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luke-patterson-owns-my-soul · 4 years ago

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Scratch My Back...

Luke Patterson x Reader

Title: Scratch my Back…

Words: 1241

Summary: Y/N and Luke’s secret relationship gets found out.

Requested: Anon Request for Reggie or Alex finding out about Luke and their sister after they’re intimate and leave marks TW: Mentions of sex, mild swearing Author’s notes: I hope this is what you wanted, dear Anon. I hope I did your request justice. Characters have been aged up.

Kissing you on the lips, Luke crawled out of your bed and walked across your room picking up his discarded clothes. You can’t help but watch him as he moves, the muscles shifting under his tan skin as he pulls his jeans on.

“Do you have to go?” you ask, not wanting him to leave you alone. He never stayed over, not wanting to get caught by your family. You knew it wasn’t anything personal, but it still hurt every time he got dressed and climbed out of your bedroom window with a kiss and a smile.

“I’m sorry, babe, but you know I can’t stay.” He leaned over the bed and kissed you deeply. “Have you seen my shirt?” As he turned to look around your room you can’t help but burst out laughing.

“It’s hanging off my lamp.” You tell him, not mentioning the four scratches on his back. He’ll find out about them soon enough.

Once Luke’s dressed, he crawls onto your bed and kisses you again. This one could easily turn into more, and he groans when he pulls away.

“I love you.” He whispers as he locks his eyes on yours before escaping out of your bedroom window. Minutes after he leaves, Reggie sticks his head around your door.

“Why aren’t you ready? The show starts in an hour.” Your brother hated being late for anything. The venue for tonight’s gig was less than twenty minutes away by car, he needn’t have worried.

“Give me 5 and I’ll meet you down in the car.” You threw your car keys over to Reggie, waiting until he left the room before climbing out of bed to grab a quick shower.

It was almost fifteen minutes by the time you were dressed and had your make-up done. You rushed down to your car, where Reggie’s tapping his fingers against the dash.

“We are gonna be so late, Y/N. And I’ll be blaming you.” He snapped as you climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Reg, when have I ever let you down?” Starting the engine, you pull away from your house, a delicious ache still invading your body.

_____________________________♥♥♥________________________________

As expected, you and Reggie arrived with plenty of time to spare. Alex had already set up his drumkit and was chatting with his boyfriend, Willie and Bobby while Luke was on stage checking over his amp. He caught your eye and flashed you a wink without anyone seeing before carrying on. You busied yourself with setting up the merch table near the bar.

As you were the only one old enough to drink, you bought the guys some soda and yourself a beer. Once it was time for them to head backstage to get ready, you settled yourself in for a night of crowd watching. It never bothered you seeing girls fawn over Luke. He was twenty, gorgeous, and crazy talented, but you were the one he wanted screaming his name. It was just a shame you had to sneak around to do it.

Although you were a year older then Reggie, he’d banned his friends from ever dating you back in high school. It had pissed you off, especially when you realized you had feelings for Luke. So, for the past year, the two of you had been meeting up in secret. The excitement had been such a turn on at first, but now it was draining for the both of you. More than anything, you wanted to be able to go out in public with the man you loved without offending your brother.

Feeling irritated, you decided to head backstage to see if you could grab five minutes with Luke, maybe they could sneak off somewhere so she could give him a few good luck kisses before he went on stage.

“What the fuck are those on your back?” you could hear Reggie laughing from the dressing room they’d been given by the venue. You stopped outside the door so you could eavesdrop.

“What?” Luke’s voice was laced with confusion, making you giggle silently.

“You have some wicked scratches on your back. Wait… have you got a little side thing that you’ve been keeping a secret from us?” Bobby joined in the conversation. Trust him to make it sound so crass, but you couldn’t blame him really.

To prevent Luke having to lie outright, you knocked on the door before slipping inside.

“Ten minutes, guys.” You grinned at the four of them, trying not to make eye contact with Luke who was smirking at you. You knew he was going to get his own back at some point, but would rather it didn’t happen in front of your brother and his friends.

“Thanks, Y/N. Alex smiled at you as you tied your hair up into a messy topknot. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Luke’s eyes widen.

“Wait, sis. What’s that?” Reggie walked over to you, his eyes glued to the side of your neck. Without thinking, you lift your hand and wince when you touch your neck. Automatically, your eyes lift to look at Luke who has the balls to grin at you.

“Is that a hickey?” Alex asks, leaning in for a closer look. “Girl, you’ve been marked.” He laughs. As he moves away from you, he notices what’s passing silently between you and Luke and you hear him utter ‘oh shit’ under his breath before he and Bobby excuse themselves to head out of the room.

“Uh…” is all you manage to say while Reggie squints at you.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” He comments, blissfully ignorant. “Bit of a coincidence that both…” He trails off, suddenly looking at you and Luke.

“Reg…” You start to speak, but he holds a hand up to cut you off.

“Not you. Him.”

You watch as Luke covers his body with another shirt and take a deep breath before turning to one of his best friends.

“Reggie… it just happened.”

“What, you tripped, and your dick landed in my sister? Try again asshole.”

“Reg, it wasn’t like that, and although you’re pissed, I know you know that.” Luke stands next to you and takes hold of your hand, raising it to kiss the back of your knuckles. “But all I can say is that I love her, with all my being. Neither of us wanted to hurt you, which is why we kept it quiet at first. Then it just got harder to come clean the longer it went on.”

“Hang on, how long have you two been a thing?” His voice was less angry and hurt, but you could still see something in his eyes. Letting go of Luke’s hand you pulled your brother into a hug.

“Reg, I adore you. You’re the best little brother I could ever have asked for, but you can’t control my life. Me and Luke are a thing, a serious thing, I’m afraid you’re just going to have to get used to it.”

“How long, Y/N?”

“A year or so.” You waited for him to explode.

“Well, that explains so much.” With a grin, he turns to Luke. “Break her heart, I’ll smash up your favorite guitar.”

With a wink in your direction, Reggie left the room.

“Well, that went better than expected.” Luke gathered you in his arms and kissed you deeply.

For once, you didn’t have to hide, and it felt amazing.

Tagging:

@dream-a-little-bigger-x @calamitykaty @crybabyddl @morganayennefertyrell @lovesanimals @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve @echocharm17618 @kinda-really-lost @n0wornever

#jatp #jatp fic #luke patterson fic #Luke Patterson Imagine #Luke Patterson x Reader #Mich writes fic

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catfishimages · 3 years ago

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im attacking you with 1 billion quastions from the dm ask: 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 20, 24, 33, 36, 37

thank you alex for my life. i am chewing on chewing on these questions like a deer haunch

4 - do you have any noticeable dm mannerisms? anything you’ve picked up from ttrpg shows or other dungeon masters in your life? or common tropes, themes, or encounters that reappear across your games?

man i don’t even know, do i have any noticable dm mannerisms? i have definitely noticed myself aping brennan lee mulligan in terms of turns of phrase and stuff (”hell yeah. awesome.” parental figures calling children “kiddo”) but like, if someone were to do an impression of me, what would they do?

6 - what is your least favorite part about running a game (if there is one)?

while being crazy, intensely rewarding, running a game takes a lot of emotional/mental energy. and sometimes that energy willl end up completely wasted cause players didn’t end up pursuing a thread you thought they would. which is totally inevitable and fine! but it does still drain you.

however the number one thing that really does suck the most is that you will sometimes have players that see/treat you as more of a function of the game, something that facilitates them having fun playing the game, rather than a person who is also playing the game and is also trying to have a good time, which. sucks. and being a dm is kind of inherently a supportive role, but there is this (unfortunately, pretty common) attitude among players of forgetting that the dm is also a player, and not just some sort of reactive game making engine.

11 - favorite npc(s) you’ve ever played?

probably the most rewarding thing about dming is eliciting an emotional reaction from your players, cause it means they’re connected to the story/their characters! so naturally this means that my favourite npcs are the ones that provoke Reactions in my players. a lot of the times, that reaction is laughter, those good good juicy emotions are really what i’m stabbing for.

i think my top two are both from my current ongoing motw campaign, doom mettle, (turned 1 year old a month or two ago.) two very different characters with a common thread: Kevin Diuretic is the 14 year old teen sidekick and employee of one of the pcs, and Martin Tantaleen, the ceo of the silicon valley-esque, vampirically owned farming company Nutricore. kevin’s starting motivation is to get involved in said pcs criminal activities, and he’s one of my favourites cause he’s 14 years old and the players are deeply protective of him and his safety. this makes him the perfect victim. the threat of him being in danger connects them to the stakes of the world, which means i can make them Feel Things. on the hard other end of the spectrum is martin tantaleen. the focus of one of the mysteries (what motw calls adventures,) was the party had descended into a secret underground nutricore facility in order to seal a hellmouth, but after being successful were then trapped underground by martin tantaleen. they then had to fight their way out, navigating the labyrinth of this facility, flee the pursuit of the nutricore private security forces and a mutated vampiric/angel hybrid monster (long story,) of martin’s creation, all while being mocked and tormented by martin tantaleen over the facility’s pa system. something about him really snagged something inside my players, and now they react to the barest implication of him like tigers in an enclosure in which someone has dropped a slab of raw meat.

i can’t really pretend to know exactly why these characters, specifically, my players latched onto. maybe it’s cause kevin diuretic has a voice like he’s constantly mid-voice crack and always about to cry, and he’s named. that. maybe the fact that martin was pretty untouchable to my players, with that element of him mocking them from a place of safety, where he could see them but they couldn’t see him, is what enraged them on that level. but something these characters do share, is improvisation. kevin was created wholesale because my player said there was a high schooler working for her and i had to come up with something on the fly, and while not improvised entirely, the decision to have martin watch the party and talk to them over the pa was a spur of the moment thing. for whatever reason it’s just something my brain did in that moment, and now it’s something i consider to be pretty central to his character, and is definitely a major part of why he gets such a rise from the party.

14 - place you wish the pc’s had spent more time in or a plot hook they didn’t follow?

to this day i’m actually still bitter (loving) about this one. so of my pcs got sent to hell (don’t worry about it, they’re fine.) and they ended up finding this bar in hell, called The Swimming Sorrow, which i’m embarrassingly proud of. and the bar was run by this pair of demons, two brothers, one of which was the bartender and the other would be playing music. (that one’s body was basically a giant bagpipes, with multiple arms and bongos and shit grown out of him,) and they’d trade the masks every day. which mask they were wearing would change their personality from upbeat and jovial to dreary and depressed, so on days when the music brother had the tragedy mask and the bartender brother had the comedy mask the bar would be completely empty, but the other days however, it’d be packed, cause nobody wants sad music playing when they’re miserable and a bartender who’s happier than they are.

jokes on my pcs tho they’re all going back to hell eventually even if they don’t know it yet

15 - what are your favorite battle memories? do you have a favorite villain/enemy/monster you’ve played?

the conquering son was a really fun villain, the whole persistence hunter, unstoppable michael myers thing ruled. and as far as battle memories, there was this bit where he stalked the party to one of their homes, and the session ended with him breaking in the door, and them all being cornered in the basement of that pcs house. (i can say that that was definitely my favourite end-of-session cliffhanger i’ve ever done.) their fight to get out, where they were so extremely on their back foot and disadvantaged, and then later their fight against him in an abandoned water treatment facility, on their terms, were two of my favourite battle memories of all time.

16 - is there something that you desperately want to run someday, be it a specific system, setting, module, campaign, npc, etc?

there are a few different systems that really seem interesting to me: mausritter seems very fun, it’s this high-lethality low fantasy game where you play as mice, ICON cause i’m abbadon’s bitch, and the stats system in kids on bikes looks real cool. but honestly while i am really interested in different game systems, the stuff that’s trying to burst out of me alien-style is more ideas for stories than specific systems. i’ve had this idea for a giant-hunting campaign, a la shadow of the colossus, and my doom mettle group is so incredibly creative and the characters they make rule so hard that i’d love to see what they’d do in the setting for the other campaign i’m running right now (the continent of Kahldera, the young world.) and given how much the genre’s a part of my core dna since childhood, i just gotta run a sci-fi campaign at some point.

20 - best/worst player-ism that stuck in a game (ex. getting a name wrong to the point that’s just what everyone says, whether on purpose or accident)?

honestly it probably happened more in the past but i can't think of anything off the top of my head. lmao i know this is lackluster but hey i can't write dissertations to answer all of these

24 - how long does preparing for a session usually take you? do you chronically under or overprepare?

under. on bad days those executives truly love to dysfunction until i exert a herculean amount of effort in order to have the bare minimum to run a game done. which, like, obviously that's rough but i really do think that "prepare less, react more" is something i hope new dms can learn.

however. because of The Brain I Have i'm never really not working on session prep (exageration.) i'm kinda always thinking about my campaigns, and sometimes i can get so involved in the adventure that i wildly overprepare the stuff i think is cool and interesting, even if usually most of it ends up getting tossed/awkwardly shoehorned in

33 - if you can, post your favorite comment/note/line from your game prep or gm notes made during a session

i wonder if my players can guess the corresponding game/mystery for each line

- “the light from the hellfire that bursts from seams in the earth, and flames produced by the heavy machinery is reflected by the hazy smoggy sky wrapping the planet.”

- “ the existence of a 10th plane is strato-theologically blasphemous”

- “He’s also a proficient hacker and investigator. He’s an asshole.”

- “gave Argos their powers/made Argos a nasty guygoyle.”

- “Drive: To do the coolest stunts.“

- “hogs are a collective vessel”

36 - how do you gear up to run a session? any pregame getting into character/setting moments?

in terms of notes prep, basically i’ll jot down any threads i want to make sure to remind the players of, like if i want to make sure they don’t forget it mainly. number one prep thing is making sure i’ve got the main stats that’re gonna be in play.

otherwise, if it’s an in-person session i go down my checklist (laptop, dm screen, paper notes, charger, dungeon tiles, speaker,) and if not i listen to that session’s theme track, set up my tabs on my two monitors, and make sure i’ve got smth to eat

37 - wildcard: any question you haven’t answered or received and want to!

funniest improvisation moment?

look without context this isn’t going to make much sense or be very funny but i think my funniest improvisation moment was Angry Andy’s Ammunition and Armaments Emporium.

#ask games #i left out the ones i already answered from sterling's ask #doom mettle #god.#i'm sorry i wrote a lot i love ttrpgs #also sorry this took so long i had like. work #15 i so clearly remember this moment where one of the party members fucked up a roll to track a monster that they knew #was somewhere in that building #and in motw you choose a negative side effect from a list if that happens #and knowing that they already had enough on their plate fighting the conquering son #him choosing "this draws immediate and unwelcome attention.”#the look he had where i knew which one he was going to choose #and he knew everyone else knew what he was going to choose...#god truly was alive in that moment #37. thank you bee. i love you. thank you for this gift

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emachinescat · 4 years ago

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Let's Save Our Shows - The Ultimate MacGyver/JATP Team-Up!

This post is for fans of my two current favorite shows, both of which are in some kind of danger of not being renewed. Both shows have petitions for renewal, and both shows, though different thematically, are full of amazing representation, have a passionate and talented cast who wants to keep going, and are backed by insanely loyal fans. These shows are, of course, MacGyver and Julie and the Phantoms. Please, please, if you sign one - or both - of these petitions, or if you already have, REBLOG. Liking does nothing. The only way we will be able to get the word out and save our shows is by reblogging, sharing with others!

For my MacGyver peeps!

If you're not familiar with Julie and the Phantoms, let me catch you up! This show, a Netflix original, is based on a Brazilian TV show called Julia y Los Fantasmos. It's about a teenage girl, Julie, who quits music after her mom's death, but when she accidentally summons the ghosts of a band from 1995, these boys - Luke, Alex, and Reggie - help her find her love for music again. It's crazy, it's sweet, it's romantic, it’s heartbreaking, it’s funny, it's musical, and it has so much heart. But it also has so. much. representation. And you know how much we MacGyver fans love representation!

So Julie is played by the gorgeous and stupidly talented Madison Reyes, a Puerto Rican-American teenager whose voice could level mountains. But not only do we get a Latinx lead, but we also get to see her family - her amazing papá, her brother Carlos, and her tía! Another of the main characters, Alex (the purest and most relatable character on the show IMO) is not only gay, but he gets an actual love interest and he and Willie make the CUTEST INTERRACIAL GAY COUPLE I’ve ever seen! Plus, Julie’s best friend Flynn is black, and the background characters are super diverse as well.

And the other characters - Luke, Reggie, Carrie, Bobby, Nick, Caleb - are all so colorful and interesting, too! It’s just.. perfection. And, well, season 1 premiered 8 months ago and still no peep of a renewal, never mind the fact that the show blew up and also won the Rotten Tomatoes Golden Tomato Award. JATP fans have started a petition to have the show renewed. Please, MacGyver friends, take a couple of seconds out of your day to sign this petition, even if you don't watch the show yourself, it would mean the world to us! Heck, why not sign and then watch the show? It's so worth it! :)

For my Julie and the Phantoms friends!

If you're not familiar with MacGyver, it's a reboot of the campy 80s action show by the same name. It's about a young man named Angus MacGyver who can make anything out of practically nothing, and has also worked as an expert EOD tech disarming bombs for the army. He now works for a clandestine organization called the Phoenix Foundation, saving the world one gadget at a time with his amazing team of fellow spies! I've bragged about how diverse JATP is - now it's time for me to brag about MacGyver!

To give you a bit of background, recently, one of the lead actors, Lucas Till, who plays MacGyver (you might recognize him from The Hannah Montana Movie), risked his career reporting an abusive showrunner to CBS. The showrunner was fired (though only after Till reported him several times), and the show just THIS SEASON replaced him with a woman of color showrunner, very rare in the television industry, especially in networks like CBS. That's a HUGE step. The show also just cast a black trans woman as a recurring character (a badass one at that)! CBS gave this black showrunner and black trans woman not even a full season to shine before canceling the show. That does not sit well with us.

So we've got Monica, our WOC showrunner. Then in our cast we have Parker, the super smart black trans agent with a master's degree. There's Riley, whose actress Tristin Mayes is black, Native American, and Creole, who is a super smart and badass hacker. Then there's Bozer, Mac's black best friend and biggest supporter - and an amazing character in his own right. There's Matty, the no-nonsense "mom" of the Team who runs the ops, kicks ass, and takes names, and who also has dwarfism. There's Desi, a Vietnamese-American badass (I know I keep using that word, but it's so true!) who protects the team and beats up bad guys. Russ is British, but he's got Peruvian and Scottish ancestry, which the show plays into!

And this show speaks out about major, important social issues including environmentalism, BLM, and more. And Mac himself is a cinnamon roll of an individual, and his best friend/partner for the first 3.5 seasons, Jack, is one of the most entertaining characters in media. There's also been a host of other characters on the show, but I went over the main ones. This show is DIVERSE.

Like I said, CBS canceled this show despite its high ratings, many viewers, and passionate fans and cast. CBS is also actively ignoring any campaigns to save the show. So if you would please take a moment, even if you don't watch the show, to sign this petition, it would mean the world to us MacGyver fans who are so ardently fighting the uphill battle to save our show!

Okay, so, can we do this? Can MacGyver fans take less than a minute out of their day and sign the JATP petition? And can JATP fans take less than a minute out of their day and sign the MacGyver petition? Last I checked, the JAPT petition had over 80k signatures, and the MacGyver petition had nearly 18.5k. Can we band together to save our shows? https://www.change.org/p/cbs-save-macgyver

#netflixwewantjatp2 #savemacgyver #julie and the phantoms #macgyver #jatp #macgyver 2016 #save our shows #petitions #let's team up and save both shows #please sign #please share #we can get season 2 #we can get season 6 #we just have to work together and support two insanely diverse shows #diversity matters #representation matters #thanks in advance #this means a lot #i love both these shows and want both to keep going!

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lire-casander · 3 years ago

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you feel like liberation (i’m a fool and i don’t care)

[2,555 words] [teen and up audiences] [beta'ed by @meloingly] [title from every word i say by hanson] [tk strand, carlos reyes, original female characters] [mentions of overdosing, mentions of alex, angst, fluff, future fic] [written for @excusemyfrenchgh as part of my lire’s 20 for the 20th]

[tk and carlos are strolling around central park when they run into someone from tk's past he wasn't expecting]

[my dear, dear gabrielle, i don't know enough words either in english or in french to let you know how much you mean to me. your friendship is a treasure. your whole presence is one of the things i will forever cherish. i love you so much, words can't express it]

you feel like liberation (i’m a fool and i don’t care) | on ao3

New York City in May is always a sight to behold, TK thinks as he strolls through Central Park holding hands with Carlos. He can feel the breeze against his skin, making the tree leaves move slowly, the sounds soft to his ears. Even though Austin has become his home during the past months, New York still holds a special place in his heart — this is where he was born, this is where he grew up, this is where he was destroyed. Austin is the place where TK found out who he is, the home he wants to come back to every day — but that doesn’t mean that New York City won’t forever be the first place where he existed.

And now he gets to share it with Carlos, for the first time ever.

TK doesn’t care that they came to celebrate his baby brother’s first birthday — his mom insisting that they both take time off their jobs to get a short vacation — because it’s just an excuse for him to spend time with his two favorite people in the world. He manages to squish his baby brother on a daily basis, something he can’t do when he’s down in Texas fighting fires and saving lives, and he can show Carlos his old stomping grounds.

“This is beautiful,” Carlos says as he stares up in amazement. “I can’t believe it’s actually bigger than in the movies.”

“Central Park is quite impressive,” TK agrees. “But wait until I show you Grand Central. There’s a corner there with a great acoustic, and another one that makes a great hidden spot to make out.”

Carlos laughs heartily. “You would know about that,” he teases, tugging TK closer to him until there’s no space between them, their breaths mingling as he leans in, ready to steal a kiss that TK is more than willing to give, hands roaming all over both their backs.

“TK Strand? Is that you?”

Their bubble bursts in swirls around them with the interruption of a voice that he knows by heart — a voice he used to hear every day growing up. Involuntarily, his fingers tighten around the fabric of Carlos’ sweater, his whole body tensing up. Carlos notices, if the way his hands come down and rest on TK’s hips protectively. TK sighs and slowly turns around, remaining in Carlos’ embrace, until he’s facing the owner of the voice.

“It’s you! I can’t believe you came back to the City and didn’t think of calling me!”

“Mandy,” he greets slowly, voice barely shaking. “It’s great to see you.”

“Well, you don’t seem that thrilled to see me,” she says, her long blonde ponytail bouncing at her back as she shakes her head. Despite his reticence, he hugs her back when she steps forward and hugs him warmly. “It’s been how long, a year, a year and a half?”

“It’s been around two years and a half, but who’s counting,” he says, words clipped and drier than he intended them to be. He clears his throat before continuing, “I’m sorry, Mandy, it’s been crazy. I should have kept in touch.”

“Well, after the whole Alex debacle, I understood that you didn’t want to have anything to do with any of us,” she says. “But coming back and not calling? I thought I was your best friend.”

TK bites the inside of his cheek to keep the retaliation from coming out in all its sharpness. He wishes he could tell her how broken Alex left him, how much he regrets fleeing in the night without as much as calling anyone who wasn’t his mother, but he remembers how they all rallied to comfort Alex for some reason that he will never fully understand. He remembers being hurt by their actions, he remembers crying himself to sleep in his loneliness.

However, he doesn’t even get to say another word, for Mandy — the sweet girl he met on his first day in Elementary School, the amazing teenager she became when they entered Middle School, the warrior who survived her parents’ divorce months before graduating High School — is barrelling back with questions that can barely follow.

“I tried calling you, but it sent me straight to voicemail, did you change your number? I wanted to tell you so many things, TK! I even met my soulmate, you know, and I think he’ll ask me to marry him soon enough, even if we all thought it’d be you and Alex tying the knot first, and God, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t bring him—”

“Mandy,” TK manages to cut her. Carlos’ fingers dig into his hip bone through his jeans, a grounding touch that gives TK strength and focus. “Let me introduce you to my boyfriend. Carlos, this is Mandy Dickins, my best friend growing up. Mandy, this is Carlos Reyes.”

Mandy stops talking long enough to actually look further than TK’s eyes. TK smiles playfully at her appreciatie whistle when her eyes land on Carlos, because he knows what she’s seeing — after all, they were platonic soulmates once. They used to share the same hobbies and they used to crush on the same guys. He isn’t surprised she’s impressed by Carlos; his boyfriend is a sight for sore eyes, and he’s aware of the glances he steals as he strolls through life. TK is so amazed that Carlos chose him — keeps choosing him, despite everything — that he wants to yell his love from the rooftops.

“Pleased to meet you,” Carlos says, ever the politest guy TK has ever met. “TK has talked a lot about you.”

“I hope he told you all the sordid details of what we were up to when we were babies,” she jokes, eyeing the hand that Carlos offers and shaking her head. “You’re TK’s guy, you’re family. We hug family,” she says. She moves forward, stepping in their space, and hugs Carlos awkwardly. It takes him a second before he reacts and wraps one of his arms around her, the other still holding TK and offering an anchor.

“Well, he certainly told me some of your adventures,” Carlos laughs when they part.

“He has never once mentioned you,” Mandy accuses, pointing a finger at him.

“Really?” Carlos questions, eyebrow arched elegantly as he feigns confusion. TK swallows thickly; he explained to Carlos the reasons behind their rushed change of scenery — Carlos knew about his overdose and his past, too, but TK had felt the need to express his fear and his disappointment in his friends for not trying even once to check in on him. He’s sure Carlos is playing coy out of politeness, that stubborn Southern charm that captured him whole as well.

Mandy falls for it, her eyes widening. “I guess that’s on me, too,” she confesses sourly. “You can’t possibly know how many times I wanted to pick up the phone and call you, after that night.”

“I was just there,” TK says. His voice is tinged with pain. “I’ve always been there, but I guess you were too busy trying to understand Alex’s side of the story.”

“Hey, no, no,” Mandy is quick to contradict him. “I confess I called him, because he was the one who picked up the phone first. I tried calling you, but you didn’t pick up. So I talked to him. He—he tried to feed me some bullshit, and I kinda went all Mandy on him and then tried to call you again. You never picked up,” she whispers. “Then your mom told me what had happened and then you were moving out of town. By then I was too ashamed that I never tried hard enough that I just—”

“You stopped trying,” TK understands then.

“I’m sorry, TK,” she apologizes. TK can see her eyes are shining with unshed tears, and his armor breaks a little at that. “I should have tried harder. I failed you.”

“I think I failed myself as well,” he confesses. “But I’m doing better now, Mandy. I promise I am.”

“That much I can see,” she almost leers, eyeing Carlos up and down. His boyfriend squirms uncomfortably by his side. “I’m glad you got out, TK. From Alex and from the drugs. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

TK nods. He remembers the long nights Mandy spent by his hospital bed the first time he overdosed; he remembers her unwavering support when he began healing and started his path to sobriety. Mandy had always been very vocal about everything, but he also remembers how she would grow quiet in Alex’s presence, as though she didn’t like him. Which, in hindsight, maybe she didn’t.

The moment stretches painfully, TK shuffling his weight from one leg to the other, Carlos standing like a rock beside him, Mandy looking down at her shoes. A sudden ringing tears through the thick air around them, and Carlos withdraws his hand from TK’s hip to fish his phone from his pocket. “Sorry,” he mutters, checking the screen. “I need to take this. It’s Mom,” he explains, swiftly stepping away a few feet. His voice dissolves in the air as he answers his phone brightly.

TK stares after him, gaze lingering as he moves around in circles, free hand gesturing in the air while he speaks to Andrea. His heart is filled with a love so pure that it’s almost unbearable — a feeling so big that threatens to spill all over him. He smiles almost involuntarily.

“I’d forgotten how well true love suited you,” Mandy whispers reverently, startling him.

“I—uh—”

“Eloquent as ever, Strand,” she snickers, pinching him. “You truly love him, don’t you? Don’t even try to deny it, I can practically feel it myself.”

“I do,” TK confirms, a blush creeping up his neck. “Sometimes it feels so surreal. Almost three years ago I was ready to let go and today—today I can’t imagine a life without Carlos in it.”

“That’s true love for you, TK,” Mandy tells him. He can hear the sincerity in her words, surrounding him like a warm hug. “I understand that you don’t believe me, but I'm truly happy for you.”

The thing is, TK realizes, that he believes her. He has all the reasons not to, the betrayal he felt when he found himself on his own after his whole world shattered rebelling in his soul, but the truth is that he has long since forgiven her. Therapy and meetings have helped him acknowledge his own part in everything that transpired — in holding onto Alex when all the signs told him to let go, in resorting to old bad habits, in wanting to die when he had his whole life ahead of him — and he has reconciled himself with the idea that he will always be an addict.

Having Carlos’ endless support has played a key role in this change of heart.

“I believe you,” he says slowly. “I’m sorry, too. I saw your calls while I was at the hospital, and I never called you back,” he explains. “I was too ashamed, too.”

They sway in place, unsure both of them of what to do next while they watch Carlos kicking at the dirt as he smiles into the call. They have yet to look at each other ever since they were interrupted by Andrea, TK’s skin itching to just touch Mandy’s the way they used to when they were younger — before growing up, before the first overdose, before Alex. He’s missed his best friend, even with Paul and Marjan and Mateo and Judd earning a special spot in his heart.

Mandy will always be the first one to be able to read his soul with just a glance.

“Do you think we can—” she starts, at the same time as he says, “Could we—”

They both stop, chuckling awkwardly. “You go first,” he says graciously, stealing a glance at her.

“Do you think we can start over?” she asks. TK understands her words for their true meaning — for the olive branch she’s offering. “Just learn to be around each other again. I know you’re now living in Austin and you’re not planning to come back soon, or ever. But I’d love to be part of your life again.”

“You just want all the goss about Carlos,” he accuses teasingly, earning a hearty belly laugh out of her.

“You bet I do,” she jokes back.

“Well, maybe we could try,” he acquiesces.

“Are you free tonight?” she’s fast to offer. “I’ve been dying to try this new place around the corner of your mom’s place.”

TK hesitates briefly.

“Are you afraid I’m going to scare your man away, Strand?” she teases. “I need him around so I can tell him all the embarrassing stories neither one of your parents has told him yet!”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, I would!” she cries out, lifting her hands up in the air. “And I’m dying to get to know the man who’s turned TK Strand into a mushy heap of goo.”

“I’m not—” he protests, but he knows there’s no way to deny it.

“Oh, but you are,” Mandy stresses out. “I bet he’s the only thing you can think about the whole day, right?”

“How come you know me so well after all these years, Dickins?”

“You’re a softie at heart, TK. You’ve always been. And that’s good.”

Carlos chooses that moment to turn around and wave at them as he seems to be wrapping up his phone call. TK can’t help the big smile that blooms in his face at the sight.

“Oh, okay, okay, you win,” he admits. “I’m a softie for him, but he’s so worth it, Mandy.”

“He better,” she threatens. “Because if he’s not, I’m going to grill his ass.”

“No need to do so,” TK manages to say before Carlos joins them back, leaning in and dropping a kiss to his cheek.

“Sorry,” he excuses himself. “Mom sends her love, by the way.”

“That’s so sweet of her,” TK replies before sliding his hand along with Carlos’ and intertwining their fingers. “We have a date tonight.”

“We do?” Carlos smiles brightly at Mandy. “Don’t tell me you’re going to show us some fancy restaurant.”

“Yeah, Mandy wants us to try somewhere new tonight,” TK explains.

“Then, we should call your mom and let her know we won’t be making it to dinner,” Carlos says wisely. “I can’t wait to get all the weird stories about teenager TK!”

“Oh, no, not you too! Please don’t team up against me!” TK protests, but it’s too late. Mandy has looped her arm around Carlos’ and she’s tugging at them to follow her back up the path they have just walked down.

Maybe things won’t go back to the way they were before — maybe they will never manage to regain the trust that was broken so long ago — but TK has a good feeling about this random encounter. It’s the same feeling in his gut that he almost ignored when he was trying to figure out who he was, before the solar storm, before the bullet, before Carlos. This time he isn’t going to ignore it.

This time, he’s going to embrace this second chance life has given him and he’s going to enjoy the happiness that’s beginning to spread, once again, through his veins.

#you say i'm your hero (but you're the one who saved me)#lire's 20 for the 20th #angst #fluff #mentions of overdosing #mentions of alex #future fic #tk strand #carlos reyes #original characters #tk strand/carlos reyes #carlos reyes/tk strand #tarlos #tarlos fic #911ls #911ls fic #911 lone star #911 lone star fic #lire babbling

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bigheartedsky · 5 years ago

Text

Next Life

Pairings: idol!Yoongi x fan!Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff; one shot

Word Count: 5.6k+

Warnings: none that I can think of..?

Summary: When a stranger in a bookstore starts talking to you about book recommendations and slips you his number, you finally feel like you found the one. Even though you could only see his eyes, the rest of his face covered by a cap and mask, it was like lightning went through your body. But will it really work out or does your little love story have more surprises for you than you thought?

a/n: this is one story I had in my head for years actually since I’ve always wondered what it would be like to meet them randomly. I’m a realist so in my eyes it wouldn’t go that smoothly so here you have a very angsty, but also fluffy story~ thanks to my lovely beta reader @yeontanismypresident for proof reading again! You’re a huge help since English isn’t my first language and I’m always glad to hear feedback!!

Masterlist

“We still have an hour before boarding starts.” Your best friend checked her watch while you came to a halt in the middle of the waiting area.

“Do you want to grab something to eat or drink? I’m actually really craving a coffee.” She added while looking around, but your focus was already on a quite different place that had nothing to do with food. Alex followed your eyes before sighing and chuckling. The chuckle brought your attention to her and you remembered that she had just asked you something.

“Sorry. Food sounds good. Would you mind if I-“

“Went to the bookstore before?” your friend grinned, finishing your sentence and you gave her a sheepish smile, apologizing with your eyes. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll save you a place at the Starbucks over there. I know you can’t keep away from books anyways so no surprise there. No wonder you work at a bookstore.”

You followed with your eyes where she was pointing at before nodding and smiling. That same smile on your lips, you entered the bookstore, taking in the familiar smell of new books and magazines.

Which one of you should I add to my collection this time…? I need something to read on the flight anyways.

You let your fingers gently stroke the top of the books while walking past them until one of them caught your interest. Reading through the description on the back, you didn’t notice how someone was slowly approaching you.

“That one is boring.” A male voice said right next to you - although it seemed more like he mumbled it to himself rather than actually directing it at you. You looked around confused, making sure you were the one he meant. He stood right next to you, skimming the books you both were standing in front of, and grabbing one of them to check it before laying it back on the pile.

“Excuse me?” he looked at you for a second, eyes meeting yours, and you felt for a second as if the whole world stood still. It was like a lightning that went through your whole body to find home right where your heart is. You never felt like this before in your life.

Is that what love at first sight feels like? you wondered while still staring at him. You’ve always been a romantic, but very realistic person, which made you like that thought, but at the same time shake it off immediately.

This was so weird.

He held your gaze for a second, before looking back to the book in your hands and tapping on it. He was wearing all black and his face was barely visible due to a cap and mask – both black as well. His hands were really pretty, you noticed while he tapped the book in your hands for a moment, with slender, long fingers, making you wonder what it would feel like to hold them.

What the hell is happening to me? I haven’t said three words to him yet I’m fantasising about holding his hands?? I need to read less romantic novels.

“This one is boring.” His words pulled you back into reality.

“It’s well written but the plot is not well thought out and the ending is very unsatisfying. The character development is underwhelming as well. There are better things to choose.” He explained in such a nonchalant way, it almost made you smile. Cocking your head to the side curiously, you stared at him for a second before putting the book back.

“Okay. Suggest one to me then.” His eyes met yours again after saying that. He looked surprised but it only lasted a second before he started looking around.

Somehow, I feel really comfortable with him. He seems so familiar the way he’s speaking. As if I’ve known him for years.

You got pulled back into reality when he suddenly started walking towards one of the shelfs, taking one book and reaching it out to give to you without a word. Looking down you read the title out loud.

“The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I’m impressed.” You looked up at him grinning. “That’s a really good choice. A classic and to your luck I haven’t read this one yet.”

Was that a smile coming up to his eyes? It’s hard to see through the mask, but I think it was. Cute…

He cleared his throat before looking around again and then back at you.

“What about you?” he suddenly asked, ears glowing red. You looked at him confused for a moment until he added almost impatiently. “A book you would recommend me.”

“Oh! Uhm… let me think.” Your eyes start roaming all the books in the store. It was your job but still, sometimes it took quite some time for you to recommend books to people you just met. But then one book caught your eye that never failed to make you smile. You weren’t sure if it was his style, but because your own experience reading it was so special, you chose to recommend it anyways.

“Here, Into the Magic Shop by Dr. James Doty. I don’t know if this is the kind you like to read, but personally it helped me a lot when I was feeling down so… yea.” You slowly felt yourself blush and grow nervous the more you tried to explain to him why you recommend it.

“Someone once recommended it to me telling me that it holds the key to creating your life the way you want it to be without dying due to stress or overthinking. It made me change my perspective on work and life itself and rethink my life choices a lot.” He looked at the book nodding. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw you chose this one at first but when you finished explaining he forgot all his worries and just accepted the offer. His eyes darted to the price tags of both books you had chosen for each other and after a moment of thought he gave you “Into the Magic Shop”.

“Pay this for me.” He said shortly before turning to go to the register to pay for the book he had chosen for you. You stood there dumbfounded for a second before quickly following him to pay too. After he finished paying, he stood at the other end of the register and did something you couldn’t quite see with the book while waiting for you to finish too. After you finished, he held out the book for you with one hand, and his free hand to receive the one for himself. You traded the books and you couldn’t help the smile on your face, especially as his fingers lingered on yours for the briefest moment while trading them, electricity and warmth running through your body and making you blush. You hoped with everything in you that he felt the same things you did.

“Thank you.” You said smiling from ear to ear. Your heart was beating a little faster and you felt like a teenager crushing hard on a stranger right now. The smile was tugging on his eyes again and you could see that he was fighting it a little.

Should I ask for his number? I don’t think I can live without seeing him again. I would definitely regret it. Okay here I go!

But just as you were about to ask him for his contacts, his voice cut off your attempt before it even began.

“Keep it safe for me, okay? See you.” And with that he turned and walked out of your view before you could say anything further. At first you felt regret but then another feeling spread throughout your body instead - confusion and hope.

See you?

Somehow the promise of these two words made you smile even more. You looked down at the book, noticing now that this one was way more expensive than the one you paid. Your eyes darted to the place you had last seen him but he was already gone.

He took the more expensive one on purpose... You started feeling all warm and fuzzy thinking about this small gesture.

Packing the book in a safe spot in your bag, you started making your way to the Starbucks. Of course, Alex started complaining a little about you taking way longer than normal, but that made her have an excuse to get another one of her favorite Frappuccino’s, which she definitely wasn’t angry about. You still don’t know why but you didn’t immediately start telling her about the handsome bookstore stranger. Well, you thought he was handsome due to his eyes being on show – and very pretty – but you weren’t really sure what he looked like. You didn’t even know his name and still here you were daydreaming about that moment over and over again while somewhat listening to your best friend talking about her favorite TV show at the moment.

“Good afternoon passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 713B to London. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes time. Thank you.”

Hearing the announcement, you slowly started packing up your stuff to leave for your gate, knowing it is still quite a walk.

“Wouldn’t it be crazy to meet one of the BTS members randomly at the airport today?”

“It would be. But it would also be highly unlikely.” You laughed at your friend’s enthusiasm for that imagine.

“I mean, it’s not that unlikely! Think about it. They had concerts here on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Friday and tomorrow will be their concert in London.” Alex paused for a second to calm herself down from knowing she would see them live in less than 48 hours from now. “It’s not that unlikely for them to fly to London today!”

“But it’s unlikely for them to wait here with all the normal passengers for their private jet.” You scoffed but still you found yourself wondering what it would be like to actually run into them.

I just hope I would treat them normally. Best thing would be if I don’t even recognize it’s them until later. Don’t wanna scare them away...

You laughed a little at your own thought while taking out your boarding pass and passport.

You waited for the plane to be all the way up in traveling height before you took out the book the stranger bought you. You couldn’t help the smile on your face while looking at it, thanking god for distracting your friend with the on-board movie program so she didn’t notice. Opening it you flicked through it with your finger sliding over the side of the pages. You loved the feeling and sound it made when you flicked through all the pages of a book. Used to seeing the photobooks of K-pop albums stop at a specific page, with a photocard in between, you weren’t surprised at first when it happened with this book too, but when it hit you that this shouldn’t happen with a normal book your heart rate immediately picked up. You took out the piece of paper stuck between the pages to unfold it.

[When I saw you today, I felt like I walked into my Magic Shop. Tell me if you like the book.

+82 36 XXXX YYYY

- Min]

So, his name was Min?

You smiled to yourself when suddenly your best friend exclaimed.

“Someone snuck you their number????” you blushed and shushed her, looking around apologetically to the people around you. Sometime while you were reading the message, she must’ve looked at you and seen the message. Not being able to hide anything anymore, you start telling her about everything that happened, and even though you were the one with a huge crush, she seemed more excited than you. You had to promise her to message him right after you guys landed, which you didn’t mind since the relief you felt knowing you can contact him anytime now made you all giddy and impatient for the plane to finally arrive at its destination.

“Who knows where this guy is from! You said he had a Korean accent, but does he really live in Korea? You never know where people live even if they have an accent. Our world is so globalized that you can basically live in Italy as a Chinese person and have half Swedish parents! Anything is possible.” Alex was at this since you finished telling her the story.

“I don’t know. But I hope I’ll find out.” You simply said before you started to dive into the world of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

[12:56 AM – Y/N]

[Hey Min! This is the girl from the Bookstore. I started reading The Alchemist on my flight to London and so far, I really like it. Thank you for the recommendation.]

[01:34 PM – Min]

[I’m glad you like it. How was your flight? And I need your name so that I can save you.]

[01:35PM – Y/N]

[My name is Y/N and my flight was good. How was yours? Or are you still waiting for the boarding?]

[01:36PM - Min]

[We arrived a few minutes ago, too. Your book is not bad as well, btw.]

[…]

“Are you still texting with Min?” Alex asked grabbing herself a plate at the breakfast buffet of your hotel.

“Yea. We’ve been talking all night about music and books and somehow lost track of time. We have a lot in common and I honestly feel good about this. Everything is so easy and just falls into place.” You blush, telling your friend about the things you talked about.

“And you won’t believe it, but he’s actually in London as well. Says he has some work to do here before flying somewhere else. And he asked if I want to meet up the day after tomorrow with him.”

“But our flight back leaves tomorrow.” Alex frowns at you, unhappy with how your love story isn’t exactly like the fairytales, where everything turns out perfectly.

“I know. I told him that as well so he asked me to meet tonight after he’s done working…”

“Oh my god!! You have to go! Please tell me you’re going.” You sighed.

“Honestly, I really really want to. But our plane leaves so early we have to get back to the hotel immediately after the concert to start packing and leave for the airport. You know that our schedule is too tight for extra trips.”

Your friend was suddenly very quiet, making you look up from the buffet in front of you and at her. She looked deep in thought, looking at the eggs as if her life depended on the decision between boiled or scrambled egg. Then all of a sudden Alex exclaimed, making you almost drop your plate in surprise.

“How about we pack everything now and I’ll ask the taxi driver to pick you up at the spot where your lover boy wants to meet you! You could spend some time with him then and I’ll get our luggage and pick you up with the taxi later. It’s perfect! You just have to pick a spot that’s not too far away from Wembley.” You thought about her words for a long time, running the numbers if it was really possible to do or not.

“Okay. I’ll ask where he wants to meet.” You started smiling while typing the question in your message bar.

The BTS concert that evening was far more than just amazing. It was wonderful. You were absolutely stunned with how good they actually were live, having only seen them on screens or listen to their songs digitally. You were so excited and talkative after the concert that you almost forgot your date with Min for a second. You quickly made your way to the bathrooms, changing into something that wasn’t drenched in sweat and putting your other clothes in a bag for Alex to take with her. You checked yourself in the mirror one last time before jogging out to Alex.

“If we hurry up, we can see them leave the hall before you have your date. I heard that they leave while everyone is busy looking at the fireworks and my friend – who works here – told me where the exit for the stars is.”

You didn’t really want to be one of the fans who stalked their idols but you thought that just watching them leave the building from far away wouldn’t hurt, since many fans did this. And just as you wondered if others knew about the exit too, you were greeted by a crowd of people on the stairs in front of you. They were all waiting for someone coming out of the one exit in view to say a final goodbye. Instead of squeezing yourself on the stairs with the others, Alex pulled you over to the other side where a small balcony-like structure, that was somewhat hidden if you looked in its direction from the stairs, had an even better view on the exit.

And then they came out. You could see them all clearly, being not too far away but also not too close to them. Two huge black vans pulled over for the members to get in. You were excited to see them one last time until one person came into view.

All in black with a black cap and a black mask, holding a book in his hand that you could even identify from where you were standing at. Your thoughts were racing.

Min…? Min… No way…

You pulled out your phone as quickly as you could, dialing his number with shaking hands and waiting for him to pick up. You prayed it wasn’t the man in front of your eyes, knowing exactly what that would mean for your growing relationship with him. But there he was, pulling out his phone and greeting you while making his way to the car, about to get in.

“Sorry, I’m running a little late. Are you already there-?” he stopped when he heard your quiet and breathy response.

“Min…Yoongi…?” his head shot up, meeting your eyes immediately. Tears were swelling in your eyes.

No… why… why does it have to be you?

You turned and just ran, ending the call - a faint call of your name ringing in your ear - and putting it back in your bag. Alex needed a second before she realized what was happening. She waited until Yoongi got in the car – hesitating and staring after you for quite a while – before she tried to catch up with you. Which she did since Alex has always been the sporty one while you were the bookworm in your friendship.

“Y/N! Whoa whoa whoa, stop!!” your friend ran around you, making you stop by standing right in front of you and grabbing your arms gently. “What just happened there?”

“It’s him! M-Min is- He is-“

“Min Yoongi…? Wow, didn’t see that one coming.” Alex replied quietly, almost to herself.

“But what the hell are you doing, running away instead of going to the place you guys are supposed to meet??” she stared at you intently trying to get some sense into you.

“He’s an idol, Alex! And I’m his fan. This can’t work out. The entertainment, the fans, the members… they won’t just sit there and watch us become a couple.” you were panicking completely.

“Okay you have a point there, but you still have to talk to him about this. You can’t just run away from this without giving him a chance at all. Please, Y/N. Go to your meeting spot.” You looked into the eyes of your best friend, unsure of what to do. You felt insecure. Every single flaw that you saw in yourself was suddenly even more obvious than before.

“What if he doesn’t show up?” you asked timidly.

“Then he’s an asshole that doesn’t deserve you.” You smiled a little at that, especially since you knew he was Alex’s bias and she would never actually think of him as an asshole.

You weren’t far away from the bridge he wanted to meet on. With every step you took, your heart started beating faster and louder. Your whole body was shaking, wondering if he was going to show up or not. You turned around the corner, the bridge coming into view, slowly making your way on top of it. It was a bridge only for pedestrians and it wasn’t surprising to see it almost empty due to it being past midnight. As soon as you arrived the beginning of the bridge on your side of the small river, you could make out a person standing in the middle of it, leaning on the railing with his head resting in his hands. He looked distressed.

Your heart was beating like crazy and when you were just a few steps away he suddenly looked at you. You both paused and your rapid heartbeat slowed down immediately. His presence had a calming effect on you, which you would have never expected in this situation. He was still wearing his cap but he took off the mask, holding it tightly in his fist.

Silence.

You stared at each other both weighing what would be the best thing to say. You could see his struggle with the right words so instead of letting him suffer more, you started.

“Sorry for calling you with such a bad timing.” You smiled sadly, walking up to him and joining him in leaning your hands on the railing too. You left a small space in between just to make sure he wasn’t getting uncomfortable.

“So, you’re an ARMY?” he asked simply, not letting any emotions show.

“Yea, I am.” You could see him nod.

“Did you know it was me?” his jaw clenched at the thought of you maybe knowing and not telling him.

“Do you really think I would’ve reacted this way today if I knew?” you looked at him questioning if he even thought about his words before asking this. It made you angry that he actually thought you could do something like this. But then again you knew each other for a little more than a day so you couldn’t really judge him for it.

“I had to ask.”

“Sorry. Of course, you would be leery of someone you barely know.” You apologized after considering his point of view.

Silence again.

A shiver was running down your body. It got really cold now compared to the warm weather during daytime and you wished you had kept on your BTS jacket instead of giving it to Alex to take to the hotel with her. A shirt and skirt really weren’t appropriate for weather like this. You suddenly felt something heavy on your shoulders and immediately warmth spread throughout your body. You grabbed at the fabric of the long black coat Yoongi was just wearing seconds ago, that was now placed on your shoulders to warm you instead.

“Won’t you feel cold? If you get sick everyone will be sad.” You quickly told him wanting to give the jacket back.

“I rarely get sick and was feeling warm anyways. Also…” he pauses to look at you for a moment before looking in the distance again. “if you get sick, I’ll be sad.”

You blushing would be an understatement. You were completely speechless just simply staring at his side profile. He was avoiding to look at you at any cost.

“I mean, you are our fan after all. And ARMYs are everything to us.”

“Ah… right.” A bittersweet feeling spread in you. You were glad he was kind to you, but sad because he was now only seeing you as a fan and not as a woman anymore. Biting your lower lip, you assembled all your confidence to finally say the words tormenting you.

“If it’s uncomfortable for you we can stop talking. I’m not gonna stalk you or spread your number. If you want, I’ll delete everything and throw away the note right here.”

Please say no please say no please say no

“I think that’s the best for both of us.” A sharp pain hit your heart right when you heard him say those words. You just nod and take out your phone with shaking hands. Tears gather in your eyes and you can’t see anything on your screen, nor can you type anything. His hand suddenly wraps around yours, phone still inside. You look up at him and – are those tears in his eyes?

“But I don’t want to do it.” He added to his last statement.

“Yoongi…” you turn to face him. “Just think about it. This can’t work. You work in Korea as an idol and I’m a simple bookshop worker here. You’re on watch 24/7 and I don’t want to be the cause of your first scandal. I don’t want to be the reason you get a bad image and have to struggle with bad comments. I don’t want you to get hurt because of –“

He pulled you to his chest, not caring that his coat fell off your shoulders in the process and just held you there.

“Me too.” he whispered into your shoulder. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Wrapping your hands around him you cried into his chest, knowing that the guy you felt like could finally be the one, is the only one you could actually never call your own.

You stayed like this until you calmed down and after a long time of talking you both decided that, if you want the other to stay safe, the best thing would be to stop this before it even begins. You deleted his number in front of his eyes, including all messages and took out the piece of paper that started all of this.

“I can’t throw this out. Can you please just take it with you? It’s too precious to me.” You put it in his hand, closing it around the piece of paper. He nodded and you smiled sadly while a taxi pulled up at the end of the bridge honking. You both looked at the cab in question.

“That’s me.” You looked back at him taking off his coat, that was wrapped around your shoulders again and put it around his’ instead. You gave him a shy kiss on his cheek while you leaned in looking at him sadly one last time.

“Maybe if we’ll meet again in our next life it will work out… us meeting as equals.” he held your hand tightly while you said that. He didn’t want to let you go and he was wishing right then and there that you could just come with him and be his little secret. But he knew that it was selfish so instead he did the only thing that made him feel somewhat better about everything.

You heard another honk from the taxi, followed by your friend calling your name because the time was running out.

“I have to go.” You told him wanting to let go of his hand but he held you in place now fiddling with one of his silver bracelets he was wearing. It was a simple bracelet on the chunkier side, more of a design made for male customers. He put it on your wrist quickly as if it was a promise.

“Until next life.” He said to underline the wordless promise he just gave to you. You started tearing up again before finally making your way to the cab quickly. You practically ran to prevent losing yourself in your feelings completely.

As soon as you got in the car it started driving. You stared out the window, vaguely able to make out Yoongis form as he put the silver ring you always wore on his pinky finger. You slipped it into his hand as soon as he finished putting the bracelet on your wrist. As his figure became blurred with increasing distance, your heart started aching more and more. By the time you arrived at the airport you were breaking apart – your friend’s arms were the only thing holding you together.

The last months were pure torture. You never experienced such a bad heartbreak before, and you didn’t even understand why you felt such a deep connection with someone you actually only talked to for roughly two days. He was the one, and you knew you wouldn’t find anyone that could take his place. He was perfect for you, but you let him go. It was better that way. At least that’s what you were trying to tell yourself.

“Y/N!!!!” you jumped, almost falling down the stairs of the small staircase you used to reach the higher shelves. Alex came storming into the bookstore you worked at with her phone in her hand, something playing on the screen. You’ve been daydreaming a lot ever since you came back from London, making you jump way more than usual when your best friend came in, yelling like this.

“What’s wrong, Alex?? Is someone hurt?” you looked at her in worry since normally she would never barge into your workplace like this.

“No one is hurt. Or actually I think someone is very badly hurt. Look.” She shoved her phone in your hand, and you couldn’t help the pain you felt when you saw what was playing on the screen. It was a live stream on Vapp and greeting you there was none other than Yoongi.

He looks so tired… Does he sleep well?

“Why are you showing this to me?” you asked her, feeling the sharp pain in your heart again.

“Listen to what he’s saying! I’m not sure if I understood everything correctly but I think he’s talking about you!”

You looked around unsure of what to do before you took the headphone from your best friend and started listening intently to what he was saying in korean. Your Korean was actually quite good, having spent way too much time to learn more of it as a distraction over the last 2 months.

“…yes, so as said that person, I met her at the airport and she recommended this book to me. She told me it helped her a lot with stressing less in life and made her rethink her choices in life. And, well, it honestly has the same effect on me now. I’ve been wondering what is the most important thing in my life right now and I’m thankful to her for giving me such a good life lesson.” He started playing with a silver ring on his pinky.

My ring… Your hand went to the bracelet around your wrist immediately.

“I came to the conclusion that if I keep pushing things that I want to do to a different time, it’s no good. And damn, ‘next life’ is so far away.”

Your heart rate picked up immediately. You couldn’t believe what you heard. Everyone was confused to what he exactly meant by that statement but he didn’t answer any of the questions. Instead he just stared blankly, thinking hard, for a moment.

“Sorry for this abrupt ending but I’m going to end the vlive here. I have something to do. Don’t skip your meals, it can weaken your immune system. Don’t catch a cold. Thank you, everyone and see you later.” And with that the vlive suddenly ended.

“What happened?” your best friend asked when you gave her the phone back.

“He said he had something to do and suddenly ended the live. But before that he said that I quote: ‘next life is so far away’” you looked at Alex with big eyes. Having explained to her what went down on the bridge two months ago, she immediately knew what that meant.

“You don’t think he meant-“ She stopped talking as soon as you both heard your phone start ringing. Your heart was beating like crazy and even though you tried to tell yourself not to get excited or have any expectations, you did either way. Looking at your mobile phone screen you saw a number that wasn’t saved in your phone. A Korean mobile phone number.

You answered the phone with a simple greeting because you knew immediately who was on the other end.

“I can’t wait until fucking next life.”

His voice was calm but you could hear the desperation and pure exhaustion in it. Tears started gathering in your eyes, not even sparing a second before rolling down your face. You couldn’t help the sob that left your mouth.

“You were supposed to delete my number! Calls from overseas are expensive!” you sobbed into your phone.

“I don’t care. I’m going to pay the bill for you. Just tell me – honestly – if you feel the same way.” You sobbed again. Alex looked at you with a compassionate smile, knowing exactly why you reacted the way you did. It pained him to hear you cry so much, and it made him tear up himself. Even if he wasn’t the type to cry easily, hearing you cry just had that effect on him.

“Please, don’t cry, Y/N. I’m not going to call again, just please stop crying.”

“N-NO! I’m so glad you called… I-I’m sorry for crying. I’m just s-so happy…” you tried sounding as normal as possible, but you just couldn’t avoid the hiccups here and there. “I was hoping every day that you would call. I was so stupid back then. Please forgive me, I can’t wait until next life either!”

The next things you hear are just a big exhale, a chuckle and sniffles.

Is he crying, too? You wondered, hearing him speak a second later.

“Okay, now that that’s settled. Who is going to visit who first?”

Masterlist

a/n: I hope you enjoyed reading!! If you liked this story don’t be shy and just tell me! If you guys liked it I would be willing to write a second part. But only if you insist... (jk I would be thrilled if you wanted a second part). You can also check out my other stories if you like~

#next life #bts #bigheartedsky #bts x reader #bts angst #bts fluff #bts x y/n #Yoongi x reader #yoongi x y/n #suga x reader #min yoongi #myg #min suga #bts fanfiction #bts one shot #bts imagine #bts scenarios #bts imagines

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hinac0lada · 4 years ago

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LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT

900 SPECIAL — LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT

CHARACTER PAIRING: AKAASHI KEIJI X READER

WARNINGS: none

ALEX’S NOTE: hello lovely people! me and riss would like to thank you for helping us reach 900!! thank you all for appreciating our works and giving it some love. to compensate, i decided to post this song fic i made which was inspired by FINNEAS’ - Let’s Fall In Love For The Night . if you can, please do listen to it while reading the fic, enjoy!

"he broke up with me, i should've seen this coming" i heard you say, a dry laugh coming from the other line, and then silence. i fiddled around with my fingers, worried about your state of mind. i knew this was coming, you were blinded with the love you had for that douche, but i could never blame you for loving someone. it was his fault, after all, for not seeing how amazing you are.

i sighed at the sound of your sobs that you struggled to suppress. we've been in situations like these before where you'd call me in the middle of the night after a heated argument, while i try to convince you to at least take a break from your relationship, but then i fail miserably because you adored that son of a gun too much. and in the end, you'd tell me you'll endure the pain until you couldn't.

i should get used to it by now, but no matter how repetitive this circumstance gets, i could still feel my blood boil every time i imagine the sight of you, sobbing on the floor of your shared apartment in a dimly lit room, all alone. all because of your loving boyfriend.

"k-keiji, i should've listened t-to you..i prepared for this moment, but why does it still hurt?" you managed to let out in between your whimpers. i could hear my heart crack, how could i let this happen to you? this was by far the worst you've ever been in— the lowest of the lows, and i don't want you to be like this anymore. and so, unlike most lonely nights, this time, i'll be by your side.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"w-what do i do now, keiji? he wants me to move out . ."

"..you can stay with me for a while, and i'm not taking no for an answer, (y/n)."

"..alright alright, thank you so much keiji, i owe you one."

"no problem. now pack your bags, i'll pick you up at 25."

i know it was impulsive of me— maybe even thoughtless as i've forgotten i made plans with bokuto tonight, but i can't just let you swim in your own tears. i want to help you mend your heart, which i should've done long ago .

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

exactly 25 minutes later, i arrive in front of the apartment complex you once shared with your— now ex— lover. your tear-stained face, accompanied with puffy red eyes that usually radiated joy was filled with deep melancholy, a complete contrast to your lively visual.

i hastily got out of the car, intending to help you with your luggage until i was greeted with a tight embrace, you clung onto me as though your life depended on it, with your face buried in my chest.

your tears poured like waterfalls, soaking my shirt. but i didn't mind, this was nothing but a piece of fabric compared to how much i value you. but how could he let you, a literal angel— a goddess if you will, disregard you just like that? how could he turn a blind eye to your selflessness just for his selfish desires?

i regained my composure, gently wrapping my arms around your quivering figure, shaking from your uncontrollable sobs. i caressed your hair and rubbed soothing circles on your back, whispering sweet nothings into your ear in an attempt to calm your frustrations.

i know you're trying your best not to burst right then and there, in the front passenger seat of my car. the drive was tranquil yet i could feel the slow, burning tension. i could sense the way you're choking back the lump in your throat from how loud your heart thumped in your eardrums while you tried distracting yourself by looking out at the city lights as they passed by in a blur.

i reached out for your hand while my other kept steady on the steering wheel, keeping my focus on the road. a smile made its way onto my lips, eyeing your flushed cheeks from the corner of my eyes. "let's forget about that jerk for now. why don't we have fun tonight?" i questioned, coming to a halt once the traffic light flashed red.

my gaze shifts from the road to your expression, feeling the heavy weight on my chest uplift, relieved to finally see you grinning. pools of (e/c) getting more vibrant every second, your grip on my hand tightening. a glimpse of green flared— a 'go' signal.

as if on queue, the radio played your favorite song, making me quietly sing along, hoping you would join in eventually. and when you did, the atmosphere shifted into a more gleeful one, the car ride filled to the brim with singing and laughter, your honey coated voice sounding like a beautiful song that i would never get tired of.

i still don't know how we went from eating to our heart's content, to end up doing karaoke. purple and pink neon lights set the mood of the room, your voice echoed throughout the small space, swaying your hips to the beat.

you're such a strong person, it's crazy. it's like the heartache you felt just hours ago, never was there in the first place. i've always admired how even if you went through the depths of hell and back, at the end of the day, you'd pick yourself back up and stay optimistic through your hardships.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"keiji come on, sing with me!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

you snapped me out of my thoughts and tugged me towards you, handing me a microphone. your sunny disposition has a way of rubbing off on those around you. i'm not one to let loose easily, but miraculously, it only takes you to let out this side of mine. it started off as just you, but then it transitioned to a duet. and now we're having a full blown mini concert.

the night was still young, we're unproblematic and carefree, not caring of what lies ahead for tomorrow. will we ever know?

"sometimes i wishhis mom just swallowed him.."

"y/n!"

"what? you'd wish the same too.."

"..yeah, you're not wrong about that"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

you cackled while i chuckled along with you. it's 1 am and we got back with a tub of ice cream which we impulsively bought after the karaoke session. we sat on the couch in our pajamas, putting on a random TV show even though we weren't planning on watching, instead, i opted to listen to you venting about your ex, making commentary here and there.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"looking back, i don't really know what i saw in that jerk.."

"i guess you could say, love does make you go blind"

"does love make you blind, or is love blind?"

"i don't know, maybe both?"

time flew by fast and all our nonsense to intellectual conversations resulted in us trying to finish the gallon of ice cream while watching some TV series. i observed your eyes trying to blink away the feeling of tiredness, the activities of today starting to wear you down and make you lethargic. your constant yawning and droopy eyelids was a dead give away, you were like a child trying to stay awake.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"you're too resilient, you need to get your rest soon."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

i chuckled quietly at your 23rd yawn, you rubbed your eyes sleepily. i turned the tv off before i led you to the guest bedroom, with your presence trailing behind me. upon entering, you settled down in the bed, arranging the pillows and sheets to your liking.

"well, i hope you have a good night's rest, y/n," i began to take my leave, heading for the door, however, i was stopped when you grabbed onto my wrist. i looked over my shoulder to meet your pleading eyes, those eyes that i could never resist. "keiji, i don't think i'd be able to sleep by myself tonight.."

"i-i mean..you don't have to stay the whole night if you don't want to, i just, really need someone's presence right now, at least until i fall asleep." you struggled maintaining eye contact with me, your cheeks vividly tinted with pink despite the dimly lit room. i was reluctant at first, not because i don't want to, but because it was quite unexpected.

"hm? ..sure, since you asked. i won't turn you down, ever." with that being said, i slowly but hesitantly got in the sheets, while you shifted, trying to get in a comfortable position. it was all foreign to me, feeling someone's warmth beside me in this cold bed, but i eventually got used to it. we laid there in silence, enjoying each other's company as we tried to doze off.

"i'm so stupid." i looked at you, a rueful smile displaying your beautiful features as you glanced up at the ceiling of my apartment room. i hummed in response, a sign for you to elaborate. in my eyes, you're definitely nowhere near stupid.

"so stupid for ever choosing someone i love rather than someone who loved me. an imbecile not to realize he's right beside me through everything. the highest form of stupidity, was when i kept denying my feelings for you all this time."

is this a dream? i must be dreaming, right? if it was, i never ever want to wake up.

"the look on your face definitely tells me you think this is a dream, am i right or am i right?"

you turned on your side to face me, the once bittersweet smile replaced by your signature cheeky grin. i felt my breath hitch, our faces just inches away from each other.

with your features up close, it was much more breathtaking than it already was from before. i want to say something, but why can't i?

"k-keiji, i know this is sudden, and maybe you've moved on and all, i can't blame you if you did. if it isn't too late, maybe we could fall in love for th-"

i crashed my lips with yours, cutting you off mid sentence whilst gently cupping your face in my hands. i feel your hands making its way to my hair, gently brushing through and tugging at it.

what am i doing? what has gotten into me? but whatever this is, i hope you and i never regret this night, or any nights we spent together. i know better than to ever call you mine, but maybe this time, this moment at least, i have the chance to. is it too selfish of me to think that?

we eventually pulled away, catching our breaths, in the process, my eyes never left yours. to tell you the truth, i'm the fool, the stupid one. stupid for running away from my feelings, stupid for not taking the risk and tell you how much i've loved you ever since. but it's better late than never,

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

". . how about we fall in love for the rest of our lives?"

GENERAL TAGLIST:

@pyblos @some-oxymoron @kxgeyamasmilk @kunimwuah @hakueishirei @rollingthundaa

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kuiinncedes · 3 years ago

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Hi jeanneee 😌

Im here as a precursor to me reading a certain fic😏 here to encourage you to talk about the jatp au again 🤪🤪

Who is your favorite character adaption to write for (which characters translation from glee to jatp are you enjoying most, or enjoy the idea of most)

Which character adaption is the most complex, or do you think is the most conflicting?

What is one scene, that you havent written, that you're really excited to write for

And what song are you most excited to bring to life in your fic😌🙌(could be one you've already started)

ahhhhh ily meg thanks sm for this askkkk omg 🥰🥰🥰 we'll see how well i can answer this bc i am definitely a pantser or whatever with this fic lol and things are barely planned i'm just ~going with it~ 😂 but i do have two full episodes written so i can go off that :D

putting my answer under the cut bc it's me and it got kinda long lol 😋

favorite character translation:

hmm so far i think sam as reggie is the most natural to write he just really has similar energy lol and i can sort of really see him doing and saying reggie stuff 🤪 tina as alex is also pretty easy but i think mainly bc i project onto both tina and alex like crazy so i just like use ,, me things 😂 and also bc i've written tina significantly more than anyone else so it's a little easier hehe

i haven't written much of her yet but i think i enjoy the idea of / look forward to writing quinn as carrie most :)) and ofc kurt as julie and mercedes as flynn (not me just saying like all the characters lol)

and just as a whole merging the blamtina/blamtartie dynamic with sunset curve's dynamic has been so fun to write :D

hardest character translation:

i think i said this before (and i think you saw it lol) that blaine as luke sometimes is kind of challenging .. i think sometimes i am too focused on the sort of private school valedictorian side of blaine and i need to tap more into his chaotic dumb dramatic side lol like i watched a bunch of blaine compilations recently and just realized like ,,, they really are similar.... so i think it works i'm just like not as good at writing for him or something :'') it just doesn't work in my brain lol 😫 and also bc luke's literal like speaking voice is so fucking distinct so when i'm taking his lines and giving them to blaine it's really hard to kind of hear him saying it and not just luke saying it in my mind 😂

a scene i'm excited to write:

actually i'm really excited to write some things that aren't in the show :D i'm following the show storyline (at least so far lol) but i'm also gonna try to fill in some gaps with some kinda shorter chapters 👀 and the one i've done was really fun to write and i'm excited for those bc it's kind of a different style i guess lol (you'll see in... a couple weeks?? 👀👀) and i'm not following an episode for those obviously so i also have more freedom i guess?? and i guess i like that a lot bc sometimes with the episode things i feel like i'm trying too hard to just describe what's going on in the show 🤪

within the show tho it's a small one but the closest one rn is gonna be the scene in the hallway when carrie talks to nick about julie (so quinn talking about kurt :P) and i think i'm gonna have it in quinn's perspective which i'm kinda looking forward to (the number of povs in this thing already alsdkghfj)

otherwise..... i really haven't thought that far ahead too much lmao but i am excited for stand tall scenes there's just so much going on lol and especially like ,, emotion stuff that i can kinda dive into hehe

a song i'm excited to write:

ooh i really like what i did with bright lol which i've already finished :P i haven't really thought too much about the songs specifically (and even tho i like what i did with bright (and also this band is back) i don't think it's that greattt 😂 but we'll see lol i think i might need to work on writing song scenes tho 🤪) but uhh i'm definitely also excited for stand tall the song !! :D

lol moral of this answer is i ,,, haven't thought enough about the future of this fic lmao rip 😂 lol but it'll be fineeee 🤪

#does this make sense idk lol i'm just gonna post bc i'm leaving work now 😗✌️ lol #i mean i could reread it 4895672 times and edit it but whateverrrr :D #i think it's fine XD #thanks so much for the ask meggggggg 🥺🥺💗💞💖💕💓#asks #neversatisfiedwithlife #kurt and the phantoms

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a-little-ray-of-fantasy · 4 years ago

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Here’s a 10 Points coupon for the park: have fun!

I waited giddily for this episode, and it finally arrived! I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you!

1) I was going to make a “Before dawn she’s your daughter” joke, but baby Via was too adorable, and then Stolas began singing and the visuals were stunning and I...

2) So, uhm, Stella, is it? Ok, Stella, I understand you being angry, but please don’t throw plants, ok? They’ve got feelings too! Also, this sudden shift got real fast.

3) Oh, shaddup, owl dad, you’re worse than both of them in this! XD

4) Wow, this is surprisingly colorful! Ok, pretty clunky and corrupt, but there’s such a rich color palette here!

5) Blitzo taking his job so seriously was a sight! ^_^

6) Oh my gosh, they actually did it! It’s BJ himself! Alex Brightman as Robo Fizz (or Fizzarolli), just like Viv wanted! I recognized his voice on the spot! And that song! Man, wish it didn’t cut away in the middle, it was going so good!

7) Parks are rigged like this, Moxxie: I’m sorry...

8) Oooh, hints at Blitzo’s past AND quick showdown with a crazy clown? That’s entartaiment!

9) This moment was amazing in how quiet and complicated it is: how can you tell your daughter that your marriage isn’t love based? Poor Via just doesn’t want to be left alone, and of course Stolas won’t leave her, he cares too much about her and... GAH, I’d protect these two with my life! ç_ç

10) *end happens* Welp, guess protection won’t be needed! XD

Ok, while I do agree that the pacing was quick and movements were a bit stiff at times, the content was amazing, and, as of now, this episode is my favorite! This episode officially cemented Stolas as my favorite (and Blitzo is already a joy to watch!), we had some hints at Blitzo’s past, and Fizzarolli was incredible as a one-shot character (wonder if he’ll appear again)!

I think this episode did a good and needed job in give confirmarion to what we saw on Instagram: the episodes before showed just his overly, uhm, “excitement” and pompous attitude, but today we saw firsthand his caring, paternal and sweet side. Definitely, I think you’ll come out of the episode with new views on Stolas, Octavia and their family relationship (I know I have)!

#Vivziepop #Helluva Boss #10 Points per Movie #Personal Rambles

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queen-of-deans-booty · 5 years ago

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Nothing Like Family to Always Be There For You

Characters: Misha Collins x Niece!Reader, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki

Word Count: 1,875

Warnings: mentions of false pregnancy, food posioning, mainly fluff

request by @whizzer1320: Hey could I request a one shot if possible? Where your a Misha Collins niece and you visit him while he is at convention. Meet some of the cast, but while you are there you he thinks you are pregnant because he or some other cast member finds you throwing up, plus you are slightly bloated etc etc. Starts to act differently around reader, reader notices and asks Misha, he says he knows reader got a bun in the oven, reader laughs and says got mild case of food poisoning. Fluffly ending tar love.

Summary: You visit your uncle Misha on set as a surprise, but it’s not the only surprise he thinks he’s gonna get.

Beta: she wants to remain anonymous

Squares Filled: autumn for @spngenrebingo // pregnancy for @spnfluffbingo

Author’s Note: If you have any requests, please send them in!

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

Ever since you were little, your dad told you stories of his strange and unique brother who just loved to act. He landed the role of a lifetime when he got cast as Castiel in Supernatural. They both hold very high standards of each other, so when Uncle Misha called his brother screaming that he got the part, everyone celebrated. You never got the pleasure of meeting the cast members of the show, but you vowed that when you got old enough, you’d go visit him.

Luckily for you, when you turned eighteen, your uncle’s show was still going on. It took a lot of convincing on your mom’s part to let you go by yourself as your dad was already on board. You lived halfway across the country from Vancouver, but you had no trouble getting on a plane and flying there. No, the hard part was finding a ride to the set. Your visit is supposed to be a surprise for everyone, but you knew you’d never make it on your own.

Much to your displeasure, you had to call Jensen to come and help you. He promised to keep it a secret, but he wouldn’t be able to come until the following morning. So, he hooked you up with a hotel room and told you to “go crazy”. Your mother always told you not to take things for granted, so as much as you wanted the delicious room service, you took your own money and went out like every other person.

That was the worst mistake of your entire life.

The place you got food was a sushi food truck on the street. If the look of it didn’t set off alarm bells, then the presentation of the food should have. However, you didn’t have a lot of money and hoped and prayed that this was safe to eat.

It. Was. Not.

Despite the churning in your stomach, you still wanted to make your uncle’s surprise something he’d never forget. You didn’t want to spend it with your head in the toilet. Your only other option is to push down the sickening feeling and move on with your life. Jensen made it easier by distracting you with questions of your home and school life, what you’re going to do for college or where you’re going to work if you’re not into college, and everything else in between. You answered honestly and hoped he didn’t detect that anything is wrong.

When you get to the set, you’re distracted at how amazing everything looks. You’ve never been on a TV set before, so this is uncharted territory. Jensen took you to the main building where your uncle and Jared are filming right now. The director knows Jensen is out to get you, which is why he opted to film for the other two big actors. As soon as you enter the building, you can hear your uncle yell out, followed by a crash. Your amazing uncle is kicking some guy’s ass with a mixture of stage fighting.

As soon as the director calls “cut” you clap loudly for his performance.

“Y/N! What are you doing here? Your parents know you’re here, right?” Misha says and hurries over to you while the crew gets ready for the next set.

“No, I ran away in hopes you’d take me in,” you say with a deadpan voice.

“I tell you, you did not learn that sarcasm from me or your dad. Come here,” he grins and brings you into a tight hug.

Your stomach does not agree with his actions, and you pull away before you have the urge to throw up.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Your hugs are like death grips,” you chuckle.

“I’m just so excited to see my favorite niece!”

“I’m your only niece,” you say.

“Misha! We’re ready for you!” the director calls out.

“I want you to watch this. I want you to know what you think,” he says and leaves back to the new set.

It’s time for Jensen to star in this scene, so he left way before your uncle got to you. All three men are standing on their markers, getting ready for the big scene. You’re standing next to the snack counter, and you don’t register that fact until you smell beef. You look over to the table just as someone put down fresh pigs in blankets. Your face goes green, and you haul ass to the nearest trash can before you make a mess all over the floor.

Misha is doing his scene without any distractions until he hears you throw up. He pauses mid-sentence just as you come up for air. If you’re sick, then why did you come all this way just to see him? He doesn’t know when you got in, but he knew his brother wouldn’t allow you to leave if you are throwing up.

“Sorry! Let’s go again!” he apologizes and gets back into character.

He’ll have to ask you about this when he’s done.

When Misha got done with his scenes for the day, he makes finding you his first priority. Jensen gets out of the Impala before jogging over to Misha.

“Hey, I was thinking that we can go over our lines for tomorrow. I figured we get a head start so we can wrap up early.”

“I’m sorry, I have to find my niece. I saw her throwing up earlier. She might be in my trailer. If she’s sick, then why did she come here in the first place? Sasha wouldn’t have let her leave if she was throwing up.”

“Maybe it’s a stomach bug,” Jensen shrugs.

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll catch you later.”

Misha exits the set building and heads straight for his trailer. He didn’t know if you’re sleeping or studying, so he makes sure to be quiet when he enters. The trailer is quiet—too quiet for his liking. He slides back the door to see an empty bed. The sheets are tangled as if you were laying in it, but he can’t seem to find you anywhere. He’s about to call out your name when he hears someone coughing, then vomiting. He rushes over to the bathroom and swings the door open. You’re sitting on the floor with your head in the toilet. You really shouldn’t have eaten sushi from a sketchy food truck.

“Shit, Y/N, are you okay?” he asks.

He bends down to gather your hair in a makeshift ponytail to keep it out of your way.

“I’m okay. Really,” you nod and groan.

You look bloated, you’re throwing up, and it seems like you can’t hold down anything you eat. Either you’re sick, or you’re pregnant. Is that why you wanted to visit your uncle? It might be easier to tell him you’re pregnant instead of your dad? Are you running away? A load of thoughts rushes through Misha’s head, but he keeps his concerns to himself. He doesn’t want to rush you into anything, so he’s going to make sure you’re comfortable enough to tell him what’s been going on.

He hopes you’re not pregnant because you’re barely 18. You still have the world to see and things to do. If you absolutely want a child at this age, then he’s not going to stop you, but he hopes it’s all a misunderstanding.

The more the days pass, the more Misha is convinced that you’re pregnant. You only throw up in the morning, your appetite has changed, you’re tired all the time, and there are very monitor things that have Misha convinced you are with child. He wants to bring it up to you, but there is a reason you haven’t told him yet. Are you scared? Nervous? Ashamed? He won’t ever judge you, which is why he’s giving you all the time and space he needs. He hasn’t talked to his brother about this yet because he knows Sasha would have said something if you were.

You’re feeling a little better, but your stomach is still in knots. Sleep did help, but now that you’re up and about, it’s starting to hurt again. Your uncle has a lot of scenes to do today, so you’re going to watch and help out when needed. He has a break this weekend, and you want to spend as much time as possible with him before going back home. It’s amazing how the set can create something you’ve only seen on TV. The magic they put into this show just dazzles you. Seeing your uncle dressed up as Castiel makes you so proud.

As him, Alex, and Jared are acting, they realize they forgot a certain prop. The director called cuts and asked for the prop, only for you to realize it was right next to you. It’s a little bit on the heavier side, but you can manage to bring it to them. However, as soon as Misha saw this, he rushed over to take it from your hands.

“I got it,” he smiles.

“Oh, okay,” you frown and let him take it back to set.

Ever since you woke up this morning, your uncle has been treating you with extra care. Whenever you were carrying something heavy, he’d offer to carry it for you. When you needed water or something light to eat, he’d get up and get it even if he was busy. It’s like he didn’t want you to do anything. It’s as if he thought you’d break at the slightest pressure. You’re very suspicious, and if this keeps going on, you’re going to have to talk to him about it.

After the scene is done, you offer to help bring the prop away from set, but your uncle declines.

“No, you rest. I can do this,” he suggests.

“What are you doing? Why are you treating me like I’ll break?” you ask. He exchanges a glance with Jensen and Jared, who knew what Misha thought. They both knew Misha thought you were pregnant, but they weren’t going to say anything until Misha does. “What is going on?”

“I know,” your uncle finally says.

“Know what?”

“About you.”

“What about me?”

“Look, you don’t have to hide anymore. I understand you’re scared, and if you’re not ready to tell your parents, then I understand. Just know I’ll always be here for you.”

“Yeah, us too,” Jared chimes in as Jensen gives you a sweet smile.

“Uncle Misha, what are you talking about?”

“You’re pregnant, right?”

“What the hell? Where did you hear that?!” you exclaim in shock.

“Wait, you’re… not pregnant…?” he asks slowly.

“No! Where did you get that idea?”

“You’re throwing up every morning, you look bloated, and you’re visibly tired.”

“I had sushi from a food truck the night before I got here. I have food poisoning, that’s it,” you start to laugh.

“Now I feel like an idiot,” Misha chuckles, hiding away in embarrassment.

“No, don’t say that. Look, I’m not pregnant, and nowhere near the thought of it. But I know that I can always come to you. You’re my favorite uncle,” you grin and give him a loving hug.

“I’m your only uncle.”

“But you’re the best one a girl could have.”

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sakuwriteshere · 5 years ago

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The Apple Pie in My Life - Chapter 4

Summary: What happened between two best friends when someone messes with their lives? Can the past changes the future or can the future changes the past?

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Female!Reader, OC Abbigail, OC James, OC Alex, OC Purson

Words count: 2260

Warnings: Slight angst, mention of injury (nothing graphic), mention

Square filled: Enemies to Lovers for @spndeanbingo and Angst to fluff for @spngenrebingo Those squares are used for the whole series.

A/N: As per usual, this is unbetated and I’m sorry for any grammar mistakes or error spelling. Please let me know what you think of it! I really hope that this new series will bring you as much fun as it does for me.I do not own the characters or the show. Don’t hesitate to comment or share your thoughts!

I won’t post next week, as I’m going to spend Christmas at my mom’s home. I won’t have a computer with me, so sorry. I’ll start to update this story by the end of the year (fortunately).

Chapter 4: Reunion

The room felt cold and uninviting. The repeating beeps should be a sound comforting and reassuring but it was getting on Dean’s nerves. Sam and him had reached the hospital Bobby had told them. They came to the nurse’s office, telling them they were Agents Leyton and Harris from the FBI and that they were here for their partner, Leia Swan.

The nurse, Kate according to her nametag, a cute petite blonde nodded and pushed her chair, standing up and asking for them to follow her. He didn’t want to come, but Sam forced him to, saying that it would be easier if they were two. After so many years, Dean still felt angry. He hated her for her betrayal and the horrible things she said about him. How could she called herself his best friend? How dare she? He knew he would never get over this.

So why was he feeling a pang in his chest when he finally saw her in the hospital bed? Kate had opened the door and entered in the private room first, leading the way. She stood at the bed’s feet and stared at the unconscious body laying in the middle of the room.

“Poor thing. Sometimes I forget how dangerous your job is.” She whispered, hugging herself.

“Yeah.” Sam cleared his throat, rubbing the tip of his nose with his index finger.

“I’ll go look for her doctor.” The nurse added before leaving.

Dean was too focused on the strange mixed feels. For more than a decade he clearly loathed Y/N, to the point of erasing her name from his memory. And here, he was feeling bad for her, witnessing her fragile state. Even Sam remembered him that during his last year before going to Hell, he thought about her and not in the way he would like to. He didn’t know why, among all the women he knew, Dean thought about her in that way. She looked exactly like the last time he had seen here, the teenage girl he had known. His strange brain made her look like a bit older but the face was still the same.

“She looks so small.” Sam’s voice disturbed his trail of thoughts. He took a good look at her. Her eyes were closed, her Y/H/C hair framing her pale face. There was so many tubes connecting her to several machines, and that infuriating constant beeping noise was driving Dean crazy.

Dean closed his eyes, pursing his lips. “Come on man, it’s not like she’s dead.” He reminded him.

“Dean!” Sam admonished him, he still didn’t know what happened between them but that didn’t excuse his behavior.

“Gentlemen.” The doctor excused himself as he entered the room. He introduced himself as Dr Richards. Dark short hair, a bit of grey just above his ears, round face with a pair of glasses resting on his nose. He was certainly the one in charge here.

Both Winchesters turned around, greeting him. While Dean kept glancing at Y/N’s unmoving body, Sam started to speak.

“Executive Assistant Director Duke told us to come here ASAP. You found his phone number in Y/N’s stuff, is that right? What happened?” He asked, as he referred to Bobby’s alias.

The doctor nodded, confirming Sam’s first sentence. “Found her on the steps in front of the hospital, as if someone left her there, for dead. We gave her all our attention but…”

“But?” Dean repeated, he couldn’t stop himself as his heart bit harder in his chest.

“She lost a lot of blood.” Dr Richards sighed before grabbing his notes. “We weren’t sure she would make it. I’ve lost a lot of patients for less.” Then he looked up at the brothers, a small smile on his face. “She’s a warrior. We think she’s safe now. The transfusion did well.”

The brothers let out the breath they were holding. Sam kept on asking questions as Dean came closer, inspecting Y/N’s sleeping form. He noticed the marks around her wrists, and a big bruise on the side of her face. Dean’s hand curled into a fist without him noticing. On the other side of her neck, there was a small bandage.

“What’s that for?” He asked the Doctor who looked at him.

“There’s a little wound in her neck, certainly made by a needle.” Dr Richards said, then he nodded as Dean asked silently for the permission to take a look.

He pulled on the bandage carefully and indeed there was the sign of a prick. Was she attacked by a Djinn? How stupid was she for hunting a Djinn on her own?

After a few minutes, Dr Richards excused himself, telling Sam that was all he knew and he needed to check on a few other patients. Sam thanked him and turned to Dean once they were left alone.

“What do you think?” He asked his brother, folding his notepad into his vest pocket.

“Looks like a Djinn. I can’t believe she’s that reckless. Stupid move.” Dean said in a disapproving tone.

“Well, it’s not like she has a choice.” Sam told him, not liking Dean’s tone.

Dean only shrugged, he had enough already. Even if he felt a bit bad for her once they had seen her, all his anger and hatred rushed into his body again. She was the one who betrayed him after all.

The brothers left the hospital room soon after, the nurse said that she wasn’t going to wake up today. They entered in the motel room they rented a few blocks near the hospital. The twins sat up straighter on the bed once the Winchesters came in.

“So? How is your friend?” James asked as he watched Sam throwing his jacket on the other bed before sitting on it. The tall hunter nodded, a silent way for him to tell the kids that their friend was doing fine. Sam swore he saw the relief on their faces.

“Who is she for you, by the way?” Abbigail asked, standing up from the bed and rummaging through the mini fridge, pulling out a few bottles of water before handing them to the boys.

“No one important.” Dean said sternly, ignoring Abby’s extended hand and walking into the bathroom.

***

A few days later, you opened your eyes slowly. Your sight falling on a colorful blurry image. You blinked a few times before your recognized your favorite flowers, standing proudly in a white vase, next to your head.

“You’re awake!” A female voice exclaimed, forcing you to turn your attention on the opposite side of the room.

At the end of your bed stood a young woman, judging by her outfit you quickly knew she was a nurse. She smiled softly at you as she put the papers back in the rack at the end of your bed.

“Your partners were getting restless. You scared them pretty well.” She said as she came closer, checking your vitals.

Partners? You thought, closing your eyes as a sharp pain coursed through your body. Right on queue, two men entered the room.

“Speaking of the Devil.” The nurse smirked as she recognized the men. She nodded and winked at you before leaving the three of you alone.

The silence between you was horrible. None of you wanted to speak first, Sam was staring at you while you kept your focus on him. From the corner of your eyes you could see Dean having a particular interest in the street view.

You rolled your eyes, having enough already.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, your throat, hurting a bit from the lack of use.

“Bobby asked us to keep an eye on you.” Sam was the one who spoke.

You nodded thoughtfully, of course that old grumpy man was the one behind all of it. You needed to ask him how he knew. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine. So thank you. Goodbye.” You said as you tried to get out from your bed. You might have overestimated your strength as you nearly fell, fortunately, Sam was quick to react and within one step was at your side to prevent you from falling.

“Thanks.” You smiled genuinely at him. You could feel the strong grip around your shoulder.

“What happened?” Sam asked as he helped you to sit on the bed. You knew that kind of face, he was asking you information about your case.

“Oh no, no, no, Sam.” You pushed him softly. “This bastard attacked me. This is personal. You won’t steal my case.”

“What was it? A Djinn? A vamp?” Dean asked, speaking for the first time since he entered and ignoring you perfectly. You glared at him and noticed that he was still looking through the window.

“None of your business, Winchester.” You said coldly.

Dean hummed, and after a while, turned his gaze towards you. If looks could kill, you would be dead already. You glared at him, two could play this game. The room fell silent as both of you started a staring contest.

“Y/N,” Sam tried to draw your attention, his big hand engulfing yours. “You know as much as I do, that Bobby won’t let you go alone. As you said, it’s personal. This is your choice. Him or us.”

You closed your eyes, knowing perfectly that Sam was right.

“Give me a minute, then we’ll leave.” You sighed, as you looked around, looking for your stuff. You had to sneak out from the hospital as quickly as possible.

You jaws clenched when you heard, Dean’s ironic voice. “Awesome.”

Thanks to Sam, and his ability to sweet talking people around him, you didn’t have to sneak out. The doctor accepted to let you leave as long as you promised to rest and come back to check everything was fine.

The drive to the motel was silent, despite everything Sam tried to do to enlighten the mood. You weren’t talking about the case yet, and even trivial things would make you speak. When he tried to turn on the radio, Dean was quick to turn it off. Yep, he wasn’t in the mood either. Fantastic, Sam thought.

As soon as the car was parked, Dean climbed off, ignoring his brother or you and heading straight for the room. Sam sighed as he stood outside, looking in his brother’s direction.

“I still think it’s a bad idea, Sam.” You mumbled, your grip tightening around your duffel bag.

Sam shook his head, forcing an encouraging smile as he pushed you towards their motel room. “We’re hunters, Y/N. Let’s just ignore the past and keep it professional.” He said as he pushed the door open, motioning you to enter first. You heard someone talking in the room, the voice female and kind of stressed.

“Professional, huh?” You repeated, doubting that it would be easy.

“We need to find…” A young teenager said, her back to you as you entered. Another boy was sitting on a bed in front of her, his head snapped in your direction.

“…Mom.” She said in a whisper as she turned around and her eyes fell on you.

All four pairs of eyes were staring at you, you shifted from one foot to the other, feeling uncomfortable.

You cleared your throat and put your duffel bag near the door.

“Wrong person. Y/N, nice to meet you.” You said to the girl, who was still looking at you in a very strange way. You turned towards Sam, hoping to draw the attention off you. “When did you become baby-sitters?”

God bless Sam, he helped you getting rid of the weird tension in the room as he started to introduce you to the two kids.

“Y/N, this is Abigail and James. James, Abby, this is Y/N. We’re helping them on their case.” Sam said. While you were focused on the kids, you missed Sam’s stare, as if he was expecting some recognition from you but there was nothing. Judging by your attitude, their were strangers to you.

“Another case, huh?” You asked. This was your chance to get rid of the brothers. “Well, while you’re helping the kids, I’ll rent my own room and work on my own.”

“Wait a minute.” Sam said as he stopped you from leaving, his strong arm wrapping around your shoulders. “We can perfectly work two cases at a time.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You sighed, defeated. You knew Sam was stubborn. You unwrapped his arm and slumped on the nearest chair. “Let’s get to work, then!”

Sam nodded, satisfied. One down, just one left. “Where’s Dean?” He asked the twins who simply pointed at the closed bathroom’s door.

He walked towards the bathroom and hit on the door loudly. His brother was sure taking his time.

After a few seconds of silence, Sam looked at the door, a weird feeling nagging him. He knocked on the door again. “Dean?”

Still no answer.

“Whatever you’re doing, I’m coming in.” Sam announced as his fingers curled around the door knob. With the lack of answer from the bathroom, Sam glanced at the twins, then at you. None of you could tell him what Dean was doing.

Sam opened the door slowly at first and peeked inside. He opened it fully when he noticed the room was empty.

“Dean?” Sam called as he searched into the room.

“Where is he?” You asked, standing up. You tried to hide the worry in your voice.

“I- I don’t know.” Sam said, the concern visible on his face.

TAPiML tags: @fandomoverdose666 , @eternaleviee , @slytherinrising , @vicmc624 , @music-is-all-i-need ,

#spndeanbingo #SPNGenreBingo #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester #Female reader #reader insert #spn fanfiction #series #TAPiML series #dean winchesterxyou

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calliecat93 · 5 years ago

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(Part Two)

Another volume, done. God, I feel like I just survived a whirlwind. To say that this has been a very eventful volume of RWBY would be a /huge/ understatement. We had so, so much happen. New characters, uncovered truths, political battles, murder and chaos at every turn, just… a lot. But we once again made it to this point folks. We made it to the end and we can take it easy as we await Volume 8. But with the volume now over, how did it fare? Was it a success? A failure? Or somewhere in between? And how does it measure compared to the previous six?

We have a lot to go over folks. So much that I had no choice but to make this a two-parter. Yeah, that long folks. The last two-parter I did was twelve pages long, so… yeah. In this section, we will cover Animation/Visuals, Audio, and the first half of the Character section (mainly the Atlas characters and villains). Part Two will cover the rest of the Characters (RWBYJNRQO), Story, Volume Stats, and my Final Thoughts. Everyone got all that? Good! With that said, let’s conclude this year’s RWBY Reviews with the biggest one of all: the full Volume Seven Review.

Animation/Visuals

Perfect as always. The design work once again proves perfect. CRWBY described Mantle and Atlas as based on different industrial ages, and it shows. Mantle is a big, but worn down city. It has some major New York vibes. Heck, maybe even some Gotham City with how bleak it is. The people are down-trodden and the place just looks dirty. It is a relic of the past, while Atlas represents the future. Clean, shades of blue and white to show how pristine it is, fancy locations like Atlas Academy or the Schnee Manor. Atlas is the future. A representation of the greatness that humanity can achieve… at least it looks that way. The two cities contrast so much, and it’s just so well done. When you compare to how we sadly saw so little of Mistral in comparison seeing this much with Atlas was a real treat.

Character stuff continues to be great. All of the new outfits of the heroes look fantastic. Even Jaune’s dumb hair ended up better in actual animation than it did in the still they showed at NYCC. Every character looks fantastic. Expressions are once more on point. One of the best cases is Ironwood. You can see how worn down the man is at every single turn, but also the steely determination. You can just look at him and you get the sense of strong authority, yet plain exhaustion all at the same time. In Chapter 11 when he goes from exhausted relief to full-blown horror, you feel it. Oh God do you feel it. You feel what all of these characters are feeling. Ruby’s despair in Chapter 11, Blake and Yang’s confliction in Chapter 7, Nora’s growing rage about Mantle all throughout the volume. How broken Ren feels in Chapter 13. The pure coldness from James form the same chapter when he shoots Oscar. The character animation was just on point.

The effects are also well done. I mean the Salem apparition in Chapter 11? Horrifying. Fria’s Maiden-charged blizzard was the best though. Powerful, yet somehow haunting beautiful. There have been some updates as well, like Neon’s rainbow trail and Neo’s Semblance look a lot better. Some new Grimm designs like the Saybers and the pterodactyl thing. There’s kind of a dinosaur/Ice Age theme with the Grimm, which fits with the Antarctica-esque environment of Solitas. The fight scenes were very well done, especially in the final chapters. The Ironwood vs Watts fight was freakin’ excellent and we finally got to see the Anti-Gravity biome! RWBY vs Ace-Ops was amazing on all fronts, both with the choreography and on a symbolic level. The best fight imo though is Cinder vs Penny and Winter, especially when it gets taken out into the open air. Pure epicness. Seriously, every fight was freakin’ fantastic, even minor ones like JNRO vs FNKI or the Bees vs Robyn. Even some that I wasn’t into, like Tyrian vs Qrow, CLover, and Robyn were fun to watch~

Overall, the animation and visuals were excellent~ Five starts!

Audio

If I went over every voice acting performance, we’d be here all day. Every actor was excellent. The regulars were excellent. The newbies were excellent. Everyone was excellent. We get people that we haven’t heard in a long while, like Taylor McNee (Penny), Elizabeth Maxwell (Winter), and Jason Rose (Ironwood). None of them have lost their touch. Taylor still captures Penny’s innocent charm beautifully, and her performance when Penny is just broken after being framed was heartbreaking. Jason was /especially/ good. He still carries the General’s strong authority while adding more weight, but when he becomes utterly unhinged? He did a masterful job with the performance. We also let Chris Sabat and Josh Grelle do more with their characters and it’s wonderful. Josh as Tyrian has always been great, but getting to hear Chris do more Watts? Excellent. I’m so used to him being the brute guy, like Vegeta in DBZ or Zoro in One Piece. But he does the calculated egomaniac very well and you can tell that he’s enjoying every single scene. Excellent job sir~ Jessica Nigri ended up stealing the show though, giving by far her most insane performance as Cinder yet and she 100% killed it.

We got some new people as well, and they were all great. I was so happy to see Cristina Vee getting cast and she does such a good job as Robyn. Playful but also determined. The Ace-Ops cast was good with Chris Wehkamp (Clover), Anaris Quinones (Harriet), and Mick Lauer (Marrow) being the stand-outs. Caitlin Glass got one episode as Willow, but she did an excellent job portraying how broken she is but also has just a spark of fight in her. She only got like… three minutes, and she did it perfectly. David Fennoy was a surprise to hear considering he was already in Grimm Eclipse, but it was a wonderful surprise. He perfectly portrays Pietro as this Gepetto-esque father figure who I fell in love with immediately. Then, of course, we have Jason Liebrecht as Qrow. To say that the guy was put into the not so flattering task of taking over due to the circumstances with Vic’s firing is putting it mildly. But he pulled it off. By the second chapter alone, I was already sold. He did an excellent job portraying Qrow and imo, already surpassed Vic. Like everything in Chapter 12? Jason /nailed/ every single emotion right on the head. I’m greatly looking forward to hearing more of him in the future~

The main cast as I said, were excellent. Some got it a bit easier this year, like Miles, Arryn, and Barbara. They still did great, but they took a bit more of a back seat and we’ll go more into that in Character. Neath and Aaron, while their characters stuff is more subdued, did an excellent job with their respective character’s viewpoints. Sam Ireland /finally/ got to do more with Nora outside ‘bubble and energetic’ with Nora’s anger about Mantle and her conflictions about Ren. She did it beautifully. Kara got much more with Weiss compared to last year, and she portrays all of Weiss’ worries and conflict perfectly. Especially in Chapter 4 when she tells her father off. I cheered so much. Lindsay with Ruby was perfect. She got a lot more serious moments with hr compared to the past, but she handled them all excellently. She goes through so many emotions in Chapter 11 alone and she hits every single one right in the head. She and Sam are tied for the standout among the mains, but all of them did an excellent job as always.

Then what’s RWBY without its soundtrack? Once more, perfect work. The scores were all excellent. Penny’s letimotif, instrumentals of songs like The Path to Isolation and Trust Love, the haunting violins at the end of Chapter 9, even the three-second bit of Indomitable in Chapter 10. Alex Abraham once more does an amazing job. I still remember the kickass guitar during the first fight in Chapter 1 and I was immediately pumped. Every score added to every scene and added so much more to them. But they also knew when to just let scenes be quiet, and it added so much weight. Once more, quality sound work.

But then we have Jeff Williams. What do you want me to say that I haven’t been saying since Volume 1? The man is a genius. He did amazing. Casey did amazing. I got nothing new to add. The songs this volume were freakin’ excellent. The opening, while kind of a tone contrast to the volume, was an excellent song and perfectly expresses the themes of the volume. Then we have things like the uplifting rock ballad Brand New Day, the badassness of Hero featuring Caleb Hyles, and the credits song as per usual. Speaking of Caleb though, it was nice to hear some new vocalists with him, Santi C, and the quartet in War, though of course, Casey remains flawless as ever. I loved all of the songs. IDK if it tops V6’s soundtrack yet, but it’s up there. Now, of course, my favorites will likely change when the full tracks are out, but here is the current ranking:

War (Chapter 12)

Hero (Chapter 11)

Fear (Chapter 13 Credits)

Trust Love (Opening Theme)

Brand New Day (Chapter 5)

Until the End (Chapter 13)

Touch the Sky (Chapter 3)

Let’s Get Real (Chapter 6)

Celebrate (Chapter 6)

Audio-wise, the volume was great. Great voice acting. Great sound effects. Great music. Just great all around~

Characters, Part One (Villains and Atlas)

There are… so many characters this volume. So, so many. Hence why I had to divide it up. We’ll cover the villains and Atlas characters here, and we’ll focus on the mains in Part 2 of the review. Since the villains won’t take too long we’ll start with them and go from there.

Not too much to say about Tyrian. He’s as terrifying and crazy as ever, and even moreso after Chapter 12, but it was nice to get some more details on his history before Salem. Him being a serial killer makes sense, as is his undying worship of Salem since she both saved him and she’s the manifestation of every twisted thing that he believes in. I think Chapter 12 also helped re-ignite his threat level with his brutal murder of Qrow, which reminded me even more than Chapter 6 of how terrifying the man is. Still, he was just there to be cray and murderous, and he did so. Watts thought was more interesting. We got some more background, like how he was a former Atlesian scientist who created Mantle’s security network and he joined Salem essentially because he felt like Ironwood put him down and he got jealous that Pietro’s project was chosen over his. It’s petty, but all the villains are petty. It helps him stand out though and he’s certainly one of the more interesting of Salem’s cult due to it. We also see that he does have some combat still, which is nice. No idea what happens with him now, but he served his role in this volume very well.

But then we have Cinder and Neo. Neither of which I was expecting anything major from this volume. Well, guess I was wrong. Cinder as of late has attracted a lot of hate… I mean yeah we /are/ supposed to hate her, but people just hate her as a character. The main thing seems to be how we don’t know Cinder’s motivations, and I get that. But really? I think that she was excellent here. Unlike in Mistral, she is once more in control and thus her smug personality is back in full. She’s only in four episodes, and she uses that time masterfully to turn everything on its head. The way she broke Ironwood alone with just a glass chess piece. She clearly learned from Salem well. I mean the way that Salem broke Ruby by just mentioning Summer’s fate? That is some master class psychological warfare. Something that Cinder has clearly mastered and when she isn’t running off rage she can pull it off excellently. But of course, at the end, she again failed to get the Maiden powers. With how she became more and more insane throughout the fight, I fear that she’s going to become even more callous than ever before.

I’m also really starting to grow fond of Neo. She started off as an overhyped character (imo) that was brought back for mere fanservice, but they are clearly trying to use her as best as possible. And I think that they’re doing a great job. Neo has an agenda against Ruby and knows that Cinder can easily obliterate her, which is the only reason why Neo is dealing with this. You can tell that unlike Emerald and Mercury, she is not happy following Cinder’s orders. She’s only following her to both get at her target and to live, not out of gratitude or feeling like it’s all that she has due to her upbringing. It’s nice to see someone who Cinder has no control over, yet Cinder can still over-power her so she has to go with it for now. But it helps give Neo a character and compared to before where I just didn’t get why she existed, I’m legit excited to see what happens with her next.

Now we can cover the Atlesian Military. They are… a complex bunch. Fitting, considering who their general is. James Ironwood has always been a very complicated character. On the one hand, we’ve seen through volumes 2-4 that he is genuinely a good person who wants to protect the people and do what’s right. But the problem with him has always been that he makes all the wrong choices. He didn’t heed Ozpin warnings in Beacon about showing off his military might, and it leads to the Fall and Atlas being made out as the villains. He hasn’t gotten any better. If anything, he’s gotten worse. He’s still well-intentioned, but as the old saying goes “The pathway to Hell is paved with good intentions.”, and Jame is the living embodiment of it.

We see that James did genuinely want to trust the heroes. He gives them the Lamp back, he gives them their license, he has them train with his best. He was sincere and he just wants to protect people. But his own paranoia and flaws as a person have overwhelmed him. His TSD has deteriorated his mind and since he isn’t getting proper help, it’s making him lose it. He’s terrified of Salem, so much that once he saw that Black Queen chess piece and doubt was placed into his mind, he snapped. He went from taking RWBY’s secret-keeping well and keeping focused on what was important, to turning on them and leaving a city that he is just as responsible for as Atlas to die. It’s a truly tragic tale. You /want/ James to do the right thing. He’s not a bad person, and you can see the logic with all of his decisions. But they are the wrong decisions not just on a logical level when you really think about it, but especially on a moral level. You can see that he knows what he’s doing is wrong and that he isn’t happy about it, but he still does it and now hundreds will die because of it. He has gone from a flawed but heroic man, to no better than Salem herself which he seals by shooting Oscar with no hesitation. It is a sad tale, but it is a well-done arc and just shows how excellent of a character James is. I am very pleased with his character here.

The Ace-Ops are decent additions. We don’t know a lot about them, but they have personality. Clover is the nice guy leader, Harriet is the confident and competitive second-in-command, Marrow is the out-going rookie, Elm is the out-going bruiser, and VIne is the calm, logical one. On the surface, they are heroic people… but like with James, it’s more complex. None of them are bad people, Marrow especially considering his Faunus status and he is fully aware of Atlas’ bigotry/messed up class system. But they were trained to not care about emotions or relationships. Priority Number One is obeying the general’s orders without question, and if they do, to go against those urges. It’s harsh because you can see that the five are good and friendly people, but once Ironwood lost it, that conditioning came into full effect.

You can tell that RWBY’s ‘betrayal’ hurt them. Harriet, despite saying that none of them are friends, clearly felt hurt and enraged. Same with Elm, though unlike Harriet who was practically going for the kill, Elm seemed to be trying to force herself to do so. Vine tried to solve it peacefully, clearly not wanting to fight, but no one else was willing to follow. Marrow was the biggest example. His heart was not in the fight, and I think he honestly did agree with RWBY. He tried to push himself otherwise, but it failed. Then Clover, who has stood by James’ side throughout even if he seemed unhappy with it, tried to arrest Qrow on the spot even when Tyrian re-entered the fray. That blind devotion sadly cost him his life… and I wonder how this is going to affect Ace-Ops. Despite what Harriet said, they were still all allies and I can see this messing them up. It either makes them want payback or see the light. Regardless, they were a good bunch of side-characters and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

A bigger, and much sadder, example of this Atlas conditioning is Winter. She is loyal to James because due to him and the military, she got out of her abusive home and a shot at a better life. But the sad reality is that she's really in no better position than she would have been otherwise. She’s been groomed to become the Winter Maiden and despite her choosing it to make it her own, it's still pretty much someone deciding her life for her. She internalizes her feelings and continues to obey James, despite knowing and feeling that it is wrong. Just like she was trained to do. The only person that she makes an exception for is Weiss, which seeing how much she cares and is proud of her sister and even taking her to the Winter Maiden facility was super sweet. But even then not only does she still keep a composed demeanor around Weiss, but she still stood by James even after Weiss became wanted. But hopefully, with the Maiden destiny not off the table and Weiss a fugitive, this will give Winter the chance to accept her own emotions and begin to carve her own destiny. One not chosen by anyone but herself.

But of course, the one we can blame for Winter’s state, along with James, is Jaques Schnee. I didn’t think I could hate him anymore than I already did, but I got proven wrong. The man is ambitious, willing to do anything to keep his business (well… the business he stole) running and himself in power. He runs for Council pretty much just to get rid of the embargo and takedown James. He’s despicable and I hate him and I hope he rots behind jail. Whitley doesn't really have anything new, just a bit more hammering down that he is the way he is due to the abuse and his sister’s leaving him behind. Willow though? She gets one episode, and I feel horrible for this woman. While her shutting down pretty much ruined her kids' lives, you can see why and feel sympathy for her. His is a woman worn down, and while the smallest spark of fight is in her as she gives Weiss the key to burying her father, it’s so clear that she’s broken. It’s going to take a very long time for her to recover if she does. As for Whitley, his father may be gone. But the control he had over his son is likely still firm. Which can only mean bad things for Weiss.

Opposing Atlas is Robyn Hill, Mantle’s Hometown Hero. She is very much the anti-Ironwood. She’s devoted to Mantle and wants to do what’s best for them, even if it means breaking the law. But she’s not unreasonable either. She was very friendly to Clover and Marrow, only becoming antagonistic after Penny got framed for murdering her supporters. And even then, she listened to Blake and Yang and was willing to give Ironwood a chance. One that he blew sky high. But Robyn comes off as a good person who sees the injustices with Mantle and once making a change the legal way became impossible, she resorted to the illegal route. And even then, she and her Happy Huntresses never hurt anyone and were trying to help the people that James was making suffer. Just as her inspiration of Robin Hood. She’s a very likable, inspiring character though I do wish we got some more backstory for her. But hey, she’s a good person who didn’t fall into Atlas’ conditioning trying to help those who need it, and you don’t need a motivation to do the right thing.

This brings us to Penny Polendina and her father Pietro. I’m so, soooo happy to have Penny back. I have some issues with her return, mainly in that she and Ruby never talk about what happened, But that’s more for when I get to Ruby. But aside from that, Penny was excellent. She’s still the same quirky, sweet girl that we met back early on, but we get much more of her this time. She’s been made Mante’s protector, and it is a duty that he is full-heartedly devoted to. She wants to understand feelings more, like how to balance the things she wants to do with her duties and is confused about how Winter can shove her emotions aside to do what is clearly wrong. Penny may be a robot, but she is by far the most human of the Atlesian cast. It made how broken she was when framed by Tyrian and Watts hurt so much, as well as Ironwood’s comments about how she’s under his control. He talks as though she’s just another robot soldier, and you can see how much that hurts her. But at the very end, she proved how goodhearted she is when she calms/comforts Fria in her final moments, and due to it, Fria chooses her to be the next Winter Maiden. A title that she absolutely deserves.

We can probably thank Pietro for Penny being a good person. He’s just as lively as she is and clearly loves her with all of his heart. I mean he’s given up chunks of his Aura in order to bring her back. That is love, people. While I wish he had more of him (and Maria for that matter), Pietro was so much fun and a welcome addition to the supporting cast. He’s a genius responsible for much of Atlas’ technological achievements, but he also takes time to help those in Mantle. He wanted to create a savior with a soul, which I think says a lot about him as a person. While I wish he and Penny had more interaction, that loving father/daughter bond is there and it helps them both stand out among a cast slowly losing their humanity. I worry for them, especially with Salem having Grimm Monstro on her side, but doesn’t change how happy I was with them here.

Then we, of course, have our main cast… but that is something that we shall cover in Part Two. Stay tuned~

#rwby #rwby7 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

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perlukafarinn · 5 years ago

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Movies (I saw) of the 2010s, ranked

Because I had lots of better things to do but no inclination to do them.

As I went through all the new releases I watched this decade, a few things came to mind:

I missed so much! Most recently, I still haven’t seen Parasite, The Lighthouse or The Irishman. I’ve also seen only one of Disney’s live action remakes, two out of four Star Wars films of the decade, and I’ve missed quite a few of Marvel and DC’s outings. My tendency to mostly watch older films came to bite me in the ass here. But c’est la vie, there’s only so many hours in the day!

A huge part of my viewing history took place during film festivals, so festival movies are way over-represented here. I’m not mad about it.

There’s not too many outright bad movies on my list, because I tend to avoid movies that look bad or like I might not like them (shocker, I know). Even the ones in my bottom ten aren’t as dreadful as I was expecting.

There’s no way I can rank all these films numerically! What about movies that I can tell are good but just aren’t for me? What about movies that are bad but enjoyable? How can you compare tired Oscar-bait with soulless blockbusters? It’s impossible!

Hence these categories. I’m doing a top 10 worst and best, and the categories go roughly from worse to better movies, but otherwise this isn’t based on quality so much as what clever category names I could come up with (or couldn’t, as the case may be). I’m also listing the movies within each category alphabetically because that’s even less ranking I need to do.

Buckle up, this is over 6000 words...

Oh, and if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing I still encourage you to reply with your own favorite movies of the decade!

The Worst Exactly what it says on the tin. These movies aren’t just unenjoyable or disposable, they are actively unpleasant to watch.

American Hustle (2013) Wait, this got how many Oscar nominations again??

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) This movie is so bloated and yet they couldn’t find any time to actually develop most of the main characters? I had such a bad time watching this one, I ended up skipping out on the last part of the trilogy.

Hurricane Bianca (2016) This looked like it might be enjoyably bad but it wasn’t. I still love Bianca Del Rio, don’t get me wrong, but her humor is not the kind you build a whole movie around, yet alone two. And yet…

Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate (2018) Yeah, I watched them both. I’m a simple woman: I see Katya in a trailer, I watch. I really shouldn’t have bothered, this one is even worse.

Iron Man 2 (2010) Superhero fatigue got me bad in the past few years but even before then I hated this movie. Literally nothing enjoyable here, I was aggressively bored while watching. The Lack (2014) This is a movie about women, written and directed by a man, called “The Lack”. You might think I’m being uncharitable to say this movie is entirely about penis envy but the writer/director himself confirmed this at the Q&A I was at. This is why Q&As are always a bad idea, people!

Left Behind (2014) This one tips into “enjoyably bad” at times but in the end, it’s still two hours of your life wasted on a movie meant to make its Evangelical viewers feel vindicated in their horrible beliefs. Morgenrøde (2014) I have a fairly high tolerance for slow movies but this movie is sloooowwww and literally nothing happens in it. This is the movie that taught me not to trust it when festival brochures use the word “contemplative”.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) Just dreadful. This is the worst kind of film in my books: the kind made to follow a trend, not to tell a story.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) It’s been eight years since the fourth PotC movie came out?? God, it’s been a long decade.

The Utterly Disposable I didn’t exactly have a bad time watching these but they left no impression on me.

Alex Strangelove (2018) Netflix has released so many unremarkable-looking teen movies this decade. This is one of the few I bothered to watch and it’s cute enough, I guess.

Fyrir framan annað fólk (2016) I am Icelandic but I don’t watch a whole lot of Icelandic movies and I feel kind of guilty about that. Not guilty enough to give a boring movie a pass, though.

Ghostbusters (2016) This super did not need to exist and not even my love for Kate McKinnon makes it any less disposable.

The Great Gatsby (2013) At least it’s pretty.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) I remember this getting a few laughs out of me but that’s about it.

The Imitation Game (2014) I think I just… don’t like Beneditch Cumberbatch? Sorry. This movie is the perfect expression of the bland, middle-of-the-road biopic, with the added mishandling of the subject’s sexuality.

Isn’t It Romantic (2019) I love a good satire but this ain’t it, chief. This movie isn’t doing anything that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hasn’t done 100x better.

John Carter (2012) If you’re gonna throw this much money into something, you could at least hire a charismatic lead actor. Then again, it seemed to work for Avatar. Magic Mike (2012) I did like that this sexy stripper movie kept showing how unhappy the main character is doing what he does as if that wouldn’t totally ruin the fantasy.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) Watched this on an airplane, which is fitting. This feels like a quintessential airplane movie; it’s mildly entertaining but ultimately disposable enough that it has completely slipped your mind by the time you reach baggage claim.

Paul (2011) Occasionally funny, I think? Barely remember it tbh.

Planetary (2015) There’s some interesting points buried in here but the movie’s too busy trying to look important to actually get them across effectively. Also feels surprisingly padded for just 80 minutes. Valentine’s Day (2010) Taylor Swift was actually kind of funny in this, which was a pleasant surprise. Zero impact otherwise.

“I Have No Memory of This Place” Movies I literally could not remember watching until I had read the entire synopsis, but for one reason or another was not comfortable calling “disposable”.

Bobby Sands: 66 Days (2015), The Departure (2017), Hell Is Empty: All the Devils Are Here (2016), Innsæi (2016), Last of the Elephant Men (2015), Late Summer (2016), Speed Sisters (2015), Una (2016), The War Show (2016) Lumping all of these together because they’re all festival movies I have hardly any memory of and that I may have in fact fallen asleep over.

Incendies (2010) Chalk this up to me seeing it almost a decade ago. When I finally remembered it, I could vaguely recall finding it affective. Probably due for a rewatch.

Prisoners (2013), Rush (2013), Warrior (2011) Around 2012-2014 I was working my way through IMdB’s top 250 list and I saw so many forgettable movies about men committing various violent acts. Literally can’t remember a single thing about these movies.

I’m So Sick of Superheroes Dear God Make It Stop I’d probably like some of these more if not for superhero fatigue but that is the trade-off for total global dominance. A couple of superhero movies did escape this category and you’ll see them later on my list.

Thor (2011), Iron Man Three (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ant-Man (2015), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Lumping all of Marvel’s movies in this category together because I don’t really have a lot to say about Marvel anymore. Special mention to Winter Soldier for being the movie that soured on me the most and to Age of Ultron for in hindsight being the beginning of my superhero fatigue.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Boy, this trilogy ended on a sour note. Man of Steel (2013) Confused story structure aside, this movie is utterly grey and joyless. It’s also army propaganda!

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) The only reason I watched this was because it was on IMdB’s top 250 list. Peter Dinklage was good in it, if I recall correctly.

Don’t Like This Nope.

12 Years a Slave (2013) Very uncomfortable to sit through, which I get was the point, but I’m not sure it was the right choice. It honestly feels like misery porn.

Black Swan (2010) I’ve long made peace with the fact that Darren Aronofsky will just never click with me.

The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) This movie is exhausting to watch because of the near constant country music playing. Loudly.

Kate Plays Christine (2016) This is a movie about a really interesting topic but instead of the real tragedy that actually happened it chooses to focus on an actress’s fictional struggle to connect with her role. I think the movie wanted us to think the struggle was real (heh) but for that they would’ve needed a better actress. La La Land (2016) I love classic musicals and I really wanted to like this movie but in the end I just couldn’t. As a movie it’s okay but it’s not a good musical and the whole white savior of jazz thing was……….. an odd choice.

Last Days in the Desert (2015) I’m a sucker for good, thoughtful religious films. The idea of Jesus and the devil being played by the same actor was intriguing to me and I liked that the devil wasn’t evil so much as just tired. But ultimately, this movie felt a little too cold for me.

Magic Mike: XXL (2015) I have no idea why every critic on the planet seems to love this movie. Strippers aggressively thrusting their crotch in your face is not sexy, it’s uncomfortable!

A Silent Voice (2016) Melodramatic and not in the fun, over-the-top way.

Vonarstræti (2014) It’s good but it’s just not for me.

Wir Monster (2015) I saw this at a Q&A screening and decided I didn’t wanna stick around after the credits rolled. On my way out, I tripped and almost fell onto the actors as they were walking past me. That experience had a way bigger impact on me than the movie itself. Make of that what you will.

Guilty Pleasures/So Bad They’re Good An enjoyably bad movie is a better watch than a middlingly competent one.

#REALITYHIGH (2017) Incredibly clichéd and tries way too hard to be “hip” or “lit” or whatever it is the kids were saying back in 2017. Don’t care, I’ve seen it four times.

Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) The first Bridget Jones is a highlight of the genre. The second one is just bad but the third tips over into enjoyably bad. I also loved having Renée Zellweger back on my screen!

A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019) Recently watched this with my sister while baking and wrapping Christmas presents. It’s a terrible movie but we had fun (mostly by making fun of it).

Descendants (2015), Descendants 2 (2017), Descendants 3 (2019) I’m not apologizing for this even though I feel like I kind of should.

The Kissing Booth (2018) This movie is like a 13-year-old’s first fanfic come to life so of course I’m gonna love it. Even if the love interest is incredibly unappealing.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) Who would’ve thought at the start of the decade that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson would turn into indie darlings starring in one critically acclaimed film after the next? I love that for them.

Oscar Bait but I’m Not Biting Not sure the Oscars weren’t a mistake tbh.

The Artist (2011) I kind of enjoyed this but ultimately it’s watered-down Hollywood history made appealing to modern audiences and its aim is far higher than its reach.

Birdman (2014) It was a fun watch but it left no impression.

Darkest Hour (2017) Technically a good movie but such obvious Oscar bait I just couldn’t fully enjoy it.

The Help (2011) Let’s leave the white savior narrative behind in the 2010s, shall we?

The King’s Speech (2010) I love Colin Firth. I barely remember this movie.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Don’t love that the racist cop is the most fully fleshed-out character in this movie while the black characters are all unnamed extras.

Whiplash (2014) It’s just drumming, J.K. Simmons, it’s not that serious.

I Feel Like I Should Like This More This category is mostly three camps, as you’ll see.

120 battements par minute (2017), 69 Minutes of 86 Days (2017), Fire at Sea (2016), I, Daniel Blake (2016) All important movies with a worthy message that I just couldn’t connect with on a personal level.

Adieu au langage (2014), Before We Vanish (2017), Bridesmaids (2011), Jagten (2012), A Separation (2011), Timbuktu (2014), Transit (2018), Winter’s Bone (2010) Critically acclaimed, maybe it’s just me?

Her (2013) The rest is all movies I expected to like more than I did. I’m not sure what didn’t click with this one. It’s been a while since I saw it.

Get Out (2017) I wasn’t gonna watch it because I don’t really watch horror so when I finally caved, I knew pretty much everything about it. Watching a movie the first time knowing everything that happens in it and after seeing it dissected for months on end by every critic on the planet does take a lot of the enjoyment away, as it turns out.

Gone Girl (2014) Really thought I’d love it. It’s good just didn’t click with me.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) It’s pretty. Liam Neeson is always fun.

Pacific Rim (2013) Mako is great and I enjoy the chemistry between her and Raleigh but ultimately this one just kind of slipped out of my mind as soon as I’d seen it.

Toni Erdmann (2016) It’s too damn long!

The Tree of Life (2011) I just watched this the other day so it’s very possible my opinion will change. I was expecting to love it but I… didn’t. It felt like this movie was trying too hard to be profound and important, at the cost of actually saying something, well, profound and important.

No Strong Feelings One Way or the Other I actually have nothing to say about any of these movies and most of them are good but they had to go somewhere.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Boyhood (2014), Brave (2012), Creed (2015), Django Unchained (2012), Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), Flavours of Youth (2018), Frozen (2013), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), Interstellar (2014), Intouchable (2011), The Jungle Book (2016), Monsters University (2013), Rogue One (2016), Schaste moe (2010), Shutter Island (2010), Three Identical Strangers (2018), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), Undir trénu (2017), Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Middling Festival Fare I have nothing to say about these either but I couldn’t lump them in with the others. I mostly liked them more than the movies in the previous category and they took bigger risks. Some of them might even be great, just very much not my cup of tea.

3 Tage in Quiberon (2018), Acid Forest (2018), Amateurs in Space (2016), Barakah Meets Barakah (2015), Der Andständige (2014), Disappearance (2017), Dreams by the Sea (2017), En fremmed flytter ind (2017), Føniks (2018), The Girl Down Loch Aenzi (2016), God Exists, Her Name is Petrunija (2019), Gods of Molenbeek (2019), Jag är Ingrid (2015), Já, Olga Hepnarová (2016), Looking for Oum Kulthum (2017), Mister Universo (2016), Neruda (2016), The Raven and the Seagull (2018), Rester vertical (2016), Slow West (2015), Sugar Coated (2015), Summer Survivors (2018), Tickled (2016), Worldly Girl (2016)

Maybe Not the Best But a Lot of Fun Better than those guilty pleasures but generally pretty flawed. Austenland (2013) A very cute little romcom. Extra points for Jennifer Coolidge, the most underrated character actress of this century.

Baby Driver (2017) I feel like revisiting this one might not be as enjoyable for reasons that have nothing to do with the film’s quality but I had fun watching it in the theater.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) I was a fan of this franchise from the start so even though this movie is kind of dour and dark, it was still a blast to watch. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) Do I love every choice this movie made? No. But I saw this at a midnight screening, in full cosplay with my friends, in a theater packed with fans. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I, Tonya (2017) For a movie that contains so much abuse and such a bummer ending, it’s surprisingly entertaining!

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) Lego Batman is my favorite Batman.

Nothing Like a Dame (2018) I just really love Maggie Smith.

On - drakon (2015) This movie feels like it was pitched as “Twilight but with dragons!”. It’s fun, though, and it’s got an interesting aesthetic and a proactive heroine who gets herself out of trouble with ingenuity and bravery.

Sing Street (2016) I love the soundtrack to this movie and the characters are incredibly endearing. The story is very simple in not a great way but it doesn’t need to be deep to be enjoyable.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) I like that they skip the origin story for once and keep the scope of it fairly limited. A very nice little slice-of-life teen movie combined with a superhero flick. Tom Holland is a good Spider-Man. Would’ve been better without Iron Man tbh. Star Trek Beyond (2016) I feel like they got the characters right here, which was a problem for the first Star Trek of the rebooted trilogy. It’s a fairly inconsequential movie but it’s a blast.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan so I don’t have a lot of opinions here. It’s fun! Not a lot more I want from Star Wars. Ultimately didn’t intrigue me enough to wanna see the rest of the trilogy.

Ten no Chasuke (2015) This movie is a little weird, a little goofy and a lot of fun. I like the guy who just constantly lives through different movie plots because the angel writing his life can’t think of anything original, that tickled me.

Good Movies I Don’t Have a Clever Title Here They’re good movies, Brent.

Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground (2018) An enjoyable, well-made documentary but considering its subject matter disappointingly conventional.

Black Panther (2018) This movie could have been much better had it not been under the constraints of the MCU. Still one of the best offerings of the genre this decade.

Boy Meets Girl (2014) We need more movies like this. Not just for representation (although that is important) but also because cinema needs a greater variety of stories than are currently being told.

Brooklyn (2015) The scope of this movie is very small but the characterization is nuanced and every aspect of the film goes towards furthering that.

Bugs (2016) The focus of this movie is split between its very interesting subject matter (the use of bugs as food around the world) and the chefs we’re following around who kind of seem like dicks and honestly drag the movie down a lot.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Steve Rogers is one of my favorite MCU characters, purely on the strength of this movie. In a world where no one seems to know how to adapt Superman to film, it’s nice they got this one right.

Cloud Atlas (2012) This movie has such lofty ambitions and I admire it for that, even if the execution is off at times. But the use of yellowface is..... bad. It’s very bad and the directors should have known better.

Cold War (2018) I love the music in this, which is good because it is near constant.

Damsel (2018) I love a deconstructed western and I love Robert Pattinson. It’s a shame that the female character at the center of the story wasn’t better developed, considering how much screen time she got.

Damsels in Distress (2011) This movie is quirky and cutesie, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (and usually isn’t mine) but I love it. Some solid acting goes a long way.

Der kommer en dag (2016) This movie is two hours of children suffering yet it comes across as so optimistic? I think it’s the space race stuff. Who doesn’t love the space race?

Frantz (2016) I am always down for stories that reckon with the effects of WWI.

Future Baby (2016) There’s a scene in this movie where a surrogate mother gives birth and it is both very graphic and heart-wrenching. If the rest of the movie were more like that one scene, it’d be on my shortlist for the best of the decade.

Fyre (2019) How was Fyre Festival a real thing that happened?

Girls Don’t Fly (2016) Girls don’t fly because the man training them to be pilots is a dick and treats them horribly. It’s a bummer but important to uncover.

Hidden Figures (2016) Kevin Costner’s character needed to be written out - black stories that don’t involve “good” white people are both possible and necessary. But I adore all three main actresses and they do some amazing work.

Hjartasteinn (2016) The subject matter is cliché but it’s handled beautifully.

The Lego Movie (2014) Everything is awesome! Everything is cool when you’re part of a team!

Journey to the Shore (2015) I honestly wasn’t sure how to feel for most of the run time of this movie but by the end it got me.

On Body and Soul (2017) This movie feels like a dream and I mean that in a good way.

The Salvation (2014) Have I mentioned that I love deconstructed westerns? Mads Mikkelsen is always on point, even with garbage material, but he’s got some good stuff to work with here.

Searching for Ingmar Bergman (2018) This movie made me more interested in its director, Margarethe von Trotta, than Bergman himself. Everyone should check out The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum!

The Shape of Water (2017) This movie is very much like a fairy-tale, which means it’s not particularly nuanced or complicated, but it is beautiful.

Still the Water (2014) This movie starts with a cow being graphically slaughtered and yet the only word I can think of to describe it is “gentle”. But maybe skip the first five minutes if you’re sensitive to blood or animal death.

Studio 54 (2018) How were the 70s even real?

Sumarbörn (2017) It’s a rare feat to get such good acting out of child actors.

Thor: Ragnarök (2017) The best MCU movie. It’s a lot of fun without once losing its heart, which is a rare thing for Marvel (just google the words “bathos” and “mcu”, other people have covered this already).

Warm Bodies (2013) The cutest rom-com of the decade features a zombie as its main lead. I’m not mad about it.

Wild Tales (2014) The dissonance between the realist shooting style and the cartoonish violence often results in some excellent dark humor. The rest of the time, it just feels kind of off.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Jordan Belfast is both a lot of fun and utterly despicable and the movie is not afraid to go as balls to the walls as it needs to.

The Young Karl Marx (2017) So like... Marx and Engel were into each other? At least a little, right?

Great Movies Also No Clever Title

Andið eðlilega (2018) Okay so I don’t watch a lot of Icelandic cinema but from what I have seen, I am incredibly encouraged by the direction it is heading. Call this exhibit A.

Ága (2018) This movie is very slow and not a lot happens but that’s kind of why it works so well. It hooked me in and had me genuinely interested in every uneventful scene.

Brecht’s Threepenny Film (2018) I walked away feeling like I’d understood maybe one third of this film but it left me with a feeling of exhilaration that’s hard to define and that few films manage.

Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010) Adèle Blanc-Sec is like Tintin and Indiana Jones combined except way better. In a just world, she would be a much more popular character and the reported film trilogy would have actually happened.

En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron (2014) This movie is delightfully weird and messed up. Nothing more to say here.

The Favourite (2018) I was honestly expecting to be let down by this movie after all the overwhelming praise but as it turns out, it deserved all of the accolades and possibly more.

Gravity (2013) This movie was kind of marketed as “realistic sci-fi” and while I can’t say it felt particularly real, the emotional arc sure as hell did.

Inception (2010) The complexity of this film was vastly over-hyped but it’s still the best work I’ve seen by Nolan (though to be fair, I still haven’t seen Dunkirk). Kreuzweg (2014) The film is composed of just fourteen still shots, representing the Stations of the Cross. That could have come across as really gimmicky but it works because the shots are well staged and the material is just that good. Loveless (2017) This is the bleakest, most depressing movie I think I’ve ever seen. The Martian (2015) The best thing about this movie is the way it shows the world coming together just to save this one guy. International cooperation is the future!

Paradies: Liebe (2012) This is a movie about sex tourism and it is as unpleasant to watch as that sounds. But it’s also incredible.

Paradies: Hoffnung (2013) The third in Seidl’s paradise trilogy (I missed the middle part, don’t remember why). Just as messed up as Liebe but mildly more palatable.

Une nouvelle amie (2014) I saw this movie with my dad, which was kind of awkward, but that doesn’t take away from its beauty. We really do need more stories like this.

Tale of Tales (2015) I am always here for a fairytale adaptation, particularly ones that stick close to the dark, gruesome, humorous tone of most traditional fairytales.

Welcome to Norway (2016) This movie is just really, really funny.

White God (2014) If you’re sensitive to animal abuse then this is not the film for you. The dogs in this movie actually won the Palm Dog Award and it was well deserved. They’re very good dogs! Tom of Finland (2017) How refreshing to see a movie about a historical gay person that isn’t all death and tragedy! It does have some of that, unavoidably, but it’s also a lot of fun and ultimately is a celebration of a very important sub-cultural figure.

Vinterbrødre (2017) I wasn’t expecting a movie set in a mining community to look this beautiful.

Wonder Woman (2017) The best superhero movie of the decade, despite the slightly messy third act. It’s such an earnest, hopeful movie and unlike most films of the genre, it’s not afraid to take itself seriously or to come across as cheesy. Superheroes are cheesy! That’s one of the best things about them!

Amazing Animation I don’t like animation being singled out from live action as if it’s somehow less, but I wanted to highlight how many excellent animated films were made this decade.

The Breadwinner (2017) I’ve seen this film’s production company, Cartoon Saloon, been called the Irish version of Disney but Disney has never made anything half this daring. Coco (2017) The ending made me sob like a little kid. This movie doesn’t get enough credit for being one of only two Pixar films this decade to live up to their early work.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) The flight scenes in this movie gave me actual vertigo and I loved it.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) The rare sequel that’s actually better than the original! For all the franchises that exist out there just to continue milking that cash cow, it’s nice to see something get continued because the filmmakers had more stories to tell.

Loving Vincent (2017) This movie has been criticized for a weak plot, to which I say: it’s an animated movie made up of oil paintings! Do you really care about the plot? Sometimes the spectacle is all you need, especially when it’s something that touches you as deeply as Vincent van Gogh’s art does.

Moana (2016) Moana’s scenes with her grandmother and Te Fiti are up there with some of the most emotionally evocative stuff to come out of Disney studios. It’s a pity the rest of the movie couldn’t quite live up to that.

Rise of the Guardians (2012) Mostly, this movie just looks incredible. I am also an eternal sucker for Chris Pine, even if his voice sounds weird coming out of a teenager’s mouth.

Song of the Sea (2014) This is the most beautiful animated film I’ve ever seen outside of Studio Ghibli’s best, both the look and the feel of it.

Tangled (2010) I know I sound like an old fogy but this movie would’ve been much better if it had been traditionally animated. Still pretty good!

Toy Story 3 (2010) It’s been nine years since the third Toy Story came out?? Christ, this decade.

Your Name (2016) I really should be watching more anime.

Zootopia (2016) Disney’s best work since Treasure Planet, which is an underrated masterpiece. It’s almost worth the resurgence in furries (jk furries, you’re okay).

This Is Why You Guys Should Be Watching Documentaries Because documentaries are a seriously underrated art form.

Ama-San (2016) This is the kind of cinema vérité filmmaking I live for.

Behind the Curve (2018) The existence of flat earthers remains baffling (well, maybe not that baffling when you look at the rest of our society) but this documentary is excellent.

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) This is a documentary about a cache of lost silent films that were found in the 70s and most of the movie is silent, with information being conveyed through text and images. It’s these kinds of choices that elevate a good documentary beyond just educational programming.

Exodus: Where I Come From Is Disappearing (2016) Absolutely heart-wrenching. It’s difficult to watch but the issues it discusses shouldn’t be looked away from.

Foodies (2014) There’s a foodie in this movie who rates his food on looks before he even tastes it and a chef whose signature dish is a dessert called “sex on the beach” which includes a very realistic-looking used condom. I wanted those two to meet but they never did and that is my one criticism of this film.

Free Solo (2018) I developed a fear of heights after watching this movie.

The Great Green Wall (2019) I had never heard of the great green wall before seeing this movie. It’s so surreal to get a window into a society where no one is arguing about climate change because they are already undeniably feeling the effects of it. And by strange, I mean incredibly sad and upsetting.

How to Let Go of the World: and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change (2016) Speaking of climate change. This movie takes on climate grief and shows why you can’t stop at that, why you need to push past it and keep fighting. I’d argue The Great Green Wall actually does that same thing and better but it’s still a very necessary message.

Into the Inferno (2016) Werner Herzog is just. The best. Especially his documentaries.

Kismet (2014) This movie examines how art affects people by way of one of the least respected art forms out there (soap operas). I just really love that premise and the execution is even better.

Merchants of Doubt (2014) Honestly fuck every single person making money by hastening our descent towards climate catastrophe. Good movie, though.

My Scientology Movie (2015) This was the first Louis Theroux movie I saw and it’s a great one to start with. For all they’ve been treated like a joke, Scientologists are actually pretty scary.

The Other Side of Everything (2017) The personal is the political in this film. What an incredible look at the ways our past shapes our present and future.

Pervert Park (2014) This movie fucked me up.

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016) The conceit of this film is looking at the US prison system indirectly by keeping the camera outside the actual prisons and off actual prisoners. It works incredibly well, just astounding documentary film making.

Push (2019) Just when you thought you couldn’t hate the rental market any more!

Safari (2016) Fuck trophy hunters.

The Silence of Others (2018) I didn’t even know about the Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law until I saw this movie. Maybe that’s just my own ignorance but I feel it shows how necessary documentaries like these are.

Tower (2016) I cried like a baby watching this movie. Using rotoscope animation to tell the story of the 1966 shootings a the University of Texas was I think an excellent choice and made for a unique documentary.

Visages villages (2017) Agnès Varda is possibly my favorite director and it hurts to leave this one off the “best” list (call it an unofficial #11). Still not sure I shouldn’t have swapped out one of the actual top ten for it.

Welcome to Sodom (2018) The world is so fucked up.

It Stayed With Me Movies that left me reeling and that I couldn’t get out of my head for days after watching (call all of them an unofficial joint #12).

The Act of Killing (2012) Speaking of fucked up! It is absolutely surreal seeing these mass murderers try to justify their actions to the interviewers. “I was just doing my job” is no excuse and trying to use it as one is actually reprehensible.

Arrival (2016) I didn’t actually see it until this year and I felt it couldn’t possibly live up to the hype but it did! It’s reminiscent of Interstellar in that in this ‘hard’ science fiction story the ultimate solution is based on an emotional revelation but Arrival pulled it off much better. The Congress (2013) This is basically two movies in one; one is fairly grounded sci-fi and the other is just a straight up acid trip in film form. In any case, Robin Wright is absolutely flawless.

Carol (2015) Cate Blanchett please date me. Grüße aus Fukushima (2016) I’m always gonna be a sucker for a movie about women connecting and helping each other through trauma.

High Life (2018) I saw this one knowing nothing about it and ngl it shocked me a bit. The way it incrementally got more and more fucked up made me feel a bit like a frog being slowly boiled alive. November (2017) The atmosphere this movie creates is unreal. Maybe not the strongest characterization but it balances a feeling of magic and wonder with just utter bleakness and it left me reeling. Paterson (2016) I can’t even fully explain why I loved this movie so much or why it stuck me. Mostly, it’s just so damn cozy. The Square (2017) I mean, that scene with the ape man was fucked up right? Tangerine (2015) I don’t think filming on your iPhone is the future of cinema or anything but it does show how accessible filmmaking is slowly becoming. Also, that scene of Alexandra performing Toyland is one of the best musical moments in cinema this decade and that is not up for debate. Team Hurricane (2017) I’ve never seen a movie with an aesthetic like this before (it’s very vaporwave) but this film is about and was mostly shot by a group of actual teenage girls. It’s a little melodramatic in places but at the same time that feels very sincere and the girls all clearly have a lot of talent and a lot to say. Varda par Agnes (2019) This movie probably wouldn’t have stuck with me so much if Agnès Varda hadn’t died earlier this year. She is a truly unparalleled figure in film history.

The Best According to me, anyway. But I’m right.

Cameraperson (2016) This is a different kind of documentary filmmaking. What it most reminds me of is Beaches of Agnès (no, I’m never done talking about Agnès Varda) but even that is not a perfect comparison. It’s deeply personal while also covering an insane variety of topics. Embrace of the Serpent (2015) This movie feels like a dream and I mean that in the best way possible. At turns beautiful, brutal, and absolutely baffling. The Florida Project (2017) I’ve seen this movie criticized for glorifying poverty and I can’t discount that opinion. For my part, I thought this movie did an incredible job balancing the world as seen through the eyes of a carefree child enjoying her summer and the dangerous, precarious reality of living in poverty. Inside Out (2015) When Pixar gets it right, they get it really right. The Love Witch (2016) I just really, really love witches. The best looking live action movie of the decade. The fact that writer/director/editor/producer Anna Biller hasn’t made another film since is an actual crime. Melancholia (2011) No movie has ever hit me this hard in such a visceral way; I was miserable for days after seeing it. Lars von Trier is an asshole but he knows how to film depression. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Believe the hype, it is actually perfect. And I don’t even like action movies! Moonlight (2016) It’s rare to see a movie this deeply, devastatingly human. The final two shots of the film, paired together, are literally the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in a theater. Kona fer í stríð (2018) The best Icelandic movie that’s been made yet. Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir is a national treasure. Shoplifters (2018) I mean, who’s expecting a movie called ‘Shoplifters’ to be so devastating? It’s such a painful film but it is also heartwarming and intimate. Un couteau dans le coeur (2018) This movie is strange and funny and violent and gorgeous. I’ve never had such a good experience at a film festival as I did the two times I went to see this movie.

#well it's done #this was mostly written for an audience of one aka me #but hey this took a while so do check it out if you want

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raeynbowboi · 6 years ago

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My Two Cents on Female Characters in Animated Television Shows

Recently, while discussing my disappointment with the lack of development for the girls in My Hero Academia, I received a rather pointed response that accused me of not caring about female characters at all. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as often girl characters are usually some of my favorites in most shows, but where I think this person got confused is that they mistook my criticisms for contempt. You can criticize something without disliking it. Although I laughed and rolled my eyes at the accusation being the staunch feminist that I am, I figured it was a worthwhile topic to discuss: the portrayal and characterization of female characters in media. Particularly, animated television products.

Even though I wasn’t alive at the time, let’s rewind the clock back to the 1980s. During this decade, most animated television series were more focused on selling toys to go with the product than telling a good story, and this was also the time when gendered products exploded. Boys watched He-Man, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. Girls watched My Little Pony, the Care Bears, and Jem and the Holograms. The biggest shows usually had a gender division, though there were some shows that catered to children as a whole. What we usually got out of the boy shows is a cast almost exclusively male with maybe one or two female characters, such as with the 80s Voltron series were Allura was the only female character on the side of good. Likewise with girl oriented shows, most of the cast was girls with only a small handful of boys, though the Care Bears was an outlier due to having a rather fine mix of the two. During this era, if a girl was on the team, she usually didn’t do much. She was the damsel to be saved or the love interest to be smooth talked. She rarely had much more personality than “is a girl”. They were just kind of cookie cutter stereotypes who existed to be saved and supported by the real heroes. Some shows however did focus on strong warrior women such as She-Ra and Spider-woman. However, both of these were female spin-offs of boy shows and were again gendered products aimed only at female viewers.

The 1990s saw the emergence of shows with female leads that weren’t necessarily aimed exclusively at girls, but more often than not, it was more of a case of shows aimed at girls that just happened to attract a male audience. This happened with shows like The Powerpuff Girls or Daria, with Daria being a spin-off of Beavis and Butthead created to give MTV a female icon to draw viewership, as well as serving as a feminist icon and a voice of the disaffected nihilism of 90s teens. Shows aimed at a broader audience like Recess, The Magic School Bus, and Captain Planet started a trend of including more female characters, but it was still very common for the ratio to be tipped in favor of male characters. And this trope still remains at large to this day. This ratio is usually about 3:2 or 2:1 in a smaller group. Unless it’s aimed at girls or designed specifically to appeal to both genders, most products have more boy than girl characters.

Now with the 2000s, this is when my earliest childhood memories come back to me, and it’s the girls from this era of media that turned me into a feminist. I grew up on shows like Teen Titans, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kim Possible, and Totally Spies. This is when I would argue girl characters were really starting to really leap out and become actual people, though there were shades of this in the 90s as well. They were far more deep and complex than girl characters were in earlier media. Katara was still a maternal figure and a healer, but she had pride, a temper, and could be bossy. Starfire was a beautiful alien princess, but she was a warrior princess who was just as good in a fight if not better than her male teammates. Kim Possible was a super popular cheerleader, but she was also an honor roll student and a kick ass secret agent who retained her humbleness about it most of the time. While Clover was totally boy-crazy and fashion obsessed, she was balanced out by the academic Sam and the sporty Alex, and all three spies had episodes where they were the one saving the day and figuring out the problem. Fortunately, the 2010s have continued this trend of fleshed-out female characters, as shows have allowed female characters to exceed the normal parameters or expectations of their genders to treat them more like people, such as Flame Princess in Adventure Time donning very traditionally masculine clothing when she raps, both of which are not stereotypically feminine.

However, where Western Animation has progressed greatly, Shonen Anime has fallen majorly by the wayside. A common criticism of Naruto is that Sakura spent most of the time standing around doing nothing, and this sadly applies to all of the women. Kurenai is a Jonin level ninja, but she’s only ever shown in a single fight against Itachi and Kisame where she uses exactly one technique, and it’s used to show off how strong and cool Itachi is because he could counter her illusions with his own. Hinata is driven to become stronger due to being inspired by Naruto, but barely gets any screen time or skill improvement, and her only notable fight in part II is against Pain where it was a vehicle for her confessing her feelings for Naruto, and then triggering Naruto’s 6 tailed form so that Naruto could win the fight. Heck, Ino was standing ten feet away from the wanted terrorists that killed her teacher and she did nothing the entire fight. It’s not like she had mind control powers that would have been useful or anything. Sure the arc was for Shikamaru’s character growth, but even Choji did something and Choji sucks. And Tenten... Well she doesn’t matter. You could literally replace her with a lamp and nobody would be able to tell the difference. She’s just there because every squad must have a girl character.

So, now it’s time for the big feelings ouchie word: Strong Female Character. When people hear this they assume it means a character like Calhoun in Wreck-It Ralph, that tough as nails no bs cranky type of female who don’t need no man and yes, Calhoun is a Strong Female Character. And so is Katara. And Sadie Miller in Steven Universe. And Quinn Morgendorfer from Daria. Being a Strong Female Character isn’t about being tough or being a walking tank. Strong Female Characters simply have strong characterization. They’re well-constructed. Katara lost her mother when she was young and she had to take on her mother’s responsibilities, causing her to become very mature at a young age and to feel like anyone in need of help should get it because that’s her ‘job’ in a sense. Taking care of others is what she’s done since she lost her mother, it’s become her identity, and she could never reject that self-appointed duty without losing who she is as a person. Raven from Teen Titans pushes people away because she’s destined to destroy the world, and she hates herself for what she was created to do. She views herself as a living curse, and she doesn’t want to let people get close to her because it’ll hurt that much more when she has to fulfill her destiny and hurt the people that she cares about. Sadie Miller has only ever poofed one corrupted gem, but there’s a clear personality at play. She has low self-esteem and puts up with people telling her what to do because she’s a pleaser. She likes to make other people happy. Quinn is as classic girly girl as you can get. She’s shallow, vain, and bows to peer pressure. However, she voices that she doesn’t always like having to be like this, but that if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have anything in common with her friends. She’d rather be a shell of her real self surrounded by friends than her true self and alone. As Daria points out, Quinn wears superficiality like a suit of armor because she’s afraid of looking inside and finding nothing. But in later seasons, she begins to embrace the things that make her stand out by becoming more openly invested in her studies regardless of what it makes people think of her, and honestly, nobody really cares. A Strong Female Character doesn’t have to lead an army to be strong, she just has to be a fully defined person. So, now let’s bring the discussion full circle back to My Hero Academia. Earlier I mentioned the standard 3:2 ratio for larger groups. That is to say, if there’s an odd number of main characters, expect one extra boy for every boy-girl set. Too bad in My Hero Academia, it’s a 2:1 ratio of 14 boys and 6 girls. That’s 30% of the class size. They barely make up 1/4 of the class. And of those six maybe three of them have strong personalities. Tsuyu Asui, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Mina Ashido all have very distinct personalities, stand out in the class, and and have been given noteworthy character traits. Tsu tends to favor logic over emotion but doesn’t always like that this is her go-to response because she’s afraid people will think she’s heartless. Momo has high expectations for herself, and had a whole arc dedicated to her disappointment from the tournament arc. And Mina has a clearly defined personality, flaws, and tends to speak the most of the girls in the class. While Jiro’s not necessarily flat, we know less about her than the other girls. Uraraka’s character is so fixated on being the cute love interest that she doesn’t have any other personality traits. And Hakagure’s only real gimmick is that she’s invisible, but other than that is just a stereotypical girl. There’s nothing wrong with a female character not being a central figure in the narrative. What is wrong is when female characters are left to being window dressing. Jiro’s parents are both musicians and Jiro seems to like music too so why is she trying to be a hero? We know next to nothing about Hagakure. Sure, there are boy characters we don’t know very well either. Shoji, Koda, Sato, and Aoyama are still largely underdeveloped. But see, it’s problematic not only because the ratio is so heavily slanted, but because the girls that need character development don’t get much screen time. Uraraka has used the disarming training she got from her internship a few times, but that’s not a personality or a character development. And what happened when she went to the Yakuza secret hideout? She got left outside with the rest of the girls while most of the plot happened inside with the boys. Heck, Nejire who is part of the Big Three, we saw the backstories and training for both Mirio and Tamaki, but Nejire was just sort of ... present. She wasn’t given a character. Now, does that mean that I hate the girls in My Hero Academia? Of course not! Tsu is one of my favorite characters, and I like Jiro. She’s cool. But that doesn’t mean that I’m happy with the level of development and focus they’ve gotten. They’re characters too and they should be allowed to be more fleshed out in the story.

#my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #feminist #strong female characters #girl character #girl power #uraraka ochako #tsuyu asui #yaoyorozu momo #kyoka jiro #hagakure tooru #mina ashido

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nvrcixv · 5 years ago

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a narcissa black intro post

( milena tscharntke, eighteen, cis-female ) my goodness, is NARCISSA BLACK back? it’s been a while since the PUREBLOOD has been around the castle, but I’d recognize HER anywhere. rumor has it the FIFTH YEAR spent the years aligned with the NEUTRALS. but I hear they’re still DUTIFUL & ELEGANT and SEVERE & CONTRADICTORY. and the SLYTHERIN still reminds me of a mist of overwhelming perfume, the gentle clatter of fine dishes breaking a tense silence, the awed quiet that fills every corner of a museum, a lump catching in a dry throat, an ornate frame distracting from a dark themed painting, and lips plump with an unnatural red. well, then, I guess some things never change.

hey, hey, you guys! i’m alex and i’ll be bringing narcissa here. i’ve been rping on tumblr for a long time, marauders era has always been my favorite. i have a lot of passion for strong, bad bitches, they’re my jam. so i’m excited to play ice queen narcissa. i’m down for all sorts of plots, especially stuff that springs up organically. mostly because i’m a terrible, disorganized mess of a planner. i’m a bartender, so weekends can get busy for me, but lbr i’m always lurking on mobile.

you can contact me on here in those dms, or my discord is @ alex //#7484

character inspiration: sansa stark (got), eleanor young / astrid leong-teo (crazy rich asians), amy march (little women)

check out her ( pinterest )

whelve: (v.) to bury something deep; to hide

the positive (+): dutiful, elegant, meticulous, thoughtful, subtle, self-assured, immovable, proud, practical

the negative (-): severe, contradictory, deceitful, vengeful, cold, bitter, haughty, petty, narcissitic

aesthetic inspiration: a mist of overwhelming perfume; the gentle clatter of fine dishes breaking a tense silence; the awed quiet that fills every corner of a museum; a lump catching in a dry throat; an ornate frame distracting from a dark themed painting; lips plump with an unnatural red; the gentle clink of pearls; lipstick smudged on the lip of a teacup; thickly gilded frames; delicate fingers brushing aside wisps of hair; pointed heels abandoned at the bottom of a staircase; forced laughter through painted lips; a paintbrush gliding over a crisp canvas; skirts skating over cream-colored thighs; half filled decanters; a thorn pricking an unsuspecting fingertip; the slow build of a concerto; hedges cut to blunt perfection

your girl’s eyeliner is sharp as knives, lips red as bluuud, nails filed to perfection, heart cold, and her smile sweet enough to eat.

you’ve heard it before, narcissa is stone cold. the world could be tumbling around her and this blonde would remain unshaken. she is a proud and stalwart figure in the face of chaos. she’s rather good in a crisis, she has to be with a family like her’s and in these dark days. many imagine her to be weak, a simple creature meant for beautiful things. the wilting flower of the black family tree. at one time she might have been, but those who know her properly know her to be someone to look towards in uncertainty.

but she is also a hopeless romantic gone to rot. she is distant, as untouchable as a masterpiece in the museum that is her picture perfect life. a thing more suitable for admiration than intimacy. she is cold, stoic, and strong, but also lonely.

there is a feeling that no matter your connection to narcissa, that no matter your efforts, there is always something hidden within that she is keeping to herself. and it’s true. there is nothing narcissa would willingly show that she didn’t want people to see.

she insecure and stressed about public image like that.

she is also haughty.

if there’s anything her cousin has taught her, to bloom is to die. she pictures his escape and subsequent increase in happiness to be the height of abandonment, of betrayal. how dare he go one to enjoy things without her! how dare he leave. how dare he leave her wanting and missing and heartbroken. she truly misses him and yet goes to great lengths to never reveal her secrets, instead giving her true feelings the form of petty anger and feigned indifference.

the family she’d been proud to be a member of, is crumbling to ash with this war. but if anyone were to care enough to ask, she is grateful for her lot in life. a smile always quick to slide into place, polished and content for the pre-destined plan.

with her current family a shambles, she is afraid to even think of putting together a new family, the arranged marriage in her future is as terrifying as it is inevitable. she feels as though she will lose everything, her family name, the constant presence of her sisters, and her childhood. it feels like a demotion in title and status after all the notoriety that comes with being a black. not to mention her own parents suffering remains fresh as a wound, she can’t imagine she shall ever be happy. why should she be? indoctrinated as she is, she has eyes. everything she has witnessed could never be called ideal, as much as it was framed that way. while hope is not her strong suit, narcissa is very capable of love

it’s not often used to describe her, but narcissa is rather selfless and giving towards her loved ones. it’s a redeeming quality that is almost enough to counteract her many failings as a more acceptable version of a kind person. she does, in fact, love and wants to be loved in return.

her removal from hogwarts had been a frightening prospect, as it put a big wrench in the plans that had been set out for her. she was too young and with her education incomplete all meant she was able to put off her marital duties off for the time being

with the last two years open to her, narcissa was quick to move to france to study abroad at beauxbatons. the move was good for her. freeing. the separation from her family allowed the growth of some independence and the fostering of her own interests. she was fully immersed in paris’ culture, language, food, and beauty.

as a lover of all things immaculate, a seeker of perfection, narcissa is enamored with art. she already has amassed a collection that could rival the lourve, and often travels to find new additions. it’s a lifestyle only the sickeningly wealthy could afford. the high art, port wine and lavish hotels in distant locations are her own form of escape. the one bright spot in the dreariness that the war has driven all of london into. but “a golden cage is still a cage” and her happiness often fades the moment it comes

she’s an amateur painter herself, talented and content with the process of painting the perfect picture, figuratively and literally. but this is a secret ambition. the act unsuitable and beneath a lady such as herself. there is too much mess. stains, dyed fingertips and an acrid smell. as beautiful as the end result might be, her parents would surely disapprove of the mess she’d make to get there. so like everything else, she hides the messy parts away. it’s not much of a rebellion, but it’s as much as she’s capable of at the moment. her family just means more to her than what she sees as selfish wants rather than the productive creativity and voice to her thoughts that she really needs.

tw child abuse: her childhood was as fraught with abuse as the next black. intelligence was punishable, sharp wit was always met with a slap to rattle her teeth.

her worth was reduced to image and status from the beginning. the cruel parenting taught her to close her lips and open her eyes more. she is observant, and thoughtful. her taste impeccable and judgement rather quick.

narcissa is both good and bad in many ways. love to hate or hate to love her, she’s an anti-villian

tl;dr; narcissa a bitch but like?? the kind you would be begging to step on you

connections:

girl gang – give her all the best friends. the nicole to her paris. soul sisters. ovaries before brovaries. hymen heroines. those hoes she lives and breathes for. i think typically this would be fellow slytherins or ppl that she met through pureblood high society connections. OPEN

ex-boyfriend/girlfriend – ew this makes me sad and emotions are hard to deAL. basically this will be all angst city. most likely narcissa would be the one to break things off since she usually caves to that familial pressure. depending on how their relationship was, she could regret it or be cold about it. or maybe they were using her? i could see either ( or both! gasp ) working. OPEN

rival/frenemies – these two are just too similar to get along. toxic pureblood society has pitted them against each other and no one is winning. okay but if they went from enemies, to reluctant respect, to almost friends?? MAYBE EVEN FRIENDS EVENTUALLY?? i would be here for it asdlk OPEN

confidante – narcissa isn’t honest with anyone, not even herself. but this could be someone that she’s probably known for a long time who she possibly could’ve opened up to in a weak moment and now they’re bonded forever. she would feel indebted to this person for keeping her secrets and would do her best to protect them any way that she could. extra feelings if this person feels the same way and they can be sad, but also cLOSE, together. OPEN

secret school friend – maybe they were forced partners as prefects or a fateful potions class but narcissa found herself making a surprising friend in an unexpected place. they spoke for years and she couldn’t help admiring their persistence despite her reluctance and occasional snobbery. but now they’re older and she really should cut things off. for whatever reason, she just can’t let go. OPEN

banter partner – alright so this would be someone from the other side of the war that narcissa runs into all the time and they always seem to get into arguments! she’s not quite sure why they get under her skin but narcissa finds it difficult to step away from their confrontations. OPEN

muse – listennnn. this person would be someone that narcissa would just be enamored with, she would regard them very highly and make efforts to speak with them and be around them. if this person were on the other side of the war she would probably resent them a little but be unable to resist. i’ll probably just spring this on somebody tbh?? since the relationship would be based on her own tastes. but this would be someone that narcissa would admire for their appearance– sure, but also for the aura that they project.

but yes!! promo over, thanks for reading loves! can’t wait to write with you all!

#thq intro #* ∘⡊ ☾ ˚⊹ ι ωαηт тσ gινє уσυ мσяє. вυт ησт єνєяутнιηg. уσυ ∂ση’т ηєє∂ єνєяутнιηg. ⊹ — { about }

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blkmxrvel · 6 years ago

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Haven’t Forgotten My Way Home [6] - (CONVERTED)

Pairing: Kara Zor-El x Female!Reader

Summary: In the D/s society of National City, men and women abandoned by their Dom/mes or otherwise deemed unfit for life “outside” end up at the Mount Overland House for Orphaned Submissives. It is here that Kara Zor-El finds Y/N Hastings, broken and fearful from mistreatment at the hands of her former Dom. Can Kara coax Y/N back into the world that once so terrified her, and show her the true meaning of care and submission?

Warnings: Domestic Violence (Flashbacks, Mentions and Descriptions), Misogyny, Domination/Submission.

A/N: This is really one of my favorite stories. I’ve it so many different times in so many different fandoms and wanted to put it in another one! In this, Kara and Alex are not sisters, Kara isn’t an alien which means she isn’t supergirl. Just wanna give another note that this story is NOT mine. I did not come with the plot, I just switched out the names of characters and places, that is all. Credit goes to itsfaberrytaboo on Ao3!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |

Masterlist | Fandom List/Who I Write For

Kara Zor-El’s house stood directly in the middle of Carnegie Street, a fitting place for it, she thought. It wasn’t that it was particularly big; just a two-story house with pale green siding, framed by trees on either side. It certainly wasn’t glamorous; though the inside held a music room slash library with more books and Broadway records than were probably healthy, she really didn’t have anything fancy. Her government job paid well enough for her to be comfortable, and that was good for her.

But as she pulled into the driveway and cast yet another semi-worried glance at her passenger, Kara was glad she lived in the center of her street. It was metaphorical, almost; symbolic of how she wanted her home to be the center of her existence, because home meant love. Safety. Security. Home meant a relationship.

… Whenever she got one, that is.

She’d been ready for a while, Kara mused to herself as she put the car in park in front of the garage. Her bed, for one thing, was huge, king-sized. Too much of the time she felt small, terribly lonely, sleeping in it herself, but she knew one day she’d be curled up in the middle with her arms tucked around someone who needed her. Of course, the two metal rings at the top of the headboard gave her other thoughts. So did the things tucked away in the bottom drawer, or hung in the closet. She’d gotten couple of them for her sixteenth birthday – which would’ve been embarrassing if it hadn’t been the way their society worked. In fact, a person’s sixteenth birthday was about more than just celebrating. It was a week-long rite of passage, in which Kara had been submissive to a Dominant friend of her fathers. It was designed with the idea that to be an effective, caring Dominant, you must first learn what it is like to be submissive. There were strict rules in place to guarantee her safety, but Kara had been a sub for all intents and purposes, and had been punished for a misstep. She’d hated that part, of course, but it was necessary. She was Dominant, but she needed to know how “the other side lived,” so that she would never, ever abuse the gift she could eventually be given.

And now, looking across at Y/N sat in her passenger seat, with her hands folded tightly around the papers in her lap – instructions to bring her back to the Home three times that week for her physical and emotional therapy – Kara felt the tears rush to her eyes, remembering. It’d been painful enough, that ten minutes of punishment when she was a teenager. She could imagine what it had been like for Y/N, every day…She pushed that thought aside and reached out to lay her hand on top of Y/N’s. She was trembling. Kara squeezed gently. “Ready?” she queried softly.

She didn’t know why she was so nervous. She knew why Y/N would be, of course, but Kara kept telling herself that it was a visit. It was just a visit, and she needn’t worry about anything. But that wasn’t entirely true. It had taken another week for the Council to get the paperwork completed for Y/N’s visit; a week of Kara spending every available moment at the House watching and spending time with Y/N. Physical therapy had become a little easier; Brainy was nice and though Y/N was still tense and scared around him, Kara was always there. In the back of her mind was always the fact that she’d called Y/N “my good girl,” but Y/N hadn’t mentioned it and Kara wasn’t in any hurry to.

Y/N wasn’t hers. Kara had no claim to her, wasn’t thinking of making a claim on her. Though she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t had at least one dream, in which she came home to find Y/N naked and kneeling at the door, waiting for her. But Y/N wasn’t hers, so there should be no reason for Kara to be so worried about their visit. But she was.

What if Y/N didn’t like it? What if she didn’t like Theo, even if Theo loved her because he was a baby and loved everyone? Kara knew Y/N was becoming more confident in her interactions with her, and they’d dropped the “Green, yellow, red?” questions for more mundane things, but what if Y/N didn’t like something and refused to tell her? What if Kara somehow overstepped her bounds and tried to dominate Y/N without a claim? She’d never do that, Kara knew, but still, her house, her rules…

“Ready,” Y/N said next to her, and Kara’s gaze snapped back to the girl. She was staring up at the house, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. Kara quickly recalled one of the lessons she’d learned during that day on her knees years ago. She’d been scared, to the point of almost being sick, and the Dominant had sat in a chair with Kara gagged and bound at her feet, talking softly to her and stroking her hair. Just by her gentleness, when Kara had been expecting much less, Miss had made her point quite clear.

If you’re not strong when she needs you to be, she’ll never feel safe.

She squeezed Y/N’s hand again. “Good,” she said, her voice steady as she pushed open the car door with her other hand. In seconds she was at Y/N’s side. “Chair, or do you think you’d like to walk?” Y/N’s therapy had made her legs stronger, and though she was still weak on her feet she was making enough progress that Brainy had confessed to Kara that he’d never seen anything like it.

Kara had beamed with pride, and her smile only grew larger when Y/N had flushed pink and ducked her head, her eyes lowering.

“I think I can do it.”

“Walk it is, then,” Kara said, taking the papers from Y/N and tucking them into her pocket. Reaching out she took Y/N’s hands in hers. “Legs out of the car, easy now.” Y/N shifted, concentration on her face until both feet were on the ground. Kara smiled. “You’re getting so good at this,” she said. “Soon you’ll be better than me!”

Y/N shook her head, her voice low as she said, “I could never be better than you, Miss Kara.”

Kara wasn’t sure how to take that. To someone who didn’t know Y/N, it could be taken as devotion, as a compliment, as Y/N saying that she appreciated all that Kara had done for her and maybe all that she would do, during their week together at Kara’s house.

But it was what would come after that week that had Kara second-guessing what Y/N said. She knew that when their week was up, Y/N would go back to Overland House to continue her rehabilitation. And though the psychiatrist wouldn’t tell Kara what was divulged in their confidential sessions, Kara didn’t need the psychiatrist to know Y/N’s opinion of herself. It was in the way she carried herself, the way she moved, cautious while always glancing at the person with her – whether Nia or Brainy or Kara. She’d had her ability to walk taken away from her, and yet from the time she was sixteen years old, Y/N had never viewed herself as on equal footing – with anyone. No matter who came into contact with her, Kara knew Y/N would view them as better than she was.

She tugged gently, carefully, until Y/N was standing next to her, and Kara slipped her arm around Y/N’s waist. “There we go,” she said. “Good girl. Let’s go meet Theo, shall we?”

Damn, she thought as she and Y/N approached the front door of her home, she’d forgotten the steps. Three little steps that were so insignificant to Kara, as she took them every day without thinking. But she saw the concern in Y/N’s eyes, and suddenly the steps loomed like mountains as the two women stood at the base.

Kara took a deep breath, and her arm tightened around Y/N’s waist. “One at a time,” she said firmly. “You can do this.”

“I-I don’t know if-“

“I do.” Kara turned her head and met Y/N’s eyes. “Three steps. Just three steps, and I’m right here. I’ll help you, and you’re going to do this. And-“ she said, seeing Y/N opening her mouth again as if to protest, “I won’t let you fall.”

Y/N hesitated, staring at Kara, and then nodded. With Kara stood next to her, her arm firm around the girl, she lifted her foot awkwardly, and in seconds was on the first step.

Kara stepped up beside her, the grin nearly splitting her mouth. “Only two more to go,” she said. “I’m so proud of you.”

It seemed to Kara that with those words Y/N grew a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, and it was no time at all before they were on the porch, the front door was opening – and Y/N was rocked backwards by a mass of fuzzy, wiggling, barking madness.

“Theo!” Kara said in exasperation as she struggled to both hold him off and hold Y/N up. “Get back, get back, you crazy animal. Theo, back!”

But then there was a sound, something that made Kara’s hand fall away from Theo and her mouth drop open in shock. She watched as Theo stood on his hind legs, his tongue happily licking away at Y/N’s face, and her ears were full of the sound.

Y/N’s laughter.

It rumbled out of her, low and uncertain at first, but Theo was a force to be reckoned with and soon Y/N’s laughter was all high-pitched and breathless little girl squeals as she both tried to get away from him and met his affections eagerly. Kara wanted to stay in that spot forever, just watching as Y/N’s hazel eyes lost that… lostness, and took on a sparkle, a happiness that for a split second made Kara jealous of a dog. But Y/N’s footing wavered, and Kara seized Theo’s collar with a firm hand.

“All right, all right,” she said, pulling him off Y/N and setting him at her knee with a pat to his head, “Good grief, Theo, you’d think we’d been gone for days – and you’ve never even met Y/N!” She smiled at Y/N. “I told you he’d love you.”

“I love him already,” Y/N said, still smiling, and Kara felt a particular ache in her stomach that she hadn’t before. It was an ache that told her she’d be willing to do anything if that smile would stay on her face.

And that… that probably wasn’t a good thing to be feeling about someone that wasn’t yours.

“Come on, you two,” she said. She released Theo and he quickly bounded into the house, stopping to glance back to see if they were following. She squeezed Y/N’s waist tighter.

“Let’s go inside.”

The front door led into Kara’s living room, a spacious area in a calm blue, with a soft couch, two comfortable armchairs, a television and stereo in the center of the floor. Dotting the walls were two Broadway posters, pictures of Kara with her parents, pictures of Alex and Maggie, and probably far too many of Theo. Y/N’s eyes were darting this way and that, taking it all, trying to see into the kitchen on the right side. Kara smiled a little.

“You’ve done a good job walking,” she said. “And now it’s time for you to rest.” She led Y/N over to the couch. “Sit down.”

Y/N stared, but made no move. Kara tilted her head. “Y/N?”

“S-sit?”

“Yes?” Kara said, confused. “Sit down.”

“On the couch?”

“Well where else would you sit?”

She realized that was the wrong question the minute she felt Y/N tense, and the girl’s head dropped, her gaze landing on the floor. Instantly Kara understood.

“You’re used to being on the floor.”

“Not sitting.”

“Kneeling.”

She nodded.

“For how long?”

Y/N didn’t answer. Kara sighed and, as carefully as she could, gently pushed and lowered Y/N onto the couch.

“In my house,” she said, as quietly and carefully as possible, “My guests, who are not claimed, sit. On the sofa, at the kitchen table, on the bed. Especially guests who don’t need to be kneeling for long periods of ti-“

“Sixteen hours.”

Kara stopped. “What?”

Y/N wasn’t looking at her. Kara had begun to recognize that expression that told her Y/N had gone off somewhere in her mind, the cloudiness in her eyes that let her know Y/N was reliving something. Kara waited quietly for her to come back.

“I’d upset Si- him. He’d been watching TV, and I asked for permission to use the bathroom. When I came back he made me kneel and told me not to move. He went to bed. Next morning he got up, and left for work. Sir didn’t- He didn’t even look at me. And when he came back he-he seemed surprised to see me. He’d… forgotten I was there.”

Kara’s hands tightened into fists at her side, but she took a deep breath and flexed them. Leaning down slightly, she placed her hand on Y/N’s shoulder. Y/N’s eyes cleared, and she blinked at Kara. “Sit here,” Kara said. “I’m going to fix us some lunch.”

She knew Y/N hated being alone, but Kara had to get away from her, if only for a minute, because she knew the anger she was feeling right now at Y/N’s previous owner would only serve to scare her, and that’s the last thing Kara wanted to do.

“O-okay, Miss Kara,” Y/N stuttered a little. “Okay.”

She looked so different out of the House, Kara thought as she began to pull out pots and plates, ingredients to make lunch. Most of it was probably because the House-issued sweats were gone, and the simple yellow dress and cardigan Y/N wore made it look as if she was almost glowing. It was the only clothes Y/N had, and even those had been borrowed from another resident. She looked healthier, anyway, not as thin, and with a flush to her cheeks that Kara… really liked.

Maybe she’d take Y/N shopping tomorrow.

Kara peeked from the doorway of the kitchen and saw Y/N sitting stiffly on the couch, hands held tightly in her lap once again. Would she ever relax? She wondered.

“Y/N?” Kara called, and the girl’s head shot up and turned in her direction. Kara smiled encouragingly. “You can see me, right?”

“I… yes, Miss Kara.”

“Good. I’m right here.” She hesitated, and then added, “I’ll always be here.”

She could see Y/N watching her from the living room; she nodded. “Thank you, Miss Kara.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Kara could see her body already relaxing. She smiled to herself, and quickly began to get lunch together.

A half an hour later, she snatched up two plates of pasta and two glasses of water balanced on a tray and began to make her way to the living room. She stopped short in the doorway, and her eyes widened. There, curled up on the end of the couch asleep, was Y/N. Theo was draped across her lap, also asleep, and her hand was resting, relaxed and comfortable, on his head. Kara really wished she had a camera, but she supposed Y/N wouldn’t take well to that.

Crossing the floor, Kara set the tray down on the coffee table and nudged Theo with her hand. “C’mon, big boy, your new friend needs to eat lunch.”

Immediately Y/N sat up with a gasp; Theo jumped off and padded over to flop down on his mat that Kara always kept in the living room. Y/N’s face was frantic, and that old sinking feeling came back to Kara’s gut.

“I-I didn’t mean to fall asleep, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, I-I’ve just been tired and w-walking and but that’s not an excuse, Miss Kara, I’m so sor-“

“Y/N!” Kara interrupted, sitting down next to the girl. She dared to reach out and put her hand firmly on Y/N’s knee; Y/N flinched and jerked away, drawing herself as far into the arm of the couch as she could. Kara swore under her breath and quickly held up her hands, palms out towards Y/N.

“It’s all right,” she said, as softly as she could. “I’m not mad, it’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you. I brought your lunch, are you hungry?” Y/N stared at her with wide eyes, and then nodded. Kara reached down to grab one of the plates, then held it up and out towards Y/N.

“I hope you like pasta. I’m not angry at you, Y/N, I want you to rest. But I want you to eat as well. All right?”

Once again there was hesitation before Y/N took the plate. “Thank you, Miss Kara. I’m sorry.”

“Y/N,” Kara shook her head and tried to choose her words carefully. “I’m not your Dominant. You don’t have to apologize to me for falling asleep, for talking; you don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m not going to punish you. I don’t have the right to, because I’m not your Dominant.”

Her position with the government, as well as her training as Dominant, meant that the rights of submissives had been drilled into Kara’s brain from the time she was a teenager. Legally, both parties in a relationship – the Dominant and the submissive – had the same rights: the right to food; the right to shelter; the right to health; the right to not be abused, among other things. But morally and in terms of society, Kara knew, the submissive was often given rights that were much, much less. Cases against Dominants were rarely prosecuted, and if they were, punishments weren’t very stiff, or in some cases, weren’t given at all. Many cases had been dismissed outright. In recent years, though, National City had been struggling to change that. If a submissive brought a case against his or her Dominant they could be assured that the charges would be investigated thoroughly.

Maybe she’d have to bring that up to Y/N, at some point…

“What if I want you to be?”

Kara nearly choked on her dinner. She quickly took a swallow of water and stared at Y/N, who was picking at the food on her plate. “W-what?” she croaked.

Y/N wouldn’t look at her. “What if I want you to be my Dominant?” she asked. “I mean, that’s why you brought me here, isn’t it? To test me, see if I’m worthy?”

“Of course not!” Kara replied hotly, setting her plate down. She took a deep breath to calm down.

Where had Y/N gotten that idea? She wondered. She did guess that it was her fault; after all, she wasn’t a counselor or rehabilitator. She was just a government stooge, who had taken a more than passing interesting in a submissive recovering from a bad relationship. Kara felt sick, realizing how it must look. Y/N clearly thought Kara was going to take advantage of her. Alex had warned her about this, and she just hadn’t listened. She’d hear it from her later on in the week, when her and Maggie came over, she just knew it.

“Maybe I should just take you back,” Kara mused, half to herself. She looked at Y/N then away again, not able to bear the horrified look on the girl’s face.

“I don’t want to be your Dominant, Y/N. I can’t be. You’re at the house for a reason. Someone hurt you. Brutalized you. Broke you. And I might be a Dominant but the last thing I’m going to do is try to dominate someone who has been so utterly destroyed. Not before she’s built back up.”

“But you could build me back up-“

“By being your friend,” Kara said, smiling a little sadly. She reached out and brought her hand onto Y/N’s knee; this time, the other woman didn’t flinch away. Kara looked into her eyes. “I brought you here because I thought you might like a change from the House. I brought you here to take care of you… as a friend. That’s all, Y/N. Nothing more. I will not dominate you, I will not try to own you, and I will not try to claim you. I promise. You don’t need to be afraid of me.”

There was silence for the longest time, and then Y/N nodded and resumed eating her dinner. “I understand,” she said softly. “I know no one will want me like I am. It’s all right, Miss Kara.”

For the first time in her life, Kara Zor-El wanted to hit something. More accurately, she wanted to hit him. She wanted to find him, hit him, and make him pay for what he’d done to the meek, trembling, self-hating young girl that sat on the couch with her, eyes never leaving her plate while she took the smallest bites of her food. No doubt he’d said stuff about her weight, too, as Y/N put it back on the table, half-finished. Part of Kara wanted to scream that of course someone would want Y/N as she was, because she was beautiful. But there was the other part of Kara that didn’t want anyone else but her to want Y/N.

And that was not something she felt. Because she didn’t.

The rest of the day passed by in awkward near-silence. Kara tried to make small talk, but her guest only answered her with one or two words, or didn’t say anything at all. Y/N seemed ill at ease, nervous, but when Kara again mentioned that she’d maybe be happier back at Overland House, she turned almost hysterical, begging not to have to go back. So they ended up sat on the couch all night, watching Kara’s favorite trashy television shows (She had a particular affinity for Real Bratty Subs of Metropolis), and Kara made dinner again. Pizza this time, and she was surprised when Y/N let out a little moan at the first taste. Kara quirked an eyebrow and Y/N grinned a little, blushing and ducking her head.

It was so cute when she did that.

Kara felt herself getting tired when the clock approached midnight, and a glance to her left showed that Y/N was already halfway there again. Theo for his part was snuggled up at Y/N’s feet, snoring loudly. Kara smiled, and reached out to gently shake Y/N’s shoulder.

“Y/N,” she whispered. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Y/N whined and batted away Kara’s hand.

She laughed quietly to herself, and then tried again. “Bedtime now,” she said, a bit more firmly. “Come on, little one, let’s go.”

She felt every muscle in her body tense. It had slipped out so easily, so naturally… and then Y/N’s eyes opened. Kara prayed she hadn’t heard. She nodded sleepily.

“Bedtime.”

Y/N changed in the bathroom into the pajamas she had borrowed – they really needed to go shopping, Kara decided – and then stood holding onto the door, looking at Kara. She smiled and led Y/N to the room across from hers, the one reserved for guests.

Done in a light shade of purple, she’d made considerable effort to fix it up even nicer for Y/N’s impending visit. There were books on the nightstand, even if they were about musicals. She had no idea what Y/N liked to read; she’d need to find that out. She’d also put on the nightstand a pitcher of ice water, as well as a glass. Water had always helped her if she was feeling unsettled or sad, so she wondered if it would do the same for Y/N. The light was on in the guest bathroom, though she kept the door shut, in case Y/N didn’t like the dark. The bed was done up with the comfiest sheets and blankets (new and washed) that Kara could buy, and even a teddy bear rested against one of the three pillows against the headboard. Kara caught Y/N smiling widely at it, and inwardly she cheered. She’d gotten something right, for once.

“I’ll just be across the hall,” Kara said, as she helped Y/N into bed and tucked the covers around her. “If you need me, just call for me, and I’ll be here before you can even call again, all right?”

Y/N nodded. “Thank you, Miss Kara. Good night,” was all she said.

Kara pursed her lips, and nodded in return. “Good night, Y/N.”

Kara lay in bed for what seemed like hours, thinking about things. She couldn’t believe what she had called Y/N, especially after she’d made a point of telling her that no, she wasn’t intending to be her Dominant, and that she in fact didn’t want to. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Y/N’s recovery. She wanted the woman to be whole again, whether it was with someone or not. That’s all anyone should ever want, Kara kept telling herself.

But again she was trying to fight off the images that kept dancing her head, pictures of Y/N kneeling for her. Serving her. Kissing her, coming for her. Coaxing sighs and moans from her, feeling Y/N’s skin tremble and stretch under her striking hand.

No. No, she couldn’t think of that. She’d think of Broadway. Broadway and Barbra, all of her favorite shows. Cats. Les Miserables. Wicked. Y/N would make a good Glin- no!

Frustrated with herself, Kara threw the covers off and got out of bed. Maybe watching some television would distract her well enough. Y/N’s door was open; Kara glanced inside and stopped short. She’d been worried Y/N wouldn’t be able to rest well, being in a strange place, but it wasn’t Y/N sleeping that suddenly had Kara slowly, quietly walking into the room.

Because Y/N was fast asleep… curled up at the foot of the bed, against the bare mattress, her arm wrapped around the teddy bear. The pillows were still at the headboard, and the blankets had been pushed off into a pile on the floor. Had she been forced to sleep like this? Kara asked herself. At the foot of his bed, like a dog, with her hair splayed out in Y/H/C tendrils on the sheets. Did he say that she was lucky he let her sleep with him, instead of on the floor?

Or maybe he made her sleep on the floor…

The thought was too much for Kara. She sprang into action, as quietly as she could retrieving the blankets from where they lay. She draped one over Y/N, and then grabbed one of the pillows. Willing Y/N to stay asleep, to not wake up and discover her, Kara gently, carefully, easily lifted her head just enough to tuck one of the pillows under. Y/N murmured as her head touched the cotton and Kara stilled, her hands in midair, until soft sighs told her the girl was still dreaming.

She should go back to her own bed, she thought. She should… but she didn’t. Instead, Kara maneuvered herself onto the guest bed, seizing up another pillow and moving so that she was lying with her head at the footboard, close to Y/N’s. She pulled the thin blanket around herself; that would keep her warm enough for tonight, and her concern was only for Y/N’s comfort, anyway.

Kara breathed out slowly and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of Y/N’s own breathing. Almost of its own volition, Kara’s right hand snuck out from under the blanket and crept forward until it covered over Y/N’s.

She’d keep her safe. If she was her Dominant, she could make sure she was always safe…

But she couldn’t be. Y/N wasn’t ready. And neither was she. She didn’t know if she’d ever be ready. That was the last thought Kara had as she drifted off to sleep.

Hours later the sun began to creep over the Lima horizon, its rays shining into the window of the guest bedroom and causing Y/N to open her eyes sleepily. For a moment she panicked; the bed and room she was in was unfamiliar. But her hand was curiously warm, and as she looked, she realized that she was in Kara’s house, and Kara had come into her room. Y/N distinctly remembered falling asleep at the foot of the bed. It was what she was used to. Well, no, she was used to sleeping on the floor, but she knew Kara wouldn’t want her anywhere but the bed. So she’d compromised by sleeping at the foot, without anything comforting – except the teddy bear. She was still there, but now she was warm and comfortable, with Kara’s hand on hers.

Carefully, Y/N turned her hand over, and locked her fingers with Kara’s. She watched Kara’s face, watched a dreamy smile spread, but she didn’t awaken.

It was still early, judging by the clock on the wall. She didn’t have to get up to make breakfast or “service” her Sir. She didn’t have to kneel at his feet and accept his slaps on her face, or lean against the wall and take the lash until she cried.

All she had to do, she realized, was sleep. Sleep, with Kara’s hand in hers.

“Little one is glad you’re here,” Y/N whispered, and closed her eyes.

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