#we agree on one thing and it's which movies we watched in the car growing up were the best

[louderfade]

eleanor bron played ahme in the beatles movie help! and this is to what yo la tengo refers with all that business about the needle. i found two articles talking about how they're alluding to drug use, and they might be, but primarily they are clearly referencing this, do your hw music journalism:

eleanor bron has done some wonderful stage work apparently. she did oedipus and uncle vanya. and she was in heartbreak house!

[shoujo-wizard]

Hallmark movie AU steddie A/B/O ft kitchenwitch!Steve im calling it "Bewitched by Yuletide"

A!Eddie O!Steve

@lexirosewrites this has turned into a drabble oops

Eddie ends up making it big time with the corroded coffin guys, except after nine albums together they're not getting along very well. it all comes to a head during a long flight out of Europe back to the US, and when their private plane landed, the band had agreed there was no more band. they gave a final concert in the US. so eddie finds himself at a crossroads. he still had his money, he still had his fame, and he still had the connections of a rock star. he could launch a solo career, get writing a debut solo album, make the right calls to people with the right taste, he could be very successful for at least one album. except as eddie thought it through more and more, he just felt tired. he didnt want to write anything, he didnt want to play another electric guitar solo, and he didn't want to go through the promotion process. he didn't want to attend award shows, not even to host. the spotlight was fantastic, but on the flight back to the US Felix had pose them all a question

"do we really want to do this for the rest of our lives?"

eddie didn't want to. he felt adrift, not sure what he really wanted to do for the rest of his life, with all the money they'd made. then he gets a call from his Uncle Wayne; he'd fallen and was in the hospital for the last 2 days. he emphasizes he's fine, just ended up hitting his head hard. a friend is taking care of him till the worst of the concussion symptoms resolve. he tells Eddie his door is always open to him. so eddie books a flight and is in the small town of Hawkins by the next morning.

wayne gives him directions that are of little help, but he writes them down just in case. he pulls into the driveway of Wayne's farmhouse, and the old man is sitting on his front porch in a wicker rocking chair. he hands Eddie a coffee mug & motions to the other chair then the thermos sitting on the small table. so eddie sits to fill his mug instead of doing anything reasonable like turn off his car or at least close the driverside door. It has gotten to late autumn now. halloween is approaching. eddie drinks a mug of coffee in silence before he starts a conversation.

"do I want to do this for the rest of my life?" eddie watches the wind move through the fir trees.

"whatever you want to do, son, just know you'll always have a place in my life." is what wayne hums back.

Wayne is situated inside comfortable on the couch. his uncle lets him know that his friend will be coming by after he finishes work to bring him dinner. Eddie says to let this 'Harrington' know tht he'd like to be added to the dinner guest list. wayne just chuckles like he knows something Eddie doesn't.

even later when the sky is turning dark a new car pulls up outside the farmhouse. Wayne hollers that it's "steve and robin" right before the front door is bursting open to let in the cold air, and two people eddie's never met before. eddie wants to ask them to sit down, but then a broad shouldered Adonis with his neck wrapped in a pink scarf is moving around him to the kitchen as if he does so everyday. an alpha woman with a choppy bob is completely disinterested in him, instead she's sitting with Wayne engaging him patiently in conversation while the noises in the kitchen continue to grow.

eddie expects a lot of things when he walks into his uncle's kitchen. None of them could've prepared him to walk into a room permeated with the scent of apples. to see the adonis from the doorway without his pink scarf or coat. his hair is a cresting wave, and he moves assuredly around the space. he's unpacking several canvas picnic bags, which makes Eddie pause because he's sure that the omega in the kitchen had only entered with a large dutch oven in his hands.

they have a short conversation that ends with Eddie offering his help with dinner. Steve declines politely, but Eddie doesn't leave the kitchen exactly. he sits down at the breakfast nook within the room, and engages Steve in conversation. steve asks about the acoustic guitar case among his things at the bottom of the stairs. eddie blinks because he can't remember if he brought his things inside or not. ultimately deciding he must have. eddie admitting his band had broken up, and that he's staying with Wayne for the moment.

the four of them sit down to dinner, and then before Eddie knows it he's in the kitchen cleaning up with Robin. when they get near done steve walks in and starts the coffee maker. then wayne is shuffling cards, and they're eating dessert while sipping at coffee. then before Eddie feels like he can blink Steve and Robin r driving back to Hawkins proper.

Eddie couldn't stop thinking about apples the entire night.

[there's definitely more to say about this AU..... but i think this is a good little set up tht kinda shows the set up]

[I might write more to this but i won't make promises. you'll likely all have to wait till the next Slick Sunday i choose to participate in]

[zsuo]

headcanon backstory for driver

thank you to @gcslingss for reviewing this for me!

WARNING: i’m going through some heavy topics like abuse and violence.

- he most likely grew up with a lot of violence in his life, i’ve seen people on reddit saying he doesn’t hesitate when it comes to being violent to someone. (which i agree on)

- he’s the only child in his family which can explain his independence and self sufficiency

- he might have come from a rough childhood, neglected or abuse from his parents (also in a neighborhood where it was tough)

- i think the reason why he takes good care of benicio is because he knows what’s it like to grow up without a parent figure with neglect or abuse he doesn’t want benicio to live through the same thing he has (he wants to be a good person)

- from that, since he didn’t have his parents to take care of him, i think he went on to be in the wrong groups of people (mafia or gangs)

- later on, he might have been hired as a hitman before he moved to LA (he seems to have a lot of experience on how to kill in the hotel scene though i’m not sure who could’ve trained him? maybe he was involved in gangs or something)

- shannon said he moved to LA six to eight years ago, i haven’t done the math. i don’t know how old benicio is but we do know irene gave birth to him when she was 18. i think driver maybe mid 20s close to 30. if he’s 25 in that movie, he would’ve been 19 when he met shannon.

- he got tired of killing people, so i think that’s why left and went to LA (hitchhiked his way)

- i like to think he might have walked around the area before spotting shannon’s shop looking for a specific type of older models because he himself drives one and i think he wanted to find a place that has them

- driver loves cars (obv) and probably got that from watching tv or someone who he used to look up to drove a specific type of older model

- also the fact, his jacket and gloves could be from movies or shows he’s watched so when he finally got the money from working with shannon, he brought them

- i don’t think he had any type of romantic relationship with anyone (but i could be wrong) maybe he had some fling

- i also like to headcanon that his name is leo, he seems to be a leo guy but im open to any more names

anyways, this is kind of a rough draft. i’ll still be updating more if i can. you can use these for your fics or whatever. just give me credit if you use them for inspo!

[cha-melodius]

Hi friend! Congrats again on 100 works! Thank you for offering to write more for us! ❤️I'd like to request 1. firstprince and 2. Kensington as an AU, but only because you dared us to! Alternatively, if someone already requested that and you don't want to duplicate, I'd be interested in a hockey AU set inside the rink! Thank you again, I am so excited to see what you come up with and to read more of your words!

(Thank you so much for taking my bait lol, I've wanted to write this canon-divergence AU where they hook up in Kensington during the damage control trip for a while now. I hope you enjoy!)

Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile

(firstprince, 4.1k, M; read it below or on AO3) read all the fandom fest fics

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. They were supposed to finish up at the hospital, and then Henry would go back to whatever the fuck he does while Alex went to the airstrip. He’d fly back to DC, so that maybe he’d be able to get some schoolwork done before Monday, and try to forget that this ridiculous weekend ever happened—barring the fact that he and Henry were still obligated to keep up the fake friendship for a few more months, that is.

Instead, Cash comes up to him as they stand outside of Kensington with a slightly grim look on his face and says, “Change of plans.”

“Huh?”

“They discovered an issue with the plane during the flight prep. It needs some part that they’re not going to be able to get until tomorrow morning. We’ll leave then.”

“What do you mean, they can’t get it? Why not?” Alex demands. Surely in a country with fucking royalty, nothing is out of grasp for said royals and their guests.

Cash shrugs. “Didn’t ask. The palace confirmed you can stay another night.”

Alex groans probably a little too dramatically. “What about my classes?”

“I am, in fact, very aware of your class schedule,” Cash says dryly. “You’ll be back in time.”

“I don’t have another change of clothes.”

“Pretty sure Kensington has laundry.”

“I’m really not getting out of this, am I?”

“Nope.”

Alex sighs and looks over to where Henry is standing with Shaan by the front gates. There’s a look of trepidation on his face, no doubt because he’s just been told that he’ll have to deal with Alex for another night. Of course, that’s not a given. Henry will probably disappear into his apartments and ignore him, which suits Alex fine. They may have reached a kind of détente today, but they’re not friends.

“Sorry to hear about your plane,” Henry says as they get back into the car that will drive them further into the palace.

Alex shrugs. “It’s fine. I guess I’ll have to survive the hardship of ten thousand thread count sheets another night.”

Henry huffs a little laugh and grins. It’s kind of amazing how different he looks when he smiles for real. “I know you’ve probably had your fill of me today, so feel free to say no, but…” He hesitates a moment, as if waiting for Alex to shut him down before he even makes his proposal. “I was thinking of ordering in curry for dinner tonight. There’s a place not far away that’s quite good. Maybe watch a film?”

It’s pretty much the last thing Alex expected him to say. He wonders if this is another olive branch, an acknowledgement that it’ll be easier to pretend they’re friends if they’re actually… kinda friends. Surprisingly, Alex doesn’t hate the idea.

“What movie?” he counters.

“Well, I would suggest one of the Star Wars films, but I’m not sure we could agree on one.”

“If we’re not going to watch the best one, aka Empire—”

“You mean Return of the Jedi,” Henry interjects.

“—I guess that leaves the next best.”

“So, Rogue One?”

Alex grins. “Ok, maybe we can be friends, after all.”

He’s absolutely not letting himself think about the warmth that grows in his chest when Henry laughs.

~~~~~

Alex discovers that there’s a room in Kensington that’s pretty much as tricked out as you can get without being in a movie theater—“There’s an actual theater in Buckingham,” Henry tells him, “but Dad had this put in for family film nights”—with a massive screen and a killer sound system. They eat their curry out of take-out containers on a surprisingly comfortable, normal couch as the movie plays, keeping up a running commentary between them that ranges from Star Wars lore to the cast (“Come on, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t follow Diego Luna anywhere. Look at him!” Alex insists, which garners him a strange look from Henry) to random things entirely unconnected to the movie.

Turns out Henry is actually really funny, which is a fucking shock and kind of annoying except for how he leaves Alex in stitches several times. It’s absurdly easy between them in a way that it shouldn’t be, and Alex can’t remember the last time he had this much fun just hanging out with someone. And it’s Henry. What is his life, even.

“I can’t believe you like this one,” Alex says as they watch Jyn and Cassian embrace desperately on the beach. “It’s pretty much the opposite of a happy ending. For the main characters, at least.”

Henry hums, tipping his head slightly. “They give up everything in the service of a cause bigger than themselves, and they succeed. There’s something beautiful about that.”

“God, you are a sap,” Alex teases, bumping his shoulder up against Henry’s. Somehow they’ve managed to migrate closer on the couch over the course of the movie, until they’re practically touching.

“And why do you like it, then?” Henry counters. “The action and spies and intrigue?”

“Not only that,” Alex says. “But there’s a reason I’m a big Bond fan.”

A smile flickers across Henry’s face that’s a little melancholy but mostly contented. “I suppose that makes sense given what I know of your movie tastes now.”

“Also, your dad was a total babe.”

Henry’s eyes go wide as he chokes on a laugh. “I beg you to not.”

They lapse into silence as the final scenes as the credits start to roll. The movie is over and it’s getting late, but all Alex can think of is that he really doesn’t want the night to end yet. Which is crazy. Twenty-four hours ago Alex was actively cursing this man’s name, and now he seemingly can’t get enough of spending time with him. It doesn’t make any sense, but somehow it does; it’s the same feeling that he was chasing all those years ago in Rio, the one that pushed him to go up an introduce himself at exactly the wrong time, the one that made the hurt of that encounter linger for so long in his psyche.

“Hey, uh,” he says eventually, turning slightly to look at Henry, “thanks for suggesting this. It was fun.”

“I hope it made up for being stuck in London longer than you wanted,” Henry replies, his voice low and soft.

“Definitely.”

Henry smiles, a warm and pleased one that stretches his lips and crinkles the corners of his eyes, and Alex feels like he’s being pulled in by the magnetism of it. He wants to get closer, despite how close they’re already sitting. His fingers twitch with the urge to touch—the soft blond hair falling over Henry’s forehead, the sharp cut of his cheekbones, the fullness of his lips. He’s always known Henry was objectively good-looking, but Jesus, where does he get off being so pretty? It’s annoying, really.

Alex isn’t trying to make things weird, but he also can’t quite help the way his eyes are drawn inexorably down to those plush lips, still curved in a gentle smile. Who even has lips like that, does he get fillers or something, because they can’t be real, except they look very, very real, Alex hasn’t even ever kissed any girls with lips that nice, that look that soft—

Something short circuits in Alex’s brain and he just— has to know. How soft they really are. Before he even knows what he’s doing, he’s leaning in and pressing his lips to Henry’s, which are, as it turns out, extremely soft. It only lasts for a second before his brain comes back online and he realizes Henry’s frozen stiff, which is fair, because Alex has no fucking clue what he’s doing. He hasn’t kissed a boy since Liam and this was not the fucking boy to just kiss out of nowhere. He’s gonna get, like, locked in the Tower of London or something.

He wrenches away as quickly as he leaned in, meeting Henry’s wide, stunned eyes (—still so so blue, how can they be that blue—), his lips slightly parted and just a little damp from Alex’s.

“Shit,” Alex breathes in a rush. “Fucking shit— I don’t know why I did that, I’m so sorry, Henry, I didn’t mean anything by it—”

“Alex,” Henry murmurs, but Alex is too far gone in his spiral at this point.

“—I promise, it was just— I mean, I’m not even—”

“Alex.”

Alex stops in the middle of a word, his mouth hanging open. Henry’s got some kind of strange look on his face that he can’t parse at all.

“Did it really not mean anything?” he asks slowly.

The thing is, Alex has no idea what it means. Absolutely none. Something inside him—something he doesn’t really understand—wanted to do it, but like, just as an objective experiment. Except that part of him wants to do it again, even though he already got his answer. Really wants Henry to kiss him back. Which is making him feel a little insane.

Alex closes his mouth, licks his lips, and swallows hard.

“That depends,” he says cautiously, “on what you want it to mean.”

For some reason, that makes Henry growl in frustration and cast his eyes to the ceiling. Then he groans, “Christ, Alex, you’re so—”, grabs Alex’s face between both hands, and kisses him soundly.

Alex’s insides go positively molten. Henry’s hands are gripping his jaw, and in his hair, and Alex can’t help but press closer. His own hands find Henry’s narrow waist, reveling in the dip of it, the heat of his body scorching through the thin fabric of his shirt, and the only thing currently occupying Alex’s mind is a desperate urge to feel bare skin under his palms. That is, until Henry slides his tongue along Alex’s lower lip, sucks it into his mouth and tugs on it with his teeth, and Alex stops thinking altogether.

Their positions are a little awkward, twisted toward each other on the couch as they are, and Alex isn’t sure if he pulls or Henry pushes—or maybe both—but a moment later Henry is unfolding his long legs and shifting to straddle Alex’s lap, which is both incredible and incredibly overwhelming. Especially when Henry’s hips rock forward and Alex can feel his growing arousal pressing into the rapidly tightening region of Alex’s pants.

Jesus, this is— it’s— it’s a lot, but the very last thing Alex wants to happen is for it to stop.

He absolutely does not whimper when Henry pulls back, sending Alex unconsciously chasing after his lips. Fortunately, Henry doesn’t go far. He presses their foreheads together, breathing raggedly into the space between them as his thumb swipes across Alex’s cheek.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Henry breathes, and yeah, Alex had no fucking clue.

His mind is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and he has no idea what to say to that besides: “Fuck.”

Henry chuckles softly, nudging their noses together. “Indeed.” He presses a soft kiss to Alex’s lips, then another to the corner of his mouth and one to the edge of his jaw. “Do you want to… go somewhere we won’t be interrupted?” he murmurs into Alex’s ear, and his warm breath combined with the words makes Alex tremble under him.

Alex swallows hard as his hands tighten on Henry’s hips, but he hesitates a moment too long because then Henry is actually pulling back, a concerned expression creasing his brow.

“Which is not to say— we don’t have to do anything more if you don’t want— I just thought—”

“I want to,” Alex blurts, surprising even himself. He’s not entirely sure what more means to Henry, but he knows he wants it. Jesus, does he want. “Yes. Fuck. Let’s do that.”

Henry grins, wide and nearly blinding in its brilliance, and Alex thinks he would do just about anything to see that smile on his face always.

They clamber off the couch, adjusting themselves with shared, knowing giggles, then Henry grabs his hand and tugs Alex through formal, stuffy corridors lined with portraits and antiques, which just adds a certain something to the absurdity of the whole situation. Somehow it’s not a surprise that Henry’s apartments are just as impersonal and opulent as the rest of the palace, full of hideous floral wallpaper and baroque furniture. Before, he’d have put that on Henry himself, but now it feels wrong despite the fact that Alex still barely knows him. It feels like he knows enough. Henry eats curry on the couch and cracks crude jokes and sniffles at the tragic endings of Star Wars movies (yes, Alex noticed). Henry is warm and soft and feels like he belongs in cozy, simple rooms full of old books and tea and cardigans.

Alex’s musings are cut off when Henry pulls him close again at the foot of the hideous gilt monstrosity that is his bed, wrapping his arms around Alex’s waist and tugging him into a lingering kiss. It’s softer than before, delicate and sweet, exactly like Alex would imagine Prince Charming would kiss. From this angle Alex has to tip his head up to kiss him, which is definitely not something he ever thought would do it for him, and yet. Henry’s evening stubble scratches against his chin, and broad hands grip onto his hips and pull him against the hard, flat planes of Henry’s chest, all of it constantly reminding him of the unmistakable masculinity of the person he’s currently making out with.

Alex thinks, distantly, that he should probably be freaking out about this a bit more, but it’s too easy to give himself over it in the moment. He can freak out about what whatever the fuck it means later.

Henry’s hands move to the front of Alex’s shirt, and his nimble fingers make short work of the buttons before pushing it backwards off Alex’s shoulders. His fingers leave trails of fire where they linger against Alex’s bare skin, and even just this has Alex moaning into the kiss, desperate for more. He tugs at Henry’s shirt, yanking the tails out of his pants and nearly tearing the buttons open in his haste, which makes Henry laugh at him, the bastard.

“Eager, are we?” Henry teases, and Alex bites the grin right off his face.

“Shut all the way up,” he huffs before sinking his teeth into the absolutely irresistible collarbone he’s just uncovered.

Henry sucks in a gratifying breath at that, his hands tightening on Alex’s waist, and then he’s manhandling Alex back onto the mattress, which has no business being as hot as it is. Alex kicks off his shoes before scrabbling backwards so that he’s lying against the pillows, his heart racing as Henry crawls up over him with a nearly predatory grin on his face. The way his body fully blankets Alex’s is overwhelming in the best way, making every part of Alex ache with the need to somehow be closer, even as Henry presses the their bodies together from knee to chest and captures Alex’s lips in another deep, probing kiss.

They kiss and kiss until Alex’s lips are almost numb from it, their hands roving over heated skin and through thoroughly mussed hair. Henry’s hips roll slowly against him, almost a question, and Alex groans when he feels the hardness of Henry’s cock pushing against his hip. His own is straining against the front of his trousers, and his breath shudders in his chest when he imagines what it would feel like to have Henry’s hands wrapped around him.

But—

“Hey, uh,” he breathes as Henry’s mouth moves to his neck, and he’s nearly driven to distraction by the feeling of Henry’s teeth scraping lightly over his pulse point, but he wants to get this out, “I’ve never actually—” His voice fails, and Henry pulls back just enough to look him in the eye. Alex swallows. “Done this. With a guy. I mean, kinda, but not really—” He lets out a frustrated huff. “It’s a long story.”

Henry stares at him so intensely and earnestly that Alex feels flayed open by it, like Henry can see all the parts of him that Alex himself didn’t know were there. “We can just do this,” he says as he pushes a curl back from Alex’s forehead. “The last thing I want is to push you into something you’re not comfortable with.”

It’s completely reasonable not to rush things, but Alex thinks if he leaves London without seeing Henry naked he might fucking expire.

“Did I not already fucking say I wanted it?” he retorts, a little testily. Better that than admitting how desperate he really is.

“Well, to be fair, we didn’t exactly specify—”

“I want you naked,” Alex breathes in a rush. “I want your hands on me. Your mouth, if— if that’s something you want.”

Henry’s gaze goes dark and hot, and he actually licks his lips. Alex’s dick twitches in his pants. Jesus Christ.

Henry dips back down to kiss his neck, but a moment later he answers. “That,” he says, pressing it into Alex’s skin as he kisses a path down his chest, “is something I very much want.”

Then Henry’s hands are at his waistband, making short work of his belt and peeling off his underwear and pants in one go, and everything goes very, very hazy after that in the absolute best possible way.

~~~~~

The room is quiet after they subside, after every ounce of pleasure has been wrung from their bodies, after shouted names ease into murmured endearments.

“I should go,” Alex eventually whispers into the stillness, because he should. It would be better if he spent the night in his own rooms. Safer.

He doesn’t want to, though. He doesn’t want to be alone with his thoughts right now, doesn’t want to give his brain the space to run wild with this. That’s what will happen if he goes. He’ll fall into a research spiral on google, and text Nora even though it’s too late, and quietly freak out about everything that’s happened tonight. Here, though, Henry’s got an arm thrown over his waist, and it’s not much, but the weight of it soothes something within him. Keeps him grounded.

Maybe it’s just Henry that settles him. He doesn’t want to think too hard about that.

“You could stay,” Henry murmurs back. He leans in, presses a kiss to the outside of Alex’s shoulder. “No one will notice. Tomorrow’s Sunday. The staff come in late.”

This is a terrible idea. This can’t be… anything, really, given who they are. Alex doesn’t even know what he wants it to be, but he knows that.

“You sure?” Alex asks anyway.

“Stay,” Henry repeats.

So Alex stays.

~~~~~

The bed Alex wakes up in is unfamiliar, which is hardly surprising given his travel schedule lately. What is unexpected is that he’s naked, and there’s a warm, naked body pressed against his back, and abruptly all of what he got up to the previous night comes slamming back into vivid clarity.

He slept with the fucking prince. Henry. His nemesis, except not actually, apparently, and oh yes, definitely also a dude. Alex sucked his dick and most definitely enjoyed the experience, so that’s a whole new thing. The freakout about his sexuality that he shoved to the back of his mind last night rockets to the forefront now, and he can feel his breath stutter in his chest.

Except then Henry’s arm tightens around him and he presses a sleepy kiss to the back of Alex’s shoulder, and the tightness in his chest unclenches somewhat. Not all the way, but enough.

He fumbles for his watch, then jolts up to sitting with a new fear once he sees the time. Jesus Christ, Cash or Amy is going to show up at his bedroom any minute now to pick him up so they can leave, and Alex isn’t fucking there. This is a disaster.

Henry grumbles at being disrupted, sleepily rubbing at his eyes in a way that’s definitely not adorable at all. “Time is it?” he mumbles through a yawn.

“Late,” Alex huffs, briefly getting tangled in the sheets and nearly falling out of the bed in his haste to find his clothing.

He’s halfway into his pants when there’s a knock at Henry’s bedroom door, and he almost falls on his face again. That seems to wake Henry up a bit more, and he finally sits up, his hair standing up in all directions and his eyes gone wide.

“Yes?” Henry calls out.

“The Secret Service seem to have misplaced their charge,” comes Shaan’s voice through the door, and Alex would very much like to die right now. Henry stumbles out of bed, throwing on a robe, then opens the door just enough so that Alex isn’t visible. “I told them I would inquire with you to see if you had any idea of Mr. Claremont-Diaz’s whereabouts.”

There’s something very knowing in Shaan’s tone, like he’s perfectly aware of where Alex spent the night and furthermore none of this is exactly a surprise to him, and Alex only barely manages to hold back the extensive collection of curses crowding at the tip of his tongue. What the actual fuck.

“Ah,” Henry says. His cheeks are bright pink. “Just a moment, I’m sure I can help you locate him.”

“I’m not sure I’ve properly conveyed how agitated they are, sir.”

“Tell them I’m ok,” Alex sighs begrudgingly, stepping into view now that his shirt and pants are on. It’s not like he’s kidding anyone; he’s still barefoot in Henry’s bedroom and the bed that two people clearly slept in is fully visible from where Shaan is standing. “I just—”

Shaan holds up a hand. “Believe me when I say that you do not need to finish that sentence. I will deliver the message, but”—he pauses, glancing between them—“you probably shouldn’t linger.”

He pulls the door closed behind him as he goes and, despite the warning, Alex stands there for a minute, rooted in place and staring at the floor. Maybe Shaan doesn’t want an explanation, but the Secret Service certainly will. Fuck.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Henry says quietly, suddenly close beside him. Alex hadn’t heard him approach. He still looks so soft and sleep-rumpled, and something tugs at Alex’s chest that absolutely should not be tugging. “I shouldn’t have talked you into staying here.”

Alex huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “I didn’t take much convincing,” he says. “I shoulda just set a fucking alarm.”

“Probably,” Henry agrees, his lips tipping into a wry smile that fades into a look of concern. “Are you… ok?”

“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” he answers, probably a little too quickly. Henry just stares at him in that way that makes Alex feel entirely too seen. “Probably gonna get chewed out for disappearing, but it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That’s not exactly what I was talking about.”

Alex swallows. “I’m fine.” He offers Henry a little smile. “This was fun.”

“It certainly was,” Henry agrees carefully.

“Where’s your phone? I’ll give you my number, it’ll be easier to plan joint appearances or whatever,” Alex says in a blatant attempt to divert from a discussion about what happened or what this makes them. He’s got to figure his own shit out first. He doesn’t need Henry to know that he’s already wondering when he can arrange his schedule to see him again.

Henry gives him a look, but he fetches his phone and hands it over to Alex with a blank contact page open. Alex types in his number and hands it back.

“I’ll be disappointed if you only use that for booty calls,” he jokes.

Henry sputters out a laugh. “Noted.”

He’s endearingly pink-cheeked and smiling, and Alex doesn’t think before he takes the last step that puts him in Henry’s personal space, grabs the fronts of Henry’s robe, and pulls him into a kiss.

If he’d had any lingering doubts about the previous night, about whether what he’d felt was real or not, this thoroughly dispels them. The press of Henry’s lips to his, the way their mouths slot together as easily as if they’ve been doing this for years, the zip of electricity that fizzles under his skin and spreads out to tingle in the tips of his fingers and toes… Alex has never been kissed like this, has never felt like this being kissed, and it’s exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Like he’s falling.

Oh. Fuck.

[ru-fiction]

Playground Rivals: Ken x Male Reader

Chapter 5

"Barbie, Raquelle and I will take them somewhere. Okay?"

Barbie nods as Y/n motions to the boys.

"Okay."

"This way you can think, they have something to do, and we don't have to listen to anyone whining."

Y/n looks at each of them sternly before smiling.

"Though, I say that with love."

Y/n motions for everyone to follow him, leaving Barbie alone, Ken keeps looking behind him at her, seeing how far he can go.

"Ken, c'mon."

"Coming."

"Don't go far."

"Okay!"

Ken rushes towards Y/n's side and all the dolls turn the corner.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Who's that?"

Y/n looks up from looking at the patterns on the floor of the ice cream shop they were now in towards the direction Ryan was pointing.

Raquelle was talking to a guy while waiting on line and not just any guy, it was the one from earlier that gave them free snow cones.

Y/n watched as his sister started to twirl her hair and seen how her smile got bigger. He turned to look at Ken beside him to see him already staring back with a big smirk on his face. The two shared a knowing glance before turning their attention back to the girl.

Ryan taps his brother's arm before jabbing his thumb back in the direction of his twin.

"How are you not bothered by this?"

"It's not that big a'deal Ryan."

Ryan looks incredulous at his brother.

"How could you say that?"

Raquelle starts walking back with the guy, both carrying different ice cream cones.

Once they make it to the table where the others are, Raquelle starts handing out the ice cream, Ryan got mint chocolate chip, Ken got a banana split and Y/n got neapolitan.

Raquelle went to a different table with the guy after she finished giving the others their ice cream. Ryan continued to glare at the guy not noticing Ken and Y/n feeding each other scoops from their ice cream.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Barbie exhales trying to get her thoughts going.

She opens her eyes and starts to look around hoping to find something that could help her find this girl.

She watched a bunch of cars drive past and seen a lot of people walking by but saw nothing that could help her.

She stands up and walks around in a circle before sitting down again.

She closes her eyes again thinking of a memory that she had.

-

"Be patient."

Barbie glares at the instrument in her hands as the doll beside her laughs.

"You're not gonna be able to learn an instrument in a day."

Barbie exhales deeply.

"I'm Barbie. I'm supposed to be perfect."

Y/n gives her a sympathetic look before touching her knee.

"Maybe that's the problem."

Barbie looks at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Y/n takes the guitar from Barbie before playing 'what if I shine.' Barbie watches as the doll's fingers pressed onto the top strings on some notes and not on others.

"Nobody's perfect. You'll never grow if you don't allow yourself to mess up."

Barbie looks up to see the doll watching her.

"You're not gonna know everything right away and that's okay."

Y/n hands Barbie the guitar again before placing one of her hands on the frets and pressing down on it. Barbie uses her other hand to swipe the bottom chords and a beautiful sound comes out.

"I did it."

Barbie smiles at the doll, his smile grew even more watching her get excited over playing one chord.

"Yeah, you did."

-

Barbie smiled at the memory, maybe that was the key to finding the girl.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Hey Blaine. How's it going?"

Blaine was the guy that Raquelle was hanging out with. He had learned that the others had never seen a movie with moving pictures before; it totally confused him about what they meant by that; he decided to bring them to his favorite movie theater.

"I'm doing pretty good."

The girl smiled at him and then sent Raquelle a friendly smile which kinda threw her off.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Raquelle."

Blaine smiles at Raquelle before handing some money over to the cashier. He had used to work there before and visited there a lot so he knew how much things were.

He had agreed to get everyone drinks and food but the movies are expensive so he told the boys that they would have to find a way in.

"I got an idea."

Y/n shook his head, he already knew what he was going to do but Ken looked at Ryan in wonder.

Ryan put on his best smoldering look and walked up to the girl as Blaine and Raquelle waited for the food.

"Hey."

The girl looked unimpressed and just looked down at her computer system.

"What movie are you trying to see?"

"The same one as them."

Ryan points to the other two who were now getting food handed to them.

"Tickets for three please."

The girl types in her system before looking up.

"That'll be $40.56 please."

Ryan frowns.

"I don't have any money."

"That's too bad. Next person please."

Y/n steps in, this is a long shot but it'll be worth it if it works. Y/n walks up to the girl with a frown on his face.

"It's my fault."

"What?"

"Huh?"

Y/n gives his little puppy eyes to the girl which shocked her.

"It's my brother's birthday and I wanted to treat him to a movie. I told him not to bring any money because I didn't want him to pay for anything on his birthday."

Ryan watches as his brother starts to tear up.

"I stupidly deleted the email I got when I placed my order online and now I've ruined him getting to see this movie."

Y/n had heard people talking about placing online movie orders so he thought he'd add it in his story.

The girl watches as the boy's body started to shake. She couldn't think rationally, she just wanted to make this boy happy.

"You know, it's fine."

The (h/c) haired doll looks up at the girl, tears still in his eyes.

"What?"

"I mean if you paid, you paid. So you guys go ahead."

"Really, I don't wanna get you into trouble."

"It's okay. If I have to, I'll pay for it."

Y/n sent her a small smile. Ryan just looks at the scene shocked motioning for Ken to come up.

"Thank you."

"Oh, no problem."

The boys make their way over to Raquelle, Y/n still keeping the facade until they were all in the theater seats.

"That's scary."

Y/n wanted to make a joke about it but he really did feel bad about lying to the girl.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Raquelle, I wanna show you something. It's a place really special to me."

Raquelle smiles at Blaine, intertwining their fingers.

"Okay."

Ryan quickly breaks their hands apart and puts his arms around both people, receiving a glare from his twin.

"Nope, I'm coming too."

"Really, Ryan."

Ryan sends the brunette a cocky grin.

"Yep."

"What about Y/n and Ken?"

Usually Raquelle would do anything for her little sibling to get alone time with Ken but she really wanted to be alone with Blaine right now.

Ryan looks back at his other sibling and then towards Raquelle and then back to his other sibling.

Ryan thinks for a second before shrugging.

"Me and Ken are buddies, I trust him to look after Y/n."

All the dolls look at Ryan in either confusion or shock and Blaine just between them.

"Wha- when did this happen?"

"You do one show together and now you're buddies."

"We're buddies. Sweet!!"

Ryan puts his arms around Blaine and Raquelle and walks away with them.

"Told you, your brother is super intense."

Y/n cringes.

"Yeah, he sure is."

The doll then started to follow Ken around that part of the city, even though he didn't know where he was going, he sure acted like he did.

Y/n's clothing started flowing in the wind when cars passed by and Ken and him would check out their reflection in the windows of a building as they walked by. Things like that didn't happen because everything in Barbieland was plastic. Y/n thought it was nice to actually feel things, sure it got cold or hot in Barbieland but that was about it.

"Excuse me sir."

A guy stopped Ken, easily getting his attention. Ken nodded at the man as he walked past before turning to the (h/c) doll behind him, smiling.

"Did you see that?"

Y/n smiles back at the blonde as his eyes lit up again, nodding.

"I did."

What Y/n loved most of all was seeing how happy Ken was. How his eyes lit up whenever anyone acknowledged him or just the fact that Y/n let him lead him anywhere his heart desired. Respect was something he never had before from anyone besides Y/n.

The two walk pass the Century City Center and just talk about any and everything they've experienced in the past week in Barbieland, venting about times they were annoyed, talking about times where they were happy, leaving out some parts where they were not so happy or embarrassed.

The two of them watched as a man walked out of the building wearing a fluffy fur coat. Which both Y/n and Ken admired on him.

Another guy walked by waving at both Y/n and Ken earning a smile from the dolls.

The two walk by a gym watching two of the men walk out and fist bump each other. Ken turned to Y/n wanting to do the same so the doll decided to entertain him on his little quip.

He pulls Y/n inside the gym and their noses are instantly filled with the smell of sweat and musk. They watch as a couple of men take turns punching punching bags, some lifting different types of weights and others on a running machine.

When they came out Y/n noticed how Ken started walking differently. He thought it was kind of goofy.

"Heh, Ken. What are you doing?"

"Just walking."

"You don't walk like that."

Ken just sends him a playful smile and shrugs off his comment.

"So, you like to watch me walk."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't not say that."

Ken turns and gives him a playful wink which flustered the doll.

Ken stops walking after a while to watch a car drive by, his eyes started to shine at the sight of it.

His eyes got even brighter when he watched the police men riding one of his favorite animals, the horse. He patted Y/n's arm, jumping up and down at the sight of them.

He then grabs the doll's hand and goes inside of another building. The two watched as the men below were having a meeting, Ken crossed his arms and started acting like one of them. Y/n joined in thinking Ken was only being silly, it got a laugh from the blonde doll.

Y/n continued to watch the men for a little longer not noticing Ken walking away and up an escalator. Once he realized Ken was gone, he ran around the building before bumping into him at the door. He had the biggest smile on his face.

"Oh my god."

He pulled Ken into the tightest hug shocking him but also making him melt.

"Don't do that again."

Ken giggles.

"I'm serious."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Barbie sat at the bus stop with her eyes closed. The world went quiet and suddenly she could see the swing of a child's foot. Next she saw the child braiding someone's hair.

She took that moment to focus on what the memories were showing her. It was a little girl doing a hand shake with someone but she couldn't see who. The next few memories were flashes, her and someone eating ice cream, then she was playing dolls with who Barbie assumed is her mother, next she ran into her mother's arms and then the next she was sad and started to push her mother away. The girl was now throwing her toys away, her mother keeping one, the girl kept pushing her mother away at this point they didn't seem as close.

Barbie opened her eyes, all those memories, they were intense. She felt a tear running down her face.

"That felt achy but good."

Barbie looked up watching her surroundings, she watched as a family had a picnic on one side while another family played in a park together, One mom pushed a bike down the road while her two daughters followed her, she watched as a couple argued with each other, how the trees blew in the wind, she watched as two men laughed with each other causing her to laugh along even though she had no idea what they were laughing about, she watched as a man looked upset with himself. She wondered if anyone ever looked like that in Barbieland, everything was different, everything felt different.

She looked beside her finding an older woman sitting not too far away from her. The woman looked back up at her and Barbie couldn't help but smile at the woman.

"You're so beautiful."

"I know it."

The two took a moment to admire the beauty of the other. This is what it felt like to be real.

Barbie's eyes widened when she saw Ryan walking back sulking.

"Hey Ryan, what's wrong?"

Ryan sighs passing the lady to sit next to Barbie, laying his head on her lap.

"I've been ditched Barbie. My own family turned against me."

Barbie chuckles as Ryan whines dramatically.

"You're still sulking about."

Raquelle walks up to them now without the guy she ran away with.

"I hardly ditched you."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

Ryan just looked at the brunette in disbelief.

"You literally told a girl, 'what you met my brother Ryan,' and left without another word. If that's not ditching, I don't know what is."

"Barbie! Barbie!"

The trio turned their attention to the yelling blonde as he runs at them full speed, Y/n following close behind him.

"Yes!!"

Barbie smiles widely at the appearance of the two.

"I got it!"

"I got it!"

The siblings all looked at Ken, confused about what he 'had.' Ken looks all bashful when he notices everyone's eyes on him.

"Oh, what do you got?"

"You go first."

Barbie was also interested in what he had to say. She gave him a big smile.

"No, no, you go."

"We'll go at the same time."

Ken giggles excitedly and Barbie does the same.

"Okay."

The two yell at the top of their lungs gleefully.

"She's at school."

"Men rule the world!"

The siblings eyes widened and their jaws dropped to the floor. What did he say?

Barbie's face scrunched up in confusion and Ken got nervous at the looks he was getting.

"What was that?"

"Ken?"

He brushed off both of his friends' concern.

"The kid's at school?"

"But what did you say?"

Ken just shook his head putting on a smile.

"Nothing."

Barbie just shrugs it off.

"Okay."

"Well, let's go to the school."

"Okay!!"

Barbie was super excited to meet the girl, Ken laughs along with her walking her away from the other dolls who all looked at him in shock.

"Is he okay?"

Y/n looked at the twins as they studied his face.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You were with him all day."

"Oh because I was with him, that's supposed to mean I should know what's going on with him?"

The two dolls gave him a blank stare.

"Yes."

"Yes!!"

"That's stupid."

"How is it stupid?" Aren't you guys close? You're basically in a relationship."

Y/n stopped walking for a small moment before looking at his brother.

"We're not in a relationship."

"Yet."

The siblings talk amongst themselves as Barbie and Ken lead them in the direction of the school.

[edgessunflower]

Puff puff pass

Pairing: David Wooderson x Fem reader

Description: You and David go to the emporium with his friends leading to a moment at his house after

Warning: Minor Marijuana use, mentions of alcohol

You were on your roof when you heard a rock hit the gutter, looking down to see your best friend David below in your driveway "Hey Dave whataya doing down there?". He laughs as he looks at you "I'm waiting for my best friend to get off her roof so we can meet up with the boys and go to the emporium and have our monthly puff puff pass session" your eyes twinkle in excitement, climbing back in your window and changing, climbing down until you jumped off your car and got in david's, you both laugh and listen to music until you parked and meet up with Slater and Michelle outside the emporium, going in to see everyone sitting around each other, cheering when they see you and dave following michelle and slater "Let's get this started!". You feel your body turn limp after puffing on the joint, passing it to dave who pats your head making you giggle as time goes on and blurs until the session is done, ending with slater eating a burger from a nearby restaurant, Pink laid out around empty beer bottles, Don in the lawn chair asleep, Michelle dancing to music playing nearby, Mitch eating pepperoni pizza, david leaning back enjoying the last puff of the joint while you lay your head on his stomach, eating cheese pizza until you both get up and walk to the nearest payphone, calling and telling your parents that you were staying the night with david and they agreed saying hi to him since both yours and his parents were friends for years when they were growing up. You go to his house and share another joint, watching movies on his couch and listening to music on his record player as you feel yourself dozing off while his hand gently rubs your side with your head in his lap as you try to stay awake "Hey sleepyhead you'd be more comfortable somewhere else" you giggle quietly as he picks you up, carrying and gently tossing you in his bed then tossing your spare clothes at you as he goes in the bathroom to change, you had slept over together plenty of times, always sharing a bed without a care but this time you felt different, immediately looking away when he came out with nothing but shorts on making you hide under the covers. You pretend to be asleep as your heart races, feeling him lay next to you until you look to see him staring at you with a fond look on his face that you've never seen before "Why are you looking at me like that?" feeling very flustered as he slowly leans closer to you "Because you're so pretty" you didn't know who moved in but the two of you were in a gentle and sweet kiss, holding each other's faces until things went further, stopping and agreeing to take things slow for a bit, knowing you felt the same towards each other and smiling while you lay there until you feel his hand under your shirt "What are you doing?" you turn to see him holding one of his shirts, raising your arms and putting the shirt. You tangle each other's legs together under the covers, wrapping your arms around each other with your head in the crook of his neck, falling asleep to the warmth radiating off his body, ready for the next step of your relationship with each other as you both fall asleep, waking up to see him looking at you and rubbing his hand down your back under his shirt which made you both smile, sharing another kiss as you both laid there until you got up and ate breakfast.

[teaspoonofdread]

THOUGHTS on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

I'll start with two statements regarding Anya Taylor Joy's casting and go from there.

I like her (I know some don't).

I agree she doesn't look like Charlize Theron (and we all know Charlize realized Furiosa as much as Miller did).

BUT a thing that struck me as soon as I heard she was cast was that she had that ethereal vibe of the Five (when I first saw them, the word 'mermaids' wouldn't leave my mind). I could see Anya playing a 'wife', which works with a backstory, I don't think any fan would like to watch play out on the screen...

Now let's try not to be too skeptical: she's tall like Furiosa, there's the probability she was more feminine as a girl living in a feminine world the Green Place of Many Mothers, she didn't need to be as muscular in her youth so she wasn't, etc.

Now. The trailer didn't manage to completely sell me the idea of Anya as Furiosa, but it eased some of my nerves. THE EYES! I saw a troll post on redit literally the day before the trailer dropped with close-ups of Theron and Joy (brown-eyed) captured "Furiosa eye color change?"

I've read the meta, I knew the eyes were carefully retouched in Fury Road in post-production, so I had hope. And seeing Anya's eyes in the trailer, I thought to myself, 'This is THE death stare. This is Furiosa'. And when she screamed all disheveled, I liked that part best. The one with her face covered, making the V8 symbol - second best.

I liked that she was shooting, I liked that cropped-out-seconds-rising-the-tension-rising-the-momentum Gorge Miller magic, I liked how over the top Lord Dementus was, it worked for me. Joe looked like Joe, I believe he didn't have any lines.

I definitely didn't like that head-touch with Tom Burke's character 😕 (sorry. He seems to have a lot of fans.)

And I didn't like the opening and closing shots. Can't quite place why: the opening one seemed like I'd already watched it before, also a bit too long, and the closing felt not authentic somehow. I wish she was more muscular. She just seems fragile in the classic Furiosa outfit.

Last roll of 'complains' before I start with the excitement-inducing points:

The over-explaining in the trailer itself, the big words with the exact number of years and all (like they could've converted into days, like they do in universe) but alas I suppose that's in order to bring in a wider audience. I hope it succeeds, tho!

Is a prequel the story I wanna visit - no. I'd like a movie about the Four - rebuilding, reforming, growing (green and as people), I want Max back even as I know it isn't like him to stay, and finally I want Theron and Hardy side by side, even as I know they wouldn't haha.

All of that is so unlikely. And there are so many spectacular novel-length fics about that. Hell, one such universe has been materializing in my mind for the past year. I almost don't want a movie about what comes after.

Still, I'd prefer a movie about the after rather than the before, but that's what's happening.

But I'm a nobody. The Creator of this world has a story he'd like to share, and it is centered around one of the most incredible characters in recent history, I think we're lucky to be able to witness that.

Now, onto the real excitement!

Disclaimer: this is less coherent even than what came before it.

First of all, we're finally getting a Wasteland movie by Gorge Miller (edited by Margaret Sixel!!!)

I cannot stress this enough!

We're getting chases, and War Boys and shiny mutant-cars, and we're going to GasTown, people! To the Bullet Farm! Helloo, I'm so ready, so curious!

And we're going to the Green Place, y'all! I'm so excited about it. Like they had horses wtf? Mary Jo Bassa! Canon Vuvalini names! Traditions! Defense strategies, weapons, male Vuvalini maybe, crows, so much lore...

But I'm most excited about that Lady driver and the little girl. I'm soo ready for the stories of women in the Wasteland!

To sum up: I'm mostly hyped for the expansion of the world because I love it so much. Because we'd see another of Miller's visions.

And I trust the team behind it enough to know it won't be an unremarkable movie.

I know it won't be another Fury Road because there never will be.

I watched it way too late, and it's my dream to see it on the big screen, which wouldn't happen. So I'm grateful for a second chance to experience something like it. And I'm hoping the fandom will live again, because from my lurking I've found it to be as intricate and smart and fucking amazing as Fury Road itself is, and I'd like to be a part of it this time around :')

[adamwatchesmovies]

Bad Genius (2017)

No matter how difficult your studies might’ve been, they’ll seem like a walk in the park after Bad Genius. The cultural pressures imposed on the young protagonist make you understand why this story about an important test turns into a heist.

Brilliant Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) is accepted into a prestigious school. She doesn’t realize that her scholarship covered only the initial application fees, leaving her father to struggle to afford a number of additional payments that weren’t disclosed intially. Out of guilt, Lynn agrees to help some of her friends cheat during their exams, which turns into a highly profitable endeavor. As her clientele grows, so do the stakes, culminating in an elaborate scheme to steal the answers for the STIC.

The culture Bad Genius is based in makes this more than a generic heist film. While there is pressure on everyone to get good grades, the school Lynn attends takes it to another level. After Lynn and Bank (Chanon Santinatornkul) perform well in a TV competition that pits schools against each other, a gigantic banner with their portraits and achievements is hung on the side of the skyscraper-like learning institution for all to see. Talk about pressure. With the corrupt academic officials basically coercing her father into giving them more money, you can see why she succumbs to temptation and decides to help Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan). That leads to Lynn helping Grace and her boyfriend Pat (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) cheat, which leads to loads of people wanting her "help" too. There could’ve been a slight problem with this story. You might care about Lynn but all of her friends are spoiled rich idiots who couldn’t answer a multiple-choice exam if their gift of a brand new car depended on it, so where are the stakes? Thankfully, writers Tanida Hantaweewatana, Vasudhorn Piyaromna and Nattawut Poonpiriya (who also directs) are aware of this potential issue. They team Lynn up with Bank (Chanon Santinatornkul), who also desperately needs the money. He's also from a lower caste, in a country that would never give him or Lynn the chance to move up if it wasn't for this scheme.

Another element that makes Bad Genius unique is that it isn’t all about stealing the STIC answers. At first, the movie is just about Lynn figuring out how she’ll pass her messages to her classmates without the teachers figuring out what’s going on. To anyone who ever read Naruto - or watched the animated series - it’ll remind you of one of the very first chapters, where all of these wild techniques are used to do what is really just a mundane task. The thing is, the tests feel big because of what it means to the people involved.

That's great and the performances are strong. You wouldn’t even know most of the young actors are relatively inexperienced. Then, there’s the direction by Poonpiriya. The film begins with Lynn as she's being confronted about cheating on the STIC. You think the movie is spoiling itself but actually, it’s pulling a fast one on you and when we get to the reveal, it's so good I kind of want any aspiring screenwriters to see this movie just so they can add a new trick to their arsenal.

One aspect of the film that doesn’t quite match the rest is the conclusion. There’s one particular character whose allegiance changes drastically towards the end and while it isn’t completely out of nowhere, it sort of makes you wish the whole film had been done from their point of view. At the very least, you wish they had gotten more screentime so we'd seen more of their journey. There are also a few moments where the tension feels like it’s being ramped up artificially. A cell phone vibrates. Its owner is afraid to pick up because they know the message they've received is incriminating… but the person looking at them doesn’t know that. If they just looked at the phone and casually turned the screen off after two seconds, no one would be the wiser. Their reaction makes you frustrated.

Bad Genius does a terrific job making what should be a no-stakes, boring scene - students taking an exam - into a compelling drama. That alone makes it delightful. While this movie or the true events that inspired it might not get directly remade by Hollywood, it's only a matter of time before someone takes inspiration from it. I say check out Bad Genius before it’s the cool thing to do. (Original Thai with English subtitles, February 4, 2022)

[torirocksonhere]

walk-in review; An Cailín Ciúin | part one

DISCLAMER: i work in a large retail cinema here in ireland. part of my work is doing temperature checks inside of the screens, and whenever im assigned to that duty on my shift, i do just that every half hour (while sneaking in a minute or two of watching the movie). the first part of these reviews comes from whatever i happen to see when i walk into the screen every half hour.

i dont get to see a whole lot, thus this first review comes purely from ~5 minutes of watchtime in random intervals of the movie, and talking to people before and especially after the movie. as you can imagine, it isn't really comprehensive

however i dont watch trailers for movies, even ones that i already want to see, mostly because all of them edit together the best bits of the movie, leaving me disappointed at the shortcomings that they hid behind the big moments. so i count this first review as a sort of "trial-by-fire trailer" for said movie. essentially; "can a couple minutes of watchtime and word-of-mouth alone convince me to watch a movie?"

first i want to preface this with the best thing to come from this movie; the people who come to see it. to put it simply, most of them are quite old, and they are so adorably sweet it makes me so happy ! they always have something nice to say, they never spend too much, and theyre so chatty and lovely and i love old people and WILL DIE FOR THEM.

anyways, the actual movie.

An Cailín Ciúin, from what i can tell, is a movie about all the joys of growing up in rural ireland in ~early 1960s. including, but most certainly not limited to;

abusive and compliant parents

abhorrently obvious middle child syndrome

extensive breaks to your grandparents

cars driving on what can barely be considered as roads

in all seriousness though, this movie has everything to do with observation. (An Cailín Ciúin is irish gaelic for "the quiet girl" and oh boy is our main girl siobhan quiet ! ) our story follows siobhan, a young girl growing up in ireland. if im getting this right, then her parents had a child, needed a break away from minding all the kids at home so they could focus on just one, and in a standard Irish parenting move, sent one away to live with relatives for a while. siobhan is initially scared by the prospect, considering how shy she is, and how scared she is being in a completely new place (autistic coded characters??? in MY irish indie film?????), but she does agree to go, i believe in large part to her abusive father. really standard bad dad. y'know the type. "arent i allowed to have a drink after a long days work?" type beat. it helps the negative connotations that he's the only one who cant speak irish out of everyone in the house.

as an aside; i do believe the father is an allegory for ireland and the irish still feeling the effects of british rule, a time of history that has irreversibly destroyed our culture; a culture that this movie attempts to keep alive, and which it does beautifully. talking to the people who've seen it right after, they said how they felt taken back to a time that was much simpler, a time that was in many ways much better than present time. it's such a shame this movie is being written off by the larger public as "old people movie for old people only no younguns allowed", when in reality this film is trying to show everything that we as the Irish are best at, and where we as a culture shine, and how that's very very quickly being completely eroded to make way for the English way of life. if anything, this movie needs to be shown to the younger generations. it needs to be shown to people that have never experienced the feelings of community that came with being irish, and the incredibly beautiful language that gaeilge is. this movie is the perfect time capsule of Irish culture.

i frankly never got to see a lot of the middle of the movie, there was a plot of siobhan going to a funeral for the first time, and her struggling at school? but the middle of the movie is something i unfortunately have not caught a lot of, and understood less of.

the end of the movie is absolutely heart wrenching, even to me as someone who hasn't watched the entire thing start to finish. essentially, siobhan goes home, her trip is over. her, her siblings, her mother, and her grandparents are all in her house, talking and waiting for her father to get home. when they hear his car pull up, siobhan's mother gets very spooked, with a very worried look on her face. (look if it wasnt obvious at the start that the dad is abusive it really should be now). her grandad tries to reason with her mother, asking her to seek help, which of course the mother refuses. after all, it could take away her children, it could make him angry, it could do all host of things she doesn't want. its easier to just be complacent and suffer. one thing leads to another, and siobhan's grandparents leave. she, along with her mother and father, watch them leave. as soon as father is satisfied, he just heads back in, but mother talks to siobhan, asking her what happened while she was away. they share a stare with each other. mother's filled with dread and despair, and siobhan's with desire. then, siobhan runs down the road, attempting to catch up to her grandparents.

this... hurt to watch. how much she clearly loved and enjoyed life with her grandparents, and how much she hates life at her house, how she just wishes she could stay with them forever. however, as she embraces her grandfather, she sees him. father. she just repeats that, over and over. father. father. father. father. and then the movie ends. the pain in my heart from watching that ending was... unparalleled. it knew exactly how to tug at my heartstrings and did it so well and i hate it for that !!!! (i love it for that)

now that the stuff about the story is over, i wanna talk about close second for the best part of the movie; cinematography!!! and oh my GOD THE CINEMATOGRAPHY

first, most of the movie is shot lower than typical, which is done for two main reasons; to reflect both siobhan's physical and emotional height. obviously because she's a child, she sees the world shorter than most of us, but she's also really, really timid, and shooting low shots further strengthens that feeling of anxiousness that comes from a child, especially a child as quiet as siobhan.

second, the film is in 4:3, which i think is used as a passive reminder to the audience that the film is set in an earlier time frame, since most CRT televisions of the time period were in 4:3.

third, film grain. it isn't present in every shot, but the shots it is present in provide this super lovely and cutesy vintage feel to the movie, which just adds to how much i love the art direction of this film

fourth, focus. focus is barely used in this film, and when it is, it's usually in a shot that siobhan isn't the focus of, which i believe is used to remind us that siobhan is just a child, and children take in a lot more information than us. plus, it adds to one of this movie's greatest strengths; discover, don't show.

...and to be honest, thats all i have about the movie. essentially a girl just wanting to get away, but being scared to. i really like this movie, how it looks and how it sounds and how it feels. it makes me proud of being irish, it makes me want to preserve Irish culture. i love it and i will go and see it. i will either update this post or make a new post when i go to see it, to see if anything about my review changes, what i got right and wrong, and any more tidbits i have to add

(ignore the poll i can't get rid of it im sorry)

[crazyw3irdo]

✖️️ 🍭 :3 <3

✖️️ Is there something you don’t like about your special interest?

the amount of control markiplier has over my emotions /j mmmmm i think the lack of clarity over what’s canon and what isn’t? i know like. it’s not supposed to be a big deal, right? cause the whole point of wmlw is to say that focusing on small details will get you nowhere, its more of a "big picture" and "go with it" kind of thing, but just. is markiplier tv canon. how much of wilford and dark's appearances before wkm are canon. which of the characters named "mark" are actor and which arent. if the nude calendar is canon does that mean the characters canonically posed for this how the fuck did they get damien to do that hes dead-

🍭 What’s a headcanon/theory you have about your special interest?

oh god i have so fucking many. so many serious ones and joke ones too idk which to bring up um- okay one joke one half-joke one serious

joke: yancy is derek derekson's son and one of eric's brothers. he survived the car crash and came back and killed derek. i like this theory because it means derek is dead <3

half-joke: yancy is cool patrol!mark. white shirt. leather jacket. theatre kid energy. it all fits. we never hear cool patrol!mark speak so we don't know about the accent. he's never referred to by name. let my boy have hobbies and friends-

serious: fuck it this one can be a yancy theory too- the reason he has the accent despite being from ohio and his father not having that accent is cause he watched west side story all the time growing up and fuckin loved it. he based his entire personality on it as a kid and tried to imitate the way the jets talked and it just stuck. it helps him feel tough. he gets a lot of nightmares. he absolutely loves musicals cause he watched a bunch of movie musicals growing up. i know ppl tend to agree what he has rolled up in his sleeve is cigarettes and idk what else itd be but cmon hes a singer he shouldnt damage his voice like that :( that said he does think it makes him look cool and he has tried to smoke on occasion but he just ends up coughing and not knowing what he's really doing. also this theory is bust cause as of iswm he semi-canonically (confirmed in a livestream) just has magical tattoos that change depending on reality but for a while i headcanoned his "dark mark" knuckle tats were referencing the bit in adwm where the horror play was called "dark mark" further evidencing my theatre kid theory. also when he gets out of jail bird wing tattoos appear on his back. his favorite color is yellow. his best friend in prison is heapass. he wants to drive a motorcycle for the aesthetic but he has no clue how. he thinks his tough guy act is fooling the whole prison but literally no one has fallen for it. this paragraph got out of hand. THIS CHARACTER HAS LIKE 15 MINUTES OF SCREENTIME-

[margridarnauds]

Besides the excellent points made above re: American culture, some specific things I remember about small town Illinois culture, from my childhood growing up in the area, in the spirit of showing off some of the regional diversity that can exist (and to remind people that the rural midwest...has a culture, since...it's the culture I grew up with. And despite my complex relationship with it, it's mine, I claim it. American culture isn't non-existant, it's just dominant, but also, there are nuances to what that looks like, and I often feel like people pass over rural communities in general):

Labor Day. Labor Day is a bigger deal in the rural midwest than in, say, the east coast. Cake walks, pony rides, parade floats that the the entire town works together on.

Long recreational car rides with family or friends. There isn't much else to do, so this is a way to kill time. My family would often go on car rides on Sunday to no specific location, just to see where we ended up.

Folk songs, some of which are more widespread in the mainstream USA than others, many of which not originating with white populations, despite the overwhelmingly white makeup of the rural midwest. Those songs that you learned as a kid that Everyone Knows? Congratulations, those are American folk songs.

In southern Illinois, there's a strong southern influence, including southern sayings, a slight southern drawl, and foods more frequently associated with the south.

Hunting Season as a coming of age, especially for the boys. The first buck is a major lifetime event.

In general, a bigger focus on "smaller" holidays that don't get as much attention in bigger cities in the States -- Memorial Day, for example.

Casimir Pulaski Day™️

Cubs VS Cardinals and the EXTREME loyalties that that gets.

Fuck Chicago (the one thing all the small towns can band together to agree on)

Going to Church on Christmas Eve -- in general, the small town Midwest is highly Christian and relatively devout (it will be Known if you don't regularly attend church and is a minor scandal), but, regardless, Christmas Eve services are a big deal. I remember spending many a Christmas Eve that I spent on the couch watching Christmas movies, which I interrupted to go to service with my family.

Re: the reply above, Lion's Club Pancake Breakfasts in the spring. One of the community highlights of the year. (And, again, not to say this is UNIQUE to small town Midwest, but it is to say that it was more important there, because it was an event the whole community could go to. That isn't as important in a bigger town.)

Camo prom dresses. (Camo in general in clothing.)

Speaking with neighbors, chatting with cashiers at the store, etc. When I moved to a bigger area, I actually had a bit of a culture shock because the neighbors didn't socialize with us, whereas in small town culture, it's the first thing people do when someone new moves in.

Private fireworks are generally (note "generally") not as big on the Fourth of July (another American cultural institution) as they are in larger cities, since...there are a lot of farms miles apart from one another, so, it's more common in my experience to go to the largest nearby city to a mall or other large area for people to gather.

'White Americans don't have any culture, they're just [normal/boring/generic/empty]. 'Culture' is when you're quaint and exotic and have interesting ethnic foods and holidays." is such a grating bit of nonsense to have somehow become progressive commonsense in a lot of places.

[billconrad]

The Lies We Tell

    Humans are odd creatures, and deception is deep within our core. When we are sad, we mask our feelings with happiness but do not allow ourselves to become too happy. When we are rich, we tell everybody we are poor and then buy fancy cars. When angry, we pretend to be satisfied or overreact to get our point across.

    Our entertainment is full of bold lies, like the movie Star Wars. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Of course, we accept Star Wars is fiction, and viewers buy into the lie. They even have Star Wars themed weddings, clothing, YouTube channels, parties, and religions.

    We even lie to ourselves with a pep talk. “Hey, losing that job is just a setback.” Or a bold-faced deception. “My brother deserved to get hit.”

    Why do we lie? There are hundreds of reasons that range from minor personality faults to a full-blown psychopath. From harmless entertainment to a grifting career. Is it wrong to lie? Of course, we consider some lies “socially acceptable.” The movie Star Wars is “accepted fiction of the highest caliber.”

    A big part of our minds seems to contain a built-in lie generator that should improve our day. “Hey, Sam, what did you do last night?” “I went to a restaurant with some friends.” Sam actually sat at home and watched television alone. He lied to feel better about his life, and the lie gave him something to talk about. When further questioned, Sam invented more lies about the restaurant, including the girl he met. Soon, Sam created an entirely fictitious evening backstory. What is going on? The lie made Sam feel better and entertained the person he spoke with. All good things. Right?

    Of course, there are consequences to Sam’s lie. Sam now must remember the lie, which does not come naturally because the event never happened. Sam’s friends might find out about the lie and get angry about being lied to. The lie will continue to spread and entangle his life.

    Is Sam proud of his lie? At first, he enjoyed lying, but now he regrets it. Will Sam lie next week about a different restaurant?

    There is another class of liars. The people who truly believe the lie. For example, the flat earth society uses any means to keep its lie alive, including deception, corruption, and violence. One could explain this class of people with psychology, but these people know that the lie is a lie, yet they still believe.

    Where did all this lying start? As children, we did not have much going on because our parents made all the decisions, but there was freedom on the playground. There, we met our friends, and together, we embellished. Perhaps we lied, rebelled, or entertained our friends. Lying is a skill that gets better with age. Most people grow out of bold lying and limit their half-truths to a minimum. Some people embrace lying and take it to impressive levels.

    What about a fiction writer? In a way, they lie all day long and put a disclaimer on their work to show fiction. Yet, some try hard to deceive people, and others cannot differentiate between them.

    It is easy to write a lie. “Sam told his friend that he went to a restaurant.” The truth is that I do not know anybody named Sam. Now, let’s go a little further. “The vampire walked into the room.” There have never been vampires, and there never will be. However, that simple statement is entirely acceptable. Readers know there are no vampires, but they agreed in advance to be entertained. So, they accept this non-truth.

    Is it ethical to be a fiction writer? Or are they simply liars? I suppose the ethical questions can be answered by how the work presentation. If a writer fully acknowledges the fictitious aspect and does not pass their work off as real, then they act ethically. And their readers are ethical because they want to be entertained and accept a lie. Also, let us not forget that the early rocket pioneers dreamed of going to space just like their comic books.

    What about me? Of course, I am guilty of lying to others and myself. I regret any harm that my lies have caused but embrace my mental fantasy world. I want to think I have come up with some creative plots with this “lie generator.” Still, I do my best to be an honest person. Or am I lying now? It is hard to say because the thing that invents the lies is telling me not to lie about lying. Bummer.

    You’re the best -Bill

    March 09, 2024

    Hey book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:

    Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.

    Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.

    Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.

    Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.

    These books are available in soft-cover on Amazon and eBook format everywhere.

[echantedtoon]

Love Is For Bloomin' Pecknecks! Ch3 The Bird Movie Awards

Well she had to admit this acting gig wasn't too bad. After agreeing she was subjected to a few things. Being measured for costumes, scripts, many owls in her face reminding her and Muriel of their places and lines and how ABSOLUTELY important it was to say and do things at the precise times. Which wasn't the hard parts. She was used to multitasking and being precise with movements and times from cooking complex and big dishes especially if she was in a hurry to do so. And remembering the lines wasn't a problem. It was no different than memorizing a complex recipe which came with ease to her. She just kept telling herself that this was a recipe for greatness which helped her focus. Didn't want a recipe for disaster. As days and even weeks and months rolled by she worked with Conductor on most of the scenes which mostly went ok but there was setbacks and mistakes. Mostly made by the owls or Muriel sometimes. Ripped costumes,  saying the wrong word, delayed responses, Conductor not satisfied with someone's tone or the train for the scenery was too fast paced. Things like that. It was just two weeks before the awards ceremony that they were filming the final and most important scene. The ending scene where the 'Road Runner' escaped with the damsel. All they had to do was jump into the caboose as the train moved along and dislodge the caboose from the rest of the train. After the scene was shot the train would be slowed down, the caboose attached, and then that would be it. The movie completed. And everything was going so well. Don't get her wrong she was absolutely PETRIFIED to jump from one moving car to another, and she gripped onto the Conductor as he made the jump with her. Safely in the car as the rest of the movie played out. Two Express owls filming from the roof as the last of the movie's ending played out perfectly!

The mayor shouted just as the door behind her opened and two owls in police uniforms stood there with glares. One shook a fist at the bandit as he stood and placed one arm around Cooke as the two watched from the doorway as they got farther away after Conductor undid the caboose from the rest of the train like planned.

"ROAD RUNNER!!", the owl actor shouted perfectly enraged and loud at them.

Conductor cackled and took off his hat to wave goodbye to them all. Cookie pressing a kiss to his cheek making him freeze and blossom into a bright red as the train car got farther and farther away on the track as they became a tiny speck on the desert surrounding them. Slowly the caboose steadily came to a stop as did the train farther up the track signaling the movie's end. Conductor still frozen red faced long enough to make Cookie blink at him...before the owl slowly turned to her as his feathers poofed up. 

"Ah-...Uh....D-Did ye j-jus smooch me, L-Lass?"

Cookie blinked before her own face turned an embarrassing shade of red. "W-W-Well ah me-mean-..W-Was I n-not supposed to?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, before shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Nah. Tis fine. *AHEM!* W-We should stand back while the birds b-back up me baby to retrieve me rear end."

"Oh. Um. Ok!"

-Two Weeks Later-

A train whistled loudly as the world past them whizzed by through the window. This was it. They were off towards Express City to the Cardinal Theater where the awards ceremony would be waiting. Muriel looked excitedly out the window as the desert turned into a giant city with skyscrapers and so, so, SO many owls walking around. Didn't bother Cookie however after growing up in a city and seeing the Moon City so many times. You could say she was used to city atmosphere. They were riding in first class with none other than Conductor who drove everyone there on his train before it slowly came to a stop and he started fiddling with the innercom controls with the help of a fretting owl. 

"Blasted. Consarnit- IS THIS THING ON ORRRR NOT!?....OH!! Don't give me that look ya peckneck! What are ye on?! Birdseed?! ....Oh. It's on ain't it? *ahem* Passengers. Just lettin' ya know that we'll be stopping in Express City in a wee bit. Make sure all ye hightail it off me baby when we stop! I won't tolerate stragglers left aboard! That me YOU ye fish smellin' penguin hooligans! Ok. I'm done makin' ye announcements but don't say I didn't warn ye if ya git in trouble!............PECKING!! HOW THE BLAZES DOES ONE TURN THIS BLASTED THING OFF-"

"Conductor."

The frustrated owl turned his head to Cookie who pointed to the button he pressed. "You just turned it off there."

".....Oh. I knew that!" She chuckled as he straightened up clearing his throat with a smile. "N-Now when the train stops just stick with me and ye should have nah problem finding ye place. I've been here every year so I know the way 'round!"

She nodded. "Alright then."

Once they stopped Cookie made sure to loop her arm in Conductor's to make sure she didn't get lost in the crowd and hold onto to Muriel's hand tightly. She was used to the push and large crowd of Express Owls that they walked into once off the train and all the way towards this giant theater. The red carpet and bouncer at the door was a bit new but once seeing the Conductor, let them inside no problem. The entire inside was fancy as well with giant crystal chandeliers and red carpet everywhere. It was beautiful but also so dizzy. Luckily Conductor must've noticed their looks or been too restless to actually wait for it all to start because he took them straight to the screen room to sit them down. Rows and ROWS of chairs were seated in long rows inside of the room and there was two pairs of stairs on either side for the birds to walk up or down it as they all went and took their seats in the very front of the room. The best seats according to him. Not too long after the seats around them began to fill up and someone entered the stage in front of them. In the very front of the large room and lit up by lights was a white screen and red curtains surrounding it. A single owl lady wearing a sparkling white dress stood on the stage with a microphone in one hand watching everyone sit and checked a watch on her other wrist and a spot light on her.  As the last few birds were rolling in to take their seats, someone closed the doors and the owl on stage tapped on the microphone getting everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen. And birds of all ages. Welcome to the 500th Annual Bird Movie Awards Ceremony!", she said out cheerfully and the crowd cheered. Poppy winced since AGAIN she wasn't used to being around such a large group, and the owl lady smiled. " Im your humble hostess, Featherica Talonsberg and It is my pleasure to be hosting yet another year of celebrating creativity and movie magic to wow the crowds this year. As this is also our first ever year of asking our beloved filmmakers to follow the theme of love! Whether it be tragic heartache, romance, the love of a family, or something else, it's the creativity and story you'll be judged upon! The ultimate award being nominated this year's winner and awarded love movie of the year!" Another small cheer but it died down quicker as the owl lady held up her hand. "Please help me welcome this year's panel of judges!" The spot light moved from her and to the front row of the theater but Cookie couldn't see too well beyond the loud cheering. "Please welcome writing of Penguin's Next Talent, Penny Gwin." A pink suited penguin with a bow around her hat sat there. "Famous retired film Director Mr. P. Fin." Different from the penguins and owls a very old puffin sat there next to the pink penguin. "Make up designer Owlette Eggsberta." Another elderly looking owl with a permanent serious face and huge glasses. "And this year's special guest judge. Author of the hit new children's book Starella and long standing beloved writer, Pen Gwen!" A male penguin wearing the regular sunglasses and suit but no hat sat beside the very elderly owl and nodded to her as the spot light rotated back to the owl and  there was three owls and penguins each on either side of the stage filming the entire stage. "And to those of you at home who are watching live, welcome! We hope you're enjoying all that will be shown this day. A quick word of thanks from our sponsor-" She motioned to one side of the stage and an owl in a headset scurried out with a sign under his wing and held it up next to her. Why...IT WAS COOKIE!! Holding a soup label and a cafe's logo under her. "Cooking Cat's Jukebox Cafe! Where you can experience real Nyakuza Metro food without the danger of the cat city. Located right across Dead Bird Studios." She waved the other owl off and he quickly scuttled away from the stage as the camera focused back on her. "Now. With those introductions out of the way, it's my pleasure to introduce the first nominee. Directed and shipped in by last year's winner Mr. Conductor. Ladies and gentlemen. I give you 'Railroad Runners'."

They all clapped as the lights on the stage dimmed and the owl walked off stage to the left as the white screen lit up a static before the numbers appeared. . The cheering died down. The four judges brought out their clipboards and pens paying very close attention. And the numbers on the white screen counted down.

3.....2.....1.....

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

A train whistle broke the silence of the morning sun that shined through the windows and onto the smiles of happy folks. Lady owls in beautiful dresses and bonnets, men in dashing suits. Yes. Only the best for the wealthy here as they made their way to the city for their business or otherwise. The train was the best there was for these folks. Velvet and cashmir seats. Lovely carpets and shiny wooden floors. Servants at their every beck and call. Delicious food. It was everything they could ask for even cool air from the hot sun outside. But even the sun's hot rays couldn't dry up the tears coming out from the lovely lady's eyes. The pretty kitty sniffed and delicately dabbed her eyes with the pink hankerchief in her paws before blowing her nose into it. Her pretty orange fur shown as bright as a tigerlily and her bright yellow eyes gleamed like the shinest gold as she just stared blankly at her lap. The pretty white laced dress and bonnet on her looking plain but still pretty and allowed her natural beauty in her fur show.

"Honestly, Catrina. What good would crying do now?," asked a scottish accented voice. Across from the lovely cat sat a girl with long blonde hair wearing a snazzy suit and tie. The only strange thing about her was the fake Mustache she insisted on wearing everywhere. Currently she was sitting with her arms crossed and brow raised. "You must've known it would've happened either way now. It was only a matter of time."

"Yes but-....*sniff* I-I thought I had more time," she answered back with a country accent back.

To which her companion's hard expression softened and she sighed. "It can't be helped, Caterina. Arrangements for your marriage has already been decided and I can't change that."

Oh yes. Life of a rich man's daughter. Her father owned a very plentiful oil field in the desert making him very wealthy and being his daughter made her unfortunately very, very eligable for marriage to a lot of men. Even if her heart already belonged to another, she loved him so much. Not that her parents cared. They accepted a proposal from a rich man from the city and within a day everything was arranged. She was to be married within a week's time of her arrival there to 'get to know your future inlaws' her mother had explained to her. But to her it just meant a prison with strangers until her marriage to a complete stranger. Then she'll never get to see himself. Her eyes gazed out the window and watched as the world went by. Hot sand. Cacti. Sand dunes. The bright blazing trails. Everything she knew would be gone as soon as she met the city at the end of he day and more so when she was married. And never see HIM again. Never again would she be able to sneak out with him, or meet his warmth, or get to be in his presence again.

"He d-didn't even say good bye to me. *hic*"

The mayor had been asked by her father to accompany her on her long journey there to make sure she got there safely. Or more likely she thought, to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't run off like she really wanted too. To try and find HIM. The one person who she was truely in love with and so they could run away together...Too bad that idea was shut down.

"I just-....W-Wished I could see him one last time. A-At least to say good bye."

She looked up from the window when the mayor put a hand to her shoulder in comfort, a pitiful look on her face. "I know, Catrina. I wish things could be different too. But sadly there's no one who could change this."

Or at least that's what they thought-

BAM!! BAM!! BAM!!

The unmistakable sounds of gunshots rang through the air followed by maniac laughter among them. The aristocrats around them panicked, squawking out and standing suddenly panicking at the sounds of it all. The mayor jumping at the sudden noises with a look of shock before she suddenly glared in the direction of the sounds before holding up a hand in front of the shocked cat in a protective stance. Catrina's fur stood right on end staring blankly at the sounds that were swiftly approaching the back of the cart. They were in the very last train car. So WHO could be out there with guns and laughing like a lunatic?!....Only one person she knew-

SLAM!!

The door was kicked open with a powerful kick revealing the person behind it. The train car fell silent as speers on cow boots jingled with every step the figure took making a metal jingle to him. Two shiny weapons were in his hands, which explained the gun shot noises. The poncho and cowboy hat on his head matched perfectly with the brown bandanna tied around his mouth as his yellow feathers twitched menacingly every few seconds. The bandit had arrived. Everyone's eyes widened. The owls in fear. Catrina's in surprise.

"I-IT'S THE ROAD RUNNER OF EXPRESS CITY!!,'' one lady cried out in fear before fainting into her husband's arms.

"AHEHEHEHEHE!!!," the man cackled and brandished his weapons, "AYE YA LASS!! TIS RIGHT 'BOUT THAT!!"

"P-Please!," a man begged quickly grabbing his watch and holding it out to him. "You c-c-can have anything you want! B-B-But please don't hurt us!!"

"OHOHO!!! Ya think I'm here forrrrrr that rubbage?" He asked turning his head slightly towards Catrina and smiled under the mask. "No! I want this whole train car ta meself!!" He pointed. "An' if you pecknecks know what's good for ye, ya'll skidaddled to the next one NOW!!"

In an instant all the owls fled. Feathers flew. Fancy bonnets and things were dropped to the ground. The door to the next train car up was thrown open as they all crowded out in a rowdy crowd of sqawks and screams to get away from the fiend. The mayor grabbed Catrina's paw and pulled her up to try and hurry her out to safety too but soon the face of the bandit snapped to them with the movement.

"Except you two! You lassies stay rrrrright where ye are!"

Both of them froze as the bandit stomped towards the door with people still flocking out of it, keeping his eyes on him (or no eyes technically) as he did. The remaining owls panicked and pushed one another out of the car before he approuched. The bandit grabbed the door and slammmed it shut behind them and turned the lock on the door with a clicked. Looking at it with a hum before turning around to the two ladies in the seat a little aways from him. With a click, the weapons were put away back into his holsters, and he walked towards them. The mayor growled and put herself between them with her arms out before Catrina in a protective stance.

"STAY BACK YOU BAD GUY!!", she growled out in warning but jumped when Catrina grabbed her shoulder.

"Ms. Mayor wait!", she pleaded looking at the bandit approuching. His footsteps and jingling holsters echoing throughout the practically empty car other than the sounds of the train tracks. Catrina's eyes widened at the bird who just looked at her for a moment before reaching up to yank his bandanna down revealing his face. And her eyes widened even more as her heart skipped a beat. "IT'S YOU!!"

The beak of jagged teeth smiled at Catrina softly before reaching up to take off his hat as he looked at her. "Aye. Tis me lass. I'm sorry I'm late to be here."

She gave a small frown. "Why didn't you come see me before I left?"

This time he gave an apologetic frown. "Lassie, I assure ye I tried me hardest. But those no good peckneck Sheriff was on me tail! I couldn't get here earlier if ah tried."

She puffed her cheeks out in a pout and crossed her arms. "I'm still cross with ya. You didn't even come to see me before I was put on the train."

He looked more nervous. "I know. I know. B-B-But Im here now. Better late than never."

"EXCUSE ME!?" The mayor shoved more between them and gave a glare to this bandit. "You're the RailRoad Runner! The one that's always doing crimes and tricked Catrina into falling for you so you'd take her father's wealth! What do you think you're doing here?!"

The yellow bird gasped looking at her. "That's rubbage! Aye would never try anything like that with the woman who holds me heart!"

Catrina's eyes widened as she looked at him and he smiled genuinely at her. "Oh mah darlin'!"

The mayor yelped when she was pushed aside in favor of Catrina pushing past her and hugging this dust covered bandit, to which he gladly returned the hug and his face bloomed out a bright red as did the tips of his feathers. A hand gently tipped her head up towards him as he chuckled. "Ahehehe! Aye knew you'd be the lass fer me when ah saw those pretty gold eyes at the opening of yer papa's company last year.~"

"And I knew you were just the bird for me when you didn't care I was a girl and complimented mah cooking skills.~"

"Aye. You do make a beautiful birdseed pancake stack.~"

"Excuse me!" They bothe looked over at the mayor who crossed her arms and gave the two of them a glare. "This is a touching story and all, but if you don't know she's engaged already! That's what we're on the train for! So she can go get married!"

"Aye I know. That's why I came." He smiled down at Catrina red faced and feathers wriggling excitedly. "Kitty. Ah-....I want ye to run away with me."

Catrina gasped and the mayor's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

"AYE!! I love 'er too much to see her be unhappy in the arms of some wild hooligan fancy coat wearing peckneck! Ah want her happiness!"

"And I want that too!" She held onto him tighter and looked at the mayor. "Didn't ya'll say you'd wish things were different? Well this is my chance! We can be happy together!"

The mayor didn't look so sure. "Catrina....*sigh* Even if you two did run away, how long would it be until they caught you and brought you back? You'd be a fugitive of the law! A bad guy! Your father's reputation would be ruined and w-what about the deal with your fiancé?"

"No one would have to know I left. Let them think I was kidnapped to spare my father." Her grip around him increased, "But I would rather spend jail with him than a high society life with a stranger for the rest of my life. Ms. Mayor. Please, if you have a heart, then let this be our way to a new life together. Of happiness and love. Let us chose who we want to be in love with and not force us apart for sake of money or riches."

The mayor hesitated. Looking between her and the bandit who had caught her heart before sighing and crossing her arms. "Are you sure you can be happy with a life on the run with a bandit who did crimes?"

"Absolutely!," she didn't hesitate to say so.

The mayor eyed her beloved. "And how can I know you would be kind and good to her?"

"I came her and risked me life being caught to ask her to run away with me. I'd give up my entire life of crrrrime for me lass.~"

.......With another sigh she asked. "Alright. And what if you're caught? They'll just make her come back and get married again."

"Not if she marries me first!"

Both ladies looked at him as Catrina blinked sparkly eyed. "R-Runner. W-What are you saying?"

He smiled taking her hand in his. "Ah'm sayin'. I want ye ta marry me, Lass."

Her eyes widened even more to the point she looked like she might cry. "YES!!" She threw her arms around him. "YES I WILL!!"

"And how are you two supposed to do that exactly?"

The bandit looked at her with a sly smile. "Why did ye think aye asked ye to stay behind? You'rrrre an official with thee power to wed us. Do it an we would never have to worry 'bout that fear eva again."

The mayor looked at him obviously taken aback. "Now why would I agree to something as brash at this?"

"So no one would be able to take her frrrreedom away from 'er if we do get caught." His feathers along his head twitched to the left and he looked towards the door. "....We nay got much time beforrrre security arrive and stop us."

.....The mayor sighed. "Alright. I'll do it. But I don't supposed you've got a plan."

His jagged maw stretched up in a very wide smirk as he did. "Jus' do exactly as I saw."

CLANG!!

The pike connecting the last train car to the rest of the other was being pulled away from the bandit as the Mayor was speaking the normal needed things one would say to a couple being wed, standing on the doorsteps leading to the second to last car train as the bandit worked, the door jammed and locked behind her. Both stopped and looked up when rapid banging noises came from it. No doubt the train's security coming to stop the bandit after the crowd of scared owls went flocking in. It sounded like the door would break down any moment, so the bandit in creased the strength of his pulling and the mayor hurried up with her speech sweating like one of those drive through weddings in Las Owls.

"Catrina, do you say I do?!" She spat out pushing her long blonde hair away from her face.

"YES!!," the cat called back from the dislodged train car.

"And I don't suppose you do too?!"

"AYE!!"

With another pull, the clamp connecting the two train cars finally came apart and the bandit fell back into the disconnected car as is pulled away from the rest of the train.

"THEN JUST KISS ALREADY!!"

the mayor shouted just as the door behind her opened and two owls in police uniforms stood there with glares. One shook a fist at the bandit as he stood and placed one arm around Catrina as the two watched from the doorway as they got farther away.

"ROAD RUNNER!!"

The bandit cackled and took off his hat to wave goodbye to them all. Catrina pressing a kiss to his cheek making him freeze and blossom into a bright red as the train car got farther and farther away on the track as they became a tiny speck on the desert surrounding them.

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

The crowd of penguins and owls erupted in cheers, whistles, and claps as they applauded the end of the movie as the credits rolled. It said things as they all rolled past like Conductor as Road Runner. Cooking cat as Catrina. Muriel as The Mayor. Express Owls as Extras. Directed by Conductor. Script Writer Conductor. So on and so forth.

 "Alright everybody! Let's give a big round of applause for Mr. Conductor's fabulous movie and all the people who helped him work on it!" Another small round of applause came from the crowd and died down as she continued talking. "Thank you for that marvelous showing! I'm sure we can agree that the original ideas you always bring us was outdone this year! Alright everyone. While the judges make their final notes on the movie, it's my pleasure to introduce to you this year's other nomination. You know him for his groovy and out of this world performances, please welcome DJ Grooves's Starella: Live On Stage. Based on the widely popular childrens' book, Starella written by our very own guest judge, Pen Gwen."

The audience quieted down again and the judges readied a new piece of paper to judge the next show as the screen counted down again and Mr. Grooves's play was played. Muriel paid very close attention to her favorite story book coming to life and Cookie chuckled at the sight of her. While the play wasn't as flashy as his usual works, it was cute and easy to follow, and followed the storybook to a T. 

The crowd's cheering died down as the lights lit up the stage again and the same lady owl came back on as the screen went back to it's regular white. "Wow! Wasn't that lovely? Who'd have thought we'd get a forbidden love story and a play straight out of a fairytale all in one night? Let's have a round of applause for Mr. DJ Grooves and his wonderful staff for bringing us that lovely treat, eh?" A small round of clapping ensued. "Thank you to all the contestants today for such a lovely performance by both teams, but as we know there can only be one winner of the Annual Bird Movie Awards this year. While the judges go over their notes and decide who shall be this year's pick, please exit back into the main lobby to your right as they do where we'll be doing some live interviews with the cast and people behind this year's movies and see what they have to say. Please throw away any wrappings and leftover garbage into the trash bins on your way out."

Everyone began piling out and with Muriel being hungry they joined in although the Conductor was quickly spotted out to be interviewed by a camera crew. He paused looking back at Cookie who nodded.

"Go right ahead. We'll jus' be gettin' food."

So they left him to be interviewed. They were away for a little while. Got in line to grab some food when they were spotted by Poppy and her small crew of lady friends. So together the group of six girls waited in line and got their food and talked complimenting each other on their roles in the movies and eating away. A couple fans recognized her from her cooking show and she was happy to sign some autographs for fans. They also ran into Mr. Grooves for a little bit. They were just talking when the announcement happened.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!!" A loud voice boomed out and everyone looked over to the same owl lady that was previously talking to Conductor a little while ago. She stood in the middle of the room with both cameras on her, the judges behind her, and an owl holding a shiny gold trophy gleaming in their arms. "The judges have decided after much careful planning and the winner is about to be announced!" The room clambered with happy excitement as well as the small group and Mr. Grooves immediately laser focused on her as she looked to one of the judges. This was it. Oh boy this was it. Her heart beat picked up as did her breathing, her forehead sweating a bit as the owl lady was handed a piece of paper by one of the judges. She brought it to her face to read it. "And the winner of the 500th Annual Bird Movie Awards Ceremony is-........" She smiled and suddenly pointed somewhere away from her. "CONDUCTOR!!" The cackling bird walked up to the owl lady as the took the trophy from the other owl and handed it to Conductor who happily took it with a wide smile and shook her hand when she offered her wing. The crowd around them cheering as they did. "Congratulations, Mr. Conductor on your fabulous win!! Is there anything you'd like to say to the folks watching this success?" She offered the mic to him.

"Ahehehe!! Aye couldn't have done it without me lassie!! Not that I didn't think I wouldn't win, cuz who didn't?", he said smugly to the camera and she nodded before turning back to the cameras.

"Well this has been a rather exciting and eventful evening with lots of wonderful acting and talent. While the winner celebrates his victory, we'll go for a small commercial break. Stay tuned because it's not over yet. Later we'll have live interviews with the staff and actors behind the scenes of the movies tonight along with the judges and Mr. Grooves about how he's taking the loss of this year. Stay tuned for all the exciting bonus behind the scenes content as well. Expect a word from our sponsor and even a secret interview with our special guest judge about their books and upcoming series. See you all back after the break." She made a cutting motion with her hand and the cameras were lowered from her.

Oh no. Poor Mr. Grooves. He looked so heart broken after it was announced that he lost but one more surprise awaited him. Mr. Grooves was offered a deal with the book writing for a whole movie series based off his books! She was so happy for him. The rest of the night was a bit exhausting. She signed more autographs, ate, gave a small interview, and then met with Mr. Grooves to catch up and all that. She remembered the girls caught up with her to say good bye before disappearing as well. Cookie met back up with Conductor once Muriel started yawning and rubbing her eyes to take them back to the train. Wasn't hard to find him gloating in the corner holding a shiny golden trophy in his arms but he did stop to lead them back to the train trophy in one arm while Cookie held the other. Muriel immediately collapsed tiredly into one of the seats as the old bird took a moment to talk to Cookie before starting the train back up to take them back to Express Town.

He smiled red faced free hand fiddling with his collar. "I-I can't thank ye enough, Lassie. Ahehe. Ye did a fine job."

"Oh you flatterer. I'm sure you would've won anyways even if I didn't help you. Your movie was delightful!"

He hummed nodding for a moment before looking to the side....he quietly mumbled something to himself Cookie couldn't hear before he looked back at her with a nervous grin face a deeper shade of red. "A-Ah still want ta make it up as promised."

"Oh. You don't really have to do that. I was happy to help."

"N-Nah! Ye wouldn't even accept bein' prrrop-perly paid! Ti-Ti-Tis the l-least I could do for ya, Lass! I um...." She rose a brow tilting her head at him. "*a-ahem* W-W-Wot I mean to say is uh...Hmmmm." His feathers suddenly puffed up making her blink before he just shouted it out. "WOULD YE LIKE T-TA JOIN MESELF FOR SOME DINNER NEXT WEDNESDAY MAH TREAT!?"

Silence.

Cookie stared at him in shock from the sudden loud yell, and Muriel stirred in her sleep from where she was laying but didn't wake up. Guess growing up in a loud town like Mafia Town made her used to sleeping through loud noises. Conductor stood there lightly shaking, red faced, gripping tightly to the trophy, feathers puffed up, and felt a bead of sweat running down his face the longer she stared at him silently....before she smiled.

"Sure. I'd love to!"

".....Wot-"

She leaned closer eyes sparkling and Conductor felt himself become redder. "I-I-I said ah'd LOVE ta have dinner with you! That is...I-If ya don't mind-"

"I NAH MIND!!," he shouted flustered gulping, "A-AYE CAN PICK YE UP AT SEVEN IF YE LIKES!?"

"Seven sounds great. Of c-c-course I'll have ta find a sitter for Muriel, b-but I can totally make this work!"

"YES! GOOD!! AYE!!" He turned on his heel feathers so poofy now that it looked like he had bad static shock. "I-I BETTERRRR GET ME B-BABY GOIN'!! W-WE'LL BE BACK AT S-SUNRISE!!"

"H-huh? OH! Yes. R-Right..G-Good idea!"

It wasn't until much later did she realize that the date set for their dinner was Cupid's Day....And she agreed to a DATE! A DATE!! WITH CONDUCTOR!! Hoo boy. She better find a babysitter and FAST!!

[heartlessfujoshi]

flufftober day 25 - reylo 'between the stars'

Title: Between the Stars Chapter: 5 of 6 Fandom: Star Wars Pairing: Reylo (Ben Solo x Rey) Rating: Teen (Modern AU - Slow Burn - Flirting - Tooth-Rotting Fluff - First Kiss - First Date - Sleepover - Introduction to Friends - Mild Angst - Panic Attacks) WordCount: ~2,890 Prompt: Nook

Read: Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4

---

Fixing the wig on his head, Ben stared back at his reflection and couldn’t believe what he saw there. First off, having blond hair was weird. He wasn’t sure he liked how he looked with it. He’s always had dark hair, and it was quite the shock when he’d first put on the wig to complete his transformation into Jareth for Hux’s Halloween soiree. The second shock was the make-up he was wearing. Did he watch a YouTube make-up tutorial specifically for Jareth’s make-up for the ballroom? Yes, he did. And he would be the first to admit that it looked pretty spot on, considering he’d never applied make-up before tonight. 

The blue waistcoat with tails wasn’t as bedazzled as Jareth’s was in the movie, but it was fine. It was passable. Anyone who had seen the movie, or at least a picture of David Bowie in the movie would think that it would be a good costume. Ben had it buttoned, the ruffles from his button up shirt sitting right where they should. He bought a costume jewelry necklace to complete the outfit. He had on his black riding boots, which he hadn’t worn in years. Thankfully they still fit, as his feet stopped growing when he was fifteen. 

His black trousers were much more constricting than how he would normally wear them. It was fine. They were tight on Bowie, so they would be tight on him. All in all, he had to admit that he made a pretty good Jareth. 

A text came through on his phone. “Lyft is showing I’ll be there in two. Are you ready? Can’t wait to see you. :)” Rey’s text came up on his screen. 

Picking up his phone, he typed a reply. “I will be outside waiting. I hope you will like it. Looking forward to seeing you too :)” He saw her heart react to his reply, and then stuck his phone into his inside coat pocket. He had no pockets on his pants, as they were too tight. Luckily, they were going to a party that wouldn’t require any sort of monetary necessities. He would be fine for the night without his wallet. 

He took one last look in the mirror, shaking his head as he walked away, still unsure of how he looked as a blond. He hoped that Rey wouldn’t be too horrified by it. Hopefully she would compliment him. Oh, no. This was a terrible mistake. 

But it was too late. He left his house, which would be the first time that Rey would be seeing it. They had discussed going to the party together, but Rey wanted to make sure if they were to be drinking, to do it safely. Ben didn’t have the heart to tell her he didn’t really care for alcohol, or any other mind altering substance, and had agreed that sharing a Lyft there would be the smartest thing to do. Plus, it would save them the headache of having to find a parking spot. 

A car he didn’t recognize pulled up to his driveway. In the back he could see somewhere wearing white, which was good enough for him. He approached the opposite side of the car from where he could see Rey was sitting, and opened the back passenger door. “Good evening, sir.” The Lyft driver greeted him. 

“Ben!” Rey squealed, bouncing up and down next to him. He saw that she was dressed in a beautiful white ball gown. It wasn’t as poofy as the one that Sarah wore in the movie, but putting the two of them next to each other, it would be impossible to not see what their outfits were trying to do. “You look amazing! That wig is great!” 

Reaching up, he touched some of the fake hair. “Do you think so? I was a bit worried it looked awful.” 

“You two kids look great.” Their driver pulled away from the curb. “Halloween party?” 

Rey nodded her head. “Yes! Can you tell what we are?” 

“Labyrinth?”

Ben smiled as Rey nodded her head with enthusiasm. “That’s correct. See, Ben? They’ll know what we’re doing.” She reached for his hand, and brought it up to her lips to kiss the back of it. “I can’t get over how you look. Are you….” She squinted at him as she turned towards him. “Are you wearing makeup??” 

“Of course.” He smirked, resting her hand on top of his thigh as he looked forward out the windshield. “I think it’s a necessary part of the outfit.” 

“How am I going to kiss you if you’re wearing makeup?” 

Ben laughed. “Rey, you’re not going to be kissing my eyes, are you?” 

“Okay, you have a point there.” 

He smiled, feeling a bit more relaxed now that Rey was next to him. He wasn’t really someone that went out of his way to go to a party like this, but since Rey and her two best friends were going to be there, it was less scary for him. He knew that even if he was having a bad time, Rey would follow his lead and go home with him. But he wasn’t planning on leaving early. No, he’d been looking forward to this party all week. 

Their driver pulled up to the address that Rey had given to him. “Here you two kids go. Have fun tonight. Thanks for being responsible.” He pointed to a box on the floor. “Feel free to take some candy if you want.” 

“Thank you.” Ben declined the offer, as he exited out of the vehicle. He held his hand out towards Rey, who took it, allowing him to help her out of the car. Once she was out, he closed the door and waved the driver off, while looking at her. “You look gorgeous, Rey.” 

She spun around, twirling her dress for him to see. “This is the most extravagant costume I’ve ever worn to one of these parties.” Rey curtseyed towards him, which had him bowing towards her. “It isn’t too much, is it?” 

“No.” He offered her his arm, which she took. “What time were Poe and Finn coming tonight?” 

“They should be here.” She led him towards the side of the house, where the entrance to the party was. “Let’s go find them?” 

“Sounds like a good plan, sweetheart.” 

The backyard was huge. There was a full sized pool towards the back, while there was ample room for a dance floor, as well as a stage where an orchestra was playing. Ben stared in awe, surprised by how opulent this event was. He was expecting a Halloween party - not an actual ball. Couples were dressed in a variety of costumes - some were elaborate like his and Rey’s costumes, while others had been purchased last minute. Or very close to it. But it was nice to see everyone in the holiday spirit. 

“Ben!” He turned his head and saw Poe waving his hand at him. He tapped the person standing next to him, which was his boyfriend, Finn. Both were dressed up in costumes that made Ben laugh. 

“What’s so funny?” Rey asked, as she returned to his side after going to grab them some ghoul juice - a mixture of lemonade and sprite. 

He took the red cup from her hand. “Your friends have picked a very unique costume.” 

“Did they now?” She turned to look, but failed to see them as they were approaching from behind her. “Where the heck are they?” 

“Hi, Rey.” Finn’s voice made Rey yelp in surprise, which made Ben laugh. “You two look amazing!” 

Ben turned to Poe, who was coming over to him. “Nice look, Indy.” Poe was wearing a leather jacket, with tan pants, and a whip at his side. 

“I’ll have you know that I am Chip from Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers, thank you very much.” Poe puffed his chest out, lifting his chin in triumph. 

He raised his eyebrow up. “So that means Finn isn’t Magnum P.I.?” 

“Nope. I am Dale.” 

“You know they’re brothers, right?” Ben asked. 

Poe and Finn laughed. “Yes, we know. And it’s nothing gross like that, so get that out of your head.” Finn wagged his finger at Ben. “We thought it would be an easy costume.” 

“It is.” Rey was now resting against his side. Without thinking about it, he lifted his arm and draped it around her shoulder. She fit so perfectly against him. “I like the Hawaiian shirt. Reminds me of TJ’s.” 

“Rey!” Finn groaned. “I don’t work at a grocery store.” 

“I know!” Her laughter brought a smile to Ben’s face. “I just said it looked like it. Not that it was a shirt from there.” 

Poe shook his head. “You guys look really great. Have you taken a picture inside yet?” 

“Is it set up again?” Rey asked, Ben curious as to what they were discussing. “I figured he wasn’t going to bring it back again after what happened last year.” 

“It’s there. And you can pick up any prop you want, but you have to return it.” Finn rolled his eyes. “As if we’d walk out of here with something like that.” 

Rey grabbed onto Ben’s hand. “Come on, Ben. Let’s go see.” 

“Where are we going?” He waved goodbye to Finn and Poe, who were heading over to the table where there was a plethora of things to eat. 

“You’ll see!” 

There was a line inside for something, which was what Rey wanted to do, so they got in line together. He kept her close as people walking by complimented them on their costumes, feeling a little overwhelmed by all of these strangers. But with Rey by his side, he found it much easier to tolerate than he would have if he had been alone. 

They came to the front of the line, and in front of them was a photobooth. Ben raised his eyebrow up as Rey began to go over to the table where there were items they could use in their pictures. “How about we use these?” She held up two domino masks stuck on sticks. “Or is that too cheesy?” 

“I think it’s perfect.” He took one of the domino masks, and then looked at the taped ‘X’ on the floor. “Would you like to use any others?” 

“No, I think this will do.” Rey’s brilliant smile brightened the room. He nodded, and then walked with her over to where they were supposed to stand. “We’ll take a nice one, a silly one, one with the mask, and then you choose?” 

“Alright.” 

He held her close as they stared at the camera, Rey pushing the button for it to start. As the time counted down, Ben kept a small smile on his lips, as he wanted her to be happy with how he looked. The second picture that they took, Rey had decided she was going to make a silly face, so he joined her with one of his own. The third, they held up their props and stared at the camera, both leaning forward with wide grins on their faces. For the final picture, he pulled her close to him, and then carefully dipped her backwards. Her peals of laughter made him laugh, and he could hear the photo being snapped as it happened. 

Lifting her back up, they moved to where the pictures were being printed. Rey held up her strip, and Ben felt his chest growing warm as he saw her smile. “Oh, Ben. These are perfect.” She held it up for him to see. 

“You’re perfect.” He told her, as his eyes were drawn to her beautiful face in each picture. 

Rey gave him a quick tour of the first floor of Hux’s house. The upstairs floors were off-limits, which was fine. There was plenty of space inside and outside to congregate without it feeling too suffocating. But as Ben was thinking that, he felt a mild anxiety attack begin to happen to him. Looking around, he tried to find a place that wouldn’t be too noticeable if he were to have a minor meltdown, and found what he was looking for around the corner. 

Grabbing onto Rey’s hand, he pulled her with him. He could hear her confused questions, but couldn’t answer as he was trying to maintain a calmness that he wasn’t feeling at all inside of his head. As soon as they got to where he saw, he felt the panic start to subside. Taking a quick look around, he saw no one paying them any mind as he pulled her into the small nook, away from everyone and everything. 

“Ben, what’s the matter?” Concern was evident in Rey’s voice, as she placed both of her hands on his face. “Talk to me, babe. What’s going on?” 

“P-Panic.” He stuttered, feeling a bit on the helpless side at the moment. But the touch of her hands was grounding him in a way he’d never experienced before, and held onto that feeling. He placed his large hands over hers, not wanting her to pull them away from him too suddenly. 

Her forehead touched his, as he hadn’t been aware he was leaning down to be closer to her. “I’m here, Ben. Breathe through it. It’s okay. No one is here. Only you and me.” 

“Us.” Ben closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. His heart rate was already subsiding to a more normal beating pattern, the panic slowly disappearing further. Rey’s cool hands stayed on his cheeks as she took a few deep breaths. Without realizing it, he followed her breathing pattern, calming himself by her presence alone. “Love you” He whispered, the words slipping out of his mouth. 

A soft gasp left her mouth, and then he felt her lips touching his with a delicate kiss. “No fair. I wanted to tell you first.” Rey whispered against his lips before kissing him again. “I love you too.” 

He realized what she’d said only a few seconds after realizing he’d said it first. He expected the panic to return, as the last person he’d ever confessed his feelings to had laughed in his face, and had made him feel like a complete fool. But Rey hadn’t done that. No, she had kissed him, and returned the sentiments of love, which he could feel surrounding them. 

His hands dropped, his arms now enveloping her to his body, as their mouths returned together for another deep kiss. Pulling back, he returned his forehead to hers and took a deep breath. “Thank you.” 

“For what?” She asked, as he felt her lower herself back down onto her feet. “I didn’t do anything.” 

“You did everything, sweetheart.” He couldn’t help but smile, as he stared into her eyes. “I’m sorry that I had an attack.” 

“You never have to apologize for something you cannot control.” Rey held onto both of his hands, the two of them staying close as the space called for it. The nook was private and perfect, and it was what Ben had needed to escape the party. “Are you okay now?” 

“I think so.” Ben nodded his head. “A little giddy, but that might be because of what you said.” 

“What I said? What about what you said.” She teased him, and then kissed him again on the lips. “Come on - we can go soon. Let’s go say hello to the host, and then goodbye to our friends?” 

He didn’t miss how she had addressed Finn and Poe as their friends. Ben could only nod his head, as he was overcome with emotion. Rey led him to where Armitage liked to spend his parties, introducing him to the host. All Ben remembered was shaking his hand, and then found himself outside with both Finn and Poe, who were now looking at Rey’s photobooth pictures. 

“You guys look so happy.” Finn smiled, as he handed the strip back to Rey. “And you’re leaving now, aren’t you?” 

“We are.” Rey nodded. “I’ve got a bit of a headache.” 

Ben knew that wasn’t true. But he didn’t bother to clue them into her white lie, as he arranged for a Lyft to pick them up. They said their goodbyes after taking a few group pictures together thanks to some random stranger, and then left the party to go and grab their Lyft back to his place. 

He helped her out of her ballgown in his bedroom, after they had decided she would spend the night here, as it was very late. His wig came off easily, as did the crown of jewels Rey had put into her own hair. Her fingers took care of the delicate buttons on his ruffle shirt, and then the two of them were falling into bed together, kissing and holding each other like two lovers would do. 

“I love you.” Rey whispered into his ear, after he thought she had fallen asleep. 

Smiling, he turned his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I love you too, Rey.” 

She soon began to snore against his arm, which made him smile. This was definitely a party he would never forget, as it would always be remembered as the place where he hadn’t been afraid to share his feelings with Rey. 

---

Cross-posted to AO3

[sci-fiworlds]

A Sci Fi Worlds Interview with Nick Redfern

After my Doctor Who piece came out in issue four of Alien Worlds, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that UFO and Cryptozoology author Nick Redfern thought it was "excellent," which really made my day because I've read and enjoyed so much of his work over the years. So, following the success of my Sci-Fi Worlds interview with Nick Pope (where I got Pope's take on Doctor Who and other cult shows) I thought it might be interesting to do another interview in a similar vein with the "monster hunter," himself.

Richard Thomas: First thanks for agreeing to do this interview so soon, its not that long since our Room 101 interview so its much appreciated.

Nick Redfern: No probs!

Richard Thomas: When I was about five or six my dad bought me a two video pack of the 1975 Tom Baker stories The Sontaran Experiment and Genesis of the Daleks. After that I soon started watching Sunday morning repeats on UK Gold. Can you remember how you first became a Doctor Who fan?

Nick Redfern: I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of Doctor Who; as I don't think I've actually watched it since Tom Baker finished, aside from one or two episodes of the new series in about 2006. I saw the one with Peter Kay and the guy out of Hustle, and I thought that was a very good one. I did enjoy it as a kid, and particularly with Jon Pertwee. I can't really remember much of it now, just a few fragments of certain episodes from the time. Thirty years ago is a long time! I'm sure I got interested, though, like most kids of my age back then, from watching it at teatime on a saturday night.

Richard Thomas: Growing up in the 1990s I'm from the generation of children that was cheated out of having their own Doctor by the BBC. (Unless you count the 1996 Paul McGann TV Movie.) Who was your favourite Doctor growing up and what do think made him unique compared to the others?

Nick Redfern: I'd definitely say Jon Pertwee. He was flamboyant and adventurous, and a bit eccentric, and had an old vintage car he drove around in; and I liked those aspects of it all. He wasn't a typical James Bond-type; and that was good. There's way too much lazy thinking in TV, where people won't take a chance, and many of the characters are very stereotypical, and I think the character of Doctor Who has always been the exact opposite of this. Jon Pertwee's was a very memorable Doctor Who. I don't remember the people who came before him, and never really watched it after Tom Baker. Of the couple of episodes from the latest series I've seen, I thought it was pretty good.

Richard Thomas: The Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker years are often considered the golden age of Doctor Who, what are some of your favourite stories from this era and why?

Nick Redfern: I remember the Sea Devils one, one with Daemons, and one set at Loch Ness. I suppose I remember them mainly because of my interest in Cryptozoology. Plus, I'm not really much of a fan of sci-fi; and have never been interested in things like Star Wars; Battlestar Galactica; etc. If I ever watch sci-fi, it's mainly conspiracy-type sci-fi set on Earth, like The X-Files, The Invaders, Kolchak etc, which is probably why I liked - and remember - these specific episodes and stories of Doctor Who.

Richard Thomas: For me the scariest thing about the Daleks and the Cybermen is the fact that both species were originally humanoid beings much like ourselves. This is a bit of a weird question but with the transhumanist movement and futurists like Ray Kurzweil talking about a nearing "Technological Singularity" do you think we have anything to fear from Davros-like mad scientists on Earth?

Nick Redfern: I actually remember Davros well; because when I was at school we had an old wrinkled teacher who looked just like him! LOL. And that's what we nicknamed him. As for having things to fear from similar, real-life scenarios like this, I'd say that as technology and medicine progresses, it's vital that it's kept in check. Yes, we definitely need to advance as much as possible in a positive way; but we also have to ensure we don't cross the line into darker areas, such as down the road to "designer children" and things like that where so-called modifications might start to be made at the genetic level. Our scummy leaders might like a whole nation of identical, subservient types born out of a test-tube, but we definitely need to stay away from all that.

Richard Thomas: If the Daleks and Cybermen ever wiped each other out for good who do think would emerge as the new Doctor Who king of monsters?

Nick Redfern: How about the Chupacabras?

Richard Thomas: As a monster hunter yourself, if you were ever asked by the Doctor Who production team to suggest or even invent a new adversary for the series what do you think it would be?

Nick Redfern: As above, I'd say the Chupacabras. Having been on several expeditions to Puerto Rico looking for it, I don't think for one minute that the Chupacabras is really some sort of pet or secret experiment of aliens. I think those theories are all laughable bollocks. But that scenario, of a vicious alien Chupacabras coming to Earth, and maybe finding its way to Britain, would be a very good one for a fictional TV show. If the production team want help, I'm here!

Richard Thomas: From the Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster to Erich Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods, Doctor Who seems to have borrowed a lot from Cryptozoology and Ufology. As a successful author in both these fields what are your thoughts on this?

Nick Redfern: I think it's actually very cool. There are a lot of people in the fields of Ufology and Cryptozoology who whinge and moan when the subject is portrayed on TV, because they get very self-righteous and pompous about how they think it should be shown on-screen. I've even seen people complain when a fictional TV show changes - for example - some aspects of a famous case, such as Roswell. But these people need to get lives; they need to lighten up, and realise that TV-fiction is simply that: an entertaining story and nothing else. People should be able to watch a show that totally fictionalises a real event - if it's presented as fiction, and everyone realises that's what it is. As far as specifically crypto on TV is concerned, I love Primeval. I always watch that show. In fact, I'd say - for me, at least - it's the best paranormal type fiction show since when The X-Files was at its height. I particularly liked the last season finale with the Mammoth on the M25; that was a good one.

Richard Thomas: As well as the paranormal Doctor Who has also taken a lot of inspiration from cult sci-fi and horror films. I understand your a big zombie film fan, what do you think it is about them you like so much and what is your favourite zombie film?

Nick Redfern: I'm not sure I could say this or that is my definite favourite; it would depend on the mood I was in at the time. But, yeah, I love zombie films. I have a huge collection of them. I think, for me, and like a lot of people, part of the appeal is the whole apocalyptic nature of the stories. It's interesting that since the late 60s, zombies have been tied with end of the world type themes. But before that, you never really saw that. Rather, before then, it was just zombies here or there, and in a relatively normal setting. But, today, you rarely - if ever - see a zombie film that isn't connected to the end of the world, or some huge disaster. The two have become interconnected. But I like that. 28 Days Later was a very good one (although technically they aren't zombies, but are still alive and just infected with the "Rage Virus"); but I hated the ending of 28 Days Later. It was far too upbeat. They should have all got infected too. I don't wanna watch a zombie film where the hero and his girlfriend ride off into the sunset and everyone's happy. I want to see them get bitten, change, and then go on a zombie attack themselves. Or just get eaten and die in pain as the zombies tear them apart. A good night's entertainment! And I thought that Shaun of the Dead was excellent! It's difficult to do really good zombie-comedy, and Shaun is definitely the best example of how to nail it.

Richard Thomas: George Romero's Night of the Living Dead is one of my favourite films. Why do you think Romero's Dead films are so popular compared to other zombie films including remakes of Romero's original trilogy by other directors?

Nick Redfern: Well, I think he really cornered the market, and defined that whole aspect of the zombie outbreak leading to the collapse of civilisation, and he did it very well and in a unique way. I was a bit disappointed with Land of the Dead. But I liked his latest Diary of the Dead. He made a name as the definitive zombie filmmaker; and that will always be the case too, and that's great. He deserves it and earned it. But, in saying that, there have been some other very good ones. I love Italian horror films, and there's been a lot of good stuff come out of that whole genre too. It's not really zombies, but one of my all-time favourite horror films is Carnival of Souls (the 60s original.) That's a great film. As is Night of the Demon and Dead of Night.

Richard Thomas: The last few years have seen something of a revival in the zombie genre with films like 28 Days Later and its sequel, I Am Legend and Romero's fourth and fifth Dead films. Why do you think we've had this sudden rash of apocalyptic zombie films?

Nick Redfern: Well, I think it's pretty simple: part of it is that filmmakers and studios see a successful film or theme, and they follow a similar path, whatever the subject matter. If someone makes an apocalyptic zombie film and it's a big hit; then others follow suit. Same with werewolf films; or war films, or gangster films, etc. I did not like I Am Legend at all though. It wasn't terrible; it was just okay. But I was hoping for more than okay. Will Smith played the survivor role well. But I think we should have seen much more about the build-up to the disaster, how the virus spread, etc. The ending was wrong; and should have been very bleak; and not one that gives hope to people. Zombie films should never give any hope of any kind. Zombie films should be relentless right up to the last shot.

Richard Thomas: Your also a big fan of The Invaders, a 1960s X-Files-esq series starring Roy Thinnes as man desperately trying to warn the world about a covert alien invasion already underway. Why do you think your such a big fan of The Invaders as opposed to more well known series from the 60s like Star Trek or The Avengers?

Nick Redfern: Well, I'm more into conspiracy type TV things than sci-fi; and even though The Invaders was technically sci-fi, it was more about paranoia, conspiracies, cover-ups and dark secrets here on Earth. Frankly, TV shows with futuristic spaceships, with laser guns, and with people running around in silver suits on far-off worlds bore me shitless.

Richard Thomas: The Invaders seems to have been influenced somewhat by paranoid 50s films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Quatermass 2. Are you a fan of these or other paranoid sci-fi at all? And what do you think of the parallels with David Jacobs' theories presented in The Threat?

Nick Redfern: The Quatermass films were pretty good; and particularly Quatermass and the Pit. Yeah, I like to watch paranoia-type sci-fi. They Live was one I would put into that category which I enjoyed a lot. I also liked Lifeforce, from 1985, which blended sci-fi and a zombie outbreak in London. That was a very weird one, but an intriguing story, too. That's an interesting question re Jacobs. I actually see nothing positive about abductions; and see it all in a very negative light - as far as our role in abductions is concerned. Cattle being used is the term that comes to mind for me. All this stuff about how it's for our own good, and will help us, is crap. Whoever or whatever the kidnappers are, they have done nothing at all to help us - ever. If I ever see one of those little black-eyed bastards and I have a gun, I will blow it's head off. That's the way to welcome these creatures that do nothing but use us, exploit us, penetrate our airspace and suspiciously lurk around military bases for whatever reason. To me, they aren't a direct threat in the sense they are going to wipe us out. I think it's worse: we might be like cattle: reared and used.

Richard Thomas: As someone who writes about UFOs and related subjects have you ever felt a little like the character played by Roy Thinnes in The Invaders yourself?

Nick Redfern: LOL. A bit! I do get around a lot doing investigations and travelling about; and on-the-road investigations have a lot of intrigue and adventure attached to them. So, yeah, in that respect. But, unlike the David Vincent character in the show, I've never been shot at by aliens or been on a UFO! Maybe one day though!

Richard Thomas: I understand you had the chance to meet Roy Thinnes once. How did you meet? And did you manage to get his take on UFOs or anything like that?

Nick Redfern: Yeah, I did; and he's a really cool guy. We met at a TV shoot about 3 years ago. He was very down to earth, no ego, and was happy to chat and hang out. Yes, he's very interested in UFOs, and knowledgeable too. There's a few other people from TV sci-fi I've met too, and who were cool to chat with, and who were refreshingly completely lacking in all that Hollywood "don't talk to me" bullshit. One was Dean Haglund, who played Langly - one of the Lone Gunmen - on The X-Files. Like me, he's a big Ramones fan, and we had a good chat about music and stuff. The other was Chase Masterson, from Star Trek, and a lot of sci-fi films, who I hung out with for a couple of days last year.

Richard Thomas: What are your plans for the future? Are you working on any new books or has anything grabbed your attention recently?

Nick Redfern: I'm working on a couple of books: one on a US Government think-tank that investigated alien abductions back in the 80s. Also, a book on mystery animals of Staffordshire, such as sightings of big-cats, phantom black-dogs, etc. And I have a book coming out later this year that I think you will find interesting titled Sci-Fi Secrets, which is a study of how the worlds of official secrecy and sci-fi have crossed paths.

Richard Thomas: Sci-Fi Secrets sounds excellent, hopefully we'll be able to do another interview on that sometime. Thanks again.

Nick Redfern: Cheers Richard; you're welcome.

READ RICHARD THOMAS'S SCI-FI WORLDS COLUMN FOR BINNALL OF AMERICA

[staycatcher]

Hi again ❤️

I relate to Katara and Sokka too! For me it's because I'm transmasc and they both clearly show the weight of a gendered burden. Katara trying to escape her roles and Sokka embracing and making them his own. And I agree about Mai, Ty Lee, and Suki. I don't see as many people talk about them which I get, it's not like they're the main characters but they're still so important to the story. It makes me a little sad.

You're allowed to flame me for this but I think the song that got me really into kpop might have been War of Hormone by BTS. I guess I'm just glad it wasn't Gangnam style when it was viral but it should have been Girl's Generation.

You're right, every season is the right season for iced coffee. But hot cocoa is a good choice too. I like it with whipped cream and the little dried marshmallows and chocolate syrup on top.

What's your favorite holiday movie? I really like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and those old claymation movies! I used to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas the night before we opened presents at my house 🙂

🔍

Hey bestie~ Oh sick!! What are your pronouns (if you’re comfy)?🤗 and I totally relate (i mean I’m not trans masc but I relate in my own non-binary lesbian way) n yeah I Will talk to anyone who will listen about how katara n sokka perfectly represent how gender roles affect growing up and the hardships of navigating that and embracing things you actually relate to and overcome things that don’t. Like the fact that sokka started out being such a misogynist that katara fuckin broke the ice berg in rage!!! N now look at him at the end of the series!! Everyone always talks about Zuko’s character development (valid) but I feel like no one talks about Sokka’s especially in regards to him as a person n not just his skills! *gets off soap box*

N it’s okay I won’t flame you for that I’m just as guilty in those crimes😪😪 I loved that one so much I would legit play that song to my mom in the car. High school was such a time. Sometimes you just gotta love corny stuff it’s valid. I’m sure I’m more cringe that you I just ended up lucky in only that aspect!!

Is your grinch of choice the live action movie cuz that movie is my second fav Christmas movie!! Valid if not! And Elf is me n my family’s fav movie. It is impossible to go a year without watching it! As a kid I would even watch it like in the summer cuz I liked it so much.🙈