#gonna go finish lightyear now

[m3lonpire]

Heartbeat

A/N: Here, have a Jurassic Park oneshot that's been in my drafts for forever that I only just now finished! :D

Terror. That's all you felt.

A man named John Hammond had invited you to his park on Isla Nublar, Jurassic Park. It was a park featuring real dinosaurs. Tyrannosaurs, brontosaurs, compys, triceratops, everything.

Well, Hammond didn't just invite you. He also invited Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist, Dr. Alan Grant, a paleontologist, and Dr. Ian Malcolm, a chaotician. So, what were you? Well, you were the secretary of Dr. Malcolm. He was certainly eccentric, and Hammond wasn't lying when he said Malcolm had a "deplorable excess of personality". He brought you coffee sometimes if he got to the office first. And if you were being completely honest, you kind of had a crush on him, and you were sure he was flirting with you. Plus, you two didn't just have professional relations; you had been friends for a long time.

But, as all these thoughts filled your head, your peace of mind was quickly snatched as you snapped back to reality, feeling that terror again. You were standing with Sattler, Hammond, Muldoon, and a few other people in the control room. Hammond and Muldoon were going back and forth about the storm heading over, and how the fences had been… turned off.

The dinosaurs could be anywhere.

"Have the cars returned to the garage?", Hammond asked. Muldoon's body tensed up slightly. "No. One of the cars is missing.". "MISSING?!", Hammond boomed, getting up from the desk. "The T-rex is out in the park, and you expect no damage to be done?", Sattler asked, sitting up in her chair. "I'm gonna go get everyone.", Muldoon said, putting on a raincoat. "I'll come with you!", Dr. Sattler said. Dashing to the two of them and putting on a raincoat of your own, you responded "Malcolm could be out there! I'm coming with you.".

"Make sure you can keep up.", said Muldoon, adjusting his coat.

As all of them slowly fled the room, Hammond hit the desk with his fist. "DAMN!".

It was a quiet and awkward drive to the T-rex section. You and Ellie Sattler sat bunched together in the car, with you as close to them as possible, sitting in the backseat. You looked around, the rain still falling on your body. "How much longer till' we're there?", you asked. Sattler shook her head, saying "Uh, I think three, four minutes?". Minutes passed and it took a while for your surroundings to sink in.

The road was a rutted, muddy mess. The bathroom clad in palm trees was collapsed into a pile of rubble, one of the Explorers was gone, and the other stood untouched, both doors hanging open. Heading towards the road, Ellie said "Oh, God… where's the other car?". "Alan!", she called out. Suddenly, you heard the thunderous roar of the T-rex. "I think it's ahead of us.", she said. "It could be anywhere," Muldoon said, tensing up slightly. "With the fences out, it can go in and out of any paddock it likes.".

Heading towards the collapsed bathroom, you heard a groan from under the rubble. "U-uh, guys!", you called out as they came closer. Sattler pushed the rubble off the person; it was Ian Malcolm! He lay on his back, semiconscious among the twisted wood and cement. "It's Malcolm!", Muldoon said. He shone his light along Malcolm's body, showing his blood-soaked, ripped shirt. As he moved the light down his body, he saw his right leg which was in worse shape by lightyears.

His ankle was bent outward at an awkward angle from his leg and said area of his trousers was flattened and soaked with blood. His belt, twisted around his thigh, was equally soaked.

"He put a tourniquet on… Ian?", Ellie asked. "Ian!", you cried, panic sinking in. Malcolm whimpered as you touched him, seemingly quite drained. "Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend.", he coughed. Suddenly, you all heard the T-rex roar again, making Ian stare ahead with wide eyes. "Should we risk moving him?", Sattler asked. As it roared again, the explosive sound coming back to you all, Malcolm sat up, saying "Please, risk it.".

You all propped up Malcolm, and he groaned as he shifted his weight onto his left leg. Muldoon laid Malcolm down as carefully as possible in the back of the jeep, and you sat next to him. "Where are the kids?", Ian asked groggily. "We're gonna go try to find them. You two stay here.", Muldoon said as he and Sattler sped off.

Panic surged through your veins as you shifted your gaze towards Malcolm. His name escaped your lips, but the reason behind it eluded you. Were you pleading for his help, somehow? Or were you desperately seeking conversation? The fear of the unknown gripped you tightly, leaving you in a state of utter confusion. You didn't know if you were asking him something if you were trying to get him to talk to you, or what.

"What?", Ian coughed. You held your breath, panting before you continued to speak. "I don't know. Are you… okay?". Malcolm looked down at his leg and looked back up at you. "I've been better.". Eventually, he leaned his head back, sighing and closing his eyes. You turned around, looking at your surroundings. There was a footprint in the mud. Big, and three-toed, with some rain flowing into it. Your breath hitched, and you unknowingly scooched closer to Ian.

Malcolm opened his eyes, scooting away, closer to the wall. "Come here.", he said. You hummed curiously, as you noticed he made space for you to sit next to him. Smiling softly with a sigh, you moved into the spot as he put his arm around your shoulders. Ian groaned slightly, shifting so you both were comfortable. "Penny for your thoughts?", he asked. You shook your head, mumbling "I'm scared for you.".

Ian smiled softly, starting to speak, but stopped as he heard something, turning his gaze to something far away. "What? What- what is it?", you asked, your body tensing up slightly. Malcolm looked down at the print in the mud as the water within it shook. A sound filled your ears.

Boom, it went. Boom.

"You hear that?", Ian asked. "It's a, uhm… it's an impact tremor, is what it is. I'm fairly alarmed here…". He then turned forward, motioning to the others to get back into the car. "Hey, come on, we gotta go now! Now, now, right now! Get in, start the engine!", he said urgently. Muldoon and Sattler emerged from the trees just in time to get into the car before a T-rex appeared from behind them, with the familiar, thunderous sound of the roar.

"Get in! Start the engine!", Malcolm said. You all sped off, adrenaline pumping as the T-rex chased you all. Muldoon didn't go into fifth gear for some reason you all didn't understand. "Must go faster!", Ian said bluntly, turning back to Muldoon. The T-rex roared again and you and Malcolm backed up in the car. Ellie was screaming, and Malcolm said "Here it comes, fifth gear! Fifth gear!".

Muldoon appeared calm, simply looking in the mirror as the T-rex roared again, getting close enough to almost put the car in its' mouth. Ian, just as scared as anyone else would be, backed up as far as he could, accidently hitting the gear stick. "Get off the stick- bloody move!", Muldoon said, trying to push Malcolm off. "LOOK OUT!", Sattler screamed as Muldoon saw a large tree ahead. "Down!". The T-rex easily ran through the tree, catching up and headbutting the car and letting out that deafening roar again.

Ian stared ahead with wide eyes, while you and Ellie screamed. Still staring ahead, he barred his arms over you and Ellie. You didn't think much of it at the time. You were more focused on staying alive. Muldoon then finally shifted into fifth gear, speeding off while the T-rex just sat there, having lost the energy to keep up. "Think they'll have that on the tour?", Malcolm said between pants. You smiled softly at Ian, and he did the same.

Time passes. Minutes, hours, you didn't know. Eventually, you get to the control room. You hear Ellie sigh in relief before you see Muldoon pick up Malcolm like he was a bag of potatos. A funny sight if you weren't fighting for your life to get inside safely. And you still didn't know where Grant and the kids were. Getting inside, Ian groaned as Muldoon set him down on a table. Muldoon and Ellie ran over to the controls as you sat down next to Ian. "Are you okay?", you asked Malcolm. Ian bit his lip, looking off to the side. "I, uh… I guess. I'm not dead.". He chuckled dryly, trying to lighten the situation. "Yet.".

"Dammit, don't say that!", you blurted out before you even realized exactly what you said. All your brain heard was "yet", it didn't realize that it was a joke for that split second you said it. Ian tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrow. "Whu… you… you know I'm kidding, right?". You moved some of your hair out of your face, blushing slightly and stuttering as you tried to explain yourself. "I-I, uh… I k-know, I-I just-".

"You're really, really concerned for me… aren't you?".

"W-what?", you muttered. God, you thought. You probably looked like a blubbering fool, dried tears on your face, voice cracking from screaming. "I-I mean, yes, of course I am! You're my b-boss, and my best friend! You have been for a long time, and-". "Yes, but isn't there something more there?", Ian said, reading you like a book. Your eyes widened as you twirled your hair nervously. "Uh… m-maybe. But, we should really focus on getting out of here alive!". Ian nodded, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Got it.".

Time passed quickly, and you barely stayed awake. It seemed Ian noticed you seemed tired, so he let you lean your head up against the table he sat on, keeping you safe as you slept. The last thing you heard was Arnold fiddling with the park's controls, but the last thing you felt was Malcolm petting your head idly.

[livvyofthelake]

ok! sidequest from january complete! i am right now the world's biggest expert on the lightning thief and i will no longer be this person in three days when it all leaves my brain so let's get into it now. i reread the book (have not opened it since eighth grade, also i started it in january made it halfway through and this week had to go back to the beginning because i forgot it all), watched the show (ok. i watched 6 episodes as they came out and then didn't do anything until last week), and rewatched the movie with fresh eyes. and i have to say it's good i didn't finish this in january, that wasn't the right time for this... i was being kind of a hater then. or at least. i wasn't being a forgiver. this time around i feel like i was in the best place imaginable to devote my time to this franchise i ordinarily don't care about. like i was very forgiving and loving and viewing it with a lot of fondness... i didn't even do that back in april when i read the nico book damn. couldn't even extend the fondness to my favorite guy.... that's not even true i think my favorite guy in this franchise is annabeth i just used to think it was nico back in the day because i think after pjo i didn't consider her a real character due to her being so entrenched in the mythos of the series. idk. i was weird about picking favorite characters back then i never thought i could pick a main one. idk. let's not dwell on the trenches of ages 12-15. do not worry about how that line of thinking impacted my relationship with tsc we aren't getting into that weirdness rn

ok so now i'd like to go through everything about the lightning thief (yes, specifically only the lightning thief. i'm not reading the other ones and i'm not watching that second movie...) and talk about which version i liked best and the pros and cos of everything <3 stay tuned if you want to read a longgggg ass post! if not. well gtfo damn

if you can believe it i’m actually about to be a movie hater and a show apologist. i know like. how bad is my life rn that it’s come to this. anyway. let's get into it....

characters:

percy- i'm gonna say the best percy is book percy. i mean naturally he’d be best in the book it’s his book he’s the narrator and protagonist and we all loved him in middle school!! and i think the show version of him definitely stayed truer to a lot of what makes the book charming and loveable, but i also think the movie version kept much of the character’s spirit alive too, just in an older way. i do think his age plays a role in the character and while i don’t think aging everyone up for the movie was a BAD choice i definitely think it was an impactful choice that changed a lot about the nature of the story in many ways we can get into later if we remember

annabeth- show. by like. miles and leagues and lightyears. the way leah sava jeffries DEVOURED that role and left no crumbs is utterly insane. that girl is a future academy award winner. she’s a future egot even. if she wants to do theater. she’s like. a once in a lifetime talent and i really believe this. have you ever heard the ways she can devour the single word “yes”? if not you couldn’t possibly hope to understand how hard she slays. anyway i like show annabeth best because the show diverges from the book and movie’s single perspective and kind of opens it up as an ensemble narrative, so she gets her own scenes that aren’t being seen through percy’s eyes, which REALLY adds nuances and depth to her that she doesn’t always have in this franchise. i know she has povs in heroes of olympus i was there. i am currently talking specifically about the lightning thief though. and the thing about annabeth in the lightning thief is that she is weird... she's such a little weirdo.... she's stalking percy around camp because she wants so desperately for him to be the one that can take her on a quest and she wants sooo bad to go on a quest and prove herself.... the movie gave almost none of her freak tendencies it's a tragedy... the way that girl acted in the movie was NOT a proper display of the qualities that landed her in the timeless video..... and leah i look forward to seeing YOUR freak ass in the 2026 remade timeless video <3

grover- i’m gonna say movie because i think he’s funniest in the movie. but show is a close second because in the show he’s sooooo sweet and adorable and it makes you go awwww groverrrrr… and he has those big brown eyes and big smile and you’re just like ohhh he’s just a baby…. actually i think it’s a tie between movie and show because both of those qualities are equally important to the character

luke- show. there is something about jake abel’s performance in the movie that makes me want to punch him in the face soooo bad. and when i was rereading the book i sort of realized like. wait we actually are supposed to like this guy and sympathize with him without him being an annoying Popular Guy… and charlie bushnell’s performance in the show really gave that in a delightful way i didn’t appreciate when i tried watching the show before rereading the book. the show really does give you a sense of his conflict between really truly caring about the trio and his ultimate moves against them. i think letting annabeth be there at the Reveal that he framed percy for stealing the lightning bolt was a crazy decision that went HARD. like. she’s his sister… he would always be on her side… until he wasn’t…. it was crazy you had to be there i think

chiron- i’m gonna go with movie. because i think in the book he’s forgettable and in the show he’s forgettable (sorry but. i watched it two days ago and i don’t remember a single thing he did or said) and in the movie he was pierce brosnan. as a centaur. what if sam mamma mia was. a centaur….

medusa- i know they want me to love the show version. like ok yes she slayed she ate i enjoyed how they changed the story there it was kinda cool it kinda gave hansel and gretel in the witch’s house. but i HAVE to give it to uma thurman let’s all be fucking real here. also. percy pulling out his ipod touch as a mirror… well that’s cinema. unbeatable.

echidna- was not in the movie because the movie swaps out the st. louis arch for the nashville parthenon. but i am going with show. because that shit was Crazy. i’ll get into it in the Events section of the post

hades- book. the movie makes him The Villain for easy film storytelling reasons which kinda sucks but from a movie adaptation perspective makes sense but still kind of pisses me off. and in the show he felt insanely underwhelming idk

persephone- ONLY appears in the movie. and i’m including her here to complain about something very specific. the reason she was not there in the book or show. is because this story takes place in the weeks before THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. persephone. would not BE. in the UNDERWORLD. on the SUMMER. SOLSTICE. i never even realized this about the movie until this week i’m hardly a greek mythology expert ok i wasn’t thinking about it that much. but now that the book reminded me i’m like. now why did the movie include persephone. on the summer. solstice. like one of her most main things is that she would not be there. probably her most main thing actually. that’s crazy.... like who was on that. who did that....

poseidon- gonna go with. book. show version didn’t Give anything... he was legit just some guy. i think i feel this way about all the gods in the show. except maybe hermes because well crucially that WAS lin manuel miranda… and i don’t like him in the movie because a) that’s literally just owen grey’s anatomy my mortal enemy owen hunt. and b) the movie decided to portray the vibe as like. poseidon wanted to raise percy and stay with his mother but couldn’t? which. well no he did not actually. and trying to make percy this. One Exception to the idea of gods not caring about their kids and making sally the exception to gods not really long term loving the people they have children with. it’s just ridiculous to me. percy isn’t an exception because his dad loved him he’s an exception because his mom is awesome. and sally does not give a fuck that poseidon didn’t like. marry her or whatever. idk. i just don’t care for the way the movie handles that i never have

zeus- gives nothing to me in all versions. peace on earth.

last on the list but first in my heart. the one and only sally jackson- SHOW. by leaps and bounds. i can’t get too into it but she’s SO AWESOME in there… she’s SO COOL. she gave jocelyn fairchild in many ways… she taught percy about greek mythology because he would need to know this someday... she raised him to be ready for the storm....

events:

minotaur- show. this is so tied to how much i loved sally in the show. literally hold fast and brave the storm…. i'm gonna cry again

capture the flag- show. let’s be serious the movie’s version of it was dumb and FILLED with so many bad annabeth moments…. i watch her in the beginning of this movie and i go wow she would not say that! she wanted him on HER team…. she wouldn’t cut him with a sword… also. what i like about the show version is that AFTER they won was when annabeth just. shoved his ass in the water like um sorry has to be done! and it was real

starting the quest- show…. i loved when chiron was like i've assembled all these cool potential kids you could select :) and percy didn't even listen to their names he just said um i want annabeth please! but he wasn't that polite he straight up just said her name no fuss about it he said i want this freak on my team. and my bestie grover <3 and grover wasn't even like an option percy just wanted him on his quest soooo bad... because they're best friends btw if you haven't heard!

medusa- MOVIE. next

st. louis arch- show… the way annabeth volunteers to fight off the chimera and percy does that thing where he pretends to let her and hands her his sword but then uses the sword to pull himself into where she's standing and push her back into the stairs to get out... that was crazy stuff! also i loved the part about them going to the arch not just because annabeth was obsessed with architecture but because the arch was a temple to athena. like i think that gave such a cool opportunity to give annabeth some character moments and showcase her relationship with her mother, the way athena allowed the chimera to attack because she was mad at annabeth for letting percy send medusa's head to olympus... damn these gods are bad parents!

water park- SHOWWWWWW NO QUESTION. i never gave a fuck about the spider shit they did in the book that was all lame but the way they changed it for the show slayed the house downnnn omg.... percy getting trapped in that golden chair so annabeth can get ares' shield, instead of taking the shield back she tries to get him out until hephaestus himself comes out and tries to make her give up...and then her speech to him was sooo excellent it was so ANNABETH it was so thesis statement on her and percy's dynamic it was so good.... "it isn't how it should be! it isn't! eat or be eaten, power and glory and nothing else matters! ares is that way, zeus is that way, my mother is that way.... he isn't that way..." she doesn't want to do this quest the gods way! she wants to save her friends! god guys it was so fucking good....

lotus casino- just going with book here. underdog pick i know. i just don’t want to involve myself in the discourse that WAS happening in january. i was there on tiktok it was annoying as hell i’m removing myself from the narrative. i will say that in a sense, levitating by dua lipa is kind of the poker face of our time. in a sense.

underworld- book. we are at a point in this post where i don't care enough to really write a paragraph on the parts that don't interest me as much. so. yeah

the pearls- ok. the thing the movie did with the pearls was make them the whole plot. they went to medusa’s place and the nashville parthenon and the lotus casino to get the pearls to escape the underworld. but the whole deal with the movie is that there wasn’t a Quest like the books they were going rogue to save percy’s mom. so why did they never question that they were looking for three pearls to ultimately get four people out of the underworld? like. come on guys you’re not this stupid… and in the book and show the pearls were given to percy by that water lady. but in the show she gave him 4 and then they lost one which i thought was stupid like couldn’t we have just done it how it happened in the book where he was only given three and had to leave his mom behind trusting that once he found hades helm he’d let her go? anyway. whatever. book

fight with ares- pretty much all the same. only notable difference between the book and the show is that the book leaned way more into the “percy is a fugitive” thing than the show ever did so the fight had spectators in the book. which worked for the book but i do think in the show would have gotten too complicated in many ways

olympus- book. actually idk. all versions are kinda the same deal who cares

luke betrayal- show! in the book he just takes percy out to the forest and sets a monster scorpion on him… lame! in the show he pulls out a sword and fights him himself… which i decided was better than the movie ONLY because i liked show luke better than movie luke. but the final fight in the movie is sick too

ending- i think. they are equally good. the movie doesn’t conclude at the end of summer like the others so it’s ending is more. not ambiguous. but like. less conclusive? the movie ends after they return the lightning bolt not at the end of the summer so it never has the part where percy has to decide to stay at camp or live with his mom. but the movie does lowkey imply he's staying at camp. which is crazy i mean he loves his mom.... anyway. it's still a good movie ending. between the book and the show there's not much difference actually.

in conclusion, i don't have a favorite but i will say i'm probably not gonna read the book again while i might rewatch the show. and i have already seen the movie many times. so if you wanna evaluate based on that metric there it is. i don't have an opinion on which is the Best because adaptations are complicated and these are three different mediums. i think it's a great middle grade book, a good 2010 ass movie, and a sort of middling tv show. i know i favored the show for a lot of things up there but ultimately it's just not a great tv show. it's a streaming service original that gave the author of the book and his most annoying and rabid fans too much say in the adaptation process. it's a really faithful adaptation. and we got a bunch of really good tiktok edits out of it. but is it a good television show? no.... i mean if you want to feel like you're watching the book it's good for that but it you want to watch a great tv show it's not the vibe. you understand!

i'll leave you with this sick edit for right now <3

[ethoglrl]

More desertduo fluff for the souls <3

------

Scar yawned as Grian pulled him upstairs, carrying blankets and pillows and a lamp and- something else. "What are we doinggg it's so lateeeeeee," Scar complained, yawning again.

"You'll see, hun," he responded, giggling as the other glared at him without any hatred behind it. "I promise, you'll like it."

Scar hummed as Grian opened the door to the roof of their apartment. "Alright, I trust you," he said with a smile, "but what are we doing?"

The winged man let go of Scar's hand and set everything down, putting down what Scar now saw was a speaker a little bit away from the pile of everything else and turning it on. Some classical music started playing.

Grian smiled sheepishly at Scar. "I remember you once saying that you wanted to dance with me, so- I figured I'd make you wish come true."

A wide smile grew on Scar's face, and excitement lit up his eyes. "Really? We're gonna dance? For real," he asked, excitement coloring his tone.

The blond nodded, putting his arms around the other's neck, as Scar put one hand on his shoulder, and the other on his hip, and they started dancing.

It was messy, imperfect, just like the two dancing. There was lots of stepping on toes, lots of quiet giggles and apologies, but it was perfectly imperfect, and Scar couldn't have wished for anything better. He smiled the whole time.

After awhile of dancing, Grian noticed how his smile became a more tired one, and he made more mistakes dancing. He sighed softly and shook his head with a fond smile, grabbing one of Scar's hands, stopping him from dancing, and pulling him over to the pile of other stuff he brought up there.

He let go of his hand for a second, laying down some blankets and pillows, and setting the lamp down next to it. He then grabbed Scar's hand again, bringing him over to the little bed-like thing he made, laying him down and curling up on his chest.

Scar put an arm over Grian protectively, looking up at the stars, eyes closing yet him fighting sleep. "They're so pretty.." he said.

"I know," he responded with a small smile, looking at his face rather than the stars.

Scar shook his head. "You didn' let me finish. I 's gonna say they're pretty but nothin' when compared to you n your beauty," he mumbled.

Grian blushed, but by that point, he had already fallen asleep, snoring softly. He smiled, grabbing a blanket that was barely in his reach (he can't move because Scar's arm is still over him) and putting it over Scar as much as he could to keep him from getting too cold, and kissed his hand, looking at the stars. "They may not compare to me, but they're lightyears away from how handsome you are," he said softly.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Say it ain't so! Major Disney delays...

The biggest, for me, is Pixar's original sci-fi movie ELIO leaving March 2024...

Not for June 2024, where INSIDE OUT 2 is parked...

But June 2025... Yep... 2025...

For a movie that has teaser poster and a teaser trailer...

The actor's side of the strike is ongoing, yes, but the severity of this delay seems to imply something else is afoot...

This is the biggest delay for a Pixar movie since the time they delayed THE GOOD DINOSAUR, originally set for a late May 2014 debut, all the way to Thanksgiving 2015... Two movies that were to open after it, opened before it. The movie was, of course, delayed because John Lasseter was unsatisfied with director Bob Peterson's work on the movie and had him removed. The plan was to originally have some of the Brain Trust "shepherd" various sections of the incomplete movie and still possibly make the May 2014 release date (as a lot of assets had been rendered, possibly animated even), until it was decided to throw it all out and start over. Peter Sohn was handed the reins, and worked off of some basic core ideas of Peterson's movie/concept. Naturally, they needed about a year to not only turn it around, but make the movie.

I'm not sure if that's happening to ELIO, because it was but a few months away and has a teaser. GOOD DINOSAUR didn't have that before the director removal and subsequent delay, only the footage and concept art people saw at the 2013 D23 Expo.

Maybe some sections need work or need to be redone, without impacting much of the finished movie. Very possible. CG allows those kinds of fixes more so than a hand-drawn film does, so maybe...

Or this could be a dirty tactic on the studio's part. "You're gonna keep striking? Well then! No movies released in the first quarter of next year!" A scare tactic to make SAG-AFTRA cave, but we know SAG-AFTRA... They'll stand firm.

I'm thinking it could also have to do with INSIDE OUT 2 existing. That has the juicy mid-June slot for this year, typically a prime slot for a Pixar. At least, in pre-COVID times. And also, its a sequel to one of their biggest original movies... Which was also a June release in its respective release year (2015). Instead of pushing INSIDE OUT 2 back a full year, Disney figures... Nah, make people wait for the original alien movie, INSIDE OUT 2 is top priority! A surefire hit, too, after years of Pixars either going straight to Disney+ or not being massive at the box office. ELEMENTAL may have just eked out, but Disney probably wants a guaranteed big hit next from Pixar, not a riskier big-budget science fiction animated movie.

Weird coincidence. After INSIDE OUT in 2015 came GOOD DINOSAUR. We went from INSIDE OUT to a Peter Sohn-directed movie. Now, we go from the Peter Sohn-directed ELEMENTAL to an INSIDE OUT sequel. Rhythm and rhyme. Just me? Probably.

We know how those tend to do at the domestic box office... TITAN A.E., ATLANTIS, TREASURE PLANET, LIGHTYEAR, STRANGE WORLD-

So... Yeah... Pixar's slate is now INSIDE OUT 2 in June 2024, ELIO in June 2025... Then two movies set for 2026, one in March, one in June. I reckon TOY STORY 5 is going to be the June 2026 movie, and one of the originals for March.

In addition to these delays, Disney removed the Searchlight movie MAGAZINE DREAMS from the calendar entirely, like they did with THE BIKERIDERS a few weeks back. The live-action SNOW WHITE vacated March 2024 as well. Instead of booting the LION KING prequel MUFASA out of summer 2024, SNOW WHITE has instead been delayed all the way to March 2025...

So, Disney has no big tenptole-type movies - after WISH until the pending May release of DEADPOOL 3.

Outside of POOR THINGS, I don't think they really have anything else, period... Until DEADPOOL 3. Again, in May...

Ya know, if they just... Paid their actors...

[dasozelotvonnebenan]

Ok so I promised to talk about my sci fi stuff. It's now six in the morning again* but I feel far less tired than yesterday so I'm gonna dare to write it down this time.

It's not really a concrete story, its more just a loose collection of characters, worldbuilding and unconnected fun story beats.

There will be absolutely no structure to this. Just ramble.

So for a little context, this has been brewing slowly for years but I really started to gather up all those ideas after I finished watching Killjoys (Bounty Hunters in Space) and craved more space adventure in my head. Theres also a lot of Firefly (Western, but in space), The Expanse (Uhhh a bunch of stuff, in space), Battletech (Mech Mercenaries, in space) and my dads loosely RIFTS based sci fi role playing world in there.

Now first thing first you might notice that all those things above involve lots of guns which is maybe the biggest step away I am taking in that there is exactly one (1) gun involved in the entirety of this whole thing. Also the images in my head are a lot brighter and less gritty than most of those series. Like it's a genuinely good world. Because it's a thing I'm thinking about to relax.

So let's meet the crew! Because of course this space adventure revolves around a colourful bunch of people who travel the vastness of space together.

Most importantly theres the Pilot. He's afraid of sleeping when they're flying because if he isn't awake then whos steering. Even though theyre in space, where it's basically impossible to hit anything unless you want to, flying consist of pointing the ship in the right direction and waiting and any correction would need to happen way faster than a human could make them anyways.

Which is kind of a problem when travel times between planets range between a few days for inner system distances to easily over a month of want to get from one side of the system to the other. Interstellar travel involves specialized jump ships so travelling the lightyears between stars actually ends up taking much less time than getting from the edge of the suns gravity well to anything remotely worth visiting.

He accounts for about half of the crews caffeine consumption and sometimes his sleep deprivation leads to some hijinks (like when he goes hunting the space spiders in the vents). The ship is his own, he has won it in an advertisement lottery for a video game which is why there is a giant wizard painted on it which he really wants to remove but is not allowed to. Everybody else loves the wizard.

Next up is the one person in the group who has an actual job. This is not a wild thing because most people don't have a serious job and don't have to have one to get by, but he definitely has one. It's the mechanic. Big beefy guy, and not just muscle beef and also he has a big metal arm because of course he has. He's a mechanic and he runs powertools off of the arm. His job is that he works at the local museum of transport and restores old trains. Like back when they still ran on diesel old old. can you imagine!

He is the main reason for them flying off planet because other places ask him to come over to repair a thing for them, so Pilot flies him over, their other friends come with because it's like a roadtrip and that's kind of their thing and the remaining seats are chartered out which always makes for interesting company.

He enjoys his work very much but his hobby hobby is building model planes.

Next up the Detective, who is absolutely not just straight up Miller from The Expanse. He got unfrozen from cryosleep and lives in a totally different story from the others. He is constantly fidgeting because he doesn't have a gun anymore so he doesn't know what to do with hands. He is brooding all the time but it just looks silly because he has to do it in the very comfy and nice places his friends hang out in. But every now and then they get to go on some kind of investigation, a treasure hunt or something genuinely dangerous happens and he is fully in his element.

The one time a gun is relevant is when one of their adventures brings them to a wildlife reserve and he gets to have a tranquilizer rifle. He wants to be sad because that's all he has ever known but his friends are way too good at being friends. He is in a constant war over the gravistat (thermostat but for gravity) because back in his day spaceships didn't have artificial gravity yet.

Fourth guy I have yet is the Charmer. He's a linguistics student. His whole deal is that on every adventure he falls in love with someone and it never works out for some weird reason but he always stays friends with them. He knows people everywhere. He can not flirt for the life of him. He's like what if an 18CHA Bard only ever rolled nat 1s.

Their favourite place to hang out earthside is a Pub (Public Charging Station). Thats a place with wireless charging things at the tables for peoples cybernetics. Just so happens that the one they frequent also has a liquor license. The house specialty drink is "Battery Juice". A glowing green spiked lemonade. Of course you can also get it "discharged".

I hope enjoyed this little insight into one of the fandom unrelated worlds in my head and have a tremendously joyful day!

[crystalqueer]

I was wondering why there wasn't a lot of buzz after Lightyear came out. So I skipped over to my dear friend's Disney+ account and started the film. 10 minutes in I knew exactly why the film was not given the same love as any other Toy Story tale:

Buzz's closest friend is a black lesbian named Alisha.

And, from what I've gathered, it seems the fandom absolutely fuckin hates her for existing. They keep saying shit like "if you go woke, you go broke." As if conservatives have never lost anything or everything for spouting hate. As if the mere existence of queer people is "woke". I could go on all day about the ways in which some white people now use "woke" to describe anything they don't like that challenges their way of thinking but we have things to do.

As a black lesbian named Alicia who has been watching Toy Story movies since 1995... the fan comments stung a bit.

It was like they were yelling at me, telling me I shouldn't exist, and if it were up to them I wouldn't.

[f10werfae]

Heartful not a Handful

Pairing: Husband!Dad!Chris x Actress!Mom!Reader

Warnings: mention of a heart defect‼️Fluff though don’t worry‼️

Summary: Chris and Y/n prove how strong their love for each other is, how they can overcome any and everything

-Requests are open! ♥️Likes, Comments and Re-blogs are appreciated♥️

Chris Evans Masterlist🌟:

Full Masterlist✨:

Taglist Form💫:

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

(Y/n's P.O.V)

May 2022 Chris and I welcomed our first baby boy, Noel, a cute brunette blue-eyed boy with a personality as big as this Earth, as Chris described it. However, unfortunate news came when the doctor came in and told us about our baby boy’s heart defect. It’s called VSD, basically having a hole in your heart.

My birthing experience alone was terrifying enough, with myself also having a weak heart, it was a major risk even attempting to have a normal birth; but I did it.

Heck I have never had Chris kiss and hug me so hard out of relief, that feeling of seeing him but as parents now, made it all the more better. Now that we’re home and finally settled in a few months later, Chris and I are slowly adjusting to the new life in our hands.

“ya doin alright mama?” I heard a gravelly voice from behind, shocking me a little as I knew it was only turning 2AM. “Jeez baby, what are you doin' up? Aren’t you tired from all your interviews today?” I questioned bouncing the breastfeeding boy in my arms slightly.

“Nah i’m never too tired for my babies, especially when they need me most”

Ever since I had given birth, Chris had opted to stay home as much as possible in order to help us about. Caring for both me and baby Noel was the top of his priority, I could have never asked for a better partner in life. I had chosen to take a break from acting for now, my contract with Marvel had just ended anyway after a major successful finale movie for my character.

“Lil man here is jus hungry, just wanted some of mommy’s milk” I cooed watching the milk drunk baby continue to suckle on my breast,

“He’s absolutely adorable” Chris said coming up behind me, his arms going around my waist to help hold onto him. His fingers slowly combing over his growing head of hair, Noel's tiny hand reaching up for his father’s touch, something he had learned to recognise.

“Just give him your finger Chris n' stop teasin the lil guy” I laughed watching Chris let Noel grab onto his pinky,

“He nearly done nursin'?”

Chris whispered into my ear, a kiss going to my exposed shoulder. “Mhm just wanna finish this off so I don’t risk a sore boob in the morning”

“You ever still worry bout his heart?”

“Sometimes, but I’m not gonna let it affect us, he’s still our healthy baby boy” I cooed, watching him let go of my nipple and yawn, passing him over to Chris for a burp, I re-strapped my maternity bra. “Come on buddy, give daddy a nice burp so we can all got to sleep”

Chris softly padded around the room, patting his back softly; his eyes watched me as I started to get Noel's swaddle ready for him. “Did he let out somethin yet?” I asked walking towards him,

“Yup he let out the tiniest, cutest burp, gets it from his momma” He cooed handing him over as we swaddled him together before placing him into his bassinet, both of us looking over him for a few minutes.

“He’ll be okay won’t be Chrissy?”

“Of course he will bub, especially with us to look after him, we have the most amazing doctors too. He’ll be amazing”

“Come on lovie, lets get you to bed, I know you’re tired” He whispered pulling me out of the room, turning on Noel’s buzz lightyear nightlight. Pulling the covers back for me he helped me into bed, unclipping my bra for me and throwing it to our wash basket by our bathroom.

“You’re such a good mom you know that?”

“Couldn’t do it without Noel having such a good dad, I love you Chris” I said moving closer to him, both of us laying on our sides just looking at each other. “I love you so much more, thank you for giving me Noel. Thank you for giving me your heart and helping us to create another”

“What’s up with those look in your eyes?” I asked seeing him change the look in his eyes

(Chris' P.O.V)

“Ever since you became a mom, you’ve jus become a whole different type of beautiful. I can’t put into words how much sexier you are, how much more I’ve fallen in love with you. I jus can’t believe you’re all mine to love and to hold”

I said looking up at the ceiling trying to convey how I was feeling, to turn my head to hear her cute little snores. Her lashes resting on her cheeks, her hands holding onto mine softly.

“Yeah I love you” I whispered again kissing her forehead softly just watching her soft breaths leave her body.

——-//

Taglist Tags (Form is up there^^): @pandaxnienke @patzammit @seren-a-ity @thereisa8ella @mrspeacem1nusone @evanstanwhore @itsaylayay1213

[cable-knit-sweater]

This is…longer than I intended but couldn't not write it. Probably should’ve taken a little more time to finish it/make it a little better but here we are. Thanks to Chris’ Instagram post & Seb in that soft, too big white sweater, a soft road-trip Evanstan fic 🥰🥰 , also inspired by @fandomfluffandfuck headcanon that Sebastian’s camera roll is full of photos/videos of Chris & Dodger. If anyone else has written a road-trip fic I’d loveee to read it so pls let me know. 😘

Already Home

It had been a long week for both of them. Chris was still adjusting to the change in timezones, the trip to London and back with all the long days on the Ghosted set over the past couple of months taking their toll. He still had promo work for Lightyear to do in New York, but that wasn’t the only reason to hang around a little longer.

Instead of going straight up to Concord after he was done with his press engagements - to finally rest up a bit before the busy weeks of doing press still to come - he’d decided to wait to drive there until Friday so they could spend as much of the weekend together as possible. Sebastian had a late show taping on Thursday and they’d just leave the morning after. He’d been fine with it, but he’d had to convince Sebastian. The reason why was a little endearing, he thought, and so exactly like him.

Sebastian had been a little concerned - he thought Chris was looking a little worn and in desperate need of some of the comforts of home. After trying to see each other as much as possible over the past few months with their hectic schedules, meeting in LA, NY and Atlanta whenever possible, he was pretty sure Chris was looking forward to some peace and quiet. Looking at him, clearly exhausted, he’d suggested Chris go up a couple of days early and he’d follow later.

He knew Chris needed that to find his balance again, especially after a couple of months of hard work, travel and being away from home. So, he’d not been immediately convinced of Chris’ plan to wait until Friday. He’d expressed his concern, had waved off Chris’ argument that Seb didn’t like to travel alone, that he didn’t even need to go home that badly.

Chris had looked at Sebastian then, a little peeved he wasn’t getting his way. “But baby, it’ll be so much nicer to go together? I don’t want to leave you alone and our schedules are just gonna be packed for the next couple of weeks, so this is the perfect way to spend more time together”. He could see Sebastian was getting closer to being convinced and gave him his best puppy dog eyes. And decided to put Dodger to work.

“Dodger thinks it’s a great idea, don’t you bubba? See Seb! Even Dodger agrees. How could you say no to that face?” Sebastian had shaken his head at him, but couldn’t contain his smile. “You’re playing dirty Evans.”

“Come on Seb! It’ll just be the three of us, we can stop along the way for some good food, I’ll even let you be in charge of the music”, he winked. Sebastian closed his eyes. He couldn’t possibly say no now. How anyone could ever deny the full force of Chris Evans he’d never understand. “Okay okay honey, we’ll leave together on Friday”, he’d finally said, moving up from the couch to herd both Chris and Dodger to the bedroom. If he wasn’t gonna go home early, he’d at least make sure Chris got some sleep. When they’d just gotten settled, Chris’ chest pressed to Sebastian’s back, he whispered “I know baby, I know you’re worried. I just want to spend time with you”. Sebastian smiled and snuggled in closer. “I know. Me too.”

Thursday came and went in a flash, Sebastian had enjoyed his time at the Late night show as much as you could enjoy these things, but was more than ready to leave it all behind him for a couple of days. They spent a quiet night in, takeout and movies on the couch - Chris teasing him a little because Sebastian blushed every time the topic of the interview came up - and packing the last of the things they’d need for their little road trip.

They would’ve left early in the morning, if Chris and Dodger had anything to say about it. Sebastian, however, was not a morning person, so Chris had walked the dog, packed the car and picked up some coffee all before his boyfriend made it out of bed. Walking back into Seb’s apartment with the coffees, Chris smiled seeing his boyfriend in his boxers with messy bed hair, ends sticking out on all sides.

He stood there smiling at the endearing sight, until he heard Seb grunt a little. He made his way over with Sebastian’s coffee, handing it to him and pressing a quick kiss to his temple. “Morning sweetheart.” At the response of “Mhhhppff”, he laughed. “Ready to leave baby?”, he teased. Sebastian gave him an unamused look, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it. As soon as he had some coffee in him, he’d be a little more charmed.

As it happens, 5 minutes and a couple of sips of coffee later, Sebastian snuggled up to Chris on the couch. “Thank you for the coffee babe” Sebastian said, voice still a little sleep-rough. He gave Chris a kiss good morning and got up to take a shower and fix the birds nest on his head that was his hair.

Half an hour later, they were both ready and getting in the car. Chris insisted on driving - he’d rested up a little and Sebastian didn’t usually enjoy driving that much. Sebastian let Dodger in the back before getting in the passenger seat himself. Dodger was almost bouncing up and down, full of excitement, like he knew that they were going home.

They spent the first half hour in silence, apart from laughing softly because of Dodger’s antics and music softly playing in the background. Once they got out of the city, Dodger had calmed down a bit and Sebastian had finished his second oat milk latte, Chris put on some 80s classics that they both loved. It didn’t take long for both of them to start to sing along, a little off key but on the top of their lungs.

Chris looked away from the road every so often to look at Seb, who was currently doing a very committed and over the top rendition of Hungry Eyes, putting a warm feeling in his chest and a smile on his face. “Please tell me you’re gonna do an air saxophone for the solo?”, he asked, amused, only to be met with a determined look. “Chris it’s essential, of course I’m gonna try”. “Of course baby, my bad” he responded in a faux-apologetic tone, before they both burst out in laughter. “I’m gonna have to start the song over again now though, just so you know”, Sebastian grinned. Chris grabbed his hand, kissing his palm. “I know” he chuckled softly.

After another hour, Sebastian put on some calmer music and turned the volume down a little. For a while, they both enjoyed a bit of the quiet, taking in the surroundings and just being together. At some point, he looked towards the backseat to check on Dodger, who looked to be happy and calmed down, almost a little sleepy. When Dodger saw the movement up front, however, he got up from where he had been laying down on the floor in front of the backseats, pushing his head in between the driver- and passenger’s seat. Sebastian watched as he slowly moved up to lean his head on Chris’ shoulder.

Sebastian stared at the two, eyes full of love. He could never get enough of watching Chris and Dodger together. It felt so pure, so sweet, the two of them seemingly sharing a soul, the unbridled happiness whenever they got reunited after a long time away. His camera roll was full of photos of the two, which was something that never failed to make him smile whenever he was apart from either of them for too long.

He took out his phone, needing to add this moment to his collection. With the view of nature outside, Chris’ soft look with the green flannel shirt on, both of them with eyes on the road, it looked too perfect to pass up on. He quickly snapped a couple of photos, smiling down at his phone when he saw the results.

Apparently Chris had taken his eyes off the road for a second. “I feel like I need to know what has you smiling like that”, he asked. Sebastian took another look at his phone, then looked back up to look at the real thing - infinitely better. He smiled softly at them. “You”, he said softly, only for Chris to give him back a smile just as dopey, taking back one of Sebastian’s hands in his. “I’ll show you later, when we’re home.” Chris laughed softly. “Okay you sap, I’ll wait”, he tried to say, only to be interrupted with Dodger’s bark, presumably at the word “home”. “Yes Dodge, almost home.”

Sebastian took one more look at the two best things in his life, before leaning back in his seat, closing his eyes for a little while. The warmth of Chris’ hand in his, the soft touch of his thumb stroking over his palm, the serene quiet, knowing they’d be home soon - he took it all in and let the feeling of love and comfort wash over him. Chris had been right. This was so much better than making the trip by himself. They only had about 45 minutes left on the 3 to 4 hour drive. Almost at Chris’ house in Concord. But already home.

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

at the end of the day — and the middle of the party, cause most of his guests didn't exactly have bedtimes — when cas has carried a sleepy jack up to his bedroom and is in the middle of tucking him in, he suddenly speaks up.

"dad," he whispers conspirationally.

that'll never not melt cas's heart.

"yes, jack?"

"i feel bigger a'ready."

cas purses his lips to contain a smile. "oh?"

"it's because 'm four now, isn't it?"

"that has to be it."

jack beams at him. "do you feel 'm bigger tonight too?"

cas smiles. "i think you're bigger every night than you were the last night, jack." he tells him truthfully. having a child had been strange in the beginning, but now it was nothing short of natural and cas doesn't think he can ever go back — but seeing your child grow will always remain the wondrous kind of fascinating.

jack giggles at that like he's seen right through an attempt at a lie and doesn't bring it up again until cas has finished his bedtime routine, kissed jack on the forehead, and been about to leave.

"dad," he says then, sounding even sleepier and halting cas in his tracks. "i think 'm gonna be as big as sam when 'm six."

cas turns, hands on his hips. "really?"

"yeah!" jack assures him. "'m bigger than last night a'ready and 'm not even five yet!"

cas hums thoughtfully.

"i really think so," jack insists, determined to sway his dad over to his side.

"still. sam's really big, don't you think?" cas offers, and it makes jack pause.

(which, in turn, makes cas look at his four year old, covered up to his chin with his favorite toy story blanket, pondering the semantics of surpassing sam in 'being really big' almost out loud with his big, blue eyes — and feel like his heart might burst with love.)

when jack speaks again finally, it's with the air of a negotiator. a sleepy negotiator with half a dozen buzz lightyear's on his blanket, but a negotiator nonetheless.

"fine! then i'll just be as big as dean when i'm six!"

cas swaps his almost-grin with a thoughtful expression. "well, that does seem fair."

jack beams once again.

"and i'll even tell him for you if you go to sleep now." cas adds, and jack nods, satisfied, and settles in.

"'night, dad." he mumbles.

"goodnight, jack." cas smiles, and leans in to plant another kiss before he leaves the room, turning off all the lights except the pink cowboy hat nightlight claire got him (and dean, she'd been specific about it) for christmas, which jack refuses to go to sleep without.

and standing outside his son's door, about to rejoin a room full of his loved ones downstairs, in a house he shares with people he loves and people who love him, cas wonders how he could ever have gotten so lucky to have a family — to have it all — and how he's never, ever letting go.

[vv3spa]

what are are your thoughts of Larry Lightyear? what are are your thoughts of MISSUS LIGHTYEAR???

THE LIGHTYEARS!!!!!! ever since i watched the polly deleted scene in the lightyear extras (of which i hope you all get to see one day), i have never stopped thinking about this little family. overall i think they were extremely happy... your little nuclear family: happy housewife, working daddy, and good ol son who looks up to his dad! they were so content...

until larry died!!!!

i dont think im gonna make larry work in star command or be a pilot of any sorts, i COULD put him in the military but i dunno yet!! somehow someway, lawrence dies and it leaves the missus and buzz completely alone. they grieve hard. the missus has to now be the father AND the mother and take care of her grieving son while still going through the motions herself, it's a lot of work on her shoulders. buzz struggles not having larry around. that sparkle in his eye dies for a while.

on a little happier note, let me give a bit of context for the drawing i posted: i like to imagine that mom&dad read buzz a story every night... lil picture book. it's the same one every night, the lone ranger. totally unrelated to everything no references here /j. buzz always falls asleep before they finish it so he insists they read rhe same one so they can TRY and finish it, but he always zonks out. it's not until larry dies that they actually get through it — missus sees buzz crying in bed, goes to comfort him, and asks if he wants to read his story and finish it because it's what larry would have wanted them to do. they go through the story and like. it wld be so sad and fucked up if the story itself has an overarching theme of grief/loss and learning to live without something/someone (with a fun space man theme!) and they bond really hard after they finish the story (which ends on a happy note) and realize it's all gonna be okay.... 🥲

buzz and her never really fully get over losing larry... it just feels so much more empty everywhere without his presence on earth anymore. they live on though and buzz swears that he'll make them both proud with his lifelong dreams of being a space ranger. trust me.... larry is so very proud

[secretsolarsystem]

How dare I, I've just seen that you taking part in the kissing challenge. Lovely first post, the way you included the two quotes was lovely!

I think, “ people kiss each other all the time. doesn’t mean there’s feelings involved. “ could be interesting, especially if these two are included there are always feelings involved!

yeah how dare you!!! >:( jk <3 thank you so much!!!! I’m glad you liked that little au! I was originally just gonna pick one but what’s the fun in that??

(from this prompt list) okay no bc you’re so right…these two are terrible w/ their Feelings. below the cut: canon-divergence, 1.5k words

When the war had started and he was knighted, Anakin felt he thrived in his newfound independence. It was a great responsibility to be a general with his own battalion, but his men’s unwavering loyalty and respect enabled him to lead with confidence. Not to mention, he had constant friends at his side, namely Ahsoka and Rex.

But Anakin would be lying if he said it wasn’t nice to be sent on a mission with his former master again. The most he saw of Obi-Wan nowadays was as a wavering blue projection from the other end of the galaxy, his “Anakin”s coming through muffled by static but no less long-suffering.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, though now it was crystal clear. It made Anakin smile. “We are not on the front lines here. There is no need to be so combative.”

“You and the duchess were pretty combative, Master,” Anakin countered with a raised brow. “Unless that was just an example of your famous ‘aggressive negotiations.’”

A blush broke out across Obi-Wan’s cheeks as he finished off his drink, and Anakin chuckled at the sight. He knew there Obi-Wan and Duchess Satine Kryze had a history, but Anakin was surprised to see that whatever their story had been, it hadn’t ended well. (Or, if it had, they sure had a funny way of showing it.)

“We simply have different opinions, is all,” Obi-Wan said, eyes landing on the duchess speaking with her peers. Anakin watched Obi-Wan watch her, and he felt a strange emotion he didn’t recognize. He chalked it up to sympathy, feeling badly for his master longing for a woman that may have supported what he fought for, but not that he fought for it.

“Oh, well if that’s all,” Anakin scoffed. Obi-Wan turned to him with a raised brow. “It looked to me like she was going to break her pacifism to snap your neck, but I must’ve just been seeing her difference in opinion.”

“I am going to walk around and see if I can find anyone here who might be happywe’re here,” Obi-Wan said, setting his empty glass down just a bit too harshly. “Please do not make anyone unhappy that we are here, Anakin.”

With a smile and a salute, Anakin watched as Obi-Wan started making his way around the room, and did his best not to stare any time he got close to the duchess. Sympathy, Anakin told himself. Just sympathy for the old man.

— 

Unfortunately, people seemed very much to want to talk to Anakin, much to Obi-Wan’s dismay, Anakin was sure. Some spoke casually and kept the topics safe, such as Anakin’s travels, but others bluntly interrogated Anakin. 

Why did the Republic literally manufacture an army if they did not want war? How can you call yourself a peacekeeper when violence follows wherever you go? Do you really think forcing planets to support the Republic makes you any better than the Separatists?

By the end of the night, Anakin had lost track of Obi-Wan and was incredibly exhausted. He made his way to his room, which was difficult, considering how tired he was and how unfamiliar the halls of the ship were. 

Approaching a corner, Anakin thought he recognized the pillars and turned, hopeful that his room was now just a few steps away. Obi-Wan’s room was right next to his; maybe he’d just check in real quick, make sure the man was okay and going to sleep soon. No matter how many months and lightyears apart, Anakin always worried Obi-Wan wasn’t getting enough sleep.

It turned out that Anakin was right; his and Obi-Wan’s rooms were just at the end of the hall. Also at the end of the hall, however, was Obi-Wan and Duchess Kryze. They spoke low enough that Anakin couldn’t make out anything they said, but he could tell they were arguing by the furrow of her brows and the clenching of Obi-Wan’s jaw. 

Anakin would rather die than walk past them to get to his door, knowing how heated their arguments could get. He also considered walking away and giving them privacy, but where would he go? (And, if they had wanted privacy, they really should have gone in the room, but they didn’t, so…)

Anakin watched as the duchess raised her hand to poke her finger into Obi-Wan’s chest, and he shook his head at whatever she was saying. He then must have given a scathing rebuttal, because they both fell silent.

But then – the the duchess said something, and everything about them relaxed. Their shoulders rested, their jaws lost their tension, and even from where he stood Anakin could see their gazes soften. The duchess opened her hand to rest her palm on Obi-Wan’s chest, and before Anakin could look away the two of them pressed their lips together.

It was quick, a peck if anything. They both startled back and gave sheepish smiles, before saying what had to be awkward good byes. Anakin jumped back around the corner and pressed himself flat against the wall once Obi-Wan went into his room and the duchess made her way towards him.

Thankfully, she passed by him without noticing, probably too caught up in the fact that she had just kissed Obi-Wan. That strange feeling came back, that…sympathetic one. Maybe he felt bad for Obi-Wan that the duchess had pulled away from the kiss so quickly. Yeah. That sounded like a good enough excuse – or, uh, reason. Yeah.

Only after counting to one hundred, Anakin made his way down the hall and knocked on Obi-Wan’s door. “Come in,” his master’s voice called out.

Opening the door, Anakin joked, “Don’t get your hopes up, it’s just me.”

Obi-Wan looked up from where he’d been laying out his sleep clothes with a frown. “Was I supposed to be expecting someone else?”

Shrugging, Anakin sat heavily on the bed, messing up the immaculately laid out clothes. Obi-Wan exhaled long and loud, and Anakin smiled up at him. “You tell me. How’s the duchess?”

That blush came back to Obi-Wan’s cheeks, but he rolled his eyes. He went back to fixing his clothes as he spoke. “I don’t know.”

Anakin snorted, and Obi-Wan frowned at him again. “She sure did seem mad, until you two kissed. Then she seemed…Well I don’t know, how would you describe that look on her face, Obi-Wan?”

Sighing again, Obi-Wan held his sleep pants close to hisself and looked down at them, picking and nonexistent lint. “That wasn’t supposed to happen,” he confessed softly. Looking back up to Anakin, he added, “And you weren’t supposed to see that.”

Obi-Wan seemed so sad, it hurt Anakin to see. The only reason Obi-Wan should ever be frowning is because Anakin was annoying him, not because someone couldn’t see what a privilege it would be to love and be loved by Obi-Wan.

Sympathy.

“I didn’t mean to, and I that’s really all I saw,” Anakin reassured. Obi-Wan set his now folded pants down and tugged on his shirt until Anakin lifted his thigh to release it from underneath him. “Honest.”

“It’s fine, Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, unnecessarily smoothing out the now folded clothes. (Why was he folding them if he was going to wear them to bed? The duchess must have really thrown him off.) “It was just a kiss.”

“Just a kiss!” Anakin cried. “It was a kiss! With the duchess – with Satine, Obi-Wan! Your Satine!”

“She is not my anything,” Obi-Wan shot back, folding his arms. 

“But you obviously still love her,” Anakin pressed, even though it made something twist in his stomach. Sympathy. Sympathy. “And she loves you, too. I mean, you kissed!”

“Anakin, please,” Obi-Wan scoffed. “People kiss each other all the time. It doesn’t mean there’s feelings involved.”

Anakin balked at this. Of course there were always feelings involved with kisses! People kissed because they felt the want to kiss that person in particular! Feelings like love and attraction and ‘oh I’ll just die if I don’t press your lips to mine’!”

At least from Anakin’s experience, and Anakin’s experience was kissing Padmé. And he had loved her, that’s why he kissed her. They kissed and got engaged. Because they were in love. The engagement hadn’t lasted, but still. The love was there, and it was there each time they kissed.

Before he could even realize what was happening, Obi-Wan’s hands cupped Anakin’s cheeks and the older man pressed their lips together. It wasn’t a long nor deep kiss, just a bit longer than Obi-Wan and the duchess’, but when Obi-Wan pulled away, Anakin’s lips felt seared.

Obi-Wan’s lips were so…soft, especially in comparison to the rough scratch of his beard. His hands were calloused and rough as they held Anakin’s face and gentle as they slid away. Obi-Wan had tasted like tea and thankfully not at all like a duchess. (Not that Anakin knew what a duchess tasted like…)

“See?” Obi-Wan asked, not even looking at Anakin anymore as he worked at his obi so as to get dressed for bed.

Obi-Wan had just kissed Anakin. To prove there were no feelings involved. But Anakin did. Feel. He felt feelings. He had a feeling. And it wasn’t karking sympathy. No, it- it was…

Oh.

[achubbydumpling]

Hear me out okay so on twitter I’ve noticed lots of people point out that at the different gray man premieres Chris’ shirt buttons have been straining and I just can’t help but wonder if you have any ideas regarding that. Bc ik my mind is going wild w Chris evans tittys

dude 100% omg I was thinking about that!

1. whoever his stylist is: thank you 😌 and also, bless this shirt from the Lightyear premiere

GIF by forchrisevans

2. what if.. those shirts weren't that tight during the initial fitting but Chris really enjoyed his time off after filming

like no more diet plan or scheduled gym time, no personal trainer or dietician to monitor his progress for a certain role, so maybe he goes a bit overboard after starring opposite Ryan Gosling in an action movie

a certain physique was expected of him and that involved lots of work, discipline and restriction which he doesn't have to do after filming finishes

haha also imagine some designer reads the measurements Chris' stylist sends over while he's at his leanest and the designer is like "no, that can't be right" but sure enough when they double-check, Chris actually has those ridiculous proportions

so there's usually some time between when a movie wraps up filming and when it comes out and the premiere happens, I think The Gray Man wrapped at the end of April and it came out at the end of July

so, that's about three months for him to soften bulk up a bit and really test the stretch of those outfits with his new beefiness

I'm just gonna add some illustratory gifs of Evans' beefiness because why not 🤤🤤

GIFs by skeletoninspace

where were we? oh, yeah, 'straining shirt buttons' and Chris' tiddies

ok sooo you probably weren't thinking of a nursing kink but that's where my mind went 😅 so warning for that from here on out

and you know Seb would be all over it like obviously lean Chris is attractive but when he's a bit softer and he looks like he actually enjoys life outside the gym? oh yeah Seb can't resist

the only thing is... this time Chris' weight seems to be really emphasising his pecs, not that his chest wasn't impressive before but when Seb catches a glance of the way Chris' shirt stretches over them, the buttons gaping slightly and then the slight jiggle when Chris throws his head back to laugh and—yep, ok Seb has a new obsession

It's like someone flipped a switch in his mind because suddenly all he can think about is this. When Chris comes back to their hotel room after the premiere still wearing that damn tight shirt Seb can't keep his hands to himself. As soon as the door closes he's on Chris, fumbling for the button on his slacks and trying at the same time to push his hands up under his shirt.

"Hey," Chris laughs and grabs Seb's wrists, "what's gotten into you?"

Seb honest to god whines at the question. He doesn't want to think or talk, he just needs— he just—

His mind catches up to what he's been thinking and Seb realises with a start that he isn't even looking at Chris' face but right at his chest. That makes his head snap up but the blush is already spreading on his cheeks and creeping down his neck.

"Well, now I really want to know," Chris teases. He smiles widely while dread settles in the pit of Seb's stomach. He can't actually— His eyes flick down to Chris' chest again before Seb can stop himself.

"Oh. Oh, honey, I know I bulked up a bit but I didn't know you'd get like this."

Seb isn't exactly sure if Chris actually got what got him this riled up but he wasn't about to correct him and distract them from finally taking this to bed.

"So, what exactly is it? Because I've put weight on before and you never got quite this... enthusiastic."

Fuck.

Seb couldn't find his voice nor the words to explain exactly what he'd been thinking about. Vague flashes of a fantasy he'd never fully articulated.

"'s just, um, I've been thinkin' of..." Seb trails off and squeezes his eyes shut to try and concentrate on talking but all it does is make those thoughts clearer.

"Ok, it's difficult to talk about, hm? It's something sexual I know that."

Seb hides his face in his hands but he nods slightly when Chris waits for an answer.

"Did you discover a new kink, honey?"

He shudders at the pet name. They slipped so easily into Chris' speech but Seb noticed every time.

"Yeah," he whispered and his voice broke at the end.

haha I don't really have more on the topic I was basically just salivating over him and his outfit choices 😂

[bluezey]

So, how was Lightyear?

It was good. Not Pixar's perfect, but it was solid.

Until I figure out how to do read more on mobile again...

SPOILERS

.........

We good?

We good.

Okay.

So Lightyear was good, had all the Pixar strengths we know and love. Great animation, strong score, memorable characters, even a nice heartfelt moment or two. And for an action movie, pretty good action! If you're a fan of sci-fi or Incredibles, you're gonna have a good time. And, for the keen eye, there's a lot of references to classic Buzz Lightyear moments from the old Toy Story franchise, this movie is an Easter egg gold mine. Oh, and I got to give credit to Chris Evans. Replacing such an iconic voice for an iconic character isn't easy, but for someone who's really nitpicky about that, I thought he did fine filling those shoes, maybe even great.

But is it perfect. Regrettably, no. I thought the plot had a bit much in it, but to it's credit, at least you can still follow it. And while Buzz Lightyear is still a good character, I think the side characters stole the show. Especially Sox and the ragtag rookies, I love those guys. It also had a plot twist that was good, but at the same time bad? It's complicated, but as it kinda worked, and I still want this movie to go from bomb to decent at the box office, I'm not gonna spoil that part.

And now to address the elephant in the room: the lesbian kiss. Why was this a deal? I ask this because, dude, there was more than a kiss going on! We see this girl go from engaged to a girl, and she even says she and a girl's name (I think it was Kiko), then a montage where we see them married, then we see them with a kid, then we see the kid grown up with his own wife, then we see the couple celebrating their fortieth anniversary, and THEN we get the kiss! Which was so quick you could blink and miss it, hell it was just a peck on the lips. But it doesn't stop there, cause then we end it with the girl on her death bed with her granddaughter. Why were people complaining about a same sex kiss when we saw a same sex couple go through a normal, loving family life, and no one said a damn thing? I'm not saying that this is controversial or offensive, I thought this was fine and done well. I'm saying, if you want to be the person who's offended by the smallest things, at least pick your battles wisely. Why is showing two women go through marriage and a family fine, especially in a kid's film, but the kiss was too far?

And that's not the only controversy with this film. There's two, even dumber, ones! Not only were people upset that Tim Allen didn't reprise his role as Buzz, but they were upset this film isn't about Toy Story. What?? I mean... how do you make a counterargument over an argument that stupid??

Look, here's the best way to get into Lightyear: go with the setup. This film is supposed to be the film that Andy saw back in 1995, so if you treat the film like you're watching a live action sci-fi adventure film from the mid 90s, you're gonna have a fun ride. Hell, it even does some cliches from the 90s, like the no nonsense protagonist who works alone, has to team up with a rag tag group of rookies, there's aliens out of nowhere, there's moments of comedy out of nowhere, you have Sox the merchandise marketing ploy, the protagonist who breaks all the rules you think is gonna get in a lot of trouble, but nope he gets rewarded, and everything works out great, hell they even sequel bait us! So if you go in seeing this as a 90s sci-fi action film, it's gonna be great! But if you see it as a 2020s Pixar film, it's gonna be fine.

So, to finish the rambling, the movie is okay. It's not Pixar perfect, but it's worth the ticket and the popcorn. I don't think there's gonna be a sequel, or any more Toy Story spin offs, fortunately. But, unfortunately, I don't think there's gonna be any same sex main characters or kisses for the next few movies.

But, I don't think this is signs that Pixar is "losing it's touch." We've had Soul, Luca and Turning Red, each really big hits and what we expect from Pixar and more. It just happened to be bookended by two bombs: Onward and Lightyear. (But I will keep pointing out that Onward was on it's way to being a hit before it was pulled!) Which ironically, both bookended the pandemic, both had screw ups, and both had a lesbian character in it. I'm gonna guess the pandemic is the one that cursed them.

[mageofseven]

Part 3 with Beel and Belphie is ready!

Part 1 | Part 2

~

Beelzebub:

The big guy noticed the changes with his girlfriend before she even mentioned them; the sixth brother is pretty observant with those he cares about after all.

Whenever he discussed how worried he was about her, about her lethargy and dizzy spells, the woman would just smile and say she was fine, that it was just her body being off and human bodies are just weird like this at times.

Beel didn't know much about the human body so he chose to believe his Muffin on this, even if he was still worried.

As the months went on, MC started to gain weight. The demon noticed this, but it really didn't faze him at first; he didn't mind it if his girlfriend was a bit rounder in her torso.

What he did mind however was how self-conscious his girlfriend got about it. She had been eating a lot more recently and she couldn't really fight it, but she also hated every pound gained from it all.

Beel always told her how beautiful she was and how her weight never changed that to him.

However, she'd glance down at how her belly poked out now and looked to her boyfriend, who was so incredibly strong and was practically the living definition of fitness and was so good looking... and she couldn't help but fall even deeper into the slow burning feeling of loathing with of her own body.

One day, MC asked if she could go to the gym with him. The Avatar of Gluttony was immediately tense because she still wasn't feeling well, but he knew it would probably make her feel a bit better if she was exercising and actively working on what was bothering her

So he agreed, but the man couldn't bring himself to do his usual workout routine with her there. The big guy was just too worried about his Muffin.

At one point, the man just noticed that something seemed off about his Human.

He set down the weights and walked over to the treadmill she was on-- and got there just in time to catch her as she fainted.

Luckily, the woman woke up fairly quickly, but her boyfriend had enough; no more exercise for her, not until she got her dizziness under control.

For the next few days, the MC was extra depressed and just found herself in bed more, usually snuggled up with either Beel or Belphie.

It was one such day when the cramping started.

She had gotten to lay with Beel for awhile, but eventually he had to leave for the game with his teammates.

Usually, MC would go and watch him play, but since her cramps were so bad, she didn't really have this option.

She was cuddled up in bed with Belphie when the redhead gave her a kiss goodbye and told her and his twin that he'd come straight home, receiving a nod from his Muffin and a thumbs up from his twin.

The pain just got worse while he was gone though and things evolved to MC gripping onto the Avatar of Sloth and heavily sobbing into his chest.

The seventh brother couldn't move and get help; everytime he tried, the human would beg between sobs for him not to leave her. He couldn't call for help either because he realized that he left his phone up in the planetarium.

Belphie was stuck with the sobbing human for over three hours until Beel came home.

Eventually, MC could feel something lowering within her and the need to push was unbearable.

"B-Belphie, help me up!"

The man did as he was told and helped her off the bed.

Beely came into the room just in time to see his girlfriend squatting and pushing out the head while his twin held onto her to help keep her balanced.

Eyes wide, the demon ran to girlfriend. His brain wasn't fully registering what the heck was happening, but his immediate reaction was still to rush to her side and help her.

MC immediately grabbed onto her boyfriend.

"B-Beely--uhhh... i-it's coming out."

Still deeply confused and concerned, the man's gaze dropped down between her legs, now letting himself focus on the head between them.

MC... his Muffin was having his baby!

Okay action then thoughts. Right now, the man just had to be there for her.

"Belphie, go tell Lucifer. We need a doctor."

The man was really trying to keep calm for his Muffin.

Without really pausing to answer, his twin rushed out the door.

"It's okay, Muffin, I'm here."

The redhead held onto his girlfriend and encouraged her as she pushed.

When the baby was finally pushed out enough to be freed from it's mom, Beel already had his hands around it so it didn't fall to the floor.

The demon forgot to breathe for a minute as he stared down at his daughter. His daughter.

Smiling, Beel lifted his gaze back to his girlfriend, but found that the woman was still crying in pain.

"Muffin?"

"I-It still--ughhhh, I think there's another."

The man's eyes widen.

Beel noticed his girlfriend's legs shaking and knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself up.

He adjusted his hold on his little girl before guiding MC onto the bed to lay down. He stayed between her legs and continued to give her encouraging words.

Since their sister already stretched the way open for them, the second baby was crowning in very little time.

A few minutes later, MC birthed the second baby, another girl. Both girls had his wings, horns, even his hair and eye color.

The man held both girls in his arms, already overwhelmed with his love for them, before looking up at MC, who was regaining her breath.

Beel sat down next to her and kissed her cheek.

"Are you alright?"

His girlfriend nodded, gaze falling to their girls.

"Beely... we're parents now?"

Beel smiled and nodded.

"I..." The woman sighed. "How did this even happen?"

"I dunno... are you okay with this, Muffin?"

"...Are you?"

His smile grew.

"Yeah."

She gave her boyfriend a small smile.

"Then... I am too."

Beel leaned down and kissed her.

"Good. I love you... I love our girls." The demon smiled down at the twins in his arms before meeting MC's eyes again. "This is... a dream. All at once, I got everything I wanted in life. I'll make sure to give you and the girls everything I can."

The doctor finally came a few minutes later, obviously late. Still, he checked MC and the girls to make sure they were okay and before he even left, the rest of House of Lamentation knew that the two were now parents.

Belphegor:

It took Belphie a bit longer than his twin to realize something was wrong with MC.

Sleepy boy... well, has a sleepy mind.

Not to say that it took him long though; while Beel noticed the human feeling off in his scenario on the first day, it took his twin about three days.

Honestly, he wasn't really worried about how tired they got. Hell, that just meant more naps they could take together so the Avatar of Sloth was winning in that regard.

He didn't really care about the weight gain either. Yeah, he teased her about it a bit, but it was always followed by wrapping his arms around her waist and if his words actually hurt her, which sometimes they did, he'd sleepily kiss their neck, their cheek, their lips

"It was a joke, Butthead." He'd tell them. "If anything, you're even cuter with a belly."

And the boy thrived off the blush that came after.

What the boy didn't enjoy, however, was her dizzy spells. The woman would go pale and suddenly have to grab onto him. Sometimes, MC would even full on faint and he'd have to quickly catch her before she hit the ground.

The first time that happened, the two were on their way to lunch at RAD and suddenly his girlfriend stopped walking. He turned around to ask why she stopped just for the woman to fall forward and for him to have to scramble to catch her.

Luckily, the woman was only out for a minute and was confused when she woke up in her boyfriend's arms, laying on the hallway floor at RAD.

Belphie took her straight home after that, not even giving the human the option to stick around and finish the school day.

The demon didn't understand what was wrong with his Human and whenever he'd ask MC, the woman didn't seem too concerned. Lightly, yes, but she said it'd probably correct itself and human bodies are just weird for the sake of being weird sometimes.

The seventh brother wasn't sure that he believed it, but he also didn't have any other answer so he just chose to leave it at that.

Basically, it was months of Sleepy Boy pretending he didn't care, but secretly hovering over his girlfriend.

After nine months of this hovering, it finally ended.

The two were upstairs in the attic, napping.

MC had been having cramps all day and Belphie suggested just sleeping through them, saying that eventually they will just go away.

Technically, he was right, just not in a way he expected.

He woke up to MC heavily sobbing his name. The man jolted awake and found his girlfriend gripping his shirt and burying her face in his chest.

"What's wrong--"

That's when he noticed the bed was... wet? Why was it wet?

"B-Belphie, somethings--gaaahh." The woman was panting through the pain.

The demon threw the blanket off of her and saw that the bed was soaked, as was her leggings, but there was also a slight bulge.

He pulled them down and saw that she was crowning.

His eyes went wide. She's pregnant? How the hell is she pregnant?

He looked back up at MC, who was still crying from the contractions, and knew he had to handle this before anything else.

He got up from the bed and positioned himself between her legs.

"You gotta push." He told her. "It's not gonna end if you don't push, Butthead."

His voice was firm, but tinged with some sympathy.

The woman was in too much pain to argue.

It took twenty minutes, but the MC managed to push the baby out half way, only to be pulled out completely by her boyfriend.

The demon stared down at the baby, a boy with his tail, eyes, and hair, and didn't know how to feel. He had gotten so focused on helping MC that his emotions felt lightyears away.

The human cried out and his head snapped up to look see her still writhing in pain.

Was there another one? The man quickly found out that there was.

And so it all repeated.

Once the second one was born, a little girl with his horns and eyes, but MC's hair, Belphie stared down at the twins on the bed, crying at the top of their lungs.

The man was already so tired of hearing cries.

"B-Belphie..."

He looked up at MC, who had a panicked expression on her face.

Leaving the twins laying between her legs, the Avatar of Sloth went back to his side of the bed and pulled her into his arms.

Neither said a word for a while. The only sound in the room were their twins' cries.

"I didn't know..." MC mumbled.

Belphie pulled back to meet her eyes, just staring into them for a full minute.

"Promise me. Promise that it's true and you didn't know."

"I promise. I swear on everything I have with you that I had no idea."

He sighed.

"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her.

After a moment or two, he pulled away and looked down at the crying babies on the bed.

"So... what do you wanna do with them?"

"I..." The woman stared down at her babies. "C-Can you bring them to me?"

Her boyfriend nodded and scooped up the babies one at a time to bring into her arms.

The woman brought them to her chest, causing them to finally stop crying in favor of feeding from her.

Belphie watched this quietly, not really sure what else to do.

After about a minute or two, MC spoke up.

"Belphie... would you be mad at me... if I said I wanted to keep them?"

The woman knew her boyfriend wasn't a fan of kids, a topic they always clashed with a bit. MC didn't think she could survive losing her twins in anyway now that they're here, but she worried about what Belphie would think of this.

The man pursed his lips. He honestly never wanted kids before, never liked them. Still though... he felt odd. Different.

Maybe it was seeing MC hold his children so sweetly in this moment, but he wasn't as against this as he always imagined himself to be.

Was he at the beginning of developing paternal feelings or was he simply not strong enough to take away something that his girlfriend obviously wanted so much? The demon wasn't sure.

"No. I'm not mad." He shook his head. "I... damn, I don't understand how this is happening but... if you want this then I'm here for the long haul. I'll take care of them; I'll take care of you. We'll do this together."

~

Part 1 | Part 2

[thnxforknowingme]

In Orbit (35/40)

Pairing: Klaine

Rating: T

Fic Summary: Blaine starts attending NYU, and he and Kurt weave in and out of each other’s lives - as friends, exes, friends with benefits, and harder-to-define labels - while they navigate college, relationships, and adulthood in New York.

Read on AO3 | All chapters

March 2016

Late one Saturday morning, Kurt arrived at Elliott’s apartment with a duffel bag full of clothes and a notebook of costume ideas.

“Thanks for helping me out,” Kurt said as they set up in Elliott’s room. “I think I need the Starchild touch to make my costume ideas performance-worthy.”

“I’m so honored you asked,” Elliott replied. “A collaboration between us is a long time coming, but I’m glad you trust me to help with such an important project.”

Kurt scoffed. “I’m gonna need all the help I can get, it’s still two months out and I’m already panicking.”

“Let’s get started, then,” Elliott said.

They emptied the duffel bag onto Elliott’s bedspread, laying out the clothing to look at their options. “Miranda basically gave me free reign of the store,” Kurt explained. “She said anything designer I’d have to pay half-price, and the rest was free.”

They flipped through Kurt’s notebook, discussing ideas and pulling together different outfits. Eventually Kurt started trying things on and examining them in the full-length mirror against the wall.

“I like this,” Elliott said of one combination, walking in a slow circle around Kurt. “But I’m thinking maybe more bulk up in the shoulders?”

“Ooh,” Kurt said, turning to look at the outfit from a different angle. “That’s interesting. I think that could work.”

“And I have fabric paint if you want to make it more colorful.”

They took photos and jotted down notes as they narrowed down their options, coming closer to Kurt’s vision of the perfect costuming for his senior performance.

Kurt stood carefully still as Elliott used safety pins to shape a shirt to better fit him.

“It’s good to see you so excited,” Elliott said as he worked. “You seemed...a little down, recently.”

Kurt stared at his reflection, watching Elliott’s fingers deftly handle the fabric. “Yeah.” He sighed before going on. “Things with me and Blaine were...we were getting along well, and then we were getting along maybe too well. I ended that, so he was upset, and it was just...bad, for a while. But lately we’ve been - okay, again.”

“I’m sorry,” Elliott said, glancing up to meet his eyes in the mirror. “Glad that it’s getting better now, though.”

Kurt gave a small smile. “Yeah. Hopefully we can keep it that way.”

Elliott smirked, his head disappearing behind Kurt’s back to start pinning up a different seam. “You two just have such a rollercoaster relationship.”

“You could say that,” Kurt replied.

But as they stood in comfortable silence while Elliott finished with the shirt, Kurt considered that maybe ‘rollercoaster’ wasn’t quite the right metaphor. It was more that they each had a unique gravitational pull towards the other. As soon as they’d met all those years ago, their lives crashing together at the foot of Dalton’s staircase, they hadn’t been able to escape one another’s orbit. Sometimes they were close and moved with choreographed grace, and sometimes they had lightyears of cold dark space between them, but nothing could break their connection.

When Kurt was in high school, he’d been convinced that he and Blaine were soulmates. And maybe, ultimately, that was still true, just not in the same way he once believed. Maybe he and Blaine really were meant to be in each other’s lives forever, in some form or another. They knew each other better than anyone else did. It didn’t necessarily mean they had to be dating, that they had to be in love - just that they were always going to be important to one another.

Elliott straightened up and stood next to Kurt, tugging on the hem of the shirt one last time. “How’s that?”

Kurt examined his reflection, then smiled widely. “A perfect fit.”

By the time Kurt got more Funny Girl news, Rachel had already heard a more substantial rumor from one of her former castmates confirming that the show would, in fact, be happening. However, Kurt was able to tell her that there would be open auditions - he’d heard from a supervisor at Stage Left that they were lining up some of their clients for roles.

Kurt texted her the information, but she called him in return to scream excitedly directly into his ear. Once he’d ascertained that he didn’t have permanent hearing loss, he told her yes, of course he’d help her prepare for the audition in any way he could.

He wasn’t sure where he’d find the time, though. His classes were all demanding, his final semester challenging him in new and creative ways. He was still working two jobs, and any free time was spent working on his senior showcase. He’d confirmed the date with his advisor and reserved one of the small theaters on NYADA’s campus for a night in early May. He was truly utilizing every skill and discipline he’d learned at NYADA to put it together - from vocals to set design to choreography and everything in between. It was, he supposed, the point of a senior project, but it was still overwhelming.

One night he was sitting at the kitchen table with his sewing machine, working on a costume, when Blaine came out of his room. He passed Kurt with a nod of acknowledgement, went to the fridge, and pulled out a beer.

“Having a fun night?” Kurt asked.

Blaine smirked as he used the bottle opener on the beer. “I’m ninety-percent done with a paper due tomorrow,” he explained, “and the only way I’m getting through the last ten percent without pulling my hair out is if I have alcohol.”

Kurt grinned. “Good luck with that.”

They were quiet for a moment, Blaine taking a few sips as Kurt carefully completed a seam.

“Hey,” Kurt said, “could I get your opinion on something?”

“Sure,” Blaine replied.

Kurt reached for his notebook, splayed out on the table, and flipped a few pages. He stopped on a sheet that showed a list of song titles in his handwriting. “Song order,” he explained. “I’m pretty confident about most of them, but I can’t decide for the third and fourth. Should I keep them as-is, or flip them?”

Blaine stepped forward and leaned over the notebook, examining the song titles. He thought for a moment, sipped his beer, thought some more.

“Keep it like this,” he said, tapping the list with his finger. “I see what you mean, it’s a little less cohesive in terms of style, but...emotionally, it makes sense. And the contrast will further emphasize your range of abilities.”

“Thanks,” Kurt said. “That’s good advice.”

Blaine stared at the titles a moment longer, then looked over the sewing Kurt was working on. “This show is going to be incredible,” he said simply.

Kurt bit the inside of his lip. “I have faith in my vision,” he said. “Now we’ll just see if I can pull everything together.”

Blaine was looking at him then, and there wasn’t anything - intense, or particularly emotional about his expression, but somehow it made Kurt feel observed and vulnerable, although not in a bad way. “Kurt,” Blaine said, his tone simple, soft, uncomplicated. “You can do anything.”

Kurt blinked up at him, taken aback for a moment by the grandiosity of the statement and the earnestness with which it was said. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t said similar things to each other before. But something about this moment - the banality of a late night in their shared apartment, the current state of their relationship with its mix of careful distance and comfortable affection, the matter-of-fact way Blaine had said it - made him feel like this, just now, was one of the most profound compliments he’d ever received.

Kurt swallowed. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

Blaine nodded. “Gotta finish that paper,” he said, using his beer to gesture towards his room.

“Don’t stay up too late,” Kurt told him.

“You, too,” Blaine replied easily, then returned behind his curtain.

Kurt glanced over the work in front of him, slowing making strides to become the vision he imagined for his performance. If Blaine believed in him, even after all they’d been through, then he truly must be capable of anything.

[elskamo]

You Are Safe

It’s a year late but I finally finished Day 5 of Aleduncan Week 2021! Given that the event for 2022 starts on Monday I figured I needed to finish this quick. It was gonna be a lot longer and angstier since the prompts were fears and guilty pleasure but I think it still works well shorter and fluffier. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to do a couple of sketches for Days 6 and 7 over the weekend so I can focus on the new event next week!

Alejandro shot up in bed, panting heavily. His hands gripped the sheets so hard his knuckles turned white. His eyes darted around the room in panic, his mouth frantically gulping down air. Alejandro was in his bedroom, he was home, he was safe. Eventually he began to calm down, loosening his grip and feeling around for his phone. Squinting at the sudden light he checked the time and winced, 2:07am. It was early, really early, but he couldn’t be alone right now. He scrolled through his apps until he found the one he wanted, breathing a sigh of relief as he tapped out a message.

(Alehunkdro) What have I told you about staying up so late?

(Dunkie) Like I was gonna miss the Bloodbath movie marathon on tonight

(Dunkie) How come you’re still awake?

(Alehunkdro) I was just having trouble sleeping

(Dunkie) It happened again didn’t it?

(Dunkie) I’m coming over

(Alehunkdro) It’s the middle of the night!

(Alehunkdro) Go to bed, I’ll be fine

(Dunkie) I can’t hear you, I’m too busy sneaking out

(Dunkie) …love you x

Alejandro sighed in relief, he felt guilty about his boyfriend coming over in the middle of the night but at least he’d feel a little safer, he might even be able to get some sleep with Duncan calming him down. A tapping on the window made him jolt in panic until he realised what was happening. Padding out of bed in his pyjamas Alejandro opened the curtains and slid the window up so Duncan could crawl inside.

“You know I live alone now, you could just knock on the door.” “That’s nowhere near as fun though.” Duncan grinned and gave Alejandro a peck on the cheek before his expression softened, “How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine mi amor, just wanted some company…” Alejandro looked away as his fingers traced over the faint scars littering his arm. Duncan immediately took notice and gently tilted Alejandro’s chin back so he could look him in the eye, “You’re safe here, you know that right? You’re home and you’re with me. The volcano, the lava, the robot, it’s all in the past. You are safe…”

Alejandro began to tear up and Duncan quickly scooped the larger man into his arms and held him close, just letting his partner cry into his chest. As Alejandro’s sobs slowly faded Duncan led him to the couch and lay him down before grabbing some tissues, a blanket, and the TV remote.

Switching the television on, Duncan flicked through the channels until he found the movie he’d been watching earlier and curled up with Alejandro under the blanket. His boyfriend sniffled and pulled him closer before letting out a small chuckle, “Last time I checked Buzz Lightyear wasn’t in the Bloodbath series.”

Duncan flushed red and buried his blushing face against Alejandro’s torso, “I couldn’t help it, Toy Story is my guilty pleasure, I had to watch them again…” Giggling, Alejandro cuddled Duncan back and settled down to watch the film, “Don’t worry mi vida, your secret’s safe with me.”