#but all it took was the first three iron man movies

[amevello-blue]

Things in Rise that Echo 2003 TMNT

Hi Ame here back on my bullshit-- getting right into it. I can't remember where or who said it, but one of the creators of Rise mentioned that 03 was their favorite iteration, and it really shows sometimes. Spoilers for 03 and Rise below ;)

The first thing that comes to mind is Shredder. "But Ame, 03 Shredder was a little alien guy-" NO I'M TALKIN ABOUT THE ORIGINAL SHREDDER. In 03, Ch'rell took on the mask of a well-known boogeyman at the time; the Shredder, who was a demon that had lived 1,000 years ago. Oroku Saki was a man who defeated the demon alongside the rest of the Ninja Tribunal, and after he defeated it, became possessed by it after falling prey to its promise of power.

The most obvious I think are their markings. In 2003 they use 'chi' to give them mystic abilities. It's the act of becoming one with the world around you, but it also seems to work when you are connected to the people around you. Even the medallions over their chest mimic the Hamato symbol that glows on Rise's chest when activating their ninpo.

Their markings even mimic each other (except for Raph, whose Rise version doesn't have any markings, which is a travesty). Leo has slash-like marks, Donnie has geometric marks, and Mikey's got a lot of circles!

NOW OKAY THIS ONE'S A BIT OF A STRETCH, BUT-- Leo has made portals with his sword before! Specifically, he held one open with it.

It's the little things <3

Like the ghost of dead Hamatos coming back to assist their rat sons in the final moments :)

Some more small things! Raph and Donny's brains being rifled through! (Which also happens to 2012 Mikey)

Raph's and Leo's shoulder! (Hard to get a good shot of Leo's, thanks 4kids) Ironically both happening at a moment where Leo has "failed" to protect his family.

Rise Mikey being the "greatest mystic warrior" reminds me a lot of what is alluded to many times with 2003 Mikey; he's very good at what he does! He's a Battle Nexus Champion! He's the one who can channel chi the best! He could surpass Leo even in skill if he actually applied himself, but he doesn't. Because he just doesn't find it fun. But it's shown a little in the episode Same as it Never Was, where he's able to dispatch a whole group of guys with guns all on his own, including three armored cars and a HELICOPTER.

Also making comparisons between 03 SAINW!Mike and Rise F!Leo losing their arms is kinda a stretch but I'll point it out anyway.

And speaking of the movie. My absolute FAVORITE thing to compare is the Krang of Rise to Sh'Okanabo of 2003's Fast Forward season. It's like they took all the concepts of Sh'Okanabo and made it BETTER. Everything was executed SO MUCH BETTER.

Gooey tentacle villain? Check

Weirdly organic flesh ship? Check

Alien invaders turning people into drone versions of their species? Check

(Also side note about that one, I think it's hilarious that in 03 Raph's the only one who DOESN'T get Kanaboe'd but in Rise Raph is the only one who DOES get Krang'ed.)

Taking over structures with their goop? Check

And finally. Small boy son that is a descendant of Casey Jones. Check :)

[jazzsonly]

ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴍᴇ

pairing(s): sam carpenter x g!p!stem!reader

warning(s): semi-public shit (nothing major at all), kissing(making out), boner, not proofread, uh that's all I think?

summary: your ex, your current girlfriend, and a party game of spin the bottle.

*inspo. song: better than me by doja cat

part two. || part three. coming soon!

────────✯────────

you were hesitant to bring your new girlfriend around core four, not because of who she was but because your ex-girlfriend was apart of core four.

sam.

the problem wasn’t necessarily just based on the fact that she was your ex-girlfriend, but she was your messy on again, off again, crazy ex who was bitter.

you first met sam through mindy and chad, you were a childhood friend of the twins and ironically happen to be in New York for school too. nonetheless they welcomed you with open arms, introducing to none other than core four.

surprisingly to everyone, even sam herself, you two hit it off pretty quick. sharing the same distaste for trusting new people. sam didn’t trust you, so you didn’t trust her.

she’d never admit it, not even now but she found that sexy of you. it made her look at you as stern. but that’s not what made her make a move on you, it was oddly the way you defended tara.

you fought some guy, frankie you think his name was, who was trying to get a move on a not so sober tara.

once sam trusted you, you trusted her and well the rest is history—minus when you’d be out late with friends and come home to get interrogated by sam.

you remember the first fight you had, she’d accused you of being ghostface. but she immediately took it back once she seen you stomping for the door.

it was the same fight over and over and the same make up sex over and over again.

“i’m sorry, baby. you know i didn’t mean it…you know i’m just paranoid.” then you hug her and hold her as she cried, and you’re sighing because you understand.

then you’d kiss her forehead and tell her you weren’t leaving her then she kiss you and tell you let her make it up you and that she did, you can’t deny.

but after a year you got tired of it and called it quits, as douchey as it was and is, you did it over text. you knew if you did it in person it’d only end in the sheets…or the kitchen counter…or the shower…or the living room floo—

six months passed and you were ready to move on, even if sam wasn’t, even she tried to get close to every movie night.

you really started to like this girl, amber you had met in your pre-calc class. to you, she was sexy and mysterious. that’s all you needed to get you going, and in your luck she asked for your number. teasing you about the glances you sent her way during class.

a month after that you started seeing amber and you thought you were ready to bring her around the core four, you texted tara a long message to relay to sam. which she did, claiming sam said she understood and would never get in the way of your happiness.

you held your breath and false hope, muttering up the courage to bring amber around for movie night, it was your turn to pick and of course you chose your obsession, spider-man, specifically the amazing spider-man 2.

everyone groaned and moaned as that was always the movie you picked on your nights.

but sam, oh, evil sam held a smirk and turned you. “hey, y/n, remember last year when you were spider-man for halloween and you begged me to kiss you upside down like in that scene…it was so cute, you hung on the pull-up bar, i swear we made out for hours like that, i don’t know how you didn’t get lightheaded.”

all you could do was glare at the girl and squeeze amber’s hand in comfort.

that was your first and last time bringing amber around sam. and as much as you would love core four to get to know her, you knew sam would do whatever in her power to drive her away. so for now you’ve just been meeting amber’s friends.

“you know,” you poke at the rice on your plate. “core four invited me for game night…i won’t go if you wanna—“

amber cut you off, “babe, you don’t have to put your life or friends on pause for me…if anything i would love if you went an—and i came too.”

the sound of your fork hitting the plate echoed through her apartment’s kitchen when you dropped it.

“you want to come with me? but sam—“

“who cares about sam? look, babe,” she spun her stool to face you.

“we’ve been going out, for what? four months now and you and sam have been over for almost a year. i already know she is nothing to worry about, her bringing up all the shit you guys used to do doesn’t affect the present, which is us and our relationship.”

you smile.

she was right but she also didn’t know sam like you did. when sam wanted something she got it.

“ok.” you agree nonetheless.

✬

“ayeee, y/n!” chad brought you into a ‘bro hug’

“oh shit! and amber!” he gave her some dab up that she didn’t understand but rolled with.

amber? sam’s head turned so fast, she could’ve dislocated her neck.

“finally brought your girl around.” mindy hits your arm playfully, going over to greet amber.

“yeah, finally brought your girl around.” your smile falters hearing sam’s voice.

“don’t start with me tonight.”

she smiles, placing her hand on your bicep. “promise.”

“hi sam.” to your surprise amber greeted the carpenter, even bringing her into a hug.

this was some weird dark feminine mind play. you thought.

“wow.” you hear chad utter and you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“alright!” tara claps her hands together.

“we shall pick from the hat, our first game of the night.” anika held a fedora that held folded pieces of paper in it.

“amber, since you’re our special guest, you should pick first!” chad took the hat from anika’s grasp and brought it to your girlfriend who seated on your lap.

“good luck kiss?” you lean forward pecking her lips before she stuck her hand into the hat, shuffling a little bit before pulling the twister note out.

you hated twister so you sat the game out, but it was funny to watch chad competitively play against the girls. he was the least flexible one there.

the next game was candy land, which you couldn’t pass up. it was your favorite game and you played to win. to everyone else it was entertaining to see you get all worked up and even a bit sweaty over a children’s game but to you it was serious.

you guys made it through a few more games of monopoly, mario kart, life (which ethan won), and a round of hide n seek at the courtesy of chad.

but now there was only one game card left in the hat.

“ou, my turn to pick.” you reach into the hat.

you squint, faltering at the game name on the card.

“spin the bottle?”

“chad.” tara smacks the back of the boy’s head.

“i told you not to put that in there!”

“what? i thought it’d be fun…you know, minus mindy…and y/n, no offense.”

none taken, i like pussy anyways. you thought.

“hell, i say we play it.” sam speaks up for what felt like the first time all night.

“but there are siblings here.” you interject.

“obviously the siblings won’t kiss, y/n.” sam spews venom at you.

“some people are in a relationship….minus ethan.” you spew back.

“ow.” the nerdy boy mutters.

“i mean, it wouldn’t hurt…i trust mindy and i’m not into anyone romantically here…it could just be a peck.” anika speaks up and shockingly mindy nods in agreement.

“yeah, cmon babe, it’ll be fun.” sam scoffs at amber’s ‘babe.’

“ok.” you hesitate. she scoffs even harder at how it easy it was for you get on board at amber’s word.

she used to have that power.

after moving the coffee table, everyone got into a circle on the living room floor, empty beer bottle of chad’s in the middle.

“ok. who’s going first?”

“i’ll go.” anika reaches to spin the bottle, luckily and ironically it lands on mindy.

after anika’s turn, you zoned out on the game, you didn’t really pay attention to who kissed who. you just knew it was chad’s turn then it was to ethan than tara and now sam, who was across from you.

you snicker to yourself, imagining if it landed on amber. now that’d be a sight to see. you thought.

but what really was sight to see what the bottle land on you.

“no. fuck no.” you grab the bottle but were stopped by sam’s protest.

“ah ah, rules are rules y/n.”

“fuck the rules, i have a girlfriend.”

“babe, relax.” amber reaches, grabbing your hand from the bottle.

“i’m okay. we’re okay. it’s just a game. plus, i’m sure her kiss won’t be anything special.” she slips a clean insult into her sentence, proudly.

you don’t know why, but it wasn’t the fact that you didn’t want to kiss sam, that wasn’t why you protested but it was the fact that you did want to kiss her. despite having amber.

you forehead was scrunched and you bottom lip was caught between your teeth, while you watch sam crawl towards you. when she reached you she dramatically put herself on your lap, thighs on either side of you.

“relax. i’m sure my kiss won’t be anything special.” she subtly mocks your girlfriend but you fail to catch on, all you energy on the girl in front you.

without you ever even noticing, your hands naturally found their way to her hips, while hers rest around you neck.

you were frozen in place but you could feel and see everything, forgetting that your friends, let alone your girlfriend were watching this whole thing go down.

you heart sank and all the air your breathed vacuumed when sam slid her pierced tongue across your lips, teasing you in the ways she knew you liked. she got your lips wet before placing a kiss on them. an intense kiss that took you a second to respond to but oh, you did.

you wrapped your arms fully around her waist, moving her closer.

what was this? this intensity you felt? did you miss sam after all this time and not see it?

you moan. you moan? when sam slips her tongue into your mouth. mhm, you forgot how good this taste, how she taste.

you loved nothing more than fighting your tongue with hers, even if she always won.

even more satisfaction came over you when she looped her hands into the back of your head into your hair, tugging slightly. and not to mention her hips in the most subtle way moving against you.

oh, god. sam carpenter. your only thought.

if it wasn’t for sam pulling away, you’re not sure you would’ve ever stopped. it was so intense that even after she pulled away you stayed there for a moment; eyes closed and swollen lips still slightly puckered.

“well, uh, i think that’s enough of the game…” the game! amber! your thoughts shout and you snap back into reality.

when you look around, everyone’s eyes were back and forth. between you, sam, and amber.

what the fuck did you just do? what the fuck did you just allow to happen?

you wanted to turn to amber, you thought to turn to amber, to look at her but instead your body disobeys your mind and you somehow find yourself staring at sam who had a smirk across her swollen lips, eyeing your girlfriend.

she also speaks to your girlfriend, “you might wanna take care of that…unless you want me to.”

you look down to where she pointed, a boner.

a fucking boner?!

sam, your ex-girlfriend just gave you a boner in front of your current girlfriend.

“sam.” tara utters.

“we should order pizza!” chad speaks up, clapping his hands. everyone agreeing and trying to move from the situation but you stay there.

[bambikisss]

' Win the bachelor ' :: Cho Guesung

Summary : After going through a hard heartbreak, your friends sign you up to participate in the newest season of the Bachelor. After meeting him, you decide to go all in to win his heart and affection.

Warnings: mentions of sabotage, slight manipulation, unprotected sex, creampie, sex on the beach, sex in a public shower, mentions of taking pictures during sex/ video recording it, this man being the absolute death of you, his thighs, calls you a slut/whore once, spitting, oral (both), biting

A/N: she's a loooong one. I've only seen the bachelor twice so some things may be wrong but eh. Also, notice how there are more smut warnings? Yeah, I got carried away. The ending lowkey is kinda dry.

♥ TagList: @127hydrangeas @xrubyrosesx

Life is full of chances: there can be a first, second, or third chance at something, or even more if you're lucky. You were hoping you were one of the lucky ones.

"What do you mean he just dumped you in the middle of your date?" you poured yourself more wine as your best friends surrounded you, all asking the same questions about how your relationship of three years just suddenly ended. You rolled your eyes as you recalled the night's events: your ex said he had a surprise for you and brought you out to one of your favorite restaurants. In the middle of the date, he seemed to start to get nervous and then suddenly quickly said "we have to break up" before rushing out, leaving you to pay the bill. Turns out, his two other girlfriends had shown up and when he saw him, he panicked. He then texted you after you paid the 50-dollar bill if you guys could be friends with benefits, which you declined before blocking him.

"He wanted me to be the third girl in his foursome," you mumbled, downing the wine you had in your glass as your friends all stared at you in shock. To them, it was like something you would only hear about in a movie. But to you, it was your whole-ass nightmare. One of your friends shook her head before pouring you more wine, saying "I don't understand how you keep getting involved with men like these." You wish you had known how, too as it had been happening since you started dating in middle school.

You and your friends decided to drink the night away, ranting drunkenly about your exes and comparing bad experiences with them. You admittedly did feel better afterward before blacking out.

You woke up the next morning on the floor of the apartment, dragging yourself to the bathroom where you cleaned up. You then cleaned up, turning off the TV that was blaring, helping your still-asleep friends to their rooms before making your way back home afterward.

You had just closed the door to your apartment when you received an email from what looked like a Television company, letting you know that your application was received. "What application? Is this a scam?" you chose to ignore the email, placing your phone down before going on with your day.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Have a nice day!" you smiled as the CEO left the company, leaving you to finally take the first breath you had taken all day. You put down your tablet as you sat down on the couch, closing your eyes as you took in the moment of silence. You worked for an expensive matchmaking company, ironically. You'd think being able to pair two rich people up successfully would make it easy for you to meet someone, but no. You were still getting Instagram DMs from your recent ex asking to take him back, but refusing to leave the two other girls too.

"What now?" You picked up your phone that buzzed in your uniform pocket, not bothering to look at the caller ID as you answered it. "Hi, am I speaking to Y/N L/N?" you paused at the sweet woman's voice, confirming that it was you.

"Great. I am calling to let you know that you have been chosen to be on the newest season of the bachelor!"

What.

Your eyes widened as the sweet lady rambled off the things you needed to pack and do before you could be flown out, interrupting her softly. "I, uh, didn't apply to be on the show-"

"Sure you did. I have your application here in front of me, all filled out. You did this about three days ago."

You tried to think about what you were doing three days ago to all of a sudden be on the show when you suddenly remembered what happened: while you were drunk, the show came on along with where to submit applications to. You drunkenly had joked about joining the show, your also drunk friends signing you up as they giggled.

Before you could explain that you didn't want to be on the show, the sweet lady said that an email would be sent with things you had to complete before you could be on the show and the deadline before hanging up. You stared at your phone in shock for a few moments before calling up F/N and telling her that you were coming over as it was an emergency. However, when you told her what happened, she didn't see it as such. "This is a great opportunity to possibly find someone, Y/N! It's an opportunity from the universe!"

"No, F/N, this is me going on to live TV and making a fool of myself. You followed her around as she looked through the email that the company had sent you with things to do, your friend only waving away your worry. "Look, either you'll be one of the girls that go home within the first few weeks that no one remembers or you could fall in love," she looked at you with a look that meant "you have no choice." You tried to think of a reason why you couldn't, which she shot down before she covered your mouth. "Take this as life giving you another chance to fall in love."

You hoped you were going to go home first.

~ ~ ~

"We're here, miss."

You thanked the driver as you exited the car, turning to face the sea that hit the rocks. You fixed your dress before you walked towards the beautiful outlook, smiling softly. The moon shined beautifully on the water, calming you softly before you turned to face the villa that was currently empty. It was lit up beautifully with string lights and had a red carpet, leading up to where the bachelor was supposed to stand. You held your coat closer to yourself as the wind blew, your eyes returning to the water, hoping it would calm you down. You were there just to be a placeholder until the bachelor chose someone else, then you could pack your things and return home to your boring life.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

You turned to see a man approaching you and a tight tux, smiling at you. His hair blew carefully in the wind as he walked to stand next to you, offering you a smile, which you returned. "I've never seen anything like it. I never usually get time to see the ocean like this back home." You felt comfortable as he chuckled, agreeing with you. "I used to surf a bit, but I was always home before nightfall or else my mom would yell at me." It became your turn to giggle softly, turning to face the man once more. Now that he was closer, you could see his chiseled jaw along with his dark brown eyes that seemed to light up in the moonlight. You could also spot the freckles that were around his face that you found adorable. "So, are you here to find love?" you shook your head at his question, turning back to the ocean as a particularly big wave hit the rocks. "I don't have the luck in order to find love."

"Who says you need luck?" You once again turned to face the man, who was now fully facing you with his hands in his pockets. You couldn't help but just stare at him, your eyes only staring into his as he offered you a smile. It made your heart skip a beat, which had never happened before. "Well," he smiled, turning on his heel as he began walking down the hill back towards the lit house. "To me, Miss, you're the luckiest."

You watched as he disappeared, a warm feeling filling you as you thought about his words. If you couldn't get with the bachelor then at least you could try again with whoever that man was. You smiled at the thought before walking back to where the woman was gathering to meet the bachelor.

"Let's hope for my sake that I am."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Alright, Y/N L/N is next!"

The staff removed your jacket from your shoulders as they led you to the start of the red carpet, asking you to be careful as one of the girls had brought a horse to ride in on and it had used the bathroom on the way. That was just one of the many things the other girls had done to make a great first impression on the bachelor besides wearing stunning dresses and looking stunning themselves. You couldn't help but think you should've done more yourself before you remembered your game plan. As you made your way around the corner, you caught a glimpse of the bachelor, which made your eyes widen. The man from earlier who you had talked to by the ocean was the bachelor.

You honestly should've realized when he was a tux.

"Go ahead and meet the bachelor, Y/N." You thanked the staff before making your way toward him, the bachelor smiling at you. As you got into arms reach, he pulled you in for a hug, which surprised you. You introduced yourself as you both pulled back, his hands moving from your body back to his pockets, just like how he was earlier. "I'm Guesung, if you were wondering." He leaned down to gently kiss your hand, whispering out "it's a pleasure to finally meet you," making you giggle. He let his thumb rub your hand as the staff called time, letting you know that you were to go inside with the other women. Guesung smiled at you before letting you know that he would talk to you later, winking at you as you walked inside. You had to take a minute to gather yourself once you entered the mansion, looking down at your hand that he had kissed with a smile. You could still feel the touch of his lips on your hand, shaking off how giggly you now were before entering the living room where the other women were chatting. Before you could make it far into the room, a girl came up to you, looping her arm with yours as she introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Abigail, but you can call me Gail." you introduced yourself as she led you to the couch, sitting down with you to chat as the others either joined or side-eyed you. The room was a mix of nerves and chatter, all of the hopefuls introducing themselves to one another and talking about Guesung.

As you were talking, Guesung and the host came in, which made the room go silent. The host talked about the premise of the show, stating firmly that there would be an elimination every week that was up to Guesung, who nodded. He scanned the room as the host spoke, offering you a quick smile before he returned to his relaxed face. "I think he smiled at me" Gail whispered to you, giggling like a schoolgirl, making you laugh softly.

"Now, let's hear from our Bachelor." the girls all clapped and turned their attention to him. He introduced himself once more before explaining that he was a soccer player, which made the room erupt into "ooh's." "I want someone who I can instantly comfort with. My job is already high stress and energy enough so I want to be able to come home to someone and just feel calm." You glanced around the room as the girls all kept their eyes locked on him, eyeing him like prey. You had heard some of the girls mention that they were only here for the cash and fame that they would get from being with him, which made your stomach churn. He only wanted someone he could fall in love with and yet he could end up with someone who doesn't even truly want him.

After all of the 31 women cheered and toasted with champagne, you returned to the comfort of the couch as the women surrounded him. "Ah, I see you, Y/N." You smiled at Gail who was sitting down on the arm of the couch, smiling at you. "You're waiting till he's not so swarmed, are you? So smart."

"He's busy, Gail." You took a sip of your drink, watching as Guesung came back inside from talking to one of the women. You did want to talk to him more, thinking about pushing your way through the crowd to get to him when you noticed him coming through, making his way to where you were sitting, holding his hand out to you as he smiled, everyone else staring at him in shock. "Can I steal you for a moment, Y/N?" You nodded, taking his hand as he led you to the outside balcony. Just like the front, it was lit up with beautiful fairy lights and roses scattering the table. You sat down next to him, hoping to hide your nerves as he turned to you, his hand still holding yours just like earlier on the red carpet. "So, are you feeling lucky yet?" he asked, making you shrug, a smile coming onto your face as he moved closer to you. You could smell the light cologne he must've put on after the red carpet, and his tie was also a bit loser than before, which you carefully fixed making him smile wider at you. When you looked back up, you realized how close you both now were. His arm was now on the back of the couch, Guesung now closer to you as he met your eyes. To him, you were the one that caught his attention; not because you didn't come in and do something crazy but because you made him feel the most comfortable.

It seemed like he was leaning in to kiss you when you both heard the clicks of heels, a cheery voice asking to talk to him. He nodded, his eyes slowly ripping from yours as you stood up, clearing your throat as you walked back inside. You quickly made your way to your room as the others had, pushing the door closed before resting your back against the heavy bedroom door. Your mind fell back to the feeling of his lips on your hand, then how close he was to your lips. You touched your lips instinctively, a slow smile coming to your lips as you thought about him more. 'Maybe I don't wanna go home yet," you thought before heading to your bathroom, getting ready for sleep.

The next morning you woke up to the sound of the girls all screaming, making you sit up before walking to where they all stood, staring out the large window. You took a peak, seeing what they were all so happy about. Guesung was working out in the field shirtless, much to the girl's pleasure. You couldn't help but watch him too, biting your lip as he turned to make his way inside. Once he disappeared, you joined the girls in the kitchen, working on breakfast. "You're a heavy sleeper aren't you, Y/N?" You turned to face Tracy who was handing you a mug of coffee. When you asked what she meant, she paused before she whispered "be careful about who you trust here. Some people are as two-faced as a coin on the streets."

"What do you mean?" Tracy only let out a small "you'll see" before making the others coffee as well, leaving you by the island by yourself. You knew this was a competition in the grand scheme of things, but someone wouldn't sabotage someone else, right?

"He's coming!"

You watched as the girls gathered in the living room as Guesung jogged in sporting a tight black T-shirt and jeans showing off his muscular thighs that you had been eyeing. "I slipped a little invitation to someone this morning for a date day. Can the person who got the letter step forward?" You frowned as you realized that you didn't get the letter, only for Abigail to step forward. You also noticed how confused Guesung looked before shaking it off, letting her know that he'd be waiting for her outside, which she thanked him for. You watched as she ran off down the hallway to get ready, turning to see a confused Guesung walk out. Why did he look so confused, didn't he give her the letter?

You brought it up to the others once Abigail left, Tracy speaking only when she finished cooking her food. "I saw her this morning go over to Y/N's door and grab the letter." He wanted to take you out?

Be careful who you trust

"I did let her come over before I went to sleep," you mumbled. You honestly were in shock that she would do something to you like that. The others agreed that it was wrong, sympathizing with you before the group split up for the day, leaving you to go back to your room alone. As you stepped into your room, you could feel a piece of tape on the door where the invitation was, only filing your annoyance. "That two-faced street coin bitch," you fell face first onto the bed, yelling out your frustration into the pillows before you sighed. These women were willing to play dirty to get closer to Guesung while you were just coasting along with the few moments you both had and the feelings you felt developing. You turned to face your closet with a huff, your eyes going to one of the dresses that you had brought with you.

You pushed up from the bed, walking over to peek at him, a slow smirk coming to your face. If the girls had a plan, you needed one too.

Later that night you and the other girls came together for the first rose ceremony. The room was of course filled with nerves as someone had to go home. As you were getting complimented about your dress, you watched Abigal walk in, smirking knowingly at you. "How was your date?" you asked, Abigail, turning to talk about how much fun it was and how he kissed her so many times. You could feel your annoyance grow as she spoke, the girl sending you a wink your way before facing front as Guesung walked in.

"Alright, it's time."

You couldn't help but hold your breath as he picked up the first rose, watching as it fiddled in his fingers as he returned to stand in front of everyone. "This person is someone who I've been dying to get to know more. I hope she feels lucky with me as I feel the same way about her." You felt your heart skip as he spoke, Abigail telling the person next to her that he was going to give it to her, making you roll your eyes.

Guesung bit his lip before he smiled, his eyes meeting yours with a playfulness to them as he held up the rose. "Y/N." You smiled as he said your name, carefully making your way to stand in front of him as he smiled brightly at you. "Will you accept this rose, beautiful?" you nodded, taking the rose from him as he hugged you, leading you back to your spot with everyone else before he returned to the rose pile. You couldn't help but smile at the rose, smelling it gently as he sent a wink your way. You could hear Abigail scoff, fueling your happiness more.

You watched as he continued to give out roses to everyone besides three girls including Abigail watching in suspense as if you were watching this at home. As he reached for the last rose, Tracy held up her hand, asking to say something, everyone turning to her. You wondered what she wanted to say, knowing she already had a rose from him. "Guesung, I can't stand by here while you may give a rose to Abigail." You paused, Abigail's eyes widening as she told Tracy to shut up. Tracy ignored her, telling him in front of everyone the same thing she had said earlier about Abigail stealing your invitation. Guesung nodded as he listened, clicking his tongue when she finished. He nodded before he simply said, "I know."

He offered a rose to one of the three girls before he turned to face Abigail, who looked shocked and embarrassed. "I invited Y/N, not you, so I found it weird when you stepped forward with it." You bit your lip to hide your smile as she stormed out, Guesung walking out which signaled the end of the rose ceremony. You carefully made your way back to your room as the girls who didn't get a rose cried. You winced as you listened to the sobs, changing into your pj's before heading to bed. You just lay there as you fiddled with the rose, feeling some guilt fill your body as the sobs died down. You wondered how people in past seasons could not feel so much guilt.

You laid down until around midnight, deciding to head to the beach below to clear your head. You used to rush back to the beach whenever something bad happened in college as it was nearby. You changed before sneaking outside, smiling as you finally made it to the shoreline. You wrapped your jacket around you as you walked along the beach, sighing at how peaceful it was. It was just you, your thoughts, and the sea.

"Oh, you're here." You turned to see Guesung walking closer to you sporting a black t muscle shirt and shorts. You nodded as he joined you, mentioning that you had a lot on your mind. He let out a small "ah" before he turned to you, his hand moving to hold yours softly. You turned to him, noticing how much calmer he seemed since the rose ceremony. "I wish I was with you today instead of Abigail. We went out to see on a boat so I was stuck with her." you both laughed softly, his thumb moving to rub your hand. You felt so much more at peace with him, letting him know so which made his cheeks heat up. "Going for a swim?" He pointed to your swimsuit, your own "ah" leaving your lips as you said you thought about going for a swim. He chuckled, talking about how you could get sick. "If you get sick then you'll get sent home and I don't want that."

"Really?" you couldn't help but ask him, Guesung nodding as he pulled you closer to him, your chest against his making you look up at him. His arms moved to wrap around you as he smiled down at you, making your breath hitch. He noticed, his hand squeezing your hip as he leaned down to your ear, whispering softly "do you want that, Y/N?" You let your hand slip up his chest, cupping the back of his neck before he could move far away from your side. Even though at first you wanted to, now that you were here with him, you didn't.

You wanted to stay and be with him.

You let your eyes flutter shut as you kissed him, Guesung's hands moving to pick you up via your thighs. He took control as he moved you both up the beach towards the rocks, laying you down on the sand as his tongue moved with yours. Your hand moved into his hair as he moaned, his hands coming to rip away your jacket. He pulled back to remove the bottom of your swimsuit, his hands gripping your thighs as he wrapped them around his waist as he groaned out your name. He leaned down to kiss you once more, your nails digging down his shoulder as his hips moved to meet yours. You pulled back as he continued grinding into your wetness, watching as he paused to grab his clothed dick. "Do you think you're ready for me, beautiful?" he sounded so desperate that it made your head spin, nodding as he pushed down his pants. He stroked himself as he whispered praises about your body, pausing to spit hurriedly onto his dick before pushing into you. "Oh my fucking god you feel too damn good," he moaned, moving to rest his body weight on his forearms as his hips pounded into you. He leaned down to kiss and bite your bottom lip, letting it snap back into place as he listened to you moaning his name, your nails now digging down his back.

His eyes scanned over you as he moved faster, his free hand moving to play with your clit. When your moans get louder, he shuts you up with a kiss, mumbling against your lips "shh, let's not get too loud before someone comes and steals me from you. Unless you want that baby, hmm? Do you want someone to come and take this cock away from you?"

"No, please" you whined, your legs tightening around him as he positioned himself to move deeper into you, his hips moving to grind into you, slowing down so he was moving deeper into you. "I love your dick"

"Oh, you love this dick? Are you going to stay on this show just so I can constantly fuck this pussy?" you nodded, your nails digging into his back as he sped up, inching you closer to your orgasm. He nodded, his eyes leaning back to stare at where you both met, his hips pounding into you once more, making you cum.

You shuddered as he slowed down, his lips kissing around your body as he picked you up, carrying you to one of the outdoor showers. "Gotta clean up my dirty girl." he smiled down at you as the water hit your sandy back, your body tensing around his dick making him moan softly. He held you under the water as he began to fuck up into you, chuckling when you kissed him to keep quiet as the shower was closer to the mansion. You whimpered as he stuffed his face into you, holding you up with one hand as his free hand went to play with your clit as he came. You gasped, coming as well as he bit your shoulder. He gently pulled out, holding you close as he could under the water as he kissed your shoulder.

"Y/N...Let me hold you for a bit longer" you felt your heart warm up once more as he pressed another kiss to your shoulder, rubbing your back. He was so gentle with you, carefully washing the sand off of you as he continued to whisper sweet things to you, making your heart swell. None of your other partners ever made you feel so loved after sex, always just moving away to take care of himself instead of you.

Guesung noticed how you clung to him as you laid deep in your thoughts, pulling back to look at you. He thought you were the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. You caught his attention the first time you talked by the sea and you had him ever since. He thought there was no reason to continue doing the show: he already found his soulmate.

When you noticed him staring at you, you apologized, explaining how now of your partners never did this for you after sex. He nodded, placing another kiss on your forehead before saying "well, I'm glad to be your first." You smiled, feeling a surge of confidence from his words. You leaned up to kiss him softly, smiling into the kiss as he reciprocated it. He gently pecked your lips as you both parted for air before he whispered 'god, you're amazing.'

You thanked him once more before slipping from his grasp, drying off with a random towel before putting back on your jacket. He jogged up to you, his hand moving to hold yours as he offered to walk you back to the mansion. You at first declined as you didn't want him to have to walk such a long distance, but he explained that he wanted to, saying that he didn't want to stop being around you. You finally accepted, walking with him as your hands were still intertwined. As you both got to know each other better, you examined Guesung; you hadn't spent so much time with him but yet, he was so sweet and seemed so relaxed with you. He helped you up the hills, squeezing your hand occasionally when you both laughed, how he stopped you from entering the mansion by pulling you in for a hug. In such a short amount of time, you felt so much more love than you ever felt with someone else.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Y/N." He whispered softly, smiling down at you as the porch lights lit up his face. You nodded, sharing the same smile he had with you, watching as he leaned down to kiss you softly

After you both finally separated, you made your way to your room a smile on your face when you were met with Abigail sitting on your bed. You jumped at her appearance, asking why she was still at the house, better yet why she was in your room. She only stared back at you before asking "did you fuck him, you slut?"

You raised an eyebrow at her words, opening the door and telling her to get out which made her scoff. "You did, didn't you?"

"Aren't you supposed to be on the first plane out of here?" you didn't hide the venom in your voice as Abigail stood up, bumping her shoulder with yours as she made her way out before turning around to look at you once more. You couldn't believe this was the fun girl that became your friend when you first walked in; she looked so evil and dissatisfied. "Don't worry, Y/N. He fucked me too and he'll fuck every other girl here. You're nothing more than spare pussy he found." she smiled at your shocked reaction before walking away, leaving you in awe as you slammed the door. You tried to shake the feeling she had made wash over you with her words, walking over to lay down on your bed as you looked outside, where you had just been with him. You couldn't tell if it was jealously riling up in you or disappointment, clinging to the pillow as you snuggled into it. This is how things go on this show, however; he is here to find love and for some people, it takes kissing a few people and maybe sleeping with them. You wondered how many girls he had already done the same tango with. To be honest, it hurt more than anything any of your exes caused.

"Whatever," you mumbled into your pillow as you tried to lull yourself to sleep, trying to not think about the situation or Guesung. If you had it your way, you'd take Abigail's place and head on the first plane home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morning came faster than you liked, ushering you to get up. As you brushed your teeth and got ready for the day, you noticed how puffy your eyes now were. You didn't want to admit that you had cried a bit as you slept, but now it was evident from your eyes. You tried to hide your grumpy mood as you joined the remaining women in the kitchen, making yourself a plate of food as everyone happily chatted about the date that was supposed to happen today. "I heard it's going to be so romantic," one girl awwed, making your mood worse. You couldn't help but look around the room and try to pick out a girl he would probably pick, landing on either Tracy or the girl who received the last rose.

After you finished breakfast, a producer came out to usher everyone into the open garden outside, where he would announce the girl he picked for his date. You followed everyone, smiling as Guesung walked up to everyone wearing a short-sleeved white button-up and jeans. Even though you were still grumpy about the night before with Abigail, you couldn't help but smile at him and feel your heart skip once more as he smiled at everyone.

"Good morning. I'm sure everyone has been gossiping about the fun date I have planned but only one can come," he smiled, his eyes scanning the crowd as he pulled out a white rose that he had behind his back, making everyone aww. He looked around for a few seconds, obviously looking for someone specific making your heart clench in anticipation. After a few moments, he made eye contact with you, his smile widening as he began to walk toward you. You tried to hold back your smile as he stood in front of you, handing you the rose. "I'll pick you up in 10, Y/N. Wear something fit for spring." You nodded at his words, smelling the rose as he walked away, a smile on your lips. He chose you out of everyone else. He didn't want anyone else for the date.

He wanted you.

You happily made your way inside, rushing to look through your clothes to pick something that fit the theme before landing on an outfit. You rushed to check yourself before adding some accessories, slipping on your shoes before rushing out to meet him out front. It felt like going on the first date; it feels so fun and light but there are also nerves.

When you met up with Guesung, he picked you up, spinning you around as he kissed you. He placed you back down in front of him, his hands cupping your face before kissing around your face as you laughed. "I've been looking forward to this for so long," he smiled, opening the door for you to get in.

"Me too, Guesung," you carefully got in, Guesung getting in on the other side as the driver drove you both to your date. When you asked him what it was, he shook his head, telling you that it was a surprise. You tried to get him to tell you, Guesung shutting you up with a short kiss, his hand moving to hold yours. "Patience, Y/N. It'll be worth it."

You nodded leaning your head against his shoulder as you both talked about anything and everything, enjoying finally having some time to be alone.

When the car began to slow down you looked outside, gasping at the beautiful field. He got out, helping you as you both made your way toward the picnic blanket he said he had set down. What you didn't expect was a large picnic basket along with some pillows, drinks, and more. When you asked him about it, he only shrugged, chuckling as he had you sit down. "I thought you'd enjoy a more chill date where we're alone. Just the two of us."

Just the two of us.

You layed your head against his shoulder once more as you had done in the car, thanking him as he poured you some water and handed you a sandwich from the basket. You enjoyed the calm scenery, wishing you had your phone with you to take pictures of how unreal it looked. It was an open field as far as the eye could see, the sky filled with light clouds as the wind blew to keep you both cool.

After you both ate and talked more, he picked up a soccer ball he had hidden behind the basket, helping you up. "I don't know how to play," you laughed, Guesung chuckling as he told you he'd teach you. He placed the ball down, having you stand in front of him as he explained the rules to you. His hands stayed on your waist as he explained how to properly kick, your mind flashing back to the night before when he held you under the shower after having sex on the beach. Guesung soon noticed, leaning forward to whisper in your ear "are you paying attention, Y/N?" you jumped, saying that you were as your cheeks began to burn, making him laugh. He explained how to kick once more, watching you as you did before placing a quick kiss on your cheek. You became confident then, asking if he thought you could beat him. He hummed, moving from behind you to stand in front of you, kicking the ball into his hands. "Let's see if you can, Y/N"

You asked what he meant, rushing after him as he kicked the ball farther into the field. You obtained the ball once, Guesung then skillfully took it from you before picking you up, making you laugh about how he was cheating. He smirked playfully, placing you down in front of him before he lovingly kissed you, cupping your face. You smiled into the kiss, Guesung asking what you were smiling at. "You"

The rest of the date went just as amazingly: after teaching you how to play soccer, he led you to a nearby winery so that you guys could do some wine tasting, then took you to a flower shop in the nearby town where you both learned how to make flower bouquets and more. The date went by too fast in your opinion, the sun setting, painting the once blue sky in a gorgeous pink hue as the stars began to peak out. Guesung took off his jacket, placing it on your shoulder as he asked if you were ready for dinner. He walked with you hand in hand to a gorgeous restaurant, your table outside surrounded by other beautiful flowers and candles, the table lit by a single rose like the one in beauty and the beast (which you said you used to watch constantly as a kid).

He sat down with you as you both ordered the food, his hand coming to hold yours immediately after the waiter left with the menus. "I had a really fun time today, Guesung. I haven't had this much fun on a date since, well...never," you played with his fingers, Guesung nodding as he expressed the same feeling. "I don't want this to end, Y/N. Feels like a dream."

You met his eyes for the first time since you both had sat down, noticing how much love he had in them for you. He looked at you like you were the light of his life and were the only thing that kept him going. You couldn't help but kiss his hand, making him blush as he chuckled about how the other girls hadn't ever done that to him.

The other girls?

You suddenly remembered where you were with him, clearing your throat as you let go of his hand. Abigail's words rang in your head as your food was placed on the table, you both eating in silence. Guesung noticed how quiet you had become, asking what was going through your mind. You didn't think about what to say, blurting out "that you probably kissed and did this same sweet shtick with the other girls." As soon as the words left your mouth, you dropped your fork, the silence now between you both no longer comfortable but tense. You couldn't bring yourself to meet his eyes, going back to your food.

Guesung cleared his throat, placing his own fork down before his hand came up to tilt your head up so you could meet his eyes, his face serious as he spoke. "I haven't kissed any other girl on this show besides you." You could feel the embarrassment creep in from your words, apologizing to him which he cut off with a kiss, his lips tasting of wine and basil. His thumb rubbed your cheek as he lovingly kissed you, hoping to silence any worries you had about him; about how he felt about you.

He slowly pulled back, smiling softly as you did the same, apologizing once more to him which made him kiss you once more. ''Apologize again and I'm going to lose it.''

You felt some heat rush down your body straight to your core at his voice, nodding before you both finished your meals. When you both were done, he picked up a rose that was on a stand right next to his seat, holding your hand as you stood up, holding the rose to you like he had done earlier in the garden. "If you accept this rose, you can accompany me to the private villa for tonight but, of course, it is all up to you. But, I don't want to let you go and I think you feel the same way." You smiled, accepting the rose.

~~~~~~~~~ The private villa was prettier than the mansion.

The room bedroom had rose petals in the shape of a heart on the bed, and candles lit around the room. You examined the room as Guesung talked to the producers outside, soon joining you afterward. He quietly made his way behind you, his hands wrapping around your waist as he kissed your shoulder. He kissed his way up your neck, his lips pressing hard against your sweet spot making you moan. You smiled, jokingly apologizing once more for earlier, making him pause. He smirked against your neck, biting your sweet spot as he picked you up, placing you onto the bed, flipping you over to your back. "What did I say would happen if you apologized again?"

You didn't say anything, only tilting your head making him groan. "You're being bad, Y/N." he covered your body with his, your lips meeting his in a heated kiss as he gripped your thighs, moving you up the bed. "Gotta punish you, baby."

You only moaned against his lips as he ground against your wetness, removing your skirt. He picked up your hips, his lips immediately moving down to your stomach as he kissed along your underwear line. "Out here thinking I want anyone else's fucking pussy when I got yours." he moaned, his tongue moving out to lick along the line he had just kissed, ripping off your underwear as he dropped to his knees. You sat up, only for him to push your upper body back down as he placed your thighs onto his shoulders, slowly licking up your slit. "I'm going to have to show you how much I only want you, yeah?" he didn't give you a chance to respond as he began to lick and suck on your clit, moaning softly as your hands gripped his hair. His eyes rolled back at your taste, his tongue moving to lick everywhere in your pussy he could. You arched as he pushed a finger in, gripping the sheets as your hips ground to meet his tongue's rapid movements. He enjoyed the way you moaned his name, pulling back to spit roughly onto your pussy before diving back in, making you get louder. He looked up at you as you came undone, moaning as he cleaned you up before spitting back on your pussy once more.

He stood back to remove his clothes, watching you as you calmed down. As you opened your eyes, you noticed him crawling up the bed to hover over you, the bottom half of his face wet. His free hand slowly made its way back down your body, cupping your pussy, making you whine. "I gotta prepare you for me, baby. Gotta prep this tight pussy for this cock, right?" You nodded, moaning softly as he pushed a finger into you, followed by another one immediately. "How are you still so fucking tight?" he moved his fingers in and out of you at a rough pace, leaning down to meet your lips to muffle your loud moans. "You're so loud, Y/N. It's like you want everyone on the staff to hear how good I'm making you feel." His fingers curled as he finished his words, making you moan louder, much to his happiness. "Oh sounds like you would like that, wouldn't you? Want them to come in here with their cameras and take pictures and videos of how slutty you look right now?"

"More, baby please," you didn't know what you wanted, only knowing that you wanted more of this soccer player who was currently three fingers deep in you. He tilted his head at your plea, moving to sit up on his knees and move your head to face his cock, slowly pushing it into your mouth, making him groan loudly. "There you go, baby. There's more for my good girl." You moaned around his length, moving your head as he continued to finger you, your head soon matching the pace of his fingers. He moaned at the sight, curling his fingers as you took him down your throat, his hand moving to grip your hair as he began to fuck your throat and move his fingers faster. "That's my good girl, letting me have my way with her. Don't worry, baby, you'll get a nice reward when you cum for me." His thumb moved to play with your clit, moaning when you moaned around his dick, coming on his fingers. He hurriedly pulled them out, placing them into his mouth as he pulled out from your mouth, watching as a string of saliva and precum left your lips. He rushed down to kiss you, moving you so your legs were on his shoulders.

"You think this pussy is ready for me now, baby?" he asked as he moved his dick up and down your pussy, making you moan as you nodded. He nodded as well as he pushed in, moaning at good you felt as he dug his fingers into your thighs. He paused once he was fully inside of you, but not so you could adjust. He took a minute to catch his breath before he asked "you're mine, right?"

You had to pause at his question, trying to focus as you could feel how he slowly ground against you. He soon repeated his question, this time grinding a bit harder, making you moan loudly. "Yes, yes I'm your's Guesung, fuck."

"I'm yours too, Y/N. I'm all yours. This dick is yours, baby. Don't go to anyone else to get pleasure because I'm right here to give it to you. You don't even have to ask me, just sit on me. If you want it while we're filming, I'll give it to you. You want it during half time during a soccer game, hop the fuck on."

He leaned down, pressing your knees against your breasts as he began to pound into you, moving his hips roughly as he gripped the sheets by your head. "This dick is yours, Y/N. This pussy is mine. I gotta fuck you so your pussy only remembers my cock, only remembers how long and thick it is. Want my imprint in your pussy, baby."

"Guesung, fuck, harder please," you dug your nails into his shoulders as he picked up the pace, his dick hitting your spot. He kissed you messily as the sound of skin slapping filled the room along with messy kissing noises and moans, urging him on as he fucked you harder. His hands moved from the sheets to your hair, gripping it as he fucked you as hard as he could, slamming in and out of you as you came, squirting over him. "Gimmie one more, Y/N, show me that his pussy can take this dick." You saw stars as you came hard, your body arching as he slowed down before pulling out. You felt like you could fall asleep, your eyes closing as he pulled away from your body. Before you could fall asleep, though, he gently tapped your cheek, having you open your eyes to his still-hard dick that was glistening.

"You made a mess on me, baby. You better come clean this up," he smirked as you moved closer to his dick, taking it in your mouth as his hands moved into your hair. He tossed his head back to rest against the headboard, his tongue coming out to lick his lips as you bobbed your head. "That's a good girl, baby. Show me how much you love this dick, your dick." You moaned around him, your hands coming to rest on his muscular thighs as he began to fuck your throat once more. You couldn't help but watch as he came undone; his body shaking, his abs tensing before relaxing, one of his hands leaving your hair before going into his hair. He waited until you swallowed all of his cum, pulling it out of your mouth as you started kissing and biting his thighs. "Don't do that, baby. Gonna make me horny again." You chuckled against one of his thighs, pressing a kiss to the inside, making him moan once more before he quickly leaned down to kiss you.

The room became filled with the sounds of you both making out, heavy breaths, and a feeling of love as you both laid down. As he pulled back to kiss along your shoulder, you thought back to something he had said. "Why did you talk about me having to go somewhere else to get pleasure?"

"Ex cheated on me,'' Guesung moved to hold you close, rubbing your back. "While I was at a game in Brazil, she cheated on me with some random guy."

"Did she also want to take you back and have a foursome?" Guesung paused at your words, pulling back to look at you in shock. "My ex did that." you laughed, explaining to him what happened. He shook his head in shock, pulling a cover over you both. You laid your head onto his chest, closing your eyes as he rubbed your back, comforting you as you told him about your exes, both of you laughing about it.

As you began to fall asleep, he kissed your head, whispering "I love you, Y/N." You pressed a kiss to his chest, mumbling back that you did too before you both fell asleep.

~~~~~

The next few weeks went by fast once you rejoined the others at the villa. Guesung would sneak out to come to see you in between his dates with the other women, all for the sake of the show. You stopped feeling nervous during the rose ceremony as you knew he'd give you one. You honestly thought the show should end early as he already said he only wanted to be with you, both saying I love you to one another whenever possible.

You enjoyed the dates as well, traveling with him and meeting his young nephews and nieces that instantly clung to you. You were, to his parents, already part of his family. You were the one for their son.

When the final rose ceremony came, you put on the wedding dress the staff brought you. The last rose ceremony was where he proposed to whoever he wanted to marry, the last two being you and Tracy. As you made your way to the room you were told to stand in, you noticed Guesung was in Tracy's room. You knew she went first and trusted him, standing in the room as you waited. You hadn't felt nervous in so long but when Guesung entered, you felt them return. You didn't know if he would pick you as the fans were split between cheering for you and Tracy.

He took your hand, his thumb rubbing your hand as he looked up at you, smiling softly. "You look so nervous, Y/N," He chuckled, running his hands up and down to calm you down. "You know how I feel about you. You know I love you, but, let me prove it."

As he sunk to one knee, you felt your eyes well up once more. Every happy emotion you had felt from the whole experience came crashing down as he pulled out an engagement ring. "Y/N, I love you so much. From the moment I saw you by the water then on the red carpet I knew you were the one. You make me feel everything I've ever wanted to feel and more. I hope to make you feel the way I've felt throughout this whole thing for the rest of our life. So, will you allow me to, Y/N? Will you marry me?"

"Yes, of course."

You could only imagine how happy you looked on TV, your friends and family at home watching live as he slipped the ring onto your finger, picking you up before spinning you around, saying how much he loved you.

And you believed him.

When you both returned back to your lives post the show, you immediately had him meet everyone, who was happy that you found someone you loved and who loved you back (and who wouldn't cheat then ask for a foursome).

"Hungry?"

You snapped out of your daydream as he placed a plate of lasagna in front of you, kissing your temple. When he asked you what you were thinking about, you smiled. "Just thinking about how I won the bachelor." He rolled his eyes, remembering his time on that show and the drama, making you giggle.

[colesluvr]

Hello ⊙⁠﹏⁠⊙‼️ can i request a movie! Lloyd x male reader where they are both best friends (who obliviously have a crush on each other but are clueless) and like one day m!reader gets in danger and the green ninja just saves him⁉️ and then like m!reader just like fanboys over the green ninja and rants about him to Lloyd ⁉️

Never Meet Your Idols, They Say | Lloyd Garmadon X Male Reader

hellooo anon! how are you doing?? ty for the request, this was so fun to write! movie!lloyd has my heart, so does the full movie! i really hope you enjoy this, sorry for any spelling mistakes. whats funny is that english is my first language. lmaooo. also this the crappeist shit i've ever written, why does this seem so cringe. cursing warning!

"Who ya' texting"

You let out a scream, jumping at the sound of Kai's voice just by your ear. You turned around to see the brunette smirking. You felt eyes all fall onto you as Kai leaned against the locker beside your open one. You place your phone into your pocket as you calmed your breathibg.

"Bastard, you scared the living hell outa' me!" You slapped his arm as you covered your face with your sweater as everyone went back to their own thing.

"Aw, is Y/N a lil'scaredy cat?" Kai teased, pinching your cheek like a little kid. You glared at your friend before grabbing his hair in an attempt to mess it up.

"Ay, ay, ay! Hair is off limits, y'know that, man!" Kai shouts, letting go of your cheek, all eyes on you both once more before they all just ignored you both.

You let go of Kai's hair, seeing a patch of it messed up. You grinned, feeling proud of yourself as Kai glared.

"I was just coming over to say hi, is that a crime?!" Kai cried, trying his best to fix his hair with his hand as you opened your locker door and placed your backpack inside it, taking out your textbooks for todays class.

Suddenly, the doors swung open and Zane and Lloyd entered the school. Everyone around who say them turned away or walked the opposite way to avoid the boy.

"BRO!," Kai smiled as he jumped and shouted for his friend. "Dude, give me a hug, man, give me a birthday huug!" Kai smiled as he trapped Lloyd in a hug, lifting him off the ground his feet barely touching the floor. "Kai," he laughed as he was lifted off the floor, "That's a good one,"

"Birthday hug?" Zane suddenly smiled as he spoke, "Let me get in on that," Zane opened his arms and scooched his way toward Kai and Lloyd. "Zane!-" Lloyd warned as he got closer, "-I'll increase the pressure dramatically," "Zane! ZAnE!"

The blonde squeaked as Zane hugged both him and Kai, now lifting Kai off the ground. Lloyd was stuck between them like a piece of meat in a sandwich.

You laughed at the sight, suddenly feeling a tap on your shoulder. You turned around to see Cole and Jay standing behind you.

"Oh, hey guys!" You greeted them. Cole replied with a nod before vibing to his music from his boombox that was rested on his shoulder, and Jay smiled and waved at you saying hello.

You looked back to the other three to see them walk toward you, Cole, and Jay. You and Lloyd made eye contact and a smile formed on your lips. You took a single step toward them before suddenly a motorbike engine caused you to jump fright, again.

Nya soon game swirving through the end of the hallway on her motorbike. She had a grin on her face as she skids to a stop, leaving bike tracks on the school floor behind her.

"Hey guys!" She greeted.

"Hey Nya." Everyone replied.

"Hey Nya, where'd you get the new bike, at the...great..stuff store?" Jay chuckled nervously, hiding his blush under his orange scarf as Cole rolled his eyes.

"Guys! Check out my new paint-job!" She smirked, you all looked down to see her new design on her motorcycle. Just by her foot, "The Lady-Iron Dragon!" She told, "My HERO!"

Before anyone could say anything about it, "Hey everybody, look!" Chad's voice caused you all to look down the hall to see Chad and two cheerleaders grin at you all evily, "It's Garma'DORK' and the DORK'squad!"

You rolled your eyes,, crossing your arms as Chad continued to talk. "You want to hear our new cheer?"

Oh god

"L-L-O-Y-D,, his dad is bad and so is he. Boo Lloyd,, Boo Lloyd."

"BOO LLOYD!" Chad screamed the ending. Everyone gave them a 'what-the-fuck' look but Lloyd gave them a awkward smile. "Greeat chant! I'll bet you got a number one hit on your hands!"

As soon as Lloyd said that, the bell rang. Everyone soon scattered the hallways getting to their class. You all said bye before heading to class, but before you and Lloyd left you waited until he closed his locker and locked it.

"Hey, happy birthday!" You handed Lloyd agreen wrapping paper with a darker green bow decorated on top of it. Lloyd hesitaded for a moment before smiling and taking the present.

"Thanks, Y/N. See you after school? We were planning on ging to that new bubble tea shack that just opened up, there treat apparently, probably because it's my birthday. Although they don't all need to get me bubble tea, but it would be nice-"

"Garmadon and L/N!" The princopals voice caused you and your best friend to flinch. "Get to class or you both will be on hall duty for the next week!" You both said goodbye before heading different ways daon the hall to get to class, refusing to make eye contact with the principal.

-

It was the end of the day and through the middle of the day Garmadon's forces attacked. Thankfully the secert Ninja force jumped in and stopped Garmadon's forces from taking over Ninjago, for the millionth time this year.

Seriously, when is that guy going to get the hint he will never win.

Anyway, you were on the school bus home where you would walk to meet up with the others. Since Lloyd texted your the address, you assumed you would quickly run home before leaving.

The bus ride was smooth, sure some kids were being loud and just being teenagers, but that's how you act around the others so you didn't say anything because we all know you act the same way with your friends.

You had your ear buds in, unable to hear anything in the outside world. As you looked out the window you could see something in the distance by the beach. The bus was driving on a freeway that shows the entire beach and water. You squint your eyes to get a better view of what you were looking at.

You gasp when you realized.

More of Garmadon's shark crew were arriving once again for a second try you assumed, but this time they seemed more prepaired. They had jets, land machines that overran the beach in seconds.

As you took out your phone to dial Lloyd, your mouth gaped open slightly seeing something emerge out of the water.

It was a large black mech with the head of a shark. And in the driver's seat was no one but, Lord Garmadon himself. More kids on the bus soon saw it and made their way toward the window, pushing you out of the way and onto a seat.

As the driver tried to get the kids to sit back down, you quickly dialed Lloyd and placed the phone to your ear.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up, pic-"

"Y/N?" Lloyd's voice was heard on the other end of the phone. "There you are, we're waiting for you by the bubble tea shack, I thoughy you said you-"

"Lloyd! Your dad's back! And he seems pretty ticked off! There's these weird shark mechs running around, destroying everything. it's bad."

Lloyd and the others looked at each other, and before he could reply, shark airships were seen fly over the city in less then two seconds, them hitting buildindgs, shooing lasers.

Everybody soon started to panic, scream, and run around to get to safety has Garmadon attacked the city. The group nod before running off.

Lloyd put his phone by his ear, "Y/N?! Where are you?"

"Uh- on the school bus just by the freeway. We are-"

The sound of clashing and crashing and people's screams caused Lloyd's heart to sink. "Y/N!?" He called out multiple times, waiting for a response. He ran faster to the warehouse, where he would meet up with the others.

"Crap!" Lloyd cursed under his breath when the phone line cut off, leaving you in who knows what.

"Shit!" You yelled as the bus was hit by a laser beam, the bus struggled to stay on road, your phone flying out the window. Everyone swirved to try and stay put and not fall over, but the road was basically destoryed.

The bus skid off to the side, falling on it's side causing evryone on bored to fall to the floor, forcing themselves to hold on top something.

Suddenly, the bus stopped. You were hidden under a seat as you tried to protect your body the best you can. However, something seemed off. You felt like something was off. You leaned over to peek out the window. Rookie mistake. You covered your scream to not move the bus too much because one movement could send this bus falling to it's doom.

It was inches from falling off the edge of the freeway.

"Is everybody okay?" You called out, making sure nobody was hurt. Thankfully, nobody was injured. "Okay, good. Nobody move!"

"What do you mean?" A boy cried out, "I'm getting out of here, this was the worst bus ride ever!" As he go up, you tried to shout at him to sit down. "BOY I WILL STRANGLE YOU, SIT YO' ASS DOWN!" And so he did. However this caused everyone to get all riled up, trying to look out the window to see what the problem was.

Suddenly this one girl screamed when she saw the bus was inches away from falling. "OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

"WE AIN'T DYING, SIT DOWN AND DON'T MOVE AND WE'LL BE FINE!"

"Screw you, man! I'm livin' , you however can stay here and fall to your death!"

"Omg-" You whispered under your breath as the driver, you, and most kids tried to get kids under control until help arrived.

You, yourself started to panic. What if the Ninja's don't rescue you in time? Are the others okay? Anything coul have happened to them! Why couldn't Garmadon wait to attack UNTIL you've gotten home?! That way you could be with the others and know their okay.

Throught your thought the bus suddenly started to move. Everyone thinking it was falling forward and about to hit the ground, you all hugged each other and screamed. However, that wasn't the case. You peeked one eye open to look out the window. You saw buildings fly past as you did.

The bus was in the air, not falling to the ground. Most kids pushed each other away, your buddy did the same to you realizing they weren't falling.

You all ran to a window and looked up to see the Green Ninja's dragon hold up the bus. All the kids started to cheer for the Ninja.

You, however, were smiling like a dork. Out of all the Ninja's that culd save you you're favorite Ninja saves you?! Tell me your dreaming?

You felt the wheels on the bus hit a safe patch of road, the emergency back opening and all the kids ran outside to see the Ninja. You were the last to come out, You saw the Water Ninja in the distance, checking to see if kids were okay before leaving in her mech.

As you exited the bus, you were suddenly in the arms of the Green Ninja. He squeezed you tight, a relief laugh escaped his mouth.

"Oh thank goodness your okay! I on't what I woul do if-" Suddenly he stopped talking and you are literally just standing, frozen in shock and exciement. He pulled back and dusted off your sweater and cleared his throat, "If-If I didn't come and save you all." He awkwardly pats your shoulder and moved back, not wanting to scare you anymore.

"Are you okay?" He asked and you nod, slowly, still progressing that you are talking to the Green Ninja. "Good...good. Uh, I-I'd advise you stay inside, find shealter and don't come out until the all clear is given. You know, the ususal."

"I love you."

Silence.

"What?"

"Sorry! Sorry, that-that came out...weird. Uh,-" You chuckled awkwardly. You could see the blush the Ninja gave you as you said that. Even though his face was covered, you could see he was flustered by his stutters.

"Your-Your my favorite Ninja! You-You remind me so much like a friend." You admitted, your cheeks turning hot by the second.

"Uh-No-No I don't. Even if I did, who would-would that be?" He coughed.

"Uh, he's-he's name's Lloyd. And-And he's the best friend I can ask for. He talks alot, he cares a lot, he always makes sure I'm okay....like you did just now."

Shoot. Lloyd thought he was caught, but, "And I love that about him. He's just amazing in everyway! He's hair is soft, he's an amazing hugger, he makes me laugh when I'm at my worst. I just wish I could pick up the courage to tell him...I love him...."

You and the Green Ninja made eye contact. He was too stunned for words. You felt your legs shake as you realized what you have said.

"I-I'm sorry! You-You probably have no idea what Im blabbering about, or even who I'm-" "-I do!"

You gave him a confused look, "Huh?"

"I-I mean, I-I don't know..w-who you're talking about, b-but he seems like a nice guy...I-I just understand...how hard it can be...to tell someone you love them...." He chuckled sheepishly.

You both were quiet for a moment before you both coughed awkwardly, understanding the moment. You noticed the Ninja looked up and back down to you after he nods, "Uh, well. I'm glad your okay, sir. Please get to safety and...good luck..with that Lloyd dude, I have a feeling things will fo smoothly with you two." He pats your shoulder before running back to his dragon.

You watched as he saluted everyone who thanked them one last time before flying off.

Your pounded against your chest. A smile formed on your lips as you watched him dissapear behind a building. "Yo! Loverbird!" A voice threw you out of your trance. You looked over to see a kid from the bus cal over to you.

[buckybarnesss]

I was watching a documentary about a guy from a family with a lot of tragedy in it and one of the things said on this program is "I used to have five brothers. Now I'm not even a brother" because he was 1 of 6 and his 5 brothers all died. And man did it make me think of Derek, I know he has sisters not brothers but like, I just think of him going from having a big family to being completely alone and how much damage that has to do to a person. So much of S1 Derek makes sense in light of that!

oh man that's from kevin von erich. i found an article where the quote is used. apparently it's from an episode of espn's 30 on 30. the recent movie the iron claw was about the von erich family. absolutely tragic.

fandom talks a lot about how teen wolf has a lot of only children but it also has a non-insignificant amount of sibling death.

the catalyst for the events of teen wolf is laura hale's death and derek coming to look for her.

malia and her little sister kylie. even in her coyote form malia kept her sister's baby doll for 8 years and when scott and stiles took it she came looking.

theo killed his sister tara but she haunts him, her heart beats inside him.

camden lahey died before the show but it left isaac bereft a brother.

boyd's sister alicia died and it haunted him.

ethan held his twin aiden as he died.

peter likely had to listen to talia die and was helpless to do anything. he's a little brother left without his big sister.

alexander argent's suicide seems to be gerard's motivation/justification to go after duecalion

marie jeanne had to kill her brother sebastian which ends up mirroring her decedents chris and kate,

chris loses kate first to their father's manipulations and than to her own depravity.

it's a huge plot point that mason absorbed his twin in the womb making him a genetic chimera.

brett and his little sister lorilee

stiles and scott consider each other as good as brothers too

it's why cora hale's survival is such a huge moment and is such pivotal, paradigm shifting, world altering event to derek's character arc. cora hale was the inverse of peter's resurrection. cora being alive and returning gave derek hope. he was no longer the middle child of three left all alone.

[lunarspiral1127]

What If....? season 2, episode 4. Due to the holidays kicking my butt to exhaustion, this is gonna be one post. *SPOILERS*

So, Tony really did end up in Sakaar after he went through the wormhole in the Avengers movie. I'm surprised the Grandmaster became a fan of him when it's been days. I guess it's because it was one human who took down the Chitauri.

Instead of gladiator fights, it's racing. The whole race scenes were cool, and it reminded me of a mix of Speed Racer and Mad Max in space dialed up a few notches.

Was not expecting a dynamic with Tony and Korg, but it works. Plus, them teaming up with Valkyrie was cool too. Speaking of which, I'm glad she's not capturing people to give to the Grandmaster in this universe. They still have her be king of Sakaar, which I guess it makes sense cause she unintentionally melted the Grandmaster and Tony needs to get back home. These three work great as a team and I'm glad they got along in this episode.

Another thing I appreciate about this episode, is that it didn't do Tony dirty. He wasn't humiliated or disrespected, he showed what he was capable of and he was really cool. I mean a big Iron Man suit that can turn into a car and can be boosted with his arc reactor? That's pretty sick. Plus, he stands up against Gamora while convincing her to be her own person, and when he's being framed as being a bad guy, he proves it wrong to the Grandmaster and beats him. This version of Tony Stark is awesome.

And, after all that, Tony still helps Gamora take down Thanos, which I was surprised it was that easy. Just catch him off guard and hit him with the melting stick. The look on his face, though. Like he was like "seriously?" 😆

Speaking of Thanos, this guy's getting killed a lot. Twice in Endgame, killed in the Illuminati universe in Multiverse of Madness, wiped out in Strange Supreme's universe, turned into a zombie, sliced in half by Ultron-Vision, killed by Ronan offscreen, and now melting stick. This guy has now died more times than Tony (6 deaths) and Vision (5 deaths)!

However, this was supposed to show how this Gamora came to be and is the same Gamora that was chosen by Uatu to be the Guardians of the Multiverse. And, she was fine in this, I haven't seen much of why she was picked in the first place. Yeah, she killed Thanos, but Tony accomplished so much in that universe and was the one who helped her even when she was trying to kill him. He was the main character, she was a supporting character, maybe even a side supporting character. So why wasn't he picked by Uatu instead?! He would've been a great help to the team too. That's just the one thing that's been bugging me about this episode. Aside from that, it was good to me.

So, tomorrow will be the continuation of Captain Carter universe. Why? Well, season one finale left a cliffhanger ending of her and Natasha finding the Hydra Stomper which is setting up that universe's version of The Winter Soldier. So, we kinda gotta follow up on that. That and the MCU loves to show more of Captain Carter, cause I heard that she's gonna be more of a main character in this series like last time. I could be wrong though.

[clumsiestgiantess]

I couldn’t help myself, I did a bit of writing with route 2 of this post

I remember thinking how alike the cabin my uncle left me was to something from an old horror movie.  When I first found the real estate photos, I debated even staying in the old place.  But when I arrived, I found it was by no means the decrepit little shack that it was made out to be — the opposite, actually.  From the outside, where the pictures came from, the wooden walls seemed close to decaying.  However, the entire interior looked newly remodeled; it was like stepping into a whole other house.  The only way to tell you were in the same place was by the view out the window.  The drastic changes between the indoors and outdoors is definitely jarring, but nothing too fantastical.  Uncle Terrence had probably been halfway through remodeling the place before his sudden death.  

His death…  He had lived right here before he died.  There’s still no news about his body, which was never actually found.  Technically, he could still be alive, but where would he be?  A few of his friends had searched for Terrence for days before they even called the police.  It’s been two months since then.  The investigator stated that he’d likely been wounded or killed while hunting through the vast forests that surrounded the tiny town where he lived.  Both the woods surrounding the cabin, as well as the known hunting trails, were searched, but nothing was found of him.  Thus the cabin was left in my possession.

The first night of my stay I couldn’t get any sleep.  I kept imagining Terrence’s ghost wandering around in the hall, but then again, I didn’t really have anything to fear if it was just him, back from the dead and slightly opaque.  Either way, the thought creeped me out enough to keep me up.  The following day, I decided to visit the small town just to get out of the house.  I’d driven through it on the way to the cabin, and it didn’t look like much, but I had to find some decent food that wasn’t just the snacks I’d brought in the car.  The inspector I called to evaluate the place won’t get here for a few more days, so until then, I’m stuck here.  

There were only three whole restaurants in the town of Stillness.  Yes, you heard me right.  The town’s called Stillness.  That’s one of the other reasons I believed the cabin was something out of a horror movie.  The first two restaurants in Stillness were bars, and the final one was a diner.  I took my seat in the diner, ironically at the bar counter, and was halfway through my first sip of coffee when someone sat down beside me.  Annoyance spiked through my nerves.  There were so many open seats; only four other people were even in the diner.  Why did he choose the one right next to me?  

“Hav’nt seen you ‘round before,” he said, nodding at the small main street through the windows.  “Stoppin’ through?  Ain’t nowhere much to stay in this town.”  I nodded curtly, trying to keep our conversation brief.  “I’m trying to sell a cabin up the road from here.  I won’t be here very long.”  “What!?  Which cabin?  You mean Terrence’s place?”  I blinked, my mind seemed to take an extra few seconds to process that the man knew my uncle.  “Yes, that one.  I inherited it after he died.”  The stranger shook his head almost angrily.  “Terrence ain’t dead!  He was killed!”  I flinched at his outburst while someone across the dinner laughed.  “That’s the same thing!” they called jeeringly.  “No it ain’t!” the stranger protested, “Someone wanted him gone, dangit!  So they went n’ killed him!  Buried him in th’ woods somewhere!”

For a long while I stared down into my coffee, not wanting to continue the conversation.  But the man’s accusations of murder were something I did want to know more about.  I’m living in his old house, after all.  “Why do you think someone wanted him gone?” I asked hesitantly.  The stranger quickly turned back to me.  “Me n’ the others went to check on him after we realized no one had seen him in a day or so.  See, he came into town at least once a day to talk with folks.  Anyway, we went to check on him, but he was gone!”  “I heard that from the police,” I told him, “but what makes you think someone killed him?  Did anyone want him dead?”  The stranger shrugged, “No one I know of, but someone did ‘else they wouldn’t’ve cleaned out all his stuff.  Guess they wanted the cabin.”

“Wait, none of the things in the cabin are Terrence’s?” I asked incredulously, “Are you sure?”  He nodded, “Darn thing don’t even look like his cabin no more, all fancy n’ new lookin’.”  My stomach lurched as I thought back to how differently the inside seemed.  “You think someone killed him to redesign his house?”  The person across the diner began laughing again.  “Whoever it was must’ve really hated Terrence’s decoratin’ skills!”  The stranger stood in a heartbeat, “Well why else do y’ think it looks different after he disappeared?  I’ll tell you why, you old sod!  They wanted him outa the way so they could take his house and everything with it!”  The other man got up as well, humor gone from his expression.  Before things could escalate any further, I grabbed my cup of coffee and slid out the side door.

I could barely focus on anything but the sidewalk in front of me as I walked a few storefronts down to the single convenience store.  Something eerie was going on, and I didn’t like it in the slightest.  Why would someone get rid of my uncle just to remodel his house and run off?  Unless they’re still in the house.  My heart briefly stopped beating.  Is there a legitimate murdrer in the cabin that I’m living in?!  I tried to calm myself down enough to find supplies for the week.  The other person in the diner was making fun of all the unnerving accusations.  There was a good chance that they were more fantastical than anything based on facts.  It was still entirely possible that Terrence was just remodeling the cabin like I’d thought.  The police hadn’t seemed too concerned about it, so I really shouldn't be either.  However, after collecting the bags of necessities I bought, I still had one thing on my mind that bugged me.  If nothing in the cabin is Terrence’s, then where did he put all his things?  Surely if he renovated it, they must be stored somewhere until all the work was done.

The moment I got home, I began searching every single room, closet, and piece of furniture in the house.  The unsettling feeling I carried only got worse and worse as I searched.  There were books on the shelves, fake flowers in vases, cookware and utensils in the kitchen, and various trinkets placed on countertops.  However, there were no clothes in the dressers or closets, no scattered papers on the desk, and not a single personal item left lying around — nothing that showed the place had actually been lived in.  My nervousness only prompted me to search harder.  I had to find something to disprove the unsettling fact that the entire interior looked staged.  I even checked the sinks, toilets, shower, microwave, stove — anything that might be a fake like the kind used in showrooms.  Thankfully, all the appliances do work, which eased my nerves at least slightly.

Finally, after hours of searching and nothing but a vague sense of anxiety to show for it, I lay down on the couch, exhausted.  At the very least, I was certain no one else was in the house.  I’d looked over everything far too closely to have missed anything like that.  Closing my eyes, I tried to calm down my racing heart.  Just as my pulse began to slow to a normal rhythm, a thud sounded from the roof.  I chose to ignore it.  Pinecones had been falling down and making small thuds just like that one, albeit the one just now sounded a lot louder.  And the room was suddenly a lot cooler now, too.  Confused by the drop in temperature, my eyes fluttered open and someone stared back at me.

I sat up with a jolt, eyes locked on the spot where the roof should’ve been.  A gigantic face peered down at me instead, looming menacingly over the entire cabin.  Everything around me seemed to shift as the giant moved closer.  A shriek escaped my lungs before I scrambled onto the floor.  Rushing back up to my feet, I made a mad dash for the back door, nearly snapping it off of its hinges as I threw it open and tripped over the uneven stairs.  My side and ankle tensed in pain as I rolled to a stop in the tall grass.  To my disbelief, the sky was barren.  With heavy breaths, I slowly rose to my knees, looking wildly around for the gigantic thing I’d seen.  It- it almost looked like a person, but no person could possibly be that tall.  

Thinking back to what I saw, I tried to picture what the house had looked like as I ran through it.  The roof was obviously missing, but there were random walls that disappeared too.  The whole right side of my vision had been completely covered by the giant’s body.  Shakily, I made my way to the front of the cabin.  Inside, the roof and everything in the front besides the floor was gone.  From where I stood now, there wasn’t a single thing out of place.  With cautious steps, I made my way onto the front porch and peered in through the window in the door.  Nothing looked suspicious besides the carpet, which I’d crumpled up by scrambling over it in my desperation to get out.  I worked up the courage to step inside, finding the roof and walls were all still intact.  So why the hell were they gone a few minutes ago?  And where did the giant go?  

The longer I stood in the cabin staring at all the completely normal stuff sitting around, the more confused I became.  Like a dream, the terrifying images in my memory began to fade.  I must’ve been so tired I’d started dreaming when I closed my eyes.  I’d been so scared of a nightmare that I rushed out of the house without thinking.  Or maybe the stress of everything strange was making me hallucinate.  There’s also the chance that I was just exhausted after the very few hours of sleep I got over the last two nights.  

Taking a moment to think through everything, I became aware of how tired I actually was.  I barely felt like opening my eyes, nevermind moving.  Shuffling over to my bed, I let myself fall onto the sheets, barely even getting onto the mattress before passing out.  I wanted- no, needed things to be normal.  The cabin has to sell or I’ll be stuck with it, and it definitely won’t sell if the walls start disappearing.  Hopefully the strangeness from before was just in my head.  Logically, it had to be.

Spurred on by the thought of showings and the inspector’s arrival, I busied myself with cleaning up the place after I woke up.  I’d pulled a few things down into messy piles while searching for something of Terrence’s the other day.  I scrolled through my phone as I mindlessly shelved books, until I heard a thump on the roof.  I stared down at the floor, refusing to look up.  My heartbeat pounded in my ears as the room slowly cooled and the rushing sound of monstrous breathing rumbled above me.  It can’t be real.  It isn’t-  “Hello?”  Before the echoing word even finished, I was out of the room.  My footsteps pounded over the floor without a single creaking protest from the wooden boards.  Strange, but I could hardly bother with it now. 

My hand was nearly touching the back door before a wall of skin fell in front of it, blocking my exit.  I veered off in another direction, too scared to even react.  My throat squeezed closed so tightly I was practically suffocating as I threw myself beneath the kitchen table, clinging to the single leg like my life depended on it.  The giant’s breathing came so close that I could feel the hot air from just above the table.  I shuddered as a slightly-too-loud voice spoke.  “Who are you?” they asked in awe, “Why are you living in my cabin?”  Their second question registered in my brain as something important, but before I could act on it, fingers as thick as my torso folded around the table.

The next thing I knew, the entire thing was torn out of my shaking arms and lifted high above me.  My throat cleared up just enough to let me cry out fearfully as my entire view was filled with nothing but the giant’s gargantuan form.  “No, no, no, no!  This isn’t real!  This isn’t happening!”  I hated how frightened my voice sounded, but could you blame me?  With nothing else to protect myself, I curled up into a ball on the floor, dreading the moment I would be grabbed or poked or crushed.  Tears began leaking from my eyes, and then the giant spoke again.  “H- Hey, I’m not going to hurt you or anything.  Here, do you want the table back?  Sorry I moved it, I just wanted to see you better.  You’re already so small…”  I yelped as something fell beside me with a thud, but it was only the kitchen table.  

Sliding shakily beneath it, I stole a glance upward once I felt a bit safer.  Startlingly blue eyes watched me worriedly from what must be miles above my head.  Their face was framed in glossy black hair that fell right below their chin.  I hadn’t really gotten a good look at them before.  They didn’t look like the ugly monstrous giants from kids’ books.  Without their staggering height, they might even look human.  After calming down a marginal amount, I remembered their question from earlier.  “Wh- What do you mean, your c- cabin?” I managed to squeak out, “I inherited it.”  The giant ducked down to see me way quicker than I realized they could move.  Gasping in shock, I slid over to keep the table between myself and them.  The giant shot me a pitying look as I did, which briefly lit a bit of anger inside me.  However, it was doused with a new wave of fear when the giant started talking.

“You.. inherited it?  But I just built it two months ago.  How did you inherit it?  From who?”  I gawked, managing to peer out at them again.  They were a lot closer, but they hadn’t tried to grab me, so I stayed put behind the table.  “You didn’t build it,” I said confusedly.  The giant stared at me, shocked, and it occurred to me that it seemed like I was challenging their knowledge.  “I- I mean..  You couldn’t have built it.  My uncle owned this place for almost twenty years before he died.  You couldn’t have built it two… two months ago.”  Two months ago — when Terrence went missing.  Oh god, is this the killer who wanted him out of the house?

While the giant took a step back to process what I’d told them, I made my escape through one of the empty spots where the wall should have been.  If I could just get out of the house, everything would surely fix itself.  Just like yesterday.  

I leapt over the foundation, expecting to land on solid earth, but my feet hit something much more slippery, sending me tumbling forwards.  I got a split-second view of an impossibly gigantic bookshelf before sailing over a sudden drop.  My stomach did somersaults as I fell downwards, head over heels, shrieking the entire awful fall which thankfully only lasted a few seconds.  I was jarred to a sudden stop by something warm and cushiony.  Without even knowing what it was, I clung to my saving grace for dear life — then I felt a beating pulse beneath my fingers.  

My vocal chords started to give out with the amount of screaming I’d done.  I nearly gave into the urge to jump out of the massive hand I sat in, but realized I would just continue my deadly fall.  All I could do was stare up at the colossal being and pray they wouldn’t close their hand into a fist and shatter every bone in my comparatively fragile body.  Slowly, I was brought up to the giant’s face.  “Woah,” they breathed, “You’re so light.”  I could barely even see their expression through my tears.  “Please!  J- Just put me back!” I sobbed, “I want to get out of here!”  I don’t even know where the hell here was, but the giant seemed to take pity on me.  With gentle movements, they lowered their hand to the cabin floor, and I finally got a decent look at what they were seeing.  The view frightened me as much as the giant did.

From the giant’s perspective, the cabin looked like a miniature replica of itself.  The front and the roof were missing in order to let people look into the house.  The interior was decorated like a showroom because no one actually lived there.  As I was shuffled off the giant’s hand and into the living room, I realized that the carpet was nothing but thick paper with an image printed on it.  No wonder it had crumpled so easily when I fled the house.  “What the hell?” I whispered, looking around the cabin.  Everything was the same, but different.  Even the things made out of the same materials, like the table and the couch, were still slightly off.  Their textures suddenly looked coarser and less refined.  “What did you do?!” I asked fearfully, turning to look back at the giant, “Why did you turn the cabin into a model?  Turn it back!  I- I don’t want to be here!”

The big blue eyes only stared down at me in confusion.  There was one thing I was more scared of then the giant, and that was being stuck somewhere with them.  “What do you mean?  Are you saying you came from a real cabin?”  “Of course I came from a real cabin!” I yelped, “I’m.. I’m not a miniature, if that’s what you’re implying!  There’s a whole town and everything out there, and I want to go back!”  The giant shook their head disbelievingly, “Are you sure it’s real?”  My heart faltered at the mere thought of what the giant was suggesting.  “Yes I’m fucking sure it’s real!” I cried, refusing to believe otherwise.  

At my outburst, the giant flinched, making me flinch in turn.  “W- Well, what’s the town called?  Wait.. does this cabin of yours have an address?”  I nodded vehemently.  The giant stepped away for a moment and returned with a phone the size of a small car.  They reached into their pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses, pushing them up the bridge of their nose before unlocking their phone.  “What is it?” they asked me.  “471 Buckhead Road,” I recited, having memorized it on the drive there.  I waited anxiously as they searched for it on their phone.  The pause in action gave me the chance to see what was outside the model cabin.  The layout of a monolithic bedroom spread out before me.  To my right was a desk stacked with books.  To my left was an apartment complex sized window with the curtains drawn.  In front of me was a bed that looked like it took as long to traverse as the road into town.  And all of it could be seen from the gigantic shelf the entire cabin sat on.  Anxiety made my eyes water as I realized just how small I was compared to all of it.

“Oh, here!”  The giant’s voice startled me from my thoughts.  “Does it look like this?”  A television screen phone was lifted to the edge of the miniature cabin’s base.  Pictured on the screen in almost blinding brightness was none other than the real estate pictures I’d seen on my own phone not too long ago.  “Yes!” I gasped excitedly, “That’s it!  I told you it exists!”  I don’t know why I’m so relieved.  I knew it was real.  “No way..” the giant mumbled.  “So, were you in.. a normal cabin in the woods until I took the cover off?”  “Cover?” I repeated questioningly.  “Yeah, the cover that keeps the model from getting ruined or dusty inside,” they explained, holding up a clear plastic case.  I glanced between it and the place I stood in.  “Y- Yes, I guess so.  I didn’t know what happened.  The roof suddenly disappeared, and then you blocked me from leaving.”  

The giant thought for a moment.  “I tried to stop you from leaving the first time, too.  By putting the cover back on so you were stuck in there.  I think that just lets you out instead.”  Again I was hit with another anxious wave of terrible realization.  The giant could easily keep me here.  So long as they have that cover, they could choose when to send me back.  If they wanted to send me back at all.  “A- Alright, then it’ll p- put me back in the real cabin.  Good.”  Try as I might, I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking.  

In a few steps, the giant was looming close to me again, peering over the rim of their glasses to scrutinize my expression.  I tried to put on a brave face, but it took all my energy just to stay standing where I was.  “You’re..  You’re scared,” they said softly.  Inadvertently, my gaze flitted between the cover and their face.  They leaned back upright and held it up, looking down at me with concern.  “Do you want me to put you back?”  I nearly cried in relief.  “Yes.  Yes, please.”  The giant nodded.  “Can I come back tomorrow?  I.. I’m still a bit confused about what’s even going on with all this.”  I didn’t want them back ever, but I also didn’t want to anger them either.  “If you swear you’ll bring me back when I ask, then yes.”  Obviously, I couldn’t do anything to back up my end of the bargain.  Nothing was keeping the giant from breaking their agreement — no consequences would come to them by keeping me here.  

“I swear I’ll let you go back whenever you want,” the giant responded.  Their determined look gave me a bit of hope.  They seem genuinely willing to help me, which is good.  I don’t know what I would’ve done if they weren’t willing to work with me — or what I could’ve done for that matter.  I took a shuddering breath as their oversized hand reached for my own.  “My name’s Casey.  I know things must look weird and scary to you, but it’s not as bad as you think, I promise.  It’s weird for me too.”   I had severe doubts about giving them my hand, but in the end I caved and offered it up, deciding it was best to keep on the giant, Casey’s, good side.  

I half expected their grip to be crushing; I thought I would hear my bones snap.  Thankfully, it wasn’t that harmful.  It hurt enough to be uncomfortable, but not enough to be painful.  “I’m-  My name’s Daniella.”  Casey gave me a half smile and released my hand.  “Here, let me put this back on.”  I ducked my head as the cover slid into place around the miniature cabin.  One moment I was surrounded by plastic casing, the next all the walls phased back into place.  With an actual roof over my head, I raced to the front door.  The outside world was still there, completely intact.  

“Oh thank god!” I gasped in relief, sitting heavily on the front steps.   I brought my hands in front of me, watching how badly they shook before pressing them into fists.  I wanted to cry, yell for joy, and vomit all at the same time.  I was safe, for now.  And I was almost certain that the giant had something to do with my uncle’s disappearance.  The two month timing was too perfect to be a coincidence.  Were they hiding the truth from me?  Or did something happen that they weren’t even aware of.  They did seem just as clueless as I was.

Whatever that ordeal was, it definitely wasn’t in my head.  Meaning the giant-  Well, actually, they must be a person living out in the world somewhere.  They’d found the real cabin on their phone, meaning it was somewhere where they were.  Which meant…  “Holy shit,” I said quietly, “I must’ve been so small!  I- I fell off a shelf!  I was in someone’s hand!”  I know I knew all that the moment it happened, but I hadn’t actually given it much thought.  I was too busy fearing for my life.  

“Why did I tell them I wanted to meet them again tomorrow?” I whined as I made my way back inside.  “I don’t even know when they're going to come back!”  A few scenarios seeped into my brain of me doing something in the privacy of the house, only for the roof and walls to suddenly disappear and reveal me.  You could see into every room, and the shower was glass.  “Shit.”  There was always the closet.

I really like this lil scenario, honestly.  Let me know if y’all want me to continue this!  (Daniella doesn’t, but it’s not up to her)

[apomaro-mellow]

The Bright Side S01E02: Play by the Rules

S01E01

Cold Open

The family of three was having lunch in the kitchen when El piped up for a question.

"Steve, how does a girl get a guy to notice her?"

Jim scoffed. "You're askin' Mr. Hairspray over there for boy advice?"

"This coming from the guy who hasn't had a date since the 70's", Steve said.

Jim huffed and straightened the pages of his paper. "El, your brother is mighty fine at dating girls. Not so great at keeping them. I don't know if that says anything about the girls or Steve though."

"I could keep them just fine if I wanted to. I just haven't found The One yet."

"But you'd know if you saw her?", El cut in, getting them back to topic. "The One?"

"I think I would. Why you got a boy you like?", Steve smirked, ready to tease.

El just blushed, not ready to reveal who it was yet but Jim was already prepared to shut it down. He'd been ready for a while now.

"You know my rules. No boys in the house."

Steve raised a brow and looked to Lucas and Dustin sitting with them at the table. "You let these dorks over all the time."

Jim looked to them as he picked up his beer. "They don't count."

End Cold Open

----------------------------

At school, between classes, Max boarded up to El's locker. "We still on for tonight?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it", El beamed.

"Good, because this is long overdue. Just you and me. No boys. Music, magazines, and movies."

Meanwhile, just down the street, Mike was looking on with a disapproving expression.

"This can only end in tragedy."

"Dude", Lucas closed his locker. "It's a sleepover. They're probably just gonna paint each other's nails and kiss whatever guy is in a magazine. You know? Dumb girl stuff?"

"Girls don't just do stuff. They talk. That's the danger", Mike said.

"And what's the danger in El and Max talking?", Will asked. "They do it all the time."

"Yeah but not alone. Not without us. So who do you think they're gonna talk about?"

"I really don't think Max is gonna talk about us when we're not there", Dustin said.

"She will if it's to talk shit", Lucas sighed.

Mike looked vindicated. "Exactly! Max is gonna talk shit about us to El."

"Why do you care so much?", Will asked.

Mike took too long to answer and Lucas zeroed in on why. "Mike's got a cru-ush~", he sang, prompting Mike to punch him in the arm.

"Shut up! No I don't! El is still new. She doesn't know we're the losers yet."

"She literally stopped you from getting a swirly on her first day", Dustin said. "I think that ship has safely sailed."

"This is all stupid anyway. We've got out own plans to iron out", Will said as the bell rang.

"Girls man. They drive a man wild", Lucas said sagely.

"It's times like these I'm glad my girlfriend is back in Utah", Dustin said on their way back to class.

------------------------------------------------

Max and El sat on the bed as Jim inspected the room for boys. Even going as far as checking under the bed and poking the stuffed animals in her closet with a broom.

"Is this really necessary?", Max asked. "The only boys she knows is those nerdlingers."

"Alright. I'm gonna lay down the rules and don't give me any sass", Jim said, arms crossed with the broom. "No loud music. No boys. No prank calls. No boys. In bed by nine. No boys. No sneaking out. And did I mention no boys?"

"I'm not feeling a lot of trust right now", Max said.

"I'm not raising a grandkid before I turn fifty", Jim said. "Oh, one last thing." He took out a small box and laid some tacks sharp side up on El's window sill.

Jim left El's room and went downstairs to sit on the couch and settle in for some Friday night primetime. He had a good view of the front door and a window that should reveal anyone sneaking in or out of El's room.

Steve came down, mumbling and grumbling to himself as he took his keys out of his pocket.

"And where are you off to? Hot date?"

"Hardly. I lost a bet to Jonathan of all people. So I gotta take the kids to the arcade. What are the chances they get bored and ready to go home after 10 minutes?"

Jim chuckled. "I won't be waiting up."

Thankfully, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will were just next door and ready to go already when Steve knocked on the door of the Byer's home.

"Good luck", Jonathan grinned.

"Last time I challenge you to beer pong. How'd you get so good anyway?", Steve asked.

"Having a terrible dad has its perks. He taught me when I turned 14."

"Hey, my dad taught me too."

Jonathan made a face at the thought of Hopper teaching Steve beer pong as the boys bum rushed out of the house and towards the door.

"Come on! We're burnin' moonlight!", Dustin commanded as he made a claim for the front passenger seat.

With a sigh, Steve went towards his own vehicle and started towards the arcade. Meanwhile, the girls night was already in full swing.

"Blonds or brunets?", Max asked while tossing some popcorn into her mouth.

"Brunets", El answered.

"Same. So does that mean anyone in town's caught your eye yet?"

El blushed and curled in a little on herself, trying to hide behind the open pages of a magazine. But the sound of disbelief Max made proved it was all in vain.

"Who? And please tell me it's not Jack Maine."

"Jack? The captain of the baseball team?"

"All the girls fawn over him, it's honestly disgusting." Max popped another corn in her mouth. "So who is it? Anyone I know?"

"He's-no one." El got up and began pacing. "You don't know him. He's from out of town. Actually, a whole other country. Actually, he doesn't exist."

"No no no, Dustin's computer girlfriend from Utah doesn't exist. But this mystery guy...", Max grinned.

El was frozen on the spot but that didn't stop Max from standing up from the bed.

"What if you don't tell me, I just guess?"

"Guess?", El asked but Max took it as permission to get started.

"You're obviously embarrassed by it, so it's gotta be someone I know." Max began to circle around her. "Is it...Carter Baxton?"

"No", El shook her head.

"Hmm, Ricky Odell?"

"The guy who tried to stick Mike's head in a toilet?", El gave a look of disgust.

Max paused in front of her and looked into her eyes, then pointed a finger at her. "If you have a crush on Lucas..."

"It's Mike!", El blurted out, then immediately covered her mouth.

Max's eyes were wide. "Oh my god."

Jim nearly broke the door down, broom in hand. "Where is he?! Where's Mike?!"

--------------------------------------

The arcade was busy that Friday night. Steve had basically resigned himself to getting some nachos and a soda, then plopping down while the boys gamed themselves silly. He knew there'd be a moment when one of them came up and asked for quarters, but he was keeping a tight hold on his wallet. He was a driver only.

And sure enough, about half an hour in, Dustin came up, eyes already prepared for begging. "Steve-"

"Nope. I'm not giving you money."

"But I'm sooooo close! Not just to a high score but to a personal best! Are you gonna stand in the way of a boy and his dreams?"

"It wasn't on my schedule for the evening, but I think I can squeeze it in."

"I don't know why I asked. You wouldn't understand. I guess that hand eye coordination is only good for ball in hoop games?"

Steve raised a brow. "You think I can't play an arcade game?"

"Play? Sure. But win one? Get a high score?" Dustin crossed his arms. "Doubtful."

"I'll have you know I'm a champion Pac-Man player."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

That was how Steve ended up in front of the Pac-Man console, all the boys around him. He started a game and they weren't expecting much. Pac-Man was fairly simple. Eat the dots. Avoid the ghosts. But it was mesmerizing when someone was able to keep that going for long enough. Long enough for Dustin and Lucas to start cheering him on. Then long enough for the more quiet Will to start cheering. Then long enough for Mike to start backseat gaming and cheering too.

When Steve cleared the game and his score came up, his posture relaxed but he still didn't seem satisfied with how he did. It was great, but it didn't break the high score.

"Who's Munster?"

"Oh that's gotta be Eddie!", Mike said in awe.

Steve's brow raised in recognition. "Eddie 'the Freak' Munson? How do you know him?"

"Ran into him a few times at the library", Will said. "He said as soon as we get to high school we can join his club."

"Yeah and he'll still probably be there too", Steve scoffed. He cracked his knuckles. "He's about to be a two-fold loser 'cause I'm comin' for his score." He took a five dollar bill out of his pocket without even looking. "Here. Get me a soda."

Dustin smirked. "Will do!"

He grabbed the money, fully intending to get Steve the smallest soda available and pocket the rest for his own gaming. Steve was already back in the zone as he made a new game and attempted to break Eddie's record.

-----------------------------------

Max led the charge down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab more snacks, looking like a girl on a mission and not just in searched of cookies.

"Um, hello?", Jim looked up from the glass of water he was drinking, wrapped up in a bathrobe. "I thought I said in bed by 9 it's-" he checked his watch-"9:15."

"This is serious business", Max said while opening a fridge.

"Serious", El echoed.

"I thought I laid down the rules very clearly."

"Mr. Hopper do YOU want a smarmy son-in-law? Because that's what's at stake here", Max asked while nearly slamming a pickle jar onto the counter.

Jim looked between the girls. "This is boy stuff?"

They nodded.

Jim looked to Max specifically. "And you...are anti-smarm?"

"When it comes to boys, yes."

"Proceed." He took a sip of his water. "Get her a guy who likes fishing on the weekends too."

Max bit into the pickle while grabbing a soda. El got a bag of chips and a juice for herself before they headed back upstairs. Once the door was closed, Max started counting things off.

"Mike is controlling, and obsessed with image, which is hilarious considering he's on the bottom of the social food chain."

"Mike has never tried to control me. And isn't everyone worried about how they look?"

"It's just always a bad idea to date in a friend group. Messes with the whole dynamic."

El opened the chip bag. "Is that why you haven't asked Lucas out yet?"

Max froze mid-bite. When she chomped down, she pointed a finger at her. "Are you some kind of mind reader? I didn't tell anyone that."

"I figured when you were about to ask if I was crushing on him. You looked ready to deck me if I said yes."

"I wouldn't've punched you over a boy", Max denied. "Maybe a bit of cold shoulder though. Don't you dare tell a soul, I swear if you do-"

"Girls have a code, remember? I won't talk about how you feel about Lucas, if you never tell about Mike."

"I still can't believe you like him. Out of all of them."

"Mike's not so bad. What makes Lucas better anyway?"

Max suddenly got a dreamy smile on her face. "Well he's more mature for one."

"Lucas!?"

"Yeah!"

Jim came through again, with the broom. Again. "Where?!"

--------------------------------------

Steve's hands were braced against the sides of the console as he finished another game. He was so close to Eddie's score. Just a few points away. It was such a small gap he could taste it. He rubbed his face and then pulled his wallet out of his pocket again.

"You makin' your own cup factory?", a voice came up from behind.

Steve turned, first looking at the six empty drinks by his feet and then at the loud slurping noise coming from Eddie Munson. Steve frowned.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Munson?"

"I like coming in at last call to see who's gotten close to my record", he smirked, swirling the ice around in his drink.

"Whatever", Steve stuck his hands in his pockets like he didn't care. "Wait, last call? What time is it?!" He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly 11.

"Just about time for the night to really come alive", Eddie said. "And shouldn't you be getting them home?", he tilted his head and saw the four of them at the air hockey tables. They were pretty much the only ones left in the arcade.

"Their moms are going to kill me. Hey you wieners it's time to go home", Steve called out.

He was met with protests but they were all weak and punctuated by tired yawns. They'd probably all conk out as soon as they sat in his car. He heard Eddie whistle from the Pac-Man game.

"Just four points away Harrington. That's almost as close as the game last week. That's gotta burn, huh?"

"Didn't know you went to the games, Munson."

"I don't", Eddie said smoothly. "I just read the papers. Keep your enemies close and all that."

"Yeah, right." Steve gathered the kids and brought them outside into the cool, fresh air and Steve realized how tired his eyes were after staring at that screen for hours. Eddie followed them out and a very annoyed employee finally locked the door behind them.

Steve got inside and this time Will was in the front. Eddie squeezed his top half through the door and switched the dials on Steve's radio then turned up the volume, making a loud guitar and drums ring out.

"Dude! What the hell!?", Steve shouted, covering one ear while turning it down.

"To keep you awake for the journey home. Be sure that these little ones are returned safely", Eddie said, putting on a strangely theatrical voice. He closed the door and patted the hood, telling Steve he was good to go.

"I told you", Steve said as Eddie waved them off. "Freak."

"He's the coolest", Dustin yawned.

Episode 3

[youcanseethecosmos]

hi i like your dreamling actors au A LOT and i was wondering if you'd share more snippets about them 👀. mainly i would like to see more of dream falling for hob yet being more of an asshole the more he tries Not to be one, while hob is like "why does this guy keep searching me out just to be a dick wtf". idk i just like your actors au alot haha and would love to see more <3333

Hi friend! I'm so happy you love the dreamling actors au as much as I do!! And ofc I'd be more than happy to give a few snippets of Dream and Hob's lowkey one-sided enemies to tentative friends to lovers timeline.

I'll focus more on the start of the relationship here because everything else is a major spoiler for the fic hihi

Lights, Camera, Action posts: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

Dream and Hob's first movie where they played romantic leads was, ironically enough, a queer reimagining of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll let you figure out which of the two main couples they played ;)

Dream said to Hob that he took to speaking in iambic pentameter really well for "someone who wasn't classically trained" and Hob took that personally

Meanwhile Dream in his mind is like "that was my best compliment i hope he appreciated that." oh Dream. sweet baby boy no...

Hob meeting Dream was a classic "never meet your heroes" kind of set up. Although he wasn't a rabid fan, he deeply admired Dream as an actor

He still admires Dream. No matter how rude Dream seemed to be, Hob couldn't say that he wasn't good at his job. As long as the cameras were rolling, he could get lost in their little world. Dream knew how to pull you in once the story starts and Hob, despite his dislike of Dream, allowed himself to be pulled in every single time

One time Dream bought donuts for the entire cast and crew of one of his movies with Hob. Whether intentional or by happenstance, Hob didn't get a donut. He knows he shouldn't be petty and upset over a single donut but he IS and he will DIE on that hill

There is a very specific incident that happens about 6 movies in with Dream that changes Hob's perspective of him (what it is Exactly is a spoiler hihi)

Hob has never seen Dream eat or drink outside of filming. Like ever. Even during supposed lunch breaks, Dream spends his time reading and/or taking a nap while leaning against the wall – standing up.

Hob would be a solid 6 minutes in a blooper reel. Dream's never forgotten a line therefore has never appeared in any blooper reel due to his own slip-up. Hob did catch him try to hide a snort behind his coat sleeve once though.

Hope that gave you a nice glimpse at dream aka most awkward man in existence who can sleep standing up like a horse and recite his lines from a script after three passges but can't tell his handsome co-star hob that he miscalculated the amount of donuts he was supposed to bring last time and he would have run all the way to the nearest dunkin' just so hob wouldnt feel left out

save him pls

[xalygatorx]

Worthy (2015) | Chapter 29, "Impulse"

Disappearing sporadically in public spaces quickly becomes Cora Dempsey's least concerning problem when suddenly she captures the attention of the forming Avengers Initiative, the World Security Council, and Asgard's fallen prince all in one week. And the universe is only just getting started with her.

Worthy is a slow-burn SFW Marvelverse (films) romance between Loki and a female OC. For additional details on what canon is used, see the Prologue post.

Summary: The Ragnarök comes to Earth and to the Avengers’ front door. The team suffers losses and injuries. Loki and Cora share a moment of unspoken confession. The location of the final Infinity Stone is revealed.

Pairing: Loki x Fem!OC

Warnings: Superhero movie levels of action

Word Count: 4.4k

The enemy's onslaught was immediate. A blaze of thunderous electric blue energy warped by strands of blackened red tore through the atmosphere and broke the pavement under their feet for miles. The trouble was that their response time had to be just as fast.

"STEVE!" Cora screamed over the roaring sounds of fissuring ground and the growing magnitude of Thanos's laughter above the clouds. She grabbed his arm before he could fall through the cracks now gaping widely beneath him and, just as she started to fall with him when their differing weights caused an imbalance, she felt a solidly metal arm wrap around her waist and haul her upward. Her visibility wavered a bit in a way it hadn't since she was in Asgard and the terror fueling it was only growing as their situation went further downhill.

"Hold onto him, kid," Tony gritted as his suit propelled them into the air. As he fought the winds caused by the chaotic presence in their wake, Cora held tightly to Steve's hand and took their moment of flight to glance over the street.

Bruce had fully transformed into his big green alter ego and, had she not met him earlier in the conference room, she might've been more afraid. He was positively monstrous in size, veins bulging thickly under his skin as he roared and ran toward SHIELD's headquarters, grabbing up Natasha, Fury, and Clint on his way before launching himself onto the side of the building to escape the pits, which reached so deep, the molten glow of the planet's mantle was seeping faintly through the bases of the cracks.

Thor swung Mjolnir around until it reached top speed and grabbed Loki by the back of his armor's collar just before launching into the air toward the opposite side of the street, landing them both on a rooftop of a bank. He went back for Sif and Fandral and half-threw them on the roof as well so he could go after Volstagg, who was losing purchase on the ground very quickly.

"Stark!" Steve shouted when it became clear that Thor wasn't going to be able to build the momentum needed to retrieve his friend in time.

"Already on it," Tony replied as he surged down toward the final member of the Warriors Three, giving Steve the opportunity to grab his hand and haul him upward just before the pavement collapsed where he'd been standing. "Cora, switch Steve's hand over to mine. You won't be able to hold them both."

"I'm realizing that," she managed to mutter before shifting her hands from between Steve's and Tony's, letting Iron Man handle the heavy work. Even with her amplified strength due to her Asgardian blood, she'd nearly lost hold of them and had scared herself half to death. Tony took them with ease and adjusted his grip on her when the mighty winds ceased for the time being. "The calm before the storm?"

"Don't get poetic on me now," Tony mocked her a bit halfheartedly as he took them to the rooftop of SHIELD's headquarters. The sound of shattering glass and crunching metal signaled that Bruce was climbing up to join them on more stable ground, and it was then that the clouds began to part.

The sheen of metal came first and then the creature within its structure. Thanos was positively enormous, surpassing Thor's mighty height by at least two feet and bulging with muscular bulk, which was tamed only by the tough, hide-like flesh that stretched over his frame. Branches of blue veins pulsated beneath his skin and it was easy to see how overcome with power he already was from just the two relics he'd managed to collect, and Cora had a feeling he'd had a fairly powerful foundation to work with.

The look upon his face was smug as he sat in what appeared to be a floating chair—the metal she'd seen—equipped with technology she'd never seen the likes of before.

"Tremble, Midgardian scum. Filth of Asgard," his deep voice boomed quietly in the gloom. "Surrender to the inevitable. The Ragnarök is upon us all."

"What could you possibly gain from this?" Steve shouted as the winds began to pick up again. "You'll go down with every single one of us!"

"Death is my dancer, little 'savior'," he mocked with a dark chuckle as he slowly raised his right hand, which was encased by a golden gauntlet in which rested two swirling gems, one red and one blue. Four more spaces remained empty on the knuckles. "I welcome Her with open arms and bring her the blood of ages in my wake."

"Look out!" Clint shouted from below just before a dose of pure power from the Aether exploded out at them. Tony dodged, taking Cora, Steve, and Volstagg with him, and Bruce shielded Fury, Clint, and Natasha with his own huge body, letting out an agonized roar as he was pelted by the raw red light.

Cora tried to see what was happening to make sure Bruce was okay, but Tony took them down to one of the outdoor walkways and dropped them all upon it. "What is the meaning of this?!" Volstagg shouted as he stumbled to regain his balance.

"Improvisation. You're all going into that makeshift bunker-lab-thing to help the others," he shouted over the worsening wind. "It's only a matter of time before he takes down headquarters to get to the gems. We need a backup plan. And more weapons. Big, heavy stuff. Work on that. I'm going to see who else I can get back in here because I don't think he'll collapse the building until he has what he wants."

Steve looked at Volstagg and Cora before giving a slow nod. "All right. There's no time to argue." With that, Tony went back into the brawl that was now commencing on the roof, mostly between Bruce and Thanos with Natasha, Fury, and Clint trying weapons on him in-between, and Steve, Volstagg, and Cora sprinted to the entrance back into headquarters, finding the nearest arming station and starting to unload anything they could carry down to the labs and also sending some out with Tony whenever he made his way back to the walkway, to help better equip those still outside.

"Bullets are just bouncing off, give me something bigger!" Natasha shouted into her earpiece, dodging a wide swing from Thanos's bare fist while the one bearing the Aether and Tesseract-powered Gauntlet aimed toward Bruce, who tirelessly attempted to get close enough to inflict substantial damage.

"Working on it, Princess," Tony shot back as he flew by, barely missing Thor when he flew over to join the fray with Loki and Sif in tow. Thor landed and let them go, then—spinning Mjolnir by its strap—he readied himself and hurled the hammer at Thanos. The corner hit him squarely in the jaw, though it only seemed to injure his pride. Tony returned shortly after taking Fandral to the walkway as well, dropping weapons into the arms of anyone who'd catch them in the vicinity. The city had gone into lockdown after enough people had noticed the immense battle on the rooftop coupled with the strange weather and in mere moments, the streets had gone through the motions of flooding with people and then become completely bare.

"What manner of weapons are these?" Thor shouted, holding three grenades and a specialized launcher that he'd caught.

"Don't worry about the launcher, just pull the pins and throw them," Tony shouted before going to toss a weapon to Natasha after she called again for more firepower.

Clint had heard Tony's wording and had barely managed to get to Thor and toss the first grenade before it exploded in the Asgardian's hand. "Throw this, not the pin. Stark, you need to work on being more specific," he muttered sternly into his communication piece.

"Did I miss something hilarious?"

"It was more of a not-hilarious almost-happened kind of thing," Natasha retorted as Fury joined her with a shake of his head and aimed an assault prototype run on laser-power at Thanos. He fired, though it amounted to little.

Thor properly threw another grenade and this one hit Thanos in the chest, knocking him back incrementally. He clenched his jaw and dodged a retaliative shot, glancing over to find Loki nearby, examining the chair Thanos was maneuvering himself around in. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for some kind of turbine or opening," Loki replied and at Thor's blank look, he sighed and shook his head. "I've had him inside my head, remember? Or perhaps if you tried reading…"

Thor began to charge up Mjolnir from the churning sky, which had just begun to dance with lightning strikes, giving a halfhearted smirk at the jab. His brow furrowed as he built power in his weapon and he warred with himself before asking, "Was it real?" At Loki's look of confusion, he elaborated, "What happened in the Dark World, was it all real?"

"Is now really the time for—"

"Answer me, brother. Were you truthful?" His answer was more important now than ever, for Thor may never get an answer otherwise.

Loki frowned and murmured, "Do you believe I was?" Thor's answer was just as important to him.

Thor's jaw tightened a little and he hesitated a few seconds before nodding. "Yes."

Loki's eyes widened faintly in surprise before he cleared his throat and commented, "Well… Then you would be right. First time for everything, I suppose."

Thor laughed—actually, genuinely laughed—before unleashing his pent-up power at Thanos, which caused him to roar and his chair to spark slightly. "I'd hoped for a bit more than just that," Thor commented about his immense lightning's apparent lack of effect.

"Try this," Tony shouted as he passed with some new weapons, dropping one into Loki's hands.

"Oh…," Loki murmured a bit blankly as he surveyed the large black Midgardian mechanism he'd gained, Thor looking just as baffled. "Of course…"

This time, Tony lingered long enough to watch.

Cora ran back to the armory unit after taking another load out to Tony, who continued to barely manage to break away from the fight long enough to take what he could carry to their comrades, and started to root through the rest, which mostly consisted of ammunition and communication devices.

When she turned around, she jolted in surprise to find someone right behind her, but felt immediate relief when she realized it was Loki. "You scared the bejeezus out of me!"

"My apologies for your lost…bejeezus," Loki enunciated uncertainly before shaking his head at the human slang. "Fandral and I were just dropped off on the walkway."

"Are you alright? Is he? What about everyone else?" she asked without pause, afraid of the answers he might have for her.

"Everyone else is still out there. They are fatigued, but still fighting… It is growing worse."

Cora frowned deeply before glancing him over with an arched brow. "Why did you get dropped up here?"

Loki gave a grimace and explained a bit stiffly, "I lack practice or any miraculous affinity for using the launcher of rockets…"

A bit of a high, hysterical laugh escaped her in her hurried search for weapons of any kind. "Oh, my god, what did you hit?!"

He winced faintly as he replied, "Myself. But my brother threw the pin instead of the grenade and he's still out there." He seemed a little disgruntled at that as he continued, "Cora, listen, I—"

"Need some Midgardian combative lessons? Yes, you do," she teased breathlessly as she tore open boxes to search and tried to unlock a safe at the back to no avail. “Another thing for the after-apocalypse-stopping list.”

"That is near-insulting and not what I was—"

"Whatever you're about to 'order' me to do, I'm having none of it, you—"

He was beginning to raise his voice over hers. "That's not what I—"

"Oh, yes it was!" she accused just as loudly.

"Look at me!" Loki shouted from just behind her.

Cora whirled on him and yelled back a frustrated, "What?!"

Just as she did, the God of Mischief took her face between his hands and his lips were on hers. Though she would never admit this in a million years, Cora literally melted against him, her arms winding around his neck as the unexpected kiss grew suddenly more passionate on both their parts. With a low sound in his throat that resembled a growl, Loki pressed her against the emptied armory wall, one of his hands moving to her waist as the other gently gripped her hair, tilting her head back for him as he deepened the kiss.

When they broke for breath, they stared at each other a long moment, their ragged breaths mingling in the close proximity between their lips before Cora murmured, "…What were we doing?"

Loki started to answer, but bore his own look of confusion until a bang outside answered for both of them. "Saving the universe?"

"Oh, yeah, can't forget that," Cora murmured quickly as she disentangled herself from him and they both grabbed up the random assortments of ammunition boxes still on the floor and fled down the hallway to the labs. They were nearly thrown off their feet when the building rocked—full-out tilted as a whole—and some of the ammunition spilled from Cora's arms. She started to go after it, but ended up following Loki after he pointed out to her that there was no time and, sadly, no point.

They got down to the labs and placed the new additions to their arsenal on a long steel table, which had been cleared off for just that reason. In the meantime, Dr. Selvig had managed to extract the core of the Orb of Agamotto and was now aiding Jane in carefully combining spare chemicals and cleaning products to fashion a few homemade explosives.

Pepper, Phil, and Maria were working on upgrading and building onto some of the weapons Steve, Cora, Volstagg, and now Loki had brought down to make them more powerful. The other agents locked and loaded down in the labs had made sure everyone knew how to use a gun because it was only a matter of time until all hell broke loose down there as well. "Any luck with the Cask?" Cora asked Dr. Selvig after he'd finished adding a pungent white liquid into his chemical brew.

"None. It's entirely frozen around the core," he admitted, glancing up at her.

"There's nothing you can do, is there?" she asked Loki hopefully, though she was fairly certain she was pulling at straws.

Loki shook his head. "I could try, but I very much doubt it."

"Hey, Cora, you okay?" Jane asked suddenly, her latex-gloved hands poised over her container. "Your face is really red."

"Stress!" Cora shouted reflexively and turned to walk over to check out the Gems, grumbling about handsy gods under her breath. She could've sworn she heard Loki chuckle quietly behind her and she felt a faint urge to pummel him and then probably kiss him again. "Is the Ka Stone just as-is?"

"It is the Gem, itself. It just has other properties as well," Loki supplied tensely while watching everyone rush around the room to prepare for the worst as the banging sounds became louder upon the outer walls.

"And whatever the Soul Gem is is MIA right? We don't have to worry about that one?"

"No one has seen it in centuries," he repeated in confirmation, "or that would have been the first Gem Thanos went in search of. It is the one that binds the other five together and completes the Gauntlet for maximum power."

"Well, that's something then, right? He won't have the final piece. It could be worse than it already is," Cora reasoned weakly as she ran a hand through her hair. "Who am I kidding…"

"Everyone down!" Maria yelled over everyone else and after they had all fallen silent, it became clear that the booming sounds of impact had moved inside the reinforced building. "That's an order!" she emphasized when Volstagg and Fandral readied themselves to fight instead. They listened to her as everyone else ducked down, the next pound of noise earsplitting. "Brace yourselves!"

In that same instant, the opposite wall shook and then exploded outward, shrapnel, splinters of steel, and assorted furniture bits bursting into the lab and raining down on its occupants.

Loki threw himself on top of Cora and they both went flatly onto the floor, wayward metal fragments slicing into their hands and faces while the same storm of debris overtook the others. Loki grunted when something large and heavy hit them and then bounced off, but a moment of fearful apprehension as to what that something might've been made him look over. The sickness in his gut was nearly overwhelming when his “perhaps” was proven true.

"Thor," he hissed, scrambling off Cora once the debris stopped falling. They were left with a thick fog of dust made up of iron filings and insulation. He crawled to his brother's side and Cora looked up to find that the brave, golden lion of an Asgardian prince was sliced and bruised all over, seeming just shy of unconsciousness. When she shifted her gaze away from Loki trying to aid his brother to little avail, she found Tony lying a short distance away below an imprint he'd likely made in the wall from impact, his suit dented and scuffed while the illuminated eye-slits in his mask flickered dismally. Sif lay motionless near the far wall behind Cora with only half her shield still on her arm.

She met Steve's eyes across the room and then looked to Clint and Natasha, who he'd managed to catch before they could hit the wall and worsen their probably already severe injuries. As Steve set them down, Cora stood slowly and listened to the broken building groan around them as murmurs began to rise up in the quiet. Jane had sprinted over to Thor and sat down next to Loki, both of them trying to figure out what the damage was and resuscitate him.

Pepper had run to Tony, trying to get him out of his mechanical suit. She pulled off the golden mask and it appeared that even inside his suit, despite its durability, he was covered with bruises and fairly severe burns, likely from his suit heating up whenever the Gauntlet's energy struck him. Volstagg and Fandral had hurried to Sif, casting worried looks at each other as they carefully turned her over and checked her shield-adorned arm for broken bones.

After a few moments of their combined—but different—forms of fretting, Loki clenched his jaw and pulled Jane off of Thor, grimacing when she fought him with tears in her eyes. "Let me go!" she shouted at him, struggling as wildly as she could manage.

"Jane, stop it," Loki ordered frustratedly, setting her back down and continuing, "You need to pull yourself together or we may yet lose him. He is alive, that is what matters now, but your panic is not going to heal him. You may need to save him this time… Just remain calm enough to do so, do you understand?"

Jane faltered and then slowly stopped trying to get around him, biting her lip and glancing back toward where Dr. Selvig and Darcy were waiting, her eyes bloodshot from tears. "Right… Okay…," she murmured quietly as she cast one more glance of anxiety toward Thor, then going to join her colleagues.

Cora frowned slightly after taking inventory of those in the room, but it was Fandral who voiced her questions. "Hold on, where is—"

"Hit the deck!" came a familiar yell from the gaping hole in the wall and everyone managed to dive down at the last moment just as Bruce hurtled through the air in full Hulk form, Fury in the crook of one beastly green arm. Despite getting some serious whiplash from Bruce's impact, Fury seemed to be okay and even after hitting the steel lab wall with such force that the metal warped into an imprint of his back, Bruce was up again immediately, letting go of Fury before facing down the gaping maw with a scowl and bared teeth.

When Thanos's silhouette began to show through the thick fog of dust, Steve hurled his shield at the shadow, only to have it slapped away like a wayward frisbee. Staggering to catch it, Steve snagged the shield and glared at the fractionally bionic alien in the floating chair, who simply chuckled mockingly back. "Such weakness. A sad excuse for a frontline in the face of apocalypse."

Before Bruce could attack again, Thanos sent another blast of brilliant red power his way, sending even the Hulk to his knees with a dose of the Aether's deadly darkness. It seemed he'd been holding back before to conserve energy, but now that he'd reached the resting places of three other Infinity Gems, that was no longer a concern. As he passed through the hole in the wall and his eyes fell to said Gems upon the lab table, a greedy, ravenous smile curled his thin lips.

Cora was scrambling for something, anything she could do when she heard Dr. Selvig shout, "Jane, don't!" and she whirled to see Jane pour one last test tube's contents into her makeshift bomb bucket and cap it before haphazardly hurling it at Thanos. He made no move to dodge, given that nothing had much managed to damage him so far, and the bucket made contact with his left arm before exploding.

Cora's jaw dropped when she saw what the concoction of cleaners and compounds did to the monster's arm, which consisted of disconnecting the tissues completely and then eating away at the flesh the liquid covered. In one blow, he'd lost an arm. Too bad it wasn't the one with the Gauntlet.

Thanos roared, snarling down toward Jane and turning to aim the Gauntlet at her, in which a ball of blue and red light was building, becoming more and more threatening. Out of the corner of her eye, Cora saw Loki begin to shift his weight into a lunge to intervene, but he would have been too late. In an instant, Thanos released the mass of unrivaled power, Jane reflexively cringed in preparation for the blast, and Dr. Selvig knocked her out of the way.

"Erik!" Darcy screamed, but just from the look of him in the aftermath, it was plain to see that he was gone.

Cora swallowed hard and heard movement behind her, finding that Thor had finally regained consciousness, if not strength, and held an anguished look upon his face. He'd been awake through it all, but too stunned and weak to move.

She gasped when a yellow glow flashed in the corner of her eye; it was the Ka Stone and it, along with the purple core taken from the Orb of Agamotto, was rising up at Thanos's command. The Cask of Ancient Winters shuddered before shattering completely, sending a deep chill throughout the room that put Cora and Steve immediately in the trenches again. All that remained was the orange Time gem in the midst of ice fragments and it went to join its brothers in hovering before the villain who sought them.

"The time is now," Thanos murmured with relish, turning over his hand so the Gems could settle in their appropriate spaces, the Gauntlet illuminating with new power. "Yes!"

"No…," Cora whispered on a fearful, shuddering sigh, feeling her meager hope waning at the sight of the Gems sending surges of power through the titanic creature, Thanos's eyes alighting with energy as old as the universe, itself.

"The powers of Time, Space, Power, Reality, and the Mind are mine to control," he laughed triumphantly before his white-hot, glowing eyes narrowed, his smile never fading. "And the last… It is here."

"Impossible…," Loki murmured nearby, wondering how the remaining gem—the Soul Stone—could be here. Physically here? But if here, then where?

"One Gem to bind its brothers… And I know where it thrives!" Thanos cackled madly, his muscles purpling with pooled blood and power.

"You lie!" Thor bellowed, grief and rage plain in his voice, pain in the undertones as he hurled Mjolnir at Thanos's head.

Thanos looked to the airborne hammer and a maniacal grin came over his face. "There you are."

He sent a blast of power at the hammer which began as a ball and then thinned into a blade of light, and it cut Mjolnir down the middle. The shock wave it produced threw everyone back—even knocked Thanos off-kilter—and when Cora looked up, she saw the two halves of Mjolnir lying upon the floor nearby.

The inside of the hammer was solid and a system of what could only be called veins—though they resembled the make of a circuit board—threaded through the once indivisible metal head. At the center of the emerald network was a vibrant green gem, not unlike the others Thanos had already taken, and suddenly everything made sense, including why Mjolnir could choose its wielder and how.

Its choices were based on the worthiness of one's soul.

"The Gauntlet is complete," Thanos rumbled with pleasure, beginning to move closer to retrieve his final prize before his real show began.

Cora's throat went dry as she looked his way and then, in turn, at the sights surrounding her. Her fallen comrades, her friends. The bits of SHIELD headquarters littering the floor mixed with their blood and hers. The shreds of hope they'd carried fading from their eyes.

She swallowed against the hitch and her eyes fell again upon the halved hammer with a blooming sensation that bordered on insanity inside her heart. And a question from months and months ago that had bothered her more and for longer than she had ever let on repeated softly in her head. "What makes you worthy?"

The young woman surged to her feet when all others remained still with silent near-surrender, and sprinted toward the final gem. Her watching companions paled and Thanos drew back with a mad, confident laugh to strike her down. Loki was the only one able to find his voice, which was suddenly, utterly desperate. "CORA, NO!"

Next chapter: Chapter 30, "Death & Her Suitor"

[gardens-light]

Rescued

Tony Stark x Fem Reader

After being held captive for months, Tony works on a plan of escape with his two new found friends. It's a daring plan, and the three of them prepare to fight the odds, or die trying...

Warning: Mild coarse Language. Spoilers for Iron Man movie (first one).

Part 1

Author's Note: Thank you, and also my humblest apologies for the readers whom have waited for ages for, Part Two. The beginning of this year has been hectic, but hopefully the craziness is over and passed. And I can get on with more regular content. Thanks again guys, and really hope you enjoy Part 2. Want a Part 3? Let me know, and I promise the wait won't be ages. Enjoy!

"Come on..." Tony's voice gently tugged for your attention. His hand resting upon your shoulder, "we gotta move. There's still quite a long road ahead of us... it's not over yet."

Pulling you in gently, Tony rested his forehead against yours. "We made a promise to make it out of this hellhole."

Brushing a tear away from your cheek, Tony straightened his poster and pulled down the iron mask. Quickly checking the bullets remaining in your weapon, and adjusting the machine gun.

"Get behind me. Don't move or return fire until I say."

Your silent nod was all the confirmation he needed.

The whole camp took their positions before the opening of the cave. Nervous and twitchy hands hovered over the triggers of their weapons. Attempting to keep a stern expression, while the heavy echo of Tony's clanging iron suit came closer. Many wiped the sweat off their brows, as the harsh desert sun beamed down.

Soon as Tony came into their sights. No hesitation was made when the command to open fire filled the air. Raising an arm to shield his face from the sudden daylight as Tony emerged from the cave. Bullets came raining down in his direction, trying to make yourself as small as possible while hiding behind Tony. The sound of metal ricocheting off the iron suit made Tony's ears ring.

"Tony!"

"Not yet!" he shouted over the chaos. "Stay behind me! I've got this!"

Sparks flews off his iron suit. Small embers stung your skin as you tried to remain hidden behind Tony.

A few more seconds of gunfire continued to rain down, until their weapon barrels were empty. Surrounded by bullet shells at their feet, silence fell over, as the heavily armed men nervously waited for Tony's move...

Tony smiled underneath his iron helmet, "my turn..."

Peering over his shoulder, your eyes stung as the sudden heat from roaring flames emerged from Tony's suit. Fire soared from the gas tubes that were exposed underneath his wrist, holding out his arms as everything set a blaze around the two of you.

Carefully moving forwards towards the terrorists. You hid behind Tony again as the intense heat formed a sweat upon your brow.

Weapons. Creates. Tents. Everything was set alight

Gunpowder. Grenades. Small pieces of TNT caused explosions throughout the camp.

Your clutched onto the machine gun, as Tony moved forward. The terrorist ran, their shouts and screams filling the air as they too weren't safe from the flames.

Bullets once again rained down upon you, as the men reached their stationary guns and sniper rifles.

Stepping aside from the safety of your human shield of iron, you returned fire to cover Tony. The buzzing sound in your back pocket caused you to hide behind Tony, reaching in and pulling out a repurposed Nokia.

"Tony! You've got exactly eight more minutes, till your arc reactor stops powering the suit!"

"I'm making this as quick as I can, honey!" Tony strolled through the camp, continuing his rain of fire.

"Look out!"

Quickly taking a step behind Tony, bullets ricocheted off the iron suit as one of the men aimed their tactical gun at him. Raising an arm to defend himself from more bullets that came hammering from close range. The roaring flames provided little cover, as you attempted to return fire.

"I'm out of bullets!" as you threw the weapon aside, the sound of a bullet clogging the fine gears of the iron suit caught your attention. Your eyes widened as Tony fell down onto one knee. "Tony!"

More explosion erupted around you. Flames spreading everywhere, showing no signs of a clear way out.

"Put your arms around me!"

"What?!"

"Put your arms around me! And hold on tight!"

Throwing yourself onto Tony, wrapping your limbs around him as tightly as you could. Closing your eyes tightly, as Tony flipped two switches upon the inside of his arm, slamming a button down.

His suit rumbled and shook as a great force of power pushed him into the air. The ground swept away from your feet, wrapping your arms around his neck tighter as you hugged him from behind. You felt Tony grasp onto your limbs, as you screams deafened his ears.

As you rocketed upwards through the air, the camp erupted into flames. Explodesions ignited everything in their path, wiping the terrorist camp off the desert sands.

Half way through the air, the gas piping that redirected the fire to Tony's feet slowly begun to spit out. The roaring flames soon turned into useless ambers, before cutting out completely.

Your screams filled the air as you and Tony came crashing back down into earth. Bits of metal from the iron suit broke free, causing you to lose your grip.

"Y/N!"

"Tony!"

'Crash.' 'Clang.' 'Bang.'

Tony's body slammed against the harsh sand of the desert dune. Being buried waist high in sand, removing his helmet Tony released a heavy sigh. Gazing around at the pieces of scrap metal, wires and gears that scattered around him.

"Y/N! Y/N!"

Pushing the iron bracers away from his left hand, his blurry vision franticly gazed around.

"Y/N! Where are you?"

Loud ringing echoed in his ears. A pounding throbbed against his temples.

I couldn't of lost her! We've come too far to be separated now!

"Come on darling! Speak to me!"

"Here! I'm here, Tony!" you shouted, as you crawled to the top of the sand dune. "You crazy motherfucker!"

Tony attempted to laugh, but he only coughed and spluttered. Taking off more parts of the suit, you begun to dig Tony out of the sand.

"Any injuries?"

Tony groaned as you pulled him onto his feet, "besides a broken shoulder... fine. What about you?"

You smiled as he cupped your face. "I'm swore and in a lot of pain... but I think I should be fine."

Slowly stepping away, Tony took your hand in his. "Well... we're together now. No matter what, nothing's gonna hurt you while I'm around..."

It felt like hours as the pair of you slugged through the sands. The heat of the sun becoming more unbearable with each passing minute. Your sun turned a bright red, and the salty sweat dripping from your brow stung your eyes.

"Tony..." your voice was weak, bearly a whisper. "Tony... I-I can't..."

He wrapped an arm around your waist, using the remaining strength he had to keep you upright, and close to him.

"Yes... you can." his dry voice sounded just as dehydrated as yours. "We'll get through this..."

All you could do was flash him a weak smile, before you eyes rolled into the back of your head. Tony called out for you, as he felt your body go limp.

Just as his knees knelt against the sand. The roar of a helicopter hovered over his head, kicking up sand dust into his eyes. Tony raised his hand above his head, holding up a peace sign as he tried to shout over the machine.

A wave of relief washed over him, as Rhodey jumped out of the helicopter once it landed. His old friend rushed over, fully armed and equipped in US military tactical gear. Escorted by four of his loyal soldiers.

"How was the 'fun-vee?"

Tony chuckled at Rhodey's sarcastic remark.

Rhodey knelt down, placing a hand upon Tony's shoulder. "Next time you ride with me, okay?" he looked down at you, as you laid passed out in Tony's arms.

"She needs help."

"Safe your breath, my friend. Lieutenant!" Rhodey glanced over his shoulder, looking up at one of his men.

"Sir!"

"Assist Mr Stark back to the helicopter. I'll carry... our new friend..."

The lieutenant took Tony's arm, placing it around his shoulders and helping him onto his feet. While Rhodey gently scooped you up into his arms.

"Tony?..." your fluttered open, but your vision was too blurry to see anything.

"Shh..." Rhodey cooed. "I've got you, Miss. You and Tony are safe now..."

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@3joracha

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)

Rated PG-13 for strong violent content and disturbing material

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-hunger-games-ballad-of-songbirds.html>

Score: 3 out of 5

The Hunger Games was my jam in my college years. Even being just a bit older than its target demographic of teenagers, it was a series of books that I readily embraced as an antidote to the big young-adult literary sensation of my own high school years, Twilight. No sparkly vampires or Mormon abstinence messages here, no, these books were dark satires about teenagers forced to kill each other, like an American version of Battle Royale or a post-apocalyptic version of The Running Man, and what's more, they were actually shockingly well-written. Even if you were the kind of guy who'd never otherwise pick up a YA novel, there's no denying the appeal of that basic premise. And then came the film adaptations, which ranged from good to damn close to classic, even if splitting the last movie into two parts was kind of a dumb idea, and all the commercialism that got attached to the series was quite ironic given the messages in the books. It's those messages that are the big reason why I'm still nostalgic for the series today, long after the YA dystopia boom has passed us by. Suzanne Collins may not have been a subtle writer, but she was a smart one, and her books, for all their pulpy sci-fi flair, were fundamentally about how difficult it is to organize a revolution against even the most obviously unjust system, and how people you think of as allies may in fact have very different goals that stand opposed to your own -- a lesson that a lot of young people raised on the series and other teen-lit wastelands had to learn themselves as they organized against real-world injustices later in the decade.

Naturally, with the 15th anniversary of the original novel having recently passed us by, somebody decided that the time was right to revisit it. Three years ago, Collins, after having held off for years, wrote a prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a title evocative of the trend of epic fantasy novels that took over YA literature after the sci-fi dystopia boom), about the main villain of the series that explored his youth, the early years of the titular Games, and how they intersected to turn him into the bastard he became. I haven't yet read the book, but if the movie is any indication, I want to. It's a big and bloated movie that I thought could've stood to be trimmed down in some places and padded out in others, but it's one that boasts a star-making performance from Rachel Zegler as its heroine, an interesting new twist on its series' setting, and the same thoughtfulness that elevated the original trilogy above its peers. It had my attention from start to finish despite its length, and I'm not at all disappointed by my return to the world of Panem after all these years.

Set about 64 years before the events of the first book/movie, this one is set around the time of the 10th annual Hunger Games -- which is to say, ten years after the "Dark Days", the brutal war between the Capitol and the Districts for control of Panem, the post-apocalyptic wasteland formerly known as North America. The Capitol won the war, but ten years on, the scars are still visible. The film's retro-period setting was designed to evoke the 1950s with the technology and aesthetics on display, and in practice, it specifically evokes '50s Europe on both sides of the Iron Curtain, a time when the British were still winding down their wartime rationing, the cars were tiny econoboxes, the soldiers carried G3 rifles and traveled in Unimog trucks, the new construction replacing the bombed-out ruins was mostly shit-ugly brutalist monoliths, the old elite sought to maintain an appearance of propriety by dusting off old prewar fashions, and the scars of the war were still fresh in the minds of the younger generations. It's how I imagine a post-apocalyptic world that hasn't completely forgotten 21st century science would actually look once it had the time to start rebuilding itself, retaining some elements of modern technology (color TVs, certain plot-relevant biological weapons) but lacking the means to rebuild past a mid-20th-century level of technology, infrastructure, and industry; that would have to wait for later.

It was a creative choice that highlighted not only that this film is a prequel, but also the continuity between Panem's history and what it had become in the original trilogy -- because if "modern" Panem is an exaggerated parody of 21st century Western society, then it stands to reason that "historical" Panem might resemble a similarly grotesque version of what that society looked like seventy years ago. The world of Panem has always been part of the appeal of The Hunger Games, and this film did a lot to flesh that world out, showing us not only what it once looked like but also, more importantly, how it came up with the sick idea of the Games in the first place and how it might have possibly thought it a good idea. Watching the prologue set during the war, it took no time to realize the deprivation that the citizens of the Capitol experienced, and how pissed off they probably were when they finally won their hard-earned victory and peace, the future consequences of such be damned. The Capitol looks down on the Districts the way that Europeans at the time looked down on their colonies, or the Soviets looked down on their "fellow workers' states" in the Warsaw Pact (above all else the German "Democratic" Republic).

If the film's aesthetics look backwards, however, then its themes look forward, specifically to the life experiences that a lot of the books' readers in the years after their publication. Coriolanus Snow was, in his youth, a student at an elite academy competing with 23 of his classmates for a university scholarship, with the recipient of the scholarship decided by having the students each mentor a tribute in the Hunger Games, the winner being the one who puts on the best show for the citizens of the Capitol. Again, Collins wasn't subtle, and neither is this movie. The students' struggles may not be as life-or-death as those of the tributes, but direct and obvious parallels are drawn from the start, highlighting how the Capitol's system grinds down even the children of its own elites and turns them into the worst possible versions of themselves as they compete for favor and stab each other in the back. We see Snow, initially motivated by a desire to provide for a family that lost everything in the war, slowly but surely shed his morals as he comes up with a number of what would become the Games' signature concepts (particularly making the tributes into celebrities) and develop a star-crossed romance with his mediagenic, hot-headed tribute, District 12's Lucy Gray Baird. I liked Tom Blyth as Snow, watching him transform from a naive but well-intentioned rich kid into somebody who's willing to throw everybody and everything around him under the bus to advance his own interests, such that, by the time he finally, triumphantly returns to the Capitol at the end (not really a spoiler in a prequel telling the villain's origin story), even his own dear cousin Tigris barely recognizes what he's become.

The real MVP in the cast, though, was Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray. Implied to have been thrust into the Games thanks to a corrupt mayor in District 12 and her getting on the wrong side of a love triangle involving said mayor's daughter, from the moment she made her grand "screw you" entrance I was immediately rooting for her. Zegler gave the kind of "star in the making" performance that Jennifer Lawrence had for Katniss Everdeen, albeit playing a very different sort of character who has to learn the opposite things that Katniss later would. If Katniss was an outdoorsy survivalist who the Capitol turned into a glamorous romantic figure, then Lucy Gray is a theater kid (specifically, part of a group of traveling musicians known as the Covey) who has to learn how to fight, but one whose charisma and presence become an asset, especially once Snow realizes their potential to sway the audience to her side. Zegler carried a lot of this movie on her shoulders, from her multiple musical performances (putting her background in musical theater to great use) to her being the one who initially forces Snow to confront the ethics of the Games, with the breakdown of their relationship marking the last straw in his descent into villainy. Mark my words, Zegler is going places.

The supporting cast, too, was filled with standouts. Viola Davis devoured the scenery as the loopy scientist Dr. Volumnia Gaul who helps design some of the Capitol's bioweapons, Hunter Schafer had a small but memorable presence as Snow's cousin Tigris who watches his transformation, Jason Schwartzman played the Games' host Lucky Heavensbee like a snappy yet flippant '50s game show host, Ashley Liao made Snow's rival Clemencia such an obnoxious and cocky jackass, and Peter Dinklage playing Snow's dean at the academy as basically Tyrion Lannister as a bitter prep school headmaster, but I'll forgive it because there aren't a lot of people who play "I drink and I know things" better than him. Josh Andrés Rivera in particular got a lot to do as Snow's friend Sejanus, somebody with roots in District 2 who, even after his family got rich enough to become citizens, never forgot where he came from and voices the loudest objections to the morality of the Games. When it came to the tributes in the arena, the film sadly didn't take a lot of time to flesh out the ones not named Lucy Gray, but there were still highlights like the butch District 4 combatant Coral, Lucy Gray's District 12 partner Jessup, and the District 11 guy Reaper whose scary name turns out to be not at all indicative of his personality. The action was up to par with some of the best scenes from Catching Fire, director Francis Lawrence having lost none of his touch since the last time he worked on these films, with the bloodbath that opens the Games in particular being a hell of a one-take action scene shot largely from Lucy Gray's perspective.

Where this film ultimately let me down was its structure. It is a big movie, and there eventually comes a point where it rapidly shifts gears into something completely different, pulling Snow out of the confines of the Capitol and out into District 12. And if I'm being honest, it felt like a completely different movie from the one I'd been watching until then. It was still a good movie and an interesting story, but it felt like a whole new chapter of Snow's life where the problems he'd encountered in the first two acts, while still there, got pushed into the background as new characters and problems were introduced and Snow got sucked into the personal drama of District 12's inhabitants. I would've liked to see another scene of him interacting with his friends and family back home and keeping tabs on what's going on in the Capitol, as well as, more importantly, an scene or two in the first half of the film establishing some more of the people in Lucy Gray's life before she's chosen as tribute instead of throwing all of them at us in act three, especially given how it's all but stated that some of this drama was why she wound up in the arena in the first place. It would've been a minor change that likely would've added only a few minutes to the admittedly long runtime, but it would've alleviated a big problem I had with the third act of this movie, suddenly being asked to care about people I'd only just met knowing that there isn't a whole lot of movie left and there isn't much time to flesh them out.

The Bottom Line

This movie has a lot of, well, movie to cram in, and I'm not sure it entirely stuck the landing, but overall, it's a welcome return for a series I love, elevated by an outstanding lead performance by Rachel Zegler. Whether you're a diehard Hunger Games fan who was one of the first to snatch up the book this was based on the day it came out or a total newbie to the series who only knows it from memes, I recommend this movie.

[kaasknot]

Hey! I have a paper on Buster Keaton coming up in my History of Film class? Would you be willing to info dump everything you know about him? I've only heard of this man through your blog and don't know where to start haha

bruh you're lucky you weren't standing next to me when i read this, my screech would have blown out your ears.

okay, buster keaton 101. he was one of the giants of the silent comedy era, alongside charlie chaplin and harold lloyd, and from the period of 1920 to 1929 he put out 19 short films and 10 feature length films under his own studio, plus two more silent films under MGM that can creditably be called his creations (i use his filmography page on wikipedia to keep it all straight). he also had the unique distinction of doing all his stunts himself, as well as doubling for many of his co-stars. most of these stunts have never been replicated, because honestly they'd probably kill people; his crew called him the "little iron man" because he was fearless and nigh indestructible. he was also a genius behind the camera, in ways that unfortunately i probably can't fully appreciate.

he was born october 4, 1895 in piqua, kansas, during a one-night stopover. his parents were working with a traveling medicine show at the time, to little acclaim, along with harry houdini before he got big. buster's first known stage appearance was as a toddler, interrupting his father's act. at first they tried to shoo him offstage, but his antics drew bigger laughs from the audience, so they decided to incorporate him into the act—leading to what would eventually be called, once they reached vaudeville, "the three keatons." buster said in interviews that his first salaried year was at 5 years of age, in 1899. that was when his family finally hit the big time—and he was almost single-handedly responsible for it.

their act is incredibly difficult to describe. the central conceit was: joe keaton threw little buster across the stage in a parody of strict parenting, while myra keaton played accompaniment on the saxophone. the best description i've found is biographer rudi blesh's, in his 1966 book, Keaton, on pp. 30–33 and 47–48. you can borrow a copy here. (be careful with this book; the author has a way with words, but he sets aside facts in favor of mythology more than once. for a rigorously researched and trustworthy biography, one with all the dates and weights, go for A Filmmaker's Life (2022) by james curtis.)

vaudeville was buster's early training ground, where he learned tumbling, comedic timing, improvisation, and how to construct a gag. most film comedians of the era got their start in vaudeville or comparable music halls, and many of the gags buster performed in his movies were adapted from vaudeville stage magic or repurposed from the family act. if there's one single book on buster keaton i'd recommend, it's Camera Man (2022) by dana stevens. it's not as dense or as thorough as the james curtis book, but it's an extremely good overview of the main events of his life AND the surrounding historical context—including vaudeville. it's also just a really fun read.

buster's vaudeville era ended in 1917, when he was forced to break up the family act over his father's worsening alcoholism. the official party line is that joe couldn't handle the fact that he was getting older, which i think is partly true, but i think a more true explanation is that he couldn't handle the fact that he was outshone by his own son (pretty much all sources agree that buster was the better comedian). he took his anger out on buster onstage during performances, and out on his wife offstage between performances, until myra finally had enough. she and buster ditched joe in los angeles when buster was 21 years old. here's an interesting paper that digs into buster's rough childhood and the impact it likely had on his films.

buster almost immediately found work as a solo act, but a chance encounter with an acquaintance introduced him to roscoe "fatty" arbuckle, then one of the highest-paid, most well-known comedians in film. it took one day on set—and one night disassembling a camera—to convince buster to abandon the stage for a film career. as a bonus, he and arbuckle became life-long friends. they spent the next three years working non-stop, making 14 short films together (plus a couple more buster wasn't involved in, during the 10-month period he was overseas for ww1). the grueling schedule wasn't without its downsides, and arbuckle, tired of making short films, decided to move to feature-length films, which had a slower, more relaxed pace. he left buster his entire studio and crew.

and that's when the real magic began. buster started (continued) with short films: 20 minute "2-reelers" that were played before a feature film, basically doing what looney tunes cartoons would do later. the best way to understand how different buster was from the dominant comedic idiom of the time is to watch a couple of arbuckle shorts ("coney island" and "the garage" are good choices), then watch a couple of buster's own ("one week" and "cops" are probably the best known). buster catered his humor to an older audience, and his gags were sophisticated, subtle, often cynical or ironic, and intricate to construct and film. "keaton made you laugh, then think" (blesh, xi).

in 1923, buster dropped short films in favor of feature-length films, starting with "three ages." he was a little behind the curve on this, but not through lack of trying; if he'd gotten his way, he'd have been the first major comedian to switch to feature-length films. unfortunately, studio contracts and his producer's cold feet held him back for a few more years, so chaplin and lloyd got there first. not that that slowed buster down; his output in the eight years he had creative control is virtually unmatched. despite getting married (in 1921, to natalie talmadge) and having two children (james, 1922, and robert, 1924), he continued filming at breakneck pace. to see what he could do with a camera, i'd recommend "sherlock jr." to see him at his cinematic best, i'd recommend "the general" "the cameraman" (i just committed cinematic heresy with that recommendation, but IN MY DEFENSE it was thee romcom training film for 20 years at MGM, well into the talkie era, so it's hardly a dud :p).

in 1928, buster's producer, joseph schenck, sold his contract to MGM. buster wasn't the owner of keaton studios, just an employee, so he didn't have much say in the matter. both chaplin and lloyd tried to talk him out of it, but in the end he signed the new contract anyway. later, he said it was the worst mistake of his career. denied the creative control he was accustomed to, he gradually descended into full-blown alcoholism, running away from his studio responsibilities and his disintegrating marriage alike. his final film for MGM, "what! no beer?", was an attempted buddy comedy with jimmy durante, and buster was visibly drunk or hungover in almost every scene. MGM fired him in 1932; his divorce, started in 1932, was finalized in 1933.

from there, buster had some dark years. he got married a second time, in 1934, to mae scriven (who mostly seems to have been a con artist), before they divorced in 1936. he was in and out of various rehabs, and nearly died at least once, before he managed to buck the odds and dry out. he spent the last years of the '30s working as a gag man and consultant for other comedians at MGM.

after that, things started to get better. he met his third wife, eleanor norris, in 1938 and they married in 1940. he had a couple high profile cameos in big movies, my favorite being the one in "sunset boulevard," where he played one of norma desmond's waxworks. then, a massively popular article by james agee, titled "comedy's greatest era," was published in LIFE magazine in 1949, kicking off a resurgence of interest in silent film as an art form and as a feature of cinematic history. agee paid special attention to buster, and that, combined with buster's own fascination with the up-and-coming technology of television, led to his comeback. he worked steadily and enthusiastically in television (and occasionally in movies) up until he died of lung cancer on february 1, 1966, living long enough to see his films receive the recognition they deserved. (also here, have this nice article i found while trying to find the one by james agee.)

i've never taken a film history class myself, so i can't begin to explain all the ways buster keaton advanced filmmaking. here's an article that analyzes the gag as a staple of film comedy; a book that analyzes buster's comic and directorial style chiefly through "the general"; and another article that explores gags, this time specifically mechanical gags, and has lots of nice things to say about buster. if this isn't enough and you decide to go whole chicken fried hog on buster like i have, hit up me, @spokir, or @busterkeatonsociety and we can connect you with all the material you could possibly want.

enjoy!!!

(colossal, chrysler building-sized thanks to spokir, who sourced most of these articles. seriously, talk to your local librarian, they WANT to find things for you.)

[iphyslitterator]

2023 Oscars Trivia (Post-Ceremony)

Like last year, the Best Picture winner had a big night: Oppenheimer won 7 awards, as did Everything Everywhere All at Once. This post will use the word "consecutive" a lot.

This is the second consecutive year that a film won 7+ awards. The last time that happened was 1996-1998 (The English Patient; Titanic; Shakespeare in Love).

This is the second consecutive year that a film has won multiple acting awards. The last time that happened was 2003 & 2004 (Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby). The only other time consecutive Best Picture winners won multiple acting awards was 1953 & 1954 (From Here to Eternity and On the Waterfront).

Four consecutive Best Picture winners have won for acting, the longest streak since 1998-2002.

Oppenheimer is the first film since The Artist (2011) to win both Best Picture and Best Actor.

Oppenheimer is the 6th film to win both male acting awards and the first since Dallas Buyers Club (2013). The last Best Picture winner to win both male acting awards was Ben-Hur (1959).

Three of this year's acting winners have starred in superhero films: Emma Stone was Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man, Cillian Murphy was Scarecrow in the Nolan Batman movies, and Robert Downey Jr., of course, is Iron Man.

Oppenheimer is the highest-grossing Best Picture winner since The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

Three Best Picture nominees went home empty-handed: Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, and Past Lives.

Killers of the Flower Moon is the third Scorsese film to receive 10 nominations and 0 awards (Gangs of New York, 2002; The Irishman, 2019).

Diane Warren continues to hold the record for most Original Song nominations without a win (15) and continues to be the woman with the most Oscar nominations without a win. She has lost six in a row.

Bradley Cooper is now tied for 8th place among individuals with the most nominations without a win (12).

Despite several nominations -- Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Matteo Garrone's Io Capitano for International Feature -- none of the men behind Goncharov took home an Oscar.

This is the 8th consecutive year with at least one black winner, extending the record.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph is the 10th black woman to win Best Supporting Actress -- the first acting category to hit double digits.

This is the fourth consecutive year with at least one non-white acting winner (Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in 2022; Will Smith and Ariana DeBose in 2021; Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-jung in 2020) -- the longest streak ever.

Cord Jefferson is the 8th black screenplay winner, and this is the 6th such win (all but one were for Adapted Screenplay).

This is the fourth year in a row that a woman has won a screenplay award (Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Sarah Polley for Women Talking, Sian Heder for CODA, Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman) -- the longest streak ever.

Both screenplay wins were the only wins for their films, and both wins included the film's director. This is the 9th year in a row that a director has won for Original Screenplay, and the 6th year in a row for Adapted Screenplay; both are records.

Kiyoko Shibuya is the third woman and first woman of color to win for Visual Effects (Suzanne M. Benson for Aliens, 1986; Sara Bennett for Ex Machina, 2015).

Neil Corbould, nominated for The Creator, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part I, and Napoleon, is the first person to lose for Visual Effects three times in one year (don't worry, he's already won twice).

Billie Eilish (22) and Finneas O'Connell (26) are the youngest people to win multiple Oscars ("No Time to Die" from No Time to Die, 2021).

At 35, Emma Stone is the 8th-youngest person and woman to win two acting Oscars, and the 7th-youngest to win Best Actress twice.

Cillian Murphy is the first Irish Best Actor winner.

Christopher Nolan was the only individual to win multiple awards (Picture and Director).

Christopher Nolan is the first white man to win Best Director solo since Damien Chazelle (La La Land, 2016). Including Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once, this is the first time since 2010 & 2011 that white men have won Best Director in consecutive years (Tom Hooper for The King's Speech; Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist), and that consecutive Best Picture winners have had a white male director.

The Zone of Interest is the first film from the United Kingdom to win Best International Feature. It is the fifth Best Picture nominee in six years to win in this category, and the third in a row (Drive My Car and All Quiet on the Western Front).

20 Days in Mariupol is the first Ukrainian film to win an Oscar.

Takashi Yamazaki is the second director to win for Visual Effects (Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968).

Godzilla Minus One is the first Godzilla film to win an Oscar and the first Japanese film to win for Visual Effects (Tora! Tora! Tora!, 1970, was an American-Japanese co-production). Previously, the only Asian Visual Effects winner was Taiwanese-American Doug Chiang (Death Becomes Her, 1992).

This is the second time that only one non-Best Picture nominee won in a main category (i.e. excluding Animated, Documentary, International, shorts). The other time was 1997 (Best Makeup for Men in Black); notably, that was the year Titanic tied the record for most awards.

This is the second year in a row that the most-nominated film a) won Best Picture and b) won the most awards of the night. The last time consecutive most-nominated films won the most awards was 2016 & 2017 (La La Land and The Shape of Water); the last time consecutive most-nominated films won Best Picture was 2009 & 2010 (The Hurt Locker and The King's Speech).

This is the second consecutive year that multiple films have won 4+ awards (Everything Everywhere All at Once and All Quiet on the Western Front). The last year with multiple 4+ winners was 2014 (Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel), and the last time it happened consecutively was 2010 & 2011 (The King's Speech and Inception; The Artist and Hugo).

This is the third consecutive year that three or fewer films have won multiple awards, the longest streak since 1956-1960.

Two couples shared wins: Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas for Best Picture, and Justine Triet & Arthur Harari for Original Screenplay.

Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas are the third couple to share a Best Picture win (Richard D. Zanuck & Lili Fini Zanuck, Driving Miss Daisy, 1989; Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003).

Justine Triet & Arthur Harari are the third couple to win for Original Screenplay (Muriel & Sydney Box, The Seventh Veil, 1946; Earl W. & Pamela Wallace, Witness, 1985).

Toshio Suzuki is the second Asian winner of Animated Feature, and Hayao Miyazaki is the first Asian to win twice (Spirited Away, 2002).

The Boy and the Heron and Spirited Away are the only two hand-drawn animated films and the only two non-English-language films to win Animated Feature.

Pixar has lost Animated Feature three years in a row, its longest drought ever.

Holly Waddington is the first person since Mark Bridges (The Artist, 2011) to win Best Costume Design for her first nomination.

[the-technicolor-whiscash]

I think what I found most interesting about Oppenheimer other than obviously the plot was the fact it was broken into such a defined three-act story structure like it was buildup, Los Alamos, and then aftermath and I think it would almost benefit from being a three part miniseries (with each part being an hour long) because of that. The length of the film lends itself to being broken up for viewing even though seeing it all in one sitting is definitely valuable as you put all the parts together to create this whole story.

I feel like the beginning was more almost experimental than the end with the like quick cuts to imagery of atoms I actually really liked that and I wished they’d kept it up because it added a lot to the visuals, rather than it just being a bunch of guys in grey suits talking. It also added to the like ideas of quantum physics and made it feel more tangible to the viewer cause like, I know basic stuff about quantum physics because I had to take physics for geology but most people won’t because they have no need for it, so providing a visual however abstract helps to bridge that understanding for the viewer and helps you to understand the scientific weight of what was being discussed here.

I think the cast was exceptional, Cillian Murphy was obviously the headliner and did a phenomenal job (I think he’s just a good actor in general) but the other actors also did very well and I was surprised how much I enjoyed Robert Downey Jr’s performance given that I had only ever seen him as iron man which is uh. Perhaps not representative of his proper acting talent.

Some of the film was slightly confusing if you didn’t comprehend why certain things were happening like the fact they were flip-flopping between the hearing, the other hearing (in black and white), and the actual story of his career was jarring at the beginning and it felt like at times they forgot about it, particularly during the second act.

Frankly I wish they had shown real footage of the aftermath of the bombs. It was a real, horrific thing that destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people that America should feel guilty about. We should see it and wonder how on earth it was thought justified in the first place. All acts of war are terrible, but these bombs were the worst weapons of mass destruction ever created, and they were used on civilians. Everyone who took part in creating and administering them has blood on their hands. The viewer should know what we did. Should understand it through more than just words. Words only go so far.

Anyway I also liked the sound design because like ok. I’ve seen a rocket launch before. There’s a moment where you see it, you watch it lift off, and then a time later comes the sound. It rolls in like thunder after the crack of lightning, waves of force passing through the molecules of the air. You can feel it in your sternum, in your lungs. You’re waiting for it. You don’t know exactly when it will come, but you know you will feel it. They did a good job representing that with the explosions. You see the blast, you see the fireball consume the air around it. And you wait. There is a moment of deadly silence. Then a deafening roar.

All in all I’m glad I saw it in theaters because watching it at home truly doesn’t do it justice. I do not think it should have had the media circus connecting it with Barbie I think especially looking back on it it was tone-deaf to the lives lost in the tragedy of the atomic bombs. But it was a good movie, well made. It reminds you of what a good movie can be, how it can make you feel, good or bad. 9/10.

[livingonfanficseyra]

Bridgerton Halloween (Part 2)

Kate had purchased Charlotte's Elsa costume long back in August, knowing that it would be impossible to find one when it neared Halloween.

However, now that Anthony has decided to dress up as Anna to accompany their precious five-year-old, she had to find the costume for her husband less than nine days before Halloween.

She had thought that it was sweet of her husband to agree to dress up as a princess from a Disney movie and she did show her appreciation of his thought after they retired to bed that evening.

But by the end of next day, after rummaging through the nooks and corners of the internet, she decided that finding a Princess Anna costume to fit her 38-year-old husband was practically impossible.

She had to somehow find a costume, or she will go all out and make one if she had to, because the last thing that she wanted was to disappoint Charlotte. She remembered the excited look on her daughter's face and how much she was looking forward to dressing up as Elsa with her Papa.

Kate had somehow managed to find a large black top and green frock. She was not a professional by any means with needle and thread but altering and adjustments she can manage.

After endless hours of trial and error, sweat, blood and tears, she inspected her work and was satisfied with the results.

She dragged a sleepy Anthony to try on the dress and he silently obeyed his wife's command and did a twirl.

"Oh my! Look at me. I'm so pretty!" Anthony fluttered her eyelashes at her, and she burst out laughing.

When Kate recovered, she inspected him up and down, "Hmm. Not bad, Anthony or should I say Anna?"

Anthony bowed dramatically, "It's Princess Anna!"

Kate bit her lips to stop laughing again.

"Well, Princess Anna, aren't you going to shave your beard and mustache before Halloween?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.

Anthony gasped, his hands flying to his beard, covering them as if to protect them.

"Kate! How could you?" He looked affronted.

"Princesses don't generally have beards and mustaches, husband, not saying they can't have. But Princess Anna definitely doesn't have a beard and mustache."

Anthony raised his hands. "Okay. First of all, you know how precious my beard is. Second, I remember you, my wife, enjoying them particularly many a time. Three, like you said, there's no rule that Princesses can't have beard and/or mustache."

Kate chuckled, her cheeks flushed, "All valid points. I will admit that I am partial towards that beard, darling."

Anthony opened his arms, "See? I knew it. And if it's any consolation, I can be Princess Anthony."

"Alright. That won't be necessary. We'll stick with Princess Anna." And then after a split second, she added, "At least in that dress."

Anthony winked at her, "I am open to modeling new clothes, Mrs. Bridgerton."

Kate rolled her eyes before leaning and kissing him passionately.

"We'll see, Mr. Bridgerton." She whispered against his lips.

It was chaos in the house on the day of Halloween. Edmund and Miles at eleven and thirteen were dressed up as Iron Man and Captain America.

They were waiting, impatiently, for Charlotte to come downstairs because Kate had given them a warning if they didn't, there will be dire consequences.

After what felt like hours to Ed and Miles, Charlotte came downstairs in a blue and silver dress. Her hair was braided, cheeks dusted with light pink blush and her tiny lips painted with pink lipstick. 

The boys clapped loudly, cheering for their little sister.

"Oh, sweetheart. You look so pretty." Kate went and hugged Charlotte.

"Thank you, Amma. Do you like my make-up? I did it myself." She looked proud.

Kate nodded, smiling widely. "I love your make-up. Did Papa braid your hair?"

Charlotte nodded.

The cheers and claps of the boys died down as they took in their Papa, descending the stairs. The two looked at him, wide-eyed, mouths hanging open identically.

Anthony was wearing a dress, his chest hair was visible at the top, highlighted by the sweetheart neckline of the black top. The bottle green frock of the dress bellowed around him, but it fell short above his ankle. Yet, the highlight of the entire look was his face.

His beard and mustache were styled with gel, and it would have looked dashing were it not for the matching pink lipstick on his lips. His had also taken time to do his eyes. Kate was impressed with the wings he drew but the green eyeshadow kind of ruined the effect, clashing horribly with the pink lipstick. 

Kate observed her boys' reaction to their Papa's look and bit her lips hard to stop herself from bursting out in laughter.

"Papa looks pretty, doesn't he?" Charlotte asked, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yes, he does look extremely pretty."

Charlotte smiled widely, "I applied lipstick for him and the eyeshadows." 

"It looks great, sweetheart." Kate spoke, prompting Anthony to twirl.

"My daughter is a professional." Anthony spoke and held his hand out to Charlotte.

"Shall we go, Princess?"

"Yes, Papa."

Ed looked at them, in alarm, "Papa, you're not going out with Charlotte, are you?"

Anthony looked at him, his eyebrows scrunched, "Of course, I am going with Charlotte. Why else would I dress up?"

"But you're wearing a dress." Ed protested and Miles nodded his head in agreement, beside him.

"And?" 

"But you're a boy." Miles piped in.

"So?" Anthony asked, raising his eyebrows, staring at his boys.

"Boys don't wear dresses." Miles looked at him, affronted.

"Yes, only girls wear dresses." Edmund added, looking irritated.

"Where does it say that? I didn't know there was a rule." Anthony stared at them, and they looked at Kate for support only to be met with a steely stare.

The two of them exchanged glances and shuffled on their feet.

"But-"

"No. Listen to me when I say this. There aren't any rules that 'only boys are allowed to do this' or 'only girls are allowed to do that'. Everyone in this world have the freedom to do whatever they want, dress in whatever clothes they like or be whoever they want as long as they don't hurt another being. Let's stop policing everything, shall we?"

Ed and Miles nodded.

Anthony clapped his hands, smiling widely, "Now let me look at my boys. Ooh, wicked Iron Man and Captain America costumes."

Kate went and hugged them. She felt bad to see their small faces, but it was necessary that the boys grow up learning the right things.

She took her phone out, "Now, photo time everyone! Say cheese!"

"CHEESE!!"

Inspiration for bearded!Anna (bearded!Anthony) from @greenlightbulb-s comment on Part 1