#the movie apparently did not do well enough to get a sequel and as such i am within my rights to Do What I Want

[vrystalius]

Can I request a sequel to Sanemi and the art teacher? I simply loved this ask, thank you for making me happy with your writing and kindness!

Dinner in his livingroom

Part two of Lunch in the teacher’s lounge <3

Pairing: teacher!Sanemi x teacher!reader

(Not proofread!!)

Sanemi has been eyeing you the whole movie, not even paying attention to it anymore. You made yourself look so pretty with your hair all done, make-up real nice and your outfit perfect. His hands were resting on his lap, grabbing a handful of popcorn every now and then, itching to move a little closer to yours. But that would be weird since you’re his co-worker. Right?

It was already evening when the movie ended, the air around you two cool and the sun already disappeared. “Damn, already this late?” Sanemi took his phone out and checked the time “Didn’t we want to grab a bite as well?” He turned his head to you and stuffed his phone back into his jean pocket, crossing his arms over his chest. You pouted a little. “Yeah, sorry. I guess not. Most of the restaurants should be closed now, I’m sorry. I should’ve planned this out more.” You genuinely seemed upset about not being able to go out with him. Sanemi was eyeing you up and down, silently admiring you. He groaned loudly and shook his thoughts off. “I uhh.. I’ve got food at home. We could cook something up. If ya wanna come over.” He scratched the back of his head while avoiding eye contact. Your eyes sparkled up in delight as you stepped a little closer. “Really? I’d be happy to! I hope you don’t mind.” You clasped your hands together and smiled brightly up at him. Sanemi nodded and gestured over to his car. “Let’s go then. Come.”

Sanemi’s home is actually quite cozy. He has lots of family pictures on the wall and well taken care of plants. Everything is clean and quite organised. While Sanemi grabbed the ingredients to cook, you quietly admired him. You noticed how broad his shoulders are, how muscular his forearms looked and those scars on his face are pulling his whole look together. If you didn’t knew any better, you’d think he was some kind of fighter before becoming a teacher.

“What are you staring at?” While you were admiring him from behind, Sanemi glanced over to you, catching your gaze. He lifted his eyebrow. “Sorry! Sorry. Just tired.” You quickly moved over to his side, washing your hands in the sink.

A small smirk grew on his face while you weren’t looking.

You never knew how good of a cook Sanemi was! He basically did everything for you, leaving you to just watch him cook the best meal you’ve ever seen and probably tasted. You sat across Sanemi as you dug into the beautifully prepared meal he had prepared for you. “Mmhh!” You hummed and smiled brightly. He glanced over at you as you did so. “Is it good?” “Yeah! Thank you so much for cooking for me! I never thought you’d be so nice to me.” Sanemi raised his eyebrow slightly and glanced at you. Sure, he has the reputation to be a little meaner and rude, but were you really this hesitant to talk to him? “You don’t know a lotta things about me, I guess.” You nodded. “I hope to get to know more things about you though, you seem pretty nice.” He nodded again while quietly eating his meal.

Sanemi would love to get to know you. The students and teachers adore you, and you’ve been nothing but nice to him so far, even if he was rougher and hasher with you.

“Let’s do this again sometime. I can cook for you again… only if you’d like.“

💠

I love teacher Sanemi so much… I kind of hc him as a smoker and that Genya and him love together, but my creative juices ran out and I was too lazy to write- perhaps another time if you all want! And thank YOU so much for your kindness!!

I just re-read Sanemi’s description as a teacher in the kny again, and apparently small kids cry when he gets too close.. poor Nemi.

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough!

Take care of yourselves <3

[lover-of-mine]

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/765722515353026560/im-curious-for-a-gg-or-lw-update-after-that

hi love gg here

i need to add something: that bit of interview that come out yesterday where ostark called tommy “someone who is a first responder in episode 5” we this confirm their theory that tommy is going to propose like bobby did with athena (so very quickly) and this would also confirm why buck needs to talk with maddie because he isn’t sure if he should accept but them tommy is going to take both of them in the restaurant where they had their first date and buck will accept: it’s all coming together apparently

but we need to go into the deepest place of their community where i lurk: they are pissed they are mad and they are lashing out using anon ask on here and ngl on twitter so they can have a reason to be hateful spiteful and mean without people being able to understand who it is; they are mad at oliver they are mad at tim they are mad at lou too bc he isn’t able to be respected by tim and oliver that should treat him better because they should be lucky in sharing their time with someone that took part in a lot of project so why lou is going around allowing them to disrespect him so much?

they feel betrayed and used and they are mad like super mad i saw someone suggesting writing to abc bc they keep giving us content while they are being neglected

also they are trying so hard on main to be happy about eddie being there eddie haunting the narrative eddie not having a sl if not for buck

lw also said something about the spinoff and let me tell you it was funny because they were still hoping for tim to take rg and eddie and use them in the new spin off to give bt a lot more of screentime but when yesterday we saw the proposal of hawaii as the spinoff destination they had a little meltdown bc eddie being in hawaii??? not happening but tommy well tommy fly helicopter and in hawaii there are a lot of helicopters it’s an island so tim is going to take tommy to this new spinoff

also i think you already know that jlh is going to be part of that remake so they are sure that tommy is going to take her spot like taylor did but jlh has already little screentime and tommy didn’t get her screentime 🤷🏼‍♀️

Hi my love!!

Well, this was an experience. When I tell you I SCREAMED when I read propose. I don't even think bt like each other all that much, what do you mean proposal????? And in the disaster date made of secrets restaurant (not only for bt but also for hen's mom, let's not forget that) of all places?????? Of course it's all coming together.

Of course they are mad at everything and everyone. As if Lou has any power here, please. The dude is a perpetual guest star or the star of very weird movies (and I say this having watched most of his filmography, he is just some guy). Writing to abc to complain there isn't enough bt 💀 I'm literally CRYING.

The spinoff taking Eddie away or being about Tommy is never not going to be funny. Because sure. Dream high I guess lol and honestly, Maddie has barely been around and even if she is super involved in the sequel, I doubt that Tommy will be the thing filling out that space.

[see-arcane]

I came across your Jonathan in Hellsing posts and read and reread them enough times to burn them into my brain. The ideas you come up with are fantastic! But I was wondering if you had any thoughts on a Jonathan vs Anderson dynamic? Not necessarily physically fighting (though they definitely could) but like, in regards to their morals, relationship with god, and interactions with Dracucard.

(Ps. Obsessed w your Dracula sequel book and I hope it gets made into a movie that remains true to the characterizations you write and reshapes how the collective public views the characters forever!)

Thank you, this will sustain my gremlin of a writer ego for days

Jonathan and Anderson would have an interesting dynamic. Naturally they have to wind up in opposition if Jonathan's nominally on Team Hellsing. Anderson is fighting using holy magic and sci-fi/Christ sorcery-based regeneration and strength: Cool! He's using all of that to slay monsters: Cool! He has no filter when it comes to what he deems a 'monster,' no matter their actual innocence or level of humanity: Not Cool. In fact, it likely triggers a very specific flavor of ire Jonathan had to swallow back after seeing a certain Wafer burn.

(God is love. But that love is conditional. A truth that holds across the multiverse, apparently.)

((Cue the ringing of steel against steel. Because they've got to get into some kukri versus bayonet action.))

Actual confrontation has to happen when Jonathan either witnesses some arbitrary zealot-edged murder or he jumps to defend Seras or others from his pouncing. Anderson probably lumps Jonathan in with Alucard and Seras' situation at first--up until he learns that the only scar on Alucard's person, the fresh red line over his brow, came from Jonathan.

"Stole some sacred blade for him to play with, did you?"

"Oh no." A grin from Alucard, delighted to tattle. "A shovel spade. Just to prove a point. I do believe he might put us both out of the job before long. He doesn't need any specific toys to play this game. It's all him, Anderson. God picked a favorite whether he likes Him or not."

(And it wasn't you. He may put me down before you ever get the chance. Ha.)

((Notably he never defines what 'god' he refers to, but this framing twists the knife in Anderson better as well as making Jonathan a bit twitchy. It's complicated.))

Anderson takes this. Weirdly. He doesn't have quite the same 'Only I can do X! Only you can do Y!' fixation that Alucard seems to have about someone special~ doing the deed of killing him/being his equal et cetera. His whole deal is an obsessive need to Slay the Monsters. So he looks at Jonathan, sadly Protestant (probably? still? again, complicated), but obviously roiling with reflexive Hate for Alucard, possessing the ability to actually put the overpowered fucker down, and not doing it. Why?

"What is it they have on you, lad? Who has your leash to keep you from doing what comes natural, eh?"

Another clang.

"He's on a leash," said like lead. "He's being put to work for," bitter, bitter, bitter, "a greater good. And the sins I hate him for are long dead."

Sins slightly askew from those he recalls in his history. Van Helsing--no, Hellsing--would not let them slay Dracula back then. Enslaved him instead. Made a thrall of the one who wanted thralls. It is...somewhat uneasy to think of. Enslavement is a position far worse than destruction; it's the same way the Count meant to prey on them. He doesn't like it.

He hates Dracula. He is nauseous in Alucard's presence. But still. He does not like this. Yet where else is there for a time and universe-displaced Victorian cryptid to go?

"That power was given for a reason. Use it, lad. Put it to work against the foul things it was made for. Iscariot's got room for your like if you only repent and turn that knife the right way."

"My life was saved more than once by faith and by the faithful as you know them," Jonathan admits with a bow. "God is love," under his breath.

"That He is--,"

Slice.

Blood spills. The wounds do not heal, the bayonet cannot be gathered up in either shaking hand.

(This Power wounds monsters.)

"No. My god is Love. I have seen your God's love in action. I have been shielded by it and seen it betray the most virtuous soul in Creation. I cannot put my faith in anything so fickle. Especially not in you, who would murder a girl for her sharp teeth or strangers who dare to point out you have acted against a mutual peace. Go home and pray the pain away, Father. Now, or you will not leave with all your pieces."

Anderson exits. Alucard is going to combust out of sheer glee. Iscariot is put on alert alongside Millennium, both groups getting cagey about the concept of new unprecedented competition. Iscariot doesn't like Hellsing having another anti-supernatural ace up their sleeve and the Major and company hate the thought that someone else might have a chance at putting Alucard down (if the bat bastard allows it; he's waiting for Jonathan to juice up as a weightier cryptid for a proper throwdown).

In the meantime, Anderson ponders his cut arms, slowly healing as an ordinary man's would. He shoves Jonathan back on the same shelf as Alucard. Another monster in need of slaying--a blasphemous one of a different make. Some pagan divinity must be at his shoulder. No other. No other.

His arms ache.

[missheavenfield1215]

Ok, I have a theory about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

For this sequel we have this scenario.

The person being buried in the cemetery is:

1- Charles Deetz

Probably, this it would explain the fact that the entire Deetz family, except Charles, is in this scene... (although we all know why this specific actor is not there).

But probably, in this movie, Beetlejuice has always wanted to end the wedding that he began with Lydia 36 years ago. Maybe Beetlejuice had always been looking for her to call him back, but it seems that Lydia left Winter River a long, long time ago... Well, Adam's model was under a dusty sheet. And if Beetlejuice doesn't know where Lydia has gone, then he can do nothing but wait...

He can only wait, perhaps just long enough to see her at his desk...

But then, why does he still have a photo of Lydia in his possession?

Well, perhaps no one had challenged him so much and no one would have come out of it unscathed either, no one….

Except her:

Beetlejuice is probably obsessed with getting revenge on her, for being the one thing he couldn't take... Maybe that's why he wants to end the wedding. So as not to feel that he has lost again and that now he will take the people who dared to challenge him.

(Most likely, Beetlejuice learned of Charles' death as the new manager on the other side and now set out to send publicity to the Deetz house, knowing that Lydia would return to Winter River.)

that explains this:

Whether Lydia's husband is still with her or has died, divorced, or are separated, either way, Beetlejuice can't know.

What interests him is that this time, his proposal and marriage go well....

But the only thing that interests him is that she returned to Winter River...

SHE CAME BACK...

And I personally believe that Astrid did NOT call Beetlejuice... It was Lydia herself who called him, so she was there when he appeared in the attic.

(Most likely, the Deetzes will have more problems)

Beetlejuice also knows that Lydia called him and that would explain this:"I am gonna make you so happy."

(Or well, that's what he believes)

Because he immediately tells her, as if he promised her that he would make her happy, as if Bj didn't want her to regret calling him back.

And I personally think, he looks like he's going to burst into tears at any moment.

And as a bonus, probably, this "Rory", is another suitor looking for Lydia (?)

Well, I don't really have any more theories with this character, but he must want something from the Deetz and Beetlejuice is probably going to give him away in front of everyone.

Or perhaps, he keeps a secret to protect Deetz women from him and Beetlejuice gets the truth out of him...

This scene is probably shortly after what they presented in the trailer.

Well, really, the last thing I want to say is that whatever Beetlejuice is up to, it's illegal (obviously), because apparently Beetlejuice left a replacement in the Netherworld...

Most likely, being with Lydia is an even greater crime, because now he occupies a position very similar to Juno's...

I personally don't want to believe that Beetlejuice has developed romantic feelings for Lydia.

I want to believe that it is a kind of love-hate, because perhaps, in all his centuries of death, no one had challenged him so much... And so he has a kind of respect and admiration for her, for having gotten rid of him...

It's probably some kind of job-finishing obsession that could have brought him back to life. And having been so close to fulfilling it, it only fueled his desire to live again.

What do you think??

[believesthings]

Not Just A Girl - Chapter 5 // Jason Sudeikis x Reader

A/N: This is a little bit of a shorter chapter but I'm excited about what's coming up in these next few chapters.

You wait while Todd finishes up a phone call for another one of his clients. When he hangs up, he smiles at you. "Okay, the apology basket has been sent over. Do you mind telling me why you felt it was such a dire need?"

You shake your head in response, "Mainly guilt. I was a bit of a wreck after eavesdropping. I ended up accidentally ending the message I was leaving for Jason right after an abrupt strong of curse words."

"Ah, say no more." Todd says holding his hands up. He knows you well enough at this point to understand. "I suppose I can forgive you for forgetting to tell me you'd gotten there alright then." Todd motions towards the stack of pages stacked up in the chair across from his desk. "Those are for you. I have a bag around here somewhere if you can't fit them in yours."

"Fan mail?" You ask, making your way towards the stack.

He nods. "Yeah." You're able to fit the pages neatly beside the script pages for the James & Mia script, which is what you've taken to calling the movie until it's given an official title.

You point to the stack that sits off in the corner that Todd has almost hidden. You can see that the one on top is addressed to you. "What about those? Might has well take as many off your hands as I can while I'm here."

Todd shares sharply at you. "No - those stay with me for now." He doesn't offer any further explanation. You're standing closer to the stack of papers than he is and he frowns when you wake your way towards it, reaching for the top letter and starting to read. He holds out his hand, urging you to give the letter back.

You feel your cheeks burning as you quickly read words addressed to you. Apparently, it's bullshit that you've been linked to multiple actors in the past few weeks, especially Jason and these people wanted to make sure you knew how they felt about it. "Oh -"

"Look, some people just..." Todd is speaking lowly now, still holding his hand out for the letter.

"That is quite a lot of hate there." He takes the paper gently from your hands and replaces it on the top of the stack that you eye with concern. "Are all of those letters like that?"

Todd turns back to you and grasps you by the shoulders. "Forget those. You can't please everybody all the time. Let's focus on the the fact that you landed the role of Mia and-" He moves you away from the letters trying to steer your attention in another direction. "Can you please promise me an alert for the next time you plan to worry Jason like that?"

You shrug, doing your best to try to forget the words you just read. "You could have told him I was getting the part. Did you know already? Wasn't that what you wanted to talk to me about?" Remembering the strangely worded text that Todd had sent you.

"No actually that notification arrived after you'd texted me." Once Todd is comfortably assured that you don't plan on diving towards the stack (although you still can't seem to shake that you've racked up an entire stack) of hate mail, he leans against the edge of the desk while he talks to you. "To redouble the happy news for the day, I've gotten confirmation from the studio that they want to do a sequel for All Your Monsters and, in so many words, they refuse to even mention your character's name unless you're willing to participate."

You squeal and jump towards him and he braces himself the incoming hug. "Oh my God Todd!" You step back again and start to pace. "What about Will is he also going to be in it? What does that mean for -"

He holds up a hand to stop you from falling to far into the rabbit hole of questions. "They've just confirmed that they want to pursue a sequel. There's a lot of details that need to be worked out before we need to start worrying about anything other than you playing the role of Mia. And for other good news, I've been looking into those rentals that you sent me. I think I have them sorted out to two good options for you - just let me know when you want to go back and double check that they would be a good fit and then we can get all the paperwork signed. "

You place your hand over your heart and give him a tender look. "Where would I be without you Todd?"

He waves his hand to dismiss you before you can get too sentimental. "You would still be here, just with a different person helping you along the way."

Todd's phone begins to ring and he glances at it before looking back up at you. You smile and pick up your bag. "I'm heading back to the hotel. Thank you for being the best agent. I really don't know how you juggle everything so well." He nods gratefully before scooping up the phone.

You're almost back to the hotel when a text arrives from Jason.

Gift basket arrived to the surprise and delight of the cast and crew. I half thought you were joking about that. They send their thanks.

You smile, happy your gesture was well received.

Another text from Jason comes in:

End of day time still looks right. How does dinner at my place sound? Will you have already eaten by then?"

Nice. Quiet. Just what you needed after the odd day you've had. You text back:

Sounds Divine. I can wait to eat. What should I bring?

Your pleased by the fact that there aren't too many photographers waiting for your arrival back to the hotel. Once you make it into the lobby, you notice that Jason has responded to your text.

Your company is all I need. See you soon.

Rather than tempt yourself to shop for things you don't really need you opt to stay in the hotel and answer fan mail. After reading how vehemently a complete stranger opposes your connection with Jason it helps to read the uplifting pages.

You estimate the travel time between your hotel and the location where Jason has been filming today and order a taxi. As you arrive, the driver notice your expression upon seeing the number of people standing on the sidewalk. "Are you alright there?"

You nod, now realizing you didn't really think this through. The taxi would need to be going to his next stop... and you weren't filming at this studio, or even with the respective company that owned it. Security would probably just think you were another respective fan trying to get a glimpse of Jason. You sigh and set your mouth in a determined line. You'd just have to wait off to the side and hope the crowd would be too occupied trying to see Jason exit the building. "Good. Thanks. How much do I owe you?"

The driver turns now to smile at you rather than look at you through the rearview mirror. "My girls love you. I guess you're here to see Jason?"

He hadn't made conversation the entire ride over so it hadn't dawned on you that he knew who you were. You adjust your hat a little. "I - yes. What are their names?" You pull a pen out of your bag and wait as he scrambles in his front seat to hand you something to sign.

"If you want," he looks away from you to the security gate, "I can see if they'll let me drop your inside?"

You shake your head. “I didn’t, we didn’t, really plan this out. I don’t know…But thanks for the offer.” You hand him back the paper along with the fare, which you now realize has been showing on the screen in front of your knees. He looks hesitant to let you out of the cab but doesn’t protest as you slide out of the seat onto the sidewalk. You wave to him in thanks and watch the taxi roll away from the curb.

Ok, now what. You again play with the notion of walking over to introduce yourself to security. You tap out a quick message to Jason.

Just arrived. A bit early. Oops.

You are adjusting your cap and about to walk up the sidewalk towards the studio when you hear a whoop. Someone shouts your name excitedly and you, without really thinking, look for the source. Now more faces are turning to see what the excitement is, and you note security is following the gaze of the few that were shouting your name. Well, this is one way to start the night. A guard reaches you after you’ve signed a few photos that had been thrust into your hands. Though patient to allow you to greet the first few individuals that had met you, the guard doesn’t let you linger long.

Someone from the crew is waiting to take you to Jason's dressing room. “He’s just cleaning up. Thanks for the goodies, by the way.” She knocks lightly on the door marked Sudeikis and you hear a muffled response. She motions for you to go on in with a wave of her hand before walking back down the hallway.

You can smell the soap he’s just used to wash, and note he is quickly pulling a shirt over his head to be presentable for whomever is coming to talk to him. Dear Lord the man has more muscle definition than you thought. His hair is now mussed from pulling on his shirt. You grin and stand in the doorway, waiting for him to see that it is you.

All he has to do is smile to propel you across the small space and into his arms. “How was the rest of your day?” With your ear to his chest his words reverberate around in your head.

You reply without moving, “Fine. Better. Good. Brett is going to be in  the James & Mia movie with me!”

Jason uses one hand to flip your hat off your head that you ah, had forgotten that you were wearing. He kisses the top of your head before speaking again. “He sent me a text just after I had hung up with you. They evidently wrote the part with him in mind but then found him unavailable, until recently.” He grins as you step away from him with the intent of letting him finish getting ready to leave the building. He doesn’t let you get far, keeping one arm around your waist and pulling you back against him. “And here I thought I’d been the clever one, finding my way around those walls you’d constructed.” You stand on tiptoe to kiss him. Your fingers find that his hair has nearly dried. “I’m glad you came inside. This is a much better hello.”

You laugh and murmur a hello into his lips. This does remind you of the crowd waiting outside though. You press your hands lightly to his chest and lean back in his arms to look at him while you speak. “The taxi dropped me off and well, I got to say hello to some of your fans before a guard came to get me.”

“I asked the guards to be on the lookout. You could have gotten the driver to go up to the gate, though I’m sure the fans enjoyed seeing you. Hopefully they are our fans and not just my fans… ”

Knocking at the door frame precedes the rapid-fire stream of words altering you to company. The man that walks through the open door pauses a few paces and several sentences in. “Jason! You, my friend, never cease to amaze. We of course have – oh. Sorry the door was open and I figured I’d steal a moment.”

Jason releases your waist allowing you to settle back into a standing position next to him, much to the relief of your arches. Clearly you are going to have to practice standing on the balls of your feet. Jason introduces you to Theo, another actor on the project, and Theo gives Jason a wink before shaking your hand, then pulling it to his lips to peck it as Jason had done the night of the awards show.

“So – this is the lovely woman that we’ve heard so much about.” Theo switches commenting from Jason to you. “I’ve never seen him so transfixed."

You’re starting to blush.

“I’ll leave the pair of you to it…” He accompanies the comment with a wriggle of his eyebrows which makes you blush more. He calls out behind him as he clears the doorway, “Practicing sparring tomorrow buddy!” 

“Whew. After that - I feel like I’m moving in slow motion. He rivals you for boundless energy!” You say, motioning after the human whirlwind that just departed.

“Do I make you feel like you’re in slow motion?” Jason asks waving your hat at you that he still holds in one hand.

You nod and move to reclaim said item. “Sometimes…” He grins and puts your hat on his head which, unless he starts cooperating, effectively removes it from your reach. You study him a moment with your hands on your hips before shrugging. “Well, the studio will surely love the endorsement.” 

Jason takes a brief survey of the dressing room before nodding, which you take to be a signal that he is ready to leave. In the hallway you take a few steps towards the direction of the studio exit and pause to wait until Jason is at your side. His hand finds yours as you walk, "I meant what I said before Theo arrived, you know."

Nodding, you squeeze his hand lightly, "I know, but if I had gotten the taxi to go through the gates I wouldn’t have been able to…” Jason pulls you up short, laughingly wrapping his arms around your waist and shaking his head. You smile, though the cutting words of the letter you found in Todd's office still blaze in your head. “Jason, we can’t expect everyone to be happy that we’re dating." 

"I can and I will.” Playfully defiant, Jason mutters the words into your ear before landing a light kiss just below it. He straightens and takes you by the hand again to resume your progress towards the fans, the waiting car, and home. “For my money, the world can think what they want, but the only woman whose feelings on the subject truly matter to me will be dining with me tonight." 

You’re tempted to once again provide a smart retort - remind him of his family or yours - but opt, instead, to swoon.

Tag List: @my-soupy-brain @tegan8314 @tortilla-maria1 @nerdgirljen

[gachawolfiebloom]

Your Pursuit of Perfection

Story and Artwork By: @GachaWolfieBloom

Chapter 4: A New Challenger

Summary: A few months after the events of WOTFI 2023, SMG4 starts having really bad dreams about the "Its gotta be perfect" incident. One night however, his fear allows the nightmares to break through and he gets taken to a horrific dimension. He finally meets the tv adware, who manipulates him into returning to his insane ways, intent on claiming much more than the perfect video. Now it's up to his friends to stop this madness and save SMG4. Can they do it in time or will they lose SMG4 forever? (In case you are unaware this is a sequel to the its gotta be perfect movie)

Tags: angst, its gotta be perfect, love confession, luigi, mario, meggy, melony, nightmares, scary, smg3, smg4, smg34, smg3 x smg4, tari, tv adware

They all went back to the castle to think of a new plan. Meggy was pacing back and forth while everyone else was worried. Mario was the most freaked out as he kept running around screaming "SMG4 IS GONE!!! MARIO'S NEVER GOING TO SEE HIM AGAIN!!! DO SOMETHING SMG3!!!" Tari tried to calm him down. "It's okay Mario! We'll find a way to save him!"

"Who was that and where did he come from?" Meggy pondered. "Whoever the hell that was, he's so dead when I find him." Three said with a serious tone. After what he had witnessed back in March, he was not taking any chances this time. If anyone hurt or killed Four, consider it their funeral. Boopkins asked "That icky stuff looked kind of familiar..."

Meggy had a realization just then. "You're right Boopkins! That's the same substance that we saw engulf Four with the its gotta be perfect incident!"

"The what?" Melony asked. Right. She wasn't there when they faced the insane man. "Oh sorry Melony. We faced some kind of weird goop and Smg4 got possessed from his obsession of making things perfect." Melony felt distraught when she heard that. "That's horrible! I hope that Smg4 is okay. Maybe we should have paid more attention to him." Three's face changed into a guilty expression when he heard Melony say that. "Three? Are you okay?" Meggy asked.

"Yeah sure..." Mario suddenly got an idea and ran up to Three. "SMG3! YOUR MEME POWERS! USE THEM TO BRING SMG4 BACK PLEASE!!!" Before he could say a word, a voice behind them spoke "I'm afraid that won't work."

They all turned to see Smg1 and Smg2 standing behind them. "Your meme energy won't connect with each other when you are in different realms." They all looked in confusion at the meme guardians. "What do you mean different realms?" Tari asked. The two shared a glance with each other and sighed. "We know who has been targeting Smg4 and where they took him."

"WHO!?" It was finally time for them to know about the mysterious figure who was watching from the shadows all these months. "His name is the TV Adware. He has taken Smg4 to his world, The Realm of Torment or as you call it, The Nightmare Realm."

"Well then what are we waiting for! Let's go over there and kick his butt already!" Three said, about to make a mad dash for the door. "Wait!" called Smg2. "We don't know what he's planning."

Smg1 lowered his voice. "You deserve an explanation. This is something that we had hoped would never come to pass."

"The TV Adware is a being that likes to corrupt others by using their disabilities against them. Back when you faced Smg4, he apparently knew exactly what to say to convince him to his side. He used his fear and hatred to give him the powers that you all encountered. After you defeated him, we hoped that his forces of darkness would back off...but we were wrong. He has watched you all these months and has now gained enough strength to claim what he wanted all those months ago."

Meggy pipes up with curiosity "What would that be?" Smg1 did not hold back when delivering this announcement. "TO CLAIM ENOUGH POWER TO BREAK THROUGH AND TURN OUR WORLD INTO HIS OWN DARK KINGDOM!!!" They all gasped and a few even looked scared. Luigi and Tari clung onto each other, shaking. Smg1 calmed down and apologized. "Sorry. We realize this is a lot."

"You're telling me! It's not like we just learned that our friend is kidnapped by some evil tv guy and is going to be used to let all hell loose!" Smg2 decided to help out. "We should have told you sooner, but there's no time for that. We must travel to his dimension and save Smg4 before the TV Adware can take control of him again."

"H-h-how are w-we g-g-going to stop h-h-him..." Luigi said nervously. "If we can all join our powers to Smg4, we might have a chance to save him." Smg1 said. "But what about our home?" Meggy asked. "Leave that to us!" Another pair of characters came up behind them. Swag put his sunglasses on while standing in a cool pose and Chris just rolled his eyes. Chris explained "The US military can hold them off while you guys go stop this guy."

"But how are we going to get there?" Tari asked. Smg2 pointed out "We know of a place where we can open to his world." Meggy rose up "Let's all be strong for Smg4! Who's with me!" She put her hand in the middle as Melony followed. "I might not know about your first encounter, but I'll help in any way I can!" Tari put her mechanical hand on top and says "It sounds scary, but I'll do it for Four!" Boopkins had some trouble, but put his hand in the middle as well. "Count me in!" Bob followed "FINE. I'LL BE NICE THIS ONE TIME." Luigi shakily puts his hand in as well. "I-i-i'll try..." Mario excitedly slaps his hand in the middle as well. "YIPPEE! MARIO WANTS TO RESCUE SMG4 AS WELL!" Saiko put her hand in and says something in anime.

Only one person left. "Well Three..." He thought for a few seconds and said "As much as I hate to admit it, I really don't want to lose that idiot." He put his hand his in as well and they all lifted them up. "We're coming Smg4!"

Smg1 said "We must hurry... we don't know how long Smg4's bravery will protect him..."

Your friends won't save you this time...

Chapter 5: The Return of I̵̤̫͘ǹ̷͇̇s̸͈̦͗̆ȁ̵̟̉ñ̷͔̰ḯ̶̲͇̅ṫ̵̝͗y̴̺̠͆̀

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

Just Let Me Adore You Pt. 9

Pairing: Stucky x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: eh some violence but nothing major

Genre: Mostly fluff

Summary: You’ve been dating your boyfriend, Bruce, for 3 absolutely blissful years. He’s a scientist and professor who is as smart as he is kind and if anyone asked, you were sure you’d spend the rest of your life with him. That is until two mysteriously charming men that Bruce swears are dangerous take an interest in you that threatens to turn your entire life upside down. I mean… what exactly are you supposed to do with two gorgeous men telling you something that suggests that basically everything you think you know is a lie? And why does part of you have enough doubt to wonder if they might be telling the truth?

Series Masterlist

***

You hum to yourself as you make lunch before your shift at work. Wanda's working from home today so you make a sandwich for her too while you're in the kitchen. You take your lunch and hers to her room where she's hunched over her laptop.

"Lunch time." You say handing her her plate and sitting on her bed to eat your own.

"Oh- thanks, you didn't have to do that." She says.

"I know but if I leave you here until I get off work there's a chance you won't eat at all until dinner later." You shrug.

"I can feed myself." She protests.

"I know you can but I also know you hardly do. Eat your sandwich, work will still be there when you finish it." You say.

"Thank you y/n." She says tucking into her lunch.

"You're most welcome my dearest friend." You smile. "Oh, you know that bad movie we watched on Saturday?"

"Yeah, why did we do that?"

"Because bad movies are funny. Anyway, it has a sequel. So we'll have to get around to it soon."

"A sequel?!"

"Yeah apparently."

"Alright then, round 2. Is it on streaming or will we have to track down a physical copy?"

"It's on streaming don't worry." You chuckle.

"Good, great. Do you wanna do it tonight?"

"Sure I don't see why not. We'll watch it during dinner." You shrug. The two of you chat while eating lunch together and when you're finished you leave her to get back to work while you prep to leave for your own job. During the week most of the foot traffic in the store is from teenagers coming in after school so the first couple hours of your shift are a little hectic for you, Jack, and Delilah but it eventually slows enough for the three of you to start chatting.

"So y/n, how ya been? I feel like you've only been working with Peter these days. Delilah, have you met Peter?" Jack asks, the two of them are leaning against the counter of the coffee bar.

"No- he's the guy that started working here a few months ago right?" She asks.

"Yes, he is and I've been fine Jack, how have you been?" You ask.

"Doing great except I never see you anymore."

"I don't know what to tell you Jacky it's not on purpose." You scoff.

"Wait so what's the deal with this Peter guy? Do you have a thing for him or something?" Delilah asks looking between you and Jack.

"No! God no. Peter's a baby, he's only 19." You shake your head.

"She's basically adopted him and therefore completely neglected me!" Jack crosses his arms.

"Jack you are a grown man be serious." You laugh.

"Work more shifts with me." Jack glares at you.

"I'm already here like five to six days a week. Maybe pick up a couple extra shifts and we can talk." You retort. The bell over the door rings interrupting your conversation as the three of you stop fooling around to greet the new customers. When you look over at the door you're surprised to see Bucky and Steve walking over to you. Jack and Delilah clear out, pretending to be busy in other parts of the store.

"Hello, how can I help you?" You ask in your usual customer service voice.

"Hi y/n." Steve says.

"Hi Steve, hi Bucky, what brings you by?" You ask. They obviously didn't come here to order coffee.

"We had business in the area, we wanted to say hi." Steve says.

"Well, hi." You say.

"It's good to see you." Steve says.

"You haven't called." Bucky points out.

"Bucky." Steve scolds almost immediately.

"I've been a little busy the last few days but I didn't realize there was a deadline on when I was to call you." You say, one eyebrow raised.

"There isn't." Steve says sharply before Bucky can speak again.

"James?" You look at him.

"There isn't. I'm just anxious sometimes. I- we, like you, and we want to know how you feel." Bucky says.

"I had an amazing time, I think I told you that." You say.

"We aren't rushing you." Steve says.

"I know you aren't. Bucky needs reassurance and I can understand that. You will hear from me tonight, that's a promise, and you will see me again. Maybe later this week if we can schedule it." You say.

"We can be available whenever you want us to be." Bucky says.

"Go. I'll call later and we can discuss the details but right now I'm at work." You say with a light chuckle.

"Have a good day, y/n." Steve says.

"You two boys." You smile and with that, they leave, Bucky with a little more obvious reluctance than Steve. Delilah and Jack rush back over to the coffee bar counter as soon as they're gone, just as you expected.

"Who were they?!" Jack asks.

"Just- a couple of guys I know." You shrug.

"Know how?!" Delilah asks.

"And how can I get two of my own?" Jack asks.

"Jack." Delilah laughs.

"What?! Who wouldn't want two gorgeous men showing up to ask why you haven't called them? Like our girl has legs!"

"Okay, Jack, I do not have 'legs' and I can't help you get your own because I didn't even meet them on purpose." You laugh.

"Are you dating them?"

"You are so nosy! Go restock some toys or something." You say through laughter.

"Hey hey hey two mysterious and fine ass men just showed up here for your attention. I think that's fair game for questioning." Jack says.

"Well you're not gonna get any answers so." You shrug.

"You hate me." Jack glares.

"Drama queen." You snort.

"Evil Queen." He snaps back.

"Want an apple?" You ask with a smirk and he gasps.

"What is happening?" Delilah asks through chuckles.

"Jack is a harbinger of chaos." You shrug.

"Jack is healthily interested in his friend's life." Jack corrects.

"No, you're bored because no one's currently vying for your attention right?" You ask.

"Someone is always vying for my attention how dare you!"

"Oh so Tommy is still around? How about Lisa?"

"No, and no."

"You got new situationships and didn't tell me?! Oh but I've got to tell you about my mysterious visitors?"

"You know what I think the kids section actually could use reorganizing. I'm gonna go take care of that." Jack says coming up with an excuse.

"Yeah you go do that." You roll your eyes and Delilah continues to laugh through the exchange.

"You're both insane." She shakes her head going back over to the register on the other side of the store.

The rest of your shift goes by pretty quickly and when later comes you do call them. You finish your shift, go home, have dinner, and watch that bad movie with Wanda, and once you've showered and wound down for the night you call them. You plan a date with them for later in the week but after that, you spend hours on the phone talking. You ask them about their day and they tell you every single decision they made from the moment they woke up basically, and you ask questions about their work when you see one to ask and it's nice to hear them talk about it all since they want you to be involved. You talk and laugh well into the night until you eventually say goodnight because the sun is close to rising and you all have to be up during the day.

Over the next month or so, these end of the day calls become a routine. You call them almost every night, they discuss work with you and you tell them about your day too. Dates with them become habitual too. Once or twice a week most of the time. Sometimes it's something sillier and laid back, mini golfing, bowling, ice skating, other nights, they take you to the most lavish restaurants around the city and honestly, it's all very fun. You love dating them. They're as adoring as they'd promised and you try very hard not to act like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Today, you're spending the day with them. Business stuff first and then dinner later. You want to see just what you'd be getting into if you took them up on the decision-making suggestion you made on your first date.

"Y/n! Your boyfriends are here!" Wanda shouts almost immediately after you hear the knock at the door. She knows you heard it she just likes to say that whenever they come by.

"Thank you Wanda my ears do work." You roll your eyes grabbing your phone and walking out to meet them. "Hi boys." You say.

"Hello sunshine." Bucky says and each of them kisses one of your cheeks.

"Hi y/n. Ready to go?" Steve asks.

"Yep! What's first on the list?" You ask as they walk with you to the apartment elevator and the three of you get inside.

"A meeting." He says.

"You guys do a lot of those it seems." You muse.

"Yes that is most of the job." He chuckles.

"You get used to it. Plus we've gotten pretty efficient we hardly have meetings that go longer than an hour." Bucky shrugs.

"Is this one going to be longer than an hour?" You ask.

"Probably not." He laughs.

"Alright because if y'all decided to start me with a long one I'd have some choice words for you both." You say exiting the elevator with Bucky and Steve only slightly trailing behind you as they chuckle at your words. Outside, a car, a different one than the one they usually take you on dates in, waits by the entrance of your building. Steve helps you into the car while Bucky gets in on the other side. The drive takes you to the building Steve and Bucky own in the heart of Brooklyn where they do all their work. They don't live in this building, they live in the penthouse of a highrise that they also own but they spend a lot of time here apparently. Bucky and Steve lead you to one of the meeting rooms in the building and sit with you at one end of the table.

"What's this meeting for by the way?" You ask.

"A former business associate. He's encroaching. We're straightening him out." Bucky says.

"Why would he willingly come here if he's encroaching?" You ask.

"Who said anything about willingly?" He smirks at you. Just then a man is hauled in and dropped half into the chair on the other side of the table.

"Well, that's one way to do it I guess." You mutter. The guy quickly straightens himself in the seat prepared to make a case, but he stops when he sees you between Bucky and Steve.

"You I've never seen before." He frowns.

"Never seen you before either." You shrug.

"And chances are you won't ever see her again. Unless you're tired of breathing." Bucky glares.

"You aren't supposed to be in Brooklyn. That was the deal. We let you live, you get outta town." Steve says. "So why are our people seeing you?"

"I don't want any trouble. I was sent here on a delivery for someone." The guy explains.

"Barton!" Bucky shouts.

"Please." The guy says as the door swings open. Clint stands there awaiting instructions. You knew he was part of this but it is a little strange to see him in action. Still, you wave at him before you can think better of it and he nods in greeting back to you.

"We were merciful once. You took it for granted." Steve says.

"Send him off with a gift." Bucky says.

"On it." Clint drags the mystery man back out of the room.

"A gift?" You ask Bucky.

"Around here we believe in shooting the messenger. It sends a message." He shrugs.

"Clint's gonna kill him?" You ask.

"Almost." Bucky says. Steve stands up first.

"Come, we have a few more things to do before dinner." He says and you and Bucky follow him out of the room. The three of you spend the afternoon going to a few more meetings and checking out a couple of warehouses before eventually heading to dinner.

"So how do you feel about your first day with us?" Steve asks once you're sat in the restaurant.

"Fine. Pretty good. It was simpler than I thought." You say.

"Well, we didn't wanna overwhelm you on day one. Thought it would be nice to start you off on an easy day." He shrugs.

"An easy day? What does that mean then?"

"It means, next time we'll show you where you keep our hostages." Bucky says kissing your hand and you laugh.

"Wait you don't actually keep hostages do you?" You ask when your giggles die down.

"Not regularly, but every once in a while." He says.

"Really? What for? I mean you don't need ransom money, do you? You guys seem to be doing pretty well for yourselves with your actual business ventures."

"Information usually. And sometimes we have to, deal with some... rivals of ours." Bucky answers.

"Rivals? What are you dealing with there?" You ask.

"It's most often territory related." Steve says.

"So- is gang activity like intrinsically part of werewolf life or is that just you guys since you happen to run a criminal empire?"

"It's just those of us who run a criminal empire. At least around here." Bucky chuckles.

"We take care of the wolf families in the area. Offer protection." Steve says.

"In exchange for what?"

"Nothing except their loyalty and if we need help we like to think we can count on them. Small stuff of course, stash this here or send someone there. We aren't asking them to fight our enemies or anything." Steve explains.

"Okay so these rivals of yours, are they also wolves? Are they human? Is it like you versus other supernaturals?"

"Our biggest rival happens to be a group run by vampires so- yeah I guess us versus other supernaturals." Bucky says.

"Oh so is it like on sight with all vampires because I know a halfling that I've been friends with for a good portion of my adult life and I'm not trying to have problems with him."

"Wait what?" Steve frowns.

"Say that again?" Bucky's face matches Steve's and you look at them both with confusion.

"I don't want to fight with my friend?" You say hesitantly.

"You know a halfling?" Steve asks.

"What the hell does that mean?" Bucky asks.

"Uh his dad is a vampire and his mom is a witch and he's like half a vampire because of it." You shrug.

"So, vampire plus witch makes half vampire baby?" Bucky frowns.

"And a witch." You add.

"What?" Steve blinks.

"He's a twin, his sister is a witch. So he got the vampire genes and she got the... magic." You explain.

"Well, no it's not 'on sight' with every vampire we see, but we know who our enemies are." Bucky says.

"What's your halfling's name? We'll get him checked out, make sure he's on our list so everyone knows he's not a threat." Steve says.

"Pietro. Pietro Maximoff." You say.

"That name sounds famil-"

"Wanda. He's Wanda's twin brother." You cut Steve off with the answer to the question he's about to ask.

"Wanda has a twin who's a vampire?!" Steve asks.

"Why are we just now hearing this?" Bucky asks.

"I didn't think it was pertinent. It's not like she walks around discussing her lineage. It's really not something she likes to talk about and consider ourselves lucky. She never even told Bruce she was a witch and she told y'all."

"Yes well, part of how Bruce made his living was observing and experimenting on us. I wouldn't tell him such information either." Steve says.

"Regardless. Just make sure you don't hurt Pietro." You say.

"We'll have him checked out and put him on a safe list." He nods.

"Checked out?" You ask.

"Well considering he's a vampire there's a chance he's already been gotten to by our rivals in which case putting him on a safe list would be a lost cause." Steve shrugs.

"Pietro's pretty straight laced I don't think-" You trail off midsentence remembering that Peter is probably involved in criminal activity.

"Don't think what?" Bucky asks.

"I was going to say I don't think he'd be in a mob but Sam seems pretty straight laced too and he's not only in it but he's high up on the ladder so, what do I know?" You shrug. "Do whatever checks you have to do but do not make Pietro an enemy. You'd put me in a very awkward position as Wanda would die for her brother and she'd also die for me and I will never make her choose like that."

"We won't make him an enemy. Promise sunshine." Bucky says.

"You two need nicknames." You hum.

"What?" Steve chuckles.

"Bucky calls me sunshine and you call me princess, so I need to give you corresponding nicknames too. I'll sleep on it." You nod. Steve shakes his head and kisses your cheek. The three of you enjoy dinner together talking and laughing like second nature. Honestly, even though you've only been actually dating for a couple of months, the fact that they've been pursuing you for much longer than that sometimes makes it seem like your relationship has been longer than just a couple of months. Plus they're extremely open with you, it's so easy to talk to them and get to know them. It's nice.

***

Part 9/???

Tagged Users: @cjand10 @vicmc624 @mandijo17 @marvel-fandom23

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

We might finally know, ahead of D23, who is directing TOY STORY 5. Per a Japanese news article.

None other than... Andrew Stanton, but also... A second director in McKenna Harris...

So, Stanton... That's BIG...

Stanton, who did story and script on the original TOY STORY, is part of what I like to call "Team TOY STORY": Him, John Lasseter (director), current Pixar leader Pete Docter (story), and Lee Unkrich (editor). All members of the Brain Trust, too. And all of them returned for some kind of role on the sequels.

Docter and Stanton are pretty much the last of that core team that are still at Pixar, Unkrich intermittently consults on the post-TOY STORY 4 films, as he's been off doing other projects, namely editing recently-released books on THE SHINING. We all know what happened to John Lasseter. Stanton taking the helm, if he is indeed straight-up directing this movie and not just doing story/script, is a curious development... Because he's been doing a lot of live-action stuff lately, and trying to get films of his own off the ground. One of which, IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, was filmed in spring 2023 and will be released by Searchlight Pictures. Eventually.

The last animated feature film he directed was FINDING DORY, released in 2016. Since then, his directing work has mainly been in TV: STRANGER THINGS, BETTER CALL SAUL, FOR ALL MANKIND, 3 BODY PROBLEM, etc. He even directed for OBI-WAN KENOBI. Now that he has at least one other non-Pixar movie coming out, maybe he's game to direct a long-time endeavor again?

Fun fact: Stanton originally intended for FINDING DORY to be directed by someone else. Stanton had tried to get a live-action/CG-filled sci-fi epic going after the 2008 release of WALL-E, a film that could potentially launch a trilogy... That unfortunate 2012 film was JOHN CARTER. It's actually supposed to be called JOHN CARTER OF MARS, but Disney execs cut the "Mars" in response to how their mo-cap movie MARS NEEDS MOMS did at the box office. (Planet Mars, for whatever reason, had been considered box office poison... But it didn't affect THE MARTIAN in 2015). Disney then proceeded to saddle it with a terrible marketing campaign, and the $250m behemoth lost so much money at the box office...

So, Stanton re-routed, and decided to assume the director position on FINDING DORY shortly thereafter. So maybe he doesn't mind returning to his characters/worlds when the opportunities aren't always there? Maybe all that TV work and that one small movie gave him his fill for now?

Again, that is, if he's actually the director.

It's an interesting trajectory, though. John Lasseter directed TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2, the latter having co-directors in Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon (the original director when it was a direct-to-video movie). Unkrich was promoted to director on TOY STORY 3, as John was too busy running 3 studios to do it (though not busy enough to take over CARS 2, apparently). John actually was aiming to direct TOY STORY 4 as well, but then handed the reins to his co-director Josh Cooley. And Cooley left Pixar, he directed this year's TRANSFORMERS ONE for Paramount.

So, if it's Stanton, that makes sense. If not, I'm gonna guess it's a co-director of a previous picture or someone involved with at least one of the films or shorts. Angus MacLane, who directed SMALL FRY, TOY STORY OF TERROR! and LIGHTYEAR, got let go recently. As did Steve Purcell, who directed TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT. A new perspective is always fun, but if it's a veteran, I'm curious either way.

McKenna Harris being the other director is very cool, almost like a veteran getting a first-time feature director off the ground with a classic favorite. Harris was a story artist on LUCA, and directed that film's short CIAO ALBERTO, in addition to being an associate exec producer on ELEMENTAL. She also did story work on Disney Animation films RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET and RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, and even did character design for Cartoon Network's WE BEAR BEARS... Whose creator Daniel Chong looks to be directing a picture at Pixar as well... A good get, if that article is true.

[lorifragolina]

Here's to you, Mr. Harrington

For: @rindecisions, Rindecision

Well, I'm sorry to wait so much to publish this fic for you but I wanted doing it in my birthday! I hope you enjoy it, it's a silly thing but I like to imagine even a sequel for it! Happy Holidays!

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson; Eddie Munson/Billy Hagrove; Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove (last two both implied)

Rating: Explicit

Wordcount: 5953

Warnings: Archive Warnings and Potential triggers

Tags: Movie references, Sex in a Church, Break up, Engagement, Secret relationship

Summary:  “Eddie…” whispered Steve, getting nearer to him. “I’m sorry,” Eddie kept saying, tears running between his fingers. Steve took his hands and moved them from his face. Eddie was beautiful. He was his man, his feelings for him weren’t changed, but he knew he wouldn’t change either. “I don’t want to lose you,” whispered Eddie, trying to calm down, moved for the closeness.  “It’s… too late,” whispered Steve in return, most to himself, really. His heart was beating like a drum. “No…” Steve sighed, closing his eyes to run off the mesmerizing sparkles of Eddie’s glance. “You know that things just can’t work. You�� you don’t want to stop for me and I need something more”.

Steve Harrington is about to marry. But the love of his life isn't happy with it.

They broke up, but they are bonded to each other despite of it all.

Could they fix things, or it's over forever?

This fic is a part of the @steddieholidayexchange

Read it on Ao3

A little tease under the cut!

When Steve Harrington parked the car in the driveway of the house in Loch Nora, his mother, father and even the maid and the gardener were lined up at the entrance. 

Stella Harrington was wearing a summer large dress in white linen, the blonde hair lazily braided in a cozy hairdo that, anyway, smelled rich.

Steve opened the passenger door and a blonde, tall creature got out of the car; the rope sandals, the off-white dress and even the hairdo matched Steve’ mother.

The girl floated elegantly in the driveway at Steve’s side and graciously greeted his mother, extending her hands to Stella. Steve’s mother pursed his lips, looking furtively at his son's face, but then greeted the girl in return. Steve waited for his family and his fiancee entering the house, then sighed heavily and followed them.

After the big meeting with his family, it was the moment to drop the news with his found family. And while his mother, despite a certain surprise, could accept the girl and the situation, his friends wouldn't be so easy to convince.

All Robin could see when Steve opened the door for the girl in the mall parking lot, was a pale, ethereal East coast beauty, thin arms and thin waist, a bread not too full, just enough, classical features with blonde hair, perfectly messy as the casual wearing required, green eyes and a few freckles on the nose, not too much, not too few. She matched Steve’s Ralph Laurent pale blue polo, and when she leaned his hand on Steve’s, the diamond at her finger ring sparkled unequivocally.

Robin blinked a few times, just trying to focus and understand why the entire scene, apparently perfect, seemed so wrong to her.

“Robin, please meet Helen Miller,” he said. And the perfect name, thought Robin, stretching her hand a little baffled.

“Nice to meet you,” said Helen with a perfect, gracious voice. “Steve talks a lot about you”.

“But he didn’t mention you a single time” answered Robin in a low voice. Helen didn’t notice it, but Steve did and pushed a little Robin, with displeasure.

He introduced her again to Dustin, Max and Lucas; the three were as confused as Robin, but they didn’t say anything, and they all sat at the cafe and waited silently. Steve phoned them with the news, but no one believed it and were waiting for Steve to confirm or retract.

“So, Helen, what do you think of Hawkins?”

Helen lowered graciously his eyelashes, with an accent of a smile.

“We just pass on the interstate. But I see the church on the road… we will go tomorrow to talk with the pastor, right, darling?” She sweetly landed a hand on Steve’s hand.

Steve smiled nervously and nodded. He was distracted staring at the other side of the road , and a guy with a dirty rug in hands was standing in front of the garage, staring at Steve in return.

“We will talk to the pastor and celebrate the wedding on Sunday”.

Just in five days, thought Robin. Steve’s mother managed all the organization, and the girl ordered things from the East Coast and they were waiting for the delivery during those days. The wedding machine was already moving. Robin raised her eyes to the guy in front of the garage too, and sighed. She wasn't sure about all that rush, and that girl was not, even remotely, Steve’s type.

“Steve, darling, be an angel and refuel my car” said sweetly Mrs Harrington when they met at the mall, after greeting the guys, to buy some last things. “Helen and I have to do some errands, right, sweetheart?'' She put a hand on Helen's arm.

“Oh… well, ok,” Steve sighed. He would avoid the gas station but he couldn't explain why to his mother and his fiancee.

“So it’s true, you came back,” said Eddie Munson, the garage employee, while he was refueling the car and had nowhere to run. Steve kept his eyes low and bit his lips.

“And I heard another thing,” Eddie smiled, but his eyes weren’t as cool as his words. Steve kept silent. “So it’s true too? You’ll tie the knot with that elfic girl?”

Steve had to hide a little, silly smile. He put the pump on its side and finally faced Eddie.

“Yes, on Sunday”.

Eddie got nearer, far inside Steve’s personal space. Steve tried to stand still, although nervous.

“So I’m supposed to greet the happy couple,” said Eddie slyly, straightening Steve’s polo collar. Steve pursed his lips, raising his eyes and trying to look Eddie in the eyes, but despite all his efforts, his glance stopped on his lips. “Or should I greet the groom?” whispered Eddie, tucking a hand on Steve’s waist and pulling him dangerously close.

Steve just leaned against him and touched Eddie’s lips; he felt Eddie smiling on his lips, and tore away suddenly.

“No,” he said, pushing Eddie away. “No, I have to go. I have to go!” Steve went back in the car and went away with perhaps a little too much gas.

[trickster-shi]

WIP Updates

Been a while since I did one of these, and I should honestly be trying to sleep so this damn sore throat/respiratory crap goes away, but I just can't breathe when I lay down >_< however, I'm feeling a bit better than a couple days ago so I'll do this update and see if I can concentrate long enough to get some words in on at least one of these projects.

Project Zander:

I finished chapter five last night and sent it off to the beta readers. That one took a while to really come together to my satisfaction, especially the past scene. I had over 10k words on this chapter at one point before figuring out what it needed and cutting it down to 6500.

I am now working on outlining the next five chapters before I dive into chapter six.

Untitled Original Project:

I decided to scavenge some parts from Teenage Vigilante Witch and build an original story out of it. So far I like what I've got, which is about 4k words and needs a lot of outlining. Still keeping the found family aspect, but I'm doing a lot of world building and outlining to ensure it's a very different story from Teenage Viginate Witch. Looking back on it now, there was a lot of stuff I wish I'd explored in that first story, but it was written very fast and thrown up on archive to prove to myself that I could still write. I never intend to go back and edit or rewrite any of it, so I'm going to take the potential it had and put it into another story and take it a couple jogs to the left. Mostly, I'm going to be exploring that guilty/vigilante mindset with a spell amnesia twist that slowly pulls back to reveal a truth better left forgotten with a different take on found family. Still working out a lot of the details but I'm excited for it.

Home Across the Universe #10:

It's a little over 3k at the moment but I have notes and scenes in my email that I need to get and stitch together in the draft, so it's likely closer to 5k. Also, I already have the ending outlined and I'm excited to get to that since it's a cliffhanger I'm gonna get yelled at over. Looking forward to that. I may poke at this one today and see if I can get some more written on it.

Rabbit Come Home part 4:

Also a little over 3k written, I'm still outlining the scenes to make sure I include everything I need to so it's a satisfying ending. I'm shooting for this to be the end of the series and there are a lot of threads to tie off.

Into the Black, Episode 3:

Also sitting at 3k, this has a couple of chunk sitting in my email I need to stitch in as well. I haven't worked on it in a couple weeks and need to sit down and outline my scenes to figure out where it needs to go. I have a vague idea but not enough to work on, especially today with my mind being fried from sickness.

Untitled Sequel to the supposed Jurassic World/Teen Wolf Oneshot:

I told myself it was a one shot and I believed it for a while, but a plot bunny bit me after a recent rewatch of Fallen Kingdom and I now have...5,515 words of a sequel. It goes a bit AU from Fallen Kingdom because I had high hopes for the promises that movie set up for Dominion that Dominion just did not deliver for me. I'm still let down about that, apparently. I'm aiming to keep the story small in scale, but it was fun pitting Stiles against dinosaurs the first time and this sequel has him showcasing some more of his smarts while injured and a little delirious from pain meds, so it should be entertaining.

Aaand, that's all I've been working on lately. Hoping to get the next Home Across the Universe oneshot finished and posted first, though I'm not making any promises or predictions on when that will be. Hopefully I can scrape together enough brain cells to work on it today and get it closer to the end scene.

[feuqueerfire]

Utsukushii Kare (S1, S2, Movie) Live Blogging

I can't believe I'm finally, finally, finally getting around to watching Season 2 and the movie (+ rewatching season 1).

I knew I liked this show well enough and the characters have stayed with me since watching it in 2022 but I didn't realize that Utsukushii Kare is pretty special because it's actually the very first live blogging post I did on this blog. It was February 2022 and now it's 2+ years later March 2024. Before then, I'd maybe tweet a thread of me watching but the tweets would be sparse because I didn't wanna spam people. I think I got the idea because I was writing so many Bad Buddy thoughts (also in Jan-Feb 2022) on my show tracking spreadsheet and that wasn't sustainable lol

Anyway, looking at these is making me remember that I'd been looking forward to season 2 from when I finished watching (from my live blogging ending thoughts) and had anticipated the release of it for months and months. Even more ridiculously, in my show tracking spreadsheet, the only thing I wrote for this show was a link to my live blogging and "If there was a sequel, I'd watch" bruh that's all I had to say and yet I'm finally watching the sequel 2 years later (while the sequel has been out for a year).

Anyway, enough chatter, I think I'm just delaying watching this show because I like season 1 and the characters so much and I'm just... nervous about my expectations.

Utsukushii Kare: Season 1

Probably won't be writing much because I already did the whole live blogging for this.

Also, it's weird that I haven't rewatched this? Why do I remember it so vividly if I haven't rewatched? I occasionally watch a bunch of tiktoks for the show and sometimes people mention it in podcasts, so maybe that's why? I was thinking maybe I'd watched reaction videos but nah, apparently I'd only watched that for 1 account back in April 2022. Once again, I continue to ramble instead of pressing play

Ep 1 (Mar 23)

Watched like 12 minutes before falling asleep

Ah, the fondness is coming back

Ep 2 (Mar 23)

Oh, the group going to Hira's house and the bike riding scene is here? in my head it was later

And the bike riding continues to be an incredible scene

Ep 3 (Apr 17)

Uhhh, I'm back after almost a month lol I think I wanted something much easier without complex dynamics at the time, so I'd watched Destiny Seeker instead

Oh, I'd forgotten about this tense scene after the contest

ahh the masturbation thing lolol

It bothers me that Kiyoi was nice again to those bully boys like why make good with them again? And when you're graduating no less?

that sudden kiss + pushing him hard enough that he falls to the ground + saying "see you again" before leaving really is just terrible and confusing lol

Ah, Hira really was always putting himself down and putting Kiyoi in a pedastal in these episodes + I remembered when somebody pointed out that in Hira's POV, there are many shots where Kiyoi is on elevated ground or taller/higher than Hira, so I noticed a lot of that in this ep

Ep 4 (Apr 17)

ack, the immediate 'stalker' to someone who ppl think is his fan is so T.T

"I want to kneel down at your feet right now" kills me every time

Koyoi's inability to communicate and Hira's idealized view of him are both so just . insane

ahh Kiyoi's POV from next ep

the episode starting with Hira saying "For several insipid years, all I did was grow up." while Kiyoi ends the episode with the same sentence

Ep 5 (Apr 17)

seeing Kiyoi lose his mind over Hira is so cathartic

ough, i forgot this hug that Kiyoi sees

I disliked the other guy more when I first watched it than I do now

Ep 6 (Apr 18)

Oops, went almost the whole day without watching anything

finger sucking scene

Ouch

the conversation at the school is just so good man, like ouch but hopeful

hehe cute biking

Overall:

Ahh, idek why I wasn't Gripped by this rewatch, like I like the characters and dynamics but it wasn't keeping my attention as much, maybe because it's a rewatch? Maybe my original rating of 6.5 was correct and I shouldn't have bumped it up to 7 but who knows, maybe I'll be reintroduced to the brainworms after watching Season 2 because I found ep 6 really engaging and was into it and S2 + movie will have new, unfamiliar stories for me.

Season 2

Ep 1 (Apr 18)

How soon after S1 is this season starting?

akkkk "Are you angry?" "Why?" "Last night I was too persistent" alkdjfasd;lkf

It's weird to realize that like... I'm older than them. I was several years older than them when they were in high school and now I'm probably 1-2 years older than them because Hira said graduation is approaching but it's weird still idk

not Mr. Suspicious lmfaoo

Hira kneeling and crawling around really is just a lot

it's so funny how Hira trembles in Kiyoi's presence because he's apparently standing too close, meanwhile we know for a fact that they canonically fuck

Hira's persistent fear that Kiyoi might die ?!

they're both so constipated in different ways, I'm dying like Hira's extreme lack of confidence about his looks and sense of self vs Kiyoi obviously being in love with him and wanting to reassure him but also not being able to compliment him truthfully and sincerely

Kiyoi's every sentence is a trap lmfao

omg I was so distracted by her, she's gorgeous and I love the outfit and jewelry

Kiyoi seething with jealousy ahh

lolol "today we're gonna do it"

oh my goddd what a good episode, I was giggling and dying and so engaged, I'm glad I love it so far because I was kinda nervous after not being as enamoured by S1

Ep 2 (Apr 19)

ah, i'm clutching my heart, flashback to the scene of when Hira taught Kiyoi about the tea olives or whatever and Kiyoi just desperately wanted Hira to say he likes him

return of Suspicious-kun plss

Is the other guy who's there for Anna gonna be significant? Either as an Anna s/o as well or as a Kiyoi hater maybe?

does Kiyoi want their love life to be more exciting?

aksldfj why are each of them so annoying like Koyoma's being like yeah Hira doesn't shut the fuck up about you and your drama at school while Kiyoi's like "Is Koyoma saying he sees a side of Hira I don't see? Is he trying to assert dominance?" like girl both hira and him are just dumbasses god bless

Koyoma on Kiyoi's ass for freeloading off of Hira and letting Hira do all the housework while he just pursues his acting or whatever ohh

pls Hira treating this shitty food as if it's from Olympus

Ah, Hira joining the photography competition at Kiyoi's encouragement (though the pressure would make me buckle)

Ep 3 (Apr 19)

Hira not making it to the next round of the competition but Kiyoi still being supportive, I needed to see this rn tbh

oh my god this is so sad man, they're literally always just on different lines of thinking because Kiyoi wants to be treated as an equal in the relationship while Hira thinks it would be an insult to think of himself as ever reaching Kiyoi's status

but it's so sad the way Kiyoi wants to obviously be known as Hira's bf (even though they can't) and the way he's hurting knowing that Hira wants Kiyoi and his parents to be completely separate owwww

omg? Hira saying I don't want to understand you? fucked up fr

Their relationship is often somewhat tragic because of their dynamic and how they see themselves and the fact that what they want from the relationship is different but this ep is so sad man

Ep 4 (Apr 19)

ah, good thing Kiyoi came back because they only have 1 episode of 23 mins left and i don't want the ending to be rushed lol

sorry accidentally got the ick when Kiyoi came and ordered Hira to get ginger ale in front of everybody even though ik it's like Dynamics but still why in front of dumbass bullies smhh

Hira not liking Kiyoi saying it's fine if he doesn't get a job after uni bc he can take care of them makes sense but then smiling happily when Kiyoi says "fine, then work like a workhorse and if you mess anything up for me I'll throw you away" is sooooo

huh? Why Hira didn't submit anything?

oh it's a different thing that Hira didn't submit for? Because he did indeed submit for the contest

woah, gasped at the fact that Hira is kneeling but at eye-level/slight higher than Kiyoi instead of lowering himself as much as possible

Hira being fed chocolate by Kiyoi, ah

great, delightful

Overall:

This season is about Hira and Kiyoi's relationship. They didn't become boring after getting together, they didn't magically end up being a perfect happy well-adjusted couple after getting together, nor were there random issues thrown just because; the struggles and hurdles are true to their characters and dynamics.

I was a bit afraid that I'd be meh about it because I was like fine but not Hooked on the S1 rewatch but the S2 was great, for real. I liked the themes and dynamics it explored and their character + relationship development and progression. I also smiled a lot and lost my mind a little at certain moments.

Strong writing, strong characters, strong acting, what a relief.

Rating: 7/10

Movie: Eternal

No clue what the movie is about actually, though there are a few gifsets/moments that I've seen that didn't appear in the series, so much be from here. + I saw one comment saying that Anna and Noguchi are supposed to be there more in the movie. oh also actually?? a kidnapping plot?? i heard it mentioned in a podcast i think

omg they're each recounting how they met the other to their own mentors

not the shrine ?!?! omg

I really don't know how to feel about Anna's fan like do we need to kill him or what?

what does Hira mean by him and Kiyoi drifting apart?

hah the divorce thing is here, I loved the gifset when I saw it and have had it in my likes for Months, gonna finally be able to reblog it

i think i saw a gifset or clip in this bathtub scene and I'm a great enjoyer of people discussing their desire for dubcon/cnc roleplay

Idk if I hate that I keep skipping all their makeouts/allusion to sex scenes like aghhh

I've also seen this part about hira apologizing for not having same free time as Kiyoi and Kiyoi grabbing his face in his hand to say stop apologizing, you've tried your best. i like it a lot

wait are Anna and Noguchi dating? I wanna know who the person Anna was talking about who has her heart but they can rarely meet because they're in the same industry. and it'd have the parallel of Hira wanting to photograph Kiyoi while Noguchi gets to photograph Anna

Noguchi used to be a scenario photographer?

ah, Hira didn't show up to the shoot with Noguchi and Kiyoi

pls why are they both obsessed with this award, he doesn't even have regular professional photography experience c'mon girls

oh, Anna's bf is some random actor from another company.

her fan is being... fine for now.

Aw, Anna

dang, they're bringing Anna to live with Hira's cousin

So does the aunt know that Hira and Kiyoi are like a thing or does she still think their fan/friend lol

Hira saying only Kiyoi is allowed to call him creepy and such because he's special + Kiyoi being like "he's creepy right?" Anna: "yeah" Kiyoi: Hey!

Ouch, yeah Hira saying he doesn't know what to shoot is crazy

Oof, Hira and Anna dating scandal

It must be so funny if you're watching this without knowing about EA celebrity dating culture (though even in SK, actors can date) and being like ? why is this a scandal ?

but i'm unexpectedly getting a celebrity-centric BL without seeking it out, which is great, esp bc when I seek it out I don't tend to find too many which actually give me what I want

random het sob story in the middle of my Utsukushii Kare but I like Anna so I'll allow it for like... 2 minutes

Ah, the kidnapping lol

oh it really is the Anna fan fuckhead aghhh how terrible, he's been off since the start

pls saviour Hira

Hira gets to photograph Kiyoi professionally yay

deciding to have one subject as your photo subject is crazy if you wanna be a professional but alright I'll buy into it

ah, conversation about beauty and age

gorgeous ending

Overall:

Great, fun, though not as emotionally invested as Season 2 because they're in a better place in their relationship in this movie (even if it's not necessarily Perfect). It was interesting to have new people in their lives like Anna and Noguchi and how their stories influenced them. I'm happy with where we're leaving off the characters after ~6h of show/movie.

Rating: 6.5/10

[petrichoraline]

✨MSP Episode 11 Thoughts✨

wheree do i even start

how about ALL OF YOU LIED TO ME?? i feel scammed!! i was led to believe through every single thing i encountered that tinn and gun would have a fallout of some sort OR their relationship would suffer somehow. apparently i experienced goncharov levels of conspiracy, all of bl tumblr teamed up to stress me out because what actually awaited me was tinngun being sweet supportive boyfriends for over an hour!

speaking of which, from all the people dropping hints and nudging me to watch it, precisely zero told me it was the length of a kdrama episode! i was predicting like a 50min long script, how was i supposed to know gmm had decided to cosplay as tvn for a day?

episode 11 being longer and still not containing the iconic couple conflict but leaving it for the very last episode is just another way to break the norm, it's what bad buddy did, it's just not how bad buddy did it. and i want to take a moment to appreciate that the series decided it is more important to properly end the hot wave arc and show tinn's mom figuring out this whole thing mostly by herself and with the help of her husband rather than lashing out at her son. there was enough time spent on these things so the events of episode 12 don't feel rushed and the characters' actions don't seem unmotivated.

what was going on with tiwpor though?? i knew these two would be as rushed as a sequel to a hit hollywood movie but goodness..yet somehow..it works? tiwpor having bbq. then tiwpor having dinner. two meals and those kids are practically planning how to move in with each other as soon as possible.

the man the myth the legend tiwson wasn't even with the gang for most of the episode (my theory is that had he been there for the big fight, there would be no other way for his character to react other than getting down on all fours by por's side and growling at everyone..so they had to cut him out entirely)

experiencing soundgun confirming their devotion and then attacking each other like wild hyenas thirty minutes later was one of the highlights but something i enjoyed even more was pat giving off "had a crush on my bestie but gave up on it cause we're too alike" vibes, i did not expect to get so much personality from either tiw or por but pat had my head spinning

tiwson in the first five minutes like "yall bout to break up? sucks mate. well, we had a good run!" ..i cannot believe i thought this man was about to break down and tell tinn about all that he's been enduring for him. man's only as invested as the task at hand gives promise of a bl drama plot unveiling before him. (also, how did he see his relationship with por developing in that scenario? "tinn and gun can do whatever, i'm going to bite that cute bbq chef and the holy chinzhilla can watch from the corner for all i care")

realising tinn could've not become a school president to help them win but then realising he had to do it for the guys anyways because they would have had to give up long before hot wave

this is on top of my head pretty much, i've got opinions on every second of this whole thing though

[eldarchickenwing]

So, finally watched Across the Spider Verse and...I have thoughts. I did very much like the movie, personally Gwen's arc was the one I found most compelling, her struggles with hiding her identity being framed in a way that to me at least definitely had some similarities to the experiences of many queer people. I loved Mayday, but I feel like that's a given, and what little we saw of Hobie and Pavitr was always a great time. Miles as well, having such an interesting arc of not just learning self confidence, but reaffirming his confidence in his identity and what he wants to be, even outside of responsibilities, was an interesting subversion of the standard "be responsible" super hero trope. But that leads to my first, and only real major gripe with the movie. It was written as part 1 of 2 and it shows. Miles arc doesn't feel...incomplete, but it also feels almost unbalanced, and Miguel antagonism comes across as almost meaningless, as the movie kinda doesn't address the flaws that he, and apparently every other spider person, seems to not see. There's a hint of a justification (not an excuse) that would explain his obsession, but we don't really get an outside perspective on it, making it feel like the movie is painting Miguel as obsessively wrong while also giving just enough information that there apparently is a reason that makes sense for his actions that isn't just "he's wrong." Like....how did he get that many spider people to just...agree? What evidence, besides his own personal experiences and theories, caused THAT MANY variants to agree with him? There are enough in movie flaws in his logic that so many people have made so many theories about how canon events are not a thing, but what made them think it was? All of them? These problems, Miles's finished/unfinished arc and Miguel's nebulous logic, stem from the movie's production as a first half of a story. This isn't inherently bad, but it does become trickier to justify as a standalone movie, as the story just...isn't complete. Across the Spider Verse isn't the first movie with this problem, just look at the MCU's obsession with tying every movie into a larger plot, or the 3(?) movies it took to finish that first real arc, or perhaps the dividing of the last harry potter movie being released decently far apart. It starts to feel like a cash-grab, especially when each movie has trouble standing on it's own. Not to say that Across the Spider Verse doesn't stand on it's own, it very much does, but some of the ways it tries to set up it's sequel don't feel so much like cliffhanger as they do....just not done. Some of it works for sure, but at other parts I had to double check the time bar because it felt like we had another hour of movie to watch. Finally, the pettiest complaint, I'm a little sad that spiderverse Miguel has kinda...overshadowed his extensive comic history and character. Not to say Comic Miguel isn't edgy as all heck, but still, we can see the way that movie Miguel has drastically changed how people see the character and write about him, at least in a fandom perspective. This isn't the first time it's happened, RDJ's Iron Man completely subsumed the previous comic personality, and it isn't inherently bad as it can give a character a new start, but it is a little sad that the old version seemingly disappear forever, especially those that had long histories. On the other hand, it has definitely caused more people to look at Spiderman 2099, bringing new fans to a niche but still popular character, something always welcome. So, silver linings at least. Again, I did like the movie, I liked it a lot honestly. There's a decent chance that a lot of these opinions are biased because of the amount of hype the movie got at release, and boy was there a lot. IDK, this might just be me rambling again, but yeah, just my opinion on the few flaws the movie had to me.

[chellyfishing]

i’m trying to finish one last book before my year-end book post goes up so i’m gonna talk about games and tv first. not too many of either to talk about this year tbh but i apparently still have so many words.

no movies post bc i don’t log my films anywhere and i simply cannot remember what i watched. maybe i should make 2024 the year of using letterboxed. not enough to talk about with new music either. 2024 can also be the year of getting back into music.

games: i actually haven’t played much ffxiv this year. well in the first half i sorta did but i have barely touched it since like. august. except to keep my houses from getting demolished. i did finally finish myths of the realm last week, since they wrote that entire storyline for me specifically. i need the minion so bad yoship help.

in march capcom gave me a birthday prezzie with the release of the resident evil 4 remake which i’d had preordered since last year (the only games i’ll preorder and pay full price for are resis and ffxiv expansions). i don’t need to explain this to you. it’s incredibly good, the best of the extremely good remakes so far i think. i haven’t played the dlc yet but i’m excited to think there is more of this game i still have to play. btw ashley defense squad. i’ll brook no ashley slander in my house.

i can’t remember exactly when but i think it was some time in the summer that i finally, finally finished breath of the wild! i’m so behind the curve on this one, but i did at least get to start tears of the kingdom in the same year as everyone else. umm, i have to admit i remain ambivalent to this approach to zelda. i have to challenge myself to figure out how much of that is because iT’s DiFfErEnT but genuinely i think the things i dislike about it, i would still dislike even if i had nothing to compare it against. i really wish i thought it was the best zelda ever like so many do but i guess i just struggle to find a flow state with either of them which is why it’s taking me so fucking long to finish them lmao. still obviously extremely good and beautiful! like still head and shoulders above most games, easily, a good time overall!! (wish nintendo wasn’t the way that it is.)

i should mention that one day in july i fucked around in catlateral damage while streaming for bella. this is a very basic game, literally you are just a cat’s paw knocking things over, but man when you just need a brain-free giggle? it did its job.

also in july i played the sequel to oxenfree, which is a game that i love. this game didn’t click with me quite as much, i haven’t revisited it since i finished it, but there are probably also other reasons i shan’t get into that aren’t the game’s fault. idk i feel a bit unqualified to give a final verdict without playing it to completion but i guess the fact that i’ve had it for months and not bothered to do that yet is a kind of verdict in itself since with oxenfree i went straight back in till i got that final ending and platinum trophy.

for basically all of autumn i of course played baldur’s gate 3. i’m very sad that my extreme anhedonia has hit before i could play the new epilogue. i tried to load up one of my finished games but i ran into a problem because the only way to back up your saves is in the cloud so you can’t shuffle files around or make copies, only overwrite, and don’t get me STARTED again or i’ll start spitting i’m so SICK of PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT AAAAAHH. anyway it’s a pretty good game. i won’t be surprised or mad if neil wins the bafta but it really really should be samantha please if there’s justice in this world.

tv: season 3 of only murders in the building. umm, idk. it’s not a revolutionary show but it’s comforting, it doesn’t feel stale yet, and there’s just a lot of talent at work here. just fun to watch.

i watched almost all of neon genesis evangelion but couldn’t finish it because i decided to have an (unrelated) emotional breakdown instead. i’ll finish it eventually if for no other reason than i owe it to phil. shinji is baby.

finally got to the first season of our flag means death. just a delight. i love fun pirate adventures and i love the queers. unfortunately watched it right before the second season released and haven’t gotten to that yet.

did watch the second season of good omens though. i think they made the right choice to scale it back because honestly once you’ve averted the apocalypse trying to outdo yourself becomes a fool’s errand. also, jon hamm’s butt what who said that.

that’s it i think. as i said no season 2 of ofmd, not even the new flanagan yet which i had really been looking forward to for a long time. i dunno ya girl is struggling to find any pleasure in life atm.

[scrunkore]

Scrunkore Media "Thread" 2023: Part 5

I got burnout and never got back into it so I'm hella simplifying it lol shit happens

the scrunko core has burned out, rebooting

50) Wendell & Wild (Movie, 2022)

A lovingly crafted stop-motion animated movie with some good old kid-friendly horror vibes and a punky attitude, even starring a pretty nice transmasc character that I'm super happy to see. It's a nice story with a good visual style and a lot of heart, and I think Key and Peele being involved is pretty funny honestly. [4★]

51) Murder by Numbers (Switch, 2020)

Decent enough Picross game with a basic detective narrative stringing it together that I'm not really a huge fan of, but it does its job and I appreciate the adorable robot as well as some of its representation. And no idea how they got the composer from Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick, lmao [3★]

52) Pokémon Picross (GBC, Unreleased)

Yeah, this was better than the 3DS one, it's just basic Picross that doesn't do much (only real mechanic it adds is being able to change the music) but that's still better than the shitty mobile game model. They really should have just released this, it was straight-up finished and I even got a cart that works on original hardware because I think that's neat. [3.5★]

53) Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch, 2020)

Going to be killed for playing this as my first Paper Mario but who cares, this game is cool in spite of its awkward battle system (which DOES kinda suck). Just a fun adventure with typical quirky writing and some surprisingly powerful moments, plus an excellent soundtrack, I'm sure some of the earlier games are better but I did play this one and did enjoy it. [4★]

54/55) Knives Out/Glass Onion (Movies, 2019/2022)

Incredible pair of detective movies, both full of really engaging writing and directing work that keeps you invested and never stops being entertaining to watch, surely still really good on a rewatch too. They also really fuckin' hate rich people, especially the second one which is woke as hell and has one of my favourite endings in anything, so that's what some might call "based". I can't wait to see what Rian Johnson does for the third Benoit Blanc movie, which is apparently meant to be a 2024 release. [5★]

56) Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics, 2018-Present)

These are some damn enjoyable comics, telling some fun and generally quite well-written stories set after the events of Sonic Forces with a cast of really cool characters. Honestly kind of ride or die for Tangle and Whisper, but original villains like Dr Starline are great to read too. Early highlight is definitely the Metal Virus arc, but the more recent stuff with Surge was excellent too. Safe to say the team behind these stories know their shit. [4.5★]

57) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Movie, 2023)

They really did it, they went out of their way to make a bigger and better sequel to one of the greatest animated movies I've seen, and it's very possible that they succeeded... but we won't know until the second part comes out, which looks unfortunately unlikely to be any time soon because production sucked. Still, what we did get is yet another gorgeously animated spectacle with a cool storyline, everyone knows that. [4.5★]

58) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Movie, 2023)

One of the only parts of the MCU that I cared about more or less concluded with this movie, and fuck it might be the best one in the trilogy. Rocket's harrowing backstory really hits out with that theme of some jerkass playing god, and the core adventure of the film is pretty engaging too, just as cool as ever. Plus it's now confirmed Vocaloid exists in the MCU lol [4.5★]

59) The Suicide Squad (Movie, 2021)

Another instance of James Gunn making an actual good superhero movie, this time making a good adaptation of something that previously had a bit of a shit one. I appreciate the kinda edgy nature of the titular squad that was handled solidly here, and their antics are honestly pretty funny. Fun action sequences too, and it's honestly really cool how much the movie thinks rats are awesome (they kind of are tbh). Peter Capaldi, the best version of Doctor Who, playing a mad scientist role is also just... really good. [4★]

60) Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (Movie, 2022)

Man fuck Disney, this is obviously the best version of the Pinocchio story and their attempt to overshadow it was lame as hell. I quite like the darker take on the story with themes of death and war around Italy's rise of fascism (Tom Kenny Mussolini is crazy btw), and of course the stop-motion animation is really quite excellent. Always love to see movies made in such a way. [4★]

61/62) Sonic and the Secret Rings/Black Knight (Games, 2007/2009)

Yeah, I get why the storybook duo of games have a bad reputation, because the motion control gimmicks kinda suck, but Secret Rings suffers from it far more than Black Knight, and that still has the cool ideas and solid writing combined with a great soundtrack (both games have this). Maybe the mission-based level structure isn't great, but there's some fun stuff to be found in these. Wish they were better though. [2.5★/3.5★]

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[kitkatt0430]

SO I don't really keep up all that much with the DCEU so I was taken aback when watching a video essay about why the sequel films are bad when the essayist said that... the whole DCEU was ending with Aquaman 2. Like I know this 'verse has never done, like, amazingly well, and I know some of the sequels were pretty naff but...actually scrapping it? And I'm wondering why - is it really that it's flopped or is it that they wanted an MCU without being willing to put in any of the work and instead expecting Instant Billions or whatever (or is it tax reasons, like they did with Batgirl?)

Oooh, send me a link to the essay? I'll have to check that out.

So I admit I haven't paid all that much attention to the DCEU either. I gave up on following everything for that one a lot faster than I did the MCU, so I really only tune in to one of the DC movies if I hear enough about it being good after it's been out a while. It was definitely mismanaged compared to how the MCU was handled - which is funny because the Arrow-verse interconnected shows was well done and they could have leveraged the multi-verse aspect of the comics to their advantage, though it's probably for the best they didn't. The shows had their own problems with seasonal rot and using them to prop up the movies would likely have not been pulled off with any finesse or skill. (I mean, they did finally tie in the movies in the Crisis on Infinite Earths with the DCEU!Barry cameo, but that was too little too late and barely counts.)

I hadn't heard the DCEU was coming to a close, but I'm not surprised. Though the news articles I just kinda flipped through before responding here were mixed on whether the DCEU is actually ending or if there is gonna be one more Aquaman movie since the second movie apparently ends with a setup for one? (wouldn't be the first setup for another movie that never followed through though) And it may not so much be ending as it is soft rebooting. Which... since I doubt the WB execs learned anything about why the DCEU failed to achieve what the MCU managed, I can't say I have high hopes for DCEU 2.0.

Their tax games definitely contributed to the DCEU loosing fans and thus money in the long run. The Batgirl movie had a lot of interest in it from fans and, if I'm remembering correctly, it had finished filming and just had post-production left to do. So tanking it for tax reasons pissed off a lot of people and killed off a lot of goodwill towards WB's handling of the DC movies. The fact that WB/HBO are continuing to play tax games with the Road Runner cartoons continues to erode trust in the company and continuing to play those games are likely to continue destroying their fan base as more and more people lose trust in them. Until these kinds of tax shell games are made illegal, I don't really see the company admitting that these kind of short term tax benefits are hurting their long term profitability with every person who stops caring about new movies or shows announced because, well, it'll probably get canceled for tax BS anyway, right?

Their strict control of characters being allowed to appear in DCEU vs the various tv shows was ultimately harmful too. By refusing to allow a live action Batman show, we got a version of Arrow that was at times good but was still pretty clearly Bruce Wayne-lite with Oliver Queen slapped on top. And who basically became a cop in the final season; comics Ollie would be ranting in all fucks about that if he knew. (Dinah probably wondering if he'd forgotten other words exist...) Declaring Deadshot off limits too meant putting an end to the use of the suicide squad episodes, which I have no doubt backfired by making fans of the show interpretation less interested in seeing the movie version.

While I'm glad that bringing Barry Allen as the Flash into the movies didn't end up killing the show - it was already popular by the time the Justice League was announced so I suspect they at least realized killing that show would definitely be shooting themselves in the foot, a rare good decision for the DCEU - but the way interviews about the Ezra Miller version of the character are given tells me that they just... don't care about the success of the show compared to movies. And that alienated fans of the Flash show, especially down the road when a standalone Flash movie entered development and the movie related hype got louder. "Oh how wonderful Ezra is at playing Barry Allen, none could do it better." Except Grant for nine years. Ten if you count the intro episodes he had on the Arrow before the Flash started. Talking about the movies as if the show didn't exist, or matter, definitely shot them in the foot with show fans. And it didn't help that the movies were retreading stories with that version of Barry that the show had already done - Eobard murdering Nora, Flashpoint, an evil version of Barry too??? not totally clear on that one - and did so badly if the clips I've seen of the Flash movie are any indication. At the very least had the interviews regarding the movie had been respectful of the show's success, they could have drawn in a lot more viewers than the Flash movie ended up with.

Those are not the only places where the movies have caused characters to be barred from the various tv shows or where the movie PR has treated the shows (and not just arrow verse shows) like they don't exist. But they're the ones that come to mind for me first. And it generates bad feelings with fans every time it happens.

Then there's the fact that the DCEU movies were just literally difficult to watch. The MCU movies get dark, but wow. Do DCEU filmmakers know what lighting is? Do they know that lighting is important in order to see what is happening on the screen? Do they know that people watching movies like to be able to see what's happening on the screen?

The MCU has a lot of planned continuity between entries. The plots for the movies may be kinda shallow, but the fact that a lot of the movies can stand on their own despite being interconnected was a major strength for building up the fan base it has today. They don't account for every plot hole or contradiction, and it's kinda hilarious what continuity errors some of the later retcons have introduced, but ultimately there is a cohesiveness of story being told across the various movies and shows. And the shows have been very good at diving into the fallout of plot points that are left shallow in the movies. What happened to the agents burned during the Winter Solder - Agents of SHIELD handles that question really well, though being so tightly tied to the movies was as much a weakness for the show in it's early seasons as it was a strength. Daredevil and the other Defenders shows explored the fallout of the Battle of New York. And the Disney shows continue that trend of diving more in depth into various questions the movies have left us with.

The DCEU doesn't really have that. There's no real unified vision. There's a lot of big ideas but not a whole lot of follow through. The characters don't really seem to exist between movies - the Flash movie was supposed to be a few years post the Justice League movie, but Barry had done basically nothing as the Flash between the two. Diana is still mourning Steve as the love of her life in the second WW movie. Though Diana has grown more comfortable in the regular world, she hasn't really grown any as a person between the first and second movies despite the decades in between. And then sometimes the characters are more stereotypes than actual characters - Batman vs Superman was less Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent clashing over misunderstanding each other and more the concept of Batman vs Superman as argued by out of touch fanboys who don't actually like the source material. (You can tell where I stopped keeping up with the DCEU now right?) And even the extended version of Justice League has at best superficial readings of the characters because it's trying to do too much at once. While sometimes the characters do learn and grow and better themselves, if it survives to the next movie is hit or miss. Which, admittedly, is one movie sin the MCU does have in common with the DCEU.

(The things that could be said about how wildly unevenly Clint Barton was written to be... I swear he's basically a different character every time he shows up at this point, despite having the same name and actor every time.)

And the DCEU hasn't really handled it's scandals well. When actors or directors or whoever is called out on bad behavior, the company will cover for them. So while the people running the shows seemed to have learned from the #MeToo movement and ditched problematic people even when it meant changing direction with ongoing plots (Supergirl season 3) or writing out one of the main characters of a show (Hartley Sawyer being let go between seasons over uncovered past bad behavior and the subsequent decision to write out Ralph Dibny instead of recasting), but those in charge of the DCEU have routinely protected people called out for racist, misogynist, and other prejudiced behaviors. (the post Justice League racism debacle, pretty much everything to do with Ezra Miller pre-Flash movie release...)

Honestly, the TLDR here would be that the DCEU was just mismanaged every which way it turned. And while we still got gems like Aquaman, the first Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey... those were never going to be enough to save the DCEU from either getting shelved or rebooted eventually. And if we are getting a DC movie-verse reboot? Unless the problems that tanked this iteration are addressed, it's still going to fail in comparison to the MCU's ongoing successes. Because ultimately, yes, I think they wanted MCU level success without being willing to do the work to achieve it. And I don't think they'll be any more willing to do that work with a rebooted DCEU either.