#like the way she has this funny little tension going on with william since there is obviously attraction there but | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dire-kumori · 11 months

Note

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

Fanfic Writer Ask Game

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

Hmm... Good question XD. You know I am proud of my stories, but I have a hard time picking out individual lines I like best. But here are a few I like from Ever After (since that's the one I'm actively working on):

"The door slammed with the finality of a coffin lid."

(Maybe it's a touch cheesy, but I'm still happy with it.)

"Fredbear’s accusing black eyes bore into him from across the mattress, seeing straight through the lie he'd never voiced."

(This line didn't quite want to work at first and I was so happy when I finally felt like I got it right.)

“EVAN!” Elizabeth screeched, wiping the sand from her face and hair. “YOU GOOBER!”

(I just really had fun writing Ev and Liz being happy, goofy kids and I can actually hear Elizabeth's little girl scream every time I reread that line.)

“JESUS BLOODY FUCK-!”

(I sent this to my friend with limited context. He told me it made him giggle. It still makes me giggle.)

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

I dunno if I have any 'wild' headcanons. I mean the FNAF fandom is pretty much held together by the popsicle sticks and glue that are crazy headcanons. Mine seem pretty tame by comparison.

A headcanon I do have that I haven't really done much with is that Mike actually has a different mother than the twins (and yeah, I do headcanon Ev and Liz as twins). In my version of events, Will had a drunken one night stand with Mike's mom when he was either still engaged to or newly married to Evan's and Elizabeth's mom. It did cause some tension, but ultimately Will managed to convince his wife to stay with him. However, she made it 100% clear from the get go that she wasn't interested in raising another woman's child. Will said that he was okay with that, but he had the presumptuous idea that she would change her mind because Michael is his son, his DNA, and she loves him so how could she not love his offspring as well? They fought about this expectation a lot and eventually the tension boiled over. William blamed Michael for the marriage dissolving, but since Michael grew up thinking that Will's wife was his mom, he never realized the true reason. Growing up, Michael assumed she left because of his bad behavior as a kid.

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

@lonelyfreddles

You know what's funny is when I got that first comment from Kats on my fic, I'd already read and loved By Cain's Own Hand, and I had a mini freak out that Kats liked MY writing. Pretty much everything Kats writes breaks my heart in the best possible way.

@cloudwhisper23

Who's written some incredible fics based off of Kats' Silent Protector AU and my Paradoxical Reaper AU. I really love how they adopted those ideas and made them their own!

@honey-bunnysaurus

Okay, so they aren't fanfics, but Honey has written some REALLY cool ideas for the Lonely Children AU which I love to read over and again! I especially love this short snapshot they've written in their reblog of the Lonely Children thread.

YOU!

I'm still vibrating with excitement over those short WIPs you tagged me in and I'll probably pass out from excitement when you post the final product!

I've had a lot of fun coming over to the FNAF fandom. In a short amount of time I've met a lot of really creative and cool people, including a few I haven't mentioned here.

And now for some non-FNAF fic:

@bakumeowkatsuki

My friend Rosi who I met in another fandom. Even though I'm not so active in the BNHA fandom anymore, I still have a soft spot for the crack ship Rosi and I came up with together and the fics they've written for that fic. Rosi does a lot of short and sweet fics and if you're into Ensemble Stars!, Critical Role, or Persona 4, I'd recommend you find them on AO3 (roserosa).

As for some of my favorite fics (not counting those written by the authors above):

Forever A Lost Boy At Last

at least we're together this time!

Dissatisfaction Brought it Back

Encore!

and

Friends, Family, and Frights!

#yeah my fic recs are limited to FNAF fics right now because that is my current brain rot #it's a short list but I'm sure if I listed every amazing fic I've read or (or even just started) we'd be here all day #because there's no shortage of amazing fics in this fandom #ask #serenefig

10 notes · View notes

kateliot4ever · 1 year

Text

The Way Home' star Evan Williams: Elliot is the bannerman for the Landry women

Evan Williams says he regards Elliot, the character he plays on Hallmark's time-travel drama, The Way Home, as the "bannerman" for three generations of extraordinary Landry women.

"He's there for support and it's not necessarily by choice. He sort of has just been thrust into the fray with the Landrys," Williams told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

Evan Williams says he regards Elliot, the character he plays on Hallmark's time-travel drama, The Way Home, as the "bannerman" for three generations of extraordinary Landry women.

"He's there for support and it's not necessarily by choice. He sort of has just been thrust into the fray with the Landrys," Williams told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

Already renewed for a second season, the series follows American Alice Dhawan (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) and her divorced, unemployed mother Kat (Chyler Leigh) as they move into the Canadian farmhouse of Alice's grandmother Del Landry (Andie MacDowell).

Tension is in the air because Alice didn't want to leave her home and her father Brady (Al Mukadam), while Kat and Del's relationship has been strained since the disappearance of Kat's younger brother Jacob and subsequent death of her father Colton in a car crash decades earlier.

Shortly after Kate and Alice arrive, Alice discovers a portal to the 1990s via a magical pond where she meets teen versions of Kat (Alex Hook), Brady (Siddharth Sharma), and Kat's best friend Elliot Augustine (David Webster).

Williams plays present-day Elliot, a kind and funny science teacher still in love with Kat after years in the friend zone.

He has been looking after Del and her farm since her estrangement from Kat. He also helps Alice unravel the Landry family's mysteries when she goes back and forth through the pond because he remembers meeting her when he was a kid.

"This one guy has three different love relationships with the family. The way he relates to Kat is potentially a romantic love. The way he relates to Del is more of a maternal love," Williams said.

"We don't know too much about Elliot's family life at this point, but we know that he says the Landrys were always like a second family to him, so they were filling some kind of void that he wasn't getting at home," the actor added. "With Alice, he's trying to don a new hat, which is something that is a little bit ill-fitting, but he's doing his best to try and be this guru as an adult and as a young man."

Williams enjoyed playing a pragmatic man called upon to navigate seemingly implausible circumstances, the mechanics of time travel and the impact it might have on the future.

"It was a great intersection and it's something that I think our society treats very dualistically. It's got to be one or the other and Elliot is really splitting that divide very nimbly," the actor said.

"While he does want to understand everything, he is also operating with a lot of faith, a lot of belief from when he was a young man," he added. "He had to believe what Alice was saying was true [in the past] and is holding on to hope that he is going to be able to solve this riddle."

The two actors who play Elliot form a seamless portrayal that makes it easy for viewers to accept they are the same person at two different ages.

But Williams and Webster didn't spend much time together before shooting began to coordinate their takes on the character because Williams was in Los Angeles and Webster was in Canada.

"We got to do a little bit of Zoom meeting, putting our heads together and figuring out mannerisms for Elliot and energy centers in his body where he lives and where he moves from. Things like that are really helpful in creating a character," Williams said.

"From then on, it was a leap of faith from both of us," he added. "I was working on the first few episodes before I had even seen any of David's work and likewise and, so, when I got to see him in person and we could shake hands, it was more about celebrating the fact that the casting process had done its job so well."

That synchronicity between the younger and older performers makes for a more satisfying experience for audiences.

"They see the differences in our performances as growth, not inconsistencies," said Williams, who has never played the older version of a younger character before. "So, this has been fascinating and lots to learn."

Working on a show about time travel made Williams think about the pros and cons of visiting the past and seeing our younger selves or loved ones from completely new perspectives.

"It gets very complicated very quickly," he said. "I'm not sure that going back in time would be a good thing for an individual because, if you can't change it, what's the point? And that's a question this show really asks and does a good job of illuminating."

Another big question at the center of the show is whether grown-up Kat will ever be able to set aside her obsession with the past and give the adorable Elliot the chance he deserves.

Williams is aware that fans are rooting for them.

"It's been shocking, actually, the pro-Elliot movement that is sweeping my DMs right now," he laughed.

"People are really moved to witness a love that not only has stood the test of time, but seems unconditional. That's what was really interesting to me about where Elliot is coming from. He has clearly held a flame for decades and it doesn't appear like he is trying to get anything out of it and I think that kind of love is rare in the stories we see told these days."

1 note · View note

porcelaintoybox23 · 3 years

Text

Invincible Episode 8 Review

Finale Spoilers!!!!!!

The good...?

I respect that Mark just straight up punched him

Eugenics? I'm not surprised. I knew the Viltrimites were fucking nuts and colonizers! I fucking called it!

Lucky you sick fuck?

Shit, are the other Viltrimites coming???

Nolan, you raised a human, not a killer.

You shouldn't have raised Mark among humans, jackass!

Please choke-

*gasps* a PET??!!! Straight up, FUCK YOU NOLAN!

"I will not calm down!"

It's only been 5 mins, shit-

Yeah, how is Mark supposed to beat Nolan? He's gonna die

Thank you Rudy for the title card intro. That thing is bloody

What a dense motherfucker. You didn't raise a sociopath, Nolan! It's too late to change that.

One, I saw that coming. Two, why the fuck is Cyborg voicing every black character??? Hire other people, PLEASE!

JESUS! Poor Mark....

I can tell he's going to go through a lot of physical pain in this series...

This is horrific...

*retches* Heroic BSOD or Rage fight?

Of course, Nolan is abusive. It's his fault my ass

HOLY SHIT THAT IS TRUAMATIZING! MARK, I- I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY!!!!!!

They really emphasized Mark's butt as Nolan beats him. Why?

I'm actually tearing up. This is horrible

Ya'll need to help him. Fuck off, Rudy. Go and help!

There he is.

Nolan's going to use Mark to destroy the whole planet...

I love the reality. Mark is beat

That "or die" line was the first time I saw J.K. Simmons shine through Nolan

Mark's just being beat for 20 mins straight.

He's always been like this. He's always been this shitty. How did Debbie not notice?

Nolan's a sociopath, hun.

Is he going to have a Dracula moment? I'm killing our boy

Those red eyes are consistent but really funny. It kinda ruins the tension.

You piece of shit

He just...left? Is he gonna come back?

I was right, Mark got bodied.

Love the effect of the copter blades with the medic scene.

I wanna drink too, man. Too bad I'm 20

How did Nolan become a threat? He lied.

I am truly, truly heartbroken for Mark and Debbie.

Ma'am you have no clue where Nolan went and there's a whole planet of even more sociopathic hims out there.

Cecil is actually a nice guy? She says very hesitantly

I love that Black Samson just walked over MG

Rex is right.

Awww. And she climbed up.

Nice song choice *tears up*

Two weeks? Nice heal rate.

Don't pull out I.V.s Mark

Gotta love a blank white room.

Cecil drinks his respect women juice

How the fuck? That's really fucking ingenious. Poison the water.

Yeah...I don't think the Viltrimites are just gonna leave Urath alone. They're coming and there's only one Mark.

Maybe that's why Nolan felt bad about Mark's powers. He felt worried for his son.

Still a piece of shit tho

Trauma, baby!

Poor Debbie...

Amber my love, just perfect!

Yay William and Eve! Friendship squad? Please say yes

Also, William cannot keep a secret, like at all.

They gonna fuck?

That's why Art sounds like the Joker...

William, shut up

Their faces when Mark whooshes away

The shade! Poor Eve

So he wears his suit under his clothes? Is he not hot?

It is Allen!

Little too late, Allen...

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, Allen.

Fuck yes! Takedown the space Nazis!

Yeah, is there a multiverse because Mark needs way more of him.

The Martians!

Doc Seismic is alive? Awww

Uh oh, those dudes didn't all die...

You cannot trust the U.S. government.

This setup was great!

Rating: Obviously a 10! Invincible's been renewed for 2 more seasons and I can't wait! This is one of the best shows I've ever seen and I've seen pretty much every American cartoon that has existed since 1990. Fantastic, but I'll let my review above speak to my thoughts.

It's been nice talking and interacting with you guys. See you next season!

Edit: It cracks me up that this review is so popular since it’s just a stream of consciousness. I am appreciative, and I promise to write better ones when season 2 arrives.

#invincible robot #invincible animated series #invincible amazon #invincible #mark grayson #debbie grayson #cecil stedman #nolan grayson #omni man #invincible amber #atom eve #dupli kate #monster girl #rex splode #black samson #allen the alien #my punctuation is a mess but it always has been #even grammarly can't help

619 notes · View notes

keyboardink · 3 years

Text

“crushed”

Sam and Deena are completely oblivious that their feelings are mutual, especially when Sam thinks Deena and Kate are together and Peter enters the picture.

pairing: samantha “sam” fraser x deena johnson / media: fear street trilogy

genre: friends to lovers, angst with hurt/comfort & fluff / word count: 2.6k / rating: pg-13 / warnings: bullying, a bit of swearing

a/n: so this is an au where deena and sam aren’t exes so sam never left shadyside (& kate isn’t all “screw ur ex” ya know). also kate is bi and no one dies. this is based mainly off 1994 (since 1666 hasn’t come out yet haha). please lmk if you like this & want more fear street fics from me. enjoy! :)

"I still can't believe you're dating a Sunnyvaler," Kate said, popping a potato chip into her mouth.

"Doesn't that totally go against the rules of this town?" Simon chimed in, stealing a tater tot from Sam's lunch tray.

"Oh, please," Sam scoffed, swatting Simon's hand away as he reached for a second piece. "He's actually a nice guy if you got to know him."

"Since when has the star quarterback ever been a nice guy?" Kate replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Simon. "Look, just because I cheer for them doesn't mean I like them."

The stiff wooden table rattled as Deena dropped into a seat across from Sam and next to Kate. She tried to pull her bomber jacket around herself quickly--

"New shirt?" Kate asked.

--but she wasn't quick enough.

"No," Deena sighed, letting the jacket hang open to expose a black, skin-tight tank top underneath. It used to be her favorite, previously baggy in all the right places, but it returned from her last laundry day one-size-too-small. "It just shrunk in the wash and I was running late." She kept her eyes down, focused on the unappetizing cafeteria food in front of her.

Kate eyed her for a moment, then looked over at Sam, who was practically drooling over this new shirt that provided a perfect V-shaped view from where she was sitting.

"I know you're not a fan of tight clothes," Kate countered, "but it looks nice on you. Makes your boobs look amazing."

Deena playfully elbowed Kate's arm, a small smile brightening her downcast expression.

Sam watched the two girls as it unfolded - the low-cut shirt, the raised eyebrows from Kate as she scanned Deena's body, the laughter following her joking shove. Had she imagined the flickers of lighthearted tension between them? She averted her gaze, envy bubbling up in her throat. She pulled her tucked hair out from behind her ears to cover the burning, red blush she felt building there.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Deena asked, insecurity still swimming in her mind despite Kate's compliment. She looked up at Sam, who appeared to be too interested in her tater tots to hear the shirt dilemma. Although she was somewhat relieved, she felt a pang of disappointment at Sam's disinterest; she was the only person Deena had hoped would look at her.

"Sam's got a new boyfriend," Simon answered, his voice half-muffled by a mouthful of dull-brown burger, oblivious to the sideways glances being thrown around the table.

"And he's from Sunnyvale," Kate added, spitting out the town name as though it tasted worse than the school lunch.

"What? Isn't that, like, against town law or something?"

"That's what I'm saying!" Simon accidentally spewed small chunks of meat on his tray in the midst of his excitement.

"What's his name?" Deena covered herself with her jacket again.

"Peter."

"Peter? Oh, come on, you could've at least picked a guy who didn't have a basic name," Simon rolled his eyes, as if 'Simon' was the most unique name on the planet.

"Honestly, yeah, kinda sounds a little too basic," Deena said, her eyebrows furrowed. She felt a heat tightening within her chest. She was angry at herself, at Sam, at the world.

"I'm not making him up, if that's what you're suggesting." Sam cast a glare across the table, but it didn't stop them.

"Which Peter? I mean, there's Peter Williams, Peter Anderson, Peter Moore..." Simon counted along on his fingers.

"Oh, no," Deena interrupted, a smirk pulling her lips. "He goes to another school. You wouldn't know him."

The two threw their heads back and laughed. Deena felt the fury in her chest loosen slightly, a bit of relief found in the pain she caused others. It was her defense mechanism: when the world turns to shit, you act even worse - that's how you survive.

Sam was on her feet, her eyes full of tears and frustration. "His name's Peter Brody, and he's number 29 on the Sunnyvale football team, and he's actually a good fucking guy, unlike you." Her eyes narrowed, focusing on Deena, who suddenly didn't find the whole thing all that funny anymore.

And with that, Sam picked up her lunch tray, turned on her heel, and walked out of the cafeteria.

***

Monday dragged on, every class seeming longer than usual for both Sam and Deena as they sat in separate silences. Though apart, they each felt the same waves of guilt, anger, and sadness wash over them in cycles as clocks ticked their way to the end of the school day.

Deena was walking out of band practice, which had only extended her already-exhausting day, when she spotted a familiar head of blonde leaning against the cinder-block wall across the hallway.

"Hey," Sam said, reaching her hand out slightly. Her hair was tied back, adorned with an azure bow, and she wore her cheerleading uniform to match.

Deena stopped as guilt flooded her lungs once again. "Hey," she replied in a whisper muffled by her emotions.

"I just got out of practice. Want to walk together?"

Deena could tell Sam was lying. Kate normally waited with her, and they would both be shiny with sweat. The water bottle in Sam's hand was almost empty, meaning she had likely been waiting for quite a while.

Deena nodded, and they started to make their way towards the exit that led to the student lot.

"I just wanted to say sorry," Sam began, "for earlier. It was pretty shitty of me to say that."

"Yeah, but I was being shitty, too." Deena pushed open the heavy, navy-blue door. Sunlight blinded both of them. "I just can't believe you'd get a boyfriend and not tell me."

Sam stayed silent, unable to come up with a reply. Deena had been the first person she wanted to tell, but Kate saw Peter grab her ass after last weekend's game, and suddenly her boyfriend was all anyone could talk about. Sam didn't even know why she had agreed to go out with him in the first place. Everyone had said it must've been a prank, because why else would a Sunnyvaler date a Shadysider? Something about the whole relationship gave Sam a twinge of nausea if she thought about it too much, so she just tried not to think about it.

But she had wanted to tell Deena. She had wanted to see if she would be even a little jealous at the idea of her having a boyfriend. It just hadn't played out that way.

"See you tomorrow?" Sam said, stopping at the curb.

"Is your dad picking you up?" Deena looked around for the familiar, beat-up Ford that Sam's father drove, but to no avail.

"He should be here soon."

Deena knew he had a tendency to flake on his daughter, despite being the one who got custody in their divorce battle. Although Deena hated him for his neglect, she was silently, selfishly grateful that Sam didn't move to Sunnyvale with her mom. Regardless, if her dad wasn't here now, the sun would probably set before he'd remember to show up.

"Come on," Deena said. "I'll drive you home."

The drive was almost-silent. A disc played Pixies at a volume low enough to just barely understand over the sound of rumbling tires on uneven gravel. Sam's house was a bit out of the way for Deena, but as she was slowly realizing, she'd do almost anything for her.

"Thanks for the ride," Sam smiled sheepishly, pulling her backpack up from the floor. She started to open the car door, then hesitated. "Actually, wait, can I ask you something?"

Deena's heart leapt into her throat. "Shoot."

"Are you and Kate, um... like, together, at all?"

"What? No, no no no." A chuckle slipped past Deena's lips at the idea.

Sam must've thought Deena was laughing at her, because she felt her ears grow warm in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry, I just thought... I saw how you two were at lunch today and it just, I don't know. I thought you weren't telling me something." Sam looked at her sneakers, almost pristine white with the exception of faded grass stains on the toes.

"No, we're just friends, I promise. We've been best friends forever. I mean, she was there when I first got boobs, so, I mean, that's just how we are." Deena immediately cringed at that sentence. Way to make it better, dumbass, she thought.

"Oh. Okay. She just talks about you all the time to me, whenever we're at practice, you know? She'll say things like 'Damn, didn't Deena look really good today?' to me, like, all the time."

Deena let herself laugh at that. "Oh, really? Wooow. Good to know."

"I mean, from that I just kind of assumed that you guys had a thing. How could I not, right?"

Deena nodded, understanding that Kate's comments were her attempts at being a good wingman and not confessions of underlying feelings. "Kate and I both like girls, yeah, but not each other, not like that." Deena's gaze flickered over Sam's face, taking in her eyes, her ears, her lips. "Definitely not like that," she added in a soft whisper.

Sam looked up and smiled sweetly, her stare lingering for a moment too long before she returned to the moment. "Well, thanks again for the ride. See you tomorrow." She gave an adorable little wave as she stepped out of Deena's car.

"See ya," Deena replied, her stomach fluttery.

***

The days passed, and the friend group of four had returned to almost-normal. The only thing out of place happened on Friday night, after the second football game of the season. Normally, they would all grab pizza and watch a movie after the game, but this time was different.

"Peter invited me to a Sunnyvale party," Sam explained when they met in the middle of the field as the crowd started to file out. "Maybe next week?"

So Deena, Kate, and Simon ate their pizza without Sam, feeling a tangible emptiness where she would normally be.

Kate's house was on the so-called "good side" of town, where the roads had less potholes and the houses had more structure. It was the most Sunnyvale-esque part of Shadyside. Her living room was homey, with family portraits on the walls and a couch that was lived-in but not worn-out. They had rented Candyman from the town's Blockbuster, which played on Kate's boxy TV.

"I don't like this," Simon said, chewing a pepperoni slice.

Kate responded without looking at him. "The pizza or the movie?"

"Actually, I like both of those things," Simon replied with conviction. "I was talking about Sam. It feels... I don't know, lonely?"

"What are we, chopped liver?" Deena joked.

"I mean, some days you can come close to it," he teased back.

They all returned their attention to the movie, red and white light bouncing across their faces. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door at the exact moment a jump-scare flashed on-screen, causing the trio to startle.

"I'll get it," Deena offered, jumping up from her seat.

She opened the front door to reveal Sam, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her hair was slick and her blue uniform looked damp. Her arms were wrapped around herself as she shivered in the cool October air.

"What the fuck happened?" Deena stepped out of the way to let Sam in.

Simon and Kate scrambled to join them when they realized who had arrived.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Kate plucked her school cardigan off the coatrack and wrapped it around Sam's shoulders.

"Did Petey break up with you?" Simon asked. "I mean, you guys were only dating a week. It couldn't've been that serious, right?"

Kate elbowed Simon in the stomach at his insensitive comment, eliciting a pained groan from him.

Sam hugged the cardigan around herself, but moved her arms enough to reveal "IT" scribbled in black Sharpie under her cheerleading uniform's "SH".

"What the fuck?" Deena repeated, this time more to herself than Sam.

"God, those assholes really have no idea how much uniforms cost," Kate muttered.

"And they... they p-poured ice water on m-me," Sam stuttered just as Simon returned from the living room with a throw blanket. She gave him a grateful smile as she enveloped herself in it.

"C'mon, let's sit down, alright?" Kate suggested. "You want a hot cocoa?"

Sam nodded and followed Deena and Simon to the couch, while Kate split off to the kitchen.

"They poured ice water on you?" Deena asked as she sat next to Sam, a hand around her shoulders.

"Th-they got someone to hold my arms back so they c-could write 'shit' on me, and then someone came outside with a bucket, and-" A small sob came out of Sam's throat, and another tear rolled down her cheek.

Deena didn't stop herself before reaching up and wiping it away. She let her fingers stay there for a moment, unable to think clearly.

Simon stood up quietly, making a hushed excuse about helping Kate with the hot chocolate before disappearing into the kitchen.

"He's such a douchebag," Deena muttered, furious that someone would hurt such a sweet creature like Sam. "I'm so sorry. I'll kick his ass for you."

Sam chuckled at her offer. "Can I watch?"

Deena laughed softly at her response, then realized that her hand was still pressed against Sam's cheek and pulled it away. She let it fall onto her leg, but Sam reached over and rested her own hand on Deena's.

After a minute of silence, Sam had almost stopped sniffling when she spoke again. "I don't even know why I agreed to go out with him. Like, damn, he's not even that hot. I could've at least gotten played by a hot guy." Sam half-giggled at herself then sighed. "I should've seen it coming."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Deena said, placing her other hand on top of Sam's. Her hand was cold and delicate between hers, and she hoped that holding it would provide some warmth to her.

"If I'm being honest," Sam continued, "I think I only really went out with him to forget about this other crush."

"Hold up, you never told me about that. Who is it?"

Deena's obliviousness faded away as Sam looked up at her with wide eyes. The jealousy, the talk in her car, the longing that filled the space between them now - at this moment, it all clicked into place.

"Oh," Deena whispered.

"Deena," Sam spoke, hushed as she leaned forward. "Can I...?"

"Please," Deena breathed as their lips touched, soft and scared and new all at once. The thought of crossing a line beyond the point of return flashed through their minds, but it seemed as though they both wanted to push the boundaries. Sam's free hand cupped Deena's cheek shyly, as Deena squeezed her other hand between hers. They treated each other carefully, as though kissing too hard might break the other, which would be a crime worse than death.

"YES!" Kate shouted, giving Simon a high-five. Some hot chocolate spilled out of the mug in her other hand and onto the floor, but they were both too enthusiastic to care.

"Finally, you guys!" Simon ran over to them, wrapping them both in a wide hug from behind the couch as a giant grin spread on his face.

"You guys were watching?!" Deena asked. She felt her cheeks flush as she pulled away.

"Duh!" Simon answered. "We've been waiting for this!"

"Took you guys for-fucking-ever," Kate said with a smile, handing Sam her cup.

Sam held the cup up to her newly-warmed lips, courtesy of Deena, and took a sip, looking over the edge at her. Deena saw her blue eyes crinkle into a smile, and her mouth returned the sweet sentiment.

#inkwrites #deena johnson x sam fraser #fear street #fear street 1994 #sam fraser #samantha fraser #deena johnson #deena johnson x samantha fraser #samantha fraser x deena johnson #sam fraser x deena johnson #fear street fic #wlw #sam fraser fic #samantha fraser fic #deena johnson fic #fluff #angst #friends to lovers #fear street au

60 notes · View notes

postmodern-blues · 3 years

Text

first listen to rhys and ianto’s excellent barbecue: a saga

I’m just gonna put all my thoughts in order while I listen to this audio and do my homework. I’ll tag it for spoilers, but I’ll also put everything below the cut in case you haven’t listened to it yet <3 um also i do a lot of swearing be warned...

last warning, yall, lots of spoilers and quotes ahead:

Rhys’s friends call him RHYSIE and I Am So Soft For This.

“I’m making my Special Sauce” god if Jack were here....

I love how Torchwood writers can’t even find a way to write RHYS in a straight way. He’s so cute and AHSDHGHFDAS I LOVE THIS SO FAR

the meat jokes.... already.... let’s hope serentiy Ianto does not resurface

IANTO! my god I have missed my boy. HE IS BACK

Oh my god... oh my fuck.... he’s so CUTE i might need to take a breather.... dude....

Gwen looking out for Ianto, inviting him to Rhys’s stuff. DID SOMEONE SAY FOUND FAMILY HMMMM

“lads, lads, lads” I WENT FERAL WHEN I HEARD THIS IN THE TRAILER

“Jack’s sorry he couldn’t come” hhhhhhhh one sausage comes off the barbecue and he’d be like “this is quite homoerotic” HAIJFODHS

Rhys come on,,,, baby,,,,, do not be homophobic about this

I get the feeling I might be going too crazy about this,,, WE’RE ONLY FIVE MINUTES IN

godDAMNIT THIS IS THE SHIT I’VE BEEN CRAVING EVER SINCE GHOST TRAIN afdsohfs

Ianto brought Chardonnay....

“Except Banana boat, he’s a bit thick” AGFDKHDGS R H Y S

oh shit alien things are happening

“yes, RHYS, I know how to discuss my TOP SECRET work at a social event” he’s fucking ICONIC

“you have an inability to call each other by your proper names” my sister is just like this tho... she calls all her friends by anime character names.. little bit better than ‘sticky jeff’ but not much

Ianto being oblivious to Rhys’s gender role shit is just,,,, I STAN HIM

If Ianto and Rhys do not take a ride in the pink car by the end of this audio I’m suing

jkjk but that would be so great wouldn’t it

godDAMNIT i love this audio

"we.... don’t” yet again, it is the 21st century, and torchwood is sooo not ready

“It’s the BOYS’ barbecue” rhys and his friends seem like they have a very cute queerplatonic relationship. wonder if they wear socks when they’re doing “barbecues”

who the fuck is steven.... whAT IS GOING ON

“I don’t know him THAT well, but there’s no way he would call me love” u sure abt that rhysie

“if u run headfirst into an invisible wall, at least let me FILM it on my phone” these two i stfg

this ‘time bubble’ concept has SO MANY FIC POSSIBILITIES why is big finish spoiling us-

jack and gwen going for pizza instead of being at work AHHDOFDGSHK

oh my GOD THE CALLBACK TO DISSECTED!!!!! this is like when gareth called back to The Last Beacon in Dinner and a Show AHHHH

I am reminded about martha and gwen,,, i am happy,,, the PARALLELS

these two arguing dude the TENSION.. the SUBTEXT

“god help you if you ever hear about pink wine” SFIHOJADHGF

i swear half my commentary here is me quoting something funny and then keyboard smashing

Ianto is fucking ANNIHILATING Rhys here and by extension gender roles. Goddamnit THIS is the conversation we needed. I love him so much can you tell

“you LOVE each other” I’ve only had this audio for about half an hour but if anything fucking happens to it, i’ll kill everyone in the room and then myself

i don’t think you understand how goddamn adorable rhys is about his friends

“thank fuck none of them are here right now” mate my man badger calls you RHYSIE i don’t think it would affect them

I am so thankful Jack isn’t here because oh my g o d this would be an hour long block of innuendos. this whole audio is just exposing the very prominent homoerotic tendencies of straight men

sometimes, and by that i mean all the time, i wonder if my family hears me listening to big finish and wonders if i’m actually just watching porn. and honestly I think it would be a whole lot less embarrassing if i just told them i was watching porn instead of “yeah it’s this scifi thing these characters are trying to make a hole in an invisible time force field thing. are they gay? no, well, i mean, yes, but not like that! welllll, a little bit like that, but it’s NOT PORN”

“what the hell was that rhys? You Absolute Idiot.” AHHH THESE TWO

“let’s stuff it full of sausages”

GWEN AND IANTO TELLING EACH OTHER STORIES ABOUT THEIR IDIOT HUSBANDS IS MY LIFEBLOOD FUCKKKKKK

“back pocket” THIS IS SENDING ME BACK TO MY SHERLOCK FANDOM DAYS (fucking remember john getting sherlock’s phone out of his coat that he was wearing? that’s what this is)

Rhys pretending to be Steven (Stephen?) is,,,,, oh my god,,, this is too fucking intense

god i feel so bad for rhys,,, seriously

ohmygodddddd

this took a serious turn I was not prepared for

also gwen wanting rhys to talk to ianto is,,, ughhhh i ship gwen/rhys sooo hard

rhys- baby- oh my godohmygodohmygod

im like,,, IM CRYING BRO THIS IS

“I DO love them” hhhhhh

the special sauce thing is sending me im sorry

“can we rescue the beer?” RHYS

‘Ianto you beautiful man, you did it!” THEY!!! THEY!!!!!!

i wanna make it clear that i don’t ship rhys and ianto but i think they are so cute as friends

guys im in tears right now

the way rhys goes from not wanting ianto here to not wanting him to leave,,, um its a simple arc but i’d also do anything for it

RHYS AND GWEN RHYS AND GWEN RHYS AND GWEN ANDHDHSGHFAOSDLSDLHD

“OH HE’S ADORABLE WHATS HE CALLED?” me when i first saw Ianto Jones onscreen

“he’s a colleague of the missus,,,,,, and a friend” why don’t you just shoot me in the head hm

rhysie,,, baby,,, holy shit you need to go to therapy,,, just like,,, have a chat with janet the weevil and see how you feel after

funny how rhys fucking williams is handling loss so much better than ANY of torchwood. like jack got PREGNANT after losing owen+tosh. Ianto started having sex with his immortal boss after losing his girlfriend. healthy coping mechanisms? who is she?

they let rhys say fuck a lot in this audio and that is Very Sexy of Them

“bunny has run away with my tie” h e s s o f u c k i n g p r e c i o u s

“lads lads lads” AHHHHHHHHH

this audio. is. so good. so cute. so sad. BIG FINISH YOU DID IT AGAIN YOU SEXY BASTARDS YOU!!!!

#torchwood #big finish #rhys and ianto's excellent barbecue #audio spoilers: rhys and ianto's excellent barbecue #audio spoilers: the barbecue one #big finish spoilers #big finish ranting #i loved this one can you tell #torchwood big finish #ianto jones #rhys williams #gareth david lloyd #kai owen #cw: swearing

34 notes · View notes

domesticblisss · 3 years

Text

Dark But Just a Game

Timothy Thatcher x Female Reader Rating: Mature (Minros DNI) Word Count: 1565 Warnings: Fluff, smut. Teasing, sexual tension, (semi) public shower sex. Inspired by Lana Del Rey’s song, Dark, But Just a Game. A/N: I love how Lana has at least one song on her albuns for depressed horny bitches like yours truly. This is the one from the new era, hope y’all like it.

I met Tim on a warm, end of spring night in may. It was almost 10pm when I got a call from the NXT medical team asking me to come quick, as per orders of one Mr. William Regal, because one of their superstars lost a few teeth during a Fight Pit match. Whatever that means.

When I arrived there, I was greeted by Mr. Regal, Hunter and one very disheveled and feral looking Timothy.

William introduced me to Tim, praising me. “Tim, she’s an oral surgeon, the best we know. Would you mind if she took a look?”

“Sure, go on doc.” he gave me a little nod.

“Could you please open your mouth?” I asked him as I put my gloves on. “Promise I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m used to it, doc.”

I took my time examining him, being careful to not cause him anymore pain.

“So, a molar, a premolar and the chipped top incisor.”

“No, not the front one. That’s my charm.” he cut me off.

“Yep, yes, it is. So, the molar and the premolar were ripped off right from their roots, that’s why you are bleeding so much. You’re going to need surgery to take whatever little pieces that are in there still and to get new ones.”

“How long is he going to stay out?” Hunter asked.

“I would give him four to six weeks. The implants take a little longer to heal. You can still use him for segments if you need, I don’t know what you guys have planned, but I would avoid having him getting his ass kicked.”

“Hey!” Tim intervened and I smiled at him.

“What do you say Tim? You good or do you want a second opinion?” Hunter asked him.

“I trust her.” he said looking straight into my eyes, giving me a toothless grin.

“I have a slow morning tomorrow,” I told him, looking at my phone’s calendar “you can come to the office at 9, is that good for you?”

He nodded.

“Great! This is my card, and my address is in the back. See you tomorrow!” I said my goodbyes smiling at him.

“Thank you for coming in such a short notice.” said Regal.

“No problem! I appreciate that you keep your men beating each other so hard that I still have a job! Bye Regal, bye hunter. Bye Tim!” ————————— Tim arrived fifteen minutes earlier then what was scheduled. He was a gentleman and very funny, always having a comeback to my jokes. I don’t know what it is about him that made that just made talking to him so easy.

“We are going to have three main appointments. Today I’ll take the x-rays to see what’s going on on that pretty little mouth and take off what is left of the teeth that broke off. This procedure usually takes three, four days to heal. We are also taking the moulds of your teeth so we can make the implants. Next week we will get the implants done and two weeks after that you come back so I can see how everything is going, okay?” I explained to him everything we were going to do.

“Sounds great, doc.”

Every appointment was the same, he would arrive at least fifteen minutes earlier, we would joke together and he would leave.

It was on the third appointment that he decided to ask me things about my life from outside the practice.

“You know, I always noticed that picture of yours. Do you still practice BJJ?” he asked.

“I do, every saturday.”

“Really?! Wow, I bet you could kick my ass.”

“Oh, trust me, I can. I’ll give it to in a silver platter too.”

“Do you wanna train with me?”

“Train with you?” he got me confused.

“Yeah, you show me some BJJ, I’ll teach you some catch wrestling. What do you say?”

“Oh, are you going to be mean to me just like you are with your students on Thatch as Thatch Can?”

“Even meaner.” he winked at me.

“Deal! You’ve got my number, if you figure out how to text, shoot me the address.”

And that’s how tuesdays and thursdays became Training Days with Timothy Thatcher. He got a friend that owned a gym and would give him the key to it so we could train in peace after its closing hours.

I have got to be honest, I was attracted to him from the first moment I saw him, and accepting to train him and with him was just an excuse to keep seeing him.

The mood between us changed right when the first move was locked in. He would still joke, but they got heavier, with double meanings, he was still very respectful, but the touches would linger a little bit longer than usual, and the tension got thicker and thicker. It felt like a game of cat and mouse, and I think I was the mouse this time.

Those days consists of us training, taking a shower on the gym’s locker room and grabbing something to eat on the diner on the corner of the gym. It didn’t just stop there, we would always ask each other out for drinks.

Sometimes with some of my friends, sometimes with some of his friends, but most of the times it was just the two of us in bars so crowded, so noisy, that we couldn’t help but have to stay extremely close each other, whispering on each other’s ears so whatever we said was heard, his hand on the small of my back in a protective manner so no one would bump into me. Those days were the worst, full of lingering stares, flirty smiles and soft touches and neither one of us made a move. Sometimes I think he knew how much he riled me up and felt pleasure on leaving me hanging.

————————— It was on a thursday when it all finally broke loose. I had had a full day on the office and was extremely tired for our sessions but didn’t want to call it out. Tim felt how tired I was and decided to turn up his teasing and his strength to 11. I wasn’t able to get out of a single one of his holds and tapped out of every submission he got me in. It was when he got me in crossface chickenwing, pressed his body closer to mine and whispered in my ear “It’s dark, but just a game.”

I tapped out and he finished the session there.

“The ladies locker room is closed, they started the renovations yesterday. You can use the male one.”

I nodded and made my way there.

I could still feel his touch on my skin and the way he pressed himself on the small of my back whenever he applied more pressure to a hold.

I heard a knock on the shower door before he started speaking.

“Hey, I’m sorry I got so hard on you today. I thought you were going to give in on the joke and cheer up a little, but I guess your day was harder than I thought. I’m sorry.”

I opened the door before he could continue, his eyes widened to the sight of my naked body in front of him

“I– I should– I–“

“Take off your shorts and get in here.” I cut him off.

He was quick and as soon as he got in the shower box with me, I pressed my lips to his.

He was eager, his hands going all over my body, squeezing my ass and slapping it.

“Do you know how long I’ve dreamed with this?” he asked.

“Since fight pit day?”

“Yeah.” he answered, pinching my nipple and biting my collar bone.

“Fuck, me too. You have no idea what you do to me, Tim.”

“Oh, I know, dove. Press your chest to the wall and spread your legs for me.” he asked so sweetly that made me tremble.

I did as he told and I felt him press his length inside of me, taking it slow, helping me get adjusted to how thick he is. He stopped once he was fully inside, turning my head to him, kissing my lips and asking “Ready?”

He started moving as I nodded “yes”, slow at first and gradually picking up speed, his right hand on my clit, and two fingers from the left one comfortably sitting inside my mouth, with me sucking on them as an attempt to muffle my moans.

I didn’t last long, overstimulated with the mix of his thrusts, the lazy rubs around my clit and the delicious sounds of his grunts. He came right after me, with my walls squeezing around him.

He slumped a bit behind me and I was thankful for the wall I was pressed on. It took a few seconds for him to start moving again, getting out from inside of me and snaking his arms around my waist, holding us together under the shower head.

“I meant it when I said I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you.” he started talking again after a moment.

“Me too.”

“So, is there any policies against dating a patient?” I could feel him smiling on the skin of my neck.

“I think I could make an exception for you.”

“Good! Wanna grab some dinner?”

“Would love to!”

#timothy thatcher #timothy thatcher imagine #timothy thatcher x reader #wrestling imagine #wwe imagine #nxt imagine #DB Writes

16 notes · View notes

wafflesetc · 4 years

Text

Chapter 19: An Unexpected Meeting (previously)

Claire Beauchamp is a second year medical student. Due to many late nights with her clinicals, and studying for her pharmacology class, she’s at wits end. One Friday night she decides not to join Joe Abernathy and her other friends out at Church, their local hangout spot, but instead winds up in a dive bar close to her flat with a very nice whisky selection. In fact, one of the best one she’s ever seen. When the bartender calls her ‘Sassenach’ and pours her a double, Claire gets a feeling in her chest she’s never felt before.

A/N: I *know* it’s been... A while. I could give you every reason under the sun why it has been that long. My excuses are valid and reason enough, I still want to apologize for the lengthy delay. I never intended to go a whole year between updates. I promise it won’t be that long again. The revival of this fic is long owed to @happytoobserve who has been one of its biggest cheerleaders since day 1. To @walkinginland, @kkruml, and @missclairebelle who held my hand during this process of getting my legs back with these two, I owe you indefinitely.

And most importantly, to the readers who even after A YEAR are still excited for what is in store for these two, I hope this was worth the wait.

ALL MY LOVE, WAFFLES

PS- This is a bit angsty. I just ask that you trust me, okay?!

“Joe, I will call you… Later.” I crossed my arms and gave my friend a knowing glance, one he’d seen before and knew I needed space for a bit.

“Ok, Lady Jane.” He gave a nod in the direction of John and found his way out of the building.

I took a breath and turned my attention to our guest. “There’s a courtyard just outside the building. Is it okay if we talk there? I have another class in about 45 minutes.”

“That is fine.” He agreed. I gestured towards the doors and we slowly made our way.

“How are you?” John asked, politely. I could feel he was trying to ease the palpable tension between the two of us.

I was trying to be pleasant and cordial, but whatever reserve I had would quickly fade away. “All things considered, I am doing just dandy.” We rounded a corner and I sat down on the first bench that I saw. “Finals are coming up soon, Jamie’s healing just fine, and I have an amazing opportunity in Paris.”

“That’s wonderful.” John said earnestly as he sat down next to me. “I’m really happy for you. I must apologize for coming to you while you’re in classes… But this is rather time sensitive.”

“I have one question, first.” I closed my eyes and took a breath. “I think you owe me that much.”

John stifled a laugh and put his hand on my knee. It startled me for a moment, but after a quick glance at his face I could tell how honest he was trying to be. “I have turned your world upside down, basically overnight. I think a question is reasonable.”

“Does Jamie know?” I could feel the tears rising to the surface. “Does Jamie know about William?”

“No.” John took a breath and released it. “As far as I know, he doesn’t.” There was a sincerity in his voice I couldn’t point, but something in me knew he wasn’t lying.

“I am going to need you to elaborate on that one.” I was being honest. The last bits of strength that I had were hanging by a few fine threads, ready to be cut at any moment.

“Jamie and Geneva… They went to high school together. Their families were very fond of each other. My future father-in-law granted the Frasers the land that Lallybroch thrives upon. Jamie comes from a good family and has a good head on his shoulders.”

I turned my face towards him to find him looking about the courtyard. There were a few students sitting on benches and blankets, presumably studying, however they were all scattered on the opposite side. We were alone in many respects, no one to hear or interrupt us. John stayed silent for a little while. I could see the small film of tears in his own eyes. Surely, whatever he was about to say was going to change things for me.

“But unfortunately, we are all human at one point or another and make mistakes.” He sat back and looked around the garden once more, staying silent for a minute. I could tell he was gathering his thoughts, trying to tell me a story I wasn’t sure I even wanted to hear. Carefully trying to thread together a story that was neither his nor mine, yet that we had been somehow woven into.

“Isobel did not go on at length, but the summer before they were going away to university is when it happened. Geneva never gave her family the details, and when her parents realized what was going to happen in a few months' time, they sent her to England to live with her aunt and uncle.”

I wiped a tear and waited for him to continue. The reality of what he was about to tell me started to sink in. Those fine threads were about to be cut, I could tell. I didn’t want to cry over a past that was not mine, but Jamie’s past was putting kinks into our future- a future I had planned with him.

“She stayed there and raised him, but about three years ago the crash happened and Geneva died.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. It put a small smile on John’s face. A sense of relief flooded through me, I did not want to dislike this Geneva, but another woman who knew my Jamie, intimately, well I was not prepared to handle any issues of jealousy. Was it selfish and morbid I was relieved I didn’t have to meet or try to measure up to the mother of his child, but also regretful over the fact the poor boy had lost his mother? Probably, but having lost my own mother as a child, I knew first hand how hard it was, and no child deserved that sort of pain. Nonetheless, it didn’t make the current circumstances any easier and I did think I was allowed to be a bit selfish when it came to my future.

“She left the care and trust of her son to Isobel- but at the time Isobel was still young herself, finishing university with plans of graduate school. Their aunt and uncle were rather fond of William, so they allowed him to stay with them. England is all William has ever known, and he is very attached to Edith and Mark.”

I must have been crying more than I knew because John handed me a tissue.

“Shall I continue, or is that enough?” I saw a helplessness in his eyes. This news was life changing for me, yet in many ways it had been for him too.

I sat motionless, not knowing what to do or say. I didn’t know what I wanted but something must have urged him to go on.

“Mark fell very ill last year, and he isn’t doing well. That’s when Edith contacted Isobel asking what they would want for William, should something happen. Life has a funny twist of fate….” He let out a small laugh at what I presumed was his so-called twist of fate.

“Because Jamie and I met during our years at university- I had no clue he was acquainted with the Dunsanys. Isobel and I met during graduate school, and when I mentioned a story with James Fraser, her mouth dropped. She told me about William only a few months ago though, and that is when I started trying to call Jamie.”

“And now, I’m pulled into your so-called funny twist of fate.” My words were short, and I could feel something brewing in my stomach.

Truth was, I wanted to like John Grey. He seemed to be an honest, respectable man. It wasn’t his fault for the events that had happened in the past, yet he was here and seemed to be wanting to talk about this, even before he told Jamie. This was all confusing in so many different ways. This- John Grey- a long time friend of Jamie’s, was really someone from my boyfriend’s past I was sure I’d enjoy his company, but given the current circumstances, I didn’t like the news he was bringing me. My reading on him was all over the map.

“Yes, you are.” John gave me a soft smile. “I’ve been coming to Edinburgh for business lately, and I knew I would find Jamie here. We talk, not all that often, but we are old friends. Always able to pick up where we left off.”

“Mhmm.” It was all I could muster. Mentally and emotionally, I was just drained. This was too much for one conversation, but I had to try to hold myself together. Just for a little while longer at least.

“I had wanted to tell him the first time I was in town but when we met, he was so excited to tell me about something that had happened to him…” John reached across and took my hand in his, giving it light squeeze.

“It was me, wasn’t it?” Jamie and I had happened quickly. I hadn’t been looking for a relationship, especially after Frank and I had ended just shortly before. Yet Jamie had fallen into my orbit and was something that held to me like gravity. He had seamlessly fixed himself into my universe and just fit. Even I had a hard time explaining it to anyone.

“It was,” John smiled at me. “I had never seen him smile the way he did when he said your name. And when he started to tell me about you he’d never been so proud of anything in his life. Even his bar. Claire…” He gave my hand a firm squeeze this time and smiled so wide I knew that deep down whatever he was about to say he meant it with every fiber in his being.

“I hope I am not about to overstep a boundary, especially because we don’t really know each other, but Jamie loves you and is planning his future with you in it. Whether you are aware of that or not- I have seen it in your eyes you feel the same way. The news of William will rock the foundation on which he has lived his life since his parents died.”

“Yes, it will.” I agreed.

“It’s complicated, in many ways. And Geneva should have told him, or my future-in-laws should have too. But I think they all wanted Jamie to live his life rather than doing what was right at the time. It stunned me when Isobel told me about it, so much so, I questioned whether or not to continue with the engagement…”

“But you did.”

“I did, and I do not regret my choice. When Jamie told me about you, I made a vow to myself I would tell the two of you together, so he had you to ground him. But I am glad I told you first. I think it would be best for you to know so we can tell him together.”

“Together.” I whispered either to myself or to John, I didn’t really know. “You want to do it together so I’m there to comfort him, right?

“I think I have taken up enough of your time, and I have surely given you something to digest.”

I laughed at that, and I saw a small purse of his lips.

“Yes, I have.” He chuckled at the look on my face, “But Claire… I am telling you as a long time friend of Jamie’s, you either stick with him through this or don’t. He has already lost so much in his life. I cannot stand for it to happen to him again, so whatever you choose to do, I hope you make a wise choice.”

“What do you mean?” I felt the pit of anxiety raising in my stomach.

“I told you he sees a future with you. If you don’t think you can handle whatever relationship William is to have with Jamie, then you should leave him now. Don’t help him through this and leave him later… He… Would never recover.”

With that he stood and handed me a piece of paper. “Here is my number; Jamie doesn’t know I’m in town yet. I made reservations for dinner for you, me, Jamie and Isobel for tomorrow night. You can tell him on your own if you’d like tonight since it appears you have a glass face, or we can tell him tomorrow...But please, think of what you want with him, with whatever choice you make.”

John gave me a small bow and left me. I felt the buzz of my alarm going off alerting me that class was starting in ten minutes. I wouldn’t be going. The last thing I could do was sit in a lecture hall and pretend to be interested in pharmacology.

Hastily, I reached into my bag and typed an email to my professor.

Dr. Glassman, I have had a small family emergency arise. I will not be making it to the lecture. I will get notes from Joe Abernathy and follow up with you after the next class.

Claire Beauchamp

The whoosh of the email sounded in my ears. I shoved my phone back into my bag, rising to my feet.

I had already made my choice. Long before I had even known about a man named John Grey.

Jamie had told me we had room for secrets but not for lies. And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he had no clue what was going on. Jamie was an intuitive man, so I knew he could sense John had life changing news for him, but what the news was, Jamie surely didn’t know.

I didn’t know how I was going to tell Jamie or what my plan was, but I knew he would be seeking my forgiveness for this- for all of it. Truth was, I’d give it to him. I’d already forgiven everything he had done and everything he could do long before today.

For me that was no choice, that was falling in love.

#Outlander #Outlander fanfic #Jamie x Claire #Jamie Fraser #Claire Beauchamp #Closing Time AU #myfic!#craigh na queue

188 notes · View notes

doctors-star · 3 years

Note

6 &/or 22

send me a prompt

6. hiraeth - a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past

22. basorexia - the overwhelming desire to kiss

“Howdy, Will Williams.”

The dark head flicks abruptly up and round, spine straightening guiltily out of a lazy slouch. As he turns, Will runs a quick hand through his hair to push the longer locks back and then jams his hat on his head, as though likely to be scolded for not wearing it; then he actually notices who the intruder is, and his shoulders relax out of their habitual tension. “Johnny McPherson” he says with a blink-and-miss-it half smile, nudging the bridge of his thin wire-rimmed glasses with the tip of his thumb. “Didn’t hear you coming.”

Johnny spares a moment to be gently, internally amused by this as he slings his leg out of the stirrup and over his horse’s rear, dropping neatly to the ground. He had, after all, ridden over to the man’s campsite at the foot of the rocky outcrop and made no attempt to be quiet about doing so: his horse had huffed and snorted; the hooves had sounded against the beaten earth; Will’s own horse had raised his head from the bag he had been nosing at and whickered at them. And Will, Lord help him, had been too busy watching coyotes to notice a damn thing. How the man ever even found the animals was beyond Johnny; sometimes he reckons a man could set fire to Will Williams’ boots in a darkened room and he’d only move his book closer to the light so’s he could read it better.

He nods in the vague direction of the prairie and whatever had held Will’s attention so thoroughly. “Your coyotes behavin’ today?”

Will smiles again, just as fast as before. All of Danser Town will be damned if they have any idea what, exactly, it is that Will Williams has come out west to do; explanations are offered and eyes glaze over, but Johnny reckons he was told something about animal behaviour and Will hasn’t since told him different. Probably on account of how he won’t listen, or remember, or ever understand why it matters how good or bad an animal acts, but this here is a good enough joke anyhow. “It’s, it’s buffalo, today,” Will corrects gently, pointing at the smudge of brown on the landscape downwind that will, if one focusses, coalesce into a herd of enormous, shaggy creatures with hunched spines and bad-tempered expressions.

Johnny squints under the brim of his hat, and then nods. It is, indeed, buffalo today. “Bought you a present,” he says cheerfully, looping his reins over the same branch as Will’s and turning to his saddlebag.

Will’s eyes narrow slightly in suspicion, but his lips turn up at one corner too, like he’s been handed a riddle he reckons is funny but whose punchline he doesn’t quite have figured yet. “You did?” he says, awful careful.

“Sure,” Johnny says, making the effort to sound slightly wounded that Will would ever expect anything but the kindest friendship from him as he roots in the bag. When he flicks his eye Will’s way, he can see that the smile has advanced into a bitten lip and the dark eyes have narrowed yet further. “I brought you some of Ma Masham’s bread-” he produces a paper-wrapped parcel about the size of two fists and chucks it to Will, watching his eyes light up as he moves to catch it. Ma Masham makes good bread. He allows Will to peel the brown paper back a ways and inhale deeply, and then finishes his sentence. “-’cause she reckons you ain’t eating enough out here and you’re too small.”

Will tips his head back far enough to knock his own hat off and groans. He looks remarkably child-like, sometimes, with his thin frame, and his eyes very dark in his pale face, and his propensity for sitting cross-legged in the dust and watching animals. “I’m a grown man,” he says petulantly. “I’m not getting any taller, now.”

“Well,” Johnny says very reasonably, with a much less reasonable smile, “she reckons you didn’t get fed enough when you weren’t grown, and if you don’t eat it all and grow six inches it’ll all be my fault.” He frowns. “Though I’m damned if I know why.”

Will breaks off a corner of the loaf and sticks it in his mouth. “You’re tryin’ to walk out with Ma Masham’s daughter,” he points out through the mouthful.

“I am not tryin’ to walk out with Ma Masham’s daughter!” Johnny says firmly and indignantly. Will raises an eyebrow. “I’m doing a very good job of walking out with Jody Masham.” Will snorts and eyes him around another lump of bread, awaiting what Finn has taken to calling - usually with a dramatic groan - the inevitable. Jody Masham - lord, there’s a pretty girl. “She’s got eyes like starlight, does Miss Masham,” he sighs, gazing wistfully out over the prairie. “Prettiest girl I ever saw.”

Will mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like this week as he shifts to face Johnny and leans back on his palms. Johnny ignores it.

“Her hair’s softer’n anything,” he says instead, and abruptly his heart is too full; he reckons if the sun doesn’t beat some warm good sense into him he’ll clean float away; and he has to sweep his hat from his head and press it to his chest, face turned up to the light.

“Oh, good lord,” a giggling voice says from somewhere near his knee, but he pays it no mind.

“Gold like the sun and worth twice as much,” he sighs, Jody Masham’s face floating before his eye. What he wouldn’t do to hold her close, breathe her in, press his lips to hers-

Something hits his knee and his surroundings come rushing back to him abruptly. At his foot is one of Will’s gloves; Will himself is angling a particularly severe raised eyebrow his way, but he is also grinning as he squints into the sun behind Johnny. “You come all this way to moon over Jody Masham, or what?”

“What,” Johnny says, collecting himself and turning back to the bag. “You got some cheese from the Wilder ranch, and one of old man German’s good sausages, and I brought you a waterskin but I put some beer in it.” Johnny grins at Will’s expression of surprise. “So. Reckon I earned some mooning.”

“Did the whole town have a, a whip-round for me?” Will says, frowning as he reaches out for the second paper parcel Johnny hands over.

Johnny shrugs, trying to look winning and charming as he leans against the saddle and obscures the still half-full bag. “That’s just Danser hospitality, I guess.”

Will’s gaze flickers over to him suspiciously. “And, and you rode all the way out here, just to fetch me dinner?”

“Sure,” Johnny tries, and knows as soon as he’s said it he’s misstepped; he says sure like that too innocently, always has, and Will’s eyes narrow. “Also I brought you your doctor’s bag just in case-” he says, all too quickly, only getting louder when Will groans. “Might be nothin’,” he wheedles. “Just in case.”

“Do I want to know what you all are going to do?” Will asks, glaring at the leather bag which Johnny guiltily retrieves and places by Will’s very aged, much cleaned boots. “Probably not, huh.”

“Might be nothin’,” Johnny says again, but Will does not look mollified. “Just - would be nice to know you was ready, if it was something. Come on, Doc Dubya.”

Will shoots him an unimpressed look for the nickname. Most folks call him Williams, or Will, but one of the Wilder kids had reckoned Doc Dubya was easier and more fun than sounding out Mister Double-you Williams; it had half stuck, reappearing usually when someone wanted him to come out and doctor for them. “I am not a doctor,” Will says sharply, accent coming out all clipped; all north-eastern, Nova Scotia, old money-sounding, the way it always does when he’s real cross about something. Johnny winces slightly. “This,” Will says, shaking the leather case at him, “is not a doctor’s bag. It’s - it’s an anatomy kit with some old linen scraps for bandages. I’m a naturalist. I can’t - can’t fix you all when you’ve gone and done something stupid.”

Johnny spreads his hands wide and shrugs apologetically. “Ain’t no-one else can do it better,” he points out, running his first knuckle and thumb over his moustache quickly. As nervous tics go, it’s unfortunate; he can only barely pass it off as vanity when he’s playing poker with Diaz, and then only because Diaz is usually too focussed on his own poker face to mind Johnny’s.

Will gives him the stink-eye and he scrambles quickly back onto his horse, patting her dun neck when she dances under him and huffs about the sudden movement. He tries to think of something to say: something that will count as apology and gratitude and, crucially, won’t make Will Williams, the only man even nearly a doctor within a day’s ride of Danser Town, pack up his knapsack and his case and ride for the railway on the other side of the territory and its trains back to Saint John.

Nothing comes to mind.

“Good luck with your buffalo,” Johnny says, offering a hopeful smile.

He doesn’t get more than twenty yards before Will raises his voice. “What time are you all going to be done doing whatever it is I don’t know you’re doing?”

Johnny grins to himself, suffused with warmth and relief. When he twists in the saddle, Will is prodding at the dusty ground with a stick thoughtfully. His brows are downturned in a frown, but there’s a tension to his profile and Johnny reckons he’s doing that thing he does, when the young men of the town are congregated - slightly too many in a space slightly too small - all of ‘em a little drunk and a little loud and making Will more’n a little nervy, but even though he’s tense and awkward and quiet he’s smiling - only, usually with the side of his face that they can’t see. He reckons Will might have forgiven him.

He shrugs. “Nineish, maybe. You’ll get a cut of whatever we don’t earn, doing whatever it is we’re not doing.”

Will huffs in amusement and Johnny doesn’t bother counting over his negatives to figure out if what he’d said made any kind of sense, anyhow. “Alright. I, I won’t see you then.”

Johnny beams. “Will Williams, you’re the sturdiest fella I ever did see.”

And this time, even though he’s already riding away, there’s no mistaking it - “This week!” Will hollers at his retreating back.

“Lord,” Finn sighs, chin in one palm and leaning sideways over the table. “I am tired of Corey County. We must be the only territory in the state without a goddamn railway. I ain’t gonna die in some dingey backwater without even a railway.”

Will shoots him a look under his brows but says nothing, just sniffs, pushes his glasses up his nose, and goes on winding clean white linen around Finn’s bicep. Johnny tops up their whisky glasses and pushes one Finn’s way with his fingertips. “Naw, probably not,” he agrees thoughtfully. Finn cocks his head and Johnny spreads his hands in explanation. “Way I see it, you ain’t gonna die horse-rustling, even if you do do something stupid like, say, get yourself all nicely backlit by the ranch lights and then hoot and holler ‘til someone comes and shoots you-”

Will’s head snaps up. “That’s how you got shot?” he says, neither impressed nor gentle.

Finn shrugs awkwardly with only one arm, looking a little embarrassed. “Pascal and Ted were getting hassled.” That about seems to cover it, as far as Finn’s concerned; he drops his chin back into his hand and waits for Johnny to carry on, leaving Will glowering at his ginger curls.

“Alright, well, you ain’t gonna die like that,” Johnny says. “You’re gonna go out doing something truly dumb, like trying to rob a train on your own ‘cause of how you got bored, or something - stands to reason, then, that you ain’t gonna die in a backwater with no railway. You gotta go to the railway, or wait for the railway to come to you, and then you can kick it in some grand old blaze of glory.”

Finn considers this, and then grins. “Thanks, Johnny, you’re a real pal.” Will looks like he’s considering abandoning them to their idiocy; with his almost preternatural sense of when, exactly, he is likely to be denounced as lacking the sense God gave a gopher, Finn twists to beam at Will over his bandage. “Doctor, I’m cured.”

Will glances at him sharply. “Sure,” he mutters. “So long as we never get a railway, and you never go where one is, I can be sure you all will be doing something only reasonably stupid.”

“Y’all know me,” Finn says cheerfully. “Something stupid to be done, I’ll come running.” Will tucks away the end of the bandage and Finn stretches carefully, shaking his head and tidying a few loose curls out of his eyes. Not to be outdone, Johnny works the ribbon out of his own hair and tosses his head like a stallion, shaking shoulder-length, glossy blond waves so that they sparkle in the lamplight. It’s a practised gesture; what, after all, is the point in having well-oiled, lustrous hair the envy of every woman in the state if one doesn’t know how to present it? Even if only for a pair of singularly unimpressed friends.

“You’re not stupid,” Johnny says magnanimously. Must be hard, after all, to be Finn and have hair more inclined to corkscrew outward than lie flat and sleek, or to be Will and have a chin barer than kids half his age.

“No,” Will agrees dryly. “Stupid would be walking out with Jody Masham, making eyes at Peggy West, and swooning every time Anne-Marie Dodds so much as glances your way - all at once.”

Johnny’s jaw drops at this abject betrayal and he gives up on magnanimity. Will doesn’t deserve good facial hair. Finn cackles in delight. “Miss Dodds an’ all?” he laughs. “Peggy West’s best friend - Johnny, you’re gonna wind up with a hole in your head or a ring on your finger if you ain’t careful.”

He snaps his mouth shut and rises manfully above such comments. What do they know, anyway - Peggy West won’t shoot him, and with a bit of luck she’ll keep her pa from doing it either. Sure, she and Anne-Marie are pretty girls, but they’ve made his role plenty clear: he’s to court without expectation, so’s they can avoid courters with expectations. Jody knows; knows, too, about Cathy in the bigger town to the east whom he rides out to see sometimes, and they’re all content as can be. Let Will and Finn say what they like - Johnny walks out with the prettiest girls in the territory, and lord are they pretty.

“We’ve lost him,” Finn says conspiratorially.

Their hair - the clothes - they’re so delicate yet firm - he longs to feel their curves beneath his palms-

“Totally gone,” Will agrees.

Johnny sprawls over the table, chin in one hand. “Girls,” he sighs, and manages no more.

Will rolls his eyes and Finn nudges him carefully with his injured elbow. “That could be you,” he says, “if you’d only look helpless and lonely in eyesight of a lady.”

Will looks at Johnny with deep apprehension. “If it’ll do that, Johnny can keep ‘em.”

“Is there a name for it?” Johnny asks the ceiling philosophically. Ideally, they’d be out of doors and staring at the desert stars; as it is, there’s only peeling paper and discoloured rafters of which to demand explanations. It’ll do. “For wanting so badly to kiss a person, to be with them - so much you burn up with it?”

“Lust,” Will, the good little Methodist says.

“The clap,” Finn says brightly.

Johnny gives them both the stink eye and Finn laughs; Will just ducks his head in a fruitless attempt to hide his bright, broad grin. “Aw, y’all are the worst.”

It’s quiet for a minute as they drink their whisky and relax into the hard wooden seats as best they can. Will’s rooms above the saloon are not awful large, and not at all comfortable, but they don’t cost him much and no-one asks about the occasional bloodied shirt on his late-night visitors. Danser Town isn’t large enough for the general populace not to know that the band of young men with money to spend and no discernable employment are likely up to no good, but no-one asks questions and no-one tells lies and it all shakes out in the end. But - Will’s from out east, and he went to college, and his words have a touch of money about them sometimes. What’s he doing out here, watching buffalo?

Finn must be having the same thought, because he shifts awkwardly before speaking. “Say, Will, why not get some place nicer than this? Get you a ranch, or something.”

Will snorts. “What would I do with a claim? I’m no farmer. Besides, I can’t afford a whole house to myself.”

“Why not?” Finn presses. “Ain’t you one of them rich Yanks?”

Johnny winces a little at the blunt question. Will tips his head on side. “Not - really,” he says. “First - I’m Canadian. Second, all I have is here.”

“But you went to college,” Johnny finds himself saying.

“Sure,” Will says, folding his long, pale fingers into an awkward knot. His shoulders have tensed up around his ears again; Finn notices and bumps their arms carefully together. “But - my folks paid for that. And I left. So.”

It sounds kinda like Will doesn’t miss ‘em. “You ever want to go back?” Finn asks.

Will makes a face. “No. I - I like it here.”

Johnny nods, filled with some sort of strange pride and satisfaction. Will can stay, and be happy here - that suits. “I don’t,” Finn says brightly.

“Why’re you still here, then?” Johnny can’t help asking. Finn’s only been here six months or so and he’d lived in half the states west of Georgia before that; the man seems to move like his feet are on fire. So, either he’s got better at horse rustling in Danser and not been caught so fast, or it’s something else.

Finn shrugs. “Y’all won’t come with me,” he says simply, like it ain’t nothing to be so openly, overtly fond of another person. Will looks like he might fall off his chair in surprise at just hearing him say it. Finn sighs and stretches his legs out before him, crossed at the ankle. “I like moving,” he explains, “but y’all don’t. I don’t wanna stop, but I don’t want - I want to go, but I don’t want to leave.” He spreads his hands as if that ought to pretty much cover it.

“Why do you like travelling so much?” Will says after a quick slug of his drink. He looks a bit unsteady, although if that’s due to the whisky or Finn being kind Johnny couldn’t say.

Finn shrugs. “Feels sometimes like I’m looking for somewhere, you know? Somewhere I never been, but I’m gonna know it when I get there. Where it all makes some kind of sense. Is there-” Finn huffs a laugh and looks at Johnny. “Is there a word for that - sickening after a place you never seen, but you know it’s easy, like when you were a kid?”

Johnny raises his glass to him with half a smile. He’s got no joke for that.

Will blinks, tilts his head like a bird, and then opens his mouth and says something strange-sounding and smooth.

Finn and Johnny blink at him in polite incomprehension.

“My, my mother’s folks were from Ontario, but before, before that Wales,” he explains. “Hiraeth. It means - well, what you said.”

“Huh,” Finn says. Then grins. “Well, now I don’t feel half so special and one-of-a-kind.”

“Oh,” Will says, sounding apologetic, “I didn’t-”

“Lord, I hope there’s only one man like you, Finn Holden,” Johnny interrupts with a grin. “You’re already too much to handle.”

“Aw,” Finn says, slinging his wounded arm gently around Will’s narrow shoulders and squeezing gently until the tension relaxes out of him once more. “Y’all love me, don’tcha?”

Will smiles - genuine, but a little shy. Johnny feels his own face form an answering - and disgustingly fond - smile. “Send us to an early grave though it may,” he says, winking at Will and raising his glass to them all.

#[with increasing enthusiasm] cowboys cowboys cowboys #can't believe i liked a picrew so much i'm doing original fiction now #and about americans of all people!#anyway. hope u enjoy.#because i'm absurdly fond of them all so #cowboys #original fiction #this is your captain speaking #a town called danser

8 notes · View notes

loopy777 · 3 years

Note

Do you think the avatar fandom has an interest in shipping that exceeds what is normally found in other fandoms? I’ve heard this said before, but I never really noticed. Primarily because I never really posted in threads dedicated to shipping. Be that as it may, it seems a little hard to believe since shipping is a big part of internet culture. I was never part of the Harry Potter fandom while the series was ongoing, but I’d imagine that it was pretty crazy too.

Well, I’m coming at this from a weird perspective, because the fandoms I was part of before Avatar were Star Wars and Transformers. Sure, you could look in those two fandoms now and find shippers a’plenty, but back when I joined them, they each had their Main Fandom that was dominated by dudes, and then the walled-off female-dominated ‘playgrounds’ to which the shipping was limited because that was too gross or gay for the Mainstream. I was only vaguely aware that there were some Transformers fangirls out somewhere on the internet who thought Megatron and Starscream had some real sexual tension going, and I heard rumors of people who actually didn’t think the romance between Anakin and Padme was eye-rolling and even made fanart and wrote stories celebrating it!

Obviously, that’s shifted a bit.

So Avatar was my first experience with a fandom that was both female-dominated in the mainstream and had a strong shipping component. I was actually quite surprised at how fervent and prolific the shipping discussion was, because it seemed obvious that the AtLA cartoon was only interested in incorporating romance in small, cliched doses. (This was before most of Book Fire had aired, keep in mind.) There was non-shipping discussion, of course, but most of that was centered on Speculating On The Next Episode, my least favorite fandom activity ever. If I wanted to discuss characters and themes, I seemingly had to at least wet my feet in the shipping discussions.

Avatar was also my first experience with Ship Wars. I heard rumblings that the Harry Potter fandom had a similar flavor going on, but my experience with that franchise is still limited to seeing the first movie and listening to the music that John Williams composed for the series. (Boarding school fantasies never really did much for me. Boarding school sounds pretty horrific, actually. It’s school you can’t go home from. Yikes!) With Avatar, I could see firsthand the fans arguing about whether Katara slightly shifting her head while talking to Aang indicated that she’s destined to marry him or signified that she’s imagining Zuko naked in that moment. It was so bizarre, especially once I was immersed enough to see the show itself starting to engage with this segment of the fandom. I look back at those days and I’m not sure whether to smile with fondness or curse them, because now Disney makes blockbuster movies entirely dedicated to addressing complaints from illiterate fans on Reddit, and I wonder if it all started with someone deciding it would be fun to tease the shippers.

(More likely, though, it started with some television writer joining a message board to yell at someone who posted that the latest season was “stupid LOL.”)

However, I wanted to engage with Avatar fandom, and shipping is, when you really break it down, all about character, so it was easy enough to dive into. It was especially easy to figure out the fanfic component. Nobody reads genfic, even if it’s a cool story about two great characters engaging in banter and then stealing a train, but a certain segment of the fandom will knock over the furniture in a rush to read a Maiko/BlueMai fic about Mai and a Masked Zuko engaging in old-fashioned romantically-charged banter and then stealing a train (especially if there’s a great kiss at the end). So shipping became a fun way to write the stories I want with the characters I like, so long as I also take time to satisfy the shippers; I quickly came to enjoy the unfamiliar challenge of selling the reader on why these characters should kiss at the end, and I’ve become rather critical of token romantic subplots in professional fiction because so much of it is bad and it’s so easy to make it good!

And I haven’t really expanded my fandom horizons since then, to be honest. I’ve poked into some other fandoms and peeked at others, but it’s hard to gauge how much shipping plays into things compared to Avatar. What I think makes Avatar stand out on the shipping scene, though, is how bad the Ship Wars got. And I think that’s largely a matter of the timing. Along with Harry Potter and Twilight, I recall Avatar being one of the first online fandoms to achieve notice outside the fandom for the degree of vitriol and bad behavior centering around the Ship Wars, with the Canon!Zutarians standing out for the degree to which they seemed disengaged from the actual work they were supposedly fans of. Nowadays, that type of thing is an old tune, and the same kind of bad behavior is now more associated with more-woke-than-thou fights.

I mean, look at the first Star Wars neo-fandom. It tore itself apart and ruined the very movie it was a fandom for, but shipping was only part of that. We have a second neo-fandom now, and Disney has wisely decided that the only characters who get to kiss are frog aliens.

(Happily, the Transformers fandom has seemed to very neatly divide itself into the ‘No shipping ever’ fans and the ‘Why can’t everything be like that Gay Robots In Space comic book?’ fans. And never the twain shall meet. I wish more stuff would be like that comic book, myself.)

But at the time? Some people online only heard of Avatar by way of people fighting over which boy the Blue Girl should get with. It was one of, like, three things I knew about Avatar when I first checked it out. (The others were that the star is a funny-looking kid with an arrow on his head and the main antagonist looks like he’s going to join the good guys until a sudden twist at the end of a season finale.) So I can see where Avatar has a reputation for Shipping.

Or, at least, that’s my perspective.

#for the record #i have no problem with zutara as a ship #and i've even written a few short stories for it #it's the shippers who think it was or should be canon that make me roll my eyes #Anonymous

5 notes · View notes

oureuphoria · 4 years

Text

Worst of You - JJK 03

You meet him under horrible circumstances but that doesn’t stop you from developing a very abnormal and completely unsolicited crush on your local hot police officer™. Too bad you have a bitch of a best friend, anxiety and an inability to learn from your mistakes which cripples your chances to be with the man of your literal dreams. Oh, and he has a lifetime’s worth of emotional baggage at 23.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.” “Cool, I’ll let everyone know that you’re moving in then.”

Genre: fluff, angst, comedy

Pairing: officer!jungkook X collegestudent!reader

Word count: 2,266

Note: If there’s an Alex in your life, you gotta throw them away.

| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 |

The decision to go to that party was a horrible choice and you’d commend yourself for your ability to constantly make horrible choices if you could. There you were - your first ever frat party. You were seated on a stool in the kitchen bouncing what you assumed to be a jello shot on a plate with a plastic fork. No one really noticed you and if they did, they were either too drunk or too horny to care about your existence. You thought this party would have been a chance to spread your hypothetical wings and become the social butterfly you so desperately wished to become but that was no way to meet people, unless you wanted to bone of course.

You decided to search for Alex, she couldn’t have gone far it was a frat house not the labyrinth. You searched both stories and peered almost every room (you avoided the ones with the doors closed, you were an amateur not an idiot) but to no avail. However, you did find Jimin, Alex’s annoying ex. “Hello!” You greeted him with the notion that he knew the whereabouts of your best friend. “Hey…uhhhh Jane?” “Y/N.” You deadpanned with a frown because you’d known Jimin since middle school and he still couldn’t remember your name. “Oh, yes Y/N, what’s up kiddo?” You rolled your eyes with annoyance at the pet name you grew to resent, besides, you were the same age.

“I’m just looking for Alex, do you know where she went?” He furrowed his eyebrows as he raked his memory but from the slur of his voice you would’ve been lucky if he remembered his own hair colour. “Yeah! She’s in the living room through the double doors playing truth or dare, I think.” You squeezed a ‘thank you’ out before rushing to the living room which was fortunately away from Jimin.

You slipped in through the heavy door quietly, not trying to get unwanted attention. There was a small hallway before the open living room area which was where you waited while you mapped out what you were going to say. However, a particular question that was shot Alex’s way spiked your interest.

“Do you even like Y/N?” Yes, of course, she had to. “No, not really, but she’s like, my childhood friend, you know and I kind of pity her. I’m her only friend so I stick around.” She laughed a bit but you could barely hear over the sound of your shattering heart. “You’re so charitable Alex, always so kind.” A girl you don’t recognise comments sarcastically and the makeshift circle starts laughing before quickly moving on. You weren’t a necessarily interesting subject. She wasn’t drunk enough for you to ignore it but you still tried to swallow the bitter taste in your mouth.

You walked home and didn’t even bat an eye to the circumstance - you were too sad to be paranoid and it could’ve been your downfall. However, you made it home safe and sound though you couldn’t say the same about the aching organ encased in your rib cage. You were angry for a bit but it passed, the sadness lingered though and the betrayal rang loudly in your head. You knew she had no idea you’d heard, you knew you wouldn’t have the courage to ever bring it up.

You woke up with a raging headache courtesy of the sob-fest you not-so-gracefully participated in the previous night. Not to mention the fact that you had a total of 3 hours of sleep and no time to grab coffee. You couldn’t possibly be late, you had 4 hellish kids to tutor. You grabbed the giant binder of worksheets and headed out. You looked horrible and if it wasn’t for your sunglasses you might’ve been a public risk.

You almost groaned in joy when the time had finally passed but you couldn’t really go back to sleep. You needed to shower and look somewhat presentable for a police officer who had absolutely no interest in you. Your irrational need to get ready was fuelled by your desire to stop thinking about Alex and the godforsaken party that you should have never gone to.

It took you far longer than estimated to choose what to wear which is why you were speed-walking down the street nervously. You weren’t late but you would’ve been if you hadn’t rushed there like a maniac. Thankfully you had gotten to the cafe with 2 minutes to spare. You sat down quickly, purchasing a bottle of water and chugging its contents like you’d run 20km of course your thirst leaves no room for you to notice the officer take the seat opposite yours.

“So you wanted information about your case?” You jumped at the sudden question - just then aware of his existence. You spilt a splash water on to your shirt and cursed in annoyance at small stain. You looked up to see him visibly hold back a laugh with an expression that would’ve been comical if not for your raging anger. “Just tell me about the case.” You spat with a grim expression and he let out a small chuckle at your tone. “The student who attacked you was under the influence. He’s out on bail but his trials in 2 weeks. He had no foreseeable motive and has a history of violent acts. From what I know, he was just acting on impulse. He had no idea who you or the other victim were.”

There was a sense of relief that followed his words and you finally understood why William was so worried. There was a small part of you that wondered if you had done anything to the attacker or if he had some kind of motive for what he did. It was uncannily relieving to hear that he didn’t but you knew William would benefit more. “Thank you so so so much!” You tried to give him a hug but backed out mid-way and opted for a high five instead to which he hesitantly complied.

“So, why were you chugging water?” He asked while observing your appearance which had you retracting into yourself like a hermit crab. “I ran, I was worried I’d be late.” “Smart and punctual, the teachers must love you miss L/N.” You rolled your eyes at his sarcastic comment and brushed over the backhanded compliment. He probably saw your school files and noticed your 3.99999 GPA. “If you’re implying that I am a teachers pet than I have a rude awakening for you. Last week, I skipped my lecture.” “You know those aren’t compulsory right?” You gulped at his comment but you refused to let him win. “Well would a teachers pet skip a lecture, Mr Jeon?” “That’s officer to you, princess.” You literally felt the heat rush to your face and you began to blush embarrassingly fast. It didn’t help that he was now leaning over to stare at you with a gaze so intense the tension was almost tangible.

“So, how was work?” You asked quickly with the intention of relieving the tension. “It was great. I responded to a total of two calls, a Pomeranian without a leash and an illegally parked car.” You snorted at his sarcasm but you held back a laugh. “How was your Saturday?” “I saved four people from unemployment.” He furrowed his eyebrows at your vague comment and you sighed before speaking again. “I tutored four juniors.” He laughed loudly and you glared at this obnoxiousness. “It’s not that funny. Tutoring is an incredible experience.” You mentioned quite monotonously with a scowl creeping onto your face. “Who are you trying to convince, love? Me or yourself?”

“Where are your friends?” You held back a laugh at his use of the plural term. “You tell me.” You joked with a smile but Jungkook could tell it was forced. You were an open book. “What happened? Did your best friend sleep with your boyfriend or something?” You giggled a bit, but your heart still felt heavy. “No, she just trash talked me with her nicer, way-cooler friends.” There was a long pause that led to an awkward silence that you rushed to get rid of. “It doesn’t matter though, she’s right. I mean look at you, you’re literally pitying me right now.”

“I am not pitying you!” “Yes you are.” “I’m not!” “Shouldn’t you be somewhere solving crimes, fighting for justice or something?” He glared at you pointedly from his gorgeously slanted eyes and the glare, albeit playful, made you incredibly nervous. “No, I prefer to walk around the city and slap parking tickets onto cars. If you must know, I’m off duty, after today I have the rest of weekend off.” You smiled at his excitement but it was short-lived. “It’s Saturday, you literally only have Sunday off!” His smile didn’t falter though and admired his optimism. “You take what you can get when you’re the youngest officer on the force.” You stare at him with confusion that granted an offensive stare. “How old are you?” He looked at you, taken aback to say the least. “I’m only 22. Why do I look older?” Your jaw dropped for a bit before you clasped your mouth shut with the fear of seeming rude. “Only by a little, sir.”

“Just call me Jungkook.” “Hey! That’s super close to Jungle Book. I loved that movie.” He laughed mockingly and you feigned offence but whatever comedic moment you were happening was interrupted by Jungkook’s buzzing phone.

“I’m gonna head home, my team wants to go clubbing and I am the life of the party.” “I’m sure you are old man.” “You know what, why don’t you join me and see for yourself.” You stopped yourself from taking the invitation too seriously, you were unknowingly getting your hopes up far earlier than expected. “I’m turning 20 in November so, I can’t. Unless you want bring me a fake ID.” You smiled as you joked in what you thought was playful banter but he clearly took your claim too seriously. “You don’t actually have one, right?” You snorted in astonishment before laughing a little but his face remained stoic.

“No, I don’t. Tonight I’ll be finding worksheets for high schoolers!” “You have no better way to spend your Saturday night?” It was sad because you literally didn’t, it wasn’t like you had a best friend to spend time with. “You’re right, I’m going to go party and get drunk. Thanks for the insight officer.” You quickly packed up as Jungkook was sputtering over his words in fear. “Wait I’m kidding, finding worksheets is fun!” You would have laughed at how cute he was if it didn’t make your heart sting a little. He was way out of your league.

“I’m going home.” You smiled as you watched the relief wash onto his face. “Do you want a ride?” Of course you did but the possibility of aching feet seemed more pleasant than that of an aching heart. “I think I’ll just walk, thank you though.” You’d known Jungkook for a collective amount of possible 3 seconds and yet you could tell he wasn’t the kind to back-down easily. “Pass me your phone.” You gave him a skeptical look as you handed the phone over hesitantly. “Unlock it, Y/N.” “No, what if you steal my memes?” He batted his eyelashes (which you had just realised were very pretty) in utter annoyance at your remarks.

You unlocked the phone with a huff and watched he dialled in his number. “Call me if there’s every an emergency.” “Shouldn’t I just call 911?” “Babe, I am 911.” You rolled your eyes at the corny line but thanked him nonetheless and then you set out an endeavour to your dorm where you would definitely not obsess over the very random nickname that made your cheeks flush impossibly fast.

#jungkook #jungkook imagine #jungkook fic #jungkook smut #jungkook x you #jungkook x reader #bts imagines #bts scenarios #bts reactions #bts #bts fic

302 notes · View notes

nitrateglow · 4 years

Text

Favorite film discoveries of 2019

Every year, my new-to-me favorites list always shocks me in some way. This year, the sheer amount of movies made in the 2010s on display is INSANE by my standards. Of course, most of the modern movies here are throwbacks or tributes to older styles of cinema, so maybe it’s not that shocking in the long run.

Another running trend this year: movies that are old but not as dated as we would wish. Many of the older films here deal with xenophobia and political strife in ways that still feel shockingly prescient today-- the more things change...

ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (DIR. QUENTIN TARANTINO, 2019)

I never thought the day would come where my favorite movie of the year would actually be made after the 1970s, let alone by Quentin Tarantino. Then again, this movie is all about the end of Old Hollywood as well as a big love letter to the 1960s, so maybe it’s not that shocking a state of affairs. I adored this movie, the level of detail, the laidback yet elegaic vibe, the comedy and the relationships between all the characters. It was one of those movies where I loved even the scenes where nothing seems to be happening at all-- I mean, who knew Brad Pitt feeding his dog and watching TV could be entertaining?? But it is and I can't wait to see this one again!

INTENTIONS OF MURDER (DIR. SHOHEI IMAMURA, 1964)

Intentions of Murder has an insane premise, one that runs the risk of being tasteless: a housewife in a miserable, exploitative marriage is raped by a sickly burglar during a home invasion. Even worse, she can’t shake him, as he’s suddenly infatuated and wants her to run away with him to the city. And weirder still: her current existence is so miserable that she’s TEMPTED. While abuse and rape are grim subjects for any story, Intentions is actually about a woman coming into her own and finally standing strong against all these men trying to use her. It’s a weird blend of drama and dark comedy, a truly savage satire on patriarchy and class-snobbery.

JOKER (DIR. TODD PHILLIPS, 2019)

I went into this movie expecting to think it was overhyped and when I first left the theater, I was all ready to say “it’s good but not THAT good.” But it ended up haunting me for weeks afterward, and I found myself thinking about how everything just tied up so well together, from the grotty urban hellscape which serves as the setting to Phoenix’s brilliant performance. It reminded me a lot of A Clockwork Orange in how intimate it lets you get to this violent man while never pretending he is someone to be glamorized or imitated.

SIMON (DIR. MARSHALL BRICKMAN, 1980)

How do I even describe Simon? Alan Arkin is brainwashed by a group of overpaid intellectuals into believing he is descended from an alien toaster. Then he gets a messiah complex and starts gathering disciples as he rails against television, condiment packets, and muzak. It’s a little uneven at times, sure, but the satire is really inspired. The whole thing is like a combination of Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, and Woody Allen’s styles, and it is quite hilarious for those who thrive on cult oddities.

PEEPING TOM (DIR. MICHAEL POWELL, 1960)

Though it came out the same year as Hitchcock’s Psycho and has been nearly as influential for horror cinema, Peeping Tom remains underseen by everyone save for film theorists. And what a shame that is, because this movie is more frightening than Psycho. Sure, that may be because Psycho is so predominant in popular culture and just so influential that it no longer has the same shock value, but there’s something about Peeping Tom that gets under my skin, something sad, even disgusting. I felt dirty after watching it-- and this is 2019!

MIDNIGHT MARY (DIR. WILLIAM WELLMAN, 1933)

Loretta Young got one of her juiciest roles in this pre-code crime drama. Her Mary Martin is more than just a good girl forced into criminal circles-- she’s a complicated creature, compassionate and desperate and lonely and bitter and sensual all at once. This movie is a fast-paced, beautifully filmed ride, cloaked in that Depression-era cynicism that makes pre-code Hollywood of such interest to movie geeks the world over.

WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (DIR. WILLIAM WELLMAN, 1933)

Wild Boys of the Road is a quintessential Depression-era movie, relentless in its bleakness and rage. That the main characters are all starving kids only looking for work makes their struggles all the harder to watch. William Wellman is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors: his gritty style and compact storytelling are just perfect for a ripped-from-the-headlines drama such as this. And the “happy” ending has one little moment that just knocks any smile you have right off your mug. Absolutely see this.

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (DIR. NORMAN JEWISON, 1966)

Sometimes, when you watch a movie only because a favorite actor is in it, you get subjected to pure trash like Free and Easy (oh, the things I do for Buster Keaton). Other times, you get cute gems like The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, which, as you probably guessed, I mainly sought out for Alan Arkin. But the whole movie is hilarious, the best kind of farce comedy, populated by enjoyable characters and a sweet-tempered humanism that grounds the wackiness. While a little overlong, this movie is quite underrated-- and sadly, its satire of American xenophobia and Cold War panic is not as dated as we would like to believe.

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (DIR. ALAN J. PAKULA, 1976)

Who knew a political thriller where most people know the twist could be so intense and riveting? It’s about as nonsensical as feeling suspense when you watch a movie about the Titanic and hope the boat won’t sink-- but damn, it’s magical. All the President’s Men is real white-knuckle stuff, with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman projecting both youthful excitement and deep panic as they proceed with their investigation. It scarcely seems to have aged at all.

WHISPER OF THE HEART (DIR. YOSHIFUMI KONDOU, 1995)

There’s a scene near the end of Whisper of the Heart where the protagonist Shizuku shows the finished first draft of her fantasy novel to her first reader, the grandpa of one of her schoolmates. She weeps because it isn’t the perfect image she had in her head, despite how hard she worked on it, but the old man tells her that it takes polishing and discipline to make the work come to its full potential. Few movies about artists are so honest about how hard it can be, how unsupportive others can be in their demand that everyone be “practical.” As a writer who struggles to create and constantly doubts herself, this movie spoke strongly to me. I recommend it to any creative person.

THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (DIR. BRIAN DE PALMA, 1976)

I’d been wanting to see this movie since my high school phan days. Holy crap, is it WEIRDER than I could have ever imagined, a true camp masterpiece. I’m shocked it was never tuned into a stage show actually, but then again, we would miss those trippy camera angles and we wouldn’t have Paul Williams as one of the greatest villains of all time.

DUEL (DIR. STEVEN SPIELBERG, 1971)

When people talk about the best movies made in the “Hitchcock without Hitchcock directing” tradition, why is Duel so seldom mentioned? The scene in the cafe, packed with paranoid tension and tense camerawork, alone should qualify it. Duel is most known as the movie which put the young Steven Spielberg on the map. It’s quite different from his later work, grittier and less whimsical for sure. Even the ending seems almost nihilistic, depending on how you view it. But damn, if it isn’t fine filmmaking.

CAROL (DIR. TODD HAYNES, 2015)

This gorgeous throwback to Douglas Sirk melodramas is also one of the best romantic movies I’ve seen in a while. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara have the sweetest, tenderest chemistry-- it was like seeing Lauren Bacall and Audrey Hepburn as love interests in a film. Unlike Sirk, there is little in the way of ripe melodrama here-- everything is underplayed, aching, mature. And I can say this is an adaptation that is better than the source book: it just feels so much warmer.

12 ANGRY MEN (DIR. SIDNEY LUMET, 1957

All I can say is that this was every bit equal to the hype. Common movie wisdom says people sitting and talking in a room is going to be boring on film, but movies like 12 Angry Men prove this is not so when you’ve got an excellently tense atmosphere, an inspired script, and a stable of fine actors to work with. Like The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming, this movie has not significantly aged-- much to society’s discredit.

A STAR IS BORN (DIR. GEORGE CUKOR, 1954)

Another movie I went into not expecting to love as much as I did. When movies from the 20s or 30s tended to get remakes in the 1950s, I always find them too garish and big, victims of glossy Cinemascope and overlong runtimes. Compared to the lean 1937 classic original, I expected sheer indulgence from this three-hour remake. Instead, I got my heart torn out all over again-- the longer runtime is used well, fleshing out the characters to a greater degree. Judy Garland and James Mason both give what might be the best efforts of their respective careers, and the satire of the celebrity machine remains as relevant and scathing as ever.

BLANCANIEVES (DIR. PABLO BERGER, 2012)

Oh, it feels like this movie was made for me specifically. It’s shot in gorgeous, expressionistic black-and-white. It’s set in the 1920s. It’s a clever adaptation of a classic fairy tale. It’s as funny and charming as it is bittersweet and macabre. Instead of more superhero movies, can we get more neo-silent movies like this? PLEASE?

THE FAVOURITE (DIR. YORGOS LANTHIMOS, 2018)

I’ve heard The Favourite described as a “bitchy lesbian Shakespeare play,” but this description, while a little true in terms of general tone, does not get to the heart of what makes this film brilliant. More than love or sex, this movie is about power-- particularly the corrupting influence of power. And it corrupts not only morals but love itself. Innocents become Machiavellian schemers. Lovers become sadomasochistic enemies. Good intentions turn to poison. This certainly isn’t a happy movie, but it is moving and, strangely enough, also hilarious. I was reminded of the chilly, satirical world of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon more than once-- and for me, that is not a bad movie to be reminded of.

ON THE WATERFRONT (DIR. ELIA KAZAN, 1954)

Another classic that’s been on my list forever that I was delighted to find worthy of its reputation. It’s a classic tale of redemption and social justice, perfectly acted and shot. While I still prefer A Streetcar Named Desire as far as Kazan is concerned, this might be a better movie in the objective sense. Actually, more than even Brando, Karl Malden is the acting highlight for me-- he plays a priest torn between staying silent or truly speaking for the Gospel by demanding justice for the poor parish he serves. Just brilliant work.

KLUTE (DIR. ALAN J. PAKULA, 1971)

A perfect thriller, just about, and a great example of the “NYC is hell on earth” subgenre of the 1960s and 1970s. Jane Fonda is a revelation: she feels so real, not at all like a starlet trying to seem normal if you know what I mean.

KISS KISS BANG BANG (DIR. SHANE BLACK, 2005)

As far as subversive noir goes, this is the most entertaining. I would put it up there with The Big Lebowski as far as goofy takes on Raymond Chandler are concerned-- I don’t even really know what to make of it, but I laughed my ass off anytime I wasn’t going “WHAT???”

What were your favorite film discoveries in 2019?

151 notes · View notes

ladyreapermc · 4 years

Text

Fic: This isn’t a rom-com 12/17

Summary: Keanu and Lilah meet at the set of John Wick. Rom-com shenanigans ensues

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Wordcount: 3151

Warnings: lots of fluff, some sexy teasing, but still a very tame chapter. More smut to come next chapter.

Keanu wasn’t sure how he knew, but as soon as he stepped inside Lilah’s apartment, he could tell something was wrong. There was a lingering tension hanging between the three friends and he thought he saw Lilah shooting looks at both Isaac and Jean once she pulled away from the welcome hug and kiss she gave him.

“Everything ok?” he asked, carefully watching her expression. She nodded with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “How was brunch?”

“It was fine. Dr. Williams introduced me to the visiting professor who’s teaching a few seminars at NYU this month.”

“That’s good, right?” he asked, shrugging his coat and kicking his shoes off. She had been so excited about these seminars because they would be about cultural practices and media, her research theme. This time, when Lilah smiled and nodded it was a little more real and soft as if she was pleasantly surprised that he remembered.

“Where do I put this?” he asked showing his backpack and her smile shifted to a wide grin.

“My room,” she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck again. “You’re spending the night then?”

“If that’s ok.”

“It’s very ok,” Lilah replied meeting his lips for a kiss. She pulled away at the sound of fake retching coming from behind them.

“Stop being so sweet,” Jean complained grimacing. “It’s disgusting.”

“No, it’s not!” Isaac said with a big grin, bumping his shoulder against hers. “It’s adorable.”

Keanu just laughed awkwardly as Lilah rolled her eyes and let go of him, taking his backpack and disappearing into her room, leaving him alone with Isaac and Jean, who just watched him. Jean with narrowed eyes, her piercing green gaze seemed to be sizing him up and cataloging his sins. While Isaac’s chocolate eyes were warmer and friendly, but Keanu had seen him around set when he was a runner. The younger man might look fragile, but he was wirily strong.

Keanu knew it would take some getting used to being around her friends, feeling like he was being constantly evaluated. Something told him that if Keanu even as so much put a toe out of line with Lilah, hurt her in any way, they were gonna make him regret it. It was comforting to know that Lilah had that kind of support in her life.

“So, what are you up to tonight?” he asked when Lilah returned.

“It’s slasher Sunday!” she declared leading him to the couch and he noticed a stack of DVDs on the coffee table along with shot glasses, lime wedges, and an open bottle of tequila.

“Basically, we watch slasher movies and take a shot whenever someone breaks one of the slasher movies rules,” Jean added with a smirk.

“That’s a quick way to get drunk.” Keanu snorted.

“It’s silly. You don’t have to do it,” Lilah assured him with a frown.

“No, no. Let’s do this!” he said, rubbing his palms together and grinning at her. It had been a while since Keanu got drunk for no reason other than because he could. He would probably regret it in the morning, but that was a problem for tomorrow. “What are we watching?”

“Well, we have Wrong Turn 4 and Bloody, Bloody Bible Camp.” Lilah’s tone was way too cheerful, and Keanu winced. All of those sounded horrible. “And The Conjuring, which isn’t a slasher, but it’s an actual good movie!”

“Let’s start with Bible Camp,” Isaac suggested, phone in hand. “I’m gonna order pizza. Lih, you’re gonna wanna that pineapple atrocity as usual?”

“Not my fault if you can’t appreciate the deliciousness of sweet and savory food,” she replied sticking her tongue out at him and Keanu chuckled.

He liked seeing Lilah like this, playful and lighthearted. Keanu could see how her eyes shone with mirth and affection for her friends. How some of the weight of responsibility she always seemed to carry lifted off her shoulders. Sure, Keanu saw some of that whenever Lilah was with him but sometimes it still felt like holding back.

They managed to squeeze themselves on the couch, Lilah practically on Keanu’s lap, which he wasn’t about to complain, as they started the movie. It was a horrible as Keanu expected to be but it was funny to watch as Lilah shouted at the screen, between taking shots. He always knew horror was her favorite genre but he didn’t expect her to be this fanatic about it. it was cute.

To his surprise, Jean who looked so tough and mean jumped and squealed at every jump scare, no matter how obvious they were. Keanu did his best not to laugh since the last thing he wanted was to get on her bad side. Isaac obviously wasn’t worried about that because he cackled gleefully every time it happened.

Halfway through it, their pizzas arrived, and they paused the movie to eat. Keanu waited until Lilah had the slice of Hawaiian in her hand to grab her wrist and bring it closer so he could take a bite.

“I thought you didn’t like Hawaiian,” she smirked.

“I do when you feed it to me,” he smirked back, taking another bite.

Lilah indulged him and once the slice was over, Keanu sucked the excess of sauce from her fingers, keeping eye contact with Lilah as he did it.

“You guys do remember you’re not alone, right?” Jean asked with an arched eyebrow, cutting through the mood. Keanu just laughed already a little too tipsy to care, but Lilah blushed bright red and buried her face on his shoulder, giggling.

“Sorry!”

They all decided the movie was way too bad to actually watch it and o they just left it playing while they talked and laughed and drank. It was a chance for Keanu to know a little bit more about these people Lilah loved so much.

He learned that Jean had an MBA and she was fighting to revert the dreadful financial situation her bookstore found itself in. While Isaac was a truly amazing musician and their band was pretty good, still on the early stages of getting itself together and it made Keanu miss Dogstar a little bit.

In the end, they skipped Wrong Turn 4 and went straight to The Conjuring, which was surprisingly good. Keanu rarely liked horror movies, but this one was fine. It got a couple of starts from him. Jean watched with her hands over her eyes and he was pretty sure Isaac was mumbling prayers. Lilah, on the other hand, would randomly bust out laughing at scary scenes, but at the same time, her grip on Keanu’s arm would tighten a little so he knew she wasn’t as unaffected as she would like to seem.

“This was fun,” Lilah said once the door of her bedroom was closed, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I really needed this.” So, he was right. She wasn’t ok when he arrived, but he was glad to see that shadow has passed, at least for the moment.

“I’m glad.” He kissed her nose, making her giggle, scrunching it up in the most adorable way. “And you know I’m here, right? If you want to talk about whatever is bothering you.”

“I know,” Lilah sighed pulling away from him and Keanu immediately regretted bringing it up. “And I really appreciate that, but I’m fine.”

Part of him wanted to press it, to ask why she couldn’t open up to him on this. They were doing so well but in less than a day everything changed and he hated it.

“Ok,” he said instead of pushing it and they busied themselves in getting ready for bed, curling up together to sleep.

“Goodnight, Keanu.”

“Goodnight, Lil,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her head and feeling her smile against his chest at the nickname.

Keanu didn’t get to see Lilah for a week after that Sunday since his schedule went a little hectic. With the quick approach of 47 Ronin premiere in Tokyo, Chad and David decided to cram as much shooting time they could in the days before Keanu had to take off, especially if they wanted to avoid snow.

They were filming 10 to 12 hours a day; when Keanu finally got home, he was exhausted and feeling every second of his 49 years of age, but he made an effort to call Lilah every night. It was nice, but not nearly enough. Not when he missed the feel of her skin and taste of her mouth.

He was relieved to see that she was very understanding of the entire thing, but it still made him feel bad for canceling on her or going hours without replying to her messages. Lilah just waved off his apologies, assuring him that she understood, even if she did miss him. It made Keanu fall in love even more. Especially the way Lilah wanted to hear every detail about what he did that day on set.

In turn, Lilah would share about her own day and for a week Keanu had to hear all about Arthur Pierce, how great his seminars were or how he was helping with her data analysis and everything in between. To make matters worse, since it was Arthur’s first visit to New York, Lilah’s advisor had asked her to show him the city, which meant Lilah was spending most of her day with the other man.

Keanu prided himself on being rational and reasonable. He recognized that Lilah was just thrilled to have another behavior scientist in the social psychology department. Someone that could speak the same language as she did. Still, it was hard for him not to grit his teeth whenever her tone went a little high pitched with excitement as Lilah mentioned something Arthur did or said.

He managed three days before he succumbed to his curiosity and googled the man. Keanu wasn’t proud of it, but he needed to know. He regretted instantly because Arthur looked straight out of a Disney fairytale movie.

And even though he knew the burning on his stomach had less to do with Arthur and more to do with the fact that the man got to be around Lilah when Keanu himself couldn’t, he still couldn’t avoid it and it was driving him crazy.

Keanu was never one to eagerly wait for the weekend and time off, but he was anxious to finish rehearsing that Saturday because, after six days, he would finally get to see Lilah in person.

He took her in his arms as soon as she stepped inside the apartment, pressing her against the closed front door and claiming her mouth. He missed how she always seemed to taste and smell of cinnamon. As he licked into her mouth, chasing her taste, Lilah combed her fingers through his hair, scratching his nape. Keanu purred in pleasure. He missed the feel of her hands in his scalp and her body against his and he didn’t know where to touch first. If her thighs, the soft flesh of her ass, her hips that fit so perfectly in his hands… Keanu just really missed her.

He let go of her lips to pepper kisses down her jaw and neck, enjoying the gasps and soft little moans escaping Lilah’s lips as she held onto his arms. As he shoved her coat off so he could sneak his hands under her shirt, the print finally registered in his mind making him take a step back and grin. Lilah blinked at him dazedly, before looking down and grimacing.

“It was a gift from one of my students,” she replied, crossing her arms, but it did very little to cover the words take the red pill. “I was gonna change before coming over but didn’t have time.”

“Why?” he asked, digging through his pockets for his cell.

“I don’t know. Don’t want you to think I’m a crazy fan or something,” Lilah said, fidgeting with the hem.

“Lil, I like that you like my movies,” Keanu replied, aiming the camera at her.

“Hey! No! I look awful!” she complained, covering her face.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, gently prying her hands away. “Just one, please? So, I have something to look at when I’m in Japan.” Keanu was playing dirty, he knew. He had several selfies of Lilah that she sent him over the last month but he always wanted more.

“Fine!” Lilah huffed, turning to the mirror by the entry wall to check herself.

Keanu walked up behind her and he wasn’t one for selfies, especially not in front of the mirror, but as he hugged her from behind, resting his chin on top of her head, Lilah grinning wide and glancing up at him, he couldn’t resist snapping a picture.

“Ok, that one looks really good,” she commented as peeked over his arm to see the picture.

Keanu nodded before setting it as his background and turning his attention back to her. He pulled her back into his arms, still too starved from her touch to control himself. Fortunately, Lilah didn’t seem to mind, hugging him back and peppering his jaw and neck with kisses.

“Dinner?” he asked, breathing into her hair. “We can order in or I can cook…”

“Oh. I, uh, already ate…” she said with a hesitant tone and Keanu sighed because he caught the unvoiced end of that sentence: with Arthur.

“That’s fine,” he assured with a smile, hoping the tightening of his jaw wasn’t too obvious. “So, what you wanna do?”

“Movie?” Lilah suggested, her hands coming up his chest. “Or we could just… get to bed earlier?” she wiggled her eyebrows and Keanu let out a dramatic sigh.

“I knew it. You only want me for my body,” he teased, making Lilah laugh and how he missed that sound. “That’s fine. I accept my fate”

“You’re such a dork, oh my God!” she said between giggles, burying her face on his chest and he hugged her close, overwhelming affection making his chest warm.

“You love it,” he said grinning.

“I do,” Lilah said, looking up at him.

There was something on her eyes, in the way they were soft and bright and vulnerable, and Keanu realized she was baring her heart to him in that exact moment and his own skipped a beat.

Keanu kissed her, trying to convey his own feelings, the ones he couldn’t quite put in words yet because he was still scared how deep he fell for Lilah in such a short time. He just hoped she get it.

“Maybe let’s just stay in the balcony for a bit?” Lilah asked once they broke away. Her eyes were still closed and there was a soft little smile on her lips.

“Anything you want.”

They cuddled together on the lounge under the blanket, much like that first time, just talking about their day. Keanu talked a bit about rehearsal and the action sequence he was practicing for. This week he got to shoot some car scenes, which was so fun and Lilah grinned wide all the while he shared his thrill about driving such an amazing car.

In turn, Lilah told him about spending the day at the Metropolitan museum with Arthur and Keanu did his best not to react, but he knew his smile was just a little too tense and frozen for Lilah to really buy it. She twisted around in his lap so she could look at him, eyes narrowed for a second and to Keanu’s surprise, her expression turned almost gleeful, brown eyes alight under the city lights.

“Oh! You’re jealous.”

“I’m not,” he retorted, avoiding her gaze. “It’s just…”

Lilah straddled his lap fully, her smile amused and teasing, and Keanu knew he was flustered and he hated being like this.

“Keanu, I don’t see Arthur that way. You know that, right?” She assured, caressing his face and he sighed.

“I know.” His voice was low, barely a whisper because he was a little terrified of his next words. “But I also know that I won’t be able to talk about some of the things you’re interested as well as he can and… I can’t help but notice he’s way closer in age to you and I know how you feel about couples with too big age gaps.”

He watched as Lilah hesitated, catching her bottom lip between her teeth, a dead giveaway that she was nervous.

“I guess we just gonna have to be careful,” she said at last, brow furrowing in concentration in that way he found adorable. “We know what we have to avoid, so I’ll do my best not to be too insecure.”

“And I try not to be paternalist and controlling,” Keanu replied with a relieved sigh.

“Well… I mean, you can be a little controlling,” she started with a small smile and dragged her nails down his stomach, over his scar. “I don’t mind you bossing me in bed.”

“I’ve noticed,” Keanu smirked, hand coming to her nape to pull her face closer to his. “You know what else I noticed?” he asked against her lips and she shook her head.

He shifted his hand from her nape to around her throat, holding it loosely, but it was enough for Lilah’s breath to hitch, her eyes fluttering close, and she squirmed in his lap.

“My girl wants to be choked?” he asked almost in a growl and just the sight of her like this, flushed with arousal, rooting against his hardening cock was driving him crazy.

“Yes,” Lilah gasped and he brushed his thumb over her pouty lips. She pulled it into her mouth, making him groan and thrust up. “Please.”

“Do you have a safe word?”

Lilah paused for a moment before her lips drew into a smirk and she let go of his thumb with a small, obscene pop sound.

“Neo.”

“No,” Keanu laughed, shaking his head and letting go of her neck.

“Why not? It’s not like I’ll shout that during sex. Unless…”

“Absolutely not!” he declared, guessing where she was going with that train of thought. “Pick something else, please.”

Lilah thought, eyes darting around until it landed on his chest and she smiled.

“Bike?” Keanu smiled too and nodded.

“That works.” He brought her down for a kiss that turned very dirty very fast. “Bed?”

“Yes, please.”

Lilah tightened her legs around his waist and arms around his neck and Keanu just stood up with her in his arms, bringing her inside and lying her in bed.

“We’re ok, right?” he asked as he rested on top of her holding his weight on his elbows.

“Yeah,” Lilah replied with a nod, tracing his face. “We’re perfect.”

And before Keanu could really wonder why there seemed to be a hint of sadness in her eyes, Lilah kissed him again and made him forget everything else.

x(tbc)x

Go to part 13

Tag list (give me a shout if you want to added or removed)

@theolsdalova @krazycags01 @beyond-antares @cumberbatchbaps @sgt-morgan @futuristic-imbecile @howtoruin-someones-perfect-day @a-really-bi-girl @fanficsrusz @nonsensicalobsessions @poisonedjoinery @soarocks @kindainlovewithkeanu

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves x original character #keanu reeves x ofc #fanfic #series #this isn't a rom-com #original character

36 notes · View notes

queen-of-deans-booty · 4 years

Text

Fallen Idols: Part Three

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 1,721

Warnings: typical supernatural violence, language, angst, blood, you know the usual

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. Any and all comments on these are appreciated. I really want to hear what you guys think about this one!

Feedback is the glue that holds my writing together.

Tags at the bottom

If being at this place during the day was creepy enough, at night was a total nightmare. The figures seemed to be bigger than they were, and you could have sworn you saw Gandhi blink when you passed by him. Sam went to go fetch a metal trashcan to burn the items while Dean picked Lincoln’s top hat off the figure and placed it on his own head.

“Check it out,” he grinned before lowering his voice to imitate the president. “Four score and seven years ago, I had a funny hat.”

“Dean,” Sam sighed as he held out his hand for the hat.

“We can't have any fun with this?” he scoffed before tossing the hat in the trash can.

“Let's just torch the objects, torch the ghosts, get outta here. Okay?”

“I'll go grab East of Eden's keychain,” Dean smiled before leaving the room through big double doors.

“Better go with him in case he tries to mess around,” you said as you patted Sam’s shoulder before you left. “Dean?”

“Over here,” he grinned as he stared at the replica of Little Bastard with James Dean next to it. He had the keychain in his hand, but he was staring at the wax figure.

“Don’t these creep you out?”

“You’re creeped out? This is awesome,” he chuckled.

“Come on, Sam is waiting for us,” you shook your head.

Leaving his side, you were about to go back into the other room when the double doors slammed and locked on their own. Quickly glancing back at Dean, you rushed over to the doors and tried to open them.

“Dean? Y/N!” Sam exclaimed as he tried to open the doors. They wouldn’t budge for him and they wouldn’t budge for you either.

“Sam!” you yelled as you rammed your shoulder against the doors to see if that technique would work.

“You’re going to dislocate your shoulder before getting those doors open,” Dean said as he tried to pick the lock.

“No time. Move,” you instructed before blue magic shot from your hands like blue flames. Placing your hands on the door, you gave it a hard shove and they opened with ease.

“Next time start with that,” Dean commented as he rushed inside. Where the Gandhi figure was, Sam and a real-life Gandhi were on the floor with Gandhi’s arms around his neck.

“Is that Gandhi?” Dean gasped. “Dude, he's squirrelly.”

“Get the—” Gandhi elbowed Sam in the chest, momentarily winding him.

“Glasses!” you exclaimed as you snatched the glasses from the figure and tossed it into the trashcan while Dean poured salt and lighter fluid in it.

As soon as he dropped the lighter in it, Gandhi disappeared in a black poof. Frowning, you rushed over to Sam to help him up.

“You couldn't have been a fan of someone cool?” Dean scoffed as his brother stared at him with his eyes narrowed. “Really? Gandhi?”

Since technically you torched the items, then you should be clear to leave town, but there has been something that was bugging you about the whole thing. Ghosts go up in flames and screams when they get torched, but not this one. This one just… vanished.

“Ready to blow this joint?” Dean asked his brother and his girlfriend.

“Dean, didn't it strike you as strange the way Gandhi just... vanished?” you asked as Sam came out of the bathroom with a frown on his face.

“Strange how?”

“No screaming, no big flame-out, I mean, that isn't the way ghosts usually go,” Sam answered for you.

“Still, I torched, he vanished.”

“I feel like he was...trying to take a bite out of me.”

“A bite?” you asked.

“Yeah, like he was hungry. But the thing is, Gandhi—the real Gandhi—he was a fruitarian.”

“Let me get this straight,” Dean laughed. “Your, uh, ultimate hero was not only a short man in diapers, but he was also a fruitarian?”

“That's not the point.”

“That is good. That is—even for you, that is good.”

“Look, I'm just saying, I'm not so sure this thing is over.”

“It was a ghost. It was a weirdly super-charged fruitarian ghost, but it was still a ghost. Now let's go,” Dean said as he picked up his bag.

“So first you drag me into town, and now you're dragging me back out.”

“You ain't steering this boat. Let's go, chop chop.”

“You know, this isn't gonna work,” Sam sighed as he set his toiletries bag down.

“What isn't?”

“Us. You, me, Y/N, together, I—I thought it could, but it can't.”

“You're the one that wanted back in, chief.”

“And you're the one who called me back in.”

“I still think we got some trust building to do,” Dean said while you silently packed your bag.

“How long am I gonna be on double-secret probation?”

“Till I say so.”

“Look. I know what I did and what I've done. I am trying to climb out of that hole, I am, but you're not making it any easier.”

“So, what am I supposed to do, just let you off the hook?”

“No. You can think whatever you want. I deserve it, and worse. Hell, you'll never punish me as much as I'm punishing myself, but the point is, if we're gonna be a team—you, Y/N, and I—it has to be a two-way street.”

“So, we just go back to the way we were before?”

“It didn’t really work that way before,” you sighed as you added your input.

“What does that mean?”

“How do you think we got here?” Sam asked. “One of the reasons I went off with Ruby... was to get away from you. It made me feel strong. Like I wasn't yours or Y/N’s kid brother.”

“Are you saying this is our fault?” Dean scoffed.

“No, it's my fault. All I'm saying is that, if we're gonna do this, we have to do it different, we can't just fall into the same rut.”

“What do you want us to do?” you asked as you joined Dean’s side and faced Sam.

“You two are gonna have to let me grow up, for starters.” Dean’s phone rang which cut the tension like a knife, and Dean answered it even if he wasn’t in the mood.

“Yeah?” he looked at you and Sam before looking away. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

“What is it?” you asked once he hung up.

“I guess you two were right about this not being over.”

The Sheriff called Dean when another group came to report a missing person in the same way that Cal or even William was reported. Walking into the station, you immediately went over to Rick who seemed at a loss for words.

“Sheriff Carnegie? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” he stuttered with a shake of his head. He indicated to an interview room where two young women were sitting and crying. Frowning, you walked over to the room with the brothers before entering it.

“Excuse me, ladies. We’re with the FBI. Can you tell us what happened?” you asked in a nice voice.

“It was horrible!”

“Way horrible.”

“What was?” Sam asked.

“I thought she'd be nice!” the first girl gasped.

“I still can't believe it.”

“Believe what?” Dean asked.

“She took Danielle!” the first girl exclaimed.

“Ladies take a deep breath and just tell us who took your friend. You’re safe in here,” you tried the soothing tone of voice for their sake.

“It was... Paris Hilton.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Sam gasped.

“Where did… Paris… take your friend?” you wondered.

“We don’t know. They just vanished!”

“Would you excuse us for just a minute?” Dean chuckled as he took you and Sam out of the room

“Paris Hilton's not dead as far as we know, right?”

“No, she isn’t. Which means it’s not a ghost. Either she’s a homicidal maniac or we missed something completely,” you sighed.

“What do you want to do?”

“I think we need to check out the victims.”

“Not it,” Dean said quickly before putting his finger on his nose. “Have fun with that.”

“Did you find anything in there?” you asked as Sam looked through Cal’s file.

“There was a substance in his stomach that they didn’t remove.”

“Are you going to go digging, or am I?” you asked as you snapped on some white latex gloves with a smile.

“Ladies first…?”

“Wimp,” you smirked as you grabbed the scalpel. Taking a deep breath, you started to cut the man’s chest so you could go digging for gold. “Don’t take Dean so seriously.”

“What?”

“He’s just… overwhelmed, I guess. Zachariah sent me and Dean five years into the future, and we saw some pretty terrible things. Just don’t say yes to Lucifer, okay? Whatever you do, don’t say yes,” you whispered as you stuck your hand inside his chest before feeling your way around.

“You find anything?”

“Yeah, actually,” you frowned before grasping the two small hard objects. Pulling them out, you stared at the seeds that were in his stomach. “Are these seeds? And there should have been a lot more blood here.”

“I think we need to check out William,” Sam declared.

“Alright, but it’s your turn to go into the deep, dark, abyss,” you smirked. After Sam had checked William out and found the same exact seed in his stomach, you two quickly bagged the items and left the place to meet Dean who was waiting outside.

“I can't believe we missed it,” Sam sighed.

“Missed what?” Dean asked as he stood up and started to head back to the Impala.

“We went back over the other two vics. There was blood loss. Major. More blood loss than a car crash or a GSW should cause.”

“It’s like something is feeding,” you finished.

“And then,” Sam took out the baggie with the seeds in it, “there were these.”

“What are those, seeds?”

“Yeah. They were in both vics' bellies.”

“I hope you two washed your hands,” Dean shuddered.

“They're unlike any seed I've ever seen before, Dean.”

“Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any geekier,” he chuckled before walking to the driver’s side of the car. Patting Sam on the shoulder, you got in the back so that more research could be done at the motel.

Wanna get tagged? Add yourself to this document! If your tag doesn’t work, find out why!

@sing4mejensen @essie1876 @gh0stgurl @redsalv20 @superrandomnatural @scarletmeii @babypink224221 @gaveherhearttotheliontattoo @akshi8278 @a--1--1--3 @kendlemariee @miraclesoflove @earthtokace @teamfreewillsstuff @fandom-princess-forevermore @kiwihoee @jennazeise @phantomalchemist @posiemax @22sarah08 @tricksterdean @andi-mendes-barnes

24 notes · View notes

introvertguide · 4 years

Text

Network (1976); AFI #64

The current movie under review is one long procession of relatable diatribes, the newsroom drama Network (1976). This was an acting driven film and the award circuit is evidence of that. The movie had 6 actors in the 4 Academy Awards acting categories and took home awards for 3 of them. The winner of the Best Supporting Actress and the nominee for Best Supporting Actor were only on film 5 minutes and 6 minutes respectively. Every single role was just dripping with dramatic tension. An especially notable performance was from Peter Finch for which he won Best Actor from the Academy, at the BAFTAs, and at the Golden Globes. Unfortunately, he did not get to enjoy the adulation since he died very early in 1977 of a heart attack before any awards came out. Another note for the movie was a top 10 ranking of cinematic screenplays of all time by the Writer’s Guild of America. Awards for Best Screenplay went to Paddy Chayefsky from the Academy and the Golden Globes are proof of the honor. There are many interesting things about this film beyond the acting and writing, but I want to go ahead and spoil the story a little before I go further so here is the warning...

SPOILER ALERT!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE ALL TIME GREATEST CINEMATIC SCRIPTS AND IT HAS TWISTS TO SPOIL! WATCH THE FILM BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER! DON’T RUIN THE EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF!

The film starts with the narrator whose voice comes in throughout the movie and sounds like a gameshow emcee. It is explained that Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is a news anchor who has recently become a widower and will soon be fired from his job due to poor ratings. He goes out and gets drunk with his division president Max Schumacher (William Holden) and mentions killing himself on the air, but they are both drunk and Max thinks this is a joke. The following night, Beale announces on live television that he is tired of all the “bulls**t” and will commit suicide on air in a week. The news anchor is obviously fired immediately, but Schumacher convinces the network to allow Beale to go on the air one last time and apologize for the outburst. Beale once again goes into an angry diatribe and this causes a rating spike. The head of programming for the Network is Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), and she tries to convince Max to keep Beale on the air despite his obvious mental instability. Max refuses because Howard Beale is his old friend and there is concern for Howard’s health. Diana switches approaches and begins to have an affair with the much older married man.

Christensen talks about the network being the laughing stock of all the channels and she is seeking just one hit show to get back on top. She cuts a deal with a band of terrorists called the Ecumenical Liberation Army for a new docudrama series called The Mao Tse-Tung Hour for the upcoming fall season. Max decides to end these diatribes with Howard because it is seriously affecting his health, but Christensen convinces her boss, Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall), to slot the evening news show under the entertainment programming division so she can develop it. Hackett agrees, and convinces the network executives to fire Schumacher. Hackett fires Schumacher in one of many confrontational diatribes delivered throughout the film. Not to be outdone, Beale shows up to work in his pajamas and, in his own on-air diatribe, convinces the nation to shout out of their windows "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Beale is a ratings hit and he is soon hosting a new program called The Howard Beale Show, top-billed as "the mad prophet of the airwaves". Ultimately, the show becomes the most highly-rated program on television, and Beale finds new celebrity preaching his angry message in front of a live studio audience that, on cue, chants Beale's signature catchphrase. At first, Max and Diana's romance withers as the show flourishes, but in the flush of high ratings, the two ultimately find their way back together and Schumacher leaves his wife of over 25 years for Christensen. The wife is played by Beatrice Straight, and she won a Best Supporting Actress award for her miniscule 5 minutes of screen time. She really lays into Max for disrespecting her for some young infatuation and it hurts. Fantastic performance.

The movie actually gets very funny for a short period of time as Max and Diana go on a date that ends physically and the entire time she will not shut up about ratings. Even during sex, she just keeps spouting out numbers because apparently it turns her on. Also, she now has to go into contract negotiations with the Liberation Army, and watching an almost completely silent arms dealer talk about contract language while shooting in the air to stop arguments is great. It is the hardest I have laughed in a long time.

Much to the displeasure of the network, Beale discovers that Communications Corporation of America (CCA), the conglomerate that owns the network, will be bought out by an even larger Saudi Arabian conglomerate. He launches an on-screen tirade against the deal and urges viewers to pressure the White House to stop it. This panics the top network brass because the network debt load has made the merger essential for its survival. Hackett takes Beale to meet with CCA chairman Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty), who explains the world beyond countries and people and how it is ruled by corporations. Christensen's fanatical devotion to her job and emotional emptiness ultimately drive away Schumacher, who warns his former lover that she will self-destruct at the pace she is running with her career. "You are television incarnate, Diana," he tells her, "indifferent to suffering, insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality." Jensen seems to have successfully persuade Beale to abandon his populist message and preach a new corporation message. This new approach is not popular with audiences as they find his new sermons on the dehumanization of society depressing, yet Jensen will not allow the network to fire Beale. Seeing its two-for-the-price-of-one value—solving the Beale problem plus sparking a boost in season-opener ratings—Christensen, Hackett, and the other executives decide to hire the ELA to assassinate Beale on the air. The assassination succeeds, putting an end to The Howard Beale Show and kicking off a second season of The Mao Tse-Tung Hour. The film ends with an overhead of a bleeding Howard Beale as commercials play and the voice over narration ends "the story of Howard Beale, the first known instance of a man who was killed because he had lousy ratings."

Network was written as a “what if” by Paddy Chayefsky after hearing about a Floridian news anchor who shot herself on air. Her name was Christine Chubbuck and she had long term issues with depression. She was continually suffering and had attempted suicide before, but she wanted to make a statement. Follow up investigation showed that she was suffering from clinical depression, and this was exacerbated by the constant stress that came from working in a newsroom. Research into the “story behind the story” showed that the obsession with ratings and appearance and in-office politics makes for quite the pressure cooker. Chayefsky wanted to write this story and how damaging it could be to a person’s psyche. People like Beale are chewed up and spit out by the system while people like Christensen can become successful by being cut-throat obsessive with everything about the business. It is a story of all the different kinds of people who peddle BS for a living and, no matter how good their intentions, everybody touched by the business comes out smelling like crap.

Peter Finch was the first of only two actors to win the Oscar for Best Actor posthumously (Heath Ledger being the other) and it was rather ironic since his character dies at the end of the movie. Sadly, or maybe not, this was Finch’s biggest success in a long time and he really identified with the character of Beale. He had a prolific career that was starting to wind down when he had a sudden spike of popularity from this film. He died of a heart attack in a Beverly Hills hotel right after an interview with Johnny Carson. I guess it is nice that he got to go out on top. RIP Mr. Finch.

When I think back on the 100 movies on the AFI list, this one stands out as having the most dramatic speeches, even more than Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Citizen Cane. Every single character with more than five minutes of screen time seems to have a dramatic speech (if not many) in this film. Normally, this would not be something that I liked, but I see that all of these people are getting out their emotional garbage. These characters do not seem to be yelling to hurt others, but to try and release the hurt they have in an attempt to heal. Being loud to steal attention bothers me, but being loud because you genuinely need help and have painful energy that needs release does not.

So does this film deserve to be on the AFI? Yes and it should probably be higher. It is one of the best stories put to film of all time and it was acted beautifully. It would have won many more awards but it came out the same year as Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men, and Rocky. Amongst all of those films, it still took home most of the acting awards and Best Original Screenplay. It is the story of an individual who gets fed up with all the bureaucracy and that feeling still permeates through society today. Fantastic movie. And would I recommend it? Yes. I insist upon it. I was originally worried about how mental illness is portrayed as entertainment, but I love how one of the characters advocates for his friend throughout and that trying to take advantage of a fed up man who has become delusional goes nowhere but wrong. This to me is a two hour tutorial of how a dramatic speech should be given. I have only taken a couple of film classes, but I am sad that I didn’t see this film until my early 30s and happily put forth a recommendation for this movie.

#network #peter finch #70s #film #introvert #Robert duvall #William holden #faye dunaway #posthumous #ned beatty #howard beale #mad as hell #afi films #drama #diatribe

12 notes · View notes

wallofweird · 4 years

Text

This Is Us Q&A

Thanks @madsdefencesquad for tagging me. :)

1. The first character I first fell in love with:

Dr. Nathan Katowski. He just seemed to be such a charismatic, generous, wise and kind person and the way he comforted those two nervous young people (Jack and Rebecca) who were entering parenthood for the very first time was simply beautiful. Specially because nowadays some doctors are so arrogant and cold that make you feel so bad to the point of almost apologizing for needing their care (not most though, we have real life heroes out there on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic and I’m forever thankful for them!). Anyway, it was pleasant to see a character with so much heart. Now the first regular character I fell in love with was Randall. He was just so relatable and Sterling and the writers really managed to show all the affliction he kept inside from early on. All the things he had accumulated through the years, with the questions about his biological parents, his identity, finding out that William was dying the same day he met him and everything... Even before we got to dive into that story, you could see it in his eyes. And I empathized with him immediately.

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Kevin. I used to find him very annoying and self-centered and now I’m eating my words, but I guess that’s always been the writers intention: to show a character that came off as really shallow and immature and slowly change our minds about him. It definitely worked. My opinion about him started to change on the ‘Number One’ episode. It broke my heart to see what he was going through, specially when he lost the only thing he had left from Jack. That was hard to watch. And now that I’m rewatching the show, I can get his actions a lot better now and see that a lot of the stuff I used to hate came from his insecurities. So I’ve changed my mind about his behavior on the first episodes and I’m enjoying seeing him back then as well. I can see the bigger picture now.

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t:

Cassidy. I don’t really believe there’s a consensus about her, it looks like the opinions are pretty balanced, but I’m not a fan of her. I wouldn’t say I hate Cassidy, but I don’t really like her. Like, the other characters can get me to laugh and cry so easily, but she doesn’t make me feel anything? She looks kind of cold to me, which I can understand it probably has something to with being in the military and the things she had to experience and do, but even with the whole drama with her son and husband... It's just never given me the same emotion I use to get from the other characters. Also, I really wanted the first half of the season to be only about Kevin and his uncle, but they threw a stranger in it and played with the idea of putting Kevin and Cassidy together the whole time. I just wanted to see their dynamic without anybody’s interference, specially because I haven’t got the point of her presence yet. I believe Kevin and Nicky would’ve done just fine in their journey to sobriety without her and I don’t really think the woman will marry any of them. I hope there’s something bigger planned for her that will explain her addition to the show, because I don’t really get it. So far it just looks like she’s there to mislead us with the whole “who is Kevin’s wife?” mystery.

4. The character I love that everyone else hates:

Madison. I wouldn’t say everybody hates her, for me the public has mixed opinions about her? I’ve seen people who hate her, who are indifferent, who like her and think she’s funny and people who love her. However, I do believe she deserves more praise. I think she’s kind of in the same situation Kevin used to be a few years ago. A lot of people have a pre-fabricated idea of Madison and see her as someone shallow and immature. Madison has always been there for Kate, even when she was nothing but rude to her. When Kate hit her car (I know it was accidentally, but still), Madison got over it the second she learned Kate was pregnant. She immediately forgot about her car and was filled with nothing but joy after hearing the news. Madison also helped Kate to enjoy the process of finding her wedding dress, staying positive with her second pregnancy after the previous miscarriage... She’s been there through thick and thin. And she is so loving, selfless and strong that was willing to raise her twins and go through all of that by herself to avoid getting in the way of Kevin finding his great love story. How can somebody not admire that? Even if you don’t like her, because that’s understandable and sometimes a character just doesn’t resonate with us, there’s absolutely no reason to hate or criticize her personality and actions. Madison is very underrated, but she is an amazing person. I just don’t understand why people have changed their minds about Kevin after seeing his struggles and evolution, but won’t do the same with her. The only difference here is the amount of screentime they have and the gender, because they’re both great people. I really don’t get it.

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

One of the great things about this show is that I’ve never stopped loving any of the characters. There are characters I don’t really like, there are characters that have grown on me, but the opposite has never happen. However, I am a little angry with Randall and Kevin after that fight. I won’t defend any of them. They were both terrible to each other.

I get where they’re both coming from when it comes to how they deal with Rebecca’s health. It’s understandable wanting to save your mother. It’s understandable wanting her to enjoy the time she has left. There is no right or wrong decision in these situations. And a lot of how they deal with it comes from their personalities and traumas. They both have this hole in their lives because of losing Jack. Randall blames himself and thinks about what life would’ve been if he hadn’t died every single day. His anxiety also plays a role in how he process everything. It’s consuming. On the other hand, Kevin regrets not having spent as much time with his father as he could’ve had. He’s also already gone through therapy, is a year sober and attending the AA meetings regularly... He can see things more clearly than Randall right now. So I don’t judge either of them for how they approach to the situation. Still, Randall should’ve respected Rebecca’s decision. Period. He was selfish and I can’t defend what he did. I can understand why he did it and I didn’t really see it as him manipulating his mother, for me it was more of a desperate moment, when he was telling Rebecca he cannot handle losing her. Not that Kevin and Kate can handle losing their mother, but he’s clearly overwhelmed with the whole situation, while Kevin and Kate are at a better mental state and looking at things with more serenity.

However, regarding their fight, Kevin’s got some fault too. I’m sure they didn’t mean anything they said to one another, they just happened to know each other’s deepest wounds and wanted to rub them. It was painful to watch. Kevin knows Randall feels guilty for letting Jack walk back into the house. Randall knows Kevin feels guilty for not being there. Kevin knows Randall have never felt liked he completely fitted in, because he was abandoned by his biological father and adopted only after Rebecca and Jack lost a child. He’s always felt a little lost or as a replacement to Kyle. And Randall knows Kevin is self-conscious and feels like people don’t take him seriously or believe he can be responsible. It was heartbreaking and cruel. And I’m rewatching season 1 and recently saw the episode where they finally begin to grow closer and there is this scene where Randall says:

“[Mom] showered me with attention. Took my side more often than not. And I ate every bit of her love up. Ate it up like Pac-Man. You know why? Because the one person I wanted it from the mo..

[...]

You know, back there with those people, it's the first time in 36 years you've said the words, ‘he's my brother’, [as] claiming me.”

I’ve also just finished the episode where it shows young Randall having a nervous breakdown and Kevin ignoring him. Kevin and Randall did have some good moments growing up, but for most of it they weren’t close and Randall was the one who tried the harder to change that. It took them over 30 years to get to a place where they finally acted like brothers on a regular basis and now they have both ruined all of that progress. So I can’t really pick sides and blame one of them when it comes to that fight. They were both terrible. However, I’m just a little more disappointed with Randall because he interfered in Rebecca’s decision.

6. The character I would totally smooch:

Kevin. Justin Hartley just happens to be on my Male Celebrity Crush Top 2, so...

7. The character I’d want to be like:

Beth. She’s smart, successful, funny, wise and beautiful, I’d like to have at least 30% of that awesomeness.

8. The character I’d slap:

Marc.

9. A pairing that I love:

Jack and Rebecca. Their love story, even with its ups and downs, remains epic. One for the ages, indeed.

Still, I really miss a slowburn ship. We’ve had Jack and Rebecca, Kate and Toby, Randall and Beth since the very beginning. They were all love at first sight. They got together pretty quickly. I miss a ship that I can see go through all of those basic stages, like meeting, becoming friends and falling in love. I miss seeing a character pining for another and being a little bit jealous of them. I miss watching the scenes with the lingering looks, deep breaths, both staring at each other when the other isn’t noticing... All this tension building up until the moment it just explodes. Like, give me angst scenes! Give me a scene where they are hugging so tight and not wanting to let go and Character A can’t resist it anymore and kisses character B as if their his/her depended on it. Give me rain kisses. Give me character A pining for character B, but doubting that B feels the same way. Give me B being just as insanely in love as A and feeling frustrated whenever they’re around someone else. Give me character B being unconsciously jealous and fighting with character A. Give me A blurting out that he/she is in love with B and a passionate kiss. I know it’s cliché, but there is a reason why everyone loves scenes like these: they work. And This Is Us needs stuff like that. Hopefully Kevin and Madison can fill this gap, since I’m already in love with their potential. ;)

10. A pairing that I despise:

Kevin and Sophie. I genuinely have nothing against Sophie, she is a good person and she deserves happiness. If anything, Kevin was the one who wronged her. However, I can’t help sighing and rolling my eyes whenever she shows up or her name is mentioned on the show. I’m just tired at this point. I’ve never saw the appeal of it. I’m usually a slowburn kind of shipper, but I still have my ‘love at first sight’ otps. This one, however, never really convinced me. First, I don’t see the chemistry at all (in any timeline). Second, he’s cheated on her twice. Plus, the second time they were together, Kevin had fallen back into drinking and she didn’t even realize the seriousness of the situation. I’m not saying it was her fault or responsibility, because that’s a real problem and what Kevin needed was professional help. Also, he lied to her and broke Sophie’s heart again in the process, so I can empathize with her. Still, the fact that Sophie couldn’t see what was going on and they were never able to go through it together, whether it was his treatment, or the long distance or any real obstacle just proves to me they don’t work. They simply couldn’t work together. And Kevin has moved on. He moved on from her and genuinely fell in love with Zoe. They broke up because they wanted different things, but their relationship was real. So, the way I see it, the fact that he suddenly wants another ‘crack at it’ with Sophie, it’s just a result of his frustration. Kevin is so desperate to have his own great love story and children, that he is trying to get it from strangers on coffee shops or any ex-girlfriend that will reach out to him. He’s not thinking things through, but hopefully he will let life takes it course and find find them naturally, without forcing anything or insisting on relationships that have proved multiple times that weren’t the right fit for him. I also don’t really like when characters appear with the solely purpose to be someone’s love interest, I like seeing them in their own element and their dynamic with other characters. Like, even though each Pearson has their immediate family, we’ve seen bits of Beth and Rebecca, Toby and Kevin, Beth and Zoe, Kate and Madison (who at this point I’m pretty sure is Kevin’s fiancée)... Sophie wasn’t fully integrated into the family during their second attempt at a relationship, so that’s another reason for me not to like this ship.

I don’t wanna tag anyone specifically because I’m afraid I might forget someone, so anyone who wants to do this thing, just go for it. I’d love to see your answers. :)

#this is us #randall pearson #kevin pearson

5 notes · View notes