#since the first film did establish his parents aren't around

[greenwingspino]

Hmmm........

[beelicious-and-fictitious]

My Big Shot, My Star

🖤 A Valentine's Day Special 🖤

Summary || [Steve Harrington X Female Reader SMUT] Your movie star boyfriend takes you out for a night on the town in Hollywood. 

Movie Star!Steve AU | 5.6k words | NO BETA/SELF-EDITED, Old Hollywood/1950s AU, Valentine’s Day Theme, Prompt: “Day Five + Steve Harrington + Presents,” LuMax, Established Relationship, Lavish Gift Giving, Kisses, Loss of Virginity, Steve Is Barely Experienced, Premarital Sex (GASP), Tender and Outdoor Sex, Contraceptive, Fingering (female receiving). 

More Valentines! | Other Keery Fics | Main Masterlist 

You helped Max Mayfield with the rouge on her cheeks and her lips as the time to leave was overshot by a minute. You had both gasped when a black limousine had showed up at your hotel doorstep that morning, and a well-dressed man had informed you that Steve– your Steve– had sent it to bring you to him. Of course you climbed into the back seat and let Max explore with a giddy expression as she pocketed a few of the decadent treats loaded up in the car. 

"So you really are dating a famous movie star, aren't you?," she teased. 

"Well, I…" you stuttered and tugged on your ear nervously. 

You knew Steve before he moved to Los Angeles with his parents. The Harringtons were always well off, but ever since Steve began appearing in films alongside the likes of Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart, you and the rest of Hawkins had believed that they were swimming in luxury. Steve had always made it sound more humble than that when he talked about it on the phone, but you were beginning to wonder if that was entirely accurate. 

The drive was long but comfortable and you were excited to see Steve in the flesh at long last. Your family had been skeptical about allowing you to travel so far away (and for a boy), but you managed to convince them that it was safe and that Max would need a chaperone with her own boyfriend Lucas Sinclair (who is in California for the year to be mentored by Steve for basketball tryouts). 

But you had no intention of spending Valentine's Day babysitting a pair of young teens when you could be with your Steve, alone for the first time since he visited (last year!). Max had eagerly assured you that she could handle herself and Lucas in Hollywood with only Steve’s hired man as chaperone and promised to check back into the hotel before dark. 

Excitement bubbled in your stomach as the limousine parked outside of a beautiful gated home. There was a gorgeous Lincoln Continental waiting outside as well with the man of the hour sat on the car hood and waiting for you. You threw your arms around his neck and squealed, so glad finally even to smell his natural musk that you missed so dearly. 

"Oh, Steve!" 

His arms crushed you to his chest and your feet stopped touching the ground for a second. Your skirt swirled as he spun around with you, careful to set you down gently before kissing the breath out of you. When your lips parted, Steve stared down at you with a goofy smile and warmth in his eyes. 

“Not a single day has gone by where I didn’t wish you were in my arms again.” Steve’s words stole all the air out of your lungs for the second time.  

“I’ve missed you, too,” you said as you fought back tears. “Please don’t make me cry, my mascara...” 

Steve laughed and swept you into another hug, distracting you from your feelings by chattering away about a new movie that he's filming for (something about baseball). When he was sure you weren't going to burst into tears anymore, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on your lips. 

“Did you like your gifts?” 

Steve flicked one of your earrings, and you took your own hand to touch the matching necklace at your throat. 

“Yes, I did. Thank you,” you replied sheepishly. “You don’t have to spend all that money on me, though, surely...” 

“Oh, sweetheart,” Steve scoffed and waved a hand as if clearing the air. “Don’t worry about my pockets! I won’t say how much it cost but know this: I may be a man of means but I also have a sense for modesty. Isn’t that what you love about me?” He waited for you to chuckle before he said, “besides, I like spoiling you. You’re supposed to let me do that on the holiday!” 

You relented easily and delivered more kisses to his handsome nose. Steve ushered you into the car for a late lunch or early dinner in town. The sun was still about an hour from setting, but the Hollywood strip dazzled you. Well dressed men and women walked in beautiful clothes in the warmish weather and every business was fancy and upbeat, even the streets were paved gorgeously and became a vision! 

Steve took you into a nice diner (through the front doors, no less) and immediately you were seated by a host. A booth with vinyl seats and carved mahogany accents. You looked around nervously but most of the patrons seemed to be wrapped up in their own conversations and food tasting. 

“Relax,” Steve soothed you with a thumb brushing over the back of your hand. “You’re safe with me, okay? Nobody is going to bother us.” 

You ordered your food together and tried to catch-up on the past. There were things about Hawkins that you just couldn’t talk about over the phone and it was great to be able to share things with him in person. Steve asked about the other kids in Hawkins, and you told him that Mike, El, Will, and Dustin were loving Hawkins high and had been taken under the wing of a friendly outcast named Eddie Munson. Steve in turn told you a bit more about the parties he got invited to– you thought he might have down played some of the antics that the Hollywood people would get tangled in– but he also admitted he had a much better time making friends with an ice cream slinger named Robin Buckley, rather than the Hollywood Star’s wealthy children. 

The food was delicious and filled your belly to bursting. You were laughing as he told you about how clumsy but brilliant Robin could be when suddenly Steve looked over your shoulder and his face went flat with shock. 

“What is it?” You turned around and saw a large man approaching your table. There was some commotion behind him– a crowd of people, lights flashing, questions being shouted. Steve slumped back in his seat and looked like he wanted to disappear. 

“M-Mr. Mannix,” he stuttered, then stood abruptly to shake the man’s hand. “Sweetheart, this is-is one of my bosses, Eddie Mannix.” 

Mr. Mannix glances at you with a stoic face. He’s well dressed like most everybody else in Hollywood. Tailored suit and matching hat but he doesn’t look like a star, he looks like a working man, a man who gets shit done and who nobody messes with. 

“Ma’am,” he tipped his hat almost as a second thought, then turned back to Steve. Mannix was so tall and broad that he blocked all of the natural light coming from the big windows at the front of the diner and cast a shadow over your beau. “Never seen you taking a girl out, Harrington. Wasn’t sure you were the type.” 

Steve subtly wiped his palms on his pants. “This is my girlfriend, sir. Of quite a few years, actually, sh-she’s visiting from my hometown for Valentine’s day.” 

Mannix made a surprised noise and returned his gaze to you. It wasn’t friendly, per say, but it wasn’t reproachful either. “Well if you don’t want to be in the papers tomorrow, I suggest you both slip out back. There’s vultures here for a 'candid' interview of another young couple, and I can’t have you take up all the spectacle, you understand.” 

Your blood ran cold as you realized he must have meant paparazzi. It was an aspect of Steve’s life that he didn’t talk about much, but he did seem to hate. What counted for news around these parts could sometimes be more akin to gossip and rumors, and you wanted no part of that, not at all. 

Steve’s face grew serious– he must have thought the same as you– but before he could try to flag down a host, Mannix stopped him. 

“I’ve already paid your bill. Left a generous tip, too,” Mannix winked and gestured with his chin towards the door. “Go on, lovebirds, get outta here.” 

Steve thanked him breathlessly and took your hand to help you up. Mannix positioned himself like a shield, protecting you from the photographers until you were ready to dip and even dumping his hat on Steve’s head with a firm ‘I’ll be wanting that back,” as he did. Steve threw his arm around you firmly and rushed out, not slowing down until you were far enough from the diner to break free of the hustle. The sun set and painted the sky as the darkness of night crept in from the opposite horizon and washed you both in warm shadow. 

“That was close. I’m so sorry, doll,” Steve simpered and pulled your face towards his to kiss your forehead. “Mr. Mannix isn’t a bad guy, really, he’s just not a people person.” 

Perhaps not, but he had saved you both. “I’ll be sure to thank him before I leave. I mean, I love being yours, Steve, but the way those tabloids talk about girls… even the prettiest ones…” 

“I know,” he petted your back, and Mannix’s hat flopped down at an angle, almost obscuring his pretty eyes. “Let’s get you in the car, okay? I’ve got a few more things to show you.” 

As you walked, you heard Steve muttering determinedly to himself. “Someday, things are going to be different. And you and I will never have to be afraid of hateful, ignorant people ever again.” 

…

The heater in the car worked wonders for your chilly hands and you lamented not bringing a sturdy coat with you. Of course Steve loaned you his and discreetly left Mannix’s hat on the dashboard. 

“Why’d he do that anyways?,” Steve griped, trying to fix his eternally perfect hair. 

“Because with that do, they’d notice you in a dark room,” you laughed. His hair was too iconic, it had made headlines for months after just a small role as an extra in a film. Girls across the country swooned at the sight of him, even though it was longer than respectable men wore it, and that fact had launched the career his parents had so desperately sought for him to have. 

“I suppose.” Steve stopped the car at the foot of a hill that made you gasp. “Yeah, the Hollywood sign. It’s impressive to look for the first time, I guess, but there’s more I want to show you. You wear those kitten heels like I told you?” 

You gave him the stink eye. “You know I did, you’ve been looking at my legs all afternoon!” 

Steve tilted his head and gave you a conspiratorial wink. “Well I can do far more than just look, if you want me to.” 

The last thing you were expecting to do on Valentine’s day was hike up a steep hill, but it was worth it when you saw Steve also grabbed a picnic basket from the trunk. He finally let you stop beneath the letter D of the sign and began to unroll a blanket. The area here was flat and bare of the desert brush, almost like he had scoped it out or made it himself. It gave you a perfect view of the sun setting and the lights of the city coming on like their own earthbound stars (and less of a chance of being spotted from below by passersby or vagrants or the heat). 

“Oh, Steve,” you gasped and covered your mouth in awe at the sight of the city. “It’s beautiful…” 

Music filled the air from a portable radio. Steve came up behind you and held you close, watching the horizon himself and swaying gently. He lulled you to the point of dreaminess and kissed your neck until you were weak for him. 

“Are you having a good time, doll?,” he whispered in your ear and made you shiver. 

“Yes,” you whispered back. “Can we stay like this forever?” 

“Not forever, dear,” Steve replied wistfully, then spun you around and danced with you gently. “But we can come back and do it over and over again.” 

…

Lying on the blanket, you didn’t need the jacket or your sweater because Steve’s body heat was enough to warm you. You laid across his chest and watched the stars glitter from miles above and imagined a world where you were both old and simple-living folk, married and lying beneath the constellations of home in Hawkins. Maybe when Steve retired from the moving pictures, he would bring you back to Hawkins and you could raise a family there. Together.

“Darling?” Steve’s voice rumbled beneath your ear, his tie discarded and shirt buttoned down scandalously. 

“Yes?” You lifted your head to look down at him with his hair splayed like a halo. 

“I love you,” Steve said reverently. “I… need you to know that there’s no funny business going on with me when you’re not around. I don’t party with those socialites anymore, and Robin really is just a good friend. I want you to know I would never do something that would break your heart because my own belongs to you and you alone, okay?” 

Your face stung for a moment and you couldn’t meet his eyes. You drew circles over the button keeping his shirt from opening further. “Well it sounds like you probably already know I was worried about it. But seeing you today? Well… now I'm certain more than ever before that you do have eyes only for me.” 

“That’s exactly right,” he exclaimed, and pulled you into a deep kiss that made you light headed. “Eyes for only you, my love. No one could ever captivate me the way you do– understand me and love me the way that you do. This year has been so hard for me because I couldn’t be with you. I would give up everything if you asked me, doll, just say the words.” 

You buried your face against his chest where the hair there tickled your chin and soaked up some of the tears from your wet lashes. “I won’t go that far, Steve. But what I will do, is love you with all I have like you do for me. I trust you to be loyal and honest for me, dear, and I… I know you’ll do right by me.” 

Steve rolled you onto your back and kissed you soundly, trailing his lips over your eyes and down your throat until he was pulling the neckline of your dress aside and sucking on the skin there. You tilted your head further and further back and lost yourself in him, feeling heat gather in your face and deep in your gut as his hands explored other parts of your body like a man starved. 

“Is this alright?” Steve’s hand smoothed up your bodice, gentle pressure brushing over your clothed breast and making you gasp. 

You nodded and he continued, kissing over them and drawing his hand down. Self consciously, you gathered your skirt into your hands and pulled it higher. The cool twilight air breezed over your thighs and Steve’s wandering hand found purchase there, massaging you where no one, not even him or yourself, had ever dared touch you before. 

You were left panting beneath his ministrations, wanting more as your awareness of the world around you shrunk until just the two of you remained. Carefully, Steve laid on top of you, his hips spreading your thighs apart naturally and fitting like he was always meant to be there. As he kissed your lips, you kissed him back fervently and did your own exploring. You unbuttoned his shirt further and felt over the expanse of smooth, freckled skin and the sparse hair on his chest. 

When he rolled his hips into yours, you felt something pressing into your body that made you mewl. 

Steve lifted his head so you couldn’t reach him and proposed a new query. “I have a condom in the basket... do you want to…?” 

Your heart pounded hard in your chest. "Yes." 

Steve didn't know he was holding his breath until he heard your answer. Back in Hawkins, the boy was happy to wait until you were ready, especially given his first time had been with Nancy Wheeler who for one reason or another had not been eager to do it again. He wanted to do it right with you. Make your toes curl and beg him for more. 

He got up just to grab it and gave you room to breathe (in case you changed your mind). “Oh, I also have wine in here. Some cheese and bread if you want.” 

“I’m good,” you patted your stomach, “that dinner was exquisite.” 

“It was, wasn’t it?” Steve came back and returned to his position, laying the wrapped rubber next to your head. “For later, just want to kiss you a little longer…” 

You quickly lost yourself in his attention. His shirt became untucked and the zipper on the back of your dress lowered but it was not drawn down completely. His taste and his smell became indistinguishable from your own, and after a moment, you felt his hand return up the skirt of your dress, under your slip, and your knees pushed further apart until his calloused fingertips brush over your belly just above the waistband of your panties. 

Nervousness trembled in your chest as he drew the cotton panties down your legs, but Steve never took his eyes off your face and he covered your nudity with his own warm body as soon as they were free. Your hand followed his with a light touch on the wrist as he averted his eyes just before finally touching your bare womanhood. 

The contact was entirely expected and yet you jerked in surprise anyways. He checked your face for assurance and did it again, testing the waters and making sure you were enjoying it. The contact made your mind race with your heart and your sex ache and it was all so exciting, especially when you sighed pleasantly and a triumphant smirk appeared on his face. 

“Feel good?” 

“Yes,” you replied in a voice so dark and different from your natural one that it startled you. “Yes, Steve, yes.” 

Steve shushed you and resumed his passionate kisses along your neck. His cool fingers collected slick and massaged your womanhood until they matched in temperature, and then he– 

You moaned and threw your head back, instinctively trying to close your legs but unable to with the grown man laying between them. The intrusion of his finger inside you was beyond strange, but after a moment of stillness and placating kisses to your face, you relaxed around it and could almost forget it was there. When he began to move it, penetrating you back and forth and back again, you acclimated to the sensation rather quickly. At the second finger, you winced. 

“Are you okay?” He whispered in your ear. 

You hummed back and felt slightly embarrassed when you realized where the unusual squelching noise was coming from. “Is… is that, me?!” 

Steve chuckled, “it is. Don’t be embarrassed, doll, it means you like me. It means I’m doing a good job, and your body is preparing for me.” 

Preparing for what? And then you remember the condom on the blanket waiting to be used and the bulge in his pants that hadn’t gone away, just pressed into and sometimes rutting against your inner thigh. You wrapped your arms around Steve’s neck for comfort. The new touching was good, but would the pleasure last? Would it really hurt? 

“Steve?” You must have sounded scared because he stopped all movement and looked deep into your eyes, searching. “...I’m ready. I want you. Please.” 

Steve’s eyelids grew heavy, and he slipped his fingers out of your channel to sit himself up and take the condom. For a moment, you hesitated on what to do but decided that watching the stars was mundane now. You sat up on your elbows and watched him work, unsure if you would make him uncomfortable seeing as how he would need to take his clothes somewhat off. You closed your legs and rubbed them together to gather warmth and feel pleasure return at the apex of your thighs, as if you were strumming your own instrument. 

Your boyfriend worked quickly and carefully. If he was bothered when you bit your lip and stared at the sight of his manhood, he didn’t show it. He just stroked his hand over his shaft and rolled the condom down, sheathing it in an opaque plastic or latex. Then he helped you part your legs again and repositioned himself at your entrance. 

“Are you sure, baby?,” he said even as his desire was clear as day, “we can stop now if you want.” 

You shook your head no and braced yourself. You did not want to stop. You followed his instructions, breathing and relaxing and tapping his shoulder when you needed him to pause. And then his warm hips were pressed flush into yours and his grunting turned into a relieved sigh. 

“Is that it? Er, is that all of it?” Your face flushed hot at your own words and Steve pecked a kiss to your lips. 

“That’s the whole thing, yeah,” he replied. And then his started moving, thrusting shallowly into you and you watched his face go slack with an occasional tick and grunt. “Oh, sweetheart, fuck– I’m sorry I don’t mean to cuss, but– fuck, you feel so good…” 

That warmth in your lower belly was beginning to coil. It was good, it felt good and making Steve feel good felt good to you, too. You had never seen this side of him, only caught glimpses of it when you would make-out in secret at the drive-in theater back home. He was making noises you had never heard him make before– he was making you make noises you had never made before! And as he moved faster, he also moved a little harder, but not to hurt you, it was good and he was deeper somehow, and the mound above his shaft was massaging some part of you that made the coil tighten faster and harder like his thrusts until– 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck–” Steve’s head dropped to your shoulder and he stopped moving all together. The tightening coil which had felt about ready to snap instead eased back some, leaving you tingly and pulsing with the beat of your heart. 

Your brow furrowed in confusion. “What happened?” 

Steve’s body went slack and he lifted his head, now sporting a drunken and sated look on his face. “I finished,” he said with a lazy smile. 

“Oh.” That was sex. And you had finally had it with the love of your life, no less. It was a lot of fun! Being tangled with each other, sharing pleasure like one being, giving and receiving the most coveted form of love. You should be happy and satisifed too... but the twinge of disappointment that blossomed in your chest… well it confounded you. 

“What’s wrong?,” Steve asked. 

He had already fixed your clothes back into place and bundled you in his jacket to keep you warm before fixing his own clothes. You didn’t see what he did with the condom but you have a suspicion that it was simply flung somewhere on the empyy hill side. And he looked really sad right now, like a puppy left outside just as storm clouds gather overhead. 

“Nothing,” you answered enthusiastically, “it was perfect, you were perfect! I’ve never felt so much pleasure in my entire life. I can see what all the fuss was about!” Your laughter was a little hollow and you could tell that Steve was not totally convinced, even if he was playing along. “We should get back. I want to make sure Max and Lucas are safe. You can stay the night with us girls if you want, there’s two beds.” 

Steve nodded his head distractedly and began to pick things up and packed them back into the picnic basket as neatly as he could. “Actually, I was thinking the same thing, except for you and Max to stay with me.” 

…

Steve drove to the hotel and collected the kids. Lucas and Max were so quiet in the backseat that you kept glancing at them through the mirrors to check on them, but they didn’t look like they had been fighting, they were just lounging sleepily with their hands folded together on the cushion between them. A part of you worried momentarily that they might have gotten up to the same adult antics as yourself and Steve, but then you dismissed it and returned your attention to massaging Steve’s right hand. If they had or they hadn’t, it wasn’t for you to know. 

“Oh,” Steve said as you all walked together towards his home-- a certifiable mansion-- and he tapped his forehead as if to sell that whatever thought he had just had was genuinely forgotten. “I do have one more surprise for you! All of you.” 

He steered everyone around the side of the house through a beautiful garden. 

“What it is,” Max asked, but before any answer could be given, Lucas looked through a large, picturesque window and another equally big window out to the backyard, and screamed. 

“HOLY SHIT! WILL! MIKE! EL! DUSTIN!” 

The boy bounded away like a track star to the swimming pool, where four excessively happy kids were cheering and smacking the ground noisily with pool noodles. Lucas tackled a screaming Dustin into the pool, and Max broke away excitedly to meet El for a wet hug. Mike hopped into the pool to join in the fun, and Will hugged Max too before inviting her inside to get a swimsuit. 

Stunned, you blinked a hundred times to see if you were dreaming. “Steve, I can't believe you did this!” 

You tore your eyes away from the happy reunion to find your boyfriend pridefully stuffing his hands in his pockets and shrugging with faux humility. “No big deal. I missed them myself, the little rats. They almost got themselves caught when you were being dropped off earlier for our dinner date! Would have been a bummer to ruin the surprise so soon...” 

The kids were unbelievably rowdy, but you paid them no more mind as you pulled your boyfriend into a thankful kiss. Steve quickly steered you inside, but not for a bathing suit like the kids had for Max (Lucas had already ruined his nice clothes and decided he needed none). Steve assured you his parents were out of the country and the house was so big that the kids would get lost before they found the two of you. And he showed you to his roomy bedroom with the forgotten bottle of wine from the picnic basket and some crystal glasses.  

“I couldn’t imagine a better Valentine’s day,” you marveled. “Or a better Valentine, at that.” 

Steve blushed and kneeled to help you out of your shoes. “Just wanted to give some love back.” 

He discreetly pushed up your mid-calf length skirt and planted a kiss on your knee. “I know that maybe it’s a little soon but… I’ve been dying to see what you look like out of your clothes.” 

You couldn’t fathom why you felt so scandalized by this– he was just inside of you not half an hour ago! But the more you thought about it, the more you became determined to indulge in desires of your own. 

“You first,” you declared and swirled the wine in your glass. 

Taking it as a challenge, Steve stood and began with slow and deliberate movements, undoing his pants without taking his eyes off of you. You watched him, enraptured. This time, his shirt came all the way off and landed on the carpet. He helped you stand by the hand and set your emptied glass aside, then slid your sweater down your shoulders. His lips returning to your neck was becoming a familiar feeling yet it never failed to leave your skin tingling. 

You turned around and brushed your hair aside to offer up the zipper, feeling the dress loosen quickly, and you choked briefly as you felt your brazier loosening, too. You allowed both materials to slide down your arms and shivered over every tiny touch of Steve’s hands and his sweet smelling breath on your back. 

He tugged on your hips until your body was flush against him. “So beautiful…” 

You removed yourself from his grasp and slipped out of your underwear. You laid yourself on his bed half beneath the covers, feeling exposed but powerful and safe with him watching. As Steve was taking off his pants (all the way now), you grew bold and reached between your legs to see if you could find that spot that he had unconsciously stimulated earlier that created that coiling feeling in your belly and your legs and in between.

You found it quickly and began to massage it more. You discovered that circular motions provided the best stimulation as your pleasure began to build anew. 

Steve divested himself of the last of his clothes and climbed into bed with you, looking mischievous. “What are you playing with down there?” 

You flushed hot and bit the inside of your cheek, not knowing what to say, so opting to say nothing at all.

“Come on, let me see..” he pulled the covers back and looked down. 

His mouth hung agape as he saw you were actually touching your most intimate area. He scooted in closer to you and laid a curious hand on your thigh, waiting for permission. “May I?”

You moved your own toying hand a little and sighed pleasantly as he took over, copying your motions exactly and applying some pressure as well. He was working you up faster than before and he loved the way you were falling apart for him, getting more comfortable with intimacy and letting him know just how good he was making you feel. 

Steve covered your mouth with his own and swallowed a few of your moans. He stuffed his fingers inside you like before and pumped them, nipping your bottom lip as you dug your nails into his arm. 

“Please don’t stop, Steve…” 

Moonlight glinted off of the pool and danced in waves upon the ceiling as your moans climbed higher in pitch. But you felt a plateau forming and your disappointment came back full force as after a few minutes, Steve seemed to be slowing down. You just knew you needed one more thing to get you... somewhere, and then you realized suddenly that when he had changed the position of his hand, he had also stopped playing with that special spot. 

“Steve, Steve.” You looked desperate and tried very hard to convey what you needed, as you were unable to speak coherently. And sweet, clever Steve caught on to your meaning, and without stopping the deep thrust of his fingers, he used his thumb to make those circles on that spot again as best he could. It was enough and you feel that tight coil snap. 

You let out a gasping scream as your whole body convulsed and twitched rhythmically. Your legs snapped closed and trapped Steve’s hand between your thighs, and you writhed with pitiful and lewd noises until your soul returned to your body and left you completely drained. Steve stared at you for a long time until he gently eased his soaked fingers out and let you rest more comfortably. 

It took him several minutes to collect himself while you were falling asleep beside him. Finally, he muttered, “so that’s what’s supposed to happen… hmph, well that's news to me...”

More Valentines! | Main Masterlist

First time with Steve Harrington's GOTTA be top ten on my list, y'all. He is so fucking wonderful and cute and FIFTIES Steve would be hella wholesome. Leave a like, comment, or reblog to let me know if you like these and want more!

[queen-ofc]

Movie Review - Blue Beetle - First Impressions !! SLIGHT SPOILERS MENTIONED!!

Hello everyone!

Movies are something that I am OBSESSED with! Film is my passion! Ever since I was a little girl, I would critique every movie I've ever seen to my parents, so much so that they'll sit and listen after we finish a movie because they always expect me to say something about it.

I have always wanted to share my passion for film with the world, but I have never the confidence nor will to start, but that's all going to change. I wanted to start off my little series of movie reviews with the one I had just seen in theaters today: Blue Beetle!

Now, Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle has ALWAYS had a special place in my heart. I grew up watching the series Young Justice, and I continue to watch it today. Ever since I saw Blue Beetle on the screen, he instantly connected with me and has kept his #2 spot on my list of all-time favorite DC characters. (#1 being Dick Grayson Robin/Nightwing.)

This has been a HIGHLY anticipated movie for me! Ever since the trailer first came out, I was anxiously waiting for it to hit theaters, keeping track of every day in between, counting down the very seconds until its release, and as soon as it did, my parents and I jumped on the opportunity to go see it in theaters! To see my boy hit the big screen and finally get recognized by so many people as a hero in the DCU just filled me with overwhelming joy. So, as one could expect, I had incredibly high expectations for this film. And to make a long story short, overall, I wasn't disappointed!

⚠️WARNING! THE FOLLOWING CONTENT FROM THIS POINT ON CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!⚠️

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As I said, overall, this was a very enjoyable movie, but there were a couple things I wanted to point out that could've improved it!

1) Now, this one is mostly a bias of mine, so feel free to ignore this point and move on to #2 if you'd like.

Something that really stuck out to me was the fact that Jaime's father told him something like, "The Universe knows" or "... chose you" (obviously not an exact quote, but you get the idea.) During the movie, I noticed that they were hitting a lot of stereotypes regarding Hispanic/Latino families. Keeping that in mind, I'll go back to Jaime's father. Now, already a lot of people can tell it's obvious that Jaime seems to be visiting him in a heaven of sorts, with the candles around his father symbolizing that. However, there was no mention of God at all during this time, which in my personal opinion, seemed like something that could've been an easy switch; from "universe" to "God" or "the Lord" or something along those lines to show a Catholic or some other Christian denomination belief system.

However, this is just a minor thing, and luckily, it doesn't affect the story at all. Now, I'll get into something a little more unbiased and a little more major to Blue Beetle's story.

2) They should've established a good relationship with the Scarab.

Now, I'm not saying to remove Jaime's relationship with his family to this, but I'm just saying to add it. I loved the fact they included Jaime's family in all the scenes, making them an essential part of the movie, but adding this would dive into the Blue Beetle's story a bit more. Yes, the movie would be a tad longer, but it would be so much better.

Throughout the movie, the growing relationship between Jaime and his scarab is always implied and never actually produced in the scenes. Instead, he seemed thrown into the action and already knew how to use his scarab to his full extent after just a single battle. It's like we were missing a big chunk of the story, and just thrown into the action.

At the beginning, the scarab seemed hellbent to kill any and every threat in its wake, yet at the end, it tells Jaime that he shouldn't kill the enemy. It tells Jaime "We aren't murders." That doesn't seem right to me considering there was no time in between when Jaime taught the Scarab such things. The control Jaime had over the Scarab also seemed just given to him, instead of earned.

What they should've done, is have some sort of "training montage" in the movie. A time when Jaime finally has the Scarab in a calm mood and is talking with it to learn exactly what his abilities are and how to use them all. He should've had to fight a little more with the Scarab, telling it why they don't kill innocent people. Jaime should've had to command control of the Scarab himself, instead of it being handed to him on a silver platter. Only when the Scarab and Jaime are fully in sync would the Scarab acknowledge why it's bad to blatantly murder people regardless of what they have done, making the "We aren't murders" line so much more meaningful after all they had been through.

Another thing that I would fix, is to more obviously establish the fact that only Jaime can hear the Scarab. Only at the very end of the movie does this fact become clear, meaning that people who didn't know the Blue Beetle and his powers probably would've been confused about that fact. I think they should've had a small scene where Jaime is having a conversation with his Scarab, maybe even arguing with it, in front of his family or his girlfriend. The family/girlfriend would obviously be confused, thinking that he was talking to them, when in reality he wasn't.

Maybe he gets into a fight with a family member or his girlfriend while he's trying to argue with his Scarab because the family member or girlfriend thinks that he's insulting them when he's insulting the voice in his head. Make it a little bit of a joke when he's fighting the enemy and gets into another argument with his Scarab, making the enemy think Jaime is talking to them, only making Jaime have to repeat himself that it's not them he's talking to, but the Scarab.

Just small ideas, but all ones I believe would make a big difference.

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That concludes my initial reaction to Blue Beetle! I really hope my writing was comprehensible as I just kinda brain dumped it all on here and my brain is far from organized, haha. However, I do plan on making a more in-depth review of the movie once it hits a streaming platform and I can watch it a second time! After all, you can miss a lot of things the first time!

Being that this is my first time actually posting any of my thoughts on a movie, please give me some grace. As I do want to continue to do these types of things, sharing my thoughts on movies I love, I would appreciate constructive criticism and thoughts on how to more accurately organize my thoughts before I write them! I would also love recommendations of blogs that do any kind of reviews so that I could learn from them too! And please, share your thoughts on this movie!

Thank you for reading! <3