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ddaenghoney · 4 years

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chapter one

masterlist link in blog description.

As a successful songwriter, you want nothing more than the acknowledgment that the chart-topping musical pieces are your own creations. But contracts, relationships, and the difficulty of facing the stakes involved head on, keep your mouth shut until pressure builds too much.

Pairing(s): Park Jimin x Y/N, Min Yoongi x Y/N

disclaimer: any characters depicted do not represent the actual personality of the respected idol in real life.

Series warning(s)/genre(s): Chapter-based written fic, Slow-burn relationship(s), Fake-dating, Unrequited love, Songwriter/producer!oc, idol!Jimin, idol/songwriter/producer!Yoongi, friends with benefits, drama, romance, smut, angst, fluff (updated as needed)

Chapter warning(s): none.

Word count: 5013

if you enjoy please, please let me know!

“What if this album has my name in the credits?”

Tension shifts, where idleness and chatting of the choices presented neatly on the table became a new quiet. Glances bore like bullets, burning dots onto your back, shoulders, profile--avoiding the direct stare towards the CEO. She didn’t attend meetings like this usually. Just a divergence from normalcy due to a client canceling and her deciding to check in on the upcoming record for the most famous of the idols in the company.

Jimin’s neck remains still, eyes not focusing down at the copies of songs he was given at the beginning of session. Sitting beside the lady in charge whom only allows her eyes to address your sentence when the silence drifts into awkwardness. Her expression holds elegance, yet firm conviction set within her eyes. No words for another moment, but the ambiance feels reclaimed. No longer disturbed by your interruption of usual affairs.

“Why?”

The table hides your hands as they compress all of the tension into formed balls on your lap. Composed, composed; you left your mouth closed to consider the phrasing. This is owed to you. Your voice wasn’t as loud when you replied, “I wrote the songs.”

“So?”

You bite your tongue by choice. A way to repress more frustration.

“It’s best to keep lyrical credits to the minimum. Jimin’s name and the producers are enough mostly.” She dismisses the idea, while looking back at the papers you spent the past two months typing lines to. Her pen scribbles notes on the margins. Short ones, only a sentence of acceptance, before flipping to a new page.

At the returning conversation of concepts to fit the new album, your hands uncurl. The head stylist talks mindlessly with Jimin’s manager to go over the budgeting for the first music video’s costumes. An intern exits with an order to bring coffee from the breakroom. Your head tilts towards the dark wood, reflective only of a blurry shadow. Barely in your peripherals, Jimin’s hand settles on the table across from you.

His eyes are ready to meet yours when your head lifts back up. Face absent of a smile, but the sympathy in his eyes tells you he holds words at bay. Unspoken.

“What if it’s just one song?” Spoken for yourself.

Jimin’s eyebrows furrow at your continuation, wondering if you were truly unaware of the rolling eyes from those sat beside you. If you thought you could get a different outcome.

“It doesn’t have to be the title track, but one shouldn’t be an issue, right?”

“Your contract doesn’t require me to heed your desires.” The paper held in the CEO’s hand casts beside the stack, flurrying noise for a second. “And it states very clearly that you’re not to be credited. This is for the best interest of the idols.” She doesn’t regard your frowning, completely empty of care as she reaches for her mug.

“But hardly anyone would even notice-”

“Your name adds nothing to the credentials.”

Words evade your throat, while the air in it becomes invasive. It hitches into place, and the door reopens for the intern to walk with her heels clicking on the floor. No one speaks, but the focus on your person is apparent. Jimin’s finger taps once on the table, hesitantly, unassumingly.

You rise from the chair, ignoring the burn in your throat when he stays silent like the rest. But he does watch you exit the room, index finger leading for the others to drag into a fist on the polished table. Your sneakers make little noise as you go across the tile, frustratingly allowing you to hear the CEO thank the intern for more tea.

While you glare at nothing, the frosted glass door became closer. Reaching to pull it, you keep your jaw locked from the anger wanting to fall out, too far from reality to be prepared for the man on the other side. Your body bumps completely into him, a gasping curse whispering from your lips, followed by quick apologies when he steps back from the force. Confused eyes squint at your person as you mutter more about it being an accident, but the call behind you from someone asking what happened causes you to apologetically lower your head. A foot shift to the side of the stiffened man, then you pace down the hallway to the elevators.

“Did she get hurt?” The wheels on Jimin’s chair roll back as he starts to stand. “Or you too, I guess.”

“I’m fine.” Yoongi steps into the meeting room, regarding the CEO with a deeper bow of his head while he shuts the door behind him. “I was just going to ask about the equipment I need moved in my studio. The secretary said this meeting was finished.”

“It is.” Jimin bites his lip as the CEO ignored what just occurred. Signing her name onto the corner of the paper, like she did with the songs she was most favorable of. “Jimin has his title track chosen.” She passes the paper to the manager whose hands are prepared to take the song as though Lee Yerin was gifting him a jewel.

Jimin sits back into the cushion of the desk chair, hands fidgeting on his lap, as he wonders about following you, but he stays. You’re likely to the lobby at this point, and he wouldn’t leave without a cap and sunglasses in the very least. His phone escapes his pocket as he types the passcode, looking up at the CEO as she stands.

“Finish up here if there’s more to say. I’ll go with Yoongi to his studio.”

---

You groan loudly as the automated doors behind you shut. Walking swiftly to the curbside, you begin surveying for a taxi, or a truck to hop into the back of never to be seen again. The one opportunity to speak to the CEO in front of others involved in Jimin’s album and none of them said a word in your favor. Your tongue clicks, waving an arm to catch the attention of a driver. It wasn’t like you truly expected any of them to speak for you, but all the words you prepared for the circumstantial moment crossed your mind. The fluid sentences and reasonings all turned into white noise when you actually willed yourself to attempt opening the gate into the topic. A wonder lingers if you even managed to budge it. Doubtful.

In the taxi, your phone vibrates systematically, and for a moment you worry that it’s someone calling to reprimand your behavior. Taking a breath, you pulled the device from your jeans, internally cursing at the clothing you wore that day. You hadn’t assumed you’d run into Yerin, but now that you had you wished at least that you dressed like someone charismatic enough to argue the credentials. The breath releases as Jimin’s contact I.D. flashes on your screen. The picture behind the notification a memory of an overnight trip the month earlier.

“Hey,” You answer him, turning your head to look at the passing buildings and avenues. “Did anyone say anything?”

“What, no.” He quickly interjects, as he walks down the hallway towards the balcony patio. Jimin says nothing about his manager muttering to the choreographer about the scene. “Did you get hurt bumping into Yoongi?”

“No, but I bet he hates me even more now.” You recall his surprised expression as your body ricocheted off his, as well as the other sparse times you interacted with him so far the past few weeks of his company’s merger with your own. None of them felt entirely positive, but you had other things to think about than his perception-- be it likely annoyed with you or otherwise. “I don’t know what I should do.” You sigh, while your hand grips onto the center armrest during a swift turn.

“I didn’t know you’d say something like that,” Jimin admits his thoughts, while sitting on a cold, metal chair overlooking the intersection six floors below. “Took me by surprise.”

You bite your lip at his softened tone, something about it creating a worry in your stomach, but you ignore it to joke it off. “Always looking for ways to make myself look like an idiot, Jimin. My talent.”

“That’s not true.” He frowns at his boots, free hand picking a loose thread on his sweater. “I just,” Jimin’s voice trails, considering the times this month you mentioned your contract coming to an end in the upcoming summer. Half a year or so away. Or half a year left. “I don’t know what you expected from it honestly.”

The cab comes to a stop in traffic half a block from your destination. You give a payment for the ride and exit early, dodging around the hood of a parked car. His words scrape along your temples, despite their simplicity. You pacify the meaning by attributing candidness.

“Sweetie,” Jimin knows he kicked a nerve, but he feels no desire to rephrase. “Did you go home?”

“No.” You mutter, shoving a hand into your pocket where it fiddles mindless with a tangled earbud wire. “I’m gonna go to Joon’s place for a bit.” You listen to him sigh, thinking it to sound relieved. Likely Jimin worried of your temperament following the incident, but knowing you were willing to go out somewhere public longer gives him a bit of positivity.

“How late will you be there? I think I’ll be able to leave by eight tonight.” The implications of his evident desire to meet blur in your mind. A tone of gentleness leads you to believe Jimin simply wanted to be with you. In the confines of your apartment or his. Where words can be said and actions crossed without a care about the company’s opinion.

“I’ll probably be home before that,” The amounts of paper scattered around your dining table from the past week of scrambling to finish by today’s meeting crosses through your mind. Then the disarray you assuredly left your bedroom in when leaving that morning. “It’s a mess.”

“I don’t care.” Jimin giggles, the sound sweet and healing compared to the previous topics of conversation. “I don’t have a schedule tomorrow,” He pauses, smiling on his end at the thought, “Can I stay over?”

In your mind you know this is one of the situations that you shouldn’t let concoct so simply, when the two of you have time and time again avoided definitions of what goes on between you both, even though it’s evidently deep care, never properly spoken of. You don’t bring it up as you reply in an instant, “Yeah.” And you’re smiling just as warmly as he is with the affirmation.

Your slow walk compliments the energy rising in your voice as the conversation with Jimin about the songs comes up. You bite your inner cheek, listening to him recall particular lines that he especially liked from certain songs. The people moving around you in the busy intercity take no presence, instead just reason for you to absently dodge around. The air skidding blotches against your cheeks is also forgotten, more intent spent on Jimin reinstating that you worked really hard and the pieces reflect that.

“Wow,” Namjoon shifts his jaw rested on his cheek as you enter the front door. “That’s a huge smile.” The phone is already put back in your jean pocket, the jovile goodbye said before you came into his cafe. Or bar, somewhat a bookstore; you still never really understood how he classifies the establishment overall.

“My songs went over well.” You explain giddy in step as you make it to the bar stool and sit onto your spot like usual. Namjoon stands leaning over the counter across from you, letting his employees handle the slow flow of customers at this odd middle hour of the afternoon.

“Like usual?” He raises an eyebrow, voice sufficiently light-hearted, yet sarcastic as though the idea of your work being taken otherwise was alien. “You’ll end up moving to two zipcodes down by the end of the year at this rate. Lucky.”

“Like you don’t rake up practically all the after-party customers from Jin’s club every weekend on top of your always booked party rooms for business lunches.” You watch with a still present smile as Namjoon only shrugs his shoulder. Completely aware that he himself made more than enough money for satisfaction.

“Minoring in marketing was a good idea after all. What can I say?” You both laugh softly, remembering when he would call you after his minor-specific classes to rant to you about how greedy some of the other students ideas were. “So they all got accepted this time around?”

“I’m pretty sure. Maybe not all for Jimin, but they’ll probably get used by other idols too.” You watch as he steps away to listen to your answer. Namjoon fills a few glasses of water to assist an employee scrambling to get enough cups for an abnormally large group just sat down.

“And,” He brushes off the thanks from the employee as she takes the tray of eight glasses before turning back towards you, “Are you going to be credited this time?”

At the question you pause. Curl in your lips straightens out and Yerin’s incontestable, harden statements fill your ears once more. Your finger curls against the gloss of his applewood countertops. You glance down.

“No then.” Namjoon frowns sympathetically, his face now pondering how else to go about changing that fact. He dismisses the ideastorm when you sigh,

“Maybe I should just get over that, right?” You think of years gone by where you didn’t question the lack of recognition publicized for your songwriting. It felt easy to be uncaring of it when you were in college able to pay practically all fees outright because of the massive influx of revenue from the job you weren’t expecting much from to begin with.

“Your contract is up for renewal this upcoming year. Why don’t you try and change the crediting clause then?”

“It...” You know he’s going to get irritated from the completion of your sentence, but you’re unable to stop yourself, “It’s better for the idols already established if it stays this way.”

“Jimin?”

You just bite your lip, unable to view the expression Namjoon has when you could already hear an absence of warmth in his voice. He sighs, reaching to rub his jaw while glancing to the party of business people breaking into laughter at their side of the cafe. He realizes the complexity built between you and Jimin, and feels irritated because he also knows he should’ve said more earlier on to stop it from becoming what it is.

“Other idols too.” Weakly spoken. Namjoon stops a scoff from the fact. “It’s better for the company too. If they end up having to explain why their groups and soloists suddenly stop creating their own songs then it’s going to look bad.”

“Then they can just start writing their own stuff like they’re already pretending to.” Your head perks up from the quickness of his reply, and you watch him adjust his shirt as he starts walking down the bar. “I’ll be right back.”

You release a longer sigh while he goes to chat with the group of patrons. Truth of the matter exists in Namjoon’s cander. Even if you originally were okay with not being involved in the credit, the fact is that so many idols at this point had their names written into the slot instead, pretending to be self-sufficient and creative when more often than not it was all due to your own pen.

“Did you want something to eat or drink, Ms.?” The original waitress tending to the group of businessman stepped towards you with a smile.

“You really don’t have to call me that.” You say for a countless time to the girl whose been working here for more than a year at this point. She knows you’re friends with Namjoon, and granted he’s her boss, but the formality never settles for you. She only shrugs, and you dismiss the idea of changing her ways again. “Just a latte is fine, thanks, Jinsol.”

You’re left with only a few moments to contemplate the song issue before Namjoon returns with a scoff as he rolls his sleeves up his forearms.

“Sometimes I really hate having to be professional.” He mutters, taking his half-empty glass of water and drinking it while you raise an eyebrow. His eyes are still focused with an irritated gleam at the group of men somewhere behind you. You turn on the stool to look back as well, noting their posture is more rigid than you thought it would be from their earlier disposition.

“Jerks?” You ask, facing Namjoon once more. He nods,

“Have to be creepy when Jinsol’s just trying to do her job.” Namjoon says at a normal volume, easy to hear across the room if they were trying to listen in. He doesn’t care, just places his empty dish into the bin below the counter to be cleaned later. “Anyways,” He averts his gaze back to you, flooding your perception with his determined yet soft stare, “You shouldn’t leave it like it is. You deserve credit. It’s long overdue.”

“If you heard how the CEO shut the idea down, I don’t think you’d be saying that.” You thank Jinsol when she reaches between you both only to settle the ceramic filled with just enough foam in front of you and saunter off once more to the group of businessmen with hot drinks for them as well. “She’s not going to budge.”

“Then quit.”

You laugh even though he’s somewhat meaningful in the option. You’re unable to stop from shaking your head at the incredulousness of the idea. “I’m not that loaded that I can retire already.”

“Go work somewhere else.” Namjoon then offers, watching with his lip dragging between his teeth when you begin frowning.

“Getting a job where I’m at was my lottery, Joon.” You return your eyes to the polish of the reddened wood, “I have nothing to put on my resume for experience that would get me anything great at another company, and trying to work independent sounds like asking for disaster.”

You both loiter in the following silence, Namjoon sympathetic and you annoyed about the entirety of the situation. If back when you sold the first song, disregarding the legality clauses in favor of the couple hundred dollars, you considered the implication of your casualness to the transaction, then maybe when you got a call the following month to go directly to the company for a meeting about further work you wouldn’t have been so easy to convince. Yerin was avid in her praises of the track’s success in the recording session, and you were shocked when she told you there was chart-topping anticipation from it. Of course it felt easy to sign your name on the dotted line when she told you there would undoubtedly be more with continued work.

“Namjoon!” The voice startles you, making your grip tense around the untouched latte. Namjoon huffs in his own surprise, while glaring at Seokjin walking into the establishment and disrupting the overall quiet the place had settled into. “I need to talk to you about the event happening this weekend.” Seokjin continues while you finally take the first sip into the foam atop the espresso. He sits beside you, waving his hand with a smile, “Hey, Y/N, didn’t expect to see you.”

“Just stopped in for a drink.” You smile in return, humored by his casual sweatpants and hoodie despite his position owning the popular club at the corner of the street.

“Spiked?” He raises an eyebrow, knowing the most popular sellers in Namjoon’s coffee selection where those with alcohol hidden in the flavors of vanillas and mochas.

“Maybe it should be.” You sigh, ignoring Namjoon’s rolling eyes. “Don’t let me interrupt your talk, I’m just going to finish this and get out of here.”

“No need to rush; he probably just wants to ask me if he can sleep upstairs.” Namjoon steps to lean against the counter behind him, crossing arms comfortably across his waist. Seokjin points at his statement with a finger, nodding his head,

“That.” You laugh beside him, while Namjoon just scoffs familiarly. “And I wanted to see if there was a meeting room here available that evening for a friend that’s going to be in and out of the club that night.” You gingerly drink at your warm beverage while Namjoon’s head tilts inquisitively.

“You’re not trying to get laid here are you-”

“Clearly not.” Seokjin rests his chin on his palm, “Why would I try for that on your tables anyways? People I don’t know have eaten on them.” You nodded at the fact beside him, thinking the reasoning made sense while Namjoon cut in incredulously,

“That is the only issue with it? I keep the tables clean.”

“It’s not about sex anyways!” Seokjin shuts down in a firm exclamation. You glance back at the businessmen who were evidently confused about the conversation between the two beside you. You take a larger gulp, more than halfway through with the latte at this point, and ready to skip out to avoid whatever your friends were about to discuss blatantly. “The guy just wants a place to chill in between time spent at the club.” He goes on, the motions with his hands emphasizing the need for Namjoon to accept. “I kind of owe him, and you kind of owe me--” Namjoon opens his mouth before Seokjin’s arm shoots out into the air to silence him, “Actually! Let’s all pretend we don’t owe each other anything and do things like this out of the goodness of our hearts.”

“I like that you changed the reasoning halfway through.” Namjoon laughs, rubbing his jaw, pondering the request silently until you speak up,

“I’m going to head out.” The two turn their heads towards you as your cup clacks gently against the saucer. You slide off the high chair, as Seokjin comments curiously,

“Some of the people from your work are going, you too?” You grimace which is answer enough for him as he begins laughing from your reaction. “Come on though; weekend before New Year’s should be sort of fun, right?”

---

Your pen makes dots in the corner of crisp paper. Feet dangling from your seat, while you think of the upcoming weekend. Jimin would more likely than not go to the club if a lot of the other employees were. Whether he actually had an interest in attending events like those or not, you weren’t entirely sure. Obligation seemed to be the word, but you doubted he hated it entirely as you recall other parties and team bonding experiences the two of you had ended up at. He was amicable with all of them, friendlier to particular people, but you’ve never known anyone to have problems with him.

Though you were never really needed at those occasions.

“Working on something?” Jimin’s voice is close, then in your vision as he leans over your shoulder to look at the unstarted piece. “Or not?” He giggles when you groan, resting your head back against his shoulder. His skin glows from the revitalization of a shower, and his locks of hair are still stuck together in their dampness.

“I was going to start something, but then I started thinking about random things.” You shrug, but smile as his lips find your cheek in a soft kiss.

“That’s fine. You should take the night off from it all anyways,” His hand tangles over yours to cause the release of the pen from your appendage. “Want to watch a movie, or something?”

“Okay,” You adjust on the chair, pecking his lips with your own, leaving them to see a smile as you continue, “Let me go take a shower too though; kind of need it.” He chuckles, kissing you again longer, his thumb rubbing gently against your knuckles,

“Should’ve took one together,” Jimin states with playful bluntness, while you get up from your chair. You eye him knowingly. He is completely aware of how far away the concept of a shower would’ve drifted if you both went in following an already lustful exchange on the mess you left your bed in. “Save water.” Innocent smile, that didn’t match the gleam in his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s why.” You pat his chest, leaving your hand there when he catches it. His stare falls over your figure: legs extending bare beneath his button-up shirt that he had entered the apartment wearing.

“You’re really beautiful, you know that?” Jimin steps closer, and you do nothing to stop gentle ministrations of his lips on yours. Followed by a scattered trail on every inch of heated, fond skin, fueled from your fingertips flexing against his abdomen and the light gasp when the plumpness of his mouth passes over an already sensitive reddened blotch on your neck. He squeezes your waist, wrinkling the fabric uncaringly while his lips remain there, only pressing a lingering kiss. You bite your lip, a sigh drifts out when he moves again, finding your collarbone, all too close to the rising beat of your heart. “Movie?” He asks then nips gingerly with his teeth to smirk as you writhe. Your nails drag against his firm muscles and he groans against you.

“Yeah,” You say in a breath, though your legs tremble slightly from his actions and the ones already transpired. “I want to spend time with you.”

“Yeah?” Jimin’s voice comes out in grain, seeming happily surprised by your statement. Your body presses to his as he hugs you, smiling against your shoulder. “You’re adorable,” A whisper lost on your skin. The embrace tightens as your arms make it around his waist. “Movie it is then.”

In a matter of a half hour, you exit your bathroom cozily engulfed in an old shirt and sweatpants to find Jimin stretched on the bed. His fingers tap quickly against his phone, focus aiming at whatever app was open. You sit beside him, reaching over his waist for the package of cookies retrieved from the kitchen.

“Work?”

“One of the members of the group that just debuted over the fall,” He explains, glancing to you with a humored grin as you fit the entirety of the small sweet into your mouth. “Don’t choke.”

“Don’t eat all of my cookies.” You counter between crunches, a hand straying to glide rifts in his brightly pink hair.

“I can’t help it; the package was open, and they were there, how was I supposed to stop?” His head leans into your hand. Jimin tosses his phone beside him. “Anyways, he wanted to know if I was going to the club thing this weekend.”

“Are you?” You ask before thinking. Something about the event seemed distant from you, unspoken of by the colleagues you run into around the company. Dodged from your ears perhaps. Jimin shrugs as he moves to snake arms around your waist and puzzle himself against you.

“Yeah, because a lot of the people from the company merging with ours are going. My manager thinks it’d be a good way to get connected with them all.” His fingers are light in their strokes along your back, a yawn slipping from his lips while your nose finds purchase nuzzling peacefully against his neck. “What about you, darling? Are you going to join me?”

Your mind startles from Jimin’s inquisition, unbeknownst to him as he continues in massaging streams along your back. While time and time again you attended company and social functions where he would go, and the same vice versa, neither of you brought up events in a way that implies going as a couple. Because you and Jimin are not.

“Like go to it with you?” Your voice tests the connotation of his words in a murmur that you hope he doesn’t hear any longing in. You’re aware of the reality, you don’t hide from it or ignore it, so you wonder why your throat feels hollow in the way it did at the meeting that day when Jimin answers,

“We can meet up there.”

You smile. The same page. You read the outcome before Jimin spoke it. The relationship has always been on the blur for each other’s benefit. The emotional attachment ends at platonic, and other occasional circumstances are in the moment for fun. The way it’s always been since you made the rule to counter the shock in Jimin’s eyes more than a year ago at this point.

“Dunno if I want to go.” Less so at his offer. You believe it unfair to think in this way, but on the same list of why not attend the party you recall the blemish in your reputation currently sporting from your attempted divergence from normalcy that noon. Like you needed the stares from other employees.

“I,” Jimin says then stops, biting his inner cheek. You hear the hesitation and glance up at him to view his eyes cast aimless at your ceiling. Clouded mind. You lift yourself from his loosened hold, locking gaze when he checks to see what you’re doing. With your forearm stabilizing a small portion of your weight against his chest, you lean pecking his lips with your own. He remains quiet, watching and wondering if you possibly missed his almost sentence despite the stillness of your apartment. You kiss again, more languid and drawn out, letting time carry the word away from the present.

“Let’s watch something funny.” You bring back the movie topic, smiling as you raise yourself to search for the remote. “Or I’ve been kind of wanting to rewatch The Incredibles, is that fine?” You take his soft chuckle as affirmation before he says yes a second later, and your eyes keep focus on the television when you turn around.

Coaxing the sealed words out of him isn’t worth the argument, or worse.

if you enjoy please, please let me know! i hope you enjoy the series, i’m working really hard on it! : )

tag list (send an ask to be added): @jaiuneamesolitaiire

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choccos-aaart · 3 years

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Learn stuff about the story of April and friends!

>>BASE<<

[SPOILER WARNING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED?!] Also this is a LONG post -Chocco

LAST UPDATE: 13.07.2021

Random Facts Story Meme By ~PhoenixTorque If you're looking for a serious meme, you're in the wrong place! This is meant for original fiction, although it might work for fanfiction as well. It can be done with as many or as few spoilers as you wish, so feel free to skip over a question if you don't want to spoil things for potential readers. So pick a story and get started!

So, what's your story called? Like hell I know! XD It’s gone through multiple changes, but right now I’ve got “Poject: Proclo.” Despite me growing used to it, I’m not very proud of it...

Did you have any early/working titles? Yes! (It’s very embarrassing, though...)

Cloronve Niathea (2016-2017) - I jumbled up a bunch of words just so I could claim a tag

The Cloronia (2018?-2019) - I thought the 2016 one was stupid

Project: Clonerion (2019-2020) - I thought the early 2019 one was stupid.

Project: Proclo (2020-2021?) - I thought the 2020 one fell into this “definitely could have a definition in English which makes no sense in this context” trap

Project: WHAT THE HELL?!

Why did you choose the final title? It’s titled “Steel House in the Prairie”!

Keeping this answer because I thought it was funny: “I didn’t! I don’t even have one that’s confirmed, yet!”

Was it easy or hard to choose a title? It’s pretty damn hard, I’ll tell you that

Who's the protagonist? Some cyborg kid named April

Why are they the protagonist, and not someone else? Well, here’s multiple things that tick off...

Audience knows just as much about the situation she finds herself in as she does

She undergoes major development, especially in relation to the other characters and in regards to the story’s main themes

She goes through situations that miraculously make her do protagonist things

ETC!!! XD

Are they a hero or everyperson? April’s an ambitiousless everyperson that just so happens to know how to fight.

What's their job? April’s only 15! And she hates being seen in the public, anyway! XD

Do they have a sidekick? Best Friend? April does make good friends with Pillia and Matro who technically do become her first best friends/sidekicks in her whole protag/hero journey

Do they have a love interest? Rivals fighting for their affection? A harem that hangs on their every word? Nope!

Is there a secondary protagonist? Who? I wouldn’t say, necessarily.

The main antagonist? Sad man Skatra XD Doc and co. seems like one at first, but it turns out that they’re also on the same side as April, too.

What do they have against the protagonist? Well, Mr Skatra’s got a goal, right? And April’s pretty much getting in the way of that goal. (Duhh!) Also, he and April are thematic opposites (Like hell I’m revealing this out to the public, tho XD) And also, April’s past has done some major damage to Skatra’s past (yeah, I know. Fiction just so happens to have coincidences like these, but c’mon. Fiction is an art.)

Are they a loner, or do they have a second-in-command? Mr Skatra works very closely with his daughter, Eyn!

Villain with good or bad publicity? Skatra’s got no publicity lol! (All seriousness, people are pretty indifferent to him. But that’s because he hasn’t achieved his goal, yet...)

Sure, but who REALLY runs the plot? Let’s face it. Skatra’s practically the reason for everything major in this story.

Who's the most important character not on this list? Why are they important? Doc/Sarlife hasn’t really been in a direct answer to any of these questions yet. They’re important because not only do they make a huge part of Skatra’s first conflicting side to begin with, but they also have their fair share of importance in the themes of the story, too.

Who's the least important character that you pay attention to? Probably Matro. He’s one of April’s friends, yeah, but the most important thing he does in the main storyline so far is just transport our characters XD

What's the most prominent canon ship? Well, I’ve nobody that’s really canon, yet. Unless Eyn’s slight crush on Pillia at the start counts. It’s not really that important. But I feel like I’ll hint it throughout the story. (Good luck on getting her, Eyn! Must hurt when you learn you’re on opposite sides, huh.)

Any other ships? Aside from Eyn’s small crush, there’s no other main characters that are canonically together.

Any noncanon crack!pairings you would read/consider writing? OH BOY. Alright, here’s a list of my bets:

April + Eyn - Everyone loves that good rivals/protag+antag pair. How can you get any better than that? They even start off thinking they’re gonna be great friends at the start (which is actually kinda sad...)

Matro + Farqua - They bicker quite a bit at the start, but they slowly regain their friendship as the story goes on. Classify them as rivals, if you want. And also, Farqua’s the one that works for Skatra, so there’s some good guy/bad guy stuff going on. BONUS: They’re red and blue with some major height difference, as well!!!

Doc + Wyra - These two consider each other pretty close and as close as they are, you’ll find Wyra teasing Doc a bit, too. That’s usually a joy to watch. They’re also your typical brawn + brains duo. Also, there’s the serious business + ball of energy there. I think this one’s sweet.

April + Pillia - Pillia’s probably April’s strongest relationship out of everyone in the story. She practically becomes April’s sidekick. Pillia’s good at turning trash into treasure, which means she can turn April into something great, too.

Matro + Doc - I’ve made sure that it looks as if they’ve been friends for ages. Matro even gets really upset after learning that Doc’s gone totally nuts. When Doc does end up joining forces with team April, Matro’s obviously got mixed feelings on the situation (considering what Doc’s done), but still wants to maintain their friendship as much as possible.

Doc + Skatra - Here are two of April’s main antagonists, so that’s a start. Also, despite being on opposing sides of the situation, Doc doesn’t necessarily see Skatra as an enemy, they see him as someone who needs help. Although trying to stop Skatra, Doc’s trying to find the best possible way out of the situation for this guy. This probably the more angstier ones, of the bunch.

Pillia + Ida - I’ve stated early in the script that these two are close friends. I haven’t had a phase yet where I’ve developed them as much as the others, but they’re the ones that are left, so I’m expecting some, soon. I’m probably gonna base some of their interaction off of Lister and Kryten from Red Dwarf, especially >>This Scene<<

Sorry, Eyn, Skatra, Ida, and Wyra, you’re all lonely as hell XD (don’t worry, I’m aroace XD)

Who is your favorite character to write? Tough one between Matro and Farqua.

Who is your least favorite character to write? Not that I’ve got a least favourite to write, but as of now, I’ve worked with Ida the least out of the main cast. (Sorry! I’ll get to you soon, I promise!!!)

Which character is the most cooperative? Ida, probably. She’s actually the most bored.

Which character is the least friendly? Doc, no matter how much they try to be.

Which character would you most want to meet in a bar? Matro seems the most fun to get drunk with! With his guitar, especially.

Which character would you least want to meet in a dark alleyway? Eyn. Especially in her Axel Duiti outfit!

How many characters are there total? I’m not counting. But, there are three main focus characters, and six other secondary characters!

How many are allied with the heroes? Out of the main characters, it starts off with three, then six, then seven.

How many are allied with the villains? Out of the main, it starts off seeming to be six, in actuality is three, then just two.

How many hate both of them? Oh... Uh... IDK I’ll write that later XD (Well, the situation’s trying to be as private as possible)

How many refuse to pick a side? Ida seems to have the most side struggles out of everyone. Farqua’s unwillingly pulled apart in all directions, too.

How large is the core cast (in 80-90% of the scenes)? Dunno excactly how to calculate much XD Let’s hope it’s a decent number.

Be honest—how many characters are actually important? Let’s hope all nine of them do something!

When does the story take place? Likely far future (probably not in this universe, though!)

Where does it take place? Lightyears away from Earth, in the Piarosar system

Would you want to live there? If it weren’t for the war, then yeah. Seems pretty cool.

Does your story end in the same place it starts? This part of the story, yes. I plan for it to be part of a bigger story.

What/whose POV is the story told from? It’s in script form! Well, mostly from April’s point of view.

If not omniscient, whose thoughts would have the most spoilers? Skatra and Doc’s!

What genre is your story? Sci-fi, action, & adventure (despite being set inside a building. Well, it’s a massive one, though...)

Where in a library would you file it? Sci-fi. Duhh.

What format are you writing it in? Script! (For a comic)

What format do you wish you could write it in? Still script! For an animated series!

Would you be for or against a movie? It’s better suited for a series. But hell yeah, that’d be cool.

Indie flick or multi-million blockbuster? An indie project. Don’t want it too big, you know...

Write a nice, long description about the story: (Done that) “April is a cyborg kid who finds a large, mysterious building when she gets lost in a prairie. She learns that the main entrance of the place is totally out of the question, so she tries finding her way in from above. Too bad that she can't get out from where she came from, and now she's forced to find another way out.

April then later discovers that inside the building is a community of robots and different races of creatures. Some even decide to help her on her little journey outside the building in the safest way possible. Unfortunately, it also turns out that some couple randos' got some sort of weird deal with April and they clearly don't like her.

Even worse, It also turns out that the building has problems of its own. Robots are disappearing from their homeplaces and so are some of the rest of the people. If this keeps up, soon nobody will be there to keep to the building and its people. And when April finds out what exactly's been going on, there lies the chance that maybe she could do a large part in preventing a major catastrophe that'll take place if nothing's done. And get this. It's not just the building that gets it. Good thing April's not that big a scumbag to not do anything about it.”

That sounds interesting, but can you cut it to under 200 words for the back cover? A sci-fi about a cyborg kid who gets stuck inside a mysterious, giant building after getting lost far outside the city. Upon her arrival in the building, it turns out that her goal isn't just to escape and make her way back home, but to also somehow prevent a huge catastrophe that awaits if she doesn't do anything. Good thing she isn't that big a scumbag.

Quick! Write a 200-character-or-less (with spaces) teaser (think ff.net)! Now give us a catchy tagline for promotional material! A cyborg kid gets stuck inside a mysterious, giant building in the middle of nowhere. Turns out that her goal isn't just to escape, but to also prevent some huge catastrophe from happening.

Is there magic? Maybe? (Really depends what characters I introduce and where they’re fro) Time travel? In a way, this happens. Psychic powers? Nop. Talking animals? No. If I count the aliens, that’s kinda insensitive lol! Pajamas? Not exactly? Different dimensions/realms? Not necessarily. More like they explore our reality. Aliens? Yes! High school? Our protag’s in year 9? Poison? Sorta Dragons? No... Cake? Not many of the main cast can actually eat XD Large guns? O.O?!!!!! Children? Yeah, that’s like almost half the main cast Ninjas? Nope XD Large cities? Not really Advanced science? Yep! Teenagers? Yep! War? In the background, but I might explore this some more in future... Faeries? Nope... Corrupt government? I guess???????? Romance? Nope! XD Witches or Wizards? Nop Spaceships? Maybeeeee Fanservice? In a sense where it means “thing that isn’t necessary for the story, but just to make fans happy”, probably when the alternate versions of the characters pay a visit Ridiculously long names? Hm....... IDK An old, wise mentor? Not in that sense... Swords? Uhh... No??? Internet? Yeah, Housewives? No I guess lol Conspiracies? ??? Overprotective parents? WEll, sorta I guess Revolutions? I don’t recall that idea coming :P Scented soap? I WISH Stuff blowing up? YEHA Monkeys? Idk? Not here?? A happy ending? YeaH?!?!??? Sorta. How much of the story have you finished? More planning than actual writing tbh

How much of the storyline have you decided on? A lot of the skeleton, now just the actual in betweens

About how long is it? Pretty long. IIt;s actually a part of a bigger thing.

How long is it in-story from beginning to end (flashbacks don't count)? LONG>

Do you ever think it will be finished? YES> DON’T DOUBT ME Anything else you'd like to add? I’m good!

#Chocco's OCs #Project: Proclo #Chocco's info dumps #Chocco does memes #Chocco's writing #Cloronve Niathea

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rosesisupposes · 5 years

Text

Every Tainted Soul

Part 4 of Another Goddamn Hero Story

read on ao3

Chapter Pairings: Platonic Analogical, Platonic Royality, Pre-Romantic Prinxiety,

Chapter Warnings: Descriptions of violence/fighting, forced asphyxiation, threats

Word Count: 3,404

Taglist: @residentanchor @royally-anxious @bewarethegrammarpolice @nightmarebeforevirgil @jemthebookworm @arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt @astral-eclipse @thelowlysatsuma @monsterinatophat @turtally-pawsome @um-yes-hi-hello @idkaurl

Chapter Notes: So, it’s been a minute since the last update, and several ideas for this AU have shifted, particularly in regards to endgame relationships. But I’m still very excited for future reveals and fully intend to finish this story.

~~~~~~~~~

There were some upsides to having a partner whose power was super speed. He and Logan always made it to Virgil’s favorite diner before it closed, they almost never had a non-speedster villain or criminal escape them, and racing him was actually a fun challenge.

The biggest downside, however, was Logan’s astounding lack of patience with any form of waiting. Unfortunately for them both, staking out the mysterious villains involved quite a lot of waiting.

The terrain was familiar, at least. The Harmony City Enhanced Ability Regulation and Training School was where Logan and Virgil had met almost 10 years ago. Better known as HEARTS or “the super school,” the building was an institution dedicated to helping young people learn how to understand, use, and control the abilities they were born with or acquired. But some students were younger than others. Logan, of course, had been enrolled the minute his powers manifested at seven years old. But Virgil hadn’t been enrolled until he was fifteen because that’s when his moms had finally heard of it. Well, that, and the other reason.

Logan was sitting on the low entrance wall, bouncing his leg in boredom. Virgil lounged on top of the roof, in theory keeping a lookout, but in practice he was just picking up tiny pebbles to toss at his best friend to see if the jittery leg was moving so fast that projectiles went through it. It was these small expressions of his friend’s ability that fascinated Virgil. His own powers didn’t do anything small, unless you counted floating in midair or lifting cars with ease “small.”

Another pebble fell through the vibrating leg. Without looking up, Logan said, “Virgil, I’m still aware of that, even if I can’t feel it.”

“Yeah, but it’s funny.”

“Regardless of your entertainment value, I’d rather you-”

“Heads up!” Virgil interrupted, leaping to standing. He pointed towards the city, where two forms were flying across the bay towards the island. “We’ll hide and watch?”

“I’ll take the first two floors, you take roof down to three,” Logan said, speeding into the building.

Virgil ducked behind a vent on the roof to watch the approach of the two forms. From the footage they’d been shown, he was confident that these were indeed the Crimson Marauder and Gale Force, the scourges of Harmony City, responsible for untold numbers of crimes and attacks. So why were they flying in loop-de-loops around each other as they approached?

Keeping his head low, Virgil watched as Gale Force spun around his companion once more then dropped to the ground. Good, Logan would be covering the ground floor and would be ready to counter his plans below. Crimson Marauder floated up to the roof, however, and Virgil tensed, not wanting to attack until he knew what they were up to.

It didn’t take long to find out. The villain pushed back his red-and-black cape with a flourish and started creating constructs on the roof in front of him. He seemed strangely at ease, which confused Virgil. Had the villains somehow discovered that there was an excursion that had emptied out the school for the day? Pushing aside distraction, Virgil narrowed his eyes at the items the villain was assembling. He recognized the components of a bomb when he saw one. He leapt out of his hiding place to land directly in front of where the villain continued to combine his glowing red constructs.

“Stop right there.”

Roman looked up, blinking from the rays of the setting sun. Outlined in light stood a dark-clad hero glaring down at him. His eyes met cold hazel eyes surrounded by a mask and he froze in place. His eyes roved down to muscled shoulders over even more muscled arms, to a trim waist and sharply defined V that was visible even through the man’s costume.

Oh fuck me, Roman thought as his mouth went dry, this one’s hot.

“Did you hear me? Stop and back away from the bomb,” the hero said sharply. Roman lifted his hands, keeping them visible as he smiled.

“I’ll stop, but clearly there’s more than one bomb here.”

The tall hero looked at the villain sharply. “What do you mean? How many have you planted? Does your partner have more?”

“Nope,” Roman replied with a grin. “It’s your butt. Your butt is the bomb.”

The hero rolled his eyes. “And yet my ass has no intention of blowing up a school anytime soon. Break down the constructs now, and no one gets hurt.”

Roman pouted. “But it took so much practice to get them right, Mr. Tall, Dark, & Stormy. Aren’t you impressed?”

“Not in the slightest, Red Light District.” The hero took a step closer, ready to grab the villain if he tried to flee. “I know you can make them disappear. Get on it.”

Roman gasped in indignation at the nickname. “Excuse you, that’s Red Hard Light District to you.”

“Oh I bet you are,” the hero replied with a smirk, advancing ever closer. Virgil as a civilian was never able to flirt, but when he was in character as Reflex, most of his shyness melted away. If he was able to use flirtation instead of violence to capture this villain, all the better. And it appeared to be working. The construct-dynamite was fading away the closer Virgil got, and the villain’s eyes were huge underneath his mask. He was pretty sure he’d even heard the other man gulp audibly. This was going to be easy, for once.

That was when he heard the thwump of compressed air and felt the entire building shake. The sound had come from the lower floors. Where Logan was. Fuck.

Roman used the hero’s momentary distraction to jump off the roof and fly to meet his partner. His descent was immediately halted as he was jerked to a halt by his cape. He twisted to look up at Reflex leaning over the side of the roof, casually holding him back against all Roman’s effort to get away.

“Going so soon? I thought we had something special here, Marauder.”

“Sadly, I’m already committed to another,” Roman replied loftily. “You heroes think you can just flutter an eyelash and turn any poor man’s heart, but you won’t defeat me with your muscled wiles.”

Virgil shrugged. “Guess I won’t, then.” He tugged at the fabric and pulled Roman back onto the roof easily. He proceeded to tie the villain to a radiator using his own cape, ignoring the offended squawks. “Looks like all I needed was just the muscles.”

Roman scowled, and wiggled his hand just enough to make a construct of a rope that snaked out to knock the hero off the roof. Virgil saw it coming and faked a yawn as he stepped into mid-air to dodge it, then tightened the knot. Flicking the bound villain a lazy two-fingered salute, he jumped into the air to fly down to the site of the earlier explosion.

~~~~~~~~~

Logan wasn’t able to see the villains’ approach from where he was tensed inside the school building. The long hallways may as well have been tailored to his power, though. Unfettered, he could easily speed from entrance to entrance, and classrooms offered convenient hiding spots. He listened hard, adjusting his goggles as he picked up on sounds of the front doors opening and wind rushing in. He frowned as he realized that he didn’t hear any footsteps. Both villains could fly, but why take such precaution unless they knew they were expected?

He risked a peek out of the classroom and immediately spotted Gale Force floating his way down the hall, carrying some sort of red device. Unfortunately, the villain noticed Logan at the same moment.

“Well hey there! You must be the welcoming committee!”

Logan stepped out into the hallway, standing directly in Gale Force’s path. “You’re mistaken. I’m a superhero, here to prevent you from any plots you may have for this school.”

“Don’t you mean mist-taken?” The villain said with a chuckle, cooling the air around him into a tiny cloud of moisture.

Logan groaned internally. Not only was Gale Force an unknown quantity who flouted the norms of supers by not wearing a mask, he was a punster too?

“What is that device you’re carrying? What are your intentions here?” he asked, voice clipped.

“Oh, nothing you need to worry about!” the freckled villain said brightly. “Just gonna blow this super-school Sky High!”

Logan froze, his brain still catching up with the reality of the villain’s words. The stark dichotomy of the threat to blow up the school with the happy tone and more goddamn puns. The universe just had to curse him with a villain whose sense of humor was identical to his father’s, didn’t it.

“Um, you - you know I’m going to have to stop you, right?” Logan said, scrambling to regain his mental footing. “You can’t destroy this school. Too many children and young adults rely on it. It’s too important to the city.”

The villain’s smiling face darkened for such a brief moment Logan thought he’d imagined it. But when he spoke again, there was a new heat to his sunny tone, and Logan knew something he’d said had hit a nerve.

“I’m really sorry there, kiddo, but I’m gonna have to do this anyway. Sometimes life can be a little messy and complicated! Don’t you worry about it,” he finished with a huge grin. The winds around him picked up as he flew down the hall towards the basement stairs.

With a thought, Logan was speeding down the hall to grab the device, whatever it was, out of the villain’s hands. In a blur, he snagged it and passed the air manipulator completely. He stopped and turned to face his opponent, braced and tensed to move or dodge.

Gale Force still faced Logan’s original location with his back to the hero. He’d flinched as the device was snatched out of his hands but still stared into empty space.

“...a speedster, huh?” he said softly. “How… convenient that must be.”

Logan had to strain to hear the villain’s mutters, but something in the air had shifted. He could practically feel waves of chill emanating from the villain’s form. The back of his neck prickled with unplaced discomfort as he waited for his opponent’s next move.

It came without warning. One minute Gale Force was staring away, seemingly glued to the spot, and the next he had spun to face Logan and a funnel of wind was screeching towards him. Logan zipped to the side, only barely dodging despite his inhuman speed. The full force of the air thudded into the wall, and Logan could feel the whole building shake. He raced to pass the villain again, hoping to get out of his wind range, or at least frustrate it. He felt the cutting wind following just on his heels as he evaded another attack.

“Look at you,” Gale Force commented cheerily. His smile was stretched tight across his face, baring his teeth in a decidedly un-friendly way. “Running like the wind.”

Logan’s attention was caught by the pun and held for just a moment against an opponent where ‘just a moment’ made all the difference. His focus wavered, and the villain’s wind caught him. The funnel twisted around him, pinning his arms to his sides and trapping him in place. Harsh air spun around his face and body. If he hadn’t had his goggles, his eyes would have been tearing up. As it was, he found it harder and harder to breath as the force of the wind slowly cut off the air from entering his lungs.

“Hey there, Vectorious. Looks like you might need a Doctor,” the villain said happily. Logan struggled to free himself, but the edges of his vision were starting to go black. He needed to focus to run, but he couldn’t focus. He couldn’t breathe.

A purple-and-white blur appeared in the air as Virgil sped through the door to collide with Gale Force, knocking him out of midair. At the moment of impact, the air trapping Logan lost its strength, and he fell to his knees, gasping. His first thought was the explosive that he’d grabbed from the villain. Luckily, it was near him. As oxygen brought back his normal thought processes, he disassembled the construct bomb in a blur. Threat destroyed, he looked for his partner. Virgil and Gale Force had apparently busted straight through a wall, as Logan could hear the sounds of blows being exchanged through the hole in the brick wall.

He ran outside after them to see Virgil standing on the roof, in between Gale Force and the Crimson Marauder. The latter was bound by his own cape. Logan snorted. This was why he thought the costume accoutrements were so impractical, and kept urging Virgil to do away with his.

“Hey, let my partner go!” Gale Force shouted.

“He’s under arrest for the attempted sabotage of a school,” Virgil replied coolly. “And you are, too. Stand down, or the drama queen here gets hurt.”

The bound villain scowled. “Just like a hero, isn’t he, Pat?”

“Just like.”

“You should be very offended on my behalf and do something about it.”

Virgil had just a moment to dodge as Gale Force barrelled towards him, heating the air around him as he went. His breezes untangled the Marauder’s cape as he flew over. Freed, both villains wheeled into the sky.

Virgil almost chased them, but caught sight of Logan still standing shakily on the ground. He flew down.

“You okay, Lo?”

“I’m… a little out of breath still. Thank you for your timing - I was starting to lose feeling.”

Virgil hugged the man tightly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner. But I’m glad you’re okay.”

Logan hugged back. Physical affection wasn’t his strong suit, but with Virgil it was always okay.

“Can you believe Gale Force? No mask, and the Marauder is just tossing his name around. Pat or something?” Virgil asked as they parted.

“Yeah. He’s a cold one for all the smiles and jokes. Quite unsettling.” Checking the sun’s position, Logan offered, “I think it’s time we fill the Mayor in on what we’ve learned about our city’s newest supervillains. Maybe he’ll have some more research for us, as well.”

Virgil nodded and tapped his watch to let City Hall know they were on their way, and sent a call for repairs of the school. “Are you okay to run, Lo? Or do you need a lift?”

Logan grimaced. “You know I hate being carried but… I am still a bit unsteady. I won’t be able to cross the water in my present state.”

Virgil turned and kneeled, letting Logan throw his arms around his neck and loop his legs around his waist. With his friend riding piggyback, Virgil leapt into the air and flew over the harbor towards the mainland.

~~~~~~~~~

Joan and Talyn were already waiting for the heroes when Virgil flew in the office window. Both looked concerned as Virgil gently deposited Logan on a chair.

“Fuck, is he okay?” the mayor asked.

Logan nodded. “I will be. We finally encountered Gale Force and the Crimson Marauder. Gale Force is… powerful. The incident you mentioned from last week, with the sidekick Emerald Prodigy, was clearly not an anomaly. While I’m recovering now, if Virgil’s timing had been just a bit slower, I might have had lasting side effects from the air deprivation.”

Talyn, their hair a bright orange today, frowned and tapped a pen against their mouth. “Did you speak with either of them? Any idea of motivation?”

“Gale Force uses an unsettling number of puns and then went into fight mode very easily,” Logan began.

A page from Joan’s executive assistant interrupted them all.

“Swallowtail to see you, Mayor Stokes!”

“Send him in!” Joan said through the intercom. The door opened to reveal a short black man who grinned as he saw the mayor’s company.

“Terrence!” Virgil cried happily, crossing the room in three long strides to greet his fellow hero. He swept him up in a huge bear hug that lifted the much-shorter man completely off the ground.

Logan hung back, though he had a matching smile. Terrence had graduated HEARTS in the same year, and they’d been good friends despite their three-year age difference. Terrence had also been one of the first other heroes to become friends with Virgil when he’d enrolled at the school, and they remained close.

“What brings you in today?” Talyn asked as Virgil deposited Terrence back on his feet.

“Research! I heard you two tangled with the new team today,” Terrence replied. “As the resident villain enthusiast, I gotta know more. And maybe I can help with some background for next time.”

Virgil nodded. “So the biggest thing we learned is that Gale Force can go stone-cold in a second, and his name is ‘Pat.’ I also learned that the Marauder is uh. Super gay.”

“V, you do know that probably means he’s regular gay, right?” Logan asked, rolling his eyes. “You tend to have that effect on everyone who’s attracted to men.”

Virgil scratched his neck. “Oh. I do?”

Joan cut in, also rolling his eyes. “Super strength, super flight, and super oblivious. Yes, Virge. I’ve had to remind the building staff not to ask out any of our supers five times more since you officially joined.”

“Anyway,” Talyn started, glaring at their partner.

“Anygay,” Joan whispered.

“This is just more information to add to what we already know about the Marauder and his past. We even knew his name is Roman, though the family name remains a mystery.”

Virgil frowned. “How do we know anything about him? He’s never been arrested, has he?”

“No,” Terrence replied. “But he was initially a hero.”

“Yes. He was a hero. And he chose to become a villain,” Logan said, disdain dripping from his words. “He was called the Scarlet Prince, before. And then he decided to blame the whole city for one unfortunate accident.”

“He was a sidekick, and his hero was killed in action. After that, he disappeared until he re-emerged as the Crimson Marauder,” Terrence explained.

“Ah. But that could be understandable, right? Losing someone you care about can… change you,” Virgil said.

“Doesn’t change what’s right, though,” Logan replied tightly.

Virgil reached out and laid a gentle hand on Logan’s shoulder, a silent offer of comfort. The speedster almost shook him off, but after a moment let the tension ebb.

“As the villains were escaping, they were making particular digs at us as heroes,” Virgil told the others. “I think it’s safe to say that they aren’t in it to target civilians. Between that and their attack on HEARTS on a day when no one was in the building, I think they’re doing this for, I don’t know. Symbolism, maybe? Or to attack active heroes particularly.”

Joan nodded. “And you got that impression from Gale Force, too?”

“Yes, approximately. Though he may bear more animosity towards the city itself, it’s still not directed towards the citizens as a whole,” Logan said.

“In good news, we’ve gotten better at identifying uses of their powers,” Talyn told them. “Unless you say otherwise, we’re going to keep you two as the primary call for them.”

“That is satisfactory,” Logan said. “I believe I’ve devised a way to avoid the attack that caught me this time.”

“Virge, did they see all your powers?” Joan asked. The tall hero shook his head. “Then there’s still an upper hand. I hope you can catch them soon.”

~~~~~~~~~

D.R.E.A.M. Index #337261

Classification: A.3.i [Tertiary Tier Hero, Legacy]

Name: Swallowtail

Status: ACTIVE

Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Terrence Williams, Jr.

Affiliation: Hero

/////////H.A.T.C.H. Status: Specific Calls and Blackout Only

Partners/Sidekicks: N/A

Primary Foes: N/A

Powers: Shape-shifting: size reduction and addition; Tech-assisted flight;

Costume: Bodysuit in bright florals; yellow, black, and white jet pack painted with namesake butterfly wings

Age: 25

Height: 5’3”

Pronouns: He/His

H.E.A.R.T.S. Class of ‘11

Note: Unconfirmed relation to members of DI#Z-3286 - Fang Patrol, but confirmed hero and son of supers; Classmate and fellow scientist to DI#337255 - Dr. Vectorious; A less active hero, primary role as research/support to S.E.A.M. Stokes and Mayor Stokes;

~~~~~~~~~

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mst3kproject · 6 years

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1103: Avalanche

As I understand it, the point of a disaster movie is the same as that of a slasher, or an episode of reality TV – we’re here to watch terrible things happen to people we either don’t care about or indeed, outright despise. The same principle lay behind the Roman gladiatorial games, in which prisoners of war were made to fight to the death in a public place – entertainment at the expense of somebody who doesn’t matter. I guess fiction is the most ethical way to indulge this urge, since it’s the version in which no real people get hurt except maybe a couple of the stunt guys. Our consciences can take comfort in the fact that they at least got paid.

Now that I’ve said that… is it really worth describing the plot? As in The Deadly Mantis, who the people are in this movie and what they’re doing is really beside the point… but oh, well. A woman named Caroline arrives at a ski resort owned by her asshole ex-husband Dave, who is hosting some kind of winter sports competition for its grand opening. This is vaguely shifty but I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter anyway because a zillion tons of snow fall on them. Caroline and Dave survive but she doesn’t take him back. Dave pretends to be sorry he’s such a shifty asshole but never really seems to mean it. The movie doesn’t so much end as it just loses momentum until it finally gives up.

Avanalche is not a movie that would have ended up on my Episodes that Never Were list, and I think that’s because it’s just not silly enough. I tend to think of an MST3K-able movie as one that is somehow inherently ridiculous and if you go through the Episodes that Never Were, you’ll find a few like Fiend Without a Face, that got there by virtue of absurdity alone. Avalanche is more or less about things that could actually happen and presents them in a pretty boring way, and therefore feels rather meh to me.

Make no mistake, though, it is still extremely bad. The scenery is pretty but can’t carry the movie. Most of the actual avalanche is stock footage, and when they need actors and avalanche in the same shot they composite the latter over the former so badly that I can only pity the poor effects people. Mia Farrow and Rock Hudson don’t manage to infuse Caroline and Dave with any real life, but the lines they’re given are so dreadful that I want to blame this on the script rather than their acting. You stifle me – I need my space! is not something that gets blurted out during an argument – it’s something said in a level voice while the marriage counsellor nods approvingly! Rock Hudson seems to spend most of this movie yelling impotently at people on phones.

As an aside, stage names like ‘Rock Hudson’ and ‘Touch Connors’ always make me wonder – did people call them by those names in casual conversation? Did co-stars say things like hey, Rock, did you see the script update? and Touch, can I borrow a pen? Did Dwayne Johnson decide to start using his real name because people called him ‘Rock’ and it was weird? Did people call Dany Garcia ‘Mrs. Rock’? I bet Ray Dennis Steckler actually asked people on set to call him ‘Cash’ and they wouldn’t do it because it was stupid.

Back to the movie. We watch various of the sports events and sometimes what’s going on is kind of impressive, but only if you’re already into things like ski jumping. If you’re not, you’re just watching people you don’t know do the same thing over and over. The snowmobile race is kind of fun because we get to watch people crash and go flying, but the rest are just dull – as I pointed out in my review of Racket Girls, you can’t get into a fictional contest unless you know the characters enough to know who you want to win. The bit with the kid dangling from the broken ski lift serves absolutely no purpose except to tug on our heart strings, and it fails precisely because we can see right through that.

The biggest problem with Avalanche, and the number-one reason it’s so damn boring, is the way it treats the people overtaken by its disaster. Even disaster movies have to be about people, but there’s a right and a wrong way to do it, best illustrated once again by that description of the Jaws franchise: Jaws is a movie about people reacting to a shark, while the sequels are about a shark eating people. Watching a shark eating people can be fun, particularly if they’re people we hate, like the spider-bait in Giant Spider Invasion, but it doesn’t last. In a movie called Avalanche we should get to know the characters just well enough to see the changes wrought in them, and how they conform to or deny our expectations, in the desperate circumstances that follow. Instead, Avalanche sets up all these people’s lives and stories outside of the disaster, and then simply leaves them there with no closure because the disaster itself renders closure impossible.

Take the two figure skaters: I think they’re supposed to be rivals and old friends? Their story is set up for the blonde one to have her big moment in which she finally gets the spin right and her friend applauds her even as it means she loses the contest. Instead, they both get buried in snow and die.

Take the skier’s affair with the brunette skater. His wife catches him in bed with her and they fight about it the next morning. We want to see him get punished for his behaviour while she runs back into the arms of the TV reporter who we’re told was her awkward ex-boyfriend. That would be an end to this story. Instead, the skier freezes to death, the reporter falls from a ski lift and somehow manages to miss the fireman’s net that was literally right under him, and the wife in a moment of tragic irony is overwhelmed by the avalanche just as she was about to commit suicide anyway (very tasteful, am I right?).

There’s a series of other background stories that go nowhere. Caroline throws herself at a photographer to make Dave jealous – they both survive but can’t actually get together at the end because it would be weird. Dave’s Mom hangs out with McDade the accountant and they seem to be falling in love, but then they both die when their ambulance falls into a ravine and explodes! There’s a few other things that go on with the sports competitions, including the cheating skier trying to break a speed record and a male and female snowmobile racer who hate each other, but none of this matters because none of these stories have an ending! It’s all just set up to try to make us care when everybody dies, like the brief time we spent getting to know each victim in The Horror of Party Beach.

Disaster movies often try to suggest that the ‘bad’ people in them are being punished for their misbehavior by this outside force. Avalanche does quite a bit with this motif, by trying to make Dave personally responsible for every poor decision that leads up to the catastrophe. Dave had the trees cut down. Dave refused to cancel the grand opening despite the weather. Dave insisted that his lawyer or somebody fly in during the fog. When the plane crashes on the mountain and starts the slide, this is Dave’s fault, and Dave even says so at the end as he and Caroline drink champagne directly from the bottle.

Yet the thing is… it’s not. The plane crash was not inevitable, and even if it were, it wouldn’t automatically cause an avalanche. All these things could still have happened without producing that result. If the plane had crashed ten feet to the left there might have been no slide, or it might have missed the resort. Or none of that could have happened and there could still have been a disaster. One of the reasons avalanches are so dangerous is because even very tiny things can set one off. A bear sneezes on a mountaintop and pow! Your hotel gets buried. Things could have been done to prevent the situation but they might not have worked.

It’s even dumber to imply that the skier’s hypothermia is his punishment for cheating on his wife. The two are in no way connected. In mad science movies, the villain is killed by something they created which is seeking revenge. In a disaster movie, both the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ human characters are caught up in the same events that really have nothing at all to do with their personal decisions. Trying to call this ‘karma’ just makes you wonder about all those nameless people in the stacks of body bags, and what awful things they did that the gods of this universe think they ‘deserve’ this.

The ending sucks, too. Caroline and Dave basically just stand around and say “well, I guess that happened” and then she leaves. I think we're supposed to be glad they're not getting back together but that really didn't seem like it was gonna happen anyway. Nothing’s resolved. Nothing can be resolved when pretty much everybody whose problems we were supposed to be interested in is now dead.

Do you know what this movie needed? Bigfoot. Bigfoot lurking in the trees to scare people who venture out in the snowstorm. Bigfoot jumping out of the woods to frighten skiers and snowmobilers into crashing! And just picture it – at the grand finale, Bigfoot marches in with an army of forest creatures ready to dig the humans out of the mess and save the day! Out of all the Season Eleven movies not to have Bigfoot in them, why Avalanche when it was clearly the one that needed him most?

#mst3k #reviews #avalanche #tw: suicide #70s

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