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buttterknifeee · 3 years

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Date with Destiny- Teen Titans x Aquagirl!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: you guessed it bitches its the prom episode with everyone's fav guy Robin (S2 Ep6)

Pairings: Robin!Dick grayson x reader

Word count: 4218

A/N: hey yall I love writing for this series bfgkfhg so if you want my inbox is always open to request!!! love yallll~

Nights in Jump City are the worst time of the day; the sun is long gone and the wind constantly bites at your skin. But it depends on what you're doing to decide whether you like it or not. Sometimes it’s not as bad; that’s when you’re hanging out with your friends, maybe going to a carnival or out partying all night. Sometimes it’s worse, like you being forced to chase after some villain who decided to only operate AT NIGHT. Unfortunately, the latter is true for you tonight.

You slump over in the backseat of the T-Car while Cyborg and Raven sit attentively at the front.

“Why can’t I sit in the front?” you whine, staring at the two Titan’s heads.

“Because I’m the only one that knows how to drive this car and Raven needs to use her telekinesis so we dont die!” Cyborg yells, focusing on the target, who happens to be a guy with a spider for his head that stole a bunch of jewelry.

You groaned and poked your head out the window. Starfire and Beast Boy were up in the air, Robin close by on his motorbike, and you were all chasing the half-arachnid. You stretched out of the vehicle and made punching movements at the criminal, ocean water from the bay twisting over towards him, mimicking your movements. The jets of water just barely nicked him before crashing into the sides of buildings, the teenage spider continuing to scuttle across the city.

You turn your attention back towards the road as the spider guy created a webbed barrier in front of Cyborg’s car and Robin’s motorcycle. You and Cyborg gasp, but Raven calmly holds her hand up towards the road. It cracks, creating a ramp for the four of you to jump over the webs with.

After making the jump, the half spider looks at the car. He shoots webs at you, and its splats on the car windshield.

“I can’t see!” Cyborg yells, swerving the car over to the side. You lurch forward as you finally come to a stop, thankful that Cyborg had installed heavy duty seat belts.

“I don’t see why you can’t let me drive,” you mumbled, stumbling out of the car. You aimed your hands towards the car and a jet of water sprung out from a fire hydrant, cleaning the silk from the windshield.

“I already said it, I’m the only one who knows the inner workings of the T-car! Besides, you don’t even have your license.” Cyborg said, stepping out of the car calmer than before.

“I do too!- You know what, we’ll talk about this later. Right now we need to find the others.” You say, taking in your surroundings. Then out of nowhere, Beast Boy popped out from behind the car.

“Uh hey guys! Kinda got lost back there!” he grins, dusting off silk strands from his arms.

“I’m going after them!” you tell the other Titans, sprinting off into the direction Robin and Starfire went. You flick your wrist as you run and water from the fire hydrant trickles out and forms a wave that you could ride on, like an aquatic skateboard.

You catch up to the two as Starfire gets shot down by the spider teen’s webbing. You make eye contact as you pass her, unsure whether to help her free.

“Just go!” she yells, already beginning to rip the webs thanks to her brute strength. You nod and race forwards to catch up with Robin. You find his abandoned motorbike and look up to see him chasing after the villain using his grappling hook. I’m trying to help him, but I can barely catch up to him, you grumble as you will the water to shoot you into the air, almost like a hydro-cannon. You bounce from roof to roof, inching closer to the Boy Wonder and his pursuit with the villain.

You were right under Robin when the spider-guy shoots some type of laser at him. Suddenly, he freezes up, and begins to fall, knocking you down with him.

“C-can’t… move,” he grunts, on top of you in mid air.

“YEAH NO SHIT” you yell, still stuck under him. Ok ok, options… you think, time seems to slow down around you. I can’t make a geyser because that’d take too long. I like Robin but not enough to break his fall, hmm…

You notice the grappling hook in his belt. You yank it out and shoot it at the wall you just fell from, wrapping your other arm around Robin. Your arm feels like it was about to fall out of its socket as you abruptly stop, hanging in mid air with Robin safely in your grasp. Starfire catches up with you, having broken free from the webbed trap. She helps you down and brings you to where Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven stood.

“He is okay?” Starfire asks, holding Robin in place while you catch your breath.

“He will be. The venom’s effect is only temporary.” Cyborg says, examining the Boy Wonder, who was still frozen in a climbing position.

“Getting away...we have to...go after him!” Robin musters, but almost falls over doing so.

“You mean, we have to go after him,” Raven corrects him.

“Yeah, you gotta wait until that stuff wears off,” you say, knocking on his frozen arm to prove your point.

“But-” Robin begins, but Beast Boy cuts him off.

“Dude, we can handle it. The guy's got a spider for a head. Not like he's gonna be hard to find.” he said. Robin didn’t say anything, which was code for a reluctant agreement. Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy agreed that they would go after the spider thief, while you, Robin and Starfire return to the Tower to get Robin sorted out.

Later at the Tower, you watched in utter horror and amusement as Starfire shook Robin while holding his feet. He hung upside down, making random yelps of pain as she did… whatever she was doing.

“Um Starfire?” you say. “You know I have healing powers… I could just heal him if we need to.”

“Nonsense Aquagirl!” she chirped as Robin groaned. “There are few problems that Tamaranean acupressure will not solve. Don’t you feel better Robin?”

“Uhhh yeah, thanks.” he said, getting back up to standing position. “Now we can focus on our other issue.” He pulls out his T-communicator.

“Titans! Any luck on finding our jewel thief?”

“We found something worse,” you hear Raven’s voice from the communicator. A live cam of the scene pops up on the living room TV screen. They were at the bridge near Jump City’s Bay; hundreds of cars pass there per minute. You noticed something was near the bridge cables, and upon closer inspection, you realized that it was thousands of moths gnawing at the bridge support. As more cables broke, the bridge grew more and more unstable, cars beginning to slide around.

“Titans go!” you hear Cyborg say, and the three of them run towards the giant cloud of bugs. Unfortunately, they were no match and could barely put a dent in the population.

“Uh, we’re gonna need backup.” Cyborg says to the communicator. You were already out of your chair and adjusting your wrist gauntlets.

“We’re on our way,” Robin says, the three of you making your way to the door. But a familiar voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Don't bother. Even if you defeat a few of my children, you won't be able to stop me from releasing the entire swarm.” the villain you recognized as Killer Moth said, his face appearing on the screen. “Unless you want your city reduced to a moth-eaten wasteland, you'll do exactly as I say.”

“What do you want?’ Robin asked, brows furrowed.

“My demands are simple. The city will declare me ruler, the Teen Titans will surrender, and Robin…” he starts. You flinched at the mention of the Boy Wonder’s name. What could he want to do with Robin? To step down as a hero? Admit defeat? Reveal his identity???

“... will take this lovely young lady to her junior prom.”

Huh?

“Hi Robbie-Poo!” said a girl who appeared on the screen next to Killer Moth. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, was wearing pink pajamas, and although you had just met her, you could already tell that she was a bitch.

��Um… What was that last part again?” he asked, clearly not expecting that demand.

“Um Robin?” you ask. “Who’s this girl and why’d she call you… er, you know.”

“Her name is Kitten,” Killer Moth gloats. “And you will take her to prom.”

“This prom is the matter of a duel, yes?” Starfire asked, not very assimilated in American culture. “Robin eagerly accepts!”

“It’s not a duel, Star. It’s a date.” Robin patiently corrects her.

“Oh”

“Robin! You can’t do this!” you say, looking at him through his masked eyes. “Isn’t that right Starfire?”

“Oh yes!” she agrees. “You mustn't accept!”

“We’re gonna need a minute,” Robin sighs, pulling the two of you away from the center of the room. You stare at him, arms crossed.

“This is so stupid.” you begin. “What kind of villain makes a superhero go on a date with some girl? And what kind of parent names their child Kitten? There’s no way you’re actually going to go to a dance with some random chick!”

Robin doesn’t say anything about your comments, but opens his T-communicator again,

“Cyborg, report. How bad is it?” he asks.

“Bad! We can’t hold 'em much longer!” Cyborg yells through the communicator. “If you’re gonna do something, do it quickly!” You stared at the floor, knowing what he’s gonna have to say to Killer Moth’s demands.

“I have to do it.” he grimaces. You stayed silent as Starfire reacted.

“WHAT?!” she yells.

“It's the only way to save the bridge. The only way to give us enough time to stop Killer Moth.” Robin explains. Starfire looks at you and back at Robin.

“But you do not even have the feelings for her!” she protests, looking straight at you.

“I’m sorry, but I have to, as much as I don’t want to. And I really don’t want to.” Robin says, walking back towards the screen.

“So do we have a deal?” Killer Moth grins, as much as a person with mandibles can.

“I’ll take the girl to prom.” Robin says grimly.

“Don’t tell me. Ask her.” Killer Moth says, referring to the blonde girl still pasted on screen. Even though you couldn’t see Robin’s eyes, you could tell that he was rolling them.

“You’ve got to be-”

“Do it!” the villain yells. Robin sighs.

“Kitten, was it?” he asks.

“Meow,” she replied. You almost threw up when she said that. You could see Robin reacting in the same way.

“Right. Will you...go with me to the prom?” he said, his voice showing his utter disgust.

“Oh, Robbie-poo! I thought you'd never ask!”

I can’t do this you thought, as the screen finally blipped off. Robin calmly pulled out his T-communicator and projected it onto the screen. Raven picked up, Beast Boy and Cyborg crowded around her. You could see in the background that the moths were no longer gnawing at the bridge. He told them that he bought them some time, telling them to find out what he has planned. Then he shows them a picture of Kitten.

“Who is she?” Raven asked.

“She is a manipulative gremlock not worthy of Robin's time.” Starfire pouts.

“Yeah, she's a bitch too.” you add.

“She's got some kind of connection to Killer Moth. Find the connection, and I bet you'll find him.” He said, turning to you and Starfire. “Aquagirl and Starfire will join you to help with the search.” you rolled your eyes; Is he seriously going to do this alone?

“Hey, what about you? Aren’t you going to help us?” Beast Boy asked.

“I can’t. I have a date.”

You and Starfire were going to prepare for your mission when she shoved you into her room. You’ve forgotten how pink all her furniture is, from the curtains to her pillows. She whips out her T-communicator.

“Starfire what are you-” you begin, but she shushes you.

“Starfire to Raven,” she says into the communicator. “Please note that I will be the only person joining you, as Aquagirl will provide Robin backup on his date!”

“Um… okay.” Raven says, then hangs up.

“What??? I’m supposed to help you guys, remember?” you protest. “And I thought you had a crush on Robin??” The alien girl took you by your shoulders.

“Aquagirl, my feelings for Robin have long dissipated, but I am sure you still have the feelings for him!” she chirped. “Do not worry, four Titans are more than enough to defeat Killer Moth! You should go to the prom of non-duels!”

“B-but what do I even wear? Prom dresses were not on my shopping list.” you argue.

“Oh do not worry Aquagirl, you may borrow mine!” Starfire opened her closet to reveal a rack of sparkly dresses, all in different colors. You eyes glittered in awe.

“Ok, I’m in.”

You spent the next half an hour getting ready for the prom. You picked out a blue dress with black lace and black gloves that went out to your elbows. Your suit was camouflaged underneath, just in case you needed to ditch the dress.

“Oh you look wonderful!” Starfire cheered. You blushed, looking at yourself in the mirror.

She flew you over to the prom location, which was on a boat. Water, you thought. Perfect. You looked at Starfire.

“Thanks again for, uh, everything.” you said sheepishly. She smiled.

“It is the no problem!” she says. “I will see you afterwards!” And with that, she flew off into the night. You sighed, holding a corsage for Robin in your hand. You hear the sound of a motorbike. Robin appeared in view; he was still wearing his mask, but his usual outfit had been replaced by a tuxedo. He was still stoically frowning, probably due to not wanting to be here, but something about him just makes your heart skip a beat.

You walked over and tapped his shoulder. He flinched at your touch, but calmed down as he realized that it was you.

“Aquagirl?” he asked, eyeing you up and down.

“Um, just call me (y/n) for today, don’t want to raise eyebrows.” you winked. You pinned the flowers onto his lapel. “It’s my first prom, so I got you a corsage.” It’s true; this is your first prom. You were supposed to go to your junior prom this year, but of course, being a superhero kinda distracted you from that.

“Aqu- (y/n)...” he began. “You’re supposed to be helping the others track down Killer Moth.”

“Well, you said that our job was to investigate that b- uh, girl. And there’s no better way to do it than up close.” you grin. “Besides, Starfire insisted that I backed you up, you never know if you need saving, right?”

Just then, you heard a loud honk from a car. You turn to see a pink limousine pull out. Out stepped an even pinker girl, Kitten. Her headband, dress, corsage, and heels were all an obnoxious pink. She scoured the scene until she found Robin, fiercely waving at him.

“Yoo-hoo! Robbie-poo! Your Kitten has arrived! Me-ow!” she yells. You both physically cringe at her words. Robin leans over to you before he leaves.

“On second thought, maybe I will need the savings.”

You purse your lips as Robin leaves, reluctantly linking arms with the girl. You open your T-communicator.

“Cyborg,” you say. “Robin just entered the boat with Kitten. “How’s it looking on your side?”

“Poor guy,” he says sympathetically. “We just reached Kitten’s house. Going in now. Nice dress by the way.” You grin.

“Thanks man. I’ll be watching him just to see if he needs any help.”

“Got it. Cyborg out.” the screen blips to black and you close your communicator with a sigh. Time for prom.

You awkwardly shuffle onto the boat, making sure to stay a few meters behind the two. Luckily, no one noticed that you didn’t go to their school because they were so distracted by Kitten’s yelling.

“OH ROBIN!, YOU’RE SUCH A GENTLEMAN! NOT AT ALL LIKE MY WORTHLESS EX-BOYFRIEND FANG!!!” your fists clenched as she moved closer to the Boy Wonder, all over his arm. Why did we let her take Robin to the prom again? I’d rather see that bridge collapse than whatever this is.

You stationed yourself at the punch table, pouring yourself a drink. The two were talking at the table. You knew Robin didn’t want to be here in the beginning, but what if he changed his mind? What if, somehow, he falls in love with Kitten, and then you are never gonna have a chance with him?

“OF COURSE ROBIN I’D LOVE TO DANCE WITH YOU!!!” Kitten yelled, the two of them moving towards the dance floor. Your cheeks burned with anger, and maybe a little bit of jealousy. You clenched your fist again, and the sickly pink punch from the punch bowl shot into the air. The couple next to you who was about to get some punch slowly walked backwards away from you. But you didn’t care. You stomped away from the punch table.

You were leaning at one of the clothed tables as you glared at Robin and Kitten dancing away. You don’t even know why you felt so angry; maybe it was the fact that they’ve been dancing for 10 long minutes, or the fact that Kitten’s resting her head on his shoulder, or maybe the fact that you’ve never held Robin’s hand before and she is!

You notice him looking at his T-communicator while he was dancing, relieving you of the idea that he was actually enjoying the dance.

“Kiss me,” you hear Kitten say, and you froze.

“Sorry, I don’t like you that way,” he smirks. “As a matter of fact, I just don’t like you.” YES, you thought, smiling from the table.

“WHAT?!” the blonde girl shrieks.

“Killer Moth’s being taken down as we speak. We’re done here.” He pulls away, tucking his T-communicator into his pocket.

“No we are not!” she yells, ripping the corsage off of her dress. The petals fall away to reveal a cylinder, push-button controller. “Daddy’s not calling the shots tonight, I AM!!!”

“Daddy?” you and Robin said at the same time, in shock. So that's why Killer Moth made Robin go to the prom with her.

“And unless you want me to let those bugs out for a late-night snack, you better pucker up!” she makes kissy noises at Robin, her lips inching closer and closer. Robin put his finger out at them as if to shush her.

“Not even if you paid me,” he said, pushing her away and grabbing the controller out of her hand. They fight over it, and you wonder whether to jump in and help. Suddenly Kitten turns her focus away from Robin.

“Fang?” she smiled. You turned to see the jewel thief from before climbing onto the boat, spider head and all.

“That’s your ex boyfriend?” he asked, staring in shock.

“Get your hands off my girl!” he yells, knocking Robin down with his spider leg, Kitten snatching back the controller. Ok, time to act you thought, holding up your hand. A jet of water sprung up from under the boat and hit Fang, sending him flying backwards.

“And keep your legs off my guy!” you yelled, not even sure if you and Robin were on that level yet. “You alright Rob?” you ask as the Boy Wonder stands up.

“Best I’ve felt all day,” he smirked, ripping off his suit to reveal his costume underneath. You smiled; you two seemed to be on the same track in terms of disguise. You ripped your dress off and your costume uncamouflaged, revealing the familiar blue and black swim gear you always wear. You yank off your gloves to show your gauntlets underneath, the spikes swing up into place. You both look back at Kitten and Fang to find them making out; mandibles and all.

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” you mumble, getting into a fighting position.

“You know…” Robin says, bring the couple’s attention back to you two. “You two make a really bad couple.” Fang charges at the two of you, shooting his webs and venom. One of the webs hit you, sending you to the floor. You used the spikes on your gauntlets to cut yourself free while the spider villain goes after Robin. You finally free yourself as Kitten watches the action.

“Isn’t it romantic? They’re fighting over me!” she swoons. Your cheeks burn hot with anger. Now that you're out of disguise, it's the perfect time to beat her up.

“You’re not worth anyone’s time to fight over!” you quipped loudly, causing Kitten to start screaming at you. She tackles you, and the two of you fall onto the table.

“What the-” you grunt, the air knocked out of you as you crash into the food. You roll over and pin her to the table. You try to reach for the controller, but Kitten smacks a cream pie in your face. She pins you down this time, but you extend your leg to her side and swing, sending her flying across the table. She lands flat on her back, stretched lengthwise across the table. You lunge at her, but she grabs you and dunks your head into the punch bowl. You almost burst out laughing; she was trying to drown you, and you could breathe underwater.

Your eyes glow blue from underneath the punch bowl as the beverage explodes in the girl’s hunched over face. She screams, and you push her into the chocolate cake. She lands on the floor, her pink dress now stained with chocolate frosting.

“YOU.. RUINED… MY… DRESS!!!” she screams, clicking the controller. You gasp in horror, she’s crazy. She runs at you again, screaming and you dodge her, using your water powers to shoot the controller out of her hand. The controller rolls away, right towards the bottom of Robin’s foot.

“Consider yourself dumped.” he said, breaking the controller.

“NOOOOOOO!!!” she shrilled. You rolled your eyes and punched her square in the nose, her falling to the ground.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” you grin at the Boy Wonder, who looked at you in awe.

The other Titans rejoined you as you watched Kitten, Killer Moth, and Fang get pulled into a police van.

“Nobody dumps Kitten! Nobody! You're going to pay for this, Robbie-poo! YOU'RE GOING TO PASAY!!” the blonde girl screamed while being pushed into one of the vans.

“So, no second date?” Cyborg jokes. Beast Boy was sitting over the edge of the boat holding one of Killer Moth’s moth larvae. According to them, the controller Kitten had allowed them to turn into moths, but when Robin broke it, they all turned back into harmless giant bugs.

“So what becomes of Killer Moth’s larvae population?” Starfire asks.

“You know...now that nobody's making 'em all mutate-y,.these things might actually make good pets.” Beast Boy said, poking at the larvae's belly.

“Don’t even think about it.” Raven says, staring in disgust.

You and Robin walk towards some of the students to apologize for ruining their nights when spotlights turn on, the bright lights moving across the floor. The two of you braced for impact. The announcer began to, well, announce.

“And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...the king and queen of this year's prom are...Robin and (y/n)!” Your eyes widened at the announcement.

“I’m back on duty so it’s Aquagirl now! Sorry!” you yelled awkwardly.

“Well um then Aquagirl-” Robin begins, but you stop him.

“I mean, you can call me (y/n), if that’s what you want,” you offered, slightly blushing. He blushed back.

“Oh! Ok, then (y/n) it is.”

“So how about that dance, Boy Wonder?”

“I guess one more dance wouldn’t kill me.”

Robin led you towards the middle of the dance floor. You put your arms around his neck and he put his arms around your waist. His hands were gentle, and was only lightly touching your back, as if he was ready to pull them back at any time.

But he was smiling; something he barely did all night. You both laughed as you awkwardly shuffled across the floor; it's like you had two right feet and he had two left feet so it canceled out. You pulled in a little closer, he hugged you a little tighter. You stared at his masked eyes, imagining them looking back at you.

Suddenly you heard a whistle and whipped your head to see the rest of the Titans nonchalantly watching you two dance. They grinned, waving hello. You rolled your eyes and whipped your hand at them. A small geyser jumped up and landed on the Titans, drenching them. You and Robin laughed, then resumed your dance.

Nights in Jump City are the worst time of day, but with Robin, it’s a whole lot better.

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mattelektras · 3 years

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Okay can I just get a brief summary of Matt's character traits and like overall personality because I will not rest until I come up with a satisfactory casting choice for this son of a bitch

no man on earth can satisfy me as matt murdock he’s not out there. the closest anyone has come is young robert redford. find me a hot ginger dude that doesn’t look like he knows he’s hot, is preferably an actual blind person, would look good both put together in a suit AND mid mental breakdown. the man does not exist. but anyway MATT & CHARACTER

a self sabotaging bitch!!!!! he has a good thing and he loses it because he’s always trying to do so many things at one time that he can’t maintain all of them

will look at a woman once and fall in love. i make fun of him for having a lot of exes but he’s different to a lot of men in comics who’ve had 383628 girlfriends because when u read stuff with each one, you genuinely believe this dude is in it for good. he will not ask a girl out for coffee. he will fall in love at first sight and think about proposing on day 2. he leads w his feelings so much

BUT that being said he sometimes neglects those in his personal life because of his daredevil life. he gets caught up in one and the other suffers for it but he’ll never not be daredevil, i think one of my favourite things about matt is how hard he believes in his own nonsense. he’s tried not being daredevil and he can’t do it. there are so many matt quotes about how he was born to be daredevil, how daredevil has never been his problem, how he’s always gonna be daredevil and always has been

i make fun of him for being a little dumb which. he is. but he’s SMART dumb. it’s common sense he’s got a problem with but i think a lot of that comes from him leading w his feelings like i said. he’s soft, he’s very emotional for a male comic book character

he can be a little manipulative and controlling. like lowkey, and i don’t think he knows he’s doing it but. it’s in the way he doesn’t tell people like foggy or karen or kirsten ALL of the facts and it’s not because he doesn’t trust them but that Classic Superhero thing about ~~~protecting them. it’s been a point of tension in his relationship with foggy at times

canonically has depression. ppl write him very quippy sometimes and he is, but i think a lot of that a lot of the time is the character he makes himself. it’s the repression matthew how very catholic of you

speaking of. mr catholic poster boy has a lot of issues re: god and redemption and self worth and this kind of. religious self flagellation. it’s like he uses his religion that he CHOOSES in order to punish himself like. he is the only person who thinks his religion would place him negatively on the holy scale. like. he chooses to be that dramatic and masochistic

he’s very loyal and like. committed. he’s been surrounded by most of the same people for his entire career, and they’ve stuck with him. like foggy, peter, elektra, luke & danny. and the same wrt him being daredevil?? he’s never had an alias switch, he’s never changed his values for daredevil, he’s always done it alone (expect for sam chung but. good boy bad comic). he’s not a mentor like clint or a father like batman or etc etc. honestly he could do w being a little less steadfast because he causes himself problems

there’s a quote that’s like “matt always course corrects by overacting” and he DOES. shit goes downhill and hes like well fuck. and comes up w the most random shit. mike murdock??? being the literal mayor?? faking his death??? king if you could just sit down and think about it for like 5 seconds

if we’re talking looks wise. there are many different matts. checchetto matt is LITERALLY young robert redford. like. fluffy hair that’s a bit scruffy. chiselled but not in a way that makes u wanna punch him. just. friendly and non threatening. 8/10 matt. just think he’s neat

samnee matt is like. annoyingly handsome w the square jaw and the chin dimple w the perfect hair. but it’s not annoying to the point where i’d be like oh that dude looks like a dick i’m swerving that shit. like. he has frat boy with a heart of gold vibes. would help someone cross the street. also samnee matt always seems Bigger to me. like broad shoulders and taller. cant explain it. very clark kent who definitely isn’t superman. anyway. a 9/10 matt. the most ginger of them all

og matt. i WOULD probably punch og matt. he was kinda smug. like classically handsome. 50s husband vibes. irl i would be mad at myself that for thinking he’s kinda cute but i would still let him open doors for me. 7/10 matt. a couple points just for being a classic

maleev matt. i love maleev matt glasses like if i can say one nice thing about the show, it’s that they did the round glasses. maleev matt is a bit of a mixture of samnee matt and og matt but with some darker vibes thrown in. and maleev matt always looks like whatever he’s going through at that time. his hair grows in proportion to how miserable he is BUT he does have the ability to be very like. suave lawyer handsome. 7.5/10 matt

what’s important for all of them is that he’s gotta look pretty when he cries. if the dude you’re considering wouldn’t look good crying in front of a stained glass window then he’s not it

#q & a #anonymous

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essoreese · 5 years

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Silence Ritual Chapter 1 - A Deal With the Devil

(AN/ Heyo guys, Esso here and this is my first story; Silence Ritual. Now firt thing's first, although I already mentioned this in the description, this is a spinoff of Take A Stand: The Broken Mirror by Garouge Faux / @crewefox. It's also a direct sequel to that story so if you haven't read it, please do before reading this. This fic will be around 20 chapters and while it doesn't have a strict update schedule, I will try to update it at least twice a month. So without any further ado, let's begin the Silence Ritual.)

special thanks to @helthehatter for letting me use her OC, Kodi Jones.

here’s a link to the fic: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13396893/1/Silence-Ritual

and here’s a link to The Broken Mirror, in case you haven’t read it: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12973009/1/Take-A-Stand-The-Broken-Mirror

Chapter 1: A Deal With The Devil

It was almost 9:30am in Zootopia. Despite being late summer the weather was surprisingly cool. And while most mammals were out, enjoying the weather, a brown-furred bunny running like her life depended on it certainly did not fit in with the surrounding atmosphere. "Shit! I'm so damn late." she cursed under her breath as she made her way to the bank. She had just arrived at the front door of Zootopia first national bank but before she could enter, she was knocked back by three figures. By the time she got herself off the ground, the trio was already speeding away in a white van.

In said van a female hyena took off her mask, looked at duffle bags full of cash her and her partners were holding and cheered "Hell yeah! Hahahaha, that was awesome!"

"Shut up!" a male ram shouted at her. "How 'bout we lose the cops, then we can celebrate all we want." He then turned his attention to the driver. "They still followin' us?"

"Nope." The zebra behind the wheel returned. "Should be smooth sailing from he-"

***CRASH***

The van had somehow swerved off the road and hit a lamp post. The group of robbers got out with ease, none of them were injured.

"What the shit, dude?!" shouted the hyena before pushing the zebra driver "You could've killed us!"

"I didn't do shit! The van just swerved!" the zebra retaliated, clearly rattled by the crash.

"Screw that noise! The hell do you mean it just swerved?" the ram said while trying his best not to kick his accomplice's teeth in.

The trio kept arguing for a few more seconds until another mammal, a buff female leopard, stepped out of the vehicle.

"ENOUGH!" she screamed before adding "We got the money. Let's get out of here before the pigs arrive, and then you can beat up this idiot."

"I keep telling you, I didn't do this! I didn't crash the fu-" the zebra tried to explain, but was stopped mid-sentence when a small piece of metal hit him in the temple, knocking him out cold.

Before any of the other crooks could react, a dozen more metal plates began flying around them. First, two of them enveloped the ram's hands and effortlessly magnetized him onto the crashed van. Then one wrapped itself around the hyena's foot and dragged her across the street until it latched onto a lamppost, leaving her hanging upside down. The rest of the plates began spinning around the leopard. One by one, they began binding her hands, eventually sending her flying towards a sewer grate. Now that all of them were immobilized, an ocelot in his late teens came out from a nearby alley. He was dressed rather plainly, with a black hoodie and torn jeans and would seem completely normal if he didn't have several small pieces of metal levitating around his arms.

"C'mon, cut him some slack, I didn't even give him a chance to control the van" he taunted the leopard.

"Who the hell are you?" she spat while trying to remove her arms from the sewer grate they were stuck to.

"Look, I'ma make it real simple for you dum-dums," he snickered "you did crime, so I glued your asses for the cops to handle."

"What the hell?!" the hyena barked in rage "what did you do to me you freak!"

"You aren't very bright, are you?" the ocelot said condescendingly "let me give you the TLDR, name's Steelswarm, I control metal, I got a tip that you were robbing a bank so I decided to have some fun with you all."

"Like hell you got a tip, you're too young to be a cop! Cut the crap!" yelled the ram.

"I didn't say i was a cop, moron" Steelswarm sighed as he pulled a small star shaped badge from one of his pockets "I'm with Ceartais and you are sooooo fu-" he tried to taunt but was cut off by a thud to the back of his head. The zebra had woken up and had taken the opportunity to knock the gloating vigilante out.

When Steelswarm came to the four robbers we're standing over him, when he was knocked out he lost control of all the metal plates that were holding the crooks.

"Ya dun goofed, kid and now you're gonna pay for screwing around!" the hyena snickered before putting a paw to her face, which began to transform into that of a wolf with golden fur. She fished a pair of glasses out of her pocked and put them on before saying;

"OK, first of all you didn't call for backup once you got the tip."

"Sorry, Clara." the ocelot murmured, still in pain.

"You didn't even try to restrain me after knocking me out!" complained the zebra, as it's face morphed to that of a red fox.

"Sorry, Luna." Steelswarm groaned .

"And what's with all the gloating?" said the "ram" as his body transformed to that of a wolf with black and white fur. "Those restraints were weak, I could've knocked you out myself if you had come any closer."

"Sorry, Kodi" Steelswarm added, sinking further into the ground.

"Overall, that was pretty sloppy" said the fox/bunny hybrid that now stood in the leopard's place "but I'll give you points for the van crash. Also Steelswarm? Dope name."

"Sorr- I mean thanks Robyn." the ocelot stuttered out.

"OK, Bella, simulation over." said Kodi as the city around them began to dematerialize and they were left in a blank room.

Kodi helped the ocelot to his feet before saying, "OK, you have good control over your powers but your communication still needs work. Also you need to pay more attention during combat..."

"Yeah, figures..." groaned Steelswarm "so... same time next week?"

"Yup!" said Clara while looking at her tablet "Oh, but you'll be training with Regina and Hannah then."

"Sweet! See ya then, guys!" yipped the ocelot as he walked towards the elevator.

000

In the six months since Doom's defeat, the entire base had been revamped. The training area was now bigger and had simulations about dealing with situations regarding mammals with powers. A lot of them still had trouble controlling their new abilities and that was causing some issues around the city. Some of the mammals who had a better grasp on their powers chose to use them for crime, since neither the ZPD nor the MCB were properly prepared for dealing with them. A few others either wanted to join Ceartais or start their own vigilante teams. And while Ceartais usually wouldn't entertain the idea of letting anyone join in, but Olivia and Kion had left and Alice was on maternity leave, so the team was missing it's powerhouses. And despite Regina, Harper and Clara all joining the team, they were still rookies and needed supervision. So Kodi felt like had no choice but to start a training program for any empowered mammal willing to join them.

The four mammals sat in the main area of the bunker, almost ready to discuss their patrol positions for the night. They were soon joined by another hybrid, this one more closely resembling an arctic fox, bar the black stripes on her ears and tail.

"Hi, Hannah!" Robyn waved enthusiastically.

"Hi!" the hybrid responded as she made her way to the empty seat next to Clara.

"So we're waiting for Regina and Harper?" Kodi asked just as the elevator to the bunker opened.

Out of it walked a horse and a deer, holding hands. The mare was wearing a black summer dress while the buck wore a green polo shirt and torn jeans.

"Hey, sorry were late. Got held up at home." the deer, Harper, spoke.

"It's OK." Kodi said nonchalantly, before scanning the room.

"Everyone's here so," Kodi started, ready to give out the night's assignments "Me, Hannah and Regina will take Savannah Central and Downtown, there has been a string of robberies and witnesses claim that they were done by empowered mammals. "

"Robyn, you and Clara take Tundra Town. Harper and Luna you have the Rainforest District covered and Bella has Spitfire bots patrolling Sahara Square. Everyone OK with the positions?" the wolf asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Despite that, Clara seemed to be bothered by something and as soon as everyone went to gear up, she pulled Kodi aside.

"Hey, you got a sec?" the she-wolf asked quietly.

"Oh, I got more than a "sec"." Kodi said teasingly, as he pulled Clara closer.

"What?! No, not THAT kind of sec! Not at work!" Clara exclaimed "Also, Luna will find us... again."

"Awww... OK." Kodi pouted, feigning disappointment. "What is this about then?"

"Kodi, it's been six months. Why aren't you putting Robyn and Hannah on patrol together?" Clara asked.

"Well... because with you, Regina and Harper being new recruits I want an ori-" the wolf started talking but was interrupted by his girlfriend.

"Don't lie to me, Kodi. You suck at it." Clara huffed "What's really going on?"

"OK look..." Kodi sighed "the city's gone to shit again, there's empowered mammals everywhere, running the training program is stressful and honestly, Robbie and Hannah have been doing OK on their own."

"Who are you trying to fool?" the she-wolf said, somewhat agitated "They're growing apart. I haven't heard Hannah call Robyn "princess" in two weeks. They need to get through this Ronin thing."

"Yes I know... but I just don't want to bring it up. Robyn is still pissed at me for helping with the plan, and I don't think she could ever trust me or Hannah completely again. I can't risk another serious fight between the team. Not while the city needs us." Kodi tried defending himself.

"...You know that's gonna come back and bite you in the ass, right? Like, you're aware that if they find out you're keeping them apart intentionally they're gonna kill you?" Clara asked, knowing that she didn't have the time to argue with her mate.

"Probably..." Kodi returned, looking sullen.

"Look, I know this isn't easy. But you promised that you would mend the team's wounds and you aren't doing yourself any favours right now. It's way too late to change positions now but please at least consider giving them a few assignments together." Clara said before hugging her boyfriend.

"I will. I just don't wanna screw this up..." Kodi answered.

000

The Wave was without a doubt one of the biggest tragedies to hit Zootopia. Even six years later, a lot of the damage was still present. There were still parts of Sahara Square and Tundra Town that were uninhabitable, and there was barely anyone left to even live in Little Rodentia. There was one part of Zootopia that was largely unaffected by The Wave, however; Outback Island. Despite being relatively small, it still housed over 50,000 mammals and was home of the first functioning prison for empowered mammals. The facility could hold up to 500 inmates, and for the last six months, it was Esso Reese's home.

The lynx thought that The Cauldron was a hellhole, but this was worse. She could not use her powers, thanks to the modified shock collar that had been on her neck ever since she arrived there. Any of the activities that helped her deal with The Cauldron were useless here. She couldn't listen to music, her snarky attitude had put her in solitary more than once, and while she could still technically take bets on the other inmates... it was highly discouraged unless she wanted to find herself on the receiving end of a shank. The worst part, however, was the loneliness. None of the mammals she met on the Cauldron could visit her as they were witnesses in her case. And none of the imprisoned mammals wanted anything to do with her. She was laying in bed, just hoping for the sentencing piece to come as soon as possible so she could finally know how much longer did she have to endure this for, when one of the guards approached her cell.

"Reese, your lawyer is here." the rhino said in a stern tone.

The two headed to a small area, similar to an interrogation room. Her lawyer was a pig in a beige suit and he was already waiting for them. As soon as they entered, the rhino locked the door, in case the lynx wanted to try something stupid.

"Hello, Sabrina" the pig started, in his usual dull tone "how are you holding up?"

"Well other than the food and coffee being shit, the guards being abusive, everyone hating me and the crushing loneliness... ten outta ten. Also call me Esso." the lynx replied with what she wanted to be sarcasm but in the end it just came out flat and broken.

"Please, please, please tell me you got good news." she continued.

"Well, given the circumstances, I don't think the jury is in your favour." the pig returned.

"Sweet. Awesome. Love to hear it... how much am I looking at?" Esso barely managed to get out as she put her hear in her arms.

"Twenty five years minimum."

"Lovely..."

At this point Esso could not sink any lower. She just huddled in her chair and tried her best to hide her tears. "Just... absolutely lovely."

"There is another option. You could plead insanity." the lawyer tried to calm her down.

"What for? So they'll throw me in an mental asylum for the rest of my life instead of a prison?" the lynx snapped.

"Please, Sabrina, calm down." the pig tried to reason.

"Screw that!" Esso shouted, gaining the guard's attention. "I was kidnapped, almost killed several times and thrown in here for some bullshit that I didn't even know I did!"

"They have body cam footage, I can't jus-" her lawyer cut in.

"Now I'm either gonna be stuck here or in the looney bin until I croak, because I was forced into a cult six years ago! Also for the umpteenth time, call me Ess-" the lynx ranted until her shcok collar delivered a painful sting to her neck, which brought her to her knees.

"You know what?" Esso said through sobs "Just... do whatever... I don't give a shit. Guard, I'm done here."

The rhino guard guided Esso back to her cell. As soon as the door locked behind her, she collapsed into her bed started crying. She had no options left. It felt like hours before the same guard unlocked her cell.

"Reese, someone wants to see you." he said in his usual monotone.

"...what?" the lynx murmured as she got out of bed.

Esso walked the same path she just took. She was wondering who could possibly be visiting her. Her parents were dead, the other mammals from the Cauldron couldn't see her and she barely had any friends in Zootopia.

When she entered the small room, she was greeted by two mammals. One she already knew and hated. It was Skye Savage, the director of the MCB. The arctic fox sat uncomfortably in a one of the chairs and looked at Esso with disdain. The other was a maned wolf she had never seen before. He was wearing a burgundy suit with a matching tie.

"Skye..." Esso sneered at the fox "came to see your favourite little psycho?"

"Shut up and sit down!" Skye barked failing to contain her anger.

"Who's your boyfriend there?" Esso continued to prod. "You want an audience while you scream at me?"

"Now listen here you-" Skye said in a low growl before she was interrupted by the maned wolf clearing his throat.

"Please control yourself Mrs. Savage." the other mammal spoke calmly. "Now, Ms. Reese, or do you prefer Esso?"

"Esso is fine." the lynx replied, puzzled by the current situation.

"Noted." the maned wolf said as he pulled out a tablet from within his suit and started typing. "I have a proposition that you might be interested in."

"Ooooh, let me guess" Esso mocked "you wanna transfer me to an underground super prison, or some off the grid looney bin to lobotomize me?"

"Heh heh, I love your sense of humour." the maned wolf feigned a laugh. "No, I'm a representative of Ashe Incorporated, or Ashecorp. for short. We are an elite company that specializes in research into mammals with extraordinary abilities."

"Oh, so you don't wanna lobotomize me, just experiment on me. Dandy." Esso said sarcastically.

"Not the case at all Ms. Esso. We were made aware of your "outburst" six months ago." the wolf returned as calm as ever, "We want to harness your powers not only to better understand these new abilities mammals have gotten, but to also better the city of Zootopia and, potentially, the world."

"OK cut the crap, what kind of cult is this?" Esso snickered.

"We're not a cult Ms. Esso." the maned wolf answered "I understand why you would be wary of us, but given your current situation I don't think you have a better option. Especially since you haven't heard the benefits of joining us."

Esso looked at the maned wolf, now much more attentive.

"What benefits?"

The maned wolf had a small smile on his face now.

"Well for starters, you'll get full immunity."

"Bullshit." Esso said under her breath. "As if Resting Bitchface McGee over there would allow it."

"Oh, but she already did." the maned wolf produced a piece of paper and a ballpoint pen from his suit and gave it to the lynx. It appeared to be some sort of contract and while Esso couldn't recognize any of the signatures, the fact that Skye wasn't objecting to this made her believe that whoever that maned wolf was, he was being serious.

"You'll also get combat and self-defense training, paid accommodation in any hotel throughout Zootopia and access to any empowered mammal's data. All you have to do is sign the contract." the maned wolf continued, still calm but clearly more excited than usual.

"I... what's the catch?" Esso stammered.

"Well, in return, you'll have to help Ashecorp collect more data on empowered mammals." the maned wolf replied with his usual calmness. "Or you can choose not to sign and none of this would have happened and you would be back awaiting trial. So... what's it gonna be?"

Esso didn't know what to think. It was obvious to her that this offer was too good to be true, but what other choice did she have? The lynx knew that she had no chance of walking out innocent from the trial, and all of her other options involved some type of imprisonment. Maybe this one did to but right now it seemed like her only way out of this Hell.

Esso cursed under her breath as she grabbed the pen and signed her name on the contract, on what she thought was her deal with the Devil. "I want in."

(AN/ DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! (always wanted to do this) Ceartais has started a training program. Kodi is trying his best as team leader. And Esso accepts an... interesting deal. Did you like it, did you not? Either way, please review. If you have any suggestions on how I can improve the fic, please put them in the reviews as well. Next time on Silence Ritual; Esso learns what her deal is all about, Olivia tries to balance professional and personal life and Robyn and Hannah go on their first joint mission in months. See u soon folks.)

#zootopia #zootopia fanfiction #disney #fanfic #take a stand #take a stand tbm #disney fanfiction #zootropolis

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lostcybertronian · 6 years

Note

“Poke it with a stick.” BingAverage

I had a hard time coming up something for this. Have some fluffy, pure Dad™ and Android.

Tags: @caffeine-eater @authorsathenaeum @tiny-yan-an @darkstache-iplier @redraspberrycats @holyshitsnakesandspace @blue-greenstylinson @cookieface678 @bing-iplier @storm337

Prompt: “Poke it with a stick.”

“Ready, bruh?” Bing called from top of the ramp, where he balanced precariously on his skateboard. It tilted forward, tilted back, halfway between rolling down the ramp and staying put.

“Ready!” Chase stood on the first level of a set of bleachers that gleamed under the scorching, mid-afternoon sun. Sweat shone on his forehead as he raised his Nerf gun, aimed it right at him. “Do it!”

Bing grinned and tipped down the ramp.

Chase started firing. Foam bullets flew toward the android, but all of them missed as Bing ducked and swerved, the wheels of his skateboard scraping over the painted pavement.

“Check this out, dude!” He went for a kickflip, but as he did, one of the foam darts hit him in the chest.

With a surprised yelp he lost his balance and tumbled to the ground, the skateboard rolling away from him.

“Bing!” Chase dropped the gun, leapt down off the bleachers, ran toward his boyfriend, who lay sprawled on his back on the tar.

“I’m good, bruh!” Bing raised a hand in a shaky thumbs up. With his other he adjusted his shades before pointing at something beneath the bleachers. “There’s something under there!”

Chase bent to help him up, then together they headed back to the bleachers.

“What is it?” All Chase could see when he got down to his hands and knees was a dark lump, surrounded by trash and empty cans of Red Bull.

“Poke it with a stick,” Bing suggested.

“Hang on.” Chase wedged himself under the ledge, managing to inch forward- cursing loudly when he hit his head on a metal beam- until he reached the lump.

It was a leather wallet, old and cracked and worn.

“It’s a wallet!” He exclaimed when he’d wormed his way back out into the sunshine, treasure in hand.

“Don’t go holdin’ out on me! See if there’s anything inside it!”

“Hang on, hang on.” Chase laughed, then opened it, searching through the pockets for anything of interest. His eyes widened as he pulled out a wrinkled twenty dollar bill. “Legal tender, bro! And you know what that means-”

“Pizza!” Bing shouted. He grabbed Chase by the waist and lifted him, spinning him around in a circle before plopping him back on his feet. “Stuffed crust!”

Chase grinned. “And pineapple!”

“Ew, bruh.” Bing lifted his shades and shot him a look. “Gross.”

“Half pineapple?”

That earned a laugh. Bing took his hand. “For you bruh, half pineapple.”

#bingaverage #bingiplier #markiplier egos #chase brody #bro average #jacksepticeye egos #fanfiction #lostandwandering #my writing #lost writing tag #writing prompts #fluff #humor #asks #lovely anon

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the-master-cylinder · 4 years

Text

The Boys Next Door (1985) SUMMARY:Roy Alston (Maxwell Caulfield) and Bo Richards (Charlie Sheen) are two outcasts of their high school community. Bo receives $200 as a graduation gift from his grandparents. Facing a lifetime of working blue collar factory jobs, the boys spontaneously decide to use the money to go on a vacation to Los Angeles.

During the drive to Los Angeles, Bo and Roy rob a gas station and beat the attendant (Joseph Michael Cala) with a crowbar. The next day, the boys go to a beach boardwalk, where Roy throws an empty beer bottle and it hits an elderly woman (Helen Brown) on the forehead. Three young women (Claudia Templeton, Mary Tiffany, and Marilou Conway) see this, and they chase Bo and Roy to a parking lot. The women yell at the boys and damage their car. Enraged, Roy starts the car and drives around in circles in the parking lot with the women still on the hood. After several loops, Roy throws the car into reverse, throwing one of the women from the hood of the car. After the incident, one of the women finds Bo and Roy’s dog, Boner the Barbarian, and reads its ID tag, which leads to speculation of where Bo and Roy are from.

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During a visit to La Brea Tar Pits, Bo expresses his wish that the world could just “go caveman” for one day, abandoning all rules and order. Roy agrees, and they spend their evening on the streets of Los Angeles.

Several additional encounters lead to more deaths, including a gay man Chris (Paul C. Dancer), a young couple (Richard Pachorek and Lesa Lee), and an older woman Angie Baker (Patti D’Arbanville) whom Roy kills while she is having sex with Bo. Eventually the duo are tracked and found by the LAPD and chased into a shopping mall. After unsuccessfully trying to steal some guns, Bo tries to talk some sense into Roy about surrendering. Roy refuses, and he orders Bo to give him the gun so he can go out in a “blaze of glory”. Bo refuses and shoots Roy when he tries to take the gun away. The police surround Bo and ask him why he killed his friend. Bo replies, “Because I had to.” Bo is then arrested and led away while reporters snap photos of him.

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The Boys Next Door (1985) Soundtrack No Way-Great White Hard & Cold-Great White I Got Nothin’- Iggy Pop The Need-Code Blue I Ain’t Nuthin’ But A Gorehound -The Cramps The Most Exalted Potentate Of Love-The Cramps Spellbound-Code Blue Let Me Rock-Chequered Past Is That So Strange-Code Blue Clean The Dirt-Tex and the Horseheads Face To Face-Code Blue

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CAST/CREW Directed Penelope Spheeris Produced Sandy Howard/Keith Rubinstein Written Glen Morgan/James Wong

Charlie Sheen as Bo Richards Maxwell Caulfield as Roy Alston Patti D’Arbanville as Angie Baker Christopher McDonald as Detective Mark Woods Hank Garrett as Detective Ed Hanley Paul C. Dancer as Chris Richard Pachorek and Lesa Lee as couple Kenneth Cortland as Dwayne Moon Unit Zappa as Nancy

Dudes (1987) SUMMARY: Grant, Biscuit, and Milo are punks living in Queens. Bored with their lives, they decide to move to Los Angeles, and set out on a cross-country drive. In Utah they assist Elvis impersonator “Daredelvis” with getting his trailer unstuck. Later, Grant sees a mirage of a cowboy on horseback. While camping in the Arizona desert they are attacked by a gang of vicious rednecks, and Milo is murdered by their leader, Missoula. Grant and Biscuit escape and collapse in the desert, where Grant again sees a vision of the cowboy.

The local sheriffs do not believe the boys’ story, having no record of Missoula or his gang and being unable to find Milo’s body as evidence of the murder. Grant resolves to track down the gang and avenge Milo’s death, despite Biscuit’s reservations. Heading back into Utah, they find one of the gang’s trucks overturned and several of the members dead. Before dying, one of them reveals that they planned to turn themselves in but were killed by Missoula, who is headed north through Wyoming to Montana. The boys also meet Jessie, a young woman who runs a gas station and towing business.

Catching up to Missoula’s truck, Grant and Biscuit engage in a high-speed shootout with Missoula and his buddy Blix, but swerve off the road and crash. They are rescued by Jessie, who teaches Grant how to shoot and ride a horse and strikes up a romance with him. Meanwhile, Biscuit has a dream in which he is part of a Native American tribe who are slaughtered by Union Army soldiers led by Missoula. Upon awakening, he begins to imitate a Native American warrior and insists on resuming the pursuit. Jesse outfits the pair in exaggerated western costumes and gives them use of a beat-up 1959 Buick Invicta complete with bull’s horns mounted to the hood.

In Wyoming, the boys find Daredelvis working at a rodeo and enlist his help to capture gang member Wes, from whom they recover Milo’s stolen jacket, but Wes is killed by a bull without revealing Missoula’s location. On the way to a ghost town where Missoula is rumored to be hiding, Grant once again sees the mysterious cowboy, but Biscuit dismisses it as an illusion. Finding the town empty, the pair get drunk and have a vision in which they meet the cowboy, named Witherspoon, accompanied by a trio of Native American warriors from Biscuit’s dream. Witherspoon magically transports Grant back in time to when the town was populated and raucous, while the Native Americans similarly transport Biscuit back in time to participate in a tribal gathering.

Awakening hung over, Grant finds a matchbook in Milo’s jacket that leads them to a saloon in a Montana town where they find Missoula and Blix. Trailing them into a movie theater, Grant and Biscuit open fire on the pair, but Grant hesitates and a shootout ensues; Missoula and Blix escape, while Grant and Biscuit are arrested and jailed. Missoula and Blix murder two sheriff’s department officers and invade the jail in an attempt to kill the boys, but Jessie arrives just in time to break them out. Grant manages to kill Blix and wound Missoula, and pursues him on horseback to an abandoned building, where he tackles Missoula off a high ledge. Missoula shoots Grant in the arm and Grant returns fire, killing him. Grant once again sees Witherspoon and the Native American warriors, now accompanied by Milo, who ride off into the distance and disappear in a cloud of dust just before Biscuit and Jessie arrive.

DEVELOPMENT In writing Dudes, scriptwriter Randall Jahnson was partly inspired by visits to Old West locations which he felt were “frozen in time”. In the early and mid-1980s, he later reflected, the punk and art rock scenes in Los Angeles were demonstrating a certain fascination with the West, exemplified by Wall of Voodoo performing cover versions of Spaghetti Western songs, the Dead Kennedys covering “Rawhide”, and the Meat Puppets mixing punk with country music, which influenced his crossing of the two genres in his script. He settled on the film’s title based on the Old West use of the term “dude” to describe a “tenderfoot” or “fish out of water”, city-dwelling Easterners unprepared for life on the frontier, seeing his main characters as modern “dudes”.

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Jahnson pitched his script to producer Miguel Tejada-Flores of independent film company the Vista Organization as “punk rockers out in the wilds of Wyoming”, which Tejada-Flores thought was an interesting idea, though a bit “out there” conceptually. He and fellow producer Herb Jaffe sought Ridley Scott to direct, but could not agree with him on the film’s “vision”. Penelope Spheeris first read the script in March 1986 and expressed interest. Tejada-Flores had been impressed by her previous directorial work, particularly her 1985 film The Boys Next Door, and felt that she could tell an enthralling story from the mix of genres present in Jahnson’s script. He showed The Boys Next Door to Jaffe, and the two agreed that Spheeris was a good candidate to direct, a choice which was solidified when she convinced them that she could make the film within their proposed budget and get good performances out of her actors. Jahnson was a fan of Spheeris’ 1981 punk rock documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, and agreed that she had the “punk rock sensibility” for the script.

I was hugely influenced and inspired by the punk rock and art band explosion in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. During that time a number of bands began to weave Western imagery and country music elements into their music. The Dead Kennedys recorded a hardcore version of ‘Rawhide.’ X, who’d never made any apologies for having an ear for Hank Williams and Merle Haggard, launched their rootsy side project, The Knitters. Wall of Voodoo covered Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ and the classic theme to ‘The Good, the Bad & the Ugly’ and even released an album titled ‘Call of the West.’

Then bands like Rank and File and Blood on the Saddle – who consciously blended punk and country sensibilities – began to appear. And the Meat Puppets emerged from the Arizona heat with their distinctive brand of desert slacker psychedelia.

Somehow I wanted capture this juxtaposition in a script. The notion of fatalistic urban punkers in a showdown with the vastness, beauty, and history of the American West amused and intrigued me. I placed the start of the story in New York City, so the journey of Grant, Milo, and Biscuit would echo the westward trek of pioneers in covered wagons.

I wrote The Vandals’ classic boot-stomping thrasher ‘Urban Struggle’ into the script because it spoofed the whole punks-out-West phenomena and kicked ass at the same time. So when the time came to cast the band playing in the punk club at the movie’s start, the Vandals and ‘Urban Struggle’ were the only choice. -Randall Jahnson

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PRE-PRODUCTION

Casting Spheeris wanted Jahnson to be part of the casting process, and invited him to many of the casting sessions, which was not common practice for directors. Jon Cryer, who had recently gained attention for his role in the hit film Pretty in Pink, was attracted to the eclectic nature of Dudes’ script as well as the opportunity to play the hero, which he had not done before. Spheeris favored Cryer for the film’s lead but also considered Keanu Reeves, and chose Cryer at Jaffe’s suggestion. To prepare for the role Cryer learned how to ride a horse and fire a gun, and got his ear pierced since the script called for Grant to wear an earring; the heavy earring caused the piercing to become infected. Being young and eager to play the hero, he performed many of his own stunts. He had difficulty with the scenes that required him to drive a car; He had earned his driver’s license while performing in Torch Song Trilogy in Los Angeles several years prior, but used public transport and taxis in his native New York City and had very little experience behind the wheel.

Catherine Mary Stewart became interested in the role of Jessie because “she was a strong female character, which is important, and also was somebody who could ride horses, shoot a gun, she owned a garage…Part of my fantasy when I was a little girl was to do exactly all that stuff, and when I came on the set I had an idea of what my character should be and what I sort of developed for myself, and Spheeris was very supportive of that.” In preparation for the role she trained with a stunt performer who specialized in gun play, learning how to twirl her revolver so it would slide right into its holster. “I was practicing that all the time,” she later recalled, “because I wanted it to be great.”

Daniel Roebuck, a character actor who had recently finished filming River’s Edge, was reading scripts in search of new roles and was struck by the uniqueness of Dudes. “It was not a John Hughes movie”, he said in 2015. “There was nothing like it. When I read it all I thought of was ‘I want to be in a Western.’ I was a little concerned about the punk rock stuff, but I really liked the Western stuff.” For his audition in front of Spheeris he wore a mohawk hairstyle, since that was what the script called for his character, Biscuit, to have. When given the part, he had to have the sides of his head shaved and his hair tied into place for the duration of filming since it was too time-consuming to take apart and re-tie the mohawk for each shoot. Roebuck was not into punk rock, however, describing himself as a “square”, and was so embarrassed to wear his hair in a mohawk every day that he convinced the crew to get him a wig to wear on days off from shooting.

Spheeris had featured Lee Ving’s band Fear in The Decline of Western Civilization (1981), and stayed in touch with him. It was through Ving that she met Flea, who had joined Fear in 1982 as the band’s bassist. Thinking he had a star quality, she cast him as one of the runaway punks in her 1984 film Suburbia. By 1986 Flea was active in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Spheeris reached out to him to be in Dudes, later saying that he brought to the role “a certain vulnerability and a certain sweetness that actually wasn’t written into the script, and played it in such a sweet, loving way that when the moment came that his character is killed in the movie, it was more powerful, because he was so lovable before that, and people don’t expect that moment.” Flea felt honored to be cast, since Dudes was a chance to work alongside trained actors whereas in Suburbia he had been among a group of “street kids” similar to himself, all without acting experience.

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Another musician cast in Dudes, though in a minor role, was John Densmore, former drummer of the Doors. Jahnson met with the surviving members of the Doors while working on his script for The Doors (1991), a biographical film about the band; Densmore had moved into acting, knew Spheeris, and had heard about Dudes, and asked Jahnson if there might be a part for him in it. Jahnson spoke with Spheeris, and Densmore was cast as one of the Montana sheriffs who is murdered by Missoula late in the film.

“I worked with a lot of great people on that movie who went on to do some really great work. They’re so thankful now that people are finding it and are being able to see it again. It’s so weird, because when it plays with contemporary audiences, they seem to get it,” Spheeris said.

“I don’t want to pat myself on the back and say my film was ahead of its time, but I do think it was an out-of-the-box film for its time,” Spheeris said.

Before Spheeris came on board to direct DUDES, Randall Jahnson meant it to be “a darker, more serious film than it became.” Spheeris found elements in the material that were ironic and funny, and she capitalized on them to make an enjoyably quirky movie.

“The tone was not as known then as it is now. I think it was a little difficult for Jahnson to see his film morph into something else entirely,” Spheeris said.

Spheeris saw DUDES as an opportunity to shake up the formula. To go along with the tone, Spheeris points toward Cryer’s involvement as a way to subvert expectations.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson walked up to my door, because there was no social media back then and I don’t know why he didn’t call me, and said, ‘You’re an amazing filmmaker. I would love to work with you.’ And I thought, ‘What the hell? Really?’ He had white hair back then, too. It was freaky,” Spheeris said. “I’m looking at the door right now and it was some freaky looking young guy with white hair. So I told him, ‘Well, I’m about to do this movie. Let’s party.’”

Spheeris and Richardson found a shooting style that mirrors the anxiety and tension of the film’s plot. Even the editing in DUDES (done by Andy Horvitch) has a calculated pace that’s full of energy and doesn’t slow down.

“Maybe the style just says a lot about me, because I live in constant anxiety and tension. I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. I’m really jealous of people who live without it,” Spheeris said. “I have that, and I think that may be the reason why I might appeal to certain audiences: They have it, too. It all feeds into the punk lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle that is very tense and anxious, and I’m a punk rocker at heart.”

“I honestly could care less about making any sort of narrative film today. The whole landscape of moviemaking is so different than it was back then,” Spheeris said. “I’m interested in movies that talk about social change and understanding human behavior.”

I really kind of love that Jon Cryer is leading man in Dudes. I feel like we all wanted Ducky to get the girl in Pretty and Pink. And this is like the opposite of a John Hughes film. Penelope Spheeris: I think that’s why he wanted to do it. He also says that this is where he learned comedy, on Dudes. He wasn’t comfortable with comedy before that.

Did you originally have anyone else in mind or had you wanted him? Penelope Spheeris: We looked at quite a few people. I don’t remember them all but I do remember Keanu Reeves. He must have been just a kid, I know, just a gorgeous little boy. Just a sweetheart of a guy. But I gotta tell you everybody was pushing for Jon because of Pretty in Pink. Keanu didn’t have any credits under his belt at that point. I like Jon too, and I’m glad he did it, but it was a stretch for him. Not only with the comedy but with the punk rock too.

Yeah. I feel like Keanu could have easily been a punk rocker. Penelope Spheeris: Oh totally. Even to this day.

Daniel Roebuck is joining you for this. Do you have a favorite memory of him on set? Penelope Spheeris: Roebuck? Yeah. He complained really a lot. Hahahah! The mohawk. How embarrassing it was. I was like, “No dude. You kinda look cool. Don’t you get it?” He had to wear a hat when he was not shooting because he was so embarrassed of the mohawk.

What was his persona off set? What was he about? What was he into? Penelope Spheeris: Total serious actor. It’s in his DNA. It was a push for him too to do the comedy but I think that’s what’s cool. They weren’t both natural comedians. That’s what’s great about being a good actor, they can morph into whatever they need to do and they both did it.

From the soundtrack to the cameos, I feel like Dudes has about a million Easter eggs in it. Is there something or someone people should look for when they watch it this weekend that most people miss? Penelope Spheeris: Yes, okay. I’ll say this in due respect because she just passed away, but Pamela Gidley (Fire Walk With Me) was an actress. She never got to high stardom but she sure did hang in there in the music business. She was this gorgeous 20-year-old in the scene in the restaurant. She’s the one who kinda lures Jon over to her table. So Pamela Gidley is in there. And I love that scene when Jon goes into the bar and talks to Lee Ving and actually approaches him. And the girl sitting on Lee’s lap is Christina Beck, and she was one of the girls in Suburbia.

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PRODUCTION/PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY Cinematographer Robert Richardson, who had recently finished working on Platoon (1986), personally approached Spheeris and expressed interest in working with her. Tejada-Flores and Jaffe had been impressed by Richardson’s prior work, but did not think they could afford him; however, Richardson agreed to work within their cinematography budget.

Principal photography for Dudes began on August 14, 1986. The early scenes set in Queens were filmed in Hollywood, with establishing shots of the New York skyline and other buildings edited in to create the illusion of being in New York City. The opening scene, a punk rock show with the Vandals performing their song “Urban Struggle” (with its opening lyric “I want to be a cowboy”), was the first to be filmed. Cryer and Roebuck both had musical theatre backgrounds and were not very familiar with punk rock, and neither had been in a mosh pit before. Cryer later remarked that he found it to be rough, but fun and less violent than he had expected. Roebuck, however, recalled that he and Cryer were being trounced by the extras, who were actual punks, and that first assistant director Guy Louthan’s plea to the crowd to “not hurt the real actors” only caused them to be targeted more. Stunt doubles were used for some of the action, and the one standing in for Roebuck punched one of the punks squarely in the face. Flea, who had been to many punk rock shows, had no problem filming the scene: “That was very controlled in comparison to, like, a Black Flag show at the Starwood where people are getting sent out to ambulances all the time, and getting their heads really stomped in for having the wrong hair and shit…so I felt comfortable and fun in that environment”, he recalled 30 years later. A scene in which Grant, Biscuit, and Milo nearly fall off of a fire escape was shot in downtown Los Angeles with the actors at ground level, then edited together with shots of stuntmen dangling from a higher level. A scene in which Grant flirts with a woman played by Pamela Gidley and gets into a brawl with her boyfriend was filmed at popular punk hangout the Atomic Cafe.

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Production then moved east, outside of Los Angeles. The redneck attack and Milo’s murder, set in Arizona, were filmed in Agua Dulce, California at the Vasquez Rocks. The rodeo scene, set in the fictional town of Peckerville, Wyoming, was filmed in Clarkdale, AZ . Some of the desert scenes were filmed in the Four Corners region, including Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border; filming in this region was delayed by inclement weather including dust storms and rain. Filming in Arizona lasted four weeks, with additional location filming taking place in New Mexico and Utah. For one of the driving scenes, Spheeris suggested that Cryer, Roebuck, and Flea sing “Hava Nagila” while head-banging to show that their characters were enjoying their road trip. Catherine Mary Stewart joined the crew midway through filming to perform her scenes, including the jailbreak scene set in the fictional town of Crossfire, Montana, which was filmed in Cottonwood, Arizona. She had a lifelong passion for horses and was an experienced rider, so enjoyed filming the horseback riding segments, but suffered a broken ulna when she stopped her horse abruptly to avoid hitting a parked vehicle and was thrown into the vehicle herself. This occurred toward the end of filming her scenes, so it did not significantly impact the shooting schedule.

While filming the climactic showdown between Grant and Missoula, Ving heard that there was asbestos in the building being used and refused to re-enter it, so the sequence had to be rewritten and edited to show less of his character. Spheeris liked Flea’s performance so much that he was asked to return to filming so that his character could appear in the final scene, which had not been in the original script.

Bethlehem native Daniel Roebuck can still remember the disappointment he felt when “Dudes” opened 30 years ago to withering reviews and dismal box-office returns.

“We all worked so hard, and by that point [scriptwriter] Randy [Jahnson], [director] Penelope [Spheeris] and [co-stars] Jon [Cryer] and Catherine Mary [Stewart] were my friends,” Roebuck says. “So watching something you worked so hard on tank was not easy.”

But a funny thing happened to “Dudes” it became a cult classic. Time has been extremely kind to “Dudes,”.

Roebuck admits he had a hard time impersonating a punk rocker, particularly in a sequence that required him to endure the rigors of a mosh pit.

“Although my roots are in Bethlehem, I certainly have no problem dialing in the New York City attitude, which Biscuit definitely required. But I can tell you, the punk rock stuff proves what an actor I might be, since the heaviest music I listen to is usually written by Mozart or Rodgers and Hammerstein.”

One of the biggest adjustments for Roebuck was getting used to wearing his hair in an enormous mohawk.

“Let me be perfectly clear: I hated that mohawk,” he says. “Is there a word greater than hate? I don’t know. Despised it, regretted it, reviled it might all work.”

While Roebuck was squeamish about the mohawk, he was incredibly brave about doing his own stunt work, which required allowing someone to shoot an arrow four inches from his face.

“ ‘Dudes’ was without a doubt, my most physical movie, with fighting, horses, gunshots and arrows, and driving. Was I nervous with the arrow? Hell, yes I was! But I was young and stupid and had no children to worry about.”

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Dudes (1987) Soundtrack Urban Struggle-The Vandals Jesus Came Driving Along-The Leather Nun Number off the Bathroom Wall-Faster Pussycat Dirty Pool-The Little Kings Lost Highway-The Little Kings These Boots-Megadeth Yard Dog-The Tail Gators “Mountain Song’-Jane’s Addiction Rock ‘n’ Roll Till the Cows Come Home-The Tail Gators Show No Mercy-W.A.S.P. Vengeance Is Mine-Simon Steele & The Claw Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw-Keel Blue Suede Shoes-Carl Perkins Amazing Grace-Steve Vai Waltz Across Texas-Ernest Tubb Time Forgot You-Lethal Weapon Louisiana Swamp Swank-Steve Vai

CAST/CREW Directed Penelope Spheeris Produced Herb Jaffe/Miguel Tejada-Flores Written Randall Jahnson

Music Charles Bernstein Cinematography Robert Richardson Edited Andy Horvitch

Jon Cryer as Grant Daniel Roebuck as Biscuit Flea as Milo Lee Ving as Missoula Billy Ray Sharkey as Blix Glenn Withrow as Wes Michael Melvin as Logan, one of the gang members Axxel G. Reese as Red, one of the gang members Marc Rude as Sonny, one of the gang members Catherine Mary Stewart as Jessie Calvin Bartlett as Witherspoon Pete Willcox as Daredelvis Vance Colvig as Hezekiah, a prisoner in the Montana jail

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY wwwmcallcom randalljahnson.com https://www.dmagazine.com/ Wikipedia

DOUBLE FEATURE RETROSPECTIVE – The Boys Next Door (1985)/Dudes (1987) The Boys Next Door (1985) SUMMARY:Roy Alston (Maxwell Caulfield) and Bo Richards (Charlie Sheen) are two outcasts of their high school community.

#80sFilms #80sMUSICVIDEOS

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