#i could also work on whatever next Netflix cartoon is being worked on

[luminnara]

Nightmares | Omega!Bakugou x Alpha!reader

Can we get another omega!Bakgou with alpha! Reader..it could be nfsw or add whatever you’re feeling! Also make sure to stay hydrated and get rest!!

Requests are open!

This is short but sweet! I think it ended up cute <3

“Katsuki, what are you doing?” You asked groggily, still half asleep and refusing to open your eyes. You could feel your omega shifting around in bed next to you, but you were determined to get another hour or two of sleep, and unfortunately for him, that meant that he was being ignored.

Bakugou let out an angry huff. He didn’t like being so needy, but with you, he couldn’t help it. He was at least a good foot taller than you, well muscled, and always snarly and standoffish...but when you were around, he was ashamed to admit that he felt like he was melting into a little puddle of goo.

He hated it. He hated showing anyone how vulnerable he was. No matter how many times you told him that it was okay, that you were his alpha and he could come to you about anything, he was absolutely determined to act tough all the time. When you were out in public together, everyone always assumed that he was the alpha, with the way that he was so big and so angry. His omega scent mingling with your own musk would confuse random passersby, and people would often do double takes as you walked down the street. Nobody could really understand your relationship, but that was okay; it was your life, not theirs, and you and Katsuki were perfectly happy. 

“Alpha,” he huffed, voice muffled by the pillows as he burrowed his way under your arm. 

“What, baby?” you mumbled, lazily petting his hair. 

“Can’t sleep.”

You sighed and willed yourself awake. Katsuki had begrudgingly opened up to you about his nightmares a few months ago, telling you about a few of the worst recurring dreams he had. You couldn’t deny how horrifying they sounded--he was a pro hero, and he had gone through a lot to get where he was today. It wasn’t unusual for him to wake up in a cold sweat, clinging to you for dear life as he tried to catch his breath and take in his surroundings. 

Tonight, at least, it seemed that he hadn’t slept at all, which was just as troublesome.

“Omega,” you cooed, sitting up slightly.

He immediately laid his head on your chest, nuzzling you as he searched for warmth and comfort. “Alpha...”

Your fingers carded through spiky blonde hair. “Wanna tell me?”

Bakugou was silent, and you already had your answer. 

“That’s fine.” you spoke up when he said nothing. “Wanna watch a movie?”

He nodded, still not speaking as you reached over to grab a remote off your bedside table. “Wanna choose?”

He nodded again and you handed the remote to him, settling back against the pillows as he scrolled through Netflix. You didn’t have to ask questions to know what he needed...and that’s exactly why the two of you worked so well. 

Katsuki eventually chose a cartoon, and you knew that if you breathed a word of this to anybody at his agency, he would blow up your shared apartment. It was alright, though; you lived for these intimate moments with your mate, wanting nothing more than to relax with him and get to see a side that he never showed anyone else.

You absentmindedly rubbed your neck over his head, drenching him in your scent, and before long, you heard his breathing even out. Bakugou was big and tough, sure, but when it came down to it...all he really needed was his alpha to make things better.

[capisback]

hiii ! just curious, being a fan of languages aren't there times where you don't have the motivation to study or anything? idk do you have like, tips or something to help ? ive been trying to learn some languages on the side for some time now and ive been stuck there for awhile (ack srry if this is off topic)

First of all, so sorry for the late reply! And thank you for the ask! <3

Disclaimer here, I've only ever studied one language and that was full-time for school. I'm by no means an expert on this, but I'll try my best to help you out!

I think it's important to create a routine and/or to make learning fun.

An example for this would be, let's say, if you have a language buddy that you are doing a language exchange with, you each pick three words to learn that day and at any random time they can ask you what one of these words means (how to say it in your target language or what the target language word means), and the next day you pick three new words. It's a fun and engaging way to try and learn vocabulary, and doesn't feel like an insurmountable hurdle to overcome.

For routine making, there's quite a few videos out there on youtube, but I think you should keep in mind how you learn best and at what point things start to get overwhelming for you and make it hard to start. Since my routine was all-day based, I can't completely say what the best way to make a routine for on-the-side based language learning is. I would say pick something small and do it daily at a certain time and make it a habit.

Decide on your resources and stick to them. Instead of trying to go all over the place trying to find the best ways to study and distracting yourself, make a list of resources you think are best for you and use them. If something really isn't working out, you can discard it, but something I wasted a lot of time on and that drained my motivation was that I just kept trying to look for the best way to study and what thousands of different resources were good to use. I'd also recommend paper-based resources, or resources that aren't online at least, since computers and the internet give you the opportunity for distraction and makes the attention wane.

Set a goal and try to meet it. It doesn't have to be anything big like "I want to have a fluent conversation with a native speaker", though you can do that if you want to, in long-term goals, but I think short-term goals are also very important for motivation. Something like, being able to read a fairy tale, or knowing all the names of household appliances by a certain date. It can be anything at all, as long as it doesn't feel overwhelming and gets you motivated. It can range from daily, to weekly, to monthly, to bimonthly, whatever works for you. It also helps to remember why you're learning the language and holding onto that.

All in all, I think language learning can definitely get boring sometimes, especially when you're starting out, because you're laying down the groundwork, there isn't really anything in there for you to have fun with or learn through something that specifically interests you. But that doesn't mean the method can't be fun or engaging!

I learned my French by first of learning a ton of basic words. Because, however boring learning words is, it's the one thing you need to start out, because otherwise you won't understand what your grammar lessons mean and you'll feel all the more stuck if you try to move forward. (My brother learned by using a site where you had to fill in the words and it gave you a score on how well you knew everything, making it a bit competitive and like a game, which worked well for him!) I also learned basic conjugations together with my vocabulary (because verbs are words, too! You just need to know how to twist them into certain Times) until I knew all ones in all the times I needed for my exam. First started with knowing how to conjugate all those verbs in the Simple Present, then Simple Past, etc.

Once you know the basics, you can move on to things that may be more complicated but are more fun! I learned a lot from translating from English to French. It helped me get natural sentence structure down, and I had a lot of fun with it! I also like to read, so that's something I did as well (Don't try to start out too complicated, and don't bother trying to write down every word you don't understand! That's a definite motivation drainer. Try to learn through context and if you really can't figure it out, you can look it up. Try to do it in bite-sized pieces, too, like a page per day or something). However, if you like watching movies more, you could do that! I heard Netflix, if you have that, has an extension specifically for language learners, which could help you learn naturally while doing something you enjoy (I think this is especially useful to do if you feel the learning is becoming tedious). I personally watched a cartoon I really liked and knew well, dubbed in French. It's useful if you have subtitles, too, but the thing I liked about cartoons was that the language was simpler, because it was more aimed at kids. Don't be afraid to pause and rewind! And you don't have to watch things in one sitting, either, if it's too much. Just do ten minutes or something and watch another ten the next day.

I think that's about it for the tips I have. I hope this helps! If you want me to clarify something or give more examples, please don't be afraid to ask!

[thatgirlwritingficsatnight]

Odi et Amo II

Odi et amo. Quare id faciam fortasse requiris? nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior  

Catullus, 85

After a few years of working in the USA for Disney and playing the role of The White Fox in Marvel Cinematic Universe you came back to your motherland - Korea only to be greeted with hatred and contempt. To make things harder for you the universe sends you the most irritating neighbour ™. Will you be able to find your happiness and  accomplish your dream of becoming loved actress in Korea without complying with standards of patriarchal society?

pairing: Park Jinyoung x reader

genre: actor au

warnings: angst, foul language (please don’t read it if you’re not old enough)

words: 5764

A/N: It was supposed to be published last week, but I was unhappy with it and ended up rewriting it/adding some things. Sorry! (*_ _)人 P.S Sorry for my grammatical errors! Enjoy!

Chapter I

***

Currently sitting in front of your manager you eyed him. He seemed tired and you felt a pang of conscience it was probably because of your tweets last night and you wouldn’t even think of meeting him if you weren’t in dire need of getaway from the uncomfortable conversation with your neighbor. You didn’t meet in your agency’s building since both of you despised the place even though it was a new and flashy building made out of something that looked like a white marble. Both of you agreed on meeting outside it, so you were sitting in the café nearby while wondering how did your shitty boss manage to rent it. Last time you’ve been here, it was a few rooms in shabby, old building. You shivered while imagining going in, that place had an evil aura even from across the street.

"Where did you get all that money to rent it?" you asked.

"We actually bought it." 

"Well, business goes well then."

"Actually we are only able thanks to your movies. Don’t tell Kim Pd-nim I told you, he thinks you'll become arrogant."

"I already am." You smiled coldly.

"That's what I told him."

Your manager had a sarcastic smirk on. Both of you and hated your CEO and even mentioning him would bring up unpleasant memories. Kim Sanghoon was one of those bosses who wouldn't even think about trying to help idols and stars that were bringing him money. No matter what it was — crazy fans destroying your life, death threats, your collapsing mental health he didn’t care. Once you were attacked by media and netizens you were on your own and if it was too much for the company your contract was terminated. You often wondered when would you become too much for them to handle.

"How do you feel?" Your manager caught you off guard, even though you had known each other for a long time there was an unspoken rule between you not to talk about other things than work.

"Honesty..I'm fine I don't understand why everyone asks me that." You huffed a bit irritated and run fingers through your hair. 

"Well it's just.. I know it was important to you and you worked hard to earn the hearts of your Korean fa..."

"I'm fine." you didn't manage to hide irritation in your voice. You were not used to talking about it and you didn't like it one bit. Besides what were you supposed to say anyway? No one else was as hated as you. Of course there were idols and stars that were occasionally criticized but not one of them was constantly a target of such hatred. Even when you left there were still death threats send from your motherland to you, nothing changed. Not to mention no one else got such welcoming on the day of return to their home. It was unfair, stupid, infuriating and saddening. And yet you couldn’t understand what people were expecting of you? Both Mark and your manager knew you, or so you thought. What were you supposed to do? Cry? You wouldn't cry, that was what weak people do, that would show you actually care about what those assholes think about you. You were just fine. Ok. Neither sad nor happy. You'd endure whatever you had to but you won't conform to their image of idol and woman nor will you show any sign of weakness. You'd rather stay hated than do that. Your manager sighed and it pulled you out of your thoughts.

"Well then. If you're okay then I'm glad. So just as I told you I have this drama for you if you're interested." You weren't the slightest bit. Frankly you'd rather stay in bed for the next three months jobless than play some crazy villain or villainous second female lead. Then again you felt bad about the amount of work he probably had because of you. You looked him in the eyes and answered with a sigh.

"I can't promise anything but I can at least listen what it’s about.." Your manager seemed surprised, but he didn't wait long, perhaps in case you'd change your mind. He took out some papers and handed them to you. You cringed on the sole title "Love is your destiny" — it sounded sappy. 

"So it's a love story between fallen angel and this human..." he started.

"Angels...so who do they want me to play? Satan? Devil? Succubus?" You browsed through pages to find the villain.

"You'd know if you'd let me finish." You sent him a small apologetic smile. "They want you to play the main role." You stared at him confused before you burst with laughter.

"They want me to play cute girl in love with the angel?" The idea of you playing the sweet female lead was absurd, not that you weren’t able to do it, you were a good actress it wouldn’t be a problem for you, if anything it would most likely be a challenge for the audience.

"No, no! You'd play the angel. See this is drama with strong female lead. The origin of your character is fascinating. You had to watch the mistreatment of a woman extremely devoted to god. The lady prayed, but she still got beaten, almost killed even. Moreover, you had to be the guardian angel of her torturer — the aggressive husband. You pleaded to god, you asked him to let you guard her instead, but he didn’t agree and forbade you from intervening. One night when the husband got drunk, he beat her unconscious and you were sure he’d kill her. You decided to save her, you kill her husband and this is the moment when you fell. That's when you became deviant and promised yourself you'd help those who were denied it. You’d protect them and avenge them. Fast-forward a thousand years, and we are in Seoul and you meet a man, a painter..." He was so excited you almost didn't understand some words because of the speed. He was waiting for your response but you were too occupied with reading what he handed you. Once you finished it you looked at him with a mix of surprise and excitement.

"It's like it was made for me.." you said with bewildered tone.

"That's because it was made for you. The screenwriter wrote it with you in mind." You looked like a cartoon character, eyes wide, mouth in a shape of letter "o", once you heard him.

"Me?"

"Yes. She is apparently a big fan."

"And tvN is ok with that?" You furrowed your brows confused.

"Perhaps they aren't. But it is co-production with Netflix, and they pushed for you since you’re popular worldwide." 

Your heart fluttered and the tips of your fingers tingled from excitement as you rummaged through the pages once again, not only it would be showed in TV during the prime-time but also streamed on Netflix weekly.

"The screenwriter and producer kept calling me since yesterday as soon as it was known you came back. They almost cast someone else. They were sure you're staying in the USA. Isn't it amazing?" He was as excited as you were and you felt some remorse for being so rude to him before. You gave him your warmest smile, one you usually used only around Mark and your family.

"It really is. Thank you and I'm sorry for being rude earlier." He was clearly uncomfortable with your apology, red spreading on his cheeks as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah don't mention it. Does that mean I can call them and say you are interested." You looked at the pages in front of you once again and smiled broadly before simply saying.

"Yes!"

Jinyoung was still amused you threatened him in his own café. He couldn't focus on the book he had in his hands anymore as he chuckled replying your angered and irritated expressions in his head. It was fun to tease you because you reacted so well. He could tell you could be great friends if you'd let him. He smiled to himself mouthing your own words "bloody Y/N". He was truly shocked that he met you here of all places and found it rather amusing when you yelled in English and caught his attention. He felt some disappointment upon seeing a half naked man talking to you from the screen of your phone but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came up once your friend ended the call. Jinyoung wouldn't call himself a noisy person, but he found you interesting, and he wanted to know who it was and what kind of relationship you had although he rarely cared for stuff like this... His thoughts were interrupted by his ring-tone, BamBam's face illuminated the screen. He sighed but answered it anyway.

"Skrrrt, skrrt!"

"Ah yes, good morning to you to Bam." Jinyoung said in amused tone.

"Oh, hyung you seem in good mood. What you're up to?"

"Reading, thinking."

"Sounds boring wanna hang out?"

"Actually I wanted to ask you about something." Jinyoung ignored his question once he remembered how obsessed with celebrities and their styles Bam was.

"Shoot."

"Do you know any celebrities under the name Y/N." BamBam laughed wholeheartedly.

"That's very funny hyung."

"What do you mean?"

"OMG you're not joking! Are you living under a rock, hyung? Y/N is like the hottest actress ever. Her style is chic and comfy and artsy it's really cool, and she actually doesn't have a stylist, she does it on her ow..."

"She is an actress?"

"She is the actress! She played the White Fox in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lol, you call yourself an actor and you don't know the most popular Korean actress abroad."

"You know I don't like those superheroes movies. Besides why didn't I hear about her Korean career if she's so good?"

"You are so old it scares me sometimes. Well you should know her from internet. I think it's national sport to hate her or something. She just came back, and they're already frying her online not to mention the media and dating rumors."

"Dating rumors?"

"Yeah she dated few actors. I think Seojoon hyung dated her and Changwook hyung even almost proposed. The media made her to look like heartless vixen though. I mean they never liked her but her last ex gave a very unfavorable interview to dispatch and after that she became villain number one. She left shortly after."

"Mmmm... I see." Jinyoung only started his career four years ago so it shouldn't be weird you've never met before. He was also the type of person who couldn't care less about internet gossip and gutter press or dispatch. He sighed. Suddenly your angry reaction made much more sense and Jinyoung didn't feel as good about it as he did before. He scolded himself for being too frivolous and selfish. He just wanted to see your reactions - it was cute and funny...

"Why did you ask? OMG you've met her didn't you. I'm so jealous. What was she wearing? Was it Gucci? I heard she likes it."

"Ok Bam. I have to go. Thanks for the talk."

"Wait, so you wanna hang out?"

"Last time when you asked me to hang out I had to shop for 4 hours with you."

"Well... I am your stylist. Besides, it was fun, come on." 

"I think we have different definitions of "fun""

You woke up to no noise pleasantly surprised. It seems that Sunday's were free from renovation and thanks to that you could sleep in. You stretched out and grabbed the phone to check the time. It was already past eleven. You smiled to yourself and fell to bed lazily. Soon you wouldn't have time for lazy days like this as the production team was supposed to finish up casting for the drama by the end of the next week. You thought about picking some groceries, maybe cooking yourself some food and enjoying the day with a book or perhaps some video games. You took shower and put on some comfortable clothes — beige cardigan you stole from Mark clearly too big for you and some black trousers pairing it up with brown coat. You left the apartment and as soon as you did the irritating voice in your head reminded you about your debt. Hesitant at first you shook off the feeling quickly and knocked on the door. This time you were prepared for teasing, you were expecting it even so you wouldn't be caught off guard. At least that's what you were telling yourself. Your neighbor, however, didn't act the way you expected him to. Instead of smirking at you and teasing you or straight up mocking you, he seemed nervous. He had deep purple bags under his usually sparkling eyes. Perhaps he didn’t feel well... you wondered whether you should ask him if he needed some help. You decided it would be extremely awkward and so you cleared your throat and spoke up — softness now somewhere in your voice.

"Is that bad time? I can come later I just wanted to give you back your money.."

"N-No." He started nervously "I mean no. It's fine. I'm actually glad you're here. Would you come in?"

You didn't want to come in and it must have shown on your face since he continued.

"Come on. I don't bite." He smiled warmly and it seemed much more normal than the timid self he showed you seconds ago. And so you came in curiously looking around his own apartment. It was a mirror image of your own in terms of room placements — a hallway leading to living room with opened kitchen. You came into the living room and Jinyoung rushed after you quickly turning the TV off. You didn't pay it any mind since you were looking around and taking in how different was his home compared to yours. It was very modern and yet it kept the homey feeling. Yours on the other hand, well it was raw yet full of stuff? Mark would probably call it unfinished and cluttered. Your neighbor sat on the other side of the couch leaving quite a lot of space between the two of you and run a hand through his hair. He wore a cardigan very similar to yours both in color and style in fact it could be the very same brand and style it’s just neither of you noticed it.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize." He responded quickly and gained a surprised look from you.

"Apologize?"

"Yes about yesterday…I shouldn't have said those things in public I could say I just didn't know about your situation but it’s no excuse. I’m truly sorry." he paused. "You don't have to be stressed about press or rumors though. It is my café and my staff, so they won't talk about it with anyone I took care of it." You took back everything you said, you weren’t prepared for meeting him, especially not getting apologies from him. On top of that he was the owner of your favorite café...

"I… it's fine." You said confused and tried to act as normal as possible while being very aware of your palms spread on your thighs. They were unnaturally clammy. It was a surprise to you, you rarely got any apologies and you were expecting some more teasing not something like that. Your eyes were everywhere except on him and you were screaming at yourself internally to say something, anything, but nothing was coming to your mind. Once again you lost your ability for forming witty sentences around him or in that case any sentences. There was awkward silence between you and you immensely regretted coming to see him today. You weren’t used to this. Somewhere in your belly you could feel as if butterflies - or rather moths — yes, moths of anxiety were fluttering their wings desperately trying to get into your chest. You never felt like this before. You tried to avoid looking at him but your own eyes betrayed you and fell on Jinyoung only to find out he was enjoying your anguish. His brown eyes were glimmering and his lips formed half smirk that he tried to cover with his left hand in a gesture of propping his head up. Immediately irritation came to you burning all the fluttering wings in the pits of your stomach. A frown formed on your face and you send him a glare. Wondering how could you be so stupid and fall for his act.

"You're really cute when you're shy or embarrassed." He chuckled now mocking you openly.

"I can't believe I took your apologies as sincere." He chuckled again clearly pleased with how you responded.

"They were sincere. I just enjoy teasing you."

"Could you stop? That's inappropriate you don't even know me."

"What do you mean we are neighbors and soon to be friends." He smiled broadly and for a second your mind travelled somewhere else simply admiring his beauty. You cursed his handsome face it could blind and charm everyone really. You wanted to leave, no you needed to leave. It was stuffy in here.

"I'm here for a reason." You reminded him, he was watching you with amusement. It felt almost as if a cat was observing you.

"Ah right... money." his tone seemed inattentive somehow. "I don't need it. Let's say it was a part of my apology."

"Just give me your account number and take the money."

"I don't remember it." You were getting more irritated every minute you talked to him.

"You don't remember your account number?" This man was unbelievable. He shrugged.

"You can send it to me through KakaoTalk if you really want." He smiled and took out the phone from the pocket of his pants. 

"Fine. Just give it." Not wanting to spend any second longer here with him, you scanned his qr to add him quickly and transferred the money.

"Done. Now if you excuse me."

"Of course." He smiled again and you felt mocked by the sole action of his lips shooting upwards. He walked you to the door and watched as you slipped on your shoes. You tried to look as cold and dignified as possible but still tripped over the doorstep. He caught your arm firmly and straightened you. Your heart was beating so fast and hard all you could hear was blood pumping in your ears in fact you were sure he could hear it as well. On the other hand whose heart wouldn't when you almost fell face first, right…? Right? It surely wasn't because of his warm breath now tickling the crown of your head, nor the dangerously beautiful eyes... you absolutely regretted coming here today. It was foolish of you to think your cursed neighbor wouldn't shake you up today. And he was still holding you — how awkward is that; and you felt fine with being hold like that — what on earth was wrong with you? You started to think that maybe it would be better if you'd actually fell and hit that stupid head of yours.

Jinyoung was having very dangerous thoughts. The kind he didn't have in a very long time. He wasn't prepared for this kind of proximity. He was already shaken up yesterday by your touch and closeness he only held your hand for a second or two. Maybe he didn't show it but he was. Honestly he wasn't even into PDA or flirting with someone or even thinking of flirting with someone. Yes, he liked teasing, and he teased you but it was in a FRIENDLY manner. Well it was safe to say he didn't have friendshippy type of thoughts right now. Jinyoung reacted automatically upon seeing you fall he just grabbed your arm and pulled you his way. He was still holding your now tensed muscles, but he couldn't let go of you. He was in trance. Your warmth radiating onto him, the way the smell of your shampoo was tingling his nose, your huge doe-like shocked eyes, parted lips, soft pink on the apples of your cheeks. He was wondering how badly would you kill him if he asked to kiss you right now. He was seriously considering it worthy asking even if you were to pull out his tongue like you threatened yesterday. He didn't ask though, the rational part of his brain finally letting go of you. His own feeling were mess, but he did what he knew best — he masked his emotional disarray with some more teasing hoping you wouldn’t notice.

"Falling for me already?" He smirked even though internally he was screaming and already thinking of confiding in Jackson to get himself calmed. He was clearly the one falling and he was panicked. You rolled your eyes on him seemingly gaining the composure while he was getting stunned even by such simple gesture like this.

"You're way below my standards." You seemed annoyed. He smiled again although he wanted you to leave quickly and leave him alone with his feelings, so he can sort this out. Your eyes narrowed at him even more.

"I need to go now."

"Well, have a great day."

"Right, you too." You were so cold Jinyoung almost chuckled at it because it almost wounded him, and yet he liked it. He enjoyed teasing you too much. You were already walking to the elevator, but he couldn't help himself.

"Oh, and try not to fall when I'm not around to catch you, Y/N." He laughed and you were already frowning at him absolutely mad which made his heart skip a beat, you were really too cute when you frowned. Jinyoung closed the door before you could say anything or worse before he did. He realized he was in deep shit. He tried to think reasonably. He probably just had a crush because he spent a whole night watching movies and dramas you were starring in, he might have also accidentally watched all of your interviews and went to sleep at 6 still smiling to himself from that interview where you had to answer questions about your body in preparation for your role in that Marvel movie. The reporter wouldn't stop asking about your body and making comments on it even though you were clearly uninterested in the topic which you finally cut with your own questions. "Are you looking for some weight loss tips? You look great. Seriously what is it about? Are you trying to fit in my suit?" The last question was asked with whole whisper theatrics and Jinyoung laughed at loud at five am hoping he didn't wake you up through the wall. The suit in question was extremely fitting white leather catsuit. It wasn't the only interview in which you showed off your wits, eloquence and badassness, or how Bam would call it "swag". You were also the most attractive actress he had seen. Of course, you were also attractive when you weren't acting but on the screen... you were amazing. So Jinyoung tried to calm himself down rationalizing his earlier thoughts as simply being starstrucked. That’s what fans felt towards their idols, he was simply charmed by his own new idol. Yes that was it — that’s exactly the type of thoughts some fanboys or fangirls would have. He called Jackson anyway, he knew the designer was the right person to talk to in situations like this. 

Twenty minutes later Jinyoung regretted ever calling his best friend.

"OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO IN LOVE WITH HER!" Jackson basically yelled to the phone. Jinyoung groaned and massaged the space between his brows. 

"Were you even listening? I'm just a big fan."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night man. I’m a big fan of Christian Dior and all I can think of is making out with him." 

"Don’t compare it, he is dead!" Jinyoung yelled and his friend filled his ear in response.

 You were regretting not taking the car for shopping. The walk did help with your racing heart, and helped ease off your mind but it turned out the supermarket isn't that close any more when you have to drag home ten bags of food and products. Thankfully a convenience store was on your way so you could make a stop there maybe you'd be lucky enough to see Seoyun, buy her coffee and have a chat. You knew it was stupid, because she could've just feel obliged to say she is your fan but you still wanted to tell her about your new upcoming role. Sadly she wasn't there and so you just made a stop and sat on one of nearby benches. Massaging your palms that had those harsh red lines imprinted in them now thanks to the bags. You could swear you heard the sound of released shutter and so now alarmed you looked around but it seemed you were the only person here. You sighed, how paranoid have you become that you started hearing the cameras when there was none. Then again you were extremely lucky dispatch and paparazzi haven't found you yet. Just before you left to the USA, your ex gave this interview and your life became hell. You didn't have a day without paparazzi running after you or spying on you. The memories came to you not without acrimony and hurt. Your ex, an actor just like you, used you to create scandal and gain some popularity. You could remember how enraged and morose it made you. You didn't date anyone since then even when Mark tried to introduce you to some people. You intended on staying that way. You didn't need anyone, you had Mark, and he was enough for you. Just you and your best friend. You weren't sure how long you stayed like this, deep in your thoughts. You moved only after you fingers became stiff from cold. Somehow you managed to carry the groceries back home. You were so tired that you just counted it as your training today. You checked the time and it was one PM, perfect time to call your bestie.

"Markiee!!" You whined as soon as his face appeared on your screen.

"Y/N-ah. I miss you." He was wearing some blue hoodie this time.

"That's my line. Do you have time to talk?"

"Bruh, for you? Always. What's up?" 

"I am going to star in a drama!"

"What? I thought you hate those." He was genuinely shocked.

"I know, I do. But this one is different. I'm not playing the villain I got female lead, and she isn't some damsel in distress she is a badass character!" You almost screamed and he chuckled.

"Woah. Someone's excited. I'm so proud of you. So who is getting the privilege to be cast with you?"

"I don't know yet. I'm supposed to meet the cast next week." He nodded his head and smiled. "Anyway what are you up to?"

"I was actually thinking of playing Among Us and streaming wanna join?" He grinned.

"Absolutely, prepare to get wrecked Tuan." You used to play together at least once a week when you were in the USA, his fans loved you and shipped you even though you both told them you were just friends — it is some rule in the internet though, to ship close friends.

Few hours later you were once again killed as the first person, this time by Mark.

"YOU GONNA REGRET IT WHEN WE’LL MEET TUAN. I SWEAR I’M GONNA WHOOP YO ASS..." You screamed on top of your lungs and Mark laughed wholeheartedly, while his chat filled up with hundreds of LOL’s and LUL’s.

"You guys she threatens me. Someone make a clip and send it to the police once they find my dead body." He kept laughing and you couldn’t help but laugh as well. His smile and laugh were just too contagious.

"You really put our friendship to test lately Tuan, here I was foolishly trusting you when you killed me in cold blood. " You stretched and your stomach rumbled reminding you that you haven’t eaten yet and it was already around four pm.

" Hey don’t hate the player, hate the game. "   He shrugged and winked, while you rolled your eyes.

"Okay Mark, I gotta go and eat. It’s already afternoon here."

"Sure, chat say bye to Y/N." They did as he asked and it was soon filled with many hearts and goodbyes. "Love you Y/N! Call me soon." He grinned and you smiled warmly.

"Love you too Mark. Bye guys!" With that you logged off the discord, and switched off his stream. You make your way to the kitchen and took out the ingredients for kimchi jjigae you bought before. You carefully read the recipe opened on your phone and began cooking. You had to make anchovy stock first so you grabbed some dried anchovies, kelp and slashed the daikon in cubicles — it looked quite awkward as each cubicle was different size but hey it was you eating it not some kind of culinary critic. You added water and left it to boil deciding to take care of the rest of ingredients. You cut some kimchi and ate some as a snack and reward for not ordering food today, sliced some green onions, cut the pork and the tofu as well. By the time you were done it was time to strain the broth and add the rest of ingredients. It had to cook so you decided to watch some TV in the meantime. You turned it on, it was some kind of reality show where idols were supposed to camp in the wild for a few days. The idols clearly didn’t feel like being there and the fact you knew neither of them didn’t help. You dozed off before you noticed, your eyelids getting as heavy as iron. The smell of burning woke you up. You shot upwards from your couch and rushed to the kitchen, bumping into a coffee table on your way there.

"FFFFFF-UUCK." you hissed, when your shin pulsed with pain. You quickly grabbed the pot with stew to get it off the fire, forgetting it would be hot as well. You hissed in pain and let id drop on your marble floor which was now covered in burned kimchi and some other things. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fucking shit." You cursed as you tried to navigate to the sink to ease off the burn with some cold water. The cold water did help and you sighed with relief only to later follow it with a sigh of resignation. You had to clean up this mess. It was when your phone barked — a new message. You checked it.

From Unknown number: Are you trying to burn down the whole building?

You furrowed your brows confused, wondering if it was one of those jokes or spam messages you heard about.

To Unknown number: Who’s this?

From Unknown number: Guess.

You huffed in disbelief.

To Unknown number: Ok, enjoy being blocked.

From Unknown number: Wait!

From Unknown number: It’s Jinyoung.

To Unknown number: How did you get my number? Never mind I’m blocking you I’m too busy to deal with you.

With that you put the phone back in your pocket and began cleaning up. You finished in no time now tired out by scrubbing. You sat on the floor and took out your phone to check it out. From Unknown number: Don’t block me what if you need my help one day.

To Unknown number: With what exactly?

From Unknown number: What if you get stuck in your bathroom and need someone to let you out?

You rolled your eyes and saved his contact

To Devil: There is at least 7 billion more people I’d rather ask to help me

From Devil: Ok then what if I get stuck in the bathroom and need your help.

To Devil: I’d leave you there

From Devil: Heartless

To Devil: Better tell me how did you get my phone number

From Devil: You gave it to me when you scanned my kakao code

You were bewildered, was that his plan from the very beginning or were you just paranoid? You were either prejudiced or he was in fact the devil with angel's face.

To Devil: Did you lie about not remembering your account number?

From Devil: Maybe

You couldn’t believe it, the audacity, the smugness. You could feel irritation building inside you but you decide to let it go when your stomach rumbled at you aggressively. After eating you took shower, read a few chapters of The Vegetarian and fell asleep.

Next week passed quickly but in the feeling of anticipation as you were supposed to meet the rest of the cast as well as the scriptwriter and director at the meeting on Friday. You kept calling your manager throughout the week trying to find out who could they be, but he didn’t know anything or didn’t want to tell you. And so you spent the week on training, running, reading and occasionally calling Mark to express your impatience and excitement. You didn’t meet your irritating neighbor even once this week — something you counted as blessing or perhaps a sign that the universe finally turned your karma around. It was finally Friday and you were already sitting in the meeting room waiting for everyone to come in. You smiled at the young man sitting next to you, he was really cute and had this mole under his right eye it added to his charm. He was about to introduce himself, when someone came through the door and greeted everyone cheerfully. You couldn’t believe it. You were cursed, actually cursed.

"YOU?!" was all that left your mouth upon seeing him entering the room.

[iphoenixrising]

Since the A/B/O verse is also set in Fracture, where are the kids? Like, Omega!Tim or Alpha!Tim being protective and cant-help-but-parent-even-more-than-before those babies is a beautiful, adorable, and hilarious imagery, I'm wondering why no one has asked?? Before??? In example, pre-heat Omega Tim cuddling Karmen, Caro, and Charlie with Leo sprawled on top of them is!! So!! Cute!! Dick and Jason would coo while the TT would take (blackmail)photos

You know, babe. This totally makes sense, so yes. I dunno why the kiddos (or as I call them, the future YJ with Dami and Jon as the older crime fighters on the team) never made it in the aob, but tbh, the beginnings were pretty angsty between Tim and the fam when he wasn’t sure how they were going to take the fact he’s an Omega. 

But once he’s good with the family, back in the Pack, he can claim a weekend with the kiddos, and take them to his side place in New York (the one he used the few times he had Heats back in his days wearing the R, before things went to hell. Days when he couldn’t be in the Tower for whatever reason) where he can be alone with them, explain why he never told them, told anybody, the truth. 

Of course, the kids know what an orientation is. They’ve heard it mentioned from scientists and was probably part of their education to re-introduce them to society. 

So they know what an Omega is, Tim. It means you can have babies someday. So can a lot of people? This doesn’t mean we see you any different? We still love you? Caro needs hugs, stat. 

As a matter of fact, no, we don’t want to go to Times Square to watch you and Charlie hack into the main grid (even though the Bat symbol on the biggest screen was pretty awesome last time) right now! We ALL need cuddles. 

So Tim wipes off the scent blockers, sprawls across the massive couch so he can pretty much be covered in children. 

They call out for pizza and Chinese, have stupid television playing in the background, board games scattered all over the place, blankets and Carl the Unicorn is one lumpy pile pushed out of the way. 

A Titan or two (or four) could mass text him after a day or so, and demand he brings the kiddos to Central Park because it’s time to play. And just! Shenanigans for the rest of the weekend. 

But after that, the kids start keeping better track of when their mentor seems to vanish for a few days, plans out when to get a shift in with him before he needs a few days off. Sometimes Cuddle Bug just calls up Bart and explains she wants to stay the night with Tim, so maybe he’ll actually get some sleep? Can he come pick her and Carl the Unicorn up? Pretty please?

Karmen reads while he works cases, bounce ideas off each other until Tim starts loosing focus and he smells really, really sweet. She’s the one that gets him to stop sometimes, makes him roll up in a blanket on the couch because she missed so many cartoons, Tim. Do you even know how amazing Hilda is??We’re watching a few episodes on Netflix.  (She’s the one that discreetly texts Dick, oh! Nightwing to let him know Tim’s getting kind of rundown at the Tower. It’s kind of sad because he looks just so tired, and maybe like he’s not feeling well. When she very well knows it’s Pre-Heat, and Tim’s going to feel kind of vulnerable. That’s why he likes to work cases instead of rest.) 

Charlie still smells like pup, so when the kids separate for a few days with different mentors, Charlie will hang out with Vic, Tim, and - hilariously - Booster Gold first. But when Charlie has cultivated more night hours, and he’s starting to slow down, and it’s going to be Tim’s Heat time soon, he calls for a ride and stumbles up into the Perch still in pajamas and climbs right into Tim’s bed. He probably does a blink and all the systems save progress and power down. Yup, Tim’s going to get some sleep.

Leo literally changes into a lion and just nudges Tim right out of his chair with weight and bulk, pushing him onto one of the couches in front of the television, nuzzling a big nose into him. They watch stupid shows, Glitch Techs, and talk about this year and the next, where they’re the most comfortable, where things are still kind of scary.   

It’s the kids really that plot against Tim and make sure their favorite vigilantes are on top of the game. 

Charlie sends a Snap to Dami with both him and Tim testing out the best filters. (They made a Robin one that gave you a domino, the tunic, and a cape – it’s fan–fuc...frickin–tastic. Dami still got the message, and a few hours later, Dick and Jay were gently picking him sleepily up out of Tim’s arms and hand him off to Clark or Kon to snuggle with before it’s time to meet back up with the others.)

Karm meets them at the window of the Perch. She’s made sure there’s plenty of water and groceries. Make sure to take care of him while he’s sick. Diana is hovering behind them already reaching for the young girl because they have a movie date. Out of the way, boys!

Cuddles is still kind of slow getting down the stairs, so she just takes them one at a time, holding on to the banister with one hand and Carl the Unicorn in the other. It’s probably late and her mermaid nightgown is bright teal against the dark wood of Wayne Manor. Her small fists wiping her eyes when she gets to the bottom of the massive staircase and there’s Dick and Jay coming up from the behind the grandfather clock. She’s so cutely kittenish, yawning loudly, getting scooped up in Jay’s big arms while the two vigilantes coo affectionately at her. She shushes them with a shake of Carl’s head and demand Jay take her to sleep in Dami’s room so they can take care of Tim’s fever. It’s too hot to keep sleeping in his room! (Because all she knows is that being an Omega means getting fevers once and a while, and Alphas help get the fever to go away.)

Dami huffs when she crawls up under his blanket and snuggles with Carl, a fumbling hand pats her head and they both go back to sleep.  

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

Complexities Unknowable Chapter 3

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23274334/chapters/57175900

Chapter Two link: https://tha-best-url-evar.tumblr.com/post/614327945408987136/complexities-unknowable-chapter-two

MasterPost

Relationships: Established Relationship Dukeceit, eventual intrualiceit, background analogince.

Warnings: Remus says some things (mentions of biblically accurate angels, gore art description), food mention, mild sleep deprivation, cursing. As always everyone is sympathetic. Roast me if I forgot something. 

Word Count: 1,851

Remus was, once again, sitting on the counter in the light side kitchen. It was an ungodly early hour of morning, so the Commons were deserted. He was supposed to be waiting for Morality, according to the  spiteful little plot Dee had offered him that he hadn’t listened to all that well, but he surmised it meant he was supposed to fuck with a light side, so… Duh. Of course he was in.

Truth be told, three out of four of the self-proclaimed ‘light sides’ hardly bothered him! They were stuffy prudes, sure, but their insults slid off his back like blood off of steel. As long as he was doing his own thing with Deceit alongside him, everything was fine (he was still pointedly ignoring the existence of another Creativity). But looks like what Deceit wanted to do was torment Patton into, like, repenting? Or something? Like he said, he wasn’t listening.

Anyway! Waiting and watching was what he was doing! And doodling, because sitting still was literally impossible in Remus’ experience. Thankfully, he soon saw the paternal trait springing down the stairs. Straightening his back, The Duke put on his best intimidating face (which he thought looked rather silly, but Deceit assured him was very unsettling). He set down his sketchbook and blurred his edges. It didn’t work very well up here, but it was a little trick that they’d all- Virgil included- learned years ago. Honestly, he just used it to get cheap scares every now and then.

Patton strolled into the kitchen, whistling some jaunty tune and holy shit , Remus had figured it was some shtick, but was he just a cartoon character all of the time ? That was- sure, very adorable- but mostly all the more entertaining to scare!

“What’s up, Dilf!?”

Patton shrieked, nearly dropping a mug. With wide, startled eyes, he found the source of the noise. Said source watched the emotional trait force his expression into something amicable, laughing loudly.  

“Um- good morning, Remus! I, uh, didn’t see you there.”

“That was the point, MoMo,” Remus replied, dragging his claws screechingly down the side of a cabinet; Patton winced at the sound.

“Can I help you with anything?” Read: Why are you still here? Sometimes Remus wondered if he was too good at his job!

“Nope! Just enjoying the atmosphere, sketching, terrorizing…” He flipped onto his back, throwing his arm out and presenting his open notebook.

“You draw?” Patton seemed weirdly happy about that fact, managing a more natural smile. Seemed he thought he’d found something to work with, but that was likely to change.

“Of course I do, I am Creativity, after all! Here .” He handed over the sketchbook with a Cheshire smile. The creative trait had ensured it was flipped open to a detailed depiction of a being composed of several flaming rings, all of which absolutely covered with bloodshot eyes. It had an indiscernible amount of wings that could only be counted as ‘too many’. In the center of the rings was a swirling black void (a type of ink that took Remus weeks to conjure properly, thank you very much).

He watched carefully as Patton studied the image, looking bemused.

“It’s an angel!”

That seemed to only confuse the moral side more, making him tilt his head to a few different angles to look at the drawing. But he still didn’t seem upset by it, oddly enough.

“It certainly is an interesting interpretation,” He responded at last, “and all of these little lines must have taken you forever, that’s so impressive!”

Truth be told, they had taken a while, and Remus was very happy that the effort had been noticed- but that wasn’t the point!

“That’s nothing,” he took the sketchbook back from Patton and flipped through more pages. Aha! This would fuck him up, for sure! A full-color illustration of someone hung up on a meat hook, rib cage pried open like a spike trap to reveal very painstakingly rendered organs. He was actually quite proud of this one.

The only response that Patton gave, however, was a slight wrinkling of his nose when he first saw it, followed by more quiet observation.

“What do you think?” Remus prompted, watching as Patton set the drawing back down on the counter and began to assemble things for breakfast, seemingly unaffected.

“I wish I could draw that well, but I’m still not super good at it,” he said admiringly.

“I had to crack open my own ribs to make sure it was accurate, you know!”

Morality yelped at that one- score one for Remus! Finally!

“You wanna see my re-imaginings of my favorite Final Destination deaths? I’ve painted some with real- well, conjured- but real enough blood!”

But Patton didn’t even flinch this time; he looked more determined even!

“Art is a healthy outlet for expressing yourself,” he was almost certainly parroting Logan there, and he even seemed to believe the statement. Perhaps Remus would have to be a little more creative to get more reactions.

. “I agree! I didn’t expect you to have such an open-minded point of view. I’ll be sure you’re the first side to know when I make my next amateur taxidermy sculpture! Emphasis on the amateur!”

“Great!” Patton practically shouted, very stubbornly staring at the stove.

Before Remus had the chance to continue, the distinct sounds of Logan and Roman arguing their way downstairs met his ears, and he cut himself off. That was enough for one day, he decided. And anyhow, he looked forward to trying new ways to bother Patton next morning.

Deceit rose into the shadows of the Light Side commons with a smirk. It was an awful hour of the night, which was part of the plan. Not only was Patton the first awake in the morning, he was also often the last to sleep. Deceit supposed that Logan was looking after Roman and Virgil’s sleep schedules nowadays, which made it much easier to catch the artificial patriarch alone. That isn’t to imply that Dee had been tracking their schedules or anything, but the overwhelming lie that Morality surrounded himself with made him easy to track- especially in the night, when he had to pretend even harder that he was fine without the presence of his little family. Deceit entertained the idea that he should feel bad for the side, and maybe he did somewhere deep down. Deep, deep down. No, further than that.

Regardless of any such feelings, he was here to mess with Patton. Still unnoticed, he watched quietly as his target scrolled through Netflix, illuminated only by the dim glow of the television. The side looked so tired that he could’ve passed as a corpse, but gave a tiny smile after finally selecting whatever it was he was going to watch.

Wait. Wait. He was watching that ?

Deceit stared at the unmistakable green text that was the intro to The Good Place playing across the screen. If there was one thing he was expecting Patton to watch (Cartoons? Friends reruns? Slime videos?), it wasn't his own favorite show.

“Hm.” Deceit hummed.

In response, Patton shrieked and fell halfway off the couch. His head darted around until he finally spotted Deceit, who had slid down to sit on the sofa as well.

“Oh- um- good evening, Deceit! Wow, today is just full of surprises!”

“ Surely you won’t mind if I join you? This is one of my favorite shows, after all.”

Patton fixed his position so that he was no longer partially on the floor and looked the snake up and down. He paused the episode.

“ Really ?”

“Really,” and then, after some trepidation, “Honestly.”

Suddenly, Patton lit up dramatically, a happy smile stretching across his face. Fuck, wrong direction, Deceit wasn’t supposed to be cheering him up!

“I’m surprised that someone like you would like it,” Deceit continued hastily. Patton’s smile fell a little and he tipped his head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean ,” He lounged back against the couch, “I didn’t think you’d approve of a show where all of the characters are such bad people .”

“What?! The whole point is that they aren’t bad!” Good, Back on track .

“Oh? Then what are they? Last I checked, the main character was very selfish .”

“I- okay, I see what you’re trying to do,” Patton turned to face Deceit entirely, “But they’re- they also-”

“Also what ?” Deceit was also sitting sideways on the couch now, his eyes glinting. He was certain that he’d talked the trait into a corner, which was why he was so utterly unprepared for Patton’s response.

“It’s, like, they all start off not great, but that’s because they were all set up for failure before the afterlife! They had it hard before dying, but when they were finally given the chance to actually get better, then they got better! They aren’t perfect , but they care about each other! And I think it really shows that sometimes, somebody can be wrong over and over and over again, but that doesn’t mean that they’re hopeless, or that they’re a bad friend, or…” He trailed off, looking down at his lap and blinking very quickly. “Or that they’re a bad person.”

Suddenly, Deceit wasn’t that sure that he wanted to see Patton upset anymore.

After a very uncomfortable silence that lasted far too long for his liking, the scaled side realized that he should probably be the one to say something.

“That’s…  a very in depth analysis, Morality. I’m inclined to agree with you.”

“Thanks,” Patton replied. When he looked up, his eyes held an odd recognition. It was a look that no Light Side had ever given Deceit, but they gave it to each other plenty of times. The side in question wasn’t sure if he liked it, but he sure knew that he was uncomfortable.

“So… The show…” He prompted.

“Oh, right!”

Patton pressed play.

Deceit had planned on doing some more provoking of Patton as they watched, but he found himself rather caught up in the program. The conversation he did end up making with the other incidentally slipped into chatting about their shared views on the show. It was almost nice. Maybe. Whatever.

After a few episodes, Deceit elected to return home for the night. As he was sinking out, he heard a sleepy voice bidding him farewell.

“G’night, Kiddo.”

He popped up in his bedroom after that, eyes quickly landing on a half-asleep Remus half-watching Saw 4 . The lights were dimmed to a glow, and the TV’s volume was so low that it might have been inaudible to anyone other than the more animalistic sides.

“You didn’t have to wait up for me,” Deceit murmured warmly, sitting beside his fellow Dark side. The trait yawned and rubbed his eyes, instinctively leaning into him.

“Wanted to,” he responded, voice groggy, “How’d it go?”

Deceit snapped his fingers to change into sleep clothes, reaching across Remus to flick off the lamp. As he settled in to semi-watch the movie, fingers automatically moving to card through his partner’s hair, he carefully considered the question.

“Fucking. Weird.”

Chapter 4

Tags: @deceits-left-glove​ @princemesscharming

[heyitsani]

I’m Yours to Choose

Keep on Truckin’ AU Part 2

Word Count: 3057

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: Robincest (obviously, even if they’re not siblings in this au), mentions of previous near death from a gunshot wound

Pairing: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

Summary: Dick is back home after being released from the hospital and a stay at the manor. Jason comes by to take care of him and they get a surprise visitor.

Notes: Jason is a food truck owner and Dick is a Gotham PD officer.  This is just fluff and more exploration of the dynamic.  Next up is their first date!

You can also read this on AO3 here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, tell me the truth,” Dick glanced over the back of his couch to look at Jason as he moved around in Dick’s kitchen.  It was a sight that Dick liked a whole hell of a lot more than he was willing to admit at this stage.  “How glad are you to be out from under Daddy Wayne’s watchful eye?”

Dick laughed and shook his head when Jason threw a smile at him from over his shoulder as he stirred something that smelled amazing.

“I am glad to be able to be home.”  He didn’t comment on Jason’s snort and went back to sorting through his emails on his laptop.  “I’m also glad you were finally able to break away and come over.  Even if I find it suspicious you were too busy to come to the manor to see me.”

Jason didn’t bother answering and that was enough of an answer for Dick.  He couldn’t blame the other man at wanting to put off that introduction.  The pair weren’t even dating.  Yet, he hoped at least.  He, too, would rather have a couple dates under their belts before Dick introduced Jason to the infamous Brucie Wayne.  Even if Bruce would be the real Bruce and not his public persona when meeting one of his kids significant others.

Snapping his laptop closed, tired of looking through and sorting his emails, Dick carefully stood from the couch and deposited the device on the coffee table before moving toward the kitchen where Jason was chopping something green.

“What exactly are you making?”  He didn’t laugh when Jason jumped slightly and spun, brandishing the knife.  Dick simply raised an eyebrow.

“You are supposed to be resting,” Jason chastised him, frowning.

“I’m allowed to move around, just no overexerting myself.  Walking from the couch to the kitchen is safe.”  Jason narrowed his eyes, but Dick simply smiled brightly and went to the fridge to grab a bottle of sparkling water.  “So?  What are you making?  Cause my stomach can’t handle much more of the teasing scents.”  Pulling himself up onto one of the barstools at the island, he watched Jason resume his chopping.

“Paella.”

“Isn’t that like super hard to make?”

“Nah, not when you know what you’re doing.  The prep takes the longest.  But I did most of that at home before coming over.  Though, I’m totally prepping here next time,” Jason laughed.  “You’ve got a chef’s dream kitchen.  Do you even use it?”

“Not much time to cook, honestly.  And I’m not all that great at it.  Alfred comes over every few weeks and cooks a bunch of meals to freeze that I can just heat up on the fly.” 

“That explains the freezer and an entire cabinet of glass store wares.”  Dick hummed in agreement and drank from his water as he let himself follow Jason’s movements.  “I want to make fun of a grown ass man needing a family butler to make him meals so he didn’t only consume cereal or take-out, but then I also want to shake that man’s hand and thank him for making sure you don’t die of malnutrition.”

“He’s my grandfather.”  Jason looked over at him with furrowed brows.  “I mean technically that’s who he is.  He’s Bruce’s legal guardian and Bruce is my adoptive father.  But even if it weren’t legal, he’d still be my grandfather.”

“Why the hell is he publicly known as a butler then?”

“Cause the papers say whatever they hell they want.  Alf is the real head of that household and he will outlive us all,” Dick raised his water in a cheers motion before taking another drink.  “I think Bruce feels like he’s older than him physically.  Of course, Alfred only had Bruce and Bruce had Tim, Damian and me.  Me alone was probably enough to age him prematurely.”

Jason snickered as he turned back to the food.  Dick took the moment to just watch the other man in his element.  Sure he had had food made by Jason through the food truck, but this was different.  This was the man allowing his true creative nature free.  It was an impressive sight and Dick couldn’t help but want to slide up behind him and wrap his arms around the taller man’s waist.

That thought was interrupted by the sound of his front door opening.

“Uh…?”

“It’s probably one of my brothers.  They both have keys and I told them to never bother knocking when I’m single.”  Dick laughed at the stunned look on Jason’s face as he slid off the stool and headed toward the hallway that led to the door.  “Hey Dames,” Dick greeted his brother.  Without bothering to ask, he wrapped his arms around the younger boy and hugged him tightly before resting his hands on his shoulders.  “What brings you by?”

“I was coming to report to Pennyworth whether or not you are doing well on your own.  But I can smell that you have wasted no time in having someone over to cook for you,” Damian sniffed, narrowing his eyes on Dick who simply shrugged.  “You’re supposed to be resting, Richard.  Why are you up?”  Dick sighed and allowed Damian to spin him around and push him back into the main room and over to the couch.

“Oh good, someone he’ll listen to about resting.”  Dick threw Jason a betrayed look before slumping onto the couch and watching Damian head over to where Jason was now warily watching Dick’s youngest brother approach.  The somewhat meeting at the hospital hadn’t exactly been positive on eithers account so he was uncertain how this one would go.

“Paella?”  Damian asked, looking over the food on the stovetop and the other items sitting out.  Jason nodded and Damian crossed his arms, staring at the older man for a moment.  “Thank you for taking care of Richard.  I still do not trust you nor do I think you deserve someone such as him, but I can appreciate someone who is willing to take care of someone of his stubborn nature.”

“Hey!  I’m right here!”

“Yeah well, I’m lucky he’s willing to lower himself to be friends with me.”  Dick could see Damian’s eye twitch at the word friend and rolled his eyes.

“Want to be more than friends,” Dick called out from his spot.  He smiled at Jason when he looked over, a soft smile of his own resting on his face.

“Stop this disgusting display this instant.  I have seen too often your dalliances, Richard.”  Damian turned his glare onto Dick, who just shrugged and laughed when Jason mouthed ‘is he for real?’.

“Listen, whatever Dick and I are or aren’t isn’t why I’m here.  I’m here because I care and that’s what you do for people you care about.”  Dick watched Damian consider Jason’s words carefully.  “There’s plenty of food and it’s just about done, did you want to join us?  It’s vegetarian.”

Damian looked surprised and even Dick was a little shocked that Jason remembered that tidbit Dick had slipped in one of their phone conversations while he had been at the manor.

“I would not want to intrude.  I was merely stopping by for a moment.”

“Stay, Dami.  If you’re not busy, then stay.”  Dick knew that even if Jason didn’t know the story behind him and Damian, he would have easily seen how important their relationship was to each other in that moment.

“I was going to see Rachel at work, but I can stop by after.  She only just started her shift.”  The mention of Damian’s not-girlfriend made Dick smile wider and Damian’s eyes narrowed further at the expression.  “Get that foolish look off your face, Richard.  I will not tolerate whatever it is you’re thinking.”  Dick merely held up his hands in surrender before shifting to sit properly on the couch.

“Should I put on a movie?”  He asked, grabbing the remote off the side table next to him and flicking on his tv.  He heard Jason and Damian both agree before he pulled up the menu on Netflix and started scrolling. 

He was still searching when Jason appeared in front of him with a plate and his previously abandoned sparkling water.  Dick smiled his thanks and tossed the remote onto the couch so he could take the two items.

“Pick something out Dames,” Dick said, putting his water on the table and grabbing the remote to toss to his brother.  Damian caught it easily as he sat in the armchair.  Jason dropped onto the couch next to Dick a moment later as Damian was starting up The Secret Life of Pets 2.  “Oh, I love this one.  The bunny makes the whole movie.”

“Wouldn’t have pegged you as a cartoon guy, Damian,” Jason commented.  And though Dick knew how much his brother loved animated films, he would be surprised if he’d admit that to Jason.  Tentative truce or not.

“I like animals.”  And yeah, that was a good compromise.

“Dames wants to be a vet,” Dick told Jason before taking a bite of the food on his plate.  “Oh my god, Jay.  This is amazing,” he moaned around the food in his mouth.  Despite the slight blush on his cheeks, Jason rolled his eyes.

“Swallow before you talk, you heathen.”

“Honestly, Richard, your manners are atrocious.  Pennyworth would be appalled.”

“You guys love me just the way I am.”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t a disgusting slob of a man,” Damian threw back before turning back to the food in his own lap.  “But Richard is correct, Todd.  This food is quite delicious.  I will report back to Pennyworth and tell him Richard is in good hands culinarily speaking.  We shall see in regard to the rest.”

“Well, I’ll take what I can get for the time being.”  Smiling brightly at Jason when he glanced his way, Dick tried to let his appreciation shine through his expression.  He knew Damian could be difficult to swallow and it meant a lot that Jason was so obviously trying.  “So, a vet, huh?  Do you have pets then?”

Dick leaned back and let Damian informing Jason of his various pets wash over him as he ate and mindlessly watched the movie his brother had picked.  He didn’t realize he had zoned out until Jason was nudging him and he found both men looking at him expectantly.

“What?”  Jason snorted and Damian rolled his eyes, but Dick could see the fondness.

“I think it’s time for your next round of meds?”  Dick glanced at his watch at Jason’s words and nodded.  “Where are they?  I’ll grab them.”

“Nah, I’ll get them.  I have to pee anyway,” he said, just to get the disgusted reaction from Damian.

“Must you announce yourself that way?”

“Oh I must, Little D.  I really must.”  Jason laughed and took Dick’s empty plate from him and hovered by as he stood slowly from the couch before heading to the kitchen while Dick went to the bathroom in his bedroom.  He leaned on the counter once the door was shut behind him, taking notice of how sore he had become.  According the time he was two hours late for his pain pills, but he had been distracted enough not to notice.

Carefully, he relieved himself and grabbed the pills he needed before heading back to the living room to take them with the water he had already out.  He could see Jason at the sink, washing dishes and Damian still seated in the armchair.

“You waited too long,” the younger stated quietly enough so Jason wouldn’t hear him.  Dick shrugged a shoulder as he slowly lowered himself back to the couch.  Damian scowled.  Dick wanted to do the same because it was awfully annoying how well the younger could read the way he moved and could guess how much discomfort he was in.  It had always been a two-way street with them.

“I’m fine, Dames.  I promise.  I’m just trying to wean off the heavy stuff.  I admit I went a little longer than I meant to, but the statement stands,” Dick told him, tossing the pills and water back. 

“The doctors said-“ Dick held up his hand and gave Damian a look.

“They suggested.  I know what my body can handle better than them.  This isn’t the first time I’ve been shot on the job, and we both know it.”  And Dick knew that bringing up the incident from when Damian had been barely a teen wasn’t fair.  That had been a particularly close call and though this time hadn’t been a walk in the park, it didn’t compare.

The noise in the kitchen had stopped and Dick hoped Jason hadn’t heard most of that for the sake of not wanting to delve into that particular story.  But he didn’t have time to focus on that when Damian was glaring at him and standing from his chair.

“Dames, don’t go.  Come on.  I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“I told Rachel I would go see her today anyway.”

“Hey, stop,” Dick said softly, reaching out to grab his brother’s wrist as he passed by.  “If you want to go, fine.  But don’t go mad, okay?”  He could tell Damian was considering his options carefully.

“I will bring you back your usual drink from Elemental,” Damian offered, the best ‘I’m not mad’ that Dick was going to get from him.

“Stay over tonight?”  The slight nod he got in response was enough.  “I’ll call B and let him know.”  He knew Damian would only be happy if he was able to know for sure Dick wasn’t lying about his condition.  And he wouldn’t get honest answers if Jason was around.

“Nice seeing you again, Damian,” Jason called over from the kitchen where he was drying his hands with a tea towel.

“Yes, well I shall reserve my judgement of you for the time being.  But I know ten ways to kill you just using my bare hands and will employ all of them if you hurt Richard in anyway,” Damian remarked as he walked out of the room, leaving Jason stunned and Dick chuckling.

Watching Jason, Dick just smirked and watched him stare at the spot Damian had disappeared from.  He didn’t snap back to attention until the front door opened and shut with a decisive click.

“Does he really?”

“Probably not ten,” Dick shrugged.  “Maybe like…five.”

“I said it last time and I’ll say it again, he is intense for a teenager.”

“He likes you.  Thank you for that.”  And Dick meant it.  It was rare for Damian to warm up to anyone as quickly as he had just now.  But Damian was good at reading people’s intentions and that had made a difference.  “And thank you for remembering the vegetarian thing.  I have friends I’ve known since I was adopted and they can barely remember.”

Jason shrugged a shoulder and put the towel on the counter before coming back over to the couch and dropping down next to him again.

“I don’t have any siblings, but I’ve always wanted them.  My parents should never have been parents, so it was good they only had me.”

“You can take my brothers any time you like.  One is allergic to sleep and the other is an old man in a sixteen-year-old body.”  Jason laughed and Dick smiled at the sight.  He had seen the other man laugh and smile plenty, but there was something different about it in that moment.  When neither had any kind of obligations happening and they were just together, enjoying the others company.  It was warm.  It made Dick’s heart speed up just slightly.  “But speaking of friends who I have known for years, my oldest friend Donna is having a birthday party next weekend.  I was told under threat of releasing embarrassing information that I was to bring ‘that new hottie Wally told me about’.”

“Are you asking to meet the rest of your harem?”

“Well, they’ll be there but Donna has black hair.  If anything, I’d be in her harem.”  Jason chuckled and nodded.

“Send me the details and I’ll make sure to be available.”  Nodding his head, Dick made a mental note to do it tomorrow so not to seem too desperate.  But he was beaming on the inside that Jason had agreed to go.  Now he just had to make sure his friends would chill out enough not to overwhelm him.  “Can I take you to dinner before that?”

“What?”  Dick straightened up a bit more quickly than he meant to, startled by the random words.  Rubbing at the healing wound, he held back a wince.

“Sorry,” Jason frowned, his eyes tracking Dick’s hand on his chest.  “I didn’t mean to surprise you.  I’d just like to have our first date under our belt before I meet all of your friends.”

Considering his words, Dick figured it would be fine for him to go out to dinner.  Not like Jason would let him do much of anything strenuous.

“You don’t consider this a date?”  He was only joking, but it was kind of a date.

“Not with your little brother crashing, no.”  Okay, that was fair.  “So?”  Oh yeah, he hadn’t actually given an answer.

“Yeah, Jay.  I’d like that a lot.”  The smile that stretched across Jason’s face took Dick’s breath away and he had to physically stop himself from leaning over and kissing the man.  “Jesus, you are beautiful,” he let slip without thinking.  The blush that spread onto Jason’s cheeks was well worth the embarrassment he felt for not controlling himself. 

“You obviously haven’t looked in any mirrors.”

“Nah, I look in them all the time.  I know what people think when they look at me.  I would much rather look at you.”

“I will never get over how fucking charming you are.”  Dick smiled brightly and leaned further back into the couch.  “I bet you could charm a crook into a confession.  Have you ever tried?”  That made Dick laugh loudly as he shook his head.

“No, I can’t say I have.”

“Well damn, Officer Grayson.  Think of all the criminals you could have behind bars.”

“I’ll keep that in mind once I’m back on active duty,” Dick offered.  Jason nodded and chuckled softly.

“You do that.”

[grandducktale]

“All Yet Seems Well” - Game of Thrones, Dexter, YGO, and the legitimately troubling trend and implication of “the problem play’s” re-emergence in pop culture

So first off, spoilers, naturally. Gonna be talking tragedy here. Also, cringe warning. I’m going to use mostly anime here. Kid cartoons, even.  But there’s a point to all this. If you were fans of Dexter or the television series “Game of Thrones”, any show that had more than anything an “unsatisfying finale” you might be able to pick up what I’m putting down.

What is a tragedy? The definitions vary, but it is a troubling or melancholic story with an unhappy ending. 

A Tragic Hero is easy enough to define. Hamlet from Hamlet, and Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. These two men are tragic because they pass away, and are unable to fully protect what they hold dear. But... I wouldn’t say they’re truly tragic. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to be either of them, but Spike Spiegal and Hamlet do to an extent accomplish some of their goals, and go out in a blaze of glory, score a moral victory, something.

(Pictured Above: Spike saying “Bang” as he bleeds out after killing his nemesis and destroying half a criminal empire in a wild one man blaze of glory)

This post is not about those characters. This post is not even about tragedy, necessary. This post is about problems. Problem plots, problem characters, and problematic implications. The title of this post is “All Yet Seems Well”, because the shows and the characters I am about to discuss are highly reminiscient of Shakespeare’s “Problem Plays.”

To start, let me bring up the character of Shouzu Hiiragi from Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V(a cartoon about children playing competitive card games Konami makes to sell trading cards). Arc-V is basically the “problem play” of YGO, if said play had a caged gorilla break out and steal the spotlight for the last third of the performance. “Problem Play” is a vernacular used to refer to three of Shakespeare’s plays that couldn’t quite be pegged into tragedy or comedy, that provoked discussion either about the plot’s structure, the means used to resolve the problem, or both. For those not even slightly into Shakespeare, I’ve always viewed the operetta The Yeomen of the Guard as Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Problem Play”, so to speak, though Yeomen might as well be a straight up tragedy relative to Gilbert and Sullivan’s other works. 

But what makes a “Problem Play” a “problem play”, precisely? Well, since we’re talking about YGO Arc-V, lets go to Act V of one of Shakespeare’s “Problem Plays”, All’s Well That Ends Well. Act V, scene three, to be precise. 

King: Let us from point to point this story know, To make the even truth in pleasure flow: If thou beest yet a fresh uncropped flower, Choose thou thy husband, and Ile pay thy dower. For I can guesse, that by thy honest ayde, Thou keptst a wife her selfe, thy selfe a Maide. Of that and all the progresse more and lesse, Resoluedly more leasure shall expresse: All yet seemes well, and if it end so meete, The bitter past, more welcome is the sweet.

So to understand the “problem” with the above(besides finding a more contemporary translation and supplementing that with sparknotes, tvtropes, and google), one must understand the gist of the plot of “All’s Well That Ends Well.”

Basically, the protagonist of the play, a common girl by the name of Helena, has just prevailed in her desire to marry the love of her life, the highborne Ward of France, Bertram. The audience and the reader should in theory rejoice in such a moment. Helena was given the ability to choose her husband as a reward for saving the ill King, and though she picked Bertram and stipulated that he did not have to marry her, and though Bertram did not directly reject her but instead provided her with two nigh impossible tasks that required guile, intelligence, and strength to prevail, something just seems off. (Perhaps this is why the King says “All Yet Seems Well)

What is it that is off? Is it that Helena was for whatever reason the only one in France capable of curing the King? Is it that for someone as skilled and cunning  as Helena, telling Bertram he doesn’t have to marry her is pointless? Is it Bertram’s own psychological manipulation, to the point that even if these two people married and truly did love each other, that their happiness is a righteous person’s misery? That doubt, that uncertainty, the vague feeling that runs contrary to the overt, happy plot is what makes up a “Problem Play.” 

Shozu Hiiragi is tragic not because of a vague sense of malice or villainy inherent in his character like Helena. No, in fact, he is an authentic version of the “Noble Commoner” facade that makes Helena so problematic. YGO Arc-V is about a kid named Yuya trying to make it as an entertainer after his father left him at a very young age, vanishing into thin air. Yuya was bullied severely, and his father was supportive and this larger than life figure. Naturally, his abrupt disappearance was a traumatic event for Yuya.

Yuya compensates for this disappearance and his past by playing Pagliacci, a sad clown. The Pagliacci thing aside, the show makes it quite clear in the first three episodes that Yuya holds on so tightly to his identity as an entertainer because of the absence created by his father’s disappearance

Now before I get to Shouzu Hiiragi, I have to talk about Yuzu.  Yuya’s childhood friend and sweetheart is a girl named Yuzu Hiiragi. 

Shouzou Hiiragi is a lifetime friend and operator of Yushou’s entertainer school.  To summarize without being too spoilery, the audience eventually finds out that both Yuya and Yuzu are alot more important than they seem, and that they sort of just... appeared one day as babies. This is where Shouzu starts to become tragic, since we learn that not only did he raise a child that wasn’t his, he did so as a single father

 So Shouzu was second banana to Yushou, but he was an entertainer of some renown. He gave it up so he could raise his adopted child, and later on, act as the operator of “You-Show Duel School”, a school named after Yusho but ran by Shouzu since Yushou disappeared.

Now there’s a lot of issues with Arc-V. A lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. I am focusing on Shouzu but there’s so much to talk about with how this series has a lot of problems that its tone clashes far too hard with. But I’ll show a meme image out of context for the heck of it. 

I focus on Shouzu because he is the legitimate avenue towards Yuya and the show’s main conflict of balancing entertainment with legitimate hurt, dangerous conflict, and immense suffering and pain. He is a man who does good and puts his ambition aside out of alturism to start, but more than that, he is a genuine father figure to Yuya despite all that is on his plate. 

Like his costume of flame suggests, Shouzu is hot-blooded and passionate. As the plot progresses, Yuya struggles with doing what is right, being a good entertainer, preserving his father’s legacy, and a whole bunch of things. The advice of his father, Yusho, and the advice of his mother, Yoko, is to “smile when he feels like crying” 

This advice isn’t bad, but it is a crutch and a mantra for Yuya, one the direction of the show itself portrays as unhealthy and stunted. (When Yuya cries, he tends to wear his goggles so as to not let it show). So let’s analyze a sequence near the beginning of Arc-V’s 140+ episode. Yuya had obtained a special power like any Campbell Hero, but his rival, Reiji Akaba managed to copy said power in a duel against him(Which Yuya won, anyways albeit due to Reiji having bigger things to deal with)

Being bullied and having a traumatic past, then obtaining a special power unique to him that allows him to win duels, and then LOSING that special power, gets to Yuya a lot, even if he is plenty competent as a duelist.

So he runs away in tears.

Shozou hits Yuya with some facts about how naturally, if a technique or special ability in a game was discovered that gave someone an edge, it would only be a matter of time before other competitors used it too. But Shouzou then challenges Yuya to a duel, and instead of telling him to smile instead of cry, instead re-frames Yuya’s situation of losing his unique ability in a postive and constructive manner

A lot goes on in Arc-V, but the pendulum that Yuya swings back and forth on is the legacy of his father and becoming his own person. Shozou, who is Yuya’s de facto father, provides a path towards the latter. 

But... to make a long story short, Shozou is forgotten about. Yuya keeps chasing after his father, and the lesson he learned from Shozou is forgotten. Arc-V, which if you haven’t been able to tell from my essay on the main character’s girlfriend’s dad has an amazing ensemble cast, and spends 50 episodes developing these great ensemble characters.

But in the next 50 episodes, the ensemble characters fade into the background, and Yuya takes center stage only to repeatedly just smile and want to be like his father.

And in the last 50 episodes, the show gets downright mean spirited. A likable ninja character that has the design of a generic henchmen is killed off unceremoniously, an unlikable legacy character manages to shrug off that fate with ease. 

All the while, the show keeps this upbeat tone of optimism and Yuya triumphing.

And Yuya does triumph, he does save the day, but it’s all wrong. 

I am only skimming the surface here, but the reaction I saw and was invoked in me about Arc-V’s ending was the same reaction I saw with Game of Thrones’s ending.

Something along the lines of “I don’t mind a bad ending, so long as it is tonally consistent and not a confused mess!” 

Were this sentiment unique to Arc-V that’d be it. But it is applies to the end of Game of Thrones, Dexter, Netflix’s Watchmen, damn near EVERYTHING that was popular this past decade. This trend of something having a strong beginning and then fading into tonal nonsense, to the point that the viewers either speculate on finding the “true” “hidden” meaning of a piece

, or worse yet, an active desire for a bad or evil ending, so long as that evil at least makes sense

So I have a bad feeling about all of this. Not just because a series I liked went down the toilet, but because, well, remove all these other mainstream series with promising beginnings that nosedove into the ground and crashed and burned, and what’s the most recent universally acclaimed show left?

That’s it. Breaking Bad. A nihilistic story of personal triumph at the destruction of everything else. Which has its place. But with Arc-V, with Game of Thrones, with all these shows, I see a trend of the absurd entering and ruining a show, which leaves people craving order, even if that order is horrible.

I mentioned Gilbert and Sullivan before, so I’ll end this rambling essay with a quote from a song  from the Mikado that was allegedly almost cut from it.

“ My object all sublime I shall achieve in time — To let the punishment fit the crime — The punishment fit the crime; And make each prisoner pent Unwillingly represent A source of innocent merriment! Of innocent merriment!”

The Mikado is a tale about the absurd and chaotic, the same absurdity that seems to be turning audiences to darker, more orderly, things. But the Mikado showcases both the trouble of the absurd, and the genuine opportunity and chance for grace the absurd provides. 

In my opinion, Problem Play Plots are actually tragedies more tragic than regular tragedies. Borderline horror, even. They bring up problems, and the easiest solution to those problems seems to be that of tragic selfish scheming. But perhaps that needn’t actually be the case. That a benevolent and convincing solution to these problem plots exist - one people can accept, and be inspired by, in a good way. 

And if that can’t be done, if the trauma and chaos of these shows serves no point, then the Gordian Knot of problem play plots must be cut. The damage they have done must be acknowledged, the mystery boxes resolved or done away with entirely.

[letterboxd]

Drawing Closer.

Animation lovers: watchlists at the ready. From action capers to Irish folk tales, in 3DCG or the humble pencil, by manga legends and raucous newcomers, Letterboxd’s animation correspondent Kambole Campbell picks ten new feature films we’re excited to see.

When the gears of the live-action film industry ground to a near-halt earlier this year, animators were still at work. As a medium that, at its most fundamental level, is controlled fully by the imaginations of its creators, this might be the one element of the screen industry that has some kind of ability to operate throughout the pandemic.

Based on previews from this year’s online edition of the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival, there’s a lot to look forward to that’s still in the works, even now. With everything from blockbuster capers and fantastical alternate histories, explorations of folklore and real human stories alike, we can expect a spoil of boundless and endlessly creative films limited only by the imaginations of those drawing them.

Here are ten animated features I’m specifically excited for, in no particular order (except for the first—fight me if you like, Masaaki Yuasa will always win).

Inu-Oh Directed by Masaaki Yuasa / Due to release in 2021

If there’s one new animated film to watch in the next year, make it Inu-Oh (but also, don’t limit yourself to one). Masaaki Yuasa has proven himself time and again to be one of the most exciting and versatile animation directors alive, as well as potentially the busiest. With his studio, Science Saru, this year alone he directed two television series—the fantastic ode to animators, Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!!, and the intense Netflix disaster series Japan Sinks: 2020—as well as the melancholy, romantic feature film Ride Your Wave.

Inu-Oh looks to be just as imaginative and wild as anything else Yuasa-san has made, based on the work-in-progress glimpse at Annecy. Set in fourteenth-century Japan, the film is based on Hideo Furukama’s novel about the legendary masked Noh theater performer Inu-Oh, born with “unique characteristics”, which lead them to cover their entire body. Both novel and film focus on their close friendship with the blind biwa hōshi (lute priest) Tomona, and the success they find together.

“We often think of history as moving in one straight line, but it actually branches off, and people and events in those branches have been forgotten or disappeared,” Yuasa-san said during the Annecy preview. Inu-Oh explores those hidden branches through an anachronistic reimagining of the roots of traditional Japanese entertainment. The main idea: what if the performers of Noh theater were treated like Japan’s pop idols of today? Yuasa-san described the main characters as “kind of like The Beatles” of 1300s Japan.

On credits alone there’s a lot of promise, with the legendary Taiyō Matsumoto— the mangaka who created Tekkonkinkreet and Ping Pong (and collaborated with Yuasa-san on the latter’s fantastic anime adaptation)—lending his eccentric yet elegant designs to the film. The preview opened with minute movements comprised of rough, wide almost painterly brushstrokes, an art style almost completely unlike anything Yuasa-san has done previously.

As it turns out, this is but one way of representing the world of Inu-Oh, through the perspective of Tomona, a Notes on Blindness-esque way of representing how Tomona perceives things. From those small glimpses, Inu-Oh looks to be a beautiful, anthropological piece built with both the same free-form style that characterizes the rest of his work, and perhaps something more classical as well.

Wolfwalkers Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart / Coming to theaters and Apple TV+ in late 2020 after a September 12 premiere at TIFF

Made and set in Kilkenny, home to the acclaimed animation studio Cartoon Saloon, the much-anticipated Wolfwalkers is inspired by animation’s past, Celtic legend, and the local area’s history. Set in 1650, Wolfwalkers takes place amidst attempts by the English (Cromwell, specifically) to pacify and tame Ireland. Representative of those wild elements the English are seeking to eradicate are the ‘wolfwalkers’—people blessed by Saint Patrick with the power to leave their bodies at night and become wolves during their sleep (Irish werewolves, essentially). The story follows an English girl, Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey), who moves to Ireland with her father Bill (Sean Bean), to help carry out Cromwell’s plan to kill the wolves.

Like his previous film, Song of the Sea (2014), co-director Tomm Moore says this new film is based upon a childhood story common amongst those living in Kilkenny. And like his previous films (including 2009’s The Secret of Kells), it looks to be a visual feast, with a mixture of dynamic camera styles, pre-viz work and hand-drawn animation for moments like its ‘wolf-vision’. Moore draws the ideological divide between the English and the Irish into every scratch of pencil, the occupied cities comprised of rigid lines and angular designs, while the forest and its inhabitants are more free-flowing and unkempt.

Moore cited the rough charcoal lines of Isao Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya as one influence on the Cartoon Saloon animators’ approach; the way that Robin is drawn gradually changing along with her worldview. Cartoon Saloon is yet to make a bad film, and Wolfwalkers looks like it might be the company’s most beautiful myth yet.

Stay tuned to The Letterboxd Show for an interview with Tomm Moore.

Over The Moon Directed by Glen Keane / Due on Netflix, late 2020

The feature directorial debut of animation legend Glen Keane, early glimpses of Over The Moon look utterly bonkers. A long-time character animator for Disney, having worked on almost all of the studio’s animation output since Pete’s Dragon in 1977, Keane looks to be bringing his vast array of talents to his first feature film. The trailer alone shows off a vast blend of styles, from the 3DCG (three-dimensional computer graphics) and more realistic lighting that we’ve come to expect from Disney animation, as well as the more textured, hand-drawn work the director cut his teeth on.

The story itself sounds wild, though it starts out simple enough: Fei Fei (Cathy Ang) is enraptured by her parents’ stories of a goddess living on the moon. After her mother passes away, Fei Fei begins to believe the story is true, and decides to build a rocket to get there. There’s also a hint of something living there. Whatever the answer is, I’m curious to see it, and with a star-studded cast that includes the likes of John Cho and Sandra Oh, how could I turn it down?

Lupin III: The First Directed by Takashi Yamazaki / Released in select territories; wider release due late 2020

Takashi Yamazaki’s Lupin III: The First, the first 3DCG-animated Lupin III feature film, looks rather incredible. It’s the latest in a vast, 50-year history of anime based on the manga from the late Kazuhiko Katō (known by the pen name Monkey Punch). Despite that long history, the Lupin III franchise has always managed to resist being made obsolete; part of its ongoing appeal is its ability to continuously adapt to new contexts and styles while retaining its simple charms, and The First is no different.

The film announces itself in the same way as ever, the iconic ‘Lupin III’ theme blaring over a flashy title sequence that builds off familiar iconography, as well as moments from the franchise’s history. It revels in the style of old-school caper the show continues to embrace, taking delight in the exploits of a modern-day gentleman thief who announces his robberies with calling cards.

Even with the new and unfamiliar animation style, Lupin III: The First feels like a classic Lupin III tale, taking the story back to the 1960s (the decade during which the character was created), and even putting its main character back in his classic red suit. Each character design translates surprisingly well to this mode of animation—Lupin’s gangly frame, as well as the unique appearances of his compatriots Goemon, Fujiko, Zenigata and Jigen (who looks bizarrely attractive in this—although, to be fair, “everyone in this movie is f—king sexy” according to Letterboxd member London. Accurate).

Yamazaki does well to avoid the often sterile feeling of 3DCG animation by having these characters all move like the cartoons they’re based on (for starters, a long-running visual gag of Lupin leaping straight out of his clothes). It might take some adjustment (which for me, only really lasted up to the opening credits) before it becomes fully dazzling. Lupin III: The First might be the most exciting action caper of 2020, in any medium.

The Legend of Hei Directed by Mtjj / Released in China late 2019; international release TBA

Rivalling Lupin III: The First for most flamboyant animation on show at Annecy was The Legend of Hei, a feature-length prequel to the Flash web cartoon The Legend of Luo Xiaohei by Chinese artist Mtjj (real name Zhang Ping).

The series tells the story of the spirit Luo Xiaohei, who takes the appearance of a small black cat before being adopted by a young girl. The film’s story focuses more squarely on the cat, Xiaohei, who transforms into a man and goes on to live in the forest, his carefree existence soon interrupted by the discovery that humans are beginning to encroach on that territory as their cities expand, and technological progress puts the two worlds increasingly at odds.

As the film explores more of Xiaohei’s origins, the thick, clean line-work and cute art style disguises a much grander, epic conflict at play, realized in some wildly animated fight scenes. (“Starts off small and adorable, then expands into an epic conflict on an Akira scale,” writes Tasha Robinson.) The 2D-animated film allegedly took five years to produce, Mtjj saying in an interview that the complete film, at 100 minutes, required more than 70,000 drawings—or around twelve per second.

With its gentle score and clash of the spiritual world with the modern, the environmentally conscious work of Studio Ghibli comes to mind, as does the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender (perhaps the most popular consideration of East Asian spirituality in the West, especially with its resurgence of popularity thanks to Netflix). The Legend of Hei enjoyed an extremely lucrative run in China in late 2019 thanks to the original cartoon’s sizeable fanbase at home. No news yet on who will pick the film up in the West.

ON-GAKU: Our Sound Directed by Kenji Iwaisawa / Expected to release late 2020

Rotoscoped by hand over a period of seven years, the independently produced anime ON-GAKU: Our Sound has a rather appropriate match of creator and subject: a film about amateur musicians made by amateur animators.

Director Kenji Iwaisawa adapted the film from Hiroyuki Ohashi’s cult manga, and there’s a charm to the rudimentary style of its art, the plain faces of its characters resembling the designs of something like ONE’s Mob Psycho 100, while also matching that show’s deadpan, oddball sense of humor. The laid-back voice acting only adds to that effect, as main character Kenji and his cohort’s obvious excitement flattened into a consistently amusing monotone.

It’s not quite a classic tale of underdog artistry, as the group never really gets better, but the film embraces the primordial noise that emerges whenever they pick up an instrument. Iwaisawa takes the characters seriously, showing their raucous and unconventional performances with complete sincerity. “Loved the deadpan humor and appreciated the message about how art can act as an impetus for positive change in our lives,” writes Dan.

Passion, companionship and collaboration is what’s most important to Our Sound. It’s a deeply weird film, but one filled with great ambition and visual wonder, increasing in boldness as it goes. The different styles of coloring and expression that emerge beyond its initial palettes are radical enough to catch anyone off guard.

Connected Directed by Michael Rianda / Releasing in most territories in October 2020 (October 23 in the US)

Connected is the next step for Sony Animation as it moves in an exciting new direction (the studio recently stated that it would be green-lighting more animation aimed at adults). Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, off the back of their immensely popular film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Connected is imbued with the same kind of idiosyncrasy and innovation that made Spider-Verse a mega-hit.

From first-time feature director Michael Rianda, best known for his work on TV’s Gravity Falls, Connected is a family-road-trip-AI-apocalypse movie, based on the bizarre chemistry of Rianda’s own family. Formerly known as The Mitchells vs The Machines, the film looks at the push and pull between technology and human relationships, and how different generations respond to the ongoing changes in how we interact online and personally.

While this isn’t animated “on twos” (where each frame of character animation holds for two frames of background movement) as Spider-Verse often was, Connected also attempts to maintain a ‘drawn’ quality in its art. Characters move fluidly, but with clear outlines drawn from simple shapes. There’s also a strong contrast between the lived-in detail of human habitats versus the stark minimalism of the domain of the robots.

Thankfully the clips from the film don’t look nearly as finger-wavy and luddite as the trailers might suggest. (They appear to take the Boomer point of view that technology unequivocally ruins everything, but we know it’s more complicated than “screens bad”). In any case, it looks like the beginning of an interesting run for Sony Animation, and I’m keen to see how it turns out.

The Summit of the Gods (Le Sommet des Dieux) Directed by Patrick Imbert / Due to release 2021

Le Sommet des Dieux distinguishes itself in this list by being the one most firmly grounded in reality, but it’s by no means less wondrous. Based on Jirô Taniguchi’s five-volume manga Le Sommet des Dieux—itself based on the 1998 novel by Baku Yumemakura—the story starts with the question of whether George Mallory died going up or coming down the summit of Mount Everest on June 8, 1924. 70 years later, Fukamachi, a young Japanese reporter, stumbles across a camera potentially belonging to Mallory, and embarks on an adventure of his own with his friend Hasu Joji.

In close collaboration with the mangaka Taniguchi-san, who passed away during development, director Patrick Imbert seeks to replicate his art style, which was more aligned with that of European comics than traditional manga, with less exaggerated and highly detailed line-work. The team also looked outward from Taniguchi-san’s art, to the character designs of works such as Hiroyuki Okiura’s Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, as well as his 2011 film A Letter To Momo, and the films of the late, great Satoshi Kon.

From what I saw at Annecy, there’s something of a mix between what Imbert calls the “documented detail” of Taniguchi-san’s work and simpler design for the larger urban spaces. To accomplish this, the studio draws its traditional 2D using modern techniques, such as “movie-style” framing—locations and interiors created in 3D software and then overpainted for detail, identity and authenticity.

The Summit of the Gods also seeks to recapture the detailed and subtle realism of Yumemakura-san’s depiction of George Mallory, with low-key voice performances conducted in shared sessions; recording movements and hiring a boom operator to make the sound more akin to live action, perhaps even more natural. Though production has already been long, the studio had thankfully pre-empted the long delays of Covid-19, so let’s hope we get to see the film with our own eyes, soon.

Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds Directed by Benoît Chieux / Scheduled for 2022

An original fable from animation director Benoît Chieux, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds is still very much in the midst of production, with an expected release in 2022. It looks captivating; a surreal tale set in an imaginary kingdom with delicate and clearly defined artwork, about a being named Sirocco, a despised figure with the power to control the wind, who is forced into solitude by the denizens of this world.

The dream kingdom resembles a Spirited Away-esque land, with its own hierarchy and bizarre set of rules, mundanity mixed in with visual wonder. Flying crocodiles, living houses and strange humanoids populate it, and the main characters, a pair of girls named Carmen and Juliette, turn into cats themselves. All are drawn with wavy lines, soft colours and fluid movement, the surreal presented with an inviting rather than foreboding air.

Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 Directed by Hideaki Anno and others / 2020 release delayed; keep an eye on the official Twitter account for a new date

Hideaki Anno is set to bring his earth-shaking Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise to a close, again, with the fourth instalment of his ‘Rebuild’ series of films, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0. Delayed for almost a decade now (the previous instalment came out in 2012!), and delayed again by Covid-19, the film looks to close out a grand rewriting of the original series that shot Anno-san and former studio Gainax to fame—“Bye Bye, All of Evangelion” the tagline reads. But we’re gonna have to wait a while longer to bid this final farewell.

Made with co-director Kazuya Tsurumaki (who has served as director with Anno-san since the original series), the first ‘Rebuild’ film, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, seemed to be a fairly conventional remake, updating the visuals and score with more modern techniques. The story starts the same: the isolated, depressed and self-loathing teenager Shinji Ikari is forced by his absentee father to help fight the mysterious, giant, alien ‘Angels’ by getting in an equally mysterious big robot called an Evangelion (“Eva” for short). He finds no self-fulfilment in this, and if anything, the close contact with other people only seems to push him further into himself. So far, so familiar.

However, the second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, veered completely off the rails in the best way possible, destroying audience preconceptions. The line between sequel and remake was fascinatingly blurred, and only continued to get weirder with Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, as the story landed in completely unfamiliar territory, altering its characters beyond recognition while adding entirely new characters in the process. It’s now almost impossible to predict what 3.0 + 1.0 will be. The only footage available so far was a wild ten-minute clip in which the Eiffel Tower is wielded as a weapon by an Eva. We were this close.

Ayumu Watanabe’s ‘Children of the Sea’ (2019).

There are almost too many gifts, even just from Annecy alone, to describe at length. A couple more worth mentioning: Anja Daiman’s musical comedy The Island looks fascinating for its reclamation of the colonialist story of Robinson Crusoe; and Yuta Murano’s first anime feature Our Seven-Day War promises plenty of plot twists amidst the actions of rebellious youth. A range of beguiling short films were also on display—a selection helpfully compiled here by Letterboxd member Iknow.

Outside of Annecy, other films are finally arriving, virtually or otherwise—such as Gints Zilbalodis’s peculiar and quiet Away, and Ayumu Watanabe’s beautiful and surreal Children of the Sea (with music from none other than Joe Hisaishi!). Though not all animation is comfort food by default—it is simply a medium, after all—it’s reassuring knowing that animated films are able to continue, in some form, through the pandemic.

Related content

Maxine the Movie Person’s excellent animation list

The 100 Highest Rated Animated Films of the 2010s according to our members

Revchu’s lists of the Top 100 Japanese Animated Films on Letterboxd, and the Top 100 Best-Rated Japanese Animated Films from the Anime News Network

Kambole’s selections in a Letterboxd list

Follow Kambole on Letterboxd

[dc-x-readers]

Smile Please (Raven x Reader)

Sorry that I completly nerded out with all my fav books in here.

Request: Saw your request were ooen again. :D I’d love to request a Raven x reader from the original Teen Titans Cartoon. The reader sees her in a coffee shop and doesn’t know that she’s a superhero. The reader tries to cheer her up everyday they meet there.

“Hello and welcome toe the Book End Cafe!” You said as you heard the bell ring, not even looking up from the your task. You didn’t hear the creaking floor that always occurs when a costumer walks across the floor. You almost jumped when your favorite costumer appeared in front of the counter. You always wondered how Raven did that, she moved so gracefully that sometimes you were convinced she wasn’t real.

“Green tea please.” The voice was montone, and soft, but it still surprised you.

You looked up at your favorite costumer, the ever quiet Raven. She never smiled, but she came in at least three times a week. She always orders the same thing, Green Tea and settles in with a new book.

“Alrighty.” You smiled. After Raven started coming in you made it your own personal mission to make the girl smile more. She seems so serious and it sometimes broke your heart.

“So have you finished your book yet?” You asked, it was the question you asked every time she came in.

“Yeah. Finished it last night. I need to figure out what to read next.” Raven murmured.

The hot water was still boiling, so you reached under the counter for the book you had just finished. You handed her a copy of Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill, it had post it notes and highlights, clearly well loved.

“Have you read it?” You asked.

Raven shook her head, and you placed the book in her hands, then finished the tea. You were going to talk to her more, but another costumer came in. It was a busy day, so you didn’t have a chance to talk to Raven for the entire three hours that she was there. But you could see she was fully engrossed in your book every time you looked up, and that made you smile a little bit.

Raven returned two days later, as she always did. She didn’t smile but when she came in she was holding the book you loaned her tightly. You started to work on her green tea even before she reached the counter.

“I liked it.” Raven said, and you smiled softly, glad that she liked it. It was one of your favorites.

“Yeah, it’s really good.” You smiled, working the hot water. “Figured out what you’re going to read next?”

You expected her to respond as clipped as normal, but Raven had a small (tiny really) smile at the corner of her mouth. You counted that as a win.

“I was actually hoping for another recommendation, this one was so good.” Raven said.

And you didn’t know why that made your heart skip a beat, it shouldn’t have. But this felt really important, you needed to give her the best book ever, because she deserved the best.You hoped that it would make her smile more, because that small smile had hooked you, you wanted to see it so much more.

“What type of book are you thinking?” You asked sliding the tea across the counter.

“Whatever you like. I want to read your favorite.” Raven replied, and you blushed. You didn’t know why, but this felt almost intimate, it felt like you were giving a part of yourself to her, to let her read your favorite book.

So with your heart beating faster than it should you reached for your copy of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway. The spine was cracked, distorting the words, and the pages ad turned thin and fragile. It felt like you were giving away a part of yourself to give Raven this book. But you trusted her, you trusted her with your heart and your copy of The Sun Also Rises.

“Have you read it?” You asked.

“Not this one.” Raven replied, taking the book as if it were something precious, and you smiled softly at her care.

Raven traded you, the book you lent her before, for this one. She reached her normal spot in the corner of the cafe, and you could swear their was a small smile at the corner of her lips. You hoped it was a smile, because wouldn’t it be pretty to think so?

***

Raven didn’t come back for three days, it was the longest you had been without seeing her for a while, and it kind of hurt. When she finally did return it was a day that was crazy busy, but you felt it as soon as she walked through the door. You could feel her calming presence.

When she approached your counter you took a minute to stare at her, she had a large bruise on her cheek, and you felt the oddest urge to reach out, and touch it. Make sure it wasn’t hurting her. But instead you focused on making a green tea.

“I read it.” Raven spoke unprompted. She put your copy of The Sun Also Rises on the counter. She didn’t look happy at all, “It’s very sad.”

“Well he was a broken man when he wrote it.” You replied.

Just like you seem broken. You didn’t say that out loud, but you thought it. She did seem broken, broken in many of the same ways that Hemingway was.

“But I can see why you like it.” Raven concluded, and you smiled at her, handing her the green tea that she didn’t even have to order.

You were surprised when Raven reached into her bag pulling out a book, and then handing it to you. It was a well loved copy of Envelope Poems by Emily Dickinson. Raven looked sheepish, “It’s one of my favorites. I felt like I should share too.”

You took the book and held it in your hands tightly. You smiled widely, and Raven looked shocked at your reaction, but you couldn’t help it. Most people didn’t bring you books, they came to you, but never gave to you. Raven was special.

And even though your reaction didn’t make Raven smile, you saw a small red blush against her cheeks. And it was most definitely a win.

That night you stayed up late reading the poems the Emily Dickinson just wrote on a whim of scraps of paper. They were unfinished and beautiful, just waiting to be expanded upon. They reminded you of Raven.

The next day was one that Raven normally didn’t come in. She had a life outside of your little cafe and bookshop, and you didn’t expect to see her, so when she walked through your door first thing in the morning you smiled with surprise, but got to work on her green tea.

“What do I owe this pleasure?” You asked Raven with a smile.

She huffed a sigh, sitting at one of the bar stools across from you. She wasn’t smiling, which wasn’t abnormal, but she looked more tired than usual. The bruise around her eyes hadn’t cleared yet, but it looked better.

“My… my roommates are being annoying. They’re so loud.” Raven replied.

Raven never really talked about her life outside of this little shop, and sometimes you forgot that she had one. You liked to think that you both only existed in this small cafe.

“That’s rough.” You smiled, because you really couldn’t imagine Raven living with loud and annoying people, “But while you are here I need to talk to you about the book. It was amazing. Her first drafts are so deep, almost deeper than her originally published work.”

And Raven perked up, their was a smile a definite one. And your heart almost broke in pieces, because Raven is beautiful when she smiles, and you wished that you only saw her with that smile for the rest of your life.

You and Raven spoke of the book for a solid half-hour, before more costumers began to come in, requiring your assistance.

***

It was your day off. You were determined to enjoy your day off. So you went downtown to get a pizza and would then vege yourself in front of netflix for a few hours. It was a plan.

You weren’t expecting for a crazed supervillian to come into the pizza shop. The girl had looked normal, and then suddenly she was causing an earthquake in the pizza shop. You screamed as the gound shook, and things began to fall, especially when a large piece of ceiling fell onto your leg.

The Teen Titans, a group you had never had the pleasure of seeing before, arrived within five minutes, fighting the girl.

There was a boy, with green skin who was complaining about this being his ‘favorite pizza shop’ that helped att the civilians out of the pizza shop. He got to you last, as you were physically trapped. You watched in fascination as the boy turned into a gorilla, moving the ceiling piece off of you.

The green boy had to lift you into his arms, your leg was probably broken. He was taking you out of the shop when you heard a familiar voice, it was chanting words you didn’t understand, but you knew the voice anywhere.

“Raven?” You called out of habit.

Had she been in the shop? Maybe she was trapped like you had been.

The boy faltered for a second, he looked down at you, and then to a caped hero who was fighting the supervillian.

“Hey Rae?” The boy called confused, and the caped hero -who was Raven- turned to look at you. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she cast another spell of blackness, this one with a viciousness. It trapped the woman in a sphere of blackness, and Raven was suddenly at your side a worrited look in her eyes.

“Y/N?” She asked. “Are you alright?”

You stared at Raven for a second, she was so worried, so nervous for you. And she was a hero. And your mind was going too fast.

“Y/N?” Raven asked again, her voice shook. Their was fear.

The boy put you down, letting Raven cradle you. Raven seemed to appreciate this, but didn’t say a word.

“Y/N! Were you hurt?” Raven was freaking out, and you really didn’t like that look on her. She should smile, always smile.

So you reached up, and gave her a soft kiss. It took you just a second to realise that was probably a bad idea, kissing a hero whom you never kissed before. But your head wasn’t working right at the moment, blame shock.

You reared back to look at Raven, the girl seemed to be as shocked at you were about the kiss. But their was a soft smile on her lips. And you decided that you really liked that smile.

[espytalks]

i’m still on hiatus as of writing this, but by the time i post this i won’t be.

ive been watching a lot of netflix lately, and i’m pretty much just going through my “to watch” list, so i thought i’d give some thoughts on some of the show’s ive watched so far. 

this’ll probably get super long.

oh shoot i forgot i had this post as a wip. i went on a phase of watchign shows for a bit when i tried to step away from tumblr for a bit a few months back. this is definitely super long, so heads up if you click read more, you’re gonna scroll for a while.

avatar:

i watched this show all the way though at least twice, and many scattered episodes several times over the course of years, up until i stopped watching tv altogether, which was quite a while ago. at some point i realized the last time i watched it, i didn't know i was asexual. it kinda made me realize why i didn't quite get the romancey bits when i was younger.

i don’t want to spoil the show on the off chance you haven't seen it, cause this is one of those i think is best watched unspoiled, but even if ya know it, the show is incredibly fun to watch. 

it has amazing fight scenes, fantastic animation that still holds up (impressive for a kid’s tv show of it’s time, if you ask me,) and incredibly complex and interesting characters that change and grow along with the plot, which raps up nicely by the end of the third season. 

10/10 one of the best shows of all time, even outside of animation. amazing rewatchability, too! 

BNA:

all i knew of this going in was from gifs a friend kept reblogging. 

it’s basically a zootopia-esque story, about a human who has turned into a beastman, which are these human-like creatures that can also turn into animals? it’s kinda weird but ok my suspension of disbelief has worked harder before. it’s also pretty short (12 or 13 episodes i think,) so the story is pretty packed together and moves pretty fast.

i loved the animation. it’s an anime from studio trigger, and i LOOOOOOVE that animation style!! hoooly shit guys it’s SOOOO GOOOOD!!!!!! the colors and general feel of the show visually is just top tier. lots of interesting colors and shapes and expressive poses and expressions! i’d recommend it purely on it’s aesthetic, cause it’s gorgeous.

unfortunately, i think the story kinda sucks. i don’t think it detracts from the show much, but i felt like a couple of the story twists (especially towards the end) kinda came out of nowhere, or where kinda crammed in there as best they could to make it fit. the best twist i think was with shirou, which was set up in episode 1, and i pretty much was expecting that reveal.

tbh, the best episode was the filler one, where michiru plays baseball with some bears. idk man it was just fun. wish there were more episodes like that, where she just got to have fun being a beastman. I did like how the bears stuck around after that episode, though.

8/10 i’d say it coulda been better, but it's till good for what it is. ya can’t have a perfect show, and i’d say it’s still fun. i’d watch it again with someone, cause ey, i liked it. i think i was mainly dissapointed cause i was expecting a lot more, and i watched it right after avatar, which i think IS a perfect show. i’d watch it again, though. it’s good!

She-ra and the princesses of power:

all i knew going in was that someone i watched on youtube thought it was good. i may have seen gifs at some point, but idk. no one i know watches it, or at least they don’t talk about it if they do.

if you liked mlp, you’d like this. it has some very almost corny “friendship is powerful” messages, and it’s obviously girly. it’s still good for all audiences imo, but the sheer girliness of it may be hard to get through at first. it mellows out as it goes on and the story gets a bit darker, but those themes of friendship and love don’t go away. tbh, “power of friendship” is one of my favorite tropes, and this show has a lot of it.

aesthetically, this show id my fucking JAM! PURPLE!!! PURPLE EVERYWHERE!!!!!! HOLY SHIT EVERYTHING IS PASTEL AND PURPLE GUYS I LOVE IT! 10,000/10 man i love purple. The animation wasn’t as good compared to the last two shows i watched, but i mean, i came from anime. that’s not a fair comparison.

i also really liked the story, especially as it went on. Early on, Adora and Catra end up on separate sides of the fight, and it was really interesting seeing the two’s progression in the story. I especially love Catra. i think her progression was interesting, and complex, i loved seeing her manipulate her way to the top. also she’s tsundere, in a way that i actually liked.

i should say i kinda didn’t like Bow at first. The first two-ish seasons, they really played up the girliness with him, but he gets more interesting later on, and ends up really likeable to me. He reminds me of my character Carter, though, in that he’s a male character that is very feminine and ain’t afraid of it. it was kinda jarring at first, but i can respect that.

also, the show has tons of gay characters, and at least one nonbinary one (though they’re a neutral character that initially aligned with the villains. take that how you will.) 

9/10 i think the beginning is a bit too over the top girly, but ya kinda jive with it as the show goes on, and the story gets darker as it goes on, kinda like avatar. if ya liked that, follow it up with this. Also, hnnnn purbleee’

Kipo and the age of the wonderbeasts:

i had no idea what to expect going in. all i knew was what i saw in the promo.

it’s a post-apocalyptic type of setting, where animals are mutated, and most are sentient. humans live underground in secret societies called burrows. kipo is separated from her dad when her home gets destroyed, and meets up with a couple of humans and a mutated bug in order to find her burrow. things escalate from there, there’s more going on, but alla that is spoilers, so i won’t elaborate.

it seems like it’s currently in progress, (i just finished season 2, and i’d bet there’s at least one more season) so i can’t judge it as a whole just yet. it’s interesting, and i like the idea, but tbh i didn’t find it quite as engaging as everything else ive watched so far? I like it, and i’m invested enough to watch the next season whenever it comes out, though. hopefully whatever’s next changes my mind, though. 

i think i mainly just didn’t like the characters much at the beginning? but as i’m thinking about it, they’re starting to grow on me. i like kipo the most, cause she’s a goofy nerd who’s kinda just being nice to everybody, and it’s making her a lot of powerful friends who’ll have her back. i like how kid’s cartoons try and teach ya that being nice is a good thing.

7/10 it’s not bad, and i’d recommend it, but i feel like this story isn’t quite for me. it’s got a lot of potential to end up as something i’d really like by the end, though, so i’m gonna keep my eye on it. 

Glitch techs: 

i’m gonna write a bit before i watch it, but all i know is that its a show a mutual reblogged somethign about once. i think it was the theme song? which, if i remember correctly, was awesome. it looks cool, like a scifi show about kids who save a digital world or smthn.

ah so i never watched this show. will update y’all if i do, but i mean, i got into yougioh gx recently instead so it’ll be a while before i get back to this show. also, kipo got a new season since i started this, and i havent finished it yet but what i saw so far is really good.

[protectwoc]

Some discussion topics after the amazing essay you wrote: Why is everyone so obsessed with trying to make Uma fit the "She Needs No Man, Independent Black Woman" caricature. Or: Is it not shady to anyone else why Carlos all of a sudden has straight hair for the next 2 movies (some are up in arms over Evie losing her curls) - is Disney trying to erase the obvious blackness in Carlos (supposed Latina-ness in Evie). Or: The total destruction of HarryxUma as a ship that seemed destined from D2.

Okay first of all, thank you so much for calling my brain vomit “amazing”, that means so much to me! Second of all, you posed some really great questions which is why it took me so long to answer this ask because I wanted to give an actual well-thought out answer.

1.  Short answer: racism. Long answer: because as per usual, fandom is obsessed with the “strong black woman” trope and refuses to let a black woman, especially a dark-skinned black woman, have the same passionate, “i’ll do anything for you” love that seems reserved for white characters. It definitely doesn’t help that Thomas and Dove are dating though, because that (combined with Dove’s unnecessary input) contribute to making Harry, who seems like the most obvious candidate for Uma’s love interest, look like a viable love interest for Mal, which canonically, he is not. I have more thoughts on this, but we’ll get to that. Also working against most most Uma shippers is the fact that the narrative actually goes out of its way to support the “don’t need no man” trope for Uma (see: failed Huma kiss, which I will never stop being mad about).

2. Honestly, until your question, I had never even thought about it. To be fair, some of the other characters (most notably Mal, also Jane) went through dramatic hair/wardrobe changes from D1 to D2. It also seems to me that they could have been trying to make him look more like the cartoon version of his mother, who had straight hair, but of course they racebent Cruella for the movie to keep Cameron Boyce’s (may his memory be a blessing) ethnicity through the movie, so that doesn’t make sense. I suppose that they could be trying to downplay his black ancestry within the movie, although I don’t know if the same could be said for Evie since, to my knowledge, Latinas don’t have definitively straight or curly hair, unlike black people. I do agree that it is strange, but I can’t say for sure that it has a racist connotation. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts though, anon, or anyone else’s if they want to chip in.

3. Okay, so Huma. Brace yourselves, this is about to get long. I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m not (primarily, at least) a Huma shipper. I don’t have anything against them or anything, and of course I support them, I just have other ships for Uma that take precedence in my head usually. With that said, I feel like that allows me to look at the ship’s trajectory more objectively, and I basically feel like all the shippers are right to be upset- you guys were totally robbed.

Because Huma was definitely hinted at/implied in D2, I don’t think anyone could argue that it wasn’t. But I have to disagree with you that Huma seemed “destined” from D2. I personally always believed that while Huma was implied in D2, that was where it would stay: an implication. I didn’t have any thoughts that Huma would be confirmed in D3, not because they weren’t a viable ship, they definitely are, but because they didn’t hit any of the beats that a traditional Disney romance does. 

Like, DCOM romances are very heavily telegraphed in a clumsy, kid friendly way. Remember every interaction Bal had in D1? The long staredown upon first meeting? “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me”? (or whatever he said, I can’t be bothered to look up the scene right now.) Every time Ben looked her up and down and Mal made that grumpy, not-into-it-but-im-obviously-into-it face? The entire scene by her locker where she tricks him into eating the love spell? And then they’re dating by their next scene and they stay there until D2. Just from a practical, we’re watching a DCOM not a Freeform original, standpoint Huma never had any of those very conspicuous “THEY’RE GONNA GET TOGETHER” moments.

That’s not to say, of course, that Huma didn’t have moments. They definitely did, basically any time they shared the screen. But I would argue that the kind of passion, devotion, and maturity that they showed was simply too much for a DCOM. If Descendants was a Freeform or Netflix original (which it totally should have been, but whatever, that’s a topic for another time) Huma would have been confirmed canon. But it’s not, so I expected them to have a few, similar moments in D3 but go completely unacknowledged.

But then.

Oh, but then.

BUT THEN THE WRITERS WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE HUMA AND TO DESTROY IT. They made a point of contorting Harry’s established character trait of being an insufferable flirt WHEN IT CONCERNS UMA ONLY and decided to apply that to EVERY GIRL HE CAME INTO CONTACT WITH. And then, to add insult to injury, at the last possible moment, after he’s finally flirted with every named female character on Auradon, he finally turns to Uma- only to get hit upside the head with a flying “don’t need no man” trope.

THIS is what frustrates me about the Descendants writers. This was my major problem with Mal in “The Problem with Mal”, not just that it was bad writing, but that EVERYONE INVOLVED knew what they were doing and did it anyway. 

[loopy777]

I think it's generally accepted that ATLA's full commercial potential was never realized. Going back in time to right after the Season 3 finale, what could have been an effective "plan" for expanding Avatar's commercial footprint?

First, I feel the need to point that my only qualification for answering this question is that I’ve been a consumption-driven fan for my entire life. That makes it like asking the prey how the hunter can do a better job; I do have a certain valuable perspective, but it’s a very limited one.

So, with that in mind, I’m already wary of the given time frame. With the finale airing, it’s already too late to do anything worthwhile with AtLA. Sure, it’s been expanded with (mostly bad) comics and a (really good) novel, but even at the higher end of success, those mediums are merely stepping stones to big success. They’re not sustainable ways to keep a franchise alive by themselves, hence why Netflix is creating a new Avatar series.

So I think Nickelodeon actually had it partially right, way back when AtLA ended. A live-action movie is the next logical step, especially for that point in time. Movies expand things to a wider audience, and a live-action production will reach the people who turn their noses up at all animation. We’ve seen all the merchandise and licensing that can come with big Hollywood productions. And movies can spin things off, so we can still get more cartoons and other assorted storytelling.

Of course, that comes with the caveat to not have the movie sabotaged by racist meddling executives or a director who struggles to replicate how actual human beings interact with each other. So it goes.

And, most importantly, the movie should not be a Kids’ Movie. It should be appropriate for children and families, but it should rated PG-13 and marketed like a Marvel/Superhero/HarryPotter movie. That’s a guaranteed formula going all the way back to Tim Burton’s Batman. This, I think, is a critical component of the plan, because this is how Avatar can expand beyond its initial failure to become a viable kiddie brand.

Yes, I say that AtLA was a failure. It inspired an impassioned fanbase, but that fanbase didn’t buy the action figures or LEGO sets or birthday party paraphernalia or whatever else Nickelodeon usually sticks its brands on. AtLA inflamed the passions of teenagers and college kids, from what I saw, but its animated nature and juvenile tone was never going to make it a big hit with those demographics. Avatar is a grand work of art, but didn’t fit into a niche that could make it into a major financial engine.

A serious (for a given Marvel-like definition of “serious”) live-action movie, staring young adults or even regular adults, would be a chance to correct that. Kids and adults could both embrace it, and the marketing push of the movie would allow merch to be sold on multiple levels. As for the spin-offs, the Marvel movies again show that the market can sustain the franchise expanding into multiple mediums and targeting multiple age groups. We can have our hardcore YA Kyoshi book, stupid kiddie comics, more cartoons for pre-teens, and maybe a cable television series for adults with blood splatters and hints of naughty romance.

On the note of AtLA being a failure, I also think the movie should be a canon story about a different Avatar than Aang. Korra might have been a good candidate for that, instead of doing a cartoon with her, but perhaps a brand new character could be created. This frees the creative team from the shackles of adaptation, which is a losing game. The number of adaptations that worked for both fans and general audiences is probably less than a dozen, and this is a setting and franchise that can sustain nearly limitless expansion. By doing a new Avatar, fans will be interested in the expanded lore (especially if a tease is worked into Season 3 of AtLA, if the production starts soon enough), and new audiences can enter without anything to confuse them.

However, even with my formula here (perhaps because of my formula, since we’ve established that I have no idea what I’m talking about), the movie could fail and the merchandise becomes a staple of the $5 bins at conventions. In that case, once again, I think Nickelodeon had the right general idea by going back to the franchise’s roots with another animated series, but one aimed at an older audience. The franchise already skewed older than originally intended, the original AtLA fans would be aged up by that point, and some of them might even have disposable income by then. (Some. Definitely not the fan artists.)

The problem is that older people don’t watch Nickelodeon, and the network’s usual advertising partners aren’t interested in reaching an older audience. I think LoK – or whatever successor series happens in my scenario – should have gone to MTV or some other Paramount-aligned venue, in order to reach new audiences. LoK’s audience probably didn’t include many kids, and I doubt a whole lot of older people came to Nickelodeon for new entertainment, no matter how much “Family Friend Game of Thrones” advertising was out there. (Yes, that was a common phrase in coverage of Korra.) Streaming wasn’t really that big back then, at least outside of Netflix, so I don’t think Nickelodeon could have thrown together enough of an operation to make it a good platform for a struggling animated franchise.

(And before people object, I’m assuming that Korra failed to find much of an audience based on how Nickelodeon wound up treating it, rather than because of it. As I recall, Nick messed with its schedule until finally banishing it to online venues. Networks don’t usually do that to shows that have strong ratings. Usually. And sure, Nickelodeon could have done a better job in promoting and supporting it, but LoK didn’t have the pull to withstand a less-than-stellar handling, so would it have been a true success even with stellar handling? Remember, quality is only tangentially related to success when it comes to entertainment.)

So yeah, I think that covers it. Take Nickelodeon’s existing plan to carry Avatar up to the big storytelling mediums, change it enough so that they’re actual worthwhile creative endeavors delivered in ways that make it easy for the intended audiences to get to them, and then cash in.

But my plan does have one big flaw. I have no idea how to tell the other executives at Nickelodeon and Paramount to buzz off, and I think we’ve established that those guys are all idiots. So even my plan would probably end up sabotaged. This is why I work in computer programming and fanfic, instead of inventing the next Star Wars. People are the worst.

[frasier-crane-style]

Hellboy 2019 is a movie

-I remember when this was coming out, there was talk that the reboot was so this could be closer to the source material, but it’s largely the same tone, themes, and plot points as GDT’s version, just without really any of the charm or heart (at some points, it’s all but a shot-for-shot remake of the first film). The movie hurdles so quickly from one plot point, special effect, and action sequence to the next that there’s no time to get to know the characters, care about them, or have any investment in the proceedings. It’s like they expected the audience to have watched the other movies and already have a working knowledge of the universe, even though this is supposed to be a new take altogether.

Really, it feels like the producers were trying to turn this movie into a Deadpool spin-off, with lots of bloody violence, ADRed smart-aleck remarks, and pop songs. Weird, considering how broody, thoughtful, and atmospheric the comics often are. 

For instance, the del Toro movies had this subplot of the monsters being benevolent, or harmless, or beautiful, or awe-inspiring, so you could kinda see their point when they complained about being oppressed by the humans, with the idea still being treated in a pretty nuanced, subdued way. Hellboy ‘19 does the same thing, but like--lobotomized. The monsters are all cannibals, baby kidnappers, or child eaters, so when they complain about being mistreated, it’s like--yeah, I should hope so, you fucking freaks! 

And yet, the ‘seductive’ (read: super-boring in design and performance) Nimue just has to say “what if humans aren’t shit?” to Hellboy for thirty seconds and he’s having a shouting match with his father about being forced to kill ‘his brothers’. And with the infamous detail of Hellboy being unable to have sex with human women making one of his primary motivations being to get laid, the whole thing approaches self-parody.

-In fact, between the copious, plasticy CGI and, well, Milla Jovovich, this movie comes off as distinctly low-rent compared to GDT’s work. When they do their version of Hellboy’s origin, it feels like a porn parody next to del Toro doing the real thing. And man, it’s 2019, read the room. Did they really think nerds wanted all the practical effects del Toro lovingly used replaced with lackluster CGI?

-I’m irrationally angered by the scene where bad guys are electrocuting Hellboy. He stumbles into a river. They walk into the river and keep electrocuting him. You’d think, by action movie rules, that they’d be electrocuted too, or this would be the set-up for Hellboy cleverly turning the tables on them, but they just... electrocute a guy who’s standing in the same water that they’re in and are totally unharmed.

-There was a shell game when this was being made, with an Asian character being cast with a white man and an Irish character being cast with a black woman, and that going back and forth, and I guess my main thought would be that, as long as they’re playing so fast and loose with the characters... why have Daniel Dae Kim do such a horrendous British accent? Why not just make the character American? It’d make about as much sense as everything else in this movie.

-It’s especially egregious considering that Daimo’s heritage is supposed to be super-important to his character, but as the movie plays it, he pretty much just happened to be bitten by a werejaguar, while Alice’s backstory is all tangled up in the Fae and Irish mythology, but fuck it, she’s a black chav now, as played by an African-American/Maori woman. Nice cultural appropriation there.

-The movie is so rushed and breathless that you get a lot of the characters saying they’re best friends, but not really coming off that way, compared to how del Toro made Hellboy and Abe such good pals, or Hellboy and Liz romantic partners. The stuff with HB and Alice is particularly bad. They insist they’re old, trusted friends, but the way the movie tells it, they met when she was a baby and there seems like no reason they would’ve been in contact at any point since. Hellboy and Manning had more repartee under GDT than the male and female lead have in this version.

-Also, at one point, the villain starts a super-plague devastating London, with a hundred thousand people expected to die within two hours, and people being told to stay inside and avoid any human contact. But later, the Apocalypse starts and there need to be a bunch of civilians going about their day for the demons to menace, so… a bunch of people just walk around in the middle of a pandemic. It’s just shockingly lazy. We need crowds of screaming people for the crowds of screaming people shot, so fuck it, crowds of screaming people!

-There’s a definite air of flop sweat to the movie including three stingers, all promising more crazy adventures and beloved characters to come (like Lobster Johnson! Kids love Lobster Johnson, right?). Uhh... yeah. Why’d they make this new version if they have to end it promising to bring back stuff from the old version?

-I can’t help but think that letting GDT end his trilogy, even if it didn’t make boffo box office, would’ve at least guaranteed some goodwill for the franchise. I can’t imagine the audience being up for the inevitable Netflix show or cartoon or whatever after this reboot kinda slapped them in the face. It’s ironic. They tried to make the Hellboy series more of a blockbuster by making it arguably less accessible--R-rated, more faithful to the comics--and ended up taking it from sleeper hit to outright flop, with neither the movie fans or comic fans being particularly impressed. Like kicking Bryan Singer off X-Men or Sam Raimi off Spider-Man, maybe there’s a lesson in there about killing the goose that lays the golden--or at least silver--eggs.

[lolacola01]

She Stole his Heart

Can you do an imagine were the reader is David’s girlfriend but she has a 3 year old kid  from a previous relationship and it’s just a bunch of fluff of David with a kid?   

Don’t know if there’s much fluff, but hope you like it.

You feel sort of on edge all day. You’re not quite sure you know what it is. Maybe it’s the fact your at an new job and back working after taking a few years off to look after you little girl, or maybe it’s the fact that your three year old daughter is right now being looked after by your boyfriend. You knew you could trust David with Sophia, he would do anything for the little girl, but his house was also always filled with people and paintball guns, and flame throwers. You’d be a little irresponsible not to be worried about her.

You and David had meet just before Sophia’s second birthday. You had been happily sitting eating a quiet meal with your daughter in Olive Garden when a group of young twenty somethings came bounding through the door and taking a seat at the next table from you. Over the course of their meal a few of them had noticed Sophia and started talking to her. Especially David, and by the end of his meal he was practically sitting at your table asking you question after question about the both of you. It didn’t take long for a relationship to start after that first day. But it wasn’t what you would call a normal relationship. You didn’t really have anyone to look after Sophia, so dates would consist of taking her places she’d like and later after she’d gone to bed, you and David would crash out on your sofa and watch TV while he tried to edit. You both settled into a nice comfortable relationship very quickly. At first you worried that David would get bored and want to be out in clubs with his friends, but you soon learned he wasn’t into all that. Quiet nights in and trips to Walmart were exactly what he needed in his life. You and Sophia brought a sense of calm he needed.

 ………………

 The second you got off of work you rushed to your car and sped to David’s house. You hadn’t seen or heard from David in over six hours and you were desperate to know what his first day looking after you little girl alone looked like. When you got to his drive way you noticed the place looked packed, With Zane, Erin and Jason’s cars parked outside. You let yourself in and slowly made your way to the living area where Zane, Carly, Erin and Bruce sat around talking loudly about something they were about to film. Zane gave you a quick hello before nodding his head towards the bedroom. You could hear the sound of cartoons playing so you quickly passed the living area and made your way towards David closed bedroom door. Before you could open it and reveal your presence you heard your boyfriends voice.  

“I don’t know Natalie. I think Y/n might freak if she finds out.” David says like his trying to whisper.

“But she’s going to find out, David,” Natalie whispers back. “It’s best coming from you before someone else tells her.”

“You don’t think I can keep it a secret for a little while longer?”

“David,” Natalie sighs. “You can’t keep something like this a secret. If she find out on her own she could be really angry with you. It’s best coming from you.”

“You’re right,” David sighs. “I just don’t know how.”

You listen for a few seconds more, but when nothing else is said you push open the bedroom door, making your presence known.

“Hey baby,” David says. He’s laying on his side of the bed with his lap top in its usual place on his knee. You look over to your side of the bed and find Natalie laying there. Then your eyes land on your daughter sound asleep between them. Usually walking into that wouldn’t make you think anything, but after hearing David and Natalie’s little secret chat you suddenly feel a little uneasy.

“Hey Y/n,” Natalie smiles before climbing off the bed. “How was your first day?”

You look at the smiling brunette standing in front of you. Natalie has been like a sister to you in the last year. She’s helped you with everything, and been the friendly face in David’s friend group when the rest of them were still trying to figure out if David dating a girl with a kid was a good idea or not. Natalie had always been in your corner, but now after hearing whatever that little chat was about, you suddenly feel really uncomfortable around her.

“Y/n?” Natalie laughs. “You’re spacing out. How was your first day?”

“Good,” you stutter out before looking towards your boyfriend. “What are you guys doing?”

“Editing,” Natalie sighs, as she rolls her eyes. “Anyway now you’re home why don’t I go and make you something to eat. You must be starving.”

You hate that she’s being nice to you. Because the thoughts running through your head is that she’s sleeping with your boyfriend and looking after your daughter when you’re not around. You don’t know why that image is in your head now, but it’s all you can think about.

“I don’t want you to make me anything to eat,” you final say.

“Yeah,” David says before standing up from the bed. “Why don’t I take you and Sophia out to eat instead. A sort of celebration for your first day at work. That way you can tell me all about it over dinner. Natalie you want to join us?”

“Nope I think it’s a night in for me, maybe a bubble bath and something on Netflix.”

While Natalie walks out of the room David makes his way to put on his shoes leaving you standing alone in the middle of the room looking down at your sleeping daughter.

“Sorry I let her sleep, but she’s had a very eventful day,” David smiles as he comes back into the room with your daughters shoes in his hand. “Why don’t I carry her to the car and we can let her sleep until we get to the restaurant.”

You feel yourself nodding along with whatever he’s saying, and before you know it you’re out of the house and into the car.

 ………………….

 “I know it’s not very romantic,” David says as he looked around Olive Garden. “But it’s sort of like our special place. Plus Sophia gets to eat her favourite pasta, don’t you sweetie?”

“And when I’m done I get to share yours,” Sophia answers as she smiles widely at David.

It breaks your heart a little that your daughter is so in love with David. Especially if whatever he’s going to tell you is going to break you both up.

“So Sophia, we should tell Mommy what we did today,” David says, his voice full of excitement.

“Mommy I got to meet a real baby bear,” Sophia gasps. “And Zane let me eat the pickle off his burger, and Jason let me play games on his phone, and Natalie let me try on her perfume so I smelt nice, and then she made me lunch, and then we watched Dumbo and then I fell asleep.”

You let out a soft laugh as your daughter listed off everything she did today. “That all sounds really exciting baby girl. I’m glad you had fun with everyone.”

“Yeah she was begging Natalie to put make up on her but natalie said no,” David said laughing along.

“I’m glad Natalie can say no to some things,” you mumble to yourself but David catches it.

“What did you say?”

You look at your daughter who has picked up a pencil and is busy drawing on the paper in front of her. “I said I’m glad Natalie could say no to something,” you repeat.

“What does that mean?” David asks you confused.

“Just tell me this,” you say leaning in so only David can hear you. “At what part of the day did it happen. Was it when `Zane was feeding my daughter his left overs or was it when Jason was entertaining her with his phone?”

“When did what happen?”

“When did you find the time to sleep with Natalie?” you snap.

David sits back in his chair and looks at you in shock. “When did I sleep with…”

“Are you even going to try and deny it?” you ask.

“What are you talking about?” David glances towards Sophia making sure she’s not listening. “I didn’t sleep with Natalie today. I haven’t slept with Natalie ever. Where the hell is this coming from?”

“I could hear you from the other side of the door earlier,” you answer. “I heard you and Natalie whispering about how I need to be told, and it needs to be you that tells me.”

David shakes his head confused and quickly reaches into his bag to pull out his headphones and laptop. He places both of them in front of your daughter and quickly types something into youtube for her to watch. Once the headphones are sitting on her head and her eyes are glued to the screen he sits back down beside you. “You heard all that and just assumed that me and Natalie are sleeping together? Talk about getting the wrong idea.”

“Are you going to deny it?”

“Of course I am,” David whispers. “Y/n I have never slept with Natalie. Not in all the years I’ve known her. In fact I haven’t even thought about it, and neither has she. I can promise you that.”

“So if you’re not sleeping with her then what is it I need to know?”

“I was going to wait until Sophia was in bed.”

“I want to know now.”

David looks around the restaurant and you roll your eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t make a scene.”

“Okay I might have screwed up a little today,” David began. You stayed silent and let him continue. “Okay when she woke up this morning everything was great. I put her in the bath like you told me and when I had her dressed, I put her hair up in a ponytail, but when Natalie saw it she started laughing and ended up fixing it. When we were all sitting around eating breakfast Natalie told Sophia that I was a silly David for doing her hair wrong, and Sophia shook her head and told Natalie that I wasn’t David I was Daddy. I swear to you Y/n I didn’t tell her to call me that. I told her I wasn’t her Daddy, that she had a daddy. Even though that piece of shit hasn’t been around in two years. I told her I was David, but she shook her head again. She told me that I was Daddy, because I do everything Daddy’s do. Y/n she had this long speech. She told me I was her Daddy because I carried her on my shoulders when her feet get sore when we’re out. And I’m her Daddy because I check under her bed every night for anything with bright eyes. And because I pick out all the sweetcorn from her dinners when you’re not looking. And because I do all the funny voices when its my turn to read her bedtime story. Or when I let her sit on my knee and pretend she’s driving the Tesla. Y/n she told me that I was her Daddy because I hold Mommy’s hand and I give Mommy kisses goodnight. Y/n she said all that and it left me… So when she said for the tenth time that I was her Daddy I agreed with her. I told her I was her Daddy. Y/n please don’t be mad at me. I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t want to break her heart. And I know I’m not her real Dad. I know your ex still has some rights, but…”

“Shut up a second,” you final interrupt as you slip your hand across the table to take David’s in yours. “Just… you’ve given me a lot of information in under a minute, so just… shhh please.”

“Sorry,” David mumbles as he squeezes your hand. “But one last thing before you try and break up with me. I know I don’t have any rights, but I feel like I should. I mean all those things she said… well I do them. I do them and a hundred other things. I’m here every day. And I want to be here every day from now on.”

“Like I said, that’s a lot of information to take in,” you said slowly.

“Please don’t break up with me,” David pleads. His brown eyes looking at you with so much sadness in them. “I know I screwed up and I know it’s probably not going to be easy to fix but…”

“There’s nothing to fix,” you say. He looks across the table at you confused.

“There’s not?”

“Everything you just said is right,” you answer him. “And Sophia’s right” you look at your daughter who is too busy staring at David’s laptop to even look up at you. “everything you have done for her since the day you met her has been what a Daddy would do. She doesn’t understand that you might not be her birth father. She just knows that you’re here for her. For us.”

“So its okay that she calls me Daddy?” David asks. You can see the tears already forming his in eyes as he waits for your answer.

“More than okay,” you nod.

“Y/n you have no idea what this means,” David said as he pulls your chair closer to his. “I’ve wanted this from the moment I met you two.”

“I just hope you know what you’re getting into,” you smile at your boyfriend. “Having a daughter isn’t all pigtails and tea parties. I mean she’s cute now, but one day she’ll be older. You ready for it all?”

“Are you talking teenage years?” David asks. “Because I’m like a god to fourteen to eighteen year olds.”

“Yeah but to Sophia you’ll be Daddy,” you point out jokingly. “David one day there will be boys.”

“And I’ll still have a flame thrower and paintball guns,” David shrugs. “And Jason will be too old to shoot. The boys will be perfect practise.”

You burst out laughing as you shake your head. “I think you might be good at this Daddy thing after all.”

 ……………………………

 You hold the bed sheet back as David gently slips your daughter into the middle of the bed. “You know we’re going to have to plan better,”

“What do you mean?” David whispers as he stands back up and joins you at the bottom of the bed.

“Sophia sleeping between us,” you said. “if we’re moving this relationship forward we might have to get her a bed of her own.”

“Maybe even a room,” David suggests.

“But you only have two rooms,” you frown. “You’re not going to throw Natalie out are you? David I know I freaked out earlier, but I really didn’t believe you were sleeping with Natalie. Please don’t throw her out.”

“Are you kidding me?” David laughs. “If Natalie left you and I would be screwed. No I was thinking maybe turning the podcast room into a bedroom for Sophia. Maybe then you could.. maybe give up your apartment and move in here full time?”

“Move in?” you ask surprised.

“Well you don’t expect me and my daughter to live in different houses do you?” David asks. “Plus I’ll be here all day with her while you’re at work, and there’s always plenty of people here to look after her. We might even get a night or two to ourselves.”

“You and me alone?” you ask him as you slip your arms around his neck and pull him into you. “Could that ever happen?”

“It’s a nice thing to think about,” David smirks, wrapping his arms around your waist. “ you me and…”

“Mommy?”

You both turn to find your daughter sitting up in the bed rubbing her eyes. “Hey baby, why aren’t you asleep?”

“I didn’t get my bedtime story,” Sophia says with a pout causing you and David to laugh.

“Okay baby,” you smile. “Let me just get my pjs on and I’ll be…”

“No Mommy,” Sophia whines. “It’s Daddy’s turn to read to me.”

You turn and look at David who already has tears forming in his eyes. “Looks like you’re up, Daddy.”

“Mommy, Daddy said I could have ice cream before bed too,” Sophia adds causing David to wince.

“Looks like Daddy’s in trouble too,” you smirk before walking out of the bedroom.

“Not too much trouble though,” David calls out after you. “I mean this is my first day as a Daddy.”

“No its not,” Sophia giggles. “You’ve always been my daddy.”

“God damn it,” David groans as you walk back into the room with a tub of ice cream. “Y/n I’m in trouble. I’m never going to be able to say no to her.”

You laugh, wrapping your arms back around David’s neck and giving him a kiss. “You’ve never said no to her in the year you’ve known us.”

“Whoops,” Sophia whispers causing both of you to turn around and look down at your daughter. “Daddy I got ice cream on your side of the bed.”

You let out a loud laugh before pulling away from your boyfriend. “Well while you’re dealing with that mess daddy,” you said. “I’m going to go and have a nice relaxing bath. Good luck.”

“You want me to clean it up?” David asks surprised.

You look down at your daughters ice cream covered face and laugh some more. “I’d probably clean her up to.”

“Okay,” David sighs. “Natalie?”

“No,” you said pointing a finger at David. “She’s your daughter. Youre the Daddy. You clean her up.”

“Fine,” David sighs as he staring down at the bed, trying to figure out where to start.

“Still excited about being her Daddy?” you ask David from the bathroom door.

He looks down at your daughter trying to pick up ice cream from the pillow with her spoon. “Yeah,” he smiles before grabbing Sophia by the feet and pulling her towards him. Causing the little girl to giggle and scream.

“Daddy that tickles,” Sophia squeals as you softly close the bathroom door. Leaving Daddy and daughter to clean up their mess.

[sapphiclecterarchive]

the babysitter - fic

Fandom: MCU, Spiderman

Character(s): Peter Parker

Desc.: In which Peter is trusted with a child.

A/N: i’ve never posted any fics on tumblr so i thought i’d give it a shot! this will also be on my ao3 if you fancy sending it some love over there. SORRY if this is indecipherable, it was written in 3 days in amongst a mad panic to finish art coursework

WARNING FOR ENDGAME SPOILERS. SO MANY SPOILERS. OH MY GOD THERE ARE SO MANY SPOILERS IN THIS

Peter really isn’t expecting the call.

May is working a late night at the shelter, which she’d explained with a concise note left in the middle of the kitchen counter, underneath a twenty dollar bill for takeout. The takeout guy is the only person he’s expecting to encounter this evening, besides the Instagram group chat which buzzes every two minutes and John Mulaney on Netflix. That’s until his phone rings.

The number isn’t saved on his phone, so he almost doesn’t answer it. It’s only when he realises that it could be May calling in an emergency, or Ned or MJ or anyone else, that anxiety forces him to pick the phone up. The line between his Spidey senses and generalised anxiety disorder is a thin one that he treads very carefully.

“Hello?”

The woman on the other end of the line sighs in relief, “Peter, thank God you picked up.”

He recognises her voice instantly - from the news, from the battle, from the funeral. He scrambles to find the remote and pause the TV.

“Mrs Potts? Why are you — what is — uh — how are you?”

They haven’t spoken since the wake, when she’d hugged him and let him cry into her shoulder. His heart seizes at the memory of her calm composure, supporting a boy she barely knew while he fell apart over the death of the man she loved.

“I’m doing alright, thank you,” she answers. “I have a favor to ask.”

“Okay.”

“Would you be able to babysit Morgan for a few hours?” Peter’s hand freezes on it’s way to the bag of Cheetos next to him on the couch. “I wouldn’t normally ask with such little notice, but I have to do some stuff for the Foundation launch, and our regular sitter fell through.”

“That’s no problem at all,” Peter says, without even thinking about it. “I didn’t have plans, anyway.”

Pepper exhales with relief, “That’s amazing. I’ve sent Happy to pick you up, he should be there soon. Thank you so much, this is such a big help.”

As soon as he places his phone down, Peter realises that he knows absolutely nothing about taking care of a kid, and that he’s currently in nothing but ratty sweatpants and an old sports jersey.

He practically launches himself over the back of the couch, abandoning his show and his takeout to race into his bedroom. His pyjamas are replaced with black jeans and a thick wool sweater over a tshirt, and he just manages to comb through his hair and spray himself with deodorant before his phone chimes from the couch and he races to check it.

Unknown Number: Outside. – Happy

He texts May to let her know where he’s going while he bounds down the stairs. Sure enough, Happy is waiting on the sidewalk, leaning up against a black car.

To Peter’s surprise, Happy ignores his offered handshake and instead pulls him in for a hug. The embrace lasts a long few seconds before Happy pulls back, his hand lingering on Peter’s shoulder. “How you holding up, kid?”

“Okay,” Peter says. Happy opens the passenger side door for Peter and rounds the car to get in behind the wheel. The doors slam, and Peter talks over the starting of the engine. “School’s getting intense, and — uh — everyone’s getting excited for prom. But, uh… Yeah, that’s sort of it.”

Happy glances at him out of the corner of his eye as he pulls the car out into the road. “Prom, huh? You got your eye on anyone? Planning a…. what do you call it? A promposal?”

Peter thinks about MJ, about Ned, about Betty, about the guy in his physics class who always lets him share his textbook when Peter forgets… “I haven’t really thought about it, uh, with everything going on.”

“I getcha, kid.” They come to a slow stop at a red light. “These past months have been pretty intense… I haven’t really known what to do with myself, to be honest.”

His voice has grown quiet, and the last word of the sentence almost dies completely. Peter looks over at him as he scrubs a hand over his face. Is he crying?

Happy is covering his face with one of his hands, now, shoulders shaking minutely. Peter has no idea what to do. What are you supposed to do when your dead mentor’s assistant who hated you not that long ago is suddenly crying in front of you?

“Uh… Happy?” He gets no reply. “Happy?”

“Yeah, kid?” Happy looks up at him, his eyes tear-filled and puffy but a supportive smile on his face all the same.

“The light’s green.”

As if on cue, the car behind them beeps it’s horn, spurring Happy into moving the car forward.

Pepper Potts is waiting for them when they arrive at the house. It looks no different to how it did at the funeral, and it upsets him a little to look at the front porch and the small dock where they’d stood to say their final goodbye. She gives him a very brief tour of the house, and an explanation of Morgan’s bedtime routine. Apparently, she has already had her bath and her dinner, so the only thing Peter has to do is put her to bed by eight.

“There’s enough food in the refrigerator and the pantry for you to make yourself something to eat, feel free to watch whatever you want on the TV, and I should be home by eleven, but if you’re tired by then you’re welcome to sleep in the guest room.” She pauses, taps her fingertips together as if checking off a list, and then drops her hands and smiles warmly at him. “I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

How could he have said no? He understands more than anyone what grief feels like, and if the obvious exhaustion underlying her composed expression is anything to go by, being suddenly thrust into single parenthood has taken its toll on her. He remembers May wearing the same expression after his Uncle Ben died, and he knows now how much she’d needed an extra pair of hands.

“It’s really no problem, Mrs Potts.”

Her petite hand brushes his elbow, “Please, call me Pepper.”

She then crouches down to say goodbye to Morgan, and he politely looks away, for some reason he feels like that moment deserves privacy.

“You’ve got my number, so if there’s anything you need you can either call me or Happy, okay?” she assures him.

“Okay, Mrs — Pepper.”

She smiles, nods, and gives Morgan one last kiss on the cheek before leaving.

“We’ve got about forty minutes to kill before bedtime.” He looks down at the young girl. “What do you want to do?”

“Cartoons!” she exclaims, a gleeful grin on her pudgy face.

“Cartoons?” He turns toward the couch, expecting her to follow him. She grabs three of his fingers with her small hand and walks ahead of him, as if guiding him to the couch. He doesn’t have to wonder where she gets that from.

“Cartoons,” she clarifies, jumping up onto the couch with a huff.

He sits next to her and picks up the remote to start looking for the kids’ channels. “What’s your favorite cartoon?”

“Spongebob!” she says around her thumb.

It takes him all of five minutes to scroll through the entire TV guide and finally assess that there isn’t one channel currently playing an episode of Spongebob. Or any cartoons, it seems. He’s about to give up, when she holds out her hand.

“Remote.” The ‘R’ is more of a ‘W’, and she makes a grabby hand toward the remote until he passes it to her.

“There are no channels playing cartoons…” he begins to explain, bracing himself for a five-year-old temper tantrum. Instead of screaming or crying, however, he’s greeted with the familiar opening note of the Spongebob theme tune.

When he looks at her, she’s looking back at him with a cheeky grin. “How did you figure that out?”

“Mummy got it on the TV for me.” Her speech is pretty advanced for a five year old, but it’s obvious how hard she’s working to get her words right. “She said so I can watch it when I’m sad.”

His eyebrows knit together, and he fears sounding like a counsellor - or a parent - but he can’t help but ask, “Are you sad a lot?”

She shrugs, jams her thumb in her mouth and talks around it, “I watch Spongebob a lot.”

He ends up watching her more than he watches the cartoon, mesmerised by her starry-eyed expression as she watches the bright colours flash across the screen. They reflect in her big brown eyes, which he knows that she inherited from her dad. She also inherited her stubbornness, apparently, because even when her eyelids begin to droop and she can hardly sit upright for sleepiness, she doesn’t give in. She refuses to doze off until the end credits of the episode are rolling, and then she almost instantly collapses, snoring lightly, onto the couch cushions.

Careful not to wake her, he slips his arms underneath her armpits and lifts her. Her arms and legs wrap around him sleepily, making it much easier for him to carry her upstairs without fear of dropping her. He pushes the door open with the heel of his shoe, uses his right hand to continue supporting Morgan’s weight while his left pulls back the covers on her small bed. Once he’s placed her down and tucked the blanket up to her chin, he follows Pepper’s instructions of shutting the blind, turning on the nightlight next to her bed, and leaving the door slightly ajar when he eventually steps back out into the hall.

The TV is still displaying the paused credits of Spongebob when he sits back down on the couch. He wants to go onto Netflix and carry on with what he was watching earlier, but he feels like it might be a bit of an intrusion to use Pepper’s personal Netflix account, so he settles on a channel that seems to be only playing reruns of Family Guy.

His phone buzzes, and he glances at where it sits next to him on the couch.

Ned: Deathmatch?

Peter can’t help his smile. After Thanos, and everything else that’s followed, the simple things like playing Overwatch with Ned - even if he loses every time - make him so much happier than they would have before.

Peter: can’t tonight, am babysitting.

The next message from Ned comes through almost immediately.

Ned: Who tf trusted U with their kid?

Peter: ikr

Peter: pepper needed an extra hand w morgan

Ned doesn’t reply, so he assumes that the match has started and settles down onto the plush couch cushions. He scrolls through his Instagram feed, through photos posted by people from school and the odd celebrity. Until, eventually, he dozes off with his phone still in his hand.

A loud bang makes him start awake what feels like five minutes later. His phone slips out of his hand and onto the floor, the bang it creates making him startle again. He sits up blearily and stretches until his back pops. Through the windows, he can see nothing but black. His phone screen, when he picks it up to check, tells him that it’s just past nine-thirty. He hadn’t planned to sleep at all, let alone for an hour and a half.

Everything in the house still seems intact, and it doesn’t seem like Pepper is home, so he assumes that the bang was caused by the dog door, or something similar. Nevertheless, a residual anxiety forces him to his feet. He rubs the sleep from his eyes as he trudges up the stairs toward Morgan’s room.

The door is still slightly ajar, and the light from the hallway illuminates a strip of her polka dot duvet cover. He pushes the door open more, expecting to see her still tucked up tight and fast asleep.

She isn’t in her bed.

Peter’s stomach flips.

“Morgan?” he calls, hoping that she’s just hidden somewhere and will pop out giggling.

She doesn’t. He flicks the light on.

“Morgan?” He rounds the bed to check the other side, which is also empty.

She’s not hiding underneath the bed or in the wardrobe, and he checks every single room upstairs for her. But, she’s not in Pepper’s room, the guest room or the bathroom.

“Morgan!” he calls again as he races down the stairs. The downstairs bathroom is also empty, and she isn’t in the living room or the kitchen.

As he races back into the living room, his eyes lock on the front door. He can’t remember locking it behind Pepper, and he’d been woken up with a loud slam…

He throws open the front door, looking out onto the lake and the front garden, until there’s a small cough to his right.

There she is, her small form curled up on the rocking chair, thumb in her mouth and eyelids heavy with

He softens his voice to try and mask his panic. “What are you doing out here?”

“I can’t sleep,” she explains quietly. Her body seems to betray her there, though, because she lets out a yawn almost immediately.

He really doesn’t know how to get a stubborn kid to go back to sleep. He thinks back to when he was a kid, and how May would convince him to go to bed.

“You can have milk and cookies if you come back inside.”

She shakes her head.

“Juice pops?”

He remembers seeing them in the freezer earlier, and he assumes that she’ll be moved by the offer. She isn’t, and shakes her head again.

“I want to talk to daddy,” she says.

Peter’s brain takes a second too long to reboot, because she rolls her eyes and continues like he’s missed a very obvious point. “Mummy says that daddy can hear me if I sit here and talk to him.”

This is the first time this whole evening that Peter realises how much she must miss her dad. For the past few weeks, he’s felt like he’s been on autopilot, like there’s a vital part of him missing. So he can hardly imagine how she feels; she probably doesn’t even understand that he’s never coming back.

He doesn’t remember when his parents died, but he remembers asking May about them. He remembers the frown that would tug on her mouth every time he did. He remembers how much that frown would confuse him. They’re in a better place, she would say, so why would she look so sad?

He understands the questions she probably has, he understands how overwhelmed she must feel, surrounded by sadness and falseness and feelings that she doesn’t yet understand. All she needs is some normality.

“I think daddy would want you to wear a jacket outside.”

She pouts indignantly and crosses her arms to let him know she isn’t going anywhere.

Knowing now that she isn’t being moved, he grabs the hem of his sweater and tugs it over his head. The hair on his arms immediately bristles against the cold, his t-shirt doing nothing to keep him warm.

He crouches in front of the chair so that he’s level with her, sweater held between them.

“This sweater belonged to my uncle Ben. He’s in the same place as your dad, but before he went, he gave me this sweater. Do you know what he told me when he gave it to me?” She shakes her head. “He told me that it would protect me against anything, and it can protect you, too.”

He remembers Ben passing it to him while they were queueing for the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. Peter had forced him and May to queue for almost two hours, only to get too scared and start sobbing as soon as they got closer to the ride. The sweater was supposed to be a mode of persuasion for a then nine year old Peter, but it’s his most treasured item, and memory.

After Ben had died, the only thing Peter wanted to keep was the sweater, and ever since, he has worn it whenever he needs extra comfort.

He’s been wearing it a lot recently.

“Anything?” Morgan repeats, eyes wide. “Even monsters?”

He laughs, “Even monsters. Do you want to put it on?”

She nods enthusiastically, and he silently praises himself for his quick thinking as he helps her pull it over her head. It’s too big for him, so it covers almost her whole body, and the sleeves are about twice the length of her arms. She looks a lot warmer and happier, though.

She reaches out to him, and he doesn’t understand what she wants until her hands pop out of the sleeves and open and close sporadically in a move which he reads as “pick me up”.

He picks her up around her waist, her arms wrapping around his neck, and then turns to sit on the chair. She shifts around until she’s sideways on his lap, facing the lake, her head cushioned on his shoulder and her hands pulled up under her chin. The sweater cocoons her like a swaddle.

“Can you tell me a story?”

He doesn’t know any stories for kids, unless the classic, Disney movie fairy tales count.

“Do you want a story about your dad?”

She nods, the movement clear against his shoulder.

“Okay.” He wills himself not to cry immediately at the memory of his mentor, not wanting to freak the kid out or undo the hard work Pepper has undoubtedly done on making this whole situation seem lighter for her. “When I met your dad, I’d just gone through a big change…”

He recites the story of Germany, and then, when she asks for another, the stories of the boat and of Titan. They’re shortened, censored, and the latter is missing the part where he turned to dust for five years, but they’re true. Calmed by the stories, and smiling at the talk of her dad, she eventually falls asleep soundly against his shoulder. He looks down at her serene face, and he hopes that she remembers the good things about Tony, he hopes that she’s dreaming about him. He hopes that she dreams about building pillow forts with him, about him carrying her on his hip while doing important research, about him tucking her into bed and kissing her forehead.

Pepper gets home not long after Peter has tucked her back into bed.

“Was she okay?” she asks in a whisper, although the house is definitely big enough to talk at full volume and not wake the sleeping girl.

“She was a dream.”

A small, relieved sigh stirs her fringe. “Good. I really can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s honestly fine,” he says. “I had fun.”

When he unlocks and pushes open the door of the apartment, May is in her pajamas on the couch, watching some reality TV show. She looks over the back of the couch when she hears the door close, and smiles. She seems tired, as she always does after working overtime, but she’s wearing her fluffy pink socks, which means that she’s happy.

“Good night?”

He sits next to her, slowly tipping sideways until his head lands on her bent knee. Her hand automatically goes to his hair, stroking the top of it like she used to when he was small and would sit on the floor between her knees while her and Ben watched TV. Then, she moves her hand to his upper arm, and her palm feels boiling hot against his skin. “You’re freezing.”

As she tugs the throw blanket over him and pulls him closer to her side, he realises that he didn’t take his sweater back.