#I struggle with Martin which you can see in my early stuff | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

themadamespod · 3 years

Text

The Great White Gripe

A lot has been said about the “social commentary” within The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

“Since when is Marvel a bunch of SJWs? I don’t need this shit.”

“All this race stuff feels SUPER forced.”

“Oh here we go Marvel tryin to be all woke to get the libs on board.”

If you personally know anyone who spews this brand of ignorance, we’re sorry.

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: there is no social commentary on TFATWS. Showrunner Malcolm Spellman and director Kari Skogland simply show the reality of life in America. It’s not their fault that so many (white) people (men) don’t like looking in the mirror.

And some people claim they have no problem with film and television addressing politics and social change.

“Just keep it out of my comic book movies. It doesn’t belong there.”

They could not be anymore wrong, even if Chandler Bing himself was lecturing them.

If you asked 100 people to name the top ten movies of all time, you’d get 100 different lists. But one thing we can all agree on is that film has power. It has the power to move us, to divide us, to unite us. Entertainment can lead to the kind of discourse that prompts action and positive change.

And that’s why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the conversations it’s sparking are so important.

One World, One Reality

“Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window.” - Stan Lee

There are two takeaways from that statement:

One: Stan Lee didn’t say that in the 1960s, 1970s, or even the 1980s. He said it in 2017.

Two: Our window, not your window, is a subtle but important distinction, particularly as it relates to TFATWS. The Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau, live by a simple creed: “One world, One people.” The core message of the show is that white Americans and Black Americans experience the world very differently, but there’s still only one world, one reality.

It’s just a matter of people opening their eyes and seeing it.

TFATWS is an extension of Marvel’s early support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Stan Lee created the X-Men as an allegory for the ongoing struggles of the African-American community. Though he didn’t explicitly base Professor X and Magneto on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, there are ideological similarities.

Five years later, following the assassinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, Stan wrote the following:

“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. It’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race—to despise an entire nation—to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if a man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”

In 2021, Stan’s words still resonate. Racism in the United States is as virulent and damaging as it’s ever been. Black Americans are facing deadly policing, Jim Crow 2.0 voting laws, mass incarceration, and countless other roadblocks to mobility that most white people have never encountered.

Through the journeys of Sam and Sarah Wilson, Lemar Hoskins, and the heartbreaking Isaiah Bradley, TFATWS shows the unvarnished truth of what Ira Glass might call Black American Life. And through John Walker, the writers nail home the message that’s really making certain people squirm:

White men are the greatest threat not just to Black Americans, but all Americans, because TFATWS is as much an indictment of toxic masculinity as it is of bigotry.

As aggressive racism has spread like wildfire since 2016, so has hostile sexism towards women of all colors. John Walker is the embodiment of the hyper aggression that the Proud Boys applaud. The clearest example of this comes when Walker dares to clap the shoulder of Ayo, one of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje.

Her swift and, ahem, pointed response had women the world over screaming like they’d just won the lottery.

One could also argue that Walker’s dogged pursuit of Karli and displaced peoples supporting the Flag Smasher cause mirrors the Trump administration’s war on immigrants.

There are plenty of parallels to draw. The point is, none of them are forced or manufactured or exaggerated. And whether we’re talking about a fictional road in Latvia or a real street in Minnesota, white Americans need to stop avoiding conversations that make them uncomfortable.

The Politics of Comics

In 1938, Americans were still reeling from the Great Depression. Enter Superman, the everyman hero, who made his comic debut while the nation was facing widespread unemployment, rampant poverty, and blatant corruption at every level of government.

Superman could have faced off against any number of supernatural villains. But Siegel and Shuster went a different route, setting a precedent for comic books that has prevailed to this day:

They got political.

Throughout Superman’s earliest adventures, he fought against evil politicians, apathetic bureaucrats, aggressive police officers, greedy businessmen, and even a Washington lobbyist.

Then in 1941, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby introduced Captain America just in time to fight the nazis and free the world from fascism. A couple decades later, Kirby and Stan Lee would tell the tale of the aforementioned Erik Lehnsherr, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz. These comics endured because their passion and nuance transcended entertainment. So what was the secret sauce?

Like Siegel and Shuster, Simon, Kirby, and Stan Lee were Jewish. Representation matters, folks.

Later on, the X-Men weren’t the only conduit through which Marvel supported Civil Rights. In 1966, on the heels of the “March Against Fear” from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MS, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby unveiled Black Panther. When African-Americans were fighting harder than ever, Black children could suddenly read a comic book about T’Challa, the noble warrior king of a highly advanced African nation.

Marvel has never been shy about critiquing foreign policy either. Tony Stark and Iron Man debuted in 1968 as the conflict in Vietnam was escalating. And let’s not forget, Tony made his MCU debut in a film that is a clear indictment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We could do this all day, but you get the idea.

Comic books have always reflected the politics of our times, and so has the MCU. Fanboys can’t start crying now just because they’re on the wrong side of history. And when they do, we defer to the great Jon Bernthal when asked about alt-righters appropriating the Punisher symbol:

“Fuck them.”

Life Imitates Art

In 1986, American men felt the need for speed. After Top Gun was released, applications to U.S. aviation forces increased by a staggering 500%.

Two years later, Errol Morris exposed police corruption in his film The Thin Blue Line. The documentary prompted a new investigation that eventually exonerated death row inmate Randall Adams for the murder of a police officer.

That same year, the Polish government ceased all executions after leaders were swayed to do so by A Short Film about Killing.

Following the release of Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine in 1999, Kmart bowed to public pressure and stopped selling handgun ammunition.

And 5 years ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif changed the law on honor killings in response to the critically-acclaimed film A Girl in the River.

Like we said earlier, film has the power to spur social change. Even if the effects aren’t always so direct and immediate, television and movies have always contributed to the process in America.

Seeing the Ricardos sharing a bed allowed some Americans to start relaxing their prudish ways.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Maude empowered women as they fought for reproductive rights.

The Jeffersons and Good Times facilitated calmer discussions about race relations.

And The Ellen Show led to greater representation of queer people on screen and greater acceptance of queer people in society. Though Ellen herself has become a problematic figure in the last year, that legacy still remains.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is hardly the first show of its kind. And given the impact film has on society, we believe Hollywood has a moral obligation to produce content that exposes society’s ills and fosters productive debate.

Stan Lee would be very proud of the team behind TFATWS for bringing the stark reality of American life into people’s living rooms. The next time you see someone bitching about it, remind them what Stan himself said just a few years ago:

“Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or color of their skin. The only things we don't have room for are hatred, intolerance, and bigotry.”

114 notes · View notes

ghostbustermelanieking · 3 years

Text

some thoughts on mag 200

i’ve been having trouble articulating this, but i wanted to get some thoughts down on mag 200, and the ending of tma as a whole, now that i’ve heard the finale twice and had some time to process it all. putting this under a cut in case people don’t wanna see it -- there’s gonna be a lot of praise here, but also some legit criticism. this is a way to sort through my feelings more than anything else.

first off, relistening to the finale, and sitting on it for a while, has made me feel a hell of a lot better about the whole thing. the episode comes off a lot better when you’re not vibrating with fear and anticipation, in my opinion. the final statement was very fitting and cool -- not my favorite ever, but i can appreciate it a lot as a final closing for the fears. and i don’t have an ear for soundscaping but the sound in that statement was cool as hell. the jonah magnus gets fucking murdered scene is incredibly satisfying. a lot of other people have said this, but i love that jon finally got his revenge, and was able to lash out against jonah for all the years of manipulation and beng used, and for tim and sasha and everything else. that was perfect. i genuinely thought we might not get a scene like this after 193 but i am so glad we did. incredibly satisfying. the girls made it out!! i am very glad that they’re ok and moving on and seem to be leaning on each other. (By God I Will Wring Found Family Out Of This Podcast If It Kills Me.) and the admiral’s okay. love that

and the jonmartin ending. oh my god. while i was never the biggest fan of the possibility of martin having to kill jon, the way it went down was so painful and good. i loved that final scene. i love the ambiguity -- that they might have died but maybe they didn’t, maybe they’re all right and happy and we can decide for ourselves -- i love that i got exactly what i wanted, that i get to have my cake and eat it too, all the angst of a jmart death and still the possibility of happiness... i am going buckwild. i love it. the longer i spend with this ending, the happier i am with it. i really really loved it

on another note... i do have some reservations about the finale and the season as a whole. i understand peoples’ irritations with the finale, and while i’m trying to focus on the things i did like, i definitely have some irritations. for one, i definitely wish the finale had been longer. i would’ve loved to see more of what wtgfs and basira were doing, and the actual lighting of the archives, etc. and while i completely understand why the scene at the panopticon went as quickly as it did -- it comes off very much as wild, frantic impulse in the heat of the moment where they’re in danger and trying to protect each other -- i do wish it had gone a little slower.

in my mind, the biggest issue in season 5 ended up being pacing. and this might be a personal preference thing -- there’s a lot of things within the show that i don’t personally vibe with, but i don’t necessarily think they’re badly written. but i do think season 5 was slow. and while slow things can certainly work in a certain context (season 4 comes off wildly slow til you listen to 160), i wish more of what actually happened in season 5 had been baked into the end game. the season felt like it had a lot of filler, which drives me mildly crazy, because the end game feels rushed and i don’t think it NEEDED to be. i liked a lot of what season 5 did -- there’s some impeccable episodes, the character interactions are weirdly lighter and softer than they have been in previous seasons, and i wouldn’t trade a lot of the things that it’s given us (all the jonmartin interactions, jon and georgie briefly rebuilding their friendship, martin and melanie friendship, wtgfs scenes and intimacy, backstory, lore, etc) for anything. but i do think it could’ve been structured and paced a little differently. i also think it could’ve given some more screentime to the character stuff we got from episodes like 161, 170, 186, 190, 191, 192, 199... i absolutely love both martin centric monologue episodes, but i hate that we didn’t get anything like that for jon. (or for melanie or georgie or basira...) the best episodes of the season, imo, are the ones that broke from traditional form of domain statement domain, and the ones that focused in hard on backstory, lore, character introspection, character interaction... i wish we had more of this.

when it comes to the jonmartin arc... i know this has been a point of contention with a lot of people, but i don’t hate it at all. maybe it’s just because i relistened to the majority of the season back in january, but a lot of the more grating moments that seemed large week to week (martin pressuring jon to smite people, the disagreements they had earlier in the season, jon using martin as bait in 176, etc etc) come off a lot more minor when you’re binging. personally, relistening to act i made those interactions come off as things they were struggling with through continued support and reassurance. there were absolutely things i wanted addressed, especially with the “kill bill arc” -- the disagreements early in the season, and how it seemed to turn on its head in the argument they have in 194. (i didn’t like martin blaming jon for the kill bill arc and i was hoping it would get brought up.) i also wanted to see a discussion of martin going with annabelle in 194 -- i wasn’t really ever mad at martin for doing it, but i did want to see them talk it out.

but! after relistening to 200, i think i have a better handle on why that couldn’t have happened. martin goes behind jon’s back to go with annabelle and they don’t talk about it; jon goes behind martin’s back to sabotage the plan everyone agrees on in order to prevent the fears from spreading. if they’d had a big talk about trust, and working through martin going off with annabelle, and then jon turned around and did the same thing, more or less... it would’ve completely soured that discussion. jon and martin needed to be in a place of discourse for this ending to work.

honestly, the more i’ve thought about this final JM arc, the better i feel about it. sure, jon and martin are in a bad place, and they’ve gone behind each other’s backs and been somewhat selfish, but i don’t think this ruins their relationship. for one, martin’s break in trust comes from a place of wanting to save jon and the world. and for another, jon genuinely feels he is doing the right thing, making a decision he can live with. (i have my own opinions as to how ethical jon’s decision was, but that’s another post. and i think the muddy ethics of this ending are on purpose -- it’s horror, a genre that often doesn’t offer ethical decisions.) their final decisions and final moments come from a place of love and protectiveness, and they change their decisions for the other. they still love each other, through all of it. i don’t think these late stage betrayals equivalate jonmartin necessarily being doomed as a couple (not that anyone has said that, but it’s worth saying). and i think it’s important to remember that this is still a relatively new relationship. it existed for approximately three weeks before the literal apocalypse, and it’s been under an immense amount of stress, as well as the constant fear that one or both of them would die. (which they did.) i’m not saying that excuses certain things they’ve said or done, but i am saying i don’t think the relationship is doomed. i think, if jon and martin have survived, they’ll need to work through things. they’ll need to talk it all out. and they’ll be able to! they’ll heal from this one way or another. the tragedy isn’t that jonmartin is doomed, or toxic. it’s that these moments of betrayal are what dooms them. and the beautiful undercurrent of it all is that they still manage to come together, and make decisions that mean they stay together. and that wherever they are, they’re still together.

all in all, i don’t think season 5 has been perfect, and i can make my peace with that. (tma’s worst is a hell of a lot better than most shows’ best.) (i also think it might be worth considering how covid could have affected certain aspects of how the season was written -- pandemics are stressful, and i can’t imagine what it’s like to finish an enormous, in the works for years project like this in the middle of that. personally, i’m impressed they’ve managed to finish the show through all of this and keep it to a similar quality.) i think critiques are valuable and worth discussing. and i think plot aspects aside, there are several other critique related things that could be brought up about this season that people have articulated much better than i ever could. but i also, personally, want to walk away from the show feeling satisfied. i tend to be weirdly positive about things i love (the x files finale was horrendous, but i managed to get to a place where i was happy with it, for example), and i think that applies here -- even more so because i really did love so many aspects of that finale. i don’t necessarily want to linger in my own mind over what i disliked, especially considering the show is over. although i did want to air out my thoughts.

i still love this show. i loved a lot of episodes this season, frustrations aside. season 5 will forever be my only live tma experience, and it got me through one of the worst years of my life, and i am very grateful for this. i genuinely did just want to air out my thoughts and get them all down on paper. these are just my opinions -- i don’t want to criticize anyone who feels differently about the finale, or the season as a whole. everyone’s opinion is their own.

i feel a lot, lot better about mag 200, to the point of genuinely loving it. i hope my appreciation only grows as i get further from that frenzied first day and have more time to sit with it. and i can’t wait to see all the art and read all of the amazing fics that are going to come out of this ending (and write some of my own). it’s been a wild ride. i’m glad i was here for it.

#tma #the magnus archives #mag 200 #tma spoilers #tma negative #not too strong i dont think but just in case #this might be completely incoherent lol but i wanted to get it down

76 notes · View notes

queerprayers · 3 years

Note

Hi Johanna! :) I'm currently (and have been on and off for a few months) struggling with my view of Jesus' divinity. I have Christian friends who think Jesus = God and friends who think He was just a normal human like us and that's it,, and somehow i feel as if I'm somewhere in between rn? Learning that titles such as "the son of God" were used for normal human leaders at that time really threw me, and also that Jews now and I guess in Jesus' time think the Messiah will just be a normal human, and the "I am" statements in John's gospel were probably not actually said by Jesus but were written by John to kind of describe Him but also John said Jesus was "the word made flesh" not "God made flesh" and like what even is the word exactly??? now I'm thinking there's really nowhere in the new testament that claims that Jesus is God, but then there are things like Collosians 1:15-17 which sounds like it's suggesting it but doesn't explicitly say that Jesus is God...?? So essentially I'm just v confused and was wondering what your beliefs about it all are and why you believe what you believe?? and just really any information or resources you have on the topic would be v much appreciated, thank you so much (also I love your blog!) :))

Hello! This is such a wonderful question that I don't know a ton about, but I love thinking about it and I hope I say/find something that's helpful to you!

I grew up and still identify as Lutheran, so that theology is what I'm familiar with and am influenced by. I and my Lutheran siblings, as well as many other Christians, believe that Jesus was/is fully God and fully Man. Your phrase that you're "somewhere in between right now" makes so much sense to me, although for me it's not so much in between as both! Jesus on earth was born physically, had a human body and genes, ate, laughed, pooped, and died. I believe that, simultaneously, Jesus was God, fully divine. I don't have the words or the knowledge to spout perfect Trinitarian teachings right now (and probably never will), but my favorite description/representation of the Trinity is that God is love, and love is an interpersonal action. So love made manifest cannot be a sole being: God as Lover, Jesus as Beloved, the Holy Spirit as Love. That's only one way to look at it, but even looking a tiny bit into this kind of Trinity theology, you'll learn that we see Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three representations of the same God, three in one. This is batshit crazy to many people, including many Christians, and I acknowledge and respect that! It is crazy! Anyway, all that to say that I do believe Jesus is a manifestation of God, but that God took human form and saw through our eyes.

A thought about Martin Luther's opinion: "Luther repeatedly argues that the basis for attributing divinity to Jesus is that the person of faith understands that Jesus Christ has done for humanity what only God can do" ("Martin Luther: A Pure Doctrine of Faith" by Micharl Stoltzfus, Journal of Lutheran Ethics, 2003).

Whether you think anything Jesus said was Him verbally claiming to be God, He, over and over, places himself in the role of God, forgiving people, healing people, and making promises/interpretations for them. I realized this while watching Jesus Christ Superstar (yeah, sue me)— whether or not you believe Jesus is God, Jesus obviously thought so, or at least thought himself at the same level as God. C. S. Lewis has a great point about this in Mere Christianity.

I think your statement that something was ". . . not actually said by Jesus but [was] written by John to . . . describe Him" is a good point about how we look at the Bible— if one believes that every word in the Bible comes directly from God, then that is God describing Themself as Jesus, so Jesus saying something and God dictating it to John would be the same thing! This isn't a criticism, I was just pointing out that what you believe about the Bible will definitely affect how you look at this— just something to think about! I'm not a Biblical literalist (or whatever you want to call it) by any means, but I do lean towards divine inspiration and the Spirit having a hand in the writing of the Bible, as well as acknowledging that the human writers' personal perspective and prejudices shine through.

Your question "What is "the Word" exactly?" is a great one! John uses the Greek word logos in John 1, ("word," "discourse," or "reason") as a title for Jesus, and it's absolutely beautiful. In the Bible, "the Word" is used to describe something that God has decreed, something that God has said when addressing humans, words that God spoke through the prophets, God's written Word (the Bible), and Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is referred to as the Word in John 1 and Revelation 19. Jesus is these things! He's something God decreed, He is God addressing humans, He has spoken through the prophets— Jesus is the physical manifestation of God's Word.

Oh, one more thing! It's so interesting to talk about what the early Church believed, but I think it's funny when people use it as a "gotcha" when the early Church didn't believe something, and other people do. Like, was the early Church perfect and right all the time? Why can't the disciples and early saints get something wrong that later people got right? So obviously it's important to learn about early Christian theology, but it's not some pure teaching that we have to get back to— it's proof that we're constantly evolving!

Here are some sources/resources/thoughts on stuff I've talked about!

What are the strongest biblical arguments for the divinity of Christ? (Got Questions)

Was the divinity of Jesus a Late Invention of the Council of Nicea? (Canon Fodder)

The Divinity of Jesus: An Early Christian Debate (Cynthia Stewart, Saint Mary's Press)

The Divinity of Jesus & 5 Reasons it Matters (David Guzik, Calvary Chapel)

What the Early Church Believed: The Divinity of Christ (Catholic.com)

What Does the Phrase "the Word of God" Mean? (Don Stewart, Blue Letter Bible)

Logos (Christianity) (Wikipedia)

Scholastic Lutheran Christology (Wikipedia)

A Lutheran-Orthodox Common Statement on Faith in the Holy Trinity

Who is God—The Trinity? (Holy Cross Lutheran Church)

The mystery of the Trinity (Delmer Chilton, Living Lutheran)

The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy: Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament by Michael Rydelnik & Edwni Blum

Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus Christ by Gerald O'Collins

Is Jesus Truly God?: How the Bible Teaches the Divinity of Christ by Gregory R. Lanier

I'm not sure that I actually answered any questions— I may have just created more, but that is the nature of theology, I'm afraid. Good luck in your learning and thinking, and may you come to your own idea of how to think about and relate to Jesus— there isn't one right way, don't worry. I'm not even claiming that I or my denomination's beliefs are "right," although I do think they're true. (I like differentiating those.)

Thank you so much for your support of my blog, and I hope you have a lovely day/night!

<3 Johanna

#asks #resources #theology #jesus

33 notes · View notes

captaincravatthecapricious · 3 years

Text

After the Circus Part 4

Some thoughts from Tim. I did not edit this, sorry.

@janekfan

cw: strained friendships, arguing, fainting, dizziness, trauma, references to Jon's getting covered in lotion, disassociation, food mention, mentions of panic attacks (none in the story), canon typical season three Tim headspace (although he's being less mean!)

Tim’s eyes are burning. He rubs at them absently. Christ, his back hurts. Elbow numb from pressing it into the break room table.

He feels like he hasn’t closed his eyes longer than to blink since after Prentiss with those pain killers knocked him flat. Feels like he hasn’t even blinked since Martin found out that Jon was kidnapped. Didn’t even have that small bit of respite that is due to most creatures.

He can’t take his eyes off Jon’s fragile form.

He’s asleep on the couch. Jon, that is. Martin has dozed off at the table. Chubby cheek smashed into it. He’s pale, Martin is. And tired. There are deep circles under his eyes, almost starting to rival Jon’s. Tim wants to brush the hair off his forehead. Wants to tell him that it’s going to be okay, but Tim doesn’t believe that it’s going to be okay. In fact, he’s fairly certain it won’t be. Especially not after the Unknowing.

Maybe… Maybe he could try. For Martin. Maybe.

A quiet voice from deep within says that maybe he could even try for Jon. Maybe.

After all, what had Martin said? Something about not letting the Circus claim any more lives. A voice that sounds suspiciously like Martin whispers that that includes Tim’s life too.

Imagining things.

Christ, he needs to sleep.

Nothing keeping him here now. Not really. Just… worry that he though he was done having.

He really thought he could quell his care for his …the people who used to be his friends.

The people he wouldn’t mind trying to be friends with again.

Which leads him back to Jon. Who he’s been staring at since …well he’s lost count.

He’s asleep on the couch. He’s shivering, but Tim isn’t going to take the blanket from Martin.

Tim might almost want to care for Jon (while aggressively pretending not to care, of course). But… but he hasn’t earned blanket rights. Not after every hurt Jon has caused. (The Martin in his sleep deprivation induced imaginings reminds him that most of the hurts were not caused by Jon. Most, actually. Jon caused some, but not most). But Tim isn’t ready to believe that. Or even if he believes it, not admit it for long enough to give Jon the blanket.

In any case, Martin deserves it more. Poor, optimistic, besotted Martin. Tim tries to call him stupid. Just in his head. But a phantom, imagined voice (maybe Sasha’s?) shuts that thought down. Christ, he’s losing it. He needs to sleep. Take a double shot of sleepy time cold medicine and hope that knocks him out.

He’d do that now… but he isn’t leaving Martin here.

And Martin isn’t going to leave Jon. Not like this. Not in a million years.

Apparently Martin is A-Okay with someone stalking them and just going back to calling him a friend.

Stop it, Tim. Not helpful.

And Jon really just looks frail and pathetic. And that’s just made him angry recently, but right now… right now it makes him angry at the Circus.

Which… not the best way to fix a friendship… if that’s even what he’s trying to do. And he doesn’t know that for sure. He isn’t sure of anything. Head and eyes full of sand. Burning and heavy and gritty. Can’t think. Doesn’t know if what he’s feeling makes any sense.

The feelings don’t even feel like they belong to him. Not at this stupid hour.

What time even is it? His phone ran out of juice, he thinks. Died not long after Jon fell asleep again, before Martin fell asleep, before Tim took up his vigil. Feels like he’s taking over for Martin. Trying to care in his stead. Trying to care enough that Martin will let himself get some proper rest.

Which… which means Tim needs to do something. And by something …well that probably means he needs to open his home to both Martin and Jon.

Martin’s flat is too small for just one extra person, even as small as Jon, and there is no way in hell that Tim is going to let Martin alone with Jon. Not when he knows Martin will give everything he has left to watch out for Jon. Martin is quickly running out of things to give.

Not that Tim has much to offer, but he can’t let Martin burn himself out completely on Jon.

And Jon… well Tim hasn’t exactly been paying attention, but he thinks Jon is essentially homeless. If him going back to sleeping on a shelf is any indication. Or intending to, if he hadn’t passed out before reaching it.

See, Tim isn’t that bad. He brought Jon to the cot. Miles better than a shelf.

Probably, anyhow.

Jon might have a mattress by now.

He idly wonders if that hypothetical mattress would be like the one Tim used to host sleepovers on.

Like the one Tim and Sasha and Jon shared on late nights after drinks and days full or research.

And then he feels decidedly ill. Because the Sasha in his memory isn’t the right one.

He’d be sick if he had the energy.

But he doesn’t.

So he just readjusts and ;ays his head down on folded arms. Back glad of the movement, but still protesting the new position just as much as the last.

He’s decided, though. When Martin wakes up, all three of them are going back to his flat.

Until then he’ll watch the delicate rise and fall of Jon’s chest. The rest doesn’t look easy. Hasn’t since he got back. Tim has to wonder if it’s been that way since Prentiss. But he’s too tired to think. Only has it in him to watch.

Watch Jon whimper in his sleep. Too weak to move about, like Tim knows Jon does when he isn’t weighed down by another person or his weighted blanket.

He considers going to grab that blanket for Jon now, but he doesn’t have the energy to move. (And a private part of him is worried that Jon will vanish if he looks away for even a moment. Like he will be stolen away again. Or that he will just… stop breathing. Just fade away quietly without anyone to notice. Or… care.

So. So Tim tries very hard not to think about where else he’s heard these words as he waits, and he watches, and he listens.

When Jon wakes with a strangled scream, Martin nearly falls out of his chair. Tim barely blinks. Too tired to even move at that point. He doesn’t want to think about how long he’s been awake.

Martin’s by Jon’s side by this point. A hand smoothing down his hair, and Jon’s crying again.

Distantly he thinks he should probably try to get Jon to drink something or eat something. Get some salt and water into him somehow. But Tim is too tired to do that, and Jon’s crying too hard to do anything.

Tim gives himself 30 seconds. 30 seconds to close his eyes, then stand up.

He should be alarmed by the head rush that nearly takes him back down. That’s not something he experiences too often, but… well he hasn’t exactly been taking care of himself.

He trudges off to see if he can remember if he brought anything in with him. If he did, he’ll grab that and anything that Martin might have brought in, and after that he’ll grab Jon’s weighted blanket.

his feet feel like lead and he’s trying not to stumble over himself or the trailing blanket. He’s got Martin’s bag over his shoulder, with the Tim’s water bottle and phone charger shoved in on top of Martin’s stuff. Keys in his pocket. Phone is his pocket. Stifling a yawn in Jon’s blanket.

He prods Martin with his shoe.

“Come on, Marto. We’re leaving.”

“I’m not leaving him!” Loud and sudden and panicked.

It starts Jon whimpering again.

Pathetic, he thinks before he can stop himself.

“He’s coming with us. You can take the blanket or Jon, but either way, both are coming with us.”

Martin glares at him in bleary suspicion. “Where?”

“My flat.”

“Why?”

“So you don’t fall asleep at the table again. And if that means getting Jon and you on my spare mattress or in my guest room, then so be it.”

Martin slumps. Partly because Jon is needing something or other, and early because …well… he looks basically dead.

Tim can see when he gives in.

Marin nods.

Tim can also see when Martin realizes there is no way he can carry Jon, at least not until he’s gotten some proper rest. And Tim doesn’t make Martin admit it.

He hands off the backpack and the blanket, and scoops Jon up himself.

Jon’s eyes flutter shut. Heart racing against Tim’s chest, head lolling against his shoulder. Fainted again. It’s… starting to get worrying, in all honestly. He hasn’t seen Jon this badly off since… well the few times he was running some truly scary fevers and the one time he didn’t sleep for an entire week.

Jon isn’t feverish. At least Tim doesn’t think he is. Which means, it’s not a fever or it’s very low. So Tim has to guess whatever Jon went through lead to a hell of a flare up.

Nothing to do for that now.

Maybe he can stop by a charity shop and get Jon a temporary cane tomorrow. After he’s slept. After he’s certain he won’t pass out from lack to sleep, himself.

Get Jon a new cane, and hope Jon is up for solid food, because damn Tim wants crepes.

He would sell his soul for some crepes.

Martin is struggling to his feet. Just as warn out as Tim.

It isn’t a long walk to Tim’s flat. He tries to hail a cab, but… he guesses it’s a weird hour on a week night. No one is out.

It isn’t a long walk.

But Martin stumbles into him every few steps. Trying to lean over to check on Jon.

Jon is… conscious? Maybe?

But barely.

He nudges Martin onto the couch. Then drops Jon into his lap. That should keep Martin from going anywhere.

Then Tim drags out the sleepover mattress. It hasn’t been out since… since Sasha was alive.

Since before the Archives.

It smells a little musty. But… it feels like home as he tiredly wrestles some sheets onto it, and kicks his coffee table out of the way to make room for it.

Martin stares at him uncomprehendingly.

Tim leaves him to it.

Tim fetches a lucozade for Jon, and two glasses of water.

He goes and showers. He brushes his teeth. He throws on some sleep clothes.

Martin still hasn’t really moved.

Tim lifts Jon off his lap and onto the mattress. He sets Jon down with more care than he can really take in right now. And takes his place on Jon’s side.

Jon looks to be sleeping, not unconscious now. Good.

“Marto you can shower if you want. Feel free to find some clothes if you do. Something should fit. Or you can just… take a load off and join us. Whichever. But I’m going to sleep.”

It’s been ages since he’s slept with Jon. But… it feels like home. Or… something like home. He buries them both under Jon’s blanket, and under the spare duvet. Drawing and arm around Jon, trying not to get lost in the tight feeling in his chest when Jon snuggles up close and tucks his nose against Tim’s clavicle.

Tim pats the empty side of the mattress, and giving Martin something adjacent to a smile.

When Tim wakes up. Martin is sound asleep in some sweats that are oversized on Tim.

He feels… heavy. Both from exhaustion and from the weighted blanket.

He can’t tell what time it is. Blackout curtains are drawn against any light that could be. It’s just… a dim grey… meaning there must be light spilling in from the kitchen. Probably light out, then.

Then… then he spares a glance for Jon. Looking small and beaten in his arms.

His eyes are open, and… he might actually be lucid this time.

He makes a small question sound.

It damn near breaks his heart.

“Why are you being so nice?” His voice is still wrecked. It looks as though Jon might have burst a blood vessel whilst sobbing at the Institute, but he can’t be sure in this light. Still. It hurts.

He also doesn’t have an answer.

Pity is the wrong answer to give to Jon, and he knows it.

But… it was some pity. And some for Martin’s sake.

He doesn’t know what to say.

His silence, however is scaring Jon. Jon who is starting to hyperventilate.

“Hey. Hey. It’s okay. I… I don’t know why. But… I couldn’t leave you there. And I couldn’t leave Martin even if I could.”

Jon finally seems to notice that Martin is basically spooning him. And makes a small sound.

He looks back at Tim, a little teary.

“Glad to see you awake, but maybe you should rest a little more. I’d get you something to drink, but I don’t think I can get out without waking Martin. But… but if you do need anything, I’ll risk it, so uh. Let me know?”

Jon just shakes his head, and buries his face in Tim’s chest.

Tim is… surprised. Last time he was this close to Jon, Jon flinched away. And that kind of makes him feel sick to think about. And this… this makes something melt in his chest. Something he hadn’t felt in a while.

“Get some sleep, bud. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Jon hmms, and Tim lets himself sleep.

#the magnus archives #tma #fic #hurt/ comfort #whump #cw dizziness #cw fainting #cw strained friendships #cw suicidal ideation

29 notes · View notes

repetitionsings · 3 years

Text

Sorting Cabin Pressure

I return! Briefly, because tumblr still hates me, and yet triumphant, because I’ve spent the last week re-listening to Cabin Pressure, and I want to talk about sorting the MJN crew. So let’s do some Sorting Hat Chats!

As usual, my view on these characters may not be yours, and if you have different thoughts, I’d love to hear them. :D Discussion spans the entire 27 episodes, so let’s say spoilers just to be safe.

Martin

Despite probably having the biggest, best-defined character arc, I'm finding Martin the main character I'm least set on.

Secondary-wise, I'd say he's definitely a built secondary; very little of Martin's improvisations seem to come comfortable to him. His insistence on doing things right and by-the-book feels fairly Badger, but his ability to be lured into shortcuts and moments of unprofessional behavior feels to me like a Bird who thinks that Badger hard word and toil is the best option. It also seems to fit with the way he becomes calm and confident once something works out for him, and then immediately loses it once things go wrong and he feels unprepared again. The few episodes where he really gets to be confident and succeed particularly feel Bird-y to me: relying on knowledge in Johannesburg especially stand out.

(That said, Badger also seems to ring consistently with the way he handles a lot of things -- his dedication to his job, his hard work, even the way half the time he does get confident, it's either because Douglas isn't there to bring him down, or he seems to be pretending to be him.)

Primary-wise, though, that's where I get tripped up. Not a Snake, I think; even his hesitancy to leave MJN is half about his own goals and issues, not fully founded in caring about others. Badger doesn't quite seem right either -- "being loyal and true to things or people that exist is more important than sticking to grander but more abstract ideals or concepts" does not sound like Martin at all. My first thought was Lion, just one that's still struggling to be as decisive as they usually are -- despite his hesitancy, and his instincts being 'follow the rules written by others', a lot of the Lion stuff seems to apply to him. "They are willing to sacrifice their safety, social harmony, and a certain amount of logic to do what they feel is right." "There is right and there is wrong. Things are black and white. Shades of gray are places where people go to play games, twist the truth, and to be cowards."

But... he does bend the rules, or sit back and let Douglas do so. If nobody who makes him feel like he has to put on the act is there -- see Newcastle and Qikiqtarjuaq -- he'll bend them pretty far. Trying to drop candy on a kids' birthday party (Johannesburg) and lying to a passenger about where they're flying (Timbuktu) levels of far.

So who's around seems to be a big part of it, which maybe could point back in a loyalist direction. I think in the end, though, I'm going to throw up my hands and say, maybe a Bird whose system is in progress from something fairly immature and black-and-white to something more complicated? Martin's devotion to his passion and his job above all else feels pretty Idealist to me, and this seems a little more fitting than him being an extremely malleable Lion.

Douglas

Douglas "at any given moment I never have fewer than seven ulterior motives" Richardson? Douglas "did something clever and now everything's fine" Richardson? Douglas "pretending very hard not to care about anything, actually cares very deeply, but only about specific things and specific people" Richardson? Is there even any point to considering an answer besides double Snake here? Douglas might as well be the model of it. Trickery is his first language. He schemes, charms, adapts, and lucks out in order to achieve anything in his sights, whether that's as small as a relief from boredom or as big as saving the day.

Motivation is trickier -- but it becomes clearer and clearer as time goes on how far Douglas is willing to go to save MJN, and outside his own desires to be the captain again, that seems like the biggest thing that ever drives him. Combine that with his hedonism, and the way he's happy to lie, cheat, and steal to accomplish most other things with no notable guilt or shame, I don't even see hints of a model or structure built over it; the things that matter to him are his own reputation and status (and even that in very specific, particular ways), and saving GERTI and her crew.

(That said, the more I think about it, I do think you could make a solid argument for Douglas as a rapid-fire Bird Secondary. Mostly built around Zurich -- his confession that his confidence started, not just as a mask, but wholesale imitating somebody else. There's also this excerpt from Finnemore's Farewell Bear Facts: "Douglas prefers to hang back, let other people make mistakes, work out the 'something clever' he's going to do in secret, and then present it with a flourish." While that could be Snake-y, I could see it as a Bird's planning working for someone whose very invested in his own reputation. That said, I still think Double Snake seems the most applicable overall.)

Carolyn

Carolyn's drives are a kind of mirror to Douglas', which is interesting to reflect back on. The two things she cares most about are how she's seen, and -- even if she sometimes shows it in her own strange way -- Arthur. Then Douglas and Martin start to rank in there over time, and eventually so does Herc. (Martin moreso than Douglas -- speculation, but I think it's probably because everyone knows Douglas will take care of himself first, so he doesn't need to be worried about so much.) Money matters to her of course, but several times it comes down to show that if money was the most important thing, she'd probably have given up GERTI a long time ago. We get it set out plainly as early as Douz: "Because I am the Chief Executive Officer of MJN Air. It’s a good thing to be. It’s better than... a little old lady."

I think it's possible to read Carolyn as an extremely burned Badger; there's something in how she reacts to her sister that makes me think I can see it. But in general, I'm more inclined to say Snake Primary. One that isn't fully burned -- Arthur's never really out of her circle, I think -- but does have a hell of a time opening up her circle to new people by the time of the series. Just look at the trial Herc goes through before he gets there.

Lion Secondary, I think. She's the immovable object to Douglas' unstoppable force, and Martin is the thing unfortunately trapped between them at times. She's stubborn and honest, hates playing at being nicer than she is and only does it when absolutely necessary, and cares about her rules being followed but not the rules in general so much. She's whip-smart, but she doesn't actually tend to be tricky or slippery in the same way as Douglas -- and in fact, the one time we really see her try to be actively tricky, in Timbuktu, she loses. She's more likely to ignore opposition or tell someone else to solve it, and even when she pulls something, it's usually pretty straight-forward. (For example, calling Hester's fans in Cremona -- it's an underhanded move against someone who's earned her ire, but not really a complicated scheme.)

Arthur

I think Arthur shares his mother's Lion Secondary. He's a force in his own right as much as she is, even if he's more of a tornado to her steel barrier. He's honest to a fault and very much always himself, no matter what the situation, or how much better it might be to try and do something else.

As Primary goes, it's hard to tell if this is just Arthur's optimism shining against everyone else, but my first instinct is Badger. He wants to be helpful, oftentimes too much so, and he likes them so much it tends to be notable when he doesn't like somebody. His focus tends to be the people in front of him at the time, but that does extend to include other people when they're there -- it's not just the crew at all times. While I think it's possible to see him in other lights, Badger seems to make the most sense and work with what we see of his wants through the series.

Herc

While most of the other minor or reoccurring characters don't show up enough for me to have even an idea, I think we do get enough of Herc to narrow it down some, if not make a completely secure conclusion.

My first instinct is that he's yet another Snake Primary in the mix. It works with his role as a foil for Douglas, and with his willingness to give up his position to be with Carolyn by the end of the series. (That said, I feel like his speech on why he's a vegetarian in Ottery St. Mary could point towards Bird Primary as well, and would make sense with everything we see of him.)

He seems straightforward in a way that doesn't line up with a Snake Secondary to me -- that could be a matter of the situations we see him in, but I still just don't see it in his conversations with Carolyn. I'd say maybe a Lion Secondary, in the way the two of them clash and he stands his ground. Bird Secondary also makes sense, but admittedly I'm having trouble pointing to anything specific that made me think so; there's just something in the way his manner bounces off the others, and in the way he seems to almost take on and off All-Knowing Air Captain mode.

In conclusion --

Martin: Double Bird with a Badger Secondary model Douglas: Double Snake Carolyn: Snake Primary/Lion Secondary Arthur: Badger Primary/Lion Secondary Herc: tentatively Snake Primary/Lion or Bird Secondary

or, as they say in Limerick... But for Arthur, they're all quite constructed With the Snakes bickering interrupted By a worrying Bird From the Captain's chair heard Til the newest of Snakes is inducted

Carolyn's Lion is strong and won't coddle Martin's Bird, leaning against his model Or the Lion she raised By the Snake she's unfazed And thank you all, for reading my twaddle

#sortinghatchats #sorting hat chats #cabin pressure #Sorting Things Out #m: cabin pressure #til binary systems run

13 notes · View notes

fuckyeahprodigalson · 3 years

Link

SPOILERS!

After spending all season covering up Nicholas Endicott’s (Dermot Mulroney) death, criminal profiler Simon Hoxley (Alan Cumming) came to New York on the PRODIGAL SON spring premiere, determined to get to the bottom of the murder. But luckily for Bright (Tom Payne)—and the Whitly family—a link in the chain of people he used to dispose the body ended up being their possible salvation: after one of his connections snapped and killed the other people who transported the corpse, Bright was able to spin a theory that she killed Endicott, too.

With that wrapped up, Hoxley also left—after Bright convinced Ainsley (Halston Sage) to sit down with the Mind Sleuth for a one-on-one interview—and the Whitly family celebrated their narrowest escape yet.

But…are they really in the clear?

PRODIGAL SON co-creators Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver tease what’s to come…

They got away with it! In your mind, is the Endicott case closed or are you leaving that door open for the future? Sam Sklaver: Bright has done a very nice job of [tying things up]. But when we were, early in the season, talking to our one of our advisors who specializes in serial killers, and we said, “What’s the best way to get away with a murder?” And he told us no body, no murder. And the problem is there is an Endicott body.

So I’d like to think that Bright and the Whitlys have gotten away with it…but history always has a way of catching up with the Whitly family. So I think it might just be one more thing to haunt them in the future. I can’t say that anything in the past will ever just stay in the past.

Is this something you’re looking to play with later in the season, or is that more something that might get explored in later seasons? Chris Fedak: We’re going another direction for this season. We have a couple of really exciting things coming up. For Endicott this year, we always like to have twists and turns—[Joking] and you should never trust us, let’s be honest, Sam and I are terrible, terrible liars—but we’re about to depart on a new journey of suspense…we have some new stuff coming up.

At the end of the episode, Martin (Michael Sheen) and Vivian (Catherine Zeta-Jones) kiss—which certainly does not seem like it’s destined to go well, frankly, for either of them. What’s in store for that dynamic going forward? Sklaver: You hit the nail on the head. I think most people who enter The Surgeon’s life, it usually makes their life not better, but worse. Vivian Capshaw is finding herself within The Surgeon’s gaze. So, I am nervous for her. I’m 100% nervous for her. I’m also nervous for her just because we’ve really grown to love Catherine; she’s so amazing on set. And just as a person and with the actors and with our crew—I’m terrified for her; I’m with you 100%. [Laughs.]

Should we be a little bit worried for him, as well? We know he’s dangerous, but she, in theory, does have the bulk of the power in this situation. She seems to be calling a lot of his BS and has been manipulating him, as well… Fedak: I think that’s a really smart perspective on it—she’s no wilting violet. She’s a strong, smart, very sophisticated woman who has a taste for the bad boys—and by which I mean serial killers. So it’s definitely a place where she knows how to to use her authority within Claremont to protect herself and to also keep things from coming out. That’s something that Martin has to be careful of, because he is a patient at Claremont, he is under her thumb, in a way.

Earlier in the season, we got to see Dani (Aurora Perrineau) and Bright coupled up, albeit in his twisted dream state. How much will we be seeing him examine his feelings for her in the rest of season 2? Fedak: We’re exploring the Dani-Bright relationship. [Episode] 6 was a great opportunity for us to remind the audience of it to kind of launch the second half of our season, with an idea of exploring who they are and can these two ships ever come together, or are they doomed? As we head into this side of the season, you’re definitely going to be getting more of Dani and Bright. And, also, like everybody in our show, he needs somebody to talk to. And I think that so often he hasn’t been able to talk to anybody this season because 1) Nicolas Endicott, and then 2) we’ve got something that’s going to kind of bind the whole team together. It’s coming up and it’s going to be huge. The enormity of this event is going to cause everybody to seek refuge and to seek help. And for Bright, that’s going to require him to talk to Dani. Sklaver: The events of episode 6 definitely left a mark in Bright’s mind. And so he is seeing Dani in a different way, which is very exciting for us. You just hope that life doesn’t get in the way, as it often does of his family.

What can you share about this very big event? Fedak: It has something to do with The Surgeon and his plans.

Is this something where fans will retroactively realize the seeds you planted for this story, will it come out of nowhere, or a mixture of the two? Fedak: I think that it is something that we’ve been laying the seeds for for quite some time. Sklaver: And I think it will shock everyone. I think we’ve been laying the seeds for it and it will shock everyone. Fedak: It’s also the second book of the Old Testament. [Laughs.]

Which is Exodus…Should we be expecting to see Martin, potentially, in a different situation than we’ve seen him the first year and a half? Fedak: Let me be even more cryptic: We’ve done a lot of testing hair color for Martin. We’re doing some interesting things.

Intriguing. On another note, how much will JT’s struggles with the force play into what’s ahead? Fedak: I don’t think it’s so much a matter of putting anything off. We brought some very important issues into episodes. And, for us, we ran into a couple of things having to do with production, that kind of changed our plans a little bit in regards to how we filmed the show. But none of those stories have been completed.

For us, our perspective is we want to tell a story that gets into the emotion and the reality of what our characters are going through, especially JT and Dani in regards to that story. We’re not playing out a story where we’re going to solve racism; that would be a not great [or realistic] story. But I think that what we’re going to show as we head toward our finale, and going forward in the show, is that these are a long tail, and that this story that we started here is something that we are going to be playing out in the future.

But it’s not the type of thing that can fit in 13 episodes of television. This story will work more like, this is a part of their lives, and it will come in and out. And it will affect them. And I think we’re going to come at that a little bit differently than we would, say, dealing with our Big Bad of a season or something along those lines.

Looking ahead to the finale, you had a very clear point set for season 1. With production so in flux this year, were you able to be as firm with where you end up at the end of season 2? Or did it have to be more flexible? Sklaver: It’s a mixture of the two things. We’re always flexible, because we always need to be flexible. But we have a very explosive finale, that actually we’ve already shot—we shot it last week. So once again, because of our scheduling, we have a finale, hopefully in the can already. And now we just need to catch up with other episodes. It’s very much the story we did set out to tell that season. And similar to our last finale, it really just sets up an amazing season 3 storyline that we’re getting very excited to tell, fingers crossed.

Fantastic. Is there anything else you can tease about the rest of season 2? Fedak: What happens is that when we get to this point in the season, we have episode 8, which is just amazing and fun, and then we just have a lineup of really crazy episodes. Each one that’s coming your way has just more outrageous stuff in it; it just doesn’t stop until we get to the end of the year. So it really is a ramp, starting with this episode, and it just launches into the second half of the season, and it drives right to the finale. It’s almost too much stuff. We’re really looking forward to the audience watching our madness brought to life.

#prodigal son #prodigal son spoilers #tom payne #michael sheen #Catherine Zeta-Jones #martin whitly #malcolm bright #vivian capshaw #Chris Fedak #sam sklaver #interview #whoa

43 notes · View notes

agentnico · 2 years

Text

Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021) Review

Lin Manuel Miranda directing a musical? Wait, whaaa?? This is unprecedented!! No way!! The most unlikeliest scenario ever!! Did not expect this whatsoever! Somebody shut the front door as I’m about to lose my mind!! Not as much as Jonathan Larson, evidently, but metaphorically I shall lose my mind!!

Plot: Based on the autobiographical musical by playwright Jonathan Larson. It's the story of an aspiring composer in New York City who is worried he made the wrong career choice, whilst navigating the pressures of love and friendship.

So this film premiered on Netflix back in early November, and I didn’t watch it for one sole reason - my fiancée gave it a go first whilst I was out for some reason, probably searching for dangerous cliffsides to chase Pokémon on, and she told me it was really bad. I should note that she only watched 10 minutes of it and for some reason I came to the very educated and logical conclusion that her opinion speaks for the entire film, so I went ahead and didn’t watch it. And so only recently this movie came back onto my radar when a mate from work told me it was actually really good. And seeing as Andrew Garfield is in the centre of the moviegoing public’s attention right now for absolutely no reason whatsoever relating to what might currently be out in cinemas at this moment in time *wink wink nudge nudge*, I decided to finally give Tick, Tick... Boom! another shot. Well, its first shot to be exact.

Right off the bat, Andrew Garfield is superb in this movie. You always wonder how certain actors can surprise you with their singing voice when they randomly appear in a Hollywood musical after prior not showing any signs that they could actually sing. There is no part of me that would have questioned that Garfield had done this type of thing since the day he was born. He fully throws himself into this extravagant musical theatre role, with gusto and charisma, and that very much brings with it a pro and a con for this movie. As in, his performance in this movie is very much the decider of will you or won’t you like this movie. Evidently my lovely fiancée didn’t like this movie (from only watching 10 minutes of it) and her main reason was that she found Garfield annoying in it. Which is true, his performance and character is grand, fast and really in-your-face, as if he’s in an actual theatre stage projecting his voice and role to a massive audience and reaching out to the very end of the theatre. It can be jarring, so if you aren’t a fan of musicals, this movie definitely won’t be your cup of tea, as this feels like Broadway through and through. But that’s also the pro side to Andrew Garfield’s performance. He fits perfectly into this world of musical theatre, and believably sells Jonathan Larson as someone who’s really passionate about theatre, singing, writing and all things music. And for anyone who’s currently surprised that Andrew Garfield can actually give a good performance outside of Spider-Man (and yes, I said it, he was a good Spider-Man, just stuck in very bad movies!), let us not forget that back in 2016 he starred in two critically acclaimed awards-contending films Hacksaw Ridge and Silence, and one of those was directed by one of the most famous directors ever Martin Scorsese, and Garfield managed to hold his own in both those films! So take that, Garfield haters!!

Aside from Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom! is a solid movie with a story that has been told many times before. Don’t get me wrong, its good stuff, but we’ve had many many films about struggling artists who are trying to get their work out their whilst having to balance their personal matters also. Funnily enough, its actually the subject matter of many musicals. But as films of this kind go, Tick, Tick... Boom! is perfectly okay, if a but lacking the niche directorial flair and touch. Lin Manuel Miranda is a good songwriter. He’s proven that many times, including managing to get a catchy tune out of a giant angry crab who is obsessed with how shiny his shell is. However when it comes to his directing, it’s a bland. There are definitely some cool shots, especially when he manages to turn a diner into a theatre stage during a musical number, but otherwise you can tell his filmmaking style is amateurish. And for a movie with such a title as Tick, Tick... Boom!, I feel like the movie lacked urgency and pace. Like the narrative is all about running out of time, but this movie acts like it has all the time in the world. Nevertheless, Garfield is really good in it, the songs are going to make musical theatre fans happy and I think overall this movie is perfectly fine if a bit unimaginative biopic for the musical artist. I do also admire that this movie pays tribute to Stephen Sondheim, a genius of musical theatre who sadly passed away earlier this year, who here is portrayed as someone who is ready to give anyone a chance, if they have that special spark.

Overall score: 6/10

6 notes · View notes

mona-liar · 3 years

Note

If you dislike one of the main characters of TMA so much, what is it that keeps you listening? I’m genuinely curious what about it is so good that you can overlook the presence of a character (or characters) you clearly despise. Or is it that you enjoy hating them, maybe? Either way, I appreciate you providing “anti-character” tags, so thank you for that.

Hey, anon!

Well, first of all, I do enjoy hating on Martin, I think it’s very relaxing and allows to let off steam, so there’s that!

Now for a short answer to the general question, I am just very bad at not finishing stuff, especially if I’ve already invested a lot of time in them and can already see the finish line! Also, I already have 10+ years of experience in hyperfocusing on secondary or even tertiary characters, so a pronounced dislike for major characters or even thee protagonist has never stopped me from finishing a piece of media before!

Now, the slightly longer and more tailored to TMA and Martin (and Jon, I guess?) can be broken down into several parts, which I will try to assemble into 6 main points:

I’m still waiting for Elias’s triumphant return and I’m ready to sit through a lot for this man.

The previous 4 seasons where just that good, I want closure to how all of ends (even if it ends in a way that I dislike) to leave it behind.

For me, great parts of what makes TMA interesting is not its central characters.

The basic premise of TMA, beginning with the very first episode, is horrific and paranormal stuff happening to other people and Jon/the Magnus Archives just being witnesses to it. Of course, as the story progresses they become more actively involved in everything (and literally cannot escape it) but as we learn more about the fears and the worldbuilding and the other Avatars, it becomes clear that all of it is literally inescapable, so all the previous elements remain very much relevant even if we’re away from any of the major characters (or just Jon in particular). Now, I could write a lot more about how this focalisation on Jon and Martin in s5 actually takes a lot of this away for me, but that’s not what you were asking so I’m just gonna skip it. Anyway, the general worldbuilding is still there, and a lot of things are still happening outside of everything we (and Jon) know about! People are still suffering in the different domains! Elias is still out there! Annabell Cane, Simon Fairchild, Salesa, etc...

I... don’t actually hate Martin.

This might come as a surprise, but I really don’t mind Martin all that much. In the early seasons he was character that ultimately didn’t catch my interest (but he wasn’t that much there tbh) but wasn’t hindering anything else either, and in s4, as he began having his own plotline involving the Lonely and Peter Lukas, I actually really liked him! The scene where he burns the statements is fantastic! (I actually posted about liking Martin while I was catching up, who would have thought). He’s very much a prime example for a case of “Love the potential, hate the execution” (for alternative executions, see my posts here and here) and that’s something I can work with. (Even though the repercussions of the bad execution are something else entirely)

Jon is actually great and he had his moments, even in s5 (despite me not liking this season overall).

Jon is a character whom I truly like, with the sole exception of when he’s with Martin (so yeah, rip for me in s5 I guess). But for example, the episode with Helen was great! I loved it! There are also moments where he’s just a plain asshole and there’s true tension during their little roadtrip through the nightmare world (mostly when he tries to push all the hard choices on Martin instead of making them himself) which I love! So when push comes to shove, I think/hope we will see a Jon who struggles with his humanity and with his powers a lot more which in return will be entertaining. Because ultimately, I believe it will come to this:

In my opinion, there will be a tragic and entertaining ending bc I have hope in one Elias Bouchard.

To come full circle, one of the things I enjoyed the most in the previous 4 seasons is Elias and how we slowly discover how villainous and evil he is and Jon coming to recognise him as his enemy/nemesis. And like I said earlier, I do expect Elias to come back in style, with theatrics and panache and monologuing until the world ends even more than it already has. And then he and Jon would be the central point of tension again, we could sort of have the tragic horror themes/vibes that the earlier seasons were full of and I could forget about Martin like I did in previous seasons (bc in my mind he’s not really a main character but more of an appendage to Jon who got a much more prominent role this season bc the fandom likes him so much) .

So, despite my dislike for Martin/JonMartin, I want to know how the final clash between Jon and Elias turns out, so I will listen to the remaining 9 episodes (and enjoy hating on Martin to get through them).

And no problem for the anti-tags, as someone who sees people openly hating Elias and what a bad character he is in his specific tag, I think it’s just common curtesy not to tag a character when I speak negatively about them and give people a chance to still blacklist it.

Edit: Additionally, I just outright refuse to engage with the fandom at all. I am aware of how well liked Martin and JonMartin as a relationship is, I know the main part of the fandom has a very different view on the current season than I do, and it would just ruin the entire experience for me if I regularly scrolled through the main tags and had to hate-read things I personally things are just really dumb takes or interpretations by people who are listening to TMA for all the wrong reasons (imo). So my interactions concerning TMA are very much limited to trusted mutuals with impeccable taste who are in it for the tragedy, want to see everyone suffer and are also impatiently waiting for Elias to come back.

#wow that got longer than expected #anyway I hope this answers your question!#TMA #anti-martin blackwood #long post

28 notes · View notes

ieattaperecorders · 4 years

Text

I’m seeing a lot of TMA Star Trek AU on my dash, and it seems largely TOS-based. I love TOS, but allow me to propose: Star Trek Voyager AU.

The crew in Voyager aren’t on a scientific mission, they’re survivors lost 70,000 light years from Earth. It’s campy fun Star Trek stuff, but instead of having the resources and support of the Federation, the crew is alone - trying to get back to known space, forced to depend on one another. Found Family ensues harder than you can possibly imagine.

Captain Sasha James!! Janeway is capable, cool-headed and good at managing the crew on a personal level, but it’s hard to really know her. The pressures of her role mean she wears masks even with people she cares for, which fits Sasha perfectly.

I’m inclined to put Tim as her First Officer – it’s a good role for him, and the Captain and First Officer must be a dynamic duo. Science Officer works for Jon, though with the reduced crew and vulnerable situation, he might end up with multiple roles. I like the idea of Martin as medic (and I’ll get more into that later, because oh boy.) Georgie can take Neelix’s role, (though she refuses to stop saying that the Admiral is the official Morale Officer and she just interprets for him.)

Half Klingon Melanie King!! Half Klingon Melanie King struggling with anger issues and frustrated with people who define her by them!! Who had to push and fight to keep from being dismissed because of her heritage!! Half Klingon Head of Engineering Melanie King!!

THE BORG. THE BORG, GUYS. Think of the possibilities that threat could present to these characters.

Danny Stoker was assimilated by the Borg. It was Tim’s motivation to join Starfleet. He refuses to talk about it until the day the crew is cornered in Borg-occupied space and makes contact with a drone that bears a disturbing resemblance to him.

(Danny Stoker as Seven of Nine and, like, twelve paragraphs of JonMartin under the cut.)

Tense standoffs ensue and the crew escapes with the Danny-drone still on their ship. Sasha (the only one Tim told about his brother) makes the risky call to subdue him and sever his link to the Collective rather than killing him.

Now Tim has the brother that he thought was gone forever, but he’s profoundly changed. He doesn’t seem like the Danny he remembers, he might even be a threat. Meanwhile Danny is lost without the Collective, struggling with the idea of individuality as well as his memories/emotions regarding Tim.

They have to negotiate around both their traumas if they want to heal and recover, but at least they have a chance to know each other again. (And the rest of the crew helps.)

Now, the chief medical officer on Voyager is a hologram - intended to be turned on only in emergencies, but left running nearly all the time due to the lack of medical staff. Over time his personality expands beyond his original programming, the others start treating him less like a computer program and more like a member of the crew, and friendships eventually develop. (It’s one of those “am I a person? What does it mean to be a person?” stories. Voyager has a lot of that.)

There’s two directions I could see that going. One is Helen/Michael slots into the role. (Either or both, who says the Emergency Medical Hologram doesn’t have two interfaces?) Personality-wise they’ve got the campy smugness, and the whole “am I a who or a what?” thing works super well. I mentioned Martin as a medic and the idea of him having to put up with Helen’s bullshit/getting to irritably banter with Helen is very good.

BUT ALTERNATELY, Martin is the medical hologram. Instead of leaning into the “inhumanity” angle, we lean into the angle of being initially overlooked/not seen as one of the crew, then slowly making meaningful connections. (Can squeeze in a “self-worth outside of what you do for others” character arc too.)

Jon is for sure the first one to treat Martin like a person. It’s a reversal of S1 Jon being an ass to him, but it feels appropriate for Jon - who can sympathize with creatures that aren’t human, even when others don’t. There’s another fun parallel - in canon, Martin continues to treat Jon like a person even as he becomes less and less human. Here, Jon treats Martin like a person from the beginning and he becomes more and more of one.

Plus, come on, think of all the “Jon gets injured and Martin has to overclock himself/push past his intended limits to save his life” scenarios. Think of Martin getting a crush on Jon early because he’s Nice To Him, panicking and trying to hide it. Think of Emergency Medical Hologram Martin taking an interest in poetry instead of opera.

The Lonely may not exist in this AU but I bet being turned off feels a lot like it : (

I like Vulcan/half Vulcan Jon, so we can slot him there. (He’s not a parallel for Tuvok, that wouldn’t fit - he’s just Jon and he’s Spock and he’s on Voyager and you’re all going to have to deal with it. Besides, “half Vulcan/caught between two worlds/struggling with the concept of Emotions” is so good for Jon.)

Now mix half Vulcan Jon in with Hologram Martin and imagine the pining. IMAGINE IT.

Jon refuses to accept he has feelings at all, let alone romantic feelings for someone else. And Martin? He isn’t even sure he’s capable of love, if what he’s feeling is real or some flaw in his programming. Jon’s nice enough to him – sometimes Martin thinks he even sees him as a friend, but surely there are limits? The absurdity of a holomatter projection thinking that it’s in love with him must be too much for even Jon to indulge.

They’ll get there after four or five seasons of mutual longing, of course. Probably in some intensely dramatic circumstance.

In fact, that’s a thought - something something backup drive holding Martin’s personality is stuck on a planet that’s incredibly toxic. (Maybe filled with poisonous fog because, of course, gotta keep the aesthetic.) Something something Vulcan physiology, Jon is the only one who can survive on the surface long enough to get it.

He has Martin’s mobile emitter with him while he goes after the drive, and the whole time Martin is trying to convince him to stop. It’s too dangerous, the planet is killing him, Martin’s given up on himself but he doesn’t want Jon to die too.

“You don’t have to do this, the default program for me is still on the ship, it can be reset.”

“That is not you. Your personality, your experiences, everything you’ve gained over these years would be lost.”

“But it has all my medical knowledge. It can do my job just as well, you’ll still have a doctor - -”

*losing all pretense of a Calm Vulcan Exterior* “I did not come here to retrieve our doctor, I came to get you back, and I am not leaving without you!!”

(Of course they get back safely and Jon immediately collapses upon returning to the ship, then it’s Martin’s turn to make sure he doesn’t die.)

Also it’s Star Trek so holograms can be solid, they’ll get those fabric rustles in don’t worry.

#tma #star trek au #tma star trek au #i cannot believe this lives in my brain now

66 notes · View notes

lazyangeltreemoney · 4 years

Text

Goodbye Detective

Oneshot Detective AU

Description: How much harm can one night stand cause?

Pairings: Detective!Bucky x Reader

Warnings: mentions of sex, police, swearing, mafia.

A/N: this might become a series but for now it’s a short Oneshot because Detective Bucky has become my new favourite thing

Bucky woke up that morning with such a headache he was convinced that he had gone to sleep with Sam telling him a bedtime story. His head pounded and he wanted nothing more to slam his head back into his pillow until next Sunday. However, his alarm had other plans, plans which involved him getting out of bed and actually heading to work. Groaning, he slammed his hand down on the clock to get it to finally shut up. The silence that followed next was pleasurable, it was early and for New York standards the streets were quiet.

As much as Bucky wanted to enjoy a lazy morning, Steve would have his ass if he turned up late again. He got out of bed and headed for the shower, hoping the warm water would soothe this aching head. When he walked into the bathroom he looked at himself properly in the mirror. He was naked and there were smudged red lipstick marks along his neck and trailing down his toned figure. Bucky couldn’t help but smile at the marks, a reminder of what or who he had done the night before.

It was a simple night out, headed to his usual bar after finishing his shift at the 57th. He had planned to only have a couple of drinks and head home but there was a woman who he hadn’t seen before. Feeling confident, he brought her a drink, one drink turned into two, two quickly turned into four and before he knew it they were stumbling up the stairs to his apartment.

Bucky was struggling to concentrate on getting the door open as the woman kissed his neck playfully.

“Jesus, Doll at this rate we’re not even going to make it past the front door,” Bucky laughed.

“You’re a big boy James, I’m sure you can have some self-control,” She teased.

“Not when it comes to you,” Bucky smirked as he finally undid the lock.

Slamming the door behind him once they were both inside, Bucky shoved Y/N up against the nearest wall. Their kisses were heavy and hot, both of them battling for some dominance over each other. Y/N pulled away from him slightly and kissed his neck some more, he seemed to have a sweet spot right below his Adam’s apple than made him moan and curse her name.

Bucky felt in such a daze he hadn’t even noticed that she had removed his shirt, her kisses moved from his neck to his collarbone, to his abs, trailing down even further...

Bucky let the memories of last night play over in his mind as he got into the shower. He remembered how innocent and coy she somehow managed to appear on her knees; how her moans seemed to be conducted by some kind of orchestra by how beautiful they sounded; moreover the way she rode him into complete orgasmic bliss.

When Bucky was finally dressed he noticed a small post-it note had been placed next to a box of painkillers and a cup of coffee.

Sorry I had to shoot off but this was fun, call me next time you need an ‘after-shift’ pick me up ;) Y/N

Underneath there was a phone number. Bucky chuckled as he placed the number into his phone and headed to work.

“Well I’ll be damned, sleeping beauty actually got to work on time,” Sam faked his astonishment as Bucky walked into the precinct.

Bucky only rolled his eyes and sat down at this desk, this was going to be a long fucking day.

“What, you finally got someone to kiss that ugly mug and wake your ass up?” Sam clearly wasn’t going to let this drop.

“You know what Wilson-”

“Barnes, Wilson, briefing room now!” Nat called from the other side of the room.

Sam and Bucky’s old married couple schtick would have to wait, Natasha Romanoff was not a woman you kept waiting. Sam and Bucky followed each other into the briefing room to see Nat had put pictures of the Rumlow crime family:

Erik Rumlow- Father and Head of the Family

Brock Rumlow - His eldest Son, Second in command

Underneath them was a string of men’s mugshots, over the past year the squad had been trying to work out the family’s chain of command, work out who the big fish were. They couldn’t simply go for Brock or Erik, they were pretty much untouchable.

Recently there had been a new drug popping up on the streets called ‘Red Skull’. Barnes hadn’t been able to prove it yet but he knew that it was coming in from Rumlows docks and being spread on his orders. ‘Red Skull’ had quickly become a problem around New York and the commissioner was giving everyone hell to try and sort the problem.

Bucky readied himself for rigorous hours of staring at that damned board and came up with no way to tie ‘Red Skull’ to Rumlow. He had to give it to him, Rumlow had a tight ship, there was never any evidence and none of his henchmen was talking. The one good thing about today was the fact that Y/N had texted him back after he had texted her to say thank you for the ‘pick me up’.

How do you know I like my coffee? - Bucky

You’re rather predictable, the ruggedly handsome stranger likes his coffee black with two sugars, such a cliche James, besides I kind of owed you- Y/N

Bucky chuckled at her reply and went to text her back when Natasha let out a rather unamused cough.

“Barnes, you ready to join us in reality?” Natasha’s voice was dripping with sarcasm and her icy stare made him shut off his phone and give her an apologetic glance.

“Thankyou Romanoff, as I saw saying,” Steve got up and walked over towards the whiteboard, “There was some chatter on the street and thanks to Romanoff’s excellent work we can confirm that Y/N Rumlow is officially back in New York,” Steve wrote her name on the board next to Brock Rumlow.

“Didn’t even know Erik had a daughter,” Sam commented, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Apparently she went travelling a lot after her mother passed away, and hasn't been in the city for 3 years,” Natasha replied coolly.

No one was surprised at Nat knowing so much, in a five-minute conversation she could grab a person's address, phone number and social security number.

“So what brings her back now?” Sam turned to Natasha.

“We don’t know but judging how quickly she left after her mother passed, something tells me that she and Erik don’t have the best relationship,” Nat suggested.

Steve grabbed a picture of the table next to him and stuck it onto the whiteboard above where he had written her name. When Steve stepped away he turned to face the other three.

“This is the closest we’ve gotten to a lead in months so we need to approach her in the right way, Barnes, Wilson, I want you to follow her, see what her daily routine is and we’ll work from there,” Steve ordered.

Sam nodded and headed out of the room, Nat and Steve followed assuming Bucky would come as well but he didn’t. He felt frozen in place and his eyes were glued to the photo that had been stuck on the whiteboard. No, no, this can’t be happening, this is just Sam playing some sick joke? The photo on the board was of Y/N, the woman he had taken home last night. He sat in the room, waiting, praying for Sam to reappear laughing and say something along the lines of ‘Man I got you so good,’ But he didn’t. Instead, he simply told Bucky to ‘hurry his ass up’ and that was when it hit him. He had just slept with The Mafia Princess of Brooklyn.

Y/N’s day was going pretty well. The sunlight trickling through James blinds woke her up and as much as she enjoyed the feel of his arms around her, her phone looked as if it was about to blow with the amount of missed phone calls and texts that appeared on her screen.

Sighing, she somehow managed to pry herself out of James hold and saw all of the messages were from her brother and her friend Martin. Martin had been the one familiar face she had been happy to see when he arrived back in the city. Y/N sent him a quick text telling him to meet her at the Diner on fourth and picked her clothes up off of James’ floor. She managed to find her underwear, jeans and shoes but when she found her shirt she hissed a little at a memory from last night.

“God you’re handsome,” Y/N hummed as she crawled on top of James

“And you are wearing too many clothes,” James groaned.

Before she could stop him two strong hands came to the front of her shirt and ripped it open, buttons cascading down onto the two of them.

“James!” YN went to scold him but he held onto her too tightly and silenced her with another searing kiss.

“Told you Doll, no self-control,” He teased and kissed her again before she could argue back.

It wasn’t like Y/N could walk around the streets of New York in her bra. The press would have a field day and give her Dad a heart attack… actually, she didn’t mind the second thing so much. Glancing around the room Y/N spotted a greyish t-shirt. It was a Led Zeppelin t-shirt and it would have to do.

“Since when did you start listening to Led Zeppelin?” Martin raised a brow as Y/N sat across from him at the dinner.

“I don’t know, just happened to come across some of his stuff while travelling,” Y/N shrugged the comment off and looked down at the menu, she was craving some good old American pancakes and coffee.

“Oh yeah, name one of their songs?” Martin held his award-winning smirk and it made Y/N want to punch him.

“Urgh fine you’ve caught me but no telling Brock or Dad, got it?” Y/N warned.

Even with only holding a butter knife, Martin was harshly reminded that Y/N was the daughter of the biggest and baddest mob bosses in Brooklyn.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it, no telling Daddy you’re no longer his sweet innocent virgin daughter,” Martin grumbled, “OWWW!”

Y/N had found one of the toothpicks and stabbed it into Martin's left hand that he left so casually unguarded on the table, big mistake. Martin quickly jerked his hand away and sucked on it briefly where Y/N had stabbed him. There wasn’t any blood but fuck it hurt. He glared at Y/N as he rubbed his hand but she just gave him a sickly sweet smile and called the waitress over.

Bucky felt as if he was sweating buckets as he sat in Sam’s car. He kept trying to go over everything Y/N and he said last night, did she say her last name? Did he mention he was a cop? He couldn’t remember anything from before they got back to his apartment.

“Barnes you okay over there?” Sam asked, concerned for his friend who hadn’t said anything the whole car journey down to the dinner.

They’d gotten a tip that Y/N used to come here a lot with her mother and chances were she would turn up there again.

“Yeah, fine, just tired,” Bucky muttered out, looking through the binoculars.

Sam wanted to push Bucky further but then he spotted Y/N Rumlow enter the Diner. She wasn’t dressed the way you’d expect a mafic princess to dress. No designer labels, no primped and proper hair or chihuahua in her arms. Instead, she looked a lot more down to earth. She wore black jeans, combat style black boots and a greyish t-shirt under a leather jacket.

Sam instantly started snapping pictures of her. She walked through the Diner and quickly went to go and sit down next to a man who was already sitting down. Sam recognised the man, Martin Murphy, one of Rumlows henchmen. The two seemed to be old friends, they seemed to be teasing each other about something and acting like children at a dinner table. Even Sam had to chuckle at the sight of Y/N threatening Martin with a butter knife. Then Y/N removed her jacket and Sam could see the t-shirt she was wearing more clearly… It was a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. It looked an awful lot like the one he had brought Bucky last Christmas for the squad's secret Santa. It even had the same paint stains on it from when they had all helped Steve move house and redecorate the nursery…

Sam turned to face Bucky who had his eyes locked on the Diner… locked on Y/N. He even seemed to be giving an evil glare to the guy sitting next to her. Sam watched Bucky seem to mentally snap when he saw Martin lean over and wipe something off of Y/N’s face.

“Sam why don’t you wait in the car, I’m going to scope out the place,” Bucky stated and before Sam could even argue Bucky was already out of the car and halfway across the road.

Sam was simply left behind in the car with his mouth agape… what the hell had Bucky gotten himself into?

Who the fuck is this guy? Bucky was doing his best to remain calm as he walked towards the Diner but when he saw Martin’s hand reach for Y/N he wanted to break it off. He stormed into the Diner and suddenly it hit him that he didn’t have a plan. He couldn’t just walk up to her and start questioning her, Steve said that he wanted to try and get Y/N to be the squad's graving grace in this case. If he messed it up purely out of jealousy Steve would kill him.

Just as Bucky was panicking about what he should actually do he made eye contact with Martin and was giving him a serious death glare. Who did this guy think he was flirting with Y/N? She was wearing his shirt for christ sake. Screw having a plan, Bucky was going to march over there and give him a piece of his mind… or he was until Sam came crashing into the Diner and dragged him onto the nearest booth.

“Alright Barnes I want answers now,” Sam ordered as he threw Bucky into the seat.

Bucky, deciding not to cause a scene, got into the booth and grabbed a menu to try and look inconspicuous but his eyes kept drifting over to Y/N.

“Oh no Barnes, eyes on me, now you’re going to tell me exactly why Y/N fucking Rumlow is wearing the t-shirt I got you last Christmas?” Sam waved his hand in front of Bucky.

This was going to be one long fucking day.

“Ah shit, Barnes and Wilson, Dumb and Dumber of New York’s finest just waltzed in,” Martin sneered and leaned down further into his seat,

“Who?” Y/N mumbled through a mouth full of pancakes.

“Good to see that three years away haven’t improved your manners,” Martin muttered at Y/N and handed her a tissue, “Barnes and Wilson, two detectives that have been stirring up some trouble… it’s just business and I know you don’t wanna talk about that stuff,”

Y/N turned to look behind her to see who Martin was gesturing two behind her. When she turned around Y/N could have sworn her heart stopped beating. James, no surely not, Martin can’t mean him. But James and the man sat across from him were the only other two people in the Diner. In what Y/N would later admit wasn’t her smartest move, she fled the Diner. She mumbled something to Martin about how she owed him for breakfast and just ran into the streets of New York. Fuck, fuck, fuck, how could you do this! Y/N scolded herself as she pushed herself through crowds of people. He’s a Cop, of course, he’s a cop.

Just as she was cursing herself her phone rang,

“Martin I told you I’d pay you back but there’s something really important I need to do-” Y/N groaned down the phone,

Stupid traffic light, change colour already.

“Not Martin Doll,” that stupid scruff, sexy voice, “turn around, Doll,”

Y/N turned around to see James was standing right behind her. He hung up the phone and said a silent prayer, hoping Y/N wasn’t going to shoot off again.

“I think we need to talk,” Bucky grabbed her hand and led her towards a side road that was certainly less busy.

It was just the two of them now but somehow that didn’t make it any easier for either of them to talk. Y/N couldn’t stand it, the anxiety bubbling inside her, what the hell did he want from her? Did he want to arrest her? Was last night even real or was he trying to seduce her to get information about her Dad? Y/N tried to study him to see if his expression gave away any signs but there was nothing. All there seemed to be between them was dead air and heavy tension.

“I see now why you owed me,” Bucky began gesturing to her t-shirt, hoping to kill some of the tension,

“So is this how you usually do things, buy a girl a few drinks, take her to your place and then stalk her and arrest her?” Y/N accused in that sultry tone and nearly made all the blood in Bucky’s brain rush downwards.

“Come on Doll I haven’t even gotten any cuffs out yet… unless you want me to,” Bucky teased walking closer towards her.

Y/N simply scoffed at him and pushed him away.

“Urgh, I can’t believe I slept with a fucking cop,” Y/N seethed as she pinched the nose of her bridge.

“Well you did, Doll, rather spectacularly if you ask me,” Bucky flirted with her, he knew he was crossing a line but he just couldn’t help himself around her. Flirting with her came as natural as breathing.

“No, no, I didn’t, in fact, ‘this’,” Y/N gestured between the two of them, “Never happened, got it,”

“Why because it would get your Daddy’s panties in a bunch?” Bucky teased

“No, because my Dad would put a bullet in your brains and then mine, in that order,” Y/N said and Bucky’s flirty demeanour died down when he noticed the serious tone in her voice.

“Doll,” Bucky tried to step closer to her to try and offer some comfort but Y/N simply stepped away further.

“I’m serious James, this never happened, goodbye.” With that Y/N left and headed back into the heavily busy streets of Brooklyn.

#bucky x reader #detective!bucky #detective!bucky x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes #the winter solider #bucky barnes x reader #reader insert #detective au #mobster!reader

187 notes · View notes

buzzdixonwriter · 3 years

Text

Another Pointless Top Ten List (But You’ll Keep Reading, Anyway)

My brother Rikk recently mailed me another top ten list of his, in this instance being his top ten favorite TV comedy shows (which he defines as 30 minutes or less, no movies).

The Three Stooges

M*A*S*H

The Andry Griffith Show

The Beverly Hillbillies

Hogan’s Heroes

I Love Lucy

The Honeymooners

All In The Family

Get Smart

Gilligan’s Island

His honorable mentions include F Troop, The Patty Duke Show, My Three Sons, Gomer Pyle USMC, Batman, Petticoat Junction, Mr. Ed. Bewitched, and I Dream Of Jeanie.

Again, one of those personal favorite lists that you really can’t argue with because it reflects personal tastes and / or fond nostalgia (though I am calling shenanigans on The Three Stooges; they were theatrical shorts shown in movie theaters, not a TV show, and besides, Laurel & Hardy are soooooo much better…).

But of course we’re going to play the game, so I’ll respond, first throwing in a caveat: No skit comedy shows such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Marty Feldman Show, Benny Hill, Second City TV, The Kids In The Hall, or Love, American Style.

I’m also omitting programs like The Gong Show and Jackass because while hilarious and under 30 minutes, they weren’t scripted or story driven.

So here’s my list:

The Dick Van Dyke Show -- the sitcom art form at peak perfection. Carl Reiner’s insight into what writing for a mercurial TV star is like (in his case, Sid Caesar on Your Show Of Shows, for Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie it was Carl Reiner as Alan Brady). If you’ve never seen the show, start off with their two best episodes, “Coast To Coast Big Mouth” and “October Eve” (though they’re all good). “October Eve” is the one where Sally (Rose Marie) finds a nude painting of Laura (Mary Tyler Moore playing Dick Van Dyke’s wife) in an art gallery. SALLY: “There’s a painting here you should know about.” LAURA: “If it’s what I think it is, I can explain.” SALLY: “If you need to explain, it’s what you think it is.”

The Mary Tyler Moore Show – this is the first American novel for television. It’s a novel of character, not plot, and it traces the growth of Mary Richards, a 30 year old woman-child who realizes she needs to grow up, as she blossoms into a mature, self-reliant adult. You can select two episodes at random and by comparing her character growth determine not only which season they were filmed but when in that season.

I Love Lucy -- eking out a bronze medal for its longevity and pioneering of the art form. The first sitcom shot on film, it led the way in the rerun market. Not just a historical icon but consistently funny.

WKRP In Cincinnati -- as crazy as a sitcom could get and still be within the realm of plausibility. Never loved by its network, they bounced it around for four seasons until it faded away (it made a syndicated comeback a decade later, of which we shall not speak). Great supporting staff, dynamite writing. While they never steered away from serious subject matters (such as an actual rock concert tragedy in Cincinnati where several fans were crushed when rushing the stage), they will be forever and justly remembered for the beloved “Turkey Drop” episode.

Fawlty Towers – only two seasons and a mere 12 episodes and yet more comedic bang for the buck than anything else on this list. John Cleese as a frustrated, short-tempered, conniving hotelier practically writes itself. SYBIL FAWLTY: “You know what I’ll do if I find you’ve been gambling again, don’t you, Basil?” BASIL: “You’ll have to sew them back on first, m’dear.”

That Girl -- looking back it can sometimes be hard to judge just how groundbreaking certain shows were. Marlo Thomas as a struggling young actress finding romance and success in Manhattan seems positively wholesome today, but in the mid-1960s it was considered quite daring and progressive. The Mary Tyler Moore Show took their opening credits inspiration from Marlo Thomas’ character exploring Manhattan in the opening credits of That Girl.

He & She -- a one season wonder from 1967. Another daring and progressive show for its era. Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss played a young married couple, he being a cartoonist who drew a superhero strip (the actor playing the superhero on TV in the series was Jack Cassidy at his manic best). Another show with a dynamite supporting cast…and just too hip for the room at the time (honorable mention to Love On A Rooftop, a similar show from the previous season that also proved too advanced for audiences at that time).

Green Acres -- started out silly but quickly took a turn into the surreal, breaking the fourth wall, commenting on the opening credits as they ran by, all sorts of oddball stuff. Dismissed as a hayseed comedy, the truth is the supporting cast possessed dynamite comedic chops and their sense of timing is a joy to behold. Forms a loose trilogy with The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction since all three referenced the same small towns of Hooterville and Pixley as well as occasional crossovers (honorable mention to the first season of Petticoat Junction which is as pure an example of Americana as one could hope to find and could easily be distilled into a feature film remake).

The Young Ones -- another two season / twelve episode wonder from the UK. Four stereotypical English college students go through increasing levels of insanity as the series progressed. Unlike most shows of the era where there was no continuity episode to episode, damage done in an early episode would still be seen for the rest of the series. (They also would simply end a show when they ran out of time, not resolving that episode’s plot.) Their random / non sequitur style proved a tremendous influence on shows like Family Guy.

Fernwood 2 Nite / America 2-Nite -- a spin off from the faux soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, this presented itself as a cable access variety show for Mary Hartman’s hometown of Fernwood. With Martin Mull as the obnoxious host, Fred Willard as his incurably dense second banana, and TV theme song composer Frank De Vol as the band leader. Because it’s so rooted in 1970s pop culture it doesn’t age as well as some other shows on the list, but many of the gags still land solidly today. For the second season the show-within-a-show went nationwide and became America 2-Nite. Very funny, very well written, and all the more remarkable because these guys were doing five episodes a week!

Okay, so what can this list tell us?

Buzz is old. Like really, really, really old.

Buzz stopped watching sitcoms in the mid-1980s.

There’s a reason for that. By that time I was writing for TV and trying to get my own work done. I didn’t have time to sit and watch TV on a regular basis (still don’t), and too often I could see the gears turning and guess where the episode was heading by the end of the first scene (still do).

I’ve veered away from “must watch” TV, especially shows that require the audience to keep track of what’s gone on before.

Tell me I have to see the first six seasons of a show to appreciate what happens in the seventh and you’ve just lost me as a potential viewer. I’m strictly a one & done kinda guy now (though I will binge watch if a mini-series has a manageable number of episodes, say six).

My list represents a time capsule for what caught my interest and attention during a very formative period of my life, i.e., from the early 1960s as I became more and more aware that writing was where my future lay, to the mid-1980s when I hit a good peak stretch.

I don’t doubt there are great and wonderful hilarious comedies out there that I haven’t seen, I’m just listing what I have seen that did make an impression on me.

Your mileage may vary.*

* It should vary! Be your own person!

#media #comedy #sitcoms #Dick Van Dyke #Mary Tyler Moore #Carl Reiner #top ten lists

8 notes · View notes

frankendykes-monster · 3 years

Text

So probably the best way to start this is to mention the obvious and say that Joker (2019) has pretty much all of nothing to do with...The Joker. I had mention to someone else a week or two back, but for as much as The Joker can work in a wide variety of stories, the character is inherently limited, my go-to phrase being “one dimensional.” The Joker’s ongoing motivation is that he wants to defeat Batman, nothing more, nothing less. “Killing Batman” is only a single part of it, “it” being proving that Batman is fallible and has some weakness. There are characters like The Riddler that zero in on a single aspect of that such as, surely there are some problems that can be created that even The World’s Greatest Detective cannot solve, but The Joker is a convenient character in that he can be applied to any aspect of Batman’s character, which is why you get stories like Batman and The Joker getting into a surfing contest, because it all goes back to that theme of if there’s something that Batman is not the best at, Batman is ultimately doomed to fail (with regards to suspension of disbelief that is needed for superheroes to work, both creators and the audience have to commit to the concept that superheroes existing 100% makes the world around them a better place, and a major incoming failure on Batman’s part makes for greatest suspense in that it threatens that concept.)

But then, there lies the issue. Joker does not actually have any driving motivation for WHY he wants to defeat Batman, he simply is. It’s my theory on why no origin story has ever permanently stuck, because you can’t ever really make sense of that. This compounds itself into Batman and Joker’s relationship and can never really evolve, it’ll play out in the same way every time just with new set dressing. What you can do is raise the stakes, but with the back to back publishing of “The Killing Joke” and “A Death in The Family” in 1988, raising the stakes meant making The Joker a sadistic serial killer at the cost of everything else about the character, creating a Joker where everyone questions why he deserves to be alive to appear in another comic three to six months down the pipeline. There have been some instances of trying to make The Joker more nuanced, like Grant Morrison introducing the concept of “super sanity” in their Batman work and addressing how The Joker reinvents his personality on the fly, but it’s ultimately set dressing that doesn’t alter anything.

So, that begs the question of why Joker, the film, calls itself “Joker” in the first place or why it takes place in Gotham instead of New York and blah blah blah the short answer is if they didn’t, Warner Bros wouldn’t have been able to rake in a billion dollars. It’s on par with Sony deciding to make Venom (2018) and never addressing why Venom has those large white eye covers if his design isn’t based on Spider-Man, I’ll give Joker (2019) the compliment that it’s more interesting than that film at least. I really did not want to bring up all this Batman shit while watching this but then they started addressing Thomas Wayne and I began mentally groaning. I don’t want to dive into the concept of how or if the Batman mythos is impacted if you make Thomas (and Martha Wayne, who like in most Batman stories is more of a cameo than an actual character here) a shitty person, but then again I wouldn’t have to bring that up if the film didn’t cram it in in the first place. I am...SO...SO THANKFUL I did not see any memes or theories or head canons surrounding “B-B_BUH JOCKER IS BEETMANS HALF BROTHER?????/???” which...whatever. Come to think I didn't see anyone bitch that he doesnt become The Joker until 90 minutes in either. I think the majority of my goodwill (what turned it from, oh you know the good outweighs the bad enough for me to be able to tell someone this is watchable, to, oh you can skip this) was destroyed at the Waynes getting shot scene with, WHOOPS, The Joker was responsible (indirectly!) That gave me BAD Batman (1989) flashbacks, and when you remind me of Batman (1989), you kind of do get on my bad side. Fuck that movie.

SO. In the midst of ALLL of this. Let’s talk about the “““real source material”““ for Joker (2019): Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1982).

I don’t think I’m ruffling any feathers by saying that that is the case and that both of those films are wayyy better than Joker (2019). I mean, there’s a reason why Robert De Niro was not only cast in this film, but he’s second billed right under Joaquin Phoenix. Those are two fairly different films but they’re, at their core, stories of men who are ticking time bombs of violence ready for someone to light the fuse. It’s another point against Joker (2019), not only for reminding me of much better films, but forcing me to ask why another pastiche of this story needed to be told. Martin Scorsese kind of made his career with a monopoly on men losing their shit and everyone around them being caught in the tornado. Joker (2019) admittedly plays the material much differently, in that all the way through we are supposed to sympathize with Arthur Fleck and stand alongside him every step of this of his downward spiral, and even with where he ends up, I’ll admit I don’t have an issue with that, but the film struggles with making me care half the time. Like, yes, when Arthur is alone at home trying not to go awol, yeah, I get that, but at other times there’s stuff like how Arthur’s relationship with Sophie is never developed in any meaningful capacity, like why is enamored with him, why is she not as disturbed by him as most other people seem to be? When we discover she’s not real, that explains it from a logical perspective I guess, but it isn’t a shock or a gut punch.

Can I be real for a second? There are a lot of moments in this film where it made me embarrased as a neurodivergent person. The number of people who definitely saw this, because, once again, it made a billion dollars, and came away thinking oh so that’s what mentally ill people are like, even if they’re sympathetic about it, it makes me sigh.

Even though the crux of this film is Arthur’s descent, it desperately wants to be important. I know I’m not the first person to make this observation, but it does read like, oh, what’s popular now? Incels? Better make part of Arthur’s character arc that he can’t hit up any actual real women so he has to entertain himself with fantasies. Antifa? Better make it so Arthur accidentally inspires a movement of nebulous anti-rich people who all wear masks. And so on and so on with no actual commentary while simultaneously it’s not really world-building either because it’s so front and center to the plot. I gotta say, if the film is about people in general not putting up with things anymore after being shat on nonstop, why oh why is there a joke aimed at a little person pretty early on, even through some meta lense where “oh the person telling the joke is an asshat who dies later so it’s cool”?

Now I’m not sure what to say next about the film itself so I guess now would be a good time to discuss the film’s ~impact~ as it were. If it weren’t for Parasite (2019) I’d have no problem saying this was the biggest film of 2019 in the grand scheme of things, like EVERYONE came in with every possible perspective on this thing long before it came out. I remember how back in like, late-2017/early-2018? A bunch of people were shitting on the announcement of this film and Warner Bros had to do damage control by releasing some on-set photos of the second subway scene two days later. It’s surreal more than anything actually watching this film now and seeing, wait, this is what everyone was memeing about nonstop? This is a mainstream film? With the directions it goes in? With the topics it brings up? Well I’ll be damned. This is probably the first time since Les Miserables (2013) and Man of Steel (2013) where a movie comes out and no two people have the exact same opinion on it, so I’m curious as to how Joker is going to age in like, a decade. So fucking weird that this is called a “superhero film” in retrospect just because it shares a name with a comic book character owned by the same company that developed and distributed this.

I wouldn’t be talking about this film if it wasn’t called “Joker” but then again hey nobody else would either. I don’t hate this film despite how I’ve said nothing positive about and I was pretty prepared to call it “barely good” before the finale, so I don’t regret watching it, I don’t know what the fuck to say anymore. Gang Weed memes are pretty funny if you haven’t actually seen any in the wild. 1940: “Let’s throw him into chemicals.” 2019: “Let’s throw him into society.”

6 notes · View notes

shinebrightlikeamalcolm · 4 years

Note

Hi can I ask for a fic where reader is Malcolms’s pregnant oh and she goes and has a go at Ainsley for how she spoke about Malcolm in Q&A and afterwards she starts going into labour with a happy fluffy ending with Malcolm Thank you

You were so angry. No. Livid. No, livid didn’t the feeling justice. Seething. You were seething. With rage.

You’d called Jessica to have her driver take you to Ainsley’s apartment. It didn’t matter you were waddling and miserable, your hand clutching your lower back which was hurting more and more each day. And that the baby had clearly dropped, meaning your and Malcom’s daughter would be coming soon and coming early. Malcolm was terrified of it all; terrified of the changes, of the baby being too early, your health…the list when on and on about the things he was worried about.

But all you could think and worry about in that moment was possibly becoming the next killer in the family because of going after Ainsley Whitly for what she did to Malcolm yesterday at the psychiatric hospital. Yes there were other things to worry about; like the fact that there was a serial killer out there who knew both Martin and Malcolm.

But all you care about are Malcolm, and your child. And you were going to kick Ainsley’s ass, third trimester be damned…..after you took the elevator up to her apartment.

You burst in, unannounced. “Ainsley! We need to talk!” Your bravado fades quickly as you rub your lower back. The baby was still, unmoving. With every breath you sensed the anticipation of a new beginning, and it kept your heart rate high in a bought of hyper focused anxiety. OK, so maybe you were worried about other things. Your protective instincts were on high alert, and right now they were all directed towards the father of your child.

Ainsley turned off the treadmill she was running on, turned off the TV and frowned in concern as she came to you. “(Y/n), what are you doing? Is everything ok? The doctor put you in bed rest!”

“Yes, thank you, I’m aware. But we have to talk.” She sighed, her hip popping a little bit as she rested her hand on it.

“Where’s Malcolm?”

“At the precinct. I’m here to talk about what happened yesterday. By the way, why aren’t you in the hospital? Wasn’t your boyfriend stabbed?”

She glared. You two general got along, but when you butt heads, it was worthy of a National Geographic montage with a dramatic narration. “Yes, he was. He’s fine by the way, thanks for asking. The hospital sent me home. I’m not family or his emergency contact or a spouse.”

“Guess what, I AM a spouse.” You snap, turning back to why you really came. “And you ripped my husband’s heart out yesterday, your BROTHER’S heart out with what you said yesterday. The way you talked about him? How you made him a victim? Ains, how could you do that to Malcolm?”

She threw her arms in the air and went to the couch. Even in a fight she gestured for you to sit. And you were glad she offered; the pain in your back was getting worse with every second you were standing. “Because he IS a victim. I’ve seen that my entire life! And he has every right to be. And my plan worked. We got to see the real Surgeon.”

“At the expense of your own brother!”

“(Y/n), I was just doing my job.” Her jaw was starting to firmly set as she grew more defiant her in defense of her actions. Her set jaw makes you set yours and while you’d just taken the effort to sit, the adrenalin and anger pumping through you makes you stand. You have to resist hitting her, throwing something at her, screaming at her, shaking her to make her understand.

“Your job isn’t more important than your family! Than your brother! He isn’t a pawn to be used and played, put on display and humiliated without permission! You told the world all his mental health issues and struggles, you used his pain to get a rise out of Martin! And you’re wrong Ainsley, he’s not a victim. Malcolm’s still here. He’s a survivor. Did you ever think about that? He has fought every single day to still be here! He has his demons but he’s survived them; to become my husband and to become a father! He -” Your rampaging stops.

In the pit of your core, you had felt a distinct pop. The pop you’d been warned about. You feel the fluid down your legs and see the puddle pooling on the floor.

The anger stops.

Everything else stops.

You and Ainsley lock eyes, mouths dropped, eyebrows lifted.

And suddenly you’re afraid, and you’re fighting of shaking anxiety.

“Your water just broke...” Ainsley says, you’re both still frozen.

“Yea...yea it did...” You gulp, staring down at the water. “Call it a truce?” You say looking back up to your sister-in-law.

“Truce,” Ainsley nodded and you both bolted into action. You picked up your bag to text the driver to meet you out front. And Ainsley is already calling Malcolm at the precinct.

Your and Malcolm’s overnight bag was at the apartment. Someone had to get it. Maybe Gil? Someone had to get it. The nursery was almost done; Jessica would make sure it was done in time.

The first bout of discomfort was coming.

You have to get to the hospital.

And Malcolm better be there....

*****

“Why is she even there! She’s supposed to be on bedrest” Ainsley closed her eyes, taking the berating from her brother. She figured this was payback for bad behavior. She was yelled at by (Y/n), now Malcolm.

“She came to yell at me for the way I talked about you in the interview with Dad...” Malcolm let out a long sigh, but even through the phone, Ainsley could hear his smile somehow.

“Of course she did....” He shook his head but Ainsley interrupted any further laughs or smiles.

“Listen, she got all hyped up and her water broke.” Pause. Too Long of a pause. “Malcolm?”

“HER WATER BROKE?!” He finally exploded and Gil’s head shot up, and he told the group to be quiet.

“It’s not my fault!”

“Where is she now?!” He yelled back, standing and carrying the phone with him, hurrying through to get his stuff together.

“She’s already in mom’s car, on her way to the hospital!”

“Of course she is...I’ll see you there.” He hung up and turned back to the team. “It’s happening!” He yelled back to them all. “Gil, stop at my place, get the bag!”

“You got it,” he said and grabbed his own keys. As they ran our of the precinct together, the team cheered, yelled to keep in touch, and said they’d be there tomorrow. Malcolm thanked them and ran out the door with Gil.

He was going to be a father.

***

He ran through the hospital to her room, where (Y/n) was comfortably sitting, for now, in the hospital bed. She wasn’t overburdened yet by pain, and she lifted an eyebrow up at his dramatic entrance.

“You made it....with plenty of time to spare.” She reached out to him, and he hurried to her side, bending to kiss her. “Deep breath, it’s ok...”

“She’s early...”

“She’ll be ok. I’ll be ok. We will both be ok. I promise.” He kissed her again and he nodded, taking a deep breath.

“(Y/n), why did you go over there? You didn’t need to....” His ocean eyes showed concern, his hand held her firmly. At first he’d been angry, but he knew her too well. She was fiercely protective. God help anyone that would ever try to harm their daughter.

“I know you can take care of yourself but...I had to Malcolm. You didn’t deserve that. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair. And besides that she’s wrong. You’re not a victim. You’re not something your father destroyed. If you were, we wouldn’t be here...but we are. We’re bringing a baby into this crazy world. You survived. You survived to pass on a different legacy...” His concern fades to a smile. She had a talent for turning any of his emotions and worried thoughts to a smile.

Malcolm grasps her hand firmly, lifting it to kiss it. “Ready to become a mom?” He said, trying already to fight back the happy tears. She kissed his hand back and nodded.

“Only if you’re ready to become a dad. Let’s do this.”

#malcolm bright #malcolm whitly #malcolm bright x reader #malcolm bright x y/n #malcolm whitly x reader #malcolm whitly x y/n #malcolm bright imagine #malcolm whitly imagine #reader insert fanfiction #fanfiction #reader insert #y/n #prodigal son #prodigal son show #prodigal son imagine #jessica whitly #ainsley whitly

526 notes · View notes

shewritestheblues · 4 years

Text

The Elevator Bae x Chapter 7

Chapter SEVEN

Erik x Black OC (Phoenix)

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

Phoenix’s morning was easy. She woke up feeling refreshed and started her day with morning yoga on her balcony. She sat out there when she was done just taking in the stillness of the late morning. It had been awhile since she actually woke up before 1pm. As she sat outside, her mind trailed off into last night’s events. She realized just how much she enjoyed learning something new about Erik. She almost thought that she was crazy for being so understanding of his actions. But she knew that sometimes people are given the short end of the stick and have to make decisions differently. She didn’t fault him for what he’s done. She meant what she said about believing he wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her and she still liked him… maybe even more now. He trusted her and that alone let her know that the feeling was mutual.

Her show was tonight and he promised to be there. That has to be like a huge step or something. Phoenix never invited a guy to her shows. Not even her sorry ass ex. He had never been to an event she was a part of. When it came to her work, she was serious and never wanted any distractions and niggas were distractions. But Erik didn’t feel like a distraction. Thanks to him, she has been making amazing music. He felt like motivation, inspiration and Phoenix was grateful. Even if things didn’t go how she hoped, without even knowing it, he has already made a mark on her life.

Phoenix enjoyed her moment of peace but it was time to go back inside. She had a few errands to run before her show tonight. She sat on her bed, picking up her phone. This was the first time she’s looked at it since waking up. Phoenix tried to stay off her phone until she accomplished her morning routine of yoga, reading or journaling. (Whenever she did actually get up in the morning) She had a few messages from Alyssa. The usual schedule of to-do’s before a show. She also had a few notifications of emails and social media bs. Stuff that wasn’t important to her. She opened her text thread with Erik.

Phoenix: Hey, good morning Stevens. My show tonight is at Club X, 10-2. You better still be coming or that’s your ass. 😊😊

Now that that is done, a hot shower was calling her name. Phoenix wrapped her hair as best as she could and put on her scarf. This would be the last day with straight hair. She missed her curls.

--------

Erik was on his way back home when he got a text from Phoenix. He had a late start to his morning, but still got in a good five mile run and stopped to get food at a juice bar. As he traveled through some lite traffic, he checked his text.

Baby Girl: Hey, good morning Stevens. My show tonight is at Club X, 10-2. You better still be coming or that’s your ass. 😊😊

Erik rolled his eyes at the fact that she had to ‘make sure’ he was still coming. He never broke promises. Sure, she wasn’t aware of that yet but she would have to get to know that about him. Erik’s actions always matched his words.

Erik: Good morning, baby girl. Hell has frozen over for you to be up this early. I told you I’ll be there so I’ll be there. That lil threat was cute though.

He laughed at himself and continued his route home.

--------

Time was winding down and it was almost time for Phoenix to head out to the club for her show. Her playlist was blasting through her apartment as she got ready. She laid out a few outfit choices on her bed. As she stood over her bed debating, she hears a knock at the door. Confused because she wasn’t expecting anyone, she storms to the door standing on her tippy toes to look through the peephole. “Shit!” It was Erik. She had completely forgotten about their text conversation from earlier.

Phoenix: I kinda hate that I have to get there a little earlier to set up. I don’t be wanting to drive. I might Uber.

Erik: I understand but yo’ ass aint Ubering nowhere.

Phoenix: I don’t wanna drive. How am I gonna get there?

Erik: I’ll take you.

Phoenix: No. You don’t have to do that.

Erik: hm, I don’t remember asking you if I HAD to do it. Did I ask you that Phoenix?

Phoenix: 🙄 no.

Erik: Alright then. What time you need to be there?

Phoenix: 9:00.

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

She opened the door to find him standing there dressed for the night with his locs braided back. “Hey, E.” she smiled, leaning on the door.

“Wassup.” He walks in. Phoenix closes the door.

“You came at the right time because I’m struggling to pick an outfit. C’mon”

She takes his hand, leading him to her bedroom. Erik had imagined this happening but Phoenix was wearing a lot less in his fantasy. They stopped inches from her bed and she let his hand go, motioning to her options that were laid out. “Which one?” she asked.

Erik crossed his arms over his chest and bites his lip in thought. To the left she has ripped denim jeans and a baby blue, lace bodysuit and the right, she has an all black legging and tube top set. “What shoes are you wearing?” he finally asks.

Phoenix goes into her closet, grabbing her Doc Martin boots. She just holds them out of the closet door. “These!” He comes over to where she is, taking the boots from her. He notices a reflective jacket she has hanging up. Phoenix is still looking at her shoes to see if she has other options. Erik grabs the jacket.

“Aye,” she turns around to him. “Add this jacket and wear the all black fit.”

“I like that.” She takes the jacket and boots from to set them up with the black set she has on the bed. Nodding in approval. She turns and smiles at Erik. “Thanks.”

“Now get dressed.” he says walking out and closing her bedroom door behind him. He waits on the couch, strolling through social media on his phone. After about 15 minutes, she comes out of her room and goes into the bathroom. She applies mascara and lipgloss. She wasn’t really feeling makeup at all tonight. She takes off her scarf, unwrapping her hair. She combs it down with a middle part and pushes her hair behind her ears. She joins Erik in the living room. She stands in front of him, holding her arms out. “How do I look?”

His eyes scanned over her figure and he notices parts of a tattoo peeking from under her tube top. Phoenix had an underboob tattoo that resembles Rihanna’s and Erik was curious now as to what the tattoo was. Did she have more? He has seen her in crop tops before. Why hasn’t he noticed it before? Then again, his main focus is usually looking at her ass. “You look good, girl. But something is missing.”

Phoenix looked confused. “What?”

Erik stands, reaching behind his neck and taking off one of the two chains he was wearing.

“Erik…” she whines.

“Girl, hush and move your hair.” She does what he says, allowing him to put the chain on her. He steps back, smiling at her finished look. “Looks good on you.” he says. She tries to hide her blushing face with her hands. She grabs her backpack with her laptop and her signature blue beat headphones from the kitchen counter, putting them in her bag. He takes the backpack from her, tossing it over his shoulder.

“Ready?” he asks. She simply nods and they head out the door.

Phoenix locks her door. She and Erik start their short journey to the elevator. She pushes the call button and not long after, the doors open. Sydney is already in the cabin. This is the first time Erik had seen her since he’d texted her about not being interested. Phoenix had seen her in passing and they continued sharing their ‘hi’ and ‘byes’ but judging from Sydney’s face as the two of them stepped onto the elevator, she was curious as to why they were together when Erik didn’t live on the 7th floor.

“Hey Philly.” she said looking at Phoenix with piercing eyes.

“Hey, Syd.” she responded with a small smile and a wave.

“Erik…”

“Wassup, Sydney.”

“What are y’all up to?” she was more so asking Erik. He looked at Phoenix.

“Erik’s taking me to my show tonight.”

“Oh, yeah. I did see that on your Instagram. At ‘X’ right?”

“Mhm.”

Sydney stares at Erik. “That’s so nice of you Erik… to take her.”

“I’m a nice guy. What can I say?”

“Yeah you are.”

Erik and Phoenix could sense the sarcasm in her words. Phoenix tried to ignore her but she knew Sydney very clearly felt a way that Erik was with her. She took a deep breath to push down her frustrations. As the cabin came to a stop, Phoenix slipped her hand into Eriks, interlocking their fingers and started exiting the elevator, dragging him along with her. She knew Sydney would notice and that it would piss her off even more than she was. Phoenix hated when people were passive aggressive instead of just saying what’s on their mind. Sydney wasn’t happy that Erik was hanging with Phoenix and it was obvious. She wanted him but he didn’t want her. She could just get over it, right? She had men throwing themselves at her. It was so easy for her to move on to the next. Phoenix didn’t think she was someone that Sydney could feel intimidated by but tonight, she figured out that she was wrong.

As they walked out into the parking garage, Erik unlocked his doors, causing his car lights to flash and Phoenix lead them right over to his car. Ironically, Sydney’s car was parked nearby. Great! Phoenix thought. As Erik opened the passenger door for her, she let go of his hand and placed her hand on the side of her face, leaning up and kissing him. Erik was taken aback by this but kissed her back. She pulled back and looked passed his shoulder to see Sydney looking at them with disgust and jealousy in her eyes as she got into her own car. Erik blinks a few times to pull himself back into reality. He opened his mouth to say something but Phoenix cut him off. “Get in the car.” she whispered to him. She sat down in the car and he closed her door and walked around letting himself in. He starts the car but sits back and looks at Phoenix. She puts on her seatbelt and sits back, looking forward.

“You wanna tell me what that was about?”

“What?” she asks as if she doesn’t know what he’s referring to.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m sure you enjoyed it so let’s leave it at that. There’s nothing to discuss here.”

“I definitely enjoyed it.” he said to himself, knowing she heard him too. Without another word, he pulls out of the parking garage and head to the club. The ride was smooth as they listened to music. Phoenix sat there, bobbing her head to the music and texting her friends in the group chat about what they’ll be arriving at the club.

When they pulled up to the club, valet took Erik’s car, parking it and the two of them made their way in. As she walks through the club toward the DJ booth, she runs into Shawn. He was doing his job as the top promoter, making sure everything was set up right. “Blue, wassup girl?” he says hugging her. He looks up to see Erik behind her. “Yo, E! What the fuck are you doing here?” he greets his friend. Erik motions to Phoenix, who is completely thrown at moment, “I’m with her.”

Shawn raised his eyebrows, “You with her? Like with her, with her?”

Erik smirks at her, “Something like that.”

He and Shawn share a look before a huge smile creeps up on Shawn’s face. He daps Erik’s hand, “I see you my nigga.” He looks back toward Phoenix. “C’mon Blue. Let’s get you set up.” He takes them up into the DJ booth. Erik gives Phoenix her backpack so she can begin her set up. Shawn and Erik talk amongst themselves as she does so. As she is finishing up, Shawn pats Erik on the shoulder, “Aye man, y’all need anything, let me know. I got you.”

“Will do.”

Shawn goes off to finish his duties of the night before the club goers start showing up. Phoenix starts with her pre-show playlist to make sure everything is sounding right. The music flows through the speakers of the club and she’s satisfied. She lets the playlist play and motions for Erik to come to her.

“So…” she leans back on the turntables, “You and Shawn know each other.”

“Yeah, that’s the bro. We go way back.”

“Wow. wasn’t expecting that one.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting some things too.”

Her cheeks become hot, knowing what he’s referring to and she playfully rolled her eyes and turn toward the turntables. She tries to distract herself by playing around with some miscellaneous buttons. She feels a warm hand slide over hers and looks up to find Erik right on the side of her. “Show me something.” he says.

“Show you something?”

“Yeah,” he motions to her equipment. “Show me how you do what you do, Blue.”

Hearing him call her by her DJ name made her giggle. It was weird. She liked it. So she started explaining and showing him how she did her work. It was a bit different from what she did in the studio. Erik listened intently and asking questions. This lead to her giving him so much more detail about why she loved her line of work and how she actually got into DJing in the first place. He was interested in every word she spoke.

Eventually time has passed and it was opening time. She continued letting her pre-show playlist go until more bodies started to fill the club. The bar began to fill up with people ordering drinks. More parties began showing up and sitting in their pre-booked sections. Finally, Phoenix was ready to start. Erik sat down on the couch in Phoenix’s personal section and she put on her headphones. Shawn introduced her to the crowd and they showed her the deserved love. Phoenix had worked hard and people loved her and her work. A lot of people came out just to see her. She always had the most lit music. Her mixes hyped people up and Phoenix being the beautiful woman that she was added to the love. Women and men would come to the DJ Booth asking for a pic to post on their social media. They wanted to post about being at the club with one of the hottest upcoming DJ and Producer.

The club was in full effect. Bodies dancing everywhere. Shot girls with sparklers delivering bottles. The Bar was packed. Erik was enjoying himself as he watched his girl work. She interacted with the crowd so effortlessly. Shawn had come back to their section to talk more with Erik.

“Philly!” Phoenix hears a loud, high pitched voice call out to her. It was Ava coming into the section with Coby. Mica and Camren right behind them.

“Hey!” she greets them all with a hug. She waves Erik over. “I’m sure you remember Ava and Mica.”

“How could I forget?”

“Nice to officially meet you Erik.” Ava says with a smile.

“This is Coby and that’s Camren.”

Coby and Erik do the ‘man hand shake’ dap and he waves at Camren. Camren looks at Phoenix with a cheesy smile.

“DON'T START WITH ME!” Phoenix yells at Camren, pointing a knowing finger at her.

“Let’s drink!” Mica says going for a cup. They all pour themselves drinks. As everyone gets settled, Shawn comes back over to greet Phoenix’s friends. He and Erik have another small discussion before Erik approached Coby.

“Aye man, you blow?”

“Hell yeah. Y’all got something?”

Erik nods and Coby follows Erik and Shawn out. Phoenix notices them walking away from the section, toward the exit. She looks at Ava, “where they going?” Ava shrugs, taking a sip of her drink.

Mica and Camren puts in a large order of wings. Ava tells the waitress to bring another bottle of Hennessy. Phoenix zones back out working and completely forgot that the guys were gone. They had been missing for so long she forgot they were even there. Phoenix had been going strong since the club opened and she needed a small break. She could smell the wings that her friends ordered and it made her mouth water. She pieces together a small mix to play while she takes a seat to enjoy said wings. But when she turned around to her section she finds that Ava, Mica and Camren aren’t there. But who is there is Coby and Erik with bbq sauce and ranch all over their fingers and lips as the both of them are scarfing down the wings. From what she can see immediately was there were only four wings left in the basket.

“Aye, how many did y’all eat?”

The men look at each other and then at Phoenix. Neither of them answer the question. Phoenix folds her arms over her chest. “Am I talking to myself?”

Camren steps up into the section with the two behind her. “What’s going on? You look mad.” she says to Phoenix. Phoenix motions to the basket full of chicken bones. “ARE Y’ALL SERIOUS? Y’ALL ATE 3O WINGS!”

The two men burst into laughter.

“I’m glad y’all find this shit funny. What the fuck am I suppose to eat?”

“I’ll get you some food baby girl, alright?” Erik says as his body bounces.

Ava stands next to Phoenix, “These niggas high. The night is almost over. We can get food when we leave. They were taxing on the chicken anyways.”

Phoenix looks at Ava, frustration all over her face. “Is this my life?” Before Ava could respond, Phoenix goes back into the DJ booth to finish her set. The club would be closing in 3o minutes. She could push through that. She definitely planned on cussing Erik and Coby out about this later. Nobody told them to go off and get high, miss majority of her set and then come back and eat all of the food. Phoenix didn’t play about her food.

-------

Club goers flooded the streets and parking lot as they were leaving. It took another 30 minutes after the last song to actually get everyone to make their way outside. Phoenix had packed up her equipment into her backpack and was waiting with her girls by the door. Erik and Coby had gone off with Shawn somewhere.

“I’m so fucking hungry.” Mica spat.

“Join the club,” Phoenix says. “They need to hurry up.”

“I got my keys. We can leave they ass and go hit In-N-Out.” Ava says. Camren grabs her hand. “I love that idea. Let’s leave them.”

The four of them start walking out of the club. They were almost to Ava’s jeep when Coby calls out to them. “Aye!” They all stop with an eye roll. Coby comes up to Ava, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m sorry baby. You know Shawn just be talking.”

Erik slowly approaches Phoenix with apologetic eyes. He takes her backpack from her, putting it over his shoulder. “You mad?” he asks.

“I’m hungry!”

Mica raises her hands, pointing at each man. “And if y’all don’t mind, we’re leaving and going to In-N-Out.”

“Are we not invited?” Erik asked.

“NO!”

“We’re sorry, damn!”

“Aye,” Coby says, “We can all go to In-N-Out and me and E got y’all.” Erik nods agreement.

Phoenix looks between the two men in disbelief. E? These two were just the best of buds now huh? Regardless, she couldn’t resist free food. She released a deep sigh, “Fine.”

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

They all met up at IN-N-OUT. They went around through the drive-thru to get their orders but got out of their cars and sat at an open table in front of the restaurant. The women wasted no time with getting started on mashing their food. Erik and Coby watched with amusement at how the women showed no mercy on their burgers and fries. “See E,” Coby pointed to the eating women, “You gotta feed these beasts. Especially, yours. She be tripping the hardest when she dont get food.” Erik bounced with laughter. Phoenix elbowed him in his side. “Don’t laugh at his shit.” she said with a mouth full of fries.

A beat a silence sits over them until the women are just about done stuffing their faces. “So… Erik” Mica starts, “Did you enjoy yourself tonight as much as you enjoyed those wings?”

“Yes, Mica… I did.” The two of them stare at each other.

“Remember what I told you, right?”

Erik rubs his beard, “Nah. I don’t actually. Wanna refresh my memory?”

“Okay, this nigga wanna play games.”

“You know,” Erik says pointing at Mica, “You remind me of a little chihuahua.”

“Nigga! You remind me of a pitbull.”

“Wow,” Phoenix rest her hands in her palms on the table, “I’m glad to see you two are getting along well.”

Everybody laughs. Phoenix knew Mica liked Erik. They all did. Mica only went back and forth with people she respected. If she didn’t like you, she’d move around you like you weren’t even there.

Camren silently got Mica, Phoenix and Erik’s attention, pointing to Coby and Ava. They were whispering and giggling in each other’s ears like no one else was at the table. Mica let out a fake, loud cough, patting her chest that gained the caking couples attention. Camren, Phoenix and Erik tried to keep their laughs inside at how dramatic Mica’s cough was. Trying to look normal, Camren pretends to be on her phone and Phoenix moves closer to Erik as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They leaned into each other as they hid their faces to laugh.

Ava noticed all of them doing a poor job at trying not to laugh. “You good, Mica? You need something to drink?”

“Nah, I’m good. But y’all two may need a sip.” Mica says sliding her cup toward them.

“You real fucking funny Mica.” Coby states.

“I’m just saying, from this angle, y’all thirsty asses look like a two headed body,” she laughs. “Like damn Coby, back up off my girl.”

Camren chokes on her drink from laughing at Mica’s comment.

Ava had to laugh herself, “Y’all ain’t shit.”

“But what’s up though?” Phoenix ask, “We deserve to know like… what’s up with y’all? Are y’all official now or what?”

Ava cuts her eye at Phoenix, who is currently wrapped up under a large man’s arm. “I don’t know Phoenix,” sarcasm in her words, “Are you two official now or what?”

The smile on Phoenix’s face drops. She walked herself right into that one. But she knew how to handle this. “This isn’t about me and Erik right now. It’s about you and Coby. Two of my bestest friends. You know, I thought we were all so close here and that y’all would tell us if you two made it official. I mean… I know you would be the first person I’d call when Erik and I made that decision. But I get it. Maybe we’re not like that anymore.”

Erik is taking in all of what Phoenix is saying, reading between every single line. He smirks knowing what she ISN’T saying. Taking notes.

Ava is sitting there, listening to Phoenix go on but she’s no fool. She knows what Phoenix is doing. Coby on the other hand… his soft spot for her blocks his common sense most times. He always fall for her antics and Phoenix knew this. And just like she always did, she got him to break.

“Damn, Philly, relax. We’re official okay?” Coby says, feeling bad for not telling her.

Everybody burst into laughter. Coby looked confused. Did he miss the joke?

“What the fuck is so funny?” he asks.

Erik looks at him. “She just played you, bro.”

“Yeah, bae, you fall for that shit every time.” Ava added.

Coby looks at Phoenix. She gives him a closed mouth smile. “I hate you Phoenix.”

“I love you too brother.”

Coby stands, “You know what, fuck this. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment. It’s been real. Ava grab your shit. We out.”

Everyone continues laughing as Coby and Ava grab up their garbage, throwing it away. Coby gives Erik dap and walks past Phoenix to hug Camren and Mica. Phoenix laughs at him being childish. Ava says her goodbyes.

“Will we be seeing more of you Erik?” she asks as she hugs Phoenix.

“Of course. Phoenix ain’t going nowhere.”

“i’ll hold you to that..” he gives her a hug.

“We might as well all take our asses home.” Camren says standing. They all follow her lead in gathering up their garbage, tossing it and saying their goodbyes. As soon as Phoenix got comfortable in Erik’s passenger seat, the group chat was live. The women talked about how they approve of Erik, Phoenix did an amazing job DJing tonight, etc.

Erik pulled out onto the road, taking them home. Phoenix slid down in her seat. Her tired is finally catching up to her. “Thanks for coming, E.” she says.

He looks over at her. He didn’t respond. Instead, he slid his hand over to hers. Repeating her earlier action and interlocking their fingers. He pulled their conjoined hands up and kissed the back of hers. That was all she needed to know that he was glad he came out too. He laughed to himself. Curious, she asked what was funny.

“I’m going to put your girl, Mica in the headlock. I see she’s the one that likes to talk.”

Smiling at their interactions thus far, “Yeah, that’s Mica.” Phoenix says. “She has to test you to see if you can hold your own. Not everybody makes it passed her.”

“Did I get by y’all guard dog?”

Phoenix laughs, “You did. She likes you.”

“Cool. I don’t have to sneak by security to get you.”

“You would do that huh?”

“Hell yeah.”

Phoenix takes her hand from his and reaches over to rub her fingers through his beard. Erik didn’t miss a beat and simply slid his now free hand onto her thigh. They rode the rest of the journey like this.

———

They arrive back at their apartment building. Erik parks his car and turns the ignition off. Phoenix whines, “I don’t feel like getting out yet.”

“We can chill here for a minute.” Erik says, rubbing her hand that is resting on the side of his face.

He notes how touchy Phoenix is with him. He’s now curious if this is how she is when she likes someone. He didn’t mind at all though. If simply just touching him is soothing to her, he’d let her touch him anywhere, anytime.

“OH MY GOD!” Phoenix sits ups in her seat fully, looking at Erik. He’s confused by her sudden outburst. “I just realized what you said.” She continued.

“What? What did I say?”

“When we were on my couch. You said your dad was the prince of Wakanda.” Erik nods, confirming that he did in fact, say that. “So… that would mean you’re a prince.”

“Yes, baby girl. You didn’t put that together when I said that?”

“No! I wasn’t thinking that far at the time.” She softly hits him on the chest. “You’re a whole prince, E.” The lazy smile on her face made him realize it was time to get this girl up to her bed. She was sleepy talking now.

“You need to go to bed.” He gets out of the car and walks around to let her out. They walk to the elevator. Erik pushes the call button and as they wait, Phoenix stands behind him and snakes are hands around his abdomen. She lays her cheek against his back, ‘resting her eyes.’ When the elevator arrives, she moans in protest at having to move. He grabs her hand from her stomach and pulls her into the cabin. He pushes the button to her floor. She repeats her movements of wrapping her arms around him. This time, they’re face to face. He looks down at her with tired eyes. She smiles up at him, sliding her hands up his shirt. She softly drags her fingertips over his scars. She rest her chin on his chest. He moves a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She watches as he licks his lips. Phoenix wanted so badly to taste them again. The kiss they shared earlier was simply a ploy to piss Sydney off but now, she wanted a real one. She needed it. Now! She pushed herself up on her tippy toes and crashed her lips into his. He kissed back immediately. The warmth of his lips was everything she knew she needed and wanted in that moment. The kiss became more and more passionate as they continued. Erik swiped his tongue over her bottom lip and she gladly welcomed him in. She sucked on his tongue and he let out a moan into her mouth. Her hands still pressed on his skin, she pulled herself more into him. He held both sides of her face. The cabin came to a stop. Erik pulled back, cussing to himself.

Without words, she slid her hands into his, pulling him off the elevator and into her hallway. Still standing in front of the elevator doors, he pulls her back against his chest. “I’m not done with you.” His voice low. She lets out a slow breath. He leans down, kissing her again. Just like before, she opened graciously for his tongue to explore her mouth. Their lips wet and smacking. Phoenix gripped his shirt, pulling him as close as he could be. He backed her up against the wall. He trailed wet kisses down to her neck. Phoenix closed her eyes, allowing the attack on her neck. Suddenly he stopped. Resting his face in the crook of his neck, he whispered, “I have to leave Tuesday.”

Her eyes snapped open, “Why?”

He leaned up to look at her. “Work.” disappointment was written all over her face. “I just…” He continued, “I don’t wanna do this and then just leave. I don’t wanna do you like that.”

She nods, understanding. He pulls back away from her, holding her hand. She looks down in thought for a second. “Well, you have to make some time for me tomorrow. Even if it’s 5 minutes.”

“Deal. It’ll definitely be more than 5 minutes though.” He smirked.

The smile that crept onto Phoenix’s face was all Erik needed to settle the small bit of anxiety in his chest. This would be his first mission since they’ve become this close. Since exchanging numbers, the moment he woke up to the moment he falls asleep, his time was spent texting her. And let’s not forget their long studio session. Phoenix has become a part of his daily in what seems like a short time. The first time he’d seen her, getting into the elevator a month ago, he had in his mind she would definitely be a girl he was going to smash. But it was something about her that intrigued him. He actually wanted—no, needed to know more than just her body. He needed to know her. There was a pull between them since that first day in the elevator and the way she just kissed him, let him know she felt that same pull too. He shared his darkest parts with her and she stuck around. Granted, he’d never told anyone that and wasn’t sure what to expect. But everything in him was yelling at him to be honest with her. Erik was going to go with it. Allow the pull to bring them closer and closer. He was open to falling no matter how fast it was for her. She was willing to do the same.

Phoenix had been around some of the most sought out men in the entertainment industry. Some of them showed interest in her but she was more than unimpressed. When she would talk to them, she didn’t feel anything. With Erik? She felt everything. The jelly legs she got the first day she seen him was enough to convince her that it was something about him. Phoenix couldn’t recall a time where she really had a ‘crush’ on anyone. But… Erik. Phoenix has always been one to believe in fate and soul mates though. She believed she had one, somewhere and that they’d find their way to her somehow. She always imagined it would be this intense feeling. Tingles in her hands when she’d talk to them. They’d make her think about them every second of the day. She would just melt at the thought of them. She melted at the thought of Erik. He hands tingled when she would text him. The crush thing didn’t add up. Crushes couldn’t have felt like this. During their kiss, all she could think about was, this isn’t a crush, this is some soul shit.

————

Erik made sure Phoenix got into her apartment, ending their time with a few more pecks on her lips. He got into the elevator, going up to his penthouse. He didn’t even bother turning on any lights when he walked in. He let his instincts carry him into his bedroom. He came out of his clothes, getting into his king bed. He licked his lips over and over, still able to taste Phoenix on them. He drifted off into sleep.

————-

As Phoenix slowly opened her eyes to the morning sun, her brain rushed with the memories of the night before. She held herself in the center of her bed as she reminisced on Erik. The feel of his rough hand in hers. The warmth of his hand when he held her thigh in the car. The way his beard tickled her fingers as she played with his thick, facial hair. His solid, thick form when she rested her head on his back… and then his chest. His soft, keloid skin when she slipped her hands under his shirt. And his lips… his soft, full lips. She wanted more of them. To kiss her in more than a few places. The thoughts caused her face to heat up. She crossed her legs trying to keep the heat from traveling below. She replayed everything in her head. Time passed and she couldn’t get up just yet because she wasn’t ready to put them on hold. That is, until her phone buzzed on her nightstand. The universe had to have been listening to her thoughts because Erik’s name popped up onto her locked screen. Butterflies found way into her stomach before she could even swipe the message open.

Erik: Good morning baby girl. You up?

Phoenix: yes, I’m up. Good morning E.

Erik: how you sleep?

Phoenix: pretty good. I was KO as soon as I landed on the bed. How did you sleep?

Erik: not bad at all. Wyd?

Phoenix: still in bed. Feels too good to get up.

Erik: damn, for real? Lol, I guess I’ll ask someone else to go get breakfast with me.

Phoenix: hmm, suddenly I’m so hungry I can’t stay in this bed another second.

Erik: lmfao. I knew your eat’em up ass couldn’t resist.

Phoenix: you + food = a good ass time to me

Erik: *kissy face* can you be ready in an hour?

Phoenix: I’ll do my best!

Phoenix put her phone back on the nightstand and rushed into the bathroom. Her hair was ready to be washed but she definitely didn’t have time to do that. She tossed it up into a top knot bun and continued pushing. Brushing her teeth, washing her face and getting in the shower in thirty minutes. She was making good timing. She stood in her closet, going through possible options.

It’s just breakfast. No need to get super cute, she thought. But then again, they’re going out. Is this a date? Or are they just hanging out? After last night, this has to be beyond ‘hanging out.’ The man practically had his tongue down her throat. She didn’t give any fucks. Her brain settled for: This is definitely a date. She would still sport her usual, casual and comfy look but still hella cute. She picked out her signature biker short in dark grey and paired them with a Snoop Dogg graphic tee and Nike’s. She moisturized her body in her Vanilla scented shea butter and got dressed. Her bun was decent so she swooped her edges and put on some mascara and lip gloss. As Phoenix hooked the last of her layered necklaces, there’s a knock at her door. She knew it was Erik so she tossed her phone in her purse and moved quickly to open the door.

“Hey, E.” She said when she swung the door open. She jiggled her keys in her hand, joining him in hallway. He remained silent as he watched her lock her door. Once it’s all locked, she turned to him and his stare on her was intense. He looked her up and down, biting his lip. She watched him curious to know how long they’d stand there with him eye fucking her. After just a few seconds, Phoenix couldn’t take it anymore. She dramatically cleared her throat, breaking his gaze. He covered his smile with his fist. “My bad.”

“I understand. You like what you see. But I’m hungry so we should go.”

They started walking to the elevator. “Yeah, I’m aware of how you get when you’re hungry.”

She nudges him in the arm. He could chill on her. Food was an important piece of Phoenix’s life. If he was going to continue this thing with her, he was going to need to grasp that ASAP.

When Erik opened the door for Phoenix to get into his car, he leaned down, looking her in the eye, “if I catch any nigga looking at yo’ ass in these shorts, I’ma break his fucking face.” He closed the door before she could react and walked around the vehicle, getting in himself.

———

Erik sat at the exit of the parking garage waiting for traffic to clear. He slid his hand over to rest on Phoenix’s thigh.

“So, where are we going?” She asked as they turned out onto the road.

“What if I wanted to surprise you?”

“I don’t really like surprises,” she smiles at him. “so just tell me.”

He shakes his head. “Madea’s Fish and Grits.”

“Ohh, I’ve been wanting to go there.”

A sly smirk crept on Erik’s face. “I go there all of the time. One of my favorites.”

——-

The drive was short. Phoenix stomach thanked her for that. They walked in and the hostess greeted them. She smiled at Erik, raising a brow in Phoenix’s direction. “One second,” She said before walking away and speaking loudly to someone in the back. “Madea, your boy is here.”

Moments later, an older black woman with long, grey and black hair pulled into a low pony walked out from the back, smiling at them. She wiped her hands on her apron. “Hello, Mr. Erik.” She opened her arms out for a hug. He smiled big at the woman, hugging her. “Hey, Madea.”

“I haven’t you seen you in awhile boy. I thought you forgot about me.”

“C’mon now. I could never forget about you.”

Madea’s eyes shoot to Phoenix and back to Erik. “And who is this pretty lady?”

Erik turned to introduce her. “This is Phoenix.”

Madea took Phoenix’s hand in both of hers. Phoenix smiles at the woman. “Nice to meet you.”

“Are you a friend of Erik’s?”

Phoenix looks at Erik who is trying to hide his embarrassed, red face. “You can say that.”

“Hmm, well let’s get you two seated.”

Madea grabs two menus and guides them to Erik’s favorite booth near the front window. They take their seats. “Reese will be over in a second.” Before she walked away, she leaned down to whisper something in Phoenix’s ear that made her laugh. Erik eyed the women suspiciously. When Madea was out of site, Erik glared at Phoenix. She pretended to be really into the menu. She could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look up at him. Reese approached them. “Good morning. Can I start y’all off with some drinks?” She doesn’t take her eyes off of Erik.

“What you want baby girl?” He says to Phoenix. She smiles up at him. “Orange juice.”

“We’ll both have orange juice.”

Reese walks off. Erik picks up the menu, looking through it and trying to look extra focused.

“She likes you.” Phoenix says.

“Hm? What?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. Ya’ girl Reese ain’t take her eyes off you for one second.”

Erik waves his hand, dismissing that idea. “Ain’t nobody worried about her.”

“Who you worried about then?”

He winks at her. “You… and what Madea said to you before she walked away.”

“You’re nosey.”

Reese brings them their drinks. “Are you two ready to order?”

“I am. You ready baby?”

Phoenix looks up from the menu at Erik and catches his wink. “Yes.” She looks at Reese. “I’ll have the catfish and grits, with cheese. Turkey bacon and my eggs, scrambled.” She ends her order with a closed mouth smile. Handing her menu to Reese, Erik gives his order of the French toast, bacon and sausage, egg whites and hash browns.

As the two of them waited for their food, Erik pushed more for Phoenix to share what Madea whispered to her.

“You really wanna know Erik?”

“Yes.” He sipped his juice.

Phoenix rested her face in her palms. “She said… I must be special. She’s never seen you bring a lady friend in here before.”

Erik’s face blushed with redness. He didn’t have a come back for that. It was true. He has never brought anyone into Madea’s place with him. He’s always sat alone. Women would come in and try to talk to him. Reece being one of them. A few he exchanged numbers with, meet up with at a later moment. Reece was Madea’s niece. Erik couldn’t disrespect Madea that way. He had so much love and respect for the older woman. She reminded him of a mother/grandmother figure. She would sometimes join him and they’d talk about random things going on in the world. It had been about a month since he’s been in the soul food restaurant. (Hmm, he’s known Phoenix for a month.)

Phoenix pretended to not notice how shook Erik was. When he didn’t give her a smart response to what Madea told her, she looked off, scanning the restaurant. She caught the eye of a small boy, no older than 6 years old. They made eye contact and the little boy smiled and waved at her. She winked and waved back.

“Who the fuck you waving at?” Erik snapped his head around to see who was the brave soul to be waving at his girl. He looked over the booths seat, seeing the little boy. When the little boy seen Erik, he covered his mouth, snickering. Erik pointed to his eye and to the boy, signaling that he’s watching him. The little boy sticks his tongue out at Erik. Phoenix burst into laughter. Erik turned back to her. “So that’s yo mans huh?”

Phoenix is laughing so hard that she can’t say anything. Tears are forming in her eyes. Erik is being his dramatic self, talking shit. “Can’t believe you girl. In front of my face. Just gonna flirt with this lil nigga like I won’t lay hands on his ass. The disrespect.”

“Erik, be quiet. He’s a baby.”

“I don’t care! I fight kids Phoenix.”

Phoenix shakes her head at him, finally being able to control herself. She sighs. “You are crazy.”

“I am. Crazy as fuck.”

Reece approaches the table with their food. Erik’s mouth is practically watering.

“Here y’all go. Is there anything I can get y’all?” Reece asks.

“We’re good. Thank You.” Phoenix says.

The two of them get started on their meals. Phoenix was admiring the buttery, perfect grits when the young boy from earlier is slowly following behind his mom as they walk to the exit of the restaurant. He waves at Phoenix again. As they continued to pass by their table, the boy stops and turns to Erik. He balls up his tiny fist and scrunches up his face at him. Erik pretends to get up from the table like he’s going to go after the boy and he jumps and takes off running, catching up to his mom. He turns around one last time to stick his tongue out again.

“You see this little nigga?” Erik says, motioning to the boy leaving.

With a mouth full of food, Phoenix holds her mouth to keep it all in as she laughs.

“I should go whoop his little ass.” Erik continues.

Phoenix and Erik laugh off the encounter. They finished their meals but continue sitting and talking. Reece had retrieved their empty dishes. They both ordered some coffee and Reece made sure to keep their cups full. Their conversations drifting between aliens and supernatural things. Their favorite movies. Their stance on BLM, women’s rights and how much they both hated Trump. The more they talked, the more they discovered just how much they had in common.

Their cups had found themselves to be empty. Reece has gone on break, so this time Madea came to the table with a fresh pot of coffee. She filled their cups with a smile. Erik was her favorite customer. She never had an issue with him, so serving him was her pleasure.

“Thank You.” Phoenix says.

“Oh, baby, it’s my pleasure.” Madea looks over at Erik and pinches him on the arm. “Your big head butt better not stay away from here again.”

“Ouch! I’m sorry, Madea. I’ve been caught up with work.”

“Work, huh?” Madea looks to Phoenix, “Has he been caught up with work, Ms. Phoenix? Or has he been caught up with you?” She asks with a wink.

Phoenix’s mouth opens and shuts, not sure how to answer that. She looks at Erik for help. He simply raises an eyebrow at her.

“Um, I guess you can say a little bit of both.”

“So how long have you two been dating?”

Another question Phoenix didn’t know how to answer. Erik opens his mouth to answer and Madea swats his hand for him to shut up. She wanted to hear it from Phoenix.

“Well, we’re getting to know each other. It’s been a few weeks, I guess.”

“Hmm.” The slim woman moves the coffee pot to her left hand and leans down onto the table with her right. “Well, Ms.Phoenix,” she peeks over at Erik, “And you too, Mr.Erik, I’m no expert but I know a thing or two. I know when two people have an undeniable connection. I am by no means saying to rush into anything, but if your intuition says jump, you ask how high. I can’t put my finger on it just yet, but there’s definitely something here with you two. I’m gonna say this last thing and I’ll be out of y’all hair. You can meet someone today and they’ll love and cherish you better than someone you’ve known for 10 years.”

Phoenix nods. When she looked over at Erik, he was biting his lip, looking down at the table at nothing in particular. Madea gave Phoenix’s shoulder two pats and left the two to sit with her words. They sat in silence for a moment, not really sure how to pick back up from that. Erik finally looked up, catching Phoenix’s eyes. She gave him a soft smile before asking, “How long are you gonna be gone?” her voice was low, but he still heard her over the busy sounds of the restaurant.

With Erik leaving the very next day, he knew this question would come up at some point during their time together.

“Two weeks.”

The same disappointment from when he told her he had to leave the night before showed up on her face right then. Erik knew he would never be able to deal with that face from her.

“When I get back, it’ll be awhile before I have to leave again.”

“Okay.” She whispered.

The silenced that say amongst them wasn’t so comfortable after that. Neither of them could really bear it but neither of them had anything to say. It had gotten too uncomfortable and Erik suggested that they head back home. The car ride was silent. Both of their brains going over what Madea said to them, as well as the both of them trying to process the fact that just when they were getting closer, they have to be separated for two whole weeks without any form of communication.

#the elevator bae #erik x phoenix #shewritestheblues

45 notes · View notes