#but im talking big theater release

[o000ze]

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM🙏

Maybe in this movie shockwave will not be killed off in the movie with only about 5 minutes of screen time and about 2 voice lines😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[altho-arto]

watched Nimona today ⚔️❤️‍🔥👾

as a fan of the original ND Stevenson comic i wasnt sure what to expect of this 3D animated movie adaptation (especially cause i didnt like its new art style compared to the "dot eyes" one of the OG) , but wow. ITS SO GOOD

Genuinely had a great time, find the slight redesigns of some characters pretty nice (and overall the 3D look grew on me, good job), LOVE a lot of the soundtrack and colours/atmosphere this film has going on \o/ also brb getting emotional over the Even More Obvious trans allegory + the relationship between Nimona and Ballister 🥹🥹🥹

[sonknuxadow]

whenever some popular artist releases recordings of their concerts as movies you can see at theaters im just like "hmm i don't really get the appeal of this isn't the whole Point of concerts getting to hear the music live in person. youre still just watching a recording whats the big deal why do people talk about them as if theyre so special" knowing that i was there for the premiere of the sonic 30th anniversary symphony and losing my shit

[seerofmike]

mike 2023 year in review

whats up, this is something i started last year where i decided at the end of the year i would talk about 7 movies + 7 viddy games i enjoyed this year (the movies will be 2023 releases, the games will be all over the place). this is so i can look back on the future on the things i enjoyed this year but since im posting it publicly most of these will be written as recommendations i guess

also i did not have a lot of money to see movies this year so most of these will be IP movies :( sawi. also also 2023 was a mega good year for gaming. or so i've heard. most of the big 2023 games this year either came out on consoles i don't own (nintendo + sony releases), are next-gen only as far as xbox goes or unable to run on my dinky little laptop (AW2, the finals, re4, etc) or are just games in genres i dont really give a shit about (bg3, starfield, sea of stars). significant 2023 games i did play this year were dave the diver and dredge but not enough to be on the list. maybe next year hehe

anyways without further ado. my top 7 movies and top 7 games this year, in alternating (movie/game/move/game/etc) AND alphabetical order:

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

yeah you knew this shit was going on here. i saw this movie 8(eight) times in theaters. the first two times were because of the audio issues with the first cut but the rest was because the movie fucked babeeeeey. you don't need me to tell you how good this was

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood (2023)

ok listen before i recommend this game i have to be mean to make a point first. if you know anything about me you know i think tarot is stupid as fuck and i think witchy nonsense is. well. just that. nonsense. it makes me roll my eyes especially the particular brand of like. r/WitchesVersusPatriarchy stuff. man i just dont like any sort of spiritualism or religious stuff. with that being said this game fucks tremendously and i cannot recommend it enough

you get to design your own tarot deck and each card will be unique and have meanings based on the templates you're given. you can then use these cards to tell your friends' fortunes. except it goes way deeper than that but i dont want to spoil the twist for you. also it kind of becomes a different game midway through but i like management games so its fine. anyways good game and very repayable with all the card designs you can make and fortunes you can read. art style is also very nice.

(more under da cut)

Barbie

man i know a lot of people dont like this movie after the hype wore off because its Baby's First Feminism. and that's fine. i don't really think it was trying to achieve some uber deep commentary. but the set design and costuming was great and you could tell the actors and crew were having so much fucking fun and as someone who wants to go into movies i will always like movies where the people making them are having fun.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023)

i like the visual novel where everyone dresses in a funny costume and sonic fucking dies ok. it was so cute and had very good characterization for people i didnt think would ever be in the focus of a game again like espio ........go play the murder of sonic thee hedge

Bottoms

this one is probably my 2nd favorite movie of the year tbh. i need more absurdist gay comedies. i wish i could go on about how hilarious this movie is but i dont wanna give away all jokes but anyways go watch the lesbian incel movie and have a good time

Potionomics (2022)

if i had a nickel for every gay witch game i played this year with significant card and management mechanics and appealing art i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

anyways potionomics is absolutely my favorite game that i've played this year. it's not all that similar to cosmic wheel sisterhood despite the basic concept and some gameplay elements. CWS is more like a visual novel. potionomics is a fucking nightmare and i love it SO much.

you brew potions and then sell them by haggling with customers using cards. customers can haggle back and it can get VERY difficult. everything you do takes up limited time slots such as gathering ingredients and brewing potions and visiting your friends and btw you can visit your friends and all of the characters are incredibly charming and i had trouble picking which one to romance. (roxanne my beloved <3) (also the white haired character in the screenshot above is a nonbinary goblin :) ) (this game has CAT PIRATES)

the game also rewards you with befriending the characters and gives you cards the deeper your relationships become and new gameplay mechanics open themselves up to you until the last couple stretches of the game. it's very fun, very stressful, but very rewarding once you figure out how to maximize your profits and use up your time slots effectively. i had a fucking blast.

also the animation is so good. literally the best animation on this sort of stylized 3d model in a game i've ever seen. PLEASE play potionomics.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

god man. i just love the guardians so much. tbh this is my least favorite movie of the trilogy but all three of them are easily better than nearly every other marvel movie regardless. i love nebula and rocket so much and seeing small moments between them like her choking up when she hears he's okay fucking Gets To Me. i loved me asshole mercenaries who become a found family and try to be good people.

Prey (2017)

prey is not my favorite game this year nor my favorite survival sim but the first five or so hours of this game were the most engrossed i was in a game this year. towards the middle and ending portions it starts to lose me a little bit (the game is still good!) but the beginning was absolutely the best part.

being trapped in space with aliens that can mimic items in your surroundings leaves you extremely paranoid, and combing through the station finding recordings and notes and evidence of the lives of the people who were once there, knowing that most of them are probably dead--while monsters lurk around the corner ready to fuck your shit up--was deeply engrossing. i wish i could erase my brain and experience those first hours again being terrified of everything that moved before i got a shotgun and figured out how to win fights pretty regularly lol

Killers of the Flower Moon

if you're gonna watch a 3 hour movie this year about atrocities committed in the past i'd recommend this one over The Other One tbh. i found it deeply engaging and thought lily gladstone gave a great performance that easily outshone leo. the events of the movie are deeply harrowing and i think there is definitely some discussion to be had about how the movie centers on the white men despite scorses's intentions but the technical work was great and i think it really does a good job of showing just how deep this shit went in the community as opposed to being 'just a couple of bad whites' or w/e other narrative people will try to spin.

Psycholonials (2021)

im gonna go ahead and say right now i don't really recommend this game unless you are familiar with andrew hussie and HS/their other work. i think the game was fine but tbh it probably would not have been on my list if it was made by anyone else. that's not to say it's bad, just like. nothing mind blowing.

that being said i did very much enjoy this game in the sense that, as someone who DOES know a thing or two about andrew hussie, the way they feel about their work (especially HS in the years afterward), it was interesting seeing them make a game about starting a cult by accident, with all the gender fuckery and feelings of paranoia about being cancelled and how out of control its become feeling like a little glimpse into them. watching how manic and obsessive the protag gets with several years of Hussie Context(tm) makes this way more interesting than the game itself if im being fully honest.

if the game truly sucked it wouldn't be on here but do take my word for it that you'd probably appreciate it way more if you were a HS fan LMAO

Skinamarink (2022)

ok so technically skinamarink came out in 2022 BUT it got a theatrical release in january 2023 which is when *i* saw it so i'm counting it as a 2023 movie. anyways skinamarink is simultaneously very scary and also boring as shit and i could never actually recommend this movie to anyone but the fact that it was made at all and made a PROFIT is outstanding to me and i'm obsessed with it as an aspiring filmmaker. an hour and fourty minutes of staring at a dark corner to build atmosphere. fuck yeah

Venba (2023)

this one's very short but i found it very compelling despite how short it was. it almost felt TOO short but i like it for what it is. as the son (and grandson) of mexican immigrants who often regretted migrating for cultural and language reasons this really connected with me and the cooking puzzles were fun but i really wisht here was more of them. it's less about the puzzles though and more about the narrative and i thought it was really smart to make the throughline food. very good game. buy it.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

look at my fucking sons. everyone say thank you spider verse for changing the animation industry. i love how the boys' VAs were just goofing off and having fun and bouncing off each other it was great

This War of Mine (2014)

this one is a survival management game where you have to scavenge for materials somewhere in war-torn eastern europe with some stealth mechanics. some of your characters die very easy and some characters have 'negative' traits like being unable to sneak out or fight or drink up all your alcohol and it's not like the best in its genre but i did spend a ton of time in it. i still need to finish like a single scenario and not a custom game LMAO

[biolizardboils]

utterly obsessed with a specific aspect of how the final fight ends. major spoilers below the cut

so. im talking about Super Sonic's final blow to the robot resembling the foot poke from 06. like it made me laugh in the theater, but now something about it just grips my brain. 

the whole scene gives off an all-encompassing sense of triumph. the cinematography, the effects, the swelling music; the Emeralds reacting to Sonic’s desire to save his parents as they sacrifice themselves to comfort him in certain death; the simple awe of seeing Super Sonic on the big screen, a lifelong dream come true.

and it culminates in, of all things, the foot poke. a direct reference to the series’ greatest failure, a source of shame from its creators and fans alike, an infinite ammo that both parties have been hit with with constantly for 15 years. hell, it was Wikipedia's featured article on the movie’s release date.

i don’t know for sure it was meant this way, but it’s oddly poetic that the movie takes a moment from the series’ lowest point... and incorporates it into its highest high in decades. something something bringing things full circle, embracing your mistakes so you can rise above them... there’s a saying out there that explains the feeling better, i’m sure. just.... fuck, man

[cavewretch]

nostalgic absurdism, a media (crit?) list

this black eyed peas music video that came out in 2023 is my thesis statement for this entire concept please watch it i could write a whole paper just about this video. the dead eyed stares of every performer. the star wars font. the lyrics dripping in so much party language it hurts. the "i feel so alive" delivered so incredibly lifelessly. the chorus being "dont worry about a thing, because everything's gonna be alright". it's black eyed peas, shakira, and david guetta giving you the shallowest most haunting memory of 2014 you could imagine. it's phenomenal. oh and aliens. shakira suddenly becomes the leader of the alien dance team but now she has blue eyes. the black eyed peas are abducted at the end. please watch it i beg

ok anyway on to the list (ongoing so this post will continue to be updated) (feel free to send suggestions 🫶)

i have two spotify playlists for this that i made a couple years ago. i stopped using spotify last year so they aren't updated but here is RECE$$10N and Pandemic Era - Nostalgic Absurdism .

song special mentions from those playlists:

save by nct127 - the samsung memory card ad campaign sponsored futuristic-with-some-plants-music-video kpop party song

bo burnham's inside (i am not talking about him as the media-criticizer, i am arguing his special is of this era? moment? itself. im putting him here as a critique)

any song that goes viral on tiktok

most musicians that come out of tiktok

any official sped-up version release (not youtube nightcore)

any covid-themed special release (songs with titles like socialdistancing, new normal, lockdown, etc) . i believe that we will win by pitbull which takes the american government's approach of "viruses are an entity capable of morality and this evil enemy is combatable" . other insane songs: you are the champions (queen/adam lambert, for Health Workers), masks, gloves, soap, scrubs (todrick hall, also for Health Workers)

old groups coming together to make new music in the face of "these trying times" aka jonas brothers, big time rush, abba, etc

hear me out. the 2022 minions sequel soundtrack especially turn up the sunshine diana ross/tame impala

non-music:

fashion trends (90s 80s 2000s 2010s)

every remake reboot sequel prequel of the last 10 years (star wars etc)

marvel movies

streaming services for everything

shows/movies being filmed for clipability and vertical phone screens

stranger things

minions meme resurgence (this was happening in 2022 on twitter)

old meme resurgence in general (i saw a troll face one recently) (sure it's done in the post-post-post ironic way but it still has trollface)

d&d resurgence (something something methods of theater/storytelling adapting to the social climate)

playlist updates (since i stopped using spotify)

3d country by geese

ogoin & linguini: tv show (this is brasil specific i don't get all the references myself but it's fun to listen to)

only god was above us by vampire weekend

raw data feel & mountainhead by everything everything

january never dies by balming tiger

two night by tierra whack

gangsta by free nationals, asap rocky, & anderson .paak

mos thoser by food house,

>something something nostalgia as a tool / umberto eco ur-fascism

growing up online a neighbor to this line of thought

[ryker-writes]

Can I have a matchup plz

Gender: cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: heterosexual ally

Zodiac: Capricorn

Appearance: 5’2 African American hourglass body (although I’m more top heavy if you know what i mean) black curly wavy hair blackish brown eyes chubby cheeks wears glasses sometimes (im far sighted so it’s usually when driving in class or at the theater)

Mbti: infj

Enneagram: 2w1

Personality: kind smart funny motherly responsible empathetic anxious emotional moody perfectionist helpful people pleaser caring compassionate nerdy curious protective polite respectful indecisive fearful nervous introvert shy awkward clumsy low self esteem low confidence (more pertaining to my talents or personality then my looks) sassy sarcastic (I’m mainly these things with people i feel comfortable with like friends or family) soft spoken cute (my friends think im cute because i can be pretty innocent plus I’m small physically)

Likes: animals books reading writing fantasy magic sci fi anime music video games friends alone time learning personality quizzes sweets and bread helping being a part of something bigger than myself

Dislikes: spiders loud sounds people who harm others people who don’t take others into consideration (like make insensitive jokes or don’t consider the comfort of others or are mean just cause they can) people i care about not caring for themselves (im a hypocrite on this i take care of everyone else but not me) not being listened to weird holes and patterns math and tests (I’m being tested for a math disability and i have test anxiety)

Love language:

Giving: acts of service gift giving and physical affection (if they’re ok with it)

Receiving: words of affirmation and physical affection (although i can be shy about it)

Extra: i pace a lot i sing when im alone i talk to myself im a picky eater (mainly with textures) i have a cat i have minor ehlers danalos (a hyper mobility disorder) but it doesn’t hurt me like it does my sisters i get abdominal migraines which is basically like a migraine but instead of headaches it’s nausea

Thank you

"Of course! I'd be happy to give you a matchup, and I appreciate all the information you gave me. From your personality and likes, you actually remind me a lot myself when I was younger. But pushing that aside, I know who to match you with.

I think you would do well with Silver!"

Silver adores how kind you are and how much you take care of those around you

it's one of the big reasons he loves you

though you may be more of a shy and anxious introvert, Silver is always there for you when you need help in social situations or just support in general

his presence is always so comforting so just having him there is a big help

Silver is perhaps the most stable of all the students, and will try to be a stable pillar of support for you

he loves to spend time with you and will sleep near you while you read or watch anime or play games

he'll also bring you sweets he buys from Sam's

Silver would never harm an innocent person and is very caring himself, so he's not going to stand for you not taking care of yourself

he will not even kill spiders, so he'll just trap and release it whenever one is bothering you

while he loves to help you, his love language is definitely quality time and words of affirmation

he's fine with physical affection and has no problem with giving or receiving it at any time

[daisiesonafield-blog]

idk if you’ve talked about this but do you have any idea or thoughts as to why louis would choose to do the documentary via cinemas?? like i would understand if they did it via theaters bc they had this big plan and pig promo campaign for it but so far.. nothing. so im just trying to understand why do it this way? especially when by the looks of it they want this to reach louis’ fandom primarily because all of this is staying inside the fandom (there’s just no interest from the gp) and if they wanted it this way they could’ve honestly just done it with veeps like he did the london live and afhf and that way it reaches every fan.. idk im just confused and wanted to hear your opinion on this.. hope you’re doing well! xx

Hi dear,

I think it's a simple answer: they wanted to do something nice and special for fans. That and it's also a more mainstream and professional release. That's it. They only have a few showings in each area, like 1-4 showings, so it's something nice for fans.

Louis has also said that there will be the option to stream/buy after I think, so they're doing both.

Yeah, simple answer.

[lindszeppelin]

Hey. How are you doing? I hope you are doing well. And hope you are taking care of yourself and staying safe.

I was wondering something. What is going with this Mollie person I keep seeing people talking about her on Tumblr? Just someone how is wondering. And also hearing everything about Austins relationship. I personally just want Austin to be happy. In the end that is all I want for him. And I hope he finds true love and happiness.

And I also was wondering what are you excited for in the future?

Take care and have a great rest of your day.

Also don’t forget to hydrated. And enjoying this day with new possibilities.

😃👍🏻🩷🖤

pay no attention to that one, she is the stark raving mad village idiot.

I'm excited for Austin's work for City on Fire, and im excited for the BIkeriders to release!! I can't wait to see it in theaters, it's gonna be so beautiful. I also can't wait to him to be able to work on his first producer role. That's big for him. So proud of the hard work he has put into his dream career <3

[alwaysxyou]

Always interested in your full posts on pr, marketing and english literature (lol). Please, allow your education to class up our dashes a bit!

so i don't work on either of these movies so this could be totally wrong, but i think the biggest thing that's causing frustration is that it seems like mp is being ignored and not given the campaign that dwd got. but in my opinion, that's not the right way to look at it because the campaigns seem to be very clearly designed for different goals.

dwd the goal is consumer and sales. butts in seats, get people to go to the theater and buy a ticket. no immediate streaming option, and all press was focused on trying to build buzz around the movie premiering so people would buy tickets (which based on what we know about the narcissist's deal where the more the movie makes the more money she makes, that makes sense to me). this is done through big public events with talent, shown in all major theaters, large marketing spend, pr stunts to keep it in tabloids.... get people to buy a ticket to see the movie. box office is SUPER important in this case.

my policeman the goal is awards. the box office return for premiere is not the big goal here - it's to get awards buzz and nominations. and it's doing this through positioning itself as an arthouse movie. arthouse movies and indie movies and those types of movies draw huge crowds of voters. the industry that votes for guild awards, the academy members, etc - they see the blockbusters and mainstream. but they focus on the arthouse releases. that's why you're not seeing it being released widely in your amc and regal theaters. they are being very selective about which theaters it goes to, to help build the reputation (plus they need to show it in certain amounts of theaters in NY and LA to be eligible for awards) and then it's going to be on streaming for the general public. that's why it's in so many film festivals - those are voters and the people who influence the awards races. word of mouth spreads that the movie is very well done, and the people who vote start to listen.

and that's why except for certain things, it looks like the campaign has barely happened. cause it hasn't. i was just talking to someone yesterday about certain movies that are currently listed at the top of the oscars prediction lists, and laughing cause you never want to be at the top in october. no one has seen enough yet and it's so likely things will fall as critics and awards people see more. hell as it shows with mp a ton of the movies aren't released yet - they're still in prescreening stages. you want to be on the top in january and february.

and when you have hugely in demand talent - and by that i mean literally with busy schedules demand - you use them in the way that's most effective, knowing your time is limited. that's why harry carved out time in his tour for TIFF. that's so important for him to go in person. i imagine we'll see more things like that start to pop up throughout the fall and winter months.

on that note - we'll probably also see events with other cast and no harry. that's a very good and very strategic thing! the more you can separate the notion of "this is a movie only for harry fans" the better it will do from an awards standpoint. (as opposed to dwd which needed the harry fan support for box office, making sure it was on hshq newsletters, etc) so when you add harry back into events, the people who are important to the race are taking the film seriously and are looking forward to hearing harry talk about the film as one of the main actors, and not hearing Harry StylesTM talk about it. i do think that the entire cast will have to put in the work if they want it to breakthrough and get noms, so im looking forward to seeing what they use them for coming up.

you're also seeing quite a bit of a break in between dwd and mp promo. i think that was a pointed adjustment after the dwd circus blew up even more than expected due to the shia matters. i think they had probably been planning to piggy back (talk shows tied to dwd but he gets to talk about mp, promo in the middle, etc. the timing was planned too close to be accidental) but there has definitely been a separation now. thank god. it's to help keep the seriousness around my policeman and not make it just a footnote in the dwd drama.

[snowberrykaworu]

guys im stuck on mobile and was editing it at 3 am when tumblr decided to do a silly and post a draft instead of saving it pls ignore it for now 😭😭😭 Tumblr is not letting me copy paste it all into a new draft kill me

stac media highlights of 2023

uhh dont ask why im posting this in march but i just like keeping track of this kinda stuff lol

Here is a list tm of the best media for me in 2023

no this listing is not in any order i just like talking abt things when i think abt them

One Piece Eiichiro Oda, 1997 - Present

What? I got into one piece this year??? who would have known???

i read all of op in 3 months and i loved every second of it

One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, Mamoru Hosoda, 2005

why did no one tell me mamoru hosodas first feature film was a fucking one piece movie

Chainsaw Man, Fujimoto, 2018- Present

i fucking love love csm its literally the only manga that i talk abt with ppl on twit bc i think the majority of anitwit/mangatwit are annoying (pls shut up abt power scaling and ships for one minute PLEASE)

csms pt 2 run currently is much smoother and better than pt 1, i feel a lot closer to asa as a character over denji, and it makes the world feel more real as a result

Dungeon Meshi

Pls do not spoil this for me i am slow at reading and forgor to finish it but this series is an interesting look at

How Do You Live (The Boy and the Heron) Hayao Miyazaki, 2023

I'm not like super big into miyazaki films, I was more of an anno and mamoru hosoda person when i was growing up in the anime sphere, but i really wanted to see this film bc of the dark fantasy elements i heard abt when it first released in japan

Beau is Afraid, Ari Aster, 2023

yeah no its impossible to talk abt this film normally u have to see it its the most fucked up thing i watched in theaters this year and its the movie i wanted to walk out of like 3 times pls watch it

Twilight movies 2008-2012

These were really fun to watch with friends lol its weird to think abt how ya movies and books have changed so much

The Hunger Games books + movies

I've been listening to the Shrieking Shack (the only podcast i listen to lol) read through these books and Im like super enjoying it, theres a lot of interesting stuff they dig up that points out at the hypocrisy of the early 2010s and weird race stuff that happens in thg

i had fun with the movies, watched them with a friend who didnt remember much abt them and we had a great time not a big fan of how it kinda pioneered the gray cement aesthetic of big budget movies tho

[emwritesstuff]

as the world caves in | ch. 9 | bucky barnes x reader

synopsis: You are a ghost story. A former Air Force pilot who had her plane shot down by Germany in 1945, but here you were in 2023, alive and frozen in your 25-year-old body.

You haven’t seen Bucky since the 1940’s, before his fall, before you went on a suicide mission only to come back alive. You aren’t sure reliving those memories – and being a living memory of everything the man has lost – is the best for him.

But you and Bucky won’t be apart for long.

This will loosely follow the plot of TFATWS - so spoilers ahead, specially regarding episode six (finale). Thread carefully!

masterlist | AO3

notes:  thank you everyone for your patience with this chapter. I'm dropping this lil shortie so we can get the story moving. Let's go! (warnings: lil' fluff, lil' angst) (word count: 3K) nine: records

Bucky knocked on your door a few weeks later.

It was late, and you were snug in your pajamas, winding down after a long day. With your identity no longer a secret, the government was in the midst of transferring you to something more… hands-on, and definitely less diplomatic, you were assuming; so much for retirement, but you figured 30 years of it had been more time than you could’ve anticipated.

You almost didn’t hear the soft rapping on wood over Vera Lynn’s mellow singing.

When you finally opened it, you found him standing there, wearing tired eyes and a dark coat. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late, but I started walking and I—"

“When I said you’re welcome anytime, Bucky Barnes, I meant any time.”

A tiny fraction of a smile was offered your way, and you grasped it tight against your heart at the same time you do his hand, pulling him inside.

His fingers lingered on yours, but before you could start thinking about it he pulled away, taking a seat at the edge of your couch. “I finished it. The book.”

Bucky answered your question before you could ask it. “I just came from there. The last one– the last name.”

“Well. Are you alright?” You sat next to him, your knee knocking against his, and his gaze went from the floor, to the spot where your legs touched, and then to you. He knitted his eyebrows, seeming a little incredulous you were even asking.

“I will be.” His hands intertwined on the space between his knees, and you placed a hand ton his shoulder, getting him to look at you again.

“Yes, you will. Do you want to talk about it?”

One corner of Bucky’s lip raised up, and he shook his head. “Is that Vera Lynn?”

You smiled, turning to look at your record player as if Vera herself was sitting next to it. “It is. Takes me back, I guess.”

“It’s all we’d listen to at the front.”

Nodding, you wondered for a second if Bucky remembered dancing to We’ll Meet Again the night before he was shipped off. Even if you weren’t the only girl he had danced with then, you still asked yourself if that memory was burned on his mind as it was on yours.

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. A short-term promise, made back then by hopeful lovers, friends, family members; you had no idea that those lyrics would prove themselves so literal when you and Bucky mouthed them at each other in the middle of a dancefloor.

You let out a breathy chuckle, standing up and beckoning him to where you kept the rest of your vinyl. “Come on. Vera’s starting to feel a little too nostalgic to me.”

Your record collection was pretty extensive, ranging from things of the good ol’ days from the special editions that were still being released nowadays. Bucky joined you on the floor, and together you started to make your way through decades eternized in discs.

“Marvin Gaye.”

You look up from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, finding Bucky making a face at the album he was holding. “It’s really good. Do you want to—”

“No. No more Marvin Gaye.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “You don’t like him?”

“I like Marvin Gaye! Jesus. Marvin is good—Marvin’s jus’ fine,” Bucky rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger, and you finally understood.

“Sam’s been preaching you the word of R&B to you too, huh?”

You giggled at the tired look he gave you and silently took Trouble Man out of his hands, stuffing it back with the rest of the 1970’s.

Years ago, Bucky would be delighted to dive headfirst in the new – your trips to countless science fairs and expositions were enough proof of that – but looking at him now, knowing him as you were starting to once again, you figured that just a dip of the toes was more than enough.

You pulled Frank Sinatra from the 1950’s section.

“I know Sinatra.”

“Do you now?”

You put the record on your player, and Vera Lynn’s longing gave way to Sinatra’s swagger and jazz.

“Do you?” Bucky teased, frowning at the most recent items in your collection. As soon as Frank’s voice filled the silence, he nodded. “Yeah, that’s nice.”

“I do know him! Or did. Met ‘im in 1962.” You plopped next to Bucky, who was shaking his head. “What?”

“Show off.”

“No, just been around. Met people on the way. And, you asked.” Your smirk grew into a grin as Bucky mouthed your words back at you. Then his face fell for a second, and your amusement was quickly replaced by worry. “What is it?”

“Nothing, I guess – I guess I just missed a lot.” The same way one of the corners of his lips tug on his cheek again in his attempt of a smile, melancholy tugs at your heartstrings. “I missed out on everything. And I missed out on you.”

Bucky’s head was low as he spoke and you could see the tremble of his hands, even though he clutched one of your records tightly. Nina Simone, 1960’s.

“M’not going anywhere, you know.”

“You still lived an entire lifetime—”

“I did, yes, thank you for constantly reminding me that I’m over 100 years old.” You shook your head at him, sighing softly when he chuckled.

You couldn’t blame him, for clinging to every bit of past he’d missed while he was in HYDRA’s clutches – you knew that was inevitable, but you wished that such sorrow wasn’t so related to you.

“What are you doin’?” He asked as you summoned a small stool from the side of your shelf and stepped on it.

“I want to show you somethin’.” The thing you were looking for was stored at the very top: a heavy, brown leather suitcase that almost made you lose your balance when you pulled it from the spot it had been sitting in for—honestly, years, many of them.

The contents of the suitcase rattled as you climbed down and sat next to Bucky again. Sinatra still playing, telling his lover I've got you under my skin, I've got you, deep in the heart of me;

You almost laughed from the truth and irony of it.

I'd tried so, not to give in

I said to myself this affair never will go so well

You unlocked the suitcase, revealing the gathered memories inside. Pictures, movie tickets, theater playbooks, receipts, trinkets. All souvenirs of the 80 something years of your life Bucky hadn’t been there to see.

Not organized in the slightest, the keepsakes of your life were tossed together and out of order just as in your memory: photographs of you in uniform, and sometimes in party dresses; of when you bought your house; of the few times you had pets. Posing next to famous people and other important ones whose names weren’t as well known by the world.

As you and Bucky went through each of them, you added a story or an explanation, sometimes both, to fill him in on the details of your life events. He laughed at some, frowned at a lot, stared at you intently for all of them.

“Is this Berlin?”

You hummed, nodding. “1989. That party was great.”

“Party?” Bucky knitted his eyebrows in surprise.

“The city was unified, the wall was being taken down, and everyone was celebrating. I’ve never seen that many bottles of vodka in one place.” You laughed, taking a good look at yourself in the picture.

The 80’s were definitely not your best decade, looks wise. You had tried a perm the year before, and the poodle look was only then starting to dial down. The beginnings of a bruise were starting to creep on your left eye, from the mission you had completed just a few hours before.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been that drunk.”

Bucky’s surprise intensified, his eyes wide. “We can’t get drunk.”

“Yes we can.”

“No, no we can’t.”

“We can, in fact. It’s all a matter of quantity and, well, speed.” You giggled as Bucky’s mouth gaped more.

“And the hangover?”

“Horrible. Like getting shot on the forehead. Comes quickly, too.”

He grimaced, and with one last look – certainly to register your peculiar appearance on his mind – gently put the picture back inside the suitcase. A stack of papers seemed to call out to him and he picked it up, releasing them from the band that held them together carefully.

Postcards of the places you’ve been: a small note to James Barnes and Steve Rogers on the back of each one.

Bucky’s voice faltered. He let out an anguished little sound, probably something that was supposed to be an Oh, or a What, but had no strength to crawl up his throat.

You brought your knees to your chest as you waited for him.

“You—you wrote to us?”

“I did. You can keep those, they’re addressed to you.”

After all this time, you could barely remember the words you wrote in those postcards; all you knew was that some had longer messages, others a simple Wish you were here.

“After we met in Baltimore, I thought that— that you’d have moved on from us.”

From me.

As if that was possible.

“Well, I stopped writing by 2003, give or take. But really,” You sighed. “It’s hard to forget someone when you’ve always been expecting them to come back to you.”

Bucky flipped the postcard from Rome, read the writing and smiled wistfully at it. “And, I did.”

“You did. And staying away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but—”

“But you’re annoyingly stubborn.” His jaw tightened, then relaxed when he smirked. “I mean, I get it – If the roles were reversed, I’d leave you rebuild your life without me like a self-sacrificing idiot too.”

Alright. That was fair.

Shaking your head, you watched as he slipped the postcards in his pocket, an amused expression on his face.

“That was… a big mistake. Something a self-sacrificing idiot would do,” You screwed your eyes shut in shame, opening them when Bucky chuckled. “but now, I’m right here. And so are you.”

His stubble scratched the soft skin of your palm when you reached for him, and you continued. “We’re a little out of place in this century, that much is true, but if I’m being honest… I’m getting tired of yearning for the past, Buck.”

Good old times – sometimes really good, sometimes bad, every one of them old – tucked away in your heart like your records were tucked in neatly in their shelf, organized by year. As you went through the decades, your enhanced body eternizing you like marble, your heart seemingly stayed at that army camp overseas. Or maybe Sergeant Bucky Barnes had taken it with him, only for them to be frozen together, leaving you with an empty hole in your chest.

You lived your life longing for that missing piece, the one with blue eyes and the dashing smile and the skilled feet.

The one that in many other stories was the one that got away, the one who now believed he was somebody else, but had brought your heart back with him all the same.

The very heart that nearly leapt out of your chest when Bucky rested his forehead against yours.

You’ve never been this close – there isn’t an ounce of past in the gesture. His eyes being tightly closed kept him from seeing the surprise on your eyes and then how they fell to his lips for a millisecond. Then, those lips brushed against yours in a featherlike touch.

I would sacrifice anything, come what might

For the sake of having you near

He pried himself off you when you exhaled, as if your very breath had electrocuted him.

“M’sorry. I—I didn’t—” He said as you stared at the back of his neck, and the shock gives way to disappointment.

I didn’t mean to. Or maybe: I didn’t want to.

“That’s—it’s okay.” You clapped your hands on your knees, still feeling the prickle of his facial hair on them, and got up to change the music.

There was no doubt Bucky was touch starved, and that he probably craved the closeness that comes with a lover. He sought that for a fleeting second in Sam’s sister, and now in you. No point in dwelling on what it might have meant.

Right?

Looking at Bucky, his expression was overcast, furrowed eyebrows as he watched you from his spot on the floor. You offered him a gentle smile, and the crease on his forehead eased up slightly.

Right.

Don't you know little fool, you never can win

The record player made a scratching sound as you replaced Frank Sinatra with your go-to jazz compilation. Instrumental.

No lyrics.

There was one thing you’ve always been good at, regarding the infatuation with Bucky Barnes that has taken over your heart for almost a century now: locking the feelings away and stepping into the shoes of the best friend.

Besides, you’ve said it yourself: no more yearning for the past. Hopefully you and Bucky would be able to do that soon enough.

At that moment, however, you needed to feel the burn of whiskey down your throat and pretend it’ll heal the calcinating rejection spreading through your chest.

The guilt you found in Bucky’s eyes as he watched you sweep around your hardwood floors made you pour a glass for him.

He took it gratefully, frowning when you bottomed the whole thing up.

“There’s a lot in here.” He tapped the edge of the suitcase, skillfully steering the conversation in the direction of the more palatable, calm territory it was in before.

The sight of your autobiographical collection made you smile.

“An entire lifetime,” You said, fishing your dog tags from the bottom. “I suppose that’s where it started. Or at least, where thisstarted.”

Bucky took them reverentially, running his thumb over the imprint of your name and numbers.

He reached for his neck, producing from under his Henley the same type of metal chain he was holding in his hands. The fact that he still wore his like that sent a sharp blow to your lungs, almost knocking the air out of you.

His face softened, a smile so beautiful spreading across his lips, so much that your chest clenched in protest because it was simply not fair, how he still had you entirely.

He deposited both of your dog tags in your hands, and that’s when you saw it, and remembered it.

“Won’t we get in trouble for this?”

“Do you care?”

“Well…No.” You sighed, already resigned. And a little excited.

Bucky knew you well: it had been too long of being a good little soldier when all you were used to was the rush of being a hellion.

“And that is why, sugar, that I’m doing this with you, and not with Steve.”

The words made your heart soar, but you were sure to recapture it before it could fly away too high, still too attached to the sensation of the take-off to clip its wings.

You liked flying.

“And because Steve hasn’t been successful in his enlisting efforts. Yet.”

Bucky looked at you from behind his eyebrows, a reprimand hiding in his eyes, but he decided to shove his uniform hat on your head instead. You grumbled, calling him a jerk under your breath.

It was the night before Bucky was drafted to England. He looked handsome in his uniform, a shining, polished star, brighter than the sun even under the dim streetlight you two stood under.

After bringing his and Steve’s dates home (yours was lost to another boxing match along the way – not that you were crying about that) Bucky had decided he was going to stay up all night, because, in his words, he could sleep when the war was over. Or, more realistically, in the ship on the way to England.

So there you two were, illuminated by street lamps and moonlight, visiting the façades and front windows of your favorite places in Brooklyn like drifters in the night.

Bucky still concentrated on his task, his shoulder hunched slightly to block your sight.

“Let me see! Bucky!”

“ ’Sposed to be a surprise! I’m almost done.”

You huffed, crossing your arms. “It’s not like I haven’t seen ‘em before.”

“You gotta be more patient. Here.”

He dropped your dog tags on your hand. You displayed the small steel plates on your palm, scanning your eyes over the two. One of them, of course, had your name, number, blood type, next of kin – an aunt you’ve never met – and address.

The other had Bucky’s.

James B Barnes. 32557038.

He slipped his own chain over his head, the plate with your name clinking against his.

You brought the tips of your fingers to your lips, feeling a smile begin to form onto them.

“I forgot we did this. I haven’t looked at these in so long.”

You had stopped wearing your dog tags the day the war had ended – Bucky was gone then, Steve too, and the weight of his dog tags slamming against your chest was too much to bear – your heart was already heavy with its own engraving of their memories.

“Steve had a lecture prepared when he gave mine back.” Bucky chuckled when you looked up at him, incredulous.

You shook your head, half exasperated and half amused. “Good grief, Steve.”

“Y’know how he is. Was,” He trailed, lips twitching as they formed a thin line.

You reached for him, your hand hovering in the space between you for a second before Bucky took it, lacing your fingers. Scooting closer, you let your cheek rest on his shoulder.

“He’d be glad we’re reunited.” You said, raising your head to peek at him and the newfound upwards curl of his lip. “And mortified we’re still bickering.”

Bucky smiled and squeezed your hand. “Old people. Old habits.”

Laughter bubbled out of your chest, and you realized a few things.

In that moment, it didn’t matter – the heartache, the unrequited side of your love. It was just a fact, a fact of life, of your life, that you a lot of the times loved him as more than your best friend. You loved him. And that was the core of it, the most important fact.

And you knew he loved you – you had each other – in this big, ever-changing, modern world, you had Bucky and Bucky had you.

You sat in comfortable, familiar silence until your eyelids grew heavy and you felt yourself drifting in and out of consciousness.

“You dozin’ on me, sugar?”

“It’s been a long day.” You said with your eyes still closed, feeling him chuckle beside you.

“Tell me about it. I can go—”

“You know damn well you should stay.” You patted his arm and hoisted yourself up from the floor. “I’ll get the pull-up ready for you.”

As you sauntered towards the office, ignoring his pleads and protests that he’s got it, he doesn’t need sheets or anything, you put your dog tags back on.

They jingled lightly against your heart.

Maybe you didn’t have to leave all of the past behind to start building something good and new, after all.

[youranxiousnerd]

The Transformation Thoughts

bc hsmtmts said gay rights

spoilers below

yesss seb doing the recap

wait did seb just say he was crying?!?! give him a hug 

cow baby!!!

wow miss jenn and seb having a civil conversation

Natalie is back!!

ej and ricky with the mask

kourtney’s outfit!!!

ashlyn’s outfit...

ahh so the awards and the show are separate, good, that’s how it works

RICKY’S SHIRT!?!?!?! 

i love it

ricky is lgbt do not try to convince me otherwise

ASHLYN IS SINGING IT IS BEAUTIFUL

like pop off

ricky and the mask

that mask is the true villain in season 2

“Belle, I-” flops

Ashlyn is carrying the scene, she is such a good Belle

how is ricky allowed on stage oh my god

the cap

that damn mask

“It’s okay, it was just my face”

Miss Jenn is hanging on by a thread

finally some ashlyn and ricky content

“Which they will” buddy have you faced the music? Have you seen Ricky?

“I think I might have been playing Troy at one point”

Miss Jenn needs help from someone who isn’t a teenager

“Mother is freaking out” High school theater at it’s finest

“There is math involved”

“OH” 

sassy seb

i can’t with east high’s tech crew, what are you doing?!?!

and why are the actors figuring out the tech stuff?!? i’m sure kourt, big red, ashlyn (she knows all), and seb (he lives on a farm) know what to do. 

the crew cannot be that bad

btw here are my thoughts on this scene

guys it is ashlyn’s house not yours

portwell shoulder bump

ASHLYN I LOVE YOU

OH SO NOW YOU HAVE DRILLS

WHERE WERE THEY WHEN THE TECHIES STARTED USING GLUE ON PLYWOOD!?!?!?!

I WANT ANSWERS

i. cannot. with. this. show.

lily wtf

“is this too weird” yes

like why?

lily like actually shut up

big red’s “wtf”

let her be evil damnit

“i’m just not well liked here” i wonder why

that was really weird, anyways

“he gets weird around tools”

me too

no give big red the drill he knows how to use it

someone write a fic about the girls and seb’s chaotic target run

why don’t you have a blackout and dramatic music and lights for the transformation, i know it isn’t award level but if done right it can be pretty dope

“I don’t know if my parents will be okay with me being at a co-ed sleepover”

“Chip, this is your mother speaking, go call your mother”

HE DID THE FINGER GUNS

GAY TABLE SIT AND FINGER GUNS THEY DID THEIR RESEARCH

ashlyn’s bucket

CARLOS GAY TABLE SIT

OH MY GOD

they’re so gay soulmates

let big red have his skateboards

“i need to talk to seb at some point but it can wait” honey no it can’t wait seb is on the verge of a breakdown

wait they havent talked in a week

Im a hypocrite ive been dancing around someone for three years

“You’re still at school”

“I’m worried about my children” “She means us”

such a high school theater thing (like i got married during high school theater, we had a family tree)

“ah, Sebby”

“Now I’m pretty sad” give him a hug

the girls ship seblos

“But, I guess he has to be, out of default, right... there’s not a lot of choices for a boy like Carlos, here, at East.”

alright here come the tears 

why...why couldn’t he say “gay” or “queer” or “lgbt”?!?!

“Not so good at saying the feelings part out loud”

shiz that hit close to home. 

Seb is just making me cry today, isn’t he?

wait so we’re just going to change the subject? coming from a queer person, opening up about your problems about your sexuality is hard. like, there are things that happened years ago im just telling people. 

“You’re my sister, he’s my cousin”

it seems everyone except nina knows about the chocolates. imagine gossip time when gina told people write a fic

Nini just stop talking. It wasn’t a big deal, simple mistake. Not everything has to be big and dramatic

and wasn’t she just asking about Gina and Ej? 

Nini for the love of god it is not something to read into.

“The farmer type”

Ash and Red exchanging gossip

wait... why are they texting about this?

“Why wouldn’t he say something to me?” It’s a hard conversation to have. “hey are we together just because i’m your only option?” 

“Okay, pretty boy” HE CALLED HIM PRETTY BOY

RICKY!!!!!!!!!!

!!!

carlos and gina chaotic siblings

give ej a hug 

“Sweet boy”

im so glad the guys are talking about their feelings.

Why a sleepover? It’s more of a hangout.

“Verging on failure”

jennzara therapy

slowwww burn

you go from hand holding to fist bump

disney please release an acoustic version of “let you go”

so it’s just carlos and ricky chillin’ at big red’s house?

do not play let you go for nini

do. not.

“You guys are a hallmark movie”

for once ricky is being smart

“the look on your face when you were talking about Seb tonight” smiles

he is so whipped

“I think you and Seb have something worth fighting for...bro”

that was so sweet and then there is bro

i love this show

“Sorry, I’m adjusting to being called bro” 

him and seb being awkward about feelings... that is a high school relationship

i love ricky in this scene

“Yeah, let’s just write”

ASHLYN CALLED BIG RED BABE AWWWWW

nina shut the actual hell up

“It’s in the costume shop, somewhere” mood

“Thank you, 15″ THEY SAID THE THING

GAHHHH

I LOVE IT

howie and kourtney oh my god what is happening

 “and begging”

“hi” he’s so nervous oh my lord.

he is so awkward around seb 

it’s like a switch

“Do you want to get risotto with me sometime” OH MY GOD THATS ADORABLE

GINA BABY HE LIKES YOU 

GINA HONEY!!!

AWWW THAT WAS ADORABLE

PORTWELL YESSSS

gina’s little run

“Am I in trouble?” 

they’re so nervous 

oh my god its time

“You keep it all bottled up” GUYS I CANT ARGGGG

can ricky just like, go behind a curtain?

“lookin’ for our kind of love” carlos basically just said “i love you”

seb is so whipped like look at him?

they’re so in love

seb’s little eye role at “in a heartbeat, i choose you”

the hands omfg

oh my god they’re going to dance

SHIZ THE HOMECOMING SUITS

I WAS RIGHT

OH MY GOD

SHIT GUYS IM DYING

gah the hands i cant

carlos is leading i love it

the tie

a tie just killed me

im combusting

You’re honor, they’re in love

i really thought carlos was going in for a kiss he is probably getting one later

i like how the dance isn’t big, it’s small and a little awkward bc right then it’s just them.

THEYRE SO IN LOVE HOLY SHIT

damnit big red

big red is legally required to interrupt almost kiss moments especially if it’s an lgbt kiss bc we cant have two in one season

in a heartbeat is so cute. Frankie showed UP this season with the vocals. there is no way that was all acting bc they looked so in love.

I...I love it

the lyrics are perfect

In a Heartbeat and Let You Go are probably the best OG songs of the season

“Siri, add In a Heartbeat to my gay sob playlist”

these boys are just serenading each other left and right 

“Yeah” 

so it’s just “yeah”!?!? That’s it!?!?! Seb could have least kissed him on the cheek or did they use all their kisses?

I love the song and love the scene, but there is so much more to discuss. Are we going to brush over the fact that Seb literally had an allergic reaction and didn’t get help because he didn’t want to disappoint Carlos!?!? Are we going to brush over “no, seb” and seb feeling like he has to get carlos big things!?! One “yeah” doesn’t erase all that. I’m hoping we get closure, proper closure, not a joke. 

In conclusion, only one thing was settled (Carlos loves Seb for Seb, not because he is the only out guy in school).

“Seb and Carlos suffer their first fight” effing liars

BTW it looks like they filmed the dance scene with the homecoming suits and normal outfits so disney release the footage

Ricky is the biggest Seblos shipper

“Bro”

you morons. are you using rigging without an adult there?!?!

im pretty sure that isn’t allowed. only trained people were allowed to use the rigging. it should be Natalie since she did it in HSM

you should have gotten mats are something or stand in a circle

gahhh

RICKY

OH MY FRICKING GOD

NO ONE RAN THEY JUST WATCHED WTF

WTF WAS THAT ENDING

UMMMMM NO

i legit have no words oh my god 

they just killed the lead

you guys saw the rope you should have ran 

you should have gotten mats or blankets or something just in case

rigging is difficult, set rigging and people rigging

EAST HIGH WTF

Looks like the sleepover is going to be in the ER

My gay heart is full but my theater heart is screaming. The episode went by really fast. I liked it, like a lot.

To answer the question, no, I am not okay @organic-guacamole and we will have a theater kid sleepover

[jocia92]

In a Zoom interview, Stevens explains he knew how to speak German having studied it in school and having visited Germany several times in his youth. Eggert also spoke about the film via Zoom from Berlin, where she is rehearsing for a play that ironically is about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Angela Dawson: Dan, were you fluent in German before signing onto I’m Your Man?

Dan Stevens: I’m always nervous about the word “fluent” because I feel like if I say that somebody’s going to throw me into a situation where I’m totally out of my depth. I would say that my German is good. I’ve always loved the language. I’ve spoken it since I was about 13, maybe even earlier because my parents had friends who lived in Germany. We used to vacation there quite a lot when I was a child, and then I studied it at school. I did a movie (Hilde) there about 13 years ago playing an Englishman who spoke German. So, I had been in a German movie previously, but nothing like this. This was a totally different thing.

The level of German that is required for Tom, even for a German, is pretty strange and unusual. So, I definitely polished it up to get out there and tackle this role but I (had the language skills) to begin with.

Dawson: Maren, how was Dan’s German?

Maren Eggert: He really worked on it a lot. He did well because he has a talent for languages. He really wanted to do it so he threw himself into it. I’d tell him I wanted to speak to him in English so I could practice it, but he wanted to speak German so he could practice it. So, he really worked on that. I think it was great for the part because he’s just so charming and friendly. As an actor, he has the ability to go straight into a character. He doesn’t make mistakes with his performance.

Stevens: Sometimes she would speak to me in English and I would answer in German, which is a great exercise. I had the whole cast and crew speak to me in German the whole time. Occasionally, we’d have certain conversations in English but most everything was in German. It was great because it kept me in the zone of thinking in German.

Dawson: Dan, you play a robot so there’s something not-quite-human in how you act as Tom.

Stevens: Ultimately, he has to be lovable but also a little strange. I think that was one of the motivations for Maria (Schrader, the director) looking to cast outside of Germany for a foreign actor who could speak German. However good your German is, it’s rare to find an outsider who can sound totally German. The idea that Alma’s ideal robot would speak German, for practical purposes, but maybe have a bit of an accent—a little bit exotic, but not too exotic is what he defines it as—so they settle on British for her. She’s confused by this but the algorithm—the program—has created this for her. It’s one of the many things that throws her about this whole experiment.

I wanted to create something that was uncanny but not in a too weird a way. It’s strange but also intriguing and ultimately kind of lovable.

Dawson: The scene in which Tom is in a field with a herd of deer surrounding him unafraid has a lot of symbolism in it. Alma sees him as this man she’s falling in love with yet she also realizes that the reason the deer are unafraid is because he’s not human. What’s your interpretation of that scene?

Stevens: That whole sequence with the deer and with Alma and Tom lying in the grass and talking about memories, that was a big step on in terms of the evolution of Tom’s humanity, I suppose. Most of the time, we’re in Alma’s apartment or in the museum. As he says, (being out in the field), “is a nature experience.” Getting them out of the city and out of those conventional settings and putting them in this bucolic setting of a German forest and having these lovers wandering through it, it has that classical feel to it. Whether directly or indirectly, it gets through to the viewer that we’re in this beautiful setting, isn’t it romantic? It tees up what’s to come. It’s a beautiful sequence. It’s also the first time I’ve spoken Korean.

Dawson: Maren, what’s your interpretation of that scene?

Eggert: For Alma, it really helps her put Tom in the right space. At this point of the film, she’s already falling in love with him but there’s this moment where she can watch him from a distance.

Dawson: The release of I’m Your Man couldn’t be timelier because so many people have been locked away unable to pursue romantic relationships for over a year now. People are lonely; they miss human contact.

Stevens: I don’t know about the loneliness so much but it definitely spoke to me when I read this in the Spring of 2020. It was the peak of the pandemic. It was definitely a time of deep reflection both inward and outward—that sense of “how did we get here?” It was a collective thing about looking at humanity which is sort of what Tom does all the way through the movie. He’s looking at Alma but also trying to learn about her environment—this world that she’s in—as quickly as he can. He’s trying to get that information. The most affecting scenes I found in an odd way was the sequence where Tom is watching a young couple watching epic fail videos at the coffee shop. It’s not something I habitually watch but my kids love them. Maria forces us to sit with them quite a bit. It’s not just one or two fails, it’s a whole bunch of them. It goes on almost too long and stops being funny and starts being a little sad. You get contemplative about humanity in that scene and start feeling sorry for Tom that he has to absorb all this. It’s like, “What are we doing?”

So, a lot of that sentiment I was really feeling last spring and summer. I feel that a lot of that went into the film. I guess it’s still resonating with people. The technological question of coping with loneliness—I hadn’t thought of that as a consequence—but I suppose you’re right.

Dawson: In films and other stories about robots, people always seem to be mistrustful, yet robots are increasingly part of our lives. Why do you suppose our first instinct as humans is to be wary of robots?

Eggert: I don’t know. Maybe because we can’t control it. We can’t see inside. It’s like a stranger and we always react (with caution) to strangers. Personally, I can totally understand Alma’s reaction because I would react the same: I’d want to control the robot. Throughout the story, she has to learn to know this robot. That’s the fascination she has with it.

Dawson: Do you think having Maria Schrader direct this, an actress herself, helped tell the story from a woman’s point-of-view?

Eggert: Yes, of course. She really encouraged me a lot. We have a lot in common in terms of how we look at filmmaking and how scenes work and with the character, she really pushed me to go a little further. She encouraged me and I think that really was between us women.

Dawson: What are each of you working on now?

Stevens: I’m shooting Gaslit, a miniseries about Watergate in which I play John Dean. People I’ve spoken with remember watching (the Congressional hearings) and seeing it as one of the first political soap operas. It was very much an analog political soap opera scandal. So, that’s been a lot of fun. We’re in the final weeks of that.

Eggert: I’m working in theater; I do a lot of theater here in Berlin. It’s a project on Frankenstein and Mary Shelley. That too is also about artificial intelligence and connects to I’m Your Man. It’s really fun to think about what scares me and what is this monster. It opens in two weeks. Afterwards, I’m doing another movie where I’m playing a conductor, so I’m training to do that. I wanted to be a conductor as a child, so I’m looking forward to playing one.

[thotantics]

✗ warnings — graphic sexual content, do not read if you’re underage, dirty talk, begging, noona kink bc im still traesh, oral sex (male receiving), gagging, choking, driving under the influence of incredible mind blowing mouth love (seriously ALWAYS DRIVE SAFELY AND OBEY THE RULES OF THE ROAD)

✎ words —   1.6k

[A/N] @ the anon who said they’re always a slut for jungkook when he whines ‘noona’. bitch me too, the fuck

You stir awake with that distinct, groggy, I-just-napped-way-too-long feeling, groaning as your adjust to your surroundings. It’s late. Very, very late. You’re not at your place but instead, at your boyfriend’s and he’s still asleep, curled up behind you. Blearily, you blink over your shoulder at him, the big spoon.

“Jungoo,” You coo, shifting in his vice-like grip until you turn in his arms to face him. “Baby~ we fell asleep.”

He cracks one eye open to see you smiling at him, your fingers pushing his hair away from his forehead, and he nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck, mumbling with a low, half-asleep voice, “Hm, awesome. Lets stay asleep.”

You chuckle, using all your strength to bend your knees, pushing against his thighs and chest until you can untangle yourself from him and stand, despite his muffled, grumbled protests and his hands pawing at you to keep you near.

“Babe, I need to get home, I have work in the morning and so much to finish before I can do that.” You remind him, tapping his phone laying on the coffee table so the lock screen flashes with the time, and you groan, “Baaaabe! Wake up, please. It’s past midnight.”

Jungkook flips from his side to his back at that, stretching his limbs out along the length of the couch, his eyes finally cracking open again to see you rushing around his place to gather your things.

“Ok, ok.” He finally manages to get off the couch with an old-man grunt, stretching his lower back briefly before he snags his car keys, wallet, and phone from the coffee table. “You ready?”

Jungkook helps you take your things out to his car with countless yawns, and eventually you’re on the road headed back to your place, each with a Red Bull in hand.

You’re buzzing from the time wasted asleep on your boyfriend’s couch, but honestly the day you had spent together was worth it, even if you had little sleep tonight and a possible late start in the morning. Jungkook had picked you up for a simple date late that afternoon. You were supposed to hit up a theater that he had been wanting to take you to, and then he was supposed to take you back to your place for dinner, but, somewhere along the way your plans changed. Probably somewhere between you beating Jungkook at a game of air hockey in a nearby arcade and him throwing you up against the wall by the bathrooms and kissing you breathless in retaliation.

Regardless, your date had lasted way too long. You couldn’t be mad about it, not when you had such a good time. And apparently you were exhausted and needed to sleep, anyway. But you could still blame that on Jungkook. He had been the one to suggest you unwind a bit before you head home for dinner by watching Netflix and cuddling on the couch and sharing a bag of popcorn.

It was less than half an hour’s drive on the highway from his place to yours, especially if you were using Jungkook’s Mercedes instead of your old reliable. Your boyfriend had a special playlist for late night drives, because of course he does, and he has music playing softly within two minutes of the drive. You lean back in your seat, legs tucked up against the middle console, and turn to watch him as he sings along, thinking seriously about falling back to sleep.

Jungkook, glancing over when he notices your change of position, reaches across and lays a hand on your lap, palm up, fingers reaching/wiggling until you place your hand in his. The atmosphere is quiet, even with the music and his voice singing softly, the windows cracked to let just a little bit of the cool, night air in. You’re blinking slower and slower as one song fades into the next, and Jungkook glances over at you before he speaks.

“You know, you never paid me back.” He says this matter-of-factly, like you’re supposed to know what exactly he’s referring to, but you frown over at him because you definitely have no idea. “For earlier.” He offers with another quick glance from the road to look at you.

“What do you mean?” You ask, sitting up more in your chair and planting your feet back in the floor.

“How many times did I make you cum on my tongue?” He asks you. “And my fingers at least once, too?” He clicks his tongue, “Ah, it’s a shame our relationship is so one-sided these days.” He sighs, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smile even as he tuts at you.

You laugh at him, slapping his hand on your lap, “Hey, nobody asked you to do all that! You’re that extra all on your own!” You fold your arms defensively across your chest, “Besides, a healthy sex-life doesn’t work on a trading system anyway, Jungkook!”

“How does that saying go? Something about...you mouth my genitals and I’ll mouth yours?”

You bust out laughing, “I think it was more about scratching backs but, point taken.” You say with an eye roll.

You notice right away he’s fumbling with his belt, one handed, a proud smile on his lips and you quickly yell at him, “Ten and two!”

“Then help me out?” He suggests, shifting his tailbone back and spreading his thighs to give you easier access to the front of his jeans.

“What do you think you’re doing?” You ask him.

“C’mon`~” He glances over at you long enough to give you those sweet puppy-dog eyes and you reply with a firm shake of your head. “Noona~” He whines, “You said you would..”

“I will.” You reply, “When you aren’t operating a couple thousand pounds worth of metal going 60mph on an open highway!”

“Noona.” Jungkook emphasizes the endearment, the one he knows makes you weakest for him, “I promise I’ll keep both hands and eyes on the road and all of my mirrors. There’s no other vehicles around, no houses, nobody who could see us or make this drive any less safe.” Then he glances back over at you, pouty lips and big, sparkling eyes and he can’t stop himself from breaking into a wide grin even as he asks you sweetly, “Please~”

Dammit. He’s much too persuasive and you are way too easily persuaded, so you glance briefly around the parameter of the car, don’t notice any other headlights, so you slip out of your seat belt.

“If you thought I owed you, oh my god the sexual debt you’re in after this.” You tell him even as you shift into your seat on your knees.

But Jungkook doesn’t care, he’s absolutely beaming, using one hand to continue fumbling with the button of his jeans but you slap his hand away and do it yourself, reminding him with a quickly muttered, “Ten and two.”

He’s so excited at the prospect, he’s rock solid already when you free him from his jeans. He scoots lower in his seat, adjusting it so you have plenty of room to lean your front half over his lap, his elbow resting on the middle of your back and his hand gripping your hair, pushing your head down on his erection.

“Fuuuck, that’s it.” He groans, gripping the steering wheel with both hands and flexing his hips as your mouth envelopes his cock. “Ah, I love your mouth so much, baby.”

You hum in response, adjusting your position until you’re able to get him farther down your throat but at the exact wrong moment, because he hits a minor bump in the road and suddenly the head of him rams the back of your throat for a second, making you gag noisily on him and pull back, startled and out of breath.

“Sorry,” He mumbles, “I saw it, I couldn’t miss it.” He strokes your hair gently, hips flexing up so his cock head nudges against your lips, “Please, noona...it felt so good. I need to cum, really quickly, ok? Please~ keep going~”

The way he begs is like music to your ears, and you duck back down into his lap, mouth open and tongue out, slurping and swallowing and bobbing around his thick, solid dick. Jungkook’s a moaning mess under you, gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles are white. He’s practically singing your praises as you work him, panting and rolling his hips with every shift of your head back away from him.

“Make me cum,” He grunts, voice low and desperate. You suck him hard, hallowing your cheeks, making obscene slurping noises as your hand reaches forward to massage his balls through the material of his boxers still in the way. Eyes opening, you notice the fabric is wet from drool and precum and you pull back, admiring the red tip of his cock right when he starts to cum.

Jungkook gasps, bucks, shoots you directly in the eye, and then one of his hands forces your head back down onto his spurting cock, finishing with a cry of your name down the back of your throat. With cum in your eye and sputtering out of the corners of your mouth, you choke on him but it doesn’t last long. He releases you with a panted apology, and then a laugh when he sees the way you’re squinting and grimacing as you pull away from his lap and settle back into your seat, fumbling for a napkin or a wet wipe.

Jungkook is still rock hard even as he laughs, sputtering apologies that you know he doesn’t really mean because he’s clearly enjoying himself way too much at your expense. You can’t be mad at him though, at least, not once you manage to get his sperm out of your eye and you can properly see his handsome face beaming back at you from the driver’s seat.

[stanknotstark]

Astral Pt. 10 (Loki x Reader)

So im out eating right now so ill add the link to the last part in an hour and stuff also I did not beta read this part and apologize if I need to change something later on but I want to try and keep up with posting at 5:30 so im releasing it 🤗

Alright we finally have some actions and many open ended questions that I’ve got to close up BUT we also experience one of our main villains warriors. If you read the comics you’ll immediately know who the main villain is (Or Google it but I suggest not doing that if you want to be surprised :p)

You knew having peace and hanging out with your team and Loki would only last for so long, but you were still saddened when it came time to finally work. 

You’re all on the top most floor of the Avenger’s tower, the War Room as Tony called it (sounds a bit over dramatic but it was Tony so...). Fury is there in hologram mode, sitting in the middle of a large custom made table that had the Avengers logo engraved into the middle of the dark oak. 

“What kind of readings are we talking about?” Stark asks Fury. 

Fury’s hand comes up and swipes at something invisible on his end and it translates to Stark’s theater size screens on the wall. It’s a bunch of graphs, statistics, and other jargon you can’t understand. You raise a brow when Tony and Bruce gasp and start talking in hushed tones to each other. 

“Tony, make this english so everyone can understand what’s going on, please?” Steve asks. 

Tony clears his throat and points to one of the graphs, “According to Fury’s collected data, Thor give Jane a big hug when you next see her, they’ve picked up on some form of energy spikes in the middle of Death Valley, Nevada. Like we’re talking colossal size spikes. ”

You look at Loki who sits up in his chair next to you and squints at the screens.

“I know what these ‘energy’,” Loki says energy like it’s disgusting, “readings are. It’s magic from another realm. Specifically, it’s time travel but...” Loki frowns and you watch as his eyes become almost fearful.

“Spit it out, Reindeer Games.” Tony says, sounding concerned at Loki’s fear.

“It’s time travel across an alternate timeline.” 

Tony blinks. Bruce frowns and pushes his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. The entire room is silent. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know who caused these readings would you?” Tony finally asks. 

Loki, who has a neutral face now and the fear is gone from his eyes, shakes his head. “I can’t know for sure unless I can inspect the magic in person.” 

Finally Fury speaks, you had almost forgot the director was even here. “Prepare a quin jet Stark, get Loki and whoever else you deem reliable to escort. We need to figure out who came for a visit and if they’re ally or enemy as soon as possible.”

Fury disappears from the table and Tony gets into worker mode immediately. He points to you, claiming you’re the close combat person, to Clint, who is your ranged fighter, and to Natasha who would be pilot and your extraction. 

Things become a blur after that. You remember going to your room and jumping into your Shield issued attire (Stark had yet to make you your own suit), and meeting Loki at the roof where a quin jet readied for take off. Before you walked into the quin jet Loki stopped you, his hands holding your shoulders making you face him. 

“I promise that I will let nothing harm you, you’re my first priority and if things get violent I will teleport us away to safety.” 

You nod but give him a small smile, “I can handle myself but it’s good to know I’ve got someone watching my back.” You then push onto your toes and give Loki a peck and make your way to the quin jet. 

The ride there is tense and quiet. Loki says he’s putting a spell on you that acts as a shield but doesn’t specify how it works.

Looking back you wish you would have asked how it worked. 

Landing around 100 meters from the destination Clint, Loki and you leave the ship and begin your trek to the site. 

“Holy fuck! If I could strip out of my skin I would.” You say to Loki and Clint. Death Valley’s temperature was a recorded 130 degrees today. 

At your displeasure Loki slows till he’s next to you and puts an arm around your shoulders. You look at him questionably but gasp as his arm generates a coolness that at least stops your sweating. You make sure not to say anything so Clint, in front of you, doesn’t become jealous. 

The trip to the site is very uneventful. Even reaching the site is uneventful. About 30 meters from the site you see nothing. Literally, it’s just desert, surrounded by high cliffs, for miles. 

So you snoop, you walk around the site as Clint and Loki argue about whether the coordinates are correct. 

“I swear, this is what Stark gave me so, if they’re wrong, blame him!” Clint says, exasperated.

“It can’t be wrong I can feel something pulling at my magic but-”

That’s when you run into an invisible wall and yelp as you fall backwards onto your butt. 

“Found it!” You cheer as a space ship slowly appears, the colors changing and shifting from the point you hit till the whole thing is uncovered. At first glance the ship looks futuristic but once you overlook the whole thing with Clint keeping his distance, and Loki exploring with you, you realize it’s shaped as a sphinx. 

Very fitting for the desert surrounding the ship. 

“Work you magic.” You tell Loki and he does. You both congregate at the head of the ship/sphinx and he waves his hands over it, his green magic trailing out here and there to touch the ship. Loki himself mutters under his breath. 

You keep your eyes on him but also keep vigilant about the area. You finally get an idea and close your eyes for a second, your magic leaving your body and passing through the ship. No life forms. When you open your eyes again Loki lifts a brow at you, still muttering. 

“No life I can detect.” You tell him and he nods and focuses back on the ship. 

You put a hand to your ear piece and tell Clint, “I don’t sense any life forms but I’d keep a close eye anyways.” 

Clint gives you an acknowledgment. 

Loki finally stops his magic and drops his hands to his sides, just as he looks at you and you hear Clint yell into your ear, you’re hit by a concussive blast. When you look up in shock you see one lone humanoid figure walking towards Loki, who although wasn’t in the way of the blast also got blasted back, curious you think. Loki had immediately gotten into a defensive stance after getting up from the blast, one hand on his back holds three daggers, the other hand put up in a manner meant to calm the figure. 

You quickly get on your feet and stand next to Loki, your magic congregating at your balled fists. 

“Listen, buddy, I don’t know who you think you are-” Loki hisses at you, trying to get you to stop antagonizing the being that is close enough to identify. He is tall, around 7 feet tall and is dressed in a skin tight tank and leggings that are a dark purple color, it looks like metal but it’s too flexible to actually be metal. His head is encased in a tight helmet that frames his face and covers his head from his forehead, up, in a way that makes you think he is bald underneath. You shiver as you look into his eyes, they glow white. 

“Identify yourself.” The being says. Standing casually as if he didn’t attack you. 

“I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, and you are?” 

The being stands there silently. You huff. “I’m y/n, of Earth.” 

The being stands still for a few seconds then gets into a fighting position.

“I am here to take y/n, anyone who stands in my way shall perish.” 

Loki immediately grabs you and teleports you to Clint, you yell out angrily as he teleports back to the being and they start fighting. Loki throwing magic and daggers at the being. You gasp, the first ball of magic Loki throws at it makes a purple light encase the being, in a rippling effect, who then grows a bit. Hawkeye lets loose some arrows that explode on impact. It does nothing but make the man grow even more. 

Loki also realizes what’s going on because he stops attacking the being. The being takes his chance and lunges at Loki. Loki isn’t fast enough and takes a blow to the head. You scream and begin running towards him as he lays in the dirt discombobulated. Clint tries to grab your arm but misses you just so. 

In your ear you hear Clint tell Natasha to ready the jet. Before the being can get to Loki you throw yourself over his body. When he’s a few feet away you look at him with furious eyes.

“Stop!” 

To your surprise the being stops mid step, considers your words, then stands in place. You frown but look at Loki who is watching with fascinated eyes, recovered from the hard hit he took. You watch as blood trails down the side of his face and out of his ear. He probably can’t hear out of his left ear. 

Looking back up at the being you ask it, “Who sent you? What are you?”

The being stares at the two of you but answers, “I am Subject 52103 Growing Man, and my master sent me.” 

You feel Loki tense under you and assume he knows who his master is. 

“Tell your master to leave Earth alone, that if you or him show your faces here again, the Avengers will take you out without hesitation.”

The Growing Man nods and leaves in a flash of purple and black. 

Letting out a tense breath you stand and help Loki up. Making your way back to the quin jet, you pick up Clint. 

“Why does he want you?” Clint asks, looking at you. 

You walk, holding Loki at your side, the hit from the Growing Man doing enough to leave him a bit disoriented and sluggish. 

“I don’t know and I’m not quite sure I want to know.” You say. Loki stays conveniently quiet the entire walk to the quin jet. Clint doesn’t ask anything else either. 

Pt. 9.1/Pt. 10/?

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