#the constant between movie and comic... he will throw hands with anyone who calls his kid a monster

[gay-otlc]

Going insane about this btw

#nimona #DONT CALL HER THAT #the constant between movie and comic... he will throw hands with anyone who calls his kid a monster

[ft-dads-au]

The Loudest Silence

I Take Pride In What I Am 2020 Prompt: Quiet Pairing(s): Sting x Yukino (Unrequited), Human (Weisslogia x Female Skiadrum), Master Bob & Weisslogia, Weisslogia & Sting

A Collaboration by @mdelpin​ and @oryu404​

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: “I really like you...as more than a best friend…” 

Yukino had been his best friend since...forever? Sting couldn’t even remember not being friends with her. She was a beautiful girl, smart, kind, and funny... 

There was just one problem. 

 “I love you, I really do, but I can’t love you like that.”

April 25, 2008

“Hey, Sting? Can I talk to you for a second?”

It was a beautiful day, but not even the warmth of the sun kissing his skin or the gentle sea breeze could lift Sting’s mood. He should be at the beach on a day like this, eating shaved ice and playing volleyball with his friends. Not moping in his backyard, twisting himself up in knots about what had happened with Yukino earlier that day.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you…”

Sting wasn’t oblivious. He’d noticed it a while ago, how Yukino was acting shy around him when she’d never done so before. And touchier. Reaching out to grab his hand or put hers on his shoulder too many times for him to ignore. Sometimes, when she was chatting with some of the other girls in their class, they’d all look his way and break out into giggles, and one of them would say something to her that made her blush, all flustered.

He’d been avoiding her for some time now, feeling guilty every time he saw the sad look on her face when he all but ran back home right after school, with some lame excuse like having too much homework. That guilt was only outweighed by the hope that she’d back down, but the very scenario Sting had been so afraid of had finally played out that day.

“I really like you...as more than a best friend…”

Yukino had been his best friend since...forever? Sting couldn’t even remember not being friends with her. She was a beautiful girl, smart, kind, and funny...

There was just one problem.

“I love you, I really do, but I can’t love you like that.”

Sting didn’t like girls. He’d much rather join them as they giggled and batted their lashes at cute boys.

As a kid, he’d always been drawn to guys he’d see in movies, video clips, or magazines, but it wasn’t until reaching his teens that he’d finally recognized it for what it was. The swimmers, surfers, and runners he’d see at the beach... Sting could watch them all day, and as soon as he realized that was precisely what he was doing most of the time, it was kind of impossible to deny the attraction he felt.

To himself, at least. He hadn’t been ready to admit that to anyone else yet, but Yukino’s confession had put him on the spot. As he’d watched her gather all her courage to express her feelings, a spark of hope shimmering in her eyes, he’d decided she deserved better than to be strung along. She deserved to know the truth, even if it broke his heart to tell her.

And just as he’d feared, she didn’t take it well. The hope in her eyes was replaced by the gloss of tears, and she’d left without saying another word.

“I’m sorry, Yuki…”

Sting rolled over on the grass, dropping the comic book he’d been trying to read in the hopes of distracting his thoughts, letting his eyes follow the white wisps of clouds that were slowly drifting through the sky above him. What would happen next? Would she tell her parents and sister? Their other friends? Classmates? How would they respond? And more importantly, would this mean the end of his friendship with Yukino? Sting was having a hard time imagining his life without her as his friend, they always did just about everything together.

“It’s way too hot to be racking your brain like that,” his dad’s chuckle suddenly sounded, snapping him out of his thoughts. He sat down next to Sting on the grass, shielding his face from the bright sunlight with one of his hands. “What’s bothering you, son? Anything I can help you with?”

Sting sighed, sitting up and facing his father. As nervous as he was about coming out for the second time that day, he could really use someone to talk to. Carrying this secret was wearing him down, he’d always been a terrible liar, and he just wanted to stop hiding. His parents were usually patient and understanding with him...Surely he could tell them this, right?

“Yukino has a crush on me,” he mumbled, picking a few blades of grass and rolling them between his fingers absently.

“Oh? Well, if you want advice on how to woo a girl, I’m not your guy,” Weiss chuckled, “At least, that’s what I’ve been told. But I can tell you this: as long as you just be yourself-”

“Dad, stop,” Sting cut in, “I don’t like her that way, and I wanted to tell her that without hurting her feelings.” He rubbed at his face in exasperation, “Besides, I tried being myself, and it didn’t go well at all. She might not want to be my friend anymore...”

“I’m sure you’re overreacting. You two have been friends for years, what makes you think she’d throw that away?” his father asked, offering a reassuring smile that crushed Sting under its weight, making him feel terrible about not being the son he was thought to be. There was also a hint of worry reflected in the slight furrow on Weiss’ brow as he waited for Sting to explain what was troubling him.

“It’s because I’m-” Sting hesitated, fighting an inner war between the part of him that longed to be free from the constant feeling of deception, and the part that just wanted to live up to everyone’s expectations. He could still chicken out if he wanted to, find some half-assed excuse for his words and behavior so he could stall for a little longer, but the truth would have to come out eventually. Besides, if Yukino ended up spreading the word, it would reach his parents sooner rather than later anyway. He’d prefer his dad hear it from him.

“I’m gay,” he admitted in a deep exhale, and just saying it out loud lifted such a huge burden from his shoulders already. He finally found the courage to look his father in the eyes, seeking his reaction, desperately hoping for the kind of understanding he was used to from him.

But it wasn’t there. Nothing was there. Instead, his dad was unusually silent. His expression was blank, as if he was looking right through Sting. Like he wasn’t even there.

“Oh.”

Oh? That was it? He’d just poured out his heart, and all he got in return was an Oh?

“Ugh, never mind,” Sting got up, suddenly feeling everything and nothing at the same time. A disappointment so vast it left a big empty hole that numbed him. “I’m outta here.”

Deep down, he was still holding on to the hope that his dad would stop him and call him back so they could talk about it, but Weisslogia remained quiet. He just let him stomp off without as much as uttering a single word, right when Sting needed him more than ever.

Resisting the urge to wait or look back, Sting rushed through the sliding door, passing the kitchen, where his mom was busy prepping food. For once, he wasn’t hungry.

“Now, now, why the hurry?” his mother called out, trying to soothe as always— a bright smile on her lips meant to lift his spirits managing to accomplish the very opposite.

He’d never felt so lonely before. Two of the people closest to him had let him down already, and he asked himself why she would be any different. He ignored her, simply because he couldn’t handle one more.

0-0

“What happened?” was the first thing to come out of his wife when Weisslogia stepped into the kitchen, the start of a rambling that interrupted all the thoughts he still hadn’t sorted yet.

“He already seemed off today, but then he just stormed off with a face like thunder and slammed all the doors in his path. I tried to talk to him, but he won’t say a word, doesn’t even want to come out of his room…” Skiadrum abandoned the fruits she’d been cutting, covering them with mesh food protectors to keep the bugs away, and sat down on one of the bar stools at the island counter, waiting for Weiss to give her an explanation. She was worried, and he couldn’t really blame her for that.

No matter how upset he was, Sting was never unresponsive. If anything, he’d come straight to them if something was bothering him, and could easily talk their ears off about it to help him process his emotions. Knowing that, Weiss felt awful about how their conversation, or lack thereof, had gone.

“It’s my fault,” he sighed as he sat across from Skia, running a hand through his hair. “He came to me with...something, and I wasn’t much of a help.”

“Something? Nothing too serious, I hope?”

“Well…” Weiss hesitated, unsure if he’d make things worse by telling her what he knew about their son without asking him first. But he wanted to soothe his wife’s worries and fix his mistake, and he couldn’t do that without Skia’s help. He was way out of his depth.

“Well?” she repeated, impatiently waiting for him to answer her questions.

“Well, Sting just told me that he’s homosexual.”

The frown of concern immediately fell off Skiadrum’s face, making way for a deadpan expression. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming,” she said, the tone of her voice indicating that she already knew the truth.

“Wait, you knew?” Weiss asked her, perking up from his slumped position in surprise.

“Oh, come on! I’ve suspected it since he was 7! Remember that day when we spent half a day shopping with him for a winter coat? And ended up buying one from the girls’ department because he insisted all the boys’ ones had boring colors?”

He’d probably never forget that day. They’d been to every single clothing store in town, had thanked all the helpful staff members who had cheerfully tried to coax their son into liking one of the available options, but Sting was immune to even the best of sales pitches. ‘Nope, I hate it,’ he’d said, carrying an attitude that was so hilarious for a kid his age it made Weiss’ tired feet worthwhile.

“I figured he just liked brighter colors,” Weiss mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, “and he always kind of went his own way. Headstrong, just like his mother,” he tried to tease, but he lacked the spirit for it.

“That could’ve been the case, but there have been other signs pointing in this direction,” Skia argued, “and adding them all up, it just made sense to me.”

Signs? Weiss wasn’t sure what exactly she meant. He’d never reached that conclusion and the fact that his wife had made him feel even worse.

He knew he was oblivious to many things, but this was their child they were talking about—his son. And Weiss had always assumed he knew him through and through. Apparently, he’d been wrong. He wasn’t the attentive father he’d hoped to be.

“Why did you never mention it?” he sulked, wishing he’d gotten a heads up so he wouldn’t have been tongue-tied at the admission.

Noticing his dismay, Skiadrum got up to pour them both a glass of wine. “Because I could just as well have been wrong, and even if I wasn’t, it was still up to him to decide when he was ready to talk to us about it.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” she asked once she’d sat back down again and had a sip of wine, “Did your conversation go that badly?”

“There, uh...there wasn’t much of a conversation,” Weiss admitted guiltily, “I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t really say anything.”

Skiadrum almost choked in her wine.

“Oh my God, Weiss, really?!” she bleated, hiding her face in her hand, “Of course he’d take off at that, he must be thinking you’re rejecting him!”

“I’m not,” Weiss quickly assured, but as he tried to put himself in Sting’s shoes, he realized that was exactly what it must have looked like. “Oh, crap...I really messed up.”

“No, you haven’t-” Skia reached across the table to take her hand in his and chuckled, “Okay, maybe a little, but we all make mistakes. If I’d told you about my suspicions, this might not have happened, so I’m at fault here too. Now, let’s clear it up together, shall we?” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, “You go talk to him, I’ll get started on a peace offering.”

She got up again, taking her wine glass with her as she moved to the counter and made room for the mixing bowl.

Weisslogia nodded absently, absorbed in his own thoughts. He had to admit, now that his wife had mentioned it, he was starting to see some of Sting’s quirks in a new light.

He was still letting the news sink in, trying once again to think about what he wanted to say, what he was supposed to say. But his mind was caught up in events that had happened long ago and knowing what he did, he couldn’t help but be scared for his son. And with that thought in mind, he decided to call the one person he knew who could help him.

0-0

“You did WHAT?” Bob yelled at Weiss through the phone, outraged at what he’d just been told, “Weisslogia Eucliffe, you utter simpleton!”

“I know, I know…” Weiss agreed, “and I’m working on it, okay? I just- I don’t know this stuff, and I really need your help.”

“Pfft, obviously,” his long time friend scoffed, “This stuff...Oh, that poor kid.”

“Not helping…” Weiss reminded him through gritted teeth, forcing a smile onto his face even though he knew Bob couldn’t see him, but he hoped it would help him remain somewhat positive. “Look, I just want to be a good dad, but I’m way out of my league here. I’m guessing he has questions, and I don’t know how to answer them. I’ll have to give him the talk again, don’t I? Where do I even begin? And what if someone-?”

“Pipe down,” Bob interrupted with a sigh, and it was then Weiss realized he’d been pacing through his study, almost pulling the old, corded phone off the desk. “Seriously, grab that pipe of yours and calm down. I’m getting stressed just from listening to you.”

He took that advice, even though he usually never smoked inside the house, opening a window and hoping the smell wouldn’t linger for too long.

“Okay,” Bob began, “First of all, I think it’s great that you want to be there for your son to answer his questions and give him the bees and the bees talk and all, but do you really think he’s lining up for that?”

“The bees and the bees?” Weiss puzzled for a moment until he understood what Bob meant, “Oh! I get it!”

“God, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward. Anyway, the point is, I know you want to protect him, but that really isn’t what he needs from you right now. All he really needs is for you to tell him that you’re proud of him and that you love him. Can’t be too hard, right?”

Bob’s words hit Weiss hard, leaving him speechless for the second time that day. The difference was that this time, he knew exactly what to say, what he should have said in the first place, and it broke him to realize that he hadn’t. He’d been so focused on the details that he’d lost sight over what was most important.

“You’re right. I screwed up, Bob,” he said miserably, “I let my boy down, what kind of a father am I?”

“This isn’t the time for that, Weiss. You weren’t expecting it. It happens, nothing is lost yet,” Bob assured him, “Trust me, you’re already doing better than a lot of other parents out there just by making an effort. Kids get thrown out of their houses for this or receive far worse responses than complete silence. God, the shit my dad said to me…”

“Oh God, I’m sorry,” Weiss immediately replied, remembering some of the things that Bob had shared with him about his earlier life.

“Water under the bridge, love,” Bob dismissed his apology, “You were the first person to accept me just the way I was, Weisslogia. You can do this. You’re going to march right into his room and put him out of his misery. Meanwhile, I will email you all the resources we use at the center so that you can be ready when he does ask questions. How does that sound?”

“Thanks,” Weiss smiled weakly into the phone, thinking it was a shame that Bob had moved back to Magnolia. He missed having him around as a friend. They had been through so much together during the time they’d lived together as roommates, first in med school and later when Bob had spent a few years in Edolas.

He could still remember all the terrible reactions Bob had gotten just for being proud of who he was and being unafraid to show it. He’d endured everything from name-calling, discrimination, and threats, to actual physical abuse. The latter was still freshly engraved on Weiss’ retinas like it happened only yesterday instead of decades ago, and the mere thought of something like that happening to Sting was enough to send his protective instincts into overdrive.

“Weiss?” Bob’s voice had turned somber, and Weisslogia instinctively tensed up. “I know where your mind is going, but… it was a different time. Our situations are different, okay? He’s going to be just fine.”

“Okay,” Weiss managed, he didn’t fully believe it, but his friend’s words did give him some comfort. “Thanks again, you’re the best.”

“Any time, dear,” Bob chirped, “Let me know how it went, and give Skia a big hug from me.”

They ended the call, and Weiss put out his pipe, feeling better now that he’d talked to Bob and got the reality check he’d needed.

He took a deep breath as he left the study and made his way upstairs, smiling at the sweet smell coming from the kitchen.

0-0

Sting’s room was a mess. There were clothes scattered all over the floor, ripped out of the closet as he’d picked out the ones to shove in a bag under the sound of loud music. Sting knew that the incident between him and his dad wasn’t over just yet, but he wanted to be ready to get the hell out if worse came to worst. He’d heard about parents having bad reactions before, but he had never expected that from his own family and best friend. He just assumed the worst, not knowing what to expect anymore.

As he took down the fairy lights that were hanging on the wall right next to his bed, his attention was gripped by the pictures he’d hung up just below them. Pictures of places he loved to visit, like the beach or the zoo. Pictures of him with Yukino and with his parents. He took one of them down, carefully removing the thumbtack and pushing it back into the wallpaper while he studied it up close.

It was a picture of Sting and his parents that one of the nurses at the clinic had taken last year. Sting was wearing his dad’s white coat and name tag for a class presentation. It looked kind of silly, as it was a few sizes too large on him, and they’d stuck with that theme by making funny faces at the camera—a happy family like they’d always been.

Pfft, yeah, right. What a joke!

Sting gazed at it, still remembering how he’d felt that day, so eager to fill his father’s shoes. His father was someone he’d always looked up to. He worked hard and had made a difference in so many people’s lives over the years, running the clinic, where everyone was treated equally regardless of how much money they made or what job they held.

Apparently, he didn’t view everyone as equally as Sting had thought.

Not able to contain his frustration, he moved over to his nightstand to grab some of his comic books. There were several he hadn’t gotten around to reading, and he wasn’t about to leave them behind. Once he’d scanned them all and picked his favorites, he turned around to put them in his already stuffed bag and nearly jumped out of his skin when he noticed his dad standing in the doorway, staring at him in dismay.

“Can we talk?”

“Oh, so now you want to talk?” Sting chided, struggling to close the zipper of his bag, “Okay, sure. Whatever you have to say, just say it.”

His dad sighed, the sound inaudible over the out-of-place pop tunes but visible through his body language, “You surprised me, that’s all.”

“I surprised you?” Sting slung the words back, “How do you think I feel?”

Outraged by his father’s words, Sting couldn’t keep still, his body thrumming with nervous energy. He began taking a few items out of the bag, throwing them aside to make room for different ones.

“Can you please turn that down so we can talk?”

When Sting ignored his request, his father went ahead and turned off the music himself. “There, that’s better. It’s a hot day, isn’t it?” he pointed out, “Why don’t we sit outside for a while?”

He opened the door that led out to the balcony they shared and walked out, leaving the door open for Sting to follow.

Sting took one last look around his room, trying to decide what to do. His dad was acting oddly calm, which allowed a voice in the back of his head to suggest it might not be so bad. Still, its negative counterpart immediately reminded him that he hadn’t made any attempt whatsoever to stop him from packing his stuff either.

He’s just gonna let you leave, just like he let you walk away before, it taunted, and Sting had never felt so worthless.

Despite his fears, he went outside, his eyes glued to the ground because he knew it would only take one glance at his father’s face for him to break.

“Have I ever told you that your mother and I thought we’d never be able to have children?” his dad spoke the moment Sting stepped out on the balcony. “We’d been trying for years, and when it finally happened, your mom had a miscarriage that almost took her life. After that, we’d decided not to try anymore. But then, when we weren’t expecting it, you came along.”

He came closer, putting both his hands on Sting’s shoulders, “Hey, look at me.”

Sting obeyed hesitantly, noticing to his great surprise that his dad was smiling at him, the way he did so often. A proud smile that was both everything Sting wanted to see and unbearable to look at at the same time.

“You are the best thing that’s happened to us, and nothing will ever change that,” he said, hugging Sting close to his chest. “I’m so sorry for not having the words to tell you that right away.”

Sting’s doubts melted away as he felt the warmth of his father’s arms wrapped around him, and the reassurance of kisses pressed into his hair. He’d so sworn to himself that he wasn’t going to cry, damn it, he wasn’t a little kid anymore. But in that moment of overwhelming relief, he felt five years old all over again.

“You smell of pipe,” he accused as he sniffled, burying his face into his dad’s shirt anyway, squeezing him so hard it made his old man chuckle.

“It was prescribed this time,” his father replied innocently.

“I’m sure,” Sting nodded, unsure whether he should be convinced.

“So, are we okay, or…?” Weisslogia asked, pulling away to look him in the eyes again.

He considered the question.

Were they okay?

Sting thought about how discouraged he’d felt just a few short minutes ago when he’d thought that everyone he loved was now against him. Now that he realized that wasn’t the case, he felt kind of bad for having so little trust in his dad, and for all the bad thoughts his anger and fear had fed him.

“Yeah, I- uhm, I guess I may have overreacted a little? You know, with the whole packing my bag thing…”

“No, it’s understandable. I can only imagine how scary it must’ve been for you to tell me, and when I should’ve been there to take those fears away, I only made them worse. Definitely not my proudest moment as a parent,” Weisslogia remarked. “But I need you to know that I’m thankful you’ve told me and that you can always ask or tell me anything. I may not have all the answers, but I’ll do my best to be there for you whenever you need me.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Sting shrugged his shoulders. “Consider yourself forgiven,” he smirked, trying to joke it off, but he quickly dropped the act.

“Thanks, dad. That means a lot to me.”

“It means a lot to me too,” his dad smiled again, giving him another quick hug.

“I should talk to mom, huh?” Sting figured, remembering how he’d shut her out earlier when she’d tried talking to him.

“Only if you want to,” his father assured him, “but I have a feeling she will take it much better than you think,” and knowing his parents too well, Sting guessed that this feeling his dad was speaking of was probably more than just that.

It didn’t matter. Sting took his word for it, which made him a lot less nervous when they went back inside. His suspicions were confirmed when they came down the stairs and were greeted with the smell of something sweet and familiar. His mother would often bake a treat of sorts when he was upset, and it seemed like today was no exception.

“Hey, mom? There’s something I want to tell you,” he called out to her, taking the stairs two steps at a time, feeling more confident knowing that his dad was right behind him.

“Yeah?” she answered once they’d reached the kitchen, and sure enough, there was a plate full of cupcakes waiting for them on the island counter. She was just finishing topping off the last one with white frosting.

“I hope it won’t melt, they’re still a bit warm,” she mumbled to herself before turning her attention to Sting, “but they’re not quite done yet, something is missing…”

She rummaged through one of her cabinets, one that was perhaps even messier than Sting’s room was at the moment. Sting shared a look of wordless astonishment with his dad at how she was even able to find stuff in there, but it didn’t take long for her to return to the plate.

One by one, she decorated the cupcakes with a generous amount of rainbow sprinkles and smiled at the end result.

“That’s so much better,” she winked at Sting, “I think they’re perfect like this, don’t you?”

Sting could feel himself getting emotional again at her words, and he ran around the kitchen island to wrap his mother in a hug. “Thank you,” he managed to get the words out before bursting into tears.

“It’s nothing to cry about silly, this is a happy occasion,” he could hear the smile in her voice and feel the warmth of her body, and it struck him how lucky he was to have her as his mother. He hugged her even tighter, remembering what his father had said about her having almost died before he was born until she gently pushed him away to get a look at his face.

“I know,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, “It’s just been a rough day.”

“Well, why don’t we sit down and have some cupcakes, you can tell me all about it.”

He nodded, already grabbing a cupcake and shoving the whole thing in his mouth before finding his way to one of the stools on the other side of the island. He hoped his mom could help him figure out what to do about Yukino because as relieved as he felt at the moment, he knew there was still an uncomfortable conversation in his future.

His mother waited patiently, watching him eat cupcake after cupcake, for once not even scolding him for his lack of table manners even though he could feel the stickiness of the frosting on his face.

He was getting ready to explain his predicament when the doorbell rang. His mother handed him a napkin with a smile and got up to answer it.

“I’ll get it, it’s probably one of the neighbors or something, I’ll be right back.”

Sting watched his mother walk away from the kitchen towards their foyer, grabbing another cupcake from the tray as he waited for her return.

“You feeling better?” his father asked, and Sting had to laugh when he noticed his father’s face was also covered in frosting.

“Yeah,” he admitted, after handing him a napkin of his own, “I just wish -”

“Yukino!” Sting heard his mother’s cheerful voice and tensed up once again, “You didn’t have to ring the doorbell, sweetie, you know you’re always welcome to come in from the yard!”

The sound of their steps echoed on the tiled floor, and Sting felt the cupcakes he’d already eaten settle in his stomach like a lead weight. Even though his mom was acting as if everything were normal, she had to have noticed that Yukino’s eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were blotchy from crying.

Not that Sting looked any better at the moment.

“Sting, look who’s here!”

His father saved him from responding, “Yukino! It’s been a while, how are you, dear?”

“Just fine, Dr. Eucliffe, thank you,” she attempted to smile, “Is it okay if I borrow Sting for a few minutes?”

Sting could feel the combined weight of both his parent’s glances, but it was his father who answered. “Of course.”

Just as he was getting up from the stool, he felt his father’s hand grab his and squeeze tightly as he mouthed the words Just be yourself at him. He gave a small nod in return and led the way outside through the sliding door.

“Do you wanna...sit here?” he gestured towards the bench swing where they had often whiled away entire afternoons, feeling kind of awkward and unsure what to say.

“Okay,” Yukino’s voice was quiet, and her movements were stiff as she sat down. Sting sat next to her rocking the swing slowly to give his antsy legs something to do.

They sat like this for several moments, neither saying a word, and Sting came to the conclusion that she had come to break off their friendship. The way she had rung the doorbell instead of coming in like she always did, how she wouldn’t even look at him.

It hurt, but he decided to be the bigger person.

“Sting, I-”

“It’s okay-”

Sting stopped talking and gestured to her to continue.

“I, uhm, I wanted to say I was sorry for running off on you like that,” Yukino’s voice quavered, and when she finally looked at him he was shocked to see the sadness clouding her usually sunny features,” You’re probably pretty mad at me, huh?”

“Mad?” Sting’s head jerked in confusion, “No, of course not. I was just scared that you’d hate me and wouldn’t want to be friends anymore.”

“No, of course I want to be friends, the best of friends. I just-” Yukino sighed, “I was embarrassed and a little hurt and confused.”

“It was probably dumb of me to think that-” she began, and once again, Sting could hear the tremble in her voice. It made him feel terrible for making her feel that way, but he also knew he couldn’t have avoided the situation for much longer.

She took a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to help much. “Sorano said I was being silly, that this way I could have you forever and we could talk about boys and go shopping and-”

She wasn’t able to continue, as the tears that she had been trying to contain refused to stay hidden any longer.

Sting tapped her on her shoulder, and when she finally peered at him, he held out his arms in silent invitation. Yukino hesitated for a moment before accepting his embrace.

“You’re not silly, it’s not like you can choose who you like or anything…” Sting talked while letting her cry out her feelings in his arms. He sighed before apologizing, not for who he was, but for how he had inadvertently made her feel. “I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you.”

“Yeah, Sorano said that too,” she sniffled, moving away to begin the interrogation he’d been expecting, “How long have you known?”

Sting averted his eyes and kept them fixed on the flowers in his mother’s garden, “About two years, I guess…”

“Oh. That’s a long time,” Yukino replied, and Sting could hear it, the hurt in her voice, intensifying the guilt he’d already felt over the way he’d handled this.

“You could have told me,” she chided, “I’m your best friend, and I didn’t even have a clue.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Sting snapped, frustrated that she still didn’t seem to get it, “especially not with the way you were acting.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, immediately regretting his outburst, “that was uncalled for. It’s just… none of this is easy for me. I’ve heard the way people talk at school about this stuff, what was I supposed to do?”

“You don’t need to apologize, you’re right, I was out of line,” she replied, holding his gaze evenly.

“I did want to tell you,” Sting ran his fingers through his hair, thinking of all the times he’d considered the idea, but something always made him hold back, and then she’d developed a crush on him. “But I- I was nervous about how you’d react, and I had no idea how or when to bring it up.”

Yukino nodded before looking down at her hands which were clasped on her lap, “It just all feels so strange, we used to tell each other everything, and I don’t want that to change.”

“Neither do I,” Sting shook his head, “No more secrets?” He held out his hand with only his pinky extended, breathing a sigh of relief when Yukino met it with hers right away.

“No more secrets.”

“So...are we good?” Sting still felt a little unsure until she flashed him one of her smiles. It wasn’t as vibrant as always, but he could glimpse a ghost of her usual smile lurking underneath, and he knew then that they were going to be okay.

“Yeah, we’re good,” she assured him.

“Thank God, I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend a lifetime of talking about boys and going shopping with.”

“Good,” Yukino managed a giggle,” cause you seriously need some fashion help.”

“You know what?” Sting examined the clothes he was wearing, wrinkling his nose at how plain they felt. When he was still younger, he hadn’t given a damn about what anyone thought of his fashion choices, and he’d love to get that back after hiding for so long.

“You’re totally right. Half the contents of my closet are already on the floor, I might as well throw some stuff out and get a new wardrobe,” he decided.

Yukino rolled her eyes and teased, “How is that any different from how your room normally looks?”

“Shots fired.”

Yukino laughed as she swatted away Sting’s finger guns. The sliding door opened, and they turned to see his parents bringing out plates of food.

“Everything okay, you two?”

Sting smiled at his parents, “Yeah, everything’s just fine.”

And for the first time that day, he actually believed it.

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #ftlgbtpride2020 #sting eucliffe #ftlgbtales #I Take Pride In What I Am 2020 #prompt: quiet #fics #dads pride 2020

[pffbts]

[08:58 AM] from you: “gguk―what if you were my best friend?”

[09:01 AM] from gguk: “i thought we were already best friends.”

 what a concept.

i mean just the minimum thought of gguk being your best friend is enough tantalizing.

he would be such a dork all the time, i swear you will never get tired of him. it`s completely impossible to be mentally tired from gguk.

i personally think to have him as your best friend comes with a lot of good stuff and we`re going to talk about each and everything here in detail so put on your seat belts, we`re in for a complete rollercoaster ride, bubs!gguk is actually a very warm person, though he can be teaseful sometimes, it`s alright―he only does it because he loves you.

so let`s come to the first question―why him? why not others?

i get it, right? maybe because of how he grew up with all his hyungs and elder members of the company. he was literally the youngest one in the company and he spent all his teenage days under the influence of all the different characters when he should have been only looking at his parents and elder brother.

some of his character is not original, i guess―like watching animes, reading comics. he was initially a gamer boy but somehow that took a turn in him reverting to the visual aesthetics from the influence of his hyungs.i feel like being with gguk means he would be 24/7 available for an upright discussion about the anime you both were planning to watch.

he`s the type to binge-watch a whole one season in one day and then text you at four a.m in the morning crying like a melodramatic person because there`s no season 2 and the first one ends with a cliffhanger (a sad one, on top of that.)

nonetheless, you`ll end up talking to him on the phone until the birth of new sun rays comes through your room`s window.

he`ll be the perfect asmr guy, whenever you`ll have a bad day and want some comforting, he`ll be just one call away from giving you the perfect whispering asmr treatment.

all you`ve to do is pick up your phone and call.

maybe after four or five rings he`ll pick up and in a sleepy voice ask if you`re okay or not. when you`ll say, no, he`ll immediately sit up on his bed and ask if you need anything. when you said you just wanted to hear someone speak, he said that you called the right guy because he missed you a lot too.

he`ll end up speaking in the lowest register possible for you to calm down from the bad day`s influence. his voice will be slow and whisper-like and when he giggles in-between, you would end up smiling lazily already entering into the sleep zone. you knew you sounded drunk when you that you`re thankful for his existence and he would return it with a constant chant of your name which will make you end up laughing quietly.

with gguk, you will always end up at the quietest place possible.

he`ll find the most aesthetic places for both of you and when you walk along with him, he`ll always end up bring in an extra bucket hat for you.

you, though, don`t love being on camera but accompany him whenever he vlogs. when you asked one time why he always ends up making you his vlog partner, he simply said, he loves to hear your voice and adding them to his video ends up making it more special.

with gguk, you`ll have no problem in choosing between what foods you both will eat because you both know what each other like anyway and it`s countless. 

it`s a complete feast if you guys ever go out. he always tells you to become chubbier because then he would make you his side pillow. you would end up eating a lot without knowing and hit him every time he hugs you from behind and tells you that you`re his favourite pillow.

being with him as his best friend means, it`ll come with lots and lots of songs all the time. he will always ask you what you are listening to that day and next day when you meet him, he`s already singing to the tune while making a double egg omelette while you swing your legs against his kitchen counter.

and it doesn`t even surprise you anymore because this is how you both respond to each other. you`ll end up buying him the gaming set he was talking about last night, or bring him the newest food in the market he was ogling about and he`ll end up singing you the songs you love, making your favourite homemade foods,  buying the dresses he liked while window shopping.

weekends probably end up re-watching ghibli films and slumping against each other and draw circles on each other`s palm. also, oh, another thing, the whole time your or his whoever`s place is occupied by you both is going to have the background music of all the favourite soundtracks from your playlist.

he`s the kind of person who`ll apologize a lot even for the slightest mistake he does. he will say sorry whenever he missed your call during work and you would always end up telling him that it`s okay.

in overall, gguk won`t hesitate to tell you what he feels for you. i mean, no matter how extremely sappy it sounds, he`ll feel no hesitancy in his bones and end up making you remember all the embarrassing details about how you both became best friends.

he`ll be cocky sometimes and when a guy tries to hit at you, he`ll end up taking you by your waist and giving you a loving look. you will end up asking him that does he want you to throw up. 

also that, yes, just keep in mind, it`s a no boyfriends/girlfriend life for you if jeon jeongguk exist in your life. you`ll find yourself in the cosiness of your partner`s warm and the moment your eyes flicker to the corridor, or the door of your bedroom, you`ll see a bunny pushing his head out and watching you with the saddest eyes in the solar system.

he, himself never got any girlfriend, i mean that`s not completely the truth. there`s been countless girls and boys loving him from afar but he got his hands full all the time scrolling through the countless number of anime, making songs in his lil purple light studio and of course, he has you. 

his explanation: “i don`t need a girlfriend because i`ve a gurrrrlfriend.”

he can go from the most chaotic to the calmest person in the universe and that`s the reason you can be with him no matter what situation you both face. he`ll get impatient at some time but he`ll always find a way to do anything to calm down the situation.

he`s an attention seeker so he loves it when anyone, especially you, gives him all your attention.

he unconsciously no matter what time of the day it is, will end up cuddling you in his sleep. it doesn`t matter what posture you`re in, he`ll find a way to make himself comfortable around you. for example: you`ll be sitting on your couch, your legs stretched out, ankles resting on the table in front of you, watching a re-run of a show and jeongguk will end up smashing his face into your stomach, wrapping his arms around your waist sleeping like a cub.

so, all in all, it`s a gift from life to have him in your life in the flesh as your best friend. he`s the kind of person we don`t have these days, joining your dots when they need to be, always making sure to return your missed calls, texting whenever you`re nervous about any presentation, cooking homemade food whenever you`re on your period. making sure you always have enough sanitary pads/tampons and he doesn`t hesitate to tell you what`s on his mind. it`s like, whenever you come back home, you know there`s someone waiting for you from the other line or waiting at your regular couch with the tip of his finger on top of the play switch because, why you ask―it`s the whole movie with you or nothing else. 

#jungkook imagines #jungkook reactions #jungkook fanfics #jungkook text posts #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook!bestfriend au #jungkook x reader #bts #bts jungkook #jeon jeongguk #bts imagines #bts reactions #bts text posts #bts fanfics #bts scenarios #bts fluff #bts angst #bts posts #bts x reader #pffbts #daily posting

[aion-rsa]

The Weird History of Friday the 13th Comics

https://ift.tt/2QaV9j1

Friday the 13th boasts some of the strangest movie tie-in comics ever made. We hit the bloody highs and lows. Mostly lows.

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Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees has been part of pop-culture for decades. It shouldn’t be surprising that he’s had his share of comic book adventures, what with him essentially being a supervillain in a story with no superheroes. Granted, he’s a one-dimensional supervillain with an incredibly vague origin story, but he’s been memorable enough to land him a dozen movie appearances. Many have told his tale in comic form and since the early '90s, he’s been represented by three different publishers.

The surprising thing to me is that the earliest Jason comic is only in the early 90s. For comparison, the RoboCop comics all stretched across the franchise’s entire existence. They were around for all four movies as well as the stretch where he was just about nostalgia. Jason Voorhees didn’t get the same treatment. For the most part, they missed the boat.

Topps Comics first picked up the license and Jason’s comic book debut came in July of 1993. Two comics came out this month with Jason in them, so it’s hard to say what was his very first appearance. One of the two comics was Satan’s Six #4 by Tony Isabella and John Cleary. We’re already bonkers out the gate here. Satan’s Six was part of the Secret City Saga, where Topps created a big story using a bunch of leftover Jack Kirby ideas that he never did anything with in the form of several miniseries that intertwined (think Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers). It didn’t last long enough to finish and with Satan’s Six, it’s no wonder.

The comic is a comedy about the demonic Odious Kamodious, who has his own team of agents out to create chaos in his name, only they always screw up. In the very beginning of this issue, Kamodious gets in an argument with one of his demons Frightful and threatens to replace him. He summons Jason Voorhees, who proceeds to talk like Rorschach and try to kill anything nearby.

Anyone else find randomly and casually tossing Jason into a superhero universe’s continuity really weird?

Frightful and teammate Bluedragon go after Jason, but he responds by throwing them a couple times and saying, “HRMM,” a lot. Despite only appearing for a couple of pages, Jason says that six times. Kamodious summons him back where he found him and starts making a blatant reference about Jason going to Hell. The angelic Pristine interrupts and calls out how this was a pointless cameo to justify advertising Jason on the cover, which came at the cost of continuing their very story. And at that point, readers stopped caring.

As Kamodious referenced, Jason was at the time starring in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, otherwise known as Friday the 13th Part IX. Based on the screenplay, the comic is written by Andy Mangels and drawn by Cynthia Martin.

That’s how far down the pipeline we are. By this point, the movie franchise was in dire straits. By the time any comic company thinks of doing anything with Friday the 13th, we’re already at the ninth movie, which was the last Jason movie for eight years. The really bizarre one.

If you haven’t seen it or don’t remember, Jason Goes to Hell is the movie where the FBI finally decides to do something about Jason and blows him to kingdom come in the first few minutes, onlit turns out that he can’t be killed unless stabbed in the heart by another Voorhees (though the comic keeps spelling it “Vorhees”). So Jason’s heart hypnotizes the coroner into eating it and he goes around vomiting the heart into people’s throats to change hosts until he can find and kill the rest of his bloodline.

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It’s an example of knowing that you have to do something new and fresh, yet still driving way off the road. Also, if you’re all about drawings of bare asses, this is the comic for you!

But really, all anyone remembers Jason Goes to Hell for is that cameo at the end when Freddy Krueger pulls down Jason’s mask and cackles. That was the original “Nick Fury asks Tony Stark to join the Avengers” moment. It just, you know, took ten years, is all.

Topps didn’t want to wait to give us a big slasher icon crossover and while they didn’t get the rights to Freddy, they got the next best thing. Okay, they didn’t get Michael Meyers, but the next best thing after that. No, they didn’t get Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof, but—Listen, they got Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, okay? More specifically, we got Jason vs. Leatherface, a three-part series by Nancy Collins, David Imhoff, and Jeff Butler.

Despite being released in 1995, the chronology is very choosy, ignoring the history of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre stuff to make sure Leatherface and his brothers Cook and Hitchhiker are both alive. As for Jason, this takes place after Part VI, where he’s chained to the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake. Some corporate types have the lake drained of all the toxic grossness and Jason goes with it. He kind of wanders around, kills a bunch of people on train, and eventually comes across Sawyerville, where Leatherface and Hitchhiker are stalking some poor soul. Jason ends up getting in a scrap with them, where he disarms Leatherface (not literally for once), kills their victim, and then – in a surprising act – hands Leatherface his chainsaw.

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There’s this feeling of acceptance between the two parties, leading to Jason being practically adopted into their family. This leads to a really awesome moment where Cook asks him his name. Since these guys need to start calling him Jason and he doesn’t actually speak, Collins goes about it in a clever way.

Through this partnership, we see the differences. While Jason is a ruthless murderer, he isn’t so much a sadist, at least not as much as the Sawyer family. He’ll kill the victims, but Hitchhiker will get on his case for doing it too quickly and not torturing anyone. Mainly, Jason gets along with them due to the way he sees his younger self in Leatherface. For once, he feels sympathy and it drives him to hate Hitchhiker for constantly being such a dick. From there, it becomes Jason vs. the three brothers, where Leatherface will protect his family, even if he does show appreciation for Jason standing up for him.

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There wouldn’t be any more Jason comics for a decade until Avatar Press picked up the license in 2005. I had a lot of bad stuff to say about Avatar in the RoboCop article, but here, the ugly, mean-spirited, blood-and-chunks-covered style is a perfect home for Friday the 13th. If anything, it’s a fitting response to how most of the Friday the 13th movies were edited to oblivion by the MPAA to hide all the gore. Now we can see Jason punch a guy in the head so hard that it comes out his ass!

Avatar mostly released a bunch of one-shots, starting with Friday the 13th Special by Brian Pulido and Mike Wolfer. The Avatar Friday the 13th comics have some actual strong ideas mixed in there, but they also rely on doing the same thing over and over again...much like the movies, but in a different way. While every single comic of theirs has at least one softcore sex scene, there’s also a constant theme of the 1% screwing things up for everyone. Like in Friday the 13th Special, it’s about the children of the man who previously owned Camp Crystal Lake. The daughter, a shrewd businesswoman, insists on not letting that land go to waste despite the piles and piles of dead bodies showing why that’s a bad idea.

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To be fair, she goes about it the right way. If Jason’s hanging around the woods, just hire a ton of military guys to take him out. That basically took care of Jason in the very beginning of the ninth movie, didn’t it? Too bad being in a comic book has caused him to go through a major power creep, and he’s now able to power through having a huge chunk of him blown off by a grenade launcher, as it just heals up in seconds. Jason’s way too overpowered and that continues on for the next year of comics.

Pulido and Wolfer would get back together to do a three-parter called Bloodbath and it’s easily the best thing to come out of the Avatar run. It has some serious dialogue issues, but the basic idea could have been the basis for a Friday the 13th movie and I would be totally okay with it. It actually comes across as a prototype for Cabin in the Woods.

It has to do with Camp Crystal Lake being opened yet again, this time with ten teen counselors brought in early to get acquainted a day or so before the campers are said to show up. Their boss is Kevin Carny, a kindly southern guy who appears to be really laid back about everything. He wants everyone to be responsible during the daytime, but at night, they’re welcome to enjoy the hot tub, an excess of beer, and each other’s naked company. The counselors all hit it off and immediately pair up with no problem. In fact, they pair up a little too easily, like they were handpicked. Discovered through some really unnatural dialogue, they all come to realize that all ten of them are orphans and have no families. Strange. It’s almost like if something were to happen to them all, nobody would really care enough to look into it.

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Naturally, there’s more to Carny than meets the eye. Much like in Jason X, the military and corporations are very into the idea of bringing Jason in for the sake of studying his healing factor and weaponizing him. The camp is nothing more than bait. It helps that the protagonists, Violet and Rich, are actually fairly likeable and relatable compared to every other human character in Avatar’s comics. You end up getting a story of the would-be victims vs. the military vs. the unstoppable killer. It actually has a really good ending too, which will be ruined months later.

Around this time, Avatar released the Jason X Special by Pulido and Sebastian Fiumara. Yes, a Jason X comic. The movie is already a few years old at this point and I don’t think anyone cared about it enough to clamor for more Jason X in any form, but here we are. As it turns out, when Uber Jason was blasted to a lake on Earth Two at the end of the movie, he was really back on the original Earth. A woman named Kristen, one of the few remaining humans on the planet, tricked the ship into turning back to Earth for the sake of getting her hands on Uber Jason.

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Kristen’s boyfriend Neil is dying and she needs some Voorhees DNA to potentially cure him. Even though she is able to capture Uber Jason with some nanites, you can imagine that this is a bad idea. It becomes a big, confusing mess, where Pamela Voorhees goes from being a voice in Jason’s head to being a machine ghost able to control all the nanites, leading to lots of human-like androids being slaughtered. Uber Jason is shot into space, where he stumbles across a party-based space ship.

That leads us right into the two-parter Jason vs. Jason X by Mike Wolfer. Really? Is that even a contest? That’s like having the regular version of the Hulk fight a super-pissed off Hulk. The story of this one is more contrived than even the beginning of Jason Takes Manhattan. So there’s a piece of Jason’s skull and hockey mask from the Jason X movie that wasn’t part of the regeneration process that created Uber Jason. When that ship was blown up, the chunk of skull floated around in space until – TOTAL COINCIDENCE – it now drifts into the very party ship where Uber Jason is currently slaughtering everyone. The ship’s cloning machine builds a new body out of dead victims and Jason is reborn! Fully clothed too, which I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining about. I can live my entire life without seeing his hockey stick.

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It takes the whole first issue for the two Jasons to meet up and the entire second issue is them fighting while anyone who crosses paths with the brawl gets chopped up. The fight brings them to Earth Two, where, big surprise, Uber Jason wins. He tears Jason’s brain out, shoves it into his own brain, and reminisces about his mother. He’s also chilling out in the woods near a lake, so even though the Jason X Special changed up the movie’s ending, this comic puts it back the way the writers found it. You know, just in case they were to ever make another Jason X movie.

The last book from Avatar is Friday the 13th: Fearbook by Mike Wolfer and Sebastian Fiumara. It’s a direct follow-up to Bloodbath and is especially pointless. It’s basically about killing off anyone who survived Bloodbath without any real drama. Sure, it makes sense to have the government people behind the events of that story taken out, but there’s no actual plot. Jason just effortlessly kills everyone for two dozen pages.

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Also, the art is really bad in the sequential sense. It seems to go from point A to C from panel to panel with no sensical movement. For instance, in Bloodbath, they were able to stop Jason by freezing him. The only reason he was able to escape was Violet’s doing. Makes 100% perfect sense that they’d just try that again, right?

And now Jason is able to shrug it off completely to the point that there’s no sign of him being frozen one panel later. What’s up with that?

The ending suffers from the same problem. Violet is backed up to a window and Jason is coming. She decides to take her chances and makes a leap of faith, hoping the trees will break her fall. She jumps and the perspective makes it look like she’s at least ten feet away from the window. Suddenly, Jason has her by the neck and drags her back in.

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Anyway, Jason would then move on to the next publisher, Wildstorm, in 2007. Wildstorm mainly gave us a bunch of two-parters, but started it with a six-issue miniseries simply called Friday the 13th by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Adam Archer, and Peter Guzman.

For the most part, it’s a basic, by-the-numbers Friday the 13th story in comic form, just handled competently. They’re reopening Camp Crystal Lake again. A handful of teens are brought in to clean up the cabins. Sex and drugs and beer are had. Jason shows up and starts killing people. Same old shit.

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At least the cast of victims isn’t so bad. They aren’t great, but they at least have more personality and dimension than the characters in the Avatar Press comics, easy as that is to do. The drawback is that for the sake of conflict, they’re almost all over-the-top in terms of being assholes. Like there’s a nerdy hippy guy who looks to be potentially psychotic and everyone shits on him for zero reason. For one of the characters it makes sense, since it’s established that she’s had to put up with his company for years and she’s a terrible person, but everyone else snaps at him like he’s Donnie from Big Lebowski.

The comic plays up the supernatural aspects of Friday the 13th more than just Jason surviving taking a machete to the neck. Not only do they establish that the lake is haunted by the ghosts of a hundred murdered children, but the final issue even explains that the area is literally cursed due to some settlers murdering a Native American shaman.

Otherwise, it’s nothing special.

Marc Andreyko and Shawn Moll give us Pamela’s Tale, a two-parter where Pamela Voorhees explains her life story to a camp counselor while giving her a ride to Camp Crystal Lake. Naturally, she also murders her, but still keeps telling the story, mainly about raising Jason and how she’s been out to kill anyone she feels is responsible for his death.

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We also see Jason’s father depicted as a drunken wife-beater and massive dude (he had to inherit it from somewhere) who is killed because Pamela’s afraid that if she tells him she’s pregnant, he’ll beat her so badly that she’ll have a miscarriage. Oh, and she’s also whispering conversations with “Jason” much like she does at the end of the first movie.

Jason’s birth defects are explained both between his father’s treatment of his mother and the fact that Pamela is constantly in places filled with cigarette smoke. It hits comedic levels once we see the doctor smoking a cigarette while delivering the baby. That’s dark as hell but I had to laugh.

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Jason Aaron and Adam Archer team up for How I Spent My Summer Vacation, another two-parter. I’m not sure if this is the best Friday the 13th comic, but it’s definitely the most fun. It’s about a little boy named Davie Falkner who is at summer camp. At Camp Crystal Lake. They opened the goddamn thing AGAIN! CRIPES! Anyway, Davie has a bone disorder that gives him a malformed head and will likely kill him in five years. While he has normal intelligence, he looks an awful lot like Jason’s young self, albeit with hair. He’s constantly teased for his looks, but that’s a picnic compared to having Jason Voorhees show up to kill everyone.

After lots of campers, councilors, and cops are killed, Jason picks up Davie and drags him away, kicking and screaming. The only other survivor is the sheriff, who was so hopped up on meth that he accidentally shot up two councilors, and then hacked them up with a machete to cover his tracks and blame it on Jason. Finding out that Davie’s still alive makes him want to make sure he can kill the last witness.

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Meanwhile, we get what is essentially a Batman and Robin origin story with Jason and Davie. It’s awesome and I wish it was longer. Jason never speaks or makes any gestures, but he keeps Davie safe out of feeling like a kindred spirit. Jason would go kill people having a picnic, wrap their food in a blanket, return to Davie, and throw it to him. Davie goes from being dragged around against his will to following his new hero.

Davie idolizes Jason for being like him, only able to not take shit from anyone who would bully him. That Jason is an even bigger bully than anyone else is lost on Davie, but it’s nice to see Jason make a connection for once in his after-life. Plus with the comedic psycho sheriff, Jason gets to actually play the role of anti-hero here. Granted, he still kills so many undeserving people, but the book is still sort of cute.

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Yet another two-parter comes in the form of Bad Land, which is by Ron Marz and Mike Huddleston. It’s about two different stories from different times that run parallel. One is a present-day story about a trio of hikers who come across a cabin in the middle of a huge storm and become victims of Jason. The other takes place a couple centuries earlier, where three fur trappers enter a teepee to escape a similar storm and come across a Native American woman and her baby. Horrible things happen to the woman and her child, shortly before her husband arrives. They blow his face off with a rifle shot and he runs off, only to plot his revenge.

Yep. We have the Proto-Jason. It isn’t outright said whether he’s just super pissed enough to fight through the wound or if he’s a full-on murder zombie, but considering he lacks the wound when we see his rampage, it looks like the latter.

Huh. Wonder whatever happened to that guy.

The last normal type of Jason comic released by Wildstorm is The Abuser & the Abused by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andy B. Andy B’s art makes this easily the best-looking Friday the 13th comic by a landslide. Lot of great expressions and action in there.

The issue is kind of an alternate take on How I Spent My Summer Vacation. It deals with a girl who is constantly abused. Her boyfriend beats her, her classmates make fun of her, her father and stepmother bully her, and no authority figure will help her in any way. She takes it upon herself to strike back against anyone who’s wronged her and part of her plan involves luring her boyfriend to Camp Crystal Lake (which is not open for once. Thank God). Then when Jason appears to do what Jason does best, the girl gets mad because this is her kill and the two murderers throw down. Totally worth checking out for the fantastic fight scene.

Now we get to the grand finale in the form of two six-issue miniseries. Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash started in early 2008, based on a script treatment for a sequel to the Freddy vs. Jason movie that brings the Evil Dead hero into the mix that would never come to be. The Jeff Katz screenplay is adapted by James Kuhoric with art by Jason Craig. It’s generally okay. It’s nothing especially great or especially awful. It comes up with a satisfying enough story that brings together the three horror icons, has them play off each other, and gives us a big enough body count.

Freddy is able to convince Jason to do his bidding by banging his mother. At least, that’s what Jason sees in his nightmare, where Freddy acts like his new step-father and has “Pamela” tell Jason to listen to his authority. Freddy wants him to fetch the Necronomicon and wouldn’t you know it, Ash Williams is working at a nearby hardware store for the holidays.

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What’s great about it is that we actually have a real protagonist to cheer for, who we know has enough plot armor to stay alive. The Freddy vs. Jason movie didn’t have anyone nearly as likeable as Ash. The main drawback is that Jason is the third wheel, mostly overshadowed by the other two co-stars. This becomes a bigger problem in the sequel, which I’ll get to in just a bit.

Sorry, I was wrong. The main drawback is that despite Jason Craig’s art starting incredibly strong, it becomes rushed to hell by the time he hits the final issue. That’s too bad, since the final battle between the two is excellent outside of that. Freddy is pumped up with power from the Necronomicon and Jason is maskless and replaced his dismembered hand with a machete. Ash is bemused, noting the lack of originality.

By the end, Freddy and Jason are both defeated for the time being, but the Necronomicon opens to a page that’s very reminiscent of the movie poster for Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, only this time, Ash is leading the siege.

That leads us to Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: Nightmare Warriors by the same creative team, though with Cruddie Torian doing a bit of fill-in work. Sadly, Jason Craig’s art takes a huge dive, even worse than before. Really, the whole comic is a gigantic mess, making it a perfect Friday the 13th comic bookend to whatever the hell was going on with that Satan’s Six issue.

read more: 13 Brilliant Horror Movies Under 90 Minutes Long

It’s a real shame too, because I absolutely love the setup. It’s such a brilliant concept for a climactic finale to Freddy and Jason’s respective series. See, Ash is invited to join a support group of sorts made up of those who have survived encounters with Freddy and/or Jason. So you have a group made up of Maggie Burroughs (Freddy’s Dead), Dr. Neil Gordon (Nightmare on Elm Street 3), Steven Freeman (Jason Goes to Hell), Stephanie Kimble (Steven’s baby daughter from that movie all grown up), Alice Johnson (Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5), Jacob Johnson (Alice’s son, also grown up), Tina Shepard (Friday the 13th Part VII), and Rennie Wickham (Friday the 13th Part VIII). Then waiting in the shadows is maverick survivor and quasi-hero of the Friday the 13th franchise, Tommy Jarvis, who wants to take out Jason on his own terms.

Also awesome is Jason’s redesign. For the first half, at least.

After all the bullshit he’s been through fighting Freddy and Ash in the last book, Jason is barely holding together. He’s got so much battle damage that even if he’s freakishly strong, he looks like’s seconds away from falling apart. Between his jaw being completely fleshless and the bottom part of his hockey mask before destroyed, he’s got this badass skull goalie thing going on.

read more: 28 Alternative Horror Movies Worth Watching

Then Freddy ruins it by making Jason his general and using the Necronomicon to amp up Jason's appearance, cleaning him up and fixing his disfigurements. He also gives him long, black hair, making him look like a generic 90s vigilante. This also allows him to speak for once when he has his final battle with Tommy Jarvis.

Certainly better than, “HRMM!” at least.

As I said, the book goes completely full-on nuts, especially when it comes to Maggie Burroughs. She is actually Freddy’s daughter and killed him in the sixth Elm Street movie (the last canon one before Freddy vs. Jason). Here, she’s secretly evil and is working for her father. I guess they can get away with it because she’s the hero of the most hated Nightmare on Elm Street, but it’s never explained why she’s suddenly evil. Then not only does she start dressing like a sexy X-Men supervillain, but she starts making out with her father. And he puts his hand down her pants while grabbing her boob with the other. What. The. Fuck?

read more: Nightmare on Elm Street Comics - A Nightmarish History Lesson

Anyway, she’s crushed by a tank a couple of issues later while fighting Jason in the Oval Office. Strange, strange comic. The book has a lot of big ideas, but it’s completely incomprehensible.

What I find interesting is the ending. Freddy’s attempt to cause Hell on Earth via the Necronomicon goes sour and they give him the most final death possible. He’s stripped of his powers, leaving a naked human form, begging for his life. Ash shoots him with his boomstick, killing him. Then some really ill-explained and badly-set-up time-travel happens where the warrant for his arrest from decades ago is now correctly signed, meaning he’ll never become the dream demon and so many deaths are negated. Not only is Freddy done, but he never really started in the first place!

Jason, on the other hand, is stabbed through the chest by Stephanie (which is supposed to be the one thing that can totally kill him for good) and Tommy chops his head off, but his body is missing anyway because one day he’s going to go to space and God forbid we mess around with continuity!

Gotta protect the sanctity of Jason X, man.

That was the last we’ve seen of Jason Voorhees in comic form and there’s no sign of him coming back any time soon. Despite being such a cinematic icon, there’s only so much you can do with the character. He’s a walking plot device who isn’t allowed to be anything more, nor should he ever be. He’s just an excuse for shock value and mainstream comics have already gotten to that level of mean-spirited violence, making him nothing but obsolete.

Poor guy. Finally DC Comics is about constantly tearing people’s arms off and Jason doesn’t get to play.

Gavin Jasper thinks it’s fitting that Jason is a goalie, considering he's constantly out to stop people from scoring. Follow him on Twitter!

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Sep 13, 2019

Friday the 13th

Horror Movies

from Books https://ift.tt/2AevHhN

#aion-rsa #Books

[sindearlyconnormurphy]

Ours [Connor Murphy x Reader]

Title: Ours Pairing: Connor Murphy x Reader Fandom: Dear Evan Hansen Requested: yes! Summary: the squad keeps teasing the reader and Connor for sneaking off to get down and dirty–except, that wasn’t the case at all. Evan sets the squad straight. | Connor taking care of s/o reader with Depersonalization Derealization Syndrome. Warnings: mentions of sex, alcohol, panic attacks, swearing | POV changes | First person reader | not proof read A/N: Thanks for such a lovely request, and thanks for giving me so much info on the disorder! I hope I portrayed it correctly, and I hope you like this!

“You all are the luckiest people on the planet!”

I found this hard to believe. It was sort of comical, however, in an only vaguely tolerable way, to see Jared Kleinman kick down the Murphy’s door, juggling several boxes of pizza and a brown paper bag full of God knows what.

“Care to elaborate on that?” Alana called, looking only half way over her shoulder. She and Zoe were on the floor, playing what appeared to be a very intense game of Sorry! They were already in their pajamas–yes, at six in the afternoon–and six of us had decided to have a lowkey party at the Murphy’s, since Cynthia and Larry had evacuated for a romantic weekend. Evan was parked in a recliner, his legs folded crisscross applesauce–his words, not mine–watching the girls’ game with genuine interest.

Connor and I were on the couch, my back to his chest, reclining. He was twitchy, and he had been all evening. I’d briefly asked him earlier if he’d wanted to skip the party, but he’d said no. Still, he laid behind me, combing out my hair with his fingers a little too roughly, his hips shifting uncomfortably every few seconds.

Jared stumbled in, dropping the pizza boxes onto the carpet–earning a loud scream of protest from both Murphy kids, the sound deafening my left ear. Connor felt me flinch and pressed a seamless kiss of apology to my jaw. I felt Evan smile at me from across the room–shy, like he wasn’t sure where to look. I tossed back a lighthearted smile, before turning my attention back to Jared.

“Because, my sweet flower,” Jared began, kicking the door shut and beginning to pull items out of his paper bag, the parcel crinkling annoyingly loud.

“Sweet flower?” Alana squawked, earning a glare from Zoe, who popped the dice unceremoniously and continued to move her peg through the holes.

“I come bearing gifts,” he continued loudly, brandishing his items proudly above his head. “Scotch, condoms, and Cosmopolitan.”

There was a moment of silence, the five of us glancing between the boy in the glasses, his pitiful treasure, and doilies Mrs. Murphy kept on the coffee table.

“I’ll take a slice of cheese,” Zoe called, stoic, Alana reaching around Jared to grab the top box and place it on her lap. Evan and Connor both had to bite down on their laughter at the sight of Jared’s shocked face–shaking beneath me, his breath at my ear, Connor felt like a reassurance that tonight wouldn’t be totally awful.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like our friends, it’s just that since we’d told them we started dating, they’d been a real pain.

“I hold in my fist illegal things!” Jared screeched, tossing the magazine on the floor overzealously. “And you choose to ignore me?”

“My mom owns Cosmos, dude,” I said, rolling over onto my stomach so that I could rest my chin on Connor’s chest, grinning up at him with tired eyes. School had been long for both of us today, and, frankly, I could stand to skip ahead to the part of the night where he kissed senseless in his bedroom.

“There’s wine on the rack, dumbass, and it’s a movie night, no one’s drinking?” Zoe said without looking up from her board game, tugging on one of her braids in thought.

“And who are the condoms for, idiot?” Connor nearly yelled, sitting up and jostling me back into a sitting position, my head swimming for a minute with the sudden movement, before relaxing against the arm of the chair.

Jared’s head swiveled, comically, between Alana, Zoe, and I briefly, before his eyes glued on Evan.

“Boys night?”

“No, you creep!”

We all laughed for a moment, watching Evan turn a sharp shade of crimson, curling in on himself in the chair. Zoe snorted a little too loudly when she laughed.

It was beginning to get frustrating–not making me sick yet, but any means, but nonetheless annoying. Because I knew what was coming, and it was only gonna piss Connor off–

“I’ll just give the condoms to Connor,” Jared said, throwing the box so that it landed in the empty space between us on the couch. There was suddenly lead in the bottom of my stomach.

Everyone realized, watching with baited breath as Connor eyed the box with firey eyes and a set mouth, a sudden blush creeping up his neck. It could set it off–shit like this had in the past. Still, I think–

“Gross, man,” he said, lightly kicking the box to the floor. His feet were bare tonight, void of the cute socks he usually wore, and after his movement he shoved them under my thigh–either for concealment or warmth, I didn’t know, but I scratched at the back of his calf loyally, letting him know what he did was the right thing.

Proud of you.

He grinned softly at his lap, and I could tell he was proud of himself too.

“What do you mean by that?” Jared screeched, reviving the headache that had started to blur.

“Drop it, Jared,” Alana warned, dropping a handful of green pieces back into the cardboard box, each thunk sending a hot jolt through my head.

“They’re sex machines!” He protested, and I felt Connor nearly choke beside me, drawing his feet away and stuffing them under a cushion. “Are you guys seriously not using protection.”

“Alana said drop it,” Evan said quietly, shocking all of us. “So leave them alone. It’s none of your business.”

“Whose ready for the movie?” Alana covered seamlessly, beginning to set up the tv while the rest of us began to calm.

Connor was shaking, and, away from him, I didn’t feel like he wanted me to reach out and touch him. I waited for the signal, something or anything that was him asking to get out of here, but he never gave it, just curled in on himself and watched the tv with blank eyes.

I shot Evan a smile, nodding in thanks.

What Evan had said was the truth–it wasn’t any of Jared’s business. It had unfortunately become Evan’s business, at one point, making him aware of the glaring fact that no one else in the room seemed to believe could ever be true: Connor and I were still virgins. We hadn’t slept together–and, we hadn’t planned for it in the near future. We just weren’t ready yet.

Not that anyone here would ever believe that.

I’m not sure I wanted them to, either.

Because at least that white lie kept the truth hidden, and maybe that’s the way it would stay.

—-

“Unpopular opinion: this movie sucks.”

“I agree.”

“We can’t watch romantic flicks or Mr. and Mrs. Murphy get ideas and leave early. This shitty sci-fi shit was all I had on hand.”

“Pass the alcohol, I changed my mind about what kind of party this is.”

Their voices were loud, pounding noises against my skull without really making any sense as to what they were saying at all. The dark should’ve helped, or I thought it would, but the high saturation neon colors and loud artificial gunshots on the television screen paired with the nonstop chatter of our friends made it difficult to concentrate, difficult to breathe. Everything was too much at once.

It was like living in a glass box, everything around me was vibrate and loud, amplified to the nth degree–but none of it felt real. Connor was staring unattentively ahead, his hands twitching in his lap. He hadn’t touched me all night. It usually wasn’t a big deal–I knew he was doing it to avoid the constant teasing about our PDA. It was starting to set him off, I could tell. Still, I just wanted a reminder I was real.

I decided to screw it, all their comments be damned, reaching out for Connor’s wrist as the signal.

His eyes snapped up to me immediately, concerned, his pink mouth forming an o. My hands were numb. He rose without a work, linking our hands and dragging me from the room.

“Where do you two think you’re going? It’s a little early to fuck, isn’t it?”

“C'mon guys, can’t you watch the movie? I don’t like knowing you’re doing that while I’m in the house.”

“–and Connor, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s–”

I had barely contained my sobs by the time Connor shut the door.

—-

“You guys shouldn’t do that,” Evan glared, turning off the movie and setting the popcorn bowl aside.

Jared snorted. “We shouldn’t do what? They’re the ones running off to screw each other’s brains out. It’s gross. We’re in the house. It’s bad enough they’re all over one another at school.”

“Yeah,” Alana agreed. “I mean, if they don’t want to hear us complain about it, why do it?”

“I can’t believe she can stand to touch my brother,” Zoe groaned. “He was being a real dick tonight.”

“You guys are so stupid!” Evan nearly yelled, shocking the other three with his uncharacteristic outburst, burying his hands in his usually neat hair. “They aren’t–they’re not–”

—- “Breathe, baby, breathe.”

His hands were roaming all over, pressing to my chest, watching his hands rise and fall too rapidly. I needed to slow down, breathe deeper. His eyes were concerned, hair falling into his face from where he leaned over me, knees on either sides of my hips. His hands scrubbed quickly at my shoulders.

“Feel me? I’m right here, you’re right here, we’re fine. Fuck, I love you, I’m here.”

It helped–he knew how to help, when it all became too much for me to handle. Touching me–it keep me grounded, reminded me what reality was, where it was. Connor was safety, I knew.

He leaned down, pressing his temple against my jaw, pressing kisses down my neck. We took turns like this–when he overheated, I was there for him, and when I had a bad episode, he was there for me.

“I’ve got you.”

—-

“What do you mean they aren’t having sex?”

“Let go of my shirt, Jared!”

“How do you know they aren’t having sex?” Zoe demanded. The three of them had Evan cornered, cowering into the wall. Evan’s bright pink face heated considerable.

“I walked in on them once? It was at school, after they, uh, left us. It’s not really any of my business–”

“Spit it out.”

“Whenever, uh, she doesn’t feel well–they have this code, she told me. Whenever Connor is upset or paranoid or she has a bad episode–”

“Episode?” Zoe asked, eyebrows scrunched. Evan paled.

“She never told you? She has Depersonalization Derealization Syndrome. Um, from what she explained it’s, uh, a lot of sensory overload–too loud, too bright, too everything–and she gets these episodes where stuff doesn’t seem real, I guess? I’m not sure I’m explaining it right.”

“I’ve heard of that, I think,” Alana said brightly, her face pinched.

“Oh, crap,” Zoe whispered, “and we’ve been making fun of them this whole time?”

“Well,” Jared sighed. “I feel shitty. Feel even shittier knowing Connor isn’t getting his dick wet, like, at all–”

“Just stop giving them crap,” Evan grumbled. “They don’t deserve it.”

“Yeah,” Zoe nodded sagely, scrubbing a hand over her face. “Yeah, okay.”

—-

“Feeling better?”

“Mhm,” I sighed, leaning back into Connor’s touch. He was wrapped around me, our foreheads bumped together under his sheets. He leaned up to sneak a peck at my lips.

“I’m sorry about them,” he apologized again, squeezing my hands in apology, leaning in again to press a lingering kiss to my cheek, earning a giggle.

“Don’t be. Thanks for every.”

He smiled softly, his jaw clicking softly, eyes soft. “Always for you, sweet girl.”

“Don’t get too sappy,” I warned. “They’ll get suspicious.”

“I’m allowed to be sappy when no one is looking,” he protested, kissing my jaw. “I love you.”

“Love you more.”

“Not possible,” he protested, finally leaning forward to seal his lips with mine, his hands grabbing softly at my waist. Connor was safety, I remembered, and I love him more than anything for it. The others could say what they liked–I wouldn’t trade him for the world.

#connor murphy #connor murphy x reader #deh #dear evan hansen #mike faist #ben platt #Connor writes the milk

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 59: Rising Tides, Crashing Skies

“I guess it’s pretty bad, but what’s a regular old guy like me supposed to do about it?”

Heyyyyy Ronaldo.

Y’know, this episode isn’t as bad as I remember. Watching it the first time, it stuck out mostly for its terrible timing after an episode as powerful as Sworn to the Sword, and looked even worse when its Steven Bomb was done: Keeping It Together, We Need to Talk, and Chille Tid are not great company when you’re only a middling episode. Even now, I think it would’ve been smart to put this just before Reformed as a coda to the human-centric chunk of early Season 2 episodes, or right after Chille Tid as a buffer between Malachite and the Week of Sardonyx. But watching it again, I can admit that Rising Tides, Crashing Tides isn’t a terrible episode.

Now, it’s not great, but what it lacks in substance it (sort of) makes up for in comedy. Where Crying Breakfast Friends is self-parody in show form, Ronaldo is self-parody in human form—which by the way further solidifies placing this episode nearer to Reformed or Cry for Help, which both feature CBF—so he’s a great lens to show a human reaction to the Homeworld Gems’ return. And if you’re going to use a gimmicky character, you might as well use a gimmicky format.

The saving grace of this episode is its lovingly accurate portrayal of a teenager’s crappy documentary. With the exception of the trying-too-hard reenactment jokes (the flopping fish for Nanefua and Ronaldo’s hand for the handship), I laughed way harder than I thought I would at its format-specific humor. Ronaldo’s terrible cutting is perfect, as is that weird but universal obsession with “official-looking” title cards (undercut by Comic Sans and plodding text effects).

But if you’re mining for comedy gold, look no further than the description assigned to each character. Some are general jokes (Kiki’s is “Pizza Heiress” and Mayor Dewey’s is “Mayor Dewey”) while others reveal Ronaldo’s perspective on his interviewees (Sadie’s is “Horror Movie Enthusiast” and Jenny’s is “Intimidating Teenage Girl”). Still, the obvious winner is Steven.

Still, the jokes directly from Ronaldo are, as always, hit and miss. Considering there’s not too much to talk about in Rising Tides, Crashing Skies besides the humor, I’d like to take a moment to examine what makes him so inconsistent.

Subtlety is where Ronaldo flies highest and falls hardest. I’m sure it’s difficult to use a light touch on such a broad character, but Zachary Steel is great enough at going full ham that he doesn’t need that much help from the writers. Ronaldo’s obliviousness is bound to make him say dumb things, but this sometimes makes incongruity itself the punchline when it should be the bare minimum for a gag. There’s a reason why everybody almost everybody grows out of “so random!” comedy, and it’s because there’s no depth to it beyond the standard surprise that most jokes have.

Still, this shallowness isn’t limited to lolrandom humor. Take, for instance, Ronaldo’s narration over his nighttime exposé. He looks right at the camera and talks about how brave he is to be sneaking around with a camera. You see, normally a hero doesn’t have to say they’re being brave, so we wouldn’t expect someone to say that they’re brave. But he does. That’s, uh, that’s it. That’s the whole joke.

There are tons of ways to show that a character is self-important that don’t involve them essentially telling us “I am self-important.” And Steven Universe usually does just that: Ronaldo’s brooding in Full Disclosure, his smug yet incorrect explanations of how the world works in Keep Beach City Weird, and smatterings of this very episode (like calling his home movie “an investigative report shot camera vérité”) all reveal how pompous he is. Which is great, but it only makes his “I’m so brave to be doing this” line more frustrating, because it’s not even teaching us anything new about him.

But on the flipside, the understated interviewee descriptions I mentioned above and small moments of Ronaldo acting like a real person as he futzes with the camera work so well because he’s usually so broad, and seeing him act like a real person is an incongruity that adds fuel to the joke (rather than being the joke itself). So you have to make him annoying and loud to make the quiet moments land, but not too annoying and loud because then we just hate the guy and the jokes get lazy. 

Again, this can’t be an easy balance for the writers—and I haven’t even mentioned the additional pressure to provide constant humor with a flat character whose only role is to be funny—but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy when the scales tip too hard on the obnoxious end. The reason Ronaldo works best in small doses is because the longer he’s on screen, the more likely it is that the writers will slip up and make him go full Ronaldo. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies does surprisingly well, but there are still plenty of moments where its hero is a pain to watch.

One thing that helps any wacky character is a straight man, and Peedee ably fills the role despite his own quirks. Atticus Shaffer hasn’t had much to do since Frybo beyond the occasional line, so it’s great to hear him spend a whole episode grounding Ronaldo with his signature blend of solemnity and anxiety. We already know from Keep Beach City Weird that Peedee understands his brother better than anyone, so putting him on the documentary team provides some much-needed commentary on an episode about commentary. I appreciate his introduction as an interview subject to reestablish his character, considering his lack of focus throughout the series, before making him Ronaldo’s semi-willing sidekick.

In terms of that whole subtlety thing I was going on about, I love that Peedee’s maturity and capability isn’t overplayed: he fumbles through filmmaking just as much as Ronaldo and spends as much time freaking out as he does calmly explaining things. Peedee is unusually responsible, and Ronaldo’s behavior makes him look particularly competent, but he’s still a normal kid and not a flanderized child prodigy. We already have one extreme character here, and I’m glad the crew doesn’t make the mistake of thinking we need another one to balance him out.

But it’s the third Fryman that gets the line of the episode, summing up what an adjusted adult almost has to be in Beach City. He’s aware of how powerless he is in a world of magic and monsters, but he sighs and accepts it instead of letting this knowledge cripple him. He’s got a family and a business to take care of, and he seems to be succeeding at both, so there’s nothing to be gained by worrying about things that are out of his hands. Most of the documentary’s interviewees have the same mindset, highlighting that Ronaldo is distinguished by his unwillingness to normalize weirdness rather than being the only one who notices it.

I’m surprised we don’t see Pop Fryman’s counterpoint, Kofi Pizza: Beach Party is an entire episode about Kofi facing a similar sense of powerlessness as Mr. Fryman with the same righteous rage as Ronaldo, so he’d fit right in (plus we see everyone else in his family, so why stop at Nanefua?). Perhaps having someone who actually agreed with Ronaldo would dull the episode’s message, but it would’ve been nice to see someone acknowledge that despite his many faults, our documentarian is correct.

The Crystal Gems are responsible for Beach City being a magnet for disaster, and seeing them from the point of view of an endangered civilian could make for a fascinating episode. Beach Party and Rising Tides, Crashing Skies come closest, and Lars’s own acknowledgment of how horrible such daily dangers can be in The New Lars is a turning point in his characterization, but otherwise we don’t see the consequences of being the Crystal Gems’ neighbors in a serious light until the end of Season 4. I feel like there’s a way to throw Ronaldo a bone in this regard, but considering it’s Ronaldo, I’m not gonna lose sleep over it.

Okay, what else. The Crystal Gems are obviously gonna be funny in a Ronaldo episode, as I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing him treated with open disdain (so long as the characters aren’t actually cruel like Lars). We don’t get any introspection from empathy machine Steven about how dangerous the Gems are, partially because he already did that in Beach Party but mostly because this is a breezy episode despite its pointed criticism of our heroes. It’s great that Ronaldo only wants them back because he selfishly wants a weird city regardless of the risks; that is, it’s great in a character sense, because Ronaldo is despicable and this lack of concern for others is true to who he is.

I don’t know for certain if the final shot is a reference to Ronaldo’s polarizing nature, but I’d like to think it is. Especially because, despite myself, I’d be clicking the same button as Steven. If you hated this episode as much as I did when I first saw it, I’d suggest going back and watching it on its own: it’s much better by itself than it is as a dead stop to a marathon’s momentum.

Future Vision!

“Wait, so the hand wasn’t here to snatch up humans for a human zoo?”

Ronaldo brings up the Beach City Wind Farm, which isn’t a thing that we see at any point in the show, but Little Homeworld is will feature a prominent windmill, so maybe this is another proper prediction?

Still no word on if the Great Diamond Authority thawing out the cryogenically frozen pets of the one percent, but considering Ronaldo’s track record I wouldn’t be surprised. I guess if you squint it could be a reference to the bubbled Corrupted Gems, but his theories are usually more concretely proven.

(But seriously I think Ronaldo might actually have a future in intergalactic diplomacy.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

It’s not as good as Keep Beach City Weird, but that doesn’t mean Rising Tides, Crashing Skies is bad. In any case, it’s sort of an entity unto itself: it’s strange to categorize it as something other than a Ronaldo episode considering he’s the main character, but the unusual format puts it in a whole other category for me: this is the Documentary Episode, featuring Ronaldo.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

On the Run

Warp Tour

Maximum Capacity

The Test

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Future Vision

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

     4. Horror Club      3. Fusion Cuisine      2. House Guest      1. Island Adventure

#rising tides crashing skies #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

[fxckmebuck]

Come back to me.

Request: "Can you write something about Bucky based on the writing prompt "I was nowhere near the neighbourhood, thought I'd stop by"? Thanks!!!!!! Xxxxxxxx"

Summary: After the decision is made to put Bucky back in cryo, your whole world falls apart and you completely lose control. Will your broken pieces ever be put back together?

Word count: 2,047

Warnings: None

A/N: I ran away with this so prepare for the feels to hit hard. I am aware this is low-key trash.

Italics are used to represent flashbacks.

Masterlist

"Y/N, it's always such a pleasure to see you!" The strong, firm voice welcomed you as arms wrapped around your rigid figure. T'Challa had not always been a friend but as it now stood, he definitely wasn't a foe.

"I'm sorry for not giving you any pre-warning, I was nowhere near the neighbourhood, thought I'd stop by." You tried to make your voice sound comical, uplifting, you tried to make it sound like just being there didn't rip your heart to pieces with every breath you inhaled and every step you took but, deep down you knew, you weren't convincing anyone.

The worst thing being you had no choice, being away hurt even more - ever since they had chosen to freeze Bucky again you had been propelled at full force into a constant cycle of pain and destruction - Bucky was the love of your life, a love you would probably never see again.

"No problem, you're always welcome. Stay for as long as you like!" T'Challa couldn't help the sympathy that laced itself into his voice from showing, he always worried about how you were doing because it never seemed to be that you were doing okay.

As you watched T'Challa walk away, you suddenly forgot how to breathe. It always happened this way, every time you came here your body would undergo the same excruciating sequence. With every step closer to his body, your own grew colder than the ice that surrounded Bucky but your heart burned like fire as it pushed lava through your veins.

Steve had asked once to come with you. Personally, up until then, he'd always thought it was something you should do by yourself but once he was prompted by T'Challa of the fact that you had tried to use your skills as a pyrokinesis to melt the ice surrounding Bucky as well as nearly and unknowing setting aflame the whole city of Lagos - Steve thought it was time to intervene, time to help.

But, you didn't want help. Not because you thought you didn't need it, as you were well aware that you were spiralling out of control and therefore extremely dangerous, but because you were ignorant, selfish and madly in love with a man that had been snatched from your arms.

You and Bucky were the perfect team together, you kept each other sane. The presence of your smooth hair and soft skin at night kept Bucky's nightmares at bay and, in the daytime, his electrifying eyes slowed the erratic beat of your heart. However, when Bucky was put in cryo, who was there to save you?

Your soul turned sour and your intentions were malicious, soon enough you were compromising missions and getting other people killed. You put your emotions and personal grudges before your vow to save the lives of the innocent and because of that, you had to go.

Soon enough you ended up taking a "vacation", as Tony first called it, despite everyone knowing that it was because he had no idea how to deal with you anymore. No-one did.

You no longer were the Y/N they all knew and loved, you didn't even know yourself anymore. So, your three-month vacation turned into a couple of years and you'd only recently returned to throw in the towel.

Pressing your trembling hands upon the glass that separated yourself from your lover, you let your tears run freely.

"Hey Bucky," you whimpered, pausing slightly to wait for a reply you would never receive, "so I officially kicked myself off the team yesterday. I think they always knew if I ever came back it would be the last time they would see me but, none the less, hope radiated off their faces."

Composing yourself you turned to knock on the door just as it flew open, taken back you quickly looked up and saw a security camera pointed straight in your direction. Of course, as soon as you entered the city, F.R.I.D.A.Y would follow your every step, she would know where you were heading before you even did yourself.

"Y/N?" A voice gasped. Looking into the doorway you saw tears already spewing from their eyes, a look of complete shock and confusion written upon their face as they battled between not touching you in case you disappeared and launching themselves on you in a hug.

"Hey Romanoff, looking good!" You chuckled, winking at her with your usual bubbly nature and, with that, she picked the latter, engulfing you in love, a feeling you hadn't felt directed towards yourself in a long time.

"Y/N, you came at just the right time, everyone's here and we were just making dinner, you can join us. Please sit next to me! I swear if Tony steals you away to show you his toys I will tackle him to the ground..." Standing there, watching her rant on about everything you missed, broke your heart into a million pieces and not wanting to forget the way it felt to have a best friend, you took everything in. The way sunlight made her auburn hair shine and her eyes sparkle, how her face constantly portrayed a look of control and reservation, she was sarcastic and, oh so, beautiful.

Breathing in her sexy aroma, shivers ran down your spine, it was something you had once been incredibly jealous of. Guys had always looked past you and straight to the beauty that now stood in front you, it had always made you upset until you met Bucky. Then, you were happy to have their eyes pass over you as you knew Bucky's never would.

The rest of the evening was a blur as wide eyes and open arms greeted you - in an instant, everyone forgot the last couple of years and everything that caused the separation. No one asked questions, no one felt they needed to, you were back and you were safe - that was all that mattered.

"Steve was there, I don't know why I was expecting him not to be or, maybe, I was just hoping that he wouldn't be. Hoping that I wouldn't have to put myself through the pain and realisation that I'd been forgiven by him but never by myself."

The sound of Steve's voice brought you back into reality as he stared in bewilderment at you from the other side of the room. With tears racing down his cheeks, he ran towards you, engulfed you in a hug and stifled your whimpers as you tried to apologise.

"The really fucked up thing is I want to go back. I want to watch shitty films on movie nights, I want to prank people with Peter, I want to paint my nails with Nat and I want to train with Steve. I want to hug him, I want to spend the rest of my days making it up to him and I want you to be there with me. I want to lie in your arms and kiss you good night-" By now, you weren't technically even speaking English, it was more of a mixture between heart raking sobs and a few understandable syllables.

Taking a long, deep breath you composed yourself and continued.

"Tony gave me some gifts, I don't think he could resist. They're beautiful but dangerous, they remind me of you. Everything reminds me of you..."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y has been telling me all about your secret missions and I wanted to thank you by giving you a couple of 'small' gifts," Tony said, with a smirk planted firmly on his face as he led you through the maze that was the Avengers main base.

"Tony," you sighed, rolling your eyes, "you know I hate unnecessarily expensive presents."

"Oh no, you'll like these ones. Trust me!" Tony chuckled in return as he was reminded of all the times he tried to shower you in luxuries and all the times those luxuries were instantly returned back to the store.

You silently thanked Tony for respecting the fact you didn't want to discuss the missions on which the gifts were to be used. You knew Tony often watched over you, your personal guardian angel, ready to call for backup if any was needed, hell, if you were in trouble he'd fly in there himself without a second thought. But he also knew the more personal side to the missions, every one directed at a Hydra base Bucky might have stayed in an effort to find information on how to reverse the curse Hydra had placed on him.

The next couple of hours were spent working with Tony as he modified the armour and weapons he had designed and made specifically for you. Each piece was as perfect as the other, you cringed at how long Tony must have worked on them for. Motivated by the hope that one day he would be able to give you them in person, that you would one day come back alive.

As if reading your mind, Tony let out a sob, a sob so full of pain and hurt it was like a million knives had been stabbed into your chest. Sitting down next to Tony you asked F.R.I.D.A.Y to turn off the camera and joined in. It lasted for about half an hour; both of you clinging onto each other for dear life - Tony crying as he felt responsible for your departure and the imprisonment of Bucky, as you cried knowing eventually you'd have to leave all the happiness you'd felt the last couple of days behind you.

"Soon enough, my time was up and I said my last goodbyes. I was finally leaving for good."

Taking a deep breath you knew it was time, you'd stayed for way too long already and if you stayed another day you felt like you would never leave.

It wasn't fair to do that to the team, forcing them to constantly be on the edge of their seats, forcing them to constantly anticipate your departure. None of it was fair, you knew you hadn't acted in the right way, turning up out of nowhere, interrupting the swing of things. You'd been selfish and you were about to be selfish again: break everyone's heart another time.

"Vision," you called out, "it's time."

Appearing from thin air, he entered the room with a solemn look on his face. "Y/N, I urge you to think about this, there must be another way, the only thing everyone wants is for you to be happy and safe. Your best chances to be those two things are here with us."

"Don't you think I know that?" You shouted, instantly sighing at the fact you'd accidentally and unnecessarily raised your voice, directing your anger at the one person who deserved it the least. Lowering it to almost a whisper, you looked down at your feet. "Vision, please ask everyone to meet in the common room in half an hour and, please, don't make this harder than it already is."

Once all your bags had been packed and gifts collected, you headed to your doom. Walking into the doors you found everyone gathered round the table; Sam and Nat were laughing with Cap about something or, more likely, laughing at Cap about something, Vision and Wanda sat together talking in hushed voices and Hawkeye joined Banner in a conversation about something way too complicated for this time in the morning. Searching for Tony, a hand enclosed around yours, giving it a squeeze. "You don't have to do this, we can work something out," Tony pleaded, without even looking, you could sense the tears building in his eyes.

Encapsulating him in a hug, you whispered in his ear, "Don't lie to yourself, Tony. We both know I have no other choice."

Silence fell as people noticed your presence and tension filled the air. Giving you one last squeeze, Tony kissed your cheek. "You always have a choice."

"I hate it all so much because I want to go home but even more than that, I need you Bucky, I need you to come back to me," With that, you finally, utterly and completely fell apart.

Moments later, arms wrapped around your figure - one inhumanly stronger than the other.

"Let's go home, doll."

A/N: Dun! Dun! DUNNNNNNN! Constructive crititism is appreciated!

#bucky #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky imagine #Marvel #marvel imagine #marvel cinematic universe #marvel comics #marvel civil war #sam wilson #iron man #ask me anything #chris evans #sebatian stan #sebastian stan imagine #requests open #peter parker #peter parker imagine #Peter Parker x reader #wanda maximoff #pietro maximoff

[mrmichaelchadler]

Nell Minow's Top Ten Films of 2018

It is remarkable how often movies, which can take years to make, seem to arrive at exactly the right time. This year, I was especially moved by films from black and female directors. As usual, my top ten list has a number one, and then everyone else tied for second place.

THE SECOND PLACE NINE 

"Black Panther"

Superheroes are fine, but it is the supervillains who make all the difference in comic book movies, and Erik Killmonger is the best supervillain ever, making Thanos, who knocked off half of the Avengers, look dull by comparison. Of course he was played by one of the most charismatic actors in Hollywood, Michael B. Jordan, who enters his first scene with such confidence, such sheer joy in his sense of who he is and where he is going, that we cannot look away. Co-writer/director Ryan Coogler gave him a backstory so compelling it inspired a #killmongerwasright hashtag. And he wasn’t wrong about what was wrong; he was only wrong about what to do about it. 

There was a nice parallel to that dichotomy in the scene Coogler says was his favorite, between Nakia, who is loyal to the royal family, and Okoye, who is loyal to the rules. Two of the film’s strong, brave, brilliant female characters have a loving, understanding disagreement about what to do when a tyrant takes the throne. Every element of this movie was thoughtful, nuanced, illuminating, and meaningful, words we don’t often use about comic book movies. But thanks to this one, we know we should expect that from now on.

"Blindspotting" 

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal had me holding my breath several times as I watched this funny, sad, scary, brave, wise, film about a man in the last days of his parole, trying desperately to stay out of trouble in a world that keeps throwing trouble in his way. It’s tough to make a movie about ideas that does justice to its characters, and it's just about impossible to do that and throw in discussions about art, gentrification, race, and parenting. Now imagine that it’s also going to have a confrontation that includes a rap monologue. That is a very high bar, and this movie clears it easily.

"Sorry to Bother You" 

The title of this film is just the first lie that call center employees tell the prospects they are trying to sell. But even before he gets to that fake apology, Cassius “Cash” Green (Lakeith Stanfield) is lying about who he is. On the advice of his cubicle neighbor, he is using a “white voice” (provided by David Cross) to ingratiate himself with potential customers. And it works so spectacularly well that he is soon getting promoted. His activist/artist girlfriend (Tessa Thompson) does not approve. Writer/director Boots Riley spent time as a telemarketer, and he knows how to entice his audience to stay with him, even to “buy” something we were sure we could resist. The “white voice” switch-up is just the easy provocation that leads us to a place we never thought we would find ourselves, engaging with fundamental ideas about capitalism at the wildest party in any movie this year.

"A Star is Born"

Depending on how you count it, this is either the fourth or fifth re-telling of the real-life inspired story of the broken down star who helps, then loves, then almost destroys a talented newcomer. And yet writer/director/lead actor Bradley Cooper found a way to make it new again, with life imitating art as a movie star is born with Lady Gaga in her first dramatic role. She is compelling and utterly believable as a pop star, of course. But what we have only glimpsed before in the performer known for her brash videos and outlandish costumes (that meat dress!) is her ability to be completely natural and vulnerable. I love the way that, like in a classic Broadway musical, every song in this movie carries the story forward and tells us something about the characters. 

"Mary Poppins Returns"

We took it for granted that this movie would have visual Disney magic. No one assembles a more gifted collection of production designers, costume designers, and visual effects designers than Disney, and no studio has a better, more organic sense of its own history and culture. So when Disney decided to revisit the 54-year-old classic based on P.L. Travers’s novels, after having already mined its own history with a movie about the making of that movie, it was fair to expect that it would look and feel as though we had never left. 

The magic touch is there, with gentle references to the earlier film, including an animated adventure that looks like the old-fashioned hand-drawn, cel-based animation that was Disney’s specialty, and an enchanting appearance from Dick Van Dyke, who played two characters in the original. Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins, and “Hamilton'"s Lin-Manuel Miranda as her lamp-lighting friend, are practically perfect in every way. And, as “Saving Mr. Banks” taught us, the real magic is not just about fantasy adventures but about healing the family. The songs, the special effects, and the imagination are a lot of fun but what makes this movie top ten-worthy is the heart.

"Green Book"

Maybe sometime in the future it will be possible to have a movie where a white person teaches a black person something important without being a white savior, or a black person teaches a white person something important without being a "Magical Negro," but it does not seem likely now. So this movie based on the real-life 1962 story of a sophisticated black musician touring the Deep South with a crude, provincial New York Italian white guy seemed like an inevitable cringefest (and, to be fair, some people do see it that way and they could be right). But for me the race/class/education/sensibility/sexuality divides are handled with nuance, sensitivity, and humor, and of course infinitely helped by Don Shirley’s music. There’s a reason the road story has been humanity’s most enduring narrative, going back to The Odyssey. Away from home, we have adventures. We find ourselves, and, if we’re lucky, we find each other.

"BlacKkKlansman"

There could not be a better match of director and story than Spike Lee and the real-life experiences of the first black cop in Colorado Springs, who went undercover over the phone to infiltrate the KKK and then, when it came time to attend meetings, sent a white colleague to impersonate him impersonating a racist white man. This film is so smart it crackles with the energy of its ideas. It is exciting, it is funny, and it evokes the style of the era perfectly with its clothes and filmmaking. "BlacKkKlansman" has a sensational brief appearance by Corey Hawkins, every bit as thrilling a speaker as the man he is portraying, Kwame Ture, and it has a tremendous breakthrough performance by John David Washington in the lead role.

"Support the Girls"

I am so glad that Regina Hall is finally getting some of the attention she has long deserved for her performance in “The Hate U Give” and in this film, a day in the life of the manager of a Hooters-style “boobs, beer, and big screens” restaurant. Dealing with constant problems ranging from trouble to catastrophe—from the hapless would-be burglar stuck in the heating vent to the waitress who goes back to her abusive boyfriend to the boss who insists that no more than one black waitress can be on each shift—she shows us the thousands of calculations she makes every day. This is a sympathetic, deeply human look at low-paid service industry people with no other options. Hall’s performance is deeply lived and vibrantly alive.

"Eighth Grade"

When author Anne Lamott was pregnant, one thing she could not stop worrying about was the "agonizing issue of how on earth anyone can bring a child into this world knowing full well that he or she is eventually going to have to go through the seventh and eighth grades." There’s a reason that even decades later, people still have nightmares about middle school. And in “Eighth Grade,” writer/director Bo Burnham and star Elsie Fisher evoke the terrible defenselessness of that stage of life so powerfully I kept having the sensation I was standing in the front of the school cafeteria, tray in hand, hoping anyone would ask me to sit at some table somewhere. This astonishing first film is so meticulously observed, and Fisher’s performance is so open-hearted, that it is easy to overlook just how smart it is, how carefully written, how well structured, how cinematic. Watch it twice, and you will see that Burnham is inviting you to sit at his table.

THE BEST FILM OF 2018:

"If Beale Street Could Talk"

I was enthralled and completely captivated by Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel about a devoted young couple caught up in an unjust justice system but still somehow able to hold on to their unbreakable connection. Jenkins honored Baldwin and his characters by bringing the full range of cinematic art to their story, impossibly beautiful actors with sizzling chemistry, performances of extraordinary sensitivity and precision, lush, beautiful cinematography and score, all of which gave the characters the dignity and understanding often denied people on the margins.

Honorable mention: "Capernaum," "The Favourite," "The Hate U Give," "Hearts Beat Loud," "Incredibles 2," "Leave No Trace," "Paddington 2," "Ralph Breaks the Internet," "Roma," "Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse," "Vice," and "What They Had"

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[daydreamingsofanightowl]

The Grieving Period - Part One

I got dumped. I got dumped by someone who I’m still in love with. We dated for 8 months and in that time period there were several times where I thought it would end, but now that it really has I realize how unprepared I am. 

The interesting situation about it all is that I now work with his best friend and I have put a security deposit down on an apartment in the same neighborhood as his. I remember feeling such a sense of relief when I decided on where I was moving, but now I’m torn. Do I continue on with my plans of moving there even though I know my ex will be less than a mile away? Will the familiar layout be a constant reminder of the past for the 12 months that my lease is in effect? The truth is that this apartment has the best bang for my buck and even though it’s 40 minutes away from my office, I still really like the idea of living there. It’s an extremely awkward and difficult decision that I have to make before the middle of May.

My life right now is a constant stream of mood swings. Sometimes I’m very happy and optimistic about the situation because the decision to remain friends is a mutual one coming from both parties. Sometimes I’m extremely depressed because I feel that there is so much unfinished business between the two of us in our romantic relationship. Sometimes I just don’t know how to feel.

We’ve broken up before for about 12 hours. In this situation, we met in a grocery store parking lot, had the discussion, and cried together. It was the first and only time I ever witnessed him cry. I couldn’t understand why we had to be apart if we were both so sad and miserable because of it, I went into the grocery store after he drove off and I composed myself and I bought some junk food that I took home and did not eat that night. I went into the shower for 30 minutes and quietly hyperventilated, so that I was not to bring any attention to myself from my parents. And before 9 pm, I was already in bed trying to fall asleep and be unconscious, so that I didn’t have to think about the mess I was in.

The next morning, he sent me an extremely long text message stating that he made a mistake and he loves me and he wants to make it work. This was back in January. Because I knew I loved him and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, I accepted the invitation to reignite our relationship. Fast forward to Wednesday, I’m in the same circumstance. 

We met in a parking lot again and he explained to me that it was over. He didn’t cry this time. I barely did as well. I actually haven’t cried since, but it’s not because I haven’t wanted to. The truth is that I feel more in control if I don’t cry. I want to show myself that I’m strong enough to not wallow in self-pity and constantly remind myself of the obvious. I’m doing as well as I could possibly be doing, but there are still things that act as roadblocks in my healing.

For example, yesterday I was at the grocery store shopping for the items I needed for the next week. I was casually listening to the overhead music and I heard a song that was familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. When I was able to identify it, my stomach started to churn. It was “Rock Bottom” by Hailee Steinfeld. He loved this song and it would almost always come on when we were driving in his car. Before this, I was blasting “Perfect Illusion” by Lady Gaga in my car and “Life Goes On” by LeAnn Rimes was playing when I entered the store. I don’t believe that my relationship was an illusion, but I still don’t understand how I could be so in love and not notice that my partner didn’t feel the same way. I was doing so well until I heard that damn song. And even worse, it became stuck in my head for hours afterwards. 

There’s still love between us and we’ve agreed that we don’t want to lose each other. I still want to hang out and be a part of each other’s lives. He’s said that he does, too. However, I’ve just received radio silence from him unless I initiate the conversation. I assume that he either was humoring me by saying that he wants to be friends and in reality he couldn’t care less or he’s trying to distance himself from me because he’s afraid to fall back in love with me and have the pain become more intense. I called him Friday to make sure that he was confident in his decision because I didn’t want to start the grieving process if there was any doubt. He confirmed that he is still secure in his decision to end the relationship. 

We’re supposed to tentatively hang out in a couple of weeks to either see a movie or catch up on a show we watched when we were together. I know that it will be awkward at first, but I’m sincerely hoping we can move passed that. I’m just not ready to come over to the apartment where we spent so much time together and see all of the knick knacks and gifts that I had given to him packed away somewhere and out of sight. For me, it’s not something I can do right now. If I do pack them away, then there’s an empty spot and it reminds me of why I had to hide it. That’s the thing though. My bedroom has turned into a museum of mementos from the past 8 months, but doing anything to change that is an act in futility. I feel like I’m living in a bubble and trying to avoid anything that will trigger his memory. There are songs I can’t listen to. There are shows I can’t watch. I can’t really even enjoy Pokemon Go right now because it was something that we always did together. 

Being a planner is great sometimes because you can go through life relatively stress-free. However, relying on someone else to be a part of that plan is not always a solid idea. I had this idea of my future. I would move into my apartment and after both of our leases were up, we would move in together. We’d take trips to Chicago and Ann Arbor and Tennessee and Carolina. We’d go to Comic-Con and Lady Gaga’s Joanne tour. We’d continue to go to our theater every weekend and see a movie that looked good and then we’d go to Applebee’s after and cross our fingers that our favorite server would be working. 

Right now, I’m struggling with the idea that that isn’t the future that I’m going to have. I’m struggling with the idea that maybe he doesn’t even want to be friends. I hate to think that I was just someone to kill 8 months with and now that that’s over, then he can just re-download all of the dating apps and find someone else. I tried to do the same, but all it did was depress me even further because I know that I’m not ready. I’m not ready to move on and to date or to even talk to anyone on a platonic basis. 

What I’m questioning the most is if you have to distance yourself from me, so that you don’t fall back in love, then why did we even split up in the first place? If your reasoning was that you weren’t in love with me, then why is it so hard for us to just be friends? Why can’t you text me to see how my day is going? Why is it up to me to initiate the conversation? I totally understand that communication will not be as frequent as it has been, but I hate to think that you’re not texting me because you just don’t care if you hear from me or not. 

Maybe I just don’t understand. Maybe I have all of my wires crossed and my assumptions are completely inaccurate. Maybe he just loves me more than what he is communicating and he doesn’t want to hurt me anymore by continuing to have consistent doubts about our relationship. I’ve had doubts too and there have been times where maybe I wasn’t in love with him. But that feeling always came back. It’s hard being in a relationship when you’re young and you’re not out to everyone in your life. It adds more stress on an already stressful situation. I just don’t understand why we could never talk about it. It was never a conversation that we were comfortable to have. But I really wish we were because maybe it could’ve changed something.

I’m not doing well with this. I’m not doing well with this at all. I want to ask him how he feels, but I don’t want to keep bringing it up because I feel like it might invoke the question of “do you think we should get back together?” and he’s already answered it once. I can’t keep living in the past. I can’t keep waiting for him to send me a text or call me to say he made a mistake. Truthfully, even if I received that contact, I’m not sure what I would do with it. We can’t continue to have a relationship with severely lacking communication. We can’t have a relationship when I’m always going to be worried that he’s not really happy and that it’s just a façade. If by some miracle he did contact me with that information and we did vow to have a more open flow of communication and honesty, then I would be more inclined to live out the plan that I had once had so much faith in. But every day I’m thinking that it is less and less likely to happen.

My fear is not being unable to find someone else. My fear is not being able to find someone as great as he was. As he is. I honestly could not have asked for anyone better. He made special trips to the store to get me medicine when I was sick. He was always willing to give me words of encouragement when I was feeling unattractive or dim-witted. He always surprised me with random gifts to let me know he was thinking of me. And because I’ve only had one real relationship, I’m not sure how common or uncommon that really is. He had his share of flaws in the relationship, but so did I. I’ve never experienced this kind of discomfort before.

I know that time heals everything, but I just wish that I could either rewind to the past where we were so happy or that I could fast forward to the future where the sting has been significantly numbed. I guess in order to be friends I just have to get used to not hearing from him every day. I have to throw out the idea that we will ever cuddle again or hold hands or kiss. It’s not an easy thought to process, but it is one that needs to be understood. Seeing all of the images of us together deleted from his Twitter was the most unsettling discovery, but also acted as a catalyst that inspired me to do the same. I’ll never forget this relationship, but it’s best that I don’t have a constant reminder of how happy I was plastered all over my cyber footprint.

The next challenge is going to be the photographs he had printed for me and the cards he gave me for Valentine’s Day, my birthday, our anniversaries, etc. I have everything packed away in anticipation of my move and I can’t seem to find what box or container I put them in. I know when I find them that it’s going to be like a knife sticking into my side, but it doesn’t mean that I have to throw them away. Those pieces of ink-stained paper have so much sentimental value to me and they can live on inside a shoebox tucked away somewhere like when Rory and Dean broke up.

I know someday I will be ready to love again. I will be ready to find someone and dive into a new relationship. I will freefall into it without the fear of being hurt. But that day will not be approaching anytime soon and that’s okay. I’ve been single my entire life minus the last 8 months, so maybe it’s time I get to know myself again.

I’ve always loved the monologue from Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night” video and I think it greatly applies to my current situation:

“When I look back on my life, it's not that I don't want to see things exactly as they happened. It's just that I prefer to remember them in an artistic way. And truthfully the lie of it all is much more honest because I invented it. Clinical psychology tells us arguably that trauma is the ultimate killer. Memories are not recycled like atoms and particles in quantum physics. They can be lost forever. It's sort of like my past is an unfinished painting and as the artist of that painting I must fill in all of the ugly holes and make it beautiful again.”

I will be sure to update this with the “Part Two” segment whenever I feel that enough time has passed to write more. I guess I’m writing not really to share my life and my problems with the world, but to just vent about them. This is the best way I’ve found to get through any rough patch in my life. In the words of the late great Rayna Jaymes: “the best songs come from broken hearts.”

-SV

[aion-rsa]

The Weird History of Friday the 13th Comics

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Friday the 13th boasts some of the strangest movie tie-in comics ever made. We hit the bloody highs and lows. Mostly lows.

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Feature Gavin Jasper

Friday the 13th

Jul 13, 2018

Horror Movies

Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees has been part of pop-culture for decades. It shouldn’t be surprising that he’s had his share of comic book adventures, what with him essentially being a supervillain in a story with no superheroes. Granted, he’s a one-dimensional supervillain with an incredibly vague origin story, but he’s been memorable enough to land him a dozen movie appearances. Many have told his tale in comic form and since the early '90s, he’s been represented by three different publishers.

The surprising thing to me is that the earliest Jason comic is only in the early 90s. For comparison, the RoboCop comics all stretched across the franchise’s entire existence. They were around for all four movies as well as the stretch where he was just about nostalgia. Jason Voorhees didn’t get the same treatment. For the most part, they missed the boat.

Topps Comics first picked up the license and Jason’s comic book debut came in July of 1993. Two comics came out this month with Jason in them, so it’s hard to say what was his very first appearance. One of the two comics was Satan’s Six #4 by Tony Isabella and John Cleary. We’re already bonkers out the gate here. Satan’s Six was part of the Secret City Saga, where Topps created a big story using a bunch of leftover Jack Kirby ideas that he never did anything with in the form of several miniseries that intertwined (think Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers). It didn’t last long enough to finish and with Satan’s Six, it’s no wonder.

The comic is a comedy about the demonic Odious Kamodious, who has his own team of agents out to create chaos in his name, only they always screw up. In the very beginning of this issue, Kamodious gets in an argument with one of his demons Frightful and threatens to replace him. He summons Jason Voorhees, who proceeds to talk like Rorschach and try to kill anything nearby.

Anyone else find randomly and casually tossing Jason into a superhero universe’s continuity really weird?

Frightful and teammate Bluedragon go after Jason, but he responds by throwing them a couple times and saying, “HRMM,” a lot. Despite only appearing for a couple of pages, Jason says that six times. Kamodious summons him back where he found him and starts making a blatant reference about Jason going to Hell. The angelic Pristine interrupts and calls out how this was a pointless cameo to justify advertising Jason on the cover, which came at the cost of continuing their very story. And at that point, readers stopped caring.

As Kamodious referenced, Jason was at the time starring in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, otherwise known as Friday the 13th Part IX. Based on the screenplay, the comic is written by Andy Mangels and drawn by Cynthia Martin.

That’s how far down the pipeline we are. By this point, the movie franchise was in dire straits. By the time any comic company thinks of doing anything with Friday the 13th, we’re already at the ninth movie, which was the last Jason movie for eight years. The really bizarre one.

If you haven’t seen it or don’t remember, Jason Goes to Hell is the movie where the FBI finally decides to do something about Jason and blows him to kingdom come in the first few minutes, onlit turns out that he can’t be killed unless stabbed in the heart by another Voorhees (though the comic keeps spelling it “Vorhees”). So Jason’s heart hypnotizes the coroner into eating it and he goes around vomiting the heart into people’s throats to change hosts until he can find and kill the rest of his bloodline.

It’s an example of knowing that you have to do something new and fresh, yet still driving way off the road. Also, if you’re all about drawings of bare asses, this is the comic for you!

But really, all anyone remembers Jason Goes to Hell for is that cameo at the end when Freddy Krueger pulls down Jason’s mask and cackles. That was the original “Nick Fury asks Tony Stark to join the Avengers” moment. It just, you know, took ten years, is all.

Topps didn’t want to wait to give us a big slasher icon crossover and while they didn’t get the rights to Freddy, they got the next best thing. Okay, they didn’t get Michael Meyers, but the next best thing after that. No, they didn’t get Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof, but—Listen, they got Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, okay? More specifically, we got Jason vs. Leatherface, a three-part series by Nancy Collins, David Imhoff, and Jeff Butler.

Despite being released in 1995, the chronology is very choosy, ignoring the history of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre stuff to make sure Leatherface and his brothers Cook and Hitchhiker are both alive. As for Jason, this takes place after Part VI, where he’s chained to the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake. Some corporate types have the lake drained of all the toxic grossness and Jason goes with it. He kind of wanders around, kills a bunch of people on train, and eventually comes across Sawyerville, where Leatherface and Hitchhiker are stalking some poor soul. Jason ends up getting in a scrap with them, where he disarms Leatherface (not literally for once), kills their victim, and then – in a surprising act – hands Leatherface his chainsaw.

There’s this feeling of acceptance between the two parties, leading to Jason being practically adopted into their family. This leads to a really awesome moment where Cook asks him his name. Since these guys need to start calling him Jason and he doesn’t actually speak, Collins goes about it in a clever way.

Through this partnership, we see the differences. While Jason is a ruthless murderer, he isn’t so much a sadist, at least not as much as the Sawyer family. He’ll kill the victims, but Hitchhiker will get on his case for doing it too quickly and not torturing anyone. Mainly, Jason gets along with them due to the way he sees his younger self in Leatherface. For once, he feels sympathy and it drives him to hate Hitchhiker for constantly being such a dick. From there, it becomes Jason vs. the three brothers, where Leatherface will protect his family, even if he does show appreciation for Jason standing up for him.

There wouldn’t be any more Jason comics for a decade until Avatar Press picked up the license in 2005. I had a lot of bad stuff to say about Avatar in the RoboCop article, but here, the ugly, mean-spirited, blood-and-chunks-covered style is a perfect home for Friday the 13th. If anything, it’s a fitting response to how most of the Friday the 13th movies were edited to oblivion by the MPAA to hide all the gore. Now we can see Jason punch a guy in the head so hard that it comes out his ass!

Avatar mostly released a bunch of one-shots, starting with Friday the 13th Special by Brian Pulido and Mike Wolfer. The Avatar Friday the 13th comics have some actual strong ideas mixed in there, but they also rely on doing the same thing over and over again...much like the movies, but in a different way. While every single comic of theirs has at least one softcore sex scene, there’s also a constant theme of the 1% screwing things up for everyone. Like in Friday the 13th Special, it’s about the children of the man who previously owned Camp Crystal Lake. The daughter, a shrewd businesswoman, insists on not letting that land go to waste despite the piles and piles of dead bodies showing why that’s a bad idea.

To be fair, she goes about it the right way. If Jason’s hanging around the woods, just hire a ton of military guys to take him out. That basically took care of Jason in the very beginning of the ninth movie, didn’t it? Too bad being in a comic book has caused him to go through a major power creep, and he’s now able to power through having a huge chunk of him blown off by a grenade launcher, as it just heals up in seconds. Jason’s way too overpowered and that continues on for the next year of comics.

Pulido and Wolfer would get back together to do a three-parter called Bloodbath and it’s easily the best thing to come out of the Avatar run. It has some serious dialogue issues, but the basic idea could have been the basis for a Friday the 13th movie and I would be totally okay with it. It actually comes across as a prototype for Cabin in the Woods.

It has to do with Camp Crystal Lake being opened yet again, this time with ten teen counselors brought in early to get acquainted a day or so before the campers are said to show up. Their boss is Kevin Carny, a kindly southern guy who appears to be really laid back about everything. He wants everyone to be responsible during the daytime, but at night, they’re welcome to enjoy the hot tub, an excess of beer, and each other’s naked company. The counselors all hit it off and immediately pair up with no problem. In fact, they pair up a little too easily, like they were handpicked. Discovered through some really unnatural dialogue, they all come to realize that all ten of them are orphans and have no families. Strange. It’s almost like if something were to happen to them all, nobody would really care enough to look into it.

Naturally, there’s more to Carny than meets the eye. Much like in Jason X, the military and corporations are very into the idea of bringing Jason in for the sake of studying his healing factor and weaponizing him. The camp is nothing more than bait. It helps that the protagonists, Violet and Rich, are actually fairly likeable and relatable compared to every other human character in Avatar’s comics. You end up getting a story of the would-be victims vs. the military vs. the unstoppable killer. It actually has a really good ending too, which will be ruined months later.

Around this time, Avatar released the Jason X Special by Pulido and Sebastian Fiumara. Yes, a Jason X comic. The movie is already a few years old at this point and I don’t think anyone cared about it enough to clamor for more Jason X in any form, but here we are. As it turns out, when Uber Jason was blasted to a lake on Earth Two at the end of the movie, he was really back on the original Earth. A woman named Kristen, one of the few remaining humans on the planet, tricked the ship into turning back to Earth for the sake of getting her hands on Uber Jason.

Kristen’s boyfriend Neil is dying and she needs some Voorhees DNA to potentially cure him. Even though she is able to capture Uber Jason with some nanites, you can imagine that this is a bad idea. It becomes a big, confusing mess, where Pamela Voorhees goes from being a voice in Jason’s head to being a machine ghost able to control all the nanites, leading to lots of human-like androids being slaughtered. Uber Jason is shot into space, where he stumbles across a party-based space ship.

That leads us right into the two-parter Jason vs. Jason X by Mike Wolfer. Really? Is that even a contest? That’s like having the regular version of the Hulk fight a super-pissed off Hulk. The story of this one is more contrived than even the beginning of Jason Takes Manhattan. So there’s a piece of Jason’s skull and hockey mask from the Jason X movie that wasn’t part of the regeneration process that created Uber Jason. When that ship was blown up, the chunk of skull floated around in space until – TOTAL COINCIDENCE – it now drifts into the very party ship where Uber Jason is currently slaughtering everyone. The ship’s cloning machine builds a new body out of dead victims and Jason is reborn! Fully clothed too, which I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining about. I live my entire life without seeing his hockey stick.

It takes the whole first issue for the two Jasons to meet up and the entire second issue is them fighting while anyone who crosses paths with the brawl gets chopped up. The fight brings them to Earth Two, where, big surprise, Uber Jason wins. He tears Jason’s brain out, shoves it into his own brain, and reminisces about his mother. He’s also chilling out in the woods near a lake, so even though the Jason X Special changed up the movie’s ending, this comic puts it back the way the writers found it. You know, just in case they were to ever make another Jason X movie.

The last book from Avatar is Friday the 13th: Fearbook by Mike Wolfer and Sebastian Fiumara. It’s a direct follow-up to Bloodbath and is especially pointless. It’s basically about killing off anyone who survived Bloodbath without any real drama. Sure, it makes sense to have the government people behind the events of that story taken out, but there’s no actual plot. Jason just effortlessly kills everyone for two dozen pages.

Also, the art is really bad in the sequential sense. It seems to go from point A to C from panel to panel with no sensical movement. For instance, in Bloodbath, they were able to stop Jason by freezing him. The only reason he was able to escape was Violet’s doing. Makes 100% perfect sense that they’d just try that again, right?

And now Jason is able to shrug it off completely to the point that there’s no sign of him being frozen one panel later. What’s up with that?

The ending suffers from the same problem. Violet is backed up to a window and Jason is coming. She decides to take her chances and makes a leap of faith, hoping the trees will break her fall. She jumps and the perspective makes it look like she’s at least ten feet away from the window. Suddenly, Jason has her by the neck and drags her back in.

Anyway, Jason would then move on to the next publisher, Wildstorm, in 2007. Wildstorm mainly gave us a bunch of two-parters, but started it with a six-issue miniseries simply called Friday the 13th by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Adam Archer, and Peter Guzman.

For the most part, it’s a basic, by-the-numbers Friday the 13th story in comic form, just handled competently. They’re reopening Camp Crystal Lake again. A handful of teens are brought in to clean up the cabins. Sex and drugs and beer are had. Jason shows up and starts killing people. Same old shit.

At least the cast of victims isn’t so bad. They aren’t great, but they at least have more personality and dimension than the characters in the Avatar Press comics, easy as that is to do. The drawback is that for the sake of conflict, they’re almost all over-the-top in terms of being assholes. Like there’s a nerdy hippy guy who looks to be potentially psychotic and everyone shits on him for zero reason. For one of the characters it makes sense, since it’s established that she’s had to put up with his company for years and she’s a terrible person, but everyone else snaps at him like he’s Donnie from Big Lebowski.

The comic plays up the supernatural aspects of Friday the 13th more than just Jason surviving taking a machete to the neck. Not only do they establish that the lake is haunted by the ghosts of a hundred murdered children, but the final issue even explains that the area is literally cursed due to some settlers murdering a Native American shaman.

Otherwise, it’s nothing special.

Marc Andreyko and Shawn Moll give us Pamela’s Tale, a two-parter where Pamela Voorhees explains her life story to a camp counselor while giving her a ride to Camp Crystal Lake. Naturally, she also murders her, but still keeps telling the story, mainly about raising Jason and how she’s been out to kill anyone she feels is responsible for his death.

We also see Jason’s father depicted as a drunken wife-beater and massive dude (he had to inherit it from somewhere) who is killed because Pamela’s afraid that if she tells him she’s pregnant, he’ll beat her so badly that she’ll have a miscarriage. Oh, and she’s also whispering conversations with “Jason” much like she does at the end of the first movie.

Jason’s birth defects are explained both between his father’s treatment of his mother and the fact that Pamela is constantly in places filled with cigarette smoke. It hits comedic levels once we see the doctor smoking a cigarette while delivering the baby. That’s dark as hell but I had to laugh.

Jason Aaron and Adam Archer team up for How I Spent My Summer Vacation, another two-parter. I’m not sure if this is the best Friday the 13th comic, but it’s definitely the most fun. It’s about a little boy named Davie Falkner who is at summer camp. At Camp Crystal Lake. They opened the goddamn thing AGAIN! CRIPES! Anyway, Davie has a bone disorder that gives him a malformed head and will likely kill him in five years. While he has normal intelligence, he looks an awful lot like Jason’s young self, albeit with hair. He’s constantly teased for his looks, but that’s a picnic compared to having Jason Voorhees show up to kill everyone.

After lots of campers, councilors, and cops are killed, Jason picks up Davie and drags him away, kicking and screaming. The only other survivor is the sheriff, who was so hopped up on meth that he accidentally shot up two councilors, and then hacked them up with a machete to cover his tracks and blame it on Jason. Finding out that Davie’s still alive makes him want to make sure he can kill the last witness.

Meanwhile, we get what is essentially a Batman and Robin origin story with Jason and Davie. It’s awesome and I wish it was longer. Jason never speaks or makes any gestures, but he keeps Davie safe out of feeling like a kindred spirit. Jason would go kill people having a picnic, wrap their food in a blanket, return to Davie, and throw it to him. Davie goes from being dragged around against his will to following his new hero.

Davie idolizes Jason for being like him, only able to not take shit from anyone who would bully him. That Jason is an even bigger bully than anyone else is lost on Davie, but it’s nice to see Jason make a connection for once in his after-life. Plus with the comedic psycho sheriff, Jason gets to actually play the role of anti-hero here. Granted, he still kills so many undeserving people, but the book is still sort of cute.

Yet another two-parter comes in the form of Bad Land, which is by Ron Marz and Mike Huddleston. It’s about two different stories from different times that run parallel. One is a present-day story about a trio of hikers who come across a cabin in the middle of a huge storm and become victims of Jason. The other takes place a couple centuries earlier, where three fur trappers enter a teepee to escape a similar storm and come across a Native American woman and her baby. Horrible things happen to the woman and her child, shortly before her husband arrives. They blow his face off with a rifle shot and he runs off, only to plot his revenge.

Yep. We have the Proto-Jason. It isn’t outright said whether he’s just super pissed enough to fight through the wound or if he’s a full-on murder zombie, but considering he lacks the wound when we see his rampage, it looks like the latter.

Huh. Wonder whatever happened to that guy.

The last normal type of Jason comic released by Wildstorm is The Abuser & the Abused by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andy B. Andy B’s art makes this easily the best-looking Friday the 13th comic by a landslide. Lot of great expressions and action in there.

The issue is kind of an alternate take on How I Spent My Summer Vacation. It deals with a girl who is constantly abused. Her boyfriend beats her, her classmates make fun of her, her father and stepmother bully her, and no authority figure will help her in any way. She takes it upon herself to strike back against anyone who’s wronged her and part of her plan involves luring her boyfriend to Camp Crystal Lake (which is not open for once. Thank God). Then when Jason appears to do what Jason does best, the girl gets mad because this is her kill and the two murderers throw down. Totally worth checking out for the fantastic fight scene.

Now we get to the grand finale in the form of two six-issue miniseries. Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash started in early 2008, based on a script treatment for a sequel to the Freddy vs. Jason movie that would never come to be. The Jeff Katz screenplay is adapted by James Kuhoric with art by Jason Craig. It’s generally okay. It’s nothing especially great or especially awful. It comes up with a satisfying enough story that brings together the three horror icons, has them play off each other, and gives us a big enough body count.

Freddy is able to convince Jason to do his bidding by banging his mother. At least, that’s what Jason sees in his nightmare, where Freddy acts like his new step-father and has “Pamela” tell Jason to listen to his authority. Freddy wants him to fetch the Necronomicon and wouldn’t you know it, Ash Williams is working at a nearby hardware store for the holidays.

What’s great about it is that we actually have a real protagonist to cheer for, who we know has enough plot armor to stay alive. The Freddy vs. Jason movie didn’t have anyone nearly as likeable as Ash. The main drawback is that Jason is the third wheel, mostly overshadowed by the other two co-stars. This becomes a bigger problem in the sequel, which I’ll get to in just a bit.

Sorry, I was wrong. The main drawback is that despite Jason Craig’s art starting incredibly strong, it becomes rushed to hell by the time he hits the final issue. That’s too bad, since the final battle between the two is excellent outside of that. Freddy is pumped up with power from the Necronomicon and Jason is maskless and replaced his dismembered hand with a machete. Ash is bemused, noting the lack of originality.

By the end, Freddy and Jason are both defeated for the time being, but the Necronomicon opens to a page that’s very reminiscent of the movie poster for Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, only this time, Ash is leading the siege.

That leads us to Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: Nightmare Warriors by the same creative team, though with Cruddie Torian doing a bit of fill-in work. Sadly, Jason Craig’s art takes a huge dive, even worse than before. Really, the whole comic is a gigantic mess, making it a perfect Friday the 13th comic bookend to whatever the hell was going on with that Satan’s Six issue.

It’s a real shame too, because I absolutely love the setup. It’s such a brilliant concept for a climactic finale to Freddy and Jason’s respective series. See, Ash is invited to join a support group of sorts made up of those who have survived encounters with Freddy and/or Jason. So you have a group made up of Maggie Burroughs (Freddy’s Dead), Dr. Neil Gordon (Nightmare on Elm Street 3), Steven Freeman (Jason Goes to Hell), Stephanie Kimble (Steven’s baby daughter from that movie all grown up), Alice Johnson (Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5), Jacob Johnson (Alice’s son, also grown up), Tina Shepard (Friday the 13th Part VII), and Rennie Wickham (Friday the 13th Part VIII). Then waiting in the shadows is maverick survivor and quasi-hero of the Friday the 13th franchise, Tommy Jarvis, who wants to take out Jason on his own terms.

Also awesome is Jason’s redesign. For the first half, at least.

After all the bullshit he’s been through fighting Freddy and Ash in the last book, Jason is barely holding together. He’s got so much battle damage that even if he’s freakishly strong, he looks like’s seconds away from falling apart. Between his jaw being completely fleshless and the bottom part of his hockey mask before destroyed, he’s got this badass skull goalie thing going on.

Then Freddy ruins it by making Jason his general and using the Necronomicon to amp up Jason's appearance, cleaning him up and fixing his disfigurements. He also gives him long, black hair, making him look like a generic 90s vigilante. This also allows him to speak for once when he has his final battle with Tommy Jarvis.

Certainly better than, “HRMM!” at least.

As I said, the book goes completely full-on nuts, especially when it comes to Maggie Burroughs. She is actually Freddy’s daughter and killed him in the sixth Elm Street movie (the last canon one before Freddy vs. Jason). Here, she’s secretly evil and is working for her father. I guess they can get away with it because she’s the hero of the most hated Nightmare on Elm Street, but it’s never explained why she’s suddenly evil. Then not only does she start dressing like a sexy X-Men supervillain, but she starts making out with her father. And he puts his hand down her pants while grabbing her boob with the other. What. The. Fuck?

Anyway, she’s crushed by a tank a couple of issues later while fighting Jason in the Oval Office. Strange, strange comic. The book has a lot of big ideas, but it’s completely incomprehensible.

What I find interesting is the ending. Freddy’s attempt to cause Hell on Earth via the Necronomicon goes sour and they give him the most final death possible. He’s stripped of his powers, leaving a naked human form, begging for his life. Ash shoots him with his boomstick, killing him. Then some really ill-explained and badly-set-up time-travel happens where the warrant for his arrest from decades ago is now correctly signed, meaning he’ll never become the dream demon and so many deaths are negated. Not only is Freddy done, but he never really started in the first place!

Jason, on the other hand, is stabbed through the chest by Stephanie (which is supposed to be the one thing that can totally kill him for good) and Tommy chops his head off, but his body is missing anyway because one day he’s going to go to space and God forbid we mess around with continuity!

Gotta protect the sanctity of Jason X, man.

That was the last we’ve seen of Jason Voorhees in comic form and there’s no sign of him coming back any time soon. Despite being such a cinematic icon, there’s only so much you can do with the character. He’s a walking plot device who isn’t allowed to be anything more, nor should he ever be. He’s just an excuse for shock value and mainstream comics have already gotten to that level of mean-spirited violence, making him nothing but obsolete.

Poor guy. Finally DC Comics is about constantly tearing people’s arms off and Jason doesn’t get to play.

Gavin Jasper thinks it’s fitting that Jason is a goalie, considering he's constantly out to stop people from scoring. Follow him on Twitter!

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