#maui big shows

[zabchan]

Big Moana 2 Spoilers ahead. Beyond the cut is the Samoan to english translation of maui's 2nd song for moana. (And the context it appears in)

ladies and gents of the moana fandom, thanks to the effort of samoan speaker @yuki685 on youtube, and my buddy @rykierykerman for hooking me up with the text and screenshots

what i'd like to discuss with yall today is not only sharing the translation for this song, but some of the character implication this has for maui, especially when you look at how his OG legends depict him.

LYRICS:

(Maui singing in Samoan):

Aue, aue, le faigata / Aue, aue, how difficult it is

Ua pa'ū fa'anoanoa / Falling into sadness

Aue, aue, fa'ataga ola / Aue, aue, please allow this life to continue

Lenā La'u talosaga / This is my prayer

---

(E manu malo) / May there be blessings

(Opataia Foa'i and Te Vaka singing in Tokelauan)

Tele tele mana e o te vavau (Vavau) / Great, great power of mana

Tau ke tu ke Manumalo / Fight, stand tall and be victorious

Ke Manumalo / Be victorious

---

(Grandma Tala)

Aue, aue, mana e o te vavau / Aue, aue, the power of mana

Tau ke tu ke Manumalo / Fight, stand tall and be victorious

Ke Manumalo / Be victorious

Ke Manumalo / Be victorious

Ke Manumalo / Be victorious

_____

The piece that made me flip my shit when I read it was the confirmation that this song is a PRAYER

when I first heard this song before the movie I assumed it was a funeral rite. a dirge, followed by a choral revival. during the film, when maui and then the ancestors sang it over moana's lifeless body and I had no subtitles to go on, I thought perhaps it was a spell, or maybe a lullaby from Maui's far distant past, then taken up by the ancestors as a comfort to the grieving Maui- then back to the spell theory as Moana awoke to the powerful music and emotion channeled by tala and her crew.

even my first google translate search of the lyrics missed the word prayer, which goes to show that AI translation is no match for native human insight.

Maui's song being a prayer is a friggin big deal.

Maui's stories span the width & breadth of the pacific islands, and each culture arising from those island tells variations on that legend. some emphasize his rebellious side, others his inventiveness, still others his drive, his humor, his ingenuity, his pride. But a common theme in most is that this man, this demigod- he does NOT get along with the majority of his ancestors or the gods. Even when he's not outright malevolent to them, he's tricking them or undermining their effort. He's usually stubbornly self-sufficient, if he gets help from someone divine, its usually because he tricked them into doing it. Maui does not beg, he does not plead. (at least, not with any lasting sincerity). he's a charmer, a schemer.

But here he is, his tattoos stripped away, his hook gone, his beloved Moana growing colder and colder- he's out of tricks. he's out of time, out of power. he's as helpless as the day he was thrown into the ocean to save her. rock bottom, figuratively and literally.

he does the absolute last thing he can, born of pure desperation. pure grief, pure need. He prays.

he prays not expecting an answer. he prays, knowing that the gods and all his family would relish the chance to tell him to fuck all the way off. he prays, even if to no one but moana's lifeless body.

i often joke that maui is bad at feelings. but really what i mean is that maui is bad at regulating his feelings. he represses them as hard as he can, denies them, wraps them in humor and when that fails he straight up tries to out run them. its a maladaptive coping skill he's had to pick up over his immortal 3000 year lifespan because otherwise, he'd be wallowing in endless grief as friend after friend either dies or lives long enough to become his antagonist. boy has some serious trauma built up and no good examples of how to handle it in a healthy way.

until moana.

moana provided an example of how to be vulnerable without being weak. a safe space where he could share his heart and be met with understanding and validation. we see him mature, even fractionally, and in the sequel he's not nearly so closed off. he worries openly about moana, admits his concerns about the mission, even returns moana's favor from the first film and gives her a sincere, supportive pep talk.

but all his progress in processing his emotions seems to backfire in this moment. the first time he'd opened his heart to a fragile mortal friend and here he is, exactly as he feared, devastated at her passing. He had invested real time and care and attachment into this human and he's utterly shattered that its all coming to an end so fast. that he'll never experience her voice or her smile or her wit ever again.

she's precious to him. he cant bear to lose her. his sadness in more crushing than the ocean he's surrounded by, denser than the rock he kneels upon. even if he got his powers back, even if he pulled up a million islands, if Moana isn't there to land on them...there's no point.

less than 10 minutes ago he was ready to die for her.

3 minutes ago in movie time, maui faced his own mortality. powers stripped bare, down to his last ounce of strength, frying in impossible lightning heat, he kept struggling. the first look he gives moana is fear, raw and unfamiliar on that handsome face. but in this penultimate moment, his eyes meet moana's. his grimace gentles, eyebrows lift, gaze softens into a regretful, heart melting smile. he finds small comfort in seeing moana for one last time, seeing her unhurt, hearing her call his name. the rope slips from his grip, and somewhere in the milliseconds between lightning flashes, he relaxes, relief skitters across his features. perhaps he thinks "ahh, at least she's ok." "at least she'll outlive me". perhaps he has a moment of acceptance for his fate, knowing she's proud of him, knowing he did his very best. maybe he thinks ,"this way ill be sure to meet her again, in the afterlife. its for the best."

or maybe, just maybe, he thinks

"see you out there, moana."

but now, 3 minutes later, its once again the worst case scenario. any relief he had in that last smile at her is obliterated in the wake of his grief. its once again the worst case scenario. he's not thinking now of the curse being broken or his hook or his tattoos. a world that she's not in, whether he be human or demigod, is not a world he can stand to exist in. he cant do this without her. he needs her.

so he digs deep inside himself, through the pain or losing her, through his own family trauma and antagonism towards authority, and pride, to beg, on his knees for help from a higher power. its unclear to us if he's intending to pray to the gods or to his own ancestors or both or neither. to anyone who can help. to anyone who will listen.

and its neither of those sources who answer, at least, not as directly as matai vasa or tala do. its moana's kin, her loved ones, (eventually including the ocean), who answer from the great beyond. he looks them in the eyes and they weep with him. they sing power over moana and the impossible happens.

(salacious handholding occurs)

the stars are put back in maui's eyes, the sun back into his sky.

does this mean...

yes.

his tattoos are still cooler than hers.

even when theyre mad at him. (same, little guy, same.)

bruh.

now kiss

[kayhi808]

First Crush ask.

Feel free to to ignore but this just came into my head and I needed to get it out before I forgot.

We’ve seen how protective our Miss Abby is of Mama and of Papa Bucky, but how would she handle Uncle Steve having a date?

Maybe she’d be scared he would like this new person more and wouldn’t come home. Mama and Bucky would have to try and convince her that’s not going to happen but she’s still unsure so she insists they stay over and she tries to stay awake until he comes home just to make sure.

Then maybe a couple of weeks go by and she finds them hanging out in the living room so she climbs into Uncle Steve’s lap and asks “Is she’s your giwlfwens?”

And lastly, when they do become bf and gf, she says to her Mama something about having more family now cause she has Aunty as well 😩😩

@jvanilly and I were just brainstorming about fixing Steve up with someone. Abby is protective over Uncle Steve but it's different. She doesn't wike some of his dates, but most times she isn't too bothered. She's secure in the spot she holds in his heart. He made them families. He can't take it back. Families are forever Hope you enjoy this.

Autumn is turning the leaves to bright orange, red & yellow on the walk to daycare. Mama is on a business trip with Director Fury for the next 2 days, so Bucky was on Abby duty until he got called away on a mission. Steve said he'd stay with Abby & it wasn't a problem. How hard could it be?

Steve has a grip on her hand as they make their way down the sidewalk, slowing his steps to match hers. "And you knows what?"

For the 15th time this morning, "No, what?"

"Maui, tinks he's so funny, but he's not. I needs to tell Chloe & Mia we can't wikes him. Pu'a is NOT boat snack."

"But what if they run out of food? Maybe they HAVE TO make Pu'a a snack."

Abby dramatically gasps & tugs her hand out of Steve's & stops in the middle of the sidewalk. "Uncle Steve!!" She glares at him & he laughs. "You not funny either. Dey's on a boat! The ocean is sooooooo bigs. They can eat fish!" Steve laughs harder which infuriates Abby. She turns on her heel & stomps her way towards daycare. Steve tries to grab for her hand but she jerks her hand away & keeps it out of his reach, so he ends up just following close behind her.

They get to her classroom & Abby is still in a bad mood. Ms. Grace greets the kids & parents at the door. "Good morning, Abby." She looks up, not expecting to see Steve. "Oh..uh good morning, Mr....Captain Rogers." Her cheeks flush pink as she kneels down to help Abby off with her jacket. She notices the scowl on her face. "Are we feeling ok, Abby?"

"I's mad." She shucks off her jacket, "Tank you, Ms Grace."

Abby goes off to sit with Chloe & Mia, "Hey, where's my goodbye?" Abby gives Steve a scowl & shakes her fist at him which makes him laugh. "I'm sorry. I kind of riled her up this morning."

Grace hides her smile, "I can see that. Where is her mother today?"

"Y/N is on a business trip & Bucky is on a mission. So that leaves Uncle Steve." He looks over at Abby & he sees all 3 little girls giving him the evil eye.

"Wow! You really messed up. She tattled on you." Steve grimaces. "I'll try to smooth things over before you pick her up this afternoon. "

Steve smiles down at the cute teacher, "I"d appreciate it."

******

"Abby, honey, can you put your toys away? Uncle Steve is here for pick up." Grace gets Abby's backpack from the hook along with her jacket.

"Hi's Uncle Steve." Ms. Grace helps Abby on with her jacket, when Steve pulls Pu'a out from his jacket with a sign around it's neck.

"Here, I made Pu'a a sign for you."

Abby takes her stuffie and shows Ms Grace. "What it says, pwease?"

Grace breaks into a smile for Steve, "It says, 'Not boat snack. DO NOT EAT'." Abby gasps & hugs the pig to her chest. Standing, & whispering, "Good job, Captain."

"Tank you, Uncle Steve! I loves it so much!" Abby raises her arms up for him to pick her up. Once settled in his arms, she gives him a peck on his cheek.

"I apologize for this morning. I was not funny."

"No, you wasn't." Squeezing his face between her palms, "But I forgives you, cos you so cutes. Isn't hims cute Ms. Grace?"

Bright blue eyes filled with humor meet hers, "He's got potential." That earned her a cocked eyebrow from the super soldier.

"You no tinks him cutes?" Ms. Grace lifts her shoulder in a delicate shrug. "Wook! He's so handsomes."

"Abs, stop." Trying to angle his face away from Abby.

Abby reaches over to squeeze his bicep, "Show her your muscles. Hims so strongs," giving his arm another squeeze. "I helps him make dis at the gym."

"Wow, did you?" Grace tries to hide a smile.

"Uh-huh! Show Ms. Grace your tummy! Even his tummy gots so much muscles.

Taking Abby's backpack from Ms. Grace, "Ok Abs, that's enough." Grace laughs at how uncomfortable he is. "Say goodbye to Ms Grace. We'll see her in the morning."

"No, waits. Hims runs super fast, like a car! He has fancy bicycle like my Papa. It goes brrrmm brrmm! He's also smart in the brains. He can reads you storybooks." Steve hurries out of the classroom.

"Abigail! Why did you do that?"

"What? Ms. Graces is so nice & pretty. I loves her. You haves to ask her on a dates!"

Steve looks back at the daycare center & sees Grace watching them from the window & that brings a smile to his face.

@waywardhunter95 @wintrsoldrluvr @rebeccapineapple @ordelixx @onceithough @thezombieprostitute @ilovetaquitosmmmm @julvrs @unaxv @s-a-v-a-n-a-34 @winterslove1917 @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @mrsnikstan @hisredheadedgoddess28 @itsteambarnes @otterlycanadian @purplecolordeer @samsgirl93 @buckitostan @littleredwolf @mcucatlady @silas-aeiou @hzdhrtss @florie1 @thecubanator2 @enchantedbarnes @selella @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @cjand10 @pancake-05 @ozwriterchick @crazyunsexycool @baw1066 @nommingonfood

[fickle-fixations]

Chaos, He Politely Knocked (So I Opened the Door)

Pairing: Jake Lockley x Reader

Summary: The reader is in an established relationship with Marc and Steven, and meets Jake for the first time. Set post-canon.

Hi loves!! Oscar Isaac is ruining my life!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Quick note: I don't want to be a tease so before you read any further, know that this is not actual smut. Also the title is from a beautiful song called Fall: War by The Arcadian Wild you should check it out!! the song is about original sin but i am not calling being with Jake a sin heeheehee

Thank you so much to @shitrandom for beta reading!! 🖤 If you like Moana x Maui you should check out their fics!

Word Count: 1456 // Warnings: my poor writing skills, sexually suggestive, consent is slightly ambiguous/not super communicated but everything is consensual // second person POV, feminine pet names used for reader, written as afab reader but no pronouns or specific descriptions of the reader's body.

Suggested listening: Big Mike's - Dijon

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

A soft touch on your arm. A shift in weight on the bed. As you faded into consciousness, you heard the blankets rustle. Your eyes fluttered open.

He was looking down at you, propped up, resting his head on his hand. You blinked a few times and he came into focus. He was so beautiful. They were so beautiful.

“Hi,” you whispered, smiling softly.

The time on the clock behind him showed 4:03, its dim red light was all that lit the room, besides the moonlight that slipped through the gaps in the curtains. 

It was normal for Marc and Steven to have trouble sleeping, but they didn’t usually wake you. You were glad they did this time, though. You wanted to be there for them in every way, in every high and low and twist and turn that life threw at them, and for you, that included staying up with them when the horrors in their head wouldn’t allow them to sleep.

You studied his face for a moment, trying to determine who was fronting. You liked to tell yourself that you could know if you were with Marc or Steven before they even spoke. You never told either of them that it was a skill you were attempting to acquire, partially because you didn’t want them to help you. It was like you were trying to prove to yourself that you loved them enough. That you were good enough for your two gorgeous, intelligent, loving boyfriends.

The way he was looking at you now was unfamiliar. He was stone faced, his jaw clenched, and there was a look in his eyes that seemed part conflicted, and part hungry.

“Hi.” He finally responded, matching your hushed tone. 

There was something different about his voice. 

He fixed his gaze on where his hand rested gently on your arm, running his thumb back and forth across your skin. It bothered you how you still couldn’t read his face.

“Are you doing okay, my love?” you asked, still trying to fight the sleepiness that clung to you.

He didn’t respond. He just shut his eyes so tightly that his eyebrows scrunched together, and shook his head ever so slightly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath. 

You hadn’t even known them for two years, but you knew this wasn’t like them. They were never this indirect. Even when they were struggling, they would usually try to communicate something, so you wouldn’t worry.

“Hey,” you said, reaching out and smoothing your fingers over the creases in his forehead, “Whatever’s going on, you can tell me.”

You felt him lean into your touch, and the tension left his face. He muttered something under his breath. 

When he opened his eyes again, he was still avoiding looking at your face.

“You’re so good for them, querida,” he said, sounding almost pained.

He spoke quietly and his voice was still groggy from sleep. There was an accent to his voice you had never heard before. 

A chill ran up your spine as the realization washed over you suddenly: this wasn’t either of the two men that you knew.

You held your breath, and you tried to push back the questions that were already beginning to flood your mind. You wondered if it was wrong that you felt afraid. 

His fingers had never stopped affectionately brushing along your arm. His eyes finally met yours.

“I can see you, sometimes.” He said it with so much tenderness in his voice, for a split-second you thought that this had to be one of your lovers. A stranger wouldn’t talk to you like that. 

His hand stopped moving. Your arm was warm beneath his touch. A feeling was spreading across your skin from the contact. Not just warmth. Suspense, perhaps. 

He hummed and narrowed his eyes for a moment, like he was searching for the words. 

“Sometimes when Marc or Stephen are here, I’m here too.” He explained.

He looked at you, searching your expression for meaning.

You nodded.

“My name is Jake.”

“Hello Jake,” you replied, trying to mask the hesitation in your voice. 

The way he looked at you, and the way his voice vibrated through your chest had begun to push any fear out of your mind. You told yourself you had to remain on alert. But his eyes-

His gaze slowly swept over your body as he resumed drawing patterns on your skin. Without permission, your body was relaxing under his touch. 

He laid his head back on the pillow to be level with you. He was looking at you like you were the most precious thing on this planet. If he was dangerous, surely he wouldn’t look at you like that, right?

“I feel like I’ve gotten to know you, Y/N” He said, his hand traveling down your arm to loosely hold yours. 

“See, it’s my job to protect them,” he said, “but you- you take care of them in so many ways that I can’t. Thank you for that, querida.” 

He brought your hand up and kissed your knuckles. The warmth had now spread across your entire body, and bloomed from your chest. You had to fight the way that everything about Jake and everything he was making you feel made you want to cling to him - to cling to the body you knew and loved so well. 

“Do they know about you?” you asked.

“No,” he said flatly, “it’s safer that way.”

You realized your hand he had been holding was now toying with the hem of his shirt.

If Jake was Marc and Steven’s protector, and cared so much about them, you felt like you could trust him. That you didn’t have to be afraid. But still, you dared not ask why he was here. The question seemed to be implied.

“I’ve never thought of myself as a selfish man, querida. It- it would probably be safest if I just let you keep thinking I was one of them whenever I’m around.” 

The way his eyes bored into you like you were something to devour sent tingles down your spine.

“But I want to get to know you as myself.” He went on, and brushed a strand of hair away from your eyes. “And I want you to get to know me.”

You took in a shaky breath. You could feel the slick gathering between your legs.

“Would you like that, mi amor?”

He had you frozen. You could feel your heartbeat becoming faster, your breath shaky. All you could do was nod your head yes.

“What do you want to know?” you managed to say, voice hardly above a whisper.

His hand had never left your hair, and was fingering through it like you were already someone adored.

“I want to know what’s going through your head all those times we find you staring off into space.”

He leaned forward ever so slowly, then pressed a kiss to your forehead. You made no effort to push him away.

“I want to know everything that makes you happy, and spend every moment making you smile. Hearing you laugh.”

You closed your eyes as he pressed a kiss to one of your eyelids, then the other.

“I want to know how to read you - I want to know what you’re feeling from just a look.” 

He trailed light kisses down from your temple to your jaw, his warm breath ghosting across your skin as he spoke. Excitement and desire thrummed through your body, and the only thing you could think about now was closing any remaining distance between the two of you. 

His hand had moved from your hair to the small of your back. He didn’t pull you any closer to him but just the light pressure there was so coaxing, making you want to draw yourself farther in, to bring your whole body against his where you already knew you fit like puzzle pieces. 

“I want to know what makes you make the prettiest sounds.”

His lips brushed against the corner of your mouth as he spoke. He was impossibly close, but not close enough. Your heart was beating so fast, you thought it might burst out of your chest. Your fists clenched around the fabric of his shirt just to ground you to something.

“I want to know what makes you scream.”

Any remaining resolve you had came crashing down, and you collided your lips with his. He kissed you hungrily. Possessively. He kissed you with so much need. Your hands found their way to his hair and you gripped him closer, moaning against his mouth, your body relieved to finally be entwined with his, where it belonged.

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I'm sorry if it's a bit ass. I've only ever written steamy stuff maybe like 3 times, and it's been a long time since then too. Usually all that stays in the noggin but this one wanted to get out. I decided to publish it tho bc I have other ideas for a prequel of Jake's POV where he's really just a lonely boy who wants to be known and loved by the only person he's ever loved. Between then and this fic, he gets to a breaking point and decides to I guess seduce the reader to get her on board with even just the idea of knowing him. I'm not reducing him to just the sexy alter I promise. He is my favorite boy and I have all these sad Frank Sinatra songs I associate with him.

Also I do recognize this could be considered cheating but we're gonna ignore those implications for now maybe forever. hopefully Marc and Steven would understand that anyone who shares a body and headspace with them has to be equally irresistible

[fallen-gravity]

just got home from seeing moana 2! I thought it was really good, though not even remotely comparable to the first movie.

Moana and Maui you will always be my beloveds, I'm happier than anyone can imagine that they kept their dynamic platonic even though they could've gone in a different direction if they wanted to.

some pretty big spoilers under the readmore, just want to scream somewhere lol

y'all Maui still being the incredibly sarcastic and stoic "i'm great nothing bothers me ever" but crumbling to pieces every time something involved Moana absolutely destroyed my soul, I was screaming my head off in an empty theater at I could pull up millions of islands but if you're not there to land on them...

and god. god. GOD. Maui getting struck down by Nalo and losing his tattoos and hook and his first instinct being to dive into the water to rescue Moana? holy shit. The symbolism? Maui, being tossed into the sea with nothing, just as his mother did to him, diving right back in to save Moana, the person he gives sole cerdit to for the reason he feels like himself again. He has nothing, but it doesn't even mattter.

When Moana was dying in his arms and her ancestors showed up to answer the call of Maui's song there was a brief moment where I thought they were going to take her away and she'd be standing in front of him as a ghost and that I was gonna have to prepare myself for that goodbye

but AUGHHHHHH, her ancestors and her grandmother being the ones to decide that she earned demi-godhood rather than one of the gods themselves took me the fuck out. I'm a mess, don't look at me, if Maui is the demigod of the wind and sea that must make her the demigodddess of bringing others together. i'm unwell. i'm sick to my stomach. I can't believe all of those fics we wrote as overdramatic aus back in 2018 were right. I was screaming my head off. [old friend i'm not gonna tag], your fic in particular came to mind. i hope you're still out there. I hope you see the similarities too. holy shit. i'm gonna throw up.

CAN I GET A CHEE-HOO, ough, welcome back warrior face, i'm so happy they were able to rework and rewrite that song into the sequel, I love moana and maui's dynamic so fucking much and I feel like this song is a great representation of that!!! they're each other's biggest hypemen fr. no moping around!!! hero time!!!! you're the best!!! you're the greatest!!!

and all those instances at the start of the movie where they kept thinking they were seeing each other and went to try and hug empty air. god. maui you gd idiot, you're lucky you went back to Motunui with everyone at the end of the movie or i would've strangled you.

good shit!!! I'm probably gonna end up seeing it at least one more time in theaters before it's inevitably pushed to D+. I get and agree that it won't ever live up to the first one, but as someone who lived around the fandom for ages and read dozens upon dozens of fics that this reminded me of, I had a great time <3 <3

[cartoonjessie]

I was kinda waiting for maui to give moana a hug when she was revived but idk i think it would've xome off a different way without meaning to

I wouldn't have minded a hug but simultaneously I was not really thinking about that or expecting it in that moment.

I think the entire scene was very beautiful as it was.

Especially this shot:

dear lord, it's a freaking michelangelo.

Which brings me to another pet peeve of mine which is people saying "it should have been a show not a movie!" - no - I will fight you - this should have been a movie, not a show! (Not saying the pacing or movie was perfect, but this adventure and these big emotions deserved the big screen, not my telly screen with an audience of primarily 6 year olds! The CEO that decided it was worthy of the big screen was right about that, but should have granted the studios more time to make it happen. But hey, we're talking about Bob Iger, he'd rather run his franchises into the ground than give his creatives time. (still bitter about Rise of Skywalker, but I digress))

Anyways, back to a hug... I guess that if I had expected a hug, it would have been after this:

That's where I would have inserted it. But instead we get the moment Moana gets her oar and then the honi between Tala and Moana.

And then there is this other gorgeous shot:

Now if I was a creative looking for a moment to insert some romance, yeah that's where I would have put it haha. Such a beautiful and magical shot. However, I do not mind that Maui and Moana are just besties, and am very fond of their relationship as it is in canon. For all the romance stuff I got fanfiction and the wonderful fanarts of the rest of the fandom. That's plenty to me.

(If anyone wants to send me Moana related asks or see some screencaps or something, send me an ask!)

[blooming-violets]

Hurt/Comfort Bingo Card - Dragging themselves along the ground

Bring Your Kids to Work Day

[tasm!peter x fem!reader]

TW: effects of fire and smoke inhalation, descriptions of a dead body, injury of a child, it's a fic about being trapped in a burning building with a child so you'll be reading grim descriptions of that

A/N: I started this bingo card almost exactly one year ago and I've only finished five fics from it since. Slow and steady, baby!

Bring Your Kids To Work Day. Of course, it would happen today, of all days. 

Your office building was nothing special. Four stories and a basement. It paled in comparison to the surrounding towering skyscrapers. The newspaper company you worked for was located on the top floor. A local, independent newspaper that tried to focus on uncovering the truths the Daily Bugle would fabricate. Your company was barely staying afloat as it were. People enjoyed the gossip more than the truth. The struggling business thought today would be a wonderful time to allow their children to come and witness what their parents did each day. There were only about twenty employees total and, over half of you didn’t have children, so there weren’t that many kids in attendance. It was adorable at first. You got to meet your coworkers' kids and even got to snuggle with a five month old. You thought about texting Peter that you were coming down with a terrible case of baby fever but chose to wait until you saw him in person to spring the news on him. 

It was supposed to be a good day. 

Until it wasn’t.

“Hey,” your desk mate, Jenny, tapped you on the shoulder. She had her two twins in tow, Ollie and Ellie, the cutest set of four year olds you think you’d ever witnessed. “Would you mind watching these two while I run down to my car? I left my purse there. I’m parked in the garage just across the street. I shouldn’t be too long. It will take me ten times longer to drag them along with me.” 

You beamed, more than happy to oblige and help fuel your growing need for your own kids, “I would love to!” You turned your attention to the twins and gave them a wink. “I even have a secret stash of lollipops hidden in my desk. I was hoping to find someone to share them with.” 

Both their eyes lit up at the prospect of the sugary treats. 

Ellie squealed, “You can share with us! We’re good at sharing! Right, Ollie?” She elbowed her brother and he happily nodded in agreement. 

Jenny clasped her hands together in thanks, “You’re a lifesaver. I’ll be right back. You two be on your best behavior.” She ruffled the tops of their blonde heads before turning to hurry out of the office. 

You pulled open your desk drawer to show them the pile of lollipops hidden in there. Your inherent sweet tooth was worth any potential cavities. The sugar helped you get through your days of uncertainty, never knowing if the paper would go under or not. You rolled your chair out of the way to let the kids grab what flavor they wanted. 

Soon, the three of you stood around, lollipops sticking out of your mouths, while you waited for their mother to return. 

“Did you guys have fun today?” You asked. 

The twins both hopped into your chair, squished side by side, while you slowly spun them around. 

Ellie nodded, “Yeah. Mommy let us watch Moana on her phone.” 

That wasn’t exactly the answer you were looking for but a room full of introverted writers and stacks of newspapers everywhere wasn’t going to be the most fun for a young child. 

“I love Moana,” you sighed happily. “Maybe I’ll watch that when I go home tonight.” 

“I like Maui,” Ellie replied. “He’s funny. Will your mommy let you watch it on her phone?” 

You were starting to get the sense that Ellie was the dominant one of the twins. Ollie mostly grinned up at you, staying silent, with big, round eyes and cherry red staining his lips from the lollipop. He was adorable and you wanted nothing more than to eat him up. You really needed a baby of your own…

“I don’t live with my mom anymore,” you answered.

“You live alone?” She gasped, looking sad for your wellbeing, as if living alone was the worst thing her little mind could ever think of.  

You laughed, “No. I live with my boyfriend.”

Ellie made a long “ooooo” sound, followed by a fit of giggles, “A boyfriend! Is he handsome? Is he a prince?” 

You couldn’t help but chuckle to yourself, knowing Peter would get a kick out of this conversation, “Yes, I think he is very handsome and, no, he’s not a prince. Not in the royal sense, at least.” 

“I think Aladdin is handsome. I’m going to marry him,” Ellie paused to listen to what Ollie was now whispering in her ear. A mischievous grin spread across her face. “Ollie says he’s going to marry you when he grows up!” 

They both burst into high pitched giggles. 

“He thinks you’re pretty like Moana,” Ellie laughed. 

“I would be honored to marry Ollie,” you smirked, growing fonder of these two the more time you spent with them. Jenny had tried to get you to babysit for them before. You think it might be time to accept that offer. Peter and you could play house for a night. “I think he’s as sweet as a lollipop.” 

Ollie’s shoulders rose up to his ears as he shrunk into himself with a bashful smile, “I’m going to be Spider-Man when I turn 5. The real one. Not a pretend one.” His voice was hardly above a whisper and you had to lean forward to catch what he was saying. 

“You mean I’ll get to marry Spider-Man?” You widen your eyes in feign shock. Peter would absolutely love this conversation. You knew he would be just as smitten as you. “That sounds like a dream come true.” 

Ellie nudged his shoulder with hers, “He always says he loves Spider-Man because we saw him in real life one time. He swung above us when we were driving home from preschool. He waved at Ollie. It was so cool. We never saw a real live superhero before that. Mommy made us Spidey masks. I can tell her to make you one, too. Then we can all match.” 

“That sounds amazing. I think Ollie would make a wonderful Spider-Man some day.” 

“Are you guys talking about Spidey?” Harrison, the office college intern, strode up behind you with a coffee mug in hand. “He saved me one time. Some bad guys shoved me into an alley with guns to try and mug me. They were going to shoot me if I didn’t give them everything in my pockets.”

You shot him a death glare for talking about gun violence in front of the young children but he ignored you. He could tell he had them hooked with his story and was enjoying their attention. You rolled your eyes at the young man. You’d heard this tale about a hundred times before. He brought it up whenever he could. He finally had new and excited ears to listen to him. 

“Were you scared?” Ollie asked, his eyes wide . “I never sawed a real gun before.” 

“Yeah, I was so scared, but then something amazing happened.” Harrison knelt down to better hold their attention. “Spider-Man jumped down behind the bad guys. He was as silent as a cat. The bad guys didn’t even know he was there until he started talking.” 

“What did he say?” Ellie whispered, leaning in closer to catch every word. 

“He said, ‘Hey, assho- uh, I mean- hey, buttheads! You mind if I join in the fun?’ and then he started shooting his webs at them until they were all tangled up. He hung them off a street light like some human pinatas for the police to get. Then he came back with my wallet and phone in hand, tossed them over to me, patted me on the top of my head, and told me to enjoy my night.” Harrison ended his story with a satisfied sigh. 

You had asked Peter about the validity of the interns story once. He claimed he couldn’t remember the exact insistence but that it sounded like something he would do. Then he started bragging about how shocked Harrison would be if he knew you were sleeping with the “world famous” Spider-Man. That was when you had shut him up with a kiss before his boasting became too much. 

“I gotta go potty,” Ollie huffed, like it was such a shame to leave a conversation when they were discussing superheroes. You would have to get Peter to meet the kids some day in his suit. They would lose their minds. Actually, you should have him meet Harrison some time too, just to watch the young man fangirl. 

“It’s down the hall,” You pointed him in the right direction. There was only a single bathroom on the floor that the entire office had to share. 

Ollie jumped off the chair and made his way to the bathroom, pausing at the door to look over his shoulder at you. 

“That’s the one!” You called to him. “You found it! Yell if you need any help.”

He smiled and disappeared inside. 

“Did you get Spidey’s autograph?” Ellie asked Harison. 

He shook his head, “Sorry, kiddo. Not that time. I was too shaken up. If I ever meet him again, I’ll make sure to snag one for ya.” 

He tipped an invisible hat to the little girl and made his way back to his desk. Being the youngest in the office, he got stuck with the one directly next to the bathroom, in the spot no one else wanted. You watched him plop down into his rickety wooden chair and smile happily to himself. He was a good kid. Talented, with a lot of potential to be a future investigator and reporter. 

You finished your lollipop and tossed the stick in the trash, “What else did you like doing while you were here besides watching Moana and talking about Spider-Man?” 

Ellie shrugged, “Mommy let us color on some newspapers. I drew a cat farting out rainbows. We wanted to make a fort out of all the stacks of papers but she said it was too dangerous and might fall. She didn’t want us to get crushed. Can we look out the window to see if we can see her? I want to wave to her.” 

“Sure. Come on,” You took her tiny hand and helped her hop down from the chair. 

The best features of the old building were its large windows. They ran from the floor to the ceiling and had a beautiful arch at the top. They were the kind of windows you could happily stare out of for hours. 

Ellie pressed her nose up against the pane, her breath fogging up the glass, “I don’t see her yet.” 

You looked down, searching the sidewalks for Jenny, and shook your head, “Me either. I’m sure she’ll be back any moment. Keep an eye out for her.”

Your voice trailed off as something caught your attention. Two people were sprinting down the street, a look of sheer terror plastered on their face. Even from four floors up you could easily see how scared they were. The hairs on the back of your neck suddenly sprung to life as you watched more people round the corner. All running. All terrified. You couldn’t hear the screams behind the thick glass but you could see the way their faces contorted. 

They were screaming for their lives. 

You felt a strange disconnect between the people on the ground and yourself. Like watching a movie inside of a dream. They felt like they were in a different reality from your own. Behind the crowd appeared a giant ball of moving fire. It took a few seconds for your brain to process what you were seeing. The closer it got, the more you realized it wasn’t just fire. It was a man encased in the flames. At first you thought maybe he was on fire but then you realized he was the fire. He was controlling it and bending it to his will. He was what the people were running from. He was the danger they feared. 

He tossed fistfulls of balled up flames towards the running people and haphazardly shot them off into the windows of every building he passed. He was creating a flaming destruction in his wake. A villain who wanted to watch the city burn. 

And your building was next in line. 

Your hand immediately went to grab onto the back of Ellie’s shirt as your own reality finally caught up to crash with the people below. You dragged her down onto the floor just in time for the big window to explode into shards of flying glass and rain down over the tops of your heads as a ball of fire burst to life against the back wall. The wood paneling went up in flames in a matter of seconds. People were screaming as chaos broke out. They were grabbing their children and sprinting towards the nearest exit. Loose pieces of newspaper floated down around you, some igniting on fire mid flight, and sizzling to soot before they hit the ground. Glass fell from your hair to trickle down under your collar and rolled down your back as you pushed yourself onto your elbows. Ellie was whimpering beside you, tears filling her eyes, and she reached a shaky hand out to hold onto yours. You gripped it tightly, noting that she had a small, bloody cut across her cheek from where the glass hit her. 

“It’s okay,” you shouted to her. The wailing sounds of the fire alarm bursting to life deafened your words. You weren’t even sure Ellie could hear you but you were speaking more for yourself anyway. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We have to get up quickly and get out of here.” 

Tears brimmed in her eyes and you read her lips form the words, “You’re bleeding…” She pointed a fearful finger near your forehead. 

You reached up and felt a large, jagged piece of glass sticking out from over your eyebrow. You gripped onto the shard and pulled it from your skin. A rush of warm blood waterfalled down over your cheek, blurring into your eyes. You didn’t feel any pain. 

“We have to get up,” you shouted to her again. 

Ellie grabbed onto your hand as you both scrambled to your feet. 

An old, wooden building and a floor covered in newspapers were no match for the ravenous fire. It was rapidly engulfing everything it could devour. In the short amount of time you spent on the ground, half your office was gone. Between the blinding, red hot glow of the flames and the white flashing lights of the fire alarm, mixed with the deafening sounds, you were overwhelmed and disoriented. 

“Stairs…” You mumbled to yourself, trying to focus your panicked thoughts. “We have to get to the stairs.” 

Thick black smoke was already starting to fill the small space. Whatever limited vision you had seconds ago was quickly dissipating. You caught a glimpse of your boss ushering out the last few remaining employees out of the door. His arm motioned for you before a wall of smoke blocked him from view. At least you had the right direction. 

You tried your best to duck down low as you dragged Ellie behind you, keeping a death grip on her tiny hand, as you forged towards the direction of the stairs. She kept planting her heels into the ground and tugging against you. She was screaming something that couldn’t be heard over the wailing alarm. 

You yanked her by the arm up to your side and wrapped her in a tight embrace, “Stop fighting me! It’s okay! I’m going to get us out!” 

“Ollie!” She cried. “We have to get Ollie!” 

Your heart dropped into your stomach. She was right. 

Ollie was still in the bathroom. 

Your eyes scanned the room. You couldn’t see more than two feet in front of you. The smoke was starting to irritate your eyes. They burned and watered, the tears falling freely down your cheeks. 

You scooped Ellie up into your arms and sprinted as fast as you could towards the exit. Your thigh crashed into the corner of a flaming desk, sending your body jerking in the opposite direction, but you ignored the sharp pain and did your best to blindly correct your course. If you could just pass Ellie off to your boss then at least you wouldn’t have to worry about her safety while you tried to find Ollie. 

You stumbled to the exit, nearly slamming into the wall, only to find your boss already gone. You tried to pull open the door but reeled back when you felt white hot, searing pain burn into your palm. You couldn't hold back the scream of shock that burst out of you. The metal handle was impossible to hold onto with your bare skin. Thinking fast, you tried to wrap the bottom of your shirt around the handle to pull open the door. The pain still burned through the thin cotton but you managed to open it just enough to stick your foot through. You kicked the door open the rest of the way and shoved Ellie into the stairwell.

“Go down the stairs and out the door!” You shouted at her. “I’ll be right back!” 

The stairwell was pitch black apart from the flashing white light of the fire alarm. It made it difficult for your eyes to gain their bearings, making you feel off balance, like walking through a funhouse at a carnival. Ellie stood frozen in place. Her entire body was shaking with fear. Black soot was staining her skin. Her eyes were watering, either from crying or the smoke, as they illuminated with each flash of the light. Her pant leg was soaked through with urine pooling by her feet. At some point she had lost a shoe. You knew she was too petrified to move. 

“Ellie, go!” You tried to give her a small shove, knowing how important timing was to get to safety, but she didn’t budge.  

“Ollie’s scared!” She cried. “He’s scared. We have to get him. Don’t leave us! I want mommy. I want mommy. Where’s my mommy?” 

There was no time to think. No time to argue with her. No time to convince her. You were afraid that if you left her there, she wouldn’t move, or get lost, or trapped. You knew children’s instincts in fires were often to hide instead of run. You didn’t trust this 4 year old to make it out on her own. She would get lost in the crowds below. Swept away in a sea of people. You couldn’t leave her. The risk was too high. She had to come with you. 

You lunged for her hand, forcing the two of you down to your knees to army crawl under the smoke. It was getting harder to even see your two hands in front of your face. Sweat dripped down your back. Your lungs were starting to ache as they filled with toxic gas. Both you and Ellie kept coughing but you dragged her along beside you, refusing to let her out of your grasp. You knew if you let go, you wouldn’t be able to find her again. 

The wooden floors were heating up. Fire raged above you. It was on the ceiling now. Eating everything in its path. You prayed that Ollie was still inside the bathroom and that he was unharmed. You couldn’t see, struggled to breath, and your body was reaching unhealthy temperatures. 

Down the hall. 

That’s all you had to get to. Down the hall and first door on the right. 

A charred, wooden beam fell from the ceiling and landed directly against your right arm. The flames licked at your exposed skin as the wood splintered and cracked. You flinched away from the pain, nearly crawling on top of Ellie to get away from the heat. Fire was on nearly every side of you now. The left, the right, and above all glowed orange in the darkness. Orange every way you looked. It seared your retinas until all you could see was the blinding light. The heat was forcing you down as low as your body could manage, pressed tightly against the floor. 

You had no idea where in the office you were now. You didn’t know if you had traveled one foot or twenty. You just kept inching forward. You knew if you reached the back wall, you would have gone too far. 

This was a mistake. You should have gotten Ellie out first. You were leading her straight to her death. The flames would eat you both alive. 

The noise all faded into a constant loud roaring in your ears until it dulled into nothing like your ears decided to stop working. Instead, you felt the rumbling noise in your chest. Your brain was vibrating in your skull. Smoke blocked out the orange the further you crawled into the fire. It snuffed out everything in its wake. All you could see was black and all you could hear was your own blood pounding in your ears. It was like being in a terrible nightmare. If you closed your eyes, maybe you would wake up somewhere else. You felt like you were floating. Drifting. It was getting hard to breathe. You’d forgotten what fresh air felt like. Ellie was getting slower, too. You were having to drag her more. She was smaller than you. She would die first, you thought. 

A canary in the coal mine. 

You had to get to Ollie. And then what? You could hardly drag Ellie this far. There was no way you would be able to pull along two terrified children all the way back to the exit. There was no guarantee it would even still be accessible. This side of the building had no fire escapes. You’d get to the bathroom and then you’d be stuck. The three of you would be trapped inside. The fire was spreading too fast. You weren’t able to outrun it. 

Your hands bumped into something on the floor. The bump was enough to recenter your attention. You felt around with your free hand wondering if you had gone too far and hit the back wall. You fumbled around you with touch being your only working sense. This was no wall. It was something soft. Fleshy. Your hand found fingers. You traced up their arm and over their shoulder until you found a face. You dragged your body closer and tried to see through blurry, smoke filled eyes who it was. It was only when you were centimeters from their face, your noses touching, that you could make out any features. 

Harrison was staring back up at you. His bright blue eyes were unblinking. His face still. You shook his shoulder but his eyes showed no signs of life. Half of his face was bright red and outlined in charred black from where the fire had devoured his flesh. It had eaten him nearly down the skull. There was no breath in his lungs. No life in his eyes. He was gone. 

Dead. 

He had just turned 20 last month. 

Harrison’s desk was right next to the bathroom. 

That was the only thought you allowed yourself to think. Your emotions had disappeared along with your hearing. Your mind was set on a single track. 

Get to the bathroom. 

That was it. 

That was the goal. 

You crawled over Harrison’s body. Your knees sunk into his chest, feeling the crack of his ribs underneath you, as you pushed your weight off him to propel yourself forward. Ellie was like a dead weight, a ball and chain, attached to your arm that you had to drag along with you. Her head was lolling limply back and forth as you pulled her over the body after you. She wasn’t moving on her own anymore. Maybe she was dead, too. Maybe you were dragging the corpse of a child around. You didn’t know. You didn’t care. You just had to get the two of you to the bathroom. Dead or alive.

You used your hand to feel along the wall for the bathroom door. The old wallpaper bubbled under your skin. A part of your brain was telling you that what you were touching was extremely hot and burning your flesh but, since you no longer felt anything, you didn’t stop until your fingers brushed over a hinge. 

You scrambled around for the handle, gripping it tightly, and yanked open the door. Heavy black smoke immediately flooded into the tiny room. You quickly pulled Ellie and you onto the tiled floor and slammed the door closed with your foot. You lay staring up at the white ceiling being clouded with rising smoke. Your lungs sucked in the cleaner air. The fire hadn’t touched this room yet. Besides the smoke that you let in when you opened the door, it was relatively untouched. 

An oasis amongst the desert sands. 

You slowly let your eyes wander into the corner where Ollie sat huddled. His legs were pulled tight against his chest and his arms were clinging onto them. He stared at you with wide eyes, glancing tearfully between your soot covered face and his motionless sister. 

A surprised laugh fell from your lips which quickly turned into another coughing fit. You rolled onto your side, hacking up black saliva over the white floor. 

“You’re alive,” you croaked out to the scared little boy. 

You forced yourself to sit up. Wads of wet paper towels were lined up on the ground. You realized Ollie had stuffed them under the door to stop the smoke. Smart kid. They have been pushed to the side when you opened the door. You quickly bent down to shove them back into the cracks, keeping the smoke at bay, and then turned to find Ellie. 

She looked so small face down on the floor. Her pink t-shirt and blonde hair were now completely black. You rolled her onto her back in a daze. It was hard to think. Hard to move. You felt like your limbs were full of wet cement. You stumbled onto your feet, your head spinning with a pounding headache, and grabbed some brown paper towels from the dispenser. You tried to run them under the sink but the faucet wasn’t working so you dunked them into the toilet water instead. Then you turned to Ellie and began wiping the soot from her mouth and her blocked nostrils. Her chest rose with short, labored breaths. Her eyes were caked close from the greasy smoke residue so you tried your best to wipe them clean too. She was still alive but she wouldn’t be for much longer if she didn’t get out of here. There was no way you’d be able to carry her body back through those horrors with Ollie in tow. You were too weak. Too sick. The three of you were trapped. This would be your fiery coffin. 

“Spider-Man will save us.” 

Ollie’s tiny whisper hardly reached your broken ears. You gazed through half closed lids over your shoulder to look at the boy. You were starting to forget who he was or what his name was. His words felt foreign to you. All your thoughts were moving at a sluggish pace. 

Spider-Man. 

Save us. 

Yes…yes…Peter. 

You fumbled to grab your phone out of your pocket. Of course, Peter would save you. There was still hope. 

The black grime coating your fingers wouldn’t let you use the touch screen and you let out a frustrated cry.

“Siri!” You whined, the desperation heavy in your tone. “Call Peter Parker.” 

“Calling Peter Parker,” her pleasant, robotic tones echoed back to you. It was a stark contrast to the nightmare you were currently living through. 

You sunk against the wall, slumping into yourself, feeling like the world was spinning. Peter would know about the man with the fire. He would know he was on your street. He would know it was your building. He would have been searching for you right now. You’d just have to stay awake long enough for him to find you.

It rang twice before his panicked voice answered, “Where are you? Tell me you're safe.” He sounded breathless and far away to you, like listening to an echo bouncing off an underpass. Your body was starting to shut down. 

“Bathroom. Trapped.” It was all you could say before what little vision you had left started to fade. You didn't have much time left. The oxygen in the room was running out. 

A small hand wrapped over your wrist as the boy snuggled up to your side. 

Ollie. His name was Ollie. 

Ollie and Ellie. The cutest set of twins you had ever seen. 

It was supposed to be a good day. 

“Spider-Man is on the phone,” you mumbled to the frightened child. “Talk to him. He’ll keep…keep…keep you safe…he’ll find you…” 

Ollie picked up the phone. He was speaking into it but you couldn’t make out anything he was saying. You were floating away to wherever Ellie’s mind was currently being held. Someplace away from here. Away from the flames. Someplace without smoke. Somewhere you could breathe again. 

You were going to close your eyes. Just for a minute…one, little, short minute…

A crashing rumble of bricks being smashed startled you back to life. You tried to take in what was happening but your brain was stuck in a haze. One of your hands was clutched onto the front of Ellie’s shirt and the other was holding onto Ollie. Someone else was in the room with you. It was smokier than it had been when you had closed your eyes. Time had passed, that much you knew, though you were unsure how much. Something was breaking a wall. Bricks were flying. It was filling the room with white smoke to compete with the black and blocking out whatever sunlight was attempting to push through the holes being created. 

“It’s okay,” Ollie spoke into your ear as he curled up next to your side, noticing that you were awake again. “Spider-Man is here. He’s saving us just like you said.” 

Peter. 

Your sweet, beautiful Peter. You had no idea when he got here or how but he was here and he was breaking apart the side of the building with his bare hands so they could escape. 

You tried to focus your attention on Ellie. Her eyes were open now and she was curled onto her side. She was weak but somehow she was still alive.

The masked face of Spider-Man appeared in your line of sight. His hands were on either side of your cheeks as he cradled your face in his palms. 

“Stay with me. Don’t you drift off again. I’m getting you out of here.” 

There was a steadfast determination in his voice. Many months ago he once told you that he refused to ever let you die. You had laughed at him then, telling him that was impossible, not even Peter Parker could control death. He had told you it didn’t matter. He would fight Death himself with nothing but his two fists if it meant getting to hold onto you for another day. 

He had meant it then and he was proving it now. 

“Get the kids first,” you croaked. “Get Ellie to an ambulance.” 

“I can hold all of you at the same time!” He bent down to scoop Ellie into his arms. She offered no resistance but was too weak to hold onto him herself. Her head flopped against his shoulder and her eyes closed. Ollie leapt up into his other arm and clung tightly around his neck. 

He couldn’t hold all of you and manage his webs at the same time. He was lying to himself and to you. 

“Can you get on my back?” He tried to fight the reality he was being faced with. He didn’t want to leave you behind but you both knew the children needed to be evacuated first. As stubborn as he was, not even Peter would choose you over them. Children came first. Always. That was the life and sacrifice of a hero. 

“Peter,” you ordered, forcing what little energy you had into your words. “Take the kids. Hurry. You’re wasting time.” 

The fire was at the door. You could feel its heat on your back as you leaned against the wall. The smoke was pushing through the cracks. The wet paper towels had long since failed their duty at keeping it at bay. Time was slipping through your fingers.  

“I’ll be right back!” He shouted. “Stay alive or I’m going to kill you.” 

Then he was gone. 

The smoke was becoming too much. The heat was getting too strong. It forced you to drag yourself across the floor towards the hole in the wall. You let your head hang outside, gulping at the fresh air as the black smoke rose above you. The smell of singed, burning hair hit your nose. You could see the ends sizzling orange from your peripheral vision. You were starting to feel pain again as some of your senses slowly returned. You looked down at the pavement four stories below you. It was getting too hot to bear. Your skin was screaming. A part of you wanted to keep dragging your body into the fresh air even if it meant you’d fall. For that one second of falling, you’d be free from the oppressive heat. Behind you meant death. In front of you meant death. 

All that you had left was Peter. 

At least the kids were out. If you were able to accomplish anything today, it was that. 

Even if Peter did most of the work. You were able to start what he could finish. 

Your lids felt heavy. Your breath was weezing. Your chest ached and your right fist was clenched close from the pain. The skin on your palm was black and peeling from where you had gripped onto the burning door handle. You wanted it all to be over. 

The pavement never looked so enticing. 

It was supposed to be a good day. 

You dragged yourself further out the hole so your entire chest was now hanging over the edge. Your body was craving the clean air. It desperately wanted to escape the heat. You pulled yourself a little further. Inch by inch. Flirting with the idea of death. 

“Oh, no you don’t!” 

The scruff of your shirt was balled into a fist as you were lifted upright into the safety of Peter’s arms. You were swinging through the air. The wind in your face never felt so delicious as it slid down your shriveled lungs. He was holding you tightly to his chest and using one arm to swing you away from the burning building. 

Tears sprung into your irritated, red eyes. 

You were out. Free from the fire. Free from the smoke. Alive. 

“I got you, baby,” he chirped against your ear. “I got you. I’m not letting you go anywhere I can’t follow.” 

He landed softly on a rooftop a few blocks from the chaos. There were people who still needed his help. A villain to be fought. Damage control be done. 

But he didn’t care about any of that. 

Peter placed you delicately onto your bottom on the roof and he knelt down in front of you, tugging off his mask to get a proper look. 

“I’m going to bring you straight to the hospital but I need to see you first,” he whispered. “I just need to look at you…make sure you’re still here with me.” 

He slipped his hands free from his gloves to push back your singed hair from your face. He grabbed his mask to carefully wipe away some of the soot from your eyes. 

“You look like you clawed your way straight outta hell,” he smiled down at you but his eyes held his real feelings of worry behind them. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. You both knew how close to losing you he had come today. 

You cracked a half hearted smile of your own, “I think I did.” Your voice was unrecognizable to your own ears and a constant, high pitched shrieking sound kept ringing in your head. 

“You’re okay,” he asked. 

You weren’t sure if it was meant as a question for you to answer or a statement he was speaking to help ease his anxious heart. 

“I’m okay,” you replied. “I’m alive, at least.” 

The further away you got from the fire, the more pain you started to feel. It wasn’t just your hand that was hurting now, the pain was shooting all the way down your back, and your right arm felt stiff and unable to move.

“I told you I wouldn’t ever let you die. That’s not allowed. We’re going to die together, hand in hand, snuggled up in bed like The Notebook.” Peter leaned his forehead against your own and took a deep breath. 

“Okay,” you mumbled, lost in the moment of softness, until the thought of Ellie and Ollie crashed to the surface. You gasped and jerked away, horror etched onto your face. “The twins!” 

He tugged you to him, kissing your temple, “They’re safe. I send them off in an ambulance. I think the little boy will be fine. The girl looked like she was suffering from serious smoke inhalation. I had to give her CPR when I showed up. She wasn’t breathing. I got her to wake up. She’ll be seen right away. Speaking of which-” He stood back up, pulling his gloves and mask back on. “The hospital is exactly where we need to get you.” 

Peter scooped you back into his arms and hopped onto the ledge of the roof, “You ready?” 

“I’m ready.” 

[synergysilhouette]

Saw "Moana 2" and...(Review with Spoilers)

In retrospect, I'm not surprised that Disney's highest-grossing Disney princess movie (not adjusted for inflation and Anna and Elsa aren't part of the Disney princess line) got a sequel. That said, given the track record Disney has had lately since "Strange World," I'm also not surprised with the decline in quality. So here's my thoughts on it in 3 points.

The music is...different--Thankfully, Disney got the same people to do the score, but when the film was envisioned as a TV show, they decided not to approach Lin-Manuel Miranda (or maybe he was busy) and instead approached Barlow and Bear for the music. Now to be fair, the soundtrack is NOT bad, but it's not as good, either; Matangi's song feels very showtune-y rather than an epic song set in the Pacific Islands, and every song except Moana's feels like a downgrade. Granted, I do blame this on the transition probably not giving them as much time to grow and change the songs, but I still find it to be disappointing. I think the songwriters could've been better suited for an original film and Disney get LMM back the moment they decided to make a sequel film.

2. The new characters aren't anything special--First off, Simea doesn't do anything to impact the plot in a way another character couldn't. When you give the main character a sibling in a sequel, you expect them to have an impact. Simea's goal was likely to show the bigger stakes Moana could face and all the leaves behind, but the first film was also life or death for her and her people, and her parents could still serve as what she leaves behind, especially since they're older and Moana takes on new responsibilities. Moni as a storyteller seems like he should be a source of encouragement and remind Moana of her grandmother, instead of a fanboy. Plus why he reveres Maui despite him almost destroying the world would be interesting to explore. Loto being the science-y girl in a world with clear fantasy elements would be interesting to explore, especially since she doesn't seem offended or in denial of it. Kele is supposed to be the farmer, but visually, we don't see how that comes into play that much. Moana pretty much does most of the work. Matangi is also just a servant to the main antagonist Nalo, but he isn't interesting or symbolic like Te Ka, and Matangi is a weird mix of villain and helper. I'd have rathered she was a villain akin to Eris from "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" and was simply outwitted by Moana. Her small role and message of getting lost felt underutilized. And it's SAD that the Kakamora feels more interesting than the rest of Moana's crew. The wayfinders at the end of the film and in the art book looked much more interesting, and I'd have enjoyed them filling the roles Kele, Moni, and Loto had. On the bright side, Moana as a character wasn't ruined, even if the film didn't do any favors for her.

3. There's no real message and the plot is very boring--The film continues on the message of the restoration of cultural identity, but nothing the characters experience really show a conflict that threatens that. In the first film, sailing and wayfinding is forbidden due to Te Ka's influence causing the ocean to be tempestuous. As such, they lost a big part of their culture. Maybe the film could've focused on Nalo (or Matangi) venturing out to destroy Moana rather than her coming to him due to her possibly being the hero to unite the people across the Pacific. They'd manipulate the humans and cause rifts between the people of Motunui. It'd be more domestic, but perhaps have Moana going to different islands, meeting other wayfinders, and trying to weed out Nalo's deception could work. This is all assuming you wanted a strict villain over a trickster deity or a more nuanced antagonist. And side note, but the modern dialogue (ie butt dialing, hair flip, and fanfic were so cringey to me).

Overall, the film is...fine. I need to hear about what was going on during production, because I can't blame it all on "it was gonna be a tv show first." It wasn't as good as the first film, nor would it win a "battle of the sequels" with "Frozen 2," but it's better than "Wish," and while that's a low bar, it's something I could be happy with for a brief period. 5/10

(And I'll probably add this film to my "alternate take on the Disney revival era" post--but I'd like to hear a little bit more about the production for the film before I do.)

[kingmagnificoofrosas]

Further proof of Our King's anxiety and trauma: His body language. He has a habit of putting his hands behind his back. It's a self-soothing and self-preservation gesture. But then when he's more relaxed, he doesn't do that.

Case in point: Look when he meets Asha. At first you don't see his hands. They're behind his back. When he does bring a hand out briefly, it goes behind his back again. But when he warms up to her, his hands come out.

The same goes with when he's addressing his people about the magic. His hands are behind his back, and they stay there unless he brings one hand out to do something and then he puts it right back. He's uncomfortable, he's guarded and it shows.

Which is why his people should have known that something was VERY wrong when he came out on stage possessed. His body language was VERY different. He was stumbling around drunk, but his hands were both visible. His body language had drastically changed because he was essentially inebriated on dark magic. That should have been a BIG clue in that something was WRONG, not that the king was suddenly evil.

YES! THIS! 🤌🏼

I've been stressing from the beginning about this! While hands loosly clasped in the back can be a sign of confidence and relaxtion, Magnifico's way of hiding his arms is different most of the time.

Now, I have always been good at reading people but then I studied psychology for a while and trauma conditions, the mental impact it has and how it shows.

Magnifico oozed trauma the very first minute I saw him. And when he mentioned what happened, plus the burned wall-rug, I knew it was deep! All his behavior clicked for me.

That is also a big part why haters villanizing him gets me fuming mad. If I was to follow their logic, then Elsa is a villain for running away and leaving her kingdom to freeze die, or Maui, who stole Tefiti's heart and caused destruction, or abuela Alma, for treating Mirabel like trash, or Imelda for forbitting music in her family, Abuela Elena for smashing Miguels guitar!

The hypocrisy is off the charts!

And the worst thing is exactly what you mentioned last. The people of Rosas not being able to see that something was horribly wrong with their king. He was so clearly not himself and no one gave a toot. It's easy to explain though. The didn't know their own king and nor did they care. All they cared about was their wishes. Their needs. Their desires. Magnifico was just their source for favors and when that well ran dry, they dropped him like a stone. Talking about selfishness!

Magnifico was never evil. Did he make some wrong choices because of his trauma? Yes. But nothing he ever did made him a villain. The only villain there was, was the book! The book, or rather, the evil force/entitiy in in! And yes, we saw that demon-thing drawn on the page. Not to forget the green clawed hands! No, magic itself isn't a conscious living, thinking being, it's a supernatural ability used by a fessel. And as a christian I can tell you the only thing behind "dark magic" are demons.

You will see this whole topic deeper explained in the upcoming cooperation post "the Magnifico case". But here is a little thing from it.

This isn't Magnifico

This is!

This isn't him

This is!

The fact that people cannot differentiate between this and understand what a possession is ...

Anyway. Anothing very interesting thing I wanna draw attention to is what comes out of Magnifico's mouth once he is full on possessed. He says things that are 100% contradictory to everything he stood for and fought for.

See the reflection thing in the fountain? It's where the quote "I win!" Falls! Why is this so deeply unsettling? Because there is nothing he won! All Magnifico ever truly wanted was happiness and savety for others around him. Magnifico's trauma had caused him to be immensly fearful and paranoid when it came to the savety of others because what happened to him left scars in his soul as deep as a canyon and he wanted no one else to ever have to suffer like he did. He didn't want power, he didn't want fame! He only wanted what's best for others and in return get some love and respect for what he did. Which, yes, he deserved anyway!

Back to my two cents of my christian opinion. It's pretty clear that the evil side does nothing but steal, kill and destroy. It's all it ever wants. To hurt and wreck. That thing that has been trapped in that book must have waited eagerly for who knows how long to get a victim it can use to destroy and use to destroy. So when that thing had taken control over Magnifico's clear consciousness, it obviously said "I won!"

Even sadder is that we could see the exact moment, the entity leaves Magnifico and he is left with confusion and panic because all he sees are the wishes floating away into the nightsky.

Also, where did the green enter and leave? Into and from his heart!

This is the same fear only increased!

And NO! God NO! It is not "Ah, no, I don't wanna lose my power and control over the people because I'm a malicious beast and I wallow in their suffering and enjoy them not being able to make one of their wishes come true!"

No. Just. No. This is ignorant, this is stupid nonsense. This is seeing evil where there is none. This is villanizing trauma!

And then some people go "Oh God, what a monster! What a evil man! Poor kid! It deserves to swim! How dare he not let the kid swim!"

Compare this to a father, who previously had lost a brother or even his first child to a drowning accident. Now the next child is old enough to swim and is running towards the water. Everyone knows the kid will jump in, swim and have fun, but all the father can think of is the potential danger of his child drowning as well. Maybe it will get a cramp, or a shark will bite it, or it gets stung by a jellyfish, steps on a venomous sea urchin, gets a heart attack, gets pulled away by a current ...

You see where I'm going?

And then the father runs, sweaps the child in his arms and forbids it to go near the water and swim because it is too dangerous. He tells his child.

"You stay here with me, as long as I deem it saver! I'm your father, it is my responsibility to keep you as safe as I can! I only want the best for you!"

And of course the child is pouty.

"

"Well, if there is a shark, it can be stopped. I might just bite one leg off of the child ...oh well...The father clearly doesn't know what he's doing! And I must know, I don't even have children!"

"Everyone call the police! Let's put this father behind bars! He's so cruel and abusive to his poor child!"

"And good heavens! He snapped at the child for saying it is old enough to decide if it wants to swim or not! And he replied that he decides if the child swims or not! What a narcissistic psychopath! He needs to be stopped!"

Anyway, I'm very excited to soon share that big boy of a post with you, where I dive into each and every aspect as deep as ever with the help of Magnificolover from instagram. 🎶

How does that sound? And now imagine one of these judgemental, entiteled, selfrighteous, ignorant people calling the police. And the police arrests the man and no one at the beach does anything. No one thinks "wait a minute! This is wrong!"

I can already smell the haters cooking new arguments 😂 feeling snubbed at their toes cause we defenders are right! And you know what? We will only get louder! We are already the vast majority! Including children!

They're mad at us and our defense? Good! Maybe then it is time to ask themselves why it is that the majority is on Magnifico's side! Or why children starting by the age 5 (my cousins son for example) can clearly conclude that the only reason Mags went nuts is because of the evil book. Better yet, they see that Asha and the people of Rosas are in the wrong how they treat their king. And children are brutally honest.

Stay loud my fellow defenders! 🔥

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

Vice President Kamala Harris has captured the support of a key coalition of progressive, youth-led and environmental justice-focused climate advocates, with the Green New Deal Network slated on Wednesday to announce its endorsement of her candidacy.

The development can cut two ways for the Democrats. On the one hand, it’s a boost for Harris from members of a voter segment that analysts agree will be key to victory in November. On the other hand, it’s fodder for former President Donald Trump’s campaign as it coalesces around a strategy of painting Harris as a radical leftist who will block U.S. oil and gas development.

Whether it helps or hurts Harris, the endorsement shows how the Democrats’ late-season candidate switch has upended the 2024 campaign among climate voters.

The Green New Deal Network never gave its endorsement to President Joe Biden, who had rankled coalition members on a wide variety of issues, from his support of Israel in its Gaza offensive to his approval of a large fossil fuel project in Alaska.

Although Biden has taken historic action on climate change, polls showed that he never regained traction with the young voters who lifted him to victory in battleground states in 2020. The Green New Deal Network said it sees Harris as bringing to the race a unique record of opposition to Big Oil and an ability to communicate forcefully on environmental justice as a woman of color.

“This has really lit a candle of hope for a lot of us that have been in the doldrums for the past year or so,” said Kaniela Ing, national director of the Green New Deal Network.

He said the support is not just about climate, but also represents hope for more robust U.S. policy to protect the people of Gaza and Harris’ voice as a champion of abortion rights and communities burdened by pollution. Ing himself is a Native Hawaiian who has written about the combination of historic social injustice and climate change that has threatened his home island of Maui, devastated by deadly wildfire a year ago.

“What the Green New Deal really is, is understanding that everything’s connected,” Ing said. “Making sure our tax dollars aren’t just going to kill children abroad, but to build schools and hospitals here at home. … Local control of resources, self-determination of our communities. That’s the vision Kamala Harris, given her background—being bused to schools, really being a product of a lot of our social programs—really understands.”

[even-michael]

review of moana 2 because im strongly opinionated and also am educated in film

first of all just to get it out of the way WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT BLOBFISH???? i feel like disney had a rough time balancing the art style they chose for film, and the blobfish and mudskippers felt out of place since they were too cartoony in contrast to the human characters

second of all, none of the music really hit like the first one. Leaving the theater, i couldnt remember a single tune or song. Nothing was catchy. I think its because lin manuel miranda did not write the music this time. The music wasnt bad, but it wasnt good either.

also, the entire flow of the film wasnt good. For example, in the first moana, you could sense the rising action, the climax, and more. But moana 2 had none of that. It felt predictable, and static. The story did not feel dynamic at all.

in addition, it was hard to believe that all the wayfinders IMMEDIATELY showed up the second maui pulled up the island. Just a note, i did like that he lassoed the sun in order to pull up the island, because it was a great reference to mauis stories from polynesian culture.

Most of the humor was cringe based. It had some funny stuff here and there but yeah it was cringey.

big important bit! The animation quality went down. If you check the credits, they are not as long as the first film. This movie was definitely a cash grab. You can also tell by the way the story was set up. Random lore was just thrown at us at the beginning in order for this movie to make sense. But the whole point of a sequel is to connect with the first film. And according to the after credit scene, there will be a moana 3

also why did the girl on moana's crew have a different accent than the rest of the characters if they came from the same island? That bumped me out of the film.

Anyway if i think of anything else ill add to this

[gravitytrips]

Cliffside

“Maybe this vacation would do me good.”

Scout thought out loud as he started the long drive around the mountain.

Had his team really wanted him to take a break? Or did they just want to get rid of him? After all, a man’s friends don’t buy him tickets and pay for his lodging in Maui, Hawaii out of the kindness of their hearts.

“Well, might as well make the best of it.”

As he drove on the gently sloping road, he thought about the things to do on this drive. He would skip that little town with that big old tree in it. He had seen a bunch of big trees on that road to Hana and on that hike up to Waimoku falls. He would also skip those Alluvione pools because he swam in those Seven Sacreds. But he had heard that the views from the West Maui mountain were beautiful and he really wanted to see that blowhole that was somewhere along the way. Not to mention a little bay that was said to have the most beautiful snorkeling that you could do for free. Heck, he even bought snorkeling equipment for it! 

He figured he would go into the valley after rounding out the mountain and see the Iao Needle. Especially since he heard an especially gorey story about the place.

He glanced back at the bag in the backseat of the rental car. In it was a camera, a change of clothes, his snorkeling equipment, and his satellite phone.

Just in case.

Scout had a great day. The snorkeling was amazing, and there was the most beautiful forest on the walk to the bay. 

The blowhole was really cool, spraying him a few times and having a multitude of crabs to photograph. 

He ended up going to the Alluvione pools, due to their reputation. It was a really fun rock climb down and there was another blowhole! The pools were beautiful, teeming with life and picturesque in every way. After the rough climb on the sharp volcanic rock, it was nice to relax in the lukewarm water.

Once Scout had returned to his car, he sighed a content sight. He was tired, but very happy as well.

Now, all he had to do was drive back to the hotel.

He began to drive away from the pools. The road quickly narrowed, but he was sure that he could keep the car under control. 

He immediately noticed that there was no guardrail.

He gulped when he saw the sheer drop down.

And his mind spun as he looked upon the winding road before him.

Hairpin turns, switchbacks, waves, ones that seemed to go at a 90 degree angle!

They all stretched out before him.

The longer he drove on this nightmare road, the more anxious he became.

Finally, he came to a little village in the valley that the road went right through. It was like a sigh of relief. 

Scout pulled off into the small parking lot of a little banana bread bakery to gather his bearings. 

Due to the mile markers, knew he only had 12 more miles to go, but the map showed a nightmare tangle of turns and cliffsides. Scout swallowed hard. 

12 more miles and he would be safe.

Scout was temped to just stay in the town for longer, but he knew that the sun would be setting soon and did not want to brave that road at night. So, he stood, waved goodbye to the bakery owner, got back into his car, and started back up the mountainside.

The road was even worse now. 

The turns were sharper.

The drop offs were taller.

A sheer cliffs of rock both rose from his right side and fell away from his left.

He swallowed the lump of fear in his throat, gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

He accelerated to get up a hill, then pressed the brakes to slow down again.

Nothing happened.

A string of swears flew from Scout’s mouth  as his car rolled toward the edge of the cliff.

Fortunately, the slope of the hill had slowed him down, and he successfully turned around the bend.

The road sloped down.

The car gained more and more speed as Scout flew around the valley corner.

Then, he was headed back to the edge of the cliff. The road only continued to slope down.

Scout drifted around the next turn, just barely making it.

A wall of rocks rose from the narrow road on his right. A sheer drop into the forested valley fell away from him on the left. There was nowhere to go.

Scout drifted around the next turn, thinking he could make it again.

He was not so lucky.

His back tires went over the edge.

Scout had just enough time to clip on his seatbelt before the car tipped and slid off of the road.

Scout’s body floated as the car free fell through the air. Was he upside down? Or just falling fast? He couldn’t tell.

The car impacted the slope at the bottom of the cliff.

The roof of the car crunched as it hit the rocky slope, Scout’s body jerking against his seatbelt. The windows cracked and shattered under the weight of the car and the force of the inertia. His chest felt like it had been crushed like an aluminum can.

The car flipped over, doing a barrel roll that slammed him into every surface of the car he could think of.

The car hit the rocky soil again, upside down. This time, it simply slid to a stop at the bottom.

Scout hung against his seatbelt, wheezing.

Air. 

He needed air.

He fumbled with the seatbelt, but the buckle assembly was crushed.

He wheezed again and fumbled for his pocket knife that always remained in his side pocket. It wasn’t there. Scout glanced in front of him. 

The knife lay above him, folded. It must have slid out of his pocket on that roll.

He reached up, his arm crying out in pain as he stretched for his knife. His fingers grazed it, but he couldn’t reach.

He deflated his chest to cross the last inch he needed. It hurt. It hurt so bad. But his fingers closed around the knife.

He quickly flipped the blade open, working the sharp metal as a saw.

Finally, belt snapped, and a moment later he fell to the glass and rock-littered roof

He didn’t notice the glass slicing up his hands and tearing through his jeans.

All he could feel was the terrible pain in his chest.

His runner’s lungs worked as hard as they had ever worked in any battle, gathering oxygen and pushing his chest out.

It hurt.

It really hurt.

Scout lay in the sharp glass and stones, coughing and gasping for air. As he tasted the blood in his throat, one thought crossed his mind.

He had to get the satellite phone.

Scout flipped over and crawled to the backseat, looking for his bag in the carnage.

It wasn’t there.

He checked under the seats and all over the car, wheezing and coughing the whole time.

His bag was gone. How was it gone?

It only took one glance out of the shattered back windshield to tell him where his bag had ended up.

Near the top of the steep incline, his items lay strewn out on the rocks

An anguished whimper escaped Scout’s lips as his eyes sized up the steep slope. Could he even make it? Would his lungs explode before he got there? It sure felt like it.

But he had to try.

Climbing out of the demolished car, Scout felt an ocean spray on his face. The valley he was in would have been beautiful if it hadn’t nearly killed him.

“You could still die.” Scout reminded himself and he suddenly became aware of his wheezing again.

As he stood, leaning against the car, he realized that it wasn’t just his chest that ached.

His left knee looked….off, and a large bruise was starting to form on his right shin. Scout mulled over what could have caused those injuries for a moment before he came to a conclusion.

“The dashboard….” He whispered to himself.

A steady pounding in the back of his head reminded him that his life may be at stake here. No time to dilly dally. 

As he started his ascent up the hill, every injury on his body protested.

But he persisted. 

He had to make it.

As he climbed, the pounding in his head got worse, drowning out the pain in his legs and chest.

Why was his head getting worse? Was that sweat or blood? Where….where was he?

For a moment, Scout was disoriented, his mind being unable to comprehend where he was for a few moments.

Then, awareness trickled back into his mind and he recalled his awful situation. He then continued his ascent.

Suddenly, he was in front of his bag. 

What? When had he gotten so close? How far had he climbed?

He looked behind him, his head spinning even more as his brain took in the height of the slope he was on.

He turned back to the rocks in front of him, feeling nauseous. Then, he grabbed the phone.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

What? When had he dialed? He shoved those thoughts aside.

“Y-yes, uh, I was d-driving around….West Maui….and….”

What had happened to him, again? He glanced down at the wrecked car and remembered.

“I went over the edge….over the cliff….just a few turns past…..that….”

What was the word?

“….village….”

“Alright sir. Just stay calm. We are sending a helicopter to come get you.”

The words took far too long to sink in.

“…right….”

Then, there was silence.

Suddenly, the phone was dialing again. Had he called someone?

“Hello? Scout?” Came the voice of Miss Pauling.

“Pauling….?” Scout was horrified at his voice. Had it sounded like that before? It sounded like he had swallowed a pound of gravel.

Suddenly, he became aware of the pain in his chest again. 

“Scout, is everything alright? Are you still there?” Miss Pauling asked.

“I think…. I mean, something….happened….I….might not…… make it….home….” Scout’s voice was near a whisper.

Breathing was difficult and his head felt like a ticking bomb.

“Scout! Scout, speak to me! What happened?” Miss Pauling’s voice came again.

Scout blinked slowly. He was too tired to speak.

“I….love you Miss Pauling…..always…have….” Scout inhaled deeply. “Tell the guys….I love them, too….”

Scout blinked again, trying to muster up the strength to say something poetic. He couldn’t find the words. His whole brain hurt. Scout laid his face in the hot, sharp stones. A short rest would do him good. A small nap would get him back in his feet. 

The sound of a helicopter filled his ears as he drifted off into the darkness.

The next time Scout was aware of anything, he was in a familiar environment.

He blinked a few times, his view of the base infirmary focusing in his eyes.

How was he back in New Mexico? Last time he checked, he was in Hawaii.

The door to the infirmary opened, drawing Scout’s attention to it. 

A very tired-looking Medic stepped through the door.

As the door swung closed again, Scout caught a glimpse of a few of the other mercs sitting in the waiting area just outside.

A voice brought Scout’s attention back to Medic.

“Five days and a four hour flight over the Pacific and of course, you wake up the moment i leave the room.” Medic said as he crossed the room and crossed something off of a medical chart.

“Welcome back.”

@aerowolf

@callme-adam-iguess

@paranoidginger

@wokeuptraveledstraightintothesun

@treatsf

@scouts-cosplays

[sliceoflove]

No ship hate. but Disney has been doing awful lately and got so desperate they made an unnecessary sequel instead of making it a tv show. And put posaible romantic subtext that even non shippers are confused abt because what. No offense but disney is weird

Hmmm ok first of all i agree with you about the sequel thing. Sequels tend to be inferior to the original anyway and also Disney being greedy in general, but gotta think business when it comes to big corpo.

And about the ship thing (assuming you mean moana/maui) i don’t know, this ship is not something that people would admit to liking openly and publicly, especially when Moana was 16 in the first movie, majority of them liked it in secret, so disney wouldn’t have known about this ship’s popularity, unless if there’s Disney artists/writers that ended up shipping them, but i doubt they put it to make people go see it, if anything it’ll just drive the audience away.

Honestly as someone who liked the ship I really don’t understand where they get that romantic subtext from, their relationship was the same as in the first movie minus being antagonistic towards each other, in the second one its just a natural progression of their relationship.

Is it because since Moana is older they can’t help but see their relationship in a romantic light even if it’s against their will? Are their chemistry that good? Is it disney that’s weird if the audience is the one that saw something that isn’t even there? And i’m not referring to the shippers

Edit: corrected some mistakes

[misscinnamonroll16]

Brozone: Naked and Afraid?

so in my sims post about the boys i mentioned their body types and body hair but i didnt have enough slots to show it. so now ill show it to yall. just like the first post, jd is first

like i said, hes toned and fit. he spent the last 20 yrs hiking and exploring. i gave him lots of body hair bc hes lived on his own for a long time so he doesnt feel the need to shave or maintain all that.

on to bruce. for bruce i picture him like maui from moana, big muscles. body hair, mainly chest hair (hes wearing sunglasses bc i did this in the swimwear category)

time for clay. for clay i made him thinner but still kept his canon body type. i imagine that he maintains his body hair much better than his brothers so he has less. i also gave him freckles on his shoulders for some "fun boy" charm.

so for floyd, i completely forgot i gave him a tattoo. i imagine he tries to hide it from his bros bc he likes for his past to stay mysterious and bc jd is a total hypocrite about tattoos. like clay hes thin mainly bc he spent the last 2 months trapped inside a diamond prison so who knows when the last time he ate was.

last but not least, branch. like i said, branch is sturdy and strong but hes not as big as jd or as small as floyd. i forgot about adding scars again. i definitely had to give him "junk in the trunk" (but i kinda did that with all of them). im realizing that for some reason i made branch a bare little baby with no body hair. idk why i did that

i just needed to get this out of my system

@djmurphy @aerdominics @cow-boy000 @sharks-n-bones

[crinosg]

Okay so here are some more Disney Mirrorverse characters

Anger they didn't really change at all. They just made him slightly volcanic. He also has a sword (not pictured here).

Baloo basically looks like he walked out of a weird Furry version of Mad Max.

Baymax looks weird, it looks like they tried to integrate his power armor into his design. Not really a fan.

OH HI BEAST SOMEONE HAS BEEN TAKING LEVELS IN PALADIN HUH?

I like how they didn't really change Buzz's design. They just gave him a bigger gun.

Man if looks could kill Donald would already be in prison. I do like they made the effort to distinguish him from the KH version. The energy anchor is a nice touch too.

OKAY WHY IS DORY EVEN FUCKING HERE? Spare her the horrors of war I implore you!

I like this, its similar to her normal outfit, but clearly designed for combat with more maneuverability.

THIS IS THE MONADO'S POWER! I mean, EVE already has combat abilities, does she really need the flipper swords?

Again reminds me of Elsa's design. Its the same dress as the canon version, just designed for more maneuverability. And with big stupid WOW shoulderpads too. Also I guess she's just lobbing the poison apples at people now.

Yeah, remember Frank Wolff? Dwayne the Rock Johnson's character from the hit Disney Movie Jungle Cruise? Yeah no I don't either. Look, the movie had came out, they needed to promote it. Have Dwayne The Rock Johnson with a Swamp Thing arm.

This one is alright, feels like if they were making the edgy Pre MCU Frozone movie this is what he would look like.

Alright real big fan of this one. This looks like the Genie like a thousand years post Aladdin where he's become a powerful Genie lord and rules over his own kingdom and stuff. Just love the design here.

I like this. Pretty simplistic design.

Not gonna lie I could imagine canon Hades wearing this.

I think this is largely just a recolor of his canon costume. *checks* Not even a recolor, its basically just the same outfit.

Honestly never even seen Onward so I could not comment. It looks fine though, he looks like a DnD character.

So they took Judy Hopps and gave her a Zero Suit. I can dig it.

Again, this is something I could see Maleficent wearing.

So the question is how do they change up Maui for Mirrorverse? Answer, just make his tattoos glow. Its a cool effect to be sure.

this one is pretty good. No complaints.

I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS. Why is Mike in power armor? Why is here here at all?

Pretty cute design, but I get the feeling Minnie isn't fully aware she's about to be going to war.

This is a nice design, its simple, and it builds subtly off Moana's normal look.

Why are his hands glowing? What does that add?

OH GOD THEY PUT OLAF IN A LITTLE CAPE I CAN'T. Why is he even here? Olaf cannot face the horrors of war. He looks so determined too like that face says "I'm about to kick some ass today!"

Okay the jacket is a bit much, but I am kind of digging the roulette wheel shield and the dice flail.

Again have note seen Raya, but this seems alright. Probably should make time for some of these newer Disney films, especially since I want to show support during the whole DeSantis....thing.

Really like this one, especially the sewing needle weapons.

Goddamn Scar, cut back on the vaping man! What the actual fuck with this one?

Okay I'm out of space for pictures in this one so gonna continue this in a part 2.

[soleminisanction]

I kinda joked about this a few weeks ago, but the more I think about it, the more convinced I become that the Bad Kids are Pathfinder 2e characters trapped in a Dungeons & Dragons 5e world.

Gonna start with Riz here because he's the one who put the idea in my head in the first place. Riz Gukgak and his parents are clearly closer in concept and design to the green, sneaky, tech-and-fire loving Pathfinder Goblins than they are the yellow, burly mobs of the official D&D goblins. (This is probably because most of the art you find when you google "Dungeons & Dragons goblins" is actually of Pathfinder goblins.) Riz also uses guns, weapons which are uncommon but well-established in Pathfinder, but barely exist at all in D&D.

Most importantly, Riz is fundamentally an Investigator, which exists as its own class in Pathfinder but not in D&D. You know what other classes D&D doesn't have? Oracle and Swashbuckler. The former of which is mechanically way closer to the way Brennan already plays Adaine's oracle powers narratively (and has its own built-in narrative hook to play with, a curse), while the latter has entire fighting styles built around dance and makes you a more effective fighter the more you show off.

For Gorgug you have to dig a little into the gritty details, because Barbarian is a class shared by both systems, but the big one is that unlike D&D, Pathfinder has actual technology rules. Non-magical technology rules, so taking on the Artificer equivalent, the Inventor, as an archetype wouldn't have had that particular synergy problem. There's also a feat, Adopted Ancestry, that would give him mechanical access to culture-based gnome feats to reflect his upbringing with his adopted parents.

Similarly, with Fig, Bards exist in both games (Warlocks don't, but multiclassing into Hexblade is mechanically similar to taking the Magus archetype) but you know what doesn't, RAW? Tieflings that are also elves, because of how D&D's races work. In Pathfinder, however, the tiefling equivalent (nephilim, specifically hellspawn) are a versatile heritage, a secondary template that can be applied to any ancestry, so "elf hellspawn nephilim" is legal RAW. And it's something where you can choose how much of that heritage is expressed in your character's appearance so, again, the mechanics line up better with the narrative re: it only being something she learned about later in life.

Finally, you've got Kristen, who is, on paper, the one who fits comfortably in either game -- a human cleric. But I will attest that, given what she's capable of, she's not just a human cleric. Given the shit Kristen has pulled off over the last three seasons, I maintain that she would be best represented by, at bare minimum, taking the archetype for the upcoming Exemplar class (playtested last year and releasing officially in War of the Immortals, Oct 2024), the only rare class in Pathfinder 2e because they're meant to be literal, actual demi-gods, legendary heroes on the same level as Hercules, Gilgamesh, Cú Chulainn and Maui. It's a class designed to essentially break the game in select ways to make the players feel awesome (hence why it's rare, so GMs can restrict access if they choose), and well. Tell me that doesn't sound like Kristen Applebees.

So yeah, there's the rational behind my crack theory that makes way too much sense: the Bad Kids are Pathfinder characters. Or growing up to be Pathfinder characters. Something like that.

[caliboron]

It’s time for Caliboron’s super based review extravaganza thing that actually isn’t that big of a deal but if you’re reading this you’re part of it! This post will contain spoilers for the following movies: Migration, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place Day One, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Smile 2, Gladiator 2, Moana 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3

I’ve never done a post like this, but my family has taken up the hobby of going to the movies so that’s a thing we do now! I saw a lot of movies this year, but this post is specifically about the ones I saw in theaters. These are all my opinions, I’m biased, they may be based on personal experience of real life events that happened when I went to see them. Also these will be rank with #1 being the best. Now let’s get on with it

Disclaimer: I liked and enjoyed all of these movies, just because it’s low doesn’t mean I hated it

#9: Moana 2

Oh, Moana 2… It was good. Not great, but good. Honestly kind of a disappointing sequel. The songs were good. I liked that they gave Moana a little sister, the dynamic between them was sweet. They introduced a lot of new side characters, but it felt too rapid-fire and sudden. I don’t remember any of the new characters’ names. I wish there were more scenes focused on them so we could get to know them better. Pua joined the adventure this time along with Hei Hei, but it didn’t add much. It was nice to see Moana and Maui interact again. The “Get Lost” song was my favorite. I got excited when we saw Tamatoa in the after-credit scene. Looking forward to the inevitable Moana 3, I hope it out-does this one. 5/10

#8: Despicable Me 4

So, I’ve never seen Despicable Me 2 or 3, but I had enough knowledge of the series to understand this one. Gru’s rival from high school shows up and their family has to go into witness protection and take on new identities. Also there’s a baby now. The baby hates Gru for some reason. They tried to do something interesting with the new identities, but it felt like a side-plot that was ignored. Gru’s high school rival was like a roach-guy and he wanted to turn the baby into a roach too? Honestly the baby was kinda cute as a roach and me and my sister agreed that we wish he stayed that way. There was a minion trapped in a vending machine the whole movie. No one helped him. He presumably starved and died. Very entertaining movie but the plot felt weak. 5/10

#7: Migration

One word I’d use to sum up this movie is “cute”. It was short but sweet. A family of ducks with an anxious father who doesn’t want to leave the lake they live in so they’ve never migrated before. As the title suggests, they do convince him to migrate. Also Danny DeVito is there so that automatically makes this movie 10x better. They get lost and end up in New York and they go to like a duck resort paradise place but it’s actually a farm that gives them away to be cooked. There’s a crazy chef that’s the main antagonist and chases them around. The relationship between the two sibling ducks was very cute. Overall I liked this one a lot. 6/10

#6: Gladiator 2

I was not planning to see this one. Me and my mom bought tickets to a “mystery movie” at our theater and it turned out to be Gladiator 2, which funny enough my parents planned to see this for their 30th wedding anniversary later that week, so my mom saw it twice. I thought I’d hate this movie, thought I’d find it boring because I don’t usually watch action/serious movies like this. It took a bit for me to get into it but halfway through I was invested. I’ve never seen the original Gladiator btw haha. I ended up really liking this! The plot was engaging and suspenseful. The cgi baboons absolutely terrified me, but I liked the little monkey named Dundus. The ruler twins were annoying and their deaths were satisfying. 8/10

#5: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

I just saw this one last night! It was amazing! Me and my sister (she is a HUGE Sonic fan) binged the other 2 movies the night before so we were ready. This movie was hilarious and action-packed. Robotnik and his grandpa were probably the highlight, there were some great scenes with them. And Shadow! He was there too. A lot of quote-able moments, too. We went to the little arcade inside the theater after and played claw machines, me and my sister joked that we should “break glass in case of emergency” to get the toys lol. Knuckles was dead set on breaking that glass. I like how they continue to find ways to include Tom and Maddie and the sibling dynamic that’s developed between Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. I think they did Shadow and his backstory justice. And my god, that after credit scene with Amy and Metal.. It was awesome. My sister is obsessed with Metal Sonic so she was overjoyed. Also there are TWO after-credit scenes!! A lot of people left the theater after the first one so they missed the second. 10/10

#4: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice. Oh no, I just summoned him. I loved this movie. It did the original so much justice. And SURPRISE DANNY DEVITO CAMEO!!! Loved that. Lydia’s an adult now with a daughter who gets tricked by this ghost boy and now Lydia has to recruit BJ to save her. Also Lydia’s headless, deceased father is searching for his wife the whole movie. Which his wife, Delia, ends up dying to some supposedly de-venomed snakes in a mourning ritual devoted to him. They reunite and it’s very sweet. Also Beetlejuice has a wife that’s trying to kill him the whole movie so there’s a lot going on. And there’s a shrunken head guy named Bob. RIP Bob, you were a real one. This was a legendary sequel. 10/10

#3: Inside Out 2

Another legendary sequel. This movie perfectly portrayed how a panic attack feels, and told a great story of desperately trying to fit in and be accepted that I found very relatable. The new emotions were interesting and had good character designs. It was nice to see the original squad interact more. My mom and sister kept hoping to see Bing-Bong but nope, he is dead forever. 10/10

#2: Smile 2

This was my first time seeing a horror movie in theaters. Being in a pitch-black room with surround sound definitely made it an intense experience. I kept feeling like something was behind me. This movie was even better than the first Smile. The main character was interesting and the plot had me invested. Every single jumpscare got me, big time. God the smile-demon thing is terrifying. There was so much contorting (big personal fear of mine) and that scene in the apartment when all the backup dancers were slowly moving toward the main character had my heart racing. And the reveal of the actual demon is burned into my mind. I still think about it now and get creeped out. That final scene where the main character got possessed and killed herself on stage in front of all those people… the smile demon is gonna be like a world-wide epidemic now. If they make a Smile 3 it’ll be interesting to say the least. This movie fucked me up for like a week after lol I was super jumpy, and my sister’s bf was being an asshole smiling widely at me to mess with me 10/10

#1: A Quiet Place: Day One

Wow. What a movie. This has to be my favorite one I’ve seen this year, it was so good. This movie has so much heart at its core. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, but it’s definitely better than the other Quiet Place movies. It was super tense, had me on the edge of my seat multiple times, and I was hoping and praying that the cat would survive, and… IT DID! The cat lived! Dude I was so happy. That last scene where Eric was swimming with the cat towards the boat I was so worried, but they made it safely! And the final scene where the main character, Sammy, just unplugged her headphones and accepted her fate was perfect. 10/10

So.. that’s it! Next year I definitely wanna type these out right after I watch the movies bc I had difficulty recalling all the events while making these reviews.

Movies I’m looking forward to next year:

Minecraft movie (of course), Dogman, and BAD GUYS 2 HELL YEAHHH

Here’s to 2025, and many more movies and memories!