#i need to see jeff being bitten on screen

[vani-ash]

Jeff Satur as Sean in Vamp The Series (2/4)

[ak47stylegirl]

Public Opinion 0.2

Okay, I just had to write more of this fic! It had me at gun point, what was i suppose to do? 😁😂

Prev. 

//Drops this in front of @gumnut-logic and @janetm74 😆😁//

---

“Gordon!”

Okay, yeah maybe he shouldn’t have sworn in front of his father, Gordon thought absentmindedly, receiving ‘the disappointed dad look’ in full. But come on, he was in shock! Give him a break!

“But Dad! They’re ganging up on a literal child!?” Gordon exclaimed, waving a hand at the screen. “How are you not more outraged by this?” 

Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “I’m just as bothered by this as you are son, but there is nothing we can do about it…” 

“People are always going to have their opinions…”

Gordon scrunched his nose up, knowing that his father was right but still, he didn’t like it. 

“Anyway, I’m pretty sure he isn’t actually a child…” Scott added with a dismissive shake of his head, leaning against the couch. “Probably early twenties or something.”

Virgil lowered himself from the vent to stare at Scott in bewilderment. Gordon had also turned his head to stare at his bother. Did Scott really think that…that kid, was in his twenties? 

Did they need to get Scott’s head checked? Has Gordon finally driven Scott crazy???

Scott bristled at the stares, “What?” 

“Are you kidding me?” Virgil questioned with a perplexed chuckle, “I would bet five weeks of dish duty on him being at least in his late teens, if not younger…”

Five weeks of dish duty?! Gordon thought in awe at his immediate older brother’s confidence. Damn Virgie's confident about that….

Gordon would have only bet two weeks….

“Yeah Scotty, what planet have you been living on?” Gordon added, his words having an unintentional sharpness to them. “Even I can tell he was under eighteen…” 

“Boys…” Jeff frowned, noticing the storm brewing behind Scott’s eyes. 

“Well excuse me,” Scott scowled with an eye-roll, the heat and lack of rescues causing that famous Tracy temper to flare. “For being too busy doing my job to notice that the dangerous assassin is on the young side…” 

A wave of anger washed over Gordon, causing him to jump up. “Wait! So you agree with them?!”

Gordon didn’t understand why he was getting so bothered by this, nor so angry at Scott for even insisting that those…those people were right! It didn’t make sense but still, he felt like screaming at his brother over it. 

“Wha? No!” Scott’s eyes widened, shoulders squaring up as he faced Gordon head-on with a frown. “Of course not, I’m not agreeing with them! I'm just saying that they have a point-”

“What!? How the fuck do they’re a p-”

Virgil’s head was ping-ponging left and right, eyes wide in horror as his brothers seemed to (figuratively) go for each other’s throats. 

“You’re not listening! All I was trying-”

“Boys! That. Is. Enough!” Jeff stepped between Scott and Gordon, looking beyond mad. “Now I would expect this behaviour from Gordon and Al-” Jeff cut himself off; stricken with grief.

The atmosphere felt ten times heavier. 

Jeff recovered, clearing his throat thickly as he leaned heavily on his cane; looking scarily aged. “-But not from you, Scott…” 

Scott had his head bowed in shame, knowing he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that. It was childish of him. And Scott was no child anymore…

“I’m sorry Dad…” 

“Yeah I’m sorry too…” Gordon mumbled, sheepishly scuffing his foot into the carpet. “I shouldn’t have bitten Scooter's head off…” 

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have…” Dad said sternly, sitting down on the couch with a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to see something like that from you two again, understand?” 

“Don’t worry Dad, it won't happen again.” Scott promised, before adding with a bashful look, “I kind of deserved it; I should have chosen my words differently…” 

Virgil finally let go of the breath he was holding, shaking his head at his brothers as he facepalmed. 

“Yeah no duh…” Gordon replied with a grin, as a sign of no hard feelings.  

“Oi!” Scott playfully rolled his eyes. “Watch it, tadpole…” 

Jeff shook his head wistfully, thinking back to a simpler time. If he just closed his eyes, he could almost imagine nothing had changed, that his family was once again whole- (Never whole, not without Lucy.)

That at any moment a blond teen would come running through the door, raging about something Gordon most likely did, and-

“Dad?” Virgil placed a hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “You’re okay?”

No. But were any of them? 

“I’m fine…” Jeff smiled reassuringly up at his middle child, lightly patting Virgil’s hand. “Don’t you worry about me…” 

Virgil didn’t seem convinced but knew when to pick his battles, and this wasn’t one he could win. At least not at the moment. Turning to Scott, Virgil asked, “So, what were you trying to say?”

Scott’s eyes flickered between Virgil and Jeff, lingering on his father for a moment longer before answering, “That they have a right to be sceptical…” 

Gordon crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face. 

“Look…” Scott placed his hand on Gordon’s shoulder, “Maybe the brain control thing was true, and if so, that is horrifying…” Scott explained; his blue eyes troubled. “-but that doesn’t change the fact that Phoenix is still dangerous…”

Jeff nodded, “Your brother is right…” 

“While they are a great help, they are powerful people with little to no limitation on their choices or actions.” Jeff's voice was grim, “Not much is known about them, and that makes them unpredictable…” 

Gordon could see what his father and brother were getting at, unchecked power is never something to be taken lightly. He understood that, but it still didn’t make the bad feeling in his stomach go away. 

“And such I want you boys should keep a level of caution up at all times around them…” Jeff stood up, shifting into his commander persona where his word was law. “Am I understood?” 

Virgil and Scott nodded, while Gordon glared at the rug conflicted. 

Jeff frowned, “Gordon..” 

Finally, after a long tense second, Gordon nodded his agreement. (Why was his soul and squid sense screaming in agony?) 

Fin.

[neverleaveyoubehind]

Teen Wolf : 1x01 “Wolf Moon”

OMG they look so young! This whole episode has made me feel so old, I can’t believe that it’s been 9 years since this aired. I still remember watching this after middle school and now, it’s been almost a decade, I’m in college , I’m a full adult, unbelievable!

Let’s proceed with the actual reaction, though.

The first scene it’s surprisingly good, I mean, the way it starts all somber with the creepy music, you see all the police department and the Sheriff arriving to the woods, all the police dogs barking , the fog ,... I really liked it. Actually, I had forgotten about this scene in particular.

Like, we actually get to see the Sheriff a little bit, in my mind we weren’t introduced to the Sheriff until later in the episode. That was cool, knowing that he’s the first important character we see (even though you need to be paying a lot of attention to see that it’s him, because they just focus on showing his arm or something like that )

Suddenly, the music changes into an upbeat song, and we are in Scotts house. (God, seeing Scott fixing the Lacrosse stick gave me ALL the nostalgic feelings I could handle) Tyler Posey looks so young, like a little baby, he changes so much during the years. Not like Dylan who looks exactly the same but , with longer hair 9 years later.

Anyway, we have baby Scott (that’s how I will be referring to him for the next 2 seasons aprox) working out , being teenagery , brushing his teeth (his sink worried me a bit, maybe they should think about investing in a new one ‘cause that one looks nasty) Then, he hears a noise and freaks out. BTW, Scotts hair is a whole situation, it’s way too long for such a small face.

He freaks out, gets out of the house with a baseball bat,which might have been the highlight of my day (also,the baseball bat as a deathly weapon was Scott’s idea first ,ladies and gentlemen, let’s take that into consideration) and we are finally introduced to Stiles.

What better way to introduce him than having him hanging for his first 2 minutes on screen? (he being completely unfazed by it, and carrying the conversation like nothing was wrong, is my favorite thing in the world and the reason why I love Stiles so much) if this whole scene isn’t the reason why everyone kept watching the pilot, Idk what to tell you.

Ok, then, after the best interaction ever, Stiles has somewhat convinced Scott to go look for the body in the woods. Because, yes people, there’s a body , this body is missing a half and Stiles wants to find it. Like, of course he does, this man thinks he’s a detective or something (And yes, I did say a half because we don’t know which part is missing) So, in what has to be the most teenager/peer pressure way (reluctantly following your best friend trough the woods with a murderer on the loose) our story begins.

We have Stiles and Scott walking around trying to find the body (every sentence that leaves Dylan's mouth during this episode is gold, that's really my opinion) Scotty is worried about the prospect of founding not only the body but, the murderer, Stiles is living his best life, joking around, walking way too fast for our asthmatic baby Scott, and that's how they get separated.

We properly meet one of the best characters of the show, the sheriff Stilinski, after Stiles gets scared by another deputy that thinks he’s the murderer, and Stiles leaves with his dad. So, now we have us a baby Scott walking alone, in the dark, back home.

He’s walking for a bit, with creppy background music and various animal noises (the music and the ambiance of this show are great. Props to the music team, honestly) Then, he reaches a clearing in the middle of the forest, takes out his inhaler, and when he is about to use it, a bunch of deer bump into him causing him to fall to the ground and drop the inhaler. (I bet he was more worried about dying crushed by deer than losing it, though) When the deer have gone their merry way,and he no longer thinks he’s going to die, he gets up and starts looking for the inhaler with the light of his cell phone (with the light of the screen to be precise. Scotty isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed), but he doesn’t find his inhaler, he finds... The body (the upper part, in case someone was wondering)

Then, Scotty jumps back from the scare, and falls down a hill. When he gets up, a huge black monster attacks him and baby Scott gets bitten!

(The CGI of the first season is truly horrifying but, don’t panic my friends, it will get better)

Baby Scott runs as good as he can manage ,after being bitten by an unknown huge thing and having lost his inhaler,through the woods until he reaches the road, where he is almost hit by a car (our homeboy Scotty is having a really bad night)

SPOILER

The fact that he gets almost run over by Allison and her mom , who aren’t even in the show yet is amazing. Jeff did truly love this 2 because their storyline is truly wonderful, their whole relationship is handled with such care and a lot of attention to details. It makes my heart soft.

SPOILER

They go to school, Jackson looks like an asshole and turns out to be an asshole, normal High School shit. Scotty shows Stiles his bandage and tells him that a wolf bit him, then Stiles proceeds to laugh his ass off because there hasn’t been wolfs in California in like 60 years (Stiles is the kind of person that knows that type of thing) and , baby Scott tells him that he found the body.

Then this whole hilarious scene happens:

They go to class and Scotty starts hearing a phone ringing and turns out he’s the only one hearing it (obviously dude, you’re a werewolf) because it’s the phone of a new girl that’s outside of the High School waiting for the headmaster (I guess, I though someone else was but maybe that hasn’t happened,yet) this new girl is talking on the phone with her mom and she realizes that she forgot to bring a pen (really? You forget to bring a pen to your first day of High School? Someone wasn’t prepared)

So the headmaster brings the new girl to Scotty’s class , her name is Allison, and baby Scott has a crush on her the second he sees her (puppy love has never been more fitting )

Then, he does that whole thing of giving her a pen that she didn’t ask for (if I was Allison I’d be creeped out that someone just gave me a pen after I said outside of the building that I didn’t have one but, IDK, maybe it’s just me)

Anyway, Lydia and Allison become BFFs ,they have Lacrosse practice (we hear the Lacrosse background music for the first time) and surprise, Baby Scott didn’t suck (we also meet Coach aka the most important person of Beacon Hills high school) After school Stiles and Scott go back to the wood to look for the body and the inhaler (seriously, do this kids never learn?) while Stiles jokes about Scotty being a werewolf,and Derek Hale makes his first appearance (God Derek looks like Edward Cullen in this episode) he gives Scott his inhaler back and tells them to get out of his property (like an old man)

Stiles tells Scotty that almost all of Derek’s family died in a fire in his house and baby Scott leaves to go to work. He goes to feed the cats and they freak out, Allison comes to the vet hysterical with a dog she run over , this cutie moment happens :

Baby Scott is in love, so he asks her out to Lydia’s party that friday, Allison is also in love so she says yes. Scotty goes to sleep feeling on cloud nine and wakes up in the middle of the woods (it was a full moon the night before) he sees the big monster that attacked him the other night starts running and ends up falling in someone’s pool (Baby Scott is way to ripped for an asthmatic little kid but, ok)

He goes to school , Jackson interrogates him about steroids (fuck off Jackson, no one likes you. Well, maybe Lydia, but that’s it) Scotty freaks out about sleepwalking 40 miles into the woods, they go to Lacrosse practice and Scotty makes first line so he’s going to be playing in their first Lacrosse game of the year ,Stiles is suspicious because Scott was awful at Lacrosse like 2 days ago , and suddenly he’s a pro (like he should be, honestly, people should listen to Stiles more)

Stiles goes home researches a freaking ton about lycanthropy and werewolfs and decides that yes, his best friend is a werewolf (just like that, that was his first option and he stuck to it) he calls Scotty, tells him that he should cancel his date with Allison just in case he tries to kill her but Scott ignores him.

Melissa and baby Scott have a nice mother-son moment before his first ever date (with a lot more mentions of teenage pregnancies and underage sex for what one would expect from a first date)

Baby Scott takes Allison to the party, everything is going great, until it isn’t. Suddenly Scott starts feeling the bloodlust and the changes that Stiles had warned him about, so he leaves the party (leaving Allison alone without as mush as an apology, and without a way to get back home) Do not fear, though. Derek offers to take her home so everything’s great.

Scotty goes home while having a whole freak out and tells Stiles (who has followed him because he’s the best friend anyone could ever have) that Derek is the werewolf that bit him. Stiles tells Scotty that Derek took Allison home, Baby Scott leaves to have a fucking argument with Derek, and Stiles goes to Allison’s house (Allison was just fine so Stiles leaves)

Scotty and Derek get attacked by werewolf hunters (needless to say, Scotty won’t be sleeping in a while)

In the morning Stiles picks him up from the woods. At school Scotty apologizes to Allison, she forgives him because they are in love (or stupid , if I had been left like that in the first date I wouldn’t have forgiven him) and we are introduced to Allison’s dad

Wait, did I say Allison’s dad? I meant the werewolf hunter that tried to kill him the night before.

Wow that was a roller coaster of emotions ! What did you guys think? Did you remember all of what actually happens ? Did you also realize that you’ve been mixing what happens in each season together into one big season? Because I did

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Stick to the Shadows

AU-gust Day Twenty-Two: Futuristic AU Fandom: Once Upon A Time Pairing: Rumbelle

Rated: T

Summary: Belle, Gold, and the rest of their Shadowrunning team are caught in a sticky situation during a Run, and Belle and Gold are very relieved when it’s all over. (A Shadowrun AU.)

Note: I had a ton of trouble working out what to do for this prompt and I went through several different tries before hitting on the idea of using Shadowrun, a tabletop RPG that I play set in the distant future. It can basically be described as ‘D&D - but with added guns and computers’. There’s magic, there’s tech, there’s metaspecies (elves, orks, dwarves etc). It’s a lot of fun.

Content warning: Blood, mild violence.

Stick to the Shadows

“Rumpelstiltskin, how’s it looking up there?”

“It’d be wonderful if it wasn’t as cold as a yeti’s backside.”

Belle had to laugh at Gold’s frank statement. They always had a good time when he came out into the field with them. Normally he stayed at home, working behind the scenes.

Beside her, Jefferson, the one to ask the question, sighed. “I happen to know several yetis, Rumpel, and I can guarantee that the fur makes them a lot warmer than you give them credit for. Anyway, stay put. I’m sure that Beauty can warm you up later.”

Belle felt herself flush. Although their relationship was something of an open secret among the rest of their group of Shadowrunners, she was trying to keep the secret part of it going for as long as possible. 

Gold gave Jefferson some choice four letter words and Jefferson smiled calmly, letting him vent before speaking again.

“Grumpy, are you in position?”

“Jeff, we’re in each other’s line of sight.” Leroy waved at them from across the bar. “If you can’t see that I’m in position then I think you need glasses. Aren’t elves supposed to have keener eyesight than the rest of us?”

Jefferson rolled his eyes, but he didn’t rise to the challenge. As the only metahumans in their usual group, Jefferson and Leroy got a lot of mileage out of dwarf and elf jokes. 

“Ok, we’re ready,” he said. “And Grumpy, you know that we’re supposed to use codenames when we’re on comms.”

“Yes, Hatter.”

“Hopefully, this should be a nice, clean extraction. In, out, deliver, get paid. Let’s Run.”

Jefferson began to weave his way through the crowded bar towards their mark, striking up an easy conversation. Jefferson was their face, the charismatic con artist with a silver tongue who could talk them into or out of anywhere. Well, almost anywhere. If Jefferson’s charm failed then they fell back on Belle’s magic or Leroy’s aptitude with a hammer and pickaxe – or just his fists. As a last resort, they had Gold providing them with air support from a distance; the man had more drones at his fingertips than he knew what to do with, ranging from tiny spy cameras the size of a bee to huge monsters with mounted heavy machine guns. Between them, they made a good team and they’d been Shadowrunning together successfully for years.

The mark had bitten, leaning in closer to Jefferson, eager to hear what he had to say. Belle kept her eyes open. They were not the only ones looking to extract this man. When they’d been hired, their client had warned them that he was hot property. There was a price on his head.

Belle spotted a couple of obvious paramilitary types moving towards Jefferson, and she dropped onto the astral plane to take stock, scanning the room for magical signatures. She wasn’t the only mage in the bar, but her persons of interest had no powers themselves. Across the room, she could see Leroy taking an interest in two more goons and beginning to tail them through the throng.

“One more behind you,” Gold’s voice said in her ear. His spy drone zoomed past in front of her and began to systematically read the room. “Just those five as far as I can make out.”

Belle glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of the person Gold had spotted, a burly ork in an ill-fitting suit. As he squeezed past her, Belle caught his arm, sending out a pulse of magic to probe his mind. It was only a brief touch so she didn’t get much, but she could tell that he had been hired by one of the megacorporations, that the other suspicious persons were with him, and that his intentions towards their mark were of the distinctly murderous variety.

“Jeff, we have incoming and they’re not friendly,” she hissed into her comm. “Get him out now.”

“Copy that.”

Across the bar, she saw Jefferson’s demeanour instantly change from debonair playboy to hardened Shadowrunner as he explained the situation to the mark and the two of them began to make their way back towards Belle and the exit. The goons were following them, pushing the other patrons aside in an attempt not to lose their quarry. Over on the other side of the room, there was a commotion as Leroy engaged the two he’d been tailing. The other three looked over to their colleagues but did not go to their aid.

Belle cast invisibility with a flick of her wrist, Jefferson and the mark becoming blue and ghostly in her eyes as they vanished from view for the rest of the bar. The spell was tricky, needing a constant sight line to maintain, and it was difficult in a place where there were so many other people getting in the way. Someone jostled her, breaking her concentration, and the spell shattered, leaving Jeff and the mark fully visible again, although they’d managed to put some more distance between themselves and their pursuers. They were almost at the door when there was a scream; the two goons had produced pistols and didn’t seem to have any care for collateral damage in their determination.

Belle knew that she only had a moment to act, and she dived into their path.

“BELLE NO!” Gold’s voice in her ear was frantic, but she ignored it. She’d done this before, and she had to trust that Gold knew what she was doing and could act on her instinct.

As the two men fired, Belle threw up a barrier, pouring all of her magical energy into maintaining the invisible wall between them and her – and by proxy Jefferson and their mark.

“Hatter, go!” she yelled as another couple of drones swooped past her ear. Gold had got the message, and Jefferson wasted no time in escaping with their mark. A moment later, there was an ear-splitting shriek of electricity as the taser drones found their mark, and Belle finally dropped the barrier, the bullets dropping with it. She staggered backwards; the spell had drained her, and her head was pounding. Across the bar, she saw Leroy despatch his two opponents and dive out of the nearest window. Ignoring the spots dancing in front of her eyes, Belle turned tail and ran out of the bar after Jefferson, catching up with him and the mark and meeting up with Leroy outside in the commotion.

“Now where?” The mark was looking around in desperation. Although Shadowrunners were not the most trustworthy of people, at least this group appeared to want to try and save his life rather than end it, so he’d cut his losses and was sticking with them.

“Now, we wait for our ride, which should be here any minute now.” Jefferson smiled as a screech of tires heralded the arrival of a blue SUV on the scene. “There we are, right on schedule.”

Three of the four doors shot open, much to the alarm of the gathered crowds outside the bar since the SUV appeared to be completely empty. Jefferson bundled the mark into the back and Belle jumped into the passenger seat, Leroy throwing himself into the driver’s side and only just having time to close his door before the car zoomed off again.

“Rumpel, if you hurt one molecule of Catherine’s paintwork,” he grumbled. “I’ll take the wheel now, thanks. Rumpel! I said I’ll take the wheel!”

“You sure about that?” Gold’s voice came through on the comms. “You’ve got incoming.”

Belle glanced in the rear-view to see that the three goons Leroy had not had chance to take down were following them, one in another car, the other on a motorbike.

“Yes! Will you give me control of my own damn van!”

There was an audible clunk as the SUV dropped out of remote control, losing speed for a moment before Leroy was back in control, roaring down the road and dodging in and out of other traffic.

A hail of bullets ricocheted off Catherine’s bumper and Jefferson pushed the mark down out of the line of fire. Evasive manoeuvres weren’t going to cut it; they were going to have to return fire.

“Rumpelstiltskin, take the wheel!”

As reluctant as Leroy had been to let Gold get his hands on his precious Catherine, even he had to admit that having a backseat driver was very useful in times like this.

There was another clunk and short speed drop, then the SUV was driving itself as Leroy rummaged in the driver’s footwell for something out of his extensive arsenal, proceeding to lean out of the window with a shotgun.

Belle leaned out too, but the vehicles were moving too quickly for her to get a proper hit with her magic. She looked up at the rooftops, spotting Gold in his roost, his face illuminated by the light of several holographic screens as he effortlessly drove Catherine with one hand and controlled his many drones with the other. Something caught her eye, a flicker behind Gold that shouldn’t have been there.

She dropped down onto the astral plane again, trying to focus despite the motion. Yes, there was another mage coming up behind him.

“Gold, behind you!” she squealed. He turned, but the mage was invisible to him and his attack drones were all focussed on the pursuit. Belle pushed back onto the physical plane, dived back into the SUV and then out of the sunroof, much to Leroy’s alarm.

“Get down! You’re a sitting duck!”

“So’s Gold, and I need a better sight line on astral! Cover me!”

Leroy griped but acquiesced, and Belle went astral again, throwing a spell towards the mage behind Gold. Being astral, it went straight through Gold with no ill effects, finding its target and sending him staggering backwards, breaking his concentration and turning him visible again to let Gold finish him off – in doing so losing his own concentration on Catherine for a moment and making her lurch to the side.

Belle heard Leroy’s yell: “Rumpel! Do not hurt Catherine!” but then all that was lost as a bullet grazed her arm, making her cry out with the pain and drop back down into the SUV.

“If she even has a scratch I’ll… Belle, are you ok?”

“Belle! Belle, are you all right?”

Belle nodded, although she did not like the feel of the blood seeping between her fingers as she clutched her arm. She leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes, vaguely aware of Gold’s voice in her ear as Jefferson leaned through between the front seats to give her first aid.

Finally, Leroy finished off their attackers and took control of Catherine again. Everything was quiet at last. Now all they had to do was get to the rendezvous with their client: their mark’s father, who had promised a substantial sum if they got him out of dodge unscathed.

Belle just hoped that the mage on the rooftop hadn’t been alone.

X

It was the small hours by the time they made it back to their nominal hideout. Of all of the places where they could have met, Leroy’s underground safehouse had been judged the safest, and no matter what happened during a Run or however they might get separated, they would always meet up there afterwards. Being set up for a dwarf it was not the most comfortable accommodation for the rest of them, but they were nonetheless glad of it.

The mark had been delivered safely and Catherine had got through her ordeal with only a few bullet marks; Leroy was already performing repairs in the garage whilst Jefferson got Belle’s arm fixed up. It was only a scratch, but it had been painful enough at the time.

Gold was the last to arrive, having had to pack up all his gear and make his way to them without the aid of Catherine. Belle knew that he had several other vehicles rigged up that he could use, but she also knew that he preferred to keep a low profile after an altercation such as the one he’d narrowly missed with the other mage.

He ducked into the living room where Jefferson and Belle were waiting, going straight over to throw his arms around Belle. He was not usually demonstrative when the rest of the group were around; trying to keep the futile secret going for as long as possible. Belle guessed that it was definitely out in the open now.

“Never do that again,” he mumbled in her ear. “I thought I’d lost you for good.”

“I promise. As long as you promise not to get ambushed by unfriendly mages again.”

Gold gave a weak chuckle. “I’m never going out into the field again if this is what happens. I’m staying firmly in my own office and running everything remotely.”

Belle just laughed, tightening her hold on him with her one good arm. Tomorrow, when she wasn’t so drained from tonight’s magic, she’d cast a healing spell on herself and everything would be as good as new.

Gold kissed her then, a fierce and desperate kiss that showed just how happy he was that they had both survived another Run, and how distraught he would be if he were to lose her for good one of these days. Belle knew the feeling, she felt exactly the same way. Although he was not usually in as much danger as the rest of them, tonight had proved that even Gold could end up in harm’s way if the stars aligned in a particularly horrible way.

Leroy came in, wiping his hands on a rag.

“Please, if you’re going to get mushy, do it elsewhere,” he said, but the smile on his face betrayed his happiness at seeing the two of them together and comparatively unharmed. Life in the shadows was a dangerous business; Runners tended to stick to the mantra of live fast, die young. Still, having someone to share the life with made Belle that much more determined to come home at the end of every Run, and she knew that Gold felt the same way.

“I love you,” she whispered, once Leroy had gone back out to Catherine and Jefferson, deciding to give the lovebirds some privacy, had gone with him to make himself useful by handing him spanners.

“I love you too. Now… Any idea how we should spend our fee? There’s a new command console that I’ve had my eye on for a while, and you said you wanted new Gecko-Grip gloves…” He tailed off as Belle kissed him again.

“Or we could have a nice romantic night on the town,” she suggested.

Gold nodded. “Yes. Yes, we could do that.” He paused, and Belle had to laugh when he spoke again.

“I don’t think we’ll be welcome at that bar again though.”

[jlf23tumble]

My 1D-related fic faves of 2019

I've read a TON of great fic this year in all kinds of fandoms, Jeeeeeeeeeesus, there are so many talented writers out there, but I won't list it all here (or even list everything I bookmarked this year). Instead, I'm gonna stick with 1D-related works released in 2019 that pulled me in hard and made me stare at the wall and/or read again and/or scream about with other people, and I'll try to do it in cutesie number order because WHY NOT make it that extra level of arbitrary, lmao. I love fanfic because no matter what fandom I'm dipping in, something new is gonna jump up and kill me (this year in particular, I've subscribed to a lot of "new to me" writers that I LOVE, and I hope you know who you are [do you know who you are, etc.]). Thank you for the free gifts, for your time, for your blood, sweat, and tears! I owe you hugs, coffee, and my undying love, gratitude, and support! I'll put my list under the cut to avoid some v. v. real screen scroll rage--happy new year, y'all!

2 lactation kink fics

(aka the Jaerie category, nobody else is out there writing this even as Harry's tits get bigger and milkier and why am I the only one fully appreciating all of it?????)

I Think You're Already Home, by jaerie, Seeing Louis Tomlinson today, it would be hard to guess that he was ever once a member of the world's most famous boyband. These days he doesn't even the leave his own house. The truth is he can't leave his own house. (a December gift to remember for all of us! a/b/o dynamics, famous Louis, omega Harry--which is practically canon at this point--crippling agoraphobia, lactation-related sexiness, I would read at least ten (10) more chapters of this)

freaks from the internet, by jaerie. Harry sells his breast milk to freaks on the internet. Louis turns out to be one of those freaks. He also happens to be Harry's ex. (I legit can't believe this came out this year, I rec it all the time! it was anon for forever, and I was low-key obsessed because I just wanted mawrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr of it, and I got it, thank CHRIST)

3 fics for meeeeeeee

(These works were gifts to me, and I am so truly hashtag blessed to receive!!!)

I Just Wanna Taste It, by @homosociallyyours​. In his mind it's watermelon and sticky strawberry sweet, and he craves the feeling of his own round, firm belly warm under his hands on a summer evening. (Megan loves to kill me with Harry mpreg imaginings, and this one feels like canon to me!)

Powerless (and I Don't Care It's Obvious), by objectlesson/ @alienfuckeronmain​. He should not be getting turned on by Harry’s full-bladder discomfort, his little twitches, his hips-stuttering. And yet. (AND YET!!! I don't even know where to start with how much I love Phoenix, what a treasure her work is in ANY fandom, how shitty this particular fandom has been to her, how much I'm gonna miss harry/louis fic gifts from her in the future, how HOT this pee kink fic is in general, dot dot dot)

Tuxedo Classic Dance Party, by Blake/ @newleafover​. Instead of flying out to meet his touring boyfriend in Madrid, Louis sticks around to be responsible and do things like dance at Lady Gaga night at the gay cowboy club in West Hollywood. (Blake has written at least five fics in various fandoms that I would say are my favorite fics of all time, but they really topped themselves with this one!)

4 fic series

(I feel like there are probably loads more that qualify, but these ones grabbed me in their own particular way)

Not That Gone, by abrighteryellow/ @a-brighter-yellow​. Louis’s 20-year high school reunion takes a turn when a celebrity classmate – who also happens to be Louis’s long unrequited crush – unexpectedly shows up. (this was inspired by Chris Evans, and both parts stand on their own, tbh)

Maybe I Miss You, by 13ways. Louis is on his way back to London after the Hits Live Birmingham concert. Harry is flying to New York for the Met Gala. They connect. (from the very first story in this series, I was HOOKED, canon angst that builds up to something truly wonderful)

There's something I want to try..., by TheMagicWord. Harry wants to try something. Louis's not convinced. Until he is. (the installments are super short, super hot)

One More Time Again, by orphan_account. On the morning of his second sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden, Harry wakes up to find that he's sixteen years old, on The X Factor, and that he has a chance to make things right. (I'm sad that this author orphaned, but I seem to recall her getting a TON of shit, which is unfortunate because this is a great read, and part two is an imagining where Louis goes back instead)

5 fics featuring holidays

(These ones are basically from Christmas and Halloween of this year, so quite recent!!)

once bitten and twice shy, by @pinkcords​. In a rush of bravery only senior year can bring, Harry confesses his feelings in a letter to his neighbor and best friend, Louis, only for the entire school to hear it and laugh him out of their small town in Wisconsin. (the notes on this one blew me away: first-time author, pinch-hitting for a fest, and damn, a knock out)

you've set my soul to dreaming, by we_are_the_same. Thirty-year-old Harry Styles goes to bed single on Christmas Eve, only to wake up on Christmas morning with a husband in his bed and a son down the hall. (I'm not always into this trope, but when it's done well? NICE, and this one did it well)

when half spent was the night, by @juliusschmidt​. I’ve skimmed your website and am interested in hiring you to be my doula. I’m 7 ½ months pregnant and not keen to do this whole labor and birth thing alone. After looking around, I thought you might be a good fit. (girl direction advent fic with pregnant Louis that’s incredibly well done, especially given how short it is, I was so sad to see it end, but the author says something about act II coming??? YES!!!)

Fictober 2019 Collection, by flowercrownfemme/ @lesbianiconharrystyles​. Features lots of monsters and creatures and Harry Styles being a general nightmare as well as a few Girl Direction drabbles and a timestamp for Fool For You and one for Treat Mothman With Kindness. (Chloe's Halloween drabbles, each of which could outrival other stories 4x the length...she's a GIFT)

Cat & Mouse, by jaerie. It's the one day out of the year that Harry doesn't have to hide and can be himself — at least he thought so. Louis is just a little more observant than he anticipated. (I'm not a big hybrid fic fan, BUT GOD THIS STORY IS SO GOOD, it's so short I wanna cry, but so good!!!)

6 a/b/o fics

(I can handle "traditional" a/b/o if it gives me my dose of omega Harry, but I absolutely adore "untraditional" a/b/o, you know, where it actually is NOT about straight dynamics being put on a m/m or f/f couple (excuse me, a/a or o/o)...these ones NAIL IT, as did the entire gaybo ficfest)

violence of my own touch, by 14hrflight/ @silverfoxlouis​. Louis hasn’t said anything, but Harry knows something is wrong. Harry’s rut had ended a few days ago, and Louis had kept him under as best as he could. (whenever I read Chi's alpha/alpha fics, I find myself internally screaming "CHI!!!" god, do they Get It, and I really hope they continue this one!)

Amor Victorious, by HappyPrincess/ @pattern-pals​. Louis finds himself following Harry on a journey through Italy, complete with long train rides, greasy food, naked Christs, and too many lingering touches. They're definitely not like other tourists and he definitely doesn't have a crush on his best friend who happens to be an alpha, too. (this one came out during Thanksgiving week, so I held it to savor, and BOY, DID I SAVOR, it's so incredible, the gorgeous writing, the visceral, indescribable feeling of reading it, sighhhhhhh)

do you know me by heart, by HappyPrincess/ @pattern-pals​. Harry comes back wearing alphas' scents, a pleased smile and a lace dress. Somehow, Louis still ends up making him come until he cries. (for me personally, 2019 was the year of Nina: getting to know them, catching up on all their writing, falling in love with the way they can kill us all with beautiful angst and the hint and hope of redemption...here's a tissue, you'll need it!!)

the way that you're thrilling me, by @hereforlou​. Alphas were smelly and cocky and mostly arseholes, in Harry’s experience. Or at least they were at school. He didn’t understand how his friends—lovely, soft-skinned, sweet-smelling omegas—could actually want to touch them, or be touched by them. (this is just one of the many, MANY faves I had from the gaybo ficfest, A+ all around)

Constant Debauchery, by Blake/ @newleafover​. Harry is an alpha who loves getting his mouth knotted by other alphas. Louis is happy to serve. Fun smut! But also angst and sexual awakenings. (Blake knows how to sum up their writing, lol, but YEAH, me as at least one of the comments both public and private saying they'd want to read 100k more of this)

how many nights did I crash against the waves, by Blake/ @newleafover​ Louis is going into heat and Harry thinks it's hot. (the SKILL of writing something that's 1.7k, yet builds a complete--and v. v. hot--world)

7 fics with Harry and someone else

(I still have a few I need to read in this category--I'm getting there! But these are some from my fave authors that really had me pondering some walls [heh])

I Want Your Belly, by @glasscushion​. Harry wants Adam to knock him up. Inspired by on-stage thirst, the Instagram Stories Shirt, Watermelon Sugar, and Harry’s persistent baby fever. (Adam/Harry, mpreg kink of the finest order!!)

Rachel, Nevada, by @vondrostes​. Harry has a close sexual encounter of the fourth kind. (Jeff/Harry, Rachel/Harry, and I honestly can't even BEGIN to describe this, holy WOW)

Sea Salt, by @glasscushion​. Nick's drunk, and he can't avoid his feelings forever. Set in 2013 and 2019. (Nick/Harry, rip gryles...the grylers I know had an absolute field day in terms of angst, damn!)

all my lies are safe beside you now, by HappyPrincess/ @pattern-pals​. They both know what it was like to love Louis Tomlinson fiercely, irrevocably, ghosts of it on their skin, even if the traces were etched in vastly different ways. (Zayn/Harry, and FOR REAL, this is a huge ouch)

call me anything you like, but my name is, by @wishforwishes​. Some conversations are better left forgotten, some conversations are worth remembering, and some conversations you never get the chance to have. Featuring three mentors, two tea parties, one and a half recording studios, and a reference to Archie comics. (Harry/CHASM, essentially; LISTEN, I am obsessed with this fic, you don't need to read part one to really Get It, but the bits with Zayn, and James/Ben, and all the parts with Harry working through gender? SO GODDAMNED REAL)

Come Out and Play, by @dinosaursmate​. Harry and Louis discover a new kink in their relationship, and it brings all the boys closer than they could have ever imagined. (ot5 orgy, so not really Harry with anyone so much as everyone with everyone, and let's call this one canon)

Like a Rolling Stone, by @vondrostes​. By the end of it, Nick realised his tea had gone cold in his hand. He’d barely taken a single sip in the hour-plus he’d been sat there, unmoving, transfixed by Harry’s songs—haunted by the knowledge of what had inspired them. (Nick/Harry, rip gryles)

8 canon fics

(This was a VERY hard category to narrow down, but yeah, a big push this year from "newer" writers = lots of nuanced fic)

Per Aspera, by @sedfierisentio​. Louis’s throat feels tight, his heart like a hammer in his chest. You know my rot, he thinks, and I know yours. I love you still. (these achingly beautiful time stamps are centered around taste, and if this fic has taught me anything, it's that buying an author a coffee has a ripple effect)

A Nullo Amato, by @sedfierisentio​. Inspired by Harry carrying books around outside LAX, a canon-compliant, Canon AU fic set between 2014 and 2015; mostly, timestamps roped together by a common theme—literature. (this was removed four years ago and reposted, so maybe it's a cheat??? i don't care, it was brand-new to me and a lot of other people, I'm so glad the author shared it again!)

no love like your love, by @dykes4louis​. A collection of tumblr drabbles. (Hima is REALLY burying the lede on this one because each of these is short and SCORCHING, her skill, check out her other works, too!)

Dancing in My Dreams, by @kingsofeverything​. Louis doesn't mean to imply that Harry's too old to dance for him, but Harry takes it that way, and sets out to prove him wrong. (this is one that *could* go in the series pile, but I love it as a standalone...feels like canon to me, regardless!)

Sonic Sounds, by @glasscushion​. "Harry takes a deep breath, suitably embarrassed, “I’m just really...” and he can’t say the obvious. He can’t just say "really wet." Or Harry loves feeling embarrassed. Louis is happy to help. (I'll never look at those One Direction electric toothbrushes quite the same way again)

Bruised Fruit, by @glasscushion. Louis is obsessed with the way Harry smells in the heat of LA. (hey, you know what, me, too, bitch, you ain't special...the way this fic SMELLS, my god, I"m obsessed)

be my once in a lifetime, by HappyPrincess/ @pattern-pals. Just like there are only four other people who will ever understand what it’s like growing up in One Direction, there’s only one other person who knows what it’s like to find your soulmate just before you’re thrown into the spotlight and forced to acknowledge that the both of you have too many flaws and vices to make it through fame together. Or: It's all about having sex and being sad. And drunk. (can u believe Nina wrote this before Fine Line???)

in this dress, by cabinbythesea. Louis is so lost in his eyes and his words he feels if a step above heaven exists, it has to be Harry. Loosely inspired by Harry’s dress from the director’s cut of Lights Up. (I sure hope we see even more fic inspired by every bit of this album/every video it produces)

9 fics by Phoenix/ @alienfuckeronmain

(This fandom doesn't deserve her, and I hope everyone's reading her other works because they're all so amazing, she's such an incredibly gifted writer, my fave of faves, my life is so much brighter with her in it...I could rec her all goddamned day, and I do slash will!!! Here are nine she cranked out this year, each one a gem in its own way)

Silver White Winters. In which Louis catches a cloud and pins it down, aka, a Sound of Music AU (the shittiness in the comments underlines why we can't have nice things, but jesus CHRIST, this is so pure and good, and she cranked it out in, like, two hours)

I don't do that dance. Harry is easily the worst ballet dancer in her whole Intro to Ballet class. Except maybe Taylor Swift. (I adore how Phoenix writes girl Harry, but the way she writes Taylor? Unparalleled...nails her perfectly!)

magic, madness, heaven, sin, by @kerasines. It’s the flashing lights painting colors on her eyelids, it’s the drumming bass competing with her heartbeat. It’s the manic energy rippling through the crowd in waves, the deafening, frenzied passion filling the stadium that remind Eleanor that she actually used to like going to concerts. (technically, this one is FOR Phoenix, from Kim, but it takes a pairing that Phoenix is making her very own, so I'm counting it, lol)

Snakes and Stones. If you call a girl a snake enough, sometimes she becomes one. Her legs lengthen and fuse, her pupils shrink to slits. She gets colder and colder, until she has to spread herself on the warm cement beside the pool, soaking in heat, sipping gin and tonics to warm her blood so she does not turn to ice and shatter to bits. (god, I'm blanking on this ship name, but El/Taylor is such an inspired pairing, and I hope that P's drabbles make it over to ao3 in full)

Something good (will come from here). Taylor does not answer, because she is too busy licking her lips and pitching forward, as if Eleanor is the sky, or the sea. (you can practically SMELL this fic, El/Taylor drabble)

I Must Confess (I Still Believe). Harry is the new girl at an all girl Catholic Girl's School, and Louis is the unattainable, dashing senior who changes her forever. (this fic breaks my heart, the entire experience of its production and aftermath will forever be bittersweet, a gorgeous swansong)

Only One at the Finish Line. “I want to be another alpha’s omega,” is what he says, and it comes out like something reckless, something wild. Like he doesn't care anymore if Louis hates him or not, if Louis understands, he just needs to speak his truth aloud to darkness, to the slender pines that surround them like a jury panel. (Phoenix was the gaybo mod, and this was her contribution, and it is PERFECTION PERSONIFIED, fest goals)

The Pink Ghost of Princess Park. The thought of the vibrator does not go away. It’s sitting there collecting dust all through January, and every time Harry and Louis have to leave town for a press event or a show or to record or what have you, they come back home, and it’s still there, the Pink Ghost of Princess Park, the fucking glittery haunting that Harry cannot stop thinking of Louis stuffing up his arse. (a very good year in general for Princess Park clapbacks)

Life Saver. Louis is a sweetheart punk with a theater background and a heart of gold, Harry is an inexperienced nerd who plays by the rules. Classmates, lab partners, and eventually friends, what happens when Louis knows he’s in love, but doesn’t know how tell Harry? (this one came out a year ago tomorrow, and it had a tough birthing process, but it's so good, so hot, my love for virgin Harry gettin’ it on knows no bounds)

10 AU fics

(yes, yes, this could be LOADS longer, but I’m sticking to my theme!)

breathless for an eternity, by cabinbythesea. Harry conquers double duty on SNL and Louis wishes he was Nick Jonas. (dangggg, this came out too late for me to rec it along with my other snl-related fic, but it joins that lofty canon!)

Pretty Baby, by @littlelouishiccups. Louis helps Harry unwind after a busy week. (I was NOT expecting a new chapter in the iconic sugar baby Harry series, but HERE WE ARE)

into another (another) serotonin overflow, by @mercutionotromeo. Sweet first time sex wherein Harry's adorably awkward, Louis is achingly cool, and Harry rides Louis wearing his jersey. (this is one of my all-time fave fics, and I'm not sure what changed in it to get it reposted, but yeah, HERE FOR IT, THANK YOU!!!)

'Sup, by @mediawhorefics. All Louis wants is to finish the play he’s been commissioned to write, but one of the regulars at his local coffee shop keeps distracting him. ft. older larry, pushy gemma, harry being a disaster gay and silver fox louis. (this is so short but so tantalizing, GOD, DO I WANT MORE OF THIS UNIVERSE)

Tan Lines and Some Memories, by twoshipstiedup. Harry Styles is the indie movie darling he’d been avoiding ever since Louis saw his movie at Cannes and harbored an unreasonable grudge against him. A unicorn t-shirt finally brings them together in person. (I honestly thought we'd get more unicorn shirt fic, but this is a wonderful standard-bearer, banter city)

Bitter Tangerine, by purpledaisy/ @daisyharry. Nine months after they break up, a twist of fate brings Harry and Louis back together at Christmas. (so much ouch in this, but wow, do you feel like you're reading fully realized, realistic, growing characters)

We're Driving in Your Fast Car, by @sadaveniren. Harry felt himself light up - both with excitement and the thrill of getting what he wanted. “Really?” “Of course, anything for you." aka Louis and Harry are car thieves about to pull off a million dollar job. (another one I'd love to read more of...how did they get here, where are they going, etc.)

remember you well, by @fondleeds. Harry’s a criminal, Louis’ a cop, and they’re stranded overnight at the Motel 6. (what's with me and my love of heist/caper fics this year?)

Tied Down, by HamPalpert/ @ham-palpert. The most interesting case in Liam and Niall's careers falls directly into their laps, courtesy of an epic fuck-up of one Harry Styles, partner to the almost-infamous drug dealer Louis Tomlinson. The investigation yields an unexpected yet satisfactory outcome for Liam and Niall. For Harry and Louis, however, things are far more complicated. (SEE ABOVE, JESUS, I THINK ABOUT THIS FIC...ALL...THE.......TIME)

Harry Styles Cooks..., by sunsetmog. Louis owns all of Harry Styles’ cookbooks, and he never intends to cook a single thing out of any of them. (yeah, it's a wip, yeah, I flatline every time it updates, what of it, I'm living my best life vicariously through it!!)

[meggannn]

into the spiderverse: timeline

when i went to see spiderverse again yesterday one of my goals was to come up with a timeline of the story, so here’s what i found with some of my notes. the main chunk of the story takes place over the course of a week in mid-december, beginning on a monday morning and ending friday night.

SUNDAY

NIGHT: Specified only in the background, but a collider test took place under Fisk tower Sunday evening with three pieces of evidence:           1) As Miles walks to school Monday morning, a friend from Brooklyn Middle asks him if he felt the “earthquake” (collider test) last night. Of course, Miles replies “What are you talking about? I slept like a baby last night.” It could very well be all talk, since this is Miles’s “cool” persona that comes out around his friends. I believe the collider test did occur and was centralized/affected only certain neighborhoods, for reason #3 below.           2) The spider that bites Miles on Monday night glitches as it crawls down from the ceiling, implying that it came from another universe.           3) The confirmation: the news broadcast that Jefferson and Miles pass by in the car on the way to Visions announces that “There are multiple reports of another mysterious seismic event last night.” (Side note: when Gwen is blasted into “last week” New York, an announcer mentions, “...this is the second earthquake in the Tri-State area this month.” So this pre-canon collider test on Sunday wasn’t even the first one.)

MONDAY

DAY: Miles gets a ride to school from his dad, meets Gwen in physics, receives a test back, and is assigned the essay.          Miles’s date at the top of his test reads Decembruary 9. I’ve seen a theory that this is what the month is called in Miles’s universe, but later, a poster in Miles’s room advertises the date “DECEMBER 15,” so we can assume “Decembruary” was just part of his efforts to flunk the class. If we assume the date number is correct, this film probably takes place in mid-December. (December 9, 2018 was actually a Saturday, so either the filmmakers didn't check, or Miles was really committed to playing dumb.)

NIGHT: Miles sneaks out to spray-paint with Aaron and is bitten by the spider from another dimension.

TUESDAY

DAY: Miles notices changes. He sticks to everything, tears Gwen’s hair, and realizes he might have Spiderman’s powers.

NIGHT: Miles searches for answers in Brooklyn and returns to the tunnel to check the spider, where he is caught in a battle between PP Spiderman and Green Goblin. PP Spiderman is thrust into the collider beam. PP Spiderman gives him the task of destroying the collider. PP Spiderman is killed by Kingpin, Miles returns to his parents’ place, and stays the night there. The news of PP Spiderman’s death is broadcast across the city.           Meanwhile, Peter B and the others are thrust into Miles’s reality this same evening (Gwen goes back in time). Peter B sees PP’s death in Times Square.          This evening is the first time Miles experiences Spideysense. In the lead up, his senses feel strange, distorted, and claustrophobic; the visuals look weird on the screen until it suddenly condenses into the wiggly lines and LOOK OUT flashes behind him (when Green Goblin bursts through the wall). After that, his Spideysense triggers normally like the others’.

WEDNESDAY

This is the day I’m most confused about. Common sense says these events couldn’t/shouldn’t all happen in the same day, but other parts of the film indicate that not much/no time has passed, so they have to happen either on Weds, or across a day or two, perhaps Weds-Thurs. For expediency’s sake I’m assuming the filmmakers probably intended it to be Weds due to how urgent they stress the collider situation is.

DAY: The city is in mourning. Miles goes to a costume shop and buys a Spiderman outfit, where he meets Stan Lee. He attends a public speech by Mary Jane Watson, attempts to swing off a few buildings, and accidentally breaks the USB.          Peter B also attended MJ’s speech on Wednesday from afar, where he is already seen wearing a trenchcoat he must have scrounged from somewhere. He must have also acquired a pair of sweatpants and mismatching shoes on Weds to cover up/keep warm where the bottom of his suit burned up in collider travel.         Wednesday is the first day Miles skips school and drops out of contact with his family.

NIGHT: Miles goes to PP’s grave and apologizes for failing him. We meet Peter B, who Miles accidentally electrocutes, and they go on a train ride together. After Peter is knocked out, Miles takes him to Aaron’s, where he ties him up and questions him. They recognize the Spideysense in each other, and Peter B reluctantly agrees to mentor him.          The likelihood of all these events happening in one day is pretty infeasible (MJ’s speech and Peter’s gravestone especially). Families would be given a few days of privacy to mourn, and besides which, MJ would need time to write the speech. Most importantly, people aren’t buried within a day. Also, with PP’s death so fresh, there would definitely be mourners at his gravesite in the evening, unless perhaps Miles waited until they all left and it’s VERY late at night/early morning when he meets Peter B.          Peter B’s face is still beat up/swollen in the beginning of the scene when he’s tied to the punching bag, but by the time he’s decided to leave for the collider in the alley, he has fully healed. I would call it a continuity error, but since Peter has healing abilities, I think it was a conscious choice that his injuries lasted this long, either from being knocked out/swung around the city, and/or Miles might have injured him by knocking his head around Aaron’s apartment while tying him up.          There’s a time skip between the alley scene and the next morning. Peter walks up the wall next to someone awake in their apartment window, so we might think it’s a reasonable time of night OR early morning (9-10pm, 5-6am), but it’s also New York, so it could just as well be 2am when they’re having this talk. What did Peter B and Miles do before they go out to eat? Peter says “There’s not a moment to lose” and Miles starts to follow him but there’s not much they could do to get started on a new USB in the middle of the night, and in the middle of winter I doubt they just wandered around the city. Did they spend the night at Aaron’s?

THURSDAY

DAY: Peter and Miles eat breakfast at a burger place and travel to Alchemex to steal the data. They infiltrate the lab, meet Doc Ock, break out with the computer, and are introduced Gwen/Spiderwoman in the forest. We are treated to Kingpin’s backstory and his goals behind the collider.          Peter tells Miles to look up where Alchemex is, and Miles’s phone says Alchemex “OPENS AT 9AM.” It’s light out when they eat, and NY sunrise in December is around 7am, so I assume this scene takes place around 7-8am. Miles wants to swing to the Hudson Valley, but Peter insists they take the bus, saying he won’t swing “after a hearty burger-breakfast.” It’s a 2-hour bus drive from NYC to the Valley, so they arrive after Alchemex opens. Accomodating for their travel time to Port Authority, they probably get there around 10-11am.          Gwen is the third Spider-person Miles has met within a day and a half, after years of thinking there was only one. Only two days ago he was puzzling over the possibility of there being two Spidermen alone in his room, and in the forest he says, “How many more Spider-people are there?” which is honestly probably running through his head all day.          Miles has now been skipping school for two days. His last contact with his family was Tuesday evening, and it’s also been two full days since they’ve heard from him. Brooklyn Visions has almost certainly contacted his parents, which likely prompts the call Jefferson makes to Aaron asking if he knows where Miles is. (Little does Jefferson know Miles almost calls him that same evening as he’s wandering Queens after leaving May’s.) We might assume that Visions thinks Miles is just skipping class, not that he’s missing, otherwise Jeff would probably feel more panicked.

NIGHT: The team goes to May’s house in Queens, and are introduced to the rest of the Spider-people that traveled from other dimensions. They haze Miles, prompting him to seek solace with Aaron. Instead he runs into the Prowler, and it’s revealed the Prowler is Aaron. Miles runs, and Aaron gives chase.          There’s a time gap between the bus ride back from Alchemex. The bus ride takes 2 hours, which Peter/Miles/Gwen presumably make immediately after breaking out of Alchemex, putting them back in NYC around early/mid afternoon, maybe 1-2pm. They meet up with May around sunset, which is around 4:30 in December in New York. That’s a few missing hours in which they might have gone out to eat or something. Why did they wait a few hours to go to May’s? Theories:                1) They were busy eating/talking/getting to know each other.                2) They waited until they were sure she was home. Is May retired?                3) They waited until the crowds of mourners/fans would be gone.          May is presumably housing the Spidergang in her place, including dinner Thursday night and breakfast Friday. Or maybe they ordered takeout.

FRIDAY

Friday has the second-weirdest time skips behind Wednesday. There’s an implication that all of these events happen very quickly following each other, but unless Miles was running around literally all day trying to escape the Prowler, these events have to have some gaps.

DAY: Peni creates a new USB. Miles rushes to May’s house for safety after leading the Prowler on a chase across Brooklyn-Queens. Aaron has called for backup and arrives at May’s home with the Scorpion/Doc Ock/Tombstone. They fight the Spider-gang, Miles escapes with the USB and is cornered by Aaron. Aaron refuses to kill his nephew and is killed for it. Around sunset, Miles runs back to his dorm, where he is confronted by the Spider-gang and Peter tells him they won’t let him destroy the collider. Peter ties him up in his room, and Jefferson visits Miles in his dorm.          Peter is wearing sweatpants and shoes over his burnt suit on Thursday and has a fully functional suit (with the onesie covering his feet) when Miles returns to the house. We can assume May either gave him one of dead Peter’s suits, or helped him repair his own.          We don’t know when Miles rejoins the gang at May’s house, so you could headcanon it’s in the morning or afternoon. The fight with the Sinister Six probably lasts about an hour. We might assume Miles goes missing again after Aaron dies, and he could’ve spent some time wandering the city in grief again. Again, sunset in NY in December is 4:30, so that’s when the spider-gang confront him in his room. Given everything, my suspicion is that they were waiting at Miles’s dorm room (which Gwen would’ve known) for him to return, so when he throws his book out the window, that’s why someone was able to immediately throw it back.

NIGHT: Miles discovers his powers, escapes Peter’s webbing, travels back to Queens where May helps him with his suit and web shooters. Miles takes the subway to Manhattan to take his leap of faith, and then swings back to Brooklyn to join the gang. Meanwhile, the Spider-gang infiltrate Kingpin’s gala and break into the collider. Miles joins them and they successfully defeat the sinister six, and send everyone home. Miles faces off against Kingpin and destroys the collider. Later, Miles calls Jefferson (first contact in 3 days, since Tuesday), delivers Kingpin to the PDNY, and introduces himself to the city as the new Spiderman.

and that’s all i’ve got for now. curious to hear if anyone has thoughts/if i missed or misinterpreted anything.

[ultimate-miles]

1048 Miles Morales is not 1610 Miles Morales (and that’s fine)

[Originally Posted @videogamesincolor 11/7/2018]

Miles Morales as a character is only officially seven years old in terms of publication, debuting in 2011 in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and prior during the Death of Spider-Man arc in Ultimate Comics Fallout, just three or four years before Marvel’s Ultimate Marvel line would come to an abrupt end in 2015. 

From 2011-2017, Miles Morales has been consistently written and drawn by a specific team: Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli, and David Marquez. 

Since Bendis’ departure from Marvel to DC Comics, Pichelli and Marquez moving on to other projects, the character is probably now more open to reinterpretation in popular media than he was when Bendis and Ultimate Marvel were still a thing to consider.

In the case of Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man (or Spider-Man PS4), the writing team have reinterpreted the character to suit the designated 1048 universe that their game and their version of Peter Parker inhabit.

LITERAL vs. REMIX

I don’t think you can say Insomniac Games’ writers don’t know or are ignorant of Miles Morales’ history. It’s pretty clear they’re familiar with it just from what they’ve chosen or chosen not to use for their story. This is more of a case of what most multimedia Marvel properties have done to established superheroes, and that’s change parts of his backstory to suit their version of the Spider-Man canon while maintaining other elements. 

Best example I could use is X-Men’s Rogue and other X-Men characters as reinterpreted by David Hayter and the associated screenwriters for the original X-Men film. They made deliberate changes, not out of ignorance, but convenience to their own take on the X-Men canon.

It happens, it’s the backbone of Marvel’s multiverse, and that’s not necessarily a negative depending on the execution. I’m not of the mind that a character’s origin story can’t be changed or shouldn’t be changed. There’s a possibility to make a Miguel O’Hara Spider-Man without the pretense of 2099, there’s a possibility to create Peter Parker Spider-Man without the death of Ben Parker, there’s a way to make Miles Morales Spider-Man without Peter Parker in any pretense as a necessity to his story.  Again, it’s all about execution.

The expectation of a 1:1 adaptation of a character in different mediums is an expectation fans of any medium assume way too often. Yeah, it’s clear that a lot of characters are closer to their comic book carnations than most sometimes and it’s a game of pick and chose, but those choices shouldn’t be viewed as inherently malicious or done out of ignorance, not when Marvel encourages its content creators to do different things with their brand characters for the sake of relevancy.

It’s fairly clear what they were trying to do with Miles Morales, which is the same method they used on Mary Jane Watson (who has garnered similar complaints from 616 fans of the character).

I don’t think Anya Corazon is really a solution. Even if Insomniac decided to used Anya, her backstory would’ve changed to suit the canon of game, just like Miles’ was. And it’s clear that Miles was chosen for the same reasons he continues to appear in new Spider-Man cartoons: His relevancy and his connection to Peter. Anya really doesn’t have that.

The absence of characters like Ganke Lee, Aaron Davis, or even Jefferson’s frayed relationship with his brother doesn’t mean they were ignorant of them, so much as they weren’t things they could tie to Peter Parker as a means of creating a relationship with Miles. Ganke and Aaron are crucial bits to 1610 Miles Morales in a universe where Miles was, initially, only tangentially connected to Peter Parker (despite the fact his character more or less orbits around him, to his detriment) and Spider-Man was an afterthought prior to his being bitten by the Oscorp Spider. 

1048 Miles Morales is literally informed by Peter Parker’s actions, and Miles’ heroism is more or less informed by Spider-Man because he is Miles’ hero. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is more or less playing on the same scenario, but on a different track. The nameless kid from Miles’ intro more or less indicates, yes, Miles has friends, but they’re literally not important to his story arc so they’re not getting screentime remotely.

The Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon has one version of Miles Morales that attends Midtown High instead of Brooklyn Visions Academy (but he doesn’t know Peter), while the other (”Kid Arachnid”) followers his 1610 narrative a little closer (but his father is dead). The 2017 animated Spider-Man has Miles attends Horizon High with Peter Parker (they also happen to be friends). The Miles of Marvel’s Spider-Man could be attending Midtown High (but the game never verbalizes that as fact) and later becomes a friend to Peter. 

1048 Rio Morales is a school teacher (instead of an apparent stay-at-home mom) who teaches science, Peter Parker is a struggling scientist working a public funded project with Doctor Octopus. 1048 Miles is also into science, and likes to fix or tinker with things. 1610 Miles simply was not (and his original comic book title never really explores or makes plain what his favor subject or hobbies are like it does with Ganke). 

1048 Rio’s game profile says she was born in New York City, New York, 1048 Jeff Davis’ profile emphasizes that he was born in Brooklyn, but the its clear that he is a beat cop who clearly works within the city. From all of that, it wouldn’t be out there to assume that the 1048 Morales family lives in NYC instead of Brooklyn, NY in this Spider-Man canon. 

Everything they do, including attending school, is within that area. They don’t commute to or from Brooklyn or do anything there despite Miles and Jefferson being born there. There is no Brooklyn Visions Academy or Brooklyn apartment in 1048 to worry about.

I don’t see their version of Miles being a fan of Spider-Man in this canon as negative, but it is illustrative of Insomniac tying their version of Miles closer to 1048 Peter Parker, in the same way Jefferson Davis’ introduction and death acts as the catalyst for Miles and Peter’s mentor/student friendship later on in the game. 

I don’t believe Jefferson dying was ever meant to represent the death of 1610 Peter so much as it was meant to be that “tragic backstory” moment for Miles. It was also meant to give Peter and Miles a reason to talk to each other, and mirrors Doctor Octopus’ metaphorical “death” in Peter Parker’s eyes. (They were doing a whole “death of the father figure” thing, obviously.)

The removal of Jefferson from the narrative to facilitate the Peter/Miles relationship is your standard anti-Blackness. It makes no bones which of the characters is more important for their version of Miles, which, like other things in the game, is Peter Parker. (It’s reminiscent of Bendis of killing off and minimizing Riri Williams’ family to make a stronger connection between her and Tony Stark.) I find that as questionable as Marvel’s insistence to make Davis a cop in alt-universes instead of a father with a off-screen job, or, hell, an Agent of SHIELD. But, I get Jefferson’s profession is another narrative convenience in the same way Mary Jane Watson being a reporter instead of a model/actor was also narrative convenience.

1048 Miles was written and designed to be Peter’s supporting character, so a lot of the elements that make him the lead character of his own titles are not necessary. If he was made to be anything else (like a leading character or the lead character of the game), I’d probably view of all these ties to Peter as an outright negative. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a): just another way of differentiating him from his 1610, b): not far off from what Marvel is already doing with the character anyway.

The fact the writing in the game is upfront about its preoccupation with connecting Miles closer to Peter, instead of pretending otherwise (as Bendis has), probably makes me less inclined to dislike their take on Miles. 1048 Miles is just another cog in this Peter Parker’s mythos, yes, but Flash Thompson he ain’t. 

1610 Miles Morales was designed to be and had the potential to be a character set apart from Peter. Bendis and Marvel simply squandered that by undermining him with the constant fallback on Peter Parker and his history. 

Even the MCU, when they had the opportunity to create a Miles Morales Spider-Man without the pretense of needing Peter Parker, just reduced him to a throwaway line for a miscast Donald Glover to utter, then used every element in his story for their version of Peter Parker. If we’re doing a compare and contrast, I’ll take supporting character Miles Morales over a Miles Morales that’ll be standing next to his white clone as portrayed by Tom Holland.

JEFFERSON’S SURNAME

Jefferson never renounced his last name in such a way that he stopped using it. He might be married to Rio Morales, but it’s clear he never changed his surname to hers. For the entire run of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man, Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen and the 616 soft reboot (Spider-Man), Jefferson has always referred to himself as “Jefferson Davis”.

The characters he interacts with - either personally or professionally - always refer to him as “Mr. Davis” or “Jefferson Davis”, or “Jeff Davis”. Insomniac’s narrative does nothing to alter this whatsoever and sticks to the status quo established by the comics. The most  Jefferson ever did was dissociate himself with his brother because Aaron refused to shape-up. Miles doesn’t use his father’s surname (and, sure, you can spend a lot time theorizing the in-universe reason for that), but it’s a clear writing decision on Bendis’ part that the Morales surname was to ensure no one would question whether or not Miles was, in his words, a "Black” and “Hispanic” character.

Not once in the run of the Ultimate Marvel or Miles’ recently ended Spider-Man series, or even the Jason Reynolds penned Young Adult Novel, does Jefferson denounce his name, or refer or is referred to Jefferson Morales. There isn’t even an instance in the comic books or said book where he says, “Please, call me Jefferson Morales.”

He’s ashamed of his past, rarely talks about it, yes, but his surname? Still uses that. Jefferson Davis is a black male character created by a tone-deaf white man. The comic books (by proxy of their author, Bendis) have historically ignored the unfortunate ties behind the name “Jefferson Davis”. The most Miles Morales: Spider-Man does is have Ganke crack a joke about Miles not using Jeff’s surname, and draw explicit attention to the fact that Jefferson Davis is the name of supporter of the confederacy and a racist to boot. 

We’ve never gotten a genuine discussion in either medium about how Jefferson feels about his name.Jefferson being called “Jefferson Morales” has never been a thing in Miles’ mainline titles or alternate canons. His surname has never been ignored.

COLORISM AND ASSUMING BLACKNESS

Colorism with respect to Miles has always been fairly present with the character, though not on any level as bad as it is with someone like Storm. With his most consistent artists, Sara Pichelli and David Marquez, Miles’ complexion was consistently somewhere between medium brown and dark brown. But, outside of those artists, Miles’ skintone is fairly all over the place in other titles with other artists, with his most recently ended Spider-Man title often bringing somewhere closer to Rio Morales complexion (and it happened with Jefferson as well). It gets even worse with animated shows, which give him an almost washed out, zombie-esque, pale brown complexion.

Miles’ complexion in Marvel’s Spider-Man is definitely fairer in comparison to his 1610 counterpart, or even 1048 Jefferson, and closer to Rio’s. Depending on the cinematic, it flip-flops from extremely fair to medium brown in the same way Rio goes from medium brown to extremely pale in a lot of scenes.

And with regard to Rio Morales, there’s nothing about her character model that excludes her from Blackness? But, similar to characters like Aya of Alexandria (from Assassin’s Creed: Origins) or Jade from the original Beyond Good and Evil (who, yes, could be viewed as a Black woman), the way the character is designed (both in the game and in the comics) is inherently divorced from common markers of Blackness in such a way that it’s no one’s first assumption. 

Rio Morales has always been a fair skinned woman. She in no way was drawn to match the skintones of Jefferson or Miles, and she wasn’t lightened in the game at all. Her representation in the game is fairly close to her representation in the comics, which also flip-flops between “super-fair-skinned” to “medium brown” Rio Morales.

I think Brian Michael Bendis makes it very clear with his poor understanding of Blackness and its lack of exclusivity to folk with Puerto Rican parentage - that Rio Morales is a non-Black woman (or in Bendis’ words, “Hispanic”), and Jeff Davis is Black (African-American). 

Miles’ selling point is that he was the “Biracial Spider-Man” in the same way Miguel O’Hara is lesser known for. That’s the divide Bendis’ writing and comprehension creates for this character. The clear avoidance of the issue for something that wasn’t a walking joke (Rio’s racial caricature of a mother) or Bendis’ “who cares if I’m black? I’m also Hispanic, so...” spiel, is another indicator. 

So, yeah, even though her character design (in any medium) doesn’t necessarily exclude her from Blackness, I don’t think Rio Morales was ever a Black woman to begin with. Brian Michael Bendis never saw her as a Black woman, just the “Hispanic” side of Miles Morales’ family tree where Jefferson was the Black side of the family tree.

I can’t blame anyone for not assuming Blackness on Rio’s part, because neither does Bendis’, neither do the artists drawing her, and by extension, neither does Insomniac Games. 

Honestly, I think Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse might be the first property Rio has appeared in where someone appeared to even consider the question, “Is Rio Morales Black?” when designing her character.

Missing elements in a reinterpreted character is neither wrong or a dsplay of ignorance on part of the writers. 1048 Miles Morales and the Morales family are not the 1610 iterations of the character, and that’s fine. Jefferson Davis has never dropped the use of his name, personally or personally. In addition none of the writers, white or non-Black, have ever considered questioning the history behind his name and let it be. 

Rio Morales was always a fair-skinned and non-Black woman on accounts of Bendis and her artists constructed her within Miles’ narrative, which outright ignores any cultural or emotional significance Rio and Miles being Puerto Rican holds. Amid varying complexions of bright she’s been depicted, her character in the game has hardly been lightened, whereas Miles’ complexion definition has.

[dollarstoremorticia]

Tell me about Loki, Spiderman, and Wong my good bitch

w E L L 

Loki

Why I like them 

Simple answer: Because I’m gay and he’s pretty 

Long answer: He’s pretty and also he’s a little shit. Like seriously he’s just a sassy sassy guy who also happens to like to fuck over the universe. He’s just a very skinny dumbass. Like he’s a Bitch and that’s why he’s amazing. Also it’s heavily implied that he /has/ fucked Jeff Goldblum and that’s a man who deserves respect. 

Why I don’t

Maybe??? STop??? d Y I N G????? PLEASE. Every time this little fuck dies my soul kills itself a little bit more. Like for g o ds sak e stop with the DYING, LOKI. I love you but god fucking damn dude you gotta stop.  

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

Its a tie between Get Help and every single part where Thor throws something at him. Any scene with Loki in it where something is being thrown is a good scene.

Favorite season/movie

Ragnarok, obviously. It was the first marvel movie I ever saw and now look at what hell I’m in. Also Taika Waititi is the only man I trust with the Thor franchise now so jot that down.

Favorite line

The entire conversation at the nursing home where Loki left Odin. “I’ve been falling for 30 minutes” is also a classic.

Favorite outfit

The Sakaar outfit specifically because I love his hair in the Sakaar outfit. Also there’s This one that’s from a deleted scene in The Dark World apparently and I just really like the cape.

OTP

Fun fact: I don’t have one. I really don’t. I’ve mostly read Tony/Loki but I wouldn’t say its my OTP. 

Brotp

Loki and Valkyrie dude. They will annoy Thor with no sign of stopping any time soon. 

Head Canon

Loki wears 5 inch heels a lot because the clicking makes him feel like a mistress about to kill her husband for his life insurance policy. He claims its because he likes to assert his dominance but its also because he finds them fashionable and they go well with his pointy aesthetic.

Unpopular opinion

Do i have one? I do think Loki was a dumbass for not leaving the Tesseract on Asgard but I don’t think that’s unpopular? I really don’t like his hair in Thor or The Avengers. I like his puffy hair better.

A wish

I highkey wish that they would confirm that Loki was at least a little bit gay. That guy cannot be fully straight just look at him. I stand by my past point that him and The Grandmaster /have/ fucked. I just wish they would confirm that he’s Definitely Not Straight. 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

I fear that they already may have done what i don’t want in Infinity War, though I have my doubts. We’ll just see. What i don’t want to happen was already addressed in question 2.

5 words to best describe them

He’s a bitch but pretty.

My nickname for them

Locust. I don’t have an explanation other than I accidentally called him Locust once and now i can’t stop.

Spiderman

Why I like them

First of all he’s adorable. Second of all he’s trying his goddamn best and that’s all we could ask for in this world. He got bitten by a radioactive spider while also being a child in high school and somehow he manages to still exist with a relatively okay mental state aside from the whole Not Having A Good mental State thing. In this house we love and support Peter Parker

Why I don’t

Maybe listen to Tony when he tells you not to be an entire dumbass. I don’t have any problems with this boy but if only he would listen to people when they try and tell him not to be The Stupid. You’re 15 my man. 

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

The scene when Ned finds out he’s spiderman because this dumbass just continues to deny that he’s spiderman as if Ned didn’t just see him climb all over the ceiling 

Favorite season/movie

I gotta say Homecoming. 

Favorite line

That part of Civil War where he catches Bucky’s hand and I think he goes “You’ve got a metal arm? That’s so cool!” or something like that just because that was my first reaction to Bucky’s arm so I relate Peter.

Favorite outfit

My favorite suit is the first suit Tony gave him. There’s nothing wrong with the Iron Spider suit, i just don’t like the metal version of the face plate. The fabric version is better to me for some reason.

As for actual clothing outfits its the one he wears at the end of Homecoming when he denies the position in the Avengers. The one with the electron shirt and the hoodie.

OTP

Don’t have one yet again. Peter and MJ are kind of cute but i don’t really actively look for anything with Peter in a relationship with anyone

Brotp

Yo Ned and Peter dude. 

Head Canon

Peter very lowkey wants a cloak like Dr Strange now because he feels it would be very good for situations that require a dramatic exit. Tony has said no because, according to a very popular childrens film, No Capes.

Unpopular opinion

Peter only has a very minimal background in robotics. Ned is the guy who knows all about the tech and Peter is the one who knows about chemistry and biology. Basically Pete is the Bruce Banner type of scientist and Ned is the Robots guy. Peter actually bounced ideas for prototype web shooters off of Ned before he made the ones he had for the original Spiderman costume. Ned didn’t know what they were for, of course, but who wouldn’t want to build a wrist mounted yeet machine.

A wish

I swear to fuck if Marvel doesn’t give me more of Tony being a dad to Peter I will be Very Upset. I was gonna say I’d riot but I’m too tired to riot.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

Hey don’t fucking kill my son, Marvel. What you did in Infinity War wasn’t goddamn chill bro. Also don’t drop another building on him? What the fuck.

5 words to best describe them

Meme king with many emotions.

My nickname for them

I accidentally started calling him Petra. Its technically the Russian feminine version of Peter so it fits but oops I guess. 

Wong

Why I like them

He’s just trying to guard a library and then his life goes to shit. What’s not to like about Wong, really. He’s a chill guy who likes Beyonce. 

Why I don’t

He needs more fucking screen time. Give Wong the screen time he deserves Marvel..

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

That part where he gets incredibly confused about Stephen using portals to take the books from the library.

Favorite season/movie

Dongktor Strnarg 

Favorite line

I can’t remember any of Wong’s lines and that makes me very fucking upset. I guess I have to rewatch Doctor Strange.

Favorite outfit

As far as I know he only wears one outfit so That One.

OTP

Wong is destined to be forever alone and happy about it in my brain. I dont think I could ship anything with Wong if I tried.

Brotp

Stephen and Wong. Just imagine the bullshit that they could do.

Head Canon

Wong and Stephen do the library portal thing all over the Sanctum now. Its like a tiny prank war but its the portalling various shit throughout the Sanctum and driving each other crazy. 

Unpopular opinion

Wong absolutely knew who Beyonce was before Stephen told him. 

A wish

More. Screen. Time. Please.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

don’t kill wong marvel. if you kill wong i /will/ riot.

5 words to best describe them

A very good young man

My nickname for them

He doesn’t have a nickname yet. I hope I figure out one for him soon.

[jordan--fox-blog]

The Movies I Loved This Oscar Season

Thursday nights are the best time to go to a movie. I went to so many Thursday night movies this season I lost count. It was great. I heard a couple taking turns making fun of Natalie Portman's accent in 'Jackie.' I heard some teens say 'The Witch' "f**king sucked." I lost one of my gloves under a seat at FilmStreams during a showing of '20th Century Women' and I'm pretty sure it's still down there somewhere. I cried several times (not because of the glove). Later in the season, Thursday Night Movies became a good two-hour escape from the late-capitalist nightmare that was our election.

There were many movies I'd have liked to have seen but didn't — 'Fences', 'I Am Not Your Negro' and 'Toni Erdmann' chief among them — but alas I am a poor journalist on a tight budget who has a busy schedule and many hot dates to go on. (JOKES) Here are the ones I did see and liked the best:

******

25. The Neon Demon

Nicolas Winding Refn has always been a brand — how long has he been putting his initials in the opening credits of his movies? — a brand that traffics entirely in synth pop, a-little-too-on-the-nose metaphors and empty provocation, but a brand nonetheless. He’s out of ideas and selling knock offs now, but I’m still buying.

  24. 10 Cloverfield Lane

23. Midnight Special

Sticking the landing on sci-fi movies is hard. These two would have been a lot higher on this list if they had. Still, I was fully in for about 90 minutes.

22. The Witch

A horror movie that has exactly zero scary moments and does its damage as a slow-burn parable about radicalism. Some teens leaving the same screening as me said it best: “What the f**k was that? It wasn’t even scary.”

21. Everybody Wants Some!!

Some of this was problematic but dudes lip syncing ‘Rapper’s Delight’ while tooling around + baseball trash talk = a great sports movie.

  20.  Star Wars: Rogue One

Luke Skywalker sucks. This is maybe not The Best Star Wars but it is the purest distillation of what I like about the franchise and the last hour kicks so much ass.

19.  La La Land

A totally fine and gorgeous movie that I loved in the theater and took almost nothing away from when I thought about it a week later! Seriously, how is this the Oscar frontr– **is attacked by a mob**

18.  Krisha

This is definitely a monster movie. Though I can’t tell who the monster is. Is it Krisha or the people who put the expectations on her? Almost everyone in this movie was at fault in some way and none of the transgressions would be that serious or uncommon in an ordinary family gathering — and that’s what makes it scary.

17.  Oasis: Supersonic

“Writing songs is difficult; talking shit is easy.” I hope the Gallagher brothers live forever.

16.  Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

This and the Oasis documentary would make a good double feature. The only thing that you need to know about how absurd things get: A song about how the Mona Lisa is “the original basic bitch” is maybe like the third-funniest one.

 15.  Sing Street

Everybody’s done something stupid because they have a crush. It happens to me like once a week. I thought this did a much better job of expressing what ‘La La Land’ was trying to without having Ryan Gosling explain jazz to women.

  14.  Christine

This has almost nothing going for it outside of Rebecca Hall and was still the most gutting thing I saw this year. I think I was grimacing or biting my hand to keep from screaming the whole time.

13.  Love and Friendship

As a big fan and practitioner of pettiness, cattiness, jealousy, shallowness, greed, ego, being judgemental, side-eye, selfishness, gossip, manipulation, deceptiveness and lying,  I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

12.  Hell or High Water

Miss me with the Trump subtext and casual racism, but I am very here for Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges codedly threatening each other through Texan drawls in rocking chairs.

11. The Invitation

Never go to parties, they will literally kill u.

10. The Nice Guys  

Gosling is the best physical comedy actor of our generation. His best acting move is “jumping back in surprise” and I absolutely mean that as a compliment.

9.  Manchester By The Sea

I don’t think this movie had anything to say — surprising because it was directed by a guy primarily known as a writer? — but its high notes are better than just about anything else in this cycle.

 8.  The Lobster

“We all dance by ourselves. That’s why we only listen to electronic music.”

  7.  Jackie

Natalie Portman is so good and committed to this that it sometimes feels exploitative to even be watching at all. Heartbreaking to see a person lose everything — time, legacy, work, status, love, truth — in an instant.

6.  American Honey

Who even needs focus or form when you have this much feeling?

5. O.J.: Made in America

I watched all eight hours in one sitting on a June day when my A/C was broken, and I would have gone another eight. Ezra Edelman does a good job of bringing you out of the spectacle by reminding you that TWO PEOPLE DIED.

 4.  A Bigger Splash

This pretended to be a lot of different things — a meditation on fame, a Fellini pastiche, an all-time Cool Sunglasses Movie, a Ralph Fiennes dancing showcase — but none of those ever overshadowed the dread that permeated or the feeling that every bitten tongue or sigh was moving things closer to a cataclysm. It ultimately was ‘Strangers on a Train’ about the people who know us the best.

3.  Moonlight

There isn’t a thing about this movie that wasn’t beautiful.

2. Arrival

Ooo0oooOO0oo (that’s Heptapod for “I adore ‘Arrival’”).

Denis Villenueve does this thing I love where he undermines the ostensible premises of his movies. He’s been unsympathetic in the past: The played-up parts of Prisoners were about the selfish obsessions of individual men instead of the hunt for lost children; Sicario was never really as focused on the innocents affected by the drug trade as it was on an allegory about the nature of truth. But with Arrival he inverts it, rendering a large-scale sci-fi mind-ruiner into a beautiful meditation on parenthood and experience. I loved it.

Also if Bradford Young doesn’t win the cinematography Oscar somebody’s gonna have to hold me back.

1.  20th Century Women

I love my mom, Talking Heads and David Bowie. The shot where Annette Benning drives the car up the hill with her son alongside on his skateboard made me feel about eight different emotions at once and made me want to scream.

******

Honorable Mention: Hail Caesar!, High Rise, Patterson, Our Kind of Traitor, Creative Control, Ghostbusters, The Shallows, Dr. Strange

******

Come back next year when this list is just ‘Blade Runner 2049′ listed 25 times. Thanks!!!