I'm listening to every Bob Dylan album. I'm on the Christmas In the Heart. Yeah idk anymore. I’m dedicating so many hours to this man.

Moriarty 8 - 11 (FINAL) | HypMic 12 - 13 (FINAL) | Taiso Samurai 7 - 9 | Akudama 9 - 12 (FINAL)

Hopefully I’ll be able to get on to all that backlog soon, because...I don’t want it to keep accumulating and Skate-Leading Stars (first winter 2021 anime) already has an advance 1st ep. up...

Moriarty 8

(Moriarty 8 notes deleted accidentally…)

Moriarty 9

If you want a modern equivalent to the Baker Street Irregulars, then I’d suggest you look this way *jabs finger at Odd Jobs Yamada (from HypMic)*.

These CGI background horse and carriages are…kind of distracting…

I’m guessing back in those days, the Irregulars were better than Google at finding info…because Google didn’t exist until the internet did.

Moriarty 10

Just this ep and one more until the end…at least, until spring 2021.

Wow, the use of colour here is really striking!

White lilies mean…purity/chastity…?

I’ve never heard of “bending someone’s ear” until now. It means to talk to someone, especially to ask a favour or to talk at length.

Probatio diabolica: the devil’s proof. I didn’t even know that was a concept until now…(I never once studied law, as you can tell.)

“William” isn’t normally shortened to “Liam”…It’s normally “Will”…also, notice all the footprints on the floor…

Moriarty 11 (FINAL)

Last ep. before spring 2021.

LOL, kabedon.

The fishy thing about Brits is that they’ve named things across the world names from Britain. I know there’s a Doncaster which isn’t anywhere near Britain, for one thing…

Observe the weird finger-like marking made by one of the bloodstains and the scratches on the suitcase. The latter was probably forced open.

Considering the number of signs the killer left, he was clearly in a hurry…

Well, based on that shoeprint we can find the killer if we can find traces of blood on his shoe.

“Duram” (sic).

Ah! If it was raining in Durham, then there would be traces of mud on the killer’s shoes. I remember early on in Detective Conan Shinichi, then newly shrunk, deduced Agasa was running in the rain based on the mud on his pants…this is similar.

Chloral (hydrate…?).

The “washroom” (apparently a Canadian term, the British term is “water closet”) has privacy and a place to get rid of the evidence, to some extent.

What about the rest of Eddie’s clothes?

Considering there are still 5 minutes of the ep. left…there’s going to be some kind of stinger for the next season. I can feel it.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait…Director Holmes??? Y’mean, Mycroft?! That is a good stinger! See you next time.

HypMic 12

“Ever since I was born, there was never a time I’d felt I’d accomplished something.” – Aw, Doppo, sweetpea (<- this blogger calls people “sweetpea” when they’re feeling lots of moe feels for them). Please don’t say that. You’ve accomplished more than enough in your life!

…Oh, almost didn’t notice it until Hifumi hid behind Doppo and the angle changed to confirm the jacket was on the bed, but Hifumi doesn’t have his jacket on.

I think I saw a tweet that said something about a wall being wrecked (specifically “Wall: Ow…”) but I wasn’t sure of the context, so I saved it in my bookmarks…LOL, so that’s what it means?

Samatoki, I know you don’t like Ichiro…but please stop trying to preach what his 2nd character song says in the title…(i.e. Break the Wall, LOL)

Jyuto’s very much a “I’ll leave this problem to the other guy” guy.

When the Funi subs say “dame”, I think Samatoki is just referring to an “onna” (woman). It’s a bit of an odd choice, really…although I can’t go and interrogate whoever was responsible for it. I don’t have the authority or the contacts that will allow me to.

This is not the time for fighting one another!!!

Notably, in the manga, Jakurai was going to chaffeur Hifumi and Doppo to their place, but then he had to go to work and so they rode the train with their prize money. This “run from Special Forces” ending is better, I think, since people got grumpy at Jakurai for having to abandon them with the money.

“…permission to cover a story.” - Permission from…who?

*screams* I was thinking Tom, Rex and Iris worked for a foreign government! They work for Ichijiku – why didn’t I think of that?!

LOL, I couldn’t even tell what Tom was saying until I played it back…it’s English, just…said in a spot where you don’t expect it.

“…that scares me.” – This may be nitpicky of me, but osoreru is actually a derivative of osore (fear), so “it strikes fear in me”…? “It strikes fear in my heart”? What would sound right…?

Go, host mode Hifumi! (...but does that imply host mode Hifumi is the only “version” of Hifumi able to rap? Certainly, he was able to do Wrap and Rap without his jacket, right…?)

You can tell Tom still respects Jakurai after all this time because he (the former) calls him (the latter) “Sensei”. Also, this’ll be interesting, we haven’t seen many mics and speakers beyond the standard bad guy ones (depicted in both the anime and the manga).

My gosh! All I knew of this song was that m-flo, also responsible for Human Lost’s theme song (and notably they’re a hip hop group with techno influences), was responsible for this song. Man, this s*** slaps! It’s great! (Sorry, I’ve just never really had the chance to capitalise on all the info I gathered on EDM DJs when talking in terms of things from Japan…m-flo is basically the only act I know which does that, so I’m really excited…can’t you tell from how verbose I’m getting in this note?)

That’s interesting that Matenrou won and Tom still took the gold chair symbolism to represent him and the Secret Aliens as the victor instead.

Iris’s parts are awesome. M-flo has a female vocalist and so I’d assume Iris takes on Lisa’s (m-flo’s vocalist’s) parts.

…Hmm, Gentaro’s made a reference to the track “Me Against the World”, has he?...Maybe.

I’m not quite sure, but I think Ramuda said “majo” (witch) when he was referring to Beauty and the Beast in the English subs.

…gosh, what is up with that airhorn…? Still, next time is the last time. See you on Christmas…no, Boxing Day.

HypMic 13 (FINAL)

This is the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning…y’know, considering how stuff trended on Twitter, I’d say this anime’s gonna get a 2nd season, but you can’t really say that until it actually happens. I mean, Boueibu is much less popular than HypMic and that got a 2nd season…

This is the 1st episode where I woke up early enough to watch without spoilers and had no obligations to place over it, so…this is exciting, in its own sense, but in a sense, it could also be called “profoundly disappointing” because this experience is only available to me as of the final episode.

One of the tweets I saw a few weeks back came to mind ��� someone became interested in sakuga houkai (terrible animation, literally “animation collapse”) because of HypMic…I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing…

…Dude, you probably shouldn’t answer a call from someone who just revealed themselves to be a traitor last episode…*sweatdrops*

(Spoiler for rest of franchise) Hmm…Dice’s face is pretty straight. Assuming at this point we knew Dice was Otome’s son, this is a good poker face from him…!

This thing about gangs was mentioned in their profiles (although the words used implies they “went delinquent”), so it actually doesn’t surprise me.

I wonder if this subway exists in the mainline story…?

According to the next ep. preview I saw on Twitter, TDD will reform to take down the Secret Aliens. I’m not sure if that was a guess or whether that’s true, so I’m waiting for the shoe to drop on it.

Samatoki-san, not -sama. Hmm…

There was definitely the word “team” in Dice’s line, so it’s “what the legendary team was made of”.

…oh gosh…they’re still using that airhorn…?

Again with the play on “lonely thunder”. It’s a really fun pun, but one I’d like to see in the rest of the series more.

Notably, Iris’s rap in English missed the word “charisma” where it could have fit (unless I missed reading it the first time).

Note Samatoki does actually use the word “shinsensa” (freshness), so there’s no lie there.

I still love how much they went in on Rex’s theme, even in his raps.

Huh, that’s new. Never seen a tag team like this before.

It seems Tom’s signature is using a lot of English, which makes it easy for us English/Japanese pair translators.

Saburo didn’t actually say “Ichi-nii”, did he…?

…based on the rock intro, this is Rhyme Anima, the OP, or something that sounds similar. What I’d need to confirm this is the “nautilus” line and the “ends corruption” line, which are the OP’s two biggest tells for AMQ.

“rainmaking” – Hmm, another link from Gentaro to Rei. This might be a different part of Rhyme Anima (OP) that wasn’t used as the OP proper.

“this white light invites and heals” (<- paraphrased) – Sounds like Sensei, alright!

…now that (rainbow bit). That’s sakuga!

*a silhouette appears* - Oh nooooooooooooooo! Now they‘ve done it! They’ve included Rei! That’s more than enough spoilers to last a lifetime for y’all anime-onlys!

I wish someone would work on this collaboration between Saburo and Riou…

Hmm…what is the series endgame? Putting in Dice as the new ruler??? I mean, Dice is the worst possible politician ever. He’s far too lax about things.

*Nemu enters* - No! Nemu!

Not only is Iris a “ramen shop owner”, it’s Tom’s favourite food…No wonder ramen has significance to her.

…ooh! A new song! Update: I don’t know what this song’s name is, although it probably will become clear what its name is on the 13th. I’ll keep my eye on Twitter in case the answer is there.

…I knew it was far too early to say if there was an s2 – the DVD’s live events go until September 5th and the 2nd DRB finishes in March. That almost felt like a stinger right there. Oh well, I’m more than happy to call this anime a success, even if I would call it the worst of the arms of the franchise. All HypMic’s anime had to do was deliver fun, before anything else, and it delivered on that front. See you around!

Taiso Samurai 7

Anime burnout means I’m coming back to the anime after the day it finishes.

This dancing scene is kind of like the one at the start of ep. 2 of IWGP, except it has the owl to represent the setting as well as the dance stage.

Leo doesn’t seem to know kanji or katakana, only hiragana.

Even though this part of the anime is set in London, the characters are still speaking Japanese (lel…?).

LOL, Edward Scissorhands much?

LOL, these background gossips are like the Plastics from Mean Girls…haha.

…LOL, that’s not one of those dismounting moves, is it? It’s just kind of…jumping off the bar.

Lookit how Leo’s sticker is 90 deg. sideways from what it should be, haha.

I don’t think it’s true that Olympic gymnasts have never failed. Like other people at the top of their game, they’re probably failed millions of times, but only outside the view of most of the world. Persistence and passion are what’s key to becoming the best at what you are, no matter what field you’re in.

Now Aragaki’s what I call a “determinator” (see TV Tropes on what that is).

Taiso Samurai 8

Notably, the word used for “clothes” is specifically for Western clothing, like dresses.

Well, now we know why Leo can do those stretches…

They’ve clearly sped up the dance here, but…it’s basically the same sort of movements Yuri on Ice used to suck me in. I’m here for it!

Leo seems to be the type who tries to push away his worries by distracting people (including himself) with other things…I see. I didn’t have much of a grasp of his character beforehand.

Britney! F*** you, Britney!

Ah, that must be the (a?) fabled owl of Ikebukuro. I’ve never actually been to Ikebukuro…the closest I got was Akihabara (to memory) and even then, that was for electronics, not anime…so I’ve never seen the owl statue I’ve been talking about close up.

Rei does kind of look like her mother like this.

Ah! Rei and Kitty have a pair look now! “Twinsies”, they call it.

Amakusa’s head is located right next to Leo’s butt, so I end up staring at it…LOL.

The Hoover mission.

“I <3 Ninja”, LOL.

LOL, “Nyapoo!”

*sighs* The problem with being multi-talented is that you’re going to be told to one day put one passion above the others, even if you don’t want that.

LOL, you can be a ninja with this WikiHow article. (I was looking for Kitty’s quote, but found that instead. It seems to be a quote from one of Tomoyo’s movies.) Update: I was right.

There’s a movie in the back where the title is “Black Rainmaker”. (Tomoyo, I presume) Mifune is the 1st person credited.

Considering this is 2003…you won’t be on Mars in 2013, Kitty.

Wow, a tape! That brings me back to 2003, indeed.

Charlie’s Angels…so that’s what the tape was.

LOL, a shoebill.

“blade in your heart” – That would refer to the character for “ninja”, which has a blade over a heart. Y’know Kiss Shot Acerola Heart-Under-Blade (from Monogatari), yeah? Like that.

…you might think emails were out of place in 2003, but a virus from an email caused me to be an avid reader and that virus was unleashed around the late 90s – early 2000s.

LOL, Kitty’s cat belt buckle.

You said it, Rei. You said it.

Taiso Samurai 9

Lausanne, Switzerland.

I noticed one of the boxes at the start of the OP says “Horizontal Bars”, rather than some random name to make the boxes look like they were discarded.

Someone encoded the video funny…

LOL, BB’s getting possessive of his territory.

Fuku-chan the fukurou (owl) in Ikebukuro…LOL.

LOL, randomly there’s a skeleton with a hat in the background of Britney’s clinic.

Notably, one of the wall hangings says “heart” on it – alternatively, “soul”.

Notably, Atlanta was the 1996 Summer Olympics…there is no 1997 Lausanne Olympics, as far as I know.

Akudama 9

I watched the part where it glitches twice and I can’t quite figure out what that circular symbol is…maybe it’s Hacker’s symbol…?

Ah! Only now they properly confirm Swindler used to work in the Seal centre.

“Life that never dies is defective.” – Doctor

Does that mean Doctor is actually older than she looks, due to plastic surgery…?

Marker? What marker?

Apparently that flower is a cherry blossom…according to Detective Conan.

…I know this anime wasn’t made in America (it wouldn’t be “anime” otherwise), but Anime Feminist is going to have a field day with this one…if they haven’t abandoned it already due to their idea of morals.

…now I can even see parallels between HypMic’s authorities and Akudama’s. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

“Why did this have to happen when I’m chief?” – Sounds like…basically every authority during COVID and BLM, to be honest.

See? Akudama likes the S word. I told you.

I haven’t watched The Shining, but reading the synopsis, you can figure out why Cutthroat is the way he is…sort of.

How does the iconic quote go? “Heeeeeeeeeeeere’s Danny!” (or something…?)

They even copied the iconic eye shot! There you go!

Way to take a guy out (with the door, LOL).

…with all this killing, I can see why Akudama Drive was only in one magazine now. (Then again, HypMic was in basically all of them and that also has a tonne of problems…)

Akudama 10

万死 literally means “10000 deaths”.

Babel.

That police chief is such a mood, LOL.

I can see why people didn’t recognise Swindler, but Courier never changes his look, so…uh…

You can’t become a police chief without a sense of justice, no?

“Since when did you know that I’m not-“ - *facepalms*

Is this what they call an “ass-kickin’ Christmas”? (LOL)

Y’know, Sister, you could just do the whole “wherever you are, I’m also seeing the same sky as you” thing some other anime do.

Notably, there are shide (the paper strips) and a rope over the vault…they really do treat the shinkansen and its immortal children as a single god, huh?

Hmm? They don’t care about Sister anymore? Just Brother? (Somewhere along the way, the priorities must have shifted.)

In the end, the best ship is Brawler and Hoodlum (lel).

Akudama 11

One more ep after this. I’m gonna miss this anime, even if it was crazy over-the-top and I didn’t finish it until after the day it ended.

I think the scariest scene in all of Akudama Drive is the one where the “cleaner” tosses the girl aside.

“This nowhere place!” – Around this time, the bunny and shark’s shirts say “morning”/”afternoon” (shark) and “evening” (bunny).

The blue bird of happiness…literally. That character on the birds is the one for “happy”.

…LOL, that one glitched Courier looks more like Cutthroat.

Hacker’s drone matches Courier’s head angles, LOL.

I guess if you think you’re falling in Kanto, you’re falling in Kanto and if you think you’re floating (like Courier did), you float. I always liked that concept.

War Games. Now the title makes sense!

…but they can be together if they stay here in Kanto as vessels for the citizens? (That sounds mighty antagonistic of me, but…that logic does compute.)

Maybe swindlers play games with the truth…? (What an interesting concept.)

“Just fine.” – I think Hacker needs a “This is fine” meme.

“We can hear your heart talking.” – It means something like “We can hear you spouting your true intentions.”

“…worth every last penny…” – That’s a weird thing to say for someone whose life got changed by 500 yen…Just goes to tell you how American the subbers can be sometimes.

Swindler’s smug face is so good, LOL.

Akudama 12 (FINAL)

This episode isn’t named after a movie. It’s named after the anime itself.

The TV says “Please watch away from the TV”, i.e. stand back from the TV while you watch.

“They came and stole the offerings…” – At this point, bunny’s shirt says “freedom” and shark’s says honpou, meaning “wild, uninhibited, rampant, extravagant”.

…where did Shikoku come from? Is that where Swindler and Sister landed after they tried going to the moon?

Ohh! That Christian imagery! That’s scary!

Is Akudama Drive a tragedy? No, I think…on the contrary, it’s a story of hope.

LOL, “s*** guy”.

I thought the girl had a bomb. Turns out she has a gun, which is…far worse, come to think of it.

Instead of red characters which say things about the situation, now Shark and Bunny have Hacker’s symbol on them.

There’s no way anyone who wasn’t immortal would survive the attack Courier took…

…why is it that falling over represents vulnerability in children in all of these stores where a war has happened and/or there’s a chase? Hmm?

Wow, Sister did everything with heels on…?!

Anyways, that was a fun time. See you next time!

Falling For You.

— Chapter 10

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

(Modern High School AU)

Warnings: Alcohol, swearing, fluff!!

Synopsis: Unlike most teenagers, you had your life completely mapped out. You’d graduate high school, go off to the university of your dreams, and live the life that your parents always wanted you to. That was always the plan.

Falling for Bucky Barnes, however, was never part of that plan.

Being ‘just friends’ isn’t enough. Becoming anything more is too much. But suppressed feelings can’t stay ignored forever, and you were about to learn that a lot sooner than you thought

Inspired by the song, ‘Fallingforyou’ - The 1975

Series Masterlist

_______________________________________________

Wiping an aching hand across his forehead, Bucky stood from where he’d been crouching next to the tyre of the large truck and set down the tool in his other hand. He eyed the exterior of the vehicle, taking a mental note of the work on it that he still had to finish with a tired exhale.

It was only him in the garage, the rest of the guys were holed up in the break room eating lunch, one of which being his father. His dad suggested that he took a lunch break too, but Bucky hadn’t felt like eating - he hadn’t felt like doing a lot since the beginning Winter break, since the last time he saw you.

Bucky had spent most of the cold days working in the auto-shop, hands slick with grease and a tool of some sort in his hand. He’d barely touched his phone, leaving countless unopened messages and unreturned missed calls from his concerned friends clogging up his notifications. None of them were from you, though, which he wasn’t really surprised about.

You hadn’t left things on bad terms with Bucky back at Carter’s, but you’d made it clear that you needed your own space for a while, and the boy wanted to respect that, even if it was a lot more difficult than he’d anticipated. He hadn’t realised how much time he actually spent with you until it’d been a week without doing so. It only made his more anxious, knowing that the feeling of missing you might become a regular thing if you decided that you didn’t want him. He tried not to think about it too much, delving into whatever work had to be done at the shop to take his mind off you.

Christmas had came and gone quickly; a casual day spent with his parents at home, the thought of you passing his mind one too many times. He wondered what you you were doing that day. Your parents had came home for the holidays last Christmas, but considering your mother had practically disowned you that last time the two of you spoke, he wasn’t so sure that they’d make an appearance this time. Bucky would’ve been more than happy to let you spend the day with him and his family, but the last thing you needed for the time being was to be around him, so he only hoped that you’d enjoyed the day in your own way.

His friends had tried to get in touch with him a lot after that day, wanting to get the group together again before Val’s party on New Year’s Eve. None of them knew what happened at the Winter Formal - apart from Natasha, but he didn’t know that - and none of them knew about the conversation you’d had the day after. Bucky just couldn’t bring himself to tell them about it. He didn’t want to talk; he only wanted to hear from you. To know what was going to become of you and him, but he had to be patient. And until then, he felt like the only person he wanted to be around was himself.

However, his friends weren’t going to let him isolate himself for the rest of the break, that was for sure.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

Bucky’s head snapped up to the doorway of the garage, seeing no other than Natasha Romanoff leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest. He didn’t respond, not knowing what to say as he grabbed the towel from the stool next to him and began to wipe himself down.

It reminded him of when you’d shown up at the shop to get an explanation as to why he was still friends with his ex. That was a simpler time, a much simpler time.

The click of the girl’s boots echoed through the garage as she neared where Bucky was stood. “You’d always come here after we had an argument. I remember, it became such a routine for me to come here to try and work things out...” Nat chuckled softly, recounting the memories of a time long ago. “...that your dad would see me step one foot through the door and direct me to whichever part of the shop you were holed up in.”

Bucky didn’t think about his relationship with Natasha a lot, not as much as he used to, anyway. Sure, they could look back at it now and laugh because they were friends, but the two knew that their relationship was never healthy. It was argument after argument with a few nice moments in between, and the people around him weren’t oblivious to that.

The boy glanced up at his friend, manoeuvring himself around the truck to examine the rest of the damage. “I know, ‘cause after you’d leave, he’d try to question me about what our third fight of the week was about.”

A sympathetic smile set on the redhead’s lips. “I think he always knew that I was bad for you.”

“He knew that we were bad for each other.” Bucky caught her gaze, standing still for a moment before shaking his head and focusing back on the truck. “What’re you doin’ here, Nat?”

Natasha’s gentle expression turned serious at his question. “I told you I was coming to see you; you’d know that if you checked your phone.”

Sparing a glance at his phone on the counter across the room, Bucky let out a sigh. “I haven’t been on my phone much lately.”

That wasn’t necessarily a lie, but he’d seen all texts and Snapchats and whatever else his friends had tried to contact him on. He just wasn’t sure that he could deal with talking to them yet.

“Something’s up with you, Buck.” Nat pressed, deciding to just get straight to give point. The girl was never one for beating around the bush; it was only a waste of time. “Have you talked to (Y/N)?”

Hearing your name caused Bucky’s stomach to turn. “What?”

“(Y/N), have you talked to her since the dance?” The girl repeated. Truthfully, she’d been surprised that she’d remembered the conversation you’d shared while she’d been drinking, but she was glad that she did. If Bucky wasn’t going to talk to her about it himself, then she was going to confront him about it.

The boy’s brows furrowed confusedly. “How do you... how you even know what happened?”

“She told me.” The redhead shrugged. “Well, I kinda coaxed it out of her when I was tipsy, but... it definitely sounded like something you needed to talk about with her.”

Bucky bit down on the inside of his cheek, hesitant to talk about the situation that he’d been trying to take his mind off for the past week. There was a short silence before he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I talked to her.”

Natasha raised her brow. “And...?”

“And... she needs time to think things through.” Bucky dragged the nearest stool in the garage over next to the truck, sitting himself down with his elbows digging into his thighs. “She wanted to kiss me, and I think a part of her wants more than just a friendship. But... she’s still scared, Nat. She’s convinced that the both of us are just gonna end up getting hurt, and I don’t know how to show her that she doesn’t have to be afraid.”

The girl pursed her lips, eyes glued to the ground as she considered Bucky’s words. She was careful with her response, cautiously looking back up at Bucky and letting out a quiet sigh. “She’s afraid because you’re opening her up, Buck. Being open with you makes her problems yours, and that means if things get complicated in her life, they’re gonna affect you just as much. She doesn’t want that for you, just... just like I didn’t.”

Blue eyes darted over the redhead’s softened features. The only time they ever referred back to their relationship was in a joking manor, but Natasha didn’t have a hint of humour in her expression. The girl could tell that Bucky was unsure of how to respond, so she carried on speaking.

“I have a lot of regrets, Bucky. One of them is how I acted when we were together. I shut you out without an explanation and got mad when you only wanted to help. There was stuff going on in my life that I didn’t want anyone but me to have to deal with, so if it meant that my issues didn’t become yours as well, then I wasn’t ever going to open up to you.”

For a short while, Bucky was speechless. He’d had no idea that Natasha was dealing with her own problems during their relationship; if she was hurting, she’d never let it show in the slightest.

“Fuck, Nat.” The boy ran a hand over his face, standing from his stool. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know-”

“That was the point, Buck. I didn’t want you to know.” The corner of Nat’s lips upturned. “I wasn’t ready for a relationship, but I think (Y/N) is. I didn’t want to open up to you, but she does. I could see it when I talked to her at the dance; she really wants things to work out between the two of you.”

Bucky smiled at that. The redhead was smart, and she didn’t say things if they weren’t true. It sparked hope in his heart, hearing that she was sure you wanted him. “So, what do I do?”

Placing her hands on her hips, Natasha smiled softly up at him. “You show her that letting you in is okay. That you wanting to help her isn’t going to end up hurting you, and she doesn’t have to deal with whatever she’s afraid of alone.”

A laugh escaped Bucky’s lips, not because he thought what Nat said was funny, but because he was amazed at her words. While the two didn’t get on and boyfriend and girlfriend, Bucky truly couldn’t ask for a better friend than Natasha. The boys were great too, of course, but they definitely couldn’t have came out with anything that the girl just did.

“You’re pretty smart, you know that?” Bucky grinned for what felt like the first time since the dance.

“I know.” Natasha sent him a wink, beginning to take a few steps backwards from the boy. “The guys and I are grabbing dinner later, you should join us.”

Bucky didn’t waste any time thinking about his answer. “I’ll be there.”

“Awesome.” She nodded, heading for the exit of the garage.

“Nat?” The boy called out, prompting the girl to turn around with a quirked brow. “Thank you, for everything.”

“Don’t sweat it, Barnes. I just want you to be happy.”

There was a certain warmth in his chest as Bucky watched Natasha leave the shop. It was similar to what he felt when he first saw you across the room at the Winter Formal, when he was ready finally make a move on you. While that plan didn’t necessarily pan out correctly, he had a feeling that the next time he saw you would be different. Good different.

As long as you still wanted him, Bucky was going to show you that you didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

* * *

After walking for fifteen minutes in what you’d hoped was the right direction, you finally began to tell that you were nearing Val’s place, the sound of blaring music getting louder with each street corner you turned.

Somehow, you couldn’t really believe that it was New Year’s Eve. The majority of what had occurred in the past year had happened within the final month. Falling out with your parents, falling even more for Bucky... the year hadn’t quite ended how you’d thought it would.

And now you were off to a New Year’s party that you didn’t really want to go to, to apologise to a friend for not reciprocating the feelings he had towards you, while hoping to avoid the friend that you actually did reciprocate feelings with. What a year it’d been.

Wanda had told you to just meet her at the party, since Pietro had offered to take her and Vis, and you couldn’t even imagine the sheer awkwardness that car ride would ensure if you tagged along. At least the long walk allowed you to rehearse your actions going into the party.

Find Pietro, apologise, leave.

It was a very simple plan, but if you lingered at the party long enough for Val to find you, the girl wouldn’t let you leave before midnight, and your limited social battery definitely wouldn’t last for that long.

Soon enough, you’d arrived at Val’s house, hesitantly making your way up the stone steps to the open front door. You immediately recognised a bunch of familiar faces, and assumed that Val had literally invited the whole of senior year, which wasn’t so helpful when you were specifically there for one person.

Everyone was pretty dressed up for the night, as opposed to you who had pulled on a pair of jeans and swiped a layer of mascara over your lashes to not look utterly out of place. You weren’t staying for long, and when you got home, you were hitting the hay as soon as possible.

As if luck was on your side, you saw a flash of messy silver hair a few feet away from where you were stood at the front of the house, seemingly heading into the backyard along with Clint. Bingo.

However, as you did your best to swerve in and out between the number of bodies blocking the way to the sliding door leading outside, you suddenly stopped in your tracks, hearing a familiar loud laugh from the room on your right.

Your eyes widened as you whipped your head to the side, eyes landing on the one and only Bucky Barnes with a bright smile on his face, amused at something that Sam looked to have said. Even though you knew that Bucky wasn’t one to miss a party, it still didn’t make seeing him at Val’s any easier. It’d been a week since you’d talked to him, and even just hearing his laugh pained you a little.

You knew what you wanted; you wanted him. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, you’d had the displeasure of learning that in your time away from Bucky. It made you wonder if being more than friends with the boy perhaps wouldn’t be such a bad thing. If it meant you could spend your free time with him, be close to him, just let yourself care for him openly without having to push your romantic feelings away... didn’t that sound perfect to you? Almost like it was too good to be true.

Except it wasn’t too good to be true. Bucky wanted you too, he’d made that clear. If being with him was really what you wanted, it was your call to make if it was going to happen.

The silver hair came back into view momentarily, snapping you from your thoughts and encouraging you to make your way outisde. It was pretty dark apart from the array of LED lights decorating the rim of the roof, but you still managed to locate Pietro on the far side of the yard, thankfully stood alone with a beer bottle in his hand as Clint left his side to talk to some other people.

The rate of your heart was speeding up as you paced over to the boy, and as you approached him, you fiddled with your hands nervously.

“Pietro?”

His eyes flicked up to meet yours, a lopsided smile on his lips. “(Y/N), hey.”

The words left his lips in a slurred manner, and by the way his body was swaying as he stood in one place, it was safe to assume that Pietro was drunk. Great.

You sighed, unsure of how what to do next. This conversation couldn’t be had while he was drunk, right? “Uh, I came here to apologise to you, Pietro. We need to talk, but I don’t think you’re in the best state of mind to-”

“No, no; we can talk.” The boy interrupted you. “Let me s-save us some time. Y-you wanted Bucky to be your date to t-the dance, but you said yes to m-me because you felt bad for me...”

“That’s not-” You tried to intervene, but having a productive conversation with a drunk person just wasn’t possible.

“And then, you ran away from me at the dance to go and m-make out with him! You could’ve just told me you liked him and not me, (Y/N). Man, I’m such a moron for even thinking you’d choose me over h-him.”

You shook your head at the boy, guilt building in your stomach. Even if you didn’t have feelings for him, you still cared about Pietro, and you didn’t think you could stand having him not wanting to be your friend again. “I went as your date to the dance because you’re my friend, Pietro. I did want to go with you, but... I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go with Bucky too. Look, I don’t think we should talk about this-”

“I n-never had a chance, did I?” He let out a strained laugh, hand gripping his empty beer bottle tightly. “It’s always been him, hasn’t it?”

Your eyes moved to ground, Pietro’s words cutting deep. For being drunk, he couldn’t have said anything that was more right.

It had always been Bucky.

There was no point in trying to deny it, to Pietro or to yourself.

You thought you’d move on eventually, that your stupid crush on your best friend would fizzle away as the end of senior year got closer. But it wasn’t just a stupid crush, it was much more than that and it definitely wasn’t something you could just move on from. No one would ever be Bucky; no matter how kind, or funny, or loyal, nobody would ever make you feel the way that Bucky did. You didn’t have to be a fortune teller to know that, you could feel it.

Biting down on your bottom lip, you gave the boy a weak nod, finding the courage to look him in the eye. Hurt was evident in the gaze he had on you; that was all he needed to hear.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Pietro murmured, shaking his head as he walked away, leaving you with a heavy feeling in your chest.

While the boy wasn’t sober, you could tell that his pain was genuine. You didn’t want to hurt him, you hadn’t wanted to hurt Bucky either, yet you ended up doing both of those things, all while hurting yourself in the process.

“God fucking dammit.” You mumbled under your breath, regretting ever stepping foot out of your house.

After being left alone for a couple of moments, you almost flinched when you felt a gentle hand on your forearm.

“(Y/N)?”

Concerned eyes pierced into yours when you looked up, and you couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief being in Bucky’s presence.

“I didn’t think you’d come tonight.” He stated softly, mutually relieved to see you too.

You offered him a sad smile. “Honestly, I kind of wish I hadn’t.

By the way he nodded understandingly, you assumed that Bucky had heard the conversation with Pietro, which also meant he heard you admit to only having feelings for him. Well, that was just amazing. You needed to get home; you needed to get home and forget that you even thought about going to the party.

“I should go.” You said hurriedly, stealing your eyes away from his before his baby blues alone could change your mind. The only reason you’d came was to make amends with Pietro, and you’d only made things worse.

“Don’t go.” Bucky suddenly spoke, pressing his lips into a thin line. “Please, just stay for a little while.”

“Bucky...”

“We can go upstairs, outta the way of everyone. Just you and me.”

The way he was looking at you, his ocean eyes pleading you to stay, there was no way you could say no to him. It’d been too long since you’d seen each other, and you missed him. You missed him a lot.

You glanced to his hand that was still resting on your arm, your lips curling into a faint smile at his touch. “You’re insufferable.”

A grin crept onto his lips as his hand slowly trailed down your arm to your hand, enveloping it in his own, and your mind for once wasn’t screaming at you to pull away. “Can’t be that bad if you’re agreein’ to come with me.”

You could only roll your eyes before Bucky began tugging you through the cramped hallway, up the stairs and into what looked to be Val’s bedroom; it was obvious by the bottles of alcohol lined neatly on her dresser as if they were ornaments. Did that girl ever stop drinking?

Bucky gently closed the door behind him, the loud music and chattering voices muffled through the wall separating you and Bucky from everyone else. The quieter setting allowed the conversation with Pietro to replay in your mind again, and the boy in front of you noticed the way your eyebrows dipped and a frown formed on your lips.

“Can I ask what happened?” He asked quietly, pressing his back against the door.

He’d heard the majority of the conversation, so you weren’t exactly sure why he was asking. Though, you did need to get the matter off your chest. “I wanted to apologise to Pietro about what happened at the dance, but then I realised he was drunk when I started talking to him. He has feelings for me, well, he did. I’m not so sure now since he... thinks that I’ve chosen you over him.”

A sigh fell from your mouth as you took a seat on the edge of the bed, actively avoiding Bucky’s stare on you. There was a battle going on in your head; to tell Bucky that you had feelings for him, or to just let go. It wasn’t fair to let him wait any longer for an answer that would change everything no matter what it was. You needed to tell him soon, now.

“He’ll come around, (Y/N).” Bucky reassured, walking over to the bed and taking a seat next to you, your hands merely inches apart. “It’ll take some time, but he will.”

“Were you...” You started, a little hesitant about asking the question. “Annoyed when I didn’t like you back?”

The boy shook his head, smiling shyly. “No, not annoyed. Kinda bummed, I guess, but I couldn’t get mad at you for somethin’ you couldn’t control.”

With every word that left his lips, Bucky was making you fall more and more for him. You knew a fair share of guys would likely throw a hissy fit if they got rejected by the a girl they’d pursued for months, but Bucky wasn’t like that. He cared about you, truly. He’d remained only your friend for over a year in spite of his feelings for you just because he still wanted to be in your life, romantically or platonically. The universe was definitely on your side when it decided to bring Bucky Barnes into your life, and the fact that he was still your best friend proved that it still was.

“I don’t deserve you, Bucky.” You exhaled after a moment, playing with your hands in your lap. “I lied; I did have feelings for you then, and I have ever since. You didn’t know that, yet you never tried to push me into liking you, or tried to make any sort of move on me no matter how much you wanted to be more than friends. And even now that you know that I like you, I just... I don’t think I can be the person that you want me to be, the person that you want to be with.”

Peeling your eyes up from the floor, you looked at Bucky directly, who had his brows crinkled while he bit the inside of his cheek in thought. His hand moved slowly to cover yours, a feeling of comfort running through you when you felt it thumb stroking your hand. “I just want you to be you, sweets. I want you to be whoever you want to be.”

“But what if I don’t know who that is anymore?” After your solid plan for the future had crumbled due to the argument with your mother and how you’d fallen hard for your best friend, you didn’t have a clue what the future now held for you.

Refusing to let yourself get upset, you swallowed the lump in your throat. You’d never felt so vulnerable before, your heart so out in the open for Bucky to see. It was odd, scary even. But it felt okay. Everything felt okay with Bucky.

“Then I’ll help you figure it all out.” He spoke quietly. You weren’t sure when his face got so close to yours, but it was a lot closer than it was, your noses barely brushing together. “It’s always gonna be you and me.”

Inhaling sharply, your eyes flickered between his bright eyes and pink lips, your heart pounding against your rib cage. “You know, if we, um... if we kiss right now, we can’t ever go back to just being friends.”

Bucky chuckled deeply, a sweet grin pulling at his lips. “That’s okay, sweets, cause I don’t wanna be your friend. Now, will you let me kiss you?”

You had barely started to nod when the boy’s hand came to your cheek, cupping it gently as he pulled your lips to meet his.

Fireworks. There were fireworks erupting in your stomach, flaming sparks coursing through your veins as you leaned into him, feeling more at home with his lips pressed against yours than you ever had in the house you’d lived in for eighteen years. All that time you spent pushing him away, telling yourself that Bucky Barnes was your friend and nothing more - if it all added up to this exact moment, then every second of it was worth it.

It was a long kiss, one that was around a year overdue, and neither one of you wanted to be the first to pull away. It was Bucky who did it, though, worry momentarily flashing in his eyes in case you were immediately regretting kissing him back. It was soon replaced by relief, however, when he saw how you were gazing at him. It was like you’d just awoken from a beautiful dream, a soft smile sitting on your lips.

“I don’t wanna be your friend either, Buck.” You whispered against his lips, causing the corners of his mouth to upturn.

The boy picked up your hand that was still enclasped in his, pressing a kiss to it before standing up, a sudden new glow to his presence. “C’mon, sweets. Let’s get outta here.”

“And go where, exactly?”

“Shakes at Carter’s?”

You quirked a brow, gradually rising to your feet. “Bucky, it’s like, eight o’clock.”

“Closes at nine.” He winked boyishly, wasting no time in interlacing your fingers together and tugging you out of the bedroom.

Like magic, anything that had stopped you from kissing Bucky the first time had disappeared from your mind. Once you entered back into the swarm of drunken teenagers, you didn’t focus on the strong scent of alcohol lingering in the air or the bodies that were accidentally bumping into you in the crowded space; you could only focus on him. Bucky, and the kiss, and the way you felt in that moment with him.

It was always going to be Bucky, you could feel it in your soul. Your were sure you’d always known it, but it’d taken you a hell of a long time to finally admit it to yourself. The problems in your life certainly hadn’t gone away just yet, but you weren’t going to handle them by yourself anymore. It wasn’t going to be easy, letting someone in after so long of building walls around yourself, but you were willing to try for Bucky.

As far as New Year’s go, this one was definitely one to remember, and it’d be the first one where you were able to have a stupid New Year’s kiss that you’d always secretly wanted.

And that kiss was just as mesmerising as the first; the sweet taste of strawberry milkshake still on your lips, his fingers gripping gently at your waist. Bucky had insisted on kissing you at midnight, so he walked you home from the diner and you let him hang around until the clock struck twelve, talking about anything and everything and laughing like children to pass the time. Even after staying for so long, once you’d had your second kiss of the night, the boy eventually returned home, not wanting his mother to lose sleep over him not being home on New Year’s Eve.

That night, you had maybe the first good night of sleep you’d had in a long time, the warmth from your night with Bucky never fading even as your eyes fluttered shut.

Things were still going to be hard, you knew that, and you and Bucky weren’t necessarily ‘girlfriend and boyfriend’ yet. You’d agreed to take things slow, and that meant not rushing into a full-blown relationship that you weren’t yet ready for. But it was different now; you trusted Bucky wholeheartedly, and you were okay with being vulnerable in front of him.

If your past self could see you now, falling for a boy so easily and pushing aside your college plans - well, for now - you probably wouldn’t have been able to believe it.

Yet, it was real, all of it, and you couldn’t be more simultaneously scared and excited for what was to come next.

* * *

Taglist:

@americas-ass-assins @stevieboyharrington @itz-kira @broco8 @bxrnsfeyson @lovvliies

I’m bored so I’m going to look up a list of barbie movies and describe them from memory because it’s one of those days. (I’m even doing it in chronological order) I may make a list of my favours barbie movies in the future so be prepared.

Barbie in the Nutcracker: I’m honestly a bit surprised that barbie movies started being produced in 2001 I thought the first few movies were made in like the early 90’s. Anyway, I don’t remember much from this movie other than the fact that I think Barbie fell in love with the nutcracker which was weird cause he was a toy?? Like she was human and he was a chunk of wood. That’s all I remember from the movie. I’ll give it a 4/10. I don’t remember anything from it and it looks pretty bland.

Barbie as Rapunzal: I have nearly no memory of this movie other than the fact that I didn’t like it. I remember thinking the animation sucks and the fact I don’t recall a single thing from the plot tells me this movie was boring. 2/10

Barbie of Swan Lake: I use to have a CD of this movie but I broke it when I was a kid. Anyway, the movie doesn’t look too bad, I think the dress Barbie (I think in some movies her name isn’t barbie) was wearing was pretty and I only know the Swan Lake composition due to the movie. The plots a bit fuzzy but i remember there was this brunette woman with an annoying voice and she had this necklace that could disguise herself as people. 3/10 It looks better than Barbie as Rapunzal but it’s not on my to do list.

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper: IM NOT EVEN GOING TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS MOVIE. WAIT TILL I RELEASE MY TOP 5 BARBIE MOVIE LIST - THIS WILL BE ON THERE.

Barbie and the Magic of the Pegasus: All I remember is that the villain in the movie was a savage and looks like Jared Leto. If that’s an insult or a compliment is for you to decide. 6/10 this movie is on my to do list.

The Barbie Diaries: I have no idea what this is.

Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses: I remember liking this movie but if you ask me why I won’t be able to give you an answer. The youngest siblings were annoying as fuck and I remember an evil woman with a monkey. The love interest is also one of the first things I remember but I don’t know why..? I’ll check the movie out in a few days and we’ll see if this movie makes the list 6/10

Barbie as the Island Princess: This movie looks boring, not gonna lie. I remember an elephant got poisoned or something and there was a shipwreck but that’s about it. 4/10, I’ll do some research.

Barbie and the Diamond Castle: ANOTHER GOOD MOVIE. I KNOW I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I JUST CANT REMEMBER WHY.

Barbie in a Christmas Carol: I think Barbie was a big bitch in this movie which make sense because she was suppose to be Scrooge but this movie looks boring. The fact I have to study A Christmas Carol right now at school makes me not excited to watch this 4/10

Barbie Thumbelrina: I believe the movie’s message was about the negetives of deforestation which is a good message to send to kids. It’s one of the first movies set in the modern times which is interesting. I think I liked this movie when I was younger but I don’t remember what happens 5/10

Barbie and the Three Musketeers: I have no idea what a musketeer is but I know this movie was good. For some reason, when I think about this movie, I think about hamburgers? Strange I know. This will probably be one of the first movies I’ll check out again 7/10

Barbie in A Mermaid Tail: Another movie set in the present. I know the main song was catchy and a bop and there’s an evil orange lady but that’s it. 6/10

Barbie A Fashion Fairytale: I’m pretty sure this movie is set in Paris which is cool. I think this movie has fairies in it because I remember hearing a joke about being ‘fairynapped’? Also I think Barbies boyfriend literally goes across the world just to see his girlfriend which is sweet. Or dumb depending on your view of love. This movie looks okay, not too bad but not amazing either. 5/10

Barbie A Fairy Secret: I know there was a love potion in this movie and the queen fairy was forced to fall in love with someone and Barbie and a girl she hated in high school had to save her despite them having no correlation to her? It’s weird. I’m going to watch it still. 5/10

Barbie Princess Charm School: I know many people like this movie. I like it too because the plot twist really shook nine year old me. I know there was a dumb red head girl who really couldn’t read the room either. The movie looks good I just can’t remember what happens. 6/10

I don’t recognise any of the movies after Barbie Princess Charm School so my list ends here. Adios and stay tuned for my top five favourite Barbie movies which will be released who knows when

Mads’ massive bellarke rec (pt.1)

So I’ve been asked a couple times to make a bellarke fanfiction rec list so here it is! (Okay so I realised that I had way too many bc our fandom is filled with so many talented authors so even though this is actually massive, there will be several parts)

(Also- I don’t know everyone’s tumblrs so if you know any of these author’s tumblr accounts, please lmk so I can link them properly!)

In no particular order, here are some of my all time fav blarke fics:

~

MODERN-VERSE AUS

I dreamed you a sin (and a lie) by monroeslittle

“If I do this,” Blake said, “how are you imagining it’s going to work? I can’t just knock on his door, and say I want in again. It’s been eleven years. And even before I left, I never cared about the business. Do you have a plan? You say you want me to open the door for an agent. How? What’s that mean?”

“You’re going to get in touch with your grandfather again at your wedding,” Clarke said.

He stared.

“I hope you don’t have a girlfriend, Mr. Blake.”

fake!married AU. Clarke's in the FBI, Bellamy's the grandson of a mobster, and they've got to work together.

~

Lines in the Sand by @fen-ha-fuck-you

“You looked like you were gonna hurl when you got up,” Raven said, pausing for a moment. “I’m not sure this is better.”

Clarke shook her head minutely, finally looking up at herself in the mirror. She quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen. She hadn’t even noticed. “I’m fine.”

“No,” Raven replied, her eyebrows scrunching together. “You’re not.”

“I just… had a little too much to drink. That’s all.”

“That why you’re strangling that poor sink?”

~

i’m not asking much of you by emmylou

When Clarke gets invited to her ex's wedding- her CHEATING ex's wedding- she knows she can't go alone. She's not dating anyone, so she has to find a boyfriend, real or fake, fast. Luckily, Octavia knows just the guy.

~

I’d Promise You Everything (But I’m Not Sure How Much Good There Is In That) by @talistheintrovert

Bellamy has never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but Clarke outright hates it. Her father died at the start of February when she was in high school, she found out her first boyfriend was cheating on her two weeks later, and then almost exactly a year after that, her girlfriend dumped her to travel around Asia.

But now they're in their 20s and Bellamy finally admitted that he loved her a few months ago. He knows this is the real thing and he absolutely knows that she feels the same way, but he also knows how miserable Clarke gets around Valentine's, and he's determined to cheer her up this time.

~

hold me in your beating heart by amberwoods

He’d got out of bed and walked to the nursery to console his youngest child. When he’d been shushing and cradling her for about twenty minutes, he noticed a silhouette hovering in the door opening. Clarke.

“I’ve got her,” he’d said softly, his voice rough with sleep, “Go back to bed.”

She just stood there. When he took a closer look, he noticed she had a strange expression on her face. She was looking at Madi.

“Clarke?” he asked carefully.

~

And There’s a Hand My Trusty Friend by Who_Needs_Reality

He sighs dramatically. “Can’t believe you’re not gonna let me kiss you until next year.” That sends a sudden, sharp jolt of sadness through Clarke, the realisation that they’re going to be spending another day spent pretending that she’s not his; it means ushering in their first year together… by, well, not being together.

Or, {NYE fluff where Bellamy and Clarke are together, but since they're keeping it a secret from their friends, they run into an unforeseen complication.}

~

A Little Bit of Something (God, It’s Better Than Nothing) by @grumpybell

“-Clarke.” He sounds alarmed, suddenly, none of the casual, arrogant, amusement that had been in his voice moments before. “What?” “Why is your mom calling me?” “Shit. Don't answer that. Listen, okay. She and I kind of got into an argument today-” “-what else is new?” “Shut up. Anyway, she told me she's getting married and there was just so much subtext about my failure at relationships and my lack of love life, and I might have told her I'm engaged too.” There's silence on the other end of the phone. “To you,” Clarke prompts.

~

I Don’t Need Your Love (I Just Need You Now) by @talistheintrovert

“What was the worst part?” Raven asked.

“Probably when he shoved me against a wall and stuck his tongue down my throat,” Clarke admitted, sipping her hot chocolate, which she quickly realised was spiked with rum. God, her friends were perfect.

Octavia and Raven both gasped, but it was Bellamy’s reaction that she found the most interesting. He didn’t say anything, didn’t look up from his book, or even alter his expression, but his hand balled into a fist on the arm of his chair.

OR: The AU where Clarke and Bellamy hate each other until Bellamy realises she's being mistreated, and does his best to protect her.

~

Come Close (And Then Even Closer) by sheryl_sems

Clarke thinks about Octavia and how her best friend had stormed out of the house earlier that day, furious at Clarke for taking her brother's side in their argument. She thinks about Raven, and Monty, and Jasper, and Wells, and Lincoln but in the end, she really only wants one person by her side and it's fruitless to fight herself on this one.

"Could you call Bellamy?" She finally says in a soft, hoarse whisper.

Or the one where Clarke is attacked and the only person she wants by her side in the aftermath is Bellamy Blake.

~

You Look Like a Movie. You Sound Like a Song. by lordmxrphy

She knows shouldn’t care. She and Bellamy were never together. They never dated. But for as long as Clarke can remember, Bellamy’s held her heart. Even if he’ll never know it.

(a modern au inspired by when we were young by adele)

~

What We Do to Each Other by marauders_groupie

A Bellarke AU in which Bellamy and Clarke are childhood best friends, separated by life and trying to relearn each other again.

~

A Symbol of Goodwill And Love by LayALioness

“So when you said we need a good tree, you meant,” he hedges, and she huffs, little clouds of steam escaping her mouth.

“One that needs a good home,” she says, like it’s obvious. “Shopping for a Christmas tree is like going to the pound—you don’t look for a purebred at the pound, Bellamy. You look for the puppy with a missing eye, or mange. One that needs us.”

“If this is code for wanting us to get a puppy,” Bellamy muses, reaching out to tug on the tassels of her hat. “I think we should probably live together, first.”

~

We Have to Stop Meeting Like This by @goldenheadfreckledheart

Tumblr prompt: “We both have friends who party too hard and we keep running into each other in the bathroom while we hold their hair back.”

Aka, the three times Bellamy and Clarke meet each other while taking care of their friends + the one time they don’t.

~

Christmas Sweaters by lightyears

Clarke's upset that she won't fit into her Christmas sweater this year. Bellamy surprises her with a new one.

~

Ladylike by Who_Needs_Reality

Bellamy stares at her. "You want me to make out with you. Platonically."

Clarke very resolutely does not panic. "Do it for the views, Bellamy."

(Or, an AU in which Clarke works for a Buzzfeed-esque company, and has to kiss someone in order to test lipstick durability for a new video. Feelings and decidedly non-platonic nonsense ensue.)

~

Love Is Not a Victory March by @asroarke

“You could have been here four years ago,” she reminded, raising her eyebrows at him.

“No, I couldn’t have. I needed to be here with you,” he replied, and Clarke felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. It wasn’t the first time he said something like that, of course. But it caught her off guard every damn time.

“Was it worth the wait?”

“Yes, you were,” he replied, and how could Clarke not kiss him after that?

Olympics AU where a knee injury kept Bellamy and Clarke from making it to the Olympics... the first time around.

~

the tie that binds me to you by glowinghorizons

“we’ve been pen pals for like hella months and we finally decided to meet up and damn you’re cute, also did you break up with your jerk bf/gf yet?” au

or:

bellamy and clarke finally meet after months and months of hand-written letters, phone calls and text messages.

~

you bring me honeysuckle by caramelle

It suddenly strikes Bellamy, one day, that his girlfriend is in possession of what has to be the best hair in the entire cosmos.

Or, the one where Bellamy's fixation with Clarke's hair is totally normal and healthy.

~

Walk With Me by arysa13

Bellamy is pretty sure you aren't supposed to hit on the people you're supposed to be getting home safely, but he kind of wants to anyway.

Prompt: Bellamy works at safe walk and Clarke keeps falling asleep studying. And is the last one to leave the library every night!

~

Sugar, Spice, and All Things Nice by Who_Needs_Reality

Clarke just really wants a peppermint mocha. Breaking into the apartment of her ex, with whom she may-or-may-not still kind of be madly in love, is an unplanned side effect. Mostly.

Based on the prompt "listen i know i can’t just show up at your apartment at six in the morning but i need coffee and no one makes it like you do”

~

time flies but you’re the pilot by @onemanbellarmy

“Wait a minute, your new art teacher is Clarke Griffin?”

Gus paused to consider. “I think so?”

A huff of a surprised laugh escaped Bellamy. He hadn’t talked to Clarke since college.

(or, single parent x child's teacher AU)

~

the girl next door by funfanfin

The first time he hears her, he’s making his grandmother’s afritada recipe, a dish that reminds him of long, lazy, hot summers in the Philippines.

The first time he learns her name is on a Tuesday so ordinary and average he wouldn’t have remembered it otherwise.

The first time he realizes he loves her is during the early hours of a cool morning, with her curled into his side.

-OR-Bellamy hears singing from the apartment next door. It isn't long before he meets the girl behind the smoky, haunted voice, and it isn't long before he learns the reasons for her sorrow-filled singing.

~

only fools rush in by @chants-de-lune

based on the tumblr prompt:

"just drove a guy home from a bar and for the whole 15 minutes he talked about how excited he was to see his wife"

~

the fuzziest of woodland creatures by tempestaurora

“it’s 2 in the morning and i was just trying to get home but i left my sunroof open all day and now there’s a squirrel in my car and it scared me and i drove into a pole – would you please stop laughing you’re a cop. you’re supposed to be helping”

~

Settling Debts by indygoh

"Um. Thank you. You didn't have to," she peeked up at him, suddenly shy for some reason. "I can pay you back."

Bellamy just chuckled, already shaking his head before she could finish her sentence.

"I've got a little sister. She probably would have kicked my ass if she found out I didn't do something to help you out back there."

Clarke raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Do you always rescue strange girls in desperate need of tampons?"

"Only the really cute ones with crowns on their butts."

~

when love hits (better make it worth the fall) by kay_emm_gee

Summary: Four times Clarke gets hit on the head (+1 time she doesn't) during her last semester of high school, and every single time, Bellamy Blake is somehow involved.

~

Turn the tide on my losing side by Lalalli

Clarke doesn’t know why Thelonius Jaha keeps posting really random shit to her Facebook wall, but whatever. It’s fine. It was weird at first, but she’s used to it now.

And then Bellamy gets involved and it gets weird again.

~

My Soft Place to Land by Who_Needs_Reality

Bellamy's happy to be back. He's even happier to see who's waiting for him.

{Or, soldier!Bellamy comes back home after being deployed and meets someone special}

~

We Keep it a Secret (You Leave Me Dying to Know) by @ringsabellamy

Bellamy doesn’t claim to be the greatest at dating, especially considering he’s been quietly in love with his best friend for the past six years, but hey, at least he’s been /trying/ to get over her. Not, of course, that this current situation is helping.

Or: Bellamy just asked Clarke to fake being his girlfriend for one date, honest. But then things got a little...out of hand.

~

If You Like Your Coffee Hot by marauders_groupie

They haven't been friends for a very long time but Bellamy still can't ignore Clarke acting out and getting into fights when she was a model student just a few months ago. They might’ve kept each other at distance for years but she is still his first best friend.

~

Calm my tears, Kill these fears by @goldenheadfreckledheart

Prompt: I somehow always get you as a cashier at Walmart and it's always when I’m buying the weirdest shit at the weirdest time. “A head of lettuce at 3am?” "It's a long story”

~

bit of a disaster, aren’t we? by katsumi

Clarke breaks her ankle and really would prefer that Bellamy not find out about it. She has a feeling he's going to get mad. (She's right.)

~~~

CANON-VERSE AUS

Meet Me in the Morning by monroeslittle

“I guess one of us is messed up,” he said, “and it’s part of our hallucination that the other is, too.” He paused. “Seems appropriately hellish that my mind sticks me with you.”

She pursed her lips. “Likewise.”

AU. Clarke is trapped in a stupid time loop, and guess who's trapped with her?

~

I Miss Our Little Talks by @chants-de-lune

“Wow,” she breathed out. “I thought that one would have done me in.”

Bellamy didn’t smile, shaking his head and taking the slightest edge of coldness off his glare.

“You took a bullet for me.” he said through gritted teeth. “Don’t ever do that again.”

~

Today is Dying by theprincessandtheking

“Look, sorry, but it’s an emergency,” Harper said, eyes firmly fixed on the wall ahead of her.

The tea he’d downed at the bar was still in his system, as evidenced by the way the room spun when he reached for his shirt a few feet away and struggled to pull it over his head.

“So much of an emergency that you couldn’t knock?”

“It’s Clarke.”

~

That I Will Never Escape by @talistheintrovert

“Execute me; I poisoned you. Let Clarke live."

“Very well,” Octavia raised a hand and a soldier with a gun pointed it down at him. He steeled himself for the bullet that would end his life, but before it left the chamber, Clarke yelled out.

“No!”

He jumped, surprised, when she moved suddenly, and he registered in his periphery as she snatched the sword from the floor and spun it in her hand deftly.

“Clarke, what are you doing?” Bellamy frowned, his gaze switching to her, but a part of him already knew. His body was reacting to it before his brain could catch up – he felt his breath catch in his throat, and his heart-rate speed up.

~

we were nothing more than stardust by cresswell

"I'm going to kill that bastard," he says quietly, bent close to Clarke's ear. "He's not going to touch you again, and I'm going to kill him."

Her pinkie finger extends, brushing the waistband of his jeans, and he carefully pushes their palms together, lacing their fingers. He thinks she smiles in her sleep.

~

Love is Not a Whisper (or a weakness) by monroeslittle

"There was a strange, muffled snap, and the tentacle around her middle was retracted. The hold on her ankle was gone, and Bellamy was pulling her up through the water. She began to pump her arms, and they broke the surface; she gasped, and coughed.

He pressed a gun into her hand. “If you see a ripple, shoot,” he ordered."

AU. The dropship doesn't land on land. The next seven years are a little bit different.

~

Astraphobia by @chants-de-lune

The fear of thunder and lightning. In other words, rainy day cuddling with a bit of angst.

~

Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat by islabbe

There was blood everywhere; some of it red, but most of it was black. Bellamy wrinkled his nose at the metallic smell as it filled his nose. Pushing down the reflex to gag, he quickly made his way over to the tent.

“Clarke, stay with me,” he said gruffly, his voice straining as bent down to enter hers and Madi’s tent. She was drifting in and out of consciousness and Bellamy knew the longer he dawdled, the less time she had.

~

We Can’t Leave Us Behind by @ringsabellamy

"I don’t blame you for that, not anymore. I understand why you had to leave. But it still hurt, Clarke. And I guess...I think your goodbye reminds me of how I felt. Of what it was like to lose you.”

“The kiss,” she says, eyes full of sudden realization. “You think when I kiss you, it means I’m going to leave you.”

Or: Bellamy has a lot of healing to do, one try at a time.

~

Set The Dark On Fire by @talistheintrovert​

Clarke isn't coping well with peacetime on the Eligius ship, and while Bellamy has woken some of the others (mainly spacekru) and tries to organise a trip to the ground, making decisions and considering all the variables, Clarke makes a choice of her own:

She'll take herself out of the equation.

OR: the post season 5 idea I had to write because all of the unresolved emotional turmoil this season is actually killing me and someone needs to notice that Clarke is in pain, for the love of god.

~ 

for everything unsaid (there is a flourish of my pride) by theprincessandtheking

“I don’t know,” he says. “I guess I just didn’t really care either way anymore.”

She pauses, and from the corner of his eye he can see the odd expression on her face.

“So in the middle of wartime, when everything is going to hell around us, shaving is still a priority. But you spend six years with all the free time in the world for it, and suddenly you don’t care?”

He tries to smile at the joke, but he thinks it comes out as more of a grimace.

“I guess down here it was more of a sense of normalcy,” he explains. “But with you gone—”

He pauses, clears his throat in an attempt to keep his voice steady.

“Without you there, nothing really felt normal.”

~

I can never be alone when all gods keep calling me out by angel_deux

Raven fixes the radio after a few years, and Clarke can talk to them again.

~

they will see my strength (in this love i’ve found) by glowinghorizons 

“If you’re married they won’t let you go alone.”

The silence is deafening. Bellamy braces himself for the slap he knows is going to come his way any second, but it never happens.

“You--” she sounds breathless. “You don’t even know me.”

Bellamy shrugs. “Look. I-- this is crazy. I know. I just know that I can’t let my sister go to the ground without me.”

OR, Clarke finds out she's being sent to the Ground only days after her Dad dies. Bellamy is determined to go to the Ground with his sister. They need to fool everyone to make it work.

~

Like a Second Heart by Who_Needs_Reality

She’s hardly surprised, the first few times it happens. The hallucinations are vivid, but not long, not much, just short, staccato bursts of him, tiny pieces to keep her going -- his hand extended out to her to help her up from the rubble, his voice a soothing murmur in her ear telling her she’ll be alright until she finds water… of course she sees him, of course she hears him. It’s Bellamy -- who else would her mind conjure up to help her survive? There are worse symptoms praimfaya has left her with than a few too-real imaginings of her best friend after all.

{Clarke's not worried when she starts to hallucinate Bellamy. It's only when the dreams continue to haunt her even after the real Bellamy comes back that she's concerned}

~

We Sure Know How to Run by winterwaters

While attempting to get Jaha farther from the AI and the nuclear warhead, Clarke, Murphy and Emori run into trouble from another tribe and Clarke is injured. Bellamy and his group happen to be following that tribe and help take care of her. On the way home, she confronts her feelings for Bellamy - with a bit of help from Emori.

~

darling, just hold my hand by killianslonghaul

“I know you don’t like public displays of affection, but… you’re really not going to kiss me goodbye?”

or

Bellamy doesn't really do PDA, but he might make an exception.

~

baby on board by katebishop 

As a soon-to-be father, Bellamy thinks he's feeling the appropriate amount of worry and concern for his pregnant wife.

Clarke thinks he's utterly ridiculous.

~~~

Other AUS

Forbidden Words by onceuponahundred 

we’re in between classes, and we both hear a fourth year calling a first year a mudblood, and neither of us are having any of that prejudiced bullshit. unfortunately, my impulse was to hex them, and yours was to punch them in the face, and my jelly-legs curse hit you instead, i’m really sorry, and we both are probably getting detention now, but hey, plus side, you’re kind of cute

{Bellarke in Harry Potter}

~

Name One Hero Who Was Happy by Who_Needs_Reality

Clarke huffs again, and he glances at her.

“The Curse of Achilles, Bellamy? Do you know how risky that was?”

“I got the idea when I felt my soul being torn from my body.”

She sniffs, imperious. “How did you do it?”

“Huh?” Her voice is smaller when she speaks again. “How did you...not get your soul...y’know?”

“Oh,” he swallows. “I had some help.”

{Bellarke in a Percy Jackson/The Last Olympian AU}

~

Don’t Think I Want What I Used to Want by arysa13 

Bellamy has a compass that points to what his heart most desires, which, as a pirate, must be treasure, obviously.

~

can’t control my feelings, can’t control my thoughts by katsumi

When Jasper accidentally gifts Clarke a love potion, everyone she interacts with starts acting...weird. Everyone, that is, except Bellamy. [Hogwarts AU]

~~~

Alright, so let’s talk about Coco

I’m mostly just gonna stick to my first impressions/thoughts about the movie(as well as the short that played before it), though there might be some spoilers. 

Speaking of the short, why don’t we just get that out of the way first? All in all, it actually wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t too impressed with Frozen in the first place(I was in that group of people who was sick to death of it early on), but Olaf was the only character I genuinely liked. I was sort of expecting this to be the short that finally broke me and made me get sick of Olaf, but nah. If anything, I found his mission to look for family traditions for Elsa and Anna to be a sweet gesture and kind of endearing. Not to mention in doing so, we actually got some nice development for the townspeople. Even if it’s kept to holiday traditions (surprisingly Christmas traditions isn’t the only thing that pops up in this short), it gives a nice bit of world-building to the kingdom of Arendelle, which was nice.

 Really I think the thing that was working against the special the most was that it came out at the wrong place at the wrong time. I remember hearing a rumor that this was going to be a holiday special that was suppose to play on ABC before plans fell through - and that’s kinda what this feels like. This feels like the holiday special no one was asking for and no one wanted, because the audience bought tickets to see Coco, not this. And having this get scotch-taped to the beginning of Coco gave this impression that they were trying to force-feed more Frozen stuff. So, yeah. I can certainly see why so many people were pissed off at the extended run-time. I think maybe if they stuck with their original plans or just released it on DVD, or hell, a DVD bonus feature for something, then maybe it would have been better received. As is, not a bad special, but I wish I could have watched it some place else.

One last thing I kinda want to point out because it was an interesting thing to spot (at least to me). If you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss it, but one of the townspeople is voiced by John De Lancie. some of you may know him as Que from Star Trek, and Discord from My Little Pony. I only bring this up cause I remember pausing mid-thought to focus on the voice because it sounded so familiar. I don’t know why, but I felt so blind-sided because I still associate that voice with discord more than any other character. I wasn’t even paying attention to what the other characters were saying because for a hot second or two, this was all I could think about:

Anyways! I’ve rambled on about the Olaf special long enough.

Coco was amazing. Yes, I cried. Yes, I started buying music from the soundtrack as soon as I was heading back to the car. Man, this felt like it was a long time coming. It felt like only yesterday that I was joking about how people were gonna start flooding my inbox asking me if I saw the movie. 

Alright...where to start. Cause there’s a lot of good stuff to talk about. I’m actually impressed with the character design. I mean it. Something that I was kind of worried about when the movie trailer first came out was that the skeleton designs weren’t gonna look great, or they were gonna reach uncanny levels because of the addition of the eyeballs in the sockets. And...yeah. Some of them look kind of strange, but most of them look pretty good. The designs of the Alebrijes (which I think the movie stated are spirit guides) were also really fun.

Without giving too much of the story away, for those of you worried that it’s gonna be too similar to Book of Life’s story, it isn’t. In fact, the two movies don’t really share that much in common outside of the movie centering around Dia De Los Muertos and the main character wanting to be a musician. The families on both movies are opposed to the main character’s dreams, sure, but it’s for different reasons, so I don’t really count this one all that much. I could talk about all the similarities and differences, and which I prefer, but I can make that in a separate post if people are really that curious about my thoughts on these two movies back to back. But picking a favorite isn’t necessary for talking about Coco. 

Speaking of music, I really liked the music in this movie. Especially one song in particular, and it’s the main one that the movie focuses on. I adore the progression of both how the song is played, and how the meaning and importance of the song changes as the movie goes on. When you do find out what the original intent for this specific song is suppose to be, it kind of makes the first time you heard it all the more tragic. There were a few other songs I liked as well, though I don’t have too much to say other than I really liked them.

Oh gosh there were some really good characters in this movie. I really like the family Miguel has. A lot of them were fun, and even the stricter members of the family had some good character development. I never got this sense that any point, one of the family members were being strict or trying to prevent Miguel (the main character) from playing the guitar or listening to music that it was to be malicious or mean-spirited. Though I do consider some actions to have been a bit overboard, but I think that was part of the point. They present the issue in a way where it’s understandable why the family considers music to be a curse, even if the viewpoint is ultimately misguided.

Miguel was a really fun character. I really like how there was a nice balance between kindness and a bit of selfishness, too. It never felt like he went too far in the other direction. Writing for kid characters seems to be a constant challenge in fiction, I’ve noticed. so it’s always nice to see one that’s written really well.

And now, getting to the character I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for me to talk about. Oh, Hector. I can see why so many people have been asking about you specifically when it comes to the boneheads comics. Gotta admit, now that I’ve actually seen the movie, I’m still not changing my stance, though it pains me to do so more in particular. I ain’t opposed to work on a few cameo sketches one of these days, though! I just, I really love how this guy’s character was handled throughout the movie. When you first see him, you think he’s just gonna be a wise-cracking trickster, or a villain, or keep a lie that’s gonna blow up in his face near the end of the movie. But then,  you get to learn more about him and why he is the way he is, and why he’s desperately trying to get to the land of the living and it’s just...man I really like this guy. He’s funny, sweet, and surprisingly resourceful. He’s a bit of a scoundrel at times, but again, you learn why that is and it’s great. All in all, great skeleton. I approve.

I think that’s about all I got to say without going into heavy spoilers. I guess if I had to list some draw backs, there are a few cliches that pop up in this movie, especially ones that are more common with modern disney/pixar movies, but I didn’t mind them all that much. So, yeah. Coco was awesome. Go see it. Definitely recommend it.

It's December 1st. Whose screaming Christmas carols, whose baking Christmas treats, whose decorating, who doesn't care, whose putting up mistletoe everywhere, whose shopping for presents every second, who forgot presents, who purposely didn't get presents and whose constantly asking for a puppy? (Sorry this so long, I just kept getting ideas!)

IM SORRY THIS IS DAYS LATE BUT I L O V E CHRISTMAS I HAVE TO DO THIS ONE. ALSO FORGIVE ME THIS IS /LONG AS FUCK/--the ipliersthe jim twins are as excited as, well, a kid on christmas morning. wearing santa hats, candy canes in their mouths, they even decorated their mic in red and green ribbon. the two practically shrieking out christmas songs -- much to everyone's annoyance "CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE--""jesus christ," dark snaps, "can you two knock it off?! it's only the first--""WOULD YOU LIKE A MORE MODERN SONG OF JOY." jim twin #1 asks, holding up a worn book of christmas carols -- the same one they've had since they were 4. passed on from dear old Mother Jim."no! this season is so grossly happy and joyful -- leave me to work--""I, DONT WANT A LOT FOR CHRISTMAS." jim twin #2 starts off as dark covers his ears. why did they have to be the loudest egos? why cant they see how shitty of a holiday christmas is?!"THERE IS JUST ONE THING I NEED, DONT CARE ABOUT--"dark gets an idea and smirks. knowing one way he can get them to leave him alone. "santa isn't real."the two twins share an offended and angry look, mouths open, did he just?!"christmas was a pagan festival of gifts before being appropriated by romans based on the Odin myth."the jim twins cringe, holding their dear caroling book closer -- he...he has to be lying!"who is the god of war and death."the jim twins turn away offended as all hell. jim twin #1 throwing a candy cane in dark's face and hissing. "SHUN THE NONBELIEVER, JIM.""SHUN."they then run off to go do whatever christmas activity next -- dark hoping they won't take this caroling /publicly/.******ed edgar and silver shepherd are cooking in the kitchen. ed is a surprisingly good cook -- especially around the holidays. just ask anyone who's been to his thanksgiving or christmas dinners. silver only tagged along because he was tired of dark being a joy sucker out of the season."now," ed chuckles, "we're gon' need about a store's worth of flour.""...what?! wh--ed, why do we need a store's worth.""uh, /excuse you, youngin'/," ed points at his pink and white apron. almost annoyed, "this apron calls me chef in charge 'round here. you follow, don't question.""ed. first of all, that's wilford's apron. second of all, we probably only need one bag at most for gingerbread cookies. why would we need a--""listen. i'm only making one gingerbread man fo' everybody 'round here -- i take home the rest.""how...much exactly is the rest?""350."silver shepherd sighs, taking off his mask and gloves. ed still smiling away as if his idea was normal. well, no arguing with a stubborn man like ed. he grabs his car keys from the table as ed follows him, "your limit is 50 dollars for the ingredients." he mumbles. "i knew you'd come 'round!" ed wraps an arm around silver, "we're gon' have so much fun with these lil old cookies! i even have a homemade sugar icing recipe! i'll even make a lil cape fo' yours!" he silently doubted it but hey, its a hell of a lot better than spending his free time with an angry and annoyed dark. ******bim tugged the host along, holding onto the sleeve of his trenchcoat gently as he lead him into the meeting room. the tall green christmas tree standing proudly in the corner. decorations of red and green and gold littered the meeting room's table. the smell of pine hits the host before anything -- taking him back to his own cabin in the woods long ago. the trees covering him away from the world as he...the host shook his head. he hated those memories. he hated those dark times. he hated it all."wilford put us in charge of the tree this year," bim smiled to himself, "i know its a challenge with erm...""i'm blind?""yeah, that." bim sighs, grabbing the box of lights and unrolling them gently, handing the ball to the host, who held it with a strange look on his face."w-what's poking me?""lights, silly!" bim giggles. the sound making the host blush and laugh along. any time bim was happy, he was happy. "now, i'm gonna loop around the tree. you just follow along, yeah? tell me if ya get dizzy and we can slow down.""the host nods, holding the bundle of lights close to his chest. ready for the decorations -- reminding him of his most favorite time of year."bim shakes his head and laughs, "you can't ever turn that off, can you?""the host cannot."the two start off steady and slow. the host following bim's footsteps. he could hear the jim twins playing 'i'll be home for christmas' in the next room over -- their office space. "those two can never get tired of christmas, i swear.""the host reminds bim that it's worse for him since his own office is right next door to the twins."bim giggles, "well, hope ya like christmas as much as them." it's when bim giggles does the host wish he had his sight back. what'd he give to see his smile (although, according to dark, it looks like his -- he doubt it. bim was handsome, charming, while his smile held back pain he swallowed down.)in those small moments of thinking and wishing, the host stays in place. the lights tangling as bim gets wrapped up with the host, groaning as the tree falls gently against them. the two tied chest to chest, bim's hands resting on the host's hips. "um..." bim laughs nervously, blushing away, "hostie, bud, we're tangled.""i...is that you against me?""yeah...i'll -- i'll get us out!!"the music drowns out bim's struggles as he pulls at the lights. the host's thoughts screaming at him -- tell him!! now's your chance!! confess!!"i love...i love--""hmm?" bim perks up, "sorry, wasn't listening, what do you love?""t...this song!! i, i love it, it's my favorite christmas song."he stops and hears bim laugh again, humming along, "its a good song."the host goes along with the lie, singing along as bim rests his head on the host's shoulder to get around to the lights behind him. "if only in my dreams."yeah, only in his dreams -- bim had matthias, what did he have? nothing but his dreams of what could be with the two of them. at least, for a moment, he had the courage to change that. maybe that's what he'll ask for this year; courage. ******dark crossed his arms and continued to work in his office. he could smell cookies baking, he could hear christmas songs being sung, and he could see holly being hung in the halls. how stupid -- the other egos should be /working!/ do they think they can take over mark's channel with all this fooling around?! he slams the laptop he'd been using shut and stares out his window. even the fuckin' /city/ was covered in red and green, fake reindeer and sleighs all around, snowmen (who bought fake snow to LA?!) waving in the cold breeze. he face palms himself. a headache coming on. he hated winter, he hated christmas, he hated everything about the holidays.it...brought back memories he didn't want to dwell on. memories of christmas morning...in a mansion of some sort. fuzzy memories of a woman, a man, and that damned mark -- all enjoying...hot chocolate with marshmallows. opening gifts like.../a family/."heeeeey darkidoo," wilford bursts into his office. the jim twins still throwing (sharpened to a point) candy canes at dark's door. "what do you want, wil?""geez," he shuts the door, dark's back turned towards him, "what's up with the jims? ya do something?""other than not engaging them in their childish behavior -- not, i did nothing." he sighs, "did you finish the weekly schedule for this month's programming on Markiplier TV?""gimmie another day--""damnit, wil! stop -- just stop! stop with this foolish nonsense, this holly jolly bullshit! i hate this season and i hate the way it makes everyone--" he stops as he hears wilford set down something on his desk and wrap an arm behind him. hugging him. "dark," he sighs, "just...take it easy, okay? it's december -- at least be happy the year's almost over, and be happy you still got us. hell, be happy some egos are working like doc and google." he smiles, "just...be happy we're all still here to celebrate the season. and nobody's gone."there's silence as dark hangs his head low. "i'll leave you alone for a while. i gotta confiscate the candy canes from the jims. i'll see you at home, dark."he squeezes around dark once more and moves to leave, stopping before he opens the door, "oh! i...i found that while looking for the christmas tree in the storage back home. i...i have a feeling it's yours. broke it in for ya!" he laughs as he leaves. dark turns around to see a black mug with a cursive 'D' on it. an intense emotion of...nostalgia rushing over him despite not remembering the mug. he stares out the window again as he holds the hot mug to him. he looks down to see hot chocolate and marshmallows. he smiles and sips the hot drink. this season isn't so bad after all with people like wilford in his life.--the septiceyesthis...was going to be the best surprise, marvin thought to himself. thanks to a new trick he'd learned -- he successfully figured out how to move the mistletoe to wherever he wanted, as if he had hung them everywhere. he was sure it'd be a laugh to see everyone's reactions. making anti kiss the pizza delivery guy, making dr. schneeplestein kiss whatever old patient he was seeing, maybe making robbie kiss his reflection. it'd be hilarious nonetheless. marvin, the marvelous magician, shall wow and dazzle his fellow egos!!he hid behind the couch in the lobby of their headquarters, where they hold their meetings, and waited.and waitedand waited/and waited/.growing tired as nobody walked by, had they found out about his plan? did nobody just need to come this way?he saw jackieboy man walk by and perked up, using his wand to move the mistletoe closer under him, rushing out the door to call him back as he left."j-jackie!! hey...oh shit," he looked up as he noticed he was directly under the mistletoe.jackieboy raised an eyebrow before looking up. "aha, you want to meet me here?" he smirks, catching marvin's chin in his fingers, flipping down his mask and red hoodie, soft green hair cascading down his face. a blush crossing marvin's cheek."just us two? alone here, the christmas decorations and lights lighting up your face so softly...""um, i mean--""here? under..." jackieboy looks up. suggestive. marvin not knowing if it was humanly possible to blush anymore."jackie...""THE MISTLEFOE?!""wha--" he ducked as jackieboy tackled him, wrestling him to the floor as chase and anti walked by. anti shouting as chase winced."get the magic nerd!! get the magic nerd!!" anti shouts"THE HELL IS A MISTLEFOE?!" marvin yells as he taps out with his wand from jackieboy man's headlock. ripping away his cat mask."pssh, the mistlefoe!! put two people under that," jackieboy points to the mistletoe, "and have 'em duke it out, fight and stuff. you dont know about the best winter tradition?""erm...its actually meant for the two to--" chase is cut off as marvin uses his wand to seal his lips shut, chase giving him the middle finger and pointing to his lips.marvin used his magic to burn the magic mistletoe attached to the doorframe. cringing as jackieboy man helped him up. helping him walk to dr. schneep's office"better luck next year, magic boy!!""....i hate working here," marvin coughs as he waits for the doctor. this, was going to be a very long winter. ******the doctor clocks out early, waving goodbye to the other egos....at 10 am, after working for 45 minutes."dude, ya can't just up and leave!! we need help with decorating!! and baking the cookies!!" jackieman boy yells as chase nearly stumbles carrying in the tree. "i must!!" the doctor yells, "chase, you are in charge until i get back at...well, just know you're all working late tonight!"chase gives a thumbs up, pointing at anti as he walks by, already directing them all.the drive to the mall isn't too long, he runs towards the opening, still in his doctor uniform. this time of year was perfect for his giving heart. already having a mile long list of gift ideas for every one of the egos in his pocket, his credit card with his savings from all his paychecks since last year loaded onto it -- no price limit for anyone!! and he finally healed from his injuries after black friday and cyber monday!! (hey, those internet shoppers are no joke)he practically skips into the mall with glee at the decorations. giant christmas gift boxes, fake snow, even a 'winter wonderland' with a fake santa -- wait...was that his patient bobby dressed up? bobby with the bad smoking habit?"i hope he cleaned up for the kiddies," schneep says to himself as he rushes into the first store -- a new camera for chase on the top of his list!!he gets everyone everything -- new knife collection for anti!! a new tux for marvin!! every single marvel movie for jackieboy man!! stuffed animals and candy for robbie!! a top hat for dapper jack!!and that's just for the first day of december, he plans to do this all until christmas eve, already having different wrapping for each ego's gift. until he sees it. his own personal wish. the 35 book set of medical mysteries -- all in order, and all for him.until another hand touches the set too. dr. iplier staring at him from the other side of the shelf. downright glaring. "henrik.""edward."the two stare back in spite -- no, schneep /needed this/. he worked too damn long this year to be bested by some quack doctor ego."aha," schneep laughs, obviously fake, "what are you doing here?""shopping for christmas. i was just looking at this book set i wanted for myself."fuck. schneep tugs on the set. dr. iplier's hand not going away. "oh, really?" he smiles coldly, "so. was. i."dr. iplier tugs, schneep tugs, the two turning into a tug of war before schneep pulls him against the wooden shelf in the bookstore, yelling as they fight it out. the early morning shoppers crowding around them, recording as schneep hold dr. iplier in a headlock. "THOSE BOOKS ARE MINE, YOU PRICK.""OVER MY DEAD BODY, QUACK.""OH THAT CAN BE ARRANGED, BITCH.""TRY ME, YOU ASSHOLE."schneep pulls out the scalpel he keeps in his pocket. the two fighting more, knocking displays over and taking it outside to the winter wonderland exhibit. children running and screaming as they crash into santa's sleigh. finally -- they're broken apart by santa (bobby). schneep grabbing his items from the bookstore and rushing out the mall. not wanting to deal with police or security. wiping away tears as he drives back. thankfully -- good old smoking santa (bobby), his faithful patient, was head of security at the mall. "its christmas," he later told schneep on the phone (and dr. iplier), "just...stay outta the mall for a good two days and i'll pretend not a single thing happened"schneep wiped away tears as he layer learned -- hey, the bookstore had tons of copies of the book set they were fighting over, that was just a display!he, however blushes as chase, anti, and robbie crowd around chase's phone. the video from his fight going viral online. "doc!! you're trending under #ThoseBooksAreMine!! that's awesome as hell, you'll be a meme!!" chase praises. schneep shakes his head. nursing the black eye he has. he knows it'll be worth it when he sees their laughing and happy faces on christmas day.because he knows damn well, marvin would forget presents and anti would die before he got presents for anyone else.******"a puppy!!" chase smiles as he walks into their ego headquarters with anti. heavy coats and scarves on. a smaller dog being walked by a young boy trotting on. "ew." anti drinks the starbucks chase bought him, "dogs are gross--"chase gasps, "i...am offended on behalf of all dogs, dude!!" "what? its a dirty animal that tracks mud and barely listens.""sure you're not describing yourself, dude?" chase jokes as anti rolls his eyes. "how could you want a little disgusting creature like that?""they're cute, they're playful, they cuddle up to ya when its cold, they bark!!" chase goes on and on, sitting down in the meeting room as they wait for the others, "they keep ya company, they nip at ya when they're hungry, they...they love you unconditionally...they...won't be taken away from ya," he stops, sniffling. tears forming in his eyes, memories of christmases long gone hitting him. seeing his son and daughter excitedly wake up him and stacey to open gifts. going ice skating. baking cookies.shit."...chase?"chase shakes his head and wipes a tear, "sorry, bro. i...i'm just caught up in my feelings. this time of year and, missing my kids."anti looks down into his coffee cup. damn, chase has been through a lot. he's the only ego who keeps it together -- not like him who just...glitches out at emotions. "...it's fine." anti grumbles under his scarf, "i'm sure this christmas will be...okay.""really?" "...yeah, really. even with that stacey keeping the kids, this christmas will be worthwhile. i mean, we got...decorating and shit to do today. that'll take your mind off it, right?""y-yeah, and the kids are suppose to call after school...and, and stacey's letting me come to their christmas play!! you're right, for once, anti!!" chase smiles and hugs him, anti awkwardly patting back. "okay...hug's been too long, don't push it chase.""sorry."...everyone had called chase a dumbass to give a copy of his apartment keys to anti. everyone had doubted anti would show any spirit in the season. everyone had doubted chase would get anything he really wanted for christmas, even schneeplestein.anti snuck into chase's apartment that christmas eve. chase down for the night in his bedroom. a small 4 foot christmas tree decorated in lights and ordainments in the corner of his living room. a letter from his kids (that anti skimmed through) on the table. "let's prove all those dicks back at hq wrong," he whispers to the bundle in his arms. setting it under the tree. it'd been absolute hell to get anyone to allow him to take home chase's gift. grunting as he sat on the couch and nodded off into sleep. the dalmatian puppy slept too, a red collar around it's neck, tail wagging in its sleep as it was thankful for anti for getting him out of the cold shelter. excited to meet his new master in the cold christmas morning.

Top 10 Best Metal Songs of 2017

Now I know what you’re thinking:

“You don’t review music Raptor, what gives?”

Well, to put it simply, I’m a little disappointed with myself in the latter half of 2017, and I’m really wanting to get something out to you guy’s for the holiday season. And with that in mind, there’s nothing I love more than heavy metal music!

If you follow my twitter, you’ve probably seen some of my very snarky tweets at popular pop artists who, if you can’t tell, I’m personally not a fan of. So It always warms my cold blooded, reptilian heart to talk about my favorite genre of music, the heaviest of the metals. And despite my admiration of the art form, heavy metal has done almost exclusively nothing over the better part of the past year. But because I am your serpent-like messiah, I have found a wonderful selection for you. I hope your collective butts are ready for a blast, because this is:

My Top 10 Heavy Metal Songs of 2017

Number 10: Car Chase Club - Blue Stahli

Now you may call this one cheating, mainly because this song is more dubstep than it is metal, which is fair. However, my counter argument is simple. Heavy metal was doing almost nothing and I REALLY needed a number 10. Doesn’t hurt that this song is super good too.

When I’m looking at music for my leisure time, I like to look for songs with heavy drums and hard guitars, and this song delivers perfectly on both fronts. I’m really happy with how this one turned out and am excited to see what Mr. Stahli has in store for the future.

My one regret is that I REALLY needed a number 10 spot, so I really don’t have that much to say. The song is wicked. Go listen to it… Right now…

(I promise the other entries will be better!)

Number 9: Look What You Made Me Do - The Animal In Me

This cover is tight!

Now you need to realize, I HATE Taylor Swift’s newest gimmick of “Being the Bad Guy” for two reasons.

1. I don’t buy it.

2. I really don’t buy it.

But The Animal In Me? I TOTALLY buy it. They could convince me that they were doing this whole bad guy thing and I would be frightened, I would be running for the hills. They have an energy about them that adds to the song, taking a trash pop song making it horrifically effective.

The haunting lead vocals compliment the screaming of the chorus very well, and it takes a garbage song and pulls it into the best of the year. Rather impressive.

Number 8: No Grave But The Sea - Alestorm

I officially want every best of list to have at least one Alestorm song, and this one will do me fine.

Now what’s the song about? It doesn’t matter. It’s Alestorm, so the answer is probably pirate stuff, and that’s all I need! Alestorm are such an enigma of a talent that my year feels less fun when they don’t release something. So when they stop in, I always know I’m in for a wild ride with them.

They are silly in all the right ways, and embody everything I adore about metal. They are perfect in almost every way.

Number 7: Judgment Day - Dragonforce

Not gonna lie, I listened all three of the new singles by Dragonforce this year, and I wasn’t impressed. If Gamma Ray and Rhapsody of Fire hadn’t put out remaster’s this year, Dragonforce woudn’t be on the list. But, out of all of them, Judgment Day was the best.

It has the fastest, heaviest guitar of them all, and a very unique sound in comparison with the other two, or a lot of Dragonforce for that matter. But no matter how lackluster it is, Dragonforce is still awesome, no matter how bad they could be for the year.

No matter what, this song still rocks hard. And for all my complaining, it still is one of the best for the year.

But do you guys remember Gamma Ray? Those guys were rad!

Number 6: Dragonflies - Amberian Dawn

Well this one came out of nowhere. AND I LOVE IT!

If 2017 lacked in one thing, it was symphony metal. With only a few exceptions, I was very sad with the lack of Within Temptation this year, who would have been a shoe-in, but didn’t make anything this year. Bummer.

But hey, this song is still tight! With a powerful lead vocalist, shredding guitars and a ominous ensemble, Dragonflies was a surprise Christmas present that I will take arms open.

This song is so sick, I’m expecting these guys to be on the next years list.

Number 5: Burn Me - Xandria

Dang Xandria! What kind of talent enhancing substances were you guys on this year?

I mean, you guys had killed it in the past, but this album is so good! And this song is a personal favorite of mine.

As much as I love Xandria, they sometimes have a problem, that being that the music and vocals sometimes don’t mix very well. It’s still incredible, but not ‘Perfect’.

This, on the other hand, is perfect for both instrument and vocal. perfectly capturing the feeling of the songs tone, and the vocals are haunting in all the right ways. I adore this album and this song. It’s strangely upbeat, which I like.

Rock on Xandria!

Number 4: Unfaithful - Exit Eden

Pop quiz for you fans of symphony metal:

‘What is the most common theme for symphony metal songs?’

The answer? Fantasy. Lord of the Rings, Skyrim, Legend of Zelda, they all play into the idea that this sub-genre is all about fantasy with dragons and swords and princesses.

Not this one though.

Exit Eden, (Another band that came out of nowhere!) made a song about a very modern and real thing, cheating. And presented it with symphony metal to make a very harsh and real sounding experience, and in doing so, made a best of the year masterpiece.

This is not a happy song, but it is a killer one. And diffident best of the year.

Number 3: Fight Your Demons - Epica

I adore Epica. they were the ones who got me into metal in the first place, so I feel like I’m obligated to have somewhere on the list. And, it just so happens that they make a killer single for the number 3 spot.

Fight your Demons is everything I love about Epica, Simon Simons kills it with the vocals and the whole song has an intensity that I love. I made a tweet earlier in the year, saying that with Spotify on the Xbox, I was listening to Epica while playing Skyrim, and this song takes one of my favorite games of all time from a 10 to an 11.

No matter the climate and toxicity of modern pop and hip hop, I can always count on Epica to remind me of why I love music, and this song is no exception. Rock on you guys!

Number 2: Ride the Lightning - Halestorm

I have a bucket list. And with how morbidly obese I am, I’d better start working on that. But regardless, at the top of that list is to meet the people who have inspired me to pursue my dreams, and Halestorm is for sure one of them.

Now take them, and  have them cover some Metallica, and what do you get?

In a word: Ecstasy

This might be one of, if not my absolute favorite covers by Halestorm. It has all the the elements that I adore in metal, strong guitar, thumping drums and of course, vocals by the legend herself: Lzzy Hale.

And it does not go to waste. Masterfully re-mastering the metal classic in a new, yet faithful way. And no matter how good I make it sound, it sounds even better. It is perfect ear candy.

Halestorm killed it, and it was hard to not give them the number 1 spot… But…

Number 1: Legendary - The Unguided

Hey my dubstep fans, you guys remember when The Unguided were famous for the remixes by Zardonic? Well, this song, right here. It cements The Unguided as one of the best metal band ever.

This song is so good! Everything I love is here! Guitars, Bass, Drums, and killer Vocals!

And unlike the other songs on the list, the unguided genuinely sound like something new.

I didn’t know just how much I needed this song in my life, it is so good. Like, you should stop reading and go find this song online. it is worth it.

And that’ll do it! Thank you all so much for reading, and I know that this “Year of the Raptor” Update has been taking a long time now, but I’m slowly but surely working on it.

But still, I feel bad for not having anything for you guys for the latter half of 2017. Although, tune in Christmas, We- I mean I, should have something killer planed. So just hang out and I’ll see you on Christmas morning!

OOC WEEK: DAY 2

What country are you from?: Let’s hear it for England, EN-G-LAND!

What is your first language? Do you speak any other languages?: My first language is English but I also speak a little German, tbh I’d like to be fluent in more languages and it’s probably something I’ll get around to doing at some point, at the very least it’d be nice to be able to speak more German ‘cause I really enjoyed learning the language.

What language would you like to learn?: Japanese.

What’s one movie from your country that you like (or recommend others see)?: Just one British movie? Hahahahahaha. Don’t want to be controversial but tbh we make some of the best movies... ever. I would actually though, out of all the British movies in the world, recommend everyone watch Paddington. That may sound ridiculous but there is something so positively charming and British about the whole film, it really does have what I’d call genuine British comedy in it, it’s multi-layered so people of all ages can enjoy it and the Brown family are just so very British, it’s wonderful. Not to mention Ben Whishaw voicing Paddington, that man is an actual angel, his voice is ridiculously gentle and soothing so he makes the perfect Paddington bear.

Pick a song from your country (or in your language) and talk about why you like it: One British song... Again, we make some pretty great music. I’m actually gonna go with good ol’ Take That, ‘Never Forget’, because I think tbh it’s like a ridiculously good song. It’s cheesy as fuck, it was actually written before I was born but whenever I hear it it puts me in a good mood, tbh I just have a soft spot for Take That like gimme my boys, though if you wanted to miss out Robbie I’d be alright with that. I’d actually put this song down for the next question too but I’ve got many in mind pffftttt

Pick a classic song from your country - aka one that everyone knows, one that’s representative of your country, etc: Would it be too devoted to my own country to say I think ‘We Are the Champions’ by Queen represents us :’) TBH I think it does though, I think not necessarily because we’re the best country (...although...) because we’ve made some mistakes, some very far in our past and some more recent, but for a small country we’re a force to be reckoned with. I think the song speaks a lot about how in general, people from all walks of life, here in the UK we’re little fighters, we work hard at things, we go through shit times but we always come out of that and although there is communities within our country that are complete dicks and need to- in the words of Ronald Weasley- sort out their priorities, I do also think that British people, in general, can be pretty decent and want our country to be a better place in the future.

What’s a book from your country (or in your language) that you’d recommend?: Oh boy, ok, not an easy question at all because... and I must sound like a broken record... but we’ve literally had some of the best writers the world has ever known come from my small little island. I do actually think ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte is an incredible book, I think it’s sort of incredible how she can write two main characters so difficult to like and yet their story hooks you in from the start. I actually have a deep hatred for Heathcliff and Cathy, it irritates me every time how their own denial and selfishness leads to them **spoilers, sort of** destroying the lives of another family, but somehow you can’t help get drawn into this intense obsession and feud of love and hate that they have for each other, not to mention the setting and general imagery is lovely.

What’s your favourite childhood story from your country or culture?: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Honestly, I still love all stories about Alice honestly, I think something truly magical was created with the idea of Wonderland and this girl becoming part of something that she just sort of gets on with and tries to make sense of, I feel like that’s a very British thing tbh, to attempt to find logic in things and look for reason in things.

Talk about a tradition from your country or culture that you love celebrating: Gosh, I have no idea tbh, I can’t think of many big celebrations that I personally attend that aren’t found all over the world? I guess I like the tradition of drinking lots of tea?

Fave food from your country/culture: A full English breakfast is always good, never pass on it, or the very traditional FISH AND CHIPS! A glorious meal tbh, heavenly.

Best season of the year in your country?: I like autumn, personally or spring, I don’t really like extreme weather so summers feel too hot and winters feel too cold.

What’s one thing that you wish you could change about your country? Why?: The party currently in charge of our government because tbh they’re just clueless dicks who make decisions to benefit one class and no one else.

What’s one thing that you’re proud of about your country?: I think, in general, we’re quite an accepting country. I think there are, like everywhere, some people who are hateful and rude but in general we’re a very diverse, multi-cultural country who do want equality and do want to head towards that future possibility.

Name a country you’d like to visit: Any East Asian country; Japan, China, South Korea or Thailand (not necessarily in that order).

Top three cities you’d like to visit: Seoul, Tokyo and Berlin.

What’s the best place in your country that you’ve ever visited?: Honestly, I love Manchester but I do also love London, our lovely capital. I think London really does have a lot to offer, it’s an incredibly busy place where really ancient and beautiful buildings are surrounded by modern culture, if you ever get the chance to go I would highly recommend it.

Have you ever been abroad (out of your country)? If so, where did you go?: Several times actually. I’ve been to Spain twice, once when I was very little and a second time a few years ago, it was the worst holiday tbh because it was roasting hot and right on the beach and that’s just personally not the type of place I enjoy. I like being busy, enjoying cultures etc. a lot more than relaxing holidays. I’ve also been to France but only to Disneyland :’) And I’ve been to Cologne, Germany, it was only for a few days but it has been my favourite holiday ever since. I went at Christmas when they had all the old traditional German markets up and it was just beautiful, the atmosphere, the food (omg THE FOOD, BLESS GERMANY TBH) and the people were all so friendly and helpful with my lacking skills in the German language XD It was great.

What are some myths or stereotypes about your country or culture that are either true or are false?: We all drink tea. True, and if you don’t then tbh get out right this second, we don’t need any of these tea haters, we’re a proud tea-loving nation, I will fight people on this ‘cause I love tea so much tbh. That we’re all super posh, completely false. I have a deep hatred for how English people are represented, especially in American media, because we’re basically all the same and all have the same accent and all seem to be like lawyers or doctors and we all tend to be pricks. Firstly, and I googled this, there are around 56 known British accents so we definitely don’t all sound the same and we definitely don’t all come from super rich families with tons of money and servants- Downton Abbey life is beaut, don’t get me wrong but unfortunately we can’t all live like that. And of course the grand conspiracy that we keep producing hot celebrities to steal the hearts of American women after WW2 as revenge is also completely true, we’re got some real hotties lined up for the future, be warned we are coming for you. That last bit was obviously a lie hahahaha it’s just a coincidence that we produce hot celebs.