#BE FREE LEONARDO TOMATO

[localcreeture]

leonardo tomato

[adorkablecringeworks]

That Color Looks Good on You

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Pairing: rottmnt x gn!reader

Warnings: Mild swearing

Summery: You show off your new lipstick to your favorite dork, Leo. After a series of events, you and Leo come up with a plot for a perfect prank. You’ll ambush every one of his siblings and smother them in kisses with your new lipstick all the while Leo films the whole thing. Let the Shenanigans Commence!

Author’s Note: I originally came up with this as a Leo x Reader. But the way the story progressed, it can be read as any rottmnt x reader as well as either romantic, platonic, or familial. The same can be said for the gender. I was putting on my own lipstick when I thought up this scenario and I thought ANYONE CAN WEAR LIPSTICK!!! So gender neutral it is! Writing in the 2nd person made it easy too.

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Part 1: Neon Leon

You are excited about your new lipstick.

Berry pink.

Not too light. A deep shade without it being too dark.

Putting on the final touches, you admire yourself in your bathroom mirror. It made you feel strong, confident, Dazzling!

“Whadda ya think?”

You strike a pose in your bedroom doorframe, framing your face with your hands. You have returned from your shopping trip and eager to show off your spontaneous purchase. Your favorite mutant turtle ninja lounges on your bed with his snout deep in the newest issue of Jupiter Jim: New Universe H2G2. Not only is he claiming your space as his own… he’s out right ignoring you.

Leonardo Hamato. Your other half, partner in crime, bestie, your first mate. Although Leo would beg a differ on that last part, claiming that since he’s the only one with pirate experience that you would be HIS first mate.

Eeeehhh… Tomato Tomahto.

The point being that you and your Neon Leon give April and Donnie the run for their money for the ‘Besties Awards’.

You deadpan at him. At this point in time, you’re thinking about accepting new applications for the Bestie role.

Meanwhile, that said comic (that is apparently Soooo much more interesting than you) was the purpose of your errand. A favor for him for it was sold out online and the one comic shop that still had it in stock was for pick up only. Donnie had gotten caught up in his newest project, something about a portal device to alternate realities, alternate selves, (other Mad Sciencey stuff) and Apparently forgot to preorder the damn thing. That particular shop just happens to be down the block from your apartment as well as you are the ‘bestest-most-awesome-supreme-person-ever-and-he-loves-you-sosososo-much’.

So much for being the ‘bestest most awesome supreme-’ so on and so forth.

With a huff, you pick up a hoodie you left on the floor, balled it up, and chucked right into Leo’s head. With a ‘THWUMPH’ and ‘hurmf ’, you pounce on him, snatching his comic from his grasp (carefully for you just bought the damn thing), setting it to the side during which you grab your pillow and whack his still covered head.

“I was joking!” He cries out as you laugh maniacally. “I heard you I heard you!”

Fully satisfied with his punishment, you stand up and plop to the side all the while you let him get his bearings. Leo finally frees himself from your shirt and throws it back on to the floor simultaneously sticking his tongue out at you.

Such a drama queen.

You roll your eyes and return the gesture whilst you adjust yourself to sit facing your Leo with him doing the same, finally takes in your lips.

“I like it.” He nods approvingly, “Muy Bien!”

You grin so big your checks begin to ache. But then you notice your turtle going quiet, grabbing his chin as he goes deep in thought.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you keeps that up.”

You know to well how clever he is but that doesn’t mean you won’t give him a ration of shit. It’s in your job description.

It’s Leo’s turn to roll his eyes.

“I was just thinking on about how it would look on me.”

You lean back on your hands and squint at his face for a moment. You then pull out your lipstick form your pocket to hold the color bottom sticker up to him.

“Hmmm I don’t know… I think something more of a red shade would be better for you. You know, to match your moons.”

You love those moons.

“Are you kidding?!” The Bratticus Maximus snatches it out of your hand, “I can totally pull this off!”

You gasp and quickly reach for it back, but Leonardo (being a stupid fucking turtle ninja) easily keeps it out of your reach. Keeping you at bay by smooshing his hand against you cheek.

Where’s the respect?

Then a wicked idea creeps into your mind. You drop your arms and let them hang for a moment causing Leo to pause. You switch your effort. Grabbing his wrist, subsequently tearing it off your face. You then yank him towards you, pulling his face close to yours.

“Well then let’s try it out shall we?”

You lean in, planting a firm kiss to his cheek with an exaggerated ‘MWAH’ .

You take in his face for a moment as he gapes at you.

“Hmm I can’t tell, I need a larger sample size.”

A mischievous grin spreads across your face and in turn Leo balks. He’s on to you. You both are on the same wave length. Even though it isn’t possible, everyone swears you two can Mind Meld together. He goes to shove you with his free hand but you catch that wrist as well, leaving him open.

You attack.

Smooching all over his face, leaving kiss marks in your wake. He cries out as you leave no spot uncovered.

You fall back and admire you work while your dear slider sits there stunned

“I guess I was wrong,” you release him, “That color does look good on you.”

Leo bolts up and dashes to your bathroom to assess the extent of the damage during which you almost fall to the floor cackling.

You await his return, biting your lip, trying to stifle your giggles. However, you fail when he appears back in your doorway.

There Leo’s tries to put on his best sulk (adorable really), crossing his arms as you devolve to wheezing. But who’s he kidding. You got him good. Plus watching you turn blue in the face and on the verge of passing out is pretty hilarious in on it self.

He returns to your bathroom and you're able to gather yourself enough to follow. He give you his signature smirk once he sees you in the mirror where upon poses with his finger and thumb in the L position to under his chin.

“I told you a could pull it off .” His smugness oozing off of him as he looks over himself again. You swear you saw sparkles.

You’re finally able to get yourself under control and you meet his gaze in the mirror as you come up from behind him.

“Yeah ya did stud muffin.” You shoot him a wink. “That’s a good look on you.”

A furious blush blooms across your favorite blue boy’s face to which he responds by bumping his hips against yours as you pull up next to him. In turn, you bump back, pushing him over to make room for you in the mirror.

Chuckles are shared and you lean towards the mirror to reapply your lipstick.

There’s a moment of comfortable silence as you focus on the task at hand while Leo watches you. You and him share glances between each other through the mirror when a plot begins to form. Your shared glances become knowing ones. Insouciantly, you turn to face each other, Leo crossing his arms as you lean against the counter.

Your wicked grin returns to which the leader in blue bares one to match.

Once again, evidence that supports the conspiracy that both you can Mind Meld.

“Sooo…?”

“Sooooo…?

“We should show my brothers how good I look.”

“They’ll be sooooo jelly. We should totally include them so they don’t feel left out.”

Nonchalance is evident in your voices as you converse.

Leo reaches into his pouch to pull out his phone, his brows bounce up and down as he holds it up between you two. Your brows return the gesture in agreement. So, with your lipstick and his phone in hand, you both set off. At your front door, the true blue slider casually opens it and stands off to the side, bowing while holding his hand out. You play along, responding in a curtsy before placing your hand into his. The two of you are barely able to contain excitements check as you both leave your apartment.

You and Leo soon arrive at the lair, ready to set you plan into motion.

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This is my first ever fic!!! For many years I’ve attempted writing. Most never made it past the notes and plot outlines while a few never made it past the first paragraph. My main medium for my creativity has always been drawing so this is a HUGE deal for me!!! Especially since any of possible skill for creative writing I had apparently died back in high school. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!❤️

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[blu-eh]

rottmnt fic recs

ive been deep into rottmnt fic for the last couple months. its not a super popular fandom for fic-related stuff so i wanted to give a shoutout to some of the fics ive read & enjoyed!

Tomato Maze by Sroloc_Elbisivni

Leo still has no idea what’s going on here, but if they’re not going to hurt him then there’s absolutely nothing to stop him from screwing with these assholes. He can do ‘recalcitrant and obnoxious’ with the best of them, as any member of his family could tell you. At length. He’s not going to cooperate at all.

He leans against the wall and smirks up at the camera with his third-smarmiest smirk. “Aw, do I get a cookie if I help you with your widdle tests?”

“No.” The door on the other side of the room opens. “You get a tomato if you do this maze.”

“Ooh, tomato maze,” Leo says, and walks through the door immediately.

op's mind is incredible. i read this one after reading their series, bunnyguard, which is ALSO another great bunch of fics but: this headcanon. its mine now tyvm

find another guiding light by taizi

If Leo wanted to be the leader, he’d be good at it. As long as he doesn’t want to, he won’t be. So it’s a scheme—Donnie can get behind that. He knows whose side he’s on. It’s the side he’s always been on, since the day he read the definition of “twin” out of a water-logged dictionary. It’s his job to be here. Leo’s kind of an idiot for expecting him to be anywhere else.

anything taizi writes is incredible and i have been following them since era one piece BUT this one in particular. iconic. love it

Write Me Well, My Love, Write Me Weird by Under_the_red_beenie

When stories start popping up on various media outlets of the Turtleman, New York Cities own personal cryptid, most of the world shrugged. To the citizens of New York? fear, excitement, adoration for this odd and lovable creature. Everyone is quick to share stories and memories of their encounters, much to lament of Turtleman's older brother.

Alternatively, Donnie and Leo accidentally become modern folklore and legend to the city of New York.

AHHHHHH yeah. this one i have read so much & inspired my own fic and it is just!!! this entire concept is just so much fun and they do rlly well with balancing the funny with the deeper bits

i waited eight long months (she finally set him free) by stillateenageabomination

“Chasing us down is one thing,” said the red-masked turtle with a vicious smirk. He kept his grip on his sai firm as his brothers circled around him and April. “It’s gutsy enough that I can actually respect it. But threatening our pizza? Now you made it personal. Big mistake.”

April held her breath. She would not do what she wanted to do, she would not, she would not –

April burst out into uproarious laughter, her giggles so uncontrollable that the mutant that could only be Raphael had to ease up his grip on his sai. He just stared at her in confusion, as did the rest of his brothers, as April struggled to quiet her laughter.

“I’m – I’m sorry,” April said between giggles. It was so bad that her glasses started fogging up. “You’re just – really short.”

2012/2018 crossover i was following this fic back when it was still updating and when i got to the last two chapters there were times wher ei just. could not handle it. had to go take a lap around my house. it is THAT good.

i did want to give a shoutout to some of the ones that are actively updating too:

Leo, Leoo & Leon by Superherokid

Leonardo wakes up in an unknown location which is never a good sign! He is very far from home and he doesn’t know how he got here or where here even is!

SUPER good 2003/2012/2018 crossover. i adored the characterization & spent the better part of last night reading the entire thing

Turtle out of Water by Anonymous

Mikey's aim is more than a little off, and Leo is freed from the Prison Dimension only to land in a universe full of superheroes. Which is cool and all, but he's injured, his brothers don't even know the portal saved him, and he has no idea how to get home.

It takes all of two seconds for the Justice League to offer a helping hand. Not long after, the Team gains a new member from across the multiverse.

rise/DC fic that we all need in these trying times tbh. love it so much

A Tale of Spirits by unorthodoxx

The arrival of four great spirits changes everything

alta/rottmnt. i shouldnt even have to say anything abt this one but it DOES live up to the hype. i am hyped.

[fictionalhubbydreamer]

OMG imagine if the turtles had a S/O who was taller than them! If you do this tag me and make sure it has serious amounts of fluff🥰

OMG! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS I SWEAR!

This be Bayverse dudes as I need this too!

This is where S/o Is pretty much taller than the guys and for once slightly taller than Donnie👀

Trigger as there is a tidel wave of fluff!! Sweetness ahoy!!

💙Leonardo💙

To say he was surprised to meet someone taller than himself for once, it was rather refreshing he had to admit. You were taller than him yes, but he actually loved the fact that for once he didn't have to look down while talking. You would always hug him from behind, and lay your chin on his shoulder while he meditated. He secretly snapped a selfie as you had dozed off like that.

When hes training solo, you join him with your polearm style weapon of choice. At one point when he stumbled which he chides himself for, his face ended up buried in yiur chest as you caught him. He managed to regain his composure, but he was blushing so bad like you were. Both your faces would put Raphaels mask to shame!.

After that moment, you simply kissed him on his head and chuckled a little. He then grabs your arm and takes you to his room, now in the mood for cuddles. This leader in blue demands cuddles to only you.

❤️Raphael❤️

He felt himself melt, however not admitting it. He was his typical gruff self and not admitting that you were the first that was taller than himself. Whenever you even looked his way he looked away as usual. He was pining in all honesty, but he then eventually decided to talk to you. The both of you ended up training together and that one time he got tripped falling over backwards, you fell over on top of him. You were now there draped over him like a limp noodle and had no idea what to do. You were so innocent that he swore that if anyone were to hurt you, they would be dead. He decided to pick you up in his arms, not letting you get up as he was unsure if you injured yourself. The both of you headed to his room, the only words you could make out that he said was:"Just want to cuddle ya." Your face was beet red that it makes a tomato jealous.

💜Donatello💜

He was so happy to meet someone that was a little taller than himself. You were just about eye level with him. You had similar interests and loved coffee as much as he did. Another thing he adores was how shy you were, how he knows is when you entered his lab or room the first time. You went to one of his more crowded areas of his room to investigate something, but tripped. You closed your eyes thinking you were gonna fall and hurt yourself, but instead fell in his arms. How he was so fast you had to remember he was a ninja!. You look up rather shy with a sheepish smile that his mind completely broke. He had to snap himself out of it and pronto. He could only stutter which you found adorable. You kissed his beak rendering him speechless.

He ended up having you sit on his lap the whole time while hes working. Well you not complaining, hes comfy anyways and warm too. Free cuddles while he works? Why not! Even lil kisses on his cheek just to get that adorable reaction out of him.

🧡Michelangelo🧡

Oh hell yeah he adored you regardless of your height. You end up sitting between his legs on the ground, on a soft cushion of course when its movie night or video game time. He loves rubbing yiur shoulders or playing with your hair while sitting there. He always reminds you that your height isn't what defines you, its your personality. You end up asleep on the couch when the movies are long and rather and quiet. He has you draped over him like his very own thermal blanket.

He always makes you best meals as he learned new recipes from you. So of course he had to show off to you.

You rest your arms over his shoulders and lay your chin on his head watching him work. You absolutely adore this guy. You felt just so perfect together. Even your common ground makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The videogames, the movies and even baking!. You both end up full of flour or egg depending on the product been baked. You laugh together and feel so comfortable with each other. You are just so happy together and vow to stay together forever.

[THE END! sooooo hope you liked it!!]

@turtle-babe83

@mysticboombox

@mistyroselove

@rin-rin-winter

@skeezpyuff

[mitchamsocialuser]

The Best Wood Fired Pizza in Melbourne

If you are thinking of ordering a pizza, you’ll want to consider the option of wood-fired pizza. This style of pizza has the ability to make the tomato base even more flavoursome and the toppings more delicious, which will make your overall experience much more enjoyable. Having said that, if you aren’t a fan of the taste of wood-fired pizza, there are many other options to choose from.

Di Parma

If you are looking for an authentic Neapolitan pizza, 400 Gradi is one of the best places to eat in Melbourne. It has a wood-fired brick oven which produces a soft, slightly puffy pie.

The dough is made from sourdough. The pizza base is then fermented for 48 hours, leaving a light, airy crust. The pizza is then baked in the pizza oven, which is cranked up to 400 degrees. The pizza is cooked for just 90 seconds.

The Capitano pizza is made from a tomato base, pickled chilli and pepperoni. It is baked in large rectangular trays.

Leonardo’s Pizza Palace

Leonardo’s Pizza Palace is one of the newest “it” places in Melbourne. The pizza cafe has taken over the former Da Salvatore Pizza by the Metre. The Carlton location features 1970s style wood paneling, leadlight windows and dark brick walls.

The pizza cafe also has a booth dining area. Typically, the Trattoria is crowded with city dwellers. Here, you can watch the chefs work.

The menu is very diverse. In addition to traditional Italian fare, Leonardo’s also offers a vegetarian selection and gluten free options. The restaurant has a cocktail list and offers beers on tap.

Innocent Bystander

Innocent Bystander is a wine shop, wine bar and restaurant in the Healesville area of Melbourne, Victoria. The wine cellar is located in a converted breweries former building, while the wine bar is an impressive 15 metre stone and concrete structure. The wine is poured from recyclable kegs. Using only the finest ingredients, Innocent Bystander produces some pretty yum yum wines.

The restaurant has three main areas. The bar, a booth dining area and a dining room with an impressive custom built oven. The wine shop boasts a full range of wines and cocktails from Everleigh Bottling Co. The restaurant also has its own sommelier to pair your glasses with.

Bontempo

If you’re looking for a high-end, Italian pizza joint in Melbourne, consider Bontempo. This restaurant’s wood-fired pizzas are top-notch. The menu also offers an array of pastas.

The pizza may be the best part of the restaurant. The dough is slow-proofed, which results in a soft crust that’s pleasantly chewy. The toppings are easily absorbed by the base, which is light and fluffy.

It’s hard to go wrong with a Neapolitan-style pizza. You’ll find traditional favourites like Kaprica and Salsicce e Funghi, plus fresh seafood options. The menu also has vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Ladro

Ladro pizza Melbourne is the pizza institution that started the artisan pizza movement. Since 2003, the team at Ladro has been bringing authentic Italian cuisine to the city. Whether you’re looking for an intimate dinner for two or a family night out, you’ll find a wide range of delicious Italian dishes to choose from.

The restaurant is known for its award-winning pizza. Guests can enjoy four types of pizzas, which are cooked in an artisan wood-fired oven. The menu includes a variety of flavours to suit everyone’s taste.

SPQR

SPQR is a new sourdough Neapolitan wood fired pizza restaurant located on Liverpool Street. It is owned by David Mackintosh and Pete Bartholomew and is open Monday to Sunday. They serve whole pies as well as slices. The menu is short but consists of seven different pizzas.

The Notti d’Oriente is a pizza made with red onion, lamb sausage and mozzarella. This pizza is a great example of a pizza that combines a sourdough base with natural yeast. The cheese is melted to a heavenly golden brown and the resulting sauce is sweet and spicy.

48h

Pizza is one of the most popular food items in the world. It is also a great get-together food. There are a variety of different types of pizzas available in Melbourne. The best pizza restaurants in Melbourne specialize in the quality of their pizza dough and fresh toppings.

A 25 is a pizza restaurant with a focus on authentic Italian flavours. They offer a wide range of pizzas, including gluten-free and vegan options. They have a Coeliac accreditation, and their motto is ‘Pizza Is Sexy’. They are based in Melbourne’s CBD, with locations in Sydney and Docklands.

[dracosaurusrex]

Underneath the Surface (headcanon)

Pairing: Draco x Veela!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Requested?: Yes (Requests are open C:)

Request: Hey can you maybe do a hc of draco crushing, dating, etc a veela!reader (no need to be full veela ofc!!!) Just a thought ! no pressure

This actually made me do research on Veela’s, and now I want to be one LOL. I hope you don’t mind that I altered the request to focus on the crush part. But, thank you for requesting! I hope you enjoy!

A Veela’s beauty was nothing out of ordinary, even if you were only half

Pale, silvery skin

White-gold hair

But you couldn’t care less about what you looked like

You were free-spirited, vibrant, passionate

Like other Veela, you loved to dance.

If your audience were capable of looking past your looks, they would be able to see the stories you crafted through your flowing movements

Unfortunately, only very few were able to do so.

A lot of Veela you knew went to Beauxbatons, but you ended up going to Hogwarts as a result of your parent’s work in the ministry

You were sorted into Ravenclaw

Excelled in classes

Kept to your business

Made good friends

Draco wasn’t a part of the equation until your third year

Third year = extracurriculars = more time to dance in school

Naturally, you took up performing arts

People who were astounded with your beauty only grew more in awe when they saw you dance

Arms outstretched and fluid

Hands would extend and flex

Legs would leap, spin, and transport you to the story inside your head

Your body expressed narratives with beauty and grace

But again, no one noticed your stories; just your looks

Draco was a part of that bunch

He was familiar with people’s descriptions of you, but his rivalry with Harry Potter was his main priority

However, as he made his way to quidditch practice one day, the sound of classical music grabbed his attention and he popped his head into what so happens to be the dance room

That’s when he saw you

Grey eyes widened

Breath hitched

Heart rate up

He was taken aback by your beauty for the first time as you traveled across the floor, eyes closed and a smile on your face

He’d asked his friends about you

“You mentioned she’s in Ravenclaw?”

“But have you seen her dance?”

Starts paying more attention to classes Slytherins shared with Ravenclaws

Sees you walk in to his potions class laughing at something Cho said

He’s confident right off the bat

“You look lovely today, Y/N.” You flash a polite smile, “Thanks, Malfoy.”

Kinda cold, but that didn’t deter him

When it’s time to brew the assigned potion, he purposefully waits for you to go to the ingredients rack before making his way there as well

Hands you materials required

You awkwardly grabbing the substances from him

Cho noticing

“You know, I think Malfoy has the hots for you.”

You ignore it and brush off the gesture

Him following this procedure for the next potion classes

You becoming used to him calling you “lovely” or “beautiful”

On a particularly happy day, you find yourself in the mood to respond back

“You look pretty handsome yourself, Malfoy.”

Lights the boy on fire (figuratively of course)

One compliment and he thinks he can be more comfortable now

Starts striking small talk near the ingredients cabinet

Doesn’t hesitate to hold eye contact with you

The smirk. The smirk. The smirk

You realizing that he is actually quite handsome, and you become more attracted to him as time passes

You both start to hang out through small study sessions

You find that you can hold more than flirtatious conversations with him

Intelligent talk - ideas bouncing off one another.

He finds you not only beautiful, but intelligent

Talks about families and experiences growing up - adds empathetic to that list

Talks about passions - him talking about his fascination for alchemy, you talking about dancing

Conversation deepens, and he listens to you with much intent, in awe of the expression on your face when you talk about your love for dancing

Takes mental note to pay more attention when he passes by on his way to practice

One notable observation you make right away: the boy likes to doodle. a lot. 

Like, a lot a lot.

Sometimes, when you both have finished your assignments and no one is talking, you’d have your nose stuck in a book while he is doodling on a random piece of paper

It’s not like Leonardo Da Vinci or anything, but it’s cute.

You realize that there’s more depth to him than what he shows, and your feelings grow more

You set your book aside one day, and stare at him as his quill scribbles little sketches

Him catching you smiling before getting all flustered and covering his art work

You pulling his arm away playfully

You in awe of the sketch he made

It depicts a girl dancing. Her clothes awfully similar to yours. A little smile drawn across her face. Her eyes are closed, just like yours

He’s a tomato at this point, but you can’t help but widen your smile

“It’s supposed to be you if that’s what you’re wondering.”

You throw your arms around him and pull him into a hug. You pull away with arms still hung loosely around his neck

“I haven’t even charmed it yet. hold on.”

Once he does, the girl on the page begins to move. She dances to choreography that you had been working on. Towards a corner of the page is a rectangle, which you identify as a door. You notice a head peeking through it

“Is that you???” Your face is already flushed and your cheeks hurt from smiling as he lets out a shy “yea”

“I didn’t realize you passing by. You should’ve came in.”

“I couldn’t help but watch. I’ve been trying to decode the story you’re trying to convey.”

Your heart explodes

At this point, you consider yourself smitten.

It’s the first time that anybody has taken that much effort to get to know you.

You appreciate him so so so much.

“Y/N, do you think I can, uh, take you to dinner?”

You respond to him with a peck on his cheek.

“Yes, of course. Yes!”

He’s in awe of your previous action, eyes slightly widened as he brings his fingers to his cheek

Eyes meet

Gap begins to close

He presses a short kiss on your lips

You both smile at each other when you pull away

You lean your head on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around yours

All is blisssssssss.

Writing this made me so giddy haha. Thank you for reading!

tagging:

@beiahadid @hahee154hq @mushi98 @stretchyice @dracosathenaeum @dreaming-about-fanfictions @saby06143 @rottenhexrt @littlethie @amithatemo @drxcomvlfx @svturtles @xoxohollands  

[chryzure-archive]

I would like to know more about your ChrysiJacks Moulin Rouge AU 030 I've never seen it but I'm vvvv interested

OKAY, SO FIRST OF ALL—I SHOULD START OUT BY SAYING, IF YOU GET THE CHANCE TO WATCH IT, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE WATCH MOULIN ROUGE. Ewan McGregor is the perfect Christian and he has such good puppy dog eyes, and Nicole Kidman has the prettiest outfits. AND OF COURSE BAZ LUHRMAN IS A FANTASTIC DIRECTOR. I ADORE his directing style (though it is really strange, so keep that in mind!!! If you’ve seen The Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio, think of that style of directing. It’s the same director.) AND THE MUSIC!!!! Sooo good—in fact, I actually prefer the versions of those songs than the actual pop songs! (since it’s a jukebox musical—with the original song Come What May, which should honestly just be this blog’s theme song.)

ANYWAYYYYY. OKAY. So, I’m currently working on this on the backburner, so I expect to post it here EVENTUALLY, but it starts out with Jacks coming to Paris to visit his good friend, Mistress Luck, the proprietress of the Moulin Rouge. He’s visiting for no reason! None at all! Certainly nothing to do with his break up with Tella (dude…).

Well, Mistress Luck sends him a letter, telling him to very kindly please not visit at all, because he always brings trouble with him (he tends to choose a courtesan at random, kiss her, then slow her inevitable death long enough for him to have fun for a week. It’s awful. He’s awful. I love him.) Unfortunately for her, he can’t read <//3 he’s staying in a ratty hotel that’s basically across the street from the Moulin Rouge.

Interestingly enough, an acting troupe trying to pitch their new play to Mistress Luck (through her top courtesan Chrysi Solstice) is staying in the suite above Jacks’s. He’s mostly irritated with the noise that comes from overhead at all times, but he’s dealing with it as best he can.

Until one day—what do you know!—a certain man from Rangus6 (if… that’s even remotely how you spell Pleck’s home planet, but for the purposes of this, his hometown) comes crashing from his ceiling. The room is obliterated.

Then Jacks is mobbed by the acting crew of the Bargearian Jade, led by Bargie (… oh god, I just realized I get the privilege to write this scene. I never considered the horror of Bargie meeting Jacks. Everyone else, I know how they’d interact with him, but oh no…), and followed very closely byyyyy you! The writer of the play at hand!

One thing leads to another, and Jacks suddenly finds himself roped into a scheme where he’ll pitch the show to the lead courtesan for them (since they’ve been thrown out on multiple occasions at this point, and Pleck really wants his wife’s play to succeed in any way possible).

(I should probably clarify some things: the Moulin Rouge is essentially a high-end prostitution place, where people will put on a show and then take their clients to their rooms later for… yeah. Yeah… but it’s more of an escort place in my AU, just for some class, if that makes sense. There’s still some Yikes™ (pronounced similarly to the goddess Nike) stuff, but more class.)

Well, in the meantime, the Count Elias Bloom (feel free to boo and throw tomatoes. In fact, I encourage it.) comes to the Moulin Rouge to seek the hand of the famed beauty of Chrysi Solstice. Mistress Luck has had a huge hand in making Chrysi very famous, even though Chrysi has expressed that she wants to leave this business to become an artist herself :’) Alas, that is not the case.

((Another clarification: YES, magic exists in this universe. The Fate rules still apply. Chrysi can see ghosts. She has faetelle. It’s a fun mishmash of random magic systems in a story originally written without magic, and I like every second of it :)))

Chrysi is to have a meeting with Elias Bloom (as per Mistress Luck’s request) so they can get the funding for the Moulin Rouge (as they want to become more legitimate in terms of being a theatre establishment.)

UNFORTUNATELY, there is a mixup with Chrysi’s understanding as to who is the Count. Mistress Luck points out the Count being the person that is being bothered by Pleck (long story, but he gets threatened with a gun and it’s not good :))—which transitions from being Elias Bloom to Jacks to Elias Bloom again. During that brief window of Pleck asking Jacks for help, Chrysi looks over. And so begins the trouble of the first act.

Chrysi ends up taking Jacks back to her room. Which is great for the crew of the Bargerian Jade!!! They’re so happy that this little plot of their’s is working out! (C’s a little skeptical, but even he can’t resist Pleck’s wholehearted excitement).

Now comes the most awkward and terrible scene in the story—Chrysi thinks. Jacks is there. To have sex with her. For money.

Jacks thinks. Chrysi wants him there. To pitch the plot. Of the Bargerian Jade’s play.

Horrible, awful, terrible, BUT in my AU, it’s not at all as awkward and cringable the movie scene is. Chrysi merely flirts with Jacks, and he’s happy about it because, okay, she’s pretty and he’s always open to having a fun fling with a girl that’s going to die within the week anyway (since his kiss would’ve killed her).

Things get a little dangerous (meaning only that Jacks almost kisses her and ruins the whole charade) and then he lets it drop that he’s there to pitch the new play of Filly’s.

Chrysi stops.

“You’re not the Count.”

“No, clearly not.”

“The Count’s going to kill you. And if he doesn’t, I will.”

Meanwhile! Elias is knocking on the door, asking her to let him in!!!! Like!!!! Bad!!!!! Bad, bad, bad, evil, horrible, bad!!!!!!!!!!!

Chrysi’s freaking out, she hides Jacks, she lets Elias Bloom in, it’s a mess. She doesn’t want to sell herself to him while another man’s in the room, so she’s like, “Great! I’m feeling a little faint, but if you want to go out for lunch tomorrow, that’ll be awesome.” And she kisses him and pushes him out of the room. Elias Bloom is a little put out, but he’s essentially been promised to Chrysi for the time being by Mistress Luck, so he’s not too upset.

Jacks is mildly offended Chrysi would’ve rather kissed Elias Bloom than him, but before he can be too pissy, Chrysi actually gets a little faint. Her face goes white and she almost passes out in Jacks’s arms. 

Now, Jacks is concerned. He is not one for comforting people in the first place, but nursing them back to health? He is not good at that at all. 

He manages to get her to lay down on the bed, which is right as Elias Bloom walks in again saying that he accidentally left his coat. A horrible time for him to walk in, I know. 

Chrysi, her head spinning (because her faetelle is bothering her significantly rn), comes up with a lie saying that something Elias Bloom said made her think of the play that Jacks is writing, so she simply had to get a meeting with him immediately to write it. 

At this point, Elias Bloom thinks this is all bullshit (rightfully so…. which is not something I thought I’d ever say about him), but the entire crew of the Bargerian Jade pours in (they were listening in to see how well Jacks was doing btw) to add to the convincing nature of the lie. Mistress Luck sees this mess and bursts in, frantic.  

Chrysi is doing damage control as best as she fucking can right now. Her head is killing her, she was about to pass out literally two minutes ago, and she has to drag all of them out of this mess they’ve found themselves in.

Long story short, she confuses Elias Bloom into verbally agreeing to invest in the show that Filly wrote, but actually everyone thinks that Jacks wrote it, and now she’s basically in a contract marriage with Elias. It’s great. She’s dying, both physically and emotionally.

She kicks Jacks out along with everyone else. It’s been a long night for her. 

Well, Jacks sneaks back in later and Chrysi’s act has all dropped. She essentially says that she’ll never be flirty like that again, unless he wants to pay for it in the future, and that she won’t speak to him in the same way. In fact, she doesn’t want to see him unless it’s in the practices and meetings for the new play (since now they all have to act like Jacks is the writer. Hell situation. Awful.) Jacks is like, “Understood, thanks, I’ll leave you alone” (hint: he will not.)

Mistress Luck and he then catch up, which really just means that Mistress Luck is pissed at him for showing up when she told him not to, but she might have a room better suited for him than before. 

So now he’s rooming with Simeon St. Claire. Both of them hate this set-up. Simeon was just fine living alone as the tailor for the girls of the Moulin Rouge (he and Luna Rune are saving up money to run away and get married), but now he has this bastard to account for. 

But Simeon’s petty, so he locks Jacks out of the apartment on a particularly rainy evening. Jacks, unsure of where to go, wanders around until he finds Chrysi’s place (actually a really nice place, just off the street of the Moulin Rouge). She first closes the door in his face, but when she doesn’t hear him leave, she opens it to find him sitting like a drowned rat on her porch, and she lets him in. 

Here they have a wonderful conversation where Chrysi’s talking about the men she has to be the escort for and she’s mean about it. She states that “in the business of loving people, you learn to like them a lot less” and Jacks is immediately smitten. He just doesn’t know it yet. 

Then comes all the rehearsals and rewrites (so much interaction with the Bargerian Jade’s crew and I’m loving all the snippets I’ve written thus far), where, regretfully, Chrysi and Jacks fall in love. Actually, initially Jacks was just some guy Chrysi went to when she was getting sick of Elias Bloom. Now she has feelings for Jacks and she hates it. 

Now they use the excuse that Jacks is the writer so they can meet up in secret. Chrysi’s the happiest she’s been in years. 

But one of the girls is jealous of Chrysi and she lets it slip to Elias Bloom that it’s strange that the writer and the lead actress spend so much time together without the rest of the crew. Elias immediately says he wants to change the ending of the play (written to emulate Chrysi and Jacks’s budding relationship, complete with a secret song for the lovers) and that he wants Chrysi to join him for dinner that evening.

Jacks is getting insanely jealous at this point. He begs Chrysi not to sleep with him, begs her to find any excuse not to go—but unfortunately, Mistress Luck has spoken with Chrysi and informed her that her “secret fling” with Jacks isn’t quite as secret as she might imagine and that she needs to make Elias happy if she wants the Moulin Rouge to succeed. 

Chrysi pleads with Jacks to understand (”You promised me you wouldn’t get jealous.” “How can I not be?” Both are crying :’’’)) and sets out to join Elias Bloom for dinner. 

Unfortunately!! Chrysi starts having a flare up and she faints before she can manage to get there. Mistress Luck gets a doctor to nurse Chrysi back to health and informs her that she must make it up to Elias Bloom in any way possible. 

Meanwhile, Jacks is being tormented by jealousy and he will not stop pacing around like a caged tiger. Pleck is trying his best to calm him down. Nermut’s making things worse by doing the same. C’s not saying anything, and Dar’s actually rather insightful, if also not getting through to Jacks, and Filly’s the only one that actually manages. 

Jacks calms, if only slightly, and waits for Chrysi to join him in the morning. 

When she does, she’s pale and sickly, but she plays it off as best she can. She informs Jacks that no, she did not spend the evening with Elias Bloom—but she’s going to have to, because she has to make it up to him.  

Jacks is heartbroken, but he allows her to. This feeling thing that mortals have to go through is awful and he doesn’t like it at all. 

But as Chrysi’s up there, Jacks is being needled by that same jealous girl and he blows up. He almost kills her by stopping her heart, and then he’s dragged off by Simeon, who tells him that he should’ve never fallen in love with a woman that sells herself. “The jealousy will drive you mad,” he says, and Jacks wanders off in an agitated state. 

He finds Chrysi standing on a balcony with Elias Bloom and they make eye contact and both of them can feel their hearts cracking in their chests. Chrysi immediately pulls away from Elias Bloom, but he sees Jacks and immediately realizes that Chrysi’s been running around with Jacks every time she makes excuses to leave. 

He basically assaults her at this point, and Chrysi’s a sobbing mess. Fortunately, Simeon was in the area after dragging Jacks outside, and he knocks out Elias Bloom. Both Chrysi and Simeon are stunned by what he did, but he then grabs her and returns her to Jacks’s flat (which is also Simeon’s, but whatever. Semantics.)

There, Jacks comforts a crying Chrysi. He comes up with the brilliant plan to run away with her and that she just needs to pack up her things and they’re gone. 

Chrysi does as he requests, but Mistress Luck is there. She tells Chrysi that it’s cruel for her to run off with Jacks when Chrysi knows she’s dying. Chrysi replies by saying she doesn’t care if they’ll only have a year, a month, or a week—so long as she can be with Jacks. Mistress Luck then tells Chrysi that Elias Bloom is obsessed with her—and that he will hunt Jacks down to kill him. There’s some extra guilt thrown in here, because Jacks can only be killed due to the fact that he loves Chrysi. She’s his greatest weakness. 

Chrysi’s stunned and realizes… she probably should save Jacks. So she returns to him and informs him that, regretfully, her greatest wish was to become an actress (a lie) and that she’s going to stay at the Moulin Rouge. Jacks is shocked and confused and hurt, but he’s manhandled out by Elias Bloom’s bodyguard and thrown into a puddle of icy rain water (my poor little drowned rat :(….) I think the stress gets to him, because he just passes out. 

When he wakes up, he feels like he has a fever, but Pleck and Filly are standing there, basically saying it doesn’t make sense that Chrysi would leave him like this—there has to be something more happening. Chrysi loves Jacks a lot. She wouldn’t just leave him.

Jacks tells them to leave him, but their words bother him—and so he returns to the Moulin Rouge on the opening night of the play with a lot of money. He finds Chrysi’s dressing room and insists she take the payment. After all, why should he get her services for free when everyone else has to pay? She’s done such a good job that he almost thought his heart was beating again. 

Meanwhile, Chrysi’s panicking.  She knows that if Elias Bloom sees Jacks, he’ll kill him. She’s trying to push Jacks out of the room, and she’s not accepting the money, and come on, she’s a gifted courtesan, she might as well accept! 

Her heart’s breaking. Her faetelle is acting up. Jacks knows that something’s wrong, because she looks so pale and fragile, but he can’t comfort her like he used to. 

She essentially runs from him to the stage, where the curtain opens on both of them. 

Elias Bloom is in the front row. 

This is bad!!!!!!!

But Jacks throws the money at Chrysi (who’s on the floor, crying and trying not to) and says he’s paid his whore. Then he walks down the aisle to leave. 

But that forgotten song between the lovers? The one Elias Bloom forced them to get rid of? Come What May? Chrysi starts singing it for Jacks and he stops where he is. 

Then he turns around and rushes up to her and hugs her and kisses her for all the world to see. Elias Bloom’s bodyguard is knocked out by Dar. All is well! The show ends and everyone loves it!

But Elias Bloom has a gun of his own. He aims it at Jacks and when he shoots, Chrysi steps in front of it and takes the bullet straight to the heart. 

Elias Bloom starts screaming and wailing, panicked that he’s just killed the woman he was obsessed with. Jacks, on the other hand, looking pale and drawn, just cradles Chrysi close to him as she dies. He’s crying silently and begging her to stay, please stay, and she’s just smiling and stroking his face. 

She dies in his arms like that. 

Yep. That’s that. That’s sorta just… It. That’s the end. Jacks leaves flowers at her grave and curls up by her gravestone and it hurts. I care them and my heart hurty :((((

[sylvain-writes]

Guarded Hearts and Safe Houses (Leonardo x Reader) Chapter 5/9

Rated: T

Gender Neutral Reader, canon typical violence/injury, light angst, strangers to lovers, supportive family

for @melodiousmelodrama

As expected, your parents welcome the turtles into their apartment, offering them a safe space for as long as necessary. Their only concern is for the wellbeing of their new friends.

“Just for the day,” Leo tells your family, and his brothers look up, none protesting but clearly confused. “I have a place,” Leo explains. “It’s not set up or anything. We have a lot of work to do. Donnie, you’ll need help bringing stuff your stuff up from the sewers and we’ll have to abandon the van for a while-”

“Whaddaya mean, ya have a place?” Raphael sits forward, leaning onto his knees where he sits at Gram’s feet helping her roll cakes of yarn.

“An abandoned subway station. It’s not perfect, but it’s ours.”

Donatello rubs his chin. “Subway?”

“Are there trains?” Mikey’s open expression is full of wonder and hope.

“Yeah. There’s a car for each of us. No more bunk sharing or falling all over each other, fighting for space. But, the place needs some work.”

"Oh." Mikey's enthusiasm wavers as he spares half a glance toward Raphael, but he smiles up at Leo. "That's cool, bro!"

"Yeah, Leo." Donatello adds from the kitchen. "Sounds  great."

Leo tries not to take their drop in enthusiasm personally. But after all the work he’s putting in - searching for a place, fixing it up - even this slight rejection hurts. "Look, I wish we could get an apartment and play house with all this fancy stuff too, alright? But don't get used to it. This isn't our life. It's never going to be. The subway's gonna be good for us. You'll see."

" 'Course it is, man. You always know what's best." Raphael sounds sincere, but Leo turns in a huff as if his brothers had turned up their snouts at his announcement.

"I'll show you to a room where you can get some rest," you say gently. The whirlwind of the past 36 hours must have him exhausted. You could use some sleep as well.

Leo thanks you for access to the shower and for the bed, your bed, your room. And he turns himself in.

You call out of work and get a few hours of sleep before restlessness kicks in. You're not used to sleeping during the day. When you wake up, the guys are in various states of unrest as well.

Leo still hasn't come out.

Donnie announces, "He's asleep," and his brothers don't question it. But you raise an eyebrow at his quick assessment. "I compared his breathing against known patterns. It helps to know the difference between Leo asleep, Leo meditating, and Leo pretending to do either."

"Didn't take him for one to play pretend."

“He keeps his secrets," Raphael says, his tone a bit bitter. There's a history there, you think. "But he's always got his reasons. Thinks he knows what's best for us." Raphael shrugs, as if coming to a conclusion he's come to before. "He usually does."

No one is surprised when Leo sleeps through the day. And no one blames him. But when the pizza delivery fills the apartment with the smell of hot tomato sauce and melted cheese, they all expect him to show at the table. He doesn't, and even Mikey can't make his "More for me, then" sound free of his worry.

"Is he gonna be alright? If we leave him?" You want to go to him. You barely know Leo, but he's let you see him vulnerable before. You think maybe his vulnerability is one of the things his brothers know he hides. Maybe he doesn't realize they see. Anyway, you don't want to force him.

"Sensei usually knows what to do."

"Splinter-” you nod along “-have you heard from him? Is he coming?"

Donatello shakes his head, but doesn't seem concerned. "His last transmission noted his safety. He'll contact us again soon."

You pick olives off your pizza and line them up as you think aloud. "Until then, you'll help Leo with the station?"

Raphael piles three slices onto his plate, before lifting a fourth from the box straight to his mouth. "We go where Leo goes. He found us a spider-infested death trap to live in… we'll go."

An olive slips off the rim of your plate. "How did you know it was spider-infested?"

"Ya came in before covered in cobwebs and shit. But whatever. Sewer wasn't no palace either." There’s no embarrassment or judgment in Raph’s tone. Leo should be here, hearing his brothers support his decision.

"He seems really excited about it. I mean… hopeful, y'know?"

"Yeah." Donatello passes you his slices of mushrooms and you pass them on to Mikey who gobbles them up with gusto. "We never said we didn't like the idea. It's just not home, that's all."

You can sympathize. "We moved around a lot when I was younger. Always trying to find a better placement for mom. A safer community for me to grow up in. It wasnt the house that made it home. It was having my family around."

"Yeah, yeah,” Raph grumbles. “Real Hallmark life changing stuff. But he's not worried about keeping us together, remember? We each get a car to ourselves. He's splittin us up."

Mikey goes quiet, stops eating, drops his hands into his lap.

You don’t know what to do, what to say, to make this better. You think, if they would just talk to Leo about this, it could all be straightened out. But the rest of the meal is silent. It seems the brothers don’t even feel up to talking to each other.

When Leo emerges from the room, he announces it's time to go. "We have to patrol. They tried to hit us where it hurts. But we're resilient. And we’re not going to let the Krang take our city.”

You narrow your eyes at Leo and wonder if he’s ignoring the strain on his brothers - or if he just can’t see it. You wonder if he can read the loss in their eyes, if he can understand that ordering them to brush themselves off and push through another night of patrol might not be in their best interest right now.

Leo stands taller. “I said, we’re moving out. Let’s go.”

Donatello is the first to stand from the table. He grabs his pack from behind the couch and waits by the window while Leo opens it and climbs into the night. Raphael knocks Mikey’s shoulder and jerks his head toward their brothers as if to say, “We better head out too.”

“I’m sorry you couldn’t stay longer.” You look at their plates of half eaten food and wonder why Leo hadn’t at least let them finish.

“Forget about it,” Raph says with half a frown. “We knew it wouldn’t last.”

“Yeah, right,” Mikey agrees, heading for the fire escape. “We don’t belong in some fancy place like this. But I really like how the carpets match the drapes.”

The observation awards him a smack on the arm.

“What? What’d I say?”

“Kids,” Raphael chuckles, embarrassed for everyone in the room. “He doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about. Excuse us.” He ushers Mikey out and refuses to explain innuendo to his little brother. “Thanks for all the, uh… thanks.”

Mikey looks back at your family before he leaves. “I really do like the-” his compliment becomes a shout of surprise as Raphael tears him away from the window and to the roof.

Over the next few nights, you get rather used to seeing turtles on the roof. The Krang’s forces are growing in number, but as they continue to remain in hiding, everything feels like speculation. And so, the turtles rotate watch on your building. It makes stargazing more interesting. Especially on nights when Donatello is around. Raphael is kind of a mess. Always on high alert and rarely interested in standing still long enough to enjoy something as simple and amazing as the moon and stars. But Donatello is full of knowledge about the cosmos.

Some nights you and Donnie discuss the possibility of life on other planets. It seems like Donnie enjoys the distraction, until you realize he’s talking about the likelihood of alien attacks.

Mikey has a special interest in astrology, which surprises and delights you to no end. He loves telling you his brothers’ horoscopes and making connections within their lives to prove how absolutely on point astrology is.

Finally, you ask, “How do you know when your birthdays are? I mean, weren’t you all exposed to the mutagen at the same time?”

Mikey explains, “It’s all in the stars. I didn’t choose our birthdays. Our birthdays chose us.” And points to the astrological chart in his lap as if it held the answers to the universe, which, if he were to argue the point, it did.

You just nodded, letting him have his way.

Leo doesn’t patrol your roof. Not once. Not, like, ever. And you’ve looked for him. You’ve asked about him. But the most you’ve ever gotten is a weird sigh from Raphael and some grumbling about Leo cleaning up his own messes.

After two weeks, you drop the subject of Leo completely. If he doesn’t want to see you, then you definitely don’t want to see him.

“How is the new place coming along?”

Mikey rocks from side to side on the edge of the building where the two of you have been tearing up bits of dying leaves and let them float on the wind. “I got my own room.”

Through the corner of your eye, you catch Mikey worrying his bottom lip and decide to wait for him to say more before responding.

“I’m right between Donnie and Raph. It’s pretty cool. I got a bed. And, uh, my music and stuff is all set up. But Raph took half the comic books. Donnie said I can borrow the textbooks anytime I want but…”

“What was your set up like before?”

“Huh?”

“At the Lair. Did you each have your own room?”

“Oh. No. Well, Leo did. He and Donnie had their own. Raphie and I shared,” Mikey’s voice got quieter as he spoke.

“What was it like, rooming with Raph?”

“It sucked. He smells bad after workouts and his cologne smells worse. And he says I snore. And he always moved my stuff and used my headphones without asking.”

“And you miss him.”

“And I miss- Hey…”

“It’s OK to miss him.” You pass Mikey a new leaf to tear. “I bet he misses you, too.”

“I bet he misses my headphones. For sure. He’s always breaking his.”

“He ever break your stuff?”

“Nah. Never. I wasn’t scared he was gonna break ‘em. I just didn’t want them smelling like Fierce by Abercrombie & Fitch.”

You laugh at that and Mikey loosens up a bit. “You share a wall with Raph, right?”

Mikey shrugs. “Kinda. Like a window.”

You lean back on your hands for support and look up at the sky with a smile. “I have an idea.”

[catbowserauthor]

A preview of the next TMNT Empathy story “Aftershocks”

So it’s been forever and day since I worked on my TMNT Empathy series but I got inspired tonight and am finally making progress with the next story, which takes place directly after “Damage.” Or, right after Kala has severed ties with Michelangelo. Here’s a short little preview.

@brightlotusmoon

***

Mess with me and I will let karma do its job. Mess with my family and I will BECOME karma.-Unknown

               “This way.”

           Michelangelo gave a slight yelp as Raphael pulled him along. He barely had time to straighten his hat to hide his appearance before his older brother was dragging him into the nearby doors. “Dude, why the rush? You have been acting mondo-bizarro.” That was the understatement of the year. First and foremost, when he had dragged himself out of bed, he had been utterly dumbfounded that there was no one shouting at him to get to the dojo. Early morning practice came even before breakfast but no one was rushing him along. When he had rushed into the dojo, certain that he was late, it was empty. Thinking he was beyond late and certainly due for a lecture that would make his ears bleed, he ended up running through the Lair only find that Master Splinter had merely left a note that he had taken Leonardo with him for some meditation practice away from the noise of the Lair.

           But what noise? It was silent! Not even workaholic Donatello in his lab!

           At least until Raphael practically ambushed him outside the main entrance (“Thanks for the heart attack, compadre!”) and threw the trench coat on him before pulling him through the sewers, proclaiming about them going to be late for the “best morning ever!” He had begun babbling about how there was a special going on with breakfast pizza and how the House of HaHa had their “best acts” performing all day and then how Donatello had some type of special surprise for them before lunch and then they were going to have to raid the comic shops when they opened.

           Michelangelo was officially freaked out.

           The red banded turtle gave his brother a cheeky grin, rolling his eyes, “Since when does the party-turtle turn down a good time?”

           Cocking a suspicious brow ridge, the teenager responded “And since when does my super-cranky amigo become Mister Rogers?”

           Raphael pouted, though it never seemed to look right on his face. That was more of a Michelangelo move and even then, not very often. So, he instead pasted another smile on his face, “What, I can’t want to spend some time with my bud every so often?”

           Michelangelo tensed “Aw, man, amigo, did you get hit with Donatello’s Personality Alterator again?” That HAD to be the only reason for this maximum-weirdiozo behavior! Raphael, while not cruel, was also not the spoiley, let’s-have-a-guys-day type of turtle. He would go along with it if you pestered or offered but actually instigating it? This was Outer Limits-level odd! Outer Limits crossover with Twilight Zone-kind of odd! If it wasn’t so unnerving, he’d really be enjoying it but given it was such a random shift….he had so many things on his mind after…after Friday night…and he really didn’t need dissecting a brother’s totally nutsoid behavior added to the list.

           “Will you stop giving me the tenth degree and just come on?!” Raphael snapped. He stood, pushing his sibling into one of the chairs near the front of the club. There weren’t a lot of people; never really were for a morning show as the House of HaHa was definitely more of a ‘night club’ type of scene but that didn’t mean they didn’t have any acts in the morning. The owner had been proclaiming about it being “a day of laughter” all last week, promising “our best acts every hour!” so Raphael thought it was the perfect spot! After all, he always got a kick of it. His brother could be a LITTLE more appreciative.

           “Okay,” Michelangelo admitted with a half laugh, “THERE is Raphael.”

           Rolling his eyes, Raphael flagged down one of the servers and asked for “your largest breakfast pizza, all the fixings, and a pitcher of Coke,” before sitting down across from his brother, “Look, sorry that I’m trying to give you a good time. Should I mark it down that Michelangelo wants to foot the bill then?”

           Shaking his head, Michelangelo clarified, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, compadre.” He stressed that. “It’s a bodacious idea…breakfast pizza and a free morning…but why?” No lying there. A breakfast pizza, soda and a morning to not worry about training or exercises was totally righteous! That didn’t mean that he didn’t wonder what brought it on though!

           Raphael shrugged “Eh, seemed like a good idea and I wasn’t about to turn down Sensei stealing Leonardo.”

           Michelangelo nodded, though he didn’t believe him (he knew his brother too well) but their attention was divided when the first comedian made his way up to the stage, obviously not happy at the small group (there were only about three other tables with customers) but when you were a starting comic, you didn’t exactly get top billing. The House of HaHa rarely got what you would call “top notch” comics (given its small size) so it wasn’t usual for small, beginner comics to try their routine on the group. Sometimes with good results, sometimes with bad.

           The red banded turtle HOPED the owner hadn’t been lying about the “best acts” part. He needed good comics. He needed to get a laugh out of his younger brother! No more of this mopey, sad and depressed Michelangelo. He couldn’t take it!

           Raphael grinned and nudged his brother, “Hey, it’s Joey! Remember him?”

           Michelangelo couldn’t say so much he remembered him so much as he recognized him. When they’d saved Raphael from Barney Stockman and Pinky McFingers and their ‘Gag-a-magnifier’ (seriously, who came up with these names?) there had been two comedians with Raphael and this older man was one of them. Apparently, he was still semi-popular as a few of the patrons seemed to recognize him. Michelangelo wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing but he took a sip of water that was offered and focused his attention.

Raphael wanted him to laugh, to feel better. If he was any more blatant about it, it would have been announced with a gong. Raphael had never been good about covering up his emotions, at least as far as Michelangelo was concerned. After the…disaster of a date Friday night, he’d finally gone to bed and had moped around the Lair most of Saturday. When he woke up today, he really didn’t feel much better and would have liked nothing more than to just lay around the Lair doing nothing but what could he do when Raphael had been so insistent? His brother was trying to cheer him up and judging by his statement that Donatello would be joining them later, his other siblings were in on it too. Pretty sweet of them. For all their teasing towards one another, they did love each other, just had different ways of showing it.

So, while Michelangelo inwardly cringed at what might pass for ‘funny’, he had to give a half smile as he went along with it. “Sort of…” he offered his brother but opted not to finish because Joey was starting his routine.

           “’Morning Folks,” Joey greeted them. “Glad to see you all. Got a whole new load of questions for you today!” He paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, “So, the other day, I’m chatting with the baker down at the store, just the usual catching up kind of thing and he tells me that he and his wife weren’t able to get the new car they were planning on. Know why?”

           Michelangelo groaned inwardly as Raphael and for that matter, most of the audience, finished with “he didn’t make enough dough.”

           Joey smiled and offered a wink. “You got it folks. Felt bad for the guy, I really did. He’s got two kids, see, and his daughter’s been feeling really down in the dumps. Heck, she went to the river yesterday to…”

           “Fish for compliments,” Raphael chimed in.

           A few of the audience members clapped but Michelangelo winced, burying his face into his arms to suppress a groan. Man, this guy was bad. Nothing against the guy but the jokes…they were painful!

           “And you know the other day, I found out that it’s not just humans that can be rude. I met the rudest bird in my garden. He was a …”

           “Mocking bird!”

           Michelangelo did groan that time.

           This kind of back and forth continued for about ten minutes before Joey finally left the stage when he stopped getting laughs and even the other people in the club were starting to look disinterested. Raphael could see the owner gesturing to him from the side and finally he got the hint. Well, Joey had never been the best of that group of three, at least in the red banded turtle’s opinion. Raphael looked up to his younger brother and made a face. Michelangelo had buried his head into his folded arms but he wasn’t asleep. Looks like he wasn’t the only one with that opinion. “Eh, okay, Michelangelo so Joey’s talent isn’t exactly his jokes.”

           “Mondo understatement, Dude.” He remarked. Lifting his head, he remarked “I mean, I give the Dude points for gettin’ up there and trying but those were really mondo-bad.”

           The server finally brought out their pizza at that point and it was excellent timing. Raphael had a feeling that this wasn’t going like he had hoped. Best acts his shell! He had a few words to exchange with the owner over that. Aside from a small smile at the beginning, his brother still had that depressed look and darn it, Michelangelo was not meant to be depressed! He was the turtle that was supposed to be full of life and happy and smiling but…because of a girl’s selfish actions, here he was, trying to cheer up the cheerleader! It was completely backwards!

           “Alright! Bodacious!” Michelangelo took hold of the nearest slice, grinning widely. Loaded down with all the fixings, yes, this looked wonderful. He took a giant bite of a slice, relishing in the egg, sausage, bacon, tomato and even the thin coating of grits that was underneath the cheese. Breakfast pizza was usually more complicated and they didn’t routinely make it so getting a large one was a real treat. It gave him something to focus on besides what was rushing through his head. Despite his brother’s attempts, Michelangelo found his thoughts still drifted to Kala.

           Why wouldn’t she let him help her? He’d do anything to help her! Hadn’t he shown her that? Didn’t she know that—

           “Hey! Daydreamer!”

           His brother’s sharp tone snapped him out of his somber thinking and he blinked, taking in Raphael’s concerned-but-covered-up-with-annoyance look. He knew that look anywhere. You didn’t grow up with someone and not learn their looks, despite how they might try and hide them. “Oh, major league sorry, Raphael. What did you say?” He took another bite of the pizza slice in his hand, realizing he must have been thinking a bit because some of it had tumbled onto his plate. Not like him to waste pizza toppings.

           Rolling his eyes, Raphael responded “I said not to let Joey throw you off. They DO have good comedians here! Hey, they liked my routine!”

           Michelangelo didn’t say anything for a moment. Okay, so his brother wasn’t HORRIBLE per say but he wouldn’t exactly say that he was ‘great’ either. At least not when he was trying to be funny. “Oh.” He finally said but then promptly wanted to slap himself in the forehead. Michelangelo didn’t say ‘oh,’ he didn’t just sit there and stare blankly ahead either. He was totally failing in his brother role right now! He was supposed to be supportive of family goals and his brother was totally going out of his way to make him feel better and he was being a major wet rag about it! Maybe he should pick up the tab…

           “Hey!” Raphael chimed in, oddly enough, not hurt. “I’m pretty good!”

           Refocused again, Michelangelo clarified “When you’re not trying, you are, Dude.”

           Under normal circumstances, Raphael would have taken that as an insult. However, Michelangelo had been showing since Friday night that his humor radar was deeply off kilter. Plus, he hadn’t said he _wasn’t_ funny, just that he was funny when he wasn’t trying. Well, what did that mean?! Raphael took the bait and inquired as much with another bite of pizza himself, “Whatta you mean, when I’m not trying? I put a ton of work into my jokes, I’ll have you know!” He gave his sibling a half pout but once again, that look just didn’t work for him.

           “Oh, believe me, we know” Michelangelo replied to his brother “But your jokes aren’t when you’re funny, Raphael,” he responded simply “Sorry to bust your bubble, amigo. It’s when you’re just talkin’ about our family or our mondo-crazy lives or the latest near-death avoidance fiasco that you’re funny.” He added “See, real life is funny enough and you’re bodacious at pointing that out.” He took another bite of pizza, swallowed and said “You try, like, way too hard, compadre, to be funny. Don’t try so hard.”

           Raphael had to admit that this took him by surprise. He had always thought that being funny meant pouring more skill into his writing of jokes and routines. But faced with this information, he frowned, considered.

           “Well, that settles it.” Pushing his plate aside, Raphael stood and made his way to the front of the room. Michelangelo reached after him, calling for him to come back, no doubt thinking that he’d hurt his feelings but the red banded turtle was on a mission now. His little brother needed to smile, damn it!  And if the comedians provided by this club weren’t going to cut it, then shell it all, he’d do it himself!

[louloubabys1992]

when you see this post a snippet of your wip

‘’Truth or dare?’’ Liam asks Louis. It’s their last night in the Bungalow and they’ve just finished practicing a couple of songs around the fire in Harry’s backyard. To make it up to Louis, Liam decided to play the boy’s favorite bedtime game. It’s strange hearing the suggestion coming from Liam’s mouth since he is still not very easily taken up by Louis but somehow, even Mr. Sensible couldn’t resist Louis’ demands. Besides, Louis is right. They’d practiced enough and since it’s their last day, their nerves are getting to them and they need to let loose. Liam can cooperate with Louis on that.

Now, they’re sat on the floor with Louis and Harry pressed together on one side of the coffee table, Liam and Zayn on the other and Niall in between, sitting at the head of the table cross-legged with snacks on both sides of him, the Coca-Cola bottle having been spun by Liam and is now directed at Louis.

Harry feels content as he looks up at Louis from where his head is perched on the boy’s lap. His legs are folded and crossed over each other and many times Niall had to bat his socketed feet away from landing on his eclectic collection of junk food when Harry would stretch out. Louis’ legs are spread underneath the coffee table, correlated with Zayn’s and Liam is sat with his back straight as a rod, cross-legged next to Niall.

It’s almost past midnight and they can hardly sleep. They haven’t got the energy to do any dares so it’s just admitting stuff about each other, some of which are not new and some of which are…

‘’Truth,’’ Louis says, hand combing through Harry’s baby curls, spread on his thighs in a halo of ringlets. Harry loves the feel of Louis’ fingers on his scalps, wonders if they’re leaving an imprint in the roots of his hair. Louis seems to love playing with his hair just as much as Harry loves Louis doing it.

Louis is always combing his fingers through his hair when they’re cuddling. It’s nice and Harry wants the whorls and pads of Louis’ fingers to leave a cement-like fingerprint underneath his locks because he likes the feel of it. He likes how he feels like purring from such a simple touch, it makes the hair on the back of his neck stand just thinking about being that close to Louis, having a part of him like that.

Two weeks with Louis and already it feels like he’s in love. Louis is so caring, so thoughtful of him and he likes it. He thought being babied for being the youngest in the group would be annoying and sometimes it is but Louis doesn’t make him feel that way. Louis babies him in a way that isn’t condescending or disrespecting. No, he’s just sweet and when Louis says it’s because he lives with so many baby sisters, Harry can just see how that holds true.

Louis treats them all like his baby brothers and Harry is no different but there’s always something extra he gives to Harry more than the rest and Harry likes it, likes feeling special and having Louis’ undivided attention on him.

Looking up at Louis’, he is still as infatuated with him as he was the day Louis jumped on him on the x-factor stage. He wonders if this is the type of crush that would go away soon. It hasn’t so far. Looking at Louis’ sharp cheekbones, long eyelashes, limp fringe and blue, blue eyes –are there eyes out there bluer than Louis’? He’s not sure- he doesn’t want it to.

‘’How many girls did you date before Hannah?’’ Liam asks. It’s a bold question and everyone’s surprised. Liam is not as prude as Harry thought he was.

‘’Hmm, interesting question.’’ Louis says with a quirk to his lips. Harry steals a bag of Cheetos from where he could reach – Niall complains but he just gently hits his face with the side of his foot. Niall will get over it soon but till then, Harry has to ignore his pout- and rips it open. Its family size so he hopes Louis will eat it with him. He watches said boy like he’ watching a very interesting thriller movie. It’s not hard; Louis does look like a young Leonardo Dicaprio. He belongs in a movie screen that’s for sure.

‘’Well?’’ Zayn quirks an eyebrow and looks bored out of his mind or very subtly cool. He likes being mysterious.

‘’I can’t really answer that.’’ Louis shrugs as he plucks a piece of the junk food from the bag Harry’s holding up and munches on it. He has to slide his fingers out of Harry’s hair to do it and Harry is not very pleased. But then again, he’s suddenly fascinated by the way Louis is eating.

He doesn’t just shove the whole piece in his mouth like Harry is doing or taking a handful like Niall (disgusting Irishman but Harry loves him to death so he lets it go). No, Louis bites off a piece and chews, holding the remainder between two fingers, twirling it almost. How he doesn’t drop it is mesmerizing. Louis is so talented, Harry thinks with awe. He’s always staring at Louis all starry-eyed and he wonders if he should be concerned at looking creepy but right now, he doesn’t really give a shit.

‘’Why not? It’s a truth or dare, Tomlinson. You have to answer.’’ Liam pushes. He’d been dying to find a way to embarrass Louis in his own game, simply because Louis had done that enough to him and Harry’s had a blast laughing at how Liam’s face goes as red as a tomato whenever Louis asks Liam anything sexual related.

Right now though, Harry cannot focus on anything but the way Louis is poking the Cheetos next to his mouth like a pen cap, pondering. Louis’ fingertips had gone orange from twirling the piece so long. Harry wonders if Louis is going to start licking his fingers when he realizes the mess he’s made. God, what a sight that would be and Harry couldn’t help but feel a bit hot under his collar.

‘’Well, that’s because there hasn’t been any girl before Hannah, you curious knob.’’ Louis answers with an eye-roll before popping the Cheetos into his mouth and shit; Louis licks his fingers clean and though it’s not really overtly sexual, it turns on something in Harry, like some desperate need but of what, he’s not sure.

Louis reaches for another piece and does the same thing, just bites the tip off. Harry had stopped eating. He chooses instead to watch this very interesting movie called ‘’How Louis eats Cheetos?’’ being played in front of him for free.

‘’Don’t call me a knob,’’ Liam whines.

‘’Then don’t ask stupid questions, Payner.’’

‘’I think what Louis is trying to say is that you’ve phrased your question incorrectly, Liam.’’ Zayn puts. He’s looking at Louis with a knowing glint in his eyes. ‘’You should’ve asked him if there was anyone else before Hannah.’’ He puts special emphasis on the word ‘’anyone’’, all the while looking at Louis.

Louis smirks at him and pops the Cheetos in his mouth. No one seems to be aware of Harry’s predicament and honestly, Harry is not really following the game anymore. He’s more concentrated on the movement of Louis’ Adam’s apple, the flick of his wrist, the orange tainting his lips. He wants to lick it, wants that part of Louis. He wants to know what he tastes like, if his lips are just as warm as his fingers caressing his scalp a few minutes ago.

‘’As always Mr. Malik, you’re as observant as ever.’’ Louis complements and now, Zayn is smirking wide.

‘’Is there something we’re missing out on?’’ Niall asks as he nudges Liam. He opens his own bag of Cheetos so now Harry can stop avoiding looking at him. But honestly, he’s still wrapped up in Louis, in wanting to suck the taste of Cheetos off Louis’ fingers.

‘’I’m not sure.’’ Liam says with a frown. Louis chuckles as he spins the bottle with Cheetos greased hands and it gets pointed at Zayn.

‘’Well, truth or dare, lad?’’ Louis asks, plucking another piece of Cheetos. God, he’s going to be the death of me, Harry thinks.

‘’Truth.’’

‘’Ever shagged a boy before?’’ Louis asks with no qualms just as he plops the piece in his mouth without playing with his food like before. Harry sighs, slightly disappointed but wait, what did Louis just say?

‘’No, have you?’’ Zayn’s reply is quick. His smile is rueful in a way he knows Louis had caught his train of thought. Louis is very good at that, is a really excellent judge of character. He’d gotten Liam down to a T on their very first day in the Bungalow and it’s no wonder Liam is always out to get him whether in terms of banter or in terms of leading the band. One Direction has no leader as far as Harry is concerned, or to be more specific, One Direction doesn’t have just the ‘one’ leader. No, Liam leads them mature-wise; knows how to keep them in check and organized. Harry leads them in terms of being the face of the band, Niall leads them in setting the mood light and Zayn is quite the opposite. When he’s serious, they’re all serious, simply put.

Louis however, is the one that ropes all that together, controls their dynamics almost. He always instigates the jokes and leaves the rest to Niall. When Liam says it’s time to practice, he gathers them around. When Zayn is not in the mood, he gets serious enough that the others tone it down. And when Harry has an opinion, he validates it immediately.

Harry doesn’t know to explain it, is not sure if that’s what he’s seeing yet but he likes how Louis guides them without even being aware. Right now though, he likes the way Louis eats Cheetos and he wants to see more of it, wants to eat the other piece he bites off from, damn it.

‘’Before Hannah, yes.’’ Louis answers casually as he reaches for another piece and just, what?

‘’Are you saying you’re gay?’’ Liam asks with a gasp. It’s not offensive, just shocked. Harry is tongue-tied. He doesn’t know if the feeling of elation growing in his gut is because he’s a bit turned on or because…what? Because he stands a chance? He’s not sure.

‘’Mate, I’m dating Hannah. Are you really asking me that question?’’ Louis levels him with a sarcastic look as he takes a nibble. Harry is going to lose his mind. Liam is so dumb; obviously Louis is flexible so what’s there to think of? God damn it, he wants that Cheetos.

‘’Lou, can I have that?’’ he asks, interrupting the big-reveal of a conversation. He sounds off, like he’s in a daze but he’s got Louis’ attention zoomed in on him and he likes it; he likes having Louis’ eyes on him, wants to have every piece of him, including the Cheetos.

‘’What, love?’’ Louis says, looking at him with mirth in his eyes and it’s been a while since he’d looked at Harry since the game started so that, combined with how the Cheetos is hanging between his teeth, Harry really stood no chance.

He snatches the Cheetos from Louis’ mouth and eats it; taking a bite from where the piece touched Louis’ mouth first then eating the rest in one go. He then smiles brilliantly, all teeth and dimples, like his action was purely spontaneous and not due to some weird longing of his that is definitely beyond wanting to taste food off of Louis’ mouth. Louis just laughs at him and Harry is so happy. He just ate from Louis’ fingers; just found out that Louis had shagged a boy. If things don’t work out with Hannah, then he stands a chance. He fucking stands a chance.

[budugaapologist]

Cooking Headcanons: How Shit With Food Are Your Faves?

·        Altair: Look, it’s edible. It won’t give you food poisoning but it’s kind of bland, which Malik reminds him of every single time Altair tries to be nice and share his food. It’s the thought that counts, Malik, let him live.

·        Ezio: He only makes Italian food. He refuses to attempt anything else after he tried cooking a very complex rogan josh recipe with Yusuf and they failed miserably. He knows Italian food and doesn’t want to look bad in front of his family and friends with a poor dish, though both Sofia and Leonardo would support him through trying something new.

·        Connor: He loves barbequing and always remembers to make vegan and vegetarian options. Whenever the Kenways are throwing a party they make sure to say Connor cooked the main dish even if he didn’t so the guests always come. He also loves to bake, though he is better behind the grill.

·        Haytham: He hates cooking. He doesn’t think he’s good at it and, to be honest? He’s right. He is one of those dads that makes one dish and only one and doesn’t make anything else because it’s the only thing he knows how to make. His signature dish is grilled cheese with a tomato slice on it. Ziio thinks it’s okay and that’s enough for him.

·        Edward: He used to be pretty trash at it. But during his time at sea he learned how to make Cuban and Jamaican dishes like a pro and thanks to Adewale’s nagging he now makes sure he seasons his food. When Jennifer and Haytham were younger he used to bake cookies with them. To avoid another Haytham, when Connor was old enough, he would cook and bake with him. It certainly stuck with Connor, which makes his grandpa instincts really happy.

·        Adewale: He likes meal planning and makes all of his dinners for the week on Sundays. He uses a lot of wine in his dishes, though it’s mainly so there’s a bottle nearby in case anyone tries to talk to him about their problems while he’s cooking. Listen, he understands everyone has their struggles in life but he never came into your kitchen asking for reparations. He has his own things to worry about, he doesn’t want to hear it.

·        Arno: He always follows a recipe book and measures everything exactly if he is trying to impress somebody (Elise, mainly). Otherwise, if he can’t make it in a microwave, he isn’t gonna make it.

·        Elise: She likes her food burnt. It’s a choice that not a lot of guests like since it makes the house smell bad and the smoke detector goes off nine times out of ten, but so long as you aren’t trying to mooch her food, she’s happy.

·        Shay: He is really into stuff you can eat with a spoon, especially traditional Irish stews, which he makes himself when he has company over or has spare time. He has two shelves just for bowls and two cabinets that just have cereal and soups in them. Just don’t take Lucky Charms anywhere near his property, you will never be allowed back (Jacob and Edward know who they are).

·        Aveline: Her cornbread is to fucking die for. Fights have been started over the last piece. She loves the bloodshed over her food and will purposely make fewer than she needs. Her Thanksgiving dinners never have more than a plate of food left over. In her dining room it isn’t regretting how much you ate; it’s regretting how much you didn’t eat.

·        Jacob: He can’t cook. At all. Do not let him have free will in a kitchen.

·        Evie: She makes fun of Jacob relentlessly but has anyone ever seen her cook before? Like, there is no documentation of her touching a stove in her life. She says she’s too busy to cook most nights and swears she uses her crockpot but if you ask me, she’s afraid her and her brother might share a missing skill.

·        Lydia: To avoid the Frye family curse, she’s made sure she’s practiced since she was young, and it’s definitely paid off. Good on you, girl, finding time to learn basic life skills.

·        Henry: Luckily for the twins, he can actually cook. And he loves to. He makes meals from scratch and has his own vegetable garden. He doesn’t mind cooking for the twins, so long as Evie and Jacob don’t mind setting the table and cleaning up afterwards.

·        Bayek: He loves to bake. Pies, cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, brownies, bread, all of it, he loves it. And he’s great at it, too, making at least one pie a week as a date night with Aya.

·        Aya: She doesn’t measure anything. She just eyeballs it and assumes she’s good. Bayek and Aya’s date nights usually rely on Bayek watching her closely so she adds the correct amount of an ingredient and doesn’t destroy their pie. More often than he likes to admit her eyeballing technique works out.

·        Kassandra: So. No one trusts her to make food. She isn’t bad, she just… enjoys a lot of weird combinations. There’s only so many times a person can refuse hot sauce on watermelon or pickles in peanut butter before they just outright tell her to stop bringing her food over and she’s designated to sulking in the living room with Jacob. She also makes protein shakes constantly for breakfast, eats four meals a day, not including dessert, and only eats healthy foods during weekdays, her cheat days being during the weekend. She also only uses exotic meat and venison.

·        Alexios: Much like Kassandra, he has weird snacks but not to her extent. His are just annoying. He’ll take the pickles Kassandra wants with her peanut butter and put them aside in a Ziploc bag then drink all of the pickle juice. He also eats other people’s leftovers. Not because he wants to piss them off, he just doesn’t read when he’s hungry. He makes up for this bad habit though, he’s great at making dips and is a wrap machine.

·        Chronicles Squad: Shao prefers ordering a pizza or getting carryout, but she can cook, especially after Ezio’s lecturing on “authentic Italian cuisine” and “the importance of homemade meals.” Arbaaz always uses ginger powder and turmeric and judges his son’s food with a critic’s eye, but Henry has yet to let him down, well, as far as cooking goes. Nikolai likes to cook but he doesn’t like help. Like Adewale, stay out of his kitchen when he’s cooking, the food tastes better when he doesn’t spit in your plate for ignoring his one rule.

[bigyack-com]

The Best Movies on Netflix in India [February 2020]

In its efforts to win Oscars and please its 167 million members, Netflix has been pouring billions into movies recently, including projects from or featuring the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Martin Scorsese, and Michael Bay. One of those — The Irishman — racked up 10 nominations for the streaming service at the 2020 Oscars, though it failed to come away with a single prize. Netflix has also expanded its film efforts in India in the past year, announcing projects from the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar. For now though, the strength of its catalogue is still the acquisitions. With over 3,500 movies, Netflix offers more choices than any other platform in India. To pick the best movies on Netflix, we relied on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb ratings to create a shortlist. The last of them was preferred for Indian films given the shortfalls of reviews aggregators in that department. Additionally, we used our own editorial judgement to add or remove a few. This list will be updated once every few months if there are any worthy additions or if some movies are removed from the service, so bookmark this page and keep checking in. Here are the best films currently available on Netflix in India, sorted alphabetically. 12 Monkeys (1995) Inspired by the 1962 French short La Jetée, a prisoner (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to learn more about the virus that wiped out nearly all of humanity. Terry Gilliam directs. 12 Years A Slave (2013) Duped into slavery on the account of a job, Steve McQueen's adaptation of a free New York black man's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) 19th-century memoir is an incredible true story, and an important watch. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) In Stanley Kubrick's highly-influential sci-fi film, humanity charts a course for Jupiter with the sentient computer HAL 9000, to understand the discovery of a black monolith affecting human evolution. It's less plot, and more a visual and aural experience.

3 Idiots (2009) In this satire of the Indian education system's social pressures, two friends recount their college days and how their third long-lost musketeer (Aamir Khan) inspired them to think creatively and independently in a heavily-conformist world. Co-written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who stands accused in the #MeToo movement. 50/50 (2011) Inspired by a true story, a 27-year-old radio journalist (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is diagnosed with spinal cancer and learns the value of friendship and love as he battles the rare disease. Aamir (2008) Adapted from the 2006 Filipino film Cavite, a young Muslim NRI doctor (Rajeev Khandelwal) returning from the UK to India is forced to comply with terrorists' demands to carry out a bombing in Mumbai after they threaten his family. American History X (1998) In a film that's more relevant today than when it was made, a neo-Nazi white supremacist (Edward Norton), who served three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same path. American Hustle (2013) In the late 1970s, two con artists (Christian Bale and Amy Adams) are forced to work for an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) and set up a sting operation that plans to bring down several corrupt politicians and members of the Mafia. Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner star alongside. Andaz Apna Apna (1994) Two slackers (Aamir Khan and Salman Khan) who belong to middle-class families vie for the affections of an heiress, and inadvertently become her protectors from a local gangster in Rajkumar Santoshi's cult comedy favourite. Andhadhun (2018) Inspired by the French short film L'Accordeur, this black comedy thriller is the story of a piano player (Ayushman Khurrana) who pretends to be visually-impaired and is caught in a web of twists and lies after he walks into a murder scene. Tabu, Radhika Apte star alongside. Apollo 13 (1995) Ron Howard dramatises the aborted Apollo 13 mission that put the astronauts in jeopardy after an on-board explosion ate up all the oxygen and forced NASA to abort and get the men home safely. Argo (2012) Ben Affleck directs and stars in this film about a CIA agent posing as a Hollywood producer scouting for location in Iran, in order to rescue six Americans during the US hostage crisis of 1979. Article 15 (2019) Ayushmann Khurrana plays a cop in this exploration of casteism, religious discrimination, and the current socio-political situation in India, which tracks a missing persons' case involving three teenage girls of a small village. A hard-hitting, well-made movie, though ironically, it was criticised for being casteist itself, and providing an outsider's perspective. The Avengers (2012) Earth's mightiest heroes — including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk — come together in this groundbreaking Marvel team-up from writer-director Joss Whedon to stop Thor's adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his alien army from subjugating mankind.

The Aviator (2004) With Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes and Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Martin Scorsese dives into the life of the aviation pioneer and film producer, who grapples with severe OCD while his fame grows. Awakenings (1990) Robin Williams and Robert De Niro lead the cast of this drama based on a 1973 memoir of the same name, about a doctor (Williams) who discovers the beneficial effects of a drug on catatonic patients, thereby gifting them a new lease on life. Barfi! (2012) Set in the 1970s amidst the hills of Darjeeling, writer-director Anurag Basu tells the tale of three people (Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D'Cruz) as they learn to love while battling the notions held by society. Beasts of No Nation (2015) With civil war raging across a fictional African nation, this Netflix Original focuses on a young boy who's trained as a child soldier by a fierce warlord (Idris Elba), and the effects it has on him. Before Sunrise (1995) In the first chapter of Richard Linklater's long-drawn-out trilogy, two idealistic twentysomethings, an American man (Ethan Hawke) and a French woman (Julie Delpy), spend the night together walking around in the Austrian capital of Vienna. The Big Lebowski (1998) A guy known as The Dude (Jeff Bridges) seeks payback for his ruined carpet after he's mistaken for a millionaire with the same name in this crime comedy from the Coen brothers. Less about the plot and more about a way of living. The Big Short (2015) Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, a look at Wall Street's penchant for self-profit in a vicious loop that caused the 2007–08 global financial meltdown. Birdman (2014) Alejandro G. Iñárritu won three Oscars including Best Picture for this tale of a washed-up superhero actor (Michael Keaton) who struggles to revive his career with a Broadway play. Known for appearing as if it was shot in a single take, it also starred Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Stone. Blade Runner (1982) One of the most influential cyberpunk films ever made is about a burnt-out cop (Harrison Ford) who reluctantly agrees to hunt down a group of fugitive “replicants”, synthetic humans with a limited life-span who aren't allowed to live on Earth. Blue Valentine (2010) Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams lead this drama that shifts between time periods to depict a couple's courtship and how their marriage fell apart. Das Boot (1981) One of the most authentic war movies ever made chronicles the life of a German submarine crew during World War II, as they go through long stretches of boredom and periods of intense conflict, while trying to maintain morale in a capsule 10 feet by 150 feet hundreds of metres under the surface. The Bourne trilogy (2002-07) Technically not a trilogy, but the first three chapters — Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum — starring Matt Damon in the lead as the titular CIA assassin suffering from amnesia were so good that they changed the longest-running spy franchise of all-time: James Bond.

The Breadwinner (2017) This animated film follows a 11-year-old girl living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, who disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family after the father is taken away without reason. Uses wonderfully-drawn vignettes to stress on the importance of storytelling. Bulbul Can Sing (2019) Three teenagers battle patriarchy and the moral police as they explore their sexual identities in Rima Das's National Award-winning drama — and pay for it dearly. Das writes, directs, shoots, edits, and handles costumes. C/o Kancharapalem (2018) Set in the eponymous Andhra Pradesh town, this Telugu film spans four love stories across religion, caste, and age — from a schoolboy to a middle-aged unmarried man. A debut for writer-director Venkatesh Maha, featuing a cast mostly made up of non-professional actors. Capernaum (2018) In the award-winning, highest-grossing Arabic film of all time, a 12-year-old from the slums of Beirut recounts his life leading up to a five-year sentence he's handed for stabbing someone, and in turn, his decision to sue his parents for child neglect. Captain Phillips (2013) The true story of a Somali pirate hijacking of a US cargo ship and its captain (Tom Hanks) being taken hostage, which spawns a rescue effort from the US Navy. The Bourne Ultimatum's Paul Greengrass directs. Cast Away (2000) After his plane crash-lands in the Pacific, a FedEx employee (Tom Hanks) wakes up on a deserted island and must use everything at his disposal and transform himself physically to survive living alone. Castle in the Sky (1986) In the first film officially under the Studio Ghibli banner, a young boy and a girl protect a magic crystal from pirates and military agents, while on the search for a legendary floating castle. Hayao Miyazaki writes and directs. Chupke Chupke (1975) Hrishikesh Mukherjee's remake of the Bengali film Chhadmabeshi, in which a newly-wedded husband (Dharmendra) decides to play pranks on his wife's (Sharmila Tagore) supposedly smart brother-in-law. Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan also star. A Clockwork Orange (1971) Set in a near-future dystopian Britain, writer-director Stanley Kubrick adapts Anthony Burgess' novel of the same name, commenting on juvenile delinquency through the eyes of a small gang leader who enjoys "a bit of the old ultra-violence". Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Steven Spielberg's slow-paced sci-fi pic — which spent several years in development, being rewritten over and over — is about an everyday blue-collar guy (Richard Dreyfuss) whose humdrum life turns upside down after an encounter with an unidentified flying object (UFO).

Cold War (2018) Jumping either side of the Iron Curtain through the late 1940s to the 1960s, Oscar-winner Paweł Pawlikowski depicts the story of two star-crossed lovers, as they deal with Stalinism, rejection, jealousy, change, time — and their own temperaments. Company (2002) Inspired the real-life relationship between Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan, director Ram Gopal Varma offers a look at how a henchman (Vivek Oberoi) climbs up the mobster ladder and befriends the boss (Ajay Devgn), before they fall out. Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Refusing to accept a death sentence from his doctor after being diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s, the true story of an electrician and hustler (Matthew McConaughey) who smuggles banned medications from abroad. Dangal (2016) The extraordinary true story of amateur wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan) who trains his two daughters to become India's first world-class female wrestlers, who went on to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. The Dark Knight (2008) In the second part of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, regarded as the greatest comic book movie ever, Batman (Christian Bale) faces a villain, the Joker (Heath Ledger), he doesn't understand, and must go through hell to save Gotham and its people. Dev.D (2009) Anurag Kashyap offers a modern-day reimagining of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali romance classic Devdas, in which a man (Abhay Deol), having broken up with his childhood sweetheart, finds refuge in alcohol and drugs, before falling for a prostitute (Kalki Koechlin). Dheepan (2015) Winner of Cannes' top prize, three Sri Lankan refugees — including a Tamil Tiger soldier — pretend to be a family to gain asylum in France, where they soon realise that life isn't very different in the rough neighbourhoods. Dil Chahta Hai (2001) Farhan Akhtar's directorial debut about three inseparable childhood friends whose wildly different approach to relationships creates a strain on their friendship remains a cult favourite. Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Preity Zinta star. Django Unchained (2012) Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) helps a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) rescue his wife from a charming but cruel plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Drive (2011) A stuntman moonlighting as a getaway driver (Ryan Gosling) grows fond of his neighbour and her young son, and then takes part in a botched heist to protect them from the debt-ridden husband.

Dunkirk (2017) Christopher Nolan's first historical war movie chronicles the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the French beaches of Dunkirk in World War II, using his love for non-linear storytelling by depicting three fronts — land, sea, and air — in time-shifted ways. The Edge of Seventeen (2016) In this coming-of-age comedy, the life of an awkward young woman (Hailee Steinfeld) gets more complex after her older brother starts dating her best friend, though she finds solace in an unexpected friendship and a teacher-slash-mentor (Woody Harrelson). End of Watch (2012) Before he made a terrible sci-fi remake of his own film, writer-director David Ayer took a near-documentarian lens to the day-to-day police work of two partners (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña) in South Los Angeles, involving their friendship and dealings with criminal elements. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) An estranged couple (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) begin a new relationship unaware they dated previously, having erased each other from their memories, in what stands as writer Charlie Kaufman's defining work. The Exorcist (1973) One of the greatest horror films of all time, that has left a lasting influence on the genre and beyond, is about the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother's attempts to save her with the help of two priests who perform exorcisms. The Florida Project (2017) Set in the shadow of Disney World, a precocious six-year-old girl (Brooklynn Prince) makes the most of her summer with her ragtag playmates, while her rebellious mother tries to make ends meet with the spectre of homelessness always hanging over them. Willem Dafoe stars alongside. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) In John Hughes' now-classic teen picture, a high schooler fakes being sick to spend the day with his girlfriend and his best friend, while his principal is determined to spy on him. Fruitvale Station (2013) Black Panther writer-director Ryan Coogler's first feature offered a look at the real-life events of a young California man's (Michael B. Jordan) death in a police shooting in 2008. Winner of two awards at Sundance Film Festival. Full Metal Jacket (1987) Stanley Kubrick follows a US marine nicknamed Joker from his days as a new recruit under the command of a ruthless sergeant, to his posting as a war correspondent in South Vietnam, while observing the effects of the war on his fellow soldiers.

Ghostbusters (1984) A bunch of eccentric paranormal enthusiasts start a ghost-catching business in New York, and then stumble upon a plot to wreak havoc by summoning ghosts. Gave birth to one of the most iconic song lyrics in history. Gol Maal (1979) A chartered accountant (Amol Palekar), with a knack for singing and acting, falls deep down the rabbit hole after lying to his boss that he has a twin, in this Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy. Gone Girl (2014) Based on Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel and directed by David Fincher, a confounded husband (Ben Affleck) becomes the primary suspect in the sudden mystery disappearance of his wife (Rosamund Pike). GoodFellas (1990) Considered as one of the best gangster films of all time, it brought Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro together for the sixth time. Based on Nicholas Pilegg's 1985 non-fiction book Wiseguy, it tells the rise and fall story of mob associate Henry Hill, his friends and family between 1955 and 1980. Gravity (2013) Two US astronauts, a first-timer (Sandra Bullock) and another on his final mission (George Clooney), are stranded in space after their shuttle is destroyed, and then must battle debris and challenging conditions to return home. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) A bunch of intergalactic misfits, which includes a talking racoon and tree, come together to form a ragtag team in this Marvel adventure that needs no prior knowledge. Guru (2007) Mani Ratnam wrote and directed this rags-to-riches story of a ruthless and ambitious businessman (Abhishek Bachchan) who doesn't let anything stand in his way as he turns into India's biggest tycoon. Loosely inspired by the life of Dhirubhai Ambani. Haider (2014) Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespearean trilogy concluded with this modern-day adaptation of Hamlet, that is also based on Basharat Peer's 1990s-Kashmir memoir Curfewed Night. Follows a young man (Shahid Kapoor) who returns home to investigate his father's disappearance and finds himself embroiled in the ongoing violent insurgency. Her (2013) A lonely man (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with an intelligent computer operating system (Scarlett Johansson), who enriches his life and learns from him, in Spike Jonze's masterpiece. Hot Fuzz (2007) A top London cop (Simon Pegg, also co-writer) is transferred to a sleepy English village for being the lone overachiever in a squad of slackers. A blend of relationship comedy and a genre cop movie. Edgar Wright directs. Hugo (2011) In 1930s Paris, a boy who lives alone in the walls of a train station tries to figure out the mystery involving his late father and his most treasured possession, an automaton, that needs a key to function. Martin Scorsese directs.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) In the best of four movies, Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen is forced to participate in a special edition of the Hunger Games, a competition where individuals fight to the death, featuring the winners of all previous competitions. I, Daniel Blake (2016) After a heart attack that leaves him unable to work, a widowed carpenter is forced to fight an obtuse British welfare system, while developing a strong bond with a single mother who has two children. Winner of the Palme d'Or. I Lost My Body (2019) In this animated Cannes winner, a severed hand escapes from a lab and scrambles through Paris to get back to his body, while recounting its past life that involved moving to France after an accident and falling in love. In This Corner of the World (2016) Set in Hiroshima during World War II, an 18-year-old woman agrees to marry a man she barely knows in this animated Japanese film, and then must learn to cope with life's daily struggles and find a way to push through as the war rages on around her. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Directed by Steven Spielberg off a story by George Lucas, an eponymous archaeologist (Harrison Ford) travels the world and battles a group of Nazis while looking for a mysterious artefact, in what is now often considered as one of the greatest films of all-time. Infernal Affairs (2002) Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed is a remake of this original Hong Kongian film, in which a police officer is working undercover in a Triad, while a Triad member is secretly working for the police. Both have the same objective: find the mole. Into the Wild (2007) Based on Jon Krakauer's nonfiction book, Sean Penn goes behind the camera to direct the story of a top student and athlete who gives up all possessions and savings to charity, and hitchhikes across America to live in the Alaskan wilderness. Iqbal (2005) In writer-director Nagesh Kukunoor's National Award-winning film, a hearing- and speech-impaired farm boy (Shreyas Talpade) pursues his passion for becoming a cricketer for the national squad, with the help of a washed-up ex-coach (Naseeruddin Shah). The Irishman (2019) Based on Charles Brandt's 2004 book “I Heard You Paint Houses”, Martin Scorsese offers an indulgent, overlong look at the life of a truck driver (Robert De Niro) who becomes a hitman working for the Bufalino crime family and labour union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).

John Wick (2014) In the first part of what is now a series, a former hitman (Keanu Reeves) exits retirement to find and kill those that stole his car and killed his dog. Less story, more action, with the filmmakers drawing on anime, Hong Kong action cinema, Spaghetti Westerns, and French crime dramas. Jurassic Park (1993) It might be over 25 years old at this point but watching the very first Jurassic film from Steven Spielberg — based on Michael Crichton's novel, which he co-adapted — is a great way to remind yourself why the new series, Jurassic World, has no idea why it's doing. Kahaani (2012) A pregnant woman (Vidya Balan) travels from London to Kolkata to search for her missing husband in writer-director Sujoy Ghosh's National Award-winning mystery thriller, battling sexism and a cover-up along the way. Khosla Ka Ghosla! (2006) After a powerful property dealer (Boman Irani) holds a middle-class, middle-aged man's (Anupam Kher) newly-purchased property to ransom, his son and his son's friends devise a plot to dupe the swindling squatter and pay him back with his own money. Dibakar Banerjee's directorial debut. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) A coming-of-age story of the young titular witch, who opens an air delivery business, helps a bakery's pregnant owner in exchange for accommodation, and befriends a geeky boy during her year of self-discovery. Hayao Miyazaki writes and directs. Lady Bird (2017) Greta Gerwig's directorial debut is a coming-of-age story of a high school senior (Saoirse Ronan) and her turbulent relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf), all while she figures out who she wants to be through friendships and short relationships. Lagaan (2001) Set in Victorian India, a village farmer (Aamir Khan) stakes everyone's future on a game of cricket with the well-equipped British, in exchange for a tax reprieve for three years. The Little Prince (2015) Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 1943 novella is given the animation treatment, in which an elderly pilot (Jeff Bridges) recounts his encounters with a young boy who claimed to be an extra-terrestrial prince to his neighbour, a young girl. Rachel McAdams, James Franco, and Marion Cotillard also voice. A Little Princess (1995) Alfonso Cuarón directs this tale of a young girl who is forced to become a servant by the headmistress at her New York boarding school, after her wealthy aristocratic father is presumed dead in World War I. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) Peter Jackson brought J.R.R. Tolkien's expansive Middle-Earth to life in these three three-hour epics, which charts the journey of a meek hobbit (Elijah Wood) and his various companions, as they try to stop the Dark Lord Sauron by destroying the source of his power, the One Ring.

Loveless (2017) A Cannes winner about the social ills of life in modern Russia, told through the eyes of two separated parents who are drawn back together after their 12-year-old child goes missing. From award-winning director Andrey Zvyagintsev. The Lunchbox (2013) An unlikely mistake by Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox carrier system results in an unusual friendship between a young housewife (Nimrat Kaur) and an older widower (Irrfan Khan) about to retire from his job. Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro (1979) In legendary Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's feature debut, a dashing master thief enlists the help of a long-time nemesis in the police and a fellow thief to rescue a princess from an evil count, and put an end to his counterfeit money operation. Marriage Story (2019) Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver play an entertainment industry couple going through a divorce, which pulls them — and their young son — from New York to Los Angeles, the two different hometowns of the protagonists. Mary Poppins (1964) Based on P.L. Travers' book series of the same name, a disciplined father hires a loving woman (Julie Andrews) — who he doesn't know is capable of magic — to be the nanny for his two mischievous children. Won five Oscars, including best actress for the debutant Andrews. Masaan (2015) Neeraj Ghaywan ventures into the heartland of India to explore the life of four people in his directorial debut, all of whom must battle issues of caste, culture and norms. Winner of a National Award and the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes. Million Dollar Baby (2004) An overlooked, veteran boxing trainer (Clint Eastwood, who also directs) reluctantly agrees to train a former waitress (Hilary Swank) to help achieve her dreams, which leads to a close father-daughter bond that will forever change their lives. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) With the organisation he works for disbanded and his country after him, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) races against time to prove the existence of the schemers pulling the strings in this fifth chapter. Introduced Rebecca Ferguson to the franchise. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) The legendary British comedy troupe mix their talents with the tale of King Arthur and his knights, as they look for the Holy Grail and encounter a series of horrors. A contender for the best comedy of all-time.

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) Satire so cutting that it was banned for years in the UK and elsewhere, Life of Brian saw Monty Python turning their eyes on more long-form storytelling. The Life of Brian is the story of a young Jewish man born on the same day and next door to Jesus Christ, who gets mistaken for the messiah. Mudbound (2017) A Netflix Original, this World War II drama is set in rural Mississippi, and follows two veterans – one white and one black – who return home, and must deal with problems of racism in addition to PTSD. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) After his parents find out he has been pretending to be a doctor, a good-natured Mumbai underworld don (Sanjay Dutt) tries to redeem himself by enrolling in a medical college, where his compassion brushes up against the authoritarian dean (Boman Irani). Co-written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who stands accused in the #MeToo movement. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Set in post-war rural Japan, a heart-warming tale of a professor's two young daughters who have adventures with friendly forest sprits. Hayao Miyazaki writes and directs. Mystic River (2003) Three childhood friends reunite after a brutal murder, in which the victim is one's (Sean Penn) daughter, another (Kevin Bacon) is the case detective, and the third (Tim Robbins) is suspected by both. Clint Eastwood directs. Nightcrawler (2014) Jake Gyllenhaal plays a freelance video journalist with no ethics or morals who will do anything to get the best footage of violent crimes that local news stations love. A feature directorial debut for screenwriter Dan Gilroy. Ocean's Eleven (2001) In this first of Steven Soderbergh's trilogy, which features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his eleven associates plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos at the same time. Okja (2017) Part environment parable and part skewer of corporatisation, this underappreciated Netflix Original by Bong Joon-ho tells its story of a young Korean girl and her best friend – a giant pet pig – while effortlessly crossing genres. On Body and Soul (2017) A shy, introverted man and a woman who work at a Hungarian slaughterhouse discover they share the same dreams after an incident, and then try to make them come true.

Only Yesterday (1991) A Studio Ghibli production about a 27-year-old career-driven Tokyo woman who reminisces about her childhood on her way to the countryside to see her sister's family. Isao Takahata writes and directs. Paan Singh Tomar (2012) A true story of the eponymous soldier and athlete (Irrfan Khan) who won gold at the National Games, and later turned into a dacoit to resolve a land dispute. Won top honours for film and actor (Khan) at National Awards. Pan's Labyrinth (2006) In Guillermo del Toro's fantastical version of Spain five years after the civil war, Ofelia – a young stepdaughter of a cruel army officer – is told she is the reincarnated version of an underworld princess but must complete three tasks to prove herself. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) Emma Watson stars in this coming-of-age comedy based on the novel of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, who also wrote and directed the film. Watson plays one of two seniors who guide a nervous freshman. Phantom Thread (2017) Set in the glamourous couture world of 1950s post-war London, the life of a renowned dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis), who is used to women coming and going through his tailored life, unravels after he falls in love with a young, strong-willed waitress. Pink (2016) A lawyer (Amitabh Bachchan) comes out of retirement to help three women (Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, and Andrea Tariang) clear their names in a crime involving a politician's nephew (Angad Bedi). Won a National Award. PK (2014) A satirical comedy-drama that probes religious dogmas and superstitions, through the lens of an alien (Aamir Khan) who is stranded on Earth after he loses his personal communicator and befriends a TV journalist (Anushka Sharma) as he attempts to retrieve it. Porco Rosso (1992) Transformed into an anthropomorphic pig by an unusual curse, an Italian World War I ace fighter veteran now works as a freelance bounty hunter in 1930s Adriatic Sea in the Mediterranean. Hayao Miyazaki writes and directs. Queen (2013) A 24-year-old shy woman (Kangana Ranaut) sets off on her honeymoon alone to Europe after her fiancé calls off the wedding a day prior. There, freed from the traditional trappings and with the help of new friends, she gains a newfound perspective on life. Director Vikas Bahl stands accused in the #MeToo movement.

Rang De Basanti (2006) Aamir Khan leads the ensemble cast of this award-winning film that focuses on four young New Delhi men who turn into revolutionary heroes themselves while playacting as five Indian freedom fighters from the 1920s for a docudrama. Ratatouille (2007) An anthropomorphic rat (Patton Oswalt) who longs to be a chef tries to achieve his dream by making an alliance with a young garbage boy at a Parisian restaurant. From Pixar. Rebecca (1940) Alfred Hitchcock's first American film is based on Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel of the same name, about a naïve, young woman who marries an aristocratic widower and then struggles under the intimidating reputation of his first wife, who died under mysterious circumstances. The Remains of the Day (1993) Made by the duo of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, this based-on-a-book film is about a dedicated and loyal butler (Anthony Hopkins), who gave much of his life — and missed out on a lot — serving a British lord who turns out to be a Nazi sympathiser. Reservoir Dogs (1992) After a simply jewellery heist goes wrong in Quentin Tarantino's feature-length debut, six criminals – Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Madsen are a few of the actors – who don't know each other's identity start to suspect each other of being a police informant. The Revenant (2015) Leonardo DiCaprio and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu won Oscars for their work on this semi-biographical Western film set in the 1820s, which tells the story of frontiersman Hugh Glass and his quest for survival and justice amidst severe winters. Roma (2018) Alfonso Cuarón revisits his childhood in the eponymous Mexico City neighbourhood, during the political turmoil of the 1970s, through the eyes of a middle-class family's live-in maid, who takes care of the house and four children, while balancing the complications of her own personal life. Sairat (2016) In a tiny village in the Indian state of Maharashtra, a fisherman's son and a local politician's daughter fall in love, which sends ripples across the society because their families belong to different castes. Currently the highest-grossing Marathi-language film of all time. Scarface (1983) Al Pacino delivers one of his best performances as a Cuban refugee who arrives in 1980s Miami with nothing, rises the ranks to become a powerful drug kingpin, and then falls due to his ego, his paranoia, and a growing list of enemies. Se7en (1995) In this dark, gripping thriller from David Fincher, two detectives – one new (Brad Pitt) and one about to retire (Morgan Freeman) – hunt a serial killer (Kevin Spacey) who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives. Secret Superstar (2017) Though frequently melodramatic, this coming-of-age story – produced by Aamir Khan and wife Kiran Rao – of a Muslim girl from Vadodara who dreams of being a singer dealt with important social issues and broke several box office records during its theatrical run.

Sense and Sensibility (1995) Jane Austen's famous work is brought to life by director Ang Lee, about three sisters who are forced to seek financial security through marriage after the death of their wealthy father leaves them poor by the rules of inheritance. The Shining (1980) Stephen King's popular novel gets the film treatment from Stanley Kubrick, about a father who loses his sanity in an isolated hotel the family is staying at for the winter, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and the future. Shoplifters (2018) Winner of the top prize at Cannes, the story of a group of poverty-stricken outsiders scraping together an under-the-radar living in Tokyo, whose life is upended after they take in a new, young member. Hirokazu Kore-eda writes, directs, and edits. Shrek (2001) A half-parody of fairy tales, Shrek is about an eponymous ogre who agrees to help an evil lord get a queen in exchange for the deed to his swamp, filled with enough jokes for the adults and a simple plot children. A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016) Based on the manga of the same name, a coming-of-age story of a school bully who tries to make amends with a hearing-impaired girl he tormented back in the day, after the tables are turned on him. Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Two people (Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper) with pain and suffering in their past begin a road to recovery while training together for a dance competition, in what becomes an unlikely love story. The Sixth Sense (1999) In writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's best film to date, a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) tries to help a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who can see and talk to the dead. Snowpiercer (2013) Chris Evans stars in this sci-fi from Bong Joon-ho, which takes place in a future ravaged by an experiment, where the survivors live on a train that continuously circles the globe and has led to a punishing new class system. The Social Network (2010) The tale of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg gets a slight fictional spin, as it explores how the young engineer was sued by twin brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and sold lies to his co-founder and squeezed him out.

Soni (2019) A short-tempered young policewoman and her cool-headed female boss must contend with ingrained misogyny in their daily lives and even at work, where it impacts their coordinated attempts to tackle the rise of crimes against women in Delhi. Spartacus (1960) After failing to land the title role in Ben-Hur, Kirk Douglas optioned a book with a similar theme, about a slave who led a revolt — known retrospectively as the Third Servile War — against the mighty Roman Empire. Won four Oscars and was named as one of the best historical epics. The Stranger (1946) A war crimes investigator hunts a high-ranking Nazi fugitive (Orson Welles, also director) hiding in the US state of Connecticut, who is also duping his naïve new wife. Super Deluxe (2019) An inter-linked anthology of four stories, involving an unfaithful wife, a transgender woman, a bunch of teenagers, which deal in sex, stigma, and spirituality. Runs at nearly three hours. Swades (2004) Shah Rukh Khan stars a successful NASA scientist in this based on a true story drama, who returns home to India to take his nanny to the US, rediscovers his roots and connects with the local village community in the process. Taare Zameen Par (2007) Sent to boarding school against his will, a dyslexic eight-year-old is helped by an unconventional art teacher (Aamir Khan) to overcome his disability and discover his true potential. Talvar (2015) Meghna Gulzar and Vishal Bhardwaj combine forces to tell the story of the 2008 Noida double murder case, in which a teenage girl and the family's hired servant were killed, and the inept police bungled the investigation. Uses the Rashomon effect for a three-pronged take. Tangerine (2015) Shot entirely on iPhones, a transgender female sex worker vows revenge on her boyfriend-pimp who cheated on her while she was in jail. Tangled (2010) Locked up by her overly protective mother, a young long-haired girl finally gets her wish to escape into the world outside thanks to a good-hearted thief, and discovers her true self.

Thithi (2016) In this award-winning Kannada-language film, set in a remote village in the state of Karnataka, three generations of men reflect on the death of their locally-famous, bad-tempered 101-year-old patriarch. Made with a cast of non-professional actors. The Town (2010) While a group of lifelong Boston friends plan a major final heist at Fenway Park, one of them (Ben Affleck) falls in love with the hostage from an earlier robbery, complicating matters. Train to Busan (2016) Stuck on a blood-drenched bullet train ride across Korea, a father and his daughter must fight their way through a countrywide zombie outbreak to make it to the only city that's safe. Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016) Five thirty-something friends struggle to find a place in Mumbai where they can play football in peace in this light-hearted rom-com tale, which explores gender divides and social mores along the way. The Two Popes (2019) Inspired by real life, the tale of friendship that formed between Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce), the future Pope Francis, after the latter approached the former regarding his concerns with the direction of the Catholic Church. Udaan (2010) Vikramaditya Motwane made his directorial debut with this coming-of-age story of a teenager who is expelled from boarding school and returns home to the industrial town of Jamshedpur, where he must work at his oppressive father's factory. Udta Punjab (2016) With the eponymous Indian state's drug crisis as the backdrop, this black comedy crime film depicts the interwoven lives of a junior policeman (Diljit Dosanjh), an activist doctor (Kareena Kapoor), a migrant worker (Alia Bhatt), and a rock star (Shahid Kapoor). Uncut Gems (2019) A charismatic, New York-based Jewish jeweller and a gambling addict (Adam Sandler) ends up in over his head in this taut thriller, struggling to keep a lid on his family, desires, business, and enemies. The Untouchables (1987) With mobster Al Capone (Robert De Niro) making use of the rampant corruption during the Prohibition period in the US, federal agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) hand picks a team to expose his business and bring him to justice. Brian De Palma directs. Up in the Air (2009) A corporate downsizing expert (George Clooney) who loves living out of a suitcase finds his lifestyle threatened due to a potential love interest (Vera Farmiga) and an ambitious new hire (Anna Kendrick).

Vertigo (1958) Topping Citizen Kane in the latest Sight & Sound poll of greatest films of all time, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller about a detective afraid of heights who falls for an old friend's wife while investigating her strange activities continued his tradition of turning audiences into voyeurs. Village Rockstars (2017) A young Assamese girl of a widow pines to own a guitar and start her own rock band, but societal norms routinely get in the way. Rima Das writes, directs, shoots, edits, and handles costumes. Visaranai (2015) Winner of three National Awards and based on M. Chandrakumar's novel Lock Up, the story of four Tamil laborers who are framed and tortured by politically-motivated cops in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. Vetrimaaran writes and directs. A Wednesday! (2008) Neeraj Pandey's film is set between 2 pm and 6 pm on a Wednesday, naturally, when a common man (Naseeruddin Shah) threatens to detonate five bombs in Mumbai unless four terrorists accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case are released. Wonder Woman (2017) After a pilot crashes and informs them about an ongoing World War, an Amazonian princess (Gal Gadot) leaves her secluded life to enter the world of men and stop what she believes to be the return of Amazons' nemesis. Wreck-It Ralph (2012) This Disney animated film tells the story of a video game villain who sets out to fulfil his dream of becoming a hero but ends up bringing havoc to the entire arcade where he lives. Zero Dark Thirty (2012) The decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden is the focus of this thriller from Kathryn Bigelow, dramatised as and when needed to keep a CIA intelligence analyst (Jessica Chastain) at the centre of the story. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, and Abhay Deol star as three childhood friends who set off on a bachelor trip across Spain, which becomes an opportunity to heal past wounds, combat their worst fears, and fall in love with life. Zodiac (2007) David Fincher signed on Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. to depict a cartoonist's (Gyllenhaal) obsession with figuring out the identity of the Zodiac Killer in the 1960s–70s. Zombieland (2009) A student looking for his parents (Jesse Eisenberg), a man looking for a favourite snack, and two con artist sisters join forces and take an extended road trip across a zombie-filled America, while they all search for a zombie-free sanctuary. Read the full article

[ailiu1004]

YFMM #1: Lines and Shapes

LINES GLOSSARY Lines have both a direction and a length. A line is a mark, streak, stroke, slash, path, stripe, border, contour, striation, course, route, and track. Curved, bent, thick, wide, broken, vertical, horizontal, burred, or freehand, lines delineate shapes, forms, and spaces, volumes, edges, movement and patterns. Not only that -- lines create both 2D and 3D objects and figures. Lines are awesome and powerful. Contour lines indicate the edge around an object or the volume of an object. Contour lines dramatize changes of plane within the form. The curve of a belt around the waist is a contour line. Diagonal Lines are useful to draw the eye into a composition such as toward the vanishing points. Three common types of diagonals are 1) actual diagonal lines 2) objects placed diagonally in a scene 3) a diagonal line created by the viewpoint such as the Dutch tilt. Dutch Tilt (known as a dutch angle, canted angle, or oblique angle) is a type of camera shot that has a noticeable tilt on the camera’s “x-axis.” The Dutch tilt camera technique was introduced by German Expressionists in the 1920s — so it's not actually Dutch. Directors often use a Dutch angle to signal to the viewer that something is wrong, disorienting, or unsettling. Explicit lines Explicit means clear, direct, and obvious. Is a drawing is easy to read? It may be that the lines are explicit, clean, with efficient use of variety. Implied lines are lines in a scene that is not physically there but are suggested by points in the art. Implied lines suggest the edges of an object or planes within an object. An implied line is when a finger or gun is pointing to create an implied trajectory of intent. The implied line may be broken such as a dotted line, it may be defined by value, color, or texture, or it may not be visible at all. With implied lines, our brain interprets that a line exists.Gesture Lines capture movement usually in an action pose gesture drawings used in storyboards. Line As Value has a long history. Before modern printing artist used line drawings to create value, or shading, to achieve volume. In this quick sketch of a live elephant Rembrandt used outline contour lines around the edges of the elephant and curved contour lines around the big legs and belly. Most of the lines are at the lower part of the elephant to show that the light source was from above. Line of action is an imaginary line that extends through the main action of the figure. When you draw an action figure you can capture the line of action on one layer then draw the figure drawing on another layer. Line weight - refers to the thickness or thinness of a line, or parts of the same line. Line quality Line quality is the espressive essence of lines. Varying the line quality makes objects appear more 3-dimensional and exciting. Range in line quality heightens descriptive and suggestive potential. A single line can change in darkness and width, can vanish all together to mentally reconnect later on an edge. Psychic lines are invisible. Psychic lines form between characters or between a gun and a target, or a hand pointing in a direction. There is no real line yet we feel a line. Eyes looking in a direction, especially characters looking at each other create a psychic line. SHAPES GLOSSARY Shape is the external form or appearance characteristic of someone or something; the outline of an area or figure. As a verb, to shape is to give a particular form. As artists we shape our characters outward appearance by using shapes. Abstract - means there are no recognizable objects. Abstraction can be used in backgrounds and textures. Biomorphic - a free form pattern or design with a shape suggestive of a living organism, especially an amoeba or protozoan. Curvilinear - s-curves inform Jessica Rabbit and a wander along a river into the distance Distortion - is exaggeration, contortion, reform, slant, twist, or warp in ways that depart from reality. Idealism asserts that the physical world is less important than the mind or the spirit which shapes and animates it. Idealists choose the soul, the mind, or the psyche over the body, the material, and the historical. When ideals (of appearance, or proportion for example) regulate the way an artist represents the world her work can be described as Idealist. The leading artists of the High Renaissance -- Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo -- are all associated with slightly different forms of Idealism. How do you think idealism affects avatar customization? Realism, or naturalism, attempts to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality or exotic or supernatural elements. In the visual arts, illusionistic realism is the accurate depiction of lifeforms, perspective, and the details of light and colour. But realist or naturalist works of art may also be "realist" in their subject-matter, and emphasize the mundane, ugly, or sordid. Positive and Negative - Positive space is the subject, focal point, or areas of high interest in any composition. Negative space is the area around the areas of interest. All compositions balance positive and negative space. Yes, stuff in the negative space can point to the focal point to make it most obvious. Positive and negative create a whole. Every composition is a combination of positive and negative space. Wield the positive and negative spaces with control and story-telling magic to become a design master. Rectilinear - a boxy shape made with straight lines. For example, the screen you are looking at is a rectilinear shape filled with little square pixels, and pixels are also rectilinear. A storyboard is a series of drawings in a linear set of rectilinear frames. Representational - means objects that players can name. The object represents something from the real world, or something that has the verisimilitude of realism. A cartoon bunny can represent a rabbit without being realistic. Representational is a sliding scale from realism to almost abstract. 2 dots and a curve can be arranged into abstract pattern or they can be arranged into an emoji that represents a smiley face. Silhouette - a profile or shape that is easy to identify in dynamic environment Squash/Stretch - shapes change profiles to emphasize motion. The stretched position shows the form in an extended condition. When you do a sit up your belly squashes and your back stretches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v9I0kniX8I FAVORITE MEDIA OF THE MOMENT The link above is a clip from the behind of the scenes of one of my favorite anime, Little Witch Academia. In this particular clip, the creators struggle with an action scene in which some characters are throwing tomatoes. As you can see in the beginning, the animation weren't very smooth. The motion was very stiff and not life like. To create the action that the director wanted, the animators had to alter the line of action. Before, the line of action remained in the same position, with the upper body of the thrower constantly pitched forward. To fix it, the line of action had to follow the body's central axis of gravity. This resulted in a smooth and lifelike motion of throwing. In addition, when the director was discussing the physics of arm throwing, he drew simple shapes to illustrate the arm and its momentum when throwing making it easy for the animators to follow and know what they should be aware of when doing scenes similar to this.

[janiedean]

Mood lightener ask, I am intrigued by book recs from you since you mentioned something about a dinosaur series a bit ago? Color me intrigued so top five books you'd recommend for people who enjoy ASoIaF?

OH GOD THANK YOU XDDD

okay so, I’m taking the dinosaurs out first because... well. hahah.

the dinosaur lords is ABSOLUTELY a thing you might wanna try out if you like asoiaf for reasons, BUT I’m warning you, the author died before finishing it (unless he wrote the last three but didn’t have publishing contract for the second part of the six-books plan but no one quite knows and no idea) so most likely you’ll never get a conclusion, warning you beforehand so that’s why I’m putting it outside the top five. BUT IF YOU LIKE ASOIAF YOU SHOULD STILL TRY IT because:

the author was a friend of grrm’s and it shows;

it’s literally asoiaf except people go around on dinosaurs;

NO, REALLY;

there’s at least a couple characters who are totally asoiaf homages (there’s a dude named jaume who’s basically jaime and loras’s lovechild I SWEAR HE IS HE’S EVEN THE HEAD OF THE LOCAL KINGSGUARD) but not in a way that makes it look like plagiarism;

admittedly it takes a bit to find its rhythm, but when it does it’s really good because the worldbuilding is amazing and like... it’s basically fictional medieval europe with dinosaurs but to a really good degree and the representation is a+++, in the sense that idk one of the main four is obv. irish romani (or what irish romani are in that universe), a few are def. catalan, the french guy is really so french you wanna die, the italian dude actually comes from the oldest university in the realm, there’s people from russia/greece and the protagonist is basically some three eastern europeans countries thrown in one character but not stereotypically, like the guy is obv. a mix of russian/polish/mongol and he’s really a good character in that sense, there’s germans too, spanish ofc, like it’s really good in that sense

DINOSAURS FIGHTING DINOSAURS WHILE THEIR KNIGHTS RIDE THEM

there’s an entire supernatural angle with ARCHANGELS WHO MIGHT BE ROBOTS which is honestly intriguing and a+ and I just wish the books hadn’t finished just before going deep into it

if you also want lgbt+ rep............. well, two out of the three supposedly straight characters are irish romani dude and the protagonist and I can 100% assure you that everyone I dragged into reading those books agreed with me that in each single scene they have together (ie: most of them) they’re gayer than Actual Gay People in these books, but other than them half of the cast is bi, the gay sex is better written than the straight sex (forreal there’s one of the few actually.... sexy m/m oral sex scenes I read in published fiction???), their sexuality is not the whole of their personality but it’s fairly stated that most of them are Really Not Straight and it’s really done well;

actually THE ENTIRE KINGSGUARD IS GUYS WHO FIGHT VERY WELL BUT LOVE ARTS AS WELL AND THEY ALL SLEEP WITH EACH OTHER EXCEPT THE TOKEN STRAIGHT FRENCH CHARACTER THAT THE JAIME AND LORAS LOVECHILD HAS A CRUSH ON and ngl I thought they would end up fucking at some point if the books went on so... XDDD anyway a+++ kingsguard >>> the one in asoiaf;

ngl at some points there’s some badly written sex scenes (the straight ones lmao I’m 99,9% sure milàn was not that straight himself) and it’s not half as complex as asoiaf and doesn’t have as many characters but it has the same scheme except with dinosaurs, archangels being robots and three people are straight and two of them are in love anyway;

so tldr I greatly recommend the dinosaur lords if you want something similar to asoiaf, don’t expect an ending, enjoy dinosaurs and a lot of nice rep for everyone. also Y’ALL HAVE TO SHIP ROB AND KARYL WITH ME BECAUSE THEY’RE RIDICULOUS.

.... wow, and you asked me the top five. lmaaaaao. anyway, given that the dinosaur lords will not be in the top five, I’ll go and advise you to read:

IAN TREGILLIS’S ALCHEMY WARS, which is not like **fantasy** but it’s alternate history where the netherlands win the colonial wars in the 16th century because they figure out how to make brass androids and they use it to basically destroy the british and drive the french to canada while they conquer the US instead of the british. it’s a trilogy, it’s completed, it’s flawless and features: FRENCH CATHOLICS VS DUTCH CALVINISTS WITH THE FRENCH WANTING TO TAKE BACK PARIS, PREDESTINATION VS FREE WILL IN THE ANDROIDS DISCOURSE, REHASH OF 16TH/17TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY DONE GREATLY, the greatest female character of genre literature since grrm (berenice GUYS BERENICE IS THE BEST GOD I LOVE HER SFM), the evil antagonist who’s a gal cersei wishes she was (like she’s terrible but she’s competent), the davos-like french general who knits in his spare time and the protagonist is the cinnamon roll-est android ever I love him sfm OH and the one time I cried because of a catholic fictional priest. guys tregillis is an a+++ top notch writer who has no time to waste with fillers and knows how to write a story even if HE HATES ME AND HE WANTS ME TO SUFFER and like... alchemy wars is really really good give it a go k?1,5. tregillis also wrote another alternate history trilogy, the milkweed tryptich, which is basically ‘the nazis create the x-men to win the war and so the british counteract by evoking ctuhulu and it goes exactly as it promises’. now: I have a love-hate rship with that one because the last book is narratively working but I hate everything it chose to be for reasons also i wanna punch the protagonist in the face, but thesuperevilgirl is totes the cersei of the situation and her brother has.... some srs jaime moments lmao he’s also my favorite ofc god klaus ily so much, and it has... some... well... ENGAGING choices lol I mean i loved book one and two and the third I did reluctantly but it could be an option? anyway ian tregillis is amazing and y’all should read him bye

the curse of chalion by lois mcmaster bujold has, as the amazing soul who recommended it to me pointed out, a protagonist that manages to be jaime and theon and partially sandor put into one. IT AMAZINGLY WORKS. the plot is kiiiinda more straightforward if you know spanish history bc the moment you figure out it’s the fantasy version of how castille and aragona united you know where it heads, but it has a lot of nice twists, also some a+ lgbt+ rep tho not as much as the dinosaur lords and the protagonist is.... really great I love him XD also ngl the fact that it ends fairly nicely is a balm so I’d try it, there’s other books in the same verse but I haven’t gotten around to read them yet

... guys stephen king’s dark tower is my fantasy favorite series EVER like ever, I love asoiaf and brienne is in my heart and she’s my true rep but nothing will top TDT for me ever for reasons and while it’s a completely different thing I still recommend it. caveat: I hate the last book with a vengeance and I think king fucked up the last two thirds real bad, but..... hey, it’s finished and the rest is 100% worth it. also jaime is totally the lovechild of the male protagonist and the other male-coprotagonist who are also my #1 ship ever in history so I’d give it a go ;) ;) ;) also while eddie’s my fave roland deschain is honestly the kind of character that you can only bow in front of like if I ever made an oc one hundredth as good as roland is in conception and execution and everything I’d feel like I accomplished everything I need in life. IT’S WORTH IT. TRY IT.

terry pratchett’s discworld: yes, it’s 41 books. yes it’s a lot. but you can read them by cycle which makes it a lot easier, they’re fun (the first three are a bit meh but the rest is all top notch I swear), they’re sarcastic and witty and delightful and it’s a++++ fantasy and I’ve been wanting to do the asoiaf au for ages sigh but anyway if you don’t want dark and grim but also want a+++ narrative, good satire about how our world sucks and a lot of fun at the expense of our pop culture (guys the book about their version of australia is a hoot and there’s a leonardo da vinci!!) GO FOR IT. IT’S AMAZING. also your life isn’t complete until you read about sam vimes and the local version of death speaking in capslock and being a cat person. also charles dance plays one of the mains in one of the tv adaptations and he was delightful xD

this is going to gain me rotten tomatoes, but....... grrm’s shared series wild cards. that he has going on with fifteen other writers including the aforementioned tregillis and milàn.yes, it’s like 28 books by now. no, it’s not perfect by all means and certain arcs are a total wtf and you don’t even have to read all of it, but especially grrm’s characters in it are obvious templates for asoiaf people (the powerful and amazing turtle is dark sam tarly and jay ackroyd is basically jaime without the incest and the extra good looks while lohengrin is brienne’s spiritual twin except for the looks), the shared worldbuilding is great, the alternate history story where buddy holly didn’t die and some of the protagonists organized a concert for him bc he was poor as hell was genius, and while a lot of the older stuff is dated and most likely was progressive for the eighties and would read a bit wonky now they always were super-inclusive, it has a bunch of nonwhite/nonstraight characters (esp. in the last books but there were also in the old ones, and the longest-standing gay dude since the eighties got a husband in the last trilogy!!! it was so ;_;), the alternate history is really good imvho and if you enjoy asoiaf you probably would like most of wild cards. if you want a reading order I made one here. xD

here you go sorry it took me one hour to answer it but IT GOT LONG XDD

[shaunbrown]

Brunch Is one of one of the most Enlightened Things We Can Do

I'm unsure that produced brunch, more than likely Einstein or Leonardo da Vinci, yet whoever that person was they should certainly have actually a day called after them. It's the best dish in our gustatory arsenal and you comprehend this by the reality. We simply do it when a week. It's the Thanksgiving of non-holiday recipes, a semi-rare banquet, or whatever your mouth wishes. Initially, enable's go over the guidelines of breakfast. It requires to start by 1:30 pm. If you're seated by 2 it counts. The only various other plan is no judging. The most effective brunch midtown shows anything goes, a Wrestlemania cage suit at the breakfast table.

What's the equivalent of striking somebody in the back with a folding chair? Uncomplicated, hollandaise sauce on pancakes. Do you want an outstanding tag team suit? Watch out for Hen along with Waffles! Let's prepare yourself to grumble. Hen, along with waffles, are just the start of the pairings you can try. At breakfast, you can make choices that would certainly obtain you prohibited from certain countries completely. Order mixes that increase your steward's eyebrows. Zig with a light, healthy and balanced and balanced start after that zag with sufficient sugar to place the area right into a coma. "I'll have the egg white frittata with tomatoes, black olives, in addition to feta." The waitress will certainly go on to one more person and also afterwards, you struck him with phase two. "And also, ANNND, an order of French salute with strawberries in addition to mascarpone." Request for an additional container of syrup for a risk-free action. As the size of your order installs in as well as also your waitress collects himself sufficient to write it down, choose the coup de grâce, "Oh, and a side of bacon." He will certainly someday educate his grandchildren concerning you. Freestyle to your cardiomyopathy's product. If you really feel the requirement for a bit of worldwide taking a trip, order the huevos divorciados along with a dutch infant with bacon as well as soppy camembert. When your guardian recuperates from his passing out spell, require a margarita on the rocks to tidy every little thing down. The cook will certainly appear from the cooking location at time to consume your hand. Oh, that's right, my close friend, you can obtain boozy at morning meal and also I'm not talking mimosas. Irish coffee is child's play. Do you acknowledge what sets well with steak, eggs, as well as hash browns? Tom Collins. Are you thinking about Louisiana-style grillades as well as additionally grits? Below's a New Orleans Fizz to make it full. Afterwards, might I suggest a greyhound to slake your thirst? Do not be reluctant concerning purchasing an additional round. Remember policy 2nd, no assessing. An additional benefit of consuming like Caligula is an individual definitely advises relocating the orgy to the bench. You're currently 2 mojitos in with adequate food in your stomach to feed a family members of 4 so you could too enjoy the pleasantries of day drinking with your bipedal close friends. You, people, do not get to do this example really typically. Indulge a little as well as later go home in addition to rest it off. In addition, morning meal is the one point that signs up with early morning individuals with regular individuals. You can be present in bed at 11:30 as well as meet somebody that has been up since 6 am and also you can have coffee with each other. This is a peace-in-the-Middle-East minute in which people from all different profession can settle on one point-- downtown brunch restaurants are outstanding.

To get more info click here :-best late night food nyc You ought to not fret about the health and wellness ramifications either. Morning meal is intermittent fasting for individuals who aren't inflamed. You are doing the identical time-restricted consumption as Joe Rogan and his ilk yet you're completing your wellness kick with pancakes as well as screwdrivers. Whatever day you're brunching, that day is your rip-off day. Additionally Dwayne The Rock Johnson has a rip-off day. Life is also quick for oat meal frequently. As you can see, the marvels of breakfast are restricted just by the restraints of our imagination as well as the depths of our depravity. Breakfast is the pinnacle of humans, standing for the human race at its finest-- rupturing with creative imagination, teeming with sociability, and ecumenical in approval. We should honor the outstanding minds like Marie Curie as well as additionally Galileo that made this feasible by calling our buddies and also establishing a day to acquire cockeyed over bread, pork, as well as likewise plates of yumminess. Bon appétit, you upper class.

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5 Wood Fired Pizza Restaurants in Melbourne

If you’re looking for wood-fired pizza in Melbourne, there are a few good options. The Alle Melenzane pizza, made with eggplant, parmesan, garlic, and tomato, features an excellent mix of vegetables. You can also order an Alle Zucca pizza that features roasted pumpkin, pine nuts, basil, and garlic. And if you’re looking for a vegetarian option, the Vegetarian Pie is perfect for you.

Pietro’s

Pietro’s is a casual family-owned joint that serves specialty pizzas and pasta. The menu also includes a daily happy hour. The pizza is made with wood-fired technology, which gives it a crispy exterior and a soft, chewy interior. It also has a friendly and attentive staff.

The Code is located in a beautiful Art Deco building in Collingwood. It is the sleeping giant of Melbourne’s pizza scene, headed by the eponymous Alessio Albano, a former head chef at DOC Carlton. The Italian-born chef handpicks fresh market produce. His pizzas are simple perfection.

Il Caminetto

One of the first wood fired pizza restaurants in Melbourne, Il Caminetto boasts a stone-topped bar and an extensive menu of pies and other Italian dishes. The menu is designed to appeal to a diverse crowd, from meat eaters to vegetarians. There are gluten-free and vegan options. Il Caminetto also has a children’s menu and highchairs available for families.

Il Caminetto’s ambiance is warm and inviting. The restaurant has an imported Italian terrazzo-tiled bar and woodfire oven, as well as pendant and strip lighting in the dining room. The decor is light and calming, with neutral tones and curved archways.

Leonardo’s

Leonardo’s wood fired pizza restaurants in Australia are a great choice if you’re in the area. They offer delicious wood-fired pizza made with fresh, local ingredients. With an open kitchen and wood-fired oven, this restaurant features a menu full of innovative combinations. For example, you can order a pizza with pulled pork, a side of basil, garlic, and sage, or go for an all-vegan pizza.

Leonardo’s’ three main areas are the bar, booth dining area, and dining room. The bar is located at the entrance, while the booths are behind it. The dining room is the perfect place to watch the chefs make their delicious pizzas. The restaurant features a custom-built wood and gas-fired oven that ensures even heat and flavour.

Innocent Bystander

If you’re a pizza lover, Innocent Bystander in Healesville has something for everyone on its menu. The menu is centered around artisan wood-fired pizzas. They serve up classic Margherita and more hearty creations such as the spicy pork and red pepper. They also offer share boards, seasonal ingredients, and desserts.

Innocent Bystander started as a cellar door next to Giant Steps, which is now their own building. Both brands were started by Phil Sexton, who wanted to create an environment that was less pretentious and more approachable. The interior is reminiscent of a brewery, with high ceilings and polished concrete floors. Innocent Bystander’s name is a tribute to Sexton and his love for wine, and it represents the guy next door who loves a good glass of wine.

Bontempo

If you’re looking for a wood fired pizza restaurant in Melbourne, you’ve come to the right place. Bontempo is a new restaurant that’s reinvigorating Brunswick Street. The spacious venue has long tables and exposed brickwork. The menu features a wide variety of Italian and local wines. It also offers cocktails from The Everleigh Bottling Co.

Bontempo’s pizza dough is thin and airy — a true testament to the Italian tradition of pizza-making. Whether you’re craving a vegetarian pizza or a meat-free one, there’s sure to be a delicious choice for you at this fitzroy eatery. There’s also an extensive menu of pastas, homemade gnocchi, and fresh seafood. You can also find gluten-free and vegan options. The drinks are impressive, too. The only drawback is that the restaurant isn’t part of the OpenTable reservation network.

48h Pizza e Gnocchi

Located in South Yarra, 48h Pizza e Gnocchi is a wood fired pizza restaurant in Melbourne that is a favourite with locals and visitors alike. The restaurant has been around since 1988 and has an online booking system, so you can book a table in advance. You can also read user reviews of this Melbourne Italian restaurant.

This Italian restaurant has a wide selection of authentic Italian dishes, as well as a warm, inviting atmosphere. It is also known for its quality ingredients and the fact that the dough has to rise for 48 hours before it is cooked. The restaurant is ideal for Italian tourists or people who want to sample authentic Italian food.