black-frozen-fox

[okayigetitifuckedup]

I would sell my soul to watch Don Bluth’s 1997 Anastasia for the first time again. What a fucking movie man. Best movie in the world. I am captivated every single time.

[koris-crumbs]

gimme td character headcanons. literally any.

RAHHH okay anything for you pookie. These are mainly for my favorite four but i probably have some more somewhere in this brain of mine

Heather:

Fem lesbian obvious

Her and Noah are best friends bc they both clocked each other IMMEDIATELY when total drama island first happened

By best friends I mean both of them only admit it internally and never to each other

Shitty, homophobic parents meant she ran away/got kicked out 😋

MAJOR mommy issues. her dad just was kinda there and didn’t do anything

despises her siblings but LOVES noah and his own family

Ended up moving in with Noah trust she’s basically his sister

LOVES babies despite what people may think

Immediately falls asleep after eating (yeah she’s one of those people)

Pretends she only eats gourmet food when in reality her fave is honestly just a good, greasy burger from some shitty diner Noah took her too

Since she got cut off she makes Noah, and eventually Alejandro and Court buy everything for her 😍

LOVES her weird off brand total dramaverse jigsaw movies but that’s about the only type of scary movie she’ll watch bc it has no jumpscares it’s just gore basically.

HATES HATES HATES JUMPSCARES she’ll scream

thinks noah’s crush on alejandro is genuinely the funniest thing in the world she never lets him live it down

was stunned into silence one time bc noah flashed a photo of her bald on facetime one night

Immediately clocked Alejandro as being a closet bisexual she genuinely probably knew he was a boy kisser before he did

Courtney followed her private account after the events of World Tour transpired and heather screamed when she got the notification

has a key to Noah’s house bc she lives there (this will come back later trust)

passenger princess every time

Noah:

Gay gay homosexual gay

after World Tour and swearing off of reality shows (for now) he gets a job as a barista at some shitty cafe near his house

he gives Heather free coffee bc girl can’t live without it

drove like four hours to pick heather up after she got kicked out

is the designated driver of the group

also usually pays for everything despite being friends with mainly rich (or previously rich in heathers case) kids

knew he had a crush on alejandro from the start and just kinda let it simmer bc he figured nothing would ever come out of it

he has a mom car. a beat up subaru. he is truly the mom friend fr

carries that photo of bald heather around as a way to get her to shut up if she says anything too mean (usually to owen or izzy)

had to be the one to ask alejandro out and literally rehearsed it for hours

is a surprisingly good cook despite being the youngest of nine children. him and owen cook together all the time as a sort of bonding thing

hes a mommas boy trust. both of his parents are great though

never really went all out for halloween until he was roped into a group costume with owen and team e-scope one year. after world tour alejandro convinced him to do couples costumes with him

the most ATROCIOUS fashion sense known to man

Alejandro:

the definition of bisexual

he has the absolute shittiest gaydar in the world though. I know it

didn’t even know he himself was bi until world tour

ALSO meant he couldn’t tell noah was gay (stupid) and it devastated him on that plane even though he had no idea why yet

THIS BOY HAS JEALOUSYYYYY PROBLEMSSSS

being the youngest and always second best to josé definitely contributed to that

the daddy issues to match heathers mommy issues

always wanted a sister

after courtney and him make up after the events of world tour he basically gets her as one

they shit talk people in spanish together trust

has one sided beef with one of noah’s coworkers bc they have a crush on noah

him and heather stayed close after world tour but he did NOT know she lived with noah. he didn’t even know they were friends.

was always confused on why heather made him drop her off like a block from where she said she lived

was scandalized when he found out heather did in fact not strictly eat gourmet food

hates Owen with a seething passion. this one isn’t even a hc honestly. the hatred after world tour mainly stems from jealousy bc owens so close with noah

“why is he here??” “he’s my best friend, alejandro” “i thought I was your best friend ☹️”

yeah he sticks to that “best friend” story a lot.

noah only starts getting suspicious when alejandro says it’s okay for best friends to kiss just for funsies

him, heather, and courtney have to take noah shopping bc of how atrocious noah’s taste is

doesn’t watch movies in general but he loathes horror movies with a passion bc he’s just like heather and hates jumpscares

noah and court put a horror movie on during movie night one time and alejandro literally almost cut off noah’s circulation from how hard he was gripping

for their first halloween as a couple he made noah dress up as a vampire while he was a werewolf (a better love story than twilight 🤯)

does not. know what to do around babies and toddlers. they make him uncomfortable tbh. what if one crawls over to him? he will kindly pass on that, thank you

one time one of noah’s little cousins waddled up to him and he went 😟 bc he thought noah was testing how good he was with kids

has a key to noah’s house bc he’s down bad and already spends 90% of his time there anyway

neither his nor heathers keys were given to them by noah himself

noah’s momma strikes again

whenever he sits behind her he kicks heathers seat in the subaru

Courtney:

lesbian in denial for a while (lmaoooo i’m dr seuss)

honestly wasn’t even that sad about duncan tbh she was DEVASTATED about gwen though

musical theater kid. probably music kid in general.

despite popular belief i actually imagine her parents being very proud and genuinely good parents. they adore their baby girl

definitely has a big photo of her as a baby hung up in like the main area in her huge house

after heather comforted her she honestly regretted not getting her contact info so she had to resort to finding her on instagram after like a month of searching

her and alejandro had kept in touch so she was surprised when she found out he was best friends with heather and noah as well

100% said the infamous heartbreaking quote to heather during world tour at some point

“why not?” “i wish you were a boy” (sorry)

is a beast and super fan for horror movies and noah’s the first friend she actually gets to enjoy them with bc he doesn’t get scared (unlike a specific two people)

ALWAYS dresses up as a princess or fairy or smth for halloween every year without a doubt. heather nearly had an aneurysm the first halloween they spent together

is scary when she drives solely bc of her road rage which is why noah’s the designated driver not her (heather and alejandro don’t know how to lmaooo losers)

that’s it for them for the moment. maybe i’ll do more for other characters if i think of anything ^^

[anyoneseenadam]

Home: Chapter eight

azriel x reader (acotar)

summary: (y/n) is a daughter of Persephone, still recovering from the trauma of her fall into Tartarus and doesn’t have time for a stupid, handsome, annoying, stunning, injured man. But now they’re stuck together in the middle of nowhere and there only chance of getting home is if she can heal him, and fast.

warnings: big spoilers for mark of Athena and house of Hades, also for the acotar series, eventual smut, blood, PTSD, graphic descriptions of violence, injuries and torture, enemies to lovers so az is a bit of a dick to start, swearing

word count: 1.6k 

a/n: ahhh this is the last part and I’m kinda sad but at the same time I don’t want to drag it out, I also have a new idea for a dorian x reader so it’s a good thing to finsih one but am still sad. I hope you enjoy I made it extra fluffy (also had a cheeky wee hint back to the first part)

--------------------------------------------

You were sat in front of a large mirror, taking in your appearance as you listened to the noise downstairs, the hustle and sounds of people speaking as they rushed about in preparation a sharp contrast to the silence of your and Azriel’s shared room. The girl looking back at you in the mirror was beautiful. Her hair was pinned up, revealing a long neck adorned with a simple necklace your lover had gifted you. Your skin was clear as well, any blemishes you had, any scarring from acne you had picked at, was gone, replaced by dewy, glowing skin. In fact everything about you seemed to glow, your hair was shinier, your skin had a new ethereal sense about it, and you looked more like your mother than you ever had before.

You heard a clatter of plates downstairs and bit your lip with a slight smile, running your hands over you dress. It was baby pink, as you had commented that white may be a little on the nose, with a deep V-neck and white and pink flowers trailing down the heavy skirt, you had picked it out with the help of Feyre and Mor who had dragged you out shopping, giggling when you had stared in shock at the sheer number of dresses you only believed existed on Pinterest. You reached over the vanity and picked up the delicate gold dangling earrings that you had ‘bought’ (Azriel had technically bought them but you certainly paid him back) and put them on, gazing wistfully at your now pointed ears.

So much had changed so quickly. Azriel’s family were extremely welcoming, instantly treating you like they had known you forever. You became incredibly close with Cassian and Nesta, much to Azriel’s amusement, as you bonded over books with Nesta and a general love of Azriel with Cassian. Nesta was officially sold on you when she finished ‘Call Me by Your Name’ the day you gave it to her, the two of you discussing it all night as you made promises to find a way to show her the movie. Rhysand and Mor treated you like a sister, the three of you soon teasing each other, Amren genuinely laughing when you let loose your more creative insults. The only one who seemed reserved at first was Elain, but soon the two of you were spending hours in the garden as you taught her about the different needs that different plants had and how to grow them most effectively.

Azriel had never been more in love. He already knew you were mates but now that it was official, and possible, he felt like he was on cloud nine. He was in love with how quickly you feel asleep in his arms. The way you lit up when talking about your passions, hands moving widely. He was in love with the way your eyes sparkled constantly now, only rarely being overcome with shadows, ones that he had learned to help dispel, you were laughing more and had even started showing your back again. When you went to the House of Wind to train with Cassian and Azriel one summer afternoon you had removed your top, leaving you in a simple sports bra, not missing the mix of pride and desire in Azriel’s eyes as you continued your exercises.

“Can I ask what happened?” Nesta had asked late that day, Feyre looking up from her book, Nyx cradled in one arm. You had explained, and after, when you expected to be pushed away, Feyre had simply passed Nyx to Nesta and wrapped her arms around you, holding you for a long while, even when the Illyrians entered the room. When she pulled away you noticed the tears in her eyes and offered her a small smile, as she whispered to you.

“You’re with your family now, nothing like that will ever happen again.” And then you were crying too.

Now you were sat in your low-back dress with your hair up, scars on display for anyone to see. You had been woken at nine am by an excited chorus of fae women and all but shoved into a bath, your hair washed, and skin scrubbed until you felt new-born. You had been brought a strong, dark coffee and some honeyed toast as you sat soaking in the bath, your friends moving about outside tidying your room and fishing out everything you needed, before you were pulled from the bath and forced to dry. When you had walked back into the room, you found Mor wiggling her eyebrows as she passed you a bag which, on further inspection, you found contained an intricate set of baby blue lingerie making you laugh loudly as you thumbed the material. They had then crowded you, Nesta drying and styling your hair as Feyre did your face, treating it alike one of her beautiful paintings, Elain painting and filing your nails as Amren and Mor sat sipping on champagne, both donned in beautiful, dark silk dresses, as they discussed the day ahead. You felt alike a princess when they were done and had commented as much, gaining you a glass of champagne and a comment on how you looked like one too. However they soon left, claiming there was much to sort out downstairs and that they had no faith in the boys to get it sorted.

Now you were sat alone, your gaze had moved to outside your window where light snow had started falling. You stood and moved the open window, perching on the ledge, smiling when a robin landed next to you, flying to rest in your palm, it’s ruby coloured breast not making you flinch. You still had nightmares as you were still part god and probably always would have the dreams you had grown used to; however you were making progress.

“If you’re planning on running away that ledge is too high,” You smiled as you heard his voice, turning to see your beautiful mate smiling at you.

“Maybe Cassian can come and fly me out,” you challenged,

“Ha, ha.” He deadpanned and you giggled, standing to wrap yourself in his arms,

“In my world it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the service,” you whispered into his chest,

“This technically isn’t a wedding,”

“That’s a fair point,” you muttered, and he smiled down at you,

“It would be a shame to deprive me of this sight, you look beautiful princess,” he spun you out of his arms and you giggled, making his heart swell with love.

“It would, wouldn’t it?”

“C’mon, we should go soon, Cassian’s already crying,” you laughed and grabbed his hand as he pulled you along and down the stairs. You gasped when you reached the bottom, there were flowers everywhere, the whole room transformed into a fairy wonderland that made you feel giddy. You smiled when you saw that Cassian was in fact, already tearing up as he stood to greet you, complementing you and thanking you for making his brother so happy, you had laughed and shoved him away in your emotional state, not wanting to cry so early, as you moved to the sink in the room that was spraying a fine mist of water, creating a rainbow.

“Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show me Nico Di Angelo, Camp half blood.” You threw in a golden drachma, the image wavered before revealing your friends and family on the other side, waving, and sending greetings. The inner circle came over and you all conversed for a while before Azriel was rather impatiently tugging on your hand and you moved onto the ceremony, with just your found families present. Having been raised mortal you insisted on exchanging rings, and Azriel was completely happy to oblige, obsessed with the feeling of pushing the ring onto your finger and kissing you, having someone that was wholly his, and who he was completely devoted to.

The rest of the day was spent curled under Azriel’s arm, sipping cocktails, and laughing as you were told all the most embarrassing things the inner circle could dig up. You ate delicious food and laughed with your friends, you heart aching at how naturally this happiness came to you now as you gazed at the man you loved.

You stood outside, breathing in the fresh air, and enjoying the slight chill that came through the thin shawl you had wrapped around you shoulders. Soon you felt a familiar hand press into your hip, pulling you into his side tightly. You looked up at him, still in wonder of how you landed such a beautiful man.

He caught your gaze, brushing a snowflake of your cheek and grabbing your hand, pressing a light kiss into the palm. “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, gaze so full of love that tears welled up in your eyes.

“I’m just so glad you got stabbed,” you muttered, and he laughed before you continued, “I’m serious, I don’t know where I’d be if we hadn’t met, but you are everything to me and I’m so glad we pushed through, I’m so glad we fought to be together.”

“I love you.” He whispered into your hair as he pulled you in tightly, his scarred hands moving over your scarred back as you sighed, content.

“I love you.” You replied, pulling away and watching as a red admiral butterfly landed on a nearby poppy.

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Maze Trials: A Gally Fanfiction

Pairing: Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, first girl the Glade has seen. Tougher than she looks and more than ready to prove it. Since day one her and Gally have been at each other's throats. Fighting constantly and not just with their words.

(Gally fanfiction which will include smut. It also has an actual story line. Think of it as an AU to the original Maze Runner. It'll mostly follow the main story line with some changes. Mostly focusing on Emi and Gally and their relationship.)

Chapter Three

"Light it up!" Alby shouted to a few other boys.

All of them tossed their burning sticks on to the bonfire. It instantly erupted into flames. It was a pretty cool thing to witness. Everyone shouted and cheered. I walked with Newt. He wanted to introduce me to a few people.

"This is Clint and that's Jeff. They're the Med-Jacks." Newt pointed to two boys chatting.

Both Clint and Jeff smiled and waved at me. I returned the greeting.

"They spend most of their time bandaging up the slicers." Newt chuckled.

We walked a few more feet to a small group of boys standing and sitting around one of the logs. 

"Over here is the slicers. Winston is the keeper of the slicers." Newt pointed at one of the boys in the group.

Winston smiled and nodded towards me. I noticed the quick once over he gave me before turning back to the other boys around him.

"The builders are over there." He pointed to a small group of tougher looking boys.

"You already met Gally. He's the keeper of the builders." Newt pointed at the angry boy.

Gally glanced up like he heard his name. His eyes found mine. His stare lingered for a moment. Nothing in his expression told me what he was thinking.

"Then there's the farmers. I'm one of them but that silent broody guy over there is Zart the keeper of the farmers." He pointed to a boy standing alone watching the others.

He walked around some of the logs closer to the bonfire. There was four boys standing by the fire.

"Those guys are the runners." Newt said a little quieter.

"Minho!" He shouted suddenly.

One of the runners turned quickly. Newt waved him over. He jogged over to us stopping in front of me. Before Newt could say anything else the boy smiled extending his hand to me.

"I'm Minho" He said with his large grin still in place.

He was cute I'll give him that. He had a charming smile. He definitely looked like someone who worked out every day. He had broad shoulders, strong and toned looking biceps, and his pecks popped out just enough for me to tell he was probably well toned under that shirt as well.

"Pleasure to meet you Minho." I smiled batting my eyes at the boy.

He smirked as his eyes drifted down my body slowly then back up to my face. These boys really aren't shy. Minho peered around me for a moment before throwing his arm over my shoulder and turning me back towards the crowd of boys.

"Come on greenie you're gonna want to watch this." He chuckled.

We walked towards one of the logs. Before I got the chance to sit Minho, still with his arm draped over my shoulder, pulled me towards the crowd of boys that were forming a circle. In the center of that circle was the keeper of the builders. Gally stood smiling wickedly pointing at different boys. I had to admit the genuine smile on Gally's face made him look even more attractive.

He turned in the circle until he was facing me. His eyes flicked to Minho and the runner's arm that was draped over me. Something flashed in Gally's eyes before he smirked.

"Minho" Gally said nodding to the boy.

"Really Gally?" Minho chuckled.

Gally lifted his arms as if to say 'bring it on' or 'come and get it'. Were they about to fight? What on earth is going on?

Minho chuckled again.

"Hold this for me beautiful." Minho whispered into my hair as he handed me the cup that was in his other hand.

I smiled and gladly took his cup. He stepped into the center of the circle to face Gally. They walked in a circle facing each other and sizing each other up. Minho darted towards Gally. He looked like he was trying to tackle the builder but Gally easily grabbed him. He picked the runner up and tossed him to the ground on his back. Minho groaned but quickly got back to his feet. Gally stood with a large smile on his face. Minho smirked then ran at the other boy again. This time he ducked away from Gally's large arms. He went for Gally's legs trying to knock them out from under him but Gally was faster. He kicked the boy away earning another groan from Minho. This time they charged each other at the same time. They weren't fighting though. They were... pushing each other. Gally got the upper hand quickly and pushed the runner back and with one big shove Minho went backwards out of the circle.

The crowd of boys cheered and chanted Gally's name. That's it? Just get them out of the circle? That seems easy enough. Gally turned back towards me right before Minho appeared back at me side. He took the drink from my hands with a quick thank you.

"What about you greenie?" Gally asked as he eyed me.

"Gally" Alby said in warning.

"I won't hurt the little princess." He grumbled towards Alby.

He raised his arms towards me just as he had towards Minho. I smiled instantly developing a plan in my head. I was gonna take this big and mean builder down. I stepped into the circle causing Gally to smirk. I could tell he thought he was gonna win this easily.

"Alright greenie, rules are simple, I try to push you out of the circle. You try not to cry like a girl." He emphasized the word girl which only made me chuckle.

I didn't say anything. I didn't have to. I felt like I had been in this situation before. I knew exactly what to do to get him on his ass.

I darted quickly towards the boy but right before I got to him I fell to the ground letting my momentum slide me right between his legs. I jumped to my feet before he had a chance to turn around. I kicked the back of his leg sending him down to his knee. The crowd of boys erupted in surprised cheers. Gally tried to regain his feet but I quickly wrapped my arm around Gally's neck then rolled over the boy's back. He was surprised by the action giving me all I needed. We landed in the dirt with Gally on his back. I was sitting on top him my hands resting on each side of his head. My face only an inch or two from his. He groaned and opened his eyes.

"Not too bad for a girl am I?" I asked smirking at him.

His eyes seemed to light up at my words. His demeanor changed almost instantly.

"You haven't won yet princess." He stated.

Before I could process anything Gally rolled us over and pinned me to the ground. He smiled triumphantly at me. I couldn't help but smirk at the boy. He really thinks he's got me?

"Ow Gally" I pouted feigning pain in my wrists that he was holding.

He let go of them instantly doing exactly what I wanted him to. I grabbed his shirt as I moved one of my legs. I quickly pressed my foot against his stomach and kicked as hard as I could. He flew over my head to land on his back with his head landing next to mine.

"Sucker" I laughed getting back to my feet.

All the boys standing in the circle were cheering. A few were trying to give Gally reassurance. I stood a few steps away giving Gally the time he needed to get back to his feet.

"Ok, you wanna play dirty?" He asked licking his lips and dusting himself off.

I only smiled and tilted my head. I gave him my best innocent look.

"You're gonna eat dirt greenie." He smiled.

He came right at me. I stood there until the last second. I side stepped and spun around to put me behind the builder. I kicked his butt hard sending him straight into the circle of boys and claiming myself as winner. Everyone shouted and cheered. They were all shocked and excited to watch me beat Gally. The builder, with help from a few boys, righted himself then stepped back into the circle.

"Well, that was surprising greenie. A job well done." Gally said extending his hand out to me.

I shook it then tugged his arm causing his body to move right against mine.

"Next time don't assume I can't kick your ass just because I'm a girl." I whispered into his ear.

I walked away without giving Gally a chance to reply. I could tell from a few of the laughs and comments that I left a very stunned Gally standing in the middle of the circle.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Newt cheered grabbing my shoulder.

He pulled me back towards him and Minho. Minho was biting his lip and staring at me in a way I certainly wasn't use to. The runner stepped closer draping his arm back over my shoulders. He pulled my head closer to his.

"Forget bloody brilliant that was shucking hot." He whispered in my ear in a slightly deeper voice than he had before.

I turned my body to face him pressing myself completely against him. He looked surprised for only a second then smirked like he was the king. I grabbed his face and leaned forward. I heard a few 'ohs' and other comments from the boys around us. Just when his lips were about to touch mine I moved to his ear.

"Watch yourself Minho if I can put Gally on his ass then imagine what I can do to you." I whispered huskily in his ear.

"Oh I am" He chuckled nodding as I let go and stepped away from him.

—

[marvelslut16]

The Pirate’s Princess

Pairing: Harry Hook x reader part 2 

Soulmate Au

Synopsis: The people of Auradon all have Soulmates. (Y/N) met her’s months ago on the Isle of the lost while trying to save Ben and bring Mal back. (Y/N) was forced to leave Harry on the Isle. Months have passed and (Y/N)’s soulmate makes a surprise return to her life. 

Word count: 4067 (I genuinely thought it was longer)

Warnings: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN DESCENDANTS 3, I spoil the entire plot of the movie. More swear words than part one. 

Author’s note: It’s like 4 in the morning, so there’s a good chance I have spelling errors. Also I love Ben and Mal, but this story definitely makes it seem like I don’t, whoops. 

Part 1

Ben proposed to Mal. Right in the middle of the school grounds, in front of everyone, he sang a remix of did I mention. The song he created when Mal spelled him almost a year ago. The worst part was that he didn’t tell me, his own sister, that he was doing this. Not to be rude or anything, but she just ran away to the Isle in fear of her future. Now all of a sudden she wants to marry my brother? 

“Congrats sis,” I put on a fake smile as she walks up to me. 

“Thanks!” she pulls me into a tight hug before turning to Evie. “Did you know about this?”

“Of course!” the blue haired girl smiles. Wow, thanks Ben. It seems like everyone knew but his own twin sister, I thought we were close.  

I sigh as I look down at my sad little compass, having no contact with Harry is killing me. What if he got tired of waiting for me and moved on to some Isle girl? What if he really is evil and was just playing with my heart when I met him? Ben’s the king, he could bring Harry over, but he won’t. One of the VK’s could have chosen him to come over, but with their past they definitely would have never picked them. They all know how much I’m hurting, they all know he’s meant for me, and yet none of them seem to care. 

I look over at mom and dad, who are hugging each other and smiling at the golden boy. Their sweet baby with the giant heart that is so easily forgiven. They never once asked me about my soulmate, but they always asked Ben about his when his compass appeared. He was destined to be the king, and I was destined to live in the shadows. At least as much of the shadows as you can when your a princess. Taking a deep breath, I walk away from the group and to the privacy of the ocean. No one bothers me when I sit on the shore, something I’ve been doing every day since we got back, as I stare out at the horrid Isle that holds my soulmate captive.  

Normally wherever Ben goes, I follow, some sort of diplomatic thing. Shows great honor, plus I was always the sibling to remember statistics and contributions made by the Princes and Princesses we were meeting with. Ben was always the charmer. But picking up the new kids from the Isle is where Ben drew the line apparently. I’m not allowed to go with, apparently I’m dangerous now. Ben and I used to be so close, inseparable, now he’s keeping secrets and keeping me away from my soulmate. There’s an ache in my chest, brought on by the separation from Harry, but worsened by my brother’s actions. 

-

Jane isn’t one of my best friends, but we’re still pretty close and have been our whole lives. So of course I was invited to her birthday party, Carlos and I are on cake duty. He and I had agreed to meet at Evie’s cottage/filler castle and head to the party together. I dropped the cake off there last night. 

“Okay, who ate Jane’s cake?” I hear Carlos shout as I enter the cottage.

“What happened?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen. Before he can respond, there’s a green flash and a wicked flash that came from the back patio. “Audrey?” I ask in confusion, I can recognize her laugh anywhere. 

I walk out the door behind Jay, who stops abruptly and I run right into his back. I look over his shoulder and see Mal old and bent over. I gasp and my eyes widen, Audrey did this? How?

“Audrey has my mother’s scepter,” Mal says. “We need to get Hades’s ember, it’s the only thing strong enough to overpower the scepters powers.”

“I’m going with you guys,” I step out from behind Jay. 

“No you aren’t” Mal slowly turns to look at me.

“And who’s going to stop me? You?” I laugh. “I’d love to see you try. I’m just trying to help you guys. Mal, you and Ben are already leaving me out of things ever since we found out Harry is my soulmate. I’m sick of it! It’s frustrating and belittling. I’m going with you, whether you like it or not.”

“There’s strength in numbers,” Evie agrees. 

“You and Ben have been hurting her,” Carlos frowns. 

“It’s kind of obvious,” Jay adds. 

“Whatever,” Mal rolls her eyes. 

“You can ride with me,” Jay smiles before walking back inside. 

-

“This is so cool,” I breathe, as we walk into Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Arcade. Celia gives me a confused look. “We don’t really have arcade’s in Auradon, it’s more about courtly duty.”

As Celia asks her father for the key to Hades’s cave, I wander over to the tv with Carlos. He puts a coin into the top and the news from Auradon starts to play. The reporter is talking about how the sleeping curse is spreading, and that even though it’s rumored to be Audrey, it must be a villain doing it. I frown at his generalization that everyone from the Isle has to be bad. A magic barrier doesn’t magically make people evil or good depending on which side they’re on. We get the key and quickly dash out of the arcade and back to the bikes. Sitting atop the bikes are pirates, Harry’s sitting on Jay’s. I bite my bottom lip as I smile at my pirate. 

“Get off my bike Hook,” Jay frowns. 

“You shouldn’t have had my girl clinging onto you then,” Harry winks at me. My breath catches in my throat as I study is face. His hair is parted slightly different, and the eyeliner is thicker. To top it all off he’s in a new outfit; he has the same ripped white shirt, but he has a new red vest that’s so dark it almost looks black, and he has no pirate hat in sight. He’s even more handsome than I remember. With one last smirk to me, he’s driving off with his buddies. 

Jay and the rest go to follow him to get the bikes back, but Mal stops Celia and me. “You two are coming with me.” I roll my eyes, but obediently follow my future Queen. 

-

“I was a God!” Hades bellows. “I don’t belong here!”  

“If it makes you feel any better, I never thought you should have been imprisoned on the Isle,” I speak up for the first time. “You’re stronger and have more power than and King or Queen could have.”

“I like this one,” Hades smiles at Mal, before turning to me. “I like you.”

“Dad,” Mal huffs. “Enough. We need the ember.” 

I sigh, causing everyone to look at me with raised eyebrows. “The daughter of Maleficent and Hades, two of the most feared individuals, was allowed to come over to Auradon. I just want to brink over Captain Hook’s son, but no.” 

“Now is not the time for that (Y/N),” Mal furrows her brows. 

“Then when is it time?” I laugh humorlessly. “Because you and Ben have been avoiding this discussion at all costs.” 

Mal frowns, but ultimately ignores me, grabbing the ember before heading to leave. I smile at Hades before following her out. 

We meet up with the other’s, and walk out of the barrier. Just as it’s closing two bodies jump through. Two bodies that belong to Harry and Gil. 

“Princess,” Harry smiles at me before picking me up and spinning me around. 

“I missed you,” I whisper, running my pointer finger over his jawline. Gil high fives me after I reluctantly pull away from Harry. 

“Did you miss me?” Uma asks from the water.

“Uma!” Harry, Gil and I cry out at once. Uma caught the Ember that Harry had almost knocked into the water when I was greeting Gil. 

Uma and Mal argue about the Ember, and how it can’t get wet. Uma explains that she’s been trying to find a way for the kids to get off the Isle. Uma eventually turns back into a person and hugs Harry and Gil, before pulling me into a side hug as well. As Mal and Uma continue to argue, I stand between Harry and Uma, lacing the fingers on my left hand with Harry’s right. 

-

We head to my castle to hopefully find Ben, but the only thing we find claw scratches on the wall. As we walk further into the castle, Harry subtly guides me behind him. I smile at his protectiveness, so he didn’t move on with some Isle girl. 

We walk through the castle before eventually going into the hall of knights. Metal knight outfits line the walls. As Uma and Mal bicker for the hundredth time today, Harry and I notice one of the knights moving. This time there’s no subtlety in his actions, he fully pushes me behind him. 

“Guys,” Harry tries to get their attention, which doesn’t work.

“Shut up!” I raise my voice at them for the first time, they all turn to look at me confused. 

“Look at the knight,” Harry points out. Everyone looks at it and Audrey’s voice comes through commanding the armor to fight us. Everyone quickly grabs swords as the knights surround us, I stick with the pirates while the VK’s stick together, in a way it’s showing the separation in the groups, and which one I’m ultimately loyal to.  

“I’ve got a strategy, you take the left,” Mal says to Uma, before whispering to the VK’s. “The rest of you can follow me.”

“Uh-uh,” Uma glares at her. 

“This is my crew,” Mal argues.

“Well this is my squad,” Uma counters. 

“This is my turf,” Mal argues further. 

“Oh my gosh,” Evie complains. “Look guys, we have bigger fish to fry, put your differences aside. Because right now we’re on the same side.”

“You can go back to arguing later, this isn’t a joke,” I complain from Harry’s side. 

The fight rages on and Uma and Mal work together to beat the knights. After they used their combined powers to stun them, Mal uses a spell to get them to copy our moves. Everyone starts dancing around to distract them, while I just stare with a raised eyebrow. The safety of Auradon and its people is in the hands of a group of dancing teenagers?

When the dancing somehow defeats the knights, everyone starts to celebrate, I of course am being hugged by Harry, but Uma and Mal almost high five. That is until they realize what they’re doing, and walk away from each other and stand on opposite sides of the room. 

“We were a team, we worked together.” Evie tries to get the two sides to get along. “Uma? Mal? (Y/N), c’mon.”

“Yeah no,” I grunt along with Uma and Mal. 

“Let’s try a little ice breaker,” Evie gets all excited. I give her props for staying optimistic through all of this. “I’ll start with Harry.”

“Ye really don’t have to,” he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me in tight.  

“I like your accent,” Evie continues anyway. “And you and (Y/N) are really cute together.” Harry just stares at her, as I send her a little smile. 

-

I get sick of their bickering on where to search next, and head out alone to the place I know she would go to. Fairy cottage. After a long walk I finally end up there, and I can hear her throwing things and Chad whimpering. Will she just give into the soulmate bound already? I know she isn’t happy it’s him, but he’s devoted to her, and she could honestly do worse. 

“Audrey?” I shout through the door. “Let me in.”

The door opens to Audrey’s grinning face. “ How cute, you decided to come here and plead for your safety.”

“Hi (Y/N),” Chad dopily smiles at me. 

“Shut it Chad,” Audrey snaps. 

“Actually, I came here to talk,” I frown. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why am I doing this?” she laughs humorlessly as she rolls her eyes. “Because I lost everything! I lost Ben! I lost my spot as Queen! And I lost you! But Mal got everything I lost. If everyone wants a villain, I’ll give them one.”

“Audrey, you never lost me,” my frown deepens. “You have always been, and will always be my best friend.”

“You stayed my friend when they first came here, but you changed after the cotillion,” she deadpans.

“A lot happened on the Isle that you don’t know about,” I defend. “Audrey, I’m mad at Ben and Mal too, but I’m not attacking everyone because of it.”

“And what could possibly have you so mad at your perfect little Ben?” she asks. 

“I met my soulmate on the Isle,” I sigh. “He’s friends with Uma, and he was actually the one to kidnap Ben when we were there. Ben refuses to let Harry come over and blows me off whenever I want to talk about it.”

“Is he here now?” Audrey asks, sounding like her real self for the first time. 

“Yeah, he’s the one in the red vest with the eyeliner,” I grin at her. “It’s a little frustrating, ya know. Mal tried to steal the wand for her mom, but she gets stay. Harry just wanted off the Isle and he gets treated like he’s some big criminal.”

Audrey’s eyes snap to me, studying my face. “You’re tricking me!” she exclaims. “What has gotten into you?” I frown. 

“Where are they?” she screams running from window to window. “You’re just trying to distract me until they can get here and stop me! Well that’s not gonna happen!” 

Audrey uses the scepter and slams both Chad and me into a closet, before locking it behind us. “Audrey, I’m not tricking you,” I yell through the door.

“Of course you were! You wouldn’t dare speak ill of your king or Queen,” and with that, the door to the cottage slammed shut behind her, Leaving me locked in a closet with a whimpering Chad.

-

I don’t know how much time has passed, but I think I’m going crazy. It sounds like there are voices coming from outside the cottage. Chad finally just shut up, but thinking Audrey returned, sent him into another whimpering fest. Soon the door to the closet is opened to reveal Ben, who suddenly has facial hair and pointy teeth. Chad whimpers again, and curls tightly into my side, fearing that he’ll get more glass bowls thrown at him.

“Chad get off me,” I groan. 

“Yeah mate,” Harry’s voice is low and threatening. “Get off my girl.” 

As soon as Chad comes to his senses and gets off of me, Harry is pulling me up and holding me tightly to his side. He glares at Chad as he spins his hook around, almost daring him to look my way again. I lean into his side and place my right hand on his chest, almost instantly he starts to relax. Everything about being in his arms feels like safety and home, and I can’t keep the large grin off my face as he calls me his girl.

Chad runs from the house screaming that he’s free, and the rest of us set off to find Audrey.

“I want to know how you convinced them to help you,” Ben says to Mal.

“She promised that all of the kids that wanted to get off the Isle could,” Uma smiles.

“Mal?” Ben frowns.

“What’s going on?” I match my brother’s frown.

“I lied to you,” Mal stops walking and looks at all of us. “The kids won’t be coming off the Isle.”

“What do you mean?” Jay asks. 

“The programs been shut down. And the barrier will be closed for good,” I strangled gasp escapes my lips. 

Everyone starts talking at once, until Mal cuts in. “I did it for us,” she defends to the VK’s. “For the life we have here.”  

As Mal and Evie argue, Harry turns to Ben. “You’re probably gonna throw us all back inside of it,” I laugh and shake my head when Ben doesn't deny it. 

“This is bullshit,” I laugh, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Don’t do this,” Harry frowns at me. “He’s still you’re brother, and you’ll regret this.” 

“No, he needs to hear this,” I look Ben directly in the eye. “It’s bullshit. You have no idea how happy I was, how proud I was of you, when you took my idea from when we were kids and made it a reality. You bringing these eight kids over is quite possibly the only good decision you’ve made recently. You’ve kicked me out of important meetings, left me out of the loop on all decisions you’ve made. It’s bullshit Ben, these kids have done nothing! And yet you’re leaving them on a miserable island to rot, when they’ve done nothing wrong. Uma, Harry, and Gil are risking their lives to save Auradon, and yet when everything’s magically fixed, they’ll be sent back. Audrey is my best friend, but we both know she’ll just get a slap on the wrist and everything will be forgiven. She won’t face punishment, and yet innocent kids do. It’s bullshit Ben, you knew before we were even off the Isle that Harry was my soulmate, and you’ve done nothing,” by now tears, both angry and hurt, are pricking the corners of my eyes. “You were content to sit on a big fancy throne with Mal at your side, and watch me be alone. You lost your soulmate for a day and you still complain about how painful that was. I haven’t seen mine in months, because you won’t bring him over, none of you will. It hurts Ben. You hurt Audrey, proposing to Mal in front of her. You may not be her soulmate, but she loved you. You both planned that she would be your Queen. And you don’t know, or care, about how painful that proposal was for me Ben. You told Evie that you were going to propose, but you didn’t even tell your own sister. But on top of that, I bet it didn’t even cross your mind how much it would hurt me to see you get your happy ending with Mal. You proposed to her right in front of me, knowing damn well that I would probably never get that moment, or any, with Harry. You never planned on bringing any of the pirates over after Uma refused to help. But I can’t tell if it was because of your encounter with them, or because of Mal’s past with them. Either way, it’s bullshit. We used to be so close Ben, but now I’m honestly embarrassed to be your sister.”

Harry pulls me into his chest, as he runs his hand through my hair. Before Ben can react, Celia grabs the ember from Mal, and throws it into a birdbath. 

“No!” Mal screams. 

“Bummer,” Uma deadpans. Harry and I follow her as she walks away. 

“(Y/N) wait!” Ben calls after us.

“No Ben, I’m done with your lies. When this is over and you send the three of them back, I’ll be going with them. I won’t respect or listen to a king who has so little respect for his own people. Like it or not, the people on the Isle are your people too. And just like Dad, you don’t care about them.”

-

Everything’s over now. Audrey was taken down by Mal, and brought back from the brink of death by Hades. The pirates went back over to the Isle, Harry wouldn’t let me go with. Said I deserved better than the life he could give me on the Isle. What he doesn’t realize is that any life with him would be perfect. And just like I predicted, Audrey got away with no punishment, everyone’s acting like it never happened. Now here I am, standing up on a balcony with Ben, Mal, and my parents for their engagement party. None of us have really talked since I got mad at them, but they needed to hear it.

“I can’t do it,” Mal says after she’s called the future Queen. Everyone gasps, but I just roll my eyes. She goes on about how the people on the Isle are our people as well and they need to take care of them, hmmm sounds familiar. She even managed to fit it in that Hades is her dad, earning more gasps from the people.  

Ben takes over the speech, “Mal’s right. We have been neglecting them, something (Y/N) has been trying to tell me since we were kids. Not only have I been a bad king to those on the Isle, but a bad brother to (Y/N). I’ve been keeping the truth from her, and knowingly hurting her. She was right when she told me that I didn’t seem to care about how she felt. I do care, but I’ve been purposely keeping her and her soulmate apart,” the crowd gasps. “As we brought in a new group of kids from the Isle, I made sure her soulmate stayed on the other side of the barrier. I didn’t care if he was different around her, better even, I let my own feelings for him cloud my judgement. I didn’t stop to think about how much she must be hurting. And I’m sorry (Y/N), for everything. I just want to be someone that your proud to call your brother.”

“Ben,” I give him a small smile. “It takes a lot of guts to say that in front of everyone, but I’m still hurt. And there are still so many kids on the isle that don’t deserve to be.”

“That’s why we need to bring the barrier down, unite Auradon and the Isle,” Mal grins. That’s definitely not something I would advocate, yes I want the kids off, and yes I don’t think Hades should be there since he’s a God. But some really bad people are on the Isle, and that could cause more chaos and trouble for Auradon.

Ultimately, Ben uses the well I’m king card to shut our parents up and let them do what they want. Fairy Godmother, shockingly, agrees wholeheartedly that the barrier should be brought down. So Mal uses the wand and a bridge connects the Isle to Auradon. We all rush down to greet the kids walking across the bridge. I smile as I see Harry and Uma leading the group. 

I run and jump into Harry’s arms, wrapping my legs around his waist with little care that I’m currently in a dress. Harry laughs as he holds on tightly. “I’m never leaving ye again,” he promises. 

Instead of verbally responding, I grab his face and pull him in for a kiss. It was slow and sweet, but conveyed all of our emotions. He sets me down so he can weave his hand through my hair while his hooked hand rests dangerously close to my butt. For the first time since we met, I don’t have to fear Harry being ripped away from me. I’m finally home. 

“You look ravishing,” Harry lightly tugs the bottom of my red dress to bring me closer. 

“I wish I could say the same about you,” I giggle softly as I play with his collar. “What’s up with the ruffles?”

“Isn’t this what ye royals wear?” he grins. “I was just practin’ for our future.”

“I like the sound of that,” I slide my arms behind his neck and bite my lower lip.

“Well get used to it, cause I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he leans in gives me a slow passionate kiss. 

Behind us Jay and Gil are making plans to travel Auradon and see some of it’s spectacular sights. “They make really cute friends,” I smile over at the pair.

“It’s more than that love,” my brows furrow in confusion. “Their soulmates, Jay always denied it and because of that no one believed Gil. Thought he was just bein’ stupid.”

“Well I think they’re cute together. Now that Jay got over himself.”

“But not as cute as us,” Harry protests. 

“Never,” I giggle.  

Taglist- 

@nightshade7117 @princessleah129 @travelnottogoanywherebuttogo @stormi-ames @bourbonandblow 

[clareisa]

Monsta X Reaction: Things you do that turn him on (M)

Awww, I’m really happy that you liked the Ateez post, and I’m thankful for your request. Hope you’ll like this one too♥

- gifs are not mine, credits to rightful owners

- English is not my first language, so please let me kindly know if I did a mistake

Shownu:

Your ladylike behaviour. I mean that Hyunwoo loves when you are just walking and acting with grace and confidence. You are not afraid of anyone insulting you or you care less about uneducated people’s opinions. He loves how can you be so elegant and look so powerful. He is speechless when your strong aura could turn everyone's heads. 

You were going to an award show tonight and your boyfriend Hyunwoo decided to take you with him. When Hyunwoo saw you in full glam he couldn’t believe that this is his partner.

“You are divine.” he sighed and couldn’t stop looking at you. You thanked him with a wide smile on your face and you both get into the car. When you get off you was already sucked in the atmosphere and you were enjoying this event like no one other. You cheered for the boys from the side while they were on the red carpet. When they come back one photographer asked if you and Hyunwoo could pose together on the carper as well. 

“You don’t need to do that babe.” Hyunwoo said as he already saw some fans frowning at you and he thought that would make you sad. 

“And why not? Let them see that I have the most perfect man.” you chuckled, took his hand and with a big smile, you two walked on the red carpet. Photographer loved you and you were just smiling so stunningly that he was looking at you the whole time. 

After that, he took you to the side and suddenly kissed you deeply. “What was that about?” you smirked. “I have the sexiest person ever as my love. You don’t know how hot you are. You are so powerful. I think I got into your trap and I never want to get out.” he said and walked with you to one of the rooms in the back ;)

Wonho:

You in his clothes. Let’s be honest here, Hoseok’s clothes would be the most comfortable thing you would wear. And you stole some pieces without him knowing. When you invited him over for movie nights he doesn’t know that you would come out of the bathroom in his hoodie and just panties. He would be shocked, will try to hide it but he will fail.

You just came out of the bathroom. Fresh, clean, with no makeup on but in your boyfriend’s clothes. To be honest? You did this on purpose because you know Hoseok and you knew this would be his breaking point. 

You heard a little gasp but you didn’t look up at him since you knew he would be embarrassed by you would catch him. You went to grab snacks and you purposely bent down so he could see that you are only wearing panties underneath. You could hear another quiet gasp but you just smiled in your head, turned and walked to him to the couch.

You were looking throught movies you could watch and then finally when you chose the one you came to sit on Hoseok’s lab and brought a blanket over you both. You could feel that he was frozen on the spot. When you moved a little on his lap something started brushing over your bottoms... something hard. 

“Something’s a wrong, baby?” you asked innocently but you started stroking him throught the pants. His eyes widened. 

“I think we should screw the movie. Am I right?” you asked and he just nodded his head still amazed by your boldness. 

Minhyuk:

Licking your lips. Minhyuk is a very affectionate boyfriend and since you first kissed he was obsessed with your lips. Even when you are talking he will get lost and just stare at your lips. You will break him by licking your lips. When he’ll see how plump and moisturized your lips will become, he won’t be able to hold himself. 

You were in the studio with your boyfriend. It was a recording day and since Minhyuk knew it will be a long session he wanted you to be there with him so you two could accompany each other. Minhyuk was currently behind the glass and trying his best. His vocals were so angelic that it was slowly making you feel sleepy. Soon you fell asleep on the couch while Minhyuk was singing a sweet melody. 

When you woke up you noticed that you are laying on someone’s lap. You quickly looked up and saw your boyfriend smiling at you. 

“Good morning sleepy head.” he said in a cute voice. 

“Good morning, love.” you said and rubbed your eyes. 

You felt your lips were dry so you instinctively licked them trying to moisturize them. It was just an automatic innocent act for you but not for your boyfriend. 

You felt how his thighs underneath you flexed and he moved a little. You looked up and him. He was biting his bottom lip looking at you intensively. “Are you okay, Minhyuk? You are so stiff.” you said and tilted your head a little. 

“Your lips are causing me a problem.” he whispered and put your hand on his private area. “And those lips should handle the problem as well.” 

Kihyun:

Neck kisses. You kissing his neck or him kissing your neck. It doesn’t matter but it will get him going. If you don’t wanna really long foreplay just kiss his neck couple of times and he’ll be all ready for you and for wrecking your body and soul in on night. Well, good luck ;)

Kihyun should today come back from his tour finally and you couldn’t be more excited. You missed him so much. Months without him was torture. Of course, you were calling but it wasn’t the same as when he is next to you. 

You’ve heard the sound of keys and you jumped out of your seat and ran to the door. The first thing you saw was his pretty, new dyed honey brown hair and the second thing you saw was his stunning smile when he spotted you. 

You ran right to his arms and he spun you around. “Welcome home, baby.” you whispered to his neck. 

“Hey, princess. I’m so happy that I’m home.” he said and kissed the top of your head. “I’m so tired.” he whined, “let’s go sleep. “ he whispered.

You were sad. You knew he was tired but were hoping that he will spend some time with you after he’ll arrive. So you did the only thing you knew that will work and wake him up real quick. You started gently kissing his smooth neck slowly adding more pressure with every kiss. 

“You little fox.” he chuckled. His voice sounded more clear than a minute ago.

He took your chin and made you face him. He had the biggest smirk and his eyes were dark as onyx. “You should say you miss me THAT much.” 

Hyungwon:

Praise. Hyungwon knows that he is handsome but like every other human being he has his worries and his insecurities about himself. When you started praising him for his body and how sexy he looks he wouldn’t believe you at first. He thought that you are making fun of him. But once he’ll learn that you are genuine and his body really gets you going he couldn’t hold himself. 

“Wow, darling! That shirt looks so good on you. Gosh, your proportions are just perfect. I have the most perfect boyfriend.” you said as you saw your boyfriend dressing up. You were laying on the bed on your tummy. Your head was in your hands and you were looking at him with a smile as if he was the most stunning being you’ve ever seen.

“Don’t make fun of me, Y/N. It’s not nice.” he huffed. Your feeling was hurt. How could he think you were making fun of him? 

“How could you say that? I would never lie to you, prince.” you stood up, You came to him and hugged him with a pout on your lips. “It’s just don’t sound believable when there are men out there like Shownu or Wonho.” he mumbled sadly. 

“Yah! Stop it!” you lightly tapped his bum which made you both giggle. “You are the most handsome” you started saying and placing kisses on his neck, “the sexiest,” you continued down on his neck, “ most attractive men I’ve ever seen in my life.” you finished and kissed his collarbones. 

You looked to his eyes, “Your body is the most attractive body for me. I would worship you all night and day if you let me.” you said and he suddenly kissed you deeply. His kiss was fast, passionate, needy and his hands gropped your hips tightly. You let slip a moan. 

“Then I’ll let you worship me princess.” he said and you happily responded with a kiss. 

Jooheon:

Lingerie. Not only that you looked absolutely stunning in lace, velvet, silk. You also took the time and effort to look good... for HIM! The thought about that you did all of that just for his pleasure drove him crazy. 

It was your first vacation together. You were finally alone, just with each other. You two couldn’t keep the hands for yourself the whole day. You were always hugging, holding hands, kissing or feeding each other food. 

You got a perfect idea for the evening. You and Jooheon lately didn’t have time to pleasure each other and spend a hot night together in bed because of his work. You always took care of him and you weren’t mad but at this vacation,, you decided that you will catch up everything you weren’t able to do. 

You got into your burgundy lace underwear set and walked out. “Babe, what are we going to, “ he stopped as he saw you leaning on the wall, “...do?” he finished the sentence with widened eyes. 

“Do you think it’s pretty, honey? I wasn’t sur-” you couldn't even finish when he lifted you up and threw you on the bed. He quickly got on top of your and you could already see the bulge in his boxers forming as he was biting his lips looking at your whole form. 

“So pretty.” he growled. “Is this all for me, baby?” he asked and finally looked at you. 

“All yours, honey.” you raised your eyebrow and bit your bottom lip. 

“Then be ready for a long night in paradise, babe.” he said in a low tone and attacked your neck. 

Changkyun:

Your smell. Since the time you met, you didn’t capture his heart just with your pretty face and amazing personality. You caught his attention with your smell as well. You always smelled so sweet, so natural and fresh. So when you come from the shower he would always hug you from the back and inhales your sweet scent. 

You went to the practice room. You wanted surprise Changkyun with homemade lunch and your presence.  And also you had a new perfume and you wanted to see how he would react. 

“Hey, guys! Surprise!” you yelled happily with bags of food in your hands. Everyone helped you, hugged you and thanked you. These boys were always hungry so in their eyes, you were an angel.

“Thank you for lunch, cutie. You really didn’t need to.” Changkyun said.

“I didn’t need to but I wanted to see you.” you smiled.

“Here I’m. I’m all yours.” he smiled and hugged you tightly. As always he buried his face to your neck and inhales your smell. 

“New perfume?” he whispered and kissed gently your neck.  

“Yes. You like it?” you asked innocently. 

“It gets perfect with your natural scent. Well... they will survive a couple of minutes without us, right?” he winked at you, took your hand and slowly walked out of the practice room. 

[ronnytherandom]

Accidental Animated Film Week, or Watch Me Continue To Know Nothing About Media Analysis While I Liberally Abuse The Semicolon In An Attempt To Sound Smart

18/1/2021: Hotel Transylvania Lots of fun but this is a weird one, varies drastically in some strange ways. The comedy takes hit and miss to extremes, simultaneously being laugh out loud hilarious and possessing moments of ungodly cringe. The pacing is unbalanced with the first half feeling awkward, taking a while to really get into; the latter much too fast and not taking the necessary time, some scenes seeming to serve their function as minimally as possible. This metronome of quality exists primarily in these respects and is quite noticeable, but doesn’t ruin the experience and I think that’s testament to just how good the rest of it can be, though there are still caveats. The animation is fantastic, incredibly expressive and creates truly hilarious physical comedy, and I feel this is to be expected of a Genndy Tartakovsky film, I grew up with and deeply appreciate his animated features. The emotional core of the story really begins to hit in the latter half and is very effective though the Zing concept I take issue with the name because it just sounds too silly without being humorous; its just a weird little gripe, the word zing annoys me. That said I was genuinely invested in this love story which is a feat, I’m not a romantic person at all. The acting is generally very good, I enjoy the expanded cast and Adam Sandler is excellent but Andy Samberg’s Johnny has an accent that gets on my nerves and feels like he’s being a bit too heavy handed with it. Again, just a little gripe. The message is clear and heartfelt, strange as it seems to make the message for the parents of the features target audience it still works and resembles in parts the “dadification” that’s been occurring in media (especially video games) over the past decade. Ultimately, it’s a good time so long as you can deal with a few groan inducing moments and a little strangeness.

19/1/2021: Princess Mononoke Holy shit, why haven’t I watched this sooner. Transcendentally good! My new favourite film, an absolutely incredible achievement. For fear of wading into sub v dub controversy the English dub is good though I’m definitely going to watch it subbed at some point. Its Studio Ghibli, everyone knows that Miyazaki runs a fantastic operation, thus the art and animation is faultless. There are moments where every single frame is a true work of art. Induces nostalgia though I’ve never seen it before, the art style and tone of the soundtrack are endemic to the late 90s and remind me of the animation from my childhood. The message is also wonderfully nuanced, focusing less on Humanity’s responsibility for the natural world but rather a reconciliation between the ambition of humanity and the life of our world through respect and veneration of that which we’re dependent on to survive. I love the world so much; I think one of this film’s pinnacle achievements is conveying the impression of a deep living world with relatively little worldbuilding. Just watch it aight, everyone needs to watch it. Fucking Incredible.

20/1/2021: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (rewatch)

Very Fun. Powerful nostalgia, I think I saw this literally hundreds of times as a child, may have had the whole thing memorised, and have always been a huge fan of the SpongeBob series. Even despite that I think there’s a lot of quality here. Pretty much every aspect of the film is enjoyable and well done, even if I think the moments featuring real people are kind of awkward. The gags and humour mostly hold up but I don’t think they have aged so well as the original run of the series, but there’s not much as can live up to that standard. Has a little to say about being a goofball, but ultimately its all about the gags for me with this one.

21/1/2021: Nausicaa: Valley of The Wind

Magnificent. Meaningfully very similar to Princess Mononoke, not quite as good, but still very worthwhile. I really like the mid-century sci fi vibe going on here and think the worldbuilding is excellent, though some of the expository dialogue is a little clumsy. I imagine there’s a little bit of nuance lost in the dub but cannot be certain as I don’t understand Japanese. That said, the voice acting is generally good. The art is magnificent, as it is wont to be in Studio Ghibli films; or in this case the proto-studio-Ghibli-film. That every culture has its distinct style is one of my favourite things, amongst which rank the Ohmu, Nausicaas glider and most of all Teto. Look at his little tongue! Most of all I love the ecosystem that arises from the polluted earth, how the earth cleans itself, it is a spectacular thought. I have an interesting thought about the soundtrack, specifically during actions sequences. The musical quality is good, especially the main theme, but there are issues with the editing of the action sequences’ music which intrigue me. Because the edit is always jarring and I don’t think the style of music necessarily fits the film; but I think it is a technical limitation, that contemporary audio systems were not necessarily able to apply the soundtrack in a less jarring manner. Just an interesting thought I had and I may look into the history of sound software etc. to see if that’s right. I think it is a beautiful work and well worth watching, I enjoyed it greatly.

23/1/2021: Howl’s Moving Castle

Good. Far and away less impactful than Mononoke and Nausicaa but still very good. Standard Ghibli points: Its beautiful, well animated and full of character. I find all the lead characters quite charming and well performed; it is set in a very interesting world with lots of interesting quirks and cool magic. Further it is powerfully meaningful, with a clear statement on confidence and empowerment. There’s just something about this one where the vibe is slightly off and I could not fully explain why. It feels disjointed, as though all the parts of the world are not fully connected. I feel like if you were to list the plot points in order some would be labelled “??????? Make it happen” as some events and conclusions are reached without purpose or motivation. Only some though and I’m not trying to seriously say it doesn’t make sense that’s just how I feel in post. I enjoyed it but I feel like I don’t fully understand this one.

24/1/2021: Spirited Away

Beautiful. This one I think is the best showcase of Ghibli’s style: the art is beautiful; the water is viscous and the spirits are fantastically grotesque. There’s a vibrant world shown here with a lot of charming characters and expressive animation which I think creates the most visually stunning of the Ghibli films that I’ve seen so far, though I fear I’m a bit basic and unsophisticated as I still prefer what I recognise as more traditional fantasy and sci-fi worlds like Mononoke and Nausicaa. I feel the story is also a well nuanced coming of age tale as it balances between relying on your friends and standing up for yourself. I also really like Yubaba or more generally how antagonism is handled throughout this movie; and to an extent in the broader Ghibli canon. Rather than create comically evil villains who exist purely to do bad these features all showcase antagonists with genuine sensible motivations driving their action and the only thing defining them as antagonists is the framing and perspective. On that point you could argue that Yubaba is the closest to a genuine villain but I think the materialist-critical aspects are more of an aside than a genuine statement, as appreciable as they are.

[soberliving22]

Do The Celebrities Live Up To Their Goddess Birth Sign?

Christina Ricci Born 12 Feb 1980 Goddess birth sign Hathor

Hathor ladies have the endowment of shape-moving - rethinking themselves for new motivation. Furthermore, there is no finer illustration of this energy showing itself than with Christina Ricci - she has, all things considered, been cited as saying "I positively trust I'm not as yet responding to youngster star inquiries when I arrive at menopause."

Breaking liberated from the peril of being pigeonholed as a kid star (The Addams Family and Casper), Christina discarded her sweetie doll picture and effectively reevaluated herself into a forefront lady in racy jobs. Hence she has pulled in new fan bases with each shape-move.

Her picture, mentality and theory gets an ordinary makeover, yet with Hathor managing her common impulses, she will keep doing as such easily.

Kristin Davis Born 24 Feb 1965 Goddess birth sign Oshun

Goddess of all inclusive love and erotic nature, Oshun ladies are liberal with their time for themselves during a flowing "ebb", and for others during a "stream". We as a whole observed this attribute in real life through Kristin's character Charlotte (Sex And The City), however how evident does the Oshun character ring, all things considered?

Kristin is a special equilibrium of solidarity and guiltlessness - she surrendered to liquor abuse prior to finding the solidarity to manage the requests of Hollywood and confronting it (calm) head-on.

She is immediately guiltless, fluttering her eyelashes and giving a mysterious grin notwithstanding sassiness; and attractive, OK with herself with a 'toning it down would be ideal' way to deal with make up in this manner 'keeping it genuine'.

Sarah Jessica Parker Born March 25, 1965 Goddess birth sign Athena

Conceived pioneers, incredible and fiery, Athena young ladies are feisty and clever. Yet, in some cases they are excessively so and could do with coordinating their mental fortitude towards requesting help.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the exemplary Athena original - solid, free and a hero princess. The drawback to this strength is she'd feel embarrassed to request help on the off chance that it caused her to seem frail.

Nobody will think any less of her on the off chance that she requested opportunity to take care of herself for some time. Indeed, she'd help herself out on the off chance that she approached another person to do it for her! All things considered, even Athena couldn't secure Athens every minute of every day - at times hero princesses need to rest their blade as well!

Michelle Pfeiffer Born 29 April 1958 Goddess birth sign Juno

Juno ladies look for stable connections, material security and an advanced home life. What's more, like it weren't sufficient that she has a compensating private existence with spouse David E Kelley and their embraced youngsters, Michelle Pfeiffer has endeavored to guarantee that she is a settled in piece of our lives as a commonly recognized name also.

On account of her Juno establishing, Michelle had the option to keep up her nobility when gossipy tidbits surfaced of her better half having a toss with Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart.

As opposed to depending on others for her joy, Michelle drew on her introduction to the world patroness' energy to fortify the relationship from the inside, along these lines guaranteeing a solid nuclear family.

Nicole Kidman Born 20 June 1967 Goddess sign Persephone

Imperative and shrewd, blameless and flighty, Persephone ladies have a stunning limit with respect to self-strengthening. They can capitalize on a spoiled circumstance and turn it around to their advantage.

This is positively the situation with Nicole who grew up slender and abnormal with fair skin inclined to freckling under the savage Australian sun. She got away from her frailties through dramatization and human expressions, where inclusion with Jane Campion drove her to comprehend acting was her future.

Similarly as Persephone wedded the almighty Hades to facilitate her direction, Nicole wedded Hollywood's "the best", Tom Cruise, in spite of a characteristic repugnance for public investigation. She receives an ice-sovereign exterior to veil her fits of anxiety, which she particularly endures on honorary pathway. This is the place where Persephone truly cuts free and lets her quality known by moving uncontrollably in her Solar Plexus, the chakra that Nicole needs to support the most.

Liv Tyler Born 1 July 1977 Goddess birth sign Diana

Incredible and defensive, Diana rules over nature, fruitfulness, youngsters and fortune. Hippy-raised Liv is the indication of Diana's energy with her ethereal looks and nature-cherishing, libertarian way to deal with life.

She is notable for her odd jobs that success worldwide recognition, a laid-back character and prominent beaus... these qualities all come from a profoundly faithful and cherishing relationship with her VIP guardians.

From her first day at school as a plump child with supports to the unavoidable ascent to notoriety, Liv remaining parts reasonable and grounded in the face her VIP. Indeed, even her infrequent raid into an elective style is additional verification of her Diana-enlivened conviction to 'keep it genuine'.

Anna Paquin Born 24 July 1982 Goddess birth sign Pele

Loaded with energetic energy, Pele ladies love being the focal point of consideration and the bubbling energy source everyone crowds around - when they emerge from lethargy, that is.

Anna Paquin was a 10-year-old student when her Oscar-winning part in The Piano shot her to acclaim. That she shrouds her Oscar in her wardrobe out of thought to others means that the discretion and inward force that lies underneath a quiet surface.

She may wear moderate garments to industry capacities, yet periodically she uncovers a brief look at a red hot nature - at the Drama Desk Awards a year ago her Pele side went to the front when she released her ladylike force in a climbed trim provocative dress. Watch this space for her full capacity to come spouting to realization!

Cameron Diaz Born 30 August 1972 Goddess birth sign Hestia

Hestia young ladies are animals of propensity and association, virtue, earnestness, sacredness and security. One just requirements to take a gander at the tight and private relationship she has with toy-kid Justin Timberlake to realize that Cameron values trustworthiness and uprightness profoundly seeing someone.

As per industry insiders, the sweet and blameless Cameron that you see on screen is a brief look at the genuine young lady that is managed by Hestia.

She was a sex-bomb in her initial motion pictures, however is presently better known for her sweet young lady nearby jobs that have become her mark.

As Cameron's inward Hestia esteems a productive home life most importantly, expect to hear information on her venturing across the limit with her man close by...

Susan Sarandon Born 4 October 1946 Goddess birth sign Venus

Venus ladies have a fashion awareness and gratefulness for demonstrations of adoration, delight, and sentiment. In this regard, Susan Sarandon drives the route in reclassifying the picture of a 'honorable Hollywood lady'.

In obvious Venus style, Susan can adjust her affection for the beneficial things in existence with her anxiety that others find the opportunity to encounter it as well - ie, if everybody is glad the Venus lady is cheerful as well. Her dynamic help for issues that influence her kindred Americans (in any event, prompting her capture now and again) and her part as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF is confirmation of this.

A portion of Susan's film job decisions mirror her Venus center - hot groupie, temptress, Rocky Horror tart, witch, bloodsucker, pious devotee, fun searcher and self-destructive dissident... I can hardly wait to see the following wanton "wild side" this Venus lady decides to investigate.

Demi Moore Born 11 November 1962 Goddess birth sign Bast

Gallant, solid, and brave even with vermin, Bast young ladies show standing tolerance in looking for retribution for bad behaviors. By a wide margin this characteristic is apparent in her miniature swimsuit clad function in Charlie's Angels - who'd need to be at the opposite finish of one of her weapons of retaliation?!

You don't should be a reprobate to feel the sting of Demi's rage. At the point when pundits scrutinized her nakedness in movies, they felt her snakes nibble in her remark; "There's this thought that in the event that you take your garments off, by one way or another you should have free ethics. There's as yet a negative disposition in our general public towards ladies who utilize a strength that is characteristic - their womanliness - in any capacity that may be viewed as enticing."

So look out ;- ) While she is savagely faithful to her kids and sweethearts, she'll rush to show her hooks on the off chance that you misbehave! For more information click here https://5a.org/

Company Name:        Alcoholism & Addiction Assistance Association Address       4430 N 23rd AVE PHOENIX AZ 85015 Phone Number        602-266-7527

[yikestripes]

Complete

A/N: @@richietrasshmouthtozier here you go!!! sorry it took so long to get up!

I ship you with: Richie Tozier!

request: Hi! Could you maybe ship me with an IT character? I'm 5'6, kinda wild brown hair, grey green eyes and pretty pale skin. I try to stay positive and love helping out my friends if they need me. I sometimes get like really dark days, but I really try getting better. I love music, and are a pretty big book and movie geek. I also have uhm like Body Dysmorphia so I don't really like my body and how look, which takes a lot of energy out of me. I days with rain and thunder, it's so calming.

You met at a very young age, and were drawn to one another immediately! As you grew up your mutual love for music and movies grew together, and you geeked out over different old movies and bands with him! You both have strong, caring personalities that make you work together perfectly. I hope you enjoy!!!

You grinned at Richie, who was doing a TERRIBLE impression of the British actor in the movie you were watching, just to make you laugh.

“Pip pip and tally ho my good fellows!” He was saying, hands on his hips in a proud manner. You were doing your best to contain your laughter so you wouldn’t encourage him too much, but you couldn’t keep it hidden and you burst out laughing.

Richie smiled genuinely as he sat back down beside you, and let a hand come to rest on your shoulder.

You’d been having a bit of an off-day at school, and Richie could tell the moment he walked up to your locker that morning.

“Hey Doll, what’s crackin’?” He asked, adorning his shit eating grin. You flashed a weak smile as you clicked your combo and grabbed random notebooks without really looking at what you were shoving into your bag. Richie frowned, and rested a hand on top of yours.

“Wait, what’s wrong?” He asked, his huge eyes blinking twice behind his glasses. You shook your head and shut your locker, not wanting to bother him with your problems.

You knew by lunch you would be able to talk yourself into a more positive headspace. You would feel better after you went to class, and had some other things that were more important to focus on. Everything would be okay in due time.

You pulled on your braid a little bit and offered Richie a small smile, your heart warming at the thought of him caring so much. You were having some extra problems that morning picking out clothes, disgusted by almost everything in your closet, and the way your hair decided to fall on your shoulders, wild and untamed. Braiding came easily to you, and tying it back provided a more secure feeling, so you donned a pair of french braids down the back of your head. Richie loved it when you let your brown locks go free, but he also was mesmerized by the braided patterns and how you always did it yourself.

“I’m okay, Rich. I’m just a little extra tired today,” You said, your grey-green eyes sparkling in the light. That made Richie’s breath catch slightly in his throat, who almost caught off guard by your beauty. Richie had been in love with you for as long as he’d known what love was, and every day he was amazed by you and your stunning pale skin and grey-green eyes. That boy had been with you through it all, from the first day your family moved to Derry, ever since you’d developed your body dysmorphia issues, and the dark days had begun, all the way until the present moment, where Richie was staring at you with his mouth slightly agape. As time progressed, he had become one of the most equipped to help you through your darker days, besides Bev, and he knew how to keep you positive and upbeat. He knew you were there for him, too, but he was always terrified to burden you with his familial issues and his hyperactivity, but you still were there for him, and he knew it. Especially when the problems with his parents started to progress and get worse, he never needed to ask for your help. You were always there for him without either of you ever having to say a word, and he was there in the same capacity for you, without question. 

Richie was completely oblivious, but you loved him as much as he loved you, but you had no plans to tell him since you were too terrified of ruining your friendship. You were extremely close, you had been friends since you were very young, around 3 or 4. You were next-door neighbors and you’d met the day you’d moved in, when Richie was sitting by himself in his yard, and you saw the opportunity to make a new friend. You’d been inseparable ever since. You went trick-or-treating together every year, went to the same schools, and befriended the same kids. Nothing came between you and Richie, and everyone knew it. During the encounter with IT during that godforsaken summer, Richie never let you out of his sight, and snuck into your bedroom for weeks after the fight at Neibolt. He had nightmares that you two were separated, and Pennywise had taunted you about your body issues, and then killed you off when Richie could do absolutely nothing about it; it really tore him up for a little while, until he crawled into your room, and felt better about being able to make sure he was there just in case something happened. You certainly weren’t complaining, he was your dreamy knight in giant red glasses, and you were his princess with the wild hair.

Richie looked slightly unsure at your answer, but didn’t want to pry any further.

“Alright, wanna hang out after school? We can watch movies and eat popcorn and stuff!” He said, a grin lighting up his face once again.

“Of course, that sounds great!” You carried on with your day, trying to ignore the thoughts that were gnawing at the back of your mind. You just had to hang on til the end of the day, then Richie would come home with you and everything would be okay.

You sat quietly with Richie’s arm wrapped around your shoulder, your head resting on his chest. You could feel his heart pounding, but disregarded it as the fear from the recent jumpscare that had rocked you both pretty hard just a few minutes ago.

In that moment, you could feel Richie wrap his arm around you a little tighter, and pull you a bit closer. You smiled to yourself and leaned into it, sighing in content.

The credits began rolling as you yawned, absolutely exhausted from the day’s struggle. It hadn’t been your worst day, by far, but it definitely took it out of you.

“Aw, is the princess tired?” Richie grinned as he retracted his arm.

“Yes.” You replied, stretching deep enough to earn a few cracks from your back.

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s the weekend, you can sleep in tomorrow!” Richie stood and offered you a hand, which you took gratefully. Your eyes sparkled again, and Richie just paused for a moment as the light made you look absolutely radiant.

“What?” You whispered, your faces so close that you could move an inch and be kissing him.

“N-nothing.” Richie whispered back, seeming to realize just how small the gap between you two was.

You both stood there for a minute, each internally debating whether or not to lean in and make the first move, but you both moved away at the same time as the moment was lost.

Richie picked up the bowl of popcorn and went to the kitchen to set it down, shaking his head at himself.

That was the perfect moment, dumbass! How the fuck could you fuck that up?! He thought to himself, frustrated with his apprehension.

“Uh, wanna go upstairs and listen to some music? I got some new CDs at the mall yesterday!” You grinned, trying to relieve some of the tension that was slowly dispersing.

“Yeah, that sounds great! What time is it?”

“It’s 8:30,” You said, glancing from the clock back to Richie. He looked out the window at his house, and the driveway was empty, causing him to frown.

“Hm,” He walked up the stairs and you followed behind, knowing exactly what the empty driveway had meant.

You’d been upstairs listening to music for about a half hour, talking about your days at school, what the other Loser’s were up to, and what you were doing the following day, whether it was the arcade or the quarry. There had been a lull in the conversation, enjoying Madonna’s room-filling voice in between.

“Did you wanna stay the night?” You asked, already knowing his answer. Richie nodded gratefully, and you went into your drawer to grab some clothes that you had stolen from Richie the last time you’d gone to his house.

He stared at them for a moment, head tilted, as if he were trying to identify where he’d seen them before. His eyes widened with realization about 30 seconds later.

“Are those mine?!” He asked, feigning anger. You giggled and threw them at him as he grinned.

“Whatever!” He flipped you off as he left the room to change, and you began unraveling your hair and changing yourself.

~timeskip~

The next day provided a booming thunderstorm, complete with rain and lightning, which meant no quarry. That was fine by you, you loved spending time in the arcade (almost as much as Richie!) and thunderstorms were one of your favorite things in the world. You weren’t quite sure what, but something about them just made you feel at ease. 

You heard rustling from the other side of the floor and glanced at Richie, who was stretching and rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning, sunshine!” You said, throwing the covers off of yourself to look out the window as a clap of thunder roared overhead. Richie shuddered at the loud noise and felt around the nightstand for his glasses, offering a weak smile.

“Morning,” He mumbled, still sleepy. His curls were all over the place, sticking up in every which direction, making you giggle. Richie instinctively reached up and started smoothing them down, but to no avail, which made you just laugh harder.

“Shut the fuck up, Princess.” Richie grumbled, standing up.

“Hm, no thanks.” You said, grinning. He mumbled curses under his breath as he exited to go to the bathroom and head downstairs while you decided what to wear for the day. Richie had to run over to his house to grab some fresh clothes, and you would meet at the arcade later in the day when the rest of the Losers typically convened.

You had a better time getting dressed that morning, hearing Richie’s words echo in your mind.

“N-nothing, you just look beautiful. You’re so beautiful, I know you don’t always think that, but you are. I know you are. I need you to know that you are.” He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, his brown eyes gleaming in the fading light.

“Richie…” You were breathless.

You smiled at the memory and continued getting ready to go. Later on, you heard a clicking noise, which meant Richie was playing Romeo again.

“Oh Shithead, Shithead! Wherefore art thou is my Shithead?” You threw the window open enough to call down to Rich, but not enough to get your bedroom soaked from the storm.

“Down here, Princess! Come down, the rain let up a bit, let’s go before it gets bad again!” Richie called from his covered porch.

You shut your window without a response and ran down to greet him, meeting in the middle, in the rain. It was a wet May in Derry, extraordinarily for the season, but it was welcomed by you nonetheless. It meant summer and freedom and warm weather were coming soon.

Richie stared at you in awe, as he so often did. The braids added some extra wave and body to your hair, giving you a bit of a new sort of look that Richie loved. He reached out and stroked a piece of your hair, intrigued by the texture before looking back up at your face and seeing a blush and a small smile cross your cheeks, making him smile too.

“You look really pr-pretty,” Richie muttered, almost afraid for you to hear.

“Thanks, Rich.” You felt your face redden deeper, suddenly becoming very aware of how close you two were standing again. This time, you wouldn’t chicken out.

You rested your hand on his hip, causing his smile to falter slightly, as if it surprised him, but he quickly recovered, and rested his hand on your face.

Everything happened at once, you pulling Richie closer by the hips and him grabbing your face and smashing his lips onto yours, and all that had gone unsaid for 12 years exploding into the atmosphere as you deepened the kiss.

Richie pulled away, breathing heavily, as if he’d ran around the block a few times.

“Wow,” He said breathlessly.” “Yeah.” You agreed, your hands still on his waist.

He smiled, leaned in, and did it all again. And again. And again.

When you both got sick a week later with a cold, you blamed it on Richie.

“What can I say? Kissing in the rain sounds romantic as FUCK until one of you ends up with a goddamn cold!” Richie bore his shit eating grin as you rolled your eyes.

“I’m not bringing your ass any soup.” 

Richie made a pouty face and started whining in protest immediately, which the other Loser’s shut down quickly.

“Shut up, Richie, it was your idea. It’s only fair!”

“Yeah, Rich, at least you got a girlfriend out of it.”

“Come on, Richie, you should bring her some soup!”

Richie shut his big mouth for once, but continued pouting for the rest of lunch.

[jisssooyah]

Hi you... if you were going to curate a little season of films for me, which ones would you choose and why? They don't need to be horror, I'm just curious what you would choose 🌸

I don’t know if you’ll like these movies, or if you’ve already watched them, but after i watched these films, i felt like they might need to belong to you now. i hope they make you smile, roll your eyes, and cry just as much as i did.

1. city of god (2002): this is one of the most immersive and gorgeously shot films i’ve ever seen. it’s set in rio de janeiro during the 60s and spans decades exploring the drug culture in the slums and how this can affect kids just as they are trying to figure their own selves out. the way this film is shot, feels like you were at the sea with them as the sand crunched underneath your feet. but the way that the director captures these individuals, makes you so fucking relieved that you don’t live through any of the circumstances that they go through. 

2. the dreamers (2004): set in 1968, this film follows three students in Paris who come of age and explore one another and their limits during the revolution. while these students prop themselves up as individuals obsessed with sex, running underneath themselves is a current of jealousy, obsession, and blurred familial relationships that made me increasingly uncomfortable. you find yourself feeling bad for the children, and ultimately upset at their upbringing because of their parents. 

3. if beale street could talk (2018): this movie is based off of james baldwin’s titular 1974 novel. in it, the director expertly and vigorously explores love: a love that feels so real that it hurts. the cast is what sold this film to me. the way they talk, laugh, cry, and smile at one another is achingly beautiful and terrifyingly sad. i wanted to transport myself back to their time period and watch the main characters fall in love because the film didn’t seem like enough. 

4. the neon demon (2016): this film follows an emerging model who sacrifices herself to the demands of the industry in order to be attractive and beautiful. there are so many stunning colors in this film that it makes you dizzy, like you’re in a trance and that’s what this world is for the main character: a trance. as she oscillates between reality and fantasy, her world and the characters in it, increasingly seek out to alter her personality. 

5. death becomes her (1992): a deliberately ultra-campy parody of trashy, pandering "women's pictures," soap operas and paperbacks from the '80s and '90s. The three leads all do some of their best work - it's hilarious watching Meryl Streep play a terrible actress, Goldie Hawn is particularly hilarious during her character's cat lady phase, and all around just a really fun and eccentric film. 

6. princess cyd (2017): i can’t think of anything to write for this but i just wanna say that this is literally one of the most pleasant movie experiences i’ve ever had. so much light and genuine interaction in warm sun rays radiating positive energy and an openness that is far too uncommon in movies nowadays. people talk, people connect, people grow bonds and are allowed to be sexual or intimate or personal without an air of shame or judgement. just pure kind and curious human association. 

7. spiderman: into the spiderverse (2018): the message of Spider-Verse is not "gentrify yourself! stop expressing your personality and just conform to what society wants you to be!" After all, what makes you different makes you Spider-Man, and Miles' final expression of himself as a superhero still retains much of his personality and individuality...they're just being used in more productive and fulfilling ways. It's the little things that drive the point home, like noticing that the title page for Miles' finished Great Expectations essay has been stylistically doodled and colored like street art. Rather than seeing his artistic gifts as an opposition to his schoolwork, Miles infuses them together to make the best of the hand he's been dealt.

8. my life as a zucchini (2016): initially heartbreaking and sad, but slowly becoming more joyful and heartwarming as the plot moves along. The film really feels like it captures the essence and child like wonder of these kids, all of them going through hardships but managing to find something to help each other out. It’s so refreshing to see the actual orphanage portrayed in a more positive light, not the usual horrid dump that a lot of lesser movies play them out as. The animation is stunning. One of the best uses of stop motion I’ve seen, everything is so colourful and detailed. There’s some moments set in snowy mountains and these look incredible. There’s clearly been so much love and care put into each and every scene here. The music too, sounds spectacular, it really works well with each scene. 

9. lovesong (2016): Mindy and Sarah have that type of relationship where they don't need words because they speak in a language made out of glances and touches. This movie is about the fear of ruining a meaningful friendship and losing an important person, about love that is so complicated that one might not even try because the outcome seems to be so obvious.

10. her (2013): Heartbreak is formative: it changes you heart side out, and leaves your muscles a little stronger, your skin a little thicker, your bones easier to repair. Before this film, I’d never seen anything constructive in having your insides pulled apart by the seams by another person, but this film taught me how. Being in love and then being forced out of it is an experience that changes you fundamentally, but Her taught me its purpose – you don’t need them to leave you so that you can find someone who’s a better fit, because perhaps you never will. You need it to participate in humanity. The common denominator is being hurt, and without it, you’re barely alive.

11. shoplifters (2018): bittersweet and richly transportive, Shoplifters is a film that nonchalantly eases you into its tragic beauty in a way that doesn't punch you hard until the end. It simultaneously made me want to be part of the film's world and also very glad that I'm not. The setting the characters live in is messy and cluttered and full of dysfunction and lies, but it's also got family, and laughter, and fist-bumps, and slurping warm noodles while rain pings on the tin rooftop. So nuanced, so many tiny moments of delicate beauty and unassuming heartbreak, so many people making terrible decisions with good intentions.

12. god’s own country (2017): though it is a love story between two men, this aspect is only addressed briefly in a single scene. Rather, the film is about finding someone who makes you want to be a better person, someone who comes into your life just when you needed it most. Gheorghe helps Johnny open up and realize the beauty of the simple life. From this relationship, Johnny begins to feel comfortable with expressing himself, and his love and gratitude towards others. He also begins to appreciate life in the country, surrounded by stunning landscapes and the beauty of simplicity. Addressing the Yorkshire countryside, Gheorghe says "It is beautiful, but lonely." Johnny is presented with the notion that he doesn't have to be cold and miserable, slaving and drinking his days away. He is presented with the possibility of no longer being alone and finally finding happiness and contentment - and it is more than gratifying to see him accept it.

13. disobedience (2017): a tender star-crossed daydream. the three main character dynamics are special enough on their own, but the romance that blooms at the center is cathartically intimate and even magical: a reunion that feels so inevitable. catching glimpses of a past life, details we aren’t privy to. all the stolen kisses and whispers and promises. a bond so strong that they fall back in sync with each other like second nature, even if they try to fight against it. even if it won’t work. and yet they choose each other, even if for a few minutes.

14. raw (2016): this film is so gross and I like that. There is tons of blood and unique body horror and it all works perfectly for the tone the film is attempting to set. The use of color, specifically neons, creates a constant feeling that you are traveling through some sort of weird ghost world, which I really like. Overall, it's a very well put together film with flashes of brilliance.

15. the night is short, walk on girl (2017): what an absolutely magical adventure of a film. Essentially this is a heavily episodic look at a night in the lives of several people, centered on a woman and a man as she gleefully floats from event to event while he neurotically obsesses over how to "coincidentally" talk to her. The storytelling is incredible; while the overarching narrative is simple there are countless threads woven together to connect everyone in the story to each other. That in itself is a big theme: connections between people, how everything is interrelated, and what a large impact seemingly insignificant things people do can have an impact on everyone around them.

16. coraline (2009): Coraline is the best stop motion movie ever made in my opinion. Before the film released in 2009, I read the book and was completely blown away by its creativity and story. It’s a pretty dark tale featuring many scenes of fright that work well in both a horror setting and an animated kids setting. On surface value, this film is quite horrifying, which is something I’ve always loved about it. While it does make a few minor changes to the book, it improves upon a piece of art that was already jaw-droppingly good. Coraline feels like a real little girl with some real problems. She’s selfish but likable which is something most films cannot translate well. Of course, she has a pretty awesome arc as well which brings this movie to a perfect close for her character. The other-mother is also perfectly done. She is almost exactly how I imagined her in the book and the animation on her is spookily gorgeous. There is not one dull moment in this film. It is literally a perfect piece of cinema.

17. the third wife (2019): haven’t seen a film this visually delicate in a while. Ash Mayfair works with the looming mountain surroundings to make her characters —these women, these girls— as small as possible, as isolated as possible. Uneasiest of all is the protagonist May, so young and so weighed by responsibility, her position blurs between being one of the wives and being one of the daughters. It’s an extremely bleak tale of circumstance. An old tale, certainly, but so beautifully crafted it doesn’t matter. Mayfair holds a fearful tension throughout, and it only ever shatters in the cruelest of ways.The abundance of women and display of sisterhood begin as a comfort, but horror takes over as we realize how conditional and fragile that comfort is. Even the daughters are subconsciously aware, one of them praying to the gods to grow up and become a man, shearing her hair off in naive triumph. It’s a doomed cycle of girls performing roles which are unfortunately their best option, right up until the final scene of May with her daughter, still in their mourning clothes. She, like the older wives, finally realizes they’re the same as the cattle laying on their side for too many days.

[demifiendrsa]

The Walking Dead comic book series ends with issue #193.

Robert Kirkman’s letter to fans with spoilers for the final issue omitted:

"This is the end of The Walking Dead.

"That's it... it's over... we're done.

"I'm sure you have a million questions... and I'm sure you feel as emotional about this as we do... if not more so. I'm completely willing to bet some of you are angry over this. I get it... I do. I mean... WHY didn't we announce this so that fans would have some time to prepare?

"Well... personally... I hate knowing what's coming. As a fan, I hate it when I realize I'm in the third act of a movie and the story is winding down. I hate that I can count commercial breaks and know I’m nearing the end of a TV show. I hate that you can FEEL when you’re getting to the end of a book, or a graphic novel.

"Some of the BEST episodes of Game of Thrones are when they’re structured in such a way and paced to perfection so your brain can’t tell if it’s been watching for 15 minutes or 50 minutes... and when the end comes... you’re STUNNED.

"I love LONG movies for that very reason. You lose track of time because you went in convinced that you’re going to be there for a long time, but the story moves at such an entertaining and engaging pace that by the time the movie’s wrapping up... you can’t believe it’s already over. SURPRISE, it’s over!

"All I’ve ever done, all a creator can really do... is tailor-make stories to entertain themselves, and hope the audience feels the same way. That’s all I’ve ever been doing... and it seems to work most of the time.

"THE WALKING DEAD has always been built on surprise. Not knowing what’s going to happen when you turn the page, who’s going to die, how they’re going to die... it’s been ESSENTIAL to the success of this series. It’s been the lifeblood that’s been keeping it going all these years, keeping people engaged.

"It just felt WRONG and against the very nature of this series not to make the actual end as surprising as all the big deaths... from Shane all the way to Rick.

"To be honest... it seemed like a really good idea at the time, but now that we’re here and the series is over, I’m having second thoughts. Not so much so that I’m changing course... that would be kind of impossible to do anyway. But... it’s possible, as much as I hate to admit it, that I’m genuinely feeling a sense of regret over this whole crazy plan.

"I want you to see what went into this though, I want you to understand why, if that’s possible. I feel like you all deserve at least that. So let’s pull the curtain back in a way... well, I usually try not to do. When it comes to the end of this series... here’s how the sausage got made.

"Way back in early 2015, Charlie Adlard turned in the cover for issue #142. He had taken my direction, of showing happy people at the Alexandria fair, the booths, the commerce... a very civilized scene, and he’d worked wonders with the concept. It was a cover unlike anything that had come before. To me, it was a real turning point for this series.

"The thing is... this was over four years ago at this point... but I knew pretty much every big story point that was going to happen all the way up to this final issue. A couple years prior, around 2013 or so, I’d even told Charlie at San Diego Comic-Con what the gist of this final issue was. [...] I just didn’t know exactly what issue that story would fall in. I knew the end... but I didn’t know where it would fall. I figured... somewhere past issue #300. As I’ve said publicly... I’ve always wanted to reach that number, that big, round Cerebus number that all the insane indy comics creators try to chase.

"But when I saw the cover to #142... it dawned on me. 'Oh, s***... we’re already at the fair! The Commonwealth is just around the corner... and... oh, man... there’s no WAY I’m going to make it to issue #300.' It was the first time I realized that I just didn’t have enough story worked out to get there. I didn’t know exactly how long we’d fight the Whisperers or how long we’d be spending in the Commonwealth before Rick would bring about his own demise... but I knew the whole run wouldn’t be another 150 issues.

"I started working things out... trying to figure out how long things would run... and it dawned on me... I had about 50 issues until I got to my planned end. I always have to keep collections in mind. Now that we do 48-issue compendiums (that are very popular, our most popular format), it would be really irresponsible to wrap this series up in a way that resulted in compendium readers having to buy a different format to finish the series. So I was happy that it appeared things would work out where this series would wrap up nicely in the fourth compendium.

"But I wasn’t quite sure it was time to wrap things up.

"I love writing this series. It’s been my life’s dream. So when I first came to this realization... my first instinct was, 'Well, I just need to come up with more story'. I even spent a few weeks trying to come up with new plot, new story detours to push the ending I had in mind back and keep things going... for a while, possibly even a long while... an extra compendium, maybe two.

"And... again, pulling the curtain back... this has happened before. I’d already abandoned one planned ending to keep the series going. Yep... that’s an exclusive I’ve never revealed anywhere.

"Let’s go off on a tangent for a moment. When the story got to Alexandria in issue #72, things were going to go pretty much as they did; Rick and his crew were going to have trouble fitting in because of everything they’d been through. That would lead to conflict within Alexandria, and it would eventually lead to Rick taking over. The big storyline NO WAY OUT ended with Rick proclaiming that Alexandria was a place worth fighting for, that they could no longer keep moving from place to place... they had to take a stand, lay down roots and start building from there. Their nomad days were behind them.

"Well, for years... that had been planned to be... the end. Rick would make his proclamation, and the speech would end with a big close-up on Rick’s face, you’d turn the page, and Rick’s face would be the same, only it was a statue... and you’d zoom out and see the full statue with some vines growing on the bottom of it... cracks forming... and you’d realize that it was quite OLD.

"We’d keep zooming out until we saw that the statue was in Alexandria, the same place where he gave the speech, but it was different. It was old and rundown, broken windows and missing doors. We would keep zooming out until a zombie walked by, then another... and we’d see that Rick had brought them to Alexandria, given this grand speech about rebuilding civilization and SUCCEEDED to the point that they built a statue to honor him... but in the end, the dead won, society crumbled again, this time seemingly for good... and that was it.

"It was a TERRIBLE ending. Bleak, sad... made the whole story pointless. What can I say... I was young and most of the endings I wrote or came up with way back then... were pretty bleak. So that ending... in hindsight was embarrassingly bad, but more than that, I wasn’t ready to end this series. Not by a long shot.

"You have to understand, when I started writing this series, I had no clue I’d make it to issue #12. So the thought of having a book that ran 100 issues was insane. So when this book really took off in its second year, I was able to make far reaching plans for the future, but even at that point, a 100-issue run still seemed impossible.

"So when I found myself staring down the barrel of a completed 100-issue series, I just wasn’t ready to let go. I was having too much fun. Think about how things would have gone if I’d wrapped things up then... no Negan, no Ezekiel, no All Out War, no time jump, no Magna, no Whisperers, no Commonwealth, no Princess... and a really crummy ending to boot.

"To top it off... shortly after I scrapped that planned ending and decided to keep going, I came up with pretty much the exact ending of this issue, which I felt was much more fitting and rewarding.

"I’m glad I made the decision I did back then. I have no regrets.

"This time though, things were very different. As I worked to come up with ways to expand the story, none of it felt right. Everything felt like an unnecessary detour... it was, for lack of a better word, filler. The harder I tried to come up with new places to go, the clearer it was to me that this is what this story needed... it needed to end.

"So like I said... it seemed like a good idea at the time. FOUR YEARS ago this plan seemed rock solid. Never tell anyone, keep it secret, and even go as far as soliciting fake issues that will never exist so that we can really surprise people. Oh, man... I thought this was going to be great.

"I worked it out with Charlie right away. He’d always been pushing to end on a high note. He was with me, all the way, as long as I didn’t run this series into the ground. Charlie just wanted to make this book special. If I had a solid plan for 300 issues, he’d have made it happen, but if I started turning in stories Charlie thought were lame... I would have heard about it and he’d have convinced me to end the series. So when we talked about the plan, Charlie was excited, his fear of us overstaying our welcome and keeping this book going well past its popularity were quelled.

"I’ll say it again, I love (loved... oh, god, I’m not ready for past tense) writing this series. I really don’t want it to end. In fact, I’ve been... kind of unsettled since I wrote the script for this issue. The whole thing just feels... weird.

"In a way, killing this series has been a lot like killing a major character. Much, much harder... but the same feeling. I don’t WANT to do it. I’d rather keep going... but the story is telling me what it wants and what it needs. This needs to happen. Whether I want it or not.

"It just feels right... while also feeling... terrible.

"The main point of all this is... well, I’m scared. Most of my professional life has been spent on this series. Countless hours are dedicated to this, month in and month out. More than anything in the last 16 years... this is going to fundamentally change my life. So I’m terrified.

"When my fingers typed out “THE END” on the keyboard as I finished this script... I thought I’d feel relief, or some sliver of pride in a job well done, but it was really just... dread. I wasn’t ready for it to be over... but it was.

"It is.

"Oddly, as unsure as I feel about ending the story, I feel confident in how I ended it. [...]

"I hope it makes you happy, too. Even if you’re upset at not getting to spend time in this world anymore.

"I’m upset, too. I’m going to miss it as much as you will, if not more so. It breaks my heart that I had to end it, and we have to move on... but I just love this world too much to stretch things out until it doesn’t live up to what I want it to be.

"I hope you understand.

"I hope you, dear reader, know how much I appreciate the gift you have given me. I got to tell my story exactly how I wanted to, for 193 issues, and end it on my terms, with no interference at all along the way... at any point. That’s such a rare thing, and it doesn’t exist without the unyielding support this series got from readers like you. Thank you so much.

"Thank you, Tony Moore, for drawing the first six issues. Thank you, Cliff Rathburn, for countless hours spent shaping black and white art with gray tones. Thank you, Rus Wooton, for turning my words into art month after month. Thank you, Stefano Gaudiano, for shaping Charlie’s pencils for nearly 100 issues. Thank you, Aubrey Sitterson and Sina Grace, for your time keeping this insanity in check. Thank you, Sean Mackiewicz, for seeing this project all the way to the end, despite thinking each compendium would be your last... and, y’know, doing a great job along the way. Thank you, Arielle Basich, for keeping Sean sane and doing the heavy lifting. Thank you, Andres Juarez, for keeping this book looking fresh after being on the shelf for over a decade. Thank you, Carina Taylor, for doing your part to do the same. Thank you, Dave Stewart, for making Charlie’s art pop on comic shelves the world over. Thank you, Dave McCaig, for you know what. Thank you, Ryan Ottley, for that amazing art in issue #75 that may never get collected. Thank you, Cory Walker, for your wise council before I even started this series. Thank you, Jim Valentino, for so many things, including saying, “Change the title so you can own it.” Thank you, Shawn Kirkham, for always having an ear to the ground for what this world needs. Thank you to the team at Skybound, who work tirelessly to bring you everything THE WALKING DEAD you could ever want and more. Thank you, Erik Larsen, for the undying support, even to this day. Thank you, Eric Stephenson, for the years of strategy sessions that made this series a continued success. Thank you to the evolving staff at Image Comics that was invaluable over the last decade and a half... especially the accounting department. Thank you, David Alpert, for your part in turning this into a truly worldwide, multimedia phenomenon, and all that came with it and somehow so much more than that. Thank you, Shep Rosenman and Lee Rosenbaum, for crossing the Ts and dotting the Is so I can keep all my Ts and not lose my Is. Thank you, Chris Simonian, for going to war and winning. Thank you, Allen Grodsky, for going to war and winning. Thank you, John Campisi and the team at CAA, for continuing the fight. Thank you, Frank Darabont, for going into House of Secrets in Burbank and saying, 'This one.' Thank you, Gale Anne Hurd, for helping turn “this one” into something real. Thank you, Charles H. Eglee, for being the original showrunner and setting us up for success. Thank you, Jack LoGiudice, for making me feel welcome in the writer’s room on day one... by being mean to me in the most entertaining ways. Thank you, Glen Mazzara, for keeping the fire warm. Thank you, Scott Gimple, for taking the show to new heights and for caring enough to say, 'No spoilers, dear God, no more spoilers.' Thank you, Angela Kang, for the future and beyond. Thank you, Greg Nicotero, for making the zombies (er, walkers) REAL. Thank you, Chris Hardwick, for telling the world every week that there’s a comic book worth checking out. Thank you to the ten thousand people who work on the now FOUR TV shows based on THE WALKING DEAD for pouring their hearts into this and loving this world as much if not more than I do.

"But most of all, thank you, Charlie Adlard, for sitting at the table, day in and day out, and devoting more hours to THE WALKING DEAD than anyone. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. It’s been a dream come true to get to shape this world together, with you. This never would have happened without you. I can’t believe we made it all the way to the end, my friend.

"Oh my god... I can’t believe it’s really over."

-Robert Kirkman"

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: Moving On With Toy Story 4

My intention was to polish this out but I’ve been in a funk all day, so have some raw and rambling Thursday Thoughts.

Let’s start with a brief spoiler-free review. I’ll get into spoilers below the cut.

Every step of the way, Toy Story 4 did not do what I expected it to do. It repeatedly chose new directions over old trends, and I came away feeling both grateful and impressed.

At the same time, this story kept continuity with the previous films very well. The characters and world felt comfortable and consistent.

While I like the direction the movie ultimately took, I don’t think I’m ever going to be completely behind “character continually tries to throw self in garbage as comedy” as a concept. Especially given how the Toy Story franchise previously established extremely negative connotations for “trash” and being “thrown away.” This movie raises some uncomfortable philosophical questions about the Toy Story world which I would expect to be played with in the realms of fanfiction and Reddit threads, but which don’t seem appropriate to me to be grappled with in the actual canon content.

That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the way that this movie, in a brief line of dialogue, redefines the concept of trash, taking one of those new directions that I alluded to before. It felt like too little too late for me to entirely like the concept, but it is a positive note. Similarly, Bo Peep is beyond awesome in this film, and the sheer number of incidental female non-villainous characters in this film blows ordinary standards for male-to-female film ratios out of the water, but it all feels like too little too late to call the franchise as a whole “feminist.”

Another pleasant surprise was the ending of the film. Toy Story 4 delivers a concluding note to the overarching Toy Story franchise that is just as cathartic and satisfying as the ending of Toy Story 3, albeit with a much different message. So now we have a franchise with two endings. This irks my inner writer – I’m a firm believer that stories should have a solid beginning and end, and then we should move on to other stories. A story that ends twice is awkward. But I also really like both endings, viewed separately from each other, for different reasons.

There will be a picture here (of the Toy Story 4 movie poster), and a “read more” cut, and then spoilers!

I said earlier that the Toy Story franchise is not as a whole feminist. That said, Toy Story 4 on its own is a feminist film.

Toy Story 4 is the story of a man realizing that the world does not revolve around him anymore, and that it might never really have revolved around him, and that that is absolutely a good thing. Where Toy Story 3 defined Woody’s emotional journey as growing to let go of Andy, Toy Story 4 transforms his journey into letting go of his purpose (as a toy who supports and is loved by a specific kid) and finding a new one. And that new purpose he finds is making sure that other people – primarily women – get what they want and find their own purposes.

At the end of the flashback that opens the film, which explains how Bo Peep was given away, I turned to my boyfriend and said, “Wow.” Not because of the stunning animation, or the fantastic music, or the nostalgia inherent to seeing the gang in Andy’s room once again – but because Bo asks Woody to come with her. Up to this point, Bo Peep did not have a personality outside of Woody. She was exactly what Andy imagined her to be – his damsel in distress. Every single line of dialogue she had in the first two films were either to Woody or about Woody. She had no desires, no independence.

The opening of Toy Story 4 makes it crystal clear that Bo is her own person. She’s quickly established as the leader of Molly’s room, just like Woody is the leader in Andy’s, and she’s an equal participant to Woody in the rescue of RC. Plenty of films would leave it at that, making Bo a female equivalent to Woody. But Toy Story 4 has Bo take things one step further. When Woody tells her to hide and stay with him, she tells him no. Molly and Andy don’t need her anymore, so she’s going to move on to the next kid who does need her. And then she asks Woody to come with her. He doesn’t go – he’s still too attached to Andy, and to Andy’s need for him. But the fact that Bo asks at all, rather than putting Woody’s wishes first, is a big deal.

Fast forward to the end of the film, and once again Bo doesn’t want to stay with Woody and his kid, and once again Bo asks Woody to come with her. This time, she gets what she wants. She remains a “lost toy,” she gets to see the world, and she gets to have Woody there with her.

Bo isn’t the only female character whose desires drive the plot of the film. Woody’s motivation for most of the film is to keep Bonnie happy. This means sitting in the closet when she doesn’t want to play with him (side note – I smiled when Bonnie took the sheriff badge off of Woody and put it on Jessie instead. I used to do the same sort of thing with my toys, taking the hair off of the Playmobil princess and using it to turn the knight into a girl. Where we don’t have representation, we make our own). This also means keeping Forky around.

Forky. Oh, Forky. I don’t really have much else to say about him besides what I said in the spoiler-free part of this review. I did really like his and Woody’s conversation while walking along the highway. In Toy Story 2, “trash” was a zombie-hand hellscape. In Toy Story 3, the garbage dump was a Holocaust-style death camp. Toy Story 4 puts “trash” in a more positive light – “you’ve fulfilled your purpose.” It’s said once, and passed over very quickly – from that point onward, Forky seems 100% on board with being a toy, and the word “trash” is hardly used again. I wish they’d established this concept earlier in the series somehow, but I’m not sure where I would have put it.

The point is, Forky doesn’t get what he wants, either (unless we assume that he wants a female companion, which… really, post-credits-scene? Really?). Woody wins him over to the cause of making sure Bonnie gets what she wants.

And then there’s Gabby Gabby. She was another pleasant surprise. At first she seemed cut from the same cloth as other animated villains – Lotso Huggin’ Bear from Toy Story 3 is a good example. She wants what the hero has, and is apparently willing to kill in order to get what she wants (that scene where the dummies are ripping Woody apart – dark stuff!). I actually laughed a lot during her scenes, because of how the movie overly plays into villainous tropes in her early characterization, and horror tropes for the dummies. I sighed and rolled my eyes when it became clear that Bo and Gabby already hated each other – girls just aren’t supposed to get along in movies, are they. Gabby uses Forky to learn enough about Woody to convince him to give her his voicebox, but she gets rejected by the child she’s been idolizing regardless.

And I waited for Gabby to snap, to turn monstrous, to try to destroy Forky and Woody, and for the film to summarily punish this woman for daring to take something away from the male hero by trapping her in a shelf or sticking her with a kid who likes to torture toys or something.

But none of that happened. Gabby isn’t evil. She genuinely does want what Woody’s been so fortunate to have – a loving relationship with a kid – and Woody recognizes this, and decides to help her. Gabby Gabby gets a happy ending, with a new child, a new voice, and a new life.

This film could have ended with Woody getting everything he wanted. He could have kept his voicebox. Bo and the other “lost toys” could have come home to stay with Bonnie. For a while, it looked like these things might happen. But they didn’t.

Instead, Woody changed what he wanted. He rededicated his life to making sure that other toys and kids would get what they wanted. He goes on to help the other carnival toys find kids of their own, if they want them, and lives happily with the “lost toys” who don’t want them.

If there’s a villain in this film, it’s Woody’s single-mindedness – that’s what keeps getting other people and himself hurt as he pursues his goals in the first two-thirds of the film. Things start to go right when Woody starts to give up pieces of himself and his identity. Him giving his voicebox to Gabby, and later giving the sheriff’s badge to Jessie, are symbols of someone who has had success recognizing that it’s time to pass the torch to someone else, recognizing that what was once “his” world no longer needs him, and accepting that that is alright.

Where Toy Story 3 closed the circle, Toy Story 4 steps forward into a new world. Both are satisfying to my writer brain, albeit for different reasons. My inner social justice warrior is a bigger fan of the latter.

[once-upon-a-pirate-ship]

Bets & Walls

A gift for an old friend on her birthday. @frankierosizedletters

Will bets Killian $100 that he can't get Emma to go on a date with him. He really needs the money, and he can only hope that she's the charitable type.

(spoiler: she is)

Follow my main Tumblr @elisethewritingbeast 

Also on AO3 here

Emma Swan was just a regular girl. Sure, she was a cheerleader, one of the “cool kids” perhaps, but she liked to think that she was normal. Maybe this word was so important to her because she’d only joined the Nolan family a few years ago, just before she started high school. Now, she had the best brother a girl could ask for, a best friend who always made her laugh, and basically a sister because she knew that one day her brother would marry that girl.

But Emma still found ways that her past slipped in through the cracks in her walls, digging a hole in her mind that made her think things she wished she could forget. She still felt lost sometimes, sitting at a table in the cafeteria with David, Mary Margaret, and Ruby, trying to listen to their mindless chatter about this and that but not really being able to, her brain pulling her back to her isolated ways from the millions of foster homes she fell in and out of in her time before living with Ruth and David.

She felt like she needed to give herself a mental slap, or maybe a real one. She was being ridiculous, really. She should be worried about the next football game her brother would play in, and what cheers she, Ruby, and M’s needed to remember. She didn’t need to be thinking of that time. The Dark Ages, as she so sweetly dubbed it. The name was fitting, because there truly was no light in her life until she met David and Ruth.

She left the cafeteria feeling a bit guilty, taking her time wandering to her locker and enjoying the mind-numbing buzz of the crowded hallways around her.

At her locker, she found what she needed for trigonometry and moved her hand to close the door, when a figure appeared beside her. That cute boy from her AP History class, Killian , she remembered.

He always had a book with him, usually a classic, and would often spend class doodling instead of taking notes. He never needed to, and despite his never paying attention, he knew the material better than anyone, except for maybe herself. He was quiet, kept to himself, and had that look in his eyes that she knew all too well.

“Hi,” he said shyly.

“Hi,” she wondered why he was talking to her; he never had before. It was a shame, really.

“I have a favor to ask of you,” he mumbled, obviously nervous. The way his hand moved to scratch behind his ear made her smile. She didn’t respond, just raised an eyebrow, so he went on. “Well, Will bet me one hundred dollars that I couldn’t get you to go out with me. I don’t think I could, but I really could use one hundred dollars, and I was hoping that you might be the charitable type…” he trailed off, so unsure of himself that she had to suppress another smile.

“Sure, but you’re buying,” she told him, and couldn’t help but laugh under her breath at the shocked look on his face. She turned to her locker, scribbling her number on a sticky note and passing it to him. “Here,” was all she said before she shut her locker and left to go to trig. She didn’t look back to see the look on his face, but she knew it would’ve made her giggle like a school girl. But wasn’t that exactly who she was?

They solidified their plans over the rest of the week, and come Saturday night, Killian Jones was picking her up at Ruth’s house. She inquired about just not going out but saying they did, but apparently Will wanted photographic proof.

David lounged on her bed while she finished her eyeliner, grumbling as he usually did. “Why are you going out with Jones again?”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s nice, David. Get over it. Besides, it’s just one date,”

“Fine, but I can give him the big brother speech if you want,”

“No!” She nearly jumped. “No, absolutely not. Please don’t do that,” her brother was very intimidating when given the opportunity.

There was a knock on her door at seven o’clock on the dot, and she noted that he was definitely the punctual type. She swung open the door, and she honestly wanted to gasp at how honestly attractive he looked, but the way his eyes slid up her body and how he swallowed so nervously...it made her heart rate speed up ridiculously.

He held the car door open for her. “What a gentleman,” she commented.

Killian’s reply was quick. “I’m always a gentleman, love.” It made her weak in the knees.

He took her to the only fancy restaurant in town, a little Italian place, and they even had reservations. No one had ever made reservations for her. He even pushed in her chair, and she couldn’t believe how much she felt like a real princess. She brushed the skirt of her pale pink dress anxiously as he sat down, feeling a little out of place.

She’d had boyfriends before. Well, boyfriend, singular. Neal. It was a whirlwind romance that turned into no more than a summer fling. He beat at her walls with a baseball bat, but it hurt her when he swung. David had hated him from the start, and that really should’ve been enough to make her wary.

But Neal, Neal never treated her like this. He never sat across from her at the fanciest restaurant he could find, smiling hesitantly at her. He didn’t hold her door, or make reservations, or push in her chair. Neal was no gentleman.

“So, do you make bets with Will Scarlet often?” She asked conversationally.

He laughed, and she could see the tension leave his shoulders. “Not usually, no. But he was feeling particularly bored the other day, and well, I could use the money.”

“Makes sense,” she commented, and then their conversation was halted until they could order their food.

Once their waiter was gone, she relaxed slightly. “You really know how to make a girl feel special, Jones. Had a lot of practice on that front?”

His eyebrow cocked and he smirked. “Are you asking me about past romances, Swan?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying, you do plan a good night out,”

He shifted in his seat, swallowing. “To be honest, Swan, I was worried you might think it wasn’t enough. You deserve to be properly wined and dined, if you’ll excuse the cliché.”  

She couldn’t meet his eyes, and she fiddled with the chain around her neck. “I’m not so sure about that,” she muttered.

If she’d been looking, she would’ve seen the way his eyes darkened slightly at his words. “That’s ridiculous, Swan,” he almost scoffed.

She shook her head, finally meeting his gaze. “Why don’t you tell me something about yourself, Killian?” She changed the topic.

He chuckled. “What do you want to know?”

“I dunno,” she picked the first thing that came to mind. “What’s your favorite movie?”

“Well, it’s sort of embarrassing, really,”

“Why do you say that?” She found him fascinating, and she couldn’t help her outburst of curiosity.

He waited a moment, as if he were trying to figure out what to say. “It was my mum’s favorite movie, and we watched it all the time together before…” he cleared his throat, “when I was younger.” She knew not to push, and kept silent until he answered her question. “The Princess Bride.”

Her eyes widened, and she thought that if she were standing, she would need to sit down. “No way,”

“What?”

“That’s my favorite movie, too.” And then his eyes matched hers in size and they sat there for a few moments in shocked silence.

“What are the chances?” He wondered aloud.

“That’s crazy, really,” she shook her head in disbelief.

"Almost...inconceivable." They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

The rest of dinner passed with lively conversation, filled with laughter and (just maybe) a little flirting. She was absolutely stunned by how much she liked Killian.

After they left the restaurant, he offered an alternative to taking her home right away. “Fancy a walk down at the docks?”

“Sure,” she said, glad she had an excuse to extend their perfect evening.

The air was warm and the water was calm, and they walked with their shoulders just barely touching down to the edge of the dock, where Emma took a seat and let her legs dangle over the water. He joined her, sitting a bit farther than she had hoped he would.

“You never did answer my question earlier,” she told him, staring out at the soft waves in the distance.

“Hm?”

“My question. About girls,” she clarified.

“Oh,” he paused, eyebrows furrowing. “No, no girls. It has never really...come up before.”

“Really?” She asked.

He looked at her, smiling gingerly. “Does that surprise you?”

“Sort of,” she said, and when he looked at her curiously, she added, “you’re just good at this, I guess.”

“Am I?” His grin grew.

“Don’t get a big head or anything, but yeah. Definitely makes a girl feel like a princess.”

“Well, you deserve nothing less.” He was so genuine that Emma shivered. “Cold?” He asked, concerned. She shook her head, but he didn’t believe her. And as if it weren’t the most cliché thing he could have done, he shrugged off his leather jacket and put it over her shoulders.

They enjoyed the natural and comfortable silence that came with gently crashing waves and whispering wind. Emma and Killian sat there for a while, just basking in the peacefulness of it and appreciating each other’s company.

Anyone’s voice but his would’ve cut through the silence, slicing it and making it bleed, but his caressed the quiet, making her feel warm and light. “You seemed...surprised,” he said.

“Hm?”

“Surprised, earlier. At the restaurant, the reservations, it surprised you. Why?” He asked.

“Oh, well, I guess that my last boyfriend wasn’t really one to make reservations at the nicest place in town,” she shrugged.

“It was Neal Gold, right?”

“Yeah,” she still felt a stab at his name, but she also felt like someone was there to put pressure on her wound.

“Sorry, but he’s kind of a dick,”

She laughed, releasing the tension in her body. “Oh, absolutely. He did a lot of things and said a lot of things that I think my brother would’ve killed him for,”

“So he’s the reason you think you don’t deserve to be treated like a princess,” he stated, and it sounded nothing like a question.

“I guess, maybe. He just...reminded me of who I am,”

“And just who are you, Swan?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

“Perhaps I would,” he was so honest, so authentic that it made her heart shudder.

Another minute of silence passed between them before she spoke again.

“I was left on the side of the highway as a baby. I bounced around foster care for years, always the girl no one wanted. Just a lost girl, never anything more.” Her arms moved to hug herself almost subconsciously. “And then I found David and Ruth. I was fourteen when they took me in, and I could never have asked for a better family. I never dreamed I would even have one to begin with.”

He watched her carefully in the moonlight, taking in all her words and every flicker of her eyes. But what he felt wasn’t pity, it was understanding.

“My dad left us when I was seven, just after we found out mum was sick. My brother Liam took care of her–and me–until she died. They took me away from him after that. He was too young to be my legal guardian. He was only just able to find me again, right before we moved here.”

It was her turn to watch him, watch as the words fell out of his lips as if they’d been waiting to do that forever. The weight that sat between them had been lifted.

Emma’s hand moved slightly, just enough to cover Killian’s. His eyes flitted to hers, and then he flipped his hand so his fingers could lock with hers.

Killian Jones was slowly disassembling her walls, brick by brick. He was careful, and all he had to do was give it a slight tug, no breaking required.

It was late by the time they made it back to Ruth’s place (Emma’s place), but she still didn’t want the night to end. They stood on her porch, hands still intertwined.

“Thank you. For tonight,” she said, smiling up at him.

“It was truly my pleasure, Swan. I’m only glad you had a good time,” he told her.

“I’m really happy that Will made that bet,” she told him. “Oh my god, we forgot to take pictures! We don’t have any photographic evidence for him,”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to go out again, won’t we?” He smirked.

“I don’t think I’d mind that too much,” she murmured, her eyes catching on his lips.

“No?” He asked, leaning in somewhat.

“No, I don’t think I would.” She said, closing the distance between them and captured his lips with hers.  

[mingiswow]

10 | Blood Princess

Pairing: Namjoon x reader

Genre: Mafia!au

Warnings: violence, suggestive themes, cuss words, thigh riding 

Word count: + 2,4 k

a/n: I’m so sorry I was away for so long, but everything has been crazy lately. But don’t worry! I’ll finish this story as well as the other projects. Maybe it’ll take a little while but I’ll do it! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Lots of love 💖

It felt like Deja vu, you coming down the stairs all dressed up, the three youngest ones coming in front of you, Namjoon looking absolutely ravishing in his blue plaid suit and matching pants, his white dress shirt half opened, showing part of his chest and leaving you with sinful thoughts.

You came down the last steps and stopped in front of him, a big smile on both of your lips. His calloused hands gently touched yours, intertwining your fingers.

“If it is possible, you look even more beautiful than ever looked” the man left a kiss on your forehead, making a heat go straight up your cheeks.

“Maybe is the idea I’m finally yours now” Namjoon chuckled at your answer, throwing his head a little back and smiling down at you.

“You’ll never lose that sharp mouth of yours, aren’t you?” you denied with your head. “I think we should get going, I made reservations for us in a place I think you’ll really like” you nodded as he pulled you to the door, being followed by four giant men, his bodyguards. “Yoongi, Jin, take care of everything for me while I’m out, yeah?”

“Go have some fun, boss. You need” Jin answered, hugging Yoongi by the side. “We’ll take care of here. Anything you need don’t hesitate to call us”

“Thanks, boys” Namjoon walked out the mansion, hand still holding yours. He just let go for you to enter the car waiting outside.

You sat on the soft leather seat and waited for the man to join you. Your heart was pounding fast and your stomach was a mess. In your entire life, you’ve never been so nervous before, not even before your first mission as Blood Princess, not even after you killed your first victim. Nothing made you as nervous as the idea of going out with Namjoon as a couple.

The seat by your side sank and an arm wrapped your waist and pulled you to the side. The man kept hugging your waist sideways as the other hand held yours. Whoever saw you never imagined who you were, what you were, you just looked like a fancy couple in love.

Which was not entirely a lie.

“You look absolutely stunning tonight, Y/N” his velvety voice woke you up from your daydreaming, your eyes looking up to his. “I don’t know how long I can wait until I finally touch you the way you deserve” your eyes went immediately to the ground, the heat in your cheeks growing once again, and he laughed at your reaction, pulling you by your chin to look at him again. “You are my most precious thing right now. I could lose my gang, my houses, my cars, anything, as long as I have you, I’ll be happy” you smiled at him, pushing your body up so you could capture his lips.

Namjoon’s hands squeezed your waist and tight as soon as your lips touched his. He always got impressed of how fast his body would respond to you and your stimulus. You were no different, heat waves taking over your body, heart speeding at an incredible pace, hands electric, agitated, wanting to touch him everywhere they could.

The kiss heated up, the man’s strong grip bringing you to straddle his lap, sitting in one of his tights. The contact of the cold fabric of his paints against your already wet panty made you suck for air still into the kiss, a whiny moan leaving your lips afterward. 

“Sweet Jesus, princess, you’re this turned on already?” the shit-eating grin he had on his face was making you even wetter. “Do you want to ride my thigh, princess? I can make you cum before we get on our destination” your eyes rolled when he grabbed your waist and made you rub on top of his thigh, lips holding together to not let a loud moan out. “I want words, princess. Tell me what you want” another rub and, this time, a moan left your mouth, making him twitch inside his clothes.

“Y-yes” the words barely came out, just a whisper.

“Yes what?” Namjoon forced you even further his thigh, made you contract your sex into nothing. What this man was doing to your sanity?

“Yes, boss” the smirk that appeared on the man’s lips was a mixture between horny and sadistic.

“Such a good princess, aren’t we?” his lips joined yours again, this time faster, rougher, hornier. The air in the car was dense and smelled like lust, like sex. “C’mon, play with my thigh” you weren’t sure if you were able to do it so, your legs shaky as jelly already. Never, in your entire life, you felt something like this. But you weren’t the one complaining. Completely the opposite actually.

You started to move your body slowly, closing your eyes and enjoying the sensation. You pulled your panties to the side, leaving your clit exposed to the soft fabric of his pants, the friction increasing at the same proportion as the pleasure. You were sure he would have the mark of your nails on him even over the clothes he wore from how hard you held his shoulders, using them as support for your weak legs.

The knot in your stomach increased and you knew you were getting closer. You opened his shirt, leaving his muscular chest exposed for you. He left a loud grunt when you passed your nails through the skin, marking ever so slightly. His grunt was followed by your own moan, warning you that you were close to your high.

“Are you gonna cum, Y/N?” you nodded, biting your lower lip trying to hold the moans wanting to escape your throat. “No, baby. Don’t hold it, I want to hear you, I want you to scream my name. I want you to show me I was the man that made you feel like that” his words hit you like a truck and soon enough you were a moaning mess on top of him, holding on for dear life as your orgasm waved through your body. His large hands, helping you grind on him, overstimulating your bundle of nerves, making you almost scream his name. “There you go, princess. Such a good girl” he kissed you gently, so gently that it even felt like it was the same man that was kissing you seconds ago. “How do you feel?” his hands caressed your hair, putting the messed-up ones in place.

“So damn good” he laughed at you as you laid your head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Joon”

“For what exactly?”

“For being the nicest man I’ve ever been with” you left his embrace to look at him in the eyes and you swore you saw galaxies on them.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. It’s the least I can do as your boyfriend”

“Am I your girlfriend? I don’t remember that” you teased the man, biting his nose. Namjoon always loved that duality on you, one minute you were this hot, merciless woman, and in the other, you were this cute and soft being.

“Not officially, but soon” you nodded at him and left his lap, sitting by his side again.

“Well, I’ll be waiting for that” the man left a little kiss on your lips and a few minutes after, the driver announced your arrival.

The restaurant was fancy and you could see a few other people spread through the place. The walls were covered in a dark red wallpaper with a few drawings that remembered you some pictures you saw from Italy in Papa Choi’s house. The lights were low, in a soft tone of yellow, giving the place this romantic and even sensual atmosphere. The furniture was all made of dark brown wood with black metal feet matching the chairs. Everything in that place felt coordinated and, together, gave an old French movie aura.

“Welcome back, Mr. Kim” a tall and very well dressed woman received you with a big smile on her face. “Your table is ready and soon our sommeliers will be taking your wine”.

“Thanks, Karen” the woman politely bowed to you two and left, Namjoon leading you to a more reserved booth in the back part of the restaurant.

“Do you come here often?” you asked as you followed the man. The fact that the woman knew exactly his table, welcomed him “back” and also knew his favorite wine made you wondered how many times he went there and how many times he took women there.

“I’m the owner, Y/N. Do you think I only make dirty money?” he questioned as he saw your confused look, making your cheeks go red by the assumption.

“I never thought of anything else” you grabbed the cup of, now served, red wine and took a sip.

“I’m not like him, Y/N. If I decide to give up of this life I can, I make my clean money as well”

“Why don’t you gave up yet then?” he looked into your eyes, his brown ones staring deeply into you.

“I like the thrill of it, the danger, the fun. Just being a restaurant owner is not the funniest job” he smiled at you, his thumb gently caressing your hand that laid on top of the table.

“But do you think there is something that, maybe, will make you stop?” your gaze never leaving his.

Your question was genuine, you weren’t thinking of you, but him. Namjoon was a young man full of life, with loads of experiences to live, adventures to make. He was pretty, rich, had his own business, he didn’t need that lifestyle. Of course, he said because the thrill of it, but was it worth it? Was all this danger worth it? The imminent death knocking on his shoulder every second was worth just because of boredom?

It was clear in your eyes - and the past few days - that you hated that life, and Namjoon couldn’t blame you, your story was much worse than his. You were a puppet on Papa’s gang while he was a protegee, a son to his previous Don.

“I do” his both hands grabbed yours, caressing the skin, his calluses tickling ever so gently your palm. “But, for now, I have a few things to do before leaving this life forever, ok?” you nodded, the childish smile on your lips.

By the curse of the days, the boss noticed your clear as crystal change. Your actions became softer, almost as a child’s one, you stopped training, barely going to the gym anymore. Started to spend even more time with the younger ones, doing little sleepovers. And even started to blush and mush anytime Namjoon would compliment or flirt with you.

The man even thought about hiring a psychiatrist to talk to you, but he thought it would be privacy invasion, so he let it aside. At least for a while.

“I trust you, Joon. More than I expected to. Gosh! You and the boys were the best thing that ever happened to me” he laughed at your way of saying it, throwing your hands in the air. “I l-” you were cut short by a loud crashing sound, making Namjoon jump in front of you to protect you.

You two looked to the front and two black cars had invaded the place, breaking windows and doors. The lady that welcomed you earlier was now laid unconscious in the ground, the pool of blood staining her dress shirt that once was white. You couldn’t help but leave a little gasp with the scene, you weren’t ready for that. Neither was the man with you.

“Well. Well. Well… What do we have here” the cracking voice you knew all so well sent shiver down your spine. You weren’t expecting to see the man so early. The small fat man appeared from behind his henchmen, his signature grey suit shining and the white flower adorning his pocket. “Namjoon, Namjoon, look like you already forgot one of the most important rules of this business” his eyes left the man’s face and landed on yours. “Y/N. My sweet little child. Do you realize you made a big, big mistake staying with him, don’t you?” the smile on his lips was wicked, almost hungry, completely psycho. “But since I am a good man. You know that. I’ll give you the chance to come back to me and prove yourself worthy. Of course, it will hurt a little bit, but trust me, it hurts me more to do that to you”.

“Don’t you dare to lay your hands on her” Namjoon screamed, pulling you even closer and behind him when the old man tried to take a few steps forward.

The younger one cursed himself for not bring his men with him that night. It was him, you and only one gun against more than ten men, all fully armed.

“Well. I’ll give her two options” the man in front of you spoke, his hands hiding in his pockets. The smug smile on his lips. You knew he was up to something. “You can come with me and we’ll leave Bangtan alive or you decide to betray me and I’ll make sure you all suffer before dying. Especially you, princess”.

“You won’t take, touch or do anything with her, Claire” Namjoon touched his weakness, now smugly smiling too.

“Claire is dead, Kim! He died long ago with the man you loved the most!” the small one screamed, his ears and neck red of anger, veins popping.

“He trusted you, Choi! He trusted you and you stabbed him behind his back!” now Namjoon was the one screaming, taking one step closer to the man. “Don Park trusted you and you robbed and killed him! If I’m the one forgetting a simple and stupid rule, you are the one forgetting the number one. Family first, Claire Park!” in a blink of an eye, Papa shot against the younger man. A high pitched scream left your mouth, tears leaving your eyes shamelessly.

It all happened to fast. Namjoon was laying on the ground, his eyes closed in pain, hands dirty with his own blood, trying to make the liquid to stop spilling. Your weak body was lifted easily from the ground and thrown over someone’s shoulder.

The pain in your heart was too much and each step took by the man, Namjoon was getting further away. Your vision became more and more blurry until you let go and fainted.

Taglist:  @mydearling @girlsloveglitter@ireallylikefoodandyoutube@somaticc @xcharlottemikaelsonx @namjoonsslutakakoreanmanswhore

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[wannabemerida]

I had so much fun writing my first kid fic with the help of my beta, @heartthrobphilly  and basing it off of @bluevlvvt ’s artwork (the link above!) —— Word count: 2.6k Prompt: Phil offers to drive his friends daughter (lola) to her ballet lesson. he runs into a cute dad with his daughter rosie. he offers to drive lola to her ballet lessons every week after that. (slow plot development lol) Warnings: light cursing, angst —— It’s 3:02pm as Phil waits outside of Brookside Elementary School. According to Ian, Lola usually exits through this door and waits to be retrieved from the playground. So far, there’s no sign of the little blonde girl playing outside.

A shout of “Uncle Phil!” catches his attention and he turns around to the soccer pitch just in time to see the kindergartener running at him, embracing him in a hug when they collide. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking care of you tonight, remember? Your dad has a big business dinner, and your mom is in Wolverhampton for her job, yeah?”

“Ohhhhh, I just thought Grandma would be taking care of me again,” the six year old explains, not seeming particularly fussed.

“C’mon, let’s head home.”

Two hours later when Phil suggests they order Chinese to the brick house, Lola quickly shuts his craving down. “Uncle Phil, we can’t have Chinese tonight, Thursdays are always Kraft Dinner nights, dummy!”

“Hey Lola, are you done with your dinner? You have ballet soon and still need to get ready!” Seeing Lola’s face that has a bit of the cheesy noodles left on it from quickly scarfing down her meal, Phil grabs a paper towel from the roll on the kitchen counter.

“Yeah! Do you have my leotard?” Phil grabs the light green leotard out of the overnight bag that Lola had brought along, handing it to her with the napkin, (“Lols, you’re a mess!”) her slippers, and a pair of tights.

The drive to the Portner Ballet Studio takes about 15 minutes, with Phil accidentally hitting every red light possible. This causes Lola some distress, claiming that the five minutes she has before class “isn’t enough to talk to Rosie, and she’s the only nice one there that I like.”

Nevertheless, when the raven-haired man and his favorite “niece” enter the building, a small girl with fluffy brown hair immediately runs up to Lola and hugs her. “Rosie, this is my Uncle Phil!

“Lola! You’re finally here! Daddy said you might not be coming today because you’re normally here before me,” the brunette pauses, “but you’re here now, see, Daddy? I told you she would come!”

Phil is frozen. The man who walks up behind Rosie is the most beautiful person Phil has seen, and that’s saying something, considering that Chris Hemsworth exists. But no, the curly brown fringe, hazel eyes, tall, lanky stature, and his soft face (not to mention his monochrome aesthetic and “best dad in the world” travel mug) easily outrank even the likes of Thor.

“Um, hey?” Phil is snapped out of his trance, needing to be able to respond to the greeting. “You’re Lola’s uncle?”

“Well, um, sort of? I’m really good family friends with Lola’s dad, and so I’m kind of an unofficial uncle to her.” Had he been responding to anything else, Phil probably would’ve stuttered, but the number of times he’s had to explain the title makes it so he can explain perfectly, even in front of someone this stunning.

“I’m- I’m Dan.” The two men glance over at the young girls who are chattering animatedly.

“Oh, yeah, Phil Lester.” Dan holds his hand out for a handshake.

“Rosie’s my daughter,” he says quietly, but there’s no mistaking the fondness he has when he says it.

“I can tell, she looks just like you, without the black and white.”

“Oh, I guess we do? My parents keep saying she looks like, um, Angie-” Dan’s voice decrescendos as he gets further along his sentence.

“Angie … is Rosie’s mom?”

“Oh, um, yeah.” Phil’s heart drops.

“Cool.” Not cool. Dan has a wife. Dan had a kid. With his wife.

“Have you got any kids?” Dan asks, a light blush still visible across his cheeks.

“Ah, no, I didn’t have time to find someone in Uni and now I’m single with 2 masters degrees.” Phil unconsciously plots a way to make himself seem more interesting.

“What are they in?” Dan asks, looking genuinely curious.

“I got my first one in English language and linguistics, and my second in post-production editing.”

“What do you do with those? How do they fit together?”

“I’m a special effects engineer for Disney, and they don’t really fit together to be honest,” Phil pauses, “although I do make YouTube videos and that kind of meshes them together,”

“Wow, um, cool,” Dan stutters.

“So what about you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s your job, besides ‘best dad in the world’?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m stupid.” Phil giggles, thinking of how his father would reply with ‘Hi stupid, I’m dad!’. “But I’m a writer for Vogue and I dabble in fashion photography. It’s mainly just taking photos of Rosie if I’m being honest, but the photographers sometimes get sick and I end up doing the shoot.”

“Vogue? Like, the fashion magazine?” Phil doesn’t know much about fashion, but he’s seen the magazine numerous times in the Tesco checkout lane.

“Yeah, well, technically it’s British Vogue, but…”

“Yeah.”

There’s a calm but slightly awkward silence as the conversation loses direction. The two men avoid eye contact, not wanting to make it worse.

The silence is broken by Dan’s tenor voice. “So what films have you worked on?”

“I got to work a bit on Spiderman: Homecoming, but the Live-action Beauty and the Beast was pretty fun. You know the scene where the gold leaf comes off of the ceiling to go on Belle’s dress?” When Dan nods, Phil breaks out into a grin. “That was me.”

“Wow.” Dan breathes out. “After she saw that, she kept trying to put stickers on her ceiling in the hopes that they would transfer to her shirt. It was a nightmare.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Nah mate, it was kind of funny as well. I’ve got a few photos that I’ll save for when she graduates.”

“She’ll love that,” Phil chuckles, and the deep, throaty sound makes Dan’s heart stutter. “So you’re into fashion?”

Dan blushes. “Yeah? I mean I can’t really afford any designers, but I’ll turn into a fanboy at times.”

“Why do they charge so much? Like, half of the suits these designers make look identical to something I could buy from a department store for thousands of dollars less.”

“Well, a lot of designers carefully hand-make every piece, whereas the stuff you get in a store has probably been made by a pre-programmed machine and poorly paid workers in a factory. There’s also differences in fabric types, quality, and origins. And, a lot of designers will tailor the suit to perfectly fit you for a slightly higher price. If you go to a department store-”

“I see what you mean when you say you turn into a fanboy, but thank you for the mini lesson on why celebrities are willing to spend so much money on a navy tux. Your insights are amusing.” Phil grins.

“Did you also know that navy suits are better investments than black ones? It’s because the blue fits into so many more settings than a black one.”

While Phil could watch Dan talk about his passions for hours, just watching and memorizing how the lines change across his face, and God, that dimple, Phil supposes his relentless staring would get a bit creepy. “So what are the ballet lessons like? I’ve only been to a few of Lola’s performances.”

“Oh, um, well, they spend the first 20 minutes warming up, and then they move to the barre where they practice a bunch of stuff that’s in French that I can’t remember, and then they start to go over the routine for their next performance.”

“What is it?”

“What?”

“Their next performance?”

“Yeah! Sorry, I’m stupid,” Dan blushes for what must be the fiftieth time since he first met Phil. “The studio is putting on The Firebird.”

“No! Um, I mean, you’re not stupid. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with The Firebird. What is it about?” Phil has heard the name before, but only in the context of movie scores resembling Stravinsky’s composition. “It sounds kind of intense, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, um, I don’t know much, but from what Rosie’s told me, the firebird gets caught by a prince and when he lets her go she helps him defeat the magician to save some princess, but I’m pretty sure I’m missing like half of the plot. I would say to just Google it and not to go by my word,” The nervous laughter emitted by Dan makes Phil instantly worry that he might have made the brunet uncomfortable or misread Dan’s friendliness as a blossoming friendship when it might have been a ploy to gather gossip for the nosy ballet moms.

“Thanks, I think I’ll trust you on that.” Dan offers a small smile at Phil’s response, letting the two men fall into silence as they watch the group of young girls and 3 boys practice their pliés and dégagés. An hour and a half later, the children exit the studio and find their guardians to go home.

“It was nice meeting you, Phil,’’ Dan admits as Rosie and Lola exchange a goodbye hug. The six words send Phil’s heart into overdrive and he feels his cheeks heating up.

“Yeah, you too, Dan,” Phil replies, proud of himself for not tripping over his words. Looking back, Phil’s whole interaction was impressive, considering his track record of ending up injured in some way.

Last time, Phil wound up with a broken ankle, having paid more attention to the cute digital renderer than the set of stairs they were walking down. It wasn’t all for nothing, though, Phil having gained the cute man’s phone number. Not that that did much for his love life, finding out two days that the boy he had his eyes on was dating the very female gaffer of their most recent movie, but that’s not the point.

This time, nothing will happen, because a) Phil dropping Lola off at ballet was a one time thing, so most likely, he’ll never see Dan again, and b) Dan has a daughter, who is his genetically, which means he has (or had) a wife, all summarizing that no matter how cute the brunet is, Dan is straight.

Not that Phil’s brain will accept that Dan is off-limits as a possible partner. Over the next few days, the image of soft brown eyes, curly fringes, and lanky limbs continuously make appearances in the back of Phil’s head. The very effective distractions cause Phil’s co-workers to worry, and PJ’s repetitive “have you been sleeping okay?”s have driven Phil to the point of insanity.

The answer to PJ’s question is quite easily “no”, Phil having only slept well once that week (he refused to admit it but that was the night that he got off to the image of a faceless figure who looked suspiciously like the boy who wouldn’t leave his head.)

By Wednesday, Phil was fed up with his brain’s reaction to not having seen Dan since the previous Thursday. Pulling out his phone, he does the only thing he can think of to satisfy his hungry mind. He calls Ian.

“Phil? Do you need something?” is the answer he gets when Ian finally picks up.

“No, um, I was just wondering, would you like me to take Lola to ballet again tomorrow?” Phil looks at the lines he had written down on a notepad, an effort to keep himself from going into a 20-minute rant about how in love with Dan he is.

“Sure, I guess? Why are you offering?”

“Just thought that you and Pam could use a break,”

“Oh, okay then, thanks! Same as last week?”

“Sure! Talk to you later!”

Phil’s convinced that his squeal of excitement was the reason that the people who lived across the street turned their lights on and not the fact that their smoke detector went off. He probably set that off too, in hindsight. And caused the stove fire.

23 hours later, Phil finds himself standing inside the dance studio again, surrounded by shrieking kids, chattering parents, and the faint sound of the top 20 radio playing in the background.

“Mister Phil! Where’s Lola?” Rosie pulls on Phil’s sleeve, stopping when she sees her best friend walk out of the bathroom.

“Why, Miss Rosie, she’s right there!” Rosie giggles, pulling out of a hug with Lola.

“I know that now, silly.” She and Lola run into the studio, eager to get to do the optional partner stretches before class starts.

“Are you Lola’s father?” A woman dressed in a skirt suit and heels walks up behind Phil.

“Oh, no, I’m just a family friend. I occasionally take Lola to ballet to give her parents some alone time.”

“Ah.” The woman sticks her hand out for a handshake. “I’m Angela Wright, Rosie’s mom.”

Had there been a small creature under it, Phil’s heart would have killed it from the speed at which it fell. He knew that Rosie had a mom, that Dan had a wife, that Dan wasn’t available. So why did it still hurt so much?

“Oh, cool,” Phil responds a moment later, his voice considerably deflated.

Phil’s unspoken question is answered right as it pops into is head. “Dan contracted the flu, and is stuck at home in bed, which is why I’m here this week. I’m normally responsible for taking Rosie to taekwondo while he takes care of ballet lessons, but that evidently won’t work this week. Honestly, it’s just like Dan to get a winter disease in the middle of summer.”

“I was going to ask about setting up a playdate between Rosie and Lola, but…” Angie trails off.

“Yeah,” Phil nods in understanding, not liking this woman any more than he did a minute ago. “I’m gonna go sit down.” No response comes from the woman, but Phil’s not particularly bothered.

Maybe he should be nicer to the wife of the man he’s stupidly trying to woo, but he just can’t. How is he supposed to be nice to his competition, who’s already clearly won?

When he vaguely notices the ballet instructor make a big motion with her arms, Phil decides that watching a group of five and six year olds is an adequate distraction from the turmoil in his brain. After 10 minutes of watching the kids do various tasks, jumping and prancing around the room, he zones off.

“Uncle Phillll, come onnnnnnn!” wakes Phil from his trance, no longer seeing the ballet students in the studio but now milling around the lobby and leaving. “Class ended like, forever ago! Can we leave? I wanna go get ice cream!”

A quick look at the clock told Phil that class had only ended 5 minutes ago, but to an antsy six-year-old, he supposed that could feel like an eternity.

“Lola, we aren’t getting ice cream. I’d rather not have your parents be mad at me for loading you up on sugar, right?” The small girl pouts but grabs Phil’s hand, dragging him to the car.

While it was easy getting Lola into her car seat, getting her out was a whole other task. It took Phil, Ian, Pamela, a blanket, 2 stuffed animals, and a lullaby to successfully remove the sleeping child out of the carseat, into the house, and onto her bed where she could sleep without interruption.

Once he was back in his car, Phil sat in the driveway, resting his head on the steering wheel, regretting ever offering to take Lola to dance lessons at all. Remember back in college when all those crushes were single? You fucked up, bud.

[shreddedparchment]

You’re My Mission Pt.05

You Have To Sit Right Next To Me?

9/23/2018

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 4,591

Masterpost

Warnings: annoying fluff, frustrating fluff, language

A/N: Making leaps and bounds without actually making leaps and bounds. You’ll see what I mean. This boy...this Bucky boy...he’s a touch cookie. Do y’all like the burn? Is it hot enough for you?! Let me know! I hope you enjoy this one. It made me giggle. Also, if you’ve never seen the Princess Bride, shame on you. Go watch it. If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work! xoxo

Credit for this pic after LOTS of research led me to THIS blog. Someone had taken it and posted it on Pinterest without any sources cited or credit given. Not cool, internet!

Sergeant Barnes has you wait outside the water therapy rooms, perched on a bench, dressed in soft black sweatpants and a tight black tank top. Both of them say Wakanda. The sweats have it along the right thigh in bold grey lettering, spaced out vertically. The shirt has it small, in the same shade of grey over the left side of your chest, horizontally.

After struggling to pull your boots on you sit back, breathing hard as you stare down at the untied laces.

You kick with your leg at the air both annoyed that you’re almost entirely helpless thanks to your stupid hands and also because you're still thinking about the way Sergeant Barnes’s breath felt on your lips.

He'd been close enough that his warm breath had wafted far enough to touch them. His smile, the way his lips pulled back exposing a straight line of stunning white teeth, the way it reached up into his eyes driving the scowl from his expression leaving you with a kinder, gentler Sergeant Barnes.

You shut your eyes and bang your head against the wall, unwilling to admit what’s happening to yourself.

“You know, they put people in institutions for doing things like that.” His voice is matter-of-fact and slightly uninterested but at least it’s not harsh like before.

You open your eyes slowly, not surprised by his presence.

“Then lock me up.” You turn to look at him and feel your chest tighten. You’re matching. Both of you. He’s wearing the same type of sweats and a matching tank top, only it's for men.

It leaves his large arms exposed and you can’t help it. You ogle his bulging arms quickly, taking in the pleasing image before you know you should look away or it's gonna get weird. Three seconds. That's all you give yourself.

His hair is still slightly wet, he smells like soap and that faint smell of peaches again.

“I tried. Steve wouldn’t let me.” He mutters before moving to stand before you. He looks down at your feet.

“Yeah, well, Steve's nice to me. And not an asshole.” You’re feeling moody. You know its because you’re so frustrated. Maybe you should just give in to the feeling you know is developing?

You have a crush on Steve, what’s so bad about also crushing, however unwillingly, on Sergeant Barnes too? Neither of these crushes will ever develop into anything anyway.

“That's because you don’t really know him.”

Sergeant Barnes throws his balled up dirty clothes at your face and it fully obscures your view, plunging you into a mass stink of his sweat.

“Ew! Jerk." You quickly pull the stinky clothes from your face and look at him, ready to give him a glare worthy of death, but you find empty space where he had just been standing.

You feel a tug on your foot and with slight surprise you lean over the bundle of clothes to get a good look at Sergeant Barnes as he tightens your laces and does them up, his expression stoic and fixed on your feet.

Once again, you’re assaulted with a flutter of hummingbird wings at the base of your stomach.

He taps your right foot twice and holds his hands open, waiting for your left. You swing your right foot back and gently hold out your left. He takes it, scoots closer, and places the boot on his knee then begins to lace that one up too.

As you watch him tie your boot, you begin to narrow your eyes at him, suspicious suddenly because once again this is an unexpected kindness.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You ask again, whatever he might say, he's being nice.

“I’m not being nice. I’m taking responsibility for my mistake.”

When he finishes with your boot he gets up suddenly so that your foot falls to the floor with a hard thump, pulling you forward with it. It doesn't hurt but the movement is rough.

“What mistake?” You ask, your voice harsh because the contrast of his gentleness with his petty meanness is frustrating.

As he straightens up he reaches up and begins to pull his hair up into a full-on bun. You try not to gawk. This shift that he’s doing, going from mean to nice and back to mean has you so confused and stressed you’re not sure whether to like the way the hair falls around his face or not. His eyes are so clear, ice blue that you want to stare but he’s such a jerk.

He points at your hands as he finishes with his hair. “That mistake.”

You look down at your wounded hands. “My hands? But I fell. It's not your fault.”

“It's my fault they weren’t treated quickly. They might not be so bad now if I had sent you to get them wrapped up properly.” He sighs. “Sorry."

You blink, your eyes wide and your mouth slightly open. Did he just tell you he was sorry? “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

“Alright.” He nods at you, his eyes narrowed to slits, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“No, seriously, I didn’t hear you. What did you just say?” You insist, adjusting his dirty clothes on your lap so that you can adjust in your seat to try and look at his face.

He’s shifting his weight from foot to foot, his hands clenching and unclenching. He's so obviously physically uncomfortable with apologizing to you that you can’t help but find it funny.

“Cut it out.” He grumbles.

You laugh, one loud ha, followed by a stream of quieter genuine chuckles.

“I’m leaving.” He states and walks off down the long and white sterile hallway.

“Hey!” You protest as you grunt with the effort it takes to try and get yourself up. You’re still clutching his clothes in your arms and you can’t use your hands to get up anyway. “Wait for me, I don’t know where Steve lives.”

You groan as you try and use your legs to pull yourself up but they’re so weak! Still, somehow you manage to pull yourself up and you use the momentum from rocking forward to try and get on your feet.

Instead the top of your head hits a hard, lumpy surface and you fall back onto your butt with an oof.

You look up at Sergeant Barnes's frowning face. You’d hit his stomach. Wait, that was his stomach? Damn.

“Does this mean you don’t hate me?” You wonder. He obviously feels bad about your hands. He couldn’t feel bad and hate you at the same time, could he?

“You’re annoying. And irritating. And you can’t follow orders. You’re also a klutz. You're a terrible soldier and a thorn in my side. I don't like you.” He reaches down and scoops his clothes out of your arms and into his metal grip.

Then, with his normal arm, he reaches down to grab your bicep and pulls you up onto your feet.

He looks at your face as you stand steadily on your feet a small involuntary pout twisting your lips.

He blinks, something like uncertainty passing through his ice blues.

“I don’t hate you, alright? But I can’t stand you either. Come on, or Steve'll eat all the food.” He doesn’t wait for you and moves away at a quick pace which leaves you struggling to keep up.

Scarlet Witch, Wanda, is one of the most beautiful people you’ve ever met. She’s got stunning red hair, beautiful peachy skin, and you can almost feel the power radiating off of her. Those cheekbones!

“Wanda, come meet Y/N.” Wanda wasn’t there when Steve rescued you. He’d had only Nat and Sam with him that night. “She’s the newest recruit and has already shown a lot of promise in her weapons training.”

Wanda smiles kindly as she wanders in from the kitchen, cleaning her hands on the simple blue apron she’s wearing over her jeans and t-shirt. She’s so incredibly casual. Last time you saw her, she was on the news wearing some tight red outfit. Her work outfit probably.

As she holds out her hand you take it. Wanda notices your injured hands and is sure to very carefully shake your hand. “It’s so great to meet you, Wanda. I’m such a big fan of yours. We don’t have enough kick ass women out there fighting the good fight, am I right?”

Wanda laughs softly, turning an amused look to Steve who is watching you with a soft smile. “I agree. Maybe we can start our own group? We’ll call it Lady Defenders or something.”

���Ooh,” You reply, excited with the name game. “Fearless Defenders!”

“Oh, I like that one better.” Wanda says with a light laugh.

“Don’t you have to have some type of hand-eye coordination to defend the planet?” Sergeant Barnes leans against the doorway to the kitchen, watching you and Wanda greet each other.

His mischievous eyes are on you and his words sting. You frown at him. Wanda however turns to look at him and smiles.

“So that’s what you were talking about?” She then looks to Steve who nods slowly.

“Kinda obvious, isn’t it?” He asks her.

“Just a little bit.” She suddenly turns back to you, ignoring both your and Sergeant Barnes’s confused expressions at the little side conversation they just had. “Dinner’s ready. Let’s eat so that we can get to that movie. Steve’s never seen it.”

“Okay.” You’re so grateful for female company again. Truly friendly female company.

Your hut mates are very nice but they all have established friendships and they aren’t training like you are with just one commanding officer in private. They train in groups with other cadets and other officers. So, there’s always that wall between you.

Aman and Joshua are the only two that go out of their way to include you in their plans though you have yet to accept a trip into the heart of Birnin Zana to go out and have some fun. You are always too tired to accept.

Dinner is simple. Chicken alfredo pasta, garlic bread, and salads. It’s so good that you inhale most of the food. You’re especially grateful for the wine. The alcohol will help you sleep tonight.

Sergeant Barnes watches you from across the table with disappointment at the way you’re eating. But you don’t care. You smirk at him, spear several leaves of lettuce, a tomato, and a cucumber on your fork and open your mouth wide as you shovel it in.

He sighs, curling his top lip. He’s so hating you at the moment.

You smile and shut your eyes tight then open them again sending him what your mom used to call pretty eyes when you were a toddler. It only makes him sneer more.

After dinner, when you offer to help Steve with the dishes, Sergeant Barnes scoffs, shaking his head as he gets up and leaves the room.

You and Steve pile the dishes together and Steve sends Wanda into the living room, giving her a type of look that you can’t decipher. You peek into the living room through the kitchen doorway from your spot at the table, your hands laden with dishes, and try to see what Sergeant Barnes and Wanda are doing.

“Bucky, do you mind if I use the big couch? I kinda wanna lay down while we wait for the movie.” Wanda pleads gently.

“No, I don’t mind. Go ahead. I’ll sit over here.” You see his normal hand point to the smaller of the two sofas before he takes a seat on the left side. He puts his arm up on the arm of the sofa and leans back, relaxing in a way that you’ve never seen him do. His voice with Wanda is also so gentle and normal.

You don’t realize that you’re staring.

“Y/N?” You jump, caught in the act. A small plate slips out of your wounded grip and it goes tumbling down onto the floor.

“Shit.” You mutter. You look back at Steve who had been the one to call your name. “Oh, Steve, I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.” He says, moving towards you as you begin to squat down to pick up the broken ceramic. “No, Y/N, how about you go have a seat? I’ll have these clean in no time. I completely forgot about your hands. I shouldn’t have let you offer to help.”

Now you know why Sergeant Barnes had scoffed at your offer. Steve nudges your butt with his knee, pushing you towards the doorway.

“Go on, Y/N, I’ve got it.”

You reluctantly head into the living room glancing first at Wanda who has her eyes closed as she lays straight across the large sofa leaving no room for anyone else to sit. With the only remaining seat being next to Sergeant Barnes you take it, falling roughly onto the soft cushion to his right. The jostling makes him turn his scowl on you.

“You have to sit right next to me?” He demands, irritated by your presence.

“Wanda’s lying down. I don’t want to make her get up.” You whisper so that Wanda doesn’t hear you but she’s humming anyway, and you doubt she’s paying you or Sergeant Barnes any mind.

“Whatever.” He spits. “Just stay on your side of the sofa.” He crosses his arms over his chest, glaring at the large flat screen TV, and doesn’t speak to you again.

“Why are you always so fucking grumpy?” You ask him, irritated now because he was ruining your fun movie night!

He doesn’t even answer you. He just continues to sit facing the TV, his sharp jawline clenching and unclenching.

Ten minutes later, Steve finally comes into the room, taking in the way you’re leaning away from Sergeant Barnes, your arms wrapped around your torso—Steve’s modern apartment is actually really cold—and the way Sergeant Barnes sits with his arms crossed, staring at the TV to keep from looking at you.

“Are you cold, Y/N?” Steve asks, concern riddled in his tone. He’s so sweet! Sergeant Barnes looks at Steve then turns to look at you and also observes the way you’re hugging yourself, carefully holding your arms angled so that you don’t touch the injured palms to your shoulders.

You lick your lips and nod. “A little.”

“I’ll be right back.” He says and disappears down the hallway. His feet are silent on the light grey carpet.

Sergeant Barnes is staring at you, scowling as usual.

“What now?” You ask, so done with his attitude.

“Weren’t you complaining about being hot earlier in the afternoon?”

“We were outside, under direct sunlight. Can’t I even be cold without you criticizing me?”

Sergeant Barnes huffs at your words and then turns back to the TV. You drop it. You don’t want to have a bad night. You want this to be a fun movie night. You deserve some fun, don’t you?

You don’t hear him return but when he does, Steve hands you a blanket and hands Wanda a small blue bowl. She sits up effectively freeing up the end of the sofa which Steve plops himself in.

“Thanks, Steve.” You gush, smiling at him perhaps a little too brightly.

Eagerly you take it and throw it over your legs and then after a moment of hesitation you hold it out to Sergeant Barnes. It's already over his legs but maybe he’s cold and wants to cover his arms?

It's big enough that the two of you can share.

Sergeant Barnes keeps his arms crossed over his chest, his scowl turned to your injured hand, holding the blanket towards him.

“What?” He growls at you, quietly. Wanda, messing with some snacks from the bowl doesn’t hear him but Steve looks up towards the two of you from his seat on the other end of the long couch.

You’re not going to fight with him anymore tonight. You force yourself to be calm and smile, determined to be nice.

“You don’t wanna cover yourself? It's cold in here.” You wiggle the blanket and wait for him to take it. He doesn’t.

“I don’t get cold.” He states simply then turns his gaze on Steve. “Start the movie, Steve.”

You frown at Sergeant Barnes and go ahead and snuggle the blanket up over your arms. Asshole.

“What are we watching?” You wonder aloud.

Wanda smiles at you and hands Steve the remote. “The Princess Bride.”

“Oh! I’ve always wanted to see that!” You gush at the same time that Sergeant Barnes says, “The what?”

You and Wanda both look at him and observe the large panicked frown that’s overcome his stupidly handsome face. Well, it’s handsome when he’s not glaring at you.

Wanda ignores Sergeant Barnes and turns back to you instead. “You’ve never seen it?”

“No. I didn’t have a lot of time for movies growing up, so I really only ever saw the ones they showed us in school. My parents had to scrape up every penny they had to pay the bills, so movies were kind of a luxury. I did get to see It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmas on TV. It’s one of my favorites.” You smile, losing all the tension that you’ve held onto since your arrival here in Wakanda. Your body automatically relaxes, and you don’t realize you’ve teetered into Sergeant Barnes’s side of the couch as you lean back to look at Wanda a bit better.

As the TV comes to life and Steve navigates the menu, he smiles wide. “Hey, Jimmy Stewart. I met him once at an audition during my acting days.”

“You were an actor?!” You ask excitedly, your voice going up an octave. “We have to watch you in something.”

“Er…” Steve stutters, he looks nervous. Uncomfortable. “I don’t know if we’d even be able to find the films to be honest.”

“Are you kidding? With the internet you can find anything.” You giggle stupidly. “Come on, Steve, I wanna see you act.”

Are you flirting? It kinda sounds like you’re flirting. But if you are you don’t mean to. You’re just feeling so light after all the working out and the stress of losing your parents.

“Damn it, Steve, would you start the damn movie?” Sergeant Barnes suddenly snaps.

You don’t see how Steve reacts because you turn to look at Sergeant Barnes with a frown, Wanda freezes beside you.

“What?” Sergeant Barnes demands, taking in your annoyed expression.

But you don’t get to tell him off because the movie starts. The large blue font comes on the screen announcing the title of the film and through the silence a young boy coughs. The black screen fades in to an old baseball video game with funny sounds and graphics. There’s a kid on a bed, playing the game, sick obviously. As his mom comes in and checks his forehead you lean over towards Sergeant Barnes and whisper. He tenses for a moment then slowly relaxes.

“Do you know what that is?”

“It’s a video game. I’m not a moron, cadet.” He whispers back, agitated.

“Oh. Okay.” You reply lamely. You lean back into your spot.

You watch as an older man, the boy’s grandfather, comes in and tries to convince the kid that a book he wants to read to him is exciting and just as interesting as the video game he’s playing. The kid is doubtful. Skeptical but he eventually gives in.

“That sounds like you.” You nudge Sergeant Barnes with your shoulder and he gives you a glare in response. “Have you seen this before?”

“I’ve been a little busy to watch movies.” Sergeant Barnes gripes.

You stop talking as the true story begins with the girl and the farm boy. And the way he says I love you by saying something else. Then the girl seems to realize that the farm boy is confessing every time he tells her the words, ‘As you wish’. And then she finally realizes that she loves him too. The movie cuts to a romantic silhouette of the girl and the farm boy kissing when suddenly the kid interrupts, denouncing the fact that his grandfather is reading him what he refers to as a kissing book. Then he demands to know when it gets good.

“I’m with the kid.” Sergeant Barnes says, turning a disappointed gaze on Steve.

“As I recall, you used to be a fan of the romance.” Steve looks at his friend with raised eyebrows and a small smirk.

You look at Sergeant Barnes whose face is nothing but serious. Pained even. “Things change.”

As the lovers are telling each other goodbye you become so invested in the movie that when a purple man wearing a skin-tight grey body suit with a golden yellow cape walks through the wall and TV as if they were made of mist, you jump clenching your fists so tight you scream both in surprise and pain.

Sergeant Barnes turns to you, annoyance etched across his face because of your scream. The purple man looks to you and then looks at everyone else in turn before looking back at you.

“Please, forgive me. I did not mean to startle you.” The man speaks with an English accent and a strange proper cadence.

You drop the blanket and look down at your hands as they shake. You’d clenched them so tightly that you’re sure if any of your cuts had sealed, they were open again now. Sergeant Barnes adjusts slightly in his seat to look down at your hands, but he doesn’t do anything other than watch you fight through the pain.

“Vis,” Wanda says, chastising the purple man. “Seriously?”

“I’m sorry, I did not realize that you had guests. Forgive me, Captain.”

Steve sighs and nods. “Door next time, okay?”

“Right.” The purple man called Vis says.

“Y/N, this is Vision. He’s an Avenger and not on the run. Vision what are you doing here?” Steve probes, concerned suddenly. You could hear it in his voice. Was there trouble afoot?

You grimace up at Vision as he too greets you without words.

“I…came to see Wanda.” He admits a bit shyly.

Wanda gets to her feet and without further ado, motions towards the hallway. “We can go to my room.”

The man named Vision follows Wanda out of the living room and down the hallway out of sight. Your heart is still pounding as you turn your gaze back on the movie. The girl is grieving. Apparently, her farm boy is dead. How depressing.

“Y/N? You okay?” Steve asks, watching your shaking hands.

You look down at them and shove them underneath the blanket, pulling it up around your arms again, lifting your legs up as well. You cross them. Being compact keeps you warm.

“I’m fine.” You assure him with a forced smile. You lay your hands on your lap, resting them with your palms up.

As the three of you continue to watch the movie—Sergeant Barnes stealing glances at you every few minutes—your breathing evens out as the pain in your hands becomes more subdued.

The girl becomes a princess in order to marry a prince. Suddenly, Steve’s phone rings. He leans back and reaches into his jeans, pulling from a pocket the same flip phone he’d had during your simulation training.

“Excuse me.” Steve says. He flips the phone open and disappears down the hall, probably towards his bedroom. If it’s Sharon, he probably won’t be coming out anytime soon.

You’re left alone with Sergeant Barnes, watching a movie about a loveless marriage. Just what the doctor ordered. Your mind is really on your hands though. You don’t realize it when your eyes start closing. Your head lolls to the left, then the right, then forward. You drift into unconsciousness for a bit and suddenly jerk awake as someone on a boat in the movie yells something about shrieking eels.

You sigh heavily, your hands hurting again. You’re so tired and the pain shocked you right out of your happy mood. And now, with your blanket, you’re so warm. The wine at dinner really did help too. You continue to drift in and out until you slowly begin to slide to your left. Your shoulder lands against something warm and shortly after your head follows. For a moment your sleeping body is still and then you breathe in deeply, letting the sleep overcome you, as you settle against the warmth to your left.

You’ve never been much of a dreamer so you’re slightly shocked by how vivid your dream is. You’re still asleep in Steve’s apartment and you can still hear the muffled voices of the movie. And yet, you know that you’re dreaming because this could only happen in a dream.

You know you’re settled against Sergeant Barnes’s right shoulder. Somehow, his right arm is also underneath the blanket where it wasn’t before. You can feel your left knee gently resting atop his right thigh. His right arm very slowly rises so that your left arm falls underneath it. His hand takes hold of your forearm and with gentle fingers, he slides his hand down to your wrist. He reaches out, his index finger gently tracing the edge of the bandage on your palm.

His finger traces up along the inside of your hand up along your pinky and gently he caresses each of your fingers in turn. He does that, over and over again.

The movement is so soft, so intoxicating that you shiver and his hand freezes in place. You sigh deeply, still sleeping. When he’s sure you’re not awake, he keeps going.

The dream is so vivid that you feel his warmth as if you were actually nestled into his side, underneath his arm as he caresses your injured hand. Again, as you move to cuddle closer into his side, looking for more warmth, he freezes.

You can smell his soap and the peaches as you sleepily rub your face against his bicep.

Underneath the blanket, where no one can see, he reaches over to the right and gently caresses your right hand too. He pulls it over so that he can hold it more easily and you feel him breathe a sigh of relief beside you.

The the sound of a door opening and voices approaching interrupt the serenity of your dream.

All of a sudden, you’re falling.

Your face hits the cushion of the sofa and you’re jerked awake by the impact. You blink, trying to process reality.

The vivid dream still on your mind you push yourself up carefully, your hands still hurting, and look around. Sergeant Barnes is sitting on the larger sofa with his metal arm on the sofa’s, his chin in his metal hand.

He must have moved at some point during the movie.

The credits are rolling and his eyes are glued on you, staring in annoyance.

“Do you always snore like that?” He asks as Steve, Wanda, and Vision meander back into the living room.

It had been a dream. A very vivid and very…very confusing dream. You feel sad suddenly that it wasn’t real. You look at your right hand, your heart aching as you wish that it had been real. You carefully move to push yourself up with your left hand but freeze because the cushion you just fell on, the cushion that Sergeant Barnes had abandoned to get away from your snoring, is still warm.

@bionic-buckyb @mdgrdians @ulired @biawol @markusstraya @queenof-wakanda @slice-of-thunder @clockworkherondale @shonaldo @lilulo-12 @dsakita @just-trying-to-survive-marvel @coldfacedwarf @zoey-odinson-stark @animegirlgeeky @paetonsfandom @caramelsunrise @until-theend-oftheline @a-n-gela @dirtylittlelamb @moonlessnight14 @el-dibidibidorado1 @marymooonlastrage @calliope-musings @buckybarnes4lyfe @lexie10123 @bucky-in-wonderland