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mirai-e-jump · 8 months

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TV Guide Dan Vol.48, July 2023 Issue ft. Aoto Watanabe x Yuhei Chiwata, Masashi Ikeda (full translation below)

Publication: July 31, 2023 (between episodes 22-23)

Aoto Watanabe x Yuhei Chiwata

"You two are currently appearing in "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger." Would you please describe each other's role to us?"

Watanabe: Chiwata-san plays Shiokara, someone who is straightforward with his feelings. He's not an overly proud person, but when he like something, he expresses it with his whole body, as if saying "I love it!" But, he also has the strength to speak up when he thinks something is wrong, and is able to show his weaknesses. Compared to the character I play, Yanma (Gast), he has a different sense of direction. He's someone that everyone wants to follow.

Chiwata: You've really been paying attention. That makes me happy. Yanma, played by Aoto, is just super cool! However, he's not very strong. Well, he does have the kind of qualities most women would be attracted to. Of course, as president, he has the leadership skills to keep N'Kosopa in order, but he's also intelligent and technologically capable. Actually, when I first meet Aoto, I though he was real manly.

Watanabe: You serious?!

Chiwata: I thought he was an honest person who disliked corruption. I feel like I'm very close to Yanma in those aspects, so I can't imagine anyone other than Aoto playing him.

Watanabe: Thank you so much! But, in some ways, there are also similarities between Chiwata-san and Shiokara.

Chiwata: Eh?! There is?!

Watanabe: Chiwata-san has excellent communication skills. He has more of an ability to connect with people. Even when we're on set, Chiwata-san's surroundings are always lively.

"What's the relationship between Watanabe-kun and Chiwata-kun?"

Watanabe: Out of all the members in King-Ohger, Chiwata-san is the one I've meet the most in my private time.

Chiwata: Yeah. We go out together to the saunas, to have dinner, and even to have a few drinks after work. We'll also visit each others houses.

Watanabe: It makes me happy~.

Chiwata: I said to him, "We're going to be filming together for a year, so you don't have to worry about acting formal or being so self conscious."

Watanabe: In the beginning, I challenged myself to speak casually to him. But as expected, it just didn't feel right to me…

Chiwata: For awhile, you definitely talked to me as if we were already close friends. However, I got the feeling it was only because you were trying to be considerate, as I told you to not worry about formalities (laughs).

Watanabe: (laughs). I really tried my best, but not only is Chiwata-san older than me, he's had more stage experience than me, so I ended up going back to using honorifics. But, it's not a formal honorific. What's more, when I'm on set getting my pompadour (Yanma's hairstyle) ready, I become so absorbed in my role that I may start talking to him in a casual manner.

"By the way, what do you usually call each other?"

Watanabe: For me, I take the "Wa" from Chiwata and call him "Wassan." But, I can't remember, how did I come to call you that?

Chiwata: When I asked Aoto, "What do other people call you?," He said, "Aoto." I said, "Well then, I'll call you Aoto too." I then told him, "For me, I'm rarely called by my first name." Aoto said, "Okay then, I'll call you by a nickname that no one else calls you, so let me think about it."

Watanabe: Did I really say that?!

Chiwata: Yeah, but it makes me happy when you call me by such an original name.

Watanabe: That's good then~ (laughs)

"Do you usually communicate through LINE?"

Watanabe: One time, I was so moved after reading the script, I sent a LINE, right? I wrote, "Did you read the script for episode 10 yet? I cried so much!"

Chiwata: In episode 10, there's a scene where Shiokara encourages Yanma. After that LlNE message, when we met on set, he said, "That scene, let's go shoot it for real."

Watanabe: That's right!

Chiwata: It's definitely a touching scene, so I thought it would be great if we could also make it a good scene together. However, on the day of shooting that scene, when I arrived on the set, Aoto gave off an aura that said, "Nobody come near me!," as he was concentrating on the scene by himself. I went to the set with my own plan in mind, but I thought it would be better not to tell Aoto, so I only told Director Kato (Hiroyuki) about my plan and continued on.

Watanabe: I'm so sorry (bitter smile). That scene, I was more invested in it than anyone else.

Chiwata: As a result, the scene turned out to be very good due to Aoto's strong feelings. I'm happy that the viewers responded so well to it.

"Based on the conversations so far, I can tell that the two of you are very close, so do you ever talk about love?"

Chiwata: Hmmm, We've never had such deep conversations before have we?

Watanabe: We haven't. But in my opinion, I think a younger woman would be a good match for Wassan. I think a relationship in which Wassan goes out with someone alittle out of his element would help balance it out.

Chiwata: Really? For me, I think that a man like Aoto, with his strong beliefs, could handle both older and younger people, Aoto will make older people want to, "Go for it!" and younger people want to say, "I'll follow him."

Watanabe: Is that right? (shining). Well then, let's "check our answers!"

Chiwata: Regardless of their gender, my motto is, "spoil the older ones as much as you want, and spoiler the younger ones as much as you can." I can get along with older people, even if we're 20-30 year apart, but when it comes to people around my own age, I don't know how to relate to them. I have very few friends my own age, with the exception of my hometown and high school friends.

Watanabe: I see. I think I prefer those older then me. Or rather, I'd like someone with a higher intelligence compaired to me. If anything, I think I'm the type of person who likes to spoil myself. Even if I'm spoiled by someone, I usually have a pretty firm grasp on things, so it's only then that I'm emotionally moved.

Chiwata: So, are you saying you're not good with women who purposely act all cute and clumsy?

Watanabe: I think they're fun as a friend, but when it comes to dating, it's abit…

Chiwata: I see. For example, what would you do if a girl you thought as just a friend confessed her feelings for you?

Watanabe: I can only imagine, but I would never go from friend to a girlfriend.

Chiwata: Eh! I can totally see it though (laughs). I don't have a strong obsession with ones appearance, so if I think someone's attractive, then that's OK too.

Watanabe: Huh! As expected, Wassan is dedicated and doesn't sweat the small things.

"As we move forward, King-Ohger continues to become more and more exciting. Are there any situations you'd like to play as the duo of Yanma and Shiokara?"

Chiwata: How about the two of us switching roles? I have the appearance of Yanma, but on the inside, I'm still Shiokara (laughs).

Watanabe: Oh, sounds interesting! Actually, aren't there always scenes where the Yanma is pulling Shiokara along? How about on other hand, there are scenes where Shiokara does things that Yanma isn't good at. For example, instead of Yanma, who's weak at fighting, Shiokara is an insanely strong fighter. I wish there were times where we could show those things in a cool way.

Chiwata: That sounds good too. Until now, there are times where I've though, like right now, "It would be interesting if there was a scene like this." I never mentioned it, but the screenwriter, Takamina-san (Takano Mizuto), he always writes the perfect scenes! So, I think there's a chance it might come true.

Watanabe: That's right! So, from now on, don't take your eyes off King-Ohger!!

＿

Masashi Ikeda

"Ikeda-kun is currently playing the role of Jeramie Brasieri in King-Ohger. What kind of character do you see in him?"

Ikeda: He's 2,000 years old and is the story teller of the story on the planet Chikyu, where the show takes place. Also, he's a man born between a human and a Bagnarak (unusual shaped creatures who live underground and are hostile to the King-Ohgers). When the role was first explained to me, my first question was, "What does it mean to be 2,000 years old?" (laugh). I carefully play the part of how he thinks and looks at the world, as he's lived a long time. Because it's an unusual situation, I had a hard time in the beginning, but he's a character that makes you think about a variety of things, so it's a role that's both challenging and exciting to play.

"The unusual nature of his role as the additional warrior, while also participating as a narrator since the first episode, has became a topic of discussion."

Ikeda: Actually, I still feel uncomfortable when I hear my own voice narrating on air, so I'm very happy to hear people say, 'Your voice is nice." As for my voice, I try to focus on making it resonate and be easy to listen to. At first, I couldn't do it well, but with practice, I gradually became able to do deep breathing as well. The voice of Jeramie as the storyteller, and the voice of Jeramie when he speaks his mind, are done in different ways.

"What was the response from the people around you?"

Ikeda: When my family members watched Episode 11 for the first time, they all commented, "You're so cool!" At the end of Episode 12, it becomes clear that his character is to make others read between the lines. On the show's cast blog I wrote, "I love Jeramie!" It was funny when my older brother read it and said, "Jeramie is a person who makes you read between the lines, but here, you're saying "I love you" so bluntly!" (laughs).

"Your family seems to be very supportive of you. What's the atmosphere on set like?"

Ikeda: The 6 main cast members as well as the staff are always in a good mood, and we have great communication, so we're always having fun. We go on and off, talking about the show itself and various others things. We have a competition to see who can get the new script first, and the first person to do so would upload a selfie with a funny face along with the script to our 6 member group LlNE (laughs). I think it was (Watanabe) Aoto-kun who started it. Aoto-kun, I always call him "Nabe-chan," we get along well, often telling jokes, and I always think they're so funny. When shooting ends for the day, we sometimes go out to eat together.

"You seem to get along well with everyone."

Ikeda: The staff are all very nice, they'll often make sure to ask me, "Are you ready?," or even talk to me in a way that mimics Jeramie's way of speaking! I guess Jeramie's lines are easy to say (laughs). It makes me happy knowing that Jeramie's character is loved so much.

"Are there any surprising aspects of your co-stars that you have discovered during your time together, such as during filming?"

Ikeda: As mentioned earlier, Nabe-chan (Aoto) is completely different on and off the job. I also feel that there's a gap between (Yuzuki) Hirakawa-san, and her role of Rita Kaniska. Rita's character is cool, but Hirakawa-san talks so much that you could say she is the complete opposite of them.

"What's the most difficult part about filming?"

Ikeda: Throughout the year, I've been struggling every day to pursue the value of being able to play one role, and the depth of the story that accompanies it. I'm always thinking of ways in which to make Jeramie look more appealing. But, there is no right answer, so it continues to be a daily battle. One more thing…I'm also fighting with my back! In Jeramie's transformation scene, there's an action where I bend backwards, but I have a very stiff back. I'm really bending over as far as I can, but the director says, "Yes, keep bending!" (laughs). In the movie "Adventure Heaven," which is currently in theaters, there's a transformation scene, so I massaged my lower back in the bath and did some muscle training before the shoot, and I got the "OK" with just one take.

"Ikeda-kun, Please tell us about yourself. How did you decide to enter the entertainment industry?"

Ikeda: I moved to Tokyo when I entered university, and I originally had a strong interest in the entertainment industry. In my third year, when I was struggling with all the influences of Tokyo, I was approached by my current agency and decided to become an actor. I'm a country boy from Tokushima, and I always felt like the movies and TV shows I had watched since I was a child were "sparkling." When I came to Tokyo, I thought, "This is the place where I can challenge myself."

"Objectively speaking, what kind of personality do you think you have?"

Ikeda: I think I have an optimistic personality. Sometimes I can be negative, but I try my best not to be. Also, when I was a student, I was often told that I, "Don't seem to talk much" or "Seemed cool" when first meeting people, but in reality, I'm the type of person you can't get to stop talking once I've started!

"So you're an extrovert. What was your life like when you were a student?"

Ikeda: I played soccer from elementary school all the way through my 3rd year of high school, and was performing in a band at the same time. I started playing the drums when I was in my 6th year of elementary school. In addition, I also worked hard in my studies, aiming to excel in everything. I don't currently play soccer, but I'd prefer to play it myself rather than watch the games on TV. I do continue to play the drums though. I try to play an instrument when I need to refresh myself, as it helps me to vent my stress.

"What kind of life do you live when you have days off from filming?"

Ikeda: I like watching movies and dramas and playing games. As a result, I'm basically an indoor person on my days off. As long as I can enjoy eating it, I'll also cook for myself. I've been practicing making pasta since I was a student, and even now still make it occasionally. I also like to make grilled onigiri!

"If Ikeda-san has a type of woman he likes, what type would that be?"

Ikeda: I want someone who is a kind person, and who will also listen to me. It would be ideal if we could go out together to various places. I'm not good at returning messages through LINE. That's why I'm much better at talking over the phone or in person. If it's someone I like, I might try to get the conversation going, and then make a detour into asking them out (laughs).

"Please tell us about your future plans as an actor. Is there a genre of work that you'd like to appear in?"

Ikeda: I want to be an actor with an appealing worldview and personality. My goal is to be the kind of person who makes people wonder in excitement, "What would happen if Masashi Ikeda played this role?" In terms of genre, I'd like to work in a dialog heavy drama…like "Quartet," which is a mix of suspense and everyday life. I'm still fighting every day, due to many challenges I want to take on. I want to thank everyone for their support, and to please continue to look out for me!

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embarrassinglastwords · 11 months

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the results are in!

with 314 votes these were the top 10 stsg moments people can’t believe are canon (top 10 based off of the ones i listed lmao) this will be long but i did say i was gonna make a post of the results so -

10: in last place with only 1.9% - their names complimenting each other + Geto’s robes being called “gojo-gesa robes”

i included these together cause they are similar imo. both being based around the other.

9: “the only one i have”

the iconic quote with 3.2% that is so misquoted cause of that translation that i’m pretty sure people ignore that that’s actually what he says rather than “my one and only”💀 (myself included but for the sake of the poll i did the accurate translation)

8: the light novel in general

maybe i’m biased cause of my user but only getting 3.8% of votes surprised me lmao.

i mean i just think about “Even if everything was different now, there was still one thing- from that very moment it all started- that had never changed” as well as “Geto Suguru It was a name that the Jujutsu tech organization feared…but to Gojo Satoru, he was—“ all the time

i posted more quotes from it here

7: with 7.3% (nanami surprise appearance) we have their official songs stated by Gege.

Shame On Me being Gojo’s

and Come Back Home being Geto’s.

6: 8.9% of votes for this insane moment from the newer chapters after Gojo’s resurrection lmao

him and Kenny are fighting and Gojo offers to fight on Dec. 24th (Geto’s death anniversary) with Kenny replying “How romantic”

this legit made me scream when the chapter came out… anyways

5: i almost didn’t include this moment because i was sure it was gonna win because of how often it’s brought up but i’m glad to see i was wrong💀

but still in the top 5 with 9.6% is Gojo recognizing Geto by smell in JJK0… i have nothing to add to that cause like. what.

4: with 10.5% we have Gojo’s last words to Geto being “3 words” as stated by Gojo’s english va! (which i also mentioned in the post linked above)

(that being paired with the light quotes above and “such embarrassing words” and it being words they had “never said to each other before” … we all know what he said…🙄)

3: with 12.4%, the one that made me spiral and realize Gojo is probably done for, Gege himself saying “one cannot exist without the other” about Gojo and Geto…

so either Geto is miraculously gonna come back or they are sharing a death anniversary lmao

2: at 18.8%!

the infamous vol 0 quotes that are 100% parallels because the entire movie is.

Gojo, to Yuta in reference to Rika: “Love is the most twisted curse of them all” (idk why i said 'worst curse' in the poll lmao)

Geto as he dies: “At least curse me a little at the very end.”

bangs my head into a wall… okay and number 1!!

1: at 23.6% is the stsg moment. “My six eyes tell me you’re Suguru Geto but my soul knows otherwise! Hurry up and answer, who the hell are you?!”

not only was seeing Geto the reason for him getting sealed but he went against his own power, his own technique which makes him the strongest, to listen to his soul. and to quote Song of Achilles (which i made a joke the other day about stsg being modern day achilles and patroclus) “He is half of my soul, as the poets say.”

okay this was the first poll i’ve done like this besides some random funny ones on my other blog and i can’t believe it got 300+ votes. maybe i’ll do more in the future if i can think of some topics.

#they make me insane #i just want them to be happy #i have my stsg playlists on repeat #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #gojo satoru #geto suguru #jjk manga spoilers #jjk spoilers #satosugu #sugusato #stsg #satoru gojo #suguru geto #jjk 0 #jujutsu kaisen 0 #poll results #batposting #batpostingships

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electromignion · 9 months

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Thomas Bradshaw and Anne Becker — Bridgewater Fanart 🫶

As I like difficulty here are not one but two Anne/Thomas fanarts in one (+ another little Thomas) (first time I draw Thomas! Wahoo!!) 😭 (might be better to have heard the show fully before reading further!! ‼️🫶)

I had been wanting to draw that for more than a week so I’m glad I’ve finally been able to! There’s a lot to show so in the read more you’ll get the alt versions (without transparency the nowadays Thocker (idk if there’s a ship name for them but for my own sake it’s shorter and it sounds cool to me 👉👈), the 1980 Thocker sepia version, the 1980 coloured version and the newspapers on its own! (Idk if the alt text is truly readable on this app so I’ll also put the text version ⬇️)

The nowadays version of Thocker, I tried to show the age difference and all so it was possible to see that it was from nowadays. My little headcanon, Thomas stole one of Jeremy’s shirt (I usually draw our beloved Jeremy in light blue shirts), and as to Anne, there’s a whole explanation on her nowadays look made myself in that other drawing I did a few days ago.

I decided to do that pose for them because it seemed like something evident to me, that fit them; they’re still pretty much in love, looking at each other, and caressing each other’s cheek from the tip of their fingers but the way their backs are facing the opposite directions is so important to me, they finally reunited but with all the hectic circumstances it’s fated to not last and it’s so sad at the same time and I want to see them happy (I swear) 😩

This whole drawing was actually made only for this and my brain builded it up around it (I don’t know how my brain works either), so this whole thing that took me around 10 hours of my life (it was a really struggle) has been inspired by this post of @draw-the-squad-like-this and I’m forever so thankful for all the pics poses they make my brain sparkle ways I wouldn’t be able to myself 😭🙏

Here are the 1980 Thocker sepia version and coloured version of the drawing!

This is the first time I draw Anne in her 30s so here you go! I thought about making a close couple pose, their love 😩🫶 (and this way it shows the importance of the text on the newspaper as Anne is quoted)

Here’s the journal!

“BRIDGEWATER DAILY

Vol.31 No. 156 20 cents 1980

Local police officer has been reported missing

Thomas Bradshaw has been reported missing after leading an investigation in Freetown State Forest. The police has yet to determine the reason of his disappearance.

A call for witnesses has been made. Anne Becker, his work partner dismisses him deliberately dieppearing “he would never leave his 5 years old son behind"she declares.”

And next to it there is a small black and white portrait of Thomas.

I wanted Anne to be quoted because it shows her proximity to Thomas, and that she also cared about Jeremy 💔

It was also a good background to put an emphasis on their love because 40 years!!!! That’s love 😭 + also the news was known to have been covered a lot and a lot of times as Jeremy was pretty traumatised by it, so it was very probable that local newspapers like this totally invented one by myself would have picked it up right away because of the “buzz” and the mystery surrounding it

If you’ve read that far I hope you liked it and thank you once again for you huge support, lots of love 💜🫶

#bridgewater podcast fanart #thomas bradshaw fanart #anne becker fanart #thomas bradshaw #anne becker #bridgewater podcast #bridgewater fanart #bridgewater #bridgies #fanart #digital fanart #digital art #brainrot is brainrotting #I think I’ve drawn all the main characters from Bridgewater now #I love Bridgewater with all my heart #it took me ten hours #thocker #yeah I invented a ship name it is what it is 😭#Bridgewater spoilers

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krsonmar · 7 months

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Okay you know what I don't have Spotify and I haven't found a way to post fan playlists with annotations that I like yet so guess what here this is in a text post with links like how we used to roll on Ye Olde LiveJournal

This is my OFMD S1 playlist. Loosely follows the season plot. Here we go:

1.) Come Sail Away by Styx

Because duh like why have they not used this in official promos yet but also very call-to-adventure and with vibes of midlife angst

2.) Fraud by Jonathan Coulton

Every playlist needs some JoCo because there's JoCo for every occasion. Fans debate about what this song is about--I think it's very plainly about imposter syndrome as it relates to the creative process--but here I'm applying it more generally to the feeling that everyone can tell you're faking it. In other words, very early-season Stede.

3.) Royals by Lorde

INTRODUCING BLACKBEARD

(Also I did not know until looking this link up just now that Lorde is also a Kiwi! I am out of touch.) 4.) We're Going to Be Friends by The White Stripes

This song always breaks my heart (in a good way) with its sweet tale about childhood innocence and ease of making fast friends. When I was making this playlist, this track made me think of Ed and Stede's ease of "falling into friendship"...because making a new friend who gets you really can be another kind of falling, just like romantic love, can't it?

5.) My Favorite Things by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Pirates like nice things, and they don't ask for what they want...they TAKE IT!!! This is a cover of the Sound of Music song, but made appropriate for the anarchy of a raid by this aptly-named punk rock band.

6.) You're My Best Friend by Queen

I had to get some Queen in here, and this song has always hinted at a slightly-more-than-just-two-friends dynamic to me. The French talk about all kinds of relationships as involving some type of seduction, not just sexual or romantic ones, and for me this track evokes Ed and Stede falling deeper for each other.

7.) Heathens by Twenty-One Pilots OR the cover by Boston Manor

I realized when I was constructing this list to put on my MP3 player (yes, I still have one, can't you tell by now that I'm old-school) that I don't actually own a copy of Heathens by the original band (and yes, I still buy and…ahem…otherwise own copies of the music I like). I did have access to the metal cover off of Punk Goes Pop vol 7, and I think the rawness of that version fits Ed's moment to Stede of "You were always going to find out what I am" quite well. Whichever you, the listener, prefer, I think this is an appropriate spot in the playlist for Stede to be reminded that Ed does have a history, and they are all, after all, pirates.

8.) The Ship Song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

I love how we all, as a fandom, seem to have discovered this song independently of each other but because of this fandom. And what a fantastic, devastating song it is! It's not just about a relationship that crashes and burns, it's about your own ideals, dearly-held illusions, and self-respect going right along with it. And how it grows to be predictable. I don't really understand the concept of "a good cry", but if I did, I think this song would do it for me.

9.) I Crush Everything by Jonathan Coulton

The second requisite JoCo song of the playlist. This one is literally about a giant squid that hates itself, but I defy you not to be smacked viciously about the head with the Kraken vibes of it.

10.) You've Got To Hide Your Love Away by The Beatles

We've all been there. The fake-it-til-you-make-it "I definitely am doing better now :'-)" phase of a heartbreak. This is Ed's floral nightgown being hidden away and replaced by black eyeliner and kohl; this is Stede's determination to grit his teeth and return to the life he hated and now no longer can even fake his way through. The Beatles always knew what they were doing. (That said, as a note, this is about to be four kinda downer songs in a row on this playlist, and the order does matter, so since the next and last heart-wringer is about to roll up, if the tear-jerkers are getting to be too much for you by this point of the playlist, I suggest omitting this one. The Fab Four will understand.)

11.) Samson by Matthew Luke Sandoval

This is a cover I found on YouTube of the Regina Spektor song, sung with such beauty, emotionality, and earnestness by a male vocalist with an angelic voice. The cover is over 10 years old at this point, and it looks like this guy suffered an apartment fire a little while after uploading this video and ended up not getting his singing career off the ground like he would have if this world knew any sense of justice. I tracked a copy of this song down to a mostly-defunct MySpace page and if my Google-fu is accurate, Mr. Sandoval still lives in NYC and is now an accountant or CPA of some type. I hope he hasn't truly given up on his singing dreams, but sometimes doing so makes life more liveable, so I get it if he has.

That said, this song about the bittersweet regret of knowing a relationship just wasn't going to work although it was magic while it lasted seemed appropriate, especially those famous, poetic lines about "the history books forgot about us". Apply that to a fictional reimagining of a man who history knows more as legend than as flesh-and-blood fact, and his protegee, a starry-eyed would-be adventurer, and how they both went down in flames along with a golden age of rebellion against a vicious status quo, and this tender dirge for a love that couldn't be, sung with a masculine vulnerability, gains a new layer.

Yes, I am very proud of this selection.

12.) Beyond The Sea by Bobby Darin

Okay, time to scrape you up off the floor and wipe your nose. Here's a blanket and a cup of something warm. This is, AFAIK, the original version in English of this song (although it was originally written in French), and it has the right musical and lyrical cautious optimism to not only ease you up out of that Pit Of Despair I just put you in, but also to suggest the wistful hopefulness of knowing you'll see your lover again soon, it's just a matter of waiting until the tides and currents and the sea winds align to bring you back to each other. I compiled this playlist earlier this year, and as of this writing we are 10 days away from season 2 premiering, so I am of course conjecturing and self-soothing somewhat here. That said, it's a romance, we know they'll get back together!!

13.) My Favorite Things by Sarah Vaughan

I call this The "Maybe The Nice Things We Wanted Were Actually Feelings and Relationships All Along" Reprise. Another gentle healing song, one that makes me think of cautious but eager reunions and teary-eyed reconciliations.

14.) Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix

This show loves to use purple imagery to show when Ed is falling more in love with Stede, and while the show creators have said they're thinking more along the lines of Prince (and I declare, right now, before all maybe four of you reading this, that I want to bet actual real-world student-loan-paying money on Blackbonnet's canon reunion scene being set to Purple Rain, you saw it here, mark my words, etc.) if the very last scene of the show doesn't have our boys sailing off into the sunset set to the most famous misheard lyric in rock history, what are we all even doing here?

*****

Would love your thoughts or reactions, I haven't shared a fan playlist before, so I'd love any and all thoughts including things like YOU HEARTLESS BITCH NOW I HAVE TO REAPPLY MY MASCARA or anything else you please! :-) ❤

#ofmd #ofmd fan playlist #fan playlist #ofmd s1 #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #playlists #ofmd playlist #ofmd season 1 #our flag means death

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pancake-breakfast · 10 months

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TriMax Volume 2! This one has Wolfwood on the cover, which can only mean good things, right? Riiiiiiiight?

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10

Trigun Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 2, Chapter 1 below.

TriMax Volume 2 Covers

"Death Blue" is a very dramatic name for a volume. Do they mean "Blue Death"? Is this a Legato reference? I think he'd like being called the Blue Death. Wait, no, he's self-conscious about his blue hair. Nevermind.

Also, this cover is hot.

Ok, so I translated the kana on the joke version of the cover to the side of Wolfy's head, and to my great amusement, it reads something like, "This joke again?!" or "Not this joke again!!"

I'm gonna be honest; I think one of the things I struggled with on a first read of this was the continual blow-up doll jokes. These days, I find it hilarious. (I've even spent some time contemplating if I could cosplay as WW with the blow-up doll instead of the cross solely because the doll would be MUCH easier to store in between cons.) But when a younger Pancake Ray was reading this, they were fresh out of a sheltered Christian college and had very little experience with this sort of stuff. I also hadn't quite realized my own asexuality at that point, so I really didn't have a place for my sexuality (especially since I was still under the impression I'd "grow into it" or "just needed to meet the right guy" at that point) or the sexuality of others. Which made continual blow-up doll jokes particularly jarring, especially since my irreverent humor had yet to fully bloom.

Legato (that is Legato, right?) looks positively haunted on the back cover there.

LOL, now it's a shojo ballet manga, huh? I'm here for it.

Chapter 1: Return of the Blue Wind of Death

Ohhhh, so I guess the volume title wasn't just a fancy and dramatic thing and there will actually be some sort of Blue Death person. I still think it will be Legato, even if he hates the name. I bet he's spent the last two years in intensive physical therapy....

I really like the aesthetic of the volume opening page art here. Freaking gorgeous chiaroscuro. (Now it sounds like I know art words! I don't; I just memorized that one because 1) I tend to adore the style, and 2) it came up in a Tabletop RP system I used to run.)

Eyyyy, it's the big-eared mohawk guy from Episode 1 of '98!

Man, they had this guy in some serious restraints.

Dramatic duo!

I wonder what those pipes on Vash's stomach are for. They're REALLY big in this title page art. I don't think they're always that big. Maybe they're part of the heating/cooling unit the doc was talking about??

Earlobes seems way more calm than he did in Ep 1 of '98. I guess hard time will do that to a man.

Ah, the giant boomerangs....

Oh, so he's not gone entirely agreeable. And they aren't entirely unaware of the risks.

I like the implication that he's kinda controlling his right arm with his left one.

Oh, no. I recognize these guys from the previous volumes. Sheriff, his posse, and Earlobes are out of their depth. A single Gung-Ho Gun gave Vash quite a bit of trouble. You really shouldn't mess with two at the same time.

Nightow, what is even happening on this page? There's some shooting and some steam venting and some guys got burned, and... someone broke a bunch of light posts, I think? Was it the boomerang? Did the boomerang break them? Also, you do realize that each consecutive hit would decrease the boomerang's momentum at least slightly, and thus it would be better (if perhaps less intimidating) to NOT hit a bunch of other objects in between you and your target?

Hahahaha, dark-haired boi just ducks and lets Super-Gimp take the bulk of the boomerang's hit.

He's been so small in all the panels where it's shown that it's very hard to tell this guy has a saxophone. So there you go, fellow readers. He has a saxophone. It's in the above image, too. But again, smol. (I colored it here so we can all see it better.)

Well, if the sheriff had any guys in that house, he DOESN'T ANYMORE.

"Make sure they're dead." Sound advice.

"Not even a shred of meat left" seems unlikely.

Oop, that arm coming up from the bottom of the panel is NOT Earlobes's arm. Pretty sure it's Super-Gimp's.

Eyyy, time for Sax Man to play us a tune! I'm sure it will be a nice one. After all, what spices up rubble and wreckage quite like a little jazz?

See? A pleasant little song....

Now all the TriStamp fans can take a guess at the REAL reason they've woven saxophone into the soundtrack.

Gods, this pose. Fill up that chest, man! Deeeeeeep breath!

Yeah, this operation ain't going so well for Team Sheriff, is it?

Me trying to decipher Nightow's combat panels:

I think someone is practicing drilling that is not in line with OSHA regulations here....

"Call off your attack!" Oop, too late.

I'm guessing Super-Gimp's actual name is Gauntlet. It's really hard to tell who's speaking.

Oh, shit. Is it Legato? He likes doing the long-distance communication thing....

Holy hell, this is brutal. Yeah, this has to be Legato. Mild spoilers, but Sax Man doesn't have this level of brutality in him. I could be wrong, but I don't think most of the Gung-Ho Guns do... especially not partnered with the ability straight-up force people to do things.

Geez, the blood dripping out of the truck.... WE'RE IN A TRUE SEINEN NOW, FOLKS!!!

Freaking called it. He does look like a mess, though. What kind of physical therapy program is he on???

I like his face here. He looks too amused with his own plans. It's very upsetting.

Eyyyy, it's the doc!

Brad really needs to get over his disgust for outsiders.

Awww, they all love Vash and worry about his wellbeing! He might try not to have friends, but he does, even if they're not as deep of friendships as he needs.

Uh, oh. Is Brad ok? Vash's intuition is usually spot-on.

Bugs....

BUGS. D:

This is bad. These people shouldn't have information on Vash's friends.

Dang, Hanged Man pose for Vash? Ominous....

#wish i had more time tonight but alas #at some point i want to go through a bunch of posts others have made and just create an archive of people's deeper thoughts on the chapters #their analyses and comparisons and such too #maybe also their random thoughts like mine in this post #but not now #too busy #trigun #trigun maximum #volume 2 #trigunbookclub #pancake analysis

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ily-tothecore · 2 years

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steddie fic recs - all completed

i know how hard it can be to find a good fic when you're in the mood to read a specific ship asap, so here's some of my faves for an easy find!

the lathe by palmviolet - the BEST time loop steve/eddie fic i've read so far; steve is stuck living the same day over and over again and has to find a way to make it stop, eddie doesn't make it easy though. it's beautifully written, there's a lot of open communication which is perfect, and all the fluff and laughs you could possibly ask for. 10/10, please read it.

i'll paint it on the walls by how_about_no - a really soft but deep read about steve helping eddie realise that he deserves to live and be happy, was always super excited when it would get updated because it's genuinely such a sweet story, the development of their relationship is just super soft and natural. read it.

steve harrington's guide to touch by how_about_no - steve notices that eddie always touches everyone but him, so he decides to awkwardly let eddie know that he can touch him. it's a really cute story of the two boys finding comfort with each other while lots of fluffy romance blossoms between them. really soft.

the edification of steve harrington by chronicrabbit - this one is just a short little fluffy fic about steve coming to terms with his feelings for eddie while eddie realises that he has friends he can rely on, it's a real easy read if you're after something sweet and fun.

keep it steady, eddie by outofmygourd - a slow burn fic with solid humour, fluff everywhere, obviously angst, and everything else you want in a steddie fanfic. this author is honestly a legend, their other story 'not so bad' was the first steddie fic i read and it was one of the softest fics ever. highly recommend.

there will come a soldier by judasofsuburbia - this is one of favourite quick reads! it's soft as hell and is literally just pure fluff and humour. the gang goes to a renaissance faire all dressed up and it's pretty much just a whole one shot of eddie calling steve princess while they stare deeply into each others eyes. it's the absolute cutest shit, i couldn't stop giggling. it also has a second part in the pov of ronance, for all of the robin/nancy fans out there. 10/10, it's a must read.

summer '86 by how_about_no - the gang heads to steve's beach house for a week to take a deserving break after everything that's happened. it's eleven chapters of fluff, a bunch of soft scenes between all of the characters, and a dash of found family bonding. it's really sweet.

strike ten by oaseas - super cute short fic based in the season 3 universe in a way? robin and steve are working at scoops and robin has the 'you suck/you rule' board, and after receiving one too many strikes to the you suck side, steve swears he'll score with the next person who walks through the door. enter eddie munson. this story was actually really sweet and it's a quick read for when you need a little steddie fix.

just call my name by ayes - a short and sweet fix-it fic, set after vol.2; eddie suddenly appears and steve is the only one who can see him, the gang works together to try and bring him back from where he's trapped in the upside down. it was one of the first one's i read, just a super short and cute fic to help you ignore the ending of the show :)

hot (sticky, sweet) & sweet to taste (saccharine) by toedenandbackagain - a little two part thing where eddie keeps rocking up to scoops to ask for free samples and annoy steve. it's really sweet and goofy and i would definitely read it multiple times over. also, their other one shot 'i don't ask much (i just want you)' is super soft as well, i've read it a few times and it's one of my go to's when i need a quick fix of fluffy steddie. actually, please just read every work by this author, they're incredible and all of their stories are always so damn cute.

that's all for now! i will be making a second steddie fic rec post once i've done one for all of my other fave ships. i hope you love these as much as i do!

click here for part two of my steddie recs :)

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve and eddie #fanfic #steddie fic #fic rec #stranger things #fic recommendation #archive of our own #ao3fic #ao3 works #read on ao3 #ao3

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analogskullerosis · 9 months

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The lovely @poppy-ghost tagged me to put my spotify repeat playlist on shuffle and post the first 10 songs. So, here we go!

"Please Don't Go Girl" - New Kids on the Block

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This is tied with being my favorite NKotB song (1st place is "Tonight") and I love everything about this song and it's absolutely batshit stupid video. First, I think all five boys are dating the same woman?? Because the video starts with her leaving Danny's house, then she gets into a cab and Joey (who is a child holding a flower to a woman clearly older than him) starts singing at her, then Jordan chimes in with "I love you, I guess I always will." There's a point where Jordan is singing to her while she's waiting for a train but also the other four are there with him? I just like to imagine they're all in a polycule, except the boys aren't dating each other, they just have joint custody of one woman and she's leaving all of them at the same time.

Also, I always like adding a comma to the title so it reads "Please Don't Go, Girl" implying that the person they're singing to is named "Girl." 80s pop is wonderful. I love this song. I should do a full write-up of it someday.

2. "Slow It Down" - Kim Petras

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This was done years before she unleashed the masterpiece Slut Pop into the world and I like this song a lot because it's sensual and intimate and I don't think there are enough songs anymore about taking things slow and finding a comfort zone with someone you have a lot of affection for. Disregarding her habit of choosing to work with people that land her in hot water (Dr. Luke and Nicki Minaj in particular) I genuinely think she's a trailblazer and someone who is doing really good work.

3. "Nice to You" - Vulfmon & Jacob Jefferies

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The combination of pop punk vocals and low-volume funk has been one of the greatest things I've heard this year. Jacob Jefferies is wonderfully obnoxious with his vocals and this whole song is wonderful. This is coming from somebody who absolutely hates this style of vocal but hot damn he just makes it works. It sounds genuine but there's just enough tongue-in-cheekness to make the thing remain funny. It's good stuff.

4. "2 Wheel Drive" - Magdalena Bay

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I've written about my love for Magdalena Bay before, so I'll keep this brief: This song is very fun and when those synths kick in at 1:45 I am transported to another world, mini mix vol. 3 is very good and worth your time, I absolutely adore their video editing work and I wish I could make something otherworldly like this, I want to give Mica Tenenbaum a nice, shiny quarter and ask her kindly if she would kick me in the head.

5. "SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE" - Tyler, the Creator

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"Still on the boat!"

"Call me if you get lost!"

This is still Tyler's best song (although "WHARF TALK" and "SORRY NOT SORRY" are fighting for that title for me). I think this is one of those songs that just shows off everything people love about the guy and what he's created. Every part of this is just wonderful and it's the biggest standout on CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST for me. While I'm on it, The Estate Sale was very good and is worth your time if you haven't given that a listen yet.

6. "Arcadia" - Goose

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I just started listening to Goose and I think they're pretty cool. This is their best song that I've heard so far. That chorus is very infectious and earwormy. Fun to sing along to when you're driving somewhere in your car. I also think "Arcadia" is a cool song title. Iss good.

7. "Best of My Love" - The Eagles

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The Eagles are responsible for a lot of shitty corporate boomer radio rock. They're a seventies band that are never getting the Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin critical reappraisal (they were reviled then and unlike Floyd and Zeppelin, they still are. It's deserved). This one is really good though. Has a lot of heart to it and I don't think the band ever harmonized better than they did on this song.

8. "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" - Sophie Ellis-Bextor

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During the days of Covid lockdown back in 2020, famed British pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor did a series of Instagram livestreams that she called "Live From the Kitchen Disco." In these livestreams, she would decorate her kitchen (and sometimes other rooms in her house) and sing songs in her house. Usually she sang her own songs, but sometimes she sang disco songs she liked. The instrumentals were always provided via karaoke versions. Her husband would be behind the camera and sometimes her kids would make appearances and dance around and do stuff in the background. It was a really cute series that I loved a lot and it was a nice way to keep going through tough times.

Anyway, she brought that concept with her on stage when concert performances and touring became possible again and it's just as good and fun! "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" is one of my favorite songs from Grease and I think this is a good performance of it.

9. "New Guru" - Vulfpeck

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If you want my full, unbridled thoughts on one of the best funk songs of this decade, you can find it here on my other blog. :)

10. "Freedom! '90" - George Michael

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There's so much I love about this song. Every note of this thing is infectious. Every second of this song just feels empowering and if you're leaving a shitty situation (bad relationship, bad job, etc.) then every time "freedom" is chanted just feels all the sweeter.

One thing that has always fascinated me about this song is how much of its existence is owed to the success of the Faith album in 1987. I don't think there are a lot of "response songs" about an era that brought you more success than you could ever dream of. I always got the feeling that George Michael grappled with wanting to be a successful superstar but never wanting to be constrained by all the trappings that being a superstar brings.

"Freedom" is a song (and theme) that followed George for his entire career. "Freedom" was originally on Wham!'s Make It Big album in 1984 during his carefree younger days (freedom from responsibility), then the chorus melody reappeared on a church organ in the beginning of "Faith" for his big solo pop move (freedom from Wham!), and then it reaches its final form here (freedom from needing to cater to what people want you to be). Listen Without Prejudice era George is my favorite era of his career to study because it's a giant superstar shying away from the spotlight and letting only the music speak for him. He's nowhere on the album cover, doesn't appear in any videos from this time, and he didn't really give a ton of interviews for this album. He was a fascinating figure and I think there's still a lot to learn about the guy.

Anyhoo, those are my 10! Thanks for tagging me! I want to tag these friends: @cowgirliee, @memento-more-tea, @wolf-tree, @themarvelousinterrobang, @xrinsohma, and anybody else who sees this and has interest (you can say I tagged you! :D)

#tag post #Youtube

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kudosmyhero · 8 months

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The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #58: To Kill a Spider-Man!

Read Date: January 15, 2023 Cover Date: March 1968 ● Writer: Stan Lee ● Penciler: John Romita ◦ Don Heck ● Inker: Mike Esposito ● Colorist: {uncredited} ● Letterer: Sam Rosen ● Editor: Stan Lee ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● yesssss, Mecha JJJ is back, y'all! ● Ka-Zar has lost his nipples but gained a Spider-Man! ● aww, Zabu got left behind again. Kitty might start taking that personally ● Bondi Beach: Ka-Zar Edition #IYKYK ● the shock of hitting the water cured Spidey's amnesia ● (pg 3) Professor Smythe is on the phone for JJJ ● Smythe has improved his method to "completely crush the web-spinner" and "this time--it can't fail!" ● meanwhile, Col. Jameson has his orders to go overseas, so he can't stay behind to help Captain Stacy clear Spider-Man ● (pg 4) Gwen and Harry are with Aunt May in the hospital. (Gwen actually looks like a normal person here, and not the long-lashed, wide-eyed, ever-smiling sex kitten she's usually drawn as)

● (pg 5) Spider-Man has relayed his story (off panel) to Ka-Zar, and somehow living in the jungle makes Ka-Zar a lie detector, so he believes Spidey ● (why do so many people have white irises? It's creepy!) ● warning roar of Zabu below ● Zabu was running amok because he couldn't find Ka-Zar. K steps in before the police can shoot kitty and destroys some cops' guns in the process ● (pg 6) now Ka-Zar is on a rampage (and someone says that K's estate in England has enough money to settle for damages) ● finally Ka-Zar and Zabu leave ● (pg 7) Spidey remembers Aunt May and needs to get to her fast, but he's out of web fluid ● first he has to go back to his apartment to change clothes ● JJJ goes to Smythe's to see what he has to show ● (pg 8) the Invincible Spider Slayer

● JJJ says, "Nobody's talking about murdering him! I just want him captured, see?" / Smythe says, "I just took poetic license, Mr. Jameson! Spider Slayer sounds so much more dramatic." I mean… he ain't wrong. ● (pg 9) aww, Col. Jameson came to say goodbye to his dad before he ships out, but JJJ is out of the office. Kinda sad that they'll miss each other. ● (pg 10) Spider-Man is feeling too woozy to wall crawl all the way across town and decides he needs a ride; he hops onto the top of a bus; it's slow, but it gives him a chance to rest ● but someone in a building above sees him and starts shouting for police ● (pg 11) the Spider Slayer is on the move, and Smythe and JJJ follow it in Smythe's car ● Spidey gets to his apartment, tries to call May (no answer, of course), starts undressing for bed, then his Spidey-sense starts tingling like mad ● (pg 12) he looks outside and sees the Spider Slayer walking up the wall. Mecha JJJ says, "We got him dead to rights… burglarizing someone's apartment!" ● (pg 14) Smythe and JJJ fumble over the controls. Smythe tries to hit Spidey with a deadly ray, which alarms JJJ ● (pg 16) the robot follows Spidey into a garage; Spidey tricks Mecha Smythe into shooting out the main support beams with the laser ● Spidey gets out and the robot is trapped under the rubble, but Spidey doesn't think it'll hold it long. He takes off to find Smythe's lab ● heh, Spidey looks up Smythe's address in the phone book ● (pg 17) but he doesn't know Smythe's first name, and there are a couple dozen listed in the phone book ● but apparently the word "scientist" is listed after the name, so Spidey has found the right one ● (pg 18) the robot catches up to him at Smythe's lab, and now the controls aren't working ● (pg 19) Smythe increases the power to the absolute maximum ● all the spiders in Smythe's lab made the robot short circuit ● JJJ angrily throws Smythe out of his office ● Spidey goes back home, still can't get hold of Aunt May ● goes out to find her, runs into Ka-zar and Zabu ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: Having defeated Spider-Man in battle, Ka-Zar takes Spider-Man to the rooftops to learn the truth about why Jameson hired him to capture the wall-crawler. When Spider-Man revives, he finds that his memory has been restored, and so he tells the whole story. Ka-Zar believes Spider-Man but soon departs when Zabu is threatened by police officers in the area, Spider-Man slinks away during this altercation between the police and Ka-Zar.

Meanwhile, Spencer Smythe has contacted J. Jonah Jameson because he has created a new Spider-Slayer robot for Jameson to use in his quest to capture Spider-Man. They send the robot out, which tracks Spider-Man down to his apartment where he is about to change back into Peter Parker. When he notices the robot, he battles it across the city. When Jameson proves unable to capture Spider-Man, Smythe takes control and sends the robot after Spider-Man determined to kill the wall-crawler. This is more than what Jameson wanted and calls Smythe on the fact that he intends to kill Spider-Man for his own revenge, instead of turning him over to the police. However, Spider-Man manages to defeat the robot by luring it to a spider exhibit where it's spider-detecting device overloads and causes the robot to explode. With yet another failure with one of his Spider-Slayer robots, Smythe is thrown out of Jameson's office.

Spider-Man returns to his apartment where he changes back to Peter Parker, on his way out to find out what happened to Aunt May in his absence. On his way out the door he bumps into Ka-Zar and Zabu, Ka-Zar tells the young man not to be afraid that they are only on an evening stroll.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_58)

Fan Art: J. Jonah Jameson by Hognatius

Accompanying Podcast: ● Swinging Through Spider-Man - episode 58

● Let's Read Spider-Man - episode 35

#curators on tumblr #marvel #my marvel read #spider-man #podcast - let's read spider-man #podcast - swinging through spider-man #fan art #doctor octopus #curators of tumblr #comics #comic books #marvel comics

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masslong · 2 years

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Sun records

The label was launched amid a growing number of independent labels. Lookin for my baby / Homesick for my baby (June 1955) Little Milton later recorded two singles for Meteor Records. Red hot / No greater love (June 1955) SUN 220 Little Milton. I feel so worried / So long baby goodbye (April 1955) SUN 219 Billy The Kid Emerson. Sam rented a small space at 706 Union Avenue for his own all-purpose studio. SUN 218 Sammy Lewis with Willie Johnson Combo. He named it Sun Records as a sign of his perpetual optimism: a new day and a new beginning. For UK orders please allow up to 5 working days, up to 8 working days for European orders and up to 10 working days for international orders. The Sun sound began when Sam Phillips launched his record company in February of 1952. This item will be published on the 27th of November 2019 and any pre-orders will be despatched afterwards. Color Me Country (Sun Records 70th / Remastered 2022) View. Let Me Down Easy: Bettye LaVette In Memphis (Sun Records 70th / Remastered 2022) View. The Harmonica Boss And His Juke Box Boogie. The Vintage Rock Presents Sun Records special celebrates the music, the artists and the stories of a record label like no other. Sun Records’ 70th Anniversary Compilation, Vol. We'll also be looking at the label's most essential 45s, as well as a number of insightful interviews with some of Sun's famous band of session musicians. Over 132 pages we not only celebrate the artists who first put the label on the map, but we also discover the story behind the man who made it all possible, visionary producer and Sun Records owner Sam Phillips.Įlsewhere, we proudly profile the so-called Sun Sirens, the pioneering female artists who weren't afraid to pick up a guitar and rock'n'roll. Its impact on 20th century culture cannot be underestimated.Įarly artists included Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis - who together were known as the 'million dollar quartet' and we profile each one of them in meticulous detail. Official Instagram for the label where Rock & Roll was born Home of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and. Hailing out of Memphis, Tennessee and founded way back in 1952, it's the place where rock'n'roll was born. Sun Records is arguably the most important and influential record label there has ever been in the history of popular music.

#Sun records

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mrlnsfrt · 2 years

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Redeemed for Service

“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”” - Mark 10:43-45 NKJV

The main idea of this post is clearly stated in the text above. But to better appreciate this truth we should study its context. I would like to begin with verse 32 of the tenth chapter of Mark.

Mark 10:32 is grammatically awkward. It is clear that Jesus is going up to Jerusalem. What is not clear is who was amazed and who was afraid. Commentators are much divided as to whether Mark intended to depict one or two groups (the disciples and some other pilgrims who were in the same party). When we read Mark 3:22 and 7:1 we notice that in the gospel according to Mark Jerusalem symbolizes opposition to Jesus. So when Mark pictured Jesus as resolutely pressing toward His goal, as deliberately going to his death. This steadfast determination on the part of Jesus produced both astonishment and fear. (James A. Brooks, Mark, vol. 23, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 166.)

This is not the first time that Jesus speaks about His death.

31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” - Mark 8:31-33 NKJV

31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” 32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. - Mark 9:31-32 NKJV

Each time Jesus mentions His death His disciples struggle. They are confused by what He says but also don’t ask which makes me wonder if perhaps they were afraid of what it meant and preferred to try to explain it away in their own minds.

Let’s spend a bit more time in Mark 9. Right after Mark finishes describing how the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about what He meant when He talked about His death and resurrection (verses 31-32) Mark describes Jesus addressing a dispute His disciples had among themselves on the road to Capernaum about who would be the greatest. Jesus then explains to them the values of His kingdom in the following words.

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.” - Mark 9:35-37 NKJV

I hear Jesus’ words and wonder if He also had difficulties finding volunteers for the children’s Sabbath school… (this is a joke because we tend to struggle with this in churches here in the US)

With this in mind let us turn to Mark 10:32-34.

32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” - Mark 10:32-34 NKJV

This is now the third time Jesus refers to His death and resurrection. If His disciples were open to the truth Jesus was sharing they would have avoided a lot of heartaches, and they would have been better prepared for what would soon take place. But the disciples were not truly listening, they were not open to the possibility that God might be doing something that was in opposition to their human understanding, plans and expectations.

We read these texts and struggle to understand how the disciples could miss such a clear and explicit statement from Jesus. We feel like we would never make a similar mistake. We would never misunderstand a very clear statement from Jesus, right? We would never try to find complex ways to make it mean something else or be symbolic in some way and mean anything except what Jesus seems to be clearly saying.

I am so glad we don’t have those struggles because we should have no problem with the next thing that Jesus says.

But before we get there, let’s see what the disciples are up to. Jesus just talked about being betrayed, condemned, scourged, mocked, spit on, and killed. Meanwhile James and John (and likely their mom as well cf Matthew 20:20) approach Jesus with a peculiar request.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” - Mark 10:35 NKJV

James and John want Jesus to agree before they even ask. They sound like children. Imagine if you were Jesus. You know you will soon die a horrible death and this group of followers will be responsible to continue the work of proclaiming the gospel to the entire world. And they are here asking to be given whatever they ask for.

Is it possible to follow Jesus for years while expecting God to do for you whatever you ask? Is it possible to follow God while expecting our kingdom to come and our will to be done? Could this blind us to what God is actually doing? To God’s plan for our lives?

But Jesus humors them,

36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” - Mark 10:36-37 NKJV

“James and John apparently expected Jesus to establish his kingdom and enter into his glory when he reached Jerusalem. They wanted a prominent place in the messianic, earthly kingdom. Though they recognized Jesus as the Messiah, they completely misunderstood the nature of the kingdom Jesus came to establish.” (James A. Brooks, Mark, vol. 23, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 168.)

Jesus is talking about sacrifice, and the disciples are asking for glory. Jesus is talking about how He will suffer, sacrificing His life to save the whole world, and all James and John are concerned about is being second and third in power in Jesus’ glory.

Jesus is preaching sacrifice and His followers are asking for glory. Jesus is focused on sacrificing Himself for the salvation of others and His followers are asking for prestige.

Do you notice a disconnect? Do you think this might get in the way of others understanding Jesus? When His followers are concerned with things that did not concern Him?

38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

39 They said to Him, “We are able.”

So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” - Mark 10:38-39 NKJV

Do we ever promise things to God that we have no power to do? Do we ever overestimate our faith and dedication? Sure, they talk a big game now, but shortly after this, they will abandon Jesus in His hour of greatest need. But Jesus knew that eventually, they would die for Him, and they would finally grasp the power of the gospel. But their actions could never purchase a position in the kingdom of heaven. That’s not how the kingdom of heaven works.

The other disciples heard this and became upset so Jesus took the opportunity to explain to them what the path to greatness in the kingdom of God looks like.

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” - Mark 10:41-45 NKJV (bold mine)

Jesus’ own loss of life for the sake of others not only embodies this new scale of values but also offers the disciples a model to follow. (R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 415.)

Do we understand what Jesus is saying here? Or do we seek some convoluted way of explaining it away? Perhaps it is verses like this that caused Mark Twain to exclaim

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it's the parts that I do understand." -- Mark Twain

Are willing to acknowledge Jesus’ teaching that in the kingdom the way to glory is sacrifice, service, and suffering? Do we understand that in the kingdom exaltation involves lowliness? (James A. Brooks, 168.)

Jesus did not identify the kind of service he performed but affirmed that his life was characterized by a servant attitude and by actually performing many kinds of service and ministry. By so affirming he set himself before the disciples as an example to follow—something that often has been forgotten by his followers. (Brooks, 171)

Jesus reverses the natural expectations of society and characterizes leadership by service to others. Jesus’ teaching shows discipleship as a self-denying, self-risking, self-giving part of lowly service for the redemption of the world. (Donald English, The Message of Mark: The Mystery of Faith, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 182.)

We are not (mostly!) as crass as the disciples in jockeying for seats of power in the kingdom, but by much more subtle behaviour we show how little we grasp what it means to be disciples of a crucified Lord who gave his life as a ransom for many (45). - Donald English, The Message of Mark: The Mystery of Faith, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 183.

As long as we think of ourselves and what is due to us from others it will be impossible for us to do our work of saving souls. When Christ takes possession of our hearts we shall no longer make the narrow circle of self the center of our thoughts and of our attentions.

What a wonderful reverence for human life Jesus expressed in His life mission! He stood not among the people as a king, demanding attention, reverence, service, but as one who wished to serve, to uplift humanity. He said He had not come to be ministered unto but to minister.… Wherever Christ saw a human being, He saw one who needed human sympathy. Many of us are willing to serve particular ones—those whom we honor—but the very ones to whom Christ would make us a blessing if we were not so cold-hearted, so unkind and selfish, we pass by as unworthy of our notice.… - Ellen Gould White, Our High Calling (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1961), 176.

The values of the kingdom of God are revolutionary.

Christ’s followers have been redeemed for service. Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service—service to God and to their fellow men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher conception of life than they had ever known. By living to minister for others, man is brought into connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow men. - Ellen Gould White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1900), 326.

It seems to me that certain theological truths will not be fully grasped until we begin to live out the mission that Jesus calls us to. We experience a stronger and healthier connection to God and one another as we begin to live our lives as Jesus lived His.

Ask God today, right now, in what ways is He calling you to serve, and who is He calling you to serve?

What is keeping you from living out your calling?

0 notes

sweetchup · 3 years

Text

Bi•valve

Noun

an aquatic mollusk that has a compressed body enclosed within a hinged shell, such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

AKA

The Most Common Seashell in the Ocean

————————

Vol. 1: Just Keep Swimming // Ch. 2

Type: Poseidon x reader

Word Count: 4,000+

Masterlist

————————

Sounds of horns and shouting filled the air outside as you stood on the packed bus. Cramped in from every side, it was hard for you to tell where you were going. Not as if you were paying much attention anyways.

“Okay, you left fish and pasta in the fridge… he could use the tv or read a book for entertainment while you are gone…what about…” You ramble incoherently to yourself.

Even though the storm hit Athens hard yesterday, your studio art professor was still having classes today. Forcing you to leave Triton alone at home. You shouldn’t be nervous. There was no reason to. After all, Triton is a god, he was hundreds of years old.

But…, he was still a child. No matter how old or what type of being he is. He could still possibly injure himself or get into trouble. And that single fact alone made you feel sick to your stomach.

“Is this how parents feel leaving their child alone for the first time…?” You groan to yourself, leaning your head forward so it hits the window in front of you.

“Now Approaching *Athens International School of Art*. I repeat, Now—“ The robotic voice announces over the intercom. At the familiar name of your college, you squeeze your way through the other patrons on the bus to make your way to the doors.

Sweet, sweet air, you think to yourself as soon as you exit the bus. It was starting to get way too cramped in there. So much so, you wondered if it was a safety hazard. Though it wasn’t as if you were one to talk, you left a little boy alone—

“Argh!” You scream out, slapping the cheeks of your face. You needed to stop thinking of Triton. He was going to be completely fine. But, what if…

“I’m getting too attached already…” You groan to yourself. It had only been a day. One singular Day. But you were already smitten by the blonde haired child. “It doesn’t help that he's absolutely adorable as well…”

“Who’s adorable?” A voice calls out from behind you, making you jump in surprise. Whipping around, you let out a sigh once you identify who it was.

“Bryce… how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that…”

Bryce Kroger. He was studying abroad at Athens International School of Art for a year just like you except he was instead an architecture major. You met him by coincidence while taking art history so you didn’t know much about the guy, the only thing being the few stories he told you about his home country of Australia.

“Oi! It’s not my fault you're so skittish!” Bryce banters back with a huff.

“Whatever…”

“Eh? Wait, where you heading?” Bryce questions as he watches you walk away, “I thought you had Studio Art on Fridays?”

“I do. I’m heading to the library first though.” You yell back to the tall male who stayed put where he was standing. Not even bothering to follow you.

“You need to stop studying so much!”

“Shut up!”

“IT’S THE TRUTH!”

“SHUT UP!” You scream back with one final huff before storming off. So what if you studied so much. You just wanted to get good grades in the classes that counted. It’s how you got here in the first place. By working your ass off.

Unconsciously, you feel your hand twitch as you open the library door. So what if you spent hours studying. So what if you didn’t go out with friends that often. So what if you didn’t have a social life. So what—

You feel yourself pause, your expression turning sour. Lonely. That’s what you were. You were lonely. A miserable lonely girl.

“Miss!”

Startled out of your thoughts by the sudden call, you realize you were no longer standing at the front door but instead standing in front of one of the librarians. You must have unconsciously walked up to the front desk while you were lost in thought.

“A-Ah. Sorry, I was just looking for books on Leonar—“

You feel your voice trail off at the end as a book on the counter catches your eye. It wasn’t the gold detailing nor the leather texture. No. It was the simple words of “Greek Mythology: Tales of Zeus” printed neatly on the front.

“…Actually, Do you perhaps have any books about Poseidon?”

You just found something better to do with your time.

—.—.—.—.—

“Damn… this is extremely confusing…” You mumble to yourself as you glare at the pages of notes in front of you. Each book seemed to be a little bit different from the last. “Perhaps I should recap…”

Okay, so what makes sense to you is that Poseidon is the second eldest of three brothers and is the ruler of the seas. The things that don’t make sense are… practically everything else…

You weren’t sure if you wanted to cry or scream out of frustration right now.

According to the books, Poseidon has had many consorts over the years. One of them being Triton’s mother, Amphitrite…

“My mother… can be quite mean to other women. Even to some of the female servants around the palace. She believes that they are trying to seduce my father…”

…but that doesn’t match up with what Triton mentioned last night. According to him, it sounds like Amphitrite scared away any women that would even come near Poseidon. This also leads to another flaw in the mythology books. You doubted that Poseidon would be able to have an affair with any other women with Amphitrite antics, nevertheless have 10 other children with them.

“Triton also never mentioned having any other siblings…”

Letting out a groan, which you seemed to be doing a lot today, you banged your head against the table. It seems like these mythology books weren’t going to be of any help after all. Though…. you couldn’t help but wonder why the books were so off in the first place.

Lifting yourself back up from the table, you glare down at one of the book covers. It was blue, almost silvery in a way, with a giant black silhouette of Poseidon right smack dab in the middle. Or, at least, what Poseidon might look like…

“Well, my father is extremely strong and handsome. All the sea nymphs stare at him with big heart eyes half the time. Oh! B-but, father doesn’t pay any attention to them. Father is not a cheater like uncle Zeus…”

“…Is Father…? Oh. He’s alright… He’s nowhere as bad as my mother. He’s never hit me or anything. He’s just… cold. Extremely cold. He really just ignores me half the time…”

“…I do love my father…I just wished he would at least spare me a glance…you know?…Acknowledge his own son…”

“God damn jerk!” You hiss out in anger as you push the book aside. Your blood practically boiling at even the slightest thought of Triton’s father, Poseidon. He doesn’t deserve to have such a good and nice son like Triton.

However, as much as you want to curse out Poseidon more, you realized class would be starting soon and you really had to get a move on.

“Shit. I can’t afford to be late again.”

—.—.—

“Ugh. Why did the professor have to assign me this type of painter…?!” You whined to Yuri. Class had already ended by then with the professor long gone. The only people left were students that were conversing with others or trying to get a head start on their paintings.

“Well, it didn’t help that you barged into class late for the second time this week, (y/n).” Yuri explained with a sigh as she continued to set up her palette, not even sparing you a glance.

Yuri Saito, Or rather Saito Yuri, was an abroad student from Japan. She was the closest person you knew at the college as you both were similar in many ways. Especially since you were both homebodies.

“I get that but at least I showed up in the fir—“

“(Y/n)!” A voice shouts out interrupting your talk with Yuri. You turn around to see Bella Woods, a student apart of your major, approaching you. “(Y/n). You were part of your student council back in high school right?”

“Uh, Yeah. Why?” You answered hesitantly. You weren’t sure why, perhaps instincts, but you were already having a bad feeling about this situation.

“Well I need your help on something…” Bella explains, her voice trailing off at the end as she grabs something from her bag. It’s a piece of paper, a flier to be exact.

“A…A Cultural Festival?”

Bella nods her head at your words, “Yeah. The college wanted to put something on for the public to show what our art school is all about and Mrs. Yamamoto suggested this. A-Apparently, it’s something schools and colleges do back in Japan.”

“B-But how can I help? Wouldn’t it make sense for someone like Yuri to do this? Since she’s from Japan and all.”

It was the truth. You didn’t know a single thing about japanese culture festivals.

“Hey don’t drag me into this, I’m busy.” Yuri counterbacks with a glare before returning back to her painting.

“Well… you see… The school wanted to change Mrs. Yamamoto’s idea a bit since they really didn’t know anything about Japanese Cultural festivals either. So it’s like a Cultural festival, kind of not.” Bella rambled. You could tell all this information was scrambling her brain as well. “Basically, it’s like a Greek version of a Cultural festival where each major picks a Greek god and plans an event or booth around it.”

“…Okay… So it’s just like a school festival in a way?” You questioned cautiously. This was a lot for you to take in at once.

“Yes. Precisely. We are just taking inspiration from Cultural festivals.”

“Okay. Okay…” You answer as you rub the back of your neck, “I still don’t understand why you need me though?”

“Well, I kind of… kind of saw you reading the mythology books in the library today and we need more people on the planning committee…” Oh, god. It seems like everything is coming back to bite you in the ass, “…Just. Please (y/n), We need your help!”

You let out a small sigh as you watch Bella give you a pleading look, “Fine…”

“Yay—!“

“But…“ You start cutting off Bella’s cheers, “But I’m taking care of something really important right now at home so I can’t always make meetings and things like that. I can help with planning but that’s it. Okay?”

That was correct. As much as you wanted to help Bella and your department out with this festival, Triton was your top priority right now. His care and needs were above all else right now, even your own. So if this would get in the way of that then you would drop this project instantly. Instantly.

“Of course! Oh, thank you (y/n)!” Bella cheers, her body visibly relaxing now that a stress has been taken off your shoulder, “Well, I’m not sure if you're busy right now but… the committee is currently planning two classrooms down… so if you could…”

“I’ll go…” You sighed out. Damn, what’s with you lately. Less than two days ago, people hardly approached you. Now you are as busy as a bee. A person magnetic… Well, more like god magnetic as wel—

Wait, a minute. You feel yourself tense up as a thought flies into your brain. If Gods could travel and spend time on earth, could they live here as well? Just like how Triton wants to?

Shit. What if some that live here are able to identify Triton? You could be in big troub—

“(Y/n)? Are you coming?” Bella calls, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Y-yes.”

It seemed you would have to worry about that later. Not that it mattered right now, you could always just ask Triton when you got home. And even if he didn’t know the answer you would just have to be careful bringing him out of the house. Yeah… you would just do that.

“Guys, I would like to introduce you to (y/n). She’s a fine arts major just like us and knows about mythology. I think she would make a great addition to our group.” Bella introduces you as you enter the room. As you looked around the group of only 4 other people, you realized you really didn’t know anyone.

That is until everyone started to introduce themselves. You never heard of the first three—Brian, James and Kyle—but you found the last name, Marissa Samudra, quite familiar. You wonder if she was that Marissa.

Who you were talking about was Marissa, the hottest girl in school Marissa. Well, at least that’s what all the boys in your major told you. The girl in front of you at least seemed to fit the part. With white silk like skin, light green eyes and dyed coral pink hair, she truly was a sight to see.

“Okay. So shall we get started.” James suddenly spoke up, seeming to want to get the meeting started. You nodded your head in agreement before taking a seat next to Holly. As well as across from Marissa. “Well, I think we should first decide which god we should do. Culinary, Music, Visual performing arts and architecture already have chosen Aphrodite, Hades, Ares and Zeus. (Y/n)…”

You lift your head up at the call of your name.

“…as you know the most about Mythology, who do you think we should pick?”

“Well,…” You feel yourself pause, your palms growing sweaty out of nervousness. You really didn’t know that much about Greek Gods, only the class you took last year and the books you skimmed this morning. You also didn’t expect so many of the main gods to be taken already.

“…How about…”

You needed to think of someone fast. Someone that would satisfy all parties here. Someone that would bedazzle people coming to the festival.

“…Poseidon…?”

Why… Why was that what your brain had come up with? Poseidon? The very god that you were cursing out this morning. Wishing near death upon.

“Fish man?” Brian questioned, letting out a small chuckle at his own joke, “You really want to go with Fish man as our god? Isn’t there anyone better?”

“I think Poseidon is pretty…cool.” You feel a shiver go up your spine as you compliment the man. It was official, you might actually puke. “…He’s the king of the seas. It gives us a lot to work with for his character. Especially since most Fine Arts students are good at realistic elements, we could really do well on painting or using sea life.”

“True… but—“

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

You are shocked as you hear Marissa cut Brian off. When you first sat down, she seemed totally uninterested in the topic at hand. Caring more about her hair and nails than anything else. But now, now, she was paying attention to every little thing. You couldn’t help but wonder why. “Oh sorry. I really like the sea. It holds a special place in my heart… you know?”

Oh, that makes sense. You totally forgot Marissa’s paintings were mostly about the ocean and sea. Never drifting off to other topics.

“N-no. That’s actually pretty cool. You know what, we should totally do Posedin… or whatever the dude’s name is. He sounds really cool.” Bryan agrees as he bashfully rubs the back of his neck. Gross, could he make it any less obvious that he was smitten by her. And not in a nice way either.

You feel yourself shiver as you watch him sneak small glances down at Marissa’s chest area. Disgusting pervert…

“Well, with that decided let’s move on…”

…Great… You could already tell this was going to be a long meeting…

—.—.—.—.—

Again, for what felt like the hundredth time today, you banged your head against the wall. This time however it was against the door of your apartment.

“Seriously… a Café…?”

Yes, a Café. That’s the brilliant idea your group came up with. An under the sea type themed café.

In hindsight it didn’t sound all that bad. You could have a couple of students paint some props and decorations. Then another couple of students who know how to cook plan out the menu. Maybe even borrow some culinary students if you were lucky.

But,… there’s that.

Outnumbered three to two, the boys of your group insisted the girls that are serving customers should wear togas. Togas. They stated it was to bring in more customers but it was pretty obvious they had other intentions behind it. Especially since they didn’t even bother waiting a couple of minutes afterwards to ask if Marissa wanted to be part of the waiting staff.

“Poor girl… I feel bad for her.” You mumble to yourself as you pull out your keys, finally unlocking the door to your apartment. You wished you could just beat all those men senseless with a baseball bat. “That’s actually not a bad idea… Could I bring a wooden club and say that it's part of the character? They seem to not know that much about—“

“Miss (y/n)!” You hear shouted as something comes barreling into you. Knocking you onto the ground right as you enter your apartment. “O-oops I meant to only say (y/n)…”

Even though you got the air literally knocked out of you, you still let out a small chuckle as you reached up to run a hand through the perpetrator’s locks. Triton’s blonde locks. “It’s okay. I only told you this morning to stop referring to me so formally. It will take time for you to get used to it.”

Suddenly, you wince at a feeling of pain as you move slightly. Triton sure was strong. You, honestly, wondered if he held back some strength when he jumped at you. If so, you wondered how strong Triton was nonetheless an adult god.

Speaking of an adult god…

“Hey Triton.” The boy lifts his head up at your call, “Do any gods live on earth?”

The boy seemed to take a moment to think, “Well kind of? Not really Greek Gods though. Most of them are too proud to live with humans.”

“Oh well that’s goo— Wait, a minute! Other gods are real as well!?”

Triton nods his head furiously, “Yeah pretty much all gods. As long as it is considered as one, it exists. There’s Nordic gods…, Indian gods…, Oh! Even Buddha. I like Buddha, even though I’ve only met him once. He introduced me to salt water taffy! It’s delicious.”

“I-I see…I’ll try to get you some then. Another time.” As much as you wanted to hide your surprise you couldn’t. Learning that Greek Gods actually existed was one situation but learning that All Gods existed was a whole nother ball game. Did that mean demons existed as well?

“Hey (y/n). Could I ask you a question?” Triton asks, suddenly seeming bashful all of a sudden.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Could I…” Triton pauses for a moment, “Could I call you…”

You leaned closer to Triton as his voice slowly got softer and softer at the end. His ears and cheeks were bright red as he waited for you to answer. However, you couldn’t answer him as you didn’t hear the last part of what he said.

“I apologize. Could you repeat what you said, Triton? I couldn’t hear the end of it.” You felt bad for asking him to repeat it as his face only seemed to get even more red when you asked.

“I-I… Could I call you… Mom?”

It was silent as his question, or rather request, fell upon your ears. You thought about it for a moment. Especially whether it was morally right for you to have him call you ‘mom’. Even if his true mother was a terrible person, she was still his mother.

Though, then again, She really didn’t act like his mother. Especially in all her hundreds of years of existence of having him. At least from what you’ve heard from Triton. She’s had plenty of chances to show her love for him and she never did.

“Of…Of course you can.”

You feel yourself smile as Triton’s face lit up. And you knew, Deep down inside, that you did the right thing. You would show this boy the love he deserved.

“Hey (Y— Mom.” You giggle at how Triton seemed to practically beam with happiness once the title left his lips.

“Yes, Triton?”

“Could we have dinner right now?”

You feel yourself jump up a little in surprise. Since you stayed later than what you usually would, due to the meeting, you didn’t have anything prepared ahead of time for dinner.

“Ah, yes. Do you think you could wait in the living room while I prepare it?”

“Of course!” Triton answers as he scrambles up off of you. As you make your way to the kitchen—which was technically in the same room as the living room—to start dinner, you find yourself drifting off into your thoughts.

You realized you really hadn’t thought this through. Taking care of Triton and all. Your apartment was small, he didn’t have his own room, he seemed to eat a lot more than a human boy his physical age and so much more.

You wouldn’t be able to buy a bigger apartment right now. Going through college and all. But you could take more shifts at work. After all, it was literally down the street. You were also good friends with the owner of the toy shop next door. You bet he would allow Triton to play with a couple of toys while you worked.

As you continue to list things you would need to take care of Triton especially if it was long term, Triton was watching cartoons on the couch.

“…Wonder cats will be right back!…”

As the show goes to commercial break, Triton feels himself let out a sigh. Television sure was awesome and all, much better than the plays and coliseum matches used to entertain gods, but he despised ads more than anything.

“Who in the world created such a malicious thing…”

Triton’s voice trails off at the end as the ad changes to another. As he stares at the screen, he feels a shiver shoot down his spine. As quickly as he could, Triton changes the channel to another before shakily dropping the television remote. A cold sheen of sweat breaks out all over his skin as he collapses back onto the couch.

To anyone else, the commercial before looked like any normal hair dye commercial seen on Tv. But not to Triton. Especially when he saw something oh so familiar.

“T-that hair color…” Triton feels himself shiver at the thought, “L-looked too much like Aunties. Mom’s…No…

…Amphitrite’s Sister.”

Author Note: Ahhh this chapter contained so much but I knew I couldn’t split it up. Especially if I was doing posting Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was worried that the time frame in between would mess my readers up. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. I know there wasn’t a lot of Triton moments but I wanted to get the ball rolling on the plot so that things and certain characters (*cough* Poseidon *cough*) will appear soon. Well that’s it for now, see you next time :)))

Taglist: @angeli-fucking-cat @marixxhq

#shuumatsu no valkyrie #shuumatsu no valkyrie x reader #snv poseidon x reader #snv poseidon #snv #bivalve

226 notes · View notes

notnctu · 3 years

Text

haechan: the cocky | vol 1

━ welcome home to housemating smut series :)

☆ click the link above to read background info about this housemate!

☆ GENRE: smut, pwp ☆ DETAILS: fem!reader, college!au, housemate!au ☆ WARNINGS: oral, voyeurism, explicit language ☆ WC: 2,659 ☆ SYNOPSIS: on this sunny afternoon, you’re home alone while everyone else is in class... or so you thought. as haechan’s name spills from your lustful mouth, he mindlessly comes in thinking that you’re calling for him. instead, he walks in to see you fingers deep and in need of some assistance, again.

☆ AUTHORS NOTE: happy halloween everyone!! pls read the background info before proceeding with the fic!! absolutely pwp, there is no real plot here besides smut LOL and yes there will be a part two ! maybe multiple parts idk yet lol depends on my story building

Tossing your backpack into the corner of your room, you pounce on your bed as quickly as possible. There was something about Haechan’s outfit choice today: baggy relaxed pants and an oversized plain white tshirt that only he could pull off. Something about his cool, carefree attitude riles up an inexplicable part of you. And though you didn’t have much time to drool over his incredibly impressive outfit before dashing for your 10 AM, it is all that’s been running through your head.

And truthfully if you had been caught staring for even a millisecond, you wouldn’t hear the end of it from him. You’ve seen this guy go two days straight sitting in his boxers and wrinkled old tee as he yells profanities at his computer monitor. Yet, in some egotistical world, Haechan still manages to be the cockiest person in the whole house.

Haechan has pulled quite a fair share of girls, but nothing in comparison to Jaehyun or Johnny. The reason behind his sly smirks and obvious traveling eyes could possibly be that he’s pulled you, quite a number of times.

Haechan never really peaked your interest until he became the one you spent the most time alone with. He is not the type to boast about his sexual encounters, so you really had to squeeze it out of him. Long talks of his cunnilingus tactics had you wet by the end of it all, not expecting that this gamer boy had such an eager passion for seeing girls squirm from his tongue.

Eager and strong enough passion to ask if he could get a taste of you, then proceeded to bring up all the moments that he has passed by your room to see you sprawled across your bed naked and rubbing one out. You had a poor habit of not closing your door all the way.

However strangely enough, you didn’t feel embarrassed that Haechan was the one who saw you. In fact, if anyone in the house did catch you masturbating, you’d hope it was him. Your relationship is comfortable to the point of seeing the worst sides of each other, you could be your true self around him because he wasn’t some playboy to impress. He is and always will be, Lee Haechan, the boy that sucks at arm wrestling.

So as you check your housemates’ locations and thinking that the coast is clear, you begin to peel off your bottoms and panties. Every naughty thought of Haechan rolls into your lustful mind. Tugging at his fluffy hair. His plushy tongue against your clit. His light spanks against your ass. His needy hands gripping your thighs. His low throaty moans.

You get into your favorite position --- ass up, on your knees and legs spread open, with your face buried in a pillow. Your hand tries to mimic his touch: gently teasing your nipples, trailing down your stomach until you reach your sensitive bud. Your fingers gather your slick and automatically, Haechan’s name escapes your lips. Closing your eyes, you recall all the times he’s eaten you out until you’ve seen stars.

Now if Haechan wasn’t so forgetful, he wouldn’t have to drive all the way back home to grab his notebook for lecture. When the boy enters the house, he takes note of your scattered shoes at the door and the faint sound of your voice. Curiously, he walks up the stairs to the rooms and hears you calling for him and concludes that you probably heard him come home.

When he approaches your slightly opened door, he sees an image that immediately halts him in his tracks. Through the rather large slit, he has the clearest view of your dripping pussy and quick fingers rubbing at your clit. And he registers your calls for moans. You were moaning his name, not calling for him.

He glances around at the other open rooms to check if anyone else is home, but that is probably why you thought it would be completely fine to not close your door, again. When he returns to the incredibly sexy scene of you masturbating to the thought of him, you’re so lost in your own pleasure that you don’t even hear his heavy breathing.

A tent forms in his pants as he feels all his blood rushing to his shaft. He’s beyond turned on, like come on, it’s him you’re thinking about. This does nothing, but fuel his already large ego. Haechan enters your room and clears his throat, “you should really learn to close your door, baby.”

Your momentum breaks at the sheer fear of someone else’s voice. Panic settles and the first thing you see when you look up is Haechan’s small smirk. He leans against the frame of your door, arms crossed and eyes never leaving your figure.

“Why are you home?!” You throw a pillow at him, very well annoyed at his presence and for ruining your private time. Sitting up on your knees, you try covering your lower half with your blanket. Haechan is quick to stop you, while simultaneously shutting your bedroom door.

“I forgot my notebook.” He leans in, lips inches away from yours and his hand pulling the sheets off your body. “I have twenty minutes to spare, so let’s make this quick, mmh? Seems like you’re in need of my assistance... again.” His eyes are dark, and the sunlight that seeps through your shades shines so beautifully against his melanin. The faint smell of his cologne messes with your mind and god, you want him so bad and you hate that he can tell.

“Get back into your previous position and show me how you touch yourself.” He leaves a quick peck on the corners of your lips before standing at the end of your bed.

“What if I don’t want to?” You’re not usually bratty with other partners, but Haechan’s assertiveness and overall aura draws it out of you so naturally.

He pokes his tongue at the inside of his mouth, protruding his cheek and tilts his head at your bratty attitude. Staring you down with hungry eyes and a raised eyebrow, he says in a serious tone, “no time for games right now. You want me or not?”

“Yes, please.” You nod with urgency once you realize that Haechan still had class to get to. Turning back around, you rest comfortably on your elbows with your knees firm on the mattress. Your hand travels down to circle your clit again, resuming your previous lustful actions before Haechan interrupted you.

Every jolt runs down your legs as a pumping surge of electricity, all the way down to your toes. Haechan palms himself watching you get back into the mood, biting his bottom lip at the delicious sight of your glistening, pretty pussy on display for him. It doesn’t take much before he hurries to get under you and in between your legs.

He lays back flat on the bed as you hover over him, your hand still rubbing intensively at your bud and your juices collecting in your palm. Taking your wrist, he guides your wet fingers into his mouth. You moan knowing your fingers are being cleaned by Haechan, him sucking your taste off of you.

“Fuck, you taste so good.” He groans, bringing your hips closer to his face. Without another second of hesitation, he licks a long strip across your clit.

“Hyuck..” It has been established between the two of you that you have special rights to use his government name. He loves how hot it sounds coming from you, like it is meant to be spoken only by you. “..I’m.. already.. going to burst.”

He kisses your inner thighs, then encapsulates your bud in his mouth. Your legs give out at the mind blowing pleasure that comes with Haechan’s plushy licks. His tongue doesn’t leave your clit for more than a second, suckling and rubbing it like his life depended on it.

When you peer down at him, his face is entirely pressed up against your body: nose digging into your skin and mouth latching on for a taste. He gives your ass a little spank, then grabbing a handful to squeeze. The tinge of pain turns into pleasure as the feeling of static runs throughout your lower half.

Haechan tries to free himself from his pants, growing painfully hard that it began to feel strained. One hand unzips and tugs down hastily at his bottoms, his cock springing up and slapping against his stomach. He lifts his shirt up as far as it can go, not once breaking his attention on making you feel good.

You yelp when his two fingers enter your hole abruptly, gathering enough of your slick to cover his own dick. With your wetness, he strokes his tip with his thumb and the vibrations from his moans sends shivers down your spine. But Haechan is more than skilled at multitasking, jerking himself off while he eats you out.

“Fuck, are you touching yourself?” Your head turns enough to see movement in your peripheral vision. You can infer two things: Haechan is half naked and fucking his hand so fast that it shakes the bed a bit.

“Of course I am. You’re fucking hot, baby.” He only pulls away briefly to speak, his soft tongue flicking rapidly harder against you now. Haechan knows you’re close, without you needing to say much. Your toes curl at the intensity, your moans become louder, and you’re gripping onto his hair as tightly as possible.

The peak of your mountain is at the tip of your lips, your legs are about to give out at any moment, but Haechan is showing no mercy to slow down. “Just like that, shit.” Your hips mindlessly grind with his fast-paced rhythm.

Haechan can feel his own release coming just as quick, his own grip growing tighter around his shaft as his hips have no caution to stop. “Give it to me, (Y/N).” His low grunts solely push you to your edge, as you announce your orgasm.

Your shaking legs uncontrollably twitch around his head as the euphoric feeling fills your blood stream. Like a knot coming undone, it’s the most rewarding feeling you’ve ever felt. You try to catch your breath as Haechan unlatches from your swollen clit, and his moans replace yours.

“(Y/N),” He barely manages to speak and you look down in between your legs to see him biting his bottom lip hard and eyes closed. “--I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk... when I get back..” and with that, he cums all over his lower stomach, short strings of white landing across his body.

You roll off of him, grabbing tissues from your nightstand to clean him up. “Are you still going to make it?” A hoarse laugh rumbles your chest as Haechan remembers the lecture he has to attend.

“I’ll just show up late.” Wiping the last bit off of him, he gets up to hurriedly zip himself up. “Why are you suddenly so needy?” He jokes, partially. A smug grin appears reminding you of his haughty personality.

You scoff at his remark, “I am more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“Yeah, but why do that when I clearly give you the best orgasms of your life.” He shrugs, his tone being quite matter of fact. He chuckles mischievously at your displeased expression, running out your room before you can chase him out.

“Okay, I’m leaving!” He yells from the hall, hurrying down the stairs to catch the last half of his lecture.

“Bye, thank you... I guess..” You pull your panties up, your voice trailing off when you step out of your room to the top of the stairs to watch him leave.

He stops to peer up at your obvious fucked out appearance, admiring you all in your glory. “Any time, baby. What are housemates for?” Haechan winks flirtatiously before he shuts the front door.

The rhetorical question repeats in your head, what are housemates for?

As everyone floods back home later in the day, you and Haechan act as if nothing happened. That’s the thing about you two, Haechan never really feels the need to brag to the others, only if provoked.

You two can live in this house with the other three not expecting a single thing, not knowing that there is courage behind Haechan’s bold statements. Not even the way Haechan stares at you sometimes can give anything away. This man is too slick, too quick on his feet to ever be caught.

“You make it to all your classes today, Haechan?” Johnny asks as the three of you devour the dinner Doyoung made, Jaemin once again not being home.

“Yes, dad.” Haechan answers sarcastically and stuffs his mouth full of dinner rolls. “I had a midterm that I totally aced.” He smiles proudly, but your ears catch onto the first half of his sentence and immediate guilt settles.

“You had a midterm?” The tone of your question raises a few eyebrows at the table, the rest of the boys wondering why you sounded so worried.

Nevertheless, Haechan doesn’t lose his cool. He simply bids you his sugary sweet smile and says, “not for that one.”

“No flirty eyes at the table.” Doyoung scowls as Haechan’s corner lip twitches into another infamous smirk. He somewhat enjoys the thrill of almost getting caught, you make it all too easy for the others to find out.

You gulp your food harshly and shy away from Haechan’s dark gaze, not knowing the right words to recover your slip up. Jaehyun acknowledges the confusion in the room, laughing nervously at your sudden bashfulness, “why did (Y/N) sound so worried?”

Your food gets stuck in your throat, waiting to hear what Haechan has to say to your nosy housemates. “I had to come home to grab my notebook and missed the beginning of class. She’s just looking out for me, it’s cute.”

And your eyes make the most dramatic roll, “I should’ve just let you to suffer the consequences.”

“But you’re a good girl.” Haechan barely lets you finish, his sharp-witted tongue almost cutting you off.

“(Y/N) is the best girl.” Johnny ruffles your hair and picks up your chin, being oblivious to the sexual tension between you and Haechan. “Now, did my best girl go to all her classes today?”

You push his large hand off of you, grumbling lowly, “yes, Johnny.” Mindful to not say dad as it would steer him with too much satisfaction, “unlike you delinquents, I actually go to class and stay for the whole thing.”

“I do too.” Doyoung bickers.

In response, you pinch his cheek harshly. “I know and I’m always proud of you, my bunny.”

Haechan clears his throat obnoxiously, “I’m going to play games, hop on when you all are done.” He takes a few more dinner rolls as he starts heading up the stairs with his plate of food.

“Can’t, I have someone coming over in a few.” Jaehyun stuffs his cheeks full of deliciousness.

“Me too.” Johnny chimes and you’re repulsed that more than half of the house is going to be having sex at the same time.

“In that case, that is my cue to leave and put on noise canceling headphones.” Doyoung gathers his plate to rush out of the scene.

Jaehyun and Johnny finish their dinners at an impressive speed, “don’t be too loud, Haechan!” Johnny loudly proclaims and though you can’t see Haechan’s face, you can imagine his devilish smile through the cadence of his voice.

“Oh, trust me. I won’t be the loud one tonight.” Your phone lights up from incoming texts. As your eyes register the messages, you almost choke on your food at the implications.

housemate haechan: come to my room when you’re done

housemate haechan: and don’t expect to walk tomorrow:)

And you’re finishing your dinner as fast as everyone else is, shamefully excited to make your way upstairs.

What are housemates for?

#neowritingsnet #nct-writers #kpopscape #neothestars #nct scenarios #nct smut #haechan #lee haechan #haechan smut #nct imagines

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bluewinnerangel · 3 years

Note

Hiii, I read your Louis 28 songs lining up with H’s albums post a while ago - honestly that boy is ridiculous I couldn’t stop laughing - and with the sunflower vol 6 comparison, the first line of the equivalent song ‘come away from the window’ immediately made me think of flowers in the window by travis. There’s this Twitter thread about the 2 songs. Don’t know if it really links any further than just the title but thought I’d put it out there. Have a lovely day!!

Okay BUCKLE UP. I too realised this a while back and have wanted to add that to the post since but whenever I try to edit that monster, tumblr’s just like I can’t hear you lalalala and just...doesn’t save the edit. Anyways! I’m gonna use this ask to talk about this, about ALL THIS (yeah this is why it took me so long to answer this ask, sorry anon) because Oh Boi have I wanted to talk about this.

First up, little recap of that twitter thread: Harry really loves the song Travis - Flowers in the window. He has called it his favorite song in 2011 on twitter, again in a 2012 interview, put it on his top 10 all time songs mixtape in 2016, and in 2018 named this song when asked what he’d want played at his funeral.

The linked twitter thread goes on to find parallels between this song to a bunch of 1D/Harry songs, but I just want to focus on Sunflower vol. 6, because this song seems to be very very very inspired by Flowers in the Window. Both songs describe going through different stages (it’s been ages come so far fro-) with someone, each chorus using the same words and buildup but slightly altered to change its meaning, placing them further down into a timeline, later timepoints in a relationship. It’s as if inbetween verse and chorus time passes where stuff happens but that stuff isn’t included in the song, just the feelings and how they slightly change and grow over time, always still including the same amount of love. They’re both really cute lovesongs that compare their love/loved one with flowers and stages of growth. Besides that there are really obvious links in terms of lyrics too, the most obvious being “plant new seeds and watch them grow” vs “plant new seeds in the melody”, but also “there’s no reason to feel bad” vs “I don’t wanna make you feel bad”. Both lyrics with the mentioned lyrics highlighted (Sorry it’s ugly):

(hold on I'm not done)

(Am I getting to the point? Not before sidetracking 28 more times:) I have a lot more to say about Sunflower vol. 6. The gallery lyrics for one!? (not mine but I screamed in the tags idk does that count)

EDIT: for a full lyric breakdown @ialwaysknewyouwerepunk just posted this awesome analysis of Sunflower vol 6!

I’m also entirely convinced it’s placed both before and after Two Ghosts. Basically, when he takes this sharp loud inhale about 1,5 mins into the song, that’s where you could just plop down Two Ghosts. (you could say, he’s about to jump into the water, about to swim in the glass half-empty, I know now I’m just going too far but eh), then when Two Ghosts ends we’re coming back to Sunflower at “your flower just died”, the aftermath of their first “things were good and now they’re not” that is Two Ghosts, (or: the dying of the sunflower is described in Two Ghosts) but now we’re moving on and the story continues, where he is still wanting to get to know the person, wanting to start over, “I’m still tongue tied”, and so on. Lemme just stop rambling and actually convince you, really, because he links the 2 songs through the lyrics:

Two Ghosts: Tongue-tied like we've never known Sunflower vol. 6: I was just / I’m still tongue-tied

Two Ghosts: Tastes so sweet, looks so real, sounds like something that I used to feel, but I can't touch what I see // Trying to remember what it feels to have a heartbeat Sunflower vol. 6: Sometimes / Sunflowers just died, keep it sweet in your memory (This one isn’t as clear as the other two, but, it’s sweet, and he remembers now)

Two Ghosts: The fridge light washes this room white, moon dances over your good side (kitchen + dancing + night) Sunflower vol. 6: Kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor, I couldn’t want you any more tonight (hey it’s kitchen + dancing + night!)

Side-side-sidetrack: To make matters worse, I also think Two Ghosts was a great attempt at weaving lyrics in such a way that the majority of it can be applied to both the beard (or PR stunt counterpart, Taylor in this case) as well as the real deal (Mr haha 28 haha 369 haha you read into things lololol I hate him), and that this kitchen dancing in the night thing was initially a nudge to miss Swift, as in All Too Well she sings:

Cause there we are again in the middle of the night, We're dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light

All Too Well being on the album Red, the album the whole Haylor stunt was for from her side, written before she knew H, was supposed to be about Jake, just think about the logic of H taking that lyric and using it to describe their relationship and how idiotically strange that would be if it wasn’t a stunt. And there are more nudges like it, but, I don’t think I should sidetrack even further. Let’s just quickly pause and try to consider Sunflower being about Camille and Two Ghosts about Taylor and then H using the same words and descriptions for each relationship that were 7 years apart while his albums clearly show he absolutely doesn’t lack the ability to songwrite and... use new words... and describe things... like with range and stuff... just sayin....

TLDR: these songs link on purpose and here is a 28-boop-hint why. Now we can go back to Flowers in the Window vs Sunflower Vol 6 and what the hell it has to do with Louis’ playlist.

In case someone bumps into this without reading the longass deranged puzzle of Louis’ 28 songs playlist possibly hiding Fine Line (But if you do, I’m so sorry for everything, you’ll be here forever, I’m so sorry), a brief summary:

Ok no a serious summary: in 2019 Louis made a public playlist called “28 Songs”, that included, you guessed it, 28 songs. In the initial version uploaded in february @sexatoxbridge high fived god with the reach that the lil shit lined up the start of the playlist to HS1 (here, my addition here)

Louis later on changed up the songs a couple of times throughout the year, putting emphasis on “a fresh set of bangers” on the last update in October (the day before announcing Walls, and Fine Line was announced less than 2 weeks after that)

And when I started listening to this playlist late to the party after knowing Fine Line pretty well, I was like mfer did done it again. The first 3 songs seemed to line up with Fine Line, and the remaining fit as well, but just, scrambled. I did make a case for it being lined up with a draft version of the Fine Line album, but now thinking about it (the whole thing being a massive reach, but within a reach that one really took off well into space), it makes more sense that he just hussled them, I mean, I kinda doubt H wouldn’t be set on an album order less than 2 weeks before announcing it? Either way, I was able to find a buddy for each song a little all too well, with at first sight Sunflower vol. 6 pairing up with Ten Tonnes - Lucy being the weakest link, other than “under the sun, I’m calling where you belong” = a sunflower? Not “resolving” that shit haunted me for way too long and I attempted to crack it (copy-paste from the 28 songs post:)

Sunflower vol 6 tells a story of starting over as it first goes through wanting to be close to someone, then having them, but then “your flowers just died, plant new seeds in the melody” (+ Stage 6 of sunflowers starts a new cycle/pollination). In Lucy, someone is two steps away from the singer, in a place they left their faith/got burned (H: your flowers just died), and the singer is telling them to not stay in that place, pick their faith back up (H: plant new seeds in the melody) and come back into his arms (H: let me inside, I wanna get to know you).

And I thought I had found peace. Wrong. Fast forward

it hit me. And it hit anon as well.

Lucy pairs with Sunflower’s inpiration, with Flowers in the Window.

So the above crack-attempt still stands, as all 3 songs share this theme, but in terms of lyrics there isn’t much overlap between Lucy and Sunflower vol. 6.

H O W E V E R

Travis: Flowers in the window Lucy: Come away from the window

Travis: When I first held you, I was cold, a melting snowman, I was told Lucy: Frost is glowing, on the glass, where you left your faith

Travis: But there was no one there to hold Lucy: I'm calling where you belong, You're crawling back to my arms

It.... it just goes on like that. I tried to color code things that seemed similar and welp mostly failed I think because the whole thing is just very similar. It starts off describing cold, with someone holding someone else in the past, but not now, basically wanting warmth back, the you/Lucy being in a place holding onto negative feelings (that the singer seems to know well or is wise about) over things that happened in time periods that aren’t described in the song itsself, telling the you/person that there’s time, but please don’t be long, there is time to change and grow into something better, with Lucy at a timepoint of being a bit further removed from the singer, as compared to Flowers in the Window (actually that part fits better with Sunflower vol. 6). If you told me Travis and Lucy are in a relationship I mean look at this shit...

Long story short either I’m insane or Louis is but probably both.

#sorry for this #honestly this cant have enough memes to cope with the level of insanity going on here #welikeparallels #smart things with lyrics #gayvinci code #sunflower vol 6 #FL #flowers in the window #mixtape #two ghosts #28 boops bitch

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stxleslyds · 3 years

Note

Who do you think should be a love interest for Red Hood/Jason Todd?

Oh, Anon, you sent me a very difficult question. I have been wanting to talk about my thoughts on love interests or ships when it comes to Jason but I always end up getting scared and don’t do it. But because you sent me this ask and I want to give you an answer, I will actually speak (write) my mind.

I like ships, I enjoy romances within stories, the name of my blog is based on one of my favourite ships from a tv show that I liked. I have also reblogged content that is about another ship that I like from an animated show but when it comes to the DC comics characters that I like (Dick Grayson and Jason Todd) I actually dislike romances and the idea of love interests, a lot. In Jason’s case, I actually hate the idea of him having love interests.

And that’s because of several reasons, but I believe they can all be enclosed into one thing, Jason doesn’t seem to be into romantic relationships or established romantic relationships. Every time they put him in one of those things start to make less sense, I will explain it more in detail because I will be going through every single relationship that was, hinted at, teased or official for Jason in the last eleven years. (Yup, I have found every single relationship that Jason has had forced and/or out of place).

This is, of course, what I think, you are allowed to think otherwise.

JASON TODD AND LOVE INTERESTS.

New 52.

Essence, Jason’s first kiss and some other things.

Essence was, as per New 52 onwards, the first person that Jason had a relationship with. (RHatO vol.1 #7). They met back in the All-Castle and with her, he said that he felt, for the first time after being resurrected “alive”. Yeah, it is a little bit weird, let’s suppose that Jason was 17 when he first met her, and when I say “other things” I do mean it, the panels are never explicit but there is enough information given and shown that tells us that Jason shared a lot of firsts with her.

But here is my first complaint, Lobdell didn’t need to tell us all that, in fact, he could just have told us that they were friends back in the All-Castle because when Essence is introduced in the story, Jason already thinks that she betrayed him and the All-Castle and he repeats several times that he either: wants to kill her or should have killed her in the past already. (RHatO vol.1 #7)

So, the first person that Jason had a love and/or sexual relationship with is now an enemy through betrayal, or so he thinks. After some back and forth and some other truths getting revealed, everything gets solved, Jason and Essence suddenly don’t interact much with each other.

We get another peek at their current relationship when she shows up in Roy’s hospital bed to help him recover from his injuries. There Jason says that she was his first kiss and that even though they have chosen different paths and they have tried to kill each other a few times they are still there for each other.

Wow, what a lovely message Lobdell, two people who have tried to kill each other and have an overall nasty/manipulative relationship, are still there for each other, which is what truly matters. Give me a break Lobdell, what is this? I understand this book is old by now but this narrative is not cute or special. They barely trust each other and they have been more than willing to kill each other but they are still on good terms, yay! Shut up.

Isabel, the flight attendant that may be a little too pushy at times.

Us and Jason met Isabel, the flight attendant when Jason is travelling along with Roy (RHatO vol.1 #2). Her introduction is very sexualised and Jason and her flirt a lot, he “checks her out” but he is also thinking that Isabel is better off not crossing paths with him anymore, but apparently that isn’t what she thinks because she leaves her number along with Jason’s drink. He is very surprised about that fact.

Jason had been struggling with the idea of calling Isabel because he didn’t want to mix his vigilante life with his normal life, that’s why when he calls her, he hangs up as soon as she answers the call. (RHatO vol.1 #7).

But that insecurity is thrown out of the window (apparently) because he does go on a date with Isabel even though he is doing everything possible to hide his double life (RHatO vol.1 #10). Isabel seems to be having an amazing time and as they reach Jason’s hotel, he offers to call her a cab, which means “date is over I want to go home”, but Isabel has other ideas she starts pushing him and saying maybe I don’t want to leave just yet and Jason is a little uncomfortable but Isabel just kisses him. Yeah, non-consensual kissing happens and this is the first (but not last) time it happens. The kiss is interrupted by someone else and the whole thing ends up with that someone (Orc), Kory, Roy and Jason talking.

Jason was so ready to make Isabel go at the end of their date earlier that he barely notices her when Kory and the others show up. She is literally on the floor asking what is going on and Jason doesn’t notice her until after they are teleported to a spaceship. Jason was so out of it that he didn’t notice her up until Roy pointed her out. How insane is that? What are you trying to say, Lobdell, Jason is an asshole? Or was Jason so uncomfortable on that date that he forgot that the date was still going on?

After they all realise that they are all stuck in space in the middle of an intergalactic war Isabel and Jason talk. Isabel lets Jason know that she thought that their date was boring and bad because Jason was trying to hide his real life, she also asks Jason why a vigilante asked a flight attendant on a date and he deflects that question like a pro. (RHatO vol.1 #11-12). You see, I think that Jason decided to go on a date with her because he thought that’s what he wanted or to prove himself that he could have something “normal”.

When they finally go back to earth Jason kinda acts like a jerk towards Isabel at the beginning but at the end of the issue, we see that Isabel invited Jason to stay the night at her apartment in Gotham, happy times happen and while Jason is in the shower Isabel gets attacked by Joker. The Joker made it seem like Isabel overdosed while Jason was in the other room which destabilised Jason a lot. He calls the cops and she is taken to the hospital after Jason leaves the apartment. (RHatO vol.1 #14-15) The last time we see her she is in the hospital recovering.

A long time passes by and we only see Isabel again when RHatO changes writers for a few issues, the author of Isabel’s comeback is Tynion. We see Isabel entering her home after a date, when she goes inside, she notices some weird robots and those things were put there by Jason who wanted to invite her to a private resort as a date. (RHatO vol.1 #28). Isabel decides to go and when Jason gets too wound up and is ready to kiss her, she tells him that he needs to slow down because a long time has passed since they last saw each other and she is quite mad that because they went on one date and she ended up on space for days and then got attacked in her own home. Jason is a bit taken aback by what she says but he doesn’t get to say much because a fight breaks out. Talk about signs… maybe they shouldn’t get together at all, you know what I mean?

After the fight was over, Isabel told Jason that she can’t do this (their “relationship”) any more, but that if the fight ever ended that he could go back looking for her. So, she “breaks up” with him but still kisses him before leaving. If you are leaving someone because you don’t feel like things are going right why on earth will you kiss them goodbye? It’s not like they were on a five-year-long relationship, they only went on two dates! Maybe this is not that big of a deal but come on…

Kory, this one wasn’t a “real” relationship but the idea of it was forced.

Although Kory appears in the first issue of RHatO we didn’t know then how Jason and Kory had met. That story is told later on and it begins with Jason appearing on the shores of an island where Kory’s ship was stuck. He is in and out of consciousness but we do see Kory taking care of him as he recovers, we also see that Kory has a little bit of heart eyes for the mysterious man, but that was because Jason looks like Dick Grayson (someone who she had dated and actually remembered even though she said she didn’t).

After Jason finally wakes up, he goes to her and she gives him clothing that used to belong to Dick, Jason knows those clothes are Dick’s but when he asks Kory who they are from she says that she doesn’t know (she was lying). After Jason gets dressed, he decides to tell Kory who he is and his story, so he tells Kory “Hey, there is something you need to know about me” and Kory kisses him. Ah yes, more non-consensual kissing, how wonderful! Jason is taken aback and Kory tells him that her people assimilate the knowledge that way, Jason doesn’t make a big deal out of it but I will. Lobdell, you knew that Kory didn’t have amnesia, and you know that Kory has been on earth for quite a long time, there was no need for that kiss. As the reader, I know that that’s how Tamareans learn stuff but I also think that Kory shouldn’t kiss people just to know new stuff! It baffles me that they are still doing this, it was silly then and it's silly now, stop the non-consensual kissing and then excusing it because of fictional alien traditions or whatever, just stop.

But I didn’t put Kory on this list for the kissing, I put her here because even though it was never explicitly shown that Jason and Kory had any type of interaction, there were some hints about it, like that time that Roy asked Jason if he was mad because he had slept with “his girl” to chich Jason answered something along the lines of “she is not my girl and she can sleep with whoever she wants”. (RHatO vol.1 #2)

But that’s not all because Lobdell gave us yet another moment in which Kory kisses Jason without his consent and Jason is written once again alarmed, this time even Roy is present and he is a little bit mad because his girlfriend is kissing someone else in front of him. At that point, Jason and Roy both knew that Kory wasn’t new to this planet and that she had been in a relationship with Dick Grayson previously. Because of all that, Lobdell passing yet another non-consensual kiss as Kory trying to tell Jason that he wasn’t alone in his fight doesn’t sit right with me, it’s even worse when you reach the end of the issue and Kory leaves both Jason and Roy on their own. (RHatO vol.1 #32) Yikes, Lobdell, yikes. (This is no hate to Kory or the other women on this run, this is pure hate towards Lobdell, please don’t get me wrong, he is the one being nasty).

Rose just appeared so Lobdell could tell us that she and Jason slept together.

Poor Rose, so many female characters being dragged into this mess by Lobdell, she really didn’t deserve this. She appeared in the last two issues of this run, two! Only for Lobdell to set up the idea that she and Jason had some fun nights in the past, honestly, who let this man write women?

Their interaction went like this: “Hey Rose, love that mask” “Yeah, I’d considered a heart tattoo that said ‘Jason’ with an axe hacking it in two” “I’m flattered, but I think you made the right choice” after Jason said that last part, he continued with this, “You want to explain what you’re doing here trying to kill us? I remember the last time I saw you; you had a big, satisfied smile on your face”. (RHatO vol.1 #39)

Really, Lobdell? She appears in the last two issues; you have them have that conversation and then in the last issue they are the only ones left (after the outlaws disband, RHatO vol.1 #40) but we never see her again, Rose isn’t mentioned in Red Hood/Arsenal or RHatO Rebirth, she isn’t mentioned any other time. Lobdell just thought that Jason didn’t look like he had fucked enough in the past so he decided to let the reader know that he had had some action. I hate him.

Barbara, this pains me, poor Babs, she didn’t deserve that.

No, Lobdell wasn’t the one who wrote this mess, it was everyone who wrote Batman Eternal. I mean, what was this group of men thinking? Where they playing darts and they had all the batboys’ pictures up on the wall and in whichever the dart got stuck, Barbara will get stuck too? Is that what happened? How often do they play this game, can they stop?

I don’t remember having read Batman Eternal and quite honestly, I didn’t want to put myself through that after I made myself read New 52 RHatO twice because I had forgotten to take notes of what had happened in each issue (I hate myself). So, I will only talk about the absurdity that was Batman Eternal #19 and #28.

All of the “relationships” that Lobdell came up with, were forced or out of place or both but this one takes the cake. It’s so simple and short, but oh, so annoying!

The phrase “You will never be Dick Grayson” coming out from Barbara’s mouth and it being directed at Jason should tell you just how many levels of wrong we are working herewith. Their whole interaction in this book seems to come from that phrase, how on earth do you build up a romance from that? Am I going crazy? Am I missing something? Come on, be honest with me.

Jason being the one who makes Barbara shake off mind control because he told her that he “only remembers what’s important, like the day he met Batgirl”, I am sorry but what? I really don’t have the words, he had even said before that he thought Babs liked him because she looked nervous, what is this writing? Since when does Jason care about Barbara? They met once when Jason was Robin and she was significantly older, what are these writers on, crack? (Batman Eternal #19)

But that’s not the worst thing, later in the book, they switch roles and Jason is apparently no longer interested in Barbara but she is all like “maybe you should stay this time, Jason. Help the family. Save Gotham” and Jason says “Gotham’s never been enough for me Barb” and I am not kidding, she tells him “What if there was more…?” That was hilarious, my gods, they must have been high when they wrote that because that is just too wild for me.

And Jason, the absolute beast that he is, says, “No. Because Barb, it’s like you said… I’ll never be Dick Grayson” (Batman Eternal #28). Jason, you dramatic little shit, what is going on? Why did the writers put us through all that just to end up being like “Babs is thirsty for Jason but he has already moved on”, what was the point of these interactions?

Yeah, that’s all I can say about that, let’s just move on to the mess that was Rebirth.

Rebirth.

Artemis, a new player enters the game.

While we did meet her in the first issue Jason isn’t seen being flirty with her up until they are in a bar and Jason is really drunk, he tells her that she has beautiful green eyes and Artemis is like, “if you are hitting on me, I will punch you in the head” (RHatO vol.2 #8), Lobdell back at it again with that mix between flirting and violence that I hate so much, lovely. But I guess this meant that Artemis was setting boundaries.

Boundaries and kinda thrown out of the window when later in the book we have something like looked like the start of a kiss that didn’t really happen because they were interrupted (RHatO vol.2 #11). Jason also acts a little too cheeky in two instances in another issue, one of them was a bit funny the other one no so much because Artemis was talking about how she had let only three people into her heart and one of them was now dead and she might have been losing another one, at that moment all Jason has to offer is “about that third person… does his name rhyme with Rason Rodd?”, which was a bit out of tune of him. (RHatO vol.2 #13).

The big surprise though is that out of the blue we have an issue called ‘Date Night’ where Jason and Artemis seem to go out on a date! What? We are moving on so fast! (Spoiler Alert: Jason thought it was a date, Artemis only wanted to talk about how weird Bizarro was acting at the time). One of the things that really caught my attention was how differently she was characterized in the issue and that within the story Jason hadn’t realised that Artemis wasn’t really acting like herself either. It could have been a cute date if not for the fact that Artemis wasn’t acting like herself because she wasn’t “really” on a date with Jason. Also, Lobdell does love to hint at Jason’s sex life, before they went on the date Bizarro said “use it (the teleporting door) all night if you need” and Jason responded, “I don’t think we will be needing it all night. I mean, if we do that’s okay, but I’m not, like, expecting anything”, it was kinda funny but yeah, come on! (RHatO vol.2 #19).

From that issue, we jump to the great finale (or not) of this “epic” “love” “story”, the so awaited kiss between Jason and Artemis, oh yeah baby! A couple of issues with flirting, a date that wasn’t a date but maybe if Bizarro wasn’t going insane at the time (who knows?). This kiss obviously comes with the separation of this team of outlaws, Jason is left alone on earth while Artemis and Bizarro are swallowed by a portal of sorts. Jason finally gets the kiss that he so desired, but at what cost? (RHatO vol.2 #25). Brutal issue for Jason, it was also like a special edition because it was bigger and that makes me laugh because all Jason did in that issue was suffer, how unlucky can this guy get?

We don’t see Artemis for a while but when she does come back, she is being controlled by something and it’s making her want to kill Jason, so to shake whatever was controlling her, Jason kissed her and hoped for the best (it worked). See, Lobdell can change! Before it was women forcing Jason into a kiss, now it’s the other way around! Yay! (RHatO vol.2 #41).

After all that we see Jason and Artemis spending some time together, it looks very friendly, they even have a very nice moment when Artemis hugs Jason as he lets himself grieve the loss of Roy. Jason also seems aware (this time) that Artemis is acting a little off and he gets her to talk about how much she missed her axe. It feels like they are taking it slow, they are figuring themselves out after so long, they probably won't kiss and make things complicated, right? Yeah, no, they do kiss, but they each pretend that it was like kissing a sibling. In the end, Jason does say that he lied and that he knows that she lied to him and that was okay with him, my only critique with this is: Why did they have to kiss? They could have waited instead of kissing and then lying about their feelings, what is this, Wattpad? (RHatO vol.2 #42)

Their relationship comes to a halt and we end up seeing them together (in a messy bed, twice) at the end of Lobdell’s run. But even though those two had their fun and Jason almost told Artemis that he loved her, things weren’t really meant to end with them as a couple because at the very end of the issue Artemis says her final goodbye to Jason. She says, “This is it. The end of us. I’m not being mean. I’m genuinely happy for you Jason. You have grown so much since you started the outlaws. But you don’t need us anymore. You don’t need me. Tell me I’m wrong” to which Jason responds, “I can’t. But if I ever needed anyone, it would have been you, Princess”. (RHatO vol.2 #50).

All in all, this was the best-developed relationship that Jason had, but so much about this, one could have easily been transformed into a friendship between the two. You will see better what I mean after I talk about Isabel’s presence in this run. Maybe it is just me, but a solid friendship between these two could have been spectacular, mostly because of what had happened in that one annual that had Dick as a guest.

In that issue Jason was very jealous of Artemis having the most obvious heart eyes for Dick, she was very flirty with him and he was a real gentleman with her. When she offered to take him back to his trailer at the circus he said yes and there, as they were walking towards his trailer, Lobdell wrote the best piece of dialogue in his ten years writing Jason. Dick asked, “So, are you and Jason… together?” to which Artemis responded, “Me? And Jason? Anyone and Jason?”. How is Lobdell so blind to his actual interesting takes on Jason Todd. Aromantic Jason was right there Lobdell, but you had to push your shitty version of “romance” every step of the way! (I am fine with Jason having a fantastic sexual life but listen, Jason being aromantic was still possible).

Essence, first Jason accused her of betraying him but now *Uno reverse card*

Do you guys remember that Essence and Jason’s last interaction in New 52? Jason said that even though they were always fighting or willing to kill each other they also will always be there for one another? Well, when Essence comes back in Rebirth she plans on killing Jason because apparently this time around he was going to betray her. Their very first interaction in this run (RHatO vol.2 #35), consists of Essence saying, “I don’t know if I should kiss you or kill you” to which Jason responds, “why do you have to choose?”. Lovely, Lobdell is back at it again with his shitty version of quirky “romance”, if he is trying to write them as sarcastic, he needs to do a better job at it because it’s not a good look, and not everyone has read his New 52 run so introducing these two in this book this way is kinda not good. But then again, maybe that’s just me.

As a fight ensues after they said those things, we are shown panels of Jason and Essence when they were together in the All-Castle, they would be cute panels if not for the fact that they are currently fighting to the death. It is an insane contrast, and Lobdell also has Jason think “I was the first human trained by the All-Castle. She was the only heir to a throne she never wanted. It was never going to work out between us.” But the thing is that it did work out between each other until Jason left the All-Castle, when they met each other again they had both been fed lies about the other and neither of them seems to want to look for clues to make sure that those rumours of betrayal were true. One will think that now, one of you might not feel so confident when they think the other will betray them again, you went through this already losers! But I don’t blame Jason or Essence for their stupidity, I blame Lobdell.

The fight lasts a few pages but it will end with Essence stabbing Jason with her ‘Blood Blade’ (not to be confused with the All-Blades, those are Jason’s), but here is the thing the Blood Blade comes with a curse if you draw blood from someone innocent your soul will be trapped inside the blade. This is what happened to Essence because Jason was innocent of what she was accusing him, just like she was innocent in New 52 when Jason accused her of betraying him and the All-Castle. Boring.

Now here is the thing, Essence might be dumb or she didn’t know how the Blood Blade worked because later on in the book, the blood blade is teleported by Essence (she was still inside of the blade) to the front door of Isabel’s home. The very next time that we see Isabel she is unconsciously sharing a body with Essence after touching the blade. She possessed her because at that time she still believed that Jason wanted to “destroy the world” (RHatO vol.2 #45). It wasn’t long until she realised that she was wrong and then teamed up with Jason once again. (RHatO vol.2 #46).

Lobdell, why must you recycle stories all the time and make women look stupid? Why would she still believe that Jason was up to no good after she got trapped in the blade? But my point here is that this is supposed to be Jason’s first love and their relationship consists of, flirting, remembering the good times, and almost killing each other every time they see each other because *betrayal*, it’s so tiring and annoying. Do better.

Isabel, aw, shit, here we go again!

Lobdell really had ladies ready to appear in Jason’s life when another had just left. This is one of my major problems with the way Lobdell writes all of Jason’s relationships. It would be lovely if DC and Lobdell just outright said that Jason is only interested in having sexual relationships that aren’t meant to last a long time. Because the way they had him involving himself with women seemed a little sketchy, in #25 Artemis finally kissed him and he seemed pretty happy about it, but then she was gone and now that Isabel appears in Jason’s life again, he acts as if Artemis didn’t exist.

Isabel shows up at the Iceberg Lounge after Jason made public his comeback and his management of the place. One would think that given how things ended up in New 52, Isabel would like to take things slow, after all, she had told him that he could go back to her if he stopped living his double life, but no, she talked to him for a few seconds and then proceeded to kiss him out of the blue. Lobdell’s favourite type of kissing makes a comeback, how nice, I didn’t miss it at all!

I want to be honest with you, maybe I am being too harsh, maybe these are all “surprise” kisses but in a way, it still doesn’t feel right, this is not the first time that someone kisses Jason when he doesn’t expect it (Isabel has done it multiple times already), but he is written as if he didn’t care, and that is not good. Men can feel pressured into kissing someone or can feel like they are being harassed. Lobdell and everyone on this creative team seem to think that being kissed by someone you haven’t seen in very long out of the blue is romantic or cute or sexy or whatever but it has repeated itself so much that I only find it uncomfortable and annoying to read and see. (RHatO vol.2 #33). Maybe it was just me because in that issue where Isabel goes to the Lounge they get attacked and she is not at all bothered by it, this time around, Jason even tells her that her safety is his first priority which is quite funny because the first time they were in a date Jason forgot she was present and only realised that she had been teleported alongside the outlaws to a space ship when Roy pointed it out, but I guess Jason is a different man now. I guess he wants to cultivate a relationship with her now.

And he might because your boy asked Isabel on a date in Paris. They just happened to both be around Paris at that time but here is where Jason says something that makes me speculate as to why he is actually dating, he thinks this, “Isabel Ardila. A flight attendant. Maybe the only normal person I’ve ever allowed in my life. Don’t ask me why.”

Well, Chonky, I won’t be asking you anything, I will actually give you the answers as to why you are letting Isabel into your life. You do it because you equate dating to normalcy, but I am here to tell you that it's fine if you don’t want to date and form romantic bonds, it's not something normal, it's just something some people do. If you like going out with her because of the sex or whatever then that’s fine too, but if you have to question why you are doing something, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it at all.

Jason looks a bit uncomfortable, and we also see that he is feeling sad and lonely because he misses Roy. He even thinks, “sometimes, she even makes me feel normal”. All of this normal talk really speaks to me about Jason trying to have friends outside the job but he doesn’t know how to approach that so he dates women because it makes him feel normal. I can relate to that feeling in a way, and I just think that Jason is confusing friendly love with romantic love, I don’t even know if he knows of the existence of platonic love. A reader that understands those feelings can see that maybe Jason is struggling to feel normal when he realises that he doesn’t love the same way as others. The thing is, I don’t really think that is what Lobdell intended to do, he just wanted to push two of his agendas, Jason has an active sexual/love life and Roy Harper was Jason Todd’s best friend and the only one who is allowed to suffer his death is Jason. In fact, back at the time, Jason was actually one of the few people (or maybe the only person) allowed to mourn Roy.

When the date is over and Jason’s walking Isabel to her hotel, they have a chat where it’s revealed that Isabel thinks that Jason isn’t still living that double life, she actually thinks that Jason is only working as the owner of the Casino, Jason doesn’t correct her. And then there is this very weird line that Isabel says, “The airline picks up my tab. This way you know I don’t love you for your money”, Jason is very taken aback when he heats Isabel say that she loves him so he manages to say “did you just…?” but Isabel stops him with a kiss and a simple “nope”. Jason moves on and goes to work because he is still doing the vigilante gig, the double life, that Isabel thinks doesn’t exist anymore. (RHatO vol.2 #34).

Isabel and Jason’s relationship has always looked forced to me, in rebirth, it was even weirder because Jason had just kissed Artemis and when she was gone, Jason kind of acted as if it didn’t matter that much to him and moved on easily with Isabel, but now Jason is acting kind of sketchy too because he is hiding his double life and the last time he did that Isabel ended up in a lot of trouble. I really don’t know if Lobdell remembers his own shitty writing but he should remember this stuff.

We move on too, and now Isabel has come to visit Jason at one of the events that the Iceberg Lounge has got going on, once again Jason is acting a bit strange because he was having trouble at the time with the idea of his biological father actually trying to contact him before he was killed and he was also having trouble because he was in Gotham after his adoptive father beat the living shit out of him and “banned” him from stepping foot in Gotham again. Jason seems to open up a little to Isabel but just as he starts doing so, she tells him she has to leave. Jason looks hurt for just one panel and then he moves on with his (double) life. (RHatO vol.2 #35). This is the issue where Jason also comes across Essence and traps her in her own blade.

Because everything falls apart in what was one of the best arcs written by Lobdell, Jason sends Dog (Jason’s dog) to Isabel, so Dog can be safe. (RHatO vol.2 #36).

We see Isabel after some very long time, and she is described as “The on-again/off-again girlfriend of Jason Todd. Currently off-again”, at this point in time Artemis was back to being herself and Jason had kissed her and all that. I am just saying, Jason obviously isn’t comfortable in a established romantic relationship. Lobdell dances around that idea a lot, every time with all these women.

This is the issue where Isabel finds the Blood Blade outside her home. (RHatO vol.2 #43).

As you can see, I have problems with Lobdell not handling the relationships very well, there is no concrete information being told to the reader or the characters within the story about how Jason wants to date, we never know if the women in the story know that Jason has been dating/flirting with other women. I am not saying that is bad but it would have been nice if Lobdell just used his words to tell us what he is doing.

I feel like saying that Jason is the kind of man that looks for sexual relationships without commitment isn’t something that will break the world in two. All the “romance” is incredibly forced, just say that he isn’t into romantic relationships my dude… unless Lobdell really thinks that the “romances” that he came up with are actually well written.

Anyway, Jason didn’t know that Essence who he has been fighting against and then alongside was actually Isabel, so, when Isabel and Essence get separated for a moment Jason is surprised. After Isabel tells him that they are in the middle of a battle so she is going to let Essence control her body again, Jason tells her that he “loves her”. (RHatO vol.2 #49). Does he love her for doing that or does he love her because he likes her? Hmm, that’s a good question, it is never actually answered in comics because we don’t really get to see Isabel or Essence after that happens and in the following issue (Lobdell’s last) Jason and Artemis seem to have been having a very fun night and they also kiss, Jason had even kissed with Artemis before he told Isabel that he loved her.

As you can see, its all very messy, Lobdell really said “Jason can’t be directly or indirectly single but I won’t really explain what is going on to the readers or to the characters within the story”, and that speaks volumes about how bad Lobdell’s writing is. This man simply cannot remember the things that he writes, he literally had Artemis say that she didn’t think she could see Jason dating anyone and then she wants to date him and Jason had already been dating people before that statement was made! It was all so messy! It makes all these side-romantic plots pointless; Jason was lonely because he constantly lost his friends, then give him friends! Friends are nice DC, stop making it about romances when you can just give your characters solid friendships.

Barbara, this time the pain is brought to us by Geoff Johns

I put Three Jokers as part of rebirth because I still don’t know if that garbage of a book is supposed to function within actual canon or not but it came out while Rebirth was going on so that’s why it’s here.

Now, the whole book was bad, we can all agree on that but Johns’ handling of Jason and Barbra’s “relationship” made me sick. This is another thing that writers love to do to Jason, write him as the kind of man that cannot take rejection and continues to be pushy about his feelings. Please, DC, don’t ever let Johns write another comic for you, it’s embarrassing at this point.

But in this book Jason wasn’t the only one acting weird, Barbara also did some weird stuff. In this run, Barbara thought of Jason as an unhinged criminal that needs to be locked up but Jason had heart eyes for Barbara every time they saw each other, their whole dynamic was wonky and weird. They even fought before and after Jason killed one of the Jokers.

But that’s not the real problem, the problem was that Johns decided to make Jason get tortured by the remaining Jokers while naked, this man was found naked, injured and mentally unwell by Batman and Batgirl after Jason and Batman had a fight, Barbara decided to take Jason to her home so he could recover.

Jason has just come out of the shower, he was clearly mentally and physically exhausted, and also very vulnerable. When Barbara came into the room Johns had them have a conversation while Barbara was fully clothed and Jason was just in a towel, and he was talking about how lonely and not cared for he felt, he was opening himself up to Barbara and apparently, Barbara (Johns) thought that the best she could do was kiss him, you know, to offer support.

Honestly, what the hell do male comic writers smoke when they write? You don’t show support to someone that has clear feelings for you with a kiss, to then pull away and say that “we committed a mistake”, we? Girl, come on, you made a mistake and a huge one! But one will think that Jason realised that Barbara did make a mistake when she kissed him and he also accepted the fact that she didn’t feel the same way as he did… well, not really, Jason is actually written as the kinda guy that doesn’t take well rejection and the kind of guy that keeps pushing for something between him and the other person to happen.

This man asked Barbara three times if she could give him an opportunity after the first rejection and he kept getting rejected! But that is not all because we all know that at the end of the book Jason left a letter (that thankfully Barbara will never see) in Barbara’s door when he asked again to give him a chance and that he would change who he was for her, he would actually stop being the Red Hood for her! Was Johns on crack? He had to be! The levels of wrong that are being messed around with here are out of the charts! Jason Todd, who has different values and morals than Barbara Gordon would stop being Red Hood just to get a date? Boy, don’t be dumb! Do male writers think that we are going to swoon over this kind of writing, do they expect me to applaud? I won’t!

This “relationship” was forced and incredibly out of place and out of character for everyone and it pissed me off even if it doesn’t affect canon because the writing is bad and the narrative is worse! If you love someone you shouldn’t change everything about yourself to be with them AND if someone says no or rejects your advances then the only thing you should do is back down!

This shouldn’t have to be said!

Future State

Rose, if you know me then you know that this is just a big no for me.

In the Future State: Red Hood story we are shown in the first panel of the first page that Jason is sharing a bed with someone else. We get to know pretty early that someone is Rose. The setting for their relationship is awful, both of them are working for the magistrate, they hunt “masks” otherwise known as heroes or vigilantes.

Jason hates his job and is known for bringing his “masks” alive, Rose on the other hand seems to have adapted easily while working with the magistrate and she is known for bringing the “masks” dead.

First red flag, why are two people who have such different ideals in a relationship together? Let me remind you that the Magistrate is not a good corporation or idea for Gotham, they are basically domestic terrorists and Jason is bringing them people that are like him (he is there undercover). Jason is going against everything that he is in order to infiltrate the Magistrate, Rose seems to be having fun. She brings the subject between them without care and seems to not really understand that Jason doesn’t like the work that they are both doing and that he doesn’t want to talk about it as if it were a normal thing that every couple does.

The second red flag in just a couple of pages is Williamson having Rose say “This is why we make sense. Daddy issues”, wow, are we really doing that, Williamson sat there and said Rose and Jason can make a good couple because both of them have unresolved problems with their parental figures, how wonderful. To me shared trauma isn’t a deal-breaker but sure, if you want to make one of your characters revolve her relationship with her partner around trauma, then that’s on you.

Jason also had a big problem with Rose attacking people who are hiding from the Magistrate because they are actually giving food to the “masks” and to people who don’t have to eat. Rose doesn’t seem to care and that makes the relationship a bit tense. So far, there are not many positives for this couple.

Things only get tenser, people are going around wearing those red pill looking helmets that Jason used to wear in Batman and Robin (2009), the funny looking ones, and those people are just normal people that are stealing food so they can eat or take them somewhere else. Jason is following one of those people and telling them that he doesn’t want to hurt them, just talk but Rose shows up and kills them. Jason is angry and Rose goes on a rant about how being a “mask” is against the law so she had a right to kill him.

Together they figure out that those people were being controlled so they go looking for whoever was behind those helmets.

They are tense and Jason is very cold with her even when she tries to lighten up the mood, but shit gets worse when they both receive an alert to go hunt another mask: Jason Todd.

Rose wants the money. Aw, nothing says healthy relationship more than murder.

The apparent reason why the Magistrate put a target on Jason was that he had the helmet that he took from that boy, when he realises this he puts it on and hopes that Rose finds him through that, so she can help him if he gets in trouble.

Jason gets mind-controlled through the helmet and is forced to fight rose, they fight for a while and then Rose breaks the helmet. Jason says “knew you would find me” and Rose responds “you are lucky I have a crush on you”, ok, is Jason okay with Rose wanting to kill him a few minutes ago when the alert on him came out? That’s not a big deal for them? Ok.

Jason seems to be in love with Rose even though they think differently and they are written with as much chemistry as a history book, he cares for her and does everything to save her when they get attacked by the Magistrate.

When they escape the initial attack, Rose grabs Jason and tells the Magistrate’s drones that he will take the bounty for Jason but that she will deliver him alive. Jason is surprised and angry but then the drones just leave. And we are left with Jason and Rose on a rooftop alone after Rose seemingly tried to betray Jason.

Do you know what Jason does next? He tells Rose that they should go on a holiday. He cares and keeps wanting to protect her from the Magistrate. Are you kidding me? This is so messed up; I want to remind you that these were the only two issues for this story. This is all the information we had for a long while and it is disgusting. DC really let this thing be published!

Rose betrays him twice; he is willing to harm him on some level and he still wants to be with her? Am I understanding that correctly? Later on, he keeps wanting to protect her from the Magistrate after he has evidence that they are hyper corrupt.

The point I want to make is that Jason and Rose shouldn’t have been introduced to us in this book as a couple or as people who have been sleeping with each other for a long time. I don’t know why this needs to be said but having a couple where one of them can think of killing their partner is absolutely awful. And then they make it worse by having the “victim” act like it doesn’t matter and that they should work on protecting the person that wanted to betray them.

I understand that there is a Future State: Gotham run going on with a Jason story in it written by Williamson but I don’t want to go near it. Future State: Red Hood made me uncomfortable and it made me cry out of frustration. How did this story get a pass by the editor? It’s disgusting, and it’s that because of this absolutely forced “relationship” that Williamson wanted to put in.

My point with all of these “couples/love interests reviews” is that writers need to be more conscious about what they write and about how some readers might perceive some messages.

Non-consensual kissing, harassment and all those things shouldn’t be part of the dynamic of two people that you are trying to put together. If there is some non-consensual kissing you can simply put a panel where the person apologises for their actions, but not even that is shown in these cases.

Comic writers need to be more aware of the way they write relationships. Yes, these are fictional worlds, people and situations but you are still playing with real-life interactions. Making some things appear in comics as normal things that you do to your crush/partner or whatever has an impact on people and writers need to become aware of this.

Lobdell was dying to let us know that Jason had a very active love/sexual life, great, but you need to show healthy relationships or make things clear about the relationships that Jason had. So many interactions that Jason had with women were overlapped with each other and the reader doesn’t know how to take it, is Jason a player or is he into open relationships, to me, it didn’t look like that but hey, maybe the writer would let us know? No, he won’t, because all he wanted to do was make Jason “date” more women.

Here is the thing, I have always felt like Jason was Aromantic, he likes having sex and having fun, but established romantic relationships aren’t his thing. It is what feels right (to me) with this character. And that’s (in part) because of all these messed up relationships that he was forced into. The two times that Jason seems to “be in love” are in Three Jokers and Future State: Red Hood, those two books are horrendous when it comes to Jason and love interests, in one of them Jason acts like the kind of man that cannot and will not take well a rejection and in in the other Jason acts as if he were blind to the abusive actions his partner does to him.

None of those two concepts are healthy or nice. Writers need to do better about that, they just have to.

So, to answer your question, I don’t think Jason Todd needs a love interest. Not as the main plot or subplot, maybe as a vague mention but nothing else, because comic writers suck at writing healthy and well-developed relationships. And because I really see Jason as the kind of person that wouldn’t involve himself in a romantic relationship with anyone.

I know this answer is more a rant than an answer but this subject is one that I have thought about a lot and it really made me nervous to bring it up. To everyone who thinks differently about these relationships, I understand and keep doing you, these are all just my thoughts and they are not worth more than yours.

Anon, thank you for the ask, sorry for making you wait so long and I hope that you have a wonderful rest of the week!

#jason todd #red hood #rhato #red hood and the outlaws #three jokers #batman eternal #dc comics #love interests #asksss

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