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httpwintersoldier · 7 months

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『 lady marmelade. || buggy x reader 』

[PART 2 OF 4 - ONE PIECE'S KINKTOBER] - BUGGY VER.

[SHANKS VER.] [MIHAWK VER.] [SANJI VER.]

pairing: buggy x f!reader words: lenghtyyyyy summary: your occupation lead you to meet your new boss... who'd perhaps become more than that. angst; smut; fluff.

Doing Burlesque was not what you had initially seen yourself doing professionally, but in a weird turn of events, the doors had opened and you walked right through them. Or rather... the curtains.

You initially intended to study the sea and its mysteries, but it wasn't exactly a job that paid well from the get-go, so you began working at a bar. Just to get yourself started, you said.

Then a man noticed you... He was tall and well built, a little meat on his bones but definitely intimidating. Hair as white as snow and a full beard with a nicely kept moustache. The man couldn't help but compliment you: your beautiful smile, your beautiful body, your bright personality... You were perfect, he said.

He approached you, initially asking you how much you made. You found it insulting! That was, until he said he'd triple it if you joined his show. The man was sure you'd be a hit, and he was right.

At first you thought he was inviting you to be a stripper, but as you learned the art of burlesque, you realized it was nothing of the sort - and you loved it. The attention, the compliments, the lights and cheers, the beautifully decorated attires, the attention to detail... But most of all, you adored the freedom it gave you to study the sea.

The pay was amazing, and it allowed you to have enough time and money to invest in your hobby - the sea.

"We got a... uh... how to describe the situation..." the stage coordinator said as he tapped his chin, looking for the correct words "We got a different crowd."

You were applying the finishing touches to your attire, but stopped, furrowed your eyebrows and looked at the man as you heard his choice of words, as well as the ruckus behind the curtain.

You stood up and walked to the edge of the curtain, tugging on it slightly, so only one of your eyes peeked out to look at the audience. You gasped in horror and stepped furiously towards the stage manager.

"Since when do we allow pirates on our cabaret!?" You whisper-yelled at the man.

The heels made you taller than him, and the way you were staring him down sent a shiver down his spine. The man was gripping his board with the show instructions as he struggled to give you a response.

"I guess we do when- when they pay well we do..."

You weren't prissy, much less were you an elitist, but pirates... they disgusted you. When you began working at the cabaret the owner allowed pirates in. Those nights were treacherous, to say the very least. The harassment, bottle throwing and disrespect for the art rose through the roof on those nights, so pirates and their crews were banned effectively from watching the shows. Except the ones whose pockets were deep, apparently.

You slumped back on your chair and held the bridge of your nose between your thumb and index finger as you sighed.

"Tell me I'm the first one, please, tell me I get to get this over with and fuck off home."

The stage manager scoffed.

"I don't know what would overcome the Boss to somehow put you first... You're the last one." The man informed.

He had the habit of doing this. You were his golden goose, the cherry at the top, as he liked to say, so you were always last, because everyone stayed to watch you.

That was the only time where being the favourite sucked.

"Babygirl, you're first, you're on in 40 seconds." The man said, and your colleague applied some powder hurriedly and walked to the big red curtains.

You watched as she stepped out to her signature intro song with a fake smile that hid how fucking terrified she was of the pirates.

Usually sets came and went as quickly as a snap of the fingers, but this one time, the one time you were curious to hear about, seemed to drag on for ever and ever.

"Thank y'all for tonight, you were lovely!"

As soon as you heard those words and saw the curtains move, you stood up.

"Evelyn, 60 seconds 'till you're on!" the stage manager called to your next colleague as you walked towards Babygirl, held her hands and looked her in the eye.

"So? How were they!?" You asked, barely even letting her catch her breath.

"You know what? Not that bad..." She said, sounding surprised by her own statement "I get the feeling they were just kicked out of every bar in town and came here to drink. They were excited and there was quite a lot of ruckus and cheering but I think the main focus were the drinks... There was this clown dude in the back that seemed very desinterested though." Your colleague explained, as you both walked to her vanity and she began taking off all of the paraphernelia that decorated her.

You furrowed your brows. That was surprising... But it made sense, somehow. They might've been behaving just for the sake of not being thrown out again and running out of alcohol for the night.

Your colleague looked at you up and down.

"You're going with Cherry Pie today?" She asked.

You kept a couple personas in your pocket, to keep it interesting. You liked to call it "The Burlesque Sisters", except each one of them was played by you. It kept people interested and coming back for more, wanting to get a peek at each sister.

You looked down at your attire: it was a red corset with wine-coloured felt details and a heart-shaped neckline. You wore a miniskirt that was not at all intricate, as it came off in the very beginning of the set, long black gloves with red feathery apliques on the hem, black stockings, and a pair of beautiful red platmform heels with guilded details. Your makeup matched the get up perfectly: a bold red lip with a dark red liner, gold sparkles decorating your face, as well as gold eyeshadow on your waterline, and a killer cat-like black winged liner. You were always keen on having your hair up, as you felt it was the perfect hairdo to keep eyes focused on your body and on your movements.

Cherry Pie was a fan favourite, no doubt. So you were a little reluctanct on bringing her out, afraid that the pirates would keep coming back for her (cocky of you, you were aware), but it was too late to change.

It wasn't long before you heard Evelyn's typical goodbye quote. She came in strutting in the room, hapilly removing several bills from various parts of her attire.

"Good tippers!" She said with a smile.

"Cherry Pie! You're on in two minutes!" The stage director called.

Whoever went next to Evelyn got a little more time before going in, as the staff needed to clean up her glitter sprayed across the floor.

"So? How was it?" You asked, raising your brows.

"Oh, it was great! They weren't exactly respectful but they tipped really well and they were very engaged! Except for this clown dude at the back, but I didn't bother much with him." Evelyn said with a shrug as she took off her earrings.

You stood up with a pensive face and straighened your outfit, suddenly becoming curious about this clown guy that seemed to be uninterested by women in very little clothing dancing in front of him. You walked to the curtains, waiting for the stage manager to give you your cue.

When you heard the first beats of your intro song you strutted in, one foot in front of the other, hands on your waist and a big, flirty smile. You winked at the crowd as the big stage lights lit you up.

You lifted your arms up as if to say "I'm here!" and popped out your hip.

"Welcome, to the Cherry Pie show!" You said, earning a bunch of cheers, and then hit the Beety Boop pose, placing your hands on your knees and popping out your ass as you winked.

The clown your colleagues had mentioned wasn't hard to spot: this wasn't a simple crowd, for sure, but he was definitely the one that stood out the most. In a good way... you'd argue.

However, as you introduced yourself, you could see him look up: his head lifted from the fist that it previously rested on and his eyes sparkled. You couldn't relate to the desinterest the others had reported, and you wondered if you had particularly piqued his interest - or if he was just tired of the position he was in and decided to switch (although the glint in his eye said your initial theory was correct).

You carried on with the performance, keeping a special eye out for the pirate clown.

You slowly undid your corset, opening it to reveal a tighter, smaller corset, flashing the crowd with an expression that said "oopsie!". There were some groans and there were some laughs at the trick. You discarded the corset you had taken off and went around the room collecting bills, as you danced suggestively and lip synced to your song.

As you walked closer to the clown you bit your glove and slid it off, revealing your long, red press on nails. You repeated the process on the other glove and discarded them, earning a few whistles. You could feel the clown's gaze on you, almost as if it burned.

And so, you decided to tease him: you dragged your nail along his jaw. The clown somewhat leaned into your touch, and although the music was loud, you could swear you heard him groan.

You continued you act and, in no time, your songs came to an end and it was time to say goodbye to your surprisingly pleasant guests.

"Y'all have been a lovely crowd! I've been Cherry Pie, Cherry Kisses!" You yelled, touching your ass with one heel as you blew them a kiss.

There was standing up, whistling, cheers, and a couple noises from displeased people, sad that the show was over. One thing was for sure, the clown guy had a hunger for you - and he wouldn't let you go so easily.

As you disappeared behind the curtains, the man stood up, making his way to the back.

"Sir you can't come in-" The bouncer began, but instantly shut up when Buggy flashed him a wad of Berry. Any ammount of money was worth being sacrified if it meant it was used to see you.

Evelyn and Babygirl had gone home already, so when you heard footsteps you assumed it was your bodyguard ready to escort you home.

"Hey Dante I'm not ready yet, give me 5 just to take off the makeup and put on some clothes!" You said, not looking behind you as you worked on getting the glitter off.

"I think you look marvellous just like that."

When you didn't recognize the voice, you were startled and stood up, looking at the man that had spoken, to find the clown guy leaning against the door frame.

You couldn't not remember who he was...

"What are you- How did you get here?" You asked, pointing at him and squinting your eyes.

"Honey, I've got plenty Berry, and I don't mind spending it on you." He said, arms stretched out as he stepped towards you.

You raised your brow and crossed your arms in front of your chest as you analyzed him from head to toe.

"This isn't a strip club, you can't pay for a room with me or whatever. And it's Cherry, not Honey." You said, attitude dripping from your voice.

"Yes, unfortunately it isn't a strip club, but I'm not here for that. I want to offer you a spot. On my crew, on my show." The man offered with that familiar glint in his eye.

"Why, pray tell, would I want to go be a pirate? The pay here is amazing, I love my job and I am comfortable." You asked.

The clown admired how unafraid you were of him. People usually kept their distance, ran away, stuttered near him... But there you were, facing him and challenging him. He absolutely had to have you.

The Captain was desperately looking for reasons to give you, until his eyes landed on a book you had on your vanity. You liked to entertain yourself and read on breaks from shows and happened to leave them on your vanity.

"A book about marine life?" The man asked, pointing at the book "Honey, why read about it, when you can see it. Join me and you'll see all of the life you read about in those pages, up close. I'll equal what they pay you here- fuck it, I'll double it."

Now that was tempting... But you couldn't help but wonder why...

"Why do you want me so much?"

Now that was a damn good question.

"I've never seen my men this focused on something. It's good for morale and it gives them something to do other than a big mess on my ship. Plus, we kinda need a gymnast on the show and you fit the bill."

Bullshit. He just bullshit his way out of the truth - in reality he just wanted to have you close, he wanted to be able to look at you up close whenever.

"Your men? Your ship? What are you, a Captain?" You asked genuinely.

The male scoffed and took another step towards you.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

You shrugged as an answer, your face showing a definite sign of absolutely not giving a shit about the answer.

"My name is Captain Buggy, or Buggy the Clown." Buggy, as he introduced himself, detached a hand and had it fly over to you.

"Woah! You're a Devil Fruit user!" You said, amused to finally meet one, and shook the flying hand.

Although detached, your touch on him still managed to send shivers down his spine.

"So, Miss 'Cherry Pie', have we got a deal?"

You pretended to think for a bit. The answer was obviously yes (more pay and you got to be close to the sea!?), but you didn't want to seem too eager.

"I believe we do Captain Buggy."

The way you said his name made him wonder how many other ways he could make you say it... It sent another shiver down his spine, and the captain asked himself if it had been a good idea to invite you on board - Buggy didn't know how long he'd be able to keep his hands off of you.

When the owner of the Cabaret heard of your departure he nearly fainted. The man tried to negotiate but he couldn't possibly match what Buggy had offered you, so the boss reluctantly let you go and you embarked on a new journey.

The beginning was a little rocky, some of the crew members got a little touchy and Buggy had to threaten them multiple times, but after you started standing your ground and threteaning them yourself, you gained their respect.

Normally you wouldn't be so brave as to stand up to several big men experienced in fighting, but you knew the Captain had your back, and that gave you a lot of confidence.

The first time there was a show, Buggy invited you to sit back and watch, so you could learn how it all worked before being part of it, and you had to admit, seeing the man take control of everything... it was kind of hot. Those words danced in your tongue when he asked you what you thought about the show afterwards, but you decided to keep it to yourself.

"This good enough Captain?" You asked innocently, fixing your corset so your boobs stood out.

Buggy thanked his heavy makeup for concealing his blush, and the coat for hiding his growing boner as he inspected your outfit from head to toe. He wanted to say no. He wanted to cover you up with a long, large coat and send you out with it so only he could see you like that, but alas, that wasn't possible...

"Uh yeah, Y/N, you look fantastic." The Captain said, not able to look away from your chest.

You giggled and thanked him, before getting ready to step out. The tent was particularly full that day, as people gathered, curious about the new act that had been announced.

As the cheers, claps and whistles reached Buggy's ears backstage, he felt a sense of jealousy spread in his body. Oh it was a bad idea to hire you, for sure...

When the show came to an end and the guests had left, Buggy sat on his throne and counted the Berry they had made.

Suddenly, he heard steps.

"Who the fuck is here and why are you here?" The Captain asked, in a grumpy tone - he very much disliked being interrupted.

"Sorry Captain!"

As soon as he heard your voice it was like a rainbow washed over him. He hated that. He hated how you had so much control over his body, over the way he felt.

"That's okay, thought it was one of the other degenerates. What can I do for ya, sweetheart?" Buggy asked in a completely different tone from the one he had previously spoken in, pleased that you had come talk to him still in your show attire.

"Well I wanted to ask... did I do good?" You asked, biting your lip and holding your hands behind your back nervously.

Oh boy did Buggy want to grab you by the neck and push you against a wall... Seeing you in front of him, nervous and asking for his approval, all while biting your lip... You had no idea how much self control he had not to fuck you dumb.

"Sorry sugar, I couldn't watch the show tonight..." The Captain explained, a sad tone in his voice as he said it.

"Oh..." You replied, a little disappointed "Well, maybe I could give you a private show." You said with a flirty wink.

Buggy smirked and looked at you, supporting his head with his fist.

"Don't make promises you can't handle keeping, princess." Buggy said, boldly.

You chuckled and turned around.

"I can handle everything, Captain."

You could feel Buggy's eyes on you as you walked away, and chuckled lowly when you heard him curse under his breath.

The man turned, huffed and puffed in bed that night, grabbing his crotch at the thought of you, at the way you called him Captain, and at the pretty little teasing quote you'd thrown at him - but he knew that no release would be satisfying - unless you were the one giving it to him. That couldn't be. He had to find a solution.

Little did the man know, the solution would find him soon enough.

Due to his Y/N-induced sleepless night, the following day the man retreated to his living quarters before dinner, in order to get some rest.

You, who didn't know what was going on, grew concerned about the Captain. He was always grumpy, sure, but he was also constantly laughing and full of life, whereas that day he was simply... not.

You knew no one was even supposed to go near his room, let alone visit it when the Captain specified he didn't want to be disturbed. But you were one curious cat - and a worried one too.

As you stood outside of his door, you bit your lower lip, wondering if you should knock or not, but before you could decide for or against it, the Captain had already sensed a presence outside.

"Who has a death wish?" Buggy asked, referring to the person that stood outside of his room.

"T-that would be me, Captain..." You replied, nervously, confident he'd recognize your voice.

Buggy's mind was torn - he looked (and felt) like shit on one hand, but on the other, having you with him in his room all by yourselves... The bottom head thought faster, and he replied with a low "come in".

You opened the creaky door slightly and peeked inside, before walking in.

Buggy laid on the bed, his hair free of the bandana and tied in a low ponytail. He had one arm falling from the bed, and the other covering his eyes, and one leg resting on the bed as the other had his knee bent.

You blushed slightly as you realized he was just wearing his underwear and a large striped shirt.

"Woah..." You said, at the sight of his long hair.

Buggy uncovered his eyes to look at you and followed your gaze. He just chuckled, making you snap back to reality.

"Uh, Sir- Captain," You corrected "are you okay?..."

The light in the room was scarce, the only thing lighting up the space being the moonlight coming in through the hatch. Still, you could see his cocky grin.

"You worried about me, princess?"

You dared walk closer to him, in small, shy steps.

"Well, yes... You didn't seem yourself today..."

Buggy clenched his fists and held himself back with all the strenght possible and imaginary when you put one knee on his bed, making it dip slightly on your end, and placed a hand on his forehead and face.

"Captain, you feel hot!" You said, worriedly.

He was hot alright, but it wasn't a fever that left him like that.

"You know princess, you're right, I haven't been 100% lately, I have been having a little problem..." Buggy admitted, as he licked his lips.

"A p-problem? What problem?" You asked, an uneasy feeling rising within you.

Upon seeing your panicked expression he chuckled.

"A problem with you, dear."

The panic and fear increased even more, and it was visible on your face.

"Don't worry princess, you've done nothing wrong. In fact, quite the opposite... You've been doing all the right things."

You innocently cocked your head to the side.

"I'm- I'm sorry Captain, I'm not sure I'm following..."

The man grinned and groaned when the name left your lips. Such an innocent mouth, that he had imagined doing such sinful things to...

"You see, sweetheart," Buggy began, his hand lightly tracing up the thigh closest to him "you've been driving me crazy. The way you dress, the way you talk, fuck- the way you say my name."

His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he imagined you moaning his name. You grew hotter and hotter at each of his words, and all you could focus on was how his hand went higher and higher on your thigh. And without noticing, in your head, you began begging for his hand to just fucking hurry it up and grab your ass.

"W-well Captain, I guess it's only right that I fix the problem, I caused it after all, hm?" You suggested bringing your other leg up to the bed and across him, so you were straddling his lap.

"Oh princess, I don't know if you wanna get into it..." His hands found the place you wanted him to find.

The man grabbed your ass with such force that you couldn't help but moan.

"I'm pretty sure that I do..." You said in a husky voice, as you felt his cock harden under you.

Before he could speak, you opened your mouth once more.

"You know, Captain," now that you knew he enjoyed it, you were going to exploit the hell out of the name "I like the way you take control of the show..." you paused once more and leaned in to whisper in his ear "How about you take control of me like that?"

It was as if your voice brought him the full 10 hours of sleep he needed. It was like energy washed over him and he felt... alive. More than ever.

The clown was quick to switch positions, straddling your waist and pinning your hands above your head, slowly riding up the top you wore. Buggy licked his lips as he stared at your exposed stomach.

"You're playing with fire, princess. Little girls that play with fire get hurt..." Buggy teased with a glint in his eye.

"Then hurt me."

His lips glued to yours instantly, in a violent, hungry kiss. Buggy didn't know it was possible for someone to drive him even crazier, but you did it. You pushed him to the very edge and he had never craved something so much in his life.

Buggy's hands were all over your body - grabbing your thighs, slapping your ass, caressing your waist... He wanted to take in every piece of you. As he touched you, the Captain slowly took off pieces of your clothes, and when you realized, you were naked under him.

You blushed slightly, tugging at the hem of his shirt so he'd understand.

"We're not speaking now, dollface?" The man asked as he removed his one piece of clothing "Cat got your tongue? Hm?"

You ran your hands down his torso and bit your lip - he was a lot more toned than he let on.

"Just... admiring the view." You said before catching his lips in a slow, passionate kiss.

Buggy detached one of his hands, and you shrieked into the kiss as his cold fingers made their way inside your panties. He teased your entrance, until you tugged on his hair as if to say "hurry up, fucker".

"Don't be-" He paused, shoving two fingers into you slowly "-impatient."

You sighed deeply and moved your hips against his fingers. Buggy looked down at you move in amusement.

"You know pretty girl, we have another problem at hand..." The Captain said, tracing your face with his fingers until he reached your neck.

"W-what is it?" You asked, through half lidded eyes and in between moans.

Buggy gripped your throat, making you gasp and arch your back. He leaned closer to your ear so he could whisper.

"I don't know if I wanna fuck you like this to see your pretty little face when you cum on my cock, or shove your face in the pillow and fuck you from behind."

"A-as long as you make me cum Captain..." You said with a smirk.

You whined as he removed his fingers and licked them clean.

"Are you doubting my capabilities, princess?"

You had no time to reply, as he reattached his hand and used it to flip you around and pull your ass up in the air. You gripped the sheets, your cheek against his pillow taking in the smell of your Captain, as you watched him take his placed bbehind you.

Buggy took his sweet time palming your ass and admiring it.

When he took out his cock, you couldn't see it from the angle, but you knew it was big and girthy, because when his hard lenght smacked against your ass, you knew you were in for it.

"Fuck..." You breathed out.

Buggy chuckled.

"It's not even in yet princess, save the cursing for later..." He teased, running the tip of his cock up and down your folds until he himself couldn't hold it any longer.

The Captain wanted to slam into you and fucked the words out of your mouth, but it was your first time with him and he didn't want to risk being too rough or hurting you.

So, with furrowed eyebrows and agape mouth, he pushed into you slowly, until he bottomed. It took all of his strenght to pull out and shove his cock back in in a slow pace.

Once he found you were comfortable with the pace, he began speeding up and, when your moans became loud and you called for his name, Buggy lost all control.

The man gripped your hips like a madman and fucked you like his life depended on it.

"Oh fuck- you're such a good girl Y/N- you take me so well..." He praised as he gripped your ass and smacked it a couple times, earning a yelp from you.

"Y-you feel so good Captain!" You moaned, gripping the sheets beside your head.

One of Buggy's hand detached and found your clit, rubbing it at a consistent, fast rhythm. The man was good. You wanted to savour the moment as long as possible but for the first time you found it hard to not cum.

Maybe it was his skill, maybe it was his demeanor, and maybe it was his appearance, but the truth was that you couldn't get enough of him fucking you.

"Buggy I think- I think I'm gonna cum-" You whined, as a familiar feeeling began washing over you.

"A-Already princess?"

Buggy kept up the confident persona, but deep down he was thanking every diety in existance because he didn't know how long he could last, with you moaning for him and tightening around his cock like he had imagined so many times.

"Please... may I cum?"

"Do it!" Was all he could say.

Your legs faltered and the Captain had to hold you up as he fucked his cum into you, riding both of your orgasms out.

Small groans and whimpers filled the room as the both of you came down from your highs. Buggy hissed as he removed his soft cock from you.

The man helped you lay down on the bed and wrapped an arm around you and pulled you closer to him as he closed his eyes.

"Hey Buggy?" You called, as you played with his hair and admired how long his lashes were.

"Hm?..." He sleepily asked.

"When you hired me, was this your intention?" You asked, biting your lip.

The man didn't open his eyes, he just chuckled.

"I can't say it was completely innocent... I wanted you close to me." Buggy explained with a smirk.

He then grabbed your ass and pulled you even closer, causing you to shriek and giggle.

"I guess you got it, Captain..."

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heartfullofleeches · 1 year

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Okay so, with popstar!reader and C.C, since I’m in the mood for some jealous C.C shenanigans.. What about maybe a scenario where after some sort of event the reader and C.C received a bunch of gifts and fan mail from fans and they’re going through it with each other and poor C.C’s forced to watch the reader happily go through all the gifts and letters meanwhile he’s just there like >:(

"Thank you everyone! We hope you enjoyed the show."

The crowd sends you off with one more cheer as you exit the stage; hundreds of hands following yours as you wave goodbye. Tonight was your fourth show with your co-star and newest friend, C.C. He was a little offputting at first, but the more time you spent together he began to act like the angel he branded himself as. He'd been nothing but a complete sweetheart to you. Others... not so much.

An arm swoops around you as C.C leaps from the final step, almost knocking you off balance before he centers you against his chest. "Hey, babe! Tonight's show was killer. Wanna celebrate once the coast's clear?"

"Sure, but first-"

"Y/n!"

From behind a velvet rope, fans scream your name. The security guards look at the both of you for the go head to let the V.I.P's pass. You flash an apologetic smile at C.C, to which he forces his lips to mirror.

"We have to deal them."

"Right.... yay." C.C drags his heels along the tile floor as he follow behind you. You're the first to greet the fans. Smiling, shaking hands, accepting as many small handouts you could carry at a time. A few call out to C.C, but he's too busy watching you interact with your loyal following. Needless to say, he didn't like what he was seeing; ready to gut the fan who confesses their love to you for the billionth time. He wishes the guards would do there job and get rid of everyone already. Unable to ignore his groupies any longer, C.C offers a hug to the first person who reaches out; swiping the autograph booklet from the pocket of someone you just chatted with.

Once the meeting time comes to an end, you say your farewells and leave to go to the dressing room. C.C experiences an ego boost knowing he's the only one who'll ever have this moment. He grabs onto the elbow of your jacket, casually working his fingers into the crevice of your arm, continuing until he's walking arm and arm with you. He winks at the dwelling number of fans who pick up on the action; whispering to one of the guards about a suspicious attendee before you finally take your leave.

Backstage, you enter the room greeted by a mountain of fan letters and gifts. Some from the meet and greet, and other brought before hand. C.C pushes the pile off the couch and lays down on it meanwhile you walk over to the dresser to sort through your half of the gifts. He's more interested in the bowl of a various snacks on the opposite self, until he spots you holding an envelope stamped with a pink heart. Oh hell no.

"Hey, bestie!"

"Ah!"

Like a creature of the night, C.C stalked up behind you under finding the perfect moment to strike. He giggles at your yelp of surpise and plops down in the chair beside you, picking up a makeup pencil and playing with the flap of one of his presents.

"I just had the greatest idea. Let's open our letters together! Its normally ladies first, but you can start us off."

"Sure, why not. " You open the letter and read aloud.

"Dear Y/n,

If you're reading this, I'm so happy and amazed to see where you are now. I've been a fan of your music since you were posting anywhere you could. Whenever your on stage, I get so excited cause I know you're giving your all. You probably hear this from everyone, but I love you and can't wait to see what's next.

Much love,

Your biggest fan."

Crack

You glance up at the sound of a tiny snap. The pencil C.C held was spilt in half between his manicured hands: his smile twitching as he laughs. He drops the pieces like they were made of fire, feigning innocence by covering his mouth with his hand.

"Sorry, was that too loud? Just wanted to see if I could actually do it. How.. sweet was that letter, am I right? Can I see it? Just wanna check for a name... maybe an address."

You had him the letter. No address. Damn. Could still be useful, though. When you're not looking, he tears a small corner of it off and pockets it. Should be strong enough of a trace since it was likely the fan lived in the city. God, he prayed their scent wouldn't rub off into his shorts, bhat wasn't the biggest of his concerns at the moment.

"Hey, Y/n. On second thought, let's hear all of your letters first. I've been in this game longer anyway, and have received tons. I would love to get to know all of your little fans. Every. Single. One."

#C.C my oc #yandere incubus #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere insert #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere blurb #male yandere #yandere headcanons #yandere oc #yandere demon x reader #yandere x darling #yandere drabble #yandere x y/n

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mootiemoose · 1 year

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remus lupin fic rec list

i've been on a remus lupin bender since the beginning of the year and have read some rather fantastic moony centric fic in that time. thought i would compile them into a list - just in case anyone else was feeling similar. with love, mootie x

I'll be updating as I find more, i hope! if you can point any more my way, I would be more than happy to find some!

~Remus x Reader ~

A Bewitching Christmas by batkat (AO3)

Reader is a spy working for the Order, set during Order of the Phoenix. You get roped into spending Christmas with Sirius at Grimmuald place and bump into an old friend. All sorts of shenanigans ensue. I liked the feel of this story, it felt very homely. How all the characters interact, the relationships (especially between Sirius and the reader!) and how beautifully written this is makes you really feel like you're there!

Werewolves of London by 2049s (AO3)

This one is ongoing, but I'm enjoying it too much not to include it! This story follows the reader, a groundskeeper at Hogwarts and Dumbledores personal bodyguard, as she goes about life at Hogwarts. She watches from the side lines as her old friends son, Harry, grows up before her eyes. Until a certain DODA professor arrives, causing feelings and grief long put to rest to resurface. I love how original this is! Her relationships with all the characters are so real and 3D. I love how she signs and how expressive she is with her language. I can't wait to see where this goes next! X

~Remus x O/C~

Sky Above by stephie177 (Wattpadd)

Tamsin Weasley is the oldest of the Weasley siblings. She is the Astronomy professor at Hogwarts. It follows Tam through several years, starting when Sirius escapes from Azkaban right to Voldemorts return. Along the way she meets some interesting characters, and falls in love with a certain professor! Tam was such a interesting character to follow, and I just loved how mischievous she is!

The Marriage Law by theawrites (Wattpadd)

The TikTok famous, no war au fic, that most definitely lives up to the hype. The Ministry has passed a law for all young eligible wizards to marry, and given them all the name of their soulmate. The story follows Aurora Sullivan, a gifted young witch, who is matched with Remus Lupin. Which would all be fine and well, if they didn't despise each other. We follow them as they meet and try to plan their wedding, forge new friendships and try their best to get on given their circumstances. I loved this fic, how Remus is portrayed is so raw. Aurora is such a complex character, and to see her grow throughout the book was a privilege.

Wounded Souls Series by canarypuff (AO3)

The first book, Torment me more, follows Drea Mabry an apprentice healer on placement at Hogwarts Infirmary for a year.. We follow Drea as she makes mistakes in love and life accompanied by her ex boyfriend Charlie Weasley, wreaks havoc with her best friends Aisha and Nova, and butts heads with the new DODA Professor, Remus Lupin. The story ends on such a brutal cliff-hanger, that you need to find out what happens next!

Enter stage right, Against Reason, the second instalment in the series. I have never been so happy to see a sequel in my life! It's still ongoing, so I wont say too much other than, it takes place in the Order of the Phoenix, and Drea is called to join the Order by Dumbledore himself. Things aren't the same as they were before, but will they work things out? Or will everyone carve a different path? I can't wait to find out! I have loved this story, how canarypuff manages to capture every character so perfectly you would reckon magic is involved.

Moonlight series by Fellykins (AO3)

Forged by Moonlight is set during Michelle Derikson's Hogwarts days, where she makes friends (none to some as the Maruaders) and makes the quidditch team. She falls in love too, and by the end of the book has a brand new surname. The book ends at the finale of the first wizarding war, and all the grief that comes with it. The ending had me in pieces - you've been warned!

Into The Moonlight, the second in the ongoing series, starts off 10 years after the first ended with none other than Albus Dumbledore turning up on Michelle Lupin's doorstep with a job offer. She accepts, and starts her new job as Professor of Muggle Studies the same year as Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts. We follow Michelle as she settles in to her new position, and the subsequent joys and sorrows of teaching at a magical school. In her 3rd year of teaching a new DODA Professor causes quite a str for her and son Sebastian. But will it cause more harm than good? I am loving this series! How charming Remus is, how strong Michelle is. How well the series spins together new scenes and old. can't wait to see where it goes!

Remus and Iolanthe Series by SammysDove_CrowleysKitten (AO3)

An oldie, but a goodie. I remembered this fic from my last Remus Lupin binge, a good few years ago. Its an AU where Harry never went to live with the Dursleys but instead his Aunt Iolanthe, his Fathers younger sister, and her husband, Uncle Remus. It's a series of one shots and short fics compiled into a beautiful series. It follows Iolanthe and Remus as they survive life with a rambunctious nephew, a loveable but infuriating lodger, Sirius, and a job offer at Hogwarts. I love this story, for many reasons. Some of whom are doused in nostalgia, but mostly because I love the relationship between Remus and Iolanthe. I love how stubborn they both are, how caring they are. How much they care for their little family, and how they fight to protect it.

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kimium · 2 months

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Tell me, friend, what has been the hardest and what has been the easiest things to write for each dorm fic you've posted in our Saw AU? (I know you haven't posted Scarabia yet, but if you want to you can predict what you think will be hard and easy for that one!) 💜💜

Hi friend! Thank you so much for this ask! I'm always so excited to answer anything related to our Sort of Saw Franchise AU. I'll answer this in order of my posted fics, just because that's how my brain works.

If you haven't read our Saw Franchise AU fics, here is the link to the series. There are mild spoilers to my fics so if you don't want those, read the stories first.

The Easiest and Hardest Things to Write for Each Dorm's Fic

Octavinelle

Honestly, the entire story was easy to write. Since this first story was a surprise gift for you, I was extremely excited. That motivated me to write consistently and focused for around two to three hours. Though, a part I remember being particularly easy to piece out was the conversation with Yuu and Azul. I loved dropping hints to what Azul is actually doing while Yuu remains oblivious. Overall, this fic was easy with minimal "hard" parts to write.

Diasomnia

The easiest part to write was when Malleus arrived to help Yuu out with the pushy man (Roy). I am a big fan of friends arriving to help others in tough situations and this was especially satisfying due to Malleus's status and power scaring everyone in the room except Yuu.

The hardest part was to not devolve Yuu and Malleus's errands to just tea time. Honestly, my brain is always stuck on tea time, but for this story I couldn't have the only errand be "go drink tea". Still, I smuggled tea into the story (obviously).

Savanaclaw

Easiest part was Leona's entrance. I had it envisioned in my brain, haunting me for a while. I love writing flirty, seductive, teasing Leona. I imagined how their intimacy wasn't subtle and how that excited Leona, satisfying his possessive side.

The hardest part was to not just devolve this fic into an M or E rated story. Dead serious, I had to restrain myself in this one.

Pomefiore

Again, I found everything in this fic mostly easy to write. I love the dynamic of Rook/Vil coupled with Yuu. It allowed for this story to flow smoothly through the entire writing process.

I suppose there was a minimal "hard" part where I reworked the last scene to everyone going to a gift shop. Like usual, I wrote food once more, probably because I was hungry, before deciding "they already ate".

Heartslaybul

Easiest part was writing the dialogue and banter between everyone. Heartslaybul has a fun dynamic with personalities easy to bounce off one another. I also found writing the subtly of the murder (burning the evidence) extremely fun to hint.

The hardest part was the beginning where I decided to detail Yuu arriving at Trey's bakery. I felt there were many transitions and I worried they were rough.

Ignihyde

The easiest part of this story was writing all the setting descriptions. I had fun with Yuu's opening thoughts at the grocery store. I had fun with describing Idia and Ortho's house as well as the film and games they were watching/playing.

The hardest part of this is without doubt, writing Idia. I am still struggling with his voice and find him challenging to write.

Scarabia (Not done yet)

I predict the easiest part to write will be Kalim and Jamil's personalities. I especially find Kalim easy to write and look forward to his bright, bubbly character.

As for the hardest part, I don't need to predict that; it's figuring out how to write the subtle angle of murder in the background. So far I've had: victims chosen (twice with Malleus and Vil), in the stage of planning the murder (Azul), post murder (twice with Leona's more explicit and Riddle's subtle), and during murder (Idia). Still deciding which one I want for Kalim. I'll figure out on my own soon though!

Anyways, these are my answers! I hope you like them friend! Let me know what you think!

#personal #replies #twisted wonderland #sort of saw franchise au

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castleofswagliostro · 1 year

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Lupin Pilot Film

Thanks for coming back to my blog! I'm the Lupin Apologist and today we are going to dive into the 1969 Lupin Pilot Film. This is an interesting watch, so meet you under the cut!

The Pilot film is so interesting. The characters are different than their modern adaptations, and these differences are perhaps glimpses of the purpose Monkey Punch designed for them.

The film is just twelve minutes long, but it is long enough to adequately introduce us to the criminals and the law enforcement officers charged with catching them (even though we will never see one of them again).

This pitch tells us that Lupin is a gentleman thief, Jigen is his only reliable partner, and Fujiko follows them around. Goemon's life devotion is to kill Lupin, Inspectors Zenigata and Aechi chase them. Jigen and Fujiko are pals, and they seem to get along with each other well. Lupin is so in love with her, but he can never quite catch up to her, similar to how Zenigata can never quite catch up to Lupin.

Lupin is taunting Zenigata on the phone, and officers are able to trace the call to the phone booth right outside the office, but Lupin is still able to evade them (and blow up the phone booth with Zenigata's missing game piece in the process). Thus, we are introduced to the perpetual cat and mouse game between Lupin and Zenigata.

At the hide out, we learn more about Lupin's relationship with others. Jigen is his partner, Fujiko is his weekend lover, and Goemon is the one who wants him dead.

The pilot is the first use of some of the iconic footage in part one, and despite this recycling, we can still see how the character designs changed between the pilot and part one. Lupin looks less sinister, Jigen looks less like a walking vape pen, and Goemon becomes paler. Fujiko's design will change so many times in the series, perhaps as a symbol of her versatility as a woman, but her design we see in the pilot is similar to the design we will see in the anime.

Jigen and Fujiko get along quite well during the pilot and the first episodes of the series. I think this sets the stage well for us to see how Fujiko's behaviors and betrayals cause Jigen to become bitter towards her and other women as a result. Perhaps future series (like part five or TWCFM) would attempt to fabricate a backstory to give this relationship more context, but I think there's enough context here. Jigen wasn't entirely bitter when he started working with Lupin, and over the years with him, Jigen became the hardened man we know today. Lupin simultaneously saved and destroyed Jigen.

It is also worth it to mention the disappearance of Zenigata's mentor/side kick from the rest of the series. Aechi did seem like an unnecessary character, but it would have been interesting to see more of Zenigata's interactions with his direct colleagues throughout the series. We see some sort of revival of this with Yata, who also seems to appear out of no where, but it would have been interesting to see how Zenigata would behave around a mentor rather than a mentee. Seeing Zenigata's role change from enforcer to learner would humanize him within the constant mechanical fruitless pursuit of Lupin.

The final get away scene in this film is heart warming. Jigen and Fujiko share a look in the face of Zenigata and Goemon's defeat. The pilot does a wonderful job of outlining Lupin the Third in the frames of the manga, and I think the development it underwent before the 1974 release of Part One (i.e. the elimination of Aechi... why?) was so successful because of the plenary nature of the pilot. I definitely enjoyed watching the pilot and imagining the producers working on the film. I wish they had kept the jazz music and motifs in that transition, but otherwise, I think watching the pilot film has enriched my understanding of the characters and their motivation throughout the series.

episode stats

four stars. Some character designs and depictions are disturbing to look at

trigger/content warnings: sexual assault/harassment, nudity, death, explosions

slight flash warning for some frames at the end

Does Fujiko get sexualized? Yes, a lot. Her clothes get ripped of twice in this film, and she is the main figure in a montage that mirrors the one in Mystery of Mamo (yes, with the boobs)

kill count: two in present day, three in past tense/flashback

That is all about Lupin the Third: The Pilot Film. Would you watch the pilot? Have you seen it? What did you like and dislike about it? Let me know in the ask box and don't forget to like, follow and reblog. See you next time!

#lupin iii #lupin the third fanblog #lupin the third the pilot film #lupin the third pilot #i can't wait to talk about goemon's inclusion to the gang #jigen daisuke #fujiko mine #inspector zenigata #zenigata koichi

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italoniponic · 2 years

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The Warmth of Your Hugs | Jack Howl

| Notes: This is the first time I write for twst in english and tbh I’m very proud that it’s about Jack. I’ve written some little stories before but I still don’t know where to post them. One of them (about Jack too) I’m thinking about posting on his birthday so… I really don’t know where I’m going with this. Look, Jack goes so well with fluff + comfort trope! I could literally write a bunch of scenarios when he just pop up of nowhere and gives that quiet comfort for free for anyone lol

Jack Howl x gender neutral reader / fluff & comfort / establish relationship / first person narration

Word count: 992 / Warning: no proof read, may contain grammar errors, reader is implicitly depicted as shorter than Jack but that's only it

“Better now?,” Jack's voice turned somehow loud in that quiet and simple room.

Still, with a certain effort, it was possible to hear the remaining cracks in the walls of the Ramshackle dorm room, and even Grim didn’t shake from the sound — his sleep was loud, heavy as a stone. But to my ears, that voice was like music. Especially those we listen to to calm ourselves through problems.

Sigh. Problems. Oh yes, I was making a collection of them. If it wasn't Crowley presenting me with odd jobs to do, it was the dorm leaders filled with past issues and trauma and yet, if it wasn't either, I still had the normal students at the school who seemed to compete to see who was the most problematic.

However, I had to admit that I managed to find a rare gems — you see: the nicest compared to the rest — here and there. One of them I had the pleasure of calling my friend and my love, no matter how much Jack turned his face every time I said it.

At that moment, however, our eyes were staring. At least the way we could from the angle we were at.

When classes ended, I silently begged him to accompany me back to the dorm and with few words, asked for a hug. To my surprise, he claimed to have a better idea. Jack would never be the kind of boyfriend who would say “Alright, let's cuddle up in bed!” in a direct and objective tone — and with a clean face, free of embarrassment.

But it was cute and funny to see him do a whole ceremony to ask me for permission to go to the room and finally get to that stage. It was pure, simple and enough. I dragged him up the stairs as fast as I could. For none of us to have time to rethink anything, staying in bed needed to be a quick process.

He was sitting, with his back against a set of two pillows so as not to lean against the cold wall, and I stood in front, protected from all sides by his arms and legs. Hugged, held in his warmth and pampered by the soft beats of his heart behind me.

It may sound like a strange compliment, but Jack was better than any blanket. And more effective than that piece of fabric, he could hear me complain about my day with all the patience in the world.

“Much better,” I replied, cuddling closer to him.

Golden eyes watched me with kindness, a compassionate glow and good to have from above. Wolves could howl at the moon, but Jack had all the greatness of the sun. A light that I will always thank to have in my life.

“Thanks for staying with me. You are the obstacle between others and my thirst for blood,” I said with a small smile, closing my eyes.

I could feel from his breathing and the movement of his torso that Jack had something like a sigh attached to a muffled laugh. I liked to make him chuckle like that.

For a fact, I was well aware that my level with others — in magic and physical strength — was very different. But Jack always said that, on a good day, even a small wolf can do damage to an annoying Alpha. Just with a small push, the right amount of anger and the glow of consciousness that fade out during blind wrath.

One day I would open the doors of Crowley's office and fly right to his face, you never know. But my faithful love would be able to arrive in time to prevent me from doing this sort of thing.

“I'm here for this,” Jack replied, squeezing the hug a little more. “You can count on me anytime, you know.”

“Don't say those things. I'll want to stay here forever.”

Jack muffled another laugh. His lips touched my forehead, forming another of his rare and precious smiles.

“Who said you can't have these things forever?”

I opened my eyes, finding him suddenly hiding behind my head. Only his eyes were within reach of my gaze. Careful, waiting for my reaction as they tried to disguise the shame that sentence brought. “Shame” might not be the right word, but it was something very close to it.

Jack didn't believe he could look like the hero of a story or anything. But he was. Even in his moral values, he was like a very Good Guy from the old movies, full of the classic virtues of a good character. Faithful as a wolf, patient as a gentleman. The protagonist of a sweet slow burn romance.

I was delighted in the experience of having him day after day without haste, knowing that he would be mine for all eternity even though we are equally finite. Appreciating him in the simple things, taking note of every detail he presented to me little by little.

I smiled, agreeing with his words. Yes, we could have this forever.

Then came a rather comfortable silence — parallel to this, the small noises of the house, Grim's snoring and the sound of Jack's breathing and heartbeats were joined in an orchestra that performed a lullaby for me. There’s no better feeling really.

I pretty much must have slept in the middle of so much comfort and Jack veiled my much deserved nap. And so I missed the opportunity to tell him that his hugs were my idea of luxury.

Final notes: Yes. There's a Taylor Swift reference right at the end. Also I'm thinking about making my own divise line but until that, I'll use this one.

#twisted wonderland #jack howl #jack howl x reader #gender neutral reader #twisted wonderland x gn reader #twst x reader #twst imagines #fluff scenario #i love my wolfy boy #i bet that he has the best hugs (but won't admit)#cherry's mumbling about twst #cherry's writing

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teddy06writes · 3 years

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PLEEAASE 😭😭 I'm begging you for some hurt/comfort resolution for the last karlnapity x reader and sleepy bois brothers!! I just want them all to be happyyy. If the 3 lives was implemented, or if reader came back like ghostbur and the hurt is raw for the loved ones, the fallout and fixing, the love and regret i- (I loved the fic, your karlnapity are my favorite!! keep up the awesome work!! <3)

sapnap x karl x quackity x reader + sleepy boys x silbing!reader

trigger warnings: mention character death (it’s you, your the dead one) yelling, swearing,

requested by the anon above, another anon: “ngl after reading that angst fic I can picture y/n ( even tho I know y/n came back with knowing who the boys were ) coming back kinda like ghostbur knowing the boys voices but can't exactly place their names and who they are to them or something like that ?? idk my brain went think of more angst after that fic - also sorry this is just me rambling. love your work btw !!”

as well as @tobiostfu @theprocrastinatingshipper @pastelvixenbeauty and probably some more folks I might have missed

premise: this is a part two to the other angst thing from the other day, so I recommend you read that for context, this is a resolve (ish) to that

(y/n/n)- your nickname

“blep”- talking

‘blep’ thinking

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

You had drifted the lands of the SMP, and L’Manburg for sometime trying to remember what had happened, and why everyone was always yelling.

You’d try to talk to Karl, after Alex and Nick had left, but he just ignored you.

Now you were perched on the top of the stage, looking out ‘why are the walls gone?’, and then looking down, confused, at the strange, cage like structure built at the center.

You heard a sigh, and turned to see Eret looking up at the cage as well, you hopped down off the stage and concentrated, “Eret?”

They jumped, looking around, “What the hell?”

You screwed your eyes shut ‘please see me please see me please-’

“(y/n)?”

You opened your eyes to see Eret looking at you in shock, “Eret! I’m so glad to see you! Everyone’s been ignoring me lately, and acting like I’m not here, and I don’t get it.”

“(y/n)?” His voice was shaking.

“Yeah, Eret. It’s me!” You giggled, “What’s going on here? Did I miss the festival?”

“(Y/n).”

You looked at her confused, “Yeah. W- whats-”

“(y/n/n)?” A teary voice behind you called.

You grinned turning around, running to hug him, “Karl! I missed you! Why did you keep ignoring me?”

He began to cry as you sailed through him, “(y/n/n).”

“Karl? Karl love why are you crying? Eret what’s going on?”

Karl all but fell to his knee’s burring his head in his hands, muffling his sobs, “(y/n/n)!”

You sat beside him, continually trying to wrap your arms around him, but instead they just past through, over, and over, and over and over again, “Wh- why can’t I- what’s- what- Eret whats?”

Tears similar to Karl’s began to roll down your cheeks, as you looked down at your hands, only now noticing how gray your skin looked, “What’s going on?”

“(y/n),” You could tell Eret was fighting to keep their voice from shaking, “Do you not remember?”

“Remember what? What’s going on?”

Karl sobbed louder, and Eret shook her head, “(y/n), I- theres a path, through the woods, behind- up behind the hill. I- I need you to go up there, as far as it goes, alright?”

You nodded, “Why?”

“Just go. I’m going to take Karl back home. Maybe- maybe don’t come back to his house for a while.”

Eret gently helped Karl up, and led him away, his sobs still echoing in your head.

‘what the hell is going on here?’

Slowly you drifted up towards the hill Eret had spoken of, ‘hey, pogtopia is this way! maybe I’ll go see Wil an’ Tommy an’ Techno! They’ll know what’s going on.’

You continued to drift up the path, humming quietly and wondering what Eret had sent you to look at, and why Karl had been crying.

You looked up and around at all the trees, trying to remember them. It was in bits and pieces, Tommy yelling about about freedom, Wilbur saying how proud Phil would be.

You remembered the forests burning, ‘who had done that?’, hiding in the woods after- after something- tnt, blow- after L’manburg had been blown up.

You stopped moving, looking down confused at the stone you had come across, it as large, flat and upright, and you looked at the words confused.

‘(Y/n) brave beyond words, hero of L’manburg’ there were various flowers scattered around, a sword stuck out of the ground, a flower chain wrapped around it’s hilt, there was a uniform jacket, one you vaguely recognized as your own and a bandana, also tied to the hilt of the sword.

Someone dropped something, a sword, “(y/n)?”

“Techno! I missed you! Everyone down in L’manburg is being wierd and when I finally got Karl to stop ignoring me he just started crying, and there’s this weird thing up on the stage and the walls are gone, and Eret told me to come up here, and why is my name on this headstone?”

“(y/n/n) I’m sorry,” Your brother fell to his knees, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean too! They made me!”

“What are you talkin about Tech?”

“How are you back here? I’m sorry! This is my fault I did this to you!”

You were surprised to see your brother crying, “What’s wrong Techno?”

“You don’t remember?”

“(Y/n)?” Another voice asked.

You turned, looking at Wilbur, “Wilbur what’s going on? No one’s answering me again, and I’m scared that they can’t see me again! And I’m really confused and I made Karl cry and I don’t get it!”

“(y/n) your dead, you died, you- how are you?” Wilbur stuttered.

“Wha- wh- d- dead? What do you mean?” You watched as Wilbur carefully placed himself between you and a still crying Techno.

“You died, a few days ago. (y/n/n).”

You sank to the ground, fading away so that your brothers wouldn’t see.

~~ “So you don’t remember anything?” The man with the rams horns asked.

You shook your head, “Not everything. Just a lot of things. Wilby says I’m dead, which I guess makes sense now.”

You’d continue drifting around L’manburg, for a while, trying to figure out what had happened on your own, and ended up sitting dejectedly outside the white house, you could remember making it with Tubbo.

“Well I’m Shlatt.” He shuffled around in his desk, looking for something.

“Shlatt?” You paused, trying to remember him, pretending not to notice to see the fear that flashed in his eyes, “Your.. you were here before L’manburg right?”

“Yeah, uh, here.” He pulled out a book and quill, “Uh, write down what you remember, that might help.”

You looked at him quizzically, “I can’t touch things, uh- or manipulate objects in the normal world with out using huge amounts of energy.”

He frowned and quickly picked up the pen, “You dictate then.”

You hummed, “Well, things I remember....”

Alex woke with a start, sitting up from where he was hunched over his desk, blinking at the harsh afternoon light that was drifting through his office window.

He still hadn’t been back to the house since the fight after the execution, and had been forcing himself into work to mask the grief.

“So is there anything else? It doesn’t seem like you remember much.” Shlatt’s voice was muffled by the wall.

“Well it’s a bit foggy towards the end, and the beginning Ooo! I remember Alex and Nicky and Karl too! I could never forget them!”

Alex froze at the familiar giggle.

“Yeah, you never used to shut up about your boyfriends.” Shlatt chuckled.

Alex was running down the hall and slamming the door to the presidents office open before he could register he was moving, “Shlatt am I going insane or...”

He trailed off as your floating grayish form turned to him, “Alex! I couldn’t find you! And I didn’t know what was going on and everyone was ignoring me then I saw Wil and Techno and they told me I was dead. and then I found Shlatt! And he’s helping me write down what I remember! Have you met Shlatt? He’s nice!”

“Shlatt what the fuck is this?” He spoke through you as if you weren’t even there.

“Your partner. Apparently no one around has been helping them sort things out,” The president stood up and moved around his desk, “Ghosts tend to forget things of there past lives, and no one was helping them, so I am.”

“Did you tell them what happened? Why there fuckin- floating around instead of being here with us?” Alex spat.

Shlatt sighed, “Quackity listen this is a delicate thing. Right now it’s be better to help them remember than just tell them. So go find your stupid boyfriends and tell them the situation!”

“I cant Shlatt, we broke up. They don’t want to see me.”

“Is that what you were yelling about?” You asked quietly.

Alex looked at you, shocked, “You heard that?”

“Yeah. You and Nick made Karl cry. And then I couldn’t do anything about it,” you looked down at the floor, “w- is it my fault y- we’re broken up now?”

Alex remained silent so you continued, “I’m trying to remember what I did. And how I died. But if I did something stupid, or something to hurt you, I’m sorry.”

You were crying again, and Shlatt glared at Alex, which somehow surprised you, “This is why is trying to fucking handle this. Leave. Tell the others or not I don’t care, they’ll find out eventually.”

“Wh- Shlatt they- How-”

“I said get out,” Shlatt said firmly, “At least let me try to fix things I’ve fucked up.”

Alex shook his head before turning and heading out of the office, only ducking into his own long enough to grab something before stalking out of the building.

Shlatt turned back to you, already starting to pick the pen back up, “So what else do you remember about.. uh, your last few days. What do you remember right before the end?”

“Did they really break up because of me? If I did something I should go apologized.”

“Hey, hey, no, it ain’t your fault. I’ll go yell at them later. Tell me more about what you remember about the festival.”

~~ “Why the fuck are we here Shlatt?” Tommy half yelled.

Tommy, Technoblade, Wilbur, Alex, Nick and Karl were all gathered in front of Shlatt in the holy land.

“So, some of you may know, some of you may not, (Y/n) is back,” He looked over all the faces, Karl already looking like he was about to cry, and Nick frozen in shock, “For the past week or so they’ve been wandering and apparently none of you have been doing anything to help them.”

“Ghosts don’t remember much from there past lives, so good job on all of you that knew, you left your partner or sibling lost and confused,” He dropped the book you’d written together on the table, “I did my best, they remember everything that's written down here. I couldn’t tell them much about what they forgot, because it’s not my place.

“If you guys want, I can keep talking to them, and doing my best, but incase you haven’t noticed I’m also the fucking president. I can’t spend all my time helping educate a ghost. They disappeared yesterday, after saying something about Karl and how they saw you fools yelling, so, this is in your court now.”

Shlatt turned a walked away, heading back towards Manburg.

With shaking hands Tommy took the book, reading aloud,

“Things I remember: Home, fire, Phil finding me, Wilbur never having seen a child before, Techno swearing he’d protect me, fire, Tommy trying to spar with me before he could walk right, Techno teaching me to fight, finding the SMP lands, L’manburg, fighting for independence, fire,

“the forests burning, seeing Nick for the first time, Babysitting Fundy, winning independence, Eret leaving, fire, destruction, L’manburg thriving, the sun, Tubbo and his bees, more people coming to the country, meeting Karl, finding Alex, when we got our act together and finally all started dating.

“Wil threatening Nick and nick not being scared, Techno threatening all of them and making them terrified. Pogtopia, the cavern The festival, the dunk tank, Techno almost crying, my boys, fire.”

He looked up at his brothers, “You knew they were back?”

“I was in shock,” Techno was staring at his boots, clearing his throat uncomfortably, “Y’know I swore I’d protect ‘em, but- I- I killed ‘em.”

Nick grabbed the book from Tommy, “We have to find them.”

“Fundy can you turn the page for me please?”

The fox nodded, “Course (y/n).”

Most of the shock had worn off, and now he was mostly just happy to see you again, even going and finding an old photobook Wilbur had given him a while ago.

“Oh I remember this!” You pointed to a photo, it was taken a year after Phil had found you, “There was a big fire across the field, and while they were taking care of it I got scared and ran away, Techno found me in a tree.”

Fundy laughed, “3 year old you got in a tree by yourself?”

“Yeah, furball, I was in a tree when Philza found me too.” You chuckled.

“Hey Fundy, have you...” Niki burst in the door, tailing off as she saw you.

You waved “Hey Niki.”

“Uhh, Your brothers, and your partners are looking for you.”

You frowned, “Are they still my partners if I’m dead?”

Niki gave you a sad look, “Come on. Sapnap hasn’t seen you and he’s worried.”

“They all fought because of me, I’d rather stay here,” You looked out the door warily, “I don’t want to make things worse than they already are.”

“They need you (y/n), you brought them together.”

You drifted around Fundy and towards the door, “Making things worse isn’t something I want to do.”

You went through the door, past the group of people, making your form fade as much as possible so as not to be noticed, from there you wandered down to the docks, sitting on the edge to look over the channel.

“Phil sent a letter, said he’s devastated your gone, but overjoyed your still here.”

You looked up at Techno, “How’d you know I’d be down here?”

“You always liked the water,” He chuckled, “Specially if there was a fire goin on somewhere else.”

“I don’t want to make things worse, if your here to take me back there.”

“I’m here to apologize. I know you don’t remember, but in case you do, I’m sorry, I had to do it.”

You laughed, “Your my big brother Tech, I doubt I’d be mad at you if I remembered.”

He smiled sadly, sitting down next to you, “Why do you think you’ll make things worse?”

You sighed, “Well when I first came back, I thought everyone was ignoring me. And when I found L’manburg again Karl and Nick and Alex were fighting about something I did, and then when Eret finally saw me Karl started crying, and then when I found you and Wilby you started crying and I just- I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Techno looked at you, “If anything it’s our fault. All of this.”

“Techno, can we talk to (y/n)?”

You froze at Nick’s voice, but your brother was already moving, and Your partners were taking his place.

“(y/n/n), we’re sorry-”

“Stop,” You cut Alex off, “Whatever’s happening stop. You can’t apologize to me for shit I did that I can’t remember.”

“(y/n/n), we aren’t apologizing for that, that's not even your fault. We’re apologizing for fighting as soon as you were gone.” Nick said.

“Please come back with us. Don’t disappear,” Karl’s voice was barley a whisper, “We can help you remember.”

You bit your lip, sobbing, “I don’t want to make things hard on you guys. I didn’t even want to come back like this! Before I woke up again, it was just darkness, and it was horrible. but somehow staying there for eternity seems better than this.”

All three sets of arms passed through you, all of your boyfriends forgetting they couldn’t hold you, only making you cry harder.

“I want to be resurrected.”

It had been a week and a half since the day at the docks. You hadn’t gone back with them, though you had continued hanging around Manburg, talking mainly to Shlatt, and by now you just wanted to go back to the normal you remembered.

“Resurrected?” Dream looked at you curiously.

“Yeah. I want to go back. If I can’t stay dead the normal way and I’m stuck here then I want it to be normal. I want to hug my boyfriends, and ruffle my little brothers hair!”

The man behind the mask merely cocked his head, “So why did you come to me?”

“You’re essentially a god in these lands. I figured you might know someone or someway for me to be resurrected,” The mask shifted and you could almost here the plan formulating in his mind, “And if it ends up failing I don’t want it to hurt anyone else.”

The man sighed, “It would be a very complicated process. It’s been what, three weeks since you died, what ever was left of your body is going to be- less than in good condition.”

“What was left?” You questioned.

“Oh, (y/n), didn’t they tell you?” Had the mask been gone you would have seen the gleam of wickedness in his eyes, “You went off with a bang.”

“You’re planning what?” Shlatt yelled, incredulous.

You’d told Shlatt about the plan for resurrections, seeing as he was one of the only one who really still talked to you, “I have to do it Shlatt! I can’t stay like this! I want things to be normal! I want-” Your voice grew small, “I want to take back what you took from me.”

Fear flashed in the horned mans eyes, “He told you.”

“Even you wouldn’t,” You said dejectedly, “I thought you were my friend.”

“I- I was your friend, At some points at least.”

He watched as you floated away, “I suppose we’ll see once I’m back.”

As soon as you were gone Shlatt was hurrying out of his office, “Quackity! Quackity, some shit is about to hit the fan! You better call the idiots in Pogtopia!”

It didn’t take long for him to assemble your brothers and partners, frantically telling them the situation, “Dream is up to something with this people! He obviously is doing some manipulation shit!”

“Why do you even care Shlatt?” Tommy asked, “Your the bitch who killed them, so why should you care if they come back?”

“Sorry that the one time I’m willing to look past shit you don’t trust me?” He groaned, pulling a bottle from his coat and taking a swig, “Sorry that I’m trying to help.”

“How would he even turn this against us?” Nick asked, “Resurrections isn’t something he can do, he’d put Bad in charge of that, and we all know that Bad wouldn’t corrupt someone.”

“It’s possible that they won’t remember anything, at all, and people who’ve forgotten are the easiest to manipulate.” Shlatt sighed.

“We have to help them.” Karl decided.

Darkness, darkness, darkness.

You had finally found your way back to that dark abyss, though now it was filled with strange chanting.

It felt like you were bein dragged across the length of the universe, losing everything of your being along the way.

‘stop! stop stop stop! I want- I want to remember’ you begged the darkness.

The hell you found yourself in seemed to stretch, continuing for infinity, the darkness, called you, begging you to stay, to give up the last of your essence to it.

The chanting grew louder as you tried to scream, the sound lodged in a throat that no longer existed.

All at once you became nothing, and then you felt the weight of a thousand suns crushing you back down into a body.

~~ Your eyes flicked open, to a blinding white world.

“It worked! There awake!” You heard Bad yell.

You started to smile as you heard Alex yell, “Get the fuck away from them Dream, you can’t manipulate anyone else!”

You sat up, starting to look around, but still, you saw nothing but light, “Alex? Wh- It- why can’t I see?”

“They remember!” you heard Karl rejoice.

“Why can’t I see?” You asked again, raising your hands to your eyes.

“(y/n) what do you mean?” Nick asked.

“I can’t see.” You said desperately, reaching out you felt your boyfriends wrapping there arms around you.

“I think I know how to fix it!” Bad yelled triumphantly.

Everything went black again.

This time, your trip through hell was not as bad, though you seemed not to notice as your existence and identify was striped away again.

~~ Your eyes flicked open, the feeling returned to your body, and slowly you sat up, looking around at the odd group of people gathered around you, “Who are you?”

As soon as the world came out of your mouth a mousy haired man in a colorful sweater burst into tears, the man with the beanie next to him quickly pulling him into a hug.

“I- Who are you?”

“Do you not remember?”

You shook your head, “Remember what?”

you turned to the pink haired man, “I know you don’t I? I swear- I- I know I know you. Why don’t I remember you?”

A demonic looking man quickly closed a book, “You guys should clear out. a third party might be better for this.”

~~ The man- Bad, had explained basics of things to you, who everyone who’d been in the room before, and the said that you would have to stay at his house in the Badlands for a few days.

The next day was better.

‘holy shit it worked!’ you thought, looking down at your arms, ‘I’m back’

Quietly you got out of the bed, rushing through the room and towards the stairs of Bad and Skeppy’s house, “Guys! Guys it worked! I’m alive again!”

You turned another corner to see you brothers, looking at you shocked, “(y/n)? You remember?”

You grinned, quickly pulling your brother into a hug, “It wasn’t your fault Techno! You didn’t mean to it’s okay!”

“(y/n/n)?”

You turned again, “Karl! Nicky! Alex!”

The next thing you knew you were in a pile on the ground, your boyfriends all hugging you tightly.

They brought you home soon after, and from there you had good days and bad days.

There were days where you remembered it all, days where you found yourself lost and confused in an unknown house, and days where you could on recognize certain things around you.

Still, you were back with Nick and Karl and Alex, and you would make it through, together.

#mcyt x reader #mcyt imagines #sapnap x reader #karl jacobs x reader #quackity x reader #sapnap x karl x quackity x reader #angst #sleepy boys x reader

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wornoutmouse · 3 years

Text

Deku cursing is so hard to write. Uraraka slander, I don't really hate her but this was needed. Cunt is such a funny word.

"Zuku are you ready?!" You call out as you put on your hoop earrings. You were going to a hero gala of sorts and of course you wanted to look your best. "I think so y/n."

Izuku walks out from the bathroom looking absoulutely scrumptious as he rolled up his dark green cuffs that matched perfectly with your green slit dress. You lick your lips as you trail your eyes down his form groaning when you get to his feet. "Really Deku, the red converse?!" He blushes, "I feel like it's very nostalgic to wear these shoes especially when we're seeing the others."

"Yeah well go be 'nostalgic' with those green bottom church shoes I got you in the closet." You rolled your eyes before fluffing your hair as you hum your way past Midoriya's whines of displeasure.

When you arrive it's extravagant. Paparazzi are lining the outskirts trying to get even a pinch of an interview with a hero. "Puppy, stay here I'm going to go try to find the others!" Izuku yells over the noise as he heads towards the line of limousines arriving alongside the building.

"Miss, "H/N, can i ask you a question!" A reporter calls out to you.

Judging by her shakiness and crooked glasses, she was a juvenile reporter. Feeling bad, you decided talking to her wouldn't hurt. "Sure what would you like to know?" The reporter fumbles through her notes elegantly ignoring the hateful glares coming from her peers. "Um, w-what is your take on the recent rumors, b-between pro hero Uravity and Deku?!"

You hold your chin in thought, as far as you knew there were no rumors surrounding the two so maybe this is a new one that just barely breached the surface. "I'm sorry you're going to have to tell me this rumor dear." The reporter blushes at the term of endearment before fumbling with her notes once again. "I uh, according to a few eye witnesses, Pro-Hero Deku and Uravity were seen together late at night multiple times alone.

You laugh out loud scaring nearby people. "Oh really, are there any photo evidence of these meetups?" Outwardly one would think you were amused but they could tell by the way the blood drained from the thing reporters face that she realized that her new career depended on her proof. The other reporters had cleared away once the senior hero's arrived so it was just the two of you minus the civilians.

The clumsy girl fumbled with her phone and borderline dropped it from her sweaty grasps as she tried to keep her cool.

Low and behold, there was a crystal clear photo of Deku and Uraraka walking into a park with big bright smiles on their faces. "Interesting.." you mutter squeezing the phone so tightly that it bursted. You blink before shaking it's remains from your hands.

"Sorry about that hon," you pull out a few hundreds and toss them her. "Use this to buy yourself a new one." The reporter nods weakly and walks away clutching at her chest.

"Y/N!" Izuku calls out to you waving you over. Behind him is the rest of 1-A and next to him is....Uraraka. "Sup Bakuhoe." You say daping up Bakugo who only grunts in response.

As you all go to walk in, Deku reaches for your hand but you quickly walk up to Shoji and start a miscellaneous conversation. "What's up four arms?" Shoji rolls his eye at you before slinging his webbed forearms around your shoulder.

From behind, Izuku purses his lips at the sight as Uraraka takes this as a chance to latch onto his and start a worthless conversation.

Inside the plaza, there are lights adorning the walls and ceilings creating a warm golden glow onto the various colors gliding across the floor as the hero's conversed below.

"Izuku honey can you go get me some wine?" You ask jutting out your bottom lip as you gesture to the table adorned with finger sandwiches and a river of chocolate. "Sure!" Izuku immediately perks up as he heads trip the table, Bakugo following close behind.

"So...Y/N, you look nice!?" Ochako starts up picking hesitantly at her nails. You swallow the distain and put a smile on your face once again. "How have you been Ochako, it's been a while since we've all seen each other." Momo clasped hey hands together, "It has hasn't it?! If someone would have told me hero work would be this time consuming, I would have second guessed my choices."

Todoroki shook his head, "No you wouldn't have." Suddenly pink arms wrap around your shoulders in a tight embrace, "Y/N!!! Heya g-friend!" You giggle as you feel a chin rub the top of your head. "Mimi you gon mess up my hair!"

Mina laughs as she comes into your view, her vibrant pink skin blending with her red dress. "I see you girl, matching with your husband!" You tease watching her pink hue turn darker. "Your one to talk! Where's Katsuki anyways?" Your point to the wine table, shaking your head as Mina struts off.

Moments later, Izuku walks over with two glasses of a clear alcohol. "So Y/N, anything new come up recently?" Ochaco asked poking at a small piece of cake settled on her plate. You gingerly take your glass from Izuku as he sits down next to you. "No I have not, why is there anything you'd like to share?" You stare at Ochaco over the rim of your glass as you sip.

Uraraka's eyebrow twitches slightly as she plasters on a tight smile. "No, not at all."

From the corner of your eye you see Bakugo shift in his seat as the subtle hostility in the air gets thicker. "Aye nerd, come over here, I need to talk to you about something." Deku places his glass down and stands up oblivious of the situation as always.

"Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Momo asked glancing from the two of you. "You know Y/N, usually in this stage of life, one would settle down with their…highschool sweetheart?" You bite the inside of your cheek at the comment. "Oh Uraraka you're so funny, just because Kaminari and Jiro are married doesn't mean we need to add well!" Momo chuckles softly. Under the desk you could feel her leg tapping rapidly from nerves.

You down the rest of your drink and release your curled hair from it's bobby pins before turning to Ochaco. "Look sis, if you got something to say, say it." Uraraka giggles playfully, "All I'm saying is it's very strange that Deku seems to have so much free time that he's able to spend a lot of it with me all the while he had a.. loving(?) Girlfriend at home."

Shoji tensed in his seat and tried to make himself look smaller which was in no way an easy feat.

You clench the table sheet in your hands. "Is it getting darker in here?" Todoroki asked as he watched the small shadows in the room grow in size. "So, Uravity, what are you two doing during your alone time since you seem to have something to say?"

Ochaco smirked as her brown eyes darkened, "Oh a few things, but I don't think any of them are appropriate to discuss in a public place like this. Maybe it is where your from but not in Japan."

Momo squeeked, "Uraraka that's so rude! Y/N you know she's only jesting, Deku would never do something like that"

The room had darkened considerably and the other guest had finally took noticed including Deku and Bakugo who were talking in the most well lit part of the room. "It's about time she reacted." Bakugo said as Deku quickly shuffled back towards the table.

"Puppy?" You breathe shallowly glaring at Ochaco who gave you one last look before putting on a scared face. "Deku, I don't know what happened, she's freaking me out!" Izuku places a hesitant hand on your shoulder, "Y/N what happened." You close your eyes and stand up, "It's nothing, I think I'm ready to go home."

You head to the car with anger in your heart as Izuku stays back to pay respect to the others. From any onlooker, you would think the end was near from the way shadows seemed to come out from the darkness and wrap around you as you headed towards the car. "Okay Y/N calm down." You say to yourself as you take out your keys.

"Puppy." Izuku mumbles sliding his hands around your waist, gently burying his face into your neck. "What's wrong?" You grunt shrugging your shoulders, "Get off." Deku releases you after placing a gentle kiss on your shoulder. "You can't avoid me."

You both get into the car and sit in silence as he drove. "What have you been doing with Uraraka?!" You say staring ahead. "What do you mean?"

"Why are there pictures of your an Ochaco floating around in less than appropriate places?!" Izuku glances at you and sighed, "Nothing puppy, Uraraka has just been asking to spar with me."

"Then why didn't you tell me?!" You yelled slightly making Deku swerve a bit. "I...I didn't think it was important?" Your roll your eyes, "You had me clueless and stupid." Was all you said before you got out the car. Deku got out to follow you but his phone suddenly rang, "Who is that Ochaco? Go ahead and answer since you have so much time for her."

"Puppy it's not like that!" You slam the door in his face and head to the room.

Moments later Deku walks in but you ignore him. "Puppy?" You remain silent "Puppy I'm sorry for not telling you, I didn't think you'd care." You whine into the sheets turning your head away.

"That was Momo, she told me what happened. It's not true…what Uraraka said"

You didn't reply but you lifted your head to look at him "I'm not speaking to you." His eyebrows furrowed as he walks behind you.

*Thwap!*

You lurch forward as a hand comes to grab your ass cheek. "Huh?" Deku crawls up and straddles your thighs while gently massaging your lower back. "Want me to make it up to you puppy?" Izuku asked, kissing the back of your neck sucking lightly. "You looked so good at the party that I was jealous." You moan softly as teeth sink into your neck, "You let Shoji touch you but not me? That hurt puppy."

A soft hand trails up the expanse of your leg where your dress split open. "Zuku?" You feel something hard press into the curve of your ass. "I wanna make you feel good puppy, forget about the rumors."

You find yourself turning around with Deku settled in between your opened legs. Your dress had rode up your legs so Izuku took this as an opportunity to press kisses to your lower stomach and naval. You huff Izuku pressed kisses on your face, "Will you forgive me?" Two hands take hold on your thighs and pull you forward. "Or will I have to make you?"

Deku kisses you, accidently clinking your teeth together making you grunt. You trail your fingers through his hair drinking his moans with your mouth. You pull Izuku further into the bed as you switch positions opting to straddle him instead. "I wanna be on top."

Deku licked his lips as he gazed hungrily at your breasts. You pull the dress over yourself sighing as your chest fall out, bra-less. "Y-You were walking around in nothing Puppy!?" Deku asked, face flushed as he took in all the bare skin displayed in front of him. "Well I was thinking of doing something naughty while we were at the party anyways." You reply, looking at Deku with lidded eyes as you played with your hardened nipples.

Izuku leaned forward and took your nipple into his mouth sucking lightly on your bud making you toss your head back. "Your so perverted puppy."

By now Deku was extremely hard as you rocked yourself back on his unclothed length, when that happened, you have no clue.. "Sit in my cock puppy, I need you so bad!"

You reach behind yourself and grab Izuku's dick, positioning it below yourself. Izuku moans softly as you side down slowly making him sheath snuggly inside of you. It took all l the strength in his body not to thrust completely inside of you.

You rock slowly trying to adjust to the feeling of fullness. Izuku may be shy in the streets but the length of his dick was not. "You're so fucking warm." He growled, wrapping his arms around your waist before thrusting once, pushing the rest of himself inside of you. You whine as your nails unapologetically scratch the curve of Izuku's back.

Contrary to popular belief, Deku was a slut for pain and the feeling of your nails breaking through his skin only edged him more as he suckled dark bruises onto your right breast praying you'd adjust soon. He trails his hands down your sides before coming back to grip your ass in-between his hands.

You trail your hands down your stomach and rub soothing circles into your clit. Izuku watches closely as your face contorted from pleasure while you made yourself feel good. Each flick of your fingers made your cunt clench on his dick as it twitched inside you.

Izuku rolls his hips purposefully up into you, making your breath hitch as it slowly exits your body before slamming back in.

Soon you'ry both breathing heavily and Izuku is using his full quirkless strength to lift you up and slam you back down on his cock. "Fuck you feel to damn good!" You wrap your arms around his shoulders as your body bursts with pleasure. "I'm gonna cum, make me cum Izuku!"

Deku lays back a bit and watches your boobs bounce with the force of his thrusts. "You gonna cum? Then cum puppy!" You arch your back as Izuku's thrust turned frantic and rhythmless. The sound of his balls hitting your ass was hilarious yet sexy as his fingertips would briefly light up with green sparks, shocking your nerves every time.

The room was filled with a series of 'fucks' and 'so close' as you used your little bit of strength to bounce on his cock. You trembled from the overstimulation as Izuku cums inside of you, filling you up so much that you could feel it deep inside your womb.

You roll off of Deku and he immediately pulls you towards him in a loving embrace. "M'sorry for not telling you Y/N, i won't do it again, promise." He mumbled into your hair which had miraculously survived your seat inducing activities. To your left, Deku's phone rings and the name Ochaco flashes before you. Izuku was already snoring softly behind you so seeing this as an opportunity, your answer it.

"Hello? Deku?" You hum softly as to not give away your identity. "How did it go with Y/N? I feel so sorry that she embarrassed you in front of everyone like that… You know if you ever want to talk about it, my door is always open."

You growled and opened your mouth to tell her off but a hand, soft but firmly, removes the phone from your hand. "Uraraka, I think it's best if we maintain a professional relationship from now on." From the other line you could faintly hear sputtered responses, "What do you mean, I-I was just trying to help and-" Izuku gently grips the bridge of his nose, "Shut up and don't lie to me, I don't want you near me or my family, now excuse me while I cuddle with my freshly fucked wife."

You slap your hands over your mouth in shock and laughter as Izuku hangs up the phone without further response. Izuku smiled softly before rolling over on top of you, "Oh, you're not off the hook yet puppy, keep laughing and I'll put that mouth of yours to use next.

#black y/n #blackreader #bnha headcanons #mha #bnha #bnha x black reader #mha smut #bnha deku #deku smut #deku x reader #uraraka slander

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non-stop-imagines · 3 years

Text

The Man with the Metal Arm (Part 13)

Here’s Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Black!Reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: Cute, slightly suggestive, mention of ex, plot thickens

A/N: Heeyyyy, how y'all doin?? 😎 I know it’s been more than a while since I have written, and I apolagize for that. School, as always, got me all the way fucked up, luckily summer courses have started which are shorter and (for me) all online soooo. Also my 21st b-day is coming 🥳 so you know I’m excited for that. Anyway, I started writing this like half way through TFATWS bc Bucky with personality was good inspiration. Anyway, hope y’all enjoy. Love you all!💛❤️💛❤️💛

Man with the Metal Arm TAGS LIST: @storibambino @cutiepiemimi13 @this-chan @elaindeereads @letsshamelessqueen-m @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @shakzer00 @lahjatheblackbrat

UNIVERSAL TAGS LIST: @beautifulwisdom2001 @thottio @jetaimeamore @mixedfandxms @here-for-your-bullshit

Requests are Closed, if you want to be added to the tags list for this series or wrting with Bucky in general, just ask.

Masterlist

A couple weeks later you find yourself moving around your place, picking up dishes here, wiping off a surface there, moving to the music of your 60s Playlist that played to the lone earphone in your right ear. Louise was taking a nap in her room and has been since 4 that afternoon. It was now 6 pm. Were you gonna regret it later when all she'll want to do is play or watch a movie or dance to music at 11 pm? Possibly. But right now all you know is that the house was quiet, everyone you know and love are safe, and tomorrow was one of the few Saturdays you had off and all you were planning to do was watch TV in either the comfy pajamas you own or in your underwear. You still had to choose, and maybe you could just have Peter watch Lou. If so you should text him now. Your thoughts began to drift, wondering if May would be there to help Peter, wondering if you could plan some sort of day out with her and Imani soon, but the thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt when you hear a knock at the door. You quickly move over to look out the peephole, swiftly pulling back to open the door when you see that it's Bucky.

"Hey, how are you doing today?" Bucky chuckles as you jump into his arms, squeezing his neck in a tight hug. "Woah there, we just talked last night."

"Yeah, but I haven't had affectionate contact, or any physical contact for that matter, from the man that I love for 3 weeks. I'm touch starved, you can’t blame me.” You speak into his neck, taking hefty sniffs of the cologne you love so much and rubbing your face on his few day old stubble. Bucky continues to hold onto your clinging body as he takes a few steps inside your place to close the door.

“Fine, I guess. Where’s Louise?” Bucky sets you down and lightly pulls at a few coils that stuck out of your pulled back puff as you continue to rub at the stubble that adorned his face and study his tired eyes. He always looked tired, even if he had a full night's sleep.

“Taking a nap.” He cocks an eyebrow at your word with unsaid concern. “I know she’ll be up all night, but I’ve gotten so much done.” You whine, gesturing to the kitchen. That doesn’t stop Bucky from looking around the entrance and the living room, which is currently slightly cluttered with Lou’s toys and coloring apparatuses. “I know, I’m not working as fast as I should be, I may have taken a couple short naps here and there.” Bucky just sighs and gives you a lingering peck on the forehead before moving around you to start picking up toys.

“What are you doing for dinner?” Bucky stands and turns to look at you, stretching and groaning as he does.

“I ordered pizza.” You smile, rubbing his jaw as you head back to the kitchen.

Right as Bucky closed the door after accepting the pizza from the delivery person, almost as if it was staged, a small voice came from the door of Lou’s room.

“Do we get pi- BUCKY!” The little girl with her hair still askew, sprints to Bucky and clings onto his right leg.

“Woah there, Puff. Let me set this down first.” You watch through the pass-through from the kitchen as Bucky limps over to the living room table. “What is it with you and your mom and clinging to me today.” A squealing giggle is earned from his comment before he finally sets the pizza down, swiftly picking up Lou in return and swinging her around.

“Is Uncle Steve and Uncle Sam coming, too?” Lou runs her little hands through Bucky’s hair as Bucky’s eyes met yours before he made a choice decision.

“Uh, no. I thought it could just be you, me and your mom.” Lou’s hands stop what they’re doing and Bucky watches as tears well up in her eyes. The next moment consisted of a hard toddler yank to Bucky’s hair, that had you running in to pull her off of him and setting her on the ground.

“What in the world, was that?” Your voice was stern, but it wasn’t a yell, and it definitely held your four year old’s attention.

“I want to see Uncle Sam and Uncle Steve.” Lou inexpertly crosses her arms and scrunches her face. The attitude doesn’t go fully unchecked when you change your stance to match hers, shifting your weight to one side and crossing your arms, but instead your face sported a cocked eyebrow.

“Fix your tone, little girl.” Silence rests between the two of you, with Bucky standing off to the side, not knowing what to do. “Now,” you squat down at first to meet your daughter's eyeline, but when your knees begin to fail on you, you go for a straight kneel before you continue. “I know you like when Steve and Sam come around. They are a lot of fun aren’t they?” Your question receives a small head nod which allows you to continue. “Your Uncle Steve and Uncle Sam love you very much, but they can’t always be here. I will see if they can come over soon, but you cannot do this again. When you want something, you ask nicely, and if you can’t have what you want right now, what you just did is a no-no. Now apologize to Bucky for pulling his hair.”

“Sorry Bucky.” Lou’s voice trembles as she walks over to Bucky. He picks her up onto his hip and hugs her close after using his unoccupied hand to help you up off the ground.

“Hey, kiddo. It’s okay. I’m fine.” Bucky’s calm voice soothes her before the crying even starts.

“Hey, let me take her. Can you go get some plates?” Bucky nods and hands Louise off, but fluffs her hair once before he goes to get the plates. “I love you, babygirl. So much.” You bring her close to kiss and take a whiff of her scent that honestly hasn’t changed since she was born. “You want some pizza?” Lou nods lightly so you set her down on the couch and head back the kitchen to get everyone something to drink, right as Bucky comes back with the plates. “Show Bucky what piece you want.”

A couple hours later, two empty pizza boxes laid empty on the table and a tired four year old layed asleep with her head on Bucky’s thigh and her feet occasionally kicking you. “Thirteen hours of labor and this is the thanks I get.” You grumble under your breath after receiving one last kick before standing up to clean the dinner dishes. You take one last look at Bucky and his loving gaze on your daughter before heading back to the kitchen. As you put the cups in the sink you laugh at the devious thankfulness you have for your daughter's temper tantrum and crying earlier because that never fails to knock her out and hopefully her circadian rhythm will take over.

“I’m gonna go put her down.” You jump out of your thoughts when you hear Bucky’s voice behind you at the entrance of the kitchen. “Oh, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just, in my head.” You shake the water off your hands and turn around. “Uh, yeah. Go ahead and put her down, if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all. Uh, do you want me to wrap her hair?” He gently adjusts her on his hip, freezing when she shifted in her sleep.

“Nah, not necessary. It might wake her up, and I don’t want her to wake up. I might regret this choice later but right now, I don’t care.” You finish your spiel with your lightly bubble covered hand against the counter behind you. Bucky just slowly nods and heads back to your daughter’s bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later, you found yourself in your room, quietly making out with your boyfriend. He sat on the foot of your bed, hands gripping your ass as your tongues fervently danced together. Once the moment to come up for air came, you took that opportunity to push Bucky back onto the bed, and then sent a welcomed attack on his lips that had him pulling you closer than what would be considered humanly possible. After some time, his lips moved down to your neck, the scratch of his facial hair sending goosebumps all over your body.

“Ah, James…” The words quietly drip from your mouth, and the vibration from his chuckled response causes you to moan quietly.

“Oh, it’s James now. Okay.” His right hand begin to trail up and down your torso, gently lifting your shirt until its finally up over your head. He flips the two of you over and sits back on his heels to get a look at you. “Say my name again. Please.” His voice is deep, sultry, and you watch as he slowly gets up from the bed and move to the foot of the bed, lightly griping your leggings.

“James.” Your words start Bucky’s removal of you pants, hooded eyes keeping your gaze on his, but after a few seconds the removal stops.

“Again.” You do as told and he continues, slowly pulling at leggings with help from you shimmying. This repeating continued until your pants are finally off, but a small detail that Bucky didn't pay attention to was how your words began to slur together and fade off, and how your shimmies became less vigorous, so by the time Bucky had removed his own shirt and pants, all he saw when he looked up was you asleep, head fallen to the side and a small amount of drool already escaping from your mouth. “She did seem pretty tired.” Bucky goes into the top right drawer of dresser to get one of your big night shirts then reaching into the adjacent drawer filled with his own items that he brings over whenever he stays the night for a pair of pajama pants. He pulls on your night shirt for you and tries his best to tie on your scarf before finally climbing into bed next to you, pulling you into his body before finally falling asleep.

Lou’s little feet pad along the wooden floor, first to your side of the bed to attempt to wake you up, but when the effort led to a fruitless reward, she moves over to where Bucky was laying.

"Bucky." Lou begins to shake at his back which was currently facing her direction, and once she sees him stir slightly she continues. "Bucky, wake up Bucky." She climbs into the bed and sits on her tucked under legs and starts to play with his hair again. He got a rather drastic hair cut a week ago, and she's just been trying to familiarize herself with the style. The light touch of her fingers and the sing-songy way say repeated his name eventually had him awake enough to flip over and look at her.

"What's up, Puff?" He wraps an arm around her as she pushes the Rouge hairs on his forehead out of his face.

"I'm hungry." Her focus still on Bucky’s forehead.

"What time is it?" Bucky tries his hardest to stall fully getting out of bed, but deep down he knew it was a frivolous effort.

"Time for breakfast." She now begins to lightly tap out a beat on Bucky's head, so he answers quickly to get it to stop.

"Okay, okay. Go turn on something for us to watch. I'll be out there in a second." The child immediately leaped of the bed and ran to the living room, giving Bucky room to look at his phone on his night stand for the time. 6:00 am. He slowly makes his way out of the bed, pulling on his shirt that was still sprawled out on the floor and heads out to the kitchen to start breakfast, but not before giving you a light peck on the forehead.

Your internal alarm clock had you stretching and reaching for your phone at 8:45 am. It just so happened that as you scrolled through your notifications, eyeing texts from Imani and Sherry about their dates with Steve and Sam respectively, you nose catches a whiff a heavenly smelling breakfast, and the equally heavenly sound of both Louise’s and Bucky’s laughter from outside your bedroom door. So after going through and responding to said texts, you get up and pull some shorts on under your nightshirt and head out to the kitchen.

"Hi, mommy! Me and Bucky are making breakfast." Lou's little head pops out from around Bucky’s torso. “He let me pour the waffle dough.”

“It’s called batter, Puff.” Bucky turns his head to smile at you. “Morning.”

“Morning.” You walk over and lightly kiss his lips then look over his shoulder to see the waffle iron closed and steaming. “Be careful, baby.” You feel your child’s, now daunting, curls, and watch them bounce as she nods to display that she was listening.

“Hey, we should go on a date tonight.” You blink from behind the refrigerator door, watching as Bucky unknowingly lifts Lou off of the step stool and moves the waffle iron next to the sink but back toward the backsplash.

“Uh… okay. Where did this come from?” You grab orange juice from the fridge and close the door, reaching in the upper cabinets to grab cups.

“It would be a redo of our first date.” You totally forgot the night was cut short due to Louise being sick. The part of the date that had occurred was nice, and having him there to help you was also great, but it did suck that a whole portion of the night had to be cut.

“Oh yeah. Well, uhh, if you have something in mind, I just have to see if I can get someone to babysit at such short notice.” You finally sit down at the table with your plate filled with a waffle, a couple pieces of bacon and some eggs.

“Well, I can tell you that Imani and your other friend, uh-ah-Sherry, yeah, they won’t be available.” You look up from scrolling through you phone with a playfully cocked eyebrow.

“And you know this how?” You take a bite of waffle, eagerly awaiting his answer.

“Well, Sam is still trying to woo Sherry, and apparently,” He raises his hands in defense before continuing. “Apparently, Imani has been keeping Steve very busy.” You nearly choke on the waffle your were chewing on trying to stifle your laugh, but the noise and the subject at hand earned your daughters attention from the living room.

"Do I get to see Uncle Steve and Uncle Sam today?!" Her question came out as an excited squealing as she whipped her head back to look at you two.

"Uh, no, babygirl. Not today, but you might be able to hang out with Peter. How does that sound?” You watch as a bright smile spreads across your daughters face and her curls begin to bounce as she hops up from her spot at the coffee table.

“Peter! Yay Peter! My boyfriend!” You and Bucky both stop and look at each other, stifling your laughs.

“You like Peter, huh?” You finish your text asking Peter of he’s free to babysit tonight, and take another bite of waffle.

“Yeah, he’s my bestfriend!” You nod, still holding in a chuckle as Louise smiles brightly.

At that moment you receive a text back from Peter:

Peter Parker (Babysitter):

I would love to watch Louise tonight! I just have some homework to do that I can do while I watch her. But is it ok if I come over there to watch her? May has a date tonight.

Perfect, now you don't have to take Lou there then come back and you can just leave from your place instead. You answered Peter confirming plans and then look back up at Bucky. "Wait, where exactly are we going? I haven't seen you make any reservations recently." You finally place your phone down to finish your breakfast.

"We won't need them." He just give you a toothy grin as he gets up from his seat to clean up his spot. Then you watch him with your signature cocked eyebrow as he comes around to give you a kiss on your scarved hair. "Always so skeptical."

"Fine then Mr. 'I Got This', what should I wear to this date that you got all planned out?" You get up from your spot to clean your dishes and Bucky heads to the living room to say bye to Louise. He thinks for a second before answering.

"Remember the outfit you wore when we took Louise to the giant Toys R Us? The outfit with the cardigan and the jeans?" You nod from your spot as you continue cleaning dishes. "Something like that, kinda casual."

"Well, thank you for being so specific." He nods and finally gets to Louise, whose focus was being held by Saturday morning cartoons, in this case it was Looney Toons.

"Hey, Puff. I'm heading out but I'll be back tonight to take your Mommy out, okay?" He picks her up so she could be at eyeline with him.

"Okay. Where are you taking her?" Lou's hands wander back to Bucky's hair, the little hands rubbing at the short hair bringing Bucky a sort of peace.

"It's a surprise. But I'll tell you all about it right after, promise." Lou nods at Bucky's words then gives him a kiss on the cheek goodbye, that being Bucky's cue to set her back down. "Alright, I'll be back to pick you up around 7, alright?" Bucky's keys jingle as he pulls his shoes back on.

"Okie dokie, love you." You speak to him from the sink thought the pass through.

"Love you too. Both of you." And with these words he leaves, leaving a hopeful feeling for tonight's festivities.

It was now 6:30, and you were still stationed in the bathroom, a bit past starting your make up.

"Ms. Y/L/N, can Louise have some ice cream? She keeps asking and I just wanted to check." Peter pops his head into the bathroom. "You look very nice by the way."

"Thank you, Peter. Um, has she eaten all of her dinner yet?" You go back to dusting some shimmery maroon eyeshadow along your eyelid.

"Well, it looks like it, but I have an odd suspicion that she hid her broccoli." Peter responds, still only having his head poked into the bathroom, holding onto the door frame.

"She would do that." You sigh, giving your eyes and hand a break. "Lightly grill her to make sure she did eat her broccoli. If she did actually eat her broccoli, then yeah she can have ice cream. 2 scoops."

"And if she didn't eat the broccoli?" Peter's face contorted to a questioning expression.

"Hold out on he a bit. She'll crack and eat the vegetables. Then you can give her some. Have you had anything to eat? Dinner or anything?" You go back to swiping on eyeshadow, now a deeper brown color.

"I got a small pack of powdered donuts before I got here, but I really haven't had anything since lunch." You stop again watch look at him, chuckling as he begins to cower under your gaze.

"Peter, go eat some food. Fridge is open to you, okay? I don't want you starving while you're over here." You take glances back at him using the mirror, smirking at the smile growing on his face.

"Okay, I will. Thank you Ms. Y/L/N." Peter's head finally disappears from the door frame and you hear the boy questioning your four year old, knowing either way he will most likely just give her ice cream.

Eventually 6:30 became 6:55 and you found yourself fixing little bits of your appearance in your full length mirror, checking out your outfit, which comprised of a dark brown cardigan, a basic flowy white t-shirt, leggings and black calf high boots. "This is gonna have to be casual enough." Just as you speak to yourself in the mirror, you faintly here the knock at the door and Peter letting Bucky in.

"Hey, Peter. Thanks for watching Louise tonight." Bucky keeps his attention on Peter as he limps over to the couch with a squealing four year old clung to his leg.

"Oh, it's no problem at all. I love watching her." They both look towards your room when you ask for a couple more minutes then go back to their conversation. "Um, I actually have a question for you, if you don't mind?"

"Kid, I am not helping you with your history homework again. Don't you have the inter-" Bucky begins to rant before being cutoff by a now more nervous Peter.

"No, I actually was wondering if you could help me with this girl at school. You know getting her to notice me." Bucky just cocks a curious eyebrow at him and he continues. "Well, when you and Ms. Y/L/N started dating you weren't t-the most approachable, ya know,"

"Thin ice, kid." Bucky has now put some of his attention into helping Louise color a page in her coloring book.

"S-sorry, it's just, I was wondering, well, hoping you had some pointers to help me talk to her." Bucky hadn't noticed until now that Peter has moved to the other end of the couch which wasn't far from where he sat but the increased distance was noticeable, so be took a breath and gave his advice.

"Don't overthink it, and stay relaxed. That's really all the advice I can give because Louise is the only reason I got the opportunity to talk to Y/N. So, yeah…" Bucky's eyebrows furrow when he sees Peter frantically typing into his phone, about to ask what it was, that was until you exclaim your emergence from your room.

"Ta-da! This casual enough?" You hold out your arms and quickly step to turned around, displaying not only your outfit, but your dangly "diamond" earrings, and your hair, currently in its natural form but done up a bit.

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect." Bucky walks over to you with his arms open and give you a light kiss while gently pulling you towards him by your upper arms. While he was coming towards you, you got a glance of his outfit, dark jeans, burgundy quarter sleeve henley, and leather jacket, a common combination for him that he wore so we'll.

"Well you look great too. Shall we get going?" You go over to the pass though to grab your purse and then the living room to give Louise one last kiss. "Be good for Peter. Love you, babydoll."

"Yes ma'am, love you too mommy." She grabs your face with her little hands to pull you in for another kiss, and then goes back to coloring. "Thank you again Peter. We should be back around 11:30."

"Okay. Bye Ms. Y/L/N. Bye uh- Mr- B- uh…" Peter frantically looks back and forth between the two of you, and you just stifle a laugh and look towards Bucky.

"It's just Bucky kid. We've been over this." He leads you out the door by the small of your back. "Have fun you two." Finally, you and Bucky were out the door and off to the mystery date location.

"So you having fun?" Bucky asks as you two sway back and forth, slow dancing to the music of an acoustic guitar being played on the stage of a small amphitheater-like area decorated for a date night event.

"Who knew eating a box of pizza in the car and then slow dancing in Central Park would be so romantic.?" You lift your head from Bucky's chest to scan his face, admiring how soft he looks in the light glow of the twinkle lights above. "I like your hair like this." You run your finger up and though his short hair, scratching his scalp and eliciting a deep groan from him.

"You did that on purpose." A mischievous grin grows on his face as his grip tightens slightly around your waist, one hand beings to slip down to grip your butt. "I will not hesitate to bring you back to the car. You owe me from last night anyway." You playfully hit his arms, making him laugh then go to kiss your nose.

"I was tired. You can't blame me, blame my severely messed up circadian rhythm." You giggle your last few words due to the tickle of Bucky's stubble on your neck as he begins to sprinkle kisses up and down.

"You smell good. You always smell good." His kissed being to move along your jaw.

"You have never smelled me after a 12 hour shift, huh?" Bucky's lips finally reach yours, starting with light pecks and ending with deep passionate kisses boarding on inappropriate frenching.

"Woah there, I'm sure you could take this party somewhere more private. Thinking about it, you weren't one to be very modest were you?" That voice. You know that voice. You hate that voice. No, it can't be.

"Trevor." Is all you say, not looking to the man standing a few feet from you and Bucky, seeming to be with someone.

"You know this guy?" You can tell by his voice that Bucky was on edge, hugging you close to him and turning you away.

"Unfortunately. Bucky, this is my uh- ex-husband."

#black reader #marvel imagine #marvel #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x black!reader #bucky imagine #peter parker #james barnes x black!reader #james barnes imagine

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lucysometimeswrites · 3 years

Note

Hey can you please make a award season one but for a latina reader, if you would like you can keep the tom element. Sorry I'm asking again I accidentally deleted the last ask I made. I love your writing, you are amazing.❤️☺️

thank you thank you so much ur so sweet and of course! here you go and i hope you like it :) absolutely loved writing for latina!reader

Awards Season (latina!reader)

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“Here to present the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, please welcome Meryl Streep!” the host announced. A roar came from the audience at the mention of her name, the very acclaimed actress welcoming the attention and making her way to the microphone.

“Oh, stop it” she said and waved them away, earning a laugh and even more cheering from the theatre. “If I’m honest, I really considered not presenting this award because it breaks me inside to give the Oscar to someone else when it’s rightfully mine” she said in a funny, raspy evil voice, resembling a witch, “But you know, sharing is caring or whatever. Alright let’s get to it.” she continued dejectedly, still joking.

“This year, we have been blessed with beautiful films and, along with them, incredible performances from beautiful and talented actresses. Viola Davis, your abilities to embody different characters and raise awareness to ongoing issues in society has always amazed us, and it does once again in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, Meryl announced, the camera going to Viola who was sitting about 10 seats to my left, the audience (including me) applauding and praising her. Literally all of her performances are incredible.

Could I still believe I was here? Definitely not, and not any time soon. From small skits to my big break with Tom Holland in a stupid rom-com that I didn’t even want to make, to now. Tom knows it’s nothing against him, it’s just that I haven’t learned to appreciate romantic comedies the way he has, but the thing I loved most from doing it was finishing it with Tom. He had become such an important person in my life since that moment, what with guiding me through the newfound world of fame and being there for me when I joined the Marvel franchise, it was just more than I could ever dream of. Now I sit here at the freaking Oscars, with Tom Holland as my date, and having done one of the greatest films ever, nothing could keep the smile off my face. Or the nerves.

My leg kept bouncing up and down, a nervous action I often did and one that the guy beside me had caught on to real quick when we first met. His warm hand gently squeezed my thigh, and I turned to look at him a little surprised.

“Hey, it’s okay” he softly said, his gaze soft and comforting.

“I didn’t even realize I was doing it” I answered in the same tone, whispering a thank you and letting my hand rest on top of his, weirdly interlocking our fingers.

Meryl turned to where Olivia Colman was sitting, “Your Majesty,” she started, referencing her portrayals of royalty and causing her to chuckle, “your moving performances have always left us wanting more, and I’m sure that is what I and everyone felt when we saw you in The Father” a big smile broke out on her face, and cheering ensued once more for our queen, or at least one of mine.

“Aging is some we all go through...unfortunately,” Meryl uttered into the mic, touching up her almost white hair, “and you, Cynthia Erivo, made us relate to your character this way with your brilliant acting in Reaching 39″, that woman is simply amazing, I thought as I clapped and cheered with the audience.

“My dear Kate,” the camera panned to Kate Winslet, who just stared fondly at the woman on the stage, “watching you grow as an actress has been one of the pleasures of my life and you reach new heights both professionally and literally in Misdemeanors”, she is such an icon, oh my.

Finally, Meryl Streep turned to look at me in the front row with a grin on her face, and I quickly got into “camera mode”, as I like to call it. I sat up straighter, looking at her with gentle eyes and smile.

“Señorita Y/N Y/L,” she started with the heavily accented Spanish word for Ms., “with your entrance into the world of filmmaking, you have set new expectations for all of us to reach. Even though this is your first nomination, I feel in my heart it won’t be the last, and we can’t wait to see more of you like we saw with your extraordinary performance in Paraíso” she finished, bringing a big smile to my face at her words. Turning to the camera, I became a bit shy and gave a small wave, feeling Tom squeeze my hand in comfort and another hand on my shoulder from behind. I turned to see Salma Hayek, one of my co-stars in the film, who gave me a strong nod and smile, loudly saying “Eso!” as a cheer for me.

“And the Oscar goes too...” ayyyyy no ay no que nervios que nervios que nervios me muero- all of this going through my head repeatedly but having to put on a smile and a calm façade for the camera was exhausting. Tranquila, tranquila, si no ganas está bien igual solo el hecho de estar aquí ya es lo más-

“Y/N Y/L, Paraíso!” Meryl announced, and all I heard were screams and loud clapping from around me.

Shocked, I looked up with wide eyes and my jaw going slack a little. I felt a buzz fill my body and the idol on the stage beckoned me up, when I realized I hadn’t moved. I slowly stood up and instantly turned to Tom who quickly pulled me into his arms with a strong hug and whispering in my year, “I knew it! I knew you would do it darling. I’m so so proud of you babe, go get your award!” not giving me a chance to answer as he gave me a quick kiss and turned me around in the direction of the stage. Still in a bit of a daze, I didn’t see Salma, Eugenio (Derbez), and Benicio (del Toro) make their way to me, ambushing me in a group hug as they started jumping around and sort of with me, chanting “EH! EH! EH!” like Latinos at a party and causing me to laugh and come back to my senses. I hugged them all and continued to the stairs, stopping to hug my directors Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón.

I lifted my dress as I ascended the steps, and in true nervous fashion, stumbled and almost face planted in front of thousands of people.

“Uy, mierda” I chuckled to myself, and accepted the help of none other than Chris Evans who lent his arm for the remaining steps. I thanked him with a smile and after his Congrats!, I made my way to Meryl who held the famous award in her hands. She handed it to me and pulled me into her embrace, saying “Beautiful job, sweetheart, you’re amazing”, and all I could answer was “Oh my, thank you so much, you’re the amazing one”, sharing a laugh with her and standing in front of the mic.

I looked out into the audience, who were still giving me a standing ovation. Almost like a camera in my head, I tried to ingrain this moment in my mind and took a deep breath, starting my speech.

“God, I really hope I don’t forget any words in English right now” I said with a breathless laugh, inciting one from the people below me. “Thank you so much. Thank you to...um...so many people. To the Academy for this great, great honor. To my fellow nominees for inspiring me every single day. Being in the same room as you is already insane, let alone being nominated with you, it’s just- it’s truly out of this world. Viola, Olivia, Kate, Cynthia, you are my literal idols and if I could physically cut this Oscar into five pieces,” I said as I made a motion of cutting the award and humoured the audience, “I would give a piece to all of you. Um, thank you to my team, my agent, Victoria, te adoro y te agradezco for believing in me and helping me live out my dream. Sorry, I’m probably gonna switch between languages during this.” I said with a laugh.

“Paraíso was a project that, for me, came out of nowhere. But for my extraordinary directors los señores Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón, it was a life’s work so to you, gracias por darme la oportunidad de darle vida a Marielos and for giving me the experience of a lifetime. Salma, Eugenio, Benicio, Gael, and all the cast and crew, thank you for becoming my second family and supporting me every step of the way. It has been my honor to work with you” I said with a hand on my chest, showing that I was speaking from my heart and smiling at the kisses and cheers sent to me from them, hearing a crazed Te amamos! from Eugenio. It eased the tension in my body which I was incredibly thankful for.

“I also want to thank-” I stopped, getting a little choked up, “ha, sorry, it’s my family that couldn’t be here” I said, a wave of claps and cheering in comfort came from the audience. Quickly composing myself, I continued, “Ya, okay. All the way back home, lo hice! Familia, les dije que no les iba a agradecer si me ganaba un Oscar algún día por no creer en mi y hoy es ese día, pero no me lo perdonaría si no les agradezco. Gracias por apoyarme a pesar de que yo sé que les dio un ataque que quisiera ser actriz. Gracias por siempre estar ahí para mi, por quererme incondicionalmente y por enseñarme que trabajando duro todo se puede lograr. Los amo infinitamente.” I finished, with tears threatening to roll down my eyes. I tilted my head to the sky to prevent them from falling, and with a deep breath I turned to Tom who had his hands in a prayer stance while looking intently at me, the same smile from before still gracing his face.

“Tommy...” I started, and the audience audibly awed at the nickname, “Oh, you don’t even know what I’m gonna say to him” I said with narrowed eyes, but my gaze found my love once more.

“Thank you so much for being my rock ever since we met. I’m beyond thankful for you and all you do for me, baby. You make me the happiest and thank you for pushing me to do things that scare me. For being there for me in case I fall and for being my person. Te amo, amor.” I blowed him a kiss which he caught and jokingly used to wipe his tears, making me and the other celebrities laugh.

Please wrap up, I read from the screen, and let out and “Ay, perdón! I gotta wrap up sorry sorry” hurriedly finishing up my speech.

“Lastly, this award goes out to all the Latina girls out there with big dreams. Nunca se den por vencidas. No dejen que nadie les diga que no porque de que se puede, se puede. Querer es poder! I love you guys, my fans oh my gosh, thank you thank you, gracias!” I rushed out, raising the award to the air with one last big smile as Meryl guided me backstage to answer some questions. Just before I was off sight, I turned and looked out to the stage once more.

Lo logré...

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once again, disclaimer, movie names are mostly fictitious. feedback and requests always welcome!

#tom holland imagine #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland one shot #latina!reader #tom holland x latina!reader #tom holland x actress!reader #tom holland blurb #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland blurbs #tom holland imagines

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japes-the-clown · 3 years

Text

THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE: AN INVERSION ON “COMING OF AGE” FILMS AND A CRITICISM OF ADULTHOOD

Hi hello hey it’s me Jericho Jay “Japes” Marshall out here with a pretentious love letter to the filmmaking on display in nickelodeons The Spongebob Movie. Yes, I know it’s a kids movie. Yes, I know it’s not that deep. But I’m majoring in english, and deeply depressed, so I need to get this OUT and onto a PAGE.

I have watched this film many times over my lifetime, a few when i was just a kid, then in my early teens, even when i turned eighteen, and now, a month before i turn 20. Every time, I grow a new appreciation for the nuances that this movie brings to the table, and on my most recent watch my own deliverance from childhood makes me relate to the core themes the hardest I ever have. The Spongebob Movie isn’t just a movie about childhood, but a movie about adulthood.

Today, I’m going to make clear exactly how The Spongebob Squarepants Movie criticizes our understanding of adulthood and how society treats the neurodivergent, while effectively turning the “Coming of Age” genre on its head, within its 87 minute runtime.

START: CONSISTENT CHARACTERIZATION

One thing a lot of films (ESPECIALLY kids films) fail to nail is consistently showing aspects of a character throughout the runtime, enough that changes to a character feel impactful and justified instead of rushed and stifled. The best examples of movies that fail to do this are often the marvel movies that people tend to not remember- the first two thor movies, the avengers age of ultron, etc. In these movies, characters certainly have traits, but their personalities and motives can be very weak and make dramatic changes feel A LOT less dramatic. This can be seen in age of ultron, when quicksilver gave his own life to save someone else, which felt like nothing because he wasn't well developed. He wasn't particularly endearing, nor did him sacrificing his life contradict a part of his character. It felt very much like the writers trying to say "Look, this character which was once opposing the avengers, is now dying for one. Please cry." No hate to the writers of Age of Ultron, but it proves itself often to be an unmemorable part of the catalogue.

In the Spongebob Movie, the characterization is ON. POINT. After the introduction, with the pirates rushing in to watch spongebob, we get so much information regarding spongebob as a character.

Pictured: Spongebob holding a piece of cheese like an operator

The first scene of the plot is a dream sequence a large crowded scene at the Krusty Krab, with a customer not receiving cheese on his patty, and it being positioned in the same way as a bomb being located. In the dream, everyone is panicked, and Mr. Krabs is visibly distressed, almost like a damsel. Spongebob comes in, announcing his position as manager, much to the relief of Krabs. He goes in, and puts cheese on the burger (again, very akin to a bomb defusal scene), bringing the perturbed customer out safe and sound. Everyone lifts spongebob up as a hero, which is interrupted by his boat alarm.

This scene is JAM PACKED with stuff that both introduces the character to new watchers and introduces the crux of his arc to everyone else. Spongebob of course is very fond of the Krusty Krab, and wants to be the manager- he wants people to see him as cool, and as a responsible adult. He wants to be the sort of person that can be trusted with big responsibilities. And we also see, most importantly, that he is extremely childish through his faximile of what it meant to be adult. Everything is scaled up; it's a very silly situation, which well suits both the joke and his character as an inexperienced kid. This is one of the most direct ways to convey someone's character, because a dream can be interpreted as a direct port into a character's desires. This being the first introduction to the character in the movie sets the tone for EVERY following situation.

In the next few scenes you see Spongebob's real life, which involves his lengthy morning routine; his life is sort of whimsical, and so too is his routine. He showers by shoving a hose into himself till he bursts with water, he uses toothpaste to clean his eyes but not his teeth, and he puts on pants which he must fold to make. Again, all pretty solid jokes, but also very telling about his outlook. He is funny, weird, and childish, which is juxtaposed by the scene where he's- he's uh- showering with squidward. Squidward is an example of the "adult" that spongebob isn't. This has always been the case, but here his normal routine makes it very clear that other people in this world aren't like spongebob. They shower normally, they brush their teeth, they put their clothes on like normal. Spongebob's world is one of wonder and without responsibility, which makes it questionable as to whether he could handle one.

Pictured: Spongebob's room, adorned with childhood imagery

Pictured: Spongebob celebrating his position as a manager, despite Krabs saying that it was squidward who got it

Even his room in this scene screams "kid". He has toys strewn about, glow in the dark stars, and pictures of superheroes on the wall. He even says "Sorry about this calendar" as he rips a page, personifying inanimate objects as a kid would. The movie is telling you, "THIS CHARACTER IS A KID", but in a way that's masked because it's also just a set up for jokes. It's done so well, in my opinion, that it would go over your head because from your perspective you would be laughing along as spongebob did his wacky antics.

On top of that, his excitement for his assured managerial position at the Krusty Krab 2 continues to be bolstered. He marked it off with a cute drawing on his calendar, for those familiar he changes his normal "I'm ready" chant to "I'm ready- promotion-", and he's even already set up a party to celebrate at his favorite chain, Goofy Goobers, a child's entertainment restaurant similar to chucky cheese, albeit replacing pizza for ice cream. He hasn't just gotten excited, but has this childish anticipation for something which isn't even assured.

Spongebob arrives at the opening of the Krusty Krab 2, where he is so excited he can't contain his glee. He breaks the silence and makes members of the crowd uncomfortable, reinforcing again that spongebob is a standout in a world of adults, and a kid who doesn't understand certain social norms, which society looks down upon. When Krabs reveals that Squidward got the managerial position, Spongebob hyped himself so much that he starts celebrating, not even noticing that he wasn't picked. He gets on stage, and begins to give a speech, to which Krabs interrupts.

The next part I think best illustrates Spongebob's clear ignorance to society: Krabs attempts to subtly tell spongebob that he isn't getting the job, but spongebob repeats everything he says into the microphone. Again, fantastic joke, grade A, but the amount this shows how invested spongebob was. He already saw himself as an adult, someone who everyone would look up to as a manager- he could take the responsibility, and isn't aware of everyone likely cringing in the audience. This is the natural step for him in his mind, especially because of his exemplary work which had been previously celebrated through employee of the month awards. This was not an option for him. There wasn't a world in his mind where he would be outclassed by squidward.

Krabs has to break to him that he lacks responsibility, and that his childishness makes it difficult for Krabs to give him such a job. This might seem harsh, but I think the intro again shows how Spongebob saw the job; he didn't understand what it would be like, fantasizing another level in the menial work structure to be an amazing adventure of a job. People in the crowd reaffirm that in the eyes of society, spongebob is just a kid, a goofball. In my eyes, this is a story not just of childhood, but of neurodivergence. Spongebob isn't normal, and is blocked by society for his ignorance of social norms and sunny disposition. He finds things fun that other people can not, and he places values in completely different things. So he is blocked from the meaningful recognition he desired, despite the obvious evidence of his commitment.

I think this is a mighty interesting dichotomy!!! Simultaneously, spongebob's understanding of the world truly is warped, often resulting in a lack of consideration for others as well as harm for himself when things don't go his way, AND he is a good worker which puts in MANY hours of work without so much of a complaint. This is COMPLEX. You have to ask yourself, as a viewer, "would I give spongebob the job?" The answer can be different and can be REASONED.

And that's JUST spongebob! There are other characters with characterization that mixes into the themes of the movie very well, but I'm going to bring up any related points in future sections.

Okay, Okay. So now you're saying "WOW OKAY GREAT so why does any of this matter?" I'm so glad you asked. VERY glad.

2: THE BREAKING OF A YOUNG MAN'S SPIRIT

THIS is the point of the movie. The obstacle in this movie truly isn't adulthood, but instead self doubt. Spongebob's whole world is turned upside down by Krab's rejection of his basic personality. Spongebob asks himself: is it REALLY okay to be who I am? Am I an adult? Is the world fair? One of the most shocking scenes in the movie is blended so well in tone with the rest that you don't really notice; spongebob eating ice cream to cope with his disappointment, akin to that of adults drinking alcohol, and appearing to be visually "drunk" and washed up. This is BRILLIANT, and a recurring theme, where the true line between adult and childhood becomes blurry and impossible to see. Spongebob, the representation of a kid, gets hungover, spiteful, and angry about the injustice of his situation. This is often how adults act in the fact of adversity, but what's funny is that this too is how a kid would act; getting angry and overindulging, feeling entitled and acting socially immature when he didn't get what he wanted. He walks in to the Krusty Krab literally just to shit talk Krabs. And it doesn't stop there.

Pictured: Plankton finding "Plan Z" and looking at it like a centerfold in a playboy magazine

Almost every character in this movie juxtaposes another, again smearing the line of what it means to be an adult. For example, Spongebob and Plankton are polar opposites; plankton is cold and vengeful, angry at the world around him, and spongebob is a happy person who tends not to take things personally, a friend to all. In planktons first appearances in the movie, he is portrayed with clear adult themes, mocking spongebob, making pinup jokes about plan z, and living in a fairly dark and grey space. But, as the story moves along, we see many similarities; both spongebob and plankton are fairly one track minded, and when spongebob's perception is broken he himself gets a little vengeful. When eugene is put in danger over this, though, we do see that he places the lives of others over his own wants. And, even at the end of the movie, we see their similarities. Plankton reuses the "Sorry Calendar" joke that spongebob used at the start of the movie, drawing another line of what it means to be an adult. Is it childish of plankton to say that? Is the inherent irony he has impactful here? His want for something that isn't his, and his disregard for others in pursuing it feels just like how a younger child may steal the toy of another, without understanding what it means to share.

Pictured: Neptune flipping his shit at his lost crown

Then, there's the character of Neptune. Neptune is a big man baby. He rules the entire land, commands the most respect, and is considered the most powerful person under the sea, and yet, we see that he gets overprotective of his property, prepared to execute anyone who even annoys him. Throughout the film, he's obsessed with chasing an image of youth, as he is bald, and ignores the suffering of the people on bikini bottom to make sure no one sees his bald head. He throws what's equivalent to a tantrum when he finds his crown is missing, and believes a very crude note written by plankton saying that it was eugene who stole it. His character is an "acceptable" child because he's in a position of power, where spongebob is an "unacceptable" child as he is just a working class member of society. And the funniest part is, that he mocks spongebob for wanting to go for the crown, when even he, the strongest person in bikini bottom, refuses to go out of fear.

We see that these "bastions" of adulthood, plankton and neptune, are the ones who are responsible for missteps of society; we're ALL children in the long run, but the strict enforcement of a perceived true adulthood creates a space where they can act immaturely yet those under them/around them cannot. Dennis makes this case even more, as the only thing he does in this movie is hurt others. There's only one thing that seems to truly denote adulthood, and it's cruelty.

Even squidward, the adult that is supposed to be more responsible that spongebob, refuses to go on the quest to retrieve the crown, as he acts mostly in self interest, even later claiming to only care that plankton was stealing the secret formula as it was hurting his own paycheck.

Spongebob is the only one willing to go, willing to defend the man who wronged him, willing to value life over his own interests. He is both child and adult, just as the adults are too children.

As he moves through the plot of this film, he becomes less confident in his disposition, with his naivete causing moments like him and patrick crossing the state line and immediately getting carjacked, or them being put into an uncomfortable situation by all the bubbles they blew when they tried to get their car back. His bright personality is questioned constantly: Only five days to shell city? BY CAR. This is man's country. But weren't we the double bubble blowing babies?

Pictured: Spongebob caught trying to take back the key to the patty wagon when patrick fails to distract everyone

This is made more obvious to him as patrick remains oblivious throughout; patrick is a mirror for him, that acts as a childhood constant, that makes it clearer for him every day the draws of his childishness. There's the moment in the club where patrick's distraction was poorly thought out, and only because he said he wanted to do it adamantly, there's the moment where patrick challenged neptune on how many days they would have to do it, which served no purpose but for his own fun, there's the moment patrick points out the free ice cream trap- he is the unemployed uncritical lens that spongebob is afraid he is.

So everything's fucked, and anyone who is childish is bad i guess!!!

But that isn't so,

3: The illusion of manhood

So we've talked about spongebob's characterization as a naive child, how this is impactful in his transformation into someone who is anxious about that aspect of his personality, and how the society around him is hypocritical in it's own immaturity. But where does this all come together?

Pictured: Planktons dystopian world, which Mindy shows Spongebob and Patrick

It's at spongebob and patricks "conversion to manhood". At his lowest point, spongebob becomes a squidward- he becomes critical of his AND patricks interests, and regards them as childish, deciding that this means that they can't make it to shell city, as it requires them to be adults. When mindy shows them the dire situation back home, she hopes that spongebob's sunny personality and care for others would shine through, but instead he turns to what society has been telling him; it's impossible. He can't do it, he's just a little kid, and there is no point to any of this as he'll fail regardless.

Thinking about it like this, it truly is one of the darkest points in the entire series; spongebob just openly admitted that there was nothing he could do, that all of his friends were goners because he was effectively useless.

Mindy comes up with an idea; she'll trick spongebob and patrick into believing they're men; she convinces them of mermaid magic (their innocence allowing them to believe) and uses kelp to make them think they've matured into adults. Notice that physical modifiers being the only key to this "fake adulthood". With this, they jump off a cliff because they believe that with adulthood, they are invincible.

This is really telling about how the society they're in thinks of being an adult, and relays that to children. There's another level, a distinct separation between spongebob and adulthood, which seemed like the difference between a squire and a knight- being an adult means that you aren't weak anymore (as though he was weak in the first place), and thus you can do things you never thought before. Is it truly healthy that this is how a society tells kids that adulthood is like, for them to enter the world and feel a truly awful financial and literal hellscape waiting for them? uh, you can, you can decide that for yourself i think.

Nonetheless, they survive the fall, and conclude that they really are invincible, able to power through a ravine with their happy go lucky attitude, eventually befriending the monsters which were once trying to kill them. They weren't acting like adults, but the labels themselves made it possible for them to soldier on with the childlike disposition they had. I find that to be powerful. If we were able to be more hopeful as adults, and power through the worst things brightly, could we do great things? Idk but these depression meds sure do taste good nom nom

After crossing the ravine, spongebob and patrick meet dennis, and have their worldview crushed as it's revealed that they are actually still kids. Dennis being the "alpha male" that he is, is characterized by violence and a lack of morality. The pair are saved by a giant boot, which is the first of two humans in this movie. Spongebob and patrick are both taken by the man in the diver suit, as we fade to black, marking the end of their illusion of adulthood.

4: Back from the Edge (of death)

Spongebob and Patrick awaken in an antique shop, realizing that they were surrounded by fish that had been killed specifically for sale as tacky antiques. They are lifted out of their fishbowl, and put under a heatlamp, as their fate is sealed to become a member among those dead fish. In spongebob's final moments, he mourns his inability to be an adult, as well as to reach shell city; but before they both die, patrick points out that they truly did reach shell city, as the crown was within their reach.

This. This is a phenomenal scene. Why? Because of what it means for spongebob's arc.

Pictured: Spongebob and Patrick on their deathbeds, finding happiness

He sees the crown, and realizes that, unequivocally, that even if he didn't bring the crown back, he made it to shell city. Every person he met told him that he couldn't even do that. and he did it. He is a kid, yes, but he's a kid who went where not even NEPTUNE dared go. Everything people said about him, about how him being a kid stopped him from success, was suddenly shattered. He has been asking himself if it's okay that he is a kid, and he saw, unambiguously, that it is. He is allowed to be happy. He can enjoy things that other people don't. He can be naive. He can be himself, no matter what anyone says. And so can you. Great things can be done by people who are "childish", who are "naive", who are kind without expecting a return, all of it. YOU are okay. Your stims are okay, your comfort series are okay, your interest in tropes are okay, YOU'RE OKAY!!!!

with that, spongebob and patrick are dehydrated on the table, and ostensibly die, the kids that they are, shedding one final tear each, forming a heart beneath them.

...

Miraculously, the tear electrocutes that lamp at it's socket, causing smoke to rise and set off the sprinklers, rehydrating the pair, and bringing them back to life. The "Man in the Suit" attempts to capture them, seeing them about to lift Neptune's crown, but the rest of the dehydrated fish come back to life- squirting him with his own glue and beating him to the ground, as spongebob and patrick run out with the crown. David Hasselhoff offers them a ride back to Bikini Bottom, and the pair begin their ride back.

5: The confrontation of Adulthood and Childhood

Pictured: Dennis looking all lame and shit

As spongebob and patrick are being swam back to bikini bottom, the boot under which dennis was crushed rockets to Hasselhoff, spitting him back out to finish the job. The appearance of Dennis, IN MY OPINION, makes him look rather goofy, with his broken glasses making him look more like a office worker than a badass assassin as he attempts to kill spongebob and patrick. Spongebob, in trying to reason with him, is able to ruin his eyes with bubbles, and then survives as dennis gets hit by a raised platform which spongebob and patrick are too low to be hit by.

Having defeated one representation of adulthood, spongebob and patrick are shot down by HasselHoffs MASSIVE MAN TITS with the crown in order to prevent Krab's fate, blocking Neptune's lazer just in time as they crash in.

All seems to be well, but plankton uses one of his mind control helmets (which we'll be getting into later) to enslave even Neptune, putting mindy, spongebob, patrick, and Krabs against the wall.

In another stark moment of characterization, Spongebob tells patrick that "Plankton Cheated", which prompts plankton to tell spongebob that the situation wasn't a kiddy game, and that it was the real world. This sort of distinctions in their ethos tell you how spongebob interacts with justice; he believes in "playing fair", while plankton is bitter and believes in getting what he wants.

Finally, the apex to our plot, is a musical number. Spongebob begins to make a long-winded speech, where he takes ownership of every label he was called as he stood on the stage at the beginning, the similarity between the two events being clear (holding a microphone at an inappropriate time, making a speech as he blocks out input from an adult trying to talk him down). Spongebob then busts out into the film's rendition of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock", "I'm a Goofy Goober". This results in spongebob reversing plankton's whole plot with "the power of rock and roll". Plankton is made powerless, and thrown into a little padded cell.

The final scene in the movie has Mr. Krabs freed from his imprisonment in ice, and spongebob is offered squidwards position as manager of the second Krusty Krab. He seems hesitant, and squidward offers an insightful analysis of what spongebob might be feeling (the typical analysis of a coming of age movie, where the protagonist finds out that what they wanted all along is not what they wanted, but it was what was inside all along). Spongebob refutes that squidwards fly was just down, and GLADLY accepts the job.

AND THAT'S THE MOVIE

6: AN INVERSION ON THE COMING OF AGE GENRE

A coming of age story tends to be one which is focus on the growth of a character from childhood to adulthood, asking questions about what it means to be an adult. A character reaches for their perceived adulthood, and realizes what it means to ACTUALLY be an adult, typically juxtaposing what people think (drugs, parties, sex) versus what the movie postures as the correct adulthood (responsibility). In this, I think that the spongebob movie directly criticizes the position of what "an adult" is, in the sense of how someone acts.

Like we discussed in part 2, every adult character in this movie tends to be very childish in themselves, unable to see through simple ruses, and often very possessive of personal property. I don't think we actually see a child in this movie as a speaker at any point, only really as background characters (in goofy goobers to solidify spongebob as childish, and I believe in the chum bucket as they're lead to an unsafe place by their parents, who are supposed to be responsible). Thus, what is mostly examined is how adulthood and childhood is a very thin line. Squidward, for example, going directly to plankton to accuse him of stealing the formula, instead of taking it to the top immediately, which would have ended this whole thing fairly quickly; that was rather silly, and was the fruit of his need to assert himself as an adult.

Spongebob goes through this movie FIRST not caring much about whether or not he was an adult, and it is only after the social pressure from adults does he start to chase it. He then chases his perceived image of an adult, going on an adventure, and is crushed by the fact that he isn't an adult. Instead of finding what an adult is, he instead becomes comfortable with his existence as a child, finding himself at the end of the movie able to comfortably chase after an ideal again, where in a normal movie he would humbly reject the job he was offered.

This is, truly, what we should all take from this film. Spongebob realizes that people who aren't necessarily socially adjusted or acceptable can do great things, regardless of what the people around them say, especially because the people around them are liable to throw tantrums and be actively harmful to society. He is allowed to find comfort in childish things, and to be naive, because the world needs more people willing to help others. It's a scathing criticism on the imposed adulthood that exists in a lot of coming of age films, which begs us to drop fun in the interest of doing the right thing, as though those two ideas are contradictory.

BONUS: EXTRA STUFF THAT I LIKED

The goofy goober song became really good storytelling, at first marking childishness, then marking a level of discomfort and judgement in the club, then marking spongebob recognizing that his happiness came from what he liked and not some vague idea of adulthood, and finally marking his full acceptance of his childishness, taking the form of rock, the music of rebellion. It's not as subtle as leitmotifs, but it works really well in how the same song can give very different feelings throughout, and inform how we interact with a story.

There are a lot more examples of adults being pressured into childishness, with the connected twins who liked goofy goober at the club, who were beaten senseless for absolutely no reason, which highlights the way that the society hurts people that, by all means, are just as much adults as anyone else. There's of course Plankton's helmets which created a society of people who simply slaved away with nothing to say, taking life as it came and listening to authority.

On top of that, this movie is PRETTY ANTICAPITALIST AND ANTIMONARCHY, despite those things being allowed to continue to exist at the end- monarchy is seen misusing power constantly and often for unfounded reasons, and Spongebob's diligence at work is rejected by a penny pinching Krabs, who cares only about money. Like, THE KRUSTY KRABS ARE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER? THAT IS SOME MONTY PYTHON ASS SHIT. This year is the first year i laughed at that joke, because it's really some "capitalists are fucking dumb as shit" humor that slipped over my head when i was a kid. The villain literally being defeated by Rock and Roll, which was sung with a message against the oppression of differences in people? Yeah, I think the spongebob movie hated rich mother fuckers.

END: UH YEAH THAT'S WHAT IT IS

So yeah. The movie is good I think. There's a lot more i could go into, but I've been writing this post for hours and at this point i haven't even read it so...

I recommend going back and giving this film a rewatch!!! Pay attention to all the moments where adults act like children/kids act like adults, because it'll make ur brain pop like a zit. Anyways that's me, I'm Jericho Jay "Japes" Marshall, and I HATE facism.

#spongebob #spongebon squarepants #analysis #film #good movie #marvel #avengers age of ultron #funny

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heresathreebee · 3 years

Text

No Touching

[Ava Starr x Female!Reader]

Summary: Friend dates with Ava always brighten your day (and night). Tonight is more enlightening than brightening, though…

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Word count: 1.7 words

Warning(s): 14+ | angst, gay panic, dolls, 1 (one) racist antique, Steven Segal movie, chronic pain, tears.

AN: No actually I didn't bother to edit this, not doing that anymore, I think too much as it is. As always, I write with a black reader in mind but feel free to read even if you aren't. 🖤

You are eighty percent sure that you and Ava are dating.

85%... 78%... 81.5% sure.

It would probably be best if you cleared that up (but be cool about it though). You've started seeing each other more and more, and on purpose no less. Never a dull conversation, she's reluctant to share some of her life story but she's eager to know everything about you and you're more than happy to indulge. It's not like you know nothing about her; you just don't know the specifics of her past.

Her parents died when she was young, she's ex-military (you think?), and she just came off of a huge life change and is getting used to what she calls 'real life.' You figure out she's a bit of a shut in and hates crowds, so you go out of your way to show her quiet places and introduce her to things she's never tried before. The bowl by your front door where you put your keys has 20 or 30 marbles from ramune bottles in it. You can't seem to ring her secret out of her, she just gives you this cryptic knowing smile and laughs at your attempts to sweet talk or annoy it out of her.

You feel so close, growing closer still, she's quickly become the best part of your week, and you catch yourself thinking about her even when she's not with you. But you've never held hands. Hell, you've never even so much as brushed shoulders with her by accident. If you're dating, shouldn't you at least hug her goodbye? Is she even able to be into you like that??

You try not to let the panic set in as you stand outside of the antiques mall. You told her you liked old things and promised to show her your favorite pastime. God, how do you go about this? Should you just flirt with her and see how she reacts? Also how does one flirt? What if you’re fucking up and she really just wants to be friends? God knows you could use some friends right now.

When she does appear, you do nothing. You continue to act relaxed and enjoy her presence, promising yourself you’ll ask about it afterwards. Ava’s wearing that grey jacket again made of a thin sports fabric and you make a mental note it might rain today.

“Ava,” you stage whisper, waving her out of the jewelry section by the front desk and into the maze of vintage old clothes and furniture. “Back here, to the left.”

Deep deep deep in a corner of the massive store, Ava stops dead in her tracks (you run into her but back away quickly) and stares.

“This... is…” Ava covers her mouth with her hands to hold her laughter in, “ghastly.”

The shelf is wide, with dark wood trimming and protective glass. The lights are almost fluorescent as they illuminate dozens of humanoid dolls. Some are cute, but some are also creepy, unnerving, down right scary.

You point at the one with the Jonbenet Ramsey likeness and deep cracks in her porcelain face. It was overly large compared to the rest, having to have stuffed legs crossed like a sitting child. "I think I fear that one the most."

You felt Ava shiver and didn't even realize you were standing that close. Her eyes darted from face to face, taking in every terrible and wonderful detail of them. You smelled coconut in her hair and tried to distance yourself a bit, missing the conversation. "Huh?"

"I said they're haunted, aren't they?"

"That one definitely is." You look over the other dolls. "I don't know, I think the rest are kinda cute. 'Cept that one: that one can fuck off straight to hell."

Down on the second shelf where the light began to struggle in reach belied an offensive porcelain joke. The decoration portrayed an over animated child at play, with oil black skin, fat red lips, and bulbous eyes. This child was dressed in white rags and sucking on a wedge of fruit. Guess which one. Fucking guess, I dare you.

"It's not even a fucking doll," Ava grumbled. "Why is it here?"

You leaned in to whisper, "someday, I'm gonna buy that thing just to fucking smash it on the pavement."

"Oh, what a lovely sound it would make."

You hum. "I'm not gonna give nobody money for that trash. Can't steal it either, we'd never make it to the door."

Ava looked over her shoulder with a cheeky smile. "We?"

You simply tilt your head at her, and she huffs out a laugh. She nodded as if agreeing with you, then drifted away from the case like a wary woman. You toured through the rest of the store like a treasure trove of other people's memories, war memorabilia, ancient brand merchandise (why would anyone want a life size green m&m in their house? Who is this for?), and paintings from the dadeism era by unpopular artists. You ate lunch at the vendor shops in downtown and retired to your place for a movie.

You must have fallen asleep at the beginning but you came to during some big shootout between Steven Segal and generic Latino drug dealer #7 when you accidentally dropped your hand into Ava's lap. Quickly, Ava withdrawals, thrusting herself to the other side of the couch as if in disgust. Your head jerks up in hurt and confusion, you hadn't even felt anything except a light tingling. You could barely hear the tv audio over the sound of blood rushing in your ears.

"You can't touch me," Ava spat. "You just can't. Ever. Please…"

"I'm sorry. Ava, I– I am so, so sorry I didn't mean to–"

"It's not your fault and you didn't know," she mumbled and faltered, "it's just… you can't."

You feel tears prick in the corner of your eyes as you try to swallow. "I'm sorry. Really. It won't happen again."

Ava looked up at you guiltily and sighed. She folded her legs and eased herself off of the couch arm rest, hands tucked into her lap and unable to meet your eyes anymore.

"It's not what you think it is," she explained. "I… I have a condition of sorts. And it… it hurts.”

Her words put a hold on the tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Like a… skin condition? Or nerves or something?”

Ava nodded quickly. “Yes. yes, like a nerves thing. My um, my nervous system. It's chronic."

“Oh Ava,” you cover your heart with a breathy sigh, “of course! I wish I’d known I would have never–”

“It’s not something I like to talk about.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m really glad you understand. Sorry I freaked out, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything.”

You tried to blow a raspberry. “It’s whatever, didn’t hurt my feelings.”

Yeah, you could hear the weakness of the lie, too. Still, Ava went and parked herself on the couch exactly where she was before– close but not too close. Warm but not quite touching. You were ready to let it slide and go right back to pretending to watch the movie when–

“So what’s going on between us exactly? I like girls– I like you– and I don’t mean just in a friend sort of way– is it maybe sorta possible you might feel the same way about me?”

Who said that? You? Honestly you’re feeling a little dizzy as you try and stare a hole in the tv screen. And Ava? Well at least she didn’t hold you in suspense for too long. She chuckled– and god you had to look. You had to know if she was laughing at you or with you. Your eyes snapped to her completely unmocking face.

She blinked at you, bit her lip even. “Yes, I am.. Capable of liking girls. Might prefer them actually. And I definitely like you in a more-than-a-friend sort of way.”

It takes a second to sink in. OK, it takes a hot minute to sink in. Like the movie ended and you walked Ava home and you slept in until 10 am and made omelettes for breakfast at noon and laid down on your floor staring at the ceiling until sundown. Yeah that kind of hot minute. And your lips curled into a soft smile because you had a girlfriend and she liked girls and you could not be happier than you are right now.

Ava asked you to meet her on the corner by the antiques mall that night. You don’t know how but she got her grubby, thieving little mitts on that disgusting tar baby doll from the haunted doll shelf. You made her swear up and down she didn’t pay real money for it, then nearly pulled out your hair when you realized it meant she definitely stole it and–

"How the ffffUCK do you just DO that?!"

"Slight of hand," she mused.

Fuck, and she was a geek. Yeah, you're definitely in love. She pushes the ugly thing into your hands and despite being cold porcelain it feels like it's burning.

"Do the honors."

There's no build up. No ceremony. You don't want to drag this out anymore. You take a swinging leap and spike that shit and watch it shatter into a hundred pieces with the most glorious sound you'll ever hear. You land in slow motion, already replaying the image of thick glass pieces cracking on the indigo pavement. You stand over your mess, triumphant.

The quiet of the night time street drifts back to you, as does Ava. "I'll be honest I expected a big speech."

You shrug. "I've been waiting too long to do that. Thank you, Ava. I mean it."

"Oh believe me it was my pleasure." Ava swaggers closer to you and if you didnt know better you'd think she was going in for a kiss. "Tonight, the tar baby. Tomorrow, the world."

You resist the urge to clap her on her shoulders and throw your hands in the air instead. "Sounds like a date!"

#ava starr #ava starr x female reader #i have no excuse i just think she's neat #three bees writing #angst #antman and the wasp #marvel ghost

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appledotcodotuk · 3 years

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why the hive fckin suck at its job: a rant

spoilers for tgwdlm ahead!

first of all, it's important to consider what exactly the hive's job is. my answer is... who the fuck knows. literally. what is the hive's aim. what do you want Paul? more like, what do you want hive? let's find out!

it kinda evolves, as the play progresses. the intial aim of the hive, and one that does actually remain consistent is the constant burning need to grow and devour and gain more and more (insert capitalism metaphor here).

however, this is distorted by the people it possess who influence that aim, as we'll see later.

also the fact it crashes into a theatre displaying Mamma Mia gives the hive the motive it need to fit the world around it to the structure of the musical. having no originality of its own, the hive instead just picks up what is given to it. kinda like an evil baby.

it wants uniformity, that is indeed its ultimate goal and desire, no duh. it thinks it can achieve that through musical theatre, shame that the hive is dead wrong. cause the hive fucking sucks at its own job / aim / ultimate purpose / one concrete goal that motivates all its actions.

can't maintain control over its subjects

okay, so, the hive wants uniformity. it wants everyone to be dancing to the beat of its own tune. right? yeah. shame it literally can't keep its own possessed subjects in line at all. at the risk of sounding like the 10th doctor waxing lyrical abt humanity for the 50th time, humans are really difficult to control cause we're not really motivated by an altruistic allegiance to one primary good. we've got icky emotions that often move us to do stupid unpredictable stuff way more. it makes me wonder if the reason the hive wanted to use musical theatre to try and persuade ppl was cause it seems to think that is how theyll get emotive humans; through emotive songs. anyways. let's look at some examples shall weeeee?

Mr Davidson:

so, Mr Davidson. funnily enough, he's the guy whose in part acting as the hive trying to figure out what it wants through his interactions w/ Paul. every person it possess gives it just a bit more humanity and curiosity abt the world it is currently taking over. at least I think so. hence why as the musical develops u get character's like possessed!Alice wondering 'why does it hurt to love?' - the change in music and mood to something much more introspective really suggests to me that the hive is beginning to question the thoughts and emotions of its human hosts.

Mr Davidson is a family man through and through, he loves his wife Carol. she's his muse, his source of light. his feelings for her are not concrete or easy to explain and solve - hence why his sudden ahem demand of her is so hilarious and also jarring. it completely clashes with the 'I want song' which is simple, and often pushes forward a wider cause. not so with Mr Davidson, he just really loves his wife man. enough to break a frickin alien possession.

tbh I think its hilarious that (at least to me) the hive has to force him to forget and continue with the song, like, he straight up is just talking to his wife in that phone call, talking, not singing. so, no possession until he reverts back into song. ergo, the hive cannot maintain the uniformity it wants. even from the get go when theoretically its control should be stronger cause it has less ppl to co-ordinate. bad. at. its. job.

Paul:

this one hurts folks. yes, I know it's generally agreed, though somewhat debated that the state of Paul by the end of the tgwdlm is not purely possessed. I agree. once again, the hive is unable to truly enforce uniformity.

at this point, the motives of Paul and the hive are kinda just mixed, neither fully human nor fully alien. hence the constant shifts between pleeing for her to get away, to hide, to stay safe: 'what if the only choice is you have to sing to survive' and just full on old style hive nastiness 'let me puke in your mouth and just open your food bin girl' (so romantic 🥰 /j).

the hive has gone away from its original aim, and become something... different. no longer stuck to just one type of genre or style of song, it's really clever to show the developing complexity of the hive by showing how it is now juggling lots of different motifs with references to all the old songs from before recontextualised in a new way - its learning. evil baby... no longer uniform.

general miscommunication:

there are several instances of the hive not fully having uniform control over its subjects. for instance, right after not your seed with the three teens having to like... calibrate. they aren't just completely connected then?? also, this is a very small thing, but uhhhh at the end of inevitable when Paul is about to say the apotheosis is upon... the chorus interrupts him with USSSSSSS. interruptions??? not very in sync of u hive.

I think this inability to exert uniformity is also shown in the contrast between genre of musical theatre. my alien abomination cannot decide whether it wants to be the more modern edgy rock musical (join us (and die), not your seed ) or super happy go lucky old style musical theatre (lah dee dah dah day, and inevitable). it tries to do both, even while trying to encourage union, and sticking to one thing. hypocrite!!!!!

2. aims are guided by the people it possess

so, I mentioned this a bit already, but the hive isn't only mutating the humans, the humans are mutating the hive right back. this is more an interesting observation than any actual analysis but let's goooo.

greenpeace girl:

I think it's very likely that greenpeace girl is one of the first to be possessed. This is probably easily debunkable but whatever this analysis is flying by the seat or its pants anywayyyyy. why? cause where else would it pick up that whole 'this planet needs fixing' thing? it's interesting too, cause it morphs from expressing the desire to join hands and sing together, unity and peace with no actual action behind it. this then goes right to the other end, with the hive going 'fine I'll do it myself' and trying to save things by enforcing a dictatorship on the world. it develops and changes, and strays from its original means of accomplishing its aims! speaking oooooof...

3. inconsistent in means of accomplishing aims

okay, ur an evil hive mind. u think musicals are the way to win over these silly humans cause they're all weak and emotive and seem to respond to them. but, wait! schwoopsie! you haven't realised that for emotional depth and growth to mean anything, you need there to be established development and well... growth. otherwise the sentiments are as vague as the ones expressed in What Do You Want, Paul?

this show has genuine emotional moments, just not really during the musical numbers WITH EXCEPTIONS. any strife is smoothed over quickly, and so the development and change that would have to go into such growth is just gone. (see, You Tied Up My Heart) all so it can achieve its own desire to grow and grow and grow, maybe a metaphor for art being killed under late stage capitalism??

what actually matters is the impact the songs have afterwards, in causing a death - because we have a bond and care abt these characters. those short scenes between Paul and Emma are actually way more resonant than any song. except... inevitable, and also not your seed a bit. at this point the hive has learnt a thing or two, and can actually twist human emotion a little. but for it to do that, it has to reject the uniformity it prizes, and be adaptable. point towards being more human than it first thought? methinks so. and yet it's just not enough...

it's also why let it out, to me, feels really ingenuine. Paul has expressed himself in much better ways already. what they're doing is clearly paining him, and hurting the guy. he's terrified bless.

you can't force someone into being emotional vulnerable, man.

it's why all the deaths for the characters who are forced to express themselves are really violent, involving them being ripped open - literally forcing them to expose themselves from the 'inside out' as Alice reflects in Not Your Seed. you can't force genuine emotional connection, it has to be fostered, shown in the much more affecting relationship of Paul and Emma. the only reason the hive actually has power over our characters is because of these genuine emotional connections, which it tries and often fails to take advantage of, resulting in just resorting to brute violence. messy hive, very messy.

at the core, the musical's a kinda attack on that toxic positivity mindst: trying to force people to reach the sort of easy solutions by sharing feelings in a way that feels pretty invasive and deciding you are instantly fixed. the problems these characters face are jarringly not really what you'd expect a character in a musical to face, cheating, a lot of it, mid-life crisis. problems that are bland, or wayyyy too real. this is purposefully done, to reveal just how silly the hive's aim to use musical theatre to solve everyone's problem is. life is more complex than that smh.

4. a human can write a much more expressive, and genuine song than they ever could lol

u know which song I'm talking abt. what more is there to say. so much for making persuasive songs to tempt people over.

5. make me sad cause they took some perfectly nice ppl and funked them up 😭

this was a stupid point lol. basically I'm just bitter that this hive took a bunch of perfectly okay ppl and gave them hive brain. screw u hive. I swear I'm gonna watch Black Friday soon, cause I'm sure it's gonna completely destroy every thought I've had so far, but whateve,,, just take this as a look at tgwdlm like it's a stand-alone piece.

these guys are supposed to all be 'individuals' on one level, but also 'appendages of a much larger organism'. there's a little too much individualism and fracturing to be cohesive enough to do that I feel. the hive to me is not an infallible, unstoppable force, in fact, every human it takes over only brings it closer to understanding us. so that's maybe a slight positive note??? idk ?! I just have lots of thoughts and feelings abt this musical even if this doesn't make sense I'm proud i wrote it down hehe.

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revchainsaw · 3 years

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Bumblebee (2018)

Good Evening worshippers, and welcome! Today the Cult of Cult goes a little more mainstream than usual. It's been a while since i've tackled a big Hollywood superhero film. But I do believe that these sorts of films will be remembered fondly my small groups of people in the future, especially the smaller films that are being overshadowed by the big bad MCU, films like 2018s Bumblebee.

The Messsage

Bumblebee was originally released as a prequel to the Transformers franchise that had started all the way back in 2007. However, reboots had really hit the market as a way to breath new life into struggling franchises, and the Transformers series had already gone to just about every absurd extreme you could imagine. No changes were made to the movie as it was released, but with it's more childish and heartfelt tone, and a new aesthetic that was softer, smoother, and all around just generally more pleasing to the eye, I think it was a wise choice to rebrand Bumblebee as a new beginning.

Our story is of two friends from two very different worlds and how they came together. Our first character is Bumblebee, then known as B- number sign/it doesn't really matter. Not yet Bumblebee is a soldier set with securing a safe location for the Autobots to regroup and make their home as they suffer a pretty serious defeat on cybertron at the hands of the tyrannical Decepticons. Optimus Prime, here again voiced by Peter Cullen and looking so much more like himself, assigns this task to Bumblebee promising him that they will meet him there when the time comes. Then Optimus fucks off for the rest of the run time making way for our little hero.

Bumblebee lands on Earth and is immediately set upon by John Cena and his military goon squad. It probably would have been wise for Bumblebee to avoid John Cena but in his defense, he couldn't see him. Hardy har har. In his attempt to flee his voice box is damaged, he seeks sanctuary by taking the form of a run down little VW bug, and suffers from amnesia.

Then we have Charlie. Charlie is not like other girls. She likes cars, all the retro music, which wasn't retro when the movie takes place, so I'm supposed to just think she's a rocker but it kinda seems like she'll listen to just about anything. I think in 2018 liking Motorhead and The Smiths (who are used ad nauseum in this movie) is perfectly common, but I feel like in the 80s that was a much different and much older attitude to take.

Anyway Charlie's poor family lives in a super fucking nice house and are poor because the dialogue keeps insisting they are so it must be true despite all the shit they have that actually poor people would sell blood and teeth to attain, but hell, this is Hollywood and Hollywood poor is like regular people upper middle class. Charlies family is so poor that instead of giving her a one time graduation/birthday present to buy a part for a car she already has, they just give her a moped, She also spends all her time at a pull apart where the manager (who might be her uncle that wasn't super clear) is willing to just give her a Volkswagen so I don't understand why she didn't already have the project car up and running. Whatever, it's a plot contrivance. All you need to know is that Charlie is tenacious and hard around the edges cuz her dad is dead and she's not yet mature enough to process that in a healthy way. Maybe her character arch will teach her to let others in, we'll have to find out.

There's also a wacky nerd named Memo, and some bad guys, and John Cena. They are all also pretty archetypal and contrived and don't really do anything of note that isn't just filling a beat that this kind of movie needs to walk. Charlie starts Bumblebee up, discovers he's a robot and the two begin to bond. Charlie learns to make a friend, and bumblebee is learning about himself. They get into hijinks and get revenge on a bully girl who makes Regina George look like a saint, she pretty much only picks on Charlie exclusively for having a dead dad.

The moment Bumblebee is woken back up, some technology goof em up that both he and Charlie are unaware of brings two Decepticon baddies into the picture. I don't remember their names, but since I love The Venture Brothers let's say they can be "Jet Boy and Jet Girl". Jet Boy and Jet Girl are sometimes cars, sometimes various flying military vehicles, and they make friends with the deep state and plan to get all the adrenochrome from all the orphans, or just to go find Bumblebee and beat his ass good cuz their bad guys. Let me tell y'all though, Jet Boy and Jet Girl are so bad that they don't even care that the government is listening when they reveal that they are planning on bringing a Decepticon Invasion and after they rough up Bumblebee real good they are going to destroy all life on this planet. So they start by killing a military scientist.

John Cena is after Bumblebee and he's homies with Jet Boy and Jet Girl until the military scientist butt dials him and he hears the evil plan. John Cena goes from heel to face and helps Bumblebee and Charlie save the day. It's a giant CG clusterfuck climax a la any superhero film in the last 10 years and I basically stopped watching. BumbleBee pulls a Hellraiser on Jet Boy, and then he hits Jet Girl with a freaking boat. Charlie uses her diving skills do dive down and save him, but he's a Giant Robot and he was okay and it was literally pointless for her to to except as a way to show that her character has completed her arch by doing the thing that was representative of her connection with her lost father.

Bumblebee turns into the Camaro from the first movie, meets up with Optimus prime, and the stage is set for this prequel to squeeze more prequels out. So it wasn't very creative, but was it bad? Let's find out.

Please Stand to receive the Benediction.

Best Aspect: Transform the Franchise

Bumblebee was directed by Travis Knight of Laika fame and it shows. This movie marks a stylistic change in the transformers franchise, as in it doesn't look like utter dog shit, but it also represents in many ways a tonal shift. It does hold on to a lot of gross sleaze that has unfortunately been forcibly jammed into the DNA of the franchise but it also attempts to be a more heartfelt entry. The characters of Bumblebee might all be sort of a waste of time, but at least they are doing something with emotions, even if the emotions of the characters are only explored as deeply as a children's cartoon I'm glad they are there. In the previous installments the only thing the characters did between running from action piece to seizure inducing action piece was drool over underage girls like a bunch of chimpanzees at the facility where they test experimental E.D. meds. It was nice to see that at least somewhat tampered. This transformers movie feels more like it's for kids and young teenagers, and strangely that more friendly tone makes for a much less juvenile product.

Worst Aspect: Remember I Love the 80s from the 2000s

I hope you really like Stranger Things. I do, but because Stranger Things was so successful it' s going to be everywhere. Not true Stranger Things just 80s nostalgia porn. This 80s nostalgia is going to be forced on you whether you like it or not, and it's not going to be fun. It's gonna be in your shows, in your music, in your Sunday like Bacon in 2010. It's that or Marvel Franchise Brand Whedonisms. Bumblebee is that brave movie that says, "Why not both?" It would seem fitting that a property as quintessentially 80s as Transformers should feel completely comfortable doing a period piece set in the 80's but it's so fucking half hearted it's depressing. It wasn't done to appreciate the roots of the IP, it was done to cash in on a trend and it feels it. All they did was throw up a date and insufferably force an 80s soundtrack down your throat as if that was enough to convince you that this movie needed to be set during this time. Other than that you could have told me this film was set in 2007 and I couldn't tell you any different.

Best Character: Charlie's an Angel

I liked Charlie. Sure her Arc is predictable, her taste is dumb, and she isn't exactly a master of her own destiny to any degree. But at least she is a woman in a transformers movie who's got something going on. Sure she's defined entirely by grief, but that sure is better than pretending that being able to work on cars is a feminist character trait instead of a weird fetish thing. They certainly do that thing with Charlie, but at least it's not the only thing they throw at the wall. Bumblebee is by no means out of the woods in this department, but it garners a lot of goodwill for trying. Like a racist uncle who just started his journey out of ignorance, but hasn't yet realized he has to stop asking mortifying questions to the barista at Starbucks. Okay, maybe that's an extreme metaphor. I'm saying that perhaps Charlie is not a great character but she's a great character for a Transfomers movie.

Worst Character: It's JOOOOHHHNNNN CEEEENA!!!!

Why is John Cena in this movie? I don't hate the guy, but his character seems pointless. You could remove him from the movie completely and replace him with any one of the random military goons at any point and it changes nothing. What was with that dumb salute at the end? It seems like they put him in this movie in post and it was just to pump up cast list. I wish he was given anything to work with. I can't remember his characters name, and it's not like John Cena did a bad job, I was just annoyed every time they kept giving him hero shots. I felt like I was watching a trailer for a different movie.

Best Actor: Optimal Primo!

Every time Peter Cullen speaks I want to listen. There's a reason they haven't had Chris Pratt or somebody with a bigger name come in and take over the role at this point. He's why the audience keep coming back. Peter Cullen IS Optimus Prime, and there's no changing that. He also wins twice. He's the best actor in the movie AND he's barely in the movie. Good call Peter.

Worst Actor: Mean Girls 2, Meaner and Girlier

I don't want to be cruel so I'm not going to go into to much detail, but there's an actress in this film who's performance is so mustache twirlingly evil and stupid that it ruined my suspension of disbelief when i knew going in that i was about to endure a 2 hour toy commercial about robots that turn into cars. Beldar Conehead was a more convincing human being than Tina.

Best Effect: Goo Be Gone

I really appreciated when the bad guys shot the government nerd into a blast of snot. That was pretty fun for me. Best part of the movie hands down.

Worst Effect: Live Action?

Bumblebee is a cartoon. It's a great looking cartoon but it doesn't sell itself that way. If we were doing a Roger Rabbit thing I'd have no gripes. However, I think CG is just getting worse. I'm criticizing this and it's still lightyears better than the previous entry's on the franchise. No transformation or fight sequence in Bumble Bee had me straining to make sense of what I was looking at. I think it was a great idea to start using some basic shapes and outlines to these characters, and return somewhat to their 80s designs. But at certain points, especially when there were no humans in the shot, i was pretty convinced I was watching Clone Wars. There may not be anyway around this, as the Transformers concept might not be able to be pulled off in any more effective manner. It's a minor gripe, but I just didn't think it looked like anything other than a very expensive cartoon, and in this franchise that's a compliment, because it least it looked like SOMETHING!

Best Scene: Space Opera

I am not a Transformers fan. I missed the boat on the cartoon as a kid. I would sometimes catch it at friends houses but I was more into Batman, Star Wars, and Ninja Turtles. By the time I came onto the scene the world had moved on to Beast Wars. I did one day arbitrarily decide that my favorite Transformer was Sound Wave. He looked great in this. I am a big fan of the return to form with a lot of the character designs in this. They really did keep the things that worked from the other adaptations, and they are steadily removing the things that didn't. For this reason, the scenes on Cybertron, particularly the battle with Soundwave (i prefer for personal reasons) looked great and were exciting to watch. I remember thinking Cybertron used to look like a Marilyn Manson shot a music video from inside to dumpster. This is so much better.

Worst Scene: Blocking the Box

There's a scene in Bumblebee where Charlie's family decides the best way to save their daughter was to cause a pile up of vehicles in an intersection, and it's pure contrived writing that saved any character in that sequence from being killed in a horrific traffic accident. It was stupid, played for laughs, and it wasn't exciting as much as it was anxiety inducing. I also thought that there was no reason the covert military group covering up extraterrestrial life wouldn't just disappear this family of fucking morons in their little piece of shit car. The logic of the scene was just so childish like, "No they won't hit me, I'm a good person."

Summary

Bumblebee may be remembered fondly in a decade. I think especially if the Transformers franchise were to end here. It didn't get the publicity of the other films, and that really is a shame. For my money, this was the best Transformers movie so far. I was very tempted to give Bumblebee a C, it does just enough to right what was wrong from the other movies to make me appreciate all that work. This movie has heart, and if you are at all into Transformers then l think you should see it. It's still pretty stupid, and pretty basic. It's not offering anything new to the genre, and it feels like a commercial for more movies. I really wish we could just get movies that want to tell a story. I thought it over and decided that it wasn't fair not to grade Bumblebee on it's own merits. Bumblebee is substantially better than the films that preceded it, but that's not saying a lot, when the films that preceded it are joyless exercises in self abuse.

Overall Grade: D

#Transformers #Bumblebee #Optimus Prime #Action #Adventure #Car #Super Hero #Robot #Scifi #Grade D #D #Grade: D #2018 #2010s #(D)

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loftec · 4 years

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Hi i don't know if anyone haven't ask you about it or i'm the only one who wants to read it but CAN YOU PLEASE SHARE YOUR NOTES (ch.44) i don't know if you were serious about that but i really would love to read them cause i'm obsessed with everything what is ntw related 🖤 hope ur well

Hi friend! It’s possibly just you (or one other person, in case of separate anons) but that is enough! I was absolutely serious.

Note on the notes! This is not all of it, because my notes for this chapter were often repetitive and very messy, and some older notes were from four years ago when I didn’t bother writing things out properly, so they barely make sense even to me. But! I’ve done my best to sort everything in some kind of linear order, and removed most of the repetition. And, well, you asked for it... sorry! 🖤

Ian shows up in the morning, Mickey digs out the magazine Iggy stole from Amelia’s dentist’s office the other day and confronts Ian about the big-ass article in Rolling Stone about IAN’S BAND, says he’s listened to some of their songs, takes out a paper where he’s written down some lyrics that sound strangely familiar.

You’re famous!

I’m in a band, people know about us right now, tomorrow they might not. I’m not famous.

You’re kinda famous.

Ian talks about Mickey recognizing him because of Frank. Hints that there might be several songs inspired by Mickey. It’s awkward as fuck, didn’t want you to know.

Were you ever gonna tell me?

Oh yeah, I had a plan. 3 dates, dinner and a movie, day out with Yev, dinner at my place turned vigorous love-making. Second prong; cohabitation, engagement, marriage, then on our wedding night I tell you about crushing on Justin Timberlake when I was 12,

then I tell you I’m semi-famous, if it still applies.

Mickey thinks his face might be on fire.

What the?

I’m fucking with you, Mick. Figured you already knew.

This again?

You angry?

No, I’m not fucking angry. Just-

Freaked out.

Kinda, yeah.

You shouldn’t be. Please.

It’s weird that I didn’t know, I feel like a schmuck. (And I’m pretty sure by your count we’ve already been on those first two dates.)

I’m sorry. I thought you knew and by some fucking miracle didn’t treat me different. I’d been gearing up to maybe have to have this conversation on our date, ‘cause it’s shit sometimes, you know? I don’t do interviews and I never talk about myself when I gotta do them, but there’s still a limelight and a lot of bullshit that complicates

I’ve been crushing on you since we met basically, and I thought I’d just… let it run its course, keep my mouth shut about it and deal until it went away and we could remain friends without me fucking it up.

Didn’t work, by the way.

Good.

Mickey is talking about it with Etch, who suggests that Ian’s been writing at the diner for a reason.

Etch looks up some lyrics and Mickey caps locks them to Ian

You might have inspired a few lately…

Fuck off. How many?

Since we met? Pretty much all of them.

Maybe one or two made it on to the album, but I wrote those before we really got to know each other so they’re just like… about moments, and how I would feel around you.

Didn’t think of it as creepy but it kinda sounds that way now.

No it’s fine

I won’t do it again.

Said it’s fine. Kinda like it.

Yeah?

You gonna tell me which ones are about me, or is that a secret too?

What are you doing tonight?

Thought you said you were going on tour?

We are, it starts tonight. It’s a small fan club gig here in Chicago.

You have a fan club?

Kinda. I’ll put you on the guest list if you want to come.

(Mickey calls Svetlana to make sure Yevgeny can stay with her over the weekend.)

It’s fine if you don’t want to, we’ll do something else when I get back.

Calm your tits Gallagher, course I wanna go. Needed to make sure I’ve got Yev covered.

Oh okay, good. You’re on the list. Doors at 7, gig starts at 8, no support.

You’ve got no chill.

(Ian doesn’t answer for a while)

I like it.

Good, that was torture. Never doing that again.

(Etch teases him about having his nose in his phone, and makes him aware of new guests arriving)

Gotta get back to work

Yeah, me too. See you tonight?

No chill at all.

Ian invites him to the concert and gives Mickey his phone number. Mickey makes sure Yevgeny stays with his mom on saturday, and after work he goes home and gets ready. Showers and cleans himself thoroughly, puts on cologne and a band t-shirt he hasn’t worn in ages, it’s gotten kinda tight on him since he got it. (He puts on a dress shirt first, tucks it into his pants and glares at his reflection).

He’s on the guest list when he gets there, the girl in the box office can’t find him at first but then Anne shows up and points him out, he’s on the VIP list and gets a pass that he’s told he needs to carry so it’s visible. He makes a point of shoving it in the admission guy’s face, but then shoves the ostentatious thing down the pocket of his jeans. Anne shows him in and tells him about the gig, about how the fan club got started. Anne says he can go backstage but he says he’ll pass, thank you. He gets a beer and finds a good spot, there’s a balcony halfway through the venue where he’s got a perfect view of the stage without having to stand in the front.

They text a little, Mickey says he’s there and Ian says he’ll make a sign when they play a song inspired by him.

run-through of the concert, Ian touches the side of his nose when the song is about Mickey. He’s sexy as fuck, and has some ridiculous stripper moves.

He takes off his hoodie at some point, and sweating through his tank he and Anne put on gloves and start hitting the barrels with crowbars.

Anne is the maestro, maybe Ian crowd surfs at some point? Warren Ellis that violin, man. He has little routines with Anne, and some with Jon too. One song, Anne gets one of his guitars and he does noisy stuff with his violin and plays on the oil barrels with Stran, completely in sync.

They got some good stage banter going, and at some point Ian does a Tom Waits impression, and Anne groans and says he’ll sing the whole thing if they’re not careful. There’s a reason why he’s

For the encore, Ian touches the side of his nose and they start playing a song, Anne saying that this is a first. It looks like Ian is about to sing, but then it looks like he changes his mind and they start playing a song that Mickey sure as fuck hope isn’t about him. The insufferable man on a date right next to Mickey tells the woman he’s with that they were about to play the mysterious title track from their last album that never ended up on the record

“it’s derivative, but cute”

how can it be a title track if it’s not on the album

the guy talks about how he’s got a friend working as an engineer in the studio and he’s sent him an early demo version. It’s not their best song by far, but it’s cool that pretty much no one else has heard it.

Mickey asks the girl if she’s ok with this joker, and she says she’s fine. He offers to get her a cab or something, if she wants to get out of there.

She says she’s not interested

Lady, if I wanted to get with either of you, it wouldn’t be you. Just sayin, I ain’t picky, but that guy would’ve gotten the boot ten minutes into the date if he were here with me, no offense.

WHAT IF.

The concert is over, and crowd starts to let up. Then a fight breaks out at the front and Mickey makes his way towards it. It’s over before he gets there, and sees a guy in his 40s with a bleeding nose, and Lip shaking out his fist, a security guard between them.

Mickey talks to the guard and defuses the situation, putting the bleeding man in the position of a sad overzealous fan. It somehow warms Lip to him, absurdly, and he finds himself apologized to, Lip shaking his hand and wincing when Mickey grips his bruised knuckles a little too hard. Lip vaguely explains that that was an old ex of Ian’s, a real piece of work, and then offers Mickey to come backstage with them to see Ian. Mickey declines.

It’s Lip, Carl and Debbie (Liam is too young, and Fiona too pregnant).

“I was drunk, and wrong, and when I’m wrong I say I’m wrong. (IT’S FROM DIRTY DANCING YOU LITERALLY FORGET EVERY TIME AND HAVE TO GOOGLE IT WHENEVER READING THIS NOTE should I really be quoting Baby’s dad in this fic? Probably. If anyone can, it’s Lip.) And Ian tells me you’ve been there for him a lot lately

I wouldn’t say that

But he did, he doesn’t tell me a lot these days, but he told me that.

Mickey gets another beer at the bar as people mill towards the merch and exit, he sits on a stool with an eye on the backstage passage. He watches the band come out to talk to some of the lingering fans and sign shit. Ian comes out and is immediately surrounded by fans, he locks eyes with Mickey across the room and Mickey raises his beer in a silent cheers. Ian comes up to him after a few minutes, he looks damp and exhilarated and unexpectedly nervous,

How was it?

Not bad, Gallagher.

he asks Mickey over. He has to pack up his shit and do the rounds, but he’ll be done in half an hour, tops. Mickey says he’ll meet him outside.

Ian leaves and Mickey finishes his beer, watching Ian talk to some fans, signing shit and taking pictures. He goes for a piss and then goes out for a smoke.

Ian comes out after twenty minutes, carrying two guitar cases and a large wheelie-bag. Mickey takes one of the guitars off his hands and they walk together.

(maybe Ian has a banjo and he gives it to Mickey to carry and Mickey is all really? I wanna kick your ass so bad right now, country boy, but then carries it anyway.) (banjos are cool)

Walk from the club. Mickey mentions talking to Lip. They talk about Ian’s Tom Waits impression. You’re not musically illiterate at all! Talk about Mickey’s Radiohead tee that he stole from a hookup when he was sixteen, he’s grown into it now. Talk about Ian’s onstage dancing, used to be a stripper, well, not saying you can’t still do private performances (?? you know what I mean! this is not what they’re saying but you’ll remember it) (Note from 2020: I DID NOT REMEMBER IT.)

Talk about wanting to learn playing the trumpet. Don’t have trumpet playing lips.

”Sure you and your lips can do whatever you set your heart to, I believe in you.”

Looks at Mickey and smiles.

”What?”

”You’ve been flirting with me since we first met, haven’t you?”

”Maybe.”

”Huh”

“What?”

“Oh nothing.” “Just re-evaluating everything you’ve ever said to me.”

”Re-evaluate this;” gives Ian the finger.

”That an invitation?”

”Fuck you is what it is,”

“sounds like an invitation.”

Ian tells him a little about his different instruments, Mickey picks up the beat up guitar Gus first gave to Ian and strums it, Ian asks him to play him something but Mickey snorts and says he’s counting on getting laid tonight and him playing would be detrimental to that plan. Ian doesn’t think so, but accepts it when Mickey gives him the guitar.

”I’ve walked some thousand miles,” he starts softly, eyes on his left hand, moving over the strings, ”I have slept many hundred nights, and people’ve said hello and bye through the years since you were mine. But don’t think I’ll stop my mourning, don’t I know it’s overdue. Just because I’ve gotten older, none the wiser I cry for you.”

”Honey, cutie, sweetie-pie,” ”My darling boy, sweet old times, as long as I keep you in mind I will remember what love is like. So, don’t think I’ll stop my mourning, don’t I know it’s overdue.”

”Just because I’ve gotten older, none the wiser.”

”I cry for you.”

I’M THINKING OF WRITING MY OWN SONG BECAUSE I WAS THIS MOMENT TO BE MORE BEFORE SUNSET THAN ANYTHING, ALL SMILES AND DRAMA FREE. SO MAYBE A TEXT THAT IS A LITTLE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD.

Ian plays the song and when he’s done, Mickey kisses him and they have really enthusiastic sex on the couch. Mickey is about to leave after when Ian invites him to stay,

How about some long-ass foreplay on the couch and then they move into the bedroom.

They start on the couch, they take it to the bedroom, they collapse on the bed after and Mickey is feeling too good to argue when Ian mumbles at him to “stay”.

(Sings the song, says it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a song, it’s one quick thought put under a spotlight. Feeling like he should have known Mickey his whole life already. It’s too much, isn’t it? In the kitchen.

”do you normally take guys home and serenade them?”

”nah, don’t think it’d be very effective with most.”

”But you figured I’d swoon?”

”Figured you’d want the truth.”

”which is?”)

??? Need to find a good mix of excitement and new and easy, balanced with ho shit wtf are we doing this isn’t going to end well i think i fucking love him shut the fuck up. needs to be sexy and a little rough, as well as painfully sincere against better knowledge. kissing will do that. they’re doing stuff the way they usually do stuff, but for some reason it feels completely different.

Important that Mickey kisses him.

They stand up and stand chest to chest, Ian says they don’t have to do anything, Mickey says shut up and get naked

he helps ian take his shirt off and kisses him the second his face comes back into view

They fucks on the couch.

OR ALT FADE CUT END and don’t go explicit. Just saying, it’s an option. A valid option.

They can go at it in one of the sequels? Like the roadtrip can be more explicit? If I want? But also not?

I mean, there is such a thing as a nice middle ground right.

I just don’t think I’m interested in going all out porn after 40+ chapters of whatever.

THEY KISS AND THEN THERE’S A MOTHERFUCKING FADE TO BLACK MY FRIEND, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I HAVE DECIDED. Soz

WHAT IF!!

Iggy comes in, is all: guess what I found at the dentist this morning?

M: again? Did Amelia break another tooth?

I: It’ll grow back, take a look at this

E: Did you steal that from the dentist’s office?

M: Rolling Stone, wtf?

E: your dentist’s got rolling stone?

Mickey reads the headlines out loud as a customer comes in and asks Etch about something they’ve lost the other day, and Etch starts rifling through boxes behind the counter as Mickey moves over to sit down in Ian’s booth, rifling through the magazine.

M: what am I looking for?

I: I marked the page

E: what’s this note?

Mickey starts reading the article, realizing that the blurred picture is of Ian, and the interview is with Ian, and holy shit. Ian is legit famous.

Etch starts reading the list of coffees, eventually turning the page over and pointing out that there’s a phone number.

Iggy comes to the diner in the morning, Etch is rifling through stuff behind the counter and Mickey is doing the rounds with the few guests still there after the morning rush.

Iggy shows him the magazine he found at the dentist’s and Etch is in the background like wtf is this, reading from Ian’s note with the coffee orders, Mickey only half listens, trying to take in the fact that Ian is fucking famous.

Etch says there’s a phone number too and Mickey brushes him off.

Then he’s like, hold the fuck up! And gets the note from the trash and tries the number, and Ian fucking answers. And they have the you’re famous conversation on the phone and voila, Mickey has his number and vice versa.

So Mickey calls Ian in the morning, then there’s text talk during the day.

From Ian

So, you’ve had my number for x days and you only now decided to use it?

That’s cold.

From Mickey

You wrote it on a piece of paper you then balled up and threw on the floor, asshole, it’s a miracle it didn’t end up in the trash. didn’t know I had it until this morning.

You suck at this. (This is a nice revelation that he likes, but Maybe that doesn’t come across in text.

Not a complaint btw, just gleeful observation.

From Ian

Are we still on?

From Mickey

Of course.

Dumbass.

Ian

I probably deserved that.

At some point Mickey starts capslocking and sending lyrics to Ian, who has to explain through text why he’s written songs about Mickey, saying that he’ll point them out tonight.

HERE’S A QUESTION

SHOULD I SKIP THE WHOLE “WRITING SONGS ABOUT MICKEY” BUSINESS??

Isn’t it enough that Ian is famous and kept this fact from Mickey? Isn’t the writing songs business a little creepy? and if he did write songs about Mickey, would he really publish them without Mickey’s consent? No. Maybe I’m deliriously tired and about to fall ill right now, but I actually think I should skip that part. It’s a little sad because it’s been part of this idea for three years, but if I’m uncertain about it now imagine how I’m going to feel about it later?

When I started writing this story, it was supposed to be a quick and silly thing, and now it’s something else. It’s not important or anything, but also it is. To me. And making a decision on the rating was a big deal for me, and I think this is another one of those things. I’ve been holding on to this idea for so long but when I really think about it, is it even romantic? It’s romantic in that kind of teenage dream way, maybe? It’s more romantic to me if they fall in love for reasons other than Ian writing songs. But he’s written NTW, and he still thinks about performing it live, but we skip the whole thing about songs being about Mickey.

So they talk on the phone in the morning, and then there’s a text coming in after a little while asking if Mickey wants to come to the show.

HEYHO IT’S A REVOLUTION AND I FEEL FREE

Mickey and Ian text after the show (after Mickey declines going backstage) Ian asks him to meet him round back in twenty minutes. When Mickey goes out there, he sees Ian talking to a couple of fans by the bus and Mickey hangs back to smoke while he waits. The fans leave and Ian looks around, checks his watch, he has a bunch of guitars with him.

I AM LEANING HEAVILY TOWARDS MICKEY KISSING IAN HERE. He’s like “Stop, hold this” giving Ian back the guitar, so he can grab on to him and kiss him, smiling against Ian lips as the guitar tips over and clatters against the asphalt.

They’re outside Ian’s house, Ian says he has to get up at an unholy hour tomorrow. Invites him in anyway.

They’re in the elevator, then they’re in Ian’s apartment. Ian plays him the song, Before sunset ending.

almost none of that rhymed, just letting you know. kinda embarrassing.

(almost none of that rhymed, just letting you know. kinda embarrassing.

yeah, it’s not a very good song. is why we cut it from the record

oh yeah? thought it was ‘cause of the like, intensely personal subject

that too)

They smile at each other like fools and Mickey feels like he is exactly where he’s supposed to be, and there’s no rush. Fade to black.

Etch finds the paper, says there’s a phone number on it. Mickey dials the number and goes out back as it rings out. When Ian answers, he reads a question from the interview and they talk.

He goes back into the diner and basically blows the whole thing off, it doesn’t make any difference to him and he has to go back to work. Yevgeny does his homework and Iggy leaves, and Ian invites Mickey to the gig via text. Etch invites Yevgeny to stay over at theirs for a movie night.

Does Mickey tell Yev about the gig?

Start with Mickey out back, smoking. The phone rings and he waits for Etch to take it, but it keeps ringing. He bangs the door and yells PHONE and then it stops ringing. He kills the cigarette and goes back inside. Etch is behind the counter talking on the phone and going through the lost and found, looking for whatever the caller has lost. Mickey clears a table. It’s afternoon. Etch hangs up but keeps going through stuff in the box, talking to Mickey, when Iggy comes in.

It’s maybe more like afternoon (?) when Iggy comes in and shows Mickey the magazine. He calls Ian and they have a quick conversation (he probably goes outside to have it, to escape his audience) and they establish that Ian is sorta famous. Then they text back and forth a little, until Ian invites him to the show.

Mickey calls Svet to arrange it so Yev can stay with her, and then accepts. He goes home after work to eat, have a shower and change out of his clothes. He wears the only band tee he owns, mostly because it’s funny and because it’s kinda tight and he doesn’t think he looks too bad in it (and a dress shirt is way too much for a concert not-date, not that he tried on a couple first. Then he does a little bit of cyberstalking only to find very little personal information and a lot of crazy fans. Maybe he watches a couple of music videos, but they’re all really weird cartoons so they give him nothing. They’re cool though, and guess the music’s alright, even though he doesn’t have a connection yet to it so it’s hard to tell if he likes it.

Yevgeny calls, because Mickey switched the days and he wants to know why. Mickey asks if he knows about the Broken Bells, and Yev’s like duh who doesn’t? And freaks out when Mickey tells him about Ian. He doesn’t tell him about the whole date situation though, just that he’s going to the concert. Maybe Yev asks for some merch.

Mickey takes an Uber to the venue, even though it’s not too far from the diner (but on the other side, so at least a 30 minute walk) and it seems like they’ve already started letting people in. He hangs back until the admissions office is clear and then tells the lady that he’s on some kinda guest list. She can’t find him, and he’s about to give up and go home when he sees a familiar figure in the background. He calls her Stay-puft first, but then also remembers that her name is Anne and calls her that too. She remembers him, and finds him on a different (VIP) list, the venue staff woman is embarrassed, but Anne is borderline flirting she’s so nice about the mistake. Mickey gets a pass that he’s supposed to keep around his neck, but he shows it to the guards and then tucks it down his back pocket. Anne shows him inside the venue and asks if he wants to come backstage and say hello, but he kindly declines.

He has a quick peruse of the merch table (he checks the CDs, and then sees a smaller table next to the merch with a guy handing out pins, Mickey talks to him and finds out that it’s “fan club” pins to commemorate the gig and Mickey asks if his VIP pass gets him one, it does, and then the guy asks if Mickey wants to sign up for the newsletter) and then gets a beer, before finding a good spot on the mezzanine floor. He’s got a balcony railing for support and beer holder, and he’s got an excellent view of the stage. The floor is filling up with people packing themselves against the front. He texts Ian saying he’s here and they text a little back and forth. He gets someone to watch his spot and goes to the restroom. There, he finds a kid getting cornered by a middle-aged man. The kid looks vaguely familiar and not older than sixteen. Mickey steps in and casually accuses the guy of creeping on a kid and the guy immediately backs off, the kid says thanks and that he’s eighteen (because it’s an 18+ gig) and Mickey says sure.

Getting back to his spot, There is a douchebag on a date behind him that he wants to move away from, but he doesn’t want to surrender his good spot. He decides to tune him out, he’ll hopefully shut up once the set starts. It’s just a couple of minutes after eight when the lights dim and a song comes on louder than before, and the band start coming out on the stage. Ian is wearing jeans and a hoodie, like he normally does, but he’s clean shaven and his normally smiling face is set in blank determination. Anne is the front person, and she commands the audience with the slightest gesture. It’s obvious that the venue is filled with old fans, they all know exactly what to do exactly when she asks them to do it. Ian’s got like four guitars and a whole lot of other shit around him, and he’s super focused on doing his stuff, but now and then he does little routines with Anne and Jon, and gets a big cheer for his occasional solos.

A few songs in, Ian gets up to stand on one of the oil barrels, and Anne starts banging on it with a crowbar. That’s when Mickey starts to really get into it. It’s cool, and it’s a lot harder than Ian made it out to be, but kind of theatrical at the same time. Ian is brilliant, even though he dances like an uncoordinated stripper.

There is banter between the songs, mainly between Anne and Stran (girl sure bangs those drums!) Anne starts banging one of the oil barrels again and Ian and Jon do a little step dance next to each other across the scene.

At some point Ian takes off his hoodie. He’s wearing a white tank and he’s already sweating through it. He gives his guitar to Anne and puts on gloves. Him and Stran do a little bant-y thing and then they start a new song by both banging the barrels in unison while Anne and Jon start playing (maybe Jon plays something else, like an electric piano or a marimba?). At the crescendo of the song, Ian takes out a baseball bat and goes to town on the barrel, sweat shining on his muscly arms and his wet hair flopping down his forehead.

They go off the stage, but come back when the crowd chants a song, stomping their feet and clapping their hands. Anne says they’ve got one more song for them, and they start playing. She moves away from the microphone and it looks for a second like Ian is going to step up and sing. Douchebag behind Mickey tells his date about an unreleased b-side to the last album. But then Ian steps back and says something to Stran, who nods and moves into a slightly different beat. Without blinking Anne, steps back up to the mic and sings the last song.

Some of the crowd lingers by the stage after the lights have gone back on, but most move towards the bar or the merch table. Mickey hangs back to watch the crew take down the stage, and the two oil barrels being handed over to someone in the audience, along with set lists and left-over picks. Walking down from the mezzanine floor to go look for the restrooms, a fight breaks out on the floor. Mickey immediately recognizes one of them as Lip and the other one as the creep from the bathroom, and intervenes by clearly positioning himself on Lip’s side and reminding the creep that he could get him in trouble, the creep backs off and agrees when Mickey tells the security guards it was an accident (in a way that isn’t obviously helpful, but in the end still makes sure that Lip isn’t hurt or arrested for punching a guy) (because he did, he punched a guy, who is thrown out by the guards after Mickey’s intervention). Lip, Carl, Debbie, and Liam is there, but it’s only Lip who knows who Mickey is. He hangs back to talk to Mickey while his siblings go backstage (and PROBABLY DOESN’T tell him a little bit about the guy being Ian’s ex, making it clear that Lip really doesn’t like him). He also apologizes to Mickey for last time. He asks if Mickey wants to go backstage, but Mickey declines. He’s decided earlier with Ian through text that he’ll wait for him and thinks it’s better to do it somewhere that isn’t backstage where he might get asked questions and have to talk to people who aren’t Ian.

He gets another beer and stands in the bar next to the merch, watching as Ian and the rest of the band come out to sign some stuff and shake hands. Ian still looks slightly damp from sweat, even though he’s obviously changed clothes and run a towel through his hair. Mickey wonders if his skin tastes like salt. He drinks his beer.

Ian comes up to him after a little while, asking well? (or texts him, which probably makes more sense? But I also want Mickey to see Ian post-show)

Not bad Gallagher, not bad at all.

Ian looks pleased and asks if Mickey wants to come over, even though Ian has an early morning. Mickey says yes and Ian asks him to wait until they’re done packing up.

Mickey finishes his beer, goes to the restroom (where he sees douchebag by the urinal) and then he goes outside to wait for Ian. (He talks to douchebag’s date and offers to get her a taxi before the guy comes out.) He smokes a cigarette, and before he knows it, Ian is by his side, carrying a fuck ton of guitars. They decide to walk, for some reason, talking on the way.

HEY

Ian says he’s got a car coming and they walk a little bit to where they’re getting picked up. They talk about trumpet lips and stuff and Mickey kisses him. They get interrupted by the car arriving, and Ian picks up his guitars and says “you coming?”

Fuck yes

They sit in silence in the car, but it’s a good one. Ian says

Lip told me what you did back there.

He didn’t tell you shit.

He did, told me you stepped in and stopped him from getting arrested

He was getting his ass kicked, someone had to help the guy

And Liam told me you got him out of a tough situation in the restroom

That was Liam? Some pedo’s creeping on a kid by the urinal, I’m not gonna stand by doing nothing.

You know that’s not what happened

Yeah, well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

He isn’t a pedo, and Lip would’ve beat the shit outta him if you hadn’t stepped in.

You defending this guy?

No, trying to say thanks.

You’re shit at it.

Thank you, Mickey

Better.

So… friend of yours.

No. (Ian isn’t forthcoming with the info)

Alright, whatever.

And he’s definitely not someone I wanna talk about, tonight.

(Ian is smiling at him, all the promise in the world in his eyes)

Fucking fair enough.

They arrive.

OR Ian joins Mickey outside and they stand around and talk

They talk about Ian’s Tom Waits impression. You’re not musically illiterate at all! Talk about Mickey’s Radiohead tee that he stole from a hookup when he was sixteen, he’s grown into it now. Talk about Ian’s onstage dancing, used to be a stripper, well, not saying you can’t still do private performances (?? you know what I mean! this is not what they’re saying but you’ll remember it)

Talk about wanting to learn playing the trumpet. Don’t have trumpet playing lips.

”Sure you and your lips can do whatever you set your heart to, I believe in you.”

Looks at Mickey and smiles.

”What?”

”You’ve been flirting with me since we first met, haven’t you?”

”Maybe.”

”Huh”

“What?”

“Oh nothing.” “Just re-evaluating everything you’ve ever said to me.”

”Re-evaluate this;” gives Ian the finger.

”That an invitation?”

”Fuck you is what it is,”

“sounds like an invitation.”

That’s when a taxi pulls up and Ian walks toward it

Could use some help with these.

They ride in silence

They carry Ian’s instruments from the car, and Ian says something cute

Mickey’s like “Stop, hold this” giving Ian back the guitar, so he can grab on to him and kiss him, smiling against Ian lips as the guitar tips over and clatters on the asphalt.

They’re outside Ian’s house, Ian says he has to get up at an unholy hour tomorrow. Invites him in anyway.

There he asks Ian to play him something that other people don’t get to hear (mostly to be a cheeky monkey, but also because he wants it) and Ian plays him None the wiser.

I’ve walked a thousand miles to end up in your corner booth

Grinning idiot when you bitch, falling fool for your dirty mouth

Sitting on my busy hands when you swagger by and I say -

Hey waiter, pour some coffee in my cup and bring me my toast, before you fuck me up

I’ve been in some thousand fights and it’s clear that so have you, too

Faded threats and cigarettes, sharp glass polished by the sea

Wish you’d put your hands on me and make your feelings clear

Hey waiter

meet me ‘round the back door, tell me I’ve got it wrong and fuck me up some more

‘Cause I’ve fallen a thousand times but never felt this way before, like I should have met you long ago

Walked with you by my side and had your back through thick and thin

Sickness and health, come what may, and I say-

Hey waiter

pop the damn champagne

None the wiser

you fuck me up again

Hey waiter

tell me you’ll be mine

I’ll give you my life

and fuck you up in kind

I wish I was just a plain white shirt

then you could wear me off to work

and I’d be one of the things you keep close to your heart

soft white cotton wrapped around your heart

(Contrasts have faded now

but color still haunt my mind

And words ripped off from their lines

Make bitter tears flood my eyes

Don’t think I’ll stop my mourning

Don’t I know it’s overdue

Just because I’ve gotten older

None the wiser, I cry for you)

Honey, cutie, sweetie-pie

My darling boy, sweet old times

As long as I keep you in mind

I will remember what love is like

So, don’t think I’ll stop my mourning

Don’t I know it’s overdue

Just because I’ve gotten older

None the wiser, I cry for you

’Cause I always say ’I love you’

when I mean ’turn out the light’

And I say ’let’s run away’

when I just mean ’stay the night’

But the words you want to hear

you will never hear from me

I’ll never say ’happy anniversary’

Never stay to say ’happy anniversary’

Bom-chaka bom-chak 23 verses

And he climbed up a mountain

And he looked around

Some kind of forest

With all these dinosaurs

And he stripped his woman

He stripped her bare

But there was a pterodactyl

There!

#Anonymous

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