper when two people love each-“

“Shut up Harper, I meant why is Kori in your house” Jason was seething, to say the least.

“Ok jaybird listen Lian wanted Kori to babysit her. Jade and I couldn’t say no to her she gave me the eyes ” Roy said, looking at his girlfriend and daughter chatting animatedly with Kori.

Jason sighed, he knew those eyes pretty well. Lian Harper was one of those very few that could get through the lone wolf that was Jason Peter Todd. The five-year-old knew she had him wrapped around her small pinky finger and Jason, being her godfather, only added to the fact he could not say no to her.

“Ok, whatever she’s here to babysit that means I don’t have to be here. I’ll see you-“

“Uhhh well yeah you see about that-“ Roy said sheepishly.

Jason turned his steely blue-eyed gaze at his best friend (if he’s being honest his only friend) and said, “what did you do Harper."

“Well if we are being accurate I didn’t do anything it was your goddaughter that requested to you both being here,” Roy said while he glanced at his girlfriend getting ready to leave for their date and giving Kori any last minutes things she would need to take care of Lian for the night.

“So, Kori and I are babysitting Lian,” Jason looked at Roy in absolute skepticism.

“No...Kori is in charge and technically babysitting Lian you are just here for Lian's entertainment. She said, and I quote, ‘unca jay is funny’“ Roy said smirking the whole time.

“Why can’t I be in charge I can take care of her just fine on my own. I survived the streets on my own until I was 12 so I can handle babysitting her myself for a few hours” Jason protested.

Roy looked to his best friend/brother/partner in crime and replied “I love you like a brother Jaybird and I know without a doubt you will protect Lian with your life but..you can be a walking hazard at times”.

“What? How?“

“Well there was the time you burnt water while trying to heat her milk in her bottle-“

“That was years ago Harper, give me a break-“

“Ok, what about last week when you put the toaster on fire trying to make Lian cheese toasties”.

“I still can’t figure out how a five-year-old knew how to use a fire extinguisher. In my defense, that incidence speaks volumes about your household Harper”

Jason really didn’t want to be alone with Kori.

It’s not that Kori was horrible to be around, in fact, she was the nicest person Jason has ever met. Korina Marie Anders was a pleasant girl who he had been acquainted with six years ago at his adopted brother's 21st birthday. She introduced herself to him and Jason found himself lost for words for the first time in his life, much to the amusement of his entire adopted family.

Even to this day he still thought about her but he was always wary to talk to her for many reasons, one of them due to her history with his brother, “Prick” Grayson (no he didn’t get his name wrong, in Jason's mind that is the name he had christened his older adopted brother). Kori had a brief dating history, by brief meaning literally under three months. The reason why they broke up was unknown to everyone.

However, Jason was not afraid of his brother. If he didn't approach Kori, it was more the fact that he convinced himself of not being good enough and that she would never see him in that way. After all, if she didn’t want Grayson, who all of Jason’s life had known to be Bruce’s golden child, the best son, the prince of Gotham, and everyone’s favorite guy, why on gods green earth would she want him. HIM. Jason Peter Todd, the street kid Bruce Wayne took in, the troublemaker, the dark prince of Gotham.

The only people who he can handle their presence are Roy, Jade, Lian, Alfred, and maybe Tim, on a good day. It’s safe to say Jason got rid of any hope to catch the eye of Korina Anders, but that did not mean his crush went away.

He got out his trip down memory lane as Roy spoke again.

“I don’t really think your problem is about me trusting you.”

“What do you mean,” Jason narrows his eyes at his friend.

“The real issue is you can’t trust yourself around Kori,” Roy replied.

As his best friend, Jason did confide in Roy his crush on the redhead and since then Roy was on a mission to get the two together. Unfortunately, Jason always dodged every plan Roy had. Well, all except this plan. Unbeknownst to Jason, Roy knew what he was doing putting Lian into this. It would make Jason unable to say no.

His plan was working so far, he only hoped it would work in everyone’s favor. Jason’s silence was enough to convince Roy that he still had feelings for Kori. With that reassurance, he called over to his girlfriend.

“Hey babe come on, we will have to leave now, our reservation is at 7. Thanks again Kors for the recommendation and for looking after Lian tonight.”

Jade turned to Kori gratefully. “We honestly can’t thank you enough it’s been a while we have been out without Lian.”

“Babe, please, she knew how to swear in Vietnamese at three years old, and I sure as hell can't speak a word of Vietnamese, so where would she get THAT from.” Roy retorted, knowing full well he won that argument and the look on his girlfriend meant she knew it too.

Instead, she rolls her eyes at him and turns to her daughter. “Lian be a good girl for your aunt Kori and uncle Jason, ok? Mommy and daddy will be back soon, and Kori, you have both our numbers don’t hesitate to call if you need us”.

“Ok, mommy, I’ll be good me. Aunt Kori and unca Jay will have buckets of fun, won’t we?" As she turned to her uncle and aunt.

Kori answered with, “yes, we will Lian”

Jason was still wrapping around his head that Lian called Kori her aunt.

“Aunt Kori?” Jason whispered to Roy.

Roy’s reply was not what Jason expected. “Well, actually, Jade and I were hoping that title will change to godmother if all goes well.”

That left Jason lost for words while Kori and Lian waved goodbye.

Lian turned to her uncle and aunt. "What are we gonna do first? Can we play princesses? Oh, what about pony island instead or how about -?”

Lian Harper was a talker and Jason didn’t know how to control, as he liked to call them, Lian's sugar rush mode.

Kori turns to Lian and says “Did you finish your homework from school?"

Lian went sheepishly quiet and told Kori “Umm, no aunt Kori.”

Kori gave Lian a smile.

“Well, if you finish your homework we can do what you want.”

Lian thought carefully for a minute and to Jason’s surprise, she calmly replied. “Ok aunt Kori, do you pinky promise?”

She stuck out her pinky only for Kori to take and wrap it around her own. Satisfied that her aunt Kori won’t break her promise, she moved into the kitchen to start her homework. Kori then turned to Jason who had a blank expression.

Kori was concerned so she asked, “Hey Jason everything alright?”

“How did you do that,” he asked still in a daze.

“Do what?“

"Get her to listen to you. She never does that willingly, she usually needs to be bribed.”

Kori smiles at him and he feels his knees buckling. He sometimes forgets the effect she has on him.

“I’ve had a lot of practice with my brother”.

“Ah, right.” He replies and resists the urge to ask her what’s been on his mind.

Instead, she speaks. “Lian tells me you are favorite uncle,” Kori says with a knowing smile.

Jason gives her his signature smirk and tells her, “I’m her only uncle that she sees regularly, so there’s no competition. Not really”.

In a way, Jason has indeed been there for Lian since the beginning and she sees her other uncles, from Dick to Wally, only time to time as Roy isn’t hostile towards them anymore but still, the friendship will never be how it once was. Jason knows fully well how burnt bridges are beyond repair.

However, Kori shakes her head “No, I’ve seen her interact with others. It’s not the same way she looks at you. You should have seen her face when Jade told her you’ll be coming over. Her face lit up like the Fourth of July.”

Jason gives her a genuine smile, something she has not ever seen on the man before her. Always a smirk or a tight smile. So seeing this new smile she realizes it’s an expression she would like to see more of. Hopefully.

Before Jason has the chance to say anything, Lian comes back from the kitchen, finishing her work.

They all decided to play some games much to the embarrassment of Jason. Lian made both of them play pretty pony island. Kori thought Jason cooperating with Lian's demands was adorable. Jason thought he might die.

Kori then went to start making dinner for them all.

Lian turned to her favorite uncle and said “I like aunt Kori, unca Jay”

“Me too, kid.”

“Can you marry her then?”

Jason didn’t think it was possible to choke on air but he proved himself wrong.

“Wait what??? Who told- hold on a minute” Jason tried to get his bearings right before answering his goddaughter. “What are you talking about.”

“Daddy said you like her, so if you marry her she can come round all the time with you right?” She asked innocently and again she used those eyes.

Jason sadly replied, “I don’t think she likes me like that, kid.”

“Why not? your the best unca ever”

She ran over to him to give him the biggest hug she could give. Jason had a habit early in life not to live up to people's expectations because he felt he always fell short on those expectations. However, with Lian, it seemed he could do no wrong and with that, he hugged her back as much as the five years could handle.

That’s how Kori found them and she didn’t want to split them until they did themselves. They both turned to Kori as she explained dinner was ready.

Dinner surprisingly went smooth Lian didn’t make a fuss. It was then time for bed and Lian wanted a story. Jason knew her favorite story was Robin Hood, so as he read the story animatedly to her, Kori watched on the sidelines, smiling the entire time.

Lian then got put to bed as Kori left the room Lian turned to her uncle.

“Unca Jay, aunt Kori is the best babysitter in the universe but you're the best unca ever. I love you unca Jason,” and she drifted to sleep.

Jason smiled, kissed her forehead, and slowly crept out the room.

To his surprise, Kori was right outside the room.

“I told you, you're her favorite uncle. Not that I blame her,” she said with a smirk.

Is she flirting? Jason can say he wasn’t sure, so he tested his theory.

“Oh really,” he said.

“Around the people you love, you don’t pretend to be something you're not. It’s clear as day how you feel about them. You don’t hide behind a mask” Kori replied.

Immediately, Jason had the answer to his question about her flirting with him.

This must be why Prick Grayson and her broke up. Grayson was known to hide behind a mask, he portrayed one image but had another behind closed doors. As friends, it would not be as much of an issue, however, in a relationship, it’s another playing field and with a relationship with Korina Anders, who wears her heart on her sleeve, Jason was sure it caused them to clash.

“It’s difficult to show emotions when you're being raised by Bruce Wayne,” he isn’t sure why he was sticking up for Grayson or maybe it was for himself.

“Well you seem to be doing alright for yourself,” she said shyly.

“I won’t lie to you it’s not like that every day. Some days are better than others,” he admitted.

This is why he didn’t want to be alone with her. Stupid Harper.

"Why won’t you lie to me, I wouldn’t be offended if you did,” she said looking confused.

Without his brain's permission, he blurted out “You’re too good to be lied to.”

His face sure turned the color of Kori’s hair.

Kori smiled at him and admitted, “I heard what you said to Lian about me not liking you in that way. I wasn’t eavesdropping, I promise."

She suddenly turned, ashamed of Jason thinking the worst of her. However, Jason just wanted to crawl in an imaginary hole. Anywhere, please, Lord Almighty, but here with her.

“Please Kori just forget you heard that” Jason pleaded.

“Why” she whispered.

“Because I’d rather forget than you reject me.”

“Who said I would reject you” Jason looks at Kori stunned.

Kori is looking at her feet because she, like him, spilled her feelings.

“Are you serious? Since when?”

“Remember last summer in Gotham? You came back for a visit. I tried to go up to you but it was hard, I didn’t know if you saw me in that way, you always had that too cool for school vibe since I met you. I’m a nerd with an Astrophysics degree. Like I said I didn’t think u would look my way”.

Jason was floored. He never thought this would ever be a conversation but now it’s out in the open. He can’t help but wonder what if.

So right then and there he decides to throw caution to the wind and take the risk.

If anybody knew Jason Peter Todd, they would know he loves to take risks. He moves closer to Kori until there are barely inches apart and whispers to her.

“Trust me, I’ve been seeing you that way for six years, I’m pretty sure I won’t change my mind”.

Kori now was blushing and she couldn’t fight it down. This man in front of her could bring out emotions she never knew she was capable of but she accepted it.

“Me neither.”

She whispered back, afraid if she talked any louder their moment could break. And so with that, reassuring him, his feelings were reciprocated he went in for a chaste kiss. However, the moment his lips landed on hers, Kori turned it more passionate. Even if he was not expecting that from her, Jason allowed Kori to explore all she wanted, after all, he thought she might as well get used to what will be hers and hers alone.

So Jason could agree with Lian that Korina Marie Anders was indeed the best babysitter in the universe.

Now he owed the smug Roy a huge favor.

Hmm, maybe playful revenge is how he’ll show his appreciation. After all, he can’t lose his touch now, can he?

#jaykori #jason todd #koriand'r #starfire

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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

Text

1154

[created by: joybucket]

What was the last thing you ate? We had adobo for dinner. I didn’t find it filling though, so I might get some of my mom’s bread pudding sometime tonight as a midnight snack.

What is one thing you're a hoarder of? Receipts, for no reason whatsoever other than the frequent nagging feeling at the back of my head telling me I might need to pull out a certain receipt one of these days just in case I get into any issues, so I end up keeping all of them.

Do you collect magazine clippings? No. I used to but they’re all gone now.

What rating do you normally give surveys? I just take them on here. I visit Bzoink pretty often but I never made an account so I haven’t been able to rate the surveys I’ve taken.

Name someone you wish acted the way he/she used to. I wanna say Gab, but she’s better off figuring out who she wants to be and is meant to be for now. Otherwise, I don’t really have an answer to this; all the people I know are pretty dang fantastic.

Have you ever worked in food service? No.

What was your favorite job that you've had? I’ve only had one job, and I definitely can’t complain about it.

Does your stomach hurt currently? Nope. I’m actually on day 2 of my period, but fortunately the pain really ever only takes place on day 1 for me. The rest of my period usually goes smoothly.

What's one medication condition that you have? I don’t have any. I have one medical condition – scoliosis – but I don’t take any medication for it.

Do you forget passwords a lot? LOL yessssss, because websites have varying rules on what they can count as a password – some want 8 characters, some want 12, some want upper case letters, some want a symbol; so even though I use the same password for everything I typically have to make 84954983573475 variations of them anyway that I end up forgetting.

What is the most you've ever weighed? Not sure, maybe a little over 100 lbs.

Do you plan your wedding on Pinterest? No, I never understood how Pinterest worked :/ I lasted all of 5 minutes on there until I felt bored.

Would you want your first child to be a girl or a boy? I’d love a girl.

Who are the cutest babies on Facebook? The Song triplets will always be babies to me, no matter how big they get.

Do you refer to coral as pink, orange, salmon, or coral? Those are four different colors/shades that you’ve just named right there.... < Lmaooooooo same thoughts. I would just call it coral because that’s what it is.

Name someone whom you wish would apologize to you. I have a name in mind and you guys already know who it is. I’m at peace regardless if I get an apology or not (I definitely won’t), though – and I count that as a win. It’s absolutely batshit insane that I never heard one apology but instead got a million “Can’t you give me credit for trying?” I can’t help but chuckle every time I take myself back to those moments. Thankful I got out of there :)

Do you own a record player? I don’t, but I’d love to have one.

Do you have many regrets? No.

Do you wish your regrets would stop coming back to haunt you? I don’t have a lot of them, so I don’t let them bother me to begin with.

Have you had any regrets in the past week? Can’t say I’ve had any.

What do you not know how to say no to? Requests/favors. I’m a people pleaser through and through.

Have you ever been mad at God? Yup, that’s why I let go of religion at a very young age. I was going through shit no kid should’ve been going through and the idea that some deity is making it happen because it was supposed to encourage me have more faith was utterly stupid. I had no problem disowning whatever god I was desperately trying to latch on to by the time I was 10.

If you don't have a car, do you feel like you're missing out? I have a car. I don’t own it, but it was designated for me.

What is your favorite cousin's name? Jereth. I keep forgetting where they got his name from, but it was from like a German movie or something like that.

Who do you wish were your best friend? Hayley Williams.

Would you ever consider moving to L.A.? Never. Just never seemed like my kind of city. Not to mention the amount of Asian/Asian-American hate crimes I’ve been hearing about recently. The US is undeniably out of my list of places I’d want to step foot in, much less live in.

List 5 other names that start with the same letter of your name. Rhiannon, Riley, Rocky, Rachel, and Russell.

Have you ever known anyone who's name started with a "Y"? Yes, I went to college with a girl named Yumi. Yanna is also still a good friend of mine and we catch up every once in a while.

^If yes, what was it? Oops, mentioned them already. There are also a couple more Y people I know but I’m not close to them nor are we in the same social groups, so idk how to classify them.

Did you hear laurel or yanny? It’s been a while since I let myself get carried away by that ~meme, but I think I heard yanny.

Owls or penguins? Penguins. But owls are great too.

What is your go-to comfort food? Probably something with grease that is fried. < This is an awesome answer. Right now though, I’ve been frequently getting spicy tuna salad every Friday to reward myself after a work week.

What is the best coffee shop in your town? Tim Hortons. < Tim Hortons is greeeeaaaat, but all the branches are in Metro Manila and not at all near me :( That said, my pick would probs be Starbucks. There’s a new local coffee shop where I live called Ghost Coffee and I had been meaning to check it out, but quarantine part two happened.

Do you prefer Pinterest or Tumblr? Tumblr, but then again don’t they have different features and purposes?

Do you think blonde is the best hair color? No.

In your opinion, what is the best hair color? I don’t think that there really is a “best” hair color... < Same. Tbh I’ve noticed that I only ever get attracted to brunettes, but I don’t think that necessarily makes it the best hair color.

If applicable, what is the name of your YouTube channel? I think it’s just my name since my account is linked to my Google.

Do you wear glasses? Yes, but I haven’t worn mine in a while since one of the legs snapped. I’ve been managing well without it, but I plan on getting a new pair soon. At least as soon as I grow the pussy to book an appointment HAHA

What's one nickname you have? Leigh calls me Robs. It’s not my favorite, but Leigh is like a sister to me so she’s the only person permitted to call me such.

What's one thing you miss? Being in crowded places and living in those moments.

Do you have a favorite spot in church? I hate being at a church; but to answer this, my very enthusiastic mom used to always pick the very front and center row for our family to sit at, so you can imagine how glad I am not to have to do this anymore because of Covid :)))

Who was the biggest bully in your high school? Bullies stopped being a thing in high school. All the friend groups just minded their own business for the most part, ours included.

Which news story has still stuck with you years later, and why? Manila hostage crisis. It was really scary and the fact that the entire thing was being streamed live on the evening news at a time when livestreaming was still a fairly unfamiliar concept made it even more unsettling.

Have you ever REALLY had a celebrity crush? On Kristen Stewart and Kate Winslet, yep. These days my eyes are on Kim Seon Ho hahaha, and I also feel a future crush on BTS’ Jungkook coming through.

Did you ever have to wear a school uniform? From preschool to high school. Didn’t have to anymore once I started college.

Do you collect washi tape? No. I neverrrrrrr saw the big deal, but then again I’m probably just not craftsy enough to see the point lmao.

Tell me something random that happened to you today. I took an afternoon nap for the first time in many months, and I woke up feeling completely disheveled and confused about the day and time. It’s been a while since I got that sensation and I did not miss it.

If you're a girl, are you on your period? I am, actually.

Are there any balloons in the room you're in right now? Yeah, the balloons we had set up for my dad for his 50th birthday celebration are surprisingly still alive. We originally had them in our accommodation in Tagaytay, but we brought the balloons home and put them up on the 2nd floor corridor, and they’re still all up there.

Do you have the windows open? I do, because the wind is actually pretty chilly tonight. I’m even wearing a hoodie in freaking April, which never happens.

What's one good name for a new puppy? Depends on their personality. It took hours for us to name Cooper, so it wouldn’t be easy to think of a name for a puppy I’ve never even met.

Would you collect antiques if you were rich? Depends on what kind, but yeah, I might consider it.

Did you dream last night? Yes.

Do you forget dreams or remember them? (or do you not dream?) I remember them in the first few minutes of waking up, but my memories of them gradually fizzle out throughout the day.

What color is your phone? Black.

Do you often have your phone on vibrate? Yes, because I often have meetings and it’s a big nuisance whenever there’s a ringtone that chimes in the middle of one.

Name something that gives you headaches. Working in front of the laptop for too long.

Do you have a secret hiding spot? My car, sometimes.

Have you ever lived in a place that had a secret passageway? Nope.

Did you play with legos as a kid? Yes, but I was never too imaginative for it. I just liked making tall towers and then dismantling them right after.

If applicable, what color is the rim of your bedroom mirror? White.

Can you be scatterbrained? Sure.

#survey #surveys

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wazafam · 4 years ago

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The launch of DC's Future State has already brought new and ambitious re-imaginings of the publisher's core characters. But after learning just what is in store with the Future State versions the Suicide Squad and a millenia-old Black Adam, there's no question some of the biggest surprises for readers are still on the way.

In addition to a new version of Batman or wild glimpses of DC's possible futures, the conclusion of Death Metal also brought with it the return of parallel worlds and realities many believed to be erased, or at least overlooked, from the DC Multiverse. It's those worlds that have been chosen for DC's Future State: Suicide Squad #1 arriving January 26th. With a new version of Task Force X taking a mission to Earth-3, followed by Black Adam's own mission in the 853 Century in the same issue, the stage is set for two major twists. Screen Rant got the chance to speak with new Suicide Squad writer Robbie Thompson and Jeremy Adams about both unexpected tales. The full interview, as well as a preview of both stories contained in Future State: Suicide Squad #1 can be found below.

RELATED: Superboy is Building DC's New Suicide Squad

Screen Rant: So with Death Metal setting up a new status quo, the shift from that finale into Future State obviously happened faster for readers than for you guys. Can each of you speak to the process of how you joined Future State, and landed on these particular characters, and inside the same book? I'm assuming you didn't need to be talked into an event like this.

Robbie Thompson: I was working on Teen Titans, and this was a long time ago. Usually in comics, your runway is about 20 feet, so it was quite a while back. I'm not sure when you go brought in, Jeremy, but I felt like we got a lot of time which we don't normally get. Was that your experience as well?

Jeremy Adams: No, my experience was that I was brought in under the umbrella of 5G. Then that all fell apart. I had never written a comic, and that's always been on my bucket list since I was a little child. So I thought, "Oh, it was so close. And yet again, it has crumbled before me." Then a couple months ago, my friend Tim, who's writing Teen Titans now in the Shazam Future State, mentioned me to our editor Mike Cotton. Cotton asked, "What about these guys?" And Tim's like, "Oh, Jeremy is great." So, Cotton called me up and said, "Hey, would you like to do something with Black Adam in Future State?" And I'm like, "Okay, what's that?" I really didn't have much time.

The advantage I had compared to a lot of the people in Future State is that mine is so far removed in the future to the DC One Million segment that I didn't need that much run-up, other than trying to make sense of DC One Million. Which I loved, but it's crazy. Cotton, very cleverly, is trying to weave some overarching story between the Future State titles that he's editing - which I think is very good. So, having to try to figure out how to put that into what I was doing was really fun. But I didn't have a lot of lead up.

Robbie Thompson: I guess we had somewhat similar experiences in that, although I was not involved in the artist formerly known as 5G, there was definitely a sense that I got of, "Okay, here's this big event, and here's how we can be interconnected. Here's how we can tell stories that can stand on their own," which was another big appeal to me.

I also knew I was going to be writing the Suicide Squad ongoing book, so that that was really helpful too. Because Cotton and [Assistant Editor Marquis] Draper both had a very clear idea what they wanted for that book, which made forward reverse-engineering Future State a little bit easier on my part. Just to finish the thought, I was working on Teen Titans and my job was to come in and land that plane. That's that's what I did, and that was fun. I figured, "Okay, my time at DC is done. I'm wrapped. I never got to write Ambush Bug, but it was a good time." But then Cotton reached out and was like, "Hey, what are your thoughts on the Suicide Squad?"

I was a big fan up to Tom Taylor's recent run with that crew, so I'm like, "What did you have in mind?" I'm from TV, so it's always great when editors are like showrunners and have a clear vision of what they want; it makes the job a lot easier and a lot more fun. To have a little bit more time than usual was also cool. It's not that we haven't burned through that time or changed some stuff, but to have the luxury of that was very cool.

SR: Death Metal opened the door for revisiting previous worlds and realities and storylines. For you, Robbie, that means a return to Earth 3. And for Jeremy, it's a trip it's a trip through time to DC One Million. Can you both set the stage for these return trips, if it will be the same version fans know, and what it was you found appealing about these corners of DC lore?

Jeremy Adams: For me, it's the Black Adam of it. When you read DC One Million, which is so far flung in the future, one of the things that I noticed was that there was a lack of discussion of magic. And I think that was kind of the thread I started pulling at when you're talking about Black Adam and who would that character be. Why is there no real discussion of magic, and what does that look like? Kind of hinting at what could have happened to magic, but also using that as a catalyst to get us into a bigger threat that is going to play a critical role, especially in Teen Titans Future State.

I thought that, to a degree, I had one of the easier jobs because I could be so far in the future. I don't know if I'm spoiling anything, but in one of the panels in the background, you can see Etrigan, except he has a Detective Chimp hat. I didn't have any brakes put on me, in terms of the things I could do or not do. The fact is that the DC One Million just afforded me an opportunity to play with that, and go into that world. When I first read it, I was kind of like, "I don't know..." and then I reread it and I'm like, "This is awesome!" It's really strange and out there, but it has a really great ending. To be able to play something in that time, and then try to trace it back to what might have happened in some of the other books, was really fun.

Robbie Thompson: I would say I had a similar experience, in terms of the worlds that's opened up. Earth-3 is fun and everything but, I think for me, it was more about what Cotton and the crew wanted to do with Amanda Waller. I think she's always been such an amazing character. She's both the protagonist and the antagonist of the story. And where they wanted to take her was eventually to Earth-3, which is sort of a bit of a cautionary tale. If she gets what she wants in the ongoing series, it's curtains for us. But it was really more about exploring what drives Amanda Waller.

In Future State, we see what she's doing. And then in the series, I guess, we kind of unpack why she's doing it. We're seeing her trying to do something different after having done the sort of the same for a while. And we're exploring what that breaking point was for her, and why she wants to try something different. That, coupled with the addition of Superboy to the team - he's in the Future State books, and the two-parter is centered around him and Waller. He's introduced very quickly in the ongoing story, and I was just really excited about that character.

We have a bit of a mystery with him - I don't know how much I'm allowed to say - in terms of where he's going and why he's there, but it dovetails a little bit with Walter's story. You'll see it hinted at in Future State issue 2. I was excited Earth-3 and I love the crime syndicate and all that other stuff. But, really, it was about exploring what Waller is up to, and it was kind of a means to that end. She's a means to an end kind of a character, so it felt like it fit pretty nicely.

Jeremy Adams: It's such a good high concept too, Robbie.

Robbie Thompson: I blame Cotton; it's all his fault.

RELATED: DC's New Superman Is Quite Different From His Father, Kal-El

SR: Despite the name of the book being The Suicide Squad, you're getting to assemble three teams in play at this point. The first page will pleasantly surprise people when they open the book to meet the Justice Squad, which has been glimpsed in some preview pages. You have assembled a motley crew out of some hilarious deep cuts that are guaranteed to send fans searching DC Wikis.

Robbie Thompson: Again, I have to credit Cotton and Draper, the editors on the book. When we first started talking about the book again, we initially were talking about the ongoing Suicide Squad book. There were a lot of pieces that they wanted to play around with. But the thing that was appealing to me, and I think it's the appeal of the great Suicide Squad runs that I've enjoyed, is the motley crew of both familiar faces and obscure faces. To spoil a little bit in the new series, we'll be introducing some new characters. I wouldn't get attached. I mean, it is the Suicide Squad. I literally will put that in the script. I'll be like, "Don't get attached. Two pages later. the neck bomb's going off."

But, yeah, we wanted to kind of play around you know with what a Bizarro Justice League would look like. What would it look like if Waller was assembling ostensibly her own version of the Justice League, with her squad bent on it? It led to some larger iconic characters, like Conner Kent now being Superman. But then we were like, "Okay, who's our Flash? Who's Wonder Woman..." and that led to some really just fun and frankly weird shit, getting Talon as Batman and Clayface as the Martian Manhunter.

To Jeremy's point earlier, because Cotton is weaving a bunch of these things together, we do have the futuristic version of a new Teen Titan character that will be introduced in Tim's book. It's definitely a weird group of people. I think this is in the preview pages, but much like any Suicide Squad or anything with Waller attached, I wouldn't get attached to any of these people. Pretty quickly, you see a pretty iconic character go right out the window. But that's been our MO: how do we keep this true to those classic Ostrander stories that are character-driven, but with characters that are obscure and weird and that you end up caring about? Then, of course, their heads blow up and that's the great paradigm of a book like this.

The Justice Squad is definitely a motley crew. But, like you said, we're gonna meet a couple of others. I think I'm allowed to tease stuff. If this is the new Task Force X, there's also hinting at a Task Force Z. What powers that, I think, is a cool mystery for fans. And then, of course, our last page is the Squad itself. It's always fun to build teams, but on Suicide Squad, it's even more fun to break them down - sometimes literally. The two-page spread that introduces the Squad is really just another piece of fantastic storytelling from Javier Fernandez, who's the artist on the book.

SR: A special treat is that Peacemaker is playing a major role here. He's getting a ton of buzz right now, thanks to James Gunn's Suicide Squad sequel, but you have the cool honor of introducing him to a lot of fans. Where does your Peacemaker fit in this battle of bad versus evil?

Robbie Thompson: I think the great thing about Peacemaker is in his first line: "peace at any cost," or whatever, I'm blanking on the exact phrasing. He is such a delightfully arch character in that regard. And he's such a fun contrast, especially in the later years where he got even more rigorous and how he wanted to find peace. So, I think the thing that's fun about him is that he's not really interested in good or evil; he's interested in peace. He doesn't really care who gets in his way, as you'll see in the story, and this is the story that we're gonna be telling long term with Peacemaker.

He is at odds with Amanda Waller. As you'll see in the ongoing series, he's a willing member of the Suicide Squad - as much as you can be. At least that's what he's telling himself. In terms of placing where he's at, I think what we hint at in the story is that he was working for Waller and was a believer and what she was doing, and she has gone a step too far even for Peacemaker. Waller is kind of off the rails. But what I think is great about both characters is they both can be protagonists and antagonists. They both genuinely feel that what they're doing is not only the right thing, but the good thing. In their minds, they have justified their actions to meet that questionable morality.

Yes, he's a buzzy character, because he's going to be in the movie and they're doing a TV show. And it's John Cena playing him, which is amazing. I love that guy. But it was really about finding a fun, opposite number for Waller. They're two people that might seemingly be on the same page, but then what would tear them apart? That's sort of where you're seeing Peacemaker at the beginning of this; he is none too pleased with Waller.

SR: That actually is a fantastic segue for you, Jeremy. Fans of Shazam don't need to be told how far Black Adam would climb if he was given a few hundred centuries. For that very reason, the Adam they meet in this story is not the one that they're going to expect. What led you in that direction of subverting his reputation?

Jeremy Adams: I think because Adam's trajectory from being the chosen champion of the wizard Shazam, and then that power going through his head so he becomes this kind of antihero, feels like a hollow pursuit. I think what makes him interesting is when he finally found Kahndaq, and he's like, "I have a people, and I have a mission to protect." This has extended out into the universe now, but he gives up that iron fist, and it's more about Kahndaq being a place of refuge. He mirrors that, and he's kind of stepped away when we meet him from that life of being a warrior; of being somebody that fought for things. He's almost gone the other extreme, into kind of pacifism.

And he's lived for hundreds of years. There's this perspective he has on what actually means something. That's kind of where our story moves a little bit. What would it take for somebody that's seen it all to keep wanting to live? And that's where we meet him. What brings that fire back that makes him want to fight again? Because that's not where he is when we meet him.

Related: The New Wonder Woman is Completely Rewriting DC Mythology

SR: What are your hopes for this tale? I feel like this is a very different story than people would expect from Future State Black Adam.

Jeremy Adams: Yeah. I'm in awe of many different things: the fact that they let us create some characters, which has been an absolute joy - particularly one character that I got to help create that is my favorite person ever. Also, taking something from my animation work and being able to put it into the DC proper has been really great too, and seeing how that character will have far-reaching effects in other books.

But this is my first time out as a comic writer, and I'm still learning the ropes. Mostly, when I see Fernando Pasarin's art, I'm like, "Why are we splitting it with words? This is stupid. We need to strip out all the words, and just put this incredible art there." Because he really captures the emotion and the humor and some of the insanity of it. But I think because it was my first attempt at a comic, and it was also me thinking it could be my last attempt at a comic, I'm gonna just throw the kitchen sink at it. I think it's really fun, and even the second one doubles down on the craziness of it. But I like that kind of unrestrained imagination, where I can keep putting ideas out.

Robbie Thompson: I did the same thing when I was at Marvel, I think it was issue 4 of Silk. Because I was like, "Oh, we'll get cancelled at 5." Right? But I put the Fantastic Four and Galactus in it, and there was no reason for either to be in the book. I thought, "This is it. This is my chance. It's the fourth issue."

Jeremy Adams: That's what I did when I got on Supernatural, because I knew it was the last season. "Here's a bunch of ideas!" And they're like, "No."

SR: You both are giving readers a lot to talk about with, with more than one headline-worthy twist or reveal or development. Are you prepared to see how fans react to those bombshells?

Jeremy Adams: Robbie and I have been through the crucible that is Supernatural. So, sans expectation, I'm just like, "Alright, whatever." That's not why I do it. I do it because I want to tell that story. I want to be crazy or zany or whatever. Because I'm a fan, so I write toward my inner fan.

Robbie Thompson: I mean, you're always going to have - on characters that people are so attached to, or teams that people are so attached to, or content - you're always going to have something. It's almost a fool's errand to chase it. Becaus when you do chase after the shiny thing, it's the thing that you never thought - it turns out they love this over here, and they're obsessed with that detail.

I certainly hope that people talk about it. As one of my first editors said, "It's only when they're not talking about your book that you're in trouble." I certainly hope they do, but I wouldn't say it was the intention. I really can say that on every book I've ever worked on, there's always the thing that I felt like, "Oh, this will get their tongues waggin'." And then no, it was actually this thing over here. It was this relationship that people got really invested in, that was for me just a means to a plot end, but for them it was the conduit into the book or the story or whatever. So, yeah, I certainly hope they get chatting.

SR: In that vein, can each of you speak a bit about the art teams responsible for this future cosplay? They more than deliver right from the start, and it's hard to imagine them elevating it from here.

Robbie Thompson: I'm really bare bones in my scripts. I'll just say, "This is a new version of Batman; it's Talon. Have fun?" I'm dressed like a failed lumberjack; I'm not the guy for that. Fortunately on Future State, I'm working with Javier and Eduardo on the ongoing. They're just briilliant artists. Javier took all of the ideas that we were talking about in the book and really just made his own take on all these characters. And then Alex came in with his colors and did an amazing job, and everybody just came to play in their own way. If people end up cosplaying as Talon Batman or this creepy Martian Manhunter, it's all thanks to Javier and his design work. I don't know about you, Jeremy, but seeing those new designs come in every single time is always so exciting and really fun.

Jeremy Adams: Yeah, I was a little overwhelmed by it all. Because in animation, you write something and then you got to wait a couple years before you actually get to see it. But when it comes to this, it's almost like live theater a little bit. You have a very quick reaction that you get, because these geniuses that are artists and colorist and inkers come in, and give you this magic from the little words you scribble down. I probably am a little more descriptive in certain things, just because of the byproduct of animation in general. But the fact is that everything that I had in my mind, Fernando did it times 10. It was just so detailed and so interesting. Even the coloring and the inking; everything was just so perfect.

It's a weird thing for me, because you get the pencils back and you're like, "Can we just release this? This is so good." Then you get the inks back, and you're like, "Well, this is great!" And then you get the colors back, and you feel like, "Well, I don't know why I'm here." That's kind of how I feel the entire time.

Future State: Suicide Squad #1 will be available at comic book shops and digitally on February 26th, 2020.

Future State: Suicide Squad #1

Written by: Robbie Thompson, Jeremy Adams

Art by: Javier Fernandez, Fernando Pasarin, Alex Sinclair, Oclair Albert, Jeromy Cox

Cover Art by: Javier Fernandez, Marcelo MaioloDerrick Chew

Editor: Mike Cotton,

SUICIDE SQUAD, PART 1 / BLACK ADAM, PART 1

The Suicide Squad enters the Future State era as Amanda Waller uses Task Force X to save the world and remake it in her image—but what happens when the team shows up to stop her? And in the second story in this extra-sized issue, Black Adam, the immortal one-time champion of the wizard Shazam, rules the planet Kahndaq in the 853rd century. Can he save the future from a threat rooted in the past?

MORE: Nightwing Is Becoming The Anakin Skywalker of Future State

Exclusive Preview: Suicide Squad & Black Adam Future State from https://ift.tt/3qO4evh

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