#it’s intriguing to me that the Hulk recognizes that ‘Friend knows how to talk to the Hulk. Doesn’t tell… asks instead.’

[daydreamerdrew]

The Hulk! (1978) #24

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (8)

The day started out sucky to begin with. Her crush ousted to the class and Adrien. Lila taking pride in exacting her revenge. But by the time patrol was over, a young man was dead, and Ladybug's identity was at risk. Lila was the least of her concerns. Good thing Adrien was taking it all like a champ.

Ao3 | FF.net

Warning: This chapter is a bit of a recap of chapter six, but in the perspective of those watching the stream. Same amount of public humiliation.

—

“Please excuse me for interrupting whatever pointless drivel you were consumed with. My name is Salo. I’m not an akuma, but you’ll soon wish I was. I have succeeded where all the others have failed.” She stepped back to show Ladybug and Chat Noir, bound and gagged.

Gabriel was the first to react, his eyes wide with horror as he blindly stumbled towards the TV. Everyone else had similar reactions and levels of horror.

“I have captured the so called heroes of Paris. In ten minutes, I will be revealing their identities on ‘make ladybug suffer dot com.’ Be sure to tune in, you won’t want to miss it.” Her mouth quirked up in a malicious smile, and the picture fuzzed out again.

“I need to get to a computer—“ Gabriel panicked.

But Max was already on it, plugging Markov into the screen. Soon, a website came up. A black background, with red text. But the majority of it was filled with various video streams. All the same room, in different angles, but the main large video showed Ladybug and Chat Noir from the side, still bound. Chat’s face had tears streaming down it.

Sabine turned up the volume. Yes, she should have been focused on finding her daughter, but at that moment a very harrowing feeling settled on the room.

Somehow, these events weren’t a consequence.

“You hear that? One minute until I reveal your name to the whole world. I’ll let you have that minute to escape. Go ahead, go.”

They were both fighting, frantic to get free. It was like watching a wild animal caught in a trap.

“Time’s up! Aw, you two do want to have fun! You stayed!”

Furious, Ladybug spit at the woman. “You won’t get away with this!”

“Oh, but I already have.” Salo tapped her on the nose. “You see, the Ladyblog really is an amazing resource! Every video of you two ever shot was on there. Theories and facts, all the information we needed was on there. I studied it carefully. All you had to do was show up for an akuma, and we took care of the rest. Though, I should probably thank that hulk, since he did the hard part for us. Seems like you’re not so lucky after all.”

Alya felt sick.

“Then let’s begin…Let’s start with Mr. Noir, shall we? Your ring, sir!” She reached for it.

“Cataclysm!” He shouted. “Oh you think you’re so smug. But you see, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” She snapped her fingers, and the large man standing by touched Chat’s hand with a metal pole. The metal rusted and turned to dust. Chat’s hand was useless once again.

The assembled watched as she took hold of the ring. A few words were exchanged, in what sounded like begging from Chat. Then there was a flash of green light.

“Oh god…” Gabriel whispered, falling to his knees. “Adrien…”

Salo leaned on his bad shoulder, making him cry out in pain. “Well well well. A famous model and a superhero! How intriguing! Adrien Agreste…I bet your father would pay a pretty penny to have you home safe and sound, don’t you think?” She dragged her fingers over his cheek.

What was left of Gabriel’s heart broke. Seeing his son like that, in so much pain. He cried out as the woman leaned on his arm. His shoulder looked misshapen and limp.

Salo scoffed. “What a baby.” She smacked his face, then she stood and walked over to Ladybug. “Your turn, missy.”

Ladybug didn’t go down without a fight, thrashing and kicking, anything she could do to fight. But with strong headlock, she didn’t get the chance, and in a moment, there was a flash of pink.

Sabine started crying before her brain fully processed what she was seeing. “…Marinette?”

Gabriel covered his mouth with his hand. “Oh no…no no no…”

“And who the heck are you?” Salo snorted. “We lucked out with Mr. Whiskers, but who knew Ladybug was just a nobody?” She leaned in closer. “Oh wait, I recognize you…yeah, you’re a friend of the Ladyblogger, in some of her videos. Mmmm….Marinette, right? Yeah. How sad! You’d think the person most dedicated to finding out Ladybug’s identity would have seen her sitting in front of her! You must either be too pathetic in your real life, or totally unimportant to the Ladyblogger.”

Alya was frozen to the spot, much like everyone else, but she trembled in every limb. Half sorrow, half rage.

Marinette looked up at the woman. “Alright, you’ve taken our Miraculous, and now everyone knows who we are. Can we go now?”

Salo slapped her cheek and sent her sprawling on the floor. “Didn’t you hear me? You’re never getting out of here. You’ll never see daylight again. I intend to keep you here and torture you over and over. One day, you won’t even know your own name anymore, but you’ll beg me for death!”

“We have to call the police.” Tom said, “Or the army! Or—or—!” He didn’t know what to do. No one did. For so long, everyone was reliant on Ladybug and Chat Noir to save the day.

Who was supposed to save them?

Gabriel didn’t move. He couldn’t bare to miss a detail.

“Let’s see, first thing first is to get you into uniform.”

Marinette was freed from her bindings and forced to her feet. She rubbed her wrists and looked around.

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.” Said Salo. “Now strip.”

She took off her shoes, purse and jacket.

Salo crouched and picked up her purse. “Let’s see, just as I thought…18 missed calls? My my someone is worried about their baby.” Then she dropped the phone and smashed it under her heel. “Not to worry. We’ll let mommy know how much fun you’re having.”

Sabine sobbed.

She then went over to Adrien and frisked him, finding his phone. “2 missed calls. Hmm, I wonder who’s more loved?” She smashed his phone as well. The remnants of both were collected and tossed in a bucket of water, just to make sure all the circuitry was fried.

“I tried to track her, earlier…but she was transformed and her phone was gone, and—and...”

Tom hushed her gently.

Salo gestured Marinette onward.

She then took off her shirt and pants, standing alone, trembling in her underwear.

“Well?” Said Salo. “The rest of it too.”

So Marinette unhooked her bra and shimmied out of her panties, standing completely naked in front of all of Paris.

The boys in the room tried to look away from the screen, but they also didn’t want to miss any key details.

“Oh what a gentleman!” They heard the woman laugh. “But I know where you really want to look. You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Adrien whispered out, “…I’m sorry.”

“Did I say you could talk, pussy cat?…Aw, he already knows how to behave so well. This will be so fun!”

The girls winced as Marinette was drenched with a bucket of water, crying out in shock.

Adrien was forced to his feet, his arm hanging limply at his side.

“That looks dislocated,” said Kim, trying to be helpful.

“He might need some help, Ladybug. So why don’t you help him.” Salo shoved her forward, as she tripped into his chest.

Marinette stood there awkwardly for a moment, her shoulders hunched.

“Tick tock, you two.”

She slowly helped him undress, as he hissed and winced with each movement. As she got lower, there was snickering and wolf whistles from their captors.

Then they were both naked, in front of Paris.

“Wow, the suit really holds everything in, doesn’t it, Adrien?” Salo laughed, looking between his legs.

He didn’t even look like he cared about it. He just held his arm, his face scrunched up in pain.

“Here,” Salo spoke, dropping a folded cloth into Marinette’s hands. “Your uniform.”

It was just a short hospital gown, but at least it was something.

Salo gave another one to Marinette for Adrien, and she helped him dress, awkwardly having to reach around to tie the strings in the back.

When she was done, she cupped his cheek, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the group.

Salo grabbed Marinette’s arm and yanked her back. “Alright, that’s enough. I’ve got some new jewelry for you, since I took your old ones.”

“Where did you put our miraculous? What did you do with them?”

Salo smiled, “Oh, you didn’t notice? Why, they’re right here.”

She walked off screen, and the camera didn’t move, only continued to show Marinette’s furious expression. “I don’t worry showing you this. Because there’s no way you’ll be able get them. But I’d love to see you try.”

Salo picked something up from the table next to the safe, and came towards Marinette. “Alright bug, I’d stay still unless you want to get pinched.”

She clamped on two wrist restraints, and then one to her neck, all connected with chains.

Then she did the same with Adrien, even clamping his bad arm.

“Now aren’t you two just precious? All gussied up for your first day of camp! Smile for the camera! Let your parents know how much fun you’re having!”

The camera swung in close to them, capturing their expressions of absolute humiliation and horror.

“I said, smile!” They both winced in pain, but morphed it into a pained smile.

“Alright, now let’s take you to your bunks. We have a really nice set up for our new campers. You’ll just love it!”  

Then the video went black. A message appeared, saying, “The next stream will be tomorrow morning at 6am. It would be best watch on an empty stomach.”

Alya was shaking with rage. At herself, at her classmates, at this ‘Salo’ woman, but not at Marinette or Adrien.

Never at them.

She swiveled her head around, looking for a target to unleash her fury on, and she found it in a very pale Lila. “You liar!” She screamed as she leapt. Alya tackled Lila to the floor, her fists flying without hesitation.

She only got a few licks in before Ivan and Kim grabbed her by the arms and yanked her to her feet. “We trusted you! I trusted you!”

Lila held her bleeding nose, desperate to not be made a villain. “Alya please…I know you’re upset. Everyone is…but that’s no reason to be mad at me.”

“Shut up! Shut up! You’re a liar! Just like Marinette said! I never should have believed you! Ladybug would never—My Ladybug would never take unsolicited photos! She’d never lie about this!” She was bawling her eyes out, and Kim and Ivan were the only things keeping her from collapsing on the floor. “You said you knew! You knew who Ladybug was! That you were best friends with her!”

“I thought I was!” Lila teared up, “she said she was someone else, most likely to protect me!”

“Stop lying!” Alya screamed. “Marinette hated you! And the only other person Marinette ever hated, was Hawkmoth! She doesn’t even hate Chloe! Now, because of you, she’s suffering! Adrien’s suffering! Ladybug and Chat Noir—it’s over! And it’s all your fault!”

“I had nothing to do with this!” Lila stated vehemently.

“Why should I believe you?” Alya snarled. “Why should any of us believe you?”

Lila balled up her fists. “Because—Because all I wanted was to discredit her! Like she was trying to do to me!”

Nino wrapped his arm around Alya’s shoulders, prompting Kim and Ivan to let go. He asked, “so how much of that photo story was a lie?”

Lila exhaled, her nostrils flaring. “All of it, okay? Marinette knew that I was lying, and kept trying to get everyone else to notice. But I warned her to knock it off. But she wouldn’t. She just kept on antagonizing me. All I wanted was to make friends and tell people what they wanted to hear, but she wouldn’t let me!”

Alix crossed her arms and spat, “Are you seriously trying to blame Marinette for this? Man, we all should have listened to her.”

While this argument was going on, Gabriel remained frozen in place, staring at the screen with tears in his eyes. A thousand thoughts rolled through his head, ideas, revelations, plans, too many things to parse at once.

“Sir?” Asked Nathalie, crouching by his side and touching his arm.

She grounded him slightly, as he took in the room around him. Tom was embracing his wife as she wailed. He didn’t blame her at all.

The children were fighting, pointing fingers and blaming each other.

Chaos.

His brooch burned on his chest at all the unbearably hot rage. Not just from the room, but Paris in general. The city was on fire with righteous anger, sadness, and hopelessness.

His fingers curled into fists, his resolve strengthening. He thrived in chaos. Not just as Hawkmoth, but as Gabriel as well. The man who built a fashion empire on his own. A man who didn’t allow himself to crumble in the face of grief.

He didn’t then, and he wouldn’t now.

Of course, his first priority was to save Adrien, but the consequences of what just occurred were not lost on him. After all, he had a secret identity of his own. If he wanted to save the children, he had to keep himself safe.

“That’s enough.” He spoke just loud enough to catch their attention, but not enough to shout.

“Oh Mr. Agreste, you understand don’t you? After all, I only wanted to do what was best for Adrien.”

He met Lila’s eyes, his own cold and steely. “You lied to my face. I refuse to be involved in petty high school squabbles. I have real, visceral problems to deal with, and you will gain no sympathy from me for your fabricated delusions. I suggest you leave.”

“But—“

“Now. And in case it wasn’t clear, I rescind that invitation into my home.”

Now, faced with real, true defeat, Lila had no choice but to save face and walk, sniveling with her crocodile tears all the while. No one gave her a second glance.

With that problem out of the way, Gabriel collected himself a little more. “Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng.”

Tom and Sabine looked at him, faces drained of hope.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities have been compromised. We are no longer safe in this house. I suggest you stay with me until further notice, since I have extensive security measures. Miss Cesaire, and Mr. Lahiffe, that goes for you too. Since a simple glance over social media would reveal how close you are to them.”

“What do you mean, we’re no longer safe?”

“Our children are heroes, and heroes have plenty of enemies, as we can see with this woman.” He gestured to the TV. “No doubt, they would be after us for revenge soon enough. If we want to save Marinette and Adrien, we have to stay safe while we figure out how to do that.”

“Yes, of course!” Sabine collected herself, wiping her eyes. “I’m so glad you thought of that! I—I can barely process what I just saw.”

“I can assure you, I am still in shock too.” He swallowed hard, looking to the classmates. “Who’s the fastest runner here?”

Both Alix and Kim raised their hands.

“Perfect, go together.” He took a key out of his wallet, and handed it to Kim. “The passcode for the gate is ’7539’. There’s a shed in the back side of the lot. In the cupboard, there’s a roll of duct tape hanging on a nail. The spare key to the kitchen door is behind it. I want you to go inside, and into my office. Next to my computer, there’s a short table with a keyhole. This is the manual key. Switch it to on, and it will activate the self defense system, effectively barricading all windows. The sooner we get the system on, the sooner we prevent anyone coming inside.”

“What about you, Mr. Agreste?”

“I have an override code. We’ll be fine. Now go, and don’t let anyone in the house!”

“Yes sir!” They both shouted, before running out of the room.

“You two,” Gabriel pointed at Alya and Nino. “Go through Marinette’s belongings as quickly as you can. Anything that can be used as blackmail or has sentimental value needs to get packed up. Same thing for you, Mrs. Cheng, Mr. Dupain. Anything that could be used as leverage against them needs to come with us to the house. Any documents, computers, phones, family albums, any information about you.”

The students gathered got to work, helping them pack up most of their belongings. They’d have to make a few trips, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Nino set Marinette’s computer tower on the floor at the base of the stairs. “Her monitor is too big, but this should be fine.”

Alya set down the duffle bag. “I have her sketchbooks, old diaries, and plenty of clothes for her to wear when we rescue her. I also emptied her filing cabinet. I don’t know what all was in there, but I’d rather not leave her social security card out.”

Gorilla took the items downstairs.

“Alright, thank you all for your hard work,” Gabriel said to the assembled students. “But I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if you all go home. If any reporters approach you to get more information about either of them, be vague. Pretend that you don’t them for your own safety.”

The students all looked at each other, feeling hesitant.

Gabriel’s voice was demanding and firm, “The temptation to do something on your own to help will be strong, but please, leave this to us now. Understand?”

There was a murmuring of voices before they trickled out the door, one by one.

Then Alya and Nino, Tom and Sabine, Gabriel, Nathalie, and the Gorilla remained.

“You two should go home and pack up your bags. Brief your parents on what’s happening. If they need to, they can call me.” He held a hand out, asking for their phones, which he entered his number into. “Go together, and do not separate. My bodyguard will pick you up once you are ready. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

He nodded once, and looked to Tom and Sabine. “There’s not much else we can do tonight. Let’s go.”

They loaded up what they could in the car, and then put the house on lock down. Then they were off.

Sabine sat in the middle, sandwiched between her husband and Gabriel, with an overnight bag of her most bare essentials on her lap.. “I—I can’t thank you enough, for watching out for us like this.”

“You’re worrying about enough right now, Mrs. Cheng. You don’t need to worry about yourself too.”

“Sabine. Please just call me Sabine.”

“And call me Tom. If your son is…is Chat Noir. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future.”

Gabriel cracked a minute smile. “Tom, Sabine, I agree. Though I wish we could come to this…friendship in a different way.”

Sabine raised a hand to wipe at her cheeks, but Gabriel held out a handkerchief for her to use instead. “I just can’t believe…the last few years, my Marinette…she’s been saving the city. With Adrien. They…they just took down that drug lord the other night! That must be why she had that cut on her cheek!”

“And why this woman is involved now.” Finished Gabriel.

“So what are we going to do?” Asked Tom. “We know nothing about these people.”

“No, not yet we don’t. But they’re broadcasting plenty to the public. They will make a mistake. And as much as we think of Adrien and Marinette as children, they are superheroes. Ladybug comes up with solutions in every situation. They aren’t completely helpless.”

“But…without the Miraculous…” Sabine nearly whispered.

Gabriel was trying to be optimistic for their sake, but he really had nothing to say to that. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to keep from crying.

It was more than likely that he’d never see his son again. And if by some miracle he did, Adrien would never be the same.

They arrived at the mansion, a crowd of reporters in front of the gate. They parted at the sight of the car, allowing them to pull in.

“Damn it, the paparazzi never rests. I suggest you cover your faces, to hide the fact that you’re staying with me.”

The car pulled up to the gate, and Gabriel stepped out to enter the code, being followed by his bodyguard.

“M. Agreste, did you have knowledge that your son is Chat Noir?”

“Do you have any more information about Ladybug’s identity?”

“Have you been in contact with her parents?”

“What are you going to do to save your son?”

Gabriel was usually very good about ignoring the press. Or sometimes just giving vague enough answers to satisfy, but he had no patience for it today. “I didn’t know that Adrien was Chat Noir. I’m dealing with a lot right now, and I would like you all to leave. Please just leave…”

The reporters mostly backed off, standing back to give him some room. He entered the override code, opening the gate just enough for the car to go through. He drove in himself, his bodyguard keeping everyone back outside the gate.

Reporters continued to shout questions as Sabine and Tom got out of the car, keeping their faces forward and away from any cameras.

Finally inside, the voices of the reporters were muted. Gabriel glanced out the window, his eyes narrowed in anger. “We’ll have to go back for your other items later, once things calm down.”

Nathalie gestured them upstairs. “I will show you to the guest room. You can make yourselves at home.”

Gabriel watched them go, and then went to his office.

—

Hawkmoth emerged in the large room, butterflies fluttering all around at his presence. The akuma that had been rampaging around the city was now sullenly flapping around in his cane. He had called it back that minute he heard Adrien was missing, fearing that his akuma had been the cause.  

But now he was looking for a new target, with a new goal in mind.

There was so much anger and grief in Paris. So much that it was overwhelming. Nausea was building every minute he was transformed.

He couldn’t pinpoint Adrien or Marinette. Their suffering must have been in the waves, but it was like looking for a grain of sand on the beach.

“Nooroo, dark wings fall.”

“Master?” Nooroo asked, reappearing.

“It’s no use. It’s like listening for someone’s shout in a crowd of thousands. I have to have an idea of where to feel from.”

Nooroo stayed silent as Gabriel fell to his knees, scrubbing his hands through his hair. “All I wanted…was my family. To keep Adrien safe! But now I—“ His words were cut off with a sob as he leaned forward and rested his head on the ground.

Hawkmoth struck fear into the hearts of Parisians. He created akuma that could grind the city to a halt.

But this woman…she had succeeded where he had failed, and done it so effortlessly.

And he didn’t even care about the Miraculous anymore.

Now it was personal. He would wreak his own revenge in time.

He just needed a clue.

[moonlightmadnessreviews]

1931’s Frankenstein and the “Slow Turn”: The Lost Art of the Subtle Scare

A friend of mine recently asked for my thoughts on subtle scares in horror. I asked her to elaborate and she responded “You know, those scares that aren’t exactly in your face but are still super effective!” Immediately, my brain shot to one of my favorite scenes in classic monster cinema: Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster, and his slow turn towards the audience. Here, we’ll discuss that particular shot and why I think it’s the perfect example of what I feel is a lost art in today’s cinematic climate.

In the age of the jump scare, it’s easy to see why some horror fans may feel jaded when watching what Hollywood has offered up as of late. However, in an effort to avoid beating a particularly dead horse, I don’t want to spend this article talking about how bad jump scares are. Overused as they may be, jump scares aren’t new, and they aren’t always a bad thing. The real problem is that big budget production companies have a tendency to get the wrong impression of what audiences want. We’ve seen it happen time and time again, where a franchise ratchets up the gore and jump scares in lieu of the more subtle elements that made the original films so well received, ie The Conjuring and Saw. As I said, jump scares aren’t always bad, and we can look back to two iconic examples to see where they’re utilized extremely well.

The first example comes at the end of the very first Friday the 13th film, where just as Alice (Adrienne King) thinks she’s home free, a rotting Jason Voorhees (Pre-Kane Hodder behemoth incarnation, here played by Ari Lehman) jump scares her out of a dream. It’s a closing jump scare that we still see used now a days, albeit without the same effectiveness the original had. Another great example comes by way of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) during the intro of A Nightmare on Elm Street. This jump scare signals the beginning of a chase scene through a dark alley way, jolting our adrenaline like a gun going off at the start of a race. Now a days, that jump scare would get a laugh out of the audience instead, draining all tension from the scene and revealing it’s just one of the protagonist’s friends popping out of the dark to ask them out for drinks.

With my applauding these last two examples, why is it I find the scene where we first see the Monster’s face in James Whale’s Frankenstein to be so effective? One thing that sticks out to me right away is the lack of a score in the original Frankenstein. We have been trained to recognize a coming scare the same way a boxer learns to read body language, and a lot of this has to do with musical cues. Movie goers know that when they see their protagonist stare into a dark corner of their room, the ambient noise and score of the movie slowly dropping out til it’s completely silent, a loud musical stab is sure to pop out of the darkness to startle them. However, Universal’s Frankenstein has no musical aid to warn the audience of what they’re about to see. We watch as Boris Karloff, beginning with his back to the audience and filling up the frame of a doorway, enters the room and turns ever so slowly towards the audience. The camera then cuts between shots, pulling in closer and closer on the Monster’s face with each cut, all of this playing out free of a musical score.

As synonymous as Bela Lugosi is to Dracula, as is Boris Karloff to Frankenstein’s Monster, and his legendary face creeping in closer to the audience is extremely startling. Much of this of course has to do with Karloff’s facial structure itself, but the icing on the cake comes from make up wizard Jack Pierce. Pierce is responsible for most of Universal Studios’ most iconic monster makeups, and his work on Frankenstein is one of my favorites. He and Karloff worked tirelessly on the look of the Monster, and I believe it was Karloff who suggested pulling out a bridge he wore in his mouth to help give his cheek a sunken in, corpse-like look. The blend of practical effects, and a face made for scaring audiences resulted in one of Universal’s most terrifying shots.

Of course, it takes more than just great makeup and stark silence to make for an effective and understated scare. The direction of this scene plays a big part in its delivery, and our response to it as audience members. Imagine how differently the scene might have played out if the Monster entered the room facing us, as opposed to walking in backwards. He would walk out of the shadows and into the light of the shot without the build up of the original. The decision to have the Monster enter the room with its back to the audience does two important things:

First, it gives us a sense of how disoriented the Monster is. The hulking corpse hobbles backwards and gives us a sense of his size and mass as he slowly, and carefully, turns to face his creator.

Second, by forcing us to sit through this slow, and quiet reveal, it helps to draw the audience closer towards the screen. As I watch Karloff take his time revealing the Monster’s face, I can feel my back come away from my couch as I lean forward to meet his gaze. As an audience, we are frightened and intrigued, but most importantly, we are engaged. This last piece of the puzzle is what great directors strive for, and Whale did a fantastic job capturing the moment.

Although the “Slow Turn” is a technique that’s used less often these days, it doesn’t mean it’s completely absent. A great example comes from the classic Halloween, directed by John Carpenter and released in 1978. The shot of Michael Myers, The Shape, slowly manifesting from out of the darkness behind Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is perhaps the closest to this “Slow Turn” idea we see used in Frankenstein. The mask seems to appear out of the dark like a ghost and the dread that moment cooks up is wonderful. Andy Muschietti’s IT holds another great example as Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor) flips through a book of Derry, Maine’s gruesome history. You’re likely to miss it, but in the background is Pennywise the Dancing Clown, here disguised as a librarian, staring menacingly at Ben. There is a faint smile visible, and the distance it keeps from his intended prey helps to up the “Slow Turn” scare factor of the shot. We even get a tribute of sorts to the “Slow Turn” in Capcom’s classic video game Resident Evil. A decomposing zombie looks up from its meal and turns to meet the player’s horrified gaze in an iconic cut scene that gave me nightmares for quite a while.

Frankenstein has long been my favorite of the Universal Monster movies, and I’ve often sited this moment, lasting all of 21 seconds, as one of my favorite shots in the entire film. The patience with which the scene is shot, the make up on Karloff’s face and the amount of character he puts into simply turning towards the audience is so beautifully effective. As I said, jump scares have their place, but the “Slow Turn” is an art form that embodies all that I love about classic horror. Though we may be able to find other examples of it in horror cinema history, for me, the Monster’s entrance is a moment whose electricity is hard to resurrect.

[oltnews]

They really don't say anything to Scarlett Johansson. She may be the star of "Black Widow", but that doesn't mean that she has any idea when the movie trailer will be released. You may remember that we had a first surprise glimpse of "Black Widow" earlier this week. And when we say early, we mean early. Tuesday, our story was published just before 2 a.m. The trailer fell late Monday without fanfare or advance warning, and Johansson told Stephen Colbert Thursday evening that even she didn't know it was going to happen. "I woke up and received a text from Chris Evans saying," The trailer is superb. "I don't know what he was doing at 5 a.m. It's another story. Yeah, getting up, of course," she said, responding to Colbert's joke. haven't said it! They hide everything from me. " Also read: 'Black Widow': Natasha Romanoff has a family reunion and kicks ass in the first trailer for Marvel Prequel (Video) Johansson was on "The Late Show" to promote "Marriage Story", which she performed with Adam Driver, aka Kylo Ren from the "Star Wars" trilogy. So Colbert asked if she had any idea who would win a fight between Kylo and Natasha. She didn't have a lot of response, nor about the details she was allowed to say about "Black Widow", other than the fact that it was between "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Infinity War ". Johansson says the film is a "homecoming" in which Natasha must now face some of her guilt over the things she did before becoming revenge. However, fans wondered why a solo film, Black Widow is not an origin story that goes back to its training beginnings in Russia, and she explained why this story was better. "I could never have made this film 10 years ago when we had just started our journey with Marvel. It’s a film that speaks so much… the character informed this film. My trip with Natasha informed this film. She’s a character who’s a fully recognized woman. It has a complexity that it is delicious, "said Johansson. "Not to say it would have been something else or totally entertaining in 10 years, but we can do things that are good." Also read: Review of the film 'Marriage Story': Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver split up in the devastating drama of Noah Baumbach Colbert also had another theory to direct by her: that it was Johansson's last go-around as "Black Widow". Here is why: it is his eighth appearance because the character and the spiders have eight legs. Can't it be a coincidence? Of course, Stephen. Check out Johansson's appearance on CBS "The Late Show" above. All 23 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies ranked, from worst to best (Photos) No one on the Internet wants to talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's something we simply can't continue to ignore. But seriously: even if this seemingly unstoppable franchise has rabid fans around the world, nobody can agree on those they prefer (or at least, for that matter). TheWrap film editor-in-chief Alonso Duralde gets into the subject - and no, he's not paid by anyone at Disney to love (or hate, for that matter) any of these films. wonder 23. "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) Released just five years after Ang Lee's "Hulk", this second attempt to make a man a leader in the great green creature radiated by Gamma proved just as disappointing. If we've learned anything from the Avengers movies, it's that Bruce Banner works best when he's a supporting character (and when he's played by Mark Ruffalo). wonder 22. "Ant-Man" (2015) Although this film deserves to be rewarded for not having put the fate of humanity at stake - the stakes are more than the size of a child's train - the stabs to the humor of the film seem to be overestimated , and little natural charm from Paul Rudd comes to the fore in what should be a breezy caper. We can only wonder what the original version of Edgar Wright might have looked like. Disney / Marvel 21. "Thor" (2011) Director Kenneth Branagh tackles the the-and-thou of Asgard's segments, but the little town where the pinnacle is played out has been one of the most cheesy fake towns on the screen since the terrible movie "Supergirl" in years 80. On the positive side, actor Chris Hemsworth shows a scintillating spirit in this adventure of the god of thunder, coupled with an impressive musculature. wonder 20. "Iron Man 2" (2010) The best MCU movies do a good job of distracting you from all the setup of future franchise entries; this one offers so much empire building that it might as well have a "Pardon Our Dust" sign on it. Still, Scarlett Johansson's first appearance as Black Widow, dispatching opponents down the hall, made an unforgettable impression. Disney / Marvel 19. "Captain America: the first avenger" (2011) Just like he did in "The Rocketeer", director Joe Johnston excels at portraying the brilliance of the 1940s, although the characters are not as vivid as the USO sparrow. But fear not, true believers - the screen adventures of Cap have improved a lot in his later solo and team movies. wonder 18. "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) Firmly average, yes, but an improvement over its predecessor and a good time, skillfully balancing superheroes, second bananas, entertaining villains and the occasional killer one-liner. In no way a cornerstone of the MCU, but this one, mainly, works. Disney / Marvel 17. "Iron Man 3" (2013) Director and co-writer Shane Black doesn't always have the narrowest understanding of history - what is the infamous Extremis still doing, and why? - but he shows his skill in witty jokes (which Robert Downey, Jr. can make within an inch of his life) and breathtaking action (a flight rescue of a dozen passengers who have just fallen from Air Force One). Disney / Marvel 16. "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015) It's always fun when the group comes together, but it's also hard to rediscover the magic of this first time. This sequel offers a lot of excitement and banter scripted by Joss Whedon, but it's also a bit overloaded with characters and support setups for the next MCU movie series. Both fans and enemies of superhero movies can find arguments for their arguments here. Disney / Marvel 15. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017) The group is back together, and they are as hilarious as when they first came out, but overall, this sequel gives the impression that it is only vamping (entertaining) until the next major change of the intrigue in the MCU. Kurt Russell appears as Ego the Living Planet, who claims to be the long-lost father of Peter Quill / Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), and although the film is more concerned with character and emotion than intrigue , not all the movement the moments ring true. Disney / Marvel 14. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) This sequel has a better idea of ​​his own stupidity than his predecessor, as Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) flee the Feds, fight the phased-in ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and thwart plans of a gangster (Walton Goggins), while planning a rescue of the mother of The Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) from another dimension. Feels more Disney - in the sense of Kurt-Russell-as-Dexter-Riley - than Marvel, but still fun. Disney / Marvel 13. Captain Marvel (2019) Both the personal development and the retro of the 1990s are played with a fairly heavy hand, but it's a lot of fun to have here, Brie Larson's heroine, both bubbling and haunted - nothing like amnesia to spice up another story of origin - to one of the biggest feline bananas in the history of cinema. 12. "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) It's a little difficult to judge this one on its own merits, because it is clearly a half-film; we will not really know how this film will materialize until we have the sequel. But in the meantime, he does a pretty impressive job of juggling some 25 major MCU characters and keeping his sense of humor even in the face of mass destruction (and intense scenes involving torture and genocide). Disney / Marvel 11. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) You get all the T-crossing and I-dotting required at this point in the game, but the capper for the first piece of the MCU saga is a mostly satisfying season finale that offers rare moments of catharsis among moments of entertaining characters. which will cause laughter and maybe even a few tears. Disney / Marvel 10. "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019) This second outing from director Jon Watts and leader Tom Holland maintains the lark tone and focus on the characters that make these films feel like such a unique corner of the MCU. This time, the post-snap (or "blip", as the film says) Peter Parker and his friends are heading to Europe in a film that looks like a road comedy that sometimes blows up some superheroes. Disney / Marvel 9. "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) Director Taika Waititi ("Hunt for the Wilderpeople") strikes a delicate balance between breathless action and the fate of the universe on the one hand and ironic stupidity and catchy jokes on the other. Fortunately, he has Chris Hemsworth, who excels in both, surrounded by spirit like Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo and franchise beginners Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum and a glorious Cate Blanchett. Disney / Marvel 8. "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) The plot and the pace aren't as tight as in "Winter Soldier", but if you're looking for somber human conflict and exciting superhero-on-superhero action, this movie does a lot of good as "Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice "did wrong. Disney / Marvel 7. "Iron Man" (2008) It all starts here - a story of superhero origins for literalists who cannot hide behind explosive planets or radioactive spiders. Jon Favreau, then most famous for directing "Elf" and writing and co-starring in "Swingers", seemed a strange choice for the material, but he knows how to give us the two characters (played by Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow with plume) and ka-blam. wonder 6. "Black Panther" (2018) While the titular African superhero king of Chadwick Boseman takes something from a back seat to a troika of fascinating female characters - played by Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright - the film nevertheless overflows with excitement and of a rich history. (And Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger ranks among the franchise's biggest villains.) Disney / Marvel 5. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) Less motivated by guilt and haunted than previous versions of the character (on the page or screen), Tom Holland's Spider-Man has enough on his plate to manage his superhero growing pains. Hungry to join The Avengers but still struggling with everything he has to learn - he's only 15 years old after all - our hero faces the evil blue collar The Vulture (well Michael Keaton, Birdman) in a funny adventure all by presenting real challenges, formidable characterizations and a wonderfully detailed cast. (You must love a teen movie that works for Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Abraham Attah and Josie Totah, as well as scene-robber newcomer Jacob Batalon.) Sony / Marvel 4. "Doctor Strange" (2016) It would be too easy to ridicule the master of the mystical arts on the big screen, but director Scott Derrickson and his team somehow gave us a version of the surgeon-turned-magician, Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who seems at ease in the real world, rubbing shoulders with the Avengers and crossing tripping and dazzling dimensions where no one else could go. 3. "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) Pleasant, casual and steeped in the super hits of the 70s, this comic adventure is something of an outlier - both tonal and geographic - in the Marvel universe. Yet whether Rocket Raccoon and Black Widow intersect or not, this saga that covers the stars reminded us that there is more than one way to tell a story about superheroes. Disney / Marvel 2. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014) Aggressive patriotism meets anti-government paranoia in this fascinating tale that pits the captain against labyrinthine plots. It also turns out that Steve Rogers is much more interesting in time travel in the 2000s than firmly at home in the 1940s. And you will believe that the Falcon can fly. Disney / Marvel 1. "The Avengers" (2012) Still the gold standard of the MCU, this film reveals that Joss Whedon gets comics in their DNA, in the same way that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were fluent in the language of serials in the "Indiana Jones" movies. Putting all of these heroes in one room (or helicopter, anyway) has produced tremendous results, although the success of the film has led to the all-superhero-all-time ethos of contemporary Hollywood. Disney / Marvel Previous slide Next slide TheWrap reviewer Alonso Duralde orders the MCU, including "Spider-Man: Far From Home" No one on the Internet wants to talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's something we simply can't continue to ignore. But seriously: even if this seemingly unstoppable franchise has rabid fans around the world, nobody can agree on those they prefer (or at least, for that matter). TheWrap film editor-in-chief Alonso Duralde gets into the subject - and no, he's not paid by anyone at Disney to love (or hate, for that matter) any of these films. https://oltnews.com/even-scarlett-johansson-didnt-know-black-widow-trailer-was-falling-video-thewrap?_unique_id=5ea1a7409999e

[thatcrazybookwormgeek]

Teenage Royal Part 5

A/N: At long last, it is here. If I missed you or you would like to be tagged just let me know. 

Warnings: None that I can think of, but let me know if there is any.

Due to Tumbler's new policy, my Masterlist can be found in my bio. Normally it would be linked in each post, but posts with links no longer show up in search results.

Pairing: Coming soon: Peter Parker x Lokidottir!reader!

   Sunlight hit my face as I turned over in bed. My mind traveled back to yesterday, when me and my dad made up. Realizing I wasn’t on the couch where I had fallen asleep I jolted up with a start. My surroundings were familiar and I soon realized I was in my room.

“How’d I get back here?” I asked the seemingly-empty room.

“I thought you’d like to sleep in your own bed. I carried you here while you were asleep.” My once tired brain riddled itself with adrenaline as I faced the speaker.

 My father sat in a chair with a book in his hands, smiling at him I said,“Thank You.”

 Now awake I was ready to start my day. I got out of bed and went to my closet, pulling out a black mini-skirt and a skull tank-top I entered the bathroom. Once dressed I applied my usual green eyeshadow and drew on a dramatic wing. Satisfied with that part of my face I moved on to my lips, filling them in with a black matte liquid lipstick. Looking and feeling like a million bucks I exited the bathroom. I found Loki still sitting in the chair, engrossed in his book one again.

Clearing my throat I got his attention, “What do you think?”

“You look amazing, are you ready for your first day of high school?” I was glad my dad liked it, even if I forgot that it was the first day of school for me.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I answered as we both exited the room and headed down to the kitchen.

The kitchen was chaos as we entered it. Sam and Bucky were arguing as Steve was attempting to make pancakes. Tony and Clint looked half asleep as they sat and drank their coffee, Clint literally out of the pot. Deciding that it would be better to get to school early I grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee to go. Then me and my dad exited the chaos of the compound.

The ride to school was filled with comfortable silence. Both of us were simply enjoying each others company without the need for chatter. It wasn’t long before the gates of Midtown School of Science and Technology came into view. With a wave to my dad I left the car and approached the building.

Entering the front door I searched for the office. I must have looked lost because it wasn’t long before a student pointed me in the right direction. Thankful for the help I was able to find the office and get my new student packet. Looks like my first block was Science, oh look, I have a student guide. Looks like their name is Peter Parker. Wait. I know that name. That’s the guy I met yesterday. Spiderman.

“Hi, I’m your student gui… Y/N?! What are you doing here?” Just as I put the pieces together none other than Peter Parker walked through the doors of the office where I was told to wait.

“I go to school here now, I just transferred. Tony said this would be a good school for me.” I answered his questions with honesty, it would be nice having a familiar face at school.

“That’s awesome! Principal Morita said you have all the same classes as me, so that means we have science in… 5 minutes.” Peter rambled on like he would die if he didn’t keep speaking.

“Then let’s get going.” We walked through the halls in silence, as we didn’t know what to say.

I had just entered the class when the teacher announced that they were going to have a new student. “Say, here she is now. Can you tell the class your name?”

“Y/N L/N.” I responded as I found an empty seat next to a girl with bushy hair.

“I’m MJ.” The girl next to me introduced herself.

“You already know my name so no use saying it again.” I said with a slightly snarky attitude that MJ seemed to like.

The rest of the morning passed without a problem. The teachers all had me say my name, but that was a minor inconvenience. It was the last class of the day, gym. I don’t particularly hate gym, but it’s not my favorite.

“Alright, Students. Today we’re going to be playing a timeless P.E. classic. Dodgeball. Everyone go grab a jersey and line up the balls on the center-line. We start on my whistle.” The students rushed to do as they were told, and soon we were all ready to go.

The game passed in blurs of balls and dodging. I had managed to get a few people out, although I mostly tried to get Peter out, but his reflexes were just too good. Until he got distracted, then I managed to hit him straight in the chest. Just as he was about to get in the out area the bell rang, signifying the end of school. I walked beside Peter to get to our lockers, as they were right next to each other.

After we had changed out of our sweaty gym clothes and grabbed the books we needed we headed out the doors of school. We were greeted with the sight of an Audi parked on the sidewalk. I recognized the car as the one I had arrived in and began to walk towards it.

“Parker, you coming?” I called over my shoulder.

“Yeah.” He stuttered as he caught up to me.

“Hey honey, Parker.” Getting in the backseat we noticed Loki was sitting in the passenger seat in the front.

“Hey dad. How was your day?” I asked with no hesitation, I didn’t care if Parker knew we were related anyway.

“Dad?! You’re Loki’s daughter!?” Peter asked with eyes the size of dinner plates.

“Yeah, that a problem?” I questioned.

“No, that’s awesome. My friend’s dad is a god. That makes you a goddess!” Peter was cute when he fanboyed, even if it was over my father.

“We’re friends?!” I teased him.

“Yeah, right? I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine.” Poor Peter was stuttering so bad at this point I almost felt bad.

“Relax, I was just teasing you.”

The rest of the ride back to the compound was full of meaningless small talk and meme references. Talking to Peter became easier with every passing minute and time seemed to fly at the speed of sound. Before either of us knew it we were at the compound.

Exiting the car we both headed straight to the kitchen for an afternoon snack. Luckily, it appeared that someone had cleaned it up since this morning. Seeing as there was no visible puddles of pancake batter. Still talking we raided the snack cabinets and headed towards the living room. However, to our disappointment it was occupied.

We turned to exit the living room as the voice of Tony Stark rang out. “Nice to see you two getting along. Wanna come play some video games?”

Mine and Peter’s eyes met as we both cried out, “Last one there’s a rotten egg!”

I ended up beating him and calling controller one. To our surprise they were playing Wii Sports. It was quite a sight to see the god of Thunder playing wii bowling. But unfortunately that sight didn’t last. As Thor had forgotten the wrist strap and sent it flying straight into the television. After that we all decided that maybe we should be done with the wii for the night. So we all headed to the kitchen and Steve ended up making burgers.

Having seen Steve’s pitiful attempt at pancakes this morning my hopes weren’t high for the burgers. But apparently nothing is more patriotic than burgers, as The Man with The Plan proved.

After everyone had eaten we all decided that it was too early to call it a night. So we met in the living room with board games. Board games seemed to be a smart idea after the wii fiasco.

However, after getting halfway through a game of monopoly, that did not appear to be the case. Tony had left long ago after being stopped from using real money after going bankrupt. Bruce had opted out in fear of the hulk. Which was probably really smart, as Natasha was currently sharpening her knives viciously. Steve was crying in the corner and Clint and Thor were fighting over railroads. Loki was muttering about “mortal games”, and Bucky and Sam were battling it out in the training room.

“I feel incredibly mature right now. Wanna go find some fruit roll ups and watch Star Wars while we study?” Peter asked as he finished putting the game away.

“That sounds like a plan. Meet you in my room in 20.” I replied as I walked towards the kitchen to find fruit roll ups and soda.

An hour into the study session we ended up having a full blown karaoke war. So far it was tied 1-1, with Clint as the Judge. This was the last chance to win, and I wasn’t going out on a low note. So naturally, I decided to go with one of my personal favorites, Young Blood by Bea Miller.

I blew every note out of the park and poured my heart out into the song. At the end it was clear that I was the winner. But, unfortunately we still had homework. So the rest of the night was spent studying until we both drifted off. Both of our noses buried in books, and various pens scattered across the bed we camped out on.

Early in the morning the light on in Y/N’s room intrigued Loki, and he went to investigate. He knocked, and hearing no answer he entered. Looking around he took in the sight of studying materials and the two teens passed out on top of the covers. Both still in their clothes from yesterday. He smiled at the sight and left the two teens as he wandered his way to the kitchen for tea and then to the library.

Taglist: @ughs-posts @animechick555 @strangerthingshargove

[kinsbin]

Explosive Meetings

Title: Explosive Meetings Ship: Lou/Junkrat [Self Insert/Canon] Word Count: 1823 Summary: On a mission to investigate a string of robberies for Talon, Lou finds himself getting in the middle of a heist he didn’t see coming. Junkrat takes a liking to him, and decides he’s part of the crew now. He’s...not sure how to feel about all of it. A/N: A commission for @snagg-ships and their ship with Junkrat! It was fun to write and I hope you enjoy it ;u;

“And you’re positive this is the next location that’ll be hit?”

Lou narrowed his eyes down at the watch on his wrist, the undeterred gaze of Reaper’s mask matching his look as he took a moment to gather his thoughts. To bite back the slight sarcasm that wanted to echo from his lips towards his commander as that question reached his ears for what felt like the twentieth time that day. Was he sure? Were his calculations correct? There was near offence in the base of his soul for all of these doubts.

“Lou.”

“Sir, if you have time to doubt me,” He spoke with a twist of a smirk on his face, “You have time to think of a contingency plan should I fail. Which I won’t. I’ve told you and Sombra the same thing: My calculations are nothing short of perfect.”

“That confidence will be your downfall, agent.”

“Appreciate the pep-talk,” Lou rolled his eyes, “Now I have a job to do.”

Through the speaker, the crackled sound of Reaper’s heavy sigh echoed before he logged off, leaving Lou standing in the darkest alleyway just off of the busy London streets alone. A wind whipped around him, chilling him under his coat as he gazed around the area with a sharp look to his eyes.

The bank heists that had been occuring around the city had not gone unnoticed by the London-based Talon operative. They struck with a chaotic methodology across the area in a way that both disturbed and intrigued him all at once. Even before his higher ups had given him the order to investigate the occurences, Lou had begun to research them on his own. His home was nothing but a wall of research now, papers taped to various locations with highlights marked through them in hopes of connecting the strings. Of making puzzle pieces match and figuring out the motive of the unknown robbers, the game of cat and mouse between them all practically tantalizing to him as he observed his connections.

The chaos went in a circle. The center of it? London’s largest national bank.

Lou stepped from the alley, watching the bank across the street with narrowed eyes. It was growing late. The passersbys were becoming less and less, fading away with the closing of bars and the end of the nightlife times. Fog had begun to creep between buildings, holding onto the concrete like a snake whose prey had fallen into its jaws. Hands in his pockets, Lou frowned at the building as its lights slowly flickered out of existence with the last of the security guards ending his shifts, a night proportionally uneventful.

Were they stupid? To think that their bank was safe so underguarded? Perhaps they wanted the thieves to come, a trap being already set to catch them...The reasoning and methodologies construed themselves aimlessly in Lou’s mind as he tilted his head, leaning against the wall of the pawn shop at this side.

“TIME TO BLOW THIS PLACE, ROADIE!”

Lou jumped off of the building, whirling around with wide eyes at the shop before him. Seemingly lackluster in the front, the shop did hold a small variety of knick knacks and golden trinkets sparkling in the underlights. He squinted in through the window, trying to see past the gadgets in favor of the muffled echo of words he was almost sure he could pinpoint to this location. Figures inched within it, faster and slower and faster again as they moved forward...forward....forward-

Oh fuck-

Glass shattered around him as the indiscernible beings broke from the shop, sending Lou stumbling backwards. He landed on his ass, tailbone throbbing with pain as he looked up in shock at the bodies before him, soon passing him as they ran. No sooner had he seen them and opened his mouth to shout for their immediate halt that the building behind him seemed to grow warm. Too warm.

BOOM!

Lou was thrown forward, the impact of the explosion radiating against his back as rubble rained from the destruction the apparent bomb had caused. The sudden flames around the area sent the world around him into panic, dissipating the fog and echoing the screams of those who were close enough to see the event. The world warped in his head, echoing dizzily as it swirled into a cacophony of laughter and blackness, fading finally into the void.

Junkrat paused mid-run, watching behind him with wide eyes and an even wider interest in the being amidst the rubble.

“Oi, Roadie, hold up now-” Junkrat practically tossed his parcel over to his friend, who caught it in one large hand with a confused tilt of his head. As Junkrat scrambled backwards into the rubble, Roadhog peered around the roads with an annoyed sight through his mask. “We don’t have time for this,” He snapped impatiently, “We need to get out of hear, Jamison.”

“We will, mate, we will-!” Junkrat waved his friend off as he got to work digging the body out of the rubble, tilting his head, “This fella may have some extra goodies on him ‘s all, c’mon, let me have my corpse looting fun. I haven’t gotten to loot a corpse since I was last in the Queen’s city!”

Mako rolled his eyes under his mask, but said nothing else as Junkrat heaved the body of the man out, looking him over with an acute raise of his eyebrow. Though his face was covered in soot, multiple cuts bleeding across his cheeks and forehead due to the impact of the explosion, there was still something...chaotic about it. Something intriguing...A sort of style that made Junkrat feel halfway drawn to him for almsot no other reason than the way his nose wrinkled and his chest heaved as a cough and moan slipped past his lips.

“Holy FUCK, Roadie! Look-” Junkrat gasped and gripped the man, lifting him out of the rubble and holding him with ease to show off at his friend, “-He’s still breathing! Straight up survived my bombs that close range...this is one cockroach of a bugger that’s for sure….” Junkrat’s grin grew as he held the man out towards Roadhog so his larger friend could examine the form with skepticism, “Can we keep him?”

“He’s not a pet, Rat.” Roadhog disagreed with a huff, the mask he was wearing covering his eyes as they made their way down towards the watch the knocked out stranger was wearing, noting its expensive style...and the Talon sigil etched in its screensaver. He said nothing of it out loud as Junkrat pouted up at him, his eyes half watering with the effort of acting and half with the soot that filled the air. “C’mon, don’t be such a STICK. Who knows what this fella can do and-”

Sirens cut him off, loud and reeling in the back of his mind. Junkrat startled, clutching the body close to him like a pillow as he looked around, swallowing comedically. Roadhog’s head snapped up with him, eyeing the reds and blues of the police cars coming at an all-too uncomfortable speed in the distance. With no time to truly decide or give Junkrat a proper explanation, the hulking junker sighed in defeat and gripped at both his employer and the knocked out stranger’s body, heaving them into his arms and running as fast as his legs could manage to send him. Junkrat’s laugh faded through the fog as they made their escape.

---

Lou’s eyes fluttered open, the pain in his head obvious as his ears rung in the back of his mind. His bones ached with the effort of consciousness, though the material under his form was far softer than the concrete he had thought he passed out on.  A fear rumbled its way into his consciousness as he awoke fully, bolting upright with a sharp gasp of air. His eyes caught the sight of a motel room, dingy in its upkeep but bright in its lighting. The face that held itself in front of him as well, all burnt skin and dilated eyes grinning sheepishly at his form, startled him enough to yelp.

“What the fuck!”

“Ohoho! He’s awake!” The stranger cackled with a grin on his lips, rocking on his cross-legged position at the very end of the bed. His angular build was both familiar and unfamiliar all at once, the state of confusion out weighting Lou’s craving for knowledge on just where he recognized the stranger.

“Who the fuck are you!? Where-Where the fuck-” Junkrat stood, striking a pose as he grinned at the stranger.

“Me? Why, just your personal saviour, darl! Pulled you right outta that rubble I did. Granted, I CAUSED the rubble too but-ah-whatever the past is in the past ain’t it? Names Jamison Fawkes, but, me mates just call me Junkrat. I can tell we’re gonna be GREAT mates, so, you can call me that too how’s about it?”

The world spun with all of the information being presented to him. Lou felt himself pale at the realization of just where he saw this stranger before. The news. Headlines. Suspected of robberies and armed crimes across the globe. Junkrat and...that meant Roadhog as well. Lou’s head whipped around suspiciously, frowning as he searched for the well known man’s partner in crime.

“What’cha lookin for?”

“You have a partner with you.”

“Oh Roadie?” Junkrat snorted loudly and threw his hand back in incredulity, “Lug’s out gettin’ us some grub! You must be starvin’ after three days of sleeping.”

“Well, I guess I am pretty-FOUR DAYS?”

Lou scrambled up, but the pain in his side caused him to crumble, slipping out of the side of the bed. He expected to hit the floor, crumbling beneath himself, but was instead greeted with a gentle touch and a firm grip holding him up. Junkrat hovered near the other’s face, his grin toothy as he shook with amusement.

“You ain’t goin’ anywhere yet, darl,” Junkrat cackled, “You can barely think let alone walk! What’s your name, you can have some of my wontons when Roadie gets back!”

The offer was genuine. Lou’s stomach growled. The smile was equal parts terrifying and kind at the same time, intriguing the other enough to relax his shoulders and sigh in defeat, the ghost of an amused look pressing onto his face before fading back into nothingness.

“It’s….Lou.”

“Well, Lou,” Junkrat cheered and shoved him back into bed, “Welcome to the Junker Squad! You’ll have a blast here, trust me! Ain’t never a dull moment with us-”

Lou, despite himself, chuckled. Perhaps it was true enough. Until he could heal...maybe it would be okay to watch them. See their movements. Get close to them.

Perhaps it would change his life for the better.

[ibitchytimemachine]

The Story of Us

Chapter 4 is here! For the @tpthvegebulsmutfest

Read below or on Ao3.

Day 4 Cuckholding

Vegeta was getting desperate for some physical attention. Bulma had been gone for days on a conference or something for the company. She had asked him to come, but Vegeta had been to several of these in their relationship and they were far from something he enjoyed. Most of the time he spent so angry at the people who thought they should be able to just come up and touch his woman. He had gotten used to the hand shake, although the first time Vegeta had seen a man place his hand on Bulmas he had thrown the man across the room. Bulma was Quite angry about that, kept yelling about lawsuits and how that cretin had done nothing wrong. It took seeing many handshakes for Vegeta to get used to watching someone violate the palms of his mates hands. But this conference, it contained many of Bulma’s “work friends” There would be “friendly hugs” and some of the women would k I s s  Bulma, sure on the cheek, but Vegeta was sure that his lips were the only one that should touch Bulma. Ok concessions had been made over time, His son for one, he guessed the woman father and mother were acceptable. No this conference always made Vegeta so angry for all those people placing hands on her. The first time he went Bulma gave him an earful after an old man had put his arm around her shoulders and given her a squeeze and Vegeta growled at him and gnashed his teeth. No it was better that Vegeta stayed at Capsule Corp for this conference - and lets be honest, Bulma would be a lot happier knowing that none of her colleagues were in danger of being attacked because Vegeta lost his temper at some odd earth custom. Vegeta had spent the first few days training until he practically collapsed, but he had gotten soft since he began his stay with the Briefs. He was now used to having a full belly, a soft bed and a warm body each night. He wasn’t sure if he had his every whim taken care ever. Even his few years on Vegeta-Sei were for Saiyan standards high, but not as opulent as the life this family lived. The truly spared no expense on their urges. But the thought of Vegeta having to release his biological tension into his palm tonight bothered him greatly. He was so used to having Bulma there. So used to smelling the salt of her sweat, tasting her tangy sweetness as he buried his face between her legs, feeling the supple give of her curves as he pressed his hands and body over her. 

That damnable woman must have known that he would be so needy, because before she left she scribbled down a few of “my favorite websites while you are not here” and left the password to get into her computer. Vegeta sat at her desk, pulling open the womans laptop and placing her lab coat around his shoulders. He wanted to smell her as he did this… that was if he had the nerve to actually do this. He pecked out the odd password the woman had set for her computer, a long string of seemingly random letters and numbers. Bulma had said it meant something, but Vegeta couldn’t remember what she was prattling on about because she had told him while she was showering and all Vegeta could concentrate was the water slipping down her skin and water falling off her nipples… Get it together man, you survived Frieza, you can survive this. Her computer desktop was as crowded and disorganized as the bedroom floor. There were folders and loose files haphazardly scattered all about the screen. Vegeta read a few of the names of such files and noticed how distinctly each were named. Vegeta looked for the icon he knew to be the internet browser. His eyes darting over the chaotic mess that was the screen, he read each file and folder name  Trunks first birthday party, Gravity Room usage and output data, financials for merger with Capricorn  and on and on until his eyes landed on a folder without a name. Intrigued, Vegeta maneuvered the cursor to the folder and clicked. Up popped a screen with many video files. All were named with just a string of numbers that Vegeta recognized as earth dates. Almost forgetting his original relief mission, Vegeta clicked one of the files. A video, grainy and inexpertly recorded popped up of Vegeta, laying in Bulma’s bedroom before they had moved to a bigger space when Trunks was born. A shuffling sound was heard off screen and Vegeta noticed his likeness on screen perk up. Waltzing in front of the camera lens was his woman, shown only from behind wearing a purple teddy and thong. Then the woman turned to give Vegeta on the bed a view of her ass and bent down to slide out of her panties. As she bent over Bulma’s blue eyes fixated on the camera. She winked to the lens, licked her lips and giggled. Vegeta swilled hard. He recognized this. It was a video of their coupling from a few months ago. Bulma had drug Vegeta to an Opera. Vegeta remembered hating the thing, until the climax of the story when people started killing each other. Bulma promised to make it up to him later, and boy did she ever! That cunning little fox! Vegeta closed the video and selected another. This was one from last week! They had argued. Vegeta was not happy with the quality of the bots she had been producing. Bulma argued that they were everything he had been asking for and she had other projects she needed to be working on and he would have to wait. They didn’t talk at all through dinner and even angrily regarded each other when they began to get ready fro sleep. Vegeta couldn’t remember who had made the first move, but one minute they were screaming at each other the next they were ripping each others clothes off. The video began in the middle of their steamy makeup session leading up to amazing makeup sex (which was Vegeta’s favorite sex). Vegeta watched his hands roam over her body and pulled her lab coat to his nose, inhaling her scent. His other hand reached for his growing member. Fondling it through his shorts. He bang clicking through the videos, reliving their sex life. There were hundreds of videos here, Vegeta continued to scroll through clicking and watching the videos. This one was taken from the Capsule Corp surveillance cameras and was Bulma leaning against the Gravity Room wall her hand pounding at her core. This one was from Christmas last year, Bulma made Vegeta wear a stupid red hat and she pretended to be an elf and Vegeta had to spank her for making some sort of mistake. Vegeta slid off his pants and leaned back in the chair, getting comfortable. Click, stroke. Click, stroke. Click, fondle. Click. This one was different. He didn’t recognize this one.  The video was obviously much older, the quality was much poorer than the others. He also recognized the woman’s old bedroom, the pale purple walls, covered in posters and diagrams, there were piles of clothes, papers and dirty dishes littering the floor and surfaces. There stood the picture of that weakling she used to fuck that Vegeta took great pleasure in destroying after they began their relationship. Yes this was an old video. Vegeta could hear the sounds of gentle kissing, and a soft moan. A hulking frame pulled into view, carrying a small woman with a afro of blue, black hair cascading down this mans back, muscles rippling under olive colored skin. Bulma fucked him!? Bulma’s body was gently placed on the bed. Vegeta noticed they were both naked. Bulma’s skin a creamy contrast to the darkness in the rest of the screen. At least one part of me is bigger than that third class oaf Vegeta thought. His hand moved away from the mouse and he licked it and squeezed his fist over his cock. Raditz gently kissed down Bulma’s body, nipping and licking at her skin as he made his way in between her legs. Bulma’s hands knitted into Raditz mane as his head moved at her nether region. Vegeta pumped his fist over his length, grabbing the head with his other hand and rubbing his fingers over the tip of his aching cock. Vegeta could feel his face flush. This should not be as exciting as it was. Raditz was eliciting good sounds from Bulma’s mouth. She screams for me Vegeta thought as he buckled up meeting his fist harder. Video Bulma groaned in ecstasy, Vegeta recognizing that as her orgasm moans. Bulma gripped Raditz hair and jerked him up her body, forcing him to her face. She pressed her mouth to his then with surprising force shoved Raditz to his back. Thats my girl Vegeta thought as she bullied Raditz around the bed. She pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of his legs. She reached up and pinched his nipple. Raditz face grimaced, pinched up in a painful but somewhat pleasurable visage. She then slapped him hard in the face and leaned down over him, pressing her breasts to his chest. Vegeta could make out Bulma whispering into Raditz ear. It sounded like she was asking if he was ready and do you remember the safe word. Raditz head nodded eagerly as Bulma raised to sit over him. Vegeta stopped stroking, ready to see what was going to happen next. Then he saw it. Bulma placed a black leather hat on her head, eyes shining with mischief towards his comrade. Then she lifted a black riding crop and snaked it down Raditz chest. “Put your fucking hands over your head.’ Bulma spat. Radtiz arms lifted quickly and Bulma lifted her bottom sliding him into her warmth. She took the crop and hit him, lightly in Saiyan terms, on the legs as she bounced over Raditz cock. Vegeta watched his wife fuck and beat his oldest friend as he feverishly pumped his hand over his cock. Their play became more violent, Raditz submitting to Bulma’s dominance. He hitting him over and over, and eventually punching Raditz in the face as she slipped him out of her and let him spill him self over her creamy ass. “Lick it off me bitch” Bulma said as she placed her rear in Raditz face. Vegeta felt his warmth spill over onto his hand as he watched Raditz tongue snake over the plump curve of his wife ass. 

Vegeta took a moment to collect himself before closing the file he just watched. His wanted to continue watching, to see what other fun Bulma had been having, but decided he had another Wifeless night to peruse the contents. He clicked the close button of the folder, only to see a red light at the camera of the computer blink off. A notification flashed across the screen, File Saved to Folder.Shock creeped over Vegeta’s features. What did that mean? He sat at the computer looking blankly at the screen when he heard a notification ding. He looked up to see a program open. Bulma’s face flashed across the screen. She looked tired. Her makeup was beginning to wear off, a piece of hair falling out of her top knot. She was wearing a red satin dress that hung off of her shoulders. “Did you have fun Vegeta?” She asked. “I don’t know what you mean woman.” Vegeta spat back. “Oh come on, if you think I would let you on y computer with all my homemade porn without being able to see what you were doing, you are sorely mistaken. Look.” The cursor began to move on its own, bringing up the command prompt. Bulma typed a few commands into the prompt and up came a video of Vegeta from this night, in the corner was a picture of the screen he was looking at. He searched the screen face twitched up in a scowl. Then his features softened. Click. His eyebrows raised, eyes looking bigger than he ever remembered them being able to be. He leaned back grabbed her coat against his face and began to fist his dick through his shorts. “Care to see anymore Vegeta?” Bulma singed over the video link. “Dammit woman thats not fair. How many videos of us do you have?” Bulma’s lips turned up “hundreds. I hope you had fun tonight, I had so much fun watching you watch me fuck your friend I had to excuse my self to the bathroom and finish myself off. Have a goodnight babe, Ill see you soon.” With that, she hung up. Vegeta sat back in the chair, dumbfounded, but considering watching a few more videos. In to end, he went up to their room and fell asleep for the night. 

[veliseraptor]

okay, let’s try this. it’s 150 words meme time! send me a number for one of the fics below and I’ll write 150 words in it. 

ten (I can count) possible fics for this meme, yes three of them are dubious frostmaster porn what of it

1. She looked in her father’s eyes and saw familiar grim determination, and knew that if she refused...the Battle-Crow had no mercy for dissenters. If she challenged him, she would be setting herself against him, and it would be war. One of them would be destroyed.

She might be able to win. She was young, and strong, and knew her father’s weaknesses and strengths like the back of her hand. Without her, his firstborn and sharpest blade, his strength would be cut in half - but without his link to Asgard’s power, so would hers.

It was the hardest thing she had ever done, but Hela bowed her head. “If that is your will, Father,” she said, “then, as always, I will stand at your right hand to execute it.” (swords into plowshares)

2. We can be pretty damn sure Hydra’s looking.” Steve could see Bucky’s knee bouncing up and down. “We should be ready when they show up.”

“If,” Sam said. “If they show up. Let’s all remember that’s the worst case scenario and not the inevitable outcome.”

“That’s not the worst case scenario,” Loki said. He’d stopped eating, poking at his chili and staring at it instead of anyone else. “The worst case scenario is that they come here and catch us off guard, armed with tools that experimenting on me gave them the means to create. And perhaps the scepter as well.” (Steve Rogers’ Halfway House for Notorious Supervillains)

3. “You’re going to hate yourself for spilling your guts to me tomorrow,” Valkyrie muttered. Loki laughed weakly and tossed back the rest of his glass.

“I hate myself for it now,” he said. “But who else am I going to - spill my guts to? I don’t have friends. On this ship - or, honestly, in general. Which is my fault, mostly. The only people I know are the Hulk, who would snap my spine in a half second if I so much as blink at him wrong, Heimdall, with whom I’ve never been friends and seldom been friendly, and you.”

“And Thor,” Valkyrie said. “You could definitely be doing this on Thor instead.”

“No,” Loki said. “No, I could not.” (when our time is up, we’ll be ashamed (or proud))

4. “This…” Loki had to focus to keep himself from trying to yank the thing off. He knew how that would go. “I don’t need encouragement to comply with your wishes,” Loki said finally, hoping his smile looked amused rather than - well, afraid.

“Oh! Oh, you thought-” The Grandmaster laughed. “No, no. This is a new design, sweet thing, all-new, all-different.”

“Ah,” Loki said after a moment. His nerves, if anything, only prickled more intensely. “Is that so?”

“Mmhm,” the Grandmaster said. He stepped back in toward Loki, pulling his hand down and leaning in to mouth wetly along his jawline. “It’s going to be fun. Honest. You’re lucky, you’re going to be the first one to test drive it - ah, in the field, as it were.”

Loki bit his tongue so he didn’t shiver too obviously when the Grandmaster’s tongue pressed firmly against his pulse. “Lucky me,” he said. (pull the focus, spotlight on)

5. He couldn’t say what about the mirror caught his eye - it was broken, after all, a few shards of silvered glass lying on the floor that crunched under Loki’s heel. He crouched down in front of it, studying the slender silver frame - remarkably simple.

Then he realized what was strange about it: the glass didn’t reflect his face. There was no answering gleam in the mirror of the witchlight hovering over his shoulder. The broken pieces stayed dark and gleaming. Loki pulled a piece of glass away and turned it over; the back was the same.

“Why make a mirror that reflects nothing?” Loki asked it, frowning. (Mirror, Mirror)

6.  Loki clenched his fists at his side but didn’t pull away, keeping his expression in a faint, amused smile as the Grandmaster studied him. His fingers were startlingly soft, uncalloused, though each point of contact tingled with old, strange magic. Loki could feel it all around him, an aura of power that tugged at him. Loki wondered if it was conscious or just an artifact of whatever the Grandmaster was.

Either way, it was intriguing. And dangerous.

“Oh yes,” the Grandmaster said. “I think you’ll do quite nicely.”

“High praise, I assume,” Loki said, keeping his smile.

“Absolutely,” the Grandmaster said. “I only take the best,” and flashed a dazzling smile of his own. Loki wondered, very briefly, if he’d made a tactical error. (the rapture of that cruelty)

7. Asgard’s waters were cold, and clear, and quiet. Or at least quiet here, where they’d eddied into a small bay.

Loki stayed in the water until his fingers started to wrinkle, staring upwards and watching the stars make their slow, crawling way across the sky. He thought he might have stayed there forever, were it not for Thor calling his name.

“Loki!” He said, voice breaking into the relative quiet of his thoughts. “We should go back.” (Stitching)

8. “Is there anything else I can do? I’m just here to help however I can.”

Loki stopped dead and backtracked a few steps. He recognized that voice: he might not have heard it many times but those few were fairly memorable occasions. Captain America was in plainclothes, his back (fortunately) to Loki and talking to one of the volunteers.

Did Thor know he was here? He hadn’t said anything to Loki, if he did, but perhaps he wasn’t aware yet - he had been rather busy arguing with stubborn Midgardian officials on Asgard’s behalf.

Loki moved to where he could get a better look at the Captain. Out of his uniform and sporting a new beard, shoulders slightly hunched to hide their width, he was passably disguised. Plainly he didn’t want to be recognized. (the first steps stumbling forward)

9. They barely made it into the hall before the Grandmaster backed Loki against one of the walls and kissed him, though the word was mild for what felt more like he was trying to reach the back of Loki’s throat with his tongue, his body pressing up against Loki’s. Loki didn’t have to wonder what it was prodding against his stomach but he did startle a little to feel it there.

“Oh,” the Grandmaster said, releasing Loki’s mouth, “I’m sorry, it’s just, well. You see, public executions, they have this effect on me. It’s just awful.” (as yet untitled dubious porn)

10. “Really?” Loki said, more than a little breathless.

Valkyrie looked like she was going to snarl. “Do you really want to give me a chance to rethink this really stupid idea?”

“I’m hurt.” She narrowed her eyes.

“You really don’t know when to shut your mouth, do you?” She asked.

“It’s one of my charms.” Loki smiled brightly at her.

“It’s one of your somethings.” Valkyrie glared up at him, and then shrugged, her smile appealingly dangerous. “Well. What’s one more stupid idea? I’ve had worse ones.” (bad decisions)

[marshlightningrass]

FALLOUT → MUFFY

TAGGING → Buffy Bubbles (@buffybubbles) & Marsh Lightningrass

TIMELINE → Friday, November 3, 2017

SETTING → 1128 Wizard Way 

SUMMARY → Gwen drops off a little present for Buffy and Marsh.

Marsh was relieved to have a night off from Pizza Planet; all the younger kids who hung out there were probably still apeshit from whatever drama they'd caused on Halloween night, and he'd much rather chill than have to overhear all the bullshit serving pizzas all night long. He had no idea where the fuck Kitten was and he was happy to keep it that way, and with Hattie off with her boyfriend or something, that left the house to him and Buffy. He didn't have free food for her like he would have if he'd worked today, but he did have his excellent company, and hopefully that was more than good enough. Plopping down on the couch beside her, he pointed to an unmarked DVD on the table, asking, "What's this? You got a surprise movie for me or something?"

Buffy looked up from her phone as soon as Marsh sat down and shrugged at his question about the mysterious dvd that she'd gotten in the mail. "I don't know actually. But someone delivered it in the mail for me today and I didn't want to watch it myself in case it was something scary. Wanna see what this is with me first and then binge something stupid on Netflix? I can make us some edibles after this is over of you want?" She offered, picking up the DVD to stick it in the player

Marsh quirked an eyebrow. Who even still watched DVDs these days? It seemed a little weird, but he was definitely intrigued by it. "You better make lots of edibles 'cause if this turns out to be some kind of 'The Ring' shit we're gonna die in seven days anyway," he teased, leaning back on the couch and spreading his arms out across the back of it, kicking his feet up to put on the table while he waited for Buffy to put the movie in. "Should we take bets on what it's gonna be or just hit play?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at Marsh and kicked him softly before getting up and putting the dvd in. "Don't jinx us, jerk! But it's probably not a Ring tape, this dvd looks petty new." She remarked, sticking the dvd in and then picking the remote up before sitting back down on the couch longways so that she could put her feet up in Marsh's lap. "I'm not letting you guess anything after that ring comment, so lets just watch it already." Buffy laughed, turning the video on.

Marsh shrugged, pointing out, "They make new Ring movies all the time -- or they could, at least. I'm pretty sure they just made a new Saw and there was no way that shit needed a sequel, they could do anything." Marsh rolled his eyes fondly at her as she decided to use his lap as a foot pillow; he didn't mind being pinned to the couch like that, it wasn't was though he had anywhere better to be than hanging out with one of his favorite people. Now all that was left was to squint at the TV as he waited for the video to actually show something... although he was sure some of the color drained from his face as it started playing and he recognized the start of the Shiggles interview he'd agreed to do with Gwen. He snuck a glance towards Buffy, worried about what her reaction might be. It wasn't a secret; it was on YouTube and all, but he doubted she was a big fan of Lui and Gwen's show.

Buffy was trying to think up a response to Marsh's comment about the saw remake when she was suddenly distracted by the screen. Even though Marsh was the only one on the screen, she knew exactly who's voice it was interviewing him and it was not a voice she'd been expecting in the slightest. Buffy wasn't really one for having people that she actively disliked very much, she considered such negativity to be way too toxic but Gwen Shell was a MAJOR exception to that and she was sure Marsh knew that very well. "Oh. Since when are you friends with Gwen enough to do an interview with her?" She asked, in a monotone that gave away absolutely nothing about her emotions as she continued to stare at the screen almost passively as Gwen's voice giggled and cooed and the camera moved in a way that clearly meant that Gwen had moved to sit on Marsh's lap.

Marsh shrugged, pointing out, "I've known her forever, we just started running in different crowds in high school." He was sure he'd mentioned that to Buffy before, although it had probably been more of a complaint than a comment at that point in time; being in Walt at the same time and in the same kind of bodies hadn't exactly gone the way he'd always hoped it would. Still... Gwen wasn't as terrible as she'd made herself seem, he saw glimpses of the girl he'd always liked all the time now that he wasn't too stubborn to look for them. He just doubted Buffy would want to hear that, though. "I figured she'd leave me alone if I just agreed to do her stupid show," he added, trying to keep his voice level and act chill about the whole thing. "It's no big deal, there's really nothing interesting on here, we can just turn it off." Marsh tried to lift Buffy's feet off of his lap so he could shut the thing down as a horrible thought crossed his mind -- what if this wasn't just the YouTube edit? He knew exactly what came after that part but if it was on this DVD, he was screwed. He just didn't know how to get the DVD stopped without making Buffy really, really suspicious, so he prayed that she wouldn't put up a fight and would just shut it down now.

Buffy shrugged, only vaguely remembering Marsh's complaints about the other girl. And continued to watch the video with absolutely no expression on her face, even as it got kind of uncomfy to watch with video!Marsh clearly turned on by the girl in his lap while talking about their other roommate Kitten. Even though it wasn't technically that bad, just hearing Gwen derisively refer to the shy band geek as Pussy and Marsh not even reacting to it, irritated Buffy to no end and made her want to actually reach out to the girl who's only crime had been not wanting to get married at 18. "Actually, I'm super interested, Marshmallow. Or wait, do you prefer Dewdrop?" She asked, pinning Marsh down hard with just the strength of her legs.

Marsh grimaced to hear the nickname rolling off of Buffy's tongue like that; he already didn't like it, but it felt even more off coming from somebody who wasn't Gwen. Like it was their private thing -- not that he cared, because since when did he need private things with Gwen Shell? Except apparently rooms... which he really hoped that Buffy wasn't about to realize with her very own eyes. "Actually, I fucking hate that nickname," he said offhandedly, narrowing his eyes at her when she pinned him to the couch. "Damn, have you always been this strong or does Gwen hate make you go Hulk mode? This thing's been on YouTube since we filmed it, you were never interested before, it's not suddenly more interesting now," he lied.

Buffy flicked her eyes over at Marsh at his response about the nickname and then returned her gaze to the screen, not even bothering to reply to his question about how strong she was. If the video really wasn't more interesting than the video that was apparently online, then it made no sense why someone would purposely deliver the tape to her cottage and Marsh would have no reason to want to turn it off the way he did. "Shut up already. Can't you see I'm trying to watch something here? Don't be rude."

Marsh was filled with dread as he waited to see if the tape kept going after the interview or not... but with every second the DVD creeped forward, he felt more and more sure that Buffy was about to get a real eyeful of something she did not need to see. As nonchalant as he'd acted about the whole thing, he didn't really want anyone to see it, besides maybe him and Gwen. It felt like a private thing between the two of them, and he wasn't prepared for it to turn into any kind of deal. "I'm not being rude, this was dropped off against my will, I don't need the world seeing it," he grumbled, not sure what to do. He didn't want to physically force Buffy to get off of him, but... Shit. Even if he had, it would have been too late anyway, and he cringed as the screen before him started to play the beginning of his and Gwen's hookup. "Seen enough now?" he asked feebly, wishing she'd grab the remote and shut it off already.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm not the whole world, Marsh. Why's it such a big deal?" She asked, almost too late when it became intensely clear that it wasn't just a recording of Gwen interviewing Marsh. Someone, more than likely Gwen, had sent her an actual sex tape of her best friend and her mortal enemy. Completely ignoring Marsh's question, Buffy tightened her hold on Marsh while keeping her gaze locked onto the screen. "You know, I never took you for such an easy lay, Marshmallow."

Marsh groaned as Buffy tightened her grip on him; it wasn't a big deal, not really, and they were all pretty open about their sexual experiences with each other; it was just what friends did. But he'd hid this one from her because he knew she hated Gwen, and maybe he'd hidden it from everyone for other reasons he couldn't quite explain. "I didn't make it easy for her," he snapped back instantly. He'd been kind of an asshole to Gwen for months before he'd caved, honestly; but he didn't talk about that with Buffy, either. Shrugging, he said, "It happened one time, it's no big deal, right?"

Buffy crossed her arms and glared pointedly at the screen. "Really? You sure could've fooled me. I'm pretty sure I just saw her get your shirt off with verrry little difficulty." Buffy hated how slut shamey all her words were coming out, but she was still trying to figure out how to properly express how upset she was about what they were watching. "She also fucked my boyfriend one time and that was a pretty big deal to me too. And you KNOW that, Marsh. Why did you do this and not even bother to be honest about it?" Buffy's voice began to crack on the end of her sentence and despite her best attempts at not displaying too much emotion over the situation, tears began to well up in her eyes as well.

Marsh chewed on the inside of his cheek; he didn't know how to explain it to Buffy. How could he explain something that he didn't even understand himself? "That was a long time ago, Buff," he said feebly, but he doubted that changed anything. He was pretty sure Gwen would still do the same kind of thing now; he couldn't make excuses for her actions because what she'd done to his friend sucked. But it was Lui's fault, wasn't it? Lui was the one who owed Buffy something, not Gwen, but somehow he didn't think that would go over well, either. He opened his mouth and shut it... once, twice, three times, unsure what to say. "I'm sorry," Marsh said finally, hoping that that would be enough. "No excuses, no bullshit, just... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about how you'd feel."

Buffy finally turned her attention fully from the screen to glare daggers at Marsh. "I know it was, but what about this video, Marsh? She sent this today. She likes hurting people and you clearly don't give a shit." Buffy yelled, her statement almost hilariously punctuated by a particular loud sound from Marsh on the tv. "But you know what, Marsh. It's fine. I completely accept your apology because that's the kind of loving amd forgiving person I am." Buffy sniffed once and released Marsh from her grip as she rubbed hard at her eyes. "But maybe this is a sign that our friendship has reached it's conclusion. It's not good for my energy to hang out with people who don't care about my feelings and you and your new bestie Gwen just did me the courtesy of showing me how much you don't. Thank you for letting me know."

Marsh 's jaw dropped at Buffy's statement. She didn't even want to be friends with him? Because he'd hooked up with Gwen one time? Because he had some weird, lingering attachment to her from when he was a kid that he didn't know how to get out of his system? It felt like an overreaction to him, but then again, Marsh didn't let much get under his skin... but he'd let Gwen get under it, hadn't he? How could he expect Buffy not to do the same? "Buffy..." he protested feebly, but he wasn't sure there was anything he could say right now to make her feel better. She just needed time to cool off. "I don't want to not be your friend anymore," he told her. "And I'm not going anywhere, but if you need a break or whatever, I guess that's... cool." The word rolled awkwardly off his tongue, but he didn't know what else he could do right now as she let go and rubbed her eyes. "I care about you a lot, I'm sorry I screwed that up."

Buffy opened her mouth to respond to Marsh's apology not entirely sure if she was going to accept his offer for just a break in their friendship or to deny it, when the front door of the cottage opened and Kitten walked in, clearly fresh off her shift at Pizza Planet. "Hey Kitten! How was work today?" Buffy called out, getting up from the couch to speak to the other girl in the cottage rather than respond to Marsh any further.

Marsh gaped at Buffy as she got up off the couch to greet Kitten of all things. That was a pretty blatantly obvious sign their conversation was over; none of them ever talked to Kitten, she was like the silent roommate that didn't exist. Sighing, Marsh got up from the couch, took the stupid DVD out, and put it into his bag, not sure what to do with it, as he headed for the front door rather than his room. It was pretty obvious Buffy didn't want him around, so he'd just... wander Walt until something felt right or until he was sure the coast was clear to go home.

[science-hoes]

Helpless

Hello, everyone! This is my first imagine sooo it probably won’t be fantastic, but I’ve gotta start somewhere lol. 

Pairing: Bruce Banner x f!Reader

Prompt: Helpless from Hamilton {Look into your eyes, and the sky’s the limit}

Words: +1k

Warnings: None

You finally accepted Pepper’s invitation to one of Tony Stark’s notorious parties. She had assured you that this party would be low-key and classy rather than boisterous and rowdy. Preparing for the party, you slipped on a navy blue gown and a strand of pearls around your neck. Classy was more of your style anyway. 

Pepper greeted you with a hug when she saw you walk through the door. “It’s so great to see you, (Y/N)!” She exclaimed. “You look exquisite!” 

You smiled and returned her hug. “As do you. I’m glad I finally got around to coming to one of the parties. It’s good to get a break from work.” You responded.

Pepper linked her arm with yours. “Follow me, I’ll give you a tour of our home.” She said, and you followed her across the room. You recognized many people at the party, so you did not feel too about of place. 

After the tour of the grand home, you sat down at a table and ordered a glass of water when you heard Tony exclaim, “Green bean is here!” 

A small chorus of greetings were directed to the person who had just entered the room. You peered over to the doorway, and your heart stopped. It was Bruce Banner. You’d heard his name during conversations with Pepper, but you never had a face to put with the name. He had on a tuxedo that seemed to match Tony’s, but instead of a white shirt he wore light purple. His hair looked like it had been smoothed down with some product in order to control his brown curls. The smile he flashed at Tony almost knocked you out of your chair. You had never seen someone this handsome before...

Pepper glanced over at you from her adjacent seat at the table. “(Y/N)...?” She waved her fingers in front of your face, trying to catch your attention.

You shook your head slightly and jumped. “Huh? What?” You stuttered.

“You’ve got the hots for the Doctor, yeah?” Your friend joked.

Your faced turned a deep shade of red, and you smiled. “I don’t know...goodness, I’ve never even talked to him. It’s just a crush.” 

“Oh, okay then.” Pepper grinned and put her drink down. “Come on.” She pulled at your arm, and, even though you resisted, you followed her across the room.

Tony and Bruce were leaning against another table, speaking with scientific terms you didn’t understand. Pepper placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“How are things over here?” She asked casually.

Tony shrugged. “Better than things over there.” He tilted his head towards the direction of the other guests.

Bruce chuckled softly and said, “You just can’t handle the pleasantness of a classy and elegant party.”

“It’s true, I really can’t. But whatever pleases the mistress...” Tony mumbled.

Pepper rolled her eyes. She looked to Bruce and pushed you towards him lightly. “Dr. Banner, this is (Y/N). She’s a friend of mine.” She announced.

Bruce smiled warmly and reached out to shake your hand. “Bruce Banner.” He stated.

You reached out for his hand to shake it, and he could see it tremble from your nervousness. “(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” You replied softly.

Pepper grabbed Tony’s arm and began to drag him away from the two of you. “Well, it was great seeing you Bruce.” She said before looking to Tony. “Let’s go socialize with some of our other guests.” 

The couple walked away, and you shot your friend a glare. Bruce raised an eyebrow. “How peculiar...” He mumbled before looking back to you. “So, what do you drink, (Y/N)?” He asked, referencing towards the bar.

You smiled sheepishly. “Water...I’m not much of a drinker.” 

The innocence of your response made Bruce smile. “Well, then, I’ll buy you a water.” He said.

You didn’t hear what he had said though. Your eyes were riveted on his eyes -- the dark brown gems hiding behind glasses. Those were the kind of eyes that you could drown in. You didn’t realize the flush crawling up his face until he took your hand to walk over to the bar.

“You seem intrigued by something.” Bruce noted.

You smiled, feeling a little bolder. “I am. Brown eyes tend to captivate me.” 

Bruce looked to his feet and blushed so horribly that you could see it even in the low lightning near the bar. He asked the bartender for a water before returning his attention to you.

“Before my eyes completely overpower you, you should know that I have a problem.” He said.

You giggled slightly. “What kind of problem? Your other person? I know about how you Hulk-out whenever you’re in danger. The whole world knows about that.” 

Bruce opened his mouth to speak again but no words came out. “I’m helpless when it happens. It’s not something I can control very well.”

You laughed and shook your head. “Boy, you’ve got me helpless right now. That’ll make two of us then.” As soon as you said it though, you blushed.

Bruce grinned sheepishly and looked down. He wasn’t used to people as pretty as you flirting with him. “But that doesn’t worry you?” 

“Of course not.” You replied, giving his hand a small squeeze. “What does worry me is Tony’s mental sanity at the moment. I’m worried he’ll lose it if he sees another strand of pearls.” 

Bruce let out a hearty laugh, one that made your heart feel relaxed. “You’re right.” He looked to the door and then to you. “There’s a very nice pizza parlor down the street if you’re interested in escaping before Tony goes ballistic.” He offered.

You grinned and stood up from the chair. “That sounds wonderful.” You replied.

Bruce stood up with you, forgetting the water he ordered for you, and linked his arm with yours. The two of you began to head for the door. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Pepper giving you a thumbs up. You smiled and mouthed “Thank you” before you and Bruce were out the door.

[god-hunter]

Ultimates 2 #100

Whoa whoa whoa.  What happened to Issue #10?

Well friends, Marvel has finally gone back to their original numbering.  So when you combine every issue of the Ultimate Universe Ultimates books, as well as the 616 Universe issues of Ultimates...  it’s very convenient for Al Ewing that it worked out this way.  You could say that Ultimates 2 #9 was really Issue #99.

Either way, this is the end of this volume, and also a fresh start for Ultimates... wherever they go from here.

And yes, if you couldn’t tell, that is Absolutely the original Ultimate Universe version of Captain America, Ant Man and I believe Iron Man onlooking at the 616 Ultimates.

This book...  ::sighs::  It went in weird places.  But Ewing definitely had a bigger vision of bringing the Ultimate Universe back.  And, in this issue he finally did it.

I don’t know in how much detail I’m gonna go with this issue, because I’ve truly lost all fucks.  But since it’s the last one and that Avengers v6 seems to tie-in to this in the long run, we might as well go through it.

So here goes.  The end of Ultimates 2!  The return of the original numbering!!

[Some Spoilers]

Galactus stands amidst nothingness with his Eternity Watch. [The one he just formed like.. 2 issues ago...]

Narrations remind us that Eternity has been consumed by the First Firmament, so they’ve been forced to evacuate “...to the outside of all things.”

It seems that there’s a Prime Earth and a Counter Earth now.  [That’s what The Maker and High Evolutionary have created.

Galactus thinks they only have one hope.  His heralds.  His... Ultimates!

We cut to our actual team, who have been teleported from space to this Counter-Earth Laboratory.  [Which is totally non-canon, btw.  Unless you mean to tell me, that after this moment, they were brought right back to space, and then the events of taking care of Hydra Cap occurred.]

So... The Maker is at the Lab with the Ultimate Hulk, Cap, Giant Man and 2 others.  He immediately sics them on our Ultimates.

We get to see America fight Captain America, and it’s so rushed that it doesn’t hold any wait.  I really don’t understand the motive other than ‘you shouldn’t exist.’   [While in the Original Ultimate heroes’ perspective, I absolutely feel like they deserve a second chance at life here, and if the Maker provided that for them, then so be it.]

Hank Pym has an awesome moment, where he remembers dying during Secret Wars.  Then Carol Danvers decks him.

“...Who exactly are you people?” Ultimate Cap asks.  When America refers to her team as the “Paramedics of the Universe”, Cap orders his team to stand down.

Then the Maker pulls a sick, wicked, villainous move and somehow rips Cap from existence.

“I brought you into this world... I can take you out.”  He didn’t want them both playing nice.  He just wanted them to fight each other, and for his guys to come out on top.

Spectrum immediately deals with him, while Tony analyzes her light form with complete intrigue.

Then we find that the High Evolutionary destroys him without much effort, saying something about betraying him.

“He betrayed the very concept of me. What he did... is against evolution.”

They figure out together that they’re being.. ‘digested by a higher reality’?

Adam Brashear asks the High Evolutionary if they can reverse the process.

“...I’m not sure I can even work the controls anymore.”

This is where Ultimate Iron Man comes in to save the day.  He briefly explains that he has nanites in his body that help him interface with other machines. [That’s pretty cool..]  Then he smiles at Spectrum, basically asking her for help.

She tells him that the whole room will help him... communicate with the machine...

[And this is where Ewing sort of loses me..]

But whatever.  Galactus can see from afar that they did it!  ALL of the Ultimates, new and old work together to help ...Eternity Remember.

Eternity itself climbs out from the First Firmament’s body.

The Eternity Watch sees this as their chance to go in and fight off The First Firmament and/or Logos.  The Cellestials seems to be weakened or dying.  And, even Black Panther gets his hands, or mind dirty I should say. [...Not in that way.]  When he summons The Tiger God to help destroy Logos.

At this point, I throw my hands in the air.  There’s no point for explanation.

Cosmic stuff is Cosmicky.  The Tiger God rips Logos apart, splitting Chaos and Order back into one.

The Never Queen watches all this and chimes in.  Revealing that she’s saved an original Celestial.  Apparently, it seeded into many others.

“Rise... my Celestials. My Avatars of the Possible!  Rise anew-- The Fifth Host!”

[What the fuck are we talking about!???]

So original Celestials dive into this cosmic battle against Logos and the First Firmament.

Um... and Eternity has a moment with The First Firmament, where he’s struggling from his grips.  But he is still becoming stronger from the work of our Ultimates.

And he is strong enough to call upon HIS Ultimates.

Which bring back some old-school characters.

‘...The Multiverses Assemble.’

[Where is the first??] {Ohhh that’s The First Firmament.  Gotcha...}

The Second - The Originator of the Omega Force.

The Third - Creator of Lifebringer

“(The fourth is missing...)”  They literally tell us that he’ll return another day.  [Oh, okay.]

The Fifth - Maker of magic.

The Sixth - Inventor of Science.

The Seventh - Infinity.  This is a female character that I recognize.  She is Eternity’s Sister-Self.

So this group of... Ultimate Ultimates work together to... cast the First Firmament out into “...the next place. And heal him... if we can.”

...I don’t know who asks this, but “...what happens now?”

Galactus explains that the Eternity War is over.  Eternity is unchained.  The living tribunal is his normal 3-headed self again and wants to discuss Chaos and Order’s conduct.  Ego, the living planet, loses his body and is happy to be a floating head again...

And the Original Ultimates now have a new space craft..  To which they’re apparently gonna travel in space together.

Carol and our Ultimates are hanging out with Galactus and she asks what’s next.  More importantly, she asks if they can finally get some help taking down that Shield.

Yet again, they get an apology from him.  He can’t breach that shield, but he can sense that there is hope on the horizon.

“...yes.  Return to your Posts, Ultimates.”

With a wave of his hand, they are teleported back to Earth, where we see Carol destroy a Hydra tank, and T’challa sits on his thrown.

Monica and Adam are able to sit at a table and enjoy coffee together as a couple.  America is off fighting monsters on some other planet.

[In one page, we obviously skipped days or even weeks of continuity.]

And that’s fine.

Secret Empire was almost done when this issue came out, so the lack of spoilers was a good thing.  Also, for the story they’re telling, this served it’s purpose.

Galactus has a final thankful thought about this entire thing they all went through.

“I will not forget. Heralds come and go--and I have had many... But my friends are for Eternity.”

-The End-

Yaaay!  Holy shit was that a cluster-fucked mess.

I remember being really bummed out when I finished this book.  Because morbid curiosity got the better of me.  There were just the right amount of characters that I cared about, and just the right amount of intrigue to keep me interested in what was going on in space.

But man did this thing go nowhere.

The only thing Ewing managed to accomplish as far as I’m concerned is that he brought back some fan-favorites from the Ultimate Universe back to life.  And I never even followed them before, so...  Really.  There’s a lot of things that didn’t hold a lot of weight for me, here.  But that might be completely different for other people who read this book.

Um.  I’m really glad there won’t be an Ultimates 3.

However...  I do have a sneaking suspicion that somehow the events of this moment are about to spill into Avengers & Champions with their brand new story “Worlds Collide”, coming out next month or so.

I’m really looking forward to that, so... look forward to Avengers #672!

Also, now would be a good time as any for me to finally read Marvel Legacy #1.

So who knows, what I’m reviewing next.

Later guys.

[thran-duils]

Dreaming

Title: Dreaming Pairing: Reader/Wade Wilson Summary: Challenge entry for @imamotherfuckingstar-lord . Prompt was Deadpool x Reader with “Dreaming” by Blondie Words: 2,171 Warnings: Language

Masterpost

You hummed to yourself as you stood over your sink, washing your teacup. It was early in the morning and you didn’t expect Wade for another hour – possibly more. He was always one to sleep in on the weekends even if he didn’t sleep well. He had always enjoyed lounging around.

It was tradition he would visit you on Sunday’s, quoting it as a “day of fucking rest and who better to throw shit around with than his favorite gal”.

Still his favorite girl. It always surprised you.

<> <> <>

Even though you only ordered water, you still paid Weasel as if you were buying a drink. He was a business man, even if he was a friend, and lounging around in his bar without buying anything wouldn’t do. Slipping your cigarette into your mouth, you inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, your eyes running over the newspaper from earlier that day. You always searched the counter and tables, looking for left over news magazines and newspapers from that day. Sure, there were TVs in the dive but you preferred written news rather than hearing repetitive and over-exaggerated stories.

Plus, it was extremely hard to hear a news station over the ruckus that usually was going around you at the pub. Even on Sunday nights, the nights you most frequented, it was still quite packed.

Someone slipped into the booth on the other side of the table and you groaned internally, not in the mood to socialize.

“Those things are going to kill you,” a surprisingly cheerful voice piped up.

Raising your eyes, looking annoyed, you were met with none other than Wade fucking Wilson, dressed to the nines in his red and black spandex suit. There was some blood still splattered on his suit. He must have been out working.

Maybe you were up for socializing. You would be lying if you didn’t admit you always found him intriguing.

“And hanging around here won’t possibly do that?” you quipped, taking another inhale.

“Touche. Speaking of which, why are you in here?”

“I’m always in here.”

“Doesn’t answer my question.”

You put the cigarette out and took a drink of your water. “It’s entertaining. And close to my apartment.”

“Are you inviting me home with you?”

Jesus, you knew he had a mouth but you didn’t think he would jump in this quickly.

“Or was that just… an actual reason?”

Smirking, you replied, “It was an actual reason.”

Snapping his fingers, Wade muttered, “Damnit.”

Closing the newspaper, you locked eyes with him. “Are you having anything to drink?”

Wade perked up and leaned in across the table. “So, I didn’t completely blow it,” he observed and you couldn’t help but smirk broader. He gestured at his mask, “I don’t mean to be rude, but I can tell you aren’t blind. And I’m sure you can guess how hard it is to drink through this.”

“Can’t you push it up.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to see what’s underneath it.”

“I can handle it. I’ve seen it before.”

Wade’s eyes narrowed suspiciously and he remarked, “I don’t know if you’re being a tease or if you’re telling the truth…”

Leaning back in the booth, you told him simply, “Your bet with Jared.”

Groaning, he leaned back in the booth as well, dropping his head back dramatically on the seat. “You were here for that? How have I NOT ruined it on that alone? You must be hard to gross out and piss off!” He sat up straight again and crowed, “I love it!”

Laughing, you said, “You can put the drinks away. And you’re pretty talented to not have to take the mask off completely. Isn’t that tight around your face though?”

“I deal with a lot of tight things on a regular basis. This,” he gestured down at his outfit. “Not to mention a lot of tight spaces.”

“Charming.”

“I try.”

Tapping the table, Wade held up a finger. “Before we dive further into drinks, we need to set the mood. This music sucks.”

Before you could protest, he was away from the table and making his way towards the jukebox across the bar.

To be honest, you were getting a little hungry. And it was hard to keep yelling over the noise in here. If you wanted to get to know him properly, you wanted to be somewhere quieter. Not your apartment but somewhere where you two could at least hear each other.

Grabbing your bag, you got out of the booth as well and followed him.

Not surprising knowing his temperament, he was arguing with another regular bar patron, Terry. What about, you didn’t know exactly.

Wade was in his face, although Terry had a couple inches on him. “You better shut that asshole sucking mouth, Terry, or I’m gonna have to beat the shit out of you in front of the lady sitting at the table with me. And I am trying to make a good impression, so please, one, save yourself the embarrassment. And two, don’t push my fucking buttons!”

Terry scowled before walking away from the jukebox and Wade let out a happy sigh, closing the rest of the distance to the music.

You touched his arm and he whipped his head to look at you. “Christ, you are quiet!” he exclaimed.

“It’s loud in here.”

“Still. Like a little mouse in a church.”

You smirked as he looked back at the jukebox. You stated, “How about instead of hanging around these shitbirds, we go get something to eat? Or is that not something you do?”

Wade’s eyebrows rose and he let out a hearty, over exaggerated laugh. “Me? Not eat? That’s a laugh.”

“There’s a diner on 45th.”

“Does it have chimichangas?”

“No.”

He groaned to himself, looking to be fighting with himself. His fingers clenched and unclenched before he raised a finger towards you, his eyes narrowing. “I’m only agreeing to go to this place – this horrid place you speak of that doesn’t have chimichangas – because you’re hot.”

Snorting, you responded, “Thanks for being so blunt.”

“I’m a gentlemen. I don’t lead women – or men, for that matter – on. Polite, that’s what you should always be!” Wade informed you before he called out to Weasel, “See you later, fuckface!”

Polite. Right…

<> <> <>

Wade rubbed his hands together, standing in front of the jukebox at the diner. He had immediately let out a gasp of happiness, seeing it. He obviously really wanted to listen to some music. The diner – unlike the dive – was pretty empty, the only other patrons being a couple of people around your age.

You opened your menu, scanning it, although you already knew what you wanted. Fish and chips. It was your staple when you came here.

Tapping your shoulder, Wade cleared his throat. You looked up at him and he gestured for you to move over. Furrowing your brow a bit, you scooted over and he sat down next to you, snatching the menu from the other side of the table.

He opened the menu and flipped through it wordlessly.

Zoning in on the music he had chosen, you smiled a bit. “Really? Blondie?”

“How dare you!” Wade scolded you. “Talking about Debbie with that tone! She is one of the most bangable women that has ever lived and she deserves your respect!”

Deciding to tread some uncharted waters, openly being sexual that is, you leaned in and whispered, “Would it make you feel better if I told you I might have masturbated to her once?”

Wade’s eyes widened, seeming at loss for words for a second, which was completely unlike him. You must have surprised him and you felt proud of yourself. Just as quickly as he had paused, he jumped out of the booth, grasping your hand. “Be my wife. I won’t take no for an answer.” You couldn’t hold in the laugh that came instantly. “A laugh is not a good sign…”

You covered your mouth with the back of your hand, looking down at him still grasping your hand, “Being proposed to on a first date is something I can cross off my bucket list.”

He was at attention in a second, jumping off the ground. “I’m sorry, is this a date?” You slapped his arm playfully and he shrugged as he slid back into the booth, “Didn’t think I would be landing someone as easy as this!”

Cocking an eyebrow, you questioned with a teasing tone, “Who says you are landing anything?”

“You don’t dance with just anyone you just met to a teeny bopper pop song in a diner like a rom com!”

Giving him a confused look, you pointed out, “We haven’t done that.”

Wade sighed loudly, “Shit! I’m imaging things again.”

“You are positively one of the weirdest people I have ever had the fortune of meeting.”

“Right back at you.”

Smiling at him, you locked eyes. After a few seconds, you realized how long you had been staring and you cleared your throat, thankful the waiter was coming up to take your orders.

Snatching up the menu again, Wade muttered, “Fuck, I didn’t even see what bullshit was on this.”

Yes, you’d made a good choice going out with him tonight.

<> <> <>

You wrung your hands, the memories coursing through you, staring out the window.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Whipping around startled, you faced Wade. He was leaning against the wall, surprisingly dressed in his suit rather than a hoodie and jeans as he usual was. Or sweatpants. That was another one of his favorites.

You couldn’t help but look disappointed. “Are you not staying?”

Wade cocked his head and questioned, “What makes you think that?”

Gesturing at him, you stated, “Your suit…”

Looking down quickly at himself, he let out a short laugh, “Oh, right that. No, uh, it’s actually stupid and I am gonna be embarrassed about it. But, who gives a shit? If I can’t be embarrassed around you, then I should just go find Hulk to beat me to death. Anyway, I found this – “ he whipped out a tape from somewhere on his person and you recognized it immediately. He had made you the tape and brought it on your third date. It had all the songs he had requested at the diner, including your Blondie song. “And was feeling nostalgic and… yeah.”

Your heart clenched a little bit. How was it that you two always seemed so connected?

Smiling softly, you told him, “I was just thinking about that…”

Giving a triumph fist pump, he exclaimed, “Great. I’m not the only sap here! Shit, I thought I was gonna be alone.” His eyes narrowed and he added, “But, one of the biggest reasons I brought this was because you never did dance with me for real. And I feel like it’s long over due.”

“I’m not in my twenties anymore, Wade. It’s not gonna be graceful.”

“Forties are the new twenties.” You shot him a look and he told you, “I masturbated to the thought of you last night. Just like I did twenty years ago… and also at least once a week.”

Teasing, you asked, “Instead of just waiting until today?”

“I had a lot of pent up frustration. And instead of shooting the fuck out of someone else, I decided to blow a load. Furthermore, I was trying to be romantic and keep my dick in my pants for once. But, if you would rather me swing it around and try to hit my target, then by all means, take off that nice dress – or keep it on, that’s hot too –”

You had closed the space between the two of you and slapped your hand over his mouth. There was a twinkle in your eyes as you suggested, “How about both?”

“I’m dream, dream, dreaming again,” Wade sang out of tune behind your hand. You let out a laugh, removing your hand, and he moved off towards your radio that had a CD player, tape player, and record player on it. “Dreaming is free!”

Watching him put it in, you smiled. The melody poured out of the speakers and Wade turned it up, shaking his hips to the music as he did so. Turning around, he sashayed towards you, holding out his hand for you to take. You took it gingerly and he pulled you close, moving quickly.

When I met you in the restaurant, You could tell I was no debutante You asked me what’s my pleasure

A bark of a laugh left your throat as he ground himself into you with that line. He wiggled his eyebrows at you.

A movie or a measure? I’ll have a cup of tea and tell you of all my dreaming Dreaming is free

“Dreaming is free!” Wade sang along, still very off key, with the line.

He was an idiot. But he was your idiot. And no matter how old you got – despite if you felt self conscious – he was always going to love you.

[zippdementia]

Part 20 Alignment May Vary: The Red Eye Watches You

Welcome to the ongoing adventures of Abenthy, Karina (Seeker of Callax), and Tyrion, as they hunt for the fabled Tomb of Haggemoth in order to save Abenthy’s friend Zennatos, to find and bring to justice Karina’s old commander who betrayed her, and to create an epic song for which Tyrion will forever be remembered. Last time they were about to leave the newly rejuvinated desert of Thud with their bounty from the Grey Tomb and head for Celaenos, a monastery of good knights where, in a library, there are to find their last clue to the location of Rori Rama, the final resting place of Haggemoth.

As GM, I’ve pulled back on rolling for random sea encounters. We are late in the adventure now, and there is good momentum built up. To throw in another encounter will, at best, slow us down and, at worst, accidentally kill the party, which is something that at this point I’d like to reserve for the remaining two main locations, not some random fight against a sea siren.

I was, in reading the possible encounter list, intrigued by one of the possibilities: a friendly bronze dragon. Encounters with dragons are going to be a big part of Red Hand of Doom and I thnk this would be a nice lead in to that. Also, Bronze Dragons are enamored with rare and unique treasures and as it happens Karina is carrying around the Rod of Storms.

The Dragon slides into the water, its gigantic body pushing through the water with slow deliberation. In only a couple strokes, it is at the Ghost Ship (now named Tywin’s Vengeance) and only now do the adventurers realize how truly huge the creature is. It leans in close, its head tilted so that one gigantic eye, large as a horse cart, stares at Karina.

“I smell the magic on you, little one,” he says.

The Rod of Storms is a cursed legendary item, one of a kind, meant to give Udo the Grey control over the weather. With it, he altered the atmosphere of the green land of Arctavia, slowly transforming it into the desert of Thud. He never had full control over the Rod, though, and it comes with a heavy curse, ensuring that any who carries it will never be free of the damp and the cold. In addition, using the Rod is difficult and can backfire, releasing powerful uncontrolled lightning, wind, and thunder magics. Only a legendarily powerful mage could hope to control it... or something which had direct communion with the weather, like a Bronze Dragon.

Karina is not fully aware of the Rod’s curse, but she does remember the warning in Udo’s tomb: “Beware the Rod of Storms, I created it but was never its master.” I decide this is an interesting opportunity for her to steer the course of the game. The Bronze Dragon, Sauros, wants to trade the location of one of its treasure stashes for the Rod of Storms. Meta-game, the decision is this: keep the Rod of Storms and both the power and risk that comes with that, or trade out a very powerful weapon for the promise of future riches (which I will create as a side adventure at some point after they find the Tomb of Haggemoth).

Karina chooses to give up the Rod. It’s the safest choice, actually, and gives me a little more control over the adventure, as the Rod is one of those wild card items that can turn the tides massively either in favor of or against the players. It forces bad weather, too, which can affect future scenes. On the downside, it is always fun to play with legendary items and tons of side adventures can come out of the mahyem they cause. For a little fun, and to share my pain, I give Karina a flaw: Having given up this powerful item, she feels its loss palpably, and believes she has made the wrong decision. She becomes obsessed with finding another powerful item like it, to replace its loss.

Sauros gives one more cryptic clue before departing. He tells Abenthy that there is a Red Eye watching over him greedily, that the Eye symbolizes great power and a dire destiny, and that Abenthy can learn more at the Monastery.

With that, the players move on to Celaenos.

Shackles of Gold

The Island of Celaenos is a rather austere, craggy piece of land jutting sharply from the ocean. There is barely enough vegetation to support the goatherds who live there and the place has a shabby, drab air about it. There is a small rocky harbor and a single impoverished village. Looming over the harbor On a nearby hill is the fortified monastery of Celaenos, where the Knights of Celaenos dwell. Their flag—a black field with a Red Half-moon and two stars—can easily be seen by any approaching ship. The harbor has a tiny dock, which can only be approached by Jollyboat or Dinghy. There are two tatty-looking vessels in the harbor, and one of them looks familiar to the players who have encountered the Ratzotto pirates before.

The people of the village respect and fear the Knights of Celeanos, and they are generally furtive and close-mouthed around strangers. The Knights are putatively in control of the island, but it is rare for them to ever leave their monastery.

The players make their way to the monastery, Karina using her magic to disguise herself as a tall Amazonian woman. They gain admittance to a vestibule which—with the doors closed behind and in front of them—seems like a deathtrap. Above them, through a glass window, two knights stare solemnly down at them. They wear white half capes, capes which cover only their right side, leaving the red and black doublet underneath visible. The crossbows they hold and the swords on their backs are of the finest make.

“Who are you? Why do you come here?”

The voice comes from a newcomer to the room. Opening the door and speaking before even fully entering the room is a young, blonde knight. His eyes, a bright blue color, hold no love or joy in them, and he stares at the players suspiciously, waiting for their answer.

This is Dickon, and he will come to play a strong role in what happens to the party at Celaenos. For now, after hearing they wish to use the library, he begrudgingly takes them to the Abbott. The Abbott, a powerfully built knight named Mordekai who looks younger than fifty years of battle hardened life would usually leave a man, is friendly and eager to banter with the party. His mood shifts, though, when they mention Zennatos.

“Scum. Thieving scum,” he hisses.

Turns out, the book that began this whole quest was stolen by Zennatos from the Celaenos monastery. The book had a curse on it, and this is what has compelled Zennatos to find the Tomb of Haggemoth, for only by doing so can he be cured. Not only is Mordekai not inclined to help anyone associated with Zennatos, he also warns that the quest for Haggemoth rings of a cursed, evil, thing:

“Think about it. A quest that is started by reading a cursed book, compelling good men to die for cursed men, sending them to a place rumoured to exist, to a tomb of a powerful mage, one who was banished from his own people... what sort of creature, tell me, would lure good men to their deaths?”

While they are debating this. A servant comes in, and Karina happens to recognize the bracers she wears: the same ones, at least from the look of them, that Rose used to control her servants back in Ottoman’s Dock. Karina bristles and accuses the Abbott of keeping slaves. 

Aaaaaaand... shit. It kind’ve goes downhill from there. The Abbott, as might be expected, does not appreciate being accused of slavery by strangers who are known associates of a thief. The party, for their part, is vastly suspicious based on seeing the pirate ship in harbor and the bracers, but willing to concede that a conspiracy could be going on under the Abbott’s nose. Abenthy uses his powers to try and detect evil on the man, gain some insight into his motives, but the Abbott only exudes an aura of good. 

The end result is that the Abbott refuses them access to the library, but says he will consider their words, and will send a verdict for them in three days. Dejected, the party heads to the only inn in town.

Cover Bands Suck

“How about some music?”

Tyrion looks around at the few sullen customers in the rugged tavern, the wood exuding the smell of sea, salt, and stale ale, and decides that livening up the place can only gain them favor. He gets up from the party’s table and heads to the corner of the barroom, passing three disheveled men with familiar Rat Tattoos on their necks.

“This is a cover of an old song, hope you know it, hope you like it!” he says in a chipper voice, and begins to play.

The Ratzottos are not impressed. They almost immediately begin calling out expletives and taunts, challenging him to “play faster!” or “play better!” and “cover bands suck!” Finally, one of them picks up a full bottle of rum and chucks it across the room.

And I roll a critical hit.

The bottle karoooms off of Tyrion’s head with a dramatic spray of blood. The music ends in a haphazard jangle of notes and piratey “yar har hars!” Tyrion is nearly killed, taken down to one hit point. And then all hell breaks loose.

Abenthy launches himself at the pirates, fists out and slamming into flesh. He takes on two at once: one a scraggly scrapper who first threw the bottle, the other a hook-handed man who uses his disability as a boon, scratching and clawing with his metal hook. A third, a hulking black man with a braided beard, charges him from the side. Karina tries to launch into combat as well by getting fancy with parkour (one of her flaws), but only succeeds in dramatically flinging herself unceremoniously over the bar and into a shelf of bottles. 

The tide turns when Tyrion uses his dissonant whispers to send the scrapper into a fit of brain bleeds, breaking his spirit and turning him into a slobbering mess. Abenthy uses COMMAND to halt the other two, and Karina puts the icing on the cake—trying to be dramatic again, she flourishes her blade, accidentally rolls a critical hit, and tears out hook hands’ eye. After this, the pirates are ready to talk under the influence of Abenthy’s Zone of Truth. What they learn distresses them.

Seems that these pirates are part of a slave ring being run from within the monastery. No mention is made of the Abbott, instead it seems that a man known as “The Seneschal” is behind the slave ring and coordinates it from within a secret cave underneath the monastery, accesible from the sea. And in three days, they are to meet the Seneschal there and prepare for “a special shipment.” Three days... the significance of the number does not escape the attention of the group. Three days is how much time the Abbott gave them before a promised response to their problem. Seems like someone has overheard of this and decided to act first.

Abenthy rewards his informants with a trip to hell—murdering the pirates and sending their souls to a master he himself does not fully understand. But this time, it feels more right than ever, like he was meant to do this. Karina and Tyrion look on, nervously, not altogether comfortable with their friend’s newfound bloodlust.

Then the players prepare for sleep, feeling that they have enough information to get the drop on their foes, not realizing how powerful the evil is that targets them, not knowing they are already one step behind in a game being played out by experienced schemers.

Next week, Weave a Song for Me.

[tishachaan]

Have you seen a tall blond bearded guy ? (Part 4)

Summary : Thalia Artemidoros, ex-Champion of Sakaar, made a deal with Loki to come help Thor when he won’t be here anymore. Why did she agreed to risk her life for a stranger ? Well, that stranger’s cute, and what wouldn’t you do to get closer to your crush ? Here’s to finding Thor before he gets himself killed !

(Written for @hollandroos Soph’s 12K Challenge <3)

Notes : First of all, thank you for your curiosity, I hope you’ll like this story ! I’ve wrote it choosing this prompt : “No, you’ll be okay, yeah? hold on for a bit longer.” Also, it’s the first time I actually write an entire story only in English (non native-speaker here, hello <3) and I ask forgiveness for my mistakes. I hope it won’t bother you too much !

Let me know what you thought about this first part !

Ps : you can also find it on Ao3 here

“She’s gone ? - I muttered, startled by the sound of my own voice.

“They’re all gone ! You idiot, you’re to blame ! You fucking brought half my crew to death on this fucking planet !

“But… They can’t be gone. How-

“Are you dumb, bitch ? I should have seen it coming, you’re only good when you have to murder someone for fun ! You’re a fucking brainless walking danger, the Hulk should have killed you ! I hate that the Grandmaster intervened in your fucking favor you cunt ! I-”

She shut up abruptly, eyes wide open, her mouth making useless sounds. After a last wheeze, she fell on the ground, unconscious. A good thing her kind had three hearts, it helped me relieve my nerves. What a pretentious fucker she was. I swiftly turned around Nike, wiping off the purple blood that was staining her, then sent a murderous glance at what was left of the crew.

“Does anyone wish to share their opinions with the rest of us ? - they all shook their heads negatively.  - Good. Now take care of her and stay inside that damn ship, I’m coming back with our Champion and the culprit's head. Stay alert !”

On those words, I exited the ship, hands tensed around my shield and Nike.

I walked for a while, trying to gain the forest's edge. I met no one during this time and nothing, not even animal noises, could be heard. A bad feeling was creeping up my back. It was as if life itself had departed after those deaths against nature. What kind of being could held this horrible power ? What could of being would actually use it ? I did not had any answers yet, but when I would found out, it could not escape my wrath. Ker'i deserved more than this meaningless death. Hell,  Xroexxit too ! Everyone deserved better ! What went to Earth to destroy half of its population, uh ?

Oh ! And what if Thor himself had disappeared ?

I stopped at this dreadful realization. If he had disappeared... I had lost Ker'i for nothing ! And the Champion ? Who could I bring back to Sakaar if there was no one to ? What would I say to the Grandmaster to justify my failure ? I started to panic : had a really made such a horrible mistake honoring my part of the deal made with Loki ? Why would he send me on this planet to punish me ? I had been nothing but a loyal ally, I had brought him closer to the Grandmaster ! If this bastard has wronged me...

I started to run, hoping to reach the city as fast as possible : I could not lose any time more worrying about their disappearance, I had to get a clear answer. In order to get faster, I changed my physical form, growing bigger and bigger until being able to gain its edge with only four steps.

Of course, it brought me attention : a committee came to me, weapons in hands, ready to fight again. I let out a sigh and took back a common height, thinking it'd be smarter to avoid frightening them. They had went trough a traumatic experience too, they could be a little... unwelcoming, to say the least. It seems I had the worst sense of timing.

“What are you ? - asked me a female human who seemed ready to stab me if I made any moves. So, a soldier, and a ranked one, if I could trust the fact she was the one to ask away. She wasn't speaking in English, the translator stalled a bit before finally giving me the meaning of her words.

“Tired, for starters, and also really angry. - I said, smiling despite my cold answer. They really shouldn't push their luck too much, I was this close to snap at them too. - But you don't have to worry about me, I only wish to speak with the captain Steven Rogers.

“What are you ? - she asked again, detaching each word and raising her lance to my face, which I did not appreciate. I rolled my eyes, took off my helmet so she could find comfort in my human-like face and went closer to her, pushing her weapon away.

“An alien, and yes, I get you won't appreciate it after what you've been trough, but I can't change myself in that way. I solemnly declare I come here in peace. I only wish to ask the captain Roger a question, could you bring him here if he's still here ?

She stared at me defiantly and I raised my hands, trying to adopt an innocent look. It never did suit me too well. She finally made a move and her followers let down their weapons while she talked to her bracelet. I waited. What else could I do ? If I pushed my way through, it would probably worsen the actual situation. Let's just be patient, even if I don't really have time to spare.

“Follow me, alien.” - she ordered me, turning around. Her men surrounded me and I had no choice but to do as she said. At least they would protect me from irritated compatriots wanting to unleash their anger on any alien they would find.

I entered the city and they guided me to one of the many towers, not bothering to give me any informations on our final destination. I really hoped the captain was still alive, or I would have to fight my way out in order to get back to my ship. Amii'lina would be a pain in the ass to deal with, but it would be nothing compared to the Grandmaster's deception. Perhaps his anger won't be directed toward me ? After all, I'm not the one responsible of his Champion's disappearance...

When we arrived in what seemed to be a throne room by the size, the arrangement and the decoration, we stopped. Many people were there, talking furiously over each other, all trying to get their arguments trough. I recognize some of them as figures I saw on the battlefield. They looked exhausted, but not wounded. Good fighters. However, not the most observing ones : they were too caught up in their argument to notice our arrival.

My guide waited respectfully until another dignified woman turned to her, intrigued by her presence. She then saw me, under her soldiers surveillance, looking like her people but wearing what must be to her a strange suit. For a split seconds, she held my gaze : I purposely let my eyes take back their real appearance. Like all the other alien races I’ve encountered, she was disturbed by them. Golden orbs set on them tended to make them uncomfortable. Lucky her, she only had two of them to face, my third one still hidden. As soon as she came nearer, I disguised them again. Her depart left the others silent, all suddenly staring at me defiantly. Some of them even set their hands on their weapons. I had the chance to look like a human, so they did not attempt anything against me, which was a relief.

“Who is she ?

“It's an alien, your Majesty.

“Another one ! What does it want ? Has it told you anything ?

“It is right here and it can understand your questions, your Majesty. - I interjected, insulted. She turned her gaze to me, surprised and worried.

“Then could you answer them ? What is your name ?

“Thalia Artemidoros, and I come in peace. Is there anyone in this place named Steven Rogers ?

“What do you want from me ? - a bearded man said, approaching us. I smiled, glad to have finally found him. He seemed to be important, since the other humans looked at him expectantly, as he’d knew what to do with me.

“Do you know where I can find Thor Odinson and the Hulk ? - I asked once again, growing tired of repeating myself. He frowned, looking defiant.

“Why would I tell you ? For who are you working for ?

“Goddesses, nothing will ever be simple with you humans ! I just want to reach Thor Odinson, I don’t care about any of you here ! Wolverine told me you knew, was he wrong ?

“You went to professor Xavier's School before ?

“Well yes, it's not like I have a tracker on him. - Or, to be more accurate, it's not like he kept it. I'm amazed he managed to tear it away from his skin, mine is still there and still activated. - Wolverine gave me your name, saying you were friends and told me you'd be fighting in Wakanda, so I came. I’ve seen you on the battlefield, my ship’s detectors got a signature that could be his. Did he came here to help you ? Was the Hulk with him ?

“Tell me who are you working for and I’ll answer.

“The Grandmaster En Dwi Gast, ruler of Sakaar, elder of the galaxy, Master of Games. I am Thalia Artemidoros, previous Champion of his Great Game, ex-prisoner 52. Loki Laufeyson entrusted me with a quest to find his brother. Will you allow me to honor his will ?”

He stayed silent, weighing both possible outcomes of this encounter. If he said yes, he wouldn't have to deal with me anymore. If he said no... Well, it wasn't as if I could just go back home empty handed. There would be unpleasant consequences.

“You said Loki, like the Loki God of Mischief ?

“Is it a common name on Earth ? You know another ? - I answered, impertinent. It earned me a non-impressed gaze from the rest of the audience. Seems like they're used to smart-ass people.

“Thor said he died in front of him. Is he... is he really ?

“Loki tends to die pretty easily for such a cunning man. Of course, I wasn't there, so it's only a supposition, however... I have good reasons to believe he is still alive, but in hiding.

“Yeah, that'd be like him... Sending other people to do his work too. What do you want to say to Thor and Dr. Banner ?

“Uh, Thor and the Hulk, captain Rogers. I don't know any Banner. And the message is destined to Thor's ears only.

“You can meet him. - this earned him a bunch of disbelieving exclamations from his counterparts. He felt the obligation to explain himself. - He needs someone like him, someone who met people he interacted with before this terrible mess. We can't help him, we have no clue of what happened to him in space, and the Dr. Foster won't be able to come here before tomorrow. If she can help him, why would we prevent her to reach him ?

“Lieutenant, guide her to Thor's room. - the woman they had called Majesty ordered to my guide, cutting short any counter argument they could have.

She executed a military sign of agreement before exiting the throne room, closely followed by her soldiers, bringing me with them. I flashed a thankful smile at Steve Rogers before following them, relieved to know Thor was still alive. And if Banner was the real name of the Hulk here on Earth, then I would be able to also satisfy the Grandmaster. Things were lightning up, let's hope bringing back Ker'i would go as smoothly.

I had to cross a multitude of corridors before finally be told I was in front of the right door. Nothing too fancy, I would never have guessed they kept a prince in here. Or maybe it was fancy for them, I just grew used to more outstanding decors living on Sakaar. Nevertheless, it lacked gold. I did not hesitate one second to open it, my patience having reached its limits.

Inside, I was greeted by surprised little man who looked nothing like Thor. Would I have to prove myself again before finally meeting him ? This started to really aggravate me ! As he asked me yet again who I was, I pushed past him, giving my name and the reasons which brought me here for what seemed to be the tenth time.

“Thalia Artemidoros, I come in peace, I want to speak with Thor Odinson only, in private, thank you for keeping an eye on him, I'll see you later.

“No no no, you- you can't just barge in, he's- he's really down, don't-

“It's fine, Dr. Banner, our Queen and Captain Rogers agreed with her, she can meet him.

“No, when I tell you he's down, I mean it, he really doesn't-”

Not caring about his words, I entered a second room and closed the door behind me. I stopped for a split second, delighted to see the man I was looking for, and this cost me my advantage.

The next thing I knew, I was choked against the wall, observed by one very angry blue eye and another cybernetic.

“Do we know each other ?

“Of course not, but you'll be happy when you do. - I managed to say, understanding I had to convince him right away. - Your brother Loki sent me.”

It worked and I started to breath again. Great, now it was time to find the right words !