#u just never disappoint do u lilo

[ad0rechuu]

oh this grip this fic has on me dawg

★ NEVER SAY NEVER. (005) coca cola mashita.

SYNOPSIS. something about the eight most well-known boys of your campus just didn't sit right with you, so you never gave any effort to interact with them. but after a series of... interesting incidents, they can't seem to leave you alone.

PAIRING. college students! vampires! ot8! ateez x afab! reader

WARNINGS. swearing.

　　　　　　　　‹ PREVIOUS CH. 005 NEXT ›

It had been a week since Wooyoung invited you to their party, with only a few hours left until the occasion. You met him nearly every day in the past week, sometimes at his house and sometimes at yours. You also met another one of his very interesting friends.

You and Wooyoung had been walking from the art department to the library, where he temporarily left his bag because he was too lazy to carry it all the way to the art department. Everything was fine and peaceful until someone came barreling into Wooyoung. They both fell to the ground and for a split second, all you could make out from this mystery person is his head of dark hair.

But as he stood up and helped his best friend up, you had to stop yourself from staring at how broad his shoulders were compared to his tiny waist as he towered over both you and Wooyoung—not to mention his gorgeous face. The two had a short conversation until he noticed you standing by Wooyoung, awkwardly rocking back and forth on your heels.

“Oh, hey,” he smiled, a stark contrast to his chic hair and sharp features. “You must be Y/N. I’m San!”

You smiled back, offering a handshake, “Hello, San.”

“Great to finally meet you.” He chuckled and accepted your hand, shaking it enthusiastically. San stepped between you and Wooyoung, slinging his arms on either of your shoulders. “So, where to?”

You had also seen Seonghwa a few more times. Since the two of you met in that kitchen and you sympathised over linguistics, he opted to sit next to you instead of his usual place on the bench at the very back row. At first, you were confused but didn’t question it, and eventually, you came to accept it, placing your bag at your feet instead of your side like you used to.

Currently, you sat in your room at home, staring at your closet opposite of you trying to figure out what to wear. You weren’t really one to go to parties, so you never really bothered buying clothes that would be suitable for one. As you sighed, your phone started ringing from where you had tossed it on your desk. As you stood up and glanced at it, Wooyoung’s name lit up on the top of the screen.

“Hello?” You held it to your ear, collapsing back into bed.

“Hey, is it possible to buy some Coke and bring it over here? San and Mingi just came from shopping and these dumbasses bought anything but that and now they’re complaining because they don’t wanna go out again because they need to help set up and- just… could you please do me this favour?”

The desperation in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by you as he groaned in frustration and suddenly you found yourself nodding along to his request, at least until you realised he can’t see you. “Yeah, sure. Just send me the address, okay?”

“Oka- actually never mind, I’ll just come get you. You don’t even have a car anyway.” You heard him laugh on the other line, any hint of stress melted away from his voice.

The grocery store was close enough to where you lived, so it took less than 10 minutes to walk there. As requested, you grabbed a cart and went straight to the drinks aisle, getting enough packages of canned Coke to supply what you assumed would be around a hundred people. The cashier looked at you as if you were a mad woman as he scanned each 8-pack.

As promised, Wooyoung was already outside of the store when you left, dragging multiple bags of coke so heavy you felt as if your arm would fall off. Seeing you struggle, he got out of the car and rushed over to take some bags. In fact, he took all the bags and you watched with mild fascination as he carried them without even a hint of struggle. His muscles tensed as you watched, you were surprised as you realised he wasn’t as scrawny as he looked.

“So, you rented a house just for a party?” You asked, leaning against the car as you watched him load the bags into the trunk.

He laughed, “Yeah, can’t have another thing breaking. Seonghwa was positively murderous when we found the remains of the chandelier.” You got into the car, strapping your seatbelt across you as you listened. “It was absolutely terrifying.” Wooyoung visibly shivered as he recalled the memory.

“Well, then I’ll make sure not to piss him off.” You let out a short, amused huff of air as you got comfortable in the all-too-familiar seat.

“Can we go back now–” You jumped in your seat, a small scream escaping you as you whipped your head to the backseats where San just made his presence known.

“San! Can you not?” You whined, collapsing your body into your seat before turning to glare at him. It was then that you noticed an unfamiliar person on his right.

Much like San, his features were also sharp. His nose seemed slightly sharper and pointed and his lips so very plump and pillow-like. He dressed himself in an oversized off-white sweater with a black turtleneck underneath and black straight jeans. You could tell he was taller than the other two men in the car, judging by how his knees were much more bent so he could fit into the seat.

“Mingi,” he introduced himself, a prideful smile lingering on his face as he noticed that both Wooyoung and San caught the way you scanned him with so much interest. None of them missed the way your eyes widened ever so slightly as he spoke, slightly taken aback by his voice.

You gave him your name and shook his hand, which felt so much bigger than yours. “Pleasure to meet you, Mingi.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” He winked and your cheeks burned as you turned to face the road again.

You faced Wooyoung and narrowed your eyes at him. “I thought you said they refused to get out to get Coke.”

“When I told them I was gonna be picking you up they practically begged me to take them with me.” He rolled his eyes, ignoring their protests against his words.

The drive to their rental house was a lot shorter than the one to their actual house, a little over ten minutes versus nearly half an hour. The entire time the four of you sang your hearts out to whatever song was playing on the radio.

The house they picked was pretty much a regular house, nothing fancy like their mansion. The walls were white with two floors and a dark grey roof. Instead of having a grand driveway with a gate, the house was situated right on the side of the road.

Wooyoung pulled over on the side of the street and you all got out, the boys taking the bags of coke from the trunk and firmly rejecting your offers to help them carry them inside.

You followed them inside and the interior looked just as mundane as the exterior. Wooden floors covered with grey carpets, a single grey couch pushed to the wall to make more space, wooden stairs leading to the second floor, and the kitchen cupboards and cabinets made of even more wood.

You continued to follow them into the kitchen where they loaded all the cans into the already-packed fridge. Again, you offered to help but they told you to just sit and relax, and that they would take care of everything.

“Ah,” you turned and saw Seonghwa coming from down the stairs, “I thought it was you that I was hearing.”

He went over to you and engulfed you in a short hug, thanking you for getting the beverages that San and Mingi were too lazy to get (the two men in question nearly knocked him upside the head). You chuckled and stepped back from him, spotting three more men you didn’t recognise descending the stairs.

One of them was tall, you assumed as tall as Mingi or even taller and had dark and light brown dyed hair and wore an oversized dark grey hoodie with some lettering and a pair of grey sweatpants.

The one behind him was definitely a lot short, maybe around Wooyoung’s height, with dyed bright blue hair and a blue t-shirt over a long-sleeved white shirt, both tucked into his baby blue jeans. This one had an array of jewellery on him, from multiple earrings hanging from his ears and rings adorning his fingers.

The last one to come down wore black jeans, a black hoodie and a grey trenchcoat. You recognised him and his distinct red hair, he was a regular at the bookshop you worked at. 

They introduced themselves with kind smiles before excusing themselves again, saying they had to go buy some speakers and pick up some of Hongjoong’s equipment. Whatever that meant. The one with the blue hair—Hongjoong you’d come to learn—offered you to join them, but you had other plans.

“Oh, I’d love to but I need to go buy something to wear for tonight and–”

Before you could even finish your sentence, Yunho poked his head back in from the front door. “We’re going to the mall for the speakers, so you can go buy your stuff while we get the speakers and then we’ll meet and stop by the house so Hongjoong-hyung can get his stuff.”

You contemplated the options for a moment, though you didn’t have to think too long before you nodded. The boys in the kitchen bade you goodbye as you exited the house. Wooyoung flung himself on you and clinged to you as he begged to be taken with you, but Seonghwa quickly shut down his whines and reminded them they still had a lot to do before the party.

With a pout, he gave you his best puppy eyes but you only laughed and pinched his cheeks, assuring him that you’ll spend time with him later. You got into what you assumed was Yunho’s car as he sat in the driver’s seat. It was a sleek black Mercedes-AMG with tinted window you wouldn’t be able to see through even if you tried. Jongho got into the passenger’s seat which left you and Hongjoong to the backseats. Nodding, you appreciated the clean interior with an approving hum.

　　★ notes. i think i'm gonna change my upload schedule to saturdays at 2-3 pm instead. i live in europe, so if you live somehwere else please go ahead and convert the time if you wish. i envision san as inception era san, because inception san has a massive chokehold on me and mingi's visuals is based on guerilla era. i was originally going to do halazia era mingi because that's my favourite hair on him, but for some reason i decided to go with black and blue gi. as for hongjoong, blue is the only right answer (oreo joong is an honorable mention).

　　★ taglist. @atinytinaa @marievllr-abg @legohwas @moonsangie @kiss-hwa @cqndiedcherries @ateezourstars @kitty4hwa @hyukssunflower @aestheticsluut @neohyxn @mrowwww @darkdayelixer @itsokaytobedumb00 @hwa-sans @purplelady85 @meginthebuilding27 @stopeatread @mothworked @foliea @euphoric-emily16 @teezers99 @mulletjoonsupremacy @imalildelulu @sunukissed @blehhhidk @ad0rechuu @d1am0ndw0lfxd @strawberry-moonpies @bluehwale-main @stupefystudies @yandere-stories @seongwin @huachengsbestie01 @seongwin @galaxypox @moonminji @lilactangerine ​​@asjkdk @honey-lemon-goose @stayteezdreams @diorwoo @yunho0o0o0o @majestickitty @shookykookie30

　　★ couldn't be tagged. @kyukyustar @seongfury @lightinyinthedark @skz-enthusiasttt

[lazytowncontent]

Things I can't stop thinking about #2

This is somewhat similar to the last one I made since it’s voice actor related :D

Arabic is my first language and a lot of stuff I grew up with was dubbed in Arabic so I’m very nostalgic when it comes to Arabic dubs, sometimes a bit partial to it too.

I mostly grew up with Disney arabic dubs that were in colloquial egyptian arabic, later down the line a lot of the dubs got remade with Lebanese actors to be in traditional arabic instead, although a lot got to keep their egyptian cast (long story).

Lazytown only got an actual Arabic dub once it was bought by turner so I never grew up with an Arabic dub of the show, only subs but it ended up getting the traditional arabic treatment with Lebanese actors, it’s not that bad, it’s nice and they got some very talented peeps on there 👍 Ofc nothing can beat the originals but I still got curious about some of the people they got on there, especially Robbie’s voice actor.

His name is Fouad Shamas (فؤاد شمص) and his voice sounded very familiar to me so I wanted to look up who else he dubbed over and uhhhh, I did not expect a lot of these characters.

SO HERE’S A TOP TEN LIST OF THEM:

10-The great mouse detective: clip

Yes, the mouse himself, Basil of Baker Street, I have a huge soft spot for that movie so this was very special to me to learn about, despite not growing up with the same dub :,)

9-Batman the animated series: clip

This one is a bit insane to me since I actually grew up watching the show… despite not really liking it since I was weirdly scared by it 😬 but I still love the fact that Robbie Rotten’s Arabic voice actor voiced BATMAN, out of all characters in the show lmao, also here’s the Arabic intro for that show ;)

8-Lucky Luke:

Huge soft spot for Lucky Luke, but I’m not sure which version of Lucky Luke he voiced, but it gives me Rottenkid vibes so… 8)

7-Tom and Jerry: clip

Now here's the thing about Stefán, he did sing a song as Tom and Jerry, but he was never in Tom and Jerry anything else, but this guy is the current voice actor for Butch! and I am entertained by that! Cuz I like Tom and Jerry :D

6-Lilo and Stitch:

I feel like most of this list is gonna be movies that I have a soft spot for, whoops! but he did play Gantu which is one character that I did not expect, kinda like with Batman :,D

5-The Amazing World of Gumball: clip

I love this one, not just because i like the show and Richard, but also because he has a bit of a similar voice to the voice he does for Robbie so it's kinda cute ;u;

4-The Black Corsair animated series: clip

Now I actually didn't know this show even existed but when I looked it up, the black corsair (which Fouad voiced) looks a LOT like what Stefán looked like as Cyrano...also pirates... Rottenbeard? it works :y

3-Yu-Gi-Oh:

Joey Wheeler, he voiced Joey wheeler...do I need to say more??

Also a bunch of other Yu-Gi-Oh characters too!

2-The Cat in the Hat: clip

At first, when I saw this on his wiki, it kind of implied that he dubbed the live action movie of the cat in the hat, which just about made me go insane... until I looked it up and no it was just the cartoon that was made in 2010, thank god but also I am very disappointed.

1-Bee movie: clip

Listen... you had to have been there in 2016 when the funniest shit out there was the bee movie script, shrek and we are number one.

AND GUESS WHAT, HE VOICED BARRY B. BENSON.

OUT OF ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THE MOVIE... HE VOICED THAT ONE.

Hey now you can say that you have footage of Robbie Rotten saying that funny bee movie haha line from the start of the movie, only catch is that it's in Arabic :)

If you're interested, you can check his youtube channel here and his wikipedia page, that's where I got my info from.

Anyway I'm done.

[vincent-frankenstein]

Shatter

Chapter Eleven: Sunrise, Sunset

Summary: Logic is a storm. He’s a furious fire, raging deep inside; thunder strong enough to tear the mindscape to pieces, lightning bright enough to take control. And the storm grows with each time he’s ignored or disregarded, each time his so-called “family” pushes him aside. This is a golden opportunity — how could Rage not take it?

When lightning strikes, Deceit is left to pick up the shattered pieces left behind. The light sides are the only ones who can stop Logic and take Rage off his throne, the only ones who can save Thomas. Deceit just has to fix the damage Logic wrought. He just has to bring back the light.

(And maybe, maybe fall in love with them in the process.)

Warnings: violence, manipulation, blood, corruption, sympathetic deceit, villain logan, swearing, dark side ocs, basically just logan and rage being ASSHOLES and hurting everyone including thomas

Pairings: eventual DAMP (starting with Roceit, then Moceit, and finally Anxceit)

{ Read on AO3 | Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Interlude | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten }

@dante1138 @unlikelynightmareconnoisseur @dealings-ofthe-raven @nerdypandastuff @sammy-the-eye @spirits-in-my-thoughts ��@c0re0psis @just-a-baby-bee-witchblr @theultimatemomfriend @brownie-aunt (lmk if u wanna be added to/removed from the taglist!)

reblogs > likes

“What’s your favorite Disney movie?”

Deceit stood by the window, twirling a shard of broken glass between his fingers as he looked out on the frozen kingdom below. The question slipped out before he could stop himself, but he couldn’t help but hope that it would prompt something, some form of conversation, something other than the silence they’d been trapped in since Roman woke up.

“What?” Roman asked, voice hoarse. He was still curled up on the bed, his eyes closed, his face streaked with dry tears.

“Come now. You are the mindscape’s resident Disney nerd, right?” Deceit turned, leaning back against the windowsill. “Which is your favorite?”

“I don’t know. The broken passion from the night before had died out, replaced with a dry, grating self-loathing. It was a far cry from the excitement Deceit had expected the topic of Disney to elicit, which disappointed him a little. If even Disney couldn’t prince back some semblance of the man Roman used to be, what could?”

He sighed. “I’m not partial to Aladdin,” he continued, if only to have something to do. Roman opened his eyes, shooting Deceit a moment’s glance. His brow furrowed.

“Figures you would, Jafar,” he muttered, and Deceit rolled his eyes, a tiny glimmer of hope building in his chest. It was a weak nickname, no wordplay involved or anything, but it was a start. He could even ignore the villainous comparison — the completely accurate villainous comparison.

“While I do adore Jafar’s slimy aesthetic,” he began, lowering himself gently into the armchair and wincing when his leg twinged in protest, “he’s not the only reason I enjoy the movie. The plot is based around lie after lie after lie! Our dear protagonist is just as, ah, ‘slimy’ as I am.”

“No, he’s not!” Roman burst out. He froze, the flare of passion dying on his tongue, and shifted to sit against the headboard, drawing his knees up to his chest. “Aladdin lied for a good cause,” he said, and his voice was still hollow, but it was the first full sentence he’d said in quite a while that didn’t involve insulting himself, so. Progress.

“Wow, so lying can be used for good? Fascinating,” Deceit deadpanned.

“That’s not what I —” Roman rolled his eyes, a heavy sigh falling from his lips. “He lied for love.”

“Well, can’t relate there,” Deceit said smoothly, shifting to lay sideways across the chair. He looked at Roman upside-down, an easy smirk falling into place on his face. He didn’t have to be himself after all — all he had to do was take a page out of good ol’ Virgil’s book. Nothing got Roman more heated than disagreeing with him on his precious Disney movies, after all. “‘Pure’ as his intentions might have been, you cannot deny that the movie is based around lies.”

“It’s — it’s based around being yourself!” Roman said. “Despite what others may think of you! It’s about how t-there’s worth in everyone, even a ‘diamond in the rough!’”

Deceit raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand to cover his mouth in shock. “Really?” he gasped, voice thick with mock-surprise. “Everyone has worth? Even if some people don’t think so? Wow, I wonder if a moral like that could be applied to the situation at hand?”

Roman inhaled sharply, whatever retort he’d been planning dying on his tongue. He glared at a spot on the bed, face darkening, and victory blossomed in Deceit’s chest — but then he sighed, the anger fading from his face. “That doesn’t apply here,” he said. “I don’t count as a ‘someone.’ I’m not even an individual.”

Deceit fought the urge to scream. They had actually been getting somewhere! Leave it to Insecurity to bring them back to square one. “If a fictional character can count as an individual enough for you to debate his self-worth, so can you.”

Roman laughed humorlessly. “Bold of you to assume I have self-worth.”

Deceit sighed. “Roman —”

“You wanna know the difference between me and Aladdin?” Roman cut him off, throwing his arms out to the sides. “He has redeeming qualities!”

“Really,” Deceit deadpanned. “You’re saying the man who lied to practically everyone he met, stole on a regular basis, hurt the genie, manipulated the woman he ‘loved’ and put the entire city of Agrabah and possibly the whole world in danger has more redeeming qualities than you? That’s a laugh and a half.”

“He owned up to it!” Roman cried. “He made mistakes, sure, but he worked to redeem himself! He fixed the mess he’d made! I’ve never —”

“Yes you have!” Deceit yelled. He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath. “You’re telling me you’ve never made amends for your past mistakes? You’ve never attempted to, say, apologize to and include a certain ostracized side after you realized the way you were treating him was wrong? You’ve never worked to redeem yourself in the eyes of those you care about?”

Roman opened and closed his mouth again and again, fighting to respond. Deceit pushed on before he could. “It is in my nature to know the difference between lies and truth,” he said, with a pointed stare. “You have worth. That is not a lie.”

In the sunset’s glow, the tears gathering at the corners of Roman’s eyes seemed to sparkle. Deceit opened his mouth to say more, and then froze, his eyes widening. He whirled around, a grin growing on his face, hope blossoming in his chest.

The sun was setting.

“...Deceit?” Roman managed, voice thick and broken, and Deceit couldn’t bring himself to respond. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight before him. The wind was blowing, the trees were moving, clouds glided slowly through the sky — and the sun was setting. Time had jerked back into motion, which meant the Imagination realm was regaining some semblance of normalcy, which meant he was getting through to Roman, which meant —

“What’s going on?” Roman joined him at the window, eyebrows furrowing as he looked out at the kingdom he’d created. Deceit laughed before he could stop himself, relief coursing through the noise.

“Time is working again,” he said, voice just above a whisper. “It’s working! You’re — you’re listening to me!”

“What?” Roman stepped back, shaking his head. “No, I’m not!”

“You are! I’m so proud of you!” He froze, blinking. In his excitement at the prospect of getting closer to his end-goal, it had just… slipped out. A genuine compliment. It tasted strange on his tongue. Roman gasped softly, a million emotions crossing his face at once.

“Y-You —” He held his sash, not meeting Deceit’s gaze. “You shouldn’t be.”

He sat back on the bed, drawing his knees back up to his chest, and dread settled in Deceit’s stomach. What if time stopped working again? He watched the outside carefully, eyes narrowed, but the trees still rustled in the wind and the sun still set, painting the gray sky in shades of monochrome.

“And yet, I am,” Deceit said, the bitter taste of truth clogging his throat. He sank into the armchair, never tearing his eyes from the setting sun. “Funny how that works.”

Roman didn’t respond. Silence fell over the tower, and for a moment, Deceit thought that that would be the end of their conversation, and resigned himself to more empty quiet. But then Roman cleared his throat.

“What is your opinion on… Lilo and Stitch?” he asked.

An easy grin fell onto Deceit’s face. “Ah, Stitch. The epitome of chaotic evil bastardry. I’m not a fan.”

“Are you kidding? Stitch is totally chaotic neutral!”

[losille2000]

The Ugly Duckling, Part I

TITLE: The Ugly Duckling CHAPTER NUMBER: 1/3 AUTHOR: Losille2000 WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Actor!Tom GENRE: Romance/PWP FIC SUMMARY: Sometimes an ugly duckling believes she’ll always be an ugly duckling until someone comes along and shows her otherwise. RATING: M (sex, language) WARNINGS: Um, nothing yet. AUTHORS NOTES: I… don’t know where this came from. But it came from somewhere and it’ll be at least two parts, maybe three. Let’s just say three. Short and sweet. But let’s be honest, I have whole world planned for this, so who knows if there will be more afterward. For the location mentioned in this story, you can watch any one of these videos to get an idea of the peril Astrid faces. The last one is the best, because it has nice, peaceful music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6wTgncf_rA

https://youtu.be/iZoacDf5p-U

https://youtu.be/xk6firqVC-U

https://youtu.be/S8GX486ym9Q

Part I - The Duckling

 Of all the harebrained ideas Astrid had ever had, hanging onto a cliff by her fingernails two hundred feet over a Hawaiian beach probably classified as the worst. Not that she planned it this way. In fact, the travel brochure she picked up at the tiny eight-gate Kauai airport said this path down to the secluded beach below it was easy enough for even the mildly physically inclined. She didn’t run marathons or anything, but chasing rambunctious kindergartners qualified her as mildly physically inclined. She certainly didn’t spend her time sitting at a desk job or riding a couch in front of the television. Right?

Wrong.

 Now she wished she had a gym membership and some modicum of upper body strength, just to hold herself up by the flimsiest piece of twine masquerading as a hand rail stretched between two shoots of thick bamboo. While her legs kicked wildly on the soft ground, searching for purchase.

 Maybe there was a reason why they called this Hideaways Beach, why they said only a few people ventured to it daily. She’d been lured in with the promise of relative privacy and solitude. She’d been blindsided by everything else.

 What the brochure neglected to mention was the on-and-off Hawaiian rain. And the fact that, after a rain, as it had done most of the night before, the trail became treacherously slippery. And apparently, in Hawaii, volcanic dirt happened to be five million percent slipperier than normal people dirt like she was used to back home in Las Vegas. This, also, wasn’t considering that most of the pre-laid handrails had either rusted away in the salty sea air or had never been placed to begin with on the steep incline. Like some construction crew realized trying to make the path safe wasn’t even worth their time or effort. They knew the haole would be stupid enough to try it out anyway.

 Like her.

 Because she was so haole, it hurt. Not to mention stupid.

 She realized now, with some startling clarity, that she was probably going to plummet to her death, completely alone. Unloved. Young, basic, and likely easily forgotten. At least the view before she met her fate was gorgeous enough. Anyone would be lucky to die staring out at the crystalline waters of Kauai’s north shore.

 But she’d already come too far to give up and, looking back up the steep, uneven stairs leading to the top of the trailhead, she couldn’t summon the energy to try to climb them. Falling, or at least going downhill, seemed like the best option. There was no turning back, even though she still hadn’t figured out how to maneuver her shoe-covered feet into the soft red mud beneath her. Maybe sliding down the muddy incline would be better?

 She groaned as she released her sloth-like hold on the nylon rope, setting her butt on the muddy path. The red goo smooshed into the thin bathing suit cover-up she wore, and it honestly felt like she’d had an accident. But her burning arms finally had a rest. And at least like this, she wasn’t liable to take any cartwheels down the cliff. Maybe she’d just sit there and waste away, or maybe turn into Te Fiti from Moana. Her students loved that movie. She’d promised to bring back photos from her adventures to share with them. They’d be so disappointed that they didn’t get to see where Moana and Lilo and Stitch were from.

 “Um, excuse me,” said a deep, tentative voice above her.

 Astrid startled, but she didn’t jump far, the mud creating a strong suction with her bottom. To add insult to injury, the suction made a disgusting wet fart sound as she settled back into her spot. Now she could die from mortification instead of blunt force trauma. Just great!

 A tall man, thin but muscular, peered down at her through dark Ray Bans. He wore a holey threadbare t-shirt in blue with crinkled board shorts underneath, those a plain black. A brightly colored beach towel decorated in hibiscus was slung over a broad shoulder. The dirty boat shoes on his feet seemed to be doing perfectly well holding him upright on the slippery path, enabling him to peer down his straight patrician nose at her. His face pinched and he looked up toward the sun beating down through the trees while he readjusted his baseball cap.

 “I’m sorry to bother,” he said again. Goodness, his voice was rich, like honey. His English accent made him purr. Maybe he was doing it on purpose, trying to calm the crazy not-really-farting lady sitting on her ass on a hiking trail. “But are you okay?”

 Astrid squinted and looked up at him. He looked like a giant from her position, impossibly tall, like one of the trees surrounding them. “Do I look like I’m okay?” She felt the wetness on her cheek and reached up, wiping away a few anguished tears that seemed to have erupted without her knowledge. She didn’t know if she was crying because she had failed herself, or because she was relieved someone found her.

 “May I help you?” he asked, extending a hand. It was a nice hand, big palm, with thin, elegant fingers. His forearm was nice, too. He probably worked out, hence why he was still standing.

 She was definitely hitting the gym when she got home. If she got home.

 Astrid reached for him, closing her fingers around his forearm, as he did the same to her, for more leverage. With a little hoist, and some more effort, she was finally standing on two shaky legs again. Except now that she had him for support, she didn’t want to let go.

 He was more solid than any of the railings around her. She liked it; he peered down at her with amusement on his lips. Maybe she needed to let go of his arm, but she was too terrified to do so.

 “Are you going down or coming up?” he asked.

 “I have absolutely no idea,” she said with a high-pitched chuckle that came out as exasperation. “I’m technically still going down, but I think maybe I should go back. But then I’m looking back up there, and I don’t think I have it in me right now.”

 His bright laugh made her insides bubble. “How about we tumble down the trail together?”

 “You sure you want to do that?” she asked. “I’m a bit of a walking disaster.”

 He looked down the trail, and back up, then straight at her. At least she imagined he was looking at her. The sunglasses were too dark to see through. “I’m game if you are.”

 “You’re probably going to regret it.”

 “Let me be the judge of that.”

 Astrid couldn’t contain the silly giggle that bubbled up her throat. At least there was some gallantry left in the world. Most men wouldn’t even look at her twice, much less stop to help her… and then offer to escort her down the cliff face with the threat of meeting their own demise. She just wasn’t worth it.

 They moved slowly and quietly, and once they were past the initial incline, it became easier to walk without taking small, measured steps to preserve balance. The incline turned shallow, and the terrain changed from dirt to rocks and leaves. These seemed to be mostly dry, covered as they were with such a dense tree canopy above the trail.

 Finally, they made it to the beach. True to the travel brochure’s word, it was completely empty. Oh, and it was gorgeous. Aided by the difficult path down, she figured not many people had spent time in this pretty little cove, making the water bluer, the sand cleaner, and the reef more vibrant through the clear aquamarine waters. It was a perfect place to spend a day, even after almost hurtling to a sure death.

 She sighed and glanced at the man beside her, who seemed to have frozen in his own awe of the location.  Astrid smiled, looking at his profile. High cheekbones, strong jaw covered in a healthy growth of stubble. Short auburn curls poked out from beneath his hat. He looked youngish, yet older than her. She wanted to see his eyes, to gauge his attractiveness further. Not that it mattered. Because it didn’t. He was just being nice, helping her.

 “So, uh, thank you,” she finally said, making him turn to look at her.

 He grinned. “No problem.”

 What did she say? Should she invite him to sit with her? It was weird being the only two people down here, now strangely bonded through a near-death experience. Well, her near-death experience. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, then drew in a breath. “Yeah, have a good day.”

 And that’s how she left it, giving him a stupid semi-wave of her hand as she scurried through the grainy yellow sand to her right. Away from him, and away from the awkwardness. She hated awkward, but Awkward was her middle name. Always had been, though her mom had refused to let her use it as her Confirmation name when she was taking catechism classes as a child. She went with Joan, as in ‘of Arc’, instead. Thought it’d give her the push to be courageous for once in her life.

 Astrid knew exactly where courageous got her. She’d barely survived the hike down the cliff.

 Astrid took the rucksack from her back and pulled out her own beach towel, laying it carefully on an untouched patch of sand, half under a shade tree, but still with a good splash of sun. Then she tossed off her own sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat before heading to the water.  She waded into the surf, letting the cool ocean tickle her toes. Preferably, she’d have come later in the year for warmer temperatures, but March’s spring break meant she still might be able to see the whales that came in the spring for their calving.

 She carefully inched further into the water, peeling off her cover-up and jumping into a reef-less area of deeper water to wash off the slimy red mud clinging to her body. Fortunately, most of it disappeared in a cloud of rusty water, but her clothing didn’t fare as well. At least she was still alive to tell the tale.

 After bobbing in the slow undulating waves for a few minutes, she trudged back for the shoreline and her blanket, wringing her wet hair as she emerged. Even though it was wet, she could pick out the light golden streaks running through the usually mousy brown, actually making it look something other than drab for a change. If only she could keep it and her nice tan going for the rest of the spring and summer, she’d be happy.

 The tiny hairs on her neck rose, and a frisson of electricity sizzled up her back.  A sure sign someone was watching her, or at least had looked at her. She glanced to her left to make sure no one else was there—she’d been duped before thinking someone was looking at her, but they were really looking past her—and then glanced at the only other person on the beach.

 He stood still at the surf’s edge, his feet buried in the sand, small frothy waves lapping at his ankles. But his eyes were on her, not on what he was doing. Still with the glasses and hat, she couldn’t really make out any intent in his gaze, other than a friendly smile and a nod of his head.

 The thought that he might be checking her out made her laugh again. No one checked her out. Well, maybe not ‘no one,’ but the someones who did were typically only in bars and clubs when she was the only one left out of a group of girls or the men were too drunk to care who they went home with.

 It wasn’t false modesty, either, that had made her laugh… and blush… at the stranger’s attention. She’d always known she wasn’t pretty. Not like her older sister, the beauty queen. Or her cousins, all striking in their own way. Her mother had called her the ugly duckling—she of the unremarkable plumage, plain face, and squat rounded figure. A terrible thing for a mother to say, but that was Mom. Love her or hate her.

 Astrid had waited to turn into a swan for years, like the story she always read to her kindergarten classes, but it still hadn’t happened. And why would it? This wasn’t a fairy tale and that man wasn’t looking at her appreciatively. He was probably just being nice, his eyes finding the only other moving thing on the secluded beach, before moving on.

 She settled down onto her towel, deciding to lay first on her stomach and read a bit from the Kindle she’d brought, since it seemed to have survived her slip earlier. She didn’t get very far before a voice called out to her.

 “Is the book good?” called the Englishman, now closer to her, but still at the surf’s edge. He was looking back in her direction, then bending down to inspect a shell on the sand.

 Astrid frowned. “Excuse me?”

 He motioned to the Kindle sitting on the blanket in front of her. “You came to one of the most beautiful places in the world and you’re reading instead of watching. I sure hope the book is worth it.”

 “You don’t like to read?”

 He barked out a laugh and looked back at the sun. “I love to read, but I find there’s so much to explore in unfamiliar places like this. Unless you live here and this isn’t new to you.”

 Ah, so he was playing the information mining game. “If I lived here, do you think I’d be stupid enough to attempt that hike on my own?”

 “No, I suppose not,” he said. “Then where’s home?”

 “Las Vegas.”

 “I’ve been,” he replied. “Fun city.”

 Sure, if you liked always smelling of stale cigarette smoke, losing money, and ignoring the seedy underbelly of a city built on mobs, human trafficking, and obscene wealth that never trickled past the Strip. Astrid rolled her eyes and dipped her head to read again.

 He didn’t take the clue. “Where are you staying?”

 She groaned and shut her Kindle cover. “At the condos right next to the trailhead.”

 “I’m at the St. Regis down the way,” he offered. “This the first time you tried to come down here?”

 “First time I’ve had the courage to attempt it,” she shot back.

 The man nodded, running his fingers thoughtfully across his mouth. “It’s my third time. I slipped the first time, as well.”

 Astrid rolled her eyes. “You did not.”

 “I did! Arse over kettle,” he said.

 She scoffed. “You’re a lying liar who lies.”

 “Why would it be so difficult to think I fell? That trail should probably be closed due to safety concerns,” he replied, stepping closer to her, dry sand sticking to his bare feet as he walked. Eventually, he stopped in front of her with his hands on his hips, looking down his nose again.

 From her vantage, all she could really see was crotch, so she quickly pulled herself up into a sitting position. She rested back on her hands, with her legs outstretched. “I had my hands on you, I know how strong you are.”

 “Muscles don’t mean strength,” he said.

 Astrid groaned and rolled her eyes again. This man was both incredibly annoying and alluring all at once and she wanted to keep talking with him… until she didn’t. Finally, he seemed to get her reticence and turned on his heels, walking back toward the water, stripping off his glasses, hat and shirt as he went. They landed on the sand in a heap.

 He dove into the blue depths, but the moment before he did it was long enough for Astrid to verify that the man was walking muscle. How long did he have to work out every day just to maintain it? Or was he naturally that lean? It was ridiculous and a little unfair, really.

 When he popped up out of the water, he was facing her direction, the first time she’d been given an opportunity to really see him. And heavens, was he gorgeous. Not just the sculpted-from-marble body, but his face. Maybe not male model pretty, but that’s what made him so attractive to her. He was a man, interesting and maybe a little on the rugged side, not some baby-faced model perfection. The water dripping around him and off of him, however, made it seem like he’d been ripped straight from the romance novel she’d been attempting to read a few minutes ago.

 Maybe he was. Maybe this was all some delusion she’d created as she lay dying on the bottom of the cliff, after actually falling the two hundred feet. She pinched her arm.

 No, not a delusion. He was real, and he was headed for her. Again.

 “So,” he said, dripping onto her towel as he pulled the hat back down on his head and replaced the sunglasses. For what she had been able to see of his sea-green eyes, she found them to be intense and gorgeous. But she knew she’d have to stare into them for a while to know for sure.

 “Yes?” she asked, lifting a brow at him.

 “Would you have dinner with me tonight?”

 She tried not to sound incredulous. But there was no helping it. No one that looked like him had ever asked her out to dinner like this. “Excuse me?”

 He chuckled at her. “Dinner, at the St. Regis. Say seven?”

 Astrid frowned. “I’m sorry, but—”

 “It’s the only polite thing to do after I saved you,” he said.

 “Shouldn’t I be the one inviting you out, then?” she asked.

 He shrugged his shoulder. “Nah. My treat. I’d simply like the pleasure of your company.”

 “What about the people I came with?”

 “The more the merrier,” he said, but he hedged anyway. He wanted her alone, clearly. Which was strange. Everything about this day had been strange. “How many shall I make the reservation for?”

 But he knew. She didn’t know how he knew she was all alone, but he did. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, as they were once again hidden behind his sunglasses, she felt them on her, assessing her, reading her. He had her number. She only wished she had his.

 “Just the two of us,” she finally replied. “I don’t even know your name.”

 That seemed to change him, to make him do a double take. Almost as though he were surprised by the question. He cleared his throat and said, “Henry Longfellow.”

 “That’s a stupid name,” she said. “And fake.”

 “How do you know?”

 Astrid licked her lips. “Add a Wadsworth in there and you’ve got yourself one of the greatest American poets to ever poet.”

 His shoulders slumped and he harrumphed. “I’m impressed you know that. What’s your name, then?”

 She sighed. She damn well wasn’t going to give him her real name if he wasn’t going to give his. “How ‘bout Jane Austen?”

 “Ha!” He laughed. “No Jane, can’t do Jane. You strike me as more of a Brontë--a little darker and more Gothic around the edges than old Jane.”

 “Charlotte, then,” she said.

 “Not Emily?”

 Astrid shrugged. “I’m more of a Rochester girl than a Heathcliff.”

 He stared at her for good long moment, as though memorizing what she looked like. “Alright, dinner at seven, then, Charlotte.”

 “Do you do this often?” she called to him as he turned and started for his towel.

 “Do what?” he asked.

 “Make edicts and expect people to follow them?”

 He grinned. “Most people do what I say.”

 Astrid couldn’t believe his cockiness. But there was also an infectious friendliness in him that made it difficult to say no to anything. “If I don’t make it tonight, it’s because I’m stuck down here, or dead at the bottom of the cliff from trying to climb back up.”

 He laughed. “I have faith in you, Charlotte.”

 “Thanks,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

 “Seven! Don’t forget! Or I’ll come bang on every one of the doors of the flats you’re staying at,” he yelled, slipping onto the path and out of sight.

 Astrid groaned and fell back on her towel, staring up at the impossibly blue sky.

 When had her life turned into this, anyway? Damn it, though, if she wasn’t just a little excited. She let out a little squeal and reached for her Kindle, happy to finally have the peace she craved, as well as a weird new happiness bubbling up inside her.

[zagenta]

Ooooh it’s a tag

@jamieanovels lmao of Course I’m gonna do this of all tags b/c i love lists and i like being self-important by treating my favorite things as objectively good. Also a bunch of ur favs are mine too. But the rule is name 6 movies i can watch anytime, not my 6 favorites, i’m splitting hairs here but i’ll see if that makes any difference. 

The rules are simple: List 6 films you can watch anytime. Tag 5 people afterwards.

In reverse order:

(honorable mentions b/c i’m a cheat: Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Zombieland, Finding Nemo, Kung Fu Panda, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Knight’s Tale, The Outsiders, Rogue One, Any of the Lord of the Rings excluding the Hobbits, Harry Potter 3, Moana, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, A Bug’s Life, Crazy Stupid Love, Steel Magnolias, The Breakfast Club, Hercules)

6. Inception - it’s my favorite not-as-deep-as-it-could-have-been-nor-as-complicated-as-people-pretend-it-is-and-is-way-too-overhyped-but-still-really-solid film. Also, I’m a sucker for Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy. Chris Nolan is pretty legit despite his movies being boringly overwhelming This Is a White. (also I’ll be forever disappointed in Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar). And it’s got the dream thing i like, i think part of the reason this is on the list is that its one of the first stories that inspired me to try and create a shallow rip off of my own hereby inspiring my own creativity

5. About a Boy - its literally just a british comedy featuring everyone’s favorite jerkass Hugh Grant and a young adorable Nicholas Hoult. There’s literally no depth to my answer for this one it’s just really funny and i watch it a lot with my family. Although I think it’s a got a rly good theme that i really feel like has influenced me as a person, so i guess there is Some depth: no man is an island. Spoiler alert (b/c y’all should totally watch it): And what’s so interesting to me is that the main character has no job or hobbies, and he doesn’t have to work. The other characters judge him for not having a family, but i dont see this as a problem, the real tragedy is that he has no passions. Even if i didn’t have to work, i’d still spend my days drawing or writing or SOMETHing. 

4. Pacific Rim - listen,,,, it’s like,,, a fun visually stunning movie w/ a kickass female lead (sorta?) and i want Newt’s kaiju tattoo sleeves, and if people want to call it overhyped then my rebuttal is.... u right. But Mako Mori kicks ass and if either Newt or Hermann get love interests in the sequel i will flip every single table

3. Road to El Dorado - I had a hard time choosing between this and a Bug’s Life b/c i felt that a kids/animated movie deserved to be on this list, and while I really do love a Bug’s Life and for some reason I seem to be the only person in the world who still gives a crap abt that rly underrated pixar movie, it really isn’t anything beyond just being funny (and a comedic riff of that 7 of thebes/magnificent 7/7 samurai story w/ bugs), and Road to el dorado has a modicum of depth beyond that, so it goes here. Also, it never fails to make me laugh and I rewatched it recently and was surprised by the relatively nuanced portrayal of the citizens of el dorado, and how it doesnt shy away from portraying Cortez as the Demon he was.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road - literally this movie will never stop being badass?????? Ever???? it’s so good??????? It’s visually stunning and has like.... multiple nuanced female characters and oh look my favs Tom Hardy and Nicholas Hoult are back?

1. The Princess Bride - i know its a cult classic but i feel like people don’t appreciate how great this movie is?? I read the book and while it’s fine, i don’t actually think it’s nearly as interesting or exciting as it could be despite Goldman jokingly referring to his edit as “only the good parts”. But the movie doesn’t feel the need to pat itself on the back for being so clever, there’s no “if you start singing i’m gonna throw up” (no shade to Moana it’s quickly become one of my fav disney movies). It’s such a great family film because it caters so well to both adults and children, i heard somewhere before that kids have their own strange logic to the world, and I think the Princess Bride encapsulates that so well because as a child i watched it and took it completely seriously, it doesn’t seem any more outlandish than say, Cinderella or The Little Mermaid, or any other fairy tale. But as an adult I can watch it and get all the humor and satire because the story is ridiculous, yes, but it’s also fun and entertaining and the stakes feel real and you feel clever because Miracle Max is now funny instead of just a weirdo. Also, as far as a framing device goes an old grandpa reading a story to a child is a lot more endearing than hearing abt Goldman’s tangents abt the seriousness of the publishing industry. Also Inigo Montoya’s subplot is probably the best and most satisfying revenge story ever (and tangentially related but i still maintain that Jyn wouldve been more interesting as a sidecharacter in this father-revenge vein than as the protag of Rogue One)

this is way too long. Anyways I tag.... @paint-music-with-me-larry @grafitisonny @victhechick @antijynerso @lavanderbrwn @spaceensignglow @louisthesixteenth @frogyell and anyone else?? u totally don’t have to if you don’t want b/c i literally never do tags also if i forgot u my bad u can totally still do it consider this a tag esp if you’re a mutual