#I’m a big sucker for these transparent figures

[necronomi-kun]

🦁👑

[bitchyycapricorn]

Almost There

Peter Parker x Ghost!Reader

Chapter One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Wordcount: 2.1K

Synopsis: Peter enters his apartment that night expecting to find an empty bed. But instead, he comes face to face with your transparent glowing figure.

Warnings: Angst, some fluff if you squint, jealousy, “cheating”, running away, fighting.

AN: not edited

It had been a been about two months since yours and Peter’s first midnight encounter. Since then you both had fallen into a sort of routine together. Peter would come home late most nights, but every Monday and Thursday he would come home a few hours earlier to spend time with you. On these special nights, Peter would always have something for the two of you to do together before bed. Some nights you would snuggle up and watch movies, other nights you would stay up and talk. Or perhaps he would bring you home a new lego set to build together. A few times he even brought his best friend Ned by, who could see you when you were in your solid form. Regardless, Peter would always try and make time for his new roommate. As expected, there were still nights he was out too late, unable to make it back to you before you went to bed. But he was able to find a rather cute solution to this problem.

“Y/N?” Peter calls out to you as he enters his room. You look over to him from where you’re sitting on the edge of his bed watching Scooby Doo cartoons.

A soft hum escapes your lips as you pause your show. “Hey Pete, how was school?” You ask, shuffling your body so you’re now facing him.

“The usual,” he replies before holding up a plastic bag. “I got you something on my way home. Saw it in a shop window actually.”

A small “ooo,” leaves your mouth as you hop off your bed and make your way over to Peter, eager to see what he got you. Peter hands you the bag and you quickly look inside before pulling out a small Spider-Man plushie. “You got me a stuffed version of you?” You ask with a small laugh.

“Oh um, is that alright?” Peter asks, suddenly feeling nervous due to your lack of enthusiasm.

A big smile spreads across your face as you throw yourself into his arms, turning solid at the last second. The sudden impact throws you both backwards, causing Peter to fall back against the door. “I love it Peter, I love it!” You squeal. Your arms tighten around his neck, the stuffed Spider-Man still in your grip.

Peter lets out a sigh of relief, hugging you back. “I’m so glad you like it Y/N/N. Now you have someone to always fall asleep with.”

You cherished your stuffed Spider-Man and made sure it was by your side at all times, even keeping another version of it in the other world. It really did help you fall asleep on the nights Peter showed up late, even if Peter would replace it as soon as he got home. He was a sucker for your embrace after all. No matter how late it was when he got home, he would always make his way back into your arms. You had really started to fall for Peter, realizing that you wanted him as more than just a friend. It was the two of you, and you thought it would always be that way. That was, until she showed up.

+++

Desperately needing some fresh air and a break, you found yourself sitting on the fire escape that afternoon as you wait for Peter to get home from school. It had been a while since you enjoyed a cool breeze on your face. Despite it being a the first in a while, it was evident just how much cooler it was getting now, winter approaching quicker than you had hoped it would. Your thoughts were one with the wind in that moment, coming steadily before blowing into the distance. It wasn’t until the door to Peter’s room opened that you were brought out of your thoughts. Turning around, you went straight through the glass window to meet Peter on the other side. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?” You hum, noting in your mind that it’s Thursday.

“Actually nothing, one of my other friends is coming over tonight. The thing is, I actually really like this friend and I don’t exactly want her knowing I live with another girl.” Peter replies as he begins to frantically pick up his bedroom.

Your face scrunches at the mention of another girl coming over “Her?”

Peter nods, throwing his dirty clothes onto his hamper for the first time that week. “Yes, her. Her name is MJ, and she’s coming over to watch a movie with me tonight. Which means I need you to chill in the living room while we hang out.”

Your heart drops as you watch Peter finish throwing his room back together. “So you’re ditching me on our night to hang out with some other girl?”

“Y/N, please. I really really like MJ and I think she might actually like me back. If this goes well I might even have a girlfriend by the end of the night.” Peter pleads.

“Whatever. I guess I’ll leave then.” You mutter, a defeated look painting your face.

“Thank you so so much, I owe you big time.” He grins, going to embrace you only to walk right through you.

“Used up all my energy today,” you shrugged, knowing damn well you were lying to him in order to avoid giving him a hug.

“Oh okay,” he frowns, knowing deep down you’re upset with him for canceling. The doorbell rings a few moments later and Peter excuses himself to go answer the door, motioning for you to basically ‘make yourself scarce’ while he does so. A sigh escapes your lips as you follow him to the living room, hovering near the counter as he opens the door,

“MJ!” Peter beams, “come on in.”

A stunning girl with dark curly brown hair walks through the door, looking around the apartment. “Thanks for having me over Peter,” she says, giving him a shy smile.

Peter nods, leading her to his room, “Yeah of course, I’m so exited to have you over.” And with that his door closes and you’re left alone in the living room.

+++

It only took about an hour for you to get bored of floating around Peter’s living room and snooping around May’s room. You had at least found some interesting things tucked away in her stuff. Between baby photo’s of Peter, and some rather cute outfits, you were quite satisfied with your finds. But with nothing else to keep you entertained, the best option now was to go spy on Peter and MJ through his closet. Leavings May’s room, you made your way to the wall that lead into Peter’s closet, walking straight through it. You peered through the decent sized crack that Peter had left open, focusing your gaze on Peter and MJ, who were sitting much too close for your liking. Your eyes narrowed at the sight, a feeling of hot jealousy began to bubble up in your stomach.

MJ turns to Peter suddenly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I really like you,” she says in a hushed voice.

You watch as Peter’s eyes go wide, “I-I really like you too MJ.” He stutters. MJ leans in slowly, pressing a kiss to Peter’s perfect lips. Her hand slowly moves to his hair, playing with it between her fingers and in her other hand she’s holding your Spider-man plushie.

You hadn’t realized that you’d gone soiled until you felt the hot tears streaming down your face. You wiped them away quickly, sucking in a breath before shifting back into a ghost and making your way back into the living room. Your whole body still felt achy and heavy, ally you wanted to do was run. And so you did. You let your legs carry you through the wall of the apartment and down the stairs as fast as you could. Not stopping until you were outside of the apartment complex.

You scanned the streets, realizing it had been years since you last dared to leave. You were always so afraid you’d never find your way back. But what did it matter now? It almost seemed like it would do you good to find a new home, so you let your legs carry you off down the streets of Massachusetts.

Your heart was still pounding despite the fact it didn’t exist in your hollow body. You still felt like you were crying despite not being able to produce any sort of tears in your ghostly form. Your mind was spinning as you replayed the scene over and over in your head. The way she kissed him, the way he kissed her. The fact that he let her touch the gift he gave you. I was clear you were no longer welcome. Which is why you had no plans to turn back.

+++

It was getting dark when you realized you did in fact have to go back. You had almost forgot about what was hidden under the floorboard, the last piece of your old life which you couldn’t seem to replicate no matter how hard you tried in the other world. It was why you refused to leave in the past, even when the the people who lived there were horrible.

In all your rage with Peter you had almost forgotten about the item. It wasn’t until you had walked for about two hours and calmed down that you finally remembered. Luckily you had just continued straight during your walk, going through any object that stood in your way.

It made it quite easy to find your way back to the apartment, since you just had to turn around and walk back the way you came. It was around 10 o’clock when you finally made it back, the streetlights were on and the bugs were singing their songs. Your legs carried you up the stairs of the complex, all the way to the sixth floor. If it weren’t for the fact you were still in your ghost form you would feel just as physically exhausted as you do mentally.

You wandered through the wall and straight into Peter’s room, not bothering to look at him. Only caring about the object you kept tucked away below the floorboard in his closet.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for over an hour now,” Peter sounded like he was on the verge of tears, his voice was shaky and he looked as if he had been crying.

“I was out.” You stated flatly, still not looking at him.

“Y/N, I was worried sick. You didn’t say anything, you just left.”

You stopped before the closet, turning your head to look at Peter. “You were busy. Besides, I don’t get why you care where I was. Not like you wanted me around while…she was here.” You snap.

Peter looks at you for a moment before letting out a long sigh. “I care where you are because I care about you. And I’m sorry about the whole MJ thing, but you’ll have to get used to it since we’re kind of together now.” He mumbles.

“I see.” You turn back to the closet shaking your head. “Let’s just go to bed I guess. I’ll be leaving tomorrow anyways. I don’t want to be here with you anymore anyways.” Your voice is dripping venom as you make your way over to his bed, laying down in your usual spot.

“Leaving? But wh-“

“Because Peter. I don’t think your new girlfriend would be too happy about another girl living with you, remember?”

Peter freezes, realizing you’re right. He stops arguing and turns off the light, crawling into bed next to you. “Goodnight Y/N,” he whispers, closing his eyes and drifting off.

You lie awake, feeling so unsure of yourself. Only yesterday you and Peter were messing around, talking, having a great time. And now, he’s kissing another girl and you really have no other choice but to move out. The hours seemed to slip by as you continue to stare up at the ceiling, unsure of what to do, you look over to Peter again, knowing you only have a few more minutes left with him. You examine his face, he looks so peaceful as he sleeps. The way his curly brown hair falls over his forehead, and the way his freckles dance across his nose and cheeks.

You feel yourself leaning in slowly, your body going solid as your hand meets his soft hair. You slowly press your lips to his, kissing him softly the way MJ did. You lightly tug at his curls, never wanting the moment to end. You can feel Peter’s arm wrapping around you as he pulls you closer, his eyes fluttering open. Your lips are still on his when he registers what’s happening.

And just as the sun comes up, you fade out of his arms, and back to the other side.

+++

TAGLIST

[jechristine]

Interesting read for the Oscars:

https://theankler.com/p/behold-the-incredible-shrinking-oscars?utm_medium=email&s=r

The below segment reflects many thoughts I have had concerning Best Picture and its correlation with mass audience appeal, especially when it concerns studio tentpoles and big budget films:

There are do some interesting thoughts about streaming, though I am not sure if I agree with it being a requirement (how many indie films would end up left out?). But numbers and voter statistics should definitely be made public

So

I’m not sure I agree that the Oscars’s message has changed exactly. I’d have to see some evidence, I guess. My impression is that the message has always been “Aren’t we special!” and what’s changed is the audience orientation. The Oscars as leader and its ilk (Golden Globes, SAG, film critics) was really the only game in town for decades, and now we’re seeing the internet completing the process of democratizing film reviews, just as it’s democratized everything else. The Academy is the victim of the “crisis (or not) of authority” that we see everywhere. I think maybe this article overstates the newness of the divergence between Oscars and box office, but even if there’s truth there I think the divergence is less about Oscars becoming elitist and more about audiences feeling empowered to challenge the old gatekeepers’ judgments. Like, they the critics told us to see ABC, but I’m going to listen to Rotten Tomatoes audience score instead and go see XYZ (Uncharted lol). Or the divergence is more obvious because we see audience scores, i.e. the box office receipts have been translated into the language of reviews so we can compare apples to apples. Anyhow, I’m open as ever to being convinced otherwise.

A couple of specific parts of this article that made me want to respond:

I think the Oscars wants to maintain a connection to a mass audience because the event’s producers want to sell ads for one of the few remaining annual live TV events. The audience for the live event is going to decline inevitably no matter what is done as a result of more and more people consuming the Oscars via social media. And maybe I’m elitist myself but I don’t think the Academy ought to consider mass appeal per se. I’m still a sucker for expertise and I do believe that Academy members do have more knowledge and tools with which to judge a film’s merit and cast and crew’s merit than random moviegoers do.

[edited to add: I’m always trying to figure out how to balance this view with another—that I think there’s a strategy (maybe subconscious unacknowledged) by thousands of individual Academy members to define their tastes against popular tastes. Like, maybe a completely disinterested expertise about film quality is not really possible? Maybe it’s the case that Academy members do bring expertise to their judgments AND ALSO that that expertise is always somewhat corrupted by a desire to see themselves as culturally elite.]

But of course it’s imperative that the Academy ramp up efforts to fix huge structural issues around diversity & inclusion. I think being more transparency about who’s voting, which demographics are voting, would be a boon to this project so yeah I like that idea a lot. It would open the Academy up to public criticism and public pressure around equity, which would be great imo

I see a lot of juxtaposing tentpoles and indies, but I don’t actually think that small >$5 million dollar movies are the ones in danger. They need essentially no advertising budget and so it’s easy and low/no-risk for studios big and small and streaming services to pick them up and show how diverse and interesting their portfolios are. I think the new landscape is not looking great for mid-budget ~$20-40 million films (i.e. romcoms and just comedies with funny comic actors in general). Why take on that much risk + whatever ad budget you need for something that’s not a sure thing like a comicbook film or a star vehicle is.

I feel like the problem here is really simple: that the producers don’t give A-list stars enough advanced notice to schedule in rehearsal time etc. I honestly think Tom would have hosted this year but he would have needed to be booked a year ago, not in January 2022. He’s truly busy!

This seems really cruel lol

This is the comment that made me look up the writer’s age (77yo). What people like about sm content is its spontaneity and authenticity. It seems to me that overly produced, sanctioned sm content would be the cringiest thing imaginable. I’d be more interested to see what regular Twitter/tiktok people did with/to Dakota Johnson’s “getting ready Oscars’ content,” actually. But I guess as more content to mock it’d be fun?

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Along for the Ride

Dean Winchester x Reader

Words: 3007

Summary: When you first started hunting with Dean Winchester, you hadn’t expected it to last this long. Together, you face all kinds of ghouls and basically become the ultimate badass couple. But when you start to think you’re just another fling for him, he has no trouble correcting you. 

Notes: This is meant to be a fluffier Dean piece, but you know me, I have to have a bit of angst. I am trying to break up Dean’s darker imagines with fluff, so be prepared for Friday. 

Special shout out to my amazing beta reader Sarah, @suckmysupernatural​ . I love her so much and honestly, she’s helped me so much in getting these imagines out for you and she has some absolutely killer writing of her own!

Want more Supernatural? Find it HERE

-

You swung your knife hard into the blood-sucker’s neck, his head rolling across the warehouse floor. You turned to see Dean saw off another one himself, blood covering both of your clothes. 

“That’s the last of them.” He groaned, lifting up his shirt to examine the bruises and cuts. “That son of a bitch really put up a fight.” You wiped your stained blade off on your jeans and opened the warehouse door, basking in the autumn sun.  Dean shook the dust and dirt off of his jacket and wrapped his arm around you as you both walked to the Impala. 

“I think this calls for a beer,” you noted and he nodded in agreement. The two of you just took out an entire nest of vamps, a little celebration was deserved. And after a few bottles of beer, Dean texted Sam and told him that you would be a while and the two of you had an entirely different kind of celebration back at the motel. 

-

The two of you laid together in a comforting silence, your arms wrapped around Dean as he stared up at the ceiling. This was pretty routine for your relationship. You had each other’s backs during a hunt and you were there to help each other unwind afterwards. Poor Sam usually just went and got something to eat by himself. You wrapped your arms around Dean a little tighter, that part of you close to your heart wishing that this was more than it was. But you could never tell Dean that you loved him. That wasn’t part of the deal. 

“What’s on your mind?” Dean asked, feeling your shoulders tense. 

“Pie.” You lied, laughing as he leaned over you, chuckling deeply in your ear. His green eyes- god, those eyes- stared at you intensely. 

“I’m serious. What’s up?” 

“Nothing, Dean.” You were usually a great liar. It was a skill that was required in your particular profession. When it came to Dean, however, you were totally transparent. You decided to change the subject to hopefully get him off your case. “Do you want some coffee? I’m dying for some caffeine.” You slid into your jeans and stole his flannel before he could grab it. 

“That’s my shirt.” He huffed, finding his pants. 

“I like you better like this.” You grinned, tracing a hand over his bare chest. “Besides, I look better in it.” Dean pulled you in for a rough kiss, nearly falling back on to the bed. You laughed as you pushed away. “Easy, tiger. We should go meet up with Sam. He’s probably been sitting in a diner somewhere all alone.” 

“Yeah, yeah, poor Sammy.” You ruffled Dean’s hair and grabbed his keys with a devilish grin.

“First one to the car gets to drive.” 

“Oh hell no.” Dean practically lunged at you and you squealed as you jumped out of the way, sprinting out the door. 

-

“I would ask what took you two so long, but I really don’t want to know.” Sam took note of your change in clothes and put the pieces together. He had been typing away on his laptop looking for a possible new case for the past couple of hours. Luckily, most of the patrons of the diner just thought he was writing a horror novel. 

“Find anything good?” Dean asked, motioning to the waitress for two cups of coffee. You couldn’t help but notice the way she leaned over the counter just so, flipping her hair over her shoulder. 

“Did you want any sugar, sugar?” You rolled your eyes, but Dean, being Dean, smiled at her. 

“No thanks.” She winked and strut off, her hips swaying more than you thought was humanly possible. Your eyes fell to the counter. Sam, having noticed your reaction to the encounter, started to list possible cases to distract you. He knew that Dean wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. But he also knew that Dean didn’t always realize when his harmless flirting wasn’t harmless anymore. 

“There’s a group of campers that disappeared in the Rockies, all that was left in their camp was a couple of demonic symbols carved into the trees.” 

“Sounds a little more like a prank than our kind of thing.” You noted, looking at the screen over his shoulder. “What about this one?” You pointed to a possible poltergeist case in Tulsa. “Four women over the last ten years, each found in their locked apartments with the words “Not Enough” carved into their chests.” The three of you collectively grimaced. 

“Hell hath no fury.” You muttered and the boys voiced their agreement. 

Sam was driving, so you flipped a coin to figure out who got shot-gun. A string of curses came from Dean as he climbed into the back seat. You smirked with victory and blew him a sarcastic kiss. 

“Real cute.” He barked and you and Sam shared a laugh. You started to scour records from the town to see if you could find any strange or violent deaths. One in particular fit the bill. You motioned for Dean to look and his fingers grazed your shoulder as he pulled himself forward. 

“Look at this. Martha Greenburg; 25. Ten years ago, she threw herself off of a bridge and wrote in her suicide note that she wasn’t enough for him. The police concluded that she was talking about her fiance, Haris, who broke her heart the previous day.” 

“Not enough.” Dean repeated, grabbing your phone to get a better look at the story. Your eyes lingered on him with a sad expression. Something about the words hit you harder than you would admit. You didn’t see Sam’s eyes dart over towards you, a deep frown appearing on his face. Dean returned your phone. “So, heart broken Martha kills herself and now she wants other women to feel the pain she felt?”

“That makes some kind of sick, sad sense.” You sighed, resigning to looking out your window for the rest of the trip. 

When you got to another motel, Sam suggested that Dean go in and get a room while the two of you bounced some more theories back and forth. As soon as Dean was gone, Sam turned to you with a serious, empathetic expression. 

“Is everything okay, Y/N?” His hand found yours in that classic Comfort Mode Sam way. 

“Of course.” You faked a laugh, but it didn’t work. “Look, I’ve just had a few stupid ideas running through my head lately, but I’m sure they’ll pass.”

“What ideas?”

“Seriously Sam, it’s nothing.”

“Seriously Y/N, it clearly isn’t.” You accepted defeat and took a deep breath. 

“I’ve just started to wish that it all meant more, you know? To him.”

“Did something happen between you and Dean?” Sam actually looked ready to smack his big brother upside the head. 

“No, no, not exactly. I forgot what we were, that’s all.” You watched Dean come back out of the motel with a heavy heart and a sad smile. “But hey, I’m just happy I get to be along for the ride.” 

Dean got back to the car before Sam could respond. He just looked at you with a sympathetic sadness that made you feel even worse. You should have just kept your mouth shut. You rolled down your window so Dean could talk.

“You two ready to change and head to the coroner’s office?” He noticed the change of tone in the car and scoffed. “Man, you two make ghouls look excited. Let’s go.” You gave Sam a pleading glance before grabbing your bag from the back and going in to change into your pantsuit. Sam and Dean found their bags and Sam punched Dean’s shoulder.

“What did you say to her?” He asked angrily. 

“What are you talking about?” Dean snapped back, rubbing the now sore spot. 

“To Y/N? What did you do?”

“Sammy,” Dean’s mouth formed a suggestive smirk. “I think we all know what Y/N and I did.”

“God, Dean that’s not what I meant.” Sam shook his head and slammed the trunk shut. 

-

There was an odd tension between the three of you as you left the coroner’s office. Every bodies’ insides were basically mush, as if they’d hit a wall at 100 miles per hour. A strange burn marked their hands. Their lungs were also filled with water. Oh, and sure enough, every single one had the words ‘Not Enough’ deeply carved across their chest. Every woman was engaged, and from the reports, they were happy. Martha’s distorted jealousy took that from them. It made your skin crawl. 

“Hey,” Dean said suddenly, pulling you to the side. “Are you okay?” You tried to hide all of the turning in your stomach. 

“Are we really going to do this again?” You laughed, but this time, it wasn’t as convincing. “Dean, I’m fine.” His stupid green eyes were doing that thing they did when he was trying to get you to tell him something. So instead, you kissed him very, very convincingly. Sam cleared his throat and you pulled away. 

“Martha was cremated. So salting and burning the bones is out.” He informed, giving you a strange look. Dean composed himself, still a little stunned. “We’re back to square one.” 

You all wracked your brains to figure out what the spirit could be latching onto. You remembered something about the crime scene photos. Something about their hands. 

“I know what it is.” You marched back into the morgue and pulled back the tarp covering the woman’s body. “Look at her left hand.” A band was burned around her finger- where her engagement ring would have been. “All of the women had this burn. What if they all had the same ring?”

“It could be worth looking into.” Sam noted, still giving you that annoyingly concerned stare. You tried to shrug it off. 

“Then what are we waiting for?” You brushed past Dean and rushed out to the impala. 

“This is what I was talking about.” Sam hissed at his brother. “Dean, you need to talk to her. She…” His voice trailed off. You would kill him if you found out that he told Dean what you said. 

“She what?” Dean really sounded worried. If something was wrong, he wanted to know. 

“She thinks she’s just a fling to you, Dean.” He blurted, checking to make sure you were gone. “She said she wished that what you two have meant more.”

“Why would she think that?” Now he sounded hurt. Couldn’t you tell how much you meant to him? Sure, he wasn’t super vocal about his affections, but he always figured you knew.

“I don’t know but she said she’s just happy to be ‘along for the ride’.” Sam sighed, leaving to join Y/N in the car, but Dean stayed back. Along for the ride? What did that even mean? He thought what the two of you had was real, which was not something he was used to, but did you think this was all some prolonged one night stand? With all of his questions, he did know one thing. He loved you- as sappy-romance-movie as that sounded- and he was going to make damn sure that you knew it this time. 

-

Dean did not like this plan. Looking down at the small box in his hand, he shuttered. He really really did not like this plan. You and Sam were waiting in the car in an uncomfortable silence. 

“Did you get it?” Sam asked as Dean climbed into the driver’s seat. He gave his brother a scowl. 

“I don’t like this.” 

“Dean, everything is going to be fine.” You assured him. “I’ll be the bait and once Martha pops in to carve me up, you guys will burn the ring.” 

“Why can’t we just burn it now?” 

“Because if we summon her, we can be sure that we killed her.” You knew that it was dangerous, but it could be your only shot. Sure, you were scared, but you’d never let the boys know that. 

The three of you drove to the spot where this all started; the old bridge that Martha took the dive off of. The bridge had been closed for years, so traffic wasn’t a problem. You got out of the impala, listening to the river flow beneath your feet. You kept a brave face, but Dean could see your nerves. 

“You don’t have to do this.” Dean protested, holding the box in his hand. “We could just torch this thing right now and be done with it.” 

“She only shows up when the ring has a hand, Dean.” You held up your left hand and held out your right for him to give you the box. Instead, he took the ring out himself. 

“You…” He paused, looking for the right words. “You know that I care about you, right?” You stepped back.

“Of course, Dean.” You looked over at Sam, but he was too busy loading the rock salt to notice your frustration. He must have said something. “Look, we don’t have time for this. Let’s just gank the ghost and get out of here.” Dean saw through your toughness, of course, but he didn’t argue. He did, however, lean in for a kiss. It was a different kind of kiss than you usually shared. It wasn’t lusting or rushed. It was slow and sweet and perfect. When he pulled back, he kept his forehead rested against yours. 

“Be careful.” He whispered and slipped the ring onto your finger. Immediately, he was thrown backwards, having to catch himself on the railing to keep from falling over the edge.

“Dean!” You screamed. Martha’s apparition appeared in front of you, her hair wet and matted and her face stained with eternal tears. 

“He’ll never love you.” She croaked, water pouring out of her mouth as she spoke. You braced yourself. There was nothing she could say that you hadn’t already thought of a million times. 

“Let’s dance, bitch.” 

The ring on your hand started to burn and you cried out, trying to take it off. Her hand latched around your throat and dragged you to the side of the bridge, hanging you over the railing. 

“Y/N!” Sam shouted, aiming the salt loaded rifle at Martha. She flicked her wrist and sent the weapon flying into the water. 

“It isn’t real.” She groaned, tightening her grip on your throat. “He doesn’t care. He’d rather roam around with waitresses and bartenders than be shackled down with you.” You tried to block her out, but her words sunk into you. “Because you’re not enough. You will never be enough.” Yout felt a sharp pain scrape across your chest as she started to carve her words into you. Through the pain and your screaming, you were able to tear the ring off of your finger. 

“Dean.” You choked out, tossing the ring to him as Sam started the fire in a trash can that you’d stolen from the motel. Dean threw the ring into the flames before sprinting across the bridge towards you. 

Martha let out a blood curdling scream as her image slowly burned away, her hold on you releasing, sending you tumbling over the edge. Hands latched around your ankle as you swayed over the rushing waters, blood seeping through your t-shirt.

“A little help, Sam!” Dean grunted, your foot slipping slightly in his hand. Sam grabbed your other ankle and the two of them were able to get you back on the bridge. Dean didn’t even let your feet touch the ground before he wrapped his arms around you, holding you as close to him as he could. You winced when his chest pressed against your new wounds. “Oh, crap, sorry.” 

“It’s okay.” You pulled the collar of your shirt down enough to see that Martha had only gotten a few letters before she burned. “Great, now I’m just going to have ‘no’ scarred on my chest.” Dean let out an exasperated laugh, pulling you back to him. 

-

You were packing up your things back at the motel when Dean asked Sam to give him a moment alone with you. You leaned against the hood of the impala, knowing exactly where this conversation was going to go. 

“Do you believe what she said to you?” Okay, maybe you didn’t know where this conversation was going. 

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Y/N, we all heard what she was saying.” Dean ran his hand down his face. “She said that I’d rather be off with some waitress than be with you. That you’re not enough for me.” 

“Dean, I’m sure she says that to every-”

“Do you believe her?” He repeated, this time he sounded more upset. When you didn’t answer, his face changed with hurt. “Do you really think that little of me? Of us?”

“I’m in love with you, Dean.” You blurted. “That wasn’t part of the plan, but there it is.” Dean stepped closer to you, cupping your cheek. 

“You aren’t just a fling, Y/N. I love you.” Dean cradled the back of your head in his hand as he pulled you in for a kiss. A slow and sweet and perfect kiss. But it wasn’t enough. Not for him. He had to show you that he meant it. He broke the kiss, those green eyes melting your heart completely. “Let’s get married.” You froze. 

“What?”

“Let’s get married.” His face broke into a nervous grin. “Come on, Y/N, we already fight like a married couple. Sam treats you like a sister. I love you more than any girl I’ve ever known. Let’s do it.” The shock of his words faded just enough for you to respond. 

“Okay.” You said breathlessly. Dean scooped you up in his arms and you laughed. 

“I’m glad you two figured it out.” Sam smiled, throwing the last of the bags in the trunk. Dean gave his brother a beaming grin, setting you back on your feet. 

“Come on, Sammy, we’ve got to get a non-haunted ring this time,” He exclaimed, giving you one more kiss. “We’re going to Vegas.” 

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto;

Supernatural: @desimarie12; @deandreamernp​

[i-need-air]

Bakugou Katsuki – The wait before the promise.

Summary: He just doesn't understand make-up but for once he sits and waits because tonight is the night. Grown up Bakugou.

Notes: Here to throw something that's been in my BNHA folder for a month now and wasn't sure of it. I'm kinda MIA because I'm lowkey [but not so lowkey] obsessing over Haikyuu now so I might just throw some volleyball in my blog, who knows, who knows! Ty for reading this mess! [What is proof reading? Hah! We die like men here!] ♥ ♥ ♥

He really didn't understand it, although throughout their relationship he always did his best to at least try to. It has been his mother that had to slap [literally] some reality in his head after one big argument, just after they graduated. If he wasn't willing to put work in their relationship, visibly, not just assume everything is alright and/or it'll fix with time, they'd crash and before he'd know it he would've lost the love of his life.

Bakugou Katsuki wasn't much of a talker in terms of feelings but it didn't take him long to realize she was, without a doubt, made for him and vice-versa. And over the years the now man learned to communicate things through. Well, at least he's getting there.

What his brain couldn't wrap around is why in the actual fuck was she taking one [1] hour to do all her make-up. For a simple double date with Shitty-Hair and Racoon Eyes, or so she thought. And beyond that, what baffled him the most when he inquired about it was that she was looking to perfect the Natural Look™. [Y/N] said it so casually while applying that weird ass skin colored cream over her face with a literal sponge, ignoring his shocked face staring her down in the bathroom mirror.

Was she seriously trying to put make-up on her face just to have it look like her normal natural face? For once in his life-time Katsuki was at loss of words, choosing to bite his tongue and sit like a good boy on the couch and wait. He was already dressed, ready to go, the scent of his new cologne was annoying the hell out of it and overall he was getting impatient although not with her. Other things were on his mind too and maybe, just maybe, he was having this beauty product existencial crisis because he needed to calm down.

He started muttering to himself, tapping his fingers on his knee while seriously trying to figure out his partner. Or women in general. Last time they had a chat about a similar topic she just informed him that not everyone has his genetics, meaning his perfect skin, which made him roll his eyes but grin, conversation forgotten because he's a sucker for her compliments.

Getting up to grab a beer while checking the time, he saw her make weird faces in the mirror, applying god knows what and he couldn't help but make a face himself. Undeniably, she was cute, something he'd never ever say out loud, yet he couldn't help but stare from the hall, beer now in hand as she winked at him in the mirror. With a small smirk, he took a gulp and just observed in silence.

Why was she hiding her beauty marks though? Or that small scar she got from that mission they kicked ass together? He loved that about her, the small details on her face and body that he not so embarrassingly learned by memory at this point. And seeing her hum to herself proudly after throwing some brown powder under her cheekbones, somewhat and very slightly making them more pronounced, small smile of victory on her bare lips, he smiled with her.

It would've been weird to have someone lean against a wall watching you do something in basically another room but even if she felt his eyes on her, it seemed she didn't care. Maybe after all these years the woman got used to his intense eyes on her figure. Oh, how he loved watching her. From the first year in UA until now and without a doubt until forever. Yet here he was, admiring her, picking up her habits, such as the small squint of eyes when she was concentrating, slight pout on her lips whenever she didn't get the eye-make-up or whatever that light pink color was for not working how she wanted, her beautiful eyes shining when catching his.

And that's when he started noticing how her [e/c] orbs popped out more, complimented by the main color adorning her eye-lids. Her lashes, now longer, gave them a more cat-like shape. Those lips he kissed many times looked fuller yet he knew that sticky transparent gel on them was a pain in the ass. But he got it, finally, because until now he never watched her transform herself like this. Yes, he saw the before and after, and she was beautiful with and without make-up on, but has never stayed to watch her do a not so Natural Look™ and found himself letting out a chuckle because even after... how many years passed already? Eight whole years of knowing each other, of being by each other's side, he still found solace in observing her.

So when she let go of her hair, ruffling it a little to go along with her theme for the night and turning towards him with a smile, catching him already sending a smirk her way.

"I think I'm ready." she said, jumping a little then proceeding to adjust her summer dress.

"Whaddaya mean you think?" he said, giving her a mock-incredulous face. With a last sip of his beer, he headed towards the kitchen in an exasperated sigh, leaving her giggle in the hallway. Her soft pats walking away probably towards their bedroom gave him time to take a deep breath and check the time again.

They had reservations at nine sharp. Well, the restaurant wouldn't mind since they were the only ones scheduled in the premise for the night.

Checking his phone, Kirishima send him his good lucks [as if he needed it, pft] while Mina spammed him heart emojis and... fairies and butterflies? Disgusting. Whatever. It's not like it made him smile or anything.

"You're awfully smiley today. Did Izuku get down in ranks or something?" she joked, catching a glimpse of his features. Of course, their rivalry/friendship got much better over the years yet somehow they still had this dumb competition about whoever will be the number one. So childish and Men... would be what she'd comment whenever those two big idiots competed.

But no, tonight was about her, about them.

"I swear, woman, can't I smile without you interrogating me, hah?"

"You know I didn't mean it that way, Katsu!" she said with an exaggerated pout. "I love it when you smile, that's why I say." He almost choked on his saliva when hearing that.

"You'll see, dumbass." Smooth Bakugou Katsuki will always remain smooth. "Also, what the hell does Natural Look means? Isn't that make-up on your face, woman?" he inquired, changing the topic of the conversation while grabbing his and her jackets, house keys, all while waiting for her to put her heels on.

"What do you mean, does it look bad?!" her head snapped, eyes shooting daggers at him. He couldn't said something before?

"That's not what I meant!" his stomach suddenly decided to adopt a zoo, give all the animals some crack and put heavy metal on the highest volume. They were leaving. "You look good, I just don't get it why you'd—"

As he opened the door for her, rolling his crimson eyes at her fluttering eyelashes, over-exaggerated towards him while she gave an explanation, Bakugou knew that he didn't care whatever she wore that day, either face or body, because all he cared was about the little box in his pocket, the vacant restaurant they had their first date at, the catering crew he hired just for them and [Y/N] just being there. Oh, and the small detail of her saying "Yes".

So they left, echoes of their voices arguing like an old married couple, her teasing, his smart ass remarks and a promise in the air. The next time they'd cross the door of this apartment, she'd be bounded to be his, forever and always.

Oh. The dawning sun hit her highlighted cheeks softly, giving her an ethereal vibe. Yeah, he definitely gets it now. She looked even more breathtaking.

[harry-sussex]

KATIE’S TOP 10 15 BEST ROYAL WEDDING DRESSES OF ALL TIME

15.  Princess Madeleine in Valentino (Sweden, m. Christopher O’Neill, 8 June 2013)

The only thing I can say I hate genuinely about this dress is that it never sat right off her shoulders.  It looked like it was slipping and sliding all day.  Other than that, wow, this dress is gorgeous.  The color is beautiful, combined with that fantastic tiara and gorgeous veil.  Lace but not too much lace.  Absolutely beautiful! 

14.  Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Ove Harder Finseth (Norway, m. Crown Prince Haakon, 25 August 2001)

I love a simple wedding dress, and Mette-Marit really hit it out of the park with hers.  I love that she was involved with the design.  I love that she accessorized really minimally to let the dress and that fabulous veil shine.  The only thing I’d like to have seen is a bit more bling in the tiara, but she still looked absolutely beautiful!

13.  Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg in Oscar de la Renta (France/Austria, m. Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte, 19 October 2019)

This dress is so far out of my comfort zone, but it is absolutely fabulous.  So quirky, so intricate - I’m in love!  It’s classic Oscar de la Renta and it fits her beautifully.  I’m not a fan of what the cape does in the chest area and I would never, ever wear this myself but it’s a work of art!  Absolutely fabulous!

12.  Camilla Parker-Bowles in Anna and Robinson Valentine (United Kingdom, m. The Prince of Wales, 9 April 2005)

I think this is stunning for a second wedding.  The color, the gold accents, the classic Philip Treacy headpiece - absolutely magnificent.  It looks bridal without being juvenile, and it’s gorgeous while still being appropriate for the occasion.  I’ve always loved it!

11.  Crown Princess Victoria in Pär Engsheden (Sweden, m. Daniel Westling, 19 June 2010)

The combination of the simplicity of Victoria’s gown with the Cameo tiara and that gorgeous, intricate bouquet is exquisite.  The Cameo needed something simple to let it shine and Victoria and Engsheden did not disappoint.  The color and material were perfection and this is how you do an off-the-shoulder short-sleeved look!  Combined with no necklace to really let the whole look shine, this is one of my favorites!

10.  Beatrice Borromeo in Armani Privé (Monaco, m. Pierre Casiraghi, 1 August 2015)

This is the first of three (yes, three) mentions of Beatrice Borromeo on this list.  She’s gorgeous and would have made a beautiful bride wearing a trash bag but this dress is something else.  It’s classic bridal with just a touch of high fashion and I love it.  That lace is so, so delicate, only someone as graceful as Beatrice could have pulled it off.  Her veil is gorgeous and although I missed a tiara, she’s literally sparkling in the delicate, shimmery fabric!

9.  Catherine Middleton in Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen (United Kingdom, m. Prince William, 29 April 2011)

What a love affair the world has with this dress, the modern icon of all wedding dresses!  It would have been easy to overwhelm Kate’s figure with a full skirt, but Sarah Burton nailed the proportions perfectly.  The lace is exquisite from her neck to her shoes.  I love how she brought back lace sleeves in bridal fashion.  The peplum detail on the back of the skirt is incredible.  It fit her like a second skin in the best way and she looked every bit the fairytale princess walking down the aisle.  Her veil was just the right length, too - not too long but not too short.  It’s no wonder this is the new iconic wedding dress!

8.  Meghan Markle in Clare Waight-Keller for Givenchy (United Kingdom, m. Prince Harry, 19 May 2018)

I’ve said before that I love a simple wedding dress, and Meghan did not disappoint.  The boat neckline was so flattering on Prince Harry’s bride, and the color and fabric were just the right combination for her.  I stood on the Long Walk during their carriage procession, and I could see Meghan coming from a mile away because she was literally shimmering in the sunlight.  I wish it was better tailored - my only true grievance - but everything else was gorgeous.  And that veil!  What can I say about that veil?  It literally sparkled in the sunlight going up the stairs to the chapel.  I can’t say enough - and the fact that it included a patch of the dress they wore on their first date?  My heart!!  If this was better tailored, it would have been top 5.

7.  Princess Eugenie in Zac Posen (United Kingdom, m. Jack Brooksbank, 12 October 2019)

The first reception dress of the list!  Eugenie’s ceremony dress was pretty, but not my style.  This, however... how could one go wrong with a pale blush cape dress that fit her perfectly?  She looks like an ethereal goddess, like she’s descended from the clouds to grace us with her presence.  The color is magnificent, the fabric so delicate.  I don’t know how it’s possible to look so beautiful and so comfortable at the same time, but Eugenie and Zac Posen really pulled it off.  This was such a pleasant surprise when comparing it to her ceremony dress - I loved it!

6.  Beatrice Borromeo in Valentino (Monaco, m. Pierre Casiraghi, 25 July 2015)

Never in my life could I have imagined myself picking a purple wedding dress in a list of favorites, but here we are.  Beatrice’s civil wedding dress was everything one could have expected from her - delicate, feminine, with an almost fairy-like quality that many couldn’t even dream to pull off.  She literally looks like a goddess.  The lace overlay cape was something out of a dream, and the natural flow of the skirt is magnificent.  I love that the lace detail up top matches the lace detail at the bottom.  Ethereal is the word I would use to describe this dress - absolutely heavenly!

5.  Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein in Valentino (Belgium, m. Prince Amadeo, 5 July 2014)

The delicate details of this dress are everything!  I love the matching neckline with the sleeve structure and the chest/mesh detail.  I especially love how those details match the veil outline.  I usually don’t like mesh paneling very much, but Elisabetta pulled it off beautifully.  The simplicity of the skirt is complemented by the gorgeous overlay.  Plus, there’s something so gorgeously simple about the twist in her hair that I just adore.  The skirt is flattering and of the right proportion, and I love how vibrant the white is.  This is truly one of my favorites - so delicate and feminine!

4.  Claire Lademacher in Elie Saab (Luxembourg, m. Prince Felix, 21 September 2012)

Y’all know I wasn’t going to get through this list without my main man Elie Saab.  This dress is truly a masterpiece, a piece of premier artistry.  The lace detail is simply unparalleled, and it being head-to-toe does nothing to detract from the magnificence that is Princess Claire and Elie Saab.  I love the high neckline and the minimalistic jewelry.  Plus, that tiara with her dark hair and that gorgeous veil?  *chef’s kiss* magnificent.  Absolutely otherworldly.

3.  Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy in Elie Saab (Luxembourg, m. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, 20 October 2012)

God, what a dress.  What can I even say?  That lace?  Incredible.  The skirt?  Fantastic.  The train?  Phenomenal.  Veil?  Unreal.  I really don’t have anything technical to say about this other than good Lord,  it is out-of-this-world, show-stopping fabulous.  Stéphanie’s usual style is not my favorite but it’s truly all forgiven because she pulled out the big guns with this royal wedding dress, the epitome of what a royal wedding dress should be.  The only thing that heightens this above Princess Claire’s Elie Saab masterpiece is the color - it’s so gorgeous, so flattering, I have no words.  Also, I’m a sucker for this kind of veil - mounted on the back of her head and thin enough to be transparent.  The whole thing is mesmerizing - an absolute work of art.

2.  Beatrice Borromeo in Armani Privé (Monaco, m. Pierre Casiraghi, 1 August 2015)

Beatrice’s second reception gown rounds out my favorites of hers from her wedding week.  I love the simple lines of this dress - the v-neck is so flattering and I love that the straps are thin without being too thin.  The A-line cascades down through the skirt beautifully, the belted waist ties the full thing together.  The construction is truly magical, a genuine workpiece.  I can’t talk about this dress without discussing the cape-like effect of the back.  She looks like she is walking through the clouds with the gorgeous wispiness of the cape.  I love that the pieces are separate, and I can only imagine what they looked like in motion.  Armani truly outdid himself with this - it was perfectly constructed from top to bottom.  A true masterpiece.

1.  Lady Gabriella Windsor in Luisa Beccaria (United Kingdom, m. Thomas Kingston, 18 May 2019)

And finally, last but certainly not least - the inspiration for my future wedding dress if I ever get married.  Lady Gabriella stopped me in my tracks when I saw this dress.  Literally, I was walking and looking at my phone, and I stopped short when I saw it.  The cape is just divine, that’s the only word I can use to describe it.  It’s like Beatrice’s second reception dress, but kicked up a notch with that absolutely inimitable lace overlay.  The skirt is proportioned beautifully, and I love how it flatters her figure without suffocating her.  The shoulder/cape detail is heavenly.  I could stare at this dress all day long, it is so magnificent.  It is delicate and feminine with magnificent construction, structured and lined beautifully with an element of softness and romance that cannot be paralleled.  It’s no wonder this is my favorite royal wedding gown of all time.  It’s just extraordinary.  I’ve done my best to explain in words but I simply cannot.  This dress is incredible.  Heart-stopping, show-stopping, jaw-dropping magnificent.

[marysfoxmask]

the secret garden (1949) - why it’s my favorite adaptation

hello @renee-mariposa! thank you so much for the ask! while i believe i have answered a question like this before, i don’t think i’ve elaborated as much as i’d like to. so allow me to wax poetic on my favorite adaptation, the secret garden (1949)!

intro

this adaptation really stands out, i think, because of the the era it was made in; i don’t think you could get an adaptation aimed towards kids that is such a sentimental, gothic-lite melodrama with these days, at least without aggressively telegraphing its more emotional moments a la pixar/disney; it’s amusingly blunt and straightforward in that regard, much like the children at its center. there’s not much syrupiness at all. the child actors (margaret o’brien as mary and dean stockwell as colin) are fast-talking as any actor of that era, but in my opinion, the film’s clearly scripted dialogue just makes all the kids seem amusingly precocious.

actors

margaret o’brien as mary is great. i love her stridency, her snobbishness. unlike other adaptations, which downplay mary’s contrariness to the point where her character arc comes across as too subtle by half, the movie upgrades it. not only is 1949 mary contrary, her sullenness has been replaced by a shrillness, snobbery, and the tendency to run to emotional extremes (not to mention a healthy helping of classism). she alienates herself from the other children on the ship to england purposefully, finding them inferior to herself, then attempts to physically fight another passenger when the child calls archibald a hunchback. while this characterization isn’t book-accurate (book mary is a mix of fiery and sullen that none of the films capture accurately imo), i prefer this characterization of her to the closed-off sullenness of the 1993 version or the palatably traumatized 2020 version. 1949 mary isn’t given an obvious freudian excuse for her issues; her parents are just as neglectful, but the film puts the onus on mary for being contrary, which is weirdly refreshing and more attuned to the novel’s perspective. (that isn’t to say that mary’s traumatic early childhood didn’t inform her character in any meaningful way, or that the adults around mary aren’t responsible for how she turned out--but imo the films tend to take an un-nuanced view of the situation in order to make her a more palatable, sympathetic character, which is vastly less interesting than a complicated, flawed one no matter if the character is a child or not). when mary’s character develops and she becomes sweeter, it’s much more impactful as a result of this earlier narrative choice.

brian roper, who was 20 at the time (crazy, right?), plays dickon, and he plays him with a sweet affability that’s hard not to enjoy. he’s a little mischievous, laughing at mary when she accidentally speaks yorkshire (i’ll talk about that in a bit), and has, in a nice touch that i’ve strangely only seen in in the 1994 straight-to-dvd animated film, just as much of a passionate interest in the secret garden as mary does. dickon isn’t treated as mystically as other adaptations, save for the tendency to disappear strangely quickly just when mary happens to turn around (which is a nice nod to his quasi-magical aspects without being distracting, and also adds to mary’s sense of displacement/confusion on the mysterious misselthwaite grounds). he also gets a surprising amount to do in this adaptation, which i love, as someone who strongly believes his character has been under-served in all the film adaptations thus far. in this film, he gets to even enter misselthwaite manor by climbing up ivy into colin’s room in the middle of a storm (albeit offscreen), which is just the kind of adventurous, dramatic touch i enjoy. he also gets probably more dialogue than any of the other dickons (whoo!), as he makes a couple minor declarations--nothing super ham-fisted and melodramatic, as i said the screenplay is rather straightforward and devoid of a lot of corniness you might expect from a children’s film made in the ‘40s, especially with this kind of source material--that are heartfelt without being cloying (one of the benefits of having an older actor playing this kind of role).

colin, played by dean stockwell, is a weaker element to me. he does a good job alternating between screaming (and this movie contains a lot of screaming) and being sweet when the movie calls for it, but i don’t think he was the best choice for colin. while i think it’s awful to criticize a teen actor (stockwell was 13 at the time) for being baby-faced, the fact that he looks significantly younger than o’brien (who was 12) means that his tantrums come off as less a result of arrested development than they should. while he speaks as stiltedly as 2020 colin (who i personally think was one of the best elements of that film), it’s unclear whether that’s the result of the ‘40s fashion of expressing dialogue or a characteristic choice (i’m guessing the former). he can’t help but pale compared to o’brien’s mary, though he is perfectly adequate. he just didn’t stand out for me.

i summed up my feelings of elsa lanchester as martha in my previous, brief review of the movie back in june: “the one major flaw, i think, is actually martha, played by elsa lanchester; her portrayal is odd, feels definitely tone-deaf. her constant shrieking laughter feels very forced and unconvincing. in her few scenes, she jars everything to a halt in terms of believability.” she was significantly older than brian roper, being in her ‘40s playing a character heavily implied to be in her mid-teens to early twenties, and as a result feels out of her depth. her establishing scene is probably the worst, although i’ve warmed to her other scenes as time’s gone by.

tone/atmosphere

in general, i think the ‘49 film does a wonderful job expressing the gothic implications of the original book, even emphasizing them by casting misselthwaite manor largely in shadow and having mary and mrs. medlock first arrive in a carriage pulled by black horses on a dark, stormy night. it makes the bright outdoor scenery seem that much more inviting in comparison. burnett’s robin is also replaced by a raven, who also takes on aspects of dickon’s crow soot, as he is friends with dickon and hops on his shoulder occasionally. while it divulges from burnett’s book, i think a raven makes a little more sense in this adaptation, which amps up the eeriness of the original story; it gives mary’s journey a little more of a fairytale aspect, i think, and is overall an understandable and palatable change.

plot

the big plot development that divulges from the novel is the presence of a subplot where, due to a misunderstanding of an axe and a tree in the titular garden, mary and dickon fall under the impression that archibald killed lilias. now, this is a pretty bizarre plot, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t take up much of the film; it’s charming in its strangeness, and fits well with the idea of innocent children struggling to understand the complicated adult world—which is itself a theme original to the story that i’m kind of a sucker for, in general. it also serves as a bonding point for dickon and mary, whose friendship largely feels passed over in film adaptations.

and, of course, there’s the big plot-breaking point near the end, where archibald goes to tell colin that he’s selling misselthwaite and going to move to europe with him. an obvious plot point that conflicts with this scene is that colin, in the book, has no relationship with his father. again, it’s an odd adaptational choice meant to amp up the stakes, but it doesn’t impede my enjoyment of the film as a whole. the presence of two doctors—one, a hapless neville craven figure named dr. griddlestone, and the other is obviously inspired from the book’s “doctor from london,” who insisted all colin needed was fresh air, food, and exercise—gives the film some psychological weight. despite the disappointing element of all of colin’s neuroses being blatantly the result of his father’s emotional ailments, which i think is a lazy way of reading the original novel’s portrayal of colin’s illness, i think the way this development was executed in the film was tolerable—and i’m a sucker for children’s films that don’t think anything of including long conversations between adults about psychological issues. like, you can’t help but respect a film like that!

the garden

something i also love about this adaptation is that the garden isn’t a huge part of it; it represents more of a place where mary and dickon and colin can foster ideas and grow rather than a place of orgasmic beauty. there’s not a surplus of lavish panning shots, really, like in the ‘93 film, and it lacks the magical realism of the 2020 film. the garden itself is more transparently a plot device, which i actually like—it gives more room for the children to center themselves.

individual scenes

and the pacing of the film is actually really nice, i think—probably the best out of all the films. i love the ‘93 film with all my heart, and it’s definitely gorgeous in its own right, but i think it gets a little sluggish; this film is paced beautifully. there’s no fat, really. 

there’s a scene i really love that shows the passage of time from winter to spring in a super succinct, stupidly obvious way that nonetheless works because of the innocent sweetness of o’brien’s delivery. like, it’s very old-fashioned and sentimental, but gah, it gets me every time.

it’s time to talk about the scream scene!

this film stole my heart the minute mary screamed wholeheartedly at colin that she hopes he dies. there’s a dark comedy to this whole scene; these two maladjusted, spoiled children trying to out-scream one another while tearing down curtains and knocking down tables full of food higgledy-piggledy?? you just can’t get better than that!

if you’re adapting the secret garden, i strongly feel you can’t soften the children’s meanness, their sharpness and ugliness. their tantrums must be harsh and grating and horrible! they have to really let loose! the rawness of the children’s emotional dysfunction contrasted against the buttoned-up stiffness of edwardian england is one of the fascinating aspects of the novel i love to think about, and you just can’t get that contrast if you don’t have the children be genuine terrors! i think this scene puts that nicely, more nicely than any of the other films, which pussyfoot around colin’s intense tantrum too much to be nearly as effective. i get giddy whenever this scene comes on; it’s brilliant.

there are so many little details from the book that i love: that the children speak yorkshire to one another, mary singing her ayah’s song to colin, 

dickon’s “i will cum bak” note (here written as “i will kum back”), the mention of dickon’s mother sending them bread to eat to make them strong. it’s all so nicely implemented, and reminds me of the joy of reading the book for the first time.

but the scene i love most is one entirely made up for the film. in it, mary tells colin about the garden, but wraps it up in fiction wherein it’s a sort of child’s eden, only accessible for children like themselves. that gets to the heart of why i love the book moreso than any other adaptation i can think of. it’s a children’s paradise where the innocent, inherent goodness of children reigns. it makes me tear up almost every time, despite the scene’s brevity.

miscellaneous

there are some little details that i love about this film: the fact that mrs. sowerby is spotted in one scene where we see dickon at his home, feeding a lamb (and the implication that mary was so darn excited about finding the key to the garden that she ran all the way to the sowerbys’ cottage, five miles away from misselthwaite, to show dickon), mary’s clearly false story to colin about being surrounded by tigers and elephants in india, mary threatening to tear people’s gizzards out, mary telling dickon she hates him because he (gasp) dared to know about colin so she couldn’t reveal his existence to him...there’s a lot to enjoy about this film. it definitely isn’t the most accurate to the book, but it’s one of those films that i could watch over and over again.

aside from some superfluous subplots, it’s a lean adaptation that still captures all the essential elements of the book to at least to a degree. i can easily imagine some very indignant little girls in 1949 insisting that no, the raven was a robin in the book, and there was no implications of murder, either, but i love it in all its simplicity. i think you need a little old-fashioned sentiment to make a film adaptation of the secret garden successful.

[rathernotmyname]

Fictober! Day 17

Fandom: my Cirque du Soleil!AU (ha ha, as if I had fans) BoRhap RPF

Warnings: it’s RPF. also me bullshitting about Cirque du Soleil Kurios (informed bs-ing tho! I watched the behind the scenes)

Okay. So if anyone remembers this fuckhead of an AU (which I’m quite fond of, actually), this is playing in the same universe. Although! It’s pre-the-drabble-I-already-wrote-about-it, so Mazlek isn’t a thing Yet. Capital Y Yet. (Also, Joe performs together with another aerial silk artist, just to clear that up.) Enjoy!

Appreciation

Joe sees not much more than a blur of movement when he enters the main tent, loud music booming out of the speakers all around him, accompanied by the well-known “boop, tick-tick-tick” that helps the artists keep the beat.

The back of his mind registers that the band seems to be on coffee break right now, only the violinist is present and fiddles the shit out of his instrument.

The giant net is spanned in all of its glory, almost invisible in the low, blueish light. A mat is placed beneath it to help the daredevils training on it hit the center to avoid being catapulted somewhere into the audience.

The five men on the net have arrived at the grand finale, only feigning some of the big jumps as they are not at full power.

Still, seeing Arnaud and then Rami fly almost 13 feet up into the air is disconcerting, to say the least.

The trampoline coach who’s name Joe can never quite remember is standing at the side, sometimes shouting directions or beats, but mostly grinning proudly as his boys let out whoops of excitement.

The last note rings out, the violinist breaks a string, and Rami and his teammates lie in the net like stranded fish, gasping and sweaty, but very satisfied with their day’s work.

When Joe starts to clap in admiration, Rami’s head whips up and he’s on his feet in seconds, fighting his way out of the acronet on rubbery legs.

“I missed my favorite part,” Joe complains when Rami climbs down the rope ladder leading onto his ‘stage’.

“Really? I’m sorry to hear that. Which one is it?”

“The one where you wear the beards and wigs.”

Rami tips his head back and laughs, chest heaving underneath his wet t-shirt. It’s a white t-shirt, gone almost transparent. Joe can’t deny that he enjoys gawking at the lean muscles that are visible underneath it.

“Of course that would be your favorite part, you sucker.”

Rami wipes his face with the rim of his shirt, exposing the muscles that Joe had ogled in secret just a moment ago. Now there’s nothing secret about it anymore, and the look that Rami’s collegue Karl throws him tells him just how obvious he is about it.

Apparently not obvious enough for Rami to notice, though. He stretches and scrunches up his face as his back pops, and then he leads Joe to the canteen wagon (which is actually a trailer, but they are old-fashioned regarding names around here).

“I need a steak,” Rami groans as the meal of the day is shoveled onto his plate; fried sweet potatoes, salad and ‘chili sin carne’, as the chef likes to call it. “But this looks lovely, thank you. Yum.”

Joe gets his own portion, choosing a little less salad and more fries because if he’s jealous of one thing, it’s Rami’s stamina regarding dieting. He can’t survive without some more carbs in the afternoon, okay? It all goes into his arms, anyway.

“How’s that figure coming along?” Joe asks because he’ll never bother to learn the three million words for the flips and somersaults that are part of Rami’s routine.

“So-so,” Rami replies, wiggling his hand to empathize it. “I still don’t land the right way, always meet the net face-first. Until we figure out how to propell me a little higher so that I have more time, or,” he stops to take a sip of water, “or maybe I should start backwards instead of forwards…”

Joe nods, folding his hands beneath his chin and leaving his meal be for the moment.

“Sounds like you’re not completely lost at what to do, at least.”

Rami smiles. “Yeah, it’s definitely a start, if nothing else comes of it. I still have time to try something completely new, of course, but I’m kinda hesitant. I spend a lot of time with that fucker, it’d feel like a wasted effort. Anyway, did the new silk arrive yet?”

Joe launches in a passionate and affectionate rant over said new silk (“I’ll use it for the show, I swear to God. I have never felt so good while slowly strangulating myself in front of an audience.” “Joe.” “I’m serious!”) and they end up almost missing the last meeting of the day, still fully engaged in a heated discussion about whether Zumba or Contemporary is a better warm-up.

As they separate to go to their respective cool-down classes, Joe holds Rami a little tighter than usual when they hug goodbye for the night.

“No hard feelings, I love Zumba,” Rami quips, but he melts into Joe’s embrace, quietly admiring the arms that could probably lift three Ramis at once.

“I’m looking forward to your presentation of the fancy stuff,” he adds, lifting his head from where he rested it on Joe’s shoulder to look at him, a challenging glint in his eyes. “It’s delightful to see you two trying to out-do each other. And your routine is fucking beautiful.”

“Well, we all know that I’m better,” Joe huffs, but then cackles at Rami’s dry “Of course”.

“I’ll be there to see you succeed that asshole of a flip. Even if you do happen to land on your face, it’s gonna be nothing less than magical.”

Rami smiles, mouth curling in that particular way that makes Joe’s heart race.

“Thanks. I appreciate that,” he says. Then they squeeze each other a little longer and finally go their separate ways.

[achtung-attitude]

CHAPTER 45: Gangsta’s Paradise – Part 3

Shizuka concentrates, and the impossible triangle in her hand expands.

A flash of light shines throughout the mirror world, this time originating from the palms of ACHTUNG BABY, as something from within its user’s mind is released. As the fading light subsides, Shizuka opens her eyes, and her smile widens. 

What was once an endless void of mirrors has been transformed into a series of winding stone staircases leading through all sorts of impossible angles and ways, leading from one platform to the next, going in any and all directions. A structure pulled straight from the mind of MC Escher. Within the stairways, the mirrors of GANGSTA’S PARADISE remain, but what was once an enclosed prison cell is now an expansive complex, full of twisting corners, stretching vertically through eternity. In the center of it all, GANGSTA’S PARADISE hangs above. Brother Dust’s voice emerges, a rumbling whisper. 

What…?

Shizuka ignores him and approaches one of the stairs. Cautiously, she takes a step on it. To her complete shock, it supports her.

“Ha… Hahahaha!! I can touch it!” She skips up the steps two at a time and dances at the stop, laughing the whole time. “ACHTUNG BABY’s illusions are made of light! They can’t be touched by human hands! In the normal world! But we’re not in the normal world, are we?! GANGSTA’S PARADISE flips everything on its head, and because of that, my illusions have become real! Thank you, Brother Dust!” Shizuka shouts, pointing at the Stand. “It’s all thanks to your power that this is possible now! You said that you alone held sway here, but I’m here to usurp your kingd-AAAH!!”

Her feet sink through the stone and she slips completely through it. Shizuka throws her hands up and catches the edge of the landing before falling. Before her eyes, the stone becomes gradually transparent, and her fingers begin slipping through. Shizuka concentrates, and the ledge’s solidity is restored, as she clambers back onto it.

“Ah…!” Shizuka realizes. “Of course it’s not that simple! I have to concentrate on maintaining this place! Boasting won’t get me anywhere… I need to focus on reaching Dust…!” Her determination renewed, she starts running skyward. 

In some secret corner of the warped dimension, Dust looks on at the Joestar princess, sneering at her as someone might regard a child throwing a tantrum in a supermarket.

“Petulant girl…” he thinks. “You believe you have an ounce of control here? Ridiculous… the true horror of GANGSTA’S PARADISE has hardly begun.”

In his secret corner, Dust flips through his Bible and begins reciting anew.

No matter how high Shizuka ascends, GANGSTA’S PARADISE remains in the exact same position, hovering overhead, never getting closer. 

Then, suddenly, an ominous voice returns.

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

At the sound of Dust’s voice, GANGSTA’S PARADISE pulsates and Shizuka’s stairs begin moving, forming new staircases out of mirrors and leading into cryptic archways. Frowning, Shizuka halts and grimaces. ACHTUNG BABY waves its hands and the stairs grind in place, struggling like wild steers lassoed by cowboys as the Stand tries to force them back to the way they were.

“Damn, he’s messing with my control of this space,” Shizuka grumbles, sweat beading on her forehead. 

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

“Between keeping my illusions solid and under my control, and trying to find the preacher… Damn it! He has me pulled every which way! That old priest has to be hiding somewhere! As long as I keep this world in shape, I can still win!”

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 

She grits her teeth and shouts, “And it would be a whole lot easier if you could just STOP THAT DAMN PREACHING!”

She shouts, but she might as well be squeaking. No echo emerges. In fact, she can't be sure whether her voice even left her mouth, but instead remained caught on the end of her tongue. The preaching goes on, unabated.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Shizuka pinches the corners of her eyes, gritting her teeth in frustration. Blinking, she looks upward, seeing the chandelier that is GANGSTA'S PARADISE hanging over her, far over her head as the ceiling appears to stretch upward.

“Why’s he moving the stairs? What advantage does that give him?” she ponders aloud, focusing on strategy to drown out the preaching. “He’s trying to get me lost, obviously. But why? Where’s he trying to lead me? Or rather… What's he leading me away from?”

She grins narrow-eyed at the jellyfish-like Stand above. “No matter what,” she declares, “The rules are the same. If you wanna defeat the Stand, you have to defeat the user. And by extension…!!!” 

With that shout, Shizuka reaches her hands out, and ACHTUNG BABY mimics her. They both hook their fingers, and her Stand’s power takes hold of the Escherspace and pulls. The entire complex descends to Shizuka’s position, pulled like a fisher’s net, and taking GANGSTA’S PARADISE with it. She releases, and at last the jellyfish Stand is removed from its fixed position and floats level with her. 

“If you defeat the Stand, you defeat the user too! You said zero destructive power, right…?!” she shouts exulted, sending ACHTUNG BABY forth to grab hold of the jellyfish. ACHTUNG BABY is not a physically powerful Stand, but neither is GANGSTA’S PARADISE. Just as the doll in magenta robes is about to grapple it, however, Dust’s voice thunders all around Shizuka.

THE LORD WILL GRANT THAT THE ENEMIES WHO RISE UP AGAINST YOU WILL BE DEFEATED BEFORE YOU. THEY WILL COME AT YOU FROM ONE DIRECTION BUT FLEE FROM YOU IN SEVEN.

The entire dimension shakes, as ACHTUNG BABY recoils, Shizuka trying her best to keep the ground beneath her solid, as the jellyfish chandelier to retreat back to its position above.

An image of Dust appears in each of the mirrors surrounding, still holding his precious Bible in his hands. His lips aren’t contorted in a shout, but rather his lips barely move. He is whispering, and by his Stand’s power, the volume of his voice is amplified.

THE LORD WILL SEND A BLESSING ON YOUR BARNS AND ON EVERYTHING YOU PUT YOUR HAND TO. THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL BLESS YOU IN THE LAND HE IS GIVING YOU. THE LORD WILL ESTABLISH YOU AS HIS HOLY PEOPLE, AS HE PROMISED YOU ON OATH, IF YOU KEEP THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD AND WALK IN OBEDIENCE TO HIM.

“AHHHHHH!” Shizuka instinctively covers her ears with her hands, only to remember that the intent to do so makes the volume worse, like a megaphone is being blasted right next to her. Her frustration mounts, and she glares at the sneering faces of her enemy’s mirror images.

“So, you whisper, and then your voice comes out super loud? That’s it?! Anybody can do that! Once you figure it out it’s no big deal...!!”

With a deep breath, Shizuka begins to sing in a low voice. To her immense satisfaction, these tones echo throughout the Escherspace. With the confidence of practice, she opens with a smooth, soul-infused chorus, then the thick, pseudo-staccato lyrics accompanied by a heavy beat, provided by Shizuka’s steady clapping.

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR, LOST THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM SEARCHING FOR A SONG FROM UP ABOVE, A TALE OF LOVE

The images of Dust grimace, as his sermon is partially blocked, but he continues anyways.

THEN ALL THE PEOPLES ON EARTH WILL SEE THAT YOU ARE CALLED BY THE NAME OF THE LORD, AND THEY WILL FEAR YOU.

THE HEART IS BEATING - BUT WHERE IS ALL THE BLOOD? SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THESE YOU KNOW I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WOULD

THE LORD WILL GRANT YOU ABUNDANT PROSPERITY—IN THE FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB, THE YOUNG OF YOUR LIVESTOCK AND THE CROPS OF YOUR GROUND—IN THE LAND HE SWORE TO YOUR ANCESTORS TO GIVE YOU. 

SHINING DIAMONDS, BLINDING THE KILLERS & QUEENS UNDERCOVER, FALSE LOVER, LEAVING ALL THE SUCKERS SEEING THINGS LIE IN WAIT, THE HAND OF FATE DESCENDS FROM ABOVE BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS, THAT'S WHAT SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF

THE LORD WILL OPEN THE HEAVENS, THE STOREHOUSE OF HIS BOUNTY, TO SEND RAIN ON YOUR LAND IN SEASON AND TO BLESS ALL THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS. YOU WILL LEND TO MANY NATIONS BUT WILL BORROW FROM NONE.

 I'M A DREAMER, AND I'M DREAMING TODAY OF A BRAVE NEW WORLD, FOR WHICH THE HOLY MEN PRAY ACROSS OCEANS, TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, ON A MISSION FROM GOD, BOY, YOU GONNA GET HURT

THE LORD WILL MAKE YOU THE HEAD, NOT THE TAIL. IF YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD THAT I GIVE YOU THIS DAY AND CAREFULLY FOLLOW THEM, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE AT THE TOP, NEVER AT THE BOTTOM. DO NOT TURN ASIDE FROM ANY OF THE COMMANDS I GIVE YOU TODAY, TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT, FOLLOWING OTHER GODS AND SERVING THEM.

BUT WHAT'S IT MEAN, WHEN YOU LIVE FOR A DREAM WHILE SATURN EAT HIS BABIES AND THE WITCH KING SCREAMS? YOU WENT AND LOST THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A CONSTANT STATE OF FEAR & MISERY, WHAT KINDA SONG YOU GONNA SING?

WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT GARBAGE YOU KEEP SPOUTING?!

Shizuka freezes, punctuating the final line with a resounding clap. All she did was sing to herself, but the song cancelled out the ruinous wavelength of Dust’s preaching, rendering it inert.

She smirks and picks her ear with a pinky finger. “Don’t tell me you never heard it before. That's ‘Dreamer’s High’, by C-King. It’s a platinum hit, man, it's everywhere. Don’t you even listen to the radio?

I’ve never heard such godless filth in my life. If this is what counts for music these days, no wonder you’ve proven so difficult.

[illdesigns]

top 5 mtl ships?

1. narles!! narles has genuinely been my biggest ship for years at this point, there is just a very fun dynamic with genuine sweetness. also...get that big man, funky businessman

2. magnus/charles has consumed my entire being for months at this point. i am a sucker for rarepairs anyway because you can go “my city now” over literally everything and then combine with two of my faves. and get that big man, funky businessman...2!

3. magnate because i am a horribly transparent person. i feel like it’s absolutely, terribly dysfunctional and not a good thing for either of them in the long run but in the short run could absolutely have some sweet moments that would make it worthwhile. and then the Angst. god bless (chef’s kiss).

(if i could figure out the logistics of combining these three into some kind of awful power throuple i would, and i would be the most intolerable person)

4. skwistok because i’m horribly basic, this was my other early years ship but it was secondary to narles. and when i saw secondary i mean it was 12yo me going “(sigh) i guess :/” looking through deviantart and finding mostly that. but it’s come back to me and i have so many Ideas for them now that isn’t just things repurposed from bad yaoi tropes

5. nategaar! (”wow nathan, why do you get three boyfriends?”) this is another brand new ship for me. i think it took a recent rewatch to really clue into how these two interact and how they don’t...complain or fight or attack each other much, if at all iirc? they just vibe and are there for each other. also it hit when i heard nathan call skwisgaar “mama” in the rikki kixx episodes and i was like oh okay :)

[thedappleddragon]

Day 110 (Tuesday June 30)

I enjoyed waking up in my clean room, and I felt hydrated and almost aware of my surroundings. I’m never really in the moment, but I felt closer than usual. I spent my whole day lounging and doing laundry and a little bit of sewing. I made my room feel nicer by lifting up the blanket I use to cover my window and pinning up and actual semi-transparent curtain to let in some natural light. My room’s lighting is ass, but that made it feel more inviting. That and drinking a lot of water made me feel a lot happier throughout the day. As I was putting in load after load of laundry, I got nostalgic about some of the things I found, like one T-shirt’s. I even found my old FAVORITE T-shirt that I got in elementary school after my first art fair and purposefully bought a size too big so I could grow into it and wore up until highschool when I lost it. I also found my brothers only webkinz, the raccoon o’ doom. Sometime I would like to buy a raccoon code so I can have it virtually and give her a raccutie girlfriend. But I haven’t been playing webkinz lately because I accidentally made it feel like a chore filling up every pets heart meter and keeping up with events and stuff. Idk, I might come back to it eventually. But my day was pretty relaxed, and I got through almost all the laundry that had to be done. I could have gotten it all, but I wanted to go to bed lmao. I made ramen and did laundry and listened to a twitch stream and folded clothes and it was all very relaxing. While I was waiting for the dryer to finish, my dad took my sister and I driving. She drove first while I sat in back playing on my phone, and then I drove us to a restaurant my dad likes in Noblesville. It was technically a bar, so it was really loud and smelled like an old person’s house. My sister said it smelled like a museum and looked like you were waiting in line for the pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney world. They had SUPER good fried pickles, and their entrees were ok, but their sides were bland as hell. When we finished, I aimlessly drove around while my dad gave directions home. I did a little more laundry and hung out in my room for the rest of the night. I tried going to sleep, but I kept tossing and turning and it was too hot and I’ve thrown off most of my blankets but it didn’t work and now it’s 3:12 am and I’m tired and a little hungry :( BUT IN GOOD NEWS MY BEAN PLANTS HAVE STARTED MAKING BEANS :)

This sucker popped out an entire full-sized pea pod without me even noticing. One of my other plants is spitting out 3 pods at once. I have no idea when to pick them, and I can’t look it up because I didn’t keep track of which bean I planted where o-o” oh well I’ll figure it out lol. I would like to maybe plant more beans, but it might be too late in the season and I don’t think I have enough pots and I KNOW I don’t have any soil. I’m sure all the rain recently helped the beans. The strawberry plant is growing even bigger, but still no edible berries. I think the birds are eating them. I don’t really mind.

[thatshankcallednewt]

Newt: Alternate Universe - Spilt Milk

Prompt: You and Newt are soulmates; the soulmate universe where soulmates receive the same injuries as each other.

requested by anonymous

I’ve never heard of this soulmate AU before, so I gave it my best shot. Kept it fluffy (because I’m sick of writing angst), I hope you enjoy reading, and that it follows the AU as much as possible as I was a little unsure by what “injury soulmate au” actually meant! :P

You sat down on the edge of your bed and sighed audibly, your chest rose and fell dramatically as it expelled. It had been a serious week of moving in and organizing the place, so much so that you had forgotten what it felt like to just sit down and breathe calmly.

But it was a good week, nonetheless. It was good to finally have your own space, completely yours.

You let the late afternoon sunshine warm your cheeks as it spilled through the new, soft transparent-white curtains you hung over your bedroom window last night, and you thought about the rest of your day. You wanted to buy a couple of extra mugs for guests and some new bath towels and an indoor drying rack for your washing when the weather becomes gloomy. You figured you would just spend a quiet afternoon looking through some thrift stores and homeware shops near your apartment building, so you grabbed your things up and shoved it all quickly into your bag before locking your front door shut.

When you twisted the keys in the lock and checked that the doorknob wouldn’t twist open, you spun in the direction of the stairs but instead saw your neighbor walking onto your level. You’ve met him a few times now, it was usually a small smile and a nod. The first time you met, you spilled a carton of milk all over the hall. Fortunately, there wasn’t a carpeted rug over the flooring, but it was still quite the mess; you were grateful for his help in cleaning it up despite being such a klutz. You were an immediate sucker for his chocolate brown eyes and golden hair, but what did it was the playful accent, especially when he called out to you in passing.

You started down the hallway and caught eyes with Newt as he neared his own front door. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder and was wearing a blue sweater, he must have been to one of his classes during the morning. He’s mentioned to you before about his study.

He smiled at you, “Y/N, how are ya?”

You smiled back warmly, “Great, what about yourself?”

He nodded, “Great, yeah, great,” he paused and noticed your bag, “headed out?”

“Last minute shopping. I keep thinking of all the random pieces of furniture or homewares I need that I didn’t realize I would need before moving in.”

“Ah yes, I’ve been there. You got enough towels?”

You grinned sheepishly at him, “On my list.”

“Make sure to buy extra soft, may be a little pricier but definitely worth it, otherwise it’ll just be uncomfortably rough within six months.”

You laughed at his advice and shook your head a little, “You got anymore tips for me?”

He thought for a moment, you watched his amused eyes, “Yeah, don’t buy a carton of milk and drop it in the hallway.”

You both laughed at the memory and you shook your head at him again, “I promise it was an accident.”

“I don’t know,” he started suspiciously, “maybe you were trying to distract me so you could scope my place out before you rob me and take off in the middle of the night.”

“Oh, yeah,” you said, “that’s exactly what I was doing.”

He smiled again, and your heart warmed. “Seriously though,” he started again, “how did you manage it?”

You sighed and glanced at the floor before looking back up at him again, “Honestly, I don’t know, I’m usually a little bit un-co but that day my leg kept aching and I think I stepped wrong or something.”

He frowned at this, “Your leg hurt?”

“Yeah,” you held it out now before you, “it’s okay now though. I think it’s nothing, but it’s been like that for a while, I went to the doctor about it and she said that there wasn’t anything wrong with it. It’s just on and off, I guess.”

Newt stared down at your leg in silence, he blinked, and then he found your eyes again, “Yeah… it’s probably nothing.”

You both said your goodbyes as Newt mentioned he had an essay due soon, so you let him get back to studying while you took off for the bunch of stores near your street. You found some nice décor pieces at the thrift stores for cheap prices, so you indulged yourself in that but as you went into the homeware store you were overwhelmed. There were so many items you been eyeing off online but pushed yourself not to buy that it was now harder than ever to stop yourself.

You found the towels and decided on some warm tones and also took Newt’s advice on buying extra soft ones, they did feel nice against your skin.

When you got to the mugs section though, you were floored at all the possible designs you could choose from. You weren’t sure if you should go quirky or colorful, or even comical; you never before realized how much of a task mug-choosing could be. You probably stood there in the aisle for ten minutes straight, just staring at all your options.

Then you finally picked out one, it was a comical one, you could never say no to a cute little pun on a coffee mug, but the satisfaction of making a decision was short-lived as you fumbled with the mug and watched it clatter to the floor; cracking apart.

You stared at the mug and could feel panic rising. You bent down to pick up the broken pieces, you didn’t want anyone to injure themselves while you went and found an employer that could help, but as you picked up the pieces in your panicked state, you sliced your finger open.

“Ouch!” you cried and lifted the finger to inspect it. It was bleeding, definitely bleeding, the blood began running down the side of your finger, but from what you could see after wiping it up with tissues, it didn’t look too deep.

Finally, an employer came to your aid and found a first-aid kit. With heated cheeks you let him ask what happened and give you a Band-Aid, and then you paid for the broken mug (as well as the new ones you selected out afterwards). You hated that you embarrassed yourself so, you kept thinking how you wouldn’t be able to show your face there ever again.

You were busy still thinking hard about the incident when you stumbled up the stairs to your apartment. You were just thinking how you could have made a run for it, and they never would’ve known, when Newt’s apartment door swung open beside you.

You froze in place and looked at the blond boy as he held his hand up, his finger spurting blood. You stared hard at his hand and then your eyes widened.

“I don’t have any bloody Band-Aids,” he said, his frown tight and his eyebrows furrowed from the pain.

“Your finger…” you said, and then you realized he needed your help, so you quickly unlocked your apartment door and he followed you into the bathroom. You opened up the mirror’s storage doors and searched for your small box of first-aid equipment.

You pulled out a Band-Aid and, after cleaning the wound on his finger, you wrapped it up carefully, hyper-aware of every touch. You felt the blush back on your cheeks and you hoped he didn’t notice.

“So, you have plenty of extra soft towels but no Band-Aids, huh?” you questioned, jokingly.

He smiled at this, “Well, if you weren’t such a klutz, I wouldn’t bloody need them.”

You pulled your hands away from him and stared up at him, you weren’t sure if you had heard him correctly. In fact, you were sure you hadn’t.

“You don’t know?” he said, his brown eyes amused. He pointed to his leg, “My limp, your leg pains? It’s the same bloody leg.”

“But—”

He eyed your injured finger before continuing, “I didn’t slice my finger open, I was nowhere near anything that would. I was just typing away on my laptop, minding my own business. Essays are hard and painful but not that kind of painful,” he laughed at his joke and you couldn’t believe what he was getting at, you just couldn’t. “And what about this?” he continued as held up his other arm where a big, fat purple bruise swelled his skin. 

You twisted your arm to look at where the bruise was, you remembered that you were vacuuming and tripped over the cord, you looked back to him and saw him half-grinning.

He sighed, “I saw that one first, on your arm, in the hallway once when I was on my way out and you were going home. I... I was sure I was just imagining things but... it all made sense after a while.”

You were lost for words entirely, the whole soulmate thing, you believed it of course, your own parents found each other after your mom broke her wrist roller-skating. They went to the hospital at the same time and saw each other in the waiting room, for the same injury, except Dad was only watching TV when it happened.

But you never even thought about it, not consistently anyway, meeting your soulmate was something you just figured would happen later, a lot later.

“Have you always been this much of a klutz? ‘Coz I’ve been through the bloody wars, especially this week,” he couldn’t keep his smile off his face, “and when we met and you spilled that milk all over the corridor…” he laughed softly, and licked his lips nervously, “I guess I thought about how clumsy my soulmate must be and I kinda hoped it was you. Spilt milk is pretty romantic, right?” he paused, “Makes a good story to tell.”

“I…” you said, but your sentence trailed off. “I can’t believe…” You shook your head and laughed, finally, and it put Newt at ease when he realized you weren’t in complete shock-horror at the thought of him being your soulmate. “God, I must have drove you crazy…”

“A lot of injuries, sometimes I thought you might kill me before we ever even got the chance to meet but… I guess I always thought that at least you would be a pretty interesting person. Not any normal person gets into that many accidents on the daily.”

“I’m sorry about that…” you said sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed all over again.

He smiled brightly at you, his brown eyes flashed, “No need to be, I can take it. Besides, you have to put up with that bloody pain in your leg all the time.”

You shrugged, “I’m used to it, it would be weird not having it around.”

He smiled at that, and in that moment, it suddenly dawned on the both of you that your soulmate, your soulmate, was right there in front of you. 

Newt nervously put his hand through his hair, he glanced down at your bathroom tiles momentarily before his eyes found yours again, “M-maybe we should get coffee some time?”

You laughed at him, a big, hearty laugh that rose from your stomach, and you tried to stop yourself by shoving your hand over your mouth, but his surprised face only made it harder.

At first, he didn’t know how to react, but your laugh was contagious to him, your smile was everything, and he couldn’t help but laugh with you.

[almightychiru]

Hi could you please do a tutorial on how you color and shade hair? (if you have time)

Absolutely!

For the sake of brevity (jk, the tutorial’s still long and boring anyway, suckers 8D), I’ll assume you already know the basics of inking and coloring a drawing (although, I’m always happy to explain that if anyone needs it!). That being said…

Some final notes:

- Your color choice, your shadow placement, and even the way that you’ve drawn the hair are all things that affect the look of your shading. If one of these is off, it can mess up the whole drawing!

If you’re ever stuck on a drawing, try using the Hue/Saturation slider (Ctrl U) to tweak your base color and/or shading color. Or, if you’re really stuck, feel free to use the Eyedropper tool to steal some of my colors! If that doesn’t help, then it may be your shadow placement.

…And, if you’re really, REALLY stuck, you can always practice shading with my drawing!

Her hair is transparent in this version, so all you need to do is Save Image, then open it up in your art program of choice. I recommend zooming out and using big brushes while you shade her hair, instead of working at 100%.

- I try to shade hair with only three colors max (Base, Dark, Darker -OR- Base, Dark, Light). But if you’re a beginner, I recommend only using TWO total colors (Base Color and Shadow Color). If you can figure out how to shade hair well with only two colors, then you probably have a good understanding of shadow placement!

- Try not to overshade your drawing! A few well-placed shadows should be enough to get the effect you want. You can always create a new layer and test different methods of shading if something isn’t working out.

- Sometimes it’s easier to start with the SHADOW color first, and then ‘highlighting’ that with your base color (instead of the other way around).

- There are many ways to shade and color hair! For example…

When I reduced the shaded areas, colored some interior lines, and added a few dots of a lighter color, I was able to get a completely different effect for the same drawing! So, don’t be afraid to try something different if a drawing isn’t working out.

- When you see a drawing that you really like, STUDY IT. Figure out why the drawing looks the way that it does, and try to incorporate that into your own drawings.

——-

I hope that was helpful! I’m happy to answer any followup questions if something wasn’t clear, or if you just want to know how to do something specific. I know there are a lot of skills at play here, which can be overwhelming to people who might be new to drawing. So, if you need me to break down an explanation further, just ask. :D

Good luck, and have fun coloring!

[novantinuum]

SU fic cover... process

I wanted to do a lil’ write up about my process making the cover art for Crack the Paragon, since this is absolutely the most involved piece of art I’ve ever produced. I’ve spent a month off and on working on this hummer, and at least 50 straight hours, so I’m honestly mega proud with how this came out! As an artist though, I personally find it very valuable seeing other people’s process, their messy WIPs and sketches, all of that... so that’s what I’m gonna do here.

____

So all of this started as a humble little work doodle.

...that got really out of control. Mind you, I totally forgot which way Pink Diamond’s gem faced, apparently. Whoops! Dumb mistakes.

But upon getting home I thought the overall composition of this was a pretty cool idea, so I decided to try and make something out of it.

And thus begins the absolute chaos...

I legit threw the actual sketch photo onto Clip Studio Paint and edited it so the sketch stood out more... and then picked up individual characters and moved them around/resized them as I saw fit. By this point, all of the characters are in their rightful places. (I’m still a derp on that diamond, though. RIP.

And then...

Oh god, the line art on this sucker pretty much killed me off. Line art alone took me a good 30 hours. The one thing I’m very glad I decided to do, however, was making Steven’s shield from transparent circles with the ellipse and fill tool. I don’t think I would’ve survived making a near perfect circle with the vector tools. Artists have limits, after all. XD

And we’re off to the races! I placated my need for color early on by doing flats as I finished each character. I drew all of the line art on one layer, but each character had a separate layer for flats. This made it far easier when I finally got around to shading. (The very last thing I did.) At this point I hadn’t figured out Connie’s sword yet, or Sapphire’s hair. Sapphire is probably the hardest Gem to draw for me. Steven’s shield is done though, which is nice.

There we go! Finally, the diamond’s oriented the right way! Bismuth’s hair is probably my favorite to draw- I love her hhhhhhh! ! !!!

Ah, and here’s where I decided to make things ten times more difficult for myself- by adding background details! I must say though, I’m still very happy with how Lapis’ wings came out here. I love drawing transparent elements, they’re some of my favorite. That’s why I always make Steven’s shield obviously transparent. 

All character line art/flats complete!! Finally said “what the hell” and just gave Steven diamond eyes like my heart told me too. This directly coincided with my decision to include that in the fic, lmao.

These Rose Quartz gems were really tricky and time consuming, geeze. I’m not so insane that I would draw every single one of them by hand, though- so I just drew three different angles and then copy/pasted them around. I did color them all individually, however. I have regrets, folks. My wrist burned that day. Still, I’m happy with the effect so I can’t really complain.

Line art for the background! Also, Sapphire has ice at her feet now. I really want to explore that ability of her more in the fic proper, like as a weapon...

A close up of some unfinished palanquin line art... I heavily referenced canon images, but yes, I drew the actual line art completely freehand. It was hell, but so worth it in the end. Big kudos to the background artists for this ep, honestly... the setting is so beautiful :OO

A close up of this background colored!

We’re almost done!! :DD Just the bottom of the background, and shading! I have bizarrely specific memories of listening to the ep of the SU podcast with Estelle while coloring the moon base scenery, oddly enough.

Aaaaand complete!! Along with the aforementioned bits, I also scattered some diamonds among the artwork.

For some fun random tidbits about how this artwork relates to my fic, both the moon base and palanquin settings have great importance to the overall arc. Jasper is there because I’m giving her the beginnings of a redemption arc. Ruby and Sapphire are separate for the time being, so no Garnet. (Although she is still together at the beginning of my fic- still haven’t quite reached that moment yet.) After he reforms, Steven’s eyes flare pink/with diamond pupils whenever he uses his Gem born ability.

And lastly, a rando detail about the expressions within this piece...

Lapis is glaring at Jasper, but Jasper is peering at Steven. That pretty much sums up both of their characters in this, ahahah. 

[jobrosupdates]

Nick Jonas On Marriage, Mental Health And The Big Jonas Brothers Reunion | HuffPost

“It’s not to be believed,” Jonas said about the reaction to new Jonas Brothers music.

Nick Jonas has suddenly found himself back in the spotlight ― on all fronts. Shortly after his whirlwind marriage to actress Priyanka Chopra in December, Jonas, along with his two brothers, Joe and Kevin, announced they were reuniting, complete with new music. The new single, “Sucker,” surfaced in February, and a new Jonas Brothers album is expected this year, marking the trio’s first studio album since 2009. A tour is also in the works.

Jonas, who has Type 1 Diabetes, is also spending time getting the word out about staying in good mental and physical health. He’s part of an initiative with Cigna to encourage people to schedule an annual check-up with their physician.

We caught up with Jonas about his own health, married life with Chopra and what’s next for Jonas Brothers.

How do you and your wife, Priyanka Chopra, make sure that you are keeping each other in check when it comes to health and emotional support?

Well, I think that we both obviously look out for each other in every way that we can. And I think as we’re continuing to navigate married life together, we’re figuring out exactly what and how we can be the best support for each other. And so far, it’s been amazing and having that partner, that life partner, is just an incredible thing and makes everything way better. So, I’m just hopeful that I can continue to be a good partner to her and whether that’s emotional or physical health, I want to be that teammate in everything.

You have Type 1 Diabetes, so staying healthy and this initiative you’re involved in I’m sure are particularly close to you. What do you do to ensure that you’re taking care of your own physical and emotional health?

There are a lot of things that I do. And you’re right, this is particularly close, I think, close to my heart because of my Type 1 Diabetes and then the journey I’ve taken there. And as far as the steps I take, I think being physically active, doing my best to be physically fit, is incredibly important to me. You know, I’m in a way better state of mind after I’ve had a great workout. In addition to that, eating well, eating clean to the best of my ability while on the road or running around or whatever I’m doing is another thing that I try to make a priority.

Then also just time with family and friends and I think the thing that I’m so connected to about this message ... simplifying this idea and this message, to say that your emotional health is wholly connected to your physical health.

If you take that time, spend some time with family and friends, prioritize your emotional state of mind, you’re going to be in a way better spot physically. That’s for sure been true in my life and I hope it to be true in my family as well.

You recently revealed that the Jonas Brothers actually went to therapy for about a year before deciding to reunite as a group. What was that like and what was the biggest takeaway you got personally from that experience?

I think the thing that was so great about this next chapter was that it really began with us getting to the healthiest place we could be as brothers and as family before we decided to work together at all, given that the way it ended before was not the best. We just thought, let’s dive in, let’s really open up and pull this thing apart and see what would need to be different for this to work this time around for a healthier relationship. I think that honesty, that transparency, really was the key factor. And I built the foundation now to where those things that used to be hiccups before for us, are no longer a problem and we’re able to really enjoy this ride and the reaction so far to the new music and everything that’s going on has just been incredible.

How would you describe the reaction since coming out with the new Jonas Brothers single?

It’s not to be believed. We wake up in the morning and pinch ourselves. We didn’t know what to expect when launching this new chapter, and coming back as the Brothers, but to have this outpouring of love and support for this song and this video, and just for us, feels incredible and we don’t take it for granted for one minute. We’re thankful just to our fans who have stuck with us for so long. I just can’t wait to get out and play for them this year, at some point.

What do you think like a tour would look like these days ― with kids and partners?

I think it will be a lot of fun. I don’t know what it will look like. Part of what makes it so exciting to us is that we’ve all had these experiences over the years, whether together, or now solo, or Joe would do with DNCE. And suddenly these things that we’ve done before have become brand new again. Just by way of coming back together, we’re adults now. We obviously all have our families and seeing what that would look like in this modern era is just really exciting. And I’m anxious to get out on the road and we’re building a plan now, so please stay posted.

What can you tease about the rest of the music that we can expect?

I think that for us we were really fortunate to work with [producer] Ryan Tedder on the big picture way to oversee the project as a whole is great. And he just breathes amazing life into it ... And the fact that we got to make the songs and that they came out the way they did was just the icing on the cake. So, I think the fans can expect a really good combo of Joe’s sounds and DNCE’s meets my solo sounds, and I think “Sucker” is a good kind of stepping-off point. But I’ve got more and more favorites on the album that I’m really excited for them to hear.

Source: HuffPost

[theultrasquad]

// Body Horror // Death under the cut // 

 They were strange, but the way they spoke was even stranger, They didn't mean the fancy-sign language they did with their transparent fingers, that was arguably more normal than their voice proper. It sounded something like the electric twang of a violin hooked up to a amp whilst the strings were being butchered left and right. They were terrifying from the start; the way they lumbered towards the trio made them shake as much as the ground, but hearing them speak was a different beast. It was either the weirdest thing they had to hear or the most deafening. For those lucky enough to have hands they threw them right up to their ears: the piplup nearly shrinking as blanketed his ears with those flippers and the cubone hoped to whoever was listening his thick head could blot out the twanging cacophony. But poor Ifi, had to just suck up the brunt of it as she stared up her head pounding like a broken drum.

 “So which one of you's Idiot?” they spoke as everyone slowly dropped their hands from their ears, their featureless head fidgeting and shuffling. “I've heard the word before, I didn't think you outsiders would go so far as to make it somebody's name.”

 None of them seemed to keen on pointing fingers or even drawing straws. One of them had to be the idiot, it could be ifi who sure looked the part, Piplup was far from the smartest with his young age, or perhaps Pluck was the one to blame for sure behaving like one with all his name-calling. The three shot a good dozen looks among themselves, trying, and trying to drum up something coherent whilst all quivered in the beast's massive, massive shadow. A lot of hmm, and a lot of haws were thrown around, but just when they thought the cubone was about to sucker up his mistake the big electrical tree spoke ahead of them.

 “Okay I was right then, you're all idiots.” the figure spat, waving a wobbling hand around as they addressed the not-so-clever crowd. “Now if you outsiders would be so nice; I have a favor to ask.”

 Out of the family of fools the smallest had lifted his head, the step Piplup took wasn't even a half – it was more like a quarter as he crawled maybe four or five inches towards the friendly giant. His eyes peering, his little beak squeaking. “Okay!” he piped up, as the Bayleef watched on.“You're not here to hurt us, right?”

 Their voice lifted a bit higher than usual, like they were teetering on the verge of laughter when they answered back. “No, no” they said. “Don't go running into weird places and you'll be fine. I don't have anything to gain by hurting any of you anyways.”

 It was then they solved the mystery of who was the stupid one; because when the big thing spoke about lacking any reason Piplup was real, real close to giving them a reason. As held his satchel as high as he could, he would've come awfully close to spelling it out for them by declaring all the fancy things there was to steal on this little bugger hadn't Ifi nudged the sod on the side of his head and took stead.  

 “Right; great!” she huffed nervously, stepping over the pint-sized penguin. “You seem like a nice guy – fellow, I'm not sure. Just excuse our friend here-” her leaf gestured to Piplup who now looked about as cross as his fins. “he's a bit of a peppy one, yeup!”

 Those big, branching arms tensed then eased in what might've been a shrug if they had any real shoulders to speak of. “...alright.” they dismissed, finally coming around to the point of all this. “Now, you wouldn't happen to've seen a fellow running around. Big, fluffy, brown-”

 They didn't need to get halfway through all the description, because the trio knew full well what they were going on about. Problem being the lot of them were very hesitant on telling some big, glowing stranger where on earth a fleeing pokemon had ran to. Well everyone, except for quiet old pluck there. Like turning in a felon with a bounty strapped to their heads, there wasn't a hint of concern when he spoke up.

 “The eevee?”pointing his club in the direction, the tree did as well. Far and away, over their crag the paw-prints led somewhere just out of sight “He went over there – just hang on a moment.”

 He kicked his legs into gear as he climbed up their rocky hill, going up and up until he found his way onto a smoothed out plane. Without a warning prior the second he touched it's peak the Cubone went as still as a statue. Knowing it could mean they were staring down a twenty-foot beanpole, or something even worse, she saw his frozen face and darted after him. The little runt trailing behind all of them, clinking along until they all met on the hill just in time to look beyond the crags and see a most gruesome terror.

 There was a hole somewhere, glowing as bright as the sun as it gleamed like a spotlit exit. The eevee; whoever they were went tumbling towards it. Oh did they ever regret it as forces pulled them apart in every conceivable direction. Turning their furry, fleshy body into strings of paste as they were steadily devoured into this gateway. The thing screamed and shouted, but the sound of every part of them crunching together drowned out those cries to a whelp as they slowly, though surely were taken under by those dreadful black forces.

 Suffice it to say they were glad they didn't go running after them.