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theostrophywife · 2 years

Text

in heat.

masterlist

(ithan x reader)

author's note: a full fledged oneshot because my favorite wolf boy deserves it. good god the banter in this. i love ithan so much and i am spreading my propaganda. warning: soft fluffy smut. so sweet it might give you a toothache. summary: your nosy best friend ithan gets more than he bargains for when he barges into your apartment with beer and pizza, thinking you'd have a quiet night in.

The darkest pits of Hel could not compare to the sharp stabbing sensation in your womb.

You doubled over in pain, clutching at your midsection and pressing the heating pad over your lower abdomen to ease the cramps, but it still felt like someone was actively burying a hatchet in your stomach. It was only the first day of your heat and it already felt like bloody murder. You nearly cried at the realization that you’d have to endure at least six more days of this excruciating pain.

Luckily, you’ve been given the whole week off from work. Sabine may be a selfish sadist, but even she understood the pains of a female wolf’s heat. It was likely the only reprieve you would be allotted as you twisted sideways onto your couch, kicking the blanket off your feet as you flipped through whatever trashy shows were on at this hour.

The doorbell rang and you groan in response, barely summoning the energy to sit upright. Thinking that it was the pizza delivery that you placed an hour ago, you hollered across your flat with no intention of coming to the door.

“Just leave it on the mat,” you call out.

You waited a couple of seconds before the ear splitting ringing buzzed through your flat again. Huffing in annoyance, you stomp across your living room and yank the door open—fully prepared to give whoever it was on the other side an earful, but stop short when you catch a glimpse of the male standing in the hallway.

Ithan Holstrom gives you a wolfish grin and briefly flashes you the box of pizza he'd undoubtedly snatched from the pizza delivery guy along with a six-pack of beer currently cradled in his arms before he’s barging into your apartment like he owned the place. The wolf makes himself right at home, plopping down on the couch and cracking a drink open.

You cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at your friend. “What are you doing here?”

The male takes a slow sip of his drink, patting the spot next to him. “It’s Friday, which means it’s movie night. I would’ve invited you over to the house, but Flynn and the girls are attempting to barbecue and I don’t really want to be there when Ruhn starts yelling at them for burning the grass in the backyard. Again.”

Shit. You’d been so distracted by the pain of your heat that you’d completely forgotten to cancel movie night with Ithan.

“I can’t do movie night tonight.”

Ithan twists to face you, his soft brown eyes examining you from head to toe. The messy bun you’d haphazardly thrown your hair in was nearly coming undone and spilling over the top of the thick, fluffy blanket you’d wrapped yourself in. The lounge shorts you were wearing were so short that they barely skimmed your thighs. You hadn’t bothered with pants this morning, but you did slip into your favorite Jelly Jubilee fluffy slippers—a gift from Bryce, of course. Ithan never understood your shared obsession with the Starlight Fancy toys, but he found it endearing nonetheless.

“Do you have other plans?”

You wave your hand over your current attire, shooting your best friend an incredulous look. “Yes, Holstrom. I clearly have a hot date to jet off to. Can’t you tell by my Jelly Jubilee slippers? I’ve been told it’s an absolute turn-on.”

Ithan rolls his eyes, fighting the smirk tugging at his lips. “Such a smartass,” he says fondly. “I’m asking because you having other plans is the only plausible reason I’ll accept for canceling movie night. Otherwise, I don’t see a reason why we can’t hang out.”

“I’m…busy.”

“Oh?” Ithan asks, raising a brow. “With what? Bryce is with Athalar and I’m here right now. So what else could you possibly have planned?”

You huff in annoyance. “I have other friends, you know.”

“Doubtful,” the wolf says with dripping sarcasm. He drums his fingers over the couch, a frown forming while his gaze flickers back up to you again. “We don’t have to hang out tonight if you don’t want to,” Ithan says softly.

The uncertainty in his voice softens your grumpiness. You sigh, teetering over to where he’s sitting and cocooning yourself even further within the confines of your blanket. “It’s not that I don’t want to hang out,” you start, absentmindedly blowing at your bangs. “I’m just not sure that I’ll be the best company tonight.”

Ithan cocks his head, noting the nervous shuffling of your feet. There was something different about you tonight. He couldn’t quite place it until you shifted again, bringing with you a wave of your signature scent—midnight rain and sage, tinged with a warm undertone that smelled so delicious that he had to resist pulling you into his lap just so he could catch another whiff.

“Did you use a different soap?” Ithan asks, entirely distracted by the heavenly fragrance. “You smell really good.”

You blush, shaking your head. “No.” Avoiding the wolf’s gaze, you stare at a spot on your pink rug. “Like I was saying, I’m not feeling that well so we have to take a rain check on tonight.”

“Are you sick?” Ithan presses, concern flooding his eyes. He rises from the couch, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead. Your knees buck underneath you from the simple touch, but your friend is too busy fussing over you to notice. “Do I need to call a medwitch? I can ask Hypaxia to come by—”

Burning fucking Solas.

“Ithan,” you growl, drawing your friend’s attention. “Please do not summon the Queen of the Valbaran Witches for a house visit. I’m not sick. I’m just…” your eyes dart around the room as you attempt to look at literally anything else but the male standing before you. “I’m in heat.”

For what seemed like the longest ten seconds of your life, Ithan was silent. You dared to finally spare a glance in his direction, surprised to find him already looking at you.

“Oh,” was all he said.

“Yeah, oh. Now you see why I can’t hang out.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t care if you’re in heat. I still want to hang out with you.”

You blink. “You’re not…grossed out by it?”

Ithan looks at you as though you were the one acting strange. “Why would I be grossed out by it? We’re wolves. It’s normal. I mean, besides the grumpiness, I think I can manage,” he shoots you a cheeky wink that makes you chuckle.

“Now come on, I know you’re dying to watch some godsawful romcom.”

You roll your eyes, but the tension eases in your shoulders as Ithan beckons you to sit next to him. He passes you a slice of pizza once you’re settled in and hits play on one of your favorite movies. It was a cheesy love story, but you absolutely fell for it every time. Ithan would never admit it, but he enjoyed watching these terrible movies just as much as you did.

The two of you fell into your usual movie night routine. The city lights dimmed outside and brought with it a cool shift in the air. Despite the blanket wrapped around your body, you still shivered as the air conditioning came on. Wordlessly, Ithan pulls you into his arms and envelopes you in his warmth.

Not an ounce of shame sluices through you as you greedily cuddle against him, feeling his soft chuckle sweep over your skin as he adjusts the blanket around the both of you.

Ithan pulls the string on your hoodie—his hoodie technically and pokes your cheek with it. “I thought one of the guys took this from my laundry pile. Tharion and I got into it, but as it turns out, you’re the little thief that stole my clothes.”

You childishly stick your tongue out, shoving your hands in the pockets of the Crescent City Sunball hoodie while throwing your legs over Ithan’s lap. “Not my fault you left it here. Plus, it’s comfy and it smells good. You’re not getting it back.”

The wolf grins. “Keep it,” he says, his voice dropping an octave lower. Seeing you in his clothes made him feel a strange swell of pride. Ithan liked the sight of it more than he should. “It looks good on you.”

“Thanks,” you murmur, leaning against him to hide the flush creeping up your cheeks.

Your best friend shifts, pulling you to his side and resting his hand by your hip. You tried your best to turn your attention back to the movie, but you were suddenly hyper aware of every sensation as Ithan’s fingers trace circles along the sliver of skin peeking out from underneath his hoodie. The sweeping touch makes you freeze in place, your breathing soft and shallow as your eyes flutter close.

It feels good—so good—to feel Ithan’s caress sweeping through your body. You release a small sigh of satisfaction that rumbles through him like crackling thunder before an oncoming storm. The two of you had cuddled plenty of times before, most of them innocent and platonic, with a few that had him wishing he’d pressed for more, but not like this. Never like this.

The tension was so thick in the air that he could almost taste it on his tongue. Perhaps it was your heat affecting his senses, but as his fingers inched towards your ribcage, all Ithan knew was that he wanted to hear that purring sound come out of your mouth again.

Before he could think better of it, Ithan fully pulls you into his lap, the tip of his nose brushing against your neck as his right hand roams underneath the large sweatshirt nearly swallowing you whole. He sweeps your hair over your shoulder, breathing in your scent while you shift your weight above him.

“I meant what I said earlier,” Ithan murmurs against your skin. “You smell really fucking good.”

You swallow thickly, desperately trying to focus on the movie playing on your television to distract yourself from how aroused you were. “Thanks. You do too. That’s mainly why I stole the hoodie.”

“You like smelling like me?” There was a hint of a smirk in his voice, laced with an edge of possessiveness that makes your head swim.

“Mhm,” you reply, sinking back into his chest. “You smell all warm and cozy, like mahogany and pine.”

Ithan chuckles. “Good to know you find my scent so pleasing.”

You could barely make out the words as his fingers inched higher, eliciting a shiver out of you. Despite the reaction, there was nothing but heat rushing through your veins from your close proximity.

“You’re freezing,” Ithan observes, sounding every bit like the concerned friend that you knew and loved. Except there was something like lust and desire twisting through his features as you turned to face him. “I read that temperature irregularity is one of the main symptoms of a female wolf’s heat.”

You snort. “Been doing a lot of research on Wolf MD in your free time?”

The male rolls his eyes. “As a matter of fact, I have. I thought it might be helpful to know just in case my best friend ever needed the information, which I was just about to share before she interrupted with her usual smartass comments.”

The thought of Ithan researching your possible symptoms was mildly amusing and also extremely heartwarming. It was just so thoughtful and kind and sweet, which was basically your friend wrapped up in three words.

“Alright then, wolf boy. Share the remedy with the class.”

He shakes his head at your sarcastic quip. “According to the internet—which only contains true and absolute facts—” the accompanying cheeky wink makes you chuckle softly. “Skin to skin contact should help regulate your body temperature.”

A tinge of pink blooms high upon your cheeks at the suggestion. “Is this just an excuse to see me shirtless, Holstrom?”

Ithan rolls his eyes once more, pinching your side. “I’m just telling you what the expert opinion is. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

“So…we’re just supposed to get naked and cuddle?”

The more you thought about it, the more enticing the idea was. You were already doing one of two of those things and the only obstruction left was the clothing between you. And you very much wanted to rid yourself of that pesky little barrier.

“That’s the general gist of it,” he says, his soft brown eyes darkening. “I think chest to chest would suffice. We can keep the blankets around us if that’ll make you more comfortable.”

Ithan offers you a genuine smile, which almost makes you feel bad about all the filthy thoughts currently running rampant in your hormone addled brain. Almost.

You swallow, facing your friend. “Only if you’re alright with it—”

“Of course. You know I’d do anything to help you.” You didn’t doubt the declaration for one second. It was just the type of male Ithan was. “Plus, I know you’re dying for the chance to ogle my abs.”

If only he had any idea how accurate that statement was. You roll your eyes, gesturing for him to turn around. “In your dreams, Holstrom.”

Ithan’s laughter sweeps over your skin as he faces the other way, giving you some much needed privacy. You stare at the back of his head for a brief second, weighing the consequences in your head. Cuddling was one thing, but doing it while semi-nude was completely new territory. It gave you pause, clearly on the precipice of crossing some invisible line of your friendship. The boundary that grew thinner and thinner the more the two of you spent time together.

Unbeknownst to you, Ithan was facing the same dilemma. The wolf was more than aware that he could possibly fuck up your friendship if he took this any further, but if there was anything he learned over the past few years, it was that life was short and he was done pretending that he wasn’t crazy about you. He only hoped you shared the same sentiment.

Throwing all caution to the wind, you quickly slip out of his hoodie before tossing it to the other end of the couch and wrapping the blanket around you.

“You can turn around now,” you say softly.

Ithan did so slowly, his gaze trailing up to your face as he tried his best not to let it sweep past your exposed shoulders and the lacy bra that seems to be peeking out from underneath your knit throw. He busied himself with the hem of his shirt, lifting the article of clothing over his head in one swift move.

You didn’t have nearly as much self control as Ithan did as your eyes roamed over the expanse of his golden brown skin and the muscles that rippled underneath while he shifted closer to you. Pure electricity crackles over your skin as he pulls you into his arms once more, this time without the barrier of your clothes. You let out a pleased hum as Ithan presses you flush against his chest, his natural warmth chasing away any trace of the cold.

“Better?” He asks, his voice rough and husky.

A soft moan is all you can muster as you greedily wrap your arms around his neck, drowning yourself in his heat and scent. Ithan was so godsdamned intoxicating and you knew that if you ever got a taste of him—a real taste—that you’d spend the entirety of your immortal life still craving more.

The notion wasn’t helped as he skims his fingers over the back of your bra, tracing tantalizing circles that nearly made you go out of your damned mind. You nuzzle your nose into the crook of Ithan’s neck, lips barely brushing over his tanned skin as he inhales a sharp breath. Your hands moved of their own volition, dancing over his strong back and threading through his hair, which slipped through your fingers like silk.

Ithan stills, his breathing soft and shallow while you wrapped yourself up in him. Large hands grip the tops of your thighs, shifting your position so that you were currently straddling him. You could feel how tense Ithan was underneath you as you released his strands and ran a teasing finger through his perfectly sculpted abs.

“Ithan?” you ask, your voice barely a whisper. Your best friend’s eyes snap open, giving you a glimpse of the dark desire dancing in his chocolate gaze. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking that touching you is the most alive I’ve ever felt. I’m thinking that your scent is so intoxicating that I want to drown myself in it.” The gruffness in his voice makes your core clench with need. “I’m thinking that I really want to fucking kiss you right now.”

You bite your lip and Ithan’s gaze immediately zeroes in on the movement. “Then what are you waiting for, Holstrom?”

“Such a smartass.”

The teasing remark is the last thing you heard before Ithan closes the gap between you, pressing his lips softly against yours as though it was taking every ounce of self control not to ravage you right then and there. Unfortunately for Ithan you didn’t share his patience and you hungrily pressed against him for more, arching into him and causing the two of you sink into the cushions. Your lips meld together and all of Ithan’s restraint vanishes as he flips you on your back without breaking the kiss.

You moan against his mouth as he trails his hand up your inner thigh, toying with the hem of your shorts. “There’s something else I read about your heat. A remedy to the cramps and pain that you’ve been suffering from.”

“And what would that be?”

Ithan smirks and the sight knocks the breath out of your lungs. He was so godsdamned pretty that it should honestly be a crime for him to walk around looking like that. “I can show you better than I can tell you,” he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Then by all means.”

The male attaches his lips onto your neck as he yanks your shorts off your legs. Ithan hooks his thumb on the waistband of your lace panties, his gaze boring into you as he impatiently tosses them to the side.

“Can I touch you?”

You nod, barely containing the anticipation building in your chest. Gods yes.

You hadn’t realized you’d said that last part aloud until you were met with Ithan’s smug grin. “No sarcasm for me, sweetheart?”

“Are you going to touch me or not?”

His soft chuckle of amusement makes your blood sing. “So impatient. Maybe I’ll make you beg for it.”

This demanding side of Ithan wasn’t one that you’d ever seen and you instantly decided that you liked it. While you adored the caring, sympathetic best friend you were so used to, the male before you reminded you that there was still a wolf lurking underneath that soft and sweet exterior.

“I’ll get on my knees and beg if that’s what you really want, Ithan.”

And fuck if that didn’t make his cock twitch in his pants.

Ithan could barely contain himself as he stroked your sex, the movement so languid and painstakingly slow. Your thighs are shaking as he hovers above you, his bicep flexing as he teases a finger over your slick folds.

“Is this what you learned from the totally reliable internet doctors? Teasing a female in heat until she goes out of her godsdamned mind?”

Gone was the boyish grin you loved so much and in its place was a sexy, seductive smirk that made the arousal pool in your core.

“Actually, no,” Ithan says nonchalantly as he circles your clit. “The doctors said that orgasms help with the pain. A female in heat should cum. As often and as loudly as she likes.”

His gaze slides over your surprised expression, drinking in the utter shock on your face. “But since you’re too busy being such a smartass, maybe I’ll let you handle it yourself.”

You stare back at him defiantly. “Don’t you dare.”

Ithan chuckles. “I guess I’ll just have to find another way to keep the sarcastic comments from coming out of your pretty little mouth.”

He doesn’t give you the time to respond before he plunges two fingers into your soaking entrance, swallowing your moan into his mouth. Ithan curves his fingers inside of you as his tongue slips past your lips, tasting, teasing, and licking every part of you that he can get ahold of.

You rake your nails over his back and he growls with pleasure, the sound of your name a breathy moan coming out of Ithan’s mouth.

“Fuck. Are you always this wet, sweetheart?”

“Only for you.”

The soft whimper drives Ithan absolutely wild. “Damn right.”

The fog of lust and heady desire threatens to swallow you whole as Ithan nips at your neck, plunging his fingers in and out as you buck against his hand. The tension in your core was threatening to unravel with every sweeping touch.

“Gods, Ithan. That feels so fucking good.”

He responds by curving his fingers against your walls, hitting the sensitive, spongy spot that had you seeing stars. Ithan’s other hand slides behind your back, unclasping your bra without you even noticing. How the Hel was he so good at that?

A glimpse of the wolf within peeks out as he takes the lacy fabric between his teeth, discarding it over the edge of the couch without a second thought. His free hand cups your exposed breasts before his mouth claims a nipple, running a tongue over your stiff peaks with a low moan.

“Have I ever told you how much I fucking love these?” Ithan says, utterly mesmerized by your breasts. “They’re perfect. Just like every inch of you.”

You blush at the compliment. Coming from this male, who was literally flawless in every possible way, made it that much hotter.

“Mmm, I think you’re the perfect one out of the two of us. I mean, have you seen yourself? You’re just so damn pretty.”

You giggle as Ithan peppers kisses all over your face. “I prefer devastatingly handsome. Or irresistibly sexy.”

“Glad to see that you’re not letting the compliment go to your head, Holstrom.”

“I can’t help it. You’re my weakness.” He kisses you softly, nuzzling his nose against your cheek. Ithan smiles, bright and beautiful, just for you. “Now come on sweetheart, doctor’s orders."

His thumb circles against your clit, shifting you from the sweet moment to absolute insatiable hunger for him. Your soft pants echo against the walls of your flat as Ithan urges you towards that sweet release, patiently fucking you with his fingers even though he wishes it was his cock that was inside of you instead.

Soon, he reminded himself. He’d make you cum with his fingers before he even let himself think about his own pleasure. Ithan wanted to take care of you first.

“So close—oh gods—Ithan I’m gonna—“

Your best friend coaxes you through the orgasm, never once relenting while you ride out the high. The sight of you writhing in pleasure beneath him is the prettiest thing Ithan has ever seen. You were so open, so vulnerable, showcasing a side of you that he only let himself think about in the late hours of the night. Seeing it in the flesh shattered every expectation he might’ve had. You were absolutely fucking exquisite.

Wild eyes stare back at him, your cheeks flushed and your chest heaving from the intensity of the pleasure. To his surprise, you pull him down to you, capturing his lips once again like he was your lifeline. Just when Ithan thought you couldn’t possibly turn him on even further, the desperation and neediness you were exhibiting makes his cock stiffen to the point of pain.

Your thoughts seem to head in that direction as you reach for his crotch, palming his generous length in your hand. Ithan curses as you unbutton his jeans impatiently, eager to know if he was as big as he felt. He purrs into your mouth as you yank the fabric down over his hips, moving quickly to remove his boxers. Ithan’s brown eyes rolled to the back of his head as you grind down onto his cock, teasing him with the slightest bit of friction.

Ithan grips your hips so hard that you were pretty sure his fingertips were marked onto your skin. At least you hoped to gods it would. “Stop fucking teasing. Tell me what you want, baby.”

“I want you, Ithan.” You maintain eye contact as you sink down to his abs, holding his gaze as you lick your way up his six pack. “I want all of you. Right here, right now.”

You couldn’t be bothered to take things to your bedroom. Ithan drove you fucking wild. You were a female on the brink and you wouldn’t be satisfied until you were filled with all of him.

“Fuck,” Ithan curses. “Then take all of me. I’m yours, sweetheart. I always have been.”

Something like pride and satisfaction dances in the pit of your stomach before you crawl onto Ithan’s lap, bracing your hands on his chest before sinking down onto his length. The male watches every inch of him disappearing into your tight cunt, his head rolling back at how snug you felt around his cock.

Ithan pulls you into a tight embrace as your hips roll against him, lifting higher and higher until only his tip is sheathed inside of you.

“Now what did I say about being a fucking tease?”

You smirk before sinking down in one swift movement, your thighs clenching as you ride him with reckless abandon. Ithan can’t stop looking at you, at the way your eyes burn with fire as your moans grow louder and louder. It’s only when his name falls from your lips that he decides he’s had enough of this little game.

Ithan flips you over, taking full control as he snaps his hips into yours. The way he’s fucking you into the couch makes you dizzy with pleasure, head nearly hanging off the armrest as he picks up the pace. It’s relentless and punishing like he’s waited far too long for this opportunity.

That made two of you.

“Fuck Ithan, right there. You feel so good. So fucking good.”

Ithan nearly came from how vocal you were being. He’s never had someone so open to giving feedback, so unabashedly unapologetic about voicing what they liked and didn’t like in bed. You were bossy and demanding and he knew you’d make him work for it. Ithan found it incredibly fucking sexy.

“Right here?” he teases, rutting into you at the perfect angle. Ithan holds your hips down as you greedily thrash for more of him. “So eager, sweetheart. What if I want to take it slow? Really make you work for it?”

Ithan’s thrust was shallow, barely giving you an inch or two. You dig your nails into his back, cursing all the while. He was such a godsdamned tease.

“Now is not the fucking time,” you growl into his mouth. “I’m in heat and literally begging for it. Would you deny a female pleasure?”

“Never. But I don’t recall you asking. Tell me how you want me to fuck you and I’ll happily oblige.”

You held Ithan’s gaze, refusing to balk from this beautiful male. No matter how intense those searing brown eyes felt on your skin.

“I want you to fuck me hard. Rough,” you declare with confidence. “Don’t hold anything back, Ithan.”

“Burning fucking Solas,” Ithan mutters above you. “You’re going to be the death of me, sweetheart.”

You smirk, ready to strike with another sarcastic quip but Ithan slams his hips into yours with such fervor that you could do nothing but moan in pleasure as his cock filled you to the hilt. Ever the generous male, Ithan delivers exactly what you asked for, thrusting at such a relentless pace that you could barely keep up.

Stars and time and space flit across your closed lids. Ithan was dragging out every whine and moan and pant, feasting on your overheated skin while you writhe underneath him. You could feel the beginning of another orgasm rising within you and so could Ithan by the way your walls clenched around him. The wolf traces the outline of your lips, his voice raw and ragged as he continues rutting into you.

“Open your eyes, baby. I want to watch you cum.”

There wasn’t a shred of sanity left in your body, but you somehow managed to open your eyes and found yourself staring back at the dark, chocolate gaze that threatened to swallow you whole. With sweat glazing over his broad shoulders and solid chest, you couldn’t help but admire Ithan in all his glory.

He smirks as though he could read your thoughts before flicking his thumb over your clit, pushing you to the edge of that sweet release.

His name is a prayer on your lips as you came, hurtling over the edge of yourself and into the cosmic bliss of euphoria. Ithan follows you soon after, his teeth grazing your shoulder as he bites down on your flesh. His thrusts grow sloppy as he spurts inside of you, panting against your cheek as he spends all of himself on you.

For a moment, there’s no sound in the room besides your heavy breathing and the background noise of the movie playing on your television. Ithan pulls out slowly and you both lie back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The gravity of what just occurred hung in the air, but you weren’t even focused on that.

The absence of pain—gut-wrenching and agonizing pain that plagued you for the majority of the day was nowhere to be found. You squealed in delight, startling Ithan out of his recovery.

“I know the sex was good, but there’s no need to yell.”

“Shut up, smartass.” You roll your eyes, swatting the male on the back of his head. Ithan grumbled a complaint, but he was cut off as you threw your arms around him. “You were sent to me by Luna herself. My pain is completely gone. I guess your pervy little research paid off in the end.”

The wolf pinched your ass, causing you to yelp. “It wasn’t pervy. I was merely trying to help my best friend.”

“Well consider me thoroughly helped. Although I’m a little mad.” Ithan’s face contorted with worry and you can’t help the desire to kiss that expression right off his face. “We could’ve been doing that during movie nights instead of watching these cheesy rom coms the entire time.”

He chuckles in amusement. “I happen to enjoy those movies, but I enjoy being with you even more.” You roll your eyes at his cheesiness, but smile nonetheless. “I mean it. I like being around you, no matter what we’re doing. Naked or fully clothed.”

“I like being around you too, Ithan. You’re probably my favorite person, but I’ll deny it if you ever tell anyone.”

He pokes your cheek. “Please. Everyone knows that you have a big, fat crush on me.”

“In your dreams, Holstrom.”

Ithan grins, pulling you to his chest and making the traitorous butterflies flutter around in your stomach. “You’re such a smartass,” he says, his lips hovering mere inches away from yours. “But you’re my smartass.”

And for what seemed like the millionth time that night, Ithan kisses the absolute Hel out of you.

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#it's me hi i'm the problem it's me #ithan holstrom #ithan smut #ithan holstrom smut #ithan x reader #ithan x you #crescent city #hoeab #hosab #sjmass

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the-90s-music-colosseum · 11 months

Text

Round 4 Match 5

propaganda below the cut! (massive wall of text warning)

Ed O'Brien:

"My little meow meow…."

"If I met him in real life I feel like I would simply turn into a pile of ash on the ground. You would have to vacuum up my remains and put them in an urn"

"Reasons you should vote for Ed O'Brien: -He's hot. Literally looks like a Greek god -Humble. Content to stay out of the spotlight and let his fellow bandmates shine -Smart -Very big supporter of LGBTQ+ -He's gorgeous -Family man -Very loyal guy -Beautiful eyes -Guitarist (need I say more?) -He wrote the Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi riff (best song off of Radiohead's best album) -Have I mentioned how attractive he is? -Only hot member of Radiohead I'm sorry"

"If he loses I will disintegrate and become one with the wind"

Björk:

"sooo pretty"

"Björk looks like her music sounds. Out of this world and beautiful"

"she's like the chipmunk who visits my window"

"She is mjother. She has the range, the versatility to serve any and every kind of beautiful you could ever want. She went from cute art pop girly to icy electronic queen in the span of a few years. She served cunt while dealing with the fallout of divorce. And then immediately pivoted to ethereality and fairies. An icon. Oh also, all of Vespertine exists. Need I say more?"

"She IS grateful grapefruit. No one is doing it like Björk she's so one of a kind and insane and very beautiful and everyone should vote for her. A vote for Björk is a vote for Icelandics everywhere!!!!!!!"

"Björk's voice had such a beautiful clarity and delicate chastity that has infused some of the loveliest songs to ever be written. She is an angel that came down from the Heavens to bless us all with her talent, her mind and her grace. Vespertine, with the most elegantly crafted songs of Pagan Poetry, Cocoon, It's Not Up To You and every other majestic opus on the album stands as the most mystical, tragic, and sensual exploration of love and the core of us that makes us human, our souls. And my second favourite album only to In Rainbows. And all her other albums are great too. Just Google I Love To Love by Björk which is a cover but still shows you that she was the most talented sweetheart ever, even at 6 years old. She is my fire, the one desire. I quoted Backstreet Boys, that should tell you how dedicated I am to this cause. If that still doesn't persuade you however, I'll have you know that Justine Frischmann burned my house to the ground, frequently urinates on my lawn, abducted my mom, pushed my grandmother down a flight of stairs on her trip to Manchester and chopped my dad's "you know what" off to use as a heirloom for her house. She is a nasty and crazy woman. Vote Björk, our Icelandic queen."

"bjork is sexy in a mind-expanding way. she would [redacted] and then teach u how to build a computer. my partner says she makes music for autistic people to have sex to. also history ot touches ??????? hello????"

"Have you seen the swan dress? She's an icon and she is the moment"

"swan dress. need i say more"

(the dress in question)

#most attractive 90s musician #poll #polls #90s music #tournament #ed o'brien #radiohead #björk

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sometimesrosy · 3 years

Note

Hey. It's been a long time since I had a question. Maybe the 100's demise was the reason.

Now coming to my actual query. This past year I have binged numerous shows ranging from American to korean dramas or Turkish dizis. There is certain thing that I have felt and noticed throughout i.e., the woman characters aren't given even a slight leeway by the audience. If the even make a slight mistake, the audience remembers it always to stand against that character. Whereas if there is a male villain, people gets cheerful seeing even a slight bit of humanity in him. They even wait for its redemption.

Let me take an example of a Turkish show "kara sevda(black love)". A one line synopsis can be put like- two leads who love each other endlessly but can never be together. So, the villain in that show is beyond redemption. That character has fallen so far off that there is no coming back. But still when he is playing with a baby, people's comments are like 'best moment of the show.' 'see he is such a good person'. 'the female lead should accept his love'. Am like what?

And if I tell you about the female lead. She is a good person at heart who is sacrificing love for family. And she is labelled "selfish" by audience. 'She doesn't deserve the male lead' etc. And you know I too felt like that for the majority of the show until I reached the point of self reflect.

Even Clarke from the 100 faced so much hate that there wasn't any visible backlash when in the end the makers made her a villain. The backlash was for Bellamy death and stupid end instead.

Looking through tv series, it's so easy to see why tv or films doesn't have female anti heroes. Male anti heroes are so easy to find and also widely successful like Damon from tvd or Klaus.

What is your take?

Yup!

Yes.

Definitely.

You are absolutely correct. The leeway for female characters to show human imperfection is very, very thin. Meanwhile, a guy can literally blow up a planet, kill his beloved father, have temper tantrums with kicking and screaming and torture the female main characters and fandom-- and the creators-- think that makes him a hero. And the requirements for his redemption, if there are any at all amounts to:

WOOPSIE! I'M SOWWY.

I simply do NOT understand that phenomenon.

I mean, I get the need to relate to darker characters, morally gray characters, to explore our own negative impulses...but the whole tendency is, for me anyway, given a more sinister light when you compare how the audience tends to treat these outright villainous male characters compared to even SLIGHTLY morally gray female characters. Maybe just flawed.

It also interferes with satisfying redemption arcs. Because YES watching someone face their dark past and attempt to become better and be redeemed is a great story... but if male characters only have to wear a cape and be hot to be redeemed.... then that's not a satisfying redemption arc. And if women can't do ANYTHING to be redeemed because they are considered irredeemably selfish or whatever for the same flaws someone's Hot Dark Badboy smirks about and isn't even sorry for? Then we barely even get redemption stories for women.

And that's part of the problem, isn't it? Women aren't allowed the same representation as men... even as flawed characters.

The point of good representation is not to represent only the best, most perfect, most desirable, most successful type of people. The point is to allow everyone of any sex, race, gender, sexuality, religion, class, ability, etc to take part in the full spectrum of humanity in our stories, good and bad and mediocre. A female Mary Sue is just the female version your general male hero. One is considered bad storytelling the other is taken as The Way It Should Be.

Women are not allowed to have flaws in most of our pop culture, or women are ghettoized into only women's fic or romance or YA, or women take backseat to male villains, or whatever.

I'm writing a book where the woman abandoned her child, and she sleeps around and cons people and avoids commitment. I purposely wrote her to be unlikable.... or rather, she's not unlikable, she's clever and funny and weird, but she has characteristics that women aren't supposed to have. She essentially acts like a male anti-hero, until her call to action and she is forced to face her past mistakes. But I know that these are things that audiences say are irredeemable for women. Abandon her own child?? No. Not allowed. Even though plenty of male characters go off on adventures leaving wife and child behind and it isn't even considered a character flaw, just... a male adventurer. Or honestly, just a guy. Sure one who's imperfect, but that old ball and chain was probably the worst, right? He had to move on and now he has a tragic backstory and complexity and oh the audience will probably either want to be him or want to be with him, because, that's how these things work.

Not saying that characters shouldn't be dark, do bad things, have flaws, be anti-heroes, have redemption arcs, or have a deep, multilayered villainy.

But I am saying we might want to be a little more critical about what we consider irredeemable for certain people and what war crimes and abuse we let some characters get away with in the name of bold (white) masculinity.

IS the nature of being a (white) man we look up to someone who destroys other people?

I think that toxic masculinity IS seen as sexy. Unfortunately, that's one of the reasons it's seeped into our culture. Manly (white) men who abandon kids and kill without remorse, but with muscles. Manly (white) men who murder whole regions because bad things happened to them, and smolder while doing it. Manly (white) men who commit genocide regularly, but fall for the heroine and save her once. Manly (white) men who are serial killers but with an intriguing depth.

tbh there's lots more to say on the topic, some of it very controversial. These are the stories we like to hear and the characters we love. And it might be rooted in the toxic masculinity that our society has been selling to us as propaganda for decades, if not centuries-- but we don't like to be told to examine our biases, our tastes, our preferences, or our beliefs. It's threatening to our sense of self.

However, that is how you unravel all sorts of toxic belief systems, from misogyny to racism to homophobia to bigotry of all kinds. I added the (white) to this post after I read through it, because I realized non white male characters are not allowed this leeway, either. So this phenomenon is generally (not always) limited to white men. Why?????

my theory? we're still making the colonialists the heroes of the story, friends.

#misogyny #toxic masculinity #media #anti heroes and villains #colonialism #pop culture #fandom #redemption arcs

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cybernaght · 3 years

Text

The Rebel/叛逆者: A Review of Sorts

After being only semi-invested in the Rebel, I ended up getting so into it in the final weeks of its release, I’ve shelled out on IQIYI premium just to get the final couple of episodes a few days earlier.

That’s right kids, it’s a Review of Sorts. Unfortunately, I could not find a translation of the novella the drama is based on, so will be looking at it as a separate entity.

Most of this post is spoiler-free, however I have dedicated a few paragraphs at the end of it to discussing the final episode, as there are a few specific things about it I wanted to mention. There is a clear spoiler warning before that part.

If you don’t want to risk it, TL;DR version of this review goes something like this: Rebel is very decent, and positively one of the best things that I have seen to come out of China since I’ve jumped into that particular rabbit hole. It’s pretty well written, it’s very beautifully dressed and shot, and the cast is killing it. I thought it dropped the ball a little in post production, and I did not always love the pacing. Other than that, it’s incredibly decent, and well worth watching, unless communist propaganda really irks you, in which case stay very well away.

I have been having many conversations with @supernovasimplicity all the way through watching this drama, so there are likely to be some thoughts here that are influenced by those.

The story centers around Lin Nansheng, a struggling servicemen in the Guomingdang party. He has a great analytical mind, and absolutely no emotional capacity for his job. He has trouble handling violence, he is impulsive, he cannot speak to his superiors without bursting into tears, and has nothing even remotely resembling a poker face. And that is what makes this drama as enjoyable as it is.

I don’t think Lin Nansheng’s journey would have been nearly as exciting had he started it from a place of competence. He botches up everything he touches because his big brain switches off the moment his emotions kick in. And so, when you see him grow in confidence, learn to control himself, learn to fake his smiles and compliments, you can’t help but feel a strange sense of pride. It also makes Lin Nansheng very likeable as a character for reasons other than Zhu Yilong’s ability to look like a bush baby.

It did take me a while to feel fully engaged with his performance - not because there is anything lacking in it, but just because it’s hard to be truly surprised by his choices after the exposure I have given myself to his work. That said, at about a half-way point I got charmed by him anyway, and there were quite a few scenes that were truly mesmerising. There were scenes where he broke out of the familiar mould of big unguarded eyes and fluttering wet eyelashes, and tried something that was not pretty: every time to a great success. I am hoping to see more of that in his future work.

I really wanted to like the female lead, Zhu Yizhen, but unfortunately both the way she was written and the way she was performed by Tong Yao left me somewhat cold. It did not help of course that the screenplay ended up sidelining her at every turn, leaving her with very little personal agency. She was set up so interestingly, but in the end her sole purpose became being someone for Lin Nansheng to pine over. It is particularly curious from a perspective of meta storytelling: seeing how this is all centered around superiority of communism, which as a whole was, arguably, ahead of its time in the matters of binary gender equality.

The ensemble cast of the drama is stunning. Wang Yang came very close to stealing the show at several points as Chen Moqun, somehow managing to make his rather unlikeable character interesting. I can say the same thing about Zhu Zhu who absolutely shined as Lin Xinjie, showing an incredible range and imagination in her performance.

The overarching story of the show is engaging, with some incredibly suspenseful elements; every narrative arc including a nice progression through it. As spy thrillers go, it was fairly well plotted. You could if you go looking for a few things that did not pay off in a satisfying way (notably, the Chekhov’s cyanide capsule), but you overall the story really was well told for the most of it.

I did, however, feel like the pacing started to fall apart in the last quarter of the drama. Last episode in particular really did feel rushed, not just due to its pace, but also in a way it failed to pay off the final mission in any visible way. There will be more on that in the spoiler section of this post.

Important to note that The Rebel is a show made in Communist China in the year 2021. It does not ideologically side-step from the path that was laid out for it by that fact. Which is to say, it is, undeniably, filled with propaganda. Communists are the good guys, and if you think a good guy (or gal) is not a communist, they probably secretly are. With one exception of a friendly character who is not a communist, and whose fate we actually never find out. Curious, that.

The Rebel is not a kind of a show where censorship-appeasing scenes are shoehorned in. It’s a kind of a show in which the main theme is Sacrifice For the Party.

Aside from the being the moral vector of the show, Mao’s gentle teachings explicitly help get Ling Nansheng out of prolonged depression following his injury, and almost annoyingly, this sat incredibly well with the character, as he was written. Lin Nansheng is conceived as this naive idealist who wants to be on the front line, who needs validation and support of others. His - and I can’t believe I’m saying this - his being disillusioned in his beliefs and choosing to join a party which includes people whom he likes and trusts makes sense. Him finding this one thing that gives him hope and letting it propel him into gaining confidence and competence makes sense.

In many ways, the Rebel is a story of Lin Nansheng’s failure to become an antagonist within the world of the drama.

I have honestly spent this past couple of weeks pondering whether being well written makes political propaganda better or worse, whether the subtlety of it makes it more or less palatable, whether it’s enough, as a viewer, to be aware of it to shrug it off. Ultimately, this is not something I could or should make moral judgements on, but I do believe that it’s possible to acknowledge the fact that propaganda exists in the drama, and still appreciate it for a good piece of television that it is.

That said, I am very well aware that me being kind of okay with it stems entirely from my own removal from the culture this is made in, and I am, perhaps, lucky to even have a choice as to whether I want to engage with a product which is, undoubtably, here to dress political ideology in fancy clothes.

I have, on the other hand, also seen many things in Russian media of the “Annexation of Crimea is Good Actually” variety and those make me feel very unwell, so feeling somewhat at ease with blatant political propaganda in Chinese media makes me the biggest hypocrite.

But, I digress.

Before we go into some specific plot-related things, I would like to mention that the Rebel has this weird dichotomy in which the production is sublime, and the post-production… not so much. The show very well shot. Every element of it sits perfectly together, not a single prop out of place, not a single extra underdressed, not a page of script not put to good use. It’s lit to perfection. It’s scored beautifully. So much of this show is just stunning.

And then… there is post-production.

This is not even about bad CGI (and the CGI is, indeed, bad), it’s just that most of post-production as a whole feels rushed.

Starting with surprisingly imperfect editing, which at times just fails to make the scene flow together. The final line of dialogue would be spoken within a scene, and it would fade to black instantly without a single breath to indicate a full stop. A montage sequence would be created, but every shot within it condensed to a second, making it feel incredibly fast-paced when the effect should be the opposite. There would be a cut away from a speaking character and to the same speaking character from a slightly different angle, making it dynamic without any reason to do so. There are a couple of truly startling jump-cuts.

I did not speed this gif up. This is part of a romantic montage, edited like it’s a goddamn action sequence.

And of course dear old friend slowing down footage shot at 24FPS. Please don’t do this. You think no one notices - but we do.

There are other tell-tale signs of production rushing to the finish line: occasional, but very noticeable ADR glitches, very sloppy job done at sound mixing, which contribute to parts of the show feeling ever so slightly off.

It’s not unforgivable, but it does make me wish the same amount of care and efforts that went into shooting this drama would also go into it after it was all in the can.

Oh, and just because if you know me you know I have a professional fixation on fights, and I am happy to say most action scenes are toe-curlingly delightful. Hot damn those fights are good. I am absolutely in love with the shot below, for example. Placing an actor behind a piece of set so he can exchange places with the stunt double during a one shot is such an old trick, but the execution, timing and camerawork are just... flawless. This is what perfection looks like.

Now we got all that out of the way...

SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES FINALE BELOW

Here’s the thing. I wanted to love the ending and I found that I could not.

The final mission was presented as important, and honestly the scene in which Zhu Yizhen is sending the vital message out as Lin Nansheng holds his ground in hand to hand fight is incredibly dynamic. Party, this is due to the fight itself being incredibly well choreographed, yes, but it’s also where it sits within the narrative, how high the stakes are for everything surrounding it.

But then, the tension all but bleeds out. The Important Message is sent, the fight is won, and we are treated to ten minutes of a very slow car chase, problem of which is not even its speed as much as its placing within the story. As in, by this point both of those operatives have lost their cover, and completed their Very Important Mission. It would be very sad if they died, but their survival does not technically contribute to their cause. Moreover, Zhu Yizhen getting mortally injured in order to protect Lin Nansheng as part of her mission read a little empty when the mission is technically over.

While I personally found Lin Nansheng slow recuperation and his low key ending enjoyable, I think I would have preferred to have seen a more tangible pay-off to all the sacrifices made in the name of “bright communist future”, just a little more justification for every moment of death and despair we witnessed. I would have certainly at the very least preferred to see Wang Shi’an’s death on screen. Considering how many likeable characters martyred themselves on screen, denying us the death of the one antagonist just seemed cruel.

I really did love the ambiguity of the final few scenes however, if we consider the children choir at the end a fantasy. The idea that Lin Nansheng will live out his life in this hope that Zhu Yizhen is still alive, imagining her just outside of his field of vision, his only joy being in this fantasy of her… now, that is incredibly strong. I equally like the idea of rest being promised to him at the end of his journey, and said rest being painful, and slow and unwelcome.

But it felt like as they chose not to to lean into the “sweet” part of the bitter-sweet tone of the ending and we’re unable not commit to the “bitter” part either, so it lands with a splat which is somewhat lacklustre.

---

This concludes my thoughts on the Rebel.

I am more or less out of Zhu Yilong’s filmography to watch, which is probably a good thing at this point. I have just emerged out of several back to back work projects - literally today - and will hopefully once more have time for things I grew to enjoy doing during the lockdown.

Those things, if you have not guessed, include watching Chinese television and writing things about Chinese television.

#the rebel #叛逆者 #Zhu Yilong #review of sorts #now with gifs #chinese drama

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steves-on-a-plane · 4 years

Text

Run. (Pt. 6)

Part One /Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five

Words: 1265 Pairing: Tony Stark & Reader Timeline: The Avengers [2012] Other Info: Run AU Summary: A month has passed since the Battle Of New York, and Tony decides that it’s about time for Reader to meet the team. So they host a party for the Avengers at their place.

June 2012

“Promise me that you won’t take it personal if some of them don’t come.” You begged Tony. The two of you were in your bedroom getting ready for the party you were throwing to celebrate the Avenger’s first victory as a team.

“If some of them don’t come?” Tony repeated. “Why wouldn’t they come? Who wouldn’t come to a party someone was throwing in their honor? A Stark party no less.” Tony adjusted the tie he’d just knotted around his neck. It was one of his favorites, silk and hot rod red in color. His suit was a simple black one he’d worn it a hundred times, but it fit him nicely.

“Do you think that no one is going to come?” With expert precision he put on his custom-made Iron Man cufflinks. They’d been a birthday gift from you a couple years ago. You’d worked with a jeweler to design these small arch reactors out of sapphires. It was flashy and very Tony and he loved them.

“Gosh, you’re beautiful.” He moved across the room towards you and held your face in his hands. “Have you always been so beautiful?” Tony planted a kiss on your lips.

“Have you always been so cheesy?” You asked him, kissing him again. “Help me zip up my dress so then we can say goodnight to the kids.” You turned around so that your back was to Tony.

“Which sitter did you call again? The one who reads to them in German or the one who won’t let them watch TV?” Tony zipped up your dress.

“I called Clara.” You reminded him. “She’s the one that Eddie loves because she knows all the words to all the Disney songs and Rina loves her because she lets her play with her make up.”

“Clara right. The one who doesn’t drive.” Tony nodded.

You and Tony walked hand in hand to the kid’s playroom. Eddie was sitting on the floor playing with his building blocks, Clara the babysitter was sitting across from him. Serina was sitting in a child sized armchair that she was almost too big for. She was skimming a Harry Potter book, her favorite in the series that she had read multiple times.

“I don’t understand why I can’t come to the party.” Serina looked up from her book when you and Tony entered the room. “I want to meet Tony’s friends too.”

“They’re not my friends, Ballerina, they’re more like…coworkers.” Tony said, kissing his stepdaughter on the forehead. “And I agree with your mom that tonight is not the best night for you guys to be introduced to everyone. At least not yet.”

“Fine.” Serina rolled her eyes. “Can you do me a favor at least?” Serina pulled out two baseball cards from her pockets. They were vintage Captain America ones, just one the ones Phil Coulson had once collected. “A boy in my class, Kevin, He said I could keep one of these if I got them autographed by Captain America. Do you think that you could maybe ask him for me?” She held out the cards to Tony.

“What?” He took the cards from Serina and tucked them in his jacket pocket. “No one wants an autograph of your old man?” He pretended to be offended.

“The kids in my class know I can get your autograph anytime.” Serina rolled her eyes again. “Plus, you’re coming to class next month for career day remember? Can you get me Captain America’s autograph, please?”

“Consider it done.” Tony promised.

You and Tony hugged and kissed your kids goodnight. You both reminded them how much you loved them and promised to come in and check on them throughout the duration of the party. Tony mixed up a set of drinks and slid a chilled glass your way. The penthouse doorbell rang and your first guest had arrived. Tony led them around on an enthusiastic tour until they joined you in the living room.

“Doctor Bruce Banner I would like you to meet my absolutely gorgeous and intelligent wife, [Y/N].” Bruce Banner crossed the room and offered you a hand to shake. Tony slipped out of the room as the doorbell rang again.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet the illusive Mrs. Stark.” Bruce said, as you shook his hand. “The team is really excited to introduce themselves. Tony’s done a pretty good job of keeping you away from us thus far.”

“With good reason, Dr. Banner. We don’t invite just anyone into our family.” You commented, sipping from your drink.

“You know, Tony this is exactly the kind of place I pictured you living in.” A new voice joined you in the living room. “Ah, you must be Mrs. Stark.” Steve Rogers looked exactly like the photos and artist sketches you’d grown up seeing in museums and history books. His chiseled chin was a bit softer than photos could capture and his eyes were softer, more inviting but he was every bit the Captain America of legends.

“Oh, please just, [Y/N], I insist.” You invited, shaking hands with the Captain. “Actually, while you’re here, there’s something I have to show you. Come along Doctor Banner you too.”

“Oh, Sweetheart they don’t want to see that…” Tony called out. You ignored him and led your guests out of the room. In the main hallway just off the living room there was a poster you wanted to show Captain Rogers.

“When we first got married, I went through storage and I had a bunch of Howard and Tony’s schematics and drawings framed.” You Gestured to the walls where the invention designs were hanging.

“The first year is paper anniversary.” Dr. Banner recalled.

“I remember this one. Saw it in person.” Captain Rogers pointed to one of Howard’s drawings. It was the blueprint for a flying car.

“But the crown jewel in our poster collection and what I wanted you to see, is this original 1940s propaganda poster of a certain Captain. See Tony won’t admit this to anyone but growing up he had one hero.” You arrived at the poster and stepped aside to let Steve and Bruce see it.

“Is this an original?” Captain Rogers started to reach out to touch the poster, but still a few inches for even though the poster was protected with glass. “I mean not a printed copy, that’s a real pen and ink sketch?” He asked excitedly. You wouldn’t find out until much later that Steve loved art.

“I think it’s pencil, but yes. It seems Howard kept quite a few of the preliminary designs. They’re worth thousands, especially ones like this design that never ended up being mass produced. We have a few extras; I’ll have to have one sent to you.” You decided. “But I wanted you to see this because you’re all a team.” You looked away from the photo to Steve and Bruce. “And if you’re Tony’s team, then you’re his family. He’s going to treat you like his family whether you want him to or not. And if you’re Tony’s family, that makes you my family. Tony can be eccentric, he can be difficult, but he’s also the most loyal person you’ll ever meet. You two seem like you have the best heads on your shoulders so I’m trusting my husband’s safety to you two. You make sure he comes home after every mission. I know he’s going to get hurt doing what you do, so you promise me that when he does, I’m the first call you make. Am I clear?”

“Yes Ma’am.” Steve gulped.

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #Tony Stark Reader Insert #Tony Stark FF #Tony Stark Fan Fiction #Tony Stark Fan Fic #Run.#Run AU

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somekindofroger · 6 years

Text

One Year of Love (Chapter 6)

BoRhap! Roger Taylor x Reader

previous chapters: chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five

Summary (what happened so far): You and Deaky became good friends after you meeting him at the backstage of a Queen concert because you were making company to your groupie friend. You and he just saw each other as friends, Roger felt interest on you but you didn’t show it back and it was driving him crazy, especially because Queen was on tour in America. You, living in England, John was always calling to you, and the other band members (Brian and Freddie) were enjoying your friendship. After they returned to England you barged in into one of their parties without being invited. Freddie saw you before you leaving trying to be unseen, Roger also saw you and followed you and being the two of you alone, after an argumentation, you kissed. You left and none of you spoke a word about it.

A/N: hey loves, I really hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I don’t know, I feel like it’s going on a bit boring, but just because, as I said before, I am leading to the main story. I had a bit of a lack of inspiration on this chapter, so I am sorry if it seems all very hurry or nonsense, even though, I am still enjoying writing it and I truly hope you all are also enjoying reading it :D Please do give me a feedback! It means so much and it also gives me will to keep writing it, heh. Thanks a lot. Also, let me know if you want to be added in the tag list :)

Words: 2k

“You left early last night, that’s a whole new record even for you” Roger heard Freddie sassing him about leaving early from the party. “Or you left alone? Because I saw that groupie you were with there alone and you were no place near”

“Roger left the gig alone? I don’t buy it” Brian said at the moment he was entering the room, John right behind him.

“Of course, you know me better than that, Brian. I didn’t left the party alone” and he winked at Brian.

“Deaky, have you spoken to (Y/N)?” Freddie wanted to know.

“Not ever since we arrived, why?”

“Just curiosity” and Roger glanced at Freddie. He knew Freddie saw you at the party, he was wondering if Freddie also saw you two leaving alone, despite what he said before.

“Honestly, after months on tour I am tired of seeing your ugly faces” Roger said standing up “I am out of here”.

“You should call her, John. She needs to meet Mary!” Freddie said again and that caught Roger’s attention, he stopped. “Weren’t you leaving, Rog?” Freddie knew Roger was going to be interested.

“I am, I have better things to do” Roger said while leaving.

“Don’t forget to ask their names” Brian spoke out loud while he was leaving. They laughed about it, but Roger actually could only think about that kiss.

---

You were sleeping when Jen arrived early in the morning. She had this big smile on her face and she woke you up knocking on the door asking for you to let her in.

“Morning, sunshine” she said with the big smile while entering the apartment while you had this ‘I just woke up’ face.

“I take this happiness as you shagged last night” you said to her right after yawning.

“Christ woman, you look awful” she said. “And I did” and she kept smiling. “Oh, (Y/N) you never gonna believe how amazing he was.”

“Roger?” you wanted to know.

“Oh no, he is long gone now. I mean Kyle.”

“Who?”

“I met him last night, Roger just disappeared and I just ignored it and decided to enjoy the party and I met Kyle, and woah, what a night!”

“I’m glad you had fun, Jen.”

“Where were you last night? You also disappeared, I was just not worried about Roger being with you because I know he isn’t your type at all, hah”.

“I thought it wasn’t my place to be, so I just left” you tried to not seem guilty.

“Yeah, sounds like you. Well, I gotta get a shower, I will be heading back to Bradford later.”

“No more Queen to you?”

“Oh love, I am never done with Queen, but now I can die in peace because I have shagged Roger Taylor and I am done with his type”

“Amen” and you forced a laugh.

After putting better clothes you decided to go out and get yourself a coffee on a place nearby. It was a windy morning and you got yourself a scarf, anxious thinking about the hot coffee you were about to get. You entered the coffee shop and faced the short line. You started to remember about last night and how Roger kissed you. Were you two meeting again? Were you two going to kiss again? What the hell all of that meant. Inside the coffee shop it was warmer and you decided to take off your scarf and hold it. You ordered the coffee and decided to sit next to a table while waiting for them to call your name, you were distracted playing with the scarf fabric, thinking about how your studies were going and Roger was still crossing your mind over and over again. You heard your name be called and you got up to go catch it, you grabbed it and was about to leave the coffee shop when you heard someone touching you, you were expecting it and had a weird reaction to it, you jumped up in fright and that scared the person who had touched you, a man, who made him spill all of his coffee.

“Oh my, I am so sorry” you desperately said trying to clean the coffee that was dropped on his clothes.

“It’s ok, it’s ok.” He said giving you a smile and also trying to clean himself.

“I don’t know what happened, I am sorry” you said again. And then he handed you over your scarf that you were forgetting on the table.

“I think that’s yours” he smiled at you.

“Oh boy! It is, thank you so much, ugh, I am terrible, forgive me” and you kept trying to help him to clean himself.

“Hey, I got it, it’s ok” and he stared at you. Then you first saw his face and he had those pretty blue eyes. He was beautiful and had a dark hair. “I am Matt, by the way”.

“Hi Matt” you smiled back at him trying to put yourself together again. “I’m (Y/N).”

“I know.”

“Sorry?”

“I heard you being called” and you couldn’t avoid but laugh.

“Right. Can I pay you another coffee or something like that? Really, I feel terrible!”

“What about you let me buy you a coffee?” and you showed him the coffee you had in your hand. He gave you a nervous laugh “Right. What about another time?”

“Why not?” you answered back. You gave him your number and said bye. You headed back to your apartment.

“Jen, you won’t believe what happened!” you said while entering the place.

“When were you going to tell me that you were sleeping with John Deacon?” she said when she first showed up on the living door. You hadn’t even close the door yet and you were shocked about it.

“What you mean?”

“Don’t give me this ‘what you mean’ crap, (Y/N). He called! He said he wanted to take you out and so did Freddie to introduce you to someone, I don’t know, Mary I think. How come you didn’t tell me?”

“I am not sleeping with him” that was all that came to your mind to answer her.

“No? So why did he and Freddie wanted to take you out and even introduce you to someone?”

“We… we are just friends, Jen.”

“You expect me to believe that? Honestly, (Y/N) I thought we were friends” and she grabbed her bag, she was about to leave.

“Jen, I am sorry, we are really just friends” you held her hand trying to make her wait “I didn’t think it would mean something, it’s not even that big deal.”

“Was that why you wanted to come to the party last night?”

“Yes. I wanted to know why he didn’t invite me. I am sorry, Jen. I mean it.”

“I will think about it” and that was all she said before she leaving. You felt terrible. Jen wasn’t one of your closest friends but still she was your friend and you cared for her and you didn’t want to things to end up like that.

Feeling bad about the whole situation you decided to distract yourself by trying to do some work on your studies, you were really focused and nothing was crossing your mind. Not Jen, Roger or anything to do with Queen, that was when the phone rang, that worked was a way to wake you up from the work you got into to. You went to pick it up.

“(Y/N)? It’s Matt. You know? From the coffee shop.” The voice on the other side said.

“Hey Matt. How’s going?”

“Good. So, I was wondering, I know that’s very rush and I will probably get a no as an answer but… what you think about having dinner tonight?”

“Tonight?” you repeated

“Yeah.”

“I thought the deal was a coffee” you teased.

“Well, I can buy you a coffee” he laughed about the idea.

“What time?” you asked him in a way to confirm that you accepted the invitation, maybe going out with a new person was a way to distract yourself even more about the situation, afterwards you couldn’t just stay home the entire Saturday or weekend trying to ignore your thoughts by facing the studies.

“8pm, is that good? At the Rules, you know it?”

“I do.”

“Ok, so it’s a date.”

“It’s a date. Bye Matt.”

“Bye.” And you hung up the phone. The idea of going out was indeed really exciting especially because Matt seemed like a nice guy.

You arrived at the restaurant near 8pm, you didn’t want to get late. You saw Matt just in the moment when you entered the place.

“Right on time” he smiled at you and walking to you, kissing your cheek as a way to say hello.

“Didn’t want to let you waiting” and you looked at him, he indeed was looking nice. He was wearing a blue suit that did make call attention to his blue eyes even more. You wore a pink dress that did suit you very well.

“You look beautiful, (Y/N).”

“Thank you, you don’t look bad yourself” and you couldn’t avoid but smile. The two of you were escorted by a waiter until a table.

At the time that the two of you had sit down and already ordered, you two started to chat.

“So, let me know what you do for living” you asked him.

“I actually work on the propaganda business.”

“Really? That’s interesting.”

“What about you?”

“Can you guess?” you tried to play.

“Not really.” He didn’t seem to get the game and you just decided to tell him your whole scholarship thing and what you were doing in London. Matt was indeed a nice guy but so far from the type of guys you had got used to in the past months – specially thanks to phone calls from America.

You two had a lot to talk about, knowing each other better, and then somewhere from the front of the restaurant you all heard some short of screaming.

“What is that?” you wanted to know.

“Probably another famous person, some of them come here” Matt said.

“You come here often?”

“Sometimes, more on business than pleasure.”

“Which one is this meeting about?” you teased him.

“Pleasure, I hope”. He flirted back.

The meal has arrived and you kept chatting about each other’s lives. Matt did seem to know a lot of the restaurant, especially for knowing some of the waiter’s names.

“Sir, there’s a call for you in the reception” a waiter showed up to tell him.

“I am sorry, (Y/N). Probably from work, I don’t get a day off not even during weekend and I let them know I would be here.”

“No problem, just go ahead”. And then he left. It was just there at the table, looking to the other empty seat, you took a sip of your wine, looked around and got distracted for a moment, nothing in particular in mind. That was when a movement on the other chair, a second ago empty, called your attention

“I can’t believe you are already cheating me with another man, love. That is unforgiveable, especially after our so very special moment on the other night.”

“Roger Taylor, what the hell are you doing here?”

chapter seven

taglist: @itsanarrum @theinvisible-men @schniiipsel @my-bitter-blue @butterfliesflewaway @taylorroger-s @ma-ntequilla @roger-taylor-owns-my-wigg @b-r-o-s-k-i @rogerjustroger @allhailthedeakydo @xxcxrolinexx

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theliterateape · 3 years

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Centrism: Not an Embrace of the Status Quo But of Pragmatic Solutions That Reject Rhetoric

by Don Hall

As David Himmel will be the first to point out, I am a contrarian by nature and nurture.

I'm the guy who hated Ms. Pac Man in the 80s for no other reason than that everyone else loved it. I refuse to watch a second episode of Arrested Development because I watched the first and didn't laugh once. Hell, I co-created a live lit show in Chicago (and eventually Chicago and Vegas) that thrived on the idea of the Devil's Advocate.

I suppose it's no surprise, then, that in times when polarization and partisanship is at an all-time high (maybe not since 1970 have things been this broken) I am inclined to take the middle ground on many of the hot button issues of the day.

Let me be clear: this is not the centrism Rebecca Solnit castigates in her Guardian piece. This is not the centrism of the status quo nor the centrism of most of us in the vast middle in between hardcore Partisan Warriors on either side of the fence.

Centrists in the antebellum era were apathetic or outright resistant to ending slavery in the US and then in the decades before 1920 to giving women the vote. The civil rights movement was not nearly as popular in its time as moderates who like the more polite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr think it was. King himself famously declared, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice …” As King notes, the status quo is always changing, and the centrists are often resistant to change that expands rights and justice, more mild about efforts by the right to shrink those things in favor of more inequality and more authoritarianism.

SOURCE

The sad truth is, for those on the fringes, any deviation from their ideological worldview is tantamount to complete and utter fealty to the Other Side. It is a "with us or against us" proposition. Solnit's perspective on those of us in the middle of the divide is that we're fine with how things are and are happy as assholes in diapers ignoring those problems she sees as Original Sin. That's a plastic bottle full of weasel shit, friends.

I'm in the middle of:

"Biological sex is a myth" and "Transgender people are unnatural."

"Abolish the Police" and "Call 911 on Black Kids Swimming."

"Open the Borders" and "Build a Wall."

"The Wealthy are Evil" and "The Poor are Lazy."

"White People are All Racists" and "Racism is Over in America."

"Equality of Opportunity" and "Equality of Outcome"

Perhaps in King's time, a moderate was someone too busy enjoying the fruits of life to care much about those on the margins. The polarization between the hippies and their parents, the pro-Nixon and anti-War, the young and the old, was characteristic of a massive transition in the values of the country catching up to the values of the Constitution. Not so today.

Today, we're pretty much fine with war on both sides of the aisle. As long as there isn't a draft, we're all comfortable with Obama drone-striking our perceived enemies and, overall, pretty OK with staying out of the Middle East (except for a series of phone calls, of course). We're mostly fine with rampant capitalism because to curb it too much would mean we wouldn't have smartphones, the internet, or the ability to order tube socks and anal lube via Amazon and Etsy.

Today's centrist is, according to the billions of fucking surveys done in an attempt to explain how a failed real estate trust fund baby and has-been reality TV star managed to be elected president, more Left than Right and more inclined to disagree with tactics than goals. Hardly the Silent Majority and more like the Exhausted Middle. Less the white moderates of the late 60s and more like the parents of children raised to believe that their comfort is the single most important issue on the table.

Speaking only for myself (because like so many of our most strident citizens including Rebecca S., the tendency to attempt to paint one's opinion as the monolithic viewpoint of a whole range of individuals lumped into a fictionalized tribe is the sign of reductive propaganda):

It is not the goals of my Wokester friends that I disagree with; it is the angry, ham-fisted manner in which they pursue these goals.

Calling cops racist might feel good and seem like progress but

Decriminalizing all drugs use, sales, and purchase with retroactive sentencing

Eliminating property taxes as the method to fund public schools for a equal playing field for every public school regardless of location

Increasing the training window for police by five times with emphasis on deescalation techniques

Eliminating qualified immunity for police departments nationwide

all address the the issues surrounding black people and how they are treated by the police in substantive and progressive ways without ever getting into the bizarre tribalism of identity that undermines any sense of unified purpose required for forward momentum.

Protesting Big Oil and Energy Conglomerates and screaming at people to recycle feels like serious activism but

Financially subsidizing Big Oil to invest in green energy

Adding a tax on gasoline to make automobile travel more expensive for families with more than one car

Creating incredible tax incentives for building owners (specifically low income housing) for switching to solar energy on a building-by-building basis

Increased government investment into nuclear energy

all help solve the issues while eliminating the shame associated with Rage Profiteering.

The two act drama we go through every time we see another mass shooting in the country is pointless but

Increasing legal liability to any business that sells firearms and ammunition should the product be used in violence

Requiring significant firearms training for every citizen who purchases one

Requiring firearms liability insurance for every weapons purchase (like we do automobiles)

Establishing DMV-like licensing facilities for gun ownership that require periodic registration and licensing

all move the needle toward safely controlling the use of firearms and helps prevent their use for unnecessary violence rather than demonize those who feel strongly that guns make them safer.

In her takedown of centrism, Solnit quotes a study confirming that hyper-partisans are cursed with an "intolerance of certainty." As I've written before, this correlates with the study indicating cognitive closure and cognitive complexity. She establishes exactly what her quoted study proves and then completely subverts it with "who is more intolerant of uncertainty than those who want to believe that authority is trustworthy, no secrets need sunlight, and urgent change is unwanted?" The study demonstrates exactly who is more intolerant and her characterization of centrism is skewed only to ignore the study.

While the two extremes are not symmetrical, the Woke seem to have decided that the bullying, the anger, the politics of Otherism are the collective strategy that has worked for the Right, so let's do that. And it isn't working.

"We beat a world-class buffoon, I mean, I mean, world-class, historical buffoon. And we lost House seats at the time, and we came within 42,000 votes, of not winning the presidency, that we got to learn to talk to people better, and clearer, and more distinctly, about things that are relevant to their lives. And that's what I'm trying to do.

And I don't - like I say, this whole thing is, is about language. And I think the best language is the most direct simple language of people. And that's what I think we need to engage in."

James Carville

Centrist perspective in the last century may very well have been "...positions [] seen as radical not long ago, when this country supported segregation, banned interracial marriages and then same-sex marriages, prevented women from holding some positions and queer people from others, and excluded disabled people from almost everything."

Centrism in the 21st Century is about ignoring the noise and actively trying to solve the problems rather than trying to bury the very people necessary to support the solutions.

He who embraces the status quo is not centrist. He is conservative. As the Right gets nuttier, the genuine conservatives are becoming more centrist.

He who embraces progressive change is not centrist. He is liberal. As the Left gets more tribal, the genuine liberal becomes more centrist.

A centrist in 2021 recognizes that with half the country espousing one thing and the other half barking the exact opposite, finding pragmatic solutions that address real need is the only way forward.

#politics #Rebecca Solnit #James Carville

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oltnews · 4 years

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Jennifer Lawrence plays the role of 'Katniss Everdeen' in THE HUNGER GAMES. Lionsgate Lionsgate announced a film version of Suzanne Collins Hunger Games prequel, The songbirds and snakes ballad. Fresh out of the press, Lionsgate has announced plans to shoot Suzanne Collins' To come up Hunger Games prequel, The songbirds and snakes ballad, in the next Hunger Games movie. Director Francis Lawrence, who succeeded Gary Ross after the premiere Hunger Games and directed the next three installments (Catch fire in 2013, Mockingjay part I in 2014 and Mockingjay part II in 2015), is back in the director's chair, with Michael Arndt who writes the screenplay and Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson who produce. No, I have no idea when it will be released, but keep an eye out for available locations before Thanksgiving. The book, slated for May 19, is said to be a story of origin for the villain Coriolanus Snow, starring the possible tyrant at the age of 18 before becoming the genocidal president of Panem. Yes, there have been online discussions about the potential "problematic" notion of highlighting a handsome white guy who ends up becoming the bad guy, and it's no secret that I think the Hunger Games the property must vacate as long as it is early. At the very least, I would say that people presented themselves for the brand character (Katniss Everdeen by Jennifer Lawrence) as much as for the source material, just as they presented themselves for Harry potter and for dusk especially because of Bella and Edward. This is one of the main reasons why Harry potter and dusk turned into cinematic sensations everything (among others) The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, Mortal Engines, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and The donor no. People introduced themselves to renowned characters more than the IP or the plot, although an easily explained plot ("children forced to kill other children for television entertainment", "a vampire and a teenage girl fall in love with each other "young boy goes to boarding school for wizards") translates better than convoluted plots of Divergent and the Maze Runner sequelae. In addition, they wanted to see Katniss kick ass and save the proverbial day, to the point where audiences declined when the films moved away from the "hunger games" and started to really dig into politics and entertainment criticism. / media simply implicit in the first two films. Mockingjay Part I ($ 337 million in Canada and $ 767 million globally) and Mockingjay Part II ($ 282 million / $ 648 million) suffered comparative decreases from the first two films as the films moved further away from the "pretty cute girls and boys" gadget that looks stylish and then kills each other for TV sports ". Many moviegoers obviously didn't care about politics or the thematic context and just wanted to watch the hot guys indulge in the very kind of distraction from the bread and circuses that the movies were trying to criticize. This theatrical decline of Hunger Games (408 million national dollars and 654 million global dollars) and Catch fire ($ 424 million / $ 865 million), as well as the presidential election of a budding dictator, seem to imply that the audience did not understand the point (or took the big turn of the fourth film as a parable "Hillary Clinton is evil") or don't don't care about the surface thrills, which is part of the reason why few of us really talk much about the property. However, the source material is not necessarily responsible for the reaction of the consumer, and The hunger Games remains the latest “new to cinema” franchise to shoot leading blockbuster numbers. As I feared in 2015, anything that scored in the range of $ 750 billion to $ 1 billion (or more) was either animated, or a redesign / pursuit of a previously successful property or (in the case of MCU and DC Films). You can say that Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle (a 22-year-old sequel to a movie that earned $ 365 million and reached $ 962 million worldwide) is the closest exception to the rule we've had, and it's possible that John Wick: Chapter 4 could go supernova abroad when the time comes and save alongside Impossible mission and Fast furious, but it is completely speculative. Everything else that has climbed endlessly and beyond since late March 2012, just six weeks before The Avengers changed everything, was either "new" comic book movies (Black panther, Aquaman, etc.) of established cinematographic universes and redesigns or suites (Jurassic World, Star Wars, The Hobbit, Fast & Furious, Fantastic Beasts, etc.) previously successful cinematographic properties. And since then, Lionsgate has had nothing like this except the fifth and final dusk film ($ 819 million) in late 2012 that they distributed after purchasing Summit Entertainment. the Now you see me movies grossed $ 350 million and $ 334 million in 2013 and 2016, while John Wick: Chapter 3 soared to $ 322 million last year and the original, without deductible La La Land danced to $ 441 million in 2016/2017. There is certainly nothing at the $ 650- $ 865 million scale of the four Hunger Games movies. This is not a criticism, as Lionsgate is generally not known for mega-blockbuster tent poles, and it is not a standard to which they should be held regularly. The hunger Games arrived at exactly the right time, with Jennifer Lawrence at the peak of fame, the media all worshiping the "strong, fierce" Katniss Everdeen as a counterpoint to dusk"Will, passive, beholden to a boy" Bella Swan. None of these descriptions is correct and the Hunger Games the films were fascinating as portraits of Katniss struggling with her mythological version created by the media, just as Lawrence was dealing with balancing her true self with the character "cool girl" created by the media. Katniss was not the greatest American hero just because she occasionally fought and shot arrows here and there, and Lawrence was not the ideal "cool girl" simply because she ate burgers and stumbled in stairs. The fourth and last Hunger Games The film showed the cruel fabrication of what it really was, which is why I was disappointed to see it play (only compared to its predecessors) relatively poorly. Of course, this was previewed by my audience's reactions to the first film (cheering when kidnapped children murdered other kidnapped children) and the horribly ironic festivities from the red carpet premiere for the second film (and probably the others ) that looked like high-profile propaganda broadcasts from the Capitol. Like, relatively speaking, the reaction of fans (vocal minority) to Iron man 3 and The Last Jedi, the relative rejection of the most political and deconstructionist Hunger Games the movies (and it's not like the first two were subtle in terms of politics) brought out an audience that really just wanted bread and circuses and / or comforting fantasy tropes. So I can't help but wonder, even assuming the book is solid and powerful reading, how does a new Hunger Games will be received. To be fair, there is a difference between "Here's a new Hunger Games prequel "and" Here's a new Hunger Games frankness, "as I imagine curiosity will do for at least the" first "film. After all, fantastic beasts and where to find them earned $ 817 million worldwide before Grindelwald's crimes dropped to (still solid, poor domestic total and audience buzz aside) $ 659 million worldwide two years later. I am sure we will have more information once people have read the books. And just because I hate to consider the real thematic heritage of the four originals Hunger Games movies don't mean that the movies themselves were bad or that their intentions were immoral. Sometimes you do Fight Club and people come out thinking Tyler Durden is a hero and "Project Mayhem" sounds like a good idea. As for the humanization of the villain, this can prove to be less "problematic" and more "culturally irrelevant". As we've seen in the past four years, the bad guys are sometimes closer to the Cobra Commander than to Anakin Skywalker. https://oltnews.com/will-the-public-still-care-about-hunger-games-without-jennifer-lawrences-katniss-everdeen-forbes?_unique_id=5e9f32c8386a1

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