#let alone movies from the 1940s | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

keiko-cornetto · 9 months ago

Text

Contrary to what “catphiles” think, for most people cats are bad, egocentric, individualistic and completely insensitive animals. In fact, the film industry has been saying this for years, as the world is the world and Disney is Disney. However, there are some approaches, like the film The Aristocats, in which the good guys are (incredibly) THE CATS! OOOOOOH! And this is actually the only exception, because in all other cases felines are the cruel ones in the movies.

While dogs participate in films filled with love, cats in cinema are generally associated with villains.

Disney

Dogs are by far the population's favorite animals. Due to the ease of acquiring and maintaining at home, they have become ideal partners for anyone who has a pet at home. Cats come next in this dispute and associating a “rivalry” between animals (very associated with films), created this duel between pets and naturally those who have fewer fans end up being the “villains” of the story, in this case the cats

I can mention here several cartoons, books and films with the figure of the cat associated with the villain. Obviously, it's not just the same ones that tend to be associated with the villain, just look at the wolves that are also widely used. The thing is that it has even become a culture to create a production and place the cat as the villain because it is easier to associate and less complicated, even in several cartoons, such as Sylvester being less of a villain than

Sincerely? I have NOTHING against dogs, they are all beautiful, intelligent animals and deserve respect for their feelings, but the whole world has a wrong view about the personality of cats, aaaah yes they do!

So, let's get to the point: Another photo gallery, featuring the best-known feline villains in the history of cinema and television.

You've seen her in every Sylvester and Tweety cartoon you've watched. In them, Sylvester is always shown as a malevolent and stupid cat, whose only objective in life, to eat Tweety, is frustrated at every attempt by the canary's supposed superior intelligence. Sylvester and Tweety, who already existed separately in cinema, were coupled in 1949 by a Warner Bros. designer, Friz Freleng. In other words, for 51 years, children all over the world

Jerry the mouse, from Tom and Jerry, is perhaps even worse. Alone or with his minion, the mouse Spit, Jerry tortured the honest, sincere and gullible cat Tom in no less than 160 cartoons for the cinema, from 1940 to 1967. The creators of the duo were Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera (in fact, also responsible due to the impoverishment of cartoons with the "simplified animation" technique, which they invented when they started producing for television in the 60s). The latest designs were already delegated by Hanna and Barbera to bagrinhos, but the initial concept of the series never changed; While trying to protect his home from the presence of the parasitic and disgusting Jerry, Tom is electrocuted at the socket, set on fire in the fireplace, drowned in the sink, crushed by pianos and blasted through the ceiling. Insensitive and perverse boys watch this laughing in front of the TV - and probably repeat such violence with their cats.

There are no cat heroes in these powerful opinion makers that are cartoons. The heroes are always dogs, rabbits, ducks and, incredibly, especially a muddy mouse who hasn't made a film in 47 years and, even so, remains a symbol of a cartoon empire – have you ever heard the sound of Mickey Mouse? Walt Disney himself, although always careful that his studio did not offend anyone) was unable to hide his prejudice: in his films, the dog is the noble animal (see Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians, not to mention the 44 drawings of Pluto and 42 of Goofy made between 1940 and 1965). Nothing against that and Walt could like whatever animals he wanted. It turns out that almost all of his most famous drawings are also Anti-Cat

In Pinocchio, one of the villains is a weak and filthy cat who helps the fox deceive the doll. In Cinderella, the fat and treacherous cat Lucifer is a frightening threat to the mice Gus and Jaq. (clean rats that do not transmit any danger to humanity) In Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire cat is far from being a sympathetic character – he knows that Alice could get into trouble and does nothing to stop it.

(I particularly love this cat)

In Lady and the Tramp, Si and Am are the two Siamese who destroy the curtains, attack the canary and the goldfish and attack the family's baby, causing the chaos that will send Lady to the cart.

And even in The Aristocats, which is supposed to be a pro-cat film, there are a handful of nasty stray cats on the scene, and the hero turns out to be, in fact, a mouse named Roquefort. And it's worth remembering that, in Mickey's very first cartoon, Steamboat Willie, from 1926, he tortures and executes a cat by turning it by its tail and throwing it into the sea. Come to think of it, Disney couldn't really like cats - he got rich building human mousetraps like Disneyland and Disney World.

It is normal that cinema has never done for cats what it has done for countless dogs, since Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin; cats refuse to be actors and it is impossible to train them to do things that dogs, seals and even elephants accept naturally, such as climbing stools, doing somersaults or balancing balls on their noses - the intelligence, dignity and independence of cats does not allow them to play these humiliating roles. It is only possible to make a film like Stuart Little, in which the cats seem to "do" things, by filming them naturally and adapting the scenes to the script, when not altering them electronically

but remember that all cinema portrays cats like this

as a cartoon that really disappointed me because it was one of my favorites, it's Shaun the sheepwhere the cat is shown as a villain and is evil in every episode

There are people who say that cats in cartoons like Lady and Tramp are villains because the story is portrayed through the eyes of dogs where cats will always be the villainsbut because when the cartoon is about cats, dogs are never villains, since dogs don't like cats, cats are afraid of dogs and in cat cartoons their friends are dogs

For those who love cats, don't be sad as there are many, many animes that don't portray the cat as a villain

In fact, cats have more space in anime than dogs, there are hero cats, there are villain cats, there are all types of catsCats are everywhere, it doesn't matter if the cat isn't there there will always be something that reminds you of the cat like clothes or cat ears in anime

44 cats and superkitties and they're really good

another very good film coraline:

and as always, those who don't like cats have theories that the cat was the biggest villain in the film

but I disagree since the cat always helped Coraline, even at the end when she wanted to open the door the cat went ahead because he knew she was in danger

This was the post about the poor cats, this post is not originally mine, I just added some things and I also didn't make this post with the intention of offending anyone.bye Bye

EDIT:

and the Oscar for most disturbed people goes to: Lim Yirang & Heo Sunhaeng two soulless South Korean directors

these two together directed a ridiculous and disturbing crap animated short film is a colorful and lively animation that takes place in a garden, it seems to be a type of children's and educational cartoon for children, where there are several cute stuffed animals and elves and even a princess everyone spends the seasons happily every day, until one day a huge evil CAT comes into action and kills everyone in the garden except the ''poor defenseless girl (the protagonist)'' what was supposed to be a beautiful and enchanted cartoon turned into a horror film, that's the kind of thing they want children to watch a scary CAT Everyone knows that most people who have a phobia of cats are because they only see them in films as villains or hear people who hate cats saying how dangerous they are. And the worst part is that this stupid cartoon actually takes place in a potted plant and they are all stuffed animals and die because the evil cat killed them, and the biggest destroyer of stuffed animals is man's dear best friend, that is, the puppy. but how these two Koreans probably fuel this rivalry between dogs and cats so something bad that the dog does they go and make a cat do it instead because the only villains in this world are cats Just like Mr Walt Disney (Koreans also show their huge preference for puppies) this animation should be remade and the big planes being two giant South Korean men with enormous evil in their hearts, children watching this later become afraid of cats and this even contributes to animal abuse these two men should be arrested

This animation could be beautiful but with a very low budget and stupid ideas the big villain should be a human since the biggest destroyer of nature is humans themselves, an animal would never destroy nature These two and Disney have a lot to learn from the great studio Ghibli, there are only good films for people of any age to watch

the biggest villains are humans and not cats

#cats #cat #kitty #kitten

90 notes · View notes

velvet4510 · 6 months ago

Text

Apparently I’m in the mood for expressing an MCU hot take at this hour, so here goes:

Steve going back in time was NOT a betrayal of his and Bucky’s friendship.

Look, at first glance, I get why Steve’s Endgame ending feels like it’s going against “I’m with you to the end of the line.” Even I had my reservations about it for a while, once my Steggy-shipping heart calmed down from its thrilled palpitations when I first watched the film.

But after giving it a lot of thought, I think in the end, it was for the best that Steve and Bucky went their separate ways, and here’s why.

Once they reunited in the present day, Steve and Bucky’s relationship became extremely codependent, and their entire arc was learning to grow out of that.

We see in Civil War especially how far Steve was willing to go to protect Bucky, and how Bucky became fully dependent on Steve. And remember that Steve had just lost Peggy before finding Bucky again, meaning that Bucky was all he had left of his former 1940s life. The fact that he fought so hard for Bucky is symbolic for his arc, far beyond their friendship. Of course he did it because he loved Bucky, that’s never in doubt. But I also think that he felt an equally strong love for what Bucky represented, which is the life he lost. His clinging to Bucky already showed us that he was unable to truly let go of the 1940s, though he tried. He tried to believe he had let go - Age of Ultron is all about him trying - but Civil War makes it clear that he will never truly belong to the present day.

Same goes for Bucky. Steve was his only reminder of his true self, of who he used to be, of the life he lost. He loved Steve himself, of course, but he also clung to Steve because Steve also represented something beyond just their friendship; he represented the hope for Bucky’s soul. That he was not HYDRA’s monster anymore, that he had a chance of living life as himself again.

The ending of Civil War set the two of them on the path that always inevitably led to what we got from Endgame. Steve and Bucky finally loosened their metaphorical grip on each other; Bucky chose to turn himself over to Wakanda, and Steve let him go. They both acknowledged that Bucky’s need for healing went far beyond Steve. While Steve was his starting point, Steve’s faith the thing that gave him hope for himself, Bucky needed far more work on himself than Steve alone could provide. So they started taking baby steps away from their codependency; Bucky moved to Wakanda and Steve continued with the Avengers. Fans who talk and act as though Steve and Bucky’s lives fully and completely revolve around each other, and each other ONLY, clearly have not actually watched the movies critically.

The narrative always acknowledged that Steve and Bucky’s codependency was not healthy, and that as much as they loved each other, they needed to learn to be their own people, and not be defined only through each other’s eyes.

Which brings us to Endgame. Perhaps the most significant detail about Steve’s final choice is that he canonically told Bucky about it ahead of time. Bucky confirmed this verbally in TFATWS. Steve did NOT return to the 1940s on short notice; he let Bucky know about it. And, on the other side of the same coin, the exact details of this conversation are private. For all we know, Steve could’ve asked Bucky to come with him, to also seize a chance at getting back the life he lost. Steve could’ve ensured that Bucky was alright with this, and if Bucky really wasn’t ready to lose his support, then he wouldn’t go. All of these are very in-character possibilities for Steve, and there is NOTHING whatsover in canon that states that he didn’t say these things.

But what happened? Bucky let him go. Bucky told Steve to go live his dream, to go be with the love of his life. Bucky was alright with it. (Remember Bucky knew from the start how important Peggy was to Steve. He was a first-hand witness to Peggy declaring Steve “the right partner.” He knew what this chance at time travel meant for Steve.) And by letting him go, Bucky chose to stay in the present. Would he have been able to do this in Civil War? No, and that’s because since then, he grew. They grew. They got to a place where the cords of codependency were finally cut, where they both knew they could live their own lives and not rely on each other to keep one another upright. They finally knew what paths they wanted to follow to live their fullest lives, and those paths were not the same one. Steve embraced a future in the past, while Bucky embraced the present moment. In other words, they finally reached “the end of the line.”

Oh, and I find it absolutely hilarious that some people are like “how dare he retire with Peggy while Bucky is out there being tortured in the 40s?” Steve made a branched timeline when he returned to Peggy, meaning no matter what he did from then on, the Sacred Timeline wouldn’t change. And he knew that. And there is not a single piece of text to be found anywhere in canon that tells us that he didn’t immediately tell Peggy that HYDRA was still around and that they didn’t team up, take HYDRA down, and rescue Bucky before New Year’s 1950. So that argument is ridiculous.

Also, did Steve “leave Bucky alone,” as many have said? Uhhh, NO. We see this in TFATWS.

After Steve left, Bucky was not alone. He had Sam, aka a professional counselor. He had tons of friends in Wakanda, and those friendships were close enough that he could successfully request a new suit for Sam on a whim. And Sam told him exactly what he’d been needing to hear for so long: “It doesn’t matter what Steve thought. You gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are.”

On top of that, as we see at the end of the show, Bucky now has an entire family: he’s bonding with Sarah (who knows what that might lead to), and he’s another uncle to AJ and Cass, and he’s bringing cake to the cookout and the arm that used to be a killing weapon, he now uses as a plaything for the children to dangle from. The entire community has welcomed him as one of their own.

Steve and Bucky’s story is a beautiful one because it shows how true friends help guide you to where you need to be in life, and their support sets you on the path to being your best and fullest self. The health of Bucky and Steve’s friendship was destroyed by their shared trauma of being taken from their normal lives in the 1940s, and they clung to each other for emotional survival. Then, gradually, they helped each other get back on their own two feet, and when the time came, they learned to let each other go, because they loved each other so much.

In other words, the finale of Endgame was the natural and inevitable endpoint for their story arc. If it ended with them still together, and clinging on to each other, then what would be the point? That would just be character regression for both of them. But instead, the story concludes with both of them finally free from the codependency, leaving only their love for each other, which they will always carry with them.

45 notes · View notes

fishfingersalad · 8 months ago

Text

Rvb bbc ghosts x buzzfeed unsolved au Leonard “Alpha” Church III and his older sister Carolina Church inherit a creepy manor in the middle of nowhere halfway across the country after their great grandfather Leonard “Epsilon” Church dies of old age (yes Epsilon being their great grandfather is odd, it's for lore reasons).

Church’s college roommate Tucker has a ghost hunting youtube channel (Church edits his videos for him) and decides the manor seems spooky so he tags along to check it out with his co host (Kai) and camera/audio guy (Caboose) as well as Junior. Tex (Churches on again off again gf) comes along to bully them for getting scared, whenever she ends up on the show their views go up so they don’t complain. Carolina doesn’t wanna be stuck alone with Church’s friends so she invites her workout buddy Wash.

Unbeknownst to them, Tuckers “rival” youtube channel (the reds, Simmons is video and editing, Grif is audio, Lopez is in charge of their other equipment) catch wind of their plan to investigate the manor (Kai told Grif who accidentally let slip to Sarge) and they (literally just Sarge) take it as a challenge and they decide (are forced by Sarge) to follow the others to the manor to do their own investigation (Donut flirts with Locus the gas station attendant. This is important to me for some reason). Doc is unofficially part of the red team crew as first aid aka he follows them around bc he's worried about them going to all these abandoned buildings with no medical knowledge

Cw: talk of deaths in some detail, especially fires.

The Manor is actually haunted, by fifteen different ghosts:

Wyoming: 1840’s, fell out a window onto a weathervane

Florida: 1960’s, aspirin overdose

York: 1980’s, car crash, has poltergeist abilities

North: 1850s, arsenic poisoning

South: 1850s, arsenic poisoning

Maine: 1910s, hunting accident, can sometimes be seen as a looming shadow in the dark

Ct: 1940s, military spy, shot

479er: 1960s, pilot, small aircraft crash

AI: 1920s, Children of a rich man who burned his house down while his wife was away with their youngest son, Leonard “Epsilon” Church (age 2 at the time). Delta (17), Theta (7), Eta (11), and Iota(11) died from smoke inhalation, Gamma (15) and Omega (14) were burned, Sigma (18) escaped the fire but succumbed to infection while still on the manor grounds. All of the ai ghosts carry a smell of smoke wherever they go (I have a drawing of them somewhere)

The only ones who can see the ghosts without outside influence (cameras, sensors, that stuff) are Church, Carolina, Wash, Donut, and Caboose, due to all five of them having near death experiences in their pasts, and later Doc after he’s possessed by Omega. Junior is also able to see ghosts though no one is sure why.

Most of the au’s “story” is just silly interactions with the ghosts pranking the youtubers and various shenanigans. Wash deadpan pretends there are no ghosts to annoy both York and Tucker. Junior befriends Theta, Eta, and Iota, which concerns Tucker to no end especially since he tends to act like a horror movie child, all “Daddy, the lady with the hole in her head is in the corner again, daddy my friends with no faces wanna go play outside”. Sarge has a holy water super soaker that he carries everywhere incase of “ghouls”. South takes great joy in tormenting Simmons specifically. York follows the youtubers around and throws things at them, he only uses his poltergeist abilities for mischief. Ct finds a secret joy in sneaking up on Church to make him jump. Donut keeps telling his friends that the ghosts are there and real but none of them really believe him despite York pelting them with random objects. Wash finds a stray kitten and the ghosts are all immediately infatuated and begin following it around. Florida and Donut gossip together. Doc has to figure out how to deal with a rage fueled fourteen year old taking over his body. Tex punches Tucker on camera and it becomes their most popular video to date. Their second most popular video includes Tucker being attacked by Sarge with his holy water super soaker.

I just have so many little silly ideas about them...

#rvb #red vs blue

34 notes · View notes

bombsonboard · 2 years ago

Text

the day after yesterday: chapter three

Summary: Time travel is volatile, dangerous, playing god. And then sometimes it drops you in just the right place at the perfect time. It’s a matter of perspective. You decide.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (no Y/N)

Word Count: 4.4k

Series Masterlist | Masterlist | Read it on AO3

A/N: So my scheduled post didnt work! But i’m still uploading this on Wednesday, just a little later than planned lol. Hope you’ve all had a good week and sorry for the lil bit late chaper!

You stood outside ‘Stillman’s Gymnasium’ feeling grateful it was a warm summer’s day and you didn’t have to brave the New York cold without a jacket. Bucky said he’d meet you here, he cleaned the gym after hours in exchange for weekly boxing lessons, promising it would be all theirs so you could work on your escape in peace.

Turns out, jumping the turnstile to get on the subway was a hell of a lot easier in the 1940s, it just took avoiding every man with a conductor hat, which the crowds made easy, and you made it to midtown.

All alone, you let yourself take a breath. Yes, you were stuck in the wrong time, but with the hope of getting home, it was quite an astonishing thing. This place wouldn’t even be here in twenty years, bulldozed for apartments. Having the privilege to be here was something you could hardly fathom but you tried to let yourself enjoy it, at least for the time being.

It was too easy to imagine yourself having a life here, who could be waiting for? Maybe a good girl friend, or maybe some guy was picking you up to go and see a movie, one of those old ones that are only on at Christmas or Sunday afternoons. Your dress would be a bit cleaner, your hair pinned out of your face and you would see him approaching in the distance.

In your mind he had a kind smile on his face, a few roses, not too many and he would walk up to you and say:

“Steve is gonna kill me when he finds out I took his nice sketch paper, this better be worth it.”

You blinked out of your fantasy to see the roses had flattened into a stack of paper and the kind smile you dreamed of was replaced by Bucky’s blank frown. He looked at you curiously.

“What?” He brushed his hair back with his free hand.

“Nothing” You felt caught out.

He shrugged, slowly growing used to your strange looks, and pulled a bunch of keys from out of his trouser pocket and slid them into the door. Unlocking it and pushing the door open with a clunk.

“After you.”

The smell of sweat and floor polish hit you like a wave as you stepped inside and Bucky locked the door behind the two of you. On the bare brick walls hung dozens of pictures of men in boxing gloves, raising their arms in victory. Along the surprisingly clean wooden floor punching bags were lined up, the rich brown leather cracked and beaten from excessive use and just waiting patiently to be used again.

The great big boxing ring was the main event, a square stage of battered cream, held together by rows of red rope. You wondered if it was red on purpose.

You pictured one of the boxing matches happening right there in front of you, the crowd of screaming men, praying for their bet to come clean and bracing for the final take down. The champion raising his godly fists, shirtless, shining and soaking in the sounds of his glory.

So, this is what Bucky wanted to be before the army? You tried to see him there, posing for one of the pictures on the wall with his grin plastered to his face. Though, maybe thinking of him shirtless and sweaty really wasn’t the most efficient thing you could be doing at the time.

“So…” Bucky comes to stand next to you, and offers you the paper

You take it with a quiet thank you.

“Do you have a-”

He hands you a pencil.

You swallow, turn around and begin to lay out the pieces of ‘borrowed’ sketch paper out on the glossy brown wood..

“There’s a desk in the office, y’know” Bucky points out, watching you crouch to the floor.

“That’s okay, I’m fine here.”

He looks at you, confused and waiting for any kind of explanation you would offer.

“I’m gonna need…quite a bit of space.”

Bucky raises his eyebrows, accepting that’s all he was getting, and goes to lean against the wall.

You start your chicken scratches, numbers in the tiniest handwriting you could manage, but the nagging sensation of his presence there itches at you incessantly. You lift your head and notice he’s just standing there, watching you.

“Don’t you have cleaning to do?” It came out a little more spiteful than you intended.

“Looks pretty spotless to me” He kept his eyes trained on you, not bothering to look around at all.

“Okay, so you don’t need to be here then?” You didn’t mind the company really, but why did it have to be him? It was better for you both if he just left you alone.

“I’m responsible for this place, how do I know you won’t mess it up?” Bucky narrowed his eyes at you.

“Christ, I don’t need a chaperone.”

“I’m sure you don’t, spitfire” He scoffs “but I'm not leaving, so…” He gestures for you to get back to your work “Go on.”

Rolling your eyes with maximum effort you go back to work and start to lose yourself in the math. Spread out on the floor with your ass in the air probably wasn’t the most ladylike position but who cared, Bucky didn’t seem to make a comment.

You willed yourself to stop wondering about him for just a moment so you could focus on the task at hand. If you were going to figure out the coordinates to put into the GPS, you needed a start point. It was 1943, that you knew but, the specific date was what you really wanted. There wasn’t anything that showed you today’s date in your immediate vicinity, so your eyes wandered and landed, unfortunately, on Bucky, who had his feet propped up on the front desk, head stuck in a newspaper.

"Is that today’s?” You ask from the floor.

“Yu-huh” He mumbles from his wall of news.

Of course he had the thing you were looking for.

“...What’s the date on it?”

He folds over one corner so you could be victim to his blank stare. “You don’t know what day it is?”

You stare back.

“11th June.” He supersedes.

“Thank you.”

He flips his corner back up and you go back to your work silently.

“11th June 1943.” You mumble quietly as the numbers take over your head again.

Hour One

The silence didn’t last half as long as you hoped it would.

“So, how long does something like this normally take?” Bucky wonders after a while, as if you launched yourself into the wrong time all the time, you felt yourself getting offended until you remembered he had absolutely no idea.

Scribbling down the total days you needed to travel you hid your face from Bucky.

“A while.” You hoped he didn’t hear the small crack in your voice.

“Great. Maybe it’s enough time for me to figure out why you’re so weird.” He chuckled lightly.

Bucky Barnes, ladies man.

“Oh you’ll figure it out…in 29,209 days” You mumble under your breath, you didn’t mean for him to hear, but when you’re the only two people in a room, it’s hard to keep secrets.

Bucky shakes his head in amusement, ignorant of just how truthful you had just been, but he was quiet for a little while longer after that.

Hour Three

Eventually grew restless of the front desk and sauntered over to the back office. You wondered who might usually be found in there, some short and stubby gym manager, dark hair slicked back with wiry eyebrows that look so much like caterpillars they might crawl off his face. A cigar permanently between his lips.

You cracked a smile at the image until you heard exactly what Bucky was doing in there. The crackle of a gramophone interrupts your thoughts and the smile falls from your face. You had no complaints about forties music, really, but you were convinced he was doing this on purpose, taunting you with warbling jazz.

With a frustrated grumble you threw down your pencil, abandoned your work and stalked over to the back office. He was there, leaning back on a chair with his arms crossed, eyes closed and absorbing the music echoing around the room.

Sure, he looked peaceful, but there were bigger stakes here than Bucky Barnes enjoying a record.

You rapped on the door forcefully but he didn’t jump to attention like you wanted.

Bucky slowly opens his eyes and looks up expectedly.

“Could you…turn it down?” You mimicked turning down a volume knob, and he looked at you blankly.

“Please.” It pained you to add.

“Turn it down?” He mimics your action, eyebrows furrowing. “And what’s that?”

“The music” You impatiently pointed it out and walked over to the small gramophone, singing pleasantly in the corner. It would be a relic any other day but right now it was just annoying you.

Shoot, no volume control you realized, it seemed people were just happy to hear music here, nevermind the volume. A little joy in a somewhat bleak time in history.

You needed your peace though, one way or another.

“Could you just turn it off?” You turned to leave.

“If this is gonna take long, I’d like to have something to entertain myself.”

You stopped, breathing in and out to stop yourself from killing him before his inevitable death date.

“You don’t even have to be here” You crossed your arms across your chest.

He smiled at your irritation “Tell you what, I’ll give you a chance.”

While you were occupied with how he just had the audacity to patronize you, Bucky stood from the chair and took the trash can from the corner and placed it at the other end of the office from you.

“What are you doing?” You watched him closely.

He walked back over to you with a self- satisfied smile, taking his time as he stopped just inches from you, the tips of his shoes touching yours just about.

“Bucky?” You felt your heartbeat palpate, your chest go tight.

He wordlessly leaned past you to grab an old coffee mug full of pencils that sat on the desk behind you. Bucky pulled away to stand next to you and embarrassment fizzed in your stomach. Bucky smelt like leather and his mothers cooking.

“First one to get three pencils in a row in the trash can wins. If you win, I’ll turn it off and I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

You found that hard to believe and it must’ve shown on your face.

“...mostly,” He added. “But if I win, the music stays and you can’t say a thing about it.”

“Seriously?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die, swee- spitfire.”

He looked at you with his blue as a cloudy sky eyes as you sized him up. It seemed fair and you were always one for a good bet, but the way he looked at you made you feel like he knew something you don’t. Figuring that look out would have you spinning for days.

“Do you need me to move it a bit closer?” He suggested condescendingly.

“Fine.” You grumbled.

“Ladies first.” He held the mug out to you and you grabbed three pencils with a roll of your eyes.

It had to be easy right? You didn’t have the worst hand eye coordination in the world but it wasn’t one of your most notable qualities. The only thing you had going for you was a desire for Bucky Barnes to keep quiet, and you were about to find out how good of a motivator that was.

You toss the first pencil and it lands in the trash can with a happy little clang. The second pencil was subject to pressure and bounced on the edge before landing safely inside, you celebrated inwardly, trying to hide how invested you were in a game of throwing pencils, but you were so close to victory, sweet victory.

One final pencil in your hand, you looked to Bucky “Any final words?” you ask smugly.

“I’m good.” He stared straight ahead.

The last pencil is in the air and you swear you’ve never felt this tense in your life. Maybe apart from the time you landed in the 20th century by accident. Taunting you, it bounced off the edge like the second but this time it was the wrong way. You watched in disbelief as it clattered to the floor.

“Shit.” You muttered and tried to hide how actually sad you were to miss your final throw.

“I’d offer condolences but you were a little cocky at the end.” Bucky plucked three pencils from the pot.

He effortlessly tossed his pencils in without a second thought, one, two, three, in quick succession, giving you no time to think of a plan to sabotage him at all.

Bucky looked at you with a smile “I believe congratulations are in order.”

“Best of three?” You grasped at any chance he might give you.

Bucky just laughed. In your face. You let out a combination of a grumble and a sigh and stomped out of the office.

He had won, the music stayed.

Hour Five

“C’mon you should take a break.”

Bucky had stayed mostly in the office, humming to his music. You had migrated to the boxing ring to lay out your findings. He had been leaning against the door, keeping his eye on you for the last five minutes.

“Can’t take a break.” You didn’t look up.

“You’ve been scribbling for like ten hours” He groans.

“I’m not scribbling” You retort, but looking down at the paper ‘scribbles’ was definitely an accurate word, not that he needed to know that.

“What are you doing then?”

“I’m working out- ugh, stop it!” You needed to be more on the ball with his incessant questions.

“It’s for your own good” You told him as sternly as you could manage.

“Yes Ma'am” He grins cheekily.

He moved from the doorway, you cursed yourself for having half your attention on him again.

“I don’t think you’ve ever taken a break in your life, you’re so…tightly wound.”

You had half a mind to tell him why you were really ‘tightly wound’ right there and then. But then the fatal implications and so on…blah blah blah.

“I take breaks.”

“Hard to believe, you ever been to the movies? Or a dance, maybe?” His analyzing eyes felt like they could see right through you.

“Sure, I’ve been to dances.” You brushed him off and continued writing. Maybe they weren’t the dances he would be familiar with but you had been to some. They just played the Black Eyed Peas, not Vera Lynn.

“Really? Because you haven’t recognised a single song I've put on.”

Oh. He had you there.

“Maybe I just like different music.”

“Who doesn’t like Dick Haymes?”

You put your head back down, ignoring his teasing and diving back into work, and hopefully convincing him that you just weren’t interested in extracurriculars.

“Don’t worry, Spitfire, I’ll get you dancing.”

Hour Eleven

He had run out of records a couple hours ago and was now entertaining himself by standing by the entrance and using some spare paper to fashion a paper airplane and seeing how far he could throw it.

The boxing ring was covered in a blanket of math now, you sat cross legged in the center, surrounded by stretches of equations, statistics, and graphs, traveling along y axis and x axis, finding each coordinate you would need. You had worked this long before but after a day of exerting yourself physically, the strain was weighing heavily on your brain.

You close your eyes for just a second but a rude and painful awakening comes from a sharp poke in the side of your head.

“Sorry!” Bucky calls from across the room.

You sigh and stand, rubbing the side of your head “It’s fine, I needed to wake up anyways”

You were in the land before energy drinks, your go to when the numbers become squiggles in your eyes.

“There somewhere that sells coffee around here?” You grumble.

“Um” Bucky points to the window and you see nothing but black.

How had you missed the sun going down?

“Nevermind.” You ran a hand over your face, eyelids growing heavier by the second, but you knew you couldn't afford to sleep, not now.

But your brain was too exhausted to make sense of the final coordinates you needed and there was no point in half-assing this and ending up in the wrong time again. You had read in some study that regular breaks actually proved to help total productivity, as hard as it was for you to believe, you weren’t opposed to a little experimenting.

Tip toeing carefully over your working, you sat on the side of the boxing ring, waiting for productivity to strike.

Bucky abandoned his paper airplane to sit next to you. The air felt heavy around you and all you could feel was the incomprehensible weight on your shoulders. You had no idea what Bucky thought, you had hardly been nice to him. But the way he was looking at you made you think he just wanted to lighten your load, just a little bit.

“So, how's it going?” He asked after a minute.

“It’s…getting there.” You fiddled with your hands “Maybe.”

“You really are weird, y‘know?”

He was smiling at you, like he had just paid you a sweet as sugar compliment.

“Thanks, Bucky.” You gave your sarcastic gratitude.

With a sudden burst of energy, he practically waltzes to the back office, you watch with amused curiosity, and when he appears again, he’s carrying the gramophone with both hands, a record under his arm.

He places it happily on the corner of the ring, lifting the red rope, he slides under and stands in the boxing ring. What was he doing now?

“C’mon.” He tilted his head at you with a smile.

Waiting for you, you supposed.

“What?”

Bucky began to pile up you papers covering the space and you flew into a panic, if he messed them all up you’d have to spend another hour putting them back in the correct order so they made sense, you hadn’t thought to number your pages because you thought he wouldn’t be stupid enough to touch them. You thought wrong.

“Bucky!” You shrieked with wide eyes.

He looked at you, calmly “I’m keeping them in order.”

His habit of reading your mind was getting pretty annoying. You follow his lead and shuffle under the ropes out of curiosity. With your math tower tucked safely to the side out of harm's way, you faced him with a confused look.

“You needed to wake up, right?”

“Are we going to box? Because I don’t think I'm up for that right now.”

“No, no” He takes the record out of its sleeve with a flourish and places it on the gramophone, setting the needle down, humming with excitement.

An upbeat song begins to play, filling the hall with hearty trumpets and jiving double bass. It almost felt like they were in the room somewhere, hiding under the boxing ring with their instruments.

You stood a meter away from Bucky, no closer and no farther. He held out his hand, you looked around you as if there was any one else he could offer it to.

“What are you doing?” You ask, you could barely hear yourself above the music reverberating around the walls.

“Dancing.” He said it like it was obvious.

You didn’t think you get stage fright in the absence of an audience but Bucky had a funny way of making you nervous. For the third time, you were stuck gawking at his open palm. The vibrations of the music sent waves through the boxing ring, an invisible hand urging you closer to him.

“I don’t think that’s, maybe not-” You splutter.

You tried to think of the ripples in time this could cause but all you could really focus on was how much you wanted to feel his hand in yours again.

“Spitfire.”

When would you ever get the chance again? Never, that’s the answer. Sure, time might crumble before you but he looked so happy standing there, and he didn’t have many of those moments left.

“I swear every time you look at my hand it’s like you’ve seen a ghost.”

That’s what he had in store. Becoming the most infamous ghost story history had ever heard. You made peace with the universe in a surprisingly short amount of time and decided Bucky Barnes needed this more than anything else in this world.

“You gonna keep on staring at my hand or are you gonna take it?”

You take a few tentative steps towards him and slide your right hand into his left. He directs your other hand to rest on his shoulder and he slips his hand behind you. He tucked you closer to his chest with a shy smile and a gentle pull, you gazed up at him with bright eyes, a smile hiding in the corners of your mouth just waiting to blossom.

The next ten minutes, Bucky spends teaching you how to swing dance after coming to the conclusion you had never danced with anyone in your life.

“I have!” You insist after you step on his toe for the seventeenth time.

“Do they still have feet?” He asks in fake concern.

“Ha Ha.” You poorly cover your genuine laughter, but you couldn’t hide the smile that had crept up on you anymore.

Dancing with Bucky was a whirlwind in the most literal sense, you spun like a pinwheel in and out of his arms. You spent half the time spiraling into danger and he would be there to catch you as if there was no risk at all.

When he kept you close, you could just about hear him counting to the music under his breath. It was an endless night of numbers for you, but you were convinced you had never been as dizzy as this before, dipping in and out and twisting up and down but you knew he wouldn’t let you fall. There was something transporting about it, bringing truth to your daydreams.

Dancing with him felt more like time travel, than well, actual time travel.

You were glad he wasn’t enhanced yet, or he would hear your heartbeat picking up speed. For a moment he was all you could think about, and you finally had no complaints.

Until you saw your papers topple and scatter on the floor, the jolting of the enthusiastic swing dance lesson had your precious work falling all over the floor.

Quickly, it all got too much, heat rushed through you and the music was thumping in your head. He was too close to you, chests stuck together that should never have touched in the first place, Hands glued to his, you were trapped in his time and you were losing yourself by the second. If you didn’t let go now, who knows what you could cause.

“Stop, stop!” You pulled away, ripped your hand from his, stumbling back and catching yourself on the ropes.

“You alright?” Bucky spoke cautiously behind you.

“Yeah, yes I’m okay, I just-”

You swallowed down the bile rising from your stomach, and turned to see him standing there with concern in his eyes. Damn him. Damn him for helping you.

“I need to get this done.” You hurried to pick up your work and put it back into the correct order, scared to even look at him again.

“Okay.” He sighed quietly.

Hour Fifteen

Bucky had fallen asleep sometime ago.

The sun had come up again, the cloudless sky left the blinding beams of sunlight to burst through the windows.

His gentle snoring was the only sound as you held your breath,staring at the coordinates. Double checked, triple checked. All you had to do now was put them into the GPS and go.

But something was keeping you here, just for a few moments more. If it had anything to do with the man sleeping a couple meters away, you weren’t sure. All you could do was keep your eyes on the key to your exit.

“You worked through the night?”

Okay, so he wasn’t asleep anymore.

You could disappear right there in front of his eyes and leave him questioning everything for the rest of his life, even though you thought it would be a little funny and maybe he deserved it, it was just too risky.

“Done it before” You shrugged.

“Well my sleep was great, surprisingly sound” He began to walk over “Oh, and if my Ma asks where I was all night, do me a solid and say the recruitment center, something about long queues i don’t know.”

Hang on.

“You haven’t enlisted yet?”

“No?”

“Haven’t been to the recruitment center at all?”

“Been a bit busy” He chuckles

“Well you should go, go do it now”

“What?”

You thought he had gone by now.

“I’ll do it later, suppose” He shrugs

You looked at the coordinates. You could go home. But you couldn’t. Bucky hadn’t enlisted. And if he doesn’t join the army then, then Steve probably wouldn’t either and Captain America wouldn’t exist and maybe we didn’t win the war, maybe we lost all of the wars, the battle of new york, the battle of the earth.

Him not becoming a sergeant . you couldn’t begin to think of the implications.

Was it all your fault?

“Been thinking about it a lot and I know my dad did and all that, but…I don't know”

You had currently beaten your record for amount of shits in a twenty four hour span ten times over.

Getting home, All of this means absolutely nothing if Bucky doesn’t go to war.

He needed to enlist, he had too, you were to blame for this, and you were damn right gonna fix it.

You had to make him join the army, no matter the cost.

Maybe you could afford a couple more days here, you supposed.

“You figure out all your math?” Bucky asks.

You turned to him and stood.

“Not quite.”

Tag-list: @emily-roberts @enchantedbarnes @marygoddessofmischief @nickangel13 @elxvrr @pixiesbored @skittle479 @sweetwritingfanficfriend @curlycarley @acceptedbyace (bold means I couldn’t tag you)

#Bucky Barnes #bucky x you #bucky #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #marvel imagine #the day after yesterday #Clara writes

127 notes · View notes

lightning-writes · 1 month ago

Text

good heart (faulty machine of a man) - 22/30

fic summary: bucky meets someone at therapy

chapter summary: rue invites herself over for christmas

word count: 2521

tags: post endgame, pre tfatws, slow burn, canon divergent, canon compliant, au

warnings: none

a/n: a fluffy lil christmasy moment between our favs

AO3 MASTERLIST X

For the next few days, all Bucky can think about is wanting to tell Steve about the kiss.

He hasn’t had a meaningful kiss with someone since the 1940s, and even then, the meaningfulness had been eclipsed by the idea of going to war. He’d been kissing someone out of the sheer possibility that he wouldn’t be kissing anyone ever again.

(With Rue, that kiss was the start of something, the hope of something, the proof of something.)

He thinks about going to the cemetery, confessing his feelings to those stone walls, but he thinks about how sad it would be, how sad that would make the whole thing. He thinks about texting Sam, but the idea makes his skin itch with remembered anger, how mad he is at him for surrendering the shield. He even thinks he’d go to the gym with the hope of bumping into George… but that is even more pathetic.

(He’s alone, alone, alone.)

But, now, he doesn’t know how he’s gotten… here.

To be fair, he knows, but he didn’t think the day would turn this way.

To take his mind off of the sad reality of his nonexistent friend group, he had gone to the store to find a gift for Rue. He had wanted it to accurately sum up all the buzzing in his chest. He had honestly wandered around the store, hoping for something to shout all his feelings he was allowing back at him, but what could he possibly buy her that would summarize how much these past few months have been for him? A sweater? A book? A stuffed animal?

He was in the jewelry section when an employee sidled up next to him. He glanced over to see… Chris, the employee who had helped him decorate his apartment.

“I’d recognize your mean mug from anywhere,” Chris had said as a form of greeting. Bucky hadn’t known how to take that, so he said nothing. “Looking for something?”

“A gift,” Bucky had finally said.

“A gift,” Chris repeated. Bucky hadn’t liked the knowing lilt to his tone. “Who is this gift for?”

“... a friend.”

“A friend,” Chris echoed, nodding. When Bucky had snuck a look at him, Chris hadn’t been looking at him at all, just into the jewelry case. “Is this a friend from work or…?”

“From…” Bucky had paused, not sure why he was about to confess this. “From therapy.”

“Ooo, congrats on that.”

(Chris had sounded genuine. It had made Bucky feel proud, a feeling that he was still getting used to.)

“So, is this friend a boy… or a girl… or…”

Bucky rolled his eyes to himself. “A girl.”

“Okay, so like a…” Chris’s words had died in his throat when Bucky looked at him. “Okay, a girl that is a friend, got it. So, do you know what she would want?”

He had rubbed the back of his head, really racking his brain. He finally admitted, “No.”

“That’s okay.” Chris had put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, and… Bucky let him. “What’s she like?”

(Every time Bucky thinks of Rue, his heart races. In that moment, his mind had flashed to the way she smiles at him when he comes into the waiting room, the way she sometimes smells like a confection and other times like something rich and musky, the way her eyes light up when she’s about to make a bad joke that she knows he’ll roll his eyes to. He thinks about how sometimes, she looks very feminine and dolled up and how other times, she looks sharp and professional.

And then, his mind rewinds back to the kiss. Her bundled in her oversized scarf and puffer jacket. Her rosy features. The snow dusting her hair like a goddamn movie.)

“You are lucky I am not some degenerate who would report this look on your face to the tabloids.”

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Chris had said that. The expression on his face had made Bucky’s face hot.

“Okay, here’s what I’ll do for you,” Chris had announced. “You go grab lunch and come back here in an hour. I’m off of work then, so we’ll go to the mall and get her a real gift.”

“No, you don’t–”

“Mr. Barnes, sir.” Chris had given him a serious look. “It would be an honor.”

So, that’s how he and Chris had gotten on the train together, Chris chatty and more excited than a child on Christmas morning, and arrived at the mall.

(Bucky would admit, to himself, that after the incident with the hubcap, these crowds are… daunting.)

“Are you sure she wouldn’t have liked those earrings?” Chris whines. “They were very reasonable for diamonds.”

“I’ve never seen her wear anything like that,” Bucky muttered, keeping his hands in his pockets, and his presence as low profile as possible.

“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t wear them for special occasions!”

Bucky sighs. He runs a hand over his cap, nearly forgetting that he had to remain anonymous here. “Maybe, we… stop looking.”

“Absolutely not,” Chris declares. He grabs Bucky’s arm and pulls him forward. “We are going to find something for your girl– your friend, if it’s the last thing we do.”

Bucky frowns but allows himself to be dragged on by this very eager stranger, when a store catches his eye. He stops in front of it, making Chris stumble, and traffic redirects around them.

“You like a witchy girl?” Chris says incredulously. “You are so lucky I’m not DMing TMZ right now.”

Bucky ignores him, mostly because he doesn’t fully understand what he just said, and walks into the store. He points to the bird created by different kinds of crystals. “She has that in her room.” He looks around and adds, “She has a lot of these things…” Crystals, tarot cards, incense.

If Chris is thinking about saying anything about him being in her room, he doesn’t say it. Instead, Bucky watches him look around the store thoughtfully. He taps his chin, he nods, he opens his mouth to say something and thinks better of it.

“Okay, Mr. Barnes–”

“Please,” he interrupts, “just call me Bucky.”

(Chris’s eyes light up, and Bucky almost regrets this decision.)

“Okay, Bucky, I need to ask you a question, and it is crucial to this whole trip - but you have to promise…” he looks a little bashful, “not to get mad at me.”

Bucky sees the earnestness in his eyes, and sighs. “Okay.”

“Does she like you as much as you like her?”

Bucky pauses, trying to keep his features neutral, but he knows what he’s about to say is going to garner a reaction from Chris.

(And he honestly doesn’t know why he’s about to say it, to this virtual stranger, and still, it falls out of his mouth.)

“She kissed me.”

Chris squeals. Bucky anticipated this, and still, the looks that other customers give them is nerve-racking. Chris looks like he’s going to give Bucky a hug, then decides against it, but then holds a hand for Bucky to shake, with an expression of confusion and awkwardness. Bucky, feeling similarly, shakes his hand.

“Get it, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir–”

“I’m no longer–”

“Right, right, Bucky, Bucky, Bucky,” Chris corrects himself, tapping a finger to his forehead. “Sorry, Bucky. Well, congratulations on gettin’ some–” Bucky’s face is hot again “--and the reason I ask is because I have the most perfect gift you can get her.”

////

Rue: would it be weird if I stayed over for the next few days? 1:15 am

Rue: that would be weird, right? 1:17 am

Rue: I’m just really dreading being in the apartment alone, yk? 2:22 am

Rue: ugh forget I said anything 2:43 am

Bucky had totally forgotten to text her back.

Bucky: It wouldn’t be that weird 3:39 pm

(He hopes it’s not too late.)

////

When Bucky opens the door for Rue, he laughs.

(He’d been nervous the whole day, waiting for her arrival. She had texted him, telling him that she had to go home after work, but that had been six hours ago.)

“Babushka,” he manages to say. She had folded the scarf in such a way that it also covered her head.

“Okay, funny guy, I know what that one means,” she mutters, dragging a suitcase with her. “I couldn’t find my hat, so I had to figure it out.”

“I’m sorr–”

“No, no, it’s fine,” she says under her breath. She’s uncharacteristically in a bad mood. She looks around for a minute. “You didn’t put up the decorations I gave you.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure where…”

“You know what, that’s not fair,” she interrupts, gesturing, “the tree looks really nice.”

They both look at the tree he decorated the night she had dropped off the things. He had felt weird decorating it alone, but he’d done it when he couldn’t sleep. Listening to infomercials while scanning the tree for the best place to put an ornament had made the activity oddly satisfying.

“Okay.” She puts on a too bright smile. It’s like the one she had when working at the Waterway Brewery. “Merry Christmas Eve eve, Bucky. Tonight, we will finish the decorations and start the Christmas movie marathon.”

He watches her carefully lower the suitcase and unzip it. She reveals two glass bottles wrapped in newspaper; she hands one to Bucky.

“That’s Vick’s eggnog,” Rue explains, “it has to go in the fridge. And this guy is the red wine that we are going to spice.”

“Do you have this itinerary written out somewhere?” he teases.

(He’s teasing her. Who is he? Somehow, having her in his home, in the presence of the Christmas tree and the smell of his comfort food, he feels like he’s been transported back, before Hydra, before the fall, before the war.)

She follows him into his small kitchen and reaches into her coat pocket as he’s opening the simmering pot. She produces a piece of receipt paper, the kind diners write orders on, and shows him her list.

“Decorate, mulled wine, bake cookies,” he reads aloud, “gingerbread house, eggnog, Christmas vinyl–”

“You cook.” It’s a surprised statement. She’s peeking around him, looking into the pot he’s left open, steam continuing to billow out. He’s not sure what she’s making of the bright red dish; he made it thicker than the traditional meal because he wasn’t sure how she felt about soup as a meal.

(Honestly, he’s not even sure why he made it, rather than something more American. Maybe he wanted to show her his skills. Maybe he wanted to show her his comfort food. But as she’s observing, he becomes… protective, but he’s unsure why.)

He nods, “I cook. It’s borscht.”

“What is borscht?” she asks, the Russian word clumsy in her mouth.

“It’s a soup, with beets and other vegetables, and beef.” He looks at her. “You eat beef, right?”

“You saw me eat a burger,” is her answer. “I… I have a confession to make.”

(He braces himself, though he already feels his hope sinking.)

“Okay...”

“I’ve never had a beet before.” When he looks at her, her cheeks are pink. “Is that weird?”

“That’s not weird. I think a lot of Americans haven’t eaten beets before.”

“Thanks for not judging me.” She puts a hand on his shoulder and presses her cheek against his arm. She’s warm to the touch. “It looks good, I’m excited to try it.”

“It might take another forty minutes before it’s ready.”

“Perfect, gives us enough time to finish decorating.”

////

Though she said “us”, she really did all the work.

In the new suitcase, Rue had brought two decorative Christmas pillows and a fuzzy red blanket with a white reindeer pattern. She had also brought a few vinyls, saying that she knew he had a record player, though he had just recently inherited Steve’s. She plays a Bing Crosby’s Christmas album that she said she thrifted as she roams around his apartment.

If she notices the new furniture, she doesn’t say anything. She puts all the Christmas figurines she had packed on his new bookshelf, on his new coffee table, and even along the TV stand. She has a fake garland that she drapes along the counter, and she puts red bows on the back of his two dining table chairs. She even has stockings, a red one with a white and silver trim… and a black one, with a gold and red trim.

“Bucky.” He finds her in the living room, looking up at his ceiling. He stands next to her, trying to figure out what she’s looking at. “Where do you keep your step ladder?”

“I don’t have one.”

He feels her eyes on him before he looks at her confusion. “Then, how do you reach your ceiling?”

“I…” He frowns, wondering if this is a joke. “I’ve never needed to?”

“James,” she sighs, rolling her eyes.

(The way she slips into using his first name like a reprimand does something to him that he doesn’t have time to unpack.)

“Then how am I supposed to reach the ceiling?” She holds up the string of Christmas lights. “I want to– ahhhh!”

Without warning, Bucky lifts Rue by grabbing her waist.

“James!”

“Ruby,” he says calmly.

“Put me down!”

“But you need to reach–”

“I can stand on a chair–”

“You still wouldn’t–”

“Bucky, please,” she begs, an uncharacteristic whine in her voice. “Just put me down.”

He places her down, but his hands remain on her waist. She avoids his gaze, seemingly catching her breath. Her face is as red as the borscht.

“I can pick up and throw a car, Rue. This,” he gives her waist a squeeze, “is nothing.”

“Okay, Mister Super Soldier Man, I get it, you’ve got the biggest muscles in all of the land,” he notices she hyperbolizes when she’s nervous or self-conscious, “but you still can’t just… pick me up without permission.”

“Ruby.” Her eyes lift to his, her nostrils flared like she’s bracing herself. As much as he’s enjoyed teasing her this evening, he doesn’t want to scare her away. “I don’t have anything that will make you taller to put up the lights. All I can do is lift you, to get you up there.”

Rue thinks for a moment and compromises that she sits on his shoulders. He’s not sure how that’s more comfortable to her, but she puts up the lights quickly. If she didn’t give him directions of when to step to the right, he would believe she wasn’t even breathing.

When the lights are up, he watches her compose herself and finally, inspect the tree. She doesn’t move anything that he’s done; instead, she adds these clear icicle ornaments and fluffs the branches more. He’s in the kitchen as he watches her debate with herself.

(When she catches him looking at her, they both avert their eyes, and he’s not sure if the heat of his face is embarrassment or steam from the soup.)

“I think,” she has her hands on her hips as she looks around the living room and kitchen, “it is finished.”

“So is the food. Hungry?”

“Starved.”

3 notes · View notes

kindheart525 · 2 months ago

Note

It's ok if you don't have any ideas about this yet, but I'm just wondering how you see life/pop culture being like in Chucky's time (Late 2090's Early 2100's)

All I really have an idea about the pop culture in this time is that Mr. Frog is still popular.

#Dottieverse

This is forever one of my favorite Aus! :3

Thank you so much, that seriously means a lot from the bottom of my heart ❤️ This started out as a silly little side project but it has grown so much and I've been honored and excited about all the engagement it’s been getting! I deeply appreciate it

I haven’t thought too deeply into this tbh, because that point is a good 70-80 years from now so literally anything could happen. People in the past could sometimes predict our now-current technology somewhat right (ex: video calling technology in The Jetsons) but they never get it spot-on and pop culture is an especially tricky thing to predict. It’s hard to even know what will be popular in 30 years, let alone 80. Here’s what I do have in mind:

Gen Alpha is now all old and giggling over skibidi rizz gyatt jokes in the nursing homes. It’s like us rn hearing an old person use 1940s slang, it was popular when they were young but now we associate it with old people. Till has no idea wtf they’re talking about but is begrudgingly willing to do a ye olde TikTok dance if it’s the only thing that will get your grandma to take her meds

Physical media is a rarity now; nobody keeps photo albums or physical copies of movies or anything. Everything is digital. It’s already starting to get like that today but by that point it would be even more extreme. Till however is the traditional type who prefers physical photo albums and has multiple books full of their parents’ pictures

People do still play traditional board games, tabletop RPGs, card games, etc but online/digital versions are just as popular if not more

AI is probably running rampant ngl, in the real world it’ll probably get regulated at some point but the SF world is too wacky for regulations on anything. Dead influencers and artists are still “creating content” after signing some contracts before their deaths, for example. It’s pretty freaky

Mr. Frog himself is likely still alive. Zach and Michael said in the Season 1 commentary that he’s actually a demon so I don’t think he’d have a normal lifespan. And assuming he’s still alive, he’s most certainly still running his show and wreaking havoc

Not pop culture but Rotten the (former) Snowman is also still alive. Now that he’s part of the ocean he literally cannot die no matter how climate change affects it. He once terrorized Chucky and Till during a beach vacation

#AskKind #dottieverse #chucky dompler ii #till hunter #smiling friends #smiling friends oc

4 notes · View notes

crossingoverships · 1 month ago

Text

Gus March-Phillips × Joe Coughlin × Anders Lassen

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare × Live by Night

Headcanons below:

I wouldn't follow the year set of the real-life event, neither to the canon in the movies; but I'm probably going to follow the timeline chronologically.

THROUPLE~ Yes, they're married😌

1940s set

Joe is around same age with Gus, but Joe would be older. While that— Anders would be 11 years younger than Joe and Gus. Their birth year wouldn't follow the real-life event (Anders 1920, Gus 1908, Joe is unknown... but I'll keep the age gap)

Postmaster operation was on 1942 (Anders was 33 year old, Gus 44, so, Joe might be 44 or 45🤔 so, maybe I'll pick Anders to be born in 1909, Gus 1898, Joe 1897)

Anders came to the beachside, near Gus' house, when Anders was 18 year old (1927)

They met 9 years before Postmaster (1933): Anders was 24, Gus was 35, Joe was 36.

Anders and Gus saved Joe from being tortured by Joe's enemy at 1935.

They're married at 1937; Anders was 28, Gus was 39, and Joe was 40.

They live in Gus's beachside house, somewhere in Britain (YOU ARE INVITED LAUGH AT ME BECAUSE I'M SUCK AT GEOGRAPHY, LET ALONE HISTORY)

Joe runs the household and the economy.

Height and weight: Anders 193cm 235lbs, Gus 185cm 193lbs, Joe 191cm 231lbs. Not exactly like the real-life actors' height and weight.

#gus march phillips #joe coughlin #anders lassen #the ministry of ungentlemanly warfare #live by night #crossover #crackship #old men yaoi #middle age old men yaoi #me collecting big guys just to fuck each other #but actually no #I'm mostly writing them in fluffy domestic thing #I LOVE WRITING THEM CUDDLE #SNUGGLE SNUGGLE #like imagine the bed #the bed has to be STRONG strong

2 notes · View notes

bellalampwickrossi · 10 months ago

Text

Disney Descendants: Alexander (From Pinocchio 1940 ) X Princess Eilonwy story ideas Part 12

Alexander adds to his maps every day. He loves showing them to Eilonwy and explaining the significance. She tries to find out more about the places on them and they have a great time learning about them.

Alexander likes to get stuff made for them and the kids. He feels a little suffocated surrounded by this ancient royal stuff. They agreed it's nice to have things that are just theirs, that they had made for them.

Eilonwy likes to surprise him by bringing his adoptive parents to Llyr sometimes. She knows he gets homesick and since they can't often travel on a whim and be away, she brings them to him.

They like to cause a little trouble still every so often. Obviously they have to calculate it to avoid a huge, damaging blow out from the press, but it's kinda fun navigating the balance. And spiking punch bowls and not getting caught.

He likes to bring back local food for her to try when he visits his home. He found these spicy sausages she really likes and now he has to bring some back whenever he visits. Their chef can make them but it's not the same. Anything for the wife!

They have tea time so they can have a specified quiet time for twenty minutes. It keeps them from freaking out on everyone and they can enjoy the calm together and make each other feel better before they get back to work.

She always asks him about what he wants in Llyr. She doesn't want him to feel alone and stuck doing things he hates for her sake all the time. She wants him to feel at home too.

They like to meet other royals somewhere cool. A cruise ship, a nice hotel, or even plan something fun when they meet like going to a movie. It's how they sneak their dates and vacations in!

Eilonwy keeps a close eye on how much Alexander drinks. She knows he had a problem before and she won't let him relapse into it. She wants him to be healthy and she NEEDS him to be stable. So does Llyr and so do the children.

Eilonwy and Alexander kinda mainline caffeine whether it's coffee or tea. They know it messes with their sleep and makes it harder to handle, but they need something to get them through all the work they have to do.

Thanks again @askauradonprep

#disney descendants #descendants #pinocchio 1940 #pinocchio #disney pinocchio #alexander pinocchio #alexander #alexander x eilonwy #princess eilonwy #eilonwy #the black cauldron

7 notes · View notes

ariel-seagull-wings · 1 year ago

Text

CINEMA'S GOOD FATHERS

@thealmightyemprex @makingboneboy @themousefromfantasyland @professorlehnsherr-almashy @amalthea9 @princesssarisa @bixiebeet @spengnitzed @inevitablemoment @angelixgutz @softlytowardthesun @tamisdava2 @inevitablemoment @theselfshippingwitch

So, the main reason I am so drawn to fiction is that it presents, not as it is, but a way in which it could be better: rather that being content in reproducing the problems in reality, it imagine:

"Alright, so that is what is wrong with humanity and the world right now. Let's make an effort to imagine how to get rid of the wrongs, and show that happier alternatives can exist."

Case in point: the role of father's in society.

We live in a society that is sexist, so we were acustome to think that all the effort in raising and educating children to become functional adults is exclusively of the mother, while the father's should only make the bare minimum, enjoy only the fun aspects of interacting with the child, or even don't be present in their child's life at all, so we tend to treat father's abandoning their children as a given, rather than act shocked or indignated (like likely most would act if the situation was reversed and the mother was the one doing it).

Sometimes that would even be treated as heroic too: how many times we heard stories of man who go to die fight in wars, while their wives stayed at home, pregnant, with no guarantee that their husband would return alive to meet their children, and heard this situation be treated as a beautiful story, rather than something sad!

In a lot of fiction (movies and TV shows), this backwards kind of tought was usually seen as the norm: people usually went to watch movies and shows waiting for the father to be some deadbeat character who either does the bare minimum or even nothing, sometimes constantly complaining about how having children ruined "their lives", while mother characters have to carry the pressure of being the voice of reason.

And if the father was portrayed as decent and present, that would be received with just a shrug and the comment of: "Whatever, he is just doing his basic obligation."

But actually, going to how started this text, since the role of fiction is to present a world that can be better than what we have, when making an effort, we can actually examples of GOOD fathers, who don't think than being a father is just making the baby and putting his surname on the birth certificate, but actually goes trough the effort of being always present, learning from trials and mistake, doing sacrifices to take care of his children, loving and being proud of their child even if not always agreeing with them and having to deal with family conflicts.

Those characters are GREAT, and should be more praised, so we encourage more man with children to be more like then, instead of comforming in doing the bare minimum and being seen as dumb.

And maybe, they can inspired more writers to create father figures like them, instead of constantly reproducing the Absent or Dumb Dad tropes as a norm.

Here are GOOD examples of father's in film who I want to highlight.

Gepetto from Disney's Pinocchio (1940)

Going back to the year of 1940: the whole movies starts because Gepetto wished for a child. He was poor, and single, and yet this didn't stopped him from creating a little puppet boy and begging for a star to turn the puppet into a living person. The night that the star (the Blue Fairy) concedes the wish to give life to Pinocchio, Gepetto is at first surprised, but fully embraces the now living puppet as his son. In his first day as a parent, Gepetto makes a mistake of sending Pinocchio alone to school, and the puppet boy is manipulated by two strangers to go into more dangerous paths. What Gepetto does? He waits the whole night, without eating, and decides to go in search of his son, even sailing the sea and getting swalowed by a whale on the way!

You can feel his sadness when he thinks that he will never find Pinocchio again, the joy at the moment that the two are reunited, not even letting the weirdness of the donkey tail and ears disconcetrate him, the fear for their lives when they set fire inside Monstro, the grief when his son apparently dies saving his life, and his renewed hope when Pinocchio is ressurected and turned into a flesh and blood boy.

Gepetto longed for a child, and moved heavens, land and sea to make that dream come true. It wasn't easy, yet he never expected to be easy, and he never gave up in frustration. This is what makes him such an inspirational father figure.

Guido Orefice from Life Is Beautiful (1999)

This movie may be unpopular in America, but in Brazil: most of us love it! I atribute this to the fact that in Brazil, humour historically was a very important way to cope with misery and opression, so we indentified with the lenghts in which the italian jewish man Guido Orefice used his sense of humour to protect his son when the two were turned prisoners of the Concentration Camps: deep down, Guido knows that he will likely die. He is not a fool who thinks that all is alright, and soon it will be like nothing happened. But he doesn't want to sucumb to despair: he wants to fight for his son to live, and his way to do so is making sure that little Giosue believes that they are in a game of imagination. All the time he hides the little boy from guards, makes sure that he has enough to eat, keeps him close, and finds way to comunicate with Dora, his wife and Giosue's mother, to encourage her to also fight to continue alive. When he is caught by a nazi soldier, searching for his wife disguised as a woman, the last moment we see Guido alive, is him smiling and winking at a hidden Giosue: he is walking to his death, happy, because he knows his son is safe and will be free!

Guido Orefice teaches us a lesson that there are more ways that father's can sacrifice themselves for their children, while still being present and participant in their lives.

Nurullah from The Breadwinner (2018)

"When I was young, Parvana, I knew what peace felt like, here in the city. Children went to school, women went to university. All day empires forgot about us, for a while at least."

A wise, well-learned former schoolteacher, who lost his leg in the Soviet-Afgan war, and whose young son Suleiman died when mistaking a bomb by a toy, Nurullah struggles to make ends meet for his family. He becomes a peddler, selling his family’s non-essential belongings and valuables (most notably a dress that his daughter Parvana never wore) in the street in order to bring food to the table. Despite of this, he maintains a cheerful outlook on life and works to pass down his knowledge to his children, to whom he teaches the history of their country in the form of stories.

After his arrest by the Taliban, his daughter Parvana takes up the mantle of breadwiner under the disguise of a boy named Otesh, and tells stories like Nurullah does to keep everyone's spirits up.

The climax of the film is when Parvana goes to the place where Nurullah is imprisoned, where a shooting is happening, to rescue him.

Nurullah can be astute, tricking a Taliban soldier who was harasshing Parvana to think that she is already engaged to another fiancee. But in reality, he wants his daughter to have a childhood, to play with other children and go to school, and hopes that someday she will graduate, have a profession, and know a world of peace. The only reason he becomes absent is due to being unfairly imprisoned, but when he has the chance to choose, he is always there for his family.

Ebi from Persepolis (2007)

Based on the real life father of cartoonist and film director Marjane Satrapi, Ebi at first starts as someone who is underestimated by his young daughter.

The family lives trough the political turmoil of Iran between the 1970s and 90s, and Marjane at first sees other people's fathers and uncle as strong figures because they directly dealt with persecution, imprisonment, torture and death.

As the years pass, and Marjane sees the ways both Ebi and her mother Tadji find to try helping people more directly involved in activism, while still working to keep a sense of estability for the family, she comes to understand that her father is one of the strongest people she will ever know.

While all this happens, Ebi doesn't forgets his humanity and vulnerability: he encourages his daughter to be resilient when he and Tadji sent her to take refuge in Austria, so she can survive the war between Iran and Iraq, while also crying to be separated from her.

He could have flaws, like a bit of pride, but they never overcome Ebi's love for his daughter, and his convictions for what is right.

Goofy from the Goof Troop franchise (1992-2002)

"There are times you drive me, shall we say, bananas

And your mind is missin', no offense, a screw (none taken)

Still, whatever mess I land in

Who is always understandin'

Nobody else but you

So your jokes are all, let's face it, prehistoric

And your music sounds like monkeys in a zoo

But when life becomes distressin'

Who will I be SOS-in'

If you're having trouble guessing, here's a clue"

Goofy's name means that he is bumbling, but there is something that makes his bumbling personality standout from your typical bumbling character: usually, bumbling characters are hopeless idiots who don't care for anything or anyone around.

Goofy is the oposite: he cares for others, specially to be a good, present father to his son, Max. He may comit misunderstandings, be a bit impulsive, and his son may find him embarassing, but there is no denial that Goofy never regrets having a son: he really, really LOVES being a father, and will give up anything if it means the chance to share moments with Max.

Maurice from Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Maurice is a bumbling inventor who sometimes has his had on the clouds. But his passion for his work never comes above for his love for his daughter, Belle. He is always supportive of her, just like she is always supportive of him. When she takes his place in the Castle of the Beast, Maurice gets desperate. He runs to the town's tavern to beg for help, but his cries are mocked as madness. This makes him give up? Nope! He goes walking alone trough the woods, facing a snowstorm that makes him ill, determined to rescue Belle!

No wonder Belle is always determined to make everything to save her father's life: we are constantly shown that Maurice values her, and will even sacrifice his health for her. Their reunion, when she takes care of his health after finding him passed out in the snow, is one of the most touching moments in film!

Fa Zhou from Mulan (1998)

What I find touching by Fa Zhou is that while he has strong belief in traditions, and has expectations that his daughter follows them, we were soon shown that his love for Mulan could go above those expectations: when Mulan returns from a failed meeting with the matchmaker, she is very embarassed, fearing his disapointment, but rather than reprimanding her, Fa Zhou comforts her, comparing her to a flower that will soon bloon.

There is a conflict between then when Fa Zhou thinks that he should sacrifice himself in a war for the concept honor, yet is clear that their fight is painfull for both of them, and Fa Zhou shows regret for their fight when Mulan takes his place in the Army.

When Mulan returns, bringing victory presents from the War hoping that will honor the family, Fa Zhou doesn't care for honor anymore: he ignores the gifts, and goes to hug Mulan, glad that she returned home alive!

How can't someone not be touched when Fa Zhou that his greatest gifts are having Mulan as his daughter?

Pacha from The Emperour's New Groove (2000)

That man can embrace the world: he is a loving husband to his wife Chicha, a good father to his biological children, the trusted leader of his village, and even assumes the role of being the moral guide to Emperour Kuzco, teaching him to care for other people's well being and calling his selfshiness out!

Basically: he is the father, brother and husband that everyone dreams to have.

Stoick from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise (2010-19)

Stoick's arc is incredible to watch: he starts as someone who is sad, stuborn and emotionally distant, grieving the disappearance of his wife and dealing with the fact that his son Hiccup is not what he expects a viking to be. As the two movies and TV show progresses, we see Stoick grow, learning how to comunicate with his son, understanding his different point of view, and accepting him as an equal partner in leading their village, by working together trough their different methods of solving problems.

A father doesn't need to be perfect, but is important that they become conscious that they are flawed, and can always learn to be better, specially with the help of their children's perspective.

Searcher Clade from Strange World (2022)

The botanist and farmer Searcher was abandoned by his father, the explorer Jaeger Clade, when he was young, because of their differing dreams in life clashing.

Because of that, Searcher goes to great lenghts to be a good father to his son Ethan. However, his trauma of abandoment causes problems in their relationship when Ethan grows interested to become a explorer: Searcher fears that his son will abandon him, like his father did.

As their journey trough the subterranean world of Pando progresses, Searcher learns to accept that while present for his son, he can also comit mistakes as a parent, and apologizes for trying to force Ethan to follow his path as a farmer, like his father once tried to force him to become a explorer.

Searcher tells about his fears, and learns to accept that Ethan will forge a different path for himself, but will never abandon him.

He also finds his father Jaeger, and gets to call out how much he hurt him, before the two can slowly start to reconcile.

Strange World is a great movie about how different generations can both enter in conflict, yet learn from each other's perspectives, and explores both flawed ways of parenting, and alternatives for father's to become better.

Is a shame that the studio Disney didn't promoted the movie, and let it go under most people's radar.

#parenting #parenthood #fatherhood #fandom musings #tumblr mutuals

19 notes · View notes

stevetonyweekly · 2 years ago

Text

SteveTony Weekly - April 2nd

It’s been a quiet reading week for me, but I reread a favorite fic which was nice. Give a look see to all of this week’s stories and be sure to leave a comment/kudos for your author.

given you a number, taken away your name by janonny

As Tony behaves more erratically, S.H.I.E.L.D. sends in Steve as an undercover agent in S.I. to be Natasha’s back-up. Except Steve is really, really not cut out for this undercover business.

Before the lift’s doors closed, Stark suddenly grinned and said, “Call me Tony. Have a better rest of the day, big guy.”

Awkwardly, Steve lifted his free hand and waved as the doors slid shut between them.

What...what was he doing? Why was he waving? Steve hurriedly put his hand down and turned around sharply.

Second Opinion by Annie D (scaramouche)

Written for an anon on tumblr, who requested "short domesticity fic where you can tell that Steve and Tony have been together for THAT long".

I kinda failed at at the domesticity portion, but this Steve and Tony are very, VERY together.

Dreamboat to the rescue by shetlandowl

When the last single person in Tony's close friend-group finds her special someone, said person makes it her personal mission to make sure Tony doesn't die alone. Getting her off his case will take a miracle, so Tony tries to fabricate one. It doesn't go according to plan.

The Stolen Shirt by RiotFalling

Tony steals Steve’s shirt. It has an effect.

Ripple Effect by sabrecmc

After the events of Infinity War, Steve is sent back in time on a desperate mission to find the Tesseract. Instead, he meets up with 21-year old Tony, still reeling from his parents' deaths. Who, naturally, tries to climb Steve like a tree. Somehow, this fixes everything.

Fuse is Fireside by GotTheSilver

if Tony lived post Endgame au.

Because, here’s the thing, he loves Pepper. He does. He’s not so much of an asshole that he’d marry her if he didn’t.

But Steve.

Steve is like gravity. Always has been.

We're Dating by Whothefuckyduckyisbucky

Tony thinks they're dating. They totally are. Someone should tell Steve.

Set after The avengers movie. In the 1940's male friendships were a lot more affectionate, so Steve doesn't always get that the affection Tony shows him isn't platonic.

of dreams, ice and scales by janonny

Tony is Iron Man. He’s also a dragon who has learned that you can’t keep everything you love.

Steve is Captain America. He’s also a knight who falls into deep sleep for decades and wakes to a different world.

Together, they rescue each other.

At nine, Tony trembles when Maria comes to him and says with hushed urgency, “Never give your scales to anyone. You’ll only regret it.”

At sixteen, Steve trembles when they lower Sarah into a hole in the ground.

A Moment In History by itsallAvengers

Everything was going fine until Tony Stark from ten years in the past landed on his ass in their kitchen.

Present-day Tony supposes this is just another Sunday Morning.

The Goddamn Suit by orphan_account

Steve is attracted to Tony's suits. Tony finds out that the Captain is a slut.

Ride by FestiveFerret

“Oh god,” Steve’s hips jerked in their confines. His cock was so hard it hurt, his jaw ached in the best possible way, and it was all too much. “Tony, please.”

For A Good Time Call by BeenAsleepFor70Years

Steve explores his sexuality by trying out a phone sex service. He may just leave the situation crushing on the guy at the other end of the phone. He already had feelings for his teammate Iron Man, now a new crush gets thrown into the mix. What ever shall he do?

couldn't whisper (when you needed it shouted) by only_more_love

Steve still can't let go of that damned flip phone. (Really, he can't let go of Tony.)

i want the green grass and the tomato plants by Anonymous

When Tony arrives to Stardew Valley, he spends the first five minutes staring.

(Or, a Stardew Valley AU. Tony rebuilds a farm and owns chickens. Steve paints.)

#Stevetony weekly #Stony weekly #stony #stevetony #stony fic #stevetony fic #fic rec #rec list #stevetony rec list #steve rogers #tony stark #iron man #captain america

46 notes · View notes

sarahlancashire · 10 months ago

Note

random question time ✨ favourite movie? (or if you don't do favourites then a good movie you would recommend to someone) And if they were remaking it/never made it and you could recast/cast it, who would you chose? Would you change director/dp? Maybe change a soundtrack? (kinda build-a-bearmovie question I guess :)))

thank you! i'm really terrible at choosing favourites, i have like a collection of favourites for each oddly specific genre i like lmao (apart from rebecca which stands alone) so let's see:

favourite gothic daphne du maurier adaptation: rebecca (1940)

favourite lesbian angst films: daphne, losing chase, the night watch, the hours, the children's hour, ammonite

favourite lesbian non-angst films: g*po (the title is a slur 😒 also it is quite angsty but it's a rly good film with a happy ending about a girl who falls in love with pauline mclynn, which, same), late bloomers

favourite nineties romcoms: you've got mail, while you were sleeping

favourite eighties classics: overboard, romancing the stone, trading places

favourite musical films: hello, dolly!, the sound of music, white christmas

favourite period dramas: little women (2019), miss pettigrew lives for a day, mrs. harris goes to paris, their finest

other favourite dramas: the children act, the history boys, the lake house, military wives

other favourite comedies: about time, a bunch of amateurs, the best exotic marigold hotel, cold comfort farm, the first wives club, love actually, the holiday

animated favourites: beauty and the beast, monsters inc., the incredibles, kiki's delivery service, only yesterday, spirited away, the sword in the stone, treasure planet

#majoris #ik i didn't really answer this properly but i really am terrible at favourites #honestly i wouldn't change or recast anything apart from little women #i'd keep laura dern and saoirse ronan but recast the other marches #oh and meryl can stay too #ik that's probably going to be a very unpopular opinion bc nearly everyone loves two of the other actresses but oh well #personal

6 notes · View notes

laurasimonsdaughter · 2 years ago

Text

The movie nights, Yule decided, were genuinely nice. Yes, it was absolutely ridiculous that she was forced to sit in between Ev and Chris every time. Especially since Chris was now constantly a pile of blankets and hot water bottles, basking in the rediscovery of warmth, which he wouldn’t have to do if he had sat next to Ev, who was an absolute furnace.

But of course he couldn’t possibly do that, because there were only three days left until full moon, which meant Ev was already so hairy and uncomfortable when fully clothed that they had stripped down to their shorts and sports bra as soon as they got home. It was a wonder Chris hadn’t fully left the room yet just to prevent himself from accidentally looking at their midriff. One day, Yule thought, she was going to snap and forbid him to spend so much time with vampires from the 1940s.

But right now his eyes were glued to the action on the TV screen and Ev was lounging comfortably, both of them at least temporarily relaxed on either side of her. And that was really very nice.

“You know what,” Yule said, handing Ev the bowl of crisps and bumping companionably against Chris’s drawn up knee. “I think movie nights should be on the list of house rules. Movie nights every Friday, to improve human-vampire-werewolf relations.”

“I’m game,” Ev grinned, teeth glinting and Chris made a pleased sound from inside his cocoon.

Wonderful. Surely they’d start actually hanging out and talking to each other eventually. Yule sat up, reaching for her soda. “Speaking of house rules,” she remembered. “Stop stealing my foundation, Chris. I can get you your own. Mine's too dark for you anyway. You ought to have one closer to your current skin tone.”

“I can't even see my skin without make-up!” Chris protested.

“I know that,” Yule said fondly. She knew that was why he wore it, to be able to see himself in the mirror every once in a while. “But I can. I‘ll help you choose something you like. Maybe two shades lighter, I think.”

“More olive though.”

“Hm?” Yule turned to look at Ev, and so, amazingly, did Chris.

“Not just lighter,” they said intently, gesturing at his face. “There’s a more olive tint to...Chris’...complexion...” Ev's voice inexplicably trailed off to mumbling silence rather suddenly and their gaze dropped to the floor.

Yule looked thoughtfully at Chris, too distracted to notice the calamity unfolding on her couch. “Yeah I think you’re right! An olive tone would look very good.”

She tried to give him another encouraging smile, but he was still looking at Ev, with rather wide, startled eyes. And Ev's cheeks had gone worryingly pink under their stubble.

The horror of it all hit Yule just a bit too late. “Oh dear,” she said loudly. “I’ve completely missed where this scene was going. Chris, where were we?”

“What?” Chris stammered distractedly. He looked as close to flustered as a cold, bloodless vampire could possibly get.

She could just tell them. She could just turn off the TV, and tell them, and leave them alone in here. Possibly lock all doors and windows and tell them she’d be back when they had sorted their shit out. Tomek would probably let her crash on his couch, especially if she repaid him with more gossip.

Yule took a deep breath. “Where were we in the movie? Two minutes back?”

“Uh, sure.”

“You’ve got the remote, hun.”

“Oh, yes.” Chris hastily grabbed for the remote, one pale arm reaching out of the tangle of blankets.

On the other side of the couch Ev had pretty much curled up into a ball, their limbs folded at odd, inhuman angles to make up for the lack of a tail to hide their face behind. Yule could feel the flustered heat of embarrassment radiate off them as clearly as if she was sitting next to a damn campfire.

The movie resumed and Yule sat, looking at the screen without seeing it, flanked by two friends doing exactly the same. They were both frozen in place, acting as if they would bloody combust as soon as they’d look at each other, and neither of them was doing anything about it. And neither was she, because Yule was genuinely afraid which words would come out of her mouth if she dared to open it right now.

She made it five whole minutes before she took out her phone and began frantically texting Tomek.

He was not at all sympathetic, and she spitefully resolved to bring a chocolate covered coffee bean for his familiar the next time she came over.

[Read ‘And they were flatmates’ chronologically on AO3]

#and they were flatmates #(most of this story is on tumblr in that tag but not all of it)#(so go to ao3 for the full experience)#laura drabbles #werewolf #vampire #urban fantasy #roommates #nblm romance

64 notes · View notes

rabbitcruiser · 10 months ago

Text

McDonald’s Day

McDonald’s Day falls on April 15, the anniversary day of when Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. Most, if not all, people around the world know this name, we believe. It’s one of the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chains. Did you know that Ray Kroc was not the founder of McDonald’s? The founders were the McDonald brothers. The current corporation credits its founding to Ray Kroc. So, let’s celebrate this McDonald’s Day in honor of Kroc as well as the restaurant founders, the McDonald brothers.

HISTORY OF MCDONALD'S DAY

The very first McDonald’s restaurant was opened by New Hampshire brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald on May 15, 1940, in San Bernardino, California. The McDonald brothers started by serving slow-cooked barbecue, and the business took off quickly. They later found out that 80% of their sales were from hamburgers, so they closed it for three months. They then remodeled it as a self-service restaurant, where customers placed their orders at the windows. It is said that they simplified their menu to just nine: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, three flavors of soft drink, milk, coffee, potato chips, and pie.

The McDonald’s brothers developed the “Speedee Service System,” allowing them to prepare the food quickly. All their hamburgers contained ketchup, mustard, onions, and two pickles. Although this newly remodeled McDonald’s struggled at first, once the brothers replaced potato chips with french fries and introduced triple thick milkshakes, the business started to grow again. In the early 1950s, they saw their profits double. They then established several franchises in California and Arizona. Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman, visited them in 1954, wondering why McDonald’s would order eight of his multimixers.

Once Kroc knew about McDonald’s restaurant operation, he saw potential in it. He then bought the rights to franchise the brothers’ restaurant across the country. He opened his first McDonald’s franchised restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. But, their relationship was contentious due to philosophies that differ on how to run the business. Kroc later purchased the company from the McDonald brothers in 1961. The brothers who lent their name to the business and were pioneers of the business concept gradually faded to the background. They kept their original San Bernardino restaurant until they were out of business eventually.

MCDONALD'S DAY TIMELINE

1940

The First McDonald’s

The first McDonald’s restaurant is opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California.

Early 1950s

Doubled Business Profits

McDonald’s profits double, and the brothers establish several franchises.

1955

The First Ray Kroc’s McDonald’s

Kroc opens his first McDonald’s franchised restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois.

1961

The Business is Sold

Kroc purchases the McDonald’s company.

MCDONALD'S DAY FAQS

How much is McDonald's worth in 2021?

Reportedly, McDonald’s has a net worth of 36.53 billion U.S.D.

What nationality is McDonald?

It’s Scottish, and McDonald is probably the most famous Scottish clan surname.

How rich is the owner of McDonald's?

Chris Kempczinski is reportedly paid 5.22 million U.S.D. annually as the C.E.O. of McDonald’s, with a net worth of 17.9 million U.S.D.

MCDONALD'S DAY ACTIVITIES

Go to McDonald’s: There’s nothing better than going to its restaurant on its day. Order some Chicken McNuggets for a starter. Then continue with the well-known Big Mac along with the World Famous Fries. To finish up, get Coca-Cola and a Vanilla Cone, or McFlurry, or Hot Fudge Sundae.

Spread the word: Tell your family and friends about this fun day in case you want some company. You can order through McDelivery and enjoy the food and drinks together at home. Or, you may want to bring them to McDonald’s and dine in.

Watch “The Founder”: If you’re home alone, you may want to watch the movie “The Founder.” Watch the story about the famous McDonald’s while you’re munching your Double Cheeseburger and McChicken along with the World Famous Fries.

5 FACTS ABOUT MCDONALD’S HAMBURGERS YOU NEED TO KNOW

The burger cost only 15 cents: In the beginning, a McDonald’s burger cost only 15 cents.

Billions of burgers have been sold: It is estimated that billions and billions of McDonald’s burgers have been sold.

A Big Mac was once 45 cents: The first Big Mac was created in 1967 and cost only 45 cents.

It can be a source of protein: It is said that a McDonald’s hamburger contains 25% of your daily value of protein.

Happy Meals were first introduced in 1979: McDonald’s launched its first Happy Meal worldwide in 1979, and in 2021, McDonald’s announced that Happy Meal’s plastic toys would be phased out.

WHY WE LOVE MCDONALD'S DAY

It’s convenient: McDonald’s can always be an option when you don’t have any idea where to go to eat. They’re everywhere, you know.

It’s affordable: McDonald’s food and drinks are affordable. Not only that, but they are also delicious. They’re worth buying.

It can be a nice place to hang out: If you’re going to hang out with your friends for hours, McDonald’s has got you covered. Sure, they have many selections of food and drinks. Besides that, most of them have spacious dining-in.

Source

3 notes · View notes