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#also like to imagine her being played by Betty white
sadboyeddie · 1 year
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Cute little boyfriend Steve things
x cuts the crust off your sandwiches and eats them for you
x if he sees you’re tired he offers a piggy back ride to the car
x loves holding your bags when you go shopping
x stands on the side closest to traffic, also sleeps on the side of the bed closest to the door so he can protect you
x is a really good cook
x grandma harrington took care of little Stevie when he was a boy and taught him how to make the best cookies and brownies
x uses his cooking knowledge to convert said cookies and brownies into pot brownies + cookies
x eddie begs Steve to make the brownies and cookies for him cause turns out the cheerleaders will pay more for baked goods then the other ways he offers
x grandma harrington also taught him how to knit and crochet
x it’s his biggest secret that he’s always kept hidden because when his father saw him knitting once he sent to his room without food and was called some very offensive things
x knitted his own sweaters (you know the red one from s2 when he takes dusty to the ball?)
x made a comment about crochet a blanket for your future babies
x grandma harrington was his only family support and when she died, he was 14, he barely came out from his room for a month and only came out cause once again he father dragged him out
x leaves post it notes around the place to remind you to do something (i.e eat breakfast, your turn to take garbage out, there’s leftovers in the microwave etc)
x likes to do laundry
x you cook and clean the dishes and he does the laundry and cleans the bathroom
x if you sit next to him during a movie he’ll be upset “you mad at me?“ - “huh, no?” - “then why is my lap cold? 😠” - “🙄😌”- “🥰”
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j4gm · 6 months
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SPOILERS!!! REFERENCES AND EASTER EGGS IN F&C ep. 10: CHEERS
The finale!
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Pawn Swan! This was another character who first appeared in Steve Wolfhard's post-finale loredump about the 1000+ world. I never expected to actually see him in the show.
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Nuts how this is like the third time we've seen Simon's ass. I love how Shermy is just chilling and playing video games while GOLB lets this random old man take a turn at the wheel.
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This establishing shot of Fionnaworld shows that it's very small. By the time it is restored at the end of the episode, this ominous white border is gone and there are more buildings, implying that it became a complete world.
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I can't believe Gary was thirsting after Scarab in this situation.
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There is a shop called Evergree Flowers; likely a reference to the episode Evergreen.
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This shop window advertises that you can learn to kick bugs. Appropriately enough, Cake kicks Scarab through this shop window while in her Godzilla form.
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The Betty statue has become GOLBetty.
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It should be clear by this point that Casper and Nova are a parallel to Simon and Betty, with all of their decisions being made by Casper with little consideration for Nova due to their unbalanced power dynamic. This is why Simon realises that he should have been more considerate of Betty's dreams, rather than single-mindedly chasing the Enchiridion and the crown.
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The credits confirm that genderswapped Ash is named Ashley. I wonder what happened to her after she fell into the void. Probably nothing good.
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Poor Marshall never gets to finish his songs. Truly he is the genderswapped Marceline.
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The name "GOLBetty" is now canon; Simon uses it in this scene.
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I'm not sure what's happening to GOLBetty here. A loose thread to pick up if this story ever gets a continuation, perhaps.
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Simon steps through several different universes, including all the ones we saw during this miniseries. I'm not sure what this world full of tiny bears is meant to be.
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Some kind of industrial capitalist hell universe.
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This is the Water Park Prank artstyle, implying that Water Park Prank takes place in a separate but canon universe. So Water Park Prank is now canonically canonical! (what a ridiculous phrase)
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Some kind of Jake universe.
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A universe featuring Magwood and his volcano lair, from the episode Evergreen.
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The snail! It's not dead after all. And it's a great way of symbolising a return to regular Ooo, as is the reappearance of the smiley butterfly.
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This was a strange selection of characters. I hope Jay hasn't left his younger siblings on their own if their dad is dead. At least baby Finn won't have to grow up in Vampworld, though part of me liked imagining what that would have been like.
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Fionna mentions that his is her top fantasy. The other two of her top three fantasies were Cake being able to talk and a kingdom made of candy.
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She gets a hammer, like she had in the dream sequence at the very beginning of the miniseries.
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Kheirosiphon goes back to working in a teashop, just like he did on The Drift before he was imprisoned by Scarab. Also Marshall's outfit here is incredibly gay, it's great.
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There is an ad here for a daddy issues themed comedy night. Sounds like Marceline's kind of place.
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Prismo's face glitches for a second. Ominous.
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Simon definitely needs to move out. This is probably an even more important realisation than coming to understand his influence over Betty.
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In the credits of this episode, Simon is finally at peace.
And with that, the miniseries is over! Back to the long wait. Will this be it for Adventure Time? Or is there yet more to come...
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foxes-that-run · 6 months
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2023 Haylor Timeline
Timeline Tag, or years 2011, […], 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, [...] and 2024.
12 January - Taylor performs anti-hero and The City at 1975 concert, multiple rumors Harry was also there, 3 fan tweets here. LK tweeted “I’m not drunk enough to admit how much I miss you”
15 January - MH invites HS to perform, H declines. MH makes inappropriate comments
17 January - Harry at Ferrari garage in a Italy
18 January - one direction members became shareholders who receive a percentage of profit from ppm music rather than directors. Indicates royalties are likely under £150k pa e
26 January - Little Freak is added to the Love on Tour set and stays there until June 13.
27 January - Harry's LA show that was filmed for Satellite MV. Seen being driven from gym
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29 January - LA - Harry kissed anatomical heart in Love of my Life and Played Medicine.
31 January - Palm Springs, heart kiss Matilda
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5 February - Taylor goes over to Harry in the 2023 Grammys, they fist bump with strong eye contact, brief hug the internet melts. Harry’s house AOY, ❤️ heckler, Taylor stands for his whole speech and dances and claps. Joe at afterparty
11 February blind MH “Wait until fans of the year band realize how much the singer hates the A list foreign born former boy bander.”
13 February- TS superbowl capital 1 ad
21 February - Woman added to setlist for 13 shows through to 20 March. Kissed heart during first performance of it.
28 February - Harry kissed heart during Satellite in Gold Coast Australia
4 March - rumours Harry DM’ed Yan Yan to invite her to an after party after Sydney show. She was seen with other influencers there.
17 March – Eras Tour started, Mirrorball/Tim McGraw. Taylor released the "more chapters" re-records of 2012  “Eyes Open” and “Safe & Sound”, “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” and  “All of the Girls You Loved Before.” Announced in her instagram stories. Woman taken off on 20th
24 March - Snow on the Beach Surprise Song
25 March - Harry break to 13 May, in LA 12 April. Cowboy like me/white Horse. Betty: "Love Story is basically just a how-to on how to propose. This is how you do it! This is how you get the girl! This is how you fix it. If you made a mistake, how you get her back."
26 March - Harry kisses em rata in Tokyo. 'Something I've been waiting for' leak
7 April - Harry arrives in Georgia airport
29 March - MH's ex said 'going fine' till then
31 March - 5 shows had Invisible String, replaced by The 1 . SBT. LK lighthouse era.
1 April - DBATC/Clean surprise song.
8 April - Joe Taylor split first reported by ET
9 April - Harry VIP PGA golf Augusta Georgia
10 April - Joe split press release. MH delete socials said "everything happens in eras. The 1975 is a very eras band. The era of me being a f***ing a***hole is coming to an end. […] I can’t perform off the stage any more.”
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12 April - TS Gucci lion Electric lady No pap
13 April - Treacherous/speak now, Florida (Harry MIA)
14 April - The Great War/YOYOK, Florida. Holy ground replace EHC in Eras Red intro. MH cries on stage in Sydney
15 April - Mad Woman/Mean (MH Australia)
19 April - Taylor NY dinner with friends. Taylor gives a fan a thumbs up that she OK. Great unfollowing. Joe seen in London next day.
21 April - Played Wonderland (!!) and You're not sorry. In the Betty Speech "I just imagined myself in the woods"
23 April - Begin Again/Cold as you SS
24 April - MH introduces 'She's American' in Tokyo with: "When I picture it, there's like three places I picture people listening to it, there's Manchester, Pennsylvania, that’s a whole other thing don’t worry about that and Tokyo” 1975 was formed in Manchester, Matty and Harry are from nearby Cheshire.
27 April - Harry in LA for last Late Late Show with James
28 April - Other side of the door/Coney Island, Houston
29 April -High Infidelity and Gorgeous, Houston
30 April - IBYTABM and HYGTG, Houston
3 May - Satellite MV released, TS & MH mouth "this is about you, you know who you are. I love you" on stage.
5 May - MH at Eras tour, Sparks Fly and Teardrops on my guitar. He joined Phoebe Bridges on stage.
6 May - OOTW/Fifteen. MH attends again
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7 May - WCS/Mine Nashville, Harry England
8 May - they Both have a break. HS in outfit in later Cartier photo. MH dating rumors reported.
10 May - Harry uploaded the Lights Up audio which included / was marketed with the line “do you know who you are” many confused by the timing as it is years olds
11 May - MH and Taylor hold hands in NY
12 May - Gold Rush & CBBH, Philli. MH on stage at Eras in skeleton costume. Blind MH is talking smack about Taylor
13 May - TS This Love, no intro/Forever and Always (Philli)HS Horsens in 13th adds Stockholm Syndrome for the first time since 2018 and Grapejuice 1st time and rest of tour. MH attends eras and seen with Scott Swift.
15 May - Taylor leaving Electric Lady with MH
18 May - People reports Taylor kissed MH at Zero bond with Jack and Margaret also there. No photos allowed in Zero Bond and weirdy no pap pics arriving. Last time reported to be seen together. It was 15 days after they mouthed 'this one is about you, you know who you are, I love you". 50 days since his ex said they were good. Harry in Munich, then MIA 3 days; England on 21st
19 May - Should have said no / better man. Betty "I wanted it to be something different enough to where it could really, really, really distract me"
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20 May she gave an intro to Question…? Saying she has never been happier, her life finally makes sense and this song brings happy memories, also played Invisible. Harry posted he never happier than making HH and he put it into a Midnights style box!
21 May - Betty Speech started referring to 7's, (700 hours of TV) through to August. James screws things up in August and has to win back Betty starts.
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26 May - Maroon and getaway car w/Jack in NJ
27 May - False God/Holy Ground
28 May - 1 June - both HS & TS MIA on tour break. Undated photo of Harry outside Cartier shared to gossip page 30 May. 31 May Taylor first wore $27k 80's vintage Cartier infinity necklace in NY, seen again in 4 July 1989 hint. Clean surprise song.
2 June - IWYW and the Lakes, Chicago
3 June - Expressive I don't wanna live forever / You all over Me. Betty Speech is short but emphasizes James's need to apologize more than usual "James, and he really, really, really messes things up bad with the love of his life, and he has to try to get her back, and apologize very sincerely, and profusely, and say he’s going to change and be better, and that’s all he has to do."
June 4 - Hits Different. Taylor eats a bug on stage in Chicago. Harry then ate a fly on the 12th!
June 5 - MH break up reported by TMZ later confirmed no longer speaking
10 June - Harry plays Slane Castle, Taylor plays Detroit, (AYHTDWS and Breathe) Taylor has 6 day break (unseen)
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13 and 14 June - Harry at Wembley, Harry kissed his heart tattoo after "And I'm the one who will stay" in As It Was. played Best Song ever WYMB intro. Deux Moi reports Taylor attended and flew charter. Taylor's last show was 10 June and not seen.
16 June - Taylor Pittsburg (Mr Perfectly Fine and The Last Time)
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17 June - Harry performed Sweet Creature in Wembley for the first time since 2018, eight months later Gemma had a baby. Only time played since 2018. Harry also played Wembley on the 16th. In January 2024 a photo of TR with Jeff was provided to a Tarry account in one of the Wembley shows. Wild Champagne Problems that refers to the cruel summer situation in front of 70,000 people and Wild Betty Speech in Denver: "I’ve always just had something happen to me, or feel a feeling, for even like seven seconds, if I feel a feeling, it’ll be like, ‘Oh! I have to write a song about this seven seconds of me feeling this way.’ It’s like, it’s genuinely been like, it’s not really a job, it’s like a full coping mechanism" ... (TTPD hint) ... "radical, the idea of a man apologizing in a beautiful, heartfelt, sincere way.’ I’m not talking about any of you. If you’re here, you’re exempt. You’re a really emotionally intelligent group. I’m sort of talking about other people right now." (Seven, (Aaron hugged her with a pat on the back, she gave speech about dads, father's day was next day, she sang "I hit my peak at seven." (no feet)) and The Story of Us) 18 June - Taylor with Gigi in NYC, Taylor 2 week break.
20 June - Cruel Summer released as a Single and goes to #1
21 June - First report of Taylor Russell at the White Cube gallery in London.
27 June - Taylor spotted at Electric Lady Studios. 1989 TV is announced 9 August.
28 June - 5 July - both MIA on tour break.
30 June - Betty Speech extra long and included "who lived in the woods alone" still with 7's. I'm only me when I'm with you and Evermore.
6 July - life & style reported they were making plans, widely reported
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7 July - Speak now TV released. Taylor shared belated 4th July party photos hinting at 1989, w/cartier necklace from May. Harry wore Purple and was happy in his show 6 July. MH seen with girl he broke up with in March and heard saying he is glad to be out of LA and away from stupid F***ing swifties.
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8 July - Taylor Russell and Travis Kelce spotted at Harry and Taylors concerts respectively. ....on the same day. Last Kiss is the surprise song, a break up song about JJ with a 27 second intro (how long the JJ phone call was, but what a coincidence)
10 June - AYHTWS and Breathe, wiped tears in breathe. Pap footage of TS crying in car
12 July - Taylor plays uno dare adults with Jason Sudekis (OW Ex) at quest loves can I as party
11 July - unverified rumor Harry at Taylor’s RI house ‘recently’.
19 July - daylight mv - super Haylor, long after finished posted“it’s just a video, just for you”
22 July - Love on Tour ends in Italy. Taylor played Everything has Changed surprise Song. Both MIA, Taylor on break till 3 August. Harry reappeared in Italy 3 August.
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25 July - love on tour wrap up video, peace ring appears briefly as having been with him on the tour in a bag of rings that were worn.
26 July TK talked about Taylor on podcast, she late said they got in contact "after that."
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1 August reports that Harry owns a house in Civita di Bagnoregio
3-27 August, Haylor Surprise Songs, Maroon 3 and 27 August, Exile 7 August, and I know places
8 August - I know places and the last Betty Speech to refer to 7 "watching 700 hours of television a day somehow"
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10 August - 1989 TV announced and Harry goes to Taylor Russell's play on the same day, 9 August in US.
19 August Taylor wore Cartier necklace to Jacks wedding
28 August - Harry attends Taylor Russells play more on closing night 7 October, with Kid Harpoon 30 September in London. Harry seen with SS Daley, it was soon announced he owned a minority stake in the fashion brand.
31 August pick you up leaked
5 September- Taylor posts if story “damn griff I love this one” about vertigo. The song is about a love that was scared and ran away, the singer says they could fix them.
14 September Travis talks about Taylor on the podcast again. Harry rode Lime bikes on the went to Hampstead Pond on the 11th, Try Honey leaked on the 12th
18 September - Cartier necklace again
20 September - Harry at Xanders wedding
23 September H’s personal trainer Brad Gould left for LA posting “new chapter”. They had been seen together a lot.
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24 September - Taylor attends first Travis game, Harry holds Taylor R's hand on the 26th. Taylor and TK are 'hanging out' the next day. Travis later confirms they had “Taylor and I knew each other for close to a month before she came to that first game” IE less than a month since they met.
28 September photo from 6th walking. around grumpy on the 28th. Taylor at Mallorca for a wedding on the 9th. High tides leaked 29rh
6 October - Harry in London with Tom and Tyler
12 October - Harry last seen till at least November alone at a London concert. And this ‘October’ photo are last seen with hair. Blind that Tks NDA is long and he blabbed
15 October - TS watches TK games x3: 24 September - 22 October. TS & TK on SNL 16th. HS California leaked neither seen for days. 23 Oct video of HS & TR in cafe.
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27 October 1989 TV. Harry still MIA. Taylors Jet in Kansas (Travis) for halloween night but not pictured.
3 November Harry seen in Vancouver with TR, head covered
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9 November Taylor wears Adidas Satellite Stompers. TVFN & Labyrinth. Video of Harry's buzz cut from 8 days earlier posted during U2 concert, same day it is reported TK will go to the Eras tour.
11 November TK at Eras, Taylor sings IION/OOTW mashup and end game, replaces lyrics to Karma with guy on the chiefs and run/kiss TK in view of crowds with photographer. Taylor’s dad and brother position TK and get of view of kiss, TK waves to crowd
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15 November HS London, Pleasing posts buzz cut photo. The next day Harry posts to his own IG a video with a Taylor lookalike open
20 November Taylor played so it goes and made the stadium green. HS I’m not happy leaked 21st, Pop Tart leaked 22nd. Said three more leaks coming with snippet of super pretty. Hs in London, fan via hs news 2 days later. Super pretty leaked in full 26th
27 November Taylor’s plane in KC, she’s not seen. Travis bought groceries and coffee alone. Reported staying in different houses because she is not seen with him. HS buys sushi in London. On the 29th Taylor shared a Spotify playlist with Haylor songs, Harry’s Girl Crush and JALPOYH
30 November Taylor released You’re losing me to streaming to celebrate being Spotify global artist. Jack announced YLM was written in December 2021. Her plane flew to London for Beyonce's premiere and left for the US before movie started it was there for 15 hours. She and Blake share what looks like after party photos. TS plane arrives in Maine 10:30pm, Taylor not seen, it arrives in KC at 1:30am. Taylor not seen since premiere.
1 December - Deux Moi reports that Harry and TR are expecting, Taylor and Joe had a ceremony. Tree ends Deux. Taylor later seen in KC at Christmas party wearing a squirrel sweater to address meme that TK can't spell.... because he can't. Taylor likes tweet implying sweet nothing was about Paul McCartney
2 December - Harry and TR rumoured split. Article deleted the next day possibly as it identifies TRs hotel
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3 December Taylor dresses like as it was MV wears Cartier necklace from May. Plane parked at KC again not seen again. Daily Mail reports TR and HS are in crisis then takes the article down.
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6 December - Taylor time person of year, slays, reputation hinting. Mentioned Paul McCartney again. Spoke about TK and made some pointed remarks about not being hidden, described time dating Joe as lost tine. Returns to NY and walks in jimmy choos with an Eiffel Tower and Big Ben in heels
7 December - Make my day and Only Angel demo with different lyrics leaked.
11 December - distant photo of Harry and Taylor Russell in Italy from the 7th posted to HS news. Rumored to have been in Italy for weeks with Alessandro Michelle
13 December - Taylor has birthday celebrations with Selena day before then part with Jack, Blake, Zoe and many others on birthday. Wears opal ring said to be from TK who couldn’t travel from KC. Harry leaks Jesus Christ Happy New Year and lights up demo. LK tweets lyrics to Juice by a Bristol band called Mount Zooka, an unknown artist. Taylor wears an opal and topaz ring she shows off in photos. Pap photos of Keleigh admiring the ring on the street.
21 December fans/People/Deux Moi had speculated the opal ring was from TK. Keleigh Teller posts a video of her giving Taylor the ring, people immediately corrects the record.
25 December - Taylor and her family including Andrea go to watch TK play football. TK loses and throws his helmet near bystanders. Jack shares an IG story of Taylor in an Eagles Shirt and another snippet of Merry Christmas Please don't call
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26 December - Harry seen with TR at a pond in England wearing only underpants and a Eagles beanie
31 December Taylor at KC NYE game and party, PDA. Scott Swift's email insanity resurfaces on Reddit. The emails are from a 2005 court case. Emails are in that link and also covered here. Lots of discussion on Twitter.
Continue to 2024
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apocryphal-archetypes · 9 months
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thinking about heathers (1989). honestly gobsmacked and flabbergasted that it even exists.
-it's a movie about high school that is rated R, so the majority of high school-aged people aren't supposed to watch it without a parent.
-none of the actors are actual teenagers and you can REALLY tell because apparently the popular girls at this high school decided they needed to look like the top accountants at goldman sachs.
-also, they play croquet.
-a disaffected young white man plots an act of terror against a high school and this isn't even the main bad thing that happens because the movie came out ten years before that started to become a regular occurrence in american schools.
-it's a movie about gen x written by someone slightly too old to be gen x, so they're caricatured as these morally bankrupt gothic misanthropes. yes xoomers did eat it up.
-betty finn is the hottest nerd you've ever seen and she's preppy but the heathers still decided that veronica, who probably used to growl at people freshman year, should be the one to join their clique.
-this movie is the only time any person, real or fictional, has ever expressed a desire for corn nuts.
-or validated the existence of corn nuts.
-jd knows that his dad exploded his mom and just. lives with him. as if their family was the normal amount of fucked up? he tells veronica abt his mother's death like it's nothing. she decides that what he needs is some spaghetti.
-heather chandler (the most important heather) is dead for the majority of the movie. her ghost appears wearing an outfit she did not die in, never wore, and in fact, wouldn't have been caught dead wearing in life.
-jd's grandpa was a nazi and the canon reason he brings this up is to make veronica less afraid of the fact that he has a gun.
-the surreal elements don't even read as taking place only in veronica's imagination because the entire everything is so buck wild.
-the cheerleader outfits for westerburg high are black with red accents like they're extras in a my chemical romance music video or something.
-heather duke is an ornery repressed lesbian who binges rotisserie chicken in the locker room because if she looked at a woman's body in anything less than a power suit she would implode.
-the whole thing takes place in ohio?
however the most unrealistic part of all of this is that veronica successfully fakes her suicide to her boyfriend whose main characteristic is being obsessed with death and destruction.
and then they made it into a musical on the west end where kurt kelly's dad sings a song about how he loves his dead gay son and the vietnam war is played for a flippant analogy.
because of the language, alcohol use, sex, and triggering content there is a high school edit of the musical. you may have logically assumed that this high school edition is considered appropriate for high schoolers. however i have seen at least one production of heathers the musical high school edition marked as "for mature audiences only".
there is no way this movie exists in the real world. it feels like a fucking straw man. what the fuck. what the fuck. it can't possibly be normal to like this movie.
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pomegranarchy · 6 months
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By the way for 'Have You Any Faith?' I am SO curious on it, and it's relationship to the original, because I've read through the original, and the sequel. I'm very curious on whether anything of the sequel will come through, or will you make your own sequel for it? What will the Wordsmith and THK's relationship be by the end? How will it all end, will the finale be just a shifted to fit this universe's version of the original? Or will it be an entirely new one? Will the lore of Hoops' be kept, partially part of, or just replaced/ignored in this story? There's SO many other questions to ask, and honestly I don't expect you to answer any of the ones I just said. But basically, very excited to see how things play out! I need to do a re-read and entire search through your tumblr for all the stuff sometime soon but... later.
Oh and on Fionna and Cake, which you seem to like, I have a few ideas. I kind of assumed before watching or learning about the Winter King that he was an elemental or something related to the ice elemental was surrounding him, which, probably not. Or at least, that elemental thing that happened in the mini-series, is what happened to kid Marcy. Also, BETTY???? She can't have ever returned to disappear, and Winter King knows she's dead... I think he straight up killed her in that madness and sadness the crown first induced, which is why things turned out different later on, like the butterfly effect. Also, headcanon/idea on the Fern in the FaC universe, which I'll just call Fauna because it sounds good enough, and I heard it elsewhere. Basically, I imagine she's Fionna's half sister on her dead beat mom's side, because that seems in character for OG Martin, so why not for the gender bent version. But also, because... angst, Fauna has some kind of chronic degenerative disease, because, well... Fern seemed kinda bound to a not great fate... Also, angst. I imagine though that Fionna and Fauna have 0 idea about being half-sisters.
-Sincerely, a fan of yours who HAS asked before but is worried this will come off too strong
I'm writing roughly as I go, so there's no backlog. (Perhaps a mistake on my part, given the current pause...)
If I feel the need for a sequel, I might go for it! As it stands I have very different plans for how HYAF will end. The lore and worldbuilding is already pretty separate from Hoops, since I've got drastically different ideas on Hallownest's history. You can see that enough in how I've characterized the White Lady and Pale King so far.
There's some aspects that will be the same or similar, but I feel outright stating them would be a bit of a spoiler!
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Head canons! head canons!!
whats ur McDuke headcanons, or any heathers headcanons, moot?
Ok so! This is all the headcanons I have (so far) warning: they all suck ;-;
🔴 Chandler and Mc were best friends since kindergarten. This explains why Chan isn't so tough with Mac.
🔴 Veronica, Martha, Betty, and Duke were all best friends since childhood and would often play in the woods or hunt for frogs. (majority of the fanfictions I've read says Duke, Mac, and Chan have known each other for a number of years but since I like to mix both musical and movie, I made this bcs they merged Martha and Betty together. Martha being Duke's friend in the movie and Betty being Veronica's friend. Also I thought it'd be cool to see the quadruplets)
🔴 Duke and Mac met in their sophomore year in westerburg when Mac saw Duke read-walking with her cute lime-green glasses and green turtleneck. The Moby Dick that Duke reads was a present from Mac.
🔴 Chandler didn't like Duke because she could see a manipulative and power hungry girl that was hiding in the shell of a nerd. She saw that Duke had potential and had the power, if she pleases, to take the throne. So Chandler let her in the group while constantly degrading Duke and letting Duke know that Chandler is the one incharg.
🔴 Mac is very allergic to pollen.
🔴 JD was a smart and loving kid with a beautiful imagination before his mother's suicide.
🔴 JD wanted to be a chef when he was little because his mom would teach him how to cook.
🔴 At random moments in time, Veronica would just hum famous movie themes like jaws, rocky, west side, etc.
🔴 Chandler secretly loves melodramatic movies with cheesy and predictable endings with a specific trope: Two akward characters interact with an awkward hi and an even awkward conversation but they slowly show affection with each other throughout the movie. GIRL WOULD CRY AND LAUGH AND BLUSH AND FEEL SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT BUT STILL CONTINUES TO WATCH AS SHE HIDES BEHIND A PILLOW AND SQUEAK!!!!
🔴 Duke never likes physical contact but she's okay when Mac does it.
🔴 Veronica could not bake even if her life depended on it. Meanwhile, Chandler is excellent at baking.
🔴 Duke has two young siblings called Kim Duke(10) and Lily Duke(7) and Duke is a completely different person when she's with her siblings. She cooks, makes sure the kids go to school on time and do their homework, and she makes sure they're safe. Something Mac finds absolutely adorable.
🔴 JD knows how to fly a plane… don't ask how… he just does. Also he knows how to tame a crocodile.
🔴 When shit happened, Betty was the only friend Martha had left.
🔴 Duke was forced to learn the piano when she was 5 up until she was 18 and moved out for college.
🔴 Mac would always cuddle with Duke whenever the Heathers+Veronica would have a sleepover. Chandler *secretly* likes to be close to Veronica.
🔴 Chandler and Veronica are trying to hide the fact that they have little crushes for each other and always plays it off as "I hate her but I need her if I want to survive Senior Year"
🔴 Duke is great at reading social cues and body language, Mac is great at reading mannerisms and facial expressions, Chandler has excellent judgement skills and manipulation tactics, JD has amazing manipulative tactics and he's got charm, Veronica is a fast thinker yet impulsive and easily impressionable at times.
🔴 Chandler is allergic to pineapples. Don't ask, she just it.
🔴 Veronica is terrified of dogs because one bit her when she was little.
🔴 Mac has social anxiety. Veronica definitely has PTSD, Chandler has daddy issues, JD has mommy issues, Duke has an inferiority complex.
🔴 Ram knows how to play the saxophone (he chose the instrument because he thought it sounds like sex on the phone and thought it was funny) turns out he's good with it and likes jazz. Him and Duke played jazz together when they were dating.
🔴 JD has a little white stuffed rabbit his mom gave him when he was little. That rabbit has been his only friend and the only thing he has kept that ain't black. It's name is Mutter.
🔴 Due to her childhood friends constantly getting hurt, Martha knows first aid.
🔴 Chandler is prone to fist fights and often gets herself in trouble just for her father to show some affection towards her. But he never does and he just pays the other kid's parents and gives Chandler whatever she wants just for her to stop whining. That's why she maxs her dad's credit card.
🔴 [THIS ONE IS A STREATCH AND WOULD PROBABLY HAPPEN IN AN AU OR A FIX-IT-FIC] Duke proposed to Mac at night on the top of the empire state building. The night has the full moon and the city that never sleeps shone beautiful golden lights that adds to the beauty of the scene. Mac later gives her sweet answer with a kiss.
🔴 [THIS ONE IS A STREATCH AND WOULD PROBABLY HAPPEN IN AN AU OR A FIX-IT-FIC] Chandler Proposed to Veronica in a typical "Heather Chandler" way where she brought Veronica to an expensive restaurant and got Duke and Ram to play jazz and then got Betty, Kurt, Martha, and JD to hold a sign that said "Will. You. Marry. Me." But JD and Kurt, being assholes, they changed it to "You. Will. Marry. Me" they're not asking. They're ordering.
🔴 Heathers get therapy.
🔴 Duke and Mac play family with Kim and Lily. Chandler loves Lily and often buys her expensive stuff and Chandler says "she reminds me of me, therefore she deserves the best" Meanwhile, Veronica loves Kim and says "he's like a brother I've always wanted! He's too good for this cold, uncaring planet!" And Mac loves Duke for obvious reasons and says "since we're all claiming a Duke, I get this one"
🔴 Duke wears a pink apron with a little panda stitched to it when she cooks and JD wears a purple one that says "I cook to deal with trauma", and Chandler wears a baker's uniform with red checkers etched on the apron and the hat
🔴 Veronica likes to swim. Actually a really good swimmer.
🔴 Duke makes fun of people in Korean but in rare cases, she would actually compliment someone in Korean but she adds roughness to it so you'd automatically think she's insulting you. And honestly? She prefers that you don't think she's being nice.
🔴 Contrary to popular beliefs, Heather does have a heart, shocker huh? Chandler will cry when animals die, old people being old people and doing old people stuff. She could never bring herself to watch the green mile or any other film she knows has a sad ending.
🔴 Veronica has this uncontrollable urge to murmer under her breath and roll her eyes when she's annoyed.
🔴 [THIS ONE IS A STREATCH AND WOULD PROBABLY HAPPEN IN AN AU OR A FIX-IT-FIC] Mac's parents, mostly her mom since her dad is always away, have been one of the most welcoming parents (aside from Veronica's) who treats the girls and even JD as her own children. Mac's dad, when back from work, would play catch with JD (something he didn't like at first but eventually grew to love it)
🔴 Kurts gay and in denial, Ram's a prick who would make fun of gay people (lets be real here. THIS IS OHIO IN 1989!), Chandler's a lesbian in Narnia who may or may not have the case of self-homophobia, Mac's pretty open about being pan, Duke's an asexual-Biromantic and would only express her like for women discreetly, Veronica's pretty open about her being Bi, JD doesn't care what gender you like as long as you leave him alone, Martha had a hard time adjusting that Veronica and Duke were Bi but eventually accepted them, and Betty is in full support!
🔴 Ram likes turtles because he thinks it's cool how tough they are. Something he openly shared with Martha when they were little.
🔴 Duke is always the butt of Chandler's jokes, veronica's laughs along, and Mac often misses the jokes.
🔴 Veronica learned how to forage notes when she got sentenced to detention and was too scared to actually tell her parents so she faked a note to her principal using a perfect copy of her dad's handwriting. Complete with signature.
🔴 Duke and Chandler have this weird staring contest where they secretly talk, it usually ends with Duke looking down and Chandler raising her head high. But on rare occasions, Duke would be the one to hold her head high.
🔴 Mac and Duke are often stuck in the middle of Chandler and Veronica's weird sexual tension. Duke sighs every time, Mac tries to hide her giggles as she knows Chandler really likes Veronica, JD takes advantage of this, Kurt notices but doesn't acknowledge it, Ram doesn't notice anything, Martha suspects something is going on but pushes it to the side, and Betty makes jokes about it which makes Veronica blush.
🔴 Chandler gets easily frustrated when things don't go as planned and she takes it out on Duke. Bcs why the hell not.
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writernopal · 11 months
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Top 10 Character Essence Tag
Tagged by @leighvalentin in a new-to-me tag! See their post here!
Rules:
A challenge to give your Top 10 favourite characters, based on their ESSENCE. They have to be favourite characters that also have a deeper literary value, where you enjoy their specific role in the story, and this means that the list also should exclude characters that would normally count as favourites if for purely nostalgic reasons. They can be from film, tv, or written media, anything.
Alright I have to admit, I dragged my feet on this one because I had to think very hard about all of these!
Tagging (gently): @sam-glade @elshells @mariahwritesstuff @autumnalwalker and anyone else who'd like to do this!
10. Skeeter - The Help
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Skeeter is the epitome of how blind someone can become in the face of morality. She constantly asserts that she is doing right by the maids she interviews for her book and believes she is above her peers and family because of her more 'modern' outlook. The film frames her as a hero for these aspects, but if you look deeper, this heroism doesn't really exist. She's just lauded for being a hero because everyone else lacks any sort of decency. I enjoy the take on perspective this brings to the table and also the bitter taste her character leaves in my mouth. Proof that anyone can be the hero of their own story and how that view can easily become flawed.
9. Sophie - Howl's Moving Castle
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Sophie is on this list because she is the epitome of an arc I love in any character: self-discovery and self-acceptance. The way her age fluctuates throughout the film is a subtle and clever way of demonstrating this progression! That aside, what is more compelling to me about that and her as a character is how often she goes through that change and doesn't even realize it. She is a beautiful representation of how someone who can be considered inherently 'good' and 'humble' can still wrestle with their own identity and perceived worth. She's also a great representation of how coming to that realization often takes a lot of work, and the progress is most definitely NOT linear.
8. Miranda - The Devil Wears Prada
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Aside from being played by one of my favorite actresses of all time, Miranda is a favorite of mine because of a line that Andy says in the movie: "If Miranda were a man, no one would notice anything about her except how good she is at her job." She's set up to be the obvious antagonist of the story from the start (and rightfully so because, objectively, she treats Andy like trash), but I think she highlights how important gender is as part of perception (both IRL and in media). Sure, it's entertaining (to a degree) to watch her dunk on Andy the whole time and maybe to even start hating her somewhere along the way because she's just SO much, but I think the ire her character elicits is absolutely far greater than it would have been were she a man. And I realize this is a VERY narrow take on the discussion of gender as a whole and probably pretty basic compared to other depictions of it, but it's accessible and direct, which I believe is valuable if only to stir the mind to become more curious and engaged with the subject.
7. Betty - Mad Men
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A character whom I adore because she is the tragic product of her times. She is the quintessential American housewife, with the two kids, the white picket fence, money, and every comfort imaginable laid at her feet. Despite this, she is so SO unhappy, and I FEEL for her. She often laments her own loneliness and how she has no one who will listen to her. She feels no sense of belonging, nor does she feel she has refuge in the place she should consider home. She is portrayed as combative and childish, often dismissed, and it is often implied that she is stupid. I think she highlights exceptionally well how the caged nature of life, and more specifically, the traditionally caged life of women, is the source of undying anguish and of a one-dimensional, inaccurate, and cold representation of the self in the eyes of onlookers.
6. Joan - Mad Men
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If I could put all of the ladies from Mad Men on this list, I would! But Joan is on here because she's tragic in a different way from Betty. Yes, I said tragic, and I stand by that because, despite her relatively happy ending, she has to endure loss and disillusionment, all while pretending that it's not happening. She works so hard to portray this outward appearance of a life that isn't falling apart or miserable. And this is not me ragging on her choices; her life is made miserable by the people, specifically the men around her, forcing her to be complacent in the system that is keeping her in check to cover their own asses. The episode that hits me the hardest is when she is having her going away party, and she is telling everyone how she is going to move out to the country with her doctor husband only to burst out crying because just the night before, he's told her that he didn't get the residency and she can't quit her job. But it's too late, and now, instead of saying anything about it, she bites the bullet in favor of protecting her husband's reputation. I think she perfectly represents the effects of sustained sacrifice of the self for the sake of survival.
5. Elisa - The Shape of Water
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Oh, my dear Elisa! She is a huge inspiration for Mariel, but that is not why she's here. She's here because I think her character does an excellent job of avoiding a lot of common (and frankly rather gross) ableist tropes. It's not overlooked that she's mute, and many characters in the film comment on it, explicitly bringing it to the viewer's attention. She is seen as being uncomfortable and even disturbed by the attention placed on it at times (Strickland, I'm looking at you), and openly expresses the desire to be seen for more than her disability. I think the film does an excellent job of highlighting how actually weird it is that we (collective/societal we) fixate on disabilities in general and gives weight to the view that many abled folks ignore in favor of being overly aware of a disability should it be apparent (Let's not even get to the levels of weird/3d chess abled people play with unseen disabilities). This is not to say that we should all hold hands and pretend that people with disabilities just need to 'try harder' or that they can 'do anything'. It's more important and not a 'bad' or 'taboo' thing to acknowledge limitations when they exist. Offering a helping hand when needed, and more specifically, wanted by the individual, is okay, but they're people dammit. Treat them as such.
4. Lenore - Castlevania
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I liked Lenore's character from the start for the more surface-level reasons. I thought she was clever, witty, and fun, but the more I got to know her, and especially when I saw how her story ended, she quickly became one of my all-time favorites. She is the epitome of a slow-born realization that things are quickly spiraling out of control, and is horrified by her circumstances. I remember reading that a lot of people really hated her ending, but I was not among those who did. I believe that it was her way of choosing freedom, especially after her world had been shattered and forever changed. While sad, I think it was appropriate, and I remember feeling at peace along with her. Ultimately, I think it demonstrates that the decisions made by others don't need to make sense to us, and often won't, because we have not lived their experience and may not fully understand the impact those experiences may have had on them.
3. Fane - Divinity Original Sin II
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I fully realize that Fane falls into the trope of sad immortal and a little into the territory of robot learning to love, but what captivates me the most about him is how we have the opportunity to grieve with him throughout the game. He initially comes off as very on his high horse and is pretty obtuse in his complaints about humanity, but as you befriend him, he grows to see the beauty in the world as it is and even begins to care for it. His story, I think, provides a really interesting take on perspective and circumstances, specifically how impactful these are to behavior and disposition. Anyone can become a hero/villain given the right circumstances type beat.
2. Waymond Wang - Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
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Waymond is arguably one of the more low-key characters in Everything, Everywhere, but it's for that reason that he's my favorite. He doesn't go through major growing pains like some of the other cast does, and he seems to be mostly the same, no matter what universe Evelyn jumps to, and it's for this reason, I like him so much. I wouldn't venture to say that his ideal of unyielding kindness and compassion is the 'right' way to be, but I think it makes the more important point that when you are authentically yourself, no matter what life throws at you, you will be able to make something of it. Just as growth is important, so too is the ability to stick to your true self and live in a way that makes you feel fulfilled, even if others do not understand it or would argue that it makes you weak.
1. Alma - Phantom Thread
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I will admit I didn't like Phantom Thread when I watched it the first few times. I thought it was strange, disorienting, and a little disturbing, and I was particularly confused by Alma's character. I'm still figuring her out, but I'm absolutely enchanted by her, not just because of her mannerisms but because I think she functions as a very cleverly disguised form of rage. It's so quiet you almost don't notice, and that subtlety is what is so satisfying about her, even if what she is doing is something you might not approve of and does an excellent job of making a successful commentary of the nuances of dysfunctional and abusive relationships. She is brilliantly written and nuanced for so many reasons. That makes her my all-time fave!
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deathofpeaceofmind · 2 years
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Ice Cream - Cherry Vanilla [Chapter I]
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Author's note: 
English is not my first language so there might be some grammar mistakes/weird wording. This is my first time uploading any of my writing to Tumblr.
The main character is played by Robert Pattinson in my head but this is NOT a Robert Pattinson fanfiction.
Ice Cream Warnings: blood, death, murder, sexual themes, stalking, kidnapping
Cherry Vanilla warnings: death
The day was hot. Very hot. Sunny, muggy days with no fluffy white clouds in the sky were nothing new in Dallas, Texas, but that Tuesday in early August was particularly too hot. The kind of heat that makes the sweat drip off the back of your neck and down your back until it stains the fabric of your shirt, that makes the air conditioning not seem sufficient and the swimming pool not refreshing enough.
So one can imagine the joy that flooded the children nearby when the ice cream truck turned into Orchid Lane in the famous suburb of Preston Hollow, playing its usual music, attracting children and adults like flies to a big, bright lamp.
Everyone knew how it worked: the ice cream man would drive his truck playing his music all the way down the block, past the cluster of houses to the next corner, stop there for about fifteen minutes, and then go on to the next block. The fear some children had of missing a delicious and cold ice cream (ice cream being the main word) was so big that many times, when they heard the ice cream man from far away, they would grab their parents by the hand and drag them outside the house walking to the corner so that they would not run the risk of not getting to the truck in time.
Fifteen minutes goes by very fast when you are a kid and the ice cream is so close you can almost smell it through the air.
The local ice cream man was well known to everyone there, he himself grew up in Preston Hollow, a house on Lupton Drive to be exact, and had been selling ice cream since he turned sixteen, working at school outings and community events. Robert Tudor, a walking flyer of how life in that place was so good that nobody even thought about moving, not even the ice cream man, not even if you had been doing exactly the same thing for ten years wearing the same ridiculous bow tie.
It didn't even take two minutes after the truck stopped for Robert to hear the shrill voices of children standing on the sidewalk, anxious and with their parents' money in their hands.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here today?" Robert appeared at the window, looking at each of the children, an infectious smile on his face as he greeted each one "Billy, Carey, Marie, Taylor, Sadie and Jonathan... where is your sister today?"
"She went on a trip with Betty's family, she's her best friend, you know? So Mom made me promise not to tell her that I had ice cream without her afterwards."
"Well, Jonathan, I hope you keep the promise you made to your mother. So, what can I get you today?"
The voices mingled as the children spoke and pointed to the ice cream on the menu, chocolate, vanilla and any other traditional flavor was forgotten when Robert had flavors called Dragon's Breath, Galaxy and Magic Powers, "Kids are more interested in those names," he said. And he was right, even if it did slow down sales a bit among the adults, he wasn't doing it for the money.
When the children had gone away happy and licking their fingers with their ice cream, Robert waited the rest of the routine 15 minutes, closed the window on the side of the truck to leave, and was putting the key in the ignition when he heard some light knocks on the closed window.
He didn't see anyone passing in front of the car, so surely it was someone from one of the houses at the beginning of the block who had almost not arrived in time.
With the same smile as always, he opened the window and found a child he had never seen before: a short, red-haired boy with messy hair and big brown eyes. He was accompanied by his mother, also a redhead, but with blue eyes and a faded black T-shirt with the famous Nirvana smiley face. That smile looked more debauched than ever.
"Hi, my name is Amélie, this is my son Dean, and we have just moved to..."
He couldn't stop reading the inscription, thin, straight letters marked on the marble block in front of him. Each word seeping under his skin, running through his veins and sticking in his brain.
Ophelia Jones
1994 - 2021
singing with the angels
Angels? Angels would imply the existence of god, and if god were really real he would never have taken someone like Ophelia away. He didn't know exactly who had decided that this phrase was ideal - she didn't even believe in religion - but he certainly hadn't been consulted. They knew he would say no. They knew that he was the only one who really knew her, and that he would be a hindrance to them being able to force the image they wanted to impose on her even after death.
But he knew the truth.
He knew that she wouldn't have wanted to be buried with a cross on her coffin, with a priest praying right next to her, no, Robert knew that she deserved a proper burial and more than that he knew that she deserved to have lived longer.
He knew he could give her that chance.
The shovel made a hollow noise when it hit the ground and Robert had to push a little until he got half of the shovel under the ground, enough so that he could push the handle against the ground and lift a patch of dirt and grass. The movement was repeated for more than an hour and he was already wondering if someone had got there before him. It was taking too long and he clearly remembered thinking that the grave they were putting her in was ridiculously shallow. It seems he was wrong about that.
His thoughts were cut short when he felt the shovel hit something hard, not at all like the moist, fluffy earth he had been turning over before. The silver cross attached to the lid of the coffin seemed to glow in the darkness of the night, a reminder of what he was doing at that moment. But none of that mattered. He would see her again and they would have the life they had always deserved together.
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entrophe-blog · 1 year
Text
Bird
My great-grandfather, Buckle, started a fundamentalist Christian church in his living room, in Georgia with my great-grandmother, Betty. In the same home, they would raise three genera- tions on homegrown food and a sweet disposition. Sweet, but like a Vidalia onion cake.
In this same living room my sister and I would practice ballet and perform the nativity in costume. when we spent summers with Grandmother and Daddy-Buck, we learned how to sew seeds, fry okra, catch crawdads, and pull Betty out of the creek when she fell in from time to time. Betty was beautiful and complex– she had fierce religious convictions and an even stronger dependence on prescriptions. She read to us stories like Amelia Bedilia and subjected us to hours of televange- lists like Binny Hin. We were trained ballerinas and spirit-filled demon hunters by the age of ten. We were steeped in believing that life was everlasting if your name was written in the Lamb’s book of Life, but that the devil’s army lurks to possess the unguarded soul with everlasting Death.
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“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20
[The fear of death is a powerful instinct and persuader. What a comfort to eliminate it altogether; and live believing life is eternal.. albeit warred over by good and evil. And you could be saved! But you have to follow the rules. And if not, so death will be eternal suffering in lakes of fire.]
My exodus to Massachusetts felt like a great escape for many reasons. At the time, I wanted to run as far as I could. I had just lost my partner to suicide three months prior. Sep- tember 28th, 2016. He was 22. He suffered through addiction, and a similar familial dynamic in which prayer and god's word were the only medicine offered supportively. The time following Connor's death, I could not stand the physical sensation of being awake; my body was not digest- ing food, and I was hallucinating and self-medicating heavily. Every place, every road, and every familiar face was a reminder of this unimaginable pain I did not know how to swallow. So I ran. “If I have to be here on this planet, I have to do what I want to do. I’m going to make my own dreams. I have nothing to lose but myself.” I remember sobbing into my mom's shoulder as I left; afraid of giving up on my own life and angry that I had to go on hurting.
_____
January 2017 11am
Mascara on the sleeve of an oversized sweater
Grey blues wallowing in hibernation weather
Breakfast smells across white walls in sunlight
Turning pages of memories of my last life
Mascara on the sleeve of an oversized sweater
Swollen lips utter ‘lean on me, it's gonna get better
_____
April 2017 6am
When there is a natural disaster does the earth feel sorrow or guilt? Does she understand that this force and purging is a mechanism of her ever-perfecting nature? When we sit and cry with her to let our bodies feel and imagine why, with everything, does she feel that too?
_____
May 2017 2pm
Rip through the machinery of your fragile brittle mind
_____
June, 2017 11:30am (Connor’s birthday week)
When I feel joy I become joy potent and permeating
I peel my eyes to see its play present in my sorrow
And now when I feel joy, I also feel my sorrow
My sorrow looks for joy And my joy looks for sorrow
Now tethered to each other and tied into a loop
Try to close a book backward
_____
July, 2017 10am
Will you feel the pain of your actions forever as I will?
You now without body to feel from, do you sense now the gravity which pulls
_____
August, 2017 11:30am (Mom’s birthday weekend)
My body is precious
It has held my love between bodies and held beloved bodies that are not bodies anymore
If I can honor my body because of what it has held, I can also honor my body for holding me
If I can honor my body for what it has experienced, I can honor all bodies for the vast unknown of what they have experienced
_____
October 2018 9am (we fell in love in October)
[love letter to myself]
You are especially breathtaking in the morning
When you’ve been well hydrated, with warm cheeks.
Jello morning sliding around in the kitchen in woolen socks, Twisting winding spiraling your limbs around yourself Dizzy drifting dance and dreamed you spilt
your beans into a cozy nest to share
A pumpkin promenade of bare bones busy with repair
_____
January 2019 9 am
I became a sun when the void was too dark for me to see you
_____
July, 2019 8:30 am
The Wind saw itself and the word was Bird
_____
September 28th, 2022 4am
It has been 6 years. 6. I think of Connor every day. I feel strange about it as if healing over time would change the frequency that I remember scenes of our relationship. It is scary to forget things. Denial and anger subside and like all who grieve I will cry, whenever I feel like it. But more than that now, I laugh or smile which is better. I will find glimpses of him in the quiet of tall trees, remembering his particular way of being surrounded by them and how he enjoyed feeling so small. the smell of French press coffee, the days that I sleep past 8am. and the importance of doing absolutely nothing at all. I think of Connor when I have to be brave, and sometimes I can laugh remembering how fast he drove or the other ways he could be dangerously brave. I re- member the softness with which he listened and played and his adamance that messy was okay. “If I separated myself from you I would turn entirely to thorn” - Rumi
In my grieving, the inner process of shock, abandon, accept, and assimilate, snags and snares and just might trigger-play memories back like a reverse-draw-four-days-in-the-abyss. My subconscious reaches for something to comfort and soothe a spiraling spiral. A dream will come to help untangle the unseen and unspoken. The sun hits my skin again and tears kiss my pores, it’s nice to see you, yourself, again in the sun, remembering to drink and eat and move and hum.
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Dr Dolittle
FIRST FIC OF THE WEEK BESTIESSSSSS, I hope your Monday was absolutely splendid and if it wasn’t then treat yourself to an episode of something, a book perhaps or maybe a nice hot drink. Anyway enjoy this I know I enjoyed writing it. (also I couldn’t remember if Alpine was a boy or a girl so I went with boy). Love you all <3
You are gifted Bestie 
No literally you have the ability to talk to animals 
Being born with this power made sure your childhood was never lonely
The pebble launched across the playground as you kicked it as hard as you could. You didn’t have many friends, not because you weren’t liked, it was just that you tended to keep to yourself. So instead of playing stuck in the mud or whatever game of house the other kids had come up with you decided that kicking rocks was more fun. “What are you doing” squawked a voice, lifting your eyes up to see if you could see which one of your classmates had asked you the question, all you were greeted by was the distant squeals of children and the rock you had been about to kick. “Down here” the voice called again. Head drifting downwards you spotted a little caterpillar on one of the daisies that had popped up the week before, putting your hand out your eyes grew to be the size of flying saucers as the little creature made its way onto your hand. “Did you just speak?” you whispered in awe, gently plopping your 6 year old body onto the floor, as much as you were hoping for a reply even at 6 years old you felt a bit silly asking a caterpillar if it had been the one that asked you the question. “Yes but I’ll ask again anyway, what are you doing?”.
The caterpillar had been called Dot 
Dot hadn’t stayed very long, you were inseparable at school for about 2 weeks before they told you that they would have to go for a little while 
Sooner than you could say wow look at these daisies, Dot returned as a beautiful butterfly
And even into your teenage years you would wonder what Dot did after their transformation
Whether it was the crow that perched on the old oak tree at the start of the forest trail teaching you what berries to eat at what time of year
“No that bush to your right. RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT!” Rory squawked into your ear as you stood on an old rotting tree stumps trying to get to the berries he had instructed you to share with him. “I am trying, these logs are going to break and it’s not my fault I don’t know my left from right” you giggled, finally reaching the burning red treasures. “Silly little human” Rory muttered (well I say Muttered it was more of a shouty squawk) “silly little bird” you giggled back, hopping off the log and skipping back down the track.
Or the wise old owl who liked to tell you stories
Taking you to far off kingdoms through the magical travel of words
“And so me and Bettie flew all the way back home, love fresh in our hearts and knowledge ripe in our minds” Mary spoke, her heart warming story fluttering down to you almost as soft as her stray feathers did. You loved when she told these stories, she had a way with words that even Van Gogh wouldn’t be able to live up to the paintings she created in your mind's eye. “Tell me another one Mary, you know how much I love them” she smiled as much as an owl good and ruffled her feathers “one more child, just one”. It was never just one.
You loved it all 
So when you first met your dad Sergeant James Barnes and he asked you if you liked animals you must of talked for hours
“You have no idea” you chuckled nervously, scratching the back of your neck in an attempt to hide the nervous blush that had been covering your face since he revealed who he was. “Try me, what do you like about them” he beamed a bright smile, not the kind of smile people use to make others feel more comfortable but the type that met the eyes and made them look 10 years younger. “Okay so you know that feeling that you get when you have just woken up from a dream where you were best friends with someone even though in real life they don’t even exist?” waving your hands around animatedly like those blow up noodle men you get outside a car sales place “I can’t say I do” he replied, smiling even wider at the realisation that whatever shell you had once been wearing had finally been broken away. “Well anyway that’s what I feel every time I see a puppy trying to play catch with a stick 10 sizes too big or when a robin decides that flying beside me as I walk is better than whatever dish the forest has to offer”.
You went on and on in your explanation until he had to go back to the tower
Adding in random facts about every creature, flower, weed, leaf and rock you could
If that’s what you were like when he asked you about it 
Imagine your delight when he told you he had a cat named Alpine
And after you moved into the tower
You instantly bonded with the feline
Sharing facts and gossip about the other occupants 
“Nooooooo really?” you laughed as Alpine told you the most recent late night adventure he had caught Tony on, “yep and then when he went to close the dishwasher he lent on the top rack and it felt out, all the cups went everywhere”. 
You made sure to take a look at the security cameras and bully Tony
“Psst Alpine” you nudged the white cat as you paused The house Wives of Beverly Hills, to spill the dirt you had on vision and Wanda. “Okay fine I guess I won’t tell you what our resident toaster and wiggly woo got up too last night” you crossed your arms tight across your chest pouting at the screen until a white ball of fur jumped onto your chest nudging at your arms, eager for the news. “Fine, they came home last night from a movie night and long story short they confessed their feeling to each other over late night pancakes” you squealed rubbing your furry friend behind his ears. “EEEEEEEEK”.
As much as your dad wanted to pretend that he was jealous over how much time HIS cat spent with you 
His millions of blurry and oddly angled pictures that filled his camera roll would say otherwise
You loved animals 
You loved nature
And you loved Alpine 
You had everything you could ever want
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soyforramen · 3 years
Note
If you have time/energy, 41 for the bughead prompts pls! It’s the “overhears they have feelings for you.”
Now that i finally have the time, here’s some fluff to counter the angst!
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             Betty paused at the door to the Blue and Gold office when she heard voices.  This late in the day, it was usually only her and Jughead still working on the college newspaper. Or, rather, while she continued working diligently on page layouts while he worked on homework on the couch.
             “It’s not that big of a deal,” Jughead said.  “Right?  So I should just say it.”
             She peeked in through the crack in the door and saw him pacing back and forth, his hands waving wildly in the air.
             “If it’s not that big of a deal, why haven’t you said it?” came a reply from Toni.  
             Strange; Toni was always the most punctual person on their team.  Her photos had been ready to print for over a week, and she rarely spent her free time in the office..  Unless Jughead had dragged her into his usual shenanigans regarding things that went bump in the night?
             “Because –“
             Jughead stopped and made a pained noise. Unsympathetic, Toni snickered, and even Betty had to cover her mouth from laughing.  As much as she enjoyed his company, even Betty had to admit it was amusing to see him get so wrapped up in himself.
             “It’s just three words,” Toni pointed out.  “And it’s not like it will kill you to say it.”
             “She might.”
             “Betty is not going to murder you –“
             “Not her, Cheryl.”
             This time, Toni burst out in peals of laughter that covered up Jughead’s response. Curious to hear her cousin’s name, Betty leaned closer to the open door.   The fiery tempered red-head was as much of a fan of Jughead’s as he was of hers, and that wasn’t saying much of anything.  
             “Cheryl is why you’re afraid to say ‘I love you‘?”
             Jughead grumbled something inaudible, and Betty glanced up and down the halls to make sure she was alone.  This close to information so pertinent to her life – Jughead was in love???? When did that happen??? Why??? - the last thing she needed was someone as boisterous as Kevin or Veronica yelling her name down the hall. Pressing herself against the door frame, Betty bit her lip and tried to calm her pounding heart.
             “The last time someone even mentioned asking Betty out –“
             Betty had to bite her tongue to keep from starting.  A pen fell from her pocket and echoed in the empty halls. There was a silence, and she waited to be found out.  
             “That was because it was Reggie Mantle doing the asking,” Toni pointed out, completely ignorant of being eavesdropped on.  She continued in a less than sure voice. “Besides, Cheryl … doesn’t dislike you.  She’d probably even be happy with you if you got Betty out of the apartment for something that wasn’t school or work.  You know, like a date?  The thing people ask about when they like someone?”
             Now too nervous to stay still, Betty rushed from the door, clutching her bag to her chest, and fled to the bathroom.  As soon as the door closed behind her, she couldn’t help but clasp her hands together in glee.  She and Jughead had danced around each other for over a year now and the closest they could get to anything called ‘dating’ had been a late-night stake out to see if the Dean of the Journalism school really was moonlighting as a click bait writer for BuzzFeed.
             She breathed deeply to calm her nerves. Try as she might, she couldn’t contain the thrill of hearing that Jughead Jones, the guy she’d been crushing on since freshman orientation, liked her.  Not just liked.  He loved her.  Betty couldn’t help but hug herself.  
             Straightening her shirt and steeling herself to be as forward as she imagined Cheryl would be, Betty stepped out of the bathroom and made her way, once more, to the Blue and Gold office. As she neared the office, Toni emerged and sent her a wink.  
             “Good luck in there, boss,” Toni said with a salute.
             Betty bit down a response and opened the door.   Jughead jumped up as if electrocuted, his face white at the sight of her.  Any other time, Betty would have rushed towards him, asking him twenty different questions to try and figure out why he looked so ill.  Now, though, it was all she could do to keep from smiling.
             “Good evening, Jughead,” she chirped.  
             He stammered a reply and she set her backpack on her desk.  
             “You know what I really love?” she asked, unable to help herself, especially when a faint blush rose to his cheeks.  “Those wontons you got last week.  Where was that from again?”
             “Klump’s Kafeteria,” Jughead said.  “Did you get my article?”
             Betty nodded, disappointed he’d jumped so quickly to business.  “I did. I really love,” she paused, sitting down on her desk and pulling her laptop out, “the way you captured the emotions in your review.  Especially whereyou talk about the mise-en-scene and how well it pulled everything together. It made the recommendation that more meaningful.”
             “Honestly?  I couldn’t stand the movie,” Jughead said.  He rolled his eyes and sat on the corner of her desk.  
             And suddenly, the spell was broken, and her regular, normal Jughead was back in front of her.  She watched his face as he complained about plot pacing and script-incongruities.  Only half paying attention, Betty wondered if he’d finally make a move.   It would be even better, though, if he’d finally notice that she’d been flirting this whole time.
             “Regardless, it was a very well written piece,” Betty said when he’d finished.  “You know what I also love?”
             Jughead raised an eyebrow at her, finally beginning to notice a trend.   “Those weird blue macaroons that taste like Peto-Bismol from Chez Bonuit?”
             She flicked her pen at him and scowled.  “You just have a warped sense of taste after eating all that grease and sugar at Pop’s.”
              “And yet who’s the one also asking me to bring them a strawberry milkshake whenever they find out I’m eating all that grease and sugar?”
             “It’s one of the little things I love you for,” Betty said, slipping it in as casually as she could. “That and the lattes you bring me after a late night editing.”
              Jughead’s eyes flew open and heat bubbled up in her cheeks.  Pressing on, Betty opened up a browser on her computer and turned it to him.
             “I also love, and I hope you will too, that R.R.J. Swift is putting out a new Play of Chairs book next month.”
             His face light up and he crowded in next to her, their faces a few inches from the screen.  “How did I miss this?  There’s no way they could get that to print so quickly.”
             “Everyone in printing was told it was a new Donna Sweet novel,” Betty said, clicking a few times until a different website came up, “so it’s been hush-hush until he broke the news an hour ago.”*
             “Finally, we can see what happens to Trienne of Barth.”
             She elbowed him lightly.  “I can’t believe you still like her after she betrayed Don Ice.”
             “I can’t help it.  I love her storyline,” he shot back, his eyes searching hers.
             Undeterred, Betty thrust out her chin.  “And I love –“
             “Yes, yes, we get it,” Toni said.  “You two are trapped in a bubble of love.”
             They both turned, blushing, to the door.  
             “Sorry to interrupt the futile flirting, but I forgot my notes,” Toni said, walking towards the couch.  She held up a notebook and shook it at them.  “Just kiss her already Jones, or I will.  And since the last time that happened I ended up going to prom with your girlfriend...”
             “She’s right, you know” Betty said when Toni left.
             Jughead cleared his throat.  “About which part?”
             “You should kiss me.”
             “I –“
             Whatever his protestations might have been, Jughead smartly decided to ignore them.  Instead, he leaned towards Betty, who happily met him more than half-way.
             A few months later, when Jughead claimed their first date was at a Play of Chairs release party, Betty couldn’t help but cover a laugh.  She loved that he was technically correct, even if it was only a party of two.
*(No, I do not know how printing works, nor do I care enough to Google this or other characters from the series.  Apologies if I’m wrong.  If I am, just pretend they’re talking about Minecraft.)
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of pyhrric victories and car rides | Bruce Wayne
/ Masterlist /
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Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Reader
Word Count: 8.5k
Summary: A collection of moments from yours and Bruce’s relationship
Warnings: break ins, harassing women, stalking, etc.
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“Mr. Wayne, are you with us?”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
“Right then, I do think that the company’s stocks are headed – “
Although he tries not to, Bruce can’t help but lose track of the conversation again, and though he’s not exactly sure who the man he’s talking to is, it’s not particularly what is bothering him at the moment; what’s bothering him is you.
Well, what he thinks is you.
Because not even in his wildest dreams would he imagine that at the Wayne charity gala would he see you conversing with donors in the corner of the ballroom.
Before he has a chance to get a better look at your (supposed) face, a heavy hand is placed on his shoulder and the men he’s been having to entertain conversation with – fall silent as he turns around to see a familiar face.
“Sorry if I’m interrupting something gentlemen, but I was wondering if I could borrow Mr. Wayne, here, for a second?”
There’s a scattered murmur of compliance and the man next to Bruce flashes a bachelor-smile before they both walk away.
“I’m sure you’re aware of why I wanted to talk to you, Bruce.”
Bruce has to refrain from smiling, of course he does, for what other reason would the brother of the woman he’s been trying to seek out this whole evening come to talk to him about, except about you?
“I believe I do, but I would’ve preferred it if you had told me before this evening.”
His response elicits a small chuckle from the man beside him and he grabs two flutes of champagne from a waiter passing by before replying,
“Now what would be that fun in that. And, anyways, she told me not to tell you – or really, anyone about this.”
“About what?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s moving to Gotham.”
He passes the second flute to Bruce, who silently took the glass – still reeling from the words he just heard.
“Why is she – “
“Are you done bothering Bruce?”
Another voice interrupts their conversation, and for the first time tonight, Bruce finally gets to see you. You’re dressed in an ebony gown, with pale gold swirls tracing the expanse of the fabric – light and empyrean around you as the warm white glow casts a rosy look on the room as you stand in front of them – holding your own champagne flute, and of the pink liquid remaining, you swirled around the base of the glass.
“Of course, I’ll leave you to it.”
He casts a knowing smile at you before he leaves but not before you roll your eyes at him. Then, a silence befalls between the two of you – because it’s been 5 years and it feels a little too much like walking on eggshells between each other in this moment.
“Hi.”
You’re surprised that your voice is more breathless than you expected, and Bruce finds a small smile making its way onto his lips – matching yours.
“Hello.”
The conversation fizzles out again and you begin to fiddle with your hands, before Bruce clears his throat that you look up at him again.
“I heard that you’re moving to Gotham now?”
It takes a moment for you to comprehend his question, and then you’re nodding you head in confirmation.
“Oh, yeah, I – “ You pause before continuing. “They’re planning a re-opening of the theatre and Alyse Rosovsky – who’s idea it was – asked me to be part of the cast –”.
Of course, sometimes it slipped his mind, but he remembers your fascination with theatre films, pearls, Broadway lights and your mother’s tattered avant-garde dresses that you would convince her to let you wear. Sometimes, he forgets how much you love the sweeping curtains and backstage vanity tables – the ritualistic ideal of appraisal.
So, it wasn’t necessarily a surprise when you had told him – almost five years ago, that you were going to New York to study theatre and it wasn’t a surprise either when he saw you holding a neoteric award in the newspaper – the black and white picture of you on a podium blossomed a similar emotion to what he was feeling right now.
“– of one of the stage plays they’re planning.”
“Uh – oh.” He feels a little embarrassed for losing track of your explanation and all he can offer is a dazed smile.
“It’s been so long since I saw you, Bruce.”
It’s strange how your voice still sounds the same to him – basking in its honeyed twang and soft inflections that he remembers from years ago, and he’s not entirely sure why both of you never kept in touch after your departure but he pushes that sinking feeling away and shares a nostalgic smile with you.
“It’s good to see you.”
“Mhmm, I was wondering if you – “
“Y/n!”
You’re interrupted by a blonde woman; who’s donning a black slip dress and strands of hair are slowly escaping her intricate chignon and her eyebrows are furrowed as she approaches you both.
“Mr. Wayne,” A small nod of acknowledgement is exchanged between them both before she turns around to face you,
“Vistila is here and he’s dealing with the ‘sharks’ alone, so I came here to ask your help.” She begins to chew on her bottom lip as she explains the situation to you.
“Alyse it’s no problem, I – I’ll be there in a second.”
A relieved expression takes over Alyse’s face as she squeezes your shoulder but before she can leave you stop her.
“Oh – before you go, do you happen to have a pen?”
You eye the leather shoulder bag she’s clutching, and she quickly nods her head before pulling out a blue ballpoint pen and rushing off into the crowd.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
You ask as you place your empty flute glass and uncap the pen and ready it in your hand – raising an eyebrow in his direction as what you’re about to clicks in his head and he shakes his head.
“Good.”
You move closer to him and lift his free arm in your hand, pushing back the smooth fabric of the suit jacket and shirt sleeve underneath it, your cold fingers brushing over his warm skin – causes light goose bumps to raise, but you don’t notice as you list of a series of digits and smile at the phone number you’ve written on his arm before pulling down the fabric – covering the numbers and taking steps away from him.
“Call me sometime?” Your voice is cheeky, a rosy flush on your face as Bruce only takes a sip of his drink before you send a wink to his way and disappear into the crowd as well.
And all Bruce is left with is the scent of your perfume and the lingering touch of your fingers.         
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It was nearly 6 pm when the clatter of dinner platter ware and Alfred’s call for them to come to dinner brought both children into that hall between the drawing room and the dining room – waiting for them was both the Butler and a woman toying with the gold pendant around her neck, her lips pulled into a thin line and sharp brows furrowed together in agitation.
“Where have you two been?”
“Mother, look!”
The little girl pipes up first, her pigtails whipping the air as she runs forward with something clutched tightly in her arms – but the dim lighting prevents the woman for seeing what it really is until the little girl reaches her. A little boy following in her steps, his face was also flushed and clothes askew.
“Look, look, look what we made for Bruce’s mom!”
The woman crouches down to see a pearl necklace in the little girl’s hands – and it clicks in her mind, as this was the reason the little girl had snuck away the faux pearls and string on their way to the manor.
“That’s so lovely, she’s going to love them,” Her voice is silky, and an earnest smile plays at her nude lips as she reaches out to smooth out the stray hairs in the girl’s hair, “But we have to go now darling, okay?”
“Okay! But wait one second.” The little girl turns around to pull the little boy along with her as they huddle away from the adults – who share a bemused look. They whisper with each other before the pearl necklace is carefully passed from the little girl to the boy who holds it with a delicate hold before they break apart from their huddle and the little girl happily wears the coat her mother assists her with.
“You can say goodbye now Y/n.”
The girl waves at the boy – who does the same and she exclaims,
“Mother, can Bruce come to our house so I can show him Jellybean?”
“Of course, darling.”
“Okay! Bye Bruce!”
The little girl is swept away in a flurry of coats and scarves and when they’re out of earshot her mother asks her,
“Now what was that for Y/n?”
“We made Bruce’s mom a present and – and Bruce is gonna give it to her when they’re going to go to the theatre!”
A small smile graced her lips and she pressed a light kiss to her daughter’s hair,
“That’s lovely, dear.”
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“We were on a date.”
That silences Betty’s rant while de Vos only lets out a low whistle, which prompts a small snort on your side.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
You have to try not to sigh because for the past 15 minutes all Betty has been doing is a  rant on last week’s newspaper headline – which is understandable, considering it’s her job.
Ever since you moved here, your parents had insisted in more security measures, their argument being that your 6’3 veteran driver (de Vos), wasn’t enough, leading them to hire Betty – she was barely 5 years older than you but there was purpose gracing her. There was a steely look in her blue eyes – which made them seem greyer than in actuality and she always wore the same gold chain necklace – with a feeble gold coin hanging from the middle.
She had been guarded in the beginning – which had led de Vos to say ‘what’s stuck up your ass’ at her standoffish behaviour at a gala, (to which she gave him a look than caused him to not a single word the rest of the night), but it was after a week when you were at a little café south of the theatre, and you spilled your coffee and (almost) dropped your croissant on the waiter, that she had genuinely laughed. And you had believed that maybe she har started to crumble her resolve a little after that – but it seems less likely now as you watch her frown deepen.
“I – I – “
“Press work was not part of the job description, and maybe a heads-up next time?”
You nod before contemplating your next words, which hang in the air after spoken,
“Well, I guess you should know that I’m meeting him now?”
Before anyone can respond, your phone starts ringing, prompting you to pull it out of your coat pocket, and quickly checking the caller id before answering.
“Hey, Jas.”
“Hi – I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”
“No – I was just going out for dinner.”
“Oh cool, sorry, I just saw the gazette headline and I – “
“Oh.” You start playing with the little buttons on your skirt as you listen to Jasmine and try to pretend that Betty and de Vos aren’t eavesdropping on the conversation.
“- you’re friends with Bruce Wayne?”
Friends? You’re pretty sure Bruce and you are more than just friends.
“I – I guess I am?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I’ve gotten to meet him about 2 weeks ago?” It’s not a complete lie, considering you only met him – properly after years at the gala but it’s not like your complete history with him is something you’ve wanted to share publicly, especially since it means so much to you.
But you haven’t really had the chance to tell all that to Jasmine – considering you’ve known her for about half a year, the topic of Bruce had somehow never come up, which might be ironic, seeing how much time you’ve spent around her – and how close of a friend she was.
“And you didn’t know him before?”
“I – uh, I kinda did” Your response sounds a little pathetic and she only snorts in response. “It’s just that mine and Bruce’s parents had been really close friends so we just kinda spent a lot of time when we were young.”
She hummed in response,
“Are you going to come to my house for tea this weekend?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it if I could.”
“That’s a nice sentiment for my ego.” Her voice is soft as you hear the rustle of paper in the background and you smile – not that she can see.
“Hey, I’ll call you later, okay?” You rush out, eyeing the little café shop coming into view of the windshield, and hang the line after a soft goodbye is exchanged.
As the car slows to a stop, you grab your bag and before opening the car door, you lean forward so you have both de Vos and Betty’s attention.
“Not a word.”
You try not to smile and have to bite your lips and de Vos does the same before you quietly slip out of the car. Towards your date with Bruce.
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You eyed the letters again before placing them back into the bag Betty had brought into the dressing room, before an uneasy feeling settled into your stomach.
“Are you ready?”
Betty’s orotund voice rang across the empty room, prompting you to lift your head out of hands to look at her through the vanity mirror you were currently sitting at. The warm lights from the vanity illuminated the deep frown on her face and simple gold chain around her neck glinted off the light.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”
You voice came out more strangled than you hoped, followed by a throaty sob which you poorly tried to disguise as a laugh.
“Just calm down,” she paused as if she wasn’t sure if she should continue or not,
“Listen, I’m taking the letters to the station to have them examined and de Vos will take you back to the apartment and then we’ll figure out what to tell everyone and - “
“God, what the fuck am I going to tell them? ‘Hey mom and dad, there’s a fucking stalker who won’t stop sending me creepy letters and might potentially kill me, but I’ll be fine.’”
You wildly moved your hands around to illustrate your point to her, but she only sighs in response.
“They’ll understand, now come on, de Vos is waiting.”
She made her way to the vanity table before picking up the bag and tapping you on the shoulder as a gesture to get up. At which you release a deep sigh before harshly wiping at your watery eyes and smoothing your hair out before deciding to put on the comically large sunglasses that lay on the table as you collected all your things but before making your way, the wilting amaryllises in the  sepia vase caught your eye and a small smile graced your lips, your mind reminiscing but before you can do anything else, Betty calls for you and you hesitantly walk away and grab the coat Betty was holding out for you at the door.
“It’s ten pm.”
She quips after a pointed look at your glasses.
“Oh, fuck off.”
“I love it when you’re this annoying, did you know that? It’s my favourite part of the job.” The glasses disguise the eye roll you send in her way, but she knows you well enough to realize what you’re doing.
A beat passes before you speak up.
“Do you think we can stop by Bruce’s house before going back? I just wanted to talk to him.”
“Is there a reason why you can’t call him?” You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes again.
“You don’t think I’ve tried? All of them straight to voice mail.” Your voice is bitter, and Betty can tell so she relents.
“Okay, I’ll let de Vos know.”
“Thank you.” The words come out softer than you expected, and it elicits a soft (and rare) smile and nod from Betty.
“Miss Y/n, what brings you here so late?”
Alfred’s usual monotonous voice is laced with (some) surprise as he opens the doors for you to enter.
“I just needed to talk to Bruce about something, and he wasn’t picking up his phone so I thought I could stop by to talk to him… if he’s here?”
You hope he doesn’t notice the nervousness in your voice, as you clasp and then un-clasp your palms, watching him hang the coat in its place and turn to face you.
“Of course, miss, I’ll let him know you’re here.”
He leads the way to the drawing room and before he leaves you there – he hesitantly pauses to face you, face unmoving but you can feel him think.
“What is it Alfred?”
“It’s just, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but have you been crying miss?”
You don’t know why you’re not reacting to his question, but it takes you a painfully long moment to process his question before you respond,
“Oh – uh, yeah, well not really. I mean, I think the allergies? Well – I – I don’t have any allergies like I – I, that’s what I’ve always told everyone, I mean you know - you know how Autumn is around here, I just – “
“It’s fine Miss, I’ll send Master Bruce for you.”
His voice is monotonous again and the uneasy feeling comes back as he slips out of the room – leaving you to release a breath you didn’t know you were holding in.
The next few minutes compromised of you pacing the room anxiously, going through the plan Betty and de Vos had told you and thinking about what you were going to tell Bruce. And in your perpetual state of worry, you miss the familiar sound of dress shoes clicking against the hardwood floor and a figure approaching you, until you feel a presence behind you and a hand reaching to grab your arm, that you let out a small cry of shock.
“Are you – “
“Oh my god, Bruce!”
It takes a second for the cuts and bruises littering his face to process in your mind, and as you reach out to take a hold of his cheek, he pulls back,
“Bruce – “
“Why’re you here?”
Your staring at him like a gaping fish – your worries about everything that happened this evening disappear as you frown at his unkempt state.
“I – I – What happened to you?”
You try and reach out again for him, but he grabs hold of your arms so that you can’t move to touch him, and you find yourself looking at the bags under his eyes, the shadows around his nose and your hearts aches – because he looks so tired.
“Bruce, I’m serious, what – “
“Why’re you here – “
You both speak at the same time, drowning each other out and you try to start again – but Bruce beats you to it,
“Y/n, what are you doing here?”
“I – Bruce, what the fuck happened to you?”
Your staring at his face – and his jaw only clenches in response and you search for any other response in his eyes – but they feel too steely under the dim glow of the light.
“Nothing, just an accident.”
“Bullshit.” You don’t know why you’re being so defensive and pressing the matter even though the rational part of your brain is telling you to stop, you don’t.
“Y/n, it’s nothing.”
“Well, I know it’s nothing, Bruce.”
That’s not wrong because you do truly know it’s not nothing; and the rational part of your part is now screaming at you to stop – and your thudding heartbeat is deafening in the silence of the room. Bruce only looks at you in response and somehow his lack of response edges you to continue on.
“Just tell me, I – I care about you.”
“Well, I never said that you needed to.”
Maybe it’s the fact that you’re only running on four cups of coffee, a granola bar and it’s almost the middle of the night and today you found out that there’s an obsessive, psychopathic stalker after you that you feel something snap.
You take a step back – lips drawn into a thin line and eyes trailing the tiles on the floor and make your way out of the room with all your things tightly clutched between your hands – you try to blink away the tears blurring your eyes but when that doesn’t work you quicken your pace – your boots clicking against the floor wood and keys frantically jiggling in your hands.
“Hey – “
You hear Betty’s voice as you exit the front doors, but you make a beeline for the car – dismissing her presence and prompting her to follow you,
“What happened?”
You don’t respond and she trails helplessly after you, face contorted into confusion and concern – which she mirrors with de Vos as you both near the car, you slamming the backdoor closed, leaving her to stand next to de Vos’ window, both of them quiet and sharing silent looks.
The ride starts of in an uncomfortable silence – no words exchanged and the only sound that was heard was the ignition starting and the occasional sound of you sniffling in the back.
De Vos can’t see much of your face through the rear-view mirror due to the darkness and shadows falling across your face every time a streetlamp passes by – but when he catches your eyes in the mirror as you harshly rub at the tear-stained cheeks, he has to say something,
“Kid – “
“Please don’t,” your voice is small, and the words come out more softly than intended and Betty only shares a pleading look to de Vos to continue.
“We’re just worried about you,” He sounds a little apprehensive, his usually gruff voice more clear and mellow now, “You can tell us anything, ya know, we’re here to protect you.”
When there’s still no response from you, Betty clears her throat and begins speaking,
“Look, I knew he wouldn’t be happy about this situation, but you should – “
“I didn’t tell him,” Your voice is strangled and abrupt, throwing Betty of track and she looks back at you,
“W-what – “
“I didn’t tell him anything about the letters.”
“Then why – “
“I don’t fucking know, okay? I don’t fucking know why he’s suddenly acting like he hates me and telling me that he doesn’t want me to be with him, okay?”
The last word is spoken more softly and comes out much less harsh and the car plunges into silence again – but you still feel like you can’t breathe, the words dawning a painful realization over you.
“Actually, can we go to Jasmine’s tonight?”
The words slip out before you can think them over and Betty nods her head after a moment and the rest of the car ride is full of an awkward silence that no one tries to fight against.
“Y/n?”
Jasmine opens her door after a fourth ring, her dark curls untamed and bouncing everywhere, and her eyes full of sleep.
“Hey,”
“What’re doing here? Do you know what time it is? Wait – why are you crying?”
She sobers up almost instantly, after glancing at your red, puffy face and your arms wrapped around your body tightly – behind you Betty moves forward to say something but you pipe up,
“Can I stay over tonight?” Your voice is feeble, and you can’t help but berate yourself for sounding so pathetic.
“O – of course, yeah, come in,” She moves, allowing the dim hallways lights to illuminate the figures on her front porch.
She moves to wrap an arm across your shoulders, pulling you closer to her so that the scent of her familiar agarwood perfume fills your senses.
“There’s something I need to tell you Jasmine.”
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“Thank you, Betty!”
You exclaim, voice giddy and slightly slurred as you embrace her from the back of her seat, and fail miserably, which results in you erupting into giggles in the backseat of the car – as Jasmine tries to placate you
“Right. Just hurry up.”
She sighs as you and Jasmine make your way out of the car. Both of you walking in relative silence minus the occasionally stumbles and giggles from you as you walk towards the building, and it’s Anael who greets you at the darkly lit front desk, after hazily waving him ‘hi’, the elevator ride passes by as you ramble about Anael to Jasmine as she listens with a bemused look on her face.
“Crap, where are my keys,” You rummage through your bag noisily till the jingling keys are in your grasp and you drunkenly try to unlock the front door – that is until Jas coerces the key out of your hand and opens it herself and then you’re greeted with your apartment.
“Finally!” You exclaim, spinning around until you collapse on the beige couch in the middle of the room, your bag hitting the coffee table in the centre and you take in the room, something seems a little of place but your drunk mind can’t comprehend anything else so you watch as Jas places her bag on the marble counter top all the way across the room, in the dimly lit kitchen and she disappears into the hallway as you hear her say,
“I’m just gonna pee really quickly, and then we’ll look for your bag, okay?”
You hum in response and close your eyes as the silence settles around you and the only noise are the distant cars and faint sirens.
That is until your hear a thud and heavy footsteps approaching.
“Jas? Didn’t know you could pee so quickly?”
There’s no response.
You promptly push yourself up from the couch and the person you see walking towards you isn’t Jasmine and you feel yourself freeze in your place.
The man standing in front is wearing a dark jacket and in his hands there’s an envelope you can barely make out properly and the world momentarily stops as you lock with him. They’re steely and grey and your heart rate picks up.
Your mind fails to form a coherent word and all you can do is gape as he makes his way near you.
“God, I’ve been waiting to meet you for so long,” His voice is rough and the small chuckle he lets out rumbles through the air – and you can feel the goose bumps on your skin rise as he towers over your place on the couch. “You know you’re not an easy person to find.”
“How did you get in here?”
The words tumble out of your mouth but it’s hard to process anything when your heartbeat is deafening in your ears.
He chuckles before replying, “You don’t need to know princess, but people here are a lot more gullible than I thought,” he pauses before adding in, “Told ‘em, I was here for some flower arrangements and it wasn’t a lie, look,”
He draws your gaze to the little cream envelope in his hands and takes your hand – but your body doesn’t react fast enough as he grips your wrist tight – it doesn’t feel so tight but you can see his knuckles turning white as he holds your wrist and the warmth from his fingers on your cold skin makes you numb but all you do is watch as he places the withered orange lily from the envelope in the hand he held,
“Sorry ‘s a little withered, but I’ve been waiting for a while and didn’t have the time to get a new one for you, hope ‘s okay?”
You don’t respond and he notices it.
He reaches out to graze his free hand underneath your chin and you reflexively flinch under his touch so he grabs your jaw – roughly pulling your face to face him and you want to scream, yell, shout; do anything but your voice dissolves into nothing every time you try.
“I said, is it fine?” It takes a moment – but you nod your head ever so lightly and it suffices for him, so he loosens his hold on your jaw – only a little for you breathe properly again.
“Are you always this stubborn, Y/n?” The way his mouth forms your name makes you sick, it makes you upset because he shouldn’t be able to say it like that – with a wide smile on his face, twisting the vowels on his tongue in whichever way he pleases as you squirm under his grasp.
“Even with him?” His eyes darken and so does his grip on you, “Don’t worry, I got all his things out of your room, I’ll get rid of them.”
“No.” You voice is barely above a whisper as you shake your head, “Please let me go.”
“I’ve waited so long to be here with you, I’m not leaving now Y/n.” His grip is suffocating, and he doesn’t relent as you try to squirm out of his hold, but he only chuckles.
“You can call me by my name, you know?” You don’t say anything. “Do you not remember it? I wrote my initials on the letters, I hoped you would figure it out.”
The memory of the letters makes you sick again as he reaches out to tuck the stray hairs behind your ear and you recoil from his touch, so he tries to placate you by continuing to talk.
“I sent them because I wanted to tell you how much I – “, His words are cut short off by the distant sound of thundering footsteps and you hear him swear underneath his breath, before letting go of his hold on you.
“Well, I guess I gotta introduce myself to all you friends now, huh?”
Before anything else can be said, the front door is burst open as quickly as the man in front of you pulls you up and into his chest – you back against his chest and his steely grip locked onto your arms but this time, you feel a cold blade on the base of your neck – freezing you in place.
“Stop!”
A blur of dark uniforms surrounds but you can’t see much as your mind blurs – from the alcohol you’ve consumed or the nausea building up in you, you’re not entirely sure. You can’t hear much because of the pounding in your chest and before you can comprehend the scene around you, the arms holding you in a suffocating grip – disappear. A gasp escapes from your lips as your knees give out and you fall to the floor, your mind blanking.
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“Y/n, can you hear me?”
A muffled voice registers in your head as you slowly blink your eyes open. The warm white lights feel more harsh than usual and there’s an ache in your left eye.
“I – “
“Is she awake? Are you awake Y/n?”
Betty’s voice is full of panic and maybe you would’ve cracked a joke about it if you didn’t feel a growing sting on your head as you slowly regained consciousness.  
“I – “
“I’ll let de Vos know, and – and, where’s Gordon,”
Betty leaves your side before you can say anything and another person – which you assume is a medic, through your hazy eyes, you can barely make out his face, let alone what he’s trying to tell you.
“I’m fine – “
“No, no you’re not, Y/n.” Betty has reappeared, this time, her glabellar lines are more deep-set and her voice firmer. She’s about to say something else, but the medic stops her this time, and diverts your gaze to his face.
“You’ve been concussed, and I just want to ask you a few questions. First, can you tell me your name?”
“It’s Y/n.” The light from the lamp next to the loveseat your splayed on is bright as you squint at the man in front of you.
“Great, now, do you know where you are and what day it is?”
“I – I’m in my house, and…” You looked out towards the French windows and door, the bleak night visible through the white, lace curtains. “It’s Saturday night, the – uh, 17th of October.”
“Okay, can you tell me the address?”
“Uh – it’s 356 Victoria street.”
He nods, and the asks,
“Now, do you know what happened?”
You really wished that you could say no to his question, but it’s all vividly clear in your mind. His face. His eyes. His hands. Him.
“Yeah.” You voice is croaky, and you shift your gaze to your hands in your lap.
“Okay, that’s great,” He turns around to face Betty, “She’s A&O4, just make sure she’s not moving and get her some water for the headache she’s probably going through right now.”
Betty nods her head before making her way towards the kitchen to fetch a glass of water and the medic besides you leaves, and you finally lift your head up to see the amount of people currently in your apartment. There’s police offers standing at the front door, some of them standing around the windows and others scattered around the living room and kitchen.
Your eyes drift around the scene and am uneasy feeling settles in your stomach as you take in your appearance in the windows. Your hair is a mess, and the spaghetti straps of your black dress and falling of your shoulders, but it’s your face – a bruise blooming near your left eye, that causes you to release a shaky breath, the shades of purple and blue are nauseous and you bring your hand up to light graze the wound, but it stings at the slightest touch from your shaking fingers.
“Y/n.”
Betty comes back but just as she holds out the glass of water, something clicks in your mind.
“Betty. Where’s Jasmine?”
You swing your legs of the loveseat and attempt to stand up, but she stops you.
“Y/n, stop, stop, listen. She’s okay.” She places the cold glass between your hands before continuing.
“Uh – he just locked her in the bathroom.”
“Well, why didn’t I hear her?”
“He also knocked her unconscious.”
“What? Where is she?”
“She’s in the bedroom, don’t worry, she’s just resting there, the medic checked up on her, she’s perfectly fine – just a bit shaken up like you.”
The conversation fizzles out as you stare at the ice cubes slowly melting into the water – the cold from the glass numbing your fingers but you can’t bring yourself to worry about it.
“I’m so sorry, Betty” You whisper, hoping she doesn’t hear you – but she does, and you try your hardest to blink away the tears forming in the corner of your eye.
“Y/n. please don’t say that.” She crouches down. “You never could’ve thought of this happening.”
“I know, I know but still – “
“Listen, it’s okay, we got him.”
That piques your interest as you raise your head to meet her hazel eyes.
“He tried to make a run for it from the open windows, but we got him.”
“How did you know – “, your voice is unsure and thick.
“I tried calling Jasmine, but she didn’t pick up, so I went to talk to Anael at the desk and he mentioned something about flower arrangements and a man, and it clicked in my head.”
Before you can ask her anything else, your moment in interrupted by a clearing of a throat and both you and Betty turn around to see Gordon standing in the middle of the room.
“Y/n, I just wanted to ask questions – “
“I’m sorry Gordon, but we’ll have to do that tomorrow, if that’s alright?”
Betty cuts him off and Gordon only nods and smiles sympathetically at both of you before moving to converse with the other detectives. You clear your throat before asking,
“Uh – Betty, can I please go outside?”
“Y/n, you know what he – “
“Please.”
Betty mulls it over as you look at her with pleading eyes and she nods before extending a hand for you to help stand up. It takes a moment but as soon as you’re on your feet, you feel your legs wobble and you regret wearing heels tonight but you wrap your arms around your body and Betty guides you out of the front door, and the emptiness of the beige hallway and the starchy air causes you to properly breathe as you move towards a corner not swarmed with people – the window that faces the streets is the same. The distant sirens and cars sound the same, but it all feels so different.
Emerging footsteps rounding the corner of the hallway pull you out of your train of thoughts and you turn around to see -
“Bruce?” Your voice is feeble and his head snaps towards you – standing at the end of the hallway, dishevelled and you feel small under his gaze as he walks towards you.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” You should be surprised that that’s the first thing he says to you but you’re too focused on him that you don’t process the question. Somehow, the bags under his eyes are more prominent than Wednesday, he looks gaunter and his hair is almost as dishevelled as yours but the cuts and bruises on his face have faded now.
“Y/n.”
“Bruce I – “
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“Bruce, I fucking tried, okay.” Your voice is snappy, and you’re surprised you have the energy for this.
“Remember the night I came to your house, and you fucking said you didn’t want me there? I came to tell you that I’ve been receiving letters from an unknown stalker and that I was fucking scared! But, no! I – “
You feel tears pool in your eyes, and you have to stop yourself from breaking down again. You cast your eyes down to the linoleum floors and there’s no response from Bruce or there isn’t a response until a voice calls out your name and you turn to see Jasmine standing at the entrance of the apartment.
“Jasmine!”
A wave of relief rolls over you as you quickly make your way past Bruce, towards Jasmine, whom you engulf in an embrace as soon as you reach her and let the familiar scent of warm agarwood overtake your senses.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Jas.”
She’s taken aback at first but then pulls apart to reassure you,
“Y/n, please don’t say that. It’s okay, I’m okay, you’re okay.” She draws circles on your shoulder blades as she whispers, “We’re both here.”
You want to keep on apologizing, thanking and basking her presence but it’s cut short by de Vos rounding near the hallway and exclaiming your name – his Jersey accent boisterous.
“God damn it, kid, thought I was gonna have to punch some fucker’s face today.” In complete de Vos fashion, the man is still wearing his coat and gloves and his hair is gelled back and his enormous figure fills the door frame he’s leaning against and you follow the curve of his hooked nose and watch the deep-set lines of his forehead crease before wrapping your arms around him.
“It’s always good to keep you on your toes, de Vos.” Your voice is croaky still and you don’t know how you managed to crake a joke all of a sudden but the weight in your chest feels a little lighter now that you’re not stuck in the apartment anymore and surrounded by fewer police officers.
“Okay, if you’re ready to go now then we can head out – I’ve asked Gordon to arrange for a safe house for you to stay in for the night as we work out the safety details – “
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
Bruce’s low voice causes the little circle (you, Jasmine, Betty and de Vos) have formed – to turn around and see his figure approaching yours.
“Bruce – “
“Oraine, I’m sure you’re aware of how safe Wayne Manor is, Y/n can stay there for the night.”
The conversation falls quiet as Betty silently assesses the proposition before nodding and you find yourself interjecting,
“Betty – “
“No, Y/n, he’s right,” She cuts you off and steps closer. “This time, please trust me.”
You can’t argue with her now – not while you feel the weight of everyone’s gaze on you, so you just nod and train your eyes back to the floor.
The rest of the trip down to the car is silent – besides from the uncomfortable weight that nobody addresses until you’re outside the building and the crisp air causes you to release a breath you didn’t know you were holding and the October breeze causes you to wrap your arms around your torso tighter split into cars.
“Right, me and de Vos we’ll go in that car, you and Bruce in his and Jasmine – “
“I’ll come with you guys, Betty.”
Before you can protest Jasmine leaving you alone with Bruce, they’ve all made their way to the car near the curb and you’re left with no option but to begrudgingly follow Bruce into his car – which had been haphazardly parked, almost climbing onto the sidewalk.
Neither of you say a word as you climb into the passenger seat and he buckles into the driver’s seat and you both drive in complete silence – except for your anxiety ridden heartbeat thudding in your chest. You watch the streetlamps pass by the dark shadows, the apricot orange light falls solemnly on the gravel roads and it invokes a sense of déjà vu in you, to last Wednesday and a humourless laugh almost escapes your lips but you manage to keep the silence – and it’s still stifling.
By the time, you reach the Manor, it’s almost 2:30 am on the digital clock in the car and Bruce stops the car and neither one of you makes a move to get out. Instead, Bruce puts his hand into his breast pocket and pulls out an envelope. It’s the same cream colour as the ones you received in the dressing room and the one, he gave to you tonight.
“Bruce?” Your voice is barely above a whisper as you hesitantly take the envelope – your fingers shaking as you open envelope – the seal was already broken and your fingertips against the hoarse paper is the only sound you can hear – and you watch the moonlight frame shadows on Bruce’s face as he looks at you.
“What is this.”
A beat passes before he speaks.
“That night, uh, before you came to my house, Alfred gave me this letter that he found, and I read it and it said – “
“That ‘this is a warning to stay away from her’”, you completed his sentence, reading off the letter. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You know I’ve been asking you the same thing for the past couple of days.” His voice is oddly strained, and you pretend you didn’t hear what he said.
“You shouldn’t have told me to leave that night,” You don’t look at him when you say this, head looking out towards the window and the peak of sunlight edging off the horizon and you wait for him to say something.
“I know.” There’s a slight tone of bitterness in his voice but you don’t dwell it for long because his hands come out to guide your face towards his – his cold fingers resting gently under your chin, and a chill goes down your spine as you match his gaze.
“I’m sorry.” You don’t say anything, but you don’t make a move away from him either. “You know that I never want anything terrible happening to you and I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.”
A beat passes.
“I didn’t mean anything I said that day and I just didn’t know what to tell you.”
“Just like you don’t know how to tell me you’re Batman?”
You bite your lips in anticipation as Bruce’s eyes grow wide – his hold on your face disappearing and it takes him a second to process your confession.
“Y – You know?”
“Well, at least you’re not denying it.” You try to lighten the mood, but his face is still shocked. “Remember when I came over to your house for my 17th birthday? I heard you and Alfred talking about how you should be more careful on patrols.”
He doesn’t say anything, so you take your hand in yours and draw small circles on it before continuing.
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you to do anything stupid.”
“Stupid?”
“Like stop talking to me or I don’t know, erase my memory?”
“I can’t do that, you know.”
“Yeah, well I was scared and that’s why I kinda stopped talking to you after that visit.”
You intertwine his pinkie finger with yours and lift your joint hands above the console and he looks at you with a confused look.
“No more secrets after this,” You squeeze your hand. “Promise?”
He moves to press a light kiss against your temple before whispering
“Promise.”
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Currently facing the large manor windows out-looking the gardens and entrance, you watch rain pour down copiously – making the view almost incomprehensible and a small frown makes it way on your face as you fidget around with the gold locket around your neck.
“Are you alright, miss?”
Alfred’s monotonous voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you look at him in confusion before he speaks up again.
“Master Bruce is in the study,” He studies you for a moment. “I though you would like to know.”
“Oh – yes, thank you.”
With a small nod in your direction, he turns around and you wait for the footsteps to fade away before you start to move away – on your way, you stop by the gold accented hanging mirror and adjust invisible creases in your dress – which was a soft pink, and off-the shoulder, before padding through the silent halls.
“Alfred says that you ‘seem sad’?”
Bruce doesn’t even lift his head when he questions you as you enter the study and watch the unnerving amount of bookshelves and sharp woodwork surround his hunched body over piles of papers in the corner of the room and you only roll your eyes as you make your way to the large, velvet armchair he was sitting at.
“Does he now?” You mutter under your breath – slightly embarrassed at the prospect of Alfred telling Bruce about your sadness over something so trivial.
“Well, are you sad?”
“I don’t know Bruce, am I?”
He doesn’t say anything but raises his eyebrow in response – at which you motion for him to move so you can make yourself comfortable in his lap – confined by the oak table in front of you and his arms wrap themselves around you as you burrow your head in his neck, enveloping yourself in the scent of his sandalwood cologne and body warmth.
“What happened?”
You incoherently mumble into his neck, which prompts him to nudge you and you slowly lift your head out and look at him with slightly red eyes and a pouty face.
“Love – “
“I really wanted to go out to the lakes today.” You hope he doesn’t hear you, but he does, and you can see his eyes light up in humour and he barely contains a smile as you shake your head.
“I had it all planned!” You start to move your hands as well now, making exuberant gestures to accentuate your point. “I was gonna bring these picnic blankets, and this wicker basket and I wore this dress and – and I made mini cherry pies and this fucking stupid rain just ruined your surprise.”
You finish off your rant by burrowing your head again and leaving Bruce with a small smile on his lips as he tries to get you to life your head, but you just shake your head and a small chuckle escapes Bruce’s lips and you let out a small whine.
“It’s not funny!”
“Certainly not.”
You raise your head to stare at him unamused as you watch him follow your movements before he asks,
“Are you going to be upset this whole evening?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, what would cheer you up?” His voice is bemused as you contemplate his words in your mind before scanning the expanse of the room before something clicks in your mind.
“Can you play me the piano?”, your voice is soft and barely above a whisper, and Bruce comprehends your request, playing the piano? It seems simple enough and Bruce is a little confused.
“Y/n, I don’t really – “
“Please,” You move your hands to play with the buttons on his shirt. “Remember, when we were kids, and we had those piano lessons and I was so fucking bad. Like really bad,”
Bruce smiles a little as you laugh at the memory.
“And Mr. Lebedev was a terrible teacher and I hated him, and you used to try and teach me, but I was so bad.”
“So?”
You don’t stop the eye roll before responding.
“So, can you play the piano for me because I can’t – and I’ll feel less bad if you do.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, before nodding his head and trying to stand up to leave but you stop him, motioning him to pick you up.
“If you can bench-press a thousand pounds, then honey, you can lift me up.”
There’s a satisfied smile on your lips as you picks you up with a roll of the eyes before walking across the room, towards the grand piano set in the room, facing the large windows.
“What do you want me to play?” He asks as you both sit on the leather bench,
“Anything you want.” You shrug in response as he concentrates on the piano, deep in thought before moving his fingers – shakily – over the keys, and a delicate sound fills the air as his fingers glide expertly over the piano and you hold in your breath without realising as he plays his mother’s song.
You can remember it quite clearly because every time, she would ask Bruce to play a piece, she would always ask for this one.
You don’t want to say anything to disrupt his concentration, so you only closed you eyes and moving to softly rest you head on his shoulder, the intricate melody tangent to the patter of rain against the window and it feels a little ephemeral, and you feel yourself melt a little sitting there – wrapped up in the quite atmosphere.
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le fin
how was it? part 2?
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tabloidtoc · 3 years
Text
Us, May 3
You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks
Cover: Pregnant Meghan Markle: My Baby, My Way
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Page 2: Red Carpet -- rufflemania -- Hollywood style stars are tier-ing it up in this flattering design with feminine flair -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever, Margot Robbie, Logan Browning, Nicola Coughlan
Page 3: Lizzo, Maude Apatow, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Alba, Lily Collins
Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Anya Taylor-Joy vs. Isla Fisher vs. Regina King in Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal
Page 6: Loose Talk -- Shonda Rhimes on the intense backlash she received over Rege-Jean Page's exit from Bridgerton, Kelly Ripa on her most embarrassing interview, Luke Bryan on his mother LeClaire's Instagram fame, Blake Shelton on The Voice's new coach Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon joking about wearing bottoms that aren't sweatpants
Page 8: Contents
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Page 10: A Final Farewell to Prince Philip, his four children Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were among the loved ones who participated in the emotional ceremony, feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William (and his wife Duchess Kate) put their differences aside after the intimate service, due to Covid-19 protocols the grieving Queen Elizabeth stayed socially distant from the other 29 people who attended the funeral for her husband of 73 years
Page 11: ACM Awards 2021 -- Maren Morris teamed up with her husband Ryan Hurd and won Female Artist of the Year, Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood took the stage
Page 12: Hot Pics -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore an orange coat during a visit to NYC, John Stamos plays a coach on the TV show Big Shot, Zach Braff goofed around on the set of Cheaper by the Dozen in L.A.
Page 13: Eva Longoria on her trampoline while aboard a yacht in Miami, Howie Mandel arrived to the set of America's Got Talent dressed as a bug in Pasadena
Page 14: Jon Hamm and his rescue dog Splash strolled around the neighborhood in L.A., Heidi Klum in all white in Pasadena, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A.
Page 15: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes held hands after dinner at Il Segreto in L.A., Patrick Dempsey shot a scene for his show Devils in Rome
Page 16: Rachel Brosnahan in a blue dress and carrying a clear umbrella on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC, Lin-Manuel Miranda at the opening of a vaccination center for Broadway workers in Times Square, Trisha Yearwood feeds one of her rescue pups
Page 18: Gen Z Has Spoken -- these celebs are making the young kids proud -- Baggy Jeans -- Hailey Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bella Hadid
Page 19: Middle Parts -- Busy Philipps, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, baguette bags -- Dua Lipa, Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner
Page 20: Seeing Double -- stars bear a striking resemblance to their famous counterparts -- Elizabeth Banks and Chelsea Handler, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Nina Dobrev, Betty Gilpin and Jodie Comer
Page 21: Rob Lowe and Ian Somerhalder, Jaime Pressly and Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams, Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran, Kyle Richards and Kacey Musgraves
Page 22: Clueless Crew -- stars are totally buggin' over Cher Horowitz's style in yellow plaid -- Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Holmes was rollin' with her homie beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. in NYC, Vanessa Hudgens, Dianna Agron
Page 23: Gabrielle Union
Page 24: Stars They're Not Like Us -- Jay Leno took one of his vintage automobiles out for a spin in L.A., Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took a selfie with a fan while grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, Kylie Jenner has custom vending machines
Page 25: Carrie Underwood in her massive walk-in closet, Denzel Washington signs autographs for fans in NYC, Megan Thee Stallion on a private plane, Drake and his bodyguard in Beverly Hills
Page 26: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Sarah Jessica Parker catches a yellow cab after working at her shoe store in NYC, Brad Paisley picked up five pizzas to go in Montecito
Page 27: Kelly Osbourne handed out goods at a drive-thru food distribution event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, HGTV's Egypt Sherrod transformed her closet into a meditation space in Atlanta, in between filming Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T take a selfie
Page 28: Hollywood Dads -- Scott Porter on parenting his two kids McCoy and Clover
Page 29: Jonathan Tucker on life with twins Hayes and India, parenthood is a lot tougher than Jovi Dufren imagined, Maksim Chmerkovskiy can't wait to show son Shai his work
Page 30: Love Lives -- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are showing no signs of slowing down -- the pair enjoyed a night out in L.A. hotspot Delilah where they were holding hands and laughing and they're not hiding the fact that they're dating but they just don't want people in their business -- they're a good match and are each other's best friend
Page 31: Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may look like the picture-perfect couple, but Justin admits that their first year of marriage wasn't what he expected, saying it was really tough and there was just a lack of trust and he blamed the strain on his own personal struggles and said before he didn't have someone to love or someone to pour into but now, more than two years after exchanging vows with Hailey, he has that
* Kacey Musgraves' romance with Dr. Gerald Onuoha is giving her butterflies -- the pair are so happy they found each other and while Kacey, who split from her husband Ruston Kelly last summer, is trying not to get too ahead of herself, her connection to the Nashville-based doc is off the charts and it's got the potential to go a very long way
* Today's Savannah Guthrie is thankful to have husband Michael Feldman in her life, especially given the demands of her early morning work schedule
Page 32: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are getting serious -- all the details on their whirlwind romance
Page 33: Adapting to parenthood has been a breeze for Emma Stone and she's soaking in all the precious moments of being a mom for the first time -- she and husband Dave McCary welcomed their baby daughter in March and Emma is super protective and a very hands-on mom and Dave is also hands-on and helps with their daughter -- thanks to the little one, Emma's marriage with the comedian has also gotten stronger and having a baby has brought them closer in a way they never expected -- Emma is looking forward to getting back to work; she's taken this time off to embrace motherhood and her number one priority is to raise a healthy baby so that's what she's focused on right now
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* Britney Spears is setting the record straight -- despite her ongoing conservatorship battle with her dad, Jamie Spears, she is doing totally fine, assuring fans that she's extremely happy and she has a beautiful home, beautiful children and she's taking a break right now because she's enjoying herself -- although the legal drama with her father is heating up, Britney is staying strong and she has this wonderful ability to see the positive even when the odds are against her
* Keeping Up With Us -- production for the Downton Abbey sequel is underway, Mossimo Giannulli is a free man, Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter 23 days after announcing that she was leaving the platform, Vanessa Bryant remembered her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Helen McCrory lost her battle with cancer at age 52 according to her husband Damian Lewis
Page 34: A Day in My Life -- Whitney Port
Page 35: Colton Underwood is ready to live his truth -- during an interview on Good Morning America, the former Bachelor came out as gay, saying he's run from himself for a long time and he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year and he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been -- now that he feels like he can finally breathe, Colton is excited for his next chapter, which fans will get to see on an upcoming reality show with Olympian Gus Kenworthy -- a huge weight has been lifted off of Colton's shoulders and he is looking forward to being his authentic self
Page 36: Moms Tell All -- Happy Mother's Day! From milestones and manners to rules and nanny-bans, celebs and insiders talk about raising kids in Hollywood
Page 37: Bindi Irwin says life at home with her daughter Grace Warrior has been positively blissful and her family with dad Chandler Powell is so full of love, adding that the newborn has already met some of the wildlife at the Australia Zoo where Bindi and Chandler live and work and of course she's seen some crocs and really lit up when she saw them -- while the Aussie conservationist is sad Grace won't get to meet her late dad Steve Irwin, Bindi's brother Robert Irwin and mom Terri Irwin have been by her side constantly and Robert is obsessed with Grace and has been helping out so much and her mom has been the biggest guiding light and she's already taught Bindi so much about being a mother, both in how she raised her and by showing her things day by day and Terri is quite the baby whisperer and she's so great a calming Grace down when she's crying -- first-time father Chandler is also a natural with Grace and he's been the most supportive and involved dad and together, he and Bindi make such a great team -- for now, Bindi, who stars with Chandler in Crikey! It's a Baby!, is hoping Grace will follow in her animal-activist footsteps, saying having three generations of strong women working as conservationists is a dream come true
* Jennifer Garner said teaching your kids is a lifelong job, and certainly values are something you have to show them -- Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex Ben Affleck, is staying true to her word and has led by example when it comes to things like kindness and patience and she won't let anyone in the house to judge or speak ill of people, and she enforces the same wholesome, traditional values that she was raised with and the kids have been taught to be loving, hardworking and fair -- Jennifer has always taken a kids-come-first approach to parenting, and it shows as they bake together, enjoy movie nights, read books and have very active lives and it's a very healthy, happy household filled with laughter and love
Page 38: Gwen Stefani has her hands full with her sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, but she wouldn't want it any other way -- Gwen's a tomboy, so having three boys wasn't daunting for her at all, plus she has fiance Blake Shelton by her side to pitch in with parenting duties and Gwen and the boys have a blast at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma where they enjoy riding their ATVs, and they play baseball and football -- it's not all fun and games, though because Gwen is big on boundaries and manners and she doesn't want to raise Hollywood brats and it's important to her that her sons be gentlemen
* Meghan Markle's pregnancy with Archie was no walk in the park, as she revealed during her bombshell TV interview with husband Prince Harry, the couple had concerns over whether or not the royal family would provide security for their son and claimed there were conversations about his skin color -- but this time around, as Meghan and Harry gear up for baby No. 2 at home in L.A., she's doing everything her way, without the royals and Meghan and Harry feel blessed that they're able to raise their daughter in the U.S. and can live by their own rules and make the decisions they feel are best for their children; having independence is the most important thing for Meghan and she's got free rein to be exactly the kind of mom she wants to be -- her parenting style is really like most mothers out there, and she's been craving pasta and doing yoga two times a day as her due date nears and she keeps a lot of art supplies out to foster creativity and healthy snacks around and she's a devoted mom and wants the best for her kids
Page 39: Kate Hudson has a lot on her plate, so the mom of three, who shares son Ryder with former husband Chris Robinson and son Bingham with ex Matt Bellamy and daughter Rani with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa, knows when to put her foot down as things can get a little overwhelming at times for Kate, but when she says no, it absolutely means no, and the kids respect her very much because of that
* Gigi Hadid, who shares daughter Khai with boyfriend Zayn Malik, wants to spend every waking moment with her precious little girl -- Gigi could easily afford to employ a team of nannies but chooses not to and she prefers to do everything herself and besides, she can't bear to be away from Khai for more than a few hours
* Candace Cameron Bure's three grown kids are flying the coop, but she's still super involved in their lives, despite slowly becoming an empty nester -- the mom of Natasha, Lev, and Maksim with former hockey player Valeri Bure says it's been a very transitional time and she's been trying to help them make decisions they feel good about and it's challenging, but they're figuring it out
Page 40: Oh, Baby! Meghan Markle's due date is just around the corner, and here are all the details
* Bump Brigade -- Halsey, Gal Gadot, Shawn Johnson East
Page 42: 10 Years of the Cambridges -- a look back at Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton's solid marriage for their anniversary
Page 44: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: What Really Happened -- cheating and lies? The truth behind J.Lo's split from fiance A-Rod
Page 45: Friendliest Exes -- these former couples managed to stay close after going their separate ways -- Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz
Page 48: Gifts for Mother's Day
Page 54: Entertainment -- Ben Barnes on Shadow and Bone
Page 58: Fashion Police -- the most daring Oscars looks -- Bjork, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron
Page 59: Rachel Weisz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga
Page 60: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Julia Michaels
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multimetaverse · 3 years
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Riverdale 5x03 Recap
Jellybean was born and raised in Riverdale though?? She only moved to Ohio after her mom left FP
Good on FP for doing what’s best for his daughter but probably should have told Alice beforehand that you’re skipping town
We’re ending this era of Riverdale as it began with Tom Keller as Sheriff. Hope he has a scene with his son tonight!
Jughead saying those kids almost looked innocent asleep was pretty messed up of him. 1) those are clearly homeless kids having to sleep in a fucking gym and 2) as bad as the voyeur vids were they still pale in comparison to the crimes that high school kids have been involved in over the years
Oooh man that Luke Perry is just brutal
It’s crazy to think of how far the show has come since that first scene of Cheryl and Jason Blossom in all white heading down to the river
Alice might be the most tragic living character on Riverdale, her life has just been wrecked over and over and over
It’s awful how realistic the army recruitment booth inside the school is. The Saved by the Bell reboot had a great joke about military recruitment of teens (it’s a much better show than Riverdale and I highly recommend it and it’s already been renewed for S2)
It’s nice that they brought Weatherbee back for the final high school eps
LOL at the Red Circle shade
The yearbook as a device to look back at some of the show’s history is clever. Also reveals how clearly chapter 79 which was supposed to be the S4 finale was also being written as a possible series finale
It’s very odd that Archie’s poor grades of all things are what the writers just to be realistic about. Nice of Weatherbee to let Archie walk with his friends though
Ladies and Gentlemen that could possibly be the last Varchie sex scene we ever see
Considering the US only abolished conscription after the Vietnam war, I don’t think those 4 students back in 1945 had much of a choice in joining the army. Although they lucked out with the timing since the war with Japan would end within months while they were still in basic training
Not Archie lying to both Jughead and Veronica about his post high school plans
FP telling Jughead he’s old enough to be on his own is rich considering Jughead was basically homeless and on his own in S1
Good on Cheryl for getting her red robe
Finally Tom Keller gets a scene with his son!
Omfg I can’t handle this Archie cover of Green Day
Yaas Penelope lurking in the bushes. I’m gonna miss that Queen, hope she gets out of jail soon enough
RIP Falice. It will never cease to amaze me that right when the obstacles that should have stopped Bughead such as their parents being in a relationship and their shared half-brother are swept away that Bughead is being broken up
Well good bye for now and maybe forever FP Jones. You were the best of the surviving fathers which is admittedly a hell of a low bar
Pop’s is rightfully restored to Pop Tate
Kevin mentioning Josie and the Pussycats threw me
I guess from now on we’ll always see Jughead without that stupid hat, that’s weird
These grad scenes have been surprisingly poignant but they fall flat when they include the wider group. How many lines have Kevin, Fangs, Reggie, and Sweetpea even had lately? Has Kevin done anything of note since Hedwig? We’re a long way from when he was Betty’s best friend. And what has Reggie been up to? I noticed his dad wasn’t at grad, is that because he’s dead? Is there ever gonna be a follow up on Reggie smashing his dad’s car?
Don’t have a great feeling about this vow
Archie sure knows how to kill the mood. The worst thing about Archie’s speech is its accuracy. The US military really does offer a path to a middle class existence especially for kids with no other options. The life outcomes for people without high school degrees are grim and Archie really is grasping the last, best way to try and turn around his life
This Choni breakup is so sad 
The CW is wildin out letting Betty take off her bra for sex. What a bizarre transition from tearful confession to sex. Perhaps the last Bughead sex scene we’ll ever see
Just realized that Vegas will very likely be dead by the time we pick back up in 7 years
These scenes would have more impact if the show had focused on the Archie/Jughead and Veronica/Betty friendship
Wow bringing the old car out for one last drive
These flashbacks are sad, especially the Luke Perry one
God I hope Nana Rose survives the 7 year gap
Jesus Christ, so Jughead had a home he could have stayed in but decided to squat at Archie’s instead??
Poor Jughead being the only one to keep the vow
Well this really is the end of an era. Riverdale will never be the same after this episode. From the promos we know that Veronica is married to a controlling wall street douche, Archie is wounded overseas, Betty is an FBI agent, and Jughead a writer. The crisis that brings them all back is Hiram dissolving the town of Riverdale for his nefarious ends
Veronica marrying a man who shares some traits with Hiram is not surprising though the fact that she’s married is interesting, both in that there’s no way that marriage will last and in how her husband is jealous of her past with Archie, it’s an easy way to start heading towards Varchie again if the writers choose. There’s no way that Betty would be get in to the FBI with a serial killer father and half brother but we’ll see what new killer the writers can come up with. It looks like Jughead is a tortured artist. I appreciate the costume designers for making Archie’s military uniform so retro that it looks like he’s being shipped off to Korea to stop it going the way of Red China 
Looking back it’s extremely bizarre that they did what they did with Barchie. It really served no purpose since they all would have gone their separate ways anyways
Well looks like Cheryl hasn’t been successful in thwarting Hiram. I would imagine that much of Veronica’s story after the time gap is her wrestling with whether to take on her father and to claim the Lodge legacy for herself once and for all. Archie had always been her guiding light in that regard and we’ll see if can play that role in the future
This 7 year gap brings the characters ages up to 25 which is much closer to the actor’s actual ages which will help in that regard. But time jumps are tricky and 7 years is quite a gap, double the length of time that these first 79 eps have lasted. Sadly, Riverdale was renewed for a 6th season but realistically the bulk of the series has now passed and whatever adventures the gang gets up to as adults will get far less time dedicated to them. Some sort of time jump was probably always necessary if the show lasted as long as it had but I’m skeptical that Riverdale can pull it off. Until next week Riverdalers
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volkswagonblues · 3 years
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2020 in review - my fave books I read this year:
[some of them are published this year, others I read for the first time this year]
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Okay, so this was straight up the funniest fucking book I’ve read this year. I’ve been meaning to read this book for a long time, and I picked up a copy at a free library and was instantly hooked. It was issued to American soldiers in WW2 and apparently it was like, the most popular paperback ever, and if Betty Smith was a man then she would have gone down in lit history as a “humorist” and a “great American novelist”, etc. etc. This books is SUCH a bawdy picaresque of Depression-era Brooklyn. It’s packed with such sharp insights about immigration and poverty, but it’s also filled with so many delicious minutiae about the early 20th c. There’s a whole sketch when Johnny takes a bunch of kids fishing in a tuxedo (he has never fished before) that begins with an anecdote about a kid who was breastfed until he was 6 and ended with a rotten fish exploding on a train and ugh – fantastic. 
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
This is like Black Mirror if the writers had a single thought process other than “how do we tell you that phone are bad hur hur”. One novella in it, "The Lifecycle of Software Objects", was astounding to read. It’s about a group of software programmers who raise AI lifeforms in a virtual MMORPG setting, and as the AI lifeforms grow up they become...beings who are not human, but not animal either. And their carers genuinely love them and are fighting to bring them up as best as they could, just like any normal parent would with their human children. It’s tender and thought provoking and it’s so, so smart about humans and our capacity to love. Fuck black mirror, read this instead.
Upstream by Mary Oliver
“The clock! That twelve-figured moon skull, that white spider belly! How serenely the hands move with their filigree pointers, and how steadily! Twelve hours, and twelve hours, and begin again! Eat, speak, sleep, cross a street, wash a dish! The clock is still ticking. All its vistas are just so broad—are regular. (Notice that word.) Every day, twelve little bins in which to order disorderly life, and even more disorderly thought. The town’s clock cries out, and the face on every wrist hums or shines; the world keeps pace with itself. Another day is passing, a regular and ordinary day. (Notice that word also.)”
Stargazing by Jen Wang
this is the cutest and most heart-wrenching comic ever. that is all
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
TREMENDOUS. The last third, after Cromwell gets shut in the Tower of London – I couldn’t put it down. I read a lot of good books, but only now and then I read a genius book. The way that Mantel uses the flexibility of prose to convey Cromwell’s consciousness, the way the prose moves back and forwards through time and memory and through the rich texture of Cromwell’s senses, the way the story engages with myth and history and the very idea of England as a nation. ARGH. This whole trilogy changed the way I understood literature.
Saqiyuq by Nancy Wachowich, in collaboration with Apphia Agalakti Awa, Rhoda Kaukjak Katsak, and Sandra Pikujak Katsak
it’s an oral history recorded by a sociologist who traveled to Nunavut. She interviewed three generations of the same family: the grandmother, the mother, and the granddaughter. It’s a portrait of a people whose life has gone through a sea change in the last century. And the rhythm of the language in the first section, the interviews with the grandmother, is so hypnotic and readable, I felt like I’m in the room. In the very beginning of the book she tells you a story about how she accidentally shot her half-brother because they were playing with her father’s rifle, and the intensity of the story (which is just her life!) does not let up from there
Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
“There is a siren that sounds in our small town to announce the curfew. At noon and at 10 p.m. Every time the siren sounds all the sled dogs howl, and I imagine that they think there is a large, loud god dog that rules the land howling. I equate this with religion. A short-sighted and desperate attempt for humans to create reason and order in a universe we can't possibly comprehend. The simple truth is that we are simply an expression of the energy of the sun. We are the glorious manifestation of the power of the universe.”
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
hey you ever want to read about Mussolini's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, but like, with heavy thematic reference to Homer’s The Iliad? You want to read some of the most polished, crafted prose of your life? You want to think about war and womenhood and the violence inherent in everyday acts for 500 pages? Of course you do 
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parkertech · 4 years
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Tattoos & Tears — CHAPTER 4
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a/n: on everybody's 18th birthday, they get a tattoo of their soulmate written on their wrist. for you, it's your best friend who you thought you got over. who even has a girlfriend of his own.
warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, jealousy, angst
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MJ was rudely awoken by the morning sun blinding her eyes. She mentally cussed it out in her head, before checking the time. She groaned at the realization that she had to get ready, and turned over patting Peter’s shoulder.
“Pete...wake up...” she whispered. It was Peter’s turn to groan, and he buried his face in his pillow, his eyes still closed. MJ giggled at how much of a couch potato he was being, before running her hand through his hair.
“It’s 7:00 Peter...come ooonn...” He only groaned even louder in protest. He could feel MJ’s body heat, and instead of it being comforting, he found it the opposite. He scooted slightly away from her, and sighed feeling the cool mattress under his skin.
“I don’t wannaaaa...the days gonna be full of boring lessons, and boring teachers, and boring people...”
“Yeah, everyone’s basically boring.” MJ replied. She jumped out of Peter’s bed, grabbing an outfit she left in his closet. “Well, besides your friends, of course.” Peter hummed and nodded in response while MJ left his room to his bathroom to take a shower.
With MJ’s last sentence, he was reminded of all his friends. MJ, Ned, Betty, Y/N...
Wait, Y/N!
He shot up from his bed, realizing he had a big priority on his hand today. All the memories of last night came back, and he mentally cursed himself all over again.
Okay, he needed a plan. That was his thing, that’s how he got MJ as his girlfriend. And that worked out. Even though he technically couldn’t check any of those things off...
Peter started making the list mentally. Okay, step one. Apologize for being a dick. Even if he wasn’t secretly sorry. It was Brad Davis for crying out loud! But that still didn’t mean he controlled you. Step two, basically be your bitch. That would soften you up a bit. Hand her the homework if she needs it, give her notes for the day, etcetera, etcetera. And if all else fails and you’re still mad at him, step 3. Leave her alone.
But what if he doesn’t want to?
No no, not about you, Peter.
If you were really mad, you would just need space to soften up. Then he’d try again. Peter took a breath, letting his plan sink in, before getting ready for the day.
MJ beat Peter to school, when she realized she was going to be late if she waited for him. As she was taking out all her textbooks and notes for her next class, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She turned around, only to be cornered by Peter himself, who had a bright smile on his face.
“Hey, you.” He said cheery. MJ couldn’t stop the matching smile that came across his face.
“Hey to you, too.” Peter chuckled a bit before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. MJ’s cheeks immediately flared up, and she could tell she was blushing. There was a slight fire in her that she couldn’t put out if she tried.
But Peter didn’t feel it.
He was expecting the butterflies, and the flushed cheeks, but he felt nothing. The only thing he felt was a slight discomfort, as he pulled away with a confused look. He could hear tingling, and knew it was his spider sense.
“What’s wrong?” MJ asked. Usually he would continue his affection, but apparently today was different. Peter turned to look down a hall, and his spider sense turned off once he saw you.
Except you weren’t alone.
There you were, leaning against your locker with a bright smile on your face, laughing at something Brad Davis said. He had a casual arm leaning against the locker above you, and he was slightly towering over you. Peter also took in your appearance. You were hearing a white, long sleeve scoop neckline shirt, along with a dark blue denim skirt that stopped in the middle of your thighs. You had soft, yet gentle makeup on your face, and your hair was a little more neater today.
You were dressed to impress someone.
And that someone was Brad.
Peter grit his teeth a little, before turning back to MJ.
“Nothing, just thought my spider senses sensed danger.” MJ nods with an ‘oh’ face, before turning back around and continuing rummaging through her locker. Peter took this chance to look back up at you. Brad was now smiling at you, and he could see his eyes trail up and down your body. Peter’s chest grew tight, and he felt that familiar jealousy from last night, all because he was checking you out.
Jesus, why was he being so weird?
He knew it was a problem if he could address it himself. MJ shut her locker, and grabbed his hand. Peter took the hint, and walked her to her History class, but his eyes never left the not -so-subtle flirting Brad was doing. And he could tell you enjoyed it.
But little did Peter know, he was far from right.
Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Peter looking at you. You knew you needed some kind of way to distract yourself. Plus, you needed to keep your lie going. You killed two birds with one stone, and pretended to be interested in Brad. You felt a little bad, honestly. Brad didn’t deserve to be lied to of such a thing, and it made you feel more guilty when you could tell he was into you.
It was easy to pretend to have the same feelings. You giggled at all his jokes, even if they weren’t that funny, maybe touched his bicep a bit, but that was it. The only thing motivating you was imagining it was Peter. You heard the bell rung, and turn to your locker grabbing one last book.
“That’s us. Do you wanna walk to class together?” See, if this were really Peter, you’d be a stuttering, blushy mess. But it isn’t, so you’re not. Brad smiles at your offer before nodding.
“Yeah, maybe we could also sit next to each other?” Brad really was too naive for his own good...you wanted to sit with Peter, but he was probably sitting in between MJ and Ned by now.
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Brad waited until you locked your locker before walking down the sea of students to your class. It was silent except for his little comments, but it was a kind of peaceful silence. As promised, you and Brad took a seat in the middle next to each other.
Peter was occupied talking to Ned about his new Millennium Falcon LEGO set, until you walked in the room. With Brad. God, why is he always there?
He practically glared daggers at him, and he pulled a seat next to you. Of course, he was sitting next to you now. He only temporarily moved his eyes when the teacher came in to start the lesson. He stole occasional glances, and when the teacher assigned partners for a new project, guess who volunteered to be your partner?
“Okay, so we can continue doing this at my house?” You asked Brad. Peter growled a little. You just started talking to him and he’s already going to your house? Great.
MJ spotted his tense stance, and gently put her hand on his shoulder. He flinched a little, but nonetheless played it off.
The bell finally rung after what felt like an eternity, and MJ telling him to wait for her was the only thing stopping him from speeding away in annoyance. Him, MJ, Betty, and Ned, all sat in a table, across from each other. He expected you to sit next to them per usual, but he didn’t see any sign of you.
“Guys, do any of you see Y/N?” He asks. Betty’s eyes widen a little at the mention of your name, but she plays it off by looking around. She spots you a few tables down, and points.
“There she is.” He looked where Betty pointed. You had one of your notebooks open, writing away to it. Peter didn’t realize it, but he was admiring how your tongue poked out a little when you were very concentrated, and when you brushed your hair behind your ear because it was getting in the way. It showed more of your face, and for some reason that made his heart swell. As quick as the view was memorable, it became trashed the second Brad came into view. You looked up at him and smiled for what felt like the hundredth time that day. When Brad sat down next to you, he notice he had two trays of food, and handed one to you.
Get a load of this fucker.
Peter was full on fuming now. He could tell you were having fun with him, and it just made the anger in him rise even more. He knew the rest of the day wasn’t gonna be good if he kept seeing you two like this. Most of the lunch period was spent looking and glaring at you and Brad. Peter rarely payed any attention to his friends’ conversations, and only responded with one worded sentences. MJ noticed him being off, because she notices everything, and thought he was having a bad day. Maybe it was just this once. She decided to give him space. If something was wrong, he would tell her. She was certain of that.
“I’ll be right back.” He mumbled to his friend group. Betty and MJ eyed him, and Betty’s eyes widened when she realized he was walking to you.
Does he know? Did he somehow figure it out? Shit shit shit shit!
Peter sat across from you, which snatched your attention from Brad to him. You smiled at him while Brad just gave him a weird glance.
“Hey, Peter! What’s up?” He furrowed his eyebrows at how friendly you were being. Were you really going to act like last night didn’t happen? Or was he making it a big deal when it really wasn’t?
“Can I talk to you? In private?” He glared at Brad a bit, and it was very noticeable. You were about to call him out on it, before Brad intervened.
“It’s cool, I’ll just throw away our trash and let you guys talk, okay?” You nodded as Brad took your tray full of trash and his own, going over to the trash bin.
“So what did you wanna talk about?”
“I wanted to say sorry...for how I acted yesterday...” Peter’s aggressive demeanor was quickly turned into a shy one just by standing across from you.
“Oh, that? It’s okay, I was just in a snippy mood. Probably because of the alcohol.” It was easier to sugarcoat it instead of telling the truth. Eventually he’d wonder why you were so mad and figure it out. Peter wasn’t stupid, just not that observant.
“No, I feel like it was my fault mostly. I mean I’m the one that brought it up, even though I know I can’t control your love life, I’m sorry about that too, and I-“
“Peter I said I forgive you. It’s okay.” You stopped him mid rambling and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. His palms suddenly became sweaty and he placed them on his thighs instead of in front of him on the table.
“Okay. Cool. Yeah.” You nodded and he awkwardly nodded back, before going back to his seat. He joined in MJ’s conversation a little unwillingly, while Betty took her chance to sit in front of you this time.
“What was he talking about?” She whispered. You shot your head up from your notes and furrowed your eyebrows.
“What?”
“He doesn’t know, right? About your tattoo.” Your eyes widened and you looked around, making sure no one heard you.
“Betty! Ssh! Don’t say it so loud! No, he doesn’t. He was just talking to me.” Betty sat there staring at you for a few seconds before asking another question.
“When are you gonna tell him?” You scoffed and shrugged before turning back to her.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I have to. The tattoo is probably wrong anyways.” Betty furrowed her eyebrows.
“I’m sorry, why are you acting like it’s not a big deal?”
“Maybe because it’s not. A flaw could’ve happened, who knows.” Betty glared at you, obviously annoyed. How did you go from having a full on panic attack to acting like it’s nothing?
“Really? So being in love with him isn’t a big deal?” You clenched your jaw, just wanting her to stop. You didn’t want to think about anything of last night, and Betty wasn’t really helping.
“I was drunk, okay?” But you meant it.
“I don’t think you would have a full on breakdown about that, even if you were drunk.”
“Betty, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay? I’m hanging out with Brad, and I think I might actually be into him. I don’t want a stupid fucking tattoo to ruin that for me!” Betty was way more confused now. But she didn’t have the energy to argue. She rolled her eyes a little, putting her hands up in defense, before leaving the table and going back to Ned.
When school hours were over, Brad went over to your house as planned. MJ went over to Peter’s house as usual, except he wasn’t as enthusiastic about it. He’d rather be alone. With you.
That was all that was on his mind. You, you, you. He mentally scolded himself, constantly repeating that he had a girlfriend to focus on instead. To get his mind off of you, he decided to go through a Star Wars marathon with MJ. He ignored her protests and stayed silent, which was unlike him. He’d banter to her saying it’s overhated, but he didn’t have the energy today.
The distraction didn’t work, though. He knew literally every line, what was going to happen, yadda yadda yadda. It just made him more bored. Peter looked down at MJ spooned up beside him, her eyes closed and her breathing slow. He carefully and cautiously moved out of his place between the couch and her, and didn’t waste any time to put on his red and black spandex and jump out the window.
When Peter started patrol, it was near sundown. When he checked his phone, it was 12 in the morning. He knew MJ would be up by now, and the thought of that annoyed him. He didn’t know why, but now he kind of found the thought of hanging around MJ really negatively. It’s not her as a person, it’s hanging out with her as her boyfriend. As Peter stared at his bedroom window, his thoughts ran wild.
Did he want to break up with MJ?
Peter knew the answer but wanted to try and prove himself wrong. He knew he couldn’t. But he didn’t want to hurt MJ. Sure, breakups happen, but someone gets hurt. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody. Especially someone as good as MJ. The thought of it made his eyes water. Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting his eyes shut and groaning a little.
“Peter, is everything okay with you?” He heard his new A.I.—E.D.I.T.H. ask. He figured out a way to transfer E.D.I.T.H. to his suit, since the glasses Tony gave him were a bit too big. He never threw them out, of course. He wanted to keep some part of him, besides the suits he made for him.
“Yeah, everything’s fine, E.D.I.T.H.” He knew based off his annoyed and upset tone he was far from right.
“Your heart rate hasn’t been picking up whenever you’re around Michelle.” E.D.I.T.H. stated. Great, he was trying to doubt himself and here goes a computer who literally knows everything. “Is everything okay between you two? I don’t see you argue.” That last word made his mind flashback to yesterday. When he was on your fire escape. It made his heart clench in the worst way possible.
As if the poor boy hadn’t been thinking enough, he went deeper into his mindset. And the deeper he went, the more and more you came up. He saw your smile, how bright and happy it was. He heard your laugh echo in his head, remembering the corny science pun he told you that made him laugh too. He kept getting flashes of you looking at him, of him spending time with you at your place, and how every time you were around you made him smile. He felt that tingle in his stomach, and his hands getting clammy under his suit, and hearing his heart beat in his ear drums. All of this was obvious signs of nervousness.
Peter also thought about MJ. But her smile wasn’t that bright. Her smile didn’t make him mimic it. Her laugh didn’t have as much power as yours did. He saw their moments together, but MJ being replaced with you. He felt his heart tug painfully, instead of any nervousness, and all of a sudden the lightbulb in his head clicked.
“Peter?” E.D.I.T.H. called his name one last time. Peter’s voice cracked as he finally replied to her.
“No, E.D.I.T.H. Everything is not okay between me and MJ...”
———————————————————————
a/n: hehehe that cliffhanger
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