#initial consensus is that it's pretty fun and i want to grow lots of things | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mrwinterr · 3 years

Text

So Happy

Pairing: Rockstar!Bucky Barnes AU x Female Reader

Summary: After a night with your favorite artist, you’re left wondering where you both really stand.

Warnings: Smut 18+ (consensual, but unprotected sex, oral [male & female receiving], vaginal penetration and fingering, size kink and dirty talk). Language. Light mentions of substance abuse. Lying asses. Internet toxicity (I hate it here sometimes). Angst, I guess...TIME SKIP...and absolute horrendous fluff (that’s not my brand, alright).

Disclaimer: You can read part 1 here! It would make some sense.

A/N: This follow-up is still based on some true events. Can’t hate the players, hate the game. For the most part it’s made up because some of us deserve the ending we think we deserve. I’m dedicating this to @shawnie--jo for all the love, enthusiasm and the patience because this took me a while. It’s a doozy! & with that note, enjoy!

“You owe me,” is the first thing you hear your friend say the moment you stepped foot back into the hotel you had booked for the night before. It was in a much different tone than of the one she had in line for the concert.

Frozen in place, you turn your attention to her sitting figure on one of the single couches of the lobby. She wasn’t happy that much you could tell judging by the expression on her face and the way she sat impatiently, one leg over the other and her arms crossed against her chest.

The bag next to hers on the ground adjacent to her feet were your belongings. The way it was misshapen suggested she had hastily shoved your things back in it for you. She must’ve been in a rush to leave before checking out or…

“You owe me $50 for the late check out fee,” she clarifies, ceasing all thoughts of why she was currently pissed at you.

Now begins the walk of shame. It wasn’t something you were used to. Could you even call this that? You had no reason to feel ashamed because you were completely aware of last night’s events. You defended your decision as so! Then why did you feel this way?

Perhaps it had to do with you just now returning to the hotel you were supposed to have been checked out of hours ago, but instead you’re greeted to your more than displeased best friend staring daggers at you for a different reason.

Sheepishly bringing a hand to rub the back of your neck, when you’re close enough to her, you open your mouth to begin apologizing, but she wasn’t done as she got up on her feet to level with you.

“You said you would be back before check out,” she said voice slowly rising in volume, no matter the distance between you two was close or not, you could tell this was just the start of a catalyst, “and it’s...oh,” she stops to look down at her phone, which shined bright revealing her lock screen and more importantly the time, “...only three hours past check out!” Yup, not happy with you at all.

“I know you’re upset,” you start with the obvious, “and you have the right to be. I said I would be back in time, but I wasn’t,” maybe admitting you were wrong would allow her to see you were indeed aware of your mistakes, soften the blow to come a little bit.

“Upset? I’m disappointed!” she says, her arms falling to her sides and with a look of disbelief but is quickly washed over with indisposition. “Some sell-out rockstar invites you over to see him and you lose your sense of mind?”

“Look, I’ll pay you back. It’s no big deal.” At least on your end, you’re trying to remain calm even when her tone and choice of words get under your skin. You didn’t need this weekend to end on a bad note.

“This isn’t about the money!” She proclaimed.

“Then why are you bitching at me? I’m a grown adult! I know what I did-” Yeah, at least you were trying to stay composed, right?

“Do you?” She challenges. It’s one of those rhetorical questions, in which she didn’t need an answer to, but you were still going to give her one.

“Yes, ok. I slept with Bucky and I don’t regret it.”

The defense you put up so quickly around you weren’t something your friend was used to witnessing...maybe to your parents, yeah, but not at her. Sure, you’ve both had the occasional quarrels, but your relationship and sexual life was different because she really cared for your wellbeing and would be damned if someone hurt you.

“I’m just worried,” she admits for her initial brute front, “what you did was totally unlike you and I…”

“What?” You interrupt her, growing more tired of this conversation by the second.

“I don’t trust Bucky.” She blurts out.

You scoff at that reasoning, “you don’t know him-”

“And you do?” This time she interrupts and catches you off guard on that one. “You’re right. I don’t know him, but you said it yourself. Bucky meets tons of people every day. He’s on the road a lot. It’s easy for him to get lonely.”

There it was again. The self-conscious thoughts questioning everything about last night’s events. In a pathetic display of defense, you start counter-questioning her with some of the statements Bucky said to you. Why would he tell you all those sweet things and pretty promises if he knew he could have you so easily? Why would he think you weren’t like the other women out there who exposed their escapades for their 15 minutes of fame? What made him think anything of you? There were other girls in the crowd.

“He’s going to tell you things he wants you to hear to get what he wants.” She really believed that. She knew what some men were capable of. She had more experience than you and you often turned to her for things like this.

Her last sentence was something to let sink in. The way last night played out and the last few hours you spent with Bucky; you were blinded by a rose tint world.

Earlier that morning...

“You know,” Bucky starts with his gaze first set on your face, slowly starting to drift down your body trying to catch a glimpse of uncovered skin that the blanket was doing a horrible job in concealing. You watch with bubbling desire the way he bit his bottom lip and eyes growing darker, ”...if you ever need anything. I’m here to help. I can get you out of that town and you can stay with me in Brooklyn. We’ll find you a place to work in that’ll appreciate you more.”

He was a dream. He was so sweet, but you weren’t going to deny it. As much as you adored what little you knew about the real Bucky, a part of you that was always so careful was also skeptical. That voice in the back of your mind, whether it was your parents, teachers in the past, PSA spokespersons or your best friend, was still trying to tell you Bucky wasn’t an exception.

Then on the other hand, you were finally getting what you wanted. You weren’t a little girl anymore. You could take care of your own heart. Why couldn’t you have some fun? Indulge a little. Life is too short to sit around and wait. If he was serious about any of the things he said, then great! If not, oh well, you’ll live. What’s life without experience, right?

You just never imagined any of the harmless mentions or replies through social media were going to get you in bed with him and so smitten.

When Bucky pulls his lips away from you, he repositions himself on the bed to lie on his back and bask in the comfortable silence. You’re still on your side, but your eyes suddenly widen as you curiously take a peek over his frame and notice the red numbers of the alarm clock on the bedside table. The curtains were drawn shut, so you had no trace of the actual time of day.

“Shit,” you muttered to yourself, but was no use. It was just you and Bucky in the room and he’d definitely wonder why you’d grown frantic.

“Whoa. What’s the rush?” He says slowly sitting up, still exhausted, and watching you throw the hotel comforter over your body to get out of bed. You didn’t even care that you were naked in front of him. He’d have a souvenir to remember you by.

The sex tape was the least of your worries though. You fucking missed check out! You can only imagine the look on your friend’s face when you reunite.

“I missed check out,” you respond while momentarily being thrown off course in search of your underwear, but then instantly remembering how Bucky tore it off of you, and you did your best to push aside last night’s activities.

“What?” He asks, rubbing his face trying to rid himself of sleep. He had to get going too. The band was off to play in the next city in some hours. Unfortunately, you didn’t have enough time to take off from work to follow him.

“The hotel I’m staying at. I missed check out and my friend is going to be so pissed at me,” you explained beaten. You can’t for the life of you see where your clothes were in the dark room.

Drawing the curtains open or switching the light on without warning wouldn’t be ideal to the both of you and not only that, the effects of the substances your body was coursed through, the physicality of you and Bucky’s actions last night, the consequence of it all topped with the lone fact that you’re now standing naked in front of Bucky starts to seep in.

You try not to stand there awkwardly and do the only thing you can do. Inhibition creeping back in, you cover your face with your hands and breath in and out, hoping the floor would swallow you whole so you could escape this embarrassment and your friend’s pending wrath.

“Look,” Bucky says now in front of you, pulling your hands away from your face, he’s naked too, washing away some traces of vulnerability away, “you’re already late. You can’t change that. We can only keep moving forward,” he says, his arms slipping around your body to pull you close to his.

The sudden jolt from the skin-to-skin contact quickly subsides with the warmth of his body transferring onto yours. You hold onto his biceps and nod in acceptance. Any attempt to rush back to your hotel wasn’t going to do you any favors now.

“So then, what do you say we get cleaned up and try to enjoy our time together?” The way his head tilted to the side, a not-so-subtle hint in the direction of the shower in the bathroom, his smooth voice and his eyes half-lidded, ready to get lost in you one more time.

You said it yourself, life was short, so if you already knew your friend was going to chew you out, why deny yourself of its pleasures right now, especially if it’s coming from Bucky.

“Can we just get going? We’ll catch traffic on the way back to the city if we just stand here and keep putting each other down,” you ask, slightly shaking your head of the early morning activities and straightening yourself up, bending forward to pick up your bag and sling it over your shoulder.

This little spat would eventually pass. None of the arguments you two had were ever threatening to your friendship with each other. You’ve both fought over things much more critical that it’d be a shame to let it be over someone like Bucky.

Before you could turn back around to exit, your friend grabs a hold of your arm and stops you. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. I could be wrong. Bucky could be the one, but I want you to be smart about doing whatever you end up doing with him. I just want you to ultimately be happy,” she says wholeheartedly.

You knew she was only coming from a good place. She only ever encouraged you to do your best and the right thing. She was the one you sought out advice from and she never led you astray. In the end, you knew you couldn’t ever truly be mad at her. You owed her more than $50 alone.

“Thanks. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I know your intentions are in the right place and I really appreciate you for everything. You even agreed to come to this show with me! But I’m only human and I’m going to make mistakes along the way,” you say and notice the fallen look on her face, but you don’t give her long enough to feel sorry for you with your follow up statement, “...if I get hurt, it’s going to suck, but I’ll get back up, learn from it and move on. Plus, I’ll have you there by my side to tell you I told you so...again, and we both know how much you enjoy that!” You end it on a joking note.

A look of hope creeps back in on your friend and she’s pleased to see your resilient attitude again. You give her your best steadfast smile and it seemingly proved to be successful enough for her to accept your answer as she pulls you in for a warm hug.

You wonder, what Bucky’s motive was? He was Bucky Barnes. He could have anyone. Why did he trust you enough to be intimate with? What was his game? You just had to keep telling yourself for your sanity and wellbeing, with or without Bucky, in the end you’d still be happy.

The months to follow after that tour, you and Bucky had continued to stay in touch. You genuinely felt happy. He was giving you attention! From daily texts and long phone conversations or video calls, some rather suggestive than most, you were able to really learn a lot about each other. While you minded his glamorous lifestyle, each interaction erased all notions of it and he was just another normal human being.

If you were being truthful, a part of you was hoping whatever the two of you had was exclusive. You didn’t want to admit it, but you were in a way reserving yourself for Bucky because you felt there was something between you two and maybe he was just like you and too shy to be the one to bring it up first.

At times you’d find yourself being the one to initiate conversation...especially when the communication started becoming less frequent. They then reduced to just Holiday texts and suddenly they’d become unresponsive and you’d even be left on read. He never flew you to Brooklyn. He never followed you back on social media. You’d accepted he was most likely busy and the excuse of not wanting to attract unwanted attention to you, but the reality of it was he had seemed to move on.

It’d been close to a year and things were really quiet. The Avengers hadn’t released anything new nor did they have an upcoming tour to rehearse for. You’re trying to not let Bucky’s silence bug you and do what you’ve always told yourself - keep living your life. You weren’t going to lie to yourself, you were angry at first for letting him get to you like that and realize that boys will be boys. They would never grow a real pair and be straight with women. They always had to go and sugarcoat everything. You had to accept it. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. You were just a one-night stand and the worst part of it was that you consented to it, so you couldn’t hold anything against him.

Things picked back up in your life, work demanded more of your time and you were dating again, taking it very slow and casual. You knew nothing more would come out of it, but it was enough to distract you from Bucky. Life was slowly returning back to normal, even though it never truly could be, until you notice Bucky is posting regularly on his social media accounts again.

It’s not so much that but is one of the comments from another user that is a constant in each sporadic post. You recognize the user as an international model from another country. Curiosity gets the best of you and you decide to check out her profile, noting all the photos of them together and realizing that while you thought Bucky went M.I.A., he was spending his free time getting cozy with her in exotic places.

Her comments start out harmless in the beginning, but quickly become more and more persistent until one sets the record straight. It read, “that’s MY man” followed by a number of heart eye emojis.

You didn’t even know Bucky and the model knew of each other, but why wouldn’t they? He was exposed to extraordinary people, so finding someone in the business was a better bet than settling with you. They lived in a totally different world than yours.

There’s a plethora of thoughts that run through your mind. This is why he isn't responding to you. He had a girlfriend, who was in a much different league than of your own, and he didn’t really go public with it on his end. It made you sad, that much you could admit to yourself because you held back for him, but you weren’t going to admit this feeling to him or your friend or the world. You were going to prove to them you’d do the same thing - move on.

It’s a rather slow day at work and you’ve resulted in mindlessly scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed, but growing tired of lame memes and life updates from people you haven’t spoken to since high school, you switch over to Twitter for a more different kind of news and also a bit of some entertainment.

You’re not expecting the particular topic to be trending - #BuckyBarnesIsCancelled. You’d manage to move on from whatever it was between you and Bucky and returned back to your daily routine. You tried to remain a fan of The Avengers, but it wasn’t the same. The fling, if you could call it, with Bucky wouldn’t let you. You’d always be grateful for how their music impacted your life, but you’d have to keep living your life despite what transpired.

Sitting up from your slumped position in your office chair, you ponder for maybe two seconds before clicking on the hashtag. Things were still pretty quiet with The Avengers, with the exception of paparazzi photos here and there, but this seemingly came out of nowhere. What stupid thing did he get himself into?

“No way,” you mock at the headline. Claims of Bucky being mentally abusive, and an addict were being made left and right.

You scrolled through the timeline and threads of replies to find the source of it all and you were shocked that it came from none other than his own girlfriend...well now ex-girlfriend you assumed. The vindictive side of you only allowed a small part in finding some humor in this, but if Bucky was any bit of the Bucky you spent the night with and got to know for those few short months then this was sad for him.

There wasn’t much you could do though. What were you to do? Send him a message of condolences of some sort? He’d probably just leave you on read. Whatever you two had was long over.

Bucky’s agency did well to defend him and save his reputation. They released one statement to clear things up. There’d been images before of him partying and no doubt high on some substance, but that didn’t prove he was an addict. Then again, did you ever really know him? You’d been exposed to that stuff around and because of him. Some people just had more access to certain things than others did.

In some time, when things leveled out once more, he seemed to be back in the clear, but at a rate where people have already decided whose story they believed over the other, whose side they were on, the damage had been done. If there was a recurring theme here, Bucky had one thing to do after the scandal - move on with his life.

It felt a little strange being here again. If you take into consideration some of the things that had already happened, a lot has really changed since you were last in a line to see The Avengers live.

The band had taken a short hiatus to let the fire die out from Bucky’s scandal. It was probably a smart move - to let people cool their jets and forget. It was last reported Bucky had turned a new leaf...something about getting help. Steve took time off to focus on other projects...something about humanitarian work. Sam released some solo stuff...something with a different sound, but still as successful. The time off was probably the best for the guys.

There weren’t as many people it seemed, but enough for them to play in one of the city’s largest venues. You suppose that’s what a span of three years could do to an artist. When the tour was announced you weren’t sure if you should buy a ticket or not, but it’d been some time since you had a night where you could forget about the stresses of the world for a few hours. Never mind the short stint between you and Bucky, you were still a fan of their music and the joyous feeling you got from it was timeless.

This time you were alone. You didn’t even tell your friend they were touring again. Bucky was almost a nonexistent topic for a good while now. Plus, she had her own life to live and couldn’t always be there next to you. You were the bigger fan after all. On top of that, she would’ve most likely have advised against you attending.

Your attire was not to impress, electing on something casual and comfortable with a simple pair of jeans, a leather jacket over a nice top that did a better job at controlling your cleavage than the last one, and cute boots. Yeah, a lot had changed, but the scene didn’t as there were still a mix of fans, old and new, over and under dressed.

The guys still had it. They looked great! They definitely belonged on the stage for the world to see. They even played a 3-song encore. You could tell they loved doing what they did and anyone who was a fan could feel the passion and energy they poured out in the performance.

You’re currently sitting in the seat of your car, head resting against the headrest as you try to unwind a little from standing for a few hours and from the walk back to the parking garage when your phone vibrates and chimes loudly.

You glance over at the device you placed next to the driving console and your eyebrows scrunch in confusion at the name that appeared. Bucky Barnes. You’d never deleted his number and his text message thread had remained at the very bottom of your messaging app all this time. A sense of apprehension flows through you as you wonder what he could possibly want. How do you just text someone after ghosting them for over a year? Not to mention to someone you did something so intimate with and made all those promises to in the past. How does one do that?

Not wanting to dwell on it any longer or slip into restless thoughts about Bucky again because it wasn’t a walk in the park to forget about him, you open the text. It asks if you were in attendance because he claimed to have seen you in the crowd. This time around you’re not overthinking about what to respond with, you simply say yes. He’d been quick with his next message asking if you were still in the area to meet up.

The wise thing would probably be to reject the invite, but you find yourself once again staring at a hotel door waiting for him to open it. Initially, you’d suggested he tell you what he wanted to say via text, but he said it was something that had to be told in person. So, having been through what you had as a result of meeting up with him in the past, you had some sense of mind this time, you’d just have to make another mental note to not jump into bed with him again. If you were being truthful to yourself, the sex tape left you feeling a little cheap. He didn’t even send it to you as some form of fucked up courtesy or assure you that it wasn’t ever going to get leaked and luckily it hasn’t. You hoped he’d deleted it.

It was almost like Deja vu. You might as well have been reliving the night the first time Bucky invited you over to his hotel room. In the beginning it was kind of awkward and quiet, and it was exactly that years later, just with added history of course.

You’d chosen to sit on the end of one of the beds while Bucky moved slowly around the room trying to gather his thoughts and where to start. He notices the change in you. You were more confident and as you should be. Bucky Barnes couldn’t intimidate you this time. He had more to be embarrassed about than you did now.

Even though you had nowhere to be in the morning, it was getting late and you really would just like to get this meeting over with and Bucky was stalling.

“Bucky, why did you invite me here?” You say, the one to break the ice. He finally stops fidgeting around and focuses on you.

“I...I wanted to apologize,” he starts off, and you’re unmoving silence allows him to continue, “I realize how much of a complete dick I was to you…”

“What do you mean?” You ask. It’s not like he spread any dirty rumors about you or anything. He didn’t need to apologize for anything that you’re aware of. Maybe for leading you on, but you came to terms some time ago that maybe he didn’t owe you an explanation or perhaps you’d never get one. Yet here you both are.

“I used you,” he explains, now you’re confused, and he can see you’re not getting it entirely, which pains him. You didn’t think anything he did with you was wrong because you consented to it. It took two to tango, right?

Except it wasn’t like that at all and he wanted you to know how he strung you along all just for a quick fuck in the beginning and to cover his tracks he acted like he cared in getting to know you afterwards not realizing something purely good could come out of it for him. The confession wasn’t meant to hurt you again, but for you to realize your worth. He messed up with someone so special.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I remembered you from years before when you tripped in front of me,” there’s a small trace of happiness in the fond memory, “...and when I saw you in the crowd that night, fuck you looked so good and you still do…” he ended up a flustered mess after that small admission.

“Where is this going?” You ask hoping he’d get back on track and reveal the rest, trying to keep the fact he admitted an attraction to you in the back of your mind.

“Right...I’ll admit my ego got the best of me. The band was doing so well, everyone noticed us! I was getting attention from all kinds of people! I got hooked to different things,” suppose those articles were true then about him getting clean, you thought to yourself, “...it does get lonely on the road and I was so desperate for anyone,” oh you hoped and prayed he wouldn’t say what he was going to say next, but he does, “...and I knew there wouldn’t be that much effort on my part to get you to sleep with me.”

Great. Your friend was right then, and he was just like any other house name artist.

“Um...okay, that’s not something I was wanting to hear about myself,” you said after letting that sink in. Did you still appear to look easy?

“No, I’m sure it’s not, but when we were alone together everything was just easy-”

“Yeah, I got that. I’m easy!” You interrupt, and now you’re angry. As he’s trying to explain his actions, you started thinking about how mad and hurt you were when he started ghosting you. You couldn’t be upset about him getting a girlfriend, but the fact that he didn’t think he could continue even being your friend and instead just chose to ignore you was the better option was hella annoying.

“That’s not what I meant!” He says trying to justify his choice of words.

“Then how did you mean it?” You demand, and Bucky is a bit stunned with your new attitude. He foresaw that he would have a difficult time in explaining himself, but he didn’t think it’d be this hard dealing with how much his actions affected you.

“Everything was easy with you because you made it easy to feel,”

“I don’t know if I understand,” you say and attempt to get up, “...maybe this was a bad idea.”

“No, please. Let me finish,” Bucky is quick to get in front of you as he pleads for you to stay. You give him a slight nod and sit back down.

“Things with you were easy in a sense that being around you I was able to just be myself. I’ve never said those things to girls before you! I didn’t have to impress you with anything flashy. I even forgot I was some rockstar! You’re an incredible person, really-”

“I’m sorry, Bucky, but I just can’t,” you say, hating to interrupt him again, but you’re not ready to hear any of this, “...none of this still doesn’t sound right. It was just one night and then how do you explain just ghosting me the moment you get a supermodel girlfriend?” that last part came out unintentionally feisty but might as well let him know how you’d felt, “You couldn’t even be my friend when you were with her! I guess it was easy to just forget me too…”

Bucky lowers his head ashamed of how he handled that and just nods in acknowledgement of his actions, “you’re right. It doesn’t make sense, but what I feel is even harder to explain...”

“None of this accounts for her,” you demand. A part of you just wanted to know where she came from. How did it happen? Who asked who out? It wasn’t important information to know about, but the urge of human curiosity was large.

“She wasn’t even my idea,” he muttered, not really wanting to talk about her.

“What?” You ask.

“Getting with her was the label’s idea,” he admits, hating he was coerced into the idea of an on-screen relationship.

You scoff at the stupidity of fake relationships in the Entertainment industry. Why did people get their rocks off over it? Were OTPs really that a big deal? Are people so bored with their own lives that they have to push corporate into bringing two people who don't have feelings for each other together? However, Bucky thinks you don’t believe him and given how little you developed in trusting him with things, he’s not entirely wrong.

“I know it was a dumb thing to agree to and it’s one of the horrors working in this business, but I know now I should’ve just been forward with you,” Bucky says, voice still riddled begging for forgiveness.

“Why couldn’t you then?” You interrogate and notice the creases of distress on his face soften. “If I made it so easy to feel, then why wasn’t it just that to tell me the truth?”

“I-I don’t know,” he replies.

“Yes, you do,” you retort, and pretend you’re going to leave, but by doing so you know it’ll only get him to spill the beans quicker.

“I was scared!” He admits, stepping in front of you and keeping you still in your place on the end of the bed.

“Scared? Of what? Me?” You ask incredulously looking up at him.

“Yes!” He says and kneels down in front of you. “You’re so perfect! You’re real! You don’t treat me like I’m some celebrity. You didn’t even participate when people started cancelling me or whatever! You could’ve and you had every right to expose me, but you didn’t!” Your act did the trick, because the words just kept coming out of Bucky.

“I’m so sorry for ignoring you, for not telling you I was with her, but the more I got to know you, a part of me got really scared that I couldn’t keep being the kind of man you deserved because of my problems,” by this point, Bucky has placed both his hands on either side of you, his arms trapping you, “...trust me, I had a lot of time to think about everything I did wrong and what harm my reckless lifestyle has on others…I just feared it was already too late, but the one thing that I always thought about that helped me get through it was the lone night I had with you. I was so happy! I wanted that again...I had to get back to that, so I invited you back to try,” you didn’t even realize how close his face was to yours. He looked so torn and you hated seeing him like that, but there was nothing you could say that could fix things right now.

Bucky now felt vulnerable and almost pathetic. Just because he wanted another shot of happiness, and with you of all people, what made it okay for him to think you wanted to try again? You weren’t so certain of what you wanted with him anymore.

“Wow,” is all you give. You’re not sure what more you could add. After all that, he actually liked you? Were you still sure you weren’t living in some fanfic world? You needed some time to think about that and much to Bucky’s expectations, you weren’t going to come to a conclusion before you left this room tonight.

“Is there anything else you want to say?” You offer him the floor, and he gets it. You’re not going to say anything particular to his confession, at least not now. He’s not upset at all. It was a lot to take in. He had time to think, and he had to respect the time you’d need now.

He nods and backs away, realizing the close proximity, “just one question,” you nod this time and let him ask, “do you regret it?”

You know what he’s referring to, sleeping with him, the sex tape, the countless conversations, meeting with him right now - everything.

“No,” you answer honestly.

He lets out a weak smile, looking down sheepishly and adds, “I’ve never done anything like this with anyone before, I promise.”

He could promise and swear up and down all he’d like, but how could you be really sure? The only response you could give him is a small, neutral hum in acknowledgement.

Bucky knew this conversation wasn’t going to go as he had hoped. He really didn’t have a plan, he just really wanted to see you again. He goes silent and you know at this point, everything was all laid out. Time would tell the rest if this was worth saving.

“I can forgive you. I know I can because in a way part of moving on allows one to do so but completing a session or doing time in rehab doesn’t really prove anything,” you said brutally honest with him, he looks up at you almost defeated and just waiting for the final blow.

“You said a lot of promising things back then and you said a lot more tonight,” you add on, and gently begin to remove his hands from the spots either side of you to let you free, and get up to head out, however not with one more thing he could reflect on, also giving him hope, “...you need to show you’ve really changed,” then the conversation was over.

In some ways, these events needed to happen. He had to hit rock bottom to learn from his mistakes and kick out the bad habit. He knew now that he had to work hard to give you a reason to trust him and maybe even in the long run be with him.

On the other hand, you had to go through this whole thing in order to not base your happiness on someone else. You could be happy on your own and open enough to be with someone that wasn’t Bucky.

For the next few months, to your surprise, Bucky had actually made an effort to keep in touch with you. It wasn’t overbearing and he minded your space as well as he could from a distance, given that he was still busy with the band and other duties that came with his status.

While at times he could be flirty, you learned it was part of his charm. Your friend wasn’t entirely thrilled when you’d admitted to her that you visited Bucky that night. You might’ve not shown it, but she knew how much his past actions affected you. Granted it did its job in teaching you a lesson and in return allowed you to be more confident and to not take anyone’s bullshit, she’d be damned if Bucky tried to pull another act like that around you again.

By now, you were comfortable enough with him to even tell him about random dates you’d gone on; none proving to be long-term, but it was nice to confide in someone else other than your best friend and get an opinion from a male perspective.

You weren’t going to lie, there was a part of you that still liked Bucky more than a friend, but you weren’t sure when it was okay to willingly go all in again with him. Sure, you’d given him another chance, but just how low could people really go to get what they wanted? Some people could just be really manipulative, and you weren’t wanting to ruin what you’ve both rebuilt for yourselves. Either way, you’d be happy with him in your life even as a friend, which is how it could’ve gone if he’d been honest from the get-go.

The year was coming to a close and you’re at your job’s annual Christmas party. You’d managed to convince your friend to be your plus one, but she claimed she didn’t need bribery because your company always ordered outstanding catering and who in their right mind would turn down free food anyways?

Aside from pretending you were having a great time talking to your co-workers, most of which whom you barely spoke to at the office and as faux-friendly as they were tonight, you felt stupid for glancing at your phone every now and then hoping to get a message from Bucky. He’d been keeping you entertained the first half of the party until he just stopped responding.

Your friend had ditched you to take advantage of the open bar several minutes ago, so you were sitting at a table alone trying not to look pathetic. You started thinking of when an appropriate time would be to leave when the Market Manager of your job took the mic. Too late, you thought to yourself and decided to get comfortable in your seat and listened to what cheesy Holiday speech they had to give, but what you hadn’t expected was a surprise guest.

“What the hell?” You said to yourself as you watched Bucky, Steve and Sam shake hands with one of your bosses before settling into what would appear as an acoustic performance.

How’d they manage to get in contact with your job? Who gave them the in? Bucky knew what you did for a living, but you never stayed on that subject long enough to think much about it. Then your friend slides into the empty seat next to you, a drink in one hand and a knowingly smirk on her lips, one that suggests she was definitely in on this act. You didn’t realize how long you’d been staring at her with a stupid look of disbelief all over your face until your name is echoed throughout the speakers.

It snaps you out of your trance and you focus your attention to Bucky on stage, a huge smile on his face. All formalities set aside, he highlights you and your friendship before jumping into their new single, which was widely popular right now. Normally, you weren’t one to take compliments easily, not used to so much attention, but the whole world disappeared with Bucky.

Once their little set was over, the majority of your colleagues enjoyed the performance and asked for photos, to which the guys were more than happy to appease to. Your friend had managed to escape your clutches once more, this time abandoning you for the dessert table. You’re not alone for long as Bucky occupies the seat left open next to you. You look around your surroundings, hoping there aren’t any more surprises in store, and practically attack him with a big hug.

Bucky’s chuckle is muffled, his face buried in your hair, as he wraps his arms around you to return the gesture. When you pull away, you’re almost left speechless, but you’re dying to know how he managed to get here. He was technically still on tour and this was not one of the passing by cities.

“How?” You ask.

“Hi to you too,” he said with a cheeky grin, to which you playfully slap his arm, and he responds with your friend’s name. He explained how he’d wanted to see you and how much he had to grovel for your friend to trust him. She’d helped him arrange a meeting with your boss, who turned out to be a huge fan of The Avengers, and even sneak them inside the building all under your nose. She wasn’t easy to persuade, but if she was convinced enough to work with Bucky on anything then you knew this meant something more.

The initial notion of wanting to leave the party immediately vanished and you wanted nothing more than to just sit there in Bucky’s company all night. Steve and Sam greeted you and you never realized that this was actually the first time meeting them formally and not outside of a venue. They weren’t rockstars to you any more than you were just a fan to them. They were Bucky’s friends, of course he’d confined to them on his end as much as you did with yours.

At some point they had excused themselves to catch the last flight headed back to Brooklyn, but Bucky had decided to stay longer. When it was time to leave, you found out Bucky hadn’t planned long enough to where he would stay the night in your city. The original plan was to fly back home with the guys and pick up on the remainder of the tour. They had a few days off, but it was just a few days shy of ending, and he couldn’t wait that long to see you.

It’s funny how life works because this time you’re the one inviting him to your place. You weren’t going to blame it on the open bar or how late it was or the underlying tension that was surrounding you two, but one thing was certain, it was mutual, and you both weren’t going to deny the attraction any longer.

You’d missed the weight of Bucky’s body on yours more than you’d realized as your hands held his face, keeping his lips attached to yours. You could taste the remnants of the unfinished drink he’d abandoned at the coffee table on his tongue. Bucky’s hands hiked your leg over his waist to get you to lie flat on your couch.

You’re the first to attempt to remove clothing by popping open the buttons of his button-up shirt before completely ridding of the item leaving him in his thin undershirt. You feel his hands slide up from your hips along your back as they dig into the minimal space the arch of your back had created for him to slowly unzip the back of your dress. With your lips both still attached, you manage to sit up, your dress falling down and bunching at the waist in the process, exposing your breasts. He couldn’t have picked a more perfect time to see you in an outfit that would not work with a bra.

Bucky curses breathlessly when he pulls his lips away from yours for a quick breather, but in the process, he takes a peek at your half naked body. You can tell he’s just itching to touch you and you take the commanding lead and place his hands on you. The atmosphere grows thicker, him kneading your breasts, you smash your lips on his in a sloppy lock.

You push Bucky down on his end of the couch and manage to kick your loose dress all the way down your legs and off your body. Bucky’s hands travel down to the curve of your ass before he grabs a handful of flesh, causing you to moan into the kiss. Your hands rake through his styled hair, the product he used unstiffening and his hair falls limp in your grasps.

Bucky’s hands started to aid your hips in moving roughly against his clothed member, desperate to relieve some friction, and you internally blushed remembering how thick he was, how full it felt to have his cock stuffed inside of you. You didn’t remain celibate during the hiatus of your relationship, you both had urges, but Bucky had really ruined others that came after him.

Your lips drifted down Bucky’s body, kissing at the skin of his chest in the pattern following the swoop-line seam of the undershirt that he was still wearing. You skipped the expanse of his toned stomach, until you’re met with the small amount of skin that peeked between his bottoms and hem of his undershirt. You slightly lift the material up and place small pecks at his lower abdomen, which causes a low groan to rumble in Bucky’s throat.

Your fingers deftly unbuckle his belt and unbutton his pants, with the zipper pulled apart, you’re marveling at the imprint of his hard cock, already twitching and staining his boxers. You manage to break your gaze and look up at Bucky, who is desperately pleading with you to proceed. Your eyes never leave his as you lower your head closer to his member, tongue darting out to the dark spot of his boxers, tasting the precum.

The contact causes him to squirm and lips form in a tight line. You pull down his pants and agonizingly peel off his boxers slowly, dragging it down to his thighs, just enough to expose him enough for you to work with before you wrap a hand around his length. Bucky’s upper body is supported by his bent elbows so he could watch you.

You kiss the tip of his leaking cock, a small string of his precum sticking to your lips when you pull back, to which you run your tongue over. Bucky’s head falls back just in time when your lips enclose the head, tongue twirling around the ridge and teasingly at the slit and loving the sound of his breath getting caught in his throat. You inch your mouth down his length and your vacant hand gets quick to work on what you’re not able to intake while the other runs up his exposed abdomen, your fingers curling in and lightly scratching down as it runs down to massage one of his thighs. You can feel the muscle in his thigh flex at your touch the more your head bobs up and down on him.

A plethora of curses spew from his mouth, but the rush of sucking his cock, the gurgling of your spit mixed with his precum and occasional choking noise when your throat contracts around him, is all you can hear from your perspective. When you part from his member, you’re breathing intensifies, desperate for more air to enter your system, eyes slightly watering, lips swollen, your hand lazily slathering the wetness all over him.

“You’re so good at that,” Bucky comments and he finally manages to pick his head back up to look at you. He reaches forward to swipe at the mess on the corner of your chin, but you’re hungry for more, and you move your head to the side to suck on his thumb, eyes closed as you hum at the taste of his skin and essence.

Your soft tongue running against the pad of his somewhat calloused thumb, it pops lightly when you release the digit, a small, devious smile on your lips as you scoot away to lie on the other end of the couch. He’s almost at aghast by this, but even back then you were just always full of surprises around him and he wasn’t going to deny the appeal of your sexual allure.

Bucky is quick to get to your side, completely riding himself off the rest of his clothes - the undershirt, pants and boxers - he had dressed to impress but right now nothing more than but overdressed. He gently parts your legs, kissing up your calves and thighs, until settles between them, you can feel his warm breath fanning against your scantily covered core.

Unlike last time, you’re not afraid to watch him and he sends you a knowingly wink, quickly ascending up to give you a sweet kiss, while his fingers slip inside your panties and between your lips. Your hips eagerly thrust upwards hoping his fingers slip in.

“Baby, we got all night,” he says cradling your face in his other hand. You let out a small whine, but regardless attempt to be patient. Bucky studies your face, mesmerized by every structure and unique feature, then what felt like an eternity, but in reality, was only a few seconds, he sinks a finger inside your wet pussy.

As soon as the gasp leaves your lips, his lips swoop in and tongue instantly dipping in search of yours. The heated kiss only heightens the sensation in the pit of your stomach, your hips losing control and every buck up into his hand, your clit rubs up against his palm, invigorating it. The curl of his finger, lightly probs at the right spot inside you, you uncontrollably squeal against his lips, with a hand against his chest you gently push his body away from yours.

“Oh my God! Fuck, Bucky…” you say with your head tilting back to the curve of the couch’s arm. You feel Bucky’s lips kiss and suck at your exposed neck as his fingers continue their handy work, the lewd noises causing your eyes to roll back.

His lips find their way next to your ear, gently nipping at it, and you could just drown at the sound of his husky breathing and filthy words. “Can I taste you?” He asks. You’re not sure why he was asking, you’d want nothing less. You nod almost instantaneously before allowing him to remove your panties.

Bucky’s hungry eyes remain fixated on your glistening core, “oh, I missed this pussy,” he comments before his tongue fondles the lips. He has a hand lying flat against one of your legs, pressed on the couch to keep them spread apart, the other blocked by his body. His routine contrasts his old with how his tongue moves in slow and calculated laps. His mouth was very talented, given whatever style he chose to play.

You’re tethering on an orgasm and Bucky wanted nothing more than to watch you come undone for him. Bucky’s fingers and tongue work in tandem and fast to help you reach a climax.

“You’re close, aren’t you?” Bucky manages to ask in between, eyes peering up at you. You don’t actually answer because you can’t concentrate from the pleasure he’s bestowing and the impending release. “Good. I want you to cum. I want all this pussy has to give,” his voice hitting a different low, even his fucking voice was so sexy. Your hands clutch on fistfuls of the couch cushions when you feel the first wave of pleasure wash over your body, your hips stilled in place as Bucky laps up at your arousal.

“The sweetest thing ever,” Bucky mutters mostly to himself, but hearing that comment only feeds your ego, which never is a bad thing in an intimate setting. Your chest heaves up and down from the impact. Just as Bucky is about to crawl back up to parallel, you stop him with a foot at his chest. He grabs your small foot in his hand and blinks at your resistance.

“Sit back,” you command. He drops your foot and watches as your body maneuvers around to climb over his. He didn’t even realize his body had complied to your demand, absolutely hypnotized by you.

You lean in for a deep kiss, one that leaves his brain a mush, yours too almost that you have to steady yourself with one hand on the couch armrest. You reach a hand down between your bodies and grab a hold of his hard cock. Your fingers tracing along the vein before you start rubbing his head through your sensitive, wet folds. Bucky’s hands lay lightly on your hips, trying with all his might to not force you to take him all the way in. A large part of him liked this dominant side of you. There was so much about you he was dying to unearth.

“Baby, please…” he begins pleading as you barely press the tip of his cock just at your entrance before you slowly lower your body down to engulf his entire length. You sit still once you’re sure you’ve bottomed out, not noticing Bucky’s fingers digging into your hips, sure enough to leave crescent marks and tiny bruises.

Bucky’s face is buried in your neck, your cheek pressed against the top of his head, lost in the mop of dark hair. You feel his cock twitch inside of you causing your hips to ground on his. He was in so deep, you weren’t sure how long you were going to last in this position, but you’d be damned if you denied it.

You start with slow swivels before sliding back and forth on his cock. Bucky’s hands released their death grip from your hips, one travelled to the front to grope at your breasts while the other supported your body settling itself on the small of your back. Your hands set themselves on the back of the couch on either side of his head, using it as leverage to ground down harder on him.

“Mm, I missed fucking this big cock,” you lean down to whisper right in his ear, “you’re so deep, Bucky.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he spits out curse after curse at your dirty words. “You gonna cum on this big cock, hmm?” He asks. The question comes as a challenge and you weren’t ready to give up the ropes to him.

“Yeah, is this big cock gonna cum inside this tight pussy?” You counter the question, speeding up your gyrations until you start to feel the burn in your thighs and stomach begin to twist. He lets out a low, long growl, his eyes lulling shut and head falling back against the couch, ready to succumb to euphoria.

“No,” you say, suddenly ceasing all movements to pull at his hair. The sharp pain in his scalp causes his eyes to snap open and look up at you. “Keep your eyes on me,” you command much like how he did with you the first time. You watch him swallow the knot in his throat and give him a wicked smile before picking back up where you left off.

Your hands are sprawled on his sweaty chest as you bounce up and down his length. Bucky’s senses are on overdrive, the way your pussy naturally hugs his cock, walls squeezing occasionally, your breasts swaying right in front of him, your skin shining from the layer of sweat coating your body, and the look of immense pleasure written all over your face because of him.

“Baby, I’m gonna cum,” he says over and over as some form of warning, hoping you’re not far behind.

The way his face contorted in ecstasy, lips parted, sweat building up on his forehead, the tip of his cock stabbing at your sweet spot, you were about to cum too. His words become a muffled mess when you attempt to silence him with a bruising kiss just as you reach your high, pussy clenching tight around his cock milking him of everything he’s got. Each spurt of his hot cum that shoots inside you causes your hips to stutter in response. Bucky attempts to keep them at bay with a hand pressed against your back, keeping your body close to him and in the process also instilling his seed is rooted deep inside of you.

“God...damn,” Bucky says short of breath when your body lies limp against his. Your arms are wrapped around his neck, you haven’t attempted to move just yet as you both sat there with his cock still buried in. When you manage to sit up, you stare back at Bucky with tired eyes, but there’s a smile on both your faces. It only slightly falters at his next words.

“I love you,” he says earnestly. Thankfully your silence doesn’t bother him, “...you don’t have to say it back,” he adds, “I just wanted you to know. You’re so special,” he proclaims and your heart leaps at the very admission. You only nod for now but give him another reassuring smile because in time you knew you could allow yourself to love Bucky and be loved by him in return. It wasn’t a conventional meeting, but this was your life, not everyone else's.

When you finally manage to pull yourself off his cock, it slips out fluidly with a trail of his cum following in suit. You knew you’d curse yourself later on, but you’re both too tired to clean the mess right now. The pair of you settle into a lying position, facing one another, encased in each other’s arms. It’s a moment of bliss as you both just lie there, his eyes closed and a smile seemingly permanently etched on his face, only around you.

“Hey Bucky,” you pipe up breaking the silence. He hums in response, “I want to know something...” you start out with.

“Anything,” he says, eyes still closed, his hand running up and down your arm, an indicator that he’s present and listening.

“What happened between you two?” Curiosity getting the best of you once more, you’re hoping this doesn’t ruin the moment, but you had to know. What went wrong? Besides, if this was going to work, he was going to have to be honest.

“Uh, she saw something on my phone…” he said cautiously, “...that involved you.” Your eyes widen at that. It couldn’t have been the sex tape you hoped.

“Bucky, no!” You gasp, sitting up and just hoping he doesn’t confirm it.

“Relax!” He says pulling you back down with him, “She was psycho. She went through my texts and saw some of the photos we used to send to each other. She must’ve thought they were recent.” He explains like it was no big deal.

Your heart stops racing slightly, you’re a bit relieved that she didn’t go as far as posting any of the photos on the Internet. You knew you were risking it by sexting with Bucky, but what was that saying? Hell hath no fury…and in a blind rage, she lashed out only on Bucky, but if she was a psycho, who knows what else she might’ve found on Bucky’s phone.

“Bucky?” you figure you might as well know now.

“Yeah…”

“What did you do with that sex tape?” You’d been dying to know if it was safely stored away or if maybe he even still watched it or just deleted it.

A big toothy grin spreads across his lips, his pearly whites on full display as he laughs at the question before he reaches over to the table next to the couch, where his cell phone rested on.

“Want to make a sequel?” He asks suggestively with a smirk on his lips and waving his phone at you, to which you playfully attempt to snatch from his grasp. He’s too quick, but nonetheless he replaces the phone in its original spot before focusing his attention on you alone.

“You don’t think this is all weird?” He questions almost hesitantly while tracing the outline of your jaw delicately. You’re not thinking that at all. You’d both been through a lot during the last few years that the only thing that was normal now was what you both had.

You shake your head in response, too tired for words, and drowning in the blissful moment. Bucky nods before declaring, “good because you make so happy,” then ending the night with sweet kisses.

“Hey, it’s me. I know you’re busy at the studio today...” you start, cell phone pressed against your ear. You’re attempting to leave a voicemail to your boyfriend, who was expecting your arrival later that day, “...but I just wanted to assure you that this isn’t weird, and I can’t wait to see you...I love you, Bucky,” you finish up the message and stuff the device into your bag just in time to hear the voice of the airline staff making the pre-boarding announcements booming loudly from the speakers.

Now boarding Group B for flight #107 to JFK Airport...final destination Brooklyn, New York.

A/N: We’ve been in quarantine for so long, I don’t remember how airport announcements are like anymore and I was only in Brooklyn last Spring…RIP to the good times.

A happy ending was weird to write in the end and I actually don’t like this particular Bucky so it could’ve gone really bad, but I said to myself, no, not this time, I can do what the title says and let them be just that - happy. I too can be happy if you give this a like, reblog or comment! Thanks for reading!

#mrwinterr writes #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x female reader #rockstar!bucky barnes #rockstar!bucky #rockstar!au #bucky barnes #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan fanfic #so happy

401 notes · View notes

ackercrushing · 3 years

Text

A Little Wager

Ok, I don't usually write. If I do, I rarely complete it. I either have grand ideas that just don't come out or I read something similar that scratches that itch and I don't have to write anymore. But this little fluff nugget has been my constant daydream for a while. There are no warnings for this. It's lighthearted and fun. I suck at writing smut so I doubt I'll continue it. If someone wanted to pick up where I left off and do a shower scene, I would LOVE that! Anyway, here it is. Be gentle :)

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

It was mid afternoon when you and your squad made it to the training grounds. Captain Levi’s squad was supposed to be done in the next half hour. You like to get your squad there early when the special forces are training to provide a little inspiration.

You choose Emily to lead the squad in stretches before they hit the course. All the while, they’re watching Levi’s soldiers expertly soar through the air completing maneuvers it will take years for your squad to accomplish. While stretching, you hear the oohs and aaahs, sometimes shocked gasps as another soldier completes in flight stunts that look impossible. You notice Levi, arms crossed, watching them intently. He never has to yell out instruction or commands. His squad is a well-oiled machine.

“Alright guys, what’s the bet today?” you ask your team, breaking their reverie.

“Isn’t it your turn to pick, Captain (y/l/n)?” asks the unofficial leader of the squad, Leo. “Besides, every time we come up with a bet, it’s almost guaranteed defeat.”

“I’m not stupid guys. The tasks get harder depending on what we bet. If you bet I walk topless through the mess hall at dinner time, Malcolm (glancing over to the brave boy who dared make that wager), you better believe I’m giving you a nearly impossible task.” Malcolm blushes.

“It was worth a shot.” He says sheepishly. Amelia punches his arm playfully saying “That’s gross Malcolm, she’s our squad leader.”

“Anyway, I think you’ll like this offer. How about you nail all your maneuvers I assigned last week and two more surprise tasks, and I’ll do all your laundry for a week?” While this bet wasn’t as exciting as a topless Captain at dinnertime, it did get the squad’s full attention. You knew some of them were wearing clothing for the second, maybe third time between washes and they stunk! This bet was more for you than anyone.

The slight turn and side eye from Levi let you know he wasn’t watching his squad as intently as you thought. He was eavesdropping.

“But you have to land properly. No biffing the landings!” You add, hearing groans from some of your soldiers. More groans when you tell them the surprise maneuvers they are to complete. They’re difficult but not impossible for their skill level.

“All right guys, I think this is doable.” Leo chimes in, pumping up his squad mates. Some were already looking defeated, having the most difficulty with their landings. They all circled up and started motivating each other. Levi might have the elite group, but no one could rival your squad in the heart department. These guys gave it their all every time, training or battle.

You had a way with these “kids” as you called them that few squad leaders did. They loved your inclusiveness and your no-blame leadership style. You made sure they knew they were a team. Mistakes were learning opportunities, even the fatal ones. Those most of all. And they did happen to all Scout squads. It was just the nature of the job.

“OK Captain (y/l/n), we accept the bet! Get the soap ready! Let’s do this!” The whole squad was pumped and ready. You couldn’t help but grin and hope that you had a lot of laundry to do this week.

“Alright, it’s on. Keep stretching and warming up!” you say as you walk over to join Levi and watch the last of his team’s maneuvers.

“Well, your team is certainly inspiring some young ones today.” You grin and bump his shoulder.

“Is that why you’re always early?”

“Yes sir, I’ll take all the motivation we can get.”

“So what’s up with that bet? Sounds like a recurring thing with you.” He asks, never taking his gaze from his flyers.

“All the motivation I can get, right? They really respond well to the bets we make.”

“Did I hear mention of a bet that would have had you walk topless through the mess hall at dinner time?” This question did pull his gaze to you with raised eyebrows. You couldn't help the blush that stained your cheeks.

“That was never going to happen.” You outline the tasks you gave your squad that day.

“Yeah, that would be hard for my group to accomplish.” Levi smirks. “Would you like to join us during our next training session? Maybe my squad would like to try betting on something.”

“That would be amazing! Thank you!” You are beaming. Training with the elites will certainly boost your squad’s morale.

“Alright, day after tomorrow at 1pm.”

“It’s a date.” tumbles out of your mouth. Levi briefly side eyes you with a slightly scrunched brow at your choice of phrase but continues walking to his squad for their debrief. You are blushing thinking he might have taken that the wrong way. Oh well, nothing to do now but show up at 1pm in two days. Your squad was going to freak out!

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

The joint training sessions became a regular once a week thing with the two squads. The bets initially started out pretty tame. Levi and you lost several but when they were “Do 100 push ups” or “Clean all the floors in the barracks”, it was ok. Neither of you minded losing those. But the soldiers started getting braver with their wagers.

You knew something interesting was in the works when you see Sasha Braus bouncing on her heels and clapping her hands before you both even make it over to them.

“Alright Sasha, what do you have for us today?” Asks Levi, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

“Ohhhh, this is a goooood one!” Her voice quivers with excitement. “If we complete all our maneuvers flawlessly, landings included, Captain (y/l/n) has to do 10 push ups.” She’s so excited, she can hardly continue.

“Sasha, that’s not a challenge.” You add, knowing there has to be more to it. You notice Jean, Conny, and Eren look slightly uncomfortable.

“That’s not all! With every push up, you and Captain Levi have to KISS!” She literally squeals. Your eyes grow large.

“Sasha, that only works if both parties are consensual.” You roll your eyes, knowing Levi will not agree to this.

“What do you mean Captain (y/l/n)? You wouldn’t consent to that?”

The phrase you could hear a pin drop is very apropos in this moment as all eyes are on Levi with gaping mouths. You could swear you heard the wind of heads turning.

“You mean to tell me YOU consent to that?” You ask incredulously.

Levi takes your arm and pulls you aside. “The task fits the bet, right? Here’s what we’ll have them do.” He outlines his plan and the butterflies in your stomach still. But you’re not sure if you’re relived or disappointed knowing your squad will definitely not be able to pull this off. Were you hoping to lose this one?

“Perfect. Let’s tell them.” You grin.

You both walk back over, and Levi lays out the maneuvers they’ll have to perform in order to win the bet.

They are obviously shaken but the elites take the young ones aside, and after a 10-minute pep talk and possible strategy session, they return and accept your conditions. Is this task as difficult as Levi thought? They seem pretty confident. "We accept!" Sasha yells.

Levi looks at you and winks. “Alright, get going then.” In pairs, the two squads enthusiastically enter the training arena.

The last teams are nearly finished. You look over at Levi nervously. All the pairs assigned to you were flawless. How could that be? The elites really were inspiring, but you realized you might have been going a little too easy on your team. What a sight to behold. And your squad was so proud of themselves. You would have made a bet to kiss a titan for this!

Levi’s mouth is agape as he slowly turns his head to look at you. You both just stare at each other in disbelief, his expression saying everything you needed to know. His group was flawless as well.

“Holy shit.” You mumble under your breath, heat now creeping up your neck, your palms sweaty already.

Levi regains his composure, that cool mask of confidence back on his face and in his stance. He strides toward you looking way more collected than you feel.

“Alright, new strategy.” He says, a sneaky glimmer in his eye. “They didn’t say what kind of kiss, right?”

You pause for a second, realizing what he’s saying and your breath that you didn’t know you were holding is released in a relieved sigh. Is relieved the right word?

“I know where you’re going with this.” You say shaking your head.

“Every time you lower yourself, I’ll turn my head and you kiss somewhere on my face. Forehead, cheeks, nose. We’ll keep them guessing.”

“They’re going to be so mad!”

“They should have thought of all the loopholes before they finalized the deal.” Levi stated coolly with a shrug.

Sasha, back to bouncing and clapping, yells “Ok you two! Assume the position!”

"This is stupid.”-Conny

“I don’t think I can watch this.”-Eren

"Why does Captain Levi get to do the kissing?" -Jean

Meanwhile the girls are giggling messes of anticipation.

Levi lies on the ground, hands casually behind his head like he’s relaxed and getting ready for an afternoon nap. Huh, to feel that relaxed right now. You crawl up his body, your knees straddling his hips and your hands to either side of his neck. Hoots and hollers from the two squads do not help the blush on your face. You raise to plank position, then slowly lower yourself.

Levi’s head remains still until the last second, then turns to the right, offering his cheek for the first kiss. You lightly feather his skin with your lips before returning to plank.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Sasha sounds so defeated.

“You didn’t specify what kind of kiss Sasha. Let this be a lesson to you. Negotiate better next time.” Levi says smugly. “I want to hear you count! That was 1, 9 to go!”

The next 4 kisses were met with increasingly under enthused counting as the cheek, nose, and forehead barely-there-pecks were administered.

At the start of the 6th, Levi says to you “My turn.” Your eyes narrow in confusion and he clarifies “I’m going to kiss you now. Move however you prefer.” You nod, really just wanting this to be over with. You agree with the squad that this is underwhelming.

You move your head so kisses land on both cheeks, your forehead, and your nose. Time for the final kiss. As you start to lower your body, Levi removes his hands from behind his head and places them on either side of your face. Your eyes widen when he says “Let’s give them a little something more, huh?” You feel those butterflies again as you nod your head in agreement. And time passes in slow motion. You continue lowering until your lips meet Levi’s. At first, the kiss is just a brushing of your lips together. Levi gently pulls your face away just a bit to look you in the eyes, then lowers you again, this time kissing you properly. You can’t feel anything else. Your body feels weightless. His lips part and his tongue grazes your bottom lip. You open your lips to him and the kiss deepens, tongues swirling and gliding together. There’s no one else here but the two of you. The gasps and cheers from the combined squads don’t reach your ears. You have no idea how long this kiss lasts but you can honestly say you don’t want it to end.

The only thing to break the spell is Eren saying “Geez, are they going to come up for air?” Levi reluctantly pulls away after a few more brief kisses. You slowly raise your body, as your eyes open and lock with Levi’s. “Damn” he mutters softly. You can’t help but grin a little as you complete your final plank. You blink your eyes a few times, trying to rid yourself of the spell Levi’s put you under. You push up to your feet, face flushed and lips swollen. You offer a hand to Levi, who takes it, even though he doesn’t really need it to get off the ground. Once vertical, you expect him to release your hand, but instead, he intertwines his fingers with yours and says “Ok kids, show’s over. Hit the showers.” The soldiers don’t miss the fact that you’re still holding hands as they depart. Sasha and Mikasa keep looking over their shoulders, hoping they won’t miss anything else.

Levi whispers in your ear “What do you say Captain? Ready to hit the shower too?”

#levi x reader #aot #aot fluff #levi ackerman #levi fluff

74 notes · View notes

rosemary-is-in-pesterquest · 3 years

Note

HS2's themes are fuckin wack crap cuz like... idk it all starts with the epilogues, right? the thing that the epilogues are trying to say is that all conflict that the characters face within the narrative is there because the audience cast their gaze upon this story and demanded entertainment. something has to happen on the stage to keep us watching, thus, it is the audience's fault that the characters suffer. but that's bullshit for so many reasons. for one thing, it ignores the role of the author. audience demand doesn't force an author's hands to write... that's a decision that the author made. we could've lived with nothing at all.

and conflict comes in many flavors. some stories hardly have any conflict at all. the whole iyashikei genre exists, like, I think we're well past understanding that cynicism, tragedy, and destruction are not the only forces that can drive a narrative. "conflict" is not the only reason for a story to be told. once again, stories tell us as much about the author as their audience. the kind of story an author deems worthy of telling is just as relevant to consider as the kind of story an audience deems worthy of attention.

and even in conflict driven stories... it matters what the conflict is, who wins, how, and why. as a simple example, when the conflict is a battle between good and evil, good wins, it does so by way of the power of friendship, and the reason it is presented this way is to promote the idea that you should be kind and help others... that's a story with a purpose. obviously this is like, children's cartoon level simple, and a story can be written to say different or more complex things, but I should always be able to ask those questions and come up with an answer.

if, as an author, Hussie wanted to accuse his audience of being culpable in the suffering of his characters, he would at least have to present the reader with a meaningful choice. and at first glance, it would almost seem like he did. meat and candy, even by their naming convention, seem as though they are giving you the option to consume a light or dark tale. but even in the names, there is a seed of judgement. Hussie has described the concept of a narrative containing both "meat" and "candy" in terms of story content, wherein meat is anything heavy in terms of plot or drama, and candy is anything that provides levity as a counterbalance, such as jokes or feel good fluff. these categories are already identified as "substance" vs. "a lack of substance" which places value on the cynical, dark route as being more truthful... conflating cynicism with realism.

and already I can see making a case for the idea that neither route is legitimate, because no story should subsist on just one or the other... both need to be at play for the story to be balanced. and you could even argue that the lampooning of the epilogues' legitimacy was the point... that they were supposed to be outside of canon and regarded as illegitimate all along. but then not only does that negate the author's ability to let the audience choose the kind of story they're participating in, but the story itself doesn't play by its own rules.

does candy truly read like some fluffy pandering fanservice filler, the way one might expect it to? and is meat totally devoid of any levity, while focusing only on plot machinations and/or the characters' dramatic downward spiral? I would argue that, even though the consensus seems to be that both routes are equally dismal, neither even gets dark enough to live up to that end of the bargain either. the execution is messy... the concept doesn't hold up.

and what of the initial concept? that the audience's observation of a story forces the characters to enact a conflict for the sake of our entertainment? is that really what's going on here? from the initial pitch, you could already tell that the answer was no. nobody asked for this. and so we cast our apparently destructive audience gaze onto Homestuck 2.

but there, we find another curveball. the story is... almost becoming self aware? in that it casts a character in the role of the author, and also identifies him firmly as the villain. but see, this is still a blame shift. and maybe that would've been less obvious if Andrew Hussie had not introduced himself as a character inside of his own web comic throughout the original narrative. the true author is already here.

the villain of homestuck was never the audience, and it was never a fictional character. if we're really shattering the 4th wall... if we're really ceasing our suspension of disbelief, pulling back the curtain, and acknowledging that these characters are fabricated, manipulated entities with real people behind the wheel, then there is only one conclusion we can possibly come to. the author has control over the narrative... no one else. and the things the author chooses to say with the platform they've made for themselves? those things are on them. what are we to understand about the author, as his audience?

this is why people are looking past the story entirely and engaging with the creative team, for better or for worse. if you break your story enough, it won't work anymore. and when the audience finds it in shambles, completely unusable as a story... you know, the thing it was intended to be? they might actually look to the people who broke it and ask them why they did that. it was a nice story. it performed several functions that people actually enjoyed. was dismantling it like this really the most fulfilling thing they could've done with it?

and I'll tell you another thing. part of why people take it so personally is because, just like how Andrew Hussie, the homestuck character, was a stand-in for Andrew Hussie, the human being... many of the characters in homestuck were stand-ins for us. John Egbert was for people who had an obsessive nerdy interest in movies, Rose was for people who wrote fanfiction, Nepeta was for people who ship characters a lot, she and Terezi were for people who RP, and also... Dave was for people who were trying to act cooler than they felt, Jade was for people who were lonely, Kanaya was for people who wanted to help people and be accepted, Vriska was for people who were hard to love and felt judged for that.

who do these writers think they're messing with?

and I just want to make it clear that I'm not condoning any kind of harassment of them, or anything like that. ultimately, my point here is that we are not our effigies. and in the same way that an author can't blame shift onto a fictional character, a person cannot claim the direction of a fictional story as a reason to do real harm.

but homestuck was always unique in that it spoke very directly to its audience. when Hussie added real pieces of us to his fake people, he had a powerful vehicle for the messages that he wanted us to hear. lots of stories have characters that are written to be relatable, but you'd be hard pressed to find ones that feel quite so specific as the cast of homestuck. to our era. to our humor. to the values of people growing up in our online cultural circumstances.

if this specific author is going to choose to act like a villain, at least in the small-scale context of this comic, then what is that setting us up to be? maybe nothing so presumptuous as a hero... maybe just like, Dave of Guy, y'know? but Dave made normal a pretty heroic thing to be... I think it's up to us to just be normal and have normal fun, in spite of the shit show. regular old homestuck already said all the valuable stuff it was gonna. for my part, I'm just gonna take that and run off with it. ignoring HS2 doesn't make it go away, but paying attention to it doesn't make it good either... so I guess whatever.

that's the themes. the themes are just a big "so what" shrug. most complicated way to say "who cares" I've ever seen.

This is a really good analysis

#long post /#I should probably start using that tag just in case it clogs up people's feeds

72 notes · View notes

grabthemhorns-old · 4 years

Note

Damn, I can't hide over here xD In any case, if you're still up for it, how about doing the alphabet for Beel and/or Belphie?

Smut Alphabet - Belphie

Here’s my one for Belphie :3 he’s my fav boi, so this is a bit spicy and my fav one.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

- You’ve never been snuggled and cuddled as much after sex as with Belphie. He wraps himself around you like he’s afraid you’ll leave or let go. He nuzzles into your neck, peppering it with kisses, soft, sleepy moans tickling your neck before he quickly falls asleep, moulded against your body, the warmth of his breath rhythmic against your skin. He’s nearly always first to fall asleep, and you don’t mind, happy to watch him fall away in your arms with a smile that’s only for you.

If the sex has been particularly rough though, he’s attentive, gentle, making sure any hurts are kissed away, touched away, and embraced. It’s these times that you’re first to sleep. He watches you, making sure you’re absolutely okay afterwards.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

- Belphie loves his Demon visage. His horns, his tail, his marks. He LOVES it when you touch any of them for any excuse.

Grab onto his horns while riding him; stroke them gently while he lazily gives you oral; pull his tail while you peg him; bite into where his demon birth marks are, making your own mark. He loves it because it reaffirms that you love his demon form too, and that you’re no longer afraid.

-He loves your thighs, he loves burying himself between your legs, with horns out and not, feeling warm and cosy, kissing, licking, drawing his claws lightly up and down the skin so lightly it tickles. He’ll happily tease you for so long between your thighs, his soft laugh rumbling against your skin.

But also...your neck. It’s fragile - a beacon of your mortality-, beautiful, a memory bad....that you both turn good. He loves the way he can feel and see your heartbeat against the skin; the way the skin feels thin beneath his lips, and the rumble of your voice, your moans as he touches you.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

- Usually, the lazy boy prefers to finish inside. And especially in your mouth. It just feels so good. But he has a particular preference for covering your face as messily as he can. He quite enjoys the favour being returned too.

Belphie will lazily clean up with his tongue if he’s in the mood.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

- He wants to share you with Beel, aka, threesome.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

- Belphie’s had plenty of experience. Maybe not as much as some of his brothers - his laziness taking over - but he knows what to do. Even with humans, since he used to visit the human realm a lot. But it’s been a while, and demon and human bodies need different treatment he’s soon reminded.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

- Anything that’s incredibly intimate. Limbs tangled, looking at you, close enough to kiss. Probably side to side.

His other favourite is you on top, riding. So he can lay back and watch you in all your glory, his tail wrapped around you to steady you, his hands wandering as he pleases.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

- Belphie is more serious during sex, as he’s come to claim it as a time to grow and build with you. If he is humorous, it’s darker humour during your more kinky sessions, with that low, slow laugh you’ve come to know and love.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

- He trims himself mostly. He asks you what you prefer and does as such, happy to please you. There’s a white streak down there too, just like his hair.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

- Lots of Belphie’s guilt and regret comes through initially during your sex, and it’s intense. He wants to make it up to you, showing you how sorry he is, how much he wants to repent and love you. It almost spills into absolute adoration at times, and although you enjoy it, you remind him that this relationship is both ways. You make sure there’s time for him too - to nurture the fragility of his heart and mind as you both heal together, your unexpected love the gold between the cracks.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

- Being lazy, he doesn’t do it too often, but when you arrived the frequency did increase. He used to do it when you visited him in the attic behind the door, when he was manipulating you. He got off on it.

Then after it all, he didn’t do it for a while, the guilt weighing on him, but as he realised your smile for him was really real, he let himself jack off to the thought of you again, this time to just, kissing you, to holding you, to just wanting you.

He sometimes lazily jacks off in the morning if he wakes up before you.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

- Choking and breath play. Belphie loves to use his tail to do so. And you both use it to make the bad memories of his hands around your neck, to good. It might take a while for you to trust him to do it - or you might crave it from the start - but however you do it, it’s one of his biggest kinks, and he loves that he can do it from lying on his back while you ride him too, as well as so up close he can feel the breaths he’s stealing away.

- TW: consensual somnophilia.

Another one he loves, is consensual somnophilia. He brings it up with you and you talk it through. He loves the idea of you sleeping and touching you, feeling you, waking you up with his mouth between your legs; with his fingers sticky. And he wants the same. He wants to be lazily woken with your lips around his cock, or pushed on his back, while you fumble on top, watching as his eyes slowly open, as his tail feels before his hands.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

- Either of your beds. Cushion piles. The sofa. Soft spaces that Belphie loves to nap on are his favourite places to have sex.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

- Touching and teasing. He loves it when you’re snuggled on the sofa or chair, or standing in the kitchen and being handsy, whispering against his ear. He loves it if the teasing lingers on for hours, or if it happens in places and moments that you both absolutely can’t do anything about it. If you tease him from afar, say in the RAD classroom, bending over, glancing from afar, crossing legs, showing off your neck, your thighs; sending dirty texts and nudes are a huge YES, and doing it throughout the day, as a long, long build up until you both see each other again into an explosion of fucking, is one of Belphie’s fav things.

-Dirty talk. Especially doing it in public places and situations like above.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

- There is very, very little Belphie won’t do. He is up for a LOT.

A turn off is probably whips as it reminds him somewhat of Lucifer. But he can improvise.

He also has a thing about being restrained himself and anything that makes him too claustrophobic due to being locked up. He enjoys bondage on you, but on him not so much.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

- Being a lazy boy, Belphie does a preference to receive, but when he gives, he gives good. He gives his all, for a long, long time, until you are absolutely spent. Part of it is from his favourite body part being your thighs, and he’s nestled comfortably right between them.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

- Slow and sensual is the default for Belphie. He loves to feel every movement and touch with you, taking in each curve and edge. Even when you’re both being kinky or rough, it’s often sensual and slow. You’d think it was just his laziness, the sloth of his mantle, but Belphie wants to etch every detail of you, to take in all of you now that he has you. He doesn’t want to forget a thing.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

- Belphie doesn’t do many quickies. He’s much more a fan of the build up of teasing, tension, to later when you can both go to your bed, cushions or somewhere that’s yours, and spend as long as you want to fuck. Sometimes though, his impatience will win over and he’ll drag you away. He’s more a fan of oral quickies.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

- Yes! Belphie is into trying new things with you that you neither of you have tried. There’s quite a bit he’s done with previous Devildom partners that he’s keen on trying with you - but he’s a little nervous about your human body, especially remembering how easily he broke it before.

He’s often the one to suggest new - and kinky - things.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

- Despite his mantle, Belphie can go as long as you need as as he wants during sex. Being a demon has its advantages. He will sleep even longer afterwards though to recover, and needs longer in-between each orgasm than others. He might not have the stamina to go and go and go, but he has it when it counts.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

- Belphie owns lots of toys! He’s a big fan. If he’s feeling particularly tired or lazy, he enjoys that a toy can do the work for him, and vice versa. You understand, and indulge him in this, buying new and fun toys for you both that you can share and enjoy together. He particularly enjoys using them on you, and also watching you use them on yourself until he gets the energy to join in or take over.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

- As we covered before, teasing is a BIG fav of Belphie. Between you both. The build up to sex is one of his favourite things and the teasing is a big part of that for Belphie. Also, having the upper hand in the teasing too is his favourite.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

- Belphie is usually quiet. He has low, longing moans that he loves to sound into your ear or against your neck with a kiss. He likes to muffle himself that way, or into a pillow or just against you somehow. He loves to encourage you to be loud though, to hear just how good he’s making you feel.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

- Belphie can cum solely from stimulating his horns when he’s really turned on, and sometimes the base of his tail.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

- Demon cocks relate to their visage. They have scales? So does their cock.

Belphie’s birth mark spreads over his cock too, the black patches wrapping around the thick length with skin that is rougher than you’re used to. His tip is unique. It’s split, as if there’s two heads and it’s hella fun to suck, and the first time you felt it inside, it was wild. He didn’t feel self conscious about it when you first got together, as you hadn’t been the first non demon he’d been with, but he did warn you things would be...different.

He is also pierced. At the tip and once along the shaft. It's not his only body piercings, but you love how they feel in you and against your tongue.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

- His sex drive is high, but his motivation can be low sometimes from his mantle of Sloth. Your teasing together often negates that though.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

- Belphie falls asleep VERY quickly after. He loves just sinking into your arms, feeling loved, satisfied, and whole. He’s so used to falling asleep, but this time it’s different. He’s needed, wanted, and trusted.

There are times though, when he stays awake, watching until you’re asleep, stroking your hair, listening to you breathe. There’s never really been a time when he didn’t want to sleep, but with you, he’d happily stay awake forever, watching, waiting, in love.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me belphegor #obey me masters #belphegor #belphie #obey me belphie #belphie/mc #replies #ask desdi #v-witchd-2332

556 notes · View notes

ploppythespaceship · 4 years

Text

In Defense of Will Riker

Riker gets such an unfair reputation in the Star Trek fandom. So many people genuinely can’t stand the guy, which is their right. He can be a somewhat boring character with a strange and even nonexistent character arc. But a lot of this dislike stems from the idea that Riker is a sexist, misogynistic creep who is actively trying to get into the pants of every woman he meets. Which is so far from the truth, I don’t understand how it’s still the perception.

First of all, we’ve done this song and dance with Kirk before. Enjoying dating and sex does not make someone a creep. If everyone involved is a consenting adult, it shouldn’t matter who you’re dating and/or sleeping with.

Secondly, TNG goes out of its way to show that Riker is a great guy. If you actually go through his episodes and look at how he treats both the women he works with and the women he’s interested in, you’ll see that he always treats them with respect. And in instances where he has an easy opportunity to take advantage, he never does it. Because Will Riker is a gentleman who drinks his respect women juice.

I’m so sick of this argument that under the cut I’ve compiled all of Riker’s important relationships with women on the show to demonstrate exactly what I mean.

I pulled most of these from the relationships section of Riker’s Memory-Alpha page, which is pretty thorough, and a few just from memory since I rewatched the whole show pretty recently. I don’t think anything relevant has been left out, but feel free to let me know if you think of something else. I’m all for some civil discussion of these things! Emphasis on civil.

Deanna Troi

Starting with the big one! The very first episode establishes that they have a romantic history, and have since split up. The details of their relationship are pretty scarce, but it’s clear that they had an intense, intimate connection. Initially they’re awkward but professional around one another, and this eventually softens into genuine friendship. They are close, possibly closer than anyone else on the ship. But Will never, not once, pressures Deanna into romance with him. He is entirely respectful towards her. In a few episodes they’re possibly shown to be dating again (it’s unclear) but Deanna gives no indication of being uncomfortable with this arrangement. When they officially get back together in the films, their feelings are clearly mutual and neither is being pressured into anything.

Frankly, Will and Deanna are an excellent example of a healthy relationship with one’s ex, respecting boundaries while maintaining closeness. The two of them are always shown supporting each other. It always bugs me that people think there’s something insidious going on here. Will isn’t just trying to get back into her pants. He genuinely loves and respects her.

And it’s worth mentioning that in “Second Chances”, when Deanna is interested in dating the alternate version of him (later known as Thomas), Will clearly isn’t thrilled about it, but also respects her decision and does nothing to intervene. When she talks to him about it, he is very clear that he does not expect her to ask for his opinion or for his approval, and that as long as she’s happy, he supports her.

Tasha Yar

Frankly they don’t have many distinct interactions that I recall, but Riker treats her the same as he treats everyone else on the crew. He is respectful of her, her rank, and her position.

Beverly Crusher

Not a hint of romance in their relationship. They are friends with a healthy connection built on mutual trust. Again, he is respectful of her, her rank, and her position.

Kathryn Pulaski

You can copy paste everything I said about Crusher, tbh. They’re friends and quite respectful of one another. Nothing untoward happening here.

Lwaxana Troi

Lwaxana flirts with Riker sometimes. Cause she flirts with everyone. Though she leaves him alone a bit more since he’s involved with her daughter. And yet again, Riker is entirely respectful of her, though he does gently have to tell her to back off at times. Eventually they settle into the classic son-in-law / mother-in-law relationship.

Beata (“Angel One”)

Does this episode suck? Yep. Is this relationship awkward as hell? God, yes. Is Riker being misogynistic? Nope! He actually goes out of his way to be respectful of this matriarchal society’s customs, even wearing an outfit that many in his culture would consider demeaning. Not to mention, Beata is primarily the one coming onto him, not the other way around. He’s simply reciprocating. It might be poor judgment, but it’s again entirely mutual and consensual.

Minuet (“11001001″)

Riker goes into the holodeck to relax, and then meets a nice holograhic lady to help him do just that... and people get mad that he enjoys that? Minuet is programmed specifically for this. Not to mention the Bynars literally designed her to be irresistible for him. Of course he’s gonna be besotted with her. And, issues of hologram sentience aside (Trek hadn’t delved too deelpy into it by that point), this is once again entirely consensual.

Minuet does pop up again in “Future Imperfect”, sort of, simply because Barash needed to choose a figure to serve as Riker’s late wife. With someone unable to distinguish holodeck memories from real ones, Minuet would seem like a perfectly reasonable choice.

Brenna Odell (“Up the Long Ladder”)

This is an entirely consensual one night stand. The feelings are clearly mutual. Even while they’re bickering, it’s obvious there’s an attraction underneath it, on both sides. Again, their fling might be poor judgment, but absolutely not misogyny.

Yuta (“The Vengeance Factor”)

This is one of the few episodes where I can see why their relationship might make some viewers uncomfortable, but I also think it’s the most telling as to why Riker is not the creep people assume him to be.

The cultural and status differences between them place Riker at a clear power advantage compared to Yuta, which makes for an imbalance. Yuta is a servant, and her entire mindset is that of serving others. Having a relationship on equal footing with someone like Riker is entirely foreign to her, and she struggles against her instincts to follow all of his wishes without question. That being said, Riker does basically everything he possibly can to address and negate that imbalance. He does his utmost to respect her and her position. He doesn’t force her into anything she isn’t ready for. Any time she tries to fill the role of a servant for him, he stops her to explain that he wants her to be his equal. You could argue that this relationship is inappropriate regardless, because the power imbalance still exists whether he wishes it to or not, but I think it’s important to note how dedicated he is to not taking advantage of this girl.

And of course, at the end of the episode he is forced to choose duty over love and must kill her, but it’s hardly his fault that she’s a secret assassin.

Lal (“The Offspring”)

He flirted with her while unaware of who she was, and stopped immediately upon realizing. And she kissed him, not the other way around. Just look at his face! He clearly didn’t expect that. He did absolutely nothing wrong here. Using this brief scene against his character is just absurd.

Commander Shelby (“The Best of Both Worlds”)

For some reason the consensus in this episode is that Riker is rude to Shelby because she doesn’t want to sleep with him. And that’s just a complete and utter misread of the episode.

First, there is absolutely no indication that Riker is romantically interested in her. Nor does she does not reject his advances, because no advances are even made. Second, Riker gets short with Shelby at times because she has been assigned to work under his command, and she’s questioning his decisions and generally being difficult to work with. It’s literally his job to call people on things like that. That being said, he’s never particularly rude to her -- at least, no more rude than she is to him. They also grow into mutual respect by the end of the episodes, to the point where he trusts her to serve as his first officer.

Lanel (“First Contact”)

( TW: rape mention )

Quite frankly the next person to point to this episode as evidence of Riker’s misogyny is getting slapped. She. Raped. Him. Full stop. He needed to escape, she offered to help if he slept with her, and he agreed because at the time it was the only way to save his life. Consent under duress is not consent. He does not appear comfortable with the arrangement, and his joking afterwards is forced. So let’s just stop holding this episode up as proof of Riker’s sexism, mkay? He was undeniably the victim here.

Carmen Davila (“Silicon Avatar”)

There’s not much to glean from their brief interaction where Riker asks her to dinner, but again: feelings are mutual. Everyone’s consenting. Nothing untoward happening here. Besides, she’s killed not five minutes into the episode, so it doesn’t particularly matter.

Etana Jol (“The Game”)

Riker’s having a fling with her on Risa. Because that’s what you do on Risa. You go vacation and have fun, and if you so choose, you can find someone else there wanting to have fun. And you have some sexy fun together. That’s just how it goes on Risa.

Also, she’s revealed to be playing him and literally brainwashes him to access the Enterprise. So the situation is not entirely within his control. Again, let’s not blame the victim here.

Ro Laren

There’s clearly sexual tension between them in some episodes, which mostly comes across as bickering. Riker is sharp with her when he needs to be, as a commander, but also tells her when she’s done a good job. The only time they sleep together is in “Conundrum”, when all their memories are erased. Therefore they’re unaware of the context that a romantic relationship isn’t entirely appropriate. When they remember again, they are awkward but respectful of one another, and now have a stronger friendship for it. And I’ll say it for the umpteenth time: mutual and consensual.

Soren (“The Outcast”)

This episode is controversial as hell, and it’s always a tricky one to dive into. But as far as Riker’s relationship with Soren is concerned: there’s honestly nothing bad happening here. He is respectful of her culture and is impressed by her as a pilot and scientist. Though he clearly has feelings for her, it’s unclear if he would have been the first to pursue them, because she confesses hers for him first. Before then, he was entirely professional with her. Only when their mutual attraction is confirmed does Riker actually pursue a relationship with her.

(Side note, that conversation is also when she comes out to him as female.(Yes, Riker was attracted to her before knowing she was female! At the time he believed her to be androgynous/non-binary. Which makes him canonically not straight.)

Additionally he is 100% respectful of her gender -- one of the only people to do that, in fact -- and does what he can both to respect her culture while also supporting her and her journey. He’s genuinely gutted when she’s forced to conform to the expected gender of her society, and isn’t allowed to be who she truly is.

Don’t get me wrong, this episode is a hot mess in many other aspects, but Riker’s treatment of Soren is one of the few things it got right.

Kamala (“The Perfect Mate”)

Is this episode super uncomfy with an almost laughably sexist plot? Oh yeah. But can we blame Riker for anything? Not really. Kamala can read men to make herself everything they desire -- the perfect mate, as the episode’s title says. Naturally this extends to her scenes with Riker as well. She flirts with him, comes onto him, and he’s clearly very into it. They kiss briefly, he’s tempted -- and then he stops her, because he knows this isn’t appropriate and she’s promised to someone else.

Let me say that again: Riker has a perfectly willing woman in front of him, who is literally doing everything in her power to be as appealing to him as possible. She is right there for him to have if he wants. Which he does. And he still tells her no, to keep a clear professional boundary between them. It would have been so easy to take advantage of that and later say she was too irresistible. Yet he didn’t.

Amanda Rogers (“True Q”)

Amanda is a young girl, 18 at the oldest, when she arrives aboard the Enterprise. She’s pretty enamored with Riker, cause she’s a kid who doesn’t have a great sense of what’s healthy/appropriate and what’s not yet. Riker is very aware of this, and does absolutely nothing to encourage her. He sets boundaries where appropriate and is obviously just waiting for her crush to die down, so he doesn’t have to hurt her feelings. When Amanda really starts to make moves on him, he very clearly tells her no. She actually starts to force him to play out her romantic fantasies using her Q powers, though she stops when she realizes it’s not real and isn’t right. Riker does nothing wrong in this episode.

Rebecca Smith (“Genesis”)

There’s nothing to go on here except that they had a date in the holodeck. Everything seems on the up and up. She’s not even shown onscreen, just mentioned in a couple lines of dialogue. I’m just including her for the sake of being thorough.

tl;dr

All of Riker’s relationships are either entirely consensual, or non-consensual with him as the victim. In several situations he could easily have taken advantage of someone, but never does, instead choosing to set clear boundaries. I have been thinking and scouring through Memory-Alpha and I genuinely cannot find a single instance in which he behaved in a sexist or misogynistic manner. That isn’t to say it never happened, I certainly can’t remember every moment of a seven season show. But it’s hardly a defining character trait for him the way many seem to think.

There are plenty of other reasons to dislike Riker. He can be immature. He rather stupidly stays in the same position for a decade because he can’t be bothered to take his own command the way he should. He can be a bit dull as a main character. The way he gets into chairs looks very stupid. But he is not sexist or a creep. *drops microphone*

#star trek: the next generation #star trek #the next generation #william riker #will riker #personal #i spent way too long on this pls validate me #mostly prompted by people genuinely hating this guy #to the point where they add onto other people's riker posts with hate #which is not cool at all #anyway

110 notes · View notes

newx-menfan · 5 years

Note

I'm asking out of sincere curiosity not cause I'm anti-Emma but why do people love Emma Frost so much? I don't hate her I just think she gets away with things other characters can't (ie being rude, mean, catty, to people who didn't do anything to her or acting stuck up) People will call other characters bxtches for doing that but she's 'brave, bold, interesting, complex' for it & I know her backstory is sad but it's nowhere near sad enough to justify some of her actions as a villain

I love Emma for a lot of reasons.

Very rarely do we get morally complex female characters; there really ISN’T many female ‘Walter White’s’ or 'Don Drapper’s’ in fiction… Most female characters tend to fit in the 'Madonna’ or 'Whore’ mode, even in modern writing.

Emma IS a complex character, in the fact that she does moral and immoral things. She started OUT as a villain…but doesn’t have a lot of remorse for that part of her life. She regularly WAS an X-Men…but didn’t always support Xavier. Her relationship with Scott started out as an affair…but she also very much loves him. She deeply cares about her students…but also at times makes horrible decisions that lead to her students deaths/trauma…

Even her sexualizing doesn’t ALWAYS fit in the 'femme fatale’ role; in the fact that she remains sexualized even as a hero (where usually female’s comfort with their sexuality tends to be a marker of a female villain…) and while she HAS fully said she uses it as a weapon… It’s also the fact that Emma is just comfortable with her own sexuality. Emma likes dressing the way she dresses and just doesn’t really care what others think. The same with the BDSM elements of her character; again it tends to be stereotyped as a 'villain thing’ despite TONS of studies that show people who engage in safe, sane, and consensual BDSM are totally normal, healthy, and not any more likely to be violent than anyone else…(also several studies found people in the kink community tend to be less likely to engage in victim shaming behaviors…). Emma kind of breaks that mold a bit by continuing those elements even as a hero.

Let’s be honest-male characters can get away with snarkiness (see Tony Stark, for example). Much like morally dubious heroines, female characters that essentially do the same thing tend to get marked as 'bitchy’, 'rude’, 'vapid’, 'catty’, ect…

There’s a lot of interesting stories you can do with Emma, because she tends to be a more morally grey character.

What I also like about Emma is she tends to be one of the few X-Men to regularly care about the X-teens, and at the very least does TRY to do right by them. For all Emma’s flaws, she did really enjoy being a teacher and her one weakness always is her students (or…at least since they retconned her a bit in the 90’s…). Even in New Mutants, she often was the one to wake Magneto up to the fact that his students were CLEARLY depressed and not doing well (ALTHOUGH Erik WAS a pretty BOMB teacher himself compared to Xavier…).

I also enjoy Emma for regularly being one to call out the problems with Xavier’s philosophies, and honestly I think during extreme times, like IvX; Emma has been 100% right.

I like that Emma is regularly shown to be very intelligent and business savvy-she has essentially built up her own companies without her father OR Shaw’s help.

I actually really enjoy her character in Claremont’s work as well as a villain-just because she’s still a fun character even being evil…and I think her relationship with Shaw was really interesting (personally, I don’t like the retcon around Emma being coerced into the Hellfire Club, because I think it strips her of a lot of her autonomy). While Claremont DID play the sexualized villain angle straight with Emma, I do think even there she is a pretty interesting and multifaceted character…

Emma’s attitude is also really interesting in the fact that she just doesn’t CARE…or at least wants people to believe she doesn’t. Emma isn’t going to suck up to people or sugar coat things. She’s fine being cold and ruthless if it means getting things done, which is an attitude needed to balance out the more optimistic characters.

I also think it’s interesting how much Emma’s origin fluctuates…and frankly doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t really matter what is and isn’t the truth with Emma, because in my opinion; Emma will always manipulate the truth to her needs. Emma has essentially cultivated this image of herself that it doesn’t really matter what’s real because ultimately Emma really only shows people what she wants them to see. The truth is arbitrary because in many ways Emma created her identity.

I also think Scott Summers became a more interesting character because of his relationship with Emma. That’s not to say I disliked Jean and Scott; (the affair DID originally upset me when it happened and I still have warm feelings towards the Scott/Jean relationship) but I do think where Jean always encouraged Scott to come out of his shell; Emma accepted Scott for who he was. I also think where Scott and Jean tended to be 'high school sweethearts/fairytale romance’, Emma and Scotts relationship was a little more of a mature depiction; in the fact that it was a relationship with it’s flaws. While I initially disliked Morrison’s choice with the affair, I have actually grown to really appreciate that plot point because I think there is some truth to the fact that sometimes people just grow apart. Scott and Jean grew into different people than who they originally were in the beginning of their relationship, and that’s okay.Both Emma and Scott had to accept that their partners had other partners before them. Emma was pretty accepting in my opinion that Scott did at one time love Jean, still had positive feelings about that relationship, and still cared very much for Jean. Scott, in turn, was accepting of Emma being a sexual person and being comfortable with herself. Scott never shamed her for her lifestyle or the fact that she did have augmentation, for example. Both had to accept their relationship started with an affair and the hurt they caused other people. Both made sure to communicate and be more open with each other, despite that being difficult at times for both of them. Both tended to be more logical, at times ruthless, and emotional distant people; and could understand each other. I think the relationship brought out a different side of Scott, and I liked seeing his downtime with Emma being them making dry jokes, Scott painting her nails, or convincing her to celebrate her birthday in a way she was comfortable with, ect…* I personally like Scott being represented as a flawed person, instead of the perpetual boy-scout. I think Morrison’s story fits within the canon (just look at how his marriage to Madeline went) and the fact that Scott is an emotionally stunted individual from years of Xavier pushing him to be leader of the X-Men. Scott will always self sabotage his relationships, in my opinion, because he can’t let go of being an X-Men. Scott also repressing his wants and needs in his relationship with Jean also makes sense with Scott’s background and emotional issues, along with the fact that he often put Jean on a pedestal… It does in my opinion make sense that he would turn to Emma, a person who is completely comfortable with herself and who Scott can see more as an equal than someone to always strive for…I think Emma liked Scott because like Emma, Scott went through A rough childhood and has worked to come out stronger for it. Scott is an intelligent and tactful leader, but because he’s not as charismatic or really gets the social side of things…tends to get less noticed for his leadership. I think Emma really was the person to notice him and his strengths. Emma I think also saw Scott as someone who had been somewhat manipulated by Xavier and encouraged him to get past his dependence on Xavier for his identity. We really get to see Scott become his own person BECAUSE of his relationship with Emma. Scott also saw the positives in Emma, which I think Emma really needed. Despite what Emma says, I do think there is some insecurities around her thinking that maybe she is as cold and heartless as others say.

In short, I just think the relationship is really interesting and the motivations with each character well thought out.

Emma’s relationships with characters like Kitty, Jean, Banshee, Magneto, Monet, ect… All tend to be just really interesting and she is a great foil to all these characters because she brings out other sides of those characters…in turn, I think characters like Kitty, Banshee, Hellion, ect; also bring out the multifaceted sides of Emma and just help build onto her character…

And finally…the ButterRum jokes just NEVER GET OLD….

So yeah…here’s a few reasons why I just REALLY LOVE Emma!

#question #answer #Emma Frost #the white queen #Black King #x men #Marvel

168 notes · View notes

drink-n-watch · 4 years

Text

Hello everyone. Hi Crow! I hope you had a great week!

Been a pretty good weekend! Busy, as usual. Another week of good anime, though.

Before we start, let me just say, I’ve been trying to keep my episode reviews a bit more concise because they were getting way out of control. I hope you don’t mind if I streamline this one a little. I find that it helps me keep my focus and not get too scattered.

Well, to be honest, I’m feeling a little trepidation. I really like your usual style! But, I’m game to experiment. Let’s try the whole concise thing.

After the heroes’ meeting, we finally have a clear plan of action: Find and Rescue Eri. And of course the first part would be find. The theory was that Eri, being so central to the plan, was probably being kept hidden away somewhere far from the action. This is why the professional heroes were scouring the city for clues.

Unfortunately, the students are supposed to just keep low and not say anything during this time. EraserHead surprisingly left them the option to participate but secrecy was necessary. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Deku this isolated. It was pretty heartbreaking until both Midoriya and I realized that he had spent three seasons building up actual friendships. It was great to see him lean just a little on Iida and Todo.

I also feed my friends when they’re sad… It’s a weird instinct. I guess I have the nurturing skills of a teenage boy.

I thought that scene was perfectly executed. It’s easy to forget, what with him taking on Stain and everything else he’s done, but he’s still a kid. His world has been turned upside down and spun around. Seeing his friends reach out to him — and him accept the gesture — was beautiful.

Thankfully, the kids didn’t have to wait too long for Eri to be discovered.

Turns out she was in headquarters and for some reason Nighteye was scouting the neighbourhood out when he noticed a lackey making a suspiciously girly purchase and immediately used his power on him despite everything he had said. He seemed very comfortable with carrying around the doll as well. I always liked Nighteye and he’s growing on me.

I know you’re not as fond of him, Crow. I didn’t really get why until I reread our posts and I get the impression that you don’t think the tickling machine incident was consensual? Which may be the case, I don’t think it was ever explicitly stated. I have to say, that option just never occured to me at all. Everyone that works with Nighteye seems very comfortable around him and I don’t think either Mirio or All-Might would like him as much if he was a bully. I could be wrong though.

My first impression of Nighteye was the tickling incident. It sure didn’t look like she was into that kind of thing. I’ve been through too much anti-sexual harassment training to look favorably on that kind of thing! And yeah, everyone’s comfortable around him — but he’s a hero. Heroes seem to have considerable latitude in how they act.

That being said, after we started to get a glimpse into what’s haunting Nighteye, I’ve started to soften on him. I still prefer Fat Gum, but I think Nighteye’s been a solid leader for this mission.

Side note, both Uraraka and Nejire have epic bedhead!

Did you see that Nejire’s hair seemed to wrap around her like a blanket? That’s a pretty useful skill!

There was something about seeing the heroes all reunited in the early morning before starting the mission. Something desperate. Did you feel it too Crow? I got a bit scared there.

Yes, I felt it. The build up in this episode was masterful. The mood was something very different than what we’ve seen before.

Mirio really is an inspiration. You can see it from everyone that gets close to him. He would have been a fantastic Symbol of Justice. I’m thinking he’s going to get a career ending injury here. Just like All-Might. Am I being too grim? It would be a painful but poetic narrative parallel…

There’re lots of flags flying — and some of them are Mirio’s. I’m worried for Fat Gum. I’m worried for Ryukyu. I’m even worried for Eraser Head!

We only got to see Overhaul a tiny bit towards the end of the episode. He’s his usual unnervingly calm self. He didn’t really do or even say anything yet every second he was on screen was unsettling. Personally, I think it may be in part due to the wonderful performance of his voice actor. (I looked it up, his name is Kenjiro Tsuda and he can call me anytime. So that I can listen to that great voice!)

Even how he walks with such calm assurance is scary. He’s wildly competent, and I love that in a villain. I want someone who is a real threat, and Overhaul certainly qualifies.

Turns out, the villains may not have quite been expecting them so soon, but they were expecting them and they’re hardly defenceless. Just as the episode was winding down, we got one last reveal, Ryukyu’s quirk which involves her completely changing form. Let’s just say I would also listen to her if she was my mentor!

And did you notice that after she initially pinned her opponent, it eventually started growing again, and she — even in dragon form — had to back off? With the Quirk-boosting drugs on the villains’ side, the heroes are going to have their hands full.

The action is picking up and I had a lot of fun this episode. Enough fun that I can hardly wait to see what happens next. I feel like it really left us right in the middle of things. What did you think Crow?

Absolutely. The whole season has been building towards this mission. Even Izuku and Mirio suiting up, which should have felt cliche, generated anxiety. I kept wondering if especially Mirio would be coming back. Exciting stuff!

Any forecasts for next episode?

I don’t want to think about it, I’m scared… That Quirk erasing drug is probably close to complete by now and someone is going to get hit….

My Hero Academia s4 ep70 – With a Little Help From My Friends Hello everyone. Hi Crow! I hope you had a great week! Been a pretty good weekend! Busy, as usual.

#action #anime #blonde bishie #Collab #episodic #My Hero Academia #shonen

1 note · View note

traincat · 7 years

Note

what do you personally dislike about Slott's ASM? also do you know how he has been the main writer for so long? It feels like marvel should have switched it up

This turned out so long, sorry, anon.

I don’t know the circumstances that have led to Slott’s extremely long run on Amazing Spider-Man, but I do feel it’s long past time to switch it up for a number of reasons, and frankly, I’m surprised they didn’t chose Legacy as the perfect time to bring in a new writer. I’ve got two bones to pick with Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man, and one is a couple of personal experiences I’ve had that centered around Superior Spider-Man (importantly, they’re both scenes involving the run’s treatment of women) and then just a general note on why his Peter Parker voice doesn’t work for me, personally. I have liked other comics by Slott, for the record.

The personal experiences first:

I’ve witnessed Slott harass a friend of mine on social media over a comment on a frankly awful panel in Superior Spider-Man, saying that they shouldn’t criticize Otto’s actions because he was “on a journey.” This kind of behavior is apparently not an isolated incident where he’s involved, but I should note that my friend was at the time very young (I can’t remember if they were 18, but quite possibly they were younger). I believe it was made obvious to him at one point that he was arguing with a teenager, but I can’t recall for sure. I do know they did not tag him in their criticism. But most importantly, this is the panel they were discussing:

For those unaware, Superior Spider-Man was a storyline where Doctor Octopus bodyjacked Peter and intended to live his life as Peter and as Spider-Man. Nobody knew that Peter had been replaced.

Otto’s thought boxes are positioned over Mary Jane’s dialogue, effectively silencing her, and not only is HIS gaze clearly fixed on her breasts, but the reader is essentially forced to stare at them, too. I don’t know how the average man feels looking at this panel, but I can say, as a woman, it 100% feels like the comic is creepily staring at my boobs and I’m not cool with that. This is not a fun cheesecake page, embracing Mary Jane as a confident, sexually attractive woman – it’s treating her like a piece of meat. If this was intended to be funny, I’m sorry, but the joke is bad. Even if we were to say Otto was “on a journey” to become a better person and that his behavior in the first issue is not indicative of who he’ll become so he shouldn’t be judged on it – which, currently, he’s in a Peter clone body, being all sad because his Parker Industries coup failed and the woman he lied to and seduced using Peter’s identity doesn’t want to date him, so I guess the last stop on the train was Disgusting Man Valley – it’s still a page where a man infiltrates a woman’s private life using the body of one of the closest people to her and then ignores her voice to stare at her breasts. (Make no mistake: Otto was explicitly and aggressively trying to trick her into bed using Peter’s identity. Later, when he realized he could access Peter’s memories, he replayed Peter’s sexual encounters with Mary Jane. I don’t like any stop on this journey, guys.)

The “journey”, I suspect, was meant to refer to Ock’s growing feelings towards Anna Maria Marconi, but that just highlights another set of problems I have: Mary Jane, a beautiful model turned entrepreneur, is ultimately deemed by Otto as “unacceptable” for someone of Peter’s intellect, and cast aside in favor Anna Maria, who works in STEM, can cook like an Italian grandmother, and who is pretty but not conventionally desirable. It would be one thing for the character to do this, but Slott did once say that Otto was better at appreciating “real beauty” than Peter, and that Peter’s love for Mary Jane was “anti-Marvel”, because Mary Jane’s “superficially beautiful”, implying that she lacks inner beauty and ignoring the canon fact that Mary Jane’s moral center has always been stronger than Peter’s. This disregard for Mary Jane solely because she’s pretty continues in a scene where Mary Jane gets all dressed up and goes to meet a new guy she’s interested in, only to get pushed into the mud before he sees her. While humor via humiliation is common in Slott’s Spider-Man, I don’t really think I need to elaborate on why a scene all about taking a woman who is confident in her appearance and sexuality down a peg leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I really dislike how often Mary Jane is disregarded by fans because she’s “a shallow male fantasy” (please read comics) so to say that Peter loving her is anti-Marvel is just, like, no.

More under the cut.

(It’s also out of character for Mary Jane not to realize Peter’s not Peter, considering she outfoxed (and then bludgeoned) the Chameleon and can pick Peter out from among his clones:

but for the sake of Superior’s deceit, I can let this go. The Superior Spider-Man scene where she sits in a burning building waiting for Spider-Man to come save her, The Most Out Of Character Mary Jane Scene Of All Time, I cannot.)

So there’s just, generally, the treatment of Mary Jane in Superior Spider-Man, as well as his reaction to a criticism of it. Then there’s an encounter with a male Spider-Man fan I had which, while this isn’t a direct criticism of Slott’s work, I do think it ties into the way women are treated in it, especially within the body of Superior Spider-Man.

So I used to cosplay, and one time I went to a big outdoor shoot with a bunch of friends and friends’ friends and some photographers, etc, and afterwards we all crowded into a big diner booth together, Jersey style, and this guy I don’t know starts chatting me up. (I guess he missed the memo about superficial beauty.) And it’s a cosplay thing, so like, we’re all nerds, and somehow we start talking about Spider-Man. And this guy rushes to tell me he is loving Superior Spider-Man. Do you know what he just can’t wait to tell me he loved about Superior Spider-Man? He loves that Doc Ock punched Felicia Hardy in the face. “That was awesome,” he told me, referring to a scene where Felicia comes across Spider-Man and, not knowing it’s Ock in there, initiates some playful banter, which he responds to by punching her in the face hard enough to knock a tooth out. Because he’s the Superior Spider-Man! And obviously that’s ~superior~ to what “shallow” Peter would have done, which was most likely engage in consensual sex with Felicia, because they’re both adults who enjoy having sex with each other. Did Dan Slott hold a gun to that guy’s head and make him tell me how awesome and funny it is when men violently assault women in fiction? No, but he did write a scene that it’s possible to interpret as glorifying said assault. At the very least, it does not condemn it.

Dating tip, guys: when talking to a girl for the first time, please don’t tell her how cool and funny you think violence against women is. (Actually, if you find it cool and funny, please be upfront about that, so she can get out of there and never talk to you again.)

Ugh. You guys. I do not like how this title treats women. I don’t like how other Slott titles treat women, although they’re less egregious about it, because at least when Peter Parker is in control of his body and the title you’re forced as a writer to deal with the fact that, while Peter canonically is real enthusiastic about sex with women, the character does actually like, respect women as human beings. Slott has also fridged several important Spider-Man women, notably both Dr. Ashley Kafka and Marla Jameson – both professional women. I love Cindy Moon and I love what other writers have done with the concept of someone who spent ten years locked away in a bunker, but I’m not actually sure Cindy’s introduction needed to be about a woman who was locked in a box since she was a teenager, you feel me?

My issues with Slott’s Peter characterization are entirely a matter of personal taste. I’ve already mentioned that I don’t love humor via embarrassment or humiliation, but I really, really don’t like it. And Slott uses it a lot – his conception of Spider-Man as a funny superhero involves Peter being the butt of a lot of jokes, instead of Peter just… being funny. I also find that his Peter lacks an edge. This is also my problem with Bendis’ Peter, though I feel Bendis nails the rhythm of Peter’s banter better than Slott does, and his dialogue-heavy writing is a good fit. Also, he knows Peter’s Jewish. But like, for instance, you have an iteration of Peter who was only ever written by Bendis in Ultimate Peter! And he’s a good boy! He is! I care about him so much less than 616 Peter. This is related to my dissatisfaction with Homecoming, where he was completely toothless and the narrative went out of its way to point out how NOT scary he was. I’m sorry, but a teenage boy who can punch through concrete no big deal is actually always going to be at least a little scary – instead of rejecting that fact, I’d rather explore how Peter makes himself gentle as he grows up, and how he struggles to be as good and as moral as Spider-Man is, and when he leans into that threatening nature. I want that struggle, and that relationship with violence, throw in some Spider-Man as a predatory animal metaphors okay at this point I should note that the modern Spider-Man writer whose voice for him I like the very best is J. Michael Straczynski’s. You can see what I’m talking about in this scene, for example:

He’s completely gentle with Mary Jane – but when Tony gets in his way to keep him from going after a paparazzo (Tony wouldn’t know this, but Peter once threatened to rip a sleazy photographer’s head off after he called Mary Jane cheap, so y’know, trying to get him to calm down is reasonable), Peter’s reaction is hostile – threatening to forcibly move him, the clenched fists, etc. (One of my big Peter characterization rules is you can’t write how he interacts with other people the same as the way he interacts with his family.) He also just tossed Wolverine out a window, so.

“You were chosen for your rage” ooooh Mr. Stracyznski, tell me more. This sounds like I am joking no 10000% give me more of Peter shirtless and beating up the Kingpin. His freaking murder polo:

Basically, as a reader, I appreciate the depths of Peter’s kindness best when they aren’t necessarily first nature for him. Slott’s Peter doesn’t have that same edge to him. He’s not reining himself in. (There was a Norman vs Peter fist fight and I WAS NOT INTO IT, which should be impossible.)

#traincat talks comics #long post/#*replies

40 notes · View notes

robertodacosta · 7 years

Note

hi! this is a little embarrassing, but I want to start reading comics and I have no idea where to start. I wasn't allowed to read comics growing up so I'm not even sure where to get them. anyway ahh you just seem cool and I like your blog so I hope it's okay that I'm asking you for advice!

i’m so happy to help! when i started reading comics (about 2 years ago, now) i found the amount of comics and the sheer mass of backstory and even just the basics really overwhelming, so under the cut i went through and explained where to get comics, tips for how to start reading, and some recommendations for good comics for folks who are new to comics. if you want specific recs for specific characters, shoot me another ask and i can help with that!

Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions, or how you like the books I recommended!

first, some basics.

a quick rundown on how comics are sold. new issues are released every wednesday, and new issues can be bought physically in comics shops or digitally. comics run in story arcs, which might be made up of 2 issues, or sometimes as many as 12 issue, depending on the comic. a while after an arc is finished, the collected issues will be released as a trade paperback (tpb).

where do you get comics?

comic books stores tend to be pretty common, so if you prefer to read physical comics rather than digital. this website will tell you the closest stores to you. comic stores will carry newly released issues, assorted tpbs, and some have large selections of older back issues of comics that you can buy individually.i honestly only went to a comic book store for the first time this summer because i was really intimidated by them, though i’m not entirely sure why, so it’s really easy to read comics, even if you don’t have a store nearby.

you can always buy tpbs on amazon, and i know barnes and noble and some independent bookstores also carry tpbs, though in my experience b&n tends to be pretty heavy on dc/marvel, and heavy on popular characters.

for digital comics, comixology is your best friend. it covers any/all publishers, so i would just skip marvel/dc digital stores and go right here. it’s good to support the creative teams behind comics, but if you can’t afford to buy that many comics, you can read comics for free here, and download them here. comixology also offers a subscription service, comixology unlimited, that allows you immediate access to a library of digital comics, from marvel, dc, and other publishers. marvel offers marvel unlimited, a similar service, but with a wider range of marvel titles. both take a few months to upload new issues, as an incentive to both buy issues and subscribe. it’s worth noting that sales of digital comics and tpbs are counted towards official sale stats, so if you want to support a comic that’s in danger of cancellation, buying the issue at a store is the only way to have your purchase counted.

what to read?

there are so, so many comics, so i’ve recommended a handful of series that are pretty easy to get into for beginners, while still being good reads. i’ve sorted these recs by dc/marvel/indie, and included some quick notes.

full disclosure, i almost exclusively lead comics led by women, so i am not the person to ask for captain america or batman reading recommendations. luckily, most other folks are reading those characters, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find suggestions!

DC rebooted their whole universe with the Rebirth initiative last year, so pretty much everything is 30 or fewer issues in right now. Rebirth was technically a reboot, but some comics do reference earlier continuity from the New 52, their previous reboot (in 2012 i think?). I’ve not read a lot of n52, and i think general consensus is that rebirth titles are much stronger than n52. Aside from these recs, the best thing to do with dc/marvel is find the characters you like, and then go read the current book that they’re in, and see how you like it!

Batwoman (2010)- Kate is a new character, and this is her original solo. There are other character in the book with long histories, but you don’t really need to know them to read it. I’d recommend reading Batwoman: Elegy first.

Batwoman: Elegy- Batwoman was introduced in an earlier comic, but this is her first collected story.

Batwoman (2017)- I’m not caught up on this, but I would assume you can read this without having read Kate’s earlier series, if you want to start with Rebirth. Otherwise, the only thing you need to read to be caught up for this is the 2010 Batwoman solo.

Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell- This is a team up story that gives you backstory on Dinah and Zatanna’s relationship, and shows them going on a mission together. It’s a graphic novel, so it’s like one very long issue.

DC Comics Bombshells- If you only read one DC comic, I’d suggest this one. It’s an alternate universe where the female heroes of the DCU all came first, as a team of super powered heroes fighting in WWII. Most of DC’s biggest female characters have significant roles, and the comic also introduces you to a bunch of slightly less well known female characters. There’s like 3 men, and almost all of the heroes are confirmed wlw, so it’s a gift, and should be treasured. The series ended earlier this summer, and is now being continued in the sequel, Bombshells United. They’re both digital first comics, which means new issues are released digitally on Fridays, and collected into print editions every third Wednesday.

The Legend of Wonder Woman- This is totally outside of main dcu continuity, and it’s a retelling of Diana’s origins as Wonder Woman in WWII.

Trinity (2017)- Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman team up. Other characters guest star, which helps introduce you to the wider DCU. It’s fun and the art is cute.

Wonder Woman (2016)- If you enjoyed the movie, definitely read this. It has 2 storylines running simultaneously for the first 25 issues, one retelling Wonder Woman’s origins, and one set in the present, in which Diana realizes parts of her life have been lies, and sets out to discover the truth. The first few issues might be a little confusing because of this, but more because it’s intended to leave you questioning things, not because it depends on an in depth knowledge of continuity. What’s really brilliant about Greg Rucka’s run on this comic (the first 25 issues) is that WW has the least consistent history of pretty much any character, and Rucka dismissed pretty much all of the inconsistency, and streamlined Diana’s backstory. Also, Diana, Etta, and Steve are the dream team. This has been released in 4 tpbs so far, which organize the book by story arcs, instead of the original release order, which ran multiple arcs on alternating weeks.

Zatanna (2010)- this is pre-n52, but honestly all you need to know about previous continuity is that Zatanna exists. It’s one of maybe 2 solo runs she’s ever gotten, and it’s only 16 issues. It’s fun, easy to read, and Zatanna is so great, and deserves a rebirth solo.

MARVEL

Marvel is in the middle of a reboot right now, and I’m not really sure where they’re going. They’ve been on this cool initiative where a lot of classic heroes are phased out and younger, more diverse heroes take on their titles. But they’ve convinced themselves that nobody likes it and that it’s destroying sales, so they’re doing something weird right now that is very unclear. The entire universe hard rebooted about 2 years ago, following a very confusing event called Secret Wars, which was the culmination of about 3 years of ongoing plots in Avengers, New Avengers, and Fantastic Four. I’m mostly recommending ongoing runs because the hard reboot makes it pretty easy to jump on with any book. Again, for marvel comics, just find the characters you like, and read their current books!

A-Force (2016)- Gone too soon. This is the first ever women-only Avengers lineup, and it pulls heroines from all over the MU. The first couple of issues talk about secret wars (and there was an a-force mini-series during secret wars, that’s really good, but involves some knowledge of the surrounding events), but it’s navigable. It’s a really good team, and a fun comic!

Alias- It’s kind of iconic, and it’s really worth reading. This is Jessica Drew’s very first appearance in the MU, so no prior knowledge necessary. The Purple Man story that the Netflix show used draws on this comic, without replicating it. It’s a dark comic, but super good.

All New X-Factor (2014)- It’s all new, but with old X-Men characters. Character backstory doesn’t matter here, because this is a group of people who’s not really talking about their past if they can avoid it, but pretty much any relevant backstory is contextualized for new readers. This is fun, up until there are multiple crossover events that slow down the plot, but even those are still readable, without reading the main crossover event. It’s interesting, the art is cool, and all the characters are dweebs with superpowers.

America (2017)- America Chavez is such a good character, and this is a really great comic! It’s only 5 issues in, so very easy to catch up. It explains any backstory you might need, and is really witty, and pop-culture savvy.

Astonishing X-Men (2004)- This is the first comic I ever read, and functions really well as an X-Men comic for people who haven’t read X-Men comics before. It’s about 10 years old, and eventually it hits the year or so when there was an X-Men crossover event every 6 weeks, but the first 25-30 issues (the Whedon/Cassaday run) are really good, and will make you love Kitty Pryde forever.

Avengers Assemble- The very best intro to marvel comic. Skip the first 9 issues (written by Bendis) because they are bad, and start when Kelly Sue Deconnick takes over. This has a rotating cast of Avengers, including those in the MCU and those not, and is such a good read. It introduced me to my very favorite character (Jessica Drew), and gives every character depth.

Black Panther (2016)- Get pumped for this movie and read the comic! Ta-Nahesi Coates is such a good writer, and this is a really strong, textured story, that really works on every level. I’ve not read any previous BP comics, and I had no trouble with continuity.

Champions (2016)- This is Ms. Marvel’s team of teen superheroes, coming out of Civil War II, last summer’s marvel crossover disaster. It’s really good and engages with social justice issues in ways that feel about as effective as comic books can be.

Defenders (2017)- It’s literally just the cast of the Netflix Defenders teaming up, for actually the first time ever as a team of 4. It’s still on the first arc, but I’m enjoying it thus far.

Hulk (2016)- So, so, so good! Jennifer Walters (formerly known as She Hulk) takes over the Hulk mantle following her cousin Bruce’s murder in CWII. It’s all about trauma and PTSD and how Bruce’s death and Jen’s own debilitating injury in CWII changed her, and her ability to control her hulk. I wish everybody was reading this, and I think this is probably my favorite ongoing comic from any publisher.

Ms. Marvel (2014) and Ms. Marvel (2015)- This is the thing to read! Kamala was created in this comic, so you can just jump right in! It’s fun and well-written and the art is consistently good, and this is so worth reading!

New Mutants (1983)- This comic is like 30 years old but it’s the best and the New Mutants are my favorite superhero team in any universe. This is part of the X-Men franchise, and is the origin of a handful of characters who now show up all over the place. (Magik is on the main X-Men roster, Sunspot and Cannonball have been Avengers for a few years, Dani Moonstar is a Valkyrie who played an important role in some X-Men events). And there’s a New Mutants movie coming out next spring so might as well get prepared for that, right?

Silk (2015) and Silk (2015-7)- Cindy Moon is the hero we deserve! The first series covers her origins, then it was cancelled due to Secret Wars cancelling everything, then rebooted like a month later. The second series was also cancelled (rip), but follows Cindy as she infiltrates crime rings and tries to track down her missing family. Cindy is a new character, so a great starting point!

Spider Woman: Origin- All about Spider Woman! 5 issue miniseries, giving the character her definitive backstory.

Spider Woman: Agent of SWORD- Kinda backstory heavy (follow up to the Secret Invasion crossover event), but it’s totally possible to follow. Everything you need to know gets explained, but it’s basically Jessica Drew working as a secret agent for an organization that’s like the CIA but for aliens, and hunting down members of an alien race that kidnapped and impersonated her. This and Origins are kind of the essential Spider Woman reading, and I really recommend them both. Jess is the best, and her recently cancelled comic had one (1) good issue.

Storm (2014)- I didn’t recommend a lot of X-Men books because, imo, they’re the hardest Marvel books to start reading, but Storm’s solo is wonderful and incredible and you don’t need to know anything about X-Men to understand it!I

Indie

I don’t read a lot of indie comics, so I’m just going to list some titles I like and you can see what looks good! Indies are inherently easier to understand than marvel/dc books because, for the most part, indie comics stand on their own. But I assumed you were mostly hoping for superhero comics in your ask, but shoot me another ask correcting me if I’m wrong, and I can make you an indie rec list!

Faith

Lady Killer

Ody-C

Paper Girls

Pretty Deadly

Welcome Back

The Wicked and the Divine

#anon #.answered #mailbox #comic recs #Anonymous

4 notes · View notes

circlesandsoundwaves · 7 years

Text

"It was a huge empowering thing for us to accept and almost embrace the fact that we were gonna do this record ourselves.": Interview with Ben Lieber of Head North

Interview by Molly Louise Hudelson.

Photo by Eli Ritter.

Buffalo, N.Y.’s Head North released their debut full-length album The Last Living Man Alive Ever in the History of the World on June 2, and it was a long time in the making. Their last official release was a 2015 split EP with Microwave, and while they put out the first single, “God (Bring It Back)”, last July, “music industry bull crap” meant it was nearly a year till the album was released. The choice to self-release the album- an ambitious effort that’s also a concept album, revolving around a world where both God and love are forbidden- ended up being an empowering choice, leading to “an insane amount of confidence in ourselves.” Regardless of any external forces, the band- consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Brent Martone, drummer Ben Lieber, bassist Alex Matos, and guitarist Eli Ritter- believe in what they’re doing more than ever. The Last Living Man Alive Ever in the History of the World sounds substantially different from the Microwave split or their prior EPs, Bloodlines and Scrapbook Minds, but it’s worth spending some time with. The “cosmic rock” album has 15 tracks and is 49 minutes long, and while they all revolve around the same theme, fitting together into a story line, each one sounds different. The earlier tracks hit harder but the second half is ethereal and ambient, and even features a spoken word installment (“Somewhere, n.D.”).

I spoke with Lieber a few days after the record was released, and we dove in to the recording process, their change in sound, and what fans can expect on their upcoming tour with Gates and Vasudeva. Read on for the full interview.

CIRCLES & SOUNDWAVES: For the record, could you state your name, what you play in Head North, and a fun fact about yourself?

Ben Lieber: My name is Ben, I play drums, and I like avocados.

C&S: You just released your debut full-length record- The Last Living Man Alive Ever In The History Of The World- that's a tongue-twister.

BL: It's a mouthful.

C&S: Yeah! The record came out last Friday, and it premiered the day before over on Substream- in the days leading up to the album coming out, what was going through your head?

BL: The record got put on hold for a long time, and for a while I was wondering if it was ever actually gonna come out, so for us to finally get in the motions of everything- we put out a song, we put out a music video- as it started to really happen it [was] kind of hard for me to grasp it. Initially, I feel like it just came out of nowhere; it happened really fast after such a long period of waiting that maybe I didn't get to bask in it as much as I hoped, but it's still- now it's out, finally.

C&S: You announced the name of the album last July- what took so long for it to come out?

BL: We got held up with music industry bull crap pretty much. We had finished our deal with our last label and were trying to find a home for this record, but it was a combination of having been off the road for so long and the record being, obviously, a huge departure from our previous sound- a lot of things played in to labels being very hesitant on picking this record up. We pursued avenue after avenue, talking to, you know, this new person who's gonna connect us to this label and yada yada yada, and it finally just got to the point where we realized that it had been so long since we'd had any sort of hype whatsoever- we had no movement behind us at this point- and we realized that there was no way that we were going to get any movement, get a tour offer or an offer on the record, if we didn't just put music out. We realized that that was the only way that this band was going to start gaining traction again.

And from the moment that we realized that, it was a huge empowering thing for us to accept and almost embrace the fact that we were gonna do this record ourselves and handle it on our own terms, and it's been awesome! I can't complain because we've had amazing support and it's been a really cool thing to go through putting out an LP ourselves. It's been crazy- a lot of work but it's been fun.

C&S: It sounds like the work has paid off.

Do you pay attention to what kids are saying online? Some bands are very in tune with what everyone's saying on Twitter and YouTube and whatever, and some purposely hold back.

BL: I take it with a grain of salt. I try not to care too much, but I also do value the thoughts and opinions of the people who care about listening to is. I feel like their voice is just as important as our voice. So, you know, I do read everything- I spend time talking to people and I think that that's really important- but at the end of the day, I don't weigh everything on it and I know that the record is sick as hell regardless of what anyone says about it.

I feel like what's come along with the whole self-release thing is an insane amount of confidence in ourselves and just knowing that, regardless of who wants to put money into us, we know that we're a good band and that this record is awesome and deserves to be heard by people. So- yeah, I don't know- I guess the answer would be I take it with a grain of salt. I do value it but not over-zealously, I guess.

C&S: No, that makes sense.

So you touched on it- I mean, anyone who's heard the record can say it's definitely a departure in sound from what you guys had done before, and it's a concept album as well- when you were first starting to work on this record, did you go in with this idea that it was going to be a total departure in sound and a concept album- or was that something that just kind of happened?

BL: Yes and no. We had this backbone idea for the storyline, I guess, but it wasn't uber-developed at the point when we started diving in to the record but [Brent] had had this idea for quite some time.

In addition to the- for lack of a better word- fictional story that the record tells, there's a lot of real life personal elements in there as far as what happened with the band, and why we stopped doing things, and us growing as people and moving out and whatever- and they kinda intertwined with each other- but as far as the story goes, the backbone was there.

As far as the sound- I have to give a lot of credit to the- truly, like, original sound that I think this record has- to the engineers that we worked with, Brett Romnes, Gary Cioni, and Kevin Kumetz at Barber Shop studios. This was our first time ever recording anything at a studio that wasn't in Buffalo and we just wanted to try something different. We connected with these guys in the studio through our booking agent and we did the one single "God (Bring It Back)" as a test run to see if we wanted to do a record there-which is why that song came out and then nothing- but we really, really liked it and then scheduled the recording time.

As far as recording techniques and everything, we just really did a lot of out-of-the-box, strange stuff, like- this is the first time we were able to have the whole studio to ourselves for two weeks- so we left everything set up and that allowed us to- A, go song by song instead of instrument by instrument- and B, jump on any spur of the moment idea that we might've had- and we had enough time to where it was okay for us to like, spend three hours on a random trumpet part idea that we had even if we don't end up using it, because we had the time, we had already paid for it, essentially, and the whole studio was at our fingertips for this. So that was incredibly conducive to us getting in the zone and [getting] our creativity flowing- like, I had never been so enveloped in a musical experience for that long- we were there for a little over two weeks, I believe, and the whole time I was just extremely down in it. I can go in to nerding out about weird recording techniques and stuff but the point is, we did a lot of weird shit that we've never done before and we kinda just ran with every idea that we had.

I feel like a great example of that is the bonus track, "Broke"- there's just so much weird stuff on that song. We were like, "Okay, this song is the bonus song, it doesn't really matter, we can put all this random shit on it."

C&S: Why is it the bonus track?

BL: Because it didn't fit the story of the record. It didn't really fit in any specific place. The rest of the songs were like, "Yeah, this song is gonna go here in the outline of the record because it fits, it makes sense"- but "Broke" never really had a spot in that. We were done recording the record at that point and we had a couple days left and we were just like, "Screw it, we'll just record that song and make it a bonus track." And we just had fun with it.

C&S: You are heading out on tour with Gates and Vasudeva in a couple days, and you had a tour in March with Heart Attack Man; when you were touring in March- you had announced the album title but I don't think you had announced the release date at that point?

BL: No. We played a lot of new music on that tour, too.

C&S: How did that go over? Did people get it?

BL: I feel like- yes and no, again. I feel like it went over well in that people vibed with how it sounded live; obviously you can take live music with a grain of salt cuz you can't really hear the vocals, whatever- but general consensus was people dug it, but they didn't get the full picture- they hadn't heard the full record- and we really feel like the full record needs to be heard to understand what we're trying to do here. There was definitely that little bit of, "Okay, this is just weird but I kinda like it"- but you know, regardless, it was cool to play songs and we did that as a kind of transition into this new, I guess, era.

C&S: On the Gates tour, you'll be headlining the Buffalo show, can people expect to see you play, the whole record front to back, or is it gonna be mixing songs up from this and from older releases?

BL: I don't think we'll play the whole record front to back, simply because we haven't practiced that and we don't have another opportunity to practice before the tour. But we're gonna play a lot of new songs; we have most of the record rehearsed and ready to go. We're only playing new music on this tour; we're not playing any old stuff. That's kinda the deal.

C&S: Are you ever going to be playing old songs again? Or is that pretty much…

BL: Maybe. Probably... but we feel like the last tour that we did in March was people's chance to hear old songs again; and it was like, "Oh this band hasn't toured in a year, I wanna go hear 'In the Water' again"- and that's totally cool and we really appreciate that, but the record's out now and we're moving on, and we really wanna play new music.

C&S: Definitely. Wow- so you were not touring for a year- did you get restless at all? I mean, in 2014 and 2015 you were hitting the road hard.

BL: Oh yes, Molly. It was the hardest year of our lives, needless to say.

C&S: So you have this tour with Gates and Vasudeva coming up; what else can people expect from Head North this year?

BL: More tours. We're getting ready to grind- that's all I'm gonna say.

C&S: That's gotta feel good. Well, thank you so much Ben- anything else that people reading this should know?

BL: Thanks for your time and hope you like the record.

Thanks Ben! Be sure to keep up with Head North on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their official website. The Last Living Man Alive Ever in the History of the World is available now; you can purchase a digital download or vinyl copy here and stream on Spotify here. Read our 2014 interview with the band here. Dates for Head North’s upcoming tour with Gates and Vasudeva are below.

#interview #molly #head north #the last living man alive ever in the history of the world #tllma #the last living man alive #buffalo #buffalo ny #music #music blog #band interview #band interviews #gates #vasudeva #heart attack man

2 notes · View notes