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doctorbunny · 10 months

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The mission to track down (most of) the locations in Ai Nan Desu Yo!

Firstly, I want to thank @archivalofsins /Gunsli-01, this whole thing started because of us DMing, wondering if we could use the background images in Mahiru's first MV to guess which university she went to, that started this whole adventure. By the end of this saga, the process truly was a collaboration too and i would've given up much sooner (sorry for taking so long to write this up!)

It started here. The caption says Mahiru is sat on the 大学のテラス (University terrace). So we figured this was the best shot to find her uni. Gunsli tried reverse image search but it just kept throwing milgram back at us. So I got an idea:

The magic of photo editing! it worked too and I got this back:

That's right! This isn't a university but a pizza place! Specifically one called 800 ディグリーズナポリタンピッツェリア (800 degrees Neapolitan pizzeria) It is right next to two universities however:

Of these two, I speculate Aoyama Gakuin University is more likely to be Mahiru's as they have a large humanities department and an option to take Chinese language classes (interestingly, it is also a Very Christian university and we know from question 19 of Mahiru's trial 1 interrogation, she believes people go to Heaven when they die. There is also a lot of focus on international students and the campus nearest the pizza resturant has a 'statue of Love' in the Majima Archives building)

Inspired by this fruitful discovery I decided to try my method on other photos:

I jumped all the way over to day 13 because I felt like the sign would aid in my search. Before I bothered with any photo editing I just did some google searches "Tokyo Marun-" I got the autofill result 'Tokyo Marunouchi hotel' after investigating it wasn't the right place but we had a location name "Marunouchi" Trying again I typed "Tokyo Marunouchi Street" Autofill gave me "Marunouchi Street Park": Bingo!

This must be some kind of iconic sign because there were a ton of results for it. The bad news is that the sign was portable and only placed out for special events. So I introduce the next weapon in my arsenal: Google Streetview With a street to work with I walked up and down Morunouchi Naka-doori avenue until I got to a building with similar square pillars to the one behind Mahiru

This place is the MyPlaza, it's got a couple different shops, but importantly there is a function room you can rent out for events just like the wedding reception Mahiru attended here. This one turns out to be further away than some of the other discoveries but it makes sense because Mahiru is travelling to an event, not on a date.

Back to photo editing! This is one of two shrines I'll identify, they become important as they get special icons on google maps, becoming landmarks to search around later.

This is the Meiji Jingu Shrine

I was on a roll so quickly moved to day 14, however, my editing trick wouldn't work here so it would only be later that I uncovered the location of the park

Searching for day 11 was much more fruitful

I was really excited to track this one as Mahiru mentions it being the filming location for her favourite movie. So I thought if we could discover that, then we may unlock more clues about her as a person

I got about this far before realising I could try a different tactic. If this was a well known spot, surely in my broken Japanese I could google it right? So with a little help of my dictionary I spat out "Tokyo red hand railing movie". Somehow this barely worked

The movie? Your Name

At this point I was rolling on the floor laughing because I had been expecting some Japanese cult classic romance movie or a domestically popular but internationally obscure rom com meanwhile Your Name was a massive box office smash hit in many places. One of the few anime movies that even non-anime fans will be aware of.

Despite this, I hadn't actually seen it myself and wasn't really in the mood to watch it (I had more locations to track down, dammit) but fortunately Gunsli came in clutch, having previously seen the movie and also in the mood to rewatch it for clues about Mahiru.

These stairs are actually at a place called Suga Shrine, making this our second landmark. (Fun fact: if you look it up you'll find pictures of movie fans recreating photos of the place)

We were starting to build up an idea of Where Mahiru's world was, the border between Shibuya and Shinjuku ward. There were several parks in the area, so I figured I'd set out to find the day 14 park location by searching through each one. I was worried this would take a while but when I started with the biggest park, Yoyogi, I basically hit jackpot right away. Immediately upon seaching it, google recommended me results for images of the park at night. It turns out that Yoyogi had a large area used for concerts (that also may have been used for movie nights). By chance, I found this image from the park at night

which looks awfully similar to the lamp/benches seen in the background of day 14... According to Gunsli, the nearby yoyogi station is featured in an important scene in Your Name, so that's another thing pointing towards them being in this park. It's not solid evidence but we'll come back to this later.

At this point I'm both hyped up and bored, so to amuse myself and just to see if I can, I decide to search for the place Mahiru's boyfriend is working at in day 8

At first I had written it off as pointless to even try searching, but Gunsli noticed that in the top left corner you can see a hint of the store's sign. It is the same colours as a Seven Eleven (a chain that exists both in the US and Japan) This greatly narrowed down my search, as it ruled out the many Family Marts and Lawsons in the area (I cannot stress how many convenience stores there are in Tokyo) Unfortunately, there were still many 7/11s to search through and thus leads to the several hours I spent on google maps, individually going to each 7/11 in Shibuya and trying to look for those bike racks, floor tiles and old security camera. It was demoralising. But when hope was nearly lost and I almost gave up (there was a heat wave outside so my brain was melting during this). Gunsli reminded me of something very important. On day 8 we get two images, the above of Mahiru waiting outside the 7/11, and one of her sat on a park bench. If we were right about the day 14 park being Yoyogi, then surely our 7/11 would be in walking distance? The search began again. The third 7/11 I found near the park was it.

In one fell swoop I had confirmed both day 8 and 14. In celebration I made a tumblr post

Now, at this point I'm running out of images to search for because a lot of the locations in Ainan are indoors, meaning they could be taken from a studio or even one of the milgram crew's homes (which isn't actually uncommon) and thus, not a relavent location. I did half heartedly attempt to look for the day 9 bar, but as you can imagine, without any external landmarks it was even more of a goose chase than the 7/11...

The last location I decided to look for was all the way back in day 5

This edit was pretty tough to make so i was very annoyed when it didn't work. By this time it was late at night, but Gunsli had a hunch that this would be a well known running route, so started looking for those. By the time I'd woken up, she got it down to a route called the Imperial Palace Running Route, which is very popular (especially with tourists, it is recommended to give it a go if you're in the area)

I found it on streetview by following road signs seen in a video of someone running the route Gunsli found (the part in Mahiru's video appears at about 1:35)

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It's an area called Takebashi and here is a screenshot both of what we saw in ainan, as well as what Mahiru would've seen in the direction she ran (the route loops back on itself)

Ok I'm tired it's 1 am, finally here's a really rough map of everywhere in relation to each other

An interesting thread throughout is that many of these places are sort of tourist-y, suggesting Mahiru's boyfriend may not be from Tokyo either. The university (assuming I'm guessing the right place) taking in lots of international students and Mahiru's boyfriend working at a 7/11 (which Japanese people can do but is also Stereotypically the part time job of choice for people from outside Japan while studying) could perhaps even hint to him not being Japanese, but it's all speculation right now

I hope you enjoyed this long rambly mess, I'm so sorry it took me so long to write it all up....

#mahiru shiina #milgram #ミルグラム #milgram theory #long post

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neonponders · 1 year

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Hi, this is a rant:

Okay boomer this and boomer that but listen, I’ve been reading about certain boomers (namely Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Eartha Kitt, and Marilyn Monroe) and these people are fascinating.

Sure, it’s easy to deep dive into wiki pages of people who were inclusive, or at least more-so than their peers, but the the underground golden age of Hollywood that was actually in NYC makes me have an acute fomo that I can’t even explain. Maybe my old soul is twitching.

Liza’s voice is so much like her mother’s (Judy Garland) that it’s eery, haunting, and breathtakingly beautiful. It’s like a ghost just walked into the room.

The way Judy so desperately wanted to be in love and be loved and slept around in an industry that produces more gossip than movies - you go, girl. And then the way these affairs were usually with men already married and she had to have two abortions, just *sigh* this was a person. Not ink on a poster.

Judy dealt with severe anxiety before a performance on Bing Crosby’s talk show, and he outright spoke to the crowd like, Hey. It’s common knowledge that stars are going through things, but let’s treat this singer like a person who needs your excitement and laughter and smiles. Here’s Judy.

And she blossomed. Bing, I hate your name, but that was some good shit.

Marilyn was so ahead of her time, undervalued, under appreciated. How she, and so many other women, Judy included, had to change their names and appearance just to have jobs in the field of their passion.

Never mind all of the abuse and trauma these women grew up with and dealt with on a daily basis from the men in their lives and workplace.

People look at a picture of Marilyn and are like, “Yeah, blond hair and big boobs.”

NO! This woman was a walking mental health disaster that was not her fault, and I want to reach into that poster and hold her and feed her grapes.

“Eartha Kitt? Oh, yeah, Madame Zeroni and Yzma.”

Yes, but NO! This woman got basically exiled out of America for making the First Lady cry (good f*cking riddance) and proceeded to be a smash hit in Europe until the political scene calmed down enough for her to come back to America.

"Liza Minnelli? The old lady who’s losing her marbles?”

SHE !! IS !! OLD !!! And what a privilege to be old when her mother was an addict who accidentally overdosed, and Liza has been dealing with alcoholism and massive health issues her entire life - and surviving.

These women were born in violence, grew up in abuse, and lived and worked in such an awful industry that didn’t deserve them and I’m just *sigh*

Happy Valentine’s Day.

#not harringrove #neonponders #this is a rant

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popculturebuffet · 1 year

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It's Not the Years It's the Mileage: An Indiana Jones Retrospective: Temple of Doom (Commission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy archeologists! We're back again cracking the bullwhip for part two of Not the Years it's the Mileage, my look at all 5 Indy films, the first four of which I haven't seen in years.

Unlike Raiders which I at least remembered pretty well from seeing it a few years ago, Doom was more of a fuzzy memory. As a kid I maybe saw it once.. and was so terrified of it I didn't go back. As such many of it's best moments I mostly know from Family Guy back in it's prime

Or that Clerks episode that somehow dovetailed parodies of the bad news bears and the last starfighter into a third act temple of doom montage. Outside of Kahli Mah, which naturally BOTH referenced (I love the mola ram stand in in the clerks version just… casually popping the heart back in when Jay ruins it) I really didn't now much about this one other than it got really dark, scared a lot of children for life like it did for me, and was easily the most divisive entry of the franchise till they involved Actual Cannibal That Guy What Was in Holes. I went into this one with an open heart though hoping it wouldn't get plucked straight out for Kali. A lot of it is due to this image

But I genuinely wanted to see if the film was disliked because it was diffrent and may of put people off or if it was really a hot mess that deserved it's derision from some. Let's find out under the cut

A Long Way to Dehli

As I detailed last time, Raiders had a bit of an uphill battle to get made. But with raiders being one of the most successful films ever… the production here was more…

Our directors could do whatever the hell they want… so the issue to start was more what the hell DID they want? While George Lucas had sold Stephen on a trilogy he promised he had planned out… he had to come clean afterwords he only really had the one adventure in mind. He wanted to do more, they just had to figure out what that was.

Most of the ideas floated around were pretty awesome: There was a sweeping adventure involving Son Wu-Kong's legend in China that involved Indy motorcycling across the great wall, which Chinese Authorities refused to greenlight, a ghost story in a scotish style scrooge mcduck style nixed for being too similar to poltergeist and most epically and just begging for a disney+ series INDY IN THE VALLEY OF THE DINOSAURS. I'd also like to point to that last one for people who thought the aliens thing was George and Stevie using aliens was a giant stretch. Or this movie as they settled on black magic cult based on the film Gunga Din, which I know next to nothing about.

Once they had the theme settled they went to Laurence Kasdan again to write the script. HIs response to following up the biggest success in his career?

Yeah Kasdan HATED the idea completely, calling it gross, too dark and feeling Speilberg and Lucas were in a very dark place. The latter wasn't wrong: Lucas was going thorugh a divorce, Speilberg a messy breakup, and Lucas would flat out admit later that his messy divorce was part of why the film turned out the way it did. So instead of taking the advice of someone who helped them sort out how messy their first pitch for Raiders was… they promptly went to William Hyuck and Gloria Katz, who wrote one of Lucas' other previous smash hits, American Graffiti

… and would go on to write Howard the Duck

They basically gave the boys exactly what they wanted and they were off to the races. The only other major hurtle was that India refused to let them film there unless they let the goverment consult citing inacurate depcitions of the culture and heroic depcitions of the british colonizers who occupied the country for far too long. Once again instead of listening to common sense.. they ignored the voices loudly telling them

And pressed on. And it seemed to work out. Despite all the naysaying, when the film actually got out… it was a massive hit, being the global #1 and domestic #3 behind

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and Ghostbusters, so not shabby at all. It was also a critical darling with Pauline Kael, who hated the last film, loving this one and Roger Ebert shockingly loving it. I'm shocked more because he really REALLY fucking hated horror and with the darker and more violent tone of this film, I didn't expect him to be a fan. It's weird what got through to him I swear.

It also had a giant impact on cinema… in that it was, along with gremlins, one of the straws that broke the mpaa's back and led to the creation of PG-13. Yeah to my shock when I found out as a teen this wasn't always a thing: PG used to cover more films. Granted the MPAA's ratings can be a bit wonky for a variety of reasons we don't have time to get into but introducing something between FOR THE SHORTYS and SEX AND VIOLENCE O'CLOCK MOTHERFUCKER was entirely necessary.

So really while i'm sure there are people who didn't like TOD on sight, the backlash sorta creeped in with time and despite a seemingly warm audience reception… the creators have gone on record as NOT liking it. Speilberg feels the only good thing to come out of it was his marriage to Kate Capshaw and Lucas, like I said, was in a very dark place. Neither really seem FOND of the film and it feels less like two creators bowing to public opinion and two simply realizing that while the film pleased crowds and displeased the MPAA, it was

A Hot Mess of Monkey Brains

If nothing else, Temple helped me come up with a new term: A Carte Blanche Sequel. As with this franchise a creator can often have an uphill battle with their first work, trying to get it made, get executives not to fuck it up, etc. But if all goes right, the work is a success as it should be and thus the creator is given more opportunities, and this time execs ease up a tad as they assume the person knows what their doing. And Ideally this IS how creative works should work and sometimes does work out : for instance Jonathan Hickman at marvel started small.. but once he did bigger works like his runs on avengers, fantastic four and x-men, they were were all sweeping well thought out epics with neat changes to the status quo that were warmly welcomed by the fans. But at the same time just in the same office you find guys like Dan Slott or (formerly) Brian Micheal Bendis who USED to write great works, but no have given up carring both what the people actually reading them want, what's in continuity or even what people actually care about because they made some good works once and are riding that shit for life. It's a very hard tightrope to walk: even when it should've been a slam dunk like Gilmore Girls year in the life it can still end up falling into pitfalls the creator just didn't realize were there and no one had enough courage to tell them no. And that's what Temple of Doom Falls into for me. Like Year in the LIfe it's not TERRIBLE, there's good parts to it.. but it's messy and not exactly well planned. There are parts that are downright awful and never should've gotten off the board. It's what happens when you have all the power, but none of the responsibility.

The result is a score of problems with some good bits floating in the middle. THe first is that the film is way too damn fast paced. It was apparently even WORSE originally with Speilberg adding in matte painting shots in post to help slow it down. While Raiders also had a fast pace it had plenty of calmer talkier moments: The beauitful temple opening gave way to Indy teaching a class and setting up this adventure. Indy and Marion escaping Egypt gave way to the two reconciling on a boat. and the utterly horrifying finale gives way to a calm wrap up and the warehouse finale. Raiders got that you need to have slower moments to build the characters to make you care when their plunked in the set pieces. Doom by contrast has even it's talking pieces be bit productions: our heroes have a meal of over the top gross shit while getting exposition, Indy talks not to a fleshed out real feeling person but a stereotypical quest villager who needs his help because the Thuggee stole his stone, even Indy's moment with his love interest is over the top slap slap kiss kiss. There's not a lot of time to rest for five minutes, which is fine when the tension is up but makes for a film that while shorter feels like less of note happened.

Indy also feels diminished. While I do get why this film is set before Raiders, so they wouldn't have to use nazi's once again, the problem is doing so means Indy can't EVOLVE. Part of what made the first film so fascinating was seeing this weatherbeaten guy evolve, see him let his walls down, let marion in and grow as a person. I honesetly wish they'd went with the earlier pitch, having it set back with Abner Ravenwood and Marion , find out what happened during said fallout. Instead it's just we find Indy doing what he did: selling artifacts, doing the right thing begrudgingly and romancing the nearest lady. We still get good character stuff: Indy only needs one stone for his quest, to help an ailing villiage that see sit as sacred.. but goes after the others not out of arrogance or greed, but to make the find of a lifetime. There's a bit of ego, but it's clear it's just as much having two of these to display to the world, taking them to a museum not to horde or culturally steal but to show off. Even when left iwth just one.. he give sit back to the village, feeling their right to it was more important, which serves as a ncie contrast to later when stealing one just to make a buck is just a regular thing for him.

My faviorite though that dosen't involve short round: Indy is trying to sneak past.. but sees the children of the villiage he's aiding in slavery to the thugee and one being beat and purpsuflly distracts the guard. He knows he'll be captured.. but he also knows there's no other option that he can live with.

The film just feels a lot less soulful.. it's why quiet moments in a film MATTER: you sometimes need just a second. Even Avengers Infinity War, a film with an absolutely breakneak pace.. still has small moments to plan. Even if our heroes don't really get a break from start to finish, there are moments for them to regroup and plan for a second before the next attack on Thanos or more character driven moments that help us care about both sides: We get Thanos waxing on WHY he settled on his genocidal nightmare of a plan, his killing of gamora to get the soul stone, and for our heroes we get moments to plan and strategize or moments of levity. While still a fight the fight with the guardians and Iron Man's Patchwork Avengers is played almost entirely for laughs, and we get a nice moment of character interaction as Tony trying to actually make a plan is interuptted with Star Lord butting in like a 12 year old. IT's the character that makes a film and in this one while Indy and Short Round do their best there jus tisn't a ton.

Credit where it's due: Short Round is awesome. Is he a perfectly made character? No. Lucas and Speilberg's accidental prejudice leaks in and he shouts every line.. but he's also a compitent , smartass, someone who can trade barbs with Indy easily, and was resourceful: when captured and ensalve dhis response is to simply break his bonds. When faced with a brainwashed indy his resolve is to break it and free his friend. He's a kid who dosen't give up, pulls his weight and proves invluable to the quest. It's mind boggling he never came back for crusade and we never found out what happened to him and hopefully with his actor now being a friggin oscar winner and rightful public darling, we might get a spinoff filling that out. He may not be in dial of destiny, but Short Round is in my heart.

Ini more the galbladder reigion.. is willie. Oh my Kali…. Willie. If you needed a giant massive red flag with big bold letters on it screaming "THESE MEN JUST WENT THROUGH SOME ROUGH BREAKUPS" this was it. Marion Ravenwood was a fairly fleshed out , self reliant woman who didn't take indy's shit, backed him up when she could. She did get kidnapped a silver age lois lane amount, but she was still likeable and brought out the best in our hero Willie.. is just obnoxious. I get what they were going for on some level: they wanted to have Indy's new love intrest be a constrast, being less self reliant and more tradionally feminine, but still compitent in her own way. She isn't too terrible at first: her shrill shouting is there, but she's compitent in the opening singing an utterly bizzare but captivating version of anything goes in what's bound to be the weridest intro in these films. I'm calling it now despite knowing 4 has a nuke, and not having a single idea how Dial of Destiny will open. But just hard cutting to a chinese nightclub rendition of anything goes that goes in and out of english for no reason…

It's oddly delightful. And willie shows her prowess: She weasels her way into the meeting, and once chaos breaks out and Indy Friend We Just Met dies , she tries to sneak the diamond and has the good sense to steal the antidote to the poison you just drank. Granted it leads to the

Of Indy reaching in there to grab it later, but points for trying to find some way to surivive this. It's just after this.. she spends most of the runtime complaning loudly about everything. It's a LITTLE understandable as she didn't ask for this adventure.. but she also stole the serum Indy needed to LIVE to save herself, and he took her with him and short round out of the country simply because otherwise she'd likely be shot by these guys on principal and takes her with him largely because she's safter with him than alone… mostly because she also wants to try and wander off on her own at about 80 points and predictably nearly dies. He has no real opportunity to ditch her somewhere safe as given her trying to ungreatfully turn around more food than most of the people of the village they first ge tto see in a week indicates she'd just try and run off once things got rough and wind up in danger, and once they get to an actual city, it's ran by the thuggee cult, so he can't exactly leave her unsuprvised. Indy, even if he's an ass about it is doing the right thing and she just won't shut up or get that maybe a hot shower just isn't something you can get. It's no wonder her own actress hates the character: She's an utter nightmare of a character. You can have someone whose both very touchy about their apperance and badass. See Daphne in most post -what's new scooby doo works, Rarity from Friendship is Magic, Star Butterfly, or Emma Frost from the X-Men. Being feminine dosen't mean you can't kick ass and it's clear Speilberg and Lucas hadn't realized that. It results in Willie dragging the film down and me just.. not carring about her and indy. He's a dick to her and she screeches every other line. No one wants this to happen. As for our antagonists their not terrible.. but they lack the development Beloq got. Mola Ram at least has Toht's intimdation factor and of course KAHLI MA, he's not terrible and is one of the most homaged parts of this fiml for a reason. Amrish Puri does a fantastic job. But there was a clear opportunity to do more with these guys: Both Ram and his minion Chatter Lal bring up the British occupatoin of India. Ram could easily be seen as a magneto or toffee type: a man whose doing evil shit (in this caase slavery) but to try and repel the colonizers and take his country back. It also makes bringing the Thuggee back make perfect sense: he's taking something from India's past to try and give it back to it's people. The problem is despite having a genuine bone to pick with the british.. their portrayed as WRONG. That the british occupation ain't no thang, those are the good guys, while the people who, even if their using absolutley terrible methods and still aren't good people, are sene as mustache twirling villians for it. I get what Lucas and Speilberg are going for, that their lying for their own ends.. but it only works if that's made clear. Instead for all we know Ram really does think the evil he's doing is the only way to break even against an occupting force. Which brings us both to our final section.. and the part of the film that's the most aggrviating Now With 80% more racisim!

Yeahhh. While Raiders racisim was bad and should feel bad I at least got the sense George and Steven didn't know any better and were simply going off old pulp cliches they hadn't realized were racist, being white men in power in the 1980s. It didn't make things OKAY, but you could say "it was a diffrent time" and at least enjoy the other parts of the film, and if you can't it's totally fair.

With Temple of Doom.. it's way harder to wince at and move on as wingus and dingus' accidental racisim is , instead of kinda off to the side and in the margins of the story after the opening… at the center of the godamn plot. It's their voodoo hoodoo, their story where no matter the talent the racisim at the center just makes it very hard to sit through a good chunk of it. Even not knowing Indian culture well, I still don't, I could tell something was.. off about the way it was presented even before looking up the speitcis like how shanrkah stones are more phallic symbols of shiva that are neat to have around more than worshipped objects, how Kali worshipppers don't act like this, or how the Thugee were gone decades ago. It all came off less as a historical version of india and more what four white people who bothered to do not one iota of research outside of rewatching Gunga Din had. And unlike last time where I could at least give them the wiggle room tha tno one told them here Kasdan (whose own script to raidres had some iffy elements), and the GOVERMENT OF INDIA ITSELF told them this was bad please change it and they did not listen. I feel way more comfortable laying into them here when it's clear they could've done their work. Hell Carl Barks, one of Stephen's clear inspirations for this series, for all his own racisim of his time, at least did through research of places. Here it just felt like they just thought "Eh india will work since we can't do china" and adapted the film from there. The result is a film that's flavor is entirely "white savior x-treme blast". The village our heroes end up in fall heavily into

Basically relying on an astral savior instea dof thinking of a plan to save the kids that dosen't give their hand besides "throw the first white guy we find at it and hope it works. " This one at least was common at the time and while that STILL dosen't make it okay, I can at least see how this slipped through Everything else though? Hoo boy. So as I mentioned the villians both speak out against the colonialism of Britan. The evil eil guy who works for Mola Ram points out how britian checks in like their children who need to be guided. That's a bad thing.. but since i'ts coming out of the obvious villain it instead comes off like the film agrees, especially since the british army.. are seen as GOOD GUYS. And I don't know a ton about the occupation of india but I looke dup enough to know it was brutal, bloood soaked and you know horrible, something even without google they could've done and India outright listed in their issues with the script. There is ZERO reason to involve these guys. Sure Indy needs a calvary later.. but just have him see an old friend at the palace who happens to know some guriellas or something. bam. Problem solved. Why , of all things, did you choose an occupying force to be your big damn heroes at the end? Instead of a triumphant moment.. it's a bunch of colonliast assholes wiping out wave after wave of "savages" who the film TREATS as such. It's fucking disgusting now, it shoudl've been then and it's easily one of the things that just.. ruined the film for me. We also of course have to talk about the gross dinner scene. With that one.. I think the scene is bad and dumb on my own merits, but also misguided> The intent was clearly to have the villians purposfully prey on western racisim to try and get indy and captain racsiim to leave. The problem is A) your having the bad guys do it and B) it's not expressed clearly enough to come off as that insteead of them genuinely thinking that. Several people were genuinly ignorant enough to think this was actual indian cuisine which for the record is vegetarian for the most part and what isn't isn't live animals. WHat i'ms aying is MAYBE don't portray country's food via a "what grosses us out the most " contest like your 12. Which is genuinely how the writers deecided what to add. I wish I was joking. The result is a film that is just. .hard to watch at times. I wanted to like it: I went in trying to give it a chacne.. but the heavy racisim, sloppy plot, lack of a character arc and everything just left a bad taste in my mouth. Ironically the one thing I thought might be a deal breaker, the dark tone… was actually good. I liked that it went a bit darker, did something diffrent. I don't like a LOT of the diffrences, but out of all the films problems being dark and gloomy isn't one of them. It' sproblem is two guys with a lot of talent but not a lot of filter go totgether and made whateve rthey wanted, and it turned out a racist hard to follow mess that's fun to look at but gets less and less the more you think about it. I liked Raiders MORE as I wrote about it, found more ot enjoy, found more little crannies.. with this one.. I ended up going from "it's okay" to just… really not liking it at all by the end of this review. It's far from the worst thing i've reviewed and while certainly up there isn't the most racist.. but it is a disapointment that this flim lived down to it's reuptation and i'm hoping last crusade will boost my spirits a bit. On the bright side at least Short Round got an oscar and has a bright future ahead of him.. and hopefully I do too. Thanks for reading.

#indiana jones #temple of doom #key huy quan #harrison ford #kali ma #mola ram #stephen speilberg #george lucas #Youtube

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signalwatch · 1 year

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Angry Animal Watch: Cocaine Bear (2023)

Watched: 05/12/2023

Format: Peacock

Viewing: First

Director: Elizabeth Banks

EDIT: After posting, I was reminded that Banks also directed "Pitch Perfect 2" and "Charlie's Angels". I want to thank the commenter here and on signal-watch.com who mentioned this. Also, a big reminder to check IMDB before I hit publish.

Sometimes a movie is exactly what you thought it was going to be, but is also what what you were *hoping* it would be, while also being *better* than what you expected. It's a peculiar equation, but in the middle of this particular triangle of expectation vs. reality, we find Cocaine Bear (2023).

Now, Cocaine Bear is not for everyone. I read a few reviews that were quite cross about "nothing happens, it's just a bunch of sequences". And, sort of. But, also, that's exactly the point. This is a movie about the joy of a rampaging bear fucking people up. And, frankly, if you think the *many, many* movies about people getting picked off one-by-one are deep character work with the bear/ shark/ what-have-you as merely a framework, I have some property to sell you in Arizona. A few are, 90% of them are filling time. Elizabeth Banks, here in her first feature directorial effort, utterly understands the assignment.

Banks cuts out any character development to the "bare" minimum. The bear is not a metaphor. It is not retribution. It is not even a force of nature, for in nature, bears do not do massive amounts of coke. While technically "man vs. nature" is our conflict, nature has consumed massive quantities of cocaine.

We are not here to learn anything. We're not going to pretend there's a story of human ingenuity or the human spirit. We're going to observe people get killed in hilariously horrible ways by a bear, starting from minute one and ending in minute 90. And we're going to like it.

Cocaine Bear is clearly a rated-R horror comedy, and indulges in a gleeful nihilism as the mission rather than pretending it's doing something else. No one's morals or innocence are going to protect them from a bear hopped up on goofballs. So, be prepared for chaos in a world with no real meaning.

The plot is based on two things that really happened. IRL, a known drug dealer was found dead in someone's yard with an un-popped parachute and loaded down with 70 lbs of cocaine. The plane crashed in North Carolina, but drugs seem to have fallen from the plane into Georgia, where a 175 lb bear got into them and was found dead from partying too hard. No hikers, naturalists, rangers, punks or anyone else was eaten by a bear.The movie knows this is an anecdote, not a story. And, in the time-honored tradition of cinema, asks "what if?"

Banks, who has been a thing in Hollywood since at least 2002's Spider-Man (she made a smashing Betty Brant, and I'm sorry she was so underutilized in that franchise), is able to get some interesting casting. I assume she just said "I'm Elizabeth Banks and I'm making a movie" and that was a selling point for much of the cast.*

Sure, it's weird that this is Ray Liotta's second-to-final picture (he's also in the just-released Fool's Paradise). But the film has Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson, Jr. That's kinda nuts for a movie about a rampaging bear.

There's a lot of remarkably good visual humor in this thing - if you can stand fake bear maulings - from tree-based jokes to ambulances in trouble. But character stuff, too, like the mini-arc of the detective disappointed in the dog the ASPCA has given him. One of the funniest gags of the movie - to me - is that a kid (a friend of Russel's daughter) acts shockingly like a real kid in the midst of all the chaos.

Anyway - quality work. A perfect Friday-night watch. Two paws up. Way up.

*whenever Banks gets interviewed, she's very sharp. I suspect getting into directing could be a great move for her.

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#cocaine bear #bear #cocaine #movies #film review

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ericmhe · 1 year

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Godzilla Series Rewatch

Godzilla vs Destroyah

Personally I'm fond of 'Destoroyah' for some reason, Destroyer is kind of generic, but the middle ground seems to be the most used. Oh let's see how well I remember everything, I watched the movie and got sicker and spent a couple days kind of out of it.

Finally! This movie says that the original Godzilla was killed by the Oxygen Destroyer and ever since 1984/5/Returns it's been a second Godzilla once again. I couldn't figure it out in that movie since that issue was glossed over. I think Godzilla vs King Ghidorah might contradict this a little, it's been a while, but it really doesn't matter. Since this was supposed to be Godzilla's sign off movie for some time it makes sense that there are cuts to the first movie and some older actors showing up.

Rather like Destroy All Monsters before it, my first viewing of this movie was hurt pretty badly by the 'hype men' doing their job too well. It's a rare thing for me, I actually have 'crushing disappointment from being too invested in the unknown' as something of a 'core' or 'foundational' memory so it's really rare for me to be too hyped up by something beforehand. Pretty sure all the times it has happened can still be counted on one hand so it's interesting that two of those times were Godzilla movies.

Shortly after Godzilla shows up in his burning state they say any attack on him might cause him to explode and destroy the entire atmosphere so they won't be trying to stop him. I kind of want to yell at them about older movie plot points but they eventually remember one of them with the cadmium missiles. I wonder about the anti-nuclear bacteria but this time around Godzilla might actually have a body temperature too high for it so it makes some sense. What about the blood coagulant though? Supposedly that was going to be dangerous to Godzilla from a man-portable weapon which was just silly, but it would be a less “explodey” method, yeah?

Anyway the movie sure spends a lot of time trying to get us to worry about the baby after the last movie barely took the time to confirm he was ok. Godzilla Jr now if I recall, the slight name adjustment each time is a choice I guess.

Throughout this movie characters give exposition things that should be almost impossible to know about Godzilla's state like he willingly checked himself in for diagnosis that morning. It's great. He will explode on this exact time, he'll melt down at this exact temperature and not one degree before or after.” How exactly is meltdown worse than exploding in this case, by the way? They said Godzilla exploding burns off the atmosphere, so even if you were far enough away to not be killed by the blast or worldwide shrapnel, everything above the ocean's surface suffocates quickly and ocean life is going to take massive hits shortly.

I doubt it was intentional but the fact that they're back to Super X ships has me imagining that the world's just running out of budget to fight Godzilla at this point. Japan can't raise taxes any more, USA and other allies are just tired of seeing money get evaporated in nuclear pulses and death rays. Rebuilding and relocating is eating up the budgets that relatively neutral nations are willing to put up. It's probably an election issue but I don't know enough about Japan's elections to guess at what it would look like. “The budget for one of MechaGodzilla's arms could have re-homed a hundred thousand people, instead the war machine lies broken like every other!” “Look, if we don't stop the nuclear dinosaur somehow the relocating won't stop.”

It's interesting that Destroyah is established as freakishly strong almost right away, being the first tiny creature busting its way out of a lab storage beaker or whatever. Suppose it helps sell just how easily the larger forms smash through walls, drop through floors, and rip apart cars later. There was quite a lot of “Lady, that's not protecting you! You have to take your chances in an open run!” during a fairly long and drawn out scene, made all the more annoying when a guy pulls her out of the car and they easily outrun the growing Destroyah. I know it's a composite creature, but I can't recall if the earlier stages had their own name. The burning/melting face of the creature model is a good shot, I figure they knew what they had with Destroyah's demonic look.

I feel like Miki caves on the “feed Jr to Destroyah and hope Destroyah wins the fight with adult Godzilla” pretty quickly, but whatever, the plot needs to happen. It makes it a bit harder to feel for her when she's upset about his struggle and eventual losing though. Also the authorities decided Tokyo was the place for the giant monster brawl? As much mockery gets tossed at 2014's “Let them fight” at least the monsters were all already in the city, no one was luring them all there to throw down. When Destroyah emerges fully grown for the finale someone comments it's the biggest thing they've ever seen and I had to roll my eyes a bit – say Destroyah is more massive than MechaKingGhidorah, I highly doubt that's obvious even if they were both side by side. Also, you know, oceans, sky, landmasses...

Massively lowered expectations helped me see this battle in a better light, I've seen the movie a few times before but I've always felt like fans are great at making it sound like the most epic thrown down you can imagine only to have it be another Heisei Godzilla fight. So that's been my opinion for some time but I haven't watched it in a while and in retrospect it deserves better than that, there was a lot of work done to make some parts stand out, from the dragging scenes to Destroyah barfing up blood from damage and Godzilla's spines melting. I think I'm a little disappointed that they didn't figure out a new sound for when he ends up mourning Jr, ah well.

Does Destroyah even die in this movie? It looks like it's mostly intact and just gets its wings blasted so it falls, which doesn't seem like enough to kill it after all that's happened. I guess we're supposed to assume so, like maybe Godzilla's meltdown finished it off? I read a fanfic once that was just a little 'Destroyah survived after credits scene' because of how it wasn't made as clear as it could be. Of course the big ending moment is Jr comes back to live as the new Godzilla and they've never done a sequel so there's a lot of questions about how things progress – does Jr stay peaceful or did something about his worst day ever change him? We don't know, they never did a sequel.

But someone tried to.

For a little bonus; how do I feel about Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex as an unofficial sequel to the Heisei Godzilla movies? It's fine, it breaks formula with the 'boss and minions' format instead of one threat but there's nothing wrong with that. Godzilla's stony appearance and new powers are a little weird but it can be chalked up to 'wasn't mutated by a man-made bomb but a world-ending super blast' I suppose. It does sort of discount the idea that Jr had his own series of adventures and power ups afterwards because the narration mentions things have been peaceful ever since. The short film seems to cast Godzilla in a more heroic role to a degree, the collateral damage gets nuts and there isn't much personality given to its Godzilla, what characterization there is in that short is given to the Gigans. The minions take some joy in the destruction they spread and their boss has an awfully cold attitude towards them and has the theatrics of an anime villain. I wish Toho would leave their suitmation shorts up.

#godzilla #destroyah #godzilla vs destroyah

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lorz-ix · 4 months

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Time for another series retrospective

REC (2007)

I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of mainstream spanish cinema, but holy shit if this isn't one of the best movies my country has produced. This found footage zombie movie released during the peak of those sub-genres, and they really tried their hardest to make it something special. It was filmed in real locations using actual neighbors as extras to make the movie feel truly real, and it paid off.

I won't go into much more detail. If you think what I already said sounds interesting, just go watch it. It's legitimately top quality stuff.

REC 2 (2009)

This one instantly goes in the "sequels that are arguably better than the original" list. Picking up exactly where the first movie ended, now we get to see what goes down when security forces have to enter the scene. This makes for a different vibe, since a lot has already happened, but they really manage to set up strong stakes and drama, plus we get to see a bit more of the reasoning behind what caused the events in the first place. Some people might dislike that the curtain over that mystery gets pulled a little bit, like in so many horror sequels, but I believe it's done just enough to keep things as interesting as they can be.

REC 3: Génesis (2012)

The only one of these I had the chance to see in cinemas back in the day. It's a massive change of pace and tone, since in order to tell a different story, they abandon the found footage style early on, and there's a lot more comedy bits in there.

Frankly, it's very easy to just watch the first two and forget they made more, because this isn't on that top tier level anymore, but I honestly still like the third entry. I think they were able to pull off an emotional story pretty well. Perhaps I am biased as a spaniard, because the setting and characters still feel very real, like this wedding gone wrong is one I have attended many times, minus the zombies of course.

I guess my verdict is "trust me on this one bro", you might think it's generic and not fantastic, but you might like it too.

REC 4: Apocalipsis

If you think a horror sequel that tells you too much about the "lore" ruins the appeal, then you've come to the wrong place. This final entry feels like one of those later Resident Evil movies, with a lot of action, a crazy setting and infodumps from an actual evil villain. It's forgettable, it kinda tarnishes what came before, and I can only suggest watching it if you're really curious about watching all of them.

Quarantine (2008)

You want proof that REC was a smash hit? Here you have it. Americans just bought the rights to remake the whole movie from the ground up, except with half the charm since it was filmed in sets with regular actors, and it's a cynical remake rather than a passionate original project.

In all seriousness, it's not a bad movie, it can't be when they're mostly competently copying something that's so good, but why would you watch this when you literally have a better version right there? Because you hate listening to other languages? Because subtitles bother you?

To add insult to injury though, they took the relatively unique paranormal/religious lore of the original series, which was kinda relevant because the whole catholic angle felt very grounded in the spanish setting, and replaced it with a generic biohazard/virus plot. Yup. They really thought making the movie even less special and more generic would be a good idea.

Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011)

The people who brought you Quarantine couldn't keep remaking the original series, so instead they opted to make an original sequel, and it's even less special, more forgettable, and less worthy of your time.

The one and only reason to watch this one is if you're really interested on hearing a bit more of that sweet "original" lore that they changed for this american copycat. Everything else I already forgot about.

#lorz mediapost 2023 #movies #long post #horror

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lemonhobgoblin · 3 years

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A Casual Night

Mothman x human reader (gender-neutral)

Word Count: 7k

(I remember saying I would have a fic done the same week I posted my other fic. Well, that was a lie. After dealing with work, creating new wips, and editing what started as a 2k fic became this long-ass post. I tried to keep this gender-neutral, but if there are any parts thats not gender-neutral, or if something doesn't make sense give me a message and I'll fix it. Anyway hope you enjoy!)

The faint sound of your car running and the sound of the wind whipping against the surface was muddled out by old tunes playing from a random radio station filling the lonely ride home. Your eyes trained on the dark empty road ahead, your headlights on full beam, lighting your way. The subtle notes of a box of cooling pizza wafting in your direction every so often.

You were driving from a city over from where you lived, coming back from a friend’s home who was having a small get-together. It was a great time, unwinding from the stresses of work and life in general, with games, movies, playful banter, and sharing a couple of drinks. As the night progressed, things began to slow down, one of your friends passed out on the couch while everyone else turned to some lighthearted conversation. Leading the host to pipe up if they were willing to spend the night given how late it has gotten and mostly due to how much some people drank.

While everyone was willing to stay the night and continue their night of merriment. You on the other hand as well as one other person had to leave for the night due to work obligations you both had tomorrow morning.

Regretfully, you made your exit not without being offered leftovers for the ride back. But halfway home, you received an email detailing how you were not needed for work tomorrow as you were getting gas.

With this newfound information, you had the choice of making a U-turn back or continue straight home.

Rather than driving back to your friend's home, you were just going to continue your way home. You already said goodnight to them, and you were almost home even though it was still quite a ways to go. Nevertheless, they probably turned in for the night by now, and there was always next time to make it up to them.

So driving down an empty two-way road, with no lights fixture to light the road. With no other cars passing through, keeping you company. Only the trees crowding around the road giving you some sort of haunting looming audience. This was a normally busy road; however, by how late in the night it was, it was understandably dead.

Fortunately, enough, you saw your first signs of life up ahead. It seemed to be a herd of deer passing by. You honked your horn to scare them away from the oncoming danger that was your car.

Except instead of dispersing, they stayed in place, it didn’t seem out of the ordinary why else did they have the saying 'a deer in headlights.'

But what was odd, was the closer you approached the herd of deer they seemed to be floating off the pavement, apparently, they were one entity and not a group and had a pair of red glowing eyes. It stirred an unpleasant feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Promptly, an undiscernible screech erupted all around, jolting you in your seat, feeling a pang of sudden fear washing over you. Convincing yourself it was only the radio going off the fritz, peeling your eyes away from the road you scrambled to shut off the device. During your haste to bring an end to the blaring otherworldly sound, you didn’t realize how fast you were driving.

"What the fuck?!" Seeing a flash of a large dark mass smashing against your windshield - shards of glass flying around and onto you.

Swerving your car over to the side of the road, feeling the right side slope down, the bumps of the grass making you rattle and jostle in your seat. Putting your car to a complete stop.

Frantically, you scrambled to free yourself from your seatbelts, ripping yourself from your constraints, you busted out your car. Not giving a single care to the state of your car or your frazzled state. Only concerned about what or who you hit.

Jogging down, you saw a crumpled figure on the ground, he was a good distance away from where you parked. "Oh my god," You exclaimed.

“I didn’t see you coming, I’m so sorry," you yelled, hurrying to aid the individual. You didn’t get a response or see any movement - he did hit your car pretty hard.

Scared for their wellbeing you slowed down and fished for your phone in your back pocket to call for help. But before you could dial for help, you saw something that put halt to your actions. You starred in disbelief as your phone locked out.

From the figure, a wing stretched out toward the sky before folding back in itself.

What the hell did you hit?!

Cautiously, you crept forward to get a better look, you could see he was wearing a fur jacket. No. He was furry everywhere, dull in color but with an interesting print on what you believed was the wings, the pattern was similar to a moth's wing. A costume perhaps? His legs were a digitigrade structure and his feet are similar to a bird's foot arrangement. The talons of which were scraping against the road like an animal in pain.

"A moth?" Perplexed at what exactly you were looking at, it still seemed human, but it was too large in stature given it curled up on the ground. This had to be some large person in a very convincing costume. Assuming it was someone dressed up, as what you could only think of as Mothman. A random tall person dressed head to toe in an extremely convincing Mothman in the middle of an isolated road, for reasons you couldn't conjure but there had to be a rational reason as to why.

The closer you approached, the more of your rationality began to slip. Carefully you squat down, putting your hands on its back, it felt real. Too real.

The wings felt warm, stroking your hand down, you felt the ridges, bumps, and what felt like a pulse, in the wings. You noticed it had a plush ruff around its neck that could’ve been mistaken for a scarf. And there were antennas on its head, it was featherlike and twitched every few seconds. You had no desire to investigate further, yet you had a gnawing sense of curiosity that compelled you.

Besides what if was someone who was severely injured and needed immediate help. And what kind of person would you be if you just drove off without a second thought, leaving them to die. You couldn't live with yourself if that was the case.

This is too unreal. But all the signs suggested otherwise.

Bracing yourself, you gently turned him over to face you, the moment you caught a glimpse of his face, you felt instant regret surge through your veins. You stumbled backward, landing on your back, trying to push yourself away from the massive creature with your legs.

"MOTHMAN!!" You screamed.

This in turn alarmed the cryptid, flapping his wings erratically in response to your sudden outcry. It was emitting these indiscernible sounds that you had heard earlier in the car, it provoked that familiar immense fear within you.

Except, this was louder than when you were in your car, the sound reverberated through you, chills traveling up your spine. You could feel your heart palpitating within your chest, your trembling limbs growing numb. You felt your senses heightened at an alarming rate it was nauseating that you felt your mind blur. If these disquieting sounds alone could trigger your flight or fight response, without the presence of the monster. It was nothing in comparison to the full show that was in front of you, it was overwhelming in all the senses, inciting you to get far as possible.

"Holy shit!" Pulling yourself from your state of shock, you turned over onto your hands and knees, pushing yourself up and away, making a straight beeline to your car without delay.

The screeching stopped behind you. Glancing back toward the monster curious if it was making a move towards you. But all you saw was a poor incapacitated being, pitifully attempting to lift itself away. One of its wings was flapping while the other was barely moving at all. When it tried to move its stiff wing, it wouldn't fully extend before retracting it back, making what sounded like a pained low screech.

In all honesty, even in your fear-driven state, it pained you to witness this distressing scene. Pondering back and forth between taking the car and leaving, or taking your chances with the monster.

Inching toward the car, all without removing your eyes from the scene. Then you heard a more distressing shrill, stopping you dead in your tracks. You couldn't leave him.

He still needs help.

Inhaling a deep breath, you shakily walked back, each step was challenging you felt so weak in the knees and you felt lighter than usual. Your mouth desiccated of any moisture but persisted in swallowing nothing. It felt as if you were walking down to your execution and it might as well be. You couldn't predict what it would do or what it was capable of doing if you got any closer. Regardless, you tried to push your fears aside and help him, even if it killed you.

"Hold on, I'm not gonna hurt you. Just don’t hurt me please." Easing yourself onto your knees, mindful of not doing any sudden movements to provoke it any further for both of your sakes.

Bringing a hand back to where you had it before, you delicately brushed your hand up and down in small strokes on its wing. Focusing on his state and not his appearance, you saw cuts and scrapes littering its wings and body.

You grazed over an open wound, causing the creature to flinch, silently apologizing to him in a hushed tone before continuing to pet him while avoiding any more wounds.

Its breathing began to slow, quelling its jitters. You took this as an indicator of the creature growing at ease at your presence. “See I just wanna help." You whispered as the Moth creature peered up, gazing into your eyes in a sort of mutual understanding. Ensuring a feeling of reprieve within you and within him, or so you thought. It was soon to be proven wrong. The moment was short-lived when the cryptid began to thrash around again, this time trying to keep you away from him.

"Wait I thought we had an understanding there." Pulling yourself into a ball to avoid the cryptid's violent flapping wing and arms recklessly whipping around. "The eye contact we had! The eye contact!" you screamed after being betrayed by this false sense of amicable trust you thought you both had shared at that moment. But this ineffectively did nothing to fix the dilemma, merely adding more to the chaos.

"Please I want to help you." Reaching your hand out to calm him once more, without the screaming and flailing this time. "This was my fault, I wanna help and then you can go on your Mothman way, okay?" You tried to coax. Once more the monster began to quiet down, its quick shallow breathing slowed. Weary of his soothed behavior, you waited a bit before wrapping his arm over your neck.

"Okay, I'm gonna pick you up or at least try to." You said, guiding him upward into a standing position.

"Christ, you’re heavy!" Bending under the weight, propping him against your frame, so you could get a proper footing and grip on him. You struggled to the car, trudging over, but not without one of your legs giving out from under the weight occasionally. What caught your eye was how his head lulled forward or side to side, he might be disoriented from the blow. Not wanting to move his head much, you trudged much slower than you already were and stopped every few seconds.

Arriving at you your vehicle, you rested against your car, before opening the car door and easing him inside into the backseat. Tucking in any stray limbs and wings fully inside the car. Shutting the door you looked at the heavily cracked windshield. It was damaged pretty well, you summarized that you had to slowly drive all the way home. Wait home.

"Wait, I can't just bring you to my house." You said, bringing a hand to your mouth, realizing a new issue. "Someone's gonna see you." Remembering you lived on a busy street near pubs and shops, and it was Friday night you could only assume there were still people out and about enjoying the nightlife. Peering inside your car, your eyes locked on your jacket in the front seat.

"Maybe I can disguise you, and it is Friday night maybe people would be too drunk to notice."

"As long as we don't draw too much attention." You said, getting into your seat and starting up the engine. But something about saying those words aloud, felt like it was going to bite you in the ass but what’s the worst that can happen, you had him handled.

….

Here you were driving back home with the low-volume melody playing like before. However, this was different, before you were alone and you welcomed the tranquil ambiance you had riding home. But now you were riding back with an elusive creature. Creating an unsettling silence within the vehicle. What was maddening was that you were unsure what he was thinking, making you unsure of what to do besides drive. Maybe you were overthinking this but you felt you had to do something to break this disorienting atmosphere because this was too hard to fathom as reality.

"D-Do you want gum? L-Leftover pizza?" Your voice cracked, quickly clearing your throat asking again in a stronger confident voice.

No response. You tapped your fingers on the steering wheel, sucking in your cheek prompting you to purse your lips in your endeavor of finding what else to say. Flitting your eyes back and forth from the road to looking around your car on what else to offer.

"My coat?"

No response again.

Looking at your rearview mirror to get a glimpse of the cryptid only to be met with its red eyes staring directly back at you. Hastily looking back to the road and sinking into your seat, alarmed. How long was he staring at you? Why was he staring? At least he seemed less disoriented now, but you didn’t need that right now, maybe you could draw his attention onto something else other than you.

"How about some air?" you asked, hoping he would stare out the window or put his head out, anything but him staring at you all the way home. Gliding your left hand over to the window control panel on the side of your door, you pushed down a button making his window rolled down. This captured his attention, redirecting his gaze towards the open window, watching the trees and road signs passing by. O thank god. but just as he turned his head to the outside, he took this as an invitation to spread his wings to catch some air.

"That doesn't mean you can start flapping, put your wings down." Whipping your head back and forth from the creature to the road, drawing a hand at him, swinging it around to get him to fold his wings down. "PUT YOUR WINGS DOWN! PUT YOUR WINGS DOWN!" Veering your car off to the side of the road.

.....

Back on the road, after sorting out the matter. "Okay, no rolled down windows." You remarked. Mothman looking like a perfect angel in the back tapping at the rolled-up window while you were in the front with your hair messed up and arms lightly scratched. You weren't a mother, but you now had a vague idea of what it would be like and further respect and admiration for them.

Needless to say, you rode the entire way back in silence without a single word being uttered.

…..

Steering your car on the side of the street in front of an apartment complex, you placed your car in park. You turned off the engine. Street lamps and other building lights were illuminating the street. The neon signs from the local business started to shut off, looked like some of them are turning in for the night.

You snatched your jacket from the passenger seat before slipping out and making your way to open Mothman’s car door.

"We need to move, quickly." Throwing your coat over him to conceal him in the event of someone walking by. Mothman pawed at the coat and clutching it closer to get a better look and smell of the material. After gathering your phone and keys, you whirled back toward Mothman. Fussing at him to not move the jacket, readjusting it over his head. You surveyed the streets for anyone coming down or seem like they are heading out in your direction.

Once more putting his arm around you, you strode as quickly as you possibly could to the complex without either of you falling over. Mercifully, you got to the door with no problem at all or bumping into anyone.

Until you heard something you’ve been dreading on the way home, something that made your heart sank down into the deep trenches of your stomach

"Holy shit! Is that Mothman!?!" A male voice exclaimed.

You whirled your head toward the stranger who was slowly approaching you two. Fuck!

Where did he come from and what made him so confident that he’s looking at Mothman. You glanced back over to Mothman noticing that the jacket that was covering his face, was now draped over his shoulders. Drastically you scoured your brain for an excuse or some sort of explanation to counter how this wasn't a cryptid. But he beat you to the punch before you had a chance to find a solid response.

"Dude sick costume!" He said excitedly.

O fuck. Relieved that it wasn't the worse, but you were surprised he didn't question any further especially how close he was to you both. Even you would've questioned, the details and just the overall realism of said 'costume'. It didn't take long for the answer to hit you square in the nose. When a waft of alcohol invaded your nostrils, the man was drunk, and you never were more grateful.

"Thanks." You nervously laughed.

"That’s crazy good man, you did this all yourself?” He asked enthusiastically towards Mothman, beholding every bit of intricacy on the creature.

"He can’t talk right now; he drank too much to function." You interjected. “We just got back from a party.”

"I gotcha, but is it okay if I get a photo though?"

FUCK! you blurted internally, but externally with faux delight, you said "Sure!"

" 'Chad' you cool with that?" you sheepishly asked your moth friend with the first name you could think of for him. And why were you asking him? As if he could make a cohesive verbal response. But you were hoping at this moment he could magically talk, alas all he did was blankly stare.

"I'm not hearing a no." You heard the man say and you woefully agreed.

"Gimme a sec." The man pulled out his phone and tapping it unlocked.

"Okay," your heart was racing in your chest and you could feel a layer of sweat beginning to form and pool in places. But by some sweet grace of some higher being, a miracle happened right before your eyes. You heard a melodious chime sweetly ring through the crisp early fall air.

"O dang getting a call, hold on" the man answered the call, turning his back towards you.

Maybe there was a god, after all, a fucking sadist with a sick sense of humor. Either way, you were not about to pass up this chance for a free getaway.

You took this God-given opportunity to jam your key into the lock swiftly to get the both of you inside. Twisting to unlock the entrance, you could overhear the man to what sounded like him wrapping up his conservation. Turning the knob, you ushered Mothman and yourself inside the apartment complex, but not without throwing a quick apology to the stranger. Slamming your back against the door shutting it closed, a wave of relief washed over you.

"Aw man, that was too close." leaning your head against the door, desperate for a quick breath from your ordeal. You hadn't felt this much adrenaline since, since. You were so winded you couldn't even recall a memory.

Peeling yourself off from the door, feeling ready to make the final steps home. Deceptively though your body wasn’t as ready to move just yet.

"Nope wait." still trying to catch your breath. Doubling over, leaning forward, and resting your hands on your knees. Mothman all the while just tilted his head at you, confused. While you were over there feeling like you were going to be sick. The wave of nausea quickly fading away allowing you to straighten yourself out.

"Okay, we're good." You said as you grabbed his hand leading him up the stairs. Unbeknownst to you, the large creature was zoning in at the unfamiliar contact.

During his entire time with you, he was just as wary of you as you were with him. He wasn’t one to present himself to people, only as a forewarning of what was to come or an indication that Mothman will be the very last thing they would see. He trailed and stalked others like you in your car but was never hit, that was a first for him. Albeit though, him getting hit with your car, leaving him cut up and bruised did give him another reason to be extremely defensive and antsy around you.

Yet, you were gentle, loud but gentle with him when he wasn’t. Risking your safety in an effort for him to get mended. Lightly ghosting his thumb over the soft skin of your hand, tightening his hold on you. But you didn't notice, you were too preoccupied with climbing higher up the stairs, vigilant for any neighbors.

"Come on we're almost to my place." Giving a reassuring hand squeeze.

"Try to stay quiet a little longer." Peering back at the cryptid flashing him a quick warm smile, before looking back straight ahead. The creature looked directly at you, then to stairs, and back to you again. He came up with a grand idea to help with your effort. But first, he had to gain your attention and for this to work, he had to disregard everything you told him not to do earlier. The cryptid started to emit his screech directly at you to get your attention. And to you, he was making a ruckus, that was echoing through the entire stairwell and halls.

"What part of stay quiet do you not understand?" Grimacing at the noise. You stopped your movement, aiming to cover his mouth with your free hand, you felt his mandibles tickling underneath your palm.

The creature pulled your hand away and into his own, clutching both of his hands close to himself, bringing you into him. This gesture was unexpected and left you feeling warm in the face by how close he was pressing you into him. But it didn't last long when he began to bend his knee and flap his wing readying himself to fly up.

"Wait don't" Pushing yourself away from him, you freed yourself from his grasp to stop his actions. He was still injured this would only cause more harm to him and to you if he tried doing what you thought he was about to do. In your effort to stop him, Mothman tried to reach out for you again, only for his wing to smack into you causing you to land on the hard edge of the concrete stairs; headfirst. “Shit."

Groaning, "Well, I deserved that." you brought your hand to your head, you winced at the touch. As you yanked your hand away you caught a glimpse of red in your peripherals. Bringing the hand in your line of vision you saw blood smeared on the tips of your fingers.

Mothman immediately brought his actions to a halt when he saw what he had done to you. His antennas drooped down, he came close, giving you a hand up. Gladly accepting the gesture, he brought you up to an upright position, he felt bad for what he had done to you. Tentatively, he brought a hand up, lightly swiping his claws over your forehead making a low pained screech.

“It’s okay, you just wanted help didn’t you.” He nodded in response, you pressed a hand to the wound preventing the blood from dripping down. You couldn’t be mad at him he didn’t know better, and you did hurt him first, it only felt fair. Disrupting this tender moment, you heard yelling and heavy footsteps approaching one of the doors on the floor you were on.

"Let’s go!" you rushed up the stairs, luckily for you both it was the final flight of stairs. Reaching the top of steps in record time when you heard the front swing door open.

"What's with all that commotion!?" A neighbor yelled upward toward the sound of your feet stomping up. Coming to an abrupt halt at your door, you whispered for Mothman to stay where he was, while you dealt with the matter below. But he decided to follow behind instead, not wanting to leave your side.

"Sorry I was just goofing" You admitted, showing your face over the rail, outing yourself to your neighbor.

"Sorry my ass, I got work early tomorrow, you expect me to sleep with this fucking racket outside, and now this." They argued back, and rightly so, who wouldn’t complain about an unearthly ear-piercing screech penetrating through the halls along with banging sounds hitting all around the walls. But you couldn’t help but feel annoyed

"I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, promise." You leaned forward resting against the rail while one leg was kicked up behind you, preventing Mothman from coming toward the railing. You exchanged a few more words with your neighbor to avoid the landlord getting involved. Finishing up, you pulled yourself away calling it wraps on the conversation as the individual below continued spewing profanities at you and about the building.

You unlocked and opened your door “In! In! In!" You shoved the imposing cryptid inside, already getting peeved by the neighbor's continuous rambling. It wasn’t anything new they hated everyone in the building, but it wasn’t something you grew used to though.

"Jesus Christ finally." you sighed, kicking the door behind shut.

Slipping off your shoes, leaving them by the entrance, your feet ached in relief from its constructing confines. Dragging yourself through the small hall leading the way to the main part of your home, it was small but cozy.

"Here we are home sweet home." you chimed, leading Mothman further into the living room, grabbing the jacket from him and tossing it to the couch. As well as turning on a lamp to properly illuminate the room. It didn't take long for Mothman to be drawn to the light fixture like the moth he was. He grabbed the lamp hugging it towards him, looking directly at the bulb. Chuckling at the sight, you could’ve given him a flashlight on the way home if he was going to be this mesmerized. You proceeded to make your way to the kitchen for your first aid kit.

"You can make yourself comfortable, but don’t wreck anything please," you shouted from the room over, but Mothman was unbothered, he was solely transfixed on the soft light, eyes wide and grabbing at the lampshade. "I'm gonna go find my first aid kit to fix you and my cut." You really hoped nothing else gets broken, there was already enough screaming and thrashing for the night.

Shuffling through the kitchen, trying to remember where you last placed the kit. You rested and slid a hand over the cool smooth linoleum counter, looking between cabinets for any sign of a small box. Coming to the last cabinet, you rummaged through before finally pulling out your first aid kit.

But you couldn’t help but stop and think about tonight’s events. It started as a fun night, then filled with pure dread, mothering, and now what felt like taking care of a drunk long-time friend. Except, what really dominated your mind was this odd feeling you started to feel, you recounted back in the hall the way he held you close. It made you feel bashful, to say the least. Up to now, you saw him as a friendly harmless dare you say, an unexpected friend. But that didn’t accurately describe what you were feeling. Shaking your heading, you had other pressing matters to attend to.

"Got it, let's see." And not to your surprise you saw the tall cryptid sitting on the couch, clutching the lamp close to him as if it was his lifeline. You contemplated whether you should take the lamp away. But he looked to be enjoying the light source, hearing faint happy chirps emitting from him. Sadly, you decided to ruin his fun, seeing as there were wounds you needed to tend to on his chest and you needed the light to properly see them.

You attempted to pull the lamp away so you could have better access to examine his injuries. In response, he chittered in objection to his lamp being taken, and nothing was going to separate him from his precious lamp. He was going to soon learn that the lamp was barely holding onto the outlet. Hugging it closer to himself, the plug came out, extinguishing the light. Perplexed as to where his light disappeared to, he presented the lamp towards you hoping you would bring the light back.

“I’ll bring it back, but only until I get a look at you.” He nodded vigorously as you grabbed the lamp and setting back on the mini table, blindingly trying to find the plug and inserting back into the outlet turning on the lamp again. You sat on the couch next to him, motioning for him to come closer so you could get to work.

......

"I don’t see any major cuts or anything broken." Scouting out the state of the injuries, they were honestly not that bad, you guessed it was probably due to the now dried flaky blood around his cuts gave the appearance that they worse than what they were. He got pretty lucky but it was probably due to his build that he was capable of taking on more than a couple of hits.

"Only just a sprain and a couple of cuts, that’s a relief" Thinking to yourself glad it wasn't any worse, you couldn't imagine the stress of trying to keep him at your apartment while he heals, and away from your neighbors’ eyes. The fear of him getting caught and taken away and dissected. Being bombarded by officials and Mothman lovers. And getting questioned or probed, maybe even both. You didn’t know if they would, but you knew deep in your heart they would probe you for answers. Stopping your paranoid-filled train of thought from delving any further. You finished tying up a couple of loose ends and sticking on on salve on minor areas.

"See all better. Don’t move too much, it'll heal quickly that way" Gathering any trash to throw away. Everything is fine now; you don’t have plans tomorrow so you could probably sneak him back out the next night.

Huh.

Letting him go. The idea of it should have given you some relief and yet you couldn’t help but feel conflicted. Would he come to visit again? No that would be reckless. Or you could convince him to stay longer to heal, no that would be irresponsible and selfish of you. He deserves to go back, and you're going to help him get back on his feet and let him be on his way. You walked back to the room.

“Feel much better?” you inquired to Mothman who busy was playing with the bandages on him.

He looked directly at you and nodded in response.

"That’s good, the sooner you get better the sooner you can leave," you told him, seating yourself back next to Mothman who hasn’t kept his eyes off of you. You peered up to catch a glimpse of what he was doing, only to capture him looking directly at you with his head tilted.

Not this again. you thought.

He’s certainly not making this any easier. You looked away trying to focus on anything else in the room before you resorted to looking at the floor.

"You know it’s still kinda crazy, that this is even real. Like I feel like I’m going insane," you jokingly confessed to Mothman, laughing to yourself. But you thought about it more, maybe you were, "O my God is this what a psychological break is?" You looked back at him, having an unfazed look on him.

"Can I?" you asked reaching a hand forward. He stared at your hand for a bit, until he leaned forward giving you permission to proceed.

"So soft" allowing yourself to fully feel him, combing your hand through his dark fur and traveling up his ruff. It was surprisingly plush for how it looked, it felt you were touching a cloud but with some tiny debris within it. You gathered more courage to let your hand wander up to his face, giving a couple of brushes before stopping your motion, cupping the side face. His eyes were a brilliant red color comparable to a lustrous gem.

"You really are real." You muttered, stroking a thumb over his cheek.

Mothman brought a clawed hand to your face in a likewise manner, curious of your own features. Where for him he found them peculiar and to other individuals such as yourself they found it normal. The universe was messed up, making it much harder for you to separate yourself from him when the time comes for him to leave, but you allowed this, forgetting your initial plan.

Feeling a sharp claw gliding up against your skin, perfectly capable of nicking you or doing so much worse to you than you could imagine. But he had no intention to do so, merely entranced by you.

His hand wandered up to your forehead, where your gash was, flaky and dried the blood was chipping at the edges. His antennas lowered and chirped in response, for what he did to you back at the stairwell, he didn't mean to. Even if you said it was alright, it still didn’t make him better, bringing a hand to skim the wound, you flinched at the sharp pain of your forgotten injury, knocking you out of your trance-like state.

Mothman drawing back in his seat, alert and worried thinking he hurt you again.

“It’s okay, you did nothing wrong.”

You reached a hand out to calm him, you aimed for his arm but managed to miss and land your hand on his thigh. Wow, that’s great! you internally cringed feeling a blush rush over you, instead of pulling back you still tried to alleviate him by patting his leg, telling him it was the injury that was hurting you not him.

Instead of defusing his concerned mindset, he only tried to push away from you to avoid causing you any further harm. Hand still anchored on his thigh, you launched yourself trying to stop him from hurting himself more.

Fortunately, with your luck, you ended up top of him, Mothman laying on the couch while you hovered over him, with both of your legs planted on either side of his thigh. Your left knee was alarming close to his crotch if you moved an inch closer you would be bumping your knee right into it. Your hands rested squarely on his chest, finger splayed out as you looked down at him with a similar wide-eyed expression.

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

Maintaining your effort of trying to console Mothman, you coughed to clear your throat and your mind of any dirty thoughts from springing up. “Hey, I know you didn’t mean to, and if you did, I would tell you and- and I’m sorry that I gave you the impression that you hurt me and I’m sorry for hitting you with my car, I feel like saying it doesn’t do justice for what I did.” You panted after your long-winded speech.

“Also, I’m sorry for tackling you down that wasn’t my intention. So, you good? I didn’t hurt you?”

He slowly shook his head, as a response that you didn’t hurt him. Startled yes. Hurt no. Bobbing your head in understanding, you carefully crawled off him.

"Well, I guess I should go get the blood washed off, I'll be right back." You informed the still cryptid who made no effort of getting up, just continued to lay on the couch staring straight ahead in shock.

Walking off to clean off the blood and to regain your composure. You were just going through too many emotions than you should for the night. On your way to take care of your problem, you could’ve sworn you heard something akin to a cat purring where Mothman was. But you blew it off and justified it as hearing the blood rushing and the beat of your heart pounding in your ears.

Striding down a hall and into the bathroom you turned the faucet on allowing the water to flow into the sink and onto your hands. Water pooled in your cupped hands before splashing the cold water onto your face, the water, and dried blood dripping together down around the curves and grooves of your face into the porcelain bowl below. It was a satisfying contrast to your heated face, splashing another round of water at your face but an intrusive memory replayed the moment that happened a few seconds ago. Leaving your face buried in your hands, groaning from sheer embarrassment. Fucking hell why am I like this?!

Unwillingly you slid your hands off and look at yourself in the mirror you looked like the accurate personification of a hot mess. You weren’t going to think too much into this, you are going to pretend what happened didn’t happen, you were going to disinfect and stick a bandage on your cut and not dwell on your emotions around the situation at hand. Allowing him to leave as soon as he is better and not have any other affiliations with him again.

Opening the medicine cabinet for an alcohol wipe and unwrapping the wipe from its small packaging.

"Now for the worst part." Quietly hissing at the contact with the antiseptic. Finishing up on cleaning the wound, you foraged through the cabinet looking for a bandaid. Noting there wasn’t one to be found, you sighed.

Guess I need to go find one.

Turning toward the door to walk out, you looked up and saw Mothman standing at the doorway, watching.

How long was he standing? And how the hell is he so silent for such a big guy and why wasn't he like this before? You were about to question him what he was doing here or if needed something when you noticed he was fiddling with a band-aid in hand. Slowly he brought it up, placing it over your cut.

"Thanks." Laying a hand over the band-aid, feeling not just your cheeks warming up but now a butterfly feeling in your stomach, solidifying your emotions for him.

So much for my plan.

Weaseling past him, before enthusiastically asking him, "Well, we got time to pass, so what do you want to do?"

…..

The sun rays bled through the curtains lightening up your home, the light seeping past your eyelashes and into your eyelids forcing you to wake up. Blinded by the light, you groaned in discomfort, pushing yourself up hearing a couple pops in your back. Rubbing a hand up and down your face trying to wipe away the sleep.

What the hell happened here? Why was there glass everywhere? Looking up you saw your window smashed in with only a few jagged pieces in place around the sides. Turning your attention away you looked around the room, wasn’t there someone else here. O yeah.

But the question was, how did you end up falling asleep on the floor, and where was the large cryptid. Wait a minute.

…

"No, you can't go out, you're still hurt." Trying to hold him back from going through the window. Everything was fine, you both were sitting on the couch, watching whatever, and snacking on fruit, and next, you found yourself asleep but woke up to a ruckus, the tv still on, and seeing Mothman trying to rip the curtain off the window nearby. Jumping to action to stop him, he successfully pulled off the curtains along with the rack, you assumed he was trying to leave even though he wasn’t better or so you thought.

And here you were struggling to hold him back, you thought he was difficult before but now that he fully adjusted and patched, you fully experienced that he was pure indomitable power.

"At least wait till the street is clear." You insisted, noticing some people walking or jogging down the street in the dark early morning. But he didn't listen he was adamant in making his exit. So, you made the decision to let him go.

"Okay, okay at least let me get the window, I don’t want glass on the floor." Racing in front of him to slide the window open. A quick gust of wind whipped against your face, causing you to squint your eyes in response.

"There! AH-!" the last thing you saw was Mothman coming at you and the last thing you felt was his frame bulldozing you down by fast approaching torso.

…

"O right." That explains how you ended up on the floor and the glass strewn all over the floor. More incredibly, even when you opened the window, the creature still managed to break the window in its haste to leave. Your head was pounding, he really is a force to be reckoned with. Bringing a hand to your head, you winced at the contact to your forehead but noticed something else. Delicately raising a hand back to your forehead and skimming along the surface. There was the band-aid from the stairwell and on the other side was another. You didn’t remember adding when did you?

Oh.

……

"My window," you muttered groggily, your vision fading out not before the moth creature gave his assistance to you for the last time and a thanks to you by sticking a band-aid on your sure-to-be bruised noggin as you lulled into an unconscious state.

……

At least bug boy was nice enough to get you another band-aid when he put you out cold, before making his exit. Slowly standing up to get started on assessing the mess and knowing full well that you needed to inform your landlord of the window. You peered out the window, curious of any indication of Mothman to spot, unfortunately, all there was to see the was hustle and bustle of the city around and below.

Turning your attention back to the mess, maybe you could make a fib of some large man drunk man pretending to be Mothman breaking into your home believing it was his. Sighing, you went to grab a broom to clean up the mess, at least you were able to encounter a real living and breathing legend. Made you wonder if other cryptids exist, but you’re pretty sure handling one creature was enough for now after last night.

Finishing up, you gathered all the shards and brought them to the trash. You didn’t have work for today, which gave you the opportunity to get a breather and get things done. Making your way to your room and getting ready for the day.

As you were getting clothes on and getting a good look at yourself in the mirror. There square above your eyes and your right eye was a bruise evident from last night's escapades. Shaking your head, laughing to yourself you weren’t going to be able to cover up the contusion. Bringing a hand to your head, you couldn’t help but smile at the cryptids' cute gesture. Walking out of the restroom deciding to let the shiner shine, ready to do some damage control.

Grabbing your keys, and heading out the door, and yet you couldn't stop thinking of that little moth guy. What are the chances of seeing him again? Probably unlikely, a mere once in a lifetime chance but you were grateful to encounter a sweet bug boy like him.

#mothman #mothman x reader #mothman x human #exophilia #cryptid #cryptid x reader #mothman fanfiction #mothman imagine #monster #monster lover #mothman my beloved #monster fucker #monster x human #monster romance

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365days365movies · 2 years

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Musical December I: Singin’ in the Rain (1952) - Recap: Part One

Yeah. I don’t know how I haven’t seen this yet either.

Literally the greatest movie musical of all time, and I haven’t seen it? AFI’s got it as the best musical film ever, and the fifth best film (as of 2007, so take from that what you will). Some people think it IS the best film ever made, and definitely the best musical film ever made. As for my showtune-loving ass, I know a number of the songs BY HEART, and I haven’t actually seen this movie? I don’t even know what it’s about! Man.

But OK, what is this musical, exactly? To understand that, you have to go into, funnily enough, the film’s producer. Arthur Frees was a pianist born in South Carolina. After working the the Marx Brothers’ original vaudeville act (check out their history here if you’re interested), he was hired as lyricist by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, AKA MGM. He eventually became an associate producer for a smaller film of theirs.

Obviously, things were going well.

His career as producer begins in earnest with another Judy Garland film, Babes in Arms, and that begin a five-film series starring the two, all produced by Freed. MGM quickly climbs to the top of Hollywood, and Freed was a part of that climb. In the process, major film stars were brought into the fray. Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, and Zero Mostel, for starters.

But then, Freed also went to his perforing roots and brought people from the stage to perform in his productions. Singers like Frank Sinatre and Lena Horne; stage stars like Mostel, Red Skelton, and Vincente Minnelli, and famous dancers like the legendary Fred Astaire, and of course...

I swear, Gene Kelly’s dance moves are hypnotic to me.

With all these people under the fray, Freed became a Hollywood sensation. An American in Paris, Gigi, Show Boat, Easter Parade, all massive musical films, and al massive successes. Freed-produced musicals were a huge smash, and that’s mostly because he was very hands-off in the making of these musicals. He took a step back from the actual filmmaking for the most part, and quite literally Freed them of the normal trappings of movie musicals.

And it worked! An American in Paris and Gigi were both Oscar-winners for Best Picture, and Freed was the first person to be nominated and win as the producer for the film, as opposed to the studio as a whole being nominated. This was in 1951. The following year’s film wouldn’t receive any Oscars at all, but would also be a critical and commercial hit. And so...

This film, this legendary picture, is actually the child of a back catalog. With any given musical, stage or screen, you’ll form a catalog of used and unused songs. Freed wanted to use a number of his songs from previous musicals, and hired writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green to write a story that could bring the songs together. The result was one of the most famous musicals ever made, containing some of the most famous songs ever written.

And I’ll say this again, for the back room. If you’ve seen this film, and haven’t thought of the song “Singing in the Rain” while walking around in the rain AT LEAST ONCE, you are clinically dead inside. I haven’t seen this movie, and even I’ve twirled an umbrella and spun around a light post once or twice! The song itself is a symbol of joy within surrounding gloom. It carves out happiness in an environment associated with falling tears. So, goddamn it, grab and umbrella and start spinning a little, OK? It’s a classic film moment that I knew, and again, HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM!

OK, enough. Let’s watch the actual movie!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap: Part One

It’s 1926, and a new film is about to premiere. The fans are going fuckin' crazy as the stars of the silver screen show up to the premiere. But they all REALLY freak out when the stars of the film show up. And I’m talking Foaming Mouth Guy freaking out, to be clear. Beatlemania, women fainting, literally a dude just SCREAMING. Jesus. The stars in question are Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lena Lamont (Jean Hagen), household names and faint-inducing stars.

Rumors state that the two will be married soon, but Don insists that they’re only good friends at the moment. The newscaster prompts them to tell the story of their success from the beginning, which includes them and musician Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor). And from there, we launch into a flashback.

Said flashback is chock-full of lies, as we see the truth of their origins over a false narration. They began with nothing, and stayed having nothing, as the two friends became a vaudeville act during the golden age of vaudeville. And, unsurprisingly, their introductory song and dance (“Fit as a Fiddle (and Ready for Love)”) is spectacular. God, Kelly and O’Connor’s dance moves are just...hypnotic. I’m in love with it.

Unfortunately, audiences disagree, and the two have essentially no success. They try their look playing scores for silent movies, for the studio known as Monument Pictures. However, once Don subs in for a downed stuntman with his superior agility, he begins a new career as a stuntman. Which is, then and now, a severely under-appreciated job in film. So, yeah, credit where credit’s due.

This is also where and how he met Lina Lamont, who initially gives him a complete cold shoulder. And when he finally obtains success, and Lina tries to cuddle up to him as a result, he turns her down. So, yeah, they hate each other. From there, the new film begins. This silent film is The Royal Rascal, in which Don plays a swashbuckler. After the film concludes, the two actors get on stage to thank the standing audience. However, each time Lina tries to talk, Don cuts her off. We find out exactly why when they go backstage: she’s Harley Quinn.

And I absolutely mean that; couldn’t unhear it for the entire movie. Kept thinking about that one musical number in Harlequinade in Batman: The Animated Series, where she gets on stage and sings. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this voice was the inspiration for Arleen Sorkin’s original voice for Harleen. But in terms of Lina Lamont, it’s apparently not the best voice for public speaking. Lina’s upset by this, as well as by her continually rejected advances towards Don. Although, to be fair, she doesn’t even seem to acknowledge these rejections.

Don makes his way out of the theatre, escaping from rabid fans by…Jesus, jumping onto a passing bus? Talk about a try hard, geez. He jumps off a bus into the car of an understandably startled Cathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), who tries to sic the cops on him before realizing who he is. After that, she offers to give him a ride to Beverly Hills. On the way, she notes her opinion of film actors, which is far less than that of those on the stage. In fact, she wishes to become one of those same performers, if she can make it to New York. This offends Don, also understandably, and the two trade banter and part ways.

At the wrap-up party for the movie (”Temptation”, from Going Hollywood), head of the studio R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) shows the partygoers a new film technology: synchronized video and sound. Yup. This film is about the rise of the talkie. And since this is a movie about silent film stars, I think we know how this is gonna go.

After the partygoers leave the show, they’re treated to another one, as a woman bursts from a cake. And yup, this woman is Cathy, working at the party with a troupe of dancers. They perform a song and dance (“All I Do Is Dream of You”, from Sadie McKee), and Cathy tries to take off right afterwards. But when Don tries to stop her (with insults, to be fair), she tries to retaliate with a pie to his face…which hits Lina instead. Whoops.

Seeing the score, Cathy takes off in a hurry. This results in her losing her job, which makes Don feel lousy. As, to be fair, she should. Time moves on, and a film is released that changes the entire scope of film. This is The Jazz Singer, and if you know your film history, you’ll know three things about this movie. One, it’s the first talkie, and was a game-changing revolution for the industry. Two, it was a musical, making this kind of a meta-commentary, and I can dig it! And three: blackface. Fuckin’…yeah. Different conversation for a different day.

Anyway, this change results in some changes for Don as well. But that’s preceded by a pep-talk from Cosmo, in the form of the song “Make ‘Em Laugh”. Which, to be clear, is a great song on its own, and possibly based on a song by Cole Porter called “Be a Clown”. I’d had it on my playlist long before seeing this movie. But actually seeing it with Donald O’Connor’s amazing dance and comedic choreography…holy fucking shit, it’s spectacularly funny as well. I love it. It’s absolutely a masterpiece.

Soon after, filming is set to begin on a new film, taking place during the French Revolution. In another funny scene, Don and Lina start doing their silent acting of being in love, while speaking words of pure acrimony out loud. See, out of spite and jealousy, Lina got Cathy fired from her job by talking with her boss. And while Don already hated her, it’s FAR worse now. And if that wasn’t enough, The Jazz Singer is a smash success.

This means that Mr. Simpson is turning the silent film studio over to making talkies. Cosmo is now head of the studio’s music department, so good for him! And as the men in charge discuss the change, they all come to a realization that Lina’s voice…is fucking horrible. But the film must move forward, so the studio shuts down to make the preparations.

After a spirited musical montage showing the advancement of talkies (“Beautiful Girl Montage”, from multiple sources), we find Cathy working as a dance girl for a film set. She’s spotted there both by Mr. Simpson and finally by Don, who’d been looking for her. While she assumed he hated her, he’s actually very happy to see her. And yes, she is the Inevitable Love Interest of the film. She gets hired on Don’s film, and the two finally have their own song and dance together (“You Were Meant for Me” from The Broadway Melody). This is, of course, a love ballad, nearly culminating in a kiss.

I fucking already adore this film. Can’t wait for Part Two!

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canyousonicme · 3 years

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“Certain actors have a reputation for being difficult. I don’t want to be one of those people”. - Alex Kingston

 INTERVIEW: The Sunday Post

 It comes as no surprise to Alex Kingston that her daughter has decided to follow in her footsteps, despite her best efforts to temper her acting ambitions.

The actress fell pregnant with Salome, now 19, when she was playing surgeon Elizabeth Corday on the long-running US medical drama ER in the ’90s.

Alex’s pregnancy was written into the script and Salome, whose father is German writer Florian Haertel, was just weeks old when she joined the cast as Elizabeth and Dr Mark Greene’s baby girl.

Now, two decades on, mother and daughter are working together again, this time in a Doctor Who spin-off audio drama, The Diary Of River Song. Now in its eighth series, it focuses on the Time Lord’s brilliant wife, the poetically named River Song, whom Alex has played on the TV show since 2008. Salome, meanwhile, plays the part of her synthetic humanoid companion, Rachel.

Alex said: “My daughter was in my belly on ER then played the role of our baby girl Ella Greene. She’s secretly always had the desire to act, but I was always adamant that she finished her education first.

“Salome plays a character who River Song meets up with occasionally and they have adventures together. Working with my daughter has been terrific fun. I am super-impressed with her. She is incredibly professional.”

Alex with daughter Salome

For the past year Alex and Salome have been isolating together at her London home, alongside Alex’s third husband, television producer Jonathan Stamp. The pair married in an intimate Italian ceremony in 2015, and Salome was a bridesmaid.

They are joined by Alex’s German-born mother, Margarethe, who sadly suffers from dementia. It sounds like a potentially stressful set-up but Alex has cherished the unexpected extra family time lockdown gifted her.

Alex, who celebrated her 57th birthday a few days after the first lockdown was announced last March, said: “My daughter had arrived from New York and decided she wanted to live with us. Then my mother, who has dementia, suffered two strokes early on in lockdown and she moved in as well. So I was her carer.

“It was an amazingly special time. And I cherish it. Particularly with my mother, because I wouldn’t have had that opportunity otherwise.”

Like the rest of us, Alex has relied heavily on streaming services to keep her entertained during the long days spent at home. She even broke her self-imposed rule of not watching her own stuff on screen.

She said: “We did all the usual things, massive clear-outs, and of course binge-watched TV. I loved Schitt’s Creek, Call My Agent, Bridgerton and Luther. I can’t bear to watch myself on the television. However, I started watching ER, because it was streaming on Channel 4. I look at myself and it’s like I am watching someone else. It’s such a good show, and it’s really held up!”

She added: “As much as everyone is saying this is the year that they want to forget, I actually feel it’s a year one can never forget. It certainly wasn’t an easy time. However, I have much stronger memories of the year, and of the patterns of the year than I have ever had pre-pandemic, when there was always so much rushing around.”

Alex in 1994 with fellow ER cast members (l-r) Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle, Goran Visnjic, Noah Wyle

Alex began her career at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she met her first husband, Skyfall actor Ralph Fiennes. They were together for 10 years before marrying in 1993. Two years later, Alex was left bereft when Fiennes left her after an alleged affair with a co-star. The London-born actress has barely stopped working since she first appeared on UK screens in 1980, as Jill Harcourt on the iconic children’s series Grange Hill. She continued to find success in UK dramas including Upstairs Downstairs, and The Fortunes And Misfortunes of Moll Flanders.

She first appeared in the fourth series of Doctor Who alongside David Tennant in 2008. Alex thought it was a one-off but has reprised the role in 15 episodes between 2008 and 2015.

It’s thanks to her Doctor Who appearances and, more recently, Sky’s hit supernatural drama, A Discovery Of Witches, that she has become known to a new generation of fans.

During her long and successful career, Alex has never been afraid to call out sexism in the industry. When she was dropped from ER aged 41, after seven seasons, she accused producers of ageism. saying “Apparently, I, according to the producers and the writers, am part of the old fogies who are no longer interesting.”

Then, when she auditioned for the role of Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives which eventually went to Felicity Huffman, she says she was turned away for being too curvy.

Although vocal about the challenges that face women, she admits she has seen positive changes in attitudes towards female talent in recent years.

She says: “When I was working on ER, I thought that I wasn’t allowed to get pregnant, I didn’t want to offend the producers as that is not what they had intended. I thought that I would have to ask permission. It was Anthony Edwards, who played my on-screen husband, who said ‘Don’t be ridiculous, don’t wait for them to allow you, you are not that important. If you want to have a child, go and have a child, and they will find a way to work round you.’ So I took his advice.

“I grew up with this notion that one had to be polite and always ask for permission. Whereas this generation don’t. They just get up and do it. The lovely and talented Teresa Palmer, whom I work with on A Discovery of Witches, is constantly popping out babies. Production just work around her. And it’s great, I admire her very much for that.”

Alex in ER

Alex puts her staying power down to being in the right place at the right time – and being nice to people, though she says theatre will provide her with a safety net should the TV work dry up one day.

She said: “Being as versatile as possible helps. I’m up for anything as long it is written well.

“I had a formal training. My first love is theatre. Having that as a backbone will always support me. In an industry that will favour youth more, theatre is always there. In order to succeed on the stage you have to have had good solid training and know how to handle your voice.

“Also, being a nice person counts for a lot. If you were difficult you would get a reputation. Of course there are actors who are extremely difficult and tiresome to work with, and there will come a point at which you think is it worth it? I don’t want to be one of those people.”

Despite her time-travelling credentials Alex has no idea what the future holds but still harbours a dream of being a Bond Girl (though obviously not one who falls for the smooth-talking spy).

She laughs: “I would love to be a villain in a James Bond movie, the real villain, the main one. Because they’ve never had a female villain. And I want to be a villain who does not find James Bond sexy at all. And doesn’t succumb to his charms, I want to be his real nemesis.”

Time for a return to Tardis?

Alex alongside Peter Capaldi in Doctor Who

From ER to the Tardis, Alex’s career to date has been distinguished by roles opposite fictional doctors, whether medical or time-travelling.

The smash-hit hospital drama which made her a star in the ’90s famously launched the Hollywood career of a certain George Clooney. Then in 2008, Alex won a new generation of fans as the wife of Doctor Who.

Because the Doctor transmutates over time Alex, as River Song, gets several leading men for the price of one. Alex said: “Essentially my character is the same, so there’s continuity there, and the fun is interacting with someone who is essentially the same man, but in a different skin and with a different energy.”

Perhaps the least lucky man in the role was Matt Smith.

Alex explained: “One of the most memorable parts of filming was when I flew through the universe, got caught in the Tardis and kneed Matt Smith, who was playing the Doctor at the time, in a sore place by mistake. There were a few tears of laughter from me and cries of pain from him.”

Speculation is rife among fans that Alex will return to the Whoniverse, if the incumbent Time Lord Jodie Whittaker steps down. All Alex will say is: “My Tardis door is always open…” [x]

#Alex Kingston #Salome Haertel #River Song #Doctor Who #Kingston Edit #ER #NEW #Interview #2021 #The Sunday Post #New

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jonspurpleskirt · 3 years

Text

Sharing Comfort

A/N: This is for @archivalpride. Prompt was “Sharing Clothes” and “Pre-Canon” so I wrote a fluffy piece to celebrate the quiet moments of trust. 1.7k in word length. No warnings apply.

___

Jon did not make friends fast. Most people he found to be too intimidating, boring or exhausting and not many knew what to do with his sudden info dumps and sharp comments that shot out of his mouth seemingly at random.

He'd been alone in Research for a long while because of it and happily so. Things had changed when Tim had joined the Institute, though. Tim had come into the library and sat down opposite Jon with a thunder cloud hanging over his head and pain in his dark eyes. He'd been quiet and snappy in a fake cheerful way that screamed undealt trauma. At least to Jon, who seemed to be the only one to feel the vibes of "Leave me alone" and "I'm grieving" that Tim gave off in a constant stream.

Having Tim as his desk partner was an intense experience despite the way they only ever nodded to each other in greeting at first. But it was also intriguing. A mystery. Jon loved mysteries.

The instances he had ever willingly initiated a conversation with a stranger could be counted on one hand. Which marked the day he tapped Tims shoulder - after roughly two months of co-habiting - to tactfully ask him what he was groaning about as a very special day indeed. They steamrolled into friendship from there, both personalities clashing in the best ways possible.

Jon pulled Tim into nerve wracking research expeditions, Tim flirted them out of being arrested a few times, they went out for drinks and karaoke and movies and stayed late nights to crack nutty cases of supernatural bullshit together.

This went on for months. A nice, comfortable new routine. Jon wasn't alone anymore. And Tim broke out of whatever had pulled him down so much, becoming more cheerful and flirty by the day. Which didn't matter to Jon because Tim would always come to him the most, would always seek out to partner up with Jon and would defend his prickly personality to his dying breath.

And then Sasha joined them. She came from Artefact Storage, which made her a prime target for every curious researcher in a five mile radius. Tim and Jon included. Alright maybe they were the worst of the bunch.

Although Jon only thought of himself as a partner in crime in this one. He had been dragged along by Tim, after all. Sure in the end he had been the one to ask the most questions, but that wouldn't have been the case if he had just been left alone to be antisocial in front of his laptop.

Sasha and Tim, much to Jons chargin, hit it off within the first few seconds. And ever since then their cozy two-someness had turned into a group effort. With specially leverage put on the word "effort".

"Morning Jon!"

Jon let out a deep, rumbly hum, voice not up to the task of supporting words this late in the- He glanced at the little clock at the bottom of his screen. Ah... early in the morning.

With a laugh that was far too cheerful however you would describe the current hour, Sasha sat down next to him. She leaned in to look at what he was working. He leaned away to get her out of his personal bubble.

Her legs brushed his and the rustling drew his gaze downward. She wore a thick wool skirt, long enough not to go against the dress code. It was a somewhat dull navy blue and fell down in enticing waves around her crossed legs.

It looked very soft and comfortable. Jon itched to touch it. Instead he rubbed against the stiff fabric of his own cream coloured dress pants.

"Would you mind?" He snapped at her.

"No. You spelled 'aboriginal' wrong."

"Thank you for your insight. Don't you have anywhere else to be?"

"Don't you?" She shot back, light and quick as though they were just bantering and not fighting over the right to sit at this table.

Sasha huffed at his glare and slid a cup of something steaming over to him. "You keep staying so late that I can buy you a drink at the asscrack of dawn and be sure you're still here to consume it hot. I'm not usually one to judge anyone's sleep schedule. But I'm judging your sleep schedule."

"And yours is any better?" Jon muttered, taking the offering and peeking inside. Black tea with a bit of cream and hopefully enough sugar to rot his teeth out of his mouth. He needed both the coffein and the sweet energy source.

"I'm getting at least two more hours of sleep than you do on a daily basis, so I'm good."

"Tim would have both of our heads if he knew."

Sasha put her hand on the table and stretched out her pinky. "I swear secrecy if you do."

With a snort Jon linked their pinkies. "I'll hold you to that."

So... Maybe Sasha wasn't that bad. She was a little aggressive in her befriending techniques, Jon mused. At least he hoped the early morning chats and cups of tea and coffee were that and not an elaborate plan to get rid of him via slow poisoning. But she was about as curious as Tim and Jon and her skills with computers were very happily exploited by the both of them. So Jon eventually had to admit that she was actually a very nice addition to the group.

Not that he could have ever said no to their friendship. Tim and Sasha put together were a maelstorm of affection, sucking Jon in with a force he had no chance to defend against. And before he knew it they had successfully gotten him accostumed to friday nights at the pub and saturday mornings in their flats, smashed together on a couch or a bed or a mattress depending on who had had the misfortune of playing host that week.

Jon hadn't been this comfortable since Georgie. And that wasn't only the booze talking. It was one of those nights where they ended up leaving the pub early to lounge around Sashas massive sofa instead. Jons head was swimming within a blissful haze of tipsiness.

He was slouching over one end of the couch, head tilted just so that he could watch his two friends bicker. The words didn't really register, but the noise was nice and their expressions were funny.

Without his conscious saying so, his gaze slid down to Sashas leg area. She wore a very eye catching, fluttery red skirt this time around and the way the warm glow of the ceiling lamp was reflected in the material was mesmerizing.

"Oh Jonny boy, don't you know staring like that is rude?" Tim half-joked as he noticed.

Sasha slapped him on the shoulder. "Shush you there's like zero sexual longing in his gaze, Tim. You don't need to go all protective big brother on me. He just really likes my skirts."

"They look comfy." Jon muttered, sinking deeper into the couch.

"Awww. Jon. Jon my love. My friend. My buddy." Tim scooted over to him, nearly face planting on the floor in his eagerness to slide into Jons side. "Is this jealousy I hear?"

"No. Did you just degrade me from lover to lowest friendship tier?"

"Oh I beg to differ." Tim sang, ignoring the question and making Jon scowl harder.

An arm got thrown over his shoulder and Jon was tugged into Tims side, relaxing into the tight hold against his will.

"You know if you didn't make it a sport to buy the most uncomfortable clothing ever, you wouldn't need to glare at Sashas fashion choices all the time. Making other people think things about your intensions."

"Fuck other people."

Jon waited until the surprised laughter of his two friends ebbed down to speak again. "I wanna be comfortable too..."

"Say no more. Sasha to the rescue."

Tim and Jon both whined as she hopped off and darted away into her bedroom. She hadn't been part of the cuddle pile, but her presence was still dearly missed. Thankfully not for long because a few minutes later she reappeared with a long, purple skirt.

"Here you go mister. Go on try it on."

Trading places with her Jon didn't hesitate to shug his trousers off and slip the skirt on. Tim wolf whistled behind him and Jon dutifully showed him a finger. The yelp he heard shortly after told him that Sasha must have taken more direct approach to disciplining Tim.

"Bad boy. I picked that colour for a reason."

Jon flushed at the reminder that Tim and Sasha knew. That they knew and accepted him and even went out of their way to make him comfortable.

"I may not be allowed to touch, but I can still appreciate beauty when I see it."

"Do you need glasses, Tim?" Jon couldn't help but ask while he settled back down.

It was his turn to be slapped on the shoulder. "Nu-uh! No self depricating jokes in my household!"

"Yes ma'am." He scooted over to Sashas side, marveling at the slide of the soft material against his legs. "Anyway. Touching yes. But no sex, only cuddles."

Sasha laughed in delight as she pulled him closer so he could stretch out, the two of them nearly shoving Tim off the couch.

"Wait, wait, wait Jon you're definitely not comfortable yet!"

"Hm?" He frowned at the renewed shifting, jeez everyone was being so squirmy today.

"Dress shirt? Really? Wait a sec."

Tim ended up finding a truly attrocious night shirt he had stored in one of Sashas cupboards. It was rainbow coloured, but at least it was made of a soft cotton and about a size too big on Jon.

"Awww Jon you're adorable!"

"Timothy Stoker don't you dare take a photo."

"Fine, fine. But I will remember this day forever."

It turned out that he didn't need to. The next time they were over at Sashas Jon asked to borrow their clothes again and the next time after, and the next time after that, too. It kind of escalated from there, clothes mixed together until it was hard to remember who owned what.

And that was perfect. Because the most comfortable clothes were always the ones that belonged to his friends.

#tma #archivalpride #my writing #jontimsasha #jonathan sims #tim stoker #sasha james #week one #prompt: sharing clothes #hope i'm doing this right #can be read as friendship #or platonic polycule #i honestly have no clue where to draw the line #fanfic

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funtimebunnyblog · 3 years

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Hi!! I’ve got a request. I’m not sure if you’ve seen WandaVision or if you watch MCU movies, but I have one that relates to it. How do you think the pillarmen would react to their lovely s/o having abilities like Scarlet witch? Telekinesis, Telepathy, manipulation of reality, force fields, etc. S/o can also technically have flight by using her telekinesis powers too. She’s incredibly powerful! But isn’t physically powerful.

Oh yes! 😮😍🤩 I love Marvel! I grew up watching the movies a lot (you can thank my older brother for that 🤪) and I LOVE this idea, Anon! ❤❤❤

However, I have not seen WandaVision 😭😭😭 IT LOOKS SO GOOD! But I have cruddy internet due to the fact I live far out into the woods 😔 (and the internet has once again thrown spoilers into my eyes like pepperspray) sooo... I can only hope one day I will get the chance to enjoy it 😅

Either way, I do hope you enjoy this! I'm so sorry this took a little longer than anticipated 😅😇 I promise after this request we'll be back to our regularly scheduled writing!

The Pillarmen (separate) with an s/o that has abilities similar to Scarlet Witch...

(Under the cut for length...)

Kars:

• Kars always found your powers intriguing to say the least.

• Even when he first came to the realization that you possessed some sort of "super human" abilities, he found himself wanting nothing more than to study you.

• Perhaps you had done this to yourself by craft or perhaps not...

• In either case, you both were a couple with same differences.

• You could be out there trying to rise to greater power or status (much like he had done crafting his stonemasks), or even go so far as to try and take over the world with your abilities...

• The only problem being that you only found real use for them when reaching for the T.V. remote when it was too far away or manipulating time itself when you were late for work.

• Kars considered giving you some encouragement in using your powers for more but you held no interest in being "powerful" despite the fact you were already powerful!

• And then there was also the matter of you putting your telepathy to use...

• "Are you in the kitchen?" The ghostly whisper of your voice echoing through his mind never failed to send a shiver down his spine.

• "Yes." He replied, frowning into empty air. "Bring me a popsicle." Came the mental command, only making him sigh aloud. "Why can you not just get up and get it yourself? The living room is literally one room over!"

• "You're closer." The simple reply only made him roll his eyes. "And you're the one with super Human abilities, dear." He responded, unable to stop the curl of his lip into a little smirk.

• He was certain he had you now.

• The massive Pillarman could only blink as the fridge to his right started to emanate with a glowing crimson mist, the door suddenly swinging open by itself.

• A single blue popsicle encased in the same mist picked itself out of the freezer and dangled in the air before him before flying out of the kitchen and into the living room before his very eyes.

• "Thanks for reminding me, honey!" Your cheery voice chirped, echoing off the walls of his brain.

• Kars supposed he just had to be content that you were happy with yourself by doing what you wished with your powers...

• Even if it only encouraged you to be lazy.

Esidisi:

• Esidisi, much like Kars, finds you to be a fascinating creature indeed.

• He had no idea that Humans could do such wonderful things without the aid of some kind of craft; like the stonemask that blessed him his own powers.

• He finds it hilarious, not to mention adorable, that you had all sorts of incredible abilities at your disposal and yet... you carried out your life like a normal Human.

• You went to work and paid bills for crying out loud.

• Even from the moment you two met, he always asked you to do things both crazy and (a lot of the times) not a little dangerous.

• He'd ask you to levitate off the ground to reach for something even though he was tall enough to get it, simply because he was amazed you could do so.

• Or he'd plead with you to take him to another reality so he could fight with the robot-pirate empire.

• The man especially got a kick out of the probability manipulation part of your powers.

• "Say, what's the probability my bathtub will be overflowing with rubber ducks when I go in?" He questioned with a grin.

• You pursed your lips, only half paying attention as you were invested in a video game. You hadn't exactly heard his question but still chose to give an answer.

• "Hmm, 170%." Came the reply.

• That was all the Pillarman needed to hear before Esidisi was excitedly scurrying towards the bathroom, practically bouncing as he stopped to make a grab for the doorhandle.

• It was only in that moment when his question truly sunk in with you, making you blink olwishly as you spun around in your seat to stop him. "--WAIT!"

• Too late.

• The flood of rubber ducks hitting him and sweeping him away down the hall as soon as he flung open the door was highly unexpected but very much welcomed by him.

• If anything, you were happy he didn't have a way to obtain these powers himself; then you would have to really use your powers to fix even more problems he made with them.

• However, you wouldn't deny he helped you get some good practice in when making all sorts of requests...

Wamuu:

• Your powers made Wamuu view you as a worthy opponent for a Human, even long before he fell head over heals for you.

• Before meeting you, he had no idea Humans could obtain such incredible feats and abilities.

• He was under the impression that Hamon was the limitation to Human powers.

• But it was more than clear to him that you weren't exactly a fighter despite the fact you could use them for battle.

• After a little persuasion on his part however, he managed to coax you into sparring or training with him in your free time, making the Warrior absolutely elated to see you in action.

• Fighting against you was exhilarating and actually a challenge to Wamuu, he greatly enjoyed every second of it.

• You could easily deflect sharp blasts of his wind with your force fields like nothing.

• To his astonishment, there was not so much as a hair out of place the time he decided to use his Divine Sandstorm on you.

• "Now, make sure you hold onto me and don't let go." You ordered, smiling softly as his massive arms wrapped around your body.

• Wamuu cocked an eyebrow curiously, frowning down at you where you also held him. You had brought him outside and told him that you were going to show him something.

• "What is--?" The Pillarman's words died on his tongue as he suddenly felt his feet lift off the ground, a weightlessness overtaking his body as if he were nothing but a balloon filled with helium.

• He looked down with wide eyes to find that you and him were hovering right off the ground... no, flying!

• The two of you were actually flying and without wings too!

• You could only laugh at his shocked expression, going higher into thee air with every second. His clothes and the wires of his headgear flapped in an invisible breeze as you took him all the way up into the sky.

• Wamuu finally found his voice, his shocked expression now carrying a HUGE smile as his eyes glittered with delight. "My beloved, you're-- You're something absolutely extraordinary!"

• Your powers and the way you use them will never cease to amaze and impress Wamuu. No matter how many times he sees them it always seemed like you had a trick up your sleeve.

Santana:

• From the moment he laid eyes on you, Santana knew there was something very different about you.

• Something... magical. Out of this world.

• You weren't like any other Human he had ever encountered before (and he had definitely me his share of oddball Humans in his life).

• At first he thought that your super Human abilities were some kind of offspring or held some direct link to that "Hamon" ability he knew Humans practiced...

• But with more examination, more time spent with you and some reassurance on your part, he came to find it was in fact something completely different.

• Always curious, Santana liked to watch you use your powers even for just the little things like moving furniture or turning the lightswitch off from across the room.

• Crash! You had heard the vase break form the other room and weren't surprised to find Santana standing over the shattered remains of pottery.

• The red-head looked surprisingly sheepish, he hadn't meant to break it. "Sorry." Was all he said, baby blue eyes dropping down to the mess on the floor.

• A smile appeared as you waved your hand in the air, a bright red fog following your movement. "Don't worry about it," you hummed.

• Santana only stared, lips parted and eyes wide as the pieces suddenly reformed in mid-air. It was as if time went backwards before his very eyes and before he knew it, the vase was standing before him where the mess of shards once was; completely unscathed.

• "See?" You laughed, more than a little amused to see him so astonished. "No problem."

• A soft smile found its way to Santana's lips. You watched the Pillarman lean down and wrap his hands around the pottery gingerly, picking it up and turning it in his palms to check for any signs of breakage.

• "Impressive..." he murmured, making you feel a little boost in pride.

• You couldn't stop yourself from jumping, a yelp escaping your lips, in surprise as Santana suddenly threw the vase down hard on the floor, smashing it to even tinier bits than before.

• His eyes fell on you, still reeling from shock, as he pointed to the mess. "Again?" He questioned.

• ...with great power came great responsibility. And great messes to clean.

• You could only hope he wouldn't break all your plates next just to see you fix them.

#funnybunny #pillarmen #kars #esidisi #wamuu #santana #pillarmen headcanons #kars x reader #esidisi x reader #wamuu x reader #santana x reader #my wriring #anon ask

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i-need-air · 3 years

Note

Hello I really like your hybrid au especially with kirishima

I was wondering if I can request one with kirishima hybrid where reader gets kidnapped because someone from the old ring wants revenge and kirishima is looking for them

Wow, I took some time with this because it was hard to place Kiri in such a situation. I hope I gave it justice. This is not my usual fluff since it's a darker theme, so yeah. Hope it was worth the wait though! Enjoy and tell me if you liked it!! 💕💕

Word count: 4k [ I... I got carried away... and I still feel it's short 💀 ]

Warnings: kidnapping, blood, mentions of abuse, guns, Kiri's past being f'd up, insults [?], hint towards assault;

[ Masterlist ] [ Main Hybrid!Kirishima HCs ]

× this man is all about safety

× asks you to send him a message whenever you arrive safely at home or wherever you're going

× it's super-sweet and really helpful; your well being is everything to him after all

× yet one evening you didn't arrive on time

× no message, nothing

× he was waiting and paying attention to time since he wanted to suggest going out to watch a movie, but you didn't arrive

× one hour later he finds himself frowning at the clock, tapping his foot in wonder

× he sent you a message; the fact that it send but you didn't receive it unsettled him more, to which he decided to call— "The phone you're trying to reach is disconnected or no longer in service."

× did you run out of battery? was that even possible?

× what seals the deal is a DM he receives from a throwaway account on social media he was so active and known on.

× "We've got your little toy. You know where to find us, Red Riot. Come alone or they die." and attached was a pictute of you, on the floor, possibly unconscious, hands tied behind your back.

× a collar was placed by your side; he knew what it was.

× his blood ran cold, a freezing shiver electrified through his spine as he jumped out of the couch, terrorized and more importantly raging mad

× Red Riot: a name he tried to forget; a name people shouted at him in praise as they put bets on his head; a name he's been given as he fought friends and foes; a name that brought back pain and suffering. A name he didn't want to taint his new life with.

× he did not take any time to leave the house in a hurry, his eyes burning with unshed tears.

× Kirishima didn't know where his friends were, so he found himself on his own, outside your apartment complex, taking a deep breath in; he could find you; he had to find you even if it was the last thing he did, yet he had to do it alone.

× he spotted your car in the parking lot— in a blink he was by it's side, just spotting your belongings inside and the car-keys still in

× uncontrollable rage took over him as he still sniffed your scent in the air.

× you've been here and because of him, now you weren't; you're gone; you've been attacked too, the window smashed and blood running down the door

× he sniffed again, noticing how it wasn't your blood— relief didn't come since he did recognize the other scent; his dealer.

× "You fucking mutt!" he growled above the red-haired man chained to the wall, fist closed readied to make impact.

× Kirishima growled lowly, remembering.

× "You fucking made me lose ten fucking grands because you didn't want to finish that fucking beast!" his screams could be heard throughout the hallways.

× He got inside the car.

× "You and your fucking group, you think you're too good to fucking follow MY ORDERS—" a crack could be heard as the punch collided with the hybrid's jaw, yet it did little to no damage to him. Curses followed, making the man almost chuckle, yet chose not to, knowing the damage it would bring. "YOU PATHETIC PIECE OF— I FUCKING BROKE MY HAND, SHIT!" he yanked him by the hair with his other hand, pulling hard. "I'm gonna make you regret the day you were born." And if it weren't for his improvised family, Kirishima would've been regretting that day anyway without his assistance.

× He sped off, fingers whitening on the steering wheel because of his harsh grip. Tears now ran freely on his cheeks with no conscious attempt made to be stopped.

× Only two places haven't been raided by the Hybrid Protection Services came to mind, deemed as abandoned yet for those that knew the insides, the buildings were definitely used mostly as hideouts and for special occasions

× few escaped from being detained by the police, yet word came to him that the bastard, Mawler as he liked to call himself, was caught; it didn't seem to be the case and as he drove, Kirishima could only think he'd make the fucker regret the day he was born; a bitter laugh left his lips, hating himself for a moment. Although the image of a friend came in his mind, imagining him slapping his back in a poor attempt to motivate him. That's what he would say too.

× the self-hatred washed off; for you he'd do anything.

× he rushed to the first location; it used to be a club with an underground arena, in which he himself fought in countless times

× his neck itched as he gritted his teeth; the memory of the electric collar they had to have on while almost killing each other made him want to vomit

× a deep growl left his frame; gutural, dark, menacing; they wanted the Red Riot? it seems they forgot where he really got that name from;

× he only saw blood on the way there.

× he parked not too far but tried to keep a low profile although his big frame didn't help in a stealth situation. Kirishima knew he's in for trouble, but what else could he do?

× —

× you blinked, blinded by the light that shined harshly in your face

× "Would you look at that, fellas? Guess who's wakin' up?" you had no time to panic, just flashes of the quick encounter just by your house appearing in your mind as a boot collided with your stomach, making you wince in pain

× What was going on? What the hell happened?

× "Aww, don't make that face..." someone mocked. "Save it for when Red Riot comes along, baby." he whispered harshly at you, venom in his voice.

× you muttered "—Riot?" in daze, placing your knees as close to your chest for protection; your head hurt badly, a throbbing pain coming from the back of it.

× laughed echoed around you; "He didn't fucking tell you? How much of a fucking BEAST he was?!"; other voices joined in... two more voices, but you couldn't be sure

× memories came back at you; how you were arriving late but decided to not send any message since you were driving; parking, gathering your stuff, the sound of crystal breaking—

× but nothing else;

× "You don't fucking know what your piece of shit of a mutt even did before acting like a perfect little boyfriend, didn't ya?" the same venom filled voice came closer to you, giving you the chance to finally see his ugly scowl and to imprint his stupidly face in your mind;

× were they talking about Kirishima? Your Kirishima? He never really got into detail about his previous life yet made it clear he was forced to fight for the entertainment of others— did they fucking think he had a choice?

× yet you remained silent; it seems Kiri knew you'd be there and your concussion didn't really help you to think straight and form any plan;

× something could be heard outside, a crash of some sort and everyone stood still for a good second.

× "He—... He's here already?" one of them whispered. A clicking made you freeze. You snapped your head up in terror, only knowing that sound from movies, a sound so scary you really didn't think you'd hear it in real life; guns.

× "I fucking send that message 20 minutes ago..." Ugly Scowl said, taken back in surprise. His eyes, dark and void of goodness snapped on you, an unsure smile painting over him. "I wanted to have some fun with ya."

× your body couldn't control the shiver that ran through it, from head to toes, and he noticed, turning his uncertain smile into a sadistic one; your face was probably a dead giveaway too.

× but Eijirou was there and deep down you knew there was nothing to fear; except for the guns.

× the red-head wasn't dumb, he knew this world a million times better than you, so he must've known; with a flood of nervousness piling up in your stomach, you blinked the stinging feeling in your eyes away and hoped for the best.

× "Go check that fucking sound, retards!" he then screamed, two sets of footsteps rushing at his orders; it seemed he was the "boss" of whatever the hell this small group of pieces of shit was and hated your boyfriend's guts.

× should you talk? should you not? what's the best possible outcome out of this?

× your wrists stung, locked harshly with what felt like a rope; in a poor attempt to move your fingers to feel if you could, in an ideal world, free your hands, the man caught your movements instantly; he yanked you by the neck, lifting you off the ground with no difficulty and that's when you noticed he was strong, muscular, big; his frame wasn't as massive as Eijirou's by any chance but massive enough to make you reconsider any attempt to escape. "Don't even fucking think about it, dear."

× his breath, foul and heavy, hit your face and you almost gagged; he was watching you, observing your face in search of something. Through a nod he hummed at himself.

× "Not bad, Riot." his nose hit your cheek as he breathed you in and a whimper left you, guts screaming danger; he snickered. "It's okay, I like them when they cry." he mocked your tears in a heavy whisper, which you didn't notice until he pointed them out.

× a snap could be heard from inside the building, possibly on the floor above; were you underground?

× the disgusting man by your side lifted himself up, throwing you on the floor like garbage. He lifted his gun and narrowed his eyes towards the stairs.

× "Be good and maybe I'll keep you for myself after I hunt your mutt down." he said between gritted teeth. You just started praying for the man you loved, still trying to figure out a way to at least hide before this scum used you as a threat more than he did already.

× —

× Kirishima watched them from the shadows; his breath was heavy yet silent, his enhanced vision saw the two low-life mobs he sometimes noticed following Mawler whenever he went; he took in consideration their stance; of course they'd bring weapons—

× his mind drifted to one of his trainers, EraserHead, and on the few moments of aloofness he let himself have around the younger ones put in his charge; "Humans are easily fooled—" he'd grin lazily. "And very easy to scare."

× with determination like he's never had before, he grabbed a rock; if he had to reach you, he'd have to do the only thing he was never good at: being stealthy.

× he rushed to the left of the back entrance, hidden behind a beaten up car as he threw the small rock in the opposite direction and in any other situation he'd find himself amused, EraserHead's words on replay in his mind. One of the guys almost jumped in place at the sound, gun fastly jerked into its general direction with trembling hands.

× with no second to spare, he entered the building, his speed impressive—

× no sound was made, but what helped him greatly was that one of them started talking into the nothingness; "We know you're there, you bastard!"

× the other one was now searching inside the building, yet his head turned towards his companion outside; sadly for the poor idiot, it only took a punch in the jaw to immobilize him and knock him out entirely. He took the guns from the now unconscious body and put them in his belt and pocket, yet had no intention to use any.

× the second one left outside was still talking a whole monologue, making the man sweat drop; was this Mawler's plan? he wasn't known to use his brain much...

× yet he wasn't as easy to take down as Kirishima wanted it to be; he turned around, probably uneased by the lack of response of his partner, suspicious and more on the edge; he could feel it, his nervousness, his fear; another bitter grin appeared on Eijirou's features.

× "Jackal?" his voice hid fear behind it.

× they definitely knew the damage he could do and the hybrid was glad they did, wanting them to be terrified, his predator instincts washing over.

× he jumped on him, kicking the pistol out of his hands in a heartbeat and making him stumble backwards, losing his balance; it happened in a blurr, old feeling of being in the ring, fist to fist, tail low and ready to pounce. He was in his element once again and God, he hated himself when he let go of all the pain and broke his arm, the sweet image of your smiling face as you burried yourself into the same arms he hurt people with always in the back of his mind.

× before he could realize, the other woke up from the knockout; he heard rushed steps towards him and a snapping sound. The blabbering idiot was on the ground now, breathing but beaten to a pulp and everything stood still for a good second.

× he got hit? in the back of his head? With just one glance he saw a broken wooden plank and blinked stupidly; did he seriously think—?

× Kirishima grinned and in an instant he grabbed Jackal's head and smashed it into his knee.

× —

× you could hear his steps; you knew it was him; heavy yet trying to conceal them poorly; your man was walking around the floor above and you sniffled your nose at the thought.

× he was absolutely massive and nothing about him was silent; gentle, yes, but silent? laughable. Even in this horrendous situation you closed your eyes lovingly at the thought. He's here.

× "Those damned fucking useless pieces of shit—" Oh, yeah. Him.

× the barrel was suddently pointed at your head and any thoughts you had abandoned your brain completely

× utter terror overwashed your senses in every way as you stared at it with wide eyes

× "Let's see if he fucking likes this—"

× —

× the only way down for the public was the stairway; not even those useless guards knew the hidden entrance his friends and him used once; they had to come back though, the guilt and knowledge that if they're found to be gone would make Mawler execute everyone else.

× a low window painted black that led to a storage room behind the filthy bathrooms and the place they'd be kept in cages; he ran on the first floor, approaching the stairs before jumping on the dusty metal bar, now completely silent and praying his poor attempt at a bait worked.

× in no time he was outside again and in even less of a second he found himself by said window leading to the underground arena.

× —

× "Maybe if I hurt you a little bit, he'll come to his senses." He grinned, gun's safety lever clicked, now pointed at your stomach.

× you saw your vision blurr and you really, really wanted to say something but didn't know what to; your lips trembled and you bit them in the hopes of showing at least some courage before getting shot but you couldn't help closing your eyes.

× the sound was so loud; an obnoxiously loud bang shook the room or maybe just shook you to the core, then warmth engulfed you wholly.

× it gripped into you so strongly yet no damage came; "I got you, baby." came as a whisper in your ear and just as you snapped your eyes to see his red, sweet, gorgeous red eyes look at you tenderly, he was gone.

× nothing was said; just a rush of screams and silence; your kidnapper tried to shoot again or so you saw but he was jumped on instantly; that's when you noticed Eijirou was growling like a wild animal and was covered with blood.

× he was like a hurricane, like a bulldozer, like an unstoppable force that destroyed with no mercy; covered in red and splatters due to his constant attacks just painted him with more of it;

× you were looking at Red Riot and your stomach dropped; this is what he was made to be and you cried when he did not stop beating the man underneath him.

× "Baby, stop—" you'd whisper, really trying to get up and barely making it to stay in a seating position, kinda desperate; and he indeed stopped at your plea, froze actually.

× the poor devil under him was groaning, gargling whatevers but it didn't matter; he was looking at you, shocked and you could see the fear in his eyes...

× was it bad that it didn't matter to you? as long as he didn't kill them, as long as justice got to them and furthermore kept Kirishima by your side forever, it didn't matter to you; it was instant, that thought.

× but as he stood there frozen, taking in your nerves and sudden relief, your crying face filled with worry; you took him in too... how his back was getting soaked in blood, running through his shirt down, and down, leaking...

× he got shot for you;

× "Please, leave him, help me and—" he turned a little, ashamed yet mute.

× like a scolded child, unsure; he was bleeding but he was scared of you; he had a hole in his back but he was hurting for your reaction.

× you sniffled again, getting on your knees, pain striking in your stomach but ignoring it; "Eijirou, come to me, please."

× and he did, all so gracefully, so fast and without a single wince; as if he knew pain more than he should've.

× your hands were instantly freed

× his silence killed you inside, it really did. This man, this amazing creature that beamed like the brightest star in the sky was now somber, dull...

× your phone was thrown on the floor as they tampered with it and you rushed, with trembling hands and uncertainty at his attitude to call the police; he was still to say anything, just staying on his knees in front of you, head low and teary eyes.

× he just muttered the location when they asked you about it but that's it; the operator asked questions yet you didn't care to answer them, just saying you need an ambulance too before closing the call to crawl towards him, taking his torso into your arms careful not to touch the wound on his back.

× he then cried harder into your neck, almost falling into your embrace, accepting it but his hands didn't move to touch you, laying unmoving on his sides.

× "I'm so—" he hiccuped. "I'm so sorry, [Y/N]." His frame was shaking more and more;

× "I love you, Eijirou." It's all you could say. Really, your brain just screamed for you to tell him that, as if you felt it's what he needed to hear the most.

× guilty; blaming himself; putting himself down;

× he shuddered into you as your hands, tired and sore, reached for his sweat soaked hair to stroke it gently.

× "You came for me. You saved me. Thank yo—"

× "Don't! It's all my fault—" his voice broke for a second, hands turning into fists and the only thing grounding him was your scent invading his nostrils. "You're hurt because of me..."

× you cried with him too, gluing his head more into you, peppering his face with shaky butterfly kisses.

× "It's not your fault, it was never your fault, Eijirou." you shook in place as you reassured him. Word by word, sentence by sentence, you let him know he's just as much of a victim being chased by his past, a past he was forced to have; he came for you, he rushed to save you, he took a bullet for you and yet again, he acted like it was nothing, as if the pain of putting you in danger was greater than any damage he could take.

× his hands encircled you and for the first time since you saw him after waking up to this nightmare, he winced in pain but did not let you go. Instead, he pressed your body into his, fearing you'd dissapear.

× you asked him if you should cover the wound, not really knowing what to do for now; you'd have time to talk, you'd have time to reassure him again and again and again, but now you had to make sure he was fine.

× he shook his head, feeling his nose tickle your neck in the process; "Leave it, I've taken worse." And with that statement you cried harder.

× the police sirens could be heard in the distance, accompanied by the ambulance one...

× —

× so much time passed; so many hours without sleep; police station, explanations, Kirishima almost getting arrested in the spot and being incarcerated, hospital, lawyers, more questioning...

× everything was explained, everything kinda settled for the never-ending day, knowing it wouldn't be the last time you'd have to visit said police station, already sure you'd follow Kirishima there without hesitancy to make sure he's treated correctly, but for now... home.

× the bullet didn't reach any vital organ even if he was hit square in the back and for a normal human it would've meant a hit in one of the lungs, but not for a hybrid—

× still, it didn't hurt less to see him in that state;

× your car was sealed and taken away as evidence, so a taxi home was your only way there.

× hands locked and much, so much to talk about ahead of you but one thing sure

× "I love you." You squeezed his hand, catching his attention, loving how his lips curled in a small smile, not as bright as usual, but still, his smile.

× "I love you more." Was his usual response yet this time it was shy, not looking into your eyes but somewhere behind you, out the window. You frowned and shook his hand to catch the attention fully.

× "No. You don't seem to get it." You led his big, strong, scarred hand to your lips, kissing the back of it softly. "I love you, Kirishima Eijirou. So much."

× the car ride was silent as he took in your words and you couldn't help but enjoy the way his eyes widened, now having his full attention as his cheeks reddened slightly, knowing he's been caught putting himself down.

× he let out a breathless chuckle, so small but with it his shoulders fell in relief. He nodded, watching his hand holding yours and gulped, your words repeating in a loop in his mind.

× Eijirou was so easy to read, so transparent and honest and it warmed heart to ser him accept your words, words you've said countless times before this incident and without a doubt in the future until they engraved permanently in his heart.

× he chuckled again at your expression, catching your gaze and holding it until a smile broke on his face, this time big and warm, just like him. The smile you wanted to see all along.

× he cried again through it, passing his free palm over his eyes for a second; "You're my everything, [Y/N]." he'd pull you into his chest, inhaling your scent. "I love you." he squeezed you close.

#kirishima eijirou x reader #kirishima x reader #hybrid!kirishima #hybrid!au #noire writes #kirishima headcanons

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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May I please ask where you set the boundaries when constructing a crossover? (i.e. How far are you willing to bend characterisation of the setting a character's adventures take place in and of the individual characters themselves to make this crossover work? How many settings are you actually prepared to smush together before you feel you're losing more than you gain in this mix? and so forth).

I could be off the mark here, but this question sounds like you yourself got a very big idea planned but you are unsure of how far you can, or want to, push the concept. Two words of advice upfront: 1: Stop overthinking it, and 2: Run your ideas by people whose judgment you know and trust. I run some of my biggest and stupidest ideas by friends of mine and they help me make them less stupid or at least stupider but in a better way.

I mentioned in my post about potential Shadow crossovers that "boundaries" are not the priority to fret over so much as having a good working knowledge of the characters. And part of that is because a crossover, by design, already constitutes the breaking of boundaries. That's by default what a crossover does. You don't wanna test or break boundaries, then you picked the wrong kind of story.

A crossover is still a story like any other. Two characters meeting is not a story, it's a premise. You don't start a story by defining where it can't go, before you've even decided where you want to take it. Some boundaries are important, others aren't. Some boundaries are hard-coded and unbreakable, and others HAVE to be broken for the story to work, and the process of deciding which is which is easier when you have a clearer idea of what are the characters and what is the story you want to tell, and what you can and can't do with either. You gotta understand the properties you're working with, or at least, understand WHY you want to work with them and make this crossover happen in the first place.

For example, you could, very easily, write a crossover between The Shadow and The Spider, just by going through the motions. They are urban vigilantes with fairly similar designs who live in the same time period and fight crime with their supporting casts. I'm sure most writers offered the job wouldn't think twice of putting them together. But as someone who's read their stories quite extensively and who likes and obsesses over both characters, I would not cross over the two, because their stories and characters are fundamentally incompatible with each other in a more "serious" narrative, and you could not merge the two without seriously fraying one or the other.

It's a story that doesn't work, with characters that are not supposed to function together or in each other's narrative real estate, even with a character as malleable as The Shadow. This doesn't mean that it's impossible to write a good Shadow and Spider crossover, but to me, personally, these two are hard-line incompatible. That is, if it's a crossover based specifically on these two, because that changes if said crossover expands to more characters, as I'll get into.

Regarding the question:

How far are you willing to bend characterisation of the setting a character's adventures take place in and of the individual characters themselves to make this crossover work?

By default, any crossover is already going to have to create new settings from scratch based on relevant bits and pieces from the properties in question, so you do get more leeway for bending it.

But regarding characters, it's a question that cannot have a unified answer, because it's even more so dependant on a case-by-case basis. You could argue "only as much as necessary for the story to work", sure, but that's not really a good answer, because a story can do anything it's author wants to, and sometimes the story is not good to begin with, or the characters are just not made for being in the same narrative or even partaking in a crossover to begin with.

No amount of justifications for a story or characterization can excuse an unsatisfying result. Joe Yabuki and Guts are two of my favorite manga protagonists, but there would be no point to even attempting to put them together in the same story, because you'd have to twist either their narratives or their characters past the point of recognizability, which defeats the purpose of making a crossover to begin with.

Like, yeah, we've all heard the argument that Zack Snyder's Superman makes sense in the context of his movies, doing his own thing. Sure. But there's a reason any discussion of that character in the context of Superman in general comes prefaced with "Zack Snyder's" first, and why mainstream audiences who earnestly looked forward to Batman V Superman walked away feeling cheated, because, to borrow RLM terms here, they got "MurderMan vs Captain Hypocrite", and you can't even tell which is which in that description. You gotta give audiences at least a bit of what you promised them.

How many settings are you actually prepared to smush together before you feel you're losing more than you gain in this mix?

This one actually DOES depend on the story, because most stories that aren't just short narratives require multiple settings for it's scenes. Chances are your narrative will already be combining multiple settings, because setting is a word that can refer to "Korea during the Joseon dynasty", "spaceship traveling through lost nebulas" and "the McDonalds parking lot", as if they are the same thing. And in a way, when you look at a narrative's bones, they basically are.

To an extent, I think opening yourself up for a massive crossover of multiple properties of different characters and settings can, indeed, be a better choice than just going off purely by X meets Y. You start off by making it very clear to the audience that the boundaries are thin and you will be breaking them, and you use said framework to instead tell a myriad of stories, big and small. Stories that you couldn't really tell if you stuck to an existing framework or defined strongly the boundaries you can't cross. I'm gonna use Smash Bros as an example:

Smash Bros is arguably the biggest "official" crossover of all time, and it doesn't really have a "story" other than the basic framework that the series was built on, that these were representations of Nintendo icons dueling it out, and the few details that used to define this in the older days (like the characters being trophies and copies, and not the real deal) have been basically pushed aside. The most story you get in Smash nowadays is in the form of what the trailers showThe "point" of Smash was never really to tell a big, dramatic story with these characters. And maybe you really can't tell this kind of story, or a good story, with this many characters to juggle.

But they tried it once.

I'm sure most of you who do remember Brawl, as anything other than the blistering shame of the franchise that it's treated as these days, remember it mainly because of Subspace Emissary, which was this big, dramatic storyline where the end of the world was at stake and all the characters had to pull their weight to fight it. Subspace didn't have dialogue, it didn't have much story other than characters going from scene to scene while fighting, several of the characters either got nothing to do or were written poorly (mostly Wario), and none of this mattered at all, because Subspace, I'd argue, was the one and only time Smash Bros ever really recaptured that childhood feeling of smashing toys together that the franchise was built on.

Because if you remember being a kid smashing toys together, you remember not just doing it because you wanted Max Steel to kick Cobra Commander's butt. No, you did it because you wanted to tell a story where Max Steel got trapped in a rapidly filling water tank along with He-Man's Battle Cat while Cobra Commander kidnapped Max's girlfriend April O'Neil and bombed the city, and Max Steel had to talk Battle Cat into not eating him so they could together save the city and April from evil, and so they reconciled their differences and saved the day. Those things mattered to you. They were the stories you could tell with the resources you had in hand, sagas you did for the sheer fun of it, regardless of whether they were "good", you probably didn't even think of that. Why would you? You had bigger things to do.

And that's what Subspace did. It was big and dramatic and the world was at stake and all these heroes were coming together. Ness sacrificing himself to Wario so Lucas could have a chance to run away. Diddy Kong dragging along seasoned Star Fox pilots to rescue his buddy. Samus and Pikachu forming a bond. Peach stopping a deadly battle just by offering tea. ROB's story arc culminating in actual genocide, hell, ROB having a story arc to begin with. To a lot of people who played Brawl as one of their first games, this would have been their "introduction" to a lot of these characters in any sort of narrative, and to characters like ROB or Ice Climbers, this would have been the only chance they would ever get to be part of a great big dramatic narrative. Hell, Pit sure looked like he was on the same boat at the time, until Smash brought the Kid Icarus franchise back from death, and now Smash is where characters or properties get to stay relevant or at least on life support (Captain Falcon), or make glorious comebacks (King K.Rool). Brawl was what destroyed the idea of there being boundaries as to who could get in Smash or what kind of story could be told within it.

And people don't seem to recall this nowadays, but Brawl was when Smash exploded in fan content, specifically inspired by Subspace. This was the period of the Machinima craze and the fan mods galore and fan remixes and fan art and fan headcanons and fan films, and suddenly it hit people that, just because the games couldn't accomodate the stories they could tell with the premise, didn't mean that they couldn't start telling them on their own. We even got the formerly longest piece of English fiction off of it. The devotion Melee inspired in competitive players, Brawl did for artists and creators who got their start off in Smash fan content.

And because of it, suddenly a lot more people started writing stories with ROB and Ice Climbers and Pit and Captain Falcon and so on than there would have ever been if it wasn't for Brawl and Subspace. Smash gave ROB a story the character likely would have never gotten otherwise. And if you don't grasp what I'm getting at because you still think that fan content is a long way from being "official" or at least respectable, I don't know what you're doing following someone who rants about pulp fiction all day.

The point I want to get across is, boundaries in a crossover are important, yes, they exist for a good reason, but the boundaries should be defined by the story and characters and whatnot, not the other way around. Boundaries in fiction exist to be crossed or tested, they exist to tell you where you can't go so you can try to do so anyway and either fly high or crash.

Sometimes, bending or twisting characters and settings can be both a grave sin, as well as the thing that allows them to survive. Sometimes there are rules that seem unbreakable until someone breaks them without trying. And sometimes, going big and stupid and carefree over-the-top is either the worst, or the best outcome. It's fiction, taking risks and having fun is part of it.

So I'm afraid I thankfully cannot give your question a universal answer.

#replies tag #rambles #smash bros #brawl #super smash bros #subspace emissary

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hualianff · 3 years

Text

More Than This VI 《V》

It’s no surprise XL gains his own taste of fame after walking the red carpet with one of the most sought-after actors in the country. He doesn’t mind it, going as far as to create a few social media accounts to interact with fans and scroll through their photos and edits of him. He has a few fan sites too, but only for fancy events where he chooses to be recognized in public.

XL and HC agreed before sharing their relationship with the public that they would maintain a strong sense of privacy when it came to their personal lives. They only share what they want to. The paparazzi who manage to take photos without permission are immediately disciplined so it doesn’t happen again.

(“I can’t believe you did it.”

“Hmm, Gege said he was okay with it.”

“I know! But I didn’t expect you to actually....” XL stares at a recent selfie of them HC had posted on his Twitter, taken the night HC won his award. “We look like we just had sex.”

“Nobody’s gonna know.”

XL raises an unimpressed eyebrow at his boyfriend. HC insists again.

“Nobody’s gonna know-”

“They’re gonna know,” XL says with a sigh, pointing to the hickey marks clearly visible on the photo. HC rolls over closer to XL in their bed, scrutinizing the image on XL’s phone.

“Oh, I didn’t see those when I posted the photo.”

“San Laaang!” XL cries, pushing at the taller man’s shoulder before burying his face into his pillow. HC makes XL breakfast in bed as an apology and promises to not drunk-post anything again.)

Eight months after officially dating–which is over two years since they met–HC asks XL to move in with him. XL doesn’t even need to think about his answer, a simple “Yes! Yes please!” escaping his lips. Both HC and XL’s faces light up with overjoyed smiles.

They seem to have had the same idea about where to live, purchasing a home they’ve been eyeing for months! The best aspects include a massive yard (front, side, and back) for XL to tend to, a hot tub, and a spacious living and dining room area to entertain guests. It’s not the grandest or most impressive residence by size or feature. In fact, the first months have them living in a half-finished, rusty house with the prettiest garden you’ve ever seen.

It gradually gets better. HC and XL knew they would have to do a lot of work to improve the shape of their home. Over the next year, they repair and remodel the house themselves, simultaneously adding value to the property and curating the style to fit their dream home. XL makes sure to post progress photos on his social media. His most recent selfie of HC and himself in hardware glasses got over 500k likes! He pinned HC’s comment that said, “Gege is my own very handyman!”

(HC, in a sleeveless tee, shorts that show off his ass, hair pulled back into a high bun: “Gege, you’re the boss now. Tell me what to do.”

XL, struggling not to gawk at HC’s side boobs: “O-okay, first, can you smash those cabinets-”

Cue them making out against the counter when it’s the only part of the kitchen that is fully done.)

***

Having a partner who considers the outdoors as a second home is a special experience. XL often takes HC on dates to national parks and plant nurseries. They go on weekend camping trips where XL teaches HC how to properly filter water, summit long stretches of terrain, and stay warm during cold nights with below-freezing temperatures.

(HC, trying to fit into XL’s sleeping bag: “Hi, gege-”

XL: “San Lang, you have your own sleeping bag that you can actually fit in.”

HC: ‘But I’m cold. Gege helps keep me warm.”

XL: “Fine. But let’s use yours because it’s bigger.”

HC, kissing XL’s forehead: “Thank you, my love.”)

On their hikes, XL points to different plants, explaining their origins and why he finds each one particularly beautiful. At first, HC picks up random flowers on the way home and then he asks XL about what flower fate gave him that day to gift his beloved. (“San Lang, that’s not allowed!”) HC eventually stores all the random facts in his mind, always eager to listen to XL talking about his passion. He also learns to keep his hands from digging up “poor, helpless plants from their home soil.”

However, this unfortunately doesn't prevent HC from accidentally squishing some plants in their yard that he thought were just weeds.

(HC, thinking he’s a good partner: “Get out, stupid weeds. CHOP CHOP!”

XL: “SAN LANG STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

HC: “Gege always works so hard. I just wanted to help you in the yard today because you deserve it.” 🥺

XL: *sigh* “I appreciate the gesture, San Lang. But those particular grasses took months to grow, and you just killed them-“)

***

Countless media outlets try to stir up trouble like they typically do with celebrities. Especially when HC has roles that involve romance, articles claiming HC and XL are on the brink of breaking up receive lots of attention. However, what gains more attention are the videos the couple posts on Youtube or Instagram live of their reactions to their “scandals.”

(XL, reading a headline: “Actor bachelor Hua Cheng and co-star Yushi Huang seem to be cozying up after a late-night shoot.’”

HC: “I’m not a bachelor, the fuck?”

XL, smiling: “You could be. Me as well. We can be bachelors together.”

HC, chuckling: “All right. If gege is, then so am I.”

The comments: “That doesn’t make any sense!?”

HC, reading another headline: “HC’s lover found with a mysterious third party??”

XL, exclaiming: “Oh, that’s Shi Qingxuan! You know, the designer for all our red carpet outfits!” 🥰🥰

HC: *nodding along*

XL, cheekily: “-and my secret second-lover”

HC: *blanches* “What.”

XL: “Kidding!!!! San Lang is the only one for me, hehe.” *kisses HC’s cheek* “Okay, next one!”)

Everyone watching the videos is 50% confused and 50% entertained as HC and XL make light of any drama the media portrays them in. Viewers accept that of course, the rumors aren’t true; HC and XL are still very much in love.

They’re in love with each other and will continue falling for many years to come.

***

HC doesn’t like watching himself on screen. However, he does enjoy previewing his own movies for the first time with his boyfriend.

While XL watches the new movie, HC observes XL’s reactions. It helps that XL is a conversational movie watcher too. XL’s narrations consist of horny comments during the sexual scenes (“Ooh, that’s hot. Nice tongue.” “Thank you?”), side remarks about the plot and characters (“San Lang, your character is very rude.” “...”), and dramatic reactions to the huge reveal scenes where HC becomes a human punch bag. (“Oh my goooosh, San Lang!! It was him all along- AHH!!”)

As a perfectionist, something you have to be in HC’s field of work, HC is incredibly self-critical of his performance. Which is another reason why it’s nice to have XL watch alongside with, who never has a shortage of praises for his boyfriend.

(HC: “Fuck, why did they leave this shot in the final? I’m supposed to be mourning for my dead lover but instead, I look like I’m crying out of daddy issues. Why did no one tell me!? It looks so bad-” *pointing to himself on the screen* “-stop looking so constipated-!”

XL, squeezing HC’s nape and massaging his shoulders: “San Lang, no one thinks that except for you. You did everything perfectly. Please acknowledge your hard work and just enjoy the movie.”

HC: *sigh* “You’re right. Okay. Thanks, gege.”

A beat of silence. HC cuddles closer to XL.

HC: “Love you.”

XL: “Love you too.”)

***

XL now knows HC’s movies well enough to quote HC’s lines in his movies to make him laugh. HC happily indulges him, questioning after breaking character, “Gege, are you sure I’m the actor out of the two of us?”

One time, HC and XL are in their kitchen re-enacting a scene with HC as the investigator going to a bartender for more information on his suspect. HC has XL caged against the counter, asking in a teasing manner, “How can I repay you for your help tonight?”

XL lowers his eyelids, looking up through his lashes, flawlessly depicting his character. “Any restrictions on your offer?”

“No, darling. Name a price, a brand, a desire. Right now, anything is on the table,” HC says huskily. XL slyly bites his lip.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

XL brings a hand up to cup HC’s jaw, then smooths it down his neck, traveling down his bare chest. XL tilts his head to expose his neck, wanting to build up his boyfriend’s anticipation. But before he can say his next line, HC effortlessly throws XL over his shoulder like a bag of rice.

“San Lang, wait, this is not how it went in the movie!” XL shouts, a little dizzy from the sudden lift turning him upside down. HC takes long strides to their bedroom, plopping XL on their mattress and blanketing him with his larger frame.

HC only utters a husky “we’re improvising” before diving down to devour XL’s lips. XL’s arms hook around HC’s neck, holding him impossibly close.

***

After a filming shoot where HC’s character gets beaten up–HC performing his own stunts–he heads home beyond exhausted. He just wants to take a relaxing shower and cuddle his boyfriend in their warm bed.

HC arrives at their house a little past midnight. He opens the door and finds XL’s back facing him, quietly humming a song as he takes care of the vase in the living room. The sight makes HC smile.

However, as XL turns around, the vase slips from his hands and explodes into pieces on the ground.

“San Lang! What happened to you!?” XL cries out, the panic in his voice only comparable to the day he had confessed. HC stands in the doorway confused. Was something wrong with his appearance?

XL is on him in an instant, his pupils shaking as he frantically asks, “Does it hurt a lot? What happened!?”

HC blinks, expression blank as he still doesn't understand what has freaked XL out. But as the shorter man gently caresses HC’s face, it suddenly hits him.

The make up!

HC urgently starts rubbing the fake bruises off his face. “Gege, I’m okay! It’s just make up, none of this is real. See?” He holds his hands out for XL to see as the pigment stains HC’s palms. “I’m so sorry! San Lang is dumb, he didn’t mean to make you worry,” HC murmurs as he takes XL between his arms. He really loves this man too much.

XL’s teary eyes shine glimmer as HC embraces him. “Y-you’re sure you’re okay?”

HC nods, leaning into the slender hand that cups his cheek.

“Thank goodness,” XL breaths out as he buries his face into HC’s neck. His next words are slightly muffled. “It looks…so realistic.”

“Yeah, the make up artists are all quite talented, aren’t they?”

XL clings tighter to HC.

“Very much so. Let’s shower so we can properly wash it off.”

“All right,” HC says. “Wait, we?”

XL tugs HC toward the master bathroom.

“Hush, let’s go.”

***

They lay in bed together after four long months of separation. Both of them had been in different parts of the country; HC filmed a drama series while XL traveled for several high-profile projects. Their respective busy work schedules limited communication to brief video chats and text messages, which never seemed enough.

Now, with his head resting on HC’s chest, their legs overlapping comfortably, XL finally feels like he’s where he belongs.

“Why did you choose me?”

Tactical fingers massage XL’s scalp, lulling him into a serene state of bliss. XL nuzzles further into his boyfriend-sized pillow.

“It’s not like I can choose who I fall in love with, Gege,” HC states with a light chuckle. “But if you want an answer, it’s because you are everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner.”

XL looks up at his boyfriend, mouth forming a shape of an O.

“That simple? Even when we made a deal to have no strings attached?” XL asks. HC groans at the reminder of their initial agreement.

“Yes, which was a dumb decision on my part.”

“I agreed to it too. We were both dumb.”

They are silent for a moment. It’s not the first time they’ve talked about or referenced their insecurities when it came to confessing their feelings. XL’s luck when it came to dating someone who could love him for every part of him was practically nonexistent. HC’s constant grappling for his self-identity and worth rendered most of his relationships superficial. And temporary.

Always temporary.

“I can’t believe you thought I didn’t like your plants though. They’re so pretty. And fascinating.” HC says, breaking the silence.

“They take up half our living room space.”

“So? You work with plants all day. They’re bound to be a part of your personal life as well.”

XL’s heart bursts with a sudden fondness. It’s a wonderful thing to be appreciated for the little things.

“I’m glad you think so,” he says happily. HC hums in response, sending vibrations to where XL’s cheek lays on his chest. “I can’t believe I didn’t know you were a famous actor for the first three months we…”

“Met up for sex?” HC finishes with an impish grin.

“Yes,” XL laughs.

“It was nice not to be recognized for once. With you, I could just be myself,” HC says with ease he never thought he would be able to do. He’s struggled with letting himself be vulnerable his whole life. It turns out, HC just had to find the right person. And thank god he did. XL is more than HC’s outlet from his career. He’s become HC’s closest friend who knows him the best; he is HC’s number one supporter in any endeavor he pursues; he makes HC feel important. XL sees and loves HC for who he is. No amount of fame or wealth could come close to comparison.

“Gege?”

“Hmm?”

“Does it ever bother you that my life is always everyone else’s business?” HC softly asks.

“Well, the fame can be a bit…uncomfortable,” XL admits. “But you’re an amazing actor. And a remarkable person. I can’t blame your fans for loving you so much, you know? I also got to ride in a limo-“

“Which you rode very well-”

XL flicks his boyfriend’s forehead.

“You’re so predictable.”

“You would’ve said the same thing given the chance. Don’t lie, gege.”

They go back and forth a little longer, never once creating unnecessary distance between each other as they roll around until they’re on their sides. Facing each other in their bed that’s been vacant for months, HC and XL are inseparable.

“As I was saying, fame is something that comes with your job–your passion. You can’t control it, nor does it solely characterize who you are. Besides, I get to be a part of your life! That’s all that really matters,” XL continues. He shifts forward so their bodies are closely pressed together. XL plants a kiss on HC’s chin, then whispers a confession that tilts HC’s entire world on its axis.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone like you.”

HC’s world spins and spins until all that he sees is his beloved, gleaming brighter than all the galaxies without the power to disrupt their orbit. He wraps his arms around XL and kisses the top of his head.

“Me too, Gege.”

Bonus:

HC watches wearily as XL salivates at a showering scene where HC’s bare ass flashes in the frame. XL turns to HC with a serious look in his eyes.

“San Lang! Hiking has done your ass wonders.”

XL sneaks a grope to a meaty cheek. HC chokes.

***

“You can’t be late to your own premiere!” XL cries incredulously.

“Try me,” HC purrs into XL’s ear, delicately kissing the lobe.

XL gasps as teasing hands roam around his torso, one of them slipping down to cup his behind. He vaguely thinks about how SQX is expecting them in the next hour to help with their red carpet outfits. But when hungry lips attach to the sensitive column of his neck, XL is a goner.

“Gege doesn’t have to do any work. Just lay back and look pretty.”

(Brainchild with @no-one-says-hi!)

#tgcf #heavenly official's blessing #hualian #hualian au #cerdrabbles #fluff #Actor HC #Landscaper XL #fine.

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vanderlustwords · 4 years

Text

After You

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

24) You're my ex, but I think I still have feelings for you

Summary: For you, there were two important timelines in your life. There was before Steve and after Steve. Except it was complicated. Before, after, it doesn’t matter. It’s always been Steve for you.

Warning: a n g s t

Note: I was in a mood LOL there will be a part 2! And YES, I’m still working on the requests in my inbox :)

Part I of II

Count: 2085

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Things tend to fall apart before coming together.

It had been that way when you met Steve. You've known him for quite some time, nearly all your life, really.

You had watched him fall in love with Peggy Carter, date her throughout high school and into university. You had watched him clumsily navigate his way through his relationship, eager to please, eager to commit, eager to propose, and have children one day.

And then you had watched him fall apart when Peggy Carter left.

Steve was a mess.

He couldn't eat. He couldn't sleep. He was...lost.

It seemed like Steve would never recover from the emptiness Peggy left in her wake.

He says Peggy Carter was the woman who saw him before he had a massive growth spurt and started working out.

You don't know how to tell him you were--are too.

Even before Peggy Carter.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

It had started with nothing more than casual hookups.

The first time had been a drunken mess when you were out with Steve again for the umpteenth time at the bar.

It was Bucky's only idea left on how to get Steve out of the house, and you weren't opposed to it if it got him to leave the house, but you knew this couldn't continue on forever.

And while he was having another drunken rant about Peggy Carter, you watched him with your own heavy-lidden tipsy eyes before grabbing the front of his shirt and smashing your lips to his.

"What are you-"

"Stop," you hissed as you bit his bottom lip in warning, "stop talking about her."

It took him a second, but he wrapped his strong arms around you, pulling you close as he kissed you with renewed passion.

Casual hookups turned to friends with benefits.

There were parts of it that gave you both relief and pain. On the one hand, Steve was starting to seem like himself a little again, slowly, but surely. But on the other hand, this wasn't exactly what you had wanted either.

He was looking at you, but not really.

But the small moments you got were what you couldn't afford to lose now that you've experienced it.

And somehow, miraculously, casual hookups turned into a cautious, timid relationship.

"What?"

"Will you?" Steve asked as he swallowed visibly as dawn settled slowly, light flittering through his curtains. "Be my girl."

You slowly turned on your side, a little exhausted after the bedroom activities you've just done with him.

You were unsure; it showed in your eyes, and Steve tensed.

"Why?"

Perhaps it was the way you asked it, but Steve blinked, putting the question and the unsureness in your eyes together. He tentatively pulled you closed to him, relaxing slightly when you didn't push him away. Steve traces your bare spine, warming when you shiver slightly.

"I didn't think there was anything for me after," Steve spoke softly and slowly.

He can talk about Peggy Carter in vague terms now, it's small, but you feel like it shows he's moving on.

"I don't know what any of it really means, but there's you. I see you."

It's not an 'I'm in love with you,' but you still want to cry as you feel the butterflies in your stomach.

Steve holds you close, rubbing your back as he smiles.

"Besides, it's not proper of me to keep sleeping with you like this, I gotta make an honest woman outta you," he jokes, making you laugh as you slap him playfully.

"You're my girl," Steve says after the laughter dies down, almost as if he's testing the words himself.

"Yeah, I am," you smile.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

What you have with Steve is frail. It's shaky, careful, and shy.

It's new for both of you.

Steve's only dating experience is Peggy, and sometimes it feels like he's being overly cautious in watching for signs that you might leave him.

And you're nervous because Steve Rogers is finally yours. You didn't ever think this day would ever come. You were so sure you were going to have to swallow your feelings while you watched Steve and Peggy get married and live their happily ever after.

The first time you had a fight and survived it, you felt like everything was going to be okay.

"I'm NOT upset," Steve firmly insisted.

It was probably the long hours at work the both of you had to endure, meaning less time together.

There were reschedule dates, rushed good mornings and good nights, and sometimes the silence of missing the other person was too loud.

"You clearly are," you rolled your eyes because Steve's hands were clenched in a fist, his lips pressed together in a thin line, and brows furrowed.

"I'm not," Steve repeated. "Nobody likes someone who can't understand that life happens."

He said it so fast that you almost missed it, but you didn't.

It only takes you a second to understand, and you flare up at him with a clenched jaw.

"I am not Peggy Carter," you say through gritted teeth. The name itself seems to make Steve brace himself, but you don't care. "Of course life happens. That doesn't mean it doesn't affect us."

Of course, you understood why Steve was unwilling to show unfavorable emotions.

After all, Peggy had left him for an opportunity somewhere in Europe. Understandably, Steve had been upset when she told him. Steve told her that she should have talked to him about it because he couldn't just uproot his life currently. Peggy said she didn't need his permission to go.

But Steve wasn't asking that she ask for his permission, he was asking where did he stand in her future.

You grabbed his hand in your own, sighing as you pressed your lips to his knuckles.

"Steve, I am not Peggy Carter," you repeat. "If you're upset, then you can say so. I'm not going to leave when we're trying to build a life together. And life isn't just about everything working out without any issues. I want you to tell me if something is bothering you."

Steve stands there, staring at you while you stroke the back of his hand gently with the pad of your index finger while his hand rests on top of your other hand.

And suddenly he's pulling you into a tight hug, his head buried in your hair as he inhales the scent.

"I really missed you," he mumbles.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Building a life together turns out to be lovely. Knowing you can survive a fight seems to place the two of you in a better place.

Steve hasn't said he loves you, but he sees a future with you. And for now, that's enough.

"You're just glowing, doll," Bucky teases you while the two of you are going to house openings.

Steve couldn't take time off work today, so Bucky offered to go with you.

You laugh bashfully.

"Why? Can you tell?" You smile, and Bucky just smiles softly for a second.

"You're basically wearing a giant neon sign on your head," he smirks. "Lord knows your forehead could fit it."

"Bucky!" Your jaw drops with a hint of a smile as you slap his arm.

He shields himself dramatically, and the two of you laugh, waiting patiently for the realtor to return.

"But, you're happy?" Bucky asks after a moment, soft and serious.

You can't help the smile that forms on your lips.

"Very much so."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

But, like all good things, they eventually come to an end.

And you wonder if the end was beginning when Peggy Carter returns.

She returns, and it's like she's never left. Peggy is still clever, headstrong, witty and sarcastic, charming, and appreciative.

It's like she never left because she still wants Steve.

Peggy is a no-nonsense woman, but she had no qualms about telling Steve she was still in love with him, wanted him back, and was willing to wait for him.

Even fully aware that he was dating you now.

The entire thing had shaken Steve up. He didn't come home for a couple days, but when he did, he was red in the eyes as he pulled you into a hug.

And he had chosen you.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

For a while, things are okay.

Different.

But okay.

This was obviously was something Steve still struggled with because it didn't seem like Peggy was going anywhere.

When things feel too overwhelming, you sit at the bar where you first kissed Steve, downing shots like it's your job.

Things only go downhill when Peggy is there too, but seemingly picking up food rather than drinking.

"Do you feel no shame at all?" You glare at her in your drunken haze. "You know he's clearly with me, and yet, you're still pursuing him. Where's your morality now?"

Peggy quirks her brow at you, turning to you as she waits for her food.

"Steve is the love of my life," Peggy tells you, "I'm willing to do what I must to be with him."

"He's mine!" You nearly scream at her.

"But he doesn't love you," Peggy says calmly, and she knows she hit the nail right on your head when you're silent.

Peggy sighs as if she's tired of this conversation--of you.

"Look," she tells you, "no matter what you may delude yourself into thinking, I am Steve's greatest love. I'm going to tell you what I told him."

Peggy runs her hand through her hair. "Sooner or later, he'll come back to me because I came back for him. That opportunity for me in Europe was nowhere close to being done, but because I love him--I can't stop loving him, I came back. If this were a movie, I'm his leading lady. And that makes you the side character."

The bartender comes back out with Peggy's food, and she takes it and leaves, not even sparring you another look.

And like a side character, you can only down another shot.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

It comes as no surprise to you when Steve, after all that turmoil, returns to Peggy Carter.

You sit alone in the dark of your apartment, texting the realtor at an ungodly hour to back out of the bid for the house.

Still, that doesn't stop you from showing up at the house--your dream home that was supposed to be with Steve.

You stare up at it, eyes empty as flashes of the future that will never be come.

Hours pass, but your feet are rooted there, a stupid, foolish hope that Steve will appear.

But when you feel a jacket slip over your shoulders, and you turn to see Bucky standing there sad for you, you know Steve isn't coming.

"What are you doing standing out here, doll?" Bucky asks.

You turn your head to look at the house before looking back at him, blinking.

"He left me," you say like you're in disbelief.

"Doll..." Bucky whispers, but he doesn't know what to say because Bucky can't say that isn't true.

"It's like all this time, it was just a dream. A dream that Steve was blissfully passing the time with until he reality hit him. And that reality was Peggy Carter," you chuckle hollowly.

But the tears come suddenly, overflowing quick and down your cheeks, even when you wipe them away, so you hide your eyes away in your hands.

Bucky reaching his hand up toward you but freezes before they can touch you.

"He left me," you choke, stuttering on your own breath. "He left me, and I can't breathe."

And Bucky throws out all his thoughts, pulling you into his arms as he holds you tight. He grips the back of your neck through your hair. He holds your head close to his neck as if to hide you from the world.

You feel him swallow, but Bucky doesn't say anything as he holds you while you fall apart in his arms.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

It's easy for you to leave.

Pack everything in your apartment and move to another city.

There's no goodbye letter, no goodbye text. You delete your social media and change your number.

It takes months, but eventually, the new city air feels refreshing, and you feel like you can breathe again.

The only person who may know where you are is Bucky, who visits frequently. And although he is Steve's best friend, he won't open his mouth about you to him.

And you don't ask about your former boyfriend.

You're learning to live your life after Steve.

PART II

#v.myfic #g.angst #g.romance #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers angst #steve rogers x reader angst #steve rogers fanfiction #avengers x reader #steve rogers imagine #avengers imagine #modern avengers au #steve rogers x fem!reader

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