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damianwaynerocks · 4 years

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Ghosts in Gotham

Danny Phantom / DC Comics

Dedicated To: @psychovigilantewrites

Description: The Batfamily has been through their fair share of the supernatural. That’s why they originally weren’t worried whenever ghosts started showing up in Gotham City. Until one day, something happens; Batman is captured and taken into the Ghost Zone. With no way to go in there themselves, with no way to fight the ghosts inside, the bats decide to call the person who can; Danny Phantom. Together, Danny takes Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne into the Ghost Zone before the Batman is lost forever.

Word Count: 3523

Ch 1 Ch 2 Masterlist

Chapter 3:

Danny could deal with a lot.

He'd dealt with dying. He'd dealt with becoming a ghost. He'd dealt with ghosts trying to kill him. He'd dealt with finding out that his dad's best friend wasn't only a halfa like him, but that he wanted to get with his mom. He'd dealt with ghost prison. He'd dealt with finding out he'd been cloned. He'd dealt with finding a future in which everyone he loved was dead and he himself was evil. He'd even dealt with girls.

He thought he could deal with anything.

But being stuck a small space with Damian Wayne and Tim Drake?

He wasn't so sure he could deal with that.

"You incompetent creature, why on earth are you listening to a C-average oaf instead of me?"

"Because the 'oaf' has been here before. We haven't."

"I possessed more intelligence than you and Fenton combined whenever I was four years old, and I have memorized the Infi-map. I am completely capable of commanding this voyage."

Danny's eye twitched at the arguing. It was worse than he and Jasmine. "Does it ever end?" he asked Stephanie through gritted teeth. The blonde sighed.

"Damian feels like he has to prove that he's superior to Tim," she explained. "It's not my place to tell you exactly why, but it's true. And he knows exactly how to get under Tim's skin."

"So.. no?"

"No."

Danny groaned. "It's giving me a headache." He perked up as he saw the island in front of him. "Hey, guys," he said, "We're here."

They had reached the lair of Clockwork. Clockwork was the master of time and could see into any timeline and all of the possible outcomes. Danny had the idea of asking him if he could show them the moment in which Bruce Wayne had disappeared, in the hopes that they could see which ghost it was.

It was a long shot, but it was the only idea Danny could think of.

Tim and Damian had stopped their arguing, unbuckling their seat belts as Danny landed the Speeder on the grounds of the lair.

"So this guy can tell us who took Bruce?" Stephanie asked as she opened the door, stepping on to the ground. Danny nodded.

"Yeah. I can't promise he'll help, but it's our best bet."

The foursome walked towards the massive clocktower, Damian walking in step with Danny as he gripped his sword. Danny knocked on the door, and it opened with a creak.

"Hello, Danny," a voice said. "And hello, Bats." Clockwork floated down. He was a small ghost, purple in color with a darker purple cloak.

"Whaddup, Clockwork," Danny greeted. "Long time no see." He heard Stephanie laugh at the pun behind him and then heard her grunt as Damian elbowed her.

"It has not been long to me, Danny," Clockwork replied. His eyes drifted over the group. "What do you want?"

"I assume that you know, Time Master," Damian answered before Danny could open his mouth, stepping forward until he was right beside a swirling vortex, although his eyes remained on the ghost. "We are looking for my Father, and Phantom says you can help."

"Damian Wayne," Clockwork said curtly. "Son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al’ Ghul. I understand that you are worried about your father, but I would suggest you step back before you see something you don't want to."

Danny was surprised to see that Damian obeyed. He narrowed his eyes. Clockwork almost seemed... nervous? "What aren't you telling us?"

"You are indeed a smart boy," Clockwork chuckled, "I hope you also can deduce that you were not brought here on accident. I was originally going to go and tell you myself, however, I have seen that it would be better for you to have Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne at your side."

"What's wrong?"

"Something has happened," Clockwork turned around, clasping his hands behind on his back as he floated further off. "The Observants have underestimated your power," he turned back around, locking his gaze with Danny's. "The power you have not yet gained."

Danny's face paled. "You don't mean-"

"That is all I can say," the ghost interrupted. "Leave now. I have work to do. I have to stop a little boy with a powerful watch from destroying his timeline."

Danny, however, couldn't move. He was frozen, his eyes wide. There was no way. He was locked in a thermos, with no possible way for a ghost to escape.

Although, that ghost wasn't just any ghost.

"What do you mean by that?" Damian demanded. "Tell us more. Now."

Clockwork looked at the boy with humor in his eyes. "Mr. Wayne, you should not threaten me." He waved his hand. "Now go. You do not have much... time."

Danny shook his head and turned around, walking towards the exit in a trance-like state. With a glance at Clockwork, the others followed, with Damian at the rear. Before he could leave, Clockwork called his name.

"Damian, listen closely," he said, shifting into an older ghost as he spoke. "You will one day get an offer. It will be a tempting offer, one that you will not want to refuse," his eyes darkened. "Do not accept it."

Damian blinked, before strutting outside to follow the others, not responding to Clockwork's warning.

Tim, Stephanie, and Danny were already on the ship as Damian walked out. As he opened the door to step in, he tuned into the conversation.

"So, you're telling us that an evil version of you exists outside of time, and it has Bruce," Tim said slowly. Danny nodded.

"We call him Dark Danny. In the alternate timeline, he- or, I, I guess -watched our family die. He couldn't handle the pain and guilt, so he had Vlad Masters- bad guy, by the way, deck him if you ever see him at a rich-person party -turn him into a full ghost, getting rid of the human side completely. It drove him mad, and without his human side, he was the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone. He destroyed the world."

"How did you defeat him?" Damian asked, pulling a capri-sun out of his cooler as he listened. Danny ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. Dumb luck, honestly. I guess I have a power that he didn't get until years later, and it knocked him off his game so I could take him down." He grimaced. "I probably wouldn't have beat him if I hadn't surprised him. He took down all of the other ghosts in the Ghost Zone by that point,"

"He must've taken out the Justice League, too," Stephanie mused, crossing her arms. "You said you didn't see them anywhere, right? The only reason they wouldn't have been fighting him is if..." she trailed off.

"We can defeat him," Damian said, crushing the capri-sun in his hand as he finished. "If Phantom can defeat him, then with our help, we can, too."

"Yeah, but like I said, it was only because I surprised him," Danny pointed out.

"Then let's surprise him again," Tim said. He took out the Infi-map. "Danny, who's your worst enemy here? If we can get them to help, and that might knock Dark Danny off his game."

"Pariah Dark," Danny answered instantly. "But that's a terrible idea, trust me," he paused, thinking. "We do need backup, and I know of at least two who could help." He turned his body intangible before Tim could respond, and flew out of the Speeder. He landed in front of it, and putting both of his fingers in his mouth, he whistled. "Come here, Cujo!"

It took a few seconds, but a small green dog zipped in front of Danny, jumping in his arms and knocking him over. Danny smiled widely as he scratched behind Cujo's ears.

"Hey, little guy!" he laughed as the dog licked his face. "I missed you too! You down for an adventure?" Cujo barked, wagging his tail. "I'll take that as a yes," Danny said, phasing back into the Speeder.

"Guys," he said, setting the dog down. "I'd like you to meet Cujo, the best boy in the entire Ghost Zone."

Damian's eyes lit up behind his mask, kneeling down and hugging Cujo as the dog barreled into him, not paying attention as Tim spoke.

"Don't get me wrong, he's adorable, but he doesn't look like he can pack a punch," he said, watching the dog fondly.

"Trust me, he's a fighter," Danny assured him. Tim nodded.

"If you say so, but man, I wish I had a dog," He walked over to where Damian was, scratching Cujo's back. Damian scowled, pulling the dog closer.

"Get back, Drake, Cujo clearly prefers me over you."

"Damian, come on, you have so many pets and I don't have any-"

"You have Bart."

"Bart is not my pet-"

"He is the human version of an Australian Shepherd minus the intelligence-"

As the two bickered, Danny looked at Stephanie. "Damian likes animals?" Stephanie laughed.

"Oh you have no idea, he has a dog, a cat, a cow-"

"A cow?"

"His name is Bat-Cow!" Damian snapped from where he had begrudgingly let Tim hold the dog.

"I love everything about that," Danny laughed. "That's the best name." Damian looked at Tim with a smug look on his face.

"See, Drake? Bat-Cow is a great name."

"I never said it wasn't!"

Danny started to ask Stephanie a question before he heard a crash and the Speeder lurched to the side.

"We've been hit!" Tim yelled, jumping off of the floor and grabbing the Speeder's controls, trying to steady the craft. Danny merged out of the Speeder and narrowed his eyes as he saw the culprit.

A gray ghost in black armor with flaming hair sneered, his arm smoking from where he had shot the Speeder. "Whelp," he growled.

"Nice to see you too, Shorty!" Danny said in a mock-cheerful tone. "Here to kill me? Because you didn't have to shoot the ship, you could've just yelled 'I am Skulker, and you are my prey! Prepare to die!'" he lowered his voice as he imitated the bounty hunter. "And then I would say something witty back, and I would pound you into the ground."

"You aren't the only prey this time, Ghost Child." Skulker answered with a menacing grin.

"You after the Bats?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow. "If you were trying to kill them, you did a crappy job of it. That blast didn't kill anyone."

"That's the point. I think it'd be fun to beat the proteges of Batman, so they need to be alive and able to fight." he pointed downwards, and Danny followed his gaze, before swooping down to follow.

Somehow, he hadn't noticed that the Speeder was plummeting down to the island below. While the Specter Speeder was durable enough to keep from dying on impact, he didn't want them to crash.

He hurled himself in front of the Speeder, and crossing his arms, made a force field that surrounding the Speeder. Danny grunted at the exertion, gritting his teeth as he tried to keep the force field surrounding the heavy ship.

The ship still crashed with a loud bang, leaving a large crater around it, but the ship itself was intact. Danny dropped his arms and fell to his knees, exhausted.

The door opened, and his three companions stepped out. "Nice one!" Stephanie praised, and Danny gave her a thumbs-up as he tried to catch his breath. He felt somebody nudge his shoulder, and he saw Damian standing above him with a capri-sun in his hand.

"Drink this," he said, handing Danny the drink. "Do not waste it. I can destroy you."

"Thanks," Danny panted as he poked the straw into the pouch. Damian nodded stiffly.

"Hate to interrupt," Tim said, helping Danny to his feet. "But that that Iron Man wannabe is headed this way."

Danny finished his drink and threw it over his shoulder as his fists lit up with a green aura, ignoring Damian's huff of protest at the littering.

Skulker chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "Well, look at that," he sneered, "Not a scratch on you! I'm impressed."

"You? Impressed? Who would've thought," Danny said, narrowing his eyes.

Tim pulled out a bo-staff, twirling it around as Damian unsheathed his sword. Stephanie moved to stand beside Danny as she gripped her eskrima sticks.

"Oh, you will soon be impressed yourself," Skulker said as his arms morphed into guns. "You see, I-" he was cut off with a grunt as Danny rushed forward and sent a strong right-hook into his face.

Skulker flew back a few yards before finding his feet again. He glared at Danny. "That was low even for you Ghost Boy. Interrupting me I monologue."

Danny shrugged. "What can I say? It’s the same reason why I’m failing Chemistry; I have a short attention span.” He grinned. "But he doesn't!"

While they had been talking, Damian had managed to get behind Skulker. He jumped into the air, drop-kicking the ghost, sending him to the ground with a thud. Danny picked Skulker up and gave him an uppercut, launching him into the sky.

Skulker shook his head, steadying himself, and shot a barrage of ectoblasts at the four heroes below. Danny made his body intangible while the others, used to being shot at, dodged the blasts with ease. Tim shot his grappling hook at Skulker, wrapping the cord around his leg and pulling him back to the ground.

Tim swung the cord, launching Skulker to the side where his body was met by two hits of Stephanie's eskrima sticks. Skulker merged through the cord and landed on the ground, his teeth grinding together in fury.

"Enough!" he shouted, and sent a shock wave from his arms that blew them back. "I am sick of your pathetic attempts at besting me, whelp! When will you learn that you cannot best the Ghost Hunter!"

"Uh, kind of hard to learn that after I've beaten you, like, every single time we've fought," Danny retorted, putting his hands on his hips with a smirk.

Skulker's eye twitched. "My employer said to bring you in alive, but I don't think he'd mind you all missing a few limbs." His arms morphed into missile launchers, and he held them out at the four.

"Phantom, you possess electrokinesis, correct?" Damian asked quietly, tensing his muscles. Danny nodded.

"Yeah." He met Damian's eyes and smirked as he realized what the younger boy had in mind.

Damian grabbed on to Danny's arm, and, turning them both intangible and invisible, Danny carried Damian into the air, right above Skulker. One of Danny's hands crackled with electricity, and the tip of his fingers brushed against Damian's sword. The blade lit up like a taser. Damian and Danny exchanged a glance and, using Danny's shoulder for leverage, Damian jumped, free-falling towards Skulker.

By the time Skulker saw Damian, it was too late. Damian jabbed his electrified sword into Skulker's armor.

"Oh, crud," Skulker muttered as his armor crackled with electricity, before short-circuiting and launching him into the sky and out of sight.

"Nice one, Damian!" Danny floated to the ground, a wide smile on his face. He raised his hand for a high five. "Up top!"

"Tt. The act of high-fiving is such a ridiculous notion," Damian muttered, but he smacked his hand against the other's anyways. "You did quite well yourself."

"That guy-" Tim popped his shoulder back into place, wincing. "-does not pass the vibe check."

Stephanie snorted. "That guy is the vibe check, Timbers."

Damian sheathed his sword. "I assume that we all have gathered that his employer was Dark Danny?" It was more a statement than a question.

"Oh, for sure," Danny said, before stumbling as Cujo barreled into him. Danny huffed as he lifted the dog to his face. "Where were you, big guy?"

"Are you sure this dog can help us take Future-You down?" Stephanie asked with a raised eyebrow. "A fat lot of help he just was."

"I think he was just sleeping," Danny said as he sat the dog down. "I promise he'll be useful."

"Ship looks pretty good, considering," Tim said from where he was looking at the Specter Speeder. "I think whatever he hit us with just killed the engine. It should start back up."

Danny frowned, a finger on his chin as he pondered aloud. "So if Future-Me has employed Skulker, then he's gotta be somewhere that Skulker has access to. His lair, maybe? But I doubt it. They'd need to be somewhere with some pretty high-tech stuff if they're keeping Batman hostage."

"Are there any technology-related ghosts?" Stephanie asked. Danny didn't answer at first as he watched Tim switch the Speeder on.

"Yes," Danny finally answered. "There is, but I doubt he knows who he's working for. Skulker probably doesn't know either." Danny paused, and the smallest hint of a smile ghosted across his face as another thought struck him. "And I bet Skulker's girlfriend knows even less than that."

"So you're tellin' me Skulker's working for Future You? Who took away my voice and my beauty?" A ghost with pink, flaming hair in a high ponytail asked. "Now why the heck would you do that for? I thought we were cool."

"We are. This guy is me from another timeline. He isn't me." Danny explained to Skulker's girlfriend. Ember McLain, the Ghost of Song, crossed her arms, her lips turning into a frown.

"No way he would work with someone who wronged me like that. He would never."

"He doesn't know," Tim spoke up. "He probably just offered him money, or whatever currency you use, in exchange for taking Danny and us."

The Infi-map had taken the four to Ember's lair. If anybody could convince Skulker to stop, Danny had reasoned, it would be her.

"With you, Skulker, Cujo and Wulf on our side, we can beat him," Danny said. "Seeing Skulker and I work together might trip him up," he paused. "You do want to beat this guy, right? I mean, he will end up destroying your voice." Even though Ember might not care about the human world being obliterated, she would definitely care about the same thing happening to her voice.

Stephanie and Damian had stayed in the Speeder with Damian. Stephanie's eyes were wide behind her cowl. "Damian, that's Ember McLain," she whispered. "Remember that song Remember from a couple of years ago? The one Jason wouldn't stop singing on patrol? She sang it! And she's a ghost!"

"Of course she is a supernatural being, Brown, I told you she had the voice of a siren," Damian whispered back.

"I'll talk to him," Ember agreed. "He'll listen to me. You guys go find Wulf, and we'll meet you at Technus' place."

"Great." Danny smiled. "Thanks, Ember. I owe you one."

"Well, I might just take you up on that sometime, Ghost Kid."

"So, Wulf," Tim began as the two walked back towards the ship. "He's like a werewolf? You said?"

"He isn't a werewolf, but he looks like what you'd expect a werewolf to look like," Danny explained. "He's a beast, literally and figuratively. And his claws can tear open a portal to our world, so once we get Batman, we can get out of the Ghost Zone fast."

"Great. Where is he?"

"That's the fun part," Danny replied as he got into the Specter Speeder. "We have to break him out of prison. And the people who own it do not like me.”

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ask-cloverfield · 3 years

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I’m trying to hone in the details for the Spirits of Vengeance in the Marvel Mythology AU and I’m trying to figure out if I mythologized Zarathos and Kale too much

Basically the concept is taking from that old marvel Conan creation myth, Set and Cthon start eating other Gods Gaia summons a god eating abomination, a god of spirits survives and from wounds are born the first couple of Spirits of Vengeance; A Zadkiel analogue, Zarathos and unnamed filler ones. God of spirits mellows out and Zadkiel becomes loosely in charge of the Spirits. Y’know the Agents of Shield Johnny Blaze gives the demon to Reyes scene? Basically Zadkiel’s whole deal here.

Zarathos becomes pissy just in general and Zadkiel decides to just get rid of him but God of Spirits feels iffy about so they compromise and at least give him a host so doesn’t just wither and die. The host is a dying farmer by the name of Caleb and Zarathos is half-more dead and can only really function in their “factory reset” mode for lack of a better term.

After Caleb and Zarathos’ ride of revenge starts tacking on a lot of collateral damage they decide to use a recently drowned guy’s spirit to serve as his caretaker. Blah blah basically this is how Zarathos’ “hell’s bounty hunter” schtick is treated here. He works for a vengeance quota and moves on to working to give another demon tribute so he doesn’t die even more.

Noble Kale’s altered backstory meanwhile is left a bit more vague. His name isn’t Noble Kale that’s just what Danny ends up calling him because just “Skeleton Man” sounds rude.

Broad strokes apply he was killed by his father (drowned him) and instead of going to the afterlife became a spirit of vengeance who was bonded to a cowboy to watch over an edgelord. Time passes they get killed by vengeance, Kale is awoken bonded to Ketch after he dies and I am vaguely tempted to go the Kale already emotionally constipated, becomes vaguely in love with Ketch.

While he wakes up feral Ketch ends up calming him down after an encounter with Nightmare has Ketch stuck in that mind palace thing with what little is left of Kale’s conciseness.

I will admit making Zadkiel’s analogue a neutral character was a bit of a spite thing. Oh and the god of spirits is Marduk Kurios in name only, I wanted to draw a Mike Mignola demon but just make him kinda chill.

#marvel mythology au #i’m trying to figure out what needs reworking #also danny is gay #because it seems right #i am merging set and lilith but for convience sake just calling them set in this infodump #calling her satha in reference to a snake retconned to be set later on #ghost rider #i have been working on this au for seven years let me infodum

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nelllraiser · 4 years

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toxic [by britney spears] | nate & nell

LOCATION: a private karaoke room. TRIGGERS: drugs. DRUG IN QUESTION: (accidental) ballybog poison. PARTIES INVOLVED: @deadicated-nate, @nelllraiser, britney spears

Apparently, Nell’s relentlessness paid off when it came to Nate as they were now comfortably set up in one of the karaoke rooms at a nearby establishment. She couldn’t help her tenacity when it came to him. All she could think about was how he’d just looked so...alone in the bar where they’d met, all holed up with his little bar stool jail. It made her wonder how often he was alone, and whether that aloneness translated into, well— loneliness. So she’d managed to drag him out to make good on his promise, hoping she might be able to alleviate some of that potential loneliness if it was indeed how he felt. As soon as the door closed to their private room, she turned to the man with a bright and eager smile. “So have you been practicing?” The tease was a small one, born of her excitement. “Any particular songs you’ve been thinking of?”

Nate had tried every excuse in the book to get out of going to this karaoke place, but admittedly, he wasn’t trying too hard. All he could do was picture the look of disappointment on Penelope’s face every time he declined one of her adventurous ideas. Sure, a private karaoke room where everything should be up to safety code and there wasn’t even the possibility for massive public embarrassment didn’t seem like something most people would call adventurous, but for Nate it was tantamount to skydiving. The entire trip over here through checking in and finding the room, Nate was battling a full blown panic attack. Now that they were seating and the door closed behind them like a jail, Nate felt somehow more exposed and vulnerable. Something about how intense his singing partner was. But he smiled nonetheless, unable to stand disappointing the girl who’d gone out of her way to drag him out of his comfort zone. “Hah! I uh...not really. I don’t think any amount of practicing could help me out.” He wrung his hands in his lap, looking over the room anxiously. “Is there uh...a book of songs? I don’t really know off the top of my head. I’m sure you have a go-to though, right?”

It was impossible for Nell not to notice Nate’s nerves throughout the entire thing, but she was hoping once they were in the room, he might feel a little more secure when they were closed in and out of public eye. Apparently...that wasn’t the case as she watched his continuing incredibly nervous body language, though at least he was smiling now. That was a plus, right? Nell was sometimes not the best at paying attention to other people, often barreling forward without consideration, but it seemed that Nate had found one of her loopholes in this regard. So she paused for a moment and took a seat on one of the couch-benches that surrounded the room, trying her best to bring her levels to something that might be considered normal. “It’s alright. Like I said- karaoke isn’t about being good. Just the fun part.” A moment later she was grabbing a remote from the table, and handing it over to him. “It’s all electronic so all the songs are on the TV, and you can just flip through them.” A bit of a smirk pulled at her lips, all too excited to get to karaoke-ing as he asked about song choice. “It depends on my mood.” But then she was back to watching his body language, and her voice softened a touch, remembering how he’d darted underneath that table at the bar. “You know I meant it when I said we could leave whenever. It’s only fun if you’re having fun.”

Nate tried to unclench his jaw, to force his shoulder to relax, but it was almost impossible. But he had to remember, this place wouldn’t be open if it hadn’t been safety proofed, even if it wasn’t up to Nate’s insane standards. Plus, he really hadn’t heard of anyone dying in a karaoke room. Then again, that wasn’t a normal internet search so tons of people very well may have. No! This was a night for fun. The man took a deep breath, shuddering as he tried to untie the knot in his stomach. “Right! Right. Just fun. Even if it’s terrible.” He smiled, feeling a tiny bit looser. He watched as Penelope brought up the song list, sure that she was the kind of person who had a whole book of songs she liked to belt out at these kinda places. “Well...why don’t you go first? Show me how it’s done?” Nate settled into the couch a little more, not quite relaxing but not quite as stiff as when he first entered the room. “I know. And I will uh...definitely hold you to that. But I think I’m ok.” He shot her a quick look. “For now, at least.”

“The terrible part is what can make it fun!” Nell’s words were punctuated with a laugh, all too excited that this was actually happening and by some miracle she’d managed to get Nate into this karaoke room. It was...perhaps a bit true that Penelope often had an array of songs lined up to sing at any moment, always having too much fun up on the stage. After all- performing ran in her family’s blood whether or not she’d become a stage magician like her parents wanted her to be. Still...it was a bit different in a room, singing in front of one person. But perhaps being vulnerable would help Nate feel a bit more comfortable as well. “If I go first...you can’t laugh at me...or my song choice.” Maybe revealing this lesser known part of her taste in music would also assist in loosening up. Embarrassing yourself was often a great way to make people feel less threatened. “And also don’t forget I’m a bounty hunter. I can and will kick anything’s ass that messes with us.”

Nate leaned back, feeling the smallest bit more relaxed as she prepared her song. Terrible singing in front of people you barely knew was never something Nate would have classified as “fun”, but it had honestly been so long since he’d had any fun, who was he to really judge? He raised his hands in defeat and crossed his heart. “I promise, no laughing unless you’re laughing!” Already, Nate was feeling better. Just a little, and not enough to make him ever want to do this again, but something about being out of his house and doing something...normal, well it just felt...normal. “And I assume you’ll kick my butt if I laugh too hard?” He placed his hands on the edge of the couch, feeling something sticky. Sliding to the side, he wiped his hands on his jeans, trying not to over think it. It was just spilled beer. It wasn’t blood or semen or anything else gross or infectious. Just beer. “Alright now let’s hear how it’s done!”

Nell gave an approving song as he seemed to relax another inch, glad that he could hopefully at least enjoy himself a little. She swallowed once, the tables turning for a moment as she got a bit of nerves in preparation for this. Penelope liked Nate’s company thus far, and though she didn’t usually mind making a fool of herself, she wanted him to like her company as well. Perhaps in her quest to give people friends, she was actually looking for friends as well— though she was nowhere near self-aware enough to realize something such as that. “Alright, deal. Mutual laughing. We’ll post a sign.” As she began to scroll down to what she was looking for in the music she remembered, “Wait, wait! You gotta close your eyes so it’s still a surprise. Also...I need this.” With that she picked up her jacket from where she’d discarded it on the couch. But she smiled a little before saying. “Maybe. We’ll see how I feel if you do.” And with that— the opening notes of the iconic number from Grease, You’re the One That I Want, began. There was little else Nell genuinely loved more than a good...musical.

Nate settled in as far away from the sticky part of the couch as he could get and trained his eyes on Penelope. He leaned forward, placing his hands on his chin and leaning on his knees with rapt attention. “Alright, alright...but only so you can choose the song!” He relented and closed his eyes, only opening them when he heard the familiar opening notes to one of his favorite songs from one of his favorite movies. Mari had always made fun of his love for Grease, especially since he wasn’t overly fond of regular musicals, but something about the simplicity of life and love in a school in the 50s in a movie made in the 80s tugged at his heart strings. Even though he was sure Penelope had to have some nerves, he couldn’t tell and only wished he could be so carefree. His hands went to his cheeks as he took in the magical performance.

Nell’s smile brightened as Nate set his gaze on her, uncharacteristically nervous as he leaned forward. But she immediately brightened with a relieved laugh as he seemed, dare she say, excited for the song? But then again, she was fairly certain Grease was the safest of musicals, most everyone enjoying it...right? Who didn’t love an inexplicable car flying off at the end of an otherwise decidedly not supernatural film. And also the simple nostalgia of the movie. But she sang the song to the best of her abilities, trying her best to hit those notes that sounded so much better in the shower. She wasn’t particularly musically gifted, but Nell could at least do well enough to carry a tune, in a tone that wouldn’t bring dogs and cats running. Something of an around the house ability. As she switched the parts of Danny Zuko and Sandy, the jacket came off and on, helping to denote the differences in character as she switched parts, doing her best to do it all. But spurred on a bit by Nate’s apparent interest in the song, she called out over the music. “Are you gonna leave me hanging up here or what?” Apparently offering him the role of Sandy halfway through.

Nate was grinning ear to ear. Not only was Nell doing the best song in the show, but she was doing both parts! Switching her jacket on and off as she switched between Sandy and Zuko. It was amazing. Not to mention the amount of confidence you had to have. Nate was in awe. His eyes widened even further, as if that was possible, when she invited him to sing along. “What! N-no!” But her hand was outstretched, holding the second mic out for him. In a second of hesitation, Nate pushed himself off the couch and grabbed the mic, his hand brushing against hers for a split second before he launched into the next verse. “If you're filled with affection, you're too shy to convey….” He sang Sandy’s part in the highest falsetto he could, attempting to be as bad as possible. There was no way he’d be able to match Olivia Newton-John, so why bother trying? Plus, he actually sounded pretty darn good!

Nell was delighted that Nate seemed to be actually having fun. This was exactly what she’d been hoping for! And she was nearly literally tickled pink as he accepted her offer as Sandy, glad that apparently he wasn’t as nervous as he’d been in the bar to make fleeting contact. But this time...as she pulled back her hand to put her jacket on as she was now fully and officially Zuko, she felt something sticky transfer from it to her hand...something it must have picked up from the couch? Whatever. They had a song to sing! She couldn’t get distracted by little details right now. But she couldn’t help it. As Nate’s falsetto rang out, she may have done the smallest bit of a laugh, chuckling through her singing. After all, would it be possible not to find joy in something as utterly carefree as this moment? Her eyes squinted in her amusement and happiness as they neared the end of the song, and she simply yelled out “Quick! Big finish!”

Though Nate’s movements started off pretty stiff, he quickly devolved into a perfectly uninhibited rendition of Sandy. The bright lights of the room began to blur and he wondered if this is what fun felt like. If it had really been so long that he forgot what letting go really felt like. And it felt good. Weird, a little disorienting, but good. It was as if every cell in his skin was alive, and it was almost like he could actually see the power emanating off of him and Nell as they belted out the finale. Wait- he could see her actual voice echoing around the room. The sudden realization sent Nate into a panic. His voice caught in his throat like someone actually reached down and grabbed the words right out of his neck. Nate gaped like a fish and grabbed Nell by the shoulders. “I- where did my words go??”

Nell’s chuckles descended into outright laughter as they finished the song, and she was glad to see Nate hadn’t called her out on their promised ‘no laughing’ rule. For a moment everything was fine and good and fun and easy. And then it was...less those things. Her grin fell as he gripped her, and she blinked in confusion for a couple of moments before turning back to the karaoke screen that had shifted back to the selection menu now that the song was over. “I- you words?” What was Nate so concerned about? “The song ended, Nate. So- the words stopped. Now we can choose another song?” The mood had shifted a bit, but she still felt a little floaty, as if everything was getting a little further away.

Nate felt his world tilting ever so slightly to the left. Was he falling? Or was the room tilting? Was this part of karaoke? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone to karaoke, so this was probably just what it felt like. But the music stopped and suddenly there was no sound, like they were in a black and white film. Nell definitely held up a sign that read “The song ended. So the words stopped.” Nate cocked his head to the side, feeling the room tilt the other direction, his hands still firmly gripped on Nell’s shoulders. He began to pantomime that “I need the music back! I need the songs to keep playing!” But wait...did he say that? He said that. They weren’t in a silent film. They were here. Colors swirled around Nell’s head, making her look like a motion version of a Van Gogh painting. “Are we singing now?”

Nell squinted, doing her best to focus on the words Nate was saying, watching his lips intently but...she could have sworn there was some kind of delay to his voice. His mouth and his voice weren’t matching up. Still- she moved to turn towards the screen at his insistent need for another song, not wanting to cause him any further apparent distress by denying him his music. “I- what song did you want?” Turning back toward him, she caught him just in time to see him move slowly upwards, as if he was a laffy taffy being stretched towards the ceiling. He was normally taller than her but this was...something entirely different. “Nate?” she asked, doing her best to remain calm for his benefit. “Why- why are you growing?”

Nate felt himself collapse onto the couch, somehow knowing he needed the stability. And yet...was he growing? Nell was looking at him like he had a second head. Wait- did he have a second head?? He scrunched his eyes closed and threw his hands to his head. None of this felt right. But at the same time it felt exactly right, just like every day did. Right? “No!” His eyes popped open and he started at Nell. “What did you say?” He reached out, pulling her down onto the couch with him. “This is always what karaoke feels like right?” He leaned over, squishing his cheek against hers so that they both were staring at the song choices rolling across the screen. “They’re judging us for not choosing them,” he said sadly.

Penelope’s eyes grew as big as saucers as he fell to the couch, but fell in slow motion. How did he do that?? Was Nate supernatural too? Was he a spellcaster too?? “Did you do that on purpose?” she asked quickly in a somewhat hushed tone, as if the walls were listening. Wait- were they listening? Oh no- did they know she liked musicals too, now? But then she let out a little, surprised yelp as she felt herself being pulled downwards, fumbling her landing a bit as she bumped into him, still feeling very off balance. Then there was something squishy against her face. Another face? “Oh, hi Nate,” she said serenely. Oh it was his face. Her own face warmed, and she lifted a curious hand to poke the other side of his face. “Why are humans like so...jelly?” She poked him again with a delicate giggle coming from her, something entirely uncharacteristic. “Squish.” But then she turned back to the screen, a frown on her lips. “Aww, oh no.” She didn’t want the songs to be sad. “Choose one! Any one.”

Nate stared for what felt like centuries. He felt himself explode into a fit of nervous giggles as something poked the side of his face. His cheek squished and squirmed at the touch and he wondered how long he’d been made of jellied cranberries. In an instant his giggle stopped as he heard the music screen yell at him to choose a song. “All humans are jelly.” He replied matter of factly as he reached out and took the remote from the large lobster. “Here- what ab-b- oWwwwtttttt….” His face scrunched up, still attached to Nell’s because they were literally attached as he finally settled on a song. “Aha! Britney Spears!” He ripped his face painfully away, his hand rubbing the spot where they were once connected and frowned. “No one hates Britney. Right?”

Nell heard the other giggle fill the room, and for a moment thought there might be an echo somewhere. “Did you hear that?” she asked quickly, looking around as if a doppelganger of her might appear. She squinted suspiciously at her shadow, and swore that it raised its hand to wave back at her. “Nate!” she exclaimed, shaking his arm a little. “Did you see that?” But then she was giggling again, patting the part of his face he was petting. “Good puppy. Bow wow wow wow,” she uttered nonsensically as the cute nose of a dog quickly took the place of his old nose. She gasped. “Are you- woof wear? Werewoofy! I should have known.” Her head whipped around as he yelled out Britney Spears. “Where?! She’s here? Oh my god, I see her.” Before her very eyes the pop idol was appearing, a particularly yellow splotch of paint on the wall turning into her trademark blonde hair. “No one hates Britney! And if they do- I fight them.”

Nate felt the whole world shaking and knew this must be the end. This was how the world ended, shaking like a giant was holding up the earth. “See what?” But then it stopped, the shaking replaced by a soft hand running over his cheek. He giggled softly, his eyes drifting closed, his head lolling to the side before he shot back up at attention. “You’re gonna fight Britney Spears?? Why! She loves you!” Nate cocked his head to the side, staring at Nell. “Did you say you’re a woof?”

Nell had already gotten past the whole shadow waving thing, her attention span having absolutely no linear sense at the moment. But she hummed contentedly as Nate seemed to settle, her lips pulling into a lazy grin. “Mmmm, sleepy puppy. Good puppy. I’d give you a treat if I had one.” Then she was rustling into the pocket of her jacket with the hand that wasn’t stroking Nate’s face as if looking for something she could give him. “What?? No! She’s the best! She loves me?” Nell asked with wonder in her tone. “I-I don’t love her like that. I don’t wanna hurt her feelings!” A woof? Nell did her best impression of a little dog bark before booping Nate’s little dog nose. “No- no- no- you- you’re woof woof. Werewoofy. Cute boy.”

Nate felt his entire body buzzing as if every inch of his skin wanted to escape the confines of his being. Nell kept talking about the puppy and all Nate wanted to do was pet it. He felt that if he could wrap his hands in the puppy’s soft fur, all the problems he’d ever had would go away. That his skin could go off and do its own thing like it so desperately wanted to, and Britney could come and sing them to sleep. A boop on his nose sent a wave of warmth down his spine and he realized he was petting Nell’s hair. “Woah, were you just a puppy?” His voice softened and he smiled lazily. “You have really soft fur- hair? Furhair? Hairfurs.”

Nell felt like she could go any which direction at any moment, as if she was stretching apart like taffy from the center outwards, a centrifugal force exerting its dominance over her. Thankfully, she was rather passionate about dogs and the like, so talking about them seemed to be the thing keeping her relatively focused through the rest of the insanity of everything else happening. Dogs made everything okay. Better than okay. Cats too. Most animals. Her eyes fluttered closed in a moment of utter contentment as warmth flowed over her, a nice brushing movement through her hair once again resulting in a happy hum. If this is what being a dog was she’d take it any day. “Yessss, I’m puppy. I wag my tail.” She began to wiggle a little in her spot on the couch, feeling the breeze of her tail moving through the air. “Soft?” In a mirroring motion she raised her own hand to Nate’s new puppy ears, scratching behind them on top of his head. “Curly puppy. Mmm, what kind of breed?”

Nate felt like he should stop petting his fluffy puppy, but he couldn’t make his fingers cease. It was like they had a mind of their own, winding and twisting like he was tying giant hair knots. Nell began to purr and he wondered when the dog switched to being a cat, but he was ok with it. Britney seemed to be too, as he felt a warm spot jiggle close to his side. Oh- no, that wasn’t Britney...that was the puppy! “Oh!” He melted. Nate melted into the scritches and he felt himself turn into literal goo as he slid further down the couch, his head listing into Nell’s hands. “Oooohhhh like a poodle, duhhhhhhh!”

Nell kept closing her eyes in her utter contentment in being a dog seriously wondering if this is the wonderful life werewolves probably had all the time. But they opened wider as Nate-puppy made his little exclamation, just in time to see him turn into a puddle of fur and puppy noses. A little squeal of delight worked its way past Nell’s lips as she cradled the puppy’s head, doing her best to give him the head scritches he deserved as her fingers kept massaging him, lifting a couple curls to watch them fall back into place with a giggle. “Pooooooooodle!” The word sounded ridiculous to her ears, the o’s neverending as they echoed on into the room even after she stopped talking. “You’re my favorite poodle,” she cooed. “Very good poodle.”

Nate wasn’t entirely sure what was real and what was the story book he’d been reading in seventh grade, but all he knew was that he was no longer corporeal and he was in heaven. Curly cues bounced on his head and a soft cooing echoed around him and for the first time in a decade, he felt safe. But as soon as he thought the words, terror dripped into his bloodstream, making its way throughout his body with alarming speed. His eyes snapped open and tried to focus, but the swirling kaleidoscope of colors dancing around Britney and Nell’s head made it hard to focus. “Ne-Pen- Penelope-” He stammered, suddenly gripping his own arms as if they were gonna fall off. Reality was beginning to slam into him like a freight train and he suddenly wondered if he’d been drugged. “Nellie...did you- am I on drugs??” He felt frozen, his stomach in a knot that would literally never untangle, preventing him from moving from his horizontal position on the couch. This was it. This was how he died.

Nell was still humming happily to the background music that the karaoke menu was playing on loop, still waiting for them to pick another song. But she was far too busy with puppy-Nate, deciding that anything else in the world could wait its turn. It took her a moment to note the change in him, still delightfully playing with his puppy-hair-fur and ears as his eyes shot open. Ah! Her name- she knew that. She was Penelope. “Yesss- Pe-nell-nelope that’s me,” she said with a wide grin, but it quickly turned to confusion, wondering why her puppy was upset. “Ssshh, it’s okay. It’s alright.” Her stroking turned slow and soft. “Drugs? I grow some of those. They’re my little babies with my other babies. Did you need some?” What was wrong? Wait was something wrong? Suddenly her adrenaline was mounting as she looked around the room for potential threats.

Nate’s muscles were drawn so tight it felt like they were going to burst. His eyes flitted around the room wildly, the only part of him that could move. “Are the drugs here?? You make drugs?! Did you make me drugs? I don’t want them, you gave me them! Oh god, ohhhh godohgodohgod” He rolled to the side, burying his face in Nell’s lap, his fingers curling into his palms so hard there would be little crescent moons popping out of them any second now. He needed stability. He needed safety. He needed- “Pancakes??”

What was wrong? Nell’s own worry was starting to spike, looking around for some danger she couldn’t find. “What? No! No no no no no!” She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it still, but she was clearing up enough to know she definitely didn’t want Nate to think she’d had any part in a potential drugging. Again she tried her best to gently shush, one hand still going to run over his hair while the other reached down to a hand to try and gently unravel it, her thumb moving over the fingers. “Undo, undo. It’s okay, I’ll do it.” But her attention was utterly grabbed by the mention of food. Even without tripping on a mysterious drug, she was always hungry. “Pancakes,” she agreed sagely.

Nate was curled up in darkness for what felt like eons. The soft, gentle combing of fingers through his hair was the only thing tying him to this plane of existence, that and the smell of maple syru- no...there was no syrup. There should be syrup. Instead there was only the smell of cheap, old, fake leather and a very nice floral perfume. “You smell like pancakes...No, you smell better than pancakes.” His head began pounding the moment he opened his eyes, but he needed to look at the iguana– no...the person who was petting him. “Can we get pancakes?” He asked in the saddest, most pathetic voice he’d ever heard.

It seemed like Nate was maybe...a little better, but Nell couldn’t be too certain. What should she do? Her brain was far too fuzzy and fluffy to figure something out. Oooh, her mom used to sing when she was little and couldn’t sleep. Should she do that? Her fingers continued to work their way through the nice, soft curls as she began to sing the only song she seemed to know for whatever reason, her best rendition of one of Britney Spears’ number one hits in as soothing a style as she could muster. “Oops, I did it again...I played with your heart—” She continued to try and work on unclenching his hands as best she could before perking up once more. “Better than pancakes?” she echoed, absolute wonder in her tone. Was that the best compliment she’d ever received in her life? Perhaps that was why her cheeks pinkened in the slightest. After all, that was no lowly praise. “Yes, yes, definitely. We’re gonna get pancakes. So many pancakes.”

Nate settled in, feeling the cold reality of the karaoke room seeping back into his consciousness, but he wanted to fight it. For a moment, he was blissfully unaware of all the pain he’d been through and all the pain he would go through. Sure, there was a literal singing, technicolor giraffe above him and his legs were still liquid, but he was happy. He was safe. He curled further into himself, nuzzling against Nell’s lap, his brain swirling with thoughts of maple syrup and pancakes. He hummed contentedly and nodded. “Pancakes. We’ll get pancakes.” And then there was blissful darkness.

Nell nodded in approval as Nate seemed to settle down once again, not liking the way everything got very loud with the sirens and the lights spinning around the room while he’d been upset. Sometimes sirens and lights were fun, but not those ones. But now her Britney Spears song had worked too well, and the actual Britney that was still standing and dancing in the corner had taken up the lullaby. “Nigh-night, Nate-Nate.” Nell’s own eyes began to droop, her hand in Nate’s hair moving with less frequency as her body got more and more lax. Soon enough, she was leaning over the mound of man in her lap to rest her own cheek against him. Mmmm, pancakes. Her eyes stayed shut as she began to sail a syrup ocean on the back of a pancake, letting the gentle rocking of the sticky waves guide her into sleep.

#ch:Nate #toxic #chatzy #wickedswriting

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fandomoniumflurry · 6 years

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Please with Jambalaya on top- Part 4

Steve McGarrett x Paisley (OFC)

Hawaii Five-0

Another flash back episode guys. Full of flirting, cuteness, and poor Paisley needing to be patched up. But kissing though!

2.1k words

My H50 Tag Team: @supergirl000983 @t-w-hiddlestoner @loveisfriendship @givemelifeorgiveme @goldkhator

“Put your hands on your head!” Paisley screamed with her gun drawn but the perp didn’t listen. He quickly turned and headed into the alley and the blonde growled lowering her weapon. “Why do they always run?!” She spat before sprinting off after the guy. The one thing about this job, she was never able to be out of shape. It used to amaze you how Dog kept so fit but once she started, she completely understood. Most underestimated her because of her size, but she didn’t get this far without some stamina and muscle. Her short stature and small size actually worked to her advantage most of the time.

The dark haired man hopped a fence and ran off across the grass and Paisley was hot on his heels. He was a good fifteen years older than her and hopefully wouldn’t last near as long as the blonde could. Then again, he was already proving to be quite the runner. The young bounty hunter wouldn’t give up of course. She was stubborn and determined, never willing to give up or back down from anything. She liked a challenge. Ever since she was younger, she never refused a dare, especially a double dog dare.

Just when she thought she was closing in on her bounty, finally wearing him down and an inch from catching him, he had dove to the left and seemed to pick up speed. Paisley let out another frustrated growl before she kicked her little legs into gear again. The sound of screeching tires caused her to stop as a silver charger skidded to a stop right in front of her guy. The perp hit the side of the car before falling onto his back with a loud groan.

Two men climbed out with their guns drawn, badges on their belts shining in the sunlight. Paisley’s brow wrinkled as she quickly joined the other two men, her fists firmly on her hips. She didn’t seem pleased. “Hey! This is my meal ticket! You can’t just arrest him!” She protested as the short blonde man began to cuff and drag her guy to his feet. It was then that Paisley noticed the other guy was Steve. As much as she wanted to still be angry that they had interrupted her chase, she couldn’t help but smile and become suddenly timid.

“This guy is our murder suspect. No longer your gig, toots.” The shorter man explained, pushing their suspect into the charger while Steve drew closer to the bounty hunter.

He seemed almost apologetic as one hand rested on his belt and the other rubbed the back of his neck. “Didn’t mean to step in on your job but…” His blue eyes gazed down at her and she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of surrender.

Her arms crossed over her chest after she had tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “I understand.” She looked up at him now, her gaze hardening playfully and a finger pointing up at him. “But this just means you have to work extra hard to woo me on our Friday night date!” She threatened before the corner of her mouth curled into a smirk.

His head nodded as a smirk of his own spread across his face. “I’ll bring my A game then.” She replied with a curt nod before flashing him a wink that made Steve’s smile grow wider.

She had waved and turned to walk away when Danny called out to his partner. “Yo, loverboy.” Steve turned around, remembering his friend in the car behind him. Danny’s brow wrinkled as his hands gestured toward the backseat. “We got work to do. You remember? Murder?” The blonde man rolled his eyes before climbing into the passenger seat and closing the door. Steve cast one last glance the bounty hunter’s way, his tongue sliding over his teeth before he shook his head with a grin. That little spitfire was going to be the death of him.

-----

That wasn’t the last time the two ran into each other. Seems that the bounty hunter would cross paths often with the task force. Much to the team’s dismay, that meant they had to suffer through the constant flirting between their boss and the petite blonde. They hoped that all the growing tension between them would be relieved once their date rolled around on Friday. The couple had enough of a build up over a few days, it wouldn’t shock anyone if that one date would lead to many more.

Once Friday actually did roll around, Danny had never seen the commander so nervous. It was actually quite humorous to watch the tough Navy SEAL bumble about in anticipation. His anxiousness wasn’t lost on Chin and Kono either, all three of his teammates picking on him all day. Steve didn’t find it quite as entertaining and in normal McGarrett fashion, went on the defensive. As he gathered his things, he and Danny bickered as per usual, Steve fighting his case, adamant to prove that he wasn’t nervous. It was just a date with a beautiful woman who could probably kick his ass. Danny pointing out the reasons why he had every reason to be going out of his mind with nerves, therefore only making Steve more nervous.

Chin had already left and Kono couldn’t help but stick around to listen to the two other men as they carried on. She followed behind them with a grin as they all made their way to the elevator. The button was pushed and they all stood there waiting for the doors to open but they all went silent when the doors finally did open. Steve’s eyes grew wide when they met with the bloodshot blues of a tiny blonde. She had a cut on her lip and one eye was puffy and starting to turn purple. The mood immediately fell more serious as Steve stepped forward instinctively, his hands coming to gently cup her face.

Her hands came to rest on his wrists as she looked up at him with a sad smile. “You think I could get a rain check for that date?” Her voice was hoarse, probably having something to do with the hand size bruises around her throat. Steve glanced over his shoulder at the other two who moved to get into the elevator and motioning Steve and Paisley out. He took her hand and led her back to his office, instantly going to gather up the first aid kit. She took a seat on the edge of his desk watching him as he moved. “I’m really sorry. This job was a bit rougher than usual.”

Steve instantly shushed her as he set the box next to her on the desk and opened it. “Don’t apologize. As long as you’re alright.” He started on her bloodied knuckles, making her flinch at the stinging sensation. “It’s really not that bad.”

Paisley scoffed a laugh. “You should see the other guy.” This caused Steve to laugh softly, his eyes glancing up at her for a second. The blonde couldn’t help the shy grin that caused her split lip to sting but she ignored it. “I was really excited about our date.” Her voice was just a soft whisper now, almost as if she was timid. There was a bit of fear and disappointment in her tone as well, thinking that perhaps she had lost her chance with him.

Setting her hand down on her lap, his hand came to the side of her face with a warm smile. “So was I. Doesn’t mean we can’t still have the date. This isn’t exactly normal procedure for a first date but I’m starting to learn that we don’t do anything normal.” She giggled softly as her eyes fell, his other hand still resting in hers on her lap.

Her eyes lifted to catch his, the blue in his orbs dazzling with his sweet smile. “You’d go out with me even if I’m black and blue and sound like Oscar the Grouch?”

Steve’s head shook slightly as he laughed then tucked her mussed blonde locks behind her ear. “Are you kidding? It’s when you’re the hottest.” The smile turned playful as he flashed her a wink. She laughed and gently shoved his chest but she could see that there was some truth to his words.

Silence fell then, eyes locked in a longing gaze. Steve’s thumb trailed softly over her split lip, his ocean orbs watching the action. Even slightly swollen and bloody her lips looked delicious. Her lips parted as her breath seemed to stop altogether. She had been watching his lips as well and they both seemed to have the same idea. Steve leaned in slowly and Paisley lifted her head to meet him.

The kiss was soft and sweet so as not to cause more pain to her lip. But as soon as the kiss started, it wasn’t enough for either of them. Paisley turned, her arms lifting to wrap around Steve’s neck and pulling him in closer. The commander snaked an arm around her middle, his other hand bracing himself against the desk. They threw themselves into the kiss, lips parting as it deepened. The world seemed to fade away as she tightened her arms around his neck, bringing her body up to press against his.

Steve pulled away after the first moan escaped her parted lips. His smug grin made Paisley giggle and her cheeks to darken. It was then that she became aware of her split lip and frowned when she touched her finger to it and found blood. “How about we finish getting you cleaned up, then we can talk about our second date?” The commander’s face was amused and yet sympathetic as he released his hold on her, much to Paisley’s dismay.

Her legs kicked back and forth seeing as she was unable to reach the floor from her perch on the desk. She really wanted to reach out and run her fingers through his short dark hair, or wrap her legs around his waist. She wanted to kiss his full lips and feel those hands of his everywhere and not just delicately on her wounds. But she restrained herself, choosing instead to just watch him as he took care of her. He could feel her eyes on him and his light grin never faded but he refused to look into her eyes or he would truly be lost.

“All done.” He finally exclaimed, extending his hands to either side of him for show before they fell with a slap against his thighs. His eyes lifted then, finally catching hers and he could see the soft need and the growing flame within her blue hues. “You hungry?” He asked, pushing himself between her knees, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. She nodded, biting her lip between her teeth with a grin. “Come on. I’ll take you to my place. I’m a fantastic cook.”

She wasted no time in nodding her head before leaping down from the desk, her body now flush against his tall frame. Her hands rested against the thickness of his neck and pulled his lips down to hers for a heated kiss. But as abruptly as she had given the kiss, she pushed him away and headed for the door. She pulled open the glass and turned to look over her shoulder. “You comin’ sailor?” Her tongue was captured between her teeth in the corner of her mouth as she tried to hide the growing grin.

His arms were crossed over his chest as he watched her walk away from him and as soon as he saw that little pink tongue, he knew he was hooked. His steps were intent and purposeful as he darted toward her wearing a wicked grin. Paisley let out a squeal of laughter before darting out the door and running toward the elevator. With nowhere else to run, Steve caught her easily, pinning her against the wall as they both panted for breath from the quick sprint. There was a moment they simply stared into each other’s eyes, bodies pressed firmly together. Paisley was sure he could hear the pounding of her heart in her chest, but his was racing just as fast.

Breaking the silence, Paisley’s fingers combed through the hairs on the back of his neck as her head tilted to look up at him. “Now don’t think I owe you anything just because you patched me up, commander. I’m not always this easy to catch. I’m actually quite hard to get. You think you’re tough enough?”

Steve’s features were warm as he looked down at her fondly. His hands were resting lightly against her sides, making soft trails against the fabric of her shirt. “I think I’m up for it. I’d at least like to try.” They both smiled before their lips found each other in a slow kiss, both tightening their arms around each other.

#hawaii five 0 #h50 #steve mcgarrett #steve mcgarrett x ofc #steve mcgarrett x paisley mcgarrett #fanfic #shelly writes #paisley kenna mcgarrett

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mikethemovieguy · 7 years

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A THRILLING NEW ADVENTURE IN J.K. ROWLING’S WIZARDING WORLD IS UNDERWAY

The Main Cast and Filmmakers From “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” are Joined by Exciting New Additions to the Ensemble

BURBANK, CA – July 3, 2017 – Principal photography starts today, Monday, July 3, on an all new adventure set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, the second of five films in the series that began with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The as-yet-untitled film is being directed by David Yates. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) stars once more as wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander; alongside Katherine Waterston as Auror Tina Goldstein; Alison Sudol as her sister, Queenie Goldstein; and Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, the only No-Maj in the foursome. Oscar nominee Johnny Depp (the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, “Finding Neverland”), who was revealed as Gellert Grindelwald, stars as the powerful Dark wizard in the film. Oscar nominee Jude Law (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain”) takes on the role of Albus Dumbledore—one of J.K. Rowling’s most beloved characters—decades before he becomes Headmaster at Hogwarts. Credence, whose fate was unknown at the end of the first film, makes a mysterious return, played again by Ezra Miller. Zoë Kravitz plays Leta Lestrange, who was glimpsed in a photo as a woman from Newt’s past; Callum Turner is the famed Theseus Scamander, a war hero and Auror, who also happens to be Newt’s older brother; and Claudia Kim plays a young woman we first meet as a featured attraction at a wizarding circus. J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film, which opens in 1927, a few months after Newt helped to unveil and capture the infamous Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. However, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina, Queenie and Jacob, but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.The film expands the wizarding world, moving from New York to London and on to Paris. There are also some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of the books and film series. The ensemble cast also includes William Nadylam as a wizard named Yusuf Kama; Ingvar Sigurdsson as a bounty hunter named Grimmson; Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Skender, who runs the wizarding circus; and Kevin Guthrie as Abernathy, whom we met as Tina and Queenie’s boss at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA). David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram are producing the film, with Tim Lewis, Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen serving as executive producers. Collaborating with Yates behind the scenes, the creative teams are led by Oscar-winning director of photography Philippe Rousselot (“A River Runs Through It”); three-time Oscar-winning production designer Stuart Craig (“The English Patient,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Gandhi,” the “Harry Potter” films), three-time BAFTA Award-winning editor Mark Day (the last four “Harry Potter” films, “State of Play”), four-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Alice in Wonderland”), Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Tim Burke (“Gladiator,” the “Harry Potter” films), and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Christian Manz (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1”). The new adventure is being filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, which has been the cinematic home of the Wizarding World since the first “Harry Potter” film. Slated for release on November 16, 2018, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. -wbp-

#Harry Potter #movies #news #j.k. rowling #fantastic beats and where to find them

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xemphimhay89 · 4 years

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Đánh Đổi Tự Do – The Proposition

An outlaw is goaded into taking on justice at its most brutal in this hard-edged Western set in rural Australia in the 1880s. Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) is a criminal living in the outback. He and his two brothers, Arthur (Danny Huston) and Mikey (Richard Wilson), are on the run from the law for rape and murder. Arthur is a violent and dangerous sociopath with a much longer rap sheet than his siblings and a reputation for hiding out in villages so lawless the police are afraid to visit them, while Mikey is a much younger and more impressionable chap.The authorities capture Charlie and Mikey after a bloody shootout, and the brothers are handed over to Capt. Stanley (Ray Winstone), a British lawman sent to Australia to help bring order to the colonies. Stanley proposes a deal to Charlie, explaining that it’s Arthur he really wants, and that he’s willing to spare the childlike and terrified Mikey if Charlie can find Arthur and murder him. Charlie, realizing that this is his only hope to save his simpleton younger brother (who is scheduled to be hanged on Christmas Day), agrees and sets out to find and execute his other brother, who he believes has gone too far into the world of crime. As Charlie scours the backwaters of Australia, he encounters Jellon Lamb (John Hurt), an educated yet thoroughly menacing bounty hunter. In time, Charlie finds his brother, but isn’t certain if he can carry out his mission. Meanwhile, Stanley struggles to bring a European sense of civility to the rough and tumble land he now calls home, while his wife Martha (Emily Watson) becomes the focus of the lustful appetites of the men in town. The Proposition was written by rock star and novelist Nick Cave; he previously collaborated with director John Hillcoat on the film Ghosts… of the Civil Dead. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The post Đánh Đổi Tự Do – The Proposition appeared first on PhimHay89 - Xem phim hay online - Phim mới trực tuyến - phim nhanh vietsub.

source https://xemphimhay89.com/danh-doi-tu-do-the-proposition/

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phimnhanhtv89 · 4 years

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Đánh Đổi Tự Do – The Proposition

The post Đánh Đổi Tự Do – The Proposition appeared first on Phimnhanhtv - Xem phim nhanh tv online trực tuyến vietsub.

source https://phimnhanhtv89.com/danh-doi-tu-do-the-proposition/

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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THE GREAT NARUTO REWATCH Goes New Places in Episodes 155-161!

Welcome to the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I’m Kevin Matyi and I’ll be your host for this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week we went through some filler practically buzzing with action, then started the Curry of Life arc in Episodes 148 - 154. This week, we concluded Curry of Life and had several rapid fire stories involving Naruto in new teams and the Leaf village infiltrated by impersonators in episodes 155 - 161.

This set of episodes continues our wade through the insane amount of filler that pads out the original show before transitioning into Shippuden. However filler isn’t inherently bad. During this week’s episodes, we finally got to watch Naruto take a leadership position and see both how bad he is at being a leader and how much he’s willing to adapt to the new position after realizing his own failings. And that’s without even mentioning the mini-arc that’s basically just a Western movie-style revenge plot with outlaws and bounty hunters.

This is the first time that Naruto has gone completely away from an arc-based structure to more one-shots and mini-arcs, so let’s see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought about this week’s episodes and Naruto in general.

We started this week with the Kurosuki family trying to kill our main characters with boulders, then using the “Black Tornado jutsu,” also known as a bunch of dudes with claws sitting on each others’ shoulders and spinning really fast. We’ve seen some awesome jutsu and some really silly ones throughout Naruto, what have been some of your most and least favorites?

Paul: I actually liked the absurdity of the “Black Tornado Jutsu”, but I gather that I was supposed to take it seriously, which I absolutely did not. My favorite Jutsu remains Kakashi's Copy Jutsu, because of the many supernatural powers we've seen so far, it seems most emblematic of the shinobi tradition of spying, mind games, and dirty tricks. I also enjoyed Tenten's weapon summoning Jutsu in these episodes, because it was fun to see her work people over with tonfa, a kusarigama, and a quarterstaff.

Joseph: I’m still a big fan of Ino’s Mind Body Switch technique, even though it leaves her vulnerable. The Black Tornado jutsu was just unintentionally hilarious.

Danni: I’m also going to have to go with Tenten’s weapon summoning jutsu as a favorite conceptually because of the cool possibilities that summoning weapons at will creates. As for least favorite, the award easily goes to Sexy Jutsu.

Noelle: Black Tornado Jutsu works in the sense that it’s purely comedic, even if the source material is trying to make it serious. As for favorite jutsu overall, the Raikiri is just so cool to me, even after all this time.

Jared: The worst is easily Sexy Jutsu. Which of course we saw come back up multiple times in this set of episodes. I’d completely forgotten about Tenten’s weapon jutsu and then this set of episodes showed it off again and I saw it in Ultimate Ninja Storm as well this week and it reminded me of how cool it was.

Kara: I’m with everyone else on Sexy Jutsu, but I will give a nod to the Cheesecake Jutsu. As for my favorite, I’m still where I was all the way back in the early episodes with Haku’s ice mirrors.

Carolyn: Black tornado jutsu vaguely reminds me of the really dumb tornado arms in The Flash. That being said, Shikamaru choking somebody out with his creepy awesome shadows is a good one. And still a fan of the bugs.

The first half of this week’s episodes wrapped up the Curry of Life arc. How do you feel about the conclusion to Ranmaru and Raiga’s story, the seemingly miraculous/deadly powers of the Curry of Life, and the arc’s story in general?

Paul: Between the ill-explained properties of the Curry of Life, Rock Lee going full Muppet at one point, and the sheer number of people getting hilarious launched off of cliffs, the conclusion to the Raiga and Ranmaru story arc struck me as total clown shoes. I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't make Ranmaru die tragically, but Karashi's redemption felt far too easy for a guy who is portrayed throughout as a cowardly back-stabber who's also a willing accomplice to a deranged murder-cult.

Joseph: This was hands down one of the worst storylines yet. It was about two or three episodes too long, and the way it used Rock Lee was just annoying. I wouldn’t have minded Raiga as much if he would have stayed down, but by the time round two came around, I was mostly checked out.

Danni: It honestly felt so stupid and nonsensical that it was like I was trying to watch those episodes with a hundred degree fever. Did they just forget that Ranmaru can’t walk there at the end or am I really going crazy???

Noelle: I feel like any sort of philosophy they were trying to impart was lost by the fact that everything ended up being mostly gag. Even the parts that were trying to be firm ended up being gag, and it’s hard to take something seriously when it itself isn’t being serious.

Jared: This really felt like the show is just hammering home the idea of "Here’s the greatest hits from the series thus far." Somebody needs to make a Time Life parody of the filler as “The Greatest Hits of Naruto, But Worse”. I was happy when it was over because this arc just wasn’t good.

Kara: I’m kind of relieved to hear the bizarreness is genuine and not a result of my brain trying to cope with three weeks’ worth of viewing after coming back from vacation. I think the main problem was they tried to double-dip and have the actual Curry of Life be both serious and silly itself. You can’t, buddy. You can’t. The bubbling evil sludge-curry can either be a gag or it can be miraculous. You can’t have it both ways and expect it to work.

Carolyn: I thought the life-saving curry was … kinda dumb. And I had zero emotional investment in Ranmaru and Raiga’s story.

After the Curry of Life, we got a mini-arc and two one-offs that bounced between the extremely serious story of a bounty hunter trying to prove his innocence to the slapstick of some random guys trying to impersonate Guy and Lee. How did you feel about each of these mini-arcs?

Paul: I enjoyed the Wild West-style diversion of the hunt for Gosunkugi, although parts of it felt under-written, such as when they see the giant golden bell and instantly intuit that the bell is Gosunkugi's target. I also liked the practice training mission episode because it showed the Genin passing on their knowledge to the youngest ninja cadets, and I enjoyed the slapstick episode of the Rock Lee / Might Guy impersonators getting hazed by the whole Leaf Village, so overall the filler was more tolerable this week.

Joseph: On the opposite end of the spectrum from the Curry of Life, I actually thought the wild west bounty hunter arc could have used a couple more episodes. It seemed to end kind of abruptly, but overall it was okay. My favorite of the one-offs was the corny Japanese comedy duo stylings of the Rock and Guy impersonators.

Danni: They were all very brief which was very welcome. The longer these filler arcs drag on the more their writing seems to fall apart. It’s hard enough to stay invested in them as is, so their brevity is very welcome. If we really have three more seasons left without any main story, I’m all in on the rest of Naruto just being short, episodic misadventures.

Noelle: Agreeing with everyone else here: short but sweet. Without the manga behind it, it’s hard to come up with lengthy stories, especially lengthy stories on such a last minute basis like most anime end up being. Short but substantial enough episodes really do work in the series’ favor, particularly when they’re trying to pad the runtime.

Jared: The show becoming a western was not something I was at all expecting, but I found it to be alright. Especially since it didn’t overstay its welcome like other parts of the filler have. Imposter Lee and Guy was the right kind of dumb and was good comedy which it feels like we haven’t really had in a while.

Kara: Wild West anything gets a thumbs-up from me, so I was happy. The “Just kidding, I heard everything and actually you’re fine” ending was a bit abrupt but I also don’t know how else they could have tied it up without dragging on. As for the impostor episode? That’s the stuff. It’s actually funny, it’s short and sweet, and it also reminds you just how OP our protagonists are when placed against normies.

Carolyn: The bounty hunter stuff was actually kind of fun for me. I did enjoy that a little and I felt like it was almost a return to the early Naruto episodes in terms of being goofy and comedic in parts. Sorta the same with the Rock and Guy impersonators, I didn’t hate that. But then eventually it became sort of annoying.

The recent filler arcs have all followed the basic formula of “Naruto joins up with another team to go on a mission.” How effective has Naruto interacting with more non-Team 7 characters been as a storytelling tool? Is there anything you want to see happen, while sticking to the same formula?

Paul: Since Sasuke's not around, I think it's good for Naruto to team up with other supporting characters, because it gives the rest of the cast an opportunity to show off their development. The impersonators episode makes me wish I could see Naruto training Taijutsu with Rock Lee and Might Guy for real, because I'm not sure how those three personalities would bounce off one another.

Joseph: I think it opens the opportunity for some interesting team-ups. Plus it’s like… what else are they gonna do? This filler has been somewhat tolerable like Paul said, but it also shows just how mediocre Naruto can be without a strong spine of a narrative behind it.

Danni: I like the idea of sticking him with these other teams because it opens up the possibility of showing some underutilized characters in action, like with Hinata in the bug arc. It hasn’t always worked out that way, but it’s better than the alternative.

Noelle: I think it’s better in theory than execution, but it’s still a fine theory regardless. Due to the large cast, only to get larger, there has to be more to the characters if we’re meant to care about them beyond just a couple of quirks. Even if it’s non-canon, letting Naruto have interactions outside his close circle is needed to make the story more believable.

Jared: It gives all these other characters a good chance to be shown off and see what they’d do with Naruto, but it feels like we’re getting to a point where it’s becoming old. You just expect there to be Naruto and a few others now for every single mission as that’s the only way they can justify doing them. Though they really should just do a "Naruto trains with Guy and Lee" episode for real.

Kara: I really enjoy seeing how the other Hidden Leaf ninja have grown, especially when it comes to their individual skill sets. Plus, let’s be real: Naruto needs to be able to work well with as many different people as possible if he’s sticking with this whole Hokage end goal. So this is good for him in the long run, too.

Carolyn: This is part of why I felt like it was a return to the earlier episodes, as we get to see more of the Hidden Leaf characters. And I am here for it.

By now, I’d hope that we’re all well acquainted with the flow of Naruto’s story, and especially its filler material. Imagine that you were in charge of the show for a few weeks and have been given full creative freedom to take the show in whatever direction you want, except for progressing the story. In a paragraph or two, pitch a Naruto filler arc. Some things to help prompt ideas (you don’t necessarily need to answer all of them):

How long’s the filler (an arc, like the Curry of Life, a short like the bounty hunter story, or a one-off like Naruto leading Team Konohamaru)?

What’s the mission?

What’s the team, and how do you expect them to work off of each other, both in personality and combat?

Is there any connection to the main plot?

Any one-off characters or groups?

Any Mcguffins (weapon, scroll, jutsu, etc. needed to beat the bad guy, but is rendered unusable by the end so that no one ever has a reason to bring it up again)?

Paul: I'd pitch a three episode filler arc where Naruto and company would have to do something non-combat related and outside of their shinobi skill-set. For example, they learn of a legendary oracle whose knowledge of the future would allow them to inquire about Sasuke and Orochimaru. However the only way to get an audience with the oracle is by defeating several other teams in a women's only flower arranging competition, forcing Naruto to disguise his gender and team up with Ino and Sakura. In the end, the oracle would be revealed to be a fraud created as a publicity stunt by a small town trying to revitalize their local economy.

Joseph: My arc would be a three to five-episode story about how Kiba and Akamaru get wind of a small clan of ninja who are attempting to summon creatures like dogs, frogs, and other animals as familiars but are doing so in abusive ways. They’re essentially raising them through Pokémon style battles, so Kiba recruits Naruto, Choji, Ino, Rock Lee, and Sakura to help put an end to it. This gives them an opportunity to split into two teams of three for recon and side battles against rival ninja. When Kiba ends up using Akamaru to win a fight of his own, he learns he might not be so different from the ninja here. Rather than pummelling them all, perhaps he just needs to show them the right way to train their would-be sidekicks.

Danni: One thing I’d really like to know more about is what it was like when Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were a team, so I think my filler would be a single episode arc of Tsunade recounting a mission they went on together back in the day. It would showcase their teamwork as jonin before they were legendary ninja and the friendship they shared despite the cracks that were starting to show. Their mission would be to investigate a series of gruesome murders in a small village. Their search would lead them to a powerful ninja who has been conducting experiments to reanimate the dead with failed results. What he has managed to create are mindless, malformed husks that the three ninja have to fend off before taking down their master. In the end, of course, Orochimaru ends up stealing the killer’s notes and later refining them.

Noelle: Hm, this is tough! I think what I’d like most is maybe a two-parter or three-parter just focusing on the girls on a mission. They’re around and the fillers seem to be trying to flesh them out more, but I’d like a segment where they’re all working together, and they can all show their strengths. Also, girl bonding besides the usual shonen stuff! I’m not too sure about the details, but something that requires either espionage or brainpower (for Sakura and Ino) with a good mix of combat (for Hinata and Tenten).

Jared: Let’s go with a two episode story since you don’t want it to be too long or too short. Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee, and Tenten go to a pro wrestling show in the village. Shenanigans happen to where a prominent team gets hurt so Naruto and the gang have to fill in. They face off against a masked champion who’s been running roughshod over everyone. Naruto’s group fights valiantly, while not using their various jutsu, but are ultimately defeated. They go backstage and find the champion unmasked and it turns out it’s Kakashi. It turns out he was on a mission to infiltrate a travelling pro wrestling promotion because there were rumors they had ties to Orochimaru, but then Kakashi was too good and became champion.

Kara: I’m thinking a single episode for mine. Sakura is on the verge of a breakthrough for her latest medical jutsu but can’t seem to crack it. Tsunade assigns her a mission to clear her head, and sends her off with Naruto and Rock Lee to clear a nearby village of an infestation of venomous rodents (the rare something-or-other rat, purple with red glowy eyes, you know). The mission turns into a bout of oneupmanship as Naruto and Lee attempt to outdo each other to impress Sakura, going into more and more dangerous situations at the request of the locals. Once the infestation is cleared, the two are basically worthless between venom and self-inflicted injuries, requiring Sakura to focus up and step up her healing—finally managing to make the jutsu from before work.

Carolyn: FILLER ARCS ARE 3 EPISODES MAXIMUM. Mine would be 1-3 episodes for sure. I think at this point, given how very little the ladies have to do, I’d do something dumb and fun where all the guys get kidnapped or stuck up a tree (dumber is OK for filler) and then the girls all save them through friendship and fierce ninjutsu. Is it forced feminism? Sure. But also kind of earned at this point. Also, there’s no doubt Rock Lee would just be there cheering them all on the whole time because he is the best good boy.

As usual: highs, lows and any honorable/dishonorable mentions.

Paul: My high point was when Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon totally narc on Naruto for ruining the training mission. I was expecting them to do the typical thing where they lie to Tsunade for his sake and grow closer, but the speed and efficiency with which they (rightfully) throw Naruto under the bus for being a crappy instructor was exquisite. My low point was the conclusion of the Raiga and Ranmaru story-line, where even though there was some nice animation with Rock Lee's drunken boxing, it felt like the writers had completely lost the thread of the narrative. Honorable mention: Sazanami’s katana having a rifle stock instead of a hilt. That was a cute detail.

Joseph: My low point was definitely the Raiga story. They did Rock Lee wrong in the climax, and the whole thing was just not interesting to me at all. High point goes to very fake Rock and Guy.

Danni: My high point was when the Hokage Mt. Rushmore faces all held their noses when the imposters got covered in poop. It got a legitimate laugh out of me. My low point was the entirety of the Raiga/Ranmaru arc. Literally the entire thing.

Noelle: High point I have to say would be the unintentional comedy. It’s not good (at all) but I am the type that laughs at bad movies. This was a gold mine for me. Low point would be whenever they try to play the gag, especially in the curry arc, way too seriously.

Jared: High points would be the ridiculousness of the Lee and Guy imposters, going full western for a few episodes, and also them parodying the OK Corral as an episode title. Low would probably be the end of the Raiga story as it just fell completely flat.

Kara: High point was getting Wild West action in my ninja show. That was a thing of beauty. Honorable mention goes to Sakura’s “encouragement” of the Guy and Lee imposters. 160-odd episodes down the road, I love any reminder that Inner Sakura is just Sakura now. The low point was watching the Curry of Life arc waste a perfectly good Zabuza/Haku parallel on some super-confused gags.

Carolyn: I think my high and low point are both the same. That “hit me with your best snot” pun. I mean ...

COUNTERS: Bowls of Ramen: 1 bowl, 3 cups “I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 3 Shadow Clones Created: 87 Total so far: Bowls of Ramen: 50 bowls, 9 cups “I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 55 Shadow Clones Created: 635

And that’s it for this week! Remember that you’re always welcome to watch along with the Rewatch, especially if you’ve never seen the original Naruto! Watch Naruto today!

Here’s our upcoming schedule: - Next week, JOSEPH LUSTER brings us to the Land of Birds! - July 5th, DANNI WILMOTH gets nautical in the Land of the Seas! - July 12th, JARED CLEMONS leads us to the Hidden Village of Star!

CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Epsiodes 148 - 154: The Forest is Abuzz With Ninjas

Episodes 141-147: Mizuki Strikes Back!

Episodes 134-140: The Climactic Clash

Episodes 127-133: Naruto vs Sasuke

Episodes 120-126: The Sand Siblings Return

Episodes 113-119: Operation Rescue Sasuke

Episodes 106-112: Sasuke Goes Rogue

Episodes 99-105: Trouble in the Land of Tea

Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin

Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 155-161? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget, we're also accepting questions and comments for next week, so don't be shy and feel free to ask away!

----

Kevin Matyi is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. He's been watching anime for as long as he can remember, and his favorite shows tend to be shonen and other action series.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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yankees2-love-blog · 5 years

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When Actors Go Meta: The 10 Ten Most Hilarious Self-Spoofs

Published by Fanhattan.com, via Contently, 2012

When Actors Go Meta: The 10 Most Hilarious Self-Spoofs

By Elissa Bassini

In Hollywood, where self-image dominates and self-awareness stereotypically does not, actors spoofing their own and lack thereof, respectively, has become an ironically image-reinventing career strategy.

This meta-character makeover phenomenon has also produced gut-busting star turns on-screen. Let's toast to celebrities owning the joke with a look at the 10 most hilarious performances by actors in self-spoofing roles.

1. Adam West, Family Guy:

The pop culture icon formerly only known as the original Batman is now, thanks to his animated self-spoof on Fox’s “Family Guy,” also legendary as “Adam West,” lunatic Mayor of Quahog.

West’s career-remaking embrace of his campy caricature typecast has since spawned a whole new industry trope. Today, “Adam West-ing” is when an actor dogged by one infamous role says what the hell and just go-for-broke owns it. West and his obscene avatar blaze self-spoof trails in superhero form.

2. Neil Patrick Harris, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle:

Neil Patrick Harris as himself in “Harold and Kumar” perfects the irreverent art of “Adam West-ing.” NPH’s alter-ego maniacally spits on our sentimental flame for sweet little “Doogie Howser.” This Doogie is (grotesquely) all grown-ed up as a washed-up former child star and wannabe actor embodying every nasty stereotype of the role. He’s a self-entitled, sociopathic, drug addict and sex fiend. NPH also steals every scene he’s in, winning our hearts in real-life as a former child star who’s actually got talent and charm.

3. Matt LeBlanc, Episodes:

After Matt LeBlanc’s “Friends” spin-off “Joey” bombed spectacularly, his career prospects seemed as bright as appearances billed as “that dumb hunk from ‘Friends.’” Well, LeBlanc apparently both agreed and is cleverer than he plays on TV. Taking a page from the “Adam West-ing” playbook (‘how to succeed in business when your only business is a character on a show in syndication’), he found a second calling on Showtime’s “Episodes” as “Matt LeBlanc,” out-of-work sitcom actor people only perceive and believe as “Joey.”

In so giddily flipping typecast status on its head, he quite winningly makes the audience muse: Is LeBlanc actually much sharper than “Joey”? Or...too dimwitted to play any other persona than himself? He has us anew with every “How you doin’?”

4. Bob Saget, Entourage:

Bob Saget seemed similarly doomed to eternally exist only as “Full House’s” everyone’s preachy TV dad “Danny Tanner,” a compulsive neat freak, neurotic wet noodle, and signature syrupy family sitcom character.

But in cameo on HBO’s “Entourage,” Saget lets it all hang out as “Bob Saget,” an expletive-spewing, divorced pothead with a prostitute fetish. What Sick-Saget dishes is exponentially more addictive than anything Sweet-Saget ever fed us.

5. Gary Busey, Entourage:

Gary Busey’s infamous “Entourage” guest-spot is a distinctly preposterous breed of self-parody. It’s a mock-up, in fact, of his totally loony-tunes reputation in real-life.

“Busey” is a scarily maniacal actor-cum-artist, with moods swinging inexplicably from pseudo-philosophically possessed to mushy bro-down romantic. As “Busey” snarls and bares his freakishly large teeth, you gotta wonder if he’s acting at all. (See: 2011’s “Celebrity Apprentice”).

6. John Malkovich, Being John Malkovich:

Mind-bending black hilarity doesn’t begin to describe acclaimed actor John Malkovich’s self-satirizing of his very Malkovich-ness in 1999’s aptly titled film.

As audiences play voyeur – from inside the man’s own head, “Malkovich” plays up and out his enigmatic public image -- peculiar, alien, undecipherable -- culled from past roles. We leave with the unsettlingly satisfying indication that all we’ve wildly imagined about him might actually be real.

7. Bob Barker, Happy Gilmore:

What’s funnier than America’s favorite grandpa of a gameshow host in raging alpha-male glory, beating Adam Sandler senseless on a golf course? Nothing.

Bob didn’t have to reinvent himself at age 72; he just embraced a role all too ridiculous to sway his adoring audience, loyal over 24 years of “The Price is Right.” At that point, he could get away with calling anyone a b*tch on-screen.

8. Daniel Radcliffe, Extras:

Daniel Radcliffe’s self-spoofing cameo on Ricky Gervais’s British comedy “Extras” was a revelation: THE “Harry Potter,” arguably Earth’s most famous kid, is not only a natural comic, but also a refreshingly self-effacing teen down to guffaw at himself.

We meet “Dan” as an actor on-set of a familiar fantasy film, and Dan plays his celebrity self to the hilt: He preens like an obnoxious horndog, flirts with everything he sees, and is ultimately embarrassingly exposed as totally mother-whipped.

9. Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering, Domino:

The “90210” teen idols’ double self-spoof in 2005’s “Domino” is worthy hilarity due if nothing else to its utter randomness. The duo play it self-referentially, as desperate yet cocky ex-heartthrobs ... now hosting a reality series about bounty hunters (what?!). When they’re taken as “celebrity hostages” on an unscripted ride-along, pop culture gold ensues. You’re not in the Peach Pit anymore, fellas, but at least you’re playing your own age!

10. Unbilled Cameo, Zombieland:

SPOILER ALERT ... If you’ve not seen 2009’s “Zombieland,” (and you should, if you like fun):

When there’s something strange, in the neighborhood ... like zombies taking over humanity ... who you gonna call?

Why, Bill Murray!

Zombieland’s “Bill Murray” is an all-time best self-spoof, cameo and kept secret all-in-one. Only he could pull off such simultaneous glory.

Look out for future all-star self-spoofer, “Dawson's Creek’s” 90s heartthrob James Van Der Beek, on ABC's new midseason sitcom "Apartment 23." Mocking pretty much everything he’s ever done, meta James Van Der Beek promises to give even that self-spoof king “Adam West” a run for his revived career’s money.

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chronoscasuals · 6 years

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Sentinels of the Multiverse: Adelphophage’s Archives (part 6: pre-OblivAeon Hero re-balances)

Welcome all to Chronos Casuals, I’m ChronosMysty and today I’ll go over the hero card inserts for each hero and the general motivations for each. These are not needed to enjoy the villain promos, but I generally find the experience better including all of the changes. To summarize Adelphophage’s thread on this: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1790312/adelphophages-card-inserts These are the general reasons why he would change a card: • It is far too strong • It is so weak that it will never get played (at least with certain power cards for the deck) • It just isn’t fun

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into the changes for Absolute Zero:

Coolant Blast was pretty much only useful with some of his own one-shots, against fire-based villains, or in tandem with Ra. Providing Absolute Zero with a method of dealing with environments and giving a second use to Coolant Blast seemed like a no-brainer. Sub-Zero Atmosphere was a very strange card that could either cheese fights or be completely useless. This version has a passive bonus of having Absolute Zero deal himself 1 cold damage, which, with the right set of equipment turns into 3 healing at the end of his turn.

Argent Adept:

Yeah, that’s just about it. Argent Adept is fairly balanced, but being able to reliably destroy Ongoing cards is a bit too much, especially with the base power of only needing it. Toning it down so that you have to destroy your own Melodies along with Ongoings helps a lot with reeling in this card.

Bunker:

Bunker had a serious problem of wanting to either plop down an Omni-Cannon and camp in Recharge Mode all game until the mega-blast, or plop down a Flak Cannon, Grenade Launcher, and Turret Mode and spam damage all game, both of these prohibiting doing anything else. The big changes are the Modes, which used to essentially double one phase at the expense of the other two and provide a related passive buff (except for Upgrade Mode, whose passive buff was still letting you draw cards). Instead they require skipping one of the other two phases (and don’t prohibit the actions entirely) and replace it with a supercharged version of the phase the mode can’t skip. The Gatling Gun buff just adds back the DPS buff Turret Mode lost (albeit at a higher cost due to it being easier to draw cards with Bunker now). It also deals damage when you discard, a common theme you’ll see. Maintenance Unit just needed a tune-up.

Captain Cosmic:

Conservation of Energy now does what it sounds like it should - those constructs in play likely cost you a draw and a playing of a Construct, now they refund you both. Construct Cataclysm’s first option was always a bad exchange of damage, this change just makes the option more pickable.

Chrono-Ranger:

Chrono-Ranger’s changes format a very different change in playstyle. Chrono-Ranger always had this dissonance of playstyle where he would get rewards for destroying his targets, but often keeping them around for Dead or Alive’s passive, Masadah, or Danny-Boy was a better investment. These changes remove that playstyle and return him to the bounty hunter he’s supposed to be, with By Any Means and The Ultimate Target being toned down a bit and No Executions getting a slight buff to keep it useful against decks that don’t care for their trash.

Expatriette:

Oh boy, did Expatriette need help. Arsenal Access ensures she hits at least 1 gun. The pride and Prejudice change let them both use 2 ammo with less setup. Submachine Gun was commonly the least effective gun. Expatriette had a card draw problem. Fix both by giving the least effective gun card draw. Hairtrigger reflexes, again, was either full cheese or near-useless. This change helps it be more tactical and useful right when you need it. The ammo changes were just to make them more useful. The Incendiary Rounds is especially fun with Submachine Gun and Tactical Shotgun.

Fanatic

Divine sacrifice now helps Fanatic properly sponge damage. This type of change will occur at least once more. Sacrosanct martyr was changed to give it a bit more use and to longer nonbo with Undaunted. Zealous Offense now works better when she doesn’t have Absolution out (and is a lot easier who to remember who it is affecting). Sanctifying Strike is to help give Fanatic a more aggressive playstyle and to work well with her base power.

Haka

It’s funny how Haka has dominion - a card that interacts with environment destruction, and no way to destroy the environment. His enduring intercession card was also pretty useless. Easy way to fix both. Ground Pound is among a common theme of being changed to not reduce damage dealt by character cards to 0. Punish the Weak did have some good synergies with his own deck (particularly Rampage), but often it was just a hinderance to his damage output. The damage reduction part was removed for such reason, as was its power, for it was no longer needed.

KNYFE

There has been exactly 1 time I used old Flawless Execution, and it ended with baron Blade’s incapacitated text causing KNYFE to deal herself down to 1 HP and executing herself. This change removes the extreme niche-case scenario and instead provides a much more likely scenario for proccing - actually destroying something. Overdo It was basically just moved to when she discards cards, with an added effect to get your hand back into the game once you’ve exhausted it.

Legacy

Legacy easily has one of the most overpowered decks and the most overpowered base powers. these changes help reel him in a bit by making locks on the villain either less effective or harder to maintain. (The Take Down change also makes Superhuman Durability have more purpose, giving him a way to take at least 5 damage.) Inspiring presence’s change is strange (I still think it should heal all hero targets by 1, maybe make it non-limited and say “Play this next to another hero target not next to an Inspiring Presence” so that you could have two out at once.)

Mister Fixer:

For the most part, riveting Crane was useless because, if they had damage resist, Mr. Fixer probably wasn’t getting through (or they had up to 2 damage resist and he was Dark Watch Fixer, in which case, he might cheese the battle). Weakening it and combining it with Alternating Tiger Claw’s text makes it much more reliable. With that, Alternating Tiger Claw needed new text, and so it got a damage buff against the lowest HP non-hero target, which is serviceable enough. Grease Gun is just to weaken it. Tire Iron was extremely situational, now it has a shtick. Personally, I’d rewrite it to “Increase damage dealt by Mr. Fixer by 2 and change it to projectile damage″ to clear up any ambiguity, but that it would also let him punch through weaker damage resist. It would certainly make it competitive with the other three equipment, though. Bloody Knuckles was pretty much only good with dark watch Fixer because you could destroy it the turn you played it for increased damage and no drawback. This change lets you keep it out or lets you simulate that use with any other Fixer version you may use. (There are a lot of cool fan-made Fixer character cards.)

Nightmist

NOTE: All the versions were changed, I just only included these particular ones for the text. Mist Form now can only last one round, which, again, is a change you’ll see again. Mistbound’s change doesn’t really impact much, it just seemed strange to see a spell that didn’t reference the MAGIC symbols. That, and it requires slightly more effort tom play such a powerful effect. Elder Ring now gets much more to the point of its destruction clause and makes it slightly less reliant on her other damage redirection Relic. Tome of Elder Magic had a cool power, but it never felt good using. Now the power has a purpose in speeding up spellcasting and making sure it probably won’t blow up in Nightmist’s face.

Omnitron-X

Singularity was a bad exchange of damage. At least now it contributes something even if you don’t destroy anything (although it will become more inefficient with each destroyed Ongoing). Reset now does something actually relevant for the deck.

Parse

This card was parse’s default strategy as soon as it was drawn, ensuring the villain never did anything surprising or dangerous again. As a one-shot, it can no longer do that every round, just one, helping fit into Parse’s playstyle a bit better. Besides, she already has a power for deck manipulation.

Flesh of the Sun God was either full cheese or useless. This change greatly reduces the cheese factor while also providing another use. As seen with Inspiring Presence, global damage buffs for 1 card play is too strong. Imbued Fire only lasting one round makes it justified. Wrathful Gaze was quite useless. Now, it has a point.

The Sentinels

(IIRC, the incapacitated abilities are still the same.)

I’ll be outright and say it - against AOE villains, The Sentinels can be pretty useless. Against non-AOE villains, they are insane. This character card reels them in a lot by making them play a bit like the Pantheon mentioned earlier. First, your team has 24 HP and your reviving one-shots just heal for a set amount of HP, helping provide a lot of tanking. Second, your heroes switch between incapped and active easily and can’t be active two turns in a row, meaning you have to plan out which members you want active to be able to use which effects. (This also helps reel in Durasteel Chains and the caliginous Cloak’s protection abilities.) This certainly won’t be for everyone, but I find it’s in general a more balanced experience.

Setback

Friendly Fire was generally an inefficient damage to luck engine, but it was also part of an extremely powerful combo with Mr. Fixer and Dual Crowbars. This change fixes both problems. Uncharmed Life gained an efficient (albeit now mandatory) way to sponge damage for the team, but now it only lasts a round and recovers more health. Surprising Fortune gained a huge buff to make it much more viable. Overall, Setback should have a much easier time gaining and maintaining the proper amount of luck, even if you decide to use Dark Watch Setback.

Tachyon

Hypersonic assault was just ridiculous. This version still is, in fact, but now it’s much more reasonable. Research Grant is pretty much an upgrade for base tachyon and an alternative option for freedom Five Tachyon, but the other two have pretty much no reason to reach for this. These extra abilities help provide some utility.

Tempest

Honestly, I have no idea why they gave one of the most effiicient DPS heroes one of the best healing cards in the entire game, but they did, and it has ruined countless games for me. This toned down version is still decently useful but it put Tempest back into the damage category. Vicious Cyclone was extremely sensitive to damage buffs and reductions. This change helps stabilize it a bit and lets it deal 1 damage a turn even without discards, which is fairly nice.

Unity

I always found it strange that Unity didn’t actually have any one-shots that summoned Mechanical Golems. Adelphophage fixed that.

Visionary

Brain burn was a super cheese move against some villains, fairly useless or too much of a damage exchange for others. This new one laser targets one card and then lets Visionary move on with her turn, which is so much more helpful. Foresight was pretty useless, and now it’s a great team support card. Mental Divergence suffered from the same “repeatedly able to destroy Ongoings” problem as Sarabande of Destruction. Now it can do it once upon entering play, but its other power has been supercharged and attached to a self-destruct clause. Again, full immunity to damage effects were limited to one round. Twist the Ether’s most common use was also generally the least fun. This slight change removed that option and, in my opinion, will help people realize just how fun this card can really be.

Wraith

For how flexible a hero Wraith was, she was really OP. With Microtargeting Computer out, her equipment were more powerful than Expatriette’s (not to mention her Utility Belt would let her use TWO of them), her Infrared Eyepiece was more powerful than dark Visionary’s deck manipulation on the villain, Smoke Bombs helped all the tank heroes be sponges, throat Jab could just neutralize some villains for a round, etc. These changes help reel Wraith back into a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

And that’s all I have for you today. I’ll see you all next time and remember, keep it casual!

#Sentinels of the Multiverse #Adelphophage #Review

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