#somehow magically forget jessica or Any of the girls

[dedusmuln]

drives me insane that the marble hornets fandom makes it seem like jessica is a background character that showed up once and never again when. in reality. she shows up multiple times and is pretty important to the plot of the web series, and is the protagonist of the comics. she is so fucking cool open ur eyes people

[niloerua-writing]

Vagabond - 1

Summary: The spider team finally has the chance to visit the dreary dimension of New Zohei to find out why anomalies are redirected to that universe and avoid a potential catastrophic event. However, someone else has other plans...

Pairings: Miguel x Black Cat Variant!Reader. Spidersona x Black Cat Variant!Reader  

WC: 3.7k

Warnings: monster encounter. fighting and chase scene.

a/n: 2am moment pt2. we struggling out here. i had fun until the end, i was suffering trying to imagine all this. black cat’s claws has an anti-magic charge which is adjacent to mile’s energy bursts. i have an urge to craft super gnarly fight but at the same time do the spicy romance. i hope im doing miguel justice LOL 

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1 - Attention

Calan did not show up for an entire week, missing multiple calls from the others. Lyla could barely take snap shots of whatever it was he was doing, and the photos and recordings that came from that were corrupted upon opening. The good thing that came out of it was that the anomalies that were transferred to New Zohei were immediately redirected back to HQ; Calan was at least doing his end of the job. But it wasn’t enough to show any positive trends in keeping the multiverse stable.

When he did return, he explained that one of the Gods was upset and the last thing he wanted was to be moonscorched or banished away from his universe permanently, so he had to tread carefully in his own dimension. Whatever that meant.

Miguel had to see for himself what it was Calan was saying, whenever he said anything at all. Jessica was adamant that whatever he was reporting was true, and she’s no fool to make up lies about the situation at hand. The paradox was frustrating. The one-eyed spider man sat too still, he was slow to answer in contrast to Miguel’s sense of urgency. Peter attempted to “wake” him, whether it be trying to hype up the two words in response to Miguel’s question or allowing Calan to hold Mayday. Surprisingly, holding a child had woken him up somehow as he shook in fear.

“She didn’t take a crap did she?” Peter asked as he took back his child, asking her the same question with a pouty tone. “You didn’t poop in front of him, right?” Of course the baby squealed- using her chubby hands to try and grab Calan, who turned his head away. Peter mumbled something to Jessica about whether or not Calan was okay.

“We’re going to start the mission today now that the anomaly influx is on the lower end.” Miguel said, interrupting the whispers between the other adults.

“Who’s in the team?” Jessica asked.

And in perfect timing, the familiar sound of laughter and shouts filled the office. The four teenagers nearly pounced at the sight of Peter and Calan as they greeted the men; of course they greeted Jessica too (should they come up to her from behind unannounced there would’ve been more than just a lecture coming from her).

“Wait, we’re all going to Calan’s dimension?” Miles asked.

“Oh no, I’ve had enough of that place.” Jessica crossed her arms. “Even when I was there for ten minutes, the atmosphere was off.”

“Can’t go if I can’t bring Mayday. And the wife wants me home more often.” Peter lifted his child up, and the girl immediately leaned over towards Hobie. The punk scooped her up, ruffling her auburn hair.

Miguel rubbed his temple; why is it that everytime he asks for this particular group of spiders, they forget that the entirety of the multiverse is at stake and that this isn’t some sort of friend hangout? He watched as Calan was getting prodded and continually spoken to so casually despite his odd behaviorisms. Calan was hiding something, and going to his dimension was the only way to see how much of the silence he had kept since day one would unravel.

“Ohhh, didn’t know you had a girlfriend too, Calan!” Pavitr looked over Calan’s shoulder when he took out a piece of folded parchment. The teens cowered over the man in great amusement, congratulating him despite Jessica trying to get them to stop. 

“Are we finished?” Miguel’s growl prompted the teens to back away and straighten up.

He reiterated the plan to them all: they were to scout New Zohei to find a potential source of why the anomalies are attracted to that dimension, put a stop to it, remove any anomalies along the way, and then leave. Before Miguel could conclude the rundown, he had to test something out.

“How long do you think we could finish?” He directed his question to the one eyed spiderman.

Calan looked up from his folded note, seeing Miguel’s narrowed glare. “Four days, if we’re lucky.”

Miguel raised a brow- that is a lot longer than almost all the missions given in HQ. The teenagers grew louder again, asking Calan to teach them magic or allow them to take souvenirs during their stay. Of course, Peter would join in too, asking for toys for Mayday. Jessica had given up trying to stop them at this point, looking up at Miguel with pursed lips.

“This isn’t a vacation. This is a mission.” Miguel returned his attention to Calan. “What if we’re unlucky?”

Calan narrowed his green eye; Miguel didn’t trust him, and he could tell that the feeling was reciprocated. The only reason why he wasn’t sent home was because of his skill and ease when it came to capturing anomalies. Miguel would make sure to shorten the mission time once they step foot into the other earth. Progress has stagnated as of now. He would make sure that all secrets were off, he was even willing to fight off the Gods that caused another major shift in the multiverse.

“Psst. No fangs.” Lyla popped up on Miguel’s broad shoulder. The lack of an answer made it difficult for his fangs to retract- he had to break eye contact and turn his back on Calan.

Jessica and Peter were sent on other tasks that involved temporarily taking Miguel’s place in overseeing and assisting on other missions during his absence. A whirr of beaming warm colors opened as Miguel opened up the portal. Miles, Gwen, Pavitr, and Hobie took no time to rush through the portal with excitement, ready for the adventure they were about to have. As soon as Calan was about to step into the portal, he stopped momentarily. Miguel could only see his closed, scarred eye. He could tell that Calan knew what he was planning, he knew that Miguel would join the team, and Calan knew he himself was being investigated. Lastly, Calan could tell that he was being underestimated, and Miguel could see that it personally irked the red head.

“Pray to your god that none of us would stay.” Calan said lowly before stepping into the portal.

Miguel took that as a challenge, letting out a scoff as he went in last. His fangs were still barred.

–

“THIEF!” A cacophonic chorus echoed at the end of the hall. There were endless groans with the sounds of heavy weight being slammed into the walls and ceiling. Amidst the noises and the building threatening to collapse, (Y/n) nearly went on all fours trying to make a turn to another section of the building. Alarms were blaring overhead, with employees being pushed into the stairwell or the elevators in order to avoid the creature that was crawling its way over.

(Y/n) took a quick glance behind her as she ran, noticing three bony claws that gripped into the walls and the carpet. The creatures pacing was slowed by the narrow hallways of the building, however, as soon as it noticed the woman running down the open office space, it began to pick up speed. It tore through the desks and chairs as it screamed, reaching for the fleeing cat.

“I’ll give it back, I promise!” (Y/n) shouted as she aimed for the window. She braced herself as she crashed through the glass, slowly opening her eyes to quickly see if there was an open spot to land.

“Oh no.” She nervously chuckled, realizing how far up she actually was. (Y/n) had hopped off from the twentieth story, so she had to be quick to find something to stagger her fall. The smog from the city’s factories were interlaced with the clouds, making it difficult to see through the lenses of her mask.

(Y/n) had a peculiar artifact in her hand; not that it was important to her personally. She couldn’t care less about what it did, how much it cost, or what it signified to a bunch of elitists. Since the absence of Calan, (Y/n) was struggling trying to keep herself from dying of boredom.  Missing him was an understatement. She would occasionally check to see if he finally went home, got stuck at work, or was just hiding in plain sight at his favorite locations. It wouldn’t be too long until she caught herself in a boring routine that would just make her hungry at midnight. (Y/n) had come up with a plan a few days earlier that if she just misplaced certain objects around the city, it would attract him back to quell the havoc she caused. Within good reason, she’d argue.

It was funny seeing prominent witches panic over a missing book, politicians going silent when pieces of their private conversations were leaked, or gangs having their plans jumbled over having their messengers swapped. It was starting to become an eventful week for (Y/n), Calan’s enemies were threatening to tear apart each other’s throats. Of course, this plan didn’t hold up well for today. She had decided to see what was at the top of one of the engineering towers and if it was even worth slipping through heavy security for.

Her curiosity was fulfilled to say the least as she was holding onto a government sanctioned seal to keep a certain someone human. Whoops.

(Y/n) used one of her grappling hooks to attempt to break her fall. The claw of the cable had latched onto one of the tall satellites before tearing through the thin metal. The smog cleared. Her fall trajectory had changed, but she had to accept the fact she might crash through a semi-busy cafe window and use half of the money she got to get patched up. It would definitely teach her not to rile everyone’s day up just for some guy.

However, another option appeared at hand. It was the sound of webs coming her way as she was cutting through the air. 

“Spidey!” She exclaimed, seeing shadows zip along the line of buildings across the street. Looks like the plan was back on the menu. If she didn’t try to stagger her fall again, it would be one of the greatest entrances she would have done to date or the worst hospital bill she’d have to pay. (Y/n) found it almost comedic that she prepared herself to be caught in the arms of her favorite man in the middle of her instigation. She was confident he’d catch her. She closed her eyes upon impact.

Right before she could crash into the cafe, she was intercepted. An arm immediately supported her back, and (Y/n) quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself from slipping, her body pressed against his warm, broad chest.

“Whoa!” Calan’s voice was way too surprised (and higher pitched?) to her liking, he would usually either be relieved or annoyed by her presence, both of which fueled her ego. Opening her eyes, she saw someone in a well decorated skin suit and armlets with his wavy hair out in the open. (Y/n) stiffened, her face growing pale. Who just caught her then?

Looking up, she was met with a masked stranger, the vivid red markings that were marked for his eyes were focused on her.

(Y/n) had overestimated herself. In fact, she’s shit in math when it comes to these things. Her eyes couldn’t stop staring at the masked man who caught her, and it must’ve been the Gods punishing her for racking up the city’s crime rate because he immediately knew who she was with how she felt something hook into her suit to prevent her from escaping. (Y/n) did not like how the plan was turning into. Everything began to click when she noticed the symbols on their suits.

Was Calan being replaced? How could he even be replaced? By two people?

“That was easy.” The smaller one said. What the fuck does that mean?

“Is it okay if I leave now-” It didn’t hurt to try asking.

“No.” Her captor’s voice was gruff, immediately cutting her off. “Pav, regroup with the others.”

Now it was just her and the larger masked man.

“Where are we going?” (Y/n) tried another question.

“To fix your mess.”

“Who said I made a mess?”

“I’m pretty sure you know who, gatita.”

Wow. (Y/n) frowned upon realizing what she was dealing with. First, Calan had disappeared from her for weeks on end, forcing her to take his job to patrol the city when he was gone (without getting paid!), and now, he couldn’t even face her and decided to send in some large man in a weird suit and other people to capture her instead. What was his damage? (Y/n) was not about to be disrespected like this and needed to even the score. She didn’t even think that the man holding her knew the caliber she held when it came to escaping. (Y/n) wouldn’t let the Gods condemn her this way.

“What the-!”

With her free hand, her claws retracted three times its original size before swiping downwards. The fabric of his suit was even stranger as it tore in a way she couldn’t describe, but it did show a bit of his skin. She twisted roughly in his grasp, swiping at the arm that held her. He loosened his grip, and (Y/n) slipped away, tossing the artifact in his hand. Upon landing, she broke into a sprint in the opposite direction.

**

“Lyla!” Miguel growled from under his mask, and the hologram popped above his watch.

“Uh-oh. How’d that happen?” Lyla adjusted her sunglasses. “I’ll get that fixed real quick.”

“Tell Calan to hurry up with those damn rings, and tell the others that Black Cat is coming towards their locations.” He was quick to maneuver in the other direction, swinging his way above the night traffic. He saw her scale up a building and onto the roof tops, and he followed suit. Miguel was slowly catching up to her. He shot his webbing towards her legs, however, Black Cat had rolled forward, the webs narrowly missing her heels. She jumped into an alley, running out the other end before using a grappling hook to swing away. Miguel growled at his escaping prey.

Just about half an hour ago, Calan had given a rundown of the do’s and don’ts of this earth in his office. Don’t go past the walls of the state, don’t touch broken shrines, don’t make any pacts with anyone living here, and don’t remove the mark on their hands. The only “do” that Miguel assumed was to do the mission. Fair. It was the most he had ever spoken since he joined the Spider Society. Calan was going to make rings that would help the others be resistant to magic during their stay, despite the teenagers wanting to focus more on learning said magic.

“I have a problem, and it may require several of you.” Calan laid out five rings, a thick book, and a needle.

“What is it?” The teens would ask, and he would put down the note from earlier.

“Black Cat.” Calan replied. “She’ll sabotage the mission if certain things aren’t in her favor. She already put the city under paranoia.”

Calan pointed at the treasure chest that was destroyed by her; he had repaired it upon return and used the key to actually hide away important documents under some sort of illusion trick. Black Cat was a rare variant only appearing very few times in other spider people’s canon, Miguel thought. He didn’t have a Black Cat in his universe. It was because, according to the reports he’s read, Black Cats were more complicated allies, when given something in return. He looked at the letter, noticing the red lipstick marking on the corner of the paper. They were complicated indeed.

“We can multitask while you finish that.” Miguel suggested to Calan, who went to work straight away. He then turned to the others. “You know how it is and how it’s going to be. The only thing added is capturing a Black Cat.”

And they went off. Miguel would receive a few notifications from the teens that they’ve captured and turned in an anomaly. Things were going swimmingly.

When Miguel had caught Black Cat in the middle of his patrol with Pavitr, he was just as shocked as the woman in his arm. He had seen pictures of other Black Cats. But there was something about seeing one and even holding one up close. She had vivid (e/c) eyes that stuck out from her (skin color) complexion, wild (h/c) hair that draped over her eyes and flowed along the evening air. Her lips were a striking red with gloss, and from her figure-

“Miguel! There’s this freaky bird thing with a hundred heads!” Miles’ panicked voice through his watch shattered the thought. He looked at the object in his hand- it was a copper shard with unrecognizable lettering plastered all over the metal. Black Cat was just out of reach, how she ran with heels was a mystery to him. He narrowed his eyes, noticing the echo of screams down the road.

He could see Miles, Gwen, Pavitr, and Hobie trying to hold back a large, feathered mass covered in countless porcelain masks that let out pulses of screams. Its multiple elongated arms tried to grab at the teenagers while destroying a portion of the infrastructure.

He slid to a stop, giving one last look at the Black Cat. She stopped as well, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

“I won’t let you go next time.” He warned her before rushing over to the monstrous calamity.

The monster wailed further, slamming all thirteen of its arms down in frustration when it couldn’t catch any of the spider people that swung around it. It winced at every punch and kick it received from the four teenagers, but it only grew angrier, screeching. Several of its claws began to frantically dig through its feathered and porcelain body. Ooze began to spill out from the wound it created.

“What the hell did we just get ourselves into!?” Gwen screamed, covering her nose over her mask.

“Man’s bleedin’ out all the establishment slop outta ‘im!” Hobie positioned his guitar in his hands, letting out a powered strum. The monster momentarily froze before shaking violently. Something was growing out of its wound, and no one wanted to figure out what it was.

“Miguel!” Miles was busy pulling out all the civilians from the rubble alongside Pavitr. The man was quick to rush towards the ungodly beast, tightening his fist before plunging his attack right through one of the porcelain faces. It shattered, revealing a fleshy substance underneath. The monster let out a broken chorus as it felt the pain, thrashing itself into the ground and towards other buildings. Miguel began to shoot out multiple webbings of red to restrain its arms, and Gwen and Hobie followed his lead, pinning down the monster.

Now what was left was the artifact the Black Cat tossed at him.

Before Miguel could figure it out, a pair of wings shot out of the monster’s gash, sending the three flying several blocks away. Miguel quickly got up from the crushed concrete already prepared to rush at the monster again- only to have Gwen struggle to keep herself up from the impact. Hobie, on the other hand, tried to hide his limp.

“I’ve got this!” Calan had found them, quickly removing his gloves. Miguel urged Miles and Pavitr to come over to where he was. They all watched as Calan’s hands began to glow, a summoning circle appearing just at the tip of his fingers. Using his eye for focus, he positioned his hands to where the monster contorted violently. Calan curled his fingers, almost mimicking a spider’s chelicerae and its mouth.

As soon as Calan closed his fists, a red spider emerged from the shadow under the monster, ripping its body into two with its mouth before returning into the darkness.

“Damn.” Hobie and Pavitr’s mouths were agape, whereas Gwen had to immediately cover her eyes.

“That is so cool,” Miles huffed. “But I think I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

That must have been the Arachne Pact, Miguel could see how much that single spell drained Calan.

“I finished,” The one eyed spiderman handed Miguel the bag of rings, and in turn he was given the copper shard. His brows furrowed in disbelief. “(Y/n), how’d you get your hands on this?”

“Is that her name?” Miguel asked as he handed out the rings to the others.

“Shit. Sorry,” Calan began to cough. “But yeah. She’s probably really mad at me.”

Calan slid down from the debris, walking over to the monster’s corpse. Soon enough, the corpse began to disintegrate until all that was left was a man’s body. First responders and clean up crew began to approach the scene as the dust began to settle, and the group stood at the rooftop in silence, their masks being wearily pulled away for the time being.

“I was expecting something to happen, I’m not gonna lie.” Pavitr sounded disappointed as he removed and put on his ring a few times.

“Seals and barriers don’t work that way.” Calan replied, his eyes wandering off. “I’m guessing you couldn’t catch her, Miguel.”

“I let her go.” He corrected him.

“That’s normal.”

Miguel followed Calan’s line of sight into the darkness, wondering what it was he was staring at. When he found nothing of interest, he looked the other way, briefly watching the teens sit together as they tried to cheer each other up. Is this how it’s going to be for the next three days? This sort of explains some of Calan’s odd behaviors.

There was another pair of eyes that watched him. Miguel turned his head, seeing the Black cat across the street, staring at all of them from the ledge of an apartment rooftop. She dared not to move so suddenly, her eyes fixated on Calan before moving towards the teenagers, and finally Miguel. She could see who he was.

And soon, he would see who she is.

[super-hero-girls-netflix]

How about both if you want? If not you can choose.

Emotional questionnnnn: What if a superhero died (including Batman and Superman cause why not >:))?

Uhmm...I'm going to talk mostly about if they just witnessed the death of the others since I don't think I'm ready to unpack the emotional baggage of killing a friend. ( But if you also about a specific kill with specific details on how it happened you can bet I'll give you a specific answer.)

It's clear in the aftermath of Superman vs Barman that Superman's death would take a toll on the civilians. He's iconic that way, I think it would be especially hard on Kara. And it would be terrible for Gotham morale and Batgirl especially, if Batman dies while being a hero.

It'd be terrible if either hero died. Both are incredibly strong and intelligent. If either died it would mean a villain strong enough and reckless enough to simply murder any adversary.

It would be pretty scary to all if Superman died....after all Cryptonien's are supposed to be indestructible, no?

Kara would take the death pretty hard. In denial, probably. Insisting that there is a way to bring him back.

If one of the Invincibro's (yo bros) died then it'll hit hard.

It'll hit differently depending on the counterpart. And the situation.

For example, if Hal died both sides will mourn. And the Invicibros will be a mess (I suspect that Steve and Hal were co-captains, if anything Steve is a bit of a figurehead). Speaking of 'captain' the school, whoever knew the confident brunet will be in shock because Hal always seemed a little invincible. Many would mourn him since he grows on you....like fungi. Jess will be wrecked and she'd blame herself because of course she would. She was his partner, she should have been there. 'And oh gosh she was alone now, she'd have to defend the space sector alone. And even if she's assigned a new partner it wouldn't matter because they weren't an obnoxious, confident, self-centered Hal'. And yes, there will be a certain dampness in the atmosphere for both teams.

If Barry died both teams (the whole city even) would mourn. Barry was beloved as both Barry the dessert slinger and the Flash, superhero speedster. Barry was kind of the kindness of the group. The one who did good for no other motive than the fact that he loved deeply and wanted to keep everyone safe. The team would keep chugging along with this mindset...but I don't think they'd be able to eat at Sweet Justice anymore. It would hit Babs' hard because he was her best (guy) friend and they swore to have each other's backs (in my AU) and she didn't have his and now he's dead. I think the girls would prefer to just move their headquarters since Sweet Justice was painful enough to just think about.

If Carter died I'm afraid no one will notice. Hawkman's death will be acknowledged but not Carter's. Carter's death if given any attention at school would be a mystery much like he was. Same with Hawkman, his death will be mourned but he'd be considered a mystery death because of his quiet nature. This will drive the boys mad because Carter Hall was DEAD and no one seemed to care. How can they not realize that everything has changed? Carter was more or less the level-headed one of the group. It would be particularly terrible for Karen since Carter was big and strong and knowing he's dead? Yes...she wouldn't take it well. She'd most likely try to avenge him.

If Oliver died it would be a bit of a scandal. I'm sure he has quite the fan base as both an aspiring actor and the charismatic Green Arrow. He was always the *cue dramatic gasp* dramatic one of the bunch. His death will be, you guessed it, terrible. Since happy, confident, loyal Green Arrow was killed. The atmosphere around the team would tune quiet, if a little hollow but they'd keep chugging through since Oliver wasn't friends with quitters. And it would hit Zee differently because the last thing they did was fight (of course they did) and now he's dead and she realized that she had fun arguing with him and their rivalry made acting so much more fun and now how is she supposed to perform when her co-star was dead? When the idiot who would make rude faces behind the curtains and then grudgingly admit she did 'decently' was dead?!? It would hit hard because Oliver and Zee shared a passion and they both left a stain there. She'd forever associate her love for the stage to her complicated friendship with a dead actor. (I think she'd hate when in the future people forget Oliver Queen's name). The whole girl said would mourn but they didn't know Oliver as well as Zee and Zee's a wreck so they'd channel their grief into comforting her.

God help the idiot who murders Steve. If Diana hasn't already killed you, the team will. The Invincibro's, I mean. Steve is a bit of a figurehead so kill the queen and they will make it their life mission to avenge him. That is all after the grieving, of course. Steve will be mourned heavily by both teams, especially by Diana and the Invicibros. Diana will be confused at first because she never even thought that Steve could die. Never crossed her mind. She never asked for anything, wanted for anything, but she wanted him. Him to be alive. How is that even possible??! Jeez, I don't see much of him so that's all I can really say.

If Garth is killed well... Both teams will be horrified and heartbroken. It's just that Garth is so innocent and sweet. And he was killed. The whole school I think would notice because the football team will mourn (in my AU) him. The city might be a bit indifferent because despite his confidence he never demanded as much attention as his team. But the team will never be indifferent to it. The Invincibro's will be furious to hide the fact that they are wrecked because yes, Garth can handle himself in a fight but he was only fourteen. He had plans and he was their friend, goddamit. (I really want to go in depth about how the girls and guys would react but I'll resist.) Kara will react similarly because how dare they take her little brother away?? One thing is letting him handle himself when he's getting bullied but killing him?

Okay...this is a quick peek at how the team and counterpart will react to their death....now for the girls!!

(they are all killed, okay? No different or accidental deaths)

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

If Jess were killed the team would be a wreck, of course. Jess, I like to think, was the mom friend and medic of the group. The girls will mourn and healing will be hard. Very hard. They'll remember all the things she holds dear. I have no doubt they'll participate in protests like Jess has been bugging them to do when she was alive. The Invincibro's will be sad too, of course. Initially, then they'll be pissed. Won't rest untill they help the SHG defeat the killer. And Hal? He'll be feral, of course he would. He is very possessive and very loyal. He'd be in denial at first (they all would) because how can Jessica Fricking Cruz, passionate kind selfless Jess be dead?? That's not possible. She cared too much, had too much to do- she can't be dead. But I feel like halfway through his revenge rampant he'll remember that Jess was a pacifist and he'll...I dunno.

If Babs died the team will be swinging from horrified, to unbelieving, to furious. They'd be sad because Babs loved being a superhero and she loved helping people and now she was dead and- they'd be a mess. And don't even get me started on how Barry would take it. Wanna know how he'd take it? Very badly. Why? Because Babs is his best friend and his counterpart and he's supposed to watch her back and she's gone for real and this is terrible and he's so sensitive and everything is fallings apart it seems. He'll definitely be a little more jaded, a lot more protective and burst into tears when anyone orders a candy cake triple ripple tower with rainbow sprinkles. But then overtime it'll turn into a sad smile. Man, the Invincibro's will also be horrified since Babs was close to pretty much everyone.

If Karen died? Absolute pandemonium. The team will be equal parts blaming themselves and torn with guilt and sorrow. They will tear the world apart looking for a way to fix it somehow. Fix it the way Karen would have. The boy team, because despite all their teasing, will be in uproar because no one messed with Karen but them!! And Carter? He'll be at war with himself, because he should have protected her, the pipsqueak was too young and small and fragile to be able to hold off evil by herself and how dare she put herself in that situation? How dare she just leave them like that?? I feel like he'll be in denial for a long time, working through everything to avoid processing his grief but when it does it'll hit hard. Probably because of something small but subtle. Like getting electrocuted because Karen had quite a few fractal scars from her experimenting and super heroing. Or when he realizes he got stung by a bee- it's the little moments when it strikes deep.

If Zee died it would be a bit absolutely scandalous of course. Not only will the girls be horrified and heartbroken but so will Zee's fanbase as an actor and her father's assistant. The girls will have quite some time to even begin to adjust but soon enough they will jump straight into plotting their revenge. The boys will be livid of course but none more that her counterpart Oliver Queen. Oliver won't quite believe it, I don't think, he'll just think that Zee will just magically resurrect herself because the annoying actress who liked hogging his showtime couldn't possibly be dead. She was like a cockroach! No matter how many times squashed beneath your shoe those wretched little things will just come back. All the time...she couldn't be gone. And truly he didn't hate her, he just liked having a goal. To outshine Zee Zatara. So...how could she be dead? This will hit especially hard when he doesn't have a counterpart to fight with. Or when the leading lady role goes to someone new. Clear to say that Zee Zatara's death will be every bit heart wrenching.

If Diana dies be prepared for hell. The girls will fall apart with grief after avenging their leader. I feel that Babs would try to keep everyone together at least. The boy team will be furious because Diana was their battle plan leader too! And how- they'd be confused because how can the immortal Diana Prince die? The school would definitely have a service for the mystery top student. How would Steve react? He'd be horrified and lost, and confused but then he'd help the girls avenge W.W and live the rest of his life upholding Diana's values. (I'm not quite sure how he'd handle the grief.)

If Kara dies then there will of course first be the mourning (at least according to the show). Then the shock. Then the doubt because hasn't Kara 'died' before? And that would lead to hope which will make the moment of confirmation the most painful. For both teams. Garth will be completely blindsided with grief and anger because how dare they take his big sister? How dare they hurt moody, cold, rude at times, big softie at heart, Kara? And well I guess we'll discover that rage is also a prominent feature if the ocean, is it not? So yes, this will be an emotional rollercoaster no doubt about it.

✨✨✨EXTRA EXTRA✨✨✨

This extra will be non-super hero's who will also mourn and attempt to avenge the lost one.

Diana- she is the princess of an island of immortal warrior woman. Her mom is 'a final boss'. She will have plenty of people to avenger her (not that she would want that, per say). I kind of have a suspicion that Queen of Amazon's will either be overly sympathetic ('my daughter has chosen her path, now we can only honor her') or furiously because they were part of her daughters dream that got Diana killed (may you pray we never cross paths again or I will curse you as you have cursed me).

Karen- not sure... but maybe her parents??? They can make a suit too??

Kara- Her cousin because family is family and that's period and she's like the only survivor who doesn't want him (genuinely) dead. And Alex, her step-sister- maybe.

Jess- Green Lantern Corp.? Dexstarr?

Zee- her DAD, remember they are super close and he's super powerful and yeah....

Babs- Her dad- who's like a cop and even though he shown to be extremely lazy I have no doubt that he'd drop the donuts to find out what happened to his precious pumpkin pants. Might even call I'm Batman. Harleen, yes Harleen who tried to murder Robin because he embarrassed Babs will definitely go after her best friends murderer (even after finding out Vans secret identity)

Okay for Steve and Carter I genuinely don't know.

Garth, I'm not sure but if he's actually underwater royalty than you can expect a whole lot of flooding, earthquakes and sea monsters.

Hal- starfire is coming for your but

Oliver- Mortimer Drake, maybe? They are sort of bro's

Barry- DA WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD

Well...this was fun, wasn't it? Thanks for the beautiful ask, as usual @thedevilsmusicbox and I look forward to hearing from you. 😁🙋

[of--starlight]

“Does that make sense?”

Name: Tama Li-Petrov Faceclaim: Jessie Mei Li  Pronouns: she/her Birthday: Nov. 29, but does not know the year she was born!! (scorpio rising, pisces moon tho) Sexuality: Bisexual  Occupation: witch who lives on the outskirts of town and is open for spell business

Biography

Three things that Tama Li-Petrov does not know:

Her arrival: Six years ago, Tama Li-Petrov woke up from a nightmare (she cannot remember what it was about, except she was running and running and running) in a little cottage she had never seen before. She stood up and found a cauldron on the hearth, walls covered with full bookshelves, and two cats sleeping at the foot of her bed. All the clothes in the wardrobe fit her exactly and all of it was to her taste. Though the backyard was overgrown, the food in the fridge was fresh. She stepped outside and the night had no moon, but above her was a sky full of stars. 

Her age: After collecting herself, she realized though she knew her birthday — and the fact she was a Sagittarius Sun, Pisces Moon, and Scorpio Rising — she had not a clue what year she was actually born. She knew the name of the town, somehow, and what year it was, but she had no idea where she fit in linearly with the town’s story. An outsider she was doomed to be, it appeared, not part of the narrative, always on the edge. For all the stars she can read, her past is just darkness that she cannot comprehend. 

Her home, her family, and if she ever had them: She believes she must have had them. She must have, for this gnawing ache in the pit of her heart could not be for anyone else. For the most part, she is content, and yet some nights she gazes out to the stars and thinks about how small she feels when she cannot remember the people she once knew. Do they miss her? Do they exist? They must, they must, they must. 

Three things that Tama Li-Petrov does know:

Her name: Tama is not her actual first name (she keeps that close to her chest, a secret, a riddle she is determined to solve, one that she is certain will help her find her past), but it is the name she chose for herself. Something in her memory tells her it means darkness, and for one whose past is nothingness, she finds comfort in that name. 

The stars and the stories they tell: When she looks to the stars, she knows things. She learns things. They tell her stories about this town and the people in it. She can collect reagents and cast spells, but it is the stars and their whispers that capture her heart the most. 

That she is not as lonely as she once was: The first year in Swynlake was hard. She had to figure out who she was when she had nothing to go off. She had to figure out who these people were and what they wanted. The stars helped her. They helped her remember that she is curious, that she is silly, that despite the overwhelming unknowns in her life, she believes in the goodness of people. They guided her to stranger who became acquaintances who became friends. She smiles wider these days and even though sometimes she feels like she does not belong — an odd girl plopped into a strange town without any recollection — when she sits at her usual table in Hatters and people greet her by name, she feels like the town itself is hugging her and for a moment, she wonders if the past is something she should simply forget. 

✓ Imaginative, curious, passionate

✖ Wishy-washy, timid, pretentious 

Character Suggestions

Half-Chinese

Current Relationships

Monica Chino (friend, and also crush) Aurora Rosewood (friend) Terence Sparrowman (friend) Hera Alexander (friend, and also crush) Lou Bonfamille (one-sided crush)  Mei Qin (friend) Tiana Truitt (friend) James Hawkins (friend) Ting-Ting Qin (friend) Howl Pendragon (friend) Reza Kasraoui-Müller (friend, and also crush) Susan Webb (friend) Jessica Rabbit (friend) Jun Moon (friend, and also crush)

Possible Relationships

None 

Magical Abilities

Sorceress — Divination Speciality, specifically astromancy: By using the stars, she is able to know certain information about people and places, specifically the general “flow” of their stories. This is not something she knows off the bat, but instead needs to do big rituals by starlight in order to figure out. If you come to her for an appointment during the day, she will conjure little stars and play around with them to figure out your general path. This is definitely less powerful than a full starlight ritual: think of it like a tarot reading, whereas with the whole-ass ritual she’s definitely OP. 

[fluffy-marshmallow-heart]

Secret Studies ch.15 -The Beast Returns

The Elementalist au

Beckett x MC (Oriana)

Words: 2947

Warnings: NSFW

Master List (Catch Up here)

Classes resume at Penderghast

Classes resumed, and Beckett and Oriana were walking to their first one hand in hand. Neither were talking, just enjoying the comfortable silence between them, watching the other students bustle to and from buildings. Sometimes they would catch glimpses of surprise when others saw them together, news had traveled fast about their so-called breakup, even though it never officially happened.

“Why are people so surprised we made up? We weren’t even separated that long.” Beckett murmured in Oriana’s ear.

She giggled. “Maybe they’re jealous that you’re still with me, because they wanted to date you themselves.”

  Beckett’s face flushed, an Oriana laughed. “I’m kidding. Sort of. Honestly, I’m pretty sure I know who was behind the rumor. And I’m also sure he’s been set straight.”

Arriving at their destination, they took their normal seats together in the class. As the lecture began and they started creating new potions, he saw her struggling.

“Here, let me help.” He offered, quickly moving behind her and sliding his arms down hers until they reached her hands, then started guiding her movements with the correct vials and amounts needed. He was pressed into her, and whispered in her ear, “I can always give you private lessons.”

“Mr. Harrington, I appreciate your wanting to assist Ms. Miller with her potion, however, I do not see the need for you to be directly behind her. Please move back to your own work, and Ms. Miller, if you need help, please see me.” A sharp voice rang out.

Snickers from their classmates passed through the room, and Beckett felt the tips of his ears turning bright red.

“Sorry, professor.” He mumbled, as Oriana leaned into him murmuring. “I can definitely use some hands-on assistance, Mr. Harrington. Do you think you can fulfill my needs?”

“Oh my…”

She chuckled as she saw his entire body blush, and his thoughts raced with how he can get her alone at that moment. Very unfortunately, they would not get a single moment to themselves that entire day.

They met back in the quad after their last respective classes, and as Beckett leaned in to kiss his girlfriend, his phone rang. He grumbled when he looked at the screen and saw who it was. He gave Oriana an apologetic look as he answered.

“Hello, mother. To what do I owe this pleasure?” He asked sarcastically. He still had not forgiven her for the rift she had created, and how horrible she had treated Oriana.

“I need you home for dinner tonight. Come now.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s the first day of classes, I’m having dinner in the dining hall with my friends.”

“You mean with that trash you call a girlfriend.”

“Mother!” he scolded, and Oriana knew immediately where their conversation was turning. She cast her eyes downward, but Beckett reached for her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. She gave him a grateful smile and his heart fluttered. It took him a beat to realize his mother was still talking.

“I said no. I’m staying here for dinner.”

“Beckett Harrington, you come home this instant. We need to discuss your future and where you think it’s going and where it should be going instead.”

“I known exactly where it’s going” He gritted out.

“Home. Now. End of discussion.” The phone clicked in his ear as she hung up on him.

He sighed, running a hand through his sandy hair. “I’m sorry, Ori. I just won’t go. I want to have dinner with all of you tonight, and she has no right...”

“You should go.” Oriana cut in.

Beckett’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Why?”

Oriana wrapped both her arms around his waist and gazed up at him. “Because she’s still your mother. It’s perhaps a bit unfortunate but…still your mother.”

His heart soared, and he pulled her tightly to him. “You are amazing, did you know that? This is why I love you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m still not going.”

She laughed, pulling away. “I can come if you like. Just say the words.”

He shook his head almost violently. “No. No way. I am not putting you through that again.”

She rolled her eyes. “Beck, I’m not going anywhere, and she needs to get used to me. And I need to get used to her.”

“Still not happening.” He said gently. “At least, not tonight. I’ll go but…please stay here with our friends and enjoy yourself. That’s what I want for you.”

“Our friends, huh? Well look at you, Mr. Popularity. Going from having no one to a serious girlfriend and real, actual friends that care about you…and gasp! You care about them!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He mumbled as his cheeks turned pink. “I blame you.”

“Good. You should.” She smirked. “Find me when you’re back, okay?”

He gave her a half-hearted smile. “Of course.”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him soft and sweet before pulling away. “I love you. See you later. Maybe even with our friends.” She was laughing lightly as she walked away, and Beckett shook his head, smiling. He knows she’s never going to let him live this down, the day he confessed he has friends. This girl has changed his life in so many ways.

Pulling into the long driveway that twisted its way up to Beckett’s house, dread kept coursing through him. This is not going to be easy.

Stepping inside, he found his mother already waiting for him at the dinner table.

“It’s about time.” She snapped. “You certainly took your time getting here.”

He took a deep, calming breath, and fumbled in his pocket for the worry stone Oriana had given him, finding relief as his fingers brushed against it.

“I was busy.” He responded, walking over and sitting down.

“You most certainly were not. Your last class ended a bit ago. You should have arrived much sooner than this. Your dinner may be cold now. I ate mine while it was being served promptly at the dinner hour.”

“What do you want, mother?”

“We need to discuss your future. Now, I have taken the liberty of collecting several catalogs for graduate programs, both at Penderghast and other universities nearby. You will of course stay nearby, that simply goes without question. Now, for this one, they have a fabulous architecture program that…”

“Isn’t it a bit soon to be discussing this?” he asked. “I’m an undergraduate freshman.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Now is the perfect time. If you spare yourself for that…girl…what was her name…Jessica?”

“Oriana.”

“Whatever dear, it makes no difference to me. Once you decide on a program to proceed with your undergraduate studies, that will lead into your graduate studies, you no longer will have time to be gallivanting about with her. I understand the immediate sexual gratification she may supply, but there are plenty of others who could help you with this, who will not get in your way while…”

“Mother!!” He exclaimed, completely embarrassed. “Why on earth would you say that?”

She blinked. “Well, clearly that’s what the two of you have in common, no? You have fantasies and desires that need to be met, and like a good little whore she fulfills them. Now back to…”

“You take that back.” He growled.

“I most certainly will not take back the truth. I’m aware of her financial situation and cozying up with a Harrington would be quite ideal for her. So, she becomes your whore, pretending her feelings are genuine, lets you pay for everything, and then she will become pregnant and take everything you have. Everything this family has. I will not allow it. This ends now. I thought you two had broken up, but she was able to secure you safely back in her clutches.”

“How did you know that?” He demanded.

She chuckled coldly. “I have eyes and ears everywhere and you’d better start respecting that. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will know. And I will know about Jessica as well.”

“ORIANA. HER NAME IS ORIANA!”

Mrs. Harrington sighed. “You need to forget that name, son. It will do you no good to hold it in your mind.”

Beckett stood up from the table, clearing his throat. “Excuse me, mother. I do have homework that you are keeping me from completing. I’m certain you don’t want me to turn in any late assignments.”

“I’ll speak to your teachers, they will understand. You will not leave this house until we are done discussing what I called you here for.”

“You can’t stop me.” Beckett strode over to the door…just to find it sealed shut. He whirled back around. “Open the door, mother.”

“I will not. You are going to run right back to that girl even thought I have specifically instructed you not to.  I can see it in your eyes.”

“I love her.” He said defiantly. “And you’re right. I am going to her. So, let me through.”

“She’s bewitched you. I won’t stand for it.”

“No…no. Just…let me go!” He yanked on the door again, but it still would not budge. He muttered a spell under his breath to open the locks…but it did nothing.

“Don’t do this.” He begged. “Let me go.”

“I’m sure she’s busy anyway. Did you know you are not the only man she has been spending time with? There is another, also from a well-off family. It seems she can’t choose between the two of you, but one of you is bound to knock her up. The question is which one, and I will not allow it to be you.”

“How are you this cruel to your own son? To someone you don’t even know?” He asked, incredulously.

“I know enough. I do what I need to do to protect this family and what belongs to us. And I will not let anyone get in the way of that. Especially not some white trash girl from a low-income family…adoptive family I might add, her own parents didn’t even want her. Such a shame that she was already a problem just by being born. But she’s certainly trying to improve her situation by doing the only thing she knows how. Whoring herself out to the highest bidder.”

“ENOUGH!!!” He shouts out, as suddenly his body begins to vibrate, his skin turning metallic. Fear immediately took hold in him. This can only mean one thing.

“What is this magic?” His mother demanded, watching him. “Is she responsible? Did you send a message to her somehow? This is a heavily protected mansion, I’m afraid that no spell can…”

But Beckett was gone, having dissipated into thin air, arriving a moment later at Oriana’s side, who was battling a huge shadow beast in the middle of the forest.

“Ori!” He shouted. She turned to him in surprise.

“Beckett? Why aren’t you…Auuughhh!” She screamed as Beckett lunged in front of her, toppling to the ground. It gave her the opening she needed.

“SOLIS!!!” She shouted out, clapping her hands high in the air.

With a shriek, the monster went up in smoke, and she bent over breathless. “I see you never removed that protection spell of yours.” She joked, turning back towards him.

“Beckett?”

A low moan came from the ground, and she darted to his side. “Oh my god, Beckett!!”

He was laying on the dirt, clutching his chest. “Ori…I’m sorry…I should have been here sooner…”

“Don’t you dare apologize, Beckett Harrington. Why did you throw yourself in front of me??” She cried, trying to pry his fingers from the gash in his skin.

“You…distracted…my fault for…”

“Beckett let me see.” She begged. He finally dropped his hand, and blood came gushing out of the wound. “oh my, God.” She breathed, immediately pressing down with her own hands. “Dark to light and heal this from sight!”

A soft glow emanated out of her, and a warming, tingling took over them as his gash closed, leaving fresh pink skin where it had been. Despite herself, Oriana burst into tears.

“Why did you do that?? You could have been killed!” She sobbed, him sitting up and encircling her in his arms, her face pressed into his chest, crying tears both of relief as well as panic.

“You were about to be killed! Oriana, do you have any idea how close you came? What if I lost you just now?” He exclaimed. “I distracted you by showing up, I’m so sorry.”

He lifted her face with his fingers, gazing into her watery eyes. “Hey…hey, I’m okay, see?” He brushed his lips gently against hers. “You healed me, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine!” She cried. “I have no idea how I got here!”

His eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Beck, I’m in the middle of the fucking forest. I was walking back to my dorm, and then suddenly I was just…here!”

He stared at her in shock. “You didn’t come here on your own?”

“Why would I be walking in the middle of the forest at night? No, I was walking towards my dorm, I thought I heard someone behind me, I figured it was you, and when I turned around…I was among the trees, kneeling right in front of a fucking beast! Kneeling!!!! Like I was being offered!!!  I barely had time to react! I’d pretty much just rolled out of the way of a direct hit and stood up when you arrived!”

Beckett tightened his arms around her. If only he’d gotten here sooner. No, if only he hadn’t been locked in by his mother…or even gone to her house in the first place, Oriana never would have been alone.

“I’m just...never leaving your side again, Ori.” He whispered.

She sniffled. “I’m sorry I’m crying, I’m being stupid.”

He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. “No, you are quite possibly the smarted person I know. This is not your fault.”

“What is happening? Why is it happening? There hasn’t been an attack in weeks…why now? And how did I get here, Beckett? It can only mean one thing.”

He agreed grimly. “It means there’s a person behind it.”

“But if they wanted to get me alone…why not strike last week, when we spent all that time apart? I was alone a lot; most people were on holiday. Why wait until classes start up? Do you think it’s a student?”

“It’s very powerful magic, Oriana. Possibly an upperclassman, but at the senior level, no less. Or a professor.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked worriedly, tracing through the torn fabric where he had been clawed severely. “It was a really big gash, Beck, there was so much blood.”

“Ori, I would only not be okay if something happened to you and I didn’t get there in time.” He stood up, reaching down his hand to clasp hers. “We’re going to my dorm tonight.”

She nodded. “Yeah, Okay.”

Beckett looked around and realized he had absolutely no idea where they were in comparison to the school. “We’re really deep in the woods.” He murmured, more to himself than to her.

“Which means no one would have found me anytime soon if…” She trailed off, tears welling in her eyes again.

Beckett gently wrapped her in his arms, transporting them back to his dorm. When they arrived, he peeled off her torn and dirt caked clothes, and got her to bed before removing his own. Climbing in next to her, he pulled her back in to him, spooning her, his arms tight around her.

“Beckett.” She said softly. “If you can transport us here…we’re freshman. It doesn’t have to be an upper classman.”

“I don’t think I could transport you if I wasn’t touching you. And that monster…I definitely can’t do that. But you know me, I’ve always practiced advanced magic. I may be a freshman, but I have a wealth of knowledge stored in me. My mother made sure of that. I'm definitely grateful for those lessons right now.”

“How was your dinner?” She asked

He sighed. “Not good. I’m not going again. She…she trapped me inside. So I would be unable to come back to you. I think she was going to try to convince me, again, not to be with you, and wanted to keep me there so she could do that. But it won’t happen, ever.”

Oriana turned around in his arms to face him. “What do you mean she trapped you?”

“She sealed the doors. I couldn’t get out, even with an unlocking spell.”

“Then…how did you…”

“My protection spell with you is complicated. There’s a lot of parts to it. She wasn’t anticipating it and therefore couldn’t block that magic.”

“I’m glad you never removed it.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I want you safe, with or without me…well. I want to be there if I’m not already. I never even thought about removing it, even before we were a real couple.”

Oriana stretched her neck to kiss him deeply, and he returned it with just as much emotion. “Make love to me” She whispered on his lips

Beckett rolled so he was on top of her, slowly plunging himself into her core. She moaned as he reached her depths, and he grunted as he started moving slow and sweet, showering her with kisses the entire time.

She looked deep into his eyes, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” The desire was building inside them, with Beckett picking up the momentum and her matching him thrust for thrust until they fell apart around each other. He kept sliding in and out, slowing down, working through the last of their orgasms, capturing her lips with his own.

Sated, they stayed joined together, each unwilling to break the intimate connection, their breathing turning slow and steady as they drifted off to sleep.

@annekebbphotography @carabeth @gardeningourmet @eileendannie @dancetothestoriesinyoursoul @alesana45 @thequeenofcronuts @zigortega4life @drakewalkerfantasy

  @marianagmt @divergentofhogwarts @flyawayboo @kate-omalleys @syltti78 @coldcollectornight08 @emerald-bijou @herdecisions @nerdynstoned @owleyes374 @thatcatlady0716 @damienswhore @imaginemulti @hypno-bear-tini @askdana @noisysoulthing @bieberismysoulmate @meiyoko-trash @coffeebeandragon @pbmychoices @timmagicktoad @sweetest-marbear @darley1101 @blackcoffee85 @confessionsofabrokegirl @feartheendlesssummer

[hairringtonsteve]

spoiler alert.

(joe keery x reader)

request: oh oh oh! Joe Keery meets Y/N when being interviewed and she's like the camera woman or something and he invites her out on the town with the rest of the older cast and it's drinks and love, you know! And Y/N ends up at Joe's hotel room

summary: of course you and joe would bond over something as dumb as spoiling movies and tv shows you’ve (mostly) already seen to each other. weirdly enough, it also kind of is a massive turn on for joe. huh.

word count: 4, 532

a/n: so there are a lot of spoilers in here, but none for stranger things (go figure). but here are the movies and shows that are: star wars episode v, star wars episode vii, fight club, the handmaid’s tale, game of thrones, the sixth sense, 30 rock, harry potter and the halfblood prince. 

At least once a month, you post a picture of you wearing an all black outfit on Instagram with the caption let’s play a game called production blacks or emo (or a variation of that incredibly worn out joke). When you’re filming a live event, it’s all black, even down to your shoes. You can’t count the number of times that you’ve thrown on black sneakers, only to notice that they’ve got a white stripe down the sides. Which means running around the venue, trying to find some black duct tape or a black Sharpie to color it in.

In your college classes, you can remember multiple professors drilling it into your brain - people behind the camera should be invisible, to blend in with the background so everyone forgets that you’re there. On sets with scripted content, it’s a different story. But for anything else, you’ve got to be background noise. And you’re fine with that. There’s a kind of comfort that comes with being able to just settle into the background and watch the action go on around you.

Which is why it’s so unnerving when he noticed you.

It’s not that actors haven’t talked to you before, it’s just that there’s some kind of unspoken code with most of them. They’re polite, but distant. You’re just running the camera, a person that’s meant to be glanced at but not really looked at. It’s not a rude thing, it’s just how it is.

You’d just gotten off a string of interviews with the cast of a huge blockbuster that was coming out (not to brag, but you did get to meet most of the actors in the new Captain America movie), and you’d gotten used to a quick handshake and a brief hi, how are you? before they move on to the person who’s running the whole thing. It had been a long day, adjusting the camera settings and staving off boredom as you listened to Matt ask similar-sounding questions over and over and over. By some miracle, there was actually a couple of hours in between interviews, but that was mostly due having to switch from the Captain America backdrop to something simple for whatever new Netflix cast was up next. You were fiddling with the camera settings, killing time as you waited around for the girl who was running the lights to finish up.

“Yeah, you’re going to have to adjust that fill light, I guarantee it,” you said, grinning as she shot you a scowl.

“I think I know what I’m doing, Y/N.”

“I’m just saying, I’m pretty sure that this dude is taller than you think. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be high enough.” She shot you another glare, making you laugh at the sight of it. The two of you had worked on enough stuff together, and you knew the exact buttons to push to annoy her, and vice versa.

“You working that event tonight at the Bowl?”  

“Does it look like I’m working the event tonight?” You ask, motioning to your outfit, which was most definitely not production blacks. “The only thing that I’m doing tonight is getting caught up on Game of Thrones and eating leftover pizza.”

“Uh, excuse me, I was told to come in here for a lighting test?” You turned around at the voice, plastering on a quick smile for the actor.

“Right, uh-” You hesitated, glancing down at the chair next to you, littered with papers that Matt had printed off for the interview. You scanned the words for a second before settling on his name. “Joe, right? Just take a seat there. Cassie will finish up with the lighting in a second.”  

It was really hard for you to keep the smug smirk off your face as Joe sat down, the fill light hitting his face a weird way on camera. You waited until he was looking down at his phone to do it, the corners of your lips tugging upwards just enough to convey your message to Cassie.

I fucking told you so.

“So, you watch Game of Thrones?”  You looked from Cassie to the man in front of you, your eyebrows raising in question.

“Huh?”

“You were talking about Game of Thrones when I came in. You watch it?” The confusion was written on your face as you rested your hand against the tripod, fingers tapping against the cool metal.

“Yeah, I do,” you said. The words were coming out slow, your brain more concerned with trying to wrap your mind around his little grin than with understanding his exact words.

“What season are you in?”

“I just finished up the first season.” His eyes widened, mouth opening and you knew exactly what was coming. “I know I’m behind, okay? I get shit for it all the time.”

“How much has been ruined for you?”

“I honestly try not to think about it. Spoilers piss me off. I accidentally found out that Dumbledore died before I finished reading the book, and I ended up crying on the bus. It was terrible.”

“Dude, Dumbledore dies?”

For a second, your heart stopped pounding. A sick feeling settled into your gut. Oh God, you just ruined one of the biggest spoilers in history to this guy. But then his look of dismay turned into that little grin, and you scowled.

“That was low, man.”

“It’s not as low as Kylo Ren running a lightsaber through Han Solo’s chest.” You tried to act annoyed, but it was in vain since you literally could not stop grinning at him. “I assume you knew about that one, then?”

“Yeah. Pretty sure everyone knows about that one by now.”

“That’s true. But did you know that in -”

“Hey, man! Sorry I’m late,” Matt butted in, causing a brief flicker of annoyance to rise up in your chest. You caught Joe giving you a look before he shifted his attention towards Matt, sliding right into professionalism.

“So, he’s cute,” Cassie muttered behind you, making you jump. You blinked at her, a little surprised that she’d somehow managed to fix the fill light and walk behind you, all without you noticing.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sure,” you shrugged.

A lot of actors were cute. It was no big deal.

“So you do know that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, right?”

You didn’t even have to turn around from your camera to know who it was.

Spoilers had become a sort of thing between the two of you. You were a freelancer, so a decent amount of media sites hired you to film their stuff. And at some point, Joe’s little, weird, niche sci-fi show thing (his description) had blown up. Which translated into more interviews, but more importantly, more spoilers. Somewhere along the way it had turned into this inside joke between you both.

“Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.” You turned around just in time to see his face as you said it, the corners of his mouth curving into an even wider grin as he ducked his head. He pressed his lips together like he was trying to rein it in.

Belatedly, you realized you were staring at his mouth.

“So you have any plans tonight?” You - reluctantly - dragged your gaze to his eyes, ignoring the little smirk that was planted firmly on his face.

“Nothing but eating an entire jar of Nutella and finishing up Jessica Jones.”

“My God, you are so far behind on TV. Have you even started Breaking Bad?”

“Uh, yeah. Walter White was dead the whole time.”

“Holy shit, do I need to make you a list of shows you need to watch?”

“Probably, yeah.”

There was a pause in the conversation as he looked at you, his smirk fading the longer he didn’t respond. Was he really that upset with your lack of TV watching?

“I could make you that list tonight. Over drinks?”

Oh.

Oh.

“Over drinks?” Internally, you swore at yourself for the way your voice wavered over those two simple syllables.

“Yeah, over drinks. You know, the thing where you go out and drink? With other people?” It was like magic, the way his smirk just appeared once more. “Me, and Dacre and Charlie and Nat are all heading out for drinks. I mean, Natalia can’t drink because she’s underage, but she’ll still hang out.” His smirk started to fade the longer you kept quiet. “So there’s no pressure for you to drink, but uh, I thought I’d just ask because, you know, we’ve known each other for like a year now and I just… You can stop me whenever you like because it’s going to get a lot worse and I’m honestly rambling right now…” he trailed off, offering you a helpless look.

“I’m down with drinks. I kind of just wanted to see where you were going to end up.”

“It would’ve ended up with me crying from embarrassment.”

“Way to ruin the ending for me, asshole.”

“It could’ve been worse. I could’ve told you that Tyler Durden isn’t real and is actually a product of the narrator’s split personality.”

“.... Yeah, I actually haven’t seen that one. It’s Fight Club, right?”

“Oh, fuck.”

It felt like the two of you had passed through, like, twelve friendship stages since you’d seen him earlier that day. Before, all you’d known about him was that he was funny and nice, he was an actor, and his name was Joe. All he’d known about you was that you were funny and nice, you were a camera operator, and that your name was Y/N.

But suddenly, you were getting drinks. And exchanging phone numbers. And texting. And possibly flirting (but according to Cassie and just about anyone that had seen the two of you together, you’d been flirting with each other since you’d first met).

Joe: Here. Everyone else is already inside

You: Pulling up now 👍

Your heart was currently located somewhere within your throat as the Lyft driver pulled up to the curb. It wasn’t hard to find Joe, who was leaning against the building, eyes shifting from left to right before settling on your car. He smiled, soft and small, before straightening up and heading towards the car.

“Thank you!” You said, giving the driver a quick grin and handing him the tip before opening up the car door. Joe was grinning then, offering his hand to you to help you out.

“You look great,” he said, teeth dragging across his lower lip. His voice was softer than it usually was, the look in his eyes warm and bright. Everything about him was making your body tingle with nerves. Your hand rested in his, igniting a warmth that spread down your arm and settled into your whole body as you stepped out of the car.

“Thanks. So do you.” You felt a little awkward, almost stilted. You knew how to react with him in short, teasing bursts. But this was a whole other ballgame, and you were terrified that you were going to strike out.

He didn’t let go of your hand, instead adjusting his so that his fingers intertwined with yours.

“Is this okay?” You looked up at him, and found a little solace in the fact that he looked just as nervous as you felt.

“Yeah, Joe, it’s good.” He gave your hand a quick squeeze as he started forward, leading you inside. You waited a couple of seconds before allowing your word vomit to start. “So this is kind of awkward, right?” Joe let out a loud laugh, causing a couple of people to turn their heads in your direction as the two of you made your way to a table in the back. You’d expected that you’d be grabbing drinks at some fancy place, but instead, it was some little pizza place hidden away on a side street in LA.

“This is really awkward, yeah. I feel like I don’t know what to say, y’know? Like maybe I should’ve asked you out when it’d be just the two of us.”

“You know what we need to do then, right?” Joe just looked down at you, pausing a little before you reached the table. “We drink.”

And drink you did. Charlie kept his down to a single beer, admitting that he was taking pity on Natalia since she couldn’t drink at all. Dacre drank more than you’d ever thought was humanly possible, but Joe kept reminding you that he was Australian, and they can drink infinitely more than Americans ever could. You and Joe, however, were right in between the two extremes. A couple of beers in each, pleasantly tipsy. With each sip, you found yourself leaning against him more and more. His arm rested against the back of your chair, fingertips brushing against your shoulder every so often.

“So, wait. Have you or have you not watched Stranger Things?” Natalia asked you, eyes wide and incredulous.

“I’m getting to it! Do you know how many TV shows I need to watch? Just thinking about it stresses me out!”

“Dacre, hand me a napkin,” Joe ordered, looking up as the waitress passed by them. “Excuse me, miss? Whenever you have a second, could I borrow a pen?” She fished one out of her pocket, giving him a wide grin. “You are a lifesaver, thank you.”

Dacre leaned across the table, watching as Joe started to write.

Shows and Movies That Y/N Needs to Watch Right Fucking Now ASAP

You just ate your pizza as the four castmates started chiming in with show suggestions that were a must for you to watch.

“Oh, have you seen Fight Club?” Dacre asked, mouth full of french fries.

“I haven’t, but I don’t really need to. Joe ruined it for me this morning.”

“KEERY!” Dacre yelled, throwing a couple of french fries in Joe’s direction. “What the hell is wrong with you? Fuckin’ spoilers, man.”

“It’s been out for years! How the hell has she not seen it?”

“It doesn’t matter! It’s like telling someone that Jon Snow isn’t really dead.”

Joe grew quiet as your face went white. Charlie and Nat picked up on it almost immediately, both of them staring wide eyed at the big-mouthed Australian.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Wait, are you not caught up?”

“I’m in the middle of season three.” Dacre was the one whose face went white in that moment, turning a bright red in mere seconds.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, holy shit. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

You didn’t want to, but a quiet chuckle escaped your lips anyway. Dacre looked so remorseful in that moment as he practically tripped over his words, still rambling on in an attempt to really apologize to you.

“It’s fine, Dacre, really. It’s not like you told me something really important, like the fact that Offred ends up pregnant with Nick’s baby.”

“I told you that I was on episode six, are you fucking kidding me?” Dacre exploded, causing Joe to grin wide enough that it looked as though it’d hurt. The table burst into laughter, bolstered by the fact that Dacre was just sitting in his chair sputtering as he shook his head violently.

“That might the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Joe said, as casual as though he was commenting on the weather. But when you looked over to him, his eyes were dark as he watched you. Something dropped in your stomach, and in that span of a second, the pizzeria became stifling.

“Right,” Charlie began, but his voice sounded distant to you. Then again, everything was sounding distant to you, and becoming even more distant the longer you looked at Joe. “On that note, I think we’re going to leave.”

“You ready to head out, then?” Joe’s voice was the only voice that sounded close. You looked over to him, cheeks a little warm as you nodded. It was kind of a blur as everyone settled the check (the only thing that was clear was the fact that Joe was refusing to let you pay) and before you knew it, you and Joe were waving everyone off as the two of you lingered out on the sidewalk.

“So, um, hottest thing you’ve ever seen, huh?” Your words weren’t slurring by any means, but there was still a pleasant fog hovering over your brain, your words falling out of your mouth a little slower than they usually did.

Joe turned to look at you, his head moving in a slow nod. He took a step closer to you, resting a hand on your waist to pull you into him.

“I love Dacre, I do, but you ruining The Handmaid’s Tale for him like that was the single most attractive thing that I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” His lips were on yours right after the single word was spoken. It was warm and lazy, like the two of you had all the time in the world to just kiss each other. It was late out; the sidewalk was mostly empty. It was easier to forget that you weren’t in a more private spot, especially when his tongue swiped along your lower lip. You opened your mouth, deepening the kiss as you wound your arms around his neck. The tension spurred the two of you on, pushing you closer to him as his free hand wound behind you, grabbing your -

“Get a room, Jesus!”

The stranger’s voice sounded from down the street, but it was enough to make you spring away from him. You weren’t sure when your fingers had wound into his hair, but it was looking disheveled all the same, some tufts standing straight up as though he’d just gotten out of bed.

“You want to get out of here?” Joe’s voice was wrecked. It was low and scratchy. His chest was heaving up and down as though he’d been running in a dead sprint. The look he was giving you put images in your head, ones of him pressing you up against a wall and wrapping your legs around his waist as his lips made their home against your neck.

“Absolutely,” you said. Your own voice wasn’t that much better. That single word had come out far more breathless than you’d intended, but the effect it had on Joe made a fire run in your veins, screaming throughout your entire body.

Joe pulled out his phone, fingers trembling as he opened up the app to call an Uber. You were going to make some sort of joke about how he still used Uber when Lyft was so much better, but he glanced to you out of the corner of his eye, and it made your knees a little weak.

It was worse when he put his phone away.

The two of you were standing there, shoulder to shoulder as the driver took his or her good time in getting there. A group of drunken college students had meandered down the street, and as much as you wanted to, making out with Joe once more wasn’t an option.

“How drunk are you right now?” You looked up at him, appreciating the way that the orange streetlights lit his face. He was all soft light and shadows, with an occasional pink hue from a broken, neon sign.

“Maybe slightly tipsy? Sober enough to consent, if that’s what you’re asking.” His eyes were darkening with every passing second.

“Same here.” Your teeth raked across your lower lip, biting down on it. Joe groaned, running his fingers through his hair as he tilted his head back. “You’re going to drive me insane.”

The Uber pulled up right in front of you. Joe rested his hand against the small of your back, guiding you to the car.

The car ride was torture. It was a sweet kind of torture, but torture nonetheless. Joe kept his hand on your thigh the entire time, trying time after time to inch it up, only to be stopped by your glare. Every time he was caught, he’d shoot you this dark little smirk that sent heat right down your spine.

There was no doubt in your mind that if you let him continue, you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself. The poor driver didn’t deserve to deal with that.

It was a little embarrassing just how fast you made it out of the Uber the second it was in park. You practically leaped out of the car, eager to try and get a handle on yourself. But you really couldn’t. All you could feel was the ghost of his hand gripping your thigh, or his lips against yours, nothing but need. Hell, it took you a full twenty seconds to realize that you were at a hotel.

“You okay?” It was as though he’d appeared out of thin air, made of nothing but attraction and a little bit of concern. Your hand reached out and took hold of his.

“I’m great.”

It would have been a miracle if the two of you could have made it up to his room before you leapt at each other. Thankfully, it was a little past one in the morning, which meant that the elevator was empty.

The second the doors dinged shut, Joe had you crowded into the corner. This time it was different. It was hard to tell where you ended and he began. With every move of his lips you were dissolving into him. You nipped at his lower lip, gentle as you tugged on it. A low groan emanated from his throat as he pressed against you.

It was hard to tell whether Joe was taking something from you or giving it to you. All you knew was that you felt like rushing water, shifting and moving and responding to every move that he took.

Far away, you could hear the opening of the elevator doors. It almost physically hurt to pry yourself away from him, but suddenly, you needed to get into that room of his. Joe blinked down at you, mirroring your exact expression.

“I…” He breathed out that lonesome letter, the look on his face telling you all that you needed to know. You took his hand and lead him out of the elevator, pausing as you waited for him to speak. “Lead the way,” he said, dazed.

“I don’t know what room it is.”

Joe stared down at you for a moment longer, the dazed look in his eyes fading until he realized what you’d just said. A furious blush attacked his cheeks as he led you down the hall. His thumb kept rubbing distracting circles into your skin.

It took a little longer for the two of you to make it to his room. Once, because he’d glanced back to you and caught sight of your lip between your teeth, which had ended up with your back against the wall, his lips against yours as he muttered something about biting that lip for you.

The bigger reason, however, was the fact that once your party of two had reached his room, his hands had been shaking so hard as he tried to put the key card into the slot. Apparently, it was hard for him to concentrate when you were pressing kiss after kiss against his jaw, fingers hooked around his belt loops to draw him closer to you.

“Y/N, I just - I - C’mon, I can’t - Yes.”

Just like that, he’d managed to unlock the door, practically shoving you through it and then promptly apologizing. You stepped into the room, taking it all in. It was an average hotel room, littered with a couple of shirts on the ground, and two PlayStation 4 controllers setting on top of the mini fridge. He flipped on a light, the room illuminated enough to make everything nice and soft.

A bout of nerves filled your chest as you glanced over to him. This was Joe, the guy that you’d been denying that you had a crush on for almost a year. This was the guy that had made you look forward to filming some interviews, who had popped in and out of your life ever since you’d first met.

You liked Joe.  A lot. A hell of a lot.

He was staring at you, patient as he waited for you to say something. There was a small smile lingering on his lips as he watched you, and it caused a kaleidoscope of butterflies to flutter in your stomach. He started to walk towards you, eyes focused on yours as your pulse quickened.

“You look a little terrified, which is kinda weird, since twenty seconds ago you were kissing me like your life depended on it,” he teased, his words gentle as he reached for you. You let him circle his arms around your waist, loose enough for you to pull away if you wanted to.

“I just, I like you, alright? I don’t want to mess anything up. Or give you the wrong impression.”

“The impression that I got was that you like me as much as I like you, and we’re going to be hanging out a lot more together, and that this isn’t casual at all for either of us.” The relief flooded through you, washing away any doubts that had sunk their teeth into your mind. “Am I close?”

“Spot on, actually.”

“Would it make you feel better if we just hang out, maybe watched some TV and made out a lot?”

“Are you proposing that we… Netflix and chill?”

Joe laughed, his head dropping against yours as he grinned. His laughter devolved into snickers as he looked down at you.

“Essentially, I guess so. It’s catchier than saying let’s watch Parks and Rec and make out a ton during it.” He pressed a quick kiss to your lips, followed by one to your cheek. “You have seen Parks and Rec, right? Because if you haven’t, we can’t make out during it. You need to see it.”

“I’ll… I’ll get to it, okay! Don’t judge me!” Joe tugged you towards the bed, falling down onto it and pulling you down with him.

“What the hell have you seen? Because I really want to make out with you.”

“30 Rock.”

“I haven’t finished it yet, though.”

“Have you gotten to the part where Liz and Jack get married?” Joe turned onto his side so he could get a better look at you. You just grinned up at him, the laughter bubbling up out of you like a spring.

“Don’t start with me,” he warned. His words were low, but they were belied by the grin that he just couldn’t get rid of.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it, hmmm, Keery?” He leaned down, swinging his leg over you and resting a hand on either side of your head to hold himself up. His lips hovered just above yours as he smirked. His mouth brushed against yours, hot and open as you stared up at him.

“I can think of a few things.”

taglist: @allfandomxreader @myblackwings5 @morgandakotaq @rivedale @laterg8r @buckybass @alwaysmebeforeyou @istanuriss

[aion-rsa]

Twilight Is Much Better Than You Think

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The first crush I ever had was on David Bowie’s Goblin King from Labyrinth. He was a big haired, pale skinned other worldly bad boy who wanted to keep teenage Sarah with him forever despite being vastly older than her. I was 9.

So I get Twilight. Based on the series written by Mormon Stephenie Meyer, who at the time proudly confessed to never having seen a horror film, the first of the films came out in 2008 to wild commercial success, almost instantly generating a rabid fanbase of largely (but definitely not only) teenage girls. Nicknamed ‘Twihards’ these fans were obsessed not only with the films and books but also with the stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who at the time were a couple in real life. It was intense. It was a lot.

Four subsequent (and lesser) films followed and while the fans got louder, so did the sneers. Now the series has landed on Netflix and is potentially reaching a whole new generation of viewers, as well as scratching a delicious nostalgic itch for original Twihards more than a decade on. Outside of the cultural phenomenon of the franchise, it’s easy to forget how genuinely intelligent the first film really was. The main reason for that was director Catherine Hardwicke.

Hardwicke gets teenage girls. If you have any doubt about that, watch her feature directorial debut from 2003 Thirteen. Co-written with then 14-year-old co-star Nikki Reed, it’s a painful drama about a destructive teenage friendship that taps perfectly into how achingly important and casually destructive certain things are when you’re that age. Twilight taps into the same thing, focusing on incredibly melodramatic teenager, Bella Swan. Mocking Bella is no smarter than mocking Kayla from Eighth Grade or Tracy from Thirteen. It’s not news: teenage girls can be a bit like that, and Hardwicke sets out her stall from the off.

Indeed the first lines of Twilight are Bella’s voiceover pondering her own mortality, “Dying in the place of someone I love seems a good way to go,” she mopes, with absolute sincerity.

There is no way these films would have been the teenage catnip that they were without the perfect casting of the two leads. Hardwicke found Stewart first, an up and comer at the time who is both preternaturally beautiful but somehow incredibly awkward with it (as a case in point of how this could have gone wrong – take the miscasting of Chloe Grace Moretz in Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie – Stewart would have been far better). Hardwicke ran ‘chemistry tests’ to find her Edward and to say there was chemistry between the two would be an understatement. Stewart carries Bella’s heavy earnestness with empathy while Pattinson is pointy, brooding, pale faced and interesting in all the right ways.

Yep, Catherine Hardwicke gets teenage girls.

Armed with the perfect leads, but only a tiny budget for a blockbuster – $37 million – Hardwicke made a romance fizzing with the kind of burgeoning sexuality coupled with melodramatic obsession that can be so common to pre-teen or teenage fantasy.

Forget the later movies which feature buff werewolves walking around with their tops off. The genius of Hardwicke’s movie is a similar innocence to Meyer’s books. It is pure fantasy.

Edward is the embodiment of the ‘safe’ boyfriend young teens fantasize about – an older, more experienced man who still looks young and handsome. A man who doesn’t like anyone else at all, but loves you completely. A man who desires you endlessly but – and this is crucial – can’t have sex with you. And a man who will love you, and only you for all of eternity. 

Bella and Edward do shag, and get married and have a baby later on in the series, which is all somehow less interesting than the tingly but chaste first installment but that’s not to say part one isn’t about sex, because it absolutely is.

Edward wants to eat Bella so badly you can smell it. Or at least, he can certainly smell it – he’s driven crazy by the pheromones she gives off.

While Edward is ‘safe,’ he is also dangerous – he points out very clearly that she is powerless against him. She could never outrun him, he is far stronger than her. In a scene where he asks her to dance and she refuses he even says “I could make you.”

There is something a bit kinky about this, and rightly so. Lest we forget, Twilight was the inspiration for the tame erotica series which began with Fifty Shades of Grey. Bella is the young version of Anastasia, learning that maybe she quite likes being submissive.

There is no reason young teens (of any gender) shouldn’t explore different parts of their sexuality. Love it or hate it, the romance works.

Read more

Books

Twilight: What Was The Deal With Jacob and Renesmee?

By Nicole Hill

Rewatched years on and Twilight is a lot more than that though. It’s easy to forget how intentionally funny it is. Though we are on Bella’s side, that doesn’t stop Hardwicke gently poking fun at her. An early scene in science class sees Bella walk in and pose right in front of a fan like it was a wind machine. Later in the same lab, Edward sits in front of a taxidermied owl so he looks like he has literal angel wings. For a girl as melodramatic as Bella, it’s perfect (and if you need any more proof of how utterly melodramatic Bella is take the scene after Edward saves her from a car crash where she tells Edward “Why didn’t you let the van crush me, and save yourself the regret?” As if he would genuinely rather a girl he barely knows was dead…)

Twilight is funny. But Bella isn’t funny. Which is part of what makes it funny. Another weapon Hardwicke has in her arsenal is Anna Kendrick, as Bella’s very lovely friend Jessica. Kendrick is massive now and very clearly has great comic timing but Twilight was a breakout for her. Jessica is the anti-Bella. Cute and comfortable with her cuteness, incredibly tolerant with Bella, she’s a generally speaking well adjusted young woman, and Kendrick nails it. It’s notable, for example, how often she responds to Bella by saying “ha ha yeah, that’s really funny” (and not sarcastically) which actually draws attention to how NOT funny Bella is. Or how, while Bella is mooning out the window pining for Edward, Jessica is commenting on how good her boobs look in the prom dress she’s trying on. She’s a wonderful antidote, and Hardwicke knew exactly what she was doing in casting her.

The elephant in the room is perhaps Taylor Lautner as Jacob. Not the strongest of the cast and less of a breakout post-Twilight than the two leads and Kendrick (though Lautner did prove he can also do comedy with his regular role in Brit show Cuckoo), Jacob did become a counterpart for people who liked their chaps a bit less pasty and a bit more buff. 

Hardwicke made Twilight an enormous hit, grossing more than $400 million worldwide and setting up a franchise which would go on to gross over $3.3 billion. But after the first film she was out. Though she was offered part two it was on the proviso that it come out just a year after part one which gave her too tight a turnaround to be able to deliver the film she wanted to make. Instead the rest of the franchise went to male directors.

Talking to Vanity Fair in 2018, ten years after she launched the franchise, Hardwicke points out that her film kicked off a trend of female-led YA movies including the three Divergent films and the four Hunger Games movies none of which were directed by women, saying “that was a heartbreak for me. There are other badass women out there that could have done those.”

Whether you like Twilight or not, it was an undeniably successful movie which truly understood its audience. Years later studios are still trying to capture that magic again – YA romances have come and gone to various degrees of success, but Twilight is the one that endures. Whether teenagers of 2021 discovering the film for the first time will still identify as acutely remains to be seen, but either way, as a cultural phenomenon Twilight is way smarter than a sparkly vampire movie deserves to be.

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The Twilight movies are available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Twilight Is Much Better Than You Think appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[jamiegriffith80]

The Crayon

           It wasn’t the nicest place to take Jessica to lunch. But after weeks of flirting and months of dating, I was starting to let my foot off the pedal when it came to trying to impress her. Besides, we were hungry, and location was the most important factor in our choice of restaurant that afternoon. It was a diner in every sense of the word – the rigid plastic seats in the booths, the napkin dispensers that somehow made it difficult to access napkins, the ceiling fans whirling overhead to save money on air conditioning. It wasn’t even that warm of a day but going from an air-conditioned car to the stale air of this diner, you could feel the heat surround your body the minute you stepped foot inside.

           We found an empty booth in the middle of the diner, a perfect spot to people watch while nibbling at the food on each other’s plate. The waitress wasn’t particularly efficient, but she was friendly enough and we were in no real hurry once the food arrived. After we ordered – a club sandwich with fries for me, a chicken Caesar salad for her – we made small talk about our surroundings, the tasks we’d completed that morning and what was still to come on the agenda. Jessica seemed relaxed, leaning back in the uncomfortable booth, not really perturbed by the impossible task and inevitable failure of trying to find a nice spot to sit and enjoy the meal.

           We were just a few minutes into our lunch when a young father and his toddler daughter came into the diner. Grabbing a spot at the counter across from our booth, the father studied the menu intently, as if he was preparing for an exam. The waitress – thankfully done with the arduous task of getting our food out – sauntered over to them and offered the little girl a placemat to draw on and a selection of crayons. This gesture seemed to be enough for the little girl, who shrieked with excitement at the prospect of drawing during lunch.

           Jessica and I continued to eat, while occasionally – possibly more than occasionally – looking over at the father and daughter. He continued to seem incapable of deciding what to eat, and she continued to draw on her placemat. But it was the strangest thing – the waitress handed her a wide variety of crayons, all the primary colours and a few funky ones to boot. This little girl had all the choices of the rainbow to draw on that placemat, but consistently and thoroughly, she used just one: the red crayon.

           When the father finally ordered for the two of them, his daughter didn’t flinch from her placemat, virtually filling the whole thing with the red crayon. When the waitress brought their drinks, there was another placemat in hand, and sure enough, the little girl continued her quest to use that little red crayon for as long as humanly possible. Jessica and I would trade looks about the whole scenario, since talking about it would certainly be more noticeable, and we were enjoying the obsession the toddler displayed too much to draw attention to it. But when their food came, attention would be drawn to them without our help.

           The waitress dropped off their lunch, and the father told his little girl to stop drawing, as it was time to eat. But sure enough, the fresh food put in front of her face wasn’t as interesting as the placemat, now the second one to be almost fully covered in red crayon.

           “Sweetie, you need to put down the crayon. It’s rude.”

           Nothing.

           “Sweetheart.”

           Still drawing.

           “Fine,” the father snorted, and he grabbed the little red crayon out of her hand and placed it on the other side of the counter. As you can imagine, the sound of a little girl’s tears wasn’t far behind. Clearly the father was irritated, but he tried his best to eat his sandwich and hoped his daughter would stop on her own.

           By this time, a few other patrons of the diner were drawn to the sound of her crying, and as I was set to look across the table and smile over the whole situation, Jessica’s entire body language had changed. Her back was now straight, her hands perched on the table, and her eyes locked on the father and daughter. Something about this situation had triggered a reaction from her that I hadn’t seen in the entire time I’d known her. This was frightening to her. This was personal.

           The little girl’s cries hadn’t stopped, and it was clear the father’s patience was at an end.

           “You need to stop crying right now!”

           Did I mention she was a toddler?

           “I mean it, right now,” he bellowed again, as more eyes around the diner moved in their direction, with still more tears from the little girl.

           “That’s it!”

           The father towered over his daughter as he rose from his diner stool and he grabbed the little girl’s left hand, striking it incredibly hard. The piercing sound reverberated throughout the restaurant with such force that any innocuous conversations taking place in the moments before were quickly snuffed out. The whole diner was now about this young father, his little girl, and the act of child abuse we’d all just been witness to.

           Most of the people around us were doing their level-headed best not to look directly at them, but not Jessica. Her fixed posture and unblinking eyes were still focused on them. She wanted him to see her glaring. Eventually, he did.

           “What’s your deal?” he snarled at Jessica. “She wouldn’t shut up.”

           For the record, she still hadn’t “shut up”, and the tears from the pain she’d been inflicted with just added to the original cries.

           “Just go back to your lunch,” he continued, but this guy didn’t know Jessica. My date slid out of our booth and went right to the little girl.

           “Are you okay? Let me take a look at your hand.”

           “Hey, get your hands off my daughter!”

           “You first,” she hissed back. Man, I loved her. “Sweetie, can you show me your hand?”

           “Listen, lady, she’s fine. It’s just a little smack. It’s none of your business.” Ah, the triple crown of abuse excuses.

           The little girl was starting to warm up to Jessica, but there still wasn’t much cooperation. The waitress had come over with an ice pack and, probably because the waitress was the magical bringer of the red crayon, the little girl immediately gave her hand over to her. Jessica and the father gave each other another death stare before she sat back down across from me. Thankfully, we had already finished our meal, so I dropped some money on the counter and led Jessica out of the diner.

           “Why didn’t you step in for me there?” she asked incredulously once we were clear of earshot.

           “I would have if he went after you, but quite frankly, I was a little rattled. I’ve never seen you like that before.”

           “What, disgusted by someone?”

           “No, deeply afraid and defensive. You should have seen yourself, Jess. You were a completely different person. I mean, I get it, it was a traumatic situation, but I’d never seen you like that before.”

           She sighed and parked herself on a bench nearby, shaking slightly as if something had to get out, lest it destroy her. “Yeah, just that guy in there…he brought back some bad memories.”

           I sat beside her and tried to put my arm around her, but she resisted. Not the gesture she was looking for yet.

           “Want to talk about it?”

           She sighed again. It had to come out anyway. Might as well be to me.

           “It’s my Dad. Prick. You know he always preferred Julie.”

           “That’s what you’ve said, yeah. But he loved you and your sister. Maybe sometimes it didn’t feel like –”

           “It’s not just that, Geoffrey. He was definitely strict, but that’s not what upset me. Julie just…figured things out faster than I did, and he expected me to be her at every turn. I wasn’t her. He couldn’t handle it.”

           “Jessica. Did he hit you?”

           She looked up at me and let me wipe the tear rolling down her cheek.

           “I was 8. At that age, Julie was already so far along, she’d be reading at a high school level pretty soon. Not me. My father had this jigsaw puzzle he wanted me to complete after dinner one night. Said I had until bedtime to get it done. Julie did it in an hour when she was my age, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right? So, there I was, on my bedroom floor, struggling with it for hours and hours. He comes to put me to bed, but I’m still working on the edges. Not acceptable. ‘You’ve got to finish it before bed.’ And my mother? Forget about it. She’s so far gone into her books and her booze; she wouldn’t even notice her youngest daughter is up way past her bedtime for a stupid jigsaw puzzle. Another hour goes by, I’m still not done. I’m yawning, I have to pee, and he’s standing in the doorway, watching me fail. Can I go to the bathroom, Daddy? ‘No.’ Can I go to sleep, Daddy? ‘No. Finish the puzzle first.’ And on and on I went, me exhausted beyond belief and doing everything I can not to pee my pants. But the bladder of an 8-year-old girl can only take so much, and eventually I can’t hold it anymore. I pee so much it goes right through my underwear and onto the carpet where I’m sitting. And now I’m crying because I’ve peed my pants, because I’m still tired and because he’s still standing in the doorway. He sees what’s happened and scowls at me. I’m weak, I guess. He grabs my hand and drags me to the bathroom. After I clean myself up, I walk out of the bathroom and he slaps me across the face. That sound… Geoffrey, that sound was exactly what I heard in that diner, I swear to God.

           “He drags me back to the bedroom, makes me clean up the stain where I sat, and then says, ‘Okay, back to it.’ I swear, it’s almost midnight at this point, I have school in the morning. Nope, finish the damn puzzle. So, I start crying. I’m 8! I’m tired! He leans down in front of me, stares into my eyes…and slaps me again across the face. Now I can’t cry, because crying makes the pain come back.

           “I buckled down. Finished the damn puzzle. He goes ‘Okay, good night’, turns off the light and leaves the doorway. I’m crying uncontrollably as I crawl into bed, desperately wanting to have the pain go away. Eventually, sleep takes over and morning comes, and it’s like nothing happened. Same morning routine like every other day and we never talked about it. Just a night in time that I can’t ever forget.”

           Jessica cried a lot on the bench after that. She let me put my arm around her and she sunk into my chest, bawling her eyes out onto my shirt. The torturous pain she’d been holding in for so long needed a trigger, and an outlet, so I’m strangely thankful for the events of that day in the part they played in helping her heal.

           After a minute of crying, Jessica was starting to put herself back together when the diner door swung open, and the father and toddler walked out. Jessica’s posture quickly returned to the defensive stance that dominated our time inside, but it wouldn’t last long. The father was holding his little girl’s hand – the one he had violently struck not more than 10 minutes earlier – but let it go to allow his daughter to run over to us on the bench.

           “How are you doing, sweetheart?” Jessica asked quietly.

           The toddler smiled and extended her arms out towards Jessica, embracing this new friend she’d made on such a terrible day. After their hug, the little girl handed Jessica something before jogging back to her father.

           As we watched the father and daughter walk away, Jessica opened her hand to see the gift she’d received, and her eyes welled up with tears once again. But this time, they were trickling down her cheeks towards a smile. When I looked back at her, I knew why.

           Jessica was holding the red crayon.

[now-watching]

New-to-me Films of 2017

2017 was a wild year for me personally, a lot of ups and a lot of rough and stressful downs. But I've somehow managed to survive all of it and these are the 360 movies that I watched this year that helped keep me afloat while life came at me.

The Conspirators (1944)

See You in the Morning

The Man Who Could Work Miracles

No Blade of Grass

Tortilla Flat

The Dark Tower

Ocho apellidos vascos

Cannery Row

Irene

Fingers at the Window

Hidden Figures

Agatha (1979)

Madness of the Heart

Deception

The Ref

The Seven-Per-Cent-Solution

Marriage on the Rocks

Pennies from Heaven

Ben-Hur (2016)

Make Way for a Lady

You Got to Move

Freedom on My Mind

Mr. Lucky

Zero Motivation

Cabin in the Sky

The Terminal Man

Cousin Bette

House of Women

Hell or High Water

Caged

The Dressmaker

Condemned Women

Suffragette

Tin Men

Coma

Blazing Saddles

Fame

Ridicule

Days of Wine and Roses

Tokyo Drifter [Tôkyô nagaremono] (1966)

Get Out

The Mosquito Coast

Indignation

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Two Weeks Notice

The Legend of 1900

ChickLit

The Cosmic Man

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

Cinemania

The LEGO Batman Movie

Submarine

Little Men (2016)

Jauja

O.J.: Made in America

I Dream Too Much

Eyewitness

The Edge of Seventeen

Queen of Katwe

An American Werewolf in London

A Country Called Home

The Witness

Come What May

Renoir

Newtown

Ocho apellidos catalanes

Ahora o nunca

Ithaca

A Dangerous Woman

Tenemos que hablar

Woman in Gold

Il a déjà tes yeux

Gone Too Far

The Daughter

Lolo

20th Century Women

Altamira

Afterglow

Wild Oats

The Break-Up

King Kong Escapes

Moonlight

For Pete’s Sake

Middle of the Night

Christopher Strong

Summer Magic

Laughter in Paradise

Village of Daughters

Wonder Woman

Little Miss Thoroughbred

Steel Against Sky

At the Circus

Banjo (1947)

Convicts 4

Bad Little Angel

Love (1919)

Sunnyside (1919)

The Connection

Midnight Mary

The Madwoman of Chaillot

The Secret Life of Pets

The Opposite Sex

The Children’s Hour

All That Heaven Allows

The Small Back Room

Indiscretion of an American Wife

The Old Man and the Sea

Death in Venice

Desire (1936)

The Seventh Sin

The Song of Songs

When in Rome

He Ran All the Way

Rancho Notorious

The Sign of the Ram

Isle of Fury

The Boss Baby

Seven Keys to Baldpate

I Am Not Your Negro

Withnail & I

My Name is Julia Ross

Il rosso segno della follia

Flamingo Road

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell

Tea and Sympathy

Dementia 13

Places in the Heart

Freaks

Come September

Gypsy

So Well Remembered

The Window

Magnificent Obsession

Secret People

They Won’t Forget

Denial

The Rain People

Freebie and the Bean

Portrait of Jason

Song of the Sea

Hide in Plain Sight

Daughter’s of the Dust

Carol

Oh, Hello on Broadway

Torch Song Trilogy

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Year of Living Dangerously

Badlands

Nobody Lives Forever

Countdown

Faults

The Search for General Tso

Amore tra le rovine

Pretty Ugly People

Miss Firecracker

America America

Koch

The Emigrants

Everything Must Go

Tour de Pharmacy

The Best of Everything

Ladybug Ladybug

Two Weeks in Another Town

Cynara

Thirst (1929)

Clive of India

The Light that Failed

Dunkirk

Their Finest

Friends and Lovers

That Old Feeling

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Alias Nick Beal

Panic in Year Zero!

A Life of Her Own

What Every Woman Knows

The Incredible Jessica James

Tropic Thunder

Let’s Do It Again

Born to Kill

The Blackbird (1926)

The Naked Jungle

The Girl From Missouri

The Unguarded Hour

Uncle Vanya (1957)

The King Steps Out

Five Graves to Cairo

Today We Live

The Wife Takes a Flyer

Between Two Women

Until They Sail

Romanoff and Juliet

Fast and Furious (1939)

Brother John

Dangerous

These Wilder Years

Dreamboat

Doctor, You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

Tight Spot

Twenty Million Sweethearts

Something of Value

Star of Midnight

The Sea Gull

So Big!

The Purchase Price

All I Desire

Morgan!

The Beautiful Cheat

Young Catherine (1991)

Camelot

The Feminine Touch

No Time for Comedy

Kind Lady

Biography of a Bachelor Girl

Janie

Desire Me

Scandal at Scourie

Her 12 Men

The Law and the Lady

Eyes in the Night

Condemned

Pretty Baby

Remember?

The Hard Way

Strange Lady in Town

L'aveu

Two Guys from Milwaukee

Gunman in the Streets

Term of Trial

Guns of Darkness

Hearts Divided

The Fixer

Viaggio in Italia

Menashe

The Bride’s Play

Gaby

Little Evil

Lost in Space

Logan

The Electric Horseman

Finding Vivian Maier

The Five Heartbeats

Beginners

Carousel

The Scapegoat

Fracture

The Hippopotamus

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Christine

Mum, Dad, Meet Sam

Walking with the Enemy

Cézanne et moi

The Shining

Yves Saint Laurent (2014)

Innerspace

Jackie Brown

The Dracula Saga (1973)

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

The Big Sick

My Father the Hero

The Squid and the Whale

Milk

The Two Faces of January

Dracula’s Dog

What We Do in the Shadows

Hoffa

Inside Man

Kumu Hina

Flash of Genius

Nono, het Zigzag Kind

Count Dracula (1970)

CBGB

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Is That You?

Wedding Doll

Seven Sweethearts

Brainstorm

Blade Runner 2049

Madam Satan

Madchenjahre einer Konigen

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Design for Scandal

Give a Girl a Break

Long Lost Father

Slums of Beverly Hills

Begin Again

Performance

Broadway Ballyhoo

The Monster (1925)

Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson

Casino

Honolulu (1939)

Willard (1971)

Ben (1972)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Güeros

Gremlins

The Salesman (2016)

Donnie Darko

Balalaika

It’s a Great Feeling

One Of Us

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

I Was a Communist for the FBI

Blast of Silence

Nightcrawler

Loving Vincent

Scent of a Woman

Pushover

Ah-ga-ssi (The Handmaiden)

Tender Comrade

Fehér isten (White God)

Florence Foster Jenkins

Marshall

The Limehouse Golem

Made in Dagenham

A Serious Man (MY 4,000th FILM!)

Ann Vickers

Cinderella Liberty

Paddington

John Garfield (2002)

Kiss Kiss Fingerbang

Night Mayor

Green Fire

Mermaids

Jeopardy (1953)

Coco

Luna Park

The Dead

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Mudbound

Saturday Night Fever

Shield for Murder

The Black Balloon

Consolation Marriage

Period of Adjustment

Married Bachelor

Ask Me, Don’t Tell Me

Kriminal

Akeelah and the Bee

The Tenth Man (El Rey del Once)

Feu Mathias Pascal

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Beatriz at Dinner

Keep Your Powder Dry

The Shape of Water

The Best House in London

Trumbo

Latitude Zero

Homecoming

Tall Story

Any Wednesday

Cass Timberlane

A Scandal in Paris

Peyton Place

Betrayed

The Prodigal

Bachelor in Paradise

A Big Hand for the Little Lady

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTES: This is the last of the main oneshots! Minako and Usagi's story turned out very slightly longer than the others on accident, but it was purely a factor of not being able to wrap up the storyline it created as quickly. (Also, because the other senshi were all packed into the beginning bit, which made it a little longer haha). Definitely had nothing to do with my love of this or that ship more or less than any others.

What did you think? There's still my little bonus chapter to go, but I hope you all dug the storylines! Maybe someday in the future I'll try something like this again with a different fandom! The sky's the limit!

Act 5: Minako: What's In A Codename?

"You know, you're an even bigger pig than I am."

Minako Aino stuck her tongue out over her shoulder at Usagi. Luckily, she was comfortable enough with her new friends to be able to take that slight criticism, even if it was still a bit wounding. "Just because I invited you up here, and you and Ami and Rei decided that we 'needed' to clean my room, doesn't mean you get to judge me. Especially you!"

The other blonde pouted, flipping through the stack of shojo magazines. "Why 'especially me'?"

"Because you're a pointless waste of space," Rei said immediately with a long sigh. She and Ami were currently cramming all of her dirty clothes into a basket, and didn't look at all like they minded — but Rei certainly minded that Usagi wasn't doing her part. "Can you just hurry up and actually do something? I thought you wanted to help Minako."

"I do! I just… wanted to make sure these magazines were going to be put away in order!" As if this somehow proved her point, she poked the page she was open to. "Look! Yeah, this one goes after the other one!" Then she gathered up the manga and took them over toward Mina's shelf.

"Hopeless," she sighed, though she seemed mostly resigned.

"C'mon, I didn't say all that," Minako laughed as she stripped her bed of sheets so she could grab the shiki futon from on top of her Western platform bed and take it to the balcony and let it air out. "Just that you're a slob, too, so it's like the pot calling the kettle a pot."

Ami flinched slightly as she bundled the sheets in with the clothes. "You mean 'the pot calling the kettle 'black',' right?"

"Oh, is that how it went?"

"Sorry," Usagi groaned, actually straightening up the shelves now. Not that there was much to do, but she had left quite a few books lying around, and she felt bad that her fellow blonde had to work on that for her. "You're right, I'm not any better than this. But it's not easy being almost a high school student and a superhero!"

Having just put the basket in the hall, Rei came back over and slung an arm around Usagi's shoulders. "Like you actually do any of those things that well. Seriously, considering how much you slack off, you should have plenty of time left over to help a friend clean. OR clean your own room."

The criticism got Usagi puffing out her cheeks in annoyance. Rei and Ami laughed, and so did Minako, though she felt a little guilty about it. After all, she didn't know any of them all that well yet. At times, she felt like the odd woman out on the Senshi, even though that was silly when none of them had really had terribly long to establish friendships.

"Oh wow!" came a voice from deep in her closet. After a moment, Makoto appeared with a wallscroll of a popular band, index finger tapping on one of the posing men. "This guy really looks like my old boyfriend! I wonder if it's him? Do you remember their names?"

Laughing nervously, Minako shrugged and said, "It was a promotional gift, I barely know a few of their songs. Do… you want that poster?"

The taller girl's green eyes lit up like emeralds in the sun. "Really? You mean it?"

"Sure! Take it, go nuts!" As Makoto squealed and jumped up and down, Ami having to duck out of the way of her elbow, Minako giggled and took the mattress outside.

This really was so much better. Ever since she got back from England, she had felt like she had no life. School was fine, and so was her continual work around town under her alter ego to roll back the crimes of the citizenry, but that could all be classified as her 'professional' life. She didn't have any friends. After all, almost none of her old friends from elementary school were going to her junior high, and the few that were no longer really had much in common with the weird, Western-looking blonde. She got called hafu a lot, because she was Japanese but looked so American, and spoke English so well. In all honesty, it was a little depressing not having a core group of pals to hang around with — play video games, watch movies, go to the summer Obon festival and watch the fireworks.

But becoming a Sailor Senshi changed all that. Now at last, she could finally go back to a normal girl's level of companionship and bonding. Even if it was because she was fighting the forces of evil alongside other young women with magic running through their veins.

After hanging her futon on the balcony, she came back in to hear the sounds of squabbling. Again. Rolling her eyes and heaving a weary sigh, she entered her room and braced for impact.

"You did too try to kill her plants and you know it!"

Rei was already in full rage mode, fists clenched at her sides. "I never claimed to have any idea how to take care of houseplants! We all agreed to do our best, and Ami kept them from dying in the end!"

"But you act like I have no responsibility, and then you do stuff like that!" Usagi shot right back at her. "That's what I'm saying isn't fair!"

"Look. I never said you were the worst person in the world, and I was perfect. Just that you're way less responsible than any of the rest of us!"

"Lay off her!" Makoto put in, stepping between the two jousting junior high girls with her taller, more imposing frame. "Usa-chan is fine the way she is, even if you don't think so, Rei! So just shove it!"

Ami was definitely already distressed, and put a soothing hand on Rei's arm. "Please, can't we get along? This in-fighting never solves anything — no one here is a bad person, no one here is 'lazy'! Alright?"

"Sorry, Ami, but Usagi is definitely lazy. I'm not going to lie just to make her feel better!"

"Right!" Usagi burst out at Rei, eyes tearing up. "Because being nice to somebody just doesn't work for Rei Hino! Ohhhh no, that would involve caring about anybody but herself!"

"Of course I care! I care about all of you! And if I didn't care, didn't want you to be your best, I wouldn't bother to tell you what a selfish little brat you can b-"

"HEY!"

Everyone turned to look at Minako. When she realised she had their attention, she smiled as sweetly as she could. "I hate to be a bother, but can you keep it down before my mom gets in one of her moods about us being too rowdy? Like, just… bicker quieter."

Usagi immediately dipped her head very low, looking like she wanted to expire on the spot. "Sorry! Gosh, I wasn't even thinking about that…"

"Of course not," Rei sniped immediately.

"Neither were you, genius," Makoto grunted. That nearly got them all going again, but Ami dragged Rei to the other side of the room to begin working on the cluttered school desk. Turning to Makoto and Minako, their bun-headed leader clapped her hands together and bowed reverently.

"You two saved my life. I am eternally grateful."

"Oh, shush," Makoto snorted, waving a hand back and forth. Her cheeks had started to pinken slightly from being thanked so earnestly, which was probably why she tried to dismiss the sentiment. "Maybe you're a little irresponsible, but I mean, so is everybody in their own way. Rei gets a bug up her butt over nothing sometimes."

"I can hear you!" Rei hissed in a stage whisper. That time, Ami literally turned her head all the way around with her hand to point back at their task.

Meanwhile, Minako was sighing and turning back to her bedframe to fish things out from underneath it. "This is tough for me, because I actually like all of you guys. So when you fight, I don't feel… like I can make the right call, since I'm the new girl."

"But you're not!" Makoto assured her. "Like, you've been doing it the longest; it's us who are the newbies."

"I'm sorry, Mina-chan," Usagi was saying again. "Seriously, sometimes I let Rei get under my skin and forget to pay attention to the rest of you. Must be so annoying."

That shot straight to her heart, and she put a hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Not annoying. Just… you get emotional sometimes. Totally normal, since we're all fresh out of puberty and hormonal sometimes." Then over her shoulder, she shot, "Same goes for other parties involved."

"Alright, alright," Rei sighed, coming back to the middle of the room with a few books in her hands that were destined for the shelf. "Usagi, I'm sorry I lost my temper. Again."

"And I'm sorry I'm lazy and dumb," she countered. Minako was opening her mouth, but she cut her off, "No, I am! Can't help it sometimes, but I'm gonna try to be better. Okay?"

The two shook hands, and the feud ended.

"Thank Serenity," Artemis sighed as he and Luna padded in, white and purple fur standing out in stark contrast to each other. "You do know cats have sensitive ears, don't you? All that yakking could make a guy deaf!"

Makoto put her hand on her hips and looked down at them with a smirk. "And where were you two, anyway? Off nuzzling each other?"

Little known fact: cats from the Moon Kingdom can blush.

                                                          ~ o ~

A few days after that, Minako was out with Makoto and Rei, shopping their little hearts out. Mostly, Rei wanted some help finding 'cuter' clothing; she owned a few nice things, but she spent so much time in her miko apparel that she felt like she had lost touch with the world of fashion. Makoto loved to dress the two of them up like dolls, since a lot of the things she wanted to buy for herself didn't come in her size — or they did, but the skirts rode up too high, or the blouses pulled in weird ways. And shoes were something of a nightmare. That really made Minako sad, so she resolved to try to get some clothes sent in from London that might fit her new teammate.

"Thanks for the help today," Rei told them as they made their way back on the bus, all smiles. "I finally feel like a girl again. And these jeans are so rad!"

"I'm just amazed I found some sandals today," Makoto said with a wistfully pleased smile. "A little tight, but at least I can wear them without wanting to die."

Giggling, Minako stood up and shouldered her purse. She herself had only one small bag. "I'm glad, too. Maybe we can hit another store next weekend."

"Wait, where are you going?" Rei asked. "This isn't your stop."

"It is today. I'm going to drop in on Usagi before I head home."

"Ohhh, I'd love to see Usagi," Makoto lamented, staring down at her bags. "But I bought too much. Plus I gotta get home and start on making bento for the next few days, or I'll never get it done."

"I can't, either." At the glare from the other two, she raised a hand. "Honest! Temple duties."

Nodding, Mina jogged to the door of the bus. "I'll send her your love! Later, guys!"

Their well-wishes in her ears, she hopped off at the stop. She'd never been to Usagi's house before; or she had, but only in the entrance once before they were all headed off elsewhere. Belatedly, she wondered if she should have called ahead or asked Usagi the last time they saw each other, but she also hadn't really been planning on it before that day, so it would have been a little difficult to predict her visit. Too bad those new cellular telephones were so expensive and cumbersome; it really would be so convenient to be able to call people wherever you were.

"Hello?" Mrs. Tsukino said when she opened the door, her slightly concerned look turning into one of pleasant surprise. "Oh, you're one of Usagi's friends, aren't you? Mina?"

"Minako Aino, okaasan," she told her with a polite bow, feeling the red bow atop her blonde head rustle from the movement. "Sorry to drop by out of the blue, but I was wondering if Usagi is home?"

Ikuko's hand went to her hip, a wooden spoon dangling from the fingers. Privately, Minako couldn't help thinking that Usagi's mother was quite lovely and put-together for a middle-aged housewife, her dark, wavy hair always coiffed and pristine whenever she saw her. She wondered what her secret was.

"Afraid she isn't; I think she and Naru are at the Game Center. But they've been gone all day if you'd like to come inside and wait for her. Shouldn't be too much longer with dinnertime being soon."

At first, she fully intended to turn down that offer. But then a little smile pulled at her lips. This was actually even better! "Well… alright, I will, if you're sure she wouldn't mind me hanging around her room?"

"I imagine not," the woman laughed, stepping aside for her to enter. As she closed the door and Minako stepped out of her shoes, she added, "Usagi used to always complain that nobody except Naru came to visit her. Now that Mizuno girl is over here often enough that I could almost swear she wants to be adopted!"

"Oh!" she giggled with a wide smile. "Now I feel bad I haven't come over before! Well, I hope she's back soon. Thanks!" Another little bow, and she clomped up the stairs.

"No problem!"

Letting out a breath of relief, she turned around to try and figure out which room belonged to Usagi. The one at the end of the hall was probably that of the parents, and there were three other doors that did not belong to the bathroom. Even Inspector Zenigata could have figured out the one with a knitted rabbit-head hung on the door was probably hers. Smiling to herself, she turned the knob and stepped inside.

"Hmm, where to start?" she breathed, looking around at the mess. It was almost the same as her own, but there was less food waste; she was right, Minako won the title of 'Slobbiest Senshi'. So she started picking up a few of the shirts and socks…

But that was as far as she got before it sank in. From the moment she had opened the door, something seemed a little off to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it immediately. Once she figured that out, she couldn't comprehend how on earth she had missed it.

Minako's face was everywhere.

Dropping the clothing, she gaped at the state of this room. Sailor V posters and wall scrolls, Sailor V pillows, Sailor V calendars, Sailor V figurines. A Sailor V pencil case sitting on her school desk, beside a handheld version of the Sailor V game. There was a lot more merchandise there than she had ever thought possible — than she even thought existed. Of course, given that she had a secret identity to protect, she couldn't simply sue these companies for cranking out all manner of items with her likeness on them without "outing" herself, so they popped up in any Akihabara shop. But she never in a million years imagined…

"Usagi," she breathed in horror. "You're an OTAKU."

Stumbling slightly on her way through the room, her fingertips brushed over a notebook with her face on it. A blanket, a backpack. She'd never used that backpack during classes, of course; she used the standard school satchel. So why even buy it?! Purely because it was yet another piece of junk with the happy-go-lucky smile and red eye-mask that everyone associated with her alter-ego? It almost made her angry, but in the context of Usagi owning this stuff…

It made her feel something else. More like hazukashii — a profound embarrassment, almost to the point of shame. One of her closest friends, someone she fought alongside against the Dark Kingdom, and her room was almost covered in pictures of her! Sure, they were ones freely available for anyone to buy, but…

Minako didn't know how long she had been sitting on the edge of Usagi's bed, despite staring up at the Sailor V clock in detached amazement, when she heard someone coming up the steps. She didn't react much, since she just assumed it would be Ikuko coming to check on her. Not Usagi herself, humming a little tune and throwing the door wide as she pranced in, then bumping it shut with her rear end before setting down her newest purchase on the low table in the middle of her room. She hoped and prayed it wasn't anything with Sailor V on it. Maybe it would just be a cute shirt. Or a Kodansha magazine, or some Pocky. Anything but…

Right at the moment Usagi noticed Minako there was when she saw it was a Sailor V duvet cover. Just about the biggest thing she could have acquired, once it was stretched over the actual duvet, and there it was between them both like the final nail in a coffin.

"O-oh!" Usagi squeaked, colour draining from her face. "Mina-chan! I… h-how did you get in here?"

"Your mom," she answered numbly.

"Cool! I mean, that's totally fine, I'm happy to see you! Um… been here long?"

"Maybe ten or twenty minutes. Not sure."

"Ah, that's not so bad."

"Yeah. Did you have fun at Game Center Crown?"

"Sure! And, um, after Naru left, I took a little detour on my way home…"

"I can see that."

The room got quiet for a few seconds. Minako drummed her fingers against her knee, and Usagi's feet shuffled nervously. Then she finally whispered, "Um… Minako…"

"Hm?"

"About… all this stuff…"

"Oh, it's fine," she said with a forced smile. "You're just… really into that Sailor V game, right? Always have been. I used to kind of go nuts for this one game, 'Lovely Fight'? It's… kind of older now…"

"Hey, I remember that one! The girl with all that awesome power-armour? Yeah, it was pretty fun. I think there's a machine in Crown still…"

"Kinda miss it, yeah."

Silence fell again. The longer this went on, the more she could see the redness blossoming in her friend's cheeks. Normally, Minako would feel bad about that, but not this time. It was just too weird. The whole situation, and being in that room surrounded by the merchandise wasn't helping.

"S-so um, what are you doing here, anyway? Not to be rude, just… I didn't think we had any plans."

"Oh. Well, um, I was going to clean your room to pay you back for cleaning mine. Like, 'one good turn saves nine', right?" That wasn't the correct phrase, but Minako couldn't remember how it went at the moment, so she moved on. "But I got, um, distracted."

"Y-yeah, I guess you would," she laughed nervously, trying to surreptitiously nudge the pencil case and the handheld game into the backpack without being too obvious. She failed, of course. "Like I said, this is just… y'know, n-not that important. I'm sorry you had to see the whole collection like this!"

"Really? Because, like…" Her open palm gestured to the posters on the wall. "It's kind of out in the open."

"Well, if you ever came up, I was gonna hide it all," she admitted, wilting slightly. "Since I couldn't predict how you'd, um…" In a quieter voice, she finished, "Are you mad?"

"Mad? No, not mad. Why would I be mad?"

"For somebody who's not mad, you're saying 'mad' a lot…"

Dropping the Sailor V throw pillow that had been sitting on her lap back on top of the other pillows, she stood up and gave an exaggerated shrug. "I mean, what's the point in feeling like that? You obviously don't hate me, or you wouldn't have my face on every available surface in here. So like, can't be mad about that!"

"But you're… upset? Disappointed? I don't know, Minako, help me!"

"Okay. Do you really want to know? I'm…" She had been so close to saying it: "disgusted". The very idea of one of her close friends having these things made her severely uncomfortable, and she wanted to disappear and forget she ever saw it. But Usagi looked so forlorn that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Still, she did ask.

"What?"

"I'm… just a little…" In the end, any word she chose was either not accurate, or too cruel. "I feel weird being in a room where my face is everywhere. That's all. So I guess it's fine that you have this stuff, even though I don't know why you'd want it, but I think I'm gonna go."

She had only taken a couple of steps before Usagi burst out, "Why I would have it? Is that what the problem is? I can tell you that! Don't go, Mina-chan!"

"Don't call me that anymore." The yip of pure pain from Usagi shot through her heart, so she turned and sighed. "Sorry. I'm probably overreacting, but this is just mondo bizarro! We know each other! Why would you want to… to sleep under a duvet with me on it?! Do you know what that sounds like?"

Now the blush got a lot worse as the implication sunk into Usagi's brain, and she stammered, "N-no, Minako, I promise I'm n-not a pervert, I don't- that isn't how I thought of you, seriously, it never was! B-but when I first became Sailor Moon, y-you were the only… I felt so lost, and scared, and like I couldn't do it, but I would t-try to be like you!"

"Like me?" she muttered, caught off guard by the idea.

"YES! Like, I already thought you were- well, no, that Sailor V was really tough and cool, and I liked the game and stuff, a-and I had a few of these things. But once I found out I had powers? Sometimes…" She took a deep breath, trying to find more courage even though she was shaking worse with each passing second, voice growing quieter. "Sometimes you were the only thing that got me through a fight! Trying to think of what you would do, remembering that… you would always win, a-and you looked perfect doing it, and that's what I wanted to be! And after that, I guess I did get a little obsessed with collecting Sailor V stuff, b-because it was like, a connection to you- or her!"

Though she was listening all along, the last part struck her as odd, and she had to shake off her daze. "Wait, wait. Why do you say it like that? I mean, I am Sailor V. You know that by now!"

"Not really! I mean… yeah, I know you are, but not in my mind, okay? I still see her as like, a character that I really looked up to! And then there's Minako, my friend, who's not the same; like, sometimes I do feel really lucky to be hanging out with you when I remember that's who you are, but n-not all the time! I swear!"

All of this sounded like double-talk and excuse-making to Minako. Especially with the way Usagi was blushing and sweating; she looked guilty, ashamed of herself. Just like any nerdboy who had been caught with a body pillow of his favourite idol… by the idol herself.

"Really? Do you swear?" Minako stepped a little closer, leaning so their faces were an inch apart. Usagi gulped, head drawing back a fraction of an inch but not daring to step backward or try to push her away. "Because I do like you as a friend, Usagi, but now I'm starting to think you might be a… yuri."

That got her to pause, shocked. Her blue eyes flicked down toward how close they were and back up again. Minako took another step, backing her all the way up to the edge of the desk. "Me?! Into Girls' Love? N-no, it isn't… I've n-never…" But she wasn't trying very hard to protest.

Suddenly, Minako felt a slight possibility that there might be something to her joking accusation. And instantly, she regretted making it. Mostly, she had been hoping that if she teased Usagi a little more, she might feel bad about making her so uncomfortable and promise to stop buying up Sailor V merchandise. Even if she didn't, she could at least show her the effect it had on her friend, and maybe she'd be more sensitive to the situation. But if Usagi really was interested in her beyond simple companionship…

"It's okay," she suddenly whispered, gulping hard. Usagi had to know that she didn't mean what she had said, and that she certainly didn't think a collection of random junk was worth destroying their friendship over. "Sorry for being so… w-well, I'm sorry. But don't worry about it; we can keep this between us."

"Between us?" she breathed softly. "It's really okay?"

"Yeah. I mean… yeah, I might have flipped out a little at first, but now… y-yeah, I'm okay with it. You can't help if you let it get a little out of hand."

Usagi nodded, wide blue eyes blinking a few times as she leaned a little closer. "Mina-chan… I can't believe you really don't… a-and I know you aren't Sailor V, I know that. Or you are, but y-you're not the same person that I used to feel so… I'm not an otaku, I know the difference between… fantasy and reality."

"Fantasy, huh?" Her mouth twitched into a slight smile, and she could tell Usagi was watching it. "What kind of fantasies did you have?" Maybe this would even be cute; something about a very new Sailor Moon ready to fight alongside her "senpai" — even if she didn't really feel like much like a soldier of a higher rank, since they were all the same age. After all, she'd felt the same way about Wonder Woman when she was reading her comics during her stay in London.

What she didn't expect was for Usagi to lower her eyes and whisper, "Just… meeting her, I guess? Getting to ask her how she made it look so easy? I d-don't know. But… meeting you as Venus was way better. Like, I'm so happy you're my friend… s-so I don't want you thinking that some silly girl-crush matters to me, okay? Please tell me you understand." Her voice got even quieter as she urged, "Please…"

Two words among all the others took her breath away. "Girl-crush?"

"Y-yeah. I mean, just because I thought Sailor V was massively cute — I mean, like all girls look up to older girls, right? Come on, I didn't imagine you putting my head in your lap and petting my hair or anything!" She tried for a laugh, but it sounded so forced and grating that it was clearly fake. Just like her last statement.

"Like this?" Her hand came up to fall on Usagi's hair, gliding along it gently. Usagi shivered, but didn't react that much otherwise, and she drew her fingers away immediately. "Sorry. I, um, now I feel stupid — that wasn't supposed to be teasing you for it, I promise!"

Her head shook from side to side, flashing her a small smile. "Nah, it's okay! I just… well, it's not really her. I'm not kidding, I really don't see Sailor V just looking at you; I see my gal pal, Mina-chan. S-so you don't have to feel so awkward about… like…" Her hand gestured to the posters, the duvet cover. "I know it might not make a lot of sense to you, but I'm totally serious about that. You're you, and she's her. To me."

That gave her an idea. A very odd, very ludicrous idea, and she was fairly certain it was also a bad one. But she decided she might as well try it. As things stood now, if she didn't find out what the difference would be, she would probably always walk around expecting Usagi to turn into some mouth-breathing perv at any moment. And she didn't want that. Not with her good friend and comrade.

"Hey," she started, stepping back. "I wanna try something. Can you, um… close your eyes for a sec?"

"Huh?" Her eyes narrowed. "Are you gonna hit me?"

"Who am I, Rei?! Nothing like that. I promise. Just… try it, and keep 'em closed." With a shrug, the bun-headed girl slapped her hands over her eyes. Then Minako took out her compact; a tool she had not used in quite some time. Raising it toward the ceiling, she called out, "Crescent Moon Power, TRANSFORM!"

As the room filled with light, she could hear Usagi cry out, "Whaa?!" but she didn't peek. After the swirling of invisible winds subsided, she still covered her face tightly.

"You can look now."

When Usagi lowered her hands, she saw her idol standing before her. Minako hadn't donned the Sailor V outfit in quite some time; she didn't need it when working with the other Senshi. Not that there was a wealth of difference between that and the Venus outfit, other than the eye-mask; a few details on the suit barely worth mentioning. Originally, she had thought the mask would help maintain her secret identity, but that was before Artemis told her about the "aura" she and the others had that helped keep ordinary people from realising who they were.

The difference was immediate. Usagi was still blushing at a similar level, but it was very easy to see the difference in why she was blushing. Before, it had been due to having her "hobby" found out, and feeling guilty about her friend's involvement. Now…

"It's really you," she breathed softly. Then she shook her head out and laughed. "God, I sound dumb. I know it's you! I just… well…"

"Hello, young lady!" she said in her best superhero voice, hands on her hips. "I am Sailor V!" They both laughed for a moment. "How are you today?"

"Great, Sailor V!" she gushed, followed by more giggles. Usagi had to bend double for a moment, hands clutching her stomach. "Oh wow, we must be losing it!"

Grinning, she reached up and braced herself against Usagi's shoulder to keep from falling over. After a moment, she was able to catch her breath. "Okay… okay, for real this time. How are you, Miss Odango?"

"Very well, thank you," she told her with a small curtsy, voice still laced with amusement.

"I've heard that you are my number-one fan. Tell me, why do you feel this way?"

Usagi rolled her eyes, waving a hand. "I get it, Mina-chan, I get it. You can cut it out now."

"Actually, I'm serious. You have Sailor V right here, in your room, ready to listen. What have you always wanted to tell her?" Turning around, she caught sight of the comfortable bench in front of Usagi's vanity and took a seat — though she kept her posture erect, hoping that was how a "superhero" would sit. "Go on."

"Well… no, I couldn't." But Minako didn't flinch, or do anything other than sit patiently. So eventually, she sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at her knees. "You really want to hear all that?"

"Of course. Sailor V fights to protect the world in the name of love and justice! What her fans think of her is very important, too."

The blush was coming back now that they weren't tittering so much. After a few seconds of kicking her legs back and forth, toes skimming over the pink area rug, she finally whispered, "I think you're the coolest." But that was all she could get out before hiding her face behind her hands. "Ugh, this is so lame! I'M so lame!"

"You're not. I promise. Come on, tell me anything."

"You're… my role model, Sailor V," she went on in a more earnest voice. As if glad for her chance now that Mina had convinced her she could trust it. "And I'm really lucky to get to talk to you. Never thought you would, even if we did meet. I mean, I'm just some dopey brat with two left feet who can't even figure out how to fight…"

That hurt to hear, but Minako focused on playing her role. "Don't worry about that. You're doing your best, Miss Odango. That's all we can do, every day." Then she gestured for her. "Come here."

"Huh?" When she saw the hand patting her lap, she giggled self-consciously. "C-come on, that's not…" But it patted again, harder, and she inched closer. Usagi froze up, so Minako moved to the bed. Only then did she slowly tip over, needing a hand to press her downward before she finally did lay in her lap.

"It's alright, Odango-san. Tell me what's in your heart." The longer she did this, the easier it got. Her voice was low and soothing, and Usagi seemed to be responding. She finally relaxed, though her hand was clenching on her duvet.

"You're so beautiful. It was the first thing I ever thought about you; that you were one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. In Japan, or anywhere! A-and after that, I thought… how cool it must be to be you. How I'd give anything to just see you save someone, or be saved by you. To have your hand touch my face and tell me that everything would be alright. I thought if you did that, I m-might really… believe it."

"Usagi…" That had been a slip, but she recovered quickly, petting along her hair just as she had requested. Running her gloved fingers through the strands of her pigtails. "Do you want me to brush your hair?"

"Ehhhh?! Really?" It was easy for her to reach the vanity from there, so she grabbed the hairbrush while Usagi undid her odango and let her hair fall loose. As she brushed, Usagi hummed, leaning into the touch.

"You could have asked me for this at any time. I know how special you are. Even when you aren't showing it to the world. And you're special without being Sailor Moon; a woman like you who loves her friends is a great treasure."

Usagi curled in a little tighter on herself, though she wasn't shaking or otherwise reacting. After a few more brush-strokes, she whispered, "I always wanted a big sister, too… someone to do this for me besides my mother. And you're so pretty, and brave, and confident… and you always got the bad guy. Made me wish I could be your sidekick."

"Well, you can. Come look in the mirror." Sitting her up, she guided Usagi forward a bit so they could both see themselves in the vanity mirror from the bedside. Then she took off her mask and held it front of Usagi's face.

"Uwaa?"

"Now you're like me," she told her softly, smiling wide. It was true enough; with their hair brushed out in a similar fashion, it was about the same length, the same shade of blonde. Maybe Minako was a bit taller and their faces weren't identical, but anyone who didn't know them intimately would think Usagi was Sailor V now. "You're Sailor V. And I'm sure with this mask on, you'd be just as cool, just as courageous. And you're definitely just as pretty."

For a moment, she had been completely absorbed into this fantasy. Cheeks glowing, eyes twinkling to see herself looking like her hero. But the last line seemed to break the spell. She was still happy, but she sighed, turning to look at Minako as she moved the mask back up to its owner's eyes.

"Not as pretty. There's no one in the world as beautiful as Sailor V, and I will fight you on that one."

What was this feeling now? Her heart was pounding in her throat, eyes blinking rapidly in response to what had snuck up on her. Some kind of… pleasurable thing. Maybe joy? Appreciation? Smiling and looking away, seeing the edges of the red mask again in her peripheral vision, she whispered, "You're wrong, Usa-chan."

"Am I? Maybe you haven't seen yourself. You look like an idol!"

"I do not." And she would know, because she would love to be one of those girls. It had always been her dream.

"Yes, you do." Her lips pushed upward into Minako's cheek, prompting a soft gasp of surprise. "Better than any idol, too. Because I know that you're not just cute; you're a great friend who put on a mask, and… and tried to make me feel better about having all this creepy junk in my room. Thanks so much, Mina-chan."

By now, she was having trouble finding any words. Usagi thought she was the most beautiful person? An idol, a brave hero? It was too much, and yet it made her as happy as it did mixed up inside. Everyone seemed to underestimate the diminutive bun-head because she wasn't very academically gifted, or athletic, or coordinated. But there were other strengths in life.

"You… don't need this junk anymore," she told her softly. She saw the eyes darken with fresh shame, so she hurried to finish, "Because now you have the real Sailor V. Anytime you need her, she's right here. And she's all yours." To seal the deal, she leaned in to give her back the sweet cheek-kiss…

Going back over it in her mind, she couldn't be sure how it happened. Maybe Usagi had moved in the same instant, either on purpose or accidentally, or maybe she had done it because it simply felt right to pair their lips with one another. It was a feather-light touch that seemed to last for hours, but also ended within an instant. When Minako could think again, she found her hands had drifted up to gently cradle her friend's head, and one stray hand of hers had found its way down to her own waist.

"Usa… ch-chan…" That was all either of them had to say. Usagi was blinking up at her, confused but curious, cheeks rosy and mouth slightly open. And in that moment, she'd never looked more sweet.

A bird cawing somewhere snapped them out of it. Scooting to opposite ends of the bed, they looked away and Usagi laughed, "Y-yeah! Thanks, Sailor V! I'll… I'll call you when I need you!"

"Right! It's- y-yes, that's fine! I'm in the book!" They laughed again… and something about the way Usagi looked down, flushed and bashful, then just barely glanced up at her through her eyelashes, made her say, "For another kiss, or just advice! Whatever!"

"AH! Another kiss?!" But when Minako slapped her hands over her mouth, Usagi hurried to say, "S-sure! If you want, we… I m-mean, hey, I'd kiss you right now if that's what you want!"

The way "WHAT?!" burst out of her mouth made Usagi cringe. "Oh, that's- I didn't mean to scare you! But um… y-yeah, I wouldn't ask that of a citizen!"

"You can ask it of me anytime! I mean… y-you could ask me to do anything and I'd do it…" Her face was turning redder and redder. "Which, um, I m-might have thought I had some limits before, but this kind of proves that when it comes to you, all bets are off! Right? Which is crazy, since I've only had dreams like this, n-never thought about it otherwise…"

"You've had dreams? About me?" A tiny nod. "About kissing me?" Another nod, and Minako felt pins and needles all along her spine, the backs of her knees. "Wow… so which is better, the dreams or… or what we just did?"

"GAH! I can't answer that!" She flopped backward, legs windmilling in the air as she squealed. Despite the situation, Minako smiled at how cute the reaction was, and leaned back on the bed to watch her for a moment. When she recovered, she rolled over and stared at her. "Sailor V is on my bed…"

"Sailor V kissed you on your bed." More squealing, and she had to grin at that. "And… would kiss you again, if you wanted. But only on one condition."

"Name it!" Belatedly, she slapped herself in the forehead. "Ugh, way to sound over-eager, Usako…"

Giggling, she reached up and took off her mask. "You kiss Minako Aino, just once. I mean… I want to know where we stand, and how much of it is the superhero getup."

"But Minako is my friend…" Usagi fidgeted, indecisive. She understood; this was a different barrier being broken for her. In the end, she shrugged and smiled shyly. "Besides, why would Minako want to kiss me, either?"

"Because you're a great kisser. And I happen to have heard that from Sailor V herself." She touched her compact and de-transformed back into her weekend clothes. Simple blue overall-dress with a white shirt underneath, orange sandals left downstairs. She saw a slight look of disappointment flash across Usagi's face, but to her credit, she really did try to hide it rather quickly. "So it's the V fuku that does it for you, huh?"

Alarmed, she held up a hand as she laughed nervously. "N-no! Well… I guess it does, which is news to me as much as you, but I… we probably sh-should test this. Because you're my friend, and it's important to know… um…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "What kind of friend. Isn't it?"

They were kissing again in no time. As far as Minako was concerned, it was just as spectacular, just as strange and wild and new, just as delicious in a way she didn't think kisses could be. All from Usagi, of all people! Though she did feel a little difference in how much purpose she felt, how much passion… Usagi definitely was more eager for V, but seemed more at ease when she wasn't being intimidated by the knowledge that her heroine was the one kissing back. Despite the fact that, either way, it was really the same person.

"Oh my GOD," the bun-head breathed when she pulled back, panting and staring up at the ceiling. "What… what did we do? I… I kissed Mina-chan!"

"You kissed two girls in one day," she teased breathlessly. That got them giggling and curling to face each other, pulled up on the bed now and comfortable, fractions of inches away from each other, knees touching but otherwise held apart. Then she reached up to pet over her cheek. "Usagi… I don't really have any experience with this. I kind of gave up the idea of ever dating when I awakened as Sailor V, and then Venus. But like… this is… different. We're part of the same world. So maybe…"

"Maybe it's alright?" she whispered back, guessing correctly what she had wanted to say but had been afraid to say first. Then she nodded. "I mean, I kinda had a crush on Sailor V, and Mamoru, and Tuxedo Mask, and Motoki… s-so I guess I'm not very professional." Minako's little snort made her smile. "But here's you, kissing me for real now, and it feels way more right than any of that daydreaming ever did!"

Smiling, she leaned up and pecked Usagi's lips, prompting an excited giggle. "I'm the Senshi of Love, right? Makes sense to me."

"Mmm… oh, Mina-chan, what are we going to tell all the others?"

"Nothing," she said right away. "Not until we're ready. Which, um, I don't think I am yet. Are you?"

"NO! Like, how do you even start talking about Girls' Love with your best friends?! They'll think we're grosser than you did when you got here!"

Giggling, Minako leaned in to peck her lips again. "You're probably right." That devolved into yet another soft, slow kiss, and she still couldn't get over how weird it was to be kissing anyone, let alone the klutzy team leader she had been ready to dismiss as an otaku.

Speaking of which… after a few minutes of that, Usagi pulled back and gasped, "WOW! So, um… I have kind of a weird question."

"Shoot," she just barely managed to breathe, clearing her throat a moment later.

"Okay. So… all this Sailor V stuff. You're probably gonna want me to get rid of it, huh?"

"Definitely." At the disappointed sigh, she reached up to pet along her cheek to console her. "Hey, do you really need it with the real me around?"

Usagi did struggle with herself for a moment before she exploded, "No, but some of it's really rare! Like, that calendar? They were only giving that out at the ramen stand that day! Probably only a few hundred of them in Tokyo!"

Both of Minako's eyes rolled toward the ceiling. "Fine, then the calendar can stay."

"And I guess I could take back the duvet cover, since I just got that and haven't used it yet. But don't make me give up the throw pillow!" As if afraid it would suddenly burst into flames, she snagged the pillow bearing Sailor V's face and hugged it to her chest, eyes dancing with moisture. "Please, please, pleeeaaase? If you let me have this, I won't ever ask you to be V for me when we kiss…"

"That doesn't sound like a promise you can keep," she giggled as she kissed Usagi's forehead, secretly loving how cute and nerdy Usagi was acting. Which was as much laughing at herself, since she used to have a high distaste for nerds after a few unpleasant encounters with them, but somehow when it was Usagi, everything was different. She was different — from anyone she'd ever known. "Alright, alright. But can I ask why? You didn't used to practice making out on that pillow, did you?" A long pause. "Usa-chan?"

The lack of reply spoke volumes.

                                                               THE END

                                                           [Next: Outtakes!]

[anotheruserwithnoname]

More mysteries of Jenna Coleman’s audition tapes uncovered!

The story so far:

In 2010-11, Jenna-Louise Coleman spent time in the US trying to launch an acting career there. During this time she auditioned for a number of films and TV shows. Somehow video of several of these screen tests has turned up on YouTube (6 so far) and, aside from showcasing different sides of Jenna in her early, pre-Who career, give a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been.

None of these videotaped auditions bore fruit, though she got a small role in Captain America The First Avenger. Back in the UK, she won supporting parts in the miniseries Room at the Top and Dancing on the Edge (both acclaimed productions), and a larger role in the 2012 miniseries Titanic that aired in both the UK and North America. And then a little sci-fi series, I forget the title, gave her a job. She hung out in Cardiff for a few years doing that little gig before becoming Queen Victoria.

Identifying these shows has been an interesting bit of detective work. Thanks to information verified by @freelydifferentluminary (and also determined by others), we’ve been able to identify two more of the videos. So, after the jump, the mysteries of the Jenna Coleman audition tapes are uncovered! (Sadly, no footage has yet emerged of the pilot she apparently shot for a sitcom where she played an Australian. Hear her talk about it during her 2013 appearance on The Last Leg.)

Audition #1: Magic City. This is Jenna trying for the role of Lily in the Starz cable drama Magic City, set in 1959 Miami. Jessica Marais eventually won the role and having googled her name and the character name, let’s just say Jenna’s somewhat NSFW turn in Room at the Top would have looked like Blue Peter by comparison if she’d continued in the part. The series ran for two seasons, 16 episodes total, over 2012-2013 so she probably would have been out of the running to play Clara had she won the role. By the way, Stevie is a male character in the TV series, played by Steven Strait, but it sounds like a woman is reading the lines in this test.

Audition #2: Peace, Love & Misunderstanding: Elisabeth Olsen ultimately won the role of Zoe Hudson in this comedy-drama film, released in 2011, that also included in the cast Kyle McLachlan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who coincidentally also was the star of Magic City) and Jane Fonda (who is the Grace character mentioned in the clip). Jenna is quite impressive as she tackles some pretty hefty technobabble in the first scene, especially as she has to do it with an American accent. At 1:25 we see Jenna do some great emoting.

Audition #3: 2 Broke Girls: This is Jenna trying out for the role of Max in the sitcom 2 Broke Girls, which was ultimately played by Kat Dennings. This clip is odd; it sounds like the other actor (I can’t tell if it’s Beth Behrs but whoever it is is reading all the other characters which is just strange) is reading the lines other the phone or Jenna might be reacting to a recording. The series debuted in 2011 and is still running and in its 6th season. This one has a bit of raunchy humour near the end (those who know the show know what to expect).

Audition #4: Unknown: Haven’t been able to track this one down. I’ve run the dialogue through google with no success. It’s possible the film/TV show wasn’t made, or the script was overhauled, as can happen. No American accent this time. The video goes out of synch near the end. Although a male actor is reading the lines this time around, Jenna’s character appears to be addressing another female character. Any ideas of what this might be gratefully received!

Audition #5: Jack the Giant Slayer: Jenna tries out for the role of Isabelle in this fantasy film that starred Nicholas Hoult (who might be the male voice heard in the clips), Ian McShane and Stanley Tucci. Eleanor Tomlinson (who guest-starred in the Sarah Jane Adventures episode “The Mad Woman in the Attic” and now co-stars in Poldark) won the role, with the film being shot in late 2011 but not released until early 2013. It was shot in England so had Jenna won the role this may not have impacted her doing Doctor Who.

Audition #6: Suits: Tumblr only allows 5 video links in a post, so you’ll have to click the link on the title to see this one. This is Jenna trying out for the role of paralegal Rachel Zane in this made-for-cable legal drama. The role went to Meghan Markle, who - like Jenna - would later be tied by the tabloids to Prince Harry (though in Markle’s case it wasn’t just a rumour). Suits debuted in the summer of 2011 and is now in its 6th season; Jenna would have been out of the running for Doctor Who had she won the part.

As far as I am aware, that’s all the audition videos out there. Fascinating to imagine what might have been ... and she does a fantastic job in all of these ... but, to be honest, I’m quite pleased that we got Jenna on Doctor Who, and Victoria, instead.

I do not know where the videos originated, but a nod to TheUltimateDanziii (videos 1-5) and Athon Oficial (video 6), from whose channels I got these links. They are posted out of historical interest for fans of Jenna and Doctor Who, and I wouldn’t have posted them if I didn’t think Jenna shone brightly in all of them.

Now all we need is for the BBC to release her audition tapes for Clara!

[wildestweasley]

Biography Molly 2.0

ｘ ｔｈｅ ｆａｃｔｓｘ "ᴏɴᴇ ᴋɪꜱꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀʟʟ ɪᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ, ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴ' ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ"

Name: Molly Gianna Weasley Nickname: Mol, Molls Date of Birth: 23rd December Zodiac: Capricorn Place of Birth: Westhampton, New York, USA Current Place: Honiton, Devon, UK Roots: British, American, Italian & French Spoken languages: English (native language), Italian and French Height: 5'8'' / 173 cm Weight: 117 lbs / 53 kg Blood Type: B+

ｘ ａｌｌ ａｂｏｕｔ ｔｈｅ ｍａｇｉｃ ｘ "ᴄᴀʟʟ ɪᴛ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ, ᴄᴀʟʟ ɪᴛ ᴛʀᴜᴇ"

first visible signs of magic: at the age of  five. A mirror exploded when she got angry was told she is a witch: there was not a certain moment. She grew up with it. Wand: Elm wood with a unicorn hair core, 11 ¼" and brittle flexibility Patronus: swift Blood Status: 3/4 Pureblood (her Grandma is a No-Maj) animal companion: none, but her dad promised to get her one able to apparate? yes able to perform wandless magic? only very simple  

ｘ ｆａｍｉｌｙ ｘ "ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴛꜱᴛᴇᴩꜱ, ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ꜱᴀɪᴅ"

Father: Percy Weasley, works at the MoM Mother: Audrey Weasley (neé Rossi), deputy head of the Aurors at the MoM Siblings: Lucy Weasley other Family Members (aside from Weasleys):  Carlo Rossi, Grandpa, Owner of a Bakery - Called Pop by Molly Emily Rossi (nee Johnson), Grandma - Called Nana by Molly related Families: Weasley Family, Potter Family, Black Family

ｘ ｅｄｕｃａｔｉｏｎ ｘ "ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀy"

former school: Ilvermorny former house: Wampus  school: Hogwarts house: Gryffindor graduated: No O.W.L. grade point average: Exceeds Expectations N.E.W.T. grade point average: Acceptable favorite subjects: Charms, DADA, Apparition classes, No-Maj Studies least favorite subjects: Native American Magic Culture, Divination Quidditch? No Position? No

ｘ ａｐｐｅａｒａｎｃｅ ｘ "ɪ'ᴍ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴀᴩᴇ ᴏꜰ yᴏᴜ"

ethnicy: caucasian eye color: blue hair color: light brown hair structure: wavy dyed: - length: mid-long face shape: heart shaped lips: full nose: defined and not too small

Style: relaxed. She is mostly the shirt and jeans type of girl, but goes for a dress at times Tattoos: none Piercings: none Glasses/Contacts: yes, both

Left/right handed: left handed

ｘ ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｉｓｔｉｃｓ ｘ "ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴᴅᴀy ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ, ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ ʀᴇᴀʟ ʟᴏᴜᴅ"

Personal Motto:”Chi si volta, e chi si gira, sempre a casa va finire.” (No matter where you go or turn, you’ll always end up at home.) Theme Song: Ed Sheeran - What do I know? Alternate Theme songs: Astrid S - Such a Boy Pason James ft Hook n Sling - If you’re hearing this

Keywords: self-confident, feminist, feisty, honest, dreamer Biggest fear: small spaces & heights Hobbys: playing Piano, cooking, travelling, watching Quidditch games, working at the animal shelter positive traits:

adventurous

kind

compassionate

tolerant

enthusiastic

observant

brave

witty

passionate

conscientious

reliable

determined

negative traits:

loud

critical

unorganized

feisty

lazy

moody

reckless

tactless

absent-minded

ｘ ｆａｖｏｒｉｔｅｓ ｘ " ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ ɪ’ᴍ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴄʀᴀᴢy Yᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ᴛᴀᴍᴇ ᴍᴇ "

Color: Pink, Blue & White Food: Her Grandpa’s Spaghetti & Tiramisu Non-alcoholic drink: coffee Alcoholic drink: Cosmopolitain Music: RnB, Pop Artists: Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Anne-Marie, Liam Payne, Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora Season: Summer & Christmas time of the day: Evening Flowers: Poinsettas Enchanted animal: Demiguise non-enchanted animal: Cat/Dog

ｘ ｓｔｏｒｙ ｘ "ᴡʜᴏ ᴀʀᴇ yᴏᴜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ?"

Molly is the eldest daughter of Percy and Audrey Weasley. She was born in Westhampton near New York and as well grew up there. Her parents met while her Mother, an American Auror, helped some colleagues at the British MoM. Percy used the chance to escape from the UK and moved to the USA to work at the MACUSA. Molly was born just two years later and another two years later followed Lucy. Molly and Lucy  grew up being the typical siblings who argue a lot, escpecially since Molly went to Ilvermorny before Lucy did, which caused a little gap between them. Molly never actually met her paternal Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles or Cousins. She only knew some from Christmas cards they got through the years.

Molly was sorted to Wampus and enjoyed her time at Ilvermorny. She was not the best student, but most likely the one who had the best time in School. During her vacation and in her free time, she helped out in the animal shelter, as her Dad did not want her to have some Animals, except of an owl. 

Her life could actually not be much better, when her Parents told her out of sudden, that they would move  to Great Britain because her Dad and Mom were both offered better positions at the MoM. The brunette was shocked and she had not much time to say goodbye to her friends and is now in a country she does not know, with a lot of new people.

ｘ ｌｏｖｅ， ｌｏｖｅ， ｌｏｖｅ ｘ "ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʟᴇꜱꜱ ʟᴏɴᴇʟy ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ"

Sexual orientation: straight First boyfriend: A childhood friend she grew up with Number of ex-boyfriends: 2 Number of sexual partners: 1 Current relationship status: Single

ｘｏｏｃ ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ ｘ "ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴇᴇ yᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴄᴛɪɴɢ"

Faceclaim: Jessica Conte Age Range: 16-19   Writer: ʙᴀᴢɪɴɢᴀ Experience: +12 years Style: 3rd person simple present perfect f.e. “She has worked a lot “ Length: Anything between 1-15 tweets (usually)

Rules:

please try to write more than just a few words. It is depressing if you put a lot of effort in tweets and all you get is a 5 word reply. (this doesn't go for banter)

If ever there should be a problem: DM me, not anyone else. I am sick of hearing from others "Hey a friend of mine is really annoyed by what you did/wrote". If you don't come to me, don't ask others to do it. No TL drama!

I will not accept racism, homophobia and discrimination (unless it is only in RP and is planned between two RPers)

And the most important: HAVE FUN! This is (at least for me) an escape from real life and fun is my no. 1 priority.

ｘｓｏｕｒｃｅｓ ｘ "ɪ'ʟʟ ᴩᴀɪɴᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴩɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ, ʟᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ꜱᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇ"

This List of Character Traits by Eddie is a real help

[hairstyle1453-blog]

35 Celebrities Who Rock the Short Bob

New Post has been published on http://girlsbesthairstyle.com/35-celebrities-rock-short-bob/

35 Celebrities Who Rock the Short Bob

35 Celebrities Who Rock the Short Bob

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In our quest to find out our personal styles and look our best, it can be helpful to have examples of people who may have accomplished just what we’re trying to do. That’s one reason why so many of us love keeping up with celebrities.

If you’re thinking about a short bob, don’t worry, many celebrities have already tried it, so you can look to them to help you decide whether it’s right for you, too. In fact, we have here a list of 35 celebrities who rock the short bob for your amusement.

Think someone else should be on this list? Let us know.

Alexis Bledel

With a few cute little waves and curls, the actress most famous for her role as Rory Gilmore proves that bobs can be a wonderful way to frame a face. Hers silhouettes her cheeks and chin in such a way as to emphasize her smile, and the dark color creates a striking contrast with her skin. It’s a fabulous look for Alexis Bledel and anyone with her physical coloring.

Christina Hendricks

Big, full, and with just the lightest traces of waves, the Mad Men actress looks like she came right out of the 1960s. The windswept appearance already makes the bob look fun, but Christina Hendrick’s well-known red hair color only adds to the appeal, bright and happy.

Evan Rachel Wood

Extra short and evoking a no-nonsense attitude, the award-winning actress Evan Rachel Wood lets ashy strands of hair fall to her cheekbone in a bob with an undercut. She look exudes confidence and cool-headedness. If you wanted to get a bob that would convey the same message, she proves to you that it’s possible.

Jennifer Lawrence

It’s hard to say whether Jennifer Lawrence is more famous for her acting roles or her off-screen antics, but either way, she’s quite charming with this pale blonde bob. Accented with lightly by her wavy hair, it manages to look graceful and fun at the same time, much like Lawrence herself.

Keira Knightley

Clearly, the multitalented Keira Knightley knows how to emphasize the unique beauty of her face. This bob is mostly straight but curls ever so slightly at her chin, cupping her angular features and bringing out her cheekbones and signature smirk.

Natalie Portman

With sassy bangs and a strictly graduated dark-colored bob, Natalie Portman’s look screams, “Don’t mess with me.” There is so much attitude in this look that you can’t help but admire it. If you want to achieve something similar with your appearance, look no further than this example to emulate.

Sylvie Vartan

In her younger days, French actress Sylvie Vartan was the definition of “blonde bombshell.” That’s easy enough to tell just by studying this picture. Her bob is full and enhanced with bangs, but what makes it stunning is the adorable swirl on her cheek that looks like it should top a chocolate Kiss. If you’re into vintage, this bob is definitely for you.

Anjelica Huston

Although she effortlessly graced the world with her incredibly long hair in The Addams Family, Anjelica Huston shows that she can also pull off the short bob. With straight-cut bangs and straight-cut ends right beneath her ears, she looks just as unique, mysterious, and intriguing as her characters.

Drew Barrymore

Having acted in many roles since her childhood, Drew Barrymore is an accomplished household name. This bob is only another reason to admire her. She’s made it look light and almost fluffy while retaining great volume. It’s the kind of bob that could look fantastic on just about anyone, and she suggests that it’s possible to achieve.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Let’s not forget the magic of curls. Gugu-Mbatha-Raw, most recently celebrated for her role in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast film, sports a bob that reminds us of the power of ringlets, which create a halo of spunk around her head. Curls can be a bit unpredictable, especially when they don’t have the additional weight of long hair to hold them down, but this shows that they’re worth the effort for an amazing bob.

Jennifer Lopez

Again, we get to observe the beauty of curls in this actress and singer’s bold bob. Jennifer Lopez’s ringlets are not as tight as the ones in the previous example, but they allow the hairdo to be full of volume and self-assurance. If you keep curls like this from frizzing by using products, you can obtain a fantastic bob like this one, too.

Kirsten Dunst

With this bob, accomplished actress Kirsten Dunst belies the many mature roles she has played. It’s a simple but effective look—wavy bangs and locks that end just above her shoulders, helping to give her a sweet and youthful appearance. It’s a great choice for anyone who values an innocent aesthetic.

Rachel McAdams

Although she’s been redheaded or otherwise blonde in many of her most famous roles, Rachel McAdams looks terrific with this dark-colored bob. Simple and straightforward, it consists of bangs and strands that just brush her shoulders, achieving a similar effect as Kirsten Dunst with her bob. McAdams, in fact, has worn many different gorgeous bobs, and we’d encourage you to search for them.

Taylor Swift

With so many young girls paying attention to singer Taylor Swift, it’s great that she can show them how fabulous a bob can look, too. Hers, complete with bangs, ends at her chin and curves slightly inward, evoking a sense of poise and confidence, which is something that many of her fans love about her.

Annette Bening

We’ve seen curly bobs in this already, but none quite this short. Versatile actress Annette Bening creates a diamond shape with her bob, curls falling outward from her part before coming back to gather at the nape of her neck. It’s a fascinating and elegant look that many people with her facial shape would be able to pull off, too.

Emma Stone

With its vivid red color, Emma Stone’s hair enhances its bright personality with an easygoing bob that finishes just above her shoulders with a few little waves. This only serves as further proof that wavy hair can make some of the most compelling and cheerful bobs.

Halle Berry

Although her pixie cut is probably better known, Halle Berry proves here that she looks just as fantastic with a bob. With a gradual cut that perfectly outlines her head, the ends curve delicately toward her chin. Somehow, she looks both regal and carefree.

If you’re a big fan of her famous pixie cut and want to see more like it, though, you can look here.

Jessica Biel

Lightly layered and just wavy enough to curl under her chin and around her neck, actress Jessica Biel’s bob is another way of showing that simplicity is sometimes the most beautiful. Furthermore, most people wouldn’t have to visit a high-end salon to obtain a look like that. Thus, this bob is not only lovely but accessible.

Lily Collins

With layered waves framing her face, actress and singer Lily Collins shows everyone how to wear a bob that enhances your natural beauty. As with Alexis Bledel, too, the juxtaposition of dark hair and light skin is visually interesting, giving a bob like this several dimensions of appeal.

Reese Witherspoon

With a few strands gracefully crossing her forehead while the rest hang demurely around her neck, multitalented actress Reese Witherspoon’s blonde bob displays easy sophistication and effortless elegance. This is the kind of look that becomes timeless, flattering for any hair type and facial shape.

Ellen Page

Cut right at her chin, actress Ellen page shows us another way to employ curls in a bob. Due to the nature of curly hair, the bob has plenty of volume, but the locks have also been tamed with products to reduce frizz and emphasize their beauty. The result is a fantastic a fantastic bob full of swirling, mingling ringlets. It’s a worthwhile effort for curls.

Audrey Tautou

Rising to international fame with Amelie, Audrey Tautou’s ability to pull off a bob has long been known to the world. However, it looks especially alluring with the casual waves that fall around her face. It looks effortlessly full and graceful, an enviable bob that many people with wavy hair can emulate.

Emma Thompson

Award-winning actress Emma Thompson’s hair is very short in this picture, but we can still think of it as a bob. What’s so striking about it is the way that her curly strands spiral out of the part in her hair like a blonde kaleidoscope. Some of the layers rest on her ears while the rest settle on her neck. This is achievable by women of many different facial types.

Helen Mirren

Age is obviously not a factor when it comes to bobs. The highly accomplished actress Helen Mirren proves just that. Her bob consists of pearly white strands that curve inward, hugging her head in a look that manages to be both cute and chic.

Helen isn’t the only celebrity with awesome hair ideas for older women, though. Check out more here.

Jessica Simpson

This bob, worn by singer Jessica Simpson, has all kinds of attitude. The front rises and then plummets down to her chin, her blonde hair full of big, strong, luscious curls that will not be held down. It’s the kind of bob that lets people know you aren’t afraid of them and have the self-confidence to do what you want with your life.

Marion Cotillard

With her bob partially resting on her face as though set there by a gentle breeze, Marion Cotillard, an actress and Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, demonstrates how it can be flattering no matter what you’re doing.

Rihanna

Famous for her singing and red hair, Rihanna sports a perfect black bob in this picture. The ends are cut perfectly straight, leaving her locks to gleam without disruption in the light, simple in its elegance. It shows yet again that straight bobs can look just as amazing as wavy or curly ones.

Victoria Beckham

Here, we see former Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham exhibiting a tousled bob. Her curly strands are not being held in specific places, allowed to roam free without looking chaotic. Indeed, that’s why tousled looks have endured in popularity—they find that balance.

Cate Blanchett

Studying this bob, it’s plain to see that proficient actress Cate Blanchett’s hair has the tendency to turn into ringlets. Some of them are half-formed, while another prominent is draped close to her right eye. Indeed, if this fabulous bob is any indication, your hair doesn’t have to be perfect to astound anyone who sees it.

Emma Watson

Known as Hermione from Harry Potter and Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Emma Watson shows off how versatile a bob can be. The shortness and tiny curls of the bob are adorable enough, but it seems as though her hair is parted in an unusual place for her head. This causes the hair to appear as though it has more volume. Short bobs don’t mean that you’re limited in how you style them.

Hilary Duff

Some of the bobs that we’ve seen in this list were worn at special events. In this example, Hilary Duff is going about her normal, everyday life, her bob catching the sunlight and stirring as she walks. Many celebrity hairstyles that you may admire would only make sense on the red carpet, but bobs can fit in anywhere and everywhere.

Katy Perry

Popular singer Katy Perry reminds the world that hair can be any color you want. In this case, her bob is a luminous blue, making her straight hair look not only timelessly classy but brilliantly fun. Does it make you think of all the different ways that you can color and wear a bob? If so, try them out!

Mindy Kaling

From this angle, actress Mindy Kaling’s bob has a peekaboo aspect to it, which has many effects; she can look mischievous, mysterious, cute, and gorgeous all at once. Bobs open up all sorts of possibilities.

Sarah Jessica Parker

In this example, actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s curly bob flares outward, wowing everyone who sees its fullness while helping to make her long face appear rounder. There are many ways that bobs can affect the perception of our faces, and that is merely one of them.

Zendaya

Straight, sensible, and adorned with bangs, this bob makes actress and singer Zendaya look beyond her years. Indeed, for some of the celebrities we’ve seen on this list, it’s helped them appear younger or more innocent, while with others, it’s complemented their ages. Here, the bob suits Zendaya’s overall look so well that it’s a surprise to learn how old she truly is.

Find and save ideas about Hair ideas on girlsbesthairstyle.com | See more ideas about Hair dos, Easy prom hairstyles and Easy winter hairstyles.

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[thewanderingkru]

Things that I did for Love (When in Bali)

Have you ever experience being so broken that you unthinkably traveled two hours just to see your best friends and ask for help because you were so broken after a failed relationship, and then, your best friends, just conspired with you, then you drink too much, and you do something stupid (drunk texting the exes and danced the night away with a loud music while the neighbors are sleeping), and you just wanna curl up into a ball and die! No, wait. of course, not die! Definitely, not yet. Of course, we have our own time to die, not just this moment, just because we are heart broken. Hello?! Of course, there’s more to life, and more to enjoy about life.

(My kind of cake facing the Indian ocean at Uluwatu, Bali)

It was during that time then when I arrived from my best friend’s place, after reading the novel few days back, we watched the film, with the same title, Eat, Pray, Love. Although we already saw the film years ago, we’ve decided to just re-watch it over a fried chicken in KFC with soju and thai whisky, a typical sleep-over, perhaps.

While we were on our tipsy level, I’ve decided I wanted to go to Bali, Indonesia, for personal reason and of course, inspired while watching the film. And without any hesitation, I booked a flight, for somehow, in hope to find love (not in a romantic kind of perspective at that moment, of course!). Also, since Italy and India are a bit far from Bangkok. So, I’m skipping them. Thus, I was not in the mood to Eat and Pray then, I’ve decided, to go on the last stage of the novel... Love. Well, the character, unexpectedly and eventually, found her love in Bali. Fast forwarding the time, last April of this year. I went to Bali for a 10-day trip!

(Getting lost at paradise on my way to Padang-Padang beach)

In this travel blog episode, I will share my insights about my journey in solo traveling, learning to love again (in a way to find myself, again), and of course, the things that I did for love! After all, it’s all about love.

Special mention to the people involved in this journey: Sist Valerie, Sist Jennica, Sist Dodo, Mommy Brenda (My Thailand family), and Miss Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, for the inspiration to make this journey happen. 

And of course, to my Indonesian friends... Willy, Reeree, Michael, and Nicolas who welcomed me wholeheartedly in the land of Gods... Bali, Indonesia. Also, Jessica and Ilaria, my Swiss girl friends that I met in Bali. You will always be in my heart!

Bali, Indonesia or the Island of the Gods, known for its beautiful and pristine beaches, marveling waterfalls, surfing jaunts, and of course, its traditional and unique Hindu-Balinese culture.

As for this personal journey, I’ve had few things that I did (for love, of course) in Bali!

REFLECT  

Big word as it seems, but one of the reasons why I went to Bali, aside from being inspired by the novel, and got really brokenhearted because of a certain love affair, was to reflect about my life. It was a time for me to just reflect and rekindle of what I had gained and lost along the way. As I look back from my old self, I asked about... “Is my life worth living for? Was I a good person? to myself? to others? Did I do something great for the benefit of others?, etc.” Some of the life questions among the many, I’ve decided to pause, in a way, of what I do in every day living, and just reflect. Reflect on things as to what am I capable of, what I can give and service to others, what I can offer and live my life on my own. Perhaps, on those times, I’ve realized how important it is to just pause for a moment, from this crazy world. In this way, the least, for some, perhaps, but at most, was one of the things that I did for love, not just for others, but for my self. I just gave in. I just didn’t think of anything about work life, love life, and just reflect on the breeze of my journey. Letting things flow.

Going back before this trip, it was supposedly a best friends trip, but it turns out plans have changed due to inevitable circumstances, which ended up a solo-traveling trip. Although, I wasn’t really and literally alone during the entirety of my trip, as I was able to meet friends along the way. Perhaps, an innate perks of being a teacher. After all, I was never alone.

(Reflecting my journey of life at Tirtha Empul Temple, Ubud)

RECOVER

(Lunch at a Warung place in Kuta before heading to Uluwatu)

On a personal perspective, I think, part of healing yourself, not just from the physical, mental, spiritual, but as well as, emotional pain, is to recover yourself. Thus, in recovering the self, what I did then was just to let things make the days worth the count. Every time I travel, I don’t really have an exact itinerary but of course when I visit to new or unfamiliar places, I always make it to a point, that I will have a day going to touristy places, at least. However, there will always be inevitable circumstance, just like the weather is not cooperating, or the tour is accidentally full, or for many unfathomable circumstances, I just make it to a point, that I will not stress over things that I cannot control.  After all, I’m a tourist, and I can do whatever I want to do. In most times, also, whenever I travel, if the plans that I want to do doesn’t go its way, I prefer to just going to chill places, like bars or cafes, or undiscovered places, but of course, with safety precautions. 

It’s August now, although the memories of last April this year is still vivid while I was in Bali. Perhaps, it was one of the magical journeys I had yet. Magical in a way that every single day in Bali, there’s always something new to discover, something that surprised me as I go through day to day. There was this day, while I was in Ubud, after my day tour, I went to a local market and just let myself get lost, went souvenir for shopping, but after a while, I’ve realized that my phone’s battery was about to drain, as I was planning to go home, the rain poured, but luckily, I found a cafe, and they just let me charge my phone. Waited for an hour for the rain to stop, and just took the time to listen to the rain. It was definitely my moment of Dolce Far Niente, my sweetness of doing nothing. It was a moment of just not thinking about the future, it’s like, come what may, as they say. Perhaps, the most magical I had yet. Perhaps, this is what Bali is all about for me, in one moment, I was at the beach, then to temples, then, to mountains, in the most unexpected moments.

True enough, time does help, in recovering from the pain. But of course, pain doesn’t just get away that fast. I needed the time for myself, to enjoy myself without expecting anything from anyone.

(Sending peace on a hot afternoon at Uluwatu Temple, Bali)

REWARD 

(A little love affair while in Bali, why not?! Cheers to Martinis night! As they say, last night were just rumours, and everything else was true. At Rumours! Bar, Kuta)

After working for two years now in the land of smiles, I’ve learned to reward myself with great food and drinks. To me, I think, part of doing things for love is to reward yourself with great food, regardless of the price. But, of course, I made sure that the food or drinks that I buy fits within my budget. If you want to be extravagant, that’s for you to decide. On a personal note, as long as it makes you happy, and you are contented with it, then go for it. Whatever it is, GO FOR WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!

As I have always shared in my previous blog posts, I reward my self with traveling, too. As it is my own outlet from this crazy world that we live. Traveling is my personal luxury. Although, it’s a privilege and of course, an opportunity, to learn and discover something new, but some privileges needs hard work, too. So, if you’re an aspiring traveler, with less cash, try to work hard. Save money! Unless of course, someone will give you a treasure, then you are a lucky person.

(Selfie at Tegalalang Rice Terraces, Ubud)

And for many reasons and questions that I have in mind when I was in deep pain, I just had to stop the moment, or perhaps, pause at that time, and just let things flow. And so I was, I rewarded my self with self discovery on my own. Traveled to new and unknown places by my self, and enjoy every single bit of moments. 

Everything is still a process, though, for some reason, I will meet new people and environment, and perhaps, will have my own highs and lows, but regardless of it, it’s a learning process. Thus, everyday is a lesson learn. 

(Selfie with my Indonesian friend Willy... my ultimate and best tour guide in my Bali journey)

3 BIG R words that taught me in Bali. Words that I will never ever forget and I will always treasure. Thus, these are the things that I did for love in Bali. And so, I’d like to end this blog episode, from the novel that inspired me to go to Bali, Eat Pray Love...

DEVO FARMI LE OSSA

“I need to make my bones.”

I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore.

8/23/17

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35 Celebrities Who Rock the Short Bob

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35 Celebrities Who Rock the Short Bob

35 Celebrities Who Rock the Short Bob

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In our quest to find out our personal styles and look our best, it can be helpful to have examples of people who may have accomplished just what we’re trying to do. That’s one reason why so many of us love keeping up with celebrities.

If you’re thinking about a short bob, don’t worry, many celebrities have already tried it, so you can look to them to help you decide whether it’s right for you, too. In fact, we have here a list of 35 celebrities who rock the short bob for your amusement.

Think someone else should be on this list? Let us know.

Alexis Bledel

With a few cute little waves and curls, the actress most famous for her role as Rory Gilmore proves that bobs can be a wonderful way to frame a face. Hers silhouettes her cheeks and chin in such a way as to emphasize her smile, and the dark color creates a striking contrast with her skin. It’s a fabulous look for Alexis Bledel and anyone with her physical coloring.

Christina Hendricks

Big, full, and with just the lightest traces of waves, the Mad Men actress looks like she came right out of the 1960s. The windswept appearance already makes the bob look fun, but Christina Hendrick’s well-known red hair color only adds to the appeal, bright and happy.

Evan Rachel Wood

Extra short and evoking a no-nonsense attitude, the award-winning actress Evan Rachel Wood lets ashy strands of hair fall to her cheekbone in a bob with an undercut. She look exudes confidence and cool-headedness. If you wanted to get a bob that would convey the same message, she proves to you that it’s possible.

Jennifer Lawrence

It’s hard to say whether Jennifer Lawrence is more famous for her acting roles or her off-screen antics, but either way, she’s quite charming with this pale blonde bob. Accented with lightly by her wavy hair, it manages to look graceful and fun at the same time, much like Lawrence herself.

Keira Knightley

Clearly, the multitalented Keira Knightley knows how to emphasize the unique beauty of her face. This bob is mostly straight but curls ever so slightly at her chin, cupping her angular features and bringing out her cheekbones and signature smirk.

Natalie Portman

With sassy bangs and a strictly graduated dark-colored bob, Natalie Portman’s look screams, “Don’t mess with me.” There is so much attitude in this look that you can’t help but admire it. If you want to achieve something similar with your appearance, look no further than this example to emulate.

Sylvie Vartan

In her younger days, French actress Sylvie Vartan was the definition of “blonde bombshell.” That’s easy enough to tell just by studying this picture. Her bob is full and enhanced with bangs, but what makes it stunning is the adorable swirl on her cheek that looks like it should top a chocolate Kiss. If you’re into vintage, this bob is definitely for you.

Anjelica Huston

Although she effortlessly graced the world with her incredibly long hair in The Addams Family, Anjelica Huston shows that she can also pull off the short bob. With straight-cut bangs and straight-cut ends right beneath her ears, she looks just as unique, mysterious, and intriguing as her characters.

Drew Barrymore

Having acted in many roles since her childhood, Drew Barrymore is an accomplished household name. This bob is only another reason to admire her. She’s made it look light and almost fluffy while retaining great volume. It’s the kind of bob that could look fantastic on just about anyone, and she suggests that it’s possible to achieve.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Let’s not forget the magic of curls. Gugu-Mbatha-Raw, most recently celebrated for her role in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast film, sports a bob that reminds us of the power of ringlets, which create a halo of spunk around her head. Curls can be a bit unpredictable, especially when they don’t have the additional weight of long hair to hold them down, but this shows that they’re worth the effort for an amazing bob.

Jennifer Lopez

Again, we get to observe the beauty of curls in this actress and singer’s bold bob. Jennifer Lopez’s ringlets are not as tight as the ones in the previous example, but they allow the hairdo to be full of volume and self-assurance. If you keep curls like this from frizzing by using products, you can obtain a fantastic bob like this one, too.

Kirsten Dunst

With this bob, accomplished actress Kirsten Dunst belies the many mature roles she has played. It’s a simple but effective look—wavy bangs and locks that end just above her shoulders, helping to give her a sweet and youthful appearance. It’s a great choice for anyone who values an innocent aesthetic.

Rachel McAdams

Although she’s been redheaded or otherwise blonde in many of her most famous roles, Rachel McAdams looks terrific with this dark-colored bob. Simple and straightforward, it consists of bangs and strands that just brush her shoulders, achieving a similar effect as Kirsten Dunst with her bob. McAdams, in fact, has worn many different gorgeous bobs, and we’d encourage you to search for them.

Taylor Swift

With so many young girls paying attention to singer Taylor Swift, it’s great that she can show them how fabulous a bob can look, too. Hers, complete with bangs, ends at her chin and curves slightly inward, evoking a sense of poise and confidence, which is something that many of her fans love about her.

Annette Bening

We’ve seen curly bobs in this already, but none quite this short. Versatile actress Annette Bening creates a diamond shape with her bob, curls falling outward from her part before coming back to gather at the nape of her neck. It’s a fascinating and elegant look that many people with her facial shape would be able to pull off, too.

Emma Stone

With its vivid red color, Emma Stone’s hair enhances its bright personality with an easygoing bob that finishes just above her shoulders with a few little waves. This only serves as further proof that wavy hair can make some of the most compelling and cheerful bobs.

Halle Berry

Although her pixie cut is probably better known, Halle Berry proves here that she looks just as fantastic with a bob. With a gradual cut that perfectly outlines her head, the ends curve delicately toward her chin. Somehow, she looks both regal and carefree.

If you’re a big fan of her famous pixie cut and want to see more like it, though, you can look here.

Jessica Biel

Lightly layered and just wavy enough to curl under her chin and around her neck, actress Jessica Biel’s bob is another way of showing that simplicity is sometimes the most beautiful. Furthermore, most people wouldn’t have to visit a high-end salon to obtain a look like that. Thus, this bob is not only lovely but accessible.

Lily Collins

With layered waves framing her face, actress and singer Lily Collins shows everyone how to wear a bob that enhances your natural beauty. As with Alexis Bledel, too, the juxtaposition of dark hair and light skin is visually interesting, giving a bob like this several dimensions of appeal.

Reese Witherspoon

With a few strands gracefully crossing her forehead while the rest hang demurely around her neck, multitalented actress Reese Witherspoon’s blonde bob displays easy sophistication and effortless elegance. This is the kind of look that becomes timeless, flattering for any hair type and facial shape.

Ellen Page

Cut right at her chin, actress Ellen page shows us another way to employ curls in a bob. Due to the nature of curly hair, the bob has plenty of volume, but the locks have also been tamed with products to reduce frizz and emphasize their beauty. The result is a fantastic a fantastic bob full of swirling, mingling ringlets. It’s a worthwhile effort for curls.

Audrey Tautou

Rising to international fame with Amelie, Audrey Tautou’s ability to pull off a bob has long been known to the world. However, it looks especially alluring with the casual waves that fall around her face. It looks effortlessly full and graceful, an enviable bob that many people with wavy hair can emulate.

Emma Thompson

Award-winning actress Emma Thompson’s hair is very short in this picture, but we can still think of it as a bob. What’s so striking about it is the way that her curly strands spiral out of the part in her hair like a blonde kaleidoscope. Some of the layers rest on her ears while the rest settle on her neck. This is achievable by women of many different facial types.

Helen Mirren

Age is obviously not a factor when it comes to bobs. The highly accomplished actress Helen Mirren proves just that. Her bob consists of pearly white strands that curve inward, hugging her head in a look that manages to be both cute and chic.

Helen isn’t the only celebrity with awesome hair ideas for older women, though. Check out more here.

Jessica Simpson

This bob, worn by singer Jessica Simpson, has all kinds of attitude. The front rises and then plummets down to her chin, her blonde hair full of big, strong, luscious curls that will not be held down. It’s the kind of bob that lets people know you aren’t afraid of them and have the self-confidence to do what you want with your life.

Marion Cotillard

With her bob partially resting on her face as though set there by a gentle breeze, Marion Cotillard, an actress and Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, demonstrates how it can be flattering no matter what you’re doing.

Rihanna

Famous for her singing and red hair, Rihanna sports a perfect black bob in this picture. The ends are cut perfectly straight, leaving her locks to gleam without disruption in the light, simple in its elegance. It shows yet again that straight bobs can look just as amazing as wavy or curly ones.

Victoria Beckham

Here, we see former Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham exhibiting a tousled bob. Her curly strands are not being held in specific places, allowed to roam free without looking chaotic. Indeed, that’s why tousled looks have endured in popularity—they find that balance.

Cate Blanchett

Studying this bob, it’s plain to see that proficient actress Cate Blanchett’s hair has the tendency to turn into ringlets. Some of them are half-formed, while another prominent is draped close to her right eye. Indeed, if this fabulous bob is any indication, your hair doesn’t have to be perfect to astound anyone who sees it.

Emma Watson

Known as Hermione from Harry Potter and Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Emma Watson shows off how versatile a bob can be. The shortness and tiny curls of the bob are adorable enough, but it seems as though her hair is parted in an unusual place for her head. This causes the hair to appear as though it has more volume. Short bobs don’t mean that you’re limited in how you style them.

Hilary Duff

Some of the bobs that we’ve seen in this list were worn at special events. In this example, Hilary Duff is going about her normal, everyday life, her bob catching the sunlight and stirring as she walks. Many celebrity hairstyles that you may admire would only make sense on the red carpet, but bobs can fit in anywhere and everywhere.

Katy Perry

Popular singer Katy Perry reminds the world that hair can be any color you want. In this case, her bob is a luminous blue, making her straight hair look not only timelessly classy but brilliantly fun. Does it make you think of all the different ways that you can color and wear a bob? If so, try them out!

Mindy Kaling

From this angle, actress Mindy Kaling’s bob has a peekaboo aspect to it, which has many effects; she can look mischievous, mysterious, cute, and gorgeous all at once. Bobs open up all sorts of possibilities.

Sarah Jessica Parker

In this example, actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s curly bob flares outward, wowing everyone who sees its fullness while helping to make her long face appear rounder. There are many ways that bobs can affect the perception of our faces, and that is merely one of them.

Zendaya

Straight, sensible, and adorned with bangs, this bob makes actress and singer Zendaya look beyond her years. Indeed, for some of the celebrities we’ve seen on this list, it’s helped them appear younger or more innocent, while with others, it’s complemented their ages. Here, the bob suits Zendaya’s overall look so well that it’s a surprise to learn how old she truly is.

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