#my name is lex and i write bullshit

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Look! Up in the Sky!

Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia x Reader

Description: It's hard, making a name for yourself as an investigative journalist in a city as big as Metropolis. It seems like everyone and everything is against you, just because you weren't born and raised in Metropolis. But you're determined to make it. When a run-of-the-mill article turns into a hostage situation with armed criminals, you're not sure you'll be making it out of this situation alive. Can a run-in with Metropolis' own Superman light the flames of your passion once more? Or are you destined to pack up and go back home?

Disclaimers: DC canon-typical violence. Armed gunmen. Some language.

Warnings: Like most of my fics, this fic features a Female!Reader

Word Count: 3313

Author Note: Hiya lovelies! I've been thinking about this fic for a long time. I started writing it sometime early this year and never actually got very far. Several rewrites later and here we are!

First and foremost, I want to dedicate this story to the beautiful @sarahsmi13s, since it is her birthday! Vinny! Happiest of birthdays to you! I hope the upcoming year is bright and filled with as much joy as you've brought to me!

Second, I feel like I am permanently obligated to thank @horseshoegirl for being the Comma Queen she is and making sure my ramblings are well-written and actually make sense. This fic wouldn't be possible without you, Lucky!

This is going to be a multi-part story. Please let me know if you'd like to be tagged!

AO3: Cross-posted here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted here!

My Masterlist

"I'm sorry, he what?!"

The mumbling on the other end of the phone makes you even angrier and more frustrated than ever. The frustration isn't new to you, not at all. It's part and parcel of being one of The Daily Planet's investigative journalists. The other thing the Planet appreciates in its journalists is people who have a nose for stories. You think you have one. Which is why everything is telling you that Peabody is prevaricating because he's trying to hide something.

"I understand your position, Mr. Peabody, but your contact is my biggest informant. If we don't have his testimonial, we'll never be able to publish this article on LexCorp."

There's more irate, increasingly loud yelling spilling down the speaker, but you could care less. You've been working on this article for months, carefully building layer upon layer of evidence, crafting the perfect hard-hitting expose. You're not taking his bullshit at face value anymore. Your mind is whirling as you lean back in your chair. Peabody is still spilling excuses into your ear, not that you care. Maybe you’re a little rough and brusque with Peabody as you hang up, but something about this situation is pinging in your head.

Your office is a bright space, all white walls, glass panes and metallic accents. From up on the 68th floor, Metropolis looks like a heaving anthill. Across the cityscape, another skyscraper glints tauntingly at you. You know Luthor is wrapped up in this. Okay, sure, corporate espionage isn’t exactly his deal, but who else could it be? You’ve carefully counted out every other potential culprit. Only Luthor is left.  Turning around, there’s an unholy rage in your countenance as you glare down at the twisted mess taking over your walls. There are newspaper clippings, articles, string and scribbled notes all over the walls. Just looking at it is sometimes enough to give you a headache. But you desperately need to get to the bottom of this situation. There must be a reason why all roads seemingly lead to Lex Luthor’s shining obelisk to his ego. You wouldn't be surprised if Peabody is clamming up because someone is blackmailing him.

Before you can further dig into the LexCorp situation, a whistle rings out through the air. You're the newest investigative journalist at the Daily Planet. It means you have the smallest office with half-broken heating and air conditioning, which nobody else wanted. It’s also the office furthest away from the bullpen.

The editor-in-chief of the Planet, a gruff, peppery older man named Perry White, only calls all of you together if there is something big brewing in Metropolis. You have to shove your way to the front of the circle loosely gathered around Perry. You're short, so you couldn’t see over the crowd if you tried.

“Alright, alright, settle down you lot.”

Perry's voice is gruff, carrying the tones of a person who grew up in Metropolis or one of its boroughs. Of course, most of the office hails from Metropolis. Sometimes you think your upbringing in the cornfields of Iowa has something to do with your distance from the other journalists on staff. After all, despite living in Metropolis for the past five years, your voice still holds the slightest twang. You can dress like a Metropolis professional, walk like one, and talk like one, but everyone makes it abundantly obvious you will never be a citizen of Metropolis.

The hazing is par for the course. You’ve seen more than your fair share in the three months since you started at The Daily Planet. The source of your struggles is, you’re sure, one person. She’s standing at the other end of the circle of reporters waiting with baited breath as Perry doles out assignments.

Natasha Trace.

She gets all of the best assignments from Perry, just because she’s his niece or something like that. The vindictive smirk she gives you as she accepts the latest city hall press conference is proof. Your own assignment is a little more dangerous, 300 words on the newest homeless shelter opening in Southside. According to the mayor, Southside isn’t dangerous anymore, but you don’t believe him. Perry quotes the same thing every chance he can get, especially because he sends reporters out to Southside pretty often. It’s all part of the Planet’s “For the People” reporting strategy. Every day, you hear people talking about another mugging or shooting or what have you. So you’re under no assumptions that Perry and Natasha are giving you an assignment they want you to succeed in.

You're cursing them more and more the next day when you're kneeling with a puddle of spilled tomato soup seeping into your sensible dark trousers. It was just your luck that masked gunmen waltzed into the shelter in the middle of your interview, wasn’t it?

 It was also just your luck that one of them had sent a spray of bullets into the air the moment hands went up. Cue some well-deserved screaming and a near-stampede for the doors, and you’d been pushed to the floor. So now you’re crouching in spilled soup with your hands up, trying and failing to moderate your breathing.

What the hell does a soup kitchen in Southside have for a gang of armed robbers, anyway? It’s not like it has much money. After all, this is only one of a string of new food shelters opening up in Metropolis. They’ve all been funded by the government, and they’re all supposed to be as clean as can be. Supposed to be, anyway. Obviously something isn’t right in the state of Denmark.

What’s just as interesting is the sight of the photographer you’ve been sent to the shelter with. Mickey Garcia is one of the Planet’s best. He’s got an eye for taking those photographs nobody else can. You’re not sure why Perry sent him with you. Usually he’s buddy-buddy with Natasha. He’s probably wishing he were with Natasha at City Hall right now. You know you are. But he doesn’t look scared or worried. He’s just kneeling in the soup next to you, hands up with his head cocked to the side and eyes staring into the distance.

It’s almost like he expects the police to come roaring up. Just as the lead invader turns his head, there’s a rush of wind and you see an imperceptible smirk on his face before he disappears between one blink and the next. You can smell ozone in the air, bitingly sharp, but it seems like nobody else notices but you.

Who the hell is Mickey Garcia? You almost wish you were hiding behind one of the tables. Because then you can pull out your notebook and start writing. Instead, it seems like all you have is your eyes and ears. How did he disappear so quickly? Metahumans aren’t exactly new in the world (or well, at least in the country). You remember reading about metahuman related events across the country. After all, everyone knows about Gotham City’s Bat. But recently there have been more and more reports. A meta-human in red-and-gold streaking through Central City. Villains with the power to freeze anything in its tracks and heroes with the power of the seven seas and beyond. And of course, everyone has seen the fluttering blue cape of Metropolis’ own metahuman.

So where does that leave you? Wishing for Superman, as you’ve heard him called, to save you? You’re not even sure he’ll show at all. There have to be a million other things happening in Metropolis more important.

“ALL OF YOU ON THE FLOOR!”

You’re not on the floor long when a hand grabs you by your hair and yanks you up.

“What do we have here?” A greasy voice growls the words into your ear as cold metal presses into your temple. “A little reporter eagerly waiting for a scoop?”

You shudder, your skin crawling at the hunger in this man’s voice as he traces his index finger up and down your throat. Your press badge thwaps against your chest with every movement.

“P-please.” You’re trembling in earnest, teeth chattering. “These people are innocent, th-they have no money. They’re here to get some food. The only money the shelter has is for food.”

His cackle chills you to the bone. “Oh, you’re so naive, you sweet little thing.”

“We’re not here for the shelter’s money. We’re here for the city’s money.” He grins, blowing his foul-smelling breath in your face. “And if the city doesn’t cough up the goods, we’ll just take you in exchange.”

“And what if he comes to save us?”

You’re not sure who asks, but it sparks a rising tide of questions. People are shouting the questions out, and the men grow angrier and angrier. From your new vantage point with a barrel pressed to your temple you can see how uneasy they actually are. Their fingers tighten around the weaponry, paling at the joints as they grip at the metal. The more people ask, bolstered by the sounds of the sirens outside and the crackle of voices through bullhorns, the angrier your captor gets.

“All of you, shut up!” It's a roar of sound which leaves your ears ringing. The gun hurts as it presses into your throat. It’s hard to breathe, to swallow, to think. Something tells you you're not getting out of this stand-off alive. Your pulse is thudding in your ears and your chest aches. You hear the tell-tale click and your eyes are screwed closed.

Please. Please. Please. I promise I'll be better. I promise I'll be a better daughter, a better employee.

You're not sure who you're praying to, but you’re praying nonetheless.

There's so much I haven’t done yet.

It shouldn’t be so sad, thinking about how pathetic your life is - how empty it is. You're braced to hear the sound of a gunshot, braced to feel pain and then feel nothing ever again. You can feel the silk of your blouse, the expensive one you never wear, sticking to your back as you heave in thready, unsteady breaths.

It's almost anticlimactic, the way it happens. You smell the same sharp ozone scent you did earlier and the hand wrapped around your throat, the gun pressed to the hinge of your jaw disappears. You keep your eyes screwed shut, trying to ignore the yells of pain and cut-off curses as people get beaten up. You keep expecting to feel the acute pain of a bullet lancing through you, burning through your skin. But you feel nothing. You hear nothing, and obviously all you can see is the underside of your own eyelids.

“Miss, you can open your eyes now. It's all going to be okay.” 

You know what this voice is saying as you stand stiff-backed in the center of the room. Your muscles are locked in place and your hands are curled into fists at your side. You're not sure you could move if you tried to.

The hands that hold yours are warm, warmer than they have any right to be. But they feel good, and you can feel yourself relaxing into the touch. When your eyes open, you're not sure what you expected to see. But what you get is Metropolis's own Superman. He is smiling at you, pearly teeth on display, big brown eyes gentle as he talks you out of your panic. You're enraptured by how his dark hair curls just so over his forehead and how his jaw is so well-defined it could cut diamond.

More than anything, you wish you were still holding your notebook and pen or a dictaphone or anything. If there was anyone you want to interview here and now, it's him. But something is bothering you about him. He looks oddly familiar, something in the turn of his cheek and the fall of his hair.

Your statement to MCPD takes the longest. Long after all the other hostages have headed home or been shuttled to other shelters in the city, you stand, ignoring the way tomato soup is crusting on your clothes and how your fingers ache. Maybe your statement wouldn’t have taken quite so long if you weren’t trying to interview your interviewer back. In any case, by the time your throat is dry and aching, it’s late, approaching midnight and the only person left other than police personnel is Superman.

“A-are you okay, Miss?” 

You blink at his words, because he sounds oddly bashful, and that is a look you never expected to see on a superhero’s face.

“I’m fine.” You grin, the motion only halfway genuine. “I'm just about to head out. I'm sure a superhero like you has better things to do, other people to save and whatnot.”

“U-um, no actually.” He tips his head to the side, using his hand to fix his already immaculate hair.

“Do you always wait around at crime scenes to walk a gal home?”

“W-would it be alright if I walked you home?”

Your questions collide in midair against each other. You huff out an exhausted laugh, but he just blushes a little, golden cheeks flushing as his eyes twinkle at you.

“N-no. I don’t make a habit of waiting at crime scenes to walk girls home. Guess that's something only for you.”

Now it's your turn to battle hot cheeks. You can't even fan your face off because you don't have a thing to fan yourself with. Flapping your hands makes you feel stupid. So instead, you let Superman lead you out of the shelter and onto Metropolis’ streets. The city is alive with the sound of cars and ambulances. Someone has a radio on their window playing music. It feels like you're in an entirely different place.

“So, what about that walk home?”

He smells good. For the first time you notice how good he smells, this Superman, now that your nose isn't clogged with the smells of spilled tomato soup and sandwiches. You want to spend time with him. You want to forget what is waiting for you in the morning, how angry Perry is going to be when you didn't get a scoop on the shelter or any pictures that you know of. Maybe if you spin the Superman angle to this? It doesn't feel right, exploiting this man when he's so clearly doing it to help people. You also don't want to stop talking to him yet.

“Sure.”

Honestly you wish you'd clarified, because when he said walk, you thought he was actually going to walk with you. Instead he sweeps you up in his arms and shoots up into the sky. You scream the whole way, hands scrabbling for purchase against his suit, finally settling for an arm around his shoulder. You're shaken and shivering when he finally stops moving.

“Shit, sorry.” 

You grumble into his broad chest at the cheeky apology. 

“Just thought you'd want to see the city how I see it.”

When you finally screw up the courage to take a look, your lips part in a gasp. The entirety of Metropolis is laid out in front of you. Lit in gold from all of the lights, you're grinning from ear-to-ear as you peer out over the city.

“It's gorgeous!” There's a pleased smirk on his face. “I can't believe you get to see the city like this!”

“Yeah,” He grins, something soft. “I didn't fall in love with the city until the first time I saw this view.”

“I can see why,” You gasp, witnessing how soft your colossal city looks in the moonlight, how it seems like a world filled with such promise.

“Let's get you home.” There's a blush on his cheeks as he swoops you down, following your murmured instructions like he knows every inch of the city.

You feel a little bit like a princess when he sets you lightly down on the doorstep. He's still floating in the air, the navy blue suit he's wearing clinging to every muscle. Now more than ever something feels familiar about him. He stays outside your door watching with the same smirk on his face, his head cocked to the side like he's waiting to hear your deadbolt slide home.

You're a little giddy when he flies away, and you curl into your bed like you're in a dream. You sleep well, for the most part, not half as traumatized as you expected to be after being held hostage at gunpoint. At least, until you jolt up in bed, your hair a mess around you and growl, “Garcia!” 

He'd disappeared when the police came to the shelter with their bullhorns and their posturing. You'd smelled the same sharp ozone-tinged scent in the air when he'd disappeared and when Superman shot into the room. But there is more too. The shape of his face, the way he smiled, the almost compulsive way he pushed his hair off his face. He acts just like Garcia does, too.

What is the likelihood your first encounter with Metropolis' own Superman would give you insight into his alter-ego? After all, nobody would suspect that quiet, bespectacled, sweet Mickey Garcia, a photographer for the Daily Planet, is Superman. Nobody, it's obvious, but you. Forget your conspiracy board on LexCorp and their shady dealings. Right now, an exclusive interview with Superman seems like just the ticket to rocket you into fame.

But you can’t let on that you know. You spend the day typing up a lackluster article on the shelter opening, your eyes peering over your computer every time you hear footsteps coming your way. The people walking past you never stop by, not even to chat. You're practically sprinting for the door when you see Garcia, chunky headphones around his neck.

“Hey, Garcia!” 

He turns and looks oddly surprised to see you. 

“You got a sec?”

“Y-yeah, of course.” 

His stutter is adorable. You have to remind yourself he is Superman. 

“I wanted to take a look at the pictures you shot yesterday. Obviously the opening wasn't what we expected, but it should be an interesting public interest piece anyway.”

When he's sitting in the chair next to yours, fingers flying over your keyboard as he shows you all of the photos he took as well as a few of the aftermath, you're questioning your gut instinct even more. How is it possible he got pictures of the police helping people, interviewing you, if he was Superman? 

It's nice, working with someone who smiles at you instead of spitting insults out behind your back.

“This looks great.”

There's a smile on your face as you look at the finished article. 

“Yeah, not bad for an article about a shelter opening turned into a hostage situation, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

You turn, and rest your arm on his forearm. You let your reporting instinct take the driver’s seat. When he's relaxed, maybe you'll get some answers out of him.

“I completely forgot to ask! How are you holding up after yesterday? You know what Perry always says, ‘We're a family here at the Planet!’. I was terrified when those gunmen burst in.”

You prattle on and on, seeing his face change, almost fall, when you mention Superman. 

“You know, he's awfully handsome, Superman is. He took me home, made sure I was alright.”

You grin, wickedly, though you know for sure nobody here in Metropolis knows you well enough to tell.

“And then he blushed.”

All of your suspicions are proved true when Mikey Garcia blushes the same way Superman did.

“You know something? Superman blushed just like that when he was showing me Metropolis how he sees it.”

There's panic in his eyes now. You're just fast enough to block him at the door, arm flung out to stop him from walking past you.

“So…. How long have you been Superman, Mickey Garcia?”

Taglist:

@sarahsmi13s @desert-fern @horseshoegirl @teacupsandtopgun

@roosterforme @cherrycola27 @kmc1989 @chaoticassidy

@shanimallina87 @a-reader-and-a-writer @dakotakazansky @seitmai

@shinycupcakebaker

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN ON AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR ON TUMBLR BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR TUMBLR, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

[aberooski]

Random yet brilliant GX/Avatar au thoughts I had after rewatching ATLA and watching LOK for the first time:

Idk if I'll ever actually write this but if I did I'd use the Japanese names because obviously they'd fit in better here but for the purposes of my random bullshit and by being my default names I'm still using the dub names in my notes lol

___

- Obviously Jaden's the Avatar lol. Avatar Jaden of the Fire Nation (since he's a big fan of red and all 🤭)

- Fire Prince Chazz, Lightningbender ⚡⚡⚡

- Dragons are a thing so Light and Darkness Dragon anyone?? 👀👀

- Atticus is a Waterbender, but Nightshroud is a Bloodbender 👻

- Atty and Lex are prince and princess of the Northern Water Tribe

- Alexis is also a Waterbender but since in the North it's forbidden for women to learn Waterbending except for healing purposes (at least it is in ATLA, clearly that's not the case anymore in LOK since y'know, Eska. But this is my brain I can use whatever lore I want aksksk), Atticus taught her how to Waterbend himself in secret 🤫

- Zane and Syrus are mixed nations like Mako and Bolin, Zane is a Metalbender but Sy is a Waterbender

- Syrus specializes in healing, not combat. I imagine Zane treats him basically like he's a helpless non-bender as a result. But in that mean basically telling him he's useless way that he would, not in a protective brother kind of way. He understands it's a very valuable skill but really wished his brother could fight and fend for himself so he didn't have to be protected all the time.

- Very high concentration of Earth Kingdom squad members lol

- Bastion gives me Earth Kingdom vibes but also I feel like he would be a Waterbender because Water Dragon 🤔 can't decide 🤔

- Jim's Earth Kingdom but a non-bender. I imagine in the equivalent to the accident that lost him his eye as a kid he just went blind. Shirley is his seeing eye Crocogator 🐊 (y'know, since basically all the animals are hybrids 🤭 i know Catgators and Crococats exist but this is funnier and I can make jokes about her totally just being a normal Croc that Jim's passing off as a cross between a Catgator and a Crococat 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭)

- Jim's a mega badass swordsman though even with the blindness. Wouldn't be surprised if he had some Earthbending power lying dormant inside him, like a fossil waiting to be unearthed (no pun intended 🤭), but he's more than content to be a regular human, he doesn't need bending to enjoy his life.

- Hassleberry's 100% an Earthbender. Dude can probably even Lavabend but that's a big maybe. (I mean volcanoes helped kill the dinosaurs and all too so)

- My guy Crowler teaches at the University of Ba Sing Se and if he's a bender he's probably a Metalbender (cuz y'know, Ancient Gears. I am taking their decks somewhat into account here 🤭), probably a member of the White Lotus

- Sheppard's got that Airbending Master status babyyyy, also the current Grand Lotus, just chilling with his non-bending wife Dorothy 😌

- Slade vs. Chazz in a fucking Agni Kai, a la episode 35 !! (🤜🔥 🔥⚡🤛)

- Jaden has a Firebending block similar to Zuko at some point, but because his fire comes from his passion, not hate. In his emo era his passion is gone and he has to find it again and reignite his inner fire!

- Jesse's got those Earth Kingdom green eyes, probably from the Earth Kingdom, but I think he has some Air Nomad heritage in there. He's very connected to his spirituality and the spirit world. Kinda gives me Jinora vibes in that area, he definitely is a very spirit heavy guy. Crystal Beasts, am I right?

- Jesse could've been the Avatar if the cycle wasn't up to fire at the time. (Literally forget any and all timelines none of that matters this isn't a crossover we're talking about. Full au so continuity be damned! All that matters is that the Avatar cycle is now at fire 🔥)

- Axel's Fire Nation I mean c'mon his whole thing is fire aksksk, strong Firebender and probably in the Fire Nation Army too somewhere. A good man though, a very honorable and just guy, not a shitty shitty bad Firebender as is the general consensus in the world about Firebenders most of the time it seems.

- Aster also gives me Water Tribe vibes but like only kinda, he's hard to nail down element wise...... 🤔 he's got the blue eyes so I'm gonna say Water Tribe atm we'll see if my brain agrees with that later. Whether North or South idk, I'm still on the fence about him being a Waterbender but water is my favorite so not gonna complain about making more Waterbenders..... 🤔

- His dad was a non-bender and was 100% killed by a Firebender though. That would cause issues with him and Jaden since Jaden is a Firebender Avatar. Oof there you go, Aster's whole like fucking "you can't hide from destiny" batman era bullshit?? He's going around beating up Firebenders because he doesn't know who exactly killed his father ooooooooo 👀👀👀 (I guess kinda like Katara I guess in a way but also not really I mean she saw the guy who did it, not that she knew exactly who he was without Zuko's help figuring that out but shhhhh remember none of that's important right now 🤫)

- Dark Spirit Yubel ???? 👀👀👀👀👀

- DARK AVATAR SUPREME KING PAST LIFE !?!?!?

- Winged Kuriboh spirit guide 👀👀👀

- oof Adrian as a bad guy Airbender now that's a yikes idea. Sorry Air Nomads, somebody's not a good noodle.

- Chumley once again representing the Earth Kingdom

- Bro not sure about Banner..... so many options.....

- Earth King Kagemaru (bro those guys are almost always shady bitches whether it's the Earth monarch or the Dai Li bro we can NEVER trust the Dai Li)

- y'all Banner is so Earth Kingdom but he's also giving me Fire Nation, like aesthetically and vibes wise he could be either. But also because of his like alchemy background and straight up making a homunculous for himself and shit like that he's also giving me secret Bloodbender I'm literally on so many fences with this guy I can't decide 😭

- Also totally in touch with some spirits and stuff, totally dies and passes into the spirit world to continue existing there like Iroh did so Jaden can talk to him like the ghost we all know and love like another sort of spirit guide and Pharaoh can follow Jaden and crew around afterwords aksksk

- Stormshipping and Spiritshipping all over the damn place! It's me. You knew that was going to be a thing here.

___

That's all I got at the moment. Like I said I don't know if I'd ever actually write this, I know I have way too much on my plate right now to even think about this in a more on the table way than this but my brain won't stop so I have to indulge aksksk

Let me know y'alls thoughts if you got any I'm just messing around here really so lord knows 🤭 anyway if I come up with anything else maybe I'll add it later but for now holy shit guys isn't my mind a wild and crazy place??? 😜😂😅

[forthegothicheroine]

Elseworlds: Superman Volume 1

I’m reading through all the Elseworlds comics in my library’s ebook collection; I think that writing these would be a perfect job for me. Take a bunch of characters and put them in ridiculous situations! Anyway, here are my thoughts about the stories in Elseworlds: Superman, Volume 1.

Speeding Bullets: This one was possibly my favorite- Kal-El’s spaceship landed just outside of Gotham, where he was adopted (and named Bruce) by Thomas and Martha Wayne. Unfortunately, his powers only fully manifest when he sees them gunned down, leaving him with the additional guilt of having fried Joe Chill to a crisp with his heat vision. He grows up to become a dark and angry Batman, until Lois Lane convinces him that people will be better helped with hope than with fear. Lex Luthor as the Joker was the weakest part of this to me- he should have been the Penguin.

Kal: The plot here is pretty simple- the spaceship lands in the middle ages, and Superman ends up playing out a Braveheart plot against Baron Luthor to avenge Lady Loisse. I feel like they could have done a lot more interesting things with this, like Kal having people think he was a saint or something, but it’s okay. There is a twist at the end about the origins of Excalibur that I am willing to incorporate into my personal Arthurian canon!

Distant Fires: Post-apocalyptic Superman. I really did not like this one. I’m not opposed to Clark/Diana on principle or anything, but I wasn’t convinced by them just automatically hooking up as survivors, nor of her being the love interest/damsel in distress to be fought over by Superman and a bitter jealous Captain Marvel. I don’t know much about Captain Marvel beyond the dork in the Rifftrax shorts, but that seemed very arbitrary! Also, the radiation that took away Superman’s powers made the Joker sane and good. Even by the standards of comics, bullshit.

A Nation Divided: My other favorite, where Superman grows up in the 1800s as Atticus Kent, joins the Union Army, and kicks some rebel ass. Lincoln gets a letter that some Kansas soldier caught a cannon ball in the stomach, got up fine, and hurled it back at the other side, and asks “Is Grant drinking again?” I thought it made sense that while, as a soldier, he was willing to kill, he wanted to minimize death if he possibly could, and just picking up Jefferson Davis and flying him over to Lincoln to surrender was a good way to do that. A nice Golden Age-style fun time.

Superman, Inc: As a little orphan boy, Superman goes through the foster system and juvie and finds purpose in his life when he discovers how good he is at basketball, so he becomes a celebrity with a franchise. But when he clashes with Lex Luthor’s media empire, will this lead him to face some truths about himself and use his skills for a higher cause? Not the best, not the worst, but the ending was very nice.

War of the Worlds: Clark Kent arrives in Metropolis and gets a reporter job just as the Martian tripods attack! I always like when superhero stories are set in the 30s and 40s, so we were off to a good start there, and Superman picking up and throwing around Martian equipment was endearingly pulpy. I didn’t care for the resolution as much as the setup, but Lex Luthor’s constantly shifting alliances depending on whether humanity or the Martians were offering him the better deal at the moment was a highlight. Now, if they’d continued the story into “Edison’s Conquest of Mars”...

[dcfanforever]

Harley's Commentary - Rogues! The Podcast

S01E04

00:03 too early in the story for that question!!! Edward's answer is still as funny as ever, though! Sarcasm for the win!

01:00 The Raven and writing desk bullshit! No! Not already!

More on my thoughts about that here →

02:18 wtf is this question?

02:38 adorable isn't the word I'd use...

02:50 this person says Ed's voice is "terrifying and" I forgot what else. I think his voice is just perfect for sarcasm! Idk why, but it is!

03:57 "CANCER"!?!!!????!!!? WAS THAT FORESHADOWING?!???!!!??!!?!?!!??

04:55 Lex just might run for president though, Ed. In fact, he probably will!

05:33 ENYGMA IS E. NYGMA!! EDWARD'S NAME, YOU IDIOT!!!

06:12 CANCER AGAIN!!??!?!!?????!!! THE FORESHADOWING, MAN!!!! IT'S SO MUCH CLEARER WHEN I KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN!

[turianosauruswrex]

7, 12, 19 for Katya, Jules, Miri?

Thank you so much!!!

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

Katya: She's actually changed a LOT. Her original concept was a lot punkier and a lot more in line with her alias' namesake, Bad Grief from Pathologic 2. She was going to be more openly chaotic and lean towards being a good person.

Almost immediately all of that changed LOL. I got in my first session with her and she flipped like a switch: elegant, poised, leaning into the selfish side of chaotic neutral rather than closer to chaotic good. Since I started writing her on my PBP server she's changed even more, though it's more development rather than adjustments: She was in love with her best friend. She doesn't like to be forced into doing anything. She's terrified of both her shadow magic and being aasimar. She would have been great leading the family's crime syndicate. She misses her mother almost painfully.

Jules: Considering her original ending (an incredibly brief and bad consideration LOL) was running to the Divide after winning Hoover Dam for the Legion, and her revised ending was getting crucified outside the Strip, yeah she's changed a bit! She's gotten louder, angrier; she has a chance to do better thanks to @randamhajile and her OC Lex. Does she take it? Ehh. Not always. But she has it, and sometimes it works out.

A lot of it also was Jexis asking me things about her and me pulling stuff out of thin air that sounded right and then reverse engineering why it worked LOL. My favorite thing was making her just a huge science nerd to account for my obsessive completionism in Old World Blues that run, and Jules shutting yet another part of herself down in order to gain Caesar's favor. My other favorite thing was rooting a lot of her reasoning for joining the Legion in her abandonment/daddy issues, and then thusly moving them to project onto Joshua Graham after the fall of the Legion lmao. Thanks Jex.

Miri: Honestly not much! I adjusted her name so that she goes by her middle name instead of her first (it's Nora, to be a little FO4 joke, she hates it, too normie) and I made her look and her fashion, when she's not just copying Cher, actually Chinese instead of it just being a throwaway thing. I haven't yet had the brain power to really dig into what coming from a family of Chinese descent might look like for a character from the NCR but it's certainly on my list of things to do for my Fallout girlies.

12. Is your OC self-destructive? In what ways?

Katya: She's had self-harm problems in the past and she'll drink to forget but her self-destruction mostly comes in the form of isolation and putting up barriers to people caring about her. She thinks she's dangerous and it's better for everyone not to be involved with her. Smash cut to: she has a cousin, an adoptive sister, a partner, friends-- they won't let her isolate herself anymore.

Jules: Haha yeah :) She's like, barely clean of a raging Jet addiction (thanks to Arcade Gannon, RIP their friendship, read about it here), she has irresponsible and unsafe sex, she drinks like a fish, it's a miracle getting shot in the head was only the first time she came so close to death.

Miri: Not really, she's just kinda dumb.

19. How does your OC behave when enraged?

Katya: She's a very sharp, precision strike kind of rage. She'll be completely fine with one person, and within seconds be dragging a metaphorical knife through the target of her anger. She never takes it out on anyone but the person she's upset with; that, at least, she's got under control. Canonically she's gotten so mad at her scourge aasimar bullshit she's stormed into a temple to scream at god.

Jules: People die. Like, slaughtering Camp Forlorn Hope, launching nukes at the Long 15, people die.

Miri: She's never known rage a day in her life actually. Just terminally chill, this one.

[m00nz-writes]

Alright, so some updates on A Single Black Rose -

As I said in a previous post, there's a new pivotal character. And some things have been shifted around story wise, so here's what I've got made up for this silly ass fic:

- ASBR takes place between 2007 and 2013, this is due to Issac being Niko's son. This means Niko was around 17/18 when Issac was born, and that also makes Issa the same age that Niko was when he was born. This means that the events of Bully takes place in 2011.

- There is no separate universes between the HD and the 3D games, they exist in the same exact universe, this meaning that Claude, Tommy, and Luis will all make - at the very least - minor appearances.

- CJ will be a major character in the latter half of the story for Alexi as she forms her own gang in Los Santos - the Serpientes de Marfil. CJ plays a similar role to Lex as Michael does for Franklin, only without the tons of crime and psychotic ex-friends showing up.

- Niko become sort of a surrogate dad for the entire gang after Issac runs away from Bullworth to meet him.

- Pinky is prominently featured in this fic with a major role as Issac's on-and-off-again girlfriend. They love each other, they're just too stupid to say it.

- This fic will now focus on Alexi and Issac interchangeably, but the title will still remain "A Single Black Rose" because I feel it fits both of them. The story will focus on two halves of the same coin basically; with Alexi growing up in the crime syndicate and Issac dealing with the trauma of living through some of the Yugoslav wars as well as the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother. They're basically two representations of how some people may deal with their trauma; Alexi instead embraces it and becomes what she feared, while Issac actively tries to esacpe it and live a somewhat decent life with what little good he has yet is unable to truly leave.

Now let me make this clear (as how I do with all of my fics), I am not trying to write something profound or revolutionary. The topic of trauma and trauma responses have been explored through fiction for decades and this will definitely not add anything new to this topic. These are just OCs I care very deeply for, especially Issac as there's quite a bit of me in him, thus why he has a Medusa tattoo later in his life. I love Bully and I love GTA, and I just wanted to merge them because I felt it was something that worked so well together. I am sorry to say, but Jimmy won't be a carjacking, psychotic murderer in this fic. Those roles are reserved for Alexi and Gary respectively (Lex being a big name crime boss and Gary being a hitman). He's something more akin to Floyd Hebert in the sense that he's caught up in everyone's bullshit.

[delicatefade]

Eilan receives a letter from Lex

Excerpt from my kissy kissy elves draft. Dragon age setting, but it's all OCs. My OC is Eilan Lavellan and @bluewren’s OC is Lex Lavellan. They are twenty years old and a new-ish couple. Lex has been off on a solo adventure and Eilan has not seen or heard from him in three months. wc: 471

The clan had just reached a trade post outside Ostwick. Eilan’s uncle Nerel made a trip to see Oscar, an old shem who had long been a clan trade partner and who held mail for Dalish clans at no extra charge. When Nerel returned to camp he announced that he had letters from Lex. He handed out the letters one by one, taking his time as he called out each name. One for Evelyn. One for Tali. Another for Keeper Deshanna. By that point Eilan had grown convinced that her uncle was stringing her along for his own amusement. And oh how she twisted in the wind. She shifted impatiently from one foot the other, chewing on her own lip. Nerel squinted at a name as if he couldn’t make out the penmanship. “Ei— Oh, no. One for Cylen.” Nerel could barely contain his impish grin. Cylen, a hunter a year older than Lex who was Lex’s closest male friend, fist pumped as he took the letter from Nerel. “Oh!” Nerel said as if surprised to read to whom the final letter was addressed, “And one for Eilan.”

Eilan snatched the letter from Nerel’s hand and sprinted giddily to the tent she shared with her mother. She could hear Nerel chuckling behind her. Her mother was inside, sitting on the right-side cot as she knit by lantern light. She looked up and grinned as she saw Eilan burst into the tent and swoon onto her own cot, clutching a letter to her chest. “From Lex?” her mother asked. “Yes.” Eilan did not bother to look at her mother, too absorbed with opening the letter and reading his message. Hey Babe, It’s been crazy. But in a good way. You remember the stories we heard about Nevarra from Keeper Mahariel at the last Arlathven? The big crypts that are palaces that have ballrooms and baths and everything a palace has, but for the dead? I thought, no way, must be bullshit. So I went to Nevarra first, and it’s not bullshit. I got into a few of them. They’re so cool! Makes me a little sad though. It’s like you said to Keeper Mahariel, there’s all these fancy castles for dead shems and we can’t even get like a cottage somewhere? Bullshit, but whatever. No point getting mad about it. It was cool to break in and touch their stuff. Haha! Nevarra has other nice stuff. There’s an ancestral parade they do with lanterns and costumes. You would have liked it. And they are really into flower gardening. Really pretty gardens. Makes me think of you. Heh. Can’t wait to see you again, Lex “What does he write?” her mother asked. “Nothing,” Eilan said curtly, her tone swatting her mother’s prying. In her periphery she could see her mother rolling her eyes.

[snusbandxknifewife]

Sticky ficky 5, the one where we get some Jude AngstTM. @coffee-and-corsets said sticky ficky, so @coffee-and-corsets gets some sticky ficky. Hope y’all like my attempt at sticky hand induced tears lol

~~~~~~~~

She’d told him she’d be right back, she’d never even thought that she’d be the target.

She’d planned everything around Oak being the target of the Undersea’s planning. She hadn’t ever considered she’d be in danger.

She was stupid, stupid, stupid. So naïve to leave without backup, so idiotic to think herself above capture, so dumb not to require Cardan save her if she was ever taken prisoner.

What was he doing now? Did he celebrate not having her around? Was Elfhame burning as he and the rest of the Gentry frittered their lives away at some party or another?

Thwip

She frowned at the little sticky hand, blue as the swirling water around her prison, as it smacked half-heartedly against her cell wall. Covered in briny dust from the dried saltwater that also caked her skin, it had long lost all its stickiness.

He’d given it to her at the party, when he’d told her she was wearing a nice dress. Why hadn’t she thanked him then? Why had she only offered a snippish remark and a rude gesture? Was his smile genuine or had it been mocking?

Why had she kept the little blue hand?

She’d held onto it when her guards threw her into the cell. It was all she had left of her life above.

For whatever reason she had kept it originally, she was glad now that she had it. It was all she had left of her sanity. It was all she had left of him.

Thwip

She knew she shouldn’t be crying, that tears would exacerbate her dehydration, but she couldn’t help the way sobs started to wrack her body. It’d been so long since she’d had enough fresh water, food that wasn’t rotten. She knew her guards watched her, knew that she was supposed to be glamoured, knew that she had to eat the slop they give her to keep up her act.

She couldn’t help but weep for when she’d been nothing more than Jude Duarte, Seneschal to the High King of Elfhame, for when her greatest worry was keeping Cardan sober enough to avoid a diplomatic incident.

Thwip

She cursed violently and threw the useless hand across the damp room, so hurt by the way it limply bounced on the sandstone floor that she lashed out and punched the wall.

Blood gushed over her ruined knuckles and she found that, despite her sobbing, no more tears were coming. Her whole body shook from starvation and her head pounded like it was seconds away from cracking open.

Her head hadn’t hurt this badly since the morning after she got drunk in the Court of Shadows. She had no recollection of what happened after she’d made it about halfway through her wine bottle, but she did remember waking up with a pink glittery sticky hand wrapped around her right index finger.

She had spent that morning trying desperately to remember the night previous, because she knew that a sticky hand always meant Cardan was involved, but she couldn’t for the life of her conjure up any reliable memories.

For an hour or two, she had considered simply asking Cardan what had happened, but then she remembered his affinity for smacking her ass and she recalled their night in the chamber behind the throne, and she had decided that maybe she didn’t want to know what drunken antics she was capable of getting up to with a sticky hand and the High King. Any time she’d put more than a second’s thought to the subject after that, her cheeks had grown feverish and she had found herself looking for an excuse to leave.

She had put the pink glittery sticky hand in her bedside drawer, under her favorite nerf gun, and promptly set about doing everything she could to forget about it.

She had succeeded until that very moment.

Jude Duarte, captured Seneschal to the High King of Elfhame, held her crippled hand to her chest and basked in memories of her king. She allowed her thoughts to travel to the way he lounged across his throne, his crown always dangerously tipped to one side. She recalled how he nervously offered her a glimpse of his tail the night she tied him up. Her heart fluttered at the mental image of how he looked, naked to his skin and propped over her on a bench in a secret room behind his throne.

She tried to feel something other than sorrow, and she miserably failed.

Balekin had forced her to kiss him the way she would’ve kissed Cardan. She technically didn’t have to, but she knew what he would’ve expected and she knew he thought her glamoured. When she kissed him the way she’d wanted to kiss the High King, her heart had broken in ways she didn’t even want to consider.

But, left alone with a bleeding hand and a useless children’s toy that only reminded her of the one she missed most, what else did she have to think about?

Her kisses with Cardan had all been full of vitriol, that’s just the way they were with one another. With nothing to do but stare at the wall and imagine, Jude had begun to wonder what it would be like to kiss him with something other than hatred on her lips. How would he have reacted if, that night behind the throne, she had pressed a sweet kiss to his jaw instead of biting a vicious mark into his neck? Would he have held her softer? Would his tail, which had wrapped possessively around her thigh, have delicately caressed up her side instead?

Would she have liked it?

In the pit of her stomach, Jude found herself fearful that she might never find out, that her only chance at a loving embrace had been cruelly ripped from her by the evil elder brother of the man she wished had offered it instead. As time passed, her heart hardened around the idea that she would become just like the drowned ones, that she’d be left down here alone, that Cardan didn’t actually care for her enough to rescue her.

Jude picked the sticky hand up again and wrapped it around the index finger of her left hand, keeping her bloodied right hand to her chest as she tried to drown her thoughts in the mindless target practice that she’d already spent what felt like a lifetime enduring.

Thwip

Thwip

Thwi-ick

The sticky hand caught on a jagged edge of a sandstone block, the ring finger of the little blue hand ripping away and bouncing off into the darkness.

She let her left hand fall into her lap, the sticky hand flopping to the ground like a dead fish.

Broken by Faerie, she thought as her eyes lazily dragged from the hand to her own left ring finger. A thing of mortal creation, not made to last in a world as beautiful and cruel as this.

~~~~~~

I’m trying to decide on the next chapter. Either I can skip straight to Jude-in-exile AngstTM feat. Cardan AngstTM, or I can try my hand at some sticky-hand-induced diet smutTM from their wedding night (I know they didn’t fully do the do but that doesn’t have to mean nothing happened.) so y’all get to help me decide how I use the Sticky Ficky to torture you next lmao. There is nothing this crack fic can’t do y’all I promise I WILL find a way to write in sticky hands.

~~~~~~~

Tag list: @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @hizqueen4life @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @thewickedkings @aelin-queen-of-terrasen @cheekycheekycheeks @queen-of-glass @b00kworm @doingmyrainbow @andromeddea

[lovysmtalks]

Oh, How I wish

No tag list rn, debated if I should add more to the chapter for like a month now, feeling very sick, so please someone write down all the names of people who want to be tagged, or anyone who wants to be tagged comment it so I can make a list :-D

Chapter IV

"what did you just call me?" Lex asks in confusion

"I believe I called you father. I'm Marinette Cheng, the daughter of Chyou Cheng." She says formally, faking some confidance

"I have a daughter?" For some reason he believed her, there is a connection between their souls

When Marinette looks at him, her eye color takes his, the right eye to be exact.

It's such a bring light, it looks like she's about to shoot a laser

This child is his and Chyou's. He has a child that for I don't know how many years he didn't see, he wanted to be angry at her, but he couldn't he was a villain and she was...he didn't know how to explain it

"Marinette. How old are you" it wasn't a question, it was a demand, he wants to know how many years has he lost of her life

"I am 17, sir." Fear could be heard in the girl's voice, after all a fucking 6'2 man was standing infornt of her 5'0 self

The man chuckled and put his arm on the girl's shoulder

"You don't have to be afraid maus. I'm not gonna hurt you." He softly says

Mercy's eyes widened once he heard the soft spoken tone coming from her boss

"Did you just call me a mouse?" Mari giggled in confusion

"Ah so you know German. Smart girl, take a sit, Mercy, leave us for a bit, we need to catch up." He says as he takes the small girl's hand and directs her to the couch in his office

Once Mercy leaves, he gets Mari a cup of tea and sat next to her

"My dear, do you know anything about me or your mother?" He asks gently

"I know a lot about you sir, for the past year I've studied you. I had in plan to meet you sooner but didn't have the chance, I'm here right now because I won a Wayne event." She says formally, still kinda scared of the man

"I see, what about your mother?" Lex is now looking into her eyes, them changing colors in the process

"I don't know anything about my mother. Sabine said that she was very kind hearted person and very peaceful, that's all." She says curiously 'maybe I can find more about my mom' the girl thought

"Your mother... Chyou was a special creature. She wasn't human, she wasn't a meta either. She was...A goddess, Godess of Peace to be exact, the empress of the Xithia Dynasty. She ruled from earth since she...fell in love with human. That human being me."

Marinette was stunned...she knew gods existed but she couldn't help the-

"Are you messing with me? I know I'm nothing to you but you don't have to mess with me like that. "Your mother was a goddess of an unknown dynasty that no one ever told you of", do you know how ridiculous that sounds. I just came here to know more about you and mom, but I guess I'm not taken seriously" she got up and rushed to the door

"Marinette-" before he could say anything the door was slammed in his face

--

On the other side of the door mercy was caught off guard by the door slam

"Mari-" "Leave me alone Mercy" the girl ran down the stairs in an incredible speed

Like an angsty teen, she left the building

"Marinette please listen to me for a second!" Tikki yelled at her master

"No Tikki, I'm not gonna be tricked by my own father into believing bullshit, and I thought I could count on him." She sobs

"TIKKI, SPOTS ON" and she started to run across the roof tops, back to the hotel

[heyyyharry]

Happier

(inspired by happier by Olivia Rodrigo)

Word count: 2.4k

I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

Part 1: Drivers License

Part 2: Deja Vu

A/N: I edited the original lyrics to match the POV :)

.

.

.

Harry had come up with a thousand scenarios of how this day would play out. Actually, he’d been thinking of this day since the moment he’d received the news. He didn’t dare to hope that she’d say yes to coming back for a sequel. He’d been sure that they would write her character off, give a lame excuse for how his love interest could not make a return and make his character forget about her completely to move on with a new girl in town. It would have been great if it was that easy in real life. Once someone was written off the script, they were gone for good. Real-life relationships were not that simple. Goodbye didn’t mean ‘never see you again’. You would still share the same friend circle and social bubbles, and it was worse when you two worked in the same industry. Harry didn’t know how he’d lasted a year without running into her, not since the Grammys.

“Didn’t you two date?”

“No.” Harry shook his head, but his eyes stayed glued on Y/N from across the room. She wasn’t looking his way, too busy saying hello to everyone else. “No,” he repeated, more to himself than to his co-star. “We didn’t.”

“But she wrote an entire album about you,” said the other twin. What was her name again? Lulu?

“Luna!” cried her sister, Lex. “You can’t ask him that!”

“No, it’s okay,” Harry said with a tight smile, slightly annoyed by the blonde twins, but he didn’t want to seem like an ass on the first day of filming. “And I don’t know if it was for me. You should ask Y/N.”

“Ask me what?”

Harry flinched when he looked up and saw Y/N padding towards them. She hugged the twins, who seemed way too excited. Harry guessed they were Y/N’s fans. They gave off crazy fangirl vibes, probably just pretending not to know the drama to interrogate him. He couldn’t blame them for assuming he was the villain and definitely could not blame Y/N for portraying him as one. It was more important that he knew who he was and how much he had changed since his last relationship. Maybe they could finally be friends.

“Were they bothering you?” Y/N asked him once the twins had left.

Harry nodded. “They’re your friends?”

“Oh, I met them last year on tour. I’m surprised you don’t know them. They were on Disney.”

“I don’t watch Disney,” Harry admitted with a smile. “Well, not today’s Disney.”

“Understandable.” Y/N nodded and bit her lip. She seemed guarded with her straight back and hands hidden behind her. She eyed him up and down, quite subtle yet noticeable. “How have you been?”

“Pretty good,” he said, nodding slowly. “You?”

“Yeah, but mostly tired because of tour.”

“You’re done?”

“Yup, last night was the last show.”

“Nice.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Nice?”

Harry blinked. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” Y/N giggled. “You still sound very...you.”

“Well, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah, you should. But it’s been a year so…I mean, you haven’t changed much.”

“Right,” he said lowly, his eyes falling to his feet. Harry supposed he should say something else, perhaps bringing up another random topic to discuss, but all he could think about was what had happened between them. Things had been messy, hadn’t they? How could they go back to before that? Before her first song about him. Before he’d chosen someone else over her.

Or he could talk about her new relationship. She’d been in a happy relationship for almost six months, right? No wait, hadn’t they broke up two weeks ago? He wasn’t sure because he hadn’t been catching up. If they’d broken up, he’d sound like an ass to even mention her ex’s name. He should just stay quiet.

“I’ll see you later?” she said, gesturing at her stylist who was waiting by the door.

Harry could ask her right now -- the reason she’d agreed to film the sequel to their first movie together. He’d heard from a very reliable source that she’d specifically asked her agent to decline any project that he was in. So did this mean they were good? That she didn’t hate him anymore? He could have gathered his courage and got the answer right then…

“Yeah, see you.”

...but he didn’t.

And so she gave him a smile and a little wave, then happily returned to her stylist.

.

.

.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N!”

“See you, Annie!” Y/N said as she put the rest of her things into her tote bag. Her new driver had got her schedule mixed up, and so she had to wait here for another half an hour. She was in no rush. It had been a light first day, and she’d had a fun time getting to know the new cast members and catching up with old friends.

She sat on the sofa in the lobby, legs crossed, texting her best friend about her day. She’d purposely left out the short off-screen conversation with Harry, and her best friend didn’t even bother to ask. In their world, he didn’t exist, and his name was censored in every conversation like a curse word that was even worse than ‘cunt’. Nevertheless, she didn’t hate him anymore. She was doing just fine on her own, being busy with her career, and she’d been in a happy relationship after her fall out with him.

She and the guy, a model, had broken up two weeks ago due to long distance and some differences that they could not change. They had ended on good terms and decided to stay friends. They said you could only stay friends with your ex when you still had feelings for each other, or you had never loved each other that much in the first place. For her, it was probably the latter. Her previous relationship had been more platonic than romantic, apparently. So she had nothing but the best to say about him.

As she was going through her camera roll, just reminiscing about the past, she heard footsteps approaching and looked up to find Harry. He offered a smile and gestured to the spot beside her on the sofa. “May I sit here? My ride is late.”

“Yeah, sure.” She hurriedly scooted over.

“Good job today,” he said. “You were great.”

“Thanks, so were you.” She smiled, and they both looked away at the same time. This was so awkward. She hated small talk. She’d never had to have small talk with Harry. Conversations with him used to be so easy and natural and silly. Whatever this was, it wasn’t them.

“Can we just be normal?”

At first, Y/N thought she’d been the one who’d said it, so when she realised it’d been Harry, she was speechless.

He swallowed and sat a bit straighter, still not looking at her. “I don’t want us to be weird and awkward.”

“Okay,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “Wanna try again?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, not to sound like an ass but when Joey kept forgetting his lines, I was so pissed off, I could throw a chair at the wall.”

“Right?!” exclaimed Y/N, feeling free to have finally broken out of her shell. “Like, he doesn’t even have many lines. I know he’s new but damn...you can’t get far if you don’t learn your goddamn lines.”

Harry shook with laughter. “Oh God, we sound like dicks, don’t we?”

“Maybe.” Y/N laughed, covering her mouth. “But you know what? We can’t be nice in this industry. It’s impossible.”

“Shhh, if someone heard this, we would be into big trouble.”

“Oh please, I’ve had worse articles written about me than ‘Y/N speaks facts about her lazy co-star’.”

Harry tossed his head back and cackled. “The worst one I’ve got this week was ‘Harry Styles hates therapists.’”

“What?!” Y/N gasped. “No way! That’s so stupid!”

“Right?” Harry rolled his eyes. “I could get all my therapists to speak up for me but I’m kinda immune to bullshit now.”

“Therapists? Like plural?”

“Yeah, one in every city.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

Y/N rubbed her hands onto her legs. “Rough year?”

Harry’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he leaned back. “You have no idea.” Then he swept his hair out of his eyes, sucked in a breath, and finally looked at her. “I wish I could have talked to you, though.”

She bit her tongue, knowing what she was about to say next would disappoint her best friend so much, but she had to. “So do I.”

Harry looked taken aback before his lips curled into a smile. “It’s silly, isn’t it? I haven’t talked to you in a year, and I feel like I know everything that’s happened to you except that I don’t.”

What he’d just said might make no sense for most people, but Y/N knew exactly what he meant. She nodded and wetted her lip. “You only know as much as everyone else does.”

“Yeah, I got updates on you from the news and our friends.”

“Same.” Y/N smiled back. “I hate how they write articles about your new haircut but not mine.”

“I like your new hair colour.”

“Thanks. I like your new car.”

Then they both burst out laughing. It was fun and also a little bit strange that Y/N didn’t feel the same anxiety talking to him as she used to. It must be because they had grown and were now meeting again as better people.

“Damn, my ride's here,” Y/N said as she read the text from her driver. “I gotta go now.”

“Oh, okay.” Harry stood up and followed Y/N to the entrance. “Hey, just wondering--”

“Yeah?”

“Am I...am I still blocked?” He looked a bit flustered as she tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “On your phone. Because I remember you having my number blocked--”

“I unblocked you on your birthday.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Y/N shrugged. “I should’ve sent you a happy birthday text but...I didn’t want your girlfriend to get the wrong ideas.”

“My ex.”

“Yeah, I know.”

They smiled at each other one last time before saying goodbye. Y/N knew it was silly, but she was hoping he would go after her.

Ding.

A notification popped up when she was in the car. She was almost home, and it was from Harry’s number. He’d sent her a link with a message that said, “Hope you like it :)”.

Curious, she tapped on it and was directed to an audio file titled ‘Track 5’. The upload date was last year. About two weeks after their short conversation at the Grammys.

Hurriedly, she fumbled inside her bag for her iPods and put it on before she pressed play.

“Hey, Jeff, I couldn’t sleep so I wrote this song. Listen and let me know if it should go on the album.”

Then came the piano intro. It sounded good, so Y/N wondered how it hadn’t ended up on his last album.

But when he started to sing...

We ended a while ago Your friends are mine, you know, I know You've moved on, found someone new One more guy who brings out the better in you

And I thought my heart was detached From all the sunlight of our past But he’s so nice, he’s so funny Does he mean you forgot about me?

Oh, I hope you're happy But not like how you were with me I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

And does he tell you you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen? An eternal love bullshit he might not even mean Remember when you were with me I meant it when you heard it first from me

And now I'm pickin' him apart Like cuttin' him down will make you miss my wretched heart But he’s charming, he looks kind He probably gives you butterflies

I hope you're happy But not like how you were with me I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go So find someone great, but don't find no one better

I hope you're happy I wish you all the best, really Say you love him, baby Just not like you loved me And think of me fondly when your hands are on him I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

The song was for her. He’d written it when her new relationship had gone public. Y/N sat there, staring blankly ahead until the honking of a car tore open her inner peace, and reality came crashing back in. The driver dropped her off at her house. Instead of going inside, she stood on her front steps and replayed the song one more time. When it ended, she decided to text him: Why didn’t this make it to the album?

She didn’t know where he was now, but it showed ‘typing’ in less than a second, as if he’d been waiting in their chat since he’d sent that link.

You would’ve hated me, Y/N.

True, she replied. Still, I would’ve loved the song lowkey. And added, I love it btw.

He took so long to type that it was driving her crazy. She flopped down on the concrete stair with her phone clutched in her hands, her heart thundering against her ribcage. Anxiety popped like a balloon when his message appeared: Were you happier?

She reread it again and again.

No.

I wasn’t either, he responded. I kept getting deja vu.

Ha, nice reference.

That song is my guilty pleasure. Love listening to you roasting me on loop.

That last message made Y/N bury her face into her palm and giggle like a fool. She thought for a second and wrote: I could come roast you in person now if that’s what you prefer. I think we’ve never had a proper roasting.

Can we meet, Y/N? Or are you busy now?

No, not busy.

Great, I’ll pick you up.

Just tell me where, she responded with a smile on her face. I got my drivers license now :)

[wherearedreamgiver]

After the Play// Lexi and Fez Short Story Fanfic Part one

Author's note: This is just something I wrote about Lexi and Fez. I wanted to make a fanfic for them. I decided to write this one about after the play. I'm not the best writer but this is what I came up with. Thanks for reading :)

*Hey Siri, play Teen Romance by Lil Peep* 

"Congratulations, Lexi." A couple of girls say to me as I walk out of the school. They were congratulating me on my play. It feels good to finally have my voice heard. I'm proud of myself for getting out of my comfort shell. Besides Cass almost ruining it and almost killing me, it still turned out great.  Seeing the look on rue's face made me happy and feel warm inside. Seeing my friends support me, felt great but my own sister being angry at me made me sad. And Fex not showing up hurt me a little.

I see Bobbi and Ethan walking my way. "You did an amazing job, Lex," Bobbi tells me before she pulls me into a hug. I hug her back.

"Thank you," I say.

"I enjoyed being a part of it," Ethan said.

"Aww thanks, you two. I couldn't have done it without all of you." I pull them both into a hug. I hear footsteps behind me.

"Ready to go, Lexi?" I hear my mom's voice.

I wave 'bye' to Bobbi and Ethan. They both walk off together. I turn to my mom and she has the biggest smile on her face.

"I'm so proud of you, baby girl. I loved your play. Having Ethan play me was the best thing ever!"

"Thank you," I smile back. 

The car ride home was a sort of quiet one.  Mom was telling me about her favorite parts of my play and that made me happy. I feel like my mom can tell something is wrong with me. I keep looking at my messages with Fez.  I can’t stop thinking about him. It doesn't feel like anger but it’s more worry I feel.  

“Lexi?” She asks.

“Huh?” I put away my phone. 

“Is everything okay?” She pulls the car into our driveway. 

“Yeah..” I know I shouldn’t lie but I don’t want her to worry about me. 

She cuts off the car. “Cut the bullshit, kiddo. What’s wrong?” I knew she wouldn’t believe me. Shit. 

“It's…um.” I didn’t know how to word it. I don’t know how to tell her about Fez and my feelings. How do I tell her?

“Is it because of your sister?” 

“Strangely…not at all. I feel like I should be angry at her but I’m not. Maybe, I’m not because of how great it turned out. Having all of that support from my friends, made me feel great. It’s just someone I really want to show up didn’t. I had a seat saved for him and everything. He seemed so excited to see my play but h-he never showed up.” I choked a bit at the end of my explanation.  

I do feel hurt, Fez didn’t show up.  

“Who’s this friend of yours?” 

“His name is Fez.” 

“Oh, the one that beat up Nate Jacobs?” She questions. 

“Yes…that’s him. He’s not a bad guy or anything. He’s actually really so sweet-” 

My mom interrupts me, “Well, I learned that Nate's kid is an asshole, who the hell does he think he is moving your sister into his house and cheating on Maddy as well. Seems like he deserved an ass-whooping.” 

I wanted to laugh because she was right but I felt like crying more. Tears begin to form in my eyes.  “Oh sweetheart, it’s okay to cry.” She pulls me in and I let the tears fall down. 

“What if he doesn’t like me the way I like him?” I ask her.  

“Don’t worry, hun. You’re a wonderful girl. I hope that one day, I can meet this Fez guy.” She smiles. 

“I hope so too.” I smile. 

I spent the rest of the night laying on my bed. What if I’m in love with him? This all feels kind of new to me. Rue. I hope she’s doing okay.  

A couple of hours later, I get a call from Rue.  

I look at my alarm clock and see it’s 3 in the morning. Gosh, I hope it’s not another one of her realization rants. I pick up my phone.  

“Lex..” I hear her on the other side of the phone. 

“Hey Rue, is everything okay?” I ask. 

“No…it’s Fez and Ash…”

“Damn it…Ash.” I hear sniffles on the other end.  

I sit up in my bed and rub the sleep from my eyes. 

“What happened, Rue?” I asked. Worry feels my brain. 

“F-fez.. is in jail and…A-ash…is fucking dead.” She managed to get out. My eyes widen and I begin shaking. “What..how did this happen?” 

“It was a raid. I bet it was fucking Nate.” I hear the anger in her voice now. 

“Oh god…do you know where he’s being held at?” I ask her. 

“Yes.” She tells me where he’s at. 

“I’m on my way to get you.” I quickly put on a hoodie and some sweats with my sneakers. 

I got to be there for him. 

[gloomyhearts]

Always by your side || Luke Patterson

Chapter two ~ just look up the sky

people grow together through darkness. does this band will make it without their most important human being.

After years will everything keep the same?

Luke patterson x oc

January 1995

Sabrina came home from school and was on her way to the garage where her favourite human beings have rehearsal before playing at the club the next day. The chords of 'now or never' blasting all the way to the front street. Jumping from her board she ran up the driveway, stopping at the door to catch her breath.

She threw the doors opened as she stepped in.

"Welcome stranger" Luke laid his free arm around her shoulders pulling her in the middle of the room.

"I don't want to push your ego but you're guys becoming better everyday," she pushed Luke's arm away when Alex glanced at them. Sending him an apologetic look.

"Thank you Brie" Reggie sending her a warm smile.

"Just the truth Reg" mirroring his smile she walked over to the couch and sat down. "What songs are you playing tomorrow?" She lay down her hands resting on her stomach. She twisted the ring Luke gifted her last year.

"Now and never is an essential. And then we will see, how's the public, their vibes and so," Bobby explains. Sabrina wasn't a fan of the fourth member to the fact that he's trying to steal Luke the show always ripping his lyrics saying negative words about them and his said words aren't any help either.

"Now or never is a hit boys I really like it"

"You just say that because you're my sister," Alex insisted.

"That's bullshit," she retorted.

"But just try 'Welcome home,'" Sabrina suggests.

"But there's a piano part," Luke remarked.

"Don't mind me sitting down here," Sabrina points to the keyboard and sat behind it.

She began to play the beginning chords as Alex softly hit on his drum.

Feeling high always chasing the light.

Calming down when everything's loud.

Adrenaline rushing through my body,

My heart beats for moment like these.

Luke plucks his guitar farster, the drums getting louder and the boys began to scream.

In the dark

We're jamming from our hearts

No regrets

Blood rushing through my head

Welcome home

Always grateful for you

The cheers

Echoing through my head

The keyboard was facing the band giving Sabrina the chance to study their emotions. Luke's eyes always laying on her even as he's walking between the other two guitarist.

Hours to go but always thinking 'bout you

Seeing you in the crowd

Brings ache to my heart.

But this band's like homeee.

Sabrina sung quietly in background every word of the lyric when her favorite passage was to come.

Some chase the fame and lose themselves

But with you I'm being grounded

Flying high and blasting through the sky

Would never feel the same without you

Their eyes glaring at her when she was the only one singing this phrase, the boys astonished by her voice froze in tracks. Her eyes narrowed to keep on playing their instruments.

Seconds later the music started again.

Welcome home

Always grateful for you

The cheers

Echoing through my heart

Welcome home

Always grateful for you

The cheers

Echoing through my heart

The chords slowly dying as Alex hit his ride a last time.

"This was spectacular" he jumped in front of his drums.

"This is.. Will you have to join the band" his hands now resting on her upper arms, shaking Sabrina lightly.

Shaking her head she just laughed. "You know I wouldn't, Lexi" she began to thickle his abdomen as he removes his hands.

Reggie agrees to Alex nodding his head steady.

"Think about it Brina" Luke spoke smirking.

"I'll think about it" the corner of his mouth turned up. He stretched his hand in front of her as she grabbed it he squeezed it slightly.

He dragged her closer by shoving his arm to his body, he leans down to her and whispers. "You smell nice today" her cheeks turning red as turned away to cover her up. Alex observes it critical.

"I've got to go. Don't stay up too late," she calls after the group. She waves to the boys when she walked out of the door Luke hold open.

Skateboarding down the main street the sky a mild orange and yellow as the sun; already dotted with stars. Sabrina was almost in her friend's street as a jolt threw her down her board she even flew a few yards; hitting the ground with a loud thud and sliding a bit more. Her skin now cluttered with abrasions on her left side. She pressed on her upper arm trying to stop the blood

The blonde girl lay on the cold pavement surrounded by tourists and pedestrians. Eyes glaring on her staring at her wounds, some chatters whereas she couldn't understand it.

In the distance she heard sirens over her loud sobbing; a wave of relief and hope floating through her tired body.

She was lifted into the ambulance and they start to drive to the hospital.

At the arrival of the car they rushed to the emergencyroom. Shifting her into a bed before taking her to the tests.

The first nurse pushing a needled for the IV into her hand when she saw her naked hand sadness overcame her.

"The..the ring" she stutters.

"There was no ring" the paramedic explained dry and shrugged his shoulders. She lost her consciousness right after.

A steady beeping was the only noise in the room. Her body covered with wires plugged into machines for her vitals. A nurse entered as she saw Sabrina opens her eyes.

"Hello dear. Great to see you. So what's your name?" she sat down next to the bed.

"Brie" she struggles to breath.

"Slow. Take your time," the nurse soothed. Sabrina's hand slightly shakes as she tries to imply. "You wanna write?" The blonde just nodded.

Writing has always helped me.

"There you go"she handed her paper and a pen.

Sabrina Willow Mercer. It wasn't her best writing but readable.

"Got this." The nurse grabbed the paper and left.

She left her three empty papers, so she began to write with all the power she has left.

Minutes later the woman came back reassuring she reached someone at home. A single tear escape her eyes as she quietly sobs. What if this are here last breaths and no one of her family was here she'd do everything to hear their voices one last time. She remembers the rehearsal hours ago.

"Your mom said she is on her way after calling your dad and collecting your brother." Laying her hand on Sabrina's arm her thumb rubbing an unscathed spot. The girl in the bed mouthed a 'thanks'.

What felt like hours of waiting her mother and the blonde boy ran into her room.

"Baby" her mom threw her body down next to the bed grabbing her hand.

"Will" Alex stumbled towards the bed reddish eyes staring at her.

"She's going to be alright, right?" He turned to the nurse.

"That's not mine remit sir" she left.

Alex softly moving next to her in the bed. "We'll make it. We always do" he pressed a kiss on her temple pulling her into his side.

Their mother started whimpering remembering what the nurse told on the phone. She gave Brian's hand a small kiss holding it near to her heart. Alex was this situation suspicious. He sniffed her scent in; the ocean breeze.

"Lex.." Sabrina's voice broke halfway.

"Psst. Let me hold you" he pressed her tighter into his side.

The girl hold the letters over to him. "When I... when I die.." the siblings whimpered in sync.

"These are for you, mom and dad and Luke" his name gave him a flashback to Luke's reaction as Alex rushed out of the garage running towards their car and leaving without a word. Luke didn't moved since then.

"Call him" she pointed towards the door giving him a resuring smile.

Minutes past when Alex walked back in. "He's coming" he took his spot again laying his arm around her shoulder.

"You sure about this?" He raised the letters and she nodded.

The shaggy haired boy arrived as Sabrina was sleeping in Alex arms. "She's alright right?" He questioned and the blonde boy shakes his head much to his dislike.

"I talked to the doctor they gave her maximally a week" his thumb brushes the tears away. "If they find a donor.." he sobbed thinking about a life without this sunshine.

"That's not true. It can't. She's so young" Luke's body fell into the chair. The Mercer mom left an hour ago.

Luke intertwined their fingers bringing her hand up to his forehead. He felt a light pressure on his hand and looked up at Sabrina. A small smile on her lips. "Hey gorgeous" he didn't cared if Alex was still with them.

"You're going to be alright. We'll find a way Brina," Luke whispers, his voice shaking.

The next day Sabrina woke up to two boys sleeping with their heads on her bed, quiet snorts escaping their mouths.

She wanted to let them sleep they need it. Flashbacks from last night crashing onto her.

The boys refused to play tonight but she insisted that's their chance, there always managers who could sign them.

'Just let it go',

'we're not leaving you here, alone.'

'don't let this chance die because of me' she retorted. As she mentions the word 'die' the time stand still, the air around them getting cold, their eyes not daring to look at her.

"Morning Will" Alex greets, his voice just above a whisper; his hand sliding through his hair trying to smooth it.

"Hey" she tried to smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Greatest I've ever been" she sarcastically said, rolling her eyes.

The siblings laughed the first time since the whole accident. Luke awoke to them laughing and his muscles eased a bit. Seeing them relieved, laughing, this gives him hope, hope she'll survive this.

"Morning there sweetie" Alex says towards Luke who rubbed his eyes in the process of waking up.

"Morning" he yawns and stretched his arms up.

"I'm getting breakfast any wishes?" Alex stands up and began to sneak to the door.

"Pancakes" his sister calls after him.

"We're not in a hotel" he shakes his head in disbelief. The three of them erupting in laughter.

"A coffee, please" Luke adds.

Alex was out the door so Luke took the chance to climb up into the bed. His arm resting around her shoulders. Her head resting on his shoulder and his head on hers.

"I can't do this tonight without you, Brina." his voice a shaking whisper.

"Of course you'll rock this, all of you. Do it for me P." Sabrina turned on her side and rested her head in his chest, hearing his heartbeat calmed her. His right hand plays with a strand of her wavy hair. Unfortunately one of his rings gets tangled in it.

"Ouh" exclaimed the girl reaching for his hand and slowly puts his hand in front of her face. Thank God her hair is long that this is possible.

"Keep still" Sabrina points out.

She took the ring off of his finger and entangled it from her hair. Luke watching her moves closely. She let out a small chuckle.

"Where's your ring" he grabs her hand finding the naked spot around her index.

"I've must lost it. The paramedic said he hasn't found anything" the corners of her mouth dropping down, she sighed.

"No problem. I'll find it" Alex enters the room again with their drinks in his hands and a chocolate chip muffin. He reached the bed and hand them their orders.

"Can I have a bite" she made puppy eyes which always convinced him.

"Fine" he exhales holding it in front of her. Taking a large bite she smile without teeth; making kissing sounds to thank him.

The boys left around lunch due to her following tests but Alex dropped in minutes after she was pushed out of her room bringing her journal and her pencil case. Arriving back and seeing the utensils she smiled and began to write down her thoughts, forming poems and wisdoms.

Sabrina's view laid on the clock at it hit 7pm which means their show begins right now, she wishes to be there seeing them relieved and freed, dancing over the stage having fun with each other.

"Hello guys we're sunset curve" Luke was interrupted by Reggie's 'tell your friends'

"We want to dedicate this night for a special one who couldn't be here today" his mood darken slightly.

They began to play the chorus to 'now or never' and the people radiate the same energy as the band. The crowed danced to the words the band sings.

The song came to an end and Luke exchanged glances with the other guys, nodding their heads they were ready to jam 'Welcome home'.

Mid song Luke stopped singing and stared into the void. He lost his focus, frozen without her; that's when it hits him like a train it wasn't just a silly crush, he loves her.

Tears began to build in his eyes as he tried to focus back on the music.

When the last chords were played he ran out of the bar and to the place Sabrina told him she had the accident.

Earlier the day he didn't find the ring, the probability to find it now is zero but he didn't would give up until he held it in his hand.

Luke arrived to a jumbled room, nurses running in and out same as doctors. Loud chattering and beeping of machines. He rushed into her room, Alex already sat by her side. He grabbed her other hand holding it and squeezing it constantly. Sabrina tried to sat up, her hands trying to escape their grip. They all lean in closer, heads now in the middle of the bed.

"Just look up the sky. I'm the brightest star guiding the way. Watching you. Always by your side" her hands resting on each of the cheeks from Luke and Alex. Luke takes her hand and puts the ring back on her index, she slowly proceeded the gesture and it takes all her power to sent him a heartwarming smile but it didn't reached her eyes too tired.

"I love you" Sabrina's hands falling lifeless onto the bed. The machines now with a monotonous sound and a flat line. Tears streaming down their checks. Holding her hand not able to proceed that’s she’s gone, forever

[365days365movies]

May 7, 2021: TRON (1982)

Starting to leave lo-fi sci-fi with this one.

Can I just say, I am VERY excited for this one. Mostly because it’s hard to get more ‘80s than this movie, specifically in terms of computers. I’ll explain. Y’know Jurassic Park? Yeah, the same movie I’ve brought up far, FAR too many times this month. Is...is that my favorite sci-fi movie? Shit, it might be? I’ve read the books, I’ve seen the movie COUNTLESS times...I’m pretty sure it is! Huh. Go figure. Anyway, where was I?

Oh, right! Remember the most irritating character in the movie? This is, in my opinion, older sister Lex Murphy. In the book, for the record, she’s a VERY different character. She’s the youngest sibling amongst the two, and she’s a sports nerd who hates dinosaurs. And she’s also the most annoying character in the book, so at least they kept that consistent. However, you may be saying to yourself: “Jesus, this dude really loves Jurassic Park. Even in the intro for Tron, he’s talking about it. Why the hell does he keep bringing it up?”

Well, allow me to explain. When I was 9 years old, I was super into two things: dinosaurs and reading. You may think that I wasn’t very popular in school as a result. And the truth won’t surprise you. Anyway, on January 3rd, 2001, it was a cold morning in the supermarket when

...OK, lemme get to the point. IT’S A UNIX SYSTEM!

See, this moment when Lex hacks into the computer to reactivate the locks (a task given to Tim in the book, but whatever) does two things. One, it makes Lex relevant in a film and story where she’s almost entirely unneeded. And two, it established something in the minds of movie-watchers everywhere: a completely misguided idea of what computer programming is.

And this is just one of MANY examples of Hollywood weirdly representing computers to the public. This was kind of a trend throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, as computers were beginning to become available to the public. Examples are:

WarGames (1983), dir. John Badham

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), dir. James Cameron

Revenge of the Nerds (1984), dir. Jeff Kanew

Weird Science (1985), dir, John Hughes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), dir. Russo Bros

That last one isn’t a great example, and it’s not even within the right time period. I just love Arnim Zola, and he NEEDS TO RETURN to the MCU. Goddamn it, I want this guy back, complete with his full robot body! COME ON FIEGE, LOOK AT THIS GUY! That last one may or may not be my fanart for the character with my own design NEVERTHEGODDAMNLESS!

Look, all you gotta do is connect the various machinations of Arnim Zola to the foundations of AIM, which is easy given their link in the comics. Zola and his fellow Paperclip scientists helped fund Aldrich Killian’s AIM, and the project to give Zola his sick-ass robot body eventually wound up being a part of the project that would create the hovering robotic chair used by this guy.

THIS IS ALL I’VE EVER WANTED PLEASE

...Ahem.

Anyway, the weird-ass ways that Hollywood’s represented computers, hacking, and all other associated things can be traced back to 1982, when the first film to use mostly computer generated imagery for its setting was created. This was, of course, Disney’s TRON. And while I haven’t seen it before...I’ve see its sequel in theaters?

On a related note, Tron Legacy might be a mediocre film with a mediocre soundtrack, but GODDAMN DO IT LOVE THE FUCKING VISUALS. It’s genuinely my favorite aesthetic. That whole “outlined in light” thing? Goooooooh, BABY, how I love it.

Style over substance, but OH THE FUCKING STYLE

Anyway, despite that, I’m looking forward to seeing where the whole thing came from. I dig that style, too. Is there a name for those aesthetics? Let me know, so I can devote my life to it forever. Anyway, shall we get started?

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

So, we start this movie off with a BANG, jumping into an arcade where two kids are playing none other than Lightcycle, and jumping into said Lightcycles to meet one of the drivers, Sark (David Warner). A sadistic program, he takes great pleasure in executing programs in Lightcycle races.

One of these programs, in fact, is being brought into imprisonment now, to be set against Sark in a race. The program, Crom (Peter Jurasik), speaks with fellow prisoner Ram (Dan Shor), where we get some idea of the lore of this place. Many programs believe in “the Users”, god-like figures who they believe created them and tell them what to do. However, the mysterious Master Control Program is rounding up the programs that believe in Users, taking over their functions or executing them. Diggin’ the lore so far.

In the real world, we meet Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a computer programmer commanding his own program, Clu (also Bridges), and...look, I’m not sure what they’re doing, but OHHH. IT’S A UNIX SYSTEM, BABY. The beautiful bullshit that this movie uses to denote computer activity and programming, it’s...MMMMMMMMMCHEF’SKISS, it’s so FUCKING GOOD!

Anyway, Clu’s apparently being sent to find some information, but he’s caught by Master Control. Jeff Bridges shows off some pretty over-the-top acting, but it’s charming as hell. Clu’s interrogated by Master Control Program (also Warner), and killed, or “derezzed”. This frustrates Flynn, but why?

Well, we get a clue from MCPs concentration with Ed Dillinger (David Warner), who arrives at his office in the COOLEST FUCKING HELICOPTER I HAVE EVER SEEN. I will never make enough money to have this helicopter, but maybe one day I can do it to a car, holy shit. Anyway, Dillinger lands and enters the ENCOM building, where he speaks with his computer table, which contains MCP.

Is this a thing with computer programmers? Do they, like, physically talk to their programs, and the programs talk back? Is this a thing that happens? Are the conversations interesting? Are IT people literally computer-whisperers? I gotta talk to my friends in computer sciences and IT about this.

Apparently, Flynn’s been snooping around their servers for a specific file, and they’re trying to stop him from getting that file. Meanwhile, in an office in the building, a man named Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) is blocked out of the system in an attempt to flush out Flynn’s location. Bradley’s summoned to the office for what seems like a routine interview, but is actually more of an investigation. Doesn’t go anywhere.

On a side note, by the way, it would appear that MCP is somewhat in control of Dillinger. Although, how and why is unknown. In any case, he’s attempting to amass power. Additionally, the fact that he’s directly speaking to one of the Users is...interesting. And on a second side note, Bradley is preparing something, a security program called “Tron”. That might come up later.

MEANWHILE, elsewhere in the building, a group of scientists are conducting an experiment to digitize solid matter and transport it into computers. It succeeds with an orange, much to their delight and celebration. One of these scientists is Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan), Flynn’s ex-girlfriend and Alan’s current girlfriend. They go to the arcade to reconvene with Flynn, much to Alan’s irritation.

Flynn not only owns the place, he’s also a game whiz, brilliant computer programmer, and recently fired ex-employee of ENCOM. He’s also been sneaking into the ENCOM system, and he details exactly why he’s moving against them. While working for ENCOM, he had started writing programs for some very complex video games, which could’ve have made him quite a bit of money. But Dillinger stole his files, and uses it to climb up the ranks to Senior Executive of ENCOM, while Flynn lounges in relative poverty. He’s planning on getting into the system to get evidence of Dillinger’s wrongdoing.

The trio plots to take down Dillinger and get the evidence together, breaking into ENCOM that night. Meanwhile, Dillinger’s meeting with Walter Gibbs (Barnard Hughes), a co-founder of the company, and one of the other scientists who made the digitizing machine. Dillinger says YOUR TIME IS OVER OLD MAN, and brushes off his concerns about he’s handing the company.

He’s not the only one with issues, as MCP decides to take over FOR Dillinger. Apparently, Dillinger’s talents are stealing data and creating Cybernet/HAL 9000. Good job, buddy. But that may end, when Alan goes to finish and install his program, Tron, which will hopefully take MCP down. Meanwhile, Lora and Flynn go to the basement with the digitizing machine. At the computer terminal, MCP decides to stop Flynn by...well, you know where this is headed.

Yup! Flynn’s brought into the computer by Lora’s machine, and is digitized and put into the game grid. And since we’ll be spending a lot of time there, I think I need to acknowledge something: I really love how this movie looks. The CGI is rudimentary, but it’s used surprisingly well. Consider that this is also made in an era where this is the kind of imagery that computers could literally generate at the time, and you’ve got a pretty great movie in-context.

Flynn, now in those spiffy program duds, is sent by the MCP to compete in the Game Grid, under Sark’s supervision and tutelage. He’s thrown into the brig with the other imprisoned programs, where he learns more about this world. Once brought into the throes of the Game Grid, he’s told that those who believe in the Users are to be trained poorly, ensuring their inevitable death. Meanwhile, those who renounce their belief will be spared. And of all the programs who still believe in the Users, there is none quite as powerful...as Tron (Bruce Boxleitner again).

We see Tron’s badass skills in Ultimate Frisbee. And OK, it’s not Ultimate Frisbee, but you throw discs that contain all of your essence and all of the things you’ve learned in your time there. You basically pour your entire essence and being into the disc as you throw it. So, really, it is Ultimate Frisbee, according to that one dude who’s REALLY into Ultimate Frisbee.

Flynn is commanded to play one of these games, and he winds fairly easily. However, when he defeats his opponent, he’s almost about to die. However, Flynn refuses to finish him off, leading Sark to do so instead. And Sark is tempted to kill Flynn as well, but he holds off at the last moment.

Flynn finally gets to meet Tron, where he feigns being a program that knows of his User, Alan. Of course, Tron looks exactly like Alan, which is why Flynn blurts out his name. But as they’re discussing this, Flynn, Tron, and fellow prisoner Ram are sent to compete in the Lightcycles. And, yes, I’m now looking for a game like this on my phone, because GODDAMN to I love Lightcycles. Can’t WAIT for the Disney World ride, oh my GOOOOD. 

So, our guys get in the Lightcycles, and they outmaneuver Sark’s guys. They’re actually able to escape the arena and the Game Grid, making it outside the citadel. They encounter a, uh, bitstream, and soak up some energy before moving on. On the way, though, they’re nearly killed by Sark’s guys in tanks, and Tron is separated from Flynn an the unconscious Ram.

Flynn and Ram finds a place to rest and hide, and Flynn discovers that, as a User, he actually has the ability to somewhat manipulate the reality within the computer, and he makes a version of MCPs ships, the Recognizers, which resemble the villains in Flynn’s game that Dillinger stole. Now realizing that Flynn is a user, Ram asks him to help Tron, before dying and disappearing into pure code. Whoof.

Tron, meanwhile, ends up finding an input/output program named Yori (Cindy Morgan), who helps him in his escape. She takes him through the city, where we see some interesting designs for control programs, almost like a Hunger Games Panem sort of deal.

Flynn has trouble driving his ship, as he meets a “bit”, a small bit of data that only answers in yes or no. He, too, ends up in the city, and you start to notice that this film has a really heavy influence in our cyberpunk concepts and fashions today. Honestly, I really dig this whole thing. Kevin uses his programming powers to disguise himself as one of Sark’s guards, while Yori and Tron find their way through the main citadel of the guards.

They make their way through to the access tower, where they ask the program Dumont (Barnard Hughes again) to let them access the interface that will allow them to speak with the Users, specifically Alan. Reluctantly, Dumont agrees to let Tron through, where he goes to the access port. Which, for the record, looks awesome. He goes to speak with Alan, and he does that one pose. Y’know, the famous Tron pose that’s on the poster?

Yeah, that’s the good stuff. Anyway, he gets information written onto his disc that’ll allow him to kill MCP. Neat. And unfortunately, that’s exactly when Sark and his guys show up, taking Dumont away as Tron and Yori escape. Yori gets them onto a Solar Sailer, a device that will transport them to the central computer. Tron fends off some of Sark’s guys with video game noise kicks, and the Solar Sailer arrives to take them away.

Sark chases after them, but the pair manage to outrun his very cool-looking ship. MCP threatens to destroy Sark for his failure, but he promises that he’ll be able to get them. On the ship, Tron looks down at the side to see Flynn hanging on. Turns out that he was one of the guards that attacked the two. Tron pulls him up onto the ship, and Flynn reveals that he is, in fact, a user. He also reveals that Users aren’t exactly the gods that programs believe them to be.

Anyway, how’s Dumont doing?

Ah.

Well, the Recognizers find Tron, Yori, and Flynn, and chase after them on the light beam the Solar Sailer is on. However, with his User powers, Flynn manages to get the Sailer onto a different beam, while pulses on the original beam destroy the Recognizers.

Doesn’t end up mattering much, though, as Sark finally catches up and intercepts the group. The Solar Sailer is destroyed, and Yori and Flynn are thrown in the brig with Dumont, who’s still alive! Can’t say quite as much for Tron, apparently. But, again, I can only assume that Ton is still alive. We’ll see, though. Sark denies Flynn’s identity as a User for some reason (I mean, MCP told you who he was, but OK), and he sentences them all to death. Outside the ship, of course, is Tron, who’s hiding and waiting for the right time to strike. And that is when we finally see him.

Glorious. Absolutely goddamn glorious. MCP is taking the remaining programs that believe in Users, Dumont included, and incorporating them into his mass. Meanwhile, Sark has found Tron, and the two are fighting with a classic game of Ultimate Frisbee. Tron nearly defeats Sark entirely, but MCP revives him, and gives him the power to take out Tron. He grows gigantic, and it looks genuinely really convincing.

Flynn prepares to take out MCP once and for all, and kisses Yori just beforehand, which is weird as shit. He jumps into the program, and controls it just long enough for Tron to throw his disc at it and land the finishing blow. And with that, MCP is ended, and the threat of take over is gone! The I/O towers light up, and the Video Warriors have won! Don’t ask me what that means, I study birds.

And with ALL OF THAT DONE, Flynn gets the proof he needs from a print-out that, to be honest, I feel like he could’ve just typed up himself. It doesn’t look like that much. But, still, MCP is gone, Dillinger’s screwed, and Flynn now gets a cool-looking helicopter of his own, as the new CEO of ENCOM. And from there, he will become a deadbeat dad that abandons his kid to live in computers forever. Or something like that, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Tron Legacy.

And that’s Tron, a goofy movie of its time, but one that’s a lot of fun all the same. And with some effects that, to be honest...I actually really liked! But more on that...IN THE REVIEW! See you there!

[we-want-mini-mini]

Omg. I was reading this HC about the reason why Clark Kent always leaves the scene whenever Superman appears because he (Clark Kent) HATES Superman. Like, he keeps on making convoluted reasons as to why.

It goes even as far as Clark writing a cynical think piece about Superman and vigilantism and Lex Luthor coming across it and absolutely loving it.

Here’s the original post:

And, all of you know I have a prompt/oneshot which includes an OC who works for Lex Luthor (and knows all the Supervillian bullshit he pulls cause there technically from an alternate world where all the DC characters are just characters lmao).

Anyways, in said prompt Lia also lives next to Clark Kent because I find it beyond funny that she is essentially the right hand to her next door neighbors arch nemesis.

And like, I imgained that one day, Luthor brings up the fact he really likes this one writer from the Daily Planet. Lia, who is understandably curious, asks her employer who that writer is.

Luthor says, with a straight face: “Clark Kent.”

For a moment Lia just stares at Luthor, fighting off a smile, while her shoulders shake like it’s a 9 point O earthquake on the Ricther Magnitude scale. Luthor shoots her a look, but Lia turns away, slapping her hand her mouth trying not to brust out laughing. After a little bit she does, but when she turns around, Luthor gives her another look and she knows she has to come up with a good excuse.

Her brain short circuits and she blurts out, “I think he’s my next door neighbor.” And immediately she regrets ever existing. She wants her entire being to cease to exist, from the very last atom.

A flash of surprise goes through Luthor’s face, as he asks her, “Oh? Is that so?”

“I mean, I think,” Lia adds smoothly, her brain on overdrive. “They share the same name but I’ve never seen a picture of Clark Kent from the Daily Planet, so, I can’t be sure that my neighbor and the one from the Daily Planet are the same person.” She said, lying straight through her teeth. She knows that Clark Kent her Neighbor and Clark Kent a reporter from the Daily Planet, are in fact, the same person. But Luthor does not need to know that.

Fortunately, Luthor drops the topic and asks Lia about some other shit. Internally, it feels as if the weight of the sky itself was lifted off her shoulders.

Unfortunately, a couple weeks later, at a Gala were Lia is with Luthor, a familiar, mop of black hair (just slightly curled at the end), striking (almost alien) blue eyes and the iconic thick, black times glasses make their way towards them. Lia, of course, only notices too late because the universe despises her and Clark, introduces himself, while recognizing that his next door neighbor is next too his arch nemesis.

Him (Clark) not noticing the growing panic and despair on his neighbors face, immediately calls out to her saying, “Lia?” in a surprised voice.

Lia, knowing how throughly fucked she is, knowing she can’t BS her way out of his, and that her lips never wait for her brain to catch says, “Clark??”

(Pretend that in this version of the prompt/oneshot Clark never found out that his next door neighbor is esstentially the right hand to his arch nemesis).

Cue a very awkward and tense conversation (at least for Lia) between the trio. Luthor being pleasantly surprised and a bit suspicious but he brushes it off, leaving it later to ponder. Clark, is absolutely floored but he has his job too do, so he does it. He’s lowkey kinda betrayed but can’t blame Lia because she’s just 23 and this sort of job is a dream come true for most and he (assumes) that Lia does not know anything abt the whole Lex Luthor is a Raging Supervillian and Also Superman’s (which is Me) Arch Nemesis. Lia, throughout the convo, recovers (externally), and answers Clark’s questions with ease. Internally, she’s slowly dying in the inside, mentally preparing herself for the questions Luthor with undoubtedly ask later. Lia wants the Rapture itself to commence so she could just avoid all of this bull shit. She does not avoid all of this bull shit. 

Anyways, after that whole debacle, Luthor leaves with a greater respect for the man (he found him very competent and also very pleasing to the eye). Clark is... conflicted but he does what he does and maintains his rep of hating Supes. Lia is just. Done and Dying. She can’t. She honestly can’t. But she muscles through and awaits for Luthor to do whatever Luthor does best. She’s surprised when she sees her employer (whose a Supervillian and hates Superman) look at Clark with a look in his eyes (it isn’t annoyance, indifference, or anything like that... it’s... holy shit, is Luthor checking Clark’s ass out???? Oh. My. God. This is. Honest to God, the best and worst thing I’ve ever seen. Oh my god. I want to cry. And laugh. Holy fuck. What the shit is even happening anymore?). Safe to say, from then on, Clark gets sent to LexCorp to take interviews for Luthor and stuff. Luthor, grows to develop a deeper interest for Clark (all in the view for Lia).

Hell, at one point he admits it. And asks Lia what Clark’s favorite type of flower is. Lia, is floored. She wants to laugh. And cry. She manages to say, with a straight face and even voice, “I’m not sure, Mr. Luthor.” She has to bite her lip at the true and unbridled irony of the whole situation. Oh my god. Enemies to Lovers. Slow burn. One sided pinning. Denial. Oh my god. Oh. My. God. I’m watching fanfic play out right before my eyes. Holy shit.

Like, I can’t stop laughing at the irony of the situation. Imgaine for a sec being in Lia’s shoe. Like. Your the EA to a very powerful person, who happens to be a raging Supervillian. You know this cause reasons. You also happen to live next door to your boss’s arch nemesis. Then due to a series of events, your boss slowly starts to fall for his arch nemesis’s civilian identity. You’re watching this shit. In real time. Fucking imgaine that yo. Absolute fucking gold. Like. Holy shit.

Also, this still could work (without my OC present). Like, in a world where everything is the same aside from the HC that Clark is known to not like Superman and Lex immediately takes a liking to Clark. Say Clark goes to a gala and meets Luthor. Now he has to keep up the rep that he Does Not Like Superman (while he Is Superman). Luthor becomes interested after Clark interviews him. He also checks out Clark’s ass because yeah. Then, Clark does more interviews for LexCorp. Luthor develops a deeper interest in Clark. He even asked Clark out on a date. Imgaine being Clark. Your arch fucking nemesis (whose a raging Supervillian) just asked you out (without knowing you’re the same person they hate). Enemies to Lovers but it’s one sided in the sense that one of them doesn’t know that the other is their arch nemesis jaksjsjsksksksoskks

IMGAINE THO. SOMEONE PLEASE WRITE A FIC ABT THE PROMPT ABOVE AND FUCKING TAGGING ME SKSJDJXJSJDJJDJ

[snarkandsarcasmftw]

Hey if your still doing Fake dating, Slow Burn and Enemies to lovers, can you do MJF, Elias and Velveteen dream

NOTES: I warn in advance, bb. Not the best at writing Velveteen Dream, so. Here goes nothing? I hope you enjoy reading this. It was a bit of a challenge to sort the guys into the categories I felt they’d go best in, there was... Soooo much switching them back and forth but I think I finally got it! Sorry this took so long, like I said. It was hard to write Velveteen and I kept feeling like I was getting it wrong. I’m sorry. I hope you enjoy reading this bc I really enjoyed the challenge of writing it, it was suuuper fun! Thanks for sending me these names!

TAGGING: | @heelsamizayn | @vonschweetz | @rampagewriting | @andie01 | @missjenniferb | @wrestlingismyguiltypleasure | @panic-angel3314 | @glowrioustrash | @heel-rollins | @cowboysht | @adamcolesteeth | @robwiethoff | @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch | @xwicker-manx | @markostuntthesehoes | @the-writing-kitty​ | @wwe-fanfiction-queen | @hardcoresweet45 | @biforbecky2belts | @helluvawriter | @hardcorewwetrash | @calwitch | @xladyxfatex | @writtingrose | @mjfisawhore |  | @sassymox | @scuzmunkie | @schizoauthoress | @demonslunacy | 

PAIRING(S): Velveteen Dream x OFC, Alyssa Rose, Elias x OFC, Scarlett and MJF x OFC, Lex.

WARNINGS: swearing, fluff, maybe a little bit of angst and humor, idk. We’ll see how this goes. Also, my first time even daring attempt Velveteen Dream. It was.. Interesting. And really hard.

                 { fanfiction trope fmk | q&a | multifandom tag list }

FAKE DATING;

DREAM.

“Here’s the thing, Carter. I have zero desire to even give you a backwards glance. I’d honestly rather walk backwards facing God straight into hell.” Alyssa rolled her eyes in boredom and when Ethan stepped closer, Alyssa stepped back, her hand palm down on the center of his chest firmly. “Uh-uh, no you don’t. I’m gonna stop you right there.” Alyssa happened to catch sight of Velveteen Dream walking in and she didn’t think, she ran instead, crashing into the man’s arms, climbing his body like a tree as she clenched his hips with her thighs. He chuckled and nodded towards Ethan almost teasingly. “I knew you couldn’t resist me. Or is it Carter, up to his bullshit again, hm?” Velveteen hummed against Alyssa’s lips as he deepened the kiss, making sure to give Ethan a serious eye full as he stepped so that Alyssa’s back was against the nearest wall and his hands were groping; wandering all over her body. 

He’d had a thing for her for months now, but admitting as such was not his style. So the opportunity presented itself and Velveteen was going to be damned if he didn’t rise to it. “So.. you gonna let me buy you dinner, sugar, or is this just a kiss for show, hm?”

“Oh, you’re buying me dinner, Dream. I don’t just kiss random men for no good reason. The opportunity presented itself, so I went for it.” Alyssa muttered against his mouth, her fingers raising, threading through his hair and over his scalp before coming to rest on the back of his neck. As the kiss broke, Ethan grumbled and walked away, shaking his head and Velveteen rested his forehead against Alyssa’s. “So, you want down, or am I carryin you around all night? Because I’m cool with either.” 

SLOW BURN;

ELIAS.

“ If you don’t say something soon, it’s going to drive you insane. Forget you, it’s going to drive ME insane.” Alexa was pacing the dressing room.

 Scarlett sat on the countertop preparing her own hair and makeup for the night. She paused and glanced over at the slightly shorter female and raised a brow. “Do what, exactly? If he hasn’t noticed that I flirt with him almost as much as I breathe oxygen since we were roommates in college, Bliss, what really makes you think he’s suddenly going to notice now, huh?” 

“I don’t know! Just.. Something. Because the sexual tension between you two is driving all of the rest of us crazy. You’re always whispering and touching and he even lets you wear his scarves. He sang you a song, Scarlett, how the hell you can even sit here and say he’s not into you right back is beyond me.” Alexa was exploding enough for them both and it amused Scarlett. “Okay, maybe he does flirt back. And maybe I’m a little scared because if this goes wrong, I lose my best friend.” Scarlett pursed burgundy lips as she gazed at the monitor, letting her fingertips linger on the screen. 

Alexa’s rant had taken over and it wouldn’t leave her alone. And tonight was Valentines... The wheels in the brunette’s mind were turning and she smirked to herself, hopping down from the countertop. If he didn’t notice subtleties, Scarlett thought to herself, maybe he’ll notice something big and bold. Or this could backfire and things will be really, really awkward at the hotel tonight. Either way, it’s time. This needs to come out. 

Bearing the thought in mind, she slunk towards the gorilla, cueing up her music. Down in the ring, Elias’s brow raised. He’d been interrupted by pretty much anyone in back with a pulse.. But never Scarlett. He swallowed hard, eyes fixed on her like magnets and filled with desire he only wished she’d wake up and actually notice for once. He started to go on with his song, thinking that maybe she’d just come out to sit at ringside for his match. But then, she didn’t skip past the ring and take a seat. Instead, she slipped between the ropes, walking towards him slowly, her eyes filled with determination. Elias chuckled. “At least tonight I got a welcome guest, huh guys?” he teased, his eyes locking on hers as he mouthed to her , “What’s going on?” and she just bit her lip, stopping right in front of him. Scarlett took a deep breath. What she was about to do was huge and if Elias took it the wrong way.. Not only would she be in trouble with the higher ups for breaking script to do it, but she might also be losing her best friend too. 

“Here goes nothin.” Scarlett lowered herself to sit in Elias’ lap as soon as he’d sat his trusty guitar on the mat, propped against his stool. She took his face in her hands and tugged it closer. “Scarlett?” Elias’ eyes opened wider and he took a shaky breath. ���You feelin alright, princess?” 

“Never better, Elias. Are you gonna let me do what I came out to do?” Scarlett practically purred against the corner of his mouth as her lip caught it. His hands wandered down, squeezing at her sides, hauling her completely into his lap as his forehead rested against hers and he sighed, the weight of holding it all at bay lifted and making him feel bolder and much more free to do what he’d been dying to since they met as teenagers. “So do it, princess.” his teeth caught on her glossy lower lip and tugged and she whimpered as he continued, “Or better yet, allow me.” his tongue trailing the shape of her lips before slipping past the soft barrier of flesh and tangling with her tongue, deepening the kiss to a point where he could tell she was starting to get dizzy, her legs were digging into his hips and everything around them just kind of fell away. “So.. Happy Valentines Day, I guess?” she giggled as the kiss broke and Elias chuckled. “Only if you’re trying to say you want to be my Valentine, princess.” 

“I thought me coming down here in front of the entire fucking free world kind of said that?” Scarlett teased, walking her fingers up and down his bare chest, catching them in the silky scarves adorning his neck as she used them to pull him in for yet another kiss. “Ya know.. we’re probably in serious trouble for this, right?” he hummed against her mouth as she shrugged it off. “I honestly don’t have a single fuck left to give. Maybe they’ll finally let me be your valet instead of sticking me with Orton’s disgusting ass.” 

“Oh, they better.” 

ENEMIES TO LOVERS;

FRIEDMANN.

“ No. No, no, no.” the elevator came to a shaky stop and Lex crossed her arms, stomping her foot as she glared at MJF, the full of himself wrestler she currently found herself in an angle with. He’d been flirting for weeks and she’d been putting him off as best as possible. Being a smartass with a sharp tongue had it’s benefits. She’d gotten it to a point where he pretty well left her to her own devices until it was time for them to do a scene together.

“My thoughts exactly.” Maxwell shuffled his feet, grumbling about being stuck in the elevator with Lex, his valet. The woman couldn’t hate him less if she tried. Which kind of sucks, he found himself thinking, because I can’t get her out of my fucking head.

“Oh, you can do that? Think, I meant.. I thought shallow and rich prettyboys didn’t have the capacity required.”  the jab was out before she could stop it. When he didn’t respond, she gazed at him, biting her lip.

“Can you just maybe shut the fuck up while I try to page someone? Or is that beyond your capacity, Alexandra?”

“It’s Lex, jackass. Lex.”

MJF shrugged, ignoring her as he turned his attention to the elevator control panel. Lex was staring at him and he kept waiting for an explosion, holy hell she was so good at those, he thought to himself, but to his surprise, minutes passed without her saying a word. When he bothered to turn around and he found her sitting on the floor with her back firmly against the wall and her head between her knees, it hit him exactly why she wasn’t saying anything. And he eyed her, a brow raised in concern. Grumbling at himself for not being able to just leave her alone, he sat down beside her.

“Hey..”

“I.. hate small spaces and I’m kind of panicking. Not now.” Lex’s tone was more of a pleading whimper than anything and she wasn’t looking up. It was freaking him out a little if the truth had to be told. He tapped her shoulder gingerly, swearing at himself. The best thing to do was just to leave her alone.

But he knew how claustrophobia worked and he knew that right now, she was probably experiencing some pretty scary physical manifestations of her fear and that was throwing her into a panic attack, which was most likely worsening those physical manifestations. He had to do something.

Lex finally got herself together at least enough to look up to see why he’d tapped her. “I can’t get anyone down in the lobby. If you’ll move forward a little..” MJF suggested it clumsily and the tone caught her off guard. She eyed him and he nodded to the spot between his legs firmly. “I’m afraid of small spaces, that is.. literally the last thing I need.” Lex choked out the words, not seeing how his suggestion would help her relax at all. He grumbled and moved, sliding into place behind her, his arms going around her, his lips right next to her ear. “Breathe in.. Slow.. Breathe out. Close your eyes..”

Lex did as he told her and took a few shaky breaths, her eyes fluttering shut. MJF continued, large rough hands moving carefully and almost gently over her arms. She’d rather die than admit it, but she was calming down just a shade. And the scent of his cologne was relaxing.. The firmness of his body wrapped around her and the warmth of his breath against her ear as he spoke to her in quiet whispers.

“W-why are you being so nice?” she managed to gasp out as he muttered quietly, “Because despite everything, I do care. A lot more than you realize. And you’re kind of freaking me out right now, woman.” He nipped at her earlobe unintentionally and she shivered a little, pressing her back against his chest. “Keep breathing in and out. Focus on something that keeps you calm.”

The only thing she could focus on, was him. And it hit her then, no matter how much she pretended otherwise, the things she felt for him were overwhelming and getting entirely too hard to fight off. She’d been fighting so hard because she thought he was only after a quick lay. Or something else. But the way he was being right now was.. Throwing her totally off guard. “Okay, just.. Please don’t let me go. This is..” she breathed and her lips brushed against the side of his neck as her head rested against his shoulder, “It’s keeping me calm..”

“Good, that’s good. I’m gonna try to page someone again, okay? We’ll get you out of here, if I have to rip the fucking doors open and risk climbing.” 

“It’s not that serious. I’m just overreacting.”

“No, no princess. You’re not. It’s a pretty freaky situation. I’m not especially fond of small spaces myself.” MJF muttered against her hair, continuing to move his hands over her upper arms and daring to move them lower, down to ghost over her sides. The elevator started off with a loud creak and a shaky takeoff and rather than spring away like he figured she would, she turned around instead, taking his face in her hands, pulling him into a biting and bruising kiss that he only deepened, his hands groping and ghosting over her body as he lowered his knees and pulled her onto his lap, rubbing himself against her. “Fuck. You’re gonna drive me insane, woman.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but same.” she mumbled quietly, her breaths coming in short pants as she pressed herself down against him hard, rubbing her body against his. The elevator slid open and the two were so involved in their own little world that they didn’t realize that a group of hotel guests were getting quite the eye full until someone cleared their throat. He stood and so did she, both of them trying to fix themselves, smoothing down their clothes and hurrying off the elevator. About halfway down the hall, MJF caught up to her, shoving her against a wall, pinning her against with his hips. “Where were we, hmm?”

Her hand trailed lazily down his chest, tugging in the waistband of his jeans. “We were right about here.” 

[firstpuffin]

Learning with Lois & Clark: The new adventures of Superman:

I’m not typically an “older is better” type of person; I watch new shows, listen to current music and play recent games. But when I do it’s usually for nostalgia, a chance to revisit it from a more mature point of view, or simply because of its “quaint” and outdated feel. Usually, the older stuff is inferior simply because we’ve learned to do things better since then.

  Sometimes the older stuff is better though, as it can seem like more current products are made by people who kinda don’t give a damn. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they do: I’d bet that they are actually rushed, under-funded and under-equipped. Maybe they do what I’m guilty of and aim too big for what they are in a position to achieve.

  Anyway, over a hundred words in and I haven’t even mentioned the name of the tv show yet; maybe this’ll be another long one.

  Lois and Clark The New Adventures of Superman!

 Being maybe three months older than this show (lazy maths), naturally I grew up with it and have very, very vague memories of watching it with my mom. And by memories I mean memory, and by memory I mean red kryptonite in a lead-lined case causing Clark to run into something. I don’t know if that actually happens, but if it does then it’s not in series one.

  For many people my age it was our first experience of Superman, and many of us lost interest in the character afterwards. Why? Because Superman is way too powerful, which is boring. Lois and Clark - doesn’t exactly not do this, but instead does it well.

  The stories involve mysteries to solve and obstacles to overcome. Yes, Superman always comes out by the end, they are his new adventures after all, but he isn’t the focus: Clark is. Hence the title “Lois and Clark”.

 Smallville attempted to do mysteries too. What my brother calls “monster of the week” (he didn’t coin it but that’s where I know the term from) where they have to find out who the superpowered criminal is this time and then how to stop them. But the mysteries are kinda bullshit and are solved by Clark running in and pushing them into something in a “decidedly non-lethal” way.

  In one of the episodes towards the end of Lois and Clark series 1, Superman only appears right at the very end in order to save a falling Lois; it’s clearly a way just to get him on screen but everything else was done by the rest of the cast or by Clark. Yeah, it’s the damsel in distress trope, but that’s most of the show anyway; it’s weak, but also not the point.

  And what about Supergirl and sure, The Flash. This was never meant to be a Superman article but a superhero article. Both of these shows have the hero in tights for a large portion of each episode, running around and punching people. The mysteries are usually second to the drama surrounding the characters, and are solved by some vague, obviously wrong science or the hero just heroing harder.

 Actually yeah, let’s go into the science. Lois and Clark barely touch upon science and what there is tends to be simple; it could be said that it’s to help the layman understand, or maybe because people’s views on science have become more complicated. But it is a far better approach.

  I mean yeah, Lex Luthor has a nuclear power-plant in the city, and uses it to heat up the city which he times with Superman’s activities to blame him for the recent sweltering heatwave; it’s simple and dumb and quaint in a 90’s way, but it also makes sense in a world where people are apparently so scientifically illiterate.

  Smallville’s first baddie has an electrolyte imbalance which- which gives him- why do I have to write this? His electrolyte imbalance gives him electricity powers… ‘nuff said.

  I would write something about the recent Arrowverse but the “science” in that is so far gone beyond anything resembling sense that there isn’t much to say. They throw science babble at each other that the viewers aren’t supposed to understand, and that’s how they get away with it. They reuse and abuse tachyons, dwarf star alloy and time-travel, never obeying the rules that they have set for these things. Heck, they’ve changed Barry’s blood-type at least once.

  If you are going to go that far then why bother with the science? I fully intend to write something along these lines where the tech-guy just says:

              ((“I could throw some techno-babble at you, but you won’t get it. You know you won’t get it. Just accept that it’ll work and use it.”))

I didn’t put any work into that so it’s not great dialogue (of course it’s not, I said “techno-babble”). People will accept this though, and it won’t put anal people like me off.

 I have less than 200 words to talk about inter-personal relationships so expect vague descriptions and no conclusion.

  I recently revisited The Flash and found that it actually started quite a bit better than it has become. They were trying to focus on the stories and characters, but now it’s almost all inter-relationship crap. Lois and Clark has really good character drama, but it’s always second to the story. Actually, that’s not quite right. The relationships happen during the story, and really that’s the way to do it.

  Lois is often competing with everybody, which typically leads to them competing back. They drive each other’s actions and grow accordingly.

 I wanted to write about Lex too. In many ways he’s a very uninspired character, but he’s also so unabashedly villainous that it’s super endearing. Throw in his relationship with Lois and he’s suddenly a compelling character.

              Really, this is the way to do it. Interweave story and relationships, using the characters bouncing off of each other to progress events. It feels natural, the pacing flows and best of all it’s hard to get preachy when things are on the go.