#this week is full of spiders 2020
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Happy new Hozier album to all the writers looking for new fic titles
That's right—Hozier's "Unreal Unearth" is here and it has everyone feeling the full range of human emotions. The Zepotha trend on TikTok inspired renewed discussion of Goncharov, Martin Scorsese's 1973 cinematic masterpiece. Disney+ dropped a trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians and announced its release date, so mark your calendars for December 20. Donald Trump has been indicted again, this time in Georgia on charges of criminal racketeering in regards to attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. If you're looking for fresh content on all the things that have been trending steadily for weeks, well, Artists on Tumblr have you covered—just dive into the tags. This is Tumblr's Week in Review.
Good Omens
Genshin Impact
Hozier
Goncharov
Crowley | Good Omens
Aziraphale | Good Omens
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Ineffable Husbands | Crowley & Aziraphale, Good Omens
Artists on Tumblr
Red, White & Royal Blue
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Baldur's Gate 3
David Tennant
Donald Trump
Taylor Zakhar Perez
Michael Sheen
Neuvillette | Genshin Impact
Critical Role
Nicholas Galitzine
Batman | the DC universe
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WINTERDAD AU #1
(part one because this got way too long. this is essentially the plot of an old fic i started back in 2020 and what would've happened of i'd continued it. i might try and write it again one day, perhaps, if i don't give up after 2 chapters. anyway here we go)
- mary parker was a shield agent when she met the winter soldier, both were on a mission. they fought, but never got as far as mortally wounding each other. mary would always slip away. it was like a game. bucky had been kept out the ice for a few weeks at that point, running a long job. but the longer he's out, the more he starts to remember little pieces, who he used to be.
- mary feels pity for him, seeing through the stone cold image hydra forged for him, to the person within. they fight. but then they also talk. they keep seeing each other while bucky scouts. eventually one thing leads to another and they develop a relationship of sorts.
- mary later discovers she's pregnant but bucky never finds out. he's taken back, wiped and put under the ice once more. mary quits her job at shield so she can provide for her kid and keep them safe. knowing full well if anyone in shield or hydra caught wind that she was carrying the winter soldiers child, they'd never be safe.
- she's sad that bucky disappeared again, she knows hydra likely had him wiped and iced again. but she moves on, meeting richard soon after who she tells she's expecting a son, that the father disappeared without a word (technically not a lie) he tells her he'll love him like he's his regardless.
- when her son is born she names him peter james parker (during the few weeks they met, the last time they talked, bucky ended up remembering his first name, mary wanted peter to have at least a piece of him)
- peter ends up looking a LOT like bucky. he has the same shade of dark brown hair, facial structure which shows as he grows. but he has mary's eyes)
- the plane crash was really just an unfortunate incident. peter still goes to live with aunt may and uncle ben when he's seven. and then things go as they usually do in canon. the avengers form, yada yada all that stuff, you know the drill.
- when he's 14 peter is bitten by the radioactive spider. BUT. an important detail here is that due to the expiermentation bucky was subjected to by hydra and the enhancements which altered his genes, some of that, though remaining dormant, passed onto peter. but it didn't really do anything, it was just there. but it did keep him alive after the spider bite. without those enhancements in his blood peter would've died. instead, he gained his powers.
- uncle ben still gets shot, which as usual influences peter to become spider-man. and months after tony still comes along and recruits him to fight in germany. peter does.
- when he briefly faces bucky ("you have a metal arm? that is AWESOME, dude!") neither know so that also goes as normal. bucky is bewhildered by the kid who managed to block a hit with so much force behind it, while also shocked to know that he was just that, a kid.
- now one vastly different thing here is that while the avengers do split for a good year, steve and tony eventually talk and make amends. the avengers reassemble, deciding that they need to put the world before their feud. they're not on super good terms, but they tolerate each other. tony still refuses to forgive bucky.
- homecoming happens during the time where things are still rocky between the avengers so peter still deals with vulture alone. but he does see tony more often, stopping by for lab days to work on his suit among other things, to keep up the "internship" charade. tony grows fond of him, though he doesn't admit it.
its post homecoming where things start to go wrong.
#i wanted to keep mary as peter's mom because in a lot of the few winterdad fics i've read#his mom is always nat for some reason ??? so yeah. mary parker is still his mom. richard isn't his step dad he's the dad that stepped up#part two will probably be done by tomorrow! lmk what you think so far i'd love to hear your thoughts :))#marvel#mcu#marvel cinematic universe#bucky barnes#peter parker#mary parker#winter soldier#the avengers#winterdad#spiderson#marvel au#mcu au#the winterdad au#marvel fanfic#mcu fanfic#oh also keeping the irondad dynamic in there because it adds to the conflict and plot <3
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Week 1 Blog Essay
Kyle Ryan
April 14th, 2024
The film that I have decided had the single most impact and influence on me as an individual and the film I rewatched this week was Spider-Man Into The Spider verse. I understand that initially, it may sound cheesy or just plain dumb to say a superhero movie ended up having the most impact on me out of all of the great movies I’ve seen, but the one-of-a-kind flashy and unique look of the animation in combination with the incredible soundtrack and story was my main inspiration for me choosing to pursue editing for a future full-time career, with this clip from the movie sticking out in particular, it being deemed the leap of faith.
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This clip embodies the progression Miles Morales had gone through throughout the movie to be able to finally have the necessary control of his powers to gracefully swing out of the fall from the skyscraper, and in that moment he pulls the mask over his face and it solidifies him as Spider-Man. This is because the idea of Spider-Man throughout the movie is that Spider-Man is not simply one man, but rather anyone who is brave enough and willing to take that leap of faith as Miles had finally become strong enough to do. This movie was the first of its kind when it comes to the unique style of imagery Into the Spider-Verse has, and I believe this was a major contributing factor to the film's irrefutable success. The film was created using a budget of $90 million and by the end of its run it had ended up making around $384 million worldwide for a profit of around $294 million in total, and that's not even including the absurd amount of money they’ve made with merchandise from the film like action figures, toys, etc. This statistic was a little surprising from memory just because of the sheer amount of money it made, but I remember the movie being a success and hearing everyone who had watched it had loved it. Though animation tends to cost much more than filming traditional live-action, it’s clear to see that the first-of-its-kind animation style was a common reason for people to go out and see the movie. While the animation was a big selling point, for some it also meant they were immediately not going to watch the film because many people will not want to watch animated content. In addition to the use of a widely known and beloved character like Spider-Man and the soundtrack featuring popular music artists like Post Malone and Lil Wayne, having these large names certainly helped bring people to theaters. These big names and massive budgets also align this movie much more towards the conventional movie side as opposed to the unconventional side. It's safe to say that this movie was absolutely a critical success achieving a 97% on rotten tomatoes and as the movie has gone on, even with the release of a sequel, it is still considered by many to be the single greatest comic book superhero movie ever to be released still to this day. One very important topic that was heavily utilized throughout the movie was the idea of breaking past barriers and actualizing the true potential all of us are capable of. Miles Morales as a character has been a symbol for equality and representation for Black communities as well as Puerto Rican communities as well and the idea in this film is centered around this one quote which the movie even ends on, that being “Anyone can wear the mask. You can wear a mask. If you didn't know that before, I hope you do now.” It's clear to see how some people of minority groups could be empowered or inspired by quotes like these or scenes like The Leap of Faith. Some would say that the film failed in one of its goals to act as a film to empower minorities as only 2 years after its release in 2018, in 2020 the George Floyd tragedy and protests ensued, however, the character Miles was thought of by some as the goal to strive for when it comes to the honor, selflessness, and bravery he exhibits to the extent of some people even wearing Spider-Man costumes at Black Lives Matter protests as can be seen in this image from the 2020 protests.
It’s not for me to say whether these issues have improved or worsened, but I can say that there are most definitely issues with discrimination upon people’s race still present today.
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CHARACTER PROFILE
Face claim: Allison Williams
Full name:
Quetzalli (Kit) Cortés
Age:
20
Ethnicity:
mexican
Gender:
female
Nicknames:
Kit, Kit the cat, spider monkey, celest quetzal, quetzi
Personality:
Kind and soft with everyone. When she trusts or knows you she becomes an energetic person. When she doesn't, she's shy and reservated. Her experiences and personality can make her a little underconfident.
Appeareance:
she's short and skinny. Both her hair and eyes are brown. She almost always wears jeans, boots and a yellow hoodie.
When she's on her celest quetzal suit, she wears a black interior shirt, with both celest shirtfront and loincloth. Wears traditional huaraches. She has a mask with diverse mayan paintings and feathers (mainly green and blue) on the top
Abilities:
Spear and dagger handling, summoning of dinosaurs, agility, ability to climb and jump without hurting herself (mostly), wind manipulation, nahual shapeshifting (only into a quetzal bird)
Fears:
Almost any insect/arachnid (except ants, flies, mosquitoes, butterflies and long legged spiders), losing her brother, earthquakes, dissapointing people she loves/cares about, sea animals (except dolphins, whales and sharks)
Occupation:
paleontologist
Hobbies:
drawing, climbing, jumping, reading, etc.
Relatives:
Sergio Cortés Lozano (father, deceased)
Yazmin Alvarado Torres (mother, deceased)
Manuel Cortés Alvarado (brother, deceased)
Horacio Rivera Flores (guardian, deceased)
Favorite food, drinks and snacks:
Tamales (specially red ones)
Jackfruit
Ezquite
Tejuino
Flavored water
Chapulines
Favorite animals:
Quetzal birds
Ducks
Snakes
Iguanas
Alligators
Dislikes:
Seafood (except tuna), pumpkin, onion, melted and burger cheese only (she loves the rest of cheese). She doesn't like fishes, worms, roaches, rats nor mouses.
Backstory:
Kit lived on a loving home in Tlaquepaque, México with her parents, Sergio Cortes Lozano and Yazmin Alvarado Torres, and her newborn baby brother, Manuel (Manu) Cortes Alvarado.
At such young age of 4 years, she was already hyperenergetic and started climbing the couches, this was an early signal of such climber she would later become.
In 2011 when she was 7, there was a high level earthquake that destroyed her home. She was in school when it happened. When she arrived, she found her mother dying under a rumble, holding Manu up to her before dying.
She and Manu got adopted by Horacio Rivera Flores, a paleontologist who was the friend of their father.
To comfort them, Horacio took them to the museum where he worked, showing them the fossil of a concavenator and explaining them about the species and the diverse dinosaurs. Kit couldn't help but feel connected to these animals.
In 2018 when she was 14, her, Horacio and Manu moved to San Francisco in search of new animals to discover. She was already working with Horacio on his job. While doing an investigation on the inside of a ferry about the behavior of Basilosaurus. There, she got to see giant-man (she was on the ferry from amatw)
A day after that encounter, she became focused on finding out about this being and who it was. She discovered it was just ant-man, and in search of answers, she tried to give with his location and ask him herself.
In the following weeks, Horacio seemed sick. He was getting worse, and he was already way too weak on his bed. Horacio got blipped, while Kit and Manu survived.
She and Manu returned to México, grieving Horacio's and other loved ones deaths.
In 2020 at the age of 16, after living alone with her brother, she was arriving on an excavation, when she found an ancient artifact, a mayan obsidian dagger. It caught something in her so she didn't report it and sneaked it on her bag.
When she arrived home, she got curious of the dagger, as it had some kind of button. When she pressed it, she unexpectedly summoned a concavenator with it. After realizing it would follow her commands and configurating the button, she realized the dagger could somehow summon extinct creatures at her will.
She named the concavenator "Corve" and discovered other creatures that would aid her later.
One day, she discovered her brother got assaulted by a thief, so she took a choice. She got an old celest blue mayan suit from an event, made a plume mask, and with a homemade spear and her dagger, started to fight local crime, with the intentions to protect people, but overall, her brother.
She also met Ruben on this period of time, who was also a newly turned superhero due to a replication he worked on since he wanted to be just like the original spider-man.
In the following years she became more agile than ever. Her climbing became more and more expert, already climbing trees and even buildings.
In 2023 at the age of 19, when the blip was undone, Kit realized by the news, where the avengers communicated their journey to restore half of the universe. She remembered Horacio, and that he was so sick before being blipped.
She and Manu rushed to San Francisco again, but when they arrived at the department, it was too late. A worker informed them that after he unblipped, Horacio died by his disease.
Full with grief, Kit and Manu were devastated, but she noticed something. In the news, there was ant-man again, and now she knew how to find him.
Kit found Scott, and after meeting him, they became great friends.
Then time later, she would get lost on a forest. There, she finds a sorcerer named "white shaman" who offered her to let her know her spirit animal and help her find her way out of the forest.
The next day, with his guidance, she learned to turn into a quetzal bird. When she mastered it he suddenly dissapeared and was never seen again. She also adquired wind abilities.
One year after their friendship, now that she was 20, on another work travel, this time on Queens, she met spider-man, and befriended him as well.
She kept making friends and friends, finding comfort in their presence, a little breath after the storm of unfortunate events on her life.
However, shortly after that, tragedy struck again. Her brother, who was just walking to school, when a villain, known as "Black Shaman" had gotten information of Kit, attacked. Kit appeared and fought him, but he knocked her unconscious and then derribated a column agaisnt Manu.
When she woke in a hospital and found out about her brother, she became silent and her self-esteem got lower than usual. However, nowadays she's still fighting for good, and having fun with her friends.
THE DAGGER
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”200,000 Steps on the Lone Star Hiking Trail” by Sergio Chapa, from the May/June 2023 issue of Texas Observer magazine:
I grew up in northwest Austin at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, where hiking through the woods and playing in creeks were daily activities. So, I’ve always been an “outdoors person.” After moving to Houston for a journalism job, I quickly began running and biking along the city’s mostly concrete-lined bayous. Then an environmental activist told me something intriguing: Just an hour north of the traffic and skyscrapers of downtown Houston is the 96-mile Lone Star Hiking Trail, the longest footpath in Texas.
During April 2020, I began a quest to hike the full trail along with a friend in my “COVID bubble.” It was a sunny and unseasonably hot day as we embarked from mile marker zero inside the 163,000-acre Sam Houston National Forest. So early in the pandemic, we hiked without seeing another person, hearing a car on the road, or spotting an airplane in the sky. The only sounds were chirping birds, squirrels and lizards scurrying, and the wind blowing through the leaves.
It was a Coronavirus-safe activity and I was hooked.
On maps, the national forest is depicted as a massive patch of public land. But on the ground, hundreds of U.S. Forest Service tracts are broken up by private timberlands, farms and ranches, and a growing number of rural homes and subdivisions. Mostly flat to rolling terrain, the forest is laced with creeks as well as the east and west forks of the San Jacinto River and the not-so-scenic lanes of Interstate 45.
Starting near Richards and ending near Cleveland, the Lone Star Hiking Trail proper is 96 miles through the forest with five optional loops adding another 32 miles. Depending on one’s height and weight, that’s roughly 200,000 steps. Given a pace of about three miles per hour, it would take roughly 32 hours to hike the entire trail nonstop. Hiking about eight hours per day means less than a week of hiking and camping.
But that’s not the path I chose.
It took me sixteen trips with various friends over two years to hike the entire trail. Confession: We weren’t disciplined about it; sometimes weeks or months lapsed between forays. Most often, I’d park my car at one of the 15 trailheads and we’d hike for five or six miles and then head back. On every visit, the trail provided valuable relief with its clean air, social distancing, and an escape from the four-wall confinement of lockdown and stress. Our slower approach allowed us to experience the forest in all four seasons.
Spring is marked by fresh light green leaves, wildflowers and white color pops of dogwood and magnolia blossoms. The summer can be brutally hot, but it’s the best time to enjoy Lake Conroe or Double Lake. The fall brings orange, red, and yellow hues as purple beautyberries and red yaupon holly berries ripen in the understory. Pine trees and oaks stay green during winter while colonies of colorful mushrooms and fungus sprout on the forest floor.
I shared our hikes on Twitter and Instagram, and the Lone Star Hiking Trail became a hit with my social media followers too.
It’s much easier to hike the trail virtually. To do it in person, you need plenty of water, snacks, insect repellent, spare socks, powder, paper towels and wipes, and willingness to rough it, since there are no bathrooms or vending machines aside from spartan amenities at the Stubblefield and Double Lake campgrounds. Good walking shoes and long pants with high socks reduce risks of scratches, bug bites and ticks. Snakes on this trail mostly flee from people. However, mosquitoes and spiders are fearless.
Early morning hikes meant the person in the lead breaks overnight cobwebs. Scat with fur signaled coyotes and bobcats, but the most worrisome signs were the wallows and rooting of feral pigs. My worst fear was encountering hogs, which can attack when frightened or startled. Luckily, we never saw any.
Sam Houston is one of the state’s four national forests created by Congress during the Great Depression. The timber industry previously clear-cut large swaths of the Piney Woods. State lawmakers bought hundreds of barren tracts in 1933, with the intent of adding them to the national forest system. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston national forests in October 1936. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps planted millions of trees. The U.S. Forest Service gave the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club permission to build the trail in 1967. The trail and all its loops were complete by 1978.
It’s big enough that you can easily get lost. I’m an experienced outdoorsman, but we’ve gotten lost on the Lone Star Hiking Trail, marked by small reflective markers nailed into the trunks of trees. It’s easy to lose track of the markers after leaving U.S. Forest Service land and walking down a rural road to the next section. Cell-phone service can be spotty, so it’s best to download Lone Star Hiking Trail Club maps in advance.
But not all of this wilderness is protected. Legally distinct from national parks and refuges, national forests can be used for hunting, fishing, timber, grazing, mining, oil, and natural gas. By law, the U.S. Forest Service must manage Sam Houston with no single resource emphasized over others. To that point, the 163,000 acres also include trails for ATVs, mountain bikes, and horses. Lakes are stocked with bluegill, largemouth bass, and catfish. Oil wells and easements for pipelines and power lines are common.
Historically, wildfires kept the forest from getting too dense and unhealthy. Today, the U.S. Forest Service uses controlled burns and sustainable timber harvesting in efforts to control a pest known as the southern pine beetle and improve habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker, an endangered species that favors open “pine savannas” and nests from April to June. Over the decades, environmentalists and forest managers have sparred in court over forestry practices related to the beetle and woodpecker.
I looked for those woodpeckers, but only heard their distinctive high-pitched chirps and tap tap-tapping hidden in the canopy.
Sprawl and suburbanization are the biggest threat to the forest and to this trail. I-45, the busy thoroughfare connecting Houston and Dallas, divides it in two, creating a formidable barrier for wildlife and people. The Texas Department of Transportation spent millions improving a 15-mile stretch of highway between Huntsville and New Waverly but spent little on allowing hikers or wildlife to cross safely under the roadway where cars speed past a white 67-foot statue of Texas founding father Sam Houston.
I wish the Texas legislature would use some of its $32.7 billion budget surplus to create a buffer for this trail—and improve the crossings that either don’t exist or have been damaged and make a through-hike so challenging. Unfortunately, this year has seen news in the opposite direction: The state recently lost a lovely park further north on the I-45 corridor that offered its own woodland paths.
In theory, animals can use the narrow corridor where Big Chinquapin Creek goes under the highway, but hikers must trudge four miles along three rural roadways and the I-45 frontage road in order to reach the next trail section.
Country-club communities such as Elkins Lake and the Texas Grand Ranch subdivision with its two- to five-acre lots allow people to live at the edge of the forest. As an unintended result, nonnative ornamental plants are escaping into the wild and becoming invasive species. The average person may not notice, but I kept spotting exotic plants like nandina, wax-leaf ligustrum, Chinese tallow, chinaberry, bamboo, and hardy orange all along the trail.
Volunteers with the Lone Star Hiking Club and the Houston area Sierra Club maintain the trail and try to clear out invaders. I’d love to give back and join them one day.
But it’s a big job—and progress is often slow.
A vehicle bridge to the Stubblefield Campground washed out during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 but was not rebuilt until 2022. A footbridge over scenic and shaded bluffs of the east fork of the San Jacinto River in the Magnolia section of the trail was destroyed more than eight years ago and never replaced.
Hikers are forced to take a complex detour, though I opted to park my car at the next trailhead and walk to the opposite bank.
Even as the pandemic fades, I’m still going back for more, particularly to hike the loops outside the main trail. To me, this escape seems even more valuable with Houston growing at a pace that will see it overtake Chicago as the third-largest U.S. city. Even as the metropolitan area expands in all directions, the forest still offers respite.
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March (2023)
It’s silly but I’m happy I managed to watch some recent works that I was interested in, I sometimes get trapped into watching what I think I should watch, and not what I want. I can say the same for books, although I’m still finding it difficult to truly focus for more than a few pages.
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8 films
Catherine Called Birdy (2022) - directed by Lena Dunham, Bella Ramsey is a coming-of-age story, with a lovely cast and a profound reflection on what is to be a woman, and how you can find yourself among all the many things expected of our “designated roles” in society. Bella truly shines here and I want her to do more diverse roles.
Disenchanted (2022) - I love the original film and was genuinely excited for this, the trailers looked fun, and I was disapointed by the quality delivered, it’s a good idea badly executed, and while Amy Adams is forever delightful, and especially when she is being bad, but it’s not enough to make this an enjoyable film, not even for a 10 year old.
Glass Life (2021) a short documentary insanely full of references, I could barely keep up with it and need to watch it at least 5 times more. But I loved it. It’s a reflection on our choices in regard to our daily life, our capitalism image-obsessed life.
Holy Spider (2022) directed by Ali Abbasi (who also directed two great The Last of Us episodes) it’s not an easy film to watch, a real-life story about a serial killer who targeted sex workers and used a religious belief to justify his killing. It doesn’t hide anything, it hurts to watch it, but it’s necessary, it can be like many other similar crime films that make it all seem glorious.
Happy Together (1997) directed by Wong Kar-wai I’m slowly going through his most famous work and loving the way his movies have textured, you can feel them with our of our senses. It’s love in a non-Hollywood way, it’s real.
A Quiet Place II (2020) The first one is so refreshingly good, unfortunately, the sequel is unnecessary, more of the same but not in a good interesting/captivating way.
Inherent Vice (2014) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this was the wrong movie to start watching on a long daytime flight back home, and it took me many weeks to finish it, and I won’t pretend to understand anything that was happening here, I’m not even sure we are supposed to understand anything.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) Pedro Pascal and Nicolas Cage have fun being meta. Paddington 2 is in fact the best movie ever.
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4 books
Anton Chekhov - read two of his plays, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Garden, both really good works and now I need to watch “Drive My Car” again to better understand how they use the complexity of the play in the film's narrative.
Victor Hugo - Toilers of The Sea - I have read Moby Dick so I didn't think I could have a hard time reading something complex about the sea, and especially something written by Victor Hugo who does it so beautifully, but I just suffered silently until there was only 20% left and everything was sewed together beautifully.
Bernard Cornwell - The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories, #1) I love the Netflix series and postponed reading the books until it was all over, I wanted to focus on that, and not to confuse any divergent timelines or anything like that. Because I believe Cornwell is an exceptional historical/fantasy writer and I knew this was going to be good.
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3 tv series
Landscapers (2021) it’s a true crime mini-series that does a wonderful job integrating the main character's (Olivia Colman) fantasy of old Hollywood life into the narrative, making her seem almost innocent, and childlike. We almost forget that she did kill her parents and buried their bodies in their backyards.
Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake (2022) a shocking natural disaster that leads to the worst of humanity. I saw this alongside the last few episodes of The Last of Us, and that helped me understand what they were trying to say.
The Last of Us (2023 -) already one of my favorite series ever, a brilliant first season, it says so much more than anyone was ever expecting. I’m not a fan of apocalypse-based fiction, and I give this a shot thinking that it sounded more than that, and I was right. There’s a lot more here than mushroom zombies, what is even more frightening is what we do as humans to survive, and how far we will go. It’s almost what we see on a smaller scale happen in Aftershock.
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Music
Vide - Hanging By the Bayou Light (2020) weirdly, this helps me focus on studying, I call it atmospheric black metal.
Comeback Kids - Heavy Steps (2022) I love when my friends recomend me stuff that fits my mood perfectly
Paramore - This is Why (2023) I gave this a try even though I have never really enjoyed their work, what made me listen to it was a vinyl reviewer tik toker that said this sounded almost nothing like their original work, more jazz than pop rock.
#diary#march#happy together#a quiet place ii#holy spider#glass life#Disenchanted#Catherine Called Birdy#Bella Ramsey#Cillian Murphy#Amy Adams#Wong Kar-wai#Ali Abbasi#paul thomas anderson#Anton Chekhov#victor hugo#books#Bernard Cornwell#The Last Kingdom#tv show#tv series#journal#blogging#personal#Vide#Comeback Kids#Paramore#music
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16/06/2022-Wildlife and photos in my working day: Butterflies, Peregrine and more
As I cut across Lakeside on the way back from the railway station tonight I kept my eye open in case any butterfly or flower targets I had were around and I was amazed to see a smartly marked Ringlet fly and land, my first of the year and my second earliest sighting of one in a year. I felt compelled with no camera on me today having taken my bridge camera in my work bag yesterday to repeat a common trick of summer months that proved quite successful a number of times pre-pandemic in my full office working days, dash straight back out to Lakeside’s eastern meadows with my DSLR camera and macro lens to see if the butterfly I had seen on the cut through was still there that I could get a photo of. I didn’t see the Ringlet again, but as if by magic when back over here the butterfly I thought was the better bet for me to see before the week was out at Lakeside a Small Skipper was in the grass. So thanks to the Ringlet I got back out this evening and saw it, getting the third and fourth pictures in this photoset the Small Skipper.
This was one of my earliest ever sightings of these in a year too less than a week after my first Large Skipper of 2022 which is notable as the Large Skipper are often a bit earlier, 2020 everything came out earlier 2021 not so much I wondered whether this year would start to veer more towards what 2020 was like or 2021 and its doing the former my joint second earliest date I’ve reached 30 butterfly species in a year alongside 2019 my joint highest ever butterfly year list in total alongside last year and behind 2020 my second highest butterfly year list total on as Ringlet and Small Skipper brought me up to 30 a thrilling moment as my butterfly year goes from strength to strength competing so well with my past year lists with on the date comparisons. Small Skipper the main one I looked for quickly followed Ringlet onto my year list on a Lakeside summer evening in 2019 too and there were a number of things about this walking shortcut on the way back from the station and pop back over Lakeside butterfly night tonight that was a reoccurrence of something from a previous year for me and felt true to traditions I’ve developed around this time of year particularly pre-pandemic. It was just exceptional to see these two stunning and beautiful butterflies I felt so lucky to see them, and I feel I have seen so many targets of things I wanted to at Lakeside lately I am loving ticking off insects here. Its amazing that I have ticked thirteen species of butterflies at or near Lakeside this year nearly half of the 30 butterflies I’ve seen so far its dominating my year list’s location field which is so notable and has made me so proud of my patch I’ve had an amazing butterfly year here so far.
Also of note at Lakeside tonight was a Marbled White butterfly, a lovely ladybird, bird vetch, vetch, agrimony and other nice flowers and quickly my first common red soldier beetle of the year I believe. I took the second picture in this photoset of a brilliant clump of white clover and buttercups out the front I have enjoyed seeing a lot lately and fifth and sixth of a view and plant at Lakeside tonight.
Highlights from my day in Winchester was amazingly again getting an epic view of a young Peregrine this time at the cathedral sharing this moment with a few other people it was great to speak to some, seeing stunning marsh marigold by the River Itchen a beautiful yellow plant again, seeing the rich orange fox-and-cubs, flower bouncing bess, speedwell and many other lovely flowers today, hearing Jackdaws well and as well as seeing them in Eastleigh tonight seeing Swifts well again. I also enjoyed seeing Magpie and Dunnock really well some great views.
The Goldfinch in the first picture in this photoset looking gorgeous in the sun early this morning, the noble false widow spider in the eighth picture in this photoset which I’d not seen for a while, a nice fly and Woodpigeon including in flower pots and House Sparrow on the balcony tonight were at home highlights today. I was thrilled to see the steeplebush looking pink now coming into flower out the front which the seventh picture in this photoset tonight shows and I also took the final two pictures in this photoset of epic sky scenes. In the final picture a Starling made a great bird to have in the scene of the photo and I enjoyed seeing this.
#sky#sky scenes#peregrine#fox-and-cubs#photos#photography#england#small skipper#butterfly night#butterflies#butterfly#lakeside#evening#summer#warm#hot#ringlet#uk#winchester#eastleigh#nature#marbled white#goldfinch#plants#flowers#bird vetch#vetch#agrimony#happy#jackdaw
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FAN EXPO Cleveland Returns to Huntington Convention Center April 12-14 With Four Hobbits Headlining
The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and “Bob Newby” in "Stranger Things," roles that epitomize hope, determination and loyalty. Sean's recent feature films include the award-winning thriller Adverse (2020); the family comedy Hero Mode (2021); Charming the Hearts of Men (2021); and the 2022 comedy iMordecai.
The Scottish-born Boyd also had roles in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, On a Clear Day and The Flying Scotsman. He has appeared in popular television series like “Outlander,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “NCIS: Hawaii,” “Snowfall” and others, and in many iterations of the LOTR franchise, including video games. He has done voice work on numerous productions as well.
Monaghan has appeared in more than 50 productions and is known to many as “Charlie Pace” in the hit NBC series “Lost,” on which he appeared in 77 episodes. Some of his other featured roles have included spots on X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009 and ABC’s “Flash Forward” that year. He was recently the lead in the AMC+ series “Paul Sarno.”
Trejo has developed a prolific career in the entertainment industry with a hard-earned and atypical road to success. From years of imprisonment to helping troubled youth battle drug addictions, from acting to producing, and now on to restaurant ventures, Trejo’s name, face, and achievements are well recognized in Hollywood and beyond. He has starred in dozens of films including Desperado, Heat, the From Dusk Till Dawn series, Con Air, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the Spy Kids movies, Machete and many more.
Cox, who has had more than 40 screen credits, with his role as “Matt Murdock” on “Daredevil” (reprised in “She-Hulk” and Spider-Man: No Way Home) the most prominent. He gained wide notice for his portrayal of “Owen Sleater” in the HBO period drama “Boardwalk Empire” and played the lead role of “Michael Kinsella” in the AMC+ crime drama series “Kin.”
Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, and Ultimate Fan Packages for FAN EXPO Cleveland are available now. Advance pricing is available until March 28. More guest news will be released in the following weeks, including line-up reveals for additional headline celebrities, comic creator guests, voice actors and cosplayers.
Cleveland is the sixth event on the 2024 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.
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PlayStation 5
MSRP $500.00
“Sony's PlayStation 5 is still the console to buy this generation, especially thanks to its improved redesign.”
Positives
Fast equipment
Exemplary online game load times
Solid storage space
Plenty of must-own exclusives
Brand new operator with improved haptics
Disadvantages
Embarrassing design, also on new-model
The objectives for Sony because moved to the existing system pattern had been preposterously large. The PlayStation 4 ended up being a rousing success, and gamers had been anticipating that business would start brand-new, formerly unimagined options using its next-generation system.
The PlayStation 5 not merely came across those objectives, it made all of them appear conventional. With lightning-fast load speeds and revolutionary (and fascinating) modifications to your DualShock operator, the PS5 establishes the club for the following generation of video gaming.
While Top Reviewing in the beginning evaluated the PlayStation 5 throughout slightly below a couple of weeks, we’ve reevaluated the device a small number of times during its life because of its evolving nature. Our newest refresh arrived whenever Sony introduced a slimmer brand-new PS5 design in November 2023 that completely replaces the huge 2020 design we initially evaluated. That brand-new variation tackled a few of our biggest difficulties with Sony’s system, handling its bad storage space and embarrassing dimensions. Today, 36 months later on, with a brand new device in tow and a catalog of a great deal of high-profile exclusives, we’re nevertheless as on top of the PS5 even as we had been at launch.
The equipment: It’s quick — actually quickly
Giovanni Colantonio / Top Reviewing
Sony, from beginning, states the PS5 is mostly about rate. But before you encounter it, it's difficult to express so just how huge an improvement rate make.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 features the greatest technical magic trick I’ve ever witnessed, as players can instantaneously fast travel around New York City in the blink of an eye. Other exclusives like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart take that to an even more impressive extreme, sending players in and out of different dimensions without a second of loading. Moments like that have delivered on Sony’s aspirational promises over the PS5’s life span, cementing it as the most impressive console on the market.
That optimization is also apparent in other Sony-published titles, like Horizon Forbidden West. It adds tremendously to the immersion factor of games, and it positively impacts the flow of the story in narrative titles. And the ability to jump into games quickly is just as satisfying.
It’s interesting to note this perceived difference in performance stems from software, rather than hardware. Technically, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X is the more powerful console, though the PlayStation 5 has an edge in storage performance. The Xbox lacks a strong exclusive library, however, and relatively few last-gen games take full advantage of the new console’s capabilities. This gives the PlayStation 5 a big advantage even two years on.
The design: still big, but better
That great power comes with a caveat. The original PS5 model was a honking big piece of hardware with some design flaws for those who wanted to lay it down horizontally. The 2023 model is something of a “slim” refresh that solves some of those problems. The new design is definitely smaller, though I wouldn’t call it compact. It still towers above just about any other console I put it next to. The Digital Edition is notably slimmer, though, which is an improvement.
The original system’s tricky stand issues have been resolved here too, but with a catch. The system comes with two simple plastic pins that
stabilize the console in horizontal mode, but it no longer comes packaged with a vertical stand. Players now need to buy a $30 ring stand separately, which feels like a step backwards.
Giovanni Colantonio / Top Reviewing
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X is a smaller, squatter console that isn’t quite as imposing, but its boxlike shape will still mean trouble for the average A/V cabinet. Gamers with limited space for a console may instead consider the Xbox Series S, which is much smaller than the PlayStation 5 or Series X and has a more traditional slate-like shape.
The new PS5 model does bring along a bit of tech innovation with its removable hard drive. Those who buy a Digital Edition won’t be stuck without disc drive access forever, as they can actually attach Sony’s specific Ultra HD Blu-ray drive for an additional $80. It’s a great idea that makes the PS5 more modular like a PC, but the math doesn’t exactly add up. The Digital Edition is $450, which is actually $50 more than the old version despite its smaller size. Considering that the disc drive version of the system still costs $500, you’d actually end up spending more money if you chose to add a drive on to the digital version later on. Which makes the Digital Edition feel superfluous, as it’ll barely save hardly any money even though you don’t elect to update it.
If you’re trying to grab one, your very best choice is to spring for $500 design and put it horizontally. That won’t need any extra expenditures.
Storage: There’s adequate!
The PS5’s initial Achilles’ heel ended up being its bad storage area. Because of the proprietary solid-state drive and measurements of the os, people just had 667GB regarding the 825GB hard disk readily available for games. It absolutely was a paltry quantity, nevertheless don’t need to worry about it any longer due to the new-model. The device today has actually 1TB of interior storage space, matching the PS4 professional. Around 842GB of the is functional, which can be in fact 40GB significantly more than the Xbox Series X (though somewhat significantly less than the PS4 professional). That provides the brand new PS5 designs probably the most storage space of every current-gen system.
Owners can increase that quantity by purchasing and setting up an NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. The system has actually an open SSD slot just for that function, and we’ve assembled a summary of some of the best SSD options you can find. These are the only hard drives that will let you take advantage of the PS5’s load speeds. A typical NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD is about $200, which isn’t cheap. On the plus side, it’s a bit less than the $220 storage cards used by Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S consoles.
You can also hook up an external HDD or SSD, but you won’t see the speed advantages of the system on any games stored there. And any PS5 games stored there won’t be playable until you transfer them to the internal drive, making external drives useful only for older games.
The controller: It’s a win
Totte Annerbrink / Unsplash
If load times are the primary weapon of the PS5, the new DualSense controller is the secondary one. And it’s impressive.
Slightly larger than the DualShock 4, it refines haptic feedback, incorporating a precise sense of touch into the video game experience that force feedback never did before. This could become hokey (and, in fairness, it might in years to come), but for now, it adds another layer to games, increasing player immersion.
Struggling to pull open a heavy door or draw a bow? The hand triggers can convey that tension. Had a rough landing as you drive over a hill or a slog through a muddy area? You’ll know it. This new haptic feedback is a subtle thing that, like the lack of load screens, you’ll soon take for granted. You won’t realize how quickly you’ve gotten used to it until it’s not there.
So far, the special features have been hit-and-miss. Some games are a little too overeager to play with the adaptive triggers, making them physically difficult to play.
But the handful of games that really take advantage of the controller show just how special it is. Returnal, for instance, uses haptic feedback incredibly well, letting you feel every drop of rain or simulating a parasite squirming in your hands. Moments like that make the PS5’s experiences unlike anything on the market today.
A new built-in microphone is less useful in most games, but will allow you to briefly chat with friends without a headset.
The cost of this new functionality is battery life. The DualSense has a rechargeable battery (versus the Series X’s reliance on AA batteries), but we found that charge will drain quickly. Charging via the PS5’s USB rarely resulted in a full charge, whether in standby mode or if left on at full power. A separate charging stand, provided by Sony, did charge the controller fully.
PlayStation 4 controllers will work with the PlayStation 5, but only with PS4 games played through backward compatibility. Microsoft offers controller cross-compatibility that lets old Xbox One controllers work with the new Xbox.
Games and software: The star of the show
Microsoft found itself in the awkward spot of having to debut a new console without a first-party launch title, but Sony was in an enviable position initially. Spider-Man: Miles Morales gave it an edge out the gate, but a lot has changed since 2020.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is terrific fun that showcases many, if not all, of the PS5’s features. God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and Returnal are all must-own first-party titles. The bundled Astro’s Playground is a hidden gem of a platformer, loaded with Easter eggs that hark back to a stripped-down Super Mario Bros., while still acting as a walkthrough of the PS5 controller’s new features.
Third-party games have helped the PS5 build up a sizable library of hits too. Strong support from Square Enix has given the system console exclusives in Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. Baldur’s Gate 3 was available on PS5 before it hit Xbox, which was a big moment for the system too. Combine all those with great current-gen exclusive titles like Star conflicts Jedi: Survivor, Dead area, and citizen Evil 4, and you’ll have a great amount of games to relax and play in the event that you pull the trigger.
On top of the, Sony recently relaunched its PS Plus solution, offering readers usage of over 700 games. Which includes some retro brands dating back to to your PS1 age. Although it’s never as powerful as Game Pass, it's a much-needed solution that offers PlayStation followers some thing to complete in-between most of the big-ticket games. Sony has actually a significantly better ecosystem built today than it performed at launch, that has just made the PS5 a stronger price.
The lasting
The PS5 continues to be the device to conquer within system generation, but while earlier rounds had a definite road ahead, this 1 is significantly cloudier. With its first couple of many years, there clearly was constantly a small number of huge first-party games coming. The PS5’s future became more difficult to see following the launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, as Sony in the offing to split into live-service games. Those programs have actually apparently already been stalled, with gaming Chronicle reporting that six of the 12 future games tend to be delayed previous March 2026.
It’s ambiguous what’s precisely planned for PS5 lasting, as games like Marathon or even the prepared final people multiplayer spinoff appear to be in short-term limbo. There aren’t way too many huge, single-player releases at this time into the actively works to replace with that — at the very least we realize about.
In regards to the wider ecosystem, we understand also less about PlayStation VR2, the PS5 headset that Sony has actually struggled to aid with first-party equipment since launch. Somewhere else, Sony is making a more impressive push into cloud video gaming using its PlayStation Portal handheld. People
who genuinely wish to agree with the PS5 ecosystem have actually countless how to do this after they choose the system. it is simply ambiguous in which all this is resulting in lasting as programs appear to be quickly moving around within Sony this generation.
That’s the near future, however. For the present time, Sony has actually delivered a great next-generation system, filled with a multitude of must-play, system-selling exclusives. It effectively constructed on the energy regarding the PS4, innovated without achieving too much, and provided gamers a great deal to inhabit by themselves with during some harsh spots throughout the last couple of years. The brand new design just tends to make a significantly better instance for Sony’s system by giving the dimensions decrease and storage space boost it desperately required.
Editors' guidelines
#PlayStation #review #slimmer #design #PS5 #Digital #styles
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The Last of Us Part 1 Sales Skyrocket Just in Time for PC Launch
The HBO series The Last of Us has only had a few episodes, yet it has already established itself as a huge success. With more than ten million views in just two days, we now have The Last of Us PC release date and the remainder of the show to look forward to. The drama has helped drive up PlayStation game sales, which implies a successful launch for the PC port as well.
In the last week alone the UK boxed sales have seen The Last of Us series undergo a meteoric rise, as new and old players alike come back to one of Naughty Dog’s most well-received set of games.
The Last of Us Part 1 remake has seen an increase of 238% in sales week-on-week, while the original The Last of Us game has seen a 322% sales increase as well (via GamesIndustry.biz). These are UK-only console sales, but they absolutely act as a good indication of how The Last of US series on HBO has acted as a perfect piece of cross-promotion. We saw something very similar last year, as Cyberpunk 2077 sales soared past 20 million thanks to Netflix’s Edgerunners series.
What does all of this mean for The Last of Us Part 1 PC port then? Well, it’s set to launch right at the tail end of the nine-episode run of the HBO show, between episodes seven and eight, so I think we’re going to see a strong showing when it comes to launch on both Steam and the Epic Games Store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW5NwaUXgIA
The Last of Us series has already proved it’s going to be big, so I can see the strategy of letting word of mouth spread and new viewers catch up before dropping The Last of Us remake on PC. I wouldn’t be surprised if the last two episodes of the show even include a message saying ‘play The Last of Us on PC now’, as while both games have been huge hits for the PlayStation ecosystem, the pool of PC players is another massive player base to pull from.
Naughty Dog has also confirmed that The Last of Us PC port will run on Steam Deck, so that’s yet another group of players the upcoming Steam release can tap into as well. There’s been no official word on a The Last of Us Part 2 PC release date as of now, but with Marvel’s Spider-Man on PC and Uncharted on PC as well, it’s clear that PlayStation is making an effort to port over exclusives after a certain period of time, and I don’t think 2020’s The Last of Us Part 2 will become an exception to this rule.
While you wait for The Last of Us Part 1 PC release date, you should check out lists of the best action-adventure games and best stealth games to tide you over.
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In 2010, I watched the first Iron Man movie. I had always been a fan of superheroes, but had not gotten the chance to watch Iron Man when it came out in 2008. When I saw the first Iron Man movie, I became obsessed with the movies put out by Disney. Prior to these movies, I had watched the X-Men movies that had come out. I had seen all of the Spider-Man movies. I had even seen the Fantastic Four movies. It should have came as no surprise that I would become obsessed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. After 2010, I was always there for the opening of a film, first day, no questions. I planned my work schedule around the release of the new films to avoid spoilers. As the years went on, I was known as that person, who would constantly be watching something Marvel related. It was well worth my attention as I found my career passion with these movies. I had always loved superheroes, so why not earn a degree that Marvel or DC seek? My full intention is to work behind the scenes with movie producers to provide more stories to be told about characters that we hardly see explored on screen.
To this day, I still have a passion for superheroes. I have two tattoos dedicated to three of those characters. I am always wearing something representing one of the fictional heroes that I enjoy reading or seeing movies about. However, I am also aware that this past week, I was not as excited as I was, for prior films. This week saw the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I had bought tickets for the opening night. However, as the day approached and reviews began to appear online, I felt that I should just wait for Disney+ for this one. This past year, Marvel has seen a decline in its quality. This was most noticeable with She-Hulk, a television series. However, what started this thought process for me was when I saw Thor: Love and Thunder. The movie hadn't been the worst hero movie that I have seen. However, they made too much of an effort to crack a joke every single line. The CGI didn't look particularly good. You could see that quantity has started to take over the quality for Marvel. Granted, the television shows have all been great except She-Hulk. She-Hulk followed the comics, but was written by someone that admitted to not really caring about the source material. She made everything about putting down men, made apparent in her interviews that followed the show's release.
Despite my hesitance, I decided to go see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever after all. The driving force behind my decision was that Chadwick Boseman had passed in 2020. If there was one thing that I could do for someone that went through surgeries, just to bring this character to life, I could go support his cast in the theaters. It wasn't the worst movie, but it also wasn't the best. The cheap CGI was present. The humor wasn't as forced as Thor: Love and Thunder. The tribute to him was great, meaningful. It is a sign that perhaps, the Marvel Cinematic Universe may regain its footing and spark that interest in me again, to be excited about seeing a film in theaters on opening night.
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Mbox office movies
#Mbox office movies movie
#Mbox office movies full
The pandemic has negatively influenced the box office results of some newer MCU movies but as a whole, the MCU is still a highly profitable cinematic universe and the best-grossing MCU movies have earned profits that many other movies can only dream of. Some of them fly more under the radar while others prove to be huge hits. VII: The Force AwakAvengers: Infinity War. Not all MCU movies meet the same level of success. All Time Worldwide Box OffAvengers: EndgTitaStar Wars Ep. However, despite its TV success, it continues to release several feature films each year, just like it has been doing so for the last decade. Updated July 18, 2022, by Kath Leroy: The MCU has made a successful transition into the world of TV shows by premiering multiple series on Disney+. Note: This chart is not adjusted for inflation. They bring in beloved characters but also work with something new that draws the audience in and makes them visit the cinemas in large numbers. This chart contains the top movies based on the cumulative worldwide box office. The most profitable MCU movies all have something in common at a closer glance.
#Mbox office movies full
Some don't bring a large profit while others exceed all expectations. Access IMDbs metadata for every movie, TV series and Video Game title as well as performers and creators, along with full lifetime box office grosses from. Related: Every Spider-Man Movie, Ranked By Their Box Office Gross While the MCU has a better starting position than most movies thanks to its fame and popularity among the fans, it doesn't mean all of its movies became huge hits. Avatar (2009) Avengers: Endgame (2019) Titanic (1997) Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Spider-Man: No Way. According to, the film earned a little more than Rs 28 crore last.
#Mbox office movies movie
The movie has collected nearly Rs 50 crore from worldwide ticket sales. Box Office Insights from Comscore, the global industry standard for box office reporting, offering Box Office Rankings, film industry news and thought. Film Trade Analyst Sumit Kadel has predicted the opening box office collection for the film. The film is an official remake of the Spanish mystery-drama film Mirage. Whenever a new movie premieres, there's always uncertainty about whether it will be profitable, manage to cover its budget and bring in extra money. Telugu actor Nikhil Siddhartha’s latest movie Karthikeya 2 has emerged successful at the box office, after completing two weeks in cinemas. See Top Grossing Movies of 2021 for a list of movies that earned most at the domestic box office during 2021, including films released in 2020 and earlier. Dobaaraa Box Office Collection: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyaps directorial venture Dobaaraa, starring Taapsee Pannu in the lead, has hit the silver screen today.
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Winter 2021 Anime Worth Watching!
Since 2020 basically sacrificed itself to give us the most stacked anime season of all time, I’m currently buried under the weight of almost 20 shows airing per week. So for anyone who’s looking for some anime to watch this winter, here’s some first impressions! I’m speed running my list this time by only talking about the new shows...because otherwise this would be my great American novel.
If anyone’s interested, I have master lists for both 2020 anime and 2019 anime, because there’s no shortage of fun things to find.
New Shows!
And before anyone asks, So I’m A Spider, So What? isn’t on here, because CG spiders freak me out.
Cells At Work Code Black: This...less comedic spin off of Cells At Work (made by a different studio) takes the wholesome concept of Osmosis Jones meets cute anime girls and turns it on its head. In this much more depressing version, we follow a rookie red blood cell who works in the body of an overly stressed, alcoholic smoker who puts every strain on the body imaginable. I love Red Blood Cell AA2153 and his co-workers, but man am I glad we get the regular Cells At Work airing this season too, because I need something fun and uplifting after seeing my sweet son go through hell every episode.
*Heaven’s Design Team: Have you ever wondered how God came up with some of the weird ass animals that live on this planet? Like, what’s the deal with giraffes? And why can’t we have dragons and flying horses? Well this is a comedy about the engineers and designers in heaven creating the new animals that are going to inhabit the Earth. That’s it, that’s the show. It’s kind of in the same vein as Cells At Work, having comedy blend with a surprising amount of educational information. If you want something light and funny, this is the show for you (though I don’t think it needs to have full length episodes). I’m just hoping there’s an episode about how the hell the platypus was created. Also it’s the only new one available on Crunchyroll.
Horimiya: A romantic comedy about a girl named Hori who fits the image of a perfect queen bee and a quiet bespectacled boy named Miyamura who never makes an impression at school. When the two meet by chance outside of the classroom, we see that Hori is practically raising a younger brother by herself, and Miyamura is actually a sweet guy who happens to be covered in tattoos and piercings. This show is an exercise in breaking down the images people have of others in their minds, and it’s a concept that really hits home in a fun and meaningful way. Honestly, this has become one of my immediate favorites. The characters have great chemistry, and I can’t wait to see more of them!
Monster Incidents (Kemono Jihen): When big shot Tokyo detective Inugami is called to a rural town to investigate a series of strange animal deaths, he finds a mysterious boy with the nickname Dorotabo who has been shunned by the other children in town. As the detective gets closer to Dorotabo, he discovers that there may be more...inhuman secrets to the boy than he realizes...and Dorotabo discovers that Inugami has some secrets of his own. This is a hard show to sell without spoiling the first episode, but it had twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish. I’m really interested to see where the plot goes, because I thought this was going to be something totally different just from the PV and series summary. If it plays its cards right, this could be a great paranormal detective show!
Wonder Egg Priority: A psychological drama about a girl named Ai who starts having dreams about a mysterious egg that promises to give her what she wants most in the world...a true friend. Before long, she begins to see how the dream world and reality are tied together, and trippy antics ensue. It’s hard to say more without spoiling anything, but I had to go back and add this one in because I made the mistake of thinking it was an OVA when it’s actually a full series. And what a series it’s starting out to be. This anime has all the psychological discomfort of a Satoshi Kon product with the beauty and style of something from Kyoani (even though it’s made by Clover Works). It’s really one of those anime you just have to see to understand.
Sk8-∞ (Skate the infinity): An original skateboarding anime from Bones, featuring a typical sports anime protagonist who takes a new transfer student who has never skateboarded in his life under his wing. Together they compete in dangerous races and take the skating community by storm. The character designs rival Appare Ranman’s in outlandish creativity, and I can smell the main characters’ ship dynamic a mile away (considering they’re exactly the same as the protagonists from Robihachi). If you’re looking for some wild and crazy fun with top notch skateboarding animation, don’t skip this!
2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club): Yes, it’s another volleyball anime. And no, it’s not just a clone of Haikyu. This story follows Yuni Kuroba, a physically built but emotionally weak teenager who finds out his childhood friend Hajime is moving back to their hometown for high school. Yuni discovers Hajime has become an exceptional volleyball player and they join their school’s volleyball club hoping to turn the unknown team into a rising star. If anything, this anime is much more like Stars Align or Free, where the sport is a backdrop for letting the characters explore their personal problems. Or at least it seems that way after the first episode. I went into this show ready to throw it in the trash because how could anything compete against my beloved Haikyu, but I found myself really enjoying the dynamics of the main duo and I’m curious to see what the rest of the team is like.
And speaking of sports anime rip-offs…..I can’t believe I’m including this but…
Skate Leading Stars: The show where the animators clearly wanted to design another throw away idol anime but saw how popular Yuri On Ice was so they decided to make whatever the hell this show is instead. It revolves around a fictional team sport called skate leading, and we follow the world’s most insufferable main character, a former figure skater named Kensei who wants to return to the ice and join his school’s skate leading team after he finds out his childhood rival is going to compete in the sport. Look, this show is just trashy enough to get a certain type of audience hooked, and it mainly has to do with the best boy of the winter season, Hayato Sasugai, the aspiring team “coach” who pulled most of us into watching this show with his punk appearance, snide comments and smug personality. He’s basically the lovechild of Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima in a high school sports anime setting. The show treats itself with the perfect amount of sincerity to get away with being absolutely ridiculous most of the time without making you feel like you’re watching it from a dumpster...like Try Knights. You will know after one episode whether this show is for you. All I can say is, Hayato is worth the watch, and I haven’t seen any 3D animation used for the skating scenes (yet) so that’s a win for me.
Honorable mention:
Jobless Reincarnation ( Mushoku Tensei): Yet another isekai where the main character is hit by a car (big surprise) and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world...but he happens to remember his previous life and narrates himself growing up as a jaded adult. I’m only including this because it looked amazing animation wise, and I love the opening where getting hit by a car and dying is actually traumatic. And I love the protagonist’s parents (who are retired adventurers who just want to bang all the time). But honestly...the main character is the fucking worst, and I don’t know if I want to keep watching it because of how creepy and weird he is. Like...he’s the hit on your fantasy mom as a baby kind of creepy and weird. But for anyone who wants a cool looking isekai that had an amazing PV, it’s worth checking out.
Continuing Series!
Because the real gold of the season is in all the established anime getting their next seasons, I’m just going to list some of the things that are also amazing and definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already (because I’ve already talked about most of them at some point and don’t know what else to say).
Attack On Titan season 4
The Promised Neverland season 2
Beastars season 2
Log Horizon season 3
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2
Re: Zero season 2 (second cour)
Dr. Stone season 2
Cells at Work season 2
Osomatsu-san season 3 (second cour)
Higurashi New (second cour)
Jujutsu Kaisen (second cour)
Not to mention all the shows I don’t watch that everyone else loves...like World Trigger (which I have seen quite a bit of, but long shounen shows are too much for me now) Quintessential Quintuplets, and Non Non Biyori.
So there’s just some of all the anime airing this season. Hopefully, someone can find something they like. Here’s to a great year...well, of anime at least...
#anime recommendations#anime worth watching#dr stone#the promised neverland#that time i got reincarnated as a slime#beastars#cells at work#cells at work code black#log horizon#horimiya#monster incident#kemono jihen#sk8 the infinity#2.43: seiin high school boys volleyball club#re: zero#skate leading stars#heaven's design team#jujutsu kaisen#higurashi new#wonder egg priority
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tiny house saga
A long-awaited post of progress photos.
Starting with the most recent, and then i’m putting the long thing behind a cut:
[image description: interior of the cabin, looking down from the sleeping loft at the expanse of the roof rafters and the floor below, where a door in the south wall, newly installed, stands propped open.]
I should tell the whole story. So in like.... what was it... October or November of 2019 I had the yurt I had been sleeping in during the summers for 3 years on my sister’s farm burn down due to a chimney failure with my woodstove. Plans began somewhat immediately to build a tiny house to replace it, and I’d found some free plans and my dad was plotting with me to use salvaged materials and such. The house was going to be really tiny, like 10x12 feet or so, with a tiny sleeping loft, and somewhat ramshackle probably; I’m sure we weren’t going to insulate it.
Then the pandemic hit, and shit got weird, and no progress was made. I spent 2020 sleeping in my sister’s guest room whenever I was at the farm, since nobody else could visit anyway. And then my father died suddenly, in December of 2020, and it seemed silly to mourn the concept of the tiny house, but I was also really grieving the experience of doing a project with my Dad, which i’d really been looking forward to-- my nephews were both old enough that he was starting to teach them welding and such, and I’d thought the boys and Dad and me could spend some time on this and would have a good time and just-- it was really awful to realize that of course now it’ll never happen.
Without me saying anything, my brother-in-law, the one who owns the farm with Farmsister, on whose property all of this was supposed to have taken place, approached me and said we could still build a house, and that he’d help instead. He has construction experience, but is so busy I hadn’t wanted to expect his help except for maybe some of the big work. But he said no, he’d step in.
In March of 2021 we took a family trip-- me, BIL, Mom, my older sister, and one of her sons-- to Jamaica, VT, where the Jamaica Cottage Shop has its fabrication yard. We looked at an example and I decided to buy their Vermont Cottage plans, in view C, for the 16x24 size.
Yeah, it’s a far cry from the tiny shack I’d planned to build, but I had resolved that if i was going to involve BIL, it was going to be something that was nominally up to code, built with new materials, and would be usable for decades, rather than some weird fun little project that would be full of spiders and eccentricity. The increase in cost wasn’t that much with the increase in size (once i committed to using new rather than salvaged materials), so I went for it.
Immediately we had to revise the plans, but BIL was confident. In May I bought the first lumber, to build the skids, and along with it, a battery-operated electric nail gun. We built the skids, and also excavated the site, and backfilled it with gravel sourced from a natural gravel deposit on the farm; I also spent the summer picking buckets of rocks out of the fields and hauling them over a few at a time. I probably moved about 1 ton of rocks by hand, and then BIL carried over about 15 more tons with the tractor.
I ordered several thousand dollars’ worth of supplies, lumber and others. The insulation and windows and doors and the like were stashed in a spot that flooded in July, when a flash flood caused a large amount of damage to the farm, but nothing was lost. In August we finally got the skids set and began to assemble the platform upon which the whole thing was going to be built.
[image description: a grid of lumber sits atop cinder blocks in a cleared space among greenery, with trees in the background.]
We were delayed by a labor shortage on the farm, but mostly by a delay in the delivery of the lumber from the mill I’d ordered it from, a local place that had apparently not adequately maintained their equipment and so was shut down for weeks at a time for maintenance.
But eventually we had everything. And at the end of September, my other brother-in-law showed up, with a lot of woodworking and finish carpentry experience, and also some free time, and with him working steadily for a week, and a number of assorted characters rotating through, we made rapid progress.
[image: farm-BIL, a tall thin white man in a khaki baseball cap, kneels on a wooden platform, screwing down a sheet of plywood. To his right stands Army BIL, a well-built white man in a camoflage baseball cap, hands on hips, looking up at the skyline, atop the plywood-sheathed platform.]
In a matter of days, Army-BIL had done the rough framing, and had started putting in the interior wall siding. (The cabin is constructed inside-out, with the framing, then the interior siding, then rough 2x4 nailers, then insulated wallboard, and only then a final moisture barrier with rough board-and-batten siding overtop.)
[image description: the rough-framed walls of a house stand, the nearest one faced with tongue-and-groove interiorsiding with a window and door cut out, and inside on a scaffold stands a boy in a blue t-shirt (my older nephew, then 12), holding up a pair of rafters in their approximate rough final places, while Army-BIL stands on a ladder making measurements inside the house.]
By the end of the last week of September, my older sister’s sons and husband had, with some help from various of the rest of us, framed in the rafters as well.
[image: my older sister, a tall thin white woman in a dark gray ballcap worn very low over her face what are you doing, stands holding several boards; to her left, her husband affixes the other end of one of the boards to another rafter. Below her, two boys in blue shirts, her sons, are climbing on the scaffolding.]
And there progress halted for the winter, but for some incremental improvements-- I stapled hardware cloth around the base of the platform, burying the bottom of the hardware cloth as deep as I could manage to deter groundhogs, rats, mice, or raccoons from making their home under the house, and we got the rafters done and then secured big billboard tarps over them for the winter.
In March, we took the tarps back off, and it looked like this.
[image description: looking into the house from the east, sun shining brightly, rafters highlighted against blue sky, the walls are all covered in the interior siding of pine, and there’s a scaffolding inside still set up.]
We got the nailers on all around the lower storey, and slotted the insulation panels in-- I discovered that I had just the tool for the job to cut the panels, since they’re too thick for utility knives-- yes, that lady’s leg shaped knife I got for my birthday. Worked like a charm, am delighted. Once that was up, we could wrap the whole house in moisture barrier-- well, most of it, just not the part above the deck, which we’d have to work on separately.
[img description: the house from one corner, showing silver-colored panels labeled DuPont wedged in among the wooden nailers surrounding the windows.]
The roof needed a layer of sheathing, and Dude helped me with that. i found out he hates ladders, which i somehow had never learned thusfar in 19 years with him. Now I Know. Mostly, though, BIL did all that work, and in one uncomfortably epic day we finished the roof sheathing and then drafted my sister into helping us put the rubber Tyvek roofing underlayment over the top of it. The loft was still not enclosed, but we’d framed in the window, and so we left the underlayment long and stapled it down over that missing half-wall, to make the whole shebang weatherproof.
Then we got the door on that side installed, and it was largely weatherproof.
[image description: the porch side of the house, with green Tyvek strips messily stapled down at angles, in the upper part, and then on the lower floor a white steel door with a window sits, not quite closed, with no doorknob.] We installed a doorknob too, because otherwise the door wouldn’t stay closed.
In April we came back and pulled up the Tyvek, trimmed it off, and put the interior siding up on the upper storey. Once we had that, we installed all the windows-- well, the 7 downstairs windows, and then later in the week we managed to get the upper storey window installed too.
[img description: from the interior of the house, with the loft foreshortened so you can’t tell it’s a loft, farm-BIL is visible with his legs, standing on a ladder, showing through the open doorway and his head and shoulders through the window he’s installing in the upper storey. The roof is visibly made of sheathing boards, the gaps between them illuminated green where the roofing underlayment is on the outside of the sheathing.]
Farmsister and I came and fixed that upper storey window so it’s a bit straighter, once we got the housewrap on and correct. it’s tricky because what do you level it to?? Hard to say. Anyway. It’s in there.
We got the second door installed too, in the south-facing wall. And that’s where we’ve left it-- still needs the metal roof on the exterior, and the insulation and interior siding on the ceiling on the interior; still needs soffits put in, as the eaves are open to the elements and the breeze (and bugs) can sorta whistle through there at will; still needs a floor installed over the rough plywood subflooring; still needs conduit put in for what plumbing and electrical there may or may not be. But as it is, I’m going to see about at least building myself a sleeping nest in the loft; I don’t want to move furniture in, since it still needs to have scaffolding put up for the ceiling and the more I move in now the more I have to move out later, but the loft is largely done and move-in-ready enough to be getting on with.
(I may need a mosquito net, if I spend any time in there.)
I leave you with a view from the loft.
[image description: in the foreground there’s a little corner of the loft floor, but then the rest of the frame is looking out into the house. The south-facing door is propped open with a rock, extra scaffolding is stacked against the west wall, the light is coming green through the roofing underlayment showing in the cracks between the sheathing, and you can see two lovely 3x4-foot windows in the west wall.]
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Murder, He Wrote
Part 1
Co-written with @southerngracela
Summary: You’re sent by your asshole boss to do a review of a Celebrity Host Haunted Mansion, hosted by none-other than the arrogant, wild-eye browed actor Lucas Lee, but you’re worried you’ve missed the boat…that is, until at the last minute, an email arrives to say they can let you in on the last admission that night, which just happens to be Halloween…
When you arrive, you’re actually kind of excited and intrigued…but it isn’t long until that excitement and intrigue give way to fear when you find yourself in a helpless situation.
Warnings: A creepy house, bad language words. MATURE (NSFW 18+) NON-CON situation, kidnap, violence. DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THOSE TRIGGER… READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
Pairing: DARK! Ransom Drysdale x Reader
A/N: So this is a collaboration between myself and the wonderful @southerngracela for @jtargaryen18 ‘s Haunted House 2020 challenge…and will be a mini-series, with an as of yet undefined number of chapters.
Once again READ THE WARNINGS!!!! This is a DARK Series… don’t @ us if you can’t follow simple instructions and end up with butt-hurt. And if you’re under 18…get off my blog.
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and by writing it does NOT mean I agree with or condone the acts contained within. This fiction is classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar reader and any other OCs that may or may not be mentioned. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Murder, He Wrote Masterlist // Main Masterlist.
"Y/L/N," your dick editor poked his head into your office rather gruffly. "I'm gonna need that celebrity haunted mansion review on my desk by tomorrow morning. I want to run it ASAP.”
"I can't even get in, not even with a press pass, I've been trying for two weeks, Mick!” you looked at him, your mouth slightly open. You’d told him this countless times at morning briefings. You hadn't even heard back from the organizers about sneaking around the press pass issue and offering an exclusive on the joint, a small fact you kept Mick in the dark about.
"Make it happen." He said simply, before he turned and left.
You glared at his retreating form. What the fuck did he not understand about the situation? Mind you, what did he understand about anything? There was a reason everyone working for him called him Mick The Prick.
There was also a reason he was being extra prickish to you. Earlier in the spring time of the year you’d run an article on Ransom Drysdale- the stuck up, trust fund asshole who had literally gotten away with murder. He’d confessed to murdering his grandfather’s house keeper, attempting to murder his grandfather and then, in a violent showdown with 2 police officers and a private detective present, he’d attempted to murder his grandfather’s nurse, Marta. And he would have succeeded, except the knife he’d used had been a stage prop. It was like some fucked up Murder, She Wrote plot, and when you’d interviewed the real life Jessica Fletcher (in this case the rather charming PI named Benoit Blanc who’d been a character to say the least) it got even more confusing. Ransom had hired Blanc in some elaborate scheme to frame Marta for Harlan’s death to do her out of the inheritance via the Slayer Rule. That had back fired spectacularly when she had unwittingly switched back the vials of medication Drysdale had tampered with, meaning Harlan had truly committed suicide.
The article was supposed to be done showing his side of the story, a way for him to set the record straight, but the more you’d dug and spoken to people surrounding the case, the more you were absolutely convinced of his guilt, not least because he’d been acquitted on the murder and attempted murder charges on technical grounds due to his confession being, allegedly, obtained under duress and without a brief being present. The only thing they’d managed to pin on him was the arson which had burnt the Chief Medical Examiner’s office to the ground, and when his brief had successfully argued mitigating circumstances- he wasn’t of sound mind given the shock surrounding him being cut from his grandfather’s will- he’d basically ended up being released on license.
It was a joke, and that was basically what your article had said. You’d written a scathing attack on how money could basically render you untouchable by the law, highlighting the failures of the Criminal Justice System. At the time, Mick the Prick had been delighted with it, publishing it under your suggested head line “Murder, He Wrote”- ha, go figure, and copies had flown off the shelves, the article online going viral.
And then money had talked once more, and the Drysdale’s had threatened to sue for defamation. That in itself was a joke, as you knew full well his mother, Linda, was only doing it to salvage her own reputation, the same reason she’d worked so hard to find a lawyer to get him off the charges despite the fact she knew full well he was guilty as sin. Mick The Prick had attempted to throw you under the bus spectacularly when the board had come looking for blood, but as editor the buck stopped with him, and he was given a formal warning whilst you were forced to publish a retraction and offer a written apology much to your utter chagrin.
Which was why he was now making your life as hard as possible, and your Investigative Journalism skills, that you’d honed over the last decade; from high school paper, college tribune and now your current employer, over the last 10 years or so since graduation were now being focussed on covering stories about housewives who found Jesus’ face in a slice of toast, or in this case a fucking Celebrity Host Halloween Haunted House review. Whereas you had dominated the first 2 pages once upon a time, you were now lucky if you made it further up than page 11.
With a groan you banged your head on your desk. Why had you not listened to your dad and become a damned teacher instead of a journalist. Dealing with snotty nosed brats would be easier than this.
By the end of your day, you were burning what felt like the midnight oil however it wasn't very late at all. Dark had settled in but it wasn't late by time. Just before you were to log off and leave for the night, a TV dinner and pint of mint chip waiting for you in your freezer (and probably a job search too seeing as you would no doubt be fired tomorrow morning for failing on your deadline) your email pinged on your desktop. You frowned at it, wondering who could possibly be emailing you this late but then you recognized the sender.
It was the reply you'd been waiting on from the organizers from the Celebrity Host Haunted House. Clicking the email open, your eyes scanned the message. The organizer was setting you up with a private tour, TONIGHT. "9 pm," you finished reading aloud, relief flooding your entire body. It meant a long assed, sleepless night whilst you wrote your article, but it was better than the looming threat of unemployment. Plus, on the upside, as it was a charity gig the organizer had pulled out the big guns and the blurb on the email told you that it was to feature none other than Lucas Lee, a once-upon-a-time famous A-List Movie star, who was possibly just as arrogant as Hugh Ransom Drysdale, but you had to give it to him, in the films you’d seen he was actually damned good, and also pretty hot so…every cloud.
Glancing at your clock, you had just enough time to clock out and grab a quick bite at a drive thru on your way. The location was nearly an hour outside the city so you needed to get gone and fast. A quick reply telling the organizer you were on your way was sent out and you grabbed your coat, pulling it on over your sweater dress and were gone.
It took a good hour like you'd estimated and that was with stopping for a quick meal, to reach the address your GPS brought you to. It was creepy even at its first glance so you could only hope this payed off. With a quick swig of your watered down and flat fountain drink, you grabbed your bag and phone, exiting your vehicle and locking it shut. The cool night air bit at your exposed cheeks and you were glad you'd worn your coat and tights.
As you stood, gazing at the dilapidated house you shivered, as though, ice had replaced you spine. The walkway leading up to house was cracked, blood red roses grew wildly in thick batches by the gate and the moonlight cast a ghoulish glow on the house. Vines formed a twisted maze upon the side of the of the house's walls which showed the black decay of neglect, in between which splotches of original paint hinted at the house’s former prosperity. Cobwebs covered the corners of the doors, tiny black spiders threading towards their prey and you gave another shudder, as far as first impressions went, yeah, it was fitting for a Halloween Haunted House tour.
Pulling out your phone, noticing you had no reception (of course you wouldn’t, wasn’t that the cliché?) you took a few photos to use in the article and then gave a little squeak as the door creaked open on its own. Arching your eyebrow slightly, in a manner very much like the man you were here to meet, you strode forward and into the house. Immediately a musty, dank odour crept into your nose. The house was deadly silent except for the intermittent creaks and moans typically associated with a property that age. Black and brown mold dotted the ceiling of the tall hallway you stood in and the windows that framed the door on either side were covered with grime and dirt meaning the calm moonlight struggled to penetrate the darkness in thin thread rays, the main source of light being the open doorway. Sharp shadows roamed around the room and as your eyes adjusted to the dim light you noticed that there was a bright white envelope almost perched on the wooden table to the side of the hall. It was the newest thing in the room, so was obviously there for you.
You crossed over, the heels of your suede boots clicking loudly out in the silence of the hallway, and gently reached out for the envelope. A single word- Start- was written on the front in cursive, looping scrawl, very fitting for a spooky note. Another detail you committed to memory for your write up.
You slid your finger into the crook of the envelope and slid it open. Inside was a small, white card, containing a message written in the same writing.
To ensure that you don’t become tomorrow’s big news,
In this envelope you’ll find the first of 6 clues
Of your super sleuth skills you should be proud,
So make sure that you read your answers out loud.
As one by one they lead to your ultimate demise.
Which may or may not be a scary surprise…
Okay, now you were interested. This wasn’t just a walk through some scary assed, supposedly haunted house where Lucas Lee was no doubt set to jump out at you in some ridiculous disguise. This was a scavenger hunt, and your natural inquisitiveness was piqued. 'This could be fun', you thought as you reached for the next card that was in the envelope, reading the first clue.
I’m tall when I’m young,
and I’m short when I’m old.
I also give heat but,
not enough to prevent cold
You pondered for a second, heat was leading you to think of a fire, and they certainly grew shorter with time, well eventually when they burnt out…but then again, the longer they went the hotter they got, and they certainly prevented the cold. Scanning the hallway for anything that might fit the description, your eyes flicked up to the ceiling which held an elaborate, but tarnished candelabra style chandelier. And then it hit you. Tall when young, short when old.
“Candle…” you spoke “The answer is Candle…”
At that the door leading to the outside slammed shut behind you, and you gave an involuntary scream as the dominant source of light was sealed off. You spun round to look at it, and then your scream turned in to a laugh as you shook your head, for an Investigative Reporter you prided yourselves on steely nerves but so far that was twice this adventure had caught you off guard.
Turning back round, you then spotted that the door at the end of the hall was open, and you could clearly make out a Jack-o-Lantern looking at you, the candle inside flickering. Its face was creepy, really creepy. The nose and eyes were harsh triangles and the grotesque, twisted smile it sported was constructed of sharp, jagged teeth. You reached into your pocket and pulled out your phone. You may have had no service, but the flashlight was working. Keeping the light held in front of you so you could watch your step on the cracked tiles of the hall, you made your way towards the lantern and found yourself in a large, run down kitchen. The lantern and your flash-light provided the only light in the room as the windows were all overshadowed by gnarly trees, their branches every so often scratching the glass as they swayed slightly in the wind outside. The only other sound to be heard was the drip, drip of the faucet in the porcelain Belfast sink.
A closer look revealed the discoloration of the water, a brownish concoction as it swirled down the plug. There was an envelope on the side of the counter by the lantern and as you crossed towards it, a movement in your peripheral made you spin round only to see a lone mouse scuttling away across the dirty wooden floor. You placed your phone down, flash-light up causing it to light up an area of the Artex plaster ceiling, and picked up the envelope, tearing it open to find your next clue
Mr Jack-o-Lantern lights the night
His eerie face is shining bright
The ????? that shaped him lies around
And holds your next clue safe and sound
“Oh come on…” you muttered, “That’ ones obvious. Knife, the answer is knife…”
You picked up your phone and shone it around the various surfaces of the kitchen and your eyes honed in on a wooden knife block containing a solitary knife. You crossed the room towards it and as you closed in on it, you noticed that the handle of the knife was an ornate silver filigree. It was no ordinary kitchen knife and as you pulled it form the block you realised it was in fact a dagger, antique by the looks of things. The blade was curved slightly, reaching a sharp point, the silver tarnished. But the more you looked at it, the more you suddenly became horribly aware that it wasn’t merely a dullness of colour at all. It was blood.
“Dramatic…” you mumbled, and with a sigh you then realised there was no clue attached to it. Was this a distraction? A decoy? You were just about to stat ransacking drawers to find the actual knife you needed, when you glanced back at the block the dagger had been held in and noticed a flash of white peeking from underneath. Picking it up and moving it aside you smiled as you saw the same cursive writing, spelling out the word three. Seeing as you might as well play along, you used the dagger to slit the envelope open, tossing it back down on the counter as you read the next clue.
Many a Child on me they may play
Any time be it night or day.
My surface is hard, on it you can knock
I have many keys, but can’t open a single lock…
“What has keys but doesn't open a lock?" You pondered aloud. Adjusting your cross-body strap, you sigh. Then the answer came to you, "a piano."
You fell silent, your mind racing to how the hell you were going to find a piano in this decrepit and yet enormous house. Then, your ears heard it. The subtle note from deep inside the house. It was a single key. But now that wasn't your concern, no, it wasn't the mice or the bugs or even the brown water. Your heart raced at the notion that someone was in fact in the house with you.
"Alright, Lee, you were always one for a flare of the dramatics, let's see what you've got."
Step by step you followed the note that chimed every few steps and you found yourself beginning to wonder if it was a recording or if someone were really playing it, timing their play with the sound of your boots over the rotting floor. You wound your way through the narrow hall, ancient wall paper peeling from its tack, mastick and plaster falling away to reveal studs in places.
Finally, to your left you heard the key loud and clear. It was in that room. Steeling yourself for a possible encounter, you carefully pushed the sliding door away from its hinge. Your booted feet traipsed across the brittle carpet, dust swirling in the air in front of your face. Cobwebs adorned many of the surfaces and there were dirty white sheets covering the various pieces of furniture in the room.
Apart from, that is, the large ornate grand piano that sat in the middle of the room.
The stool in front of it suddenly jolted back and tilted toward you, making you scream at the gracious invitation by an as of yet invisible host.
“Get a grip Y/N” you mumbled to yourself. You were surprised to find just how much this place was starting to set your nerves on edge. You took a deep breath, the pounding of blood in your ears began to quiet and you took a look around the room. There was no one in there with you, you were alone.
With slow, deliberate steps you moved towards the piano, your eyes sweeping over the mahogany surface, searching for an envelope with the next clue, but there was none to be found. The surface of the piano was thick with dust and grime, but as you scanned over it you suddenly stopped. On one of the white keys the dust was disturbed, as if it had been wiped away and you instantly realised that had to be the key that your so far elusive host must have been playing. You paused, biting at the nail on your thumb of you right hand, before you reached out with your left and tapped the key. The melodic note rang around the room, clearly, echoing in the silence and for some reason you were taken back to a part of the article you had been thinking about earlier that day, and how Detective Blanc had told you that he had ‘played a key’ during the various family interviews ‘to make my point without interruption’. It didn’t pass you by how fitting that actually was at that moment but you didn’t have much time to reflect on it, as you heard a creak and a grinding noise and you spun to your left to see a panel in the wall sliding open. It made you jump slightly, but this time you didn’t scream.
Not for the first time, you had to admire the effort Lucas was going to here. It was clear he had a flare for the dramatic, anyone could see that from his films and interviews but this was pretty damned good. It was making you wonder how he was doing it. Was he somewhere watching, pressing buttons to enact the various parts of his show? Instinctively you glanced up, looking for a camera or something you were being monitored by but you found no evidence of anything.
“Well, in for a penny…” you muttered, crossing towards the small hatch. It was just wide enough for you to get your hand into, but you really didn’t want to. You grabbed your torch and shone it into the hole, finding nothing but the envelope so deciding it was safe you reached in and pulled it out.
Sometimes coloured, sometimes plain
sometimes frosted, sometimes stain
Be you short or thin, or fat or tall,
this simple invention, lets you look right through a wall
You pondered for a moment, before the answer came to you. Fairly quickly you might add. Feeling a little smug you smiled and cleared your throat.
“Window. It’s a window.”
Usually, at that point, something happened to point your attention to the place you should be looking but this time, there was nothing. Instinctively you looked out of the one on the wall by the piano, but as you stared at nothing but the darkness outside you realised that was too obvious. Just then your ears picked up a sound you couldn’t quite figure out, but it was familiar all the same. And then it came to you, it was the familiar click and clack of a skateboard, the wheels gliding over the brittle old floor and you span round in the direction it was coming from to see a window you hadn’t noticed before, this one was an ornate, stained glass window which bore some kind of flower design that faced directly out into the hall.
He passed by slower than a flash but just enough to allow you to catch only a glimpse. You audibly gasped, your breath coming in a sharp intake of fright, because until then you had been alone on this chase. But it appeared you dramatic host had finally come out to play. He was merely a shadow, bulky in frame, tall and dressed all in black as he moved past but it was enough to puzzle you. You didn’t remember Lucas being that broad, or tall. With a frown you ran into the hall to catch him but saw nothing, and heard nothing, the only thing to indicate he had been there was a faint smell of the cedar and amber of what you assumed to be cologne.
You paced quickly down the hall in the direction the figure had gone but as you passed the stairwell the light flickered on, instantly attracting your attention. You’d only briefly noticed the ornate staircase before, but with the lack of light you certainly hadn’t noticed the writing on the wall, dripping in fresh paint. Swallowing, as you mouth suddenly felt dry with fear you stepped onto the first stair, and as soon as you did you were plunged into almost complete black. Letting out a shriek as, once again, he’d managed to get the drop on you, you shook your head and reached for your phone, taking another few steps up so you were level with the next clue which you read aloud.
“Tonight is not all fright and fear, a trick or treat is waiting near, the bedroom holds a sweet surprise, there solve the clue to claim your prize.” You bit your lip and looked up at the top of the stairs, wondering when someone was going to jump out at you. Taking a deep breath, you made your way up, cringing at each creak your feet caused on the old warped wood, but it didn’t sway your determination to make it to your destination.
Halfway up, a shadow flickered at the corner of your vision at the top on the landing and you froze, your mouth going dry once more. As you stood there, shining your light into the dark you caught the same scent from moments ago lingering in the air only this time it was stronger, far more powerful and you were able to denote even more of the notes within. Alongside the amber and cedar your heightened senses picked up deep, earthy, sandalwood notes with a hint of citrus in the background. And it was familiar for reasons beyond the fact you’d smelt it down stairs. But, as you’d surmised earlier, it was a cologne. Probably one worn by a few people you knew.
Yes that was it.
“Jesus Christ Y/N what has gotten into you?” You rolled your eyes and continued up the stairs, clearly your ‘Celebrity Host’ was once more nearby.
You cautiously got to the top of the stairs and glanced around. Nothing. So turning to your left you entered the first room you found on the hall. It was empty bar a creepy looking doll that had been separated from its head which lay about a foot to the right. As you looked around the room, the wind intensified outside, the rustling of the leaves and branches became louder, as did the creaking of the house…and then you gulped, as you realised it wasn’t just the house that was creaking. In the corner of the room, the little chair had begun to rock, slowly. Blowing out a breath and shaking your head, you looked around at the thin strips of wallpaper which showed little trucks. Crayon markings scrambled upon the wall where wallpaper used to stick but other than that there was nothing in there bar some pretty good theatrics. You had to hand it to Lee, the creepy feel was fantastic and you were going to give him one hell of a write up for this. You took a while longer to take in the detail, smiling to yourself before you closed the door and headed to the one over the hallway.
This room was a little lighter thanks to a lamp which stood on a nightstand. It wasn’t bright, by any means, but it was enough so that you could clearly see the bed in the middle of the room. And there, placed by the pillows was a thin box. On unsteady legs, you shuffled slowly towards the bed, the box before you making you quiver, your insides churning. A shaky hand tilted the lid open slowly, afraid something would pounce in a sneak attack. You shut your eyes ready to protect them in case a bat or bugs flew at you and when nothing happened, you opened them slowly and inspected the boxes contents. There was no envelope this time, just copy of a newspaper. Your newspaper. And you felt your blood run cold as you recognise the bold headline across the top.
Murder, He Wrote: A twisted tale of Inheritance, Crime and Exoneration
"Drysdale," you whispered in realization. But now, while you were well aware of what the article meant and who it was referring to, your brain shut down processing how on earth Lucas Lee and Ransom could possibly be connected. Your breathing deepened and you moved to pick up the article, but then the lid to the box caught your eye and you froze, for on the inside of the lid was another clue, only this one was a straight forward question which was spelled out using cut-out letters from the newspaper in question.
I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
You froze, for the answer was simple. Breath.
And that was it, you needed to get out. You started to back away from the bed, but before you had so much as made it 3 steps you collided with something hard. A forceful arm across your front pinned you to a firm and broad chest that engulfed your frame while a cloth with a distinct smell and cool moisture covered your airways.
"Surprise" The voice in your ear, calm, deep and known, was all you heard before nothing consumed you.
*****
When Y/N went limp in his arms, Ransom laid her across the bed only leaving the room to hurriedly cover his tracks, blowing out candles and removing any trace of her that had been in the house. His time as his grandfather's research assistant gave him far more experience than it should have. When he returned to the bedroom she was still out cold but light as a feather as he carried her downstairs and out the back door to the awaiting SUV, smug that his plan had gone so well.
But then, didn’t everything for him? He was Ransom Drysdale, and he was fucking untouchable.
He drove away from the scene of his new crime towards the city, driving through the dead of night, on the beltway, and continued twenty minutes outside downtown Boston before pulling into the garage of a large red cedar and quartzite home. He killed the engine and closed the garage door, pulling Y/N from the seat she was slumped in when it was clear to do so.
He couldn't be seen, he wouldn't be seen. He carried her inside the spacious home, his boots tapping heavily against the dark marble floor of the kitchen and finally the lush carpeted staircase that wound down into the basement.
This is where he laid her, in the basement, on a bed, but not just any bed, the one that would now become hers. He adjusted the lighting in the space, low enough not to disturb her, but bright enough to give the room a glow so he could finish what he'd set out to do. In the shock of the struggle in the bedroom, she’d dropped her phone and he’d made sure to smash it long before he left the haunted house, making sure there'd be no device to track her. He'd already disposed of her car while she was playing his little game, every loose end as far as he could see was tied up.
And now she was all his.
He brushed the hair away from Y/N’s face where it had fallen over her eyes. With gloved hands he manoeuvred her undone, black woollen coat off her body, leaving her in the bottle green turtle neck sweater dress and thick tights she was wearing before he tossed it over the chair in the corner of the room and then undid the zips on her brown suede knee high boots. He dropped them to the floor, kicking them towards the same corner with the equal carelessness he’d shown her coat. With a final meticulous movement he rearranged her on the bed, so he’d appear more comfortable and just before he left the room, he wrapped the cool, metallic cuff around the ankle. It locked in place with a clink and with a final glance at her still unconscious form, he turned and exited the room, the door latching shut and with the snap of the deadbolt he locked her in.
*****
Your head pounded, your nose burned and your mouth felt dry with the faintest taste of something foul lingering as you swallowed. The light was low but still your eyes ached. You tried to decipher exactly what the hell had happened to you while you got your bearings. You tried to sit up but your body felt heavy, the soft bed you now realized you were lying on was not your own. Your breathing rapidly increased as you started to move in fear but a clink caused a screech to escape your throat. You felt the weight of the cuff around your ankle and a full panic set it.
Your night flashed quickly through your glutamate and adrenaline flooded brain
You remembered getting the email from the Haunted Mansion supposedly hosted by Lucas Lee. You had arrived and were sent on what you thought was a fun and exhilarating maze littered with clues and riddles and then you remembered the last piece of the puzzle. You gasped as you remembered how his breath felt hot on your skin and how his voice registered in your mind.
"Drysdale," you repeated the last word you had spoken in a shaky, frightful voice. "No."
Rage and fear collided in your chest as you screamed out the only thing you could think of, "HELP!" A strangled sound left your chest followed by another cry out for help, "Please, someone, HELP!"
The door to your room, now coming into focus around you, flew open and there he stood, smug smirk, raging ocean blue eyes, hair neatly in place, dismantling frame clothed in a black sweater and dark denim, heavy footfalls sounding against the thick carpet under his feet.
"Nice to see someone's awake," Ransom deadpanned.
You stared for a brief moment and screamed for help again, louder, and louder, and louder until you felt your voice crack and strain, your cords burning as the sound shattered away.
"Are you done?" He cocked his head to the side and folded his arms across his chest as he stood firm and tall in front of the bed.
"What the hell are you doing? Why am I here?" It hurt to speak but you had to ask.
“Because I want you here, Sweetheart.”
"I...I'm not, don't call me that," you spat defiantly as he moved closer, taking you in, his predatory eyes moving over your body. This was it, you were going to die all because some trust fund prick was a hurt baby about an article (that you forcibly apologized for) revealing the sick and sadistic truth about him, his family, money and the justice system.
"Are you gonna kill me?” You watched him carefully as he crossed the room towards you, trying to keep your voice calm so as not to betray the utter fear that was coursing through your veins at the fact you were trapped, fuck knows where, shackled to a bed with a murderer being your captor. “That's what this is about, right? My apology wasn't enough?"
"Your apology was forced bullshit.” He responded, his voice carried a hint of amusement, because of course, this was all a game to him. “You smeared my name, dragged my reputation though the mud and you expected an apology like that, half assed and full of more crap than your original hatchet piece, to be enough?" He was standing damn near over you now, a hand moving up your leg that was held by the cuff, your body frozen in a confused silent argument of fight or flight.
"You... Killed... Him." You grit out through clenched teeth, and his hand was on your throat before you finished your breath, squeezing just enough to make a point.
"No. I. Didn't." He lied and you had to hand it to him, a lesser person might have bought the garbage he was talking, because he was good at it. Lying must have been enough of a second nature for him that he actually believed everything he said himself. But then again, it wasn't actually a lie was it? Sure, he'd planned on indirectly killing Harlan and that plan had backfired and Harlan had actually slit his own throat. So at most he was indirectly responsible for his death, but none of that had stuck with the prosecution and so now here he was, a free man.
A struggled chuckle came from your tightened throat, "Jesus Christ, you actually believe your own bull shit don't you?"
"You've got a fucking mouth on you," he breathed as his body loomed ominously over the bed and your frame, tiny in comparison to his.
You swallowed, feeling the hard lump strain to pass his grip, "Not really, you just don't like hearing the truth."
His eyes bored into yours and you struggled for breath as his hand constricted around your neck whilst he squeezed a little harder "Oh shut up Y/N."
"Or what, Hugh?" You croaked.
A little flash of anger tore through his ocean blue eyes like lightning in a storm. His eyes bored into yours as you fought to swallow.
"Or I'll shut you up myself."
"Try me, you son of a...." You didn't expect his lips to cover yours but they did. Unexpectedly warm and soft, despite the painfully harsh kiss. You managed to pull away but his hand still gripped at your throat and you felt the fear constricting your chest. But you were damned if you were going to show him a shred of weakness.
“You’re an asshole, Hugh…” It was all you had, the only thing you could use in your arsenal given your situation. You still had your voice. And you’d noticed that for whatever reason he appeared to hate that name.
“Don’t... fucking call me that!” his voice rose to a loud, angry instruction, apoplectic rage seeping from him to you, and it was almost stifling.
“Or what? You'll kill me?” your voice rose in both volume and pitch as your desperation began to show. “We both know you're gonna do that once you've fulfilled whatever sick, twisted little fantasy this is. What are you waiting for, Hugh? Huh?”
Ransom scoffed, "Kill you, no, see I'm gonna teach you a lesson. One about how money and status get you anything you want.”
You frowned, as you looked into his icy blue eyes, utterly confused “Anything you want? What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You'll see Princess” was the sole explanation you got as he knelt between your legs.
You stayed stock still as large and surprisingly gentle hands trailed your curves up the outside of your thighs to your hips. As he reached the hem of your sweater dress he paused as you wrapped your hands around his wrists.
"Don't" you squeezed, attempting to stop his wrists and close your legs.
“This will be much easier if you just play-along, sweetheart” he muttered as he pressed his lips to your neck. You let go of his wrists and raised your hands, laying them over the wool of his cable knit, palms flat against the plain of muscle as you attempted to push him off.
“I said no.” you tried to keep your voice stern, despite the fact you were fighting back the fear and sadness at the realization of his task was now at hand. His large hands smoothed over your dress, cupping your breasts and he let out a moan as you bit back the bile in your throat that was threatening to spill from your mouth. You pushed harder trying to force him off of you but it was of no use, his broad frame caged you in, engulfing you under him.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.” He ground out, his lips inches from your ear as he nipped at your skin. He was impressively strong and balanced, his weight even through his body as he kept his knees between your legs, a hand against your breast and the other stroking your sides and up your thigh. All the while, his lips sucked at your neck, teeth grazing your pulse point as you turned your head away, tears filling your eyes
"Please, stop," you managed. "Hugh, stop!"
“I told you not to call me that.” He growled against your skin and pulled back, his eyes blazing as they locked on to yours. In sheer desperation, you managed to wrench a free hand from between you and gave him a slap, nails biting at his skin. Instantly you knew you’d pissed him off. His nostrils flared, his jaw set and as his eyes filled with fire and rage.
And you knew then, you were in for it.
“Bitch…” he snarled as he raised his left hand to his face where you had struck him, and then both his hands grabbed yours, yanking your arms up, pinning them above your head. You bucked upwards, violently in an attempt to shake him off, but it was futile. He was far too strong. His grip on your wrists grew tighter and despite yourself you let out a small whimper of fear.
In one hand he had the ability to cuff both of your wrists and he did so while his other grabbed at your dress, shoving it further up your body, fingers curling over the waist of your tights and panties, a handful of the material fisted in his palm. They wouldn't slide down quick enough and you felt your body lift away from the mattress slightly as he ripped away the material, the snap burning your skin.
You fought, boy did you fight. You had no control of your hands or arms as he had them easily pinned, but your legs and the rest of your body gave as good as they could. You thrashed from side to side all the time screaming your objections. You drew your knees up to your chest in an attempt to buck him off. You screamed protests, threw every insult you had at him, but it was no use. He was simply too strong.
He didn't even bother with his belt or button, he just unzipped the flies on his jeans, pulled his solid cock free and slid in. You were wetter than you expected to be, but it still burned with friction and ached from the thick stretch against your tight walls. It hurt, definitely hurt.
"You know you want this. I know you want this." He rasped as he pulled out before thrusting back in, his face twisted in a look that was halfway between being smug and satisfied. Just looking at him made you feel sick but for some reason you were unable to look away as he continued his slow assault, before he picked up the pace slightly, his groans of satisfaction filling the room as he bottomed out, balls deep and it was at that point you closed your eyes and tried to block out what he was doing to you. But try as you might to remain mentally detached from the situation, your body was anything but. And the more he moved in and out of you, the more you could feel your physical reactions. You were powerless to stop them and the heat between your legs and in between your belly was spiking with each thrust into you.
It felt good. And you knew it shouldn’t. So you fought it, but eventually, you couldn't fight it anymore, not with the way his thick cock filled you, velvety smooth skin sliding in and out of your defiant core. You didn't want to cum, but your body told your brain it was going to and Ransom nearly puffed his chest as he fucked you into your body's submission.
"You're gonna fucking cum, aren't you, Sweetheart? I can feel it," he ground out, chasing his own release. You remained silent, breathing heavily as your insides coiled and tightened. "Fucking tight ass pussy," he gritted. You refused to cry out, not wanting to give him anything you were able not to, and it took everything you had to remain silent. In desperation, to quell the cry that was rising from your throat, you bit your tongue, tasting the coppery taste of blood in your mouth as you came hard around his cock.
“Fuck, yeah…see…” Ransom’s hips began to move faster, and then with a sudden movement he pulled out of you, making you wince involuntarily at the sting. He shot his load all over your thighs, a growl bubbling from his throat, the warmth of his release trickling down your leg made you feel even more dirty than you already did.
“Not so fucking smart are we now, huh, miss Investigative Reporter…” his snap was snide, and childish, but you knew he couldn’t help himself. Your head remained defiantly in its position on the pillow, turned to the right, eyes focussed on a spot on the wall. “Look at me, bitch.”
When you didn’t do as he asked, he grabbed your chin bruisingly, making you wince as he pulled your face round so he could see you. You knew he would be able to see the tears on your face, and you hated that. Hated that he would see how much he’d hurt you, scared you even,
His hand let go of your face and you stared at him, swallowing, trying to gather your voice in your painfully dry throat.
"That's all you got? You're a fucking child, Drysdale. It's why you’re doing this." You said, your voice trembling and croaking from the fear and exertion of what he had just put you through and you shook your head. “You’re a fucking man child with mommy and daddy issues. A spoilt, little whiney brat who can’t bear to be told no.”
That struck a nerve, you could tell, as his jaw clenched tight and his fists clenched around the sheets by your side to the point they were shaking. He grabbed your chin once more with his right hand and pinned your face still, forcing your eyes to look back at his
“You'll be begging me to accept your apology.” He snarled, his face contorted in rage “You'll see who the whiney child is soon enough. I promise Princess, it's not me”
As you looked at him, you felt your anger starting to simmer. This fucking ass hole had just raped you, and he had the gall to be saying you were going to tell him that you were sorry. No chance in hell. You knew you were screwed, literally and figuratively. Whilst he had you captive behind a bolted door, shackled to a bed you had nowhere to go, he knew that you knew that too and you could see it in his face as a smug smirk flickered on his lips. Well fuck this, if you were going down it was with a fight. With a sudden movement, that caught him off guard you moved your head slightly as much as you could in his painful grip, and spat right in his face.
Ransom blinked, his anger morphing to shock, then back to fury once more as he released your face and with a flash of his hand he back handed you straight across the face. The blow to your right cheek snapped your head to the left, sucking the breath from your lungs and leaving you a little dazed.
“Fuck you.” He sneered as he rose to his feet, wiping his face. Silently he rearranged his pants, tucking his now soft cock back inside them, and swept from the room, locking the door behind him.
*****
Ransom stormed up the steps to the kitchen of the house, slamming the top door behind him and bolting that one shut too. He was furious that little bitch had scratched him and no doubt marked his face. He strode over the marble tiles of the room and walked into the large hallway and across into the den. He made his way straight to the bar, poured himself a healthy measure of good scotch, slopping a little on the dark wooden counter, before he glanced up at the large mirrored surface of the bar behind the shelves.
He could make out three vivid red lines down his left cheek where she’d dug her nails into his flesh and his jaw clenched. His hair was out of place, his cheeks flushed and his normally cold eyes were blazing with anger. But as he stood there staring at his dishevelled reflection, he knew it wasn’t the fact she’d scratched or spat at him that was pissing him off so much. It was the fact she had persistently voiced a name he despised, one that was used to control those lower than him in his every-day life. One reserved for The Help, for outsiders. It reminded him of his family, of his mother and father, the two people in his life who should have loved him unconditionally but instead had him out of ‘duty’ and had taken every opportunity to pass him off into the care of others they could. It reminded him of Walt persistently telling him he was a no-one, that he would amount to nothing over than a trust-fund baby.
It reminded him of Harlan. The one person in that entire fucked up patriarchy that had shown him an ounce of care. But who had screwed him over in the end.
The anger that had been simmering inside him boiled over, the blood pumped into his ear and with an angry yell and an almost involuntary action Ransom hurled the glass tumbler straight at the wall where it smashed against the tasteful silver and white wallpaper, the 25 year old single malt trickling down the wall…just like the tears and trickled down Y/N’s cheeks as he’d forced her to look at him whilst he took what was his.
As she’d glared up at him he’d noticed a fierceness in her eyes that he was surprised to find had unnerved him a little, because she clearly wasn’t going to be as easy to break as he thought.
“Fuck it.” He mumbled to himself, grabbing the bottle from the bar before he turned and left the room, taking a large swig as he went, the burn in his throat going someway to settling his nerves.
This would work out, because he was Ransom fucking Drysdale, a man who always got what he wanted in the end, and she was going to be no exception.
****
Part 2
#murder he wrote#j's haunted house 2020#dark ransom#dark ransom drysdale x reader#dark ransom drysdale x you#ransom drysdale x reader#ransom drysdale x you#ransom drysdale#reader insert#chris evans#chris evans characters
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22/11/22-Lakeside and home
Photos taken today in this set: Rainbow out the back after my streak of three Tuesdays in a row seeing and photogrpahing rainbows came to an end last week rainbow Tuesday was back today with this early morning swathe of sweet colour out the back, a view on an extremely sunny Lakeside lunch time walk, two of the Mute Swans there, another view at Lakeside, Carrion Crow at Lakeside, another view at Lakeside, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard and another view. It really was so uplifting to take in the beautiful views at Lakeside in the sunshine, it enriched the scenes of blue full lakes, pockets of remaining autumnal colour on birches and other trees, some green still and the bare bark red starting to dominate. Scenes that I have come to associate with winter at Lakeside. The calm sunny conditions a world away from yesterday’s blustery first of two walks here on a Monday off. My first walk as I said yesterday ended at about 12:05 and whilst it cleared up by half three for me to decide to do another walk there was still quite a bit of rain that fell after my first walk so not notable yesterday walking over the same bit, today walking along the bit between Concorde lake and beach lake at the north the former had now spilled out so much there was almost no land between the lakes! I was saying to my Dad who joined me for the walk today I think it’s the wettest I’ve ever known Lakeside and that’s especially notable from 2020 onwards when I’ve walked here most days through working from home and the hybrid working system, this would have been inconceivable in the summer.
Key species seen today:
Mute Swan-What a pleasure to see these two delightful birds so intimately on beach lake for a second day running. Before I can remember my Mum tells me there used to be loads of Mute Swans here and I always recall there consistently being two. Not so for much of this year but in the late summer/early autumn there was a spate of sightings I had with a few swans so it’s nice to see more and it feels all the more precious seeing them.
Mallard-From a group sitting on a flooded fishing jetty giving me the angle for a shot I craved showing the full lakes a photo I tweeted on Dans_Pictures tonight to the couple including the female I got the photo in this set of which turned into the sunshine nicely to get the shot, I enjoyed seeing these birds again here today.
One of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe-A pretty and wholesome sight seeing this quite young I believe bird yet again today on the sun kissed lakes a constant star lately.
Carrion Crow-The one to the backdrop of the few yellow leaves still left on the nice trees that are also visible from my room was a key moment on my lunch time walk.
Magpie-Seen well at Lakeside and home today.
Other sightings today were a Grey Silverfish in my room, Silver-sided Sector spider the other side of the window again tonight, House Sparrow seen nicely on the balcony feeders as I got back from my walk, Long-tailed Tit at Lakeside, Robin, Black-headed Gull, Greylag Goose and I seem to recall Woodpigeon.
#magpie#carrion crow#great crested grebe#mallard#mallards#mute swan#grebe#water#water birds#november#sunny#winter#autumn#uk#world#nature#grey silverfish#silver-sided sector spider#happy#photos#birdwatching#birding#walk#walking#earth#wet#blue#lakeside#lakeside country park#eastleigh
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