#movie so good it changed my entire view about what love is

[coldbasementruins]

Now why was this mid budget malayalam thriller movie about platonic love and bravery of the common man the best theatre experience I've had in. literal fucking years. Manjummel Boys movie of the year I fear.

[chaoticladyfire]

Things I screamed about in ATSV (spoilers)

-Got to rewatch the film so I’m just going to add the colours changing to warmer tones when Gwen hugs her father. Not even ten minutes in and I was already crying.

-Realised that we missed the Gwen-Vulture fight BUT got to see Jessica Drew enter the scene like a bad ass in her bad ass bike and hearing the audience collectively say ‘me too’ when Gwen asked if Jessica could adopt her. 

-Screaming OSCAR ISAAC when Miguel spoke

-Lyla. Just Lyla.

- ‘Do you say anything other than no?’ ‘No-YES!’ more of miguel and jessica pls

-The Spot’s introduction. I didn’t see any promotional stuff, teasers or even trailers before watching this film so I had no idea who or what the The Spot was which was great because he really went from villain of the week to villain of the movie. And they clearly had a great time choreographing the fight scenes with him

-Miles’ heating up the beef patty while the spot and the convenience store man argue

-Miles patting the spot’s with a ‘good cow’ text

-Gwen and Miles both having to deepen their voices to avoid being recognised by their respective cop dads

-Miles saying that he can get two cakes when the counsellor says you can’t have your cake and eat it too and then bringing two cakes for his father’s party and neither of them saying what he wanted to convey. 

-Rio and Jeff scolding an annoyed miles but instantly smiling when a relative hugs them what an universal experience 

-Gwen teasing Miles for drawing her in his notebook almost obsessively but also breaking the biggest rule to spend time with him knowing the consequences. 

-As they went to talk, my friend leaned over and said ‘yeah I bet they will talk’ and when they only talked he groaned very loudly at which point I had to remind him Miles was only 15 

-Watching Jeff talk to Spiderman about his son not knowing his son is spiderman

-The DJ increasing the volume when Miles’ parents started scolding him in the middle of the party (the real mvp of the movie actually) 

-JK Simmons cameo that no one seems to be talking about??? Embarrassingly enough I had to literally scream into my friend’s ear for most of the people to realise it was indeed JK Simmons

-Just the entire Mumbattan scene. It was so exciting to see my city be represented like that, still a bit cliched in my opinion but not like Slumdog so obviously they have updated their views. Everything from the traffic gag to Pav’s rant about chai tea had the theatre howling. Also the detail of the thought boxes (?) and sounds being written in Hindi 

-Screaming DANIEL KALUUYA

-My friend and I are huge fans of the UK punk scene (her for the ideologies and myself for the music and fashion) so Hobie was a dream come true. He was already super cool with his guitar and mohawk costume but when he revealed his face it was just so amazing

-Gayatri is every indian’s dream girl with her modern shirt-flannel and jeans combo mixed with bangles and piercings I really wish we get to see more of her in the next movie. Anyway there was a lot of wolf-whistling and hooting for her and Pav

-Also Pavitr literally means pure I don’t know if they did that on purpose or not but I love it

-His pet name being Pav cured my soul

-’This is the most emotional I have seen him’ and Captain Singh has no emotions at all

-I want to see how they came up with so many spider designs because each was so unique and immediately endearing. My friend who is also a big dinosaur fan screamed DINOSAUR 

-Kind of obsessed with how detailed Ben Reilly’s arms are they did not need to go that hard with it

-Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being referred to as ‘the little nerd’ by Miguel

-When everyone was making puns about the Spot my friend leaned over and said ‘i wonder which hole the spot prefers’ it is a miracle we are still friends actually

-The Donald Grover cameo!!!

-Peter B Parker having a cute little baby with the love of his life is what he deserves

-Miguel O Hara is one step away from becoming a Batman-Spiderman 

-Hobie’s admiration for Mayday being the avatar of chaos Spider-baby

-Screaming ANDY SAMBERG

-I think they saw the appreciation for the art style in the previous film and then trebled it for this film and I cannot thank them enough for it

-Peter complaining about how Miguel breaks the Spiderman tradition of being funny and witty and Miguel being the first anomaly 

-Every scene with the Spot is very unnerving because as I said, you watch him transform from this joker to a literal void of vengeance and it is every bit of terrifying

-Miguel is a man suffering from the destruction of an entire universe because of his selfish actions and forcing that anomaly narrative on a fifteen year old boy who became a spiderman on accident and doesn’t want his father to die because of that. Unlike the Spot, who isn’t even human anymore, Miguel is drowning in grief and guilt and trying to ignore it by holding the weight of the spider-verse on his shoulder. I hated him so much for making a boy go through that but then I just couldn’t in the end. 

-Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire cameo!!! Hopefully we’ll get a fun Tom Holland one too in the next movie.

-’Let me guess, he died?’ being a therapist for Spider Men must be a fairly boring job after a few patients.

-I just loved the absolute of wrongness of the scene where Miles returns ‘home’. The rain and darkness. I didn’t really think about Rio asking Miles what happened to his hair because I thought she was referring to the rain (although of course she wouldn’t ask him why his hair was wet when it was obviously raining outside) but realised something was wrong when he didn’t know about comic con but she did because in the first film there’s a joke about Peter B Parker explaining the concept to Miles. 

- This movie is not good for my father related issues

-The glaring neon welcome sign when the gang end up in Earth 42

-How did Uncle Aaron get even scarier? 

-Miles being the Prowler is honestly a great twist I saw it coming but still felt the shock of the reveal

-Prowler Miles having an accented voice meaning his father probably died when he was young and he only had his mom growing up

-Can’t wait for the original spider team to return for the third film seeing as they brought back Spider-Man Noir and Spider Ham and Peni Parker

-Screaming WHAT when the ‘to be continued’ appeared because that cliffhanger is absolutely destructive. All that adrenaline and excitement just popped. I’m still oscillating between being impressed and being disappointed. 

I probably skipped over a lot of other scenes because these were the most memorable and I only watched the film once (unfortunate) but I can’t wait for the movie to hit streaming services and watch it again and again for all the other details I missed. Ill probably keep adding things as I remember

[multiverse239]

The genius writing of Velvet and Veneer: reposting my thread from Twitter

After watching the movie for a second time, I have a much clearer view of Velvet and Veneer as antagonists and overall characters which is what I’ll be discussing today. Also spoilers for the movie obviously 🙃

Now for their main movement, they want to use Brozone musical talent to become rich and famous because they have no talent of their own. The interesting part about this movement is how both Velvet and Veneer go about this.

First Velvet, it’s clear that the fame and attention has gotten into her head that she’s willing to do anything to keep that even if that means torturing and potentially killing an innocent troll(s). She admits it herself she’d rather do that than actually work for her popularity

Now for Veneer, as iffy as I am with this term, he falls into a lot more morally grey area. He knows very well what he’s doing is wrong but continues to do it anyway, he enjoys the fame just as much as Vel does but, he questions if there’s another way to go about this. Deep down he doesn’t want to hurt anybody but, can’t bare to stand up to his sister cause he loves her that much

“It’s like I don’t even know who you are”

“Yeah you do, and you asked me to change anyway”

THIS right here sums up their relationship perfectly, not only did Vel try to change Ven but she changed herself. I truly don’t believe Vel is a bad sister nor person, she cares for her brother just as much as he does for her. But, like I said earlier the fame and popularity has gotten into her head so much that she doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions.

This is how you write an antagonist, this is how you get your audience to really think. You can’t just boil down them to “Velvet bad one, Veneer good one” they are layers to the two. Seeing both sides of “I’ll win at any cost” and “I want to win but, at what cost?”

Hey, you actually read this entire thread here have a cookie 🫴🏼🍪, anyway thanks a lot and follow for more bangers like this

- Lulu 💕

[ofswordsandpens]

I've enjoyed episode 3 the most so far, but I think the show is still struggling to find a good balance between taking itself seriously and the absurdist humor that RR writes with. My main takeaways:

The Fight Scenes (or Lack Thereof?)

It seems very peculiar to me that the show is just speed running through its battle scenes. Again, it feels very much like the product of Disney trying to sanitize anything that's too extreme?

The trio fleeing from the kindly ones in the book ended with Percy taking control of the bus and then crashing it. It explodes. They lose all of their stuff (money, food). In the show, they simply bail out the back window. No true panic. No tension. Just, okay :) we're leaving now :)

The Medusa Scene. I'll speak more to this later, but in terms of the fight we get to see... well we get to see nothing. Apparently this fight required us to view it through the lens of the invisibility cap (ie. not at all),

I understand this show is intended for a younger audience, but the books are as well. Even the movies, which are pg, came up with better ways to show things without necessarily showing things. As a result, it feels like anything that might induce the slightest bit of tension or fear are sanded down and its honestly doing such a disservice to the books and the audience.

Medusa

I actually really liked this portrayal of Medusa. The 1950s housewife vibe landed well for me. And I loved the actress's voice -- very soft and soothing but always sounding as if she were just about to cry.

Also, I really liked her dialogue. Her digs at Athena and Poseidon were perfectly tragic.

That being said, I really prefer the trio's arrival to the emporium in the book. In the books, they've been wandering the woods and are lost and exhausted and hungry because of the battle/bus crash where they've lost all of their stuff. It almost feels like the emporium popping up "out of nowhere" was more of it finding them.

Meanwhile in the show, Grover finds it through scent on a satyr path and they immediately know its Medusa, which imo takes out so much of the fun of it all??? In the books, they dont know. Grover's just like, freaking the ever living fuck out, and clearly Percy and Annabeth have let him take sole custody of the shared brain cell, cause they're more concerned about getting some food than anything else

Just... RIP dumbass shenanigans

And honestly, I'm not really sure what necessitated the change here in the show (of them not being tricked). It would have been one thing if they were going to change Medusa entirely to not wanting to harm them at all, but imo, I think its arguable/evident that show Medusa was looking for an excuse to petrify Annabeth and Grover (at minimum) regardless of anything.

Honestly, I would have had the show loosely play it out as: book arrival (they dont know its Medusa), keep the dumbass energy and banter, the trio figures out it Medusa while they're eating, Medusa is the more sympathetic version we see in the show, regardless it still ends with the battle.

Also, I do mourn the book battle. The panic and absurdity is just handled better imo. Annabeth shoving them off the bench, Grover flopping all over the place with the shoes but actively getting a good few hits in, Percy having to use to the reflection to behead her... the #TeamWork was emphasized a little more there to me.

Characterization

I think the show is absolutely nailing certain parts of the characters.

They've gotten Percy's anger and his derision towards the gods down. But, I think they're actually underscoring some of his, idk, sincerity? His kindness? It was the line "she met a pinecone's fate" that just rang off to me. While undoubtedly funny, it's just such a stark difference from his reaction to Thalia's story in the books, where he was unsettled by her fate and felt a sincere sympathy for her. The line in the show I assume is meant to criticize the gods, but still, it feels like it comes at the expense of the sensitivity that he has.

They've gotten Annabeth's bluntness, intelligence, pride, and superiority down cold. No question about it. But I feel like they just need to let her be more of a 12yo kid?

Like. In canon she and Percy banter and argue over the silliest of things. She plays hacky sack with Grover and Percy. She blushes and hyperventilates when Luke interacts with her. Episode 3 is like the first time we've gotten to see her do something remotely childish (buying all that candy) and I'm just dying for more of that!! She's not the "mom" of the group and she has her canon dumbass moments. I'm hoping more of this is captured moving forward. They've gotten a good start on the banter, but let Annabeth be more silly! Cause she is!

(Absolutely none of my personal qualms about the characterization are Walker or Leah's fault. They've done amazing. It's the writing/directing I'm side-eyeing).

OH! And I'm sorry but Percy being like "Annabeth we're going to bury medusa with your hat on" would have never ever flown with Annabeth. In no world.

But Grover eating them up at the end? Iconic. Good for him.

[forzalando]

what makes the sunset?

3k celebration blurb for @katsu28! you can find my celebration post here if you'd like to celebrate with me :) title inspired by the song what makes the sunset? - frank sinatra. if you’d like, give it a listen! that’s the vibe of lando x reader in this💛 word count: 845 summary: sappy sunset with lando. obvious they both love each other but no established relationship (i love idiots in love).

The time was nearing 8:00pm – you’d already cooked and cleaned up dinner, thrown a load of laundry in the washer, changed into comfy PJs, and vacuumed your entire living space.

The tick of your tv remote was beginning to drive you mad. Each time you scrolled to the next tv show or movie in your recommended, the sound grew louder and louder. After ten minutes of searching, you reached for your phone and went to the last text thread in your messages.

what should I watch? I literally can’t find anything that looks interesting and it’s driving me insane

The reply bubbles appeared on your screen almost immediately, but your (hopefully) saving grace decided to call instead of respond via text.

“What are you in the mood for?” Lando asked, his mouth clearly full of his dinner.

“Did you call me so that you wouldn’t have to take a break from eating to text me back?”

“Maybe, but I’m the one asking the questions here. What are you in the mood for?”

“Hmm,” you paused, “something beautiful, passionate, emotionally stirring. I want to feel something.”

“And you came to me for suggestions?” Lando’s laugh rang through the speaker, the sound filling you with warmth.

“Well, excuse me, Mr. ‘I’m a Scorpio and let me tell you all about it’! Aren’t you supposed to be passionate and emotional?”

“Alright, give me a minute to think!”

The silence was brief, not even 30 seconds had passed before Lando began speaking again.

“Be ready in 15 minutes, I’ve got the perfect idea.”

Before you had a chance to ask what he meant, the line went dead. You huffed out a breath and made your way to your room to change out of your pajamas – which, quite honestly, soured your mood a bit.

Exactly 15 minutes after your call ended, Lando Norris was furiously knocking at your door.

“Come on, come on, hurry up!!!” You could hear him yelling from outside your apartment – thank goodness it was early enough that your neighbors wouldn’t complain about a nighttime disturbance.

Swinging your door open, you came face to face with Lando, his arm raised to knock incessantly once again.

“You are insufferable,” you huffed. Those were the only words you could get out before Lando was practically dragging you towards the elevators.

“Where are we even going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he sang. You couldn’t help but laugh at his giddiness, following him blindly down to his car sitting outside your building, still running and somehow not stolen.

You tried to guess – ice cream, a friend’s place, a movie theater. With each guess, Lando shook his head and teased that he wasn’t going to tell you. Soon, Lando had parked his car in a familiar lot, one you’d driven to many times before when the weather was nice and he was miraculously home.  

The sand was white and inviting – it squished underneath your toes as you stepped onto the beach, soft and still slightly warm from the sun beating down on it all day. You began to sit down when you heard Lando shouting behind you.

“NO sandy bottoms in my car, I brought a beach blanket you heathen!”

Sure enough, you turned around and there he was with the beach blanket you’d bought for him last summer. It had papayas on it, you simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“So what are we doing here, Lan?”

He gestured towards the view in front of you. “You said you wanted to watch something beautiful and emotionally stirring.”

You looked at him quizzically, his hint completely lost on you. He rolled his eyes teasingly, scooting closer to you and bringing his arm up to look at his watch.

“The sun should start setting in about…five minutes? If I timed this correctly.”

“You brought me to the beach to watch the sunset?” A soft smile graced your lips, and it was your turn to scoot closer to Lando, only a few centimeters separating your legs.

“It just kind of popped into my head, but I should have asked you. I didn’t totally think this through, I’m sorry – ”

“Lando,” you interrupted him. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

He smiled at you and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked out towards the water, his shoulders visibly relaxing. It was silent for a few moments until he tensed again, turning to face you with wide eyes.

“Are you cold? The temperature is going to drop like twenty degrees, I have an extra hoodie in my car, let me go grab it.”

As he started to get up, you gently grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, finally closing the tiny gap of space between you.

“I’m fine, Lando,” you insisted, leaning your head on his shoulder and linking your arms. “You’re everything I need.”

He relaxed again and lowered his head slowly to meet yours, intertwining your fingers at the same time. As the two of you sat in silence, unspoken words and feelings swirled around in your minds.

Emotionally stirring was an understatement.

[harrysfolklore]

hey could u do masie peters as a face claim with singer yn

i was dying to do tom x singer!yn and i this came up ! i really really hope you like it as much as i do !

AND HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY TO THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND TOM BLYTH. ILY

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

liked by rachelzegler, oliviarodrigo and 836,038 others

yourinstagram the good witch as been out for a week and i just want to say thank for all the love 🥹 here’s a pic of me right before recording the saddest song on the album lol

view all 18,037 comments

ynfan1 IM SO PROOOOUD

ynfan2 i love her so bad

troyesivan absolutely obsessed with every track

ynfan3 WE NEED THE DELUXE VERSION

rachelzegler I’m sooo obsessed with this album, I’ve played it on set like a hundred times this week I’m pretty sure all the cast is sick of me lol. LOVE YOU CONGRATS ❤️

↳ yourinstagram rachh 🥹🥹 thank you for your support ! means the world to me and i hope your cast mates don’t hate me lol. good luck on filming and i can’t wait to see the movie !!

↳ ynfan1 QUEENS SUPPORTING EACH OTHER

↳ ynfan3 i love them so much

liked by hunterschafer, yourinstagram and 486,529 others

tomblyth HG film dump. Just some of the many people I love who breathed life into this movie. @songbirdsandsnakes opens tomorrow 🤍

view all 11,160 comments

tomfan1 CRYING

tomfan2 this movie is about to change my life

mtv new crush unlocked

florencepugh ❤️

tomfan3 i love this cast so bad

rachelzegler LOVE YOU ALL 💘

tomfan4 my man my man my man

liked by shawnmendes, tomblyth and 840,726 others

yourinstagram MANCHESTER THAT WAS AWESOME !! and london you’re next 🥹

view all 18,937 comments

ynfan1 BEST SHOW IN THE WORLD

ynfan2 my turn when

madisonbeer superstar 🤍

rachelzegler I can’t wait to see you live !!

↳ tomblyth I’m tagging along

↳ tomfan1 WEEE TOM A YN FAN SO TRUE

↳ yourinstagram you guys are welcome anytime

ynfan3 she’s a celebrity to celebrities omg

mtv yn x tbosas cast? a yes from me

INTERVIEWS FROM TBOSAS PROMO

INSTAGRAM STORIES

//

liked by tomfan1, tomfan2 and 10,837 others

tomupdates TOM ARRIVING TO O2 ARENA IN LONDON TODAY?

view all 943 comments

tomfan1 OMGGG

ynfan1 YN HAS A SHOW THERE LAJSKA

tomfan2 he’s really seeing yn live😭 such a fanboy

ynfan2 that’s it. i ship them

↳ tomfan3 SAMEEEE

ynfan3 MY FAVES

liked by ynfan1, ynfan2 and 13,378 others

ynupdates “Tonight’s show is special. Not only because we’re at the O2 arena which is absolutely freaking cool, but also because we have some friends coming to see us, and it’s always a pleasure to play for old and new friends.” - YN at tonight’s show !

view all 966 comments

ynfan1 OMGGG

ynfan2 I LOVE HER

tomfan1 omfg is this about tom ???

tomfan2 TOM WAS IN THE AUDIENCE

ynfan3 she’s not sneaky

liked by conangray, tomblyth and 845,380 others

yourinstagram LONDON THAT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS EVER !! thank you to everyone who came 🤍

view all 18,038 comments

ynfan1 I CANT BELIEVE I WAS THERE

ynfan2 POP QUEEN

oliviarodrigo best show ever 💜

tomfan1 i bet tom was fangirling the entire time

hunterschafer I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

tomblyth Amazing show and amazing performer, I'm blown away

↳ tomfan2 AHHHH

↳ tomfan3 i literally ship them so hard

↳ ynfan3 thats a MAN

FANS VIA TWITTER

//

liked by yourinstagram, hunterschafer and 764,093 others

tomblyth Afterparty-ing 🥂

view all 17,394 comments

tomfan1 YEEEEEES

tomfan2 HE WENT TO YN'S AFTERPATY

rachelzegler 👯‍♂️

ynfan1 hes so hooot yn better give him a chance

↳ tomfan3 chill they're just friends

yourinstagram thank you for coming 💕

↳ ynfan2 THE EMOJIII

↳ tomfan2 i'm trying so hard to be normal and not ship them

TEXTS BETWEEN TOM AND YN

//

liked by gracieabrams, lauraharrier and 876,309 others

yourinstagram unfiltered friday dump

view all 18,275 comments

ynfan1 i live for this

ynfan2 her monopoly obsession is still going strong

rachelzegler You sneaky shits! Invite me next time

↳ ynfan3 WHAT DOES SHE MEAN ?

↳ yourinstagram i’ll make sure snow lets you know next time

↳ tomfan1 SNOW ?? TOM??

↳ tomfan2 AHHHHH

tomblyth It was such a pleasure to beat you at Monopoly

↳ tomfan1 AH SO SHE WAS WITH TOM

↳ ynfan3 IM THROWING UP

↳ yourinstagram shhh don’t let everyone know🥲

↳ ynfan3 😭😭😭

liked by yourinstagram, maya_hawke and 630,998 others

tomblyth I made a new friend 😊

view all 18,937 comments

tomfan1 MY HEART

ynfan1 THATS YN’S DOG STFU

rachelzegler I keep getting excluded from this relationship 🥲🥲

↳ tomfan2 RELATIONSHIP???

↳ ynfan2 NOT RACHEL OUTING THEIR BUSINESS

hunterschafer babies

yourinstagram i can’t believe i’ve been replaced

↳ tomblyth Sorry love, I’m just really charming

↳ ynfan1 STOOOOOP

↳ tomfan3 HE’S SHAMELESS

DEUXMOI VIA INSTAGRAM STORIES

//

liked by tomfan1, ynfan1 and 40,826 others

celebrityleaks TOM BLYTH AND YN OUT IN LOS ANGELES TODAY

view all 2,927 comments

tomfan1 LORD

ynfan1 I KNEW IT

tomfan2 THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY

ynfan2 AHHHH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

tomfan3 the couple we never knew we needed

ynfan3 we literally saw this relationship come to life I LOVE IT

tomfan4 byeee yall already claiming they’re in a relationship when they could be just friends

↳ ynfan1 you’re delulu

↳ tomfan1 the denial stage i see

liked by tomblyth, teddysphotos and 837,937 others

yourinstagram we’re in the middle of a tour but i couldn’t help myself and i got into the studio to pour out my lovey dovey feelings and ‘glue song’ came to life ! it’s going to be available everywhere on feb 2 (💓), i hope you like it 🥹

view all 19,045 comments

ynfan1 OH MY GOD ??

ynfan2 AHHHHHH WE WON

sabrinacarpenter such a sweet song i love it 🥰

tomfan1 IS THIS ABOUT TOM ??? BECAUSE IF IT IS I MIGHT CRY

gracieeabrams in your lover era 🥺

ynfan3 SHES DOWN BADDDDDD

tomfan3 HOLD ON. SHES RELEASING IT ON TOM’S BDAY !!!?

↳ tomfan1 YOU’RE RIGHT

↳ ynfan2 and just like that im sobbing again

tomfan2 i want to be stuck to tom like glue too

tomblyth ❤️

↳ ynfan3 SOBBING

↳ tomfan3 THIS IS CONFIRMATION

liked by yourinstagram, hunterschafer and 702,825 others

tomblyth What the bracelets say ❤️ @yourinstagram

view all 17,937 comments

tomfan1 STOP IT

ynfan1 i’ve died dead

rachelzegler MY BABIES MY LOVES 😭💘

↳ tomfan2 if you think about it rachel was lowkey the matchmaker here

↳ tomfan1 hunter aswell !

hunterschafer 🥲🥲🥲🤍🤍🤍

ynfan2 SHE DESERVES A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP IM SO HAPPY

tomfan3 couple of the century for real

ynfan3 THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS 😩

yourinstagram love you be stuck 2 u you and your early morning karaoke 💘 happy birthday my love

↳ ynfan1 AHHHH

↳ tomfan3 WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION

[deep-sea-scholar]

Okay I need to rant about Glass Onion for several paragraphs

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Glass onion is phenomenal, and I personally enjoyed its themes more than the first Knives Out movie.

Now don’t get me wrong, Knives Out is arguably the better film, but its strengths lie in the complexity and brilliant execution of its core mystery.  It’s a fantastic self-contained story about a shitty rich family and the people they directly affect.  The members of the family range across the political spectrum and all express different ideologies, but the moment a migrant working-class woman has a legitimized shot at their inheritance they band together to prevent her from improving her life.  It's interesting commentary on how wealthy people can talk a big game about helping others and being good people, but ultimately fall morally short when such actions threaten what they feel they “rightfully deserve.” But that's arguably the limitation of the film as its focus is entirely on the interpersonal conflict between the Thrombey family and Marta.

Glass onion isn’t limited by that.

The entire thematic core of Glass Onion concerns the damage that the rich and powerful can do to the world if they aren’t supervised, criticized, or limited. 

Aside from our lovely detective Benoit Blanc, the murdered Andi Brand, and her twin sister Helen, all of the characters are shitty people that are damaging the world in a uniquely horrible way as a direct consequence of the unchecked power and wealth they wield.

To start we have Governor Claire Dubella.  Her success in her political career has relied almost entirely on monetary support and influence from the films big bad and Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos analogue Miles Bron. Her platform has good objectives, and she’s passionate about hard topics like climate change, but her ability to act is entirely limited by the influence Miles has on her.  If Miles wants her to do something, she feels like she has no choice but to, which results in her greenlighting an experimental powerplant that Miles wants built to advocate for his new fuel source.  It’s untested technology, it’s volatile and dangerous as fuck, and Claire feels like she has no choice but to go along with it because if she doesn’t Miles will withdraw support from her career, or worse, support her opponents.  She likens it to selling her soul, and it really is.  She willingly undermined the health of her constituents for the sake of saving her career, and the shitty part is that Miles only controls her because she lets him.  She could deny the power plant, or leave Miles, at any time, but she doesn’t because she perceives the personal risk as to great.  She is a politician that won’t stand up for the people she represents, and no one calls her out on it.

Next, we have Duke Cody, the Alpha male men’s rights streamer who is just like, the absolute worst person in this film.  His views and opinions are incredibly toxic, his actions and beliefs directly hurt the people he influences through the hurtful products he promotes, and thanks to Mile's wealth and influence both he and his terrible, terrible, terrible opinions have official backing and some form of legitimacy.  He’s almost the direct inverse of Claire, being someone who really shouldn’t have support, but is getting it anyway because he’s Mile’s friend.  And because Miles doesn’t care and is giving Duke support and helping him dodge legal trouble, he enables Dukes terrible opinions and lets them influence and hurt people.  

Then we have Birdie, my personal favorite of the disruptors.  She is a fashion designer, media star, and breathtakingly, beautifully, stupid. She’s not actively malicious like some of the other characters, but she is just so fundamentally incapable of thinking things through. When paired with her wealth and influence, this results in horrifying real-world consequences.  She has her iconic fashion line of sweatpants made at the most infamous sweatshop in Bangladesh not because she doesn’t care, but because she thought a sweatshop is just a shop where you make sweatpants.  She’s just very stupid, but at the very least has the decency to be aware of it.  She even decides to own up to her Bangladesh mistake of her own volition, independent of the plot.  The problem is that no one corrected for her, or guided her, or worked to influence her decisions.  Miles just cared about what her brands could do for him and was perfectly willing to throw her under the bus to preserve his image.

Last of the four Disruptors is Lionel Toussaint.  Not much to say about him actually, he’s fairly straightforward.  He works directly under Miles as a scientist and is a parallel for the people that want to have confidence in tech ‘pioneers’ like Elon Musk.  After all they’ve been successful, and things have worked out in the past, surely, we can give them leeway with new technology development.  But there’s a reason why technology is prototyped and tested, and that’s because things always go wrong, and you need to take time and care to figure out how to ensure new technology is safe.

Which leads us to this asshole.

Miles goddamn Mona Lisa Burning Bron.

The absolute, motherfucking, shithead moron directly responsible for everything bad that happens in this film.

I lied about Duke Cody because this absolute buffoon is the actually the worst person in this film.

He manipulates politicians into endangering their constituents for his own gain, he enables the absolute worst and most toxic people by giving them legitimate platforms, he promotes influencers without caring for what their unchecked actions result in, and he deludes the people that work for him and want to believe in him with self-assured delusion.  This man is arrogant, an indiscribable moron (worse than Birdie because at least she acknowledges her failings), dangerously delusional, obsessed with control, and most damning of all, unchecked.

Miles Bron is a direct look at how too much unchecked power, wealth, and influence results in unmitigated disasters.  He doesn’t care about helping people, because he doesn’t take the time to make sure untested technology is safe for the public, handwaving legitimate concerns with denial and false assurance.  He doesn’t care about his friends, because he murders two of them the instant, they become a threat to his control.  He’s not smart, because all of his genius is the result of other people, he’s just skilled at advertising it as his own to get the credit.  All he cares about is doing what he wants and being in control, because his opinion and self-worth and legacy is more precious to him than any other thing in the world.  The man is a lie so absolute, so convoluted, and so stupidly straightforward that the slightest piece of truth will bring the facade of his existence crumbling down.  And it’s hard to acknowledge something like that in the real world because someone that successful being that malicious and dumb sounds incredibly stupid.  It’s an easy lie to buy because it’s more believable than how stupid the truth is.

Anyway, ultimately my conclusion is that we see a strikingly accurate portrayal of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in this film, and it was very cathartic seeing their hopes, ambitions, and house burn down around them.  Because billionaires like them are shithead morons that lie to and manipulate everyone, and their arrogant and harmful self-delusions compound through the people they manage to influence.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[adrianicsea]

the time that glenn howerton was in a gay period-piece play about crossdressing

so awhile back i was poking around glenn howerton's wikipedia looking for movies and such that i might have missed, and i noticed it had a small theatrical section listed. this was never something i'd given much thought in the past, but on this particular occasion i was so hard-up for new Glontent that i decided to see what i could find about the three plays listed there, because i'd never seen anyone else have much luck with that and i love a good internet scavenger hunt. walk with me.

compleat female stage beauty caught my eye right away-- the title of the play itself is interesting, and i happened to know already that the most famous real-life duke of buckingham was the lover of king james. so of course i went delving...

and what should i find but the entire playscript for compleat female stage beauty, For Free, on archive dot org? anyone on earth can rent it and read it for an hour at a time, or for 14 days if you want to really take your time with it. i have to assume that this is NOT common knowledge among sunny fans (or anyone else), as the archive upload only has 99 views at the time of making this post.

to give a VERY succinct summary of what the play is about-- in the 1660s, during the english restoration, women were allowed to act professionally onstage for the first time in english history. this caused problems for the male actors who had previously made their careers playing female characters, such as edward kynaston, around whom the play centers. outside of his acting career, kynaston is a gay man, and he's in a romantic entanglement with george villiars, the duke of buckingham (NOT the same duke of buckingham who was fucking king james-- that was this villiars' dad. we love gay fathers and their gay sons!) kynaston struggles to find his place in a changing social landscape where it seems as though his talents are no longer needed or wanted.

before getting into the script proper, the book has some information about notable early productions of the play. this is great because it pins down a lot of details about glenn's involvement in the show that wikipedia left unanswered, but there's also an unexpected sunny crossover here-- in an even EARLIER production, the lead role was played by david hornsby!

(i also learned over the course of my deep dive on this that glenn's costar, lead actor brandon demery, was a fellow member of glenn's graduating juilliard group!)

things don't end well for kynaston and villiars, but still, the onstage relationship between the two is both electrifying and heartbreaking as it changes over the course of the show.

now, this WOULD be where i would include cast pictures or footage or any kind of photos of glenn in this show... but if any such material exists, it's not publicly available. i went so far as to email the publicity and outreach coordinator for the theater that hosted glenn's production of this show to ask if they had any archived materials, but she told me that they didn't.

but this production took place in october of 2000, meaning it was pre-that 80s show, meaning we can all sit and think about how a glenn that looked like This was acting in a gay period piece about crossdressing and gender roles and the mystery of human sexuality. dudes rock.

a bit of a disappointing note to end on, i know, but i really wanted to talk about this play and share it with people!! it's a super interesting and overlooked part of glenn's early career, but also i think the script is fascinating and very well-written in its own right. i definitely encourage yall to check it out on the internet archive if you're interested-- again, it's literally free!

[hopeyarts]

THE ONE CHANGE THAT COULD’VE MADE WISH BETTER AS A MOVIE (RANT POST)

✨———————————————————————

If Wish ended with King Magnifico getting true love’s kiss from Queen Amaya, then he and Asha actually talk about their views more and come to terms and forgive each other…

I wouldn’t find a single problem with the story.

Disney’s biggest mistake about this movie was making him turn into a ‘classic villain’ and locking him up by the end of it. I get that the audience wanted a true Disney villain, and the company tried to provide that but they also DIDN’T really provide that until the third half of the movie.

But in this case with the film that they gave us (take away all the concepts and deleted scenes), this guy was sympathetic at best. Now I’m not going to baby his character and treat him like an absolute angel, but what I will say is that he deserved to be redeemed.

He’s not a villain. At most, he was a douchebag (I mean that in the nicest way possible). But that doesn’t take away the fact that he was also a genuinely benevolent king. His paranoia and need for power got the better of him, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. The forbidden evil book only influenced the darkest parts of himself, and unfortunately it was his need for power. Originally it was to keep the kingdom safe from a false threat, then the book shifted it into a need for power to just… keep himself in full power over everyone, in the worst way possible. Kinda bland, but whatever.

With this redeemable ending, this would’ve given our main character Asha an arc. She could’ve learned that it’s okay to not get what you want and that you have the ability to MOVE ON. She can realize she doesn’t have to be chained to a lost desire, and can give herself the option to improve their lives and listen to others. Like with her father— Tomás died from an illness even after she wished for him to get better. That’s her lost desire. That moment in her life drove her to make sure that her family, for example her Saba, wouldn’t feel that hurt like she had. That’s why she wanted Sabino’s wish granted so much. Yes, it was selfish from an audience viewpoint when she simply asked for King Magnifico to grant Sabino’s wish. We cannot deny that. And for what it’s worth I actually like this scene, but not when it reaches the ending of the movie. I LIKE the idea that Asha is selfish from the beginning, and THEN turns into someone who is selfless. We see her focus on Sabino’s wish at first, because she wants him to be happy, then that focus turns towards the entire community. I like that idea, but the execution was not it BECAUSE Disney decided to not redeem King Magnifico. That’s how this whole thing backfires on Asha as a character. It makes her look selfish for the ENTIRE movie. I love her (honest to God I do), but I have to admit that she seemed a slight bit selfish and naive, even if her intentions were good. And no, this selfishness doesn’t make her a villain. We see Disney protagonists be selfish, but then they learn to be selfless. So I’d never demonize her. To do that, I’d have to throw away all understanding of this movie and the character motivations, and even my willingness to look at something in another person’s perspective. She’s only a teenager after all.

Sorry, that was a little bit of a rant there. Disney just makes me frustrated.

Asha’s not a bad person, and neither is King Magnifico. They just didn’t think their options through.

Now if we were to give King Magnifico this redemption, he can’t go without a lesson learnt as well. He could learn the same thing as Asha: that you can choose to move on and not let a lost desire keep you stuck in the past. What he did for his people was right, but the execution was not. Yes, he kept them safe and sound… but he took a part of their hearts.

Remember that a wish is the ‘one that drives your heart’ or according to Magnifico, ‘They are a part of your heart. The very BEST part.’ (I can make a post about how the wishes given up were good intentioned. Some were vague, but they were the BEST good of a person’s heart. Although one thing I find humorously stupid is how someone’s wish is to find a nanny for their kids. Like damn- are your kids that bad? 😭 I’m sorry, I find it a little funny.)

So what is living a life safely but without passion? The answer to that is that it’s NOT living.

“A life without passion isn’t living at all. It is merely existing.” - Leo Buscaglia

This shouldn’t villainize movie King Magnifico, because he did this to protect his people and his kingdom. And the reason behind this is because of his past. So he could’ve learned that not everything is out to get him and that he can choose to move on and IMPROVE. Especially the system with wish granting.

I feel like I made this too long. But all in all, the story would’ve been perfect (in my eyes) if King Magnifico was redeemed at the end, and he and Asha could’ve learnt a shared lesson about moving on. And even still, your dreams can come true in unexpected ways.

Again, I like both Asha and King Magnifico. They are quite similar in terms of motivations and being plagued by their past lost desires. They thought they had to take matters into their own hands, and they didn’t think their options through. One however was rewarded for this, meanwhile the other was villainized for it. And no, I don’t blame that on Asha.

Additionally, I’d like to add that I like Wish. So don’t think I’m saying any of this because I ‘hate the movie’. I really don’t. If I turn off my brain and distract myself with the songs and art, I can get through the movie just fine. I just recognize that the story isn’t portraying what Disney intended, and I can only blame the executives. Not the writers, not the artists or animators, and certainly not the cast members. They did what they could with what Disney executives gave them, and I can only appreciate their hard work into trying to create a story for a 100th anniversary.

Thanks for reading all the way through! 💖

[mylucayathoughts]

Little moments that I love in Red White and Royal Blue. PART 7 (cannot stop sorry 🙈)

When Nora says how "Prince Henry is so yummy" Alex doesn't really contest Noras comment on Henrys good looks (read yumminess 😏), he just says how he is not really a good person (which he believed at that time) but that's besides the point. The important thing is that Alex seemed to be in agreement with that view 😏

When Bea snatches Nora away from Alex, you cannot tell me this wasn't intentional because like a moment ago she was telling Henry how she thinks Alex is hot and asked whether Henry met him or not. And next thing she does before Henry is about to meet Alex is take the one person Alex came to the party with away from him and make sure that person sticks with her the whole time. I see what you did there Bea 😏 and she was the most amused when Alex and Henry was having their little fight and the cake fell on them 😆

When Alex sees Henry talking so cheerfully with the cancer patient and stops to stare at them. He couldn't match his idea of Henry with this version. I love how he looks confused yet curious here.

He was observing a very oblivious Henry intently, and subconsciously he was allowing Henry to change his mind about him.

During the new years party, while dancing, Alex sees Henry sitting alone and comes running towards him and almost hits Henry's face with his 😆 (baby boy was drunk 😏) I love the energy with which he tries to lift Henry's mood up - "it's aaalll in the hips, LOOSEN UP!!", laughs with his entire face, hears his song and screams "OH MY GOD, this is the song of my childhood!!!" and says "you're dancing" and then he grabs Henrys hand and pulls him towards the dance floor. He is adorable here, always trying to keep Henry close or around.

Henry making this face when he says that his brother is completely oblivious about him being gay -

I noticed it only like a few days ago on my millionth rewatch of the movie and laughed so hard I almost fell off my bed 🤣

When Henry says that he has to belong to himself and he can only belong to someone else momentarily and Alexs first instinct is to hold his hand 🤧🤧 lt was too pure, too kind ❤️ and Henry says "not here" (and you can tell he is devastated that he couldn't let Alex take his hand) and Alex understands the sentiment immediately.

It's not like Alex didn't know where they were, plus Henry and he were just talking about Henry not being out to anyone but Bea. Alex still wanted to comfort Henry and to him, taking Henry's hand wasn't a romantic gesture, he just wanted to be supportive and make him feel better. But he understood Henry's predicament and played along.

When Alex writes to Henry "I'm out here giving my all for my mother. I cant have smut filling my inbox, corrupting my mind and bulging my pants like this! look buddy, you know I'm incorrigible, so don't incorrige me" and Henry writes "I'll behave" you can tell that Henry is trying to stifle a laugh and that he is so proud that he can make Alex feel that way 🤣 I know that it's supposed to be a written part in the movie but they had Taylor and Nicholas say these out loud and you can hear the emotions in their voices and I absolutely love Nicholas's delivery here.

My dumbass noticed something else a few days ago as well. That Alex practices speaking in front of the mirror before delivering his speeches. My boy really worked so hard to get his Texan votes 🤧

All the little scenes where Alex is shown to work in his Texas campaign perfectly capture Alex's passion for politics, his dedication to the Texan campaign, his desire to help mom with her election and his wish to do something for people. I love how this part also portrays how mature he and Henrys relationship has become. It was not about just their physical needs anymore, which is still there (obviously 😏) but they act as each others support system. The way Alex tells Henry about his fear "I'll only admit this to you and no one else..." that he is gonna let his mother down, and the way Henry reassures him 🤧 and then Henry says how his ribbon cuttings are so meaningless and how he wished he could do meaningful things like Alex. And even though Henry is not proud of it, Alex still makes sure to watch Henry's appearances. I love how sweet and kind and supportive they are to one another. And the passion with which both Nicholas and Taylor read theirs emails 🤧😭 so good!

At the V&A when they were slow dancing, you can't take your eyes off Taylor and Nicholas's hands 😍 they just keep lovingly caressing each other. It's soo beautiful to watch. They are so gentle and caring in those scenes.. Their eyes are soft, full of love 🤧 This is yet another scene where you can't possibly ask more from Taylor and Nicholas. They really went all in 👏

Their soft little smiles in this scene 😍🥺 Henry looks so relaxed and happy! They make me cry ok 🤧

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

[cialovesklopp]

𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐄’𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 ➺ k.mbappé

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — in which it’s the night of the grammys and amara has the chance to make history and shock the world with some revelations

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 — amara imani (oc) x kylian mbappé

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 — 10k

𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 — while we’re young [jhene aiko]

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 — @aechii @lorarri

𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 — so… we’ve finally made it. one more article and we’re through with mon amour. I want to thank you all for reading, for not leaving even though I had some periods where I couldn’t find any inspiration. You still read Mon amour even if I found myself soo discouraged and unmotivated. Don’t worry, i still have a lot for this series planned. A very big thank you goes also to @aechii who accompanied me through the entire process and supported me in the best way. nothing i could wish more for and i am very happy about the fact that you enjoyed it so much. one of my closest people. and then a big thank you goes to my soul sister @lorarri — without her this series probably wouldn’t exist and this series are as much mine as they are hers.

masterlist

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬_𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐜

liked by liyah_clark, pierregasly and 13.074.652 others

charles_leclerc the amara imani protection squad is in all on-board for the evening

view all 98.074 comments

username omg yukierre being the ones responsible for food

username to be a fly on those walls during that night

username i just wanna know if what pierre and yuki cooked was good

charles_leclerc it was edible but pierre was just there for pr

maxverstappen1 it was definitely better than what lando and oscar cooked

landonorris it wasn’t that bad, the steak was just a bit unseasoned and the vegetables were edible

georgerussell bit unseasoned? you didn’t even put salt on the steak and the vegetables were burned

lewishamilton even roscoe declined your food

username this is a want, not a need

liyah_clark as much as i love this little supportive get-together i hope no one touched any of my things. i haven’t forgotten the foundation yet.

charles_leclerc … about that 😶

charles_leclerc max slept on your side of the bed and pierre used your skincare

maxverstappen1 only because lando took nearly all the space and lewis reserved the entire couch for him and roscoe

username i swear to god they’re never gonna beat those allegations

username lestappen nation thanking the gods at the moment for this

amara.imani roscoe!! 🥹

roscoelovescoco we’s loves amara

amara.imani thx for your support guys, you are the best group ever. you’re making me cry and i’m currently in hair & makeup

amara.imani if i win a prize tonight, i’ll make sure to mention you

username but the fact that amara imani is more important than anything and even made pierre and esteban forget their petty fight

username FR like amara is so much bigger even their pettiness can be put aside

username i feel like we should give charles a extra big thank u for dating liyah and bringing amara into their lives

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢

liked by charles_leclerc, graceywood and 17.028.543 others

amara.imani big night and big surprise incoming

the user turned her comments off on this post

𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄

her life was truly a fairytale. amara imani was sure of that now. 

looking back a year and a half ago, she would have never thought she would be able to say those words; especially because she loved fairy tales and her life seemed to be going drown back then. and somehow one person had been able to change everything and make her life resemble a disney movie. give her her own fairy tale. 

her love for fairytales dated back a long time ago. back to when her father used to read her stories before going to sleep. how often had she fallen asleep to the happy endings of snow white or cinderella? wished that she would meet her dream prince like belle did with the beast? well, now she had. 

the life she had built now was different than before. historians liked to define time by distinguishing before christ and after christ. and amara could organize her time now by differentiating between before and after evan — or better yet, before and after kylian. 

before kylian, she was there but she felt herself floating between spaces, just there but with no cause. the quick rise and new found fame had made her lose herself in all the turmoil and with the addition of evan, amara soon didn’t even recognize her own reflection in the mirror anymore. during that time, life become meaningless and fairytales stayed what they were. plain fairy tales, made simply for the purpose of entertaining children. 

that was the problem once one lost themself. the genuine pleasure and joys of life were lost with the person itself. colors became blurry together, and there was no difference anymore in what was real and what was a simple imagination of what one truly felt. amara found herself lost, drowning even though the water was clear. herself long gone. and her identity too. 

philosophy described the identity as several qualities, beliefs, characteristics and the sense of belonging that formed a person. described them and made the different from all the other humans and their identities. their identities were highly necessary for the growth of the human. but when one lost themselves, their identity was often a part of what they were losing too. the security of knowing what one was became a doubtful question, followed by several insecurities that were coming up too.

maybe losing herself big amara so hard because she had never truly known herself — after all, the brain has not finished developing till the age of 23. the sudden void that filled a part of her and could not be filled had ripped apart the part of her that she had carried into her new life. the new-found fame. and even the smallest innocent parts of herself were lost the moment she had not known who she was anymore. 

and then there was after kylian. the time where she found herself again. and fairytales became true again. 

sometimes people had to lose themselves to find themselves again, to see themselves the way they truly are. find their own worth again. a process amara had needed more than she could have imagined. 

evan had reduced her, made her believe she was nothing more than a side piece to his person that cling to him and followed him wherever he went. he had treated her career as if it was a side hobby she had been doing and could stop at any time. she had gotten so wrapped up in the false illusion evan had created of her, she had forgotten how much she was worth for just being herself. maybe evan had shown her a different world, shown her the secrets to it and made her see different colors — but he had also shown her how much she didn’t fit into his world. she had forgotten how special she was because she was too busy loving him, trying to meet his expectations and ideals. 

it had made the idea of love seem disgusting — why would anyone go through that kind of pain just to be disappointed? sure, love included pain, after all one didn’t truly love if they had never experienced the pains of love. but when the pain was outweighing the good? the happy moments? amara had closed the chapter of love when evan had humiliated her. forgotten all her dreams of getting her happy ever after. 

it was kylian who made the difference. 

showing someone something was not the way one can learn. they’ll know how to spot it but they won’t know how to use it. it’s by teaching them that one can truly learn. and kylian taught amara how to love. 

taught her that love was not just sharing “i love you”. the act of love went further than that, more intimate. love was about creating. constructing a world that fits the other one as much as oneself. trying to realize the best version of the world. and it was so much more than just creating. 

love was also about trust. being able to confide in your partner was just as important as the feelings that were developed in a relationship. they had to trust that the other would always be there to catch them, no matter what case. trust was just as important. it was valuable and once the trust was gone, even love would not be enough. 

but what amara treasured the most was communication. it made her feel seen, her problems were heard and not just swallowed down to forget. they compromised when they weren’t sharing the same opinion and talked it out when they felt misunderstood. amara had always thought men didn’t like talking about their feelings, especially with all the fights she had had with evan whenever he seemed angry but again, kylian proved that there was hope for the male population. 

he didn’t keep to himself. when something seemed to be bothering him, he cleared it quickly with her and cuddle sessions were often spent with him ranting, whenever he felt bad or annoyed at his team. but most importantly, he never took it out on her. 

no matter how complicated it got, how angry he sometimes seemed at paris, he never let any of his anger out on amara — he never even showed it. it was another way of expressing their love for each other; by being their best versions for each other. 

they were ready for everything. even for the big night that was awaiting them.

just thinking about the grammys made a shiver run through her body. in about fifteen minutes she would officially step into the public again. re-enter the high society of the music industry and make her comeback. and for the first time, she would be opening the grammys. to say she was nervous was an understatement — even cleaning her entire house seemed like a better idea at the moment. 

the closer the car got, the more she could hear fans screaming and yelling from outside. amara had truly forgotten what big importance the grammys played — the night that decided all. and she was nominated in eight categories. she hadn’t even made two last year and now she was nominated for eight — oh, how the tables could turn. 

“on a scale from one to ten, how nervous are you?” grace asked her softly, reaching for amara’s hand and squeezing it. 

“44,” amara replied stiffly, fidgeting with her fingers. her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest, even though in a few minutes she would put on her best million dollar smile. weeks had gone into the preparation for the grammys, especially since she was the one hosting and opening them. adding to that, she also had two more performances scheduled tonight and amara knew that they had to be perfect. everyone would be scrutinizing her, watching her with prying eyes and waiting for a slip up. 

the weight of expectations was suffocating her but she was not about to have a panic attack ten minuets away from the venue. and not when she looked this beautiful. 

the beautiful diamond-encrusted blue mermaid gown that had been specially made for her fit her like a second skin. the dress was gorgeous with its long tail and waves that emphasized the long slit and showed off her beautiful legs. it was made to turn heads and steal the show — perfect for amara tonight. her hair had been pulled into an elegant sleek bun that matched the neutral but glowing makeup. she looked breathtaking so why didn’t she feel like it?

“you are the star of the night and you know it. no album was as good as mon amour and everybody knows it. even the people on social media are backing you,” grace tried to assure her as amara took a deep breath. she was trying to steady her hands and stop the shivering but her nerves were getting the better side of her. 

was she very excited to spend the night with people who had turned their back on her the minute evan had started spreading his lies? no. but would she love wiping the smile off their face by stealing the show tonight? definitely. 

her redemption arc had gone perfectly. even better than she had imagined. she didn’t have any reason to be nervous. she was still fidgeting with her fingers as the car arrived but her nerves had calmed down a bit. this was her moment; her chance to show the world again that she was back and here to stay. 

she closed her eyes for a few seconds as the car pulled up in front of the venue, a small smile appearing on her lips as she heard all the fans screaming. she wasn’t sure if they were yelling for her or maybe a previous artist but it reminded her again of how much she had missed them. missed her own fans that had defended her till the end. she would step onto that red carpet and make everyone swallow their past words. that’s what she had been taught and no situation fit better than this one.

“it’s show time,” grace whispered excitingly and amara took one final deep breath. the driver then opened the door and amara stepped out, the defeating roar of the crowd hitting her like a sudden wave. 

the moment she had finally gotten out of the car, people making sure that her dress was okay, Fans reached a new height of their screams as they yelled out of excitement. everyone surged forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the attention of the star singer while paparazzis were literally blending her their cameras and constant pictures. amara turned around and waved to the fans, blowing them kisses while a huge smile formed on her face. 

as she walked towards the red carpet, even journalists who were reporting live from the event were shocked by what turmoil the arrival of amara imani caused. cameras were flashing constantly without a pause, nearly blinding her as they tried to capture every move. even the other stars who had arrived before her were stunned by her appearance — and the way they nearly saw white because of all those paparazzi trying to take the best picture of her. 

“oh my god, this is crazy,” amara exclaimed, her cheeks starting to hurt from all the smiling. 

“girl, what did you expect? eight nominations and your first grammy appearance since two years? of course you’re gonna be turning heads,” grace replied in a matter of fact- tone because it was obvious. “this is your night so enjoy it.”

guided by her team, she moved quickly along them before stoping for the final red carpet photos and the interviews grace had told her would he waiting for her. the poses came naturally to her though it became quite difficult to keep her eyes constantly open with the way photographers were flashing her with their cameras. she smiled one last time, turning a bit so that her entire dress was visible and was caught at every angle. and then it was interview time. 

with a smile plastered on her face, she stepped towards the first reporter, all cameras still on her. “wow, first let me say, you look gorgeous. you’re glowing tonight.”

“thank you so much. i would say i’m blushing but i can’t…,” she trailed off jokingly before becoming serious again. “nah, but i am really thankful for my team that organized all this and very thankful for the designers that created this dress for me.”

“well, amara, we all know that you prefer to hide the muse behind your new album but has it helped you with your success? especially after such a hard year?”

she took a deep breath, trying to form the perfect words in her head. “i guess, one could say so. choosing this privacy for my life this time seemed right at the moment and i do not regret it. i am still a bit amazed at mon amour’s success because all i did. was just expressing my love but i am grateful for the success.”

the reporter nodded before asking the next question. “amara,” she began, “your return to the music scene has been eagerly awaited by fans worldwide. i mean even i was excited when you announced that you were going to be present at the grammys. what inspired to do comeback and can we expect more music?”

amara laughed. “to be honest, it was my boyfriend who inspired me that i hid enough from the public. especially from an important night like this. but what concerns music, i do not know right now. i hadn’t planned mon amour till i had four songs ready in a short amount of time and thought i can do more. i guess we’ll see.”

she bid her goodbye to the reporter before moving along to the next one, who seemed completely marveled at her. 

“wow, amara imani is standing in front of me. i think i can die happily now.” he joked enthusiastically, making amara grin too. “okay, but jokes aside. you really do look gorgeous.”

she smiled cheekily. “thank you very much. i feel flattered that i made you accomplish your life goal.”

“so, how does it feel to be back on the red carpet after your long hiatus? any special feelings?”

she shrugged nonchalantly. “it’s amazing being back. it’s always a big honor to be invited but being nominated is always another step. i kinda missed the rush and my fans. a small part of me probably even missed the constant pictures.”

“it was announced that you were going to co-host the grammys alongside dua lipa but you also have a performance scheduled tonight. that are a lot of expectations for tonight, do you feel ready for that?”

she nodded happily, her hand subconsciously smoothing out her dress. “definitely. we spent weeks perfectioning this performance especially because it is my first after such a long time — and as for dua, we are good friends so it should be funny to host with her tonight. but i’m definitely ready.”

she waved at the reporter before going to the next.one that she had grown fond of over the years. naomi hart. 

“if it isn’t amara imani,” naomi greeted her cheekily, pressing two kisses on each of her cheeks. the typical french greeting the two had developed between each other. 

“naomi hart. my favorite journalist,” amara stated in the same tone, hugging her. the two women went way back to amara’s early days of fame when naomi took her aside and explained to her how the whole press thing even worked. 

“wow, you really look amazing. like can we just take a moment and admire your dress?” naomi exclaimed jokingly but with a slight tone of admiration. “and that necklace — must have cost a fortune.”

“thank you so much. it was a difficult choice choosing this dress but it’s nice knowing that the dress is doing what it’s supposed to do.” she chuckled, doing a little twirl with the dress. “and the necklace was a gift from my boyfriend.”

“oh, the mysterious boyfriend. wanna tell us more about him or about your grammy performance?”

she shook her head amusingly. “nope, not really. i kinda like the privacy we got. but concerning my performances, all i can say is that it’s gonna be a lot. i don’t know the word small but then again, let’s not give away too much,” she answered teasingly, winking at the camera. 

“well, i’m definitely excited for it. you better slay on that stage.” 

“i will,” amara stated firmly before grace walked up to her and the two were escorted inside by her security team. the show was officially starting now. 

“wow… long time no seen amara,” sarah pierson greeted her, smiling at her while amara only faked small one. that sarah played a big part in her time with evan had not been forgotten. especially because she was the one amara thought she could trust the most only to be stabbed in the back. the comments her former friend had let out about her had really showed amara who had actually been her true friends and who was just with her for the good parts. 

“wish i could say i missed you but mama taught me not to lie,” amara replied simply, fiddling a bit with the microphone in her hand. 

sarah sighed, brushing a few strands of her hair out of her face. “amara, don’t tell me you’re still mad about the past. i didn’t know evan was lying.”

amara shrugged nonchalantly, not caring anymore. “i’m over it. you had your fifteen minutes fame. that’s what you wanted right? and now that they’re over, you’re crawling back?” amara questioned sassily as she checked her makeup one last time in the mirror. “sorry sweetie,” she replied in the same sweet tone she had been used to receiving from her, “but you’re a bit late. now excuse me but i’m about to open the grammys.” 

she sent her ex-friend one last dirty glance before strutting past her, ignoring any other calls for her attention as she made her way backstage. she had spotted lots of people — people who had supported her through the backflash and people who hadn’t even bothered to send her a message through all that complicated time. it had given her the chance to realize who was truly on her side and who weren’t and sarah and her whole clique definitely were on the bad list. 

“was she bothering you?” amara had found dua and grace chatting friendly when she finally made her way back and the latter had instantly remarked the somewhat displeased expression on her face. 

amara waved dismissively. “it’s nothing, just some insincere apologies that i’ve already heard,” she replied shortly, adjusting her outfit. “is everything ready?”

dua looked at her phone one last time and nodded. “it’s nearly 8. the red carpet is over and people should be at their places,” her serious expression softened as she looked at amara suggestively. “is he here?” she asked slyly, emphasising the "he”. 

“you won’t get anything out of me,” amara laughed as dua nudged her lightly, making her laughter only increase. 

amara couldn’t imagine a better person to host the grammys with than dua. the two singers had immediately hit it off when they had been introduced three years ago at the grammys and had since then stayed in contact. dua had even sent her some messages when amara had taken her leave from the star business. and now the two girls found themselves next to each other again. a sweet reunion. 

“ready to get everyone dancing?” dua teased her slightly, moving a bit so the dancers could all take their place before she left to get in place to announce everything. 

“never been more ready,” amara stated confidently, as she stared one last time at her outfit. the silver metallic ensemble that she had chosen for this performance fitted her perfectly, like a second skin and made everything look very futuristic and modern. a complete contrast to the video of the song but the dancing would make up for it.

“have fun,” grace told her quickly, blowing her a kiss and quickly disappeared too as the lights started to dim, to catch everyone’s attention and signify that the night was about to start. and it was. 

amara was officially letting the entire world know that she was back.

it was pitch black. except a few phones, every source of light had been extinguished or turned off. everyone’s eyes were focused on the stage or rather the person that would be appearing soon on it. 

she took one last breath before going into her start position, microphone tight in her hand. the music then began to play as the curtains opened slowly and amara hid a small grin at everyone’s reaction. 

“i’m ready to pull up on you,” she sang the minute the music stopped and the screen became black again before she continued to sing again. she and grace had put a lot of effort into the visuals of her opening performance, with liyah sometimes pitching in as a pair of fresh eyes. but the way everyone was cheering for her, a surge of pride overcome her as she danced — everything was going great. 

she was back in her element, her true nature. performing. some people were great at singing while some prefered to dance but amara found herself home in both. and she always tried to perform for her public. give them a show. she wasn’t one to just sing and do some moves — if she was on stage, she had to do both: sing and dance. give people the time of their lives. and from the way everybody was dancing, clapping or even singing along, she was clearly succeeding. 

by the time the music for hrs&hrs started, people were clearly out of breath from all the activity but they felt alive and no one was sitting down. the song she was singing now was perhaps a bit slower but people could still be enjoying themselves by singing loudly along, which was a great pause. 

during the second song, amara had changed outfit and had switched from her metallic modern ensemble to a beautiful, silky green dress with two thick straps that shimmered under the light. she had let her hair open and in the short pause where the dancers had time to leave the stage and it went black again, amara could change her shoes and put on some black heels. they matched the dress perfectly. 

“and yours, mine and ours,” she sang gracefully as the music faded out and light illuminated the hall again. she smiled brightly at everyone as whistles and clapping erupted from her audience — how she had missed this. 

dua was the first one to join her on the stage again. “and with this, the 2024  grammys have officially begun. let’s all give a huge applause to amara imani for opening our night like this.”

again, huge applause filled the arena and amara playfully bowed down. 

“thank you for your warm welcome. it’s been a while since i last performed,” amara admitted sheepishly as she brushed some hair out of her face. 

“well given the audience, i think you were amazing,” dua congratulated her. “tell me your secret, how do you do it? be gorgeous and talented at the same time?”

“omg dua are you flirting with me?” amara asked shockingly, playfully putting a hand on her heart. “you’ve never been this nice.”

“took you long enough to catch up, huh?” both were grinning as they entertained the public, making the people present laugh. “okay but focus back. welcome to the 66th grammy awards everyone — a night created to celebrate some of the finest talent in the industry from pop to punk. i can assure you there is an award for everything, with big names, big performances and even bigger awards there is no shortage of entrainment for our viewers at home and here to enjoy. i’m dua…”

“and i’m amara. and we’re going to host the show tonight.” both finished the last words together, posing playfully. they laughed at each other again before dua pulled out the first envelope. “let’s kick off the night with our first winner.” 

amara thanked the person quickly that had handed them the envelope before giving it to dua who opened it. the stars were out in the sky and by the stage and both were in for a long night. 

the night was fully in motion. they had kicked off with announcing the grammy for best rock song of the year which had been followed by a performance from megan thee stallion and cardi b before several other winners had been announced. but none of the categories where amara had been nominated. the energy was high, everyone was in a good mood as they waited for the results of the night and there were no scandals that could be discussed slightly. 

she had even spotted evan, which truly confused her as she couldn’t find a reason why he would even be invited, but it didn’t bother her much anyway. tonight was about her. she could make history tonight, or better said, gain her place in history with eight nominations. though she didn’t think she would truly win all six.

amara found herself standing backstage as she watched lizzo perform while her heart pounded in her chest. just before the black beauty had started to entertain the public, they had read out the nominees for the category of “best r&b song”, a category she had been nominated under though. the energy in the room was beyond anything she could have imagined the last time with people dancing and singing along to songs. the nigerian singer found herself so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice that the performance was nearly over. as she looked up, her hands instantly clapped when she saw that lizzo was exiting the stage amidst roaring applause. 

the stage was set for another celebrity to grace it as all nominees started to hope that it was their name being called out. even amara reached for grace’s hand for support and squeezed it lightly to calm down some of her nervosity. all eyes were on kelly clarkson who was set to announce the winner. 

“okay, so i’ve got the envelope here.” she began as she opened the envelope. “and the grammy for best r&b song goes to… amara imani!”

the arena erupted in a loud, ear-baffling cheers as the spotlight shifted to the winner. her name was plastered across the big screen on the stage while her music filled the stage as she stood there, stunned and frozen in disbelief. 

it felt surreal. she had just won her first grammy. so many days and months she had dreamt of this moment and yet she still didn’t feel prepared. she had done it. 

“girl, this is your moment,” grace whispered to her quietly and amara slowly made her way to the stage. her sensations were on another end, a flying sensation running through her body. she passed many fellow stars, who congratulated her on her way and offered her beaming smiles as she made her way onto the stage. 

she was instantly pulled into a hug by adele before the award was handed to her and amara took some seconds, just to breathe. the trophy was heavier than she had expected but still the proudest thing she had ever won. though as she thought about it, she noticed how it paled a bit. two years ago, she might have felt complete with it but today — she had already achieved the feeling of content and happiness. 

her voice trembled slightly with emotion as she started her small thank-you speech. “hey again, i guess. oh mon dieu, this feels so surreal to me. like someone’s about to pinch me and tell me it wasn’t me. or maybe james cordon is about to jump out with a camera and that little show where they would prank people,” she joked making the audience laugh. she wiped away some tears that were threatening to roll down her cheek. “this grammy means so much to me. but it wasn’t just my work. i want to thank my family, my friends, my fans who didn’t let me down after this chaotic year that i had. that i could still do it. this is everyone’s work who believed that amara imani could do it one day. but this grammy also isn’t just for me because we all,” she continued, referring to the other nominees, “released some terrific music. and the fact i was nominated with you is a lot. i guess i just have one more thing to say and that goes specifically to my mother. mama, if you’re watching this, which you probably are… we made it. the little girl dancing in front of mirrors made it.”

once again, the audience erupted into applause, their cheers echoing for her well-deserved win. amara was still a bit paralyzed, after all she had just won a grammy in a category she had been nominated with along beyonce. her heart filled with gratitude as she saw the sea of faces that looked all happy to see her succeed. no matter if some of them were fake or not true smiles. she was the one leaving the stage with the golden trophy in her hand. 

and it wasn’t the only one she would win tonight. amara couldn’t describe her feelings when she found herself on the stage again as winner of the grammy for best r&b performance. her heart raced and her heartbeat quickened as she gracefully accepted the grammy trophy in her trembling hands. everything around her seemed to fade away with overwhelming emotions and feelings rushing through her body. she felt it from her head down to her legs, that were shaking a bit. all the hard work was paying off, hours she had spent not sleeping and working instead. this was a part of her legacy now. 

and what made it even more emotional was the fact that liyah was the one to have handed her the grammy. she had pulled amara into a big hug, both girls taking all their strength to not cry and ruin their makeup. they remembered the days when they were just two girls, starting university and barely managing to get by and now they stood on the stage of the grammys with one handing the other her award. the years spent on youtube, with the dream of illuminating the world with her music had finally come true. here she was, standing on the biggest stage and walking it down with her second grammy. 

“i’m sooo proud of you,” grace instantly congratulated her, pulling amara into a hug again. “you did it. you showed everyone your place in the industry is the top. this all your work.”

“our work,” amara managed to squeeze out. this wasn’t just her achievement — it belonged to everyone who was somehow involved with her and the album. it belonged as much to her as it belonged to grace because without the latter, none of this would even have been possible. “we did this together.”

her mind was running at high speed with thoughts and emotions. she wanted to say so much but her voice was betraying her with words stuck in her throat. nothing could describe this feeling, this moment of pride she felt. 

“let’s see our next categories,” amara and dua had gone on the stage again after a short break to continue hosting. the two had already announced the grammy for best rap album, best rap song and best country album amongst other numerous things. they entertained the audience with short playful acts and teasing that came to them naturally. and amara was smiling even more because now she stood there as a two-time grammy winner. 

“but first of all, let’s hear it for adele who is going to grace us with her beautiful voice. i swear that woman just knows how to make you feel better during a breakup,” amara announced, laughing at the end of her phrase. 

“and you had the hardest of all time. did you play adele on repeat?” dua went along and amara nudged her slightly. “i can imagine amara imani at home, listening to adele while filling her stomach with ice cream.”

“can you blame me? anyway let's hear it for adele.” the lights dimmed again as the curtains opened and adele appeared. the hosts left the stage quickly and took their places next to grace and liyah to listen to the british singer. 

the atmosphere was beautiful, a mix of admiration and warmth as adele brightened the stage. “easy on me” was definitely one of her top songs with the way the lyrics were able to pull someone in so quickly and literally attach them to her voice. listening to adele was a journey that had to be felt in every inch of the body, it went further than just listening to it. it reminded amara again, why she looked up to adele and beyoncé so much. 

the performance was nothing short of breathtaking, with her eyes recounting every detail of the song. the entire arena was left speechless again, singing quietly along but all eyes were on stage. when the final note had been sung, the room erupted into loud applause, a standing ovation that seemed to go on forever.

after adele’s performance, it was sza to take the stage and announce the winner for best pop/duo group performance. she stepped up to the microphone with a huge smile firstly expressed her love towards adele before naming the nominees again . 

amara subconsciously grabbed liyah’s and grace’s hand, squeezing them both as her leg trembled a bit because of all the anticipation. “and the winner is… wow, amara imani, come get your third grammy of the night.”

the cheers were deafening and the camera turned to amara to capture her expression. grace and liyah pulled her in for a group hug, the friendship trip jumping up and down as they celebrated. she accepted hugs from stars next to her, such as taylor swift and chloe bailey before making her way to the stage. the two black artists shared a short embrace before sza stepped aside to let amara speak. 

“is this normal? i mean winning one is already incredible but winning three — damn. firstly a big shoutout to cardi b because she slayed just as much as i did,” amara pointed to the female ripper and blew her extra air kisses before continuing, “okay, so big thank you again to my mother. for pushing me into the arts when i told you back then i didn’t want to. and a big thank you to my father, for sacrificing his time to accompany me to rehearsals instead of watching football — though i’m pretty sure, though i’m sure you’re not that mad about it. to my amazing fans, thank you too for putting up with me and not turning insane when everyone was labeling me as a crazy bitch.” laughter erupted throughout the arena as she paused for a moment. “thank you to my boyfriend without whom i guess this song wouldn’t exist. standard thank you to my besties grace and liyah, all those late night facetime calls were definitely worth it.”

“to all the other people who were nominated here, i loved your performances. adele, just wow and lizzo, i love you,” she blew a small kiss towards the black artist who copied the act. “and lastly before i forget, thank you to my bestie’s boyfriend charles leclerc and the amara imani protection squad. it’s lovely that you love me enough to stay up till six in the morning for me. i love you guys.”

applause erupted once more as amara finished her speech and left the stage again. she rejoined grace and liyah, giving them her grammy and sat down again. there would be a commercial break any moment, which amara wanted to use to change her dress. because the way it seemed, there was no doubt that she was the big winner of the night. 

breathtaking was the only word that came to mind as amara looked at herself in the mirror. the exquisite black gown was the definition of elegance and beauty and fit amara like a second skin. it was perfect for the announcement of the award that everyone had been waiting for — the grammy for album of the year. 

the dress had been a gift from versace and it reflected her beautifully. the classical mermaid dress, covered with a beautiful lacework and black crystals created an ethereal image of her. 

the shoulderless dress perfectly highlighted the jewelry she was be wearing. especially the beautiful necklace, kylian had gifted her. 

“wow,” liyah exclaimed as amara walked out, her eyes spotting her. “they don’t do things half-way, do they?”

amara only chuckled and did a little spin to show every angle of the dress. the gown especially showcased her décolletage and with it, her boobs that seemed to be bigger than they actually were in this dress. 

“you look breathtaking,” grace appeared from behind them, having chosen to change her dress too. “gorgeous isn’t enough to describe this dress.”

“but it’s you who makes it shine,” liyah finished. “i wanna borrow that dress asap.”

amara laughed. “poor charles. you’ll drive him crazy if you ever wear that dress.” 

“and don’t tell me you plan to wear it to a casual date. let’s not disrespect this masterpiece,” grace chimed in which resulted in both laughing.

liyah shrugged dismissively. “never. but the next driver’s gala, if me and charles are still going strong, why not wear it there…” she trailed off, a playful expression on her face. “make him leave earlier to take it off me… what’s for sure is that we’ll definitely not be able to christen some toilets in this.”

“liyah!” amara exclaimed and began to laugh, joined by grace who also started to laugh due to amara’s infectious smile. 

“we all know i’m right though. i’m the bad bitch to his big d energy. but enough about my relationship. let’s talk about you, miss five-time grammy-award winner. no one stands a chance tonight. and don’t forget our bet,” liyah threatened in a joking way. 

amara held up her hands. “don’t worry. let’s go now before i miss the last performance. and i want to see bruno mars live at least once in my life.”

the trio went back to their seats again and sat down just in time as the lights went out. amara quietly thanked taylor who complimented her outfit and send a radiant smile towards ella mai who had gushed about the dress. 

the nominee’s names had all been said already along with a small introduction for each album but before they could announce the winner, they would firstly be graced with a honorary performance from bruno mars. 

amara jumped up to her feet when the stage transformed into a light spectacle and bruno mars along with his usual band stepped out. the crowd erupted into screams as he launched into a medley of his greatest hits and amara found no shame in herself as she sang loudly along. and it seemed that she wasn’t the only one. 

the entire arena had gotten on their feet to dance to bruno mars. they sang along to every word of ‘locked out of heaven’ screaming around out of joy. bruno mars certainly held that power — bringing together everyone and getting everybody to dance. 

it felt too short as the last notes of his performance were played out and the song came to an end. amara was one of the first persons to clap, hardly being able to contain her excitement. after bruno mars performance, she felt recharged with energy again. his performance just brightened the whole atmosphere. especially because the evening was coming to an end. 

it was the vibing of her phone that tore her attention away from the stage as she picked up her phone. instantly a smile appeared on her face when she saw that it was kylian and she instantly opened it. they had spoken earlier but it had been to his time, shortly before nine and amara couldn’t imagine him being awake now if it hadn’t been for her. 

𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄

amara turned around, hoping to spot kylian wherever he was hiding but it was useless since the biggest award of the night was about to be announced. she would be lying if she wasn’t nervous even though she had already won five prices that night. but the sixth would make her break history, mark her place in the music industry. she knew that this moment could change her career forever — winning six grammys in one night. and knowing that kylian was there suddenly seemed to make everything sound not as bad as it seemed. 

“oh mon dieu, beyoncé is going to present the award,” liyah exclaimed, her eyes widening. 

as usual, the audience clapped loudly and whistles when beyoncé took the stage, walking elegantly towards the microphone. amara felt a sort of intimidation as she looked at beyoncé, knowing what the woman in front represented. excellence, grace, talent. simply perfection. 

and she was more than that for amara. she was the one to get amara into the music industry, she discovered her and made sure that her star was shining. there was a bond between them since the recording of brown skin girl — a mentor-student relationship that had made her rise. 

the renowned artist began with a small recounting of how she used to stand down there and reflected shortly on how all those albums actually deserved an award. opening the envelope, beyoncé did a small double take before laughing. smiling she announced into the microphone, “and the grammy for best album of the year goes to… amara imani. congratulations!”

one second, everyone was processing what had just happened, the next amara found herself engulfed by liyah and grace and three girls were jumping up and down. a few tears of joy were streaming down her face as she celebrated, not really believing what had just happened. when the two let go, amara was pulled into hug by cardi b followed by taylor swift before she made her way upstage. 

she approached the microphone slowly and tenderly embraced beyoncé who passed her the golden trophy. amara wiped away some of her tears, her head already looking for ways on how to form a sixth thank you speech. her eyes mirrored gratitude and happiness— she felt out of this world. 

“congratulations amara. you just put yourself onto history,” beyoncé praised her. “i am so proud that i was your mentor and helped you get there.”

“if anything i need to thank you for even giving me a chance. for actually being there for me. thank you queen b,” she thanked the woman in front of her, who smiled at her fondly and placed her heart on her heart. “this dream became true because of you. you are so much more than just my mentor. you were my inspiration and my idol. and that will never change.”

everyone smiled softly as they watched amara imani and beyoncé share an emotional moment that was finalized with a big hug. everyone knew the little background story to them; how beyoncé has started praising a random black girl on youtube to even inviting her for a collaboration — the queen had always had her back. their bond resembled a mother-daughter bond. 

after both pulled away from their hug, beyoncé left the stage and it was time for amara to hold her last thank you speech. her eyes scanned the room, where they spotted her best friends grinning teasingly at her and suddenly amara had the perfect idea. 

“so the first two person that i want to say thank you are my parents. it’s because of them and their desire to give me the world that i am here. thank you to my sister for always pulling me up and backing me when i needed you. then my best friends, liyah and grace who is also my manager because honestly, i don’t know if amara imani would exist if it wasn’t for those two. they built me up, made me stronger and showed me that family was more than just blood. a big shoutout to my entire team — you did all the hard work. i just wrote the songs but you guys are the ones who spend hours and hours adjusting everything, letting everything sound perfectly and making sure that every tune is sounding the way it should. it’s more work than people think and you deserve this prideful feeling as much as me.”

a small grin made its way on her lips when she finally spotted kylian. she took a deep breath — this was the moment everyone was waiting for. millions of people were watching just to see whether she would finally uncover the mystery of her beau to the world.

“and lastly, i want to thank the love of my life who inspired me to write this entire album. kylian, this album was for you— this grammy belongs to you because all i did was just writing about the way you were loving me. about the way we loved,” she expressed, laughing as she looked him straight into the eyes. shocked gasps, whistles and whispers of astonishment erupted throughout the crowd as they followed amara’s eyes and fell onto kylian. even the cameras were zooming in to catch the revealing moment. 

“thank you for going to training tiredly just because you stayed up all night, listening to me rehearsing. thank you for enduring all of my weird mood swings during the process of recording this album or organizing self-care days because you saw how tired i was. for giving me inspiration to even write this,” she wiped away a tear that had escaped, “i want to thank you for staying with me — even at my lowest and hardest times. there are so many things i want to thank you for but i doubt we have enough time for that. but one last thing: mon amour, je t’aime.”

a roar of applause, bigger than any tonight, rolled over the entire audience. everyone was clapping with smiles on their faces and the camera zoomed in on kylian’s face — everyone was excited to finally get a look at the man who had captured amara imani’s heart. 

since she was scheduled to perform now anyway, amara just waited for dua to join her on stage again. grace had informed her that the winner of album of the year would be performing and in this case it had been her. and amara wanted hers to be the most memorable one from the past. 

dua pulled her into a tight hug, congratulating her before announcing the nigerian singer just as tradition asked for it as the winner of the night and calling her up for her performance. 

“soo… at first i thought about performing xo but honestly… i don’t feel like this song fits now and i lost a bet,” amara chuckled, “so i thought of something else. just like i promised. i do have one special request for someone.” 

her eyes stared straight at him. “kylian, would you please join me on stage?”

the french striker furrowed his eyebrows, a confused expression turning up on his face as he listened to her request. his eyes darted around his surroundings, numerous celebrities encircling him. he looked at her, waiting for her to explain her request but she just nodded at him, waiting for him. 

grace nudged him lightly. “go,” she motivated him and he reluctantly got up from his seat to join his girlfriend on stage, greeting some celebrities on his way up that he had met with psg before. even though he, himself, was a celebrity he felt like an outsider at the grammys, surrounded by all those stars and artists. 

“want to tell me what you’ve got planned?” kylian whispered quietly, making sure his words weren’t picked up by the microphone.

“nope,” amara responded shortly. “just relax and enjoy.” 

the stage lights went dark again as the music started to play in the background. just like always, when the two were together, the world around them started to blur and only they mattered. no one else fit into their blurb, everything around them just faded away. 

their stare went deeper than just their iris, with their eyes going deeper than just the soul, as the music played in the back. time was frozen at the moment; they didn’t care if millions of people were currently watching them on tv — no one else mattered. this was their moment. 

“‘telling everybody you’re mine and i like it, and i really hope you don’t mind i can’t fight it.” her voice was soft, tender as she sang to him, her dark-brown eyes not leaving him. her body nearly melted in his embrace, his hands steady on her waist as they swayed on the stage together. if her voice didn’t tell their love story, their eyes and the way they looked at each other definitely did. his eyes held a kind of look, elderly people often told their grandchildren about in tales: the look of love, that completely enamored look that had taken over his entire face. that innocent kind of love that had become so rare around the world. if destiny ever made them go separate ways, then faith was truly cruel. 

every word hit him deeper than any ball he had ever received and went through his soul. each word was sung with a certain sincerity, vulnerability— amara was laying all of herself over for him, every of her walls. just for him. 

“that we found the one in one another”

his hands were wrapped around her waist, with her back facing him as she buried her head in his shoulders, leaning back. their bodies fit like a puzzle and the feeling of comfort spread instantly while they danced slowly to the rhythm, lost in each other and the meaning of the song. 

amara had never planned to actually release the song — her true and final love letter to kylian. but she had made the mistake of showing liyah and grace the unreleased song and both had instantly fallen in love with it which is how they came to the bet. and now amara was happy that she had accepted and lost the bet because the moment she was currently sharing with kylian — no money on the world could ever buy her that feeling again. 

“spend my life with you, alright”

 their chemistry was undeniable. even a blind man would be able to see how much in love they were. just the way they moved, perfectly synchronized with that certain amount of grace and elegance.  

the french striker was definitely more than mesmerized by her. his heart belonged to her and only her. no words did justice to describe her as she sang—even angelic was not enough to describe her. and she was more than just the sun in his universe. and it was vice versa. 

kylian was more to her than just her soulmate. no term in any language would ever measure up to the significance he held in her heart. nothing could ever compare to the feelings that emerged when he held her or just smile at her. the way his smile managed to drown out everything else. even memorizing it wasn’t enough anymore, she needed to see it constantly. and she had fallen in love with every flaw that he portrayed and carried. they had created a safe space around each other, that let them live like they wanted. amara had simply found her best friend in her lover; the true significance to a soul mate. 

“baby, while we’re young,” amara began to sing the last verses, as the rhythm became easier and the music started to fade out. she was smiling bigly, her cheeks from hurting from its width but she couldn’t stop herself. the amount of serotonin her body was producing at the moment was too much to not show any signs of it. and it seemed kylian was feeling the same. “and walk hand in hand to the sun.”

the song officially came to an end as kylian gave amara one last spin. they both leaned in, foreheads touching as they stared at each other utterly enamored. they didn’t have to say anything, their grins were enough to communicate with each other. even as havoc broke out in the audience, with applause rushing over along with whistles and calls for more but the two did not let go of each other. 

“je t’aime,” amara mouthed, exhausted but happy nonetheless. 

“plus que la galaxie.” he finished, matching her facial expression. 

in the end, the only time they needed was for each other. they were enough for each other, completely in love and ready to face the world together. 

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

𝐤.𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞

liked by amara.imani, achrafhakimi and 28.083.964 others

k.mbappe mon amour 

view all 372.546 comments

username THE WAY I SCREAMED

username MY PARENTS

username i want what they have 😫

username same, like WHEN IS IT MY TURN

amara.imani je t’aime

k.mbappe 🫶🏾 

username new power couple incoming

ousmanedembele finally! it was getting so hard to keep it a secret

antogriezmann talking as if you haven’t spilled it to everyone you met

username we all owe this man an apology

username FR like sorry, we were not familiar with your game

username and the caption: mon amour 😭😭

username especially because amara posted je t’aime, they’re such an iconic couple

username just looking at all those pictures, makes me cry. they look so in love

username but how were they able to keep it a secret for soo long

username mbappe scoring on and off the pitch

username MY NEW PARENTS

username same, i just want them to adopt me

achrafhakimi A HARD LAUNCH IN THIS OCONOMY

ousmane_dembele we taught him so well

jkeey4 FINALLY! NOW I CAN FINALLY HYPE HER UP IN PUBLIC

aurelientchm DANCE PARTY AT THE NEXT RESSEMBLÉ

amara.imani THE GANG IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER

paulpogba ma sister, welcome to the family officially 

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢

liked by liyah_clark, k.mbappe and 29.754.368 others

amara.imani je t’aime

view all 172.530 comments

username i fuckin knew it

k.mbappe t’es ma reine

amara.imani mon roi

username WHAT WHAT— WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN

username i literally screamed when she hard launched her relationship yesterday

username how were we sooo blind

liyah_clark you guys are soo cute

liyah_clark i also just wanna brag that we were the first persons she told about kylian

graceywood remember when she freaked out because he kissed her on the cheek?

liyah_clark omg stop. you’re making me feel old 

graceywood feels like such a long time ago when they were pining after each other

antonellarocuzzi welcome to the wag life

username oh my godd, why can’t that be me 😫

username WHAT DID WE MISS

username how the heck did kylian mbappe pull my wife?

username MAMA WHO’S THIS

landonorris the fact we were the first to know

charles_leclerc surprised you didn’t spill it immediately 

pierregasly liyah threatened him to keep his mouth shut

liyah_clark accusations!

lewishamilton congratulations to you two, you make a beautiful couple

amara.imani thank u sir

[taboo-delusion]

So, I just discovered something interesting.

This is a bit of a long one, so bear with me. It's important. Seriously.

I just woke up a few hours ago. My meds are starting to kick in. I was having a very serious and genuine, deep conversation (in-head) and it was... beautiful. It wasn't happy, but it was beautiful. Not the point.

Point is:

I had not had a single fucking intrusive thought today until someone made a noise in the other room.

I am so fucking PISSED OFF

Why my brain refuses to realize that intrusive thoughts CAUSED the good feeling to go away, I have no fucking idea. I've known that for almost a year now, yet my stupid fucking subconscious refuses to change anything it's doing

Before I snap my fucking android phone in half and yeet somebody's face into neptune, I thought I'd share the discovery!!!!

Basically:

MY INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS DID NOT START UNTIL SOMETHING STARTLED ME OUT OF FOCUS

AS I TYPE THIS, I REALIZE THAT INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS -AT LEAST FOR ADHDERS- ARE A SURVIVAL TACTIC.

Elaborating:

When you fall asleep and your heart slows too much, your body does the falling thing to make sure you're still alive.

It's not that intrusive thoughts are *Just* because your brain gets too quiet, It's because your life has never been completely quite before, or -like me- the few times it is quiet, something interrupts. And even if it doesn't piss you off, even if you don't jump like I do, your brain still registers it as not safe.

--

Falling asleep, heart slows a lot-

Body: *Sends adrenaline just to make sure it still actually works.*

Drowning, even mostly unconscious-

Body and brain: *Hold onto that last half-breath even if it feels like you're head is going to explode.*

Going grocery shopping or talking to someone you think is cool-

Brain: *Remembers what it felt like the first time your guardian was indifferent or mean about something that made you happy or calm.*

Things around you actually get quiet-

Brain *Sends a thought you hate just to make sure you're prepared for a sudden problem.*

TDLR 1: Your brain isn't mean on purpose, It's just paranoid and still has a will to live.

Listen. I know I'm just some random dude from a weird blog. But I'm trying to translate, to assist. Maybe somebody else needs this realization as much as I do. I apologize for the yelling earlier. I'm still just as upset, but only at my dumbass subconscious. Now some time has passed, and I have regained self-control.

(I also apologize for the above paragraph, my brain nags for me to do this, but I can't remember why. So:)

I am no psychologist. Here are my qualifications (why you should listen to me):

As my friends call it- "Disturbingly self-aware at all times."

Paranoid Schizophrenic with actual (unrelated) OCD, with years of experience dealing with it- more healthily in recent years.

Philosophy and deep thinking is simply my default. I use metaphors, but everything in this post is entirely literal, ...except the angry threat. (*begrudgingly accepts disappointment*)

I am a fiction writer. I don't know about healing people/first aid, but I know a LOT about how anatomy works, with many deep-dives on the psychology/evolution side.

People irl generally consider me a genius? Idk how to gauge that, IQ tests are irrelevant with this type of... smart?. I've been compared to both Da Vinci and Einstein. So, ...actually that's pretty fuckin' cool- (I AM NOT TRYING TO BRAG! I APOLOGIZE IF IT COMES OFF THAT WAY! I've never put it all down like this, and I'm just surprised and questioning my reputation.)

(Also, I love playing detective, so naturally I call myself Batman XD.)

Autistic; I experience the world, and every situation, from a view without any context.

ADHD: My brain automatically -As a guardian I hate describes- "Can watch three different movies at the same time, all in fast forward, and can keep up with all of them." ... Well, yes, but technically no. Idk if other ADHD people do this, but my brain "connects the dots" so quickly, I end up laughing at jokes I've never heard before the 'punchline', because I've already figured out what you're going to say next.

Now combine all that. I am kicking depression's ass and now I want to help you do the same.

I have only mentioned the relevant things. Please keep in mind that ALL of these have both advantages and disasters. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I am running on four hours of sleep. For the love of whatever, I hope this actually helps someone other than me.

Qualifications are noted because: This is all stuff (and stuff like this) that I am just always casually aware of.

TLDR2: Even if I wasn't trying to help people feel better, Apparently I was born with a nat 20 perception/insight check, so please don't argue that I truly understand what I'm talking about here.

[onyichii]

My Reply to you Cocogum

This is a response to @cocogum post! Since it is SUPER LONG! Imma start doing this instead of reblogging if I have a lot to say.

OG Post by COCOGUM:

YES COCOGUM!! I am LOVING YOUR ENTIRE POST! I have a few thoughts to add...

A) I'm happy her hair is growing out too! I hope she eventually has hair as long as her mothers.

I want her to look like a forest goddess.

I think the growth is a symbol of just (as you said) being happy or at peace. In TV/movies people cut their hair as a symbol of change (freedom from the past) and grow it out again (sometimes) when they're at a new happy place. As we have seen, her hair and that green leaf she sports now are a symbol of her new found happiness.

B) I too was not expecting the "adult fun time" scene but i am hoping we get A TON more especially if this series is gonna be 100 chapters. I want more fluff, more hugs, more kisses, more f--ks! lol Put a baby (or three) in her Yugo! Give the Sadida kingdom an heir!

I can see where you are coming from that Yugo was having a wet dream. If that's the case, that is funny because he (presumably) had just pollinated his flower queen and he is dreaming of doing it again! 😀😀 And he called her tireless!? LMAO. Whether it was a dream or they were interrupted before the nut we can agree that they are BOTH hungry for each others touch/warmth (based on that scene alone).

I still think they were interrupted before they...made sap🌳and fell from the air.

I think the "adult fun time" positions you were suggesting are accurate and I can see Yugo switching too. I think it would depend on who initiates it. When she initiates she's top but when he initiates he'd top....sometimes (not all the time because as you said—he loves the view)! lol

C) For the open room. I think the construction of the floor (or level) gives them privacy. Like a long corridor before the room entrance. And at the entrance to the corridor there'd be a magical cotton bell (as seen in s3) that rings when pulled to let the royals know when servants want to enter. BUT if there is no magical door bell (OR ANYTHING) that is bold of them!! lol.

Rereading your post...if the doorway is open like that it makes me think of this quote (the last quote at 1:40) from the film Scary Movie (watch from 1:30 to 1:42 for context)

D) So I am GLAD people have been bringing up Draconiros. I am not deep into the WAKFU/KROZMOS/DOFUS universe and had NO IDEA who he was nor any of the other primordial dragons.

I got into Wakfu for Amalia. I thought she and Yugo would be cute from all the hugs she gave him. When they canonized a potential Yumalia (in the OVA) I STANNED for their star-crossed lover romance that could never be. I love the whole cast but Amalia's character design is so cute/fun (it drew me into Wakfu).

Anyway, I am curious if Draconiros is ALSO responsible for Nora's daydream in ep 4 of season 4. THIS SCENE ALWAYS THREW ME OFF!

I feel like this scene was added for two three purposes... 1) to introduce the audience to Efrim (in a foreshadowing way) 2) to add to what Oropo says in episode 1. Questioning Yugo's "good" intentions and actions which have caused (and WILL CAUSE) trouble for the World of Twelve. 3) To sneakily, introduce Draconiros (without the audience knowing).

The reason why I think this is Draconiros and NOT Efrim is because—how would Efrim know any of what was said in that scene? Efrim is in the Necroworld at this moment. He and Nora were in the Krozmos away from the World of Twelve for a long time. There is NO WAY Efrim would know about YUGO's effects on the World of Twelve. At none, that I can think of...

Which also brings to question, how did the Goddess Eliatrope know the Brotherhood of the Tofu and everyones names when they entered the temple? Did I miss something? I mean Quilby could have told them some things. From before his imprisonment...but I digress...

Anyway, I think Draconiros took on Efrims form/voice in s4. And now he is making an official appearance in the manga.

If they had shown Draconiros in season 4, it would be a loose end. And Tot wanted to wrap the animation up without any loose ends. So (to me) it'd make sense not to show Draconiros' true form at all in s4 and have him take on Efrims form/voice.

E) I think this dude is gonna be a problem. But I may be over thinking 🤷‍♀️. And shouldn't he be referring to her as QUEEN Amalia instead of LADY Amalia? Does he have some passive aggressive beef with her? Or is it okay to refer to a Queen as Lady instead. I feel like the Sadida's are more chill about titles (compared to other kingdoms) but...idk.

His character design (in this scene) is just giving...bad guy or pawn to me. If I am right, he could play a betrayal role (if the plot takes that turn). I do not see him being a fan of the Eliatropes either.

F) And I agree that the Sadida kingodm is tense with it's new residence. I'm glad you brought up the perspective from the Sadida but let's talk about it a little more with a Eliatrope in mind...

The Eliatrope have NEVER had to live with another race before. EVER. They had their OWN PLANET. No other race existed on there but them.

Thanks to Baltazar (in s2) they had been watching Yugo through the Eliacube, but have they been taking notes on the customs of the world around him?

Being on a new planet with so many races must be a SHOCK to them. ADDITIONALLY, they haven't interreacted with anyone but each other for goddess knows how long!!! So the communication, customs, cultures, and everything probably hit them like a TON OF BRICKS. I would assume that they don't (quite) understand what tolerance and acceptance of other cultures is thanks to their isolation too.

However, it is something they are gonna have to learn. Starting with the Sadida race.

Since they're teens I think (...well, I hope) it'll be easier for them to learn and integrate into the world of twelve via the Sadida Kingdom.

ALSO...It will take time for the Sadida's to be comfortable with the Eliatropes too. I mean...people have been trying to take their homeland (via possess the tree of life) for a long time. It's no surprise that they are weary/tense of some alien race residing on said homeland. They may know Yugo, but they don't know his people. They probably think they'll take over....IDK.

But I am here for the tea! 🫖🍵

FRIDAY NEEDS TO HURRY UP!!

[always-a-king-or-queen]

there are literally so many reasons why we don't need a third Narnia adaptation

first of all, while they might not be the most accurate, the Disney movies are actually so good and, in my opinion, still manage to capture the heart and soul of the series and what it's truly about. The characters are each perfectly portrayed; the Pevensies act like actual siblings and yet love each other dearly and would die for each other even through all the petty arguments; the music creates perfect atmosphere and emotion and never fails to make me tear up or get shivers down my spine; and the CGI is honestly just absolutely stunning.

I really do not feel like we need another adaptation by Netflix.

Especially not through Netflix.

Netflix has already been known to mess up so many shows and movies by completely changing the source material or adding in unnecessary things that completely take away from the purpose of the story. I can already see them warping Narnia into something that barely even resembles the books, that strips it of its purpose and simply makes it about a fantasy world, nothing more. I've already seen posts saying that the new movies just can't end the way the books end, that heaven must be explained away, that Susan never forgets and falls down a dark path, that the faith aspect must be taken out so as not to offend new viewers.

Here's the thing.

If you take faith out of Narnia, you remove the very heart of the series. you remove the entire purpose. Because Narnia is entirely about faith, and trust, and Someone greater than yourself who sacrifices everything to save your own traitorous soul. the Disney movies did not shy away from portraying this faith as openly as possible. if anyone was offended, I've never seen proof. I have seen many nonbelievers talk about how much they were affected by Aslan's death, which goes to show that you simply don't have to be Christian to understand what Narnia is about, and to love and enjoy it.

So if these new remakes remove the faith aspect, then what is the point? four siblings go to a magical land and save it from a witch and befriend a talking lion with nothing special about him and live there as kings and queens and return home and live happily ever after? there is no sacrifice, there is no "he's not tame, but he is good," there is no creation, there is no redemption, there is no last battle, there is no "in your world, I have another name", there is no sister straying down a dark path because she has forgotten how to hope, and then returning because her story is unfinished and the road to heaven is paved with flowers that symbolize her name.

so then, what are you left with? Aslan is just a talking lion, nothing more. the stone table never cracks, the sun never rises. "That by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there" is forgotten entirely, because why would Aslan exist in our world if he is merely a talking lion in Narnia? Aslan's country is changed to be something else, and there is nothing about how Aslan suddenly no longer looks like a lion, and how the things that happened after are more great and beautiful than can be described. Edmund's life is never threatened because of his traitorous deeds; Aslan never offers his own life in place of a guilty boy, is never killed, is never resurrected.

the very core of Narnia is removed, and what you are left with is emptiness.

sure, it might make for a good fantasy story nonetheless. you might still have sweeping views and epic music and an intriguing plotline, but something will always feel like it is missing. like there is an empty hole, desperately needing to be filled.

of course, I don't know that all of that will happen; it's just speculation at this point. But I am fairly sure that it is safe to predict these upcoming movies as such. I highly doubt the producers will want to include the faith that shapes Narnia, because according to them, having a faith aspect means less viewers since too many people would be offended.

but if only they would look at the already wonderful existing adaptations, they would know that is simply not the case.

[st-eve-barnes]

You know that I'm no good (chapter 4)

(Modern Aegon x fem Reader, Modern Sihtric x fem Reader)

Summary: You want Sihtric. Aegon wants Skade. There's only one small problem: Sihtric and Skade are dating each other.

This chapter: Aegon takes you out on another date and Helaena's concerns grow. Lots of fluff in this one ;)

Warning for the entire series: 18+ for explicit language and smut. Angst/comfort/fluff. Fake dating and so much mutual pining. Mentions of depression/drinking/self harm.

This is an Aegon x Reader fic with a bit of Sihtric x Reader on the side. I've wanted to write a modern AU that combines The Last Kingdom and House of the dragon for a while now so here it is!

Word count: +2400

Masterlist

***

All my fics are also on AO3

***

You didn’t see Aegon, or Sihtric, for another week and your initial excitement had soon died down when you realized a potential invite to do something together wasn’t an actual invite to do something together. Sihtric had probably already forgotten he ever mentioned it, and he most likely just said that to be polite to you, not because he really wanted to do it.

So you let yourself get absorbed by work that week, only texting Helaena every now and then. When Friday night came along and you hadn’t heard from Aegon you were getting ready to install yourself on the couch with some pizza and catch up on some Netflix shows you’d been missing out on.

The knock on the door made you want to smack whoever was on the other end and for a moment you contemplated just ignoring it. But then they knocked again.

“I know you’re home, buttercup, I can see the lights on,” Aegon’s voice reached through the door, making you sigh.

You stumbled to your front door and opened it.”What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“People usually call before they drop by.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t planning on it but Aemond just texted me there’s a movie festival over by the river, it’s like right there in front of your apartment.”

His eyes took you in from top to bottom, checking out your pink Hello Kitty top and sweat pants and then meeting your eyes with a little grin. “And it definitely looks like you didn’t have any plans tonight,” he concluded. 

“Doing nothing and watching Netflix is my plan,” you answered while giving him an angry glare.

“Come on, please,” he begged,”It’s like the perfect couples activity, I bet Sihtric and Skade will be there.”

You sighed dramatically but also opened the door to let him step inside your apartment.

“Remember when I said I’d regret dating you? This is the moment.”

Aegon just smiled and plopped himself down onto your couch, browsing through the Netflix menu while you moved to your bedroom to start changing.

***

Your dread about going out disappeared as soon as you arrived by the outdoor cinema, its cozy lights and comfortable seating by the water looked so inviting. You hated to admit it but this looked a lot better than your stuffy couch and Netflix.

Aegon got you both some drinks and popcorn while you looked for a suitable spot. You settled for one of the blankets right by the water and you quickly scanned the area for any sighting of Sihtric or Skade but to no avail.

Aegon found you just in time for the commercials to start.

“I never asked you what movie they’re playing,” you suddenly realized.

“Oh, Notting Hill,” he mentioned casually and you hit him on the arm with the biggest grin on your face.

”If you had just said that right away I wouldn’t have objected!”

Aegon smiled at your enthusiasm,”That one of your favorites, is it?”

“Of course! God, I love that movie, you have no idea,” you squeezed his arm,”Thank you so much for taking me.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he smiled and shook his head, unable to look away from you for a moment.

You both watched the commercials and then the movie started. You sighed annoyed at several couple arriving late and blocking your view but your irritation faded quickly when you recognized Skade’s long blonde curls and saw that Sihtric was right behind her. They found a seat not far from where you both were sitting.

“Told you,” Aegon grinned.

“Alright, you were right, now shut up and let me watch the movie.”

He laughed at your obvious irritation and took advantage of how focussed you were on the screen to let his eyes roam all over you again. Skade was right there yet he could’t tear his eyes away from you, what was up with that? He took another long sip from his drink and tried to shake it off.

You’d been so engulfed by the movie you hadn’t realized Aegon hadn’t touched you at all yet tonight until your eyes caught sight of Sihtric and Skade halfway in the film. They were cuddling up together and making out and behaving as an actual couple should behave and suddenly your good mood just dropped.

You forced yourself to look away from them and just watch the screen again but you were unable to hide the disappointment on your face. Aegon noticed the shift in your mood.

“You okay?” he asked,”Do you need me to get you another drink? Some ice?”

“No, I’m good,” you answered, not taking your eyes off the screen to look at him. You both continued watching the movie in silence for a while until Aegon noticed you were shivering.

“You cold?” he asked softly.

“A little bit,” you confessed,”I should have brought a sweater or something, it’s my fault.”

Aegon took off his jacket without giving it any second thought and gently placed it over your shoulders.”Put it on.”

You looked away from the screen to give him a grateful smile and did as he suggested.”Thanks, what about you though?”

“Targaryen blood, the cold doesn’t bother me.”

You couldn’t help but laugh,”Okay, Elsa.”

This made Aegon laugh as well and he bumped his shoulder against yours, moving to sit a little closer to you.

“You gonna eat all that popcorn?” you asked, pointing towards his cup that was still half full while yours was empty.

“Oh, you’re going to take that from me as well now?” he teased,”You’re such a needy girlfriend, jesus.”

But he didn’t hesitate to put his cup in the middle so you could reach in.

“Sorry,” you grinned up at him and you both stared at each other for a moment.

You broke eye contact first and turned to watch the screen again. Aegon grabbed a handful of popcorn and then offered some to you. He kept doing that throughout the rest of the movie, letting you eat out of his hand, smiling quietly every time your fingers brushed his.

Without even realizing it you’d been leaning closer and closer to him until your head was resting on his shoulder.

Aegon’s arm moved around you, his hand softly caressing your hair while you watched the movie and he fed you popcorn.

It happened so naturally, you were both just playing of course, just doing what couples were supposed to do. A quick brush of his lips against your forehead, your hand grabbing at his shirt to hug him a little closer, just to keep him warm (or so you told yourself). 

Him reciprocating, pulling you even closer to him. His hand moving from your hair down to your neck to turn your face towards his, and then his lips were on yours, kissing you so softly and so slowly you felt like your entire body was suddenly on fire. 

His tongue teased your bottom lip, asking for entrance and you opened up for him so easily and eagerly.

The ending of the movie was lost on you both, nothing else existed apart from his lips on yours and his hands grabbing at your waist, holding you so close and so tight as if he was afraid you would pull away from him the second he let you go.

But you didn’t pull away at all, you got so lost in his kisses the rest of the world around you both disappeared, even your favorite romcom didn’t matter anymore.

The movie was long over by the time you both came up for air. Aegon breathing hard and fast, you unable to stop from smiling and biting your lip. He cupped your cheek again, gently while pressing his forehead against yours, giving you a tiny smile before he leaned in and kissed you again. Softer this time, drinking in every little sigh and whimper from your lips before his tongue slipped into your mouth to deepen the kiss, devouring you with a hunger that left you breathless.

“Aegon,” you moaned softly and he hesitantly pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered,”God, sorry, I got carried away a little…sorry.”

“No, I…I didn’t mind,” you reassured him and when your eyes met his you both smiled.

“I should have asked if you were okay with that first,” he whispered.

“I’m okay with it,” you answered quickly, making his smile even brighter and he broke eye contact, biting his lip.

His hands were still on you, caressing your neck and your hip. Your hands were firmly tangled into his shirt. Neither of you making any attempts to let go of the other.

Your head felt dizzy, your lips still burning from his kisses and your heart was pounding in your chest. You couldn’t bear to look at him right now knowing it would only make you want to kiss him again. And at the same time you couldn’t not look at him.

Aegon’s eyes were soft but his pupils were dilated, he seemed to have trouble focussing on your eyes, his gaze dropping down to your lips every few seconds. He softly pressed his forehead against your temple, nuzzling your cheek. His breath was hot against your skin as his lips inched closer and closer to yours again, obviously still craving more.

You had never wanted anyone so bad and in that moment the realization hit you like a freight train…this had nothing to do with being touch starved anymore, and it no longer had anything to do with making Sihtric notice you either. 

You were falling for Aegon, hard and fast.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

You pushed him back and shook your head,”You should take me home now.”

***

It was Wednesday and you were having your weekly lunch with Helaena by the town’s square. It had been almost a week since the movie date, you hadn’t seen or heard Aegon since. He’d behaved like a true gentleman that night and walked you home without laying another hand on you. 

You hated it. 

Because it made everything very clear, he was still just following the plan, his affection for you disappearing as soon as your audience disappeared. And you felt like a fool for thinking anything else. 

Skade was the girl he wanted, you knew that and you also knew that wasn’t going to change. You weren’t Aegon’s type, just like he wasn’t yours. Sihtric was the one you wanted. Even if you had to remind yourself of that fact right now. You tried to visualize Sihtric’s beautiful eyes and smile but all that filled your head was Aegon’s sweet moans as he kissed you and the way his tongue felt against yours.

“Y/N!” Helaena hit you in the face with one of her fries, eyeing you suspiciously from behind her plate,”What’s with you today? You’re a million miles away.”

“It’s nothing, I’m fine, it’s just pms,” you lied through your teeth. 

You hated lying to Helaena but you also didn’t want her to lecture you right now and you knew she would if you were going to admit you were developing feelings for her idiot brother.

“You sure?” she insisted.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just not hungry.”

“Then you’re not fine, babe.”

You laughed and shook your head.

“How’s fake dating my brother going?” she then asked.

“It’s fine.”

Helaena just kept staring at you,”You use the word fine one more time and I’m hitting you with my burger.”

“It’s fi…it’s going alright, that better?”

“No, it’s not because you’re lying to me.”

Your eyes met hers, suddenly afraid of what she was going to say next.

“You don’t need to worry, it’s nothing,” you tried to reassure her but Helaena knew you better than that.

“You can tell me, you know, I’m your best friend. Even if it’s about Aegon, you can tell me.”

Hearing her say his name was enough to make you feel emotional, it was just a few seconds but it was enough for Helaena to catch on and she sighed deeply.

“Oh no, babe, I warned you about this.”

“I know, okay,” you sighed.

“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him,” she begged.

“Of course I didn’t sleep with him, Hel!”

“Please tell me you don’t want to sleep with him.”

You opened your mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Helaena covered her face with both hands, shaking her head with a desperate sigh.

“I’m sorry,” was all you could say.

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” she then said and she reached for your hand across the table,”Look at me for a second and give me your hand.”

You did as she asked.

“You’re my best friend,” she continued,”and I need you to hear me, okay, really hear me.”

You nodded your head, mentally preparing for what would follow.

But she just squeezed your hand and met your eyes with a serious look,”When I say you shouldn’t get involved with Aegon I mean it, babe. I know he’s nice and I know he’s probably being really sweet with you right now because that’s what he does, he’ll make you fall for him and he’ll make you believe you’re the one that’s going to change him, or fix him. But trust me when I say my brother is unfixable.”

“Nobody is unfixable,” you disagreed.

“Aegon is,” she answered and there was a sad tone to her voice now that somehow scared you more than her words,”He’s…there’s so much you don’t know, Y/N.”

And now her words were scaring you as well.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

You could see the hesitation on her face and after a while she shook her head.”It’s not my story to tell,” she eventually opted and gave your hand another squeeze,”Just please trust me on this. Have your fun with him, fuck him if you must but do not fall in love with him because it will not end well. You’re my best friend and I don’t want that for you.”

“Okay,” you nodded,”I will try, that’s all I can promise, okay?”

It wasn’t that you didn’t believe her, you wholeheartedly did, but you couldn’t make a promise you didn’t trust yourself to be able to keep.

Helaena nodded but you could see the doubt in her eyes, she let go of your hand and leaned back,”So how are things with the Viking then?”

You smiled,”I wouldn’t know, he hasn’t spoken a word to me since that one time at Jace’s party.”

“You should probably get on that then,” her look was so uncharacteristically serious you couldn’t help but throw one of your fries into her face. At first she didn’t react but then she burst out in laughter anyway, hitting you with her napkin.

“Bitch.”

[haerinari]

ᖗ Best Friends

— pairing: childhood best friend!ni-ki x reader.

— genre: fluff

— warnings: none

— plot: your best friend since childhood Ni-ki, has been more touchy than usual.

“How about we go out tomorrow?” Said Ni-ki, he is your best friend since you were little kids.

“That’s sounds amazing” you respond. Tomorrow was Friday, so you had nothing to do. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Maybe we can go eat and buy some clothes, you are dressing horrible this days” he said joking. “Hey! There is nothing wrong with my clothes” you respond. “Just because you have better taste in fashion than me doesn’t mean I don’t dress good”.

“Yeah, whatever” he responded. “I will buy you new clothes tomorrow”

“Really?” You said excited. “Of course, we are going out and you have to look good” he said. “Oh my god that why I love you so much. You are the best friend of all the entire world”

“I know, I know…” he said hugging you. Ni-ki loved to hug you, something about you always make him feel comfortable and safe. Also, sometimes when he hugged you a little too long his stomach felt different, he felt that he was going insane.

You two have been best friends since childhood, you meet on kindergarten and since then you are inseparable. Always playing around, watching movies, playing video games, eating, anything to spend time together. It has been always like that, just happiness and fun.

But now that you both have grown out, Ni-ki started to feel different when he was around you. Sometimes, when you got to close to him, nervousness started to invade his entire body. The way he could see every small detail on your face and smell the perfume that you have always use, made him feel different.

At the beginning Ni-ki just ignored this kind of feelings, telling himself the excuse that he was just feeling humor changes or that he was just growing out and his hormones were betraying him. That was until he took a picture of you one time you two went out and he couldn’t stop looking at it. He noticed that you were actually really pretty.

But the bad side of Ni-ki’s feelings for you was that he knew that you only consider him your friend, your best friend. Even tho, he sometimes tried to make a move on you. Telling you that you looked pretty, occasionally touching your hand, playing with your hair, or just trying to keep you around and be touchy with you.

On your side you did notice this change on your best friend. He was being more touchy than usual, more kind, and even more pretty. Of course that you find Ni-ki pretty, I mean, who would not. You liked how he was behaving with you this last months. You really enjoy his company, you enjoy being with him.

Maybe you like Ni-ki, maybe. But even if you fully did, what would happen with your friendship with him? Would you ruin it? Would it make it 100 times better? Would it make it 100 worst? You didn’t know the answer to that, that’s why you decided to keep this feelings to yourself and let the time take them.

It was around 4:30 pm on the afternoon and you and Ni-ki had been together almost all day long.

As he promised he did buy you new clothes, and damm, they were really pretty. But your favorite thing that he bought for you was two matching t-shirts that you can use together and two bracelets that had your initials with a heart in between.

Right now you were walking thru one of your favorite spots to hang out with your best friend. It was a little place that was all surrounded by flowers, but what you liked the most was the view of the sunset that can be seen from there.

You really enjoy watching sunsets, they had something that it was so magical and special for you. You were so lost on your thoughts that didn’t even notice when Ni-ki left to search something for you.

“Hey” he simply said while giving you a bunch of beautiful flowers that he took from the grass.

“Wow Ni-ki, they are beautiful thank you so much” you said giving him a kiss no on the cheek, he immediately felt his heart beat faster. “Sit here with me, let’s watch the sunset” you said with a smile. “Okay”

There was such a special connection between you two in that moment. You both sat on the grass, admiring the beautiful view the sky was giving. Few minutes later Ni-ki put his arm around your shoulder, embracing you with his touch. You put your head on his shoulder, your heart beating 100 times faster just by having him this close.

“Y/N” he called. “Hmm?” You simply respond. “I need to tell you something”

You leave your position, now sitting in front of Ni-ki face to face.

“What is it?” You asked curiously.

“You know, I really love you very much. I love spending time with you and hanging out every day. You have been there for me every time I needed you and I really appreciate that. You are the most wonderful and beauty girl I have ever met, and I really like you. Y/N I really, really like you since a lot but I didn’t tell you anything because I was scared. I was really scared that you would reject me and that our friendship will be ov-“

You couldn’t resist any more. Before he could finish the sentence you took his face softly in your hand and gave him a kiss. His soft lips around yours, one of his hands now on your cheek, it was the moment that you both waited for so long.

“I really like you too, Ni-ki. But I was also very scared to tell you because I thought it would ruin our friendship, now that doesn’t matter any more. Honestly, I’ve like you since a long time ago, I was just trying to hide my feeling. Ni-ki, you’re the most wonderful boy in this world, I really like you to.” You said, your heart was going crazy.

“Oh my god yes! I’m so glad” he said while resting his back on the grass. “Why?” You said laughing. “I thought you didn’t like me back. Did you know how hard was for me to take the courage and tell you this” he said laughing with you. “Well, now you now I do” you said resting with him as well.

Everything was perfect, the orange and pink color of the sky, you and ni-ki together. You turned your body to face ni-ki’s and put one of your arm around him, giving him a hug. Him giving you a kiss on your head while playing with your hair, he was very happy that you were with him now.

“Are we together now?” He asked with curiosity. “I don’t know, you tell me” you said joking. “I will take you on a date tomorrow, an official date. And I want you to use the matching shirts I bought for us, we are going to look so pretty like that… I mean you’re going to look way more pretty like that, because you are super beautiful now”

The way his words reached your heart make you smile like a fool.

“I love you” you said looking him on the eyes.

“I love you 1000 times more” he said giving you a soft kiss.