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normal-thoughts-official · 1 year

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Why Joe and Nicky deserve to win the sun and moon showdown, and if they don't I'll end up in the INTERPOL Most Wanted list

A not at all dramatic essay

(This is the plain text version. To see the version with bold, italics, hyperlinks, and big text, click here)

1. Not only do they canonically use moon imagery to refer to each other, but their context adds new symbolism to that metaphor that other duos don't have

If you haven't seen TOG and aren't familiar with the van speech, well, I recommend that you do, but I'll transcribe it for your convenience:

"He's not my 'boyfriend'. This man is more to me than you can dream. He's the moon when I'm lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in cold. And his kiss still thrills me even after a millennium. His heart overflows with the kindness of which this world is not worthy of. I love this man beyond measure and reason, he's not my 'boyfriend'. He's all and he's more"

Yeah, pretty long way of saying "actually we're husbands", but let's focus on the "he's the moon when I'm lost in darkness" bit. That bit alone is already insanely romantic and enough to make us fans go rabid with this tournament, but there is an extra layer of romanticism to it, because Mr Yusuf al-Kaysani (aka Joe) is Muslim, and in Islam, the moon represents the guidance of Allah through life, the calendar is based on the moon cycles, and the brightness of the moon is compared to both the face of the Prophet Muhammad and the first batch of souls to enter Paradise. Therefore, the moon, in Joe's culture, is intrinsecally linked with the divine, guidance, holiness, and time

So, when Joe compares Nicky to the moon, he's not only saying that he brings light into a dark world; he is saying that he is the very guiding light that leads him to a blessed life, that he is the foundation through which the world and time can be understood, and that his beauty and holiness is comparable to that of the souls of Heaven themselves

Which is all already enough for me to bite through wood, but the specific relationship between the moon and the understanding of time in Joe's culture is also particularly meaningful for Joe and Nicky, because Joe and Nicky are two of the 5 people who are immortal in the entire world. And one of the core themes of the movie is how that sense of timelessness leads them to isolation, and a constant state of loss. There is a deep melancholy that permeates their entire existence due to the fact that time as we know it no longer makes sense to them, and they live outside of it, skirting around eras and history. So, by comparing Nicky to the very body that marked the passage of time for Joe, he is saying that Nicky is what helps him make sense of the impossible, that he is the constant in Joe's eternity, that he brings meaning to their confusing and sometimes alienating existence

But wait! There's more!

Because Joe and Nicky met in al-Quds (also known as Jerusalem) in the year 493 AH (also known as 1099 CE in the Gregorian Calendar) and had to travel together across the desert for a long time, which means that, for the first few years of their life together, they were in fact relying on the moon to guide them in their path. So they both have a deep intrinsic understanding of how the moon is a compass, the most reliable thing in uncertainty. And the moon has been guiding their steps, their relationship, since their paths were first joined. And they weren't separated since

Like. Listen, I'm sure Star Trek is great and its fans are lovely, and I salute the Star Trek fandom for everything it did for fandom history in general, but you cannot tell me that Spirk has this much baggage associated with the sunmoon symbolism. It just doesn't. If this were a hand touching tournament, no one would have as much symbolism linked to it than y'all, but when it comes to being the sun and moon, no one is doing it like Joe and Nicky

2. The most appealing aspect of the SunMoon dynamic is how they need to defeat all odds to be with each other, and Joe and Nicky have that in spades

"Oh I don't think that's the most ap-" IRRELEVANT. I'll talk about the other ones too. Just keep reading, okay? /joking

As you might know, Joe and Nicky met on opposite sides of a battlefield. They killed each other. (Many times). And what happened then?

They ressurrected and became immortal. That alone is already impossible, but it gets better - even for the rules of immortality in their universe, Joe and Nicky are still an impossibility that has never happened before or since

Because in The Old Guard, immortality is extremely rare. There have only ever been 7 immortals in the entire history of humanity. There are usually several millennia between the appearance of one immortal and the next one. Other than them, the shortest time gap between one immortal appearing and the next was 800 years. But Joe and Nicky became immortal at the same time, on the same day. Their very existence bends the rules of an universe that already bends the rules of the universe they lived in beforehand anyway. Joe and Nicky being together defies the very fabric of time, and if that isn't some sun and moon shit, I don't know what is

But it's not just some destiny shit either. Joe and Nicky were also not supposed to be together by other standards. For starters, they were on opposite sides of a war. Nicky was a fucking priest, and he joined the goddamn actual honest to god crusades. He was hateful and ignorant and awful, and when he chose Joe, he left behind everything he knew before him. All his certainties, his beliefs, his faith, his family, everything he had ever been taught. I'm also gonna go ahead and say that that ties into the whole "the sun is what makes the moon shine" metaphor - because everything that defines Nicky as he is now is the direct result of how meeting Joe changed him

And listen, listen to me. I'm not saying that he stopped being a bigot for Joe, because if he did, I doubt Joe would want him. He did it because it was the right thing to do, and he was wrong and ignorant and indoctrinated by the church. But he still had to make the choice to turn his back to all that, and that plain and simply would not have happened if he hadn't met Joe. It was Nicky's own effort, but meeting Joe was the catalyst

Joe, similarly, had to overcome a lifetime's worth of (well earned) resentment and hatred for what Nicky did. Joe forgiving Nicky at all is already nearly an impossibility (and he would be well within his right to never do that), but he didn't just forgive Nicky, he fell in love with him. And he chose him, well aware of how bloody and terrible his past was, and despite the fact that there is no way he wasn't deeply conflicted about what he felt for Nicky after everything the Christians put him through. I cannot even begin to imagine how hard this process must have been for Joe, and it was one he didn't have to go through at all - which means that he chose to

And that's not even taking into account the very personal resentments between the two of them, because they weren't just on opposing armies, they literally and personally killed each other. Several times over. And yet, impossibly, against all logic, against everything they had ever felt and believed in prior to each other, against possibly their own desires, they fell in love. They fell in love and have been hopelessly devoted to each other every since

And THEN, on top of all that at the beginning of their relationship, they lived as an interracial, interfaith*, gay couple, through what were undoubtedly the worst times in humanity's history to be either of those things. For 900 years, they had to love each other in secret and with varying degrees of risk associated with ever being found out as a couple, or even with being associated with each other at all to begin with

(*It is debatable what their current relationship with their respective original faiths is, since it isn't mentioned in the movie. But even if both of them had turned their back on their religions, they are still culturally Christian and culturally Muslim, and that makes a difference. Personally, though, I don't think either of them turned their backs on their religions, although I do believe Nicky turned his back to the Catholic Church as an institution for obvious reasons)

That's not even counting all the incredibly traumatic shit that they went through ever since (which I won't mention in detail because it's spoilers and also this is long enough already) and that would definitely break a couple with a less unbreakable bond. Through centuries and centuries of pain and regret, they have chosen nothing and no one but each other, first and foremost, no matter what that meant.

Nicky even brings it up in the comics:

[ID: Joe and Nicky touching foreheads with their eyes closed. Nicky is holding Joe's chin and he says, "why is it so difficult, Joe? We've been afforded more time than any lovers I can name. And still, every moment we scrape together feels precious. Something always happens-" End ID]

(From the Tales Through Time one-shot series. I generally think the comics are meh and the movie is where it's at, but I do recommend reading this one. It is set before the movie happens so there are no spoilers)

There has never been a time where being together was easy, and yet, Joe and Nicky chose each other no matter what. They chose each other even when it meant being separated and getting only scraps of time together in secret. If that isn't some sun and moon shit, I don't know what is

3. They complement each other

And not in the dumb stereotypical "the sunshine one and the grumpy one" way either. For starters, Joe isn't bubbly, and Nicky isn't grumpy. No, they have two characteristics that I think represent the sun and moon way better than that anyway - Joe is an extremely intense person, and Nicky, an extremely cool headed one

Joe doesn't feel anything by halves, and despite the fact that he has lived through several lifetimes, it still seems as if everything he goes through is happening for the first time. Every time Nicky or another one of the family dies, Joe looks just as desperate as he would a millennium ago, despite the fact that he's had centuries to get used to the fact that they die and then come back to life. He's the only one who's that affected by it (obviously none of them enjoy seeing each other die, but the rest seem to have accepted to some degree that it's a part of their lives, or at least gotten used to it). He has experienced so many horrible things, yet he is still as affected and disgusted by it every time, going as far as lashing out sometimes. When he's angry, no one is able to hold him back from yelling at the person he's angry at (not even Nicky). Similarly, not even an actual van full of armed homophobic guards is able to stop him from simply dropping a passionate speech about how important Nicky is to him, complete with getting misty-eyed and kissing him at the end (and I'm not even bringing up the fact that both of them have their hands and their feet tied)

To me, that is the most sun-coded possible trait, because the sun is intense, hard to ignore, and quite literally burning. The intensity with which Joe feels also feels like it could burn, but it's also what makes him so warm and loving

Nicky is also a pretty intense person, but, unlike Joe, he is super cool headed about it. For starters, Nicky is a sniper; he is capable of staying still for hours at a time, observing, figuring out the best time to strike. That demands an amount of control over himself, his feelings, even his instincts, that is admirable. But he's not just like that on a mission; Nicky is very careful with what he says, when he speaks, what he lets other people see of him. His expressions are all subtle, contained, and even when he is in a state of murderous rage, he doesn't lash out. He doesn't lose control. The same way that the moon and the sun share their brightness, Joe and Nicky share their intensity, but Nicky is able to subdue it while Joe burns with it and lets that be his strength

Where Joe is expansive and wears his heart on his sleeve, Nicky is cautious and guarded. Where Joe gets lost in his own feelings and loses sight of what they need to do, Nicky keeps their heads straight and reminds him of what they need to do. Like the moon that guides one through the desert

They're different and complementary, but also intrinsecally tied to each other. They have the same spark where it matters, but present it in different, complementary ways. They are a part of each other, but they're also themselves first and foremost. That's what the sun and moon are all about

Sun and moon imagery has been the staple of the Joenicky fandom since day fucking 1, and for good reasons

VOTE JOE AND NICKY IN THE SUN AND MOON DUO SHOWDOWN

#tog #the old guard #yusuf al kaysani #nicolò di genova #nicolo di genova #joe tog #nicky tog #joe al kaysani #nicky di genova #joenicky #kaysanova #long post #has plain text #no tldr #no plain language #meta #sun and moon showdown

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invisibleraven · 1 year

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Life is like a song

Luke would be the first to admit he's not the best at romance. But this year for Valentine's Day, he wants to try.

Because Julie and Reggie deserve it.

Rating: T

Word Count: ~6.1k

On AO3!

Seems only apt that I celebrate Valentine's Day with my OT3!

This is also my two year anniversary of writing JatP fic, and what better way to celebrate than to write even more?

Hope you enjoy this smoopy little bit of fluff, and know I love you all very much. Happy Valentine's Day!

Luke would be the first to admit he wasn’t the most romantic soul on the planet. Sure he’s got a pocketful of words and an accompanying melody to make you swoon, but outside of that, the gestures from movies don’t come easy.

He’s not great about remembering anniversaries and the like, though Alex has a calendar programmed on his phone to remind him. Even if Luke is prone to losing his phone in the couch cushions more often than not.

Thankfully his partners are more than understanding.

Julie just sighs, rolls her eyes and kisses his cheek when he gives her a sheepish, apologetic smile. She knows he’ll make it up to her with a serenade or a spa day at some point.

It’s Reggie that he hates disappointing.

Sure he’ll smile with understanding, say it’s fine. But his grin never reaches his eyes and Luke sees how it drops when Reggie thinks he can’t see. And no amount of songs or spa days will help erase the guilt from Luke’s heart at that.

This year, he vows it will be different. They have money now from the album, a big house to share, and resources at his fingertips to help plan a killer evening.

Valentine's Day seems the perfect opportunity to get his wooing on.

First step is flowers. Julie is easy, she adores dahlias. They have a garden full of them, but Luke decided to call up a local florist to order a bouquet, because he wants them arranged a little nicely. “I need another bouquet too,” he adds. “Something romantic.”

“Well you can’t go wrong with a dozen red roses,” the florist says.

'Does Reggie like roses?' Luke wonders. He can’t recall him ever offering much opinion on any flower, other than liking the sunflowers that Julie planted under their kitchen window. He figured that he’d rather go for what he knows Reggie likes than stick to a cliché and places his order.

Flowers? Check.

Next is food. Luke has been banned from the kitchen other than to make toast and eggs, so he knows cooking is out. He’d rather not set the house on fire or give either of his partners food poisoning. One bout of that in his lifetime was more than enough, thanks.

He also doesn’t really want to go out anywhere. Sure they can afford better than street dogs now, but fans mob them at places they like eating at and the snootier places only see their bank balance or their newfound rock star status. He supposes he could make an order for delivery but he knows food never travels well.

That leaves asking for help, something Luke knows he doesn’t excel at. But for Julie and Reggie, he’ll do anything-even ask his mom for her assistance.

Emily is thrilled to help, and ropes Victoria into the scheme. Between the two of them they plan a feast that will keep in the fridge and only needs a few minutes in the oven to reheat. Emily leaves the instructions for that so he can hand them off to Julie on the agreement that neither woman will ‘stop by’ to make sure he didn’t do it himself.

Luke rolls his eyes at that, but gives them both a big hug in thanks and agrees to see them the 13’th to pick up the meal.

Food? Check.

As it gets closer and closer to Valentines though, Luke wonders if he should decorate. Paper hearts and little Cupids seem kind of tacky, but maybe some candles? Fake ones of course-see again no burning down of the house. He knows Ray has a large supply of fake tea lights for shoots, so one day when Reggie is off with Alex and Julie is out with Flynn, he heads off to Los Feliz.

Ray seems a little surprised to see him sans Julie, and Luke feels a little sheepish. After finally reconnecting with his own parents, he doesn’t think about forging a stronger relationship with his partners’ parent. Sure he sees Ray for family dinner every week, but he knows Julie talks to her dad daily. Plus the man practically adopted Reggie once his parents utterly failed to be competent human beings capable of love. And Reggie soaks up affection like a sponge, giving it back a hundred fold. So he knows the bond between the two of them is strong.

It’s just-aside from giving the man updates on the band or discussing his partners, Luke has no idea what to talk to Ray about. Julie has a lifetime of memories and blood to keep her going, Reggie has Star Wars, baseball, and photography. What does Luke have?

Sure they can chat about music for a bit, or the weather, but that’s pretty limited. Luke vows after Operation Romance is over, he’s going to try and be a better son to Ray. For now though, he offers the man a bright smile and says “I need to ask you something.”

“Hoo boy, was wondering when this day would come,” Ray says as he sits him down at the island, pouring them both a glass of water unprompted. He then holds up a finger and disappears momentarily, coming back and dropping a small velvet bag in front of him. “You may have something different in mind, so I won’t be offended if you don’t want them, but they’ve been in the Alvarez family for generations, so if you want them, they’re yours.”

Luke opens the bag and freezes. Because inside are three gold rings. One is obviously an engagement ring, a single circular diamond with filigree on either side. The other two are plain bands, one slimmer than the other, but he bets it would still fit Reggie’s finger.

“Oh… um… I…” Luke stammers, flailing internally. The three of them had discussed marriage of course, but in more of a nebulous someday thing kind of way, maybe when their relationship could actually enjoy the benefits of that sort of union. Luke didn’t think they needed a ceremony or a piece of paper to legitimize them. Reggie had his own hang ups regarding the institution, given his parents own turbulent marriage-though he had expressed a want to do better, be better than those awful people, and a loving, healthy marriage seemed like a great way to do so. Julie wanted it, he knew that much. Couldn’t ignore how she swooned at the wedding shows he occasionally caught her binging.

Shit.

Luke shoved the rings back into the bag and then into the cavernous pocket of his oversized flannel, croaking out a thanks. “I was also wondering… could I borrow some fake candles for Valentine’s?”

“Going for the big cliché romantic proposal?” Ray asked, offering Luke a gentle, teasing smile. “Whatever you need mijo.”

Ray comes back with a box, laden down with the electric candles, plus a few odds and ends he thought Luke might like. “So, I know you never asked… but you’ve got my blessing, or permission, or whatever it was you were looking for. Though I would still ask Chavala about asking Reggie. She’d be honoured, and she’s the closest thing he has to a parent now.”

“That’s not true,” Luke replies. “He still has you.”

Ray ducks his head and smiles. “He does, you’re right. You do too, you know. I know you still have your own father, but…”

“I know,” Luke replies, clapping Ray on the shoulder. “Thanks pops.”

“Good luck mijo, I’ll be looking forward to hearing how it all goes on the 15’th.”

Luke is sure his smile falters but he leaves, driving off, only letting his forehead meet the steering wheel as he pulls into his driveway. “Fuck, fuck fuck!” he swears. Ray is totally going to expect Julie and Reggie to be engaged come next week and what is he going to tell the man when they’re not? The timing wasn’t right? But what could be more right than proposing on Valentine’s Day?

He runs his fingers through his hair, leaning his head back, looking at the weird stain that mars the ceiling of his car. Groans and asks himself what he’s gonna do. Pulls out the little velvet bag, dumping the rings into his palm.

What is he going to do?

The obvious answer is propose, of course. He loves Julie and Reggie, knows they’re it for the long haul. So what if the union wouldn’t be legal? Why not celebrate their love for each other? Sure, he’s still not convinced that they need it, but… this is the height of romance right? Asking the people you love to be yours forever?

He can picture Reggie in a smart suit, probably tearing up as Luke sings his vows to him. Can see Julie’s euphoric face as she walks down the aisle on Ray’s arm. It makes him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Oh.

He wants that.

He wants to marry Julie and Reggie.

He looks at the rings again, and takes the biggest one, slipping it onto his left hand. It fits, astonishingly, and-it feels right there. He holds his hand up, admiring how the ring looks on his hand, and he knows he has the stupidest smile on his face. He slips the ring off once more, and puts them all in the bag.

Decor? Check.

Unexpected plan to propose? Also check. But-it feels right, and Luke is stoked to start thinking of ways to ask.

He still calls Reggie’s MeeMaw to ask if she’s okay with it. She bursts into happy tears, so Luke takes that as a yes. Tells him she’ll dig her canopy out of mothballs for the ceremony, will do a blessing in Hebrew if he wants, she doesn’t care what her rabbi will think, she is thrilled to think her grandson will be wed to such wonderful people. Luke even tears up at that. “I have to ask him first, Chavala,” he jokes.

“He’ll say yes, I know he will,” she assures him. “Oh and Luke honey? You can call me MeeMaw.”

Permission? Super check.

The music was easy; Luke had a pocketful of melodies and love songs galore to make a playlist with, plus a few songs that he knew that Julie and Reggie liked that weren’t his.

But he wanted a new song, because well, he was still him, and what would a romantic evening be if he didn’t have a song for them?

He considered making the song his proposal, but the inner Alex that lived in his head told him that for once he needed to put the guitar down and speak-not sing-from the heart. That just means he needs to get this song knocked out quickly before he can even think about his proposal speech.

“Do I need a proposal speech?’ he muses to himself out loud.

“You’re proposing?”

Luke turns and there’s Alex and Willie, and oh crap, he forgot they had a band meeting today. Thank goodness it was them that walked into the studio and not Reggie or Julie.

“Oh um… can you forget you heard that?” he asks, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“Decidedly not,” Alex replies. “But I won’t tell them, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He then looks at Luke’s set up. “Please tell me you’re not proposing through song.”

Luke chuckles at that, always knowing that his inner Alex voice will mimic the real one every time. “No, but I wanted to have a song to play them before going into my whole spiel. I might just wing it though.”

“Don’t,” Willie pipes up. “Don’t wing it. I’m not saying write a whole speech, but don’t go into it blind either. Have some idea of what you’re going to say other than just blurting out the question. They both deserve a little more romance than that.”

“Please,” Alex scoffs. “Luke doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body that isn’t devoted to music.”

And that hits Luke where it hurts, because that was the whole point of this right? To prove to his partners-to himself-that he could be romantic. “No, Willie’s right,” he finally says. “They do deserve better.”

“Then maybe put down the guitar and figure out how you’re going to ask,” Alex says. “The song isn’t going anywhere.”

“Right,” Luke says, even as he scribbles down a few more notes onto the page, then at Alex’s glare, closes his notebook. “Got any suggestions? I mean, how did Willie ask you?”

“Luke, we’re not engaged,” Willie replied.

“B-but…” Luke gestures to the ring adorning Alex’s left hand. It had appeared there some months ago, and all he had said was that Willie gave it to him and not to make a big fuss about it. They figured when the two were ready to start wedding planning, they would say so.

“This is a promise ring,” Alex replied. “We’re not the marrying type.”

Luke is confused by that. Can recall when same sex marriage was legalized, the decision brought teenaged Alex to tears. How he proclaimed he would have the biggest, gayest wedding in existence, would rub his husband-his husband!-in his homophobic parents faces. Because it was legal now.

He looks at Alex, whose face says don’t.

Alex who loves Willie more than those adolescent dreams.

So Luke closes his mouth. Rubs the back of his head. “Okay. But I am," Well he is now he amends in his mind, "and I still need help.”

Alex sighs-maybe in relief?-rolls his eyes and sits down on one side of him, Willie on the other, and they help him bang out the song so that then he can actually concentrate on what he wants to say.

Other than just blurting out ‘Will you marry me?’ because both of his friends are quick to nix that idea before it fully forms.

They had a basic outline of an idea when Alex heard the sound of tires on the drive and urged Luke to hide his plans because that was surely Julie and Reggie pulling in. Luke just barely manages to stash his notes when the studio door opens.

Reggie all but plops himself onto Luke’s lap, kissing him sweetly before sliding off so Julie takes his place, her kiss just as sweet, and a little lingering.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, should have known,” she says. “Hope the new song is a killer because you missed snuggles and pancakes to work on it.”

“You mean that you didn’t save me any pancakes?” Luke teases.

“Not a one,” Reggie says, taking Julie’s feet into his lap. “You know the rules.”

“Yeah yeah,” Luke grumbles, his stomach echoing the sentiment. Did he eat today? He’s pretty sure he had something this morning before he headed out, though he can’t recall what.

“Chinese is on the way,” Alex says, “So let’s get this meeting on the go before the dumplings arrive.”

Luke shoots Alex a grateful look, and calls the meeting to order.

Music? Check.

Valentine’s Day broke clear and sunny, a tiny chill in the air, and Luke found himself awake as the sky turned a brilliant blue. He glanced down to where Julie was sleeping on his chest, Reggie plastered to her back, face buried in her curls. He was sure the smile on his face was the dopiest thing, but who could blame him when he had two such gorgeous creatures in his arms?

He went through his checklist in his mind. The food was hidden in the fridge, along with a box of cupcakes from their favourite bakery. Red velvet for Reggie, Dulce de Leche for Julie, and peanut butter cup for him. The décor was in the garage, and he prayed that when Flynn popped by later she made the scene look tasteful and not like a Hallmark store threw up.

Initially he had planned to send Julie and Reggie to the spa so he could just do it himself, but they insisted he come with them. The spa wasn’t really his thing, but he knew they had lacked time together lately due to his planning, so he relented.

Plus Flynn had been offended that he hadn’t asked her to help when Alex told him that he and Willie were busy. She had a date that night with Carrie, but she was more than willing to do something special for Julie. Even if Luke did not tell her he was proposing, because he loved Flynn, but she was terrible at keeping secrets.

Frankly he’s surprised the few people who do know haven’t blabbed yet.

He tries to settle back down to sleep, but his busy mind won’t let him, and when his brain is active, his body is restless, and the last thing he wants is to wake either of his bed mates with his jittering, so he slowly eases Julie off him and slips out of bed. She grumbles in her sleep, but then Reggie tightens his hold and she settles back into peaceful slumber.

Luke smiles once more at the spectacular picture they make, wishing he had Reggie’s talent with a camera to capture this moment. Sure he could describe it with song, but sometimes a picture really was worth a thousand words. He tiptoes out of the room, bracing the door as it closes, giving a silent cheer as it doesn’t squeak as it’s prone to do on cold mornings.

He pads down to the kitchen, throwing on some toast and starting the kettle. He much prefers tea, but when it’s a little later he’ll start the coffee maker for Julie who thrives on caffeine. Reggie usually sticks to juice in the morning, but Luke might make him a hot chocolate just for a touch of indulgence.

He scribbles down a few notes as his tea steeps, the house full of notebooks for whenever inspiration strikes any of them. He can see Julie’s elegant scrawl on another page with lyrics that revolve around a glorious sunset. Reggie’s own spiky handwriting on another; his song a lilting ballad about the concept of home that shows real promise, even if Luke still doesn’t like country.

His own song is more disjointed thoughts than anything, swirling imagery about fire and passion, about rising from the ashes after burning. He’s not sure where it’s going-maybe nowhere, he’s got a dozen half-started thoughts and poems in every notebook, but it always feels better to get the words out than let them haunt his gray matter.

He takes a sip of tea, the sweetness of the honey mingling well with the spices of the chai. His toast is naught but crumbs, but he doesn’t seek out anything else, wanting to save the pastries Victoria threw in for when he can hear stirring upstairs. He debated doing breakfast in bed, but he doubted any of them want crumbs in their sheets if the night ends the way he hopes it does.

Hey, he has a romantic night planned, rings stashed away, why not end it tangled together in a primal dance of lust? Not that he thought they owed him sex or anything, but the three of them were rather fond of the act on a regular basis, and special occasions were almost always a given for a tumble in the sheets. He’d even splurged on a fresh bottle of lube and some condoms if they were in the mood to use them.

Luke kept scribbling, tea long gone, only cold dregs left and the words kept flowing. Then he heard a noise from upstairs-Julie he would bet, she’s the early riser of the three of them. He sets the coffee pot to start brewing, and tosses the croissants into the toaster oven. Soon the house smells of dark roast and buttery flaky goodness, sure to rouse Reggie, so Luke preps a mug with cocoa as Julie enters the kitchen.

“Morning mi vida,” she says, popping up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. Luke grins and turns her face, capturing her lips, the minty freshness of her breath mingling with his own spicy sweet one.

“Morning angel, sleep well?” he asks, getting the croissants from the oven as Julie doctors her coffee.

“Always do with you two,” Julie replies, and sighs as she takes her first gulp of bitter brew.

Luke is about to reply when a warm body slumps against his back, nose nuzzling his neck, toned arms winding around him. “Mornin’ babe, you’re up early.”

“Got lonely,” Reggie mumbles, his lips tickling Luke’s skin. “Plus I smelled food.”

“Get ‘em while they’re hot, and I’ll make you a cocoa,” Luke says, prying Reggie’s arms from around him though it feels like he’s trying to untangle from a particularly clingy octopi. Reggie perks up at the prospect of cocoa, and curls around Julie to try and steal her breakfast.

“Get your own cariño,” she says, but doesn’t push him away, merely offers him the plate as Luke puts the steaming milk into the bright orange mug, and then pours himself a glass of water to eat his pastry with. Their breakfast is a quiet affair; small talk and footsie as they eat. Julie looks over what he’s written so far and hums the notes, while Reggie tosses out a line for the bridge that works out a problem that had been bugging Luke. He gives Reggie a grateful, smacking kiss in thanks, making him grin wide and blinding.

Before too long they’re off to the spa, Luke leaving the spare key in the plant outside the door and texts Flynn to remember to leave it there when she’s done. The last thing he needs tonight is interruptions.

Flynn: No worries boy band, I got you. Anything for Jules and Cowboy.

Luke: You’re a good friend Flynnie

Flynn: I know. Now go get your spa on, and remember you owe me

Luke shakes his head with a smile, then rushes off to the truck where Reggie is beeping the horn playfully.

Luke just might be a spa guy now.

The massage had finally worked the kink from his neck, he felt scrubbed and refreshed, and supremely relaxed. They had been pampered for hours, fed a light lunch and they had even done Julie’s hair and make up.

Luke had even brought nicer outfits for them to wear after, shyly telling Julie and Reggie he had a plan for dinner. The surprise and love shining from them at that made the weeks of planning worth it. He slips into one of his few shirts with sleeves and nicer slacks, even fiddles with his hair so it’s less bird’s nest and more Patrick Swayze a la Dirty Dancing, can’t go wrong with a classic. Even if he’ll never admit to Alex that the movie he forced Luke to watch when they were ten turned into one of his favourites. He’s taking that secret to his grave.

He’s waiting outside the spa, leaning against the truck, trying not to fiddle with the bag of rings in his pocket when Reggie comes out. He’s unfairly pretty every day, but right now he’s downright devastating. The pants are tight and black, highlighting Reggie’s long legs and slim hips, but the top is what does Luke in; the burgundy shirt shot through with silver and open just enough that you could see Reggie’s flushed chest. He gives Luke a little twirl, which Luke laughs at, pulling him in for a kiss. “Gorgeous babe, as always.”

“You clean up pretty good yourself,” Reggie says, gripping his biceps through the white fabric. Smoothing his palms up and down Luke’s chest before cupping his jaw and kissing him once more.

They hear the door to the spa open, and turn to see Julie, a stunning vision approaching them. Her hair is braided into a crown encircling her head, a few curls floating by her temples. But it’s the dress; a flowy purple number that still clings to her curves, a little heart cut out right by her belly button, showing off the sparkling piercing that she had gotten as a twenty-first birthday present to herself, something that had driven both boys wild. She was also wearing those killer fuck me heels that Luke had fantasies about (Reggie too, they had discussed it at length one evening when they were together and Julie was out, but had yet to divulge the fantasy to her). Maybe tonight that would change.

“Well boys, will I do?” she asked, smile sultry and a touch predatory.

Reggie nodded frantically, and Luke could see him clenching his fists in an effort not to grasp Julie’s hips and pull her in. Luke was in a similar situation, so he reached over and took one of Reggie’s hands in his, offering the other to Julie. “Spectacular as always, boss. Now, let’s go home.”

“Home?” Julie questioned.

“I thought we had special plans?” Reggie added.

“We do, they’re just at home,” Luke admitted. “I wanted us to have a nice night without people peering at us or having to put on airs, is that okay?”

“That’s… really sweet actually,” Julie admitted.

“Who are you and what have you done with Luke?” Reggie joked.

Luke blushes, and ducks his head before lifting it once more to offer a bashful smile. “I know, I’m not the best at romance.”

“We know,” Julie says. “But we also know you love us.”

“Which is the important part,” Reggie adds.

“Yeah, but I-I wanted to make an effort for Valentine’s,” Luke explains. “Because you two are worth so much more than what I’ve given you so far, and I wanted to make sure that you did know how loved and treasured you are by me.”

Julie’s eyes started to water at that, and Reggie sniffled, but they were both smiling and Luke considered that a success, pulling them towards the truck, and turned on his sappy playlist on the way home, the three of them singing along loudly to every corny love song that Luke could find, even the country ones, just because Luke knew how much it would make them smile. Plus-he didn’t mind the genre when it was Julie and Reggie singing it.

His phone dinged with a text as they rounded the corner towards their block.

Flynn: Just left, room is set up, food is warmed, music is playing. Key is back where it belongs, I’m out to go on my date with Carrie. Remember I accept designer labels as thanks-I have a thing for McQueen if you’re feeling extra generous.

Luke had no clue who that was, ninety percent of his shirts were band tees and the rest of his wardrobe was high school leftovers or thrift store finds. He figured he’d have to do some Googling tomorrow and find out how much a McQueen piece cost-but maybe after he looked into how much weddings cost first. He sent Flynn back a thumbs up emoji and turned off his phone, not wanting any distractions.

Luke jumped out of the truck the second it was off, helping Julie, and then Reggie down from the cab, and rushing to snatch up the extra key before holding open the door. Julie gave him a curious smile while Reggie beamed, and then he heard their twin gasps as they took in the living room.

Flynn had outdone herself. Luke might really have to buy her some McQueen after all.

The coffee table had a simple red table cloth over it, with the two bouquets of flowers sitting in nice vases. The end tables and mantle had the fake candles flickering, and the stereo had soft music playing. The kitchen table was set, with the food dished out, still steaming, more candles and a vase with three red roses intertwined in the middle. Luke could see his guitar was sitting off to the side, and the cupcakes were on the counter for later.

Julie turned, looking at Luke. “You did all this?”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I had a lot of help.”

“This-Luke this is almost too much,” Reggie said, leaning in to smell the sunflowers, their yellow hue reflected in the fake candle light, in the gold of Reggie’s freckles, in the simple necklace encircling Julie’s throat.

“You two are worth it,” Luke replied with a shrug. “Now, let’s eat.”

He pulled out their chairs, and poured them all some wine. None of them were big drinkers, but they occasionally split a bottle, so Luke figured this would be as good a time as any to open one. He lifted a glass, toasting them both before they all dug into the feast his mom and Victoria had prepared.

“Looks like I’ll have to thank tia later,” Julie said as she polished off her plate.

“And Emily,” Reggie added as he set down his fork. “I see those cupcakes, but I’m full, you think they’ll keep for a bit?”

“I’m sure they will,” Luke replied. “Besides, I have something I’ve been working on, so maybe I could play it for you first? Let our tummies settle?”

“Of course you wrote a song,” Julie said fondly, but cupped his jaw and leaned down to kiss him. “I bet it’s amazing.”

“They always are,” Reggie said, pulling her into his arms for a kiss before swooping in to kiss Luke as well. Luke grinned, and directed them to the couch, pulling out his acoustic.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, I love you.”

How do I love thee?

I could never count the ways

Because the reasons outnumber the stars

That shine in your eyes every day.

They say love is patient

They say love is kind

All I know is

I’m glad your love is mine.

I don’t know much about love

I’ll be the first to admit

But I think I do know

From the moment I saw you

You were it.

There’s some who don’t understand

How a love like ours could be

But their opinion doesn’t matter

The best things come in threes.

You are my compass

My true North guiding star

And no matter where we travel

My love is never far.

My heart beats for you

Every rhyme and melody I hear

Echoes your voices

Loud and oh so clear

So today I want to promise

My life, without fear.

They say love is patient

They say love is kind

All I know is

I’m glad your love is mine.

I don’t know much about love

I’ll be the first to admit

But I think I do know

From the moment I saw you

You were it.

You both were it.

Luke finally looks up from his guitar, and maybe his eyes are a little blurry, but neither of his partners are any better, so he figures he’s allowed to be a tad emotional. He kneels in front of the couch, wiping a tear from Julie’s cheek, squeezes Reggie’s hand, and gives a small chuckle.

“Guess that means you like it.”

“That was gorgeous Luke,” Reggie chokes out. "A winner for sure."

“Too bad though, because I never want you to share it with anyone but us,” Julie says.

“No, that’s just for you,” Luke says. “Even if it might be the best thing I’ve ever written.”

The three of them share a small laugh at that, and wipe away their tears. “Cupcake time?” Julie asks.

“Not yet,” Luke says. “I have one more surprise.”

“This one better not make me cry again,” Reggie threatens jokingly.

“No promises,” Luke says, and takes both of their hands in his. Takes a breath, and looks at them. Takes in their eyes; Reggie’s greyish green eyes that remind him of a springtime meadow, Julie’s deep brown, the warmest chocolate with a hint of gold. Their smiles, with the tiny adorable gap in Julie’s to Reggie’s crooked grin that inspired the first song he ever wrote for him.

God, Luke will never get over how beautiful they are, how lucky he is to have them. He squeezes their hands and tries desperately to remember the speech he had agonized over. Finally the words come, and he lets them pour forth.

“I love you,” he says. “I know sometimes I’m not the best at showing it, but I do. You two… from the moment we came together, my heart has been yours. I know we’ve had our ups and downs, trying to figure things out, but even after every hardship, every doubter, every bit of judgement, we’ve made it through. Because… because our love is stronger than all that. We can make it through anything, as long as we have each other.”

“We always do,” Reggie says, and Luke beams at him.

“We always will,” Julie adds, her free hand slipping into Reggie’s.

“Exactly,” Luke continues. “I meant it when I said you two were it for me. There’s no one else I’d rather write music with, or fight with, or suffer through terrible street dogs with.”

“Dios mio, no more street dogs,” Julie argues.

Luke chuckles. “Yes boss, no more street dogs. But… the point remains, that you two are the rest of my life. Even if we never sell another album or write another hit, no matter what, I want you by my side. You are the music of my life, and I want… to make that as official as I can.”

Luke lets go of them then, fishing the bag out of his pocket. A slow realization dawns on Julie’s face and she gasps. Reggie looks a little more confused until Luke dumps the contents into his own palm.

“Luke…” his voice is trembling, his eyes watery. “But you said…”

“I know,” Luke admits. “And I still don’t think we need some ceremony or piece of paper to validate us or our relationship. But I also don’t want to go another day without being engaged, and eventually married to you both. To call you my wife, my husband, to be your husband.”

“C-can we get married though?” Reggie asks.

“Maybe not legally,” Julie admits. “But… we can have a ceremony, say the words. We already have all the paperwork to be each other’s next of kin, we’re as married as we can be… just without the wedding.”

“I want the wedding,” Luke says. “I want you both to have the wedding. To wear the dress, to exchange the rings, to do the stupid thing where we try not to smash cake into each other’s faces. I want all that. Even if we don’t need it. Even if it’s only for us.”

“You still need to ask,” Julie says, extending her left hand.

“I’m fairly certain you know how we’ll answer,” Reggie grins.

Luke chuckles at that, and pulls up the engagement ring for Julie, who finally realizes what ring it is and gives a tiny sob as Luke positions it at her finger. “Whaddya say boss? Wanna get hitched?”

Julie rolls her eyes and lets out a wet laugh. “You absolute goober, yes of course.” The ring slides home, a perfect fit, and Julie sits there, admiring the diamond for a moment before turning her eyes towards Reggie.

Luke grins, and takes the slimmer wedding band. He knows Reggie won’t care that it once belonged to Julie’s abuela, heck, it probably will mean more as a family heirloom. He takes Reggie’s hand in his, ignoring how it’s shaking and looks at him. “Reggie… babe. Will you do me the utmost honour of putting up with me for the rest of your life?”

Reggie barks out a laugh, and nods, too overcome for words as Luke slides the ring down. It finds home at the base of Reggie’s finger, and Luke grins at how right it looks there.

“What about you?” Reggie finally asks, his voice a little rough, like the emotion is choking it.

Luke takes the third ring and offers it to them both. “You can do the honours.”

Julie and Reggie smile, putting the ring on him, and it looks just as good there as it did all those weeks ago when Ray gave it to him. He lets himself be pulled into kisses, silly little ones, deep lush passionate ones, and finally they pull away breathless, smiling too wide with swollen mouths.

“Cupcakes?” Luke proposes, and they both nod, devouring the treats and the rest of the wine as the music plays on. They dance for a bit, twirling and swaying together, no more words needed between them.

As the night gets later, Julie and Reggie start cleaning up from dinner as Luke turns off the candles, and lets them lead him up the stairs, hands clasped together, rings shining in the moonlight. He knows they’ll have to make an announcement tomorrow, start planning every little detail. But for now, Luke lets himself be pushed onto the bed, and thanks his lucky stars that this one time he totally won at romance.

Fiancés? Check.

Best Valentine’s Day ever?

Well Luke isn’t sure, but he knows that now he has a lifetime of them to find out.

#my stuff #writing #fanfic #peterpatterlina #rukebox #julie and the phantoms

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 1 year

Text

Making Peace With It

There's plenty of discourse, as per usual, going around about the latest film from THE Walt Disney Animation Studios...

A lot of the more deriding comments remark that the film in question, Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn's WISH, is just the same movie as TANGLED/FROZEN/MOANA but with a cheap 2D filter. I'm sure that it's not a filter nor is it cheap, and while it doesn't seem to be doing what experiments like PAPERMAN and FEAST did a decade earlier, there's still plenty of hard work on the screen and I think the visuals look very, very nice.

I've noticed, amidst a lot of the discourse, that some people just want WDAS to make a new hand-drawn animated film instead of what they consider an "imitation". A 2D film, not a film that's made up of 3D models but looks like a painting or illustration, but an actual 2D film with some CGI stuff... Something that looks like TARZAN, not PAPERMAN.

But, I don't see a 2D film happening there anytime soon. I know legendary animator Eric Goldberg said something about a particular 2D project being in the works about a year ago, but that to me meant a new short or maybe a Disney+ series/special... Not a full-blown feature length film. Disney removed what remained of their 2D animation unit in early 2013, pink-slipping several of their best 2D animators. All the assets and desks, gone. Goldberg, Mark Henn, and Randy Haycock stuck around, their work usually amounting to small stuff like Maui's mini-Maui tattoo in MOANA, 2D pencil tests, and the opening theme to STRANGE WORLD.

The attempt to make hand-drawn features a thing at the studio again amounted to disappointment. I love THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG and WINNIE THE POOH, but the former did so-so at best at the box office, the other was sabotaged... But also, this may sound a bit harsh, but I feel that Disney made a big mistake in having those two stories be their comeback 2D features... An old-school-style fairy tale movie that looked like it could've been made in the early '90s or even before that... and a very '60s-looking Winnie the Pooh movie that only ran an hour long and had very muted stakes... Not necessarily the most thrilling-looking things to audiences in the era of UP, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, TOY STORY 3, TANGLED, and KUNG FU PANDA 2, for sure. Like, even much-maligned movies like CARS 2 and THE SMURFS did way better than both of those movies.

So that didn't happen. Disney's future was CGI once more, because capitalism had once ruled - in the early 2000s - that hand-drawn animated features just weren't worth making in America... Unless they were based on hit TV shows, like SPONGEBOB. And it seemed that the ho-hum box office of PRINCESS AND THE FROG, and WINNIE THE POOH's lightning-fast in-and-out run, further "proved" that. When PAPERMAN debuted before WRECK-IT RALPH in fall 2012, it gave us something of a glimmer of hope... That 2D *could* live on as a part of CGI. The three-dimensional qualities made less complicated in CGI, but with hand-drawn's special sauce, so to speak... But it didn't amount to much, either.

But no, the reality is, you have to look elsewhere for 2D animated features... Anime, non-American features, films like KLAUS, etc. That's where it's all thriving, in alternative avenues. It's not happening at the big studios, including Disney Animation themselves.

However, here's the thing about the whole "bring back 2D already!" and "WISH isn't like PAPERMAN so it's a failure" discourse...

I feel that we are lucky that Walt Disney Animation Studios even exists.

Do you know when they were last on the chopping block? As in, facing a complete and total shut down?

2006...

Not that long ago...

Disney Animation had no new movie released in that calendar year, their latest movie at the time was their first in-house all-CGI affair, CHICKEN LITTLE. That movie did okay at the domestic box office, but what it coughed up overall worldwide wasn't all that great against its bloated budget.

Michael Eisner had stepped down as CEO of The Walt Disney Company in September 2005, after a very turbulent and controversial final set of years running the joint. Bob Iger, his deputy, had taken his place and after seeing firsthand what was going wrong, he sought to fix some of the major problems... Namely, the severing relationship between the DizCo (to borrow an abbreviation from Steve Hulett) and Pixar. Pixar's contract was over after the completion of CARS, released in 2006, and they weren't keen on renegotiating because of how Eisner was running things. Iger repaired the broken bridge, and DizCo bought Pixar in early 2006 for a whopping $7.4b.

And with that move, change came to Walt Disney Feature Animation, which would be renamed to Walt Disney Animation Studios...

But the road to the studio's future was rocky. Steve Jobs, who of course was one of Pixar's founding fathers and former owner, had actually proposed the idea of **shutting down Walt Disney Feature Animation**! His reasoning? Basically, "Well who needs them when you got Pixar?" John Lasseter vetoed this, and he and Ed Catmull were named the new heads of Disney Animation, tasked with helping restore the studio's box office fortunes.

If Jobs had had his way, Walt Disney Animation Studios' whole "canon" of animated features would've possibly ended with... CHICKEN LITTLE... Ending a decades-long legacy that began with the very, the one and only SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS!

Upon "reviving" Disney Animation, the initial plan was to have a new hand-drawn feature every two years. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG would've gotten that whole ball rolling, but it didn't... In fact, the Lasseter-era CG pictures got off to a rocky start as well. MEET THE ROBINSONS was largely dumped and it failed to recoup its budget, BOLT did so-so. TANGLED would be the first big hit of that then-new line-up of CG Disney movies, and then WRECK-IT RALPH and FROZEN continued it. It was a straight, uninterrupted hit streak from there until COVID-19 broke out in March 2020. None of the movies really deviated from the assets and style and tricks used in BOLT, TANGLED, and FROZEN. Even a sci-fi techy movie like BIG HERO 6 still felt like it could be set in the same universe as those other fantasy movies, albeit set far into the future.

That continues today in movies like RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, ENCANTO, and STRANGE WORLD. WISH is that same look, too, but rendered and executed differently. Whatever the 2024-release feature film is, probably the same deal.

Other studios, even Pixar, have been varying it up. Disney Animation, the oldest of these big studios, is staying the course...

I sometimes grouse about it, I sometimes say "C'mon Disney, vary it up a bit!"

But the other part of me is saying... We're lucky they're even still around.

Walt Disney Animation Studios is literally the bedrock of the entire company. No Disney cartoon studio, no Disney company, plain and simple. Walt Disney didn't get into doing live-action movies until the 1940s, TV in the early 1950s, and themes parks in the mid-1950s... and a lot of that took off because of the strong image he and his crew had built with all the Alice Comedies, the Mickey Mouse and friends cartoons, the Silly Symphonies, and the beloved animated features.

It seems shocking and almost sacrilegious that Steve Jobs himself took a look at that studio, after 68 years of making animated features and had just released feature #46... and thought "Ehh, shut them down." In the brutal world of capitalism, sadly, WDAS at the time looked like an old and injured horse that needed to be put out of its misery. Whatever we might think of those divisive early 2000s features sans THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE and LILO & STITCH, they were - at the time of their release - not critical darlings nor box office giants. Certainly not enjoying what Pixar's movies were rewarded at the time. MONSTERS, INC., FINDING NEMO, and THE INCREDIBLES were critical darlings and box office titans, LILO & STITCH got great reviews but only coughed up around $273m worldwide. That was around as much as what MONSTERS, INC. and THE INCREDIBLES made *domestically*. CHICKEN LITTLE outgrossed LILO & STITCH at the worldwide box office, if you can begin to wrap your head around that!

2D got the boot over these box office failures and many other reasons, but the studio was also on thin ice...

But you would think, they're safe again! More than safe! TANGLED was a hit, WRECK-IT RALPH was a hit, FROZEN made gazillions of dollars, and so on and so forth... But I get the sense that Walt Disney Animation Studios is only kept around for... Legacy reasons. Because it is *the* studio, again, the bedrock of the whole company. It's kept alive simply because of that. And what's better than having two animation studios making big hits year after year? And movies that are 95% of the time guaranteed Oscar locks?

Consider how long *other* animation studios and projects lasted at Disney...

Blue Sky Studios, which they got as part of the package when they purchased 21st Century Fox film/TV assets from the Murdochs? They shuttered it after SPIES IN DISGUISE, *one* single movie, lost money at the box office. That was the *only* Blue Sky movie that Disney distributed. Then they proceeded to pull the plug on NIMONA, which was roughly 3/4 done! Though luckily, instead of yeeting it into a black hole as a "tax write-off" or locking it away so that no one else could score a success with it, they surprisingly offloaded the picture to someone else. And that someone else, Annapurna and Netflix, have finished it and it's coming out this summer... The one that got away. I'd have a good chuckle if NIMONA, in addition to be a great beloved movie, beats both of Disney's animated offerings at the Oscars. Would be poetic justice, in a way.

There was also Disneytoon Studios, the makers of all those direct-to-video films from the '90s to the mid-aughts. LION KING II, LADY AND THE TRAMP II, BAMBI 2, ya know? It was kept alive after John Lasseter purged all of the direct-to-video sequel projects that they had in the works (such as DUMBO II, THE ARISTOCATS 2, and a prequel film about the Seven Dwarfs), and it was rebranded as an outlet for CGI Tinker Bell movies (I guess Disney really wanted to compete with Barbie Fairytopia at the time?) and spin-offs of Pixar's CARS franchise. Fascinatingly, PLANES and PLANES 2 would've lead to a movie about subway trains, and also a spacecraft movie. Said spacecraft movie was aiming for a spring 2019 release, with footage shown off at the 2017 D23 Expo... After Lasseter's ouster from The Walt Disney Company in mid-2018 following misconduct allegations, out went Disneytoon Studios. It wasn't rerouted to make a different kind of movie following Lasseter's ouster, it was just gone. Just like that. It was as if Lasseter had kept that small studio on life support.

Those are the most recent examples I can think of.

We can also stretch back to the '90s, when Disney's goldmine that was WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, didn't get beyond a handful of short films and some theme park stuff. A ROGER RABBIT sequel or prequel was a NO-FREAKIN'-BRAINER, but due to various complications, it stalled and stalled and stalled... and didn't happen.

Speaking of Roger Rabbit... Robert Zemeckis, director of that film. Remember how his company, ImageMovers Digital, formed a brief partnership with Disney to create motion-capture movies? It only resulted in 2009's A CHRISTMAS CAROL and the massive flop MARS NEEDS MOMS. They got pretty far long with a gnarly-looking remake of YELLOW SUBMARINE, but that was canned when the partnership ended.

Or how about their partnership with Skellington Productions? THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was a respectable success in 1993 that became a cult favorite thereafter, but JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH - despite being directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton - failed to recreate that success some three years later. Doors shut on that whole collaboration, a feature film adaptation of TOOTS AND THE UPSIDE-DOWN HOUSE canceled, Skellington was no more a little after that.

Heck, Pixar themselves could've been toast if TOY STORY didn't do well. Or A BUG'S LIFE. Or even MONSTERS, INC. and FINDING NEMO. And weird contractual agita prevented them from making sequels, save for TOY STORY 2. If one of those originals had flopped in the early 2000s, they wouldn't have had a TOY STORY 3 or an A BUG'S LIFE 2 to back them up.

Anyways, yeah, Walt Disney Animation Studios themselves were almost on the chopping block as late as 2006... And they were on the chopping before that, too. There were eras where each movie of theirs needed to do well in order to justify their existence. If anything, that's been almost their entire existence. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS was a box office phenomenon in 1938, but World War II completely took the wind out of the studio's sails, partially causing PINOCCHIO, FANTASIA, and BAMBI to flop. The studio spent almost the whole decade making anthology movies made up of smaller, disconnected segments until returning to single-story features in 1950 with CINDERELLA... Then when SLEEPING BEAUTY bombed hard in 1959, the studio was on thin ice once more. Roy O. Disney and the business side of the company saw no future for animated features and felt "Why not just continue to re-release the 10+ movies that we've already made?" Walt still kept animated features going, but the studio was significantly scaled down.

So throughout the 1960s and 1970s, each new movie had to be a profitable success, or else they would've been shut down. 101 DALMATIANS was a blockbuster, as was THE JUNGLE BOOK. THE SWORD IN THE STONE did alright, THE ARISTOCATS, ROBIN HOOD, and THE RESCUERS made decent coin in North America, and did significantly better in Europe. I swear, France and West Germany literally carried Disney's feature animation wing on their backs during those decades!

And then when outsiders came in and took over the Disney enterprise in the mid-1980s, and THE BLACK CAULDRON was released to middling reviews and weak box office? The reasoning was "Why are we still making these?" New CEO Michael Eisner and new chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg seemed more interested in the adult-oriented Touchstone division that Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller founded in 1984 before his ouster. That, and the then-newly opened Walt Disney Television Animation. Imagine that! THE BLACK CAULDRON being Disney's final animated film, and their future only being in Saturday morning cartoons and adult live-action comedies. Luckily, Roy E. Disney - Walt's nephew - also happened to be there, and he knew the cornerstone of the company was the animated features, *not* this new Touchstone thing that was founded by a family member he didn't see eye to eye with. It took some time, but animated features proved themselves viable again... Funny how it took *one* movie to almost put an end to that! It's not like THE BLACK CAULDRON came off of a long series of floppy movies, it was the studio's first money-loser in decades...

So yes, I feel we're in this prolonged period of Walt Disney Animation Studios merely existing. Now that they're 100 years old and have produced - to the company's estimation - 61 animated movies, soon to be 62 with WISH, they're just... There. Still making movies, but likely not moving the needle. They're pretty much a legacy brand now, and I guess they'd change course if people stop showing up to their movies. STRANGE WORLD was a massive flop, yes, but that had more to do with other things than it being yet another CGI WDAS movie. ENCANTO exploded on Disney+, and RAYA was successful as a streaming title as well. WISH would have to bomb, and their next five or so features, to make a big reinvention happen... Or, they would be shut down. "You had a good run!"

Believe me, I'd love to see Disney Animation shake things up a bit. I'd love to see them try all-new styles and stories in CGI once more, like they did with many of their short films. I'd love to see a feature that looks *nothing* like TANGLED, FROZEN, MOANA, and STRANGE WORLD. And directed by someone who isn't Chris Buck, Don Hall, or Byron Howard. A complete and total outside voice, with a new spin on the Disney animated feature. The way someone like Mark Dindal did with THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, or Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois with LILO & STITCH. Films that were classically Disney in a unique way, but totally did their own thing and redefined what a Disney animated movie could be! Of the CG pictures, I felt the same about Rich Moore's WRECK-IT RALPH, which feels like the freshest picture of that era to me. ZOOTOPIA, also directed by Moore, a runner-up candidate.

(I know that there have been other directors on some of the recent films, but the main directors are the ones that have been there for quite some time and have been directing all the movies. I see more of a Hall picture in RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON than I do a Carlos Lopez Estrada picture.)

I have no idea what the future of Disney Animation looks like. Jennifer Lee has been CCO of the studio since Lasseter's 2018 ouster, and all of the movies she's overseen so far are Lasseter-era greenlights. Movies that were likely locked down and determined a while ago, plus she spent a good chunk of her first year and a half balancing her CCO duties with writing/directing FROZEN II.

WISH might be the first greenlight under her watch, and it appears that she was one of the writers on it, too. After all, she did direct FROZEN and FROZEN II with Chris Buck, in addition to writing them. Other than WISH, the only things that seemed to get greenlit after her promotion were a handful of Disney+ shows, only a single one is an original - IWAJU. A collaboration with a Nigerian upstart studio. The few images they released last autumn, it just looks like a generic Disney Junior show to my eyes. The show itself may be pretty good, but I'm thinking... This is all they've got? They're very mum about what they have coming out, we don't even know what Feature #63 is. We know ZOOTOPIA 2 and FROZEN III are in the works, but not what the next original movie after WISH is. Pixar next door, we know what original movie they have coming out in 2024, but WDAS? No dice. Heck, we didn't even know a thing about WISH until this past year, when it was officially unveiled at the D23 Expo. A little over a year before its release.

So, I don't think we truly have an idea of what's next anyways, other than WISH and IWAJU. And maybe they do just stay the course for the rest of the decade.

I try not to complain or grouse, there are things I "wish" (hah!) they would do... But, I've just got to accept that this is the status. They're alive and running and making movies and keeping people employed, and they may have been morphed into a mere legacy studio at this point. Another brand. Like Marvel and Lucasfilm. Marvel is comic book superhero movies, Lucasfilm is just Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and... Disney Animation? "We make Disney movies, just the way you like 'em." WISH sounds a lot like that, honestly: A fantasy musical adventure with a princess and a funny animal sidekick in it.

Maybe I'm wrong, but we shall see... For now, I'll take what I can get. I've generally liked all the post-Lasseter movies anyways, some more so than others (particularly RAYA and ENCANTO over RALPH BREAKS, FROZEN II, and STRANGE WORLD), would love to see them push the envelope again, but hey- What can ya do?

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celikbenson · 2 years

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Upcoming Movies, Latest Bollywood Motion Pictures, Hindi Movies 2022

August 2022's best movies were Unicorn Town, Thirteen Lives, Day Shift and Fall. June 2022's best motion pictures were Elvis, Jurassic World Dominion, Hustle and Frank and Penelope. April 2022's best motion pictures have been As They Made Us, Devil You Know, A Cowgirl's Song and The Mulligan.

The genius duo teams as much as solve the unsolved mystery, which ought to make for a tremendous watch. The film additionally stars Helena Bonham Carter , Louis Partridge , and others. Below, we’ve rounded up a calendar of notable new release films for everything of 2022. These range from sequels (“Avatar 2”) to superhero pics (“Black Adam”) to originals (“Don’t Worry Darling”) to status dramas (“The Fabelmans”), and this calendar might be updated regularly all 12 months long to mirror probably the most current information. After the runaway success ofGet Out andUs, Jordan Peele obtained actual busy actual fast, however he’s finally getting around to creating his third function. As to be anticipated, we don’t know a lot concerning the movie, though its first trailer reveals that it will be set someplace in the American Southwest and center on a small town whose residents expertise a supernatural occasion in the skies above. In total, the mega-budget flick collected Rs 151 crore on the worldwide field workplace in its lifetime. Mark Wahlberg is a boxer turned priest in this true story of Father Stu, also starring Mel Gibson and premiering on Good Friday.

Released Apr 7, 2022

So we're right here to assist with a round-up of the 2022 release dates you should know for the largest films coming to UK cinemas in the the rest of this year. We will regularly update our new films 2022 information — see also our new TV shows in 2022 information — as release dates are modified, contemporary plot details are teased and new movies are announced. It’s been a good yr on the films, with plenty of theatrical and straight-to-streaming releases which have left a mark on us and kept us entertained. But as traditional, many studios and streamers have saved some of their finest for final, and there are an thrilling slate of movies coming out in the final months of the year. David Cronenberg will get bizarre once more in unsettling trailer new film Crimes of the Future, which stars Kristen Stewart, Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux in a return to the Existenz director's physique horror roots. Easily one of many greatest new films in 2022, Avatar 2 is lastly coming to the cinemas more than a decade after the original was released. Here's a look at a ton of movies developing around the bend that we're super psyched to see this fall. And for even more on the films of 2022, take a look at the 58 largest movies we received't wait to see at the hyperlink. Fall 2022 on the motion pictures means a return to Wakanda, Pandora, Haddonfield, and the Quick Stop. Fans can count on two high-profile Pinocchio initiatives, Dwayne Johnson joining the DCEU, a new Spielberg film, and Benoit Blanc again on the case.

Michael B. Jordan will get back within the ring for this sequel to the Creed and Rocky films, and also directs.

Bros follows a man disenchanted by the method of looking for love who occurs to search out love with a guy he initially thinks is out of his league.

We also obtained a quantity of other vital teases in the trailer, however we won’t spoil these here.

Fans can count on two high-profile Pinocchio projects, Dwayne Johnson becoming a member of the DCEU, a model new Spielberg film, and Benoit Blanc back on the case.

Real-life US boxing world champion Kali Reis takes on human traffickers within the revenge thriller Catch the Fair One, executive produced by Darren Aronofsky. Kenneth Branagh returns as Hercule Poirot for this sun-scorched Agatha Christie mystery. A prophecy causes problems for Scout Taylor-Compton (from Rob Zombie's Halloween flicks) when she returns to her childhood residence in the deep south solely to come across a nightmarish cult. Kevin James is a disgraced football coach who returns to his hometown to educate children in Netflix comedy Home Team.

Most Anticipated Films

Hocus Pocus will get a sequel, A24’s X gets a prequel, and administrators David O. Russell, Noah Baumbach, Henry Selick, Paul Feig, and Damien Chazelle have tantalizing new choices. Speaking of whodunits, Scott Cooper’s next movie centers on a collection of murders at West Point in 1830, where a sure man named Edgar Allan Poe was a young cadet. The fictional story is based on a 2006 novel of the identical name and reunites Cooper with hisHostiles star Christian Bale. Tom Hanks takes on the position of Geppetto and Cynthia Erivo performs the Blue Fairy in this Disney+ exclusive. The highest-grossing Hindi films launched in 2022, by worldwide box office gross income, are as follows.

youtube

It follows a group of international brokers who be a part of forces to get well a top-secret weapon. We have a collection of in-depth guides to these huge movies, such as our guide to the much-talked-about Don't Worry Darling. We see how every character’s energy works on the magical faculty in this brief clip, followed by the introduction of our two main characters, Sophie and her good friend Agatha . Here are the flicks we’re most excited to see earlier than the end of 2022, in the order during which they will be launched. Best Video Games in Sebastián Lelio’s adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s book, The Wonder, about an English nurse sent to observe a fasting lady. It’s a psychological thriller about two strangers who rework one another's lives. The Wonder additionally features Tom Burke, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Toby Jones, Brían F. O’Byrne, and Ciaran Hinds. Antonio Banderas is back as occasional fugitive/sometimes hero Puss in a sequel to DreamWorks Animation's 2011 hit Shrek spin-off. Puss sets out on an epic journey to search out the mythical Last Wish and restore his glory.

The Black Cellphone

Netflix has released new behind-the-scenes footage from the upcoming film “Pinocchio”. Guillermo del Toro seems within the video, giving us a glimpse of the film in addition to the attractive stop-motion taking pictures process of Pinocchio and how they brought life and soul to the character. Netflix has launched a new trailer for a dreamy new film known as Slumberland, starring Jason Momoa and Marlow Barkley .

#Gaming News #PC Games #Video Games #Mobile Gaming #Movies #Video Game News #Console Gaming #New Video Games #Best Video Games #Console Games #New Movies #Popular Video Games #Upcoming Movies #Upcoming Movies 2022 #game trailers

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thisdayintrek · 6 years

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#Star Trek Beyond #Star Trek #McCoy #Spock #Kelvin Timeline #AOS #Beyond #ST:AOS #JJVerse #Loved this movie so much - thrilled to see it in the calendar this year #Trek Trivia

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dustedmagazine · 2 years

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Ian Mathers’ 2021: It isn’t coming in twos and threes

Low aren’t automatically my #1 album any year where they put one out, I swear. Hell, if you could go back a decade or so and get my younger self to take the over or under on whether by now Low would still be making records that blow my mind, I’d probably just be thrilled at the implication that they’re still making records at all, let alone that in 2021 they’ve somehow become more, not less, culturally relevant. But as much as HEY WHAT is extremely important to me, I’ve already talked about that a bit. And as I kind of alluded to last year, there’s even a sense where they were less central to my 2021 than they were to my 2020, just because one record (no matter how great and personally important to me) can’t really match dozens and dozens of weekly shows. So yes, my album of the year at a time in my life where it feels like not every year gets one, but I will admit some others got fairly close (not least the DenMother record listed below I’m still trying to get my thoughts and feelings together about, hopefully very early in the new year). Given my massive expectations for HEY WHAT after Double Negative and hearing all the material on it in very different form during those living room shows in 2020, I’m not surprised that it’s great; I am a little surprised at just how surprising my first listen was.

And just like HEY WHAT, 2021 retained a certain capacity for shock. With a little more distance I’m comfortable calling 2020 in several significant ways the worst year of my life (I’m sure I’m far from alone there), and feel profoundly fortunate that 2021 was in any small way better. I mean sure, towards the end of the year my wife lost her job and in the summer we suddenly lost our beloved cat, and of course we had another full calendar year with no movie theatres, no concert venues, no restaurants, very very little in person interaction with family and friends. But, horribly (in multiple senses), not only was all this better than 2020, but I am painfully aware of how lucky we are to not have it worse. As the year ends and the numbers in our ongoing pandemic ramp up disastrously again (very shortly after my medically compromised apartment had begun tentatively considering such bold moves as going back to using public transit sometimes), putting us back mentally and emotionally to about April 2020, things like being vaccinated and boosted make a big difference, but the biggest one is just this: by the end of 2020 things had gotten so bad that if we hadn’t figured out how to cope and to take better care of ourselves, I would not have my shit together enough to be writing this now.

The last two years combined have turned me from someone who has been spectacularly fortunate with my health to someone with several (small, manageable, but permanent) chronic health issues and a painfully sharp knowledge of how much I took for granted despite trying not to. As I mentioned last year, the first part of this process was not exactly conducive to a lot of listening. But a big part of the positive changes this year has been acknowledging that I simply can’t let stress and anxiety push me away from doing the things I actually find valuable and restorative, and (like most of us, I’m sure) from a very young age engaging with music has been a part of that. There are parts of taking care of yourself that feel like a burden or a slog; making myself stop working and/or doomscrolling more often so I could play some of the records I wanted to hear is one of the parts that feels like a gift to myself.

I celebrated my 40th birthday in 2021, albeit remotely from almost everyone I wanted to see (very important exceptions being my wife and a very cautious and short visit from my mom). But I did get to see almost all of them, and even more than that; in a truly incredible and genuinely moving group effort with my wife putting in an extraordinary amount of legwork, she contacted and sometimes tracked down dozens and dozens of friends and loved ones past and present, and got far more of them than I’d have ever imagined to send in a song that make them think of me and a paragraph or two. If you can somehow get what, at least, felt to me like every person who cares about you to tell you about it, with a song to boot, I highly recommend it. It’s also, in a healthy way, very humbling, and it gave me a certain spring in my step during the end of the year when I was trying to get more writing done and hear more and more of the music that was really giving me something this year.

Every year is a good year for music, if you know where to look, but I think we definitely have better and worse years in our personal experience of music, and that wonderful birthday gift certainly contributed to what felt like one of the richer and more rewarding recent years for music in my experience. It also seemed to be a very good year for albums that stylize their titles as ALL CAPS (like my record of the year) as well as for very short albums - there are plenty of standard LP-filling albums, or even more sprawling efforts, that I spent time with this year, but there seemed to be a very rich sweet spot from roughly 18 to 36 minutes. And of course, many of my favourite albums of the year running short meant I could just fit in more listens of more things, which probably also contributed to me hearing and loving more music. I just couldn’t cut it down any further this year, so why not go with 40 records? A nice round number. They’re in alphabetical order, because I can’t credibly rank them, and following them are 20 more songs, none from those 40 records, that also made up a substantial part of my 2021. Given the turn things seem to be taking here at the end of 2021, looking over all this art that I loved over the course of the year makes me hopeful that, as hard as it is, we’ll all continue to get better at dealing with it all and taking care of ourselves and each other in 2022.

40 RECORDS

Aasiva — Niriunniq

The Armed — ULTRAPOP

Backxwash — I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES

BIG|BRAVE — Vital

Blanck Mass — In Fernaux

The Body and BIG|BRAVE — Leaving None But Small Birds

Bruno Bavota — For Apartments: Songs & Loops

Cadence Weapon — Parallel World

Cassandra Jenkins — An Overview on Phenomenal Nature

claire rousay — a softer focus

Clinic — Fantasy Island

Cory Hanson — Pale Horse Rider

DenMother — FRANTIC RAM

DenMother and ORPHAN — xi

Divide and Dissolve — Gas Lit

Eluvium — Virga II

Godspeed You! Black Emperor — G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END!

Grouper — Shade

Hard Feelings — Hard Feelings

Jessica Moss — Phosphenes

L’Rain — Fatigue

Lambchop — Showtunes

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson — Theory of Ice

loscil — Clara

Low — HEY WHAT

Magdalena Bay — Mercurial World

Mariah the Scientist — RY RY WORLD

Marisa Anderson/William Tyler — Lost Futures

Mdou Moctar — Afrique Victime

Midwife — Luminol

Mogwai — As the Love Continues

Nadja — Luminous Rot

Obay Alsharani — Sandbox

PinkPantheress — to hell with it

Richard Dawson & Circle — Henki

Sleigh Bells — Texis

Tangents — Timeslips & Chimeras

Vince Staples — Vince Staples

Walt McClements — A Hole in the Fence

Young Slo-Be — Red Mamba

20 MORE SONGS

Andrew W.K. — “Babalon”

Babygirl — “You Were in My Dream Last Night”

The Chemical Brothers — “The Darkness That You Fear”

The Egyptian Lover — “Cinnamon Oil Massage”

Foxes — “Sister Ray”

Halsey — “I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God”

Hatchie — “This Enchanted”

Molly Sanden — “Nån Annan Nu”

MUNA ft. Phoebe Bridgers — “Silk Chiffon”

Nardo Wick ft. Lil Durk, 21 Savage, G Herbo — “Who Want Smoke??”

Pillow Queens — “Rats”

Polo G — “Rapstar”

Porter Robinson — “Look at the Sky”

Sun—EL Musician ft. Simmy — “Higher”

Tinashe — “Bouncin’”

Torres — “Don’t Go Puttin’ Wishes in My Head”

Violet Chachki & Allie X — “Mistress Violet”

Yaeji & Ohhyuk — “Year to Year”

Young Thug & Gunna — “Ski”

Zakes Bantwini — “Osama”

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landeguin · 3 years

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This is for the @hockeynetwork winter gift exchange. I was matched with @romanseggy and it was relatively easy to give her what she wanted.

Player: jamie oleksiak

Genre: Sweet, smut

Word: 2923

December. A wild time. A time of gifts, hockey madness, birthdays, Christmas, and a year’s end. Truthfully, it could be a bit overwhelming when you really thought about all that came with the month of December. While this year could have (maybe should have) been a bit more intimidating, you were actually thrilled for December and the adventures that would come with Jamie at home. While traditionally he would have been on a busy schedule, with the pandemic even going to the store was questionable, and it left the two of you with nothing but time for each other.

Often, when you told your friends that having nothing but time with your partner was amazing, they would roll their eyes and tease you that you had to be full of it. But truthfully, the break from Jamie’s insane schedule, and getting to have him to yourself for a solid few months, especially during December, was a gift. Of course, you two would separate in the house from time to time, but it wasn’t because you were annoyed with each other, it was just the normal flow of life together. You both found ways to make a life together work in any season, even during a global pandemic. That was when you’d both known that this was it for you two; in it to win it, for life.

One of your favorite activities of December, was the couples advent calendar you’d always done. Generally, Jamie would participate remotely, but this year, since he was home, you were getting to take in the fun together. On the first of December, you’d opened the box and let the fun commence. Each day, there was something fun you were supposed to do together to celebrate the Holiday, whether it was giving, shopping, or making something, there was a lot of little hidden fun to share together. Today’s was probably your favorite though. It was day 18, and the request on the card was to make hot cocoa, light a fire, and watch a Christmas classic on a blanket by the tree. As sappy as it was, you always loved getting to curl up with Jamie and feel the warmth of his tall, strong body pressed against yours as he held you close. He would do this thing with his mouth where he would nibble at his lip while he watched you, as if he couldn’t keep his smile from his face. It made your heart flutter a little more with each glance that he gave you.

You’d spent the day getting things done around the house, and were finished with dinner, and, now, you got to fulfill that advent request. Jamie was gathering a few pillows and blankets for what he was calling “the best cuddle den ever” and you couldn’t help but smile as he made what seemed like a little fort for you two to get comfortable.

With steaming mugs of hot cocoa and a plate of a few cookies, you moved into the living room where Jamie was standing with a smile. He looked so cozy. All of him so warm, thick, and inviting as he took the plate from you, gently setting it down and taking a mug to empty your hands so you could get comfortable. He watched you with a smile as you settled down onto the surprisingly comfortable set up. He’d used some pool rafts, and was quite proud of himself for being ingenious. Once you were situated he settled down beside you, pulling you into his firm chest as he wrapped an arm around you, holding you close as he took a sip from the mug, letting out a sigh of pleasure. “Mmm, so good,” he winked at you, pressing a kiss to your temple.

You smiled and let out a sigh after taking a drink from your mug, setting it down on the coffee table as you curled into Jamie’s chestk, resting your head on his shoulder. With an arm across his abdomen, you curled in closer, letting out a soft sigh of pleasure. “What movie did you pick?”

He smiled and pushed play on the TV, “You’ll see.”

Humming, you watched the screen, his hand threading through your hair as he held you closely.

With a chuckle, you shook your head when you heard the opening lines of Home Alone. Of course, a true classic. You couldn’t even count on your hands the number of times the two of you had watched this over the course of time you’d been together. You loved to watch Jamie’s face though, and hear his giggles at the ridiculous scenes, or the way he would scoff at the parents for forgetting Kevin.

Truthfully, he could have picked any movie, and you would have been content. The highlight of the night was getting to be curled up next to him, enjoying his excitement for the movie. He was so full of passion that didn’t always get to be seen, unless he was home with you. There was public Jamie, and home Jamie. You loved both, but always felt so lucky to get to have him to yourself.

As you stayed curled up next to him, you wiggled closer to him, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek as he kissed your forehead, his lips trailing gently over your skin and towards your hair as he peppered you with kisses. It made your heart warm and quicken as he continued to love on you, hand reaching for yours as he laced your fingers together, settling you back down through the movie.

Sighing, you moved closer, tossing a leg over his thigh as you pulled yourself closer to him, running a hand down his chest.

Jamie smirked, putting a hand to your ass as he hiked you up closer to him, his other hand tangling into your hair as he watched you.

You smiled and rubbed against his thigh, leaning up to press a kiss to the line of his jaw, nipping and kissing gently as he watched you through his lashes.

“Careful, baby, don’t start something you’re not ready to finish,” he hummed, biting his lip.

With a smirk, you leaned into him, pressing a firm open-mouthed kiss to his lips, your tongue finding his as you hummed into his mouth. He grinned, pulling you closer and higher onto his lap so that you were straddling him instead of just his thigh, his desire becoming apparent as he pushed up to kiss you more intently, his hand trailing through your hair with a gentle tug.

You started to wiggle your body down, stretching out on his torso, pushing at his shirt so that you could feel his warm skin. Jamie wasted no time, separating from you for a minute to get rid of his shirt, tossing it behind you. With a chuckle, you leaned back down towards him, kissing his pecs and chest, placing gentle kisses on his abs and torso, a finger teasing his belly button before you smirked, looking down towards his growing bulge. He was very pleased with how this movie was going.

When you crawled back up his torso, Jamie leaned up to kiss you, his broad hands pushing at your top and bottoms, not without getting permission though as he looked up at you questioningly. He could be a total freak, but then he would be so sweet and respectful. You nodded and wiggled your hips out of her bottoms, kicking them off. Jamie ran his hands down your back and hips, resting on your ass as he pulled you back down for a kiss. You traced his bottom lip with your tongue, so unbelievably comfortable with Jamie and how much he enjoyed you. He hummed, rubbing your lower back before pressing you towards him. With a smirk, he quickly moved and rolled you over so that he was towering above you, sitting comfortably with his legs on each side of you.

You grunted, wiggling so you could get propped on the pillow comfortably. Jamie watched and waited for you to be situated before he started to press kisses down your torso, peppering the warm skin. He kissed down your stomach, legs and knees, working his way, nose nuzzling your inner thigh gently. With a shift, you whimpered quietly, watching him with heavy lidded eyes. He looked up at you with a smile before nosing his way to the waistband of your panties, placing kisses around the top, then slid towards your belly button, placing soft kisses once more on the skin of your hip bones, eyes intent on yours as he waited for approval.

With goosebumps covering your skin, you nodded, watching as Jamie traced a patch of skin with the tip of his tongue, nibbling gently on your hip bone, nose tickling you. A smile covered your face as you chuckled, hips lifting towards him as he teased you. “Baaaabe.” You plead for more, laughing as he nips at your skin.

Jamie grew a wide smile, lazily almost, as he leaned up on his elbows to watch you. He leaned down and kissed at your skin again gently, kissing down under your belly button, moving over the top of your panties, as he nipped at the band. His hands slid up your thighs, tugging gently at the fabric, watching you for any sign of resistance. You lift your hips instead, encouraging him to continue on.

With a hum, he began sliding the panties down your thighs tantalizingly slow, kissing your skin each step of the way. He slid the fabric off your foot, kissing his way up her inner thigh. You let out a soft sigh, patience growing slimmer as you felt the desire pooling in your belly. He was taking his sweet time, and you really wanted to feel him.

He seemed to have you figured out pretty well; he knew just where you liked those simple kisses on your thighs that had you blissed out, without a single touch to the sex. With a smile, he slid down more, fingers reaching out to trace at your core, watching reactions carefully. It was like he was finally going exactly where you wanted him as he pressed gently, a hiss falling from your lips as he moved towards you more, his mouth following his hand as he found where he wanted to be, wasting no time in burying his face between your thighs, licking at your skin before he licked with intention of making you cum. He was a tease, always, and knew it. He wanted you to have as much enjoyment as possible. You whimpered quietly while Jamie caressed you in all of the right ways, your breathing harder as you tensed under his work, hips still against the sheets, eyes fluttering, hands gripping tightly as you whined, very much enjoying him. Jamie continued on, slowly bringing you close to the peak, before he would back off, wanting it to not end just yet.

As you would look down at him and whine, really wanting to let go, he’d smirk and slow down. After what felt like forever, but in the best of ways, you reached down to warn him, tugging on his hair carefully. He didn’t pull back, continued on, even through orgasm, your body whirling through pleasure, whining and clutching at the sheets, breathing heavily as you held on for as long as possible.

Slowly, Jamie pulled off, sliding up beside you, thigh pressed against your center as he wiped his face on the sheet, then looked over at you with a grin, proud of himself for what he’d just gotten out of you. With a cheeky grin, he spoke, “Hi.”

You snorted at him reaching over to rub his cheek, eyes heavy as you watched him, thumb tracing over his lips. You leaned over, kissing him softly at first, tongue finding his, massaging gently as you caressed his chin and jaw, a hum filling your throat. Your whole body was warm with want, lower half tingling still as you watched him.

Tired of the sweetness, you huffed and pulled him closer, letting your fingers trail over his back, eyes slowly raking over his body, stopping when you landed at the tent in his boxers. Chuckling, you pushed at the waistband, pulling the fabric down precisely, the back of your hand grazing over his erection in the process. Finally, you were going to get somewhere again.

Ever so gently you slide your hands down his hips, resting on his length as you fisted him gently, fingers sliding over the hot flesh as you kissed his neck, rubbing at the tip of his cock. He bit his lip, head bowing down to rest on your shoulder as you rubbed and rolled up his thick length. You began to wiggle down, intent on sucking him off when he stopped you, dropping his hand to your wrist. “Babe. I can’t, I’ll fuckin’ blow.” There was too much pent up sexual tension now, he knew he couldn’t handle both at this moment, not with the way you were giving him those innocent eyes and coy smile.

You laugh, but stick your lip out, batting your lashes as you looked up at him. Clicking your tongue, you shrugged with a smile. His loss.

You rubbed his chest, tracing the trail of hair from his navel to his pubic bone, watching him. You were more than happy to go whichever direction he wanted; it was only fair and you wanted to show him pleasure more than anything right now.

With strong hands, he slid you up to eye level again before kissing you gently, a hand caressing over the soft skin on your side as he watched you with those intent eyes. He was going to fuck you, you could sense the shift in his body and mindset as he raked over your body with those deep, dark eyes, his tongue trailing over his bottom lip as he watched you intently.

It was an effortless move and he had the roles reversed so he was hovering above you, his eyes intent on yours as he sucked your throat, nudging your legs open. With a glance at you, mainly for confirmation, he reached down and flicked his thumb over your clit, watching you squirm as he slid a finger into you, pumping only a few times before adding a second and a third. Maybe he was rushing, but you didn’t care. You were beyond prepared and ready for him to claim your core. He moved to bite your bottom lip as he lined up, sliding into your core with little to no warning or wait, hips pressed against yours in a fluid motion as he felt the warmth of your core around him.

Grunting, you drug your nails down his back, encouraging him to start fucking you already. Laughing with a smirk, Jamie started to rock his hips, wasting no time to get to any sort of pace. You grunted, pulling at him to roll harder, the sound of flesh against flesh punctuating every move as he leaned down to bite at your throat, rolling and rocking into you. He pressed into your deepest pleasure zone, grazing with every thrust. His thumb dropped to rub at your clit as well, him intent on getting you to the best orgasm he could give you of the night.

“Jamie!” You grunted, body arching up to meet him with every thrust.

He growled into your throat, picking up speed as he rolled his hips, biting at your collarbone and neck as he was intent on giving you a thrill. With a flourish, he pushed your leg up to his shoulder, changing his angle so that he drove into your core, grazing your clit with every thrust.

Whimpering, you clawed down his back, hissing in pleasure as you felt the golden tide growing within your belly. Jamie always knew just what you needed to set you off the edge. It never was a worry about him cumming first, he was a generous lover, and while he truly wanted to get you off right now, it wasn’t always rushed, it wasn’t always down and dirty. But for now? He wanted you to scream his name.

Which was exactly what he whispered into your ear as he nipped at your ear lobe, grunting your name. “Babe.”

You rolled up to meet his every thrust, so close that you didn’t want to admit it. Jamie knew just what to do to bring you here, and you were there, body filled with pleasure as you panted, biting at his shoulder as he flicked your clit with authority.

“Cuming!” You hissed to him, feeling your body release as you tensed and quivered beneath him, eyes fluttering shut in pure pleasure.

You felt the colors and shapes dance behind your lids as Jamie continued to thrust into you with intense purpose, his own climax coming as you felt him throb and still within you, channel clenching around him as he rolled through, before lazily leaning down onto you.

With sweat glistening your body, hearts racing, you pulled Jamie down towards you, kissing his throat, neck, and cheek as he rested against you, body heavy. Carefully you wiggled so you could wrap your legs around him, keeping him deeply seated as you sighed in pleasure. “Fuck I love that advent calendar.”

Jamie laughed, kissing your cheek. “Yea, but I love you more.”

You just laughed, sighing in pleasure. “Merry Christmas, Baby.”

#imagine #jamie oleksiak #romanseggy #hockeynetwork #hockey network #the winter gift exchange #hockey #jamie oleksiak imagine #hockey rpf

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speedygal · 3 years

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Now I know the header tank is in the nosecone, the flaps, the common domes, forward domes, the name of the Veloci(Raptor) engine, the Rvacs (Raptor Vacuum), the booster---but that just comes from me lurking in lounge, nasaspaceflight, and watching the construction every day of each Starship model either through livestream, by photos, or information from spacexlounge. Something I didn’t know a year ago. Why am I so interested? Because one day, Starship Superheavy will be my ride to Mars.

SPPPAAAAACCEEEE.

MAAAAAAARRSS.

One starship that I will be watching in the future will be my own ride being built long after the prototypes. Watching the progress it takes to become safe and reliable for the public to trust has been a roller coaster, being stuck between “Scrub!” and “Launch!” and “RUD!” as it stands on the launch mount during each test is a moment of anxiety but historical one at best.

In a way it’s like watching a vehicle of necessities being built in real time with a eye on it and doing something else knowing what stage of development it is in, what the parts are for the ship, and how long it is going to take to be finished. A aspect of this change that people didn’t get to do while waiting for their vehicles, let it be trucks, cars, vans, minivans, to be made in a way like Starship is. It’s a amazing luxury to have. I’ll know on the spot when it is ready to launch me and other passengers.

youtube

Pinned against the chair as Starship Superheavy departs the planet, by gravity, by the sheer force of the flight, my hands on the arm rests, watching through the window of the ship pass through various layers of the atmosphere until being in space and waiting for the booster to come back with fuel for the flight to Mars. It’ll be my first and only flight and it’ll count. I’ll know the name of my Starship by heart by then, the flight number as well, ingrained in my psyche. Floating along in space headed toward a new planet, among the stardust, among the space dust, among the stars, under the cloak of space for hours, days, weeks! Watching the stars stand out against the dark canvas outside in the vacuum of space.

Then to step foot on Mars in a spacesuit would be incredible and so thrilling and vindicating and groundbreaking all at once and so exciting I am on MARS. The PLANET. The PLANET that has had tons of movies made about it and will have a lot more about colonizing it, including television shows set on it about life on it, all about a barren lifeless a planet which is so far away from Earth.

Mars is a planet that people have dreamed about, something that was so impossible and only could be something that would happen in 22nd century only twenty years ago! It’s only a distant light in the night sky but it will be a full on feasible place for most people once colonization begins with videos from Starships that landed there. No climate change going to kill the planet in the future and make it a unlivable planet. Just a existence of living in a protected area for the remainder of my life and go out occasionally and be so happy that I am there, maybe scream, cheer, jump. "I LOVE MARS!" UNDER MICROGRAVITY

It’s just incredible. Right now, we cannot go to Mars and it is a unknown frontier that seems still so impossible and not of this century to happen at all but it will be of this century and it will be a known frontier in a few years. For me, it will be odd, arriving to Mars because it is a planet far away from Earth, a planet in space, a planet that I have never been to before but had only seen in photos and in movies. It will be even odd because I am on a entirely different planet that isn’t Earth. A planet that was once a star in the sky and now Earth would be the very same. Mars by then, would not feel like place that was known as a destination but too far away and felt like it didn’t exist.

That moment being there be a profound one of being there. Perhaps a moment of relief initially that whatever weather anomaly happens on Earth won't impact me. It's one of many signs that we're in the future. I recall reading my social studies book and seeing a picture with "here, a miner doing some mining in a tight space" and I went, "hey, we're in the 21st century!" inwardly and boggled me that we were still mining and not using solar energy.

I also recall reading a article in school about old solar panels that were losing watts and the owner is like, “It still works Just the amount that I need.” and the articles arguing against using solar panels for day to day power usage. I very much recall while reading, “Why don’t they buy new solar panels?” I don’t know what happened to that person but I hope they got new panels and are happy with them giving them the energy that they need just like future colonists getting what they need from solar panels on Mars and only needing to replace them every few decades, scheduled, paid for by SpaceX.

Being on Mars would mean to me that we are firmly in the 21st century, ironed out that nobody would die on the way to Mars by accident, progressed as a civilization, gone where no person has gone before (well, asides to the people before me who arrived to Mars) and departed their cradle. The day mass numbers of people go to Mars will be the day that is marked in Earth’s calendar as the day the baby left the cradle and didn’t come back after a few short hours that date will be known in History books, historical videos, historical digital pages, what not, the date that humanity got out of the cradle, hovered above ground then got a silo with wheels and buzzed off to other rooms, to other cradles, to other places.

Musk will be a fully renowned historical figure, highly flawed, but someone so instrumental along with other engineers and welders in bringing humanity to Mars but he will be known as the man who cut down the length of history making it would take to get to Mars, he may be revered, despised, but remembered all the same. Being on Mars means the future is here, it is now, it is going to be tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and so will humanity.

It’s insurance for our very survival even for the memory of humanity to linger on for eternity with dreams that came true for those who wanted to be the first round of people to be there. And someday, living on Mars won’t be amazing for a generation born and raised there, someday other planets will be in the spot of ‘I want to go there in Starship’ and that’s beautiful.

#Mars #Spacex #excitement #starship spacex #Space #elon musk #I discussed this with someone else #then I realized #oh god this would make a excellent post #so i did and edited it and added more thoughts #mars baby!#Humanity #spaceflight

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jamielea81 · 4 years

Text

Conversations

Chapter 10

Description: You accompany your friends on a day trip to Animal Kingdom Theme Park where you meet Scott Evans by chance. This one afternoon leads to a year long friendship with both Chris and Scott over text messages and phone calls.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Warning: Fluff and Angst, I’m sorry. Probably a swear or two.

Word Count: 6,157 (I know!)

A/N: I know nothing about the lives of the Evans family and mean no harm. This is purely fiction and for fun. Reblogs and comments are much appreciated! The tag list is now closed. Each chapter tends to get reblogged from me a few times, so if you’re following me, you can’t miss it. See additional note at the end.

*Italics are internal thoughts

Catch up with Chapter 9

A simple “I’m home” was texted to Chris when your feet hit your bedroom floor. You were slightly concerned you may have been too clingy about the “not seeing him again soon enough” comments you shared. What you really wanted to say was “I’m home and missing you already”, but you refrained. He replied with “glad you made it home safe, sweetheart”.

This was strange for you and you didn’t quite know what was going on with your emotions. With Ethan, it was all too much too soon. The spending nearly every day together was entirely too much. In the end, that relationship really made you lose sight of yourself. With Chris, your time together wasn’t nearly enough. And you couldn’t forget that fact that your relationship was undefined. It was new and not exclusive. You didn’t plan on seeing anyone else while you were seeing Chris, but did he feel the same way? You just needed to have the patience to see where it would go.

Before heading into work, you were stopping by Jana’s office to fill her in on your trip. She’d been busy as of late, more so than usual, so the two of you hadn’t seen much of each other. Up until today, you had successfully avoided Ethan on your two other trips to her office. Once by luck, and the second by careful planning. You hadn’t seen or talked to him since you ended it in your favorite coffee shop a couple of months back. It was still your favorite coffee shop, you just didn’t visit there on Sundays anymore. Jana had given you the heads up that she had already seen him that morning, so there was a chance of running into him as well. It was bound to happen sooner or later, might as well face the music now.

Grabbing two “I Love NY” coffee mugs from the shopping bag you picked up from the airport, you checked your reflection in the mirror once more before going to your car. In all honesty, you weren’t trying to look good for Ethan, not at all. But it didn’t hurt to look good in front of your ex. Besides, you really did have that new relationship and you just had sex glow going on.

“Could you be more cliché?” Jana asked, picking up one of the mugs.

“Most people would say thank you for the gift, Jana.”

“Thank you,” she says sarcastically, but offers you a smile.

You successfully made it from the lobby to her office without an Ethan sighting. Although, you kind of wanted to get the first run-in over with. You didn’t plan on ending your friendship with Jana despite her less than thrilled response to the souvenir you brought back, so you were bound to see him. Wasn’t like he was leaving the firm anytime soon now that he was partner.

“I don’t have Fifth Avenue money, woman. Besides, wasn’t like we did a lot of shopping. Figured that it was a classic New York souvenir,” you said, shrugging your shoulders.

“I really do appreciate it. It’s cute,” she said sincerely. “Besides, you know how much Brooks loves collecting coffee mugs.”

“Hence why I got you each one,” you said matter-of-factly.

“Suppose you didn’t leave the room much anyway.” Her eyebrows raising and lips forming a smug smile.

You leaned over her desk, smacking her arm lightly. Wasn’t like you were Instagramming all weekend. She apparently could read your mind.

“No comment,” you replied, leaning back in your seat, your arms crossing over your chest.

“You do know that no comment is admitting guilt?” she asked.

“Who says I feel guilty?” you replied.

“Good for you. Really, Y/N. I’m happy for you.”

You nodded and smiled slightly.

“It was a nice getaway. He makes me happy,” you said honestly. “I just feel so comfortable around him, you know? I mean of course, I was nervous. You know that. But when we’re together, it’s just nice.”

“It’s probably because you guys were friends first. You already had that existing comfortability.” She leans back in her chair with a soft smile. “That’s really great. When do you think you’ll see him again?”

That was the million dollar question.

You licked your lips and then chewed on the inside of your cheek. “Um. That’s a really good question and I’m still trying to work that out.”

“Well, hopefully soon.”

“I don’t disagree,” you replied.

You made it to the elevator with no Etahn sightings. Grabbing your phone out of your purse, you saw you had a text from Chris.

Chris: I like me better when I'm with you I knew from the first time, I'd stay for a long time 'cause I like me better when I like me better when I'm with you

“How does he even know that song?” you asked to yourself.

Y/N: You know that song?

Y/N: And I like me better when I’m with you too. 😘

Chris: It was on your phone. Played it a couple of times when I was at your house.

He’s got quite the memory.

Pressing the call button for the elevator, you wait patiently for it to arrive. There was one problem though, you couldn’t get out of your own head. It was going to become more difficult the more time passes without seeing Ethan. You didn’t want to be nervous every time you came to visit Jana. It was silly really; you had known Ethan over a year before you started to date. Taking a deep breath, you turned around and walked to his office.

He didn’t notice you at first. His eyes glued to his computer monitor while his pointer finger scrolls endlessly on the mouse. His door is open but you definitely feel like you’re intruding.

Just knock already! Say something!

“Knock. Knock,” you said while literally knocking on his door.

I’m such a dork.

“Y/N!” he blurts out. His face is one of surprise but he quickly straightens it and gives you a polite smile. “Please come in.”

“I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Just the usual.”

Surprisingly it isn’t as awkward as you thought it would be. Of course, Ethan is a lawyer and can keep a straight face when he needs to, so if he’s nervous, he isn’t showing it.

“I just haven’t seen you, so I wanted to say hi. Was just visiting Jana and on my way out,” you said in a rush.

Okay, so maybe this is awkward.

“What have you been up to?” he asks tentatively.

You’re still standing slightly in the doorway which is adding to your unease. Gesturing with your hand to one of the two chairs in front of his desk, he quickly nods. You sit down and you feel slightly better even though you are much closer to him now.

“I’ve been good. I’m doing more stories for the online edition of the paper lately and a few have been picked up nationally which is great.”

“That’s really great, Y/N,” he replied.

It’s sincere and you’re happy he’s lost that cocky demeanor he used give you before you were together. One fear of yours was that he’d put on the show again. Despite being together for only a couple of months, he really opened up to you during that time.

“How about you?” you asked.

“Good. Great actually. Works been busy but we’ve brought on quite a few clients. Busy is good.”

“I’m really glad,” you said. “So..”

“So, are you seeing anyone?” he asked.

Back to awkward then. You hesitated for a moment.

“Do you really want to talk about that?”

“Sorry. We don’t have to,” he replied. “Seen any good movies lately?”

You chuckled and then told him about the nature series you’d been watching on Disney+.

Were the two of you going to be best friends? No, but you never were and that was fine. At least now you felt that if you ran into Ethan, pleasantries could be given without running the other way.

For years, your boss has encouraged you to attend a writing conference. Every year you find an excuse not to go. Well, you went once, maybe six years ago, but you just hadn’t gone back. They were paid for by the paper except for food and spending money. That wasn’t the problem. Attending a conference took time away from your job. They were usually held in a ballroom at a hotel that had you holed up for hours, never allowing you to see the sun. And since they ran up until the time for you to fly home, it didn’t make much sense for you to travel to another city to attend one and never actually see the city. That is until you thought about seeing Chris. You could easily enough have your ticket extended to allow an additional night or two in order to spend time with Chris if you could get your schedules line up.

There were three upcoming conferences you could attend; Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and St. Paul.

You grabbed your phone and fired off a text to Chris figuring you’d bring it up to him before suggesting it to your boss.

Y/N: Any chance you’ll be in LA the week of August 2nd?

The conference was being held August fifth through the seventh which was a Friday. Staying until Sunday evening would make it a short weekend, but time together was still time together.

Chris: The short answer is yes. Taking a quick look at my calendar I have nothing scheduled, so I could be in LA then. What’s going on?

Y/N: I have to talk to my boss, but possible work conference. I’d be free the weekend though.

Chris: More time with you? I’m sold.

“I’m falling fast,” you whispered to yourself.

The truth was, you had already fallen and it scared you to death. If this were any other guy, it wouldn’t be as scary. You’d been in love once before but it ended on bad terms and you’d been afraid to give your heart away ever since. You were never in love with Ethan, but the relationship was rushed and you fell into it easily. But this was Chris. The two of you would never have a normal relationship and that’s what made you hesitant. If you were having a bad day, you couldn’t call him to come over. You couldn’t crawl into bed with him after working on a story late into the night. He couldn’t stop by to watch a movie with you. This was long distance to the extreme.

Chris: I still feel bad last weekend fell through.

Chris planned on flying into Orlando to spend a few days at your place, but something came up and he had to cancel. Sure, it was a little bit of a letdown, but his life was busy and he was in demand, you couldn’t fault him for that. You had seen him a couple of weeks prior so it hadn’t even been that long.

Y/N: Baby, it’s fine. Honestly. Hoping August works out. I should know soon.

While you and Chris still hadn’t discussed the status of your relationship, it had kicked into high gear. He was texting you more often, usually with sweet words and telling you that he missed you. Some of the texts had reached into that R rated category which made you blush, especially if you were out with friends or at work. There were no nudes exchanged or anything like that; neither of you trusted the security of your phones completely. But there were a few occasions that you needed to call him right after receiving one of those messages.

You fired off an e-mail to your boss explaining that you wanted to go to a conference next month. You gave him the dates and asked for approval. Now you just needed to wait.

It was quarter to midnight and you were in bed reading Circe. Looking to expand your reading beyond the latest Disney news as well as the articles published in your employer’s paper, you joined a book club a friend from college started. You were determined to finish the thing on time for once, even if it cut into your normal viewing of the late-night talk shows.

Just as you were getting into a flow with the chapter, your phone rang. Scott had impeccable timing. You had already had your almost nightly phone call with Chris, and no one else besides Scott dared to call you so late.

“Good evening Grumpy. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You seem to be in a fine mood. What’s got you so cheery?” he asked.

“Let me guess. You’ve talked to your brother?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Unfortunately, I know you both too well at this point. Might as well end the friendship now since there’s nothing new to learn,” you sassed.

“You’re such a brat!” Scott groaned. “Yes, I talked to my brother. It’s how we do.”

“Ahuh. I know you can’t see me, but I’m sticking my tongue out at you.” And you did.

“So, tell me about the trip,” Scott said in a cheery voice.

God, you loved Scott. You could give him shit and he could give it right back but at the end of the day, you both loved each other.

“Well, nothing’s official. I still need to wait for my boss to approve the trip and for the admin to confirm my travel. But if all goes well, I’ll be able to see Chris for a few days. So, hopefully.”

“I’m sure it will all work out,” Scott replied.

“Any chance you’ll be in town that weekend?”

“Maybe. I’ll have to check with Zach,” he said.

“Ooooh! Do I maybe get to meet the famous Zach?”

“Maybeee. If you’re good,” he replied.

“Hey! I’m always good.”

“Ahuh. Moving on,” he said dismissing you.

“You realize, if this all works out, this will be the first time the three of us will be hanging out.”

“That’s not entirely true. The day we met, Chris was there,” Scott reminded you.

“Yeah, but barely. I think he said hi to me and that’s about it,” you chuckled.

“My how the times have changed,” he laughed out.

Much to your delight, you had an e-mail from your boss approving the conference by the time you made it to the office. You quickly typed out an e-mail to your boss’ admin Patty, asking that she extend your flight until Sunday, but advised you wouldn’t need a hotel for those additional days.

Y/N: Guess who’s coming to LA in a couple of weeks?!

You spun around in your chair much to enjoyment of your co-workers.

“Sorry, just got some good news,” you said, smile on full display to Allie and Erin who looked on.

Your phone buzzed in your hand with a text from Chris.

Chris: Baby, that’s great!

In about two weeks, you’d be seeing Chris again. You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face even if you tried. Granted you had to attend three days of lectures and small group discussions, but you get to see Chris! You made a promise to yourself to try to enjoy the conference and learn something from it. By doing so, you would award yourself by being in the company of a man you really liked. It was well worth the reward.

Chris: We are so going to Disneyland.

You smiled at his response. The two of you really belonged together, at least you felt that way.

Y/N: Anything you want. Just excited to spend time with you.

Chris: I feel the same way. I’ll call you later.

Always the last-minute packer, you stood in your closet two nights before your flight to California starring at the clothes you no longer deemed good enough for such a trip. It was silly really, you wore business casual daily, even owned a couple of suits. Then your weekend with Chris, besides the trip to Disneyland, you probably wouldn’t be wearing much clothes. You smirked at that thought. It was a nice one to have and you hoped it played out that way.

Y/N: What should I pack for a writer’s conference?

Jana traveled a lot for work and her style was always impeccable. If you were going to trust anyone to help you pack, you’d trust her.

Jana: You’re not packed yet?

Y/N: Have you met me? Best friend of seven years.

Jana: I’m coming over, but we’re drinking after.

You could handle that so you quickly agreed to her deal. Who were you to argue with a high-powered attorney?

Jana’s idea of drinking was not from the bottle of vodka you kept in your freezer. No, she made you put on actually pants and leave the house. The sweats you were wearing were name brand, you did not see the problem. The central air in your house was set to ice cube, so you often lounged in sweat pants even in the dead of summer. Neither of you wanted to drive far for a drink, so you settled on a nearby chain restaurant with a bar. You were always down for chips and salsa with your margarita.

With chips stuffed to capacity in your mouth, Jana chooses that moment to ask your relationship status. As if she doesn’t already know.

“There’s no status, at least not yet,” you said, hand covering your mouth to avoid any crumbs from escaping.

“Do you think you guys will discuss it?” she asked, popping an overflowing salsa covered chip in her mouth.

You shrugged your shoulders. “I would like to talk about us, at least come up with a definition. Are we just having fun? Is this friend’s with benefits and I just don’t know it? Are we dating? Is he seeing other women?”

“And you have the right to ask that. What do you want it to be?”

“That’s a really good question,” you answered honestly. “I’m realistic about this whole thing, at least I’m trying to be.” Taking a sip from the frozen concoction in the oversized glass, you really thought about what you wanted. It wasn’t hard to figure out. “If we can make it work, I’d like to say that we’re together exclusively. I just don’t know if it’s too soon or if he’s not on the same page. I know he cares about me. He’s said it.”

Jana nodded along to your reasoning, stealing a few sips from her own glass. She set her glass down, placing her chilled hand over yours. “Be honest with him.”

You gave her a small smile and nodded in agreement.

The flight to Los Angeles was longer than you expected. Summer storms didn’t help with the time or the comfort of the flight. Patty was nice enough to get you a window seat since you hated having to let the others in your row out ever time they wanted to get up. But since it rained through the first half of the flight, you kept the window shade lowered.

Patty booked you at the Hilton Los Angeles in Glendale where the conference was being held. At least this way you didn’t have to pay for transportation to and from the conference each day, but once again it proved your point that you would never see the city. Hopefully Chris would be up for a drive this weekend so you could see some of the sights. You’d been to California twice. Once on a family vacation to San Diego when you were a kid and a trip to Disneyland with your dad shortly after your parents got divorced.

After settling into your room and doing a quick Google search for a place to grab dinner, you sent Chris a text to let him know you were in. The two of you discussed him joining you, your first night, but he wouldn’t be in town until late and the conference started bright and early the next morning. You wouldn’t have much time to see him in the evenings after each session, so you needed to deal with waiting until Friday like originally planned.

Y/N: I’m here. Lots of storms on the way out, so my nerves are pretty shot. Text me when you get settled at home.

Dinner was quick at Italian deli a few blocks away. You picked up a couple of snack sized bags of chips and freshly made rice krispie treats to bring back to the room. You almost let the guy at the counter talk you into a giant pickle, but you’d figure somehow the packaging would open and you have a mess in your room. Smelling like a pickle wasn’t the impression you wanted to make tomorrow morning.

Chris didn’t text until close to three in the morning. You’d kept the volume on your phone up when you started to fall asleep around eleven. You really wanted to make sure you received that goodnight text from him. The thought of it coming in at three in the morning and him being drunk off his ass didn’t cross your mind.

Chris: Baby!

Chris: You in my 2nd state home

Chris: 2nd home state

Chris: So drunk

Chris: Miss you

While you were glad he texted, you were a little pissed that he waited until the early hours of the morning to do so. A quick goodnight would have been great before he got drunk. Deciding that arguing with a drunk person didn’t get you anywhere, you put your phone on silent and went back to sleep.

On your lunch break, you sent Chris a text, but kept it simple. You almost called him before your eight AM welcome breakfast, but you knew he’d still be sleeping at that time.

Y/N: Hope you’ve slept off that hangover.

The morning sessions hadn’t been as bad as you imagined they would be. You met a couple of great people during your first breakout session and already agreed to drinks in the hotel bar later. Brooks had sent you a message that one of the senior writers from his new employer was there as well. He had given her your name and you promised to keep an eye out for her name tag since he hadn’t scheduled a meet up between the two of you.

You were already wrapping for the day before you were able to check your phone again. Chris had sent a text around two in the afternoon.

Chris: I’m so sorry about that. A buddy picked me up from the airport and we went out.

Chris: Hope your first day is going well.

Scott had also sent a text to check in with you. A week after the two of you discussed all being together in California, he let you know your schedules wouldn’t line up as he would be in New York that week. You were bummed but you knew you’d make it work eventually.

After a quick elevator ride to your room, you called Chris before changing into comfy clothes for drinks with your new friends.

“Hey,” Chris drawled out.

“Hey yourself. Just got done for the day.”

“How was it?” he asked.

“It was a lot better than I figured. A couple of really great journalists are presenting each afternoon, so I’m learning a thing or two. Most of it is pretty inspirational.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said.

“Me too. I’m actually meeting a couple of ladies I met today for drinks in the hotel bar before I crash tonight.”

“Speaking of drinks,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’m really sorry about last night.”

“You mean this morning,” you corrected.

You heard him let out a sigh. “Yeah, this morning. I apologize for texting to so late and for being a drunken idiot.”

You laughed lightly at his response. “It’s fine babe, just maybe text me before you start drinking next time.”

“Absolutely,” he chuckled. “Do I need to worry about late night drunken texts from you tonight?”

“Nope. Technically I’m working, so two and I’m done. Besides, don’t need to embarrass myself in front of people in my industry. There may be a lot of people employed in this field, but word travels fast. Before you can blink, I’ll be known as the drunko from Orlando.”

“The drunko from Orlando. I like it.”

“You would,” you chided. “But listen, I need to get ready.”

“Have fun, but not too much. I’ll be sure to keep a look out for drunko from Orlando trending on Twitter.”

“You’re such a brat. Lucky, I like you,” you replied.

“I could say the same sweetheart.”

“Two more days,” you muttered. “Two more days until I can kiss those lips to get you to be quiet.”

“That all you’re gonna do?”

“While I would love to delve into this conversation further, I need to get going,” you sighed out.

“Alright beautiful. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Chris said.

“Night handsome.”

You were on your second vodka sour, heavy on the lime, of course, when a woman had stopped at your table of three and smiled brightly at you.

“Are you Y/N? Y/N Y/L/N?”

You laughed nervously, might have been the drinks. “Yes,” you drawled out.

“I’m Asia Williams. I work with Brooks,” she said, offering you her hand.

“Oh my gosh, hi!” you replied, standing up to firmly shake her hand.

“Brooks had sent me a picture of you. Don’t worry, it was flattering,” she said with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. Would you like to join us?”

She looked down at your companions and then back to you. “I won’t be imposing?”

The other two ladies shook their heads.

“No, not at all. We all just meet today so we’re just getting to know each other,” you replied.

After introductions, Asia ordered a glass of white wine and chatted with the other women.

It was about nine when the other two ladies said goodnight. You all had ordered appetizers to munch on in place of dinner and you found yourself still picking at the humus and carrots, trying your best not to speak with your mouth full.

“I looked you up. Occupational habit,” Asia said, ducking her head slightly. “I really loved your piece on education in the climate change era.”

“You read that?” you asked, slightly embarrassed. It was one of those pieces that was really outside your norm, but you felt compelled to write after watching a nature documentary that you tended to get wrapped up in. “I know it got picked up by a few outlets, but I never hear feedback on my non entertainment pieces.”

“It was great. You actually have quite a few great stories in your portfolio. Ever think about writing that fulltime?”

The truth was, you had. You loved writing entertainment, it was fun and it barely felt like work most days. You however longed to be taken seriously outside your immediate area. The challenge of writing outside your comfort zone was thrilling and you often longed for that feeling again weeks after a story was published.

“Uh, yes, actually. It is something I’ve been thinking about. But I’m also hesitant because I’ve been writing entertainment for years. Even before I started working at the Sentinel, I worked the local beat for smaller papers. It’s a little intimidating. Kind of scary to go from being kind of a big fish to a small fish,” you answered honestly.

“Listen. Brooks is a big fan of yours and after reading quite a few of your stories, I am too. I’m going to leave you with my card. When you’re ready, give me a call. I’d like to bring you on.”

You’re sure you looked like a cartoon character at that moment because your eyes couldn’t possibly be any larger than they were. She stood up and you followed suit.

“Thank you. Are you based in Orlando?” you asked.

“No, I’m in New York. We have writers all over the country. If Orlando isn’t for you, you don’t have to stay there. We don’t offer a moving budget, but do offer a large signing bonus that many have taken advantage of. No pressure. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.”

“Likewise. I’ll be in touch. And I’m sure I’ll see you at the conference,” you said with a smile.

Lots to think about. But that would need to wait.

Thursday kept you busy with non-stop breakout sessions. You had to switch tables at least three times and ended up with a table full of sports writers at the end of the day. You were never one to follow sports outside of school, so you mostly just nodded and pretended to understand what they were discussing.

Rather than going back to your room to change, you decided to walk to the deli for dinner first. You picked out a small table against the window and dug out your phone while you waited for your sandwich to be finished.

Y/N: I’m so excited!

Y/N: See you soon!

Chris would be picking you up promptly at three tomorrow afternoon. The hotel would hold your luggage after you checked out that morning to attend the final day of the conference. The last session was scheduled to end at two thirty, so you’d have a half hour to grab your luggage to change and freshen up.

Rather than text back, Chris was calling you instead.

“Hey you,” you answered.

“Hey sweetheart. Are you all done for the day?”

“Yep, just grabbing dinner from a deli down the street. I’ll probably watch a movie on my iPad and pack when I get back. I’m so excited to see you tomorrow.”

You heard him let out a big sigh.

“Somethings come up. I’ve a, I’ve got a meeting with a director tomorrow night. My agent set it up. It’s for a huge movie that they’re considering me for which is why it’s important I take the meeting.”

“So, so, I’ll just hangout at your place while you’re at the meeting? Do you need me to Uber to your place?”

“Sweetheart,” he breathed out. “Listen baby, the meeting is in New York, so I actually have to fly back out East tomorrow morning. It’s not going to work out this trip.”

Your heart hit your stomach.

I will not cry in public. I will not cry in public.

“Oh,” you said, it was the best you could muster.

“Sweetheart I’m so sorry. If I could move it I would.” When you didn’t respond, he continued. “I’ll a, I’ll set you up in any hotel you’d like. Have a car bring you there until your flight on Sunday.”

Oh right, my flight’s not until Sunday.

“Um.” You had to think for a moment. “No, no,” you said softly. “I’ll just change my flight to tomorrow night or early Saturday.”

“Y/N, I don’t want you to have to scramble to change your travel plans. Do you want to go to Disneyland still? I’m sure I could get you a room at the Disneyland Hotel. You could make a story out of it, comparing the two parks.”

He was trying, you had to give him that. It sounded like a good story idea, but your head wasn’t in it. You were just so disappointed at the moment that all you wanted to do was go home and get into your bed.

“That’s really sweet, but um, I think I rather just go home. My foods here so I’m gonna eat and then head back to the room. I’ll a, I’ll call you later.”

He groaned slightly. “Please call me when you get back to the room. I want to talk about this more.”

“Okay, yeah. I’ll call you. Bye Chris.”

“Bye.”

You numbly picked at your sandwich while you checked the airlines app regarding change fees. You didn’t want to stay in Los Angeles, not alone anyway. There goes your plan about defining your relationship. The reasonable part of your brain tried to reason that this was his job and sometimes you have to make sacrifices for work, but the part of you that was falling more and more for Chris each day wanted to be selfish.

Chris had texted you at some point during your walk back to the hotel. You fished your phone out of your purse once you kicked off your shoes and laid down on the bed.

Chris: I’m so sorry

Y/N: It’s fine

Chris: Don’t do that.

You could see that he was typing something out, but you clicked out of the text and back to the airline’s application. There was a flight out at six tomorrow night, you figured you could leave the session a little early and request an Uber to the airport. Before you could change your mind, you changed the flight, accepting the one-hundred-dollar change fee.

Rather than looking at the text, you called Chris back since you promised you would.

The phone rang only once before he was answering.

“Are you mad? I feel like your mad.”

“Hi to you too,” you replied. “I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.”

“I know. I am too. Trust me,” he insisted.

“What time’s your flight tomorrow?”

“Early, around seven I think.”

You let out a frustrated sigh. “This is twice Chris. Work is important and I’m not going to be one of those girls that wants to be put as a priority, but I don’t have the capacity to just take off and come meet you whenever. I can’t go to another conference for a year. This just sucks.”

“I know. I know!” he growled. “I’m coming over.”

“You’re what?” You started to do the math in your head. With traffic, he wouldn’t make it to your hotel for at least an hour, maybe two. It was already late. Then he’d have to turn around and go back to his place to get some sleep before going to the airport before dawn. “Babe, don’t. There just isn’t time. When would you sleep?”

“You’re right. You’re right. Please let me set you up somewhere nice. We’ll book a couple of spa treatments. It could be a mini vacation for you,” he offered.

“I’ve already changed my flight. I just don’t feel like being here alone. But I appreciate it. Just promise me you’ll make time and come stay with me. I’ll have to work, but at least we’d have the mornings and the evenings.”

“We’ll do that and I’ll stay until you get tired of me. I’ll be your pool boy while you’re working.”

“God, you’re such a dork. How’d Scott put up with you all those years?”

“Ma’am, watch your lip. It was I that had to put up with him.”

“You can be my pool boy as long as that means you’re shirtless while I’m home,” you said.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Walking into your house at midnight, you barely had enough energy to change into your pajamas. Settling for a t-shirt, you slipped under the covers and sent Chris a goodnight text.

Y/N: Back in Florida. Hope your meeting went well. Call me tomorrow sometime.

Waking up to a three text messages from your brother on a Saturday was pretty out of the norm. Granted it was almost noon.

Heath: Are you guys not together?

Heath: Call me when you wake up.

The third text was a direct link to TMZ. Clicking on the link brought you to an article titled Boozing It Up. Your phone screen was filled with pictures of Chris surrounded by bottles of beer and alcohol. He looked heavily intoxicated from what you could tell. A few pictures had who you assumed were friends holding him up. In one picture, a woman had herself draped across his lap with her arms around his neck. One of his hands was resting on her lower back, close to her butt while the other held a bottle of beer.

That talk defining your relationship was apparently not needed. Now you knew. You were just a girl he was seeing. You definitely were not exclusive. Didn’t mean it was any easier to swallow. You were in your thirties and really thought you’d left casual dating behind in your twenties.

Your phone started to ring in your hand.

Chris.

You hit the decline button. Wanting to take a chance to breathe and center yourself. You weren’t exclusive. You shouldn’t even be upset. Neither of you talked about what you were to each other. He said he cared about you and you cared about him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not allowed to care about someone else. Or more than one someone.

Chris: Please call me before you read anything today.

Chris: Some photos came out, but I want to explain myself.

A/N: I’m sorry! Just know I am a happy endings girl.

Chapter 11

Tag list: @mustangshelby04 @bellaireland1981 @carolina-thiell @straightforwardly @denise1605 @mcuclintasha @southerngracela @iam-cj @kelbabyblue @broadwayandnetflix @kyjey @thevelvetseries @i-just-feel-like @daddieslittlefangirl @hista-girl @stankface @whymalu @the-doctors-fallen-angel @mariswritingforfun @tessabb7 @chrisevansfanfic @lakamaa12 @thinkxlovexloud @nea90sweetie @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @greyeyedsmile14 @ripvandrinkle @bitterstar88 @andymi3ntus @zestygingergirl @cocomel0613 @supraveng @michelehansel @fanfictionaffair @chrisevansforever @agirlcanstilldream @jessyballet @capstopavenger @wiczer @titty-teetee @tanelle83 @pinknerdpanda @allaboutthebooz @estillion14 @patzammit @heartislubbingdubbing @collinsstanharbour @twittytelly @thefandomzoneisdangerous @mywinterwolf @ab-baybay @rda1989 @impalaimages @jesseswartzwelder @xostephanie @smoothdogsgirl @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @thenormreedus @firstangeldragonranch @soitmightgetweird @maeleeme @rvgrsbrns @icanfeelastormbrewing @denisemarieangelina @xxloki81xx @panicfob @rainbowkisses31 @linki-locks11 @onceuponathreetwoone @dangerouslovefanfic @xstudiousslytherinx @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @trynnabemultifandom @torntaltos

#Chris Evans #scott evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans imagine #chris evans fan fiction #chris evans x you #chris evans x y/n #chris evans rfp #chris evans reader insert #conversations

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dollsome-does-tumblr · 3 years

Text

I have decided to post my list of all the stuff I watched this year (that I kept track of anyway!), so you can understand why I am incredibly not productive at reading, writing, or keeping my house clean.

Italics are used to indicate rewatches!

Movies Watched In 2020

January 1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Ehh!) 2. The Biggest Little Farm (yay! nature! i guess.) 3. Cats (oof - but also, amazing!) 4. Like A Boss (I honestly barely remember what this is at this point. A relic from an age where we went to the movies just because we were bored!) 5. The Turning (NOPE! Thank God we got Bly Manor later in the year!) 6. You, Me, and Him (Very promising premise. Lucy Punch and David Tennant are there, even. But BAD!!!!!!!!) 7. Dolittle (Going to the movies just because you’re bored: Part 2) 8. Miss Americana (YES!!!!!) 9. THE VELOCIPASTOR (YES!!!!!!) February 10. Knives Out (a good ‘un) 11. A Little Princess (the BEST ‘un) 12. Enchanted (always an important rewatch!) 13. Birds of Prey (x2!) (THE ONLY WAY TO WATCH BIRDS OF PREY. can you believe that in this calendar year, i got to go see birds of prey in the theatre twice?) 14. Austenland (ALWAYS!) 15. Vita & Virginia (found it kind of a slog but might try it again someday) 16. Honey Boy (my boyfriend wanted to watch it okay) 17. Brittany Runs A Marathon (a decent dramedy time!) 18. Ideal Home (like sherlock holmes always called irene adler the woman, i always call this movie The Movie) 19. To All The Boys 2 (okay, with pretty colors and stuff!) 20. Best in Show (can you believe it took me this long to see it??) 21. Tell It To The Bees (nooooooooooooo! don’t tell ME about it, anyway!) 22. Napoleon Dynamite (PERFECTION ITSELF WAS ACHIEVED IN THE YEAR 2004!)

March 23. Mr. Right (trying to remember what this was. i think it’s that movie with anna kendrick and sam rockwell! in which case: a solid action romcom, VERY fun chemistry betwixt them!) 24. Mansfield Park (1999) (always a good ‘un full of hot mess people!) 25. Wild Nights With Emily (YES!) 26. Emma. (and on that day, we all knew austen aesthetic perfection) 27. Fighting with my Family (a solid watch always. plus: a movie about a teenage girl with no love interest!!!!! i am STILL thrilled about that.) 28. Jojo Rabbit (laugh-sob!) 29. Last Christmas (laugh-sob ft. emma thompson! emilia clarke make me one million more movies in the romcom-ish department! you were made to be sparkling and hilarious!) 30. Roman Holiday (this was the first time i’d seen this movie as an adult and it owned my whole soul) 31. The Big Year (i like birds and jack black and rashida jones and movies that feature alaska. who doesn’t?) April 32. Onward (this was fun!) 33. Parasite (this was fun, and then it TEARS YOUR SOUL OUT!) 34. Love. Wedding. Repeat. (.............. NO. do not, under any circumstances, repeat. why would you use sam claflin like this?) 35. Damsel (mia wasikowska and rpattz cool western weirdness!) 36. Jane Goodall: The Hope (jane goodall rules!!!!!!) 37. The Secret Garden (PERFECTION ITSELF, like and yet not at all like napoleon dynamite) 38. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (such a beautiful and aesthetically exquisite film!) May 39. Sense & Sensibility (1995) (ALWAYS) 40. That Thing You Do (i still had the soundtrack 100% memorized from my childhood!) 41. Click (DO NOT RECOMMEND) 42. Much Ado About Nothing (2011) - Not a movie, but it was 2 hours and 40 minutes so I'm counting it! Such a joy to see the T&T Delight Factory up to their antics in classic romcom shape! (that was my original note when i put it on the list; i stand by it. WHERE IS OUR TENNANT/TATE MARRIEDS SHOW?) 43. The Half of It (so good!) 44. Yes Man (i mean ... it happened!) 45. The Lovebirds (not amazing BUT a very fun pair of characters) June 46. If Beale Street Could Talk (beautiful! heartbreaking!) 47. Her (i mean ............ okay.) 48. A Mighty Wind (do you ever feel like eugene levy is eugene levy-ing TOO hard?) 49. Rocketman (a great ‘un!) 50. The King of Staten Island (i had some feelings! pete davidson did good!) 51. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (hey! i watched a classic movie this year! it was good! it felt more modern than i expected!) 52. Cat People (1982) - GOD HELP ME (my original note; i stand by it) 53. Blow the Man Down (aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!) 54. Outside In (what is this? i guess i’ll have to google it. oh! it was a lynn shelton movie! poignant and weird.) 55. The Hundred-Foot Journey (really nice if you want the feeling of going to very aesthetically pleasing europe without actually being able to go to europe! plus: FOOD) 56. The Good Liar (oh my god this movie was BLEAK and i wanted it to be FUN, damn it!) 57. The Blackcoat's Daughter (I hated watching this ... SO MUCH!!!!!!!) 58. Eurovision Song Contest: the Story of Fire Saga (I loved watching this ... SO MUCH!!!) July 59. Carrie Pilby (i mean, it happened) 60. Big Eden (so sweet!!!!!! this dude also made the family stone and i’ve realized i kind of love his movie style.) 61. Love Jacked (some classic made-for-tv-level romcom goodness!) 62. Uncut Gems (AAAAAAAAAH) 63. Late Night (i mean, it’s mindy kaling and emma thompson, come on) 64. Spaceship Earth (i watched a documentary! i’m a really smart person now, guys! like, if you asked me what this documentary was about, i would say, “blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah!”, giving you the exact right answer!) 65. Desperados (BAD, but a winston/aly reunion is not something i’m gonna turn my nose up at) 66. Palm Springs (so good!!!!!!) 67. Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (so good!!!!!!!!) August 68. Summerland (SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!) 69. Outlaw King (no thank you please! i just wanted the whole thing to be about chris pine and florence pugh’s arranged marriage, because i am me) 70. 10 Cloverfield Lane (a forever gothic fave!) 71. Crimson Peak (another forever gothic fave! [we were watching all these because my boyfriend was writing a paper about all my gothic faves]) 72. Get Out (see above!) September 73. Rear Window (what a zany time this movie is! grace kelly = PERFECT, window guy with broken leg whose name i’ve forgotten = A DAMN FOOL for stringing her along) 74. Little Women (2019) (i mean, you don’t need to hear me talk about this even more) 75. Ex Machina (gothic fave again!!!!!!!!!!) 76. Enola Holmes (this movie really just made me so happy with its bright sunny aesthetic and enola being epic, hilarious, plucky, and awesome) 77. Parasite (again! this time for the whole modern gothic movies purpose! by this point me and the bf were starting to get kind of depressed/freaked out!) 78. Leap Year (MY LOVE, MY LIFE) October 79. The Witches (1990) (um. WHAT! i thank the good lord that i never saw this as a child, because it would have been the mental ruin of me.) 80. Hubie Halloween (hey, it happened in front of my eyeballs, okay!) 81. Rebecca (2020) (x2) (yes. i watched it twice for some reason. and by ‘some reason,’ i mean SHIPPING MRS. DW 2 AND MRS. DANVERS BECAUSE WHY NOT, THEY WERE VIBIN’!) 82. The Witches (2020) (would NOT scar me for life; i did find it nicer than critics seemed to) 83. The Addams Family (i mean, *chef’s kiss*) 84. Addams Family Values (DEBBIE IS MY HERO!) 85. Holidate (this was dumb but also quite fun?) 86. Hocus Pocus (THE essential october watch! god, i miss the 90s.) 87. Ready or Not (s’more excellent halloween viewing! i didn’t find this movie quite as fun rewatching as i did the first time around, but danged if it’s not a great lead performance.) November 88. Downhill (well, no. i guess what this gave to my lif was when i read the new ruth ware novel shortly after this, i was like, “dang, avalanches are really factoring into my fiction lately!” and that’s what this movie gave me. would have loved to see a stronger movie from these actors!) 89. My Best Friend's Wedding (rewatchin’ a classic! this movie kind of rules?) 90. Easy A (the parents are my lifespiration always!) 91. Ideal Home ❤️❤️❤️ (sometimes, you watch a movie you love very much yet again, and your soul cannot rest until you put three heart emojis beside its title) 92. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (so fun and pretty to look upon!) 93. The Invisible Man (2020) (AAAAAAAH! this was a great movie.) 94. An American Pickle (rather poignant and diverting!) 95. The Princess Switch (i don’t know why the exact degree of sweet stupidity in these movies charms me so, but it does. it does!) 96. The Princess Switch 2 (EVEN BETTER! MORE VANESSAS TO SWITCH!) 97. Big Miracle (alaska movie!!!!!!! with lots of great people in it!!!!!) 98. Happiest Season (i mean, i don’t know. i’ve read so much discourse on either side of the issue that i just DON’T KNOW. it happened! i watched it!) 99. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (AMY ADAMS BEING PERFECT, FRANCES MCDORMAND BEING PERFECT, LEE PACE BEING PERFECT, CIARAN HINDS BEING PERFECT) 100. The Family Stone (i hated this movie when it first came out but i loved it watching it this time around??? i love movies when it’s a bunch of people just interacting within a small, not very dramatic setting. that’s my catnip.) December 101. Godmothered (i love the f/f version i made up in my head) 102. Little Nicky (yeah! that’s right! i watched little nicky this year! i blame spn!) 103. Emma (2020) (sometimes a girl needeth a rewatch) 104. The Secret Garden (2020) (nah.) 105. Batman Returns (WHAT!) 106. Batman Forever (WHAT!!!) 107. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (i did it! i finally watched them!) 108. The Holiday (i, no joke, love this movie more every single time i watch it.) 109. Little Women (1994) (SAME!) 110. The Hobbit 2 (probably the one i enjoyed the least in the trilogy? but also: tauriel!) 111. Little Women (2019) (some years, you just keep watching cinema auteur greta gerwig’s adaptation of little women.) 112. Wonder Woman 1984 (*shrug*) 113. The Hobbit 3 (i actually liked this one, maybe the best of the lot! but not enough to include the actual title in my list!) and my list of tv for the year, but sans commentary because i’m tired. if you want to ask what i thought of anything, go right ahead! you’re sure to get a thrilling answer!! TV Shows Watched in 2020 January Spinning Out, Season 1 New Girl, Full Series Grace and Frankie, Season 6 The Mandalorian, Season 1 Sex Education, Season 2 February The Crown, Season 1 Sanditon, Season 1 Locke & Key, Season 1 The Crown, Season 2 Fresh Off The Boat, Season 6 March Hillary, Full Series (Huh, something weird must have happened this month! Ahahahaha ......)

April The Office, Full Series Anne with an E, Season 1 Happy Endings, Full Series Avenue 5, Season 1 Derry Girls, Full Series The Kingdom of the White Wolf May Never Have I Ever, Season 1 Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Season 1 Good Girls, Season 3 Bless This Mess, Season 2 Sense & Sensibility (2008), Full Series The Last Man On Earth, Full Series Broadchurch, Full Series The Great, Season 1 The Mick, Full Series Poldark, Season 5 June Beecham House, Season 1 Wanted, Seasons 1-3 The Baby-Sitters Club, Season 1 July Anne with an E, Full Series The Mindy Project, Full Series Four Weddings and a Funeral, Full Series This Is Us, Season 4 The Big Flower Fight, Season 1 Atlanta, Season 1 Catastrophe, Full Series August Lovesick, Full Series The Miniaturist, Full Series Harley Quinn, Season 1 Doctor Who, Season 1 Episodes, Full Series Harley Quinn, Season 2 The Comeback, Full Series Doctor Who, Season 2 Torchwood, Season 1 September Reign, Season 1 Reign, Season 2 Doctor Who, Season 3 Torchwood, Season 2

Escape to the Chateau, Season 1-Season 4 The Duchess, Season 1 Torchwood, Children of Earth Superstore, Season 1-3 Reign, Season 3 October Superstore, Season 4-5 Emily in Paris, Season 1 Over the Garden Wall, Full Series Doctor Who, Season 4 Pen15, Season 2 Last Tango in Halifax, Season 5 Reign, Season 4 The Haunting of Bly Manor Doctor Who, Season 5 The Baby-Sitters Club, Season 1 Dickinson, Season 1 November Ted Lasso, Season 1 Flesh and Blood, Full Series Supernatural, Season 1 Supernatural, Season 2 Brooklyn 99, Seasons 1-7 Miracle Workers, Season 1 Supernatural, Season 3 I Hate Suzie, Season 1 December Supernatural, Season 4 Dash and Lily, Full Series Supernatural, Season 5 Supernatural, Season 6 The Undoing, Full Series Life in Pieces, Full Series The Flight Attendant, Season 1 Ghosts, Series 1-2 Doctor Who, Season 6 Supernatural, Season 7 Doctor Who, Season 7 His Dark Materials, Season 2 Bridgerton, Season 1

#dollsome's deep thoughts #sort of #how else do i label the tv and movie consumption which shapes my being?

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fics-for-my-heart · 4 years

Text

Oops - Dylan O’Brian

Summary: Some clumsy moments lead to some admitted feelings

Word count: 3486

Warning: some slight panic about a stopped elevator

A/N: this is kinda rough. It’s been so long since I’ve done something longish that I’m a bit rusty. Also using the gif of Mitch bc this is how I was picturing Dylan. Hope you enjoy.

Masterlist

“No!” You shouted, boxes flying as a leash wrapped around your legs. “Spot.” The familiar pup was full body wiggle excited. There was no staying mad at the sandy blond lab when his brown eyes looked so sweet. “Where’s boss?” You asked with a scratch behind his ear. It was rare to see one without the other but sometimes Spot got away.

Footsteps pounded up the sidewalk behind you. “Spot, you crazy dog. Oh, hi Y/N.” You looked up to see the one and only Dylan O’Brian. He was leaning onto his knees looking relieved. “He saw you from across the lot and almost pulled my arm off.” His laugh was sweet, and his entire face lit up when he smiled.

It’s been over a year since you started working on the set of Teen Wolf, and you still weren’t quite able to speak around all the stars. But it was always worse around Dylan. It seemed like something embarrassing always happened around him.

“Jeff asked me to walk him while Holland and Tyler are finishing up for the day. Here.” He turned, gathering up the boxes. “Are these the new costumes for part two?”

“Uh, yeah.” Your face was so hot it’s a wonder your sunglasses weren’t melted. “Julie had me pick them up. That’s where I was heading.”

He stacked the last box and grabbed the leash. “Tell ya what. You take Race here and I’ll carry the boxes?”

“Um, thanks.

—

Being on set while the cast was filming was always a thrill. Seeing them all get into character and having the script brought to life was the reason you wanted to get into production. Of the few shows and movies you’d worked on, Teen Wolf was your favorite. Everyone from cast to crew was amazing to work with, and Jeff let the cast have a bit of free will when it came to filming.

They were almost wrapped, Jeff giving you the ten minute warning and you jetted off to insure that catering was ready for the lunch rush.

“Sue!” You called, entering the tent that smelled like potatoes and chicken. Everything in the dining area looked ready, and you followed the smell of the food to find Sue. “Need any help?”

“Oh, love, yes please. Could you turn the warming burners on?” She asked as she dumped a large pot of mashed potatoes into the serving tray.

“Will do!” You slipped back out the door, ducking around the other catering crew.

Fifteen minutes later, the sound of talking made its way into the tent, followed by the first group of crew. After making yourself a plate, you made your way to the table where your things were to eat and fill out your calendar for the upcoming months.

The volume grew as more and more crew filed in. The chairs around your table moved and plates clattered. A glance up revealed Dylan, Tyler, Holland, and Shelley.

“Y/N, you missed it.” Tyler says through a laugh. “Dylan tripped and sent water all over Jeff. Oof.” He grabbed his side, laughing even harder.

Holland smiled over her cup and winked. “He was distraaaaacted.”

You shifted your eyes to Dylan, watching as a blush creeped up his neck. “No I wasn’t. I was just excited to eat. Sue makes the best chicken.” He glanced at you before shoveling food in his mouth. “So, Y/N, how are you?” He mutters around the food.

Words failed you, as always when Dylan spoke directly to you. “I’m, uh, I’m alright. Kinda ready for a nap or some coffee.” You shrugged, turning back to your computer.

“We’re going for some after lunch, you should join us!” Shelley invited, nodding towards the others.

“Thanks for the invite but I’ve got about four months of planning before I can leave today.” The alarm on your phone sounded. “Speaking of, my lunch break is over. Uh, if you guys need anything I’ll be in the office the rest of the day.” You stood grabbing your plate. Dylan stood at the same time, sending your plate tipping over and spilling what little was left all over you.

“Oh my god. Y/N I’m so sorry.” He reached for napkins. Shoving them into your hand as he bent for your plate. “I was going to get a refill. I’m so sorry.” His face was the color of a beet and his eyes were wide.

Your face mirrored his as you dabbed at your shirt. “It’s okay. No biggie. I’ve got a change of clothes in my bag.”

He stood, keeping his eyes on you. “I’ll take your plate and clean this up. I’m sorry, again.”

“Thanks. And it’s fine. Accidents happen.” You grabbed your things and looked at everyone else, who hadn’t made a sound the entire time. Their eyes were bouncing between the two of you. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Let me know if you need anything!” Holland said as Tyler and Shelley both waved.

You gave a nod, then quickly and carefully made your way to the office. Thankfully you didn’t run into anyone, and we’re able to grab your bag and run to the locker room down the hall for a shower. Where, of course, you had the last twenty minutes on replay.

“Why am I always so awkward around him.” You thought to yourself. “He’s no different than the others who I can talk to just fine. Sure he’s much more attractive. But still come on, pull it together.”

When you returned to the office, there was a coffee on your desk with a note. “Sorry again, Y/N. I hope you don’t hate me. -D”

——

“Y/N, can you take some notes at the meeting please?” Jeff asked from across the room. It wasn’t an unusual request, and one you normally did without being asked.

“Of course. What’s the main topic?” You grabbed a new pen and your notebook, dating the corner.

Jeff stood, glancing at his watch. “Just some last minute changes for a few things. Come on or we’ll be late.”

He waited for you to gather your things and followed you out the door, turning the light off and shutting the door to the office. The conference room was just down the hall so you went on to get your normal spot in the corner.

Soon the room was full. For meetings like this the heads of departments and the cast were needed in attendance. Seeing as these changes affected everyone it was easier to pass the information on to them and let them inform their crew.

“Alright guys, is everyone here?” Jeff glanced around the room. You did as well, marking your mental checklist.

Hair and makeup, lighting, sound, visual, catering, Tyler, Sprayberry, Holland, Shelley, JR, Ian, Dylan.

Dylan who was currently watching you from his spot beside Tyler Hoechlin. You gave him a small smile, which he returned with his full tooth grin and a wave. Even as you continue your headcount, you could feel his eyes on you.

Jeff started the meeting, and you started scribbling notes. Any suggestion given for a new location or for a tweak in script, you put in the notebook. Your pen was either furiously trying to keep up with everything or slipped between your teeth.

It was a habit. One you'd tried to break many times. But any writing tool always found its way to your mouth. Which was why the sudden bursting feeling between your teeth and the inky taste had you scrambling up and out the door before anyone could see.

By the time you made it to the bathroom, trying not to leave an ink trail, your hand was covered in black ink drool.

“Uck. Uckkkkk!” You cursed as best you could, grabbing paper towels and turning the water on as more ink dribbled from your mouth.

Frantically you spit, bringing water to your mouth and spitting again and again. You hadn’t swallowed any, but the taste was awful as you wiped your tongue with a wet paper towel.

The bathroom door slowly opened but you didn’t look up, embarrassed enough, there was no way you were going to talk to anyone looking like season two Gerard.

But, just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, the person spoke and your entire body froze.

“Y/N. Are you okay?” Dylan asked, slowly slipping inside.

You squeaked when his hand touched your shoulder, your head falling more into the sink. “Uh Huh.”

Dylan’s head ducked beside yours, his hand still on your shoulder as embarrassment made your entire body start shaking. “Hey, look at me, please.” His voice was soft, and the finger that touched your chin was even softer. “It’s okay. No one else saw what happened.”

Slowly, you let his finger turn your face to him. Your eyes were burning with tears as you fully faced him now. His brows were pinched together in concern as his eyes swept your face, landing on your mouth. “It’s not that bad.” His thumb gently stroked your chin, sending a shiver down your body. He patted the counter. “Hop up and I’ll help.”

“It’s okay.” You broke yourself from the trance you were in, moving away quickly to grab more paper towels.

Dylan’s hand grabbed your waist, another squeaky slipped past your lips. “Let me help. Please. Y/N, I still feel awful about last week and I just want to help.”

Giving in, you turned around and pushed yourself up on the counter. He looked almost relieved as he started where you left off. Taking a tentative step between your legs.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to chew on pens? Go like this.” He lifted his lips revealing clenched teeth. “Looks like you got most of it off your teeth.”

“My mother warned me all the time.” You finally replied as he pushed the cool towel against your chin, moving in a swiping motion. His eyes jumped to yours before returning to the task. “Normally I try not to chew on new pens like that.”

“My habit is biting my nails. Not as messy, but still not good.” His light laugh released some of the tension in your shoulders. “We might have to go to the makeup trailer to get this off.” His eyes met yours again, your breath catching in your throat at just how close the two of you were.

“Okay.” Your voice was a whisper as neither of you made the move to actually leave. His hands were at your side, and chestnut eyes were level with yours. There was a slight shift in the room.

You found yourself drawn closer to him. One of his hands lifted up, gently touching your chin once more. Your heart was beating so fast as your eyes glanced down at his lips, watching as his tongue slowly traced them. His hand moved almost as slow, tracing your jaw and making its way around your ear. Time even seemed to slow as you let your eyes trace his features. Enjoying this moment of clarity that maybe you might have deeper feeling for the boy who made you clumsy.

“Y/N.” His voice was a whisper, his fingers finally finding their way into your hair. With shaky hands, you touched his chest, but not to push away, more for an anchor.

Suddenly the door was thrown open and you and Dylan scrambled apart. Your face instantly heated as you stared wide eyed as Holland.

“Y/N! There you are! Are you o..” her words died off as she quickly looked at your ink stained lips and Dylan pretending to wash his hands. “Uh.” Her lips pursed and curved slightly, a very Lydia look on her face. “Sorry for interrupting. I’ll just,” she threw both thumbs over her shoulder. “Y/N. You’re still coming over tonight right?” Her eyebrows jumped, taking full advantage of Dylan’s back turned to her.

“Y-yeah” you cleared your throat and nodded. “Yeah I’ll be there.”

Then she was gone. And the once electrified energy was now thick with awkwardness. The moment was definitely over.

Dylan turned to look at you while drying his hands. It was silent as he tossed the paper towel in the trash and extended his hand. The tips of his ears were pink. “I’ll take you to makeup.”

——-

It has been a few weeks since you and Dylan had your moment in the bathroom. Production was winding down for the season. Meetings were more frequent in planning for next season's start date in four months. Conventions and interviews were being planned. Things were moving fast, but Dylan somehow managed to steal a few minutes of your time for one thing or another.

“Y/N!” His voice called from across the lot, his steps echoed between the trailers. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you. This is for you.” He handed you one of the coffee cups in his hand. “Also, when do we have the IMDb event?”

You took the cup with greedy hands, then tapped the calendar app. “Thank you. And it’s this afternoon at four. We’re leaving in twenty minutes so you all have the chance to mingle and such.”

“Awesome.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “So, where ya headed?”

“Just going to grab some stuff from the office before we leave.” All the little moments had made it easier to talk to him, which was nice.

He nodded. “Well I’ll let you get to it. I’ll see you when we leave.” He smiled and stepped backwards hitting the trailer behind him. “Ooof.” He recovered quickly. “Bye!”

The event was happening at the rooftop terrace of a local hotel. There was a bar and finger foods. Lots of different areas set up for interviews and places to just hang out. It had been about an hour since you’d arrived and the interviews didn’t start for a while, so it gave everyone a chance to catch up.

“Y/N.” Jeff said as he came to a stop beside you. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. You okay?”

You patted your pockets. “I must have left my phone in the car. I’ll go grab it.”

Jeff passed the keys to you. “Okay, take someone with you. I don’t want you going down alone.” He looked around then pointed at the couch. “Take Dylan or Tyler.” As if he heard his name Dylan looked over and waved.

“Hey there.” He grinned as you approached. “This is Kaya. Kaya this is Y/N.” He patted the seat beside him. “Join us?”

“Hi, Kaya. Uh actually I was wondering if you’d go with me to get my phone from the car. Jeff doesn’t want me to go alone.”

He shot up, setting his drink on the table. “Sure, yeah.” He said a quick bye to everyone and followed you to the elevator.

“Thanks. I can’t believe I left it in the car. It’s normally attached to my hip.”

He pressed the button on the elevator for the garage. “It’s no problem. Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah. It’s nice to meet new people and see some that I worked with before. How’s it catching up?”

He leaned into the corner. “It’s nice. We’ve all been busy so it’s been difficult to catch up.”

The ride down to the garage was quick, the trip to the car quicker. Dylan stayed close, shoulder bumping and joking the entire way back.

“So, do you have any plans tonight?” He asked, once again pressing the button to go back up to the roof.

“Actually no, I think I’ll just get some taken out and watch mov..” your words were cut off by the grinding sound of gears, and the shudder of the elevator cart. You grabbed on to Dylan, as the lights flicked out and the cart came to a jerky stop. “Oh my god. Oh no.”

Your heart was in your throat as tears stung your eyes. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening.”

Dylan’s arm went around your shoulder, pulling you close. “Hey, it’s okay. Shhh. I’ve got you.” He reached over and pushed the buttons but nothing happened. Not even the emergency button worked.

Your entire body was shaking as you clung to Dylan’s shirt. “This is my worst fear. This can’t be happening.” Your breath was short as your mind raced with different scenarios of how this could end bad.

“Y/N.” His voice was calm as his hand rubbed up and down your back. Slowly he pulled you back, hands on your cheeks he met your eyes. “Take a deep breath for me okay.” He breathed in his nose and slowly out his mouth as you followed. “There we go. It will be okay. I’ll send out a group text and get help.”

You continued taking deep breaths as he typed out an sos text. Sinking to the floor, the cool metal helped relax you a little.

“Okay, I sent one to everyone I know is up there. Are you okay?” He joined you on the floor, pushing up against your side.

You nodded. “Yeah. I think so. Sorry. I've had nightmares about getting stuck like this.”

“It’s okay. I don’t like escalators.” His phone buzzes and you glanced at the message. “Holland said ‘of course that would happen to you two’. And Tyler said they contacted maintenance and they should be able to help us soon.”

You let out a breath. “Thank goodness.” Slowly, you laid your head on his shoulder. After a few moments of silence as he responded to the influx of texts, you decided to bring up something you’d been thinking about for a while.

“Dylan, can I ask you something?”

His head turned toward you as he put his phone down. “Anything.”

You closed your eyes, glad not to be looking at his face or you’d chicken out. Your hands wiped down your thighs and your voice was just above a whisper. “Were you going to kiss me that day in the bathroom?”

“Yes.” He answered. No hesitation. No having to think about it.

“Wh-why?”

He turned as best he could, gently placing his hand on yours. “Because I wanted to. I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a while now.”

“But why me? I’m always a mess around you. And for the longest time I couldn’t even form sentences.” You lifted your head, finally looking at his face.

“And I’m always a mess around you. I’ll forget my lines. Or drop something because I’m distracted by how beautiful you are. The day I spilt water on Jeff? That was because I was trying to find you and didn’t see him. There have been so many times where I have walked into something of someone when I see you. And for a while there I couldn’t speak around you either.”

“Really?”

He smiled. “Yeah, why do you think everyone always gives me a hard time. They all know I have a crush on you.”

Your face headed. Dylan O’Brian likes you. “I like you too. This has to be a dream.” You whispered.

“Nope. Not a dream. I like you, Y/N. I have for a while. And now it’s my turn to ask you a question.” You raised your eyebrows. “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

His hand cupped your chin as he met you halfway. His lips were soft, and the slight five o’clock shadow tickled your cheeks. You wrapped your arms around his neck. Lips moving in sync with his as if they were made for each other. He pulled back for a moment, smiled at you, then pressed his lips harder against you.

The two of you were so wrapped up in one another you didn’t hear the door opening.

“Ha! You both owe me twenty bucks!” Holland's voice shocked you apart. But Dylan’s arm stayed firmly around you. Holland has her hand out as Tyler and Spreyberry handed off twenty dollar bills.

“Uh. Hi guys.” Dylan said as he came to his senses. He stood, holding his hand out to help you up, but he didn’t drop it once you were on your feet. “What’s up?”

Tyler turned and looked at you both, then at your joined hands. “Holland bet us the two of you would finally admit your feelings while trapped.”

“I love you both. And I’m glad you finally saw the light. Also thanks for earning me forty dollars.” Holland blew a kiss before walking away.

“Thanks for getting us out.” You told the boys and nodded to the maintenance men currently tinkering with the elevator. “Thank you.”

“So.” Dylan said, swinging your hands between you. “Got room for one more in your takeout and movie plans?”

You smiled, pushing on your tiptoes to kiss him. “As a matter of fact I do.”

#dylan obrien #dylan #dyl #dylan o'brien #fic #teen wolf

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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907

Are you one of those lucky people to own a walk-in closet? lol lucky people. No I don’t have one of those. Is there a random object you own that has a huge personal significance? Well it’s more significant today because we had our virtual graduation this morning... so I’ll go with my graduation sash. Ever since I started university I’ve always wanted to wear my own sash in a physical ceremony so again, it sucks that our batch got affected by the pandemic. Do you use Google? For just about everything, yeah. Would you like to go swimming right now? That would be soooooo so nice. I’ve been going through old vacation photos and I really miss the beach. Can you play electric guitar? Nope.

Do you have an HDTV? My parents do. When was the last time you drank something through a straw? Around a month ago when my dad bought milk teas for me and my sister. Have you ever tried to teach yourself a different language? I didn’t teach myself per se, but I have tried my hand learning Spanish on Duolingo several times. It always comes in phases – I get passionate about learning and use the app for weeks, then it kinda burns out after a while. Right now I haven’t used it since I got sick in May. How long was your last phone call? A little longer than an hour, I think. It was pure silence though; we just wanted to hear each other’s surroundings. Do you need to repaint your nails? No, I never get it painted. Has there ever been a horoscope that came true for you? Psh. Are you a fan of industrial metal? Holy shit I feel so stupid right now. I thought this was referring to a literal kind of metal and I thought, that is such an odd thing to be a fan of...Google quickly taught me that it is in fact NOT a material for building infrastructure jdsskfjskf. Anyway, no I am not a fan. Are you one of those people who chew two pieces of gum, not one? Yeah, occasionally. I don’t like how one piece loses flavor all too quickly so I go ahead and pop two in. Do you have a wall calendar? Not since 2008. We only had a wall calendar in our old house; when we moved here we started to rely on digital clocks and our phones to tell the time. Have you ever taken the pictures from a calendar and used them as posters? I haven’t had a calendar like that, so no. I’ve done this with magazines though. Can you handle the cold? Hahaha no, I can’t. I was already in so much pain in 20ºC weather in Sagada, and I fared much worse in 12ºC Japan weather. I would still pick living in a colder climate in a heartbeat over a tropical one, though. Have you ever been to Canada? Nope. Do you believe in superstitions? Just one superstition involving my university that doubles as an inside joke, so it’s not like I take it 100% seriously. It’s a generations-old joke that’s impossible to ignore if you’re a student, so I just jumped in. When was the last time you took a taxi somewhere? It was from the airport to back home, but I forgot where we landed from. Bohol I think? Palawan? I don’t even know anymore. It was so inconvenient I begged my dad that we stop using taxis as transportation for our future trips. Would you ever join the army, airforce or navy? No. How old is the person you last kissed? 22. Is there a friend that you can always rely on to get you out of a jam? I don’t think so. When it comes down to it they all have their own different things going on and I can’t just call them whenever and expect them to come to me, and that’s okay. Generally though, I think my most reliable friends are probably Andrew and Angela. What was the most embarassing thing you've had to buy? I’ve never felt embarrassed by anything I had to buy, but it can get a little uncomfortable trying to buy napkins when my dress or pants are already soaked. I get over it quickly though, since menstruations are normal lol. Have you ever tried to balance the light switch between off and on? When I was a kid. I haven’t tried it in a while. Do you believe in ghosts / supernatural occurences? They’re fun to think about, sure, and I do enjoy watching the supernatural episodes of Buzzfeed Unsolved where they go ghost-hunting. I like to think that they somehow exist, but I still also very much maintain my skepticism at all times. Have you ever mistaken a person's gender? I’ve used the wrong pronouns accidentally but I always correct myself and apologize once I’ve noticed my blunder. What was the most expensive thing you've broken? My old iPhones. I’ve also sported a few dents on my car, but I wouldn’t say I broke the car. Has anyone texted you yet today? Not text, but online chat. We had our virtual graduation this morning so my inbox was swamped with congratulatory messages and such. Did you stay calm during the whole swine flu scare? I did, but I mean I was 11 and had no clue how serious it was supposed to be. I remember cheering when they suspended classes for a week because of a local swine flu case, so yep – still ignorant back then. Is there a light on in the room you're currently in? There is, but it isn’t turned on. Are your feet touching the floor? Nope, they’re on the bed. Have you ever been in a car accident? Mild ones, nothing too life-threatening. Do you usually make back-up plans? Yeah man I’m so anxious I always have at least plans A-C lined up in my head and ready to go whenever necessary. Can you focus well in high-stress situations? Usually. Without the aid of mascara, do you have long eyelashes? I do. I get compliments on it all the time too. I didn’t realize it was apparently a nice feature to have until more and more people pointed it out haha. Is there a kind of music you listen to that helps you release your anger? Yeah I have a playlist that’s lined up with all of my favorite loud, angry punk rock music specifically for when I’m pissed off. Are you one of those people who keep their feelings bottled up? I can, particularly whenever I feel like it’s not worth it to blow up. Is one of your friends extremely odd but you love them regardless? Not really. Aya’s pretty weird but I wouldn’t call her extremely odd. Is there anyone you dread going into public with? My mom when she’s mad. Are you a victim of writing run-on sentences? For the most part, I wouldn’t say so. If I write a run-on sentence it’s almost always in an informal setting where I’m more loose with punctuation, like if I’m chatting on IM or writing an answer on here. Still, I try to avoid them and I never do it in a formal situation. Graffiti: an art or an act of vandalism? They can be both. Some people who genuinely just want to fuck around vandalize, like how I’ve seen “Mark <3 Erica” in spray paint on public walls or some similar shit lol. But a lot of graffiti are art as well; many have important messages or symbolisms to say. Do you buy things online? I’ve done it a few times. Not regularly. I like being able to see and touch something before buying it. Are you easily frightened? I definitely am but at the same time I’m really into horror movies and serial killers and a ghost-hunting series? Hahaha it’s weird. I guess I enjoy the thrill that comes with having those interests. Do you have a favorite model? Over the years I’ve loved Elizabeth Jane Bishop, Kiko Mizuhara, Taylor Marie Hill, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and (controversial pick!) Kendall Jenner. Have you ever watched Titanic? So many times. Honestly, one of my favorites. What's your current facebook display picture of? It’s my official graduation photo wearing my graduation sash! :) I finally changed it last Friday after I got the email saying I’m on the list of graduates. How about your IM display picture? My main IM is my Messenger, which also uses my Facebook photo. Is there anyone whose hair you envy? Gabie’s for one. Hers is really smooth and silky and wavy. Would you act in a movie if it offered a role? If I was going to be a mostly unseen extra in a blockbuster film and still be paid like $600 for it, then I don’t see why I wouldn’t take it. Does speaking in front of people make you nervous? Only if there’s going to be an unscripted aspect to it that’ll make me have to come up with answers on the spot, like miting de avances or thesis defense. If I have a script or even just a general gist of what I want to say, I have no problem improvising and speaking in front of a crowd. Can you read in a moving vehicle or does it make you sick? It makes me sick but it hasn’t stopped me before. Have you ever dated someone who was extremely shy? I’m the extremely shy person... Or have you dated someone who took things too fast? I felt that way with Gab at first when she wanted to have sex like two months after we started dating, though I was scared mainly because it was going to be my first time and I wanted to make sure I was comfortable. Now that I’m a little older, two months seems like a healthy amount of time. Does the idea of driving 220 mph sound exciting to you? Sounds terrifying. It could be fun, but only if we’re in the middle of nowhere where there’s loads of space to go that fast and no chance of crashing. Everyone has a weakness, what's yours? Food. Do you or anyone you know have an account on Deviantart? I had classmates in high school who had accounts but I’m not sure if they still have it, or if Deviantart is even still as active as I knew it to be. Thoughts on the Dunkin Donut commercial that says "America runs on Dunkin'"? It’s a creative slogan but if I was American I wouldn’t want a doughnut place claiming to represent my country. It cute though. Do you bother buying movies on DVD anymore or do you just download them? I watch them on Netflix, which is still technically like buying them since we pay for the subscription anyway. Do you listen to Daughtry? No. Do you get your eyebrows waxed? I don’t. Waxing looks so painful to me. How do you take your coffee? Lots of creamer or milk, a little sugar. I like trying out different coffees, but when I’m simply relaxing I do want my coffee as least bitter as possible. If you have a dog, what breed is it? I have an aspin mix, though we never figured out what Kimi’s other half is. And I also have a beagle. Have you found someone who makes you unconditionally happy? I don’t know if 'unconditionally’ is possible but yes, I do have people who make me very happy. Do you have a friend who always seems to be dying their hair? Not anymore. Jo used to dye her hair like every month though and she must have been able to go through the entire rainbow. She looked sooo good in each of the colors. Would you swap names with a friend? I love all their names but I don’t see why that would be necessary. Do you plan on going to university? I did. I graduated today. Guys who wear muscle shirts, yes or no? Idk man, they can wear whatever they want. Are you a fan of Carrie Underwood? No. I liked some of her singles when I was younger, but I’m not a fan in that I have her albums and know her lesser-known songs. Do you make playlists on iTunes? I used to, when I still used iTunes. I make playlists on Spotify now. Have you ever forgotten someone's birthday? I don’t think so. Are you scared of being left behind? Yessir. I’m super competitive, so I hate the feeling. Do you remember your last dream? No. I’m really bad at remembering them unless they’re nightmares or insanely strange. I do know that I dreamt while we were watching mass earlier on the television though, hahaha. Do you know someone who is an obsessed Star Wars fan? So many people in my circle are. Is politics something you don't care about? No. If there’s anything I give tons of fucks about, it’s that. What's a movie/tvshow/book/series that is way overrated? I’ll go with the first things I thought of...in that order: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; Stranger Things (it’s good, but not as good as people hyped it to be); I don’t really read anymore; and what do you mean by series? Just realized I only gave 2 out of 4 answers lol oh well. Do you think Barbie presents an unhealthy image to young girls? I don’t like how its physical features are still unrealistic; but I appreciate their attempts at diversity. I can’t say it was upsetting seeing a Filipino-themed Barbie :) Is there a pet that you desperately want? All I ever wanted were dogs, and now I’ve got two of them. Would you ever get your bellybutton pierced? Nope. Are you musically talented? Hahahahaha Have you ever shot a gun? Not a real one, so no. Athenna’s dad had this practice gun he used for target practice (duh) and I messed with that a few times. Do you have a friend that always changes their mind last second? That’s Gabie. She’s lucky she’s my girlfriend and that I love her, because it’s actually a big pet peeve of mine. Are you not afraid to voice your opinion? Yup. The only time I don’t say it out loud is if it’s unnecessary and if it’s going to be simply disrespectful. An example would be when my uncle offered to make me a carrot cake for my grad gift, and I just said yes because it was already generous enough for him to offer me a free cake when he runs a food business. In reality it’s not my favorite cake at all; it wouldn’t even be in my top 20. Are you one of those people who are always pushing their limits? Yes, I definitely overwork myself to the point of exhaustion and burnout. But I honestly prefer doing things and being busy than sitting around. Is there a word that you will always find humorous? Bubbling. Because Drake and Josh.

Do you frown upon immature people? Typically. Have you ever slipped on ice and hurt yourself? This may have happened to me once or twice when I was still regularly visiting the ice skating rink at the mall. People were always super nice and helped me get up, though. Do you try to have an intimidating impression? I don’t try. Apparently it’s naturally the vibe I give off. Living in the big city or chilling in the country? BIG CITY. Always the big city. I’ve gone to the country/province so many times; I already know what it’s like there. I’ll always prefer a noisy city. No one seems to obey the legal drinking age, do they? Hahahaha a lot seem not to. I know so many high school kids who’ve had a drink before turning 18. Do you like your country's flag? Sure. I like that we can switch up the colors depending on if we’re at war or not. Have you ever made a totally amazing snow fort? I’ve never even seen snow before. Do you use Bounty Paper Towels? No. Are you the one usually behind the camera or the one in the picture? BEHIND If you get married, will you have a traditional wedding? Traditional, yes. Religious, no. Do you feel you’re slowly losing one of your friends? No. But now that I’m no longer in school, I really hope I’ll continue to be friends with my orgmates. I’ll certainly keep in touch as much as I can. If you draw, what's one thing you always have trouble with? Everything about it. Is there someone you know moving away any time soon? No. I do know my friend’s sister had already moved and started her new job in California, but when the pandemic started she had to go back here. This virus is just ruining so many great things for everyone, man... Allergic to anything? Nope. How many cars have you owned? Zero. I drive one; can’t say I own it because my parents bought it. What are you going to do after this? Maybe take another survey.

#survey #surveys

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mariellewritesalot · 4 years

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Just in case you’ve been thinking about me...

(GIF from the 2004 movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

I try my best most days. On days when I cut myself some slack, I sleep on disheveled sheets, a wide ocean for my body and a few of my things strewn along with the stuffed toys I won at claw machines. I’ve been meaning to donate them, or get them off my bed at least, because the pretentious part of me wants to cling onto the illusion that I am a grown woman and cheap toys shouldn’t have a place in my life. Cheap thrills, however, seem to be always welcome. I ache just a tiny bit thinking of them in boxes, piled on top of each other, and moving to unfamiliar homes or musty storage areas in a span of a few hours. I can never let some things go; not when they hold meaning, not when they looked so shiny and made me feel a good kind of different when I held them the first time. Anxiety, as you might remember, feels like whiplash. I keep my feet planted on the ground to sell the image of someone who has her shit together, speak in a steady voice to assure everyone that I know the ins and outs of life even after just twenty years of it. I don’t, but the air of confidence (with a hint of acquired selfishness) helps. Oddly enough, I enjoy cleaning and running when my body doesn’t feel like it’s falling apart. I continue until it does.

I miss you most days, too. What used to be pebbles in my lungs as soon as I wake up have lost their weight. Instead, I now carry them in my pockets, swallow a few for when I wear pretty dresses to keep me going. I never leave home without them. Sometimes, even when I’ve already forgotten about the way they bump against each other alongside my every movement, I am reminded of something that closely resembles you; in its rough edges against my fingertips. The smooth parts tend to break more than they should. You are here even when you aren’t. It used to kill me. Hell--it kills me still, when the timing isn’t right. Anyway, when did timing ever favor us? I carry them better than I ever did. You couldn’t tell unless I let a few of them slip. I get sudden urges to jump off cliffs, into oceans, just to see if I sink. If being reminded of how you carried me will still make me feel heavy. I still don’t have the answers no matter how much I pretend I do, and you must know me too well if you were able to see through me. I’d like to think that I’m different now, someone else. The thought of you not being able to pull me out of a lineup or be familiar with my face in the middle of a crowd terrifies me wholly. I wonder if you will recognize this version of me: shorter hair, rounder cheeks, realistic now but somehow still a crazy romantic, with a caffeine dependency, more quiet moments, different friends, and a whole person who has lived a life (or at least a semblance of it) without you. I wonder if the version of you I haven’t met yet will still leave the same mark. I wonder if I will like it.

You may not hold onto me even indirectly the way I do with you, and I know you well enough to know that you will argue about how we didn’t spend too much time together, so it’s only rational. It makes it easier not to miss someone when the days without them outnumber the ones spent with them. I was never good with numbers; the boxes of the calendar don’t faze me, but I do know how to measure value. I tell myself I don’t care so much that I start to believe it, but every so often I see a joke you’d appreciate, an article you’d want to read, a song you might like, and I feel a twinge when I shouldn’t. It’s funny how we know so much about people who have already gone and taken different paths: know how they take their coffee in the morning (or how they don’t), know all the anecdotes they have in their arsenal, and know the tiny landmarks on their skin well enough to know them better than they do. For nothing but the occasional remembrances, the sudden bump into’s, and a guide to the supercut in our heads. It’s still as pretty. A dream sequence that could have been reality if we had tried hard enough. I remember and always will, I guess. Painstakingly, so.

I think there will be a moment when time has stretched too far and too long that we may not remember it all, but if you do know me, you’ll figure that I wonder a little: if you still deem the smell of my perfume recognizable, if you freeze a little at the sound of my voice or my laughter that rang in your ears for a time, if there are conversations that sound better if I was the person you’re speaking to, if you remember how red my nose gets when I cry, if you carry me around sometimes that I come up to mind at the presence of stories or things I’d like. The silence is comforting as it is devastating on some level. I know that we never wander too far from each other, but I find myself wanting to, every day. It breaks my heart that I do, but with the way I pick up the pieces: what’s another crack at it?

If you find yourself thinking about me and how I’m doing, I guess the short answer is that I’m doing great. Better, but not exactly the best I can be. I’m still trying to figure it out, one day at a time. I’m graduating soon and I keep waiting for the next best thing. I still like to write but I haven’t written much if not for school since the new year started. I still like to read but I struggle to finish books as quickly as I once did. I still like to leave the door unlocked, just in case you lose your keys. I still write little notes on the back of receipts or napkins to slide across the table. We’re different people now, but some things never change.

I will never not love you--even a little bit.

An open letter to anyone I ever loved and lost in this lifetime.

Always,

Mar

#mariellewritesalot #daily life blog posts #personal essay #personal #open letter #just in case #february 2020 #love letter #poems and prose #daily prose

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idonthaveanaccent · 4 years

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Just a little rambling and then a few bands I really like and you should totally check out, so expand it if you wanna see them :)

I know this isn’t a normal update, I just have to talk about this with someone.

Music is a vital part of everyday life for me. Everything I do has a backtrack. If I’m not watching a show in my room, I have to have music playing. When I write I have headphones in, blasting music, like right now. To go to sleep and sleep easily I have to play music, ever since I was young I’ve done it. I can’t remember not falling asleep without music playing. Music even helps inspire what I write.

Point is, I love music.

However, I am extremely uncomfortable with sharing my music. My freshman year I was made fun of the type of music I listen to, which has evolved a bit in the 3-4 years since that time, however it hasn’t ventured too far.

When I was eleven my parents gave me a windows phone with no sim card, but it had a music app. They downloaded a bunch of child friendly songs and it was the first time I could control what I listened to. Before I had an old MP3 which was filled with Disney songs, Anamaniacs tunes, and ABBA’s Golden Hits. I can sing all them by heart, dances are a fun time for me. Now, I could look up songs.

My best friend was into the alternative scene as her sister is six years older than us and as such had a more ‘adult’ music sense. She introduced me to the classic bands, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At the Disco, etc. I loved their music, we’d listen to it on the bus to middle school. However, as time went on, I began expanding my music taste. I got into My Three Days Grace, Shinedown, and other similar bands. Then, Freshman year came.

I remember the moment clear as day. I was working on my photography notebook the week before finals like the dumbass I was am, with Pandora open and listening to one of the many radios. Then, a song came on. It was by a band I hadn’t heard of before. It was called Bad Company, and the band was called Five Finger Death Punch. Now, little fourteen year old me was a little shocked by the name but the song wasn’t unlike anything I’d heard before. I decided I liked that song and favorited it.

A little while later more of their songs began popping up, but they were a little different. Heavier. Angrier. And I loved it. I don’t know what it was about the gruff vocals or pounding drum beats or glorious guitar solos, but I was hooked. I then moved onto Spotify and listened to their albums, headbanging all the way. This was my first experience with Metal, and you better believe I was a fan.

As time went on I explored more bands. Alesana, Asking Alexandria, Crown the Empire, A Day to Remember, Halestorm, Ghost, etc. I tried showing people my favorite bands but they made fun of my music taste, mimicking their screams whenever I looked up. It was disheartening, and I never wanted to share it again. Not until I knew they were okay with it. I had people tell me they were scared of that music, and asked me to never play it in front of them. You can see how that would make me never want to tell anyone about it, right? Well, I kept it to myself, electing to share music with only a few people, one being my friend. She always jokes about how she showed me Fall Out Boy and all them and then lost me along the way.

During Junior year I discovered even more bands, including one of my favorites, Ice Nine Kills. Amazing band, you should definitely check them out, but the advertising comes later. My music taste also diversified a little and I began listening to softer bands, like grandson and The Ghost Club.

Now, to the main show. My recent music taste.

It all began with one Instagram video. A meme video that really isn’t all that funny. I was actually just looking through what I saved and it happened to be in a really small folder, so I clicked it. Here is the exact video

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by positive memes (@positive_and_negative_memes) on Feb 23, 2019 at 6:14pm PST

So I was interested the song and band and decided to look them up. What I found was simply...amazing.

Okay, here comes the advertising of my favorite bands :)

I. Gloryhammer

The first Power Metal band I discovered and still my favorite. Here’s how Gloryhammer describes themselves:

“And lo, Planet Earth had been destroyed by the Hootsman, with an explosion so powerful it ripped a hole in the very fabric of spacetime. And yet, Zargothrax was still not defeated, for he managed to use his last shreds of power to escape through the dimensional rift. Vowing to defeat the evil sorcerer, Angus McFife XIII followed him into the portal, with no idea where it might lead…“

That may seem confusing, and it is, but trust me, when I tell you a bit more, it will all make sense.

So Gloryhammer is one of the best bands I have ever heard before. Their concept is absolute gold and is the only of its kind I’ve seen before. Basically, every single one of their songs tells a story of the Land of Fife. The Lead singer (Thomas Winkler) is Prince Angus McFife (the 1st and 13th), keyboard/backing vocals (Christopher Bowes) is the Evil Sorcerer Zargothrax, guitar/backing vocals (Paul Templing) is Sir Proletiues, leader of the warriors of Crail, drums (Ben Turk) is the Ancient Hermit Ralathor, and last but never least is bass/backing vocals (James Cartwright), the Mighty Hootsman!

Each album follows a part in the epic saga, with three in total. The first album tells the story of the original Angus McFife the I whereas the next two follow his ancestor, Anguc McFife XIII. I don't want to give too much spoilers but let's just say that all three are filled with so much creativity and twists that it’s like listening to a movie! I cant even express how if you are looking for something to listen to that has dragons, goblin kings, evil sorcerers, hammers, and space, then this is the band for you!

I am going to put one song by them down because you can only have five and I’m big mad about it.

Gloryhammer - Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex

youtube

So yeah, that’s band numero uno!

II. Sabaton

What is there to say about Sabaton that hasn’t already been said...

Unlike Gloryhammer, Sabaton is older, formed in the nineties. Here’s what they say about themselves on their website:

“In the nearly two decades since their launch, Swedish metallers Sabaton have carved out a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in the business – gaining a legion of loyal fans across the globe, delivering eight highly-rated studio albums (including two certified platinum-sellers), and scoring multiple industry award wins and nominations… not to mention launching their own annual festival and cruise.

Combining soaring power riffs with vocalist Joakim Brodén’s instantly-recognisable gruff baritone, the band refuses to be simply slotted into a genre. Fans need only know them as Sabaton: the heavy metal band that sings of real life wars and the people who played a part in them – of gruelling campaigns and dazzling acts of bravery, of magnificent victories and touching personal struggles – true stories more fantastic than any fiction,”

Sabaton is, as they stated, a band dedicated to sharing stories of true battles throughout history. On their website they even have a whole calendar dedicated to historic events, so you can see what happened in history on whatever day you’d like!

As a huge history geek, this band is amazing. I would watch the World War documentary series before I went to bed in middle school because I thought all of that stuff was so interesting. If I didn’t love writing and English as much as I do then I’d go into a career where history was involved. They were actually a part of my Spotify Wrapped this year where I explored 27 of their songs, listened to six of their albums, and spent over 39 hours listening to just them this year.

Unlike what I did before, I am just going to showcase three of my favorite songs by them because they have way too many albums and I’m sad to say I didn’t listen to all of them.

The Lost Battalion - The Last Stand

youtube

Now, onto the third band and a good one too!

III. Powerwolf

I’m not a religious person, I grew up being taught all that stuff but I consider myself to be more agnostic rather than Christian or any of that stuff. But, if there’s one religious thing I don’t mind bumping its the Priests of Metal, Powerwolf! Here's what they have to say about themselves:

“After spilling gallons of blood and fighting tirelessly, after only two albums with Napalm Powerwolf shot straight to the pole position of the official German album charts (and another album made it into the top three!). After selling out venue after venue and thrilling bigger and bigger hordes of fans, the time is right for a new chapter: The Sacrament Of Sin which offers eleven metal psalms forged for all eternity!

Powerwolf entered Fascination Street Studios in Örebrö, Sweden starting in January 2018 to work on their seventh manifesto together with renowned producer Jens Bogren (Opeth, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth). The result is brimming with the Germans` trademark sound, and yet the band have recorded their boldest and most adventurous album to date! ‘Where the wild wolves have gone‘ even marks the first ballad in Powerwolf history – whereas ‘Nightside of Siberia‘ does the exact opposite and turns out to be one of the heaviest tunes the fivepiece have ever written. ‘Incense And Iron‘ simply MUST be part of every future setlist with its folky nature and anthemic catchiness; and epic single ‘Fire & Forgive‘ brilliantly melts infectious melodies into timeless, heavy shredding. The Sacrament Of Sin overwhelms both with sophisticated songwriting and sheer aggression – and proves once more why Powerwolf are the one and only true high priests of heavy metal!,”

The band is made up of vocalist Karsten Brill as "Attila Dorn", lead guitarist Benjamin Buss as "Matthew Greywolf", bassist/rhythm guitarist David Vogt as "Charles Greywolf", keyboardist Christian Jost as "Falk Maria Schlegel" and drummer Roel van Helden.

They’re really awesome and here’s my favorite song by them.

Army of the Night - Blessed and Possessed

youtube

Now onto the fourth band ;)...

IV. Brothers of Metal

Oh boy, if you thought the bands might’ve mellowed out a little then you are sorely unprepared for this glorious group...

When I was younger I was one of those Percy Jackson kids, but my love for mythology started long before I read one of those books. As I grew older I expanded my knowledge, moving away from Greek and Roman and into Norse and other mythologies. You can imagine my joy when I found Brothers of Metal. They have no Wikipedia or website so here’s what Spotify says about them:

“BROTHERS OF METAL consist of eight powerful Viking warriors that originates from the glorious kingdom of Falun, far up in the north. Falun is a mighty town that lies within the dark iron woods where only true metal warriors reside. BROTHERS OF METAL are known to most as the strongest metal band in the nine realms.

Before time, our eight warriors would travel through the realms and protect the good folk against evil. It was one of those nights that the legacy of metal was born. They came home from some pretty intense giant slaying and felt the common urge for mead and entertainment. The mead was generously flowing from the teats of Heidrun, but the music was really bad. The warriors took what instruments they could find and started playing, thus they wrote their first song Son of Odin, creating a tribute hymn to the strongest god they knew.

The mortals of the kingdom was so impressed with the music that they couldn't get enough, our warriors looked at each other and so a band was formed. Together they swor an oath to keep the flames of true metal burning and to continue to play until the earthlings had worthy entertainment of their own, it's yet to come,”

They haven’t released a ton of music when compared to the bands I listed before them, but they are absolutely amazing! All their music videos make me chuckle and when I watch Q&A’s they’ve posted they feel so down to earth that a person whos probably a decade younger than them if not less/more can relate to them. All their music has to do with Norse Mythology, but here’s my favorite music video yet:

The Mead Song - Prophecy of Ragnarök

youtube

And yeah, that’s it!

I hope you all weren't too bored and I hope you at least somewhat enjoyed this. It feels good to talk about my favorite bands. I’d love to put more videos in but Tumblr won’t let you so I guess we’re stuck with only one per band. I planned on doing three each but I guess that’s dead in the water.

Oh well.

If you like any of this music/band honestly just reach out and talk to me, I love chatting about music. I don’t know a ton about the logistics or anything like that but we can share bands or songs or whatever. I sound really lonely which is true but please don’t feel shy.

See you all later!

-Paige

#music #metal #power metal #gloryhammer #sabaton #powerwolf #brothers of metal #the last battalion sabaton #army of the night powerwolf #gloryhammer gloryhammer #the mead song brothers of metal #rambling

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glaivenoct · 5 years

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Swept Away

Relationship: Nyxnoct Rating: T Words: 2,124 Summary: Nyx plans something special for Noct on his birthday. Something better than sitting through meetings

Also over on (ao3). Please, pretty please consider to stop by a drop a comment or maybe give this a reblog if you enjoy? I appreciate it and would love to hear your thoughts :) (I’m not late, Noct’s birthday is all weekend what are you talking about)

“Where do you think you’re going, birthday boy?”

Noctis nearly drops the notebook in his hands when he collides into Nyx, who he swear appeared out of thin air. Nyx, with quick, heroic reflexes, steadies him before he can stumble backwards in his startlement. A soft gasp and Noctis is tugged close so they’re inches apart, looking up into the suave, steel blue of the glaive’s eyes. The subtle curve of Nyx’s lips is far more captivating than Noctis could have prepared himself for, and it has his own parting in love-struck awe like a bad romcom cliche.

“Nyx, what the hell?” is all he can think to say in reaction. There’s a blush waiting to shoot from his neck to his ears, but he stops it short with a meager glare, forcing a little distance between them.

“Sorry.” Nyx leans close like he wants to kiss him but waits for some sort of permission. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Noctis glances over his shoulder and past Nyx for any crownsguard or citadel staff. You can never be too sure in these long corridors. When he’s sure the coast is clear, he turns his head just enough to give Nyx the okay and gets a kiss on the cheek. “You know where I’m going, hero.”

“That I do, and I’ve decided you’re not going.”

“You can’t do that.” Noctis snorts, prepared to step around Nyx and be on his way, but his path is blocked.

“Oh, but I can! What kind of lover would I be if I let my little king work on his birthday?”

“We went over this. I have a meeting.”

“Right. With me. Pretty sure it was supposed to go a little something like this.”

Noctis has nowhere near enough self control to stop Nyx from capturing his lips in a leisurely kiss. To not melt into the brief touch of fingers propping beneath his chin to tilt his head back to deepen it. To fight the urge of jumping right into his arms and respond accordingly to the tease of tongue and the graze and nip of teeth. Noct doesn’t even care that anyone could turn the corner at any given moment and see them.

He should care, though. He really should. He has a meeting, damnit.

But he still has to stop himself from whining when Nyx finally parts from him. Noct stares at him like the unreal man he swears he is sometimes, breath almost catching in his chest.

“There might be a few more finer details to go over.” Nyx says with the cock of his brows and a suggestive grin. “Y’know, in private. Where I can take my time.”

Noct resists the shiver fluttering through his spine at the insinuation. Straightens himself and clears his throat, ducks his head to stare at the notes scribbled on the open page of his notebook.

“We were supposed to do all that tomorrow…”

“And we will. But it’s your birthday, and you’re crazy if you think I’m letting you sit through meetings all day.”

Believe it or not, Noctis is a firm believer in not working on one’s birthday.

He recalls being six years old and all but demanding that his father’s birthday be declared as the king’s “Do Not Disturb” day. Being not much older and pleading with Cor and Clarus to take a day off for once, that he would look out for his dad just fine so they didn’t have to worry about a thing! The “As your Prince, I command you” line worked well enough on Ignis as they grew up together, and Prompto in high school. While he saved the more sarcastic reasonings for Gladio, claiming with a grin that he was only looking to get out of training.

There was less control when it came to Nyx. Noctis knows there were years where Nyx spent his birthday behind enemy lines, treated to makeshift dinners and celebrations around the campfire of their secret headquarters. Though it’s been years since such a thing happened, there was always the possibility. But if Noctis could help it, none of his loved ones were allowed to work on their birthday.

Noctis isn’t excited about the idea of spending his birthday stuck in meetings either. At the same time, he brought this on himself and felt obligated to face the consequences of his organizational blunders. He’s usually better than this. Or so he likes to believe, but he really should’ve looked at a calendar when he said “Yeah, Friday works.”

Rooted somewhere beneath that overwhelming sense of obligation, Noctis knows no one would dare to question him for rescheduling. He was the Prince and it was his birthday. How could anyone say no to that? They wouldn’t. And that was just it. Despite it all, Noctis takes his charity work seriously. Knows that the people he’s meant to meet with have been eager to brainstorm with him for a special project that’s been in the works months now. Prince or not, it didn’t feel right to delay the progress of the project out of his own selfishness.

Plans with Nyx and his father and friends were set up for the weekend. He could tough it out this one day. It’s not like they were council meetings.

“Nyx, I have to be there…” Noctis insists, though the hesitance and indecision is clear in face and tone.

“No, you don’t.” Nyx insists with far more confidence and a smile that hypnotizes Noctis further to the thought of resignation. “Because Ignis agreed to take care of it in your place. Already has copies of your notes and everything. Said he’ll fill you in on everything later and schedule another day you can meet with them yourself.”

“But -”

“He also said no buts. So did your dad. And me.”

“But -”

“Nope!” Nyx slaps his hand over Noct’s mouth, muffling an outraged yelp. “None of that. Don’t make me kiss you.” Noct narrows his eyes and huffs against the warm fingers, tempted to bite them out of spite. Nyx laughs as his hand is pushed away instead. “We’ll still do everything we planned to do tomorrow, Noct. But I wanted to do something special for you today too.”

“Special?” Noct tries not to sound too curious.

“Well, I hope it’s special. What do you say, little king?” Nyx offers a hand to him. “Let me sweep you away?”

There’s not another dimension or universe in which Noctis has the heart to refuse such gesture. A dashing smile sprouts across Nyx’s face, accenting the hopeful kindness in his eyes and making Noct’s heart buzz. Nyx was like his emboldened knight, stealing him away from the confines of his responsibilities within the citadel. Off to their own fantasy land where the only thing Noct cares about is the press of his lips, the caress of his fingers, the scratch of his beard, and the dopey things Nyx says to make him laugh.

There’s not much else Noct could want on his birthday. He doesn’t need anything grand. Nyx being this adamant about it is already special enough for him. Meeting’s and guilt be damned. It’s his birthday! He bursts into a smile as he allows Nyx to take his hand and squeeze it.

“Everything’s taken care of?”

“Everything’s taken care of.”

“Then lead the way, hero.”

Nyx leads him with all the thrill of fugitive lovers on the run. Off to the sanctuary of his small apartment tucked discreetly into the city’s lower districts. He doesn’t let go of his prince’s hand until they reach the door, and each second he spends fishing for his keys and fiddling with the lock feels like an eternity to Noctis. It has him eagerly shifting his weight from foot to foot.

The first thing Noct notices when the door opens is the smell. Something that reminds him of the crisp morning air of a forest after rain with the faintest hint of syllelblossoms. There’s an incandescent flicker cutting through the abnormal darkness inside, and Noctis looks at Nyx curiously, waiting for an explanation. It’s all in the step Nyx takes out of the doorway and the gesture for him to enter first.

Noctis only hesitates because he’s unsure if he’s prepared to face whatever sweet thought and effort Nyx’s clearly put in to this.

One step past the threshold and Noctis stills in that spot, taken aback at the pathway of tea light candles before him, paving the short route to Nyx’s bed. The two windows in the apartment have been covered up to minimize the amount of sunlight peering in. Ahead are spare sheets and blankets draped and hung strategically above the bed, enveloping it like a tent with a perpetually open flap. Old, white holiday lights Noct recalls bringing for the winter holidays are strung inside, turning the area into a cozy, golden cove. A blanket fort, he should say. A cozy, golden cove of a blanket fort. Noctis blinks, lets out a stunned huff and drops his notebook.

Meetings are the farthest thing from his mind now.

“I’ve got three movies picked out.” Nyx says just as Noct notices his armchair pushed aside near one end of the bed. On it rests the small TV that’s normally mounted on the wall. “They’re all ones you’ve mentioned wanting to see. Got all your favorite snacks too. Don’t tell Ignis.”

Noctis can confirm for himself that Ignis would not approve as soon as he spots the small table near the other end of the bed, covered in an array of junk food and sweets that have his stomach ready to grumble any minute now.

Down the flickering path of soft candlelight Noct goes. He hears the door shut and Nyx following quietly behind him. The closer he gets to the bed, the wider he finds himself smiling, and the more he notices the plethora of pillows and fuzzy blankets stuffed inside. It’s more than Nyx has ever owned and Noctis soon recognizes that most of them have been hijacked from his own apartment. He moves one of the flaps aside to peek in further, noticing a folded article of grey clothing. A knit sweater. He picks it up and presents it to Nyx with the rise of one brow.

“Your favorite, right?” He asks. “Can’t give you a movie night without something to get comfy in.”

It’s one of Nyx’s sweaters. Noct’s favorite to steal and snuggle in after a shower or enduring the cold of winter and rainy days. Set out for him like a warmhearted invitation. Noctis could’ve tackled him then and there, pinned him to the ground and kissed every dose of gratitude into Nyx’s lips before the rush of it threatened to make his own heart implode.

“Nyx…” Noctis starts without quite knowing what else to say beyond it.

“I know, I know. Crowe said it was dopey. After she helped me set it up, but it’s still better than sitting in a meeting. Right?”

“Way better.” Noct rises on the tips of his toes to gift the start of many grateful kisses. “It’s perfect. Thanks for sweeping me away on my birthday.”

“Allow me to sweep you into bed next.” Nyx smirks and grabs him a sudden bear hug to topple into their blanket fort together. Noct’s stifled yelp turns into a string of giggles once he feels Nyx’s hands at his waist, encouraging the removal of his current shirt in favor of the sweater.

In their own time, they settle down. After Noctis is comfortably down to the sweater, his boxers and socks. After Nyx finds the self control to pull away from his kisses to wheel the snacks closer and move the armchair with the TV accordingly. After they’ve worked through Noct’s indecisiveness on what he wants to watch first, and Nyx teases him for already knowing he’d end up picking sci-fi. After they’ve picked the snacks they’re craving most.

They meld together in their cozy fort, Noct’s back to Nyx’s chest, an arm slung around his waist and legs sloppily intertwined. Noct doesn’t care to move from the position throughout the entirety of the first movie, only wriggling every now and again throughout the second to stretch. Halfway through the third, when he’s struggling to keep his eyes open, he finally moves. Turns around completely so he can tuck his face into Nyx’s chest and escape the bright light from the TV.

Both arms come around him this time in another squeezing hug. Noctis smiles drowsily into Nyx’s shirt and feels a kiss atop his hair, drifting off to sleep on the thought of this being a birthday well spent. The best part being that it’s just the beginning.

#nyxnoct #author entries: fics #noctis lucis caelum #nyx ulric #hbd noctis #hbd noctis 2019 #ffxv fic

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