#we'll start with getting a frame for tom

[zeawesomebirdie]

Rearranged my room so my desk is usable as a desk again

What if I bought a nice picture frame to put my nice pretty picture of Tom Riddle right next to my monitor

[vanvelding]

I'm going to say one of the nicest things I can about a show about Star Trek: Lower Decks

They played us like a string quartet.

(Spoilers for 4x09: "The Inner Fight")

Lower Decks was sold a Star Trek/Rick & Morty mashup from the start. The first scene is a drunken Mariner literally harming her sidekick, Boimler. It practically screamed, "Mariner & Boimler a hundred tours! Double-u, double-u, double-u dot Mariner and boimler dot com!"

But of course, it also had Star Trek references. One of the earliest is "Who would win in a fight? Khan or Roga Danar?" Why would anyone else in The Federation know or care who Roga Danar is? And there's no imagination on display for the oldest referential paradigm, "Who would win in a fight?" Lazy. Bullshit.

Of course before the end of season one, Lower Decks showed us it was more than that. Boimler was gaining the kind of experience he needed. The story hinted very strongly that Mariner had been in Starfleet a LONG time. She wasn't a omnicompotent mary sue; she was a Commander with her own philosophy/trauma that compelled her to remain an Ensign.

It was a good show and it stood on its own. The references were used well to create interesting stories ("Twovix"), as part of the setting ("Hear All, Trust Nothing"), or just as a gag here and there ("Kayshon, His Eyes Open" and, like a dozen others). The references to the setting become the background radiation, remarkable in how deep a cut they really are (Vendorians?). I've described it to many people as "Star Trek, but everyone has watched Star Trek."

What it wasn't, was related to its namesake. "Lower Decks" was a surprisingly heavy episode about the younger members of the Enterprise crew and their perspective on the missions of galactic import that the viewer usually enjoys an omnisicent view of.

Lower Decks mentions our main cast don't have that omniscient view, but Mariner is a stone-cold badass, Rutherford was part of a secret effort to develop artificial intelligence, Tendi is the Mistress of the Winter Constellations, and Boimler--actually Biomler is no more exceptional than any other Starfleet officer.

So when we get our main cast and the senior officers into a room and they mention Nick Locarno, our thought is, "LOL, another reference. This one from TNG. Not particularly deep. LOL, Boimler is a Beverly Crusher fanboy. I guess it makes sense, they have the character model from the episode with Tom Paris. Clearly, Robert Duncan McNeil is happy to do some voice work. We'll probably make a reference to how much he looks like Tom Paris.

"lol"

Look, if you figured it out then pat yourself on the back. Me? I filed away another reference. I didn't realize that Nick Locarno was connected to the episode of TNG that was this entire series' namesake. The characters even say, "Who?" which is one of the first times they don't get a Star Trek reference. Because Nick Locarno isn't a part of the Star Trek universe they view with an enthusiastic fandomness; it's part of their dramatic history, whether they know it or not.

"ha-ha, I guess Nick Locarno is too deep a cut for the show that called back to Morgan fucking Bateson."

But whatever, A-plot/B-plot. Gags about Starfleet habitually rolling up to seedy establishments in uniforms while looking for information, which is subverted by Captain Freeman being fucking genre savvy (also, wasn't she going to be promoted before getting arrested at the end of season two? I guess getting framed for a crime was deemed to be not very 'admiral-able'). Mariner ends up in a cave with a Klingon taking shelter from a crystal rain.

The pieces are there. Mariner was an ensign during The Dominion War. Two to three years before The Dominion War, Wesley Crusher left Starfleet, our Nick Locarno expy Tom Paris was recruited to Voyager, and Sito Jaxa was an ensign.

And Nick Locarno is in play.

We could have figured it out! We're in the narrative and emotional third act of this series (Tendi gave us the "We'll always be friends" speech last week)! Everyone regular just sat in a room trying to figure out how to help Mariner; we were one fruit salad analogy away from an intervention with Dr. Migleemoo!

Mariner escapes from Cardassian interrogation chambers for fun!

But Locarno is just another TNG reference, like Beverly Crusher. Background radiation. The season's story arc is something original to Lower Decks, which it's proven it's unafraid to do at this point. The series has no relation to "Lower Decks"

And then they fucking hit us with it; Beckett Mariner knew Sito Jaxa. They were friends. Then Jaxa died.

That's Mariner's trauma (that and The Dominion War).

And I didn't see it because I came to see Lower Decks as a series that stood on its own merits as a show while calling back to earlier Treks in a light, non-committal way. And I credit that solely to the writing of the show which leveraged both of those qualities to make an entertaining show that I like before, but now respect.

Just amazing stuff.

[jupiterpp]

CHAPTER THREE: CHARISMA | 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞. -𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

important note; This is the first time I'm posting my stories on Tumblr. My mother tongue is not English so expect grammatical errors ahead.

word count: 2.8k words

MASTERLIST | CHAPTERS

"Slug club?" I remarked, my interest piqued at the peculiar name. I turned my gaze towards Slughorn, who calmly set down his mug on the polished desk, and then settled into his chair with an air of satisfaction. "You named the club after yourself? Quite classy."

"Don't even start, my dear," He sighed, shaking his head. "Your Father was a part of my club not so long ago.  And might I add, he was quite the charming fellow, if memory serves me right."

I couldn't help but smirk playfully at Slughorn's remark. "Oh, so if I join your club, you'll finally have a charming member again?"

Slughorn chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Well, yes," he admitted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose you could say that," Slughorn replied with a chuckle, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "But of course, it's not-"

"No thanks," I cut in, rising from my seat and snatching the new schedule from the table. I pointed it playfully at Slughorn, a smirk tugging at my lips. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get to my..." I glanced down at the schedule in my hand, then back up at him. "Defense Against the Dark Arts class." With a casual wave, I turned on my heel and headed for the door, leaving Slughorn chuckling behind me.

As I strolled down the bustling corridors, a mix of excitement and nerves bubbled inside me. It was only the second day of classes, but it already felt like I had been here for ages. I turned a corner and found myself in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The door was already open, and a few students were trickling in.

Scanning the room, I spotted a familiar face—Elara Hartwell, my newfound friend. She was already seated, her curly auburn hair framing her face as she scribbled diligently in her notebook. I made my way over and slid into the chair next to her.

"Merlin, where have you been?" she exclaimed in a hushed voice, glancing up from her notes to shoot me a playful yet concerned look. "Class is about to start in a few minutes!"

I flashed her a quick grin. "Got held up by Slughorn," I replied, my voice trailing off as I noticed the figure seated beside me.

Riddle.

Tom Riddle sat there, his dark, piercing eyes meeting mine with a cold, calculating look. His presence was unsettling, sending a shiver down my spine. I narrowed my eyes at him before averting my gaze when the professor walked in. Reinhard Lestrange was sitting right beside him and stayed silent once the professor walked in.

Professor Galatea Merrythought entered the room with her usual commanding presence, her eyes scanning the class as she set her things on the desk. The room fell silent.

"Good morning, everyone," she said in a voice that was cool but not unkind. "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am Professor Merrythought, and my goal is to prepare you to face any dark force you might encounter, both inside and outside these walls."

She flicked her wand, and the blackboard behind her filled with intricate diagrams of defensive spells and counter-curses. "We'll start with the basics today, but don't get too comfortable. Things will get challenging quickly."

Merlin. Already?

I propped my right arm on the desk, leaning in with a small smile on my face as the class continued, Professor Merrythought moved on to a particularly serious topic: the three Unforgivable Curses. She paced the room, her eyes scanning each of us with a piercing intensity.

"Now, students," she began, her voice taking on a grave tone, "I trust you're all aware of the three Unforgivable Curses. Can anyone tell me what they are?"

I glanced around the class, observing their raised hands, and hesitantly raised mine as well. Beside me, Tom Riddle's hand shot up with swift confidence. Professor Merrythought's gaze swept over the sea of students, pausing momentarily on Tom before settling on me.

"Ah, you there," she said, pointing directly at me. "You're the new student, aren't you? What's your name?"

"Yes, Professor," I responded promptly, pushing my chair back and standing up. I straightened my posture, clasping my hands behind my back as I looked at her with a calm smile. "I'm [Name] Delacroix, Professor."

"Very well, Miss Delacroix," Professor Merrythought acknowledged before continuing. "Name one of the Unforgivable Curses."

"The Imperius Curse," I replied confidently, maintaining eye contact with her. She nodded slightly, urging me to elaborate. I cleared my throat softly, my voice steady as I continued. "The Imperius Curse is one of the three Unforgivable Curses. It allows the caster to control the actions of the victim, essentially enslaving them to their will," I explained, feeling the eyes of my classmates on me.

"Well done, Miss Delacroix. Five points to Slytherin," Professor Merrythought nodded approvingly, a serious expression on her face. "Next!"

A sense of pride swelled within me as I sank back into my seat with a small sigh, looking at Elara who gave me a smile and patted my shoulders for gaining a point at our house. 

"Mister Riddle," Professor pointed at Riddle who immediately stood up.

Tom's expression remained neutral as he elaborated. "The Cruciatus Curse is used to inflict excruciating pain on the victim. It is a form of torture and leaves no physical marks, making it a particularly cruel form of punishment."

"Excellent, Riddle. Ten points to Slytherin," Professor Merrythought announced, sounding all pleased. I couldn't help but raise a brow, nudging Elara beside me.

"How come he gets ten points and I got five?" I whispered low.

Professor Merrythought seemed satisfied with his answer and turned her attention to the rest of the class. "And the last one? Mister Avery?"

"Favoritism," Elara replied, leaning closer to me. I nodded in agreement, my gaze shifting to Riddle, who appeared focused on the class. "Almost all the professors have a soft spot for him. I don't know why, maybe because he's charming."

"Five points to Slytherin," Professor Merrythought announced before circling around her desk, her eyes scanning the class.

"See what I mean?" Elara nudged me again, her elbow gently poking my sides.

I glanced at her, rolling my eyes slightly. "Charming or not, it's still not fair," I murmured back, feeling a flicker of irritation. 

When the class finally ended, Elara and I made our way to the Great Hall for lunch. The grandeur of the hall never failed to awe me, with its enchanted ceiling reflecting the sky outside and the long tables adorned with delicious dishes.

I couldn't help but notice Riddle sitting with a group of friends, engaged in conversation. Among them were Lestrange and Avery, a name I had heard mentioned earlier in class. They seemed deep in discussion together.

We found an empty spot at the Slytherin table and sat down, filling our plates with a variety of food. Despite my earlier frustration, the lively chatter and delicious aroma of the food lifted my spirits.

"So, what do you think of Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Elara asked between bites of her meal.

"It's definitely interesting," I replied, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "Though I could do without the blatant favoritism."

Elara chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yes, it does seem rather obvious, doesn't it?"

I glanced at Elara, who followed my gaze with a curious expression. "That's Lestrange, right?" she whispered, leaning in closer, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied him.

"Mhm," She hummed as Silvius Tiberius, another Slytherin that I had met yesterday came to sit with us across the table followed by Augustus Montague and Marcellus Langley. "Wait, you know Lestrange?" Elara paused eating, her fork hovering in mid-air as she looked at me with raised brows, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes," I replied. "He was my partner at potions class yesterday."

"Seriously?" Elara's eyes widened in disbelief. She glanced at Silvius, who seemed to tense up under her scrutinizing gaze. She then turned back to me, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Haven't I told you about... Riddle's friends?"

Now it was my turn to raise a brow at her, my curiosity matching hers. "No? Why? Have they done something wrong?"

Elara sighed softly, her expression grave. "They're not exactly known for their good behavior," she explained quietly. "Riddle and his friends—Lestrange included—have a reputation for causing trouble and doing nasty things around Hogwarts. Rumors say they've got a knack for getting away with it, too."

"It's not just harmless pranks. Some of the stuff they do is really nasty. At least that's what the rumors said. Not sure about Riddle though. He seems to be more focused on class than doing stupid things." Said Marcellus, glancing at me with a smirk.

Marcellus leaned in, lowering his voice. "Another saying I heard is they have a way of making people's lives miserable if they want to. They've been known to... manipulate situations to their advantage."

"It's best to keep your head down and avoid crossing paths with them," Silvius said with a shrug. "They're always up to something." 

'✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ೃ⁀➷-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-˚. ೃ⁀➷'✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

Sitting in the library, I engrossed myself with a book related to Charms. The quiet atmosphere and the scent of aged parchment provided a welcome refuge from the complexities and intrigues of Slytherin House. Flipping through the pages, I found myself absorbed in a section on advanced wand movements, trying to commit each precise flick and swish to memory.

I paused when I heard heavy breathing not far from me. I side-glance to my left and caught a glimpse of a figure in the corner of my eye. Eventually, They ended up behind the bookshelf in front of me, causing me to narrow my eyes at the heavy breathing this person was making.

This person thinks I haven't noticed him watching me since I arrived at Hogwarts. This person, I see him everywhere. He's following me. With a flick of my fingers, the books covering the person's face shifted aside, revealing a young boy who gasped and trembled when our eyes met.

Realization hit me when I met his familiar gaze. "What the hell—Dennis—"

He stammered a few words before he ran out of the library, causing a few glares to follow his hasty exit.

"Bishop! Get back here!" the librarian yelled after him, her face reddening with irritation. I sank back into my chair, trying to ignore the curious looks from the other students. Great, now I was on the librarian's radar as well.

My eyes instinctively followed the doors of the library, tracking Dennis's hurried departure. What on earth was that about? Dennis at Hogwarts? The thought seemed inconceivable. He was from a world completely unaware of magic.

Elara, who had been quietly absorbed in her studies nearby, approached with a quizzical expression. She slid into the seat next to me, her curiosity evident. "What was all that commotion about?"

I sighed, shaking my head in bewilderment. "I wish I knew," I admitted, furrowing my brows.

Elara looked thoughtful for a moment, her gaze flicking towards the library entrance where Dennis had run away. "Why did he seem so startled?"

"I don't know," I replied with a hint of frustration, shrugging my shoulders. "You tell me. That guy's been acting strange since the moment I arrived."

Silvius and Augustus had now joined us, their curiosity piqued. Silvius, leaning casually against the table, raised an eyebrow. "Weird how?"

I glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. "He's been following me everywhere. Watching me. It seems like he's got something to say but can't find the nerve."

"Bishop's always been a bit of an odd duck," Mulciber joined the conversation, placing a stack of books on the table. Elara shot Mulciber a warning look, but he continued unabated. "What? It's true. No denying it. The bloke's a shadow, always lurking about. Gives me the creeps."

Elara frowned at Mulciber. "That's not helping, Mulciber."

He shrugged dismissively. "Just stating the obvious."

I shook my head and sighed, feeling a mixture of concern and confusion. My fingers idly traced the gilt lettering on the book's spine before I closed it, meeting my friends' eyes earnestly. "Let's change the subject," I suggested.

Elara and Silvius exchanged a knowing glance, silently agreeing to drop the matter for now. Augustus, ever perceptive, nodded in understanding. "Right," he said, picking up on my subtle cue. "Any plans for the weekend?"

'✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ೃ⁀➷-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-˚. ೃ⁀➷'✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

It has been over two weeks since I arrived at Hogwarts.

Day by day, I've noticed the closeness between Professor Slughorn and Riddle. Their familiarity makes me wonder how long they've known each other. I've seen them together in the corridors, engaged in what seems like deep conversation. Sometimes, when I pass by Slughorn's office, I hear Riddle's voice, always calm and measured.

 Riddle was not fond of communicating with me. If I ask a question related to potions, he would give me a short answer clearly showing me that he does not want to interact.

I felt like I was being replaced.

Slughorn was occupied with Riddle and his club, leaving little time to spare for me. As a result, I found solace in spending my days in Dumbledore's office, immersed in books and studying. Dumbledore was fond of me from the very beginning, openly expressing that I was his favorite student—a fact that filled me with pride and a sense of belonging.

Slughorn took notice of how little we've been spending time together so he brought me to the Black Lake with Mr. Tibbers.

I walked alongside Slughorn at the Black Lake with Mr. Tibbers following us behind. "Professor," I called, peering over my shoulder, motioning for my cat to follow me. "I wanted to discuss something with you."

Slughorn turned his attention towards me, his brow slightly raised in curiosity. "What is it, my dear?"

"Well, I've noticed that you and Riddle seem quite close," I ventured, clasping my hands behind my back. "I actually knew him briefly when we were eleven. We met at an orphanage where my mother used to work."

"Oh, yes, I'm aware," He replied in a calm tone, a smile etching his face. That caught me off guard. He knows? how? No one knows about this even Dumbledore.

I blinked, surprised. "You know?"

"If my memory suits me right, Tom told me like five days ago." Slughorn nodded, his smile still present. "He brought it up in one of our conversations." Slughorn's gaze turned thoughtful, his brows knitting together slightly. "I've noticed you haven't interacted much with Tom since you've been here. Is there a reason for that?"

Caught off guard, I struggled to articulate my thoughts. "I... Well, I mean, why would you expect me to interact with him?"

"Well," Slughorn shrugged casually, his demeanor relaxed as we approached the heavy oak door leading back into the castle hallway. The bustle of students passing by provided a comforting backdrop to our conversation. "He is your friend, isn't he?"

I let out a frustrated huff, feeling the weight of my words as I spoke. "I highly doubt he considers me as one of his friends," I replied, my voice carrying a hint of bitterness, before resuming my stride alongside Slughorn. "He doesn't even want to talk to me."

Slughorn merely shrugged, his expression placid. "Maybe you should be the one initiating the conversation."

That's literally what I meant.

"Speaking of talking to people," I began, my tone serious, "have you noticed anything peculiar about a student named Dennis Bishop? He's been acting rather oddly since I arrived."

Slughorn furrowed his brow, pausing for a moment as he considered my question. "Dennis Bishop? Can't say I've noticed anything out of the ordinary. But then again, I don't always catch everything. Why, what's going on?"

I paused, glancing around before leaning in closer to him with a serious tone. "He's been following me around."

Slughorn's expression shifted, his brow furrowing further as he processed my words. "Following you around, you say? Like-"

"Stalking," I nodded, feeling a sense of unease settling over me. "Exactly like that. It's starting to unsettle me, to be honest."

Before Slughorn could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps drew my attention. I turned slightly and saw Riddle and his companions nearing us. A chill swept through me as Riddle's intense gaze fixed momentarily on me before smoothly shifting to Slughorn.

"Professor," Riddle greeted with a polite nod, his voice smooth as silk. "Good evening."

"Oh right," Slughorn, seemingly distracted, shook his head lightly before turning to me and placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. His touch pulled my gaze away from Riddle's piercing stare. "I've invited them for dinner. Care to join us?"

Caught off guard by the invitation, I hesitated briefly. The idea of dining with Riddle and his companions didn't sit well with me. Despite Slughorn's friendly demeanor, I knew that this gathering was likely another one of his Slug Clubs or whatever they were talking about inside Slughorn's office.

"Thank you, Professor, but I think I'll pass," I replied, forcing a polite smile. "I have some studying to catch up on."

Slughorn's smile faltered for a moment, a flicker of disappointment passing through his eyes before he swiftly recovered. "Of course, my dear. Another time, then," he said warmly. "Don't overexert yourself with your studies."

"Thank you, Professor. I'll see you later," I said, nodding in farewell.

With Mr. Tibbers in my arms, I made my way out of there, determined to put as much distance between myself and the awkward situation as possible. As I glanced back, I caught Riddle's gaze, his expression inscrutable as Slughorn ushered them into his office. Ignoring him, I turned my back and continued on my way, my mind buzzing with thoughts and questions.

[wheels-of-despair]

Enough | A Make Up Story | Tom Grant x You | Series Masterlist

Chapter 11: A Hint of Shared Embarrassment Words: 2.8k

The next two days went by in a glorious blur.

April had been overjoyed when you told her that you were going to stick around and help Tom pack for her.

But her enthusiasm didn't come close to how you felt after Tom asked you to stay.

You said goodbye to April and Amelia and walked out of the hospital with Tom's arm around your shoulders, and yours wrapped around his waist. You stopped for a quick lunch that you barely tasted, because you were so fucking happy about a few more days with him, you couldn't focus on anything else.

You picked up a pile of cardboard boxes, stopped by Doug's shop and paid a bill that was much lower than you thought it'd be - it was an easy fix, he's said, he was just waiting on the part - and followed Tom back to the caravan park in your little junk-bucket.

You packed while Tom worked, singing along to his borrowed radio to keep your mind from running wild. Packing April's things - dusting and organizing and wrapping her breakables - was surprisingly relaxing. She was a fascinating person, judging by the things she'd collected over the years; you wished you'd had more time to get to know her. You'd love to know the stories behind her treasures.

But the thing you most looked forward to was when Tom came home from work. You'd fallen into a routine almost immediately; you'd finish up at April's a few minutes before you expected him, and have dinner started by the time he arrived. He was clueless, but eager to help. You loved teaching him almost as much as you loved teasing him.

When you woke on Thursday, peaceful and warm beneath the covers in the hazy morning light, you carefully turned toward Tom. He was lying on his side, facing you with his mouth open, snoring lightly. He was so beautiful, it made you ache.

He moaned quietly, and you closed your eyes, so he wouldn't know that you'd been staring at him. You felt him move and heard him stretch, but didn't open your eyes until he'd settled back in.

Tom had been watching you too.

You smiled at each other with just a hint of shared embarrassment. Did he know you'd started it?

"What's the time," he mumbles, rolling over to look at the clock. He moans and turns back to you with a smirk. "Don't have to be up for half an hour."

"Hmmm," you hum, moving closer and running your hand up his bare chest. "A whole half an hour. What shall we do with our time?"

"I've got a few ideas," he grins. You let your hand slide into his messy morning hair and pull him close for a kiss. You have a few ideas of your own.

Exactly twenty-nine minutes later, Tom is out the door with a peck and a "see you at lunch", and you're on your way back to April's. You threw yourself into your task and quickly lost track of time, wondering about the stories behind the decades-old framed photographs you were dusting and packing into cardboard boxes.

You're folding clothes and marveling at your ability to remember lyrics to songs you haven't heard in a decade when you hear the floor creak behind you. You whip around in a panic and see Tom leaning against the door frame and smirking at you.

"Jesus, Tom!" You clutch your heart. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," he grins. "Ready to take a break?"

You glance at the clock and confirm that it's lunchtime. "Sorry, got in the zone. I meant to have food ready by the time you got home."

"Don't apologize, we'll heat up something together."

You return to Tom's for a quick lunch of leftovers.

"Kyle's coming over later to help me waterproof the window. Supposed to rain tonight."

"Oh no, what if we get rained in? How ever will we entertain ourselves?" you smirk.

Tom grins and takes another bite.

"I'm gonna go wash April's sheets and the clothes from her hamper in a bit," you tell him as he chews. "Want me to throw in a load for you too?"

The air turns heavy, and Tom puts down his fork. You busy yourself with the salt shaker, sensing that you've overstepped.

"You don't have to do that."

"It's bland," you intentionally misunderstand.

"You know what I mean."

You shrug. "I'm going anyway."

"I mean, you don't have to take care of me."

"It's not a big deal, Tom. I have seen your underwear before, you know," you joke. That's right, ease the tension, hope he forgets that you just made it weird.

No such luck.

Tom reaches across the table for your hand. You hesitate. He flattens his palm and wiggles his fingers until you place your hand in his. When you finally dare to look up at him, you see pity in those big brown eyes.

"You're here because I want you to be. You don't have to earn your keep."

Your heart suddenly feels like it's made of lead. How does he see right through you like this? This is exactly what you did with Jade. You took care of her without question or complaint, hoping that she'd eventually see the value in keeping you around. Like an absolute fucking idiot. Perhaps it's time to revisit that get-eaten-by-shark idea.

You blink back tears, swallow the lump in your throat, and somehow manage a fraction of a nod. He squeezes your hand.

"I'm making you dinner tonight," he states, letting your hand go.

"Is it gonna be spaghetti or spaghetti?" you ask, hoping to laugh your way out of your shame.

"Oh, fuck off," he laughs, digging back into his lunch. You smile and start picking at yours again too. The tension doesn't take long to dissipate. Things felt almost normal by the time you finished eating.

But you left the dirty dishes in the sink when Tom went back to work anyway, just to prove a point.

You returned to April's and continued packing until you heard hammering nearby. You went to the kitchen window and spent a few minutes watching Tom and Kyle working on the plywood-covered hole. Tom had broken a sweat and shed his jacket. He and Kyle worked well together; no sniping, no nasty looks, no fighting like with Kai. You couldn't make out their words, but you could hear their laughs. You had to drag yourself away from the window and back to the box of figurines that needed to be sealed and labeled.

You tried your best to stop your thoughts from wandering back to the boy next door as you worked, but didn't have much luck. When he finally appeared, leaning against the doorframe in his sweaty t-shirt, it was all you could do not to maul him on the spot.

"Clouds are starting to roll in. You wanna call it a day?"

Words. Use your words. "Yeah."

"I'm gonna go jump in the shower, I won't be but a minute. Then I'll make dinner." He turns to leave, but you can't let it happen. You need him. Now.

"Wait."

He looks back at you expectantly. Your words have escaped you again, so you close the distance and pull him in for a kiss. He moans into your mouth, and you nearly lose it on the spot. Sorry, April's house.

The hand that's not in his hair traces his belt buckle, and he jumps as if you've given him an electric shock.

"I, uh," he licks his lips, "I'm all sweaty. Let me go shower."

"No." You step closer and suck at his salty neck, and wonder if he's going to collapse in your arms.

"Really, you don't want me all dirty like this, I'll only be a minute, I promise." The waver in his voice is entirely unconvincing.

You pull back and give him a hard look. His breath catches.

"Alright, Tom. If you really want to shower first, you can shower first." He swallows. You come in closer and speak quietly. "I'm going to finish up here. I want you waiting for me on the bed in five minutes… in nothing but a towel."

Tom's eyes widen. He nods, then turns and scrambles out the door. You didn't go to the window to watch, but you're fairly certain he ran across the yard to get home. You smile to yourself and look at the clock on April's kitchen wall. You move through the house slowly and start turning off lights, making sure to give him enough time.

When four and a half minutes are up, you lock her door and walk through the yard and back to Tom's.

He's waiting for you on the edge of the bed, in nothing but a towel, just as he'd been instructed. Droplets of water fall from his hair to his shoulders and roll down his chest. He's fucking perfect.

You stand between his legs and let him nuzzle his face into your stomach for a moment, raking your fingers through his wet hair. His palms remain on the bed, as if he were waiting for permission to touch you. You don't give it. Your hands eventually drift to his shoulders, and gently push him back onto the mattress. He watches you with wide eyes and shallow breaths. You could've told him to do anything in that moment, and he would've done it.

Instead, you sink to your knees on the floor between his legs and slowly peel away the towel. He's trembling.

"Tom? Are you alright?"

"Mhm."

"Do you want this?"

"Fuck yeah," he puffs. You start at his knee and kiss a slow trail up the inside of his thigh. When you look up at him, he's already clutching a fistful of the blanket in each hand. He's so hard, you can't bear to torture him much longer. You place your hands on his hips and give them a squeeze, to let him know what's coming.

When you take him in your mouth, he whimpers.

When your fist closes around his base, he moans.

When you start to pump him, he gasps.

When you swirl your tongue around his head, he erupts with a strangled cry.

You swallow him down and rest your chin on his thigh while you wait for his body to stop quivering.

He's so fucking beautiful.

"Fuck," he finally breathes, still panting.

"You alright?" you ask from between his legs with a smirk.

"C'mere," he mumbles, reaching his hands toward you blindly, not having the energy to lift his head and look at you.

You crawl up onto the bed and lie on your side next to him, propping your head up on your palm so you can keep watching him. He turns to his side and buries his face in your chest, pulling you to him with an arm around your back. You smile and kiss the top of his head, then twist yourself so that you're lying on your back and he's nearly on top of you. You stroke up and down his spine as his breathing evens out.

Eventually, Tom pulls his head away from your chest, with your shirt between his teeth. He lets it go with a devious grin.

"You're wearing far too many clothes right now."

"I guess you should probably help me out of them, then."

Tom Grant doesn't need to be told twice.

Two hours and several rounds later, you've both worked up a sweat.

"Good thing you took a shower beforehand, huh?" you tease.

"That's alright," he smiles. "Now we can take a fun one."

"Oh?"

"C'mon," he grins, rising out of bed and extending a hand to you. You don't take it.

"Tom, your tiny little shower cannot hold two people."

"Bet it can."

"Bet it can't."

"What do you want to bet?"

"Hm… if there's room for you to rock my world, then you must do so. But if there's not, you let me shower in peace while you go make dinner."

"Deal. Up." He reaches forward and grabs your hands, pulling you from the bed and into the tiny bathroom. Tom turns the water on, and gestures for you to enter the comically small shower stall. You step in, turn around, and cross your arms. He grins and follows.

"Oh, look. We both fit. I win." You roll your eyes and move half a step so that your back touches the wall. "Alright, if you put your leg here…"

The events that followed were awkward, slippery, and full of laughter. Knees and elbows were banged on walls, eyes were blinded with water, and one leg cramp threatened to ruin eveything. But Tom held up his end of the bargain, and you both returned to the bedroom happy, triumphant, and slightly less sweaty.

"Wait, which one of us is making dinner?" Tom asks, slipping into a pair of sweats.

"Doesn't matter, there's a pizza crammed in there somewhere, all we have to do is unwrap it and toss it in the oven."

"Oh yeah?" Tom asks, standing behind you as you wiggle your underwear up over your damp hips. His head dips to place a kiss on your neck, his arms circle you… then he throws you onto the bed.

"I'll make dinner!" he yells as he bounds into the kitchen.

You laugh, roll over, and get up to follow him. You pull a shirt over your head and step into the kitchen as he opens the pizza box.

"Don't hurt yourself with all that work, Tom," you warn, playfully snapping the waistband of his sweats as you pass him. He yelps, reaches out to smack your ass, and misses. You turn around and stick your tongue out, then proceed to the living room. You plop yourself on the sofa, lacing your fingers behind your head and crossing your ankles as you watch Tom go through the grueling task of putting a frozen pizza in the oven.

When he lets the oven door slam shut, he takes a run at you. You curl into a defensive ball and squeal, and he attacks. With kisses. He hovers over you on all fours and kisses every bit of skin he can reach.

Once you realize your life is not in peril, you stretch out beneath him and wait for him to find your mouth. He does, gradually stretching his body out over yours. You stay just like that, kissing lazily, until the oven timer dings.

"Dinner's ready," he whispers, still centimeters from your face. "I slaved all day."

"Better go get it out of the oven then," you said with a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Wouldn't want all that hard work to be for naught."

You grin at each other and reluctantly leave the sofa. The rain had started at some point, but you didn't notice until you sat down at the table.

The pizza is quite good for something that you only grabbed because it was on sale. Or maybe it was the company that made it seem that way.

The rain picked up as you ate, and the thunder began. You decided to forego dishes for the night, lest someone get electrocuted. Tom turned off the lights and opened the curtains so you could watch the storm, and you settled in on the sofa together.

You lay there for hours, talking about everything and nothing and tracing lazy patterns on each other's skin and wishing this night would never end.

"Why is it so easy with you?" you wonder aloud, as sleep draws nearer.

"What's easy?" Tom mumbles. His question sets your brain on fire.

Everything was easy with Tom.

When you were with him, you didn't feel pressure to be faster or more efficient, like at work. Or to be more interesting or social, like at home. Or to be charming and entertaining, like with Jade. You always felt like you needed to put in just a little more effort. Do more. Be better. Try a little harder. And you did. You tried, all the time.

But what was the point? Did it result in a promotion? A flatmate who thought of you as a person? Jade wanting to keep you?

Tom didn't ask anything of you. He didn't expect anything. You were simply two people lying on a sofa inside a creaky caravan, watching the lightning and listening to the rain pound on the tin roof.

For the first time in your life, you felt like you could just… BE. Like you were enough. The realization brought tears to your eyes.

"Everything," you breathe.

Tom responds with a soft snore. You let out a quiet laugh, nuzzle into him, and let the sound of the pouring rain lull you to sleep.

[thebookwormfairy]

What If Marinette and Adrien had an Adult (Prologue)

So been thinking about this for awhile. This is going to be a Maribat fic (Mostly found family, Daminette (eventually) Adrien x Jon Kent (they would be awesome together) Jason Todd x OFC (mentioned)). What if Selina took a note out of Bruce's book and adopted a little orphan of her own. What if she was close to Jason, what if she followed Dick and started the Teen Titans after losing Jason, and what if she eventually ended up in Paris saw Hawkmoth and these two kids doing their best and just went "mine now!". Well I guess we'll find out.

Masterlist

Part 2

Kathrine "Kitty" Kyle has been through a lot in her short 23 years of life

She was adopted at age 7 by Selina Kyle, socialite of Gotham, sweetheart to one Bruce Wayne, and infamous Catwoman

Being raised by such an extraordinary woman of course meant that Kitty's childhood was anything but normal

She was running across the rooves of Gotham at age 9 leading to her first run in with the crime fighting duo Batman and Robin

She started stealing from those who deserved it at age 10

had her first run in with the newest Robin at age 11

decided she hated said Robin about an hour later

hated him a little less 6 months later,

was kinda friends with him at age 12.

Age 13 is when butterflies erupted whenever she was around him

age 14 is when she learned Robin's real name is Jason Todd and when she shared her first kiss with him.

Everything seemed perfect until she turned 16 and lost him to a monster.

She turned her back on Batman when he refused to do anything about Jason's death and joined Nightwing, now returning to his original mantel as Robin, in Jump City, where they met a cyborg, a green changeling, a sorcerous, and an alien princess and created the Teen Titans

She still talked to her adopted mother but refuse to her anything about her love

She stayed with the Teen Titans for years making friends with heros and and an villain or 2

Much to Dick's frustration and Jinx's glee

What could Kitty say, they had a lot in common

At age 19 Kitty gets her high school diploma, and decides she wants to try civilian life for a bit

She decides to go to college in Paris having fallen in love with the city after the battle with the Brotherhood of Evil

She enters college as an art history major, something Selina got a kick out of

She found herself getting bored so she decided to get a part-time job at a little bakery by a school

The owners, Tom and Sabine, are nice but very busy

And they have a daughter, Marinette who is such a bright light in the world at age 11

Most of Kitty's shifts at the bakery is filled with Marinette chatting with her and showing of her creations and designs

And at night, well what can Kitty say, old habits die hars

She takes to the roof tops of Paris as her hero persona Dusk, Paris' newest cat themed hero

At age 20 over a video call with her mom Kitty took the first steps to truly start healing from losing Jason

Kitty: How is Bruce and the rest of the Waynes doing?

Selina gave a startle look before a small smile formed on her lips

Selina: He's doing good, he's added 3 more to the flock since you've been gone

Kitty: 3?!?!? Bruce really needs to talk to somebody about this adoption addiction

Selina gave a laugh: I've tried but what can I do he looks so happy with each of them but there does seem to be a bit of a theme with most of them

Bruce *from the background*: I can hear both of you

Kitty in a small voice: Hi Bruce

Bruce *walking into frame with a small smile also gracing his face*: Hi Kitty

Her relationship with the Waynes grew from there

She met the newest addictions Tim, Stephanie, and Damian though the youngest of them did call her "the daughter of the harlot"

Kitty: We really need to work on your slang

Dick who was also on the video call burst into laughter

At 23 a giant rock monster attacked Paris

Kitty quickly changed into her alter ego, Dusk, and made her way to the scene at the Stadium

Dusk: What the heck?!

Dusk comes upon a scene of 2 young looking heros they can't be older than 14 and another young girl who is holding her phone recording the whole thing

Alya: Oh my gosh! It's the hero Dusk, are these 2 your sidekicks? Are you starting a new branch of the Teen Titans here in Paris? Are you-

Dusk: Ok that's enough, while I appreciate your interest, this is dangerous and you need to get to safety. You have more than enough material so go on, get to safety

Alya: But-

Dusk: Now!

Alya reluctantly left the Stadium leaving Dusk with Ladybug and Chat Noir

Ladybug quickly told Dusk everything she knew with Chat interjecting every once and a while

Dusk: Ok first thing first, we are going to take care of that giant rock monster than we are going to meet tonight at the top of the Eiffel Tower at midnight so we can go over everything again and figure this all out, deal?

Ladybug and Chat Noir: Deal!

They took quick care of Stone Heart with Dusk reminding Ladybug to catch the little black butterfly that flew from the akuma victim

Promising to meet again that night the 3 went their separate ways

Only to meet again at the agreed upon time a place

Dusk: Okay you 2 I came early and checked and disarmed are cameras and possible bugs. I'm not going to ask for your identities, but I'm going to ask you both some questions and I want you to answer me honestly. I won't judge you for your answers but they need to be honest , okay?

The 2 younger heros nodded their heads

Dusk: first question, do you know who gave you your miraculous?

The 2 teens shook their heads

Dusk: Do either of you have any training on being heros?

Again the answer was no

Dusk: How old are you two really?

Ladybug: 14

Chat Noir: Me too

Dusk gave a sigh: Do you have anybody you can go to for help?

Again no

Dusk: Well now you do. I might not have a miraculous but I have been doing this since I was 9. I won't ask for you to share your identities with me or each other if you don't want to but I'm going to train you 3 times a week. Twice a week in your magic suits and once a week out of them. You can wear these for those trainings.

Dusk hand them 2 domino masks

Dusk: Look I'm not asking you to trust me and tell me all your secrets, I am here if you need that though, but you 2 need an adult you can turn to, somebody to teach you the ropes of being a hero, and somebody to lean on when you need it. If you two agree to this then we start tomorrow night on the roof of the Grande Falls building at the same time. I'll let you two discuss this tonight, your a team and this decision should be made as a team. After you made your decision head straight home, you need your rest after the day you had.

With that Dusk left the top of the tower heading on her patrol route before heading to her apartment to sleep

The next night Dusk watch as Ladybug and Chat Noir landed on the roof top together

Ladybug: If you are willing to teach we are willing to learn

Dusk gave the two a smile and only had one thought in her head

If no one wanted to help these two then they are her's now

Permit tag list

@immafangirl @alysrose-starchild @myazael @labschaos @meme991001

[chronicalchaos]

Wick Peculiarity AU - Prey and Predator

Welp, this is quite long, i guess. @mossyscavern did a wonderful skit from the old version of this AU, and now I'm finally writing something about it, enjoy!

—————

"We have to leave" Tom hurried them in a whisper, Sam held Lillian's hand as all the children gathered in the hall, watching as Duncan taps his foot anxiously and Travis yawns, adjusting his cracked glasses. He could hear the commotion downstairs, it sounded like a not so friendly conversation between John and other two people.

"What? I don't want to leave!" Caleb whispered back, starting to follow Tom as he heads to the stairs. But, before he could even reach the middle of the hall, he stopped, putting his hand in front of Caleb and grasping tight on his shotgun's strap.

"Shit– everyone to the window, now!" Tom's shoulders tensed, starting to push Caleb closer to the group as he hurries closer as well. "The youngers first, quick, it won't take long until it notices us!"

Before Sam knew, Duncan had already scooped Lillian on his lap and snatched Travis's arm, dragging him with them. As Tom passes by him, Benny grabs one of the bookshelfs between a pair of doors, throwing it at the stairs, blocking the way.

"There's no way we'll be able to get down safely, it's too high!" Duncan warned, but before anyone could answer, Lillian raises her legs, her big and heavy shoes unbalancing Duncan, sending him, Lillian and Travis, from whom came a rather loud crack as he hit the frame, out the window. Caleb didn't hesitate and ran to the window, extending his arms outside, trembling as the thing screeches, attempting to clear it's path and feast on those hopeless souls.

Inhaling as deep as he can, an ear-piercing guttural scream scratched out of Tom's throat, Sam shivers as the thing screeches back, but he could swear a second screech came from somewhere out the window, Tom stepped infront of Sam, swiftly pulling his gun from his back, muffling a fairly wheezy cough before turning to Sam.

"Listen carefully, that thing is going to find a way up soon and I'll have to buy time for you" He clearly did not include himself in that sentence... Sam wanted to protest, but with the way Tom grasped on his shoulders and the distressed expression painted on his face, all he did was nod vigorously. Caleb, with Benny's help, climbs on the window and pushes himself outside, vanishing from their view. "Find the crack. Not the one we came through, the other. Get everyone to safety, I'll catch up to you later."

Benny gives one last glance to the two, finally deciding to slide out the window. Just as he vanishes, the bookshelf snaps in half, wood pieces flying everywhere. Tom pushes Sam closer to the window, pointing the gun to the stairs, just as the redhead starts to climb on the frame, his eyes lock on a horrifying vision, a shadow of long tentacle like tongues moving in the air as a slim body reveals itself projects itself on the wall and ceiling at the end of the hall.

All he heard was a gunshot, his skin burning as he slides on something that feels like gravel, and soon, he was on the ground, being lifted by Benny as another gunshot was fired and something seemed to climb on the roof.

Sam scanned their surroundings, glacing over everyone in the group, Benny now had Lillian on his arms and a rope on his shoulders, Caleb sucked an agitated worm back down his throat, Duncan was grossly attempting, and succeeding, to put Travis' broken arm back into place– He found it.

A tiny light glowing between the trees, translucent green waves whispering his name, he found the way out.

[jodilin65]

I got my lab results, and not surprisingly, many of the numbers aren't good. I suspected my TSH was elevated, and it turns out I was right. Fortunately, it's just barely into the double digits at 10.34. I'll start taking my multivitamins daily. The question is, what's responsible for that? Is it connected to my gastro issues or something else? It explains why I've had some hypo symptoms but not why I'm having trouble falling asleep or why my weight is down a few pounds. Maybe I'm starting to lose muscle now that I'm getting old.

Surprisingly, my T4 was never tested, but that's always been normal. Liver and kidney function are fine, but my RBC and hematocrit are up a bit. That's easily explainable by dehydration. Sometime after getting back from the lab yesterday, I became very lightheaded and my blood pressure crashed to 100/59 because I was dehydrated.

My glucose was 107, and I'm officially pre-diabetic with an A1C of 6.0. Tom was as high as 6.2, but he's been pre-diabetic for over a decade, so hopefully, neither one of us will actually cross over into being diabetic. I still prefer happiness over misery, but I'm going to do my best to find a good balance to help keep me out of the diabetic range without killing myself and feeling overly deprived of anything.

Weight loss is out of the question with the way I have to cut my calories so low to compensate for my thyroid issues, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life hungry, grumpy, and adding to my fatigue. But I can eat healthier and lessen my sugar intake. The thing is that I'm not that big, I already eat healthy most of the time, and get more than the recommended 150 minutes a week of exercise, so I know it's mostly a genetic thing. My mother had it, her father had it, my sister has it, and I'm sure there are others too. Skinny athletes can get diabetes. Still, I've got to try to get it under control because I know I wouldn't be able to tolerate diabetes medication. I'm way too prone to side effects for that. I've heard all kinds of nasty things about diabetes medication, so if I can barely tolerate medications that rarely give anyone trouble, I can just imagine what I would be in for on diabetes medication. So I'm not going to put myself out and make myself miserable, but I'm going to do what I can to improve my health, including going back to strength training a couple of times a week, even if that means I have to squeeze myself into a crowded lanai to get at the Bowflex in 90-degree weather.

Last but not least, my total cholesterol, LDL, and non-HDL were through the roof. I was surprised to find my triglycerides were normal.

While I'm on the subject of medical stuff, every now and then I look up the reviews on some of my old doctors out of curiosity. My old ENT, whom I loved so much, is still widely hated, LOL. One woman even claims she mishandled something when working on her daughter's tonsils, which left her unable to feel her lower lip, and how the doctor won't take responsibility for malpractice, etc. Others say she's not “warm and fuzzy.” LOL. She started off on the serious side with me but quickly became one of the most friendly and personable doctors I ever knew.

I got the incense sticks I ordered today, and I can't say I'm that impressed. They're so old and dry it's almost like they’re blank sticks. Some of them I can smell, but half of them just smell like smoke. I ordered some hand-dipped patchouli through Walmart. Haven't gotten the incense matches yet.

The safety pins didn't hold the sheet snug on the waterbed, so we ran the straps we were using before underneath the bed frame, and we'll see if that helps keep them a bit taut, though I don't think it will.

My lovable but naughty little rat pulled the eyelashes off one of Bailey's eyes, so now we're looking into a suitable glue so I can put new eyelashes on her. Tinkerbella loves climbing the closet shelves, and the doll was sitting on it. She could use new ones, though, because the old ones were kind of bent out of shape with all the moving we've done over the years.

The honker announced that his daughter’s pregnant and his grandson was on the way. Good for him, and good for me too, hopefully, because now maybe she'll skip coming to Florida next winter and using his truck so he can annoy me more often with the motorcycle. I don't know how far along she is, but I would think that for most of the time he's down here, if she wasn't at the end of her pregnancy, then maybe she wouldn't want to travel with a kid so young.

The only dream I remember last night was owning a gas car again and being too broke to fill it up.

I connected ChatGPT to OneDrive and asked it to correct a 36-page story that had 12 chapters but it only corrected part of it. I ended up with just 5 very small chapters and 7 pages. So it's great for current stories and journals but not projects that are already done. It might have done a better job if I fed it one chapter at a time rather than uploading the entire document.

It's not really worth redoing old stories, though. At least not right now. I like how I can tell it not to omit swears or change them and it doesn't. I also like how I can tell it to put the current day, date, and time for when I copy it in Word since Word doesn't automatically timestamp entries like the blogging sites do. I have to add italics, though.

[mistress-riddle]

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈. tom riddle.

ꨄ CW. mentions of death, fluff, mild language and tom being a little shitebag.

MASTERLIST.

ꨄ PROMPT(S). 18. “don’t look at me like that. it’s distracting.” 63. “if i die, im haunting you first.”

ꨄ REQUEST. I think a one-shot with the prompts 18 & 63 from the list would be cute with tom × reader! — @elektricvenus

"tom, do you really think this is a smart idea?"

"it's probably not my best, but it's certainly good enough."

"why am I doing this?"

"because I can be persuasive?"

"more like a bother."

"watch it."

"yes, sir."

"can you blame me? we'd be expelled if they found out and i can’t survive in this cruel world."

"can you blame me? we'd be expelled if they found out and i can’t survive in this cruel world."

"can you blame me? we'd be expelled if they found out and i can’t survive in this cruel world."

"well, if you stay quiet and make sure to be on the lookout, I'm positive we'll make it just fine."

"well, if you stay quiet and make sure to be on the lookout, I'm positive we'll make it just fine."

you let out a huff and pouted as you continued looking around, giving the all clear before advancing forward.

"this is kind of exhilarating."

"shhh." he remained quiet for a few seconds before moving forward, stunning the moving frames that were awake and on duty, watching to report to the headteacher.

"we're here." you announced, arriving to the girls bathroom.

you watched tom take the lead from there as he whispered in front of the sink something in parseltongue. you were surprised by the way it sounded so light and smooth.

"that sounds good." you whispered.

After sending the bag down, he pulled you in front of the entrance to the chamber and you looked down "jump." he commanded.

"haha, very funny." he rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around your frame, taking him with you as he jumped into the opening.

you wanted to scream but you felt the air inside your lungs get knocked out as you fell to your doom.

tom cast a silent spell and you floated in the air for a bit before landing on the ground with an oomph.

"merlins balls, are you trying to kill me?"

"I wouldn't even need to try, if I were."

"you say, as you lead me to a basilisk." you got up and dusted yourself off "you know if I die, I'm haunting you first."

"I'm flattered." he replied dryly as he carried the sack along with him deeper into the chamber, coming upon another door in which he whispered the same thing earlier and you were allowed entrance.

"that's not fair, I want to speak parseltongue."

"shh, we don't want to alarm basi."

"awe, is that its name?"

"yes."

"is it a she?"

"yes."

he shushed you when you attempted to speak again and led you to the main chamber, the statue of salazar slytherin staring straight ahead and you marvelled at the sight.

"holy salazar-" the place, although ancient and musty, was still historical and impressive.

"I know, it's quite nice to stay here and have some alone time."

"can we do what we came here to do?"

"right."

tom cleared his throat and positioned his right hand into the air and started hissing in parseltongue yet again. the mouth of salazar started to open up and you could hear something move from within.

"stand behind me and close your eyes, [name]." you did as he told and made sure to hide yourself before his tall figure.

you could hear the sound of slithering, most likely the basilisks' and you gripped the back of toms' robes in nervousness.

after a lot of hisses later, tom had allowed you to open your eyes and before you was a gigantic snake, with her eyes closed being, pet by tom.

"isn't she beautiful?" tom asked.

"oh sweetheart, I think you'll find that your definition of beautiful and others définition vary greatly."

"don't make me command her to attack you."

"you wouldn't."

"are you sure about that?"

"fuck." you muttered.

you sat down on the rock that tom transfigured into a chair and watched as the basilisk slid towards him, tom was seated in the empty space beside you.

"do you think she'll let me pet her?"

"well, aren't you suicidal?"

"it'll be boring if I just sit here watching you converse with basi in a language I don't even understand." you crossed your arms.

tom shook his head stifling a chuckle and turned to basi whispering something to her, the basilisk rose slightly from her position and slithered closer to you.

"is she going to bite me?"

"no, you fool, she's allowing you to pet her."

"really?" you slowly let your hand travel towards the top of her bowed head, her scales were slightly harsh but you got used to them quickly and scratched at them. basi just relaxed ever so slightly making you gush with joy.

"did you see that, I think she likes me." you beamed at tom, a faint smile formed on his face and a look of adoration was spotted in his eyes.

"don't look at me like that, it's distracting."

"like what?"

"like I'm your whole world."

"maybe you are?"

"stop!"

"or what?"

"or.. I'll kiss you."

"wow, that's oh so very threatening."

"you're such an idiot."

"but I'm your idiot."

"sadly."

"sadly? excuse you." you replied with an offended tone and basi turned to tom.

"you see what I have to put up with basi?" you scratched under her chin, she shook her head up and down in agreement.

"how did you manage to turn my snake against me?"

"because I'm lovable."

tom did not deny that.

© 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒-𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 — all content rights belong to mistress-riddle. do not plagiarize any works and do not repost or translate onto any other sites.

[tanoraqui]

Outline of a Guide to the Lord of the Rings Movies if you Can't Watch Them With a Books Fan (Chronological Order)

Before we start: quick primer on the existential difference between Men (gender-neutral) and Elves (also gender-neutral, I suppose); VERY simplified rundown of the difference between Valar, Maiar, and etc. races.

Leaving the Shire: this is actually pretty smoothly adapted BUT in the books it all happens over a much longer period of time and Sam, Merry, Pippin, and another hobbit named "Fatty" Bolger all put together Frodo's actual plan (leaving the Shire) and the gist of his mission (the danger of the Ring) and inform him that except for Fatty, they're coming too. The scene where they tell him this is hilarious.

Wizard Fight: this is not how wizards fight

Nobody minds that they left this out but FYI for worldbuilding: the Barrowdowns, Tom Bombadil (GALOSHES!; swords of Westernesse for the hobbits)

Arwen vs. Glorfindel (we actually do support Arwen)

Council of Elrond: actually Sam was noticed halfway through and they just let him stay because he refused to leave; stubborn icons only

Everyone Elrond Loves Not Just Dies but Actively Chooses To Leave Him: A Tragedy in Three Ages (but still this characterization is bad)

Corrollary: Aragorn Had No Hesitation Toward Kingship

Saruman's Storm: this also is far too explicit magic, but it fucks so I'll allow it

Moria: that's Balin from The Hobbit! Also several other dwarves from The Hobbit! If you didn't yet, this is where you're supposed to realize that this will not be an overall happy romp like Bilbo's book

[Optional: The Creation of Dwarves (And Ents BTW)]

The Origin of Balrogs (ft. reprise of What Are Maiar (and Istari))

Why Galadriel's Gift to Gimli Makes Me Shriek Softly: a frantic attempt to explain the entirety of The Silmarillion as fast as physically possible before I'm cut off by loving but tired friends

Aragorn Had No Hesitation Toward Kingship (Reprise: And Boromir's Death Scene Does ALL the Work In It) [delivered through tears] [can be delivered after the movie ends]

[break for snacks]

Geopolitics are More Complex: Saruman is properly his own faction, not subservient to Mordor, and also Gondor has fiefs and allied states.

Brief primer on the historical difference between Men of Rohan and Gondor, and why this matters thematically

Viggo Mortensen's Toe

[Reminder: Ents and Dwarves, Yavanna and Aulë]

Treebeard is based on CS Lewis, bc Tolkien liked trolling his friends

The flag just happened to blow off right then! Movie MAGIC!

Again, this wizard magic is far too dramatic

This orcs&wargs fight didn't happen in the books either but whatever

FARAMIR IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS

Elrond Deserves Better (In Multiple Ways) (Reprise) and Geopolitics are More Complex (Dunedain, Not Galadhrim, in Helm's Deep Reprise) [can be delivered after the movie ends]

FARAMIR IS STILL MUCH BETTER THAN THIS (Osgiliath Remix)

[break for snacks, maybe a short walk]

Saruman didn't die here, nor did Wormtongue, but we'll get back to that later

Faramir is being alright now; I'm just still angry about how he is in the 2nd movie

Gollum didn't frame Sam to separate them like this in the books but whatever. Frodo's projection and deteriorating mental state and Sam's caring incomprehension are compelling

Pippin got shown around Minas Tirith by a ten-year-old, casually downplayed the fact that he is the closest thing the Shire has to real aristocracy, and it was great

Tired reminder that neither Elrond Nor Aragorn Should Need These Character Arcs

Gandalf Knocking Out Denethor: It's Funny Because He's Probably Not Supposed To Do That

The terrifying, despair-inducing screams of the Nazgul and their mounts maybe-not-deliberately evoke Luftwaffen shrieks and air raid sirens!

ARAGORN ARRIVES WITH THE LIVING, NOT THE DEAD. He only leads the dead to take the ships; he sails them and arrives at Minas Tirith with a small army gathered from the no-longer-corsair-besieged southern fiefs, as well as the Dunedain (his people! including Elrond's sons!) who've been with him since Helm's Deep [optional: reading aloud this passage in the book, bc it's Epic]

The books make it explicit over and over that Isildur's heir will be known not just by sword or countenance but by having "THE HANDS OF A HEALER", and this is where it culminates

[Optional: quick discussion of Eowyn and feminism, ft. the themes of the work, the general presence of women in the work, etc]

Tolkien specifically described Sam defending Frodo from Shelob as "No onslaught more fierce was ever seen in the savage world of beasts; where some desperate small creature armed with little teeth alone, will spring upon a tower of horn and hide that stands above its fallen mate"!

Sam took the Ring, Sting, and Galadriel's star-glass and accidentally convinced all the orcs that he was some great and terrible Elven warrior

Orcs WERE Whipped (And Haradrim Have Loved Ones): Tolkien was deliberately writing about he horrors of fighting a faceless enemy, a la his days in the trenches, but didn't say the average soldier had no face, merely that our heroes cannot see them

Only Pippin went to the Battle at the Black Gates; Merry was still recovering from hamstringing the Witch-King

The giant eagles are servants of Manwë, king of the Valar, and so basically the most official divine intervention one can get

Needless to say, Eowyn and Faramir's Recovery Romance was more than 1 scene in the books

The Scouring of the Shire

This Wasn't Actually The LAST Ship: Sam; Legolas&Gimli; other Fellowship deaths; other elven (and half-elven) characters

"Into The West" was inspired by a young filmmaker who died of cancer!

[cherrycheridarling]

dap me up | t.h.

tom holland x actress!reader

warnings: somewhat smut? swearing and fluff

summary: during an interview for your new film, tom exposes your odd routine during intimate scenes and your favourite flower.

a/n: i got carried away. there's a lot going on in here. enjoy?

wc: 2.6k

"Hello! I'm Adrien Fox with Pop Sugar and we are here with stars of the new film 'Week Off', Tom Holland and Y/N Y/L/N!" Adrien introduced you and Tom to the cameras.

You and Tom gave little waves, "Hello!"

"Now, let's get right into it."

Adrien began asking generic questions while you tried your best to prevent any spoilers from leaving Tom's lips.

"Can you explain the movie a bit to anyone who is unfamiliar with the book or hasn't watched the trailer?"

Tom opened his mouth to speak before closing it, "I think I'll let Y/N do that."

Adrien laughed before you spoke, "Yeah, um. It's basically a comedy with a little rated R content. Some romance, but mostly raunchy and hilarious stuff. It follows the employees in this law firm and their vacation away from work. Lots ensues during said trip including relationships, arguments and too much drinking."

"And you guys worked with many famous actors and actresses in this film. Like, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Hart, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and The Rock. How was working with that many iconic people in the industry? You guys are obviously incredibly well known as well, but I imagine some of these people were your idols growing up." Adrien asked and you and Tom nodded.

"Yeah, uh, yeah. It was an honour. Absolutely amazing. Like, I never imagined I'd be making films, let alone films with stars like Kevin Hart and Emma Stone, you know? I'm just really proud of this one and I love everyone who we worked on it with." Tom gave his answer making you nod.

You cleared your throat, "Yeah, Zendaya is my best friend and she has been for years, long before this movie came along, but I still got so excited about working with her. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing, so hilarious. You put her and Chris into a room together and it's just comedy central." you laughed with Tom at the memory.

"We've seen in the trailer that you two share many intimate and – may I say – risqué scenes in this film. Was it hard to keep that level of professionalism and friendship while shooting those scenes?"

You let out a little chuckle at the question before Tom rubbed his chin and spoke, "Since Y/N and I are already good friends off screen, I thought it would be awkward filming those scenes, but Y/N does this weird handshake after every take and it wasn't awkward 'cause it just made me laugh."

Adrien laughed a little before speaking, "What handshake?"

You shook your head with a smile as you recalled the first time you ever did the handshake with Tom.

"Ready, Holland?" you had your pyjamas on and were making your way to your mark in the set of your character's hotel room.

Tom nodded before following you in, cameras and crew hot on his heels, "Ready as I'll ever be."

He was shirtless. A pair of loose fitting grey shorts hung low on his waist. His costume for this scene as Niko Sai.

A black silk slip hung carelessly off of your frame. Ending at the middle of your thighs, v-neck dipping low on your chest. Your costume for Kora Patel.

"We're going to take it from Tom's line; 'You want me just as much as I want you'. Okay?" you and Tom gave a thumbs up, "Action!"

"You want me just as much as I want you. Everytime you sneak a glance at me and you think I don't see, but I do because I'm already looking at you, Patel." Tom walked behind you, looking at you through the mirror in front of you. "I don't blame you, I am incredibly good looking." he smirked to himself.

"I'm guessing you couldn't fit your shirt over your ginormous head?" you rolled your eyes.

Tom's smirk only grew, "Is that a little bit of drool on your mouth, Patel? Who knew the Kora Patel had a thing for Niko Sai? Oh, the Lord is good."

You rested your hands on the sink and leaned forward, "This is a useless conversation, Sai." you turned to face him, "I feel nothing for you. Don't you get that?"

He stepped closer to you and cupped your face in his palm, "Yes you do, you just don't want to." his face showed pain, all humour drained from his character.

You shook your head with a dry laugh, "You're only trying with me because it's convenient. The company's quiet little Kora Patel, right?"

He took another step towards you, holding your hip in a tight grip, "That's a lie. Nothing about us is convenient."

You chuckled before your hand flew to grasp his hair, tangling your fingers in his curls. Your other hand pressed against his pec. Nails tracing patterns on his skin. Tom's breath hitched along with yours as his body automatically drew closer to you.

You tightened your grip on his hair, "It is convenient because you know I keep to myself. You know that I won't go running my mouth about how long you last or if size really does matter. You know that I'm an easy one to fuck," you pulled him closer, "And toss aside, right, Sai?"

"No." Tom swallowed, "You're wrong, Patel."

You shrugged, "I can give you what you want," you ran your thumb across his bottom lip, "Physically." your eyes met his with heavy lids, "Not emotionally. That's why you need Remedy. Not me." your lips brushed his as you spoke, your voice just loud enough for the mics to pick up.

He leaned in and nearly kissed you before you pushed him away slightly by his chest, foreheads still touching, "Let me kiss you." he whispered, sounding so desperate that you nearly abandoned the script and pulled him into you.

You rolled your lips between your teeth, "And if I don't?" you raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"I'll leave you alone. If that's what you want, I'll go and have a useless one night stand with a girl who could never measure up to you." he pulled your hips flesh against his, "But if you let me kiss you. I promise to show you how much I mean it when I say that I'll spend all night showering every inch of your body with the love it deserves." he brushed his lips against yours again before bringing his mouth to your ear, "Just say the word, darling, and I'm yours."

Your heavy breaths were the only things that could be heard besides the small sound of shuffling behind the cameras. Your eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips before you closed the distance and pushed your lips to his.

Fighting for dominancy, teeth clashing, hands roaming. Unscripted groans falling from Tom's lips as you tugged on his hair, running your fingers along his scalp. His hands gripped the bottom of your thighs before you jumped and wrapped your legs around his waist.

"I still hate you." you breathed against his lips as he kissed the corner of your mouth.

You felt him smirk, "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

He carried you to the bedroom, gently laying you down and climbing on top of you, never breaking the kiss. His hands running down your sides, squeezing and rubbing. Your lips moving in sync until he pulled away only to attach his lips to your jawline, leaving slow but hard kisses down your neck, leading to your collarbone.

"Still hate me?" Tom mumbled against your skin.

You let out a breathy moan, "More than ever."

"What do you hate about me, Patel?" he lifted up the bottom of your black slip.

"E-everything." you fake gasped as he rolled his hips into yours.

He laughed dryly, "Everything, huh? The noises you're making say otherwise."

"You're such a dick." you moaned.

He smirked against your breast, "You're about to take my—"

"—Don't finish that fucking sentence, Sai."

Soft moans fell from your lips as you wrapped your legs around his waist again and pulled him closer to you. He groaned against your skin as the cameras picked up every noise, every movement, every kiss. You ran your nails down his back, surely leaving marks in its wake. His grip on your hips was almost punishing, as if he wanted there to be bruises the next day.

"And cut! Great work, guys. Ten minute break and we'll shoot it again."

Tom immediately got off of you and sat to the side of the bed before looking at you with concern, "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

You let out a laugh before shaking your head, "No, you didn't hurt me. Dap me up." you held out your hand and he stared confused.

"What you up?" he chuckled.

You smiled before lifting his hand and doing the movements for him, "Just like that." he finally got it down and smiled.

"You Americans are definitely odd." he teased.

You tossed him a wink as an assistant handed you a robe, "See you in ten, Holland."

"And that's the handshake. It's not really a handshake, more of a greeting. I just did it after our first intimate scene because Tom was acting weird and I didn't want things to be awkward." you explained with a shrug as Adrien and Tom laughed.

Tom nodded, "I thought I hurt her! So I asked if I did and all she said was 'dap me up', like, what?" he laughed with you.

"You guys have really great chemistry on and off screen." Adrien complimented making your cheeks heat up.

You nodded, "Thank you. It took a lot of work to break through his industrial ego." you joked with an exhausted sigh as Adrien laughed.

Tom gasped beside you, "I do not have an industrial ego!"

"Mhm, sure." you joked before reaching over and giving Tom's thigh a gentle squeeze, "I meant indestructible."

Tom huffed and crossed his arms, "This is bullying."

Adrien laughed again, "We have to talk about something," he started and you already knew what was coming, "Lots of fans have speculated that the romance on screen carries on off screen." he smirked.

You and Tom laughed nervously. Almost awkwardly.

The situations that you went through with Tom while filming definitely built your relationship with him and strengthened it. In all honesty, you didn't know if the feelings you had for him were reciprocated.

In Tom's head, he was adamant that you had no feelings for him beyond the big screen. Both of you were too timid to confess first. His feelings for you developed a few weeks into filming and since then have only gotten stronger as your friendship grew and you spent more time together.

The amount of times that this topic had been brought up today was tiring. Every answer was the same: "No, no. We're just really good friends."

You decided to joke around, "Honestly, I've asked Tom out at least twenty times and he keeps rejecting me." you pouted and sniffled.

Adrien let out a joyous laugh as Tom gasped and choked on air at your words.

"That is not true! She has never asked me out!" he defended himself.

You shook your head with a deep frown, "He's broken my heart too many times. This is probably my last time acting with him." you continued on with the joke.

Tom shook his head furiously, "That is one hundred percent false. If she had asked me out, we would already be dating." he let the words fall from his lips without a second thought.

You fought the instinct to snap your head towards him. His confession catching you off guard. You played it off with another pout and shrug. Unsure if he was joining in on the prank or not.

Adrien raised a suggestive eyebrow, "What I'm hearing is that Y/N just needs to ask you out and we have our new couple."

You fake gasped, "Why do I have to ask him out? He should be asking me out with a million roses and a horse drawn carriage." you flipped your hair over your shoulder.

"You don't even like roses." Tom laughed, "You like dandelions because they turn into those fluffy things that you can make a wish with." he remembered the information off of the top of his head, "And because it sounds like you're saying 'dandy lions' when you say their name."

You nodded with a smile, "A million dandelions then. And maybe I'll think about it." you joked with a yawn making the two men laugh.

"You heard it here first. We have a new couple on the rise. Tom just needs to find a million dandelions and a horse drawn carriage." Adrien laughed again.

Tom scoffed dramatically, "Find? I already have them in my garage, ready to go."

Adrien cheered as you felt a heat creep up your neck, "Did I say dandelions? I meant daisies."

"Got those, too." Tom smirked making you roll your eyes.

"Okay, we need to end this interview before Tom buys all the flowers in Berlin." you joked.

After the interview ended, you said your goodbyes to Adrien and the crew before you and Tom made your way back to your temporary hotel suite for the week of press junkets.

Tom walked you to your room, stopping at the door, "That was an odd interview." he chuckled.

You nodded, "Indeed. It was fun, though." you smiled and he returned the expression.

There was an awkward beat of silence before he spoke again, "T-that whole asking me out thing. You were kidding, right? Like, just a show for the cameras?" he laughed nervously.

You swallowed air before replying with a timid smile, "Y-yeah. Totally. Just for the fans." you nodded again, "Um, I should head to bed. More interviews tomorrow. See you in the morning." you gave him a little wave before turning to your door and pulling out your key.

He nodded with the smallest of pouts before turning on his heel and starting the walk back to his suite.

Just as your hand was turning the knob, Tom's voice called out to you again.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" he spoke in one breath.

You bit your lip to conceal your smile, but it was no use. His question sparked a flame in your stomach that wasn't dying out anytime soon.

You turned with a bright grin, "I'd love to."

His features went from pure fright to relief in a matter of seconds, "G-great. I'll- uh, I'll text you the details. Goodnight." he gave you a little salute making you laugh.

"Sounds good. Night, Holland." you nodded your head before entering your hotel room.

You leaned against the door as soon as it shut. A euphoric glow radiating off of you. You were going on a date with Tom Holland.

Tom happily punched the air. Skipping down the hallway, a new found joy in his step. Chris Hemsworth walked out of his room and examined the gleeful boy.

"What's got you all smiley?" he chuckled.

Tom stopped and smiled, staring at the ceiling, "I just got myself a date."

Chris raised an impressed eyebrow before laughing, "You really are Peter Parker. Night, kid."

"Goodnight, Chris." Tom's smile never faded as he made his way back to his suite.

Not even ten minutes had gone by since he last spoke to you and he already missed you. He pulled out his phone and pressed on your contact.

Tom: sorry i didn't have any dandelions. hope you can make an exception x

Y/N: i suppose but the horse drawn carriage is a must x

[shangchiswife]

nwh villains and peter parker living with you and doing different things with you (3)

this was sm fun to write also inspired by @mobiusismyfav

nwh villains x gn!reader x peter parker (tom)

warnings: cursing

...

Being obsessed with a certain movie

Everyone except for you and Peter: *eating in the dining room and conversing amongst themselves*

Y/N: *humming*

Everyone: hey y/n!

Max: how was your day?

Flint: we saved you some lasagna and pizza

Y/N: *slightly ignores them and sits down continuing to hum*

Everyone: *exchanges looks with each other*

Otto: Y/N are you-

Peter: WE DON'T TALK ABOUT BRUNO NO NO

Y/N: *stands straight up with a big smile*

Everyone else: what the fuck?

Peter: hey, grew to live in fear of Bruno stuttering or stumbling

Y/N: *smiling and stands on the table* I can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling

Norman: Y/N get down! I don't want your feet anywhere near my food

Curt: I second that

Y/N: *ignores him and struts across the table, avoiding the food* I associate him with the sound of falling sand

Peter: *joins Y/N on the table*

Y/N and Peter: ch-ch-ch

Otto: lord help me what is going on

Max: is this from that new movie encanto?

Y/N and Peter: *continuing to sing*

Norman: never watched it

Otto: none of us did but apparently they did

Y/N: Seven foot frame, rats along his back!

Peter: Camilo's part is the best part

Y/N: When he calls your name it all fades to black

Peter: *pretends to faint*

Everyone: *panics and attempts to try and catch him*

Flint: this isn't a musical why are they acting like this

Curt: because they are clearly obsessed...

Y/N: Yeah, he sees your dreams and feasts on your screams

Otto: alright settle down children and eat

Norman: you don't want to be spanked now would you?

Y/N and Peter: *get off the table and sit in their appropriate seats*

Y/N: you know you all should watch encanto it's a cultural reset

Norman: fine but only if you stop bursting into song this is real life you know

Peter: that is part of real life i mean what do you think this is fake

Norman: *glares*

...

Playing fnaf

Y/N and Peter: *sitting at a computer frightened*

Peter: you're finally at night 4 you better not mess this up

Y/N: *checks cameras* shut the fuck up this is serious so don't distract me

Peter: Look Bonnie and Chica moved and Foxy's curtain changed!

Y/N: SHUT UP I DON'T WANT TO GET JUMPSCARED

Everyone else: *walks in*

Norman: what's with all the noise

Y/N: *discreetly turning away back to the game* we're just playing a little video game that's all

Max: what game?

Peter: it's called five nights at freddy's

Curt: *walking up to peer at the screen* what on earth is that and why are you checking the cameras?

Y/N: *frantically checking the cameras* i'm trying not to get killed by stuffed animals

Otto: *concerned* are you sure you can handle this game; you both seem a little frightened?

Y/N: we'll be fine

Curt: so what is this based off of?

Peter: the chucky cheese franchise. you know those animatronics in the back that are creepy? well in this game those things are trying to kill you but you're playing a bad guy and they're technically the good guys

Flint: what. you're telling me that those freaky little things in the cameras are trying to kill you and they're good?

Peter: well yes we're playing as a murderer

Everyone else: ...

Y/N: *checks camera and Foxy starts running* OH FUCK OH FUCK

Everyone: *unsettled*

Max: WHY DID THAT BITCH RUN

Peter: SHUT THE DOORS

Y/N: *shuts the door and then hears banging* thank god...and it's 3 A.M

Curt: why does time matter?

Max: i think at 6 A.M you win

Peter: right you are

Norman: this is...something

Y/N: *teasing* can't handle it?

Peter: *checks the cameras* oh my god i can't find chica!

Y/N: *takes control of the computer* what do you mean I-

Chica: *jumpscares the shit out of everyone*

Everyone: *screaming*

Max: *jumps into Otto's arms*

Otto: *shuts the program* no no no you both are not playing this anymore

Y/N: BOO! getting jumpscared is low key fun...

Flint: you both are still young if i saw my daughter playing this this would be out of the house this is a scary game!

Norman: *has a blank look on his face*

Peter: uh oh i think fnaf broke him

Y/N: understandable

Peter: did i tell you how for six months i had to sleep with aunt may because i was scared of this game

Y/N: no...

Peter: well i think i'm going to need to stay with all of you tonight

Everyone: *groans*

Norman: *still has a blank look*

Curt: is he alright?

Max: did he have a heart attack or something?

Norman: *snaps out of it* i'm fine

Y/N: ok...

Norman: y/n I'm staying with you tonight.

Y/N: ....

Y/N: i'm assuming that the rest of you want to stay with me then

Everyone: *nods*

Otto: I'm not scared but sure because the more the merrier right?

[spanthology]

my predictions for season 25 of south park.

this is some of the stuff that i'm expecting to see in season 25 which officially starts tomorrow. some of this is general, some specific. it's not all stuff i want to happen, just what i think is likely.

1) change of the formula

for starters, i think we should be ready for changes. where we left off before the specials in season 23, they were already experimenting with changing the focus away from the 4 boys. idk if that trend will continue, but i think it's safe to say that trey and matt want to keep the series from going stale, and trying out new things that could risk angering the fanbase will be part of that. we might get a slightly more serious tone like we he had with post covid, or maybe they'll lean into the anthology format and we get to see more stories from the other characters. whatever the case is, it will most likely be divisive. some people will love it while others will hate it. for me, the anthology direction sounds like exactly what the series needs.

2) casa bonita

last year, despite the desert of new sp content, we did get a lot of news concerning matt and trey. the giant paramount deal and renewal was obviously the biggest news for the fans, but for the guys it might be the fact that bought a giant colorado restaurant; casa bonita. so i imagine this work its way into an episode or two. either the boys revisit casa bonita itself and we get some meta jokes about the new management, or we get a plot of a character buying a run down business and we get the story of matt and trey's experience told through allegory. maybe they'll do both.

3) valentines day.

this is actually the first time an episode has premiered in february since season 1. the only other valentines day episode was "tom's rhinoplasty". and what better way to reenergize the fanbase than to mess about with all their favorite ships. maybe stan and wendy get back together, maybe tweek and craig break up. what i mostly want to see is some ridiculous love triangle that upsets everyone like kylexwendyxcraig. although as i just said, a goal here would likely be to excite the fans, not crap all over their dreams so maybe they'll save my idea for next valentines day.

4) saving cartman's future

where we last left off in post covid; return of covid, everyone gets a happy future except for cartman who we see as a homeless alcoholic. i doubt we'll actually go back to the post covid futures any time soon but i do think we'll get some resolution on cartman because that that predetermined future frames him as a victim as much as he is a victimizer which makes it harder to root against him. this could simply be just making the point that the future is not set in stone, or it could be a bigger plot where cartman starts down this path and then someone stops him and puts him on a new path that we don't know the ending of.

5) new principle

pc principle has overstayed his welcome as a character, though i'm not certain that trey and matt see it that way so it's possible the pc family may still stick around, just not with pc principle as a principle. the thing is that the sjw fad has largely passed. joe rogan is the most popular podcast and south park is more successful than ever before. to me that means that portraying these very influential positions as being controlled by sjw ideologues isn't as true to reality as it seemed in 2015. maybe principle victoria will come back, or maybe mr. garrison will take over...oh geeez. after seeing the preview for pajama day, i'd bet this change happens by the end of the 1st episode.

6) tegridy remains

unlike with the sjw people, the hippies are actually winning. drugs are getting legalized left and right, there's massive addiction issues, and there's still all these weed based startups that pop up whenever a new state legalizes. i'm not sure we'll have drugs as a major plot point this season, but i think we can be fairly sure that drugs will be plot points in many seasons to come, and it makes more sense to keep the premise of someone already in the drug business than having to reestablish some new connection each time.

7) parodies and references

while there's a lot they could draw on from the past 2 years, it's worth remembering that south park prides itself on being exceptionally timely, so however much i'd love to see a "tiger king" sp episode, i think squid games is the furthest back they're likely to reach for inspiration. although classics like bladerunner and terminator are of course always on the table. i think we could see them take on the matrix resurrections, don't look up, squid games, and book of boba fett/mandolorian, and expect plenty of classics as well.

8) topics and commentaries

i expect we'll see less politics this season. lets just say 2022 us politics is not as interesting as 2016-2021 us politics was. unless there's actually serious developments like ww3 or something, i'm not anticipating a joe biden episode or anything like that. the little cultural debates that pundits like to get overly dramatic about are likely to get covered but i'm sure they also have things to say about the entertainment and business worlds as well. i think they'll cover the republican obsession with critical race theory (probably in the 1st episode), they'll probably do something with joe rogan, maybe something about the 'rust' alex baldwin accident, and maybe we'll get plots that involve tiktok, twitch, and 'the metaverse'.

9) cliffhanger

they want people to sign up for paramount+. would they be so cruel as to end the season suspensefully with unresolved plot threads to be concluded in the next paramount special? yeah i think so. i can see them setting up some big reveal about kenny's power or something, only to cut it off and tell people they need to watch the next special to see how it concludes. do you disagree with these predictions? have any of your own? make your case . let's see how wrong i turn out to be.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

The fact that we didn't even need to have that cliffhanger ending in FFH makes it so much worse. I know MCU Spiderman is controversial, but most of us who campaigned for him to remain in the MCU did so in order to wrap up his arc. Not to have him be erased completely! This is worse than OMD. OMD at least had adult Peter with people who knew him and May alive. MCU Peter is an 18yr old with NO ONE and nothing. For what? A more "traditional" Spider Man for future movies that aren't official yet?

They really hinted at an actually interesting film of Peter having his identity leaked and being framed for murder and therefore, testing him fully with who would remain at his side and what would happen once his identity got leaked....and then quickly got rid off it as soon as they could next film, just so they could cash in on the Spiderverse hype with their poor take. Like, its one thing to joke in the writers room, "What if Spiderman's identity got leaked lol", but then its another to make that the actual ending of the movie....and then not do much with it next movie. Like sure, its apart of the plot....but only in terms of his, Ned's and Michelle's applications to MIT being rejected and their life's being basically ruined, hence the need for a spell....but that's only in it to force the Spiderverse copy plot.

Ngl, I didn't campaign for him to remain in the MCU lol- wasn't a huge fan of how a-lot of that campaign was people wanting Disney to buy Sony and ignoring Disney was also a problem, not just Sony- but given what the MCU just did with No Way Home, uh, probably not a good thing the MCU won, as people will act like since we wanted an accurate spiderman, we should be happy with the ending, ignoring the ending is bad and literally is the definition of reversing all character development and crap and getting rid off all the prior films development, just for an angst ending. And sadly we do look to be getting more films.....as the director said we'll be getting three more films and we also getting a prequel animated series called Freshman Year, so they still planning to milk this mess until the end.

I would say its on the same levels of bad as One More Day, but when you put it like that....HOLY SHIT- it is actually worser then One More Day, as its like you said- at least he has his support system like May still, but here he's alone as they fridged May for male angst and while I know Tom said he would love to have Harry Osborn in the MCU- bitch me too, the fuck, should have been there from the start- its not down to Tom sadly, just the writers and director who are apparently the types to throw in a joke as an ending but without any planning for how its dealt with.

[lokiondisneyplus]

Director Kate Herron calls from her childhood bedroom. She's staying at her parents' home in Southeast London for the summer, having spent the past year apart due to the pandemic and directing her latest series, Marvel's Loki. "It's so surreal seeing the show go out," she says over Zoom, "and being in the room that I was last in as a teenager."

Loki's first three episodes have seen the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) team up with Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the all-powerful Time Variance Authority to track down a fugitive Variant of himself: A female Loki that goes by Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) who's set on blowing up the Sacred Timeline and, with it, the MCU as we know it.

"My dad, bless him, he was never into Marvel before, but now he's obsessed with it," she says. "When I got the job, he started watching his way through the films, and he's got all these different YouTubers that he now watches for theories, and he tries to get spoilers out of me. He's like, 'What does it mean?!' and I'm like, 'Dad, I can't tell you!' It's very sweet, but very funny."

Now, with three episodes left of the season, she's bracing for their first family viewing experience. "I might not be able to, though. I might be like, 'You have to watch it by yourselves and then we can talk!'" she laughs. "Wait to hear the Loki theme and be like, 'Oh, I can go downstairs now.'"

In the meantime, Herron fielded all of ET's midseason questions about making Loki's bisexuality canon in the MCU, flexing more of his magic than ever before and why Sylvie isn't really Lady Loki or the Enchantress.

We are halfway through the season. Outside your parents, how has the reaction felt so far?

It's been amazing. We had these big ideas in it -- like, about free will and good and evil -- and wanting to [know that] if we're going back in with Loki because he's so beloved, that it's going to be a good story for that character, but some fresh terrain. I think the response has been pretty joyous and it's just so fun seeing what people are liking, what people's theories are. I couldn't be more happy, to be honest.

Being someone who appears pretty online and active on social media, how deep are you going into reading what people say and diving into those theories and all that?

I definitely read a lot of them -- I don't comment on them -- but I used to love Lost and Game of Thrones, and I was on Reddit, commenting, like, "Ooh, maybe it means this or means this," and I think that's the fun thing with our show, right? Our fans are so smart and it's fun seeing what they're getting right and what's not right but is very interesting. The Easter eggs they dig up are always amazing to me. Some of them we put in there, and I'm like, "Well, let's see..." and I'm like, "Oh, they found it!" So, it's really fun tracking it online. It's very weird directing something where you know every frame will be [screen]grabbed by some fans because they're looking for stuff.

I loved your tweet about why it was important for you to confirm that Loki is bisexual in the show. Not really reveal -- because he's bisexual in the comics -- but make that canon. Talk to me about having those conversations with Marvel.

I think it was something very important to everyone. And I felt like, OK, how can we acknowledge this? We have aspects of the story that are there, so how do we build this into the story so it feels earned in the moment? I didn't want it to feel like we were just wedging something in, but we had this beautiful scene where these two characters are being really raw and really honest about who they are, and I was like, "Well, it is a part of who he is and who they are." For me, talking with Michael [Waldron] and Bisha [K. Ali], it just felt like it was the right moment for that line. This episode is really beautiful for me, because it's these two characters getting to know each other, so in that sense, it felt like the right place for that conversation to happen. And I thought it was done really beautifully by the writers.

Obviously, like I've said, it's very personal to me, and I said it was a small step in some ways -- because obviously, he's just talking about it -- but in the bigger scale of things, I'm like, oh no, it's massive actually. If I saw that when I was 10, it would be really big for me. It's been really nice getting comments from people online. Some people were like, "It helped me actually talk about how I feel to my family and helped me come out." And I thought, "Well, if it helped one person do that, then it's worth it."

This is the MCU's first lead character who is openly queer. Did you know that? Were you aware of how big a milestone this would be?

Yeah. Well, in some senses, yes, and in some senses you're never sure, right? Because [Marvel is] so secretive about all their other projects. [Laughs] For me, I was like, I'm telling Loki's story, it's a part of who they are and I just want to acknowledge it. It's canon in the comics and if we can make it canon in the films, that would be amazing. When I came on board, I was like, if there's a way to do this, it would mean a lot to me and, I'm sure, a lot of people. But it was very welcomed, and I think we're all very proud of how we did that.

This may be getting into spoiler territory that you aren't able to talk about, but acknowledging one's sexuality is one important part of representation, seeing it play out through relationships is another. Can we expect to see any further exploration of what it means for Loki to be bisexual in this show?

I'm trying to think how to answer your question. [Laughs] I would say in our story, this is how we acknowledge it. But I hope that that paves the way for deeper exploration.

We're halfway through the season. What were your biggest goals in these first three episodes?

I think the biggest one was obviously, the Loki we're with in this story is on a completely different path, so it was tracking his character in the sense that he basically sees this amazing arc that the other Loki had gone on across the MCU movies, he sees that he reconciles with his brother, but that wasn't him in that moment. He's watching a different version of himself. But seeing that moment and seeing that he has room for growth and change is really interesting with our Loki, because he's in a very different headspace. So, it was tracking, what's familiar about this character from the Loki that we've seen over the last 10 years go from villain to antihero? And what is going to be completely different and completely different sides to this character that we get to now dig our teeth into? That was something really important to me and to Tom and the writing team, and it was really fun unpacking that and what his identity means.

The other challenges, honestly, were just setting up the TVA, because it's outside of time and space and giving that a grounding and a reality and making that feel like a whole new exciting corner of the MCU. That was a big responsibility, and I was really excited by that. And then you have the bigger arc of the story, but you also knowing it's going out weekly on TV. So, how are we going to track this week by week. Where are we leaving the characters and what are we leaving for the audience? Something we always thought about was we knew there'd be discussion week to week, so it was like, "Where are we going to give them certain bits of information across the show?" We wanted to provoke conversation and discussion about even just things like free will, you know?

I will say about the TVA, I'm basically a human Miss Minutes stan account. I think she's the baddest bitch in the MCU. I watch every Miss Minutes fancam that pops up on my Twitter feed.

She's incredible! What I love about it is that she's in our first episode and she actually used to come out of the presentation that Loki watches -- she came out on the screen -- but it was too crazy. We were like, "OK, we can't do that in the first episode. We'll do it in the second episode!" But what I love about her is that we're seeing the TVA through Loki's eyes and it's, like, the status quo, right? And if our status quo is a Southern-talking, Roger Rabbit-style clock, the show is going to probably get quite weird. I think that's what I love about her. And obviously, Tara [Strong] is awesome. Yeah, Miss Minutes is a lot of fun.

You talked about exploring who Loki is and could be. He's always had an arsenal of powers, but in this series, you really get to explore and define what his power set is. What were those conversations like?

That was something else, coming in, I was so excited about. We have six hours of him, let's see some more magic. Because across the comics, he's super powerful, and for example, in the last episode, that's what was so exciting to me about that, the oner at the end of episode 3 was that I've seen a lot of oners but I haven't seen one with magic. So, I was like, let's put loads of magic in there! We get Loki using his telekinesis and his magic blasts and then also Sylvie, as well, and her powers.

For me, it was exciting getting to bring those in in a way that pushed the story forwards. Because I get it, when he first lands in the TVA, they can't use magic, so I know if I was watching, I'd be like, "What? No magic?!" But I think that's the fun thing is, we still have three episodes to go and also it was fun to put him on Lamentis and see him using his powers in different ways. It was definitely something important to me and the team, was to get to show a little bit more of him. But across the films, you can only do so much. Now we have six hours, so it felt like, of course we have to delve into that more.

I don't know if you saw this on Twitter, one of my favorite reactions to episode 3 was someone tweeted a screenshot of Sylvie screaming and her hands glowing and wrote, "she did the meme!!"

[Laughs] That's great!

We've now officially met Sylvie, and we're starting to piece together that this may be sort of a hybrid character of Lady Loki and Sylvie Lushton, the Enchantress. Are you able to confirm that you pulled from both to create your Sylvie? Or is that something that's to be further revealed?

I would say there's more to be delved into. One thing I would say is, like, she's different to the comics. Like, she's a unique character, but obviously, there's things that have been pulled from. I think for her character, she's on the run and she's called Sylvie and she's dyed her hair. The blonde that we associate with Sylvie is played in that sense, but it makes sense for her character within our story. But I would say deeper than that, yeah, there's more to be revealed about her character to comes.

The main thing I would say is: Lady Loki in the comics is a very different character to our character, obviously. I love that character and I think she's got a very different journey. But our Sylvie is a female Loki, in that sense -- because in episode 1 and 2, they know it's a Loki they're tracking -- but I think that's part of the discussion. It's almost like Loki -- as in Tom Loki -- he's like, "Wait, how much of my life have you got? Who are you?" And I think that's the real question is, who is she? So, we will discuss that as the show goes on. Why does she not like being called Loki? What's her past? Where did she come from?

Tom and Sophia have such great chemistry, but how challenging was it for you and Michael and Sophia and the writers to create a character that essentially has to match up with our Loki, who's had however many films to become the fan-favorite character that he is?

It starts in the writing. Because she's a unique creation, and that was exciting and I was intrigued where they were pulling from with the comics. I was like, OK, that's cool. Beyond that, I think it's casting it. Sophia is an incredible actor. I've worked with her before. She has this fire in her and she brings this amazing vulnerability to all her characters, but she's also, like, so funny. It's just, so many of these things she always brings, I was like, they're so Loki. So, I was like, "We've got to get her to read!" And we were just all blown away by her read of it.

She definitely can hold her own. That's the other thing, as well. I know her, and I was like, she will hold her own. I know she will. Because she's going against Tom's Loki and that's such the fun thing about them. Even just on the train, where it's the end of the world and Loki's solution is, "I'm going to have a party and I'm going to have a drink. I'm going to have a lovely time." And her solution is, "I'm not going to have a glass of champagne, thanks. I'm going to focus on the mission of getting off the moon." Those little differences is what's quite fun about them to me. How are they different, and how are they the same?

Was there something you got to do as a director in these first three episodes that you had never done before that you were especially excited or nervous or both to tackle?

I suppose so much of the show, right? Because I've done a lot of drama and a lot of comedy, but they were like, "Here you go! Here's the reins to this massive, genre-driven piece where you have to set up a new corner of the MCU and you're going to have this beloved character." There was a lot to carry. But I'd say in terms of something I was excited about, only because Kevin Feige was teasing me, when we filmed the big oner at the end of episode 3, I was really inspired in the writing, because it sounded like you were really with the characters. I love doing long takes anyway and I remember thinking, "Oh man, this sequence feels like the one that we should do as this oner," because I want the audience to feel like they're with Sylvie and Loki in this moment, and it's also a moment where you finally start to see an apocalypse and it feels more real, because you're seeing the horror and the terror that's going along with that.

For me, that was exciting, but the really cheesy bit that made me so excited is they had these foam rocks that fell on people, but it felt like real movie magic to me. I was so obsessed with the rocks. I was like, "Oh my god. This is like real, big Hollywood filmmaking." And I remember Kevin Feige was like, "You can take a rock home, if you want," and I was like, "Oh my god!" So I have this rock. It's in bubble wrap now, and I'm going to unpack it when I move into my place. But that's probably honestly the most excited I've ever been. [Laughs] I was just so excited by the rocks. Oh, and also, I remember when we were at Roxxcart and Tom gets thrown into those robo dogs, I was obsessed with the robo dogs. He was like, "I think this is the happiest I've ever seen you." So, those are my favorite moments on set. The foam rocks and the robo dogs.

Somebody's going to come into your flat in the future and there's going to be a shelf with just a rock and a robotic dog on it.

Mhmm! And I'll be like, "Yeah, guys, I did something." [Laughs] They'll be like, "What is this...?" But the foam rocks are genuinely amazing, because they look like real, heavy rocks, but they're so light. I was so fascinated with them. I was so excited. I made a lot of low budget stuff before this, so it was a big deal to me.

My favorite part of the first three episodes is the Kate Berlant cameo. How did that come to be?

Basically, I love comedy and my producer, Kevin Wright, does as well, and we were trying to think of people that could be fun. We've got Josh [Fadem] in episode 1, and that was a miracle. I just spoke to her about the part and was like, "This is a very small role, but if you're interested, you're very talented and you're so funny." And she was like, "You know what? That sounds really fun. Renaissance faire? Yeah, I'll come do it." So, it was very kind of her to come down and do that for us. She's so funny, man. She's so funny.

Do you let her riff at all?

We did. We have a lot of alts and a lot of very extended bits of her talking to the Minutemen. I think there's one where she talks about a bird show at the faire. She's so funny. I was very flattered and grateful that she did that for us.

I'm going to start the #ReleaseTheKateBerlantCut campaign. I want a whole episode of her alts. Or she can be the new Stan Lee and cameo in every MCU project. Before I let you go, if you had to choose one word to tease these upcoming three episodes, what is that word?

Hmm. I thought of one word, but then I'm like, it's spoiler-y, so I can't say that. [Laughs] Oh, one word. Exciting? I have to say "exciting," because I can't say the other one I wanted to say!

[movienotesbyzawmer]

August 30: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

(previous notes: Mission: Impossible III)

I bet the powers that be at the Mission: Impossible movie factory didn't lose any sleep over the stupid colon in the title that screws everything up. I mean, just look at that up there with the colon after my date, then the colon in the middle of the OG title, and then it's like, well, you can do whatever you want with punctuation but we're adding a subtitle after it now and you just have to deal with it. On posters and stuff it's just "Mission: Impossible" and then underneath those words they put "Ghost Protocol" so they don't have to deal with it. What a mess. I tell you it is a damn mess is what it is.

Anyway, we have arrived at the M:I movie that, more than any of the others, just really hit the spot for me when I saw it upon its original release. I saw it at the end of a frustrating and tiring work day and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. At some point in the middle I realized that I was enjoying it thoroughly without having to tolerate the kinds of flaws that were apparently part and parcel of this kind of movie. Maybe there were flaws that I just wasn't registering. We'll soon see.

Continuing the tradition of making very hip choices for the directing duties, here we have the live-action directorial debut of Brad Bird, who started off directing episodes of The Simpsons before moving on to no less than The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. Dude had two Oscars on his mantle by the time he showed up for this. Press play already!

Um Sweet Christ those opening shots look gook in 4K like HOO boy

Whoa, neat opening where Sawyer from Lost is chased off the top of a building in Budapest but his jacket deploys an air mattress right as he almost-hits, but then he's shot by Lea Seydoux in an alley, rat-a-tat-tat with the action here, like what is up

Simon Pegg is back, and he's being tricksy with the tech in a prison! He's opening cell doors and the prisoners are surprised and delighted with that twist! He plays them a jazz standard on the intercom and Ethan Hunt suavely emerges from one of the cells. Fun silly things ensue involving Ethan's rebellious and confident independent strategy and a small riot that seems kind of like a bar fight.

He has made a pal in the joint and he's breaking him out. Some kind of cool tech creates a really sweet vortex-y hole in the floor and they are swooped up by their helpers, it's fun.

We're introduced to Paula Patton who is a new team member, and then the credits roll, and they are spirited in a way that recalls the first movie, also showing real scenes from later in the movie.

Flashback to the thing that was happening with Sawyer shows how that botched operation, something about a file and a courier, got Sawyer killed because lots of bad guys were all over the place there. AR contact lens technology figures prominently, and that is a good idea (plus we totally might have those soon, right?).

0:18:16 - Once again we begin the movie without the leading lady from the previous one, but we're starting to get an explanation here. Or just a tease of one I guess.

And quickly we get a sneaky-style self-destructing message that sets up that Ethan has to disguise himself as a specific Russian and sneak into the actual Kremlin. This movie 100% gets what a Mission: Impossible movie is supposed to be.

This time, they aren't using fancy masks or voice shifter things, just costumes and a fake mustache. They comment about that in the dialogue but don't explain why.

0:24:52 - Dialogue mixed SO QUIET here I have no idea what SP just said. It seems like you're supposed to have heard it.

But that is quickly forgotten when they use the coolest spy gadget of them all - a screen that is placed in a corridor that makes the guy at the other end of the corridor think it’s the corridor, but it's a screen and SP & Ethan are hiding behind it and it is super super neato I love it

Then just when it's cool that that is going well, it's suddenly cool how NOT well it's going because someone is spying on their spycraft! The thing they were going to heist isn't there, and someone deliberately makes their comms thing be heard by the bad guys!

And THEN we see something we really didn't think we'd see and it is kind of mind blowing - Ethan escapes from the Kremlin with a very smooth quick-change of his disguise that we see him do in all one shot… but then the Kremlin totally explodes and it explodes all over Ethan as he's running away! It looks amazing!

Right after that there is some fun with subtitles - Ethan is in the hospital all damaged and concussed and stuff, and the news is talking about the obvious big story, and the subtitles are in Russian. At first I was like, "hey is my home theater tech busted?" but no, the subtitles become gradually more in English as Ethan starts to come out of it. Then we see with subtitles that Ethan is reading lips about the police people that want to be bad guys to Ethan.

After Ethan escapes, we shift to a wholesome-looking Russian family we haven't seen before. The scene is a nice little piece of drama about how the dad sees the Kremlin news and wants to get the family out of there, and very quickly that goes south and thugs have them all at gunpoint, it's nicely done

Ethan is being extracted by two new characters played by accomplished, Oscar-nominated actors Tom Wilkinson and Jeremy Renner… the conversation is dire and I don't want to type during it gahhh gah gah gah I am watching because holy shit this goes south too! TW informs Ethan that the DoD is going to frame him for blowing up the Kremlin and his only choice is to escape. He's telling him HOW to escape in a funny way, but they are attacked and it's visually very interesting and TW is headshot and they are in the water and it is such bad news for Ethan and his new colleague played by Mr. Renner, I probably typoed a lot during that because it was so hard to look away.

So Ethan is on the hook for the terrorist attack of the century and he's being chased by a little battalion of thugs who just shot that important spy boss, and he's in Russia. It is very not good for Ethan.

He's with JR and JR is playing a different character for him. He's a bookish analyst guy who feels very out of place in action-land.

We're learning about the main bad guy, Hendricks, who was the guy that screwed everything up in the Kremlin. He's a super-smart theoretical physicist or something who has big, well-thought-out ideas about destroying the world with nukes, and he took nuke codes from the Kremlin. So things are just really really hairy and it's effective storytelling is what I'm saying.

Also effective is that they met up with SP and PP on a neat secret train car thing that is well appointed with spy gear

And VERY VERY EFFECTIVE is what happens next, which is a series of establishing shots of Dubai which KILL ON MY TV. I am glad I have a 4K panel, kids. This begins what I recall as being an extended sequence of sweet-ass suspense. Ethan has to break into a server room by climbing the outside of the 130th floor of the Burj Khalifa using glove-gadget tech that will hopefully work. There is at least some actual Tom Cruise clinging to the side of that building. It's so cool looking. And to make matters worse, a dust storm approaches! Or should I say "to make matters even cooler looking". Yes I should. Please read that part.

Paula Patton's character seems underdeveloped so far, especially compared to her teammates Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner.

Jeez you guys, if you like suspenseful action scenes about barely surviving climbing a skyscraper this movie is for you.

1:05:34 - In the middle of a tense conversation we see that they were using the maskmaker but it wasn't working. They just don't want us to have mask fun in this movie. They hate mask fun. Why does Brad Bird hate mask fun.

Oh then this scene which is neat - bad guys are meeting with LS… but Ethan and JR are taking their place, and PP is taking LS's place for the real bad guys one floor down. The movie explains it better than me, but it is pretty exciting, the two meetings happening at the same time with opposite trickery.

Hah, SP does a sweet fake-hand trick to get the diamonds from the bad guys so he can get them to Ethan and JN, and JN is doing the thing where he uses the contact lens tech… gosh why are you even reading this, just watch the movie. I really like the tricksy espionage.

It all falls apart because LS spots the contact lens in JR's eye. The plot is moving along in a way that, I'm once again noticing, would normally require more half-assed-ness. It's just a solid spy plot. Which probably makes these notes more boring. Poor you.

LS dies by getting kicked out of the open window of the Burj Khalifa with a brewing sandstorm in the background! Neat looking!

And then a thing where Ethan is in a thick dust cloud and he's tracking the important paper thing with his tracker device, and it starts moving quickly at him and we realize just as it's too late that it's in a car that's gonna run him over! Then that mechanic gets used in a car chase in a dust storm, which we don't see very often outside a Mad Max movie, and that climaxes in a really cool looking collision, followed by the reveal that one of the nuclear code bad guys was Hendricks in a supermask. So we DO like mask fun after all! Except why do we care that it was Hendricks?

A scene where JR is confronted for maybe being a double-crosser has a beautifully choreographed gun-get-grabbity-grab thing that was probably super fun for the actors.

1:27:05 - JR tells a story that at first we think is that family we saw briefly almost scramming, but no, he's talking about Ethan, and what seems to be a story about Ethan's wife (Julia from the last movie) getting killed in Croatia, and Ethan killing six Serbians for revenge, and that's why he was in prison in the beginning? It's still a little mysterious and kind of complicated. It doesn't quite fit with what we think we know.

Dubai imagery is pretty. I have been to Dubai. I am standing by for your marriage proposals now.

I didn't really follow how we got to this point, but Ethan went for a walk and met with some underworld Dubai person and made a deal the ended up with a huge cache of spy gear and a private plane to India. I went to India like right after Dubai. I have my own car and a job kind of so you might need to calm your hormones at this point.

A probing exchange with PP establishes that indeed Ethan's story is that he killed the men who killed his wife. Doesn't really seem legit, though. There's more to the story, clearly.

One of the tech things they play with on the plane is the most magic-seeming one. It is a suit that looks like tight chain-mail, and it floats over a cart, like a magic carpet that you wear.

We're introduced to Brij Nath, whose name I had to look up so I could tell you how it is spelled. He has an access code that they need, which seems like they just kind of simplified the situation, and he's one of those only-kinda-bad bad guys that's really just a pawn, for our heroes as well as for these storytellers.

The wearable magic carpet gadget is fun and funny! SP has to remote control JR wearing the floaty-suit and JR is trying not to freak out too badly, and maybe on purpose it recalls the scene from the first movie where Tom Cruise hovers parallel to the floor.

Hendricks is now in a secret room in the place where they all are, and he has a bad-guy briefcase computer and orders some subordinates to do something with a virus, and I don't actually understand what's really happening but am I to believe that Ethan et al are thwarting literal nuclear terrorism here in Mumbai? Right here at this pleasant party at the palace of an only kinda-bad bad guy?

1:48:30 - Ha, the climax of the wearable magic carpet thing involves JR barely surviving by doing an acrobatic stunt that seems oddly intuitive and satisfying. You'll just have to watch the movie to know what I mean.

The spy-tech car they have is rad.

They fail to prevent the launch of a nuclear missile! We see it come out of the sub and start missiling toward its destination which we have learned is California! Hendricks mutters things about how that should get the ball rolling making world powers hate each other and nuke each other and may there be peace on Earth, he also, yes, says that.

A chase on foot has Ethan and Hendricks suddenly brawling on an exotically elegant robotic parking ramp. Platforms move around mechanically and transfer unmanned cars to different areas, and it is against that video gamey backdrop that Ethan and Hendricks struggle to get that sinister suitcase which is all bouncing around that environment. Unexpectedly, Ethan's hope of grabbing it is thwarted by Hendricks suicide-jumping down several stories! We see it! He definitely does that! Ethan drives a car off a thing to follow him, plummeting down hood-first, and the airbag saves him! He gets the briefcase and barely saves the day in time!

Again a denouement making it very clear that everything is really shockingly okay and tidied up. Even the thing with Ethan revenge-killing Serbians and the thing with his wife is cleaned way up, but with an elegance and sweetness that elevates this movie above the others. She's not dead after all, just fake-dead for her protection. And they're only where they are in Seattle so he can glimpse her lovingly across a marina.

So! I feel strongly that this is the best Mission: Impossible movie! It is an extraordinarily deftly-constructed spy thriller! It's got all the funnest types of things that are in the other movies, and other fun spy thrillers, but with so much less garbage! They did a great job and they should be proud.

[spookysanta]

online - four. (G.D.)

Summary: everyone warned him about talking to this girl online. but he can’t help but want to fall for her... now he has to meet her. what happens when they finally get together in person?

Pairing: Grayson Dolan x Reader

WARNINGS: as usual, sexy thoughts, nothing major

click here for part one, part two, part three.

UNEDITED

***

When they got back to his house, the first thing she planned to do was get in the shower and change into comfy clothes. He wanted them to watch movies out in the living room tonight but she didn’t exactly have the heart to tell him that she was exhausted. She changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt, then made her way down the hall, knocking on the door of his bedroom.

“Come in.”

She opened the door slowly and peeked her head around the wood. “Hi.” She said quietly.

He was sat on the bed in sweatpants and a hoodie, hunched over and scrolling through his phone. She walked further into the room and sat on his bed next to him. “You alright?” he asked her.

“Mhm.” She stifled a yawn, flopping back onto his bed.

“You still down to watch movies tonight? You look tired.”

She can not say no to him for some reason. Of course, she’s tired! She’s been out all day long, and not to mention, was on a plane literally all morning. But he looked at her with excitement in his eyes and she just blurted out, “Definitely.”

He thought for a moment. “How about we watch movies in here?”

Her mind started to race. Because she’s imagined this—spending time with him, alone in his room, “watching movies” together. Although the outcome always ends up erotic, who’s to say they can’t just have a nice night in? “Kay.” It came out almost as a squeak.

He turned his body to look at her. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yep. Fine.” She forced a smile.

He shrugged, as if to say “if you say so”, and went to connect his iMac to the projector his brother got him. He turned on Disney+, just because he knows her and he knows that whenever she had the chance, she would watch Captain America: Civil War. He doesn’t ask her why, but that is her favorite film, without a doubt.

And it recently occurred to him that her favorite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t technically an Avengers film, though she lives and breathes the Avengers. She told him it’s her favorite because it’s the first “Avengers” film with Spider-Man in it, and, in her words: “Tom Holland is perfect”. So, he assumes, she only watches the movie for Tom Holland, although she’ll tell him that it’s because of the action and the plot and blah, blah, blah.

He knows the truth.  

He clicked ‘play’ on the film and the opening music began, causing his girl to snap her head toward the wall across from them. “Yes!” she chanted. She sat up and situated herself against the headboard of his bed, using one of his throw pillows as a cushion.

While she was getting comfortable, he went into the linen closet across the hall from his bedroom and got one of his throw blankets from back home in New Jersey. It’s thick, and he thinks she’ll appreciate it because she’s always cold. He came back and tossed the blanket over her lap before sitting next to her.

“Comfy?” he asked her.

She was already tuned out.

He poked her shoulder. “Hello?”

“Hm?” she didn’t take her eyes away from the screen.

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah.” She pulled her legs into her chest which made the blanket crumple up in her lap. He took it upon himself to take the blanket and wrap it around her shoulders instead, then he got closer to her, sitting his back against the headboard as well. He took an arm and pulled her into his chest, her head laying on his pec.

“How about now?” he kissed her head for what seemed to be the one-thousandth time today.

Dammit, Grayson, her mind chanted continuously, I can’t focus on Chris Evans if I’m laying on you and you smell as yummy as you do.

Maybe that was his intention—to have her mind so clouded and enwrapped in everything that is him that she wouldn’t be able to even comprehend the idea of anyone that doesn’t have his name.

He’s clever for that.

***

He knew she was sleepy. And he knew that she wasn’t going to sleep until she sees Spider-Man, though she’s seen this movie probably over three-hundred times since its release. She kept stirring to make herself stay awake, but then her eyes widened in the cutest way.

Well, in his opinion, everything she does is cute.

She sat up from his chest, rubbed her eyes, cupped her hands around her mouth, and said: “Underoos!”

She really does love this movie. And he didn’t think she loved it so much that she knew the lines, but apparently he was mistaken.

“Nice job, kid.” Said the screen when Spider-Man swooped into frame holding Captain America’s shield.

“Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit…Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's—it’s perfect. Thank you.” she replied as Spider-Man.

“Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation.”

“ Okay. Cap…Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man.”

“Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just…”

“Hey, everyone.”

“. . . Good job.”

He was in shock. Utter and complete shock. She leaned back into him, content and sleepy again. “You done?” he asked her.

“For now.”

He chuckled. Not much longer after, he felt her body settle against him, which indicated to him that she was drifting off to sleep. But by then, she’d wrapped her arms around his torso, and what kind of (almost) boyfriend would he be if he didn’t let her snuggle him? He wasn’t sure if she was completely asleep, so his plan was to wait until she was totally knocked out before picking her up and carefully placing her in her bed in the guest room.

So he waited until he heard a quiet snore come from her mouth, before carefully taking her arms from around his torso and scooping her up to take his into her room. He made it about halfway down the hallway before he heard a quiet mumble against his chest:

“What are you doing?”

He stopped walking. “I was taking you to your room.”

“No.”

“No…?”

“Movie’s not over.”

“You were snoring.”

She wanted to hit him because she does not snore, but she didn’t have the energy. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Okay,” he snorted, “what do you want me to do, then?”

“Go back.”

He sighed, turning swiftly and going back into his room, setting her back in her original spot before going to the restroom. When he came back, he found her in his bed.

In. his. bed.

Inside his bed.

Under the covers.

Ugh.

“Honey…what are you doing?”

“I got cold again.” She muttered, scooting deeper in the bed.

Now he won’t ever be able to take her to her room. Not that he necessarily wanted her to not be in here, but he knows his mind is going to race if the two of them sleep in the same bed tonight. He knows he’s going to think inappropriate things and his…friend may get excited—and how would he explain that if she were to wake up in the middle of the night and see it?

“So what, you’re gonna sleep in here?”

She shook her head, eyes stuck on the screen again.

“We both know you’re not going to stay awake the entire movie.”

“Shh.”

He shook his head at her, opting to take off his shirt to get into bed because he was going to sleep. She snuggled into him again, this time stopping when she felt bare skin against her cheek.

“You took off your shirt…” she said observantly.

“Well, yeah, do you expect me to sleep fully-clothed?”

“No?” it came out as a question.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

If it does, maybe you should sleep in your own bed.

“Nope.”

“Good.” He settled down into the bed to get warm. Even though it’s not cold outside or in the house, it’s cold in his bedroom. And he doesn’t know if it’s because of the temperature the thermostat is set to, or the fact that there’s a girl laying next to him that’s basically cold-blooded.

Like he expected, she was back asleep in under ten minutes. He knew she was way too tired to try and stay awake to finish the movie no matter how hard she rubbed her eyes to stay awake or nudged him, saying “this is my favorite part” on three different occasions. Her arms were wrapped around his torso again, but this time, her head managed to make its comfort on his abdomen instead of his chest. He had a hand on her back, probably to keep her warm since the way she was laying had the back of her frame uncovered by the covers. He decided then that it was in fact late and he should go to sleep. He turned off the projector, plugged both of their phones into the chargers next to his bed, and shut his eyes.

***

“Grayson.”

“Grayson.”

“Ugh.” She almost punched him in the chest, trying to squirm out of his tight grip on her. “Get up, you ass.”

“What?” he groaned.

“I’m hungry, let me up.”

His eyes darted to the clock on his nightstand. 3:39 am. “You couldn’t have waited another couple hours?”

“No. I want my ice cream.”

He moved his arm from her and she scooted from the bed. “Thanks.” She left the room, barefoot and cold, quickly moving her feet along the hardwood to the kitchen, where she found her ice cream in the freezer. She rummaged through a couple of drawers for a big spoon, then she made her way back to Grayson’s bedroom and climbed back in the bed. She opened the pint and scooped some onto the spoon, putting it in her mouth and savoring the flavor. “Mm.”

“Gimme some.” She heard him mumble.

“No.”

“I just want to try it.” In truth, though it may sound strange, there was just something about the way that she ate the ice cream; the way she licked the spoon, the way she just had to let out little moans of bliss when she put the next scoop in her mouth. He wanted to taste her, and he thinks that now of all times wasn’t the best time to ask. But he also thinks by tasting her ice cream (that she directly tasted, though he’ll probably regret it in the future), his mind will be satiated for the moment.

“Fine.” She handed him the spoon and pint of ice cream. He took a scoop of the ice cream and put it in his mouth, licking the spoon after. “Stop that. You’re going to get your spit on my spoon.”

He put the entire bowl of the spoon in his mouth then, taking it out of his mouth and licking both sides of the spoon with a flattened tongue. “Here.” He handed it back to her.

“I’m starting to not like you.”