#also there's one world with a movie crew stuck on the moon that i thought was super interesting

[libraryleopard]

Adult science fiction standalone novel

In near-future America, struggling documentary filmmaker Hayes Figuerido learns that an alternate version of himself from a parallel universe created the Envisioner, a device that can predict the future, and sent it to his reality

When he joins a team of scientists studying the Envisioner, Hayes meets physicist Yusuf and learns the two of them are married in another universe and finds himself falling for Yusuf in this one

As Hayes learns more about the multiverse, however, it becomes clear that while their lives are inextricably linked, their story often ends in tragedy and saving Yusuf could risk the univerise

Explores multiverse theory and questions of how far you will go to save the one you love

Gay main character with depression; Egyptian, Muslim love interest; M/M romance; aromantic asexual Japanese side character

[coolchevistianofficialsite]

What are your thoughts on Disney TVA's upcoming lineup (Primos, Zombies The Re-Animated Series, StuGo, Cookies & Milk, Rhona Who Lives By The River, Sam Witch, Dog & Frog, SuperStar, The Witchverse, InterCats, Fantasy Sports, Neon Galaxy, La Familia Avenunes, Journey and the Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin reboots by Seth Rogen?

1- Primos

Mira mijo para mí toda la polémica estuvo bien pendeja, ya que todo el crew del show fue puesto en el mismo saco de boxeo por las declaraciones de Myrna Velasco, como persona que conoce a Natasha Kline desde su trabajo en Big City Greens te puedo asegurar por Dieguito Maradona que no es un demonio como otras personas en el internet la están poniendo.

El show NO es sobre la cultura mexicana es sobre la cultura chicana en Los Angeles y como persona que se vio el piloto filtrado antes de que un chistosito lo subiera para crear bardo te digo que es lo mas harmless y inocentón del mundo, los que se están quejando son gente que solo lo hace para crear ragebait y farmear vistas.

2- Zombies The Re-Animated Series

Not really my thing since the movies where "eh" for me but those days i was sick, so i recall the songs, happy for Aliki and the team tho, probably will watch it when i rewatch the films.

3- StuGo

Really interested for this one specially since this one is slated to be Disney TVA's 100th Series, so im curious if Disney will have some kind of event planned besides that, the synopsis is interesting also this show had multiple people of Jellystone! and the crew from the axed CN movie Driftwood on board, so i think it will be interesting as the show saved this people from being jobless.

Just realized that is called "STUGO" beacuse they are STUdents stuck three months on a wild tropical island, so they need to "GO".

Heh. It's like a pun or something. Heheh.

4 - Cookies & Milk

Apparently this is the second project from the Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur EPs, i wonder how will they handle a down to earth slice of life series, imagine if they hire Flying Bark again becoming their first slice of life project with the Rise/LEGO/MGADD animation lol

5- Rhona Who Lives By The River

I like how the concept art has a Cartoon Saloon vibe and wondering how will translate to stop-motion which is interesting, i like Karen Gillian for her role as Nebula on GOTG trilogy, what i wonder is how Disney will handle the show with the Elfman scandal, will they quietly drop it without any mention of Elfman like MAX did with Fired on Mars EP or finding a new composer for Season 2.

6- The Witchverse

I played the VR short recently and OMG is so cute and adorable, the world they created has a big potential for multiple storylines, hoping S1 is more focused on Magda, Sasha (Yeah they have to change her name) and her mother, their relationship was so adorable, hope Daisy Ridley returns for the full series.

7- InterCats

Apparently this will be Disney's first workplace comedy series for YA audiences and it sounds cute, apparently is co-created by one of the Nimona screenwritters Pamela Ribon, so that's a plus.

8- Fantasy Sports

Super looking forward to this one, i loved the original novels and hoping Disney makes justice to Sam Bosma's world and characters, i can see Wiz and Mug becoming perfect additions to crosspromotion events at ESPN.

9- SuperStar

BTW just like to mention that i named it SuperStar as a placeholder title, the show dosn't have a name as of yet, based on the cast call we can see that Alejandra is latina so maybe it's a mixture between MGADD and Hannah Montana, wonder which person created the show.

10.- Journey

Since we don't know it's creator is very hard to tell what to expect BUT the synopsis is interesting kinda a awnser to LEGEND OF VOX MACHIMA but more family friendly, im wonder if this is the project created by Amy Hudkins, Ian Mutchler and Jonathon Wallach since they like Dungeons and Dragons, Legend Of Zelda and Magic The Gathering.

11- La Familia Avenúñez

It's a spin-off of The Proud Family Louder And Prouder with a latino cast pues suena chido la vdd, esperemos que cuando se anuncie no ocurra lo mismo que Primos.

12 - Dog And Frog, Neon Galaxy, Sam Witch

They don't have creator or synopsis as of yet besides a title revealed via a trademark, so it's hard to give overall thoughts

13- Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin Reboots

After TMNT Mutant Mayhem, The Boys, The Boys Diabolical and Invincible im confident that Rogen's team will do Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin justice and wishing good luck to the crew behind them.

[storygirl000]

ML Fic: Never Had A Friend Like Me

Summary: Lila’s making good on her promise, and Marinette is finding herself increasingly isolated from the class. At least she still has her best friend by her side.

Ao3 link here.

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A/N: So guess who’s sick of Alya and Nino getting the short end of the stick in salt fics?

Seriously, guys. “Chameleon” was a poorly-written episode in regards to every character it featured, but everyone still treats it like it’s the final word on what Alya and Nino are like. All I want is ONE salt fic where they actually support Marinette throughout Lila’s reign of terror.

And then I thought, “Well, if you want something done right...”

So enjoy this rare pro-Alya salt fic!

00000

The day after Lila had threatened her in front of the school, Marinette opened the bakery door to find Alya there, tears streaming down her face.

Marinette brought her inside, asking her what had happened, and listened intently as her friend poured her heart out to her. In a way, she wasn’t that surprised by what she heard.

Apparently, Alya had finally thought to do some research on Lila, and (naturally) had discovered that all of her claims of meeting various celebrities were false. This had led to her deleting Lila’s interview from the Ladyblog, posting a lengthy apology to her readers, calling Nino (who had been equally horrified by the revelation), and concluding that she was an irredeemably horrible person who didn’t deserve the friendship of someone she threw under the bus for a stranger.

Touched, Marinette told her that she forgave her, and that they could still be friends as long as she’d truly learned her lesson. Alya accepted that, and the two of them spent the rest of the day eating cookies and discussing various things.

Like how they were going to break this to the rest of their classmates.

00000

Four weeks after Lila’s threat, school had become more difficult.

On the upside, most of the class accepted the evidence Alya had provided and cut ties with Lila. And as it turned out, several of them were close to discovering the truth themselves beforehand.

On the downside, Lila still had several members of the class (Kim, Max, Ivan, Mylene) and several teachers under her thumb. And Ms. Bustier’s “set a good example” policy meant that if any of them tried to argue with Lila or question her authority, they’d get punished.

And frustratingly enough, Adrien still stuck by his original mindset. No matter how many times the others tried to convince him, he kept insisting that Lila wasn’t doing any harm and that they were in  the wrong.

Needless to say, his friendship with Nino and Marinette’s crush on him disappeared.

But, for all the friends they lost, they gained some new ones. Aurore and Mireille became a part of Marinette’s inner circle after she designed some outfits for them. Nathaniel and Juleka brought in Marc and Luka, respectively. Kagami joined them as well, slowly being eased into the idea of having friends. And – most surprisingly – Chloe and Sabrina joined them, both having long seen through Lila’s facade. While there were still the occasional clashes, Chloe’s relationship with most of the group soon became a vitriolic friendship (and maybe a little more with Kagami, though she wouldn’t admit it for a long time).

Alya was confident they could make it through Lila’s reign.

00000

Two years after Lila’s threat, Alya discovered that her best friend was Ladybug.

Hawk Moth and Mayura’s attacks had only gotten harder to deal with over the years, and it didn’t help that Chat Noir had become a horrible hero, refusing to help out unless Ladybug gave in to his increasingly unwanted advances.

The heroine needed some permanent help. Someone she could turn to when the times got tough, someone she could trust with her secret identity. Someone who could help when Chat Noir refused to.

She chose Alya and Nino.

Now, Rena Rouge and Carapace regularly joined Ladybug on patrols, helping her fight akumas and sentimonsters. The Ladyblog quickly received a boost in popularity, thanks to the increasingly common interviews with the heroes themselves.

As the time passed, more and more heroes would come and go – the indomitable trio of Queen Bee, Ryuko, and Good Girl, the brother-sister-sister’s girlfriend team of Viperion, Tigress, and the Pink Princess, the genre-savvy Gallus and Chevre Blanc, the crowd-pleasing Cloudjumper and Souris, and the ever-mysterious time-traveller Bunnyx – but the core trio of Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace remained.

Chat Noir’s popularity dropped like a stone. Alya made sure of it.

00000

Six years after Lila’s threat, Marinette finally launched her brand.

With the help of a website designed by Alya and positive word of mouth thanks to Jagged Stone, MDC Designs quickly grew in popularity. Soon, celebrities across the world – ranging from the children of the popular businessman Bruce Wayne to singers like Clara Nightingale and Austin Moon – all wanted an MDC Original in their closets.

Eventually, Gabriel Agreste himself reached out to her and asked to do a business partnership. Not only did she refuse, she went on to do an interview detailing exactly how badly Gabriel’s heir and his girlfriend treated her in high school.

Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi became the biggest punchlines in the entertainment business since Lindsay Lohan. Marinette, meanwhile, met the love of her life doing a commission for the president of Okumura Foods, who introduced her to one of her close friends.

All in all, Alya figured they were doing well for themselves.

00000

Eight years after Lila’s threat, Chat Noir lost his Miraculous on live television.

From what Alya could piece together, Chat had seen Marinette and Ren interacting while the former was in-costume. Naturally, the entitled brat had decided to seek out Ren and threaten him, all while spouting his beliefs that Ladybug was destined for him.

Hawk Moth promptly took advantage of Ren’s anger, creating one of the most powerful akumas the team had ever fought.

The akuma had immediately gone for Chat, stripping him of his ring in front of a live news crew and revealing to the world that he was none other than Adrien Agreste. He then verbally tore into the former golden boy, revealing every horrible thing he’d done as both a model and as Chat Noir.

The team managed to purify the akuma and rescue Ren, but Adrien escaped in the struggle and disappeared. Not that it mattered; they had the Cat Miraculous back, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to misuse it anymore.

Five days later, the public was introduced to Kuro Neko.

Two days after that, Hawk Moth publicly announced his and Mayura’s retirement from supervillainy.

One week after that, Monarch and Pavone Cristallo took their place.

Life went on.

00000

Ten years after Lila’s threat, Alya was in Los Angeles, watching the Oscars live.

Marinette had been nominated for Best Costume Design for her work on a movie that had been nominated for several other awards, and she had invited Alya, Nino, and Ren to come with her to the ceremony. Naturally, they’d accepted.

As the various announcements and performances went on, Alya thought over what the past ten years had been like for her and her classmates.

Rose and Juleka had gotten married practically as soon as high school was over, and their wedding had been a gothic fairytale straight out of a Grimm Brothers book. Juleka eventually became one of Marinette’s top models, while Rose became a teacher, striving to be better than the one she had in high school.

Marc and Nathaniel had started publishing their Mightillustrator and Reverser comics, which soon became popular for their positive portrayal of a gay couple and the general lack of angst most superhero comics at the time had. A movie adaptation was currently in the works.

Chloe had taken over her father’s hotel business, and was still doing her best to become a better person with the help of Kagami (her girlfriend, now a world-class fencer) and Sabrina (now a politician on the campaign trail). She also modeled for Marinette on occasion.

Luka was currently on tour as one-half of the musical duo Fangs, alongside his fiance (a lovely girl named Avril that Alya was, regrettably, not well-acquainted with). Their wedding was scheduled for next year, and everyone was dying with anticipation.

Aurore and Mireille had also gotten married, and both had become regular models in Marinette’s lineup. Aurore had also gotten a job as TVi’s weather girl, and Mireille was the new host of KIDZ+.

Alix had become a popular street artist, with her art regularly being featured in Parisian museums. She’d also taken over as Collège François Dupont’s new art teacher after Mr. Haberkorn’s retirement, which kept her in regular contact with Rose and Juleka.

The ones who had followed Lila’s word to the letter back in high school eventually managed to break free from her influence, though they knew nothing would ever be the same between them and the rest of the class. Kim and Ondine had gotten married, and they now worked as coaches in the same school as Rose and Alix. Max had managed to get a job as a scientist for a major computer company, and worked hard on various projects. Mylene and Ivan had also gotten married, the former becoming an actress on a popular TV show.

Lila and Adrien had both opted to stay out of the public eye after all the scandals they’d been a part of. Alya had no idea what they were up to these days, which was probably for the best.

And Alya herself? She was quickly climbing through the ranks as a journalist, and the Ladyblog was as popular as ever. She and Nino had finally tied the knot last year; he’d become a successful DJ, and was recently breaking into directing, with Nath and Marc’s film being his first job.

Her musings were interrupted by a cry of joy coming from her right.The winner of Best Costume Design had finally been announced.

As Alya watched, Marinette walked up to the stage to accept her award, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. Everyone in the hall started applauding her – Alya, Nino, and Ren doing so the loudest.

She took the statuette, cradling it in her hands, and started on the speech she’d been rehearsing before they’d gotten here.

“The first person I want to dedicate this to is the person who’s stuck by me all these years, through thick and thin,” she said. “My best friend, Alya.”

Alya felt Nino’s hand on her shoulder, and she smiled.

They made it. Together.

[karajaynetoday]

ours, for the rest of forever | ashton irwin

Hello friends! Here is a godparent!Ash one shot, based on this blurb about being godparents with Ashton and also inspired in part by that scene in Season 5 of One Tree Hill when Brooke is randomly looking after a baby but has to also finish fashion sketches so Lucas comes to her rescue with babysitting and it is overall very soft and cute. You know the one! Lol. 

A very big thank you to Jex @sadistmichael​ , Anna @cheekysos​ , Jae @jae-writes-fanfiction​ and Hailey @talkfastromance4​ for proof-reading and providing feedback on this when it was in its draft stages. You’re all absolute gems! 

Anyway, enjoy the softness and as always, please let me know what you think! I’ve got some thoughts for a potential part 2, so we’ll wait and see how part 1 goes :)

(This is a fem reader insert)

Word count: 3.3k words

Warnings: none

More writing here | send feedback/thoughts/suggestions here

When your best friend Alice told you she was having a baby, you were over the moon. She was honestly one of the most kind-hearted people you knew, and the amount of love in her heart for others would only bloom more for a little baby to hold and cherish. Her partner James had been by Alice’s side since your university days, and their relationship was one that was literally #goals. They’d moved over to Los Angeles because James had an opportunity to work at an indie creative agency working with music artists, and when you followed a year or so later to pursue a consulting job, they’d welcomed you with open arms into the little community they’d formed of Australian ex-pats, LA creatives and generally good quality, salt of the earth people. 

In the early days, there were lots of late nights (that became early mornings) running amok in West Hollywood, going from one house party to the next, but as you grew older, it became more likely to be a quiet Sunday sesh in someone’s backyard, with a barbeque cooking and someone playing their favourite tunes on a portable speaker while you floated in the swimming pool or lounged about on the grass with everyone’s various pets in attendance. When you met Ashton, he was drumming shirtless at his own house party, and then doing shots with James and their friend Calum. You were more than a little intimidated, although he had a kind face and welcoming nature, Ashton was forthcoming his opinions. On the other hand, you were always more reserved, and it took you  time to feel like you belonged with their crazy crew of friends. One night, you and Ashton ended up alone in the kitchen sharing some chicken nuggets and potato gems tater tots after a wild night on the house part dancefloor, and from there you could feel a solid friendship starting to take hold. 

A few months after Alice and James told you they were expecting, they’d invited you and Ashton out to brunch at one of your favourite spots. It was a little hole-in-the-wall café in Studio City that you’d first come to after Ashton wouldn’t stop raving about how good their iced coffees were. You all ordered your favourites (avocado smash with a side of smoked salmon and a hash brown for you, raspberry hotcakes for Alice, a breakfast burger for James, and pulled pork eggs benedict with a side of halloumi for Ashton) and were chatting away about your weeks at work when Alice reached down and pulled two envelopes out of her tote bag and handed on to you and one to Ashton. You took them, looking confusedly at Alice and James, who had big goofy smiles on their faces.

“Well, go on! Open them!” Alice half-shouted excitedly, squeezing James’ hand on top of the table. You and Ashton glanced at each other, perplexed, before tearing open the envelopes and finding a card inside. Yours read, “Will you be my godmother?” in gold writing on the front, and inside was an ultrasound photo with a handwritten note from Alice that made you tear up when you started reading it. You could see in your peripheral vision that Ash had a corresponding card in his envelope too, and he was standing up to give James and Alice a hug with an enthusiastic “Fuck YES! Of course I will!” that garnered some disapproving looks from the middle-aged women sitting near you. You held it together just enough to stand up and exchange hugs and choke out a “Y-y-yes” to Alice and James, before basically bursting into full blown tears of happiness and apologising profusely as your brunch was delivered to the table. As you wiped away your tears and managed to begin eating your avocado smash, you felt Ashton squeeze your hand reassuringly under the table, and when you glanced towards him he was grinning at you with a smile that was as bright as a thousand suns. 

It was a normal June day at the office a few months later when your phone pinged with a text from Alice in your group chat with her, James and Ashton that 

 read “It’s go-time. We’ll keep you updated!”. You replied with lots of exclamation points and crying emojis, and for Alice and James to let you know if they needed anything, and a few minutes later Ashton had penned a full paragraph about the beauty of the creation of life, how he knew that Alice and James would be incredible parents, and that he couldn’t wait to meet the little one once they made their way into the world. Ashton was frustratingly eloquent sometimes. Later that night, you received a photo message of a small, pink baby snuggled up on Alice’s chest, with James’ arm thrown around her shoulders, and the caption “Charlie Rose, ten fingers, ten toes. Come visit tomorrow, she can’t wait to meet you x” and you could barely sleep from the anticipation of meeting your darling goddaughter for the first time.

Ashton insisted on meeting you at the hospital so you could visit Alice, James and Charlie together (“Dude, we’re a godparent team here! A package deal! A dynamic duo! Can’t have you getting in there as the favourite from day one!”) and you’d never seen him more gentle or smitten than when the small, wriggly bundle of blankets that was Charlie Rose was placed in his arms. Ashton rocked her gently, kissing her head, and whispering to her about how incredible she was and how excited he was to see her grow. James was snapping away with his camera, and he asked you and Ash to stand together for a photo holding Charlie, which would later be stuck on your fridge for years to come (and possibly be your phone lockscreen, but no need to mention that to Ashton). 

Charlie was a tricky baby at first, resisting sleep and struggling with colic, but Alice and James were incredible and persistent and by the time she was 6 months old, they basically had the hang of this parenting thing. They didn’t want to christen Charlie in a church, but instead decided to hold one of your cherished backyard barbeques as a naming celebration for her. All of your nearest and dearest were there, and Alice’s mum had even flown in from Australia to meet her newest granddaughter. Despite it being an incredibly informal affair, Ashton insisted on making a speech about how he felt to be in Charlie’s life, to love and support her through every milestone and challenge she might encounter along the way. Charlie was happily gurgling in Ashton’s arms as he spoke, and she reached up to grab at his cheeks when he told her he loved her. Alice’s mum insisted on getting photos of everyone, including you and Ashton holding Charlie, and you tried to ignore the butterflies you felt when Ash slid his arm around your waist and pulled you into his side for a cosy photo pose. Were you actually starting to fall for him, or was it just the baby fever talking? Because damn, that man looked good with a baby in his arms.

When Charlie was almost 12 months old, Alice decided that she wanted to go back to work a few days a week. Charlie would be in childcare for most of the days, but you’d recently adopted a flexible working arrangement with your own office, and you insisted that you would love to look after Charlie for one day a week. The older Charlie got, the more adventurous she became, so what you’d originally envisioned as nice, quiet days of baking and craft activities and napping soon became full of visits to the playground and the beach and the zoo. Once Ashton heard about your regular babysitting day, he insisted on clearing his schedule as best he could, and joined the outings you and Charlie went on. It’s so much easier to cope with her boundless energy (and occasional temper tantrums) when you and Ash are together, and you have to admit it’s just as nice on the quieter days as well, when you snuggle in on your couch to watch a Disney movie, or do some puzzles with Charlie on the lounge room floor. 

When Ashton was back out on tour, he’d insist on FaceTiming with you and Charlie on your babysitting day so he didn’t miss out on all the fun. Sometimes he’d read her a story or sing her a lullaby before naptime, and sometimes the timezones wouldn’t work out and he’d end up calling during naptime, so the two of you just spent a little time catching up on each other’s lives from your opposite sides of the country or the planet. Ashton also loved collecting little souvenirs for Charlie on his touring travels, and your group chat with Alice and James was regularly filled with photos of snow globes or little soft mascot toys he’d found in one city or the next. It was so cute how excited Ashton got when he found a new souvenir for Charlie, and you couldn’t help but imagine how adorable he’d be when he had his own children and carried on little traditions like this for them too. 

One particular weekend, Alice and James were going away overnight to attend a friend’s wedding nearby, and despite their anxiety and nerves (and admittedly, your own), they decided to leave Charlie with you for the night as your house is the main one besides their own that she spends time in. They dropped Charlie off just after lunchtime, and after a teary goodbye, she’s soon happily playing with her toy cars and trains on the lounge room carpet (including making broom-broom noises, what a cutie) when you get an unexpected call from your boss. They’re rambling about a client needing an urgent rewrite on something that you’d submitted the previous day, a pretty sizeable project, and you could feel yourself starting to fill with dread at the idea of having to rework the entire thing while also keeping Charlie happy and entertained. After managing to jot down the gist of the rewrite on the back of a colouring in page you found on your coffee table and ending the call with your boss, you took a deep, calming breath before looking over to where Charlie was still playing on the floor. Sure, she looked content and adorable now, but nap time was fast approaching, and then dinner, and then eventually bedtime, and there was nothing Charlie liked more than stomping her feet and putting up a fight where sleep was involved. It was time to call for help, and your fingers found Ashton’s contact in your phone and hit “call” before you realised what you were doing.

“Hey, how’s it going with my favourite girl?” Ashton answered cheerily, and your heart stopped beating for a moment before you mentally face-palmed when you realised that he was talking about Charlie, not you, being his favourite girl.

“Hey Ash! All good so far, but um… I think I’m going to need some help. My boss is having a crisis, so I need to smash out some edits and new content in the next three hours, but Charlie’s due to go for a nap and you know that she -” You could feel yourself starting to sound more panicked with each word that you spoke, but Ashton quickly cut you off with his soothing voice.

“That she likes to pick a fight at nap time, yes. A truly assertive future world leader on our hands, I reckon. I’m just finishing up a demo, but I’ll be there in 20 minutes. I’ll sort dinner as well, spaghetti sound okay?” He mused, sounding as calm as ever.

“That… would be amazing. Thank you. You’re actually the best human to exist, you know that?” You gushed, feeling some of your anxiety immediately begin to disappear. 

Within half an hour, Ash was in your lounge room handling Charlie’s nap time negotiations while you were furiously typing away at your laptop at the kitchen counter and fielding more frantic phone calls from your boss. Another 20 minutes passed before Ash proclaimed victory as Charlie lost her battle against sleep, and he came to see you in the kitchen and make a start on dinner. You were so lost in your task that you didn’t hear him come in, and you jumped a mile out of your seat in fright when he gently touched your shoulder in greeting.

“Jesus christ, Ash! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” You huffed, taking your glasses off and rubbing your eyes in exhaustion. 

Ashton leaned on the counter opposite you and raised his eyebrows in concern. “Sorry love, didn’t realise you didn’t hear me come in. You good?” 

Damn it, why was he always so nice to you these days? Remember the days when you were scared of him because he used to argue with you about politics and the state of the world? Why did those seem somehow easier because fear was more natural to you than whatever this other feeling was that you were starting to have whenever Ashton was around you. 

You sighed and put your glasses back on, frowning briefly at the screen before hitting save one more time (just in case your bad luck took a turn and fucked you over with lost documents). 

“Yep. Sorry. It’s just been a bit of a day. Did Charlie go down okay?” You forced a smile as you glanced up at Ashton over the top of your laptop screen. 

“Yeah, she gave in once I offered another bedtime singalong. And maybe, juuuust maybe, I might have mentioned something about some sweets after dinner…” Ash looked at you guiltily, licking his lips nervously. You rolled your eyes and shook your head at him, but you couldn’t keep the small smile off your face.

Ashton got started on making spaghetti while you tapped away at your computer, and soon enough you heard Charlie calling out for Ashton in her little sing-song voice on the baby monitor you had set up on the kitchen counter (“Asht-aaaaa! Where are youuuuu! Asht-aaaaa!”). The spaghetti smelled incredible, and when Ashton brought Charlie into the kitchen from her nap and she’d had a little while to play a bit more, you settled at the kitchen table to tuck into some dinner. Well, Charlie was more interested in playing with her food than actually eating it, but yours was delicious and for the third or fourth time that day, you thanked Ash profusely for being such a gem (to which he just gave you one of those dazzling smiles in response).  

After dinner, Ashton took Charlie for a bath and read her a bedtime story while you powered through the final part of the project edits you needed to finish before your boss burst a blood vessel. You could hear Ashton reading to Charlie on the baby monitor, doing all of the different character voices, and her little giggles in response were both breaking and warming your heart. Warming it with the cuteness and how much you loved that little girl and her cheeky soul, and breaking it with the guilt about how it was supposed to be you snuggled up reading to her, but instead you were frantically typing about key messages, marketing strategies and budget lines. You were doing your last section of re-writes when Ash came back into the kitchen, and this time you didn’t jump when he gently placed his hands on your shoulders. In fact, you leaned into his touch, and moaned quietly in relief as his thumbs began to work into the tension in your muscles.

“How’s it going?” Ashton asked quietly, continuing to press his hands into your back and shoulders.

“Almost there. Mostly just proof-reading now, and then I can send it and not fucking think about it for another second until at least Monday. Ash, I’m so sorry again, I know this isn’t what you had in mind for your Friday night and I should’ve been more organised but I just didn’t think that -” You began to ramble, feeling the guilt wash over you.

“Hey, hey. Stop. It’s fine. We’re a team, remember? The dynamic duo? Gotta stick together. We’ve got a whole lifetime of dealing with Charlie meltdowns and milestones ahead of us, love. It’s our job and our blessing, for the rest of forever. Don’t feel guilty over one night.” Ashton said softly, squeezing your shoulders and pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. There were those butterflies again, and your skin was almost burning from where his hands had touched you. You simply nodded at his words, before returning to your laptop and the task at hand. Ashton stepped away and quietly began washing the dishes (honestly, is there anything this man didn’t do?) as you began typing again. 

Finally, about twenty minutes later, you hit send on the email to your boss with the completed rewrites, and shut your laptop with a deep sense satisfaction, letting out a triumphant whisper-yell, mindful of the sleeping child down the hallway from you. Ash looked up from where he was sat on the couch, scrolling on his phone, and rushed over to high-five you when he realised that you’d shut your laptop.

“Right. You go shower and I’ll put the kettle on, then it’s one episode of Sons of Anarchy and then off to bed with you.” Ash began, tugging you out of your seat and pushing you towards your bedroom before you could protest.

“Wait… how did you know I was watching Sons of Anarchy?!” You turned and asked, with one hand on the door to your bedroom.

“I was stalking through your Netflix earlier when you were lost in editing land. Plus, I know you can’t resist a charming male lead who has a killer smile and looks damn good in a leather jacket.” Ash chuckled, shooting you a wink and one of those goddamn smiles. 

You hated to admit it, but you felt so much better after your shower, and having Ash pull your feet up over his lap and absentmindedly run his hands softly across your legs from time to time wasn’t exactly bad either. You stuck to your promise of only one episode of Sons of Anarchy, and after pulling your groaning self up off the couch and jokingly half-carrying you to your bedroom door, Ashton bid you goodnight with a hug and a kiss to the forehead before disappearing into your guest room. 

As you settled into your own bed, alone, and pulled the blankets up over you, you couldn’t help but think how nice it was to have Ash so present with you and with Charlie, and how sweet it would be in the morning to wake up together in the same house and go for breakfast at your favourite little brunch spot down the street, before waiting for James and Alice to return in the early afternoon. It was all your own little family unit, and as you felt yourself being lulled into sleep, you also felt a deep sense of content in your heart about the loved ones in your life. And then also there were those butterflies, just slowly but surely making their presence known, and getting a little bigger every time you thought of Ashton, and how much he loved Charlie, and how much she loved him and you, and how much you loved them both.

Shit. Did you actually love him? Were you falling in love with Ashton Irwin? Before you could panic too much, the need for sleep won out, and you slept peacefully knowing two of your favourite people were also sleeping calmly in the rooms either side of you. 

More writing here | send feedback/thoughts/suggestions here

[raniiaaa]

walk me home

A gut feeling. That was what people who trusted themselves called the inner mechanism that helps them decide what’s right. You never had an inner compass telling you what to do. Actually, no, that's inaccurate. You had a compass, but its needle flitted wildly around, drawn to multiple unknown magnetic fields, leaving you to decipher which direction it stayed on for a millisecond longer. Nonetheless, you had this flawed sense of direction, but then he walked through that door for the first time. The effect was instantaneous. He was like neodymium, resolving your case of reversed polarity. 

The swanky party had progressed under the light of a surprisingly prominent New York full moon. Tinkling clinks of champagne glasses and gentle chatter played as a secondary soundtrack to a jazz quartet. As caterer staff, you needed to blend in with whatever wall you were positioned at. The table you were unofficially assigned to was taken care of right now, which meant you may be able to sneak out for a minute to just rest. The thought of it made your head loll slightly. This had been a long night and an unusual event. The attendees were the bigwigs of New York, which is saying a lot. There was a pre-event meeting where your boss outlined all the necessary procedures, your rush plan, and the times each of you would be cut. They didn’t need staff sitting around, which meant you could get out of these shoes soon and settle into your couch with some takeout and a movie on. You were just preparing for your last stretch when he arrived. 

...

You had been wondering who the empty seat at the table was for, which was now no longer a mystery. His entrance had been through a side entrance, not the elaborate front door like all the other party guests. Everything about how he carried himself led you to believe he was trying to draw the least amount of attention to himself. It wouldn’t be possible though, no one that beautiful could ever hide effectively. The spare glance he gave you when settling down in his chair held you in place, almost like it was his own arms pinning you to the wall you were backed up against. You quickly turned your head to face another direction, heat blooming at the apples of your cheeks. Just an hour and then you’d be gone. With the arrival of this stranger, you weren’t as excited to leave. 

...

Though consciously avoiding him for the rest of your time, your attention (and interest) didn’t turn away from him. You knew who he was, how could you not. The solemn eyes were more of a giveaway than the metal arm should have been, but there was so much about James Buchannan Barnes for you to notice. He was quiet, sipping on a glass of water and observing all the others. You had been wrong, this man could hide in a desert. 

You remained hyper-aware of him. 

It was your job to be attentive, you told yourself, that the business guests bring helps pay your salary. Yet there was no reason for you to observe the subtle way he leaned back in his chair, like putting space between him and others. Or the length of his lush eyelashes, how they frame that icy gaze. Said gaze flitted over you now, as you filled the glasses at his abandoned table. The glass in front of him was next, empty enough to require your attention. “Would you like some water sir?” your tone is cordial and removed, like a digital assistant’s pre recorded dialogue. He shakes his head, swirling the water in his glass carefully. You move to leave, but his voice stops you. “Why did you fill those other glasses?” his tone lacks any animosity, but you feel embarrassed nonetheless. You gape a little, prompting him to look away from the whirlpool in his glass and to you. His direct attention does not help with your answer at all. “It’s policy,” you say, an appeasing smile on your face. You want to tell him that you thought it was stupid too, even talked to your manager about it being a waste. Then one party guest complained about an empty water glass after coming back from the dance floor and you were back to seeing ridiculous amounts of water wasted. You couldn’t say any of this, though. Could you? Maybe, but you wanted this night to be a textbook one. You extracted yourself from the table, but there was a pull to stay. You defied it and left. 

 ...

He was here again, for another soiree with the rich and famous. You couldn’t tamp down the little flutter of excitement in your chest at the sight of him, chastising yourself for it immediately after. Adjusting your uniform ever so slightly, you set off to work another event, trying to ignore how your attention kept drawing itself to the northwest area of the lanai. 

...

The glass must have an optical illusion type design to it because there was much more bourbon in it than you thought. Or maybe you felt that way since it was running down your chest at the moment. The drunk party guest was nice at least, offering up an enthusiastic apology, swatting you with a tissue. Trying to extract their fondling hands graciously, you excused yourself and left.

 You rush to get a spare shirt from your locker and then go to the staff bathroom. The door was locked. Fuck, you need to get out of this shirt fast. Trying the guest bathrooms, you were actually thankful for the locked doors. Guessing from the noises coming through from the other side, the risqué situation wasn’t one you’d want to interrupt. That left one choice. 

...

Your hands fumbled, trying to extract yourself from your sodden prison. Stripping in a dark alleyway wasn’t something you expected to do tonight. Just when the fabric slipped from your shoulders, you heard a cough. Fuck.

You spun around to see. 

It was him. 

Double fuck. 

Your hands went to cover yourself. “I’m sorry.” you both say at the same time. He averts his eyes while you hurriedly pat yourself dry and put your shirt back on. “I wouldn’t have been here if I’d known it was the changing room.” he has a nervous smile on his face. The belated realization that he made a joke jolts you out of your frozen state. You sound a genuine laugh but it comes out strangled. Now it’s your turn to say something and you fall back on your previously assigned social roles. “Why are you back here Sir? We have a smoking room upstairs if you need a space for that,” you said, smoothing out the front of your uniform. Your hands slow as he stays silent, just looking at you. Are you imagining the way his eyes rove over your frame? Surely you must be. He looks up, sees how you’ve stilled and straightens up a bit. Shaking his head a bit, he nervously motions his hands in your general direction. “I’m sorry, it’s just that-” he pauses again, and you watch him with bated breath. “Your uniform isn’t on right.” Oh. 

Now you’re looking down at yourself in a frenzy, trying to right whatever mistake you made. He seems to take pity on you after a few minutes of not having located what it is. “I can,” he clears his throat, trying to rid it of the anxious growl it held, “Can I help you?” 

Your hands fall to your sides, a brief nod is all you can manage. He steps forward on the balls of his toes, like he anticipates you’ll run. The problem was in your collar, the back folded awkwardly within itself. You try not to think about how close he now is to you, enough that you can feel the heat radiating from him. Here you are, observing him again. Except you notice everything you couldn’t see from a distance. There’s a slight stubble across his chin and his eyelashes curl more than you thought. 

His nimble fingers fix it quickly, withdrawing from their previous position quickly. This action causes his hands to graze your neck. The sensitive skin there reacts, sending electric shocks all throughout your body and you jolt back. His reaction follows within the next few seconds. Before you can say anything, he’s already disappeared through a back door of some kind, into the sights and sounds of the crowd. 

...

You should have known not to carpool with Jack tonight. Unfortunately, he was the only one on the crew tonight who lived in your general vicinity. Also unfortunately, he got a salacious call from his girlfriend. Before you could even comprehend his words, you were dumped on the sidewalk. 

The night wasn’t ready to be over, it seemed. 

Following the bright blue line of the GPS on your phone, you began the trek to your home. Chilly air bit at your ears and you wished something warmer was between you and the elements. Hugging the thin jacket to yourself, your attention was tunnel visioned to the path directly in front of you. ‘Right, left. right, left’ you repeated, hoping this rhythm would get you through the 45 minute walk that lay ahead of you. Having just acclimated to your situation, something collided with you. Pushed to the ground, your heart didn’t have time to race before you were pulled upright again. The arms steadying you felt … familiar? Lo and behold, James Buchannan Barnes was before you, equally shocked to see your face. “Hello,” you said, rushing to get the words out before you lost the courage. Seeing him in the glitter of high profile parties while you worked was one thing, but running into a person of his stature out in the regular world was another thing. The suit he had been wearing a few hours before was now semi deconstructed. The top two buttons were undone, giving you just a hint of the skin beneath. His tie lay around his neck, the jacket (which you were sure was too expensive to be) slung behind his shoulder, hanging precariously from one finger. You tried not to stare at his forearms, exposed by how he rolled up his sleeves. You just ended up staring at his face then, which really wasn’t a good idea if not getting flustered was your goal. His eyes were now squarely on you, the heat your body was so deprived of earlier now beginning to grow in your chest. “I hadn’t been able to say this earlier, but thank you,” you began, trying to ignore the weight of his gaze. “I would have probably been stuck with my arms over my head trying to get out of that shirt if you hadn’t helped me. If I ever need to change again, I’ll call you.” What the fuck? It’s ok, you can ride it out if you don’t start rambling. 

There was silence for a few minutes, so obviously you started to ramble. 

“Not that I can’t take my clothes off myself, just that you might be better at it.” Bad. “Not that I want for you to take my clothes off,” that’s a lie, you do, “I mean that it’s definitely not your responsibility, that's what I meant you know. And that definitely doesn’t happen usually, it’s just cause the shirt was wet. But yeah, it’s my responsibility. And I’m sure you have much more important things to do…” Oh god.

“No problem.” he said, his voice just barely at an octave the human ear could comprehend. The previous silence fell back onto you both, your embarrassed gaze affixed on the ground. Decorum be damned, you were just going to turn around and start running away. While contemplating this, you felt something heavy rest itself around your shoulders. Lifting a hand to touch it, you felt silky fabric overlaid by wool. Looking up, you saw how close he was to you now, arms encasing your sides while laying the jacket onto you. After adjusting it to make sure it didn’t slip, he drew his arms back, slipping his hands into his pockets. His scent, which had intoxicated you the entire night, pervaded your senses. By reflex, you snuggled into fabric before realizing how it may look. “You were shivering.” he said.

 “I wasn’t planning on walking home tonight, so I didn’t layer up right,” you said after a brief pause. The tilt of his head prompted you to recount your night’s woes. After regaling him, his demeanor shifted. “ If you would allow me,” he said, “I would like to walk you home.” 

You tried not to look too shocked. Your night was veering into fiction. Then the truth of your situation hit you. New York at night was not kind to anyone, you had to have some kind of protection. What was better for the job than a fucking Avenger?! The words were caught in your throat for a few seconds, but you eventually managed to speak, “Yes I, uh, thank you. That would be - that would be great.” For the next few seconds, you both just stood. “Oh, right,” you had forgotten he didn’t know what direction to go. Neither did you, really, but google maps said northwards so that’s where you continued to go. 

Silence was right there beside you two, in the middle. You didn’t know how to cross that gorge, or if you even should. Then you remembered. 

“I tried to change the policy,” you said, before you could stop and consider your words. His steps faltered for only a second till returning to normal. That was too vague a statement, what were you thinking? “The water glasses, I mean.” He now paused for more than a second. “You remembered that?” he sounded puzzled. You couldn’t understand why he thought you wouldn’t. Did he really not know how memorable he was? “Of course, I had a lot more to say that I couldn’t get into.” He gave only a nod and you thought it was the end. “Why?” he said, clearing his throat as if to get the words out. “Why couldn’t you get into it?” 

You considered this, but eventually just shrugged. “I guess I’m quiet when working.” 

Silence threatened to fall back into place so you asked, “Do you like them? The parties?” 

It had always been something you were curious about, seeing as he had never participated in the fanfare and festivities of the numerous parties he attended. Not all of them were galas and fundraisers, some were your regular end of the week party for people rich enough to rent the building regularly. He would drift in with a few people (sometimes the faces you saw on billboards after they saved the city and sometimes others), stay with them for a little before they went to the dancefloor and he stayed at the table. Sometimes, he would get prompted to the dancefloor or into conversation with a beautiful woman. Still, there seemed to be a string drawing and holding him to the table. 

He remained quiet for a while, weighing his words like he was trying to find the right number of kilos to match his budget. When he spoke, you were shocked to hear how solemn it sounded

“I’m trying to find someone.” The longing was apparent in his voice. You had the distinct feeling that you were currently privy to something few people had ever even caught a glimpse of. You didn’t say anything, hoping to allow him the space he needed if any other words came out of hiding. 

He struggled with the following ones that did, “Before it all happened,” it was obvious what it all was, “I loved parties.” Clearing his throat, he probed further. “Seeing people and being seen, meeting others for the first time despite having been introduced last week, letting a few hours escape from a dull week.” He paused again, clearly struggling. There was something akin to wistfulness in his eyes, made glassy by past memories. “I’m trying to see if I can love them again, I guess.” He sighed and you tried not to pay too much attention to its musical quality, “It doesn’t seem to be coming back.” 

“Maybe that’s ok.” You don’t know if that’s the right thing to say. However, the pain he felt was so apparent in his words and you just wanted to alleviate it in any way possible. “Even if you don’t like parties now, are there new things you like?” you said. He paused to consider this. “I guess I read more.” he said with a slight chuckle. You grabbed the chance, “What books have you been reading?”

...

Along the way, your task to cheer him up dissolved and all that was left was a deep desire to get to know him better. You don’t know what prompted you to do it, whether insanity or pure genius, but you asked if he wanted to join your book club. 

To your surprise, he asked when the next meeting was.  

Your apartment building reared into view as you told him. With a nod, he escorted you to the wire gates leading to the central courtyard. “Oh, here.” you tried to shrug off his jacket, but his hands landed on your shoulders to stop you. “Keep it for now. You can return it during the next book club meeting.” Your shock at his acceptance of your invitation dissipated after seeing the mischievous smile on his face. “You don’t even know where it is.” you said, with mock exasperation. A sly smile lifting the corners of your mouth, you took out the pen from tonight’s shift. “Arm?” You said, motioning the drawing of the pen as you said it. He brought up the right one. The feel of his skin on yours was intoxicating and you tried to ignore the tension hanging in the air as you began to gently write the digits of your phone number. “Text me with this number and I’ll add you to our group chat,”. You both looked at each other, his arm still in your grasp long after you had finished. “I really hope to see you,” you said, before letting his arm drop and going inside. 

You, unfortunately, didn’t get to see the shy smile he walked with for the rest of the night.

[imagine-loki]

Giftless

TITLE: Giftless CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 8/50 AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: 

Imagine that you are Stark’s niece and you secretly share a strong relationship with Loki since he entered the crew. One day you get hurt so bad during a mission that you are about to die.  Loki knows a spell that will save you and share his immortality with you but you and he will be linked forever sharing thoughts, pain, emotions…

RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS: Underage reader (no sex!!)  Also on AO3 click here

The rest of the week went in much the same way. You had class during the day. Tony made sure he was awake to take you to school and either he or Nat would pick you up afterwards. Loki helped you with your homework and spent most afternoons and evenings with you. The rest of the time he spent reading and being ignored by everyone else. You wondered how he would ever join the team if they wouldn’t give him a chance. 

You healed from your wounds by Friday thanks to Loki’s illicit help. Tony wasn’t pleased that you and Loki spent so much time together, or that you were friends at all, but he kept his feelings to himself.  He’d learned his lesson when you’d been hurt. When he’d hurt you. He wouldn’t risk you being hurt again.  Especially not by him.

Friday night, you put the last of the Loki movies on the TV for you and Loki to watch. Tony came in before the movie started. “We’re all going out on patrol tonight,” he told you. “Everyone on active duty. We heard The Harlequin might be staging an attack."  The Harlequin was one of the super villains who seemed to have acquired mutant abilities when magic entered the world again.  They kept causing trouble for the team.

"Is Loki going with you?” you asked. Tony didn’t usually come tell you he was leaving.  He went on patrol nearly every evening so he didn’t always tell you when he was going out, unless it was extra important.  You would pause the movie and be just fine on your own for the night if he was. 

Tony shook his head firmly. ”He’s not cleared yet, and we’re not up to babysitting tonight. This is too important. He’s staying here. I don’t like it, but you two will be the only ones here tonight,“ Tony handed you the giant dagger he was holding. Somehow you hadn’t seen the giant dagger in his hands.  That’s something you should have noticed.  “If he tries anything, stab him first, ask questions later,”

“Uncle Tony!“ you exclaimed, trying to hand the dagger back to him. "We don’t kill people!” you protested.  That was one of the rules of superheroes. No killing unless absolutely necessary. 

"I never said to, but you don’t have powers and he does. I don’t trust him and I want you safe,” Tony told you.  He wasn’t taking chances with your safety.  He had to leave you and the reformed villain babysitting each other, but he wasn’t going to leave you helpless about it.  No matter what you said.  

“He doesn’t have powers right now,” you reminded your uncle, who as a certifiable genius wasn’t usually so stupid. He handed you one more item: a key.

“Loki, you’re on guard duty, since you’re the only one here with powers,” Tony addressed him as quickly as possible before he turned back to you. “If something happens, unlock his chains,” he told you. You knew that meant that you weren’t suppose to unlock his chains unless there truly was an emergency.  

Like that was going to happen.

You nodded and stuffed the key in the pocket of your pajama pants. You carefully set the dagger down on your end table and turned to give Tony a hug.  “Be careful,” you bid him.  It sounded like this was a bigger mission than usual if all of the supers were heading out. 

“You too, kid,” he replied and ruffled your hair. He and the rest of the supers all went out on their patrols. 

You turned to Loki and produced the key when they were gone. You grinned at him and walked over to him, your intent clear.  

"Your uncle said to only free me if there was danger,” Loki reminded you.  You knew he wanted free of the shackles, but he wouldn’t ask it of you or risk either of you getting in trouble over it. 

“Actually, he said ‘if something happens’,” you replied as you unlocked the shackles around his wrists.

“And what, pray tell, will you tell him happened?” Loki asked dryly, rubbing his sore wrists from where the manacles had been rubbing his skin for days. 

You shrugged, trying to look innocent.  “Not planning to tell him anything. I just thought you’d like a few hours of freedom. We have at least that before they return from patrol. Besides, if something does happen, I don’t want to wait until I can manage to free you before you can stop it,“ he nodded, accepting your pragmatism. At least, he wasn’t going to argue too hard when you’d freed him.

You went to the kitchen and got the popcorn you had made for the movie. It had just gone off when Tony came to make his announcement about tonight’s patrol.

"So what are your powers?” you asked Loki as you came back into the common room and placed the bowl of popcorn between you on the couch. Loki just gestured at the movie.

“They were fairly accurate,” he admitted grudgingly, though unhelpfully. He clearly didn’t want to discuss it.  “Though I can also heal, as you know,“ you nodded and settled on the couch, under a blanket, since it was cool in the common room that night.

"Are you also a frost giant?” you asked gently. He looked away, embarrassed.  You should’ve dropped it then, but you were too curious for your own good.  “What?” you prompted when he didn’t answer.

“They are called Jotuns,” he answered carefully. He still hadn’t answered if he was one of them or not. You didn’t force the issue. It wasn’t an issue really, you already knew that he wasn’t human. 

Though you did wonder why he seemed so fascinated with you.

"So, will you show me any of your powers while you can use them?” you asked curiously before the movie started. He thought about it for a moment, then got to his feet. He offered you a hand and pulled you to your feet next to him. He wrapped one cool arm around your waist while he held the other in front of him with a look of concentration etched on his face. A moment later, green light surrounded the pair of you. When it faded, you were standing in a beautiful city with three moons in the sky.

“This is my home,” he told you, leading you towards the golden palace. He told you the name of things, but they were in his native Asgardian, and you couldn’t pick the words apart to remember them. You walked into the palace and he gave you the tour, even showing you his parents and siblings. After the tour of the massive library, and some of his favorite places in the city, the illusion faded and you were back standing in the common room.

“That was amazing!” you told him with true glee in your voice. “I’ve never seen any illusions that real.” He let go of your waist quickly, as if he realized he was still touching you. You grinned at him. “Thank you for showing me,” you added. It was always best to be polite. You could see he was flustered, though. Maybe he wasn’t used to praise or thanks. 

So you took your seat on the couch and started the movie, trying to contain your glee. He settled back into his own place on the couch a moment later and you saw him trying to relax. 

After the movie, you switched on news and Loki went to reading, aka devouring, the latest book he had claimed from your collection. You curled up with the book he had lent you. You didn’t devour books as fast as he did, but you also had less time than usual to read this week. You listened to the news as background noise, waiting to hear something about the patrols or The Harlequin. There was no news of either. That didn’t keep you from staying up too late waiting for the supers to return. 

You didn’t realize that you had dozed off on the couch until Loki shook you awake and held up the shackles. “You should return these before your uncle finds out what you did,” he told you when you were coherent enough to look over at him with bleary eyes. You nodded.  Somehow.  You didn’t want to, but Loki was right. You would both be dead if Tony found out what you had done.

“I’m sorry,” you told him as you snapped the shackles back on his wrists.

“I know, lady Thank you for trusting me this evening,” he replied, his voice gentle and kind.

“I always trust you,” you reminded him, your voice still sleep fogged. 

He shook his head.

“Not like this, not with my full powers.” You shrugged; you didn’t see the difference. You went back to your book and Loki went back to his. It was just in time. Tony came in a minute later, rushing to make sure you were ok. You smiled up at him.

“You’re back!” You called, jumping to your feet to greet him. You wrapped your arms around his neck. You always worried when they went out in force like that.  When every super was called out on patrol. 

“Yes, I’m fine. There was no sign of The Harlequin or her clowns. Just a few normal criminals,” he told you as he set you back on your feet from the hug. Tony didn’t hug much and you were one of the very few exceptions.  “Did he behave himself?“ he gestured at Loki with a cruel look in his eyes.

"Perfect gentleman,” you replied sincerely. Tony didn’t look like he wanted to believe you, but he knew you wouldn’t lie, not about something that big. You handed the key back to him, because you had to and bit back a yawn.  Though the action didn’t convince Tony. He knew you’d been up since you’d had to get ready for school that morning.

“Off to bed with you, imp,” he told you. You stuck your tongue out at him and went to collect your book from your end table.

"Thank you for keeping me company, this evening,” you told Loki warmly.  You’d appreciated his company as well as the magic he’d done on your account. 

“Goodnight, Lady Kathryn. Sleep well,” he replied, inclining his head politely. You gave him a brilliant smile and headed up to bed. Tony stayed and talked to Loki while you did after telling you goodnight. You had the feeling he was trying to keep Loki from following you until you was safely in your own room, even though the pair of you had been alone in the tower for the last however many hours. 

When you opened the door to your room, you found it absolutely covered in illusion roses. You grinned like an idiot when you saw them. They even smelled like real roses, though you saw the slight glimmer of green light that betrayed that they were fake. You took a picture on you phone and sent it to Loki.

-They’re beautiful- was the message you attached with them.

-I am glad you like them- he replied. You were proud of him for catching on how to text so quickly.

You were grinning while you fell asleep that night surrounded by the scent of roses.

[bro-stoevsky]

Are you ready to hear me lose my absolute mind over my favorite scene as a part of the deeply enabling @the-terror-appreciation-week​ 

it’s Franklin’s funeral from The Ladder! Which means I’m going to talk for 100 years about the lead-up to this  and the scene itself. Didn’t you do this yesterday? You may wonder. Not these scenes I didn’t. Yesterday I talked for 100 years about different scenes, which makes this OK, and normal. Even fun and lighthearted.

There are a lot of great scenes in this show obviously but this one will always be my favorite, it’s so laden with meaning and warring perspectives. That it’s Crozier reading a service Franklin wrote in much different circumstances than he imagined is especially significant!!! Delicious, delicious significance. 

Franklin probably intended it to be comforting, full of reminders that God is close by and always watching them, as well as inspiring -- Jacob’s Ladder is, after all, a story about God keeping his promise to Jacob’s ancestors. It’s easy to see Franklin intending that to prick everyone’s spirits with the crazy understanding that the Northwest Passage is somehow their right to discover; something owed to them that will soon be delivered. Remember in David Young’s funeral he did the same thing where it was like “sad about him but one step CLOSER TO THE PASSAGE” 

But in the context of its delivery -- a Franklinless world where, after the funeral, no further attempt or mention is made of finding the Northwest Passage -- it does an incredible job of amping up the dread. The parallels between Bethel and their unplotted location (as Franklin puts it, “no house, no hearth”) are exaggerated, as is the symbolic nature of the ladder. This is, after all, a story from Genesis, when God had approximately zero problems chatting with people any old time, one on one, physically present, while they were awake. But the ladder, the thing that leads away from the “terrible place” Jacob is stuck, is only a dream. And that’s the part that becomes most significant in the context of this scene which I want to print on a silk rug and roll around on like Becky Sharp in that scene in the Reese Witherspoon Vanity Fair movie where her rug unrolls on the street and she just rolls around on it. Just. Like. That.

This scene, as well as the preceding episode, does a great job of making it clear that Franklin’s viewpoint of destiny and metaphor and Biblical parallel is direly unsuited to the situation. The listeners feel that they are actually in a terrible place, geographically and in terms of the options remaining to them. And they need an actual way out. Not a dream, not the unseen but immediate presence of the invisible world. The disparate dawning of this understanding is apparent on some of the guys faces. 

Let’s take a look at what everybody’s doing:

Crozier is sad but also he’s focused on reading. Fitzjames is sad but he keeps looking at Crozier like u better fuckin read it good

Collins losing hope, Le Vesconte regular sad, Stanley inscrutable: 

Blanky stoic, Jopson mentally cheering on Crozier who is doing a great job reading that Victorian handwriting: 

Fitzjames overcome by the beauty of Franklin’s description of the known world: “with its rocks and moon.” Poetry, he thinks. The world does have rocks and a moon. Chi renda a me quell'uom?

Crozier’s voice cracking thinking about “all the people we know, have ever known, and ever will know:”

Hickey getting ready to shit in Gibson’s bed and presumably wipe his ass with Gibson’s glove:

Do I wish this scene was not cut through with Hickey shitting in Gibson’s bed? I do. Do I know what it means? Not really? Some kind of contrast between the baseness of Hickey’s actions and the high-mindedness of a funeral, showing the ends of the spectrum of humanity? Too visually boring to just show the funeral? Shocking us with how much Hickey really does not give a single fuck about society’s rules and virtues? Foreshadowing the inevitability of Gibson’s similarity with the rats he described as “swimming in our filth....devouring each other”? What are birds?

We Just Don’t Know. 

Now because this is TV and the episode is called The Ladder, let’s take a look at all the ladders in the episode:

(1)

Concluding the plot of Silna’s father from the previous episode, we see the ghastly sight of the fire hole where Franklin has instructed his crew to take the man, in a horrifying contrast to the “mercy” he showed in a previous burial ashore. All the other dead after they left open water have been stored on the ship. Into this fire hole a piece of ship’s rigging extends, presumably (?) in case anyone fell in during its maintenance:

Either way it’s clearly a ladder, and it is clear where it leads: 

Franklin takes this ladder down with him, as well as the bucket of coals they used to keep the hole open:

(2)

I’m pretty sure this is just an innocent ladder, but nevertheless, it does scoot by behind Irving and Hickey having their watercolors conversation: 

(3)

Listen I have no idea what in absolute Fuck Hickey is saying at the best of times, but his little “you don’t know what you’re missing” speech to Gibson in their breakup talk is interesting: 

I can’t think how this is contributing substantively to the motif. It’s more likely that he’s taken Irving’s suggestion of “climbing exercises” to heart and his actual plan to relieve the boredom of being stuck in the ice while simultaneously being E.C. Hickey is to.......somehow worm his way to the top? of the expedition? but it is interesting. 

(4)

Listen I know this isn’t a LADDER (what if I didn’t and you were like........do we tell her.......) but it is the closest we come to acknowledging what is ACTUALLY needed -- a physical way out. Whether you call that a ladder, a staircase, or a road, Crozier Gets It:

This post has been sponsored by theladders.com: Exclusive Job Matches in HR, Sales, Finance, Tech & Marketing. Approved Recruiters. Not really!

ANYWAY this is my favorite scene. I love it. I love it to SMITHEREENS. 

Addendum: 

Here is the full text of the service, proving once and for all why I’ve never been good at transcribing (I can’t punctuate), but here for your reading pleasure: 

“In his flight, Jacob lighted upon a certain place and tarried there because the sun was set. He thought it a terrible place. No house, no hearth. But that night he dreamed: a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reaching to the heavens. Behold, the Lord stood above it, and He said: 'I am with thee and will keep thee in all places wherever thou goest, for I will not leave thee.’ And in Jacob’s dream he saw the invisible world, companion to the known one we perceive, with its rocks and moon, its ice fields and brute animals, and all the people we know, have ever known, and will ever know. So complete it would seem to leave no room for its invisible brother world which is yet more immense than the one we see. For in this world dwell the angels who keep us, the Lord who will not leave us, and the departed, who though cleaved from the frame that carried them, yet live. The newest to their ranks our bright captain, Sir John. Who in the virtue and strength of his every gesture showed himself the elect of the Lord, destined to reign with Christ forever. The invisible world of spirits, though unseen, was present for Jacob -- not future, not distant, but present. And it is now, and it is here, among us if we open our eyes and see His truth amongst us.”

And HERE is the paper Crozier was reading from -- notably it is missing “the Lord who will not leave us” and the stuff about Franklin being the “elect of the Lord” etc etc -- though the latter stuff is probably something Franklin wrote anyway, just on a new page. 

[kinsbin]

Champagne and Jealousy

Title: Champagne and Jealousy Word Count:  2087 Ship: Alexys/Lance [Canon/Self Insert]

Summary: At an awards show for Grave Encounters, Alexys runs into a fan that gets a little too interested in her. Lance comes to shoo him away, with a surprising admittance that, perhaps, it was because he was a bit jealous of her giving attention to someone else. 

Author’s Note: A writing comm for @bad-blue-moon-rising who requested some jealous Lance. It was super fun to write and I had a good time. I hope you enjoy it ;u;)b

Alexys had never thought too much about the concept of jealousy.

It was familiar, sure, but only in fiction. Novels and books had bestowed upon her the concept of it in association with fairy tales. To her, jealousy was associated with prompts in fairy tales. Where wicked queens grew jealous of their step daughter’s beauty and locked them away from the world, convincing them they were ugly until the handsome prince swooped in and freed them from the lifetime of stockholm abuse. It was used in horror movies, where a killer got jealous of their crushes potential love interest and chose to sneak into their house in the dead of night to murder them, approaching their crush with a blood soaked front only to be rejected and forced to kill the other as well in a fit of overwhelming heartbreak. Neither situation was desirable nor attractive to her and, thus, she had separated them far from the reality of life. In the vast distance between the space of comfort and like. It almost felt like a made up emotion at this point. Something fake and far away.

Until it happened, of course.

Lance sported a rather nice tuxedo, his face freshly shaven as a hand holstered a champagne glass between its fingers. Alexys stood at his side, accepting a similar glass from the approaching wait staff but never actually reaching for a sip, the smell of the liquid already moderately repulsing. It was, at least, beautiful to look at. The bubbles floated lackadaisicaly against the edges of the crystal finery, dissipating once they hit the top of the surface and popped with a satisfying, carbonated sizzle. It faded away amongst the cacophony of echoes that rang solidly throughout the rest of the large ballroom. Shifting from foot to foot, Alexys couldn’t help but feel slightly awkward in the knee-length gown she had chosen to wear to the event her boyfriend had invited her to.

The black and white attire television awards show was invitation only, after all. Grave Encounters had caught a lot of interest after several of its episodes became surprisingly prevalent in the ghost hunting and scientific community alike, hoaxes dismissed in favor of later episodes that were proven to be more real than ever before. It was enough to bring notice (and ratings) to the humble program, allowing it to slide into the contending of an Emmy Award for ‘Best Supernatural Reality Show’.  A prestigious honor, that was certainly, but also...an incredibly nerve wracking one.

A hand slid around her waist, a kiss pressing into her forehead as she felt Lance chuckle at her side.

“I’m the one about to get either celebrated or demolished in the public eye and you look like you’re going to vomit way before I am,” His tone was teasing as he nudged at her side gently with his hip, “You need to take a deep breath before you forget how to breathe, babe.”

“I can breathe just fine!” Alexys argued back with a mumble, brushing some hair behind her head and wrinkling her nose at the champagne again. Lance took a deep swig of his, draining the glass in a single chug and looking at Alexys’ own glass wearily. With a breath of defeat, she simply handed it to him, ignoring the grin of delight he wore as he accepted it and drained it as well, handing them off to a passing waiter in the process.

“I just,” Alexys started while biting at her lip, “Don’t like parties too much that’s all. So many people...so many people I don’t know and. It’s always so LOUD all the time and-.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Lance murmured as a hand slid from her waist to her shoulder, bringing her close with a knit to his eyebrows that expressed concern, “I know, and, it means so much that you came with me to this, honestly, it does...I promise, once we’re called up and after whatever happens on that stage, I’ll take you right home and we can crawl into bed and watch whatever movie you want, huh? I’ll even let the cats on the bed this time.”

“You see, you always SAY the cat’s aren’t allowed on the bed, but, every time I come home you’re always just laying on your back while all four of them are sitting on your chest purring at the same time. I feel like there’s a sort of conspiracy going on here.”

“They trick me into it!”

Alexys giggled, the light banter between the two of theme asing her nerves as the before party continued on, a multitude of guests and television stars alike chugging down the offered alcohol and food like there was no next day. Yet, with Lance, she felt grounded. She felt safe and with, at least, familiar people in an unfamiliar environment. She touched at his shoulder gently, desperate for the soft contact.

A photographer approached, echoing a constantly stated call for the group to line up so that he could take a photo for them for the local awards newspaper and events twitter. That it would take a few minutes so they were advised to finish whatever drinks or food they had on their person. Lance took a breath, looking over and giving Alexys a smile. “I’ll be right back, babe,” He spoke with a kiss to her temple yet again, “Stay right here. Or go chasing after some good hour d'oeuvres and bring them back for me okay?”

“Aye-Aye, captain.” Alexys laughed as he was taken away with the rest of the Grave Encounters crew. Alexys sighed and walked towards the nearby bar countertop, leaning against it and rolling one of her ankles, tired from standing even if she had cheated and wore converse with the sleek dress she had chosen. The music of the event hummed in her veins as she people watched, waiting patiently for the group she had come in with to return.

A shadow blocked her way shortly though, tall and almost intimidating in its placement. Alexys jumped in surprise, whirling around with wide blue eyes.

The man standing before her was big, almost meek looking as he held up both of his hands out to her in a signal that he meant no harm. The scruff on his face was finely groomed and appealing in a rugged sort of way. His eyes were bright blue, almost ice against his warmer shaded skin.

“Hey, woah,” He laughed, “Sorry to startle you, Dove. I just...noticed you standing around by yourself, looked like you could use some company.”

“Oh,” Alexys hummed awkwardly, “I was just...My group went to take some pictures with the camera guy and-”

“Yeah,” He nodded, “The Grave Encounters crew, right? You’re Lance Preston’s girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” She blinked, surprised, “How’d you know?”

“Recognized you from some of those few episodes you appeared on,” The man grinned at her, “Though I gotta say you’re way prettier in person.”

Alexys blushed, discomfort mixing with flattery as the man leaned, perhaps, a bit too close to her for comfort. Red flags sung like warning bells in the back of her mind as she tried to step a little further to the side of him, hands falling together to fiddle with one another before clearing her throat softly, an effort to make sure her tone held no sign of stuttering for the polite refusal she was about to have to go on.

“Uh, yeah,” She managed out with a laugh, “Look, my boyfriend will be back in a second and-”

He reached out, touching her hand and sending shudders up her spine. His smile was sickeningly sweet.

“Why the rush? I thought I’d get to know you a bit better if I could...what, that stuck up ghost hunter’s better than a conversation with a fan?”

Alexys laughed and pat his hand in return, “No, not that. I just didn’t wanna be separated for too long and-”

A hand flew onto the man’s shoulders, a familiar voice laced with what she could only described as edged jealousy echoing hard against the backdrop of their conversation:

“She said she wanted to go look for me, you really should respect a gal’s decisions. Sides, I prefer ‘confident’ over stuck up.”

The man turned, seeing Lance’s face dark with annoyance at him. HIs own eyes narrowed sharply as he released Alexys, the two squaring one another up too close to be considered anything friendly. This is what it must have felt like, she imagined, to be stuck between two bears vying for control of a food supply. The power between them was bulking and immeasurable as the man quirked an eyebrow at Lance, his smile only thin and formal over friendly and wanting as he had been with Alexys.

“A right prick is what you are. What, can’t let your girlfriend converse with a fan?”

“When the fan is trying to hit on her and drag her away when she’s uncomfortable,” Lance retorted, making sure to put himself between them both, “Yeah, guess I have a hard time letting go.”

His hand snuck around her waist, bringing her close to him as if to prove the point he had made in his voice. Alexys blushed as she was held, so possessive and warmly, against Lance’s body. The other man glared at Lance for a moment, Lance returning it with his own tight, show-stopping smile while he reached out and gave the man a pat on his shoulder. “It’s about time for the show to start, big guy, why don’t you find your seat?”

“Tch, whatever.” The man backed off at last, seeing not only the rest of the Grave Encounters crew huddle slightly around, but the eyes of the security guards faintly chasing him as he limped away. Lance turned to Alexys, a hand touching her cheek as she looked up at him with a smile. “You good?” He asked, the possessive edge still in his voice.

“Yeah,” She sighed while leaning into the touch, “What made you rush back so fast?”

“I-” Lance’s face turned red as he rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand, “Saw the guy talking to you and….Uh….I got a sort of sixth sense for it I guess?”

“He was jealous as fuck that’s what he was.” Sasha chimed from across the table before moving on, a champagne glass in her hand and a knowing smile on her lips while Lance shot her a ‘how could you’ look of betrayal rivaling that of a kicked puppies. Alexys grinned herself, reaching out and giving him a hug to which he returned. “Jealous? Really?” Alexys couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled in her mouth as she tilted her head up at him, “I….why would you get jealous?”

“Because you’re MY beautiful girlfriend, not his!” Lance pouted back, “Pardon me if I think other people hitting on you isn’t that wonderful.”

“...b-beautiful?”

The two were staring down at one another now, eyes wide as he had realized what he said. A smile formed again on his lips. Lance took the moment to lean forward, capturing Alexys in a hot and needy kiss. One that seemed to pour all of the passion he had between them. She could feel the chapped texture of his lips. Taste the bubbling champagne and leftover strawberries of their celebration dessert the night before. The scent that she got was of his cologne and the leather of a jacket he had worn to keep warm earlier in the cab ride there. It was so uniquely and overwhelmingly Lance that she couldn’t help but fall into it, even as he pulled away. Breath hot on her lips, he murmured words only she could hear:

“The most beautiful person I’ve ever seen or been with,” He admitted with a smirk, “I love you. And I’m happy to prove it to any dicks who try to get in our way.”

Alexys blushed as she was kissed again, warmly and possessively, until the echoes of the team to ‘get a room’ separated them. As Lance blushed and she laughed, she finally came to terms with the concept of jealousy once again in the real world.

Perhaps it wasn’t too real to her, but, it was real to others...and if it meant Lance kissing her like that more often, well, she couldn’t say it was a bad thing.

[randomrichards]

THE BEST MOVIE MOMENTS OF 2018:

HONORABLE MENTION:

The Opening/Closing Credits from BUDDIES

I’m putting this as honorable mention because this is an older movie recently rereleased.

The first film about the AIDS Crisis, Buddies strikes at the heart with its opening credits with a typed list of AIDS victim up to 1985. Set to a mournful score by Jeffrey Olmstead, the never ending list of lives cut short puts you in tears.

Alex Honnold faces Boulder Problem in FREE SOLO

Most thrillers can only wish they could be as gripping as in the moment when Alex Honnold maneuver’s his way through the most challenging section of El Capitan Wall without rope in this Documentary.

Ray Offers Wisdom from Mid90s

“If you looked in anybody else’s closet, you wouldn’t trade your shit for their shit.”

Ray (Na-kel Smith) and his friends may not be the best role models for the impressionable Stevie (Sunny Suljic), but in this moment, Ray teaches him a lesson in perspective.

Glenn Close’s performance in THE WIFE

I’m not referring to any moment. Just Glenn Close’s acting. She speaks more volumes with her face than most actresses could with dialogue.

10)        The Beach Scene from ROMA

Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is an extraordinary woman. Sure, her life hanging towels and cleaning dog poo doesn’t seem like anything special. But like many lower working-class people, she endures. Boy does she endure a lot of shit in this movie. Not only does her deadbeat boyfriend ditch her to practice martial arts, but her baby is born dead. Despite all this, she not only continues her work, but she shares a close bond with the family. She showcases this bond and her strength when a fun day at the beach goes horribly wrong.

When Paco (Carlos Peralta) and Sofi (Daniela Demesa) swim too far out, Cleo walks into the ocean to save them despite not knowing how to swim. We watch in dread as she faces severe waves to find the kids, the camera always close to her.

This scene also contains a beautiful scene of the family hugging Cleo when she tears up over losing her baby. Seeing them all huddled together in front of a bright white sun captures the heart.

9)         “A Place Called Slaughter Race” from RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

Admit it, it’s fun to take pot shots at Disney Tropes. Hell, even Disney gets in on the fun. And boy do they seize on every moment to mock Princess tropes when Vanellope Von Shweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) encounters the Disney Princesses. Of course, it helps that Director Rich Moore and Head of Story Jim Reardon creates some of the best episodes of the Simpsons. Though there are many hilarious moments[1], none can hold the candle to Vanellope’s “I Want” song.

As she reflects over a puddle, Vanellope sings about her longing to be in the gritty game “Slaughter Race.” Seeing this little girl perform this lighthearted musical number over a background of riots and dumpster fires is comedy gold. Nearly every element of this number elevates the comedy, from singing shark (with cats and dogs in its mouth) to the creative lyrics (“Am I a baby pigeon spreading wings to soar?/ Is that a metaphor?/Hey, there’s a dollar store”). And the number still finds time to emphasize Vanellope’s fear of hurting Ralph (John. C Reilly).

Kudos to Alan Menken for mocking the trope he (and the late Howard Ashman) introduced to Disney. Just as deserving of Kudos is Silverman, who faced to task of singing in Vanellope’s high pitched voice.

8)         Charlie Loses Her Head from HEREDITARY

With her unusual hobbies, connection to her late grandmother and that clicking sound, you’d assume Annie’s (Toni Collette) daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) would be the centre of the whole film.[2] Boy, were we in for a surprise.

Spoilers!

When Charlie suffers a peanut allergy reaction, Peter (Alex Wolfe) races her home. On his drive, he sees a mysterious figure in the middle of the dark road. In his attempt to dodge it, he doesn’t see Charlie hanging out the window. Seeing her head slam right into a pole leaves us as traumatized as Peter is. To see them kill off a main character so early in the film is downright shocking. With this death, predictability goes right out the window and we are left uncertain of what direction this film will go.

7)         Neil Armstrong Soars in the X-15 Rocket Plane in FIRST MAN

It’s funny how the most exciting scene in this film isn’t the moon landing. Don’t get me wrong, the scene’s still breathtaking in its realism, but it’s surprising how thrilling the opening scene.

Damien Chazelle hits the ground running with Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) soaring the atmosphere in an X-15 Rocket Plane. He soars higher and higher into the skies until he flies out of earth’s surface and gets stuck in space

Albeit, you know he will be back on earth in time for the moon landing. And yet, I found myself on the edge of my seat, wondering how he’s going to get back to earth. Most of it is thanks to the visual effects, which contains some of the most believable since 2001: A Space Odyssey. The effects leave CGI in the dust with practical effects that look so real, you’d think Gosling was actually flying into space.

6)         The Ferris Wheel Scene from LOVE, SIMON

High School Movies are home to many unforgettable romantic scenes. There’s Samantha (Molly Ringwald) and Jake (Michael Schoeffling) standing over a birthday cake in Sixteen Candles. There’s Patrick (Heath Ledger) singing to Katarina (Julia Stiles) on the bleachers in 10 Things I hate About You. And who can forget Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) blaring Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” outside Diane Court’s (Ione Skye) in Say Anything. Be ready to include the closing scene of Simon (Nick Robinson) waiting on the Ferris wheel for online pen pal Blue from Love, Simon.

After being outed by a student, infuriating his friends for deceiving them in his attempt to stay closeted and abandoned by Blue, Simon makes a plea to meet with Blue face to face on the Ferris Wheel at a carnival. As he rides on the Ferris Wheel, he, fellow classmates and the audience wait in anticipation for Simon’s happy ending.

5)         The Book Heist from AMERICAN ANIMALS

When Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) and Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) plotted to steal extremely valuable books from the Transylvania University library in Kentucky, they thought they had the perfect heist. With the help of their friends Erick Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner), they thought they pull off a heist as smooth as Oceans 11.[3]

But reality hits them like a sledge hammer when they try to pull off the heist. Unlike their dreams, Librarian Betty Jean Gooch (Ann Dowd) doesn’t get knocked out with one taser jolt. It also isn’t easy to lug a six-foot book down a flight of stairs. Then there’s the fact the basement has no exit. That’s just a few of many problems they never consider. From then on, we witness them pay a huge price for their hubris and lack of real-world understanding.

Only youths as smart as they are to come up with such a stupid plan.

4)         The Mutant Bear from ANNIHILATION

Biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) and her team find themselves in a quite a bind. After entering the Shimmer, physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson) has barely survived an attack from a mutant alligator and Anthropologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Novotny) has been attacked by a bear. Now paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) has gone mad and has tied up Lena, Radek and Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh). But when they hear Sheppard’s cries for help, they will soon find Anya is the least of their worries.

Their journey delivers many grotesque, nightmare inducing visuals (especially the slithering intestines.) But the most memorable moment in this film was the image of the helpless crew trapped in a cabin with a mutant bear. Bears are scary enough on their own, but a faceless one is pants spitting meeting. And then you hear it imitate Sheppard’s screams and suddenly you need a new pair of pants.

3)         The Great Snap from AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

The whole Marvel Cinematic Universe had been leading up to this moment. The fact that nearly every character had a moment to shine in this one movie demonstrates the astounding direction of the Russo Brothers. But despite all the epic fight scenes, everyone agrees that this film’s greatest scene is the heroes moment of defeat.

Despite every effort made to stop in, despite outnumbering Thanos and despite Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) sacrificing Vision (Paul Bettany) to destroy the mind stone, Thanos still got all the infinity stones. And with a single snap, Thanos succeeds in wiping out half the universe’s population. One by one, we watch many of our heroes vanish into dust while others watch in helpless horror. But none are more heartbreaking that the moment when Spider-Man (Tom Holland) falls into Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) arms, crying “I don’t want to go.” All because some characters couldn’t make the sacrifice needed

Yes, we knew he was going to succeed in the end.[4] And yes, you know most of the heroes won’t stay gone.[5] And yes, their return will likely involve the surviving heroes sacrificing themselves.[6] But the ending still feels powerful despite this knowledge.

It all concludes with Thanos sitting near a cottage, content in his triumph. If the MCU ended here, it would have been a perfect ending. But I’m still curious to see how this will go.

2)         The Closing Close-Up in CAPERNAUM

The closing image of Zain’s (Zain Al Rafeea) face will haunt you beyond the closing credits. Throughout the film, we’ve seen this kid struggle through hell on the streets of Lebanon, trying to protect his sister from their resentful parents and helping an Ethiopian Migrant Worker take care of her son. But when he’s sent to prison for assaulting a pimp who bought his sister, he decides to sue his parents for the crime of bringing him into this miserable world. Writer/director Nadine Labaki never looks away for a second to the brutality of Zain’s world and how it brings out the worst in Zain.

When the film freezes to the image of Zain smiling for a Passport photo, your heart breaks for him as Khaled Mouzanar’s haunting score plays out.

1)         Tish and Fonny’s Walk Through the Park in IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

No other opening scene has done a better job of putting its audience under its spell than when loving couple Tish (Kiki Layne) and Alfonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) stroll through a park holding hands.

There’s beauty in every element of this scene, from Nicholas Britell’s romantic score to the warm looks in the character’s eyes. But what really sells it is James Laxton’s lush cinematography. The colours pop through the yellows and blues on the couple’s clothes and the green of the grass. You are as in love with this couple as they are for each other.

Then the film cuts to Tish visiting Fonny in prison, this time the yellow is the prison, the blue is Fonny’s jumpsuit and the green is on Tish’ outfit. From then one, we know why their love is worth fighting for.

[1] Mostly at the expense of Ariel (Jodi Benson)

[2] Especially when she appears so prominently in the advertisements.

[3] As indicated by a fantasy sequence.

[4] Since we know this was going to be a two parter.

[5] Especially when there are already planned sequels to Black Panther, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. After all the money Marvel’s got from Black Panther? They’re not going to give up that meal ticket.

[6] What with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans retiring their characters.

[theonyxpath]

Aaaah, what does Jon Snow know, anyway?

(The answer is “nothing”.)

But we know that we’ve themed our Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition Kickstarter to change from season to season, week to week. This week, we’re finishing up Winter, and next up is Spring and all the growth that promises.

But right now, Winter rules and with it a post-Thanksgiving sense of lingering thankfulness.

Maybe it was attending PAX Unplugged in my hometown of Philly a couple of weeks ago just two blocks from the hobby store where I bought the original D&D Monster Manual, then a wonderful family Thanksgiving, and then getting back together with an old friend and gaming buddy from our college years after ten years yesterday, but I’m in the mood to tell you about how I got into this tabletop gaming thing of ours while expressing some thanks.

(Feel free to skip to THE BLURBS! and the Updates, if anything pre-White Wolf causes your eyes to glaze over. This is pre-history, dude.)

      Half Damned art by Michele Giorgi

      Here’s the preamble: I started serious tabletop gaming in my sophomore year of HS (Central HS in Philly, class 239) by walking into the Strategy & Tactics Society where about a dozen guys were playing board games like Squad Leader and Wooden Ships and Iron Men.

You want to see where checking off heatsinks in BattleTech came from? That’s your game; you checked off hull, rigging, etc. Also probably influenced Star Fleet Battles.

Anyway, I was amazed because I had never met anyone who wanted to play Avalon Hill and other tactical boardgames. Besides myself. So I stayed and played, and within a couple of weeks I heard that Robert was coming back, and he was ready to DM.

I had no idea who this guy was, or what a DM was, but this was apparently big news to the group who were into this new style of gaming called Dungeons and Dragons. A bunch of the other gamers in the club were not happy with it; it wasn’t real gaming, they said. Apparently, we had all been waiting for Robert to get his hands on a book of new rules called Blackmoor. Sure, whatever you say.

Well, I did sit in on the session when Robert returned, and while my Halfling Thief was hardly an original fantasy character concept, I was enthralled by this combination of improv theatre and wargaming where I could discover the world that started on sheets of graph paper that Robert scribbled on in response to our questions – a tree here, a pool of mud there – but was so much bigger and richer in my mind.

And Robert was amazing. The way he worked with each player to include their ideas, but kept his conception of this world of his constant, was like watching a narrative grow. Like sitting next to Moorcock, Tolkien, or Leiber, and suggesting ideas. I didn’t know anything like this existed! So my first Thanks go to Robert, my first DM, who inspired me to start my own campaign world not six months later.

A bunch of us took turns DMing as Robert faded away towards graduation, and not just D&D, but Boot Hill and Traveller as well. How we laughed as our intricately planned space military characters died in character creation! Good times.

    Enemy Action art by Andrew Trabbold

      But I DM’d D&D specifically, and began a consistent world that I fined-tuned over the Summer vacation, so that when we resumed playing in our club after school, and I had enough players that we could divide them into the good, neutral, and evil, teams, they all started in The City With No Name that sat astride the east/west and north/south trade routes nexus – and their adventures affected the city and the world.

Two years the gaming club guys played in that same world, many of them running through multiple characters. I graduated, went to art school twenty minutes from high school, so I returned to DM for the club some afternoons. Many of the folks who learned tabletop RPGs from playing these sessions became friends and we got together outside of the club, especially as they graduated and went to college too.

Meanwhile, I started DMing, same world, for a group of students at art school and their friends once a week. A bunch tried it, thought it was fun (or not) but didn’t keep up with it. But a core group loved it, and became the nucleus for a weekly gaming session that went on for twelve years. (I did not run all of those games, and we did miss some weeks, but it was mostly my D&D world).

And here is the next Thanks: I’m thankful that our group was mixed genders and races and that there was never an issue with prejudice within our group. There were affairs and jealousy and grudges and other human interactions, but for whatever reason I was lucky to have a group that saw this weird hobby as something that everyone could partake in and play in whatever way they felt good playing.

We had Mickey with her crafted storylines for her characters like Kwik the duck monk (Mistress of Kwak-Fu), and the brutish DW the half-ogre and his evil intelligent two-handed sword who did his thinking for him. Danilo with his “what’s next?” questions, and chaotic characters like Elmer who reincarnated into a troll. Jodie, who read every D&D book and magazine she got her hands on and knew all the gaming tricks for Yain Yarwa (Y-Squared) elven thief/assassin, and Isis, illusionist were-tiger. Chaka with his intricate strategies and plans that could take months to come to fruition, and Ed, who wrote up our sessions as chapters in a novel featuring his character Farcist, half-orc renegade.

In fact, our group only stopped playing because I moved to Georgia in 1992 to take over all Art Direction at White Wolf. We had been to hell and back together in our personal lives, and except for one guy who deserted us during those times, the group stuck together. When I moved, they were the ones who drove the rented vans with all my worldly goods down to GA.

Which brings me to now and several decades later. Because as of last year, most of the old crew have started to get together once a quarter. Sometimes for game night, sometimes for a movie, once for a wedding; always so we can talk with each other as only old friends can. Our kids are heading out into high school and college or into their own lives, and there is time again to get together with those people whose characters were once an adventuring party, but whose real lives have bonded even more tightly. My third Thanks goes to them.

So fourth Thanks: for forty years (this month) of this RPG hobby that set me on a career path and allowed me to make friends all the way through those times. My good gaming friends from high school and college and my WW friends and all the people I’ve befriended since then. Folks I’m simply glad to see at conventions, folks on-line, and those who have stood with me facing the hordes of hell.

Kind of getting inspired here; I may even start running my D&D world again…

Many Worlds. One Path.

  BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Almost halfway through our KS campaign!

Our story so far: We funded in about a day, and have already blown through nine Stretch Goals and went past 200% funding before last weekend! The goals include the two novellas: Autumn and Winter, an art budget increase, two new sections for the Kith and Kin book that we’re calling the Book of Kiths, the first sections for the CtL2 Companion: Entitlements and Freeholds, and we added another 2 PDFs to our CtL 1st Edition PDF reward. And we’re just on the verge of adding another Kith section to that book!

We’ve also revealed excerpts with notes from the developers, and half the book text has been shown to backers so far.

Come along as the seasons change and we reveal the next chapters of the core book text to backers!

Next, our Trinity Continuum Kickstarter will start in early January!

  ON SALE NOW:

As we try and find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking! Right now, they’re working on implementing multi-dice and die previews in the store, after adding in a lot of requested upgrades and tweaks, which is going along nicely but is a ton of work. Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://ift.tt/2zjnD0c

http://ift.tt/2hhT5Fk

Three different screenshots, above.

(The Solar Anima special Dice)

    ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

We’re delighted to announce the opening of our ebook stores on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble). Our initial selection includes these fiction anthologies:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

  And here are six more fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

  Andand six more more:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

  And even more books are now on Amazon and the Nook store!:

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

    OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

http://ift.tt/2w0aaEW

    Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://ift.tt/1ZlTT6z

You can now order wave 2 of our Deluxe and Prestige print overrun books, including Deluxe Mage 20th Anniversary, and Deluxe V20 Dark Ages! And Screens…so many Screens!

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://ift.tt/1pOsnTb

    DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday, we unveil Vampire: The Requiem 2e‘s Half-Damned as an Advance PDF on DTRPG.com!

I love her, she’s family, but I don’t love what she is.

– Antonio Ramírez, dhampir

This book includes: 

• An exploration of what it means to be one of the Half-Damned, dhampir, revenants or ghouls.

• Mechanics for creating Half-Damned characters.

• Information for creating and running chronicles using the various Half-Damned character types, both with vampires and alone.

• Information on Half-Damned antagonists for vampire chronicles.

      Legacy of Lies, the V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart, goes undead in PDF and physical book PoD versions on DTRPG:

http://ift.tt/2k981ql

TWO PRINCES. BITTER RIVALS. AND A COTERIE CAUGHT BETWEEN THEM. 

Marcus Verus, the vampiric Prince of Chester, secretly prepares to go into torpor. Should his plans be made public, the Prince knows the wolves — both real and imagined — would launch an attack, threatening all within his domain.

That’s where you come in.

Legacy of Lies includes:

Basic rules for players and Storytellers

Introduction to the Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages setting

Introductory adventure

Characters for players and Storytellers

      Appearing on DriveThruRPG is the Advance PDF for Arms of the Chosen for Exalted 3rd Edition! http://ift.tt/2A0ga4f

Take up the panoply of legendary heroes and lost ages, and awaken the world-shaking might of their Evocations. Before the dawn of time, the Exalted wielded god-metal blades to cast down the makers of the universe. In an ancient epoch of forgotten glories, Creation’s greatest artificers forged unimaginable wonders and miracle-machines.

Now, in the Age of Sorrows, kingdoms go to war over potent artifacts, scavenger princes risk everything to uncover relics of the past, and the Exalted forge great arms and armor on the anvil of legend. These treasures are yours to master.

Discover the mystical power of the five magical materials and the secrets of creating your own Evocations. Wield weapons of fabled might and don the armor of mythic heroes, making their puissance your own. Claim Creation’s wonders: the miraculous tools of the Chosen, living automatons, flying machines, hearthstones, and more. And unleash the mighty warstriders, titanic god-engines of conquest and devastation, to once more shake Creation with their footfalls.

      NOW on DriveThruCards, the Pugmire Card Set One (Trick, Condition, and Initiative Cards) are helpful visual aids for your Pugmire gaming fun! http://ift.tt/2zC3kuY

Enhance your Pugmire game with this set of player aid cards! These helpful visual aids make your Pugmire gaming easier! Lay them out next to your sheet for ease of reference during play, and to keep track of what you can do, what affects your character, and when they get to act.

Set one contains one card each of every trick in the game, as well as every condition. It also has a set of initiative cards to track player and non-player character actions during combat. Sets two and three (covering artisan and shepherd spells) coming soon!

      What dark secrets do the eldest vampires hold? Find out in Thousand Years of Night for Vampire: The Requiem! PDF and physical book PoD versions available on DriveThruRPG.com. http://ift.tt/2sV8lZR

You may think that with a multitude of people coming, going, dying and running away, we’d be tired, done, or ready to give up. Instead, I find myself restless, looking for the next thing.  There’s always a next thing, and I for one am not yet ready to die.

– Elder Kincaid, Daeva Crone

This book includes:

• Detailed instructions on creating elder vampires, including how to base chronicles around them

• A look into the lives of elders, how they spend their nights, who they work with, and why including their roles in both their clans and covenants

• New Devotions, Merits, and Rituals for elder vampires

• The kinds of creatures that pose a threat to elder vampires, including Inamorata, Lamia, Sons of Phobos, a new elder conspiracy, and more!

      Is a life of running and hiding a life worth living? We say yes. There’s always something between the running and the hiding, and those moments of grace make it all worthwhile.

The Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology is a perfect companion piece to Changeling: The Lost, 2nd Edition. These stories spin tales of the Lost, of those abducted and enslaved by fairies. Those who escaped, but whose captors will stop at nothing to find them. These fairies summon forth the Huntsmen, primordial hunters who understand nothing but pursuit and capture. The Huntsmen are unstoppable monsters, and the Lost can only look to each other for respite, rare comfort, and rarer trust.

The Hedge has parted and you can get the Advance PDF of The Huntsmen Chronicle Fiction Anthology for Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition at DTRPG.com! http://ift.tt/2z4uZnU

          A Land Where Legends Walk

Drawing enthusiastically on Greek mythology, the revised and re-imagined Scarred Lands nonetheless retains its place as a modern fantasy RPG setting. This is a world shaped by gods and monsters, and only the greatest of heroes can expect to be counted among them. The most populous continent of Scarn, Ghelspad, plays host to vast unexplored regions, hides unsolved riddles from ancient cultures, and taunts adventures with the promise of undiscovered riches hidden among the ruins of older civilizations.

Yet the myths of the Scarred Lands are relatively recent events. The effects of the Titanswar still ripple through the world, and the heroines and villains of many of these stories are part of living memory, if not still living.

The Award-Winning Fantasy Setting Returns

Scarred Lands has been a favorite fantasy setting since the release of the Creature Collection for the d20 System in 2000. In subsequent years, over 40 titles were published for Scarred Lands, making it one of the most fully supported fantasy RPG settings ever and the premiere product line of Sword & Sorcery Studios.

Available in both 5th Edition and Pathfinder compatible versions! PDF and PoD formats available NOW!

http://ift.tt/2fEO9YJ

http://ift.tt/2fELqyx

  Heroes, Villains, and Others in Between! 

This tome is a revision of the original book by the same title, originally published for use with 3rd edition rules for the world’s most popular roleplaying game. In this revised edition of The Wise & the Wicked, all the same characters have returned (and we’ve added some new ones, too!), for use with the Scarred Lands Player’s Guide. 

Champions of Gods and Titans 

The Wise & the Wicked introduces a rogue’s gallery of the Scarred Lands’ movers and shakers, characters who carry out the will of the gods or the fallen titans. These non-player characters can be friends, enemies, or simply convenient resources for the player characters in your game.

Inside, find villains such as King Virduk of Calastia, the Black Dragon, along with his wife, the beautiful (and black-hearted) Queen Geleeda; the Grand Vizier to King Virduk, the wicked warrior-mage Anteas; and the sinister general of Virduk’s northern armies, Archduke Traviak the Steel-Fisted. At the other end of the spectrum, meet the gracious Lady Ariniel, the Swan Knight, champion of Madriel; Kimer the Shatterer, bearer of the Earth Sword of Scarn and tenacious foe of the titanspawn of the north; and King Thain the Just, the Aleking, ruler of Burok Torn. And many others beside!

Here you’ll find a fascinating compendium of characters from the Scarred Lands, but easily transported into campaigns set elsewhere. In addition, find multiple appendices full of new magic items and artifacts, class archetypes and prestige classes, new feats, new creatures and races, and more.

Available in Pathfinder and 5th Edition versions! PDF and PoD formats available NOW!

http://ift.tt/2zdVHXS

http://ift.tt/2zeEpd8

            CONVENTIONS!

This weekend, Matthew Dawkins, Dave Brookshaw, and Eddy Webb are going to be at Dragonmeet in London. https://www.dragonmeet.co.uk/ Expect plenty of playful class warfare as these three mix it up, represent Onyx Path, and generally redefine the term “hooligans”.

  Planning ahead for 2018, we’re heading back to Midwinter Game Convention in Milwaukee, January 11-14, where we’re going to be bringing a big crew of many of your favorite Onyx Path designers and we’ll be running demos and making some special announcements at the show!  http://midwintergamingconvention.com

    And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week): No changes this week.

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

  Redlines

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

  Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

SL Ring of Spiragos (Pathfinder – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Ring of Spiragos (5e – Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)

Scion: Origin (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

  WW Manuscript Approval:

  Editing:

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Pan’s Guide for New Pioneers (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Kithbook Boggans (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)

  Post-Editing Development:

Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)

  Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Cavaliers of Mars – New art getting assigned.

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Scion Origins

Ring of Spiragos

Changeling: the Lost 2

Trinity Continuum – Assigned art notes for pieces for KS.

Pugmire – Vinsen’s Tomb

Ex3 Dragon Blooded

Pugmire – Pan’s Explorer’s Guide (or whatever) – Sending notes for this over to Laubenstein, Syme, Loboyko, and Alida this week as soon as I finish going through them.

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

Beast PG

Pugmire/Scarred Lands Community Content – working on the logo.

Book of Freeholds – To Mark

DtD Enemy Action – With Josh

Pugmire Fetch Quest – Working on sample designs for more playtesting.

  Proofing

Wraith 20 – Final layout proof to WW.

W20 Changing Ways – First proof.

  At Press

Beckett Screen – Shipped to shipper.

Scarred Land PGs & Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – To fulfillment shipper. PDF and PoD physical book versions on sale at DTRPG.

Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition) – Deluxe Edition cover and Screen in the works. Waiting for Deluxe cover and the Screen proofs.

Prince’s Gambit – Print and Play version updated. Getting specs from printer.

M20 Cookbook – Files uploaded and processing.

CtL Huntsmen Chronicle Anthology  – Layout waiting for errata.

V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary– Inputting errata.

C20 Ready Made Characters – Ending Backer PDF errata gathering.

Ex 3 Arms of the Chosen – Advance PDF on sale on DTRPG, gathering errata.

Pugmire Artisan Cards – PoD proofs ordered.

Pugmire Shepherd Cards – PoD proofs ordered.

Pentex Indoctrination Manual – Being sent to backers this week.

VtR Half Damned – Advance PDF on sale this Wednesday on DTRPG.

  TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: To reference last week’s TRTC, the new version of MST3K has been picked up for a second season! (While you may think this is just a casual aside that speaks of another’s cultish nerd interest…consider how interested a person might be in a revival of a project with a hard-core group of vocal fans, if that person revives game lines with hard-core vocal fans on a regular basis. They did a great job at it, there is always much to learn from that.)

[feilongfan]

A day of Jimmy Logan Run

Source: http://instagram.com/j.spankybunch

Channing Tatum is on the road to promote Logan Lucky since August 6, 2017. He visited many poor American towns and here is a story by artist Josh Spanky Bunch who met him on Monday August 7th.

It was raining hard in Evarts, and the world seemed very small. The landscape was dark green, and muddy water puddled up in every low place. The white, rental vans pulled cautiously, into view, the shiny paint contrasting sharply, with our surroundings.

I watched him get out slowly, tired, and road weary. It was early morning, and Channing Tatum, was in the middle of nowhere, Harlan County, USA. In a momment, he had pulled on a smile, and extended a friendly hand, to all who greeted him. He took time, to make eye contact, with each person, and asked for names, as he juggled a black Sharpie, between hands. His small team was kind, and seemed to be a natural extension, of him.

His motorcycle waited for him, at the trail head, and his energy began to mount. Within minutes, he was in full gear, with no sign of fatigue, and speeding through the trails, with childlike abandonment. It was easy to see, that he was an experienced rider, and that he was taken, by our Eastern Kentucky Mountains.

He, and his team, were gracious enough, to invite me to lunch with them, and we enjoyed a wonderful, home cooked meal, with the Crider family. It was a traditional Appalachian spread, with real mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, roast and breaded chicken. At no point, did I feel out of place, and I never saw him, reaching for conversation.

Channing was warm, and engaging. He was genuine, in his interest of everyone around him. I could see, that he saw his small crew, as a group of equals, and that they all addressed him plainly. He passed the dishes, and displayed exquisite manners, and charm. We all found common ground, and he picked up my nickname. We laughed over stories. And he belly laughed as I showed him a video of 6 year old Gavin Miles and Trooper Shawn Darby mowing down cadets with simunition rounds. He listened compationately to Gavin’s story. It was very exciting. He was an open book.

I’ve had some other experiences, with celebrity. I have been in the room, when their egos sucked the air out of it, and talking with them, felt like lifting weights. His friends call him, “Chan”, and it was obvious, that he didn’t feel like he was a “Big Deal”’.

We talked favorite books, and politics, and Harlan, and art. I found out that this was a textured guy, who is family centered. We talked dirty diapers, and getting kids to sleep. “Dirty diapers, and sleepless nights, are the kinds of things humility is made of…that will keep your world small”, he joked. It was clear, that he had unconditional love, for his family, and that they came first.

We talked about my art work, and the opioid epedimic, lost jobs, and the need for hope. “I’m buying a couple pieces of your work”, he said……..I was over the moon.

I was also, soaked through, from the torrential rain, as everyone else was. They gave me, one of his under t-shirts, and I glanced at the tag. It was from Wal-Mart…..He was human, and I was a little dry.

As we left the beautiful, bed and breakfast, he was rushed by fans. Somthing caught his eye…a lady…visibly pregnant, was trying desperately to reach him, running up hill, across the broken sidewalk, in flip flops.

“No…No… please, don’t run!”, he called out, to her. “Let me come to you!” I knew, with the constraints, of his schedule, he had no time for this, but he stood, and took every selfie, and signed every autograph.

Channing was kind enough, to agree to visit, the Troops on the ground at Post 10. He wanted to know about Trooper Shane Jacobs, and his, “Shop with a Trooper” program. He was interested, in how we combat poverty, and hoplessness, in one of the most remote, and poverty stricken places, in the country.

We pulled into a full parking lot, at the oldest state police post in the state. Channing, unconsciously, dried his feet, before stepping inside, and eagerly greeted all those, who enthusiastically met him. He was now, well off schedule, and I knew it. Every minute he patiently spent here, was costing him significantly, in man hours, and productivity, but he was in no hurry.

He found my desk, in the back, and we talked about the authentic Bobby hat, that my friend, Mark Greenslade, had sent me. It sits prominately, on top of my hutch. He openly shared with us his childhood struggle with dyslexia and ADHD.

This amazed me because his job requires so much reading, comprehension and application. Channing, and his team, interviewed Shane, about the “Shop with a Trooper” program, and he kindly pledged his support.

“Coats are important, when you are cold, and when your parents are selling food stamps, to support their drug habit.” I told him. We made our way, to Cloverfork mine, located in the Kits community, of Harlan. The mine was shut down in 1957, and left, exactly the way it was, when the last miner returned his accountability tag, to the board. The owners believed, that they might return here one day, reincarnated, and forbade it, to be altered.

Channing, and his team, walked around with me, over the “Red Dog” road, that ran through, the eerily, preserved mining camp. The cameras were rolling, and Channing was interviewing me, as an artist, a person, and about my take, on our way of life. We talked poverty, industry, and again…..hope. I was taken again, by how well he worked, with his team. He considered them his peers, and he valued their creative input. These folks were well knit, like a finely tuned basketball team, navigating a full court press. We made our way to the commissary building, and were allowed a rare, special access. The worn, wood door creaked open; the compartment smelled heavy, and empty. It was a bit surreal. I was reminded of the old Scooby Doo cartoons that I watched growing up in Slabtown……….as the climactic theme music just before a commercial break played in my head.

Channing Tatum and I, were on an adventure, in Harlan County, USA. A calender, on the wall of the commissary, was frozen, in April of 1957. The shelves were still stocked, and fine baby clothing lingered, unused, in the dust covered glass cases. An ancient, cast iron, cable driven, freight elevator, sat full of cobwebs. Channing approached it, and climbed inside. The caretaker of the mine, told him that it still worked….By the condition of the elevator, I was quickly able to deduce, that this was a fact, not tested…….lately.

I joked with Channing that, while millions of women would doubtlessly disagree, being stuck on an elevator with him, was not on my bucket list.

Channing is a lover of history, and an intellectual. At this point, I had long discarded any sense of his celebrity. I was hanging out with a fellow history buff, in a place, that time had forgotten. We explored the dimly lit compartments, in equal awe, of the ruin, and preservation. I felt like I was a sidekick, in an Indiana Jones film…..not because of Channing’s fame, but because of his adventurous spirit.

As we parted ways, I collected my thoughts. This was a man, who has a feverish, love and respect, for his wife, child, family, and friends. He is his own man. I confess to his many fans that if your a fan…..your adoration is well placed. If you have the pleasure of meeting him you will only be an even bigger fan. The phrase “down to earth” doesn’t begin to do he and his coleagues justice. Maybe it was that I saw him subconsciously wipe his feet at every doorway or give so freely of himself. I think it was because in him I saw an authentic man……not an actor……that I wanted to be more like as a human being.

I went home that night and as I tucked Kambree, Kinsley and Karamya Tate into bed I told them a story about a man that I had met that shared with me stories of his many travels in the world and he even had visited the Amazon where he hunted with a bow. I hope that I see Channing again because he is the kind of guy you would want to cook out with and have as a neighbor and talk books and adventure. For one day in Harlan……….a place full of beauty and despair a movie man came to town………and the people with eager faces had hope in their hearts that they might catch a glimpse of Hollywood……….a place as far from them as the moon. For those who met him it will be a story that lasts a lifetime. Thank you my friend.

I hope that you will all come out to Share and support Channing’ s new movie…..Logan Lucky! It is much about our mountain spirit and was proudly filmed in Appalachia….a lively tale about a former coal miner turned Robin Hood. I can’t wait to see it.

[andimpink]

A Gift in Return

@girls-with-boys-names , a.k.a. my best friend, made a lovely gift for me. Her talent astounds me and I still can’t get over the piece of art she did for me. I love it so much. So much so that I thought I would give a gift in return.

Now I am nowhere near as talented in the art department as she is. I can draw a pretty mean stick figure, but I wanted to give something equivalent to the drawng. While art is not my talent, writing is. So I have written her a lovely little story. She was the peson who inspired me to write and we read each other’s pieces from time to time. I can never thank her enough for all that she has done for me, but I hope that she really loves this.

So, you wonderful human, enjoy this beauty as I enjoyed your art. Love ya! 

Home

By Yours Truly ;)

For The Best Friend a Girl Could Ask For

The sky was clear of clouds and full of stars. A bright, white moon smiled down on the world below. Around me, the trees and bushes were lit up with twinkling lights. Fireflies danced around between the blossoming trees. The air was filled with the scent of roses and I could feel a strange energy along with it. Something in the pit of my stomach told me that this night would be one to remember. It was a magnificent sight to hold and I was speechless as I proceeded to the end of the worn dirt path. As I walked, I thought about what had brought me here to this wondrous place.

Earlier that day, I was working in my studio on my latest art project. I was starting to get so frustrated with the blasted thing that I simply wanted to throw it out the window. Three times, I had to start over because I had botched significant parts to the piece. Not to mention the two times I had changed the plans and had to start over. Whilst staring at the canvas in me, someone knocked on the door. I had not ordered any supplies, so I knew it wasn’t a deliveryman. Steve had been gone on one of his missions for so long and as I went to answer the door, I hoped it was him.

Steve Rogers or Captain America to most, but to me he was so much more than a name. We had met during a rough patch in my life. I was just out of college and was struggling to do something with my art major. There weren’t any opportunities that jumped out to me so I found myself stuck working as a barista. It was all I could do to help pay the bills as well as the monstrous student debt on my shoulders. This was not where I had seen myself after graduation, but I was not going to just give up. I had hopes that my dreams and aspirations would come to me in time. Had I known that Steve would become a part of them, I would have been baffled.

I also would have been baffled to see the Avengers walk right into my work place. Leading the back was the billionaire face of the group, Tony Stark. He walked with overconfidence and I frowned as he approached the counter. Offering to pay for everyone, he placed his order first and proceeded to annoy me while the others ordered. Steve was the last to order and I was grateful when he told Stark to go find a table. When he looked up at the menu, I found myself looking up to the tall, blonde, hunk-of-a-man. The media did not do him justice and I wished everyone could see what I saw before me in that moment. Of course, I had been caught up in the beautiful man and missed his order, as well as being caught admiring him.

My apologies were endless, as was the redness of my cheeks. I must have looked like such a buffoon, babbling on and on to the great Captain America. It took him a few tries before he caught my attention enough to put a word in. With a bashful grin, he told me there was no need to be sorry and gave me his order once again. I added it to the list and then asked if there was anything else. At that moment, Stark appeared with a smug grin. “Ask her for her number, Cap-sicle.” Stark had said. Laying down way more than enough money to pay for the few cups of coffee, he walked away, tossing a quick “Keep the change” over his shoulder. Steve shook his head and turned to go join his teammates, but I stopped him. He looked back at me and I bit my lip nervously. Grabbing a pen and a napkin from the counter, I scribbled down my phone number. He took it from me and gave me a dashing grin that would set any woman’s heart aflame.

I had almost forgotten about the encounter by the time he had actually called. It was weeks later and I was working on some commissions when my cell started to ring. The number was not one that I recognized, but I picked it up and answered. On the other line came a voice I was truly surprised to be hearing: Steve Roger’s. He asked if I would like to go out for lunch sometime and I somehow managed to say yes without making a fool of myself. I let him set up the when and where because I was blown back from him actually calling me.

The lunch date went unexpectedly well. While I had my awkward moments, Steve had his as well. We talked about all sorts of things and I helped him to understand things that he still hadn’t gotten used to. After that first date, we continued to see one another more and more. Something was brewing between us and I hoped that he felt the same way. It was after a couple months of us getting to know one another that he asked to make things official. I could not have been happier and accepted, knowing that it was just the beginning of something beautiful.

Steve was a proper gentleman and treated me like a princess. We spent a lot of time together when we weren’t working. Taking walks through the park or going to the movies were something we did often. I suppose the thing we did the most was going out to eat together. Food was our third wheel and it did not even care. Things were great between us and we grew closer. It wasn’t until Steve had to go on trips that I thought things would not work. He was gone a lot, saving the world and doing good. Those times when he was gone were the hardest. He didn’t call often when he was away and I found myself needlessly worrying about the man. I wished for him so many times to just appear and hold me in his arms. When he did return, I would sometimes break into tears from being so happy to see him safe and sound again.

After a few more months, I had finally found an opportunity to put my major to use. A local art exhibit had found some of my works and wanted me to make a piece for their upcoming summer art showcase. Steve was so happy for me and we celebrated with a nice dinner. The next day, he picked me up from my apartment early and already had coffee for me. I asked why he had done so, since we had celebrated the night before at dinner. He said nothing and continued to drive, leaving me to wonder what was going on. Eventually he stopped in front of an expensive apartment building and had me get out. Holding my hand, he led me up the steps and inside. We hopped onto the elevator and he took us up to the top floor. At that point, I was confused about what we were doing here. He dangled a key in front of my face and I knew what he had done.

I took the key and looked at the number on it, then quickly found the door the key belonged to. Wasting no time, I unlocked the door and entered the apartment. Art supplies of all kinds filled the room and I looked at it all in awe. I had voiced my wish for a place where I could just surround myself with art. My apartment was small and I simply could not fit this much art supplies in there. Steve did not expect it when I crushed him against me in a hug. He laughed and kissed the top of my head, returning the embrace. This was the best gift I had ever received and I did not think I could give a gift to him that was equivalent. I soon left his strong, loving arms and went to explore my new studio.

While I was exploring, Steve got a phone call and stepped out of the apartment to take it. I knew it was for his work and waited patiently for him to return. Whenever he got those phone calls, I knew that I would hear he was leaving upon returning. Taking a seat in front of an easel that had been set up, I sighed. I did not want him to leave after giving me such a meaningful gift. He would rather stay with me than go off on missions with the Avengers. I wanted that too, but I knew deep down that it was for the greater good that he went. So when he returned wearing a grim expression, I ran into his arms and made him promise to come back to me, safe and sound. We spent the remainder of that day doing all our favorite things. The next day, he was on his way to Lord knows where with his crew.

That was weeks before the day someone came knocking on the studio door. So as I reached for the door, I closed my eyes and prayed to find him there when I opened the door and opened my eyes. I should have recalled that he had his own key. When I opened the door, I found an empty hall. Looking in both directions, I let out a sad sigh and dropped my head. That is when I found it: a napkin. It was stained with coffee and had a familiar smudged number on it. A smile lit up my face as I recalled giving said napkin to Steve. I flipped it over and saw a newer addition to the old paper napkin. 7:00 p.m. tonight. Dress nice. Come alone. Beneath that was an address that I planned to look up as soon as possible.

After I got ready, I drove to the address and found myself where I had left off before. The dirt path seemed to go on endlessly, but I followed it until I saw the end. Just past the archway over the path, I could see the smiling face of my boyfriend. Even though I was wearing a dress, I broke into a sprint and charged towards Steve. Flinging myself into his arms, I felt tears dancing in the corners of my eyes. He kissed the top of my head and then pulled away so he could kiss me properly. When he broke the kiss, I leaned against his chest and wondered if I was dreaming. “Are you really here?” I asked rhetorically.

“I don’t know.” he answered. “Are you sleep walking?” I laughed and pressed my ear over his heart, listening to it thump. This was too good to be true, but I knew that what was happening was entirely real. “I missed you, Hailey.”

“I missed you too.” I breathed. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Home.” Steve repeated. “I never felt at home after waking up in this time. Nevertheless, I think I can say now that I finally do feel at home. I feel at home in your arms. Your smile, your laugh, everything about you feels like home.”

Out of nowhere, music started to play and we swayed back and forth to it. Tears poured down my face and I did not even care that my makeup was being smudged. All that mattered was that I was here with Steve.

The real life love is under the mirror of the surface So cut my cord I want to know how deep we can take it See the thing you’ve been chasing, honey You’ll never find it wearin’ a life vest You gotta risk your neck know in your heart it will be worth it

So here we go head first, no regrets and no rules We can stay as long as we want Slow dancing in the darkness And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on

It’s been my fashion to keep my head dry and get my feet wet Step by step I’ve been letting you lead me to the deep end Well, I learned my lesson, honey Just when you think you’re all adult swim Is precisely when somebody shows you to the ocean

So here we go head first and no regrets and no rules We can stay as long as we want Slow dancing in the darkness And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on

Just keep holding on, holding on to me Under, under the top of, the surface of the sea Just keep holding on, holding on to me Just keep holding on, holding on to me

Oh, here we go, head first and no regrets and no rules  We can stay as long as we want Slow dancing in the darkness And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on

Head first into the water  And so it hits me I guess we couldn’t breathe all along One breath after another And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on

As the music died away, Steve pulled away from me. He looked me in the eyes as he dropped to a single knee, never breaking his gaze. My mouth hung open in disbelief, but I quickly found myself covering it to hold back a sob that threatened to escape. Steve smiled and took one of my hands before speaking. “Hailey, you are my home and nothing else matters. All I know is that I want to be here with you from now on. Please make me the happiest man alive and be my wife.”

“Yes.” I cried out, no longer able to hold back the sobs. “I will. I swear I will.” Taking the ring from his jacket pocket, he slipped it onto my ring finger and pulled me into his arms. The arms that would hold me for the rest of our lives until death do us part.

Note: Song I used in this is Aquaman by Walk the Moon. I don’t own it or Captain America.

[infotainmentplus-blog]

Solo: A Star Wars Story Review Editor’s note: This was originally published on our sister site, DGIT.com – a portal for cord cutting, entertainment, smart home automation, and more. Yes, Star Wars has nothing to do with Android, but we figured many of you would enjoy it. So enjoy! It’s Han Solo’s first time piloting the Millenium Falcon. Pursued by imperial TIE fighters, he and his companions are stuck between their enemy’s blasters and a ticking time bomb threatening to destroy their ship. Their only hope is a plan everyone except Han is opposed to — flying into an expansive nebula full of debris, meteors, and unfathomably large space monsters. “I have a really good feeling about this,” says Han as he guides the ship into the dangers of the unknown. If any one line truly captures the difference in tone between Solo: A Star Wars Story and virtually every other entry in the franchise, there it is. This is probably not the Star Wars you’re used to. There’s no looming threat waiting to destroy all hope and light. Sure, the Empire rules the galaxy with an iron fist, and there’s poverty, slavery, and corruption aplenty. But no one’s really trying to solve any of that here. The characters aren’t on a crusade to fight evil or save the world. They're a crew of likeable yet morally questionable individuals trying to get rich. The characters aren’t on a crusade to fight evil or save the world. They’re a crew of likeable yet morally questionable individuals trying to get rich as they evade the law and competing gangs. The stakes are lower here than in any previous Star Wars, which leaves a lot more room to have fun. And there is plenty of fun. Solo: A Star Wars Story takes place 10 years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It starts with a young Han (Alden Ehrenreich) escaping from the life of a street urchin on his home planet of Corellia by joining the Imperial Navy, which he quickly deserts to join up with Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and his colorful crew of outlaws to pull heists and cons across the galaxy. Basic scoundrel stuff. This is, at least in theory, the story of how Han becomes the man we meet in A New Hope. It’s where he meets characters like Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). It’s also one of the most straightforward Star Wars movies ever. There’s banter. There’s jokes. There’s fun and elaborate capers. Even the film’s villain, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), gets in on the fun. A colorful cast The supporting cast of Solo is the highlight of the film. Beckett’s crew brims with personality. As soon as you meet them, they’re cracking jokes and trading barbs with each other. Characters like prickly and sarcastic Val (Thandie Newton) and the lighthearted, many-limbed Ardennian Rio Durant (voiced by Jon Favreau) play off Han’s cheerful optimism in some really fun ways. Beckett himself alternates between grave and wryly humorous in a way only Woody Harrelson can. Dryden Vos was particularly fun to watch. In a lot ways it felt like Paul Bettany took inspiration from the other large, Disney-owned cinematic universe he works on. In most circumstances, I’d mean that as a negative — some of Marvel’s most consistent problems lie with its inability to introduce really compelling villains in most of its films. Here it’s rather refreshing. This villain is sinister, but not a grandiose shadowy figure like Emperor Palpatine or Supreme Leader Snoke. He’s a gangster looking to make money. He’s dangerous, but has a lighter side. He jokes around (albeit sometimes while trying to kill people). But the man who really steals the show is Lando. Donald Glover’s rendition of the character perfectly cribs elements of Lando from the original trilogy. This Lando is younger (duh). He’s a preening (wait till you see his capes), larger than life figure, and he steals every scene he’s in. The way Lando plays off not only Han, but also his robot companion L3-37 (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), makes for some of the most consistently entertaining dialogue in the movie. Alden Ehrenreich is good as Han Solo, just not as good as a lot of the other actors in the movie. You may be wondering in all this “what about Han?” After all this isn’t Solo’s Friends: A Star Wars Story. Alden Ehrenreich is good as Han Solo, just not as good as a lot of the other actors in the movie. He’s got some great scenes. On top of every terrific interaction with Lando, his scenes with Chewbacca are particularly good. The only real problem I had with Han in this movie is, for all the screen time and narrative focus he hogs, there’s remarkably little character development. In an interview, director Ron Howard described Solo as the story of how Han goes from a young, naive kid to the cynical rogue we see in A New Hope. Frankly, I don’t buy it. The movie starts with Han as a wisecracking rogue eager to make a name for himself, and it ends with Han as a wisecracking, more capable rogue eager to make a name for himself. Most of the emotional growth or development happens in the supporting cast. Beckett, Lando, and Chewbacca have much more compelling, or at least visible arcs. Even love interest Qi’Ra (Emilia Clarke) changes and develops in a more dynamic way, despite otherwise not having much to do for a lot of the movie. There’s nothing wrong with Ehrenreich’s Han. His take on the character doesn’t feel like an imitation of Harrison Ford, and sometimes he’s really funny. He just doesn’t stand out in a cast so crowded with interesting and engaging people. A visual treat The special effects in Solo are as good as you’ll find any Star Wars outing. The different sweeping sci-fi landscapes to which the characters journey throughout the film are varied and detailed. The streets of Corellia, where the film starts, are particularly interesting. This is one of very few examples of an urban setting in Star Wars, and it’s dark, cramped, dirty, and fascinating to look at. The film balances practical and CGI effects well, creating scenes rich in detail, from the slums of Corellia to Dryden Vos’ space yacht, to the slave-filled mines on Kessel (yes That Kessel). For a story about a pilot, it didn’t feel like there was very much space flight in the film, but what’s there is a lot of fun, and it’s visually really exciting, particularly in one scene that sees the Falcon navigate around a black hole. All about the details Much like the previous Star Wars Anthology film, Rogue One, Solo is littered with details big and small tying it into the wider Star Wars universe. And these often offer answers to lingering questions audiences may still have about the galaxy’s favourite puckish rogue. Some of the details are pretty innocuous, but others get more meaningful. Ever wonder how Han started calling Chewbacca “Chewy,” of if Solo’s his real last name? What about the fateful Sabacc game where Han wins the Millenium Falcon? For those of you who still get tripped up by how a parsec is a unit of distance, not time, Solo’s got you covered. Whether you love or hate the idea of a multi-million dollar project to fill in plot holes and explain things maybe you only thought were errors, I want to stress how much better this film handles the task than Rogue One. The previous Anthology film completely derailed its already very strange pace to painstakingly explain a detail no one really needed explained (how could a single torpedo down a ventilation shaft really destroy a moon-sized space station, anyway?). Solo suffers from no such problem. The added details and knowing asides are weaved expertly into the narrative of the film. There’s no B-plot or side story to drag things out. In fact, there isn’t really much of a B-plot at all. Solo: A Star Wars Story has great pacing, is light, fun, and a refreshing change of pace. All the consequential characters more or less stay together until they’re no longer consequential, or until the movie ends. The result is a much more evenly paced film than most other Star Wars titles, and especially when compared to the ones released under Disney. It’s a tight, focused story that never feels dragged or rushed. Say what you will about the decision to bring in Ron Howard to direct the film at a late stage — the man clearly knows how to string a movie together. Conclusion Solo: A Star Wars Story is the best paced Disney Star Wars movie yet. It’s one of the lightest and most fun entries in the franchise. This is a romp, through and through, and a refreshing one at that. There’s no grand crusade or desperate rebellion. The film features a colorful cast of compelling characters and delivers a consistent, well-paced, often very funny story about how Han got his start in intergalactic crime and banditry. Han’s a little younger, a little dumber, and a little blander in this outing, but watching him interact with the other characters was a treat. Here’s hoping we get a Lando movie some day soon. , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2ILBZfu

[sailingbrisa]

From Costa Rica back to Panama!

Tania and I left fairly early, planning on a leisurely adventure south, back to Panama City. Our first destination was Tamarindo, an easy 16 or 17 nm down the coast. We left at a politically correct 10am and as there was some wind we motor sailed down the coast. We had out two fishing rods and soon enough we hooked a couple of tuna, but Tania’s big, sad eyes were too much and the lucky tuna were set free. My tummy wasn’t so happy and even after explaining that the tinned tuna we eat is far more destructive for the environment, than her and I eating a tuna a week, that we caught! Maybe I will be hungry enough one day to catch and eat a tuna, even at the expense of upsetting her.

 Almost every single time we move Brisa we see dolphins, turtles and humpback whales.  And as we entered the big bay by Playa Negra and Tamarindo we saw a big cow and her calf (mommy and baby whale) and the little one was flapping around and playing and it looked like mom was sleeping. We sat and watched them for a long time. Mother nature at its finest and as we motored away to our anchorage for the night, we could already see the start of the thunderstorms in the hills.

 We anchored and cooked dinner. It rained and blew hard and thunder and lightening zapped all around us, but all in all it was a pretty smooth anchorage and a good night sleep. Up early and off to see the town. We went to a little place called Café Tico and had great coffee and breaky.

 We walked around a bit and liked the town. Looked like a great place to use as a base of operations and I had often thought of visiting, when in Costa Rica surf tripping, However these two days saw it almost flat with no surf to speak of. We made it back to Brisa and pulled anchor to cruise down the coast.

 There was not a lot of wind, but we rolled out the headsail and slowly motored our way along the beautiful coast, seeing many whales and dolphins. We saw what looked like a pretty little beach on the map called Playa Carillo. It looked like it should be quite sheltered, so we pulled in there around sunset… and it was a bit rolly but not too bad. We dropped the anchor, ate and went to bed early,   only to be woken up at about 12.30 by rolling and banging and crashing as the waves had managed to find their way into our anchorage. Instead of a sleepless night rolling around we decided to head off in the middle of the night in search of a nicer anchorage.

 We made it out of Playa Carrillo ok and with a beautiful moon we motored through the night towards Jaco, about three miles offshore. There really was no wind, nor much of a swell out at sea so we had a lovely night motoring down past Punta Blanco, where it was just a little rough for an hour or so. We crossed the gap to Herradura Bay and arrived about mid morning after about 11 hours of motoring. We tidied up the boat a little and went to shore for a good Pizza lunch. Still Los Suenos is my least favorite, least cruiser friendly marina in the “WORLD”.  

 The following day we left at a leisurely 10.30 am for Quepos, passing again my old stomping grounds of Jaco and Hermosa Beach, but there were literally no waves, so no surfing. By this time I was having withdrawals…. No waves for days! Argh!

 We anchored in Quepos, and watched a spectacular sunset and even though it was a bit drizzly through the night we slept really well. We went into Quepos for fuel super early, but they would not sell us gas until they verified our cruising permit and zarpe, so we sat on the fuel dock for three hours, waiting for the office to open … boooo. We took the time to go into town and have a little food shop and stopped at the little supply shop in Marina Pez Vella for very good coffee and internet. Maybe not the cheapest marina, but certainly one of the best.

 After fueling up we motored off towards Drake Bay. We arrived to watch another awesome sunset, walked up the hill and had pizza in a great new restaurant. It started to rain a little and get a bit windy, and was promising a big thunderstorm, so we got half the pizza to go and went back to Brisa to watch a movie and eat. It was a bit rainy all night, with thunder and lightening around us, but nothing close enough to worry too much about. These big storms had almost become normal after being around them so much.

 The following day we left just before dawn as we had a long way to go to get to Matapalo and or Golfito. We motored out into stormy looking weather and although it was rainy and thunder around us, we rolled out the headsail in 20 knots of following wind and sailed off at 8 knots towards our destination. Tania and I may have been wet, but we were happy to be sailing instead of motoring.

 Tania had spent time on Brisa before, but had never had to do a watch or learn how the sails worked or even really the basics, like anchoring or starting the engines, so with the sails finally up we used it as a “learn to sail trip.” We have been doing two-hour watches and these have been working out great. Today in the rain we saw dolphins and despite fishing the whole way we only tag and released one little tuna.

 Brisa and her crew rounded the corner at Matapalo around 330pm and right in the shallows we found a couple of mother whales with their little calves, playing and resting in the shallows. We stopped and dropped the anchor and watched them for an hour or so, then motored off towards our next anchorage in the sheltered Golfito harbor. Arriving just before dark we dropped anchor and went to shore for fried snapper and cold Balboa.

  There was a little swell in the forecast for two or three days time so while we waited Tania cleaned Brisa to a spotlessness she has never known before and I repaired a few broken little bits. Nothing that would stop us going anywhere, but things that made life easier.

 The first morning we are there we receive an urgent message from Tania’s mommy, Miriam in Cuba. It read “Por favor Tani, salgan de este lugar y ponganse en un lugar seguro, Dios mio!!!!!Ciclon por aqui, por la Floriay terremoto por alla y ustedes navegando, que horror!!!!!! Estoy en panico!!!Cuidense, resguardense, Mi dos! “

 Well apparently there was a Tsunami warning for Costa Rica, due to the massive earthquake that devastated a lot of Mexico, so I got out of bed, got dressed and went upstairs. We apparently had 5 minutes before the warning expected the tidal wave to hit…. So I got the dingy started, grabbed our documents and money and sat there waiting for Tania… I waited .. and waited.. and then went to look and she was downstairs brushing her teeth and hair and putting on some makeup…. LOL>

 Anyways we made it to the dock, walked up a hill and sat there watching a beautiful sunrise… overlooking a soccer field filled with vultures ( they were hoping to prey on the carnage caused by the tidal wave ) with not a ripple on the bay. The angle was all wrong for the tidal wave. I was pretty sure we were ok when we walked by the fire rescue station, located waterfront at sea level on our way to Tsunami salvation and the guys were busy washing the fire trucks.

 We also had the chance to go walking around a bit. Believe it or not, but there is a great old steam train there with a picture of Che and a Cuban flag on it. Tania went and explored the train while I took photos. Although the little town is quite small it is also a very nice little sheltered spot to explore. The bay itself goes back very far with amazing forest right down to the water. We head howler monkeys every morning and saw and heard wild parrots every day. We made friends with the locals and the stray dogs.

 There were a couple of real highlights here. One early morning I went outside to have a look around and saw a big school of baitfish running towards Brisa with big splashes on the water. Something huge was eating the baitfish. I pulled out the casting reel and lobbed a lure right into the middle of the carnage and immediately got a great hookup. I have a nice spinning reel with 4o lb test and it took a good 15 or 20 minutes to get the trevally up to the boat. He was a beautiful fish, big and powerful and bright colors. We unhooked him and he zoomed off to tell his story to his mates… or maybe he was still hungry!

 Another day I was up early sitting on the back of Brisa reading, when I saw a log. The log moved a bit… then disappeared for a while then moved closer to the boat up current. I called Tani out to check it with the binoculars…. but as the log got closer we became certain that it wasn’t a log…. but a crocodile. It swam right by us and went off upstream, so we jumped in the dingy and went to chase it…. We got quite close to him, but he wasn’t very friendly, so he ducked under and swam away. Amazing to think that we are sitting on anchor in a harbor, with dolphins, trevally and crocodiles, monkeys and vultures and pelicans and parrots.  I’m not too sure why but apparently chasing crocodiles in an inflatable dingy with your bum 1 foot out of the water is ok, but walking down the beach after jaguar footprints is not???

 A couple of days after we arrived, we headed off towards Pavones to check out the surf. We got up there and it was messy with onshore winds, so we headed over to Matapalo…. And it was looking really good. I got a great sunset surf at Playa Dulce and we had whales super close to the boat while we were anchored. The next morning I got up early again and got a solid double overhead surf session with a great barrel right off the back of Brisa. Life was good once again! That day we hiked up the road and checked out the awesome yoga studio on the beach and saw parrots and monkeys all over the place. It was a really nice walk in the jungles of Matapalo.

 In the evening I went off to surf up the coast a little leaving Tania on anchor watch. I scored a great little beach break for an hour and a half, with a baby whale out the back jumping and playing. If you stuck your head under the water between sets or duck diving, you could hear the whales singing. It was pretty much all time amazing.

 I motored back to the Brisa and got Tania and we went up and stopped right beside the whales. The little one putting on an amazing tail flapping display, while her mommy sat there watching. Arriving back at Brisa I left the dingy tied to the back of the boat and we had dinner. A little rolly but all in all a great day.

 The next morning we got in the dingy and started the motor, put it in gear and zoom, the motor roared and we didn’t go anywhere…. I pulled up the motor and there was no propeller…. HUH???> It had gotten us home and fallen off overnight! Lucky Us. It was a spare engine that I was testing. I had brought it from Davy in St. Martin and with only two people on the boat it saves about 40% of the gas. So we put on the 15 Enduro again and off we went to the beach!

 We spent about a week or so in Golfito and the Matapalo, Pavones area. Love it there, even if the surf is a bit crowded. But as our maximum stay of three months approached, we had to check out and head for Panama. One last visit to the Banana Bay marina and Edwardo took us around to do the check out. It was bitter sweet as we would of liked to stay up north around Ollies longer, but the surf season was ending and the Costa Ricans only let you stay for three months maximum, with no extensions.

 We checked out, motored up to Pavones and slept the night, hoping for a little wind to sail back to Panama the next day. We awoke to a rainy stormy looking day and motor sailed off up towards Isla De Burica. About half way up the wind was perfect for motor sailing, the seas a little rough, but we were making great time. We passed the border between Costa Rica and Panama sailing happily in about 15 knots. We jybed over and headed off towards Armuelles, the same arrival and departure port we used when we left Panama. More dolphins and Tania has her first low speed sailing experience.

 She is on watch and the wind has dropped and as a result, so has our boat speed. All the way down to 4 knots. She comes down and asks me if it’s ok to start the engines as we are going too slowly. J I explain that this is true cruising and that normally we wouldn’t use the motors. She looks astounded and horrified all at once. It is always tough to go from 8 knots smooth sailing to 4… it literally feels like you are not moving at all, but this is the way that cruising goes. She says that if this was her boat, she would of just turned on the engines. LOL>

 We had a beautiful sail down the coast and anchored off a beautiful uninhabited beach about 4 miles from Armuelles, just at sunset. A really nice sail back to Panama from Costa Rica, even if we didn’t want to go!

 The following day we checked in with the awesome customs and immigration people there. Not too sure why but they have really gone above and beyond to be nice to cruisers. We checked in easily and quickly, with friendly people all helping us. We got our new cruising permit and passports stamped.

 One of the best parts of getting back to Panama was now we could go shopping and not break our bank account. Costa Rica had great supermarkets, but literally it was 30 or 40% more expensive there, than going to the shops in Panama. We loaded up on goodies and went back to Brisa. We stayed there that day and spent the night. The following day we zoomed off early to Isla Paraida. We anchored in the same spot as when Elwin and I were heading up, but it was a little rolly so we tucked around the corner and saw a couple of other boats anchored.

 We dropped the anchor and went over to say hi to a very colorful gentleman on  rather old looking ketch. He told us there was a hostel on the beach and we should come in for drinks… so we took a nap, and just after sunset grabbed a couple of gatorades and went to visit. The guy off the ketch had a very cute husky with him and a girl crew. We later found out he advertises and gets people to come sailing with him and shares the costs.

 Anyways, we went into the hostel and found very friendly people and a couple of tourists that looked a little shell shocked. They were drinking a lot of rum and were looking a bit rough around the edges.

 We were told we had to go check out Bahia Honda, so as we said our goodbyes and as we left we were already thinking about our next days sailing adventure. We pulled into Isla Secas and found whales playing in the anchorage and lots of fish. Also a great little sand spit that divided the north and south parts of the island at low tide, but made for an ankle deep bridge at high tide. We went for a little walk there at sunset and took some cool photos. The night was a little windy, but we were on the lee side so comfortable. Our nights have also become a little more enjoyable after we installed out AIS. It has a great independent anchor drag alarm. We have also got a couple more anchor drag alarms, but this one seems to be very good. It all helps us sleep well when it is windy!

 During the night I went outside with the flashlight to check the anchor and shone it out into the sea. Immediately a big school of needlefish started leaping around in an effort to hide from the light. Literally fifty or sixty of them in a big silver flashing herd ( or school but these ones were not too smart so lets stick with herd ). They came straight at the light and crashed into the side of Brisa with many thunks!!!! It was amazing to watch them all. Crazy fish!

 The following day I went out with my mask and snorkel and looked around some of the little islands, but the visibility was terrible. I did see a big fish.. the likes of which I had not seen before. Looked like a barracuda, but with a long skinny nose, about 6 feet long, very silver and friendly. Other than that a very average snorkeling adventure towing the dingy. No sharks this time!

 The following day we left for Bahia Honda, with an impromptu snorkeling stop in Isla Brincanco, part of the Islas Contreras. The water wasn’t clear, however it was alive with little fish and beautiful coral gardens. They coral was concentrated, but spectacular, with a lot of life. An hour later we were underway again on our way to Bahia Honda.

Next: We finally return to Panama... Sadly leaving behind Ollies and beautiful Matapalo and Pavones. 

[walkthroughfox]

/r/Gaming Game of the Year Awards 2017 - Results

/r/Gaming Game of the Year Awards 2017 - Results

Welcome to /r/Gaming's Game of the Year awards!

Disclaimer: Terrible humor below. This is a popularity contest for those who voted, not a super big deal! The best "Other" category is not always the top answer either.

Biggest Letdown of 2017:

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Star Wars: Battlefront 2 5,519 47.3% #2 Mass Effect Andomeda 2,655 22.8% #3 Destiny 2 1,839 15.8%

How do you get everyone to hate a movie franchise that has a large portion of their franchise indebted to games as well? Lock nearly all progression off behind loot crates which can also be purchased. Damnit EA.

"Other" choice award:

still can't buy gf :(

also

you

... thanks

/r/Gaming's biggest controversy

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Star Wars: Battlefront 2 8,484 72.5% #2 Net Neutrality 2,217 18.9% #3 Mass Effect: Andromeda facial animations 361 3.1%

Early on, EA is running away with the most rewards. Probably not the way they wanted to though..

"Other" choice award:

This terrible poll

You're the one taking it!

"Early Access Done Right" Award

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 PlayerUnknown's: Battlegrounds 3,587 34.7% #2 Fornite 3,113 30.2% #3 Divinity: Original Sin II 2,609 25.3%

The 1v1 battle between games that pride themselves in a one against all free-for-all; how oddly poetic. PUBG walks away one shot away from death, with this one by only a few hundred votes.

"Other" choice award:

The Witcher 3

ಠ_ಠ

Best Debut Indie Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Cuphead 7,880 73.5% #2 Hollow Knight 1,765 16.5% #3 Slime Rancher 464 4.3%

While Golf Story and Hollow Knight were some of this year's best indie games, Cuphead walks away with this one in stunning fashion.

"Other" choice award:

Doki Doki Liturature Club

You all really made me aware of the mistake I made in forgetting this title.

Best Independent Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Cuphead 6,079 57.2% #2 Hollow Knight 1,438 13.5% #3 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice 1,339 12.6%

I mean, I almost didn't ask this or the last question because I just assumed at this point it would win.

"Other" choice award:

Why is there a trout under the TV Adam? Is this some kind of joke? A cry for help? What am I to make of this? What are you doing? Put down that knife. PUT DOWN THAT KNIFE, ADAM!

https://i.imgur.com/LvSxuKQ.jpg

Most Anticipated

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Red Dead Redemption II 4,261 38.1% #2 The Last of Us Part II 2,855 25.5% #3 Monster Hunter: World 1,878 16.8%

Hear me out. 3 protagonists. A Union solider, a Confederate solider, and a Native American. They have to work together to find a ton of gold somewhere. They aren't friends and are constantly at each other's throats. The game ends with a three-way Mexican Standoff where the outcome is determined by the player.

"Other" choice award:

Every game

That's the spirit.

Best Esports Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Overwatch 3,569 33% #2 Rocket League 2,630 24.3% #3 League of Legends 1,687 15.6%

"Other" choice award:

Rainbow Six: Siege

Wouldn't have won outright, but your voice and opinion should definitely be noted. Rainbow Six: Siege is a community favorite and has stuck around a lot longer than most of us probably thought. Kudos to Ubisoft on this one.

Best Multiplayer

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds 4,338 40.3% #2 Fortnite 1,856 17.2% #3 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 1,499 13.9%

Looks like we've got ourselves some buttery roasted chicken. I might head over to KFC after I'm finished writing this. /r/HailCorporate

"Other" choice award:

The Witcher 3

I've actually seen this voted for in almost every category now, regardless if it even fits. I have a feeling someone went through this entire thing while wearing the Witcher medallion around his neck, "Yessss, my preciuous."

Best Sports/Racing Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Forza Motorspot 7 2,550 29.3% #2 Fifa 18 1,387 16% #3 Project Cars 2 1,213 14%

Even with it's turbulent release, Forza raced to the front of the pack early with the poll position, and held the lead throughout the race.

"Other" choice award:

The Witcher 3

Forgot about the horse racing bits.

Best Strategy Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 XCOM 2: War of the Chosen 3,166 33.2% #2 Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle 2,842 29.8% #3 Total War: Warhammer II 2,035 21.3%

I'm just going to leave my personal feelings on the game (Love the series btw)

http://i.qkme.me/3qykrl.jpg

"Other" choice award:

They are Billions

Steampunk survival RTS. Gotta love it.

Best Family Game The Mario Showdown Award

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Super Mario Odyssey 4,849 46.5% #2 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 4,129 39.6% #3 N/A N/A %

I debated calling it "The Nintendo Game of the Year", but held back since Splatoon (The third place winner) wasn't really even close. In the race between the world's two favorite Mario games, the winner is.. Nintendo!

"Other" choice award:

Hunniepop

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Best Fighting Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Injustice 2 3,808 40.8% #2 Tekken 7 2,200 23.6% #3 ARMS 1,295 13.9%

Guess it really wasn't an ARMS race, was it? HA. Haha.. Sorry I did that joke such Injustice

"Other" choice award:

the one where the guy hits the other guy

Yeah, me too.

Best Role Playing Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Persona 5 2,163 20.7% #2 Divinity: Original Sin 2 2,142 20.5% #3 South Park: The Fractured But Whole 1,986 19%

We were really spoiled this year weren't we? Not every RPG lover will like all of this, but Persona 5 and Divinity proved to be legendary sequels. Then you could kick back and laugh at fart jokes all day on South Park. A deservedly close race. Even NieR was NieR the top (I'll stop soon, I promise).

"Other" choice award:

Horizon Zero Dawn

While very light on the RPG elements, for the number of votes you folks placed it's worthy of being mentioned. Again, I reiterate, we were spoiled this year.

Best Action/Adventure Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 4,779 42.9% #2 Horizon Zero Dawn 2,565 23% #3 Super Mario Odyssey 1,294 11.6%

After coming two points away from tying one of it's predecessors for the highest metacritic score of all-time, Breath of the Wild deservedly sits in the number one spot. While Mario also tied Breath of the Wild in terms of meta score, it seems users agree it's their pick of the two.

"Other" choice award:

NieR Automata

From Video Gamer, "NieR: Automata has more creativity and self-awareness in its little finger than most games have for their entire run time. Don’t miss this because it’s sandwiched between other, bigger games."

Best Action Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Cuphead 3,634 34.7% #2 Wolfenstein II 3,124 29.8% #3 Nioh 1,411 13.5%

Our winner was just a Cup-a-head when it came to the vote totals. A slim 500 votes.

"Other" choice award:

Your mother was the best action I got all year.

:(

Best VR/AR Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard 3,939 43.4% #2 Superhot VR 2,939 32.4% #3 Star Trek: Bridge Crew 1,351 14.9%

Resident Evil 7 was one of the SUPER HOT games of the SUPER HOT. SUPER HOT. SUPERHOT. SUPERHOT. SUPERHOT SUPERHOTSUPERHOTSUPERHOTSUPERHOT.

"Other" choice award:

Skyrim

That's a SUPERHOT thing to say.

Best Handheld Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Metroid: Samus Returns 3,428 40.4% #2 Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia 1,914 22.6% #3 Monster Hunter Stories 1,824 21.5%

Game Informer said it best, "This might be Samus’ first 2D adventure in more than a dozen years, but it’s a great reminder of why we fell in love with the franchise in the first place."

"Other" choice award:

Pokémon Ultra Moon/Sun

Wins with about 20 votes because I'm dumb and forgot to put it in here.. Also, there was the obligatory "Corey in the House".

Best Mobile Game

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Fire Emblem Heroes 2,963 33.4% #2 Super Mario Run 2,726 30.7% #3 Monument Valley 2 1,798 20.3%

Nintendo went all out for mobile this year. Excuse me, Nintendo Game Software.

"Other" choice award:

Skyrim

Soon you'll be able to play it on a refrigerator.

Best Shooter

Rank Game Votes Percentage #1 Playerunknown's Battlegrounds 2,625 24.2% #2 Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus 2,193 20.2% #3 Fortnite: Battle Royale 1,070 9.9%

You all made the wrong pick. The other moderators forced me to put this in, but everyone knows this game is only played with pans.

"Other" choice award:

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Opens other options, "I swear, if I see one vote for Witche... SON OF A #####!"

MORE IN THE FIRST TOP LEVEL COMMENT

Love game walkthroughs? Bookmark WalkthroughFox.Com as it's about to rain walkthroughs.

[rzostory]

chocobox letter

Hello chocoboxer! Thank you for creating something for me. I like all of these canons and pairings quite a lot, so I'm sure whatever you make me is something I'll love, so try not to stress so much! With that in mind, a brief list of some things I like and don't:

Do like: worldbuilding, fraught relationships, Hogwarts/Restaurant/Mafia AUs, a/b/o, villain protags, villains in love, banter, relationships that are mutual admiration societies, not one mooning about after the other

Don't like: fluff for not-fluffy characters, pegging, praise kink, coffeeshop/HS/college AUs, red noses and joints, two women not interacting, staring at the camera, tagged "yuri"And the fandom-specific details:

Harry Potter (Hermione Granger/Viktor Krum, Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle | Voldemort) All about the Hermione power-couples. I'd prefer she just never married Ron, though them divorcing is also fine--I don't hate Ron or R/Hr, I just don't find it very compelling. Some prompts: --Hermione and Viktor, reconnecting years later, as adults. Maybe at some sort of international diplomatic event --Hermione and Viktor as penpals over the years --Hermione going into hiding in Bulgaria, in a war that went very differently --Hermione/Tom: always a sucker for time turner accidents, whether backwards or forwards in time --Hermione and the diary --An AU where Tom and Hermione are born in the same era and end up locking horns Steven Universe (Cartoon) (Connie Maheswaran & Pearl, Bismuth & Lapis Lazuli, Jasper/Lapis Lazuli, Pearl/Rose Quartz) I love this cartoon with all my heart. I love the gem episodes, with gem history/worldbuilding/drama the best, but I do like the palling around Beach city eps too. And just because some of these have / in the middle doesn't mean everything has to go smoothly and well. Connie Maheswaran & Pearl: -how's training these days? is it still all swords? -how do they interact in the future, when Connie's President -What if they could fuse? Bismuth & Lapis Lazuli -I imagine these two would find a lot to talk about. They both seem like characters with a lot of (justifiable) anger in them -Bismuth is unbubbled, and they explore the modern human world together -Bismuth builds something for Lapis Jasper/Lapis Lazuli -A moment of peace under the ocean -a moment of incredible strife under the ocean -To defend against some outside threat, they have to be Malachite Pearl/Rose Quartz -h/c during the war -an adventure during some important (to humans) era in history -the first time they fused Letterkenny (TV)   (Tanis/Wayne, Jonesy/Katy/Reilly, Devon/Stewart) I love this show, it cracks me the hell up. This is one I like fluff for--I want everyone to get as happy an ending as possible, please. I love the banter, I love, as weird as it sounds, that it doesn't downplay the rampant drug use in small town North America. This is show is an absolute delight, and bless whoever nominated it. Tanis/Wayne -Wayne is the toughest guy in Letterkenny. Tanis is the toughest person on the rez. Discuss. -How did that grill night go? -The return of the three legged puppy Jonesy/Katy/Reilly -How did they all get together? -A nice three person date night -How to tell the difference between Jonesy and Reilly, per Katy -Pacific Rim AU Devon/Stewart -I'm a sucker for Leader/Good Right Hand, however dysfunctional. Devon and Stewart conducting business? -Watching the Social Network and touching tubes -Devon and Stewart at Hogwarts Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)   Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus & Bodhi Rook & Cassian Andor & Jyn Erso & K-2SO, Jyn Erso/Chirrut Îmwe, Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso/Bodhi Rook, Jyn Erso/Bodhi Rook

Another canon where I don't mind fluffier fic. I love that they all died in the movie, but in fic I'm perfectly happy if everyone lives.

Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus & Bodhi Rook & Cassian Andor & Jyn Erso & K-2SO

--good old teamfic. The Rogue One crew is stuck in quarantine after possible exposure to a virus; nothing to do but sit around telling lies and making up drinking games

--a heist

--An awards ceremony

Jyn Erso/Chirrut Îmwe

--I never thought of this pairing on my own but I saw it in the tags and had to try it. Sell me on what you saw, offerer, I'm willing to be convinced.

--A meeting when they're both younger

--...or in another universe where the Empire never came to power, and the temple stands

Jyn Erso/Bodhi Rook

--both children, at least partially, of Jedha. Reminiscing, or mourning, or meeting as teenagers, or arguing about the Jedhan equivalent of whether you eat space latkes with space applesauce or space sour cream

--the Galen-shaped elephant in the room

--Him teaching her to fly; her teaching him to pick locks.

Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso/Bodhi Rook

--Undercover as married. All of them.

--Two of them flailing around about "which one of them do I want to smash?" before the third chimes in with porque no los dos

--Just some good old fashioned smut

--...Cassian eats his space latkes with ketchup and that is wrong, wrong, wrong.

...And that's that! Thanks in advance, boxer, I hope you have some fun with it.