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marie-swriting · 1 year

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Never Again - Stefan Salvatore

Masterlist

Summary : You and Stefan have been sleeping together for the past couple months but you're still not official. You two want more but you're afraid the relationship will end up like the ones you already had.

Warnings : mention of sex but nothing explicit, angst, mention of past relationships who weren't healthy, mention of killing, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if you see any and if I missed any warnings !

Word count : 2,1k

French version on Wattpad

French version on Tumblr

Song inspiration : Fingers Crossed by Trevor Daniel & Julia Michaels

Making sure Stefan is still asleep, you leave the bed. You do everything in your power to not make any noise, cursing every single time the floor cracks a little. You take your clothes off the floor and get dressed quickly. You readjust your tee-shirt when you’re walking toward the door of the Salvatore’s manor. You’re about to touch the door knob when a voice startles you :

“You’re sneaking off again ?”

“I’m not sneaking off.” You retort to Damon. “And what do you even mean by ‘again’?”

“Please.” He starts, rolling his eyes. “It’s been two months since you’ve started to see my brother every night and every morning you’re leaving without saying goodbye. I thought it’d become serious at some point.”

“Well, it won’t. I need to go. The girls are waiting for me.”

“Say ‘hi’ to Elena for me.”

“Bye Damon.” You exclaim without even listening to his last sentence.

You get in your car and start driving to Caroline’s, trying to not show how your conversation with Damon is troubling you. Obviously, you knew Stefan and you weren’t discreet. You both are vampires older than one hundred years so you don’t sneak out like teenagers, but nobody knows you're spending almost every night together. You don’t have to tell anyone about this. You both know what you’re doing. At least, that’s what you hope.

When you arrive at your best friend’s, you notice you’re the last one. They’ve already started eating some snacks. They know you’re often late, so they don’t wait for you anymore. You’re not mad at them for doing so. You’d do the same. Quickly, you start participating in the conversation, eating the sweets on the table.

You spend all of your afternoon with Caroline, Bonnie and Elena talking about everything and anything, watching movies and doing other activities. You have known them for a year and a half now, but you got close to them easily. You got along pretty well.

As Caroline is talking about the last gossip in town, you go heating the pizza that you ordered at lunch time. So you leave the living room and go to the kitchen. You put the slices in the microwaves. When it’s done, you take back the plate. You don’t have time to put a foot outside the kitchen before Caroline is running toward you while Bonnie and Elena try to stop her. You’re frowning, not understanding what’s going on. When Caroline gives you your phone, you notice the new text from Stefan and you understand why she is acting like that.

“When were you going to tell us ?!” Caroline screams, outraged while you try to play it cool.

“It's nothing worth talking about.”

“I hope you’re joking ! ‘You spend the night at my place or I go to yours ?’” Caroline says, quoting Stefan’s text. “And you call that ‘nothing’ ? When did you plan to tell us ?”

“Caroline, she deserves some privacy.” Bonnie reminds her.

“And you, when were you gonna tell us about Klaus ?” You ask Caroline and she opens her eyes big while Bonnie and Elena look at her, shocked. “Yes, he told me.”

“Don’t change the subject !”

“It’s not a big deal, Caroline.” Elena protests.

“You’re not being serious ? You’re telling me you don’t want to know more after seeing that text ?”

“I mean, only if Y/N wants to.” Bonnie answers her.

“Like I said, there’s nothing to say. Yes, we see each other sometimes at night. But it’s only from time to time. Nothing serious.”

“Wait, so it’s you ?” Elena asks me, as if she just got a revelation. “Damon told me a woman was always leaving Stefan’s room at every sunrise. I would have never guessed he was talking about you.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Wait a second again, you told us ‘sometimes’, Damon told me it’s almost every night ! During the week, there’s only a night where Stefan is really alone, according to him.”

“Really, that much ?” Caroline laughs, surprised.

“Sometimes, we just talk.” You answer to your friends. “Now, can you all stop talking about our private life ? There's nothing more to say about it !”

“I don’t get why you two haven't taken it to the next level yet.” Bonnie says and you sigh.

“Maybe we don’t want to. Honestly, I’m fine with how things are right now. I’m not sure I want a relationship once again. And he never said anything about us being serious.”

“Why not ?” Elena questions.

“Personally, I’ve never had any luck when it comes to love. My first boyfriend, or suitor like we used to say, I killed him because I lost control. The second tried to kill me when he discovered I was a vampire. For the third, we were in a toxic relationship. I tried love and it’s not for me.”

“You and Stefan, you’re meant to be.” Bonnie assures.

“I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on ! The looks you two give to each other don’t lie. You should be together !” Caroline exclaims.

“We’ll see. I don’t want him to feel like he has to do something and then it…” I start saying and Elena guesses the end of my sentence.

“Ruins everything ?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Talk about it. Who knows ? Maybe he wants to be with you, too.”

Not wanting to talk about it anymore, you change the subject, reminding them that the pizzas must be cold, again. You noticed that Caroline still wants to talk about it, but Bonnie sends her a death stare, stopping her from doing so. You mentally thank her for that. However, the rest of the day, you can’t help but think about their thoughts about the situation. It’s true, you’d like to make your relationship ‘official’ but if it’s unrequited, you wouldn’t know what to do. Furthermore, you’re scared that your next curse about your love life is you ruining everything. After your last love story, you’ve sworn to yourself you wouldn’t fall in love again, but Stefan and you had to kiss once then sleep together to change the promise you made to yourself.

At nightfall, you go to Stefan’s house. You don’t need to wait a lot for the situation to go from normal to heated. Once you’re done, you decide to change your routine, staying until he wakes up. That night, you don’t catch any sleep, thinking about the way you’re going to bring up the conversation. As the hours go by, you get more nervous. You try to think of every worst case scenario, hoping they won’t happen. You wouldn’t be able to handle it.

When the clock shows seven am, you feel Stefan moving a little next to you. He opens his eyes and frowns when he sees you laying next to him. You turn your head to him and smile kindly, trying to look relaxed.

“Are you really here ?”

“I hope you’ll be happy about it.” you say, laughing nervously.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not complaining but I expected to find your side of the bed empty, as always.

“I decided to change that. Hope you don’t mind, though.”

“Not at all, don’t worry.” He smiles.

“Stefan, I want to talk to you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Do you think that one day we could take it to the next level ? I mean, not that I don’t like what we have right now ! But we spent so many times together the past couple months and we never said if… if our relationship could be more.”

“I didn’t expect that question.” Stefan admits, sitting against the bed frame.

“Don’t feel like you have to do anything ! I just want to know where we are.”

“Yes, I understand. But I have to say, I don’t know. I like being with you, to say I don't like it would be a lie, but I don’t know if I’m ready to be in a new relationship. Katherine manipulated me, Elena fell in love with my brother. I’m not saying you would do the same, but I don’t want to live those kinds of situations ever again. I’m sorry if I gave you hope we could be together. Hope you understand.”

“I understand, don’t worry.” You say, trying to act like you don’t really care. “I’m… happy we clarified the situation… I have to go. I have something to do at my place.”

You see Stefan is about to say something but stops himself. You don’t pay anymore attention to him and take your clothes off the floor but this time, you don’t get dressed without making any sound. You do it quickly, wanting to leave as fast as you can. You knew there was a risk he’d push you away but deep down, you had hope it wouldn’t happen. Apparently, you don’t even need to be in a relationship anymore to feel that ache in your heart when you feel betrayed. After all, he doesn’t owe you anything, you know it but it still hurts. You bid your goodbye to him before leaving, almost running.

You isolated yourself the whole day. You only talked with Elena through text messages. After that, you almost didn’t take a look at your phone. You’d rather spend your day reading a book, leaving reality and your problems behind.

At seven pm, you look for new notifications and you’re surprised to see several missed calls from Stefan. You delete them, not wanting to talk to him right now. You know his reasons to push you away are valids. You understand his fears, you have the same ones, but you thought you’d talk a little bit more together. But thinking back to the discussion, you quickly ended it, you couldn’t handle ruining something again. You’re about to resume reading your book when you hear someone knocking on your door. Without any motivation, you go to open it. You open your eyes wide when you see Stefan in front of you. He seems nervous and… guilty ? He asks if he can come in and you let him. When you close the door, you both stay silent, looking at each other. You don’t go to another room. You’re too embarrassed to invite him to sit down on your couch, the conversation of this morning still playing in your head. You were really stupid to listen to your friends ! Now, there’s a tension between you two, something you didn’t want.

“I apologise for this morning.” he starts.

“You don’t have to, Stefan.”

“No, I owe you an apology. I want to take it to the next level. When I woke up and I saw you were still with me, I realised I wanted to be with you, just like you do. Elena told me you wanted more, even though you told me you just wanted to know.”

“Don’t pity me, please.” You beg him, feeling even more humiliated.

“It’s not the case. I love being with you. I love the moments we spend together, especially during the night where we just talked and got to know each other. I’ve never felt that big of a connection with anybody else before. But…”

“You don’t want to have your heart broken again.” You say, guessing the end of his sentence. “I get it. I have the same fear. We could say, we’ve never really had any luck in love.”

“Yeah.” He laughs softly. “But I want to try it. I pushed you away out of fear, but the moment I did it, I cursed myself. Deep down, I was waiting for that moment without knowing I was.”

“Your fears talked for you, it’s legit. It was the same for me when we talked about it with the girls and I talked about it.” You reassure him. “But with you, I want to overcome my fears. You’re the first person with whom I want to do it. I don’t want to miss a relationship that could be beautiful because my old scars are not completely healed.”

“Me neither. I trust you enough to set my fears aside. I really want us to be together.”

This last sentence makes you feel so much joy. Without thinking, you kiss him. Compared to the kisses you had two already shared, this one is full of love and tenderness. Stefan brings you closer by putting his hands on your hips. After a few seconds, you break the kiss, but your foreheads are still touching.

“You won’t sneak out in the morning anymore ?” Stefan asks you, a smile on his face that you share.

“Never again.”

Masterlist

{This is my side blog so I'll be answering comments under the username @marie-sworld}

#stefan salvatore #stefan salvatore x reader #stefan salvatore x y/n #the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries one shot #paul wesley #stefan salvatore oneshot #Spotify #stefan salavatore x reader #marie swriting in english

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fritextramole · 20 days

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leave me standing in the hall or let me enter?

part 5 of a Dan Humphrey playlist - best heard in order

tracklist and quotes under the cut

Boom Went the Boom ~ Joe Glazer

The wolf don't bother any more He starved to death right by my door

Alien Blues ~ Vundabar

I only talk to dogs because they don't understand me My teeth are yellow, hello world Would you like me a little better if they were white like yours?

Bum Bum Bum ~ Cass McCombs

They say, "Buy when there's blood in the streets Even if the blood is your own" So they employed men far away To turn against their home Centuries in the distant mist But it's not a dream No, it ain't no dream, it's all too real How long until This river of blood congeals?

Brazil ~ Declan McKenna

What have I become? I'm the face of God, I'm my father's son

Hold Me My Daddy ~ XTC

If this means war, why are we in it? Might've fired off a couple of rounds, I didn't mean to begin it. If these are the bullets that every father and son must chew, Well then hold me my daddy, I forgot to say I love you.

Ghosting ~ Mother Mother

I won't make noises in your stairs I will be kind and I'll be sweet If you stop staring straight through me And this is why I have decided To pull these old white sheets from my head I'll leave them folded neat and tidy So that you'll know I'm out of hiding

Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land ~ MARINA

I am not my body, not my mind or my brain Not my thoughts or feelings, I am not my DNA I am the observer, I'm a witness of life

Don’t Shut Me Down ~ ABBA

I'm fired up, I'm hot, don't shut me down I'm not the one you knew, I'm now, and then combined And I'm asking you to have an open mind (and I won't be the same)

Something In My Eye ~ Matt Berry

But here I am Grown I've come so far Alone I count the days Until I see you again

How Soon Is Now? ~ The Smiths

How can you say I go about things the wrong way? I am human and I need to be loved Just like everybody else does

My Own Worst Enemy ~ Lit

It's no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy 'Cause every now and then, I kick the living shit out of me

Freakin’ Out On the Interstate ~ Briston Maroney

I'm walking back to my favorite place And I can feel them staring at me Baby, do you think I'm doing something wrong? And you got a lot on your mind And your heart, it looks just like mine

Kiss Me (I Loved You) ~ Father John Misty

I loved you I heard everything about you And maybe half of it was true

Arms Unfolding ~ dodie

hope i'm not tired of rebuilding cause this might take a little more i think i'd like to try look at you and feel the way i did before.

You Only Need You ~ Tom Rosenthal

You'll get me if you need me and you'll be fine if you don't You said it was arranged by love You have a lot of love to give out

Hello Stranger ~ Julia Holter

If you're not gonna stay Please don't tease me like you did before Because I still love you so

Night Terrors ~ shinigami

Growing up time moves faster than I can Sick and tired of lying to myself I cannot fucking stand this I'm sick of fucking standing On my own, on my phone

Mad World ~ Gary Jules, Michael Andrews

Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me "Hello, teacher! Tell me, what's my lesson?" Look right through me, look right through me

3 a.m. ~ Gregory Alan Isakov

give me darkness when i’m dreaming give me moonlight when i’m leaving give me shoes that weren’t made for standing

Everything Is Free Father John Misty

Everything I ever done Gotta give it away Someone hit the big score They figured it out

Rest Awhile ~ They Might Be Giants

I got rid of my jackets and coats I threw out all of my pants I got sick of my stinkin' clothes I had to get rid of them I'm not yet considering replacing them I'm only glad to be rid of them

Daddy Sang Bass ~ Johnny Cash

singin' seems to help a troubled soul one of these days and it won't be long i'll rejoin them in a song

#gg #ggplaylists #dan humphrey #gossip girl #source: senamarais

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batimagines · 2 years

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￤a𝗹𝗹 go𝗼𝗱 bo𝘆𝘀 g𝗼 t𝗼 hea𝘃𝗲𝗻 ꜜ

↬ dick grayson x reader

↬ warnings: betrayal quotes and curse words

↬ words: 2k

↬ sorry for any mistakes english isn't my language, but i tried. and if you can, let me know what you think.

❝ 'cause I know it's true, they say:

all good boys go to heaven but

bad boys bring heaven to you... ❞

-— heaven, julia michaels

Dick Grayson was an amazing boyfriend and that no one could deny.

You are an old friend from high school. The two were best friends and studied in the same class until their third year. Maybe he doesn't remember exactly how you started talking, but you became inseparable over the next few months. However, a new job offer to your father split them up and you had to move out of Gotham the year you graduated.

But you never forgot Dick. How could you not remember all the amazing moments you created while you were together? You had a wonderful friendship and the memories always warmed your heart.

Therefore, it was already expected that you would return to your hometown as soon as possible. And so, after graduating in biological sciences, you went on a quest to build a new life in Gotham and most importantly, find your old best friend.

Dick couldn't be happier at his sudden return, other than surprised, of course. And you can't help but notice how good time had done him, whatever he'd been doing for the last few years.

Despite the time apart, it wasn't difficult for you to go back to being the friends you were before. Dick introduced you to his family and you had to stop yourself from making any comments about how her father liked to adopt children.

After going out on your free time, dropping gifts on your apartment door and long conversations after a tiring shift at work, it was more than clear to anyone that stronger feelings were involved in this new relationship of yours. It took a while, but both of them wasted no time once they stopped denying how they felt about each other and five months after you got back together, Dick and you became Gotham's newest couple.

Dating Richard Grayson was like having the best days of your life every day. He was affectionate, considerate, and protective of you, mainly because of his nightlife. You didn't need to know the two of them for anyone to be completely sure that your boyfriend loved you, just look at the way his eyes sparkled as he looked at you. Again, Dick was an amazing boyfriend and to say you were spoiled by him would be almost an understatement. He would do anything for his girl.

Knowing this extreme trust in you, Dick soon set about opening up about his life as a vigilante, consequently, you found out about the others as well. However, you have to admit that I already suspected that Grayson was hiding something, after all the excuses about the sudden injuries were already getting ridiculously repetitive. And in which universe does someone dislocate their wrist while playing board games with their little brother? Okay, fine, it's possible to make an exception when the brother in question is Damian Wayne, but still. Sibling relationships aside, Dick said that for a relationship to work well, it was important not to keep secrets and lies with each other and you, like him, followed the commandment.

Until you meet Jason Todd.

Despite having known Bruce, Alfred, Tim, Damian and the girls from the beginning, as I said, you were only introduced to the problem brother after a year of dating. And honestly? If you had powers to predict the future or knew someone who did, you would have pretended to be sick the day you met Jason Todd.

Maybe then, you weren't alone now.

You and Jason hit it off right away. In the eyes of others, you elevated a brother-in-law relationship to a beautiful friendship, and that was great. Dick was glad you got along with everyone in your family, especially Todd who could have the potential to act like the most annoying of the brothers if he wanted to. Batfamily members said Dick couldn't have picked anyone better. Yeah, everyone really liked you. So that must be why they were extremely disappointed when they discovered that this friendship with Jason was the most reckless, selfish and toxic thing that ever happened in that mansion.

He was once told that all good boys go to heaven, but bad boys bring heaven to you, it was somewhat poetic and a little questionable, but it took a similar situation to really understand.

Dick Grayson made you a better person, he was your faith, he made you feel loved and cared for like no one had ever done before. Dick Grayson was an amazing human being, he deserved all the best from other people and besides, he was very good to you.

But Jason Todd was the complete opposite. He was the problem kid, walked side by side with danger and still laughed at him behind his back and maybe that was what attracted his attention. You wanted to play in the fire that Jason Todd was, but you forgot to be careful not to get burned. He made you become a sinner.

You knew you were making a mistake and you were sure a little voice inside warned you that you would bitterly regret it. You knew you were being a motherfucker for letting Jason's hands touch your body while your boyfriend slept peacefully in one of Wayne Manor's bedrooms. You knew that enjoying Todd's hot, wild touches only made your situation worse.

You knew things were going downhill from there when after months of being on the sly with Jason, he asked you to break up with Dick. You knew this mistake was snowballing when, the next day, Jason confessed his feelings for you. You knew you had managed to make your situation twice as bad when he said he would. You knew there was no turning back when Dick caught the two of them lying in bed between the sheets.

It was a cold and rainy morning, the perfect weather to match the tension that had been in that room when the door was swung open.

"Tell me this isn't true."

You thought for a few seconds if they hadn't been discovered before and Dick was just ignoring it and avoiding all the destruction it would bring, after all you were dating a detective, it wouldn't surprise you if he was holding the fuse until it burned.

"Dick, I--"

"Please tell me I got it wrong and that you didn't have sex with my little brother."

Yeah, you were sure he already knew before.

"It's true and I hate myself for it." Lie, you sure hated being the reason for all the sadness and disappointment emanating from Dick, but you still had a side of you that didn't hate what you had with Jason. You got out of bed and started picking up your clothes from around the room to put them on. "That was a mistake, it didn't mean anything."

"Didn't it mean anything? God, it almost gets worse. Has anything ever meant anything to you?"

"Yes, it did, with you. Our courtship meant something to me."

"How do you expect me to believe that?"

"Because it's true and you know I love you." You could feel Jason's gaze burning your back not yet completely covered, the younger's silence certainly made you more tense.

"No, you don't. You have no idea what love is, Yn. You don't know what it means to love someone. Because when you do, you'd rather die than hurt the other person. sure don't fuck your boyfriend's fucking brother." Despite the aggressive words, Dick spoke calmly, no swearing uttered in the highest pitch of voice, and that was frightening to say the least for you.

"I'm sorry, Dick." Nothing would do from now on, but even so you felt the stubborn tears running down your face. "I love you. And you love me, you love me, Dick. Remember?" One step in front of him was two in Grayson's retreat.

"Yes. You have no idea how much I love you, but this is something I'm going to have to get over."

"Please, Dick, listen to me. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I--"

"Can you shut the fuck up, Yn? Because if you keep apologizing, I'll feel like an idiot for not forgiving you. And if I forgive you, you'll just break my heart all over again and... I trusted you." You watched silently as Dick ran his hands through the black strands of hair, he always did that when he was nervous and didn't want to lose his temper. "You once told me that I had the power to destroy you. But you know what? You are the only thing that destroys people. I wish you had never come back."

"Dick, wait--" You yelled as Dick turned, walked out of the room and answered you with the slam of the door. For a moment, you thought about going after him, but stopped when you heard a snort of laughter from whoever was still there. Your troubles weren't over yet.

"What the fuck was that?"

Justice is delayed, but it does not fail. That's what they say, isn't it? The consequences of your lies kept coming. You made Jason believe that you loved him and that you wanted to be with him, now you'd said that everything they'd been through meant nothing other than that you loved someone else. You managed to break two people's hearts in such a short time.

"I made a mistake, we did."

"I really liked you. Fuck, I told you I loved you and you said you did." You refused to turn and face Jason at that moment. "Is that why you didn't break up with Dick sooner? Was I just a hobby for you?"

"That's not how it happened and you know it, Jason."

"I spent my whole life thinking I'd never be as good as he was. You were the only person that made me think that maybe I was. But I guess it was all a lie, huh? Because that's what you do, you mind, mind and mind compulsively."

"You did too, Jason. You're just as wrong in this story as I am."

"No, Yn. It wasn't me who cheated, it wasn't me who said I love you without loving. I wasn't a motherfucker to anyone." Hypocrite, obviously he'd been, he'd betrayed his own brother's trust, but you weren't in the right frame of mind to start an argument with Jason. "And I won't be the one who's going to be alone, because you know what? 'That's enough for me."

Perhaps the only truth in all of this is that you didn't love, and I dare say you never did, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. You loved how they made you feel.

Dick was nice and kind and caring, he made you feel wanted and loved. It gave you the peaceful feeling of a picnic in the park on a sunny day. He was her happy ending to a cliché romance.

Jason was hot and sin personified, he made you feel the adrenaline and he became your addiction. It was like feeling butterflies in your stomach when you were riding a ride too high or too fast in an amusement park. He was the tension and suspense of a horror movie.

You didn't love them, but you wanted to have them both. You wanted to have two things that were impossible to have together, but you couldn't choose just one. You planted a bomb among the Waynes and left without rendering any assistance when it exploded. You wouldn't be there to see the damage but you hoped everything would be okay.

And now, you have nothing left.

#dick grayson #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson x you #nightwing #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson imagine

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azure-cherie · 2 years

Note

Hello this is for the quotes and music game. VAM and Sag moon. Imma add this pic here from an ask game that is my cover photo on my blog. An aesthetic that is done by this person just to give you an idea. Thanks!

Hii , welcome 💕

#azures games #quote & song game

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curlyhairedprince · 3 years

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Harry and Louis via their close friends stories on instagram: little did I know you were the one who would save me, learn how to change me.

#1dsource #hlcreators #hljournal #yourlarrysource #larry stylinson manip #larry stylinson gif #larry stylinson #harry styles #louis tomlinson #hello i decided to bring these back #quote is from julia michael's little did i know #10/10 song #my edit #my postthings #my gifs #instagram au

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petersasteria · 3 years

Text

Michael Scott (V) - Tom Holland

Tom || Main || Taglist

Requested? Nah 1,119 words Based on Michael Scott quotes. As usual, the one in bold is the quote.

* * * *

“And then I told her, ‘you don’t know me; you’ve just seen my penis!’ Man, you should’ve seen the look on her face!” Tom told Harry and Sam as they erupt into a fit of laughter.

“That’s the story of how I broke up with Julia.” Tom said, sitting back on his chair.

“Why did you break up with her again?” Sam asked. Harry looked at him and said, “Were you not listening?”

“No, I wasn’t because I have my own life to focus on. So, why did they break up?” Sam said with sass, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

“Julia cheated on him, like, a bunch of times.” Harry said, before turning to Tom. “I’m glad you finally got rid of her.”

“Same here.” Tom smiled. “You know what they say: fool me once, strike one, but fool me twice, strike three.”

“That makes no sense, but I’m happy for you.” Sam said. “Anyway, I have to go. The restaurant won’t cook its own food.”

“Yeah, I’ll head out too. The film won’t direct itself.” Harry said as he and Sam stood up.

“Thanks for coming, guys!” Tom waved from his seat as he watched his younger brothers leave. Being the CEO of a company at such a young age was truly scary, but Tom managed to push through. Besides, his brothers were always there for him.

Tom started working as soon as his brothers left and the work was getting really tiring and boring. Due to his boredom, he called you in, his assistant. You knocked and walked in, “You wanted to see me, Mr. Holland?”

He smiled, “Yes, come in!”

You went in and closed the door behind you. He motioned for you to sit in front of him and you did. You were holding a few folders against your chest before laying them on your lap. Tom kept his gaze on you as he smiled. You awkwardly smiled too.

“I just- I realized that I never really got to know you.” Tom told you. “So, what’s the gossip?”

“Excuse me?” You asked, hearing if you heard your boss correctly.

Tom shrugged, “The gossip, the tea. Or whatever you kids call it these days.”

“I’m just the same age as your brothers, sir.” You told him and he nodded.

“I know that, but y’know.” He shrugged. “It won’t hurt to know things about my employees. I want to be a good boss, y’know?”

You didn’t say anything. You just nodded.

“Anything happened recently? Any hot topics in the break room? C’mon!” Tom said. You looked around to see if there were hidden cameras or anything because you had sworn to secrecy. Your colleagues took a while to warm up to you because you worked directly to, with, and for the boss. They were afraid that you’d tell Tom what they were saying. Besides, there’s a line between office gossip and telling the boss. You were the line.

You shook your head in hesitation, “I don’t- I don’t think so. I mean, not that I know of.”

“You hesitated which means there is gossip! Spill!” Tom chuckled. “I won’t tell anyone. If you don’t tell me, I’ll fire you.”

Your jaw dropped and began to reason as to why you deserve the job and Tom laughed at you, “It’s a joke! You should’ve seen your face! It was so funny!”

“It’s not a funny joke. That’s not appropriate.” You glared.

“There’s no such thing as an appropriate joke. That’s why it’s a joke.” Tom said and cleared his throat. “Anyway, tell me.”

“Fine.” You said and began to think of not-so-hot gossip that was told to you. “Well, last week David’s mom just found out about the internet and told him, “Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information.” There’s that.”

Tom giggled, “What else?”

“Um..” You said and started thinking again. “At Trent’s party last Saturday, we played a drunk game of ‘would you rather’ and-”

“Trent threw a party and I wasn’t invited?” Tom frowned. “I thought we were best buds.”

“Well, it’s just uncomfortable to have your boss at your party.” You explained. Tom was saddened by that and you immediately thought ‘oh shit I’ll get fired for real’.

“Do I make you guys uncomfortable?” Tom asked quietly.

“N-No! No, of course not! We just feel like it’s weird to invite you because you’re our boss. Isn’t there a rule to that? Like, a boss can’t hang out with their employees?” You said and he shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so.” Tom said. “I believe that all of us should make friends, first. Make sales, second. Make love, third; in no particular order.”

“How… philosophical and inspirational.” You lied. “You should be a guru or something.”

“Thank you! Anyway, I have a question for you.” Tom said and you nodded. “Would you rather be feared or loved?”

You thought for a second and smirked, “Would I rather be feared or loved? Um, easy; both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

Tom laughed and clapped his hands, “That’s fucking clever! We should hang out often.”

“I guess.” You snorted.

“Do you play instruments? We could, like, jam together. My brother, Sam, plays the piano. I can play guitar. We could be like a band!” He said excitedly.

“I’m useless. I can’t play instruments, but my younger brother plays the flute. I can invite him.” You offered and he nodded.

“That could work!” Tom said and you laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just this stupid thing that I always tell him about his talent for playing the flute.” You giggled.

“What is it?” Tom asked with a smile.

“I tell him that his lips are for blowing.” You laughed causing Tom to laugh too.

“That’s what she said!” Tom laughed and slapped his knee. Both of you laughed for a good minute before calming down. “I’m fucking glad I hired you, Y/N.” Tom said as he wiped a tear from his eye. You just smiled at him.

“You may now leave. That’s all I wanted to ask. I’ll text you if I need anything.” Tom said as you stood up.

“Wow, you sound like a pimp.” You joked and he cackled at that. You walked out of his office and Tom immediately called his mother.

“Hello! Is anything wrong?” Nikki asked and Tom shook his head with a goofy smile on his face.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just think I found the one. She’s really funny. You’ll LOVE her, mum. I might ask her out soon.”

* * * *

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @blueleatherbag @cocoamoonmalfoy @thatforgottenangel @parkerpeter24 @turtoix @slutforsr @givebuckyhisplumsnow @buckys-little-hoe @runawayolives @chewymoustachio @hollandsrecs @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @yourstrulyamour @juliediggory @lharrietg @alexx-stancati @rumplebutterbaby @dummiesshort @spideyspeaches @thevelvetseries @buckymylove @quxxnxfhxll @marvelsimps @dreamy-clousds @bora-world @hunnybunimdun @supred12 @more-like-reyna @caitsymichelle13 @aayaissaa

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @holland-styles @trustfundparker @calltothewild @felicityparkers @hufflepuffprincess24 @tommysparker @justasmisunderstoodasloki @quaksonhehe @call-me-baby-gir1 @itstaskeen @theonly1outof-a-billion @lost-in-the-stars03 @justafangirlduh @piscesparker @speedymaximoff @miraclesoflove @lexirv @blairscott @getbywithasmile @pqrkerr @lavender-writer @blackbat2020 @hoodpankow @bi-lmg @emmastarz

#tom holland #tom holland one shots #tom holland imagines #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh

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365days365movies · 3 years

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May 1, 2021: The Prestige (2006) (Recap: Part One)

What’s that old Arthur C. Clarke quote again?

Not that one, although that’s...that’s fantastic, and I need to know more context to that conversation. But no, no, not that. The other one.

Not that one, although that’s...horrifying. Let me explain something first, then. Clarke was the author of the classic science-fiction novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, which definitely didn’t go on to become one of the most widely regarded films of all time. Anyway, he was a big-shot in science fiction, and was even knighted for his prominence in pop culture in the UK and across the world.

Fellow famous sci-fi author Isaac Asimov is well known for three rules of robotics, but Clarke has three rules of his own. A futurist, his laws describe conjecture about scientific development in the future of out societies. Those laws are:

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Magic, huh?

God, I love Weird Al. Anyway, as a child of the ‘90s, I am well-acquainted with the boom of stage magicians that appeared during that time, and during the early 2000s. David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear, David Blaine coughed up a live frog, Criss Angel freaked minds; lot of stuff back then.

And yet, despite other recent magicians like Penn and Teller or Dynamo, the greatest age of stage magic isn’t even CLOSE to the 90′s. No, no, to really see magic in its heyday, we need to go back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, to the days of the stage illusionist.

Obviously, the first person that comes to mind is Harry Houdini, a man whose feats have lasted the test of time, and may have led to his death. Not only did he get buried alive, not only did he escape from a straitjacket in chains underwater, NOT ONLY did he hold his breath inside a water-filled milk can inside of a wooden chest repeatedly for FOUR YEARS, but he was also the greatest enemy of spiritualists and mediums everywhere!

Yeah, despite being a stage magician, Houdini was OBSESSED with exposing those who claimed to be actually supernatural. After all, as a showman, he was interesting in exposing tricks that were meant to defraud the innocent public. Dude was awesome, is what I’m saying. He died from a burst appendix, which miiiiight have been caused by a student who punched him in the stomach after asking if he was actually resistant to abdominal damage. Yeah, not a great death. And he wasn’t the only illusionist to die of tragic circumstances, but that’s a discussion for another day. Because of this is sci-fi month...why am I talking about magic? Well...imagine a lighter.

Now image that you went back 5,000 years, to any civilization, and showed them a lighter. The ability to create fire with seemingly nothing but your bare hands? You’re basically a wizard! Fire from no visible fuel? TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O SORCERER OF THE FLAME!!! And that’s just a goddamn lighter.

What about a light bulb? Light from energy you’ve harnessed from metals and from the air itself? Jujube! A camera? With the ability to capture a moment in time in the form of a tangible image? WITCHCRAFT!!! A smartphone? A FUCKING SMARTPHONE???

And so, in celebration of the blurring of magic and science...why not start this month with an unconventional form of science fiction, huh? Something that blurs magic and science in a way that’s indistinguishable. And so, I can FINALLY watch a movie that I’ve wanted to watch for YEARS!

I am so excited, and this is a hell of a way to kick off the month! Why this? Well, I’ll explain that later. But for now...LET’S DO THIS.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Recap (1/2)

There are three acts of magic.

First is “the pledge”, where the magician shows something normal. Then, there’s “the turn”, which is when the ordinary becomes extraordinary. And finally, there’s the act of bringing the show full-circle; bringing back a disappeared object, in a new way and with a new technique. That final act, the showmanship, the establishment of the mystery, is called “the prestige”.

So is told to us by John Cutter (Michael Caine), keeper of canaries and stage engineer to magicians, via narration abut magic. Intercut with that narration, and with a disappearing canary trick, is the presentation of an act being performed by Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman). In it, he turns on a machine using electricity, with lightning bolts flying freely. He steps inside of it, and disappears.

Meanwhile, coming from the audience, a man pretends to be part of the act, and goes backstage and underneath the machine. There, he witnesses Angier fall through a trap door into a water tank, unable to get out, panicking and drowning. Which is just super fun to watch, lemme tell you! And that is where the story starts.

The man from the audience was Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), who is quickly put on trial for the murder of Angier. A rival of his during the 1890s and early 1900s, Borden is sent to jail, and sent to death by hanging. This is as his young daughter watches on. In court, Alfred testifies against Bruce Wayne on how he murdered Wolverine, because this is all I could think of the entire time. Anyway, the court asks for more details on the trick that killed Angier, called “the Transported Man”. He refuses to divulge it publicly, but agrees to tell it to one of the judges in secret.

In prison, Borden’s visited by a representative of a wealthy collector of items, Lord Caldlow. He asks if he will sell him his most prominent trick, the “Transported Man”. But Borden also refuses, as it’s HIS trick. Still, in response, the man gives Borden a journal of Angier’s’, and asks him to think about selling the secret. And from there: flashback!

Angier is on a train, heading to Colorado Springs, where he’s surprised to see that the whole town has electricity. His plan is to go up the mountain, which is closed for scientific experimentation. Which isn’t ominous at all! That completely banal revelation is followed by a walk up the mountain in the fog, past a fence that says no trespassing and LITERAL WARNING SIGNS.

There, he’s greeted by Alley (Andy Serkis), the assistant of the estate’s owner. Apparently, said owner made a machine for Borden, and Angier wants to learn the secrets. Another flashback, and we learn that Borden and Angier, rival magicians now, met a long time ago at the show of another magician, both volunteering to tie up the female assistant, Julia (Piper Perabo). Which would be creepy out of context, and then is creepy IN context when Angier kisses her thigh. Ew.

Anyway, they drop her into a tank, with a pretty stereotypical trick. After the show, we also learn that these two men are actually working for the magician, Milton (Ricky Jay), which makes that thigh kiss less creepy. Talking to Cutter and Julia, Borden mocks Milton’s trick, noting that the old magician won’t even try something like a bullet catch. Cutter mocks this idea, and asks if Borden has any better ideas. It’s around this time that Cutter suggests seeing Chung Ling Soo. Huh. I won’t say anything about that until later.

Or right now! And, uh...oh shit, this is extraordinarily awkward. Here’s the thing: this is NOT Chung Ling Soo. I know this for two reasons. One, Soo didn’t really pretend to be crippled, as Borden and Angier suggest. Wasn’t really his bag. But something that IS interesting about the guy is how he died! BULLET CATCH TRICK!! Yup! He tried the bullet catch trick, and he died when the bullet actually fired at him! Yeah, awkward.

And you know what else is awkward, and really different from this story? Chung Ling Soo was...not Chinese. Even a little bit. His real name was William Ellsworth Robinson, he married his assistant, cheated on her with another assistant, never divorced and still married his new assistant illegally, etc. He was an interesting guy. Ignoring, y’know, the whole disgustingly shitty yellow-face thing. Different times, unfortunately.

Borden’s frustration with an act he considers boring and obsolete erupts during one of Milton’s shows, where we see him KILL A BIRD, FUCK ME MAN. Yeah, I get it, Borden, this is terrible! This coincides with meeting a young woman and her nephew, who is also upset to see a bird die in front of him. The woman is Sarah (Rebecca Hall), and the two start a romance. Meanwhile, the romance between Angier and Julia is a straight-up marriage, making that thigh kiss fare more understandable. And, the two are about to have a baby, to both of their delight! Nothing bad will happen now!

We flash forward to the future, where Cutter is showing the judge what’s what with the device. He claims that a wizard built it, and that the machine can actually do what magicians have only pretended to do for years. They also look at a tank, and Cutter reveals that the tank has a terrible history, especially for the two magicians.

Flashback again, to a night of yet another show. That night, Milton and the group go through with their trick, as per usual. However, Borden decides to make it a little tougher and more exciting by tying a different knot this time. And unfortunately...Julia can’t untie it. They try to get her out in time, but alas...it’s too late.

Julia dies, and Angier blames Borden, who isn’t even entirely sure if he tied the knot that killed Julia...allegedly. Not a big fan of Borden right now. The act is over, and Borden decides to split off and do his own act, calling himself “the Professor”. Now having a child of his own with Sarah, he decides to do a bullet trick, with the help of new stage engineer, Fallon. But this is a tricky trick to perform. And the understandable mental breakdown of Angier causes its own problems.

See, during one of Borden’s shows (which is going TERRIBLY), a disguised Angiers shows up and loads a REAL bullet into the gun for the trick, and BLOWS OFF TWO OF HIS FINGERS FUCK ME!!! Borden’s not exactly happy about this, but he recovers quickly. Shortly after, Cutter finds Angier at a bar, and offers him the opportunity to make a new show of his own. Reluctantly, he accepts, and takes up the moniker “the Great Danton”, a name that his late wife suggested.

With a new bird/cage trick, one that lets the bird LIVE (THANK YOU), they’re almost set. But they also add a new assistant, in the form of...Black Widow. I mean, sorry, Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johansson). Yeah, um...Wolver, Alfred Pennyworth, and Black Widow are working together in competition against Batman. Also, Gollum is in the movie, too. God, what’s next, David Bowie?

Anyway, the show is on once again, and Angier asks for some volunteers in the audience. But, uh oh! One of them is Borden in disguise, and he sabotages the trick in front of EVERYBODY, breaking an audience member’s fingers, and killing the bird, completely fucking up Angier’s career, in revenge for his fingers. Oh, also, MOTHERFUCKER YOU KILLED HIS WIFE (maybe)!!! Doesn’t justify Angier shooting off your fingers, but you could’ve just let bygones be! No wonder you’re rivals in the future! Batman’s a dick (which, given Christian Bale, isn’t that surprising).

Well, since his trick, Angier’s fucked. They’re kicked out of the theater, and in need of a new act. Cutter suggests that Angier goes to the upcoming science exposition for ideas. And yes...that’s where the science fiction angle starts in. See, like Clarke said, any science that’s sophisticated enough LOOKS like magic to audiences who don’t understand it. And Borden has the same idea, as he also heads to the expo.

It’s there that a presentation of a massive electrical generator is being held, with the machine having been invented by...Nicola Tesla! YO!

I don’t think I need to tell anybody about Tesla at this point, but he was a brilliant physicist and inventor from the early 1900s. His legendary Current War with Thomas Alva Edison for the current to be used by the United States (Tesla’s DC vs. Edison’s AC) is the stuff of science legend...and is a conflict that the far less charismatic Tesla lost. Still, his mastery of electricity (such as the above Tesla coil) is remembered today. If you want to go sightseeing, check out New York! In Niagara Falls, he’s got a massive statue overlooking the falls; and in Bryant Park in NYC, you can sit on the bench where he fed his beloved pigeons. Yeah, he loved pigeons, which I respect.

Anyway, the expo’s shut down due to presumed danger of the exhibit, possibly spurred on by Thomas Edison and his PR team. Which is pretty accurate, not gonna lie. Still, the experiment interests both Angier and Borden. Still, Angier doesn’t do much with this information. Right now, anyway.

Flash forward to Angier in Colorado Springs, and a group of men from Edison’s employ are there for some reason. But undeterred, Angier heads back to Tesla’s lab, where Alley shows him a gorgeous sight: lightbulbs dotting a field, making a gorgeous grid of light. He reveals that the source of the electricity is 15 miles away, as a testament to Tesla’s scientific genius. Stellar.

A great place to pause. See you in Part Two of this Recap!

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writerjuliannaf · 3 years

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Thank you so much @laurajournal for tagging me!! I had a blast participating ❤︎

About Me~

MUSIC

Favorite genre(s)?

Rock, Folk, Eighties, Pop, Alternative/Indie

Favorite song(s)?

1. Wrecked by Imagine Dragons

2. Follow You by Imagine Dragons

3. The Funeral by Band of Horses

4. Little Did I Know by Julia Michaels

5. Stakes by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

6. When We Were Young by The Killers

7. Lost by Dermot Kennedy

8. Papercut by LINKIN PARK

9. Fix You by Coldplay

10. Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

11. So Far Away by Staind

12. Everything Changes by Staind (… if I could keep going, I would)

Most listened song recently?

If The World Was Ending by Julia Michaels & JP Saxe (I’m a sucker for duets)

Song currently stuck in your head?

Let Me Down Slowly by Alec Benjamin

5 favorite lyrics?

1. Now that we're here, it’s so far away

All the struggle we thought was in vain

All in the mistakes

One life contained

They all finally start to go away

Now that we're here, it’s so far away

And I feel like I can face the day,

And I can forgive

And I'm not ashamed

To be the person that I am today

~ So Far Away by Staind

2. But everything changes

If I could

Turn back the years

If you could

Learn to forgive me

Then I could

Learn how to feel

Then we could

Stay here together

And we could

Conquer the world

If we could

Say that forever

~ Everything Changes by Staind (Aaron Lewis’ voice just sends me right back to my childhood)

3. Loud thunder, heavy rain

Thin line 'tween joy and pain

It's a long strange trip, it's all insane

You ain't never gonna be the same

~ Loud and Heavy by Cody Jinks

4. Hear the fallen and lonely, cry out

Will you fix me up?

Will you show me hope?

At the end of the day, you were helpless

Can you keep me close?

Can you love me most?

~ Someone to Stay by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

5. Please let me take you

Out of the darkness and into the light

'Cause I have faith in you

That you're gonna make it through another night

~ Lullaby by Nickelback

Pick!

BOOKS

Favorite book series?

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer & The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore

Comfort book(s)?

The Merchant’s Daughter, The Captive Maiden, and The Golden Braid —all by Melanie Dickerson

Favorite book(s)?

Divergent by Veronica Roth and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Perfect book(s) to read on a rainy day?

Hendrix by softsloth (an amazing werewolf romance on Wattpad) and You Are Not Alone by penbehindthemask (the BEST Phantom of The Opera fanfic on Wattpad)

Favorite character(s)?

Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, Four, Jo March, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, and Six —from The Lorien Legacies

5 favorite quotes from your favorite books?

1. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.” ~Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

2. “I’ll be your family now.” ~Insurgent by Veronica Roth

3. “Penguins. Lovely.” ~Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

4. “One of the gifts our planet gave us is to love completely. Without jealousy or insecurity or fear. Without pettiness. Without anger.” ~I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

5. “It was too mangy. A little bit like you.” ~Her Wolf King (THE BEST Beauty & The Beast/Jane Eyre retelling) by @linsimin

Pick!

TV AND MOVIES

Favorite tv/movie genre(s)?

Romance, Fantasy, Superheroes, Comedy, Action/Adventure, Dystopian, and Sci-Fi

Comfort movie(s)?

Jane Eyre (2011 version), Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar, Pride & Prejudice, The Silver Linings Playbook, Ratatouille, The Phantom of The Opera, LOTR, and The Hobbit (… I wish I could keep going)

Movie you watch every year?

The Santa Clause

Favorite movie?

X-Men

Favorite tv show(s)?

The Office, Portlandia, Fruits Basket, Friends, Wolverine and The X-Men, Last Man Standing, Cobra Kai, Man With a Plan, Gilmore Girls, Sweet Magnolias, #blackAF, Dr. Who, North & South, Adventure Time (… and the list is neverending)

Comfort tv show?

The Office

Most rewatched tv show?

The Office

5 Favorite tv/movie characters?

1. Logan Howlett from X-Men

2. Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls

3. Michael Scott from The Office

4. Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket

5. Cindy Berman from Fear Street

Pick!

I tag: @sincerelyrachelr @linsimin and anyone else who wants to join in on the fun 🌸

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emmanelson · 3 years

Text

tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!

tagged by @pilarsalazr tysm bestie!

MUSIC

fave genre? indie pop i guess?

fave artist? jeremy zucker, james bay, chase atlantic, julia michaels, chelsea cutler, royal and the serpent, cheat codes, NOTD, why don’t we,

fave song? tooo many but atm peer pressure by james bay and julia michaels

most listened song recently? monsters by all time low

song currently stuck in your head? clean by hey violet

5 fave lyrics? Please understand that I'm trying my hardest, My head's a mess but I'm trying regardless (consume by chase atlantic) Nobody gets it, say I'm too sensitive I can't listen 'cause I'm eyeing the exits (overwhelmed by royal and the serpent)

BOOKS

fav book genre? psychological thriller, mystery, suspense, ya

fav writer? gillian flynn, greer hendricks and sarah pekkanen, liv constantine,

fav book? atm the seven husbands of evelyn hugo

fav book series? the lovers and liars trilogy by sally beauman

comfort book? the tenth circle by jodi picoult

perfect book to read on a rainy day? valley of the dolls, it’s kind of a funny story

fave characters? amma crellin, amy elliot dunne, sadie dunhill, leonard peacock

5 quotes from your fave book that you know by heart? “there’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.” (gone girl) “it was a catch-22: if you didn’t put the trauma behind you, you couldn’t move on. but if you did put the trauma behind you, you willingly gave up your claim to the person you were before it happened.” (the tenth circle) “every time people said i was pretty, i thought of everything ugly swarming beneath my clothes.” (sharp objects) “i was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” (the great gatsby) “when all else fails, give up and go to the library.” (11.22.63)

TV AND MOVIES

fave tv/movie genre? dramas/thrillers/comedies

fave movie? almost famous, little miss sunshine, uptown girls

comfort movie? clueless, before sunrise, memento, the princess bride

movie you watch every year? uptown girls, the way way back, little miss sunshine, cruel intentions, a long way down

fave tv show? never have i ever, community, degrassi, red band society, revenge,

comfort tv show? everwood, ginny and georgia, a million little things, this is us, dance academy, boy meets world

most rewatched tv show? dawson’s creek, malcom in the middle, scrubs

ultimate otp? shaleb, semma, naley, lemma, dylan x kelly

5 fave characters? emma nelson, ryan atwood, caleb haas, amelia shepherd, shawn hunter

tagging @stephensking, @seancamerons, @reinhartroleplays, @archiesbetty, @brrittaperry, @funeralbelle

#ask games #about #about me

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youarejesting · 4 years

Text

BTS365 Prompt.week 26

[Full Masterlist] [Prompt Masterlist]

Beta: @jamaiskook @jung-hoseok-s-airplane

Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

June 25th - July 1st

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

Kim Seokjin - child to work

You smiled waking Seokjin up early, “Honey wake up and get dressed!”

He blinked disorientated, “what’s going on?”

You dressed your husband and led him to the car where he promptly fell back asleep.

You worked as an electrical engineer at a clean energy power plant and you smiled parking the car and guiding your sleeping husband inside.

You brought him to the front entrance with a smile, “hello y/n,” the security officer smiled.

“Hello miss, can we see some ID?” a young child asked and Seokjin seemed to wake up confused as to where you were taking him and why there was a small child working at a security desk?

“Here is my ID and this is my plus one,” you grinned cheekily.

“He is big, how old are you mister?” The child asked, handing over a small lanyard with smiley faces on it.

You lead Seokjin away with a smile and he frowned “are we at your work?” He looked around excitedly and noticed many children.

“Yes, we are,” you grinned.

“Why are there so many children?”

“They’re not children, they are just short, don't stare honey,” you bit your lip to keep from laughing as his head snapped forward.

“The tour is about to begin?” You walked into the assembly hall where everyone was going to gather before split into groups and led on guided tours. Seokjin got a little bag and inside was a water bottle and hat with the company logo and a colouring book. Seokjin sat in the tiny chairs and looked around at all the children shaking hands with some and introducing himself and the PowerPoint began.

“Welcome to ‘bring your children to work day’, I hope you are all excited—,” that was it, your husband's laughter was like the window cleaners on a Friday afternoon. He had turned bright red, his wide shoulders shaking but he was on board with the whole day smiling when they said there was free lunch.

But when you got a moment alone he seemed mischievous, “I guess it’s time we make a child so you can bring them to work,” he kissed your lips firmly and sat you on your work desk.

Min Yoongi - dog to work

Holly was happy, he didn’t understand why but today instead of Yoongi leaving him for hours, he picked up the leash and harness and walked him out the front door. Holly was nervous during car rides, laying his head on Yoongi’s lap waiting for the van to stop. Yoongi held Holly’s leash and walked him into a big building. They had treats, the area was cleared with a play pen and toys. Holly was feeding off of Yoongi's nervous energy, deciding to press his nose to the back of Yoongi’s knee in a comforting manner as if to say “I’m here”.

Yoongi was a human and couldn’t understand him, but he would always be there for him because Yoongi was his owner. Once inside the comfort of the quiet elevator Yoongi relaxed even if there was a beautiful woman onboard. Holly wasn’t a stupid dog he could smell the pheromones between the two and took matters into his own hands circling around the woman so she was tangled in the leash. Looking up at his owner with an “Are you proud of me?” expression.

Jung Hoseok - chocolate pudding

What had he done to deserve this? Hoseok was such a nice guy, everyone in school liked him and as far as he knew he didn’t have any enemies. All he did was say ‘Hi’ and you threw your drink in his face in the middle of the school cafeteria. The whole room quietened significantly and you looked up at his mouth falling open in small shocked ‘o’.

“I am sorry for bothering you” Hoseok laughed trying to appear nonchalant in front of you, taking long strides out of the cafeteria all eyes following his escape and when he was out of sight they all turned to look at you. Feeling the jolt of the sneers at how evil you would have to be to hurt the happy go lucky ‘Hope’ of the school.

You grabbed your pudding from your tray and bag and raced from the lunch venue, “Hoseok!” the desperation in your voice to find him. Racing along the corridors and around the corner you saw him walking into the bathroom. With no thoughts of where you were going, you ran inside.

“Hoseok wait I-OH MY GOD” you covered your eyes forgetting for a moment where you really were. You heard laughter and felt your body grow warm, your entire form turning red from the embarrassment”

“There is no one in here but me, and I am just drying my hair and face” His laughter didn’t ease “you can look”

You peeked, hearing him running water, and when you opened your eyes he was rubbing a damp paper towel through his hair and over his uniform. He turned to the hand dryer and leaned under it, completely missing his hair. You stepped over guiding his head under the warm air and tousling it between your fingers, reaching into your bag for a brush and helping dry and style his hair once more.

“I am sorry, I didn’t know it was you. I thought it was those rude girls in our year who have been harassing me” You frowned “I was going to finally stand up for myself. I am sorry”

“Hey, don’t be sorry.” Hoseok gave a small smile. It was empathetic with a soft tone, his hand gently touching your arm to show you he was there for you. “I was shocked and honestly I always wondered what it felt like to have a girl throw their drink in my face like the movies but I never wanted to be rude to a girl to find out”

He laughed and your hands went still in his hair.

“Do you like chocolate pudding?’ you asked in a panic

“I do,” He laughed amused by your strange outburst, reaching into your pocket you handed him the small tub and spoon.

“I am sorry”

Kim Namjoon - Helen Keller

You sat in your living room and listened to the radio as you did everyday, “Well, I am reading fan letters again and my assistant promises there are some good ones in here.” You crossed your fingers. Donut, your Labrador retriever laid his head on your lap. And you smiled holding the cup of tea in your hand, listening intently.

“This is from DonutBlind” He smiled

Dear Namjoon,

I am writing for some advice, I feel alone, I never leave the house. I am too scared. I lost all my friends. They say your mid-twenties are the greatest moment of your life but honestly it feels more like the beginning of a long prison sentence. The only thing that gets me through is your voice, your advice and I hope Rapmon your new puppy is doing okay, might I recommend the puppy school in the attached pamphlet they are super good and all the proceeds go towards the seeing eye dogs.

Love,

DonutBlind

“Well you seem to be very isolated, I want you to take the time to take a walk outside, might I recommend the C park by the river. I go there all the time with Rapmon, he enjoys it.” His mellow voice coming though softly and sending tingles down your spine. “You use me for your happiness and I ask that you please continue to do so, I am happy that my presence can bring you some solace. I will go to the puppy school you recommended so I can learn some skills to care for him effectively. It reminds me of a quote by Helen Keller, ‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.’”

Any minute Jungkook, your carer who had helped you write the letter, would be over to help you dress for your guest appearance at the puppy school and part of you hoped he could attend so as to hear his voice in person.

Park Jimin - two halves @chickennoodlesoupfortae

Jimin had arrived at the party, he stood in front of two doors with curtains hanging over them, with a sign between them reading the board with instructions. “This is a lock and key party. Upon entering the women will select a lock and the men select a key” Jimin giggled quietly at the euphemism, stepping into the ‘Key’ door. Behind the curtain was a table on either side of the room, one held keys and the other masks. Jimin assumed the other room mirrored this one but with locks instead of key. Looking down at the table Jimin began inspecting the keys.

There were new modern keys and old antique keys. Jimin spotted a key tied with a soft lace ribbon, he assumed the guys didn’t want to wear it because it looked feminine but Jimin thought it looked aesthetic as hell. He took the old style golden key, placing it around his neck.

He peered back at the instructions “Throughout the night you have the chance to try to find your perfect match. Like kind Ladies and Gentlemen you must respect a person’s choice if they refuse to try the key and locks.”

Jimin had a small smile on his face, the anticipation made him bounce on his toes as he turned to the second table finding a matching mask in gold with a soft lace trimming. He fastened the piece over his eyes. He looked at the sign above this table.

“Once you have found your other half you may move to the seated booths and continue your evening, with or without your masks it is your choice.” He squared his shoulders ready to take on the party he truly believed could change his life.

Kim Taehyung - meteor (based on If the world was ending - Julia Michaels, JP Saxe)

Taehyung was in the tour bus stuck in traffic when his phone gave an alert to an earthquake. He didn’t feel it but it was all over the radio and the news when his phone gave a second alert. There was a meteor about to hit earth and it was unlikely anyone would survive. It was chaotic but in that moment as he stared at the other boys, you popped up in his mind.

Jeon Jungkook - watch

Jungkook was mesmerized by your acting skills; he owned everything you worked on. When he wasn’t working at the corner convenience store, he was watching your latest dramas and movies.Three shelves in his dvd case were dedicated to your work. He knew every line and every word, and he would always pretend to play the male lead saying their lines. He was your biggest fan, and one day he would be able to meet you and tell you how much you meant to him. You were happy with your friends having coffee and he was happy to just sit in the park and watch.

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aspiestvmusings · 4 years

Text

ZEP S1 END SPOILERS

SPOILERS FOR UPCOMING EPISODES/END OF SEASON

for ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST (NBC)

EPISODE TITLES & SUMMARIES

1x10 Zoey’s Extraordinary Outburst

Air date: Sunday, April 19th

Summary: Zoey surprisingly finds herself getting into major conflict with Simon, Max, Mo and even Howie. Tensions arise at SPRQ Point when the 4h and 6th floors compete over an important piece of code. Mitch and Maggie try to celebrate their anniversary.

#Drkpoint #4thFloorVS6thFloor #SingOff #MaxToTheMax

Songs: “The Boy is Mine” by Monica & Brandy [Team 4th Floor/Joan VS Team 6th Floor/Ava] & “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake [Max] & TBA [choreo!] + songs by: Al Green, Ed Sheeran, “Icona Pop” & "Tears for Fears” (reprise)

1x11 Zoey’s Extraordinary Mother

Air date: Sunday, April 26th, 2020

Summary: Zoey has to figure out a clever way to help her mother with an impossible decision. Max unexpectedly bonds with Leif. Mo hits a rough-patch with Eddie.

#ZoeysDad #MaxAndLeif (wait..what?) #famousgueststars #ZoeyAndJoanGirlsNightOut #KaraokeNight #surprisingsongchoices

Songs: "Bye Bye Bye” by N’Sync [Max +]; “All Out of Love” by “Air Supply” [Leif]; “Felling Good” by Nina Simone [the widow AKA Bernadette Peters’ character], “We’ve Gotta get Out of This Place” by “The Animals [by Maggie], “Issues” by Julia Michaels [Mo #whatavoice] + Songs by: Billy Ray Cyrus, Montell Jordan, The Young Bloods. #canyouguessthesongnow

1x12 Zoey’s Extraordinary Dad (S1 Finale)

Air date: Sunday, May 3rd

Summary: After hearing an ominous song (”BMR”) Zoey does everything in her power to stop something bad from happening.

#ZoeysDad #ZoeyAndMitchDance #TeamSong #LoveTriangleCOMEDY #howdidtheyfitsomuchintoonesingleepisodeagain #wewillseesomefamiliarfacesagain Yes, some of the guest character we’ve seen earlier this season, are back. And yes, there is quite a bit of Max (and Max/Clarkeman’s) in this episode...for those of us, who are fans of Z/M.

Songs: "Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Zoey), “I Will Follow Him” by Little Peggy March (by Mo....about Eddie), "All of Me” by John Legend [Max], "Jealous” by Nick Jonas [Simon], “Goodbye My Angel/Lullaby” by Billy Joel [Mitch & David] & "American Pie” [Team Song/Cast of ZEP] #reprisetime “True Colours” + a few more surprises (by Max, by Maggie] PS. NO OTHER SONGS WILL BE REVEALED BEFPRE THE EPSIODE HAS AIRED....AS THEY WOULD REVEAL TOO MUCH ABOUT THE PLOT.

SPOILER QUOTES:

NEW!

“Well, Simon is back from Vegas in ep 12/S1 Finale. He comes back to see Max and Zoey in a way that he’s a little bit surprised about, where they’re doing something that he thought was very much their own thing. So that takes Simon by surprise. And then Zoey starts to see Max in a new light in this episode, and by seeing Max in this new light, it ends up taking their relationship into a surprise direction. Zoey’s relationships with both Max and Simon actually get to a new point over the course of Episode 12.” - Austin Winsberg #cheesequake #whosawthatcoming

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

NEW!

S1 finale of ZEP features a 7-minute scene that was captured in a single shot (aka “a oner”). “We rehearsed it for two weeks leading up to the shooting of it. It required massive coordination amongst many different departments in order to get it right, and it’s probably the number — or certainly one of the numbers — that I’m most proud of all season.” - teases showrunner Austin Winsberg.

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

NEW!

“I don’t know how Zoey would end up singing again...anymore” [In S2...after that one time in 1x08 during her glitch] - Jane [”Oh, right...” - Skylar] Skylar & Jane IG Live

hmmm... what does this mean? Why “can’t” she sing anymore after S1? Is it cause there’s no “dad’s declining health” reason? Is it cause she has no voice/ability to speak anymore? Is it cause...

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

NEW!

Question: What is the scoop on Zoey and Max from Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist? I’m dying to know if these two have chance of being together by the Season 1 finale. What is in store for them? –Ashley Answer: I delivered your Q to Austin Winsberg, creator of the NBC freshman, and he wrote back, “Zoey and Max’s relationship will continue to evolve and change in surprising ways for the rest of this season and beyond. By the end of Episode 12 (airing in early May), I believe Zoey and Max fans will feel like these two have been on a real journey together — and also that their journey is, in fact, just beginning.”

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

“On top of the health issues with her father, Zoey's also got two other men in her life who were already making her life complicated even before she finds herself uncontrollably singing her emotions. Some particular musical numbers in ep 1x08 result in some awkward conversations with engaged coworker Simon and BFF Max, continuing this rocky romantic journey Jane's been on all season, though Levy thinks they're both being a little unfair. "She will continue to go down both roads, and you know, they are different roads, and one I think is messier than the other," she says. "In my opinion, I'm kind of like, give Zoey a break. Why does she have to choose anything? She never promised anything to these people, she hasn't broken any promises. She's like dealing with extremely stressful and painful moments in her life and like these men need to give her a goddamn break." It doesn't sound like they will be giving her a break anytime soon, but Levy did tease a finale number between Zoey and Max that is "sweet, funny, sexy" and the audience is going to lose their minds over it.” - Jane

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

“Zoey is someone who is not in touch with her feelings or is constantly running away from her feelings or burying her true feelings so she can be good at her job or not make things fall apart with her awkward personality. So for me, with each of these songs, the “Zoe-ality” had to be a deep desire [but] then when you cut back to reality, you’re back to Zoey covering up her feelings, being the Type A coder girl who’s just trying to solve problems and doesn’t want to really admit what’s going on inside of her, whether it’s her crush on her best friend or wanting to have sex with a coworker or knowing her boss did something unethical.” - Jane

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

“You’ll get a lot more from both relationships (Z/M & Z/S..after 1x08). There will be a lot more intimacy between Zoey & Simon, and Zoey & Max. And there is a number in our finale that was one of my favorite things we did and it involves one of them. It is a love scene with two musical numbers and it’s funny and sexy and really cute all at the same time.” - Jane

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

“We never wanting to make it (Simon vs Max) feel like a competition or a choice. Because that doesn't only preserve our characters, but it really protects Zoey. Zoey is nobody's prize and she's nobody's to claim or win over. So we do love the idea that there's a Team Max and Team Simon thing. But we tend to, when in performance, really take care of each other. There are scenes that Simon and Max have down the line and they have some difficult conversations. There's an obvious way to play all those scenes; they can be sizing each other up, looking at each other up and down, a game-on type of mentality. John and I have never seen it that way.” - Skylar

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

“What I love about Max and Zoey is that even though she's pressured in that moment, she still does feel like she can tell Max. I think that that says a lot about their friendship and about their relationship. There's only very few people that know about this superpower that she has. It's very brave and daring of her to do that. The cards are out on the table now; she can't ever make any excuses for why she's acting a certain way towards him. It's really bold.” - Skylar

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

“There's two ways of seeing it [Z telling M about her powers]. There's, "Oh my God, thank you so much for telling me. Now everybody knows and everybody can live happily ever after." Or there's the feeling of, "Wow, there's been a betrayal. You're telling me you knew all this stuff?" As Zoey begins to let people in on her powers throughout the season, it's going to be interesting to see what people are really there for her and are understanding, and what people can't handle this new information.” - Skylar

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

“While Levy won't reveal how Zoey's heart songs change things for her moving forward, she does tease that this episode [1x08] is going to have far-reaching ramifications, but not in the way you might expect. "It turns out to be positive," she says. "A lot of our show’s message is that we are all the same, the human condition is complex but we’re all going through it together. You don’t know what the person beside you is going through but you might actually relate to their pain or desires. Zoey admitting these things that are so horrific to her actually makes people understand her in this way that she doesn’t allow when she’s being her emotionally awkward, neurotic self. And Zoey going through this will make her even more empathetic and compassionate to other people’s experiences, especially when she hears their heart songs moving forward." - Jane

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

“One thing that we can tease is that we have two big Broadway Tony-winners coming in, in the next few episodes. Renée Elise Goldsberry from Hamilton plays Joan’s work rival, and Bernadette Peters comes in, in Episode 11, as an unexpected help to the family. The love triangle between Zoey, Max and Simon continues to evolve, in unexpected ways. And we have one number, at the end of Episode 12, that’s a six and a half or seven minute long one-take oner that is the thing I’m probably most proud of, all season.”- Austin

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

“There is one number in which I sing one verse and that’s it after this. [read: after ep 1x08, where Zoey sings all the songs]” - Jane

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

"You will see her go down both roads and there are some fun intimate numbers, musical numbers between Zoey and Simon. And there’s some between Zoey and Max as well. I really like how Austin has crafted this “love triangle.” Can’t give away much more than that.” - Jane

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

IN SHORT:

More people are gonna find out about the power...MAYBE in S1...maybe...LATER ;)

The next/last weeks of Zoey’s dad’s life, and all that goes with it

Max/Zoey finale moments...and moments leading to that... (but also Z/S scenes...)

SOURCES:

2: The Futon Critic

2: IMDB

3: E! Online - ‘ZEP’ Finally Puts Jane Levy In the Musical Hot Seat

4: Variety - Jane Levy on ‘Panic’ & Jim Carrey as Inspiration for Special ‘ZEP’ Episode

5. ET - Skylar Astin Dishes on the Magic of 'ZEP' and a Realistic Love Triangle

6. EW - Jane Levy on filming 'most raw, vulnerable, honest' ZEP episode yet

7. Collider - ‘ZEP’ Showrunner Previews Zoey-Centric Episode

8. The Playlist - Jane Levy discusses the difficulty of ainging 6 different songs in 1 ‘ZEP’ episode

9. TV Line: Matts Inside Line - TV scoop [April 17th]

10. TV Line: As Ausiello - 4 Bonus Scoops [May 1st]

11. TV Line: ‘ZEP’ EP Previews Emotional Finale, Surprising Love Triangle Twists [May 1st]

12. Extra TV: Jane Levy & Skylar Astin Tease ‘ZEP’ S1 Finale [May 1st] VIDEO

ALSO: The previous epsiodes, and some things in episode 1x11 (some lines/scenes), and some things in 1x12 promo reveal quite a bit. Same goes to inetrviews (written articles, video “interviews” with cast. They have actually revealed quite a bit...if you paid attention. Or...if you didn’t, then after watching the finale, as you look back... you might realize they showed/told you quite a bit already... though I think it won’t be as big of a surprise... (applies to some things in the finale)

#SPOILER #ZEPspoilers #ZEP SPOILER #ZEP #ZOEYS EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST #ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST #Zoey Clarke #Max Richman #Clarkeman #Zax #Zoey x Max #Max x Zoey #Team Max #Zomax

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letterboxd · 4 years

Photo

How I Letterboxd #2: Dave Chen

In our second of this series, we put Dave Chen in the Letterboxd spotlight. The podcaster, musician and filmmaker is most famous on Letterboxd for his weirdly specific lists. He tells us how he uses the platform, why every film that exists is miraculous, and why we shouldn’t sleep on Not Another Teen Movie.

Hi Dave! How long have you been on Letterboxd? About eight years. I believe I first signed up when it was in beta. I loved (and still love) the interface: how smooth the user flow is for logging/reviewing films, and how beautiful all that movie art looks as it’s organized on the site.

What do you mainly use Letterboxd for? I love reading the reviews on Letterboxd. On a film’s page, the site surfaces many of the most popular reviews and I find it’s a great way to find some quick, witty, and thoughtful comments on something I might be considering watching. But of course, I also love reading and making funny lists. Finally, I’ve heard Letterboxd is great for keeping track of films at a film festival but sadly I haven’t yet attended one since I started using it again.

Do you rate films? Would you consider yourself a generous or harsh rater? I rate films to remind myself how I felt about them at the time I watched. Of course, my opinions on movies change but it’s sometimes interesting to look back and think back to a time when, “Oh right, I did love that movie in the summer of 2019 when I was going through XYZ”. Our feelings about movies can often reflect what’s going on in our lives.

That said, over time, I’ve come to understand that films are miracles. I don’t think I’m the first person to come up with this observation but they are like miniature plays resulting from the collective work of hundreds or thousands of people that have been preserved for your amusement, and you can just play them on demand. Many of them cost only a few dollars. Some are free! Every film that exists is miraculous.

So, despite some of my harsh reviews, I do try to keep that perspective in mind.

You’ve been a member for a while but most of your reviews are recent. What brought you back? We note that you restarted with your third viewing of 1917! I am pretty active on Twitter and I started seeing a bunch of screen-capped reviews go viral there. But to be honest, much of social media can be exhausting to me these days. What I realized recently about Letterboxd was that much of it is free of the negativity. It’s just a bunch of folks who love movies sharing thoughts on those movies, but it also feels like a real community of people. There are filmmakers on there who share their thoughts on films and their favorites, and that’s of course endlessly fascinating (such as Sean Baker). Even the negative reviews can be fun to read. There’s a lot of pithiness and wit on the site, and its design really helps facilitate that.

Okay, take us way back, what was the film that got you hooked on cinema? My first cinematic true loves were the films of John Woo. I’d watched action movies before but I was introduced to John Woo ironically by a counselor at my church youth group! I became dazzled by movies like The Killer and Hard Boiled. It was then that I realized that things I had seen dozens of times (e.g., a shootout in a warehouse) could be elevated by sheer craftsmanship.

What keeps you from sharing your four favorites on your profile? A few reasons. For me personally, it takes months if not years for my thoughts on a film to really crystallize. My relationship with a movie doesn’t end when the credits roll—its ideas and themes and images are often clanging around in the back of my head for months if not years afterwards. As a result, my favorite films of all time change pretty frequently and I didn’t want to have to think about maintaining my four favorites over time.

Michael Caine in Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Children of Men’ (2006).

Is there any film you could say is your all-time number one? If I had to name one though, it’d probably be Children of Men. It combines all my favorite things into one movie: science fiction, action, Michael Caine and a heartfelt message about how humanity has to be kinder to one another if we are to survive the challenging days ahead.

Your most popular lists are weirdly specific and fun (but true!). What are some other weirdly specific lists on Letterboxd that spoke to you? All the lists I like fall into that category. I love it when people make connections that I never otherwise would’ve thought of. To make a funny list, I think you need to be able to juggle extremely specific pattern recognition with a description that makes people feel like they are learning something about the films or their subjects. While the vast majority of the time these are just for fun, sometimes they actually can lead to insights about filmmakers, actors and the specific themes they try to bring to life in their work.

Also, shout out to Thijs Meuwese, who is leading the way on creative lists.

What is your favorite or most useful feature on Letterboxd? The Stats page [generated for all Pro and Patron members] is a beautiful visualization of the history of my film watching. As I continue to build out my watch history, I’m curious to see the trends that will arise.

What’s a movie where you don’t understand why Letterboxd members love or hate it so much? To answer this question, I took a look at some “worst-rated films on Letterboxd” lists and here’s a totally random one for you: the teen romantic comedy parody Not Another Teen Movie. It’s rated a 2.6 and a lot of the humor of this film has aged poorly but there are some amazing gags in here and it features Chris Evans in a performance that will likely be the apex of the comedic phase of his career. My brother and I still quote this movie to each other. Don’t sleep on it.

Chyler Leigh and Chris Evans in ‘Not Another Teen Movie’ (2001).

Your feature film, Stephen Tobolowsky’s one-man show The Primary Instinct, has a Letterboxd page and a pretty solid rating, congrats! How do you feel having that livestream of instant reactions to it? I’m glad that the ratings are decent, but to be honest, I can’t bring myself to look at them! As part of the filmmaking process, I’m totally open to constructive feedback from people I know and trust, but I’m not sure I can handle the same from strangers. Nonetheless, I’m grateful some Letterboxd members have seen fit to watch the film and take the time to rate it! Perhaps if I make more films in the future, I’ll feel better about checking out the reviews for an individual one.

Among your other skills, you are a talented musician. Can you tell us about some of your favorite film scores? Any cello-heavy scores or composers you find particularly influential? While not really cello-specific, the music of Nicholas Britell makes amazing use of strings (see Moonlight and [TV series] Succession). His music is achingly beautiful and is often in rotation in my playlists.

More generally, Hans Zimmer and John Williams are both legends and I’ve always found their work to be very interesting. In recent days, I’ve been quite taken with the work of Daniel Pemberton, whose work on films like King Arthur and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. have a great populsive energy to them. Finally, when I’m into something more moody, atmospheric or modern, I appreciate the work of Cliff Martinez.

Are you self-isolating right now due to Covid-19? Discovered anything great and new to you to pass the time? We hope everything is alright otherwise! Yes, I'm quarantining due to a “stay safe and healthy” order in Washington State right now. Like many people staying at home, I’ve been watching a lot of TV, which includes things like Tiger King, Devs, Better Call Saul, and Dave (the show on Hulu). These are the things that give me comfort and distraction these days.

Jennifer Ehle in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion’ (2011).

What are your go-to comfort movies that you recommend to people at this strange and difficult time? This is a weird recommendation, but I’d say Steven Soderberg’s Contagion is a great choice. Contagion depicts a virus far more deadly than Covid-19, and how it eventually leads to the deterioration of the social order. But it’s also a deeply hopeful movie. You see governments come together to try to figure this thing out. You see the people on the front lines risking their lives to fight the fictional virus and I think it’s a great way to help people understand how courageous and valuable all our medical workers are in times like these. It’s “competence porn” in an era where I think we need to be reminded of what competence looks like.

[Editor’s note: Dave isn’t alone, Contagion has consistently been in our 20 most popular films for the past month.]

When the universe is allowed to go back to the cinema, where do you prefer to sit? As close to the center of the theater as possible, with my eyeline at about halfway up the screen.

What’s in your ‘hall of shame’—the movies you haven’t seen and know Letterboxd will boo at you for missing? Don’t worry, we’ll protect you. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Say Anything. Also Firefly, the Joss Whedon show which I don’t think is on your website anywhere. Many people have been complaining to me about this oversight in my viewership for years so I think it’ll do well if we can list it here.

Which film from the past ten years that went by fairly unloved do you think will be a future classic and you’ll fight to the death for loving? I’m going to cheat a little and list a movie that’s eleven years old: Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity. This movie didn’t do super well at the box office when it was first released and currently has a 2.8 on Letterboxd. But it was one of my top ten films that year. I think Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have great chemistry, but I think the film’s depiction of corporate espionage is outlandish, fun and irresistible. These characters are playing a "triple game" and it’s so much fun to see the layers upon layers of deception that they’re creating, and the cascading impacts they have on their relationship. Also, how can you say no to a movie that has Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson as competing CEOs literally going at each other?

And finally, please name three other Letterboxd members you recommend we follow. I collaborate with Melissa on YouTube/podcast reviews and she is incredibly thoughtful and articulate. I always appreciate Khoi’s thoughtfulness. And Mike Ginn—this guy is hilarious.

You can enjoy more Dave on his website; his YouTube channel; and his podcasts The Slashfilmcast and Culturally Relevant. Dave was photographed by Brandon Hill.

#letterboxd #how i letterboxd #dave chen #letterboxd members #letterboxd community #cinephile #film lover

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tiffanytheswiftie · 4 years

Text

So every year on my birthday I kind of like to recap my year, and since I'm turning 29, I decided to model this year's after the Elle article Taylor Swift did at 29 entitled "30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30."

@taylorswift @taylornation

1. It's okay if people don't get my interests.

Over the years, I sometimes tried to hide my interests because I was worried people would think they were weird or wouldn’t understand them. It always seemed like a lot of my interests fell out of the “ordinary” interests of those around me. But I’ve learned that’s okay, and it’s okay if people don’t get it. If I enjoy it, that’s all that matters. Like the song says, if it makes me happy, it can’t be that bad.

2. I can love my body while also wanting to make it healthier/look better.

I have struggled with body image and my weight for the majority of my life, and I have always believed the biggest struggle was the mental aspect of it all. I thought I could only appreciate my body once it got to how I wanted it to look (which, it never has). I hated it. However, I realize now that the best way to improve it, is to love it, and appreciate it for what it does for me already.

3. It's not malicious to cut out toxic people.

Cutting out toxic people is hard, but necessary. I’m not calling someone up and saying, “I’m never talking to you again,” or completely ghosting them, however I no longer involve them in most aspects of my life. It’s freeing and better for my mental health.

4. Traveling is so important.

It’s no secret that I love traveling. I want to visit every continent (minus Antarctica), experience different cultures, see history, and experience new things. It’s important to open up my mind and broaden my horizons, and something I recommend everyone to do. It’s good to meet people from all over the world who live different lives and come from different lifestyles and philosophies. Plus, traveling is just so fun! Like Donna says in Mamma Mia 2, “life is short, and the world is wide, I want to make some memories.”

5. My path can and will change often.

When I first started trying to decide on a major for college, I seriously thought about at least 12 different career paths. And what I chose wasn’t even included in those at the time. Point is, my path will change often. My dreams will change often. And that’s okay! It doesn’t mean I failed, it just means my path has shifted onto something different. My initial dream may have just been setting me up to go down a certain path.

6. My life isn't on a timeline.

Honestly this is probably the hardest lesson I had to learn. Everyone, myself included, seems to put life on a timeline. I thought by a certain age I had to have a degree, I had to be married, I had to have kids, I had to have traveled to a certain amount of places, etc. and if I didn’t then it just wouldn’t happen. I hear people talk about other people and where they are in life. But no one’s life is on a timeline, and everyone’s big moments will happen differently. The only time it’s ever really “too late” is when I’m dead. And I’m not dead. I’m very much alive.

7. I need to be able to look forward to things.

Sometimes life can seem monotonous. Every day looks the same, and it can really wear me down. I always try to make sure I have something to look forward to. It could be something big, like a trip or Christmas, or something small, like watching a new movie. Either way, I keep a countdown app in my phone, and I look at it on days I feel like my life is doing nothing. I always make sure there’s something I can look forward to.

8. It's possible to be both brave and terrified.

My mantra in life has always been “Fearless.” I got it from a Taylor Swift quote when I was about 17 years old that says, “Fearless is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. Fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.” While I’ve always loved that quote and have used that word to overcome fears, it took me awhile to actually be able to fully embrace the idea of being fearless.

9. Water is good for the soul.

Drink water. It’s not only good for the soul, it’s good for staying alive. Hydrate before you die-drate. There’s nothing more satisfying then getting a big gulp of cool water.

10. I shouldn't care what people think of me.

This is something we’re preached our entire lives, yet often we still worry about the people who judge us. And that’s crazy. I only get one life and going through it worried about what someone thinks of me is a stupid way to live.

I think I can best sum this lesson up with the words from Sebastian Stan in Houston, “Don’t care about what other people say about you, just really don’t give a damn…you have to ultimately go ‘I’m doing this’ and people aren’t going to like that. Not everyone’s going to like what I do. So…who gives a f***? You know, if it feels good to you, and you’re helping somebody, or you’re not harming anybody, you’re being kind, you’re being considerate, then that’s it. That’s all you need.”

11. If someone judges me for my appearance, they are the ones with a problem.

One thing that has hindered me through the years is my fear of someone judging my appearance. I’ve let it affect every aspect of my life. For so long, I wouldn’t go to certain events, talk to certain people, participate in certain activities, travel certain places, date, go to restaurants, do fun things like dancing or swimming, etc. (and some I still don’t) because of being afraid people would judge how much fat is on my body. And I recognize that’s not a good way to go through life, and if someone judges me for that, they are the ones with the issue, not me. In the words of Brianna Wiest, “Focus on what your body does more than what it looks like doing it.” And I’ve been trying to live those words.

12. I need to live in the present, not the future.

I tend to freak myself out by thinking either too far ahead or about things that haven’t (and might not) even happen. I think about what age I’ll be in 10, 20, 30 years. I’ll think about what might go wrong with something at some point. It’s not healthy, I will drive myself crazy overthinking about this. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is to live in the now. It’s good to have future plans or be prepared for the future, but never forget to live in the present. Focus on the now. Live now.

13. It's good to try different things to figure out if I'm interested or not.

It’s so good to try different things out to discover if it’s something I enjoy or not, something I want to pursue or not, etc. It’s so easy to sign up for a class, look up a tutorial, or just get out and try. I have tried a lot of things in my life that ended up not being what I decided to put all of my energy into, but that’s a good thing. I don’t have to ask myself “what if?” and some of it I still enjoy doing as a hobby.

14. Writing is good for my mental health.

If you follow me on any social media, or are reading this right now, then you probably know that I tend to write things out often. I enjoy writing. It’s one of the ways I express myself, and it’s good for me. It’s therapeutic. I write when I’m excited, happy, or sad. I write out poetry or songs or just short little essays. I enjoy it, a lot, and I’m glad I’ve embraced it.

15. Read as much as possible.

Reading is good for so many reasons. It makes me smarter, it makes my brain more active, and it takes me into different worlds. It also lets me experience things or understand things I might not have otherwise. It helps to stop my mind to slow down and focus on one thing. Reading is important for everyone. It can be a novel, a short story, a magazine, whatever. Just read.

16. A good night's sleep can make a huge difference.

Trying to get a good night’s sleep just makes the next day better and is good for my mental and physical health overall. I’ve had crazy sleep schedules, sometimes from work hours but mostly because I’m an anxious night owl who pushed myself to stay awake and watch movies rather than going to sleep. I honestly feel better now that I’ve got myself on a better sleep schedule.

17. I should push myself out of my comfort zone but also know my limits.

I would have missed out on a lot if I hadn’t pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and I hope to do it even more in this next decade. It’s good to run towards some of the things that terrify but fascinate me. However, it’s also good to know that everyone has limits. It’s good if I can recognize situations or places that always make me feel uncomfortable and to try and keep myself out of that environment.

18. Music and concerts are therapeutic.

Music has been a part of so many aspects of my life (as it is for many). It’s played on road trips, at parties, at big life events, in my room, in the movies I love watching, and the list goes on. It’s no surprise that music is therapeutic and something so many people can relate to and love. One of my favorite parts about music is getting to go to concerts. Taylor Swift, Julia Michaels, Aly & AJ, Miranda Lambert, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez are just some of the artists I’ve been lucky enough to see in my life, and whose concerts let me really let loose, and just be in the moment and feel all the feelings. And that’s great, and something I hope I get to experience quite often in the next decade and beyond.

19. It's important to be knowledgeable about the world.

This can be looked at in two different ways.

On one hand, learning about other cultures and places is interesting and important on opening up the mind and broadening horizons (kind of like what I stated about traveling). It’s cool to see how people live, talk, what customs they have, etc. and to recognize that while we’re all different, we also all have a lot of things in common.

On the other hand, it’s important to be knowledgeable of the issues in the world. It’s good to know what big concerns there are and learning about them so I can see where I stand on it as well as knowing what I can do to help people. For example, with refugee crisis, knowing what is going on in their country and what they are facing so I can look into what I can do to help provide assistance (such as donating, raising awareness, praying, etc. We can all do something). It’s important.

20. Be active in politics and be respectful with politics.

Being active in politics is vital to helping shape the present and future. Being educated about issues, empathizing with people, being aware, opening up my world to be bigger, and having an open mind is all important when approaching politics. It’s also imperative that I make sure I am always respectful when doing this. If I disagree with someone, I don’t attack them. If someone attacks me, I ignore them. If you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. Don’t play stupid games.

21. Dog videos and cat videos will always make me feel better.

There’s not much to say about this except it’ll always make me happy and dogs and cats are so cute and deserve all the best things in the world. Also please send any and all dog and cat videos my way.

22. It’s so good to get to meet people from different backgrounds, lifestyles, cultures, etc.

Through traveling and living several different places, I’ve been lucky enough to meet people from all over the world. This has opened up my mind and has helped me to be able to recognize the different issues people face. It has helped me see so many lifestyles and values and I have learned a lot about the world through these people. I am thankful for them.

23. Being open about mental health is so important.

I have social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, AKA anxiety and depression. I’ve talked about this a lot in the past few years, however it took me awhile to get to that point. I was first diagnosed at 17 and it wasn’t until I was about 25 that I finally was able to be open about it and talk about it (and I have to thank Jared Padalecki for being a huge reason I was able to do that through his words and Always Keep Fighting campaign).

Mental health isn’t just about diagnosable disorders, though. Everyone has mental health, just as everyone has physical health. Mental health is just as important as physical health and should be treated as so. It’s okay if a couple days need to be taken to feel better. It’s okay to not be okay, as cliché as that sounds. The more open people are about mental health, the more awareness there will be, and that will lead to healthier minds.

24. Encouraging friends is something that should be done daily.

Let me repeat that, ENCOURAGING FRIENDS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE DAILY. Everyone needs encouragement. Uplifting others is the easiest thing a person can do that can make such a big impact. Uplift them, encourage them. I am genuinely so proud of so many of my friends, and I try to tell them that often.

25. Watching movies will always be my joy and therapy.

I watch a lot of movies. A lot. And it’s because I genuinely love them. I find so much joy and entertainment being able to escape into different worlds and lives and situations for a couple hours. I also turn to them when I am sad or dealing with anxiety and depression and need something to help me. They are therapeutic. They are fun. I am thankful they exist, and I don’t care if that sounds weird to someone (see #1). I also love learning about them and knowing different aspects of them, such as how a scene was filmed or how an actor approached the character. Random challenge: when watching one of your favorite movies, take yourself out of the story for a minute and just watch the characters on screen as actors. It’ll blow your mind on how talented they are.

26. Creativity can be expressed in a lot of ways.

I’m a relatively creative person and sometimes it feels like I can’t find a way to express that, which makes me go crazy. I used to think I had to have a specific and grand outlet in order to express creativity, but that’s not true. I can express my creativity in the clothes I wear, the things I write, in painting or making bracelets, in photography and videography, or even in every day conversation. There are so many ways to express it, and none of them are wrong or not enough. I’ll do me and you do you.

27. It's good to have people who inspire me, but I shouldn't put them on a pedestal.

A lot of different people inspire me. Some are family, some are friends, some are musical artists, some are actors, some are YouTube creators, some are activists, some are just random people on Instagram or Twitter or wherever, and the list goes on. And it’s great to be inspired by other people. It’s nice to have people to look up to or who inspire me to be myself or express myself. However, it’s always important not to put them on a pedestal. Nobody is perfect. We’re all people.

28. Be kind, be empathetic, be patient, but stand up for myself.

Kindness, empathy, and patience are all things we should strive to have. I always try my hardest to be kind to everyone (sometimes I fail, like everyone, but I try). I have realized I have a lot of empathy, which is great and I’m thankful that I have that. I’m working on patience with myself, but I do try to be patient with other people. However, I also need to know when to stand up for myself. Sometimes people mistake kindness for weakness and try to push me down; I shouldn’t let them do that. I can still be kind while standing firm.

29. I may never understand a struggle someone's going through but that doesn't mean it's not real.

Often times when people talk about their struggles, I see others say, “well I have never experienced that or have seen that so it must not be true.” And that’s a poor way of thinking.

For example, as a white person, I’ll never fully understand the struggles and obstacles that racial minorities face. But it’s so, so important I still recognize that those struggles and obstacles exist and do my part in trying to help improve them. Another example is that a man will never fully understand the struggles and obstacles I face as a woman, but they should still recognize that those things are real.

30. I know that age is just a number and turning 30 next year just gives me a new decade to look forward to.

And last but not least, turning 29 shouldn’t be a scary thing. Age shouldn’t make anyone sad or feel like they have failed at life or something for not reaching a certain point (see #6). People put too much emphasis on age sometimes and it’s ridiculous. I’m 29. I’ll be 30 next year. It doesn’t mean anything except that I’m given a new slate to start a new decade of my life, and that should excite me, not scare me. So here’s to 29, I hope my last year in my 20s is great…but I have a feeling my 30s will be even greater.

#Taylor Swift #taylurking #30 things i learned before turning 30

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zuucc · 5 years

Text

I Miss You: William Nylander I SMUT

Words: 6,722

Summary: Their relationship had lasted for seven years, and their friendship for all their lives. But William had a tendency to push people away when he got scared, but pushing her way didn’t just disappoint her, and himself, but every single one of his sisters, his father and especially Alex. And, oh god, his mother.

Author’s note: I haven’t posted a full story in ages! But here it is - even though it’s been months, my obsession with William Nylander is still just as strong. And somehow I managed to mix in my other obsession - Julia Michaels. This imagine is deeply inspired by Julia Michael's’ collaboration with Clean Bandit - “I Miss You”.

Masterlist linked in bio.

«I know you didn’t call your parents, and tell that we ended, cause you know that they’d be offended. Did you not wanna tell them it’s the end?»

You frowned when you saw Camilla’s name pop up on your screen. She was calling you. Why? You’d received a couple of snapchats here and there, like you always had, and you’d really appreciated it. When you and William had broken up, you felt like you didn’t just lose him, but his entire family, that you loved deeply. You had known them almost all your life, but now you didn’t know if you could even look his mother in the eyes anymore. Alex was one of your best friends, and you loved hanging out with his younger sisters, having never had younger siblings yourself.

“Jacquline, don’t you dare!” William yelled as his younger sister ran towards the pool with the water hose in her hands. You squealed and hid in his arms as the cold water hit both of you, where you lounged together on the pool floatie that was definitely not meant for two people. Jacquline ran away, probably to avoid being caught by her eldest brother, that for sure would have run after her if he didn’t have you halfway in his lap.

“Alex, get her,” William tried to make his brother do his dirty work for him by splashing water in his face, but the thirteen year old just scoffed and pushed your pool floatie away from him. “If you weren’t so busy flirting with your ‘just best friend’, you could do it yourself,” he chirped, making air quotes with his fingers as he referenced the relationship that the two of you claimed was strictly platonic.

Just best friends.

But you didn’t have any other friends that liked to lay in each others laps or hold hands underneath the blanket as you watched movies that weren’t even remotely scary.

You picked up the phone just before it stopped ringing. “Hello,” you said and immediately regretted how you’d made it sound more like a question than an actual greeting. “Hi, sweetie, are you alright?” Camilla immediately sounded concerned. You took a deep breath and tried your absolute best to suck it up and sound more enthusiastic. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I’m just a bit tired,” you tried to convince her. “Oh, I see, you should try and sleep in now that William’s alarms isn’t waking you up every morning. He’ll be home in a couple of days, you know,” you could hear her smile through her voice.

What?

You had seen the pictures on Alex’s insta story. He had taken his older brother to Cabo, so that he could help him party away his sorrows, you guessed. You had seen the posts, and god how you wished it was you that he was holding in his hand, not a half empty bottle of vodka.

No one had taken you to party away your sorrows. Sure, some of your friends had halfheartedly tried, but you weren’t done being absolutely miserable yet - and they all knew. You weren’t ready to even try to stop thinking about him.

“He said they were coming back on the thirteenth, right?” she asked, when you didn’t say anything. And then it dawned upon you...

William hadn’t told her.

No wonder she was still snapchatting you, sending you messages here and there, calling. She didn’t know. It had been a full month, since you moved out. A full month, and he didn’t tell his mother that his seven year old relationship had ended. Seven years in a relationship, friends for almost sixteen. You couldn’t believe him.

It wasn’t your job to tell her, it was his. It wasn’t right for you to tell her. So you sucked it up, once again, blinking away the tears that brimmed your eyes. “Yeah, yeah, Wednesday,” you tried to sound convincing. Truth was, you had no idea when he was to come back. Camilla was silent for a little while, and you begged and prayed to gods you didn’t even believe in, that she would believe you. It was his job to tell her, and God knew that you didn’t have it in you to tell her that after seven years, you’d ended it.

You’d known them since you started elementary school. Camilla had been like a second mother to you, always being there for you to talk about whatever it was that you needed to talk about. Wether it was about your parents, or even her own son. The last thing you wanted was to disappoint her.

“You know he’s only pushing you away because he likes you, right?” Camilla sat down next to you on the porch outside their house. You and William had always been close, closer than most best friends - witch you guessed came with growing up together - but this summer you had grown even closer. And you knew you didn’t just want to be his best friend anymore. And you thought he reciprocated those feelings, but as summer came to an end, you weren’t so sure anymore.

“Do you really think so? I thought he did, but now it doesn’t even feel like we’re best friends anymore,” you mumbled, quickly drying off the tears that escaped your eyes. “Honey, I know he does. He doesn’t tell me anything, but I’ve been pretty sure for a long time. And this summer, it’s been obvious. The way he’s been holding on to you every chance he’s got. Like how he doesn’t let Daniella and Stephanie win the fight over who gets to sit next to you anymore?” You nodded, you hadn’t thought about it before, but it was true. His little sisters always wanted you to sit next to them while you ate dinner, the 5 year old basically attached herself to you as soon as you came through the door, but this summer William hadn’t let her steal you away from him.

“I’m gonna go upstairs and just tell him to come down here, alright?” You nodded again, not wanting to let your voice break. She gave you a little hug before she disappeared inside to get William. Less than a minute later, William sat down next to you, not super close like he would’ve a few weeks ago, but close enough to have his bare knee touching yours.

“Why are you pushing me away?” you try to keep your voice strong, but you can’t keep it from breaking at the end of the sentence, letting him know how it affected you. William took a deep breath, his bottom lip disappearing between his teeth. He sat still and quiet until a sob escaped your lips, and his arm came around your shoulders, pulling you into him. He could never take it when you cried, he’d dried your tears for years, and he wasn’t gonna let his stupid insecurities stop him from being there for you when you needed him.

“I’m scared,” he whispered. You looked up to meet his gaze. Another tear rolled down your cheek, and William reached out to catch it with his thumb. “I’m scared of what’ll happen if I admit to what I’m feeling,” he looked away from you. “what’ll happen to us if you don’t feel the same, and even if you do, what happens if it doesn’t work?” he spoke, and you found yourself reaching up to touch his cheek, turning his head back towards you.

“Tell me what you feel,” your words came out as a whisper. His lips turned up slightly, before he leant his forehead to yours, closing his eyes. “I feel like I want to be next to you all the time, like I want to touch you in some kind of way, any kind of way, at all times. Even if it’s cuddling you, or having my arm around you, or even just having your feet in my lap when we’re sitting on the couch. And I kind of want to kiss you, all the time,” you could barely hear the last part, but you knew what you’d heard. So the hand that you had previously rested on his thigh reached back up to his cheek, and you pressed your lips to his, that were so conveniently close to yours. And they stayed there for a long time.

“Are you sure you’re alright, honey? You can tell me, you know that,” she had put on that soft, motherly voice that always made you want to spill whatever it was that you were feeling. “That’s the problem, Camilla, I can’t tell you this, it’s not up to me to tell you this,” you cried, not able to hold it back anymore. “Willy apparently didn’t tell you, so maybe you should call him,” you added, the sobs taking over your voice. “Honey, what’s going on?” the motherly worry in her voice was unbearable. “Call your son, Camilla,” you hung up, throwing your phone to the end of the sofa, letting the sobs take over your body.

“You can always talk to me, no matter what happens between you and William, we will always love you,” you read the text message from William’s mother about thirty times. It had ticked in a few hours after you ended your phone call.

You just wished you could still talk to William. After all, he was all that mattered. You’d known him for sixteen years. You didn’t just have to get over a boyfriend of seven years, but a lifelong friendship. You don’t just get over that. It doesn’t work like that. Would’ve been too easy if it had.

Your mind kept drifting to William and what he was doing, in Cabo. Drunk. You wondered if he was sad-drunk, crying over you. Or if he was hooking-up-with-everyone-drunk, making up for all the experiences he didn’t get to have in his teens, only having ever slept with you. You wondered if the thought of sleeping with somebody else scared him as much as it scared you. You lost your virginity to him when you were sixteen, and he lost his to you. All your experiences, you had with each other. You knew his body like you knew your own, and vice versa.

“William,” you tried to scold him, but ended up giggling as he caught you on your way back to him and Alex in the down stairs movie room, carrying you towards his bedroom. You’d excused yourself to the bathroom, but William was waiting for you when you came out. “I just want to make out for a bit,” he smiled. The smile that made you want to do anything for him. You managed to roll your eyes before his lips pressed against yours, your body sandwiched between his and the door behind you. His hands firmly placed on your waist, as yours crawled up his chest, eventually finding their way to the back of his neck.

Soon his tongue slipped inside your mouth and your fingers disappeared into thick blonde locks of hair. He groaned as you arched your body into his, pressing your hips against his already hardening member. He quickly bent down and hooked his hands underneath your thighs, lifting you up, carrying you the few feet to his bed, where he let go of you and positioned himself between your legs, before he continued kissing you.

His lips started a trail of kisses down your neck, as your hands moved underneath his t-shirt, the shirt bunching up when you moved your hands up his back, causing Willy to make the decision to just remove the garment. The top you wore was short and exposed your midriff, and William took advantage of that, bending down to let his lips meet the soft skin of your waist. His kisses soon reached the fabric of your thin bralette, and he made sure to push your shirt up, over your breasts. Willy looked up to see you smiling down at him, making a giddy smile appear on his face. He winked at you before he dipped back down to kiss all over the tops of your breasts, and you jokingly pushed him into your chest, making him laugh.

“Stop,” he giggled, and you pulled him back up to your face. “You’re paying too much attention to my boobs,” you teased, but quickly pressed your lips back to his, letting your tongue meet his. His hand slipped down your side and back to your butt, pushing you against him as he felt you up. You moved your legs around him and pressed your legs into his backside, and Willy groaned against your lips. You smiled as the sound spilled out of his mouth.

He rolled you both to the side and made an effort to make you moan like you’d just made him. His lips moved back to your neck, where he placed his lips near your ear. The hand that previously had taken up place on your back side, moved down to your thigh, where it not so innocently disappeared between your legs, making the anticipated moan escape your lips.

Your moans always seemed to urge Willy on, and this time he desperately moved his hand to your front, slipping it into your loose shorts and your underwear as well. He pulled back to watch you as his fingers touched your most sensitive parts. His mouth hung slightly open as he watched your reaction to two of his fingers pushing inside you. You pressed your body to his, reaching down to let your hand move over the bulge in his pants. “Mm, babe, I don’t want to cum in my pants,” he whispered against your lips, and the thought struck you that there was just one place you’d like to have him cum today.

You kissed him deeply as you slowly pulled his hand out of your shorts, before you got up from bed. “Babe, come here,” you almost whispered, reaching out for him to take your hand and come stand next to you. You made the effort to pull back the comforter before you turned your attention back to your boyfriend, immediately putting your hands up over your head for him to pull of your shirt, along with your bra. You stood up on your tippy toes to reach his lips, attaching your to his. His arms found their way around your waist and you continued your mission of getting you both naked, starting with letting your hand slowly move over his bulge again, before you dug your fingers into both his shorts and his boxers, pulling them both down and letting his hard member spring free. His hands slipped into your shorts, and with both his hands flat over your butt, he pushed you so close to him, you were sure nothing could come between you.

“Will?” you whispered against his lips. “Yeah?” he breathed, one of his hands moving back to your waist. You didn’t say anything, you just hooked your thumbs into both your shorts and your underwear, bringing them both down to the floor. You didn’t say anything, the words not quite wanting to slip out of your mouth. “What, babe? What do you want?” he asked, his sweet, soft, ‘worlds-most-thoughtful-boyfriend’ voice appeared. Your cheeks flushed with the thought of how much you loved him - and how much you wanted him. “I want all of you, and I want you to have all of me,” you breathed, and smiled as Willy’s eyes widened when he, after a few seconds, realized what you wanted. He nodded and swallowed, hard. “I want that, too,” he smiled.

A wide smiled appeared on your lips as you threw your arms around him, pressing your lips to his. Your naked bodies crashed together, but William held you close and moved you both to the bed again, after removing your last few garments. He pulled back and moved to kiss your neck, whispering I love you’s as he moved down to your chest.

By the time he’d left kisses all over your chest, his fingers were deep inside you, making sure you were ready for him. His lips nipping on the skin underneath your ear, as he listened to your deep breaths and soft moans. “Will, Willy,” you breathed, letting your hand fall from his hair to his back. He moved so his face was above yours. “I think I’m ready,” you whispered, your hands moving to the sides of his face. “You sure?” he asked softly. You nodded, smiling at the boy over you that looked so focused on making you ready for him.

Willy reached for the second drawer of his nightstand, digging out the box of condoms that the two of you had bought together a little over a month ago, snuck inside the house and then - while profusely giggling - hiding in the back of his nightstand drawer. You both knew that the time would come soon, just not when, so you decided that you would be ready for it.

“Just, remember that you can tell me to stop whenever you want, okay?” he swallowed hard, nervous about what was to come. He wanted to please you, wanted to last, wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt you. Wanted to be with you forever.

William stood on the other side of your door. His head ducked down, his hair hidden underneath a grey beanie and the hood of his sweatshirt. His hands were deep in his pockets. You opened the door before he could reach out and knock for the third time. You quickly dried your eyes before appearing on the other side of the door. He looked up, his already sad eyes fell when he saw your tired face and bloodshot eyes. He wanted to hate you, to blame you for it all, but truth was that he loved you and he still couldn’t stand to see you sad.

He sighed and stepped towards you, putting a hand on your shoulder as he led you both back inside your studio apartment, closing the door behind you. He sighed before he put his arms around you, letting you cry into his chest. You were hesitant at first, but the familiar feeling of his chest had you clutching onto his sweatshirt in seconds. You felt his head resting upon yours and you fought the urges to both slap him and kiss him at the same time. You wanted to hate him, but he hadn’t given you a reason to, nor could you ever.

You stood there for several minutes, just clutching onto him. When your sobs stopped and your breathing slowed, everything that had you wanting to slap him came back to you.

But your love for him, your longing, would never be passed by anger.

“You didn’t tell your mother,” you accused him, balling up your fist. “I have now,” he mumbled, knowing very well that it was him that was in the wrong. “Yeah, after I told her to call you. After I started crying on the phone to her, because she thought that when you came back from Cabo, you’d be coming back to me,” you cried.

You wanted to yell, to shove at him, to tell him to fuck off and never come back. But more than anything, you wanted him to stay, stay right there with his arms around you, his head rested upon yours and with his shirt catching your tears.

“I didn’t want to disappoint her, okay?” he pulled away, holding you at arms length, trying to make you look at him. You fought his strong arms, wanting to stay with your face pressed against his chest. “I made it to the NHL, I play for one of the most popular hockey teams in the world, but you, you are my greatest accomplishment. And I fucked that up. You are a part of our family, my mom sees you as one of her own, and I don’t know if she will ever forgive me for hurting you,” a single tear made it’s way down his cheek.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive me,” he whispered as more tears wet his face. “And it was stupid of me to think that I could just wait, I know she calls you more than she calls me, I know that, I just ignored that fact, I guess. Of course she would call you.”

“Do you think waiting would make it better? It’s been six weeks, Willy,” you mumbled, drying a few of your own tears to occupy yourself from reaching out to dry his.

He stood completely still, tears rolling down his cheeks as he watched you, his hands on your shoulders, keeping you at arms length - where he could see you, where you couldn’t run away.

“Talk to me, Will!” you exclaimed You tried to shove at him, but his arms were so much longer than yours.

“I didn’t want to tell her, okay? I wanted to wait, I wanted to win you back!” he raised his voice, just like you did. Your breath caught in your throat.

He let go of you, his hands going to his hair, like they always did when the frustration got too much. “I can’t stop loving you, I can’t not have you in my life. To think something different was stupid, okay? It was fucking stupid, I’m fucking stupid for pushing you away. You know, that is what I do, I push you away when I get scared!”

“Why the hell are you scared? We’ve been together for seven years, Will, what is there to be scared of now?” you couldn’t keep you frustration in any more, and you yelled back. “I don’t understand,”

“Of course I was scared! Hockey has always been a part of my life, and you’ve been with me through the whole journey, from children’s teams to SHL to the Marlies. But I’ve always had time for you, or you’ve had time to come with me. And I don’t have that time anymore, and you’ve got university and a job, and your own friends, friends that aren’t also my group of friends. And you should, you deserve to have a career and lots of friends, but I don’t feel like I have enough time for you, like I have the time to give you the attention that you deserve, without taking time away from your life,” his fingers were deep in his blonde locks of hair, cheeks wet by salty tears, while he paced the floor. While you stood still, watching him, listening to every word he said as they broke your heart.

As they made you want to hold him close, lay his head in your lap and run your fingers soothingly through his hair like you knew he loved. You wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that you would both make time, make time for each other. ‘Cause, there wasn’t a chance in hell you could stop loving him either.

“So, I push you away. I push you away because I’m scared that I won’t be enough for you, that I can’t give you everything you need,” he comes closer now, slowly reaching out to touch your face. “And I don’t tell my mom because I know she’ll be as disappointed in me as I am, as my sisters will be, and my dad. And Alex? He would rather kick my ass than come to fucking Cabo with me. He thinks I’m the biggest asshole in the fucking country of Canada for thinking that leaving you was a good idea,” his arms reach around you and pull you into him.

You’re still frozen, for a couple of moments, before you open up and let him hold you like he needs to.

“William,” you whisper, letting your fingers comb though his hair. His grip on you tightens and you take it as your cue to keep going. “William, you pushing me away is the only thing driving me away from you. I will always make time for you, like I know you’ll always make time for me,” you whisper soothingly, hoping to calm his rapid breaths. “Come here,” you escaped his strong embrace and lead him over to your bed, pulling him with you into it as you sat against your pillows and he laid down in between your legs, continuing to hold on to your middle.

He cried and cried, clutching onto your sweater that once had been his, many years ago. You let him cry, brushing your fingers through his hair as you let your thoughts wander. You wondered if this trip to Cabo had been anything like what you imagined, like what Alex’ picture made it out to be. You wondered if he had cried himself through the entire trip. If he’d cried as much you during the last six weeks, or if everything came now, all at once.

William’s sobs came to a stop, and as his breaths calmed, he crawled further up your body, laying his head on your chest and nuzzling his face in your neck. You wrapped your body around him, hoping that it would make him feel as safe as his body on top of yours made you feel. His hand came up to your neck and you felt the urge - and followed it - to take his hand in yours.

“I hope you can forgive me, but I understand if you won’t” he catches you off guard. “Just know that I won’t stop loving you, even if you’ll stop loving me,” he chokes back a sob and gets up to leave, but you manage to grab his wrist before he can get both feet on the floor.

“Willy, what makes you think that I’ll ever stop loving you? What makes you think that I can?” his eyes meet yours, both red and filled to the brim with unshed tears. “Yes, you hurt me,” you started, and his face immediately fell, “but I want to come home. I want to be in your arms again. Everything about not being with you scares the shit out of me, Will, and I don’t want to spend another day or hour thinking that there’s a chance that someday you’ll be someone else’s, that you won’t be mine,” you let the tears flow freely and a relieved sigh escapes his lips, along with tears from his eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispers and pulls you into him, embracing you like you’d been gone for years. His lips meet the top of your head and you find yourself tipping your head back to let your lips touch his for the first time in almost two months. You didn’t think you’d gone so long without kissing him since before your relationship started.

“Ugh, Alex, stooop,” you whined as he looked at you with his regular shit-eating grin. The one that adorned his face whenever he teased you and his older brother. William rolled his eyes. “Not happening,” he added, but the rest of the crowd wouldn’t let you get away from this one. The crowd being a mix of family members and neighbours.

Every summer the Nylander’s gathered family and friends to an end of summer barbeque. Every year the kids - basically everyone aged 11-15 gathered in a circle on the grass, hiding away from the parents that laughed with cold beers in their hands in the back yard. Every year someone proposes a game of truth or dare, or spin the bottle, and every year you sit next to William taking all the teasing from the older kids, about how girls and boys couldn’t be just friends, how you were always so close to each other, how either you were in love with Willy or he was in love with you. Every year.

This year, though, Alex had joined the circle. Alex’ favorite pastime was teasing you and William, especially if he had an audience. He proved himself to the older ones with snarky comments and juicy dares. As juicy as they could go at a friends and family gathering.

“You gotta do it, Willy, we all you know you want to,” the Nylander’s next door neighbour said. He was 15 and friends with Michelle. William groaned and threw his head back, before leaning in closer to your ear, whispering. “If you don’t want to we can leave, go do something else.” You shook your head and moved to whisper in his ear, all eyes on the two of you. “It’s fine, if we just do it they might leave us be,” you whispered back. “But it’ll be your first kiss right? I don’t want to steal that from you,” he laid his arm around you, ever so considerate and sweet to you. You turned your body towards his and smiled at him, mouthing “it’s fine” as you tried to block out all the eyes that were on you.

Willy grabbed your leg and pulled you closer, quickly placing his hand flat on your cheek, and slowly pressing his lips to yours. Everyone went quiet as your lips touched softly for a couple of seconds. And then everyone erupted in cheers and claps as you pulled away from each other.

A couple of hours later your father called your name, you were leaving - one of the last to do so. As always. William got up with you, walking with you towards your parents where they stood by the Nylander’s gate talking with Camilla.

“Mom, I’m just gonna walk her home, okay?” Willy said to his mom, as your parents had said goodbye and started the short journey to your house at the end of the street. “Honey, her parents are right there, I think she’ll be fine,” Camilla said, a small hint of laughter in her voice. “I want to, okay? I’m gonna walk her home, I’ll be right back,” he smiled, embarrassed. Your parents walked up front, letting you and William linger behind. None of you said anything, but Willy’s hoodie over your shoulders and the stone that you kept kicking between you said enough.

“Five minutes,” your mother told you as she closed the door, leaving you and William outside. You nodded to her before turning back to him. “So, uhm, I hope that was okay?” he asked, his hand immediately moving to the hair that stuck out underneath his backward placed snapback. “What?” you asked, not quite understanding what he was talking about. “I mean, the kiss, I hope I didn’t screw it up or that you’re mad at me or something,” he mumbled, his shoes all of a sudden turning very interesting.

“Hey,” you nudged him with your converse, making him look up at you. “It was good, and it was totally fine, I’m not mad at you or something, why would I be that?” You laughed. “I don’t know, I was just really scared that I stepped over a line or something, and first kisses are supposed to special and shit, right?” he smiled now, but he couldn’t quite look at you as he said it. “Willy... It was special, alright?” you nudged him again, this time by lightly poking him in the arm. His head fell, but you could see his smile. “Okay, okay, good, I tried,” he smiled as he looked back up at you, and you smiled back, as he came closer to give you your good bye hug, this time ending it with a kiss to your temple, before he shoved his hands deep in his pocket and started to kick the stone all the way back home again.

And his lips press to yours like it’s the last time, like it’s the first time; like they would never leave again. And your fingers tangled in the dark blonde hair in the back of his neck like they were holding on for life, like they were begging for someone to stay.

You moved your hands to his waist, pulling him with you as you laid back in your bed. William rolled over to his side, pulling you in so close that not even air could come between you. His lips were still holding onto yours with desperation.

“I’ll never leave you again,” he pulled away just far enough for his lips to no longer touch yours, his forehead leaning against yours. “If I ever push you away for no reason again, call me out on it. Slap me if you have to. Please, promise me that,” he said as a stray tear slipped from his eye, forever regretting the last six weeks - the last few months, really.

You nodded, catching the tear with your thumb. “I promise, and you promise that you’ll talk to me before you do that again, okay?” he nodded, fighting the tears that still wanted to spill. You nodded back and pressed your lips back on his, letting desperate and needy kisses take over.

It wasn’t just your lips that had missed his body, your hands scrambled to touch everything that you had missed. You pushed up under his shirt, letting your fingers trace the arches of his back muscles, feeling them move underneath your fingertips as he, as well, tried to touch everything he’d missed.

“I just wanna be close to you,” he mumbled as he got up on his knees to remove your shirt, letting his own follow yours to the carpet on the floor quickly. Willy quickly laid back down, pressing his naked chest to yours, while he rolled you both underneath the covers of your bed.

You let your hands slide from his chest and all the way over his torso, wanting to feel everything that you’d been missing, but quickly moved onto the waistband of his pants. You slide two fingers into both his sweatpants and boxers, just wanting to have his naked body on yours again. William had barely kicked them off before he started the process of getting you naked as well - quickly ridding you off your bralette, panties and sleeping shorts.

His lips pressed back on yours, and his arms pulled you in so close you could feel every part of his body on yours. You desperately tried to touch as much of his body as you possibly could. Your hands trailed over his neck, his chest, his torso, back, behind, thighs, before you ended up letting your fingers move over his hard shaft, that needingly pressed against your lower torso.

William started leaving kisses down you neck, to your collarbones and then to your chest, while his hands trailed down your body, finally disappearing in between your legs. You moaned, putting your hands back in his hair, begging him to come back up so you could press your lips back on his. When he did, you took the chance to roll you both around That way you ended up on top him, straddling him. He groaned into you mouth as you moved your hips over him, and it filled your desperate wish to have him inside you again to the brim. You moved your hand down between your own legs to find his member, to position him underneath you, before you slowly slid down on him - finally having him inside you again.

You let both you hands slide up over his chest and to the back of his neck, then moving into his hair, before you let his lips capture yours again. His hands moved soothingly up your back before embracing you, holding you tightly to his body as you slowly rode him.

“I love you so much,” Willy whispers into your lips and gripping your body harder before rolling you both around. You wrap your legs around him, feeling him even deeper inside you. “I love you too, William,” you breathe, but quickly press your lips back on his. Willy threads his fingers between yours on the pillow above you. His other hand moves up and down your side, sometimes stopping on your breast to lightly caress your nipple, sometimes stopping in your waist to pull you closer, and other times stopping on your behind to help you meet his slow but deep thrusts.

“I need you to come for me, babe,” he breathed, small sounds and groans breaking up his words. “S’close,” you managed to answer him. He moved his lips down your neck, while his hand moved between your bodies to further help push you over the edge. Your hands desperately moved from his back to his hair, holding onto him as you came undone, letting Willy do the same.

He collapsed on top of you, his head falling to your chest. You let your hands run soothingly over his back, as you both calmed your breaths. Your calm and quiet peace was soon disturbed as Will’s phone started to ring - the familiar sound of a face time call. He groans as he arises from your chest to see who’s calling, and most likely decline. “Ugh, it’s mom,” he groans again. “I should take it, she’s not very fond of me at the moment,” he adds, but leans down to kiss your forehead before he lays back down next to you and answers the call. You make sure to pull the covers over your chest.

“Have you talked to her yet?” Camilla asked, Jacquline scowled at the camera - at her older brother - from beside her mother, where they sat in the living room back in Sweden where you’d spent countless nights in your childhood. “Yes, mom,” he answered, his energy level not exactly on top at the moment, after not just sex, but weeks of long nights and crying his eyes out just an hour ago. “And how did that go? Your eyes are really bloodshot, Willy,” her voice was laced with heavy concern. She might have been extremely disappointed with him, but it didn’t stop a mother from being concerned with his son’s wellbeing.

You lied still watching Will’s call from the side, and you saw his lips turn upwards, before he turned his face towards you. His smile had now grown wide and you couldn’t help but smile as well, as you moved underneath his now outstretched arm to put your head on his chest and show yourself to the camera.

“Oh, thank god,” Camilla put her hand to her chest, relieved that you were back together again. You smiled at Camilla, who smiled back. But her smile wasn’t entirely happy - you could see that she was still concerned. She stared at the two of you for a while, sadness in her eyes. “Oh, you both look so tired and..” she didn’t know what to say, she had talked to the both of you during this period of time, and you had both cried to her on the phone at some point. “I hope for the both of you that this never happens again, look at you two, you’re wrecked,” she spoke. “It won’t, mom, we’ve talked through it all, I’ll just have to get better at communicating my feelings, okay? It won’t happen again,” he told his mom, and you reached up to put a light hand on his cheek. He leaned into your hand.

“And you?” she looked at you. “You moved, what are you doing about this new apartment?” she asked you. You turned to look at William, who was already staring at you, a small smile on his lips. “I’m coming back home,” you smiled and William leaned closer to kiss your temple. “That’s good to hear, honey,” she smiled.

“Jacquline, why are you still looking at me like you want to kill me?” William, who was in a better mood now, asked his sister. “I just hope that you’ve learned your lesson, big brother. I mean, I knew you were stupid, but this was really the cherry on top,” she squinted her eyes at him. Willy just nodded, he knew and he agreed. You smiled at her, to tell her that it was gonna be okay.

“Also, I just can’t not notice that you’re both pretty fucking naked underneath those blankets,” she added, sassy as always. Camilla’s eyes widened. “Jacquline!” she looked at her daughter like she’d killed someone, making both you and William laugh wholeheartedly - together, for the first time in weeks.

#william nylander #william nylander smut #william nylander imagine #Toronto Maple Leafs #hockey #hockey smut #hockey imagine #nhl imagine #imagine #smut #fluff #julia michales #clean bandit

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tocinephile · 4 years

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The Morning After - The Year the Oscars Got it (mostly) Right Edition

The 92nd Academy Awards kicked off looking an awful lot like the Grammy’s with a splashy musical performance by Janelle Monae and Billy Porter, the first of a night’s performances/presenters/commentary designed to include all the groups it seemingly excluded in it’s nominees list. Meant to poke fun at themselves or a gesture delivered a little too overt and a little too late? Either way, I think in the end, the artistry of the South Korean-made foreign language film that swept the night’s awards won one back for every group that was overlooked.

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite took home awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Picture, making it the first South Korean film to win in all these categories. To do it all in a single evening is astounding.

Here’s a look at all the winners of the night:

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Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari” — Walt Disney “The Irishman” — Netflix “Jojo Rabbit” — Fox Searchlight “Joker” — Warner Bros. “Little Women” — Sony Pictures Releasing “Marriage Story” — Netflix “1917” — Universal/Amblin Partners “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Sony Pictures Releasing “Parasite” — Neon (WINNER)

Most deserving win of the night!!! Of course many of us hoped Parasite could be the underdog to win it all, but a more realistic prediction to win would be 1917. Thrilled to be wrong on this one.

Also, while I liked 1917 (more for its execution than story), even if Parasite had not been in the mix, I would have been rooting for The Irishman to win.

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story” Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women” Charlize Theron, “Bombshell” Renée Zellweger, “Judy” (WINNER)

I am also in full agreement with this category and with Renee sweeping this category this awards season as well.

I have not seen Harriet, but if Renee hadn’t been in the race, Charlize would have been the best of the bunch.

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory” Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Adam Driver, “Marriage Story” Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” — (WINNER) Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Again, no question this was the right winner. If only every win didn’t mean we’d have to roll the dice to see what kind of acceptance speech we’d have to endure... While I didn’t appreciate being chastised for adding milk to my coffee, Joaquin closed out his remarks by quoting his late brother River and I thought that was beautiful.

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman” Todd Phillips, “Joker” Sam Mendes, “1917” Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” — (WINNER)

Another category that I thought the Academy would give to Sam Mendes, but nonetheless put my bets on Bong Joon-ho. Some big competition in this category (except Phillips... sorry, I’m not saying he’s bad, but he has yet to prove to me he’s a contender).

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4” “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” — (WINNER) “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough” “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2” “Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Talk about a year of forgettable film songs. I think I left the room for every one of these performances except Elton’s. Did I miss anything?

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir — (WINNER) “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat “Marriage Story,” Randy Newman “1917,” Thomas Newman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

As part of the montage for this category, the orchestra accompanies with each film’s original score. This segment, as they proudly pointed out, was being conducted a female for the first time in Oscar history (I’d like to shallowly add that she was also wearing the most amazing gold jacket to do it!). Now I don’t know if she also arranged it or whether she was just conducting, but I have to say, I don’t think the arrangement did the scores any justice whatsoever.

Luckily they were not being judged on this particular performance, and Hildur Guonadottir once again took home the accolade for Joker. I agree with this win. Little Women and 1917 also had impressive scores. Marriage Story didn’t particularly catch my attention, and while Star Wars’ themes will always be among my all time favourites, The Rise of Skywalker wasn’t particularly outstanding out of the saga.

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodóvar “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho — (WINNER)

If anyone else had won we would have rioted right?

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell” — (WINNER) “Joker” “Judy” “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” “1917”

Got this prediction correct, while not the most obvious frontrunner perhaps, a lot of subtle effort was put in to transform cast into their characters.

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Endgame” “The Irishman” “The Lion King” “1917” — (WINNER) “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

It’s naive of me, but seeing 1917 win for Visual Effects almost takes away from my appreciation of the film in some ways because in my head, I’d still like to think of all films outside of fantasy and sci-fi as largely real. I know it’s not the case and that even your average period drama is created largely with effects these days, it can’t help but ruin the magic a little.

Also I had guessed Avengers: Endgame would win.

And we all think that The Irishman is on this list for de-aging technologies alone right?

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland — (WINNER) “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles “Joker,” Jeff Groth “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

This entire list is on par with each other I think, with Ford v Ferrari just edging out the rest. Also the editing is what made the film so dynamic, there was little room for a bad cut, whereas the others might have little bit more room to err.

Many might disagree but I think Little Women should have been considered in this category. The film’s editing choices was one of its main criticisms, but I think it actually made the film much more dynamic and differentiated it from previous adaptations. (If only they’d used a bit more of The Irishman’s aging/de-aging effects)

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke “1917,” Roger Deakins — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Agree! Cool camera work in 1917 for sure.

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra” “Ford v Ferrari” “Joker” “1917” — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Um ok, if you’re going to split the sound categories between two films. I would’ve said Ford v Ferrari for both.

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester — (WINNER) “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

Agree. Hopefully everyone who wanted to see this film caught it in theatres, the sound was a huge contributing factor to the enjoyment of this film.

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell” Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” — (WINNER) Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit” Florence Pugh, “Little Women” Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Little surprise when Laura Dern swept this category, even though I maintain she wasn’t better than the rest. That said, I’m not sure who I would pick in her place, I say share the love between Laura Dern, Scarlett Johansson, and Florence Pugh (yes, I just said Amy March should get an oscar... I see the irony of this too)

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger — (WINNER) “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas “St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

I didn’t see any of the shorts this year, my bad. The winner sounds hella interestering!

Best Documentary Feature:

“American Factory,” Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar — (WINNER) “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

I only saw American Factory and The Cave and I actually liked The Cave better. That said I felt strongly that American Factory had the edge, for starters it was backed by the Obamas’ production company. I didn’t love American Factory but I do feel it’s a timely piece that shows two sides of the story, inevitable prejudices based on what we’ve become conditioned to physically, mentally, socially, and also how important it is that we try to overcome or build a bridge to find solutions for the greater good.

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo “Joker,” Mark Bridges “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

For a historical drama, I really didn’t find the costumes of Little Women to be that spectacular (I’m having visions of The Age of Innocence when you say Best Costume), though a part of me knows the period films win more often than not. While I think Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is strong contender, Jojo Rabbit should have won.

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh (WINNER) “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram and Cho Hee

Yes! Once Upon a Time was a bit overrated (sorry Quentin) but this was one category where it really deserved to win, from the western sets, film studio lots, to the wardrobe and streets of the 60′s, lots of fun and spirit captured in the production design.

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat “The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry — (WINNER) “Saria,” Bryan Buckley “A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi — (WINNER) “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

I love that Taika Waititi is an Oscar winner. Also shouts to Greta Gerwig for making Little Women almost tolerable in her script! The Two Popes could not have been an easy adaptation either. Now can a comic book expert please tell me, how much of Joker is really from existing stories in comics, and how much was filled in by the writers? I understand why it was an adapted screenplay, but I feel like material like this almost completely open to interpretation and could easily be written anew as an original screenplay.

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han — (WINNER)

Just for fun, my ranking of the original screenplay nominees from best to alright:

1) Parasite, 2) Knives Out, 3) Marriage Story, 4) 1917, 5) Once Upon a Time

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry — (WINNER) “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan “Memorable,” Bruno Collet “Sister,” Siqi Song

I keep hearing great things about this short!

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois “I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin “Klaus,” Sergio Pablos “Missing Link,” Chris Butler “Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley — (WINNER)

I clearly didn’t watch any animated films this year because I didn’t even know there were new How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story films released.

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes” Al Pacino, “The Irishman” Joe Pesci, “The Irishman” Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — (WINNER)

Overall, if Brad Pitt sweeping this category means I get to hear at least one great speech per awards, then I’m ok with this. My personal ranking:

1) Al Pacino, 2) Joe Pesci, 3) Tom Hanks, 4) Brad Pitt, 5) Anthony Hopkins. I had to debate over Pacino and Pesci’s performances, I feel like this is one of the best problems in the world.

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Prior to the start of the show, I made a mess of notes about who I thought would win, who I thought should win, and shared my Oscar Pool Picks which were based on a mix of the two... My Oscar pool are an extremely knowledgeable bunch, and with 18/24, it only put me in a 3-way tie for third place (there were also three winners who split the winnings), I need to move back to the baby leagues!

If you were following my Twitter (or care to check in hindsight...@palindr0me) I also shared a little additional commentary and photos of some of my favourite dresses of the evening.

My personal top 3 moments during the Awards Ceremony were:

1) Every time Parasite won an award - Give this man all the statues he wants! lol

2) Billie Eilish’s rendition of Yesterday (I wish this was an actual recorded track so I could play it over and over)

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3) When Eminem took the stage at the end of a montage to perform “Lose Yourself” and my phone exploded with all these messages of “ Whaaat is happening???” LOL! Believe me friends, I was as confused as you were.

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Aaand, that’s a wrap on awards season! Looking forward to a new year and new decade in film!

#oscars #oscars2020

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