#those titles aren’t exclusive lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kiss-inthekitchen · 3 years

Text

all that you ask of me | loki laufeyson

summary: you and Loki have a discussion about your kinks, and you learn something about him that you weren’t expecting

wc: 1.5k

warnings: smutty themes!! talk of bdsm, both reader and loki are switches and they aren't chill about it, teasing, light degradation but in a cute way, sub!loki, dom!loki, f!reader. loki has huge bisexual switch energy and i had to put it in a fic

a/n: title is kind of unrelated lol it makes more sense in the next chapter. pls let me know if you like it, i love when u guys leave comments or tags !

It’s been a few weeks since you and Loki had started dating and your sexual chemistry has been insane, which was a surprise to neither of you. You’d started out as friends, and even then, any time Loki had so much as brushed his fingers along your skin you felt something akin to electricity spike through your body. And though he was loath to admit it at first, Loki felt the same. So, once you finally gave in to your mutual feelings for each other, things only got more exciting.

Though the two of you had been having sex for weeks, you hadn’t really done anything too spicy yet, still getting used to this new aspect of your relationship. Now, though, you’d decided it would be a good idea to get it all out there, rather than try to figure it out as you went along. Besides, something about the idea of talking things out with Loki like it was nothing more than a casual conversation was thrilling to you.

You and Loki were sitting on the couch, your legs resting in his lap as he absentmindedly soothed circles into one of your calves. You smiled fondly at the way he always had to be touching some part of you. The two of you had covered a few topics already, going over safewords (you were partial to the traffic light system, and Loki agreed) and some of your hard limits, and now you were on to the fun part. Specifically, a rather exciting interest your partner had just confessed to.

“You know,” you mused, unable to keep the teasing smile off your face, “I wouldn’t have expected you to be into submission, what with your whole...thing.”

“My whole thing?” He repeated, raising his eyebrows at your choice of words. You suppressed a laugh. He probably would’ve spent more time on his faux outrage if the look on your face wasn’t so damn cute. “Yes, well. I am full of surprises, aren’t I?”

You hummed in response. “I mean, I had hoped you’d be into it. Or, I guess, fantasized, would be the better w-”

“Did you?” He cut you off, sounding all too pleased.

“Oh, for a while now,” you smirked.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” he said, the admiration in his eyes shifting to smugness as he continued, “I wouldn’t expect you to be a dom, what with your whole thing.”

You made a show of rolling your eyes at him. He wasn’t wrong, though. Compared to Loki, you were much more bubbly and warm, not that he was really so cold anymore, but he was still… him. On top of that, your style tended to lean more toward pastel colors, though lately you were known to also rock some dark green tones. You supposed that from the outside, people would assume you to be the more submissive one in the relationship. Which you definitely could be, but your tastes went both ways.

“Okay, I deserved that,” you relented. “Now come on, tell me what I want to know.”

“Okay, well. I’ve no problem with bondage, as I’m sure you know.”

“You do seem to end up in chains quite often, my love. But... not sexually?” You’d meant for it to be a statement, but then you realized you actually had no idea, your voice lilting up into a question.

He fixed you with a look that very clearly told you you’d been wrong.

Well, okay then. “Right,” you responded, a little breathier than before, trying not to let your imagination run wild just yet. Loki squeezed your ankle playfully, bringing you back before you could lose focus. “So, is there anything you’re not okay with, bondage-wise? Like, collars, ties, cuffs…?” You trailed off.

He thought for a moment. “No, it’s all fine with me. What about you?”

“Cuffs kinda freak me out, actually. I don’t have superhuman strength and all.”

“Noted. Oh, one thing I do want to mention- I’m going to have to ask that you refer to me exclusively as ‘Your Majesty’ when I’m in charge,” he said, expression unwavering.

Your mouth dropped open for a second before you asked, “Wait, seriously?”

He broke into a mischievous grin. “No. But if you’d really like to, I suppose I wouldn’t stop you,” he said the last bit thoughtfully, and you playfully hit his arm with the back of your hand in admonishment. “Ooh, harder,” he said, still with an air of mischief, though you got the sense he wasn’t entirely kidding.

“Loki!” you gasped.

“Alright,” he laughed lightly. “Great God of Mischief will work just as well.”

“I am not calling you that.”

“You’re being so difficult.”

“Will you just tell me what you like to be called already? If you carry on like this, I swear, I will call you Captain.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said, glaring at you, and you raised an eyebrow as if to ask, care to test that theory? “Okay, I yield. But, honestly, it depends on the scene. If you’re comfortable with it, I’ll have you call me ‘sir’ most of the time, ‘daddy’ on special occasions. You’re a smart girl. I trust that you’ll know when those occasions come about.”

You just nodded, your mouth suddenly feeling dry. Why were you having such a reaction to Loki calling you a smart girl? He’d definitely noticed.

“What would you like to be called? When you’re the dominant?” Loki asked, saving you from your thought spiral.

“Oh, um. Ma’am is fine. None of the other terms really work for me, I don’t know why, they just seem kind of… too much, I guess,” you over-explained, feeling your cheeks start to heat up.

“Ma’am is just fine?” Loki pressed.

“No, it’s- it’s good. I, um, really like it.” Your cheeks flamed even hotter now, your gaze trained on the couch cushion.

Loki reached out and lifted your chin gently with his thumb and forefinger, making you look at him. “Come now, you were doing so well. Don’t get shy on me now,” he said, voice taking on that deep timbre that made you feel like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

“Okay,” you breathed, your mind gone completely blank as you looked at him.

“Good girl,” he said softly. He didn’t miss the way your body reacted to the praise, a smug smirk plastered on his face.

Bastard. You narrowed your eyes at him, shaking your head slightly to clear it. “That’s not fair,” you countered weakly.

“Isn’t it? I’m just trying to figure out what you like,” he feigned innocence.

“Right,” you said, only a little petulantly, trying to think of what else you wanted to ask him before he’d distracted you. “How do you feel about degradation?” You blurted out. “Receiving, I mean.”

That caught him off guard, to your great enjoyment. “I- I’m not sure. No one’s ever tried it.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve been tied up but no one’s ever called you names?”

“No,” he responded, frowning slightly. You could practically see the gears turning in his head. “I think I might be okay with it.”

“My honey, you’ve been so deprived,” you said with a pout. It was your turn to have a little fun now. “So,” you started, trailing your fingertips up his forearm, drawing his attention to your touch before you continued. “If, for example, I had you on your knees, and you were being so good for me, and I just happened to call you my obedient little slut-” he inhaled sharply, and you couldn’t help but grin, “-you would, theoretically, be okay with that?” You looked up into his eyes, seeing the flash of desire that had settled there.

“I think that would be acceptable,” he spoke, clearly putting in effort to keep his voice even.

You smiled, pleased with yourself. It was cute that he still tried to seem unaffected when you could literally feel the way his cock had stiffened against you. You shifted the position of your leg in his lap, lightly brushing against him, and he gasped.

“Pathetic,” you chide.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. As much as he may try to seem unimpressed with your teasing, he was certainly susceptible to it. “If you want us to get through the rest of the conversation, you’re going to have to stop that,” he says, but it comes out more like a plea than an order, and he’s sure that you’re going to be the death of him.

You chuckle, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. “Oh, this is gonna be so much fun.”

“It seems I’ve underestimated you, dearest,” he says, tone laced through with affection.

You bring a hand up to cup his cheek, drawing him closer to press a sweet kiss to his lips.

“Well, that’s a mistake we won’t make twice. Isn’t it, love?”

#loki x reader #loki laufeyson #loki smut #sub!loki #dom!loki #mcu loki #i had too much fun writing this lmao #it's the switching for me!!!#bisexual switch messes only in this house <3 #my fics #pls interact w this if you liked it i need validation lol

461 notes · View notes

ktheist · 4 years

Text

1 | friend in me.

“don’t confuse your party friends with your real friends.” (x)

muses. party friend!jungkook x reader ft. bestfriend!taehyung ft. ex-boyfriend!namjoon

genre. university au. fwb. f2l.

words. 6.1k

warnings. mentions of break up, mild exhibition, alcohol use, future mentions of joint, future smut, mature content

alternative title. to my dear friend.

final part. exclusives only (x)

note. this fic hasn’t been showing up in searches no matter how many times i repost and it’s got a special place in my heart so i really want it to reach the audience, that’s why i made a few changes in hopes to beat the odds lol. enjoy!

striking up an unlikely pact to look out for each other’s backs at parties, is the last thing you expect to do with jeon jungkook. sure, you may or may not find a reason to laugh at his lousy antics and corny pick up lines - he’s also a great kisser but that’s besides the point.

the point is, you’d like to keep him as that - the friend that you meet at parties and parties only. so when you see him on your campus grounds, naturally your first instinct is to stop, turn the opposite way you’re heading and where he’s coming from - and start fast-walking to the other end of the campus like the devil is after you.

except that devil comes in the form of denim jacket, white undershirt and wavy dark hair that easily falls over doe eyes that seem to sparkle when you freeze at the sound of your name and turn around to face him with an awkward smile.

he breaks into a mini jog, leaving his friends that you’ve never seen before, behind. your own friends who you’ve been walking with and ditched at the sight of him, gawping at you and the new face from the spot where you decided to leave them at.

why couldn’t they have gone on their merry way - regardless if you’d paused and trekked to the opposite direction you were heading to?

jungkook skids to a stop in front of you, pretty pink lips quirking after he tilted his head to shift his hair out of his eyes instead of pushing it back with his hands.

“hey,” he greets, glancing down at his scuffing vans before meeting your gaze again, the tip of his tongue running over his bottom lip before retreating back into his mouth, leaving a sheen of moistness on his lips, “i didn’t know you went here.”

willing yourself to smile, you push your hair to the back of your ear before wrapping your arms around your chest, “yeah,” you drag out with an awkward chuckle, not as oblivious as he is of the stolen glances coming from the people passing through the walkway.

“what are you doing here though?” you notice his own friends that he ditched waiting for him several feet away - a group of attractive men and women who clearly belong to the equally high place group from your own faculty.

and yet here he is, talking to you - the ghost with rounded glasses sitting atop her nose and faded chapsticks on her lips. out of all the days you could have looked more zombie-esque, jungkook had to show up at your faculty today.

he’s nice enough not to point it out though as his lips turn into an ‘o’ shape. if you focus, you’d probably see the light bulb going off in his head as the answer to your question hits him. though at this point, you’ve already been hit by your own realization of the reason for there being more people walking around with mechanical appendages and remote control of every kinds. it must be-

“we’re here for the robocup tournament,” he grins, excitement apparent in the way his eyes seem to widen as you can almost hear the screws in his brains working before the question tumbles out of his mouth-

“what about you? are you joining?”

you want to laugh.

and that’s the thing about jungkook - he’s so good at reading you that he knows something’s up. brows knitting together, “what’s... up?”

the shaking of your head is purely reactionary - you’ve made a few friends who came around to compete at times your faculty was the one to hosted it, like now. it’s not as serious as it seemed to be but it’s not entirely something you joke around either since it involved someone’s blood, sweat and tears to make the cut but-

“guess you haven’t heard about the long standing tradition of the circuit breaker’s string pulling. the competition’s rigged.” despite your too willing trip down memory land, you still let your eyes dart around in case anyone’s listening. after you’re sure no one was, only then do you finally go on, “every year, they pick a judge’s kid as part of the team - even if they weren’t enrolled in seollyu and were in some other non-robotics related university, they’ll get close to them and keep them around until the competition. one year, one of them even went as far as dating a judge’s daughter when they couldn’t recruit her into their team.”

swallowing down the bile, you pretend not to notice the complete downturn of his lips as you roll your shoulders in a shrug out of the need of having something to do that doesn’t require focusing on the conflicted, purse lipped frown on jungkook’s face.

“oh wow, we never heard anything like that in beongju.” he murmurs, eyes drawn to the grass a feet away as he contemplates.

“it’s okay, what matters is you guys have fun.” you wave a dismissive hand, smile more natural but still sporting its awkward tucks.

“yeah,” jungkook nods before he meets your gaze, smiling in a half-hearted attempt to ease his own mind, “who knows? maybe this year, beongju will come out victorious.”

you nod, chest blooming with hope - a wishful thinking perhaps, “maybe.”

it’s when his eyes twinkle with a different kind of excitement that you know the matter of the competition is past him, and that’s your cue to go.

“hey, are you-“

“i have a class to-

you both stop at the same time, staring at the other for the longest moment before jungkook offers for you to continue, “you first.”

“um,” you would have deflect it back to him out of politeness. that is, if you didn’t know that he was going to ask you if you were free. possibly to grab lunch or a smoothie somewhere. but that’s the thing, outside of parties, you’re a completely different person altogether. right now, you’re the all-work, no-play study-hard. none of your equally study hard friends are aware of how you are at parties - none of the people you know, know how you are at parties because you made sure to attend only those you’re sure you wouldn’t run into acquaintances. of course it’s difficult and there are a few familiar faces you can identify as people from your faculty at every party but barely which is a safe amount. so it doesn’t make sense to break the unspoken, mutual understanding of the core you and jungkook’s friendship is built on. he might have forgotten how important it was for you that you were strictly ‘fun’ friends, so it’s your job to remind him, “i have class right now.”

you take a step back in preparation to bolt towards said nonexistent on-going class, “but hey, good luck on robocup. oh yeah, what were you gonna tell me?”

jungkook’s “oh - uh,” shouldn’t have sent waves of relief to you the way it does, but when he mumbles a “nothing - it was nothing.” you couldn’t help but suppress a grateful sigh.

on any other occasion, with a person completely separate from jeon jungkook, you would have pressed on - encouraged them to say what they initially wanted to say. but instead, you shoot him a smile, “oh -okay. guess i’ll see you around?”

“uh,” it’s clear as day that he doesn’t want to just leave it up to chance to bump into you in this big building with at least a thousand occupants coming and going everyday throughout the competition but the way smacks his lips shut tells you he there’s something holding him back, so he settles with a, “yeah... see you around.”

“you know,” you pause, tendrils of reluctance forbidding you from relaying the tale of how you and jungkook met in hopes it was indicative enough but judging from the way jisoo has her eyebrows raised, lisa with her knowing smile, taehyung and jimin expectantly waiting but with the first actually shooting you an meaningful stare - it seems like you have no choice but to say it-

“we spoke a few times at different parties and realize we have the same party mutual and get invited to the same parties so... we decided to hang together... at parties.”

“hang,” lisa echoes, underlying tone couldn’t have been more obvious as she grins from ear to ear.

“please, no way in hell do you just hang with jeon fucking jungkook when there’s booze and a dozen of empty rooms involved.” jisoo comes barreling through like a bulldozer, hands in the air as she squeals at whatever scenario her mind is cooking up in her head.

laughter trickles out of your mouth as you hide your face in your palms in an attempt to avoid jisoo and lisa’s eyes and the things that they’re hinting at with a mere gaze.

“why?” taehyung’s baritone finally hits the air as he leans back against the recliner. once the silence settles in a second later and all eyes turn his way, he adds, “not that it’s any of our business but,” he shrugs, “he’s not really your crowd - not any of our crowd.”

that’s the million dollar question. taehyung hates beers and crowded places - which is a surprise given his social butterfly-ness among all five of you. jimin, jisoo and lisa do go parties - those that your closest friends would be at. otherwise, they aren’t adventurous as you.

maybe jimin has a another side that you don’t know - it’s a known fact that he has other friends. dance friends, drinking friends, and whatever type of people with similar interests who flock a certain direction.

just like how you had jungkook and the group of friends you hung out with at parties.

“i mean, my dance friends aren’t exactly your kind of crowd either,” jimin interjects from the floor, head lulled to the back to look at taehyung, “remember how you wanted to avoid hoseok at all costs after i brought you to a practice once?”

“yeah,” you instantly second, hand gesturing to the man in a ‘exactly what he said’ manner before turning to the taller guy, “everyone makes friends where their usual friends aren’t.”

“i guess,” he cedes after what felt like the longest pause in your history of friendship.

it is that moment, just as your muscles begin to relax, that your phone dings with a notification. unbeknownst to you that you still command the attention in the entire room, you cluelessly let check out the new text message.

koo: we lost ):

“it’s him.” lisa announces, the bed shaking as she scoots away when you try to swat her thigh.

“and she has him saved as koo,” she - without any trace of intentionally constructed pun, coos, hands clasped together next to her tilted head as she bumps it with jisoo who’s mimicking her gestures.

“he just texted to say he lost,” you clarify, shaking your head at the two girls’ antics.

not that it changes anything as jisoo leans her whole body against lisa, an arm on her forehead in a troubled manner, “now i wish i had a boyfriend.”

lisa hums in agreement, her long limbs extending to wrap around the older girl’s torso as she rests her chin on top of jisoo’s dark brown tresses.“me too, sweetie. me too.”

typing out a ‘i’m so sorry. it’s okay they don’t deserve your talent anyway ):’ with a mixture of emojis, you hit send just before turning to what jimin is saying.

“...go to one. i heard alpha sig is having one tomorrow,” then he turns to you, as though you bear an abundance of knowledge about which place is having a party and on what day, “right ____?”

it takes you a moment to piece together what he said. you didn’t hear the beginning but you’re sure it’s something along the lines of jimin setting the two lonely singles to break their 2 month no-party streak and maybe get that boyfriend they wanted.

“jimin, i’m not sure,” you say shortly before turning to the two girls,“not that that many good, upstanding citizen of men go to the parties i went to though but maybe there’s a miracle waiting for you girls,” you smile in genuine hopefulness while referring to an entirely hopeless place. but it turns into an emphatic one as the two girls fake cry about the minimal chance they have to get a - in what you could make out of jisoo’s fake bawling - hot, sexy party boyfriend. whatever that meant.

you don’t have the time to confirm it when your phone dings again.

koo: thanks i can always count on you to be real w me 🥺🥰

another grey bubble pops pushes the text you’re reading upwards.

koo: you coming to alpha sig’s party?

koo: we have to be here for the closing ceremony tmr anyway

koo: help me make good memories before i leave seollyu 🥺

you suppress the urge to roll your eyes at that. he’s only been here for one day and he got invited to one of the most hard-to-get-in parties on the campus.

naturally, you and jimin were invited from your underlying reputations. and naturally, whoever you bring is invited too.

except you’re not a fan of going to parties that you know you’d meet the exact people you didn’t want to meet.

lisa peeks at your phone the second time - and you didn’t even notice until she screams, “___’s going to alpha sig’s!”

“oh my god, will he be there?” jisoo leans her entire body over lisa in a reckless abandon to get a peek of what the younger one saw only to have you hold your phone away.

“um? privacy? anyone?” you offer while jisoo pouts.

“duh, she’s going because of him.” lisa says im a matter-of-factly, “otherwise, she wouldn’t even entertain the thought of going to any party infested with people we already had to see sober.”

“am not.” you counter, the matter of replying already long forgotten as you cross your arms over your chest, phone tucked in between the side of your boob and hand, “if i’m going, it’d be because i want to!”

“so you’re going?” jisoo blinks, eyes twinkling with hope. so are lisa’s.

you have no choice but to turn your cheek to a laughing park jimin on the floor. his pupils disappearing behind his lids. clearly, he’s not going to back you up. so you turn to the only other person who you thought would.

“if tae’s going then i’ll go,” you declare, already feeling the triumph of what the man would choose from his precedent choices. “not that you guys need me to get in since jimin’s already-“

“sure.” the taller man announces.

you’re forced to make a double take while your jaw drops in your lap along with jisoo and lisa’s while jimin blinks in surprise from your periphery.

completely conscious of the gazes boring into his skull, taehyung attempts to casually shrug it off as a- “since you guys are going, you know.”

jisoo yelps in celebration before going “great, who’s up for some chicken?” shooting up and sending the mattress shaking as she takes big steps over your legs and hops off the bed. hands planted on her hips, she glances around the room with the residue of a pleased smile from the decision of all five of you finally going to a party together.

“me!” lisa follows suit with the exception that she’s crawling on her hands and knees to get off the bed.

“me but i don’t want to get up.” jimin whines, unmoving from his spot which is lying on the fluffed pink carpet as taehyung’s birthday present to his otherwise creme themed room.

“come on, park. get your ass off the floor and to the parking lot - get it, park jimin goes to the parking lot?” jisoo begins tugging on his wrist, the sight rather comical considering how she’s trying to make a man twice her size sit up, let alone move to get to the car seeing as he’s the only one with one.

lisa shares a doubtful look with you and taehyung at the poorly made pun, questioning why jimin seems to be the only one chuckling but then again, he’s always been the easiest to entertain.

after huffing and puffing, jisoo finally plucks the boy off the floor. but getting him to walk the distance from his apartment to the car is another feat.

it’s when their voices echo in the hallway, and you and a certain taller man is left in the room, do you notice the difference in this silence compared to the rest as he pushes himself up.

“are you going for real?” you finally ask, throwing your feet over the bed.

taehyung’s lips pucker as he contemplates the pros and cons, “what’ll i do if i don’t go? binge watch maze runner and be reminded of the fact that all third movies suck?”

maybe he doesn’t hate parties as much as you initially thought. after all, it’s been a year since he vomited all over kim sowon while making out on the couch at alpha sig’s.

you grin, elbowing the man as you both make your way out of the room, “hey, maybe you could find yourself a girlfriend while you’re at it.”

taehyung’s laugh doesn’t reach his eyes but you chalk it up with the jitters of the thought of having alcohol course through his veins and surrounded by bodies on the dance floor, “huh, yeah.”

the day fly by between getting to classes and getting lunch - it was a feat to convince everyone to go to dumpling place just a little bit off campus but you’d managed and subsequently successfully avoided running into jungkook for the day.

“bih, what the fuck?” lisa gawks, jaw descended to the ground as she stares at your mini black crop top that stops a few inches above your high-waist ripped jeans.

if you didn’t show up to classes in sweats and oversized sweaters, round glasses and hair always up in your laziness to make them look presentable - every day, maybe your ability to throw on some eye make up and highlights over your foundation wouldn’t have been so much as a surprise.

unlike you, your friends have always been on top of their game when it comes to appearing like functioning members of society. the clothes they have now have also been worn to class before - that’s how you know their confidence is sky high while yours require a little bit of help depending on what you wear.

why they decided to adopt a munchkin like you into their otherwise perfect clique, you’ll never know - but maybe it had something to do with you looking like a lost puppy in your first year with your round glasses and the thick books you carry around. it was a matter of time you ran into someone and drop them - that someone being jisoo.

after that, the rest was history - your prejudices towards groups of attractive people have never been so diminished.

your hair bounces gently as you hop into the passenger seat, giggling shyly at the attention you’ve garnered with your otherwise usual getup for a fun time.

“if i knew you won’t have any problems surviving off skinny jeans and cute tops, i would have burned those baggy clothes a long time ago.” jisoo confesses, red lips curled into an impressed ‘o’ as she takes in your appearance.

you gasp, truly offended to know your day-to-day choice of outfit has never been any of your friend’s preference yet only now do they make it known - talk about fake friends! “don’t you insult my comfy clothes like that!”

a light bump on her shoulder forces her to tear her gaze away and turn her cheek to the grinning girl next to her, “maybe she has a reason to dress cute.”

and just like that, the two breaks out into coos. sending you signals with their entire face muscles as jimin chuckles from the driver’s seat.

“but you know, this is how ___ usually dress up for parties even like before she met jungkook.”

you send praises to the gods for sending you this blessing of a friend as you fix the two girls a smirk, posing like a model as much as the cramped space allows you, “nah, i got it from my momma.”

an onslaught of protest - denials - mixed with cheers erupt as you begin to poorly mimic that of models with your limbs pointing in every direction and body bending in weird angles. it doesn’t take long before laughter tumbles out of everyone’s mouth, the front seaters included - taehyung had achingly turned in his seat to attend your fashion show while jimin stole glances in the rearview mirror.

yoo jeongyeon is the first to wave you over. if there’s a grey area where party friends and real friends merge together, it’ll be her. you’ve gone to parties together and had fun - though the last time you did, you ended up waking up on the same bed with some guy on the floor.

jin? jun? jeong? j-something grinned when he woke up to the sight of you two, “so... can i get you girls’ number?”

jeongyeon didn’t bother to hold back her grimace and you’d strutted into the bathroom as if you didn’t hear him.

“kim taehyung, lisa manoban and kim jisoo.” she studies each one with an impressed, “how did jimin and ____ manage to haul your asses out and over here?’

“the single life they’ve been walking has finally slapped them in the face and they finally want-“ you get cut off by lisa’s fake chuckle that sounds every bit forced.

“-wasted.”

“-boyfriends!”

they end up saying at the same time. while jisoo is finds no fault in her confession, lisa’s face is heating up - coming second next to you when it comes to shying back into her shell when topics like these come to light.

“taehyung too.” jisoo hooks her hand around the aforementioned man’s arm, stopping him from slowly disappearing into the crowd like a certain park jimin has, her other one around younger girl.

“jeongyeon, you have introduce us to cute guys or we’ll end up dying from all this single-ness!”

at that, the woman burst into laughter, hand on her stomach as she tries and fails to suppress it.

“i don’t know,” she wipes a tear from the corner of her eyes, “isn’t that more of ____’s specialty?”

“uh,” it takes a heartbeat for you to register what jeongyeon is saying before the same heart in your chest crashes against the ground at her next words.

“everyone knows,” a meaningful smile quirks on her lips, “about you and-“

“i- uh, i think i heard jackson calling me - something about a group project.” you quickly say, cursing yourself for the less than plausible excuse to get away.

and the three girls think so too as they call you out for it but you don’t stop until they’re out of earshot and out of the spotlight, ending up at a table full of booze.

you pop a can open, letting the bitter taste wash over your suddenly dry throat. the alcohol hasn’t got to you yet but you know it will and maybe that’s the only thing you have going on as you walk around, waving to people you know and lingering to talk with some, noticing that most of them are halfway to getting drunk.

some time later, you spot jisoo, lisa and jeongyeon dancing with some of your close friends. beer in their hands. you wonder how they’re going to find a boyfriend or even a hook up if they just keep to their circle - that was the clear as day distinction between you and them.

where they feel the most comfortable surrounded with familiar faces - regardless of whether they like them - you find comfort on a room full of strangers and the knowledge that you wouldn’t see them anymore after that.

but that wasn’t the case for jungkook. after one too many parties and several ‘hey, i was hoping i’d see you’s, a sense of camaraderie starts forming. of course, rules don’t apply where it would in a normal, socially sober setting.

you were friends as much as you were fucking like rabbits. finding comfort in mornings where you wake up without a sense of recollection, a throbbing headache and a lump of body underneath the sheets only to sigh in relief upon finding out who it was as though to say ‘oh thank god it’s you and not some rando i won’t know how to politely kick out while emphasizing that i have class in like 5.’

you embark on a visual searching journey to look for the same boy who wouldn’t mind if you had to shut the door in his half-awake face on mornings you had to get ready for class and still smiled at you later that night when you meet at a different party - until your gaze lands on a pair of brown eyes.

instead of wide and doe-like, the one that captured yours are hooded and heavy, boring into the windows of your soul. all of a sudden, you’re brought back to the same time last year. back when you were just a freshie with a stomach full of butterflies as you shyly look away from those piercing eyes.

but now, all you feel is your stomach rearranging and bile almost rising to your throat as you take a swig of the beer before melding into the crowd.

alpha sig is known for their closeness with circuit breaker, having been been sponsored by your own faculty for those with outstanding achievements to stay on-campus.

but none of the circuit breakers ever come to these parties - or at least, he never did.

almost as though the stars and planets aligned to manifest your only thought, a familiar voice wraps around the syllables of your name. and you would have continued on your merry way and pretend like you didn’t hear anything, if only you’re not in a hallway where there’s least people and subdued music compared to the dance floor you just escaped from.

“i heard you’ve been around,” kim namjoon stands at the end of the hallway, decked in plain gray t-shirt underneath a leather jacket and black pants. he takes easy, casual steps towards you with a dimpled smile that couldn’t have been more vain, “but i couldn’t believe my ears,” his shoulder line jolts as he shrugs, “well, until now, at least.”

“who would’ve thought? the cute ___ who blushed from a simple peck would have this side to her.” he stands a good half a head over you, his cologne’s changed from the last time you’d come in such a close proximity like you are now.

“yeah,” you drag out in a half-singing voice, face schooled into an unfazed expression, “i mean, it’s better than going around tricking girls into sleeping with you, right?”

at that, his smile instantly drops into a hard set frown as he lowers his voice, “i didn’t ‘trick’ you into having sex with me,” his lips quirk up at possibly a recollection of that night, “as i recall, you begged me to take your virginity.”

“that was before i knew your shitty motives to get brownie points from my dad just so you could win a stupid competition,” your voice is equally low and threatening, body heating up from the remembrance of those unreplied texts and the look in his eyes when you approached him that monday after the tournament - like he didn’t even know you.

namjoon laughs - the sound dripping with mockery as he throws his head back slightly, “come on, that was like a year ago. get over it.”

that’s it.

that’s when your mind is the clearest. no amount of beer could tell you otherwise - that this man right here doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt on the occasions that your friends begin spilling hot tea about the leader of circuit breaker and the things the members have done to win. they didn’t know about you and namjoon - nobody really does. you should have known those late night meetings and nothing but a polite smile when you pass in the hallways - were all red flags.

ones that you willfully ignore in the guise of ‘i’m not ready to tell everyone yet’s and ‘it doesn’t matter, if nobody knows, right? as long as i know you’re my girl’s

“you’re a dick.”

you push past him, cursing internally when he doesn’t budge and you’re the one who ends up with an almost dislocated shoulder.

it is only when you’re pushing a through the sea of bodies and swatting hands that try to grope your ass, does a certain doe-eyed, bunny smile enter your vision.

almost instantly, the urge to pinch the hand on your lower back disappears after knowing who its owner is. you’re pressed up against each other - the dance floor doesn’t allow much room for personal space and you’ve shared your personal spaces with each other far too many times to need that kind of distance from each other.

“i was looking for you,” the alcohol in his breath doesn’t feel all that repugnant as he nears his mouth to the shell of your ear, igniting a fire that kim namjoon had set up with the previous exchange.

he stands straighter, lips puckered sulkily as he swayed your bodies together, “we lost and everyone in my team had girlfriends or boyfriends to comfort them-”

your hands that cup his face and digs into his messy tresses make him clamp his mouth shut. the gentlest protrusion of his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows in anticipation.

he asked and you shall grant it.

girlfriend. fuck buddy. what difference does it make?

“i know, koo. i’m sorry you wasted your time on that dumb competition.” you purr, noticing how his gaze becomes glazed as he steals a glance at your lips before meeting your eyes again.

a heartbeat later, you’re pressing your mouth against the softest pair of lips you’ve ever known. mentally, you make a note to ask what he uses to keep them smooth and kissable.

he snaps out of his stupor a moment later, hands snaking down to grab your ass like he’s done this a million times before and knows just how to get you moaning into his mouth. almost as natural as breathing, he slips his tongue past your lips tasting you.

another moan escapes you when he begins kissing down your chin, trailing sloppy kisses on your neck and suckling on the one spot that gets your heart palpitating on your chest. hands tucking on his pleated outer shirt for the sake of having something to hold.

you bring jungkook’s face to yours, noticing the sheen on his pinker lips before pressing another deep kiss. he doesn’t to think twice to react. one hand on your free hand slipping underneath your crop top. when someone shove into jungkook, almost sending you tumbling backwards and ending up doing the same to another person - jungkook curses. “fucking drunktards.”

a giggle escapes your lips, “pot calling the kettle black? we were probably bumping into people on nights we were shit faced drunk.”

“probably.” he shrugs, fingers lacing around your wrist as he guides you off the dance floor and into the kitchen where he doesn’t waste a second in hoisting you up onto the counter and slips in the space between your legs.

“hello.” you murmur, resting your forehead against his, cheeks hot and body aflame.

“hey, beautiful.” he fixes you a lazy grin, lips drawing closer to your mouth but before he manages to close the hair breadth’s distance, he stops.

“wait.” he murmurs against your lips, eyes glued to them as though he’s picturing another part of him on them.

“what?” you whisper, just as enticed by his own lips as your try to pull him closer with your arms that’s wrapped around his neck.

“are you drunk?” are his next words and you’re well aware the basis of where it spurred on.

once upon several parties ago, you’d included stopping you from putting on a risque show if your drunken self ever abandoned your self-restraint. jungkook, on the other hand, doesn’t love attention per se but he doesn’t shy away from it either.

“i’m not,” you assure, drawing closer to his lips by the second like moth drawn to flames. but you have enough sense to tilt your head to steal a glance towards the direction where you’ve been feeling a hole being drilled into your skull. your heart skips a beat when you catch namjoon’s eyes - he’s leaning against the wall with his friends either standing or sitting on the couch, beer in one hand.

“but i need your help to make someone jealous.”

jungkook follows your gaze towards namjoon and his friends a few feet away. it doesn’t take much for him to piece two and two together - especially after your a apparent animosity while telling him about the competition being rigged.

“ah,” he hums - you could just hear the smile in his voice. your knees weaken at the touch as you begin kissing the patch of skin closest to your lips which is his jawline. “i don’t know if i should be sad or happy that you’re finally agreeing to have sex in public with me because of some what’s-his-face guy.”

“not have sex sex,” you correct, delight filling your chest when he shivers - whether it’s from your touch of the image your words are painting in his head, you’re not sure, “but make out with me like you’re a kiss away from fucking me senseless?”

“i thought that’s a given?”

not needing to be told twice, you find yourself being devoured like a little rabbit in the arms of the beast. the background around you blurs together as you inhale jungkook’s scent, feel the warmth seep from his body to yours. your hand snakes down in between your bodies with one goal in mind: the gentle protrusion brushing against your own crotch.

“fuck a show,” jungkook hisses harshly against your mouth, breathing becoming labored as you caress him over the layer of his jeans, “where’s the closest room we can get to?”

you nod in agreement, hopping off the counter and tugging on your top to keep your nipples from being exposed after jungkook’s hand fall away from your breast at your retreat.

“they might have empty ones upstairs.” you tug on jungkook’s hand, making your way to the staircase and trying not to step over drunken bodies making out on the ground or simply passed out.

it’s when you get one foot on the stairs, that a clamoring thud erupts from somewhere on the dance floor - the air that was once blaring now pin drop silent. jungkook’s cheek presses against your back as he wraps his arm around your torso, a peck landing on your shoulder, not telling you to move but not really interested at the reason you paused to peer through the gaps of bodies that seemed to be looking at something just around the corner.

“shut the fuck up, dickhead!” a voice thunders against the walls after another thud that sounded like heavy equipment falling against the ground - and possibly breaking.

“must be those football guys fighting over a girl.” jungkook comments, uninterested.

on any other occasion, you would have agreed and gone on your merry way but it’s the unsettlingly familiar baritone that made you freeze in your spot in the first place. it’s with a rattling realization and the sight of jisoo among the throng of people, calling out “taehyung, leave it!” that gets you to trudge back to the floor, vaguely aware of jungkook trailing from behind with a “what’s wrong?”

eyes bore into your skull as you finally push through the throng of people and burst onto the scene. jisoo has her arms around taehyung’s while jimin appear miniature as he stands between the taller man and an unnervingly calm namjoon. the latter wipes a trace of blood from his busted lower lip as chills run down your spine when the man’s eyes falls on you, lips curving into a vain smile.

“why don’t you ask her yourself?” his voice drums against the walls - loud and clear to those who are watching which is basically everyone here.

“come on, ___, everyone wants to know if you begged me to be your first and how we fucked in the back room of the student lounge.”

#bts smut #jungkook smut #bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #bts fic #bts fanfiction #jungkook fic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook #bts #bts x reader #jungkook x reader #bts imagines #jungkook imagines

541 notes · View notes

the-east-art · 4 years

Note

Can I have a general overview of Zelda? As well as your personal top rated zelda games?

I had a huge response to this typed up and my laptop died. I shall try to recreate it.

Important note - Zelda games were initially unconnected games that reused/played off of similar themes and ideas. They weren’t initially supposed to flow together in a certain order, so really they can be played in any order you want! The Zelda timeline and the overall lore and stuff is there if you want it, but isn’t mandatory.

The whole post will be under the cut since it’ll get long fast

Common Characters:

Link - the silent protagonist. He is the main character of the games and is usually a pretty blank slate. Coming from humble origins such as a blacksmiths apprentice he journeys to save the land, typically Hyrule.

Zelda - the princess. Usually a minor supporting character or a damsel in distress her involvement changes from game to game, although typically the more recent the game the more involved she is. Occasionally she is accompanied by a nurse maid called Impa who watches over her.

Ganon - the antagonist/villain. His exact history and background changes from game to game, the one most popular one for the fandom being the only male of the desert tribe called the gerudo. Sometimes he’s just a big old pig tho.

Common races: (some games have unique races for the game, but these ones reoccur across several titles.)

The Hylians - the residents of Hyrule, Link and Zelda are Hylians. They have pointed ears ‘to hear the voice of the goddesses’ according to legend. A kingdom that actually pretty normal citizens.

The Zora - fish people and to be honest some of the cooler designs in the Zelda series. They are usually associated with Nayru. An elegant race. Comes with a river counterpart that is usually isn’t very nice.

The Gorons - Rock people that live in the mountains, usually at a volcano called Death Mountain. They all have masculine pronouns so that’s cool. Usually associated with Din. Very friendly.

Kokiri - the small children of the forest that never age. Sometimes they appear as the koroks, little wooden guys that make wooden bell sounds when they move. Cute and secretive, they live in the Lost Woods. Associated with Farore.

The Gerudo - A desert tribe made up of exclusively women. Supposedly men are born to their tribe once every hundred years and becomes Ganondorf. Usually are wary of outsiders and often painted in a bad light (coughracismcough). Sometimes they are associated with their own Goddess of The Sand but other than that aren’t directly tied to the Hylian pantheon.

The MacGuffins:

Master Sword - Special sword that is like the only thing that can get rid of Ganon. A lot of the games revolve around finding it and restoring it’s power.

The Triforce - a lot of games revolve around finding or protecting this in some way shape or form. Supposedly if you have all three pieces it will grant your hearts deepest wish. The three pieces are Courage (held by Link and crafted by the goddess Farore) Widsom (held by Zelda and crafted by the Godess Nayru) and Power (held by Ganon and crafted by the Godess Din). The three goddesses made the world and the triforce. There is also a fourth goddess called Hylia, but she’s really only relevant for like two games so far. She’s associated with the triforce, Zelda, and the master sword.

(I’ve done my best to be brief but if you can any questions or anything feel free to ask and I can expand on anything!)

For someone first coming into the series Wind Waker (gamecube, Wiiu) is a good place to start. It explains and explores a lot of the lore and ideas of the story and has my favorite interpretation of Ganon. Ocarina of Time (N64, Gamecube, 3DS) is a fan favorite, although I just thought it was good, but it also has a lot of formative concepts that the series is based on.

My personal faves are:

Skyward Sword

The Oracle Games (lol they’re Gameboy color games)

Majoras Mask

Breath of The Wild

(Twilight Princess also isn’t bad,and Wind Waker and Ocarina of time as I said are good. Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass are good but they both have things that make them frustrating.)

HOWEVER if you can’t buy games and consoles (like me when I was a wee lass) I highly recommend the manga adaptation by Akira Himekawa! As a kiddo I remember going to the library and checking out those little mangas and falling in love. None of them are a perfect one to one to any of the games, more an artistic interpretation, so even if you read them you can still play the games and get a fresh experience, but they’re a good way to get to experience the Zelda stories in my opinion. All enjoyment of Four Swords comes from the manga tbh which is far more interesting than the game.

I hope this was helpful!

(Fun Fact - I have never played the A Link To The Past or Minish Cap, just read the mangas. I was only able to play games like Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time by borrowing them from a friend who I no longer am close to so I’ve only played either of those games once on the gamecube, probably why they can’t really be in my favorite list since I’ve never been able to revisit them).

#loz #legend of zelda

27 notes · View notes

exeggcute · 4 years

Note

Would you mind elaborating on your job search experience? I found your sankey chart really interesting and informative!!

Did you get something related to your degree?

In my experience most job applications I hear back from turn out to be spam or BS. Which is SUPER exhausting and SUPER disheartening. What are some warning signs you have learned to look out for that something is sketchy or exploitative or scammy?? Thanks for anything you’re willing to share 🥺

yeah for sure! I'm glad you liked the chart, tracking my job applications in a spreadsheet finally paid off lol.

I may be a bit of an outlier in the typical millennial experience of Job Search Hell (at least this time around) because I finally managed to get a foothold in my field and have pretty concrete experience for a specific job title that (1) has consistent hiring demand, albeit with a fair amount of competition among candidates and (2) was already remote-friendly prior to the pandemic so it's somewhat easier to scour job listings when you aren't restricted to your immediate geographic location. (granted, the wider selection of remote roles to choose from is somewhat offset by the fact that everyone else in the applicant pool is also unrestricted by location, so you have more choices but also more competition. the ratio likely evens out overall). I exclusively applied to (or considered) remote roles, but there's a handful of on-site jobs in my area (at least in the Before Times)—though those only crop up sporadically and are also hypercompetitive.

for context, my 2018-2019 job search (immediately after graduating college) spanned nine miserable months, although not continuously; I had three separate false starts where I quit a shitty internship, quit a shitty online job, and got fired from an in-person job, but over the course of those nine months I probably sent in like four hundred applications total and had about a dozen interviews, most of which were fucking bananas. nearly all of these job applications were for in-person roles, and I was applying for stuff pretty much at random—unlike this last time around, when every single job I applied to (or was approached to consider) either had the same title as my last role or was functionally identical in terms of job duties but had a slightly different name. all of this is *related* to my degree, broadly speaking, but in practice almost nothing I studied in college applies directly to my job. it's a weird situation because you can technically major in this exact field (or enroll in certification programs for it) but very few people do. having SOME kind of degree is pretty much a requirement (undergrad at a minimum, grad school is nice but not necessary unless you're really specialized), but having a BA in english or communication is about as common as having a BS in comp sci or engineering. (literature major here.) the preference for a BA or BS varies between company and specific sub-industry (more specialized roles generally prefer people who have a degree in that particular area), but once you have a few years of experience under your belt people stop caring for the most part.

getting my foot in the door with experience was 100% the most difficult part of this—and honestly, was the main differentiating factor between this job search and the last. I did have some pre-graduation job experience that I was able to leverage at the end of my nine-month search that landed me my last job, but I didn't figure that out until way too late in the game. it's not a one-to-one analogue with what I do now, but it was close enough that I figured out ways to classify it as relevant experience and boost my "years doing X role" number from 0 to Not Zero. (the "you need experience to get experience" paradox is only solved by a bit of creative reframing, lol.) once I had that purported experience under my belt, I was able to get a job that gave me actual tangible experience, which blows the whole thing wide open on future job search cycles.

which is all to say: there's nothing wrong with twisting things a bit for your benefit, so long as it's not something that'll bite you in the ass later. reframing particular skills or experience to suit a potential role is a workable strategy as long as you know you're actually capable of doing the things that role requires. don't lie about knowing how to build rockets if you’re applying to a job at NASA.

the spam shit is way too common with job applications these days, whether it's outright fake listings or vaguely scummy shit masquerading as a cool place to work. specific red flags vary, but some things I look out for:

job listings that don't clearly name the company you'll be working for. exceptions obviously apply, like if you apply through a specialized job board or staffing site that anonymizes its clients, but if a listing just says it's an "exciting opportunity" or "fun workplace," it's probably not. if there is a name, google it.

check out glassdoor ratings from past employees. if a place has a really shitty rating or reviews that consistently mention egregious shit in the workplace, you're better off saving the effort. certain places will also have ratings from applicants and interviewees, which might give you more insight into whether it's worth looking into.

anything that requires you to pay the employer for the privilege of working there.

for writing gigs specifically: any freelance gig that requires you to submit fully-completed work but doesn't guarantee that they'll pay you for each submission, only the ones they approve, and you won't know if it's approved until after you already wrote it. content mills suck across the board but these are the worst of the worst.

general corporate bullshit speak like "work hard, play hard," "fast-paced environments" where you "learn on the job," any indication that you'll "always be in a working mindset" or that "you're never truly off the job," or job listings that make it sound like you'll be doing completely random things on any given day with no consistent job duties.

any place that lists "free coffee" under a list of employee benefits. it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I swear it's a huge red flag... if cheap instant coffee is their best shot at convincing you it's a good place to work, it's gonna be a nightmare.

#sorry this was WAY longer than I expected it to be #also if you're searching right now best of luck!!!

8 notes · View notes

ravencodes · 4 years

Text

Happy New Year!

Hello lovelies, and happy new year! I just wanted to sort of update everybody on some things and let you know my plans for this year.

To start, I want to discuss my thoughts on unlimited sales now that I've been doing it for a while. First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone who supported me on this endeavor. I know when I originally asked about thoughts on unlimited sales that I had a couple of people who didn't seem too thrilled with the idea. This made me a bit nervous to go forward with it, but because the majority of people that gave me feedback thought it was a good idea, I took the plunge. I also said that I might not have all of my premades be unlimited going forward. I bring this up because I have changed my mind on that point. Unlimited sales has kind of changed the game for me this year. I can offer you guys my work at a decent price while also feeling like I'm being paid appropriately for my time and effort. So this is me officially saying that all of my premade skins and template sets going forward will most likely be unlimited sales. Apologies to those that aren't a fan, but from my perspective this is the best way to do it. As some of my fellow coders have pointed out, if you want the exclusivity of being the only one with a particular design, you should commission a coder directly.

My goals for this year are pretty simple. I'd like to try and release new things a bit faster. The next thing you should see up for sale is the Wicked skin I previewed in October. I'm still trying to battle my inner voice with that skin because it is my first jump into responsive design which has been a challenge and I struggle with that feeling of things looking too empty. If you've been keeping an eye out for this project, don't be surprised if things end up looking a bit different than the images I initially shared. I keep changing my mind on aspects of this skin and I also don't want to release something that isn't the best I can give you guys. Coding is an ever evolving art, and I'm constantly learning and trying to impliment new things into my projects. With any luck, I hope to have this skin finished by the end of January. Of course, life happens so I won't make any promises!

Lastly I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me this year. Followers, customers and my fellow coders and friends that reblog me, you guys are amazing and know that it always makes my day when I see your support and kind words. I kind of stopped reblogging other coders because I was getting DMs from people thinking their work was mine (even with the inclusion of a not mine hashtag lol), but I'd like to start doing this again. For anyone that would like a peek at other coders, my follow list is almost exclusively other jcink coders that I have found. I've done this specifically so I can point you toward my peers with a link on my tumblr page titled Other Coders. Please check them out! There are so many talented coders in this community that deserve the love.

All this being said, sorry for the novel and I wish you all a great year!

My Payhip Store: https://payhip[dot]com/LittledoveCodes Discord: littledove#9513

#update #littledovecodes

6 notes · View notes

pulaasul · 4 years

Text

Digimon Adventure Tri – Daisuke and the others? Who are they?

A Digimon Adventure Tri review.

----------

This review may be a bit late, but I didn’t watch the fifth movie because I was spoiled by a certain plotpoint and tropes and I really detest tropes of that plotpoint. Considering that I opted not to watch the fifth movie, I didn’t watch the sixth movie as well, I may get confused at the chronology of the events.

I had watched Last Evolution Kizuna, the review of which is linked here, thankfully the producers of Kizuna opted to have an original story as opposed to continuing from the plot threads that Tri left hanging over the course of six movies.

With the reason for this review’s lateness out of the way, let’s continue on with the Tri’s review.

------------

Despite the lateness, I am reviewing [デジモンアドベンチャーtri - Dejimon Adobenchā] Digimon Adventure Tri

As with some of the movies I had reviewed on my blog, I have an alternative title for Digimon Adventure Tri as a whole.

デジモンアドベンチャーtri 大輔たちわだれだ？or Dejimon Adobenchā Daisuke-tachi wa dare da?

Digimon Adventure Tri – Daisuke and the others? Who are they?

TL:DR

Tri was an enjoyable watch. If you want more characterization of the OG chosen 8 and their respective Digimon, it’s a definite watch.

If you’re a big fan of the 02 kids, they do acknowledge them, but better not to expect anything on that front to avoid disappointment.

For me, Digimon Adventure Tri as a whole is a 6.8/10 for me.

I love the many things they did here, but both my bias for the 02 kids and the many things happening just left a bad taste in my mouth.

If that doesn’t hint my love for the 02 kids, this is your confirmation XD.

-----------

I’ll start with the movie series’ art style. I still maintain my stance that I do not like the art style they chose for Tri. I will, however, expand on my reasons from the other review.

Tri’s art style is better suited for still images rather than animated. The best suited comparison I can make, and I’m sure a lot of people will protest, but it’s like the Pokemon’s Sun and Moon anime art style.

From what I heard, the new Pokemon art style focuses more on animation detail and flow. Tri’s animation and art style, while a major improvement from the fights seen in Adventure and 02, still come short seeing the ‘derpy faces’ and awkward poses found in the movie.

(Yamato has bulging pecs and it looked like both Taichi and Yamato skipped leg day)

The new art style does make the ENTIRE CAST absurdly attractive from Taichi to Himekawa even down to the background characters who have something unique in their designs despite just being one off characters.

The new art style does lessens the “cartoonish” vibes we got from the first two Adventure seasons of Digimon, so no extra-large heads, hands and/or feet. You could definitely feel that this was an updated version of the previous art style, although taken to extremes.

Although… Jiggle physics are seen on the Digimon.

------------

PLOTWISE...

Having watched the entire movie series, I can definitely understand why the 02 kids were given that treatment. However, there were plenty of instances to incorporate them into the plot organically than what we were shown.

The overall plot was heart wrenching, it delves into the themes of sacrifice and unchecked grief.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT! BE WARNED!!!

We’ll backtrack a bit, I stated above about how the 02 cast could’ve been incorporated into the plot organically than what we were shown.

There were many instances where they could’ve been mentioned by anyone of the cast: the appearance of the Digimon Emperor, Hikari and Takeru checking up on Ken after the Emperor’s appearance, even the instances where they welcome Meiko into the group by encouraging her in times of distress; among other things.

A simple muttering of “where are they?” or “how are they doing?” from anyone, especially from Hikari and Takeru who were a part of the 02 team, would’ve made their exclusion from the main events a bit bearable and understandable.

Them not acknowledging their absence is a very out of character: for Takeru and Hikari, as they were teammates; from Taichi and Yamato as they mentored Daisuke, the former passing the goggle-torch unto him; Mimi and Sora for Miyako; Joe and Koushiro who has commented how reliable Iori was and how his thirst for knowledge was an admirable trait.

all my cons bullet points are my salt towards the 02 kids’ absence lol

In other matters, another thing worthy of criticism, this is for the franchise as a whole, is the fact that there’s a Leomon death inserted in every iteration of Digimon. (01&02 have the original Leomon, Tamers had Juri’s Leomon, Frontier both had Ice Leomon and KaiserLeomon in Kouichi Kimura, Savers had BanchoLeomon.)

Leomon’s death this time around fails to have an impact considering it has become a meme nowadays. Anyone vaguely aware of the franchise would even joke about the Leomon’s screentime before he dies, which was the case in the Tri movies.

There are two events in the Tri movies that didn’t really needed to be there, which really hampered my score for the movie series. First one is how the Mysterious Person, using Young Gennai’s form, to lick Sora’s face.

Another event that didn’t need to happen was how the same Mysterious Person choked Meiko to the point of her losing consciousness, those events IN THE SAME MOVIE really put me in an uncomfortable state, as did a lot of people.

This may be my bias speaking, but I really don’t like how Daigo died in the movie series. I am sure his death potentially served to raise the stakes of the plot, but not really.

The stakes of the plot was already at an all-time high with showing the “deaths” of the 02 kids in the first few minutes of the first movie. It’d raise the stakes even higher HAD THE OG 8 CHOSEN CHILDREN ACKNOWLEDGED THE ABSENCE OF THE 02 KIDS.

Daigo’s death was unnecessary for the stakes were already planted, but they failed to sow those particular seeds hence his death was needed. That and I really love Daigo Nishijima.

Tri could’ve been a rescue movie on top of stopping the apocalypse movie, Meicoomon shenanigans included.

I will admit that learning of Taichi’s supposed death in the tri movies, turned me off from watching the movie series to its completion, back when this was first released. Learning that Daigo, my favorite character, dies in the next one really turned me off from the franchise. Watching it now, I still maintain my stance that he didn’t need to die.

Devimon’s appearance really felt tacked on, he would’ve been a great plot point for Takeru to overcome in the movie, instead we got a few seconds of appearance then nothing. Not even delving into Takeru’s psyche about Devimon’s appearance.

The entire last movie was needlessly dark and that’s says a lot.

-------------

Considering this is a review, no review is complete until you state all the positive things you can say about the movie.

As with the debut season of the franchise, Character interactions are at the forefront of the movie series. In here we learned things about them, including Hikari’s teasing remarks towards Takeru or how Yamato is actually scared of ghost stories.

We also learned that the Teenaged Wolves broke up, due to musical differences as Yamato claimed and formed two new bands. “Knife of Day” and “World of the Knife”. The fact that the characters saying the band names have a Might Guy teeth shine effect on them was incredibly hilarious.

Koushiro being a blushing mess when it comes to Mimi was also great.

The viewers can really see the entire group’s dynamic with each other.

The digimon themselves aren’t just one-note characters. They may act as a foil to their human partners, it doesn’t change the fact that they weren’t one-note compared to what we’ve seen in both Adventure and 02.

Interactions aside, each human character having breakdowns and developing in the movie series was another thing I liked about Tri, tying them to digivolving to ultimate/mega level was a pretty neat idea.

It means that Taichi and Yamato aren’t the sole stars of the Adventure saga now.

Speaking of characters, the new characters in this movie-series [Daigo Nishijima, Maki Himekawa, Meiko Mochizuki] were introduced organically and were pretty great in their roles. The twist that the former two were Chosen Children before Taichi and the others was neat as well.

The three of them performed their roles pretty well: Daigo being a shady mentor, who’s loyalty is divided between his student and his work; Meiko being the new kid on the block really helped establish how out of place she really is, it does help that Mimi was incredibly welcoming towards her; Maki’s unchecked grief led her to taking drastic steps just to be reunited with her partner digimon, kickstarting the whole plot of Tri.

[I have a theory that Daisuke and the others were reporting to Maki, once she learned that they were aware of Yggdrasil’s plans, she led them to a trap that was when they were one-shotted by Alphamon.]

We go back to Leomon. It was nice to see a familiar face. Even his scenes were hilarious and awesome. Him being able to stave off the infection from various points in the movie he was in was also great. It makes sense in character as he does have incredible will power, going back to the Adventure days when he was possessed by Devimon’s black gears.

I also appreciate that the boys and girls had equal opportunities at being the eye candy. The boys were the eye candies during their time in the hot springs, while Mimi and Meiko had their chance as eye candies during the school festival.

Last and certainly not the least, were the new arrangements of the Original Sound Track of the Digimon Adventure themes from Butter-fly to Brave Heart’s orchestral version. They’re simply that good to listen in a loop.

-------------

As for suggestions, I have a few. This is constructive criticism after all.

Acknowledge the absence of the 02 cast.

Explain why they were absent in the first place, or at least what the characters think why they were absent.

From vacation abroad

On Yacht

Even visiting people out of Tokyo would also work

Both Leomon and Daigo didn’t need to die. Mortally wounded characters are fine, makes us think they’re dead for a few minutes to delve into character development, as was the case for Taichi and Hikari.

Make the 02 kids’ lives as stakes in the plot.

Cut back on the flashback images.

Exposition is also good, even Taichi voicing out his hesitance would’ve made for a great character moment, instead of just glaring at the enemy.

D.R Gennai shouldn’t have licked Sora. That event really didn’t need to happen.

D.R Gennai should’ve just let Meiko bleed to the point of unconsciousness instead of choking her as he taunts Meicoomon to fear and give in to her infections.

Devimon should’ve been an earlier opponent that was later reused in the ending movie to show how much Takeru has grown add in digivolving to Seraphimon.

A video file of Daisuke’s and the others’ defeat at the hands of Alphamon should’ve been viewed after the reboot happened, that would’ve raised the stakes higher.

Daisuke and the others should’ve joined the last fight in the last movie. Escaping from the hospital through their Digimon before collapsing at the very end.

I have no problem with Daigo’s partner becoming Baihumon. I think it’d been better had it been Azulongmon, considering he was the goggle head during his time and thus the leader of his group.

We know that Azulongmon is the leader of the Four Digimon Soverigns.

I think it’d come full circle had Daigo been partnered with Azulongmon.

I think the movie would then end with everyone visiting Daisuke and the others, Meiko included, introducing her to them.

Overall, I give the movie series a 6.8 out of 10 rating. It was a good watch, but the plot fell once they delved into darker themes and darker events for the sake of being dark and without substance. There were a couple of events that didn’t need to happen but happened for the sake of being dark.

Daigo’s death was certainly one of those events. The stakes could’ve been raised higher had the 02 kids were integrated into the plot and not just relegated into glorified silhouette cameos.

These suggestions would still run the course of the plot we got in Tri, but it would’ve flowed the plot organically and didn’t go dark for the sake of being dark.

I wanted to be generous with my rating, but it just won’t do. Even my bullet points review had more Cons than Pros. Factor in my bias for the 02 kids, and you get a 6.8 rating.

#digimon adventure tri #taichi yagami #daisuke motomiya #takeru takaishi #hikari yagami #yamato ishida #mimi tachikawa #joe kido #koushirou izumi #meiko mochizuki #daigo nishijima #maki himekawa #sora takenouchi #hackmon #alphamon #ordinemon #review

30 notes · View notes

royallyprincesslilly · 5 years

Text

Title: Rumor Has It

Chris Evans x Famous Reader Uriah “Riah” Tyler

Warning: Cursing

Word Count: 1.7K

Summary: Inspired by a video of Chris and his co-star Ana De Armas on their press tour for Knives Out at where she kept touching his chest and face standing about five inches apart while talking to him. This was not asked for, just something I thought up because of it. Also, I don’t know what this is. LOL

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

“Come on, Riah; you need to be in front of that camera in five!” Your personal assistant/ cousin, Zora's voice, was loud as hell.

You rolled your eyes and walked out the bathroom where you were checking your messages trying to get some time to yourself. It had been a long ass day. You’d been awake since four in the morning, and it was nearing six, and still, you were doing this photoshoot. When you walked into the room you passed the wall-mounted flat-screen TV to get to your makeup artist/best friend, Kizzy. You glanced at the TV as you sat down and did a double take.

“Turn that up.”

“You saw it here first guys. This is exclusive footage caught by someone on the set. This is Chris Evans and his co-star Ana De Armas who he stars with in their new movie Knives Out. As you can see, Ana is touchy-feely. She touches his chest several times before his face and beard. Onlookers on the set said the two laughed and joked nonstop and had an easy sort of air around them, an air similar to those who’ve either been best friends for life, married or who’ve been intimate. As you guys know Ana and Chris have said they didn’t know each other before filming of this movie, so that leaves two other possibilities,” Harvey gossiped on the Thursday evening episode of TMZ.

“I mean, does it really? The guy is married to none other than fashion model turned actress Uriah Tyler. So, we know that he and Ana aren’t married,” Shavonne, another commentator at TMZ added with her hand out to say, “hold on now.” She was the only black girl there.

“That only leaves one other possibility,” Dax reported. You knew all their faces well. You’d spent some time becoming familiar with them from your PR team when you were single, so you knew who to throw fat ass lawsuits to when need be. They all gave each other the eye as if they were implying something.

The video played again on a loop, and your eyes zeroed in on her hands and every touched seared into your memory. “What the fuck? Riah, are you seeing this shit?” You held up your hand to silence her and leaned closer to watch the video again. The commentary of the asses at TMZ was working your nerves. If one wasn’t flat out insinuating that your husband Chris was fucking this woman they were hinting at it. Looking at the video it looked suspicious as hell.

“Don’t jump to conclusions Riah, it’s a gossip show, and they always blow things out of proportion. Take a beat and think clearly,” Zora cautioned trying to reason with your logical side, the side that knew what it was like to be in the public eye. The side that knew shows and mags liked to cause problems where there weren’t any just for ratings and copies sold. You heard her, you did, but you also had eyes and what you saw before you was not platonic. What you saw before you was a plain as day sign that something didn’t meet the eye.

You jumped out your seat, grabbing your phone from the table before you and scrolled through to your husband’s contact and hit the green dial button. Pacing the room, you pressed the phone to your ear and waited for him to pick up. One ring, two rings, three rings. After the fourth ring, you were pissed beyond belief.

“Hey, this is Chris you got the beep you know what to do. I’ll get back to ya when I can.”

The tone sounded, and you squeezed the phone. You desperately wanted to cuss him the fuck out, but you also didn’t want to get loud and ignorant in this room knowing outside there were countless set workers. You loudly groaned. “Christopher Robert Evans, what the actual fuck am I watching right now? What the fuck is this? I can’t believe this shit!” Your words were tight and controlled though you felt anything but. Ending the call, you bent, rested your hands on your knees and took a few breaths.

“Riah, calm down. Looks can be deceiving,” Zora added.

You wanted to say some slick shit. This was not the first time you’d seen some shit with him and his female co-stars. There was Scarlett, but that was before you guys got together. There were even rumors about him and his Defending Jacob co-star. It seemed wherever your husband went the thirsty ass women followed and didn’t know where the fucking line was drawn. He was a fucking married man. Then the thought hit you that they are half the problem; it is your husband’s responsibility to stop the pussy train from trying to make him a passenger. That made you even angrier.

The knock to your door signaled you had to get your ass to the call spot now. Standing you took a few final breaths and composed yourself. You didn’t want to give anyone any reason to gossip even more than necessary. When the doors opened, you walked out and down the hall with your head held high. Taking your spot in front of the decorated set you lowered your robe revealing the sexy designer gown you wore. As the shoot began you tried to remain as focused as possible, but you definitely weren’t on your A-game. Your heart was heavy.

~~~~~~~

By the time you made it home, it was after one in the morning. You were exhausted, and all you wanted was a bottle of wine, a hot bath and the dim-sum from the Japanese place in Beverly Hills. You walked through your dark house, past the modern and traditional mix decorations in the halls and to the kitchen. You didn’t need light to know where you were going. You and Chris had lived here for almost five years now, so you knew every nook and cranny with your eyes closed. Scanning the contents of the fridge you grabbed a bottle of your favorite Moscato and the leftover dim-sum.

While you waited for it to heat in the microwave, you opened the bottle of wine. When the food finished you made your way upstairs deciding against a glass. You knew you’d finish the entire bottle; there was no need to front like you’d only have one glass. You’d never been a “one glass of wine” type of girl. Why have one when the whole bottle was meant to be consumed?

Walking into your master bedroom you sighed, you could still smell him everywhere. He’d been gone for two weeks now, and still, his scent lingered. You walked into the ensuite and turned on the water to the giant tub and walked back into the room. Tossing your bag on one of the couches in the room you didn’t budge when your dead phone fell out. Usually, you’d have rushed to plug it in to get some juice, but you didn’t give a flying fuck about a phone right now.

Once you’d undressed, tied your hair up and made it back into the bathroom, the water was high enough. Turning it off you added some bath oils and three bath bombs before grabbing your favorite soap. Chris always said you smelled good enough to eat after you showered with it. So good that he usually always ended up spending half the night with his head buried between your thighs. When you sank into the hot water you sighed and stretched allowing your muscles to elongate. Reaching for the bottle of wine and took a few gulps before dropping your head back to the cushion.

Your head was still spinning from that stupid TMZ report. Shortly after you called Chris, your phone died. Zora made a move to charge it, but you fanned her off. You didn’t want to talk to him. What more could he say? You’d had this discussion before, not about Ana but other overtly friendly co-stars. He always said the same thing “it’s nothing, I’d never do that to you.” You believed him, believed him enough to marry his ass after four months traveling the world together after he finally took a break between Avengers films.

Everyone said four months wasn’t enough to build a whole lifetime together. Everyone said why rush, take your time, date. You and Chris always repeated the same thing; “When you know, you know.” You loved your husband, you loved him with everything in you, but you hated everything that he came with. In your career, you’d known fame and pressures from the tabloids but with your first line of work you weren’t hounded like crazy. It was only when you made a transition into acting after your wedding did that attention pick up. A huge part was because you were now Mrs. Chris Evans, thee Captain America, the almost lifelong bachelor. Apparently, there were plenty of bets he’d never get married and even more jokes that when he did every woman in the world dedicated a full ten minutes of silence as they wept. It was ridiculous.

You knew the rumors came with the territory, but you hadn’t been prepared for all of this. It was stressful. You groaned out loud and rubbed your forehead.

“He wouldn’t, right?” You doubled down on your guzzling of the wine and kissed your teeth. “Oh, I’m sure she would though.”

Focusing on a spot of color in the bathwater you scowled. “He wouldn’t throw away everything we’d built so easily, would he?” Realizing you were sitting there talking to yourself, you rolled your eyes and dropped your head back in frustration.

When you made it back into the bedroom, a few hours had passed, you decided against turning on the TV not wanting to see any more potentially upsetting stories. So, you sat in the bed and ate the dim-sum staring at Chris’ empty side. You tried not to wonder whose bed he was in tonight; if it was his own hotel bed or hers. By the time you finished the bottle of wine and the food, you’d pushed those thoughts aside and moved on to hopeful thoughts that your husband wasn’t a complete asshole and actually loved you. The last thought before you drifted off to sleep was that you were going to cut his dick off if even a single theory of yours was true.

#rumor has it fic #Chris Evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x you #Chris Evans X black reader #chris evans x reader

377 notes · View notes

dragonnan · 4 years

Text

Author Interview Tag

Tagged by @aelaer a week or two ago, thank you!

Name: Tanya (among family I'm Nan or Auntie Nanny)

Fandoms: Sherlock, MCU, Psych, Prodigal Son, and a goodly collection of others

Where you post: For a number of years I posted on FFN but between the really shitty reviews and extremely cumbersome posting process I finally quit. I posed on Psychfic while still an active part of that fandom but that, too, has pretty much ended. I put a few stories on Wattpad but found it to be pretty meh. I now post exclusively to AO3.

Most popular multi-chapter fic: It's a tossup between “Fury” on Psychfic and “All Nighter” on AO3 – one based on comments and the other on Kudos. Frankly “popularity” is really subjective because there's also stuff like read count and with comments, at least nearly half are replies from me and read count also includes re-reads as well as every time I clicked on the damn thing to edit so....

You know I'm just really not sure how to properly answer this??

Favorite story you’ve written so far: Like others have stated you can ask me this on three different days and get three different answers and there will be more than 1 fic mentioned every time so.... Because I write in different fandoms I just absolutely can't list a single fic. The best I can narrow it would a fic from my top 3 fandoms.

Psych: Paint it Black. I had read a fic where Shawn was gradually going blind and had really been enjoying it and the challenges it presented. Sadly it was never completed. As has happened before I decided I would write my own damn fic if I couldn't get a completed story so that was the primary motivation to start this. What I most love about this is writing from Shawn's perspective as he navigates being blind and not knowing whether or not his condition is permanent. I did my best to honor the experience of blind and partially blind people and tried to look beyond the cliché.

MCU: I have so much fun writing these stories! In spite of the dumpster fire the film canon became I do so love this sandbox and employing various forms of unfucking it. So I'm gonna cheat a little and pick two for my faves here since one is a WIP. Sed Diabolus. I don't need to have completed it yet to know this will be my all-time favorite. This is the first fic that has been entirely plotted out and OMG I'm so excited for iiiit!! The second is Simple Math which seems like an odd choice given there's zero action – mostly just one character – hell, not even any whump. But there is something about that deep dive into Tony's mindset that keeps this as a fave even though it was the first thing I ever wrote for the MCU. I learned about Tony as I wrote this and I also worked my way through those motivations that bothered me regarding Stane. Even years later I still mentally go back to this fic whenever I write Tony because I feel encapsulates the essence of how I see him as a character.

Sherlock: Compared to other fandoms I'm still quite new to this fandom so I don't have nearly as many fics. But I still have a favorite! And, like with the MCU, it's the first story I ever wrote for this fandom; The Tiger and the Shark. Returning to a plot device I've employed in other fics, this one is built around a sexual assault and taking the character on a journey from that terrible event to the point where they rediscover themselves. PTSD ever being my favorite form of whump I employ that fairly a lot in this story and employ some kinda radical methods for coping with those memories.

Fic you were nervous to post: I mean until I start getting comments I'm a world of anxiety with every story I post. But grabbing a specific fic that hit my nerves – that Sherlock fic I'd said was my fave certainly qualified. Not only was it my first Sherlock fic – it also was charging out of the gate with a very heavy topic so yeah – I wasn't sure if people would absolutely hate it or find my characterizations totally off or what.

How you choose your titles: It varies a bit. In some stories, like Sed Diabolus, I actually consult friends on various ideas. Other times I'll consider songs or lyrics and my favorite thing is if I can alter the known title just a bit to make it more relevant to the fic (I did that a LOT with Psych fics which was the method the show also employed for its episode titles). One of my favorite Psych titles is “The Wizard Was the Wicked Witch and the Scarecrow Lost His Courage”.

Do you outline: Almost never – not until “Sed Diabolus”. That story, though, is so astoundingly complex that without an outline I'd be hopelessly lost. I am, though, trying to make a practice of outlining more because it helps SO much!

Complete: If we count every one-shot collection and challenge collection it likely is over 200 stories. Of course a lot of those are one-shots. My total completed chaptered fics number maybe around 34?

In progress: 16 – between Psychfic and AO3. All Psych stories are on long-term hiatus for the foreseeable future (some, honestly, I will never finish as they are many many years old and I've lost the inspiration for the plot). Several MCU stories are also on the back-burner while I focus on “Sed Diabolus”. I admit I get LOTS of story ideas and staying focused on a single fic is not something I've ever been greatly successful with.

Coming soon/not yet started: I meaaaan.... lots?? I have probably several hundred ideas and partially started fics across many fandoms. As to “imminently coming soon...” I don't think I currently have an active story that I haven't already posted at least a first chapter. Sadly I have zero patience for developing something for months before posting which is why I have so many WIPs. That said I DO have a Sherlock au that has been poking at me now and then involving the witch trials that started in Denmark and, eventually, made their way to Salem. The idea would be that Molly Hooper is accused of being a witch. She, of course, is innocent but cause this unfortunate attention due to her “uncanny” ability to heal the sick and injured (not so much uncanny as opposed to employing methods that aren't so reliant on superstition and folklore).

She is scheduled to be tortured and executed but is saved by Sherlock – a strange recluse primarily ignored and given a pass as he solves mysteries for people. He and his friend John save Molly from this awful fate. The twist is that Sherlock is a sorcerer (bit of marvel crossover-ish) and able to transport them to safety.

Do you accept prompts: I wish I could cause I love ideas but I don't have the time/energy to always work on what I already have and I'm awful at follow thru. Like I will never turn away an Ask wanting to share ideas but I can't promise that I can actually write anything.

Upcoming story you are most excited to write: As was the reply to a previous query – I have lots that are ideas that will linger in partial stages for sometimes years. If it's “upcoming” I've already posted the first chapter lol! But, again, I have several story ideas that whenever I poke through my folders I get excited about someday actually writing them. Here is a teaser for an MCU fic involving Tony Stark and Obie (I still feel this was never explored enough – certainly not in fic):

They were doing a retrospective, ten year anniversary kinda... whatever. Unofficial, of course. Certainly nothing Pepper would have dreamed up even at her most drunk (which, honestly, was never her scene. Tony had sorta owned that space well beyond the time it had started owning him). Whose idea it ultimately had been? Frankly Tony couldn't give a fuck. That he was asked to be one of the speakers was slightly more... awkward. Awkward was the right word, yeah? Nauseating was certainly another and possibly a bit more accurate.

Dead for a decade and Obadiah Stane still managed to fuck with his life.

But... it hadn't always been that way. At least, not as he'd believed back when the Walkman had been on every kid's Christmas list.

He'd thought it was bonding; at the time. His dad had never been one for just hanging out; shooting the shit; telling tales out of school. No, Pops, when he bothered to interact, led with questions. “You keeping your grades up?” “You still seeing that floozy?” “When are you going to pull your head out of your ass and grow the hell up?” “You do realize it's my name you're disgracing every time you go on a bender?”

With Obie it was just, easy. Obie might ask about school but it was always with approval and pride. He would discuss Tony's conquests as though Tony had climbed Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but underwear and a cape.

Obie was there when his father wasn't. Which meant that Obie was always there. The first time he got astoundingly drunk on his father's scotch, Obie was the one to help him hunch over the toilet and vomit expensive, aged booze into the toilet. Obie was also the one to replace the depleted bottle to keep Howard in the dark. For a fourteen year old kid still trying to gain his dad's favor, that had meant everything.

He saw his first porn with Obie; sex education ala Traci Lords, three months shy of his fifteenth birthday. That was the same time he was introduced to weed. Obie had cautioned him to use it sparingly; didn't want to fry that genius brain, he'd say, and ruffle his hair. The porn had made him uncomfortable. Obie had turned it off and told him they could watch whatever Tony wanted. They'd ended up changing the station to Knight Rider; smoking and munching Cheetos and laughing over their orange fingers.

It was Obie who was there, arm around his shoulders, after his parents died. He desperately didn't want to sob in front of the man. Things were so complicated with his dad that all he felt was blinding guilt... as though some part of him had caused this. But Obie had filled him with bourbon until the emotions got soft around the edges and he'd sat beside the older man, head tipping gradually to the right until he was held up by Obie's shoulder. Obie had just slung an arm around him and let Tony pass out while he rubbed a broad hand up and down his bicep.

It was strange, now, looking back with adult perspective. A perspective that included Afghanistan and his intended execution while Obie talked about legacy and responsibility while Tony's lungs slowly seized. He'd taken the time to sit there – arm around Tony's shoulders while one broad hand traveled up and down Tony's bicep – just like when he was a kid and Obie was the whole world.

He'd tried to remember if it had felt so... tainted... at the time. Or if he'd always believed it was love.

Obie had never quite crossed that line. Though hindsight offered a peek into that possibility with enough clarity Tony had fought with his cramping gut for nearly thirty minutes. He'd staved off vomiting though he was fairly certain his dignity had still been in tatters what with Bruce wandering in on his misery.

Upcoming story you are most excited about (this is basically a repeat of the above question so I decided to change it. Do you have a future story idea you'd like to write that is not yet beyond the vague idea stage? I love stories that put Molly in some sort of jeporady and I have a barely formed idea to someday write a “stalker fic” of some sort and not I don't care that this trope had been done on repeat – I still love it lol! I have a smidge of writing for it:

“I need your help.”

As afternoons at Baker Street went, this was a mundane request heard so often that Sherlock's typical reply, “Obviously, or you wouldn't be here”, could have been printed on flash cards. The detective had actually made the suggestion after a particularly full day at the flat and having heard the statement no less than twenty times.

Today, however, Sherlock merely blinked for a moment. Then, with an awkwardness rare to a man with a lethal sort of grace in his movements, Sherlock gestured to John's chair, JOHN'S CHAIR, before taking his usual seat.

Molly didn't exactly smile but her lips edged up a bit before she sat.

John cleared his throat before pointing a vague hand towards the kitchen. “I'll just go make some tea, shall I?”

“No, please, I...” The stammer in her speech was not uncommon; though John couldn't recall such obvious fear. Forgoing the kitchen he, instead, took the hard wooden chair facing the other two.

“Molly, what's wrong?”

Tagging: @kitcat992 @mizjoely @sgam76 @ariaadagio @hanuko @ceruleanmindpalace

1 note · View note

zaffrenotes · 5 years

Text

Thoughts on The Royal Heir, Chapter 14 - The Announcement

Alternate Title: DOT DOT DOT (I got nothin right now)

Word Count: +6000 you know me. I can’t shut up.

Points are arbitrary and happen at random. Recap/personal thoughts after the point review of the chapter. TL;DR version – press statements and pregnancy portraits and lets-rush-the-next-couple-of-months-because-we-were-stupid-and-wasted-too-much-time-in-Texas-but-now-we’re-in-a-hole-and-can’t-get-out (it’s time for fix it fanfic where we write about all those little pregnancy moments since there’s probably 3 or 4 chapters left before MC pops this kid out). PS Eleanor was pregnant with a second child!

Things that will be covered in this post:

Alliance responses aimed at the kingdoms that keep pushing for the stupid baby matchmaking subplot

Liam should take one of those Ancestry DNA tests…umm…for reasons 👀

Eleanor and Jackson and the shitstorm of conspiracy theories that popped up as a result (yo – Liam and Drake aren’t related)

How does Madeleine know so much about Eleanor’s pregnancy/nausea remedies and why is she looking out for MC more than usual?

I’m putting a cut here to minimize the length of this post if you don’t want to read this, and feel free to add #ZaffEssays and #ZaffDigsDeep to your filtered tags so you don’t see this or future posts from me.

I sourced Drake/Hana playthroughs from BizzysChoices and Abhirio on YouTube, respectively.

Normal text = Liam route | Italics = Drake/Hana/Maxwell route | Bold = applies to any LI/story as a whole

-3 Frik, Frack, and Crapeleine all want to share the baby news. NO THANK YOU. -1 MC, just because Liam/your friends tell you to celebrate the news, doesn’t mean you can’t still be upset -1 not-Wayne reporter is an idiot +1 CBC Don at least knows about pregnancy timelines *side eye to PB* -1 Being a WEEK pregnant…oh MC, you’re an idiot too +1 At least we can throw a little shade at Crapeleine for setting this whole stupid thing up before we confirmed anything with a doctor +1 [Liam] and his protective embraces and being super happy 0 Marriage alliances are ridiculous, oh Cordonia with its importance of the social season – at least social season has consenting adults for your matchmaking ceremony -3 WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE APPOINTED HEIR WILL HOLD A STRONGER CLAIM TO THE THRONE THAN YOUR BIOLOGICAL CHILD, LIAM??? SOMEONE NEEDS TO REWRITE THIS LAW! 0 Taking bets that whatever Penelope designs for the baby, the baby WILL end up looking like a poodle +1 [Liam] smiling and hugging Regina; he still cares for his stepmother, after all; she’s warm enough to MC to offer help in any way should they need it 0 GET AWAY, Barto. Go away with the reporters and set up your exclusive interview away from us +1 Pregnancy photoshoot +1 [Liam] not breaking eye contact as he strips in the boutique for MC +1 [Hana] flirting with MC as they change; touches up her makeup and they flirt about lipstick kisses +1 Ana de Luca’s set up in the throne room to take the photo +1 [Liam] throne pose is too stiff; Liam offers MC a hand as they step down and exude warmth and love and wants to show the world HE’S IN LOVE and this union and baby aren’t obligations to him – they are his FOREVER. 0 [Liam] Ana says the heir will be in good hands +1 [Drake] is okay with dressing up if it means MC smiles; they take the sign with them when the shoot ends, lol 0 [Hana] keeps sidelining herself and MC reminds her they’re in this together +1 [Drake/Hana] Ana says the heir will be welcomed with a lot of love/in a loving home +1 LI kneels and kisses The Belly when they’re alone in the throne room -1 We have to deal with a pregnancy montage because they’re running out of chapters +1 [Liam] Drake running off to get ice cream is actually really sweet and I love the Mallow Man for that -1 [Drake Hana Maxwell] Why does Liam only mention the chicken soup thing if you’re not married to him? Queen Trina wants that recipe to feel better, yo! TELL YOUR WIFE. +1 Hana makes a baby playlist and records a few tracks herself but not if she’s your wife +1 Maxwell offers to be MC’s vicarious life, lol doing all the things for MC that she can’t do while pregnant 0 Crapeleine offers a Cordonian Ruby – to help with nausea, which actually works, and she’s trying to be nicer to MC right now. It’s weird. +1 Olivia is (permanently? While we’re in Cordonia? And from now on???) our personal security while MC goes to a doctor’s appointment 0 WHO IS THIS RAY DUDE AND WHY IS HE DRESSED EXACTLY LIKE OLIVIA??? +1 Olivia gives us a dagger to keep in MC’s purse. I’m reminded of @dcbbw ‘s Riley and her penchant for straight razors, lol 0 Liam accompanies the doctor’s appointment even though uh… yeah okay, he’s invested in MC’s baby but this feels odd +1 Dr. Ramirez drops another remedy for morning sickness/nausea – Queen Eleanor used to drink apple tea…BUT HOW WOULD SHE KNOW THAT 0 [Liam] because LIAM SURE AS HELL DIDN’T KNOW RAMIREZ WAS HIS MOTHER’S DOCTOR and Eleanor said she had an easy pregnancy (perhaps only with Liam but not her secret second baby) +1 [Drake Hana Maxwell] Olivia joins Liam and asks if she needs to stab anyone. Never change, Olivia! +1 bb Liv and bb Drake playing knights and dragons together while they wait for Liam to finish his “lessons” and Drake-gon is cute as Dom’s dragon form from TC&TF +1 Liv tries to kick dead Drake-gon or hop on his back if she’s tamed him with food, lol +1 bb Liam is empathetic even as a tot, worried about Eleanor feeling ill 0 Jackson interrupts to talk to Eleanor while Constantine isn’t around in an effort to keep her and her family safe (from Constantine or with Constantine??) 0 Eleanor drops the Hyperemesis Gravidarium clue, noting “it’s nothing” but IT SO IS SOMETHING 0 Liv’s hit with a panic attack when she sees Eleanor hug Liam; is this why she doesn’t like hugging people? Because it’s too painful to think about hugs from her mother that she’ll never get? +1 Liam can tell she’s more upset than she lets on and deflects +1 MC, Olivia, Liam, (and LI if it’s not Liam) come to the conclusion that Eleanor was pregnant with a second child… 0 …so some portion of what’s left of this book or part of book 2 will be spent on trying to figure out who knew she was pregnant, how exactly she died, and what happened to her baby +1 HELLO BABY +1 LIs call the baby LITTLE ONE AND I CANNOT +2 [Liam] FINALLY CRIES SOME HAPPY TEARS -1 not-Wayne shows up, pretending to be an orderly, to get a photo of the sonogram +1 LI goes full protective parent mode, lunging for not-Wayne and chases after him

T O T A L 17 points for this chapter with Liam as your spouse 10 points for this chapter with Drake/Hana/Maxwell as your spouse

DRESS FOR THE PRESS: Press conference is still on, much to our dismay. Frik and Frack (Kiara and Penelope) revert to their ‘yes ma’am’ roles, agreeing with Madeleine that news of MC’s pregnancy should be shared right away, even though it’s been less than 24 hours since MC figured it out and not one single medical professional has examined MC to make sure things are all well and good. We’re hit with the option to share the news / hope the world is ready for the baby / HOPE TO HAVE KEPT THE NEWS QUIET A LITTLE LONGER – and I’m not even bothering to go over the first two options.

Yes, MC’s taken on a very public role. Yes, she’s in a position of power, where all her actions are now scrutinized by the people in her duchy/kingdom, where details of her life will become part of public consumption even faster than the whole sordid ordeal with Tariq. But she is still a PERSON, not some creature that just happens to be carrying a royal heir. At least MC can show concern with the last response, reminding everyone that it’s early in the pregnancy (she’s not even sure how far along she is, thanks to the ridiculous answer in a bit) and literally anything could go wrong.

LI Liam tries to comfort his queen, reminding her of the exact public lifestyle she’s now got to get used to as a price of being a royal, but assures her that he’ll help her get through it. With option 3 in Drake’s route, Maxwell asks MC if it’s a little early to start worrying even though they all have her back, and they should focus on celebrating the news, and MC switches gears, somehow forgetting her concerns.

Consolation prize is MC gets to choose where to deliver the news – options being the ballroom (where all bad things happen), on the palace grounds in the fresh air, or the royal gardens. With the grounds/gardens option, Madeleine hopes the weather will cooperate and—when has it ever been uncooperative, Maddy? It’s Always Sunny In Cordonia!

MC gets to choose how to make an entrance as well – dancing to vocals / mega regal / with our friends – regal entrance spares no detail of pomp and circumstance, making use of a royal motorcade; with your friends leads to Maxwell being worried about stealing the spotlight, but MC says she wants to celebrate with her friends by her side. First diamond option of the chapter is a clothing buy-in – I wasn’t a fan of the red chiffon dress (and Trina would prefer to reuse outfits whenever possible, plus I really liked that teal dress from the rehearsal dinner) but I’m sure it earned points with your LI. MC also gets the option to add a tiara.

LI Liam changes into his formal tux before the plane lands, while the other LIs change (Drake in his grey suit, Hana in her black dress). Depending on where you chose to deliver the press conference, there’s a bit where Madeleine leads everyone to the location. Shady New Reporter aka OH Wayne thinks MC is already supposed to be sporting some kind of baby bump even though WE’VE ONLY BEEN GONE A WEEK and friggin Donnie Brine is the logical one in this scene, telling not-Wayne that he needs to review pregnancy timelines if he’s going to continue covering Babywatch.

I picked Liam, in the gardens, with our friends (Clue! lol) so MC took LI Liam’s hand and gestured to their friends to follow them to the front of the crowd, and MC squeezes Liam’s hand before addressing the press and citizens. MC then has to choose between announcing LI and I are expecting an heir / I BE PREGNANT – both responses earn ecstatic cheers from the crowd, where Samir (Them) and Donnie (CBC) high-five each other, and Ana de Luca wipes away a tear without smudging her eyeliner. If you buy the dress, Ana approves of the outfit before asking how far along MC is, she responds with a week and—BABY GIRL, A WEEK? A WEEK?!? NO. Even CBC Donnie is all “uhh, that’s really early to be sharing with us…”

MC can respond with we wanted to tell the people as soon as we knew / I KNOW but Maddy lacks social skills and shouldn’t be given access to technology I would’ve preferred to wait / there’s too much stigma about miscarriages. You know which response I chose; if I can be petty at Maddy in front of others, I WILL. Homeslice just shrugged at MC in response, before she tells the press that due to speculation and Cordonia scoping out MC’s uterus anyway, the secret wouldn’t have lasted long. LI Liam puts a protective arm around MC and adds that they have the best doctors that couldn’t properly diagnose ol’ Barto for the better part of a decade looking out for MC and their baby. Liam is happier than he ever thought he’d be, excited at the thought of getting to meet their child. With the first answer, MC says they can’t predict the future, but they can keep the people informed, knowing how important the baby is to the kingdom (and Drake adds the bit about the doctors). Drake thought he’d be nervous with the news, but he can’t wait to show their kid the world. Hana’s excited and proud to be on this journey with her wife.

Ana segues to the next topic – baby betrothals and alliances based on outdated matchmaking rather than ACTUAL politics and economics. When asked what MC/LI hopes to gain from said bizarre alliance, MC can choose from strength / understanding / Cordonia first. With strength, MC reminds everyone of Cordonia’s recent run of bad luck, and *if* a treaty gets signed, the other party needs to be willing to help defend Cordonia; with understanding, MC first reminds everyone that there’s no place like Cordonia, and she’d only consider signing an agreement with someone who respects and appreciates Cordonia as well. With the “Cordonia first” response, MC’s sprite switches to angry/determined face and she says (Cordonia) won’t give anything up without getting something in return.

The alliance response poses interesting angles to the other kingdoms - obviously the strength response caters to Auvernal and its army; the understanding response caters towards Monterisso to seek an even playing field, since we don’t know much about the kingdom or it’s shady ass queen, Amalas. Cordonia first response is both defensive and offensive - MC implies they won’t back down and an alliance will need to benefit both countries equally.

If you’re not married to Liam, Samir poses an additional question to the King, regarding the status of MC x LI’s heir if and when Liam marries and has a child of his own. While Liam doesn’t anticipate that happening anytime soon – this is less “Liam giving up on the idea of love and he’s pining after MC” and more “the man has had a YEAR falling in love, faking an engagement, suitor scandal, becoming king, losing his father, getting rejected by the woman he loves and having to watch her marry someone else and THEN saving their collective asses from assassins and taking down an attempted coup” so let the man put his dating life on hold for a hot minute – he reminds everyone that appointing an heir is very serious business. Here’s the part that gets wonky for me – Cordonian law states the appointed heir would still hold rank over Liam’s future biological child. I BEG YOUR PARDON, YOUR MAJESTY WUT.

I can see why such a law would have been written – if, for some reason, a reigning king and his queen weren’t able to have children of their own, they would need to appoint someone as heir to the throne to keep someone like Anton from trying to steal it outright, or another kingdom to swoop in and take over the land without a ruler. It makes me wonder how much Rys blood is now in Liam’s bloodline – if, somewhere between Kenna’s line and Constantine… they had to break the bloodline due to a similar situation. What if Liam isn’t as royal as he thinks he is???

So. There’s that to chew on. Liam ends the press conference so MC can recover from traveling and the crowd slowly disperses. Duke Landon congratulates the couple, and Penelope offers to design something for the baby, while Kiara says she’ll try to keep Pen from using too many dog themes. Godfrey offers his respects on behalf of Fydelia (but that’s Adelaide’s duchy, not his) but not without adding something negative – taking a dig at Portavira’s “undignified” hypothetical attire. Queen Mother Regina appears to offer her congratulations, and LI Liam smiles and hugs her (non-Liam route and he’s nowhere to be seen); MC can hug her / nod politely – with the hug, Regina’s caught off guard but returns the gesture; nod politely and Regina curtsies. The only insight to royal duties we see is Regina’s been dealing with paperwork and charities. She tells MC and LI Liam that they need only ask for any kind of help from her, should they need it. Non-Liam route, she asks the couple to call her Regina rather than Your Majesty, and offers her help whenever they need it.

aaaaaaand then Barto appears. Like Kramer, sliding in out of the woodwork, to make the moment ALL ABOUT HIM. Regina departs, and Barto bows, catching the attention of lingering reporters who ALSO thought he was dead. He waxes poetic of House Beaumont offering congratulations and how he’s ready to take back his position in House Beaumont (BRUH. Bertrand might have some choice words about that if you’re assuming to take the title away from him without a fight). While he works out some sort of deal for a joint interview, Madeleine returns to suggest another tradition – a formal portrait of the couple to commemorate the royal heir announcement.

It’s another diamond option but DAMMIT MY CUTE HUSBAND WANTS A MEMENTO OF THIS DAY HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY NO. Drake says they don’t have photos of just the two of them to celebrate the occasion. Hana would love a more personal version of their announcement.

SAY FROMMAGE: We’re led back to the boutique for another wardrobe change, and LI Liam is all smiles. He pauses and asks MC to help him select what to wear, and there they go, getting flirty. (I find it interesting that Liam x MC get an extended boutique scene where the Liam strips to his skivvies, while Drake/Hana/Maxwell just show the outfit options.) MC decrees all (boutique) disrobing should be slow and sensual; Liam grins and holds eye contact while he strips, and flusters his queen, adding an “as you wish” to her suggestion to get dressed before she sends the photographer away. Liam’s outfit options include the traditional Cordonian outfit (the red and gold attire he wore at the end of TRR Book 3), King Fabian costume in all its red and gold finery, or his standard formal tux. He’s dashing in the first outfit and Prince Charming in the second. In the Fabian costume, he tells MC to forget the regal reasons and that he’s here for her before kissing her so sweetly that MC has stars in her eyes. MC can choose anything to wear in her closet, along with the option of wearing a tiara again. I opted for the matching red and gold dress worn at the end of TRR Book 3 and on the cover art; matchy matchy and official!

LI Drake is okay with formal conventions like photoshoots, as long as they make his wife happy. He knows his denim on denim look isn’t quite the right look, and MC can opt to respond with I’m sorry, I know it sucks / I love it when you dress up / who cares, this is our photo – with the third option, MC reminds him this is their moment and they should wear what they want. His options include the grey suit, the courtly costume, or his standard denim. LI Hana debates between looking sweet and pretty, serious and classy, or keeping it simple – options include her floral costume gala ballgown, her little black dress, or her default pink dress with shoulder cutouts. MC asks Hana to help with her hair and makeup, and Hana adds some mascara and gloss, exclaiming that she’s improved the perfection that is MC.

Ana’s already set up in the throne room, and suggests the king and queen sit in their thrones. LI Liam glances over at MC with a smile, and Ana takes a photo, telling them they look dignified and glamorous. MC’s not as convinced, being so far away from Liam for an official photo, and Liam agrees the pose looks too stiff. He wants the photo to remind the world that Cordonia is warm and welcoming, and while they’re king and queen, he and MC are also in love. He steps down from the dais and helps MC down so they’re standing together. MC adds that the photo should reflect them / inspire the people – with the first option, she wants to see love and warmth to reflect the stability of an heir to the throne, with Liam adding in that he wants Cordonia to know his marriage isn’t just an obligation *cough like it would’ve been had he followed through with a marriage to Madeleine COUGH* but this is, in fact, his forever.

Pardon me while I cry over how abso-friggin-lutely WONDERFUL this man is and how I may never find a man like this in real life. With the second option, MC wants to start off on the right foot with her people, and Liam reiterates the people didn’t fall in love with MC’s stiff and regal side (and neither did he, heh).

MC and LI Liam practically forget about having their picture taken until Ana tells them to look at her, and snaps a photo. She leaves to process the photo calling them an inspirational couple and tells them the heir is in good hands. Liam looks around the throne room, remembering that his parents took a similar portrait when Eleanor was pregnant with him. It gives him a new perspective of the photo, knowing the weight on his parents shoulders to produce an heir – uhh, but LEO was 5 or 6 already, and Crown Prince – but imagines Constantine and Eleanor were filled with joy over the knowledge they’d be bringing in another child into the world. MC says they have a lot to live up to / be thankful for – with the first answer, MC says his parents were the epitome of grace and devotion, and she hopes to embody some of that. Liam tells MC they’ll be bringing their child into a home stronger than the one he knew. With the second answer, they’re both excited and hopeful of the days to come.

And then he kneels before MC to plant a gentle kiss to her belly and I CANNOT. He’s gonna end up doing this every chapter, isn’t he? Isn’t he?? IT’S SO DAMN SWEET.

With LI Drake, Ana is open to ideas for poses, reminding the couple that this is *their* heir, and MC’s mind flashes with all the baby announcements she’s seen from others, but Drake suggests focusing on *them* since they’re already in a fancy room – the throne room – and wearing nice clothes. Drake says he’ll basically do anything for MC and their kid, including fancy things like putting on a suit to look nice in a photo, MC smiles, and…that’s the shot. Ana leaves to print the photo, adding that the heir will be in very loving hands. They chat about the baby being a focal point in everyone’s lives in a matter of months and Drake thinks they’re doing a great job at parenting so far – top notch announcement with just the right combination of warmth and snobbery and—LOOK. Drake stans, I love you, but I want to smack him sometimes with all the snobby, royal, noble snark. You are those people now Drake, bite your tongue and keep the eye rolling to yourself. MC calls him out on his teasing, and they leave…taking the sign with them to hang somewhere in Valtoria, lol.

With LI Hana, Ana suggests they try a few poses before settling on anything, and tells the couple to do what feels natural. They gaze into each other’s eyes and don’t even hear the camera shutter. Ana remarks that based on the way MC and Hana look at each other, the baby looks like it will be raised in a loving home. Hana suggests MC pose alone, since most baby photoshoots include a solo option for the pregnant mother; MC can either say this is our baby / it’s not a good photo without you – second option has MC calling Hana the most beautiful woman in the room. MC says Hana belongs next to her and their baby, and she doesn’t want Hana to think that she belongs on the sidelines. And that’s *their* shot.

What Ana says as she departs is interesting – with Liam x MC, she thinks the heir is in good hands. With Drake, the baby will be in loving hands. With Hana and MC, it more about a loving home environment. As a Liam stan, this irks me – Liam is so clearly head over heels in love with his queen, but all we get is “good”? I know he’s at a disadvantage being the monarch and all, but it’s not like he doesn’t already love Baby Ricebowl. It’s not like he loves MC any less than Drake, Hana, or Maxwell do as LIs in their respective routes.

AND THEN…: Let me preface this entire section with this image…

You drag our asses to Texas HELL for E I G H T chapters to cover a week of time, and in the span of a few minutes you’re cramming in at least half of MC’s first trimester into a montage?! WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK.

We’re in Valtoria, because… uh, why? I get that for anyone *not* with Liam, MC’s a duchess, so it makes perfect sense to be at the duchy. But as queen? Then I read @bi-outta-cordonia had an interesting post on the reason behind Liam choosing to stay at Valtoria, rather than at the palace. TL;DR version – Valtoria is a nice duchy with a gorgeous landscape that has learned to operate without the supervision of a duke or duchess (having been without one for quite a while). Its story gets to continue because of MC – new memories can be made, and she can make it her home, in this new country that she also gets to call home.

While the palace, high on a hill in the capital, has been the traditional residence of Cordonia’s kings and queens (Liam being no exception), there are a lot of negative memories tied to it. It was where Liam’s hand was forced to choose someone he didn’t love as his fiancée (Madeleine), moments after making love to the actual woman he loved or at least telling the woman he loved how he felt (MC) and all but telling her that he was going to choose her. The grand ballroom was where the assassins attacked him – where his best friend took a bullet for the woman he loved, and where his father died in his final effort to do something right. It’s a place full of mixed emotions for Liam – no doubt there are happy memories scattered between assassination attempts and attacks, but we all tend to remember negative memories more than the positive ones – and despite the safety measures of the Kings Guard, there’s a chance he feels like the vast space of the palace isn’t safe for his wife and child. So he stays with them in Valtoria. Valtoria is a blank slate – a place where he and MC can make memories together of their new family, where he can hopefully let happier memories take over anything negative that might take place in the future. Looking at it that way, I’m less upset about PB’s lack of customizing LI routes being in Valtoria. I just wish they would’ve added an explanation - would a few extra frames of Liam reasoning with MC have been that difficult to add??

Back to the recap… MC’s dealing with morning sickness that strikes any time of the day, feeling hungry and tired. LI indulges MC’s wishes to basically order room service, and there’s the option of requesting giant turkey legs / gourmet omelette / cheetah cakes / super fancy food – no matter what you choose, LI includes other options. Flash forward a few WEEKS and MC’s tossing her cookies in the bathroom. If you have any dog(s) they help comfort MC and drag towels to her to help clean up. MC can tell LI there’s nothing to worry about / why did you do this to me – with the first option, LI rubs MC’s back and offers to get more towels; with the second option, LI apologizes because, lol, what else can they do, really?

MC’s friends also look out for her – Liam pops up first if you’re not married to him, offering extra staff to look after them or help run the duchy, and even offers a chicken soup recipe Eleanor used to make. In Hana’s route, Drake adds that he remembers the soup, and Liam’s not exaggerating when he said it was good for the soul. Why wouldn’t he remember that IN HIS OWN ROUTE THOUGH. Drake asks how MC’s doing and MC can ask if THE Drake Walker is concerned for MC’s feelings / ask Drake to get her ice cream / ask Drake to distract her. Option 2, Drake ducks out of the solarium and pops back in with a bowl of ice cream, doing what he can to help, and saving his signature snark for after the baby is born. With option 3, she asks Drake to share the story of how he started singing with Liam and the Beaumonts – IT WAS OVER A BET for 200 push-ups. Hana and Maxwell get less screen time/variation in their scenes with MC – Hana’s compiled an extensive playlist of soothing music to play for the baby, including tracks she recorded of herself. You don’t get this scene if she’s your wife, mind you. MC can tell Hana it’s so sweet I could cry / the baby’s going to love it – with the former, Hana hopes they’re at least happy tears. With the latter, puts her hand over her stomach and smiles, and Hana shares that she’s already put together a playlist for the second trimester. Maxwell gets even less interaction (ie, we don’t get to choose a response to his gift) by offering to do things for MC that MC can’t do while pregnant, like eat sushi, drink, or do things like backflip into a pool.

Even Madeleine gets a scene, offering a Cordonian Ruby to MC to help with the nausea and morning sickness. MC can respond with thanks / I’m not falling for your tricks / am I supposed to pull a Sleeping Beauty with this? – with option 1, MC bites into the apple to show her thanks, and the sourness settles her stomach, Madeleine says it’s a Cordonian folk remedy, and she reminds MC to take care of herself. Answer #2 MC reminds Madeleine that the last time they ate apples together it was a trap (Apple festival where MC tried a Ruby for the first time). Madeleine tells MC it’s not a trap, but an old Cordonian folk remedy, and one that Eleanor used to swear by, where the tart apples helped with nausea. MC’s wary of anything offered by Madeleine, but she affirms it’s in her best interest to treat MC well while she’s carrying the future heir of Cordonia. She emphasizes it’s in everyone’s best interest as well.

What’s strikes me is how does Madeleine know that this is a remedy Eleanor used? She’s roughly Liam’s age/a few years older, having been Leo’s fiancée as well. If, judging by the approximate age of the gang as kids, Liam’s about…let’s say, 8 in the flashbacks, Leo would be 14 (even though we haven’t seen him AT ALL despite Leo being the Crown Prince), so Maddy would be somewhere in between – let’s go halvsies and say 11. How would 11-year-old Madeleine know that Eleanor was pregnant? Did Godfrey know and let it slip while talking to Adelaide or Barto, within earshot? Did she find out on her own? Was Eleanor eating the apples because – in addition to being pregnant and dealing with HG – she was slowly being poisoned? Kjsdhfksdjhf

What if it wasn’t HG but the fact that someone was slowly poisoning her, making it SEEM like HG?! That would, of course, have to mean that whomever was poisoning Eleanor would also know that she was pregnant, and I know I’m jumping ahead here – but it seems like it was a very small circle that even had THAT information.

FOCUS, DONNA.

MC takes a late night stroll with LI Liam, where he talks about limited unlimited curfews/free time and kisses MC and The Belly for good measure, and MC’s stomach rumbles – a warning that the not-so-morning sickness is about to strike, and Liam says he’ll get her an apple as a precaution. Drake’s moonlight stroll is about date nights and needing babysitters in the near future before they kiss/he kisses The Belly. Hana’s moonlight stroll focuses on differentiating between taking care of each other every day and spending quality time together, before kissing MC and The Belly.

Fast forward again and MC’s rearranging things in the nursery, and Olivia slips in like a ninja to move a table and congratulate MC in person about the baby news. MC prods Olivia to try and find out what she’s been up to, but Olivia doesn’t budge. MC can respond with friends can’t keep secrets forever / I trust you (so I’ll back off) / Imma just pretend you have a secret boyfriend – with option 1, MC says she won’t give up her search to figure out what Liv’s doing. Option 2 and MC says whatever’s going on, she knows Olivia’s got it handled.

Then a mystery guy pops up outta nowhere, wearing an all-black, leather jacket outfit much like Olivia’s. Olivia says that’s her new chauffeur, Ray, and then we find out Olivia is now our personal security (instead of that nitwit Mara) and she’ll be accompanying MC to her OBGYN appointment. Call her out and tell her (she) cares and she fidgets a bit while trying to hide a smile, threatening to send someone else in her place if MC tries to hug her in front of (Ray) before handing MC a dagger to keep in her purse. Tell her doctor’s offices are the opposite of dangerous and Olivia says you can never be too careful.

HEY BABY HEY BABY HEY: Olivia waits in the lobby of the doctor’s office (Liam accompanies them and waits outside if he’s not your LI), where Dr. Ramirez says MC’s well into the first trimester. MC can respond by mentioning never-ending morning sickness / some good days, some bad / never felt better. The morning sickness response gets a sympathetic face from the doc, but she says it’s a common symptom with no real cure, but as long as it’s been the only symptom, the signs look good. Ramirez offers up drinking apple tea (what about ginger, you apple-loving tartheads?) to help with the nausea, dropping another tidbit – she tells the couple that Eleanor (again) swore by the apple tea to manage her symptoms. You get this bit of info as a precaution that follows the other responses, in case the morning sickness gets really bad. MC and LI exchange baffled looks once the doctor leaves to set up the room for the ultrasound – (texting Liam if you’re not married to him, and he comes back with Olivia, which includes a funny moment where Olivia asks if she needs to stab anyone) evidently Liam was unaware that Ramirez wasn’t listed in the royal medical records as Eleanor’s OBGYN, and Eleanor told Liam she had an easy pregnancy, with almost no nausea at all.

In Liam’s route, Olivia enters the room after knocking, concerned about the lack of waitstaff when she overheard Ramirez mention something about tea. She’s unfamiliar with Ramirez as well, and MC wonders if Eleanor was more forthcoming with her OBGYN than her arguably much younger son at the time. Olivia remembers a discussion between Eleanor and Jackson from years ago, and it’s another flashback diamond scene.

A few months after Liam’s family (sans Leo) went to the Walker Ranch, Olivia and Drake were playing knight and dragon, running around the palace while they waited for Liam to finish his lessons. What lessons, we’ll never know. Just lessons. Olivia chases Drake into the dining room, where she can either fend him off with a dagger (table knife) or food (turkey leg, again) – using the dagger, she stabs Drake-gon in the heart, while he opts to eat the food and be “tamed” by Olivia and she tries to climb on top of him, lol. They decide to look for Liam at this point, finding him with Eleanor in the throne room.

Liam’s concerned for his mother, noticing that she was sick that morning, and Eleanor plays it off like it was nothing. While Olivia and Drake quietly make their way to get closer, Jackson Walker joins Eleanor and Liam, wanting to talk. We see there’s a familiarity between the two, as Jackson addresses her directly as Eleanor, instead of Your Majesty; Eleanor doesn’t wish to talk because it’s cutting into her limited time with Liam. Jackson informs her that Constantine is with his advisors, and he’s not sure when they’ll get another moment alone – so whatever he wants to talk about seems to be something shared only between the two of them (and some eavesdropping kids). Always one to placate, Liam tells his mother he understands that they need to cut their time short, and Eleanor tells Jackson she doesn’t like sneaking around and talking in hallways.

Jackson doesn’t like it either, but it seems to be one of the only ways he can keep “all of (them) safe” despite what’s been said. Whether there’s been talk amongst the nobles about keeping the royal family safe, or gossip within the Kings Guard, we’re not sure – but someone’s saying something and there’s enough buzz for Jackson to show concern. Eleanor tries to play it down, and Jackson asks if that’s coming from her “friend” – who, based on Eleanor’s response, is (Ramirez?) telling her “it” is likely Hyperemesis Gravidarium and it’s nothing to worry about.

YES IT IS, ELEANOR. HG can get bad enough to require hospitalization. It’s not just really bad morning sickness, it’s not being able to get anything down and putting the mother at risk of dehydration, among other things, if she can’t keep food or water down. Duchess Kate suffered from it with each of her pregnancies, even requiring hospitalization; I’ve had friends who had to rush to the ER because even with taking every precaution, some days got really bad.

Jackson mentions being prepared – for what, again, we don’t know – and Drake and Olivia have to hide when he looks up in their direction. Olivia can choose to hide behind the piano, a column, or Drake (in which case you get caught). If you’re not caught, Eleanor reminds Liam to be careful, and he says he always is; she says they’ll soon have so much time together he won’t know what to do with it all, and Liam smiles before Eleanor wraps him into a big, warm hug.

Olivia has a panic attack at the sight of Eleanor hugging Liam, suddenly reminded of the way her own mother used to hug her, and she wraps her arms around herself, trying to get that feeling back. This poor child just lost her parents, and while she is strong and fierce, she��s still a child in need of nurturing. Something I’m sure Eleanor would’ve extended to her, but Constantine likely shut down at every opportunity. Being denied of what seems like such a small thing, at such a young age, after what she’s been through – it shapes a person. It’s no wonder she doesn’t like hugs and resists them as an adult. Drake asks if she’s okay, and she can respond with I’m fine / you’re stupid / IMMA STOMP ON YOUR FOOT – she’s lashing out because she can’t properly process her feelings. The first option gets Drake to reply that it’s okay to be sad sometimes, but she argues back that a Nevrakis doesn’t get sad or show weakness. Liam hears them and asks what’s happened while Eleanor and Jackson leave – I assume to carry on their discussion elsewhere. With the last option and she stomps on his foot, and that’s when Liam finds them.

While Drake tries to explain what happened, Olivia starts to cry, overwhelmed by the situation, and Liam elbows Drake when (Drake) asks if she’s crying. Knowing that Olivia would perceive crying in front of others as a weakness, Liam comes to her defense, telling Drake she’s only pretending to cry to get Drake-gon to lower his guard. Olivia calls Drake-gon a stupid dragon, and he follows suit, for her sake.

Back in the present, MC can respond to the story by saying she thinks it means Liam’s mom was poisoned / Liam’s mom was pregnant / Drake and Olivia were actually friends – with option one… DUH. Liam already told us that and thanks for rubbing it in again. Second option is what we want here – MC mentioning HG again as a sign of pregnancy, which surprises Liam and Olivia. MC poses the question of Eleanor being killed *because* she was pregnant, and Liam’s not sure. He’s not even sure if Constantine knew about the pregnancy or why it needed to be kept secret. Olivia reminds them that they never caught Eleanor’s killer. Liam’s determined to get more answers, and Olivia is willing to do anything she can to help.

MC and Liam head to the examination room for an ultrasound, and soon MC and Liam can see their baby on a small screen. MC can say the baby’s so big / so little / a miracle – big response earns a smile from Liam and a little teasing that MC’s never been one for taking things slow. Little baby has MC comparing the baby to a strawberry, and LI drops an “apple blossom” with a smile. Miracle baby leaves Drake smiling and speechless. They hear the heartbeat and the doctor says MC’s about 10 weeks along before printing out an image. MC can respond by saying the baby looks like me / looks like a tadpole / looks like they’re waving. Tadpole option has LI calling it a *cute* tadpole that has lots of time to grow. With the last option, LI beams a smile at The Belly, waving at the baby, and LI calls them ‘little one’ and LI Liam says it’s so, so good to finally see them / LI Drake says don’t push yourself too hard / LI Hana says they’re happy to see them. Looking at the photo in his hand, LI LIAM FINALLY HAS SOME HAPPY TEARS IN HIS EYES AND THIS IS ALL I WANTED. LI Drake has a huge, bright smile on his face. LI Hana smiles through happy tears and is at a loss for words, tracing her finger over the image, and then tells the baby how much she already loves (it).

Ramirez leaves the room to get pamphlets and other things for the couple to read about, while they marvel at the photo of their baby. There’s a knock and the door and not-Wayne is suddenly there, talking about missing details from MC’s medical file. MC asks if she knows him from somewhere, and it’s a timed response, where any answer flusters not-Wayne while he stalls. Ramirez comes back into the room and MC realizes not-Wayne is the reporter from the press conference (if you go with the press conference option, otherwise LI recalls not-Wayne’s face) and…

MY KING LUNGES AT THE MAN in full Papa Bear mode (I mean, all the LIs lunge for the dude), but not before the reporter snaps a photo of the sonogram and dashes out the door.

NOTES: Most of my commentary was within the recap, but I’ll add this since they posted a summary of chapter 16 – WHAT THE FUCK Y’ALL. Eight. EIGHT chapters around that stupid wedding, and now they’re cramming nine months of story into what feels like 2 or 3 chapters because hacked versions of the game showed MC’s closet with pregnant sprite outfits, so she’s most likely giving birth before Book 1 ends. I’m so pissed. I understand why it happened the way it did (the writers had the standalone one off wedding story and forced that shit into the series to make a deadline/use the writing they’d already worked on rather than scrapping it) but COME ON. It could’ve been edited more than that to make more room for pregnant MC. I keep playing because I’m in love with Liam and all of these characters, but they’re seriously slacking on paying adequate attention to ALL the LIs.

I don’t want copy paste scenes where LI Liam doesn’t talk about politics or diplomacy with his WIFE, or doesn’t share more details about growing up as a child. Why didn’t we get that bit of the scene where he has a chicken soup recipe his mother used? Why wouldn’t he offer that to his WIFE while she feels like crap from morning sickness? Why don’t they ever tell us what childhood Liam’s lessons were like, other than just vaguely referring to them? Why wouldn’t Olivia take part in at least some of those lessons, being a duchess as well? Wouldn’t she need to also know how to govern her people and interact with dignitaries and nobles? Or was Constantine that much of a dick (answer – he probably WAS that much of a dick) to deny educating Olivia, after what her parents tried to do?

While I entertain the theory that Jackson and Eleanor had an affair and she’s possibly carrying Jackson’s child as an idea for an AU, I don’t think that would ever take place in this story. Liam – and Drake – hold their parents in such high regard, and for something like that to happen and for them to find out…it would crush them both. It would make their friendship suffer, and possibly end it. I don’t see PB getting that dramatic with the storyline.

Also, Liam and Drake can’t be brothers, and there’s no way Drake or Liam’s possible half brother or sister could hold claim to the throne if Jackson were the father. Drake came to Cordonia with his parents AFTER he was born, so he is most definitely Bianca and Jackson’s kid. Drake and Liam *could* be linked through the hypothetical half sibling IF you entertain the idea that Eleanor and Jackson had an affair, but it seems OOC for both of them. Jackson loves his family, and while unhappy, Eleanor hasn’t said or done anything to indicate that she would have an affair with or without Constantine’s knowledge. If Eleanor and her second child survived long enough for Eleanor to give birth – wouldn’t Liam and Constantine notice that??? – and the child was Jackson’s, there’s no way that kid could have a claim to the throne because Eleanor and Jackson are both commoners. However, if my crack theory that Liam might not actually be a direct descendant of Kenna holds water, there’s a slew of new theories that could put Cordonia’s leadership in danger.

I *DO* think Eleanor was pregnant with a second child with Constantine, but because of whatever was going on with Auvernal and possibly Barto and Godfrey, she was concerned for Liam and her unborn baby’s safety. THAT would be the reason Jackson would want to talk to her in hallways and corners in secret. I think he was trying to help them get away from Constantine, who likely had suspicions about why Eleanor was pushing for the new deal with Auvernal. From what Liam’s told us in TRR, she died from being poisoned (before she was starting to show) so things aren’t looking good for her right now.

#the royal heir #choices the royal heir #the royal heir chapter recap #TRH recap #ZaffDigsDeep #ZaffEssays #King Liam #Drake Walker #Hana Lee #Maxwell Beaumont #King Liam x MC playthrough #long post #so. many. theories!!#I'm adding a couple of my own in the read more section #again no Maxwell route even though it's really late in the week that I'm posting this recap #I'm high key pissed they crammed so much into this chapter #and high key pissed things are rushing forward with the pregnancy as this book gets closer to the end

61 notes · View notes

iwbfinterviews · 4 years

Text

Jake Brown Interview

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? Is there a particular reason you chose to write about music, singers, etc?

I didn’t actually, lol. I’m a songwriter/producer first, I grew up playing and writing music but always wrote as a way to kind of get through school because I was terrible at math, sciences, tests, etc. I think there’s alot of people in the music business who started out like that. It kind of happened accidentally, I was working for a record label right out of college and started writing copy for their catalog titles, press releases, etc and it just expanded from there. I met a literary agent through that who suggested I try to write a book, and we sold the Suge Knight memoir to Amber Books, who gave me my start. Another big early foot in the door moment was when I had the opportunity to write books with Ann and Nancy Wilson & Heart in 2007 and in 2009 with Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead. Then the book nearly 10 years into my career that really kind of made me appreciate this career was the opportunity to work with legendary guitar player Joe Satriani on Strange Beautiful Music: A Musical Memoir. I’d also started specializing in anthology-style books that feature LOTS of exclusive interviews in one book in chapter profiles so you could tell a bunch of people’s live stories at once, including the BEHIND THE BOARDS series, which began 10 years ago as a Rock & Roll producers’ series, the aforementioned In the Studio series with Heart, Motorhead, and others, and then finally about 10 years into living in Nashville I began working on the NASHVILLE SONGWRITER book series and most recently the BEHIND THE BOARDS: NASHVILLE book. SO: the long answer to that question is, because I love telling the behind-the-scenes stories of both the hits and those who make them, be it songwriters or producers or drummers in the case of the BEYOND THE BEATS rock drummers series, or Hip Hop producers with the DOCTORS OF RHYTHM audiobook and upcoming physical version in 2021. I’ve also been fortunate to write memoirs with some interesting characters like Kenny Aronoff, country rapper Big Smo and upcoming Freddy Powers The Spree of ’83 book which features Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. So it's been an interesting run.

How long does it take you to write a book?

I work on several at once usually, that’s kind of my process, half day on one, a day on another, but for BEHIND THE BOARDS: NASHVILLE, I spent 4 straight months day in and out writing this book exclusively as it was over 600 pages. I was reading the audiobook for Blackstone as I was writing it too, which was the first time I’ve ever done that. Usually the audiobook is read after the book is completed. Then it’s about a month of editing before its handed into the publisher. So this was a real push, but it was worth it because of the feedback I’m getting first from the producers I worked quite extensively in many cases with on their individual chapters, and collectively in the book being a first of its kind for country music fans where they can read about how their favorite hits by country’s biggest stars were made while listening along on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal, etc.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Oh, I don’t know... I write every book thinking from the outset before I’ve even started putting words down to paper thinking about how that book will be marketed and promoted upon release. There’s no point in writing something no one is going to read because when you get to the finish line you don’t have a gameplan on how to make readers aware of it. Publishers, to be honest, can only do so much in that arena, every publisher’s publicist is usually like a social worker with 30 cases on their desk, so yours can only get so much attention. So for instance, I always recommend to a writer to hire a great publicist and know that while that’s a considerable expense, it may be the best money you spend in getting the word out about your book because that publicist is working for YOU, not for 30 authors at once. It's just a fact of the business that I think should get more light shed on it because you’re competing with that number I mentioned above of 60,000+ books a YEAR coming out. I also negotiate the right to press my own promo runs of 100 if needed because if not, you’ll wind up with a paltry 10 copies from the publisher, who for their own budgetary reasons, might not for instance be able to service all the physical review copies you’ll have to give away during the book’s promotion, whether to a disc jockey interviewing you on the air or the listener he or she is giving away a free copy to during that broadcast, as just one example. If you don’t plan ahead for that, you’ll wind up paying that publisher $6 or $7 per promotional copy, which is something I’m SURE some of my own publishers would hate for me to pull the curtain back on, but its true. Writers are paid LAST usually in the royalty chain, especially early on, but you move up in that order as you build a value into your name as a writer, which only comes with people hearing about you and your book. So again, HIRE A PUBLICIST, HIRE A PUBLICIST, HIRE A PUBLICIST! Your agent can be helpful too, but its typically up to you as an author to maintain your own social media presence and look for every available avenue to spread the word about your book so it has a chance to be read. This is equally important for newer or more established writers, because there’s always a new generation of equally-as-talented new wordsmiths knocking on those publishers’ same doors...

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

In a studio making music or writing books for the various publishers I work for, or recording audiobooks for Blackstone Audio, so it’s pretty time-consuming. I did just sign a worldwide music publishing deal for my songwriting catalog with Streets Music and David Gresham Company. So I’m lucky to stay busy, to be honest, you have to too make a living in the entertainment business. I have a wife and a dog too, so I spend what time I have left with them. ☺

Your 50th book is coming out June 23rd, “Behind The Boards: Nashville”. Can you give us insight on what it will be about?

First, I exhale deeply every time I get asked that because it's finally DONE! I spent 2 years collecting extensive, first-hand – many for the first time in a book – interviews with 30 of country music’s biggest producers, and in some cases, that meant waiting for a break in their busy studio schedules to talk, in others it meant multiple conversations over a couple years as we wanted to make sure we had all their current hits as they kept banging them out, and in other cases, because of the sheer volume of their catalog – some of these guys have been in the business since the early 70s – it took that long to chronicle it all. That’s just the interview process too, then I had to write it and I write everything in one shot vs. a chapter here and there. Its to me like staying in character as an actor throughout an entire performance, and when you’re writing a book like this, you’re in a headspace that never lets you sleep because creative narrative is CONSTANTLY hitting you about specific hits, and there’s over 300 # 1s in this book. Additionally, there’s an EXHAUSTIVE amount of research I do to source out certain critical quotes of praise, for instance, from way back in the 80s, 90s, early 00s, etc from magazines that aren’t even in print anymore, as well as supporting quotes from the actual superstars these producers work with in the studio, which also takes a great deal of time. So after all of that prep, once you begin writing, there’s another 3-4 months before the manuscript comes to life as a finished product.

As a result of that, country music fans here are given arguably the MOST definitive to date book chronicling the stories behind the making of their favorite hits in the studio, again how those artists specifically and uniquely work at their craft – i.e. does George Strait sing each hit over 3 or 4 vocals or 25 or 30 takes, etc – as well as how specific # 1s within those individual catalogs of Greatest Hits were created in the studio. Then from the other side of the boards, so to speak, you get the producer’s first-hand recollections of their own personal journeys from the time they could first crawl and walk and started discovering music to their teenage bands and first tape-recorder or 2-inch reel to reel or 4-track or laptop home recording sessions all the way up through their rise to become the biggest names in the business working in country music today.

Collectively, BEHIND THE BOARDS: NASHVILLE features Dann Huff, James Stroud, Jim Ed Norman, Dave Cobb, Justin Neibank, Ross Copperman, Zach Crowell, Chris Destefano, Jesse Frasure, Norbert Putnam, Josh Osborne, Luke Laird, Clint Black, Frank Liddell, Shane McAnally, Jimmy Robbins, Josh Leo, Nathan Chapman, Paul Worley, Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens, Bobby Braddock, Michael Knox, Don Cook, Frank Rogers, Joey Moi, Ray Baker, and Buddy Cannon, who did the Foreword, which was a TRUE honor. Frankly, it was an honor to have every one of these legends speak to fans so candidly and openly about both their personal and professional lives in the music business. Their stories are inspiring, ear-and-eye-opening, exciting, insightful, and hopefully educational for those kids growing up on their records now hoping to break into the same business. So hopefully, there’s something for everyone who opens the book.

What were the methods you used to get ‘the’ interview with all the big names you’ve written about?

When you’ve been around this long, fortunately you can get in touch with just about anybody, whether they say yes or not to the interview is another story! (laughs) But I’ve been pretty lucky, especially for instance with my NASHVILLE SONGWRITER book series, which has TWO volumes and 50 of the biggest songwriters in country music in the first two volumes, and a THIRD volume with another 30 legendary songwriters coming out at the end of 2021, and especially with BEHIND THE BOARDS: NASHVILLE, which has 30 of the most legendary record producers in country over the past 50 years, guys like Norbert Putnam, who ran Quad and produced Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville,” Jim Ed Norman, who produced Hank Williams Jr’s Born to Boogie album, Ray Baker, who produced that whole 70s Honkytonk soundtrack including Moe Bandy, Whitey Shafer, and Merle Haggard and Freddy Powers among others. Then you have the Millennial generation’s biggest names like Joey Moi, Dave Cobb, Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, Ray Riddle, and on and on.

What do you think makes a good story?

Well, for this book, the most common thread woven throughout many of the chapters/live stories of these producers were the long-term working relationships they’ve maintained with many of country music’s biggest stars throughout their entire careers or the majority, for instance, Jeff Stevens and Luke Bryan, Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw, Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney, Michael Knox and Tony Brown, Frank Rogers and Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert and Frank Liddell, the list goes on and on as long as the Greatest Hits track listings do. Equally as importantly for a book like this, is the fact it takes the reader quite literally inside the studio and pulls back the curtain on how their favorite country music stars record their biggest hits, and almost literally re-creates their recording from behind the boards by the producers interviewed. Then on a totally separate front, from the academic side, its a 600-page book full of tips about how the recording process works from all sides, points of views, approaches, ages, and technologies, old and new, from analog to digital and the hybrid of both in the “in the box” generation of record making. Hopefully, we’ve covered all sides of the process, that was the aim anyway so readers get a 3-D look, so to speak, at how the recording business really works.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

I sold my first book to my first publisher, Amber Books, in 2001 and Tony Rose gave me my start in the business and I wrote for them almost exclusively for the first 5 years and 10 books of my career from 2002 to 2007. So having a stable and still exciting publisher willing to take chances on you and equally-as-importantly, the kinds of books you might approach them with, is KEY for any new writer because writers must remember EVERY time a publisher takes a chance on their book, they’re putting real money behind it before they ever see a dime back. It's a big leap of faith, and carries with it alot of obligations for the author, where it doesn’t just end with handing the book in, but also helping promote it and building a brand for your name so it can become more and more reliable for both readers and new publishers, as any writer’s goal should be to eventually build a catalog where they write for as many publishers as possible throughout their career. But be prepared to start out writing for one, or anyone for that matter, who you can verify has a good track record as a publisher, or if they’re new to the game, doesn’t just want to put out an e-book, which anyone can do without a publisher, and is willing to commit to a physical pressing, and promotion of that pressing. I wouldn’t go looking for advances on your first or even necessarily second book out, but start asking for them as soon as possible as its an important piece of the income stream for any working author, as much as royalties are later on down the road. An advance lets an author know a publisher first can afford to put money into their book, and values them, vs. Alot of these starter deals that promise big back-end but nothing up front. You have to be able to afford to take that hit once or twice out of the gate, but its not a career model any writer should plan on if they want to make a living as a working author. The other reason I mention all this is because being a working writer is not just about the creative side of the process, but the entrepreneurial one too, because you have to be a self-promoter, and not be shy to doing interviews or promotion on social media, etc, as you’re competing with a THOUSAND new titles a week minimum these days between all the digital e-books and print books out there. I think the statistic was to be something like 60,000 books published in 2018 alone, so that tells you the competition you’re up against to even get a book sold to a publisher, let alone compete on bookstore shelves for the reader dollar.

What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

Of my own books, I wouldn’t say any are underappreciated, I’m grateful for the fact that people still read my books after 20 years and 2 or 3 generations of teenagers (which are a primary part of my reading audience) still buy my stuff. I try to give them consistently interesting reading subjects, either in the personalities I co-write with – like country rapper SMO, whose memoir My Life in a Jar: The Book of Smo, was released in 2019, or the Freddy Powers Spree of ’83 memoir, which is presently in film development and that I co-wrote a screenplay for with Catherine Powers last year, that was also something different, and say something like legendary R&B producer/artist Teddy Riley’s forthcoming memoir Remember the Times, which we’ve been working on for the past 6 years off and on and is looking like it might be heading to Teddy’s fans’ hands in the next year. One key thing I tell new writers when asked for input into starting a career in the current climate for our business is be prepared to commit as much time to a book as the artist needs, its similar to an album – if the publisher wants it on a deadline, be prepare to deliver, but getting an artist to open up in depth about their life takes time, both to build trust and to physically take the time to do the interviews not only with them in principle but also with the huge list of supporting cast members between peers in the band and business and family members and friends, record executives, peers, etc that usually wind up on those lists. It's a process you should NEVER RUSH yourself, only move at the rhythm of the people you work with and for, and you’ll wind up working alot longer in the business than those who are in a hurry.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Haha, I actually have a folder called “Projects That Probably Won’t Happen” and its filled with all kinds of “famous” bands/musicians books that just never got off the ground for one reason or another, but they’re all under contractual deals where I can’t talk about them in case they want to put a book out in the future, and I hope they all do. Sometimes you encounter someone who is thinking about writing a book but is really 10 years before they’re ready to, or they aren’t really committed yet past the concept, so you do some sample chapter interviews but it never gets past that starting line. I’ve thankfully left on good terms with the majority of those names, but with 50 published books in my catalog, most of what I have committed my time to has thankfully made it to store shelves. That’s important for any new writer to remember, because with every new book project you take on, you’re committing a year to two years of their life to that process from the start of interviews through the completion, handing it into the publisher, editing, etc. Anyone in a rush usually isn’t going to get anywhere is what I’ve found, it takes time, even if your mind is moving a million miles a minute, and your ambition even faster, pace yourself and you’ll last a lot longer in the race I’ve found anyway (cheesy sports metaphor aside ☺).

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Haha, I’ve had some good and bad experiences there over the years. I have NO problem with a consumer buying my book and then reviewing it one way or the other on say Amazon or Audible, etc, because that’s part of the business, but as far as book reviews from other writers, I just have to hope they like it and write fairly about it as it does matter impressionistically what readers then think of it as a potential product to buy and read themselves. Sometimes, in walking the fine line I have to be between the technical and the creative in a series like this or Nashville Songwriter or say my In the Studio series, which has over 10 books in it alone, so you never know. Its something I don’t pay alot of attention to as well because by the time a review comes out, the book has been out a couple months usually and we’re on the back-end of a promotional push, so if its a good review, it's a nice 4th quarter boost of coverage, and if it's not, then it's pretty buried vs. hurting the book’s launch on the front end. I’m just being honest, sorry, but book reviews play a very MINIMAL role in most books’ launches if they’re properly promoted via author interviews, premier placements as we’ve done with American Songwriter, CMT, SoundsLikeNashville.com and others coming up, and for any newer writer, accept ahead of time that you’re GOING to get a bad review here or there, it's just part of the subjective review process, and doesn’t speak for your larger reading audience.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Not when you write for a living. It's not a luxury I think any of the writers I know who work professionally writing books can afford, that’s why you have to follow the simple rule of A.B.W. (Always Be Writing) ☺.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Probably doing the same thing, writing is how I make a living, so it's will be with me until arthiritis set’s in, but I’ve got 2 screenplays in development and hope to have at had at least one of them produced into a film. I’m not unrealistic to think that it will go to theatres, but I’d be happy to see a streaming service selection with my name on it as a screenwriter, there’s 3 or 4 of my books fortunately in that cycle right now so we’ll hope one or two of them make it that far. Beyond that, I’m in the studio every week as I have been the past 20 years making music and will continue doing that, hopefully to a greater degree with these new publishing deals I’ve signed as I have over 200 released songs in my own catalog, none in Country lol, but I just try to keep putting out new creative product across multiple mediums at as prolific a pace as the muse allows without the quality of the end-product being compromised. That’s the point at which I’d stop I guess, if the quality of the writing lessens to where people don’t want to read my stuff anymore. Thankfully, I have built up a pretty loyal reading and retail-buying audience over the past 2 decades, and hope to keep putting out books that help music listeners understand how hard and still rewarding a business the record business is. It's an amazing world to wake up working in every day, and I love helping musicians tell their stories on paper, so we’ll just have to see. I hope to have hit 60 books by then, although my ultimate goal is another 50 over the next 10 years! (laughs) Thanks again for your time and support of this latest project!

2 notes · View notes