#Ohhhh his mom helping her in that vulnerable moment

[ladylooch]

Our Little Family [Miles Wood] Chapter 20- Meet The New Baby Woody

From B: I know we have some new followers around here! Yay and welcome! So I wanted to give a quick re-introduction to Little Family! It's a blog submission series by our lovely 👢 anon! I do not write this series. I am as much of a fan as the rest of you! This series is also completely independent of Shot In the Dark. KK enjoy!! 🍿

A/N from 👢 anon: Hi guys, it's been too long. I'm here with another update from little family. After this chapter, there is going to be 5 left and we will be closing the little family chapters.

Oh yeah, we have some smut here too.

Since the moment you told Miles that you are pregnant, things changed. He was the perfect partner and dad. When he was home, he took care of you and Lily. So you could have alone time, he knows it can be a lot being pregnant and your baby hitting 2 years old.

Every night that Miles is home, he's rubbing lotion and oil on your bump. Because he loves touching you, knowing that you're carrying his baby and the baby likes his touch too.

You're doing your best to give Lily lots of love. Let her be the baby, too. It's an adjustment, but it's amazing. You're not going to lie, your favorites moments are when she crawls into bed with you and lies on the bump talking to her sibiling.

All your appointments are around Miles' schedule. He wants to be there for you and the baby. Not that he didn't do that for you and Lily before. You're having more happy moments during this pregnancy because Miles is loving you, too. He's your partner and husband now, before he was basically just Lily's dad. You guys had fun, but not like this.

Finding out that you guys are having another girl makes him cry. And he doesn't cry much. Seeing Miles getting more emotional makes you emotional too, more than usual. That's on the hormones.

The first time she kicked was just perfection. All three of you were cuddling and watching a movie. Both Miles and Lily were lying on the bump. And then she kicked, Miles looked at you with teary eyes and a big smile on his lips. Lily asked what happened. And you explained that her baby sister said hi. It made her so happy. Lily kissed the bump and said hi back. You know you're lucky.

Sedona for babymoon was perfect. You and Miles had a really good time together. It was something that you guys needed. Having that alone time and connection was amazing. But getting home to Lily saying that she missed you was the best. It made you emotional talking to Miles later.

Miles' season ended short again, but this time he was down for a day or two and then he decided that he was going to enjoy all his girls.

……

The day finally comes, and your water breaks in the middle of the night. Miles was asleep, and you had to basically shake him to wake up.

As much you love his sleepy look, this time you need him to move his ass because you're going to be in pain soon. And you would like some meds.

You groan when the first contraction happens.

“Miles, for the love of God. My water just broke.” Miles blinks at you a few times before his brain catches up.

He curses getting up, he helps you get changed, and he goes to wake his parents. To let them know what is happening. He's so frantic because last time he was on the road.

You need to say goodbye to your baby before you go. Miles was preparing her for this moment, letting her know that maybe mommy and daddy would leave without her knowing, but grandma and grandpa would be there with her. And they're going to come back with her baby sister.

You only show that you're in pain when it's just you and Miles. The whole drive to the hospital was painful. Miles had to pay attention to your contractions while driving.

When you guys got to the hospital, Miles stayed downstairs admitting you while you went to your room. By the time he gets there, you are already in pain meds. They make you a little happier.

But then you're in pain again. Miles is by your side the whole time. You get him a cot so he can take a nap. Even if he doesn't want to. He wants to stay up with you.

You're in labor for more than 6 hours. Your doctor comes in to check you, and sees if it's time. Miles asks if it's time, and she says that it's.

He moves to your side and holds your hand. You curse at him, probably hurting his hand, and saying that you're not going to have his babies anymore. A few times during that process.

Miles just encourages you. He kisses your sweaty forehead. He praises you. You feel so weak by the end. He says that you're doing amazing, but hearing him say that she's almost here gives you that extra strength to push.

Hearing her crying filling the room makes your body go limp. You smile while taking a deep breath.

Miles kisses you. “She's here, babe, and she's perfect.” You nod, not having a lot of strength right then.

The nurse puts your baby on your chest. You kiss her head crying, and your baby is finally here. “Welcome to the world, Ella harper Wood.” You kiss her head again.

Miles rests his forehead on yours “she's perfect, babe. We made her.” He kisses your forehead.

The nurse comes in saying that they need her, and you pass her to the nurse.

“Go be with her.” You push Miles towards where she's getting cleaned.

Your doctor works on you to make sure that everything is okay. The few pushes after giving birth and the stitches.

Miles takes one last look at you before he goes with the nurses to follow your baby. The room starts to get less crowded, which is a relief. You close your eyes when you're alone. The only sounds inside the room are the machines connected to you.

You don't hear Miles coming in. He kisses your head, thinking you're asleep. You open your eyes to look at him. You mumble a soft “hey”.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” He watches you with such a worried look in his eyes. You nod but ask for water, Miles goes to get you water. He rubs your arm when he's back, and you slowly drink the water.

“Is everything okay with her ?” You ask between sips.

“Yeah. She's perfect. You did a good job, Mama.” He kisses your head. He's so proud of you. He definitely has a new admiration for you.

You nod and smile. That's what you needed, to know that she's okay.

“Babe, I know I'm supposed to be resting, but I need to call your mom to talk to Lily.” Miles watches you for a second before nodding and grabbing his phone.

He texted her when he was with El saying that the new Wood was born. He facetimes her, Cheryl smiles, seeing her son's face on the screen. She says, "A congratulations and asks," How are you doing? " Miles says that you're tired, but all good.

He says that he's going to give you the phone. You talk to Cheryl a little before asking if you can talk to Lily. She takes the phone to your baby, seeing Lily's face, and you relax a little more.

You talk to her, asking how she's doing, if she's having fun with grandma and grandpa. She says that she is but that she misses you. You say that you miss her too and soon she'll be home with daddy and her baby sister. She gets excited.

You say that you love her before passing the phone for Miles. He talks to her, and you drift off hearing your loves talking to each other.

Miles plans with his mom for her to bring Lily in the middle of the afternoon. He knows you need that and that you feel guilty for leaving her in the middle of the night.

He lays in the hospital bed with you. He just wants to hold you. It doesn't take long for the nurse to bring El for her breastfeeding.

Miles wakes you. He helps you settle before passing El to you. You smile seeing that cute little face. You kiss her forehead, saying that you're her mommy.

It takes a little time for her to latch, but when she does, you relax big time. Miles gives you the space to be with her.

You brush your finger over all her features. Saying that she has the best daddy and the best big sister, that you guys are so excited for her to be part of your family.

Miles stays outside of the door, updating his family, his teammates, and ordering you food. He knows you're hungry.

When he comes back, he sees you counting El's little toes and fingers. Miles is still a little worried, but he sees that you're more like yourself now.

He moves closer to you. “Can I hold her ?” You look at him a little confused.

You chuckle, nodding because, of course, he can pick his baby. Miles picks her up, settling with her in his arms. You watch El stir a little before settling completely in her daddy's big chest.

“Babe, do you mind if I take a nap ?” Miles is shocked that you asked him that.

“Not at all, rest, sweetheart.” He kisses El's head to settle her a little more. You nod before turning to your side.

Miles holds El as long as he can while you're asleep. The nurse comes to get her. He gets your food and then just sits there looking at you. You wake up to those piercing blue eyes staring at you. You blink a few times, getting him focused.

“Can I have more water, please ?” You lick your lips, feeling a little dry.

“Yeah.” Miles picks the cup and helps you drink. “I brought food for you, babe.” You take a big sip before nodding.

“What about you ? Did you eat ?” You pass the cup to Miles. He looks at you, and you know he didn't.

“Why were you staring ?” You ask, lacing your fingers.

“I'm worried about you, babe.” He sighs, running his hand through his hair.

“Why ? I'm okay.”

“You don't look like yourself, I just don't want something to happen to you.”

“Hey, c'mon here.” You cup his cheeks moving to the side to give his big body space.

“I'm okay, I promise you that. I'm exhausted, being in labor in the middle of the night is not fun, and I miss Lily too.”

“Yeah, I know.” He closes his eyes, feeling your fingers brush along his cheekbone.

“I didn't like leaving her like that in the middle of the night. I know she's okay with your parents. And I promise you, it doesn't change my feelings for El. I love her and I'm so happy she's here with us. I'm exhausted and hungry, probably not the best combination.” You smile, seeing you smile brings a smile onto Miles' lips.

You kiss him before asking if he can bring you the food. You hear that giggle as Miles goes to get you the food.

You thank him before putting a lot of food in your mouth. You give him a look, for him to eat too. If you need food, he does, too.

Miles picks your tray of food as you drink a little more water. You pat empty space beside you for Miles to join you. You need hubby cuddles. He's so careful with the wires and iv on your arms. He doesn't need the nurses to come running scared into the room.

You bury your face in his chest, just needing to feel secure. This is one of the most vulnerable moments that he ever saw you, and he'll take care of you.

You guys cuddle until you hear a knock on the door. Miles kisses your head before getting up to open the door.

You hear your oldest voice saying hi, dada. You smile, getting a little emotional, and Miles squats to give her a kiss. Then, he holds her hand to help her walk towards you.

She's holding a bouquet to give to you. Miles helps her to jump into the bed. “Mama” she's so excited as she settles against you. You kiss her head, holding her close to your body. You thank her for the flowers and then bring her to your lap.

“Baby, mommy is so sorry for leaving like that last night.” Lily looks at you with her big blue eyes.

“ ‘s okay mama, I have a new baby sister now.” She's so excited, and it's adorable. You kiss her head before putting her beside you. You guys talk, and the nurses bring El for another one on one with Mommy before feeding.

While you guys talk, Miles shows El to his parents. Then you ask Lily if she wants to meet her baby sister. Lily says that she does.

Miles brings El, placing her in your arms. Lily's little face moves closer to El, she wants to meet her baby sister. She kisses El's forehead, blushing a little at El's reaction.

“She loves you too, baby.” Lily smiles at you as she brushes her finger on El's hair.

Miles snaps a few pictures of his girls together. You kiss Lily's head, letting her have a moment with her sister. Cheryl sends Miles to be with you guys so she can take a few pictures of you.

You cup his cheek, looking at him with heart eyes. You mouth a thank you for him, he rests his forehead on yours and Lily kisses El's forehead again. It's the perfect picture.

He pecks your lips before looking at his family. El starts to get fussy.

“Baby, can you go with Daddy while mommy feeds baby El. After she is done, you can come say goodbye before going home with grandma and grandpa.” Lily nods and makes grabby hands for miles.

He picks her up, giving her lots of kisses, making her giggle. You smile as they leave the room. You shift El for her to be comfortable. This time, she latches right away.

“You're going to have the best big sister, baby.” El wiggles a little because she feels that too, Mommy.

You watch your baby eat, slowly at her own pace. She's so adorable, lots of Wood's genes in her. The caramel hair, the bone structure, she has your nose and mouth. So you're happy. Miles will be in trouble when his girls grow up.

Miles comes in a few minutes later, and Lily has her mouth full of chocolate. And you give him a look, shaking your head.

“There are wipes in the bag.” You point to the bag, Miles nods and picks the wipes to clean Lily's mouth.

Lily comes to join you with a clean mouth. You pass El for Miles to hold her. You kiss Lily's head and tickle her belly. Her laugh is a good sound to your ears.

You look at Cheryl, biting your bottom lip. Then you look at Miles. He's entertained by El.

“Cheryl, can you help me with something ?” Miles almost snapped his head, looking at you.

“Of course, sweetheart.” She grabs your bag before moving to your side to help you get out of bed.

Randy moves to be with Lily, and you move slowly to the bathroom.

“Babe…” You hear Miles calling for you as you enter the bathroom.

Cheryl helps you sit on the toilet, and she closes the door. You take a big deep breath.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't ask anyone else. I understand if it's too personal for you, but I don't think I can have Miles looking at my body right now.” Cheryl is taken aback for the personal part, but she understands not wanting Miles to see you right now.

“It can be a little personal, but you're my daughter too. And I'm here to help you. Not only Miles, you too.” She moves to hug you. “But you need to talk to him. He needs to know that.” You nod, hugging her back.

You and Cheryl work on getting you undressed. You pee and change your pad. Putting on some normal clothes makes you feel happy.

You guys go back into the room. You thank her before moving back to bed again. Miles is holding El and talking to Lily.

You tell Lily that she's going home with grandma and grandpa. Mommy and Daddy will be there soon. You give her lots of kisses before Randy helps her out of the bed. She blows kisses to you from the door. You smile and blow her kisses. El is passed out in her daddy's arms.

She looks so peaceful in his arms. The nurse comes to get El, saying that she'll bring her soon for another feeding. You nod and thank her.

Miles comes closer. He fixes your blanket before hugging you. Your head rests on his abs.

“I'm sorry.” Miles looks at you confused before lifting your chin to look at him.

“Why are you apologizing, love ?” You shrug as Miles give you the look. Don't hide.

“Ahh, I thought I hurt you by asking your mom to help me.” His face goes soft, hearing that.

“Sweetheart, you just had a baby. You can basically do whatever you want. At first, I was a little disappointed, but then I remembered that you're doing what makes you feel comfortable.” He pecks your lips as the tears stream down your cheeks.

“Yeah, I'm not comfortable with you seeing my body right now.” Telling him that shows how far you guys come together.

“I understand, baby. And I'll help you in any way that I can, keeping the boundaries you just set for us.” You nod thanking him.

Your doctor comes in to check on you, and how are you doing. If everything continues like this, you can go home tomorrow.

You ask Miles for food, and if he wants to go home, shower, change, and take a nap, you'll be fine in the hospital. He looks offended by your suggestion.

“I'm not going anywhere until you and El are discharged.” You sigh, closing your eyes.

“Babe, you need to rest too. I'm going to be okay for a couple of hours. I need you to take care of yourself too.” Miles has his debating face.

“Okay. I'll go home, change, and shower, but not nap.” You nod. If this is what you can get from him, it's fine.

You and Miles cuddle as you fall asleep on him. When you wake up, Miles says that he'll go home and bring you food after. You thank him softly.

While you wait, you decide to scroll through your phone to pass the time. You have a bunch of texts from the halves congratulating you, his teammates too. Some say that they hope she looks like you and not Miles. It makes you laugh.

You see Miles post, a picture he took of you holding both of your girls. With the caption:

“My world right here, welcome to the family baby”

It makes you smile, but there is one just for you. With different pictures from your dating years.

“To my strong wife, thank you for giving me these greatest gifts. But also you loved me before I could do the same. I want our girls to grow up to be strong like their mother. You're the best, babe.”

And this one makes you cry, not hearing what he thinks of you often and your hormones. It make you soft. Miles is becoming the best husband.

When Miles come with food, you're feeding El after spending some mommy and daughter time with her. His hair is still wet, and you know he showered and left. You just hope he loved Lily before leaving.

Miles comes closer, he pecks your lips and brushes his finger over el's head. Little girl stirred but didn't stop eating.

“I love you.” That big grin shows on his lips again. “I love you too.” He kisses you before putting the food on the table.

While El eats, he takes the containers out to put them on the tray for you. His mom made food for you. You get emotional again, Cheryl is just amazing.

El finishes eating, and you shift her for a burp. Then Miles picks her up for cuddles while you eat. You're half way through your dinner, and she starts to cry and get fussy. You stop eating to tend to her.

Miles stops you saying that he got this. He sits with her, strips his shirt, and does skin to skin with her. It takes a couple of minutes, but then she settles.

You smile at them. Miles is really an amazing dad. Miles looks at you, so in love. He still can't believe you agreed to have more of his babies.

The rest of the night flies by. There are some moments where El gets super fussy. But you guys work it out as a family.

The next morning you get discharged, going home makes you so happy. Miles is so careful that it's a little funny.

The whole family is waiting for you guys. Lily comes running to you, and you give her lots of kisses. You take a shower at home and then just cuddle the rest of the day.

Later that night in Miles' arms, “Thank you for giving me this life.”

Miles pecks your lips. “Always sweetheart, it's what you deserve.

You snuggle closer, enjoying the quiet for now.

……

Life at home has been an adjustment for sure for the next couple of months. El struggled a little bit, but thankfully, you had Miles and his parents.

Lily was perfect the whole time. Thankfully, hers and El's nap schedules were different. So you could love both of your babies, giving Lily that mama and daughter time.

She's getting so smart, definitely a little sassy. Miles doesn't know how to handle it, and you think it's funny.

Miles has been perfect, too. Your marriage continues getting stronger and closer. All the bumps made you guys better.

Then Miles' season started, you all had to make another adjustment. You called Miles crying a couple times in the middle of the night. His heart broke every time. He hates seeing you like that.

But when he's home, he's home. He's taking care of Lily and El, so you can have some me time. For you to have a long bath and things like that.

You're glad that you and Miles made sure Lily continued as a toddler. She didn't need to grow up because of her sister. That's so important to you.

You and Miles started taking date nights with each other but also with Lily. And you like how things are going, that's something you always wanted. Her being a kid.

Miles is such a gentleman and respectful when it comes to your body issues after pregnancy. He gives you the space necessary to feel comfortable enough.

One night, you decided to be bold. Your doctor cleared you a while back, but you didn't feel good enough to go through it.

You're in the bathroom looking at yourself in the mirror. You bought lingerie that looked good, but now they feel a little off. You're nervous, taking one last look in the mirror. You take a big deep breath before sliding the robe on and moving to the master.

Miles is scrolling through his phone. He lifts his eyes, looking at you with a soft smile. You just go for it, opening the robe and letting it slide from your body. Miles puts his phone to the side and shifts so he can be closer to you.

“Holy shit, babe. You're fucking gorgeous.”

Your cheeks get warm at the way he's looking at you. Miles moves to where you're standing.

He stops in front of you, pulling your hands to touch his body. “Can I touch you, gorgeous ?” You take a deep breath as you nod.

“Baby, I need to hear you say the words.” It's important to him that you say what you want.

“Yes, you can.” His smile brights the whole room. He leans to kiss you. First, he just rests his hands on your side. As you stop overthinking, his hands wander more through your body. Your hands start to wander his body too, shoulders, hair, neck, his arms.

He likes that a lot and humms into the kiss. Miles cups your ass cheeks before scooping your legs to wrap around his waits. Feeling his bulge between your legs makes you moan.

You missed that feeling for sure. Miles starts to gives your body love. He looks at your face, to see if you're uncomfortable. He kisses every possible inch of your body.

As much as he would like to go to town on your boobs, he just cups them softly. Because he knows they're still uncomfortable for you.

“Woody, I need you.” Miles chuckles as he kisses your ribs. He sits on his heels, and you lift your head to look at him.

“Babe, we need a little more foreplay. I don't want to hurt you.” You know he's right, but it doesn't make it easier for you to wait, after waiting for so long.

Miles makes his way back to your lips. He kisses your jaw line, cheeks, the corner of your mouth, and your lips. You sigh, having his lips attached to yours again. You nibble his bottom lip to have his attention. Miles moans before facing you.

“Please.” Your voice is like a whine and Miles agrees. He pulls your underwear down before stripping himself. Your eyes go wide seeing his big cock erect for you.

You moan as he smirks. Miles strokes himself and uses his fingers on you to open you up a little. He lines himself and starts to slide inside you. But your body is resisting him big time.

“Babe, we can stop. It's clearly painful for you.” Miles moves your hand from your face.

“But I want it, I need you. It's time.” Miles chuckles a little bit. He pecks your lips. “Do you want to try with the lube ? We worked for us before.” Your hand plays with his abs while you think.

“Yeah, we can try.” He smirks before getting up to grab the lube. He settles himself again between your legs, pouring lube on his hands.

Miles strokes himself, spreading the lube. He puts a little on you too.

“Are you ready, babe ?” You watch Miles line himself with your entrance.

“Yeah, I am.” Miles smiles before sliding in.

“Tell me, if I'm hurting you or it's uncomfortable, babe.” You nod, before mumbling an okay. Miles slowly slide inside you as your nails dig in his shoulder. But when it doesn't hurt, your grip is lighter. You open your eyes to see Miles staring at you with a smirk on his lips. You look down seeing that he's completely inside you.

You smile at him as you brush your thumb on his cheekbone before bringing him for a deep kiss. Feeling adjusted to his size, you wiggle so Miles can start moving to build up the tempo.

You missed this so much, Miles is careful building up the tempo. He knows that it's going to be tricky making you cum today, but boy he's struggling himself. Having your tight heat around him again after so long, makes him crazy. He's going to focus on you for now.

He moves his thumb to rub circles on your clit. You moan moving your hips toward his finger. Miles changes your position to go deeper inside you.

“OH, fuck.” You cover your face, but Miles moves so he can see you.

“Babe, I'm hurting you ?” He slows down his movements.

“Nope, it just feels so good.” Miles smirks as he leans to kiss you. He increases the tempo again, knowing that you're okay.

You call for him a few times, and Miles know that you're close. He rubs a few more firm circles, bringing you over the edge and bringing him over the edge too. It's not a crashing orgasm but enough to make you happy and make yourself tight around him.

Miles groans as he moves his hips. “God, I love you.” You smile, bringing her for a kiss, you lick his bottom lip. “I love you too.”

He chuckles and pecks your lips. He pulls out and settles before pulling you to his body.

“Thanks for waiting for me.” Miles kisses your head seeing you play with his chest hairs. “Always, I'll always wait for you,sweetheart.”

You kiss his chest, enjoying his body before needing to pee. “I'm going to shower. Do you want to join me ?” He looks at you a little surprised because it's been a while that you asked to be this intimate with him.

“Yeah, I do. And I got El next, you can rest.” You smile thanking him with a little smooch before you get up to move to the bathroom.

You guys take a shower together. Miles is so soft and gentle, touching your body. He makes sure that you're feeling okay with his touches. He smiles softly. He knows that it's not easy, but he's so proud of you.

“Babe ?” You look at him with soft eyes.

“Yeah ?” Miles kisses your cheek.

“I'm so proud of you.” You look at him confused.

“Why ?” Miles pushes your hair from your face.

“Because you took your time, you reached out when you were ready. You gave me another baby, you make my life better every single day.” You smile as your cheeks get warmer.

You kiss him, because that's the only way you can express what you're feeling. Miles helps you get out of the shower wrapping around the towel, he lets you finish your night routine.

You come back to the bedroom and Miles is holding your underwear.

“We can keep these babe, they look so good on you.” You shake your head before joining him in bed.

He wraps those strong big arms around you. And you fall asleep so quickly, the girls got that from their mama for sure. Just like he promised, Miles takes care of El in the middle of the night.

[hitchell-mope]

(Third film. After “who I am”. Mal Hades and Uma freeze for a moment. The gravity of their bonding moment sinking in. Then they burst out laughing. And they’re only stopped by Harry flying through the closed french windows and crashing into the gazebo)

Ben: sorry. My bad. He encroached on my personal space

Harriet: he walked past you

Ben: he walked past behind me.

Harriet: so the fuck what?

Mal: Ben’s got a fight or flight response when it comes to the gnome.

Gil: it’s what happens when you do what Harry did to him

Cj: which is what exactly?

Ben: kidnapping me, trying to sell Gil to me, attempted to kill me and was accessory to the almost capsizing of the cotillion yacht that me and all my friends were on

Cj: that is barely worth mentioning and in any

Evie: Ok everyone shut up I need to talk to the happy couple

Harry: I think my legs are broked

Evie: no one cares flapjack face. Ben. Mal. Join me at the kitchen island

Mal: you wanna tell her or shall I?

Ben: umm. Me? (Mal gives him the go ahead). Um. Evie. Uh. Heheh. We sort of decided on most of the um important stuff so you don’t have to plan. You just have organise

Evie: and the four things?

Mal: I can create my new dress with magic. I’m going to ask my mom if I can borrow a necklace. I’ve got the class ring Ben gave me. And I can redo the hair streaks my exposure to the ember made for the ceremony. Sorted

Evie (through a forced, fixed smile): so I’m utterly superfluous

Carlos: pretty much yeah.

Jay: c’mon E. this is probably gonna be the first royal wedding in history where the couple have their heads on screwed on right

Evie: mhmm mhmm yeah yes of that is true however HOWEVER there’s the little slight wrinkle of me being all but shut out from the proceedings

Mal: you’re still in the party. After Jane - oh shit Jane! - and Evie’s fainted. Doug, buddy, could you alert me when she wakes up. I gotta go talk with the guest of honour

(She bustles over your Jane who’s just outside and nursing a large glass)

Mal: hey bud

Jane (slightly glazed look in her eye): heya Mally. How’re hic you doin?

Mal: I actually came over to see how you were doing. I got wrapped in my own drama again. I’m sorry

Jane: ah don’t be. I’ve come to expect. Nothings about me. Never. Not even my own birthdays. You know in my four teeth I got ‘tention?

Mal: no

Jane: Chas copied off me in algebra. Ma thought I cheated. Registration thingumy. Him fore I. So I spent that afternoon clapping erasers. So see. Never bout me

Mal: ah. Well this was supposed to be about you. And I’ve shirked you to a corner drinking....

Jane: 🎶colada’🎶

Mal: right. Judging your countenance I’d say not a virgin one. How many have you had?

Jane: one. About eighty, eighty eight times? I think. Might be more

Mal: I see. Wanna stitck by me for the evening?

Jane (pouty): will you show off those sceptre tricks you’ve been working on?

Mal (chuckling): if you want

Hades (from the kitchen): Mal! Evie is awake and demanding your presence

Evie: I refuse to be shut out!

Mal: (long, long sigh) I am so sorry Jane. Let me try and make things better.

(She points her finger at the ground and Hadie materialises in a plume of green smoke. He’s trying a hat on)

Hadie: strange, I could’ve sworn there was a mirror there

Mal: what in dad’s name are you wearing?

Hadie: oh. Doug said I should get changed. Lovely guy by the way. Evie chose well. Dizzy took me upstairs to the changing rooms. And I saw a large picture as I passed her room. He was wearing this precise outfit. So I replicated the look and was just fixing the hat when you summoned me. You like?

Mal (very calm): Jefferson. Please tell me you replicated the look and not replaced it. All three of them will kill me if that posters wearing a bathrobe

Hadie: (beat) ok. NOW it’s replicated

Mal: good. Now could you please do me a favour and keep an eye on Jane? Birthday girl shouldn’t be left alone

Hadie: it’d be my pleasure

Mal: great thanks. I gotta go

Jane: he’s tall. Er then me

(Mal goes back into the house and heads towards Evie)

Mal: what is it now?

Evie: you just can’t keep me out of your wedding planning. I’m the WEDDING PLANNER

Ben: we’re not keeping you out E. We’re just shutting down the ideas we don’t like

Evie: you’re not even supposed to be part of the conversation! You’re the groom you’re only job is to show up sober

Mal: really? Well that scuppers my plans to be blitzed during the ceremony

Evie: oh here we go...

(As they continue arguing Uma heaves a long suffering sigh and goes outside, Lonnie goes over to check up on Gil who’s eyes are scrunched shut with his hands over his ears)

Lonnie: you ok

Gil: I don’t like it when my friends fight

Lonnie: I know. Hey jay. Could you help us out here please?

Jay: sure. Hmmm. Ooh. I know. To get rid of these ants in their pants/I command thee all to get up and dance.

(Some music starts up and everyone freezes)

Jay (taking Gil’s hands away from his ears): at your leisure qayidi 'aw rbany

(This is when “backflip” happens. After the song the spells breaks)

Evie: what happened?

Lonnie: you three were arguing, Gil got upset so Jay broke the argument up and we all danced

Mal: sorry bud

Ben: sorry bro

Evie: yeah sorry

Gil: s’ok

Evie: what were we arguing about?

Mal: beats me

Ben: ditto

Cj: I know

Jay: no ya don’t

Cj: ....uhhhh....OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO HARRY!

Ben (much more then dismissively): eh he’ll be fine. Where’s Uma?

Elsa (refreezing the now lukewarm beer): she headed back outside Benjamin

Ben: ohhhh yeah uhhhh heheh you mind?

Mal: nah, go ahead. Do what you gotta do

Ben: thank you

(Outside Uma’s ranting and raving about how Mal “always wins” and how she “always loses” but she stops when Ben approaches her)

Uma: ohhhh What do you want?

Ben: talk?

Uma: oh yeah? What about?

Ben: uh, you?

Uma: why? I could see you lot in there perfectly happy, dancing about, not a care in the damn world, you and your FUCKING FRIVOLITY!!!!

Ben: ohhhh riiiight yeah I understand now, can’t be easy. Worlds in tatters, your entire life perceptions been upended, you think you’ve got on the same page with some of your family then you see your cousins arguing about wedding planning so you don’t think they’re taking things seriously. Completely understandable

Uma:...yeah I’m a little tipsy so you’re gonna have to slow down

Ben: you think you patched things up with Mal then you turn around and she’s not focusing on what you deem necessary

Uma: I’m not gonna “patch things up” until she admits and pays for what she did to me

Ben: what more can she do though? I mean seriously. She apologised, tried to let you kill her and she’s protected celia throughout most of today. Most things are a two way street Uma. And it’s up to you wether you accept her apology or not. No one can but you

Uma: I...don’t...KNOW. I DUNNO! GOD! I can’t stand it! She gets everything! The title, the reverence, the power, immortality! This past year I’ve been in my own personal hell while she’s been over here swanning about and owning the whole fucking place! It’s not fair that she gets all this and I get pruny hands and a barnaclised first mate!

Ben: have you told Mal this?

Uma: what? And be vulnerable towards the cow? I thought you were smart

Ben: (chuckles) m’sorry. Shouldn’t laugh

Uma (scoffing): s’alright. It’s pathetic. I’m pathetic. But I can’t help it. Cause when she’s been here, I’ve been down there. With my oh so delightful mother. And yeah I know it’s stupid. I can’t let it go. I’m not ice bitch. The sea waits and it will have its revenge! I’mramblingaren’tI?

Ben: mhmm. But that’s ok. You deserve it. Honestly every vk on this property has a right to complain and then some.

Uma: im done. You can go

Ben: before I do can I give you my thoughts quick?

Uma: whatever

Ben: I can help you. Believe me. All I want to do is help. But you kidnapped me. You tortured me. You tried to kill me. Why? To stick it to Mal? To make yourself feel better. All you had to do was ask and I would’ve listened to you. I will in fact still listen to you. I want to be friends with you but you need to let this petty vendetta go. It won’t do anyone any good to dwell on the past. I only hope you understand that

Uma: petty? Me? Petty?

Ben: mhmm.

Uma: bitch!

Ben: oh please. Everyone has a fatal flaw. I, apparently, have a tendency to be a smidge naive

Uma (utterly deadpan): really? I never would’ve believed it.

Ben: are you sure you can’t see yourself one day letting what happened go?

Uma: nope

Ben: why not?

Uma: cause it feels right. Evening the score feels right. And frankly I don’t care what you think. It’s simple as that. I don’t care

(This is when “I’ve gotta be me” happens)

[shes-soparticular]

Darling, So it Goes

You take Shawn home for an American Thanksgiving. Your childhood bedroom gets more than it bargained for.

Warning(s): Heavy Smut.

A/N: A little fluff, a little smut. SlightlyOlder!Reader.

Words: 4440

It took months of begging, but you finally succumbed to your mother’s plea to make a trip home for Thanksgiving. You hadn’t been back to your hometown since your move to Toronto at the beginning of the year and you had to admit the nostalgia of an old-fashioned American holiday had gotten the best of you. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to see your family, it was your apprehension about bringing your boyfriend home. They’d met Shawn before, sure, but always on your terms and while on their best behavior. You knew the atmosphere wouldn’t be quite the same once everyone was wine drunk around the dinner table, delving into political arguments and dredging up stories of your youthful fuckups. Not to mention, you’d never really brought anyone home before despite being well into your mid-twenties. There was no telling what kind of awkward, prying questions your mom might ask, what offensive jokes your dad would inflict, or the droning on of your older brother and dead stares from your sister-in-law. You chastised yourself internally for thinking of your family so negatively, but you just really, REALLY needed this holiday to go off without a hitch. Mostly for your own sanity. You knew deep down you had nothing to worry about – Shawn’s Canadian manners would dazzle everyone and he’d be a good sport about their neurotic behavior. But you still held your breath all the way through the pumpkin pie, until you could finally sneak off to your childhood bedroom with Shawn in tow.

You’d tried your hardest to book a hotel room for the weekend but after receiving the catholic guilt trip of the century from your mother, you begrudgingly agreed to stay with them. As you flipped on the light, you instantly felt regret churning in your stomach along with the turkey. The bright lavender walls, the stuffed animals arranged meticulously on your canopy bed, the numerous photos of every awkward stage you ever went through tacked to the walls. Jesus, the plastic glow in the dark stars were even still stuck to the ceiling after twenty plus years. Without needing to look at him, you already knew Shawn had the biggest smirk on his face. He was going to eat this up.

“So…this is…words escape me.” He brushes past you to pick up a Care Bear off your bed, taunting you with it. ShareBear looked so strange in Shawn’s tattooed grip, an odd juxtaposition of two things that brought you the most comfort. Granted, ShareBear really didn’t succeed at keeping you warm late at night.

“Give me that,” You say with a huff, reaching out to wrangle the bear away from him, tossing it unceremoniously on the floor. Throwing yourself on to your bed, you grimace at the squeaking of the springs. This was certainly mid-western “roughing it” at its most cliché. At some point you had become accustomed to the plush beds and obscenely high thread counts of high-end hotels. You’d become so spoiled that just the sight of your pill-y Beauty and the Beast sheets and bleach stained bath towels made you cringe. It also crossed your mind that you DEFINITELY weren’t sleeping in Disney sheets in high school and that your mother specifically chose those as a very rude, but very creative cockblocking measure. While you got to work kicking all of your stuffed animals off the bed, Shawn wandered about your room on his own. Quietly studying the photos of your middle school birthday parties, the saved movie stubs and concert tickets still stuck to your mirror, the participation trophies from JV volleyball. Suddenly, you felt a little vulnerable. When Shawn was in high school, he was already playing stadium tours with the likes of Taylor Swift. In your high school days, you were mostly consumed with binge watching Gossip Girl and eating raw cookie dough with your girlfriends. You had an exceedingly mediocre high school career and it felt glaringly evident as you saw your bedroom through Shawn’s eyes. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“Knowing you, it’s not what I was expecting. You were so…innocent.” He turns so that you can see his bemused expression. “I mean who is this girl? I don’t think I know her.”

“Open the closet. Back right corner. Cardboard box marked “books”.” You point him in the right direction, already grinning to yourself knowing what he’ll find there. Shawn quickly unearths the box, carrying it to your bed to dump out the contents. As you expected, a half empty bottle of Sailor Jerry’s rolls out, along with several ancient, unsmoked joints, and a few other odds and ends you’d stashed away. While you reach for one of the joints, his fingers snatch something else out of the pile.

“Is this a cherry flavored condom? You hate cherry.” If he looked bemused before, he looks downright delighted now.

“Hence it being in the pile, my love. Who in the world wants a dick to taste like cough medicine?” You hop off the bed, a joint and matchbook in hand, headed for your window. “All of the strawberry ones, on the other hand, are long gone.”

His eyebrows raise comically high and you can only imagine what he’s picturing in that moment. You know you shouldn’t be leading him to believe you were some unapologetic slut in high school, considering that’s fairly far from the truth, but messing with his head is your all-time favorite hobby. Considering there’s nothing else to do with the rest of the night, he won’t be getting a break from your mind games. Lighting up the joint, you take a long, satisfying drag, blowing the smoke out into the black night sky. You pass it to him while he continues to absent mindedly tour your room like it’s an ancient antiquities gallery at the Met.

“Who’s this loser?” You glance over to see Shawn holding a polaroid of you and a short-lived high school boyfriend. A guy you’re pretty sure still works the concession stand at the local movie theater and never stopped scamming on underage chicks.

“Ohhhh, Chad, what a blast from the past.” You snatch the photo from his hand, giving it a faux adoring look. “He fingerbanged me in a McDonald’s parking lot, it was the worst.”

“You’re telling me you were a freak even back then, eh?” His smirk is growing by the second, pulling open your underwear drawer to peruse all of the embarrassing cotton panties plastered with Victoria’s Secret Pink logos and phrases. The way the joint is dangling from his lips causes a familiar stir between your legs, but you quickly remind yourself that your parents room is right across the hall.

“It was prom. Everyone gets romantic on prom night.” You shrug your shoulders with an eyeroll, plucking the joint from his lips. Looking him in the eyes while you inhale, you rise on to your tip toes and pull his face towards yours to bridge the absurd height difference. Holding the smoke in your mouth momentarily, you press your lips to his softly, letting the smoke drift from your tongue to his. Shawn groans into your mouth, deepening the kiss and casually backing you towards your double bed. But the night is young and you wriggle out of his grasp before your back can hit those Beauty and the Beast sheets. “A guy pays for your limo, you throw him a fingerbang.”

“I’ve been in several limos with you and there have been zero parking lot fingerbangs.” He looks genuinely disappointed, as if you haven’t straight up fucked him in one of said limos. However, his expression changes as he holds up a pair of green panties with the words “Irish Boys Only” written across the ass. “Oh really? I beg to differ.” Balling them up in his hands, he tosses them overhand into the small waste basket across the room. “That’s where those belong.”

“Hey! I could have worn those to Niall’s next show.” You’re already laughing before you can finish the sentence, knowing you’re playing with fire by making such a statement. Shawn pretends not to hear you, but conveniently steps over to the waste basket to ash the spent joint over the discarded panties. Throwing you a heated glance in the process, eyes narrowed but still bright. He turns his attention back to your closet, thumbing through all of the old clothes that still hadn’t made it to Goodwill. When his fingers stop on a mass of pale pink tulle, you pray he’ll keep moving right along. Instead, he hands the joint back to you once more and reaches in to liberate the dress from the depths of your closet. You swear that monstrosity hasn’t seen the light of day since that McDonald’s parking lot.

“Oh god, I DARE you to put this on.” A deep chuckle escapes him, thanks in part to the weed, and he reaches out to grab your hip. “I can’t explain it, but I need to see you in this dress. It just. I can’t. Look at this thing!” No, you don’t know what you were thinking when you bought that dress. The strapless, fitted bodice has far, far too many rhinestones and the tulle skirt is obnoxiously large. It almost has a “Cinderella dressed by a Drag Queen” vibe and your cheeks go a little red just looking at it. Normally you’d refuse, but you’re just high enough, just content enough, that you’re willing to put on that hideous dress just to let your boyfriend have a laugh. He made it through an American Thanksgiving with your family, so if this is the least you can do to make his night, it’s worth it.

“Fine.” You throw him a pout as a last-ditch effort, but he stands firm. As the slightest bit of vengeance, you take your time peeling off your sweater and shimmying out of your jeans. “You’re going to have to help me with this demon, you know.” You reach out to unzip the back of the dress and then stand up straight in just your bra and panties, arms held up in the air, motioning for him to lower the dress on top of you. He obliges, despite a bit of difficulty, and your arms and head eventually clear the mess of tulle. You pull the bodice in place, adjusting your breasts into the right placement and then turn around. “Zip me up, please.” His fingertips are tentative against the zipper, his thumb brushing over the exposed skin at the small of your back and sending shivers up your spine. It seems to take an achingly long time, but he finally drags the zipper all the way up, hands dropping to your waist to slowly turn you around.

              “Let me see you, baby.” You’re not sure exactly how or why, but the energy in the room has markedly changed. It’s like by osmosis this dress delivered all of the nervous, tentative feelings you associated with being a teenage girl. Despite the yards of fabric, you felt naked under his gaze. His deep brown eyes traveled the length of you, his lips parted ever so slightly. Clearly, you’re not the only one being oddly affected by this dress. “You look…damn, I don’t know. This is making me weirdly soft?” He runs a hand through his hair, blowing out a deep breath as if you’re standing in front of him clad in dirty French lingerie rather than a Quinceañera reject. “Come here.” His strong hands pull you against him, moving up your sides and lifting your arms to bring them up over his shoulders. “Dance with me?”

              You’re about to comment on the fact that there’s no music and maybe move to grab your phone and find a song, but before you can give it a moment’s thought, his hands are back on your waist, his forehead pressed against yours. Ever so softly, he starts humming the familiar tune of Can’t Help Falling in Love, knowing full well what that song does to you. Your body just about melts into him as he starts singing the words into your ear, the two of you swaying in the middle of your lavender walled bedroom. All at once your heart feels as though it’s going to burst out of your chest, your rib cage incapable of suppressing the unnatural amount of love you have for this man. You must have been a saint in a past life, there’s no other way of explaining how you could be so fucking lucky. It’s nearly impossible for you to let him finish the song, your lips making a trail across his jaw before you finally rest your head in the crook of his neck. You would have never pictured this moment, would have never considered doing anything with that dress other than burning it, but here you are. And you swear you’ve never been more in love.

              As he finishes the song, you can’t decide whether you’re desperate to hear more of that beautiful voice or desperate to have his lips on yours. Instead, you leave it up to him to decide and aren’t entirely shocked when his lips meet yours. His kiss is balanced between tenderness and urgency, deeply reminiscent of the first kiss you two shared what feels like a lifetime ago. That’s what’s so surreal about standing in this bedroom, in this dress, talking about a time before Shawn. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it’s hard for you to feel connected to a time in your life before he was a part of it. You certainly weren’t the type of woman to judge your entire existence by a man, but you could at least admit to yourself (and to the entire world, if they really wanted to know) that you weren’t fully yourself until you had him by your side. The way he’s cradling you in his arms now, you know the feeling is mutual. Barely breaking the kiss, he sighs against your lips, “You really do look gorgeous in this dress.” Your cheeks blush a deep red, as if you’re hearing this from your middle school crush rather than a man that’s seen every inch of your body a few thousand times. “And you know what else?”

You finally pull away to look up into his eyes, that signature curl falling forward onto his forehead. “Hmmm?”

He raises his hands to tuck your hair behind your ears, thumbs brushing against your cheeks. “You deserved to have been made love to that night.” You don’t break your gaze, but you’re pretty fucking surprised your knees haven’t totally given out. It’s hard to believe that these words, these delicate touches, are coming from the same man that made you listen to him burp the alphabet the day before and sometimes insisted on doggy style so he could watch the Maple Leafs highlights. You almost don’t notice one hand dropping from your face to linger on the zipper to your dress. “May I?”

              You’re absolutely speechless, so a nod must suffice. He unzips the dress almost as slowly as he’d zipped it up not long before, taking his time, making you wait. As soon as the dress has fallen into a pink pool at your feet, he picks you up in one fell swoop, laying you gently on the bed that had been covered in stuffed animals not long before. He’s not far behind, hovering over you carefully, the springs of your bed whining in protest at the combined weight of your bodies. You ignore the sound and pull his face to yours anyways, alternating between slow, lingering kisses and the needier, hungrier variety. Oddly, as though you really have regressed to being teenaged again, you could absolutely settle for just an all-night makeout session. There’s something so intoxicating about the taste of his mouth and the feeling of his solid chest pressing against yours, you just never want that feeling to end. Of course, the fire between your legs vehemently disagrees with that sentiment, aching to be touched and filled in every possible way. As always, he manages to read your body (i.e. the way your hips keep arching into his seeking friction) and he responds in kind. His lips start making their descent down your throat, grazing across your collarbone, only stopping briefly at the top of the cups of your bra to rid you of the offending garment. Just as he’s about to take a nipple into his mouth, you stop him. “Your shirt. Can you take it off?” You’re itching for skin to skin contact, the pleading tone evident in your voice. Sitting up briefly, he pulls the henley over his head, your eyes immediately glued to his abs as they appear before you. Instinctively, your right hand slips down your stomach to touch yourself at the sight of him, but he catches your hand at the last possible second.

“Let me take care of you, honey,” He chuckles, knowing all too well how impatient you get. Kissing the back of your hand, he pins it above your head, resuming his pathway down your body. The warmth of his tongue encases your nipple, followed by the grazing of his teeth. It elicits a moan out of you, loud enough that you can barely hear his hushed voice. “Babe, you can’t be loud.” There’s a severity in his voice but you can see the smile pulling at the corner of his lips. He lives to drive you wild, and even if he doesn’t want to clue your family in on what he’s doing to you, he can’t help but be satisfied with drawing those noises out of you. Seemingly in direct opposition to his warning, his fingers find their way under your panties, pulling them aside and running up and down your already slick folds and teasing your clit. It’s nearly impossible for you to keep your mouth shut, but somehow you manage, keeping it to a quiet gasp as his first finger enters you. You’re already wondering how the hell you’re going to stay quiet as his finger curls upwards inside of you, when you feel his tongue begin to trace your clit, adding insult to injury. Gritting your teeth, you swear you can feel him smiling against your pussy, already smug with how you’re coming undone before he’s really gotten started. You’re about to protest when he removes his finger, but he quickly replaces it with two, pumping them into you slowly, stretching you in preparation of what’s to come. His mouth continues its assault on your clit, alternating between gentle licks and sucking until your eyes roll back in your head. You’ve never talked about it, but you’re fairly certain he has a habit of tracing his name on your clit. His full name. Over and over. It isn’t long before you can feel your orgasm building, your throat almost burning as you try to stifle your moans. He holds your hips to the bed, his biceps bulging with the effort to keep your bucking at bay. While he may be able to squat 300lbs, he’s almost no match for your hips when his tongue is ravaging your clit that way. When it’s clear you can’t hold on any longer, he presses his fingers against that sacred place inside of you and ruthlessly sucks your clit, hard, until you come so hard your legs spasm and you have to bury your face into your pillow to stop from screaming out. Deviously, he flattens his tongue with one last lick as you start to come back down, causing a shudder to run through your entire body. Chest heaving, you glance down at him, shaking your head. “You’re such an asshole.” But the enormous, satisfied grin on your face contradicts your admonishment. “Get up here.” You crook your finger in a come-hither motion, already pulling at his arms to coax him back up your body. Ready to roll him over so that you can return the favor, he stops and pins your hands behind your head once more.

“You know how much I love that smart mouth of yours, but right now? I’m dying to be inside you.” Part of you wants to argue, wants the opportunity to showcase your own oral talents, but you can’t exactly deny that you’re equally as anxious to have him buried deep in your core. So instead, you nod a little too enthusiastically and frantically reach for his jeans. It’s a bit difficult to get rid of them, considering he’s already grinding into you and not allowing you much room to work with, but somehow you’re able to free him from all clothing. He manages to kick off his jeans and Calvins on to the pile of your discarded stuffed animals, quickly pulling your panties down to join them. Once again, you shamefully feel like a horny teenager, unable to keep your hormones in check. Surprisingly, he manages the restraint to slow down for a moment, one hand coming up to rest under your head. He gives you a long look, as though he’s trying to memorize your face in that moment, the placement of every freckle, the shape of your swollen lips, the dazed, post-orgasm look in your eyes. Pressing his forehead against yours, your lips barely brush. “I’m so in love with you. In case you didn’t know.” As you lift your chin to kiss him, you feel the slow, satisfying burn of him entering you. You have to swallow a moan as he inches his way inside, stopping only when he’d bottomed out. He stills for a moment, allowing you to adjust, before setting a slow and steady pace.

Raising your legs to wrap around him, you let one hand tangle in his hair while whispering sweet words of admiration and encouragement in his ear. “God, you make me feel so good. So, so, so good.” These words urge him to increase his pace ever so slightly, but your childhood bed immediately objects, squeaking with all of its might. He freezes on top of you, using every ounce of strength not to return right back to his thrusts. “It’s okay, it’s okay. We just have to go slow.” He takes a deep breath and nods in agreement, returning to his former pace, trying to be as slow and deliberate as he can to appease your mattress. Several minutes pass as you grind into one another carefully, the friction still immensely gratifying. Regardless, you need more, you need to feel him pounding into you the way only he can. “Fuck this. Carpet?”

“Oh god, thank you,” He sighs in relief, picking you up without pulling out of you. Placing you carefully on the carpeted floor, he instantly plunges into you with the speed you’re both craving. Not expecting this, you cry out his name without thinking. This time he doesn’t stop his movements, but he does bring up a hand to cover your mouth. “If you do that, it defeats the purpose of us being on the floor.” Nevertheless, he thrusts directly into your g spot, knowing full well you’re not going to be able to keep your composure when he does that. Rather than letting out another cry, you stop yourself by sinking your teeth right into the swallow tattoo on the hand covering your mouth. Not hard enough to draw blood or leave a lasting mark, just enough to teach him a lesson. However, the joke is on you as the bite only spurs him on, his hips driving into yours with renewed energy.

Incidentally, you’ve reached a point of such reckless abandon that you don’t care who hears you. You couldn’t care less whether your screams woke up the entire family, or the entire neighborhood for that matter. Your parents could have easily let you stay in a hotel as you’d begged to. So truthfully, they were getting what they bargained for. What did they expect from their adult daughter and her fucking underwear model boyfriend? There was no way a noisy mattress and Beauty and the Beast sheets were ever going to stop you two from finding an opportunity to bang. Chanting Shawn’s name, quietly at first but growing louder, you dig your nails into his back hoping that will somehow stop you from full on shouting. You can tell by the way the veins in his biceps are pulsing and the set of his jaw that he’s not going to be able to hold out much longer. Needing release for both of you, he brings his thumb to your clit, massaging it in quick circles until he feels the telltale sign of your orgasm as your walls contract violently around him. That’s more than enough to bring his release, as your name falls from his lips with one long moan as he fills you. Weak, he lets himself collapse on top of you, still twitching inside of you as your sweaty chests heave together, desperate for air. Once you’ve both had a chance to breathe, you pull him in for a long, appreciative kiss. “I’m so in love with you too, in case you didn’t know.” He smiles against your lips, returning the kiss until you both hear someone shutting the bathroom door down the hallway.

“I’m not going to be invited back after this, am I?” He laughs quietly, reluctantly moving off of you and breaking your connection. Carefully, he pulls you up off the floor, taking a minute to inspect the rug burns on your back. “Oh honey, I’m so sorry, does it hurt?” As he gingerly runs his fingers down your reddened back, you try to hide a wince.

“It was worth it, trust me.” You reassure him with one more loving kiss before taking his hand to pull him back into bed with you. “And yes, you’ll be invited back. They know we’re a package deal now. They can’t deny that you make me very, very happy.” Curling up together in those old, scratchy sheets and looking upwards to the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, you can’t help but feel overwhelmingly thankful. Completely exhausted, you snuggle into his chest, letting out one last yawn as you prepare for sleep to overtake you.

“Babe?” You assumed he’d already fallen asleep, but you manage to let out a hum to let him know you’re still listening. “I think I love American Thanksgiving.” You can’t help but giggle softly into his chest, giving him a soft love bite.

“Oh yeah? Just wait until Fourth of July…”

tagging @fourtristattoos for boyfriend!week

[dotthings]

All right here we go, my notes on SPN 14.17 “Game Night,” which gets into parental issues and closure, domesticity on SPN, Cas and loneliness and connections with others, parallels between Dean and Cas, waffles, Dean’s facade, Sam’s heartbreak, my boredom and dislike of villain characters who I am supposed to dislike anyway, the nature of souls, and God as absentee parent.

First off, S14 has to be possibly the most domestic SPN season ever. We’ve had glimpses. But S14 is really digging in showing us this family’s life in the bunker. Add to this, even though Cas wasn’t present for game night, how accepted and normalized it is that Cas lives there. That’s his home. He’s expected and if he goes he at least tells Dean and it’s temporary, it’s assumed he’ll come back. Our bunker family includes 2 characters who aren’t blood related to the Winchesters, Cas and Jack, but they are part of the family nonetheless, something S14 has made abundantly clear. 

Why is this domesticity important? Isn’t SPN about killing monsters? It’s important because SPN is about killing monsters. It adds texture and layers to our heroes, makes their lives even more real, and ups the drama factor when we can see them have moments of domesticity and being a family to contrast with the harshness and the monster fights and the darker aspects. SPN from the get-go, has as its primary fuel the bonds between characters. Most of SPN is about Sam, Dean, and Cas as charcters who have MHI and PTSD and how they keep on keeping on, and their bonds with each other and other characters. 

We also need to be reminded of the stakes. Our heroes need to be shown living the world they’re trying to save and we need to see why they care if their loved ones are imperiled. We need to see them being a family to understand what could be lost. Remember in ep 300 alternate Sam and alternate Dean we learn are isolated characters and we see Cas devoid of personal attachments, and that was their tragedy. 

The monsters are really just a backdrop to explore these characters. Because SPN is a horror/urban fantasy series, we aren’t going to spend a whole lot of time on the domestic stuff, it needs lots of monster-killing action, but all in service of revealing character, and the domesticity needs to be there as part of the emotional weave. It stood out to me how extra domestic the start of Game Night is, with Mary and Jack putting snacks together, Mary trying to talk to Jack, and Dean trying to fix the mouse trap game, they reference that Sam is off getting pizza and will be back shortly, and we have a reason Cas isn’t there but we know if Cas were he’d be right in the thick of the domesticity.

They also did it because of how hurty this ep gets later on, for dramatic contrast.

Dean, our smart little engineer. Dean seems really, really frustrated he can’t fix the mouse trap game which you might think is just there for comedy but it’s not. He’s really minds he can’t fix that mouse trap game. Dean hates it when he can’t fix things, doesn’t he. When someone in his family is hurt or something’s wrong with them and there’s nothing he can do. He’s also not over that PTSD from having Michael screaming and banging in his head. It’s the little things. You think SPN actually forgot he has PTSD, look again.

And where is Cas? Why, he’s off meeting with the angel Anael to get a fix for Jack’s soullessness, without telling Sam and Dean, because Cas...he’s still got issues which I’ll get to a moment.

Interesting Cas orders a waffle he’s apparently not eating. Maybe just to not appear out of place in the diner. While Anael doesn’t even get coffee. Like it’s important to Cas to behave as a human, even if he’s not actually going to eat that waffle. Maybe Cas just wanted a waffle. It’s a really cute waffle, I’d want that waffle. This is reminding me of Cas and the milkshakes in 14.15. Why do they keep showing us Cas and cute milkshakes, Cas and cute waffles. It’s tantalizing. Almost lampshading the fact that this idea of Cas and milkshakes, Cas and waffles, is appealing, the idea of Cas enjoying these things, and maybe Cas would enjoy these things, yet he’s not going to actually consume them. 

So Anael was Joshua’s right hand. That was a reveal that shows she was an angel of some importance.

I love the Anael and Cas dialogue. “Ill-conceived lone-wolf desperation.” Anael has seen some things. There’s several moments here where she sees through Cas’s bullshit, and several moments where Cas sees through hers. 

Cas is not only hiding his deal with The Empty, he’s gone off to find God to fix Jack’s soul without telling Sam and Dean.

Oh this Dean and Mary scene. I’ve talked about Mary’s arc before, and how purposeful the distance and remoteness is, why the character is meant to be brittle, and wondering what kind of progression we’d see, a softening on that. Here’s another moment of it.

“You’re here, okay?” “But I should’ve been here more. I know I can be closed off, hard.” “That’s where I get it from.”

Oh, this is making me worried for Mary. That’s an awful lot of emotional honesty and softening and I’m thinking about John in ep 300 and closure and how that ended up. Dean got to say what he did to Mary near the end of S12. “I hate you and I love you and I forgive you.” And that was why Dean needed Mary back. But Mary has stuck around for several seasons and there are still unresolved things there. Which this scene offered one step towards a resolution for. How very John paralleling of you, SPN. 

Dean relating to Mary’s facade isn’t spn vilifying Dean. SPN doesn’t think Dean is actually closed off and hard, the narrative doesn’t show us that, and the authorial voices don’t believe it. Dean does however construct a facade for himself and I’m not sure how people can claim it’s vilifying Dean for SPN to remember that. (People want consistency and SPN to remember Dean’s characteristics...it does). Dean references his facade here. 

Remember that Dean’s perception of himself is that he’s a hardass. The Dean we actually see--and yes SPN is not only aware of that dichotomy but plays with it consistently--is a big-hearted squishy vulnerable softie who outbursts his emotions often and does a terrible job of hiding how much he cares. But in his Dean’s own mind his face is impeccably forged.

He’s acknowledging here he realizes Mary has a facade too and her brittleness and remoteness isn’t because she doesn’t care. 

I think also Dean wants to relate himself to his mom. He modeled himself on John much of his life and had to find a way to being his own person away from that shadow, but he’s actually always been more like Mary and he wants to be close to her. So here he purposefully spells out a connection between them, even though Dean isn’t really just like Mary, their facades are still a commonality.

Mary saying “I’m grateful” for all the time she gets to spend with her kids. Her adult kids. Not the babies she lost. Her children as they are.

Ohhhh something bad is going to happen I can feel it.

We get smart researchy Sam, and Mary and Dean mother-son badass hunting team. I’m sorry we haven’t seen more Mary and Dean team-ups, I’ve been waiting for that. (See why I’m nervous? There’s a lot of Dean and Mary stuff in this ep I’ve been waiting for and was denied and now getting it...Marty, I’m scared. I know how SPN operates).

So Nick is basically a complete amoral psychopath now and I am both bored yet weirdly relieved the story isn’t even going close to trying to make him someone relatable or intriguing. Nick is one of the only things most of this fandom in all lanes agrees on: he has to go. And SPN is making him as unpleasant as possible, reflecting that.

Jack and Donatello have no soul and yet they show more conscience and care of others than Nick, who has his soul still, which is raising questions in my head about how souls work on SPN and can empathy be learned even if the soul is gone. It’s not that Jack isn’t incredibly dangerous without his soul, his inner compass is completely borked. But not totally absent. Donatello also has judgment about how to treat others. But Nick...Nick is only murderous. 

“Because you’re a good man. You are. It’s one of the reasons I’m so proud of you.” 

We are John paralleling like mad here. Sam gets to hear Mary is proud of him. Dean gets an apology for her distance and her letting him know she appreciates being with him.

Closure, closure, closure. Something terrible is going to happen. 

These Cas and Anael scenes are utterly delightful. Not just because Misha and Danneel have a great rapport but the themes the dialogue is wading into is making me rub my hands together in metaish glee.

“I believe in Heaven.” 

Anael was a believer. Joshua’s right hand. She was a good soldier. Unlike Cas, it doesn’t sound like she had much inclinations to rebel. It seem unlikely Anael ever needed a reset, but like Cas, she eventually did.

“I don’t need Heaven and I don’t need God. I’m happy,” Anael says.

There’s that theme of actual happiness vs. false happiness again.

“Really?” says Cas, who we know has figured out how important bonds with others are. “Because that sounds lonely.”

“We’re all lonely because we’re all alone,” says Anael.

Well this just got deeply philosophical. We can feel alone even when we’re with others. Anael feels God abandoned everyone and she’s not wrong, and she hasn’t found a connection with others the way Cas has. And Cas, even though he has found those connections, is still a lonely figure. Isolation, alienation, feeling he doesn’t belong have been major themes with Cas for years. But Cas knows things Anael doesn’t about how life one earth works.

Oh I so am enjoying Dean kicking the crap out of Nick.

Jack is soulless yet still cares about helping Donatello.

“My father was a monster.” “He loved you...and you broke his heart.”

Shut up Nick, you manipulative psycho. Love isn’t enough. Lucifer “loves” like Thanos “loves.” 

Back to Cas and Anael, “I’m doing this for Jack,” Cas says. Which he is, in part, but it’s not the only reason. Anael may have passed on coffee but she’s packing tea. “You’re doing this because you’re afraid. Because in your mind it’d be easier to call God than tell Sam and Dean Winchester the truth. Jack’s soul is gone.”

Here is my whole separate post of its own on over-protective Cas trying to shield Sam and Dean from the storms and while it’s done out love, it’s misguided and his methods of shielding them often end badly.

But if you think Jack is all Cas cares about? Jack is the only reason Cas has done anything lately? You aren’t paying close enough attention (also that’s ignoring big chunks of canon anyway but I’m talking specifically, that even some of Cas’s Jack decisions have been about protecting Sam and Dean from pain...read my post). 

There’s another samulet. Cas recognizes the object most likely to be the telephone to God because it’s similar to the Winchester samulet. It’s not identical to Sam and Dean’s. Similar but different design. Slightly different purposes. One glows in the presence of God. Another acts as a voicemail system. Are there others, with other purposes, related to God?

Chuck abandoned humanity and the angels but made sure means of communicating with him were left, perhaps scattered all over the world? In case of emergencies? Was it a full abandonment? 

Cas sneaking away from his family to call his father for help out of their sightline because he’s scared and worried, why is that familiar. Where have I seen that before...oh yes, Dean calling John way back in “Home” in season 1.

This while Sam and Dean are going through closure things with the Winchester parents and Cas is again looking for his absent father.

“Go home and tell Sam and Dean the truth.” GOOD PLAN, ANAEL. 

I love this exchange with Cas and Anael so much. This is the whole lynchpin of what Cas has learned.

“Just because God’s not with us doesn’t mean we’re alone.” “Why? Because we all have each other?” “Yes.”

Similarly to how Dean had already accepted himself without needing John’s approval to do it, Cas has already figured out he’s not alone even though his father is a chronic abandoner.

Now Sam is beating Nick! It’s the Nick gets beaten up episode and I am so here for it. Sam doesn’t kill him of course because Sam is a good person but I am also sort of sorry Sam doesn’t kill Nick. Which I don’t think is the takeaway they intended and yet.

Sam’s Nickrage. Sam tried to see the good in him and give him the benefit of the doubt. Nick turned out to be completely amoral, and Sam was wrong. And now there’s something wrong with Sam’s shared Team Free Will adoptive child, Jack, who Sam needed to believe in. Sam has had something wrong with him and he’s not all bad, he was worth saving, others are worth it too and Sam needs to believe that. Jack maybe will vindicate Sam in this by the end while Nick is proving to Sam that isn’t always true and I think being faced with that is breaking Sam’s heart. No not everyone is worth saving. Not everyone can be saved.

It’s almost like survivor’s guilt. Sam is a good man. Sam had demon blood in him, he’s made mistakes, he’s done some terrible things, he’s been through some stuff, and he is worth saving. Sam doesn’t seem himself as worth it while others as less worthy, and he’s having trouble not over-identifying on this issue. This is a very long arc for Sam--think back to S8 and Sam talking about knowing as a child he was tainted, that he’d never qualify as a knight, as a pure hero he saw in the books about King Arthur. 

But those are idealizations of the heroic paradigm. Someone can still be heroic while being tainted and imperfect. Sam’s figuring this out but he’s still struggling with the object of the proof that not everyone is worth being saved: Nick.

I am not here for Nick beating up Sam. :((((((((((

I am here for badass Dean which is always good to see.

Oh no Sam. :((((((((((((((

“Count with me.” “You always put me first. Your whole life.”

Look I know Sam won’t die-die for good yet but this is still upsetting, Dean trying to keep Sam with him and Sam deciding that should be his final words to Dean, because he’s aware of all Dean took on and he’s grateful. Sam knows. This is also a mirror flip on Dean’s head injury in Ouroboros. This made my heart ache. :(

No can we not have Lucifer back please? I adore 98% of the characters on this show, I’m serious, I am an ensemble gal, but Lucifer’s story has, for reals, played out. Nick is irredeemably awful and dull, Lucifer is boring and selfish and cruel and petulant and I’m bored. Luckily for me neither is being presented as someone I am supposed to or expected to feel sympathy for and I hope it stays that way. 

Hey SPN, you’ve successfully made me feel zero sympathy for characters who I clearly am supposed to feel zero sympathy for! You did your job! But do you realize how dull this is? I’m not sure this is supposed to be so dull.

Jack just saying no to Lucifer. Bye, Lucifer! Thank you, Jack!

Thank you Jack for saving Sam!

Hey Jack’s not doing too badly for someone’s who’s soulless...oops wait. No this is not good.

Look I get the way Jack killed Nick is not good and soulless Jack is really dangerous and that was a horrible way to kill someone which Jack didn’t have to do, he could have done it mercifully and didn’t. Of course Mary is horrified witnessing that, and I would be too, but otoh thank you, Jack for dispensing with Nick who is not just murderous. Murderous can be interesting, there are lots of interesting villains out there. But he is just so boring. The drama of Mary’s distress at what Jack did is undercut a bit here because I’m not sorry someone kills Nick. I rarely ever root for any character to die, even ones I dislike (just write them off maybe) but I’m making an exception.

Really Jack’s doing me some solids in this ep.

And then a bad. 

Okay, bad Jack. No, Jack, don’t hurt Mary. Which, I been knew, something bad would happen to Mary, telegraphed all ep, and there it is, after all that closure. It’s left ambiguous exactly what happened though. Is she dead? Is she banished to another AU world? Turned into a woodland creature? Was it even Jack who did it? We don’t know what exactly happened yet. 

[shinydotts]

Cloak and Dagger Season Finale

It’s the end of Season 1!!! I have so many feelings and most of them good.

I love this show. One of the few shows in the teen drama category that doesn’t make me want to pull my hair out.

But I really needed another 30 minutes attached onto this episode because they packed so much and I needed more time with all of it (I loved so much of it).

Anyway onto the good, bad, and that beautiful partnership that I’m all about. (Spoilers aplenty and super long)

I’m going to say it again. I need another 30 minutes. Give me an extended edition of this finale and I will buy the whole season 1.

The flashbacks to the previous divine pairings had me question what I was watching a few times, but I hope this is all part of Evita’s progression into a diviner/seer/psychic or whatever her aunt is. And helping out the two more and more.

As for the music in this episode. Um. Alright. Happy beach hopeful montage music. It felt pretty out of place considering all of the wave music we’ve been getting. Ease us into it at least?

Tandy came back. Our girl bounced back and that’s all we needed. I’m very surprised that she didn’t just throw her dagger at the assassin tho. I might not like the priest character so much, but his little speech about the hero’s journey is so important for her and she came through.

Mina. Oh girl. You deserved more screen time and more love. Tandy came back for Mina with convenient timing only achieved by teen dramas and Science Girl friendship is back and running. Their friendship is so nice and I’m glad Mina forgave Tandy so easily. The chemistry is so good here and now all I want is a road trip with all the girls in this show.

I hope Ivan Hess is ok. No more nice people deaths. Please.

Fucking called that someone was going to end up comatose. Not the right person, but Scarborough got what he deserved. Tandy being the grim reaper of hope the right way is all I wanted. Torture would have been nice. Mina with the punch! Should have added a kick in the stomach imo. 

O’Fucking Reilly. Came to this game to win. Her friendship with Ty gives me so much hope. She broke her thumb to get out of the cuffs. So good. I wish we could have had at least a scene of how her and that random white cop got out of the police station.

That random white cop??? Ok. Um… hope you’re okay? Don’t really care, but yay people can be good if they stop being afraid. His name is… possibly Lafayette? Eh. Be alive. You helped our boy.

That last scene tho. Yes. I got my wish. She got powers and I got a walk? It’s not a scorned woman walk, more swamp monster, but it’s a walk. 

Mayhem is here. That is all.

Ok. Ok. I have two fav scenes and they’re both with Ty.

Ty’s scene with his father was so good. The father’s actor did so well. This is the only part I cried. This is a father giving up his son to the world and telling him to survive. The dad is so scared and every time he saying “Don’t-” you can tell how much he’s hurting. Up to the end, he’s still trying to help his son until the very end, going to walk him out the door, and Ty just leaves probably knowing that he can’t risk his father or the Red Hawks getting in trouble. 

Also his mom, hearing the noise upstairs and knowing her son is in his room and ALIVE, is the best. She’s so worried if her son is still in breathing and she gets her answer. He’s alive, moving, and breathing and that is all she could ask for. I’m going to cry in my corner. Come join.

Now Conners and Ty. I was practically a react video on that shit. We got to see Ty’s powers evolve and ohhhh boy did it. The predator of fear is starving and he got fed. These new powers open up so much for the story, character development, and overall world-building and the potential of all this has me so giddy. I was hoping for O’Reilly to throw him off the roof, but this is x100 more satisfying. I honestly needed a moment or three (and still do). This. Ah. Yes.

Alright onto our diving pairing together. I’ll be fair. I’m so happy their partnership is turning into a real friendship.

She approves of his relationship with Evita and at this point, their relationship is so good at platonic. Romantic stuff can possibly come later and it will so satisfying with all this development and future development as they still haven’t had enough time with each other, but even if it doesn’t go romantic, the platonic is so good. 

Tandy did it. She gave him his REAL cloak. And her reasoning for why she didn’t tell him about it is so heart breaking and heart warming at the same time.

“A cape’s just an add-on to a shirt, but a cloak… it hugs you.”

At the time I was so confused and now it finally makes sense, this quote isn’t meant for Ty. It was never meant for him. It confused me so much since he isn’t a protector and his anger can’t just leave with a hug, but I’m glad Tandy said it out loud to him that she’s vulnerable and needed a constant hug and now that he’s vulnerable, she’s returning it.

Ty is all alone with O’Reilly being left behind and his parents telling him to leave for safety, and Tandy has her mom and Mina now. She knows he needs it more than her because when she was alone, she felt useless and she doesn’t want him to feel the same way at all. I love them so much.

That realization Ty had was so sudden and his sudden push to be a hero. So quick that it hit him that his powers bring him to where he has to be. That scene with him saving Tandy from having to hurt Mina with her daggers was great. (I don’t think Tandy would have been the same if she failed in saving Mina). And her hiding genuine thanks with sarcasm was so cute.

This is such a big improvement for Tandy. When Evita told them that one of them has to die and Ty said that he had to be the one in the end, she didn’t give up. She didn’t run away. She ran forward to him to help him to save people. She wasn’t going to let him give up his life alone just because of fate or destiny. She wasn’t going to give up on him.

Ty has the power to run away. Tandy has the power to run forward.

When Tandy told her mom, “Why not, me.” It is such a big jump for her and she settling into the idea that she can save people and use her powers for good. And with Ty, her “fuck you” was basically her version of “Why not, me too”.

They touched and that scene was filled with trust and hope. And a bad green screen. 

The smiles on their faces were the best thing in that scene. Those were the smiles that only kids should have and the smiles they should have had when they were kids. It was so pure and soft and bright. It’s such a wholesome shot.

I love this finale and I’m so excited Season 2 for these two to find themselves within each other and the amazing side characters. Can’t wait to come back to this in Spring 2019.

[taaroko]

Post-IW MCU Rewatch: Black Panther

Time for an Afrofuturistic paradise!

Ohhhh, the meteor hit before humans came along. That makes so much more sense. Here I was misremembering that it landed in the backyards of these five tribes, and I was really confused that a meteor with a seemingly infinite supply of vibranium didn’t destroy everything for hundreds of miles. This makes much more sense.

The black sand hologram things are so much cooler than regular floating image holograms.

Hahahaha, okay, T’Challa freezing is adorable.

There are some great sibling and mom moments in this movie. Ramonda only had to see T’Challa’s face to know Shuri was flipping him off behind her back. Bahaha.

They did an amazing job on Wakanda. It’s Incredible to look at. From the city to the landscapes to the waterfall to the traditions of the different tribes. This whole movie has such an incredible atmosphere to it. This is the level of personality and culture I wish they’d given Asgard.

So I’ve seen critiques that question the wisdom of having a ritual combat to determine rule in such an advanced country. I think those critiques are missing the point. Wakanda’s flaw, aside from having a policy of isolationism at all costs, is clinging too hard to ceremony and tradition. It’s probably been many generations since they actually viewed the ritual combat as more than a token of respect to past tradition, but they didn’t actually delegitimize it in law, which is how Killmonger is able to take advantage of the situation.

The ancestral plane is beautiful.

“It’s hard for a good man to be king.” I desperately need Thor and T’Challa to interact. Have drinks and talk about the struggles of being king and having fathers who hid horrible truths.

So will T’Challa marry Nakia now that he’s come to agree with her politics?

Wakabi is kind of unreasonable. To turn on T’Challa for failing to bring Klaue back on his first attempt? Come on. T’Chaka failed to retrieve him for three decades, and you expect T’Challa to do it in one day? You are a bad friend.

Please let Peter and Shuri interact! They both love memes and “old” movies!

The whole suit fitting into the necklace strains credulity a bit. As does Tony’s bleeding edge armor. But I guess conservation of mass went out the window when Steve easy-baked from a sickly 90-pound kid to a 240-pound muscle-bound hunk, so it’s a bit late to start complaining.

*innocently* “For research purposes.”

Tolkien white guys!

Heck yes Okoye fight scene! Check out this gorgeous one-er!

Ohhhh it’s a vibranium car. So it breaks apart differently than a normal car would. I can accept the way Okoye and Nakia survive that crash better now. That was an important detail.

I, having two brothers, have never called either of them “Brother” to their faces in my life, nor have I ever heard anyone do this in real life, and yet I love when siblings do this in fiction. Brodinsons and royal house of Wakanda, please never change.

Klaue is so obnoxious.

Oh wow, I never noticed that they stuck those comms devices behind their ears.

Killmonger’s armor with the chestplate thing looks like some of the armor in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Awesome.

I keep imagining an AU in which Asgard and Wakanda do regular trade and have embassies. Wakanda has vibranium and millennia of experience working with it, Asgard has magic and other types of advancements. It’d be an amazing alliance, and they could’ve had it for centuries without telling anyone else on Earth.

Seriously Wakabi, you’re being a jerk.

So basically, Killmonger is Hamlet. More on that later, but he just killed Ophelia. Also, the reveal that he’s the main villain, not Klaue, is the midpoint/turning point of this movie. It’s getting to the point where I don’t have to check the progress to recognize these moments. The MCU gets criticism for being formulaic, but if the formula is simply following the 3-act structure, it still leaves plenty of room for variety, so I fail to see the problem.

N’Jobu is a scary extremist. Nakia is the one with the right philosophy. But T’Chaka did not need to use lethal force. He had super strength and a vibranium suit. He could’ve subdued his brother and brought him in. Instead, he killed him and left his nephew to find the body. T’Chaka is a lot like Odin. I do think both became better men than they were in the early days of thei rrule, but they did nothing to correct some of their biggest mistakes. Instead, they buried them. How exactly did they expect their sons to do better jobs ruling without all the facts?

I really like that Killmonger and T’Challa both held their father’s bodies the same way and cried over them. Super important parallelism.

Hmm, vibranium is vulnerable to sonic weaponry. That’s really good to know. This stuff is a bit too versatile and powerful; it needs a weakness.

It’s super weird that Killmonger’s (American) name is Eric Stephens. There was an Eric Stephens in my grad program, and he sat in the cubicle next to me. 

There’s some interesting stuff about group identity in this movie. Tribe identity (the five tribes in Wakanda), national identity, racial identity, and humanity at large. Nakia wants to help humanity at large. The Jabari are the most tribal. The other four tribes are about their identity as Wakandans over their tribes. N’Jakada, who grew up in the US, surrounded by gang violence and police brutality, with a father who wanted to militarize the entire African Diaspora and was killed for that, effectively making him a martyr and proving him right in the eyes of his son, is about racial identity to a fascist degree. N’Jakada has legitimate concerns, and his backstory is tragic and unjust, but his solutions are evil. Getting what he wants (assuming enough people outside Wakanda, where loyalty to the throne is somewhat mandated, would even go along with his world conquest plan) would come at the expense of the soul of the people he claims he’s fighting for.

The upside-down shot of N’Jakada taking the throne is chilling and excellent.

Conquerors or conquered are not the only two options here, Wakabi. But that attitude is self-fulfilling prophecy.

M’Baku is awesome.

T’Challa’s second trip to the ancestral plane is when he really figures out what his priorities are and what he’s fighting for. He realizes what he wants Wakanda to be under his rule. He’s been fairly passive and lacking in his own ideology up until now. Now his heart is really in it. He’s become the Black Panther and a king, so now he just has to fight to reclaim those actual titles from a mad warlord.

“All that challenge shit is over. I’m the king now.” Yeah, N’Jakada has no respect for their traditions, he only exploited them.

“Your heart is so full of hatred! You are not fit to be a king!” Yesss! Choose what Wakanda stands for, don’t just hand your loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it. It’s pretty notable, though, that Okoye only withdraws loyalty to N’Jakada when she sees that T’Challa is alive. Because the challenge is ongoing, she is free to choose the king she wants. She never broke her oath.

Heck yeah, warrior princess!

Oh hey, her gauntlets totally do the same thing to N’Jakada’s suit that the rails on the trains do.

Aaaah the truth comes out. “You want to see us become just like the people you hate so much. You will destroy the world, Wakanda included.” “The world took everything away from me! I’m gonna make sure we’re even!” N’Jakada pretty much just admitted he’s the villain.

And the Jabari claim their identity as Wakandans. Woohoo!

Hehe, the rhino loves his mama.

The civil war in Wakanda is what the Asgard storyline in Ragnarok was missing. Hela just slaughtering everyone and generally being ludicrously OP is not interesting, but if a significant portion of the people had sided with her and there was a battle for the soul of Asgard? That would’ve been amazing, and I wouldn’t have just been impatient to get back to trash planet shenanigans.

It’s a shame N’Jakada dies. He’s a Loki caliber villain, and they could’ve given him a redemption arc or something.

Okay, weirdly, one of the details I like the most about the capital of Wakanda is that the ground doesn’t appear to be paved anywhere.

So if Bucky is White Wolf, does that mean he’s going to be in future Black Panther movies? Yes please?

Black Panther is very good, but I don’t think it makes it into my top five MCU movies. T’Challa needs more development. He’s too passive for too much of the movie. Shuri and Okoye are much more interesting characters and have much more personality than him, and the same goes for M’Baku and N’Jakada. Hopefully they’ll do more with T’Challa in future installments. A big part of what makes the Marvel movies so great in general is their compelling leads, but this movie didn’t make me as invested in T’Challa as a person as it made me invested in his country and the people around him. I want to be as invested in T’Challa as I am in characters like Thor, Peter Parker, Tony, Steve, the Guardians, Scott, and Stephen, characters like Frank, Matt, Luke, and Jessica. I think what would have gone a long way towards solving this problem would have been if he’d actually been a staunch defender of the traditional isolationist view, only to learn over the course of the movie that Nakia is right. Isolationism breeds xenophobia and over-inflates national pride, creating people like N’Jakada. Much better to embrace other countries and cultures and help each other grow. As it is, it seems like T’Challa goes along with the isolationist thing because that’s how they’ve always done it, but he doesn’t seem remotely passionate about it, and that’s to the detriment of his character.

Now, the Hamlet thing. It occurred to me the first time I saw this in theaters that N’Jakada is essentially Hamlet. His father was killed by his uncle, who is on the throne, and his quest for vengeance gets everyone around him including his lover and friends killed, and ultimately he dies too. Then a benevolent king takes the throne, having learned from this conflict.

[hell-heron]

I finally watched the italian 2013 Romeo and Juliet miniseries with Alessandra Mastronardi and honestly I hate everything about it but specifically:

- i LOVE Alessandra and she was my childhood but she’s too old for this. Romeo also is too old for this - they went for a more mature angle and I hate it. And Elena Sofia Ricci is too young to be the Nurse (but very done and funny, also she and Alessandra played mother and daughter in the past so they have a chemistry that makes me cry) Also why is it set in the snowy mountains somewhere in Trentino, what’s this, and mostly, if we’re so keen on changing setting and stuff, why did no one in this wretched boot made it in a 19th century setting with pro unity folks VS austrian loyalists

- There’s also Ken Duken (Anatole in War and peace 2007) as Mercutio, it’s not a criticism because he’s lovely and good at it and an adorable little shit. But it severely weirds me out. Also HE is the sensible one and Romeo the one who has the idea of sneaking to the ball???

- Apparently Juliet has an older sister, Ursula who is betrothed with Paris and hella jealous and catty that Paris loves Juliet instead (?) so she told tales on her and Romeo. Romeo has a younger brother, Antonio, instead of Benvolio (insert appropriate wailing for this tragic loss) who is a violent little shit

- I liked that Juliet’s first line was “I’m stronger than you think”. I liked less that the first scene is literally ROMEO&CO SETTING THE CAPULET’S CARRIAGE ON FIRE wtf and Romeo saves her from rape like in the worst trash action movies. He also kills a man immediately which imho ruins all the impact of him killing Tybalt but okay I guess we all hate innocence and men showing emotion here. Apparently Romeo used to believe in Revenge but Juliet changed him? Ugh

- They made Tybalt in love with Juliet AND southern (or at least it seems to me it’s implied by some lines, I don’t know if the actor is southern too) Such an hot take! What a fresh and interesting casting for the literal embodiement of jealousy and murder!! Really the proper message in a story which is supposed to be against prejudice and domestic conflict! (he was a pretty and badass guy though, so it’s forgiven).

- There’s a dynamic that Lord Capulet promised him he’d marry Juliet, but actually he has no intention whatsoever to give her to him and just uses it as an excuse to criticize him and say he’s not worthy, also the family fortune is in shambles and there’s a more wealthy suitor and the family’s wellbeing is more important than Tybalt’s even thought he always sacrificed himself for the family - man this is even more Nikolai\Sonya than it usually is. Marriage shit otherwise, they could be a very sweet brotp and she calls him “like a brother to me” a lot, so fuck you for ruining this with this romantic nonsense I guess.

- Lady Capulet is so shrewd and political and dominates her husband and I love her, she’s my only joy here. That and the Capulets having cats swarming everywhere.

- Oh and one part I like is when they do some adorable love\hate roleplay and make under a stage where a bad Midsummer production is taking place

- OHHHH WAIT Mercutio turned out to be on the verge to poison himself for his long lost love which WHAT that really did came out of nowhere. If they had any chemistry here, I might choose to think it’s about Tybalt but it’s not worth it with what little they interact. Oh I might think it’s an hypotetical dead Benvolio, but it seems this person dumped him rather than dying, and I don’t see Benvolio dumping him

- Now Tybalt, who apparently thinks he is in Assassin’s creed, is climbing over the Montague castle walls and setting fire to the barn. Classic. Oh and Romeo saved Juliet from rape AGAIN

- Oh the wedding happened - not much to say about it. Now Tybalt and Juliet are making out. Well he’s kissing her, she isn’t enthusiastic. Sweet. Also  “I can’t compete with powerful Paris or handsome Romeo. Come on, say it, I’m just the orphan cousin” MAN. I’m marginally happy, tho, because if he’s an orphan he’s not the son of the uncle from the South, so my suspicion there was the usual prejudice about Southern people and violent jealousy here was off

- “We’ll make up new words to say what words can’t say.” “For example?” “I love you, Juliet Capulet” I’m pretty sure these words already exist. 

- Oh Ursula wants to run away, I wish I had some sympathy for her but she’s been a bitch this whole time. Ohh Juliet told her “Can’t you understand neither of us has a choice” poor girl. ...but why is literally no one in this family doing anything about their daughter running away from home in plain sight except Lady Capulet looking a bit upset? This is fully preventable??

- Mercutio is drunk and having knives trown at him on a bet. Also, he’s said to be metaphorically in love with death instead of life, which is beyond bad but he’s still the best character here. Also confirmation that what happened to him is that the woman he loved married someone else. I didn’t need this. OHHHH Romeo took his potion vial an helpful tool that will be useful later...

- Apparently the Bad Thing  happens on Christmas day, literally an hour before Romeo and Juliet were supposed to announce their wedding and fix everything :( oh and we got literally 5 seconds of Mercutio and Juliet bonding at mass, I liked that

- Ken Duken Is Deeply Stressed By His Man Crush’s Dueling Endeavors, A Rai Production

- “I played with death, now death plays me” oh Mercutio this made me sad :( they did the unintentional stabbing but it’s a bit weirdly since Tybalt seemed pretty serious about dueling with Mercutio, not like in 1968 where they looked like 13 year olds playing at pro wrestlers. But Lord Capulet didn’t believe him and beat the shit out of him and said he “won’t cover for him this time” which is fucking rich since it’s said all Tybalt did until now it was because his uncle ordered him and just now he gets mad becaus it makes the family look bad. OH HE KICKED HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE TOO WHAT THE HELL. Literally compelled 3 children out of 3 to quit the family, what the fuck’s wrong with this guy

- Yeah, they didn’t make Romeo kill Tybalt immediately but rather go look for him at his own house, which... looks bad, since it’s more sympatethic if it’s a moment of madness, he really isn’t a premeditated vengeance guy. To make up for it, now his entire family is bullying him into Revenge and calling him a coward. Can I file for adoption of all this guys much older than me?

- AAAAAGH now Juliet is begging Romeo not to kill Tybalt and he gave her back the wedding ring and said her love made him weak and I suddenly hate this again why why why. And she was already sad for Mercutio who she knew five minutes, now she’s getting much worse, she deserves better than this. Oh, Tybalt is fighting with a longsword in each hand because why fucking not, and it was decided Juliet has to witness the fight because WHY FUCKING NOT. And we’re giving the violent Montague baby brother Benvolio’s role because WHY FUCKING NOT. 

- Romeo improved a bit in the post duel part, at least he seems a bit more vulnerable. He snapped at his mom and gave up his family name but that’s understandable since, again, it’s them who pushed him to kill. I may be relating to him a little because I, too, never made any fucking decision on my own and then bitch when it turns out bad

- Paris is a fucking sleezeball iwth no respect for people’s mourning, the Capulets can’t stop scheming even at the funeral and apparently beat the shit out of 2\3 of their children, and Juliet fucking forgave the guy already? The only good people left here are Friar Lawrence and the nurse. I felt really bad because she got bullied by Lady Capulet so much, and he calls Romeo out on his bullshit so well

- Okay, I warmed up to Romeo and Juliet again when they started fantastizing about four children and family Christmas dinners where everyone argues

- Ok the whole ending was actually pretty good and sad, especially all the family arguments. Alessandra was really good here. Also there was Ursula calling out Paris at Juliet’s funeral and I live for that

- OH AND THEY DID THE THING WHERE JULIET WAKES UP WHILE ROMEO DIES BECAUSE WE HATE JOY IN THIS COUNTRY and this lasts so long they have time to have a conversation and talk about peace and children and marble castles again and this took a bad turn