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altagraye · 3 years

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How to save a life- pt 2 (Bucky x Pregnant!reader)

Bucky x Pregnant!reader pt 2

Series title: How to save a life

Part 2: The day the music died

!!! T.W.: arguments. feelings. preggo-feelings. Language.

(Me: ***Channels bratty smol gal/sub energy**** “Stop it Steve! It’s 2021! Fuck!”)

(Tony: **”Dirty mouth? Clean it up with Orbit” buahahahah** laughs in background**)

(Steve:**”You know what I’m thinkin’?”**)

(Wanda:** “Oh, wow! Oh my! Really?” **reads Steve’s mind, takes sip of coffee to avoid conversation**)

(Bucky: ** STARES INTENSELY** **clutches me to his body, territorially** “No! I was her comfort character first! Hands off my Precious! She’s my Doll. “)

(Sam: **holds bridge of his nose** “Did you just, **pause to inhale**, make a Lord of the Rings reference?” **insert sassy eyeroll and falcon screech**)

(Steve: **clutches his b-e-a-utiful boobs, aghast** “ I thought Glasses was mine on Tuesdays?! Buck! It’s Tuesday.”)

(Bucky: “Yeah, she is. But it’s opposite day. Get over it, Toothpick.” **Proceeds to stick tongue out, like he did in grade school.**)

I’M SORRY ABOUT MY ABOVE DETOUR, BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING BELOW.

*A/N: Ya’ll know you can comment right??

You woke with the familiar feeling of your spine and ribs were used and bruised.

You woke already tired, as if you’d been suffocated of sleep for weeks. You wish you could fall asleep and wake up, to have this all over with already. you needed your little one in your arms. You and Bucky would playfully banter about the gender of your little one often, but in reality you didn’t care if it was a boy or girl. the only thing that mattered to you was its health and safety.

Bucky was awake, next to you in bed, reading one of his many books. He was careful not to disturb you.

You stretched as much as your bulging belly would allow, and turned over , with difficulty, nuzzling your head into your soldier’s chest and sighing.

Pausing his diligent reading, he landed a kiss on your head and stroked your hair gently.

“Good morning, Doll.” he said his voice left with twinges of rasp.

“Morning, Tin-Man” you giggled, after he gave you a glare. He didn’t like that nickname very much. But his expression was gone and a smile filled its place. He adored hearing you giggle.

His gaze flashed back to his book for a moment, only to memorize his page number and shut it, sitting it down on the bedside table.

His arm went back to its normal resting place, supporting your back, rubbing nonchalantly and dragging you closer to him. Your belly making contact with the defined ridges of his abs through soft cotton fabric.

“I talked with Steve this morning.” Bucky began but trailed off, his eye contact wavering a bit as if he was reluctant to finish his sentence.

“mmhmm. and what did he say?” you nuzzled into his chest. you inhaled his scent and felt comfortable, content in that moment.

“He’s taking us to Wakanda. They have the best medical staff in the world there. Secluded, safe. A whole country of strong warriors.”

“T’challa is letting you in? Even after his fathers death, and what he thought you did?” you quipped.

Bucky sighed for a long moment, his gaze returning to your own, regaining his confidence.

“HYDRA won’t get anywhere close to us there. We can have our little Princess in peace. T’challa knows now that, I was framed.” he said shifting his arm to gingerly stroke your belly. His gaze almost bittersweetly locked onto it.

“if that’s our only choice, then, I'll take what I can get. I’m a bit nervous but, I'll go anywhere with you my Love.” you concluded your own raw thoughts out loud. unafraid to speak your mind in the presence of your Soldier.

Wakanda was different. There you felt like a fish out of water, however you appreciated the warm welcome from T'challa.

"I welcome you to my homeland madam Barnes. Your safety is with the Dora Milage and I. But we will not overstep our boundaries. James and yourself are able to come and leave as you please. Should you need proper medical attention, Shuri will accompany you.” T’challa spoke confidently.

You had dinner and got mildly acquainted with the locals and the royalty. after dinner you noticed Bucky and Steve talking about something, some distance away from you. You waddled up to them, curious as to what they were talking about.

“There she is. My Doll. God, I love you so much. So damned much.” Bucky was almost overly affectionate tonight. which you liked but you couldn’t put your finger on why. Steve stood next to the two of you smiling wide from the pure love that you two radiated as a couple. Bucky kissed you longingly, with a certain passion that you felt might be desperate.

You kept that feeling to yourself as Bucky took your hand and dragged it up to his soft lips, kissing the back of your hand as if he’d never see it again. His fingers interlaced with yours as he led the way to some part of the building. leading you to a lab of sorts.

You looked around at the various unfamiliar instruments confused and verged on frightened. Bucky hopped onto one of the metal examination tables as if he were a patient. Steve stayed in the room, but gave you and your husband space.

Bucky sighed long and drawn out as if he dreaded what is was about to tell you. You grimaced slightly and tilted your head.

“Buck? What’s going on? Why are we here? T’Challa said we have a hut of our own in the village with goats and everything.”

Your lover chewed on his lip, you could see his eyes going glossy his gaze darting to your bump. His hand stroked your own, gripping it a little tighter than usual.

“I’m not all here, Doll. I have to go back under ‘til I'm better.” he said.

You couldn’t believe what he was suggesting.

“What?! James. I’m 36 weeks along! We’re going to have this baby soon. Not me, not you, us!” you said desperation piercing through your voice.

“Doll--” he began.

“Don’t! Don’t you, Doll me. I- I can’t do this alone.” tears staining your face, beginning to tremble. Just the thought of not having him with you tore you apart like nothing else. Was he going to miss the birth of his child? Let you suffer by yourself in a foreign land? He’s been alright so far, he’s never hurt you or turned into the Winter Soldier in your presence since being pregnant. So, why? Why would he do this? Didn’t he love you? Weren’t you his world?

Bucky brought your hand to his lips, kissing your wedding ring.

“Y/N. I can’t risk it. I need to be stable, for you and for our little Princess. Can you just let me do this, please? Can you be strong for me. Y/N?” He brought your palm to his chest, letting you feel his heart beating.

“No. Not without you. I can’t have this baby without you. I can’t stand being away from you. I don’t know who I am without you. I love you,” you dragged your tongue against your teeth, something you did when you were really upset. “But I can’t keep you from wanting this.” You didn’t know what kept you from disintegrating right then and there.

“I know I'm asking a lot. I don’t want to be away from you either, my two Loves. But, if I lost control. If I did hurt you and our baby, the way I am now. That’s not an if, it’s a when Doll.” he said hearing his voice wavering for the first time.

“James Buchanan Barnes. You had better come back to me, soon! Gods-Dammit. I’ll be counting every minute, you hear me?” you pleaded.

A bittersweet half smile came across his features.

“Thank you Doll. I’ll be back before you know it.” he said.

“You’d better not break that promise, Barnes.” you chided.

“Yes Ma’am.” he responded looking into your eyes with longing. He wiped your tears away with the pad of his thumb. You were already missing his touch.

You stayed like that. holding each other until the last second. Bucky gave your swollen stomach a tender kiss. “Take care of your mother my little one.” was the last thing he said.

Steve stood next to you as you watched them put him under. Stroking your shoulder in an effort to console you as more tears spilled over. You kept your wedding ring pressed to your lips, the only thing you had of him was that piece of gold, sparkling diamonds, the child still growing within you.

In truth you weren’t sure how long you could last without him. But you would try to hold on to what you had left of him. You stayed long after Steve left to go back to New York. You pressed your palm to the frigid glass stroking your belly with your other palm.

“Just come back to us soon, Romeo.” you spoke to the glass as if he could still hear you.

“The White Wolf is lucky to have a woman like you. I am honored to have such a strong soul in my homeland. You would have made a great warrior among my people. It takes courage to love and more to let go.” T’Challa startled you a bit.

“Thank you your highness. For everything, really. You’ve done so much for us.” you felt you owed him something for his hospitality.

“Please, Mrs. Barnes, address me as T’Challa. May I escort you to your living quarters?” he asked holding out his arm for you to take. You felt awkward at the gesture but took it nonetheless.

“Sure.” you replied having a last look at your sleeping beauty.

P.S.-I apologize if T’Challa is written terribly! I hope I got him close to accurate? ***nervously chews on nails*** don’t kill me my lovelies.

#bucky fanfic #james buchanan bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky x female reader #bucky x pregnant reader #bucky x y/n #bucky x wife!reader #sad reader #angry!reader #protective bucky #dad!bucky #fluff #angst

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butterfrogmantis · 2 years

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Do you have any ships between the smurfettes?

Naturally! :)

Vexy x SmurfBlossom - Came about as sort of a pastel gf x goth gf thing XD I liked this cause Blossom has that happy go lucky attitude, whilst Vexy very much has her self doubts about being a creation of Gargamel. I like to think it would be uplifting for her to have such a positive influence around ^^

SmurfLily x SmurfMelody - Ok tbh this one was more because I wanted a Grovey next gen to what - at the time - was village only. But ya know I mean why not? Confident singer x shy warrior thingy :)

(Mind the 2 years old doodles XD)

SmurfBegonia x SmurfTulip - I LOVED these two in 'A New Start' they're just fun!! :) Their bickering-friendship-making up whatever that is good stuff! Honestly yeah 10/10 I care them.

Bonuses W/ Grove Gals!

SmurfStorm x SmurfGadget (oc)

After I split Storm from Clumsy which was my original ship I kinda left Stormy alone for a while. Then I considered putting her with Reckless and played with that for a bit. Then went 'nah this isn't good enough for my fave gal Stormy' and just made an oc. Which hell yeah.

And an oc x oc - SmurfTiger and SmurfPoppy

They're uh, unalive lets say but I did have a couple of neat grove gals for myself that make up Quixotic Smurf's bio parents.

And that's all for smurfxsmurf :) And then there's all of my next gen pairings including two Smurfxnot-Smurfs XD But since I was looking at the grove ones here that's what I added ^^

#smurfs #the smurfs #butterverse asks

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ffakc · 3 years

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Isn’t She Lovely? - a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fanfiction

Let me preface this by saying I have ZERO desire to have kids IRL, but the thought of Jeff being a loving, doting birth partner makes me feel warm and fuzzy. He’s also such an amazing Daddy, I just had to... fluff galore! @negans-attagirl @happysgal @iluvneganandjamie

It was my final shift as a manager at the adorable Rhinebeck coffee shop that was my home for the past year. My regulars and coworkers teased me, asking why I still had a job despite being married to one of the top grossing actors on The Walking Dead, but working kept my mind busy during the times my Jeffrey was away. I was also three days overdue with our daughter. My midwife told me to rest, but it’s hard to rest when people call in sick!

“Baby!” I step out from behind the counter and greet my husband with a kiss. He places his large hand on my stomach.

“Look how cute my gal is with her apron and her big ol’ belly,” Jeff gushes.

“Why do you have to say it like that?” I laugh. Jeff scoffs and kisses me.

“Shut up, you’re gorgeous,” he smiles. “You about ready to go, doll?”

“If I don’t see you tomorrow, congratulations! You’re going to be a great mom!” my regular Josh tips his cup.

“Bye Josh!” I turn back to Jeffrey, “Yeah, I’m ready whenever you are. I just need to clock out for the last time.”

“We’ll miss you, Boss Lady!” my lead barista Kayla hugs me.

“I’ll miss you too!” I reply, “Bye, everyone!” I call back to the kitchen. Various voices yell back kind words. Kayla wipes a tear away.

“Aww, don’t cry!” I say, tears welling up, “You know I’ll come visit! I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“It’s been wonderful getting to know you, Kayla,” Jeff hugs her as well.

I take my husband by the hand and we make our way to his truck.

“Do you think tonight will be the night?” Jeff remarks.

“I sure hope so. I’m so achy and I feel like my stomach is going to split open,” I laugh.

“Poor thing,” Jeff pouts his lip and rubs my belly. “What do you want for dinner, sweet girl?”

“I’ve been craving sushi all damn day. Cooked, of course,” I reply. I make a quick call to Osaka, our favorite local Japanese place. I hang up the phone and sigh lovingly, “You’re going to be such a good Daddy.”

“And you’ll be the best Mama. I love you so much,” my husband plants a quick kiss on my lips.

***

I wipe the tears away as the music swells. We were watching Phantom of the Opera, one of my favorites. I let out and annoyed groan and Jeff cackles.

“Why are you crying now?!” my husband laughs, “It’s not even sad!” I shove a piece of sushi in my mouth.

“I don’t know!” I giggle, “Stupid pregnancy hormones.” Jeff places his hand on top of the bulge on my side.

“It’s like I’m holding her hand,” Jeff kisses around my navel, “I love my girls.” His kisses make their way up my chest, his hand makes its way through my hair and he sucks my neck.

“We love you too, Daddy,” I moan. Jeff climbs on top of me and I kiss him deeply, gripping onto the neck of his hoodie.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this, might induce labor,” my husband smirks and rests his forehead against mine.

“I’ve heard that’s a myth. I want you so bad, Jeffrey,” I lick my lips and run my fingers through his gray hair. Jeff rasps my name, unbuttoning his jeans. I feel a surge of energy in my lower half as Jeff buries his face in my chest. My eyes widen as clear liquid begins pooling between my thighs. I realize immediately what’s happening.

“Jeff...”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“JEFFREY!” I exclaim and gesture downwards.

“Wha- OH! Oh my god! Baby... baby! We’re having a baby!” he stammers, climbing off of me and adjusts my shirt. “What do I do?!” I attempt to calm him, even though I’m quite panicked myself.

“Go get the bag and start the truck!” I breathe heavily. Jeff puts on his glasses and grabs my large black backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

“I’m so excited! It’s real! It’s happening!” Jeff laughs. He helps me off the couch and we hustle to the truck. Jeff calls my mom as he lays a towel on the passenger seat.

“Hey Ma!”

“Hey Jeff, how are you? Any baby updates?”

“Well... You’re going to be a grandma probably within the next 24 hours!”

“Oh my god!” my mom sounded just like her mother when she said that. I squeeze Jeff’s hand as he speeds down the road.

“Let me see here,” Jeff pulls up flights on the touch screen on the dashboard.

“Eyes on the road, Daddy, please!” I exclaim, “Hi, Mom! Sorry!” I hear both my parents laugh at me, causing me to laugh too. I sounded like a nervous wreck.

“Hi! Are you feeling okay? Any contractions yet?”

“Not yet, from what I looked up... woah! I felt a little cramping there.”

“I see a five hour flight that leaves in three hours. Do you think y’all can manage that?” Jeff says, “I will pay, don’t you worry.”

“Anything for my first grandbaby,” my mom says. “I can’t guarantee we’ll be there for the birth, but we will be there! See you guys soon, okay?”

“Bye!” Jeff and I say in unison.

***

Four in the morning. I hadn’t slept a wink. Labor so far felt like the worst period cramps I’ve ever had. I was only two centimeters, a hell of a long way from ten.

“Jeffrey,” I whimper, my voice cracking, “It hurts.”

“I know, baby, I know. What can I do to help?” Jeff gets close to my face and kisses my forehead, rubbing my hand.

“Something cold would be wonderful. Ice chips, a popsicle. Anything.”

“How about a coffee?” a familiar voice comes from the door.

“You made it,” I smile weakly at my mom.

“No baby, huh? We DID make it!” my dad smiles and pumps his arm in a “YES!” hand gesture. He hugs his son in law and hands him a large Starbucks cup. He hugs me, kissing my forehead.

“Good, Mr. C. Real good,” my husband smiles, sipping the hot coffee.

“Don’t worry, I asked and she said it was fine,” I sit up in bed and hug my mom. She hands me a large iced beverage, “It’s a decaf americano with some Splenda, just something to sip on. I know you like a little bit of coffee with your cream, but you can’t have that right now.”

“Thank you so much,” I take a long drink. “That’s so good... God damn it!” I grit my teeth.

“Another one?” Jeff sits next to me on the bed. “I think they’re close to five minutes apart,” he says to my parents. I rest my head on his chest and groan loudly, “That’s it, pretty girl. Let it out. Scream if you have to. Break my fucking hand if you have to. You’re doing amazing so far.”

“This is the longest thirty sec- ah! Jeffrey!” I grip onto his thigh for dear life. He shushes me softly and rests his chin on my forehead, “I hate my mom and dad seeing me like this.” My mom reassures me that it’s nothing to be embarrassed about and her and my dad go to the waiting room. I try my best to remember the breathing techniques our midwife taught me, but failing miserably. This was going to be a long day.

***

Eight o’ clock. The rays of sun came flooding through the curtain. I close my eyes for a moment as another contraction squeezes me tight.

“Don’t say you’re tired. Come on, Jeff. She’s having your kid and you’re worried about being ti-“ Jeff mumbles to himself.

“You know you’re allowed to be tired too,” I laugh and look at him through slitted eyelids. Jeff smiles and kisses my cheek, rubbing my hand lovingly.

“Hello!” our midwife Lynn pokes her head in.

“Please tell me I’m ready to push,” I let out a deep breath.

“Well, let’s see, shall we?” Lynn checks me out. “Don’t hit me,” she chuckles. “You’re only at four centimeters.”

“Oh, Jesus. Just give me the damn drugs.” I glance over at my husband who is drifting off.

“I have to let you know that it will make your contractions stronger and more intense, and I know you’ve expressed being in a great deal of pain already.” Jeff opens his eyes.

“Fuck it, I’ll just sit on the ball for a bit. Daddy?” I turn to Jeff. He grabs the exercise ball.

“I’ll be back soon. Hopefully things will be progressing nicely!”

***

Six in the evening. There’s no possible way I had been in labor for twenty-four hours.

“You’re getting so close, doll,” Jeff whispers and pets my hair. “You’re so strong, Mama, you’re so damn strong. You’re a beautiful, incredible, powerful woman,” Lynn does a brief examination.

“That’s the kind of coaching we like to hear, Jeff! Good vibes only!” Lynn says, “Look at that. You are at a ten, my dear!” I fan my face and a single tear trickles down Jeff’s bearded cheek. I kiss him deeply. I place my feet in the stirrups. “Jeff, are you still okay with catching her? I know you said you wanted to, but sometimes dads back out at the last minute,” Lynn teases.

“Absolutely,” Jeff chuckles.

“All right, sweetheart. On your next contraction, I want you to push hard, okay?” she was so gentle with her words. I nod and exhale. Jeff grips my hand.

“You’ve got this, babe,” my husband kisses me.

The next forty-five minutes fly by and seem to go in slow motion all at the same time. I felt like I had run a thousand marathons.

“I can see her head!” Jeff says excitedly. “You’re almost there, darlin’, you’re so close!” I can’t find the words, the pain is getting to be unbearable.

“I’m going to pass out,” I moan.

“Come on, doll, you’ve got this. You’re doing incredible,” my husband glances between my thighs. “Oh my, she has your wavy hair,” tears stain his cheeks.

“I’m going to guess three more biiiig pushes and you’ll have a baby!” Lynn says.

“You’re so incredible, you’re a fucking warrior, you know that? These are the last few moments we have as just a couple, that’s so wild. After today, we are three. You’re never looked more beautiful, you are glowing. Kiss me, my gorgeous wife,” I feebly press my lips to his.

“Yeah...” I pant, “Oh my fucking god!” I cry out as my face reddens as I push with everything I have in me.

“That’s it! Jeff, quickly, the shoulders are coming!” My husband plants a kiss on my cheek and sits on a stool next to Lynn.

“One... two... three! Push! Come on, girlfriend! Every ounce of energy you have! Good job!” Lynn psyches me up. She mumbles instructions to Jeffrey.

Jeff begins to sob uncontrollably, “She’s so beautiful, you have no idea.” He gasps in awe. Suddenly, a rush of euphoria overtakes my whole body and a loud cry echoes through the room. I rest my head against the pillow and begin crying my eyes out. She’s here! Jeff holds our tiny daughter in his large hands.

“Just place her right there,” Lynn beams with pride. “You did it! Happy birthday, little girl!” She grabs some blankets as our little angel wails. I wrap my arms around her and Jeff bends down next to me.

“You’re so amazing, Mama. She’s so perfect. I love her, I love you. You are such a badass, I’m so proud of you,” Jeff whispers.

“I love you too, Jeffrey. Daddy, she’s all ours,” I kissed him over and over again, “I love you so, so, so much.” I had never felt more connected to my husband than this exact moment. After cleaning her off and doing all the routine checks, I finally get to hold our girl.

“Hi there, little bean,” I kiss the top of her head, my voice shot from crying and screaming, “I’m your Mommy,” I hold her tiny hand, “You look just like your Daddy. And you smell so good!”

“I’ve heard of new car smell, but new baby smell?” Jeff giggles.

“Do we have a name?” Lynn asks.

“Evelyn,” Jeff sniffs and kisses the crown of her head, “Evelyn Alice Morgan.”

#denny duquette #fanfic #fanfiction #greys anatomy #jeffrey dean morgan #negan #the walking dead #older man younger woman #john winchester #supernatural #fluff

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hunterguyveriv · 3 years

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Teela New Design Thoughts and Rant

So I have sat on this, trying to let the image of Teela’s new design grow on me, and I am not sorry to say I am not digging it. Like Allura’s redesign for Legendary Defender, the image in question screams tones of political correctness and a grab for “representation” brownie points with Teela’s new appearance and the race-bending of a less known character to me (Andra) except for Injustice vs Masters of the Universe. So I’ll wait to collect my bag of worms on that topic once the series is out in completion, THIS topic is more about Teela.

I need more than just an image to accept and like it. I need to know why she doesn’t keep her classic design, the function and reason of this new one. And no, I am not talking about that ridiculous image someone did calling her “a mean bisexual.” Just because... NEW “fans” love the new design and accept it, does not mean old timers like myself need to love it and automatically accept it.

And before any of you NEW fans (who more than likely will jump ship once the series is over like most did to Voltron for newer series like Dragon Prince/She-Ra/Owl Hotel) jump down my throat, (like your lot did to us old-timers with Voltron and She-Ra,) keep this in mind - I was 1 when He-Man and the Masters of the Universe first hit TV screens back in 1983. Those of us who grew up with the classic series, WE, are allowed to have our opinions about newer versions of the shows we grew up with, if it goes against your views move on. We go into any new series to a franchise we loved as young children hoping for the best - that it honors the original it hails from. We want it to succeed and be popular.

Like Voltron, I grew up with many iterations of He-Man. The classic Masters of the Universe series, the Masters of the Universe movie with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man (still think he should make a cameo as Prince Adam's father or distant ancestor but that’s just me), and even The New Adventures of He-Man, and even the 2002 cartoon series. Each iteration had Teela in it, and we fans accepted her designs.

Teela from the original series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”

Teela from the1980s live action movie “Masters of the Universe” portray by Chelsea Field

Teela and He-Man seen from The New Adventures of He-Man

Teela from the 2002 He-Man series

Teela’s various appearances in the Eternity War Saga and Masters of the Universe comics as Captain of the Guard/Future Sorceress of Greyskull/Prince Adam’s Wife/He-Man’s barbarian queen

First image of Kevin Smith’s Teela.

To old-timers like myself, who grew up with the series, read the comics growing, who collected the toys - THIS is Teela! This is who we grew up with, so YES(!) we are going to be resistant of excepting what she looks like now. Just like many of us old timers didn’t like the things they were doing in the Voltron series.

Teela from comic strips pre-dating the filmation series

But as you can also see, she never used to be the white skin tight jumpsuit clad redhead. She had the appearance of a Barbarian woman you would see in something like Conan or Red Sonja. In these images, Teela has the right quirks about her. She is beautiful, strong minded and willed, determined, doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit while also having a vulnerability she tries desperately to hide from not just Prince Adam, her father, but even Adora in some of the comics. Here...

this design doesn’t scream beautiful strong warrior training to be the next sorceress (depending on what canon you follow). But I personally think they took away all the traits that made Teela such a great and complex character over the years just to fit the current narrative that a strong willed woman doesn’t need any male support whether it is her father Man-At-Arms or her betrothed (again depending on which canon you follow) Prince Adam/He-Man.

This new design to me, looks like Kevin Smith wants to capitalize on the Cara Dune design as if to say "I see how much you loved Cara-Dune, look I have my own version!"

This worked for Gina Carano, because she is a former MMA fighter, which played greatly into the role of being a former Rebel Alliance Shock-trooper turned brawler. However even with her being built like she is, they gave her obvious curves while making her the brawler she was. The only curve I remotely see on her is her waist and hips. With her looking like Cara-Dune it also says LACK OF ORIGINALITY which Voltron Legendary Defender and other Netflix reboots are NOT innocent at either - case in point both from Voltron the Shiro & Keith fight seemed to Anakin vs Obi-Wan and the Paladin Uniforms in Season 8 seeming too Wrath of Khan-Undiscovered Country like.

Secondly and most briefly don’t even get me started on who is voicing Teela too! I never liked Sarah Michelle Gellar, thought she was way to overrated because of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I know the original voice actress let alone the voice actress from The New Adventures of He-Man are probably too old to do so, but I would have gladly accepted Lisa Ann Beley who voiced her in the 2002 series or even Shannon Chan-Kent who for those who don’t know her, voiced Larmina in 2011s Voltron Force!

Last, some have stated that they don’t like that she looks more masculine then feminine. That she needs to look male to be a hero or compete in a man’s world and I have to agree. Some have argued that Kevin Smith is going for a more realistic appearance of a woman who has the strength to wield not just a sword and shield in battle but also a staff. This I call horseshit, complete and utter horseshit and those that say that need to do their research!

Look at these following actresses:

Underworld franchise: - Rhona Mitra - Sonja

- Zita Görög - Amelia

- Kate Beckingsale

- Clementine Nicholson

Fantasy/Historical/Sci-Fi/Superhero Movies: - Bridgette Nelson who played Sonja in Red Sonja (BIG ONE HERE!)

- Sandahl Bergman who played Valeria in Conan the Barbarian and Queen Gedren in Red Sonja

- Sienna Guillory as Arya from the movie Eragon

- Keira Knightley from 2004s King Arthur and then the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. (which this is possibly the most accurate depiction of ancient celtic women in battle by Hollywood)

- Rosa Salazar of Alita, granted she wore a motion capture suit, but she wasn't built

- EVEN Gal Gadot! She was an actual Israeli Soldier

- Zoe Saldana for Gomora

- Lucy Lawliss as Xena

- Leonor Varela of Blade II

A woman does not need to be built like this new design of Teela to fit a role that requires them to be someone who wields a sword/staff/battle ax/or bow and arrow. Are you going to tell other actresses like Cate Blanchet, Milla Jovovich, Charlize Theron, or the actresses of other fantasy films or actresses from the History Channel series Vikings that they need to bulk up to use those weapons realistically like some have tried arguing ?

These are all actresses who prove that you don’t need to have buff arms to wield weapons like a staff/sword/or ax. They all played characters who still managed to look bad ass when in combat while looking feminine and beautiful. Yes women warriors wanted to stand side by side with their brothers at arms and have done so throughout many cultures in ancient history. Most of them probably having the build of many of the women above!

Wielding weapons like swords/axes/clubs/ etc properly you don’t need to have your arms built like that, all it requires is the proper weapons training and time. Someone who is captain of the royal guard…which oh gee is someone like Teela(!) is would be well versed in. So answer me this, why is a feminine looking Teela problematic and the new one isn’t?

Now as a He-Man fan, I will go into this series hoping for the best, that it does what Voltron Legendary Defender failed to do and that is honor the original series and be a love letter to us old-timers. But depending on the trailer (which I am surprised we haven’t seen yet) or the series itself I am bracing myself for it to be a shit show like Voltron became when they brought Shiro back.

#teela #masters of the universe #rant #my thoughts #new design

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drowsydregon · 3 years

Note

I know I don't interact much but I wanted to say that I love your blog! You post great stuff about the show, and your ocs are a lot of fun! Do you mind sharing a few things about all your ocs? Hope you have a great day!

first of all tHANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE KIND WORDS !!!!!! QwQ

it means a lot that ppl rly like my silly thoughts and ideas !! aaA

but uh

to answer your question, i can indeed give you some stuffs abt my ocs (though i won't go too much into detail bc i will eventually finish up my fanseason. then all shall be reveALED)

ofc my main gals are Yuuki and Mei Mitsukaru -- the "'karu sisters"

Yuuki is a sorceress in her early 20's who's the leader of a serpentine tribe of mages called the "haven rattlers." She's tender, charismatic, and a bit clingy. At some point she worked for Master Chen and trained in dark magic under Clouse. Her specialty magic is crystaline, and nowadays she tries to avoid dark magic at all costs. She is deeply smitten with Morro. (And vice versa!) ((covenwind / windchimeshipping)) She also has an owl familiar named Owlfonzo !!

Mei is Yuuki's little sister. She's a 10yr old sorceress and the new self-proclaimed queen of the Ghost Warriors. After extremely unfortunate chain of events, she was banished to the Cursed Realm, being separated from her sister and parents for about a decade (hence the age gap between the sisters). She's impulsive, sarcastic, and carefree spirit. She wields her grandmother's staff and is able to use it as a battleaxe using magic. Her specialty magic is nature, though she uses a dark variant. She absolutely despises Morro and would gladly throw him off a cliff.

The Haven Rattlers tend to just be bg charas, but there are a couple side charas that come into play. Veera and Crystal.

Veera is a young haven constrictai who is Yuuki's personal student in magic. She's about 10yrs old, and is about as calm and collected as ten yr olds come. Veera and Mei are eventually a thing. (dumb lesbian kiddo love) ((blossomshipping))

Crystal is an albino hypnobrai, and is Yuuki's advisor. When Yuuki isn't around, Crystal usually makes sure the island runs smoothly. Her specialty is water magic.

The Haven Dragon (AKA Sir Wigglybutt) is guardian of the former home of the HRs -- Old Haven. Though I mostly consider him Mei's weird flappy dog.

And then outside of the HRs and Karu family, we have Taiga and Madoka. I'll keep them a secret for now ;3c

Aaaand finally we have the next gens - Kieran and Tempest. I don't consider them fully "canon" but it is a concept I like to think about from time to time.

Tempest is Yuuki and Morro's daughter. She practices wind magic and is in her early 20's. She was next in line to be leader of the HRs but stepped down to join the next gen of ninja. She's a bit of the "older sister" of the group, and is a calm, snarky, and genuinely very loving person.

And finally we have Kieran - Yuuki and Morro's adopted serpentine son. He's a haven hypnobrai/venomari mix who consistently chips his right fang by some Mighty Act Of FSM. He's a college student, and is younger sibling to Tempest. He's extremely odd and eccentric, but he loves to make new friends. He will absolutely bring you hot cocoa on a cold day. He's a history nerd and also studies magic (though I haven't decided on a dominant magic type for him.)

#askhole #scrambledfluffmuffins #long post #my ocs #oc: yuuki #oc: mei #oc: sir wigglybutt #oc: kieran #oc: tempest #oc: crystal #oc: veera #wow this got long quick qfkgfjhgjkgkfjhg #i hope this is good friend !!! and thanks a ton (again) !!!!!!! :D #have a good day qkjfgjhfgjh

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mandareeboo · 3 years

Note

I dont have anything exact for a prompt for dc superhero girls but like... any of them that you want to write abt... simply they are girlfriends ur honor <3

"So," says Babs, conversationally. "Are you a 'one and done' kinda gal, or a 'take it slow, let it go' kind?"

Karen bit her lip. Her fingers were shaking as they dug into the wood of her desk. They'd decided it was best to do this in the Gordon home, seeing how the faintest trace of what was sticking out of her arm could send their friend into serious agony. "Um. Both sound terrible. But I guess I'd rather just be done with the pain."

"Mm-hmm." The redhead adjusted her grip on the shard of kryptonite sticking out of her arm blaster. "Gonna be honest with you, Bee. This went in at an angle. It cut you going in, it's probably gonna cut you coming out. Is there anything I can get you to make this less stressing?"

"A stuffy?" she asked. "Preferably not bat-shaped. Not that bats aren't cool. But you usually stuff explosives into the bat ones."

Babs deems that fair and retrieves what Karen can only assume is the least beloved teddy bear she's ever seen. It's fur is bright brown- or it would be, without the dust. This was clearly an ancient Christmas or birthday present, tossed around but never truly used, with just enough sentimentality to avoid being thrown out or donated. Karen stuffs the teddy into the crook of her elbow and squeezes. Hard.

"Are you going to count to three?" she asked.

Babs shook her head. "You'd tense on three. Flexing the muscles is a bad idea."

"Okay. Then wh-"

She tightened her grip and yanked. Hard.

Karen let out a yip and buried her face into the bear. She didn't want to imagine the disaster it'd be if the Commissioner heard.

"I got it!" Babs exclaimed, holding the rock up into the fluorescent light. "Man, I wish I could study this stuff. But I don't want to risk Kara getting sick having it close by."

"Yeah," she answered, trying not to get sick herself over the faintest bit of blood. Karen tapped a few buttons on her panel and the limbs popped off one by one, falling to the floor with a clatter. Karen yanked up her sleeve. "Oh, that's not so bad."

Babs, wetting a cotton ball, agreed with her. "Won't even need stitches. This time I'm definitely gonna count, okay?"

"Yes, please."

It doesn't take long to do the medical end of things. It was, all things considered, a surprisingly small gash. That said, getting cut with a rock was a great way to make yourself hate antiseptic. The crisp white bandage was probably a bit too much, but Babs is thorough.

The damage to her armor, however, is pretty damning. Karen felt her stomach squirm as she opened the hull, revealing ripped circuits, damaged data boards, and a couple of melted discs. Not cheap to purchase. She was going to have to run on bubblegum and duct tape for a while. (Not that that was out of the ordinary)

"Back to the drawing board?" Babs hummed, hefting a truly breathtaking toolbox out of thin air. "I'll go to the lair tomorrow and see if I can't scavenge you a few parts from first-drafts bat weapons."

"Thank you." Karen pulled out a wrench, feeling it in her hands. Her grip wasn't too affected. Good. "Back to the drawing board."

There was a clatter on the stairwell, too fast and too heavy to be Commissioner Gordon's, and there was Diana, flinging open the door in her full Wonder Woman garb. "KAREN ARE YOU-" She caught sight of Karen and seemed to lose an entire inch as she sighed with relief. "Oh, thank Zeus."

Babs let out a shriek. "Diana, did you walk to my house dressed in full uniform? What is somebody saw?"

"I did not walk; I ran. I told the your father I was doing a 'costume play'." Diana seemed to struggle to regain her poise at the sight of the bandage on Karen's arm, jaw tightening. "I was told you jumped in front of Supergirl, little Bumblebee."

Karen let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing her arm. "I think that's a bit of a stretch. Y'see, Babs and I have been prepping ourselves for cases like these, and-"

"Cases like these?" Diana echoed. Her voice was flat. "Cases like what, exactly?"

"Kryptonite weapons!" Babs chirped, holding up the stone. She'd had the sense of mind to wipe it off, at least. "Just being near the stuff can weaken Kara. We didn't even want to consider what might happen if she got poked by it. So we've made work-arounds; thicker armor around our limbs, metal designed to avoid skin-contact with sharp objects, etc. The next step is if they find a way to make it into a ray gun or something, but that's mostly if it's somehow too quick for Kara to dodge, and, let's be real, that probably won't-"

"Barbara." The girl stopped instantly. "Leave me and Bumblebee alone for a moment, please. We need to talk."

Karen gulped.

Babs shot her an apologetic look, then gave the Amazonian some finger guns. "Righty-o, boss. I'll go make us some snacks." She paused at the door, looking over her shoulder. "Just gimme a ring when you're ready, alright?"

Diana jerked her head in a nod. She watched with frightening intensity as the knob clicked closed.

"Diana-"

She whirled around. "Why was I not made aware of this? You and Barbara have been plotting to- to collect shards in your limbs like cufflinks! And you never-"

"It's not our first choice!" Karen held up our hands. "It's not even our last choice, Diana. We're also making shields, and inhibiters. It's an extreme emergency, last resort thing. And we've not even fixed the bugs!"

"It was faulty and you did it anyway?" She shrunk down as Diana slammed her hands on the table. "You could have been seriously injured! Or worse!"

"Diana," she said, showing off the bandage. "I'm mortal, not a water balloon. Trust me, I would have never done this if I thought it would be lethal."

Diana, for her part, did look a bit chastised. Her shoulders fell. "I am... sorry, little Bumblebee. I did not mean to doubt your abilities. It's just- I was out of the loop for one mission, and I came home to find my strongest warrior hardly able to move as she told me you were taken elsewhere for serious wounds."

"Kara talked to you?"

"She tried. She was crying."

Karen winced. She knew Kara would hate this idea. That's why they'd been so quiet about it. "I'm sorry I worried you all, but I wasn't in any real danger."

"This time. What of next time?"

"Now that we know they're onto our weaknesses, there won't be a next time."

"There shouldn't have been a first time!" Diana got down on one knee to hold her arm with great respect. This was one of the few positions she was actually taller than the Amazonian, and it made Karen nervous. She knew how bad it felt to be small. She never wanted other people to feel that way. "Is it bad, αγάπη μου?"

And Karen, smart and strong and absolutely weak to puppy dog eyes, couldn't stop herself. "I was in front of her."

Diana sucked in a breath.

"When it went off. I was in front of Supergirl." Karen forced herself to go on. It felt horrible to say out loud. A betrayal. But she had already betrayed Kara, hadn't she? She needed to own up to it. Reassure them all that she deserved the little scratch on her arm. "I dodged. I dodged out of the way. How horrible is that, Diana?"

"Darling-"

"I dodged," she repeated, voice wobbly with unshed tears. "I knew it could kill her, and I dodged." Fingers dug into her skirt. Her own fingers. The cut burned. "I'm a terrible person."

Diana's fingers cupped her chin, bringing her gaze back to her. "No. Never. You are human, Karen. You were scared."

Karen wished it was that easy. But, to her, it wasn't. She wasn't enough. "Heroes are supposed to take risks."

"Heroes must be alive to take those risks." Diana's fingers tightened their grip- not enough to hurt, but holding her in place. "Please, αγάπη μου. No more secret extreme emergency, last resort things. We are warriors, not blockades to toss in front of each other."

"Promise," she said, and it was the easiest promise she ever made. "...Can we call Babs back in, now? I'm gonna need her help un-soldering some things."

Wonder Woman swooped up for a kiss. Karen was someone who got electrocuted a lot, but nothing so simple had even a bit of life compared to being held and loved by the strongest woman in Metropolis, especially when she smiled like that. "In a moment. Allow me some time with you alone. It’s selfish, but it’s... human.”

#HERE'S THE BITCH #1500 words jesus #I think I'm legally obligated to post this on fanfic/ao3 just for that alone #Ask #Question Mandar #Drabble Prompts #dapper-nahrwhale #DC Superhero Girls 2019 #Diana Prince #Karen Beecher #Barbara Gordon #I don't think this ship has a name?#I mean I think I'm the only goddamn person shipping it #Which is fair #So I will dub the #Diaren #Blood #Blood TW #But it's EXTREMELY light

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recurring-polynya · 3 years

Note

hello ms. polynya! if you are still taking drabble requests and are in the mood for it, I would love to see more of the mall AU (yes, THAT mall AU lmao). bonus points for more omnidirectional horny teenage pining, because that first mall AU drabble nearly made me cry laughing and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. p.s. re: that fanfic author meme—my favorite story of yours is hold on, hold on! closely followed by call me back when the war is over :)

(cont’d)

mall au anon again, realizing I forgot to send like half of what I wanted to request because I got too excited (durr hurr): would love the ensemble cast/lieutenant goon squad because I really enjoy how you riff off of these characters, and/or renji and izuru being dumb friends and also wrangling their Big Crushes. no pressure to fill this though, thanks for being wonderful and generous 💖

I saved this one ‘til last so I would have something to look forward to. I love the Mall Goths AU, it is my greatest pleasure in life to write a bunch of undead shonen badasses as dorky teens trying to ask their crushes to prom.

Thank you to @alopexplasma, who came up with the name of Renji's car. I compulsively write Renji driving a Camaro in every AU I can conceivably shoehorn it into, and somehow, the incredibly obvious name never occurred to me. I am a moron.

Read on ao3 or ff.net

(if you haven’t read the original, read Ch 7 first, either site will do)

💘 💌 💘

Renji folded his hands on his knees and leaned forward, regarding Izuru very, very seriously. “Look, as you know, I don’t have any money, or... connections, or… well, anything, really, but you know that if you got cancer or were in a car wreck or something, any organs that I have two of, like kidneys or lungs? One of them would be yours, man. Bone marrow? I have so much bone marrow, and you can have as much of it as you want.”

“You know,” Momo pointed out, setting two paper cups down on the table, “if you marry Rukia someday, you will be absolutely rolling in it. I brought you coffee.”

“I assume she would want a pre-nup,” Renji replied very philosophically. “Which I respect.”

Izuru rolled his eyes and picked up his coffee. Just before taking a sip, he remembered. “Is this just the sludge that collects at the bottom of the airpot again?”

“Could be,” Momo tried to sound innocent.

“Oh, boy, my favorite!” Renji announced. “It’s so good, you just have to put, like, six creamers in. You want some creamers, Izuru?”

“I’ll pass,” Izuru said, pushing the coffee away. “Why can’t we do this in the game store, again?”

“Because Rukia hangs out at the game store!”

Instead, they were in the Barnes and Noble, where Momo worked in the cafe. Nothing personal to Momo, but Izuru hated the Barnes and Noble. It felt so bland and corporate, and smelled like new carpet, and he always felt like he should buy something if he was going to hang out there (not that he ever did). Besides, the couch was comfier at the game store.

“Just do this for him,” Momo implored, while Renji dug through the creamers, trying to find six that matched.

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it,” Izuru explained. “It’s that I think it’s a bad idea. You have been friends with Rukia since, what, fifth grade?”

“Third grade.”

“Third grade. Right. You sit next to her in class. You eat lunch with her. You talk to her all the time. Just say, ‘hey, Rukia, I really like you, will you go to prom with me?’ There’s no way she can look into your dumb puppy eyes and say no. Tell him, Momo.”

“Izuru’s certainly right about the puppy eyes.”

Renji sighed. “You don’t know Rukia like I do. Her family doesn’t do affection at all, and talking about feelings really scares her. If I ask her point blank like that, she’ll get defensive, and she won’t speak to me for a month, and she won’t go to prom at all, and then I’ll have to third-wheel Ikkaku and Yumichika.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Izuru pointed out. “You could…” he waved a hand vaguely. “You could take Momo.”

Momo shook her head. “Nanao and the Kotetsu sisters and I agreed to go together as gal pals,” she explained. “You could be a gal pal with us, I suppose, but only if you’re willing to coordinate outfits. You do look good in aqua.”

“Thanks,” Renji replied glumly. “Hey, I thought Rangiku was in your group, too?”

“Oh, she got a date.”

Izuru sniffed, pretending to be disinterested. If Shuuhei had finally gotten up the courage to ask Rangiku, then good for him.

“That upperclassman with the silver hair, Gin, asked her. He seems a little creepy to me, but she really likes him, and he’s friends with Aizen-sempai, so he must be a decent guy.”

Kira’s hands tightened on his knees. “She’s not going with Shuuhei?”

Renji gave him a look.

“Shuuhei says prom is lame and he’s not going,” Momo shrugged.

“I see,” Izuru frowned. “I mean, he’s not wrong.”

“He is wrong!” Renji protested. “Prom rocks. You wear fancy outfits and buy flowers for the person you like and there’s some insane theme, like Arabian Nights or Haunted Halloween Castle. You slow dance to ‘Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith, and when it’s over you go get pancakes. What part of that isn’t awesome?”

“This year’s theme is ‘Lifetimes Past,’” Momo dryly informed him.

“Exactly. In any case, I have dreamed of taking Rukia to prom for years, are you going to help me write her a love letter or not?”

Izuru groaned. “I don’t know why Rukia gets such crummy grades, because she’s actually very smart. She is definitely going to be able to tell that you didn’t write this.”

“I know that! You think I don’t know how smart she is? Look, I just want you to write it all nice in Kira-speak, and then I’ll translate it into dumbass. Just help me get my thoughts together. You know I don’t word good, but I really think that writing it out and giving her a chance to process it on her own is the best way to go about this.”

Momo turned sad eyes on Izuru, not that his resolve wasn’t already crumbling. Abarai was a goon and a bonehead, but his devotion to his long-time best friend was tooth-rottingly sweet. Izuru would feel like a villain in a Christmas special if he said no.

“Fine. Fine. But I want you to help me get the Festiva running again and I get to approve whatever it is you’re planning on wearing to prom. It better have sleeves, for one thing.”

“Deal!” Renji replied, his face splitting into a huge grin.

Izuru turned to a clean page in his writing notebook and licked the tip of his pen. “Dear Rukia,” he narrated.

“No! Don’t put her name!”

“Don’t put her name?”

“No names. I have seen a lot of teen movies, and notes like these always end up in the wrong hands. Rukia would die if something like that happened. Or if her brother found it, he would straight up murder me and then I wouldn’t get to go to prom.”

Izuru blinked at him. “Fine. No names.” He tapped his pen against the page. “ ‘We have been friends for a long time, and I feel that the time has come for me to make a clean breast of it. You are the most important person in my life. I am utterly besotten--”

“Er, hey, um, Izuru.” The tips of Renji’s ears were very pink. “Not to say that this isn’t, um, true, but I was thinking more along the lines of ‘Do you want to go to prom? JUST AS FRIENDS’ Maybe that part could be all in caps? or underlined? We could put in some little boxes that she could just check off ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and hand it back to me?”

Izuru raised one eyebrow. “But you don’t want to go ‘just as friends.’”

“Well, that’s true, yes, but this is Rukia we’re talking about, so you kinda have to ease her into things.”

Izuru regarded Renji with lidded eyes. “You can’t even ask her to prom as friends? You’re such a coward.”

“I’m not a coward,” Renji returned, but his voice was very small.

“You’re sixteen and I do not like to throw the word ‘love’ around, but it’s very obvious that you love Rukia, and I refuse to help you ask her to the prom as friends. You don’t have to admit everything, but you have to admit something. It’s go big or go home.”

“Okay,” Renji grumbled.

“I think he’s right,” Momo said, patting Renji’s hand. “She must wonder how you feel about her from time to time. If you insist on framing it ‘as friends’, she may actually view that as a rejection of the possibility of anything romantic ever happening between the two of you.”

Renji wrinkled his nose, but didn’t say anything.

“Ahem,” Izuru cleared his throat. “Let’s put in some compliments. What are some things you like about Rukia?”

“Things he liked about Rukia” was one of Renji’s very favorite subjects, and he perked up right away. “She’s cool,” he announced. “She’s cool as hell. Write that down.”

“I think you’re cool as hell,” Izuru wrote down reluctantly. This is not your love letter, he reminded himself. No one is even going to know you had anything to do with this.

“Your hair smells really good and you’re the most creative person I know,” Renji dictated. “You have incredibly sexy biceps.”

“Renji.”

“What? She does!”

“Fine, fine. That’s probably enough compliments, we need to keep this to one page. Um, what do you regard as your primary ‘ship symbolism?”

“My what now?”

“You know. When you think about Rukia and yourself, what metaphor springs to mind? Sun and moon? Sea and sky? King and lionheart?”

Renji looked utterly perplexed.

“Momo, help me out. How do you see you and Aizen-sempai?” “Doctor and Companion,” Momo answered immediately.

Izuru made a face. “Right.”

Renji’s face was screwed up in hard thought. Izuru could practically smell circuitry frying. “Rukia is like… a star?” he finally hazarded.

“A star is good!” Momo encouraged.

“And you are…?” Izuru prompted. “The moon? The sky? A different star?”

“A Camaro?” Renji guessed. “I’m loud and I have a powerful engine.”

“How are you even in AP Literature?” Izuru groaned.

“Well, what’s your dominant simile or whatever with Shuuhei?” Renji demanded.

“Poet and warrior,” Izuru snapped back testily.

“Which one of you is the warrior?” Momo asked, wrinkling her nose. “I mean, you both work on the school newspaper.”

“Shuuhei takes tae kwon do!” Izuru insisted.

“Well, why don’t you just write in whatever you’re gonna say for the poet-warrior thing, since you’ve obviously already put a lotta thought into it,” Renji suggested. “I’ll polish up my star/sportscar metaphor and drop it in when I copy it over.”

Izuru did not like leaving the keystone of a love confession in the hands of a man who thought manual transmissions were romantic, but he had to go on shift down at the food court in half an hour. He had to keep this moving. “Fine,” he bit off. “‘You are my muse. Your strength of body and spirit inspire poetry in me. My soul sings when I am with you. If only I had your bravery, this admission would be much easier. Instead, I am sending you this shy missive to ask, from the depths of my tender heart: Will you go to the prom with me?’ Done.”

“Oh, that was so romantic,” Momo sighed. “Izuru, you should write a romance novel.”

“Never,” Izuru replied.

Renji was making a Renji face.

“You hate it.”

“It was just… pretty flowery.”

“Rewrite it however you want. ‘My soul revs at 5000 rpm for you, right before I drop my rusty bumper in your brother’s driveway again.’”

“Don’t trash talk Zabimaro!”

“I would never trash talk Zabimaro, I was trash talking the metaphorical Camaro that is your love for Rukia.” Izuru ripped the page out of his notebook and handed it over. “Here you go. I gotta go to work. Beef n’ Cheddars don’t assemble themselves.”

Renji studied the page for a moment. “Thanks, Izuru. You won’t regret this.”

“I already regret it. Good luck. I still think you should just talk to her.”

“Well, I think you should ask Shuuhei!” Renji barked out suddenly. “I know you want to! You can go to Denny’s with us afterward!”

Izuru flashed him a pitying look. “Thank you for your concern, but I happen to share the opinion that prom is lame and I have no plans to attend.”

💘 💌 💘

When Izuru walked into the gaming store the next day, Ikkaku and Iba were sitting at the front table, assembling decks of Magic cards.

“The girls took over the back,” Ikkaku grumbled bitterly as he contemplated a Thicket Basilisk.

“Is Renji here?” Izuru asked. “He said he was coming today.”

“Haven’t seen him,” Iba grunted. “Your friend Hinamori is, though.”

Izuru had been trying to maintain his usual heavy veneer of Not Caring About Abarai’s Wretched Love Life, but secretly, he was dying to know how the note had gone over. Renji had said he was going to give it to Rukia after school, and then ghost off to soccer practice so she had time to think it over. Izuru thought this was the dumbest idea he had ever heard, apart from every other plan Renji had ever had.

There certainly was a lot of giggling coming from the back of the store. Rangiku was holding court on the couch, Momo and Rukia on either side of her. On the coffee table, half a dozen magazines featuring girls in sparkly dresses were scattered among the usual copies of Dragon and Wizard.

“I can’t decide if I want to go for a one-shoulder gown, or something completely strapless,” Rangiku was sighing. “Rukia, you have good shoulders, what are you thinking?”

Rukia mumbled something about lacking the necessary structural support for a sleeveless gown.

“You’d be surprised! It just needs to fit tightly enough!”

“You should come shopping with us on Saturday, Rukia!” Momo offered brightly. “You really don’t know what’s going to look good until you try it on.”

“Oh…” Rukia stammered. “My brother said he would buy me a dress. He said it’s important that I reflect well on the family.”

“Fortunately, your brother has killer taste,” Rangiku shrugged. “I would let him buy me all the dresses he wanted to.” She smiled her bright, friendly smile. “You could still come shopping, though, get some ideas of what you like! We could take some pictures to show him. I’m sure he takes input.”

Izuru had met Rukia’s brother. The man most certainly did not take input.

“Plus, it’ll just be fun to have you along!” Momo encouraged. “You have a great sense of style, I’d love to have your opinions!”

The portents looked auspicious, but Izuru needed positive confirmation. “Are you planning to go to the prom, Rukia?” he asked, flinging himself down in the ancient, creaky recliner. “I would have thought you were too cool for that.”

Two pink spots appeared on Rukia’s cheeks. “Yeah, I’m going, I guess.”

“You are not going to believe this, Izuru!” Rangiku gasped breathlessly. “But our Renji asked her to go with him!”

“Surely not!” Izuru scoffed, a pleasant feeling of satisfaction filling his chest.

“It’s just as friends!” Rukia protested. “And of course I don’t care about prom, but it means a lot to him, so…” she made a frustrated shrug.

Just.

As.

Friends.

Izuru shot a glare of horrified disbelief at Momo, who shrugged helplessly.

As if on cue, Renji’s mop of bright red hair poked around the edge of the Warhammer display. The couch backed to the front of the store, so Izuru could see him, but the girls couldn’t. Renji pointed emphatically at Rukia, and then stuck out his tongue victoriously, making a “hang loose” sign with his hand.

“I need to talk to you!” Izuru announced loudly, jumping up, grabbing Renji by front of his shirt, and hauling him into the aisle with all the ceramic dragon figurines. “You moron!” he hissed.

“I just did what you said!” Renji defended, holding up his hands.

“No, you didn’t! Did you even give her the note?”

“I did not. I thought about it, and I decided you were right. I talked to her with my actual voice. I told her I really wanted to go to prom with her, and she made a real cute face and then she said yes. Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

Izuru squeezed his eyes shut. “But you’re going as friends.”

“Yeah, well, we are friends, and I’m okay with that. You know, it was the right move, anyway. The reason I was late is because her brother cornered me after work and lectured me for half an hour.”

“Byakuya went into the Foot Locker?” Izuru frowned, trying to picture it.

“Of course not. He would never go into a Foot Locker. He waited outside.”

Izuru admittedly hadn’t taken Rukia’s intense, overprotective brother into account, back when they were writing the note, even though he remembered Renji bringing it up. “Well, I’m glad you’re still alive.”

“Yeah, me too. I offered to wax his car, just immediately. That knocked him off his game a little.” Renji made a thoughtful face. “He, uh… was appreciative, actually. I guess Rukia’s been wanting to go to prom and pretending she doesn’t, and he thought I picked up on it and asked her because I’m a good friend.”

Izuru stared at Renji blankly. “What?”

Renji shook his head. “I can’t explain it. Kuchiki brains are weird. Anyway, he said I don’t have to wax his car, but he wants me to come over to dinner so he can pre-screen my table manners and I have to meet their scary grandfather.” Renji scratched his head. “I wonder if the old man has a car I could wax.”

Izuru let out a big sigh. “Well, I’m glad it worked out. Sort of. Even if you wasted a very good love letter that I worked very hard on.”

“You spent ten minutes on it, tops, and it did not go to waste.”

Izuru frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t you feel like… like it helps to talk that stuff out? To put your feelings into words and write them down and look at them? I mean, I know it helped me, I was just thinking that maybe…”

“Give it up, Abarai,” Izuru mumbled. Whenever anything remotely good happened to Renji, he got really optimistic that all his friends could repeat his successes. When Izuru was in the right mood, it struck him as sort of sweet, but right now, it was just irritating.

Renji stuffed his hands in his pockets and huffed. “Look. Talking to Rukia was… it was easier than I thought. T’be honest, I pretty much expected her to turn me down cold.” He gave a wistful little smile. “We’ll just see how it goes, y’know? Might even be able to work up the nerve to ask her for a slow dance.”

Izuru shook his head. “You’re hopeless, Abarai.”

“Yeah, well, takes one to know one.”

“We are not the same,” Izuru informed him pointedly. “I am a dreamer who pines for that which is out of his reach. You’re just a dumbass who can’t grab at the thing an inch in front of him.”

Renji gave one of his big, open shrugs. “Say what you want about me, but I have grabbed. It’s hard to judge distance when you’re too close to it. I’m just saying that I don’t think your dreamy moon poet is as far off as you think.”

“Why do you always listen to me exactly enough to misunderstand everything I say?” Izuru griped.

“I am a dumbass, you had me there.” He stood up straighter. “But Rukia is not a dumbass and I would like to go say hello to her before she thinks we’re making out back here in the sparkly dragon grotto like Ikkaku and Yumichika.”

“I heard that!” Ikkaku’s voice echoed through the store.

“Matsumoto is trying to convince her to get a strapless dress,” Izuru explained.

“Really? I’m in favor of that,” Renji grinned, his eyebrows raising. “She’s got the shoulders for it.”

“Go,” Izuru sighed, slapping his friend on the back.

As Izuru turned to follow Renji to the back sitting area, he saw Shuuhei hovering in the store’s main aisle. He was wearing a Tool t-shirt over a ratty grey henley with the elbows blown out. His hair looked like he put a bunch of gel in it and then immediately gone to a gymnastics class. There was a ‘69’ sharpied on his cheek. As usually, Izuru couldn’t believe how cool the guy was.

“Uh, hey, Izuru,” Shuuhei said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

“Hey,” Izuru replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “Wondered if you were in today.”

Usually, Shuuhei would reply with some joke about his loud co-worker, Mashiro, but instead, his fingers curled and uncurled around a piece of paper he was holding.

Hmm, Izuru thought absently. Shuuhei must use the same kind of notebook that I do.

Shuuhei’s eyes darted to the side, and then back to Izuru. “Hey, um, someone slipped a note in my locker today, but they didn’t sign it. I don’t, uh, want to be forward or anything, but I think… this might be your handwriting?”

The floor dropped away from Izuru’s feet. He was had been transported to the Elemental Plane of Mortification. His corporeal body had ceased to exist.

Suddenly, behind Shuuhei’s back, Renji and Momo appeared in the doorway to the back room, flashing huge grins and four enthusiastic thumbs up.

Izuru was going to kill them.

#wacky au requests #my writing #i loved this one??#a 90's high school au is a thing that can be so personal #i never went to prom and it has ruined my brain by making me obsessed with prom stories #mr p never went to prom either and he has not spent a single second thinking about it since #i said this was the last one but there might be one more

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crowleyellestair · 4 years

Text

Fools In Love - Jaskier (The Witcher)

Masterlist

Other Jaskier Fic:

More Than Ok

Geralt was annoyed at the sense of familiarity. Forced to be kneeling on the ground, hands tied. Looking around, he notices he’s not in a place he recognizes. Runes he was unfamiliar with tiled the floor and the wooden ceiling rose high. There were candles lit, and though the place looked recently inhabited, it was old and dusty. Not much caught his eye, except for his humble bard, limp on the steps a few feet away from him. The steps led up to an old wooden throne with a woman upon it.

Geralt sighed, knowing who sat there. It was the monster they were hunting. A succubus that had plagued the town for a month now. There was a twist to this woman, however. Not only did she have her way with men in their sleep, but when she was done, she would eat their heart. And to top it all off, she only went for starry-eyed lovers.

Which is why this job had been mucked from the start.

Y/n and Geralt were the ones in charge of choosing the jobs. Mainly Geralt, but he trusted y/n enough to do it, like this job. When they had told Jaskier about it, Geralt told him to stay in his room. They had travelled with Y/n, but she would have other obligations from time to time, and leave the two. Somehow, she would always find them after a week or two and they would continue as nothing happened. Since she was gone, he got to listen to Jaskier talk on about the woman. Because of this, he had assumed that Jaskier was in love with Y/n.

And he was.

But Y/n didn’t know that, and apparently Geralt wasn’t supposed to say anything. So, to cover his heart, Jaskier had said there was no need to worry, and his heart was as free as a bird. Geralt had never said Y/n’s name when mentioning that Jaskier was in love, but she was there. And he could see the pain she felt after Jaskier had trotted out of the inn. The new info had thrown the whole team for a loop. Y/n had been more drawn from the bard and this reflected on Jaskier’s mood. And it made for poor company, which had affected Geralt as well.

Jaskier and Y/n would always share a room in any inn they had stayed at, and Geralt was completely fine with it. Usually Y/n and Geralt would share a quiet and respectful drink before she would retire. When she would head for the room, Jaskier would appear, and the night would be filled with song.

The previous night was all wrong, however. Geralt and Y/n shared a drink, but it was far from quiet. Jaskier sat next to them, speaking of his grievances of the world and falling into a sullen place. Geralt assumed it was because Y/n hadn’t really spoken all day. He knew that Jaskier grew jealous of the two when they went on missions alone together, but somehow Geralt had reassured him every time. And it was true. Geralt never felt anything towards her except respect for her swordsman ship and her magical prowess. Though she only used her power for healing, it came in handy.

Y/n had retired early, and Geralt had Jaskier off of his hands as he fled to spill his woes to a random woman at the bar. He hadn’t thought anything of it, except relief. But now, looking at the woman before him, he could tell he messed up. She didn’t fit the description of who they were looking for, but of course it didn’t really matter now. Geralt was bound securely, and his friend was drunk out of his mind. He knew that it wasn’t an alcoholic beverage that made him that way. No, it was love. The demon would flush more endorphins and emphasize what was already there. It was also evident in the joy she gained from taking a person from their significant other.

For a demon of lust, she was wearing multiple layers of fur and she looked like she had put up a fight with someone. Geralt knew it couldn’t have been Y/n. In fact, Geralt was worried that she didn’t know they were gone. She had retired for the night, and since they were fighting, Jaskier’s return to their room might have been questionable. At this point, Y/n was their only foreseeable hope unless Geralt could talk his way out of it.

“So, you are the succubus.” The woman looked up at him and smirked. A bare leg popped out from under her coat, and pointed towards Jaskier. He fumbled up the steps, not being able to stand, but still reaching for it.

“Yes, and you’re the Witcher.” He hummed in response. He noticed that Jaskier was breathing heavy and groggily, much like when the djinn attacked. His movements were slow, and he kept mumbling something.

“What are you doing?” He looked to the suffering man, anger somewhat filling him. He didn’t have emotions, but he knew that he was bothered by the sight. For both Jaskier and Y/n.

“Waiting.” His eyes flicked up to the woman.

“For what?” She looked at Geralt, but quickly brushed him off, looking down to the man groveling at her feet.

“My friend. She has paid for your heart.” She chuckled at Jaskier, putting on a sad, mocking voice. “Y/n. Y/n! I just can’t get over his voice! Such a lovely singing voice, gone to waste. Maybe I should keep him around-.” Both adults’ head’s snap to the door hearing movement. “Ah, my gal has arrived-.”

“Get your hands off my dandelion!” Y/n had burst through the door, Geralt’s sword in hand. It was raised and ready to strike, putting a small smile on Geralt’s face.

“Y/n.” The gruff voice spoke. Upon hearing the name, Jaskier turned and fell on his back at the base of the steps while groggily shouting it. His eyes were almost black as his pupils were too blown. His cheeks were as red as his lips, lips he kept licking for a reason he didn’t know. He was only in a lose shirt and pants, and the sight broke Y/n’s heart.

“I’m here, don’t worry.” The demon stood, walking down and over the laying man.

“The lover. How cute.” Her head disappeared behind the large coat, but she started to morph. The fur molding into her body, grotesque bone wings pop out of her back. A screech was heard before the demon charged, soaring over Geralt, and at Y/n. To help, Geralt stood, pushing the beast upward, and off balance. She fell and slid to Y/n’s feet. The warrior took a step back, bringing the sword down and decapitating the thing. She was out of breath, looking at Geralt.

“That was… easy.” Y/n turns to the door when she hears movement. Another decrepit monster swoops in, claws against her shoulder’s, pushing her to the ground. She falls hard on the small of her back, the wind getting knocked out of her. Geralt stepped to help, but the sword was already plunged deep into the thing’s chest. The body fell on top of her, but she laid there, waiting for her breath to catch. After a moment, she pushed the thing off, getting up, and walking to Geralt. He turned, showing the binds. She cuts them before looking past his arms to find Jaskier wrecked. Y/n pushes the sword into the man’s hands before rushing to Jaskier. She slides on her knees to get to him.

“Y/n!” He flailed into her arms, and she held him up. She throws his arm over her shoulders and drags him to Geralt. Jaskier shoved his nose as far as it went into the crook of her neck. A dark blush followed and rushed to her cheeks.

“So… When is this gonna wear off?” Geralt looks between her eyes and Jaskier. A ghost of a smile brushed him, and he replied with,

“Not sure. We should head back to the inn.” She nods and they make their way back to the horses. After a bit of help, Jaskier was on her horse, Horse.

“Huuuuugh. Dandi, you’re backwards.” And he was. Jaskier just looked down at her, going for a gentle caress of the cheek, but instead throwing his hand at her. She grabbed it before it hit her, and she put it back in his lap. She rolled her eyes and hoped onto Horse.

“Oh, Y/n. Look at you.” She was trying to look over his shoulder, but he keeps sticking his face into hers.

“I can’t, Dandi, that’s not possible.”

“I could help.” She sighed and raised her brow. He smiled; eyes still blown. “You have bright (E/c) eyes. A nose, perfect for,” he brought his finger up and booped her, “booping. Lips that I think of kissing every night. Once I was going to steal a kiss. Then I thought It would be creepy, seeing as you were sleeping.” She could feel Geralt’s gaze at the comment. “You know, rooming with you is hard. Laying in a bed, never making a move.”

“Jaskier, you are high out of your mind.” He let out a laugh and his forehead fell on her shoulder.

“I love you.” He quickly sat back up and looked upset. “Why were you ignoring me yesterday. You know, if I were a fool, I’d think you were upset with me.” She nods.

“Well, I was, so, looks like you are a real ass.”

“But why? I don’t remember saying anything that would make you upset.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”

The trio had made their way back to the inn, and Geralt helped Y/n get the bard back into the room. He had fell asleep on the ride, and now was face down, ass up on the bed. The sight was hilarious, but Geralt had to make something known.

“The demon only went for fools in love. He’s my…. But definitely not in love with me.” His amber eyes had shown with playfulness with an edge. Y/n nodded, but only said a good night before closing the door.

#jaskier x reader #jaskier imagine #witcher imagine #geralt #dandelion x reader

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valkyriesryde · 5 years

Text

Sergeant Boinky

Pairing: Bucky x Reader but mainly platonic relationships with reader and Sam

Summary: Bucky’s got a new interest and Sam and Y/N are taking full advantage of it.

Warnings: swearing, fluff, embarrassed Bucks

Word Count: 1,853

A/N: Dedicated to @mrwinterr and inspired by this post that she shared, thanks for giving me an excuse to procrastinate my WIPs hahahah this is also not edited at all i apologise in advance

Masterlist

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was an average overcast afternoon at the Avengers compound. A quiet day, not a peep through the house, not even a mouse.

The members that were left were either relaxing or working. Each to their own.

Bucky Barnes lay on the couch in the common area, phone in hand, held above his head scrolling slowly but steadily.

Sam Wilson sat on the couch beside him. His feet were propped up on the coffee table he lazily leaned on his elbow as he played on his Nintendo switch.

Y/N Y/L/N lay on the couch opposite in a similar position to Bucky, they almost mirrored each other except she held a book to the side and was making her way through.

There was a comfortable silence between the three of them. Every now and then Sam would let out an annoyed huff or you could hear Y/N turning a page but apart from that, it was peaceful.

Then Bucky spoke.

“Hey what does ‘y/n’ mean?”

“Yes or no” Sam didn’t bother looking up when he answered and Y/N ignored them both.

Bucky read the sentence over again in his head, it didn’t make sense.

“That doesn’t work,” Bucky looked back to his friends more confused than before. This caught both Sam and Y/N’s attention. They looked up, first at Bucky and then to each other. There was only one other possible meaning and both knew what it was.

Neither were strangers to fanfiction, no one really is a stranger to fanfiction, unless I suppose you’re about 105 and missed the rise of it. Questions started spinning in their heads at what exactly was happening in front of them.

Was Bucky reading fanfiction?

How did he find it?

Y/N’s most important question was 'oh God did someone introduce him to ao3?!’

Sam’s most important question was 'who the hot diggity hell is he reading about?!’

They were freaking out in their heads so much that they almost forgot to answer him.

“What’s the context?” Y/N raised an eyebrow, surely it had to be something else.

“Uhh it’s in a story but I don’t know what it means"

"Your name,” Sam answered and Bucky nodded reading back over the sentence again.

'Bucky staring at Bucky’s eyes…' that didn’t make sense still? Maybe he had to use another name?

Y/N and Sam had sunk low into their seats, both prayed that the world would open up and swallow them.

It was hours later and not much had changed. The embarrassment of earlier had passed and they were back to normal.

Steve Rogers had joined the gang in the common area and sat next to Sam with sketchbook in hand.

Bucky Barnes was now fast asleep with his phone resting beside him on the couch.

Sam Wilson was still playing on his Nintendo switch but was starting to get bored of losing the same boss fight over and over again.

Y/N Y/L/N had set her book aside and was now trying not to fall asleep herself.

Then she saw it.

The black shine of Bucky’s phone caught her eye and she sat up and took two steps towards it causing Steve and Sam to turn their gaze towards her.

“What are you doing?”

“Why are you staring at Bucky?” They both whispered to her, as not to wake him up and she just smiled and shrugged.

“I’m curious” was all she said before she plucked the phone quickly from his side and sat between the two men.

“Don’t you need a password to get into it?” Sam asked, catching on as to what she was curious about and he had to admit he’d thought about it too.

“This is an invasion of privacy you two realise that don’t you?” Steve wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of going through his friends phone, it’s not like there was a need to.

“Steve, this is a matter of life and death, now tell us his password.” Sam was straight to the point and though it wasn’t quite a matter of life and death per se, it was the deciding factor on how much embarrassment he was going to cause Bucky.

“It’s 0410 how do you not know that"

"How do you know that?” Steve questioned Y/N but she merely rolled her eyes

“It’s your birthday and then his, and he told me a while ago” she smiled innocently between the two but behind that smile was mischief and she quickly unlocked the phone in Sam’s hand.

Low and behold there it was in all its glory. Fanfiction. About himself. The two curious critters stifled a laugh as they read through the story. A classic enemies to friends to lovers. Everybody loves one of those. They kept looking, kept reading. Bucky seemed to have it all. Coffee shop au, roommates au, you name it he probably had it.

“Oh I’m gonna enjoy this”

“Enjoy what?” Sam locked the phone immediately and hid it from view as Y/N let out a small scream as soon as Natasha had spoken.

Natasha looked at the two questionably then at Steve who had been ignoring them and gave her a shrug.

Bucky sat up abruptly, his eyes wide open searching the room for any kind of danger after being woken up by Y/N’s scream. When he noticed nothing out of the ordinary Bucky fell back into the couch and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Why are you screaming?” He asked before getting up and making his way to the door.

“Nat scared the shit out of me, sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

Bucky grumbled an it’s okay and walked out. As soon as he was out of sight Sam tucked the phone between the cushion and couch where Bucky had been and sat back in his seat.

“Should I be asking what you were doing?”

“It’s best to ignore them, that’s what I’ve been doing” answered Steve.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Bucky woke up the next morning he couldn’t help feel content, happy even. He couldn’t help but think about the domestic life, the two story home with a cat on his lap and girl under his arm.

He’d spent half the night in bed reading through series on his phone of that domestic life. Imagining himself as a mob boss, a writer, a college student. And strangely he didn’t feel like he was missing anything. He didn’t wish that life was his, in fact, it made him more appreciative of the life he had. The one thing Bucky kept coming back to was how close he was with his friends in the stories, and they were pretty spot on, that’s how it was in his real life.

The only aspect he would probably change is the whole not having a girl under his arm. A specific one.

Bucky couldn’t help think of that domestic life when he walked into the dining room to see a group of his friends, his family, all chowing down stacks of pancakes and bacon and fruit.

And if that didn’t surprise him enough he went into a state of shock when he walked into the kitchen to see Y/N flipping more pancakes in her pyjamas.

He had to be dreaming? Or been thrown into an alternate reality where all of his domestic dreams are true?

“Morning Bonky,” Y/N flashed him a smile over her shoulder. Bonky? That was the nickname from one his fics he read yesterday?

“Bonky?” Bucky picked at the bacon on the bench trying to act nonchalant.

“Yea Sam and I came up with a couple nicknames for you last night, isn’t that right same,” Sam jumped to take a seat on the bench opposite them, a giant smirk on his face and that could only mean bad news for Bucky.

“That’s right indeed and boy did we come up with some great ones Bork,” Sam winked at Bucky who sighed in response.

“Oh what about Boinks!”

“Sergeant Boinky!” Bucky rolled his eyes as the two went back and forth but there was a nagging voice in the back of his head. These names were used in the stories from yesterday and he had a feeling they knew that. How embarrassing.

“Ooh I like that one,” she turned to Bucky and flashed him an innocent smile, “what do you think Sarge?”

Bucky gulped. So maybe some of those stories had chapters that were maybe not so safe for work. And maybe a common theme in them was him being called ‘Sarge’ or ‘Sergeant’. And then maybe he also had been imagining it was a certain girl who was currently stood in her pyjamas staring up at him like it was the most innocent act in the world. But there was nothing innocent going on in his mind.

“How um, how did you come up with these names anyway?” Need to get out, need to leave, this is an ambush. God Bucky wanted her to call him Sarge again, he wanted to hear her moan it in his ear and oh fuck he needed to get out of there.

“Online,” Sam’s smirk grew bigger and Bucky narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t touch my phone again.”

Y/N and Sam looked at each other then back at Bucky still trying to be innocent, but they knew they had caught him.

“I didn’t touch your phone, why would you think that?” Sam had never had so much fun messing with Bucky, but he needed to know who Bucky was picturing with him because it can’t have been himself!

“Is there something on your phone you don’t want us knowing about Sarge?” Bucky caught the growl in his throat before it could escape as Y/N finished cooking the last of the pancakes.

“No, nothing, not at all.” he shook his head and started making himself a plate of food to hide the red in his face from the two asshats.

Y/N shrugged and gave him a pat on his back, “whatever you say Bonky,” she winked at him before leaving the room. Sam came up next to him, leaning over the counter, stupid smirk still on his face, gonna smack that thing real soon Bucky thought.

“So who was it? Gal Gadot? Mila Kunis? Oh! Xena, Warrior Princess!?” Sam started jumping with excited as he kept listing off celebrities and characters he thought Bucky might have liked enough to read fanfiction about them, paired with him.

“None of your business,” he pushed past Sam and peered out the ajar door to make sure no one was listening. He didn’t need the whole compound knowing what he’s been up to.

“Oooh, or is it someone a bit closer to home perhaps?” Sam wiggled his eyebrows and Bucky rolled his eyes, plate in hand and ready to retreat back to his room.

“You know I can kill you right?”

“And yet,” he held out his arms, “here I stand.” Sam moved to step past Bucky and retreat back to the dining area but not before pausing, “don’t worry, I won’t tell Y/N.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And a big thank you for reading!

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natsumebookss · 3 years

Text

Io Asteria Voice Lines

Next up's Io, the last member of my main three Nebula girls! Let me know if you want to see lines for the others! (I can't promise all nine for fear of clogging this blog with Nebula content, but Stelle and Phea are definitely priority ones.). Enjoy!

Self-Introduction 1: The name's Io Asteria. I just came here for intel, so don't get too used to me. With any luck, I'll be outta here before you know it, so don't you dare give me a reason to miss this place, okay?

Self-Introduction 2: Hello, honored citizen. I am Io Asteria and I am most pleased to meet your--gyah, don't you dare walk in on me when I'm trying to practice my professional introductions! I swear I'll fucking kill you if this happens again!

(Note: Io is the daughter of the Manufacturer and one of Olympia's three current presidents. Since the Manufacturer kidnapped her and faked her death when she was very young, she wasn't really raised in a presidential household and...it shows. Hence why she works on looking more "polished" to the public now that they know she's alive.)

Personal Story

Story Chapter End 1: The Firebrands...they've gotta be the best path to my revenge, right?

Story Chapter End 2: If I'm a mad princess who kills for what she wants...what stopped me from killing her?

(Note: Io did not take the Actress revelation well at all and it was frankly a miracle she didn't Witch out then and there. She did, however, mercilessly attack the Manufacturer, and since he's her father and people didn't know the full story, the Actresses at Star Corporations assume she's some kind of madwoman. She starts to assume this herself until another magical girl, Xing, confronts her for trying to join the Firebrands. Xing asks Io if she can really kill her, since she's one of the Firebrands' biggest enemies. Io doesn't, which makes her question if she really is who the rumors make her out to be.)

Story Chapter End 3: Valvi-nee's the only family I've got now, so I've gotta fight for us to stay together!

Story Select 1: How the hell can I not hate my father? He started all this!

Story Select 2: I'll do whatever it takes to get back to them.

Story Select 3: If it's for the ones I love, I don't care what I've gotta do!

Story Select 4: I'm sorry, Xing. I guess I can't be a Firebrand after all.

Story Select 5: Is it normal to hate someone enough to try to kill them?

Story Select 6: Your gang captured my friend, so you ain't getting off that easy!

Stats

Strengthening Complete: My lasers are all fired up and ready for action!

Strengthening Max: I'm so strong now, I could vaporize a Firebrand just for lookin' at me! Relax, I'm kidding!

Episode Level Up: I'm Nebula through and through, past alliances be damned!

Magia Level Up: If only my father could see how strong I am now. I bet I could almost convince him to put a stop to all this with enough magic.

Magical Release 1: I'll never stop bein' amazed at how generous Valvi-nee is. She should hate me after everything my family's done to hers.

Magical Release 2: Back when I was out on the streets homeless, she took care of me. Even once she found out I was a dirty Tsukimura...

Magical Release 3: God knows I couldn't forgive like that. That's why she deserves a happy life more than any of us. Certainly more than me.

Awaken 1: This is where the Manufacturer came from. These magical girls inspired him to make us. That's why I gotta fight for them!

Home Screen

Login (first login): The Actress name my father gave me was "Altesse," or "highness" to you. I ditched it and became Chevalier as soon as I found out I didn't wanna be the one being saved. I might not be a kind knight, but I'll protect ya all the same.

Login (morning): School is so pointless when you're an Actress like me. I mean, what're they gonna do, make me write 2000 words on the horrors of war when I was made to be part of all that? Valvi-nee'll kill me if I skip, though.

Login (noon): Why aren't I sitting with anyone? All the rich girls at Mizuna are way outta my wheelhouse 'cause I was raised to be a warrior instead of an heiress. Maybe I should try some of the regular gals who tested in instead.

Login (evening): Wait, is that actually a video store over there? I should probably be getting back, but I gotta check it out. These things all closed by the time I escaped Star Corporations, and 'sides, I still haven't decided what movie I'm gonna watch tonight.

Login (night): Hey, you goin' to the midnight premiere of that horror movie in a few hours? I swear, the franchise is so bad, but I've always gotta be the first to see them. Even a student director like me could do better than that!

Login (other): Leo-nii volunteers at a hospital and was born with healing magic, so he helps us out a lot on cases. I get that both presidential kids couldn't up and leave the country, but I miss him so much already.

Login (AP full): I might be neutral, but I ain't sitting out when it comes to Actress work. Stelle and Valvi-nee need all the Soul Gems they can get, and I like takin' out Witches anyway. Anything to keep me from going at some of the shady magical girls in town.

NOTE: Io really, really hates Promised Blood and Neo-Magius due to the former's status as a Firebrand-like magical girl gang and the latter's association with the Wings of the Magius (whose brainwashing techniques she opposes most of all since her friend Stelle was brainwashed for many years). Of the Nebula members, Io has come the closest to breaching the neutrality contract, since her and Juri being in the same room together practically guarantees that a fight will break out between them.

Login (BP full): Can the Mirror Witch really make copies of anything? Even your past selves? 'Cause when I think about the girl I was back then and how I believed all my father's lies, I just wanna throttle her! Maybe I'll finally get the chance!

Tap 1: There's that cheesecake shop they were talking about... Valvi-nee wanted caramel and Koto wanted mint. I told Koto I didn't want anything to do with that nasty stuff, but whatever. I'm feeling nice today.

Tap 2: People always tell me I get mad real easy, but that ain't the case. Just don't hurt my friends or call me by my father's name, and you're good. Can't say what'll happen to you if you call me Io Tsukimura, though.

Tap 3: Surprised to see me in a Mizuna uniform? I pulled some strings to get in. Mizuna can brag about havin' a president's daughter, and they'll write me one hell of a reference letter for film school. I ain't proud of it, but that's how it's done, y'know?

Tap 4: Mom and Leo-nii just found out about me a few months ago, and it's already leaked all over. The lost First Daughter, alive all this time and all that. Don't get me wrong, having them back is awesome but...I'm just glad the paparazzi aren't breathing down my neck here.

Tap 5: Every rebel leader from the movies gotta have a bruiser to back him up, and I don't mind playing that role. If it's what I have to do to keep Valka and Omega out of trouble, then consider it done.

Tap 6: My wings retract when I'm not in Actress form, so looking human is super annoying. I wanna stretch them out all the time, but all the "out" Actresses at my old school went Firebrand. They kept pestering me so damn much that I just go to school like this now.

Tap 7: "You're a light Actress like her. If you killed the Valkaine Project, you'd be at the top of the food chain." That was the last thing that Firebrand said to me before she hit the pavement. Just hearing that made my blood boil so hard, the other Nebula girls had to tear me off her.

Tap 8: Tsukuyo and I hang out sometimes. I never thought I'd find someone in Kamihama who went through the same stuff as me, so it's nice getting tips from her on the whole estranged twin thing. I'm still gonna make sure she loosens up a ton by the time I leave, though!

NOTE: I have a whole semi-event planned in my head where Io finds out about Tsukuyo's secret and asks her for advice. She kinda intimidates Tsukuyo a bit at first (a callback to her interrogation in the Endless Solitude arc), but they eventually become odd friends. The rest of the event consists of Io taking Tsukuyo out of her comfort zone, trying to get her to rebel more, etcetera. I also feel like she'd be good friends with Kyoko.

Tap 9: I--I can't go over there...there are too many people. You have to get me out of here! *clears throat and attempts to return to her normal personality*. You gotta understand, I don't do crowds. Back at Star Corporations, I was a special experiment kept under complete isolation and...God, you gotta get me outta here right now!

Battle Start: Oh, they're askin' for it now! C'mon!

Battle Victory 1: Ha! They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't even stop to think if they should!

NOTE: Yes, this is meant to be a Jurassic Park reference. Io is that much of a movie nerd, and fully intends on screaming the actual quote at her father the minute they meet again.

Battle Victory 2: All right, everyone's safe! Now I just gotta make sure the enemy's completely withdrawn.

Battle Victory 3: If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

Doppel: We're finally together, Mom.

Dying: You'll never win in the end!

NOTE: I spent a long time trying to phrase this before remembering the She-Ra theme and figuring a negative version of it would flow best.

#magia record #premiere nebula

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stellarstacey · 4 years

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ERA AU BUDDIE

World War II Buddie

“You got yourself a dame back home, Diaz?” Buck asked as he laid in the bunk above Diaz’s.The ship was so crowded and Buck hated it.

“Just my kid. My wife...she passed on due to complications when she delivered him.” Eddie muttered as he played with his switchblade.

Buck frowned. “That’s rough.” Buck whispered as he folded the letter Maddie had sent him.

“What about you? Got yourself a baby-doll waiting for you?” Eddie wondered and Buck frowned.

“I had this older dame that I liked. Really nice broad but she left me for this geezer. Some big honcho in Los Angeles with megabucks.” Buck grumbled as he thought about Abigail.

“You blow a fuse?” Eddie asked and Buck sighed.

“No, I just went on a bender and got sauced.” Buck mumbled and Eddie chuckled.

“What I wouldn’t give to get sauced right now.” Eddie whispered and Buck frowned.

“I just want a decent shut-eye.” Buck sighed as the boat rocked back and forth.

“You stay close when we touch down, Buckley.” Eddie muttered lowly and Buck snorted.

“I mean it, Knucklehead. Stay close.” Eddie whispered seriously and Buck looked over the edge of his bunk and down at Eddie.

“You worried about me, Dreamboat?” Buck smirked and Eddie looked around before sighing softly.

“Keep your voice down. Don’t want anyone thinking we’re queer.” Eddie scolded gently and Buck frowned.

“Ease up, Eddie. Everyone’s asleep.” Buck mumbled hurt and Eddie sighed again.

“Get some sleep. I don’t need you croaking on me, tomorrow.” Eddie ordered gently grazing his knuckles down Buck’s cheek.

“I’d rather just stare at your ugly mug.” Buck teased and Eddie smiled.

“You’re a pain in my neck, Buckley.” Eddie sighed as he traced Buck’s lower lip with his thumb.

“If I get clipped tomorrow…” Buck started and Eddie frowned at him.

“You ain’t dying on my watch, kid.” Eddie muttered and Buck bit Eddie’s thumb gently.

“If I get clipped, promise me you will take care of my sister?” Buck mumbled and Eddie fought back the tears stinging his eyes.

“I will.” Eddie swore and Buck smiled.

“Thanks.” Buck whispered and Eddie wanted so much to kiss him...if only he had the damn courage.

“Get some shut-eye, Buck.” Eddie ordered and Buck nodded.

“Sir, yes sir.” Buck sighed.

Maybe one day, when the world was a kinder one, they would find each other.

Medieval Buddie

Buck soothed Fallian. The black mare was very tense and clearly anxious. Buck fed him an apple as he brushed his coat. Soon Fallian calmed right down. Buck smiled and leaned his forehead against the mare’s.

“He normally hates men.” A voice called out causing Buck to jump just the slightest bit.

“My Lord.” Buck bowed as Eddie leaned against the stable door.

“You’re the new stable hand?” Eddie asked casually as Buck felt clearly inferior to the man.

Buck was in rags and this man was in the finest of tunics.

“Yes, my Lord. Evan of Buckley.” Buck kept his eyes cast downwards in respect.

“Well, Evan of Buckley, I am glad to see my mare is in such capable hands.” Eddie smiled as he walked over to pat his prized mare.

“My hands are very capable of doing wondrous things.” Buck stated innocently as he fed another apple to Fallian.

“Oh?” Eddie asked amused and Buck frowned before he replayed the words in his head.

Buck blushed beet red as Eddie smiled at him.

“I...My apologies, my Lord.” Buck winced and Eddie smiled softly.

“Quite handsome to be working in the stables. No young Lady interested in your hand?” Eddie asked and Buck rubbed the back of his neck.

“I come from nothing. No Lady would be interested in my hand, my Lord.” Buck muttered and Eddie nodded.

“Such fools we are looking over such... beauty for riches.” Eddie whispered and Buck felt his heart thump in his chest.

“One cannot eat beauty, my Lord.” Buck joked and Eddie laughed before his eyes turned dark.

“Oh such innocence.” Eddie teased and Buck frowned.

“My Lord?” Buck asked confused and Eddie smiled.

“One can devour true beauty, Evan of Buckley. One just needs to get on his knees in order to do so.” Eddie smirked and Buck choked.

“I uh I wha...I.” Eddie put a finger to his lips and then traced his birthmark with another finger.

“Perhaps one day you can show me the wondrous things your hands are capable of and I can show you how to devour true beauty.” Eddie murmured before taking a step back.

“It was a pleasure, Evan of Buckley. I will be looking forward to our next meeting.” Eddie smiled and Buck blushed.

“My Lord.” Buck stuttered as he watched Eddie leave the stable a blush staining his cheeks.

Viking Buddie

Buck stood trial. He stood tall in front of the Earl he had yet to meet.

“You stand accused of killing your own brethren.” Eddie tilted his head at the young warrior examining him.

Buck nodded remaining silent.

“Now is your time to speak! Speak or be fed to the dogs.” Eddie growled and Buck lifted his head.

“I killed my brethren. I feel no remorse. I will do it again if I could.” Buck stated and Eddie glared at him.

“They were your brethren.” Eddie yelled standing from his throne.

“They were forcing themselves on screaming women, some as young as a decade!” Buck snarled and Eddie froze.

Eddie looked away. “It is their right…” Eddie hated that he had to say it...Hated it with a fiery passion.

“No one has the right to force themselves on the unwilling!” Buck snapped and Eddie felt a fierce pride flow through him for the young warrior.

“So you killed them?” Eddie stated flatly.

“Yes. If you must kill me for it then I will gladly go to Valhalla with my conscious clear.” Buck stood tall and Eddie blinked at his iron will.

“You will not see Valhalla today.” Eddie stated and Buck frowned at him.

The crowd around them whispered in hushed tones.

“You are letting me go?” Buck asked in surprised and Eddie frowned.

“I said no such thing. You will repay your debt to me. You cost me valuable men. So you will train new ones.” Eddie commanded earning gasps of disbelief among his men.

Buck looked shocked.

“Perhaps you can instill in them, your own morality.” Eddie stated casually and Buck’s eyes widened.

“I relish the opportunity.” Buck nodded and Eddie smirked.

“We should discuss this more in private.” Eddie stared at him with slight hunger.

Buck raised an amused eyebrow. “That would be wise.” Buck licked his lips.

Roaring 20′s Buddie

“You’re carrying quite the torch.” Buck turned to see a man with a small smirk on his face.

“Pardon?” Buck asked confused.

“You’re in here every night that that dame sings.” The man observed and Buck laughed.

“That dame is my sister. I’m her chaperon.” Buck replied taking a swig of his drink.

The man’s eyes darkened slightly.

“A fella like you must have yourself a nice gal?” The man prodded and Buck felt the blush start up his neck.

“No,” Buck leaned against the bar and the man raised an eyebrow.

“Eddie Diaz.” The man held out at hand and Buck shook it.

“Buck.” Buck answered and the man’s eyebrow raised just a bit higher.

“What’s a hard-boiled fella like yourself doing in this joint?” Buck asked and Eddie smirked.

“What makes you think I’m hard-boiled?” Eddie wondered.

Buck snorted looking the muscular man up and down. Eddie smiled.

“You’re no wet-blanket either I assume?” Eddie licked his lips and Buck felt his heart accelerate.

“Are you dropping hairpins?” Buck asked unsure and Eddie smiled.

“Yes.” Eddie answered and Buck swallowed.

“I can’t leave my sister unchaperoned.” Buck whispered and Eddie smirked.

“I’ll wait for you.” Eddie told him and Buck felt his insides churn with desire.

Buck leaned forward to whisper his address into Eddie’s ear.

Eddie licked his lips. “See you later.” Eddie brushed passed him.

Buck watched him until he left. Buck bit his lip. Tonight was going to be fun.

Ancient Rome Buddie

Buck hissed as he pulled off his chest plate. The gash on his chest was deep and painful. The Colosseum still roared with excitement as the next fight took place. Eddie was leaning against the wall watching him. Buck knew Eddie was worried.

“I’m fine. It will heal.” Buck muttered and Eddie scoffed.

“Your body can only take so much.” Eddie stated with anger.

Buck glared at him. “There isn’t much I can do about it except fight till I earn my freedom.” Buck growled and Eddie shook his head.

“They will never free us from this hell. No matter how many fights we win.” Eddie spat and Buck walked over to him.

Eddie looked up at him with barely concealed despair.

“We will earn our freedom. We will build ourselves a home.” Buck cupped his jaw and Eddie frowned.

“Don’t give me hope.” Eddie leaned into his hand.

“Hope is all we have, my love.” Buck whispered as he kissed Eddie’s forehead.

“We will die here.” Eddie choked and Buck sighed.

“Perhaps we will. But I promise you. I will find you in another life.” Buck swore and Eddie kissed his palm.

“I will be waiting for you, my love.” Eddie whispered before he grabbed his shield and sword.

“Don’t lose hope. Fight to come back to me.” Buck pleaded and Eddie kissed him.

“I’ll always fight to come back to you.” Eddie nodded before entering the Colosseum.

Victorian Buddie

Eddie rolled his eyes at Buck.

“This is utterly ridiculous.” Eddie grumbled as they stood in the seance room.

“This is utterly fascinating.” Buck corrected and Eddie scoffed.

“There is no such things as the paranormal, my friend.” Eddie shook his head and Buck frowned.

“Expand the horizons of your mind, Eddie. There is so much we have yet to discover.” Buck clapped his shoulder and Eddie scoffed.

“I do not for the life of me understand why I let you drag me into this types of things.” Eddie muttered and Buck smirked.

“Because you secretly enjoy every second of it.” Buck answered and Eddie shook his head again.

“We are seeing no ghosts tonight. I guarantee it.” Eddie stated and Buck lifted an eyebrow.

“Not with that negative energy we will not. You must be open Eddie.” Buck told him and Eddie sighed.

“I open to leaving.” Eddie grumbled and Buck frowned.

When suddenly the lights flickered and a book fell from the shelf. Buck jumped and Eddie sighed.

“The room is rigged.” Eddie whispered to him but Buck sighed.

“It is not!” Buck growled and Eddie walked over to the shelves and found a fishing wire tied to the book.

Buck sighed and stepped out of the room.

The whole carriage ride was silent and Eddie could feel Buck’s annoyance.

“I’m sorry. I ruined your enjoyment.” Eddie stated and Buck huffed.

“You always have to be right.” Buck pouted and Eddie bit his lip.

“I will make it up to.” Eddie promised and Buck stared at his lip.

“Perhaps I could be persuaded.” Buck teased and Eddie rolled his eyes.

#buddie #buck and eddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz

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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years

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The Weekend Warrior Christmas - New Year’s Edition – WONDER WOMAN 1984, NEWS OF THE WORLD, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI..., PIECES OF A WOMAN, HERSELF, SYLVIE’S LOVE and More!

Welcome to the VERY LAST Weekend Warrior of the WORST YEAR EVER!!! But hopefully not the last column forever, even though I already plan on taking much of January off from writing 8 to 10 reviews each week. It just got to be too much for a while there.

Because it’s the last week of the year, there are a lot of really good movies, some in theaters but also quite a few on streaming services. In fact, there are a good number of movies that appeared in my Top 10 for the yearover at Below the Line, as well as my extended Top 25 that I’ll share on this blog sometime next week. I was half-hoping to maybe write something about the box office prospects of some of the new movies, but after the last couple weeks, it’s obvious that box office is not something that will be something worth writing about until sometime next spring or summer.

(This column is brought to you by Paul McCartney’s new album “McCartney III” which I’m listening to as I finish this up… and then other solo Beatles ditties picked for me randomly by Tidal.)

First up is easily one of the most anticipated movies of the year, or at least one that actually didn’t move to 2021, and that’s WONDER WOMAN 1984 (Warner Bros.), Patty Jenkins’ sequel to the 2017 hit, once again starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince. I reviewed it here, but basically the sequel introduces Wonder Woman arch-nemeses Barbara Minerva aka Cheetah, as played by Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal’s Max Lord and how an ancient artifact gives them both their powers, as well as helps to bring Diana’s true love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) back despite him having disappeared presumed dead in WWI. As you can see by reading my review, I thought it was just fine, not great and certainly not something I’d make an attempt to see a second time in a 25% capacity movie theater. Fortunately, besides debuting in around 2,100 movie theaters across the nation, it will also be on HBO Max day and date, which has caused quite a stir. Being Christmas weekend with no work/school on Monday, I can see it still making somewhere between $10 and 12 million, but I can’t imagine it doing nearly what it might have done with most theaters only 25-30% full at the maximum and that theater count being roughly half the number it might have gotten during the “normal times.”

Paul Greengrass’ Western NEWS OF THE WORLD (Universal) reteams him with his Captain Phillips star Tom Hanks, this time playing Captain Jefferson Kidd, a Civil War soldier who travels from town to town in the Old West reading from newspapers to anyone who has a dime and time to listen. After one such reading, he discovers a young girl (Helena Zengel) on her own, having spent the last few years with a family of Native Americans who were killed by soldiers. Together, they travel across America as Kidd hopes to bring the girl to her last surviving family members.

I already reviewed Greengrass’ movie for Below the Line, and I also spoke to Mr. Greengrass, an interview you can read that right here (once it goes live), but I make no bones that this was one of my favorite movies I’ve seen this year, and it’s not just due to the fine work by Greengrass and his team. No, it’s just as much about the emotion inherent in the story, and the relationship between the characters played by Hanks and Zengel.

I’ve watched the movie three times now, and I’m still blown away by every frame and moment, the tension that’s created on this difficult journey but also where it leaves the viewers at the end that promises that there can be hope and joy even in the most difficult and turbulent times. It’s a wonderful message that’s truly needed right now.

Listen, I’m not gonna recommend going to a movie theater if you don’t feel it’s safe – I’ve already spoken my peace on this at a time when COVID numbers were much lower – but this is a movie that I personally can’t wait to see in a movie theater. I honestly can’t see the movie making more than $3 or 4 million in the open theaters considering how few people are willing to go to movie theaters. Obviously, this isn’t as big a draw as Wonder Woman, but it is a fantastic big screen movie regardless.

Also opening in theaters this Friday is Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Focus Features), starring the wonderful Oscar-nominated Carey Mulligan as Cassie Thomas, a woman who has revenge on her mind. Cassie spends her nights picking up guys in bars by pretending she’s so drunk she can barely walk, then humiliating them and presumably worse. When she encounters an acquaintance from med school in the form of Bo Burnham’s Ryan, the two begin dating, though he ends up awakening a darker side to Cassie that seeks revenge for something that happened back during their school days. (Honestly, if you’re already sold, just skip to the next movie. That’s all I want you to know before watching it.)

I was ready to love Fennell’s movie when it opened with a disgusting shot of gross stock market bros in loose-fitting suits gyrating in slow motion before one of them tries to pick up a totally soused Cassie at the club. It’s a scene that really plays itself out quite well, and then leads into Mulligan’s character allowing another clear scumbag (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, maybe as a slight-older McLovin?) before turning the tables on him as well.

There’s going to be a lot of talk about this movie after people see it, since it’s one of those great films that begins a lot of conversations. I imagine most women of a certain age will love it, but some men might see themselves in some of the characters (even Burnham’s) and wonder whether Cassie just won’t take crap from any man or if she’s a full-on misandrist. One thing we do know a lot is that she does this sort of thing a lot, and there’s something from her past that has driven her involving something that happened to her female friend in med school. I’m going to stop talking about the plot here, because I definitely don’t want to spoil anything who hasn’t seen the movie, but the second half of the movie is as deeply satisfying as Tarantino’s Kill Bill in terms of the surprises.

You’ll realize while watching what a treat you’re in for when you first watch Mulligan’s amazing transformation from pretending to be drunk to being completely cognizant and just all the emotions we see her go through after that. Of course, we never really know what she’s actually doing to the guys she lets pick her up -- she keeps a notebook with guy’s names and a quizzical counting system, so we can only imagine.

Fennell’s screenplay is fantastic but her work as a first-time director in maintaining the the tone and pacing of the movie is really what will keep you captivated, whether it’s the amazing musical choices or how Cassie dresses up to lure men. There’s also a great cast around Mulligan whether it’s comic Burnham in a relatively more serious role, but one that also allows him a musical number. (No joke.) Fennel’s amazing casting doesn’t just stop there from, Jennifer Coolidge as Cassie’s mother to Laverne Cox as Gail, her workmate/boss at the coffee shop – both of them add to the film’s subtle humor elements. Alfred Molina shows up to give a show-stopping performance, and Alison Brie also plays a more dramatic role as another one of Cassie’s classmates. I can totally understand why the Golden Globes might have deemed the movie a “comedy/musical” (for about two days before going back) , but putting so many funny people in dramatic roles helps give Promising Young Woman its own darkly humorous feel. All that darkness is contrasted by this sweet romance between Cassie and Ryan that’s always in danger of imploding due to Cassie’s troubled nature.

The biggest shocking surprise is saved for the third act, and boy, it’s going to be one that people will be talking about for a VERY long time, because it’s just one gut punch after another. I loved this movie, as it’s just absolutely brilliant – go back and see where it landed in my Top 10. As one of the best thrillers from the past decade, people will be talking about this for a very long time

Promising Young Woman hits theaters on Christmas Day, and presumably, it will be available on VOD sometime in January, but this is not one you want to wait on. If you do go see it in theaters, just be safe, please. No making out with random men or women, please.

Regina King’s narrative feature debut, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI... (Amazon Studios), will ALSO be in theaters on Christmas Day, and though I’ve reviewed it over at Below the Line, but I’ll talk a little more about it here just for my loyal Weekend Warrior readers.

Yet another movie that made my Top 10, this one stars a brilliant quartet of actors -- Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge and Eli Goree—as four legendary black icons: Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Cassius Clay, on the night after the last of them wins the World Boxing Championship against Sonny Liston in February 1964. The four men meet in Malcolm X’s hotel room to discuss what’s happening in their lives and the world in general, as well as Clay’s decision to join the Nation of Islam, just as Malcolm X is getting ready to leave the brotherhood due to philosophical differences with the group. In fact, all four men have philosophical differences that are discussed both in good humor and in deep conflict as they disagree on their place in a white-dominated world in a year before the Civil Rights Act would be signed.

First of all, there’s no way to talk about this movie without discussing the Kemp Powers play on which it’s based, and we can’t mention that without mentioning that Powers also co-wrote and co-directed Pixar’s Soul, which will be available on Disney+ this Friday. It’s a fantastic script and King put together a fantastic cast of actors who really give their all to every scene. In the case of Leslie Odom, Jr., you really can believe him as Cooke, especially in a number of fantastic performances pieces. Likewise, Goree looks a lot like Clay both in the ring and out, carrying all of the swagger for which he would become more famous as Ali.

I’ve seen the movie twice already and if you’ve looked at my Top 10, then you already know this is another one that made my cut, so I don’t think I need to give it a much harder sell. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about this one on its journey to Oscar night when hopefully, King becomes the first woman of color to be nominated in the directing category. Or rather, she’ll probably tie for that honor with Nomadland director Chloé Zhao.

If you don’t feel like going to theaters for this one, you’ll be able to catch it on Amazon Prime Video on January 15, too… you’ll just have to wait a little longer.

Also, the new Pixar animation movie, SOUL, directed by Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out) and co-directed by Kemp Powers (remember him?), will hit Disney+ on Christmas Day, and I reviewed it here, so I probably don’t have lot more to say about it, but it’s great, and if you have Disney+, I’m sure you’ll be watching it.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a screener for Matteo Garrone’s PINNOCHIO (Roadside Attractions), which also opens in about 700 theaters on Christmas Day. This adaptation stars Robert Benigni as Geppeto, who famously starred as Pinocchio in his own version of the classic fairy tale from 2002. That other movie was “Weinsteined” at a time when that just meant that a movie was ruined by Harvey Weinstein’s meddling, rather than anything involving sexual assault.

Another great movie hitting streaming this week is Eugene Ashe’s SYLVIE’S LOVE, which streams on Amazon Prime Video today. It stars Tessa Thompson as Sylvie and Nnamdi Asomugha (also a producer on the film) as Robert, who meet one summer in the late 50s while working at Sylvie’s father’s record store. He is a jazz musician who is on the rise, but their romance is cut short when he gets a gig in Paris but she refuses to go with him. Also, she’s pregnant with his child. Years later, they reconnect with her now being married with a young daughter (clearly Robert’s) and they realize that the love between them is still very real and true.

This is the first of three movies I watched this week where I went in with very little knowledge and absolute zero expectations. Like everyone else on earth, I am an avid fan of Ms. Thompson’s work both in movies like Thor: Ragnarok and smaller indies. She’s just a fantastic presence that lights up a screen. While I wasn’t as familiar with Asomugha’s acting work – he’s produced some great films and acted in a few I liked, included Crown Heights – there’s no denying the chemistry between the two.

What’s kind of interesting about the movie is that it combines a few elements from other great movies released this week, including Soul and A Night in Miami, but in my opinion, handles the music business aspect to the story better than the much-lauded Netflix movie, Ma Raimey’s Black Bottom. Frankly, I also think the performances by the two leads are as good as those by Boseman and Davis in that movie, but unfortunately, Amazon is submitting this to the Emmys as as “TV movie” rather than to the Oscars, so that’s kind of a shame.

This is a movie that’s a little hard to discuss why I enjoyed it so much without talking about certain scenes or moments, or just go through the entire story, but I think part of the joy of appreciating what Ashe has done in his second original feature film is to tell the story of these two characters over the course of a decade or so in a way that hasn’t been done before. That alone is quite an achievement, because we’ve seen many of those types of movies over the years (When Harry Met Sally, for instance).

What I really liked about Sylvie’s Love over some of the other “black movies” this year is that it literally creates its own world and just deals with the characters within it, rather than trying to make a big statement about the world at the time. Maybe you can say the same about Soul in that sense, but you would be absolutely amazed by how much bigger an audience you can get by telling a grounded story in a relatable world, and then throw in a bit of music, as both those movies do.

So that’s all I’ll say except that this will is now on Amazon Prime Video , so you have no excuse not to check it out while you wait for Regina King’s equally great One Night in Miami to join it in mid-January.

Hitting Netflix on Christmas day is Robert Rodriguez’s WE CAN BE HEROES, his sequel to his 2005 family film The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl – not his best moment -- which follows the kids of the Heroics, a Justice League-like super group. They’re all in a special school for kids with powers but they have to step up when the Heroics are captured by aliens. Want to know what will happen? Well, you’ll just have to wait for Christmas Day for when my review drops to find out whether I liked it more or less than Rodriguez’s earlier film which SPOILER!! I hated.)

The first thing you need to get past is that Shark Boy and Lava Girl are now man and wife, and just that fact might be tough for anyone who only discovered the movie sometime more recently. There are other familiar faces in the Heroics like Pedro Pascal, Sung Kang, Christian Slater, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and more, so clearly, Rodriguez is still able to pull together a cast.

The movie actually focuses on YaYa Goselin’s Missy Moreno, daughter of the Heroic’s leader (Pascal) who has also retired. Just as aliens are invading the earth, Missy is put into a school of kids with superpowers, all kids of various Heroic members. Sure, it’s derived directly from The X-Men and/or Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so yeah… basically also the X-Men. We meet all of the kids in a great scene where we see them using their powers and learn their personalities, and honestly, they really are the best part of the movie.Probably the most adorable is Guppy, the very young daughter of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, played by Viven Blair. Oddly, Missy doesn’t have any powers so she feels a bit fish-out-of-water in the group even though, like her father, she proves to be a good leader.

As much as I really detested Rodriguez’s Shark Boy and Lava Girl movie, I feel like he does a lot better by having a variety of kids in this one, basically something for everyone, but also not a bad group of child actors. (There’s also a fun role for Adriana Barraza.) There are definitely aspects that are silly, but Rodriguez never loses sight of his audience, and wisely, Netflix is offering this as a Christmas Day release which should be fun for families with younger kids who might see this as their first superhero movie.

More discerning viewers may not be particularly crazy about visual FX, all done as usual in Rodriguez’s own studio but some of them look particularly hoaky and cheap compared to others. (I mean, that’s probably the appeal for hiring Rodriguez because he’s able to do so much in-house. In this case, he got all four of his own kids involved in various capacities of making the film.)

We Can Be Heroes is clearly a movie made for kids, so anyone expecting anything on part with Amazon’s The Boys will be quite disappointed. It’s probably Rodriguez getting slightly closer to Spy Kids than he has with any of his other family-friendly movies, but one shouldn’t go in with the expectations that come with any of the much bigger blockbusters released these days. Personally, I enjoyed that fact, and I totally would watch another movie with this superteam.

Michel Stasko’s BOYS VS. GIRLS (Gravitas Ventures) is a fun retro-comedy that follows a war between the male and female counselors at Camp Kindlewood, which has just gone co-ed. At the center of it all is Dale (Eric Osborne) and Amber (Rachel Dagenais) as two teens who are in the middle of a meet-cute romance in the middle of a inter-gender competition called “Lumberman vs. Voyagers,” which I have no idea whether it’s a real thing or not.

I probably should have known I’d like this one from the catchy New Order-ish song in the opening credits, but listen, Wet Hot American Summer is one of my all-time favorite movies, and that was basically made to satirize ‘80s movies like Meatballs. This one falls more towards to the latter in terms of humor, but it also feels authentic to the ‘80s summer camp experience.

It helps that the grown-ups at the camp are played by the likes of Kevin McDonald from New Kids on the Block, Colin Mochrie from Whose Line is It Anyway and others, but it’s really about the younger cast playing teen boys and girls in the throes of puberty, something we all can in some way relate to. The young cast play a series of stereotypical young but there are a lot of funny tropes within them, as each of the cast is given a chance to deliver some of the funnier gags. This isn’t necessarily high-brow humor, mind you, but I love the fact that you can still make a movie about a time where you could still make fun of girl’s periods in school. (I’m kidding. I just put that in there cause I feel like I need to throw things like that into this column just to see if anyone is ACTUALLY reading it.)

The presumably Canadian Stasko is another great example of an independently-spirited filmmaker who has an idea for a fun movie and then just goes about making it, regardless of having big stars or anything to sell it besides many funny moments that can be featured a trailer, so that those who like this kind of movie will find it. Listen, Wet Hot American Summer wasn’t a huge hit when it was released. I still remember it having trouble getting a single screening at the multiplex in Times Square when it was released but over the years since it became sort of a cult hit (kind of due to Netflix having it to rent on DVD, I think).

Besides a fun script and cast, Stasko also find a way to include tunes that sound so much like real ‘80s songs we would have heard on the radio but aren’t quite the big hits that would have cost him thousands of dollars, but I really just enjoyed the heck out of the tone and overall fun attitude that went into making this movie.

Also on VOD now is Ian Cheney and Martha Shane’s fascinating and funny doc, THE EMOJI STORY (Utopia), which I saw at the Tribeca Film Festival when it was called “Picture Character.” (That’s what “emoji” in Japanese means, just FYI.) As you can guess it’s about the origins and rise of the emoji as a form of communication from its humble beginning in Japan to becoming one of the biggest trending crazes on the globe. I’m not that big an Emoji guy myself – I tend to use the thumbs up just for ease, but I do marvel at those who can put together full thoughts using a string of these symbols, and if you want to know more about them, this is the movie you should watch.

Now let’s cut ahead to some of the movies that will be opening and streaming NEXT week…

Hitting select theaters on Wednesday, December 30 and what really is my “FEATURED FLICK” for this column is Hungarian filmmaker Kornél (White God) Mundruczó’s PIECES OF A WOMAN (Netflix) before its streaming premiere on Netflix January 7.

Written by Kata Wéber, who also wrote Mundruczó’s earlier film, it stars Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) and Shia Labeouf as Martha and Sean Weiss, a Boston couple who lose their baby during a particularly difficult home birth and follows the next year in their lives and how that tragic loss affects their relationship with each other and those around them.

As you can imagine, Pieces of a Woman is a pretty heavy drama, one that reminded me of the films of Todd Field (Little Children, In the Bedroom) in terms of the intensity of the drama and the emotions on screen from the brilliant cast Mundruczó put together for his English language debut. I’m not sure I could use the general plot to sell anyone on seeing this because it is very likely the worst possible date movie of the year after Netflix’s 2019 release, Marriage Story, but it’s just as good in terms of the writing and performances.

At the center of it is Kirby – and yeah, I still haven’t watched The Crown, so shut up! I’ll get to it!!! – who most of us fell in love with for her role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, but what we see her go through as an actress here really shows the degree of her abilities. But it also shows what Mundruczó can do with material that (like many movies) started out as a play. For instance, one of the first big jaw-dropping moments is the home birth scene that goes on for a long time, seemingly all in one shot, and Kirby is so believable in terms of a woman going through a difficult birth, you’d believe she has had children herself. (She hasn’t.) I also don’t want to throw Shia Labeouf under the bus right now just because that seems like the trendy thing to do. (Without getting it, I believe FKA Twigs… but that doesn’t deny the fact that Labeouf is just the latest great actor that everyone wants to cancel.)

Anyway, to change the subject, we have to talk about Ellen Burstyn, who plays Martha’s meddling mother, who is quite clingy and overbearing, so when the couple lose their baby, she steps in to take to task the midwife she deems responsible (played by the highly-underrated Molly Parker). Or rather, she hires a family lawyer (Sarah Snook) to take her to court to get compensation for the loss of her daughter’s baby. The film’s last act culminates as their case goes to court.

Again, the film covers roughly a year after the tragedy and deals not only with how Martha and Sean’s relationship is affected and how it emotionally affects Martha in particular, but also how others around them start behaving towards them. It feels so authentic and real that you wonder where the screenwriter was drawing from, but Mundruczó has more than prove himself as as filmmaker by creating something that is visually compelling and even artsy while still doing everything to help promote the story and performances over his own abilities as a director. Doesn’t hurt that he has composer Howard Shore scoring the film in a way that’s subtle but effective.

Listen, if you’re looking for a comedy riot that will entertain you with funny one-liners and pratfalls than Pieces of a Woman is not for you. This is a devastating movie that really throws the viewer down a deep spiral along with its characters. The first time I watched it, I was left quite broken, and maybe even more so on second viewing. (As we get closer to Oscar season… in four months … I hope this film will be recognized and not just thrown under the table due to Labeouf’s involvement. That would be as big a tragedy and misjustice as much of what happens in the movie.)

So yeah, in case you wondered why this also made it into my prestigious Top 10 for the year, that is why. :)

Also in theaters on Wednesday, December 30 is another terrific drama, the Phyllida Lloyd-directed HERSELF (Amazon Studios), co-written and starring Clare Dunne, as Sandra, a mother of two young girls, trying to get out of an abusive marriage, while making ends meet and providing shelter for her kids. One day, she learns about a way that she can build her own home, and one of the women she cares for offers a plot of land

Another movie that I really didn’t know much about going into, other than Phyllida Lloyd being a talented filmmaker whose movie The Iron Maiden, which won Meryl Streep her 500th Oscar, I enjoyed much more than the popular blockbuster hit musical, Mamma Mia! This is a far more personal story that reminded me of Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake, a smaller and more intimate character piece that shines a light on British actor Clare Dunne, who as with some of the best and most personal movie projects, co-wrote this screenplay for herself to act in.

There are aspects to the film that reminds me of many other quaint Britcoms in terms of creating a story where one person’s challenge is taken up by others who are willing to help, and in this case, it’s Sandra’s desire to build a house for her two quite adorable daughters while also trying to keep it secret from her abusive ex.

Dunne’s performance isn’t as showy as some of the other dramatic performances mentioned in this very column, but she and Lloyd do a fine job creating an authenticity that really makes you believe and push for her character, Sandra, surrounding her with characters who can help keep the movie on the lighter side despite very serious nature of spousal abuse (which also rears its ugly head in Pieces of a Woman). Oh, and don’t get too comfortable, because this, too, leads to an absolutely shocking and devastating climax you won’t see coming. (Well, now you will… but you’ll still be shocked. Trust me.)

Still, it’s a really nice movie with the house being built clearly a metaphor. I know there’s a lot of truly fantastic movies discussed in this week’s column but don’t let this wonderful British drama pass you by, because you can tell it’s a labor of love for everyone who made it.

Herself will be in theaters for roughly a week starting December 30 before streaming on Prime Video on January 8.

In select theaters and on VOD on New Year’s Day is Roseanne Liang’s WWII thriller SHADOW IN THE CLOUD (Vertical/Redbox Entertainment), starring Chloë Grace Moretz as Flight Officer Maude Garrett, who is assigned to deliver a top-secret package on the B-17 bomber “The Fool’s Errand” with an all-male crew that throws her into a turret “for her own safety.” She ends up getting trapped down there as the plane is attacked by a creature that no one believes is out there, as they fight back against the unseen enemy, many secrets are revealed.

This is yet another movie I didn’t know that much about other than it has Moretz on an airplane, but there’s so much about the movie that both had me scratching my head but also has me quite deliriously amused that filmmakers could get away with some of the craziness that we witness. Maybe it’s not a surprise that the movie was co-written by Max Landis -- not exactly the most beloved screenwriter in Hollywood these days, and certainly not a critical favorite.

Again I really didn’t know what to expect so after Moretz’s character gets on the plane and is trapped in the turret under the plane, I thought that maybe I was seeing something similar to the one-location thriller 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which I wasn’t too big a fan of even though the actor was good. Moretz continues to be quite a phenomenal actor, but the mix of Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper’s music, which borrows as much from Soulwax (look ‘em up on Spotify) as John Carpenter, and the sexist attitude by the male crew towards Garrett made me unsure of what the movie was meant to say.

Much of the movie just has Moretz on her own with the men’s voices over the comms, which is not something that could possibly sustain a whole movie. Part of it is borrowed from a very well-known episode of “The Twilight Zone,” in fact.

but fortunately, it breaks from out of that deceit but then just starts getting crazier and crazier. I’m not even gonna tell you about what happens or what’s in the box Garrett is carrying or where things go, because honestly, I don’t think you would believe me.

I haven’t seen any of Ms. Liang’s previous films but when you realize how much crazy stuff she’s able to get way with, I’ll be really interested what she does next. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any movie that’s quite as crazy as Shadow in the Cloud or one that makes me want to watch it again for that very reason.

Oscar-winning Icarus director Bryan Fogel’s doc THE DISSIDENT (Briarcliff), which opens in theaters Friday then will be On Demand January 8, follows the horrific assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in September 2018, thought to be the work of the Saudi kingdom and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aka MBS.

I’m really fascinated by movies like this one and Ryan White’s recent Assassins – both which could be in the Best Documentary race at the Oscars in April, by the detective and investigative work done by both filmmakers to get to the bottom of murders that shouldn’t be possible and find those that are responsible. I’ll admit that I didn’t really pay much attention to this story when it was happening a few years back, so I don’t know how much of the details are new and exclusive to Fogel’s doc. He does get access to Kashouggi’s fiancé Hatice who had gone with Jamal to the Saudi embassy in Turkey to get proof that he was single and could marry when he vanished for days and then turne up dead.

Fogel also meets with another Saudi dissident now living in Quebec who goes through the events that led up to Kashouggi’s murder that involved a social media campaign against the journalist within a country where 80% of the population is on Twitter (!).

This is another fascinating doc by Fogel that I’m sure some will be more interested in due to its subject, but when it comes to investigative pieces that really take a deep dive into news from the headlines, Fogel has created another unforgettable doc. (Also, it was absolutely little surprise to me that Fogel’s film is co-written by Mark Monroe, who has been involved with some of the best docs I’ve seen over the past 15 years or so… just look up his IMDB credits!)

Opening at the Film Forum Virtual Cinema in New York for a one-week qualifying run is Russia’s movie for Oscar consideration, Andrei Kochalovsky’s DEAR COMRADES! (NEON), a black and white dark dramedy set in 1960s Kruschchev-era Russia. It involves a strike by locomotive workers when the government raises food prices, leading to chaos and a massacre that leaves a Communist party loyalist, Lyuda (played by Julia Vysotskaya) who the film then follows. Unfortunately, I had a choice of either writing this column or watching this two-hour movie. I opted for the former (obviously) but I do hope to get to this later in the week and should be adding more on this movie once I do.

Also streaming in Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema starting next Wednesday, December 30, is Mario Monicelli’s 1960 film, The Passionate Thief.

Unfortunately, I also wasn’t able to get to Two Ways Home (Gravitas Ventures), In Corpore or Fire Will Come, which will open in Metrograph’s digital ticketing system.

Metrograph will also continue showing Tsia Ming-Liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn, Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong, and lots of great programming over the holidays. It would be a great time to get yourself or a loved one a digital membership for just $50! (James Gray is also programming some of his own films like Little Odesssa and other favorites, like Richard Quine’s Strangers When We Meet, over the holidays.)

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

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