#because at the end of the day the barbie movie was clearly made to be fun and a good time

[poor-boy-orpheus]

Barbie is really good but I do wish folks would have more nuanced conversations about it bc I do think that its message is distinctly imperfect

[luciddreamingcrow]

The gem mermaids x maid/butler! reader + ART!

Cw!: THERE IS NO AGE GAP! this fanfic is not intended to be read as you and the characters having a age gap it's clearly written for you two to be the same age! I just wanna make this clear because I don't want people to misinterpret the dynamic of this fan fic. And it's not proofread!

Characters present: Crimson Coral cookie, Mystical Opal cookie, Golden Citrine cookie and Aquamarine cookie

Dynamics present: childhood friends to lovers, fluff, confessions, before dating,

⋆⭒˚｡⋆Introduction⋆⭒˚｡⋆

Ah the gem mermaids, so majestic and all of them can take your breath away just by looking at you but it just so happened that you are their favourite <3

When you were as young as them, your mer parents explained that you are the young gem mermaids source of happiness, they trust you and cherish you, and as you two grew up they still feel how their heart is captured by you and only you <333

.𖥔 ݁ ˖Crimson coral cookie.𖥔 ݁ ˖

"Just like you looked out for me when I was hurt, I'll always do the same for you"

✧When you just started to serve for the gem mermaids you were assigned to accompany the young crimson coral cookie

✦When she would train and learn how to ride the sea horses you always kept a really close eye on her, you never wanted for your lady to be hurt after all!

✧And if she did get hurt in the process you'd always hurry to check if she was injured and if she was then you'd always have some extra kelp to patch up her wounds

✦Even if she was hurting she couldn't help but feel always way better when she would hear your voice, it calmed her down and brought her down to earth and distracted her from her injuries

✧As you grew older she always insisted that you take more frequent breaks because she hated when you'd feel burned out

✦As you were teens she had a rebellious phase and she often insisted on taking you on a ride on her sea horse and explore beyond Tearcrown, sometimes she'd even sneak out quality foods and sweets that only loyalty could eat so you can have at least a taste.

✧After growing up she accepted that she has feelings for you and sees you as equal, and one day as she took you to your childhood favourite spot and there she confessed in the privacy of your secret place, and as you sat there you two made two bracelets for eachother that represented your love for each other

✦And by her orders she explained to the guards that she would feel way safer if you'd join her for the night and that's how now you guys are cuddling close, to each others arms, and this action always brings crimson coral closure and piece

✧She really likes holding you and you holding her, her entire day schedule is filled with little to to physical touch, so, at the end of the day, having you in her grasp, just brings her so much happiness and just a calm feeling that drives her to a peaceful slumber.

Also if you are curious about how the sweets look like, they look like those muffins from the mermaid Barbie movie + that coral looking cake🤭

(she's shushing u so u two won't get caught)

Mystic Opal cookie

"To be honest, I wouldn't know what I would have done without you"

𖤓One thing she vividly remembers is this specific scenario from when she was younger:

𖤓'sat in front of the mirror, and some of her sisters trying their best to untangle her hair without it biting their arms off, so her hair would always be unstylised and sometimes tangled in which thay would make her quite insecure'

𖤓But when she heard that you'd be a sort of personal maid/butler for her she was kind of concerned how her hair would react because she didn't want it to intimate you or hurt you

𖤓But surprisingly it didn't really have a problem with you, it didn't have a problem with you touching it, brushing it and overall styling it. She was in awe when you managed to do it for the first time and from then on she insisted that you'd help her with this matter

𖤓Slowly by having hair styling sessions you two would talk with eachother and open up about past experiences, what you liked and didn't like etc etc.

𖤓And as time went by you two became inseparable, and because of her more closed off nature she really placed a lot trust in you, she'd always trust you with some more sensitive feelings of hers and she'd always appreciate the way you'd reassure her and your presence would always make her feel better.

𖤓After a while when she noticed she had feelings she mostly kept them to herself, of course you are the one that she trusts the most, but it felt like something so intimate that she just had to keep it in

𖤓But even if it was a secret, her actions weren't repressed one bit, now she'd subconsciously stand closer to you, her finns would flapp and rice up when she'd see you and the star that hangs at the back of her head would glow just a little brighter.

𖤓And Golden Citrine cookie teased the hell out of Mystic Opal when she caught up with her infatuation with you and by the end encouraged her to confess because by the end of the day she can't just hide her feelings forever

𖤓And she took het sisters advice at heart and the hole week she was preparing herself to confess but by the end of the week she was so stressed about confessing to you that she accidentally distanced herself away from you

𖤓And as you were preparing her hair for her night routine before bed you questioned if you did something to upset her, at that moment she realised she can't take it no longer and just let it all out

𖤓By the end, she ended up crying because it was never her intention to hurt you because you were so beloved to her but she was afraid how you'd react but by the end after comforting her and taking about it she gave you the most gentle kiss on the cheek

𖤓Even if that is one of her first relationships, she's actually a really good partner, she's calm collected and when you two are alone she feels so safe with you that she lets herself and her emotions to be vulnerable without worrying about any sort of judgement

𖤓She feels so happy and comfortable with you, she just wished she could give you all of the love of the sea just for you to have

Golden Citrine cookie

"Wanna join me on another trinket hunt?"

❂When she first met you the very first thing that she did was bring her to her room to show you the various golden trinkets that she found from those hollow whales!

❂They all looked to mesmerized undet the moonlight and their reflection could easily light up her room with a really soft golden light

❂She mostly would sneak you out Tearcrown so you'd have some time alone and find more trinkets for her to add to her collection

❂At these treasure hunting trips she'd be as exited to talk and rant about how some things tip her off, just like how crimson coral doesn't really get her sarcasm but she'd be as excited to hear more about you!

❂She'd always insists in you joining the rest of the gem mermaids everywhere because she considers you as family and deeply cares about you

❂Another thing you'd do together was cleaning up any dirty trinkets, because after all she wants them to shine brightly under the sun and the moon light!

❂She has a surprisingly good maintained hair! She just enjoys not having it tied up and letting it free so she never really insisted on having hair care sessions because it was so easily maintainable

❂The moment she realised she had feelings for you is when you two would on one of your treasure/trinket hunting adventures and you'd look so interested in her little rant on how much she loves her shiny jewelry, your expression was so focused and interested on what she had to say that she outright confessed right here and there!

❂Of course later on, around that night before coming back to Tearcrown she said that she genuinely ment it and that she truly really does adore you and asked you properly if you'd like to be her partner

Aquamarine cookie

"Today I found a new flower that never has seen before and I named it after you"

.𖥔 ݁ ˖Ooooo she remembers so clearly how when you first showed up she instantly just brought you to her garden!

.𖥔 ݁ ˖Aquamarines garden was a old greenhouse that eventually got sinked by the sea so she made herself a home there

.𖥔 ݁ ˖You'd mostly help out with different tasks in her garden like: caring out different types of sand/soils that her plants need

.𖥔 ݁ ˖Or she'd join you by going to far away markets to get new seeds for her garden and even when talking care of the plants she'd rant on and on about their properties, from where they originated, how to properly take care of them ect.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖One day she was sick so she couldn't attend the garden and you were nowhere to be found, she wanted to start looking for you because your presence comforted her but her sisters insisted on her resting

.𖥔 ݁ ˖But once everyone was asleep she sneaked out her room and started looking out for you, once she was ready to give up she decided to see how her garden was doing

.𖥔 ݁ ˖To her surprise she found you there! You were half asleep taking care of the last plant that needed care

.𖥔 ݁ ˖She felt as her heart quickened and warmed up, and as she gently swam at you and brought you to her embrace just to take you to her room for you to rest as well

.𖥔 ݁ ˖Having you near her while she was sleeping and in a vulnerable state she felt so safe, even if there was nothing to worry about she felt protected and she felt like she could protect you at any time

.𖥔 ݁ ˖Her confessing would be at her garden, it would be a lovely night where the moonlight would shine though the glass of the greenhouse giving you two a warm illumination just bright enough to be able to see eachother + some of her bioluminescent plants would be glowing too

.𖥔 ݁ ˖As you two took care of the last plants she took a deep breath and handed you over a flower in a glass sphere, it was so beautiful! It even had the ability to glow in the dark!

.𖥔 ݁ ˖As she handled it to you she took one of your hands and held it as she confessed how much she liked you and how happy you make her so she wanted you to have one of her secret flowers that she kept hidden so noone would steal it

.𖥔 ݁ ˖After getting to a relationship with her it because a tradition to the both of you to grow rare types of plants during the year so when your anniversary comes up you two can give it to eachother as presents in a glass sphere <33

A/n: as I said in my previous post that I'll be returning on writing regularly on October but inspiration just kicked around 2 am so here we are :D the art is kind of sloppy cuz I did it around 4 am so I'm sorry if it doesn't look the best 😭

[willowisapillow]

☂️🍑 Y2K Peach, My Beloved 🍑☂️

jksdjksdwk Istg I need to draw other Mario girls, but I always end up drawing Peach in the end I’m just currently too obsessed with her, plz help me 🥲

Drew this as both a (belated) 18th anniversary to Super Princess Peach (damn, I can’t believe this game is the same age as me 💀), and as a (also belated) birthday gift for one of my buddies from DeviantArt, @therosypinkprincess .

We both really like Peach, so I felt like drawing her a sweet little present. I suggest you check out her art if you have the time, it’s absolutely beautiful and so pretty 💖💕

I wanted to start this before October 20th rolled around, which was the day Super Princess Peach first dropped in Japan (and coincidentally the same day Super Mario Wonder also dropped), but I was starting to get a little burned out after trying to complete a bunch of Spooktober and Blacktober art, so I had to put it on hold. Fast forward to a couple of days ago, I finally had the motivation to continue the art, with a few changes.

I love Super Princess Peach. It’s one of my favorite Nintendo DS games, and I love that Nintendo finally realized that it was time to give Peachy some justice by letting her go on a solo adventure. This time she got to save the day all by herself, and also rescued her mans this time.

Games like this, the Smash Bros. series, Mario + Rabbids, SMB2, and others prove that Peach is more than just a pretty-faced damsel, and is far from a “dumb blonde”, or an, “airhead”. She doesn’t always get kidnapped and is clearly capable of defending and taking care of herself and uses her hyper-feminity to kick ass.

It’s perfectly a-okay if you prefer other Mario ladies over her, but it bugs me so much that she’s so often just categorized as only a damsel because she’s girly, kind, empathetic, and soft-spoken.

Also greatly annoys me how often in stuff like fanart, fanfiction, and animations, she’s always made a punching bag, demonized, or made weaker to make the other ladies look better in comparison. All of that is just no 😃

And regarding Super Princess Peach, I never understood the whole, “sexist” accusations that people were calling the game all because Peach had different emotions in the game. She ain’t the only one who uses her emotions, the rest of the cast has different emotions too, but unlike them, Peach can actually control hers. So, all in all, I just personally find the whole, “sexist” claim kinda goofy ngl

Honestly speaking, I only have one gripe with this game. I wished that they did a little more with my boy Perry’s backstory, because it sadly didn’t go anywhere, and it hints that his kidnapper might be at large. Other than that, the game is still pretty solid, and it definitely holds up. Especially the music, it’s got a couple of bangers.

As you’ve guessed by the title, I wanted to go for a more Y2K feel not just aesthetic-wise, but also fashion-wise. I went on Google, and searched for a bunch of outfits from 2005, the year SPP came out. I went with this outfit I found on Google, and since it had pink in it, I definitely knew that it would be perfect for Peach. There’s also this 2005 Fashion Fever Barbie that also inspired this outfit.

And speaking of which, at the time of sketching the art, I was also watching some Y2K stuff that I grew up with to get me in the mood, and that included some CGI Barbie movies (because Barbie is such a movie icon ✨) such as The Barbie Diaries and Fairytopia. There’s also other stuff I watched like Winx Club, Totally Spies, and the Bratz TV Show.

I wanted to put her hair in pigtails, along with giving her peach fruit earrings because, well… that’s literally what she’s named after. Also included a little easter egg reference to her final smash in the Smash Bros. series if you can figure out where it is 👀

I really loved how this art turned out, though I wanted to give Peach the whole, “down-to-earth, wholesome, sweet girl-next-door” type vibes with her new outfit, with a hint of some girly pop. Kinda similar to characters like Lizzie McGuire, Betty Cooper, and Disney ladies such as Snow White and Giselle. I think I succeeded with it, both her and Perry look kawaii af ❤️

And for those of you who can't read Japanese, the text on the left side just reads, "Peach and Perry-chan!". I just put it into Google Translate, and thought that it would go well with the art.

☂️ 🍑 ☂️

[choirstaidhiona]

This Barbie Cries In Public, or I Wish I Could Show My Mum The Barbie Movie

Like everyone else in the world, I recently saw the Barbie Movie! I also saw Oppenheimer, in the cursed double bill of the century, and it's taken me days to process both of them and all the BigFeelingsTM That have come up from both, so in my first actual considered and proper blog post on this website since I was the world's angriest teenager, I'll be sharing them, alongside some thoughts about grief and gender and all that really fun and not miserable at all stuff.

Part 1. Barbie Girl

I was born in 1996, a weirdly large baby constantly dressed in pink and lace and frills, as my mum would say, "a proper girl". I loved dolls; baby dolls, Barbie dolls, Bratz dolls, doll house dolls, paper garland dolls I made whenever i had a sheet of printer paper handy for years of my life, Polly Pockets, those weird off-brand dolls you'd get in corner shops and chemists for some reason, all of them. I loved dolls. I still love dolls. I made a film last year where i painted dolls and animated them and it was sad and about childhood and death and memory. I used to film my Barbie Princess and The Pauper dolls singing together and I made a music video of it on my Karaoke machine, rigged up to my pink TV. I was, in short, A Barbie Girl.

When Bratz appeared in the supermarkets of Greenock, I remember the shift happening really clearly. I was in Primary 5 or 6 and my Grandad had died, Baby's First Big Death, and I drew everyone pictures of the outfits I'd dreamed up for my Bratz dolls, transfixed by their big mouths and big eyes and the way their clothes sat on their bodies. Drawing pictures for people made them happy. Drawing pictures for people made them tell me I was clever. Drawing pictures for people gave me a task and gave me a focus. I loved Bratz dolls because Barbie was too boring. I was getting too old for fairies and princesses (note: I have since regressed), Mattel's fixation of the era, since Barbie had already been a Doctor and a President long before I met her, and I didn't know she had all these cool talents and past careers. To me, she was part of a personal era I was moving on from. Bratz dolls didn't have jobs, they were like Ken from the Barbie movie, but their job wasn't Beach, it was Gorgeous. I don't think it's a coincidence that this was the era I'd been told specifically that there was something wrong with me by other girls for the first time.

I grew up in Gàidhlig Medium Education, a sectioned-off and sheltered part of the Scottish Education System that I owe my life to, I would not have survived, weirdness and spirit intact, in any other school, and I know that for a fact. I'd entered GME at 2 and 10 months old and left school at 18, having only known classrooms where everyone was a bit different because we belonged to this sort of movement of cultural reclamation. My only prolonged interactions with "The English" (the rest of our classmates from the English speaking part of our primary school, the ones not in the Gaelic unit) came at the end of primary school, when we started learning French together as a whole year group. It's not an exaggeration to say that GME kids were bullied appallingly by "The English", including a lot of the old-school teachers. I'll go into this properly another time, but I do think that I saw in Bratz the kind of aspirational teenhood I hoped would be beyond my late primary school experience of being othered- being edgy, wearing cool outfits, having boobs, and most of all, working at gorgeous.

Part 2. Oppenheimer Teen

Think of the most catastrophically annoying and angry kid you knew growing up, that was me. And I lived here, on Tumblr, blogging my early teens away - being not like other girls, then being radicalised by third wave feminism. Learning about queerness, and realising I wasn't just the best ally of life, I actually fancied by best friend. Discovering that the square root of happiness was hunger, (i mean this ironically, it's very much not) and documenting my ever growing thigh gap... all of it. I wanted to tear everything down. I gave this section the title of Oppenheimer Teen because I thought it would be funny, but honestly, I was more like the atomic bomb.

I'd long since been informed that playing with dolls wasn't okay anymore, it was embarrassing and for babies, and the only femininity I was happy to take part in was a half-understood Kinderwhore version of it. Everything i embodied in this era was based on Courtney Love's babydoll dresses, red lips, and bleached hair. The first time I bleached mine, it broke my mum's heart. She had breast cancer and was losing her shiny brown hair, while I was turning mine into custard-coloured chewing gum with 40 vol at the bathroom sink. I didn't want to be pretty because I didn't know how to be without being ridiculed for trying, I was hurt, and I was scared, and my mum was sick and my boyfriend was evil, and Jesus, I was so hungry all the time. Eventually, after about two years of starting fights I couldn't finish, and drinking 70cls of straight vodka while looking men (teenage boys) in the eye, and reading the communist manifesto on the 6am Gourock train home after parties I'm still processing in therapy, my mum got the all-clear. I dumped the boy who was abusing me, who by this time was a grown man, I dyed my hair pink, and green, and blue... and I met the first of the girls who would start to save my life, while we were drawing pictures and dressing up at art camp.

3. Actually Talking About The Barbie Movie

Every year that I haven't been a teenager has been better than the one before, this is something I've told every teenage girl who has ever told me she's worried about growing up, and I've seen a wave of calm wash over her face every time. I really saw myself in the angry, clever, moody group of teenagers Barbie meets in the school canteen when she arrives in our world. Sasha, who I think we've all realised/read by now was named for the Bratz doll along with her friends, tells her she doesn't represent her, she's let her down, she's old news!! This was how pink and sparkly girlishness felt to me at that age, I didn't look like Barbie anymore, and the girls who did were making my life hell. I had acne, and my period lasted three weeks at a time, and being a girl wasn't fun anymore. Everyone just cared about which Ken they were getting off with, meanwhile I'd just realised that death existed, and one day would come back and finish the job and take my mum away, what the fuck was Barbie fucking grinning about?

Her spiralling existential crisis throughout the film was truly jarring, only because I remember those exact moments of girlhood. I remember being 11, lying on the floor and crying and feeling like it would never stop. I remember being 8 and noticing my belly was rounder than the other girls at ballet. I remember sweating after a game of rounders at 10 and realising I stank and feeling like I was malfunctioning. I remember being so angry for a whole year when I was 9 that I wanted to bite people. I remember every time I wasn't being a "proper girl", and how I saw on everyone's face that they felt it too. I remember every time I realised that I wasn't perfect anymore, just like Barbie does, and that I just wasn't the way I was made anymore. And they still feel like fresh wounds, fresh failures, despite what 2012 Tumblr feminism taught me.

I've seen Tiktoks from the current generation of internet teens discussing how the film wasn't radical enough in its feminism, and I get it, to an extent. When you've been an Oppenheimer Teen - fighting boys about how they treat their girlfriends that you're secretly a bit in love with, spending your whole life placing your value in your intelligence and your rage so as not to be someone's Barbie, making online friends all over the world because no one gets you, reading feminist lit while your classmates are excited about YA Fiction - Gloria's monologue, the climax of the film's mission statement, feels like "okay, and??" And as I said, I was Sasha, eviscerating femininity for what it had done to me. But as I grow up, not a (Barbie) Girl, not yet at all a woman (I'm non binary, knowing that is vital to understanding that joke), but also no longer an Oppenheimer Teen, I see the spaces that the powerful, vengeful feminism of my youth is missing.

Every time my friends are mistreated by men who are supposed to love them, there is a beat before they remember who they are where they think they deserve it. We constantly wonder if we're over reacting to our own trauma. We lose weight through grief and are told we look great and we say thank you, and sometimes we mean it. We fear taking up space even though we can't help it. We wonder if we should go for jobs that we aren't technically qualified for, even though we have degrees and years of experience to contradict our gut feelings of inadequacy. We are clever, bright, talented people, but those of us who have a girlhood in our pasts have a unique never-quite-healed injury. It's like a broken ankle from falling off a trampoline when you were 10 that aches in cold weather even now, the ankle you always go over when you're drunk in heels. I didn't know I'd grow up and get less angry. I didn't know I'd pick my battles eventually like everyone kept telling me to at 15, instead of waging war on everyone. I didn't know there would be a day that life would figure out how to make me small. I thought I had shut up the Barbie Girl I once was by outsmarting her, but my heart is still baby pink, strawberry scented, and covered in sparkles, and it always will be.

When i sat there, bathed in pink light, surrounded by mums and daughters, best friends, sisters, queers who never got to be Barbie Girls but desperately wanted to be, grannies, and aunties, and tiny girls who have no idea how much their hearts are about to be broken, I held my friend Isla's hand and i kissed it and wiped tears off my cheeks, because we were all there, together, in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday, living not in a Barbie world, but the real one. The really shit one. And the biggest cinematic event of our lives was telling us we were right, and it wasn't our fault, and we didn't make it all up for attention, we weren't rude or bossy or difficult, we were traumatised and hurt and tired. The children we were who played with dolls, cutting off their hair before we were allowed to mess up our own, had been let down.

4. Still Talking About The Barbie Movie, But Also Talking About My Mum.

Nearly a month ago, my mum died. She had a brain tumour, diagnosed a decade after she had the all clear from breast cancer. These two acts of evil by the universe were unrelated, it wasn't a secondary tumour related to her first one, it was just bad luck. She had been sick for years, and before that she was sick in different ways for years, so it wasn't a shock, but it has forced me into a new era of my life in a way I wasn't ready for. Just like growing up.

My mum was born in poverty in the 1960s in the West of Scotland, and by the time I came along her life was a dreamscape compared to what she had once known. We had a standard, comfortable-enough, but still working-class life, but we lived in her Barbie Dream House. I got my love of clothes and dressing up from her, the colour palette of my life from her, and my internal monologue from her. We spent most of our time together until I moved to Glasgow at 19, even when I was raging and destructive, because she was sick, and because she knew I wasn't going to be that way forever. She had been a wee girl once, too. She knew why I wanted to bite people.

The moment in the Barbie Movie where Ruth Handler says "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they've come” launched into my chest like a fist and winded me. I was holding my friend Isla's hand at this point, too, she knew why I was crying and she cried too. I know this line was likely intended to be about career and the choices afforded to older women in the past, and the choices afforded now to mothers vs fathers, about the sacrifices of mothers and the love they send their creations, us, off into the world knowing, but my mum's own stillness was suddenly phrased in a new way, and it hurt. I don't want to look back on photos and videos to see where I left her, I want her to be dressed up in pink and glitter to go to the cinema with me. I wanted to cry with her and tell her I loved her for everything she did for me growing up, for putting up with me when I ruined by hair and dressed like a maniac and cost her a fortune in black eyeliner. I wanted to thank her for laughing and agreeing when i told her I wanted to bite people, I wanted to thank her for understanding my hormones were making me shouty and introverted and weird, not my intentions. I don't want to see how far I've come without her, she was supposed to be here.

I wish I could have discussed Gloria's point of view with her, watching her daughter grow up and away from her, in reference to our relationship. I wish we could have agreed we were so glad we got to the other side of that, and that every year I wasn't a teenager was better than the last for her, too. We would have laughed at Weird Barbie because all my dolls looked like her too. She would have remembered stories about my girlhood i'd never heard, she always did when we watched films together, often in her bed while the rain poured outside. The strangest part of losing my mum, has been losing the only witness to my entire life, because no one knows you the way the person who made you, lost you, and got you back knows you.

5. The End

Greta Gerwig has made me cry a lot, mostly about being a daughter to a mum, and growing up, and I love that this film fits solidly into her library, while standing out as an offering to a world that doesn't seek this kind of epiphany out. Barbie's mission as a doll was supposed to be about empowering women and girls, giving girls a role model when women didn't have space in the world to make globally successful films about how brilliant and capable and hurt and injured women are.

It's easy to look back after seeing the film, especially with all the history lessons included, and decide that Ruth Handler won the day with this mission, but I think The Barbie Movie will be the true closing chapter to this objective for Mattel. Isla (my friend whose hands I kept kissing and crying on in the cinema) and I were talking after the film about how kids now aren't growing up with the Barbie we had. They're not getting glamazon, can't stand up for the size of her boobs Barbie, with her yellow hair and a princess dress. They're getting flat footed, representative of them Barbie. She looks like she eats her dinners and she could actually do all the activities she's dressed to do, she's modern, and that's class, it's the next step in the evolution. That means that this film won't give the wee girls we were sat among in the cinema the same gut punches and feelings of nostalgia for girlhood when they grow up that it gave us. Their Barbies are just dolls, pals, they aren't trying to prove anything. There's no "please go further than I ever did, please" in the marketing, we all know we can be whatever we want to be in theory, we've heard it all and we're constantly under pressure to actualise it, like Gloria was talking about.

We've finally caught up to Barbie, we can, in theory, have our own homes and careers, we have the right to our own bank account, we don't, in theory, have to have families if we don't want them, we can be whatever we want, it just really, really fucking hurts trying to get there. And so we meet Barbie, all of us able to actually stand without a giant hand supporting us, Birkenstock to Birkenstock, looking out at what's to come. What's to come, is more of what's been, because we don't have equality, or anything close to it. We are still aching and being traumatised by our world. By the end of the film, Barbie is a real woman, a symbol of this new era Isla and I were talking about. She chose death and cellulite and misogyny over their absences because to feel, and to be real, and to stand with the girls who grew up loving her, is more noble.

I will say though, if there's a vacancy in Barbieland now she's in LA, I have really bad cramp and I'm tired of crying for my mum, so I'll send my CV over if anyone has an in x

[doriansredroses]

I still miss Quotev. It was the only writing site I actually enjoyed. I had a phase on Wattpad when I was 12-14 but that was before I found out about Quotev. I loved it there. I didn’t know it existed until 2019. I may have taken quizzes prior to that year but 2019 was when an old friend in high school signed me up for it. I never used the account and deleted it.

But then I decided to go back to it. That’s where I met two of my best online friends. The first one, I met them through a Harry Potter quiz. We both wrote fanfics that were tied together in the same universe as our first crossover. Then I met @xxiamtiebrousxx. We're so close. We’re both in the animated Barbie movies fandom, so she’s the Erika to my Anneliese, the Liana to my Alexa. She and I started writing constant collaborations and are trying to figure out how to continue now that Quotev is dead.

This is what I miss most about the site, the community and the way we both wrote together. I miss posting some random thing on feed and tagging her or one of my other mutuals. I miss the groups where she and I posted things privately for each other. I loved how accessible the site was, how clean it looked compared to Wattpad, and that it was so private.

Despite all of the fond memories I’ve made, I am honestly relieved in some ways that I’ve left the site. I went through hell on Quotev. A lot of people bullied me, and it wasn’t just simple cyber bullying, it was blatant betrayal. I had one friend a few years ago, who I really liked until I found out they were talking about me behind my back. When I confronted them, it turned into an argument and blew up in my face. They apologized and we tried again. But then they started hating on me for liking a specific Disney character, saying that I shouldn’t be liking him. It hurt. I lashed out because I was struggling a lot with depression and suicidal urges, but once again, things blew up in my face. I was the one getting yelled at and canceled. I lost another friend because of it. Turns out, he was just a jerk and we were better off without each other. Another user started ghosting me because of political reasons and started another war against me because I simply asked why she hurt me. This isn’t even the worst part.

On here, I met this guy who I cherished. He was really sweet to me then and I helped him discover who he was. He was struggling with being trans and wanted help finding a name and stuff. I gave him one based off of a character from a favorite novel of mine, and one he ended up reading because of me. He even said I was his muse, just like the character he was named after said to the character I most identified with. Things got rough afterwards. He was awful with communicating with me when things went wrong. His solution, ghosting me. He then ended up saying he was leaving me, and I flipped out because it was the start of my suicidal depression. We split.

But he found me again on Quotev. He stalked me there. Right after he returned into my life, there was a story posted on an anon story account. The account was created for authors who didn’t want to post stories linked to them, but still wanted to write. The intention was great but the outcome was devastating. One day I decided to check the account to see what had been posted. I saw an interesting title. I started reading it. The story had used my real name, my high school friends, and was profiting off of my current mental health issues that stemmed from abuse and friendship drama. I had every reason to get upset. My personal information had been breached to the public and it was clearly malicious. It’s very likely it was him because every single sign pointed to him, yet he denied it when I confronted him. The story made me physically ill. Someone wanted to hurt me. Things only got worse.

That same guy kept pestering me, and being the kind soul I am, I allowed him to talk to me, but from a distance because I was scared. He did the same thing again with the ghosting and I finally snapped. I was livid. What did he do in response? He started posting rumors about me that weren’t true and ended up turning almost all of my Quotev friends against me. One of them who was always there for me when I felt like I wanted to end my life posted on her feed “I hope Willow burns in hell and never sees the gates of heaven”. I broke down sobbing afterwards. It was a slew of getting blocked by old mutuals for something I didn’t do. My time from 2023 to shortly before the shutdown was full of abuse. I had to change accounts a hundred times in hopes of escaping the pure hell I was going through. The drama ruined a collaboration with my friend. People stopped reading it.

And about that one guy, one of the rumors was that I suicide baited him. I was actually suicidal and he thought my depression was a manipulation tactic to keep him from leaving. It was the Quotev/Tumblr equivalent of baby trapping in his eyes. I had offline drama too with my family and also an ex best friend who pulled some crap when he ditched me too. Quotev was supposed to be my safe space, but it turned into my worst nightmare.

I still sort of miss it. Once I got things under control, I just chatted with a few friends and stuff. I don’t love Wattpad but honestly, I realized how toxic Quotev truly was. I was chronically online, I kept getting hurt by people I thought could be trusted, and without it, I can focus on healing. I’m still going to write, and I may leave up my Quotev account for drafting purposes, but that era is behind me.

I joke that the site shutting down was a fate deserved, but at the same time, I hate that it happened because so many people are grieving. I don’t know if I could’ve left the site without this and recognize that it contributed to a lot trauma that may take a while to recover from. Some of these backstabbing Quotev users are here too, but since we are now not in the same circle, I feel free.

After running away from the villains in my life, I finally settled on Willow as my online name. You know that it means? It means freedom (and willow tree). Willow means freedom. The universe might’ve been telling me that I would soon be released from some of what had been tormenting me for an entire year. I will always have some nostalgia for Quotev and I miss how easy it was to navigate, but I had some very unfortunate experiences there that I hope not to experience here. It feels good to get this off my chest and to finally feel ready to move on. I spent so much time bending to other people’s whims that I’d forgotten what made me happiest. It’s time for me to say goodbye to the dead site and live my life.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Barbenheimer Part 1: My thoughts on Barbie....

So I did Barbie and Oppenheimer in one day with a 50 min break between shows. Definitely quite the experience and a really good cinematic experience at that. First up was Barbie.

Now, first thing's first, as a guy, I am clearly not the target audience for the film. Not that you need to be a guy to enjoy the movie but the social commentary is clearly aimed at women. So keep that in context when it comes to my opinion. When it came to the movie as a whole, I really liked about 75% of the movie and about 25% of it fell flat. Still leveling out to be quite a fun watch, but it does have some obvious flaws. I watched it with a crowd that was buzzing and it was really cool theatrical experience.

The good stuff is really good. Firstly, I have to compliment the production design of the movie. Barbie World is gorgeously created. The colors just pop on screen. Same with the costume design for all the Barbies and the Kens. The humor, when it works, is really funny. The film is consistently light but also digs into deeper issues without descending into heavy drama. Also, clocking in under 2 hours, it is very well paced and does not overstay its welcome. Also, the performances are excellent across the board.

When it comes to issues, the film's humor is a bit hit and miss. When it hits, its terrific, and I do think it hits most of the time, but there are several points where the joke just doesn't land. Also, a few character beats, such as the reconciliation between Gloria and her daughter, feel rather rushed. Additionally, the Mattel employees aren't used very well as characters. The film is very over the top in its depiction of the real world as well as Barbie World, which was a bit weird and took away from the movie a bit. When the real world is just as wacky, it makes Barbie World look more normal. I also didn't quite get the mechanics of how this world works. Stereotypical Barbie faces an existential crisis because of Gloria, but there must be thousands of Stereotypical Barbie out there. So why the connection to just Gloria's doll? Additionally, there are a few times, like with Ken's resolution, where they could have played it straight and that would have made for a deeper and more emotional ending for him, but they choose the jokier route. Also, the film is very blunt. It is not even the 's' of 'subtle' in its depiction of the dynamics between men and women. While this is done on purpose, it does feel like they lay it on a bit too thick at times.

As I mentioned, the performances are terrific across the board. Margot Robbie anchors the film beautifully. She has the balance of looks and acting chops to pull this off. Ryan Gosling steals the show with his comedic timing as Ken. You do feel a sense of sympathy towards him. America Ferrera is very likable as Gloria and she kind of gets the big monologue which is the film's thesis in a way. Will Ferrell is largely wasted here as Mattel CEO, though he does have a couple of good laughs. Ariana Greenblatt is effective as Sasha. Kate McKinnon brings her brand of energy to weird Barbie. A host of other stars like Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Simu Liue etc... also deliver effective supporting turns as specific Barbies and Kens. Also want to give a special mention to Helen Mirren's narration in the movie. It accounted for arguable the biggest laugh in the whole movie.

Greta Gerwig is 3/3 with her filmography. I wouldn't say this is her best though. Her directing is excellent, but the script isn't as strong as for Lady Bird and Little Women. I think this may be her weakest film of her solo director features, but it is still a solid and fun film which is already on its way to being a monster hit judging by the reaction in the theater, and I feel really happy for her for that. Overall, I would say this is a 7.5/10.

[queen-erika-the-songful]

opinions on myscene?

I really liked My Scene as a kid. I don't have any of the dolls but I'd like to collect a couple. The movies are still fine now (aside from that...unfortunate cameo in the Hollywood movie) but I kind of have to be in the mood to watch them (sidenote: I adore all of the soundtracks). Kid me was super jealous of their glamorous teen lifestyle and having a bunch of friends so they made me a little sad. But I also appreciate they they mostly wrote the girls realistically. They supported each other, but still had fights and secrets and petty drama. They were like real teenagers.

Also can I rant about Madison for a sec? Okay thanks

Anyone who thinks Madison was actually trying to steal River in Jammin' in Jamaica did not watch the freaking movie. Madison was Urban Desire's songwriter. She was there FOR WORK. They were all there for WORK! A COMPETITION! Barbie got jealous over literally nothing. She, Chelsea, and Nolee just invited themselves on that trip KNOWING the band had a major record deal on the line. Even if they weren't always doing band stuff, it had to be their first priority. For River and Madison specifically, that meant coming up with fresh ideas and improve their stuff over and over to make sure the band was at their best. Barbie took everything out of context and psyched herself into the idea that River would prefer Madison as a girlfriend just because he wouldn't pay attention to her at all points.

Furthermore, Madison even admits later in the movie that she knew Barbie was feeling weird but didn't say anything because she loved the idea of this trip being only about music and the competition. But then Barbie (and Chelsea and Nolee) came along and took some of that focus away. Madison just wanted to ignore it and hold onto to the competition stuff, even at the expense of Barbie's time with River. AND SHE APOLOGIZED FOR IT. She didn't even wait for Barbie to apologize first; she recognized that she ignored Barbie's feelings and took initiative.

Barbie was so freaking stupid in Jammin in Jamaica. Like, not as bad as some other depictions (at least she's got a fleshed out personality), but it can be hard to watch her just not use her brain. And if you factor in the Hangin' Out prequel webisodes, then she had River had JUST gotten together right before the opening of the movie. She seriously thought her boyfriend of like a few days was cheating with her best friend. And before anyone says "maybe they aren't canon" they very clearly are. Chelsea even mentions she's upset that Delancy got to go to Jamaica with their friends after having just met them.

Well, at least Barbie makes up for it by the end.

Man that got really long sorry lmao

[izzythefox]

aftg x barbie (hear me out)

in honor of the barbie 2023 movie i’ve been marathoning the early/mid 2000’s classics (swan lake, princess & the pauper, iykyk) and naturally i started thinking, what if we made it aftg? O_o

now i cannot write for the life of me so this is just a collection of ideas and headcanons - if there are any other early barbie turned aftg fans, this one's for you

Magic of Pegasus AU

MoP is such an underrated film, its one of the only ones where the main couple doesn’t immediately fall for each other so all the banter and the sass is -immaculate-

the hardest part in casting this one was figuring out who’s gonna be the horse… like someone’s gotta do it. first i thought andrew & aaron as annika & brietta for the twinyard solidarity but neil gives me such annika vibes - i will elaborate - so kevin, sweet prince, its time for u to sprout some wings

So we have Neil as the prince, master figure skater that i’ve now decided he is, goes into town where he’s propositioned by Riko, evil/bastard sorcerer, that if he doesn’t marry him in 3 days everyone in the kingdom is forever turned to stone. alas, he’s rescued by the mysterious stallion that is kevin (im so sorry to the kevin stans out there) to bring him to Cloud Kingdom as a refuge. like in the movie, we find out kevin was once offered the same deal from riko, only when he refused, he was turned into a horse :/

idk if allison or dan would be the cloud queen, they both could fit the role tbh, and maybe matt & renee are their knights? (i’m imagining renee as this valkyrie-type warrior, she’s just so cool)

Cloud Queen, let's say Allison, tells Neil about building the wand of light to break the spell and I can just imagine his face

Allison: Yeah, there’s this legend of a wand, we don’t know if it’s real, and you just have to find a measure of courage, ring of love, and gem of ice lit by hopes eternal flame :D

Neil: you want me to do what

but at his core, he wants to protect his people so ofc he’s gonna do it. Neil & Kevin set off for the Forbidden Forest where in comes Andrew as Aidan. when i tell you annika and aidan are so andreil-coded, like the script literally writes itself!!!

*for context, Neil & Kevin got caught in a rope trap*

Andrew: Tell me, who’s bright idea was it to come to here? Only fools come to the Forbidden Forest.

Neil: And yet, you’re here. :)))))

LIKE CMONNNN neil would absolutely antagonize the very person who clearly has the advantage, it just works.

the whole scene with neil in the giant’s hut outsmarting ollie by taunting him to chain himself to a tree and break free, it fits so well and just to see andrew’s reaction at the end, (”you’re braver than i thought…”) yessir

they recruit andrew, as he’s a blacksmith, to later put the wand together and the parallels in their relationship, the whole thing about needing a second chance to set things right - chef’s kiss.

we can skip over some of the middle plot, there’s a lot of traveling and banter that i could probably talk about all day but cut to the scene where they finally assemble the wand and reverse the spell on Kevin, can u picture for me:

Andrew: That looks good on you, Kevin.

Kevin: Shut up.

thank you.

it gets real juicy from here, once Neil & Kevin and Andrew dramatically part ways (he really doesn’t want to leave them on their own) Riko comes back around for the attack. they fall into the ravine, neil is fucking -pissed- bc no one hurts Kevin like that again and orders the wand to destroy Riko but, gasp, it doesnt work?? neil is desperate at this point, he says fine Riko i’ll marry you but Riko is all bitch you just tried to kill me, how about I just kill you…and buries him under an avalanche

the angst, the beautiful angst of Andrew coming back in on Kevin alone in the ravine because where is neil? this snarky prince who gets under his skin but is also so smart and understands him? they dig neil out from where riko trapped him under an avalanche and just.. “I never should’ve left you”. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

when they’re back in the cloud kingdom and neil is still unconscious:

Andrew, internally: Please wake up, please. I need you.

check me into the ward rn bc i am unheathily obsessed with this.

Neil wakes up, but lo and behold its sunset on the third day. Renee, matt, and dan try to prolong the sunset for neil bc now these are also his people and they’re not gonna let him suffer. We get a fun scene with neil and andrew ice skating their way through Riko’s big mountain, palace, thing.. even in the movie they just love one-upping each other.

we get to the climax where neil has recovered the ‘broken’ wand from Riko’s lair but the gem falls off the cliff (neil would never fumble like that but for the sake of plot, i digress). enter andrew with the second gem he secretly took earlier!! because he’s willing to give up his second chance to make sure neil gets his!!! they undo all of Riko’s spells and cue the very barbie-esque speech that the wand can only work out of love, never hate <3

Neil returns the wand to the Cloud Kingdom for safe keeping and u know, that blacksmith from earlier seems to be real fond of forever staying by his side~

This has gotten pretty long now that i go back thru it lol and this may be for a very niche audience- i’m not sure if i’ve seen any aftg MoP au’s but i just love the concept and merging my old hyperfixations with new ones has been super fun

i would share more of these with other barbie movies but i’m also kinda new to this so lmk which ones were ur favorite or what u think!

[fuckyeahfightlock]

End of the year Asks

Song of the year?

"Our Frank" by Morrissey (came out in 1991; clearly I don't care about finding new music) "Won't somebody stop me from thinking all the time?"

Album of the year?

The only album I've listened to all the way through this year is Louder Than Bombs by the Smiths

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

I liked one song by Faouzia ("Born Without a Heart") I think I heard for the first time early this year.

Movie of the year?

Ma

TV show of the year?

The Last of Us. Duh.

Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

The Last of Us E3 ("Long, Long Time") is the episode every other drama should aspire to.

Favorite actor of the year?

Pedro Pascal

Game of the year?

I was going to say Hades because I became fully obsessed with it last month. BUT. I started to play Assassin's Creed: Valhalla a few days ago and I. can't. stop. It's big, beautiful, and the player character is a gorgeous butch Viking lady.

Best month for you this year?

Probably October. I don't think I cried in October.

Something that made you cry this year?

That stupid damn Barbie movie that I hated. I felt so manipulated. I was furious! I still am!

Something you want to do again next year?

Watch a horror movie every day in October.

Talk about a new friend you made this year

I did not. I can talk about some of the old friends I keep losing; I'm sure one of them was this year.

How was your birthday this year?

Oh, fine. I don't really remember it, so at least it didn't suck.

Favorite book you read this year?

Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth by Elizabeth Williamson

What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

Not writing any words.

Post a picture from the beginning of the year

Post a picture from the end of the year

A memorable meal this year?

Hub and I went on a date in the summer where every bit of our meal was disaster. Terrible service, bad drinks, a bartender who looked like he might punch somebody at any moment, average to poor food. An all-around good time.

What’re you excited about for next year?

Hub and I are talking about maybe a UK trip; it's our 25th wedding anniversary in January so we deserve something extra special to mark the occasion.

What’s something you learned this year?

College financial aid is seriously difficult to navigate.

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

More dog hair? Like. Even more dog hair?

Favorite place you visited this year?

Only took our annual week in the mountains. So. The mountains.

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Apply for supplemental student loans after you get the award letter!

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

I didn't make any. I usually do, but not for '23.

Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

I did not.

[clara-maybe-ontheroad]

Current watchlist (August 15, 2023)

Time for a little update because I've been watching some stuff including Barbenheimer and I need to inform y'all that this might become an Only Friends brainrot blog

Currently watching : Till the End of the Moon (ep 34, I am so close to the end yet so far, I love the show but all the twists have somewhat tired me), Neon Genesis Evangelion (ep 8, my roommate got me into it and it's beautiful but painful, like everyone promised), La Pluie (ep 12, wtf happened there I do not like the direction this is taking I hate the characters now), Avatar the Last Airbender season 2 (ep 1, really I've just finished season 1 and I've loved it), Only Friends (ep 1, need I say more ? It's going to be so good, my expectations are high) Edit : as of tonight, The Warp Effect (ep 1, I needed another show by Jojo to wait while Only Friends air and this is shaping up to be very fun and refreshing)

Just finished : Bed Friend (that one was on pause for a while, the show had its good moments for sure and it's annoying ones), Triage (I like the concept, wasn't convinced by the chemistry), Hidden Love (binged the 25 episodes in one day, this Chinese show is so damn cute, made me cry and smile), I-LAND (watched only 3 years late but hey I'll be ready for season 2 ! Still not an Enhypen Stan but definitely in love with a few members haha)

Movies recently watched : Blanquita (4*, terrible look at sexual violence by the powerful against the marginalized in Chile and the true story of trying to seek justice), Oppenheimer (4*, clearly a Hollywood movie and not a documentary, but a very good movie), Barbie (3*, a fun time, I actually laughed a lot and very good for what it wants to be)

On pause : Tomorrow (the friend I was watching it with got me into I-LAND so that was my main focus)

To watch : Good Omens season 2 (I want to so bad but I'm scared of the emotional damage), Heartstopper (still haven't watched though I'm sure I'd love it), Drag Race France season 2 (I have somehow not started), Love me if you dare (I tried to watch this TW-drama back when it came out in 2015, I found it boring and dropped it but people keep raving about it), Strange Way of Life (the new Almodovar movie seems to be about gay cowboys and violence with Pedro Pascal, need I say more)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

THE MARVELS looks to lose money at the box office. I mean... It's MCU Movie #33... 33... And how many "losses"? QUANTUMANIA? This movie? The 2008 INCREDIBLE HULK that didn't make its money back? Not counting the COVID-era release of BLACK WIDOW?

That's a hell of a track record!

Some are saying that the ongoing strike, which ended just recently, played a part. Maybe? It does help to get the actors to do press and promo, but part of me feels that it wouldn't have made any difference... Because it's the 33rd movie, you had to have watched multiple shows and movies in order to know what's going on (and maybe you don't have Disney+ to watch WANDAVISION and MS. MARVEL), and the MCU's goodwill has been rather sloppy lately because of some of the recent movies not really meeting audiences' expectations. Especially when you're paying upward of $14+ at night to see these things, and another $41+ for concessions. (A slight exaggeration, but you get my point, right?) But yeah, strike shmike, look at how FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S did a couple weekends ago. It just boils down to "what people want to see".

And clearly THE MARVELS was not high on the list. Post-ENDGAME, the game has changed. A competently-made superhero movie that's basically a homework movie for a future movie, with rushed VFX just isn't enough anymore. People, I feel, want to see superhero movies with a vision behind them of sorts. Note how well GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 held up, note how much people love the SPIDER-VERSE films, etc. etc. I feel like a movie like BLUE BEETLE would've been a respectable hit in - say - 2017, not now.

Of course, this is all going to be drowned out by people that we quite frankly shouldn't give the time of day to. The people who honk "WOKE WOKE WOKE" like a flock of defective geese, sadsacks who hate Brie Larson so much that she lives in their heads rent free... They hate her over something she said in 2018 that she was... Absolutely correct about. I wish I had that kinda power, just to exist and be me, and make a bunch of men who will never amount to anything worthwhile angry.

Hint hint, there's money involved. It's why we need to just ignore these people, cut off their income and revenue streams. They thrive off of hate and outrage, and getting people like us to watch their rancid loud nonsense and platform them in the form of dunking them. That's still giving them attention.

I don't know. I think most "normal" moviegoing audiences don't care. I've worked at movie theater for 8 years now, and only a few customers do I hear this kind of weird-ass antisocial talk from. They didn't reject THE MARVELS because it stars three women. I mean, WONDER WOMAN made big bucks. CAPTAIN MARVEL itself was a billion dollar smash. SPIDER-VERSE is about a Black Puerto Rican Spider-Man, and the deuteragonist is a Spider-Woman, possibly a trans Spider-Woman at that! And this year, we had an anti-imperialist anti-war and probably anti-American movie make HUGE bucks both domestically and worldwide, we had a literal Barbie movie with tons of Barbie characters of different races and even a TRANSGENDER Barbie, and it became one of the highest-grossing films ever. At the end of last year, we had an AVATAR sequel. Environmentalism, colonialism, that's as "woke" as you can get! Like, you can't look at me with a straight face and tell me that THE MARVELS is going to lose money because it's "woke".

No, it's going to lose money because it's just more of the same, and audiences have kinda moved on from that. It happens in cycles with all kinds of movies.

It's an inert conversation that's been going on for far too long. Algorithms thrive off of chuds who complained about every STAR WARS movie made since Disney bought the franchise, who complained about MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, who complained *incessantly* about a GHOSTBUSTERS movie lead by women, dudes who are deathly allergic to anything that isn't about straight white men. It's a vocal minority, and that the conversation should be more about why the MCU is running out of juice for storytelling reasons and meeting audiences at where they're collectively at. Not why these perpetually-unsatisfied people will never be satisfied.

I mean, this past election cycle, we saw several Republican losses. And in 2022, that "Red Wave" turned out to be a "Red Mirage". Most angry chuds, if they don't vote Republican, then they sure seem to be their biggest base. The overlap with them and MAGA and such. I'd like to think that most normal Americans who aren't extremely-online don't give a shit about who's starring in what. Again, look at how BARBIE did. Republicans make it seem like Americans are fed up with transgender folk (among many other "issues" they're trying to run on), and in BARBIE, the transgender Barbie played by Hari Nef was no background character. She gets *a lot* of scenes... And it still made like $1.4 billion. Maybe because, shocker, most Americans aren't fazed by that. They don't care if you're not white, gay, trans, whatever- They just wanna grill! And are probably fed up with Republicans constantly telling them to be afraid of people who pose no threat.

I dunno, just a hunch?

This year, we saw QUANTUMANIA open in the triple-digits, but score an abysmal 2x multiplier. We're seeing this movie open with relatively low numbers. DC flop-a-doo'ed with SHAZAM 2, THE FLASH, and BLUE BEETLE. I don't see AQUAMAN 2 doing great, either. It looks more of the same, backwash from 2017. James Gunn's SUPERMAN: LEGACY needs to really stand on its own in order to make an impression and get people back for a new take on Kal-El. As for the MCU, I still think DEADPOOL 3 is locked to do great next summer because... People love that character, and the last two movies satisfied audiences. And Hugh Jackman returns as Logan, which is a plus. Not that the movie needed it to do great, but it's an added bonus, and given that this is a Deadpool movie, it'll likely be an irreverent takedown of what's wrong with superhero movies lately. All these forced cameos and multiverse plans that seem to not add up, and such... The rest might see diminishing returns as well. Are people up for another Captain America movie? THUNDERBOLTS? Yet another take on Fantastic Four? Blade, even? Or whatever is off in the future, like a 3rd Doctor Strange movie or that ARMOR WARS project? How many more of these movies can you belt at audiences before it's just a small group that dutifully shows up for them?

This is the conversation I'm much more interested in. Not so much the "death" of the superhero movie, but where it goes and how the MCU's path informs things going forward. Again, my theory is that we're going to see audiences respond to more director-driven films and films that have - again - some kind of vision. Films like THE BATMAN, GUARDIANS VOL. 3, ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, etc. And on the TV end of things, stuff like INVINCIBLE. New and dynamic takes on this type of story.

[b4bypuff]

Screen Love Story

As a child, I always wanted to watch Disney movies

Seeing the love stories on screen were always my favorite part of the day, recreating those same stories with barbies happened to become my favorite pass time, and as I got older, writing them became my daily objective after school let out

While different, they always were the same. In some which way, the girl always fell in love, and she was always saved by her lover.

But I soon learned that Disney, Barbie, and even my own writings lied.

I remember seeing things be thrown, hearing voices be raised, car engines starting in the dead of night, and the soft shutting of doors followed by muffled cries.

Still, I thought that the movies I loved couldn’t lie, there was still hope somewhere there.

So when I first met you, I thought I was finally watching it play out in real time. The first day we met, we walked around the track together, and I asked my friend if she knew your number, she said we would be good friends. We instantly clicked, I was even introduced to your then girlfriend, who I admit, I envied because she had you.

As the months went on you talked to me about the two of you, the bad parts, how she treated you. I gave you advice, I told you to get away before it got worse, but you didn’t listen until she broke it off. After a few months, at my birthday party, we kissed on a dare.

A spark lit up in you, you later told me, you admitted to me months later that the next morning you realized you liked me and were planning to ask me out.

So that day when you finally did, I remember how giddy I was, how the only thing I thought about the rest of the day were how your lips felt on mine. If we were following a Disney movie, we were well on the way to our happy ending.

I don’t quite remember now, but just like those movies an evil soon began to show itself.

It first started, I believe, when I noticed your eyes linger. Years later, I learned it was your ex you were staring at, but in that moment, all I knew was that it killed me.

But when I tried to play it off and hide my tears, you grabbed me, held my face when I kept trying to turn away, and made me look at you as I told you what was wrong. I don’t remember if I wanted to believe you, or if I truly had, but I remember the warmth that filled me when you apologized and promised me you only had feelings for me.

The problem was settled soon after when you waltzed into school the next day with a bouquet of red roses and a letter attached, I remember how you even made it apparent to my friends that you had bought them for me. In that moment, I felt so special.

The second crack in our story was the first fight we had. My memories can’t piece together what it was about, but the broken piece I still can clearly see and feel is the one in which you grabbed my wrist. I had to wear long sleeve for a week after, I flinched every time your hand reached for my own, I remember the look of regret in your eyes when you ran your thumb over the purple patch of skin.

It seemed slow at the time, like our love was slowly burning over the course of years, but it only took six months for the fire of rage you had inside you to consume us. In the moment, it felt like years, a rollercoaster we were both permanently strapped into.

As I am told, the term is disassociation, it’s the reason I don’t remember much other than the terribly good and terribly bad moments.

If you have trouble remembering too, the typical point in most romance films would be to show them in a montage.

For the good moments we have when you traveled during a hurricane to deliver me a stuffed animal because you “remembered how terrified I am of thunderstorms and, well, hurricanes are that by one hundred,” the letters you wrote me every month on the fourteenth, the second stuffed animal you gifted me because it made you think of me, the book you used as an excuse to drive to my house, the time we walked around your trailer park listening to a very cheesy playlist, the time we rode in a carriage downtown.

But the bad moments were just as significant, lucky for you and unluckily for me, I think of these less often than I do the good moments. I could bring up the second time you felt a bruise on my arm, or the countless times you caught me talking to someone else, someone you didn’t like, and left cuts in my arm because you held on so tightly your nails dug into my skin. I could mention the times you stared at me disgusted because the color I dyed my hair “looked ugly on me,” or the times I wore certain outfits and you’d remind me that “she (I was never sure which girl you spoke about in moments like these) would never wear something like that,” or perhaps you’d appreciate me telling about the times you threatened me. I still think your father is an EMT, I still wonder if you tell girls the same threats. The memories that are the most pieced together and that I often remember are the moments where you truly did hurt me, like the time you sprained my wrist, or the time you left me alone 4 hours away from home, or the time I learned how to conceal a bruise on my face.

What I still cannot forgive is the innocence you stole from me. The innocence of believing in love, believing in love as pure and sweet as in the movies I loved, or the barbie scenes I used to enjoy playing out. The child in me will never forgive you for teaching her that the stories I loved and wrote out would never come true, but the part of me that is all grown up will never forgive you for leaving behind pieces of you that I still find to this day.

I just wish I still believed in a love story like the ones on Disney.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Tripped Into Love ~ MYG [Request]

WORD COUNT: 3.5k

PAIRING: Yoongi x Fem!Reader

GENRE: Fluffy, friends to lovers, opposites attract, best friends friend, fluffy yoongi, yoongi having a crush on the reader

Yoongi was 100% without a doubt in love with you. There was something about the way you dressed. The way you acted. The way you held yourself. You were the complete opposite of everything he was and everything he thought he wanted in a partner. Everything about you had him head over heels in love with you. 

From the moment he met you he knew there was something about you that drew him in. Something that made him feel as though he could never let you out of his life. Jungkook wanted you all to meet and so he set it up, way back before everyone debuted. Yoongi figured you would be exactly like Jungkook but he couldn’t have been more wrong. The fact that Jungkook felt the need to warn the boys about you should have been his first guess that you were nothing as he was expecting but in a good way.

“Just remember I said Y/n can get a little excited over things, and when she sees something she thinks is cute she’ll keep telling you how cute she finds it,” Yoongi rolled his eyes at the persistent Jungkook. He’d been going on for the last hour about you. His best friend. Someone he’d known since the two of you was able to walk and talk. Jungkook just wanted to prepare Yoongi about you, he knew how temperamental Yoongi could get with things and he didn’t want there to be any issues.

“I told you, I’ll say hello and leave.” Yoongi reminded him as he sat on the dorms sofa and waited for the doorbell to ring. Jungkook wanted you to meet everybody since you were going to be seeing them all a lot more now your best friend was going to be training more.

“That’s her,” Jungkook breathed out as he walked over to the door calling you to come in. Yoongi couldn’t see you at first because Jungkook had his arms wrapped around your body. 

“Come in, this is Jimin and you already know Tae.” Yoongi kept his eyes on the door waiting for your arrival and when it finally came his jaw almost dropped open. Not only were you beautiful but you seemed so happy to be there. A smile plastered across your face as you held up a bag for Jungkook to see, 

“I got everyone something. I couldn’t resist.” Taking the bag over to the coffee table in front of Yoongi you smiled at him and his heart practically lept from his chest. The way you smiled at him did all sorts of things he never thought would happen. 

“I’m Y/n,” You shook his hand and he smiled, beginning to stammer over his words trying to introduce himself to you. Never in a million years had he ever been this shy around someone. 

“That’s Yoongi, he’s one of our rappers,” Jimin said as he sat beside Yoongi, poking his side and earning a death glare from Yoongi. 

“I can tell,” You joked about the way he was stammering and let out the most heavenly giggle Yoongi had ever heard in his life. It was something he would feature in the back of a song if you would ever let him.

“What did you get us?” Jungkook asked as he stood beside you trying to peek into the bag. You smirked before rummaging through it. Yoongi still couldn’t take his eyes off you. The dress you were wearing looked as though it had been plucked from a barbie doll but it wasn’t anything too much for the eyes. A simple A-Line dress that went to below your knees, short puffy sleeves with a lace-up-front. Covered in cute strawberries. You had paired it with a pair of pink vans and Yoongi instantly could tell what your favourite colour was from the first look at you. 

“Yoongi!” Taehyung began snapping his fingers in front of Yoongi’s face to pull him back into the conversation. All of the boys were staring at him holding cute stuffed animals while you grinned at him. There was clearly something on his mind that was taking up his attention but you had no idea that it was you.

“I got you one too,” You smiled holding up a black and white stuffed cat. It was larger than a small sofa cushion and adorable. Yoongi couldn’t help but smile even more as he took it from you carefully, giving it a small squeeze. 

The boys all exchanged looks with one another as Yoongi had a slight blush to his cheeks. It was shocking for them to see him so shy in front of someone but they were going to enjoy seeing him like this for a while. 

“I figured since Jungkook always tells me how much you look like a kitty,” You smiled sweetly at him and he couldn’t help but smile more. Not only was it a kind gesture but it was something he never would have expected. 

“I love him,” He breathed out as he looked up at you. Jungkook could already see what was beginning to happen and he wasn’t going to put a stop to it. Only encourage it, it would be a breath of fresh air to see Yoongi so happy around someone. 

Yoongi stayed longer in the living room with you and Jungkook, agreeing to watch any movie with you that you were willing to put on. He never would have pegged himself as the guy to sit and watch copious amounts of Disney movies just because someone asked him to.

Smiling to himself Yoongi bopped the cat toy you had gotten him on the nose, he had kept it for eight years and kept him on his desk in each studio he stayed in. It never left his side unless he went home for the night. It had been eight years of Yoongi being in love with you and he had never once admitted to you or confessed to you that it was all happening. Why would he want to ruin something that was already perfect? 

Jungkook knew of Yoongi’s feelings for you and had confronted Yoongi about it trying to convince his Hyung to tell you the truth. That he would feel even better once the feelings were out in the open. But he never did. He never wanted to risk the friendship that you and Jungkook had, nor did he want to ruin the friendship you and he had. 

The two of you had begun to get close over the years, hanging out together whenever Jungkook was busy or just because you wanted to be around one another. The two of you had movie nights, take-out nights and even lunch dates together. You knew what he was like for forgetting to eat so you made sure to bring him a homecooked lunch at least once a week, two if you could push it. 

Yoongi figured it was something you did for Jungkook as a friend and he let it continue on, having no idea that it was because you were head over heels in love with him. 

The moment you met him you couldn’t help but feel a yearn for him. You needed to be around him at all times or you would feel sort of lost without him. It was hard to explain and you had tried to explain it to Jungkook too many times you were beginning to lose count. 

“I thought we were going to have lunch,” You complained to Jungkook as he stood inside one of the dance studios sweating and panting heavily. It was your annual lunch in the HYBE canteen.

“I got caught up in a late practice. I’ll be out in an hour or two,” You rolled your eyes at him playfully before agreeing to go off on your own. It wasn’t the first time he had suddenly become busy while you were supposed to visit him. The joys of being friends with a kpop idol.  

It wasn’t as though you were going to be bored you could just go and sit with Namjoon or Yoongi. Whichever you happened to run into first on your way up to their studios.

“Hey! I thought you were going to lunch,” Namjoon’s voice filled the hallway and Yoongi frowned as he turned to look at who he was talking to. He’d gone out to get a small cup of coffee before going back on his break. He thought he was the only one around on the floor.  

As soon as his eyes landed on you he couldn’t help but smile. Your back was to him but he could already tell it was you because of the outfit. A soft pink jumper and matching plaid skirt, your pair of pink vans that Yoongi had gotten you for Christmas. 

The fact that you wore them almost every day bought a huge smile to Yoongi’s face whenever he saw you. It was secret Santa with the boys and Yoongi swapped with everyone until he got you. 

“Jungkook is practising so I was coming up to see if you or Yoongi were free,” Yoongi’s heart almost combust hearing that you wanted to spend time with him. Whenever you were around him it felt as though he was going to have a heart attack or at least have his heart suddenly burst out from his chest and confess to you itself. 

“Well, I’m not but I think Yoongi might be considering he’s staring at us,” Yoongi felt himself beginning to burn up as your body turned around to see him. Standing there holding a paper cup of coffee and smiling shyly over at you. The sight alone was enough to make you smile and heart sing, 

“Thanks, Joonie,” You hugged him goodbye before rushing over to join Yoongi beside his studio door.

“If you’re doing something I don’t have to.” You didn’t want to ever push your presence onto anybdoy but Yoongi shook his head at you. There was nothing that could stop him from inviting you into his studio. Spending more and more time with you. 

“I’m free, you can come and sit with me. I just finished a song, you can help me decide if I like it.” He smirked a little as you began to jump up and down on the spot getting excited at the thought of seeing a sneak peek of a song. 

“I think this will be the first time you’ve ever allowed me into the studio…” He thought back on all of the times you had been there and it was true. Mostly because he never wanted you to see him working, he would drown out the world and end up ignoring you. Or there was the possibility that you being in his studio would be far more distracting and he didn’t think he would be able to concentrate on anything but you. 

“It’s nothing much,” He pushed in the password and you looked away. You knew how private Yoongi was about things and you didn’t want him to have to change the password because you had seen it.  

“Welcome,” He breathed out as he pushed the door open.

Eyes dancing around the studio you couldn’t help but smile at everything around you, looking at the huge audio mixer, three monitors that were at his set up. Two on the desk and a larger flatscreen mounted onto the wall above his desk. There was a keyboard beside the desk that was put away whenever he wasn’t using it. A sofa sitting on the opposite side where the boys would sit and a small recording booth to the side. 

“This place is huge,” You gasped out as you looked at his desk. The mixer took up a little more than half of the desk, then there was a keyboard and mouse ready for him to use. 

As you were about to ask about what every button did on the mixer you saw it. It being the cat you had gotten for him all of those years ago. To your knowledge, the rest of the boys just put them away never to be seen again but the cat was there. Dressed in a miniature version of Yoongi’s Daechwita outfit. 

“You kept him?" There was genuine surprise in your voice as you looked at the small animal sitting there.

"Of course, you gave him to me and I love him." He chuckled watching you as you began to pick up the stuffed animal. Holding it close to your chest, 

"So cute! Did you get this made for him?" You questioned looking at the small outfit. It had every last detail from Yoongi's rags outfit in the video on the teddy. 

"Yeah, I got it made after the video dropped." It was a lie. He got it custom made the moment you told Yoongi how much you loved the video on set. 

He'd invited Jungkook to film with him and you'd tagged along to watch everything for the two days of filming. Watching Yoongi act tough as Agust D always made you feel something inside you couldn't quite explain. Even when he was dressed in the rags it made your heart skip and your stomach flip. 

"I love the video and song so much," You admitted as you put the cat down onto the desk. 

The video shoot had been one of the most amazing two days of your life. Yoongi had tried to convince you to get in the video but you declined, just wanting to watch the master at work. 

"Do you remember when you burnt your hand?" You looked at him remembering the scene where he had been bound near fire. He'd accidentally slipped and burnt his hands on one of the metal holders when he was trying to impress you. 

"How could I forget?" He whined looking at the small burn on the back of his hand, nothing large but just a small pink mark where he had gone into contact with the metal bowl. 

"It healed nicely," You told him as you took his hand into yours to take a look at the mark. Your fingers softly running over the faint mark as you inspected it. Yoongi's heart lept into his throat as you held his hand. A spark radiating from his entire body.

"Only because you made me ice it right away," He reminded you,

"Because you would have scared a lot worse if I didn’t." You scolded him as you began to look over his hand, letting go of it and smiling. When he did it he tried to act tough, as though it hadn’t bothered him but you could tell by the look in his eyes that day that it hurt more than he was willing to let on.

The two of you sat down on the sofa looking at one another. Talking about anything and everything that came to your mind. You were in the middle of planning your next movie night together when he suggested a horror movie.

"I'm telling you, there is no way on this earth you can get me to watch a horror movie with you," You complained as he continued to beg you. To you, it was just a horror movie but to Yoongi it was going to be a ticket into getting you to hold you in his arms. 

"Why not? I'll be there to protect you." He announced clearly as you shook your head,

"Protect me? Who's going to protect you!" You laughed rolling your head down onto the sofa and shaking it. 

"There is no way," You repeated to him and he pouted a little. There had to be a way to get you to watch a movie like that with him. 

"What if I asked really, really nicely." He pleaded, you looked up at him before sitting straight. 

"How would you do that?" Yoongi sat up straight and looked at you, eyes turning into puppy dog eyes as he begged you.

"Will you, Y/n Y/l/n, like to watch a horror movie with me? Pretty please," You scoffed at him, 

"Have to do better than that." You told him clearly as you waited for him to continue on. Yoongi nodded,

"I'll bring you chocolates, flowers, and a new stuffed animal.” The idea made you smile a lot more than if it was something between friends.

"It'll be like a date," Your mouth spoke before your brain even had time to register what it was that you were saying. The two of you froze. Yoongi didn't laugh and neither did you. You just stared at him wondering what to say next.

"A date...Would that be a bad thing?" His voice came out soft. He was testing the waters to see what you would think about having a date with him. 

"I don't think so..." Your voice came out a little strained. Was this your way of coming clean to him and admitting your feelings for him? 

Your eyes kept staring at his lips, his eyes doing the same as he did his best not to kiss you. He didn't want to move too fast or be too forward with you. Yoongi's head moved forward just a little as if he was going to kiss you so you. His breathing was careful as he glanced at you, heart racing from how close he was. He couldn't feel his legs, his arms or his toes anymore. All he could feel was how close you were to him and that was the only thought running rampant in his head. 

Meeting him in the middle you kissed him. His lips were softer than anything you had ever felt and you began to feel weightless. Lips moving against his as you sat up straight to deepen the kiss ever so slightly. Yoongi's hands at on your waist as he smiled against your lips. This was everything he had imagined and more. 

Pulling away your eyes stayed shut, resting your forehead on his as you were unable to open your eyes. Opening them meant realising that had truly happened and the repercussions that could have come along with it. 

"Y/n I need to tell you something," The whole room seemed to tense up as he looked at you. As if the kiss wasn’t obvious enough for you he needed to tell you how he was feeling.  

"I don't think I can be friends anymore..." He admitted as he looked at you, your heart almost dropped to the pit of your stomach.

"What? I-I didn’t mean to...I thought-”

"No, Y/n...Listen," He took your hand into his and smiled softly at you. Cutting you oof as he shook his head,

"I don't want to continue as friends because I need something more...I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you more and more every time that I see you and it's getting harder and harder to keep my feelings for you at bay." Heart lept back into your throat hearing that Yoongi loved you back.

"You love me too?"

"Yes I do- wait, too?" He questioned as he raised his eyebrow not expecting to hear that you loved him back. He would have thought you liked him after the kiss but loved him?

"You think I wouldn't fall in love with you?" You giggled softly as you kissed his lips again softly. It was like a drug, every time you stopped you wanted to go back in for more.

"You light up my life Y/n...I never would have thought someone like you would ever go for someone like me." When he finished his sentence you frowned at the statement. Someone like you?

"Someone like me?"

"Someone so cute and pink...The complete opposite to who I am." He rambled on a little as he looked at you. Never in a million years would he have expected you to like him back.

"Opposites attract," You whispered as you looked at him.

"But you're so soft and gentle with us and you're unreal. You make me melt into a puddle." Giggling at the small statement you kissed his lips over and over again making him blush deeper. The effect you had on him was unreal.

"So you fell for me?" You teased as you held his hand in yours. Locking your fingers together and giving his hand a small squeeze.

"I didn't fall in love, you tripped me." He licked his lips as he looked at you. Head racing to kiss you again but he didn't want to go too far or too fast with you. He had to take you out on a date first. 

"You tripped me too," You admitted to him as you pressed your lips to his cheek. The blush growing deeper with each touch he earnt from you. 

"Let me take you to lunch...We can make it up to Jungkook another time." He admitted before kissing you softly, pulling you to stand up from the sofa. If the two of you stayed in the studio any longer he was never going to be able to let you go.

Tagline: @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @min-yus​ @rjsmochii​ @taestannie​ @sw33tnight​ @sweeneyblue1​ @agustdjoon​ @jin-from-the-block​ @acciocriativity​ @justbangtanthingz​ @taeechwitaa​ @mwitsmejk​ @stillwithlix​

[crymeariveronceagain]

Any Team Valiant headcanons?

oh for sure!

it's the cool kids club!!! Dex has never been more thrilled. He's never been in any sort of exclusive thing that this is just a whole new world for the kid and he loves it. He will even tolerate Stina, as long as he's part of a cool kids club. He's going to gloat about how he's a part of it and Keefe and Fitz weren't forever though. He's only a teenage boy.

Keefe is actually relieved to not be involved. He played it up so that people would think he cared, but honestly, the poor kid has so much on his plate that the last thing he needs is more to do. So this kid is so so so so so happy that he's got more freedom than anyone else in this group. He does feel kind of bad for Sophie, though. It's not her fault she's the moonlark and has to be involved with everything.

Biana is so thrilled to be somewhere on her own without her brother that she jumps, both feet first, into the mess of Team Valiant. She makes them cloaks, and they have excessive sequins, and they read "Screw you, we're the Best" on the back.

Wylie is the only one with a significant amount of brain cells. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. Stina also has a brain cell. But only one.

None of these other idiots have any brain power whatsoever. If you leave them alone with each other, yes. Everything will be on fire. The council made a mistake in who it appointed. They should not have made Sophie the leader. Sophie has no brain functionality at this point. She speaks only in vine references and the council has been fruitlessly taking notes every meeting. No one knows what she's saying. Dex nods along though, so clearly there is some sort of meaning. Probably.

Marella is pissed as hell that she ain't on this team. She's the one who wants to change everything about the government, she's the one who's got opinions. She's read every single text on politics, searched through every library in the lost cities, and some in the forbidden cities, reading everything she can about government and government reform. The council had once mentioned this idea and she'd turned in an essay about why she should be on this team. They said she "wasn't what they were looking for."

Somewhere, in her chest, she knows that they kept her out of it because she's a pyrokinetic. She knows for all the council's progress, they still don't give a darn about their people. This is for looks, she says to herself, curled up in a bundle of blankets. "They don't want to change, they don't want to fix things. Not really. Why aren't there talentless? Why isn't there a pyrokinetic? If they want change so badly, why won't they change?" Linh pats her back, softly. "I know," she whispers. "I see it, too."

There's a group hail. Every meeting, as Councilor Emery is saying his bland line about listening and adapting, Sophie, like clockwork, sends this meme:

Emery doesn't know why no one takes him seriously anymore.

Grady doesn't like it. He will not expand on why he doesn't like it, but his eyes always seem to catch on the way his daughter sags, her whole being exhausted, whenever she comes home from one of the meetings.

One meeting, however, was devoted solely to introducing the council to movies. Dex and Biana both agreed that Barbie movies would be the best place to start. Sophie's request for Harry potter was turned down because of the level at which they require background information. That was a fun meeting. Keefe would probably have been sad to miss Bronte crying over the ending of Barbie in The Nutcracker.

Contrary to popular belief, Sophie is a terrible strategist. Her ideas consist of, "I had a dream about talking rats, I think we should look into that a bit more." and then she goes down a researching hole and comes back from the council's library a day later knowing far too much about rats and underground cultures. She will then say that the best way to defeat the Neverseen is befriend the rats, and Stina will sigh and take her home for the day because this girl got no sleep last night and she's got bags the size of dinner plates under her eyes.

Wylie is actually the best strategist. The thing is, he does not and will not ever trust the council. Growing up with Tiergan, knowing that the council took his parents from him, ruined his biological father's life, and by extension his own, has hardened him. He almost doesn't want the council to succeed. He occasionally debates arson during meetings, and contemplates how easy it would be to simply burn things down.

The Team officially disbands after the Black Swan defeat the Neverseen. Because, you know the council really didn't do much. The council still has all the power in the government, but no one knows that they were saved by a group of "terrorists" who were granted official immunity in the eyes of the law. Forkle grinned. Legal immunity was a dangerous thing to give anyone, especially him.

They meet on Tuesdays, even after the war is over, and have dinner at the Ruewen's house. It's a fun time. Like, it's a mess, but it's fun. It's low key, calm, and Sophie can talk about the newest thing she's been researching without trying to fit it into a battle plan. Wylie talks about all the things that could have been fixed openly, trusting the people he's around. Stina and Dex bicker constantly, clearly trying to avoid the romantic tension between them. Biana hugs Sophie tight, and she shows off her latest projects, and wears her favorite dresses.

Grady smiles. This is what these kids should have had from the beginning. Carrying their entire generation never should have been on their shoulders.

[mayraki]

“the adventures of babysitting” - jj maybank

-> hvitstark’s gif!

summary: when the cute boy who mows the lawn for the kook family you babysit shows up, weird and unexpected events start to happen.

masterlist

Babysitting wasn’t something you planned to do when summer started, but when you saw that lonely dollar that you had in your pocket you decided to change that. And what better way, than to take care of the rich kids when their parents are too focused on their golf sessions?

It didn’t took you long to find a parent like that, since in Outer Banks, 90% of the parents had the stupid necessity to go golfing every day, leaving their poor kids on the house. Well, “poor” is a matter of speech, because if you had a pool the side of your entire house and free WiFi to play any game that ever existed, you wouldn’t complain.

“The food is in the refrigerator. Maybe start making it at 12 pm, she likes to eat early.” Mrs. Johnson was saying while she had her big bag on her shoulders, ready to leave the house. “Lily!” She yelled so loudly that you squint your eyes for the sudden scream. “Oh, and before I forget, in a couple of hours the boy that’s going to cut the grass is going to show up. But you don’t have to do anything, he already knows his way around the front yard.” You nodded with a little smile.

“Great!”

“Lily! Get down here, now!” She yelled so firmly that you could tell the fire on her eyes, making you feel a little bit intimidated by the rich house wife. As soon as she went back to you, a smile appeared on her face again changing her expression completely in a matter of one second, making you feel a little bit scared. “Do you have any more questions for the day?”

“No! I’m fine, we’ll be fine.”

“Y/n!” You heard the little girl calling your name while she was running to welcome you with a hug.

“Lily! Come here you little angel!” You picked her up so she could wrap her arms around your shoulders.

“Lily, behave.” Mrs. Johnson said and Lily nodded.

“Yes, mommy, like always.”

“No cookies until lunch is over, got it?”

Lily nodded again, this time more quicker. “Got it.”

Not trusting her daughter, Mrs. Johnson turned to you. “Got it?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” Mrs. Johnson gave Lily a kiss on the forehead before walking towards the door. “See you later Mrs. Johnson!” You waved until you saw her outside and she was no longer in your sight.

“Do you want to see my barbie?” Lily said once her feet touched the ground.

“Sure!”

“Cool! Let me look for it.” She grabbed your hand to walk you to her room. “I did a makeover that took me the whole week. Because when I got her she was so ugly, the change was necessary.” She was saying like a professional fashion icon. Her sass was one of your favorite things about her. “That’s what my mom says all the time. If you don’t like something, you change it so it fits you.” After a walk that seemed to took forever since the house was bigger than the whole frontyard itself, you arrived at her room. While Lily was looking for her barbie to show you, you went over her room like it was the first time your eyes were seeing it. The wall colors looked like an unicorn had throw up in them and then a fairy had her glitter thrown at it. The main color was pink, her bed, her night stand, her desk, even her TV was the color pink. You never hated that color, but her room was making you feel nauseous. It was all so colourful and an interesting thing to look at, but the thing that always caught your attention was the thousand posters of the movie ‘Frozen’. Elsa, Anna and all of those characters you couldn’t remember the names where in her wall smiling. They were so many of them that you started to feel creeped out by them. “Here she is!” Finally, Lily found her barbie as was already walking towards you with her toy in her hand waving it like she was trying to get something out of her. She handed the barbie to you with the biggest and proudest smile ever, but the moment you grabbed the toy the smile disappeared from your face for a second.

“Oh my-” the normal long hair that Barbies have isn’t longer in this one, it was short and it looked like some punk girl from the 80’s with he hairs all lift up. You didn’t even know if it was punk, she looked like she touched a wire with a fork! She had a short dress that looked like it had been on dirt, washed but then she fell on grass, making it look even more dirty and destroyed. Her skin was painted red and blue with some pink dots all over her body. She definitely didn’t had a good day. You looked at Lily and noticed the proud smile and the excitement on her eyes as you were watching the barbie, so you put your biggest fake smile on your face not wanting to break the poor girl’s heart. “She looks wonderful!”

“I know! I’m good at it!”

You quickly nodded. “Yeah!”

“Maybe I can be a fashion designer when I grow up!” Lily started clapping and grabbed the barbie from your hand while you were nodding non stop not knowing what to say.

Models from the future; I’m so sorry and good luck.

You thanked the Gods for Lily not wanting to show you anymore of her creations, instead she wanted to watch a movie, and as soon as she said that, you already knew what she wanted to see.

“Let it gooooo! Let it goooooo!” You heard Elsa sing while Lily’s eyes were glued to the TV, her body was slowly moving while she was whispering the song. You knew she loved the movie so much she never wanted to outsing Elsa, and deep down, you were grateful for that.

“Yes, please Elsa,” you said in a whisper not wanting Lily to hear you while you were sitting down in the couch behind her “let it fucking go. Stop it.” As soon as you tilted your head backwards annoyed, a sound came from the front yard. “What was that? You asked with your eyes glued to the door, but there was no response from Lily, since her little mind was too focused on the movie. You headed to the window to cheek what it was while all the horror movies and serial killers documentaries went through your mind. With your heart beating a little faster you opened the curtains and wondered with your eyes your surroundings, but nothing was there. You were calming down until you heard your phone rang in your pocket, making you jump from the scare.

“What’s up bitch?” Your best friend, Hannah, said on the phone once you picked up.

“Hi, I’m babysitting.” You said still checking the front yard.

“Oh, got it, you have to watch your tongue.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think this kid is listening to me right now, Elsa has that covered.” You did quick look on Lily, who’s eyes were still glued to the TV.

“Ugh, I hate that movie.”

“I don’t. But the amount of times I watched it here isn’t helping on that.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Checking if the guy- oh my god.” You stopped as soon as your eyes noticed a boy standing in the front yard. Because he was too far away you could only see clearly his blonde hair and his dark brown boots. He had a white shirt on and some light brown shorts, he was far, but the way he was moving and carrying himself was what attracted you and made your eyes stare at him twice, making sure you were seeing correctly.

“What?”

“The guy that cuts the grass for this family is...” you did a quick turn to Lily to check if she was listening, but she was still too focused on the movie. You turned back to see the boy, but before you could continue your sentence, Hannah spoke before you.

“Hot?”

“Oh, more than that.”

“Who is it?” Hannah said intrigued.

“Can’t see, he’s too far.”

“What is he doing?” You saw how his arms tensed when he grabbed some machine you never saw before. They were so strong that you suddenly got the need to walk towards him touch them, but that would be extremely weird.

“I don’t know, turning the machine I guess.” You tried to focus more on his face and try to figure out if you knew him, but he was too far for your poor sight.

“Go talk to him.”

“What? No!”

“Why not? He’s hot, you’re hot. Perfect match.”

“He is definitely a...” Again, you turned around making sure Lily wasn’t hearing. Even if she wasn’t, you choose your next words carefully. “major babe.”

“Major babe?” Hannah let out a tiny laugh. “What are? 30?”

“The kid is still here!” You whispered loudly.

“What is a major babe?” Fuck.

You turned around to see Lily standing there with her Barbie between her hands. The movie was still playing but it looked like your conversation gained her attention even more.

“What? Oh, nothing.” You shook your head with your phone still against your ear. “Don’t worry about it baby. Keep watching Elsa.”

“I want to know what that means.” Lily said with her firm tone, letting you know she wasn’t going to let it go.

“I think you’re in trouble.” Hannah said on the other side, and you knew she was trying to not laugh at your current situation.

“Bye!” You ended the call before leaving your phone in your pocker to kneeled down and be closer to Lily’s face. “A major babe is someone who is... cute.” You said trying to choose the perfect words. Explaining something like this to a six year old isn’t something that you would ever choose to do.

“Cute?” Lily asked confused.

“Yeah, pretty.”

“Like Elsa?”

“Yeah? Yeah!”

You thought the conversation was over when Lily let out a giant smile and nodded convinced. But then, she opened her mouth: “So you think the guy who cuts the grass is pretty?”

“Well-” You got up trying to take those thoughts out of her mind, but before you could say anything Lily started clapping excited.

“You do! Y/n and JJ sitting in a tree-” She started singing but you stopped hearing once you heard the name ‘JJ’.

“Wait, JJ? The guy’s name is JJ?” You said confused, hoping it wasn’t who you thought it was.

“Yeah! He comes every week since last year!”

“JJ? JJ Maybank?” You were praying Lily was going to shake her head and say it was another JJ, but deep down you knew there wasn’t any other guy with that name.

“Yeah!” Lily said happily, unaware of your thoughts and your not so happy face.

Well, fuck.

“Oh my god.” You said when it finally hit you. “Sweetie, I think Anna is dying.” You said gently turning Lily towards the TV.

“Oh no!” She went back to the movie. You turned to the window and moved the curtain while a sigh came out of your mouth.

JJ Maybank. The guy that was known for being the life of the party, getting into trouble or starting a fight. He would almost every time leave the party with some girl around his arm. You weren’t going to lie, you wished sometimes you were that girl. Having a crush on a boy that doesn’t know you exists isn’t... the best. You met JJ at school when you were a kid and that’s when it all started, when he defended you from some Kook kid that was annoying you at lunch. The crush didn’t grew more, the opposite, it went down passing the years. But that didn’t stop you from looking at him when he showed up at the party you were at or feeling nervous when he was around. You weren’t the type to do so, but there was something about him that made you feel as awkward as you could ever be.

The fact that he was in the same house as you made you feel something inside your stomach, making you move uncomfortably in your sit while Lily was watching, for the second time, Frozen. You don’t have to talk to him, there’s nothing to worry about. You were thinking over and over again trying to calm yourself down. Or maybe this is your opportunity to talk to him. You thought in Hannah’s voice, since she knew about your crush she would often say that you should start a conversation with him, or at least introduce yourself.

You didn’t know if he knew who you were. You only talked once, back when you were kids and you thanked him for defending you. That was it. You remembered it, but you were sure he didn’t.

C’mon, what are you waiting for? Go offer him some water! Hannah’s voice was saying in your head like she was next to you giving you the courage you needed to do so. And somehow, it worked. After making sure Lily was safe while watching the movie, you walked towards the kitchen and poured water on a cup to bring outside.

As soon as your hand touched the door to open it, you felt the heat of the sun touching your skin and you heart beating faster, already knowing your next moves.

You saw him getting ready to cut the grass with the same machine you saw before. His skin and hair were glowing under the sun making your heart beat faster than before and him looking more beautiful than he already was.

“Hey!” You said loudly once you were a couple of steps away from him.

JJ immediately turned to you making your heart drop to your stomach. He furrowed his eyebrows confused while trying to figure out who you were. “Hi? Are you the babysitter?” He pointed at you and you nodded with a smile.

“Yeah. Y/n.”

“JJ.” He let out a tiny smile. Fuuuuuuck.

Silence came between you two while your brain was trying to remember what you came outside. “Oh! I bought you some water, it’s pretty hot out here.” You handed him the cup which he took gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, I don’t want you passing out. I don’t want to deal with that.” You said and immediately regretted it, why would you say that? That makes you sound like a terrible babysitter!

But as soon as he let out a genuine laugh, your mind gave you a break.

“Sure. So, since when did you started working with this family?” He said before giving a sip to the water.

“Last week.”

“I haven’t seen you around much. You live in the Cut, right?”

You nodded. “Yeah, I do. My dad owns the store across the beach.”

JJ didn’t respond immediately. He stood there watching your eyes carefully, so much, that your heart started beating faster once again. “Really? He has some good boards, dude.”

“Thanks. He’s really proud of them.”

“Make sure to tell him. Thank you for the water.” He gave you the now empty cup and you shook your head with a little smile.

“Don’t worry about it. If you need anything just tell me.”

JJ let out a tiny laugh. “You take care better of me than Mrs. Johnson.”

You smiled back while on the inside you were freaking out. “It’s no-” you were saying but the water hitting your body cut you off.

“What the fuck?” JJ said as soon as both of you noticed the water feeling like rain against your body. You looked up to see if it was, but the sky was as as clear as you last saw it.

“Where is that water coming from?!”

“It’s the automatic water for the grass!” JJ said looking down and pointing at the tiny machine going off behind you. You turned around and looked at it confused, trying to not get hit in the face by putting your hands in front of your face.

“But it never turns on during the day! Do you know how to turn it off?!” You asked at JJ with the hope that he did, and luckily, he nodded turning around and leading to some part of the front yard you’ve never been before. When you arrived to where he was you noticed he was kneeled down and with a quicker twist of his hand, the water was off. “What the hell was that?” You said turning to where the water was coming from.

“I don’t know.” JJ said and looked down to his body all wet. You turned to him and did the same, but not to your own body, to his. The way his shirt was glued to his torso would mark his abs and let you nothing to the imagination. You immediately looked down once you realize you were staring, you felt so embarrassed like you weren’t supposed to see what you just did. “Maybe this will help with the sun and I won’t pass out.” He said with a smile once he looked up at you and you smiled, thankful he didn’t notice you staring at him and his fit body.

“You’re dripping.” You said. “You have to dry yourself otherwise you won’t be able to work with those heavy clothes. C’mon.” You pointed at the house and started walking, but his voice cut you off.

“I’m not sure I’m aloud to go in.”

“Do you want to get your work done or not? Because I don’t think you’ll be able to.” You did a quick look to the drops of water goind down. “It’s your decision, but I think Mrs. Johnson won’t be happy if she comes back and her grass isn’t done. Do whatever you want.” You said knowing that it was going to convince him to go with you. You did this tactic with Lily sometimes, making it their choice and having the control over the situation. Like you suspected, as soon as you made a couple of steps away from JJ, you heard his feet moving and getting closer to yours. Seconds later, he was already next to you.

“Maybe we should go to the bathroom, I don’t want to make a mess.” You said the moment you stepped inside the house. Lily, who was now sitting down on the couch, looked at you two with an exaggerated surprised face and walked to where you two where.

“Oh! What happened?”

“The water of your front yard went kinda crazy.” You said grabbing your sticky shirt and trying to get it away from your skin.

“Really?” Lily asked and then turned to JJ, who nodded.

“Lily I want you to stay here watching the movie, ok? We need to get dry.” You said leading the way to the bathroom. “Don’t open the door to anyone, did you hear me?”

“Yes!” Lily said while quickly nodding and then leaving to continue watching her movie. “Stupid Hans!” She yelled at the TV.

“She really likes that movie doesn’t she?” JJ said with a smile once he turned around to follow you.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “we watched it three times today.”

“Ouch.” You let out a laugh before entering the bathroom and quickly grabbing the towel and turning around to face JJ.

“Here, have the towe-” You were saying but once your eyes noticed JJ’s naked torso, your tongue went completely numb. “Oh.”

“Is everything ok?” He asked noticing your shook face, but then a little grin escaped his lips while he grabbed the towel from your hand.

“Yeah. Yeah! Everything’s fine.” You said quickly shaking your head a little bit, trying so hard to not let your now red cheeks make you feel embarrassed.

“Aren’t you gonna change?”

“I’ll wait for you to be over and then I’ll do it. Don’t worry about it.”

He nodded and the continued drying his body. “I still don’t know what happened with that.”

“Maybe the clock failed?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Anyway, thank you.” He handed you the towel. “I have to continue with work.”

“Yeah!” You quickly nodded. “You go.” You watched how he turned around letting you have a perfect veiw of his back, which made you feel like when you saw his torso naked without any warning. You looked away once he left the bathroom and slapped your forehead with the palm of your hand, already overthinking everything you just did.

As soon as you were finished you walked towards the living room to check on Lily who was now finishing the movie just one more time. You grabbed your phone from your pocket to see the time and realized it was lunch time, so trying to focus every thought of Lily, you called her so she would follow you into the kitchen. You grabbed everything that was on the refrigerator like Mrs. Johnson has told you while your mind was making the recipe for Lily’s meal. You were trying so hard to keep your mind focus and not thing of the cute guy that was still working on the front yard, a couple of steps away from you.

“Did you really fell for Hans because I didn’t. It was pretty obvious.” Lily said while watching you prepare her lunch.

“You think? I didn’t see it coming.”

“I didn’t like Hans since the beginning.” Lily nodded proudly of herself.

“You didn’t? I thought he was really cute and charming, maybe that what’s wrong with princes.” As soon as you said that, a thought came into your head. You stayed still like everything in your life just made sense and you understood it in that exact moment. “And maybe that’s why I like the boys I like.” You continued, talking more to your lard than to Lily. “They’re charming and sweet, but then they forget about your face even if you’re wearing a tiny mask, or they kiss you without even consenting it.” You were saying while your head was inside the refrigerator, looking for the mayonnaise to complete Lily’s lunch. “Or they even think because they have money we will automatically fall for them!” The moment that you said that you realized that you were babbling all to yourself about boys while Lily was listening to you, so you turned around shaking all your thoughts away. “Anyway-” you were about to change the subject but when you opened the water from the kitchen sink it all exploded and went all over your face and clothes. “WHAT THE HELL?” You yelled putting your hand in front of your face to prevent the water hitting your eyes.

“I’ll call JJ!” Lily said once she noticed the water wasn’t stopping.

“What- no! I got this!” You tried to stop her but it was too late, she was already out of your sight. “What’s the fucking problem with water today?” You asked trying to turn the water off, but no matter what you did with the switch, it wasn’t stopping.

“What happened?!” You heard JJ asking once he arrived next to you.

“I turned it on and it went crazy!” You turned around to see the water all over the floor. JJ kneeled down and opened the doors down the sink and just like before, stopped the water. You let your hands rest beside your body and let out an annoyed sigh at the feeling of sticky and wet clothes against your skin.

“Just like before?” JJ asked getting up to lock eyes with you.

You nodded. “Yeah. I think the thingy is broken.” You pointed at the sink looking at it confused but when you heard JJ let out a tiny laugh, you turned to him. “What?”

“The thingy?”

“Yeah, where the water comes out.”

JJ nodded still with a funny smile on his face. “Do you know how to fix it?”

“Do you?”

“Dad has tools!” Lily yelled, appearing on the conversation for the first time. You turned to her and she had a big smile on her face while her fingers were playing with each other. “Maybe Y/n can show you where they are?”

“Oh, yeah,” you nodded remembering the time you helped Mr. Johnson fix something for Lily. “I think they’re next to the bathroom. C’mon.” You said looking at JJ but then you turned to Lily. “While we repair that finish your lunch.”

She quickly nodded before you left her behind. “Ok!”

Even if you had JJ behind you, you felt his eyes on you as you were walking. Maybe they weren’t on you, but somehow, your mind had convince you they were making you feel uncomfortable under them. You were hearing his steps behind you, they were so close you could feel the air he was pushing with his arms while walking. The hallway was darker as usual since having JJ in your mind you forgot to turn on the light, but you knew the house like the palm of your hand.

“I think this is the room- yes it is!” You said entering the room next to the bathroom. “Tools tools tools...”

“Here.” JJ said behind you while grabbing a big dark brown box.

“Oh, ok. Better get that thing fixed so you can get back to work.” JJ nodded so you walked to the now closed door. You looked at it confused since you didn’t remember closing it. “What? Did you close the door?”

“No I didn’t.” JJ said.

“Then why the hell is it closed?” You asked before grabbing the handle, but it wasn’t opening. “And locked?!” Your heart dropped to your stomach the moment you realized you were locked and Lily was outside alone. “Oh my god, Lily? Can you open the door please? Lily?!”

Your heart started to beat faster but then, luckily, she spoke from the other side. “Are you guys locked?”

“Yeah! Can you open it from the outside?”

“I don’t know!”

“Can you check sweetie?”

“She’s a six year old? What can she do?” JJ asked behind you not faced by the situation at all.

“Well? Do you have any ideas genius? Lily is out there on her own!”

JJ lifted the box of the tools and let out a grin. “We have tools?”

“You can’t use them! Do you want to break the door?!”

“Do you want to get stuck in here until Mrs. Johnson comes back? Because I don’t think she’ll be happy to know that you left the little girl outside all by herself.” You let out a tiny sigh when JJ used the same tactic you used on him moments ago. You hated when they were used against you.

“Lily, are you still there?” You asked turning to face the door.

“Yeah. Are you two fighting in there?” She asked softly.

“No, sweetie, why would you think that?”

“I don’t know...”

“Do you want me to break the door then?” JJ asked lifting his eyebrow.

“Maybe you can do something without breaking it?”

“I’ll try. But I’m not a magician.” He said getting closer to the door to grab the handle. You noticed he put a lot of strength in it, but you didn’t understand what he was doing. “I think I got it, but I need your help.”

“What do you want me to do?” You walked to stand next to him.

“Grab the handle and pull it really hard when I say so.” You did as he told you and then looked at him, waiting for his words. “Ready?” You nodded. “Go!”

You pulled the handle with all your strength just like JJ told you while JJ was pushing the door to open, and before you could think of something else the door opened. You and JJ had so much strength into it, that the sudden movement of the door opening, made you two lose balance. JJ tried to grab your waist and prevent you from falling, but it didn’t work since your body was already half way to the floor, it only managed to turn you around by twisting you from your waist and not fall on your face. Once your back hit the floor, you felt a body algo hitting yours.

You opened your eyes once the pain in your back passed enough for you to move, to see some blue eyes staring at you. JJ’s face was so close to yours that you were feeling his heavy breathing against your skin. You felt like his eyes were casting a spell on you since you felt like you couldn’t move, and not because you had his body on top of yours. Even if would be normal for you to feel crushed under a body, you weren’t feeling his. You were so lost in his eyes that you forgot everything around you, it was just him and his breathing gently hitting your face.

“Guys-” Lily said softly next to you. That made you return to the moment and realize in the position you two were. He quickly got up and walked back nervously, like he didn’t know what just happened either.

“Lily! Are you alright?” You walked towards her and hugged her body.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She broke the hug to look at JJ, who was still standing in the corner nervously. “You two looked like Anna and Kristoff there.”

“What’s that?” You asked quickly, feeling your cheeks getting hot.

“Yeah, when they looked at each other. With so much looooove.” Lily said and then let out a silly laugh. You wanted the floor to eat you and throw you whatever it wanted, as long as it wasn’t there. Silence surrounded the hallway for a couple of seconds while you were trying to think of something to change the subject and pretend that what just happened, didn’t. But JJ spoke before you.

“Maybe I should get back to work.” He said and you nodded.

“Maybe you should.” The second you said that, he quickly walked passed your body to leave you and Lily behind. You watched his back and noticed he was looking down, maybe you weren’t the only one who got embarrassed. But what did happen?

The moment that you two locked eyes with each other you felt like there was nothing else around you, like you were melting under his eyes. You never felt something like that, and you never wanted to do it again. So lost in your thoughts that you didn’t realize Lily has taken you to the living room to play with some of her new toys. You were hearing her voice talk but non of her words were entering your body. You tried to keep your eyes on the toys but the second that you looked up, your eyes met with his. He quickly looked down and walked away, leaving your sight from the window. You sighed, disappointed.

It wasn’t that you wanted to stare at him... well, maybe it was. But you didn’t want to distract yourself from your work and taking care of Lily, the girl that had to be your number one throught until you left the house. So erasing your unwanted thoughts, you focused your mind into Lily’s game, who seemed to be super invested in.

“Barbie and Ken are going to get married tomorrow, I already planned everything.” Lily was saying the second your mind started to pick up her words. “I’m so excited!”

“I’m pretty sure Barbie and Ken are as well!” You said with a smile, playing along with her.

After a couple of minutes playing with Lily you were glad JJ wasn’t consuming your brain, playing with Lily did helped you get your thoughts straight and focus on what was important. It all seemed to be going back to normal, you weren’t thinking of what happened earlier, Lily and her funny game with her Barbies were definitely making you laugh, and the clock was getting closer to the end of the day, so you were definitely going back to your normal self, until you heard some steps getting inside the house.

“Hey, can I have another glass of water?” JJ asked standing next to the door. You looked up and him and slowly nodded, not opening your mouth. Without giving the opportunity to anything else to happen, you got up from where you were and walked to the kitchen. You heard the door closing and you sighed, glad that JJ didn’t followed you to the kitchen. You didn’t want to talk to him, you knew you were going to be your awkward self and probably embarrass yourself like you usually do, so better to avoid him and forget he even excited... if that’s even possible. You looked at the glass of water that you had now on your hand and stared at it for a couple of seconds. You didn’t want to go out and give it to him, so a better idea came into your head.

“Hey, sweetie,” you called Lily and seconds later she was in front of you with an innocent smile on her face. “can you take this to JJ?” She nodded and grabbed the glass of water before leaving the kitchen behind.

While waiting for her to come back, you closed your eyes when the last time you had JJ in front of you came back to your mind. Well, on top of you is the better choice for words. Your heart dropped to your stomach and the memory slowly came back to your eyes and the feeling of his breathing against your face. Not wanting to have that on your mind, you slapped yourself on the forehead with the palm of your hand. But that didn’t work at all, and what you saw when you opened your eyes didn’t help either.

“Hi.” He said while standing next to the kitchen entrance.

“Hi.” You said, surprised he was inside the house.

“My water?” He asked looking to your hand and noticing they weren’t holding anything.

You furrowed your eyebrows confused, trying to not think you telling Lily about JJ’s water was all your mind playing tricks on you. “I just sent Lily with a glass of water for you.”

“She said that you had it here.”

“What? Lily?” You called her but there was no response. “Lily!” You walked to the living room but she wasn’t there. Feeling your heart beating faster you walked outside hoping she was there. Once your eyes went over the entire front yard while your heart was slowly beating faster passing the seconds, your eyes finally landed on Lily, but that didn’t calmed you down, since she was standing right next to the pool. “What are you doing?”

“I want to take a swim!” She yelled once you started to walk towards her, followed by JJ.

“You don’t know how to swim! Your mom doesn’t let you in if she’s not here! Come back!”

“But I want to swim!”

“Lily you can’t! I’m pretty sure you will when your mom comes home.” You said but Lily didn’t respond you, instead she turned towards the pool. “Lily?” The moment she lifted her foot your heart dropped to your stomach. Your eyes followed her body falling inside the pool once she jumped and threw some water drops into the air, you saw it all like it happened in slow motion. “Lily!” You yelled like you never did before. You started running towards her ready to jump and grab her, but JJ being faster than you, with quick moves took off his boots and jumped into the pool.

Once inside, the water was making it difficult for you to fully see their movements. That was making your hands sweat and your heart to beat faster, it felt like it was going to jump out of your body. But then, you saw JJ’s head above the water, followed by Lily’s.

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” You yelled once JJ left Lily’s body outside the pool. “Oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack!” You patted her back while she was getting all the water outside from her body. You felt your heart getting heavy and slowing its speed while your breathing was letting out relief breaths.

“I’m sorry.” Lily said, once she stopped cuffing.

“Why- why would you do that Lily? You know you can’t swim!”

Lily looked up and JJ, who was breathing heavily with his body covered in water and his clothes sticking to his skin, but then she went back to looking at the floor. “I wanted- I wanted to be Anna.”

“What?” You asked confused.

“And I wanted JJ to be Kristoff.” As soon as she said those words you locked eyes with JJ, who seemed to understand the same thing as you on the same moment. Lily wanted to have a love like the characters of her favorite movie.

“Oh... Sweetie,” you kneeled down to be closer to her face. “And you thought that jumping into the pool when you can’t swim was going to make JJ your Kristoff because you wanted him to save you?”

She slowly nodded. “Yeah. And I- I also turned on the water earlier.”

“What?” You and JJ asked at the same time.

“The water for the grass- I did it.”

“Why?” JJ asked once you got up.

“And I broke the water tap. And I locked you two in the closet.” You opened your mouth surprised before looking at JJ, who was just as surprised as you.

“How?” He asked.

“Why would you do that?”

Lily shrugged her shoulders and that made JJ let out a tiny laugh while shaking his head.

“At least we know the house isn’t haunted.” He said, turning the conversation into something funny.

“You little devil.” You said, after letting the funny in the situation hit you.

“Are you gonna tell my mom?” Lily asked softly once she locked eyes with you.

“Lily, do you promise you won’t do it again?”

She quickly nodded with a smile. “I do.”

“Then this will be out little secret.”

“Thank you Y/n!” For the first time during those long hours, you felt like there was nothing else that could go wrong. You didn’t felt uncomfortable under JJ’s eyes, Lily was completely fine and JJ didn’t seem to bother that a little girl almost drowned for him... it all felt just alright. “And you calling JJ a major babe will be our little secret too!” Lily yelled and quickly added, noticing your cheeks go red and JJ letting out a grin once he locked eyes with you. “Oh, sorry.” Lily said softly.

“Shit.”

Well... it had to happen, just another thing going completely wrong.

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[ga-yuu]

I have been wondering for a while now. What characters from otome have taugh you valuable lessons? Is that characters your favorite or not?

Actually, now when I think about, I was a really horrible person back in school. I was selfish, I loved manipulating people for my own benefit, I was fake and sometimes I break people's hearts without second thought. Now you might be thinking 'Woah! This girl used be an asshole in school.' Yes! I was....and now when I think about it.....I hate myself.

Now that I'm an adult, I think it's not only otome games and anime that played a part in changing me. It's just, once I became an adult I left behind my childish behavior and started....to be a better person.

Usually when I play an otome game, or watch an anime or even a movie, I do end up learning a thing or two but most of the time I forget about the movie after 2 or 3 weeks, but that life lesson always follows me everywhere. Now otome games, has played a big part in my life but I don't remember every otome games story clearly now....but I'll try. Also most of them might not be my favorites!!

Also !!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!

Lance (Nameless) - I learned how to cherish even the smallest thing that happens in my life.

There is a scene if I remember correctly, where Lance was standing near a trash can in the rain and sees a barbie doll in the trash can.

I felt really bad when I saw that. A doll for me used be a thing that never had feelings. Even if break it or throw it away, it would never cry or even curse me(unless it's possessed)

But now, after seeing that scene, I started to put myself in it’s place and I started to feel how worse it was. A doll you loved so much as a kid is now thrown away like a piece of trash.

From then on, started loving everything I have whether it’s a living thing or non-living thing. Even the laptop I used to write this, even the phone I used to play games, even the pillow I cuddle with in my bed are all precious treasures to me and I want no one to even touch them.

This might sound like I’m crazy, but I don’t care. I love everything that my parents offered me and will cherish it till the end.

Also, do I like Lance? Yup. He’s my 2nd fav. of this game!

Soi (Nameless) - Looking at your own self before criticizing others.

Soi might be an extra in the game, but I still loved her every time she showed up. She’s always shown to be a true friend towards Eri(MC) and always liked her for who she is.

I haven’t played the entire game, but in one route, when Eri tells her friends that she has a hobby of collecting dolls and was ready to hear her friends bashing her about being childish and stuff, Soi was very casual about it and didn’t say anything.

When Eri asked if she was weird for having such a hobby, Soi gives a savage reply like “Dude, I already have many problems in my own life to deal with. Why would I want to increase my burden with yours’= too?” or something like.

That was a very good lesson for me to learn. Before you go out and tell people how should they behave or criticize them, first check yourself. Are you a good person? Is your life problems already solved before you go out and solve other person’s problems?”

Seriously, if you have these kind of people in your life, tell them to FUCK OFF! because they’re toxic as hell.

Lucette (Cinderella Phenomenon) - The person you love and trust might not always be a good person.

Everyone has a person they trust and love. For some, it might be their friends, for some it might be siblings, or for some it might be their pets. No one has the right to judge. But the person you trust might not feel the same way for you.

In this beautifully made game, the MC, Lucette is disliked by everyone because she’s rude, arrogant and never trusted anyone other than her mother. But in the end of the story !! SPOILER ALERT!! her mother was the villain in her entire life.

 Her own mother made her not trust anyone, even her own father for her entire life. When she learned about this truth, she was literally heart broken because the only person she ever loved didn’t love her back. But life doesn’t end there. She stands up again and tries to reconcile with her father, stepmother and step siblings.

Going through betrayal and experiencing heart breaks is traumatizing but it’s also a part of learning....you will learn to not trust anyone blindly. Life doesn’t end there, you have to keep moving on and one day you’ll surely find a person you can trust and rely on.

If you’re still alone, then keep a pet. There is no rule that you should only love humans, right?

Sovieshu (The remarried empress webtoon/ interactive game/light novel) - It only takes one small mistake to collapse your entire world.

It takes great hard work and time to create an strong Empire, but did you know that one small mistake is enough to destroy everything in your life. The webtoon Remarried Empress is a right example of that. (If you haven’t read this, I highly recommend it.)

Sovieshu is piece of SHIT! I won’t lie, but he has thought me this lesson. Sovieshu is a Great Emperor along with Navier, who is the Empress of their country. They both were trained to be the king and queen since they were children and both were the best of friends. Even if they were not lovers, they were still married and Navier has always been faithful towards her husband and the entire Empire.

But one day, Sovieshu happened to meet tRashta(slave) and fell in love with her at first sight. Without doing any background check of her past or anything, he brings her home and makes her his concubine. Navier was kinda sad but she didn’t want to show it because she was the Queen and she had to, you know, keep her public image at the top. But Sovieshu on the other hand started becoming abusive and compared Navier with tRashta. Even though Navier didn’t do anything, he  kept on accusing her for bullying tRashta everyday. It’s like he would wait in the corner, hiding, looking at Navier and tRashta interacting and when he see tRastha crying, he comes running to her and starts to scold Navier in front of the whole public. He’s such an asshole. Later he does give her a divorce (stating that she’s infertile) because, tRashta was pregnant with his baby and he didn’t want to make her baby, a bastard because, tRashta is not his wife. But on the other hand, he also didn’t want to leave Navier because she was a perfect Queen in every way. So his plan was to divorce her for one year, and marry tRashta till the baby was born, so the baby becomes the princess. Later he’ll annul their divorce, so by doing this he has both tRashta and Navier. He’s such an asshole.

But Navier had other plans. So right when her divorce was agreed by the priest, she requested for a remarriage. From here own, Sovieshu’s tragedy starts. Later in the story he finds out that, it wasn’t Navier who was infertile but it was him all along. Even the baby tRashta carried was not his. After this betrayal, Sovieshu lost his mental stability and went through severe depression. See! That’s all it takes for your world to collapse. One single mistake is what is needed.

Kurama(Ikemen Genjiden) - What’s wrong with being yourself?

IDK if your family is like this, but my family is like “You have to learn to eat everything. Like vegetables, meat etc etc” with a reason that you’ll be able to live any circumstances.

I would like to say that, I’m a very picky eater. I hate vegetables, especially tomatoes. If I even see one small piece of tomato in my food.....I won’t throw the whole food away, I’ll just take the piece and put it on the side of the plate and also yell at my mom for putting tomatoes in my food. I’m also a vegetarian. I hate tasting meat but I don’t mind eating food in the small table as my non-veg father. Also, unlike my family members, I’m very punctual. (because I’m an introvert and I don’t like getting the extra attention when I’m late!!)

These are just some of the facts of me being me. My family always complains that I shouldn’t choose how I want to be and must always be perfect in everything because I’m a girl and girls are married off when they get older, right? (It’s bullshit.)

The only people who loves me for who I am are my parents. They never once told me to do this or that like my useless uncles and aunts who have never ever contributed anything in my life.

Kurama as a character, I love him, because he is just being himself. He’s like ‘I’ll do whatever I want and no one has the right to stop me.’ 

That quote is so beautiful. I mean, why are you being fake for the sake of being accepted by the society. The people who truly loves you will love you for who you are. Do the things the way you like. Eat what you like, drink what you like, watch whatever you like. If you like anime, and your friend wants to watch sports, watch anime in your phone with your head phones. It’s better than watching sports you don’t like and creating an awkward environment by acting you know every player in the team, right?

No one has the right to judge anyone. If anyone does come and tell you “Hey, you should not do this like this way, but you should do it this.”, tell that person “ I’ll do whatever I want and no one has the right to stop me. “

Yoritomo and Yoshino(Ikemen Genjiden)- Not everyone is perfect.

I never understood what is the meaning behind being a perfect man or perfect human. Does it mean you have good figure on the outside but at the same time you’re toxic as hell inside? or does it mean you’re very intelligent but at the same time you’re socially awkward? 

Not everyone is perfect. Not everyone is good at every single thing and not everyone has to be good at everything.

Yoritomo as a character, always wears a perfect smile indicating others how good he is. But in reality, he’s very lonely and also needs someone to look after him just like anyone else.

There is nothing wrong with being independent and doing everything on your own. But there is also nothing wrong in depending on someone for things you can’t do. If anyone boldly claims that “I don’t need anyone to love me, I’m fine without anyone” it’s all bullshit! Don’t believe in that kind of nonsense.

Even if you’re the king of the world or even if your a roadside homeless puppy, everyone needs love and support in their life. Everyone needs some one they could talk to, even if it’s just trivial.

It will at least give them a small amount happiness even though it doesn’t worth anything. That’s why I’m telling you, if you don’t have a lover or friends or parents or any human being to talk to, adopt a pet or something.

I hope I was able to answer everything you wanted to hear. ヽ(o^ ^o)ﾉ