#i looked exactly like Coraline's dad while fighting him

[honestlyprettyokay]

I made one and I can't stop now

#i looked exactly like Coraline's dad while fighting him #heimdall gow #Heimdall #god of war #prolly wasted like 4 hours of my life trying to figure it out

[crystxlclear]

you’re just like an angel (your skin makes me cry)

a sudden desire oneshot 

masterlist // sudden desire chapter one

pairing: marcus pike x original female character (coraline meyer)

words: 4.4k

synopsis: coraline and marcus go to a halloween party. pining ensues. 

set in the future, in comparison to the current sudden desire timeline, after coraline accepts that suggestion 

warnings: FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF SWEET SWEET FLUFF, mutual pining (more so from marcus, unintentionally, though?), alcohol consumption/slight alcohol intoxication, established relationship

author’s note: you don’t need to have read sudden desire to understand this! (but please do)

this was meant to come out on halloween but i am a terrible procrastinator. but i mean this was too cute not to post? so i hope you all accept my extremely belated spooky-season offering. expect more of this sweet beautiful soft fluff when we get more into sudden desire, when we get to the baby-making stage (i gotta make up for the lack of smut somehow). This is really nothing of significance or particularly interesting, except i just wanted to write something halloween-ish

also it’s kind of obvious and i have mentioned it here and in previous sudden desire chapters but daniel is coraline’s brother and kimmy is his wife/cora’s sister-in-law, they’re in the next chapter! 

not beta’d because i have no friends to read it lmao

Coraline doesn’t usually go out on Halloween. Those evenings are usually spent curled up on the sofa, cocooned beneath her comforter, watching the entire Scream series back-to-back. It had become somewhat of a ritual, those films. Sat in the comfortable dark while she practically quoted the film back at the TV screen. An annual event since she was ten, when she’d managed to convince her dad to let her watch the first three films while her mom was out with friends. Her DVD copies were almost two decades old, now.

It must have taken something, or someone, special to break a habit so ingrained, a years-old routine. 

That was the moment Daniel Meyer knew, beyond all doubt, that Coraline Meyer looked at Marcus Pike as more than just a friend. 

Sure, she denies it. Sure she’s too damn stubborn to admit it, even to him. But for someone to pull Cora from her Scream-filled Halloween night bubble, it must take a lot. He isn’t blind, either. He’s seen the looks they give each other - those fleeting looks, a flush of red creeping to their cheeks whenever they glance between each other for a moment, that soft lingering smile on her face when she arrives at his house after a day spent with him - and he’s spent hours in his living room listening to her recall stories and gush about him like he hung all the stars in the night sky. 

Daniel Meyer knows his sister well enough to know that she only has eyes for him.

He’d been surprised when she’d rung him that Thursday morning, bright and early as the sun continued to rise high in the sky, proclaiming that she was, in fact, coming to their Halloween party. That surprise had disappeared, however, the second she’d mentioned Marcus was coming, too. He’d laughed and she’d asked why but he wouldn’t tell her, amusement peaking the moment he heard his name. It’s brilliant and he should have known, really. Of course, he should have known.

...

Coraline tugs awkwardly on the costume. It’s cheap and uncomfortable and she’d bought it last minute from some poorly-lit store in the city. It’s that cheap, plastic-like material that clings to your figure in the most unforgiving places, places it shouldn’t yet somehow moulds to. She’s just glad she didn’t pick one of the skimpier ones she’d tried, the ones that rested far too high on her thighs and squeezed her torso so tightly it felt like she was wearing a corset. She felt like she was about to burst straight through the thin material. Instead, she’d gone for the far more family-friendly option. 

Skimpy outfits aren’t a good idea for a family Halloween party.

Though, even in the most modest costume she can find, she’s still pretty sure that she looks utterly ridiculous. 

But that’s part of the charm though, right?

The costume she’s settled on is slightly more modest than the rest, now that she’s fished out those stupidly expensive thigh-high boots she’d bought for a red carpet event once, that rise just high enough to conceal the ridiculous amount of leg on show. Any other night, she wouldn’t mind in the slightest, but they tones the outfit down enough that she’s positive she won’t offend the eyes of the conservative parents whose kids run around with her nephews. 

It’s not a big deal. She doesn’t particularly care. She only cares what Marcus thinks. 

If he likes it, who cares what anyone else thinks.

The least-revealing costume in the store happened to be that of a special agent or a spy or something like that. It’s a little... on-the-nose. Still, she figures it’s fitting. 

The dress’ weird vinyl material that creaks and squeaks whenever she moves and there’s a pair of flimsy plastic handcuffs strapped through the belt loops along with an already half-worn away sheriff’s badge that shines dully under the soft light of her bedroom. It’s cheap - anyone can tell that - but the whole thing has been last-minute, Marcus trying his hardest for a solid month to persuade her to abandon her tradition and come to the party with him. Only for him. Only him.

She truly does love Halloween. And Fall is her favourite time of year. But she’d spent all week at Halloween parties with her castmates and friends - late night all weeks, far too much alcohol, far too many times hearing The Monster Mash playing insistently over loudspeakers - and, come Halloween night, the only thing she wanted to do was order pizza and indulge in her yearly marathon. She’s done that elaborate costume stuff all week, a thousand different costumes adorning her body, and pyjamas sound far more inviting. Halloween night is for relaxing, she thinks. If it weren’t for Marcus Pike, it would remain exactly that.

She’s still fussing over the ever-rising hem of her dress and thinking of just staying home when the doorbell rings, loud and imposing, almost scaring her as its shrill chimes cut through the soft music playing over her speakers. She huffs out a sigh of resignation, giving up on any hope she has of making herself feel better about what she’s wearing.

Marcus is standing at the door with a bottle of red wine in hand and a smile on his face. That smile falters when he sees her, for just long enough for her to think about running back upstairs and changing into something different. His parted lips finally form around the words his awestruck brain is fighting hard to form: “You look… -good.” It’s all he can muster. And he sounds pathetic.

“... Thanks?”

He shakes his head clear, that initial shock of seeing her looking so damn good dissipating the second she notices his wide eyes and drops her head back as she laughs. The long line of her neck sparkles under the warm flickering candlelight of her living room, thanks to that body lotion she wears. “You look great,” he insists.

She bites her lip as his eyes scan her figure from head to toe. She catches his eyes but she doesn’t mind one bit. She’s doing the same thing. And it’s infuriating because she’s unable to stop.

Of course Marcus looks good. Of course he does, because he always does. Even in sweats and a t-shirt, when she bursts through his door at 7am, coffee in hand, far too wide awake for the early hours of a morning. When he’s still half-asleep. He still looks good. He even looks good now, in a cheap vampire’s cape and plastic fangs. Perhaps it’s the all-black, his shirt stretched taut across his chest or the leather jacket he wears that fits him so well. 

Or, maybe, it’s just the slightly goofy grin he wears when he sees her laugh, dressed in her costume and swinging her handcuffs on the end of her finger, and the way his lips puff out a little when they fall over the edge of the fake fangs. 

She means to tell him just how good he looks but he speaks before she can.

“I brought wine.” He notes. He lifts the bottle - she’s pretty sure it’s expensive, but she knows absolutely nothing about wine - and she squints at the label, a half-hearted attempt at pretending she knows what all those words mean. She has no idea. 

She doesn’t even need to invite him inside, he just follows when she turns and makes a beeline for the kitchen. “Daniel will never let you inside with that,” she calls over her shoulder. Her eldest brother has hated wine since his wedding, when his best man had thrown up on his shoes outside the hotel that night, after one too many glasses. It was partly Coraline’s fault, though; they’d been drinking and laughing at the bar the entire night, the bartender plying them with drink after drink until someone hauled them outside to get some fresh air. Daniel had been pissed that his best friend and the smart and suited man behind the bar had been supplying his nineteen-year-old sister with copious amounts of alcohol, though he quickly forgave them at breakfast the next morning when their hangovers were so bad, they had to wear sunglasses indoors.

“Lucky for you-” She pushes up on her tiptoes and reaches to the back of the kitchen cupboard. She can feel the breeze on the back of her thighs and she hopes to god that her skirt doesn’t push up too far and reveal too much. A few moments clattering around blindly, she returns to two feet with two wine glasses. “-my brother is used to me being late.”

Marcus is already fishing for the corkscrew in the cutlery draw before she's even turned around. He swiftly pops the cork and is there waiting when Coraline sets the glasses between them. 

“Here’s to being late,” he proposes, holding his glass up for her to clink after he pours them both a generous glass. 

Here’s to being late.

...

They do turn up late. Two-hours late, to be exact. A little too tipsy. Or, at least, Coraline is. She’s in that semi-blissful state, caught somewhere between content happiness and that point where he knows she usually starts to cry, before the giggles force their way out and she’s hiccupping through adorable sobs of indistinguishable hysteria. 

He’s only seen her like that once after a particularly bad fight over the phone with Scott. And, while she’d insisted that the whole thing was hilarious, he never wanted to see her like that again. 

But, at least for now, they’re both smiling. 

And Marcus isn’t sure how anyone can be mad at Coraline when she’s smiling.

It seems like the rest of the street is having parties, too. The entire row of closely packed townhouses and luxury condos are humming with life; pop songs and fluorescent lighting fill the street. It feels like they’re in a movie, endless decoration spilling to the sidewalk, waterfalls of orange, black and purple. Everything is garishly bright and confused, all mismatched shapes and colours - surrealism, like a Dali painting, exaggerated and unusual and unnatural. It’s strange to see the neighbourhood like this, with its usually-pristine gardens, turned fantastical. 

The smell of the Potomac River drifts along the street, swirling in the gentle late-October breeze. It dances with the charred scent of fireworks that lingers low in the air, cinnamon and herbs, and the smell that lingers before the rain. It intertwines to make Halloween, in all its ghoulish glory. Yet, despite it all, the only thing he can smell is her perfume. It lingers on the breeze.

Coraline walks just ahead of him; she’s skipping down the street, light on her feet, her black heels cutting a rhythmic beat through the hum of the street as it comes alive. There’s been a smile on her face since they left her apartment, that bright blissful buzz of wine pulsing through her veins, and she looks no different from the kids and the teenagers that weave through the cars lining the street. She’s been holding his hand since they left, too. Tightly, like if she lets go, he’ll disappear. 

But he would never. He could never leave her.

She’s his best friend.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” she calls back to him as they near Coraline’s brother’s house. It’s the same as the rest of the houses on the street: lighting flashes through the windows - orange and white and purple, casting shapes across the front yard, the yard that’s draped in Halloween decorations - and the soft hum of music pumped through the half-open front windows. 

She turns to watch him, walking backwards, still holding his hand. He’s taller than her, even in her heels, so she glances up at him with a pout on her red lips. There’s a little bit of awe in his chest as he watches her navigate the cobblestones blindly, not even faltering on her heels once. She wears Halloween so well. She makes the party store costume look better than it has any idea being. Those that pass - kids, teenagers, their parents, varying degrees of effort in their costumes - watch as they walk, when she pokes a long nail at his chest. “You’re to blame.”

“It’ll be fun, love.” He poses.

She raises a sceptical eyebrow. “Oh, really?” Coraline turns to glare at him. “Dressed like this?” She gestures to herself and the dress she feels completely ridiculous wearing. “I don’t think so.”

“But that’s the point of Halloween.” 

She notices the way his brown eyes sparkle beneath the moonlight. 

Cora hums in contemplation. “I still can’t believe you talked me into this.” She repeats, but there’s a hint of a smirk on her lips. 

“You’ll get over it.”

...

Three hours into the party and Coraline disappears. One moment, she’d been swaying with her nephew, Elliot, to Fleetwood Mac, grinning and giggling as she spun him from side-to-side in her arms. Marcus had watched her from the refreshment table in the corner, engaged in a half-idle conversation with Cora’s sister-in-law, Kimmy, as she cleared the dirty plates and refreshed the chips. He thinks she noticed him watching her but she’s far too polite to say anything if she did. She just seemed to hum knowingly and sweep away towards the kitchen as he watched Coraline twirl gracefully to the soft melody of Dreams. 

She’d brought a jacket with her, the cold creeping in right as they’d made to leave the house, and the loose fabric brushed against her legs as she swayed on her heels. The breeze that wandered through the open living room window billowed beneath it. She looked ethereal like that; all beautiful and glowing and bright, basking in the vibrant flashing lights and overly-gaudy Halloween decorations that don’t quite fit the gentle songs that float through the room. Coraline had been deep in conversation with a seemingly endless stream of Daniel and Kimmy’s friends and there had been a tense set to her brow as a consequence. Now, she looks jovial and carefree and relaxed. The wine they’d drunk before they arrived - and the bottle she and Kimmy had been sneaking in the corner of the room, giggling like school girls as they filled their cups whenever Daniel wasn’t looking - probably helped her on her way but it’s refreshing to see her like this. Happy.

So much for someone convinced she wouldn’t have fun.

Marcus turned to grab another drink as the song finished, fading away into the next, and within a moment she was gone, lost in the slowly thinning crowd that danced through the living room. The two-year-old that had previously been in her arms was halfway across the room, tugging on his father’s Batman costume. The crowd that seemed to part for her and her giggling nephew had thickened again, spilling over the dancefloor where she’d spun moments earlier.

He finally finds her perched on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs back and forth idly, staring out at the Potomac River as the moon sparkles across its surface. There’s a paper plate of chocolate cake perched on her knees, stolen from the one Kimmy had taken from the buffet table earlier in the night. She prods at it absentmindedly with a fork, smearing the purple and orange frosting across the plate like she’s painting on a canvas. Pale moonlight scatters across her face; her eyelashes cast gentle arching silhouettes beneath her eyes and sloping shadows across the soft lines of her cheekbones. 

She doesn’t hear him at first. The music, Creep by Radiohead, plays in the living room. He knows most of the words to the song because Coraline has played it on vinyl so many times in the late evenings of summer, when the windows are open the whole way and the curtains billow in the breeze. Her brother has good taste, just like her; the pleasant nostalgia of eighties rock pouring through the speakers. It’s muffled by the closed door of the kitchen, slightly broken door that he’d offered to fix the first time he’d been for lunch jammed shut to allow her some peace and quiet. 

He enters as quietly as he can but the music spikes through the doorway when he opens it and draws her attention away from the glittering ripple of the water. She smiles fondly when she sees him, for a moment, and her head turns back to the view from the kitchen window. 

“You okay?” He asks. He settles in front of her, leaning back against the island opposite her. “You wandered off.”

She doesn’t seem upset. Her expression is soft and content. “I’m alright,” she insists.

The kitchen is quiet. 

The world seems so far away.

Everything that has happened before and everything that might happen after that moment doesn’t matter.

Everything will be alright.

Coraline huffs out a laugh and closes her eyes, tilting her head back to let the cool breeze of the open window sweep over her bare neck. “Just needed a bit of quiet. It’s a little-“ She makes a motion with her hands, almost like she’s strangling someone. Somehow, it makes sense to him. “-full-on in there.”

Marcus watches her. His dark gaze flickers across her face as she carries on kicking her legs gently back and forth, manoeuvring himself so the toe of her boot doesn’t slam into his shin. The world just carries on around them; the party continues in the living room, the music continues playing and everyone else moves on with their lives as Marcus and Coraline exist in that quiet moment where nothing but each other matters.

There’s a brief beat of silence filled by gentle guitars and soft lyrics.

She’s watching the water in awe. He’s watching her the same way. 

You’re just like an angel, your skin makes me cry.

“Cake?” She offers out half-heartedly after a moment’s contemplation, soft green eyes drawing back to his face. An affectionate smile tugs at her lips.

He shakes his head. “I’m good.”

“Thank god.” The smile widens to a grin and she puffs out a small giggle. “You would have broken my heart if you’d said yes.” She hums as she brings a forkful of the cake to her lips, savouring the sweet taste on her lips. Her tongue darts out delicately to chase the remains. Her lipstick leaves a red spider web across the fork.

He won’t, but he’s never wanted to kiss her more than in that moment. The world stops for a moment when she meets his gaze as she does it, peeling her eyes away, cheeks flushing slightly. He won’t, but, god, he thinks she’s lovely. He won’t kiss her. Kissing her on the cheek or the nose or the forehead, that’s different. It’s familiar. It’s welcomed with a smile and she does the same to him, sometimes. Kissing her for real. That’s entirely different. He doesn’t kiss her unless she asks him to. Until she wants him to.

Whatever makes you happy. Whatever you want.

“That good, huh?” 

She nods. “I don’t know where Kimmy buys it from but it’s incredible.”

“Hmm, maybe I will take some.” He reaches for her plate but she tugs it away, a mock-offended expression on her face. 

“Hey!” She pouts. “Pretty sure that’s theft, Marcus Pike. Don’t make me arrest you.” She chides, patting the plastic handcuffs that rattle against her belt. 

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one with the authority to actually arrest someone,” Marcus attests, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. 

“Not tonight.” She hums, tapping a nail against the badge that rests against her chest. She tilts her head and a bright smile crosses her red lips. She wears that gentle glow of wine across her cheeks, all pink and rosy. Coraline reaches up to card her fingers through the curls at the back of his head. Marcus sighs at the feeling of her nails scraping across the scalp at the nape of his neck. She leans closer for a second, so close that he can feel the warmth of her breath fan across his cheeks. Her eyelashes dip as she traces patterns across his scalp and dances the digits over her other hand up the bare expanse of his arm, prickled in goosebumps from the light scrape of her nails. There’s a blissful haze that passes her expression when she glances back out across the moon-drenched river. His breath hitches in his throat whenever she touches him like that. Whenever there’s intended intimacy behind it. That comfort that settled between them long ago.

Coraline doesn’t even realise she’s doing it, sometimes. It feels like second nature, now. 

She can feel her cheeks burning at the thought of it all.

She pulls her hand away from him all too soon. Marcus thinks about chasing her hand, pulling it back to hold him again with the lightest of touches. But he lets her go. Again. The moonlight casts silver shadows across her face like some kind of goddamn angel basking in the light. Instead, he just watches her as she picks the paper plate of cake back up, brings up another forkful and smiles in delight at the taste.

“Oh, really?” He answers in response to her earlier words, realising he’s spent far too much time watching her than he should. His hand brushes the outside of her knee before it comes to rest on the kitchen counter beside her leg. It’s unintentional. At least, he thinks.

You’re so fucking special. I wish I was special.

“Cora-“ He calls to catch her attention again. She turns her head to face him, her eyebrows raised a little in expectancy and surprise. “-you’ve got some frosting-“ Marcus swipes at the side of his mouth, where Coraline has a spot of purple frosting clinging to the corner of her lips, blemishing the otherwise-perfect red-paint. 

He steps forward again, reaching his thumb up to swipe the frosting away. She watches his movements at first, before her gaze focuses intently on his face and the dark-eyed gaze that follows the slow movements of his thumb. When he moves to pull it away, to wipe in on a piece of kitchen towel, she reaches for it, pressing the frosting-covered pad of his thumb against her lips. 

She grins around it when her eyes widen, swiping her tongue over the soft flesh, before pulling it back slowly. There’s a ring of red lipstick around his thumb. Her voice is low when she speaks, in tone and volume. She peers up at him through her lashes. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t know what she was doing. “You can’t let good frosting go to waste.”

He wants to swear. He needs to. Because all he can think of, right now, is kissing her. Again. He wants to taste the frosting still lingering on her tongue and he wants that red lipstick to stain his lips. He wants her hands in his hair, tugging and twisting as he presses his mouth to hers and he wants to feel her smile against him when the way she pulls him closer makes him groan. 

He wants to feel all that he can barely have. He wants the memories that linger when he’s in bed without her at his side, when their insane agreement isn’t in action. He wants more than fleeting moments. He wants it all. 

But he’s just being selfish. 

And, besides, she doesn’t want that, either. Not now. Not here.

“Do you want to leave?” It’s intended to be an innocent question. But, with all those thoughts and those hidden desires, with all those feelings he isn’t positive are anything more than shallow, unrequited and completely ridiculous and the swipe of her velvet-soft tongue over the pad of his thumb, it sounds loaded. He’s breathless. He groans to himself and steps back from her. 

Coraline doesn’t fail to notice the way his fingers skim the bare expense of her outer thigh when he moves. She half-wonders what he’s implying with it. She never knows what’s intentional between them anymore. She thinks it probably has meaning; she had his thumb between her lips just moments before. She isn’t even sure what she was implying. 

“We can get pizza.” 

“Pizza, huh?” She hums in contemplation, but there’s no decision to be made. In her mind, she’s already said he’s a thousand times, and she’s been ready to say yes since the moment they stepped through Daniel’s front door. As much as she loves Daniel and Kimmy and her niece and nephews, nothing sounds better than pizza on the couch with Marcus. “What kind of pizza?” She toys, musing the image over in her mind, finishing off the last mouthful of cake, already missing the sweet frosting.

But, intentional or not, goosebumps prickle across her skin. 

He’s leaning closer, now. He can’t help it. She draws him in with that damn smile. “Veggie.”

Her favourite.

“Tempting.”

“Very tempting.”

“From the pizza place on Pennsylvania?” Her eyes light up at the prospect. Her back straightens and they’re looking each other in the eyes. 

Marcus brushes a thumb across her knee. Coraline tries her best to hide the shudder that threatens to pull through her at his touch. Heat pools in her stomach and her chest and her breath hitches in her throat. “Where else?”

She groans, small and breathy, pushing its way from her mouth, almost like she’s been winded. Her eyes close over. Her eyelids flutter. Her head is swimming from the wine she’s drunk, head buzzing with that pleasant intoxication as the alcohol sweeps through her. She can’t help it. She can’t stop it. But she can’t tell whether it’s a response to the promise of her favourite pizza or the feeling of his warm palm against her leg. She doesn’t particularly want to know. But she brushes it off as the wine. It makes more sense.

It’s a little embarrassing.

Her eyes open again and he’s still looking at her, expectation and gentility in his gaze. “And garlic bread?”

He smirks in amusement. “Whatever you want, Cora.” His thumb brushes over her knee again. “Whatever you want.”

She grins. “How can I say no to that?”

“You can’t,” Marcus insists. He steps back from the counter and she slips off, smoothing out her dress and shucking her jacket around herself as the wind casts a shiver across her skin.

“Can I at least change first?”

He exhales a laugh through her nose. “Nope.”

“Oh, Marcus, come on!” She groans. His hand slips into hers; her delicate fingers curl around his, her palm soft against his work-calloused hands. “I look ridiculous.”

“It’s Halloween, love.” The pet name makes her legs feel weak. His voice is low and affectionate when he turns back towards her. He ducks his head and kisses her cheekbone. He lingers to whisper in her ear: “And you look hot.”

#sudden desire #sudden desire oneshot #oneshot #marcus pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x oc #marcus pike x fem!oc #marcus pike x original character #marcus pike x female reader #halloween #pedro pascal #original character

[mysterykidscasefiles]

Mystery Kids: Winter in Blithe Hollow

Hey guys, remember like a year ago when I promised a winter holiday fic? Well, part 1 is finally complete. I’m thinking this is going to be a short 3-part fic. I’m hoping to get the rest of it out before too long, and I will be soon releasing the next chapter of my main fic. 

This fic is based very heavily on my own experiences of visiting my cousins during winter break... which I just got back from doing, so that’s what gave me the inspiration to finally finish part 1. 

Summary: Norman’s parents let him invite some friends over to their house for the winter break, and Norman knows just who to invite. With the Mystery Kids in Massachusetts instead of Gravity Falls, they expect to enjoy a relaxing vacation together. However, there are some dangers that aren’t limited to a sleepy Oregon town.

List of fics

Ao3 link

Mystery Kids: Winter in Blithe Hollow

Time Period: Second Winter

Part 1: Seasons Greetings

The airport was a bustle of people moving from one area to the next; their eyes either straight ahead, fixated on nothing but their destination, or down at their phone as they tried to answer text messages telling their family or friends that they had landed while weaving haphazardly through the crowd.

Norman scanned the crowd in the baggage claim area as his father grumbled something under his breath next to him. The plane had been late and they had been waiting in the busy airport for nearly forty-five minutes. Norman wasn’t a fan of crowds and his father wasn’t a fan of waiting.

“Hey, Cuz!”

Norman blinked and his head turned in the direction of the voice. He smiled when he saw his cousin walking towards them followed by another familiar face.

“Oh good, there she is!” Norman heard his mother say.

Before Coraline could say anything else, Norman’s mother wrapped her in a large hug.

“Coraline, sweetie, it’s so good to see you!” his mother gushed.

“You too, Aunt Sandra,” came Coraline’s muffled reply into his mother’s shoulder.

“Your flight was late. What happened?” Norman’s dad asked as his mom released the girl.

“Good to see you too, Uncle Perry,” Coraline said teasingly while giving Norman a wink.

Norman’s dad blinked and then almost smirked in return. “Yeah, alright, good to see you. Well, let’s get your suitcase. Is this your little friend we’re taking with us?” he nodded to Wybie.

“Yep, this is my friend Wyborn,” Coraline said, punching Wybie’s arm.

Wybie winced and rubbed his arm. “It’s Wybie,” he corrected. “It’s nice to meet all of you. Thanks for letting me come along.”

“No problem, sweetie. The more the merrier, right Perry?” Norman’s mom asked while turning expectantly to her husband.

“Uhh, yeah, right,” Norman’s dad grumbled tiredly.

“Hey Norman,” Wybie greeted with a smile.

Norman smiled back, but was startled when Coraline threw her arm around his shoulder and pulled him to her side. “This is going to be the best winter break ever! I can’t believe you convinced your parents to do this, and that your parents were able to convince mine!”

Norman chucked. “Well, Courtney helped a bit.”

Hearing her name, Courtney looked up from her phone and blinked at the sight before her.

“Ugh, what the hell did you do to your hair, Coraline?” Courtney asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“Language, Courtney,” Norman’s father warned. He then looked over at Coraline. “She has a point, though. Did my sister actually let you dye your hair that color?”

Coraline rolled her eyes, and Norman got the feeling she was used to comments like this. She released Norman from her grip as she sighed. “Yes, Uncle Perry. And I like it. It makes me stand out.”

“Well, sometimes it’s best not to stand out,” Norman’s father countered.

“You had such pretty brown hair, Coraline,” Norman’s mother said. “I hope you’ll dye it back soon.”

Norman could see Coraline physically retrain herself from rolling her eyes a second time. “Not likely,” she said under her breath.

Norman smirked. He had never been very close with his cousin before they spent the first summer in Gravity Falls, but now that they were good friends and fellow Mystery Kids, family reunions were going to be a lot more interesting.

However, this was more than just a family reunion. When Courtney was his age, she was allowed to invite her friends for a week to their old cabin (with parental supervision, of course). However, because they sold the old cabin, Norman never got his own chance to do the same. That, and he never had any friends to invite over.

A few months ago, Courtney pointed this out and suggested that Norman be allowed to invite some friends over to their house for winter break. Norman knew she was trying to get him to invite some friends from school. Ever since they had gotten closer, Courtney had been trying to help him make new friends. However, Norman had a different idea. He had known it would be a long shot that any of the Mystery Kids could make it to Blithe Hollow during the school break, but it was worth a try.

“I can’t believe I have to come all the way back to the airport tomorrow to pick up the other kids,” Norman’s dad grumbled as he started the engine of the car once everyone had collected their suitcases and placed them in the back of the mini-van.

They had bought the used mini-van after the old Chrysler had broken down one too many times and Sandra refused to let Perry buy any more spare parts in an attempt to keep it alive for another two weeks before it would inevitably break down again. Besides, no matter how much they tried, they could never fully get the undead smell out of the seat cushion. Not even Courtney was interested in the old car, despite the fact that she constantly beg her parents for one on a daily basis. The new mini-van had two extra seats than their last car, plenty of space in the trunk, and no rotting flesh smell. All pluses.

“Now Perry, we are doing this for Norman,” his mom said as they pulled out of the airport parking lot. “He should have a chance to have his friends over for a few days just like Courtney did.”

“Yeah, but her friends weren’t from all over the country!” his dad said. “Norman, what time does their flight arrive?”

“Three-thirty,” Norman said.

His dad groaned in response.

“The twins?” Coraline ask, who was sitting in the seat next to him with Wybie on her other side.

Norman nodded. He could already feel the excitement bubbling up at the thought of being able to see everyone again. They had just finished their second summer together, and somehow, it had been even more crazy and unbelievable than the first.

However, even more overwhelming than the stuff they had seen and done together that summer, was how much Norman missed them during the school year. Whenever things got bad at school, he and Neil would talk wistfully about their time in Gravity Falls and what their friends might be doing now. He had felt similarly last year after their first summer together, but this year it had gotten even worse, and sometimes, Norman missed them so much it hurt. He missed being a Mystery Kid. He missed having a group of friend he could talk openly and honestly with. He missed not feeling like a freak, but an actual part of something important. He missed feeling like he belonged.  

He also… missed Dipper. Dipper was the one person in this world that really seemed to get him. Dipper understood his humor and weird interests. Dipper understood why he loved the paranormal but also shied away from kids his own age. Dipper just understood.

Coraline’s next words brought him back to their conversation.

“What about the psy-” Coraline cut herself off, glancing at the front of the car where Perry and Sandra sat. “About Lili and Raz?”

“They’re not sure if they’re going to make it,” Norman said. “They’re a little busy with… stuff. But if they finish early, they’re going to catch the next flight. They’ll take the bus to my house so we won’t have to pick them up.”

“So…” Wybie said just below a whisper. “Translation: They’re on a mission and if they finish it early they’re taking the jet here?”

Coraline smirked. “Thanks for spelling that out for us, Why-born.”

“Hey, I’m just clarifying,” Wybie defended in a low voice. “It’s hard enough to keep up with those two.”

“What are you three whispering about?” Courtney asked suspiciously from her seat in the middle of the car. “You’re, like, nine. You can’t possibly have any interesting secrets.”

“I’m almost fifteen,” Coraline corrected, “And we were just talking about how annoying your Facebook posts are. Seriously, do you really need to change your profile picture every two days?”

Courtney scowled. “Well, that’s what happens when you look good in every picture you take.”

“Yeah, if looking like you put your make-up on in the dark counts as looking good.”

Norman tuned them out as Coraline and Courtney slipped into their familiar bickering. They had never gotten along exactly, but they seemed to enjoy their fights a little too much to actually dislike each other.    

“Enough fighting you two,” Norman’s dad scolded in exasperation.

“So, do you like the summer camp too, Coraline?” Norman’s mother asked. “Norman asked us to send him there every summer. It must be a really good camp.”

“Yeah, it’s surprisingly… exciting,” Coraline said with a smirk. “And the other kids aren’t too bad either.”

“Well, I hope so, since we are letting a bunch of them into our house. It’s almost like we’re inviting the whole camp!” Norman’s father said bitterly.

Norman and Coraline glanced at each other. They hadn’t exactly told their parents that the camp they had been sending them to for the past two summers wasn’t a legitimate camp, and had, in fact, started out as a scam by Dipper and Mabel’s great uncle. If their parents found out how small and very illegal the camp was, there was no way they would allow them to go back.

The airport was normally only a thirty minute drive from Norman’s house, but because of the heavy snowfall earlier in the day, the icy roads had delayed their travel by an extra twenty. By the time they pulled into the Babcock driveway, everyone was hungry and eager to settle in for the night.

There wasn’t much on the television and the only reason why Perry had it on, besides just out of habit, was because he wanted a distraction from the hunger in his stomach as he waited for his wife to finished cooking dinner. He had suggested take-out since it was already getting late thanks to Coraline’s delayed flight, but his wife had been on a health kick for the past few weeks because of some hippy, health nut book she read and she quickly vetoed that suggestion.

Perry heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up from his position on the couch to see Coraline, Norman and their friend making their way down the staircase and into the living room. They had finished putting their suitcases away and were now talking amongst each other.

“Wow,” Coraline said as she looked around the house, placing a hand on her hip. “I haven’t been here in years, but the house looks the same.”

“I hope you kids are hungry,” Sandra said as she came out of the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Umm, Coraline?” Norman asked, his voice soft.

���Yeah?” Coraline looked over at Norman, but he was staring at an empty space next to him.

Norman didn’t answer at first. Instead, he was staring at the empty space as if he was listening to someone.

Perry knew what this meant and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He still never knew what he was supposed to do when his son talked to ghosts.

“Norman?” Coraline asked as her eyes fell onto the space he was looking at.

Coraline’s friend, Wybie, also stared at the spot Norman was looking at; his eyes moved back and forth between Norman and the empty air.

After a moment, Norman looked back at Coraline. “Umm, Grandma says that you’ve grown a lot since she last saw you… and that she likes your blue hair.”

Coraline’s eyes widened as her head whipped around to face the empty spot Norman had been looking at.

“Hi Grandma,” Coraline said with a small smile. “I miss you… and…” her voice caught slightly. “And being able to see you,” She ran a hand through her hair. “And thanks… I think you’re the only adult who likes my hair.”

Perry stared, his eyebrows climbing to the top of his head. Coraline hadn’t even hesitated. She hadn’t seemed confused or questioned Norman. Instead, she had followed Norman’s eye line and started talking to his deceased mother like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Norman chuckled. “She says she misses seeing you too, and that next time you and Aunt Mel and Uncle Charlie with you.”

“My parents are busy on a new catalog or they would have come,” Coraline explained. “Also, I’m not sure my mom would believe Norman about his gift.”

Norman paused for a moment before frowning. “Grandma!”

“What did she say?” Coraline asked.

Norman sighed. “She called Aunt Mel a wet blanket. She said Aunt Mel has always been too serious, even as a kid.”

Coraline laughed. “Yeah, that’s my mom alright. But…” she shrugged with a small smile. “Sometimes she can surprise you.”

Norman paused again, looking over at the spot where his grandmother must be.

“Oh, this is Wybie,” he said, glancing at the boy. “He’s Coraline’s best friend and he goes to camp with us. Sorry I didn’t introduce you. Wybie, this is our grandmother.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Wybie said with a smile, addressing the empty air as easily as Coraline had.

Shocked, Perry looked up at his wife in surprise. She was also watching the conversation from the doorway of the kitchen in stunned silence, her mouth falling open when Wybie addressed Norman’s Grandmother.

Norman glanced the empty space again before turning back to Wybie. “She asked if you have ever been in Massachusetts before.”

Wybie shook his head. “No, I haven’t. I’ve never even been out of Oregon before.”

There was another pause before Norman nodded. “Don’t worry, Grandma, Neil and me will show them around town when everyone arrives tomorrow.”

“Speaking of Neil,” Coraline said, “Is he at home?”

“Yeah, he is really excited to see everybody, but his parents wanted him to have dinner with them tonight. He’ll be over early tomorrow.”

“Well, why don’t you kids get cleaned up?” Sandra suggested suddenly. “I think my timer just went off and I’ll be dishing up soon.”

As the kids headed to the bathroom and Perry shared one more lasting confused look with his wife. Norman never seemed comfortable holding a conversation with the dead and the living at the same time, but around his cousin and that other boy, he acted like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And Coraline…

Perry had never told his sister’s family about his son’s ‘gift’, and he had been taken aback at how easily Coraline talked with her grandmother. On the other hand, Coraline had always been a bit of a weird kid, so maybe he shouldn’t have been that surprised. What surprised him the most, however, was how nonchalant that Wybie kid had been about the whole encounter. It made Perry wonder: What sort of things did they get up to at camp that made talking to ghosts seem so normal?

The airport baggage claim hadn’t changed much from the previous day as Norman and his mother walked through the sliding glass doors. They had left Norman’s dad at home to watch the other kids in order to stop him from complaining about the multiple visits to the airport.

Coraline, Wybie and Neil had wanted to come along with Norman and his mom to pick up the twins, but they all agreed it would be best if they stayed at the house just in case Raz and Lili showed up. None of them had heard anything from the Psychonauts, which wasn’t unusual, but it also meant no one had any idea if they were planning to show up or if they even remembered about the meet-up. 

“So, Norman,” his mom said as they checked the electronic board to make sure the flight was in on time. “You must be really excited to see all your friends again.”

“Yeah,” Norman agreed. “It’s nice that I don’t have to wait for the summer to see them. Thanks for convincing Dad to let them come.”

“No problem, sweetie. They seem like good friends. I like that Wybie kid already.”

Norman smiled. “They are good friends.”

“I noticed…” his mother hesitated. “I noticed he and Coraline didn’t seem surprised that you could talk to your grandmother last night.”

Norman glanced at his mother shyly. It was rare for her to talk about his gift. She never seemed as uncomfortable about it as his father was, but it was not something they often talked about. The only member of his family that openly mentioned it was Courtney, and although she had no problem admitting that she thought it was weird, she also didn’t shy away from the subject like his parents did. She treated it just like another weird thing that her brother did that she didn’t understand. He watched B-rated horror movies, read comic books, and oh yeah, he could talk to the dead.

“Yeah, they don’t really care about stuff like that. W-well, they do care,” Norman stumbled. “But they… they think it’s cool.”

Norman felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder. “I’m really happy for you, Norman. I’m glad your friends know how special you are.”

Norman felt his face grow warm as he avoided looking at his mother. Instead, his eyes scanned the baggage claim area.

“What are your friends’ names again?” His mother asked.

“Mabel and Dipper.”

“That’s right, I remember.” She paused thoughtfully. “Dipper is such a strange name,” she said to herself. She looked down at her son. “What do they look like?”

“They look pretty similar to each other with brown hair and brown eyes,” Norman said. “Mabel will be wearing a very colorful hand-knit sweater. You won’t be able to miss her.”

“How do you know what she’ll be wearing?”

Norman chuckled. “Just trust me on this.”

They searched the baggage claim area for ten minutes, but Norman saw no sign of the twins. He was starting to get worried when suddenly a pair of hands clasped themselves around his eyes.

“Guess who?” A female voice asked with a giggle.

Norman grinned but didn’t turn around.

“Hmm…” he pretended to hum thoughtfully. “Let’s see… wasn’t it: Her Majesty the Knitting Queen and Supreme Ruler of the Universe?”

“You remembered!” Mabel squealed as she lowered her hands.

Norman turned around and was greeted by the sight of a smiling girl wearing a colorful knitted sweater with a snowman on the front.  

“You kept saying that phrase over and over last year. How could anyone forget?”

Mabel threw her arms around his neck, causing him to stumble backwards. “I missed you Normy!”

Norman laughed as he hugged her back awkwardly. “I missed you guys too.”

“Okay Mabel, time to let go before he suffocates.”

Norman looked over Mabel’s shoulder to see a grinning Dipper. Dipper’s brown eyes bright with amusement, and on top of his head was a hat that belonged to Wendy. Norman blinked; he wasn’t used to seeing Dipper without his pine tree hat, but he knew that Dipper and Wendy switched back every summer.

Mabel let go of him and Norman tried to ignore the way his heart rate increased as Dipper greeted him with a hug as well. This seemed to be a common reaction he had to Dipper since last summer, and any attempts to push away the feeling had only made it worse.

“How are you doing, man?” Dipper asked with a wide smile.

“Great! I’m glad you guys were able to come.” Norman couldn’t stop smiling. It felt like summer all over again. Dipper, Mabel, Wybie, Coraline and Neil all in the same place together for winter break. Norman still couldn’t believe this was really happening. His mom took a step close to them. “Oh, this is my mom. Mom, this is Dipper and Mabel.”

“Hi kids!” she greeted. “It’s nice to finally meet both of you.”

“Hi Mrs. Babcock,” Mabel greeted. “It’s nice to meet you too! Thanks for talking with our parents and convincing them to let us come!”

“No problem, sweetie. I understand that they want to get to know the people they are sending their kids to live with for five days.”

“And thanks for letting us stay,” Dipper added. “This is going to be a lot of fun.” Dipper and Norman grinned at each other. Norman had so many things he wanted to talk about with the twins, especially Dipper. They chatted while they were apart, but with the business of the school year made it hard to talk as often as they liked. Norman had a bunch of movies he wanted to show Dipper and he had also just finished a book series that Dipper recommended and he wanted to talk with him about it.

They helped the twins carry their luggage to the car as Norman explained that everyone was here, except for Lili and Raz, whose arrival was uncertain.

“Yeah, I haven’t heard from Lili or Raz in a while,” Mabel said. “I’ve even been sending Lili a bunch of snapchats and she hasn’t responded.”

“Does she usually respond?” Dipper asked.

Mabel shook her head. “No… not normally. Except for this one time where she sent me a snapchat of that time she drew all over Raz’s face when he was asleep. That was hilarious!”

“I don’t think it’s likely that your other two friends will make it, Norman.” His mom cut in. “I haven’t even heard from their parents. Most people don’t like to send their kids to live with strangers without at least talking with an adult first.”

Norman glanced at Dipper and Mabel, all of them thinking roughly the same thing: Most kids weren’t government agents with access to a jet either. However, they couldn’t say that to Norman’s mom.

Instead, Norman just shrugged. “That’s okay, Mom. I know how busy they get. I won’t be surprised if they can’t make it.”

Perry rubbed his temple. He had two kids, he knew kids could be loud, but somehow he had thought that Norman’s friends would be on the quiet side, just like him. Boy, he had been wrong.

From the moment the last two kids arrived, twins from California, the household seemed to have erupted into loud chaos. They had been polite enough; the female twin had introduced herself and her brother to him enthusiastically after she had gone around and given crushing hugs to all her friends. However, the house wasn’t very large, and Perry wasn’t used to having so many children around at once. Perry found it impossible to hear the television until all the kids had gone upstairs to put their suitcases away.

Perry had a difficult time imagining Norman with this many friends. He was certain his son never had more than one friend at a time throughout his entire life and most of those kids had been more acquaintances than friends. Perry supposed this was a good thing that his son was making friends… living friends, that is. His wife and daughter seemed to think so. It was just strange for Perry because he had a hard time imagining his quiet son bonding with so many kids at once, especially someone as loud energetic as the female twin… Maple, or something like that.

The doorbell rang and Perry groaned. He stood up from the couch and made his way to the front door. It was probably a package that his daughter ordered or someone trying to sell him something.

When Perry opened the door, he found himself staring down at an unusual sight before him.

Standing on his front porch were two kids, a boy and a girl who both looked slightly younger than his son. The boy wore an old bomber jacket, which had been patched up multiple times, a thick sweater underneath the jacket, and a strange cap with goggles on top of his head. He was smiling warmly, but with an air of confidence that most kids didn’t possess. The girl next to him was frowning darkly. She was wearing a pink and black winter coat and back pants. The make-up around her eyes was darker than it had any right to be on a child so young. The word “goth” popped into Perry’s head; a word that he had learned from his daughter, but somehow he found that word didn’t seem to completely suit the girl in front of him.

“Hello, you must be Mr. Babcock,” the boy said with a surprising amount of charm. It was then that Perry noticed the two small duffle bags next to the kids. “I’m Raz and this is Lili. We’re friends of Norman. I hope we didn’t arrive too late. We ended up missing our bus here.”

Perry just continued to stare for a moment longer. His stomach twisted in the same way it did when Norman talked to ghosts. There was something… off about these kids.

An irrational part of Perry just wanted to close the door. Instead, he turned his head and shouted loud enough for his son to hear him from the second floor.

“Norman, two more of your friends are here!”

What followed this announcement was an ear-piercing squeal of, “They’re here!” that could have only come from the female twin. He could hear the sound of loud footsteps on the stairs and something colorful darted past him and threw its arms around the two kids standing in the doorway.

The two new kids stumbled backwards only one step as the female twin crashed into him. They seemed to have been prepared for the sudden assault and they weren’t knocked completely off balance.

“You’re here, you’re here, you’re here!” the girl shouted as she hugged them both at the same time.

The girl, Lili, looked annoyed at the sudden contact, where the boy, Raz, just laughed and hugged her back.

“Wow, you two actually made it,” Coraline said in amazement and Perry turned to see that the other kids had made their way downstairs as well.

Raz and Lili managed to pull the girl off of them, but she continued to stand next to them, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.

“Yeah, sorry we didn’t get a chance to contact you guys,” Raz said. “We didn’t think we would be able to make it but then our thing ended… early.”

Lili scowl deepened. “Yeah, too early.”

Perry wasn’t sure what to make of this conversation. What sort of a thing could two kids be doing that would end early and allow for them to travel who-knows how far and visit their friend at the last minute?

“Well, I’m glad you guys were able to make it,” Norman said hesitantly and his eyebrows creased worriedly. “But is everything… okay? You guys don’t have to be here if you have stuff you have to do.”

Raz just grinned and waved his hand leisurely. “Don’t worry about it, everything will be fine. There is nothing we can do at the moment and we need a break. Right, Lils?” He placed an arm around her shoulders.

To Perry’s surprise, the girl’s stormy expression seemed to clear considerably at the boy’s touch. She looked up at the other kids and let out a frustrated sigh. “As much as I hate to say it, Raz is right. There is nothing we can do for now and a break wouldn’t hurt.”

Perry frowned in confusion at the vague answers and complete lack of a proper explanation. According to his wife, they hadn’t heard anything from these kids’ parents and then they just showed up out of nowhere? It was odd to say the least.

“Well, come on in already,” Perry said, tired of not understanding the conversation, but unwilling to just stand around in confusion. “You’re letting all the warm air out.”

Raz and Lili grabbed their bags, which Perry noticed were the smallest bags compared to the rest of the other kids’ luggage. They were obviously both used to traveling light. Once everyone was inside, Perry closed the door.

“Do you guys know what this means?” Neil exclaimed in excitement. “We actually did it! We’re officially all here! The MK are back together for a third time!”

The MK? What does that mean? Perry thought to himself absentmindedly as he locked the door.

“It’s just a team name we gave ourselves our first summer at camp,” the boy, Raz, explained to him with a smile.

Perry blinked down at the boy. Had he asked the question out loud? He hadn’t thought he did, but maybe it had slipped out without him noticing, or maybe Raz had just wanted to explain it to him. Either way, Perry felt strangely unnerved by the whole situation.

His wife, who had heard the commotion, had come down stairs to greet the new kids and instructed them on where to put their suitcases.

Perry watched the kids go, his mind thinking back to a conversation he had with his son over a year ago.

When Perry first sent Norman to the summer camp, he had told his son not to tell the other kids about his ‘gift’. Perry knew that just like at school, the other kids at camp would think Norman was weird or lying about his powers. He had just wanted to protect his son and help him make friends.

However, Wybie and Coraline had known about his ‘gift’, and he wondered if the other kids knew about Norman’s powers as well. Perry’s first instinct was Norman wouldn’t have this many friends if they knew about his ‘gift’, and therefore, they didn’t know. 

However, there was something about these kids and the comfortable way Norman seemed to interact with them that made Perry doubt himself. Sure, most normal kids would have avoided Norman when they learned about his gift, but Perry had a feeling that these kids… especially the two that had just arrived, were anything but normal.

Okay I hope you guys liked part 1. Let me know what you think! And the next chapter of my Whispering Rock fic and part 2 of this fic should be out very soon!

#mystery kids #Mystery Kids Case Files #gravity falls #paranorman #coraline #psychonauts

[msawesomegeek]

My top 10 sub-genred movies

Inspired by cinefix, I wanted to try and challenge myself, to see if I could too discribe my top ten super specific genre movies that I love. 

If you like this thing that I am doing, and you wanna see more, check out here, when I get really personal and tell you 30 movies that has been the building blocks in my 21 years of life (though from 2018). You can read that here. Fair warning, this turned out super long, but I had fun with the format so I hope you will too. Also since I am talking about movies freely, note that there may be spoilers about any of the movies listed her, this was your formal warning! 

1. Favorite classic danish movies - Sømand I knibe Starting off with some old stuff from my childhood, my first pick, comes from an era of film where they had just added colour, but it was still rolling on actual film. This is an era of films produced from the 40s to the mid 50s. Danish cinema from this time is its own brand of fantastic. All movies consists of heartwarming comedies that value family and the simple life on a farm. The good guys always win. Looking back, these movies has some fantastic music and makes the weather in my country look like spring time every day. However the thing I love most about these movies are its quirky humor, that has most certainly influenced me throughout my life. With a lot of movies starring Dirch Passer who is always a delight, and I almost considered picking a movie called Sønnerne fra Vingaarden solely because it features the funniest movie song known to man (A man singing about how drunk a horse called Nuller is.) I also considered giving this slot to one of the Olsen Banden films, it is a hilarious serious and asks the question: What if criminals were lovable goofy and combined with the perfect straighten and hilarious plots? The answer a set of cinematic masterpieces (at least if it was being measured in delight.) my pick for this slot did however end up going to Sømand I knibe. This movie has everything Dirch Passer being hilarious, Otto Brandenburg singing beautifully and looking good doing it. And everyone else acting their asses off in a heartwarming story that you just can not help but love. It is a perfect example of this sub-genre of movies, and one of my go to movies to watch when I am having a bad day. 

2. Films that I was forced to watch in school, but somehow ended up falling in love with - Trainspotting & Dead poets society

We all remember that gleeful feeling of seeing a TV rolling into the classroom. Watching films in school was amazing school wise, but could also spoil a good film, when you were forced to watch it sitting next to your annoying classmate. More than one movie has been ruined by being showed to me at school at too young an age, I still have nightmares about button eyes from Coraline, and I have still not dared to re-watch Lord of the flies after seeing both of those movies at the age of 11. Mostly my school years have traumatised me when it came to movies, or introduced me to lovely period pieces that I do love to this day like A Royal affair and All Quiet on the western front. However, my pick in this category has to go to my english teachers in high school. I had two wonderfully insane english teachers in high school that I am glad was allowed to show us the movies they did. Therefore this slot is a tie between two films I watched in english class, Dead poets society and Trainspotting. Two wildly different movies but also kind of similar in topic - adolensence (fitting). I hated reading Dead Poets Society when we did so my first year of high school english, the movie seemed boring at first as well, however as soon as Robin Williams utters the words carpe diem as Mr. Keating I was sold. This movie is beautiful, fun, magical and heartbreak all wrapped into a rollercoaster of a movie that is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking. A movie that will make me forgive same teacher for showing us the terrible Romeo + Juliet later that same year. My second slot Trainspotting was in my last year of high school with a much different teacher, he was kind of Mr. Keating, let us do wild creative things, he let us do a rap battle in class, while listening to some killer punk or hip hop music, he has sleeve tattoos but is one of the nicest guys I ever knew. However what I love him for most now, is introducing me to the masterpiece of a film that is Trainspotting. Trainspotting is Scottish, high and low, beautiful, whimsical and fun, while being horrible and terrifying at the same time. It is a movie about drug addiction, friendship, family and stabbing your friends in the back. It is till this day still one of my favourite films and I have my old (kick ass) english teacher to thank for that. 

3. Weird and whimsical comedy movies - Monty Python Life of Brian

Moving on from school, I wanna talk about the movies that brighten your day. These are the movie you put on a rainy day or when you're feeling depressed to remind yourself, that maybe, just maybe the world is not as bad as it all seems. I am talking, Ferris Bueller's day off, Singing in the rain, The grand Budapest Hotel, Lemony Snickets a series of unfortunate events and Wayne’s World. However, to me, nothing cheers me up like watching Monty Pythons Life Of Brian. One of my all time favourite movies, and hell this movie even has my favourite song in it. This is a movie from my childhood, it reminds me of a simpler time watching movies with my dad, and it looks damn good doing it. This movie to me has no faults. It is hilarious, and while I do adore the “I fart in your general direction” “I’m being repressed” and “Its merely a flesh wound” tomfoolery of the holy grail, Life of Brian is sacred to me. The holy grail is funny to the bone, but Life of Brian is funny and tells a compelling story while making you laugh your ass off. And for that reason my slot goes to Monty Pythons Life of Brian, making me say, Holy Grail Ite Domum! 

4. Action movies where you know they had fun while making it - Kingsmen the secret service

Transitioning smoothly from goofy comedies, we go to my other weirdly specific sub genre of movies, the movie that is fun to watch, where you can feel that someone had a lot of fun while making all of this. It is the kind of action movies where you know, someone said fuck it, this could be awesome, lets do it, and then went out and did just that. It is Action movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribien Curse of the black perle, Zombieland, Goodfellas, Fast Five, The Gentlemen and my pick, Kingsmen The secret service. Forgetting the sequel ever existed, I love this movie! From the moment I first saw this movie in theaters I have been in love. It takes everything from the spy genre that had become too serious with Daniel Craig’s Bond and made it great again. Coming from an era of action movies where everything was serious and gritty and dark (almost noir action), this movie came bursting out in all its glory. It has fantastically choreographed fight scenes in a world that was dominated by shaky cams. It was hilarious while still taking itself seriously, it had heart while being witty and charming. It knew what it was and it used it to an perfect extent! If you wanna know exactly how to make the perfect long take or fight scene? Look no further than the bar fight and Church fight scene from this movie. This movie is entertaining through and through and it looks damn good doing it! To me this movie has no faults. It is a movie that gives zero fucks, and in no other movie has it been more clear how much fun everyone involved had making it. 

5. Movies that turn me into a blubbering crying mess - Lilo & Stitch.

Moving on from the fantastic, witty, whimsical and fun is the other end of the spectrum. These are the kinds of movies that has you crying your own eyes out while it breaks your heart into a million pieces. It is films like Titanic, Harry Potter and the half blood prince, Schindlers List, The Hunger Games and my pick, Lilo and Stitch. Disney and Pixar will always have a special place in all of our hearts, nothing makes me bawl like a baby like watching Dumbo being sung his lullaby with his mother in a cage, or seeing Remmy beaten down in Ratatuille. Hell the ending alone from Toy Story 3 is enough to make any strong adult curl into a ball of sadness. And while I most definitely cried at those movies, and also spent a while even some times afterwards crying of the movies I listed above, nothing will till this day beat Lilo & Stitch. The tale of a girl who was bullied and weird like me, finding her alien friend and a new family is a beautiful and fantastic story. As I have grown older and lost a parent of my own I cry even more through out the movie, and till this day I tear up just writing, thinking or saying: Ohana means family, family means, nobody gets left behind, or forgotten.

(Give me a moment to gather my tears before we move on here).

6. Films that changed my mind - Inception

Moving on from movies that made me laugh, made me cry to movies that made me think. Thee movies that blew my mind were the kind of movies that when you're done makes you think back and reevaluate your life. It is the movies that makes you answer the question: what if that was real? Holy shit! It is movies like The Matrix, The Truman show, The Hunger Games/Battle Royal, Birdman and my pick; Inception. While maybe a little cliche, this movie truly does blow your mind. It alters the way you look at your own world while also being a fantastic action movie. Is this a dream? Is the movie all a dream, or is it reality? It is like swallowing the blue in the Matrix but still not being entirely sure what is the goo and what is reality. This movie has some truly stunning visuals, and while we all love the dark knight, Inception is truly as good a contender to being crowned Nolans masterpiece. This movie till this day blows my mind while I am simultaneously being entertained, and for that it gets a spot on this list. 

7. Movies that pulled the rug from under me in a spectacular way - The handmaiden.

Moving seamlessly along to this category is the movies that blows your mind within its own movie. It is the movies that reveal that it was all a dream and are damn good at it. It is movies like the Sixth sense and Fight club, would both be natural picks for this category, as would Old boy, Birdman and even the Wizard of Oz. However my pick is a lot more recent and a movie that has truly blown my mind not only once, not just twice but three times, is the spectacular South Korean 2016 film The Handmaiden. The Handmaiden is the movie if Fight club had a baby with Old boy and the story structure of Inglorious Basterds. The movie split into 4 parts reveals something incredibly smart, that was right in front of your nose the whole time but you never noticed, replaying events to show you how you were a fool all along and back to the present where the consequences of all of this is then unfolded until the next chapter begins and reveals something entirely different. It is a masterpiece in plot twists and a movie I have loved since seeing it the first time. So while the reveal of Tyler may be great, it does not have the same impact like being fooled not only once, but three times, while being entertained to the fullest, never being able to look away from the screen for a second! 

8. Movies that has your eyes glued to the screen - Inglorious Basterds/ Joker

Moving perfectly along into my next category is the movies that are so intense you can’t look away from the screen. The world could be ending outside and there is nothing that can make you look away from that god damn screen. The movie equivalent of just one more episode! It is for me mostly thrillers, movies like; Good Fellas, The Handmaiden, The Gentlemen, Battle Royal, The Platform, Reservior Dogs, The Hateful Eight and The Dark Knight. However I could not pick between my two top choices therefore this spot is also split between an old time favourite; Iglorious Basterds and new comer Joker. Inglorious Basterds is tied with a few others from this list to being my favourite movie. It is a 3 hour long Tarantino movie that feels like time is flying by when you're having that much of a good time! It has humor, heart and scalping Nazi’s which is something we all need in our life! However the reason this movie is so fantastic is those elements of violent delights and funny scenes combined with the intensity of the other half of the movie. Making a glass of Milk and a strudel with whipped cream on it seem intimidating and holding a scene so intense you're holding your breath. While other times it is both intense to the extreme while being funny and mocking their italian accents. This movie is a god damn masterpiece and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise!  The other movie is weird but has certainly earned its spot on this list. Joker, is one of the most intense and insane movies I have watched in a long time. While it lacks the good time of Inglorious Basterds and The Gentlemen, it makes up for it in pure intensity. The blur between reality and surrealism blended perfectly with the slow burning melt down of a man getting more and more broken as the run time goes on, is painful and intriguing to watch. This movie had me literally sitting at the edge of my seat painfully yet gleefully waiting to see what Jauquin Pheonix’s Joker could do next. It is though controversial, still an amazing film that I barely dared to blink while watching, scared to miss even a minute!

9. Fantastic films that no one else has heard of - Gentleman Broncos.

Second to last comes a sub-genre I rarely seek out but usually stumble upon accidentally. It is a category that actually makes me sad that it is like so. Between being happy that it can be my little secret great movie, and being sad that no one else gets the experience the wonders this movie has to offer! It is the movies that I sometimes have to convince my friends are not just made up, they are the niche of the niche and I wonder if anyone besides me not even the people that made it has even seen it? It is the movies I wish more people would see if they could just look past all of the blockbuster crap that we wasted our time on instead (you know who you are, Suicide Squad) They are the kind of movies so unknown they barely even have a cult following/status. It is movies like: The Gentlemen, A stupid and futile gesture, The Handmaiden, Circ Du Freak, my close second; The Voices but my pick; Gentleman Broncos. While I truly love all of the movies above, no movie has I been so alone in loving as with Gentleman Broncos. Stumbling upon it at the library it is a movie I have mentioned to many and has yet to meet anyone who has seen it before. The movie is weird to say the least, a coming of age sci fi comedy that looks exactly as weird as it sounds. It has the deadpannest of humor, but is hilarious up to par with a monty python movie. It has great actors, and half of it consists of what can only be described as doctor Who has an acid trip. It is to me a cinematic masterpiece because it is so fantastically surreal and dares to be nothing short of weird. Sadly, no one is willing to watch it with me!

10. Movies for the cinephile - Scream

Lastly, we come to the movies that honor movies. If this list or the rest of my tumblr is to be quickly summarised it would be with the world: Film-nerd.  I have since I have been a kid loved watching movies, and still make a habit of going to the movies alone to truly enjoy them to the fullest. I love movies, I am in no way shy about that. And like any other pretentious film nerd, I enjoy a good reference to other movies. Therefore my last category is dedicated to movies celebrating the media we all love! Movies like; Inglorious Basterds or Once Upon a time in Hollywood (basically anything Tarantino touches has a loveletter to the film media), The Truman Show, Adaptation, Big Fish (being an homage to great storytelling in my opinion) and my pick, though not directly about movie it is the movie dubbed; The scary movie for people who watch scary movies, and the only horror movie on my list, Scream.  Scream is the horror movie that has a special place in my heart. It is like a parody but instead of making fun of it, it takes everything that is fantastic about the horror genre and turns it into a masterpiece while pointing out the rules of the genre it is currently acting within and either having characters outright break them or letting the genre be the inspiration for their heinous crimes. It is the horror movie about the cinephile, while being funny, entertaining, just the right amount of scary and fantastically creative and gory when it comes to committing murders. It is an interesting story and it is in my opinion the perfect horror movie, therefore also the perfect movie about and for the cinephile. 

If you made it this far, then wow, incredible, I hope you liked what you read, and tell me if there is any movies you think I missed or have any ideas what I should watch, rank or review next? 

#top ten movie #top ten movies

[some-flyleaves]

for “no particular reason” some thoughts on stuff I’ve watched/read lately

spoilers ahead but most of these have been out for a while by now

Beauty and the Beast remake

overall entertaining and well-animated, though I still prefer the original

some of the story tweaks were neat and I especially liked the subplot about the cursed servants becoming less sentient(?) as time went on

others were kinda unnecessary imo, the whole opening scene being a glaring example. also giving the Enchantress a bigger role is neat in theory but kinda definitely raises a few Questions

not fond of the autotuned lead singer which is even more obvious comparing soundtracks

the furniture designs cannot grow on me They Simply Can Not, you can’t get nearly as many lines of action or squash & stretch out of a hyperrealistic CGI teapot

on that note the original’s beast design is still the best design, shout-out to my family for calling the live-action prince a “surfer dude”

at the end of the day idk what to make of the LeFou Discourse(TM) but shout-out to the little bit where Potts was like “you’re too good for him [Gaston]” and all things considered I thought it was a biiit more than what those cynical meme posts suggest. mind I’m not sure what I would’ve thought if I didn’t know about the whole shebang beforehand

it was apparently enough to get the film banned in a few countries, which doesn’t equal Instant Representation Pinnacle obviously but ehhhh that’s another topic for another time

Maleficent is still the best live-action “remake” of the films disney’s been churning out lately imo my onion, but I can’t say any of them have really disappointed me? (unless the first Alice counts; all I remember is that it was weird, which I guess is a given considering the source material but idk live action loses so much charm. definitely haven’t watched the second and have no interest in thereof)

anyway Mulan is one of my favorites so fingers crossed...!

Moana

very predictable but heck if that oscar bait song hasn’t been intermittently stuck in my head since

big earworm shout-outs to “You’re Welcome” and “Shiny” too but this website has ruined the latter sequence to an extent because I’m half convinced someone in production there has a vore fetish

in any case that was way too good a villain song for a one-scene show-stealer wtf the fuck

Moana’s voice & overall expressiveness fuels my soul

also it was GORGEOUS, more than compensates for another ~coming of age~ plot with fantastic colors

I have a lot of questions about the sentience of the ocean

what do you mean the Obligatory Animal Companion was a chicken and not the pig

okay ngl I didn’t quite catch the angry volcano spirit woman also being the green lady? I don’t think...? aw heck it’s been a little while by now but the ending was neat

how fucking old is Maui

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle - if you recognize that name it’s because, as I found out after reading, he’s the guy who leads the band responsible for a song I had on repeat hell for at least a couple months after discovering it via this wonderful, wonderful "lyric.. comic... thing” </ungodly run-on>

if this seems completely out of nowhere it’s because it is. I’ve jacketed and shelved a lot of new books, and while a good handful catch my interest, few compel me to check it out before heading home for the day

off the top of my head the other most recent book this happened with was No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale (heads up for a non-graphic image of hanging on the cover), which was... oh holy shit that was over three years ago I don’t read often enough nowadays x_x

that one started strong but, around if not at the point where the protag was making out with the secondary dude, took a sharp turn towards the cliche & general What Is This Fuckery. but I digress

seriously no image on the internet can do this cover justice, the vaguely vaporwave-lookin part is actually very dark and the whole thing shines like one of those rain puddles mixed with.. gasoline? oil?? whatever makes it rainbow-y at a certain angle

I only skimmed the inside flap description before diving right in the night I took it out, and I realized a good chapter or two in that I’d unintentionally picked up a horror novel.

well. kinda? horror-ish?? despite there being no killer on the loose, no supernatural monster on the prowl, not even an invasion of alien farmers federally paid to invade your small town, basically no imminent looming dagger above the protagonist’s head, it’s VERY unsettling for the most part and I gotta give it major kudos for that

<SPOILER class=“mild”>also huge shout-out to the subtle switch to first-person at a key moment, then scattered throughout from there on.</SPOILER> it was at that point I had to reread the description to see what I’d actually gotten myself into and decided I was gonna read this sucker in one sitting or I wouldn’t be able to sleep

(skip this bullet point if you don’t like vague ending spoilers) despite that it manages to leave off on a somber, even sentimental note. pretty darn satisfying, though upon further thought there are a few big questions left unanswered that probably should’ve been addressed. (/vague end spoilers)

overall I’d recommend it if you’re looking for an interesting little read that might send a few chills from atmosphere alone but also makes you think*. just don’t start reading expecting a chapter or two before bed will do help you fall asleep.

*yeah yeah I know “makes you think” is something of a meme phrase at this point, but screw it I like my media when it actually engages the viewer/reader for more satisfying payoff. I’m not a fan of the “lol intellectualis” thing anyway V: but I digress.

Kubo and the Two Strings

ftr the record I called Beetle being the dad from his debut

my god Laika really likes their bugs and creepy hands (based on this and Coraline at least, I’ve seen ParaNorman but don’t remember much). this is absolutely a compliment.

voice acting didn’t thrill me, with the exceptions of the old lady & spirit sisters, but got dang those facial expressions

magic worldbuilding left a lot to be desired but it took place in fantasy China(/Japan? as with The Last Airbender I think we’re looking at another fictional Asian blend) and I for one am a sucker for that so I can let it slide

climactic fight felt kinda shoehorned, when the moon spirit dude showed up looking like a nice old man I almost thought they were gonna go for a less confrontational ending sequence - which I guess it kinda did but also the obligatory “join me and we can rule forever” stuff came up. I dunno I liked the spirit fish form ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

don’t get me wrong here I did enjoy it, I guess I was just expecting a lot more from all the talk about kids being able to handle mature themes and whatnot? ah well the conflict wasn’t quite Good Versus Evil so that was neat

was the moon spirit just a regular old dude all along though? is the moon going to rise again even with him hanging out among mortals? is he mortal now?? how does the Plot Amnesia work???? can someone tell him who he really was even if it’s not flattering??????

idk for some reason I feel like I’m being harsher here than anything else so far, really did enjoy it though. LOVED the 2d animation in the credits and I absolutely must emphasize how fucking awesome the animation is, being primarily stop-motion and all. they set a very high standard with Coraline and cartwheeled over it with Kubo holy hell

also I have a new desktop background

Wings of Fire Book 1: The Dragonet Prophecy - Iiiii actually haven’t finished reading this one just yet, saving the last part for when I finish at least one mcfucking assignment, but here goes nothin:

if you take a shot for every blatant violation of Show Don’t Tell you’ll be dead three chapters in, not sure if that’s because this is a middle-grade book or what

that said I find the plot & its overall direction intriguing enough to continue and, much as I may internally groan at the repetitive characterization and disney villain dialogue, I thought it was worthwhile and already have the next book checked out ;V

what can I say there are dragons there’s a war and it’s a very interesting take on the whole “because you are the Chosen Ones we will raise you here for hero training” deal

there’s also some intriguing worldbuilding with regards to the “scavengers” and “the Scorching,” not sure how much those are covered in this book but a friend who recommended the series in the first place says it’s some kind of post-apocalyptic thing?? nice.

not really related but shout-out to that one commenter in Script Frenzy who told me it was jarring or weird or something to have my dragon protags straight-up eat a few human researchers. I mean they weren’t wrong and it’s not like the WoF good guys have eaten any people (onscreen, at least) but still. I don’t read dragon stories for the humans >:T

in any case, sorta wondering if that one surviving scavenger will come back in any way later...? chekov’s human.

but seriously we don’t need to be beaten over the head with exactly why each dramatic plot twist is indeed dramatic, I could practically hear the manufactured gasps

despite that there are also descriptive passages of fun events like characters getting their necks snapped or screaming in agony as poison seeps through their scales! and we've barely scraped the surface of the Horrors of War!! >:Dc

conclusion of sorts for this disorganized mishmash of bullet points: why yes I am one of those unrelatable fucks who doesn’t buy the whole “I will defend a shitty shebang of a plot if the characters connect” thing how are you. what can I say, even if I don’t have any particular fandoms right now, I still have Thoughts On Media and no one can stop me from throwing a good ~90 minutes into typing ‘em up despite having other responsibilities ;’V

tune in next time for... well honestly I dunno if this is gonna become a regular thing, but whatever thanks for readin feel free to like reply and follow and see you next time on a-flyleaf dot tungler dot corn~

#''no particular reason'' by which I mean Procrastination Supreme #.rtf #*watches this get longer than my current essay in progress* swell!