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rosanthium · 2 years

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Wheel of Time Review Retitled: Surprise! A Man hates Women and Diversity.

As someone who actively consumes a lot of film content I find myself curious as to how different prominent and professional film critics and reviewers are to my own experiences as an audience consuming content. After all, art is in the eyes of the beholder and film is just that, another form of art that can be interpreted in many ways. How people interpret content is largeley based on and tailored to the individual's personal experiences and identity, which ultimately affects the reading of film in either positive or negative ways.

Now as a queer woman and a cinephile, I have some beef. Above is a review of the TV adaptation of the The Wheel of Time, written by one James Delingpole for The Spectator UK. I am in no way a misandrist or man hater, or anything along those lines, but this review has pushed my buttons to the enth. Too many times have I seem film reviewers (largely old white men) absolutely slam perfectly acceptable and creative content just for the fact that women may have depth of character, people of colour exist as does the lgbtqia+ community.

Never have i seen a review so biased and hateful, not even towards the TV adaptation but for the source materal too and it perplexes me how these reviews are allowed to continue being published and pass the editing room. Im not talking about being PC, but fuck if your going to review something base it on merit and not the fact that ripping source material to shreds, reducing the author to a failure in the fantasy literary world and then criticising the thespian abilities of the young actors, makes a review credible. Talk about hate shot after hate shot.

I don't normally get this fired up but today I'm on this hell app letting you all know, how lovers of the books, the show, the characters and the actors, have been so denegrated to "trite" and "tripe" is absolutely disgusting. You know how we learnt "If you don' t have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?" this, I feel, should have been the lesson here, as the only purpose of this review was to let us all know that this guy just doesn't like the Wheel of Time, full stop. Here are a few beautiful examples I would love to share with yall:

Firstly I would like to point out the arrogant preconception that reading a 14 book epic fantasy series will be feasible on a 2 week holiday. Yet despite personal recs and global sucess, the persuasion to pick up the book actually stemmed from the fact that Robert Jordan was a decorated war hero, engineer and an absolute mans man which inspired Delingpole to follow through with the book recommendation, then using Jordan's military and mathematical macho backround to justify his disappoinment in the failings of the book, as if that instantly gives agency for good authorship. The failings in Delingpole's eyes being:

The reviewer didnt even finish the books, and i feel we can all agree that the best thing about the Wheel of Time is how well the characters develop and change throughout the story to make a well fleshed out and rich fantasy world. By reducing it to a Lord of the Rings rip off, we see how, instead of reading the way Jordan developed those ideas that yes, have existed in other stories too, have rather opted in just disregarding TWoT as a failed copy cat that has "basic dialogue, leaden prose and uninspiring characters." Ahh, there is the literary language I so look for in justification for poor reviews, and yet we haven't even got to the show yet. As a reviewer who seems to hate the source material, Dalingpole sure had hopes that the TV adaptation would be different in his eyes, but nope, its EVEN WORSE.

Now lets get to the meaty part cos boy its a doozy:

Fuck me where to start. For someone so reverent of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings this guy sure does have some hang ups about unique fantasy names, especially outright naming the 3 examples who are played by poc actors as "annoying and unpronouncable". Sure "James", Mr Western White Man who, unsurprisingly, has a problem with foreign names, (the racist subtext is starting to smell a bit here). I wonder as such an avid reader and professional reviewer how illiterate he became when reading Dune, or any other series that has predmonitely white protagonist and unpronouncable names.

Now to Moraine and the Aes Sedai. Unfunny, pompous and crotchety witches/seers/spell-weavers who only exist as a dominating and powerful political and protector class to pander to new age feminism and paganistic hippies. WOW. God forbid women have any sort of agency and respect in an epic medieval fantasy except to be the lovers, mothers, sisters or whores of great male heros. And how dare such a "macho man" like Robert Jordan pander to these ideologies. The only thing that makes sense is if he wrote an entire, intricate world surrounding womens' power as an elaborate Barney Stinson ploy to make Jordan desirable to female audiences so he could essentially, fuck them. Yes, thats right. Delingpole believes that if a male author writes about powerful women, it must only be with predatory intentions. I dont care about defending Jordan, but I do care about how narrow this lense is, and that for this male reviewer, is the only logical explanation for a female-centred narrative written by a man. As if men can't write women with any authenticity. As if women can't exist unless to be of service to a man. As if we aren't over the tireless harmful gender roles and stereotypes that 100 years of Hollywood has reinforced. As if nothing can break out of that mold and formula unless its pandandering to minorities or feminism. I can't for the life of me see how this perspective could fly these days when it is based on so much misogyny and ignorance that I've got whiplash. And this isn't even confined to the books but bleeds into the TV series as well.

Cold but sexy-ish Gandalf? Delingpole has futher reinforced his Tolkien hard-on by essentially saying that Moraine is unlikable because she is mysterious and withdrawn (which if he stuck around, he might have learnt why there are 14 goddamn books) and that her only likability is by reducing her character to looks only. That the only redeeming quality for a MAIN CHARACTER is her fuckability. For someone who didn't finish the story or is even sticking around to finish this TV series, he sure has seemed to make up his mind. I think we can all agree that Rosamund Pike is doing an exceptional job as Moraine, and the nuances she is bringing in the show is dominating the screen by bringing the source material to life in a new, refreshing way. I goddamn screamed and cried when they canonically made Moraine a gay woman in a loving relationship with the goddamn Amyrlin Seat. What a power move. What a moment to witness, this small change that made me feel more seen and connected and personal than any other adaptation I've ever consumed, and made me hope for the future of representation on the screen. Not saying that the books and the TV adaptation are perfect, and that the debate on creative liberty is one I'm not going to get into here, but this level of criticism based on the Reviewer's personal bias makes me wonder if they were the best choice in critiquing this narrative.

Moraine isnt the only protagonist under fire. The four possible Dragons are reduced to "petulant teenages" with no "discernable personality", and now I start to wonder whether we have seen the same show and read the same book. Sure, they are doe eyed villiage folk embarking on a great adventure with life/death ramifications. Since when was innocence regarded as petulance, when was the mistakes of simple mountain folk thrust into larger destiny held to such a high regard, as if teenagers aren't fucking stupid and mess up sometimes. I doubt this reviewer has the same views of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin if you get my meaning. Hypocritical doesnt even begin to describe the level of arrogance Dalingpole has to have his word be God and the only opinion that matters in this context. And he doesnt stop there.

I know there has been some controversy in this community about the way Barney Harris is interpreting the role of Mat as a serious, brooding and whiny figure instead of the kind, trickster like, humouros conman and scoundrel as he was portrayed in the books. Either way, my personal opinion had me (ironically) disliking Harris's portrayal the most out of everyone due to the fact he felt unfamiliar to me. Whether we see a different take with Harris being recast is a different matter, because Delingpole reveres the character who has adopted the most toxic traits, whilst belittleing the rest.

Reducing young emerging actors to the thespian abilities of school play mediocrity has me reeling. How dare Delingpole attack the greener actors and diminish the hard work and talent that goes into making this kind of series, as well as insinuating that hotness and racial/queer representation is the only reason these people were cast in the first place. Im sure he didnt have any problems with the young, predominately 'white' actors of Game of Thrones, as if they are the pinnacle of acting abilities. And yes I'm gonna look at this through a racial and queer lense because goddamn James seems to feel the need to attack every minority represention left right and centre within this review. For someone hell bent on not finishing either the books or the tv series to find out if these young actors can "grow into their roles", he really is not giving any space to change his mind. Which brings me full circle and is further supported by his conclusionary statements:

In conclusion James Dalingpole wishes Game of Thrones never ended and that any form of diversity is a hindrance to the sucess of television fantasy. The Wheel of Time is thus, a cheap knockoff of every medieval fantasy that has been popularised in culture, and any decision to include minority representation in the source material, or the adaptation has ultimately lead to failure in his eyes. And yet here, Delingpole reinforces that it is the most successful fantasy series since Lord of the Rings. So how did it go so wrong? Answer: it didn't, Delingpole just has a lifelong perscription of bigoted glasses and his script ain't changing any time soon.

I am not saying that my rant on this review is the only truth out there, we all have our own opinions and interpretations, but having a reviewer so biased against diversity, whether it be gender, race or sexuality, leads me to wonder why these kinds of reviews are allowed any agency at all. Everyone's a critic, sure, but never have I seen such a blatant disregard and disrespect of the books, the fans, the actors and even the studio execs. It irks me that this drivel is still being reinforced because these opinions don't actually give any form of depth or nuance, just hatred for the divulge in formula. The classic "Bring me back to the good ol days" mentality where anyone who wasn't a man was opressed. The Wheel of Time is not Lord of the Rings, nor is it Game of Thrones, it is beloved by many, myself included, and can stand on its own if we stop the comparisons to what 'was' normal and Hollywood formula and embrace that diversity is becoming the norm. Women exist, people of colour exist and so do lgbtqia+ people who are allowed to have agency in how we create a new norm and formula for medieval epic fantasies. I, for one, am someone who can seperate book from adaptation and am so far loving both, but to write this review as an attack on the narrative as a whole feels outdated and honestly pathetic. Here I am, reading the words of another angry old white man who is pissed off that representation is being normalised, when we should be embracing the fact that outdated source material being brought to modern audiences need to reflect a sense of modernity, which thus means, adapting women-lead narratives, casting lgbtqia+ and poc actors to adapt the roles and just outright not give people like this Reviewer any more agency to reinforce these harmful opinions. I'm also not saying the Wheel of Time is perfect, because like everything, it has flaws, but outright calling it a failure due to its type of content, makes me wonder if James Dalingpole has actually enjoyed anything since we emerged into the 21st century.

Anyway, rant over. Check out the full article yourselves and suss it out. Am i reading too much into this? I hope not, cos this is just one example of so many film reviews I have seen this year absolutely sloshing new films and series just based on the fact it is "Too PC" and this last one got me in the gut. I'm over it because I fucking love how film these days are setting the standard for progressing culture away from the dominant western patriarchal ideologies. It starts with small change, and i know that change is scary for book purists and fragile egos, but the only way we are going to see rich, personalised and diverse stories on screen is if we stop letting the voice of an old white man dictate what constitutes good content or not. I don't know, fight me about this if you want but I'm just fucking tired.

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tatney · 3 years

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saw first time viewing livewatch thoughts

* adam is so transgender <3

* oh so the quality of my ill eagle copy isn’t that bad it’s just that the lights were off lol

* his name is lawrence gordon. he’s a DOCTOR

* mr elwes sir please stop mumbling my autistic ears cannot hear your

* MR FAULKNER STANHEIGHT IS A WHOWERE. WHY DID YOU SHOW HIM YOUR TIT

* aha lawrence is t posing :)

* adam. my widdle boy

* lawrence telling him to take his shirt off 👀

* GSMSHSKWYKSBSKSUWLHD JOHN IS SUCH A BITCH

* I KNOW EVERYONE IN THE FANDOM CALLS ADAM PATHETIC BUT GOD

* john mulaney hmm gross!.jpeg

* okay but i WOULD have checked under the toilet lid first. the things you’ll do for an older man 😔

* these two are so bad at playing catch. the kids who didn’t run the mile representation

* if i could see cary elwes’ eyebrows better i’d find him s*xier

* JOHN KRAMER I’LL KILL YOU MYSELF. I HATE THIS MAN I CANNOT STAND THIS MAN

* so the editing really IS like that huh

* yes he IS a murderer you stupid son of a bitch. there is no “technically” about it you fucking idiot

* we’ve got two bitches from lost my beloved :)

* THAT’S THE PRESIDENT FROM THE BLACKLIST TOO

* all of sing’s clothes are too big for him. small man :)

* MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY MANDY

* PLEASE GOD I LOVE HER I LOVE HER SO FUCKING MUCH I’LL CRY

* i knew that the editing was like THAT but not that MUCH ya know goddamn

* oh a giallo style shot. lov that <3

* MISS SHAWNEE SMITH DESERVES EVERY AWARD ACTUALLY

* motherfucker on his liddol tricycle

* i would piss on that fucking puppet

* futurama they must learn our peaceful ways by force.jpeg

* that’s just john’s vibe

* i wonder how much of saw inspired the batman arkham games thinking emoji

* how am i only half an hour way through

* tbh i want this kid’s duvet not kidding

* girl you in DANGER

* and i want that big snake :)

* HE’S NOT PLAYING THIS LITTLE PIGGY. NOT IN A MOVIE WHEREIN PEOPLE DON PIG MASKS BC THEIR REPRESENT REBIRTH AND PEOPLE ARE CONTINUOUSLY CUTTING THEIR FEET OFF. MR WHANNEL I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOU

* “she’s beautiful” he’s taking about the dog BSBNSYSLAYSLSBLSU

* “where’s the. uh lucky wife” and you mean to tell me that adam isn’t a homosexual when he looks at lawrence like that while saying this line

* “i’m always missing from the photos” oh sir i’ve been on saw tumblr just you wait for the dramatic irony to hit just you WAIT

* oh god i though jigsaw wrote a slur in there good GOD

* very billy from black christmas vibes, harold finch from person of interest :)

* excuse me mr tapp but who’s amy and why do you have her starbucks order

* OOOOOOOHHHH FUNKY TRANSITION

* james wan you are such a KING

* “who said anything about a warrant?” sir that’s illegal

* sir that’s breaking and entering

* sir that’s a LOT of paperwork that you won’t be able to complete bc you’ll be dead soon but STILL

* did jigsaw plan on lawrence wearing blue or was that a funny coincidence lol

* john’s wearing his bathrobe

* HIS ASSASSINS CREED BATHROBE HOLY SHIT

* ooh slidey door. wonder if there’ll be more of those later on teehee hoo hoo

* somebody show tapp the “that’s not your depression bed; that’s your nest omega” tiktok and see if that does anything

* “what do you want me to do? i’m on a leash” DOGBOY ADAM DOGBOY ADAM DOGBOY ADAM

* “you wanna put something in this room in your mouth?” “YES!!!!!!” are these lines from fanfiction verbatim

* adam you’re so fuckin stupid why would you spy on a man but keep the flash of your camera on

* OOOOOOOOOOH IT’S THE CINEMATIC PIG CARPARK SCENE

* “whatEVER” “i’m dealing with a juvenile.....” this is what happens when you have a sugar baby lawrence

* INFAMOUS ADAM GENDER SMOKING FAKE DEATH BREAKDANCE SCENE LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO

* little dogboy twink photographers have me in a perpetual chokehold they really do

* i mean he’ll waste a lot of film but. okay i guess this is a horror movie after all gsmshsksynbsmahsp

* BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR GAY LITTLE PUPPET WITH MY BAT

* oh adam really is serving jonathan byers teas with the baseball bat and the camera as weapons. fuck

* cary elwes posh little accent coming THROUGH

* adam doesn’t make sense as cis man. he just doesn’t look at that man he’s so transgender

* ok but lawrence’s “mistress” is GORGEOUS actually omg

* i’m still gonna say that he’s gay tho. u can’t take that away form me lol

* adam’s wrists are so LIMP holy shit

* lawrence gordon classist moments

* mr elwes please control your accent sir i’m struggling not to laugh

* ok ally’s a girlboss then !

* michael emerson my beloved. when you try to be evil you have all the menace of a disgruntled bunny rabbit

* “lawrence get up! i need you!” now when you fuckers told me these two were gay you didn’t say THIS gay

* at least ally and diana are ok :)

* ok my headcanon is that lawrence is originally from england but was moved to america as a kid bc i need in contextual reasons for all of the accent slips that i can’t take seriously

* ADAM GIRLBOSS MOMENT

* “don’t worry i’ll bring someone back i promise” YOU LYING TRICK ASS MOTHERFUCKER I’LL KILL YOU MYSELF /j /affectionate

* at least john’s got that ARCH

* IT’S THE SCENE IT’S THE SCENE

* god that movie fucked. that movies fucked SO hard good god no wonder gay people love it

* ok i think that ill league gull copy broke my laptop lol

#BRO I’M SWEATING THAT WAS SO GOOD HOLY SHIT YEA #gonna try to fix my laptop now lol <33 #saw #adam faulkner stanheight #lawrence gordon #john kramer #amanda young #zep hindle #david tapp #steven sing #alison gordon #diana gordon #chainshipping #mine #long post #ns/fw #i haven’t gif a clue what half of this says but <3 #*got i haven’t GOT a clue #if you got this far. i am high-fiving you and interlocking our fingers <3

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years

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Holy crap. Look at Kate Herron's shirt. When the Loki director pops up on Zoom, she's donning the most glorious image anyone will see since we laid eyes on Alligator Loki: A Teletubby wearing the Loki horns. Are the Teletubbies Loki variants? Sure, why not!

"I got it on Instagram," Herron says. "There's an amazing comic book artist and he designed it. He made it into a T-shirt for me because I saw it and was like, 'That's incredible. Can I get it for the press junket?'"

Herron, no big deal, just pulled off an MCU miracle. Entering a mammoth franchise with, notably, some of Sex Education's best episodes under her belt, the director deftly brought a plot involving multiverses and Richard E. Grant in a cape and superhero mumbo-jumbo to brilliant, beautiful life. Following Loki's tear-jerking, mind-bending finale, the series has been dubbed by critics and fan's alike as one of Marvel's best efforts—which is no small feat. Of course, we needed to ask Herron how she stuck the landing. Following the most epic finale you, me, or any Teletubby can remember, Herron talked to Esquire about the Miss Minutes jump scare, filming the finale's introduction of He Who Remains, and why she won't return for Season Two of Loki.

ESQ: How are you doing?

KH: I'm good. I think I feel very relieved that I don't have to sit on the secret of He Who Remains anymore, It was a very big secret to hold, but for an important reason, right? Because it's such a good character to be launching. So yeah, I feel good.

ESQ: Loking back at your old interviews, you have such a good poker face when you're avoiding spoilers, but you're also incredible at giving aggregator crumbs.

KH: I play a lot of board games, so you need to be quite good at strategy and poker faces so people can't always read your hand. So I think weirdly board games have prepared me more for working with Marvel than anything else.

ESQ: I have to start with the Miss Minutes jump scare. What went into the decision to make her a memeable, creepy apparition in that moment?

KH: I love horror, and my executive, Kevin Wright, knew that. Me and him were talking about Episode Six and I remember that he was like, "Oh, maybe you could do something creepy of Miss Minutes." And I immediately was like, "We have to do a jump scare!" Because I haven't got to do a good jump scare in anything yet and I really wanted to, because a lot of my friends are horror directors. I was like, "I can't let them down." So I was really excited to have a shot at doing a jump scare. And Miss Minutes, it was really fun testing it because we'd kind of bring different people into the edit, me and Emma McCleave, the editor, and we'd just play it for them, watch them, and check that they were jumping when we cut it.

ESQ: One thing that I think is getting missed in all the craziness is that we see a peak moment of the love story between Loki and Sylvie. Where does the finale leave the companionship that they found in each other?

KH: When I started the show, that was always in the DNA of it—that Loki was going to meet a version of himself and they were going to fall in love. And that's honestly what drew me into the story, because I directed Sex Education. I love stories about self-love and finding your identity and your people. Loki is such a broken character when we join him, and seeing him go on this amazing journey with all this growth and finding the good points of himself in seeing her—I think that was very beautiful. It's also paying respect to the fact that Sylvie's in a very different place to him. She hasn't had the Mobius therapy session. She even says, in Episode Five, "I don't know how to do this. I don't have friends." You really feel for her because she has been on the run and her whole life has been this mission.

It's almost funny because these characters are thousands of years old, but it's almost teenage the way they both talk about their feelings for each other. I think everyone can relate to that, right? In any new relationship, there's always that kind of awkwardness and like, "Oh God, am I too keen? The important thing was the hope—like when Sylvie and him kiss, I think it is genuine and it is coming from a place of these feelings they have for each other. Obviously she does push them through that door, but for me it was a goodbye and it was with heart. But it's kind of a goodbye in the sense of like, I care about you, but I'm going to do my mission because that's where I'm at.

ESQ: I would pay for you to direct the Sex Education episode where Otis falls through a portal into the multiverse, into the main MCU.

KH: He really looks like a Loki as well, which is so funny. I always thought that. I was like Asa does look like a Loki. It didn't come to pass or anything, but it would be interesting to do a Sex Ed-Marvel crossover. I wonder who all the different characters would be within the MCU, but it would be quite funny.

ESQ: You're right, he could pull off a teenage Loki.

KH: Yeah, like a teen or a very young ’20s, maybe. But it was just funny because I was like, "Oh yeah, he looks a bit like Tom." I wonder how they could do it. I'm sure they'll find a way to do a crossover anyway.

ESQ: Can you just take me back to filming with Jonathan Majors? And you capturing him in such a compelling, quirky, scary way—I'm sure your direction was such a big part of that.

KH: I was just so excited because Jonathan is an actor that everyone was so excited about. He's like a chameleon in everything he does and he's so talented. I just feel as a director so lucky to have worked on this because I feel like I've got to work with some of the best actors out there. And when you're with Jonathan, you know you're in the presence of just someone really magnificent. For me as a director, it's giving him the space to play and feel safe. Because we filmed it all in a week, but it was a lot to film in a week. So I think it was really about creating a space where he could have fun and find this character because he's going to be playing him for a long time.

ESQ: What went into the decision to introduce us to the good guy first?

KH: I remember in the script, he comes up the elevator and it was so casual. I was like, "Oh man, that's so fun." And then Jonathan, when he plays it, he's relaxed. And I the thing he used to talk about a lot was that this is a character who's been on his own for a long time. Because at the beginning, we introduced him in a space in the universe that feels like this very busy, loud place, but actually, when we see the Citadel, he's surrounded by the Timeline and he's very isolated. Even in his costume with [designer] Christine Wada, for the idea of his outfit, he's a character who's existed for multiple millennia. So it's like, OK, let's pull from lots of different places so you can't necessarily pin down which time or which place he might be from. Also the fact that his clothes look comfy. They were like pajamas because he's living at home. He loved the idea of the office [being] the only finished part of the citadel and that the rest of the citadel was like this Sunset Boulevard kind of dusty, dilapidated space. And just again showed that he probably just keeps himself to his office. All those elements definitely fed into Jonathan's performance in terms of balancing the extrovert, but also the introvert of someone that would be living by themselves and only talking to a cartoon clock.

ESQ: It really is incredible how you pull a nail-biting finale with this battle of wits and dialogue.

KH: It was really exciting because I feel like Episode Five was a lot of fun because we got to play into all the joy of the different versions of Loki, but also just the fact that it was our big usual Marvel third act, right? Like it was where our big spectacle was as they were fighting this big monster. But I love that our finale bookends, right? We began with a conversation and we ended with one.

ESQ: I also loved that there was no end-credits scene—I think it makes the ending that much more impactful. Was there ever an end credit scene on the table, or any kind of a stinger?

KH: I think no, because weirdly, we never went after the kind of mid-credit sequences. I think we always just were thinking just of the story and where we knew we wanted it to end. For example, Episode Four, originally Loki was deleted and then we went straight to him waking up. And it was only in the edit I was like, “I think it'd be really cool actually. We should move that scene to mid-credits because then we'll really feel like Loki has died." Because if I watched that moment and then it went to the credits, I'd be like, "What?!" And then when we were talking about the best way to talk about Season Two, we were like, "Okay, well, let's do that like a little mid-credits at the end because that is exciting to confirm it in that way." I'd say we found both of those in the edit just because we wanted to kind of do it right and have a fun nod to something that Marvel does so well.

ESQ: Is there anything you can tell about the future of the story you've told here—or even where you personally would like to go with the studio or otherwise going forward?

KH: Yeah, so I'm just on for Season One. So I'm so proud of the story we told. I mean, it was amazing getting to set up the TVA and take Loki on this whole new journey. And I mean, I think we've left so much groundwork for his character, and as people see in the comics, there's so much more to be delved into. And I just am excited honestly to just see where all the characters go. Like, who is B-15? What did she see in those memories and where did Ravonna go and where is Loki? I think for me, we've set up these questions and I look forward to seeing them being answered as a fan in the next season.

ESQ: Absolutely. Well, can we please work on the Asa Butterfield Loki?

KH: I will call him and I'll be like, "You want to do some crazy Marvel crossover?"

#Kate Herron #loki #season 1 #director #interview

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steveleoparddd · 3 years

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Hello! I used to enjoy your (darren shan characters react to)) posts but you've never done them on tumblr anymore. could you please do a characters react to series or something like this? thank you

hey, thank YOU for this cuz honestly i have lots of fun making the whole “cdf characters if...” :3

I don;t know if i’ll be able to do a series bcs idk if i can be creative for so long but ill see what i can do !!! heres this for now.

CDF CHARACTERS MAKING APOLOGY VIDEOS

Steve

Title: Sorry.

Thumbnail: Simple black bg with a serious looking Steve, clenched jaw, looking at the camera with “Sorry” written in Impact font over his head

Duration: 1 minute 30 seconds.

Intro Music: N/A

Setting: his bedroom, wearing a simple black t-shirt. did he just wake up?

Content: Starts with him looking off to the side and shaking his head slowly. When he begins he vaguely mentions what happened, gives a not-so-clear reason for what he did, and then apologizes. Is it just me or did that feel a little dishonest? Wait it’s already ending? He smiles lightly and waves as video ends.

Ads: Yes. 6 ads.

Outro Music: Yes, the usual upbeat outro but it’s toned down

Description: Nothing to do with the apology but it DOES have links to his socials and website where you can buy his merch.

Darren

Title: My Apology......

Thumbnail: A teary-eyed Darren looking down, looking really sad. Oh damn, will he cry ???

Duration: 13 minutes

Intro Music: Yes, usual upbeat music with the whole animated intro.....

Setting: carpeted lounge floor, couch and french window in the background. is he in a costume? the hell is that pirate-shirt thing he’s wearing?

Content: Starts with him exhaling and looking at the camera. Shots of him that show him trying to compose himself or think of the right way to say all the things in his mind. He tells the entire thing that happened, tells his point of view (but that only makes things worse) and then promises to better himself and smiles and the video ends

By the way, he didn’t cry even once.

Ads: None

Outro Music: N/A

Description: The entire lyrics of “Sorry, Blame it On me” by Akon

Larten

Title: I Have Something To Say.....

Thumbnail: Just a frame from the video. It’s a bit pixelly/low quality because it was shot on phone.

Duration: 2 minutes

Intro Music: No

Setting: a cave???? where is he??? why’s he dressed so fancy in the middle of nowhere?

Content: Gets right into it, as if filming an Instagram story. There’s a brief one-second pause before he begins because he’s checking if the recorder is on. Then he goes into it. Turns out this isn’t an apology video, he’s just saying he’s in the right and won’t apologize. Doesn’t mention or acknowledge the situation...he’s just ranting about being right...oh god. it ends- like all his videos- abruptly.

Ads: None

Outro Music: N/A

Description: "Never apologize for doing what’s right. -Plato”

Kurda

Title: What Everyone Needs To Hear

Thumbnail: Blurred background, looking down....these emojis are on it 😨😢......

Duration: 10 minutes

Intro Music: N/A

Setting: his usual setup.

Content: he begins the video with a sponsorship about some bottle or whatever. he seems upbeat and happy, as usual, even when he addresses the situation and explains what he did. “so...that’s what happened. I am sorry to those offended by such a trivial matter. Your feelings matter, of course, but you take yourselves too seriously.” It’s giving very...mixed vibes. Is he sorry or not??

Ads: Nope

Outro Music: N/A

Description: “Facts (and logic) do not- and must not- care about our feelings - Unknown” (he genuinely doesn;t know where the qoute is from but he’s gonna get cancelled for this too--)

Harkat

Title: Harkat

Thumbnail: Black screen

Duration: 3 hours

Intro Music: No

Setting: N/A, we can’t see him, the screen is black at first with panting in the bg as if he just ran, then the screen shows his screen capture, minecraft is opening....

Content: He just plays minecraft. Doesn’t say a word.

Ads: None.

Outro Music: N/A

Description: a

Arra

Title: For the Crybabies

Thumbnail: Her giving the middle finger

Duration: 5 minutes

Intro Music: N/A

Setting: the gym. she’s sweaty and it seems as though she just finished an intense workout. there are a couple people behind her doing their thing.

Content: Sits down, she’s panting. Looks at the camera and goes off. She’s really angry and throws expletives like anything, it’s just 5 minutes of her chewing on the snowflakes that are trying to cancel her for stupid reasons.

Ads: None

Outro Music: N/A

Description: Fuck you

Vancha

Title: What you want

Thumbnail: his abs.

Duration: 30 seconds

Intro Music: N/A

Setting: THE FOREST???? WHY’S HE NAKED???

Content: we get a side-view of his bare torso as he does some push-ups. the video isn’t an apology? he talks about irrelevant things. video ends mid-sentence.

Ads: N/A

Outro Music: N/A

Description: Blank

Debbie

Title: I Am Sorry

Thumbnail: Hey crying really badly. It’s a frame from the video

Duration: 20 minutes

Intro Music: Yes, usual animated intro

Setting: an empty classroom ...????????

Content: It’s edited to show a clip from the middle of the video at the beginning, in which she’s crying really badly and apologizing. Then the intro plays and the video starts. She tells the whole story, also 2 other stories that aren’t relevant to the situation but she adds them anyway.

Ads: 3 ads.

Outro Music: Yes.

Description: Justifying why she had to add the ads, she’s gonna donate all money made off this to charity

Evanna

Title: The Truth

Thumbnail: A picture (with really low brightness) of a solemn Evanna dressed in black on a wooden floor with a skull beside her. A crow is perched on the skull.

Duration: 11 minutes 11 seconds

Intro Music: N/A

Setting: where the hell is she

Content: First few seconds are kind of weird because she just casts a spell. Then she starts, turns out THIS isn’t an apology video either!!! She’s just pulling receipts and making audience realize she doesn’t need to apologize and also forever destroying the career(s) of the accusing party by exposing them it’s crazy and the internet will forget it never

Ads: Disputed

Outro Music: Ends with a black screen and her usual, witchy outro music

Description: Do not meddle in things you can never comprehend.

Oh and a link to her website :3

Mr. Tiny:

Doesn’t make an apology video

lol these are it for now...lmk if you want smthn more specific?

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12yeahiminluvwu · 4 years

Text

Calm

pairing - Rudy Pankow x Little Sister!Reader

summary- Requested by @deathcompass :) “hi! your writing is amazing :) i was wondering if you could write something with drew/rudy where his younger sister has a panic attack and he helps her calm down because she gets them a lot?”

word count- 1.9+

warning(s)- panic attack tw, anxiety tw, swearing (maybe? idk), kinda cliche… gives me 2016 wattpad vibes ngl, the ending sucks i’m so sorry! very loosely edited

series masterlist

masterlist

Disclaimer: I’ve only ever had very mild panic attacks so I’m going to use my own experiences to write this, but I do understand that they can be very severe and I’m not in any way trying to romanticize anything at all. I love you, stay safe <3

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

“Hey bug, you ready to come home?” You sighed, realizing that summer was ending and you would be having to go back to Alaska for school. It hadn’t snuck up on you, but some part of you had hoped that you’d get to stay with your brother forever.

“I guess…” You mumbled back, not wanting to hurt your parents but also not wanting to go back.

“You’re all set to fly out in a few days, we can’t wait to see you!” Your mom exclaimed. You could hear the excitement in her voice which only broke your heart even more. The familiar feeling began to bubble up in your chest, making it seem like you couldn’t breathe in all the way, like something was taking up space in your lungs preventing you from getting enough oxygen. This hadn’t happened all summer, not since you came to live with Rudy. It had been so long since you felt it, you almost forgot the feeling altogether.

“Sweetie? You still there?” Your mom’s voice brought you out of your own head and back into the real world, where a few minutes of silence had passed.

“Yeah, yeah I’m here. I’ll see you soon. Love you guys.” You quickly ended the conversation, wanting to get as far away from your phone as possible, as your mind assimilated it with the panic you were feeling.

This time, you were able to keep yourself calm.

“Baby, do you really have to leave?” Your boyfriend asked, his arms sliding around your waist, leaving goosebumps in their wake. The feeling of his skin on yours always ignited a fire within you, one you didn’t want to put out. You leaving in a few days felt like a storm threatening to wash away the wildfire the two of you had created together.

“Yeah… I have to go back to school, my brother is gonna be filming season two of his show in Charleston, I’d have no one to stay with…” You mumbled into his chest, soaking in his scent, aching to remember every piece of him. Part of you wanted to believe that a long-distance relationship with him would work but the rest of you knew that it wasn’t fair to either of you.

“Go to school here, with us! You could stay with me!” One of your best friends chimed in. A spark of hope lit up in your stomach, maybe you could stay. But then, like clockwork, that same feeling from earlier began to slither its way through your body. Your mind raced to all the things you’d be leaving behind, all the friends you had back home that you hadn’t seen in months.

But as your mind raced and you sat with your new friends, and boyfriend (something you never thought you’d get back home), you realized the people in this room meant more to you than the people back home, who were only still friends with you because they didn’t have anyone else to be friends with. That still didn’t keep the panic at bay, but once again, you were able to keep yourself calm.

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

“Roo, I wanna talk to you about something…” You said, coming into his room that night.

“What’s up kid?” He asked, watching you sit down next to him on his bed. The way you twiddled your thumbs and chewed on your lips told him you were nervous about something, his mind racing to find out what it could be. The energy in the room shifted, and it was like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Taking a big gulp, you started trying to verbalize your thoughts, even though it felt like you couldn’t breathe.

“So… I was thinking- maybe- I… I could stay here with my friends and go to school here. She said she’d- she’d talk to her mom and ask if it was ok. But like, I would- I would need your help talking to mom and dad because I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but I really- really don;t want to go back home…” You stumbled out, hoping that he would understand what you had just word vomited at him. Slowly, you began to feel the burn of tears coming to your eyes, and desperately you tried to hold them back.

“You want to stay here? How come?” He asked. He sat up, coaxing you into his arms cause he knows it calms you down. You laid your head on his chest and kept trying to take deep breaths as he stroked your hair.

“I feel more understood by the people I’ve met here than I do by anyone in that stupid little town…” You whispered, “I’ve gotten closer to them in 3 months than I did to anyone back home in 16 years, Rudy. I have no one... no one real anyway.”

“So you want to stay here in LA?” He asked again and you nodded. The sound of his voice was distant, sounding miles away. You did your best to focus on your breathing but that focus was quickly slipping away as your breathing became more sporadic and uneven. It was as if something was sitting on your chest, preventing you from getting enough air.

“I’ll talk to mom and dad and see what they say. Kiddo, I need you to focus on your breathing ok? Focus on taking a deep breath all the way in and breathing all the way out.” He continued to run his fingers through your hair as you gasped in deep breaths and let the tears fall down your face. Slowly, the room started opening back up and even though the tears still ran down your face and your hands shook like an earthquake, it got a little easier to breathe.

“That’s it, just like that,” He cooed. You sighed at the sound of his voice, remembering when you used to get these all the times before Rudy left home. After he was gone, they picked up even more and your mom and dad just didn’t quite know how to ground you like Rudy did. He was always there to protect you, it was a kick in the gut when he left you. But here he was, calming you down.

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

Rudy sat up in the living room, the next morning. You were still asleep, somewhat exhausted from last night's events. The phone rang and he took a deep breath, hoping for nothing more than to be able to get you what you want.

“Hey Rudy! How have you been?” Your guys’ mom answered and he smiled, hearing the happiness in her voice.

“Hey mom, is dad around?” He asked and heard shuffling on the other end. Suddenly his dad's voice sounded from the line and they got a little lost in simple conversation. Rudy then remembered exactly why he called them and got down to business.

“So I wanna talk to you about Y/n…” He trailed off and your parents went a little quiet. He started to feel the sweat gather on his palms and gulped down the nervous lump in his throat, noticing the shift of energy in the call.

“Is she ok? Did something happen to her?” Your dad spewed out, worried that something might have happened to his little girl, but he shook his head before remembering they couldn’t see him.

“No no no she’s fine, but I know you guys are gonna be a little skeptical about what I’m going to tell you,” He sighed before continuing on, “ She wants to stay here for the school year…”

The line went quiet. He could tell his parents were shocked, the fact that their daughter didn’t want to come home was a lot to process and they had no idea what the reasoning behind it was.

“What do you mean? She doesn’t want to come home?” The woman gasped, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

“She’s ade some really awesome friends, people she’s closer to than anyone she is with at home. She’s already lined up a place to stay while I’m shooting. I think you’d really like them actually. It’s one of her best friends and her mom, they’re really nice! I think you guys should change Y/n’s ticket so that you guys can come down here…” He rushed out, hoping they understood him, but he was met with silence once again.

“Uhm… We’re not making any promises, but we’ll come down there so we can talk about this as a family…” His dad said and he nodded with a smile, agreeing.

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

You woke up feeling the events from last night lingering in your shoulders and neck.

It was a familiar ache that only ever happened after an attack, a muscle tightness that made it feel as though you’d been sleeping on concrete for the past week. Doing your best to roll out the soreness, you walked into the kitchen to see Rudy with a look on his face that you couldn’t read.

“So… I talked to mom and dad, and they’re gonna come here so we can talk about you staying!” He smiled and you felt like a little bit of the weight you’d been feeling lifted.

“When are they coming?”

“They’ll be here tomorrow,” He said, coming over and hugging me tightly, “We’ll get you where you need to be kid, promise!”

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

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Your parents sat across from you and your brother, silently. You could tell they were deep in thought, but it didn’t help the shaking that began to take over your hands.

All you wanted was for them to understand. They weren’t always great at that…

“Mom, are you gonna say anything?” You finally asked, wincing when she let out a sign.

“Y/n, I just don’t like the idea of you living with someone you just met three months ago....” She said finally and your dad nodded along with her.

“You don’t understand though. I’m closer to them than I am to anybody back home! I know her and I know that she cares about me, her mom cares about me! When I wasn’t here, I was there. I’m practically already a part of the family! She’s had me and Rudy over for dinner so many times I lost count. She’s hosted dinner parties for the cast because she wants to get to know the people close to Rudy and I because she cares! She’s like a second mom to me. And I love you guys, I really do. But I’m just not happy at home! It doesn’t feel like home anymore. This… This feels like home.” You stood up, pacing back and forth, your voice gradually raising to try and hold in the tears that threatened to fall.

“Baby…”

“Momma…” You whispered pleadingly, looking her in the eyes for the first time since she’d arrived and finally letting the tears fall. Rudy was next to you in seconds, pulling you into his arms, doing his best to keep you grounded so you didn’t fall off the edge.

The silence was filled by your sniffles and Rudy’s whispers into your ear. Your parents looked at each other with a knowing look in their eyes. It was obvious that they were not your home anymore, and no matter how much it broke their hearts they knew they had to let you go.

“Y/n, honey, we want to meet the family first, but we think you should stay. We want you to be happy bug, and if this is where you’re happy, then this is where you should be!” Your mom finally said, coming over and wrapping you and your brother in a tight hug. Your dad followed in suit and soon enough you started to feel yourself calm down.

#rudy's little sister #rudy pankow #rudy pankow x reader #rudy pankow imagine #outer banks #imagine #x reader #jj maybank #pogue #netflix #y/n #rudy pankow x y/n #x y/n #self insert

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ladymatt · 3 years

Text

First Lines Of Your Last 20 Fics!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Tagged by the witty and wonderful @lorenzobane ❤️ TY, sweetheart! All of the humble offerings below are about Malec (of course), and I make no apology for wanting to write endlessly about them! I’M IN LOVE WITH THEIR LOVE, OK?

1) Protect You Above All Else - (T, Supportive Husbands, 3 Times Plus 1)

Alec is just making sure he’s mixed Magnus’ martini to his very stringent specifications when the man himself, looking entirely too put together to be feeling the supposed exhaustion Izzy’s text just warned him about, makes an entrance that has Alec eye-rolling in the fondest of ways.

2) There’s Something Magical About Christmas! - (T, Family/HP Theme)

Surely it couldn’t be time to rise and face the day already, Magnus thinks, burrowing deeper into the furry warmth of his husband’s comfy chest, stubbornly refusing to let the light stealing through the curtains rob him of his contented bliss.

3) Service With A Sunshine Smile - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Grocery Store AU)

“Alec, are you even listening?” Izzy whines, spoiling the intense eye-fucking that’s simmering between him and the sharply-dressed employee on checkout one every time they pass.

4) A Lesson In Love - (G, Prompt Ficlet, University Lecturers AU)

The customary curses that seem to follow every one of Magnus’ futile trips to the dean’s office filter through the open door connecting their offices, and Alec buries an affectionate smile as he walks through it.

5) Hidden Truths - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Mystery AU)

With the evening fire crackling in the grate and the gramaphone playing jazz 45s, Alec feels transported to another time altogether as he mirrors the relaxed and recumbent form of his live-in landlord across the hearth in his armchair’s twin.

6) Fighting The Good Fight - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Angel/Demon AU)

Satisfaction warms the heart of the angel, Integrity, as he surveys the crowded youth club he runs in Brooklyn.

7) Whiskey Rocks And A Little White Lie - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Exes AU)

It had taken three of his closest friends’ stimulating company and six whiskey doubles to reach this fragile state of near-acceptance over his break-up with Alec, but no distraction amongst the bar’s lively clientele made his pulse so much as flutter, let alone thump with the force of a thousand drums the way Alec’s smile could.

8) Wake Up Call - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Roomates AU) *My Fave Intro*

Surfacing from a sleep that should’ve lasted at least another week, Magnus’ mouth feels like a tide of alcohol has left only sand in its wake and his head’s still swimming with regret over the senseless fight with his best friend that triggered his headlong dash into anything offering oblivion from Alexander Gideon Lightwood.

9) A Love That Knows No Bounds - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Malec As Dads AU)

Arriving late at the gallery hosting Clary and Maia’s joint exhibition of art and marine photography, Alec weaves his way through the crowd to make his apologies to the forgiving duo, congratulating them both on the evident success of the ‘Nature’s Canvas’ collection before locating the expected family and friends, three of which are nowhere to be seen.

10) Interest Detected - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Film Noir/Detective AU)

“So you’ll take the case?” said the snake in the suit, aka the torment of Alec’s otherwise perfect life.

11) All Hail, Alexander The Grrreat! - (M, Prompt Ficlet, Role-Play Sex AU)

His husband’s formidable powers of application when learning a new skill had always been a source of pride for Magnus, but when paired with Alec’s insatiable, hitherto untapped predilection for role-play sex, he bore witness to more showstopping performances than Menzel could ever give on Broadway!

12) Impossible Just Means Try Again - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Neighbours AU)

They have no right, Magnus thinks as bodies and boxes make their way into his late friend’s beloved home, every clumsy accident and cheery apology grating on his fractured nerves.

13) To Us, You’re Still Here - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Widower Alec AU)

“You hate it,” Magnus states with amused certainty.

14) A Worthy Prize - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Game Show AU)

Acute nerves at standing in the line-up for the nation’s most popular game show, The Inquizitor, has left Alec’s skin glazed with sweat and triggered a plethora of childhood tics that serve to make him look even more anxious than he feels.

15) Unbridled Panic - (G, Prompt Ficlet, Film Set AU)

“OK, I might have forgotten to tell you I’m very afraid of horses.”

16) For One Day Every Year - (M, Canon Verse/Christmas Two-Parter)

Their first Christmas together fast approaching, Magnus was indulging in all things yule-related with a level of excited enthusiasm that he couldn’t recall ever having experienced before.

17) Consumed With Love At Christmas - (E, Family Christmas Party)

Alec Lightwood loved his family and friends with his whole heart, he really did, and inviting all of them over for a Christmas edition of their usual games night had even been his idea, but watching the way his hot tease of a boyfriend was making virtual love to that tangerine from all the way over here at the other end of the couch made him wish they were trapped at the North Pole with no means of return for years to come because all Alec wanted, for Christmas and the next few hours at least, was Magnus’ hungry mouth on him.

18) Lightwood Came To Win! - (M, Halloween Party At Pandemonium AU)

Although blissfully unaware of how the revolving multi-coloured lights of the packed out venue rendered his silky white outfit virtually transparent (except for a few face-saving ruffles and the odd gigantic bobble), Alec Lightwood still felt like a giant fool.

19) Musical Monday - (M, Sharing New Experiences/Competitive Shits AU)

There’s very little that Alec won’t do to put a smile on his boyfriend’s beautiful face, but donning a loincloth the size of a handkerchief while playing a harp, is not one of them, no matter what is dangled in front of him as a reward.

20) Made All The Difference - (G, Introspective Alec/Idiots In Love)

In the short time that Alec had known Magnus, his whole life had changed in ways he could never have thought possible.

Patterns: I think the very obvious answer here is ‘my intros are lengthy’ - but in my defence, at least with the ficlets and their word limit, I was trying to set as much of the scene as possible! 😂

Tagging (should you want to): @unending-happiness @poemsfromthealley @sassyweethang @intangibel @sfjessii @lynne-monstr @sugarandspace @cuubism @bidnezz @brightasstars

#TagGames #FirstLinesOfYourLast20Fics #TY lorenzobane #Apologies for the long post #MyFanFics

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smokeybrand · 3 years

Text

Smokey band Movie Reviews: Wowza

The Suicide Squad is the best film DC has made since The Dark Knight. That’s it. That’s the review. If you want to know why i can say that with unassailable confidence, you can continue reading but from this point on, i am literally just going to gush about this f*cking thing like a straight up school girl. It’s that good and you should go watch it right now. This is about to be a love letter to the best film I've seen all year, mostly because i haven’t seen any A24 flicks, but this thing is a fantastic consolation for that glaring disappointment.

The Inspired

The writing in this movie is easily the best the DCEU has to offer. I say that knowing there are some people who believe BvS is f*cking Shakespeare and MoS is Hemingway. They’re not. They’re both dogsh*t. The Suicide Squad absolutely is everything the neckbeard fanboys want those films to be. I marvel at how well the events blend, how organically the character interact, how real they feel in a movie with a giant kaiju space starfish as the driving conflict for the plot. It’s f*cking inspired and lays solid ground work for very exceptional aspect of this movie going forward. Your film starts on the page and James Gunn understands that sh*t very well.

The emotion in this movie is palpable. I literally teared up toward the end. That’s rare for me because I'm kind of an emotionless monster but that line, “I’m a superhero!” f*cking gut checked me. Gunn has done that to me three times. “WE are Groot.” "He may have been your father, boy. But he wasn't your daddy." It wasn’t Pete swinging in after the “On your left.” in Endgame but it was close. Dude is too good at that sh*t and it’s weird that Marvel is willing to let him go. They better lock that dude the f*ck up!

Chemistry is everything for an ensemble like this and this cast definitely has that. I bought their interactions without having to suspend my disbelief, not like in other, lesser SKWAD films. I particularly like the relationship between Ratcatcher II and Bloodsport. That sh*t was sweet and brought a legitimate smile to my face.

I mentioned how well this film was written but, aside from the brilliant plot that made all of these misfit killers relevant, the character work really goes a long way to selling this narrative. Like, you absolutely fall in love with Polka Dot Man by the end of this thing. They made Peacemaker an irredeemable bastard. Like, do you know how well you have to develop a character played by John f*cking Cena, for people to hate him? He’s the White people version of The Rock! That’s near impossible but they definitely pull it off. It’s like Gunn watched the first SKWAD, saw what they did with El Diablo and just decided to do that. And when i say “do that’, i mean actually write these f*cking characters as people instead of stereotypes and tropes.

The Great

This is an ensemble film, which means it lives and dies by it’s cast. Well, this motherf*cker is living mas! Not a single character was miscast in this. Not a one. From the supporting characters like Alice Braga’s Sol Soria and Peter Capaldi’s Thinker, to the expendable distraction SKWAD. Loved seeing Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang again and i even like Pete Davidson’s Blackguard. I can’t stand Pete Davidson. This cast is MCU levels of excellent but, of course, there are standouts.

Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag does the best work of his career. This dude almost always sucks in the roles he takes on but I'm starting to think that’s because of the direction he’s given because dude kills it as Flag in this. I genuinely liked him this time around. He felt like a real person and not some caricature of whatever the generic US Marine is supposed to be.

Margot Robbie is the live action Harley Quinn. She embodies this character like Ledger did Joker and RDJ did Stark. It’s that good and this version of Harley is easily the best. She feels complete, like she’s finally the Harls in the comics and i love it. This Harleen is who the character should have been from the jump but a lot of that was on Margot. She had to grow into the character, develop her ability because the first time she donned that Puddin’ necklace was rough. She’s come a long way and so has Harley.

I touched on this before but John Cena’s Peacemaker is a f*cking bastard. This casting genius because of the message behind the movie. I’ll get into that later but casting the most All-America motherf*cker to play the villain in a film about US involvement in Sovereign Foreign nations? And for Cena to literally play up his Patriot shtick only to turn out to be an allegory for the sordid reality of America? Bro, this sh*t got over. Cena is outstanding as Peacemaker. This cat really does have the chops to be a movie star. Looking forward to this show they gave him, for sure.

Polka-Dot Man is arguably the best character in this entire film. I love what Gunn wrote for him and absolutely adore how David Dastmalchian gave the character life. He had the best arc in the entire film and i really enjoyed his journey. When he got his moment, i teared up a little bit. Dude deserved that. Dude earned that. For me to have such a visceral reaction to that scene is testament to how well Dastmalchian did his job!

Listen, i love Idris Elba. I do. Cat has all of the swagger. He’s easily as charismatic as Obama and i dig that. However, he just plays Idris Elba. Like, his Bloodsport is literally just John Luther but, you know, murder prone. That’s not a bad thing, it definitely works, but, if I'm being honest, as a character, he’s the weakest of the lot but that’s how good everyone is in this. Idris f*cking Elba is the weakest character in this cast! What?? It’s not even like he’s bad or anything, he just plays the same dude over and over.

And now we get to my favorite character in this flick, Ratcatcher II. Listen, i have no idea who the f*ck Daniela Melchior is, but she is the absolute heart of this film, the moral compass of this team, and she never shirks away from that challenge. She has outstanding chemistry with Elba and the relationship between their two characters is the sweetest sh*t I've seen in a long time. It reminded me a lot of Logan and Laura. Melchior, if he chooses, can have a great career in Hollywood because she’s a real talent.

The Good

The plot to this thing makes sense. It’s not something as intricate as The Dark Knight but it’s head-and-shoulders better than anything the DCEU has produced and objectively sh*ts on the SKWAD that came before it. Destabilizing a small Latin American nation feels more like something Waller would have theses assholes do, rather than trying to kill a f*cking god with boomerangs and bullets. This movie is everything the first SWKAD attempt wants to be.

The violence and gore in this is ramped up to a eleven. There is a lot of grotesque sh*t in this thing and it starts the second Blackguard gets his face blown off. Like, his entire f*cking face. You see ALL of that sh*t and SO much more. Like, it gets grimy and i appreciated that. A SKWAD film needs that blood. This is a team of remorseless killers. We, as the audience, need to feel that and this flick delivers.

James Gunn can direct his ass off. When they announced he was going to be in charge of this film way back when, i knew it was going to be legit. When they announced t was a hard R, i needed it in my life. We’re talking Guardians with murder. Were talking the quintessential James Gunn vision and what a vision it is. Not only did he direct the f*ck out of this movie, but he wrote it, too! Mans has the only writing credit on this production. This is all him! It’s wild seeing the difference between directors on display. Gunn delivered a film that one could argue is the best of the year while Zack Snyder made f*cking Army of the Dead. The discrepancy between the quality of these two films is why i hate Snyder so much and have all of the love for Gunn.

The imagery in this thing is f*cking top tier. There are shot that are legitimate art It's a weird juxtaposition considering how bloody some of these scenes get but, f*ck, is it gorgeous!

I have to mention the editing. I usually don’t bother because it’s always adequate and, admittedly, it feels only slightly better in this film but it’s competent. It’s better than the first and you really feel that sh*t. Like, i watched the movie in preparation for this one and, oh my god, the difference in an actual team of professional film editors really cut a great film. Who’ have thought letting a f*cking trailer house construct your movie that it would end up feeling like a ton of trailers strung together and be bad?

This movie is overtly political. It has a lot to say about the influence of the US abroad. It doesn’t shy away from the realities of our international policy and really hammers home the reality of what the United States is, rather than the way we portray ourselves to be. This culminates in a struggle between Flag and Peacemaker; Both soldiers to the core but on opposite ends of the American ideal. It’s actually really brilliant and, if you aren’t paying attention, will go over your head. This is how you instill your politics into a film. This is how you execute ideals in a narrative. Gunn has a lot to say and he says it in the loudest way, but with the quietest voice.

The Okay

The only beef i can see people having with this is the exposition dumps. There are a few but they kind of stall the overall flow. I didn’t mind them too much because, by the time we get to them, the film has built up so much good will by being just fantastic.

The Verdict

I f*cking loved this movie, dude. Look how long this list of dope sh*t is. I literally itemized all of the reasons why this flick is so great. I can’t articulate it and more clear. I told you at the very beginning, literally the first thing i wrote, that The Suicide Squad is the best film in the DCEU and i mean that sh*t. Grace Randolph is a f*cking hack. Don’t listen to her incredibly bias opinion. Just f*cking go watch it and decide for yourself! It’s in theaters right now and on HBO max for free.

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bdjseej · 3 years

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The old man was terribly depressed

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cinema-tv-etc · 3 years

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Why The Godfather Part III has been unfairly demonized

By Caryn James1st December 2020

he mafia trilogy ended with a closing chapter that has long been vilified. But as a new recut is released, 30 years on, Caryn James says it deserves to be re-evaluated. T

The final part of the Godfather trilogy is considered such an artistic disaster that you'd think Francis Ford Coppola had forgotten how to make a film in the 16 years that followed The Godfather Part II (1974). Part III's most famous dialogue – Al Pacino as the aging Mafia don Michael Corleone snarls, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" – has become an easy laugh line.

But 30 years after its release, it is time to rescue Godfather III from its terrible reputation. Pacino's eloquent, fiery, knowing central performance is supported by several bravura set pieces that are mini-masterpieces in themselves. With deliberate echoes of the earlier Godfather films, there is singing and dancing at a family party, a bold murder during the San Gennaro street festival, a tragedy on the steps of an opera house in Sicily.

In the film’s confusing main plot, Michael gets tangled up in dealing with the Vatican

Hindsight alone would tell us how seriously the film has been undervalued, even without Coppola's newly restored, re-edited and renamed version. It now has the title Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Calling it a coda emphasises its connection to the earlier instalments, and even hints at its lesser stature. And the word 'death' signals its dark inevitability, although the meaning of that word is slipperier than it first appears.

Twelve minutes shorter, it rearranges some key episodes, eliminates a few minor scenes and trims a line here or there. But until its altered ending, it is fundamentally the same film, better in parts than as a whole. It is too flawed to come close to the accomplishments of The Godfather (1972) or its sequel, both among the most towering and influential films of the 20th Century. They have penetrated the culture, from their language ("I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse") to their quintessentially American story of immigration and upward mobility. But the new version clarifies Coppola's epic vision, revealing how much the Corleone story was always Michael's, a deeply moral saga of guilt and redemption. He just happened to be a mob boss.

For me the tragedy of The Godfather, which is the tragedy of America, is about Michael Corleone – Francis Ford Coppola

Coppola was always lucid about the trilogy's vision, even when others were confused. "For me the tragedy of The Godfather, which is the tragedy of America, is about Michael Corleone," he says in the extras on a DVD set of the three films released in 2001. He wanted The Death of Michael Corleone to be the title back in 1990, but Paramount, the studio releasing it, did not. The film's initial reception was measured disappointment, not dismissal or horror as we now assume. Roger Ebert actually loved it. Pauline Kael did not love or hate it, but offered the withering, condescending assessment. "I don't think it's going to be a public humiliation." Expectations were high because of the legacy of the earlier films, yet low because Part III came with a whiff of desperation and of selling out. Coppola had resisted making another Godfather for years, then wrote the screenplay (with Mario Puzo) and edited it in a rush to meet its Christmas Day release. It even got seven Oscar nominations, including best picture and director. It is an odd example of a movie whose reputation has declined over the decades.

Why the film is misunderstood

Then and now, the series has largely been misunderstood. Crime movies like Coppola's and Martin Scorsese's are so seductive that audiences have embraced them for apparently glamorising the love of raw power and the concept of honour among thieves. Beneath the Mafia-friendly surface, though, they are built on ethical themes their more hot-headed characters don't grasp. The Godfather Coda tells us that crime really doesn't pay when you're ready to search your soul. The young Michael struggles with the idea of killing and crime in the first Godfather. The consequences of his decision are central to Part III, which takes place in 1979, 20 years after the events of Godfather II. Michael, a billionaire living in New York, has made his businesses legitimate and is left to grapple with his guilt for so many crimes, especially ordering the murder of his brother Fredo, who betrayed him.

The film still has problems that no amount of editing can change. In a needlessly confusing main plot, Michael tries to take over a European conglomerate called International Immobiliare. By buying the Vatican's shares, he'll be bailing out the corrupt Vatican bank. The family part of the story revolves around Michael's nephew, Vincent Mancini, the illegitimate son of his brother Sonny. Andy Garcia is as good a Vincent as you could hope for, handsome, swaggering, rough around the edges, dynamic on screen. But his character never makes much sense. Vincent has his father's explosive temper and appetite for violence, but somehow goes from a not-so-bright thug to a shrewd, controlled crime strategist in a matter of months. His change is far from the engrossing, methodical character trajectory that takes the young Michael from idealist to murderer in the first Godfather.

And the film's most severely criticised element is no better than anyone remembers. Winona Ryder, who had been set to play Michael's daughter, Mary, dropped out weeks before filming started and was replaced with unabashed nepotism by Coppola's teenaged daughter, Sofia. Today, we know Sofia Coppola as a brilliant director, but it's easy to see why her amateurish performance made her another target of Godfather III jokes, particularly for the unintentionally awkward and passionless romance between Mary and her cousin Vincent. Coppola actually snipped a couple of Sofia's lines in the new version.

He makes a major change at the start of the re-edited film, eliminating the lovely original beginning. It set an elegiac tone by showing images of the abandoned family house in Lake Tahoe from Part II, and includes a flashback to Fredo's death, while Nino Rota's familiar soundtrack music evokes the past. The new version begins with a duplicitous archbishop soliciting Michael's help for the Vatican, a scene originally placed later in the film. The change highlights the finance plot without making it any clearer.

The exhilarating start

But the film soon picks up with its true, exhilarating beginning. Several generations of Corleones, along with friends and business associates, gather at a party celebrating Michael. His sister, Connie, sings an Italian song, while shady-looking visitors pay homage to Michael in his office. He now has bristly grey hair and a lined face, and controls his family and business with authoritarian power. The extravagant 30-minute sequence echoes Connie's wedding at the start of The Godfather, and the First Communion party in Lake Tahoe that began Godfather II. Michael's office even has the same light slanting through the blinds that we saw in his father's office in the first Godfather, when Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone received visitors. Throughout, these call backs to the previous films add resonance while trenchantly revealing how things have changed. Michael is burdened by conscience in a way Vito never was. "I don't apologise," Vito tells Michael near the end of The Godfather, justifying his brutality because he was trying to save his family. Godfather III is all about Michael's need to atone.

Al Pacino's performance may have become an object of derision, but he knows what he's doing.

The party scene flows easily as it brings every character up to date. Diane Keaton is as deft as ever as Michael's ex-wife Kay, who pleads with him to allow their son, Tony, to pursue a career as an opera singer. Kay can be chilling. "Tony knows that you killed Fredo," she warns Michael. Yet she has never got over him, as we see in a later scene when they have a tearful tête-à-tête in Sicily, a scene Pacino and Keaton make painfully real.

Connie, played with glorious sharpness and wit by Talia Shire, has morphed into Lady Macbeth. Mafia princesses can never run things, but they can pull the strings. It's Connie who ruthlessly tells Vincent, "You're the only one in this family with my father's strength. If anything happens to Michael I want you to strike back." She has asked the right person.

Vincent is central to many of the set pieces. During a meeting of Mafia heads in Atlantic City, when Michael announces he is out of the crime business, a helicopter approaches the window and shoots most of them dead. Vincent rushes Michael, the main target, to safety. The intrigue and rapid-fire violence in the perfectly orchestrated scene might obscure the real point: Michael can't escape his past. That attack causes his cry: "Just when I thought I was out..." Pacino's performance may have become an object of derision, but he knows what he's doing. He is raw and angrily over-the-top in some scenes, but modulates those outbursts with quieter moments. When a stress-induced diabetic attack sends him to the hospital, in his delusional state he calls out Fredo's name. Pacino shows us a conflicted Michael, weakened yet clinging to power.

The power of the re-edited finale

The tone becomes more ominous and the themes more spiritual when the entire family goes to Sicily for Tony's opera debut. (There are spoilers here, but the time limit on spoilers has expired after 30 years.) Michael grapples with the Sicilian Mafia, for reasons linked to the Immobiliare deal, but that is less important than his inner crisis. He makes a confession to a cardinal, breaking down in tears as he says, "I'm beyond redemption." When his protector, Don Tommasino, becomes another victim of Michael's power struggle, he sits by the coffin and says to God, "I swear on the lives of my children, give me a chance to redeem myself and I will sin no more." In this version, Coppola eliminates lines in which Michael asks why he is feared and not loved, removing that plea for the audience's sympathy. Michael gives Vincent control of the family, but does he really have a clear conscience when he knows too well the vengeance Vincent will plan?

The Trump era has been full of Godfather references; Trump himself regularly attacks CNN's Chris Cuomo by calling him Fredo.

That revenge plays out in the elaborate, gripping final sequence at the opera, a counterpart to one of the most famous episodes from The Godfather, when a baptism is intercut with a series of murders. That first sequence was about Michael's rise to power; now he suffers the consequences. While the family watches Tony on stage, Coppola weaves in scenes of Vincent's crew settling scores. One shoots an enemy who plummets off a beautiful spiral staircase. Another murders a rival by stabbing the man's own eyeglasses into his neck. At the opera, hitmen are after Michael, which leads to the shooting on the steps, and a bullet meant for him that kills Mary. For him there is no coming back from that, no possible way to forgive himself.

As the film ends, Coppola makes a brilliant editing choice. The original ending flashed ahead years to the elderly Michael, sitting alone in a gravelly yard as the camera closes in on a face still full of desolation and sadness. He falls to the ground, obviously dead. With a tiny cut, Coppola transforms the meaning of the scene. It now ends with the close-up of Michael's face, still alive. Living with his guilt is his true death, a death of the soul and of hope. Coppola adds text at the end, which says: “When the Sicilians wish you ‘Cent'anni’... it means ‘for long life’... and a Sicilian never forgets.” Michael is doomed to a long life of remembering.

Godfather, Coda restores Coppola's original darker vision, but one element creates a jolt even he couldn't have seen coming. The locations listed in the end credits include Trump Castle Casino Resort in Atlantic City, where the exterior of the helicopter attack was shot. The Trump era has been full of Godfather references. Some are from mainsteam media, including a 2018 Atlantic Magazine article with the headline Donald Trump Goes Full Fredo, comparing a Trump tweet saying that he is “like, really smart” to Fredo famously insisting in Godfather II, “I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb, I'm smart!” Similarly, Twitter trolls routinely mock the president's circle and his grown children as Fredos, portraying them as weak and bumbling like the character, including pasting Donald Trump Jr’s head on a photo of Fredo's body. Donald Trump himself regularly attacks CNN's Chris Cuomo by calling him Fredo. Godfather II even turned up in court documents charging Trump's advisor Roger Stone with obstructing justice, citing an email in which Stone asked someone to protect him the way Frankie Pentangeli covered up for the Corleones. Today the location credit lands like a coda to the end of the Trump presidency, and offers a reminder of how influential the Godfather films have been, even when they were embraced for all the wrong reasons.

Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is available on BluRay and streaming from 8 December.

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#Godfather Part III

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a-singleboat · 5 years

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Break-Ups and Make-Ups

Word Count: 2330

Request: hi! I don´t know if you are taking requests, but if you are I was wondering if you could write something where reader and Damien Haas (or Shayne Topp) break up, so the rest of the smosh fam try to get them back together. Hope to hear from you soon - @lula132

The morning after a breakup was always the worst for you. As tradition dictated, you had hunkered down in your room for the night with a box of tissues on your right and a tub of ice cream clutched in your shaking hands with whatever sappy romance movie popped up first in the recommendation queue.

You had fallen asleep with the now-melted ice cream tub in your arms and the movie credits rolling. In the morning, you felt like you had been hit with a train that had not stopped moving since. With just a few words, the past seven years of your life suddenly meant nothing and you were left alone.

You capped the tub of ice cream and put it on your nightstand, swapping one comfort item for another and picked up your phone. The only notifications you had were a call from your mom and several Twitter notifications for fans that had mentioned you in their own tweets.

You cast a glance to the clock and read that it was six in the morning, two hours before you had to be at work. You sat in your bed and debated if you should even go in for the day if you should call in a family emergency and take the day to travel up to San Francisco to spend the next few days with your parents.

You shook your head and hopped off your bed, a new resolve set for yourself. You wouldn’t let this break-up force you into a shell. So what if Shayne Topp had broken your heart after seven years of loving you? You were still young and you had your whole life ahead of you, so what if seven years meant nothing in an ill-fated conversation.

You flung the curtains open and took a moment to just look outside at the bus streets of Los Angeles. You moved to the city nearly eight years ago after being employed by Defy for Smosh. You started as a low-level editor and slowly made your way to head camera operator and editor for the Smosh Games section. You would oversee filming when it came to table games or punishments and edit what you could for any games played on the computer. You even had a short stint as stunt coordinator before it was decided that they needed someone with a little more expertise especially when it came to the safety of the cast.

However, you met Shayne when you had just moved to Los Angeles and when you started dating, it came as no surprise to anyone. The decision to stay in separate apartments came with the idea that while you both had loved each other oh-so-much, you both need your own space and neither of you could afford to buy anything bigger than the apartments you both had or a house together.

Before you knew it, you had fully cleaned your room of any trace of the break down you had last night and were well on your way into the office. You called your mom on the drive there, using the conversation as a distraction so you wouldn’t have to think of him until you saw him.

You got to the office at the same time that Courtney had and you barely managed a smile in her direction. You could tell that she could tell that something was off with you because she had that knowing look on her face. If there was anyone who knew you better than you knew yourself, it was Courtney.

You brushed her off, saying that you had a rough night and asked her to help you carry some of the equipment that was still in your car from the last punishment you had to film outside.

When you got in the elevator, you deemed it safe enough to share the details of your night. You put the box you had in your hands down and rubbed your eyes. You had skipped on make-up that day, knowing that you would mainly be editing and eventually the feeling of the product on your face would get you to become quickly annoyed.

“Shayne and I broke up last night,” you confessed, breaking the silence. At first, you thought she didn’t hear you and you dreaded having to repeat yourself. When she put her own box down and engulfed you in a hug, you knew she heard.

“I’m so sorry, what happened? Just yesterday you guys were so happy,” Courtney’s eyes grew wide and sympathetic. You were regretting telling her.

“Yeah, I thought we were happy too and then he broke up with me out of nowhere. Of course, he was my ride home so I had to endure the awkward situation,” you picked up your box when the elevator doors opened on your floor. “Please don’t mention this to anyone yet.”

“Please don’t mention what to anyone?”

Damien Haas was your best friend next to Courtney. If you needed a laugh or even just a break from whatever you were doing he was there to provide a joke or a distraction.

With his question, you had to think fast on your feet. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to go back to see my parents for a little but I wasn’t too sure when would be a good time so I didn’t want to mention it.”

While that wasn’t completely a lie, Damien still looked skeptical. He read the look in your eye and slowly nodded, allowing that to be your answer. “Alright, if you say so.”

You smiled at him wide and moved past him, leading Courtney to where all the filming equipment was stored when it wasn’t in use. She helped you put most of the equipment away before she brought up a point that you had been debating for a good while.

“People are going to find out eventually, Y/n. You can’t just pretend that absolutely nothing happened,” Courtney sent you a pointed look. You pursed your lips and slid the last piece of equipment on the shelf.

“I know, I just don’t want to make it into a big deal,” you shut the lights and closed the door behind you. You looked at the time on the clock on the wall. “You should get to costume, you start filming in an hour.”

She glanced at the clock and panicked for a second. “Just don’t isolate yourself, okay? And this isn’t something you need to keep from anyone. We’re all adults and if anyone gives you a hard time, that just means they still have some growing up to do,” she started to walk away, doing a half-backward, half-sideway walk. “We’ll go for lunch later and talk more, yeah?”

You nodded and confirmed the lunch plans, intending to go out for lunch anyway. After sorting through a few stacks of editing notes and creating a mental list of things you had to accomplish for the day, you headed into the room dubbed as the ‘editing cave,’ and prepared yourself to watch all the footage from this week’s episode of Maricraft.

Shayne had woken up late that morning, distraught and a general mess. He arrived that the office, cutting it close by a mere two minutes and immediately getting himself to costuming. The velvet box weighed heavily in his backpack and despite how last night had played out, he couldn’t bring himself to take it out.

When he sat down in the chair for the hairdresser to do his hair, Damien found his way to his side and poked his side. “So,” Damien wiggled his eyebrows. “How’d it go last night?”

All Shayne did was pull the box from his bag and hand it off to his friend. “Did she reject you? Is that what she and Courtney were talking about in the elevator this morning?”

“She and Courtney were in the elevator this morning?”

“Yeah, she told Courtney not to say anything about something and Y/n made an excuse about visiting her parents,” Damien noticed his friend’s distressed look. “Hey dude, you okay?”

“So, last night didn’t exactly go as planned,” Shayne wanted to fall in on himself. “I might have broken up with her instead of proposing.”

“What?” Damien was taken aback, blinking a few times to make sure he was awake at the moment. “You’re telling me that you got to the carnival last night, got onto the ferris wheel, and broke up with her on the top, and then had to drive her home right after that?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what happened and I don’t know how to fix it and now Courtney knows which means a lot more people will know pretty soon and,” Shayne made a noise that was not unlike what a cat being strangled would sound like.

Damien took some time to calm him down. “I’m sure that all this will take is a conversation with her. Y/n is a very reasonable person and I’m sure you can make it up to her.”

“I sure hope so,” Shayne caught Courtney’s eye. She was looking at him with a scowl on her face. Shayne sunk into his seat. “I think our first step is telling Courtney what happened, maybe she’ll know how to fix this.”

By the time lunch rolled around, Courtney was aware of the plan and was sent to fetch you for lunch. You had your headphones on, hyperfocused on a black-and-white clip of Damien. She lightly tapped on your shoulder causing you to jump slightly before settling down upon realizing that it was just Courtney.

“You ready for lunch?” she asked, pulling out the seat next to you and sitting to watch your process. You clicked on the save button and saved the footage to an external hard drive as an extra precaution. You stored the hard drive in a small drawer on your desk before standing up and stretching.

“Yeah, let me just tell Matt that I’m heading out and that I’ll have this Maricraft episode ready for posting when I get back,” you powered your computer down and grabbed your phone and wallet from under all the papers.

When you left the office and walked side-to-side with Courtney to her car, you were relieved for the slightly longer break you both would be getting. Not only were you ahead of schedule but Courtney’s next call wasn’t for another two hours.

“Now I know you and Shayne just broke up, but we’re going to lunch with him and Damien.”

You looked at Courtney with a dead look in your eye. “I’m fine with it, just because we’re broken up doesn’t mean I can’t be civil.”

Shayne and Damien were already in the car, sitting side by side in the back which caused you to look confused. “I gave them my keys so they could start the car’s air condition before I got you,” she explained.

The drive was an awkward one, the four of you decide to take the time to drive to a nicer Italian restaurant as you all had the time to spare. When you arrived and were seated, Courtney smacked her forehead and mentioned that she left her wallet in the car. Damien offered to go with her and that left her and Shayne at the table together.

You played with your fork and avoided all eye contact with him for as long as you could.

“Y/n,” he said. You slowly turned to face him, not wanting him to see the hurt in your eyes. There was something in his hands but you couldn’t discern what it was.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he explained and you let him, deciding that you would’ve had this conversation one way or another. “And I still never do want to hurt you but last night was the biggest mistake of my life. I didn’t bring you up to the top of the ferris wheel to break up with you. I just panicked and I wasn’t really thinking.”

“Shayne, you don’t owe me an explanation or anything,” you wanted to look away but he seemed like he still had more to say.

“I didn’t bring you up there to break up with you, in fact,” he opened what he was holding in his hands and you let out an audible gasp. You watched as he moved to get out of his chair and then kneel next to you. “I made a horrible mistake last night and while I’ll never know how it happened but I really wanted to get down on my knee last night and ask you this question.”

“Y/n, you’re a wonderful person and you’ll be a saint if you’ll even allow this. But I truly want to marry you. I promise I’ll never cause you any pain anymore and I’ll be apologizing for my mistake for the rest of my life. But, Y/n, will you marry me?”

Tears welled up in your eyes as you processed what was going on. On one hand, he had caused you the most emotional pain that you had ever gone through and on the other, he was trying so hard. You made up your mind, nodding vigorously and pulling him up from the floor as the restaurant patrons around your table clapped.

He slipped the ring onto your finger as Courtney and Damien returned to your table, smirks on both of their faces. “You were both in on this, weren’t you?”

“We had some help,” Damien explained. “Ian overheard our conversation and he went to talk to Matt Raub to convince him to give us four an extra hour for lunch in case things went south and we had to do some drastic measures but everything turned out alright.”

“Remind me to thank Matt when we get back, but I think we should eat lunch while we’re here,” you laughed with your friends and at that moment, you knew everything would be alright.

#shayne topp #shayne topp x reader #shayne topp imagine #shayne #topp #courtney miller #courtney #miller #damien haas #damien #haas #ian hecox #ian #hecox #matt raub #matt #raub #smosh #smosh games

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chilling-seavey · 4 years

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Anything But Mine (d.s.) - Chapter Six

A/N in celebration of my one year as a Limelight, here’s another chapter :) (and yes I edited this picture to make him brunette again lol)

Friday, September 13th, 2019

The next week was keeping Florence busy. Grayson was preoccupied with work, and Daniel and their friends were trying to keep up with their increasing course load. Clementine had a doctor’s appointment early in the week, which she passed her check up with flying colours. Nights were getting restless for the eight month old, however, as she was quick realizing someone was never around anymore. Matt was rarely home during the day but he always had a bit of time in the mornings to sit with the baby while watching the news. The only thing that would put Clementine to sleep was his black flannel tucked into bed next to her. Every night, after Clementine was gone to bed, Florence sat alone on the balcony overlooking the city with a cup of tea and her thoughts. She often thought about what her life would have been if she stayed in LA with her family. She would be financially stable and have her brother with her - if her parents would have even kept her around after finding out about the pregnancy. There was no other option for Florence.

Friday night came around and Grayson had invited Florence over for dinner with him and Ethan. This meant she needed a babysitter for Clementine. That’s where Michael and Like came in again. Michael and Luke Clifford had been there for her (and her brother) since they first moved to Toronto and were extra supportive when Florence moved back alone, letting her stay at their house until the baby was born and she was on her feet. The men loved Clementine; never complaining about having to take care of her because after raising two boys it was nice to have a bit of a break with a little girl.

Once Grayson texted her that he had arrived, Florence had been dressed and ready for almost 45 minutes; Clementine long gone to the Clifford’s at that point.

Grayson, as usual, was stood against his car when she got to the parking garage. She had to control herself to not literally run to him. Even still, she threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him. His pink and white striped T-shirt was soft to her touch and the quirky colours made her smile more.

“Hi.” he chuckled, opening the car door for her again.

Grayson and Ethan’s house was out of the downtown core. It was farther west of where the DiCaprio’s lived but just as north. Real estate in Toronto was not cheap and Florence was impressed by the just the fact that two nineteen-year-old’s could afford a single house there. When Grayson turned onto the private street, Florence was even more in awe by the tree lined driveway and the large, single story black painted house and matching car park. A white Jeep with black and red accents as well as a teal old style Bronco and two motorcycles sat under the car park. The sun was setting behind it, golden light spreading over the roof of the house and the paved entryway. Florence was raised in a more luxurious lifestyle than what she was looking at, but growing up on her own meant she had an appreciation for how hard money was to come by.

The double doors let into a small foyer, a hallway to the left and the living room through an open space off to the right. The natural wood tones made the place warm and comforting and had a sense of luxury to it that was far different from the DiCaprio’s.

“E!” Grayson shouted across the house. Florence startled a little bit but played it off.

Ethan came out from the hallway, dressed in a black t-shirt with a white graphic printed on it and white pants. The white designer sneakers were expected.

“It’s you again!” Ethan smiled at Florence, going right in for a hug.

Taken by surprise, Florence hesitantly hugged him back, “Nice to see you again.” she laughed.

Although identical, Ethan’s warm embrace didn’t come close to what she felt like in Grayson’s arms. She wondered how much they told each other. Did Ethan know about how she kissed his brother the same day they met? Did he know about the stories she shared? Did he know that she invited Grayson home on their first date? She told Callum everything so there was no doubt Grayson and Ethan were the same.

Embarrassment bubbling inside her at the idea of it, Florence tried to push it away, following the twins to the living room. The open ceilings revealed the peaked roof and a stone fireplace reached to the top. Two grey couches lined the room with a modern coffee table and area rug in the centre. A record player sat on an antique stereo table in the back corner. The floor to ceiling sliding glass doors at the far end of the room opened onto a tree lined backyard and glistening swimming pool that was a few steps down from a large stone porch. Florence couldn’t help but smile. She felt more at home than she had in almost a year.

The three sat around the living room, Grayson pulling her close next to him. The simple action made Florence eye Ethan shyly, not being used to such displays of affection in front of others. The older twin didn’t think much of it as he asked Florence about Clementine. Florence’s favourite topic of discussion.

Their conversations were filled with laughter and smiles, Florence feeling as light as air with the twins. Usually, in her childhood, conversations were held over glasses of wine and brandy but Florence learned that neither boy had ever had a sip of alcohol in their lives. Thinking back to her father’s short temper under a few drinks, Florence was relaxed by that fact.

It wasn’t long before they started discussing what to eat for dinner. Ethan coming in determined with a, “I was feeling pizza.”

“Sounds good to me.” Florence nodded, looking to Grayson who sat on her left.

“Sure. I can order it.” he agreed.

“Dairy free cheese though.” Ethan pipped up.

“Yes, I know.” Grayson rolled his eyes as he took out his phone to order it.

“Dairy free?” Florence crinkled her nose in Ethan’ direction.

“Yeah I’ve been dairy free for a year. It just doesn’t sit well with my skin or my stomach-“

“Yeah.” Grayson cut him off lightheartedly. “So I have to suffer too.”

“Hey!” Ethan frowned. “I have to suffer with anchovy pizza half the time so you can shut up.”

“Ew. I’d take dairy free pizza over anchovies any day.” Florence shuttered. “I just don’t understand how someone can eat them when they still look like fishies.”

“Fishies!” Ethan laughed.

Grayson chuckled, pulling the blushing girl into his side, kissing the top of her head. It only made the pink on her cheeks turn to red.

When the pizza finally arrived, they moved to the kitchen. Florence felt so comfortable with the two, feeling like she had known them for years already. Dinner finished quickly, the three of them working on the dishes together. Grayson and Ethan ended up chasing each other with wet dishcloths, seeing who could leave the biggest bruise on the other. The evening came to an end, Florence and Grayson finding themselves in his bed, watching a movie on his projector screen. He explained that he and Ethan remolded each other’s rooms and the projector was his brother’s touch. It was ultimately impressive. The movie ended but neither reached to turn it off, letting the credits roll down the wall across from the bed. Grayson had his arms around her, the white sheets tucked up to their waists.

“What’s your goal in life?” Florence whispered through the dimly lit room.

“We’re getting to the deep questions now, huh?” Grayson smirked. “Well...I want to keep working with Ethan in film and media. Maybe produce a couple movies? I want to have a family eventually. Kids for sure. Nice house but not too big. Who needs a big house anyway? Takes money away from traveling.”

Florence smiled up at him, “I love traveling.”

“Have you been to Europe?”

“Italy, England, and France. Father’s work trips.”

“Italy is my favourite.” Grayson admitted. “But I’ve always wanted to go to Norway.”

“Scandinavia looks beautiful.” Florence sighed.

They let the silence rise, their minds set across the ocean.

“Probably will never go, though.” Florence shrugged.

“Whys that?” Grayson asked.

“I would need to start saving right away and I have no job.” Florence laughed lightly like it was obvious.

“Do you want a job?”

“I mean, yeah. But I have no university degree so I won’t get far. Not Norway far.”

“I could get you something at CTV? Nothing big, probably a paid internship but it’s something?”

Florence sat up when she heard this, turning to him in shock, “You can do that for me?”

“Sure I can.” Grayson smiled gently, pressed his palm to her cheek. She leaned into him habitually. “Just to get you started.”

“That would mean so much. Thank you.” Florence whispered.

“You’re welcome.” Grayson chuckled, pulling her in to kiss her softly. “I’ll keep you posted on that.”

Florence nodded, a wide smile taking up her face.

“You have a beautiful smile.” Grayson whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear. The girl looked to her lap, not quite sure how to respond. Her fingers danced over his forearms, soaking in each beautifully chiseled curve of his skin. The trail came to an end where his neck met his jaw, light stubble reaching the surface under the soft touch of her fingertips. His dark hazel eyes watched her carefully, a beautiful honey as sweet and enticing as he was. Grayson watched her silently as her wide eyes soaked in his features, his hands holding her loosely by her waist. She forced herself not to get attached; they had only known each other barely a few weeks. But when his lips were on hers again, every thought in her mind melted away.

Grayson was gentle with her; incredibly gentle to the point that he held her like she was made of glass. He laid her back against the fluffy white bedsheets and down filled pillows, her heartbeat loud in her ears. Long minutes passed before his hand fell between their bodies. Florence grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

Breaking their kiss, she spoke, “You don’t want to do that.”

Grayson leaned back from her, “Why not?”

“I had a baby eight months ago...it is not the same down there. Matt’s told me plenty of times.” she laughed humourlessly. “Believe me, you don’t want to see it.”

“Well, no offence, but I couldn’t give two shits about what that jerk thinks.” Grayson’s kind yet obvious bluntness stunned her. “You know what I think?”

“What?” Florence ask timidly.

“I think that you grew a human in here and brought a new life into this world all on your own. That’s pretty damn incredible. Your body did that, you know? And there’s nothing that is more beautiful than that. Absolutely nothing.”

Florence didn’t know what to say except to kiss him. He knew just how to make her feel more loved than she had in her entire life.

Saturday, September 14th

It was a morning like in the fairy tales; and Florence guessed that if it was possible, birds would be flit fluttering and singing beautiful music outside the large paned window. The sound was definitely not beautiful birds, however, as she awoke to a sharp buzzing. Blinking her eyes open to take in her surroundings, she merely smiled at the sight of Grayson asleep beside her. He, too, shifted at the noise, starting to wake, so Florence hurried to grab her phone from the night table. Daniel’s name flashed across the screen.

“Hey.” she answered quickly, her voice rough.

“Where are you?” Daniel’s normally gentle tone was filled with an edge and it took Florence back with surprise.

“What’s wrong?” she asked quickly, her mind instantly going to Clementine.

“Nothings wrong unless you count me sitting here in this restaurant alone like an idiot waiting for you to show up.” Daniel grumbled.

Florence pulled her phone from her ear to look at the time. 10:48 meant she was way too late to their brunch date.

“Shit, Dani, I’m so sorry.” Florence sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

“Where are you?” Daniel asked again. “I’ve been texting and calling for 45 minutes!”

“At Grayson’s.”

The silence from the other side of the line made her stomach turn.

“So I’ll just go home then.” Daniel finally spoke, his voice suddenly quiet.

“No!” Florence sat up. “No, I’m sorry. Don’t go home. I’ll be there. 15 minutes. Please.”

“Fine.” Daniel mumbled.

“I’m sorry, Dani.” Florence sighed, closing her eyes.

“Yeah.”

The line went dead without so much as a goodbye. Florence slowly lowered her phone and started at it for a few long seconds.

“Everything okay?” Grayson asked from beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist that was covered by the blankets.

“I’m a terrible friend, is all.” Florence groaned. “Totally just stood up Daniel.”

A low chuckle fell from Grayson’s lips, “That’s rough. Are you going to go still?”

“Yeah. If he’s going to wait for me. Do you want to come?” Florence laid back down, pushing her fingers through his dark hair.

“I would love to.” Grayson smiled, pulling her close to kiss her.

“No more of this!” Florence giggled, pushing him away, before leaning down over the side of the bed to grab her clothes. “We have to go!”

Grayson drove them through the city, as fast as he could legally go. Ethan was still asleep by the time they left which Florence was silently grateful for; she liked Ethan but she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to be at the end of brotherly teasing after staying over. Florence kept checking her phone in the passenger seat, finding no texts from Daniel their entire way there. The small cafe was just on the way into downtown, a little place near the boys’ house. Grayson parked on the street and paid the meter before they headed inside. Daniel was sat at the corner table, his green Adidas jacket zipped up to his neck and he stared down at his mug of coffee, stirring a spoon around haphazardly. Florence couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her best friend and she pulled Grayson by the hand towards him.

“Dani!” Florence called.

The boy looked up at her and what was supposed to be a smile faded into almost a straight line at the sight of the two in front of him.

“This is Grayson.” Florence introduced happily.

“Nice to meet you finally.” Grayson smiled a warm grin and held out his hand across the table. Daniel hesitated before letting the silver spoon clink against the saucer and he shook his hand.

“You too.” Daniel mumbled. Grayson and Florence sat across from him and picked up their menus. Daniel watched them silently, going back to stirring his now cold coffee. The waitress came by and took their orders and poured them coffee before leaving again. Daniel didn’t take notice, instead, his eyes fell to the collar of Florence’s t-shirt, noticing the small pink bruise that was peaking out the top. There was a matching one under her jawline which she probably hadn’t noticed in her rush to leave that morning. Daniel noticed, though. He noticed Grayson’s hand on her thigh and how he leaned in close to whisper things into her ear that made her giggle. Daniel kept stirring. The clink of the silver against the porcelain cup was consistent and comforting.

“Dani.” Florence called. When he didn’t respond she frowned for a moment but tried again. “Dan.”

She finally resorted to reaching over the table and taking the spoon out of his hand.

“I think your coffee is plenty mixed, dear.”

Snapping back to reality, Daniel met her concerned gaze.

“What’s up with you?” Florence frowned.

“Sorry. I’m just tired.” Daniel waved his hand to brush it off, slouching back against the bench.

“Been working hard?” Florence asked.

“Yeah.” Daniel nodded.

“What are you in school for?” Grayson asked.

“Music Production.” Daniel replied.

“Oh! That’s cool. I’m doing video production at CTV right now.” Grayson smiled.

“Oh my gosh, imagine if you could work together in the future!” Florence laughed.

“We might have a place for you.” Grayson sent a small grin to the boy across the table.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Daniel answered dryly. His response made Florence frown and look to Grayson who shrugged lightly.

“Dani, I’m really sorry for being late.” Florence whispered, leaning in closer. “I don’t know why you’re being so upset with me this morning.”

“I’ve been waiting here for an hour.” Daniel snapped.

Florence sat back with wide eyes at his out-of-character outburst.

“I woke up early to meet you and you completely stand me up and I’m left to eat alone.”

“I said I’m sorry. Time got away from me.” Florence frowned.

“I can tell.” Daniel eyed the hickeys on her neck.

“Daniel!” Florence whispered sharply.

He placed his napkin strongly back on the table and started to slide out from the bench. He then turned to Grayson, “It was nice to meet you. You seem like a really great guy and normally I’m not such an asshole so I’m sorry for that. But I’m late for rehearsal.”

“Daniel!” Florence gaped, watching as he stood up from the table and started for the door. “Daniel Seavey!” she called again. The door of the cafe closed behind him with a jingle from the bell above. Silence filled the space between Grayson and Florence who were now sitting alone.

Once breakfast was finished, Grayson dropped Florence back off at home. They took their time saying goodbye but eventually Florence went up to her empty apartment. She called Daniel right away, being sent to voicemail after the second ring.

“Hey. I’m still sorry, you know.” she spoke into the phone. “Call me please. I love you.”

He didn’t return her call.

#daniel seavey #daniel seavey fanfic #daniel seavey imagines #why dont we #why dont we fanfic #why dont we imagines #jonah marais #jack avery #zach herron #corbyn besson #grayson dolan #ethan dolan #dolan twins #multifandom #writing #anything but mine

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sweet-steddie · 5 years

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No Labels, All Love: Part 2 to ‘All Wrong’ (g.d. & e.d.)

Summary: This is a part 2 to the imagine All Wrong that I wrote some weeks ago. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out here!

A/N: Depending on the feedback for this one, I may add another part! It just depends on what people want to read, so please let me know :) I would also like to THANK YOU ALL tremendously for your continual support, even though it’s taken me centuries to update this time around. I hope that the wait was well worth it. Also, let me know what you thought of the racy parts and if I should possibly pursue that or never do it again lol. Enjoy!!!!

3.8k +

The TV in front of me could just as well be displaying a blank screen and blaring white noise; I wouldn’t notice. The past several hours have found me sitting nearly stock-still on my living room couch, glossy eyes fixated in the general direction of the flat screen mounted on the wall. I pick up my phone and rest my finger on the power button without applying any pressure before tossing it back onto the couch.

This is a routine I’ve been participating in for hours now: picking up my phone, then setting it back down and worrying my lower lip violently with my teeth. I pick it up for the millionth time and finally decide to power it on. My stomach drops as I watch the screen begin to come to life, the white apple staring me down tauntingly as I await what is sure to be an onslaught of text messages and missed calls. Hopefully.

I pretend like my heart isn’t beating out of my chest as my phone finally finishes powering up. I type in my passcode and wait with bated breath. For a moment, there’s nothing. No new alerts, no new text messages. But then, like an avalanche, the notifications come flooding in. I begrudgingly acknowledge the hopeful lurch that my stomach gives as I watch both Ethan’s and Grayson’s names flash intermittently across my screen for several long moments.

When the chaos comes to a definitive halt, I dare to thumb into my text messages only to find that I have a significant amount more than I did when I had powered off my phone in defiance hours ago. Thumbing into my messages, I see that my most recent texts come from both Ethan and Grayson, respectively. I heave a deep sigh in hopes of releasing some of the butterflies trapped in my stomach as I tap Grayson and I’s conversation first.

Every text bubble visible in the conversation is gray, indicating Grayson’s insistence. I scroll to the top of his slew of messages. I don’t even know what to say. I’m so sorry; Ethan and I met these girls a few weeks ago at an event and they asked us to hang out. We had no intentions of hooking up with them. It just happened; I know that’s not an excuse. I promise this doesn’t change anything between us. I love you so much; Me and Ethan have been trying to call you for hours. Please answer. As I look over a few more texts, all along the lines of Grayson professing his love for me and begging me to call or text him back, I feel a pinch behind my eyes that’s quickly accompanied by tears blurring my vision.

“Fuck,” I curse quietly to myself, wiping roughly at my cheeks and willing the tears to stop flowing. I thumb, next, into Ethan and I’s conversation. It’s much of the same thing that I saw from Grayson. Through teary eyes, I skim over some of the texts that Ethan’s left for me. I hate myself right now. I hate hurting you; You’re still our number one girl. Always; Baby, please talk to us. Even if it’s to yell at us. I just wanna hear your voice; I miss you. Please. The phone drops to my lap as I bury my face in my hands, shoulders shaking with silent cries.

The knot in my belly tightens as I replay the events of today in my mind’s eye. I envision Grayson’s taught stomach, muscles rippling with the effort that it took for him to drive relentlessly in and out, in and out. I see, next, Ethan’s eyes closed, eyebrows and forehead furrowed in bliss, mouth slightly agape as he guided the mysterious brunette over his lap in a sultry rhythm. My jaw clenches reflexively and I find myself gritting my teeth as I try my hardest to ward off these invasive thoughts.

I’m so caught up in my own head that I nearly jump out of my skin when my phone begins to buzz violently in my iron grasp. An incoming call from Grayson.

I give a pathetic sniffle as I attempt to collect myself, fully weighing the pros and cons of answering this call. I know that, eventually, the boys will show up at my door if I don’t give them some indication that I’m okay. I think I’m too upset to see them in person right now. This is the logic that fuels me to accept the incoming call, putting the phone on speaker and placing it onto the empty couch cushion next to me without a word. The first thing I hear on the other line is a heavy sigh.

“She answered,” comes Grayson’s relieved voice, clearly addressing Ethan before jumping right into our own conversation, “baby? Hello, can you hear me?” he asks, bordering on frantic after not hearing from me for hours on end. I let some beats of silence pass as my heart thuds wildly in the confines of my chest. Even just hearing Grayson’s voice is making me an emotional wreck right now.

“Hi,” I finally chime in meekly, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady after having cried only minutes ago.

“Let us see you. Please, we need to see you,” he begs and I could swear that I hear his voice waver for a moment. “Please, just for a few minutes,” he bargains before I can even respond to his first plea. The raw emotion lacing his words is, admittedly, enough for a lump to begin forming in my throat. Regardless of the situation, I hate the idea that Grayson could be close to tears because of me.

“Alright,” I choke out before I even really know what I’m saying.

“Alright?” Grayson repeats like he can’t believe I’ve agreed to this. Part of me can’t believe it either. There’s commotion and then all of a sudden, I’m hearing Ethan’s voice instead.

“Thank you. We’ll be right there. You won’t regret it. God, thank you,” he babbles. “We’ll be there in 20 minutes or less,” he promises and I nod wordlessly for a moment.

“Okay,” I croak out before moving to end the call, but Ethan interjects.

“I fucking love you so much. I love you, okay? I always will,” he stresses and I busy myself with picking at a loose thread on my leggings to keep from crying again. This entire situation has me in an emotional bind. I want nothing more than to tell Ethan that I love him right back, more than I can put into words. But I can’t seem to make my mouth form the sentence. The silence lingers for longer than it ever has after one of us has said an ‘I love you.’ Ethan eventually concludes that he won’t be getting a reciprocation of his affections anytime soon and ends the call with a dejected “I’ll see you soon.”

With the call having ended, I’m left with nothing but the company of my racing thoughts. I have no idea how I’ve ended up in this situation, suddenly awaiting the company of the two boys who put me in this predicament to begin with. I give up on attempting to watch TV altogether, finally switching it off for the first time since I’ve gotten home. What follows is the shortest 20 minutes in history. I feel like I’ve barely gotten a chance to blink when I’m hearing a knock upon my front door.

My heart plummets to the depths of my stomach as I shuffle toward the source of the noise. It’s the moment of truth and that is abundantly clear in the way my palms sweat and the way my breath hitches. In a last ditch effort to appear collected, I run the back of my hand under each of my eyes to get rid of any stray tears. With an unsteady hand, I reach out to latch onto the door handle and pull open the door to reveal two of the most distraught looking twins I’ve ever seen.

It’s only been a few hours since the incident, but Grayson and Ethan look like they haven’t slept in days. Grayson’s hair is a disheveled mess, a stark contrast to the carefully crafted style that he had been wearing it in for the past couple of weeks. He’s donning an untucked, wrinkled white T-shirt and a pair of pinstriped trousers with some scuffed up slides. Ethan’s appearance is much the same, except that he’s wearing a hoodie and sweatpants with dirty sneakers. It’s apparent to me that both boys threw something on so that they could get here as quickly as possible.

None of us say anything for a few long moments. Just as my eyes are scanning them, I see that they’re doing the same to me. We’ve never had to confront an issue this huge in our relationship before and it’s clear that none of us know quite how to go about it.

“Can we come in?” Grayson is the one who dares to break the silence first. His voice is gentle; tentative in a way, as if he doesn’t want to accidentally scare me off after he and Ethan have gotten this close. I nod my head and step aside so that the boys can cross the threshold, careful to keep my distance because I can already feel my resolve crumbling in the few seconds that they’ve been here. They make me so weak.

I try desperately to maintain a strong front as I watch them sink down onto the couch that I had previously rested on and I opt, instead, for the chair nextto the couch, afraid that my judgement may be clouded if I’m sandwiched between them. This attempt at distance doesn’t go unnoticed as Ethan’s eyes dart almost imperceptibly to the chair I’ve placed myself in before he casts his eyes down at his feet altogether.

“I need you to look at me when I say this,” Grayson begins suddenly, grabbing my attention immediately with the intensity behind his words. When I look over to him, I find that he’s already piercing me with an unwavering stare. I wait quietly for him to continue, giving him my full attention. “What you saw earlier meant nothing. It was a stupid hookup and E and I just needed to blow off some steam. We’ve been so busy editing and filming lately and we’ve had so much pent up energy. We figured that the best way to let out that energy would be to hook up with some random girls and that turned out to be such a mistake,” Grayson explains. I notice that Ethan nods his agreement at the appropriate moments throughout Grayson’s speech.

I appreciate the honesty, I really do. But that doesn’t stop my stomach from lurching every time the word “hookup” is mentioned. With the mention of the word, of course, comes the accompanying mental image of what I walked in on earlier today. I wait for Grayson to continue, but he seems to have said his part for now. He stares me down with sorrowful eyes, silently pleading with me to understand. I don’t know what to say just yet but luckily, Ethan picks up the slack.

“We’ll never talk to those girls again. We won’t talk to any other girls, if that’s what you want. How can we prove to you that we’re totally and completely yours? Tell us what to do and we’ll do it,” he bargains running a hand nervously through his hair as his eyes capture mine just like Grayson’s had. I gnaw on the inside of my cheek as I consider the enticing yet entirely unrealistic proposition. It’s not that I don’t want the boys to enjoy themselves. At 19 years old and living on their own in LA, the boys are truly in their prime. It would be cruel of me to keep them on any sort of leash and also completely out of my depth to do so. It dawns on me now that I’m not entirely sure how to broach this subject.

I could maybe settle on something like I’m kind of in love with you guys. Both of you guys. So it actually would be really nice if you never talked to any girls other than me and your mom and your sister ever again! But that would be totally unfair and I know that and a part of them knows that, too. So I decide to be decent about this whole thing. As decent as I can be, given the way that I truly feel.

“I couldn’t ask you guys to do that.” I finally force a full sentence out of my mouth since the boys have arrived here. My voice sounds oddly quiet and scratchy, throat raw from the hours I spent crying off-and-on earlier. Ethan looks as if he’s about to protest. He gets as far as opening his mouth before I continue. “That wouldn’t be fair and you know it. We’re our own people, all three of us. We love and care about each other. I love and care about you both so much,” I pause to bite my tongue, positively annoyed at the way that my eyes begin to fill up. Grayson immediately stands to his feet when he notices, ready to comfort me, but I hold out my hand, shaking my head.

“No, no.Thank you, but no. If you come over here and hold me, I’ll break down and I won’t get a chance to say what I want to say to you guys. So please, not yet,” I explain to Grayson and he looks like he’s having an intense internal battle with himself before he sinks back into his seat, nodding his head out of respect for my decision. I take a moment to compose myself and then I clear my throat before pushing through. “Because I love you guys the way I do, I could never ask you to give up your freedom because of me. You guys are young, single, successful, insanely handsome men. I want you both to thrive with whoever you meet. I would be robbing the world of two wonderful people if I asked you not to talk to girls just because of my own insecurities.”

It’s like, once I’ve started spilling my guts, I can’t seem to stop. “I just. When I walked in on you guys earlier, I felt like,” I search for the right words before settling on, “this small,” and I emphasize that by bringing my thumb and pointer finger together until they’re basically touching. Both boys furrow their eyebrows out of concern almost simultaneously, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of causing me distress, but let me continue without interrupting nonetheless. “When I’m with you guys, I feel like I’m on top of the world. You both make me feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet, but I just feel like all of that went out the window when I saw you enjoying other women. And I know that’s ridiculous. I know it is,” I reason, growing frustrated with my own inner turmoil over the situation.

“You guys are the first people I want to share exciting news with and the first people I turn to when I’m having a shit day and the first people I come crawling to when I just need to be loved. And you’ve given me all of that, always. You don’t owe me anything beyond that. We’ve never discussed anything beyond friendship between us,” I trail off, trying to figure out the best way to word my thoughts.

“We’re more than friends to each other. We all know that,” Grayson defends gently and my eyes widen at him addressing the elephant that’s been in the room since the boys and I first met each other. And the thing is, he’s not wrong. But that doesn’t make it any easier for me to search for the right words to convey that. So I settle on opening and closing my mouth a few times before giving up and just simply nodding my agreement to his statement.

“I’m not saying we have to label anything, but I think we can agree that you wouldn’t like seeing me and E with other women and we wouldn’t be thrilled to see you with another guy,” Grayson continues when he figures out that he temporarily has the floor. I give that some serious thought. The last thing I want to do is stifle these beautiful boys and I express as much.

“That may be true, Gray. But I never want you guys to feel like you can’t go out and experience life and have fun just because I’d have an attitude about some bitches - lovely women - that you might decide to bring home,” I comically correct myself mid-sentence to lighten up the mood and it proves at least a little effective as I watch Ethan crack a smile, eyes all but twinkling as he stares in my direction. Grayson looks visibly more relieved when he responds, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a gentle smile.

“We could never feel like we’re missing out on life experiences and fun when we have you,” he pipes up softly and it’s like a switch has been flipped as I stand up and rush over to him on the couch. I pull him to my chest and he’s a little shocked at first, but he quickly adjusts, standing up to wrap his strong arms around me and pulling me as close as humanly possible. He pulls back momentarily to sweep some hair off my face and behind my ear, resting his forehead against mine and maintaining unwavering eye contact in our impossibly close proximity. “Fuck, I love you,” he breathes and my heart swells as a smile helplessly takes over my face.

I run my fingers through his messy hair, attempting to style it and he just watches me, droopy eyes shining in content. “I love you too, Gray.”

“Can I kiss you?” he mutters, lips brushing against mine every so often in the limited space between us. Instead of answering, I choose to surge forward just enough so that his plush lips are cushioned against mine. He wastes no time in introducing his tongue into the kiss and it becomes hot and heavy in a matter of moments. Before things can go too far, I begrudgingly pull away and kiss the tip of his button nose. He looks mildly frustrated when he opens his eyes and his grumpy expression makes my heart flutter at how utterly adorable he is in this moment.

“I know you have blue balls, but you’re gonna have to wait until later,” I tease, referring to how I had walked in on him getting his dick wet earlier. He purses his lips slightly, shaking his head with playful disdain.

“You are in for it later,” he threatens, raising his eyebrows at me before gradually loosening his hold. I bite my bottom lip at the promise of later as he backs away. “I’m gonna go take care of my situation, if you don’t mind,” he declares before heading in the direction of my bathroom. I smile teasingly at him until he closes the door and then I spin around to face Ethan. He’s still sitting on the couch and he’s chuckling lightly at Grayson’s misfortune. He stares up at me with a smirk still etched onto his lips.

“Are you gonna do that to me, too? Give me a little bit and then make me wait until later?” he asks, reaching out two hands to rub up and down on the outsides of my thighs. I burrow my fingers into his gorgeous head of hair, shrugging my shoulders playfully at the question.

“Probably,” I state bluntly and he rolls his eyes humorously before tugging me down, implying that he wants me to straddle his lap and I do just that. With both legs wrapped around his middle, I allow him to continue caressing my legs as we just stare at each other, mapping out each other’s faces. “Kiss me,” I breathe out and Ethan obeys right away. He takes his time with it, sealing his mouth over mine and gently probing his tongue in to explore my mouth and my own tongue. He’s meticulous with the way that his hands run all over my body and it sets my skin on fire. His hands eventually come to rest over the swell of my ass and he gives it an experimental squeeze, earning a soft moan out of me. When he hears the noise, he’s encouraged to do it again.

This kiss is going a lot further than I intended, but I have no plans to stop it any time soon, especially when I feel Ethan’s hands slide to my hips, gently guiding them in a rocking motion over his lap. Without even thinking, I follow his lead, grinding down onto his crotch and this time, we both moan out in satisfaction. The position we’re in reminds me painfully of what I saw earlier; how the woman rode him in Grayson’s bed. There’s something so hot about taking her place and being the one who ended up there instead.

“You like when your girls are on top?” I breathe against his lips and he groans before claiming my lips again. But he’s pulling back soon enough to growl out an affirmative “Fuck yeah.” Grayson’s thundering voice breaks us apart.

“Hey, how come I didn’t get some of that?” he protests and, even though my heart is thudding wildly out of the surprise of being interrupted, I can’t help but to bury my face in Ethan’s shoulder as I’m overtaken with soft, silent laughter. Ethan sighs out heavily, clearly having been caught off guard as well. I can’t see his face right now, but I can only imagine that he’s staring daggers in Grayson’s direction.

“Grayson, I swear to god,” he starts menacingly between gritted teeth and that’s when I let out a full laugh, pulling back to stare into Ethan’s irritated face.

“My sweet boy,” I murmur gently, tracing the chiseled planes of his face with my finger and watching as the irritation drains from his expression at a moment’s notice. “Later,” I promise, just as I told him I would and he groans again for a different reason this time. I smirk as I dismount from his lap and his arms begrudgingly return to his sides as I stand before him once again. I all but prance toward the kitchen, more than pleased with myself for leaving both of my boys absolutely salivating after me after all of today’s events.

“She’s gonna get it later,” Grayson says to Ethan, but he purposely says it loud enough for me to hear. Ethan chimes in readily.

“Oh, absolutely. Gonna tear that ass up,” he agrees and Grayson’s affirmative mmhm is enough to have me weak in the knees. Maybe I wasn’t totally wrong after all.

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wrienne · 5 years

Text

My Cheating, Amnesic Fiancé

Chapter 1: Cheater

"My blood, sweat and tears..."

It had been a spontaneous decision for you to follow when your best friend, Se-Eun, had a ticket to spare when her other friend called in sick. It was one of the most expensive seats, almost directly in front of the stage, and she didn't think she could find someone else in the last twenty minutes before the show. She was a huge fan, a type of fan to buy everything even remotely connected to the boy band - yes, even useless things like paperweights - with her biggest bias being the one and only Jeon Jungkook.

Your worst nightmare. Oh, and also - your fiancé.

Of course, she didn't know the latter part. Nobody did, or you wouldn't be standing in one of the front rows, still breathing. She only knew about you and Jungkook's long-lasting family ties, and that the two of you often celebrated holidays together. There was of course some media surrounding you and Jungkook since you were the alleged heiress of Phoenix Inc., your late grandfather's enormous international company, and he was, well, Jeon Jungkook, the "Golden Maknae", the rabbit, the "Idol that was scouted by 8 different entertainment agencies", every girl's secret wet dream - yes, you had heard it all from Se-Eun and her friends. It was too much information, to be honest.

To you, he would always be the kid who thought Legolas was the dwarf and Gimli was the elf and that the two were counting because they had some kind of problem. He would also be the kid always ignoring you during family get-togethers and who would disassemble everything you ever liked. He would be the kid who always looked away when Hye-Bin and her pets had harassed you during all of first grade to graduation.

Or at least, that's what you had thought before you had seen him on stage, live, for the first time. Suddenly, you found it hard to believe you had ever met him outside the stadium - or knew him at all.

The hair was recently dyed and cut, he probably wore more make-up than you and he donned, most likely, deliberately tight pants. He moved with the determined elegance only practice and practice and even more practice could have granted him and sang, while dancing vigorously, with more steadiness than you could have pulled off while seated. You two were the same age, 20, yet you realized numbly that he, truly and undoubtedly, had reached a prime time in his life. He wasn't a boy any longer.

And frankly, that kind of frightened you.

When the song ended, deafening screams and thunderous applauds resounded throughout the stadium. Grimacing and drilling your fingers into your ears, you watched as the lights on stage quickly dimmed, erasing the sight of Jungkook and the other six members. Just when you thought it was safe to relax, a new tune began, causing the shouting and yelling to erupt anew - especially from your right where Se-Eun and her friends Min-Ji and Yeon-Woo stood. You didn't understand what was happening - not until a spotlight centered on the middle of the stage, illuminating the shape of one person.

Jungkook raised a microphone to his lips and began singing.

"The fifteen-year-old me who didn't have anything..."

You simply stared. During his whole performance, you were as spellbound. There was such passion, such emotion in his voice and his face - even the slightest movements of his fingers when they sometimes flexed and relaxed around the microphone intrigued you.

Mostly, because it shocked you.

During your whole life while growing up together, he had never exhibited any particular emotion at all. He was mostly stiff or quiet or even sardonic. But at that moment, dancing and singing on stage, he was as vulnerable as he had ever been.

You had only witnessed such exposure once.

He finished the song with a few lasting tones and a final dance move to match the beat. The lights had dimmed, yet you discerned in the darkness his wiry outline against the backdrop. You stared in wonder, taking in the sensual curl of his lips, his semi-lidded eyes and the sweat trickling down his temples and neck. You fleetingly spotted the boy who once had too large of a nose to match his face, but that image was quickly replaced by the man you and the ten thousand other pairs of eyes could see.

He was beautiful.

By the end of the concert, you were almost deaf. Se-Eun, Min-Ji and Yeon-Woo had tears streaming down their faces and they were hoarse from screaming. They had filmed the whole concert on Min-Ji's ridiculously expensive camera, and when you finally had exited the stadium, they were frantically looking for the moment one of the seven members - you think his name was Jin - had blown them a kiss from stage during one of the songs. The three of them shared a YouTube-channel completely dedicated to the group and were already discussing editing, whose Internet they would torture by uploading the whole concert and so on and so forth.

You exhaled out loudly. The screen of your phone said 22:34. You could still call for your parents' driver, but you didn't want to make a scene. There were still a ton of people pooling out of the exit area and who knew if they recognized you. Although you were dressed very casually, you didn't doubt some of the bystanders would put together two and two if they saw a girl your age exiting a BTS concert and entering a really nice car with a private driver. You didn't need more media covering your involvement with Jungkook, even though you two actually were engaged.

That was one of the conditions Jungkook very clearly had established in the beginning.

You glanced at your best friend. "Se-Eun, I thought you said you were calling your mom."

Se-Eun looked up from the camera and smiled sheepishly. The orange of a streetlight overhead made her brown eyes glint and her light brown-colored hair coppery. "I will, I just have to look at him again." She quirked her brow. "I cannot believe you've never been to one of their concerts before. I thought your parents and his were tight like this." She held up two fingers and crossed them together.

"They are," you said reluctantly. "Doesn't mean he and I are, though. He has no reason to make me come to the concert."

In fact, Jungkook had often tried to make you stay away from them. He had said it was nothing particular and that the shows often malfunctioned due to sloppiness and technical error. He had even claimed they didn't really care for their fans and that it was very strained and awkward to look at them perform. Actually, thinking about it, you found it very suspicious considering how the concert had progressed. Sure they had started everything very dolled-up in make-up and expensive clothes, but they had continuously had interludes in which they spoke to the audience and thanked them and one another, and the show had ended with them simply wearing t-shirts - albeit with their own logo on them - and holding a microphone. It had all felt very genuine by the end, and until then, the production value had been surprisingly high, with great audio, lights, scenes that could rise and fall and much more.

"Still," said Se-Eun. "It's just odd considering your relationship."

"It is," you admitted. Jungkook could be rude - really, really rude - but you had never taken him for a liar. "Perhaps I should ask him why he hasn't invited me before."

At this, Min-Ji and Yeon-Woo stopped their fiddling on the camera options. "How? Oh God, do you have his number?" they almost screamed in unison.

You were tempted to punch one of them when you saw some girls turn to look at why they had shouted. Se-Eun quickly calmed all three of you down.

"Hush, you two. Still, do you?" Se-Eun asked incredulously.

"No," you said with a snort. "But I'll just go backstage or whatever and find him."

For a moment, the three of them were quiet. But then they opened their mouths and roared in laughter.

"What?" you asked.

"Good luck getting past the security guards," Min-Ji said, her voice short of breath. "I mean, truly. Good luck."

"Yeah, it's not like other people have tried it," Yeon-Woo laughed. "Not at all."

You frowned. "I'll just tell the sec I'm friends with one of the members."

"Guys," Se-Eun said after they had another assault from the invisible laughter fairy that obviously was missing you with her wand. "I-I don't think she gets it."

You crossed your arms. "Obviously, I don't."

"It's okay," Min-Ji said. "Just let her go. It's funnier that way."

"Good idea," Yeon-Woo said. "(Y/N), we'll be waiting here, don't worry."

Se-Eun was still giggling as she spoke. "It's useless," she told you. "Think about how many times fans try to get backstage, lying that they're cousins or something. You would be just another one among thousands of crazy people. Besides," she added a little more quietly, just for you to hear, "the media will get hold of it, someway or another. How many times don't you complain that you wish you could change lives with someone else?"

That was a valid point. But Min-Ji and Yeon-Woo had wounded your pride and now you almost felt like you had to prove them wrong.

"Yes, but since I can't, I might just as well just live with it," you replied as you turned around and began away from the girls. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Fighting!" one said sarcastically, causing all three of them to laugh.

You would show them. Deciding it best not to sound like a typical stalker-fan, you came up with a lie. It wasn't too difficult convincing one of the guards at the exit area to let you in to try and find your lost keys. He followed you, and as you pretended to search, you kept an eye open for any kind of backstage signs. There were some cleaners that already had begun and some other people with ID-cards dangling from their necks walking around to check cables, but other than that, the stadium was empty and you couldn't exactly ask one of them where the artists were.

"I might have dropped them in the women's bathroom," you told the guard after a minute or two of fruitless conversation with the cleaners.

He nodded. "Let's check there."

Fortunately, you had visited the bathrooms before the concert began, which were next to a set of sturdy-looking, gray metal doors. You knew they were locked for Min-Ji had tried pulling at them to no avail. However, your last shot was to somehow find Jungkook on his way out of the stadium, and perhaps those doors were the way out of backstage. You knew that was a thought bordering on irrational, but your pride was still wounded and you thought you might as well give it a shot.

You didn't see Jungkook on the way and the doors were just as shut and probably locked as they were before. Disheartened, you entered the women's bathroom, casting one last look at the gray doors.

Someone was occupying one of the booths. You went to the sink to wash your hands, to have something to do while you were feeling gradually more embarrassed. Your keys burned in the chest pocket of your jacket, so at least that lie would have a happy ending.

Through the mirror, you spotted a short girl with a brown curly bob exiting the booth behind your sink. At first, you didn't understand why you felt like something was odd with her, but then you realized it.

And your stomach dropped to the floor.

It was Park Yi-Jae, idol and the leader of one of the hottest female girl groups at the moment. Pretty as the moon with a voice like silk and a bright, optimistic personality and a smile that could melt iron. Everyone had heard of her. She was gaining popularity faster than Suzy had thanks to the drama "Of Smoke and Mirrors" and you knew she was becoming a major "It"-icon in China.

Not only was Park Yi-Jae in the bathroom in a stadium where BTS just had performed. She was wearing Jungkook's jacket - and no, not the one he had donned on stage, but the one private he had worn during your family's joint celebration of the Chinese New Year almost a month ago. And the most telling of them all, she was wearing the necklace you had bought him for his graduation.

That son of a bitch was cheating on you.

#bts #bts jungkook #fanfic #My Cheating Amnesic Fiancé #ao3 #wrienne #Adrianna W. Collins

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skullsandfairylights · 5 years

Text

Writer’s Month 2019

Day 6: Word Prompt: kids

Mark loved his son. Tim was his world. Especially after all the hassle he had gone through during the adoption process; there was the question of stability around Mark’s main source of income coming from his YouTube channel and as well as how he would deal with travelling when con-time came around due to him being a single parent. But in the end, the case went through and Mark found himself with the adorable little Timothy. Tim was only four years old when he came to live with Mark and, in the two years that they had been a family, both Tim and Mark had settled into a comfortable routine.

Each morning, Mark would wake up early and go for a run or walk with Chica before he prepped for breakfast. Mark would then wake Tim who would pad through to the kitchen, clamber up onto his seat to eat and watch cartoons on the kitchen TV as he ate his breakfast. Mark would then drop his son off at school with money for his lunch in his pocket and his little rucksack on his back before he drove home to record some videos for the day.

On the days when recording would take longer than planned, Mark relied on one of his friends to pick Tim up. Most of Mark’s friends didn’t mind picking up the now six-year-old as Tim had a way of charming everyone he met, especially his pseudo-aunts and uncles, who all adored the little boy.

Then when all videos had been edited and uploaded to the channel, the little family would get together and eat dinner before spending quality time together; watching a movie or playing games until it was time for bed.

Mark would then tuck Tim in and whisper a “Sleep tight, Little Biscuit.” followed by a kiss to Tim’s hairline before Mark left the room switching off the lights as he went.

Life was good for the Fischbach’s.

~💕~

“So, did you have a good time today?” Mark asked as he entered the dining room carrying two plates of chicken with mash potatoes and mixed vegetables. He placed one plate, with a slightly smaller portion pre-cut into mouthful-size pieces, in front of his son before he settled down in his seat opposite.

“Yeah, Daddy! It was really cool! We went to the park! But it wasn’t Kyle’s mom or dad who took us, it was his big brother, Jason! He pushed us on the swings and he spun us on the roundabout! And we went super super super fast! It was awesome! Then we played hide and seek in the trees and bushes around the park! And I won because Jason helped me climb a tree and Kyle couldn’t find me for ages!” Mark smiled as he listened to his son’s tale. He expected there might be a small bit of exaggeration concerning how long it took Kyle to find the other boy but so long as he was happy.

“Remember to eat your dinner before it gets cold.” The adult in the room pointed out when Tim took a pause for breath.

“Yes, Daddy!” Tim exclaimed, suddenly gathering a large amount of chicken and potato onto his fork and trying to shove it all into his mouth.

“Not so much, Tim. Just what you can chew. You can talk after.” Tim nodded his head and began to take smaller, more appropriate bites of food. After managing to eat a few mouthfuls, Tim made a show of swallowing before taking a deep breath to start talking again.

“Then, Jason took us to McDonald’s and I got a chicken nugget Happy Meal! And then! And then! Then we went for ice cream at Scooby Doo’s!” Mark smiled at his son, knowing that ‘Scooby Doo’s’ was Tim’s way of saying ‘Scoopy Doo’, a little cafe and ice cream shop in town that sold homemade ice cream in a wide variety of flavours from the normal and expected to those unique to the cafe.

“That sounds like fun,” The adult remarked as Tim shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth. “Did you get your favourite?”

“Yup! I gots a large cone and a flake!” Mark knew all about the flake, when he had picked Tim up, the boy had flecks of chocolate smeared into his t-shirt along with the large ice cream drip stains. “Then we went back to Kyle’s house and we played in his garden all afternoon! We played pirates and guarded our treasures from the evil shark that wanted to steal it! It was so much fun! We pretended that the treehouse in Kyle’s garden was our ship and Rodger was the shark!” Rodger being the other family’s pet dog; a small, excitable beagle. “And then Jason came outside and played with us in the treehouse! He was Davey Jones! And he tried sink our ship by controlling the shark! But then! We fed the shark Davey Jones’ hand like Captain Hook in Peter Pan! And we won!”

“Well, it sounds like you had a very exciting day.” Mark smiled fondly at his son as the boy scraped the last bites of food into his mouth. Tim then carefully put his fork and knife together in the centre of his plate, copying his father’s actions. “So, I guess that means that it’s an early night for a certain little boy?”

The look on Tim’s face evolved from a big smile to a look of horror and he suddenly yelled in protest, “But it’s movie night! We always stay up and watch movies on deh weekends!”

“But surely you’re too tired from your long day of being a pirate?”

“No!”

“Alright, well how about we go and run you a bath, then once you’re in your PJs, we can put a movie in?” Tim quickly nodded and scurried from his chair as Mark stood up and carried both his plate and Tim’s plate over to the sink, to wash up as Tim took his bath.

The running footsteps alerted Mark to Tim’s presence and when he turned around, he found his son donned in his bathrobe, hugging a clear plastic box to his chest. Mark led the way through to the bathroom, where he filled up the tub with warm water and helped Tim to get settled. He then gave Tim his bath crayons and dropped a couple of toys into the water before he said, “I’ll just be in the kitchen, so just shout if you need anything.” Tim nodded his head though he seemed to be already engrossed in creating his first piece of artwork on the tiled wall.

For the next fifteen minutes, Mark washed up the dishes and wiped the countertops before he retreated to Tim’s bedroom to set out the boy’s pyjamas. Once Mark had completed the few tasks he needed to, he rejoined his son in the bathroom.

Tim had been busy during the time Mark had been away. The white tiles on the walls now held a collage of colourful pictures. One was, Mark assumed, supposed to be Tim and Kyle on a pirate ship, with a strange beagle-shark hybrid cresting the spiky waves, jagged teeth gnashing. Another image, Mark guessed, was supposed to be Tim’s family; Tim in the centre with Mark next to him, and then gradually scattered all around was Mark’s close friends who had all begun to fulfill large roles in the young boy’s life. Then the other images seemed to be a collection of rainbow animals, though if you asked Mark to identify them, he certainly would have struggled to give any definite names or labels.

“Hey, Squishy, ready to wash your hair?” Tim turned his attention away from his latest drawing, something that used a lot of green, and nodded to his dad, dropping the crayon into the plastic box. Mark reached out for the children’s shampoo and set about washing his son’s hair for him. “Ready to get out now, or do you want to play some more?” Mark asked once Tim had finished rinsing the product from his hair.

“Play more!” Tim exclaimed, enthusiastically, suddenly thrusting a shark toy into his dad’s hands, “You’re the shark, Daddy!”

Mark laughed, glad he was already wearing short sleeves as he plunged his hands into the water to make the shark swim. “Okay, ten more minutes then we’ll get you ready for bed before we watch a movie.” Tim nodded and grabbed the boat toy, talking as though he were the pirates aboard the boat.

By the time the Fischbach’s were ready to settle down and put on a movie, it was almost eight thirty. Tim had been changed into his Spiderman-themed pyjamas, had brushed his teeth and was hugging his favourite teddy bear; handmade with black button eyes and a little pink moustache, dressed in a little red-and-white striped jacket. Mark had similarly changed into his pyjama pants and a comfy t-shirt and was happily curled up under a blanket with his son under one arm and Chica under the other. The movie played in the quiet of the living room, the only other sound being the rhythmic thudding of Chica’s tail as it wagged happily against the fabric of the sofa.

It wasn’t even half an hour into the film when Tim was out cold, snoring lightly. Mark sat in place for a while, ensuring that the boy was fully asleep before he carefully untangled himself from the blanket and lifted Tim into his arms. Chica padded behind the man, happy to follow along behind as Mark made his way to Tim’s bedroom. Carefully, he balanced the small boy against his chest with one arm as he pulled back the duvet to tuck Tim in.

Tim stirred for a moment but showed no sign of waking. Mark smiled and bent down to kiss Tim’s forehead, whispering a good night into the boy’s hair. He turned back towards the door to see Chica staring at him, head tilted to one side. She sat at the end of the bed and lightly pet at the floor with her front paws.

“Come on, Chica, out. Maybe when he’s older.” Mark whispered, gently urging the dog out the door. “Okay, bed, Chica.” Chica seemed reluctant but eventually she padded out the door, followed by Mark after he had switched on the night light on the chest of drawers.

Mark then walked with Chica to the sliding door leading out to the patio and back garden and let the dog outside. He flicked on the outside lights and left Chica to her business as he set to work cleaning the bathroom.

Half an hour later found Mark locking all the doors and checking the windows. Chica was back inside and likely to be upstairs in Mark’s bedroom, curled up on the dog pillow. On his way to his bedroom, he peeked his head into Tim’s room to check on his son and smiled as he saw the small lump shuffle. Mark smiled softly, pulling the door mostly shut but leaving it slightly ajar.

Mark brushed his teeth and did his night time routine in the en suite of the Master bedroom. Chica raised her head to look at him as he made his way over to the bed. The dog bed was positioned at the end of the double bed, pressed up right against the side. Mark pet the dog’s head lovingly as he passed, leaning down to press a quick kiss to the dog’s nose. “’Night pupper.”

Climbing under the covers, Mark got himself comfortable before running through tomorrow’s plan. Tim was back at school. He’d gotten his homework done on the Saturday – Tim had sat with Mark as he edited some videos in the home office, working through the sheet of symmetrical shapes and looking for real-world examples - and his backpack was all ready to go by the front door. Mark had already planned out which videos he would be recording and which games he would play, he usually aimed to try and get two or three filmed, even if they weren’t all edited straight away.

It didn’t take Mark long to fall asleep, listening to the slow huffs from Chica.

#writersmonth2019 #i tried writing words #i made something

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