#my head which makes me excited to rewatch it again and again and again

[ptergwen]

saw the post for ideas 👀… yknow those vlogs peter would film in homecoming? what if the only exception in strange’s spell was to let him keep a copy of those films of you and him/memories of the team. he rewatches them when he needs to feel like someone is there with him eating dinner, on holidays, a rough night of patrol, etc :(

always belong to you ❤︎‬

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w/c: 2.0k

warnings: suggestive jokes, doctor strange being a bully, angst

a/n: ugh you know i love an angst/fluff combo, i lowkey got carried away if you can't tell by the word count lmao but i think y'all will like :) p.s. i have more things brewing so stay tuned!

"ok, so, we just got on the plane. we're taking off in... i don't know, soon."

the camera pans to you half asleep on peter's shoulder. you hide your face in your boyfriend's flannel, grinning nevertheless. "y/n's tired. it's early," peter tells the camera. "but i'm excited," you mumble. he beams and hugs you to his side. "me too. we all are."

you wrap your arms around peter's bicep and rest your chin on his shoulder. "so, where are you the most excited to go? london, right?" peter looks over at you, his hand rubbing up and down your side. "mhm. what about you, venice?" you ask him.

"definitely venice. i’ve been practicing my italian," peter says. you move closer to the camera so you can talk into it. "yeah, he actually learned some italian. and french, for when we go to paris." you smile sleepily. "city of love," peter adds. you peck his lips, and he smiles against yours.

you never actually made it to paris. god, that whole trip was a disaster. it's a miracle his camera even survived it, since most of his stuff literally got blown up. your plans kept getting changed, and peter barely got to spend any time with you or his friends because he got dragged into doing spider-man stuff, spider-man stuff that put everybody in danger.

but it's not spider-man's fault that he lost you — it's peter parker's.

"you've been practicing your british accent. that's something," peter jokes. "oh yeah, true. i also learned british slang. i wanna be cultured like you, innit?" you do an over-exaggerated accent, which peter chuckles at. "c'mon, i never even leave new york. except germany that one time, and..." he lowers his voice. "space."

"what are you doing?" mj pops up behind peter. her, ned, and betty are in the row behind yours. you got stuck next to flash, who's been snapping at one of the flight attendants for something. "just making video diaries of the trip," peter explains. "ooh, aren't those for may?" ned enthusiastically asks from the aisle seat. "hi, may! everybody say hi to peter's aunt!"

"hi, peter's aunt!" betty waves. "sup, aunt milf," flash chimes in. peter clenches his jaw. "hi, may. your nephew woke me up," mj deadpans. she manages a smile. "i don't know how i’m gonna get any sleep around the lovebirds."

"i'm gonna sleep, too. i'm still kinda tired," you tell mj through a yawn, squeezing peter's bicep. "you should try to sleep, darling. there's gonna be a pretty big time difference when we land." you lay your head on peter's shoulder again with a smile that he returns even bigger.

"okay, i will. don't wanna be jet lagged," peter agrees, turning the camera to himself. "well, that's it for now, may. love you! see you when we land!"

"bye, may!" you echo, peter resting his head against yours as the video ends.

you were both so happy back then. now, you don't even remember who peter is. all he has left of you is memories, ironically enough. it's all he has left of any of his loved ones. may is gone, his only family. his best friends have no memory of him, and neither does his team.

but if peter had just thought things through before he asked doctor strange to cast that spell, he wouldn't have needed to cast a second one, and the world wouldn't have forgotten peter parker.

peter wishes he could make you remember him on nights like these, when he's missing you extra. he'd kept to himself all day in his classes — he doesn't really engage with anyone unless he's in the suit. patrol was quiet tonight, though. so as peter lays on his creaky bed at the end of the day, all by himself in his cramped apartment, he's never felt more lonely.

he thought it might make him feel better to watch some of his old videos. his camera is one of the only things he'd kept from before, and it has videos with everyone on it. he watches them sometimes so he can hear your voice, see your face.

"peter! you look so cute in your little lab coat," you say behind the camera. "babe, you can't call me cute in here," peter groans. you zoom in on him setting up some test tubes. "yeah, you think you're so tough cause you're an avenger. spider-man can't be cute, he's too big and scary," you tease.

"maybe not scary, but he's big for sure." peter smirks at the camera. "i can confirm," you smirk at him. peter's eyes widen. "woah, y/n. i meant, like, my arms. you're so unprofessional today, i think i'm gonna need a new camerawoman," peter shakes his head playfully, pouring something into a beaker.

"you can't replace me. i'm irreplaceable," you insist. "yeah. i know you are," peter says, and means it. he can make out a smile in your voice. "anyways, since you're so tough, why don't you take off the coat? and the goggles? i guess you don't need them."

"i can't! if doctor strange comes back and sees, he'll say i’m-"

"-violating safety precautions and being stupidly, dangerously irresponsible."

doctor strange lands on the linoleum floor of the lab, his cloak trailing behind him. peter has his goggles on his head, so he quickly pulls them down. you prop the camera up against a stool subtly, all three of you coming into the frame.

"we're dealing with the quantum realm, parker, something neither you nor i completely understand. let's not take our chances." strange puts on his own pair of lab goggles, giving both you and peter a stern look. you make a face at the camera. "yes, sir. i mean, stephen. i mean... yeah, stephen," peter stutters.

you take his hand to calm his nerves. he laces your fingers together with a grateful smile.

"where's banner?" doctor strange asks. "still not here yet. scott and i started setting up, though," peter answers. "you're certainly no world renowned scientists, but fine. i trust you know enough to handle glassware," strange says sarcastically.

"and what have you been doing, practicing your magic tricks?" you ask doctor strange. "they're not tricks, it's a mystic art. but yes, actually. things work differently in the quantum realm than they do here," he replies, narrowing his eyes at you.

"thanks for clearing that up. wow, you know a lot about this stuff. i can see why they made you sorcerer supreme," you say smugly. doctor strange closes his eyes, visibly irritated. "no, they chose wong. you know that," he says in a monotone. peter bites the inside of his cheek to suppress a smile.

you'd naturally met the avengers over the years you and peter were dating. everybody loved you because peter loved you, and they loved him. doctor strange was another story. peter hardly felt like strange even tolerated him, let alone his girlfriend he was constantly getting humbled by.

you figured that if he did it to peter, someone should do it to him. peter always appreciated you having his back in those moments.

you and strange had your banter, though, and he did love peter in his own way. clearly, considering that he brainwashed the whole world for him on multiple occasions.

"is there a reason you're here exactly?" doctor strange questions you. "yeah, to watch you make pym particles." you shrug. he sighs. "make– it doesn't work that way." doctor strange turns to peter. "what is she doing here?" he crosses his arms over his chest, his cloak mirroring his stance.

"y/n's always here," peter innocently replies, swinging your connected hands back and forth.

"yeah, she's one of us!"

"who said that?" doctor strange demands, looking around the lab.

"it's me, i’m tiny. hold on." scott suddenly grows from the size of an ant to his normal, human size, appearing next to the three of you. doctor strange and his cloak jump backwards.

"have you been here this whole time?" strange's voice raises in anger. "um, yeah. pay attention much?" scott scoffs. "pete already told you, we're setting up. hey, y/n/n." you and scott fist bump. "pete," he claps peter's shoulder. peter nods at him. "hey, scott. keep up the good work."

"solidarity among the bug men, isn't that sweet?" doctor strange dryly remarks. scott points a finger at him. "listen, wizard. you should be nicer to me. i’m your ticket to this whole quantum thing."

the two of them start to argue, so you and peter sneak away. you grab peter's camera again and film him as he finishes setting up for their experiment.

"i can't believe we got all that on video," peter laughs out. "yeah, that was some avengers reality tv shit," you agree. peter tightens more test tubes in place. some have pym particles in them, others empty. you suddenly take peter's chin between your fingers, prompting him to stop what he's doing and look up.

"you know what i was trying to say before? i know you're tough, and strong, but i’ll never just see you as spider-man. you're peter."

his doe eyes lock with yours behind the camera.

"and you might be spider-man to the world, but you'll always be my peter."

peter stops the video. he rewinds it to the part where you call him your peter, and then rewinds it again. tears begin to well up in his eyes. at the time, it was just something sweet you said. you could never have known how much it would mean to him now.

peter curls up on his pillow. he's gripping the camera with both hands, holding on tightly like it's you, because it's the closest thing he has to you. tears drip down his face and land on the screen as the rest of the video plays.

"thanks, baby. i'm not that strong, though. i just try to act like it because i’m scared. this all gets pretty intimidating sometimes," peter admits. "i know, but you deserve to be here. they need you here, and i think you're strong for coming," you reassure him. you flip the camera so it's showing your face and the back of peter's head.

peter kisses your cheek, then your lips lovingly. he can't tell watching it back, but he assumes he tries for more because you giggle and turn your face away.

"okay, guys! we hashed everything out!" scott calls in the background. "something of that sort," doctor strange mutters. "and y/n, since you insist on being here..." the cloak of levitation flies over to you and forms a makeshift hand, holding out a lab coat and goggles. "we have a dress code."

peter snickers at you. you put down the camera and take the lab gear, glaring at doctor strange, who smiles wickedly. strange's cloak floats behind you and taps on the camera lens, alerting his attention to it. his smile drops.

"are you two idiots recording in my lab?" doctor strange asks you and peter. "bruce's lab," scott corrects him. "yeah, it's mr. bruce's. i mean, doctor bruce's. i mean, doctor banner's-" peter cuts himself off when doctor strange comes marching over. he narrowly avoids bumping into him.

strange's cloak swipes the camera off the lab desk. you reach for it, but the cloak floats higher.

"well, until mr. doctor bruce banner shows up, i’m in charge, and this is strictly confidential," doctor strange decides.

"but we're not gonna show anyone, it's just for memories!" peter defends. "bruce always lets us record," you add. strange grabs the camera. "coat and goggles on. now," he reprimands you, scowling at the camera as he shuts it off.

peter actually finds himself laughing when the video ends. he misses you and his team so much, but watching his old videos has been comforting. he's exhausted now, both physically and emotionally, so he gets under the covers and lets himself drift off to the sounds of your voice as the next video plays.

there's a piece of you in each one, and a piece of peter parker, too. the real peter parker — yours. he'll always belong to you, even if you don't know it.

tags

@spidermans-gf @sacharinee @thollandsgirl2013 @pettypeety @girlinlovewithlove @marvelgurl @superlegend216 @angelinabelovedballerina @moniffazictress11 @superlegend216 @doubledizzy22 @mystic-writings @just-lost-inbetween-worlds @lnmp89 @starlight-starks @hollandsangel @ellebutnotwoods @tayyx @valluvsu @ronweasleysslut @winchestersgirl222  @fishingirl12 @raajali3 @niktwazny303 @thismessymasterpiece @alina02 @itsjanedeluca @idkeverythingistakennn @prancerrparkerr @urfayevorite @getwellsoontana @deanswifeyy @marvelita86 @uhhhj13iguess

[rainyorca]

I'll swim down with you 𓇼 Kenji Sato X Reader

Content warnings: F!reader, Established relationship, childhood friends, kissing, fluff, a little bit of smut.

Words: 1,916

Notes: Rewatching Ultraman made me realize that Kenji does in fact have pools on his deck but I don't know if they're meant to be swam in, however, i really wanted to write something involving them soooo…..I am very deeply in love with this man and have seen this movie more times than I’ve seen my dad this summer.

𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼ ꩜𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼ ꩜𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼ ꩜𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼

The setting sun casts beautiful rays of golden light on the Earth, blanketing everything in warmth. It’s mid-June, which means baseball season is at its all-time high right now. For Kenji, it’s rather exciting but for you, it’s a little upsetting. You don’t get to spend as much time with him anymore due to practice and his games, but you still attend his games, all of them in fact as long as your work schedule doesn't overlap. As well as his duties as Ultraman, sometimes you don't even get to have him in bed next to you. 

You sit in one of the pools on his wooden deck, bathing in sunlight. You like to sit in the water and watch the sunset over the ocean, the view is out of this world. It's one of the many things you like about living with him. Ken is currently at practice, which he has practically been at all day in your mind, then again you left for work early this morning so you haven't seen him at all today. You close your eyes, sinking further into the pool and letting your head rest on the edge. The wood is smooth beneath your head, but you slide your hands under your head for more cushion. There's music playing softly in the background, one of your favorite songs from your favorite playlist. This was your idea of relaxing after work, especially with such a hectic day you had. 

“Ken is home,” Mina’s voice erupts softly from behind you, making you jump. You turn around to face the floating supercomputer. “I'm sorry, did not mean to startle you,” she says, her tone flat as usual. “It's okay,” you smile softly, “thank you for letting me know, Mina.” The floating circle gives you a nod before flying off to greet Kenji. You turn back to the sunset, waiting for Kenji to come by. You can hear him talking to Mina inside but it stops momentarily before starting up again. Kenji’s footsteps could be heard approaching you now, but you're too lost in thought to turn around or even notice.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asks, you can practically hear the smile in his voice. You turn around, smiling when you see him. “I’d enjoy it a lot more if you joined me,” you respond, tilting your head at him. He shakes his head with a smile, “I know, that's why I put my swim trunks on.” You watch him lift his shirt over his head, the golden light hitting his toned body perfectly. He looks warm, and the light makes his skin look supple and soft. He dips his feet in the water, pulling back from the slightly coldness but slowly easing himself in. The water isn’t too deep, he can stand perfectly straight and it only goes to his waist. He rests his back against the edge just like your doing but he follows your movements when you turn around to face the sun. He squints a little, turning his head to look at you rather than the bright sun. “How was your day?” he asks, his voice as soft as silk. You peer into his big gray eyes, resting your head on your hands again. “Hetic,” you respond simply, “How was practice?”

He picks up on the simplicity of your answer quickly, dropping the subject knowing you don't want to go into detail. “Practice was good, but I was a little distracted today,” he responds, reaching up and brushing a water droplet off your face only to get more on you. “Why’s that?” you ask, giggling softly at his failed attempt. “Because I kept thinking about you,” he smiles, almost teasingly because he knows what you’re gonna say. “You’re so corny,” you scoff, smiling brightly, “why were you really distracted?” He shrugs, “I'm serious, I was thinking about you.” There's humor in his voice and his expression is rather playful. You roll your eyes, turning your head to face the sun again. 

His eyes linger on you for a moment, taking in the softness of your face and admiring how your eyes look in the sunlight. A few thoughts from the past show up in his mind, like how upset you were when you found out he had to move back to Japan, or the sweet moments in high school when you went to all the school dances with him. You have always been a special person in his life and for so long, he feels rather grateful that you're back in his life as his lover rather than just a friend. He snakes a hand around your waist, turning you around so you're facing him and not the sun. Your back is pressed up against the edge again and he's standing in front of you, staring down into your eyes. 

“You’re so warm,” he says softly, running his hands up your exposed torso. “I’ve been out here a while,” you respond, reaching up and resting your arms on his broad shoulders. “I can tell,” he hums, reaching up to cup your face with his large, wet hand. “You’re warm too,” you point out, tilting your head a bit so you can melt into his touch. He drops his hand, sneakily lifting you so he's carrying you. You wrap your legs around his waist, holding onto him as he backs up from the wall of the pool. He smiles, spinning you around slowly in the water. You close your eyes, throwing your head back and hanging off him a bit as he spins you. 

There's a mischievous look in his eye, but it all goes away when you dip underwater. He surfaces you quickly, laughing at your surprised expression. “Oh you asshole,” you splash him with water, wetting his hair and face. “I couldn't miss the opportunity, sorry,” he lets go of you, protecting himself from your splashes. You give him your best angry expression, but it doesn't last long. You can't resist his charms, and that award-winning smile always makes you smile. He swims up to you, reaching out to grab you again and pulling you into his chest before you can get away. “I won't do it again, I promise,” he says, shaking his hair and sending water flying. “If you do, we're going to have problems,” you respond, pressing your hands into his chest. 

His eyes glide over your face, his smile still plastered on his lips. He cups your face again, making you tilt your head upwards so he can have access to your lips. He tilts his head a little, leaning in to place a soft kiss on your lips. You kiss him back almost immediately, sliding your hands over his shoulders as you have done before. The soft, pillowy feeling of his lips is enough to send you into a trance, parting your lips for him. Your heart rate spikes a little when you feel him pull you in tighter, his brows furrowing and what seems to have started off as an innocent kiss was now becoming something more euphoric and titillating. He tilts his head a little more, deepening the kiss with a quiet grunt before moving you back to the edge of the pool. Your back hits the smooth edge, the coolness of it suddenly more noticeable. 

His grip on you tightens, his knee coming up to part your legs slowly before pressing into your clothed cunt. The sudden shift in demeanor, and movements, makes you gasp a little. He pulls away slowly, a new look in his lidded eyes. He leans down to kiss the line of your jaw and then your neck. “I haven't been able to give you much attention lately,” he says softly but sensually, “the attention you need and crave.” You tilt your head back just a little to give him more access to your neck. His breath is warm and it fans over your neck, the tickling sensation making goosebumps rise on your skin. His knee presses up against your cunt again, a little harder this time making you squeak in surprise. You lift a leg slightly, opening yourself up more. 

Ken moves his hand down, further and further until stopping at the waistband of your swimsuit bottoms. He slips his lithe fingers underneath the fabric, inching closer and closer to your cunt. His lips find yours again in another aggressive, hungry kiss as if he's trying to devour you through the kiss alone. One of his fingers brushes over your sensitive clit, causing you to startle, and a sharp gasp erupts from your throat. The sound is like music to his ears, the noises you make are just perfect to him. You brace yourself, one hand on the edge of the pool, the other digging into his shoulder while he holds you still. He rubs agonizingly slow circles on your clit, drinking in your expressive behavior, soft moans starting to slide off your sinful tongue. 

You were his weakness, just like he was yours. It was hard to resist him really, a struggle you’ve had since your younger years with him. In moments like these, it was even harder. The sun was still setting on the horizon, however only half of it was visible. The night sky started to pool in, blanketing the sky with specks of stars. He couldn't help himself, hearing your delightful and heavenly moans, he needed to hear more, to feel more. His fingers speed up, rubbing a little harder but oh so perfectly. You part from his lips with a rather pathetic gasp, your mouth staying slightly open as he continues to draw his fingers over your clit. 

He leans in, mouth open against your soft neck, tasting, feeling, the area with his mouth. “I wanna memorize every part of your body,” he hums, breath ragged, “I wanna touch you everywhere, make you mine.” He blabbers, his words digging deep into your core, making you squeeze around nothing. He lifts his head to look at you now, bumping noses as he continues his movements against your clit. His eyes bore into yours, lovingly but lustful. You keep your eyes open, or at least try to. You can't help but close them every time a shock of pleasure rushes up your spine. “I wasn't lying when I told you,” his lips curl into a smug smile, “that I was thinking about you. I’ve been thinking about this all day.” 

“Ken,” you breathe, your moans melodic and messy. “You seem more sensitive than usual,” he points out a little teasingly. That warm tingling feeling starts to build up in your stomach, pleasure shooting up your spine as your climax starts to work its way out of you. Just as you're about to release, Mina’s voice sounds from behind Kenji causing both of you to stop. 

“A phone call from your father, Ken,” she says monotone. Kenji sighs, looks back at Mina, and then back to you, his fingers still positioned on your clit. “Before you try to put it off, it's urgent,” Mina continued before Ken could even speak. He groans, clearly irritated, and then gives you an apologetic look. “I’ll be back,” he says, kissing your forehead before releasing you gently. Your body relaxes, and you catch your breath, watching him get out of the pool and follow Mina into the house. A sigh escapes your lips, irritated but otherwise calm. You decide to stay in the pool until the moon comes up.

𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼ ꩜𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼ ꩜𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼ ꩜𓆉︎ ☼ 𓇼 ☼

[captainsophiestark]

Picture Perfect

Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

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Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Bridgerton

Summary: Benedict's childhood best friend, who he's recently started courting, notices he's been a bit off lately and decides to see if there's anything she can do to help.

Word Count: 3,045

Category: Fluff, a little bit of Angst

A/N: It's been a minute since I rewatched season 2, so I may have the timing wrong a bit. For the purposes of this fic, though, Benedict finds out that Anthony paid to make sure he got into art school at the same time that they're all at the Bridgerton's country estate.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Something was wrong with my best friend.

I could tell from the minute I saw him, as his mind was clearly somewhere else. He also gave his brother Anthony a colder shoulder than usual, which I knew Anthony likely deserved, but that Benedict rarely gave him. It must've been something pretty bad.

A few years ago, I wouldn't have hesitated to drag Benedict somewhere and get some answers out of him, followed by doing whatever I could to cheer him up. But unfortunately for the both of us, despite having grown up together, now that we were both adults in society and he had recently started courting me, we were no longer technically allowed to be alone together. Things were usually a bit looser when it was just the Bridgertons and I, but while I'd joined them for a trip to their country estate, another family had joined us as well, tying my hands more than usual.

Still, I managed to corner him slightly away from the rest of the group after dinner that night, when I'd first noticed something off. He'd been on his way upstairs, rather than joining the rest of us in the parlor after dinner, and I managed to get in front of him quickly enough to make him stop in the hallway.

"Benedict," I said, trying to keep my voice low. He let out a long, deep sigh, but didn't move to step past me, instead fixing me with a tired stare. I frowned. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "It's... nothing."

I put my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow.

"Benedict Bridgerton, I have known you since the age of five. There is no chance of that terrible lie convincing me of anything, besides perhaps that I made the right decision about checking on you."

He sighed again, this time even heavier, and when he met my gaze again it was with an empty smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"You remeber I shared my excitement with you about being accepted into art school?"

"Of course! Don't tell me something went wrong..."

He shook his head. "The opposite. Apparently my dear brother took it upon himself to make sure I got in, offering a bribe to secure my acceptance. Yet again, I fail to step out of my family's shadow and generate an accomplishment of my own, without their name and money securing it for me."

I frowned and reached out to touch his arm, but Eloise's voice from the other room promising to find where I'd wandered off to broke the moment. Benedict mustered that hollow smile again, then finally stepped around me.

"I'll be fine, I promise. Don't worry about me. Just go enjoy the rest of your evening."

I frowned after him, but he didn't look back as he climbed the stairs and disappeared onto the second floor. I briefly debated following him, but Eloise's hand on my elbow broke me from that thought.

"Y/N, what on earth are you doing out here? You're missing Kate and Anthony sparring over something trivial again."

I forced a smile onto my face that was hopefully more convincing than Benedict's and turned to face Eloise.

"Well, that's certainly something I don't want to miss. Let's go."

Eloise still looked like she had questions, but I didn't give her room to ask them as I joined the rest of our group in the parlor. Benedict stayed on my mind for the rest of the night, although I tried to hide my worry. Hopefully he'd been right about himself, and would be feeling better in the morning.

*****************

Benedict clearly wasn't feeling better in the morning. I was witnessing the man I loved having an existential crisis, and by the afternoon, I decided I couldn't sit by an watch anymore, society and the Ton and the gossips be damned.

I spent the next hour gathering and setting up the things I'd need, then went to find Benedict. He wasn't anywhere to be seen in the house, so I asked Eloise, who directed me to his bedroom.

I'd been in his bedroom before, of course, since we'd practically grown up together. But now that we'd started on the path to being something else to each other, with my heart registsering significantly more romantic feelings for the man Benedict had become, I found myself slightly nerovous as I stood outside his door. Still, I forced myself to ignore the nerves as best I could. Benedict was hurting, so everything else had to be put on hold while I helped him.

I knocked on his door, pretending my faster-than-normal heartbeat didn't exist as I waited for a response. That became much harder to accomplish when Benedict opened the door, his shirt far more open than normal and without anything over it, hair looking a rumpled mess. My heart did backflips, despite me mentally telling it to calm down.

"Y/N! I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you. I must look a mess-"

"No, not at all!" I said much too quickly. "You look, uh... very nice."

The familiar lopsided smile I loved so much appeared on Benedict's face as he leaned on the doorframe before me. He raised an eyebrow, the familiar spark of mischief that I loved so dearly igniting in his eyes, and for the first time in more than a day, he looked to be slightly back to himself.

"Well, I'm very glad to hear you think so. What brings you to my door, then?"

"You haven't seemed to be doing very well since you got the news about Anthony. And don't try to deny it, I know you too well. So, I thought I'd come find you and try to help cheer you up."

Benedict's eyebrow rose again as he crossed his arms.

"And what exactly did you have in mind?"

"I'll show you. But we're going to have to be a bit sneaky about leaving."

Benedict's mood lifted the moment he found out we were going to sneak out of the house together. We'd been regular trouble makers as children, sneaking out for adventures at least once a week, but since we'd both grown up that had basically come to a stop. Now, as I took his hand and dragged him along behind me and we ran through the countryside and left Bridgerton House in our wake, I couldn't stop a wild laugh from bubbling out of my chest. I'd missed this much more than I'd wanted to admit.

"Where are we going?" Benedict called, his own voice breathy and laced with laughter as we ran. I just shot him a grin back over my shoulder.

"You'll see!"

He huffed, but didn't protest as he followed after me. Finally, after winding through the woods and climbing a rather steep hill, we reached the spot I'd spent so long making nice this morning.

This hilltop looked out over the countryside stretching beautifully below us, even better now as the sun had started to get a bit lower in the sky. Waiting for us was a picnic blanket spread out in the grass with all of our favorite foods, wine, and an easel with art supplies set up right next to it. I dropped Benedict's hand as we came to a stop, instead turning to face him with a grin.

"Well? What do you think?"

He stared at everything I'd laid out, mouth open slightly in shock. His brow furrowed when he saw the canvas, and he turned back to me.

"What is all this?"

"It's a picnic, for the two of us," I said. "To watch the scenery and the sunset together without the pressures of society or being a Bridgerton to bring us down. The easel is optional–we can pack it away right now if you want to. But you told me you think Anthony's the reason you got into art school, and I don't agree. I've seen your work, and I know just how good it is. You got in on merit, Benedict. But I know I can't just say that and have you believe it, so I brought some supplies here so you can prove it, if you want to. Paint this moment for the two of us, and I'll swear on our relationship and everything I hold dear to be honest about what I think. Completely, totally, brutally honest."

Benedict's eyebrow quirked again.

"Well, I don't know if brutal is completely necessary..."

"I mean it, Ben. I hate to see you like this, doubting yourself. So if there's something I can do to counter Anthony's idiotic meddling, I'd like to."

"And what if..." He cleared his throat, emotion swirling in his gorgeous brown eyes as he met my gaze. "What if the truth would only serve to enforce what I know? That Anthony's meddling and money is the only reason I've gotten where I am."

I shook my head. "That won't happen-"

"Y/N." I stopped, biting my lip and forcing myself to meet Ben's stare again. He took a few steps forward until we were right in front of each other, then took my hands gently in his own. "What if it does?"

I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. "Then I will keep my word and tell you so. One way or another, I will tell you the truth, even if it may not be what I want to tell you. I swear it, Ben."

He nodded slowly, eyes scanning my face. We stayed like that for a few long moments, and briefly, I thought Benedict might make a move to do something I never though he'd do with the Ton hovering over both our shoulders whenever we were together. But then he sighed, a smile returning to his face as he stepped away.

"Alright then. I believe you, and I value your opinion. And since you went to all the trouble to drag these supplies up here in the first place... I may as well get started."

I beamed at him. "I'll pour us some wine."

"Please."

When Benedict first sat down at his canvas, he kept fidgeting nervously, his hands hovering and twitching over various paints and brushes as he second-guessed his decisions. But slowly, as I kept up a stream of conversataion, supplying him with food and drink for fuel as he needed it, I noticed him beginning to relax.

"This is nice," I mused, leaning back on the picnic blanket and looking out at the scenery as Benedict worked. The sun had gotten much lower in the sky than when we'd left, which Benedict had grumbled about as it impacted his painting. Still, the golden light, soft breeze, and warm, fresh air felt like heaven to me.

"I agree," he said, not taking his eyes away from his easel. "I missed running off on adventures with you at the drop of a hat."

"So did I. But, hopefully... we may be able to get back to that again sometime soon."

Benedict looked over at me from his easel, a rougish grin on his face.

"If I didn't know better, Lady Y/L/N, I would think you were boardering on making me a marriage proposal."

I faced forward and closed my eyes under the guise of feeling the sun, trying to ignore my heart pumping frantically in my chest.

"Well. Fortunately for us both, you do know better. And it's not as if you're some strange man I met at court. You're... Ben. My best friend."

"I never said I wouldn't like it, did I? It would be an honor to be proposed to by you."

I cracked one eye open, turning my head to face Benedict with a grin. He wasn't looking at me, his stare focused on his canvas, his face completely serious. My heart stopped threatening to explode out of my chest, and instead settled into the unique, glowing warmth of love I felt whenever Benedict and I were together.

"I love you, Ben," I said, my voice soft and quiet. He stopped his work completely to turn and look at me, a soft smile on his face.

"I love you too. Very, very much." We held each others' stares for a moment, soaking in the comfort and joy of being together, and then Benedict's smile turned into a more edged grin. "It's a good thing we feel so strongly, since we may just be forced into an earlier marriage than planned to avoid a scandal after disappearing for an entire afternoon and evening together."

I huffed and waved him off. "Fortunately, I predict your brother will be accidentally helping us and making up for causing this crisis of confidence in the first place. He and Miss Kate Sharma are so ridiculous and dramatic together, I highly doubt anyone will notice we're gone."

Benedict chuckled, turning back to his work to scan it one last time before finally setting down his paintbrush. He took a deep breath, then stood and offered a hand to me.

"I've finished," he announced as I took his hand. He pulled my to my feet, but instead of looking at the painting, my eyes stayed fixed on him. We were almost chest to chest, and I could tell from his furrowed brows and darting eyes just how nervous he was about my verdict. "Remember, you promised me honesty."

"And honesty you will get."

Finally, I turned from Benedict to the canvas he'd been working on all afternoon. I'd resisted peeking before now at his request, so I wouldn't have any bias from watching his process. Fortunately, just as I'd predicted, his work was magnificent.

"Benedict..." I breathed as I took in the soft lines and vibrant colors before me. It perfectly captured how I felt looking out at the valley before us; it captured the gorgeous scenery, yes, but it also infused everything with a bit of magic that I only felt in this space with him. "This is absolutely incredible."

Benedict came around to stand next to me, arms crossed. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him shaking his head.

"Now please don't forget, you promised me honesty."

"I am being honest! Benedict, this is fantastic. The way you capture the myriad of different shades of the light shining across the valley, the seamless lines giving the world a slightly hazy, dreamlike look, and the way you've left the paint a bit messier with the clouds, to make it look like they're moving? It's all perfect, Ben. And masterful. It's a picture of the valley, yes, but it looks like it's alive. And you somehow managed to capture what it feels like to be here in the moment together, the sun on our faces, with each other even when we're not supposed to be, in a truly special way. You're an incredibly talented artist, and I'd be saying that even if you were a complete stranger that I didn't particularly like."

He snorted, then after a second, wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest. I leaned into him immediately, sighing a bit as he leaned his head against mine.

"I have a hard time believing you'd say all that to a stranger you didn't like."

I rolled my eyes and elbowed him in the stomach, and he laughed without letting me go. A smile spread on my own face despite myself.

"Alright, maybe I wouldn't say all that to a stranger I didn't like. But I'd say it about their work when they couldn't hear me, probably to you. My point stands, Ben. You are a very skilled and talented artist. Anthony isn't the reason you got into that school. You are."

His chest rose and fell with a long, deep breath, and then finally, I felt him nod.

"Thank you. I can't promise it will always be easy for me to always believe it, but... I'll try to remember your words, and not my brother's, from now on."

"Good. And if you feel down again, you can always come to me. I'll always be there for you, Benedict, whenever you need me."

"And I you, my love," he said, moving down to whisper the words in my ear as he wrapped his other arm around my waist, too. He kissed my cheek, and I leaned back into his chest for a moment before turning around in his arms to face him.

The beautiful, kind smile I'd fallen in love with stared back at me, along with his warm brown eyes. I smiled too, then finally stopped ignoring my racing heart and decided to continue the theme of ignoring the Ton and what they might say.

I leaned into Benedict, closing the distance between us with a glance at his lips before meeting his eyes again. Both of his eyebrows shot up, but he didn't pull away.

"Y/N... if anyone found out..."

I smiled. "They won't. Besides, they'd just make us follow through on something we're already planning, anyway."

Benedict huffed a laugh, his eyelids fluttering a bit as he looked at me like he couldn't believe I was real. Then, his arms tightened around my waist, and he leaned in even closer. I closed my eyes, feeling Benedict stop just a hair's breadth away from my lips.

"Are you sure-"

I closed the distance myself before he could continue. Benedict smiled into the kiss a moment later, pulling me closer to him, the two of us locked in each others' embrace as the sun set in the hills behind us. Truly, I didn't think anyone would be able to find out about how we'd spent our afternoon, but I also truly didn't care. I loved Benedict, and even though it was technically early in our courtship, I'd known him for most of my life. I knew we were meant to spend our lives together, and I knew he felt the same way as I did. Sooner or later, we'd make it official with an engagement and marriage, and be able to disappear together whenever we wanted without the Ton batting an eyelash. But, in the meantime, I didn't mind sneaking away for private moments like this one bit. No matter what had led to it in the first place.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

[probablysimpledreams]

Another Chance (Dabi x reader)

a/n: grrrr all I can think about is Touya I just love him so so much!!! His ending and the entire LOV's endings still have me so :( and I've been imagining what it would look like if they all survived the war and got to live. Which led me to write up this fic where the reader was dating Dabi pre-war and didn't know he survived until Shoto sought you out and allow y'all to reunite!!! There's a hint of angst but overall it's very cutey because Touya deserves all the love!!!

wc: 1017

"I've killed over 30 innocent civilians. The firstborn of the Todoroki family. I am going to tell you all why I committed these heinous crimes."

Despite the words leaving the villain's mouth, you couldn't help but smile softly as you rewatched Dabi's reveal video for the fifth time. Work was slow and you were missing him a little more than usual today. Besides, it really was all you had left of him.

It had been almost three months since the war between heroes and villains went down, completely changing the world you once knew. This meant it was coming up on three months since you last saw your lover. Since the night he broke up with you, saying his time in this world was up and you should move forward. Without him.

"Excuse me," a young man says as he approaches the front desk you're seated behind. His voice snaps you out of your spiraling heartbroken thoughts. You take a deep breath, pulling yourself together and throwing on your customer service face. "Are you ______?"

"I am. How can I help you today?"

"My name is Shoto Todoroki." Your stomach drops. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

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

For the first time in months, the week flew by. Today was finally the day you were going to reunited with Dabi. As excited as you were, anxiety was growing more and more inside your head. What if he didn't actually want to see you? What if you only make things harder for him? He was already suffering so much, maybe it would be better if you just went home and never came back and-

"He's going to be happy to see you." Shoto smiles as he places a hand on your shakey shoulder, breaking silence in the waiting room where you sat with his siblings and mother, all waiting for Touya to wake up from his nap.

"Yeah the idiot has been saying your name like every other day," Natsuo chimes in with a wide grin. "Still can't believe out of all his secrets, he had a gorgeous partner this whole time. You sure you're not some spy or something?" Fuyumi slaps his shoulder, shooting you an apologetic look before the two bicker. You chuckle at the sight, feeling your anxiety go down. You never imagined Dabi would have come from such a lively family.

"He's awake," a nurse approaches your group. You stand up with his siblings, Rei smiling softly at everyone before you all walk into his hospital room.

"Touya-nii," Shoto is the first to speak upon entering the room. "You have a guest."

"Yeah well fuck off," he grumbles, closing his eyes again despite just waking up.

"Well you heard him ______, guess we should head then," Natsuo teased loudly. Touya's eyes widen at hearing this, sitting up on the bed as his eyes scanned the room, landing on you with a shocked expression.

"________?" he asked in disbelief that you were standing here in front of him. Fuyumi and Natsuo snicker hearing his heart monitor rapidly beat, causing Touya to throw up a middle finger their way before returning his focus on you. You stood awkwardly as he sat awkwardly, unsure what to do next.

"Let's give them some privacy, yeah?" Fuyumi grabs Shoto and Natsuo before heading out the room, closing the door behind her. The silence persists until you speak up.

"Is it okay if I sit?" you ask, pointing to a spot on the large hospital bed. The size of the bed and private room must be a perk that comes with the Number One Hero's money paying for your medical bills. He nods, shakey bandaged hands smoothing out the bedsheets before you take a seat with him. "So Dabi-"

"Touya," he cuts you off. "You can call me Touya. At this point Dabi is gone." He sounded so nervous as he spoke it made your heart ache.

"Okay," you respond. "So Touya," you giggle upon hearing his heart rate monitor speed up again after saying his name. You take a shakey deep breath, collecting your thoughts. There was so much you wanted to say to him. You wanted to yell at him for leaving you. You wanted to cry, thanking the heavens and earth he was still alive. You wanted to make him promise he'd never do this to you again. Yet every time you went to open your mouth, no words would leave. Touya took notice to the conflicting emotions on your face each time you went to speak, the heavy weight of guilt tugging at his heart.

"I-I'm so sorry....." his words were quiet and it sounded like he was about to cry. He doesn't expect you to forgive me. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if you didn't love him anymore. His heart sank as he heard muffled sobs leaving your mouth. He couldn't look at you.

"Can we start over?" you smile as he finally meets your teary eyes. His bandaged hand reaches to cup your face, thumb rubbing away the tears that have fallen from your eyes. He felt didn't deserve another chance at life like this, but god he wanted it more than anything. This time it wasn't because of hatred or spite. No he wanted to live out of love. Out of love for his siblings. For his mother. For you. Especially for you.

"Yeah, I'd like that," his voice is shakey as he speaks. He feels insanely nervous as he asks his next question, as if it's the first time he's ever asked you this. "C-can I kiss you?"

"Please." You don't care how desperate you sound in your answer. You needed him to know how you've been longing for him all this time, how he hadn't left your thoughts once since the last night you saw him. He pulls you into a sweet, gentle kiss. His lips are more burnt than the last time you shared a kiss, but it doesn't matter. He still tastes the same. He's still the same man you love. And this time, neither of you were going to let the other get away.

[hail-dondus]

Gladiator II - Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I was fortunate enough to watch Gladiator II at the Royal Global premiere at Leicester Square last night (Wednesday 13th November) and I NEED to share some thoughts but there are definitely some spoilers, so…

I cannot stress this enough:

THERE ❗️ ARE ❗️ SPOILERS ❗️ BELOW ❗️ THE ❗️ CUT ❗️

Once again

⚠️ DO NOT CLICK THE READ MORE IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS FOR GLADIATOR II ⚠️

There’s probably things I’m missing/forgetting right off the top of my head, and I might be paraphrasing/summarising some dialogue. I definitely need to rewatch it when I’m NOT super close to an IMAX cinema screen because I spent the whole movie with my neck craned backwards and my eyes darting everywhere because I was trying to take it all in.

Anyway, without further ado:

The opening credits were very beautiful, it recounted the plot of the original film but kind of like in the style of the opening credits of Pillars of the Earth? I don’t know if that makes sense 😭

If I remember correctly, Joseph is billed third behind Paul and Pedro, and Fred is billed fourth 🥹♥️

The film opens with a huge battle where the Roman army, led by Marcus Acacius, conquering the last free city of Africa (I think?), which is what Lucius and his wife are trying to defend

I cannot for the life of me remember what Lucius’ wife was called but she seemed nice, we only had her for a few minutes though before she got killed 😭

Okay so I’m going to start right off the bat by talking about the Emperors as they were the ones I was most looking forward to seeing, and I want to give them their own section!

We NEED to talk about Fred as Caracalla - this isn’t even me being biased, I’m being as unbiased as I can when I say that he was AMAZING

By the way, for months I’ve seen people talk shit about Fred, complaining about how they wish it was Barry Keoghan, whinging because “we could have had Joe and Barry” - to those people I say, shut the fuck up ☺️ I will NOT tolerate any hate for my boy Fred!

Fred actually had a much meatier part than Joe which was pleasantly surprising. I’m not saying Joe wasn’t unhinged or good, but he was way more sane than Fred’s character and you got the feeling that he was trying to hold their rule together and keep his brother from bringing down the whole empire

Caracalla surprised me because he was so much more softly spoken than I anticipated; in so many scenes he was childlike and almost pitiful to watch. For example, there were times where you could see him pouting or fidgeting like a bored toddler, at one point he essentially threw a tantrum and Geta had to hold him back from killing Acacius and Lucilla (and then in the background you could see him playfully swing the sword about like a child would with a toy) He would grin and get excited like a child whenever there was fighting or bloodshed, bouncing in his seat, he looked surprised and excited in the beginning when Geta handed him wine etc.

In the last coliseum fight scene, this was literally Caracalla getting excited when the fighting started - a literal child 😭

Honestly it was just fascinating to watch Caracalla because you could never tell if he was going to be childlike and almost-innocent or if he was going to start screaming and get violent

So apparently the reason that Caracalla is unhinged is because (to quote Geta) “the disease from his loins has spread to his head” (to paraphrase) which makes me think he’s got syphilis or something.

Also both of the emperors are briefly seen with concubines (as in the trailer), and Caracalla has both male and female ones hanging around him 😭 we love a bisexual Emperor!

Caracalla seems to have memory problems (probably as a result of his STI) because he doesn’t remember seeing Lucius fighting in front of them from just a couple of days ago at their party (the scene with the concubines) and Geta tries to remind him, “it’s the poet” but Caracalla just sits down and says he doesn’t remember

There’s a scene where Marcus and Lucilla are brought to the emperors in the middle of the night after being caught in a conspiracy to overthrow them, and you’ve got Geta in that red robe from the trailer whilst Caracalla is basically just wearing a fucking bedsheet toga style 😭 you know that shot in White Lotus where Fred/Quinn has a duvet around himself? Kind of like that

Contrary to that Letterboxd review calling the twins “BJ brothers”, there is NO incest in this film, and no hint of incest between the twins. I know a screenshot is circulating of Joe in the red robe where you could see what looked like the top/side of Fred’s head as if he’s on his knees, but they were absolutely NOT doing that 💀 the scene shows them both entering the room (Geta in his robe, hastily put on) and Fred in his bedsheet toga thing. I definitely didn’t get the vibe of incest at all, I got the vibe of “it’s the middle of the night and they’ve both been woken up because these two traitors (Marcus and Lucilla) were caught plotting against them”

I love that Caracalla’s weakness is Dondas (or Dundas? Different magazines are using different names so I’m so confused), his pet monkey (WE FUCKING LOVE CHERRY AND SO DOES FRED 😭♥️) Like he’s got Dondas/Dundas wearing a fucking dress and on a little chain lead, eating sweets from a bowl, and I have to applaud Fred for being able to act with a straight face while he had the monkey crawling over his shoulders, touching his hair, and at one point when the monkey moved the chain lead literally went right around/over his face

While there’s riots going on outside the palace, Caracalla is freaking out and has Dondas/Dundas the monkey on his shoulder, and Geta straight up threw wine at both of them before saying that maybe Dondas (or Dundas, whatever the fucking name is) go and calm down in another room 💀

There’s a scene where Macrinus finds Caracalla hiding under a table with the monkey and it made me think they were almost playing hide and seek 😭 truthfully I think he was just under there crying and hiding

It’s the fact that Macrinus was able to manipulate Caracalla into killing Geta by using his love of Dondas/Dundas against him; the people of Rome protest against their emperors, and Macrinus basically tells Caracalla that Geta is going to throw him to the plebs outside to be killed - and Dondas/Dundas. “Think about what they might do to Dondas” (or Dundas) - and that’s what pushes him over the edge.

NOT CARACALLA AND MACRINUS SAWING GETA’S FUCKING HEAD OFF LIKE THAT 😭 IT WAS STRAIGHT UP LIKE A HORROR FILM WITH MACRINUS COMING UP BEHIND CARACALLA AND HELPING?!?

Also Caracalla made the monkey a fucking consul of state (I think) after he killed Geta?!?! 😭 Absolutely fucking UNHINGED I TELL YOU

“ALL HAIL DONDAS! 😃” (or Dundas - again, someone please tell me the fucking monkey’s confirmed name)

They showed Geta’s head for WAY too long 😭 and Macrinus just showing it around like that?!? NASTY

Reeling over the fact they airbrushed out Geta’s head for the trailer because in this shot in the film Geta’s head is clearly visible on the table behind Denzel 💀

Sorry but Fred looked damn fine in that purple outfit near the end 😋

I feel like Caracalla had a little bit of a soft spot for Lucilla but the two sides of his personality were warring with each other: the sadistic bloodthirsty side wanted to murder both her and Marcus right away, but then near the end he whispers to Macrinus “must we kill Lucilla?” and he sounded a little hesitant or unsure which was interesting

Seeing Fred as Caracalla without Geta in that last coliseum battle scene? I can’t help but love him, Fred is seriously too good in this role. The shouting, the childlike excitement when the fighting started (see gif above)

Fred was definitely playing up the childlike side of Caracalla in his last scene when the people started revolting, he was literally curling up in his seat, snivelling and crying like a baby until Macrinus killed him from behind (he put something in his ear, i think he stuck a pin in his ear to impale his brain?) Truly pitiful end for Caracalla.

Once again: Fred Hechinger for Best Supporting Actor at the 97th Academy Awards campaign!! 😊↕️

Okay so now I’ve talked about the Emperors, I can talk about the rest of the film:

Ridley Scott truly said fuck historical accuracy in this film 😭 which is not surprising to be fair if you know him and his movies

This film was, expectedly, VERY bloody and violent from start to finish

NOT LUCIUS TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE BABOON 🤯

At one point where they’re bringing the slaves into Rome, they show statues of a wolf feeding two human children from her teat and Lucius recounts the story - this is obviously a reference to Romulus and Remus, twins raised by a wolf mother. This is actually really fitting because from earth on, Ridley AND Fred and Joe have mentioned the idea of the twins being based on this Romulus/Remus story?

DAMN, Paul Mescal was super beefy in this film like holy fucking shit dude

Honestly I adore Pedro but his role was way smaller than I thought it would be. His role is essentially to be Lucilla’s decent and loyal husband who also happened to lead the invasion that killed Lucius’ wife in the beginning of the film, something he did not want to do, hence why Lucius wants to kill him so badly (family drama, eh? 😭) and who is part of a plot to dethrone the twins

MATT LUCAS AS THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES?!? 😭 I won’t lie, at first it distracted me because I was like “why the fuck is Matt Lucas here” but he got a few laughs out of the cinema screening so his tiny parts added a little bit of humour to the film when it got tense

As I said above, there’s no incest shown - there is a MENTION, however, of a rumour that Lucius’ real father wasn’t Lucius Verus(?) but rather Commodus (obviously Lucilla’s brother/Lucius’ uncle from the first film). However, it’s not true because they make it very clear that Lucius’ father is Maximus. They do however briefly mention that Lucilla was a child bride at the age of 14 which is a bit fucked up

I was probably the only person in my screening who noticed this but at one point I saw graffiti on one of the walls on the outside/entrance to the coliseum that said something like “Irrumbo Imperators” - according to Google, that translates as “I attack the emperors”. However, it could have also been “Irrumabo Imperatores”, and if you ask Google to give you the Latin word for “fuck”? It’s “Irrumabo”. So essentially there was graffiti in the film that either said “attack the emperors” or “fuck the emperors” 💀

I thought that maybe Lucius had somehow forgotten that Lucilla was his mother despite being 12 when she sent him away but nope, he’s fully aware of who he actually is and who his mother is, he’s just angry at her for sending him away and never seeing him again 😭

NOT THAT SERVANT TATTLING ON LUCILLA AND MARCUS?!? 😤

They killed Marcus off WAY earlier than I thought they would by the way. The trailers give the impression that the final battle is Lucius vs Marcus but it’s actually Lucius vs Macrinus which is WILD to me

You know that scene in LOTR where the orcs shoot Boromir full of arrows? That is basically what happened in this film to General Acacius but with about 20 more arrows 💀 I had major Boromir flashbacks watching this scene

I’m glad that Lucilla and Lucius got to reconcile before the ending, given what ended up happening

“Because Emperor Caracalla is generous, he will allow Lucilla to have one Gladiator to fight to defend her” - ONE. ONE AGAINST ABOUT 30 TRAINED GUARDS 💀

I’m still reeling over the fact Derek Jacobi spoiled his own character’s death on the red carpet a mere hour before the film screening in front of THOUSANDS of people 😭 that man did NOT give a fuck quite frankly and I think that’s kind of hilarious of him

THE GASP THAT EVERYONE IN THE SCREENING COLLECTIVELY LET OUT WHEN MACRINUS KILLED LUCILLA BY SHOOTING HER IN THE CHEST?!? HE KILLED CARACALLA AND LUCILLA IN 60 SECONDS FLAT 😭

That said, this shot from the behind the scenes featurette about Ridley Scott is ten times funnier to me after watching the film and realising that not only is Ridley showing Denzel how to shoot the arrow that kills Lucilla, but Fred is also supposed to be dead in the chair at this point since Macrinus takes the bow and fires the arrow straight after killing Caracalla 😭

Poor Lucius has now seen his father, his mother, his uncle and his wife all die right in front of him, the man CANNOT catch a break 😫

That final battle between Lucius and Macrinus was GRUESOME 😳 Lucius cut off his hand and slashed him - I’m not sure if he actually cut him in half or if Macrinus just crumpled in the river in a heap but DAMN

This film used footage from the first Gladiator film so they gave the actor who played Lucius in the first film a credit which was nice!

That said, I know obviously it’s been 24 years since the original film so of course the child actor from the original is no longer 12 and so could not be in the flashback scenes showing young Lucius, but damn the difference was a little jarring to be honest, especially when it went from footage of the original film to new footage with the new child actor

Ridley Scott spoiled the ending of this fucking movie by saying he wanted to have Paul back to play Lucius again as the main character in Gladiator III 💀 so yeah, I already knew Lucius was surviving this film

Some final summary thoughts:

Let’s be honest, it would be impossible to top the first Gladiator and so while I loved Gladiator II and think it was amazing, it was obviously never going to quite reach the same level as the original

I know I just made the comment about nominating Fred for Best Supporting Actor but I have to be honest, I truly think Denzel deserves the nomination - if there’s only one actor from this film who gets that nomination, it has to be Denzel because he was by far the standout of the whole film. If I had to rank it personally I’d say Denzel and then Fred is a close second, then maybe Joseph and Pedro?

^ This isn’t me saying Joe and Pedro were bad at all, they were all really amazing, but this film just had so many characters and quite frankly Fred, Joe and Pedro had WAY less screentime than Denzel so they didn’t have nearly as much to work with as he did.

Again; I’m biased because I went in the most excited to see the Emperors, but I wish we’d had more of Caracalla and Geta. Fred and Joe did their best to work with what they were given, but they didn’t have that much and pretty much all of their scenes were shown in trailers or TV spots etc.

GIVE CHERRY THE MONKEY A FUCKING OSCAR

I obviously wasn’t expecting Paul Mescal to fight real baboons, rhinos and sharks but the CGI was… not great. It was quite obvious that it was CGI for the baboons and sharks, I think the rhino was slightly better though (Fred mentioned in an interview his first day involved “the mechanical rhino” so it was somewhat partly practical as well I suppose)

The pacing of this film was a little all over the place, if I’m being honest. I want to rewatch soon, from further back in the screen because, as I said, I was craning my head back the whole time and it ended up giving me a neck and headache so that probably added to me being uncomfortable (plus I’d had a long day and was thoroughly burned out by the time the screening started), but there were times where I was like “oh… we’re back here then 😐”

^ What I’m trying to say is that some of the storylines happened so fast and had very little build up (eg. The emperors in general) whilst other plots were so slow burn in comparison.

The music was so good! I know people are going to compare it unfavourable to Hans Zimmer’s original score from the first film, but I LOVE Harry Gregson-Williams (he did the soundtrack for the first two Narnia films so I’m biased 😅) and I thought he did a great job with the score here. The fact he had Hans Zimmer’s approval and praise made me confident the score would be great anyway

I feel like people are obviously going to compare Paul Mescal to Russell Crowe which… let’s be honest, has gotta suck for him because how the fuck do you live up to Russell Crowe?!? Some people have already said that they didn’t like Paul in this film, which… okay, fair enough. I honestly don’t think comparing him to Russell Crowe does him any favours. I enjoyed watching him personally, and I think given that this whole film rests on him, he did great. Not quite Russell Crowe but I have no complaints about his performance personally.

People are also going to compare Joe and Fred to Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, and I think they both did a great job given that they didn’t actually have nearly as much screen-time as Joaquin did in the original film. It’s almost unfair to compare them because in the first Gladiator, Commodus was the main antagonist - in this film, Macrinus is the main antagonist overall whilst the Emperors are more secondary antagonists that serve as obstacles for Macrinus’ rise to power. But they both did great with what they had.

Overall, my opinion of the film?

This film NEEDS to be seen on a big screen at the cinema! Go and watch it!

[vanilla-lip-stick]

When I rewatched the third episode of season two, I paid closer attention to Caitlyn, especially during the "coronation" scene. And somehow, I got the impression she's not really on board with it, is acting, pretending, trying to make the best of an impossible situation.

Perhaps it is just me hoping she isn't going down the "evil path," that she's redeemable, not the puppet Ambessa wants her to be. But bear with me and look at these screenshots:

When Ambessa calls out her name, Caitlyn is surprised, put on the spot. She needs to make sense of this, and quickly so. This is also by far the most emotional expression she wears during the whole scene.

Then we have this intermission. It follows on a close-up of Ambessa which implies this is taking place in her head. But what if it's Caitlyn, trying to figure out what Ambessa's angle really is? Does she have a hunch Ambessa played a major role in the attack?

(I may be grasping at straws here, but if this intermission just wanted to clarify Ambessa's role, why did they show it at exactly this moment?)

When Caitlyn ultimately follows Ambessa's call (and Ambessa calls her "child"), she shows this expression. I'll be honest and say I have trouble reading her, but to me, she looks a bit disgusted behind her poker face. Did she see through Ambessa's intentions?

Caitlyn doesn't react at all when Ambessa promises Caitlyn justice for her mother. I would have expected at least something by the mention of her mother. If Caitlyn really leaned into the power handed her on a silver platter (and that reminds me of how Jinx served Vi a cupcake on a literal silver platter), wouldn't she show signs of anticipation at the notion of crushing her enemies? But: nothing.

Then this moment. We could read into this that Caitlyn is reaching for Ambessa. But she then closes her hand to a fist, and while it's not directly in front of Ambessa's face, what if this implies she wants to crush Ambessa?

(Again, I might be grasping at straws. What do you think?)

The whole situation with Caitlyn and Vi and Jinx in light of the fight where, as I read it, Vi used Isha as a welcome excuse not to kill Jinx, made me ask myself: what would need to happen for Caitlyn to let go of her desire to have Jinx pay for her actions in blood? Perhaps only if Jinx saved Caitlyn, or Vi, so they could be together. Jinx served Vi a cupcake – she could do it again, or she serves Caitlyn Vi instead.

I guess that's unlikely to happen given the show's overall tone. Then again, Arcane is always coming up with ways to defy my expectations, and it always treats it's characters seriously.

Either way, I'm excited and terrified for the second act.

[tgmsunmontue]

O is for Oceanographer (one shot)

3k Hangster - Teen/G* - While deployed at sea sometime in 2010 Jake finds a YouTube channel featuring a research oceanographer called Bradley Bradshaw. He likes how passionate Bradley is. Among other things. *I know - I'm shocked too

A is for Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP)

                Jake stares out over the wide expanse of dark blue water, watches it swirl and eddy as the carrier cuts through it and wonders what makes whirlpools naturally occur in the ocean. He knows they do, because he's seen them several times. He remembers vaguely reading something in a book back in high school, or maybe a documentary. He finds the ocean pretty fascinating, and he respects it. Can't be in the Navy and not be aware of just how beautiful but treacherous it can be.

                Later, when he’s lying in is rack, killing time before he’s tired enough to fall asleep, headphones on to try and dampen some of the clanking racket that echoes around, he pulls up YouTube and types in a couple of words. A selection of videos appear but there’s one that catches his eye, and it’s definitely because the guy is kinda cute; grinning and squinting in the still, hand up to partially shade his eyes and he’s shirtless. Jake appreciates that too.

                Then the guy starts talking, and he has a nice voice, a Californian accent, he smiles easily and grins at the camera. He’s around Jake’s age and clearly passionate about the ocean, talking, rambling really, about anything and everything. Some of his explanations are so technical Jake doesn’t really understand what he’s saying, but decides he doesn’t need to understand to enjoy the sights and sounds that Bradley, that’s his name, is showing him. One video rolls to the next and Jake falls asleep to the sounds of Bradley talking away in his ear.

                “As always, feel free to drop me any questions you might have about the ocean and I’ll either answer them, or they could even be the topic of one of my future videos.”

B is for Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR)

                It becomes part of his bedtime routine and he rewatches some of the videos over and over, downloads them onto his phone to save on the data costs. Months slip by and he starts to understand what exactly an ADCP is and does, and why it’s important to Bradley’s research. Which is all about the speed and direction of currents, with particular attention to nutrient movement for tracking food sources. Bradley is clearly busy, and life aboard a research vessel is clearly as disciplined as a Navy carrier.

                “Hi again, my name is Bradley Bradshaw and today we’re going to be installing a BPR, which is short for Bottom Pressure Recorder.”

                In the video Bradley is wearing a wetsuit, but it’s hanging around his waist and he’s smiling at whoever is holding the camera. Jake knows that the videos are day, if not weeks or months old, but it’s kind of nice to think about someone else sailing around on the ocean and doing something they consider just as exciting and important as what Jake thinks he does. Bradley is explaining what a Bottom Pressure Recorder does and how he’s lending a helping hand today for someone else’s research project and Jake adds it to the little list he’s formulated in his head, that he helps out his friends or colleagues. That he smiles easily and laughs. Is passionate.

                “Now a BPR measures the change in pressure within the water column at the bottom of the ocean. It can help us monitor tsunamis and tidal changes. But also it can help monitor movement beneath the crust.”

                “Magma baby!” someone calls out from offscreen and Bradley laughs, rolls his eyes but doesn’t stop grinning at the camera and Jake finds himself grinning back.

                “Yes, and magma. What I’m more excited about is this,” Bradley says, and he’s holding up a Styrofoam cup. “Now. This here is a Styrofoam cup. We’ve got a collection of them, and as you can see we’ve all been using our time very efficiently decorating them.” The camera jerks to the side to show a lot more cups, all highly and intricately doodled and decorated. “Now, we will be bringing those with us, at about thirty-three feet the weight of the water pressure starts applying accumulated weight, around fifteen pound per square inch –”

                “Fourteen-point-seven!”

                “Adam!”

                There’s laughter and Jake wonders if the pressure from deep diving is similar to pulling Gs. Bradley has continued talking, is pulling on the wetsuit and zipping it up and Jake bites his lip as he watches the other man’s muscles flex and shift. Yeah. He’s been alone at sea for a long while. Fortunately though Bradley releases two to three videos a week. Sometimes they’re twenty or thirty minutes long. And sometimes they’re only five minutes, with him answering a question or two that commenters have left and Jake wonders if he could ask about the comparison of diving pressure to Gs. He doesn’t bother though, he’ll go deep diving one day and learn for himself.

                “So, I’m out here with little to no social life, so feel free to drop me a comment and ask any burning questions you might have.”

C is for Cusp

                They have forty-eight hours of shore leave and he’s going to make the most of it. Once he shakes off his colleagues, who are all staring along the beach. Javy at least knows he’s wanting to go out and hook up, will let him make an easy exit. But he has time yet.

                “What do you think makes those crescent shapes?”

                Jake looks out at what they’re all looking at and huffs.

                “They’re called cusps.”

                “What?”

                “The formation along the beach like that. They’re called cusps,” Jake provides, because he knows that. Bradley had done a series of three videos about them, from the coarse pebble beaches the bigger cobbles and Jake is pretty sure he could talk about standing waves and sedimentation rates and longshore drift if he needed to, it’s one of his favorite videos.

                “You suddenly an expert on the ocean?”

                “No. Just more educated than you lot. And if I was an expert on cusps I’d be an expert in coastal geomorphology, not oceanography…”

                “Since when did you take an interest in the ocean?”

                “We’re in the Navy, seems stupid not to have at least a passing knowledge of it,” Jake says, and he’s practiced this in the mirror, looking blasé as he waves off his depth of knowledge. There are eyerolls, because of course there are. They think he’s an arrogant asshole, and he is, but it’s not the only part of him. He’s just not going to waste energy on people that don’t seem to bother learning more about him.

                Later that night, after he’s received a passable blowjob and given one in return he curls into his rack, not prepared to pay for a room on shore when he doesn’t have to. Plus he got a notification that Bradley post a new video and he always tries to watch new ones as soon as he can.

                “Bit of a shit day for me today. Won’t be a long video. Just… might delete this later anyway. It’s the anniversary of my mom’s death and I’m stuck out here on a boat away from everyone. Sometimes that’s nice. And sometimes it just makes me feel even more lonely than ever…”

                It’s the saddest Jake has ever seen him, and he knows Bradley likely puts on a happy face for the majority of his videos, seems like a generally happy person. This feels private. Open and vulnerable in a way that Jake hasn’t seen before and for the first time he feels like reaching out, maybe actually commenting, but he has no idea what to say even as Bradley rambles on about walking along the beach with his mom and eating ice-cream and watching the waves hit the sand. How the ocean makes him feel close to both his parents. Jake hadn’t realized that they were both dead and

                “As always, feel free to drop me any questions you might have about the ocean and I’ll either answer them, or they could even be the topic of one of my future videos.”

D is for Diving

                “So I got my diving certificate when I was doing my undergraduate study, then when I was doing my postdoc I became a PADI accredited instructor as a side hustle, so some of the others on the ship with me are building up their dive hours.”

                He’s been watching Bradley for over five years now, followed him onto Spotify where he sometimes appears in a friend’s podcast. Jake has a new appreciation for patterned shirts and moustaches but also tanned muscled skin and easy smiles. He’s well aware he has a crush on a complete stranger, even if Bradley doesn’t feel like a stranger. He knows when his birthday is, when his mom and dad both passed away. He also knows Bradley has deleted the short private video that Jake thinks only a handful of people saw.

                “I used to dream of flying, and I still like flying… but there’s something hidden and mysterious about the depths of the ocean which are just… a little bit more scary and unknown. We still don’t know everything about it, probably never will. And I find that far more interesting and compelling than flying these days.”

                He watches, listens to his voice with his eyes closed and then, because he sometimes has time to kill; reads the comments. Bradley replies to some of the more ridiculous comments stating very firmly that he won’t ever share his precise location, or anything about his current personal life. Jake doesn’t blame him. He’s gone from having a few hundred subscribers to having close to one million. Some people are weird.

                “Today we’re meeting up with an aircraft carrier today, can’t tell you the name for security reasons, but they’ve got a couple of researches on board who are joining us for the next leg of our journey.”

                Jake blinks, wonders when the hell that must have happened, because obviously they’re on the same ocean sometimes, but knowing he’d possibly been so close has him feeling oddly nervous, which isn’t like him at all.

                “As always, feel free to drop me any questions you might have about the ocean and I’ll either answer them, or they could even be the topic of one of my future videos.”

E is for Eutrophication

                “So some of you already might think you know what I do, but I also look at the release of excess nutrients, particularly as they move up and down the water column and then impact upon the ecosystems within the ocean. My original research was based around currents and tides, but as the ocean warms there’s more research funding in nutrient movement. Not that there’s much funding for that either, but I’ll still take it.”

                Jake has been watching Bradley for over eight years now. It’s weird, having watched him grow older along with him, his change in haircuts, the moustache coming and going a few times before it seems to have settled on staying in place. The shirtless look being replaced with sun top and sunscreen and hats covering his curls, sunglasses perched on his nose and he often wears aviators, sometimes garish button-down patterned shirts and Jake likes it. All of it.

                Bradley still shares deeply personal information sometimes, but it’s all long past. Things about his childhood, his parents, both of whom Jake knows have passed away. He doesn’t mention any current relationships, romantic or otherwise. Hell. The man could be married for all Jake knows. Could have kids. Although he suspects Bradley would be too proud of kids to not boast about them, given the way he talks about his graduate students.

                “Today we’re actually near shore, which means waves! Which means surfing! Now… I will be the first to admit I am not great at staying on my board, but when you catch the perfect wave and it’s just you, being pushed toward the shore by the force of the ocean behind you? Better than flying. And before you ask, or defend flying, know that I get to go flying plenty. As always, feel free to drop me any questions you might have about the ocean and I’ll either answer them, or they could even be the topic of one of my future videos.”

                Jake still hasn’t ever left a comment, but like with all the others before it he clicks the little thumbs up icon.

F is for Face to Face

                “Sorry I’m late pops,” Jake says with a grin, because it’s their little in-joke now. Also he knows he’s not late, simply the last one to arrive, but then again he’s always liked making an entrance.

                “You’re alright Hangman, come on in. I think everyone is here, but you probably planned it that way,” Maverick states, and Jake grins again, tips his invisible hat.

                “Well, you know most everyone already, Penny and Amelia obviously. And then this here is my godson, Bradley.”

                Jake’s mouth goes dry.

                Holy shit.

                Bradley Bradshaw.

                “Yep. That’s me…”

                Jake realizes he must have said the other man’s name out loud.

                “You know each other?” Maverick asks.

                “No. We’ve never met. I’d remember,” Bradley says, and he’s looking at Jake with one eyebrow slightly quirked, lip twitching in maybe amusement. He’s taller than Jake, and he hadn’t ever seriously thought about what Bradley might be like face-to-face. Jake can’t take his eyes off his moustache and he locks his jaw, doesn’t want to accidentally blurt out that he’s thought about it on his body. Fuck. The other Daggers are watching him and he hopes the smile he pastes on is at least halfway convincing.

                “Huh. Well. Hangman here is the reason I’m still around.”

                “Pretty sure that’s meant to be classified Mav…”

                “Well. He also threw me out of the Hard Deck only a couple of days after I ejected from another classified thing so… swings and roundabouts, right?”

                “He what? Did you?” Bradley asks, and he seems torn between worried about Mav’s previous ejection and delight at the idea of Jake tossing Maverick out.

                “I didn’t do it by myself!” Jake offers quickly in defense, and Maverick, the asshole, is laughing.

                “Can I get you something to drink Hangman?”

                “Yeah. Thanks. Whatever you’re having is fine…”

                “Hangman here is obsessed with the ocean, always dropping little facts into the conversation. You two can probably talk each other’s ears off…”

                Jake grimaces, because all the facts he knows about the ocean come directly from the man standing in front of him, although he’s not stopped looking at Jake with interest and he knows that kind of interest at least and he’s trying very hard to play it cool. He accepts the bottle of beer from Maverick, glad that it gives him something to do. Fortunately the Daggers were already mid-conversation of games of cornhole, and usually he’d muscle his way into competing but…

                “So…” Bradley starts, and he takes a slow sip of his drink and Jake watches his throat as he swallows, the movement of his lips and the way his tongue pokes out to the side as he looks at him. “You looked a little spooked to see me. Any particular reason for that? We haven’t hooked up and I ghosted you?”

                Jake shakes his head, and he guesses there’s his answer about whether Bradley would ever go out on a date with him. Maybe.

                “I’ve… watched your videos. On YouTube.”

                “Oh. Cool. Because you like the ocean huh? That why you joined the Navy?”

                Jake bites his lip, considers lying. He knows he can turn this around, make himself appear smooth and cocky… except he’s seen Bradley through some of his saddest moments, as well as some of his best. He’s aware enough to understand it doesn’t mean he knows him, but it also means he feels like he owes him the same level of openness and honesty.

                “I joined the Navy to fly. I liked the ocean fine, but… your videos have made me love it.”

                “Yeah?”

                “Yeah. Been watching you. For years actually.”

                “Oh… you ever comment?”

                “No. Came close a couple of times, but… no.”

                “Shame. We might have met earlier.”

                “And what would have happened then?”

                “Could have asked you out.”

                “You make a habit of asking out strangers on the internet?”

                “Nope,” Bradley says, and he looks like he’s holding back a laugh and Jake feels like a laugh is bubbling up inside him at the ridiculousness of the conversation. “Going to ask you out now though. If that’s something you’d be interested in.”

                “Definitely interested.”

                The smile Bradley gives him is slow and pleased.

                “Good to know. Put your number in?” Bradley asks, handing his phone over and Jake takes it, will pass his own over as soon as he has a free hand.

                “If you put yours in mine…”

                “Oh, I have every intention of doing just that…”

                Jake chokes as he processes the innuendo but then he’s laughing, handing Bradley’s phone back to him and fishing his own out of his pocket; as Bradley’s fingers brush over his Jake finds himself glad he stumbled across Bradley’s channel all those years ago, because he doesn’t know if this meeting would have gone as smoothly otherwise.

G is for Groom

                “As always, feel free to drop me any questions you might have about the ocean and I’ll either answer them, or they could even be the topic of one of my future videos.”

                Jake grins, because he’s still never left a comment even now, eighteen months after meeting Bradley in person for the first time and no doubt becoming his biggest fan. He just lets him know directly. But this? He wants everyone to know and see…

>>Ever thought of marrying a stranger on the internet?

[soleadita]

ateez + encore chaos thoughts [first win with “wave” on mnet m! countdown, june 2019]

in which i make a post about a new interest when most of my mutuals are asleep, because i am shy on the internet

i was lured to this full performance (if we are indeed calling this a performance, i say with ALL the love in my heart) after the algorithms™️ saw fit to show me a much shorter clip featuring their attempts to sing through their tears, and it’s been haunting me for a week straight. i want to study it. i need to study it. there’s too much going on; it’s impossible to catch it all. (full disclosure, i don’t fully understand the significance of this win—just that it was apparently their first award and apparently quite meaningful? i am still learning. BUT GOOD FOR THEM!!)

[@storkmuffin these are the yunho tears i mentioned earlier but in my excitement i didn’t think to add that they’re buried in a 5 minute video of other ateez tears and shenanigans instead of being something quick and easily digestible. but here they are nonetheless!! if you (OR ANYONE ELSE please talk to me about this please please) have more thoughts…please. take it away.]

broad highlights:

everyone but mingi (and san, san is doing A+ at the show must go on here) weeping at different intervals and wandering around the stage like npcs. (guys, they genuinely look so…distraught? no, not the right word. overcome? well, whatever it is, it’s HORRIFICALLY endearing.)

yeosang making a beeline for wooyoung after the announcement and crying into his back—and then san hugging both of them.

yunho’s combo of crying, singing, and jumping around in a somewhat mingi-esque fashion, and how he’s moving between these…states of being. (around 2:40ish he goes from dancing and seemingly hyping (for a certain value of hype) the crowd to like…covering his face with his hand and crying, but then he goes right back into dancing and jumping even though i’m 85% certain he’s (possibly unsuccessfully) attempting to hold back tears. this feels very interesting to me in a way i’m refusing to examine further until the weekend.)

mingi JUMPING AROUND THE STAGE AND GRINNING while all of this is going on around him…i have Too Many thoughts about this actually. (and according to the yt comment section, he cried alone in his room afterwards. i have Thoughts and Feelings about this too.)

the way every time it looks like wooyoung is maaaaybe gonna get it together, he drops the mic and his face crumples again. (baby!!!!)(they are so tiny here…2019 feels like it was three lifetimes ago.)

san’s attempts to comfort wooyoung and/or get him to rally. (seonghwa does this too, i think, and it is equally adorable. and then at one point hongjoong like…pats wooyoung on the head? i think?)(separately, watching seonghwa try to maintain composure while standing next to Big Energy Jumping Grinning Mingi at the very beginning is such an experience. for a couple seconds there i feel like he’s almost trying to be like “ok chill, my guy” but im not sure im reading that right.)

speaking of hongjoong, he is also breaking down intermittently—i think he just tends to walk off to the side of the stage or to the back, where he’s then obscured by taller (sometimes jumping) members. (from what i can see, it seems like seonghwa does this too, but i need to stop rewatching the clip to fact check myself because then i get distracted by other details when what i should’ve been doing as of three hours ago is going to sleep.)

and this isn’t even getting into jongho. he is weeping; he is npc-stumbling around stage; he is still hitting those high notes through his tears. tbh i would expect nothing less from him. go, jongho!!!

tldr, i feel like i’m watching a group of preschoolers who are overdue for their naptimes and having Big Feelings about it. (and again, i mean this in the fondest way possible…this is all for fun, and is meant in no way to invalidate the feelings they’re expressing. i think part of the allure here, for me at least, is that in the live performance clips i’ve seen, they’re so polished!! and this feels so different; they’re newer at this point, it’s an encore and not like…a planned performance(?), they’ve just received impactful news and are handling the emotional aftermath of it…it’s just really fascinating to watch. they’re goofy, they’re talented, i love them.)

fin.

[pinecipitation]

I am once again up at your ass and asking for smiling friends hcs,,,, can I get fucking uhhhh Charlie and Alan with a crush who can't help but infodump their interests?? Talking about sitting then down and forcing them to watch their favorite movie and just rambling. (This is totally not me projecting in the slightest, nuh uh) THANK YOU WIFE I HOPE THIS IS OKAY TO ASK MWAH

SMILING FRIENDS X GN!READER

HELLO WIFE YES THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!! LEAN IN I HAVE A KISS READY FOR YOU

word count: 800+

warnings: none!!

CHARLIE:

- my guy doesn’t know about shit honestly, I feel like just how in the president election episodes he’d be like “idk idc” but in the end he gets an opinion with the more info you talk about

- of course because it’s YOU, he’d listen though

- you’re more into movies and shows and games than he is, so if the moment is ever dull he’d immediately hit you with the “….soooo,, any new recommendations?”

- boy do you have them

- he honestly enjoys the way you light up talking about the media you’re into, even if he isn’t quite retaining the information

- he doesn’t mind asking about it again just to hear your piece

- he thinks it’s sort of sweet that you get so heavy into a piece of media that you’d defend it to the ground, especially if its media that isn’t too widely liked or known or have much of a fanbase. he thinks it’s cool that he’s that person for you, like he’s getting insider information from a reliable source

- he finds himself seeing the media in the wild and immediately thinking about your thoughts on it, if he sees a figure of a character you don’t like or a poster of an arc you loved he’d be sure to point it out to himself

- will find himself going “man, fuck this character” to himself because of you, immediately shaking his head and wondering what was wrong with him. He didn’t even know the character, but he subconsciously has an opinion on them because of you

- back to you though, he would have a hard time physically sitting down to watch or read what you’re into, or try out a hobby you like, but when the moment comes where you offer watching the series with him he will jump on it without a second thought

- you do talk and pause to rewind certain parts in it, which he usually wouldn’t like people doing, but it doesn’t matter to him. it’s not like he’s watching the show anyways, he’s too fixated on you and how close you two are on his couch

ALAN:

- now he would ACTUALLY know what you’re talking about and pay attention to the movies and series

- usually he would just state he’s seen it or doesn’t care for it, but he’s breaking habits if it’s something you’re visibly excited about

- of course he’s happy to rewatch it though

- “no, I don’t know about it, is it good?” he’s seen the movie four times

- alan the type of man to stare at you blankly and resist the urge to add his own opinions and facts, but stays quiet for the plot

- he does genuinely enjoy having you so vocal about a subject you’re so passionate about, you’re somehow one of the only people he doesn’t get too overstimulated around, plus this way he doesn’t have to talk as much

- the day you offered a movie marathon at his place was a turning point, him taking the day off before just so he can clean and make the place acceptable, going the lengths to get usual movie snacks and blankets and such. this, and him hiding his books and dvds so that you wouldn’t stumble on them and find out he’s been pretending this entire time

- for the sake of the plot we’re ignoring alan being a morning person, in this universe he’s a night owl hence the eye bags

- the marathon goes on for later in the night than you both anticipated, after the first several hours and rambles of explaining you find yourself more and more tired and you pause the movies less and less

- it doesn’t take Alan long to notice that you fell asleep just like that, the blanket around the two of you and the bowl of chips discarded beside you

- he doesn’t care about that though, what he does care about is your head centimeters away from his shoulder

- not feeling even a little tired, he pauses the movie and carefully grabs his phone, sure not to move himself or you and writes down the time and place he paused, sure that you’d want to continue in the morning or another day. he’s also sure to write a small summary of where you two left off, now that you both “watched it together” he can talk back in infodump conversations and not give away that he knows the parts you two didn’t watch

- he’s quick to move when you shift in your sleep, him carefully but rapidly moving his hand from between you two and scooping his shoulder right under your head. you didn’t seem to wake or notice, a small lazy smile of success on his face as the two of you spend the rest of the night on the couch, him on his phone and you resting peacefully on his shoulder.

[samsayswhatever]

However, I think his smile dropped mostly because he's lost his brothers attention because Saxon's asleep. Now Loch's not very excited to be left alone in this sexual situation with Chloe, and the tightening of her grip on his neck emphasizes that.

Whoa, I didn’t even consider this. Lochlan puts his head in his hands before the threesome starts. Is it performance anxiety, shame that he’s turned on by Saxon, or fear? If he was only capable of performing with Chloe because of Saxon’s presence, then it stands to reason that once Saxon disengages Lochlan feels adrift, floating on his back at the mercy of the current.

He felt safe with Saxon next to him, being able to physically feel Saxon and his arousal, maybe he was “channeling” that arousal into his own body so he could keep his own erection going (which is too funny to me, lil bro had to touch a dick to get it up), but I think it’s more metaphorical than that. He’s doing this with Saxon because he’s doing this for Saxon. Of course he feels safer and more confident if Saxon is getting off right next to him. He trusts Saxon implicitly.

Also consider, if he’s not up to snuff with Chloe, Saxon can give him praise and verbal feedback instead, salving his ego or again, calming his anxiety.

Once Saxon is out of the picture, he’s at the mercy of Chloe, with her hand in the shape of splayed talons on his throat. Side note: I speculated that Chloe would be more outright villainous, trying to extort the brothers because “Gary knows,” and my pet theory was that she would tell Saxon “he knows about me and Lochlan,” because protecting his little brother from Gary’s vengeance would be more motivating than saving his own skin. It turned out not to be true, but the imagery of Chloe with Lochlan’s throat, the most vulnerable part of him, in her possessive grip, is still striking.

Remember, Chloe openly fetishized Lochlan’s perceived innocence and canonical inexperience. She is framed as a predator in this moment. And Saxon just fell asleep or is no longer involved, his boner is going down and Lochlan’s physical connection to him is gone.

Lochy’s smile fades because he realized Saxon is not going to be there to keep him grounded and to keep him safe. He’s on his own. We don’t know what happens next, but Lochlan seems to only be disturbed by the handjob when he remembers (post nut clarity is a bitch), but we’ll probably get more context about the overall scene and the power dynamics at play. I don’t think Lochlan had nearly a fraction of the power people keep ascribing to him.

Lochlan putting his head in his hands is an interesting clip for the show to include.

My first thought was that it was showing how tired Lochlan must be. He's staying up late, drinking, doing drugs, walked all over for that party and the fireworks show etc. However, on rewatches, I do think it looks like shame. I don't think Lochy wanted to watch his brother make out with Chloe. Maybe because he's jealous of the attention she's getting, or he feels awkward being the third wheel.

I think it's very important that the show has Saxon making out with Chloe (and implies their sex happened) before Lochlan has sex with her. Saxon basically said "see what I'm doing? Do this!" After Chelsea left, Saxon could have left too!! But he didn't. He stayed and (theoretically) fucked Chloe while his lil bro watched, and then watched as Loch imitated his actions.

Since we haven't seen everything that happened when Saxon and Chloe had sex, it's mildly possible that Saxon jerked off Lochlan first, and that was what he was imitating. Having sex while simultaneously jerking someone off felt like a surprisingly complex move for Loch's first time, and I'm curious to how it came about. We don't know who instigated the hand job, but it could have been either of them.

It's also possible that Saxon didn't cum with Chloe, and so that's part of why Loch is jerking him off now. Maybe Chloe encouraged it to make it "feel" like a threesome, or maybe they started with the hj and Chloe butted in to grab Loch's attention away. We don't really know.

I definitely agree that Loch feels safer with Saxon's presence while he's having sex with Chloe. Idk how old Chloe's character is, but the actress is 38. So 20 years older than Lochlan; more than twice his age; old enough to be his mother. With that power dynamic, I don't think Loch would feel safe having sex with her alone. I think if Chelsea and Saxon broke off to have sex, that Lochlan wouldn't have had sex with Chloe. But that's just my opinion. He still might have to make his brother happy, but I doubt he'd be smiling like a loon if it was just her around.

I agree, Loch had very little power this whole night, and no where near what some fans seem to think. I personally think it's fun to play with the idea that Lochlan was interested in having power over his brother. From the "I'm gonna take you down," comment to the way he had his hands around Saxon's neck in their second kiss that parallels Chloes dominant kissing stance. BUT I don't realistically think that he has power in cannon. It's just a fun theme to explore for fanfiction.

Loch started off the night with his first drink that Saxon pushed on him while saying, "Just shut up and drink this. [...] Just take it. Follow the leader." And based on his character, I don't think he's a big underage drinker, and this might even be his first drink. He's young, not an experienced drinker, and pretty skinny so I think he's a light weight. But they show him drinking literal buckets of alcohol. AND he genuinly blacked out the next morning. Even if he didn't take the drugs (he did) he would still have been in a place where he was too drunk to consent, let alone scheme and manipulate people.

And his brother, who should have been looking after him, instead just fucks the girl he's been saying Lochlan should have sex with this whole time! How confused must Lochlan be? I feel like that really ties into Jaclyn and Lauries arc. Like, Jaclyn fucks Valentin after all the work she did to push them together - but in their case she didn't start that with Laurie IN THE ROOM. If we want to read this threesome as Loch being excited to lose his virginity to Chloe (which I don't) even then, the threesome would have felt weird; he'd feel Laurie felt.

But as it stands, I think Lochlan did everything his brother suggested, including all the drinking and trying to fuck Chloe. But I think he ALSO did everything Chloe suggested, like kissing Saxon. Maybe he thought pleasing Chloe would mean he'd get to have sex with her, and therefore that would make Saxon happy, and therefore he and Saxon would get closer. But personally I think on some level he wanted to be intimate with Saxon, and the events of that night just let it come to the surface.

Anyway, thanks so much for the inbox message! And, as always, sorry for having to write a thesis in reply. My mind never stops thinking 😅

[gabirox]

vlad and fire

i've been rewatching the show and when watching some of s1 noticed thart vlad's bed is placed in the area of his room where the fireplace should be. now i could write this off as basic set design decisions, but there isn't any fun in that and instead i'm choosing to look at it as symbolic. there were a couple of theories i had regarding this:

the bed is there as a representation of the lack of warmth within the dracula family. the place where vlad should in theory be the safest and most welcome has no source of warmth and the room (and family) is instead cold

vlad being the central part of the home (family), and by extension, the castle. vlad is obviously the most human of the family and the one to bring life into the undead (cold) family

i also think using fire as a metaphor for vlad coming to accept that he is a vampire is particuarly interesting

looking at my third theory, i've looked (admittedly not in a lot of depth) at how fire is used through the show. aside from providing atmospheric lighting, it can be used to tell a story.

in s1-2 vlad's bed is in the fireplace, the fire cannot be lit because he is actively blocking it off. we see the fireplace inside the castle be lit with candles instead of an actual fire. to me this feels like its showing that vlad is actively supressing his vampirism by trying to block it at the source

in seasons 3-5, we constantly see the fireplace in the living room in garside lit. vlad can no longer hide from who he is and has come to accept it.

at the end of s4e8 (loyalty's for breathers), we see vlad at one of his lowest points in the show and he is sat in front of a well stoked fire, swigging blood from a bottle. i could write so much about this scene alone and will likely come back to it at a later point in another post because it's one of my favourite scenes in the whole show. but in this moment, vlad has no way of hiding who he is, instead he embraces the warmth of the roaring fire as he likely feels the most like a vampire as he ever has.

in the first photo you can even see the flames flickering at the bottom as he considers taking a drink.

the links between vlad and fire don't end there either. in s2e6 (baby dracula), vlad manages to create a fireball for the first time. this is the only time we really see him get excited over a vampire power, especially this early on. whilst he came to accept hypnotism as something extremely useful fairly quickly, especially in the episodes following this one), at first he was very apprehensive of it. the same can be said for turning into a bat. when it comes to fireballs however he is excited from the off.

he also uses fire when talking to erin about the perks of vampirism in s3e4 (fangs for the memories), and demostrates the candle lighting thing

another observation is his aura having flames when talitha sees it in s5 (i unfortunately can't remember the episode off the top of my head)

with vlad it seems to constantly draw back to fire which is just so interesting to me.

outside of these surface level observations, one of my personal favourite themes through the show is the use of blood addiction as a thinly veiled metaphor for alcoholism. this is once again something i could talk about for so long but fire (vlad's relationship with vampirism) and alcohol (blood) don't mix and when they do it's not a good thing.

the final thing which i noticed today when rewatching the finale, is that we see vlad and sally infront of the fireplace as he makes his final choice to leave any links to humanity behind. the fire is lit and well tended despite what has been happening in garside.

anyway those are my current thoughts on it but its a concept i've been unable to escape for the last few weeks since i first noticed the bed in the fireplace. as i rewatch more i hope i'll notice some more links but overall i think it is such interesting symbolism.

[tbyfandoms]

Flowers | Austin Butler x Reader

Pairing: austin butler x f!reader

Word Count: 3k

Summary: after making a quick run to the store, austin comes home with a surprise for his favorite girl in the world (requested)

Warnings: none

Masterlist/Request Form | Ask/Tell/Request

A/N: I swear it takes the bare minimum for me to go off in delulu land and create a whole scenario of some cute domestic ish about one of my faves lmao! thank you to the anon who requested I write this, you truly fed into my fantasies and I appreciate the excitement. I know it’s been a while since I’ve uploaded a fic so I figured I’d finally try to sit down and write something quick and get it out for the last day of austin’s birth month! I hope you guys enjoy sentimental aus and the dash of horndoginess I threw in there. after finding out about a certain *ehem* tidbit, I saw an opportunity to include the fact austin is an ass man-ANYWAYS! as always lmk what you think! <3

also important side-note! for right now I think I am going to hold off on accepting any new requests for a while. I have quite a few backed up in my ask box that I really wanna get out for the people who sent them in and are patiently waiting! I can’t stop ya’ll from sending things in, but please know that at the moment the requests I have on my currently writing page are my current priorities and it might be a while until I get to yours!

“God, there’s literally nothing on,” you grumble after skipping past yet another movie preview on Netflix.

It’s both yours and Austin’s first off day together in such a long time and all you want to do is cuddle and watch a good film, but it’s like nothing is catching your attention, and at this point you kinda just want to rewatch a comfort film and call it a day. You doubt Austin will put up much of a fight.

The blonde did leave you in charge of finding something to watch while he went off to gather snacks, so he can’t complain too much if you two end up watching a movie you’ve both seen a hundred times, right?

While an idea starts to form in your mind and you quickly scroll to the search bar, soft footsteps from the kitchen make their way to you.

“Baby, I’m headin’ out the store really quick, I just need to pick up a few things before we get started. D’you need anything?”

Your boyfriend’s voice immediately takes your attention away from the black and red screen you’ve been staring at for the past ten minutes. Needless to say the interruption and new view is much appreciated. You swear to yourself that Austin could walk out of a place wearing just a trash bag and he’d still be the most beautiful man you’ve ever laid eyes on.

He looks so soft and cuddly in his cotton shirt and track pants that it makes you sad at the idea you’ll have to wait even longer now to wrap yourself in his arms.

“Did we eat all the snacks again already? I swear neither one of us is home enough to go through food that quickly and yet somehow we always do,” you say as you shake your head lightly.

Austin’s soft chuckle drifts through the air. “It blows my mind too, sweetheart.” The actor moves closer to the front door and begins to put his shoes on—grey and black Adidas with the white stripes, his latest favorites. “I mean we have stuff but I wanna get you some of those candies you like to have when we go to the movies, I figured we could really make it our own little film experience, y’know?”

You scrunch your nose in fondness at the sentiment and get up off the couch to meet your boyfriend at the door. He grabs one of his many baseball caps and settles it atop his blonde waves. You notice how thick Austin’s hair is getting, the hat sliding snuggly over his head.

“Awh, Aus, I’d love that, that sounds amazing,” you grin, stepping forward and wrapping your arms around his neck. “Now, tell me, how would you feel about me picking a certain favorite Gosling film for our movie?”

You grin cheekily at Austin, seeing the flicker of realization in his eyes as he understands exactly which film you’re referencing. Between the two of you, there really is no other Ryan Gosling film it could be besides—you guessed it—The Notebook.

“You’re really gonna make me cry on my day off?” The blonde teases and you roll your eyes jokingly in response. After you and Austin started dating, it didn’t take long for the two of you to go in depth about your favorite films—I mean, it was only fitting—and it was only then did you discover his love for The Notebook. Although written off as a typical, cheesy romance film, it’s so much more than that and Austin was one of the only people to see it as such. The both of you talked for ages about it and no matter how dumb it sounds, that conversation—among many other things—convinced you wholeheartedly that Austin was the man of your dreams. It’s been years since your relationship with Austin started and that film is still one of you forever favorites. You and Austin make sure to rewatch it together at least once a year, tears and choked back sobs included.

“C’mon, baby, you know you want to! It’s about time for our rewatch anyways! I’ll be there the whole time to console you during all the sad parts, and then you’ll be there to console me right after that! I’ll even bring the tissues,” you laugh.

Austin shakes his head and because of your closeness to him you can feel his chest rumble as he laughs along with you. It’s an odd thing to find comfort it and yet you do.

“Fine but only because I love that film—and you—so much. I mean crying in my girl’s arms over a Gosling movie sounds like a day well spent to me anyways.”

The blonde inches closer and rubs his nose against yours, grinning broadly at your giggles that ensue. He swears if he could bottle up that sound and keep it forever, he would.

“Alright, I’m goin’,” Austin says as he steps back and begins to open the door. “You didn’t answer earlier, did you need anything from the store?”

Shaking your head, you respond, “Nope. All I need is for you to come home to me as soon as possible so I can wrap myself in your arms and cry over Noah and Allie with you.”

You’re met with that thousand watt smile again and you can’t help but to return it. “I promise I’ll hurry back, I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

Before Austin steps fully out the door, he stops and turns back towards you, reaching out his hand to cup your cheek and connect his lips with yours.

The kiss is soft and sweet and the second Austin pulls away you want more than anything for him to kiss you again.

“I love you,” he says before sneaking in another quick kiss, this time on your cheek, and then proceeding out the front door.

The lock clicks into place and as you stand there in the hall, the only audible sound being Austin’s car pulling out of the driveway, you sigh and reach your fingers up towards your lips. It doesn’t matter how long you and Austin have been dating, the whimsical and electric state he leaves you in after each time he kisses you will never, ever get old.

*****

It’s probably only been about fifteen to twenty minutes since Austin left when you hear keys jangling in the door knob.

You figured it wouldn’t take him long considering the store you always go to is right down the street, but the time apart was still long enough for you, so you leap off the couch and hurry to meet your boyfriend as he walks through the front door.

Instantly you notice the small plastic bag Austin’s holding in his hand that he used to open the door. You can already see the wrappings of all your favorite treats peaking through the top and that alone gets you excited. So excited, in fact, that you don’t even notice the way Austin’s holding his other hand behind his back.

The blonde holds out the plastic bag towards you and you squeal in excitement as you begin to dig around in it. “Ah, no way! They actually had them this time!? When I went last they were sold out.” As you grab at one of your favorite snacks, you watch as Austin angles himself awkwardly to try and close the door. It’s like he doesn’t want to turn his back towards you and it’s at this time that you notice he’s holding something out of your line of sight.

“Austin what are you doing?” You giggle, quirking your eyebrow at the way he stands there with a mischievous, yet fond smile on his face. You hear a distinct crinkling sound and you know it’s not from your own bag. “What d’you got there?”

“After I grabbed all our snacks and was headin’ up to the register, I passed a display and saw these.” Your boyfriend brings the hidden object from behind his back and you gasp at the sight of it. “They reminded me of you so I got ‘em for you. Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.”

Austin hands you the bouquet and your eyes instantly well with tears. They’re the most stunning blush colored roses you’ve ever seen and they smell absolutely incredible. There’s a small card sticking out of the side of them and as you read the words written in Austin’s handwriting, your heart swells with adoration.

For my favorite girl

Love, Austin

“Aus,” you whisper, not trusting your voice to withstand anything else. “They’re beautiful. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to do that.”

The actor can tell how emotional you are right now, can tell how much this means to you. He’d do anything to let you know how much you mean to him, to let you know how much he loves you. He’d buy you flowers every single day if it meant he’d get to see that look on your face. That look where your eyes get real big and sparkly and your smile is so wide it makes your eyelids crinkle at the corners. That look that makes Austin want to give you the world.

Careful not to smash the bouquet held delicately in your hands (the bag of snacks now laying on the floor), Austin reaches out and hugs you with one arm, planting a soft kiss on the side of your head. “I know I didn’t have to, sweetheart, but I wanted to. I love you so much and you deserve to be appreciated.”

With the right words to say completely escaping you, you do the next best thing and instantly close the gap between you and the man standing in front of you. One of Austin’s hands finds its place on your lower back, pushing you closer to him, and your own hand without the bouquet in it finds its way to the nape of his neck—fingers twisting in those thick waves you took notice of earlier.

“I love you so much more, Austin Butler,” you breathe out as you break apart from your boyfriend’s soft lips.

“Mmm, whatever you say, baby,” he mumbles against your mouth as he goes in for yet another kiss. You nearly drop your flowers as you get caught up in Austin again, so you break apart before you can do any real damage to them.

“As much as I’m enjoying this right now, I need it to stop for like five seconds before I completely lose myself in you and ruin this gorgeous bouquet,” you giggle, before reluctantly taking a step back from your boyfriend in order to go find a vase in the kitchen to set the flowers in.

“Would that really be such a bad thing?” Austin calls after you. It doesn’t take long for him to meet up with you in the kitchen, his tall figure leaning casually against the doorframe. “I think having rose petals all over the floor would actually be quite romantic. It’d really…set the mood.”

In between spreading out the roses in the vase you found, you glance up at Austin and can see the way his eyes have clouded over just slightly. His intent and emphasis on the last few words of his sentence become abundantly clear, and you try to fight the heat you feel rising up your neck.

Making your way around the kitchen island, you stop in front of your boyfriend and lean lightly into his chest, your hands basking in the warmth radiating through Austin’s white shirt. “You do realize it is your birthday month, right, Aus? Why am I the one getting all the special treatment?”

There’s a soft smirk playing on your lips and you revel in the way Austin tilts his head to the side, his own smirk quirking up at the corner of his mouth. “Who’s to say I’m not getting my own type of special treatment? Looking after my girl and seeing her happy sounds like a pretty nice birthday gift to me.”

Burying your face in Austin’s chest, you barely contain the squeal threatening to spill out of you over the actor’s words. This man somehow always knows the right thing to say to make you melt. “You’re such a heartthrob you know that?”

“I am a man of many talents,” Austin beams. The two of you laugh and you push lightly on his chest to get him to move back towards the living room.

“C’mon, think of the snacks waiting for us! I won’t let your incredibly smooth sweet talking make us miss out on our plan for an at home film experience!” No matter how tempting, you think.

“Trust me, sweetheart, I am thinking about my snack. Mine just isn’t in that little bag you got there.” As you bend down to pick up the plastic bag you haphazardly threw to the side at the reveal of your surprise flowers, Austin comes up behind you and lightly smacks your ass, causing you to let out a sharp gasp.

Jolting upright, you fake annoyance and watch as your boyfriend turns towards you and holds up his hands in innocence. You reach into the bag and throw one of the packets of candy at him. The blonde winks at you as he catches it with ease and then plops down on the couch.

“You’re right though, I did say I wouldn’t miss this for the world, and I am also a man of my word. So c’mon, Ryan’s waiting for us,” Austin grins as he pats the spot next to him on the couch.

Unable to keep up your feigned irritation, you let the smile that’s twitching at the corner of your lips break through as you hurry over to Austin. No matter what happens, you’d never turn down an open invitation from the man you love with all your heart.

Cuddling up to Austin’s side you sigh in the satisfaction of finally getting to relax with him. Sure you two are able to see each other relatively often considering the fact you live together, but it’s rare when you get to just sit together and do absolutely nothing besides enjoy each other’s company. No cameras, no expectations, just you and him.

If anyone were to ask you, you’d say that’s what you’d call pure heaven.

As Austin presses play on the movie and the opening credits begin to roll, you watch as he rips open the bag of candy you threw at him. You take in how he eats one and then sets it aside, beginning to set up the rest of the treats he purchased for you. The reality of it all settles in as it does every so often and you feel a tiny squeeze in your chest as you take it in.

Having someone love you so deeply, having someone who knows practically every part of you from your favorite types of candy to what flowers you would like, having someone who sees your happiness as enough satisfaction for them and truly mean it, is just incredibly unbelievable.

You wonder practically every day how in the world you were lucky enough to find someone like that. To find someone who you love wholeheartedly and who loves you just the same, if not more. The material things—the flowers, the candy—are nice, but nothing beats the feeling you get when you’re with Austin, and you thank your lucky stars that the universe brought him to you. You truly don’t know where you’d be, who you’d be, without him.

“Austin,” you start, looking into his clear blue eyes as he turns towards you, a soft smile already adorning his lips as he catches sight of you. “Thank you for…”

You can’t even begin to think of where to start. You’re sat here looking at this man that’s staring at you with such a fond, loving expression and it’s like words won’t even dare try to form in your mind in a way that would express everything you feel for him. There aren’t enough of them, there aren’t any right ones.

“For what, sweetheart?” Austin whispers as he reaches out and tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear, the warmth from his fingertips leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

“For the…flowers,” you say before letting out an airy laugh. “For the candy, for staying in with me and letting me coerce you into watching this movie for the thousandth time, for just being you, and a million other things I don’t think I’ll ever have the right words to express.”

“You don’t have to thank me for any of that, my love, but you’re welcome anyways. I do it all because I want to, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you just like I know there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for me. I hope you know how much I appreciate you. I love you.” Austin leans down and plants a kiss on your forehead before pulling you even closer to his side, wanting nothing but to have you wrapped in his arms.

As your boyfriend turns his attention back to the movie and begins to rub his hand soothingly up and down your back, you feel a sense of content wash over you. When you’re with Austin, it feels like no matter what happens, as long as you have each other, everything will be okay. Nothing is certain, but you’d bet everything you’ve got that this love is.

“I love you too, Aus.”

[herefortarlos]

Just some takeaways from these interviews that feature Ronen, Gina and Brianna!

Enzo will be back in episode 5x08! "We'll probably have to see Enzo in some orange colors, a jumpsuit perhaps because he's in big trouble right now."

Ronen gushing over how cute Jonah was when he says, "Hi, big brother."

Could this be leading to TK and Carlos taking in Jonah? And Ronen's deflecting response of, "I have no idea, that would just, I don't know, I just, I just work here." And looking away from the camera.

Ronen talking about the karaoke scene and having "no idea it was going to be Freddie Mercury, you know one of the most incredible singers of all time. Really talk about under pressure because of course they gave me the Freddie parts. So I was a little nervous because it's one thing to sing karaoke in front of people but this is gonna be watched by millions of people, so I hope I did a good job, and to sing with Henry and then Rob was so iconic... because it's TK and his two dads and how important they both are to him and just crucial to who TK has become as a man...." "They picked Under Pressure for us for a reason, I think the lyrics are very telling."

Talking about the Tarlos photos! "That's gonna be a recurring gif for the rest of time for sure! They knew what they were doing with that one."

Gina does not think Tommy would have stepped away if she had not been hurt like that for her to realize she had to take care of herself.

Brianna and Gina talk about filming the hospital scene! Tommy having to come to terms with leaving a job that means the world to her. "It had so little to do with trusting who I'm going to pass the torch along to and so much more to do with the trust and belief in the woman that's in front of me. And so it was bittersweet...but I know you've (Nancy) got this!"

Ronen saying, "Tommy is Nancy and TK's mama bird. Especially after 5x05." "That scene at the end of 5x07 is so beautifully heart breaking between Gina and Brianna, I just rewatched it again and just started crying on my own, and oh my god, when she asks her to become the temporary Captain..." "But that leads to some really fun stuff for Brianna and I. It's like the kids get to go out on their own now, so you'll see a lot of paramedic calls with just us, which is really fun. But Brianna really holds it down as Captain and we'll see what that leads to Tommy if she can come back or not. There's a lot of intense stuff for Tommy."

Brianna saying, "It's gonna be just TN." "Ronen and I had a lot of fun with the TN dynamic. The kids are taking the car!"

Ronen saying, "TK and Nancy are so close, especially this season, and Brianna and I got really close this season, and I just love her so much and I think you start to see that when we go out on the calls ourselves, and they're gonna be silly little kids, but still professional and so good at what they do and I think that dynamic is going to be really fun to see." "I'm so excited for people to see Brianna really shine and get her moment especially as Paramedic Captain, that's such a huge honor."

Gina talking about the story line Rashad wrote for Tommy this season, "Sometimes it's triumphant and sometimes you don't want to be there... If you're invested in Tommy, it's gonna hurt."

Ronen talking about Carlos' father's murder. "Carlos starts making more progress in the case...and then there's gonna be a few other questions that are going to be brought up that are really going to challenge TK and Carlos."

"Some of the questions are, "Are we ready to take the next step in our relationship?"

"TK fears for his husband's life because Carlos is getting involved with some really bad people, and I think TK vividly remembers seeing his husband almost die when he was kidnapped and I think that's probably an image that plays in his head and I think that's something he never wants to see again. His actions are coming from caring and fear..."

Ronen says TK has at least one scene with Campbell.

Ronen was asked about Judd drinking at his party and if TK will notice with his addiction, and Ronen said, "That leads to an incredible scene between Judd and TK. I think it opens the door for Jim to really shine and another side of Judd we may not have known. It's also just beautiful because Jim in real life is sober and it's a beautiful way for Jim to put his own experiences into that character."

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s7 episode 19 “hollywood a.d.” thoughts

i’m excited for this one! i know absolutely nothing about it, except i think it is the episode from which one particular gif i have seen comes from, so i’m in a hopeful mood.

hollywood a.d…. hmm. is this going to be skinner-centric? he and kersh are the only a.d.s i can think of. and i have a feeling it’s not referring to “anno domini”, but hey, you never know

(the way it was literally both meanings of a.d..... woah....)

how did this case get made into a movie? why did a screenwriter get to come along? is this another jose chung sort of situation? i need to know! 

(post-episode thoughts: i love to laugh… i love to share in joy with my friends. and other such things are currently going through my mind.

also, need the gunmen’s reaction to that film. stat)

let us begin!!

we open with what seems like a scene from the movie! a hero is flipping around behind a gravestone, firing his gun. reloading. 

LMAO, DID HE NAME THE CHARACTER MULDER? LIKE, HE DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO CHANGE IT? BAHAHA 

bro looks nothing like mulder. and the evil guy yells “my sniper zombies are everywhere” <- okayyyy, naturally! cut to sniper zombies!’

“i’ll offer you a deal: you give me the lazarus bowl, and i’ll give you scully” <- SO SHE DIDN’T GET RENAMED EITHER i’m crying... this must be a PR nightmare for them… are they going to be invited to the red carpet since it’s about them?!

IS THE BAD GUY SUPPOSED TO BE CSM??

if he breaks the lazarus bowl, the zombie snipers go back to being simply corpses. so jot that down.

the bad guy is in some sort of wizard gear and holding scully hostage, lmaoooo…. apparently, the lazarus bowl can raise the dead, so he thinks mulder won’t break it. tea!!!

the zombies don’t want to go back to being just regular dead….. "mulder" throws the bowl up…. grabs "scully"… rolls into a coffin…

NOOO, THAT FLASHLIGHT LINE IS DIABOLICAL…. oh GOD…. they are in a theater….

on-screen mulder says he loves on-screen scully, “no ifs, ands, or-” “bees” LMAOOO (passionate makeout sesh) (the crowd awws as they moan) (cut to real scully, who looks shocked but invested in the movie, and mulder, who puts his head in his hands) LMAOOOO, I WOULD BE DYING IF I WERE THEM

AND SKINNER TURNS AROUND AND SMILES AT THEM???? AS “heavy breathing and moaning continues”, LMAOOO

(author's note: skinner is the og MSR truther... later events in this episode will not change my mind!)

mulder's head falls again. 

BAHAHAAA, SHE LOOKED INVESTED IN THE FILM AND HE WANTED TO DIE LMAOO, I WOULD HAVE IMAGINED IT WOULD BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND, OHHH MY GOD

man... LMAOOOO

the way i rewatched that immediately…. scully looks so pretty in her dress <3 and mulder in his bow tie. and skinner’s SMILE, LMAOOO

awww….. i'm giggling. i’m wondering if mulder’s like damn… wish that is what really happened

intro time!!! god i’m SO fucking excited, LMAOOOO

very short intro today. which i respect. we have to cut to the chase.

okay, so the events we are currently seeing take place over a year before the movie premiere we saw pre-intro. which makes the timeline of the season hard to follow. skinner is debriefing the agents about a church bombing while some other guy sits in the back of his office. 

mystery guy mumbles into an audio recorder “she: jodie foster’s foster child on a payless budget” <- OH MY GOD???? mulder turns to glare at him. scully is a saint for not reacting.

“HE’S LIKE A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS MEETS HARRISON FORD’S WITNESS” <- LMAOOOOO, STOP

THEY’RE JUST STARING AT HIMMMM

scully is very professional and tries to change the subject… she knows who the cardinal at that church is. ooo, he might be the first american pope. writer guy records a bad pun as a terrible high-pitched sound plays.

mulder says this whole thing looks like a terrorist attack for the ATF. hold on, i gotta look something up. ATF stands for... the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. ah, i see what he is saying. doesn’t look like their territory.

LMAOOOO, that terrible noise is writer guy’s phone ringing, who mulder turns to and asks if he’s gonna answer it- but he claims he “didn’t want to be rude” 

mulder looks like he’s gonna throw hands. this fellow's name is wayne federman, and he’s a buddy of skinner’s?!?! WHAT!! skinner has friends from college? i guess i haven't thought much about what skinner's life outside of work looks like. i guess i thought that was the sort of job where you don't have one.

he calls skinner “the skinman” <- LMFAOOOOOO, and he says he will NOT get in their way

written and directed by david duchovny… yeah. i should have seen that coming from a mile away. 

(author's note: can't stop laughing at the differences between when he was behind the camera and when gillian was... opposite ends of a spectrum when it comes to tone, but both incredibly in-character writing for our agents. love it)

i’m sorry, still processing “the skinman”. mulder is mad as fuck about being stuck with this dude, but skinner says he shall extend his courtesy and protection to federman- while scully is needed here this morning. “sir, have i pissed you off in a way that’s more than normal?” <- bahahaaa, oh my godddd.

so wait… hollywood a.d…. the way skinner was looking at them in the theater… is he going to end up writing the movie?!

mulder will NOT let federman ask if scully is more than just his partner as they arrive at the church. they go inside, and he asks cardinal o’fallon if anyone would want to hurt him or the crypt- there are just some relics down there, the cardinal claims, and some documents. like god’s refrigerator. federman records this. 

on a daily basis, only o’fallon goes down to the crypt- but today, lucky mulder and federman get to go, too. it’s very dusty. he shows them where the bomb went off, and mulder thinks it might be a terrorist attack. when federman’s phone goes off again. wait no, it’s mulder. no! it’s the cardinal. no! it’s not. who is it then?!

mulder approaches the rocks blown up by the bomb… is there another bomb in there?! is that the terrible noise?

AUGH, there’s a dead guy and a ringing cell phone!!! “micah hoffman” idk who that is, and idk if it’s a spoiler if i look that up, so i’ll just google it later. WAIT NO, we get an answer: it’s just actually the name of the guy who is calling the nokia <- LMAOOO, okay, so not a late 90’s pop culture reference i would fail to understand.

(author's note: it turns out that the dead guy was supposed to be the micah hoffman, which was lost on me, because: why did someone else calling him make the phone screen show HIS OWN name? i get that there was a time before caller ID, but it makes no sense for someone to call YOU and your phone to show your own name! like, what? i'm pretty sure whoever owns the phone knows their own name! so this detail threw me for a plot loop because i was unfamiliar with cellphones in the 2000's. if they really did show your OWN NAME when someone called you, that is one of the silliest things i can think of!)

scully and mulder have been reunited- plus federman- and scully asks if this hoffman fellow was some sort 60’s campus radical. he was a weatherman, says mulder; he was a yippie. are these real terms? guess i will need to look into that

and he was a poet and played baseball at columbia... okayyyy, mr. duchovny projecting that one season of basketball he played at an ivy league school onto this side character, LMAOOO. federman knows that this hoffman was never heard from again after some incident in the 70’s that is not elaborated upon- maybe he isn’t as stupid as he acts. but that is doubtful

mulder asks what skinner wanted with scully and she says “just paperwork”… federman makes a "hmm" sound and face. see, i thought he was implying something dirty earlier when he made a certain face because skinner said scully was needed in his office... but i didn't want to assume the worst in him. however, this just confirms that is what he was doing. NASTY!! i hate to see scully and skinner's relationship in that sort of light. so federman must be a severe dirtbag. i wonder why skinner- i’m sorry, “the skinman”- still has his number.

(author's note: the rest of this episode would provide challenges to me on the same grounds that the story seemed to imply skinner is attracted to scully, but i utterly refuse to believe it, and no force can come between me and denial of things i hate, so checkmate ❤️)

they are going somewhere and scully says they should have a warrant. federman makes some comment about it only being the constitution they're violating- no big deal. another tongue-in-cheek comment to the fans, along with the "bees" kiss?

wherever they are, it is filled with paintings. i see one very erotic one and the rest seem… idk, religious, maybe? 

ah, they must be at hoffman’s place, and it seems he was making bombs. so scully thinks he was killed by something he made.

NOW WHY DOES SCULLY KNOW A FORGER’S TRICK USED TO MAKE PAPER LOOK OLD LMAOOO??? oh i just love her…. mulder is gonna shoot this federman fellow if he makes any more puns. get a taste of your own medicine, buddy.

so hoffman made pots, did calligraphy made to look like old religious texts, and maybe also painted those paintings by the door. a man of many talents.

SCULLY CAN READ GREEK???? like, even a little bit? this is CRAZY. is this something you learn if you're a really dedicated catholic? or something she did in school, like german class in college. need someone to let me know here because i'm shocked.

she says it looks like a lost gospel- of mary magdalene and christ’s life on earth after the resurrection. heretical, but long rumored to exist. 

why would hoffman have them? or, asks federman, why would o’fallon have hoffman’s forgeries? 

“like the way you guys work- no warrants, no permission, no research” <- lmaooo, call the show's writing out, i see you!!! they’re back in the crypts. and they hear weird noises. DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME OR SOMETHING LIKE SKINMAN, HE ASKS MULDER... STOOOOP!!! and did scully leave??

they find more of the gospel of mary in the crypt. “alright, so is this a real fake, or a fake fake?” <- federman is asking the real questions 

but damn! federman’s cellphone goes off. why does his cellphone work in the crypts? and why does a skeleton move away from his foot??

mulder is holding the flashlight in his mouth. looking at something. while more bones click. a funny little song plays as the CGI bones stick a flashlight into a skull. LMAO, WHAT IS GOING ON. the skeleton assembles! right in front of federman!

scully is attempting to convince federman that he was hallucinating dancing bones trying to reconstruct a bowl. he says he has a movie to write. mulder is surprised, but he says “fiction is quicker than truth and cheaper”, which is fair enough. scully looks SO DONE WITH THIS, LMAO

“you want my advice? you’re both crazy” “well, why do you say that?” “well, you’re crazy for believing what you believe, and you’re crazy for not believing what he believes” <- i generally support getting their asses, federman, but i’m not trusting you after those faces re: skinner and scully. but with this statement, he leaves. 

scully says she knows federman is yanking his chain, so she’s hesitant to mention it, but it reminds her of the lazarus bowl. she says she had a wacky nun in catholic school they called “sister spooky” because she told so many scary stories... aww. sister spooky claimed that a lot of random wood came from the cross, a lot of random blood came from jesus, and that lazarus’s aunt recorded the incantation to raise the dead in the grooves of a pot she was spinning like a song in vinyl. “you see, it’s just not true that you can’t get good science at catholic school” <- LMAOOO

"that is a very cool story coming from you scully", mulder says, BAHAHA, and she smilessss…. he tells her he will have chuck meet her at the office to listen to the bowl and he is going back to chat with the cardinal 

chuck is talking about everything in the world making music. throws mulder’s porn tapes under the bus. he really wants us to know that mulder is watching porn.

and then chuck hears some weird holy sounding noise when he scans his wand thing over the bowl. who made this? either a guy named micah or one of jesus christ’s friends, explains scully. apparently, the bowl is singing in all the keys at once!!

mulder asks cardinal o’fallon to translate more of the fake fake gospels. ohhhh, it’s talking about mary magdalene and jesus as lovers. heretical! mulder tells him they’re forgeries from hoffman. the cardinal says he thought they were real. aww... the poor cardinal looks like he is gonna cry.

i’m crying, the ancient texts look to be in amazing shape, like on a normal piece of paper that is just a little old, lmaooooo. it turns out the cardinal bought them in order to hide them- to keep others from feeling the despair and anger he felt. he wouldn’t destroy them because he thought they were real. “is being made fool of a crime, agent mulder?” “i’d be doing life if it were, sir” <- aww :(

cardinal o'fallon starts to cry 

oooo, mulder calls scully and asks her to perform the hoffman autopsy. he was blackmailing o’fallon with those forgeries. meanwhile, she’s playing with the bowl that might raise the dead on their desk, LMAO. but another call comes in for mulder. it’s federman! mulder tells him he can’t talk about the case- but that is okay, because skinman is keeping federman in on the loop anyway. IS THAT ALLOWED? he wants to know who mulder sees playing him in the movie. “i’m in the movie?” <- LMAOOO, his voice!!! he sounded sooo excited!! federman claims the character is loosely based on him... more of an amalgamation, really. 

and mulder clicks back to scully, calling her "sister spooky" and saying he has to take the call, LMAOOOO. he must be over the moon to be featured in a movie. she will report back after the autopsy.

he wants richard gere to play him, but federman can offer a guy named garry shandling for the role. and someone named tea leoni to play the loosely based on scully character. WELL THEN... WHY DID HE CALL TO ASK?

and skinner told him about the lazarus bowl. IS THIS ALLOWED?

the actors want to meet the agents! AND RICHARD GERE WILL PLAY SKINNER (mulder hits something with his car) LMAOOO

scully is doing an autopsy. she’s gonna weigh the heart. AUGH, THE GUY SITS UP AND ASKS FOR IT BACK? she gasps and he walks up to her and knocks the knife out of her hand. she picks it up and slices her finger!!! noooo, scully!! the guy's blood will mix with her blood... the germs! and in the time it takes for that to happen, he is back to a normal corpse. you can see she thinks she’s losing it. but she's so pretty doing an autopsy….

mulder comes in to see what’s going on. there are traces of red wine and strychnine in hoffman’s stomach. is she going to mention what she saw? about him getting up and asking for his heart back? mulder thinks o’fallon poisoned him! they go to get a warrant.

scully wants to allow o'fallon some dignity to finish his mass before they go and arrest him. she goes and looks at the statue of jesus. crosses herself and kneels. and then sees that hoffman guy's head on the statue's body!!! saying something in latin!!!

she turns to mulder, and by the time she turns back to face jesus, it’s a normal statue again. our girl is freaked tf out. and at this point, she decided they have to go get o'fallon now. they arrest him.

but in walks hoffman!

skinner is YELLING at our agents. for misidentifying a corpse. “sir, the dead man looked very much like micah hoffman” AND he had his ID!

“scully, if i’m carrying marilyn monroe’s purse, do you assume that i slept with JFK?” <- HOWLLLLLING. what if i say yes, skinner?

skinner is mad as FUUUUUUCK. he must be worried about his movie. that or he thinks the church will sue the FBI. maybe both. and they are ordered to take a 4 week leave!!! they look very shocked. this might be the most unjust leave they have been forced into!!

they go back to their office, where mulder declares richard gere is getting to skinner’s head. chuck is still there, with updates on the pot. in the background of the sound from the bowl, someone speaking in aramaic! the language of christ, mumbles scully. 

what is it saying? NOT THE BEATLES JOKE, LMAOOOO: “I AM THE BEARDED COW-LIKE SEA BEAST” <- STOP, WHY DID THAT GET MY ASS…

well, after that is said, the next voice is one man commanding the other to rise from the dead!

they go to talk to hoffman, who claims to be jesus. he knew o’fallon from college- he was his divinity professor. he says o’fallon believes in christ but not man, as we see hoffman’s paintings of jesus kissing who i assume to be mary magdalene in the background.

so hoffman created a christ that suited his own worldview, which i guess is realy into worldly loving. but before he could do so, he had to become jesus... like a method actor. and get down the language, the vibe, the feeling.

when it came to analyzing the forgeries he sold to o'fallon, the church couldn’t go outside of their own resources to get verification, because the writings were too damning. but something weird happened. hoffman was converted- like saul to paul. he went from impersonating jesus to becoming him. so, naturally, he needed to destroy the blasphemous writings. 

mulder asks how his cell phone got on the dead man. “god works in mysterious ways” uh. okay!

cutscene. mulder is on his couch, quoting a movie word-for-word as it plays. it’s called plan 9 from outer space. when scully arrives! he thinks the movie is so bad it will hypnotize his conscious critical mind “and frees up my right brain to make associo-poetic leaps". that is a bold theory. maybe i should put on a really bad show when i get writer's block.

it’s made him think of the relationship between hoffman and o’fallon- like that of jesus and judas. okaaaay, he’s read the brothers karamazov, i see you king! “how about hoffman’s roadrunner to o’fallon’s wile e. coyote?” asks scully <- THIS QUEEN AND HER CONSTANT CARTOON REFERENCES…. i really do love her so much. she has such a big smile as she says this. 

scully asks- very seriously- if he really thinks it’s possible that hoffman is jesus. he checks to make sure she isn’t making fun of him. before he says no- but crazy people can be very persuasive. “well yes, i know that” (pointed look) (pointed eye roll in return)

blatant flirting on this couch. and did he get blankets for this couch? mulder... i'm shocked. is he getting his life in order?

“maybe true faith is a form of insanity” “are you directing that at me?” “no! i’m directing it at myself. and at ed wood”

“how-“ “42” “you’ve seen this movie 42 times?” “yes” “doesn’t that make you sad? it makes me sad” 

OHHHHHHH… they’re going to use their probation to go to watch the movie being filmed in California…. oh my god… my poor little heart… MSR hollywood vacation...

and they’re filming at fox studios, bahaha. WHY DOES FEDERMAN KISS MULDER ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD, LMAO. which reminds me: we haven’t seen our friend krycek in a loooong time!! what has he been up to?

his faaace... and hers looking at him LMAOOO

MULDER SAYS HE IS A BIG FAN OF THE WOMAN PLAYING SCULLY AND SHE’S LIKE “NO KIDDING”, LMAOOOO 

AND THE RUNNING IN HEELS CALL OUT, BAHAHAAAA 

the guy playing mulder asks if he dresses to the left or to the right. he needs to get into character! “i guess mostly to the left” “mostly?” “most of the time”

why is there a dog running around in the background as scully runs in heels!!! LMAO, WHAT IS GOING ONNNN ON THIS EPISODE. wait- is that his dog? i feel like i've seen that beast in a photo before.

is that chris carter playing the director... or just a random guy? 😭😭

the zombie had to bite off leoni’s shoulder and it was supposed to be TOFU TURKEY!! 

YES, THIS SCENE FROM THE GIFS, LMAOOO!!! SCULLY SIPPING RED WINE OUT OF A GLASS IN THE BATHTUB, CALLING MULDER TO ASK WHAT HE IS DOING… he claims to be working at the computer. she claims to be packing. DID THEY SPEND 4 WEEKS THERE FOR REAL??? AND WE DIDN’T GET TO SEE THEM?? or were they only there for a brief part of those 4 weeks?

AND HIS SPARKLING ASS IS ALSO IN THE TUB…. thinking about why people who come back from the dead want to hurt the living. scully’s talking about cannibalistic and sexual fantasies implicit in the stories of zombies #okaaaay. and he says they’re trying to do the things they miss from life: first eat, then drink, then dance, then make love

LMAO, IS THIS HOW THESE BITCHES TALK?? ABOUT THE GENTLER SIDE OF THE UNDEAD… THEY HOOKED UP ONE TIME, I’M CRYINGGGG

(actually, i'm a little confused if they had hooked up at this point or not, because of the whole "x months earlier" thing. probably best not to think too hard about it, right?)

it’s skinner calling now… mulder claims he’s at the computer. he's apologizing for coming down so hard on them. “i appreciate that, skinman” “don’t call me that” “yes, sir”

HE’S IN LA AT THE SAME HOTEL RIGHT BENEATH THEM, LMAOOO, AND HE HAS CHAMPAGNE AND GRAPES AND SEASHELLS, OH MY GOD…. absolute LUXURY... he’s an associate producer on the film!!

“hey scully, skinman is calling me from a bubble bath” “it’s still me, mulder” <- LMAOOOO, STOP, WHY DID I GIGGLE LIKE A LOSER… 

AND THEN HE DOES GET TO HER AND JUST TELLS HER, LMAOOOOO. it's so important for them to be gossipy.

she thinks leoni has a crush on him and he’s like nooo… omg….

and then. 16 months later. back to the film love confession. scully looks aghast.

“i know that this feels wrong because we’re friends, and we treat each other as equals” says on-screen mulder <- OH MY FUCKING GOOOOOD 

WHAT!!!! SHE SAYS SHE’S IN LOVE WITH SKINNER??? OH MY GOD

mulder gets up and LEAVES, saying he cannot take it anymore, while someone smooches skinner…. is that this ex wife…? are they back together? or is it just some random woman? i can’t tell, it’s too dark!!!

mulder runs back to the set of the film. where scully finds him after saying she looked all over. she sits next to him and steals some popcorn. 

hoffman was murdered that evening by o’fallon!! “it’s jesus and judas, scully” 

he’s worried about how they’ll be remembered because of the movie, but she’s like... well, hopefully it’ll just tank, LMAO. OHHH, he’s worried about who will tell the stories of the dead and she says “i think the dead are beyond caring what people think about them. hopefully we can adopt the same attitude” <- AWWW. her big smile while she says this. i swear i've heard that quote before. maybe someone quoted it before i saw this show and i just didn't recognize it.

OH MY GOSH, SKINNER GAVE THEM A BUREAU CREDIT CARD TO USE FOR THE EVENING, AND SHE LAUGHS AND GRABS HIS ARM… and she jokingly confesses to being in love with associate producer walter skinner. LMAO, AND HE SAYS "ME TOO". AND THEY HOLD HANDS?????

then a tree branch scratches against the plastic lazarus bowl from which he was eating his popcorn, and the zombies emerge, starting to dance. and smooch.

the end

(suppressing stupid laughter) hey….. hi. 

LMAOOOOO, HOLD ON, I NEED TO LET IT OUT!!!!

as much as i resent the implication of anything impure between scully and skinner- and maybe this was a comment on what contemporary fans thought, and poking fun at how weird of an idea it was (or maybe it was a super popular theory they were acknowledging?)- this episode got my ass. THE HAND HOLDING!! BUBBLE BATHING!!

the way i had to rewatch mulder angrily leaving and skinner watching scully as the love confession comes on…. and then mulder hiding on the set. and his angst about hoffman and o’fallon’s memories due to the movie. and the CSM shade. “pretty silly”, she said to the "cigarette smoking pontiff". and her LAUGHTER as she says the dead are beyond caring… AND HER SMILE WHEN SHE SAYS IT IS A MOVIE SET, THERE AREN'T REAL DEAD PEOPLE… AND HER LAUGHHHH AT THE CREDIT CARD... AND SHE GRABS HIS ARM…. AND SHE GRABS HIS HAND AFTER THE SKINNER JOKE….

okay, so the guy playing the director character was NOT chris carter and instead just some guy, BAHAHA. shows you how much i know about what was going on behind the scenes.

this was soooo funny. a very clear conversation with the fans. a sort of thank you letter to them. i am sure they appreciated it greatly.

like i said, i reject all ideas of skinner being attracted to scully and assume it was federman being a creep- shh, i don't want to hear you say "but skinner would have had to sign off on it as the producer", LET ME LIVE IN PEACE! but i do wanna know if that woman he was with was his ex (?) wife because!!! we never got any follow up on if he signed the divorce papers!!!

very sick and twisted relationship between o’fallon and hoffman, but, you know. par for the course. i do not believe he was jesus, but i do believe that controlling religious texts is like being a divine figure in a way, so. still interesting. 

so i am a little confused about what exactly was going on: hoffman was dead at first, it seemed, which is why the phone and the ID belonged to him and why he asked for his heart back from scully... and it isn't clear if she just imagined him on the cross or if that was some form of "miracle". and then he came back from the dead, possibly using the bowl, but o'fallon murdered him, so now he is probably dead for good? i'm probably misinterpreting that, which is also probably fine. i'm not sure if the plot was actually the most important part of the episode- although, maybe there was some symbolism in there i'll have to ponder on for some time before i unlock. maybe the blasphemous idea of jesus as a lover says something about the agents putting aside their identity of self-sacrifice to find meaning in each other. or something like that.

skinman will sell state secrets to his college buddies… perhaps this is the meaning of loyalty. 

oh god, the end scene… i need to scream a little. she didn’t care what they world thought of them!!! being on cops must have changed things for her. and the way the camera wasn't fully focused on them holding hands, you could just see them running away in the background... loved it.

i am honestly quite confused over the timeline, so i’m just going to not think about it. like… did the case take place during this season, and the 16 months later part of them actually watching the movie was a glimpse into the future? or did the case take place during the past- like s6-ish- and then the 16 months later took place when all the rest of the episodes of this season were going on? it’s just important to place this in the context of the rest of the s7 flirting! or maybe they jumped ahead into 2001/2002 ish and they therefore do not have to deal with 9/11 in the plot. that could be a lucky coincidence.

ah… don’t worry about the logistics. just take a good thing when it happens.

i am thinking about mulder quoting every word of that movie, asking the deep questions on the couch, scully assuring him he isn't making fun of him, and then proposing that perhaps faith is insanity. and her face when he says he has seen in 42 times. and LA vacation together. and scully's dress and little hairdo as they watched the movie- do you think they walked the carpet at the premiere, or just snuck in as to not blow their cover? do you think she did her hair up herself? do you think mulder short-circuited seeing her in a dress? did skinner think making them kiss in fiction was a favor? and i am thinking about mulder getting furious and leaving, then scully finding him- he's worried about the dead and their reputations, she laughs, grabs his arm and flashes the credit card. and they joke about being in love with skinner.

RAUGH.

i just want to let it all sink in. no worries. no analysis. just... laughter. silly times with the agents. happy times. vacation. tourist-y stuff. more movies on the couch. yeah.

a very good episode that i thoroughly enjoyed with my friends mulder and scully. it seemed like a clear love letter to the fans, and i am curious to hear how it was received at the time- and if you also agree with me about the whole skinner thing. and now i shall sleep and think of the way things ought to be.

[dramashutup]

My 2024 dramas rating

I wanted to do 10 of these but it turns out that I've only watched 8 of 2024 dramas lol

Rewatched a few of my faves but I'm not rating those.

These will have spoilers. So here goes

1. Flex x Cop 10/10 !!

✅ This drama has a special place in my heart. It's crime, action-hero and it made me fall in love all over again with non-romance drama

✅ Park Ji Hyun as Lee Gang Hyun 🫡. (in another news I'm gonna go look up her latest work) I've only seen her as the annoying 2nd fl before this and she was great in this one. She broke the mold of annoying 2nd fl and is an independent, capable and cool-headed detective

✅ There's no dark past whatsoever. She just loves her job. And she may seem judgemental and prejudiced towards I Soo at first but she learned that I Soo is not just another arrogant chaebol as they work together; it's that he's actually an arrogant, smart, caring and resourceful chaebol lol

✅ Jin I Soo? I love him. Arrogant chaebol with a golden heart who has a clumsy way of showing he's not heartless definitely will have my heart. He's smart, he's funny and he's shameless 100/100 😂

✅ What makes a story much more interesting for me is banters. Yessss banters. Their relationship is fun even w/o romance. They trusted each other, even tho it all started on the wrong feet

✅ Gang Hyun's parents is also a highlight for this drama :))

Second season is coming !!! 🫡🙂‍↕️📢💕💕💕

Excited!!!

2. Eye Love You 3/10 (dropped)

I'm sorry. I tried to love this.

❌ I do watch jdramas and jmovies but this was just simply wasn't it for me.

❌ I wanted to love it because of Chae Jeong Hyeop, but bulldozer sunshine is not my vibe. I dropped it like halfway thru?

✅ The fl's office is really nice tho. And the fl is really funny, that, I remember well.

The suspension of disbelief simply wouldn't suspend the disbelief for me for this one :||

3. Serendipity's Embrace 6/10

❌ This could've been shorter. There I said it. XD. Yes shorter than 8

✅ I love love Hye Ji, Hong Joo's best friend.

✅Hoo Yeong's uncle was relatable, sad and single,

❌ tho I wish he didn't have that weird first love line thing with Hong Joo's boss too. That was just uncomfortable

❌ And what about Hoo Yeong, you ask? Well..... tbh..... I don't really like broody mls. I'm not a fan of those 'he treats her specially nice because he loves her but to everyone else he's just cold'. I'm not a fan of that because I am an anxiety-driven gal and this trait simply doesn't vibe with me

✅ It's funny that Hong Joo's ex was Kim So Hyun's rival in her previous drama tho (My Lovely Liar) Mr. Yoon Ji On 👀

Which leads me to....

4. Love Next Door 4/10

Ha ha ha hahaha

❌ As you can probably guess from the poster of this drama I used which is of the side character Jeong Mo Eum, I simply couldn't stand the main couple

❌ Actually I did loved the main couple initially. I even defended the ml after the first 4 episodes, but then... I took a step back metaphorically and realized that his behavior and the fl's family behavior grated my teeth so much

❌ They kept nagging at the fl. Everything the fl did was wrong to them. She was not allowed to have her own views or that they didn't want to see things from her perspective

❌ Personally, I've met these kind of people irl and the suspension of disbelief and rose colored glasses couldn't do their jobs for this drama for me

❌ I dislike both the family and the ml until the end. The ml is whiny and entitled. That's it.

I hope she divorces him and run away from the neighborhood in the future lol

✅ Kang Dan Ho and Jung Mo Eum were so cute tho. And as all the other side couples ever, they deserved more screen time and development.

I'm looking forward to future works of Yoon Ji On. He's the reason I started this drama initially lol

5. What Comes After Love 7/10

After the disappointment that was the previous drama, I watched this.

Ok, here's what I learned. I can read melodrama (?) novels, but I need to use 1.25/1.5x speed when I'm watching slow dramas. Is it the adhd? Probably

Anyway

✅ This drama is so pretty. The contrast between the flashbacks when the couple was younger in Japan and the grayer aesthetic in Korea after their breakup is ✨✨✨

✅ I envy Lee Se Young for being able to speak Japanese so well for the drama lol. She really made me believe she spent her younger days in Japan.

✅ i love the side characters at the shop she worked at. The boss? So tall 👀

👀 I'm just surprised the ending implies that they're back together. After all that pain and those sad lingering looks

6. Fangs of Fortune 8/10

I know I was basically rambling about this drama for weeks and therefore you'd think it'd get full marks

Okay

✅ It's a fantastic story.

✅ Costume? 💯 So effin beautiful. So beautiful.

✅ Humor? 💯

✅ Characters? 💯 I love the characters to pieces, you don't even know. This is my Six of Crows cdrama version

✅ OST? 💯

❌ But then it relies sm on dramatics. And tears. Oh so much tears.

❌ And I may also be side eyeing the ending. Some people say it's a good ending, but I will agree to disagree. 🙂‍↕️

Edit : yes I've watched the extra episode and I don't like it still. Death is a very permanent thing imo lol and while his soul does come back, it's no replacement for the real person to me. I've never liked the death trope.

It's a bit traumatizing tbh lol 😂

7. Family By Choice 9.5/10

Edit :

❌ I'm also dissatisfied with the development of the m/f main ship. I love them, they had the potential to be The OTP for me but then the didn't really get developed, possibly because they were kinda already established before the event of the story, in a way, and so the storyline focused more on ZYC and ZYZ flip flopping relationship....so yh. It's fantasy with a dash of romance

And I went into the drama after seeing cute spoiler scenes of Wen Xiao and ZYZ so yeah... I was on the Train bound for Disappointment Terminal

✅ This drama welcomed me like a loaf of warm bread, blanket and warm chocoa after the pain of FoF

✅ Yoon-sajang is the best dad in kdrama land. He's the president of Good Dads of Kdrama. 💐 💐 🫡

✅ Glad that Kim Sanha's mum was not redeemed at the end. She just backed away after being a complete and utter bitch with no self-awareness. Thank you for not redeeming her.

✅ plsssss I love Hwang in Yeop as this gentle boyfriend 👀🤗

✅ This is such a warm drama, a family drama of the year for me. I know I'll rewatch this a lot

My issues are only that

❌ I need more episodes 😔😔 xD

❌ Kim Sanha's issues didn't really have their own proper build up closure. The focus was too much on Hae Jun's 😔 when Sanha is also one of the main characters. Not to mention Juwon as one of the trio? ://

8. The Story of Pearl Girl 9/10

(my sister is obsessed with both Liu Yuning and Zhang Linghe and tried to get me to watch their dramas; Princess Royal, and My Journey to You and Story of Pearl Girl,

I can't watch another Edward Guo's drama for the time being so I chose Princess Royal which I haven't finished but I'm loving, and The Story of Pearl Girl which I have!)

What is it about cdramas and death of the main lead idek smh

✅ Ik this drama let a lot of people down for some reasons but I'm guessing it didn't let me down partly because I started it after it ended lol. So the binging was great!

✅ I think it fits that it's the story of pearl girl; that is Duanwu, we watch her grow from this hotheaded determined girl into a capable smart businesswoman Su Muzhe

✅ while Zhijing's story began with him being at the top of his game, hunting down the people who killed his family as a merchant, then he learned to love and learned that his actions have consequences to his loved one

✅ It's not his story, but it's the story of the pearl girl, so I guess goodbye was in due time. Poetic or something something

✅ The way they fell in love with Duanwu being the only person who questioned him and then kind of got under his skin. 🤌🏻🤌🏻

✅ I love how Kang Ju implied a couple times that Duanwu was growing more and more like Zhijing; calculating, resourceful, and smart, that by the end I think it's poetic that she becomes the successful businesswoman. Apart from her own very capable brains, she also learned from a lot of people who were basically not very good, who were good to her, and Zhijing himself; the strategist

✅ That 1.9m guy and the 1.6ish gal. Love the height difference 🤌🏻

✅ Kang Ju, the best not third wheel 😆

I was informed that in the novel Zhijing dies and afterwards Duanwu marries Zhang Jinran and they have a child. They didn't go down this route in the drama

And ngl, I quite like the novel ending. Zhang Jinran is a good guy and he's not an annoying 2ndml

Moving on is not a bad thing imo, it simply means the character found love again. It doesn't mean they've forgotten their previous love

And I'm quite partial to the idea that for the drama, Zhijing didn't die, but went on a journey to find an antidote with Kang Ju.

Pls... If they're not gonna straight up show him being buried or stabbed like ZYZ in FoF, I'm not gonna believe that he dies 😆 let me die on this hill.

____________________

I'm currently watching

1. Princess Royal

2. More rewatching of Story of Pearl Girl until the serotonin runs out

3. Brewing Love. Love this! Kim Sejeong! <3

4. I might go look for A Journey to Love next after finishing 1. and 3.

5. Light Shop!! So creepy!! So intriguing!!

If you're wondering why most of these don't have extensive explanation, that's because I have the memory of a mayfly. After some time I only remember the vibe 😀 unless it really gave me a lasting impression

[xmads-omensx]

DAY 4 - MOVIE MARATHON

Word Count: 1,121

Pairing: Matt Dierkes X Reader

Content Warnings: none

Tags: lma1986

Matt wasn’t exactly the most enthusiastic about the concept of Christmas. Sure, he enjoyed the cozy atmosphere and the cooler weather, but Christmas itself wasn’t something he was that fussed about.

I, however, really liked Christmas. It wasn’t my favourite holiday ever, but I really liked the vibe it gave off.

The lights, the music, the eggnog, the hot chocolate, but most importantly, I was a massive fan of Christmas movies.

Upon learning about Matt’s lack of enthusiasm towards them, I knew I had to intervene, because how can you not like Christmas movies?

Our tradition of Friday night date night was drawing near and it was my turn to plan it. I had spent the best part of the week collecting the best Christmas movies that I thought Matt would enjoy. I tried to gather different genres as well, just so he could get a feel of more movies.

The first movie on the list was Die Hard. I felt that starting Matt off with a more action-based one would start it lightly, as that was one of his preferred genres.

Friday rolled around quickly.

Matt arrived at my house with Boo and Zeus who were both kitted out in adorable matching red Christmas jumpers.

“I thought you’d like them.” Matt said with a loving smile as he pulled away from our hug, before leaning down to place a kiss on my lips.

“They look adorable.” I laughed, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the sofa. I had already laid out snacks and hot chocolate on the coffee table for us to share, and I was quite proud of it if I’m being honest.

“You seem excited.” Matt remarked with a laugh as I practically pulled him onto the sofa.

“I just love Christmas movies. They’re the best part of Christmas.” I laughed in reply, snuggling into his side and pointing the remote at the television.

Matt knew we were having a Christmas movie marathon, so came prepared in plaid pyjama bottoms and a white t-shirt. Obviously he had one of his signature caps on, but he would have to wait until Christmas Eve to get a Christmas cap.

As Die Hard played on the TV, I couldn’t help but fiddle with Matt’s fingers that I had moved into my lap and I had, by this point, practically curled myself around his hand.

Matt rested his cheek on the top of my head as the movie played. The silence that fell upon the room, besides Zeus snoring on the floor, was comfortable. I almost never wanted it to end.

By the time the credits were rolling, I just wanted to watch a romcom, which I knew Matt hated.

“Sooo…” I started.

“Sooo…” Matt joked in return.

“What did you think?” I asked.

“It actually wasn’t half bad.” He laughed.

“Yeah?” I asked happily.

“Yeah. I liked it.” Matt replied.

“So you’re down to keep the Christmas movies coming?” I asked hopefully.

“If that will make you happy, my love, then I will allow you to torture me with your sappy movies.” He replied, leaning in to place a loving kiss on my lips.

I giggled and grabbed the remote once again.

I decided that Christmas With the Kranks would be a safe bet. I thought Matt would like it, simply because his attitude towards Christmas reminded me slightly of the Dad in the movie.

Once again, I curled up into his side as he wrapped his arm around me. using the other hand to pet Boo.

We laughed through most of the movie, which surprised me because I genuinely didn’t think Matt would laugh at it. However, as we got closer to the end of the movie, I could feel my eyes begin to well up with tears. I always cried during Christmas movies. I couldn’t help it.

Matt must’ve noticed as his arm tightened around me.

By the time the movie had ended and the credits were rolling, Matt had passed me the box of tissues that had taken up permanent residence on my coffee table from the sad music I liked to listen to, my Attack on Titan rewatches, and the countless girls nights that ended up in crying in my living room.

“You okay?” Matt whispered once the credits had finished rolling.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I croaked out, sitting up and stretching my arms out.

“You sure, babe.” He started rubbing my back.

“Yeah I’m sure. I just like to cry to Christmas movies apparently.” I said with a laugh, holding a tissue up to my eye.

Matt laughed and kissed the top of my head before pulling me into his chest and holding me there for a few moments.

It was now dark outside, so was getting late.

“Do you want to stay the night?” I asked quietly.

“If that’s okay?” Matt replied in a whisper.

Both the dogs were completely out cold by this point.

I simply nodded my head and grabbed Matt’s hand, pulling up to stand after me.

He helped me to put away the uneaten snacks and the now dirty dishes. It didn’t take long before we were both walking up the stairs to bed.

With a yawn, I began to undress and pull on my pyjamas, whilst Matt simply undressed to his boxers and crawled into bed.

I climbed in alongside him and snuggled into his arms, which tightened around me.

Something hard bumped the top of my head, and looking up I realised what it was.

“Matt, my love, you forgot something.” I hinted.

“Oh how could I forget.” He replied and leaned in to kiss me.

I laughed loudly.

“No, you dumbass, try again.” I replied.

He simply gave me a look of pure confusion as he thought about what he could have possibly forgotten.

He clearly wasn’t going to catch on, so I reached up to the top of his head and pulled his cap off. A look of realisation crossed his features as he noticed what was in my hand.

I placed the cap on my nightstand and we shared a look for a moment before we both burst out laughing.

“Come here loser.” He sighed, pulling me into his chest.

I giggled in response.

“Thanks, for today, I really enjoyed it.” Matt whispered after a moment of silence.

“Me too.” I replied sleepily.

“I guess I like Christmas movies now.” He said.

That was the last thing I heard before falling into a deep sleep.

I awoke the next morning to find Matt downstairs with Zeus and Boo watching Miracle on 34th Street. He claimed it was for research to make me happy. Ut I knew that deep down he really did enjoy Christmas movies.

MAIN MASTERLIST

25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MASTERLIST