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beefromanoff · 2 months

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Going Under Ch. 34

summary: the next morning, Bucky sees a doctor for his injuries, Steve and Nat fly in and get caught up.

characters: Bucky Barnes x OC

soundtrack: wake me - bleachers

warnings: fluff, pop star fantasy x love story, set in an AU where the Avengers reunite after Civil War, pre-infinity war, slight angst, hurt/comfort, lonely reader/OC.

author’s note: i'm baaaack! I really wanted to let the last chapter sink in for a while, so I've been writing for my other story (master list) but this one isn't over yet! the main story arc is pretty much complete, but if you love this story and want me to keep going for the sake of fluff and fun and these characters we love, just let me know! I have so much fun writing them and I love to hear that you guys love it, too.

thank you to @charmedbysarge and @wasalreadyhere for the love and reviews on the last chapter and making me feel special. ily ily ily.

XO, ENJOY

chapter list

"You better mean it. Once you say those words, I'm never letting go of you again." He met her gaze with a seriousness that matched hers.

She leaned forward, gently resting her hands on his cheeks as she leaned close and pressed the softest kiss to his swollen lips. "I mean it," she whispered.

Gianna's heart fluttered as she gazed into Bucky's eyes, the intensity in them threatening to overtake her. Their lips had just met in a tender kiss, the first in weeks. Her breaths were shallow. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The world around them, the pain and the heartache of the past few weeks, all of it faded away. All that was real sat across from her, bruised and blue-eyed, and so heartbreakingly beautiful.

Before she could take another breath, he moved. One hand cupped her cheek and the other grasped the nape of her neck, fingers tangling in the still-wet ringlets. He pulled her close, leaning forward with the slightest groan to meet her in the middle. Their lips collided. The kiss was deep, desperate, all-encompassing. Her hands held his head, grounding her, reminding her that this was real. He was here. He was finally here.

His hand trailed down her back, holding her so close to his chest that she could feel his heartbeat. Or maybe that was the throbbing of his swollen ribs. Shit.

“Bucky,” She pulled away breathlessly, worry etched on her face. His eyes were hazy, still focused on her lips.

“No,” He muttered, voice low. “Not yet.”

His lips met hers again, warm and familiar and greedy. Gianna felt herself sigh into the kiss. How long had she been waiting, dreaming of this? The past few weeks had felt like withdrawing from a drug. Now, here she was, high all over again. His lips worked in perfect sync with her own, slow and deliberate, but unrelenting. Parting his lips, Bucky gently angled her head in his palm, his tongue tracing hers as her own lips separated. Gianna’s heart pounded in her chest, her stomach, her toes.

She wanted him, all of him, now and tomorrow and always. She wanted him in her bed, on her counter, on this goddamn dining room table. She wanted his kiss, his smile, his groggy morning eyes, his laughter, his tears, his darkness and all of his light. She wanted everything. She wanted it so badly she felt another round of hot tears spill out and streak down her face. He must have felt it on his hand, pulling away from the kiss, brows knit together.

“What’s wrong?”

She titled her head, running a hand along the side of his face, tracing his jawline. “Absolutely nothing. Everything is right.” She leaned in, and gently kissed his cheek, lips featherlight on the bruise there. “Almost everything.”

Bucky gave her a half-grin, hands still holding her close. Removing one from her back, he ran his thumb along her lower lip, wiping the corner. “Almost everything.” Glancing down, she saw blood on his thumb. His blood. “Sorry.” His eyes showed anything but regret.

“I’m not.” As if to prove it, she leaned back in and kissed him, hard. He tasted perfect and salty and metallic, sweat still coating his skin and fresh blood leaking from the newly opened split lip. His hands tightened on her lower back as he shifted beneath her. The kiss was sloppy, tears and blood and long overdue kisses all melting together to create one intoxicating cocktail. Time became a long forgotten concept.

As they parted, Gianna's concern returned as she noticed the subtle grimace on Bucky's face, a silent testament to the pain he was enduring. With gentle fingers, she traced the outline of the bruise marring his jawline, her touch tender yet tinged with worry.

"Bucky, we really should to get you to a doctor," she urged softly, her voice laced with apprehension. Bucky's response was a barely perceptible shake of his head, his gaze unwavering as it met hers.

“I’m fine.” His eyes remained fixed on her lips. “See?” Again, he shifted beneath her, showing her just how fine he was.

Biting her lip, Gianna did her best to extinguish the fire inside her. “Buck, I’m not going anywhere. We have time.” She tucked a strand of dark hair behind his ear. “I promise.”

His eyes flicked up to hers. “Just…not yet. I want to be here with you," he murmured, his voice laced with a mixture of vulnerability and longing. “Let me have tonight.”

“I’m calling Steve first thing tomorrow morning. You’re seeing a doctor.” Her eyes narrowed at his grin.

“Fine.” He leaned back in to kiss her, but Gianna gently gripped his chin.

“No extracurriculars tonight, either. You are in no condition.”

Bucky opened his mouth to protest, but Gianna pressed her palm to his chest, putting light pressure against his collarbone. He instantly grimaced, leaning back in the chair. “Point proven.”

He looked like he wanted to argue again, but knew she was right. They had time. This, them together, it was long overdue, but it wasn’t going anywhere. He had waited for months to even get to kiss her. Then he’d lost her, and spent weeks agonizing over what he’d lost, not knowing if he’d ever find it again. Now, she was here, on his lap, staring down at him with worry-laced green eyes. The world felt like it had stopped spinning. If that was the case, if time had truly stopped and they were to live in this moment, in this apartment, with only each other for the rest of time…he’d thought he made it to Heaven after all.

“Come on,” Gianna stood to her feet, tugging on his hand. “I’ll warm up the bath.”

“Fuck,” Bucky sucked in a breath as the doctor tugged on his shoulder with a scrape and a click.

Gianna blinked, returning to the present moment as she found herself back in the Avengers’ Tower. She’d called Steve first thing that morning, he and Natasha had met them at the compound with one of the SHIELD doctor’s in less than an hour. The atmosphere was charged with a mix of concern and relief as Dr. Cove tended to Bucky's injuries with practiced expertise. Usually stationed at the compound, she was an older woman with a no-nonsense attitude who was incredibly well-versed in emergency medical and orthopedic injuries. She was the one who met the team in the hangar if a mission had gone sideways. Patching people up was her specialty, bedside manner, not so much.

“Keep still,” She instructed, her accent thick as she fitted a sling around Bucky’s right shoulder. He met Gianna’s eyes, winking at her from where he sat on the medical table. The medical wing at the Tower was yet another floor she hadn’t seen. It was smaller than the one at the compound, but equally as sleek. Frankly, she didn’t care for it. Memories of the attack at her concert and the fear following it peppered her mind. Bucky must have read her gaze, winking at her. Leave it to him to be concerned for her as his collarbone was being set.

“How’s it feel, Buck?” Steve stood, arms crossed, grinning. Clearly unconcerned about the injury, likely having seen much worse on his friend. In all fairness, the worst of it had healed by the time they woke up that morning.

Gianna had a fitful sleep, waking up every few hours to make sure he was still there, still breathing. She worried that waiting to go to the doctor would make things worse, that somehow in the night, all the bliss would go away. Bucky, however, had slept like a rock. Something that, judging from the dark circles beneath his eyes, hadn’t happened in a while. He’d kept one arm firmly wrapped around her waist the whole night, but hadn’t stirred. When they woke up this morning, the bruises were mostly green and yellow, save for the worst ones on his ribs. The swelling had gone down, cuts and scraped all scabbed and sealed.

“Good as new.” Bucky turned his attention to Steve, looking just as ornery as his friend. Beside her, Gianna saw Nat roll her eyes.

“What’s his downtime look like, doc?” Steve asked Dr. Cove. She looked at him over the top of her glasses, unamused.

“No activity, one week. No lift, no fight, no fuck.” She stared directly at Bucky, unflinching, although she was still much shorter than him while he was sitting down. “You understand.”

Bucky coughed, stifling his chuckle. “Yes. Yes ma’am.”

With one last disapproving glance at him, she tossed the roll of bandages back in her drawer. “He is fine. Check in if pain bad.”

“Thank you, Dr. Cove.” Nat said warmly as the doctor walked out of the room, waving her hand over her head in acknowledgement.

“You’re the best, doc!” Bucky called after her.

“I know.” Her voice echoed in from the hallway.

Steve exchanged a knowing glance with Nat before speaking up, his tone gentle yet probing. "So, you gonna tell us what happened, or do we not get that privilege?"

“I mean, we did fly all the way out here to help.” Nat kicked Bucky’s shoe playfully.

Bucky's gaze flickered briefly to Gianna before he replied, his expression unreadable. "Just a little run-in with an overzealous robot," he quipped, though there was a hint of evasion in his tone.

Nat arched an eyebrow, her keen gaze fixed on Bucky. "Really?" she remarked, her tone teasing yet perceptive. “That’s all you’re gonna give us, Barnes?”

Bucky's lips twitched in a wry smile as he glanced at Gianna. "It’s kind of a long story.”

“I’ve got time.” She shrugged. “Steve, you got time?”

He made a show of looking at his watch. “I’ve got lots of time, as a matter of fact. I’ve got all day.”

Running his tongue across his teeth, Bucky watched Gianna, who shrugged. “Fine. It’s not like I can do anything fun today anyway.”

“We’ll try not to take that personally, Barnes.” Nat rolled her eyes as she linked arms with Gianna. “Sounds like it’s time for a breakfast date.”

_____________

The cozy diner exuded a welcoming atmosphere as the four settled into their booth, the scent of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the aroma of sizzling bacon and eggs. Bucky sat with his back slightly leaned against the wall, his right arm cradled in a sling in front of him. An uncharacteristic grin played on his face, having been there most of the morning. The group gave a chorus of thanks to the waitress who poured them all cups of coffee, doing her best not to overpour as she ogled at the group.

"So, Buck, how's the arm feeling?" Steve asked, sipping the coffee.

“Haven’t felt it in a few decades, seems to be doing okay.” Bucky lifted his left arm, the metal glinting as he flexed his hand.

“Someone’s feeling chipped today.” Nat smirked. “Could it be this mysterious and miraculous reunion?”

Gianna blushed, sipping her own coffee to avoid answering the question.

“Oh, come on. Enough with the games.” Nat rolled her eyes, sitting back in the booth. “I was here, what? A week ago? All I know is Wanda and I had a come-to-Jesus with you, Barnes, then you suddenly come back to life and insist we go to New York that night because you just had to find Gianna. We get our asses in gear, put lipstick on while flying a Quinjet, for God’s sake, and next thing I know…you leave us at the club.” She crossed her arms, looking at Bucky expectantly. “I think I deserve some details.”

Looking at Bucky incredulously, Gianna set her mug down on the table. “‘What?! You came to New York last week? You went to a nightclub?”

Steve looked blankly between them as Bucky ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah…I uh, planned to do the whole last night thing about a week ago.” He shot Natasha a thanks a lot look, but she only raised her eyebrows at him. “I wasn’t doing so hot there for a while.”

Natasha scoffed, as if to say understatement of the century. Gianna fought a smile, turning her attention back to Bucky, clearly uncomfortable at having to explain his feelings in front of everyone, even three of the closest people to him.

“I was having a hard time and Wanda and Nat called me out on it. They…opened my eyes to what mattered and how much of a dumbass I was being. I found out you were out with Steve and the rest of ‘em, and I just…I had to see you.” He looked at Gianna sheepishly. “As soon as I realized what a mess I made, I just wanted to clean it up as quickly as I could. I wanted to tell you I was sorry, that I love you…” He trailed off, seeming to remember he wasn’t alone with Gianna. “...you know the rest.”

She gave a shy smile. “So why didn’t you? I saw Nat and Wanda that night…I looked for you,”

Bucky’s heart twisted. “I saw you…it sounds so stupid now. I saw you with Sebastian and I, uh…you just looked happy. You looked happy and normal and I didn’t want to fuck it up. So I went back to the Tower.”

Nat and Steve sat in respectful silence, letting the story come out.

“The team went back to the compound, the girls stayed with you, and I just stayed behind. I needed to clear my mind, figure out what to do. I had it in my head that you had moved on, that you were happier now and with someone else and I almost talked myself out of it.”

“So why did you show up at my apartment last night?” Her voice was soft.

“Well,” Bucky chuckled. “Ironically, I ran into Sebastian again.”

Gianna’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“I was out for a run, I happened to bump into him, literally. He introduced himself and just started talking about how helpful you were and how much you must care about me to help him with the role and I just…I felt even dumber.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I basically ran back to the Tower to clean up and went straight to your place.”

“Which is when you fell into the garbage disposal?” Nat pried.

“Which is where I found out that my dear friend Nat hadn’t programmed me into the Iron Legion’s list of acceptable guests.” He shot her a dirty look.

If she felt guilty, she didn’t show it. “Maybe if you ran your plans by your dear friend before you acted on them, then this wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Well, I heard something happening in the hallway,” Gianna interrupted, picking up the story. “I looked through the peephole, and there he was.” Her eyes went distant as she remembered the scene. She nearly shivered. “He was…not in good shape.”

She reached for Bucky’s knee under the table. “I brought him in and cleaned him up and…we talked. Clearly not about everything…but about enough.” Gianna smiled at Bucky. “But he insisted I didn’t call anyone until this morning. I swear I tried to call you last night.”

“What happened to not doing anything stupid?” Steve raised his eyebrow at Bucky, who shrugged.

“If the ends justify the means.” He grinned.

The waitress interrupted with plates of pancakes and another metal carafe of coffee, saving Bucky from another round of interrogation. As they doused their plates in syrup, they caught up on the past few weeks, with Natasha making sure Gianna knew just how much of a terror Bucky had been without her. She even joked that the SHIELD agents might be sending her ‘thank you’ notes for finally snapping him out of it.

After a long and food-coma inducing meal, they waltzed back out onto the landing pad of the Tower to see Steve and Nat off.

Natasha engulfed Gianna in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you, G.” She pulled back and gripped her arms. “You deserve this. You both do.”

“Thank you, Nat. For everything. It sounds like you’re the reason this all turned out okay, after all.”

“Story of my life.” She winked, turning to head back to the Quinjet. “Don’t be a stranger. I want monthly visits!”

“Likewise!” Gianna called after her, giggling.

A few feet away, Steve pulled Bucky in for a brief but tight hug. “Don’t mess it up this time, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.” Bucky gave him a lopsided grin.

“I’m guessing I’ll be taking over your training sessions for a while?”

“You don’t --”

“Buck,” Steve cut him off. “I want to.” He clapped Bucky on his good arm. “You deserve this. Plus, who’s to say I have any reason to want to leave the Compound.” He smirked and nodded at Natasha’s retreating form. Bucky raised his eyebrows in question but Steve was already backing away. “I figured you’d be staying in the city for a while. There’s a bag of your stuff in your old room downstairs.”

Grinning, Bucky waved at his friend as he strode to Gianna, putting his arm around her. Steve stood on the ramp, pausing as it raised to close. “Oh, and Buck?”

Bucky cocked his head in acknowledgement.

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

#avengers #bucky barnes x oc #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes #bucky fluff #sebastian stan #bucky fanfic #winter soldier #winter soldier fluff

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minijenn · 5 months

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Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Abominable

Wow I can't believe Dreamworks made their own version of Up but without the Dead Wife and Flying House and with a Yeti instead of a colorful bird

Anyway, this movie was kind of a mystery to me going in, because I swear to god I've never heard anyone ever talk about this, so I had no idea what to expect out of it. As for what I got, well... it was... actually pretty ok! So let's get into it.

After the death of her father, teenager Yi has grown distant from her family and her friends, Jin and his younger cousin Peng. That is, until she happens upon an escaped yeti, eventually named Everest, after she decides to help the creature get back to his home on Mount Everest, roping Peng and Jin along for the trip. All the while, they're being chased by the wealthy collector Mr. Burnish and zoologist Dr. Zara, who are determined to recapture the yeti and put it on display.

So yeah, a pretty simple "get mysterious creature back to where they belong" plot that we've seen in plenty of other movies in the past. The movie does kind of fumble over more than a few cliches when it comes to that plot, and the characters, for the most part, are a bit too simple and one-note for my liking. The tone is also a little strange, with some weird humor mixed in with often heavy-handed attempts at whimsy and drama. The pacing is also kind of strange? I don't know how to explain it but something is... off about the way this film presents its story and I can't... seem to articulate why.

As for the characters, like I said, they're all pretty simple. I feel like Yi is a little confusing and doesn't really have a clear character arc? Like she just decides to help Everest almost immediately after meeting him? Like literally just travel across China on a whim??? What? I get she's an impulsive teenager but still, bruh, that's just wacky. Peng is your typical hyperactive kid character, and he grated on the nerves a handful of times. Out of our main human trio, I think Jin is the best, he's a pretty funny character who goes through an actual arc, starting off as a tech-obsessed stick in the mud before learning to enjoy the journey alongside the others. Everest is also just... your typical cute creature cliche? He doesn't have a ton in the way of a personality and he has these powers that are kind of just... whatever the plot needs them to be? Like deus-ex-machina yeti fr fr out here.

Our villians are... surprisingly interesting! We start off thinking Mr. Burnish is our greedy big bad capitalist when, surprise! Dr. Zara actually is instead and I love her cause she goes from zero to 100 so fast and yeah, she's a twist villian cliche but I don't care because she kind of a baddie there I said it.

As for presentation, this movie is honestly gorgeous. Like seriously, it is so damn pretty to look at. The set pieces are so vibrant and colorful and the scale of them is awe-inspiring. The character designs felt kind of weird to me at first, burt I grew used to them as the film went along, and they're animated very nicely. There's a lot of scenes in this movie that were clearly just Dreamworks flexing, and you know what? I'm not gonna fault them for it. They're beautiful.

Something else that's beautiful about this movie is its score. Yi plays the violin and that actually becomes a major plot point throughout the film and every time she picks that instrument up, we get some truly soulful, beautiful pieces. This soundtrack is nowhere near as memorable as something like HTTYD's but its still absolutely lovely in its own right, I think.

So yeah, Abominable was one of the more surprising movies of the Dreamworks watch. I kept forgetting I would even have to eventually watch it until now, but I think, for what it is, it's ok. I wouldn't call it great, but I wouldn't call it terrible either. It's a perfectly servicable film about a bunch of kids and a yeti going on a cross-country adventure. And sometimes, that's all ya need.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Verdict: Evil Unetical Scientists Can Be Hot Sometimes, Actually

Previous Review (How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World)

Next Review (Trolls World Tour)

#jen watches #dreamworks watch #yeah back to this shit finally #jen tortures herself with every dreamworks animated movie ever #abominable

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kunikidas-lost-glasses · 2 years

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Songs/Bands and Artists I like which I think some of my favorite BSD characters would listen to, mixed with some headcanons about them but my music taste is all over the place and I have no real favorite genre

Chuuya:

Maneskin

ABBA (He and Dazai dance to ABBA since they were teens)

Taylor Swift

Doja Cat

Cigarettes After Sex

Out of Touch by Hall & Oates

The Smashing Pumpkins

Happier than ever by Billie Eilish

Go Hard (La.La.La) by Kreayshawn

He only listens to Mitski when he's drunk and thinking about Dazai

Dazai:

The Smiths

Mitski

ABBA (He and Chuuya dance to ABBA since they were teens)

Cavetown

Melanie Martinez

I think I'm gonna kill myself by Elton John

Maybe he liked listening to the Gorillaz when he was a teen

Girl in Red

TV Girl

TOP

In my head by bedroom

Billie Eilish

Oulala by Vunderbar

Bimbo Doll by Tila Tsoli

I don't know how to love by the drums

Lady Gaga

Shibusawa:

Bernadette and I come with Knives by IAMX

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Swimming Pool by Marie Madeleine

Classical Music but he doesn't pays much attention to composers so he listens to a bunch of composers mixed together

Little Dark Age by MGMT

Electroforez

Hollow by Mr.Kitty

Freakshow by Punkinlove

Sigma:

Lady Gaga

Heart for Brains and I can't handle change by Roar

The Greatest and Chandelier by Sia

Mitski

MARINA

Cavetown

Melanie Martinez

Queen

Puttin on the Ritz by Taco

Greedy by O3eo

The Drums

Icicles by The Scary Jokes

dreamcore by Pathetic

Tchaikovsky

Hug me by Pharrell Williams and Trey Parker

Le Festin from the Ratatouille soundtrack

ABBA

Fyodor:

Tchaikovsky and a bunch of other composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and newer classical music but Tchaikovsky is his absolute favorite and he can play a lot of his songs on his cello. He usually does this to calm down or get his head a bit free of all the overwhelming thoughts

ABBA

IC3PEAK

I come with knives and Bernadette by IAMX

Molchat Doma

Swimming Pool by Marie Madeline

Electroforez

Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare All) by Type O Negative

Who is she? by I Monster

No 13 Dance of the Knights by Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev

никогда by руслан утюг (because of Nikolai and a special memory aka this headcanon by me)

I just know that he would listen to gospel choir songs and church music but I personally don't listen to it

Nikolai:

Bernadette and Animal Impulses by IAMX

Lady Gaga

IC3PEAK

песня без слов and перемен by Kino

Imma Kill U by Insane Clown Posse

Butch 4 Butch and Inarticulation by Rio Romeo

Princess Castle, Yandere and Hello Kitty by Jazmine Bean

мы by дайте танк (!)

никогда by руслан утюг

бiблiотека by колос

Electroforez

Melanie Martinez

Gallery Piece by Of Montreal

Where's Your Head At by Basement Jaxx

The Smiths

Blow my Brains out by Tikkle Me

Queen

Marry by Alex G

Hurra Hurra die Schule brennt by Extrabreit (A old german song. The title means Hooray Hooray the school is burning and it's literally about some girls burning down the school. It's not brutal thought. It's a bit comedic)

Mircochip by Oliver Buckhard

Küss Mich by In Extremo (Another German song. The title means kiss me and it's about obsessive love)

Literally anything he likes. He has no favorite genres

Edgar Allan Poe:

Mareux

Queen

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Cavetown

ABBA

The Cure (He probably loves The Lullaby the most)

Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare All) by Type O Negative

Mushitaro:

Queen (Because of his boyfriends Poe and Ranpo who always listen to Queen)

ABBA

Mitski

Elvis Presley

Murder in my Mind by Kohedell

Bram:

The Smashing Pumpkins

ABBA

The Cure

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Vampire Smile by Kyla la Grange

Mixed classical music

Hug me by Pharrell Williams and Trey Parker (Aya made him listen to it)

The Smiths

80s music

So This Is Love from Cinderella by Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas (He often thinks of his old friend Lovecraft while listening to it but always scolds himself when he realises. Who can blame him tho. It's easy to think about old feelings when you aren't exactly able to do things on your own and usually lie around)

Genesis by Grimes

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bobgoesw00t · 1 year

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Top 10 Video Games of All Time: bobgoesw00t Edition (Part 10)

Here we are everyone, the final week of 2022 and as promised, I'm revealing my Top Video Game of All Time. At Number One currently is:

The one game I can never seem to get enough of, Assassin's Creed Origins.

I can't even begin to guess how many times I've cleared this game and it's two DLC expansions, but it's AT LEAST ten times now. The extra year Ubisoft gave the team in Montreal to work on the game was TOTALLY worth it for how everything in the game has been fine tuned to ABSOLUTE PERFECTION.

Gonna start off by talking about the world of Ancient Egypt they created and how GORGEOUS it is. Even the deserts in the game are beautiful and I don't think I've even seen sand dunes created with so much care. Well, I'm running through Bayonetta 3 right now and I'm at the desert world and GOD the sand textures are horrible. And while there isn't any regions with snow, that doesn't matter because of how pretty every section of the game is.

Of course, the music and audio in a game can make or break it and I can safely saw that those two parts don't disappoint. The environmental sounds and the chatter of the crowds truly bring the world of Ancient Egypt to life. I love how the random civilians could be cussing me out and I would be none the wiser, while even the sounds of the birds chirping along the banks of the Nile can make me feel so at ease in a moment of respite. As for the soundtrack, Sarah Schachner hit the proverbial baseball out of the park with the music she composed for this game. Some tracks I want to mention in particular are A Divided Land which plays when you synchronize a viewpoint in some areas, I Walk on Your Water which is the investigation track and Winds of Cyrene, which is the last piece of music that plays while Syncing a Viewpoint in the Green Mountains, Kyrenaika and Marmarica. The last track I mentioned is not only GORGEOUS, but it also has this sense of uneasy calm, that fits perfectly with that point of the game cause Bayek's journey is coming to an end.

Since I mentioned Bayek, it's only fitting I talk a bit about the story, which is one of the best in the franchise yet IMO. Seeing how The Hidden Ones came to be all because of the loss of an innocent child at the hands of some greedy bastards that want to control the world is SO GOOD! Bayek starts his journey wanting revenge and in the process, discovers how fucked up things can get if those in power are left free to run amok with it. And since working within the system didn't work due to the people in power using the shadows, he decides to tackle it in the same way. But of course he couldn't do this alone, and on his quest for revenge, he finds those who share his passion and drive to protect the innocent and makes the brotherhood for them all. It's also sad because as he goes through the ranks of the Order of the Ancients (A.K.A. The Templars before the Templars) his marriage to his wife Aya (who, at the end of the game becomes the key figure in the lore of the franchise, Amunete) gets dragged through the mud as the world they live in will never accept that they truly love one another.

That brings me to by far, the best piece of music in the entire game: Ezio's Family (Origins Version). For those of you who don't know by now, Ezio's Family is a piece of music that was first introduced way back in Assassin's Creed II and has since basically become the "Theme Song" for the franchise, with almost every entry having a version of it. What makes this particular version so memorable is due to the fact that it literally doesn't play in full until THE VERY END OF THE GAME. You hear the first half of the song every time you bring up and equipment/quest/inventory/order menu in the game but it always cuts off before the rest of the song (and the familiar notes) start up. That fact that Sarah created a new version of the song and Ubisoft held it in their back pocket until the very end was the PERFECT way to not only end the game, but show how the Brotherhood started in the first place.

Gonna talk a bit about combat and the DLC a bit now and let me say, combat in Origins in some of the most intense and fun I've ever had in this series. The removal of the "Pair Animation" system with a traditional "Hit Box" combat scheme was the right call. While it's true Syndicate used a different style of combat from the previous games, it still used the old pair animation system, meaning it still felt a tad stale. Being able to dodge attacks at the last second to land the killing blow is awesome, and some of the Overpowered Attacks are brutal. Then you factor in the various passive skills you can unlock that can make combat/gameplay even better. Once you unlock the "Enhanced Predator Bow" skill, being able to pull off INSANE headshots on a target who is on the other side of a canyon by controlling the arrow mid-flight will never get old and not be satisfying.

While I'm thinking about it, I have to mention one of the main reasons this game has my top spot is because EVERY TIME I play it, I discover something new about it. Back in June when Ubisoft released the patch that lets the game run at 60FPS on Xbox Series X/S and PS5, I figured it was the perfect time to run through the game again and I figured out that if you throw either the Sleep or Poison Dart at an open flame, it will ignite the tip and spread the powder on the dart in an area. Now I know this was a thing back in Syndicate, but because it had been forever since I played that game in all of my other runs of Origins, I totally forgot that I could do that. When they put the patch out, I had recently finished a run of Syndicate so that fact was fresh in my mind and I had a little nerdgasm discovering they kept that in Origins.

As for the DLC Expansions, they took the base game, expanded it, and took the story to new places that are some of my favorite ever. The Curse of the Pharaohs one of the better DLC expansions I've ever played, letting Bayek travel to four different afterlifes with each one being different from the last was really cool and really helped expand on not only my knowledge of Ancient Egypt, but also the mythology of the era. The fact that they took the boss fight again Apep (which is one of the highlights of the base game to be honest) and made a whole DLC about it is just GAH, SO COOL!

In conclusion, Assassin's Creed Origins is one of the few video games that I've kept coming back to, LONG after I've beaten it MULTIPLE times not just because of the gameplay, story, music and phenomenal DLC expansions, but also because just when I think I've found everything there is to find in the world of Ancient Egypt, I discover something new that keeps the hooks this game has in my body digging deeper and pulling me back in to see what I can find next. And with Ubisoft having released a patch for the game back in June of this year that lets the game run at 60FPS on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, plus Assassin's Creed Mirage being a missing chapter in the evolution of The Hidden Ones to the Assassins Brotherhood coming sometime next year, there's never been a better time to give this game of pure perfection a try. Assassin's Creed Origins gets 5 Enhanced Predator Bow headshots out of 5: 5/5.

Quick note before I get to the last batch of Honorable Mentions, if you're starting the game and need any advice, feel free to hit me up with an ask or message and I'll try my best to help you out.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Of the first six games in this long running franchise, Black Flag is by far the best with it's MASSIVE open world Caribbean, a lovable protagonist in Edward Kenway, Naval Combat that simplifies and expands on what was present in AC3 and one of the more bittersweet endings in the series.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla:The most recent entry melded the RPG elements from Odyssey with the gameplay of Origins in a perfect way, gave us the badass bitch that is Eivor Varinsdottir, had her meet with the original badass bitch (while also putting the final nail in the coffin on who the canon protagonist of Odyssey is) Kassandra in an awesome crossover, and a Final Chapter that while short, also tugs at the heart strings considering we've spent the last two years with this woman and almost left me balling my eyes out.

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teddybeartoji · 5 months

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ৎ୭ CINEMA, BABY!

hi there! this is my massive list of recommendations including films, directors, series and videos about films (and stunts and games). the films are rated by going from the easiest watches to the hardest and i've added the trailers or clips and a few words myself.

also! some of these have more text, some have less - please don't be discouraged if it has less, i probably have seen it only once and i didn't wanna start making up stuff! everything that's on here is genuinely changed me in a way or two.

please please please! if u watch anything from this list - let me know! i wanna hear all of your thoughts and ideas and if u have any recs for me i am one big ear!

⚠︎ this got very fucking long but i refuse to apologize i love having fun!

+ here are more recs!

FILMS

·:* RATING: ALL FUN AND GAMES

SNATCH (2000) - dir. guy ritchie

this is my feel-good film, whenever i'm feeling down i put this on and i'm fixed! this is exactly my type of humor and it just never gets old (i've seen it like ten times)

INDIANA JONES (1981 & 1984 & 1989) - dir. steven spielberg

don't you just love it when the main character is a bit of a loser? well, i definitely do. he's getting hit, he's fucking tired he just wants to nap but there are snakes and screaming companions and everyone is so greedy and he just wants to be a nerd and keep the artifacts safe:( please take a note of how fucking good the lighting is in these films goddddd they seriously don't make them like this anymore.

TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (2022) - dir. ruben östlund

absolutely fucking ridiculous i literally cried from laughing in the theather and trust! i was not the only one

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018) - dir. peter ramsay, rodney rothman, bob persichetti

c'mon. C'MON. you have heard that it's good but you haven't watched it bc they're probably lying, right? they are not, i promise. it's soooooooo good. the animation, the voice acting???? the friendships, the action, the soundtrack - i wasn't the same after watching it and i'm so grateful

THE FABLEMANS (2022) - dir. steven spielberg

i laughed. i cried. me and my friend and then an elderly couple were laughing outloud in the cinema during this it was very wholesome i loved it.

SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD (2023) - dir. anna hints

"in the darkness of a smoke sauna, women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences, washing off the shame trapped in their bodies and regaining their strength through a sense of communion." took the description right off the page but i couldn't have said it better; i cried while watching it, it reminded my of my grandma and how much i miss her i loved it a lot

OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) - dir. steven soderbergh

SO GOOD SO SMOOTH?? so satisfying to watch george clooney my charismatic king i love u so

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (2003 & 2006) - dir. gore verbinski

okay look! these are very important to me! they raised me they changed me! i actually might be jack sparrow; no but seriously, the score the characters the story the tropes elizabeth swann overall elizabeth swann dressing up as a man elizabeth swann being called 'the pirate king' the fun action the wheel fight the VILLAINS OH MY GOD BARBOSSA AND DAVY JONES ARE INSANE THEY DON'T MAKE CHARACTERS LIKE THEM ANYMORE i could talk about these silly movies for hours

(note! i do not fucking support j***** d*** though! that man can go kill himself amber heard i love u you u did absolutely nothing wrong!)

WHITE CHICKS (2004) - dir. keenen ivory wayans

hey. it's okay. you don't only have to like oscar-winning films, okay. nobody will judge you. it's okay. this movie is a banger and it makes me laugh every time. literally so funny.

EMMA (2019) - dir. autumn de wilde

"IF I LOVED YOU LESS I MIGHT BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT IT MORE." BITING MY FINGERS RIPPING MY HAIR OUT AAAAAAA such a great cast wowww it's all so pretty and funny plus a special shoutout for my favourite little guy josh o'connor i love u josh

AFTER YANG (2019) - dir. kogonada

it's so beautiful, oh my god. and quiet. and it just burrows itself deep into your heart and change you the way you look at things and life and people

THE FLORIDA PROJECT (2017) - dir. sean baker

will take your depression, throw it in a dumpster and then smack you in the face with the whole thing

HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS (2003) - dir. donald petrie

YOU'RE SOOOOOO VAINNN i love them both soooooo so much my all-time favourite rom-com no explanation needed matthew's best role he's so fucking hot in this

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) - dir. rob reiner

i only saw this like a month ago and i have to admit that i've been missing out IT'S SO FUNNY?????? it's fucking ridiculous "there's a shortage of perfectly beautiful breasts in this world it would be a pity to damage your"??????????????? ten out of ten for that already + the link is a clip from the film and not a trailer

·:* RATING: ACTION, BLOOD, VIOLENCE AND JOKES

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009) - dir. quentin tarantino

very rewatchable, i know every single line in it i think...... rather violent so beware but then again it's quentin tarantino

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015) - dir. george miller

an important fun fact! the director of this film asked his wife to edit the action sequences (she had no experience editing action films) and the reasoning behind it was "because if a guy did it, it would look like every other action movie." (it won an academy award for 'best editing' btw)

ATOMIC BLONDE (2017) - dir. david leitch

i think it's great how the mc fights with using her surroundings, and it's gritty - she gets hit and hit hard but she can't stop she has a job to do. great action scenes, no unnecessary cutting and they show everything + charlize theron did most of her stunts. and as always the soundtrack is so sexy, oh and btw it's gay!!!!

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - dir. guy ritchie

now, i do realize armie the cannibal is here but i might be biased bc i looooove the soundtrack and the director and the humor of it and the action of it and the tropes in it and okay i'm just gonna say that i love this movie ok

BODIES, BODIES, BODIES (2022) - dir. halina reijn

another really fucking funny one, it's very meta but it's not annoying

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (2018) - dir. christopher mcquarrie

when i say i like action movies i mean it!!!!! this has the cleanest fights in every possible term - they're shot clearly, you can see all of their moves and the fight choreographies are good, they flow very well + it's always good to see the mc's take hits and ethan gets his shit rocked a nice couple of times!! another plus is to know that the actors are dedicated to their films and they take the extra step to do as many of their stunts as possible, it's so cool!!!!

DON'T BREATHE (2016) - dir. fede alvarez

actually made me feel like i had to hold my breath with the characters on screen. definitely scared me and that's a good thing!!!!

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (2023) - dir. chad stalhelski

this is rated 5+ by my friend who does not watch action. like at all. and she fucking loved it. we (and the whole room) were literally laughing and gasping during the whole thing it's so entertaining. the action is mmmmmmmmmm giving me a boner honestly. this is what u get when the director himself is a stuntman and your lead is doing the majority of his stunts. they're so invested and it fucking shows

DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) - dir. quentin tarantino

blood. very blood. very red. u have been warned. tarantino's dialogue is so mwah he's on some next level shit. i know everybody is always talking about christoph waltz in this but JAMIE FOXX IN THIS????? HE'S LITERALLY THE GUY. HE'S DJANGO. HE'S THE WHOLE FILM. AND THE OUTFIT?????? FUUUUCK HE'S SOOOOO GOOOD AAAAA I LIKE THE WAY U DIE BOY

READY OR NOT (2019) - dir. matt bettinelli-olpin & tyler gillett

SO FUN. AND BLOODY. YAY.

·:* RATING: INTERMEDIATE

UNCUT GEMS (2019) - dir. safdie brothers

adam sandler nation rise up!! the man is actually good just trust me on this! very very exhilarating and fast and intense and yeah i was getting so anxious during it it's great

PARASITE (2019) - dir. bong joon-ho

best picture winner for a fucking reason!! bong joon-ho is on a completely different level. the way it's shot????? ohh i feel all warm and fuzzy just by thinking about it. the dialogue the story itself?????? mmmmmm please watch it you'll never be the same (in a good way)

THE FAVOURITE (2019) - dir. yorgos lanthimos

oh yeah gay as hell everybody go watch it. saw in the cinema four times in a month. it's fucking great. + here is olivia colman's best actress speech bc it's great

ARRIVAL (2016) - dir. denis villeneuve

insane. hypnotic. braingasm. the sound design people were on something bc holy shit i just came?? anyway i've heard people say that they didn't understand it the first time but you know what - it's totally fine if you don't understand it the first time or even the second time or however many times u watch it u can watch it for the soundtrack and the visuals alone hehehe

THE WITCH (2015) - dir. robert eggers

very intense performances, overall very eerie and spooky.

DUNE (2021) - dir. denis villeneuve

godly sound design. like it's fucking crazy. rather slow paced but you will love it nonetheless. there's a lot of lore but it's interesting and it's not as hard (or too much) like i thought it'd be. plus there's an almost fully naked oscar isaac

ANATOMY OF A FALL (2023) - dir. justine triet

oscar worthy performances from everyone. unrequited love trope (i will love this tiny lawyer man myself sandra move aside)

DECISION TO LEAVE (2022) - dir. park whan-wook

very very unique. especially the how it was shot. came out of the cinema and thought about for the rest of the day, couldn't get it out of my head. i also loveddd the characters, the dynamic was so cool.

GOOD TIME (2017) - dir. safdie brothers

who doesn't love having a panic attack? this is what you'll get when u watch this :D it's good though i promise i promise

·:* RATING: FILMBRO 101

BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017) - dir. denis villeneuve

what did i say about the loser main character? here's another one!! the visuals and the score is insane and not to mention the performances (especially sylvia hoeks who plays luv!!!!! she's terrifying in the best way)

SE7EN (1995) - dir. david fincher

tw: gory. if ur sensitive it might not be a good watch for u. the plot is so cool i'm so sad i couldn't see this in the cinema yk considering i wasn't even born yet smhh i would've loved to have the full experience of the climax.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) - dir. christopher nolan

very entertaining!! heath ledger is just... wow. and i know that has been said i'm not original but well it's just the truth. the way he plays the joker mmmmmmmmm scratches my brain fr. i like the part where he does the "disappearing pen" magic trick

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013) - dir. martin scorsese

WHOOOOOWEEE BOYS!! coke and naked women and coke and money and some more money. it's great. after every watch i am CONVINCED that i also need to be doing that. every single time.

FIGHT CLUB (1999) - dir. david fincher

THE NARRATOR NATION RISE UP!!!!! WE ARE ALIVE AND WELL!!! MY BELOVED IKEA BOY!!!!

NIGHTCRAWLER (2014) - dir. dan gilroy

very thrilling! he's not a good guy why are u still watching? ok it's probably just jake gyllenhaal being a very good actor.... the mc is so fucking weird it's almost hypnotizing. also! this isn't a trailer just bc i didn't like the trailer so i put a link of one of the first scenes from the movie i think it gets its point across really fucking well

·:* RATING: SILLY LITTLE MOVIES (VERY EXTREME)

SALTBURN (2023) - dir. emerald fennell

this one is most defintely not for everyone but it's for me ok! very erotic and peculiar and i hadn't been this mesmerized in a minute i was leaning more and more toward my computer screen just because i needed to be in it

MOTHER! (2017) - dir. darren aronofsky

actually this is also one of those, hmm, weird ones, let's just say that. it's very very intense so a big trigger warning for that but there's nothing alike this movie. very one of a kind and you can decide for yourself whether that's a good or a bad thing.

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2016) - dir. yorgos lanthimos

my very first yorgos lanthimos film and i was hooked from the very second the trailer started playing in the cinema, immediately knew it was gonna be a freakshow and i was not disappointed!! very wtf but so good

HEREDITARY (2018) - dir. ari aster

scary. idk what else to tell u. scary in a sense that you'll feel sick in your stomach. sound design goes crazy along with the soundtrack. amaaaazing performances from everyone toni collette the very first mother of all

REVENGE (2017) - dir. coralie fargeat

VERY GNARLY i think that's a good word for it (a tw for rape here bc that was a very hard watch) and later it's very bloody but i fucking loooved the ending the final chase around the house it felt very comical???? funny even though it's really not the moment for giggles

DIRECTORS

wasn't gonna put them here but i fucking will sue me

GUY RITCHIE - snatch, the man from u.n.c.l.e.; THE MOST LIKE ME ok it's the fast pacing, it's the quips it's the music it's the action it's the car chases it's the characters it's the dialogue it's the humor i think i'm repeating myself but i do genuinely think that his films have had such an impact on me and how i imagine things in my head lmao

DENIS VILLENEUVE - blade runner 2049, arrival, prisoners; rather slow paced but intense, it's all about the visuals, the soundtracks always slap

DAVID FINCHER - se7en, zodiac, gone girl; very dark and intense, also rather slow-paced

QUENTIN TARANTINO - inglourious basterds, pulp fiction, django unchained; now i realize that i'm coming off a real filmbro but it is what it is i love these movies with my heart they're very much my style my taste - blood and violence and good jokes

YORGOS LANTHIMOS - the favourite, the killing of a sacred deer, the lobster; literally so weird i fell in love with his work from the first time i saw the killing of a sacred deer (and i'm so excited for his newest one!!!)

SERIES

MINDHUNTER (2017-2019)

oh my god, especially the first season!!!! i think i like it so much bc i love holden i don't think i've seen a character who i resonate with so much in a minute. he's so naive and so curious oh man i love this guy. and bill!!!!!!!!!! i know these people are based on the book (which i loved too btw!) and real life and well i hope these people are having a great time ok. i love holden's and bill's dynamic, how bill kind of lets him do his thing but is still lecturing him about it. while being very caring i love how soft-spoken he is most of the time??? and ahh the way it's shot wait wait also need to mention the whole ed kemper and holden dynamic too (this is also where i feel like me and holden are the same fucking person bc i would too believe everything that man says lmao)(i would too think that we're somewhat buddies) AND THE SOUNDTRACK GODDD THE SOUNDTRACK full of bangers anyway i really really love this show and i hope mr fincher will get his shit together and make the third season too

JUJUTSU KAISEN (2020-)

the animation IS INSANE, like i mentioned before i have a habit of leaning closer and closer to the screen when something is getting exciting and well if i wasn't wearing glasses before i would have to get them now bc i was almost inside the fucking screen ok, not for a second was i able to tear my eyes because so much was happening (in a good way)

TASKMASTER (2015- )

literally the funniest show i almost peed my pants (although i've been wondering how different is european humor - will people from everywhere else also find it hilarious idk you let me know)

my favourite seasons are 4 and 5 and 7!!

SUCCESSION (2018-2023)

sooo funny. so stupid. it's so fucking straightforward it catches you off guard all the time. the shit that comes out of their mouths? hilarious. they're all a bunch of losers and i love them for it. and i love tom.

MANIAC (2018)

life-changing honestly, the idea of it is so cool i was completely obsessed with it when i first saw it (and then i immediately watched it again)

LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS (2019-)

the first episode i saw was 'sonnie's edge' and let me tell you, i've never been more enthralled!! it's the animation it's the blood it's the gore oh my god it's the horror of it!

season 1 - three robots, the witness, sucker of souls, beyond the aquila rift, helping hand, the secret war

season 2 - pop squad (hehe on a side note one of the greatest voice actors, nolan north, is in this), the tall grass, the drowned giant

season 3 - bad travellling (directed by david fincher btw)

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: HOTEL (2015)

this season specifically because - lady gaga, lady gaga as a vampire, lady gaga covered in blood, lady gaga in a suit, lady gaga with bleached eyebrows, angela bassett, angela bassett's arms, angela bassett's outfits, angela bassett and lady gaga kissing. enough said.

BLUE EYE SAMURAI (2023)

the animation!!!!!! i love when animation has fighting in it and this was just great. very good action scenes, very bloody and very brutal. PLUS such an amazing main character????? not your typical badass, oh no she definitely got her fucking ass beat all the time but she just kept going. actually shoutout to all of the side characters too they were all so good i loved them + my favourite episode of the season was ep4

VARIOUS VIDEOS

·:* AND ACTION!

inglourious basterds - the elements of suspense

annihilation - the art of self-destruction

nightcrawler - empathy for the antihero

the social network — sorkin, structure, and collaboration

parasite's perfect montage

how david fincher hijacks your eyes

when the director reallyyyy respects the audience…

hereditary | what the script teaches us

zodiac | when truth is stranger than fiction

pirates of the carribean | accidentally genius

·:* BOOM! CRASH! POW! BANG! ZAP! POP!

movie stunt coordinator breaks down ‘atomic blonde’ fight scene

knife expert breaks down atomic blonde stairwell fight scene

john wick 2's stunt coordinator breaks down the opening car chase

artial artist scott adkins breaks down 'john wick' fight scenes

chad stahelski breaks down 'john wick: chapter 4' fight scenes

martial artists break down john wick’s knife and judo skills

stuntmen react to bad & great hollywood stunts + this + the full playlist

·:* CUE CONTROLLER SOUNDS

searching for disco elysium

what games are like for someone who doesn’t play games

#ceo of letterboxd says hello #no this is ACTUALLY what zero pussy and dick does to a mf #this is crazy #it's a lot i know #and well #there will be more #(that's a threat)#PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE IF U WATCH ANYTHING FROM HERE TELLLL MEEE LET ME KNOWWW I'M SO DESPERATE #i might change how this looks later but this'll do for now!#mayor of loserville #movies #films #film recommendations #movie recommendation #succession #saltburn

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caribouv · 9 months

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Watch a ton of shit last week because didn't feel good.

The Girl With All The Gifts One of the best "go in blind" recommendations in a long, long time.

It came from a short story named Iphigenia In Aulis later turned into a full novel. Ray Bradbury system if I've ever seen one.

It seemed like everyone was doing fungus zombies after the 2008 PLANET EARTH episode on zombie ants. Last of Us is better, but this is still good even if the ending sucks.

Studio 666 I had to turn it off. You dudes are musicians, not actors. The ego of trying to do this was a bit too much for me to handle.

Outlast s01 I absolutely despised this shit. There were no clearly defined rules of interacting with other teams. Turns out, completely randomly, you're allowed to go into someone's camp and destroy their shit right in front of them and the other person had to sit back and watch you. Even though I pirated it, I want to sue Netflix for how bullshit this was.

All Things Must Pass It's a very cool documentary and extremely thought provoking. Also, I don't feel sorry for these fucking shitheads. It's plainly clear they should've got into the business of producing alongside distributing, had not been so greedy, but whatever.

The greedy businessman bullshit like stopping the sell of singles to force people to buy albums, pushing CDs because larger profit margin, not realizing what the fuck an mp3 was, and endless expansion (debt) because "muh growth."

I'm not super down for live music because I generally don't like it, but I'm not going to ignore how important live music is and a space for live music. I just love how these greedy fucks were directly responsible for napster and later itunes and then spotify and now back to napster.

STATION ELEVEN The theme of art and humanity transcending time, place, and generations.

The use of color to help the viewer understand where in time they were: before, during, after.

The perfection and blend of a clockwork and puzzle plot with a braided narrative. I was, quite literally, losing my mind the final two episodes.

I want to pinpoint the brilliant and wonderful winter solstice episode exploring the concept of 9 months after lockdown when all these women were giving birth at the same time.

I could write about this endlessly.

The only bad thing I will say is that it dragged at times, but I feel like that is me being too ignorant of Shakespeare's work to be realizing analogies / the adaptation from same.

SWARM. I'm not privy enough with Beyonce lore fully understand it, but it's still really, really good. The Billie Eilish episode was just utterly insane.

I almost turned it off so many times in the first two episodes because of how uncomfortable it made me feel and how creepy it seemed. I'm glad I kept at it and fought through my cringe. I wish I had someone to tell me the soft spoiler of "she's a butch lesbian and Marissa is her foster sister." It would have helped to put into context what erroneously seemed to be incredibly weird and creepy scenes otherwise.

Blood Quantum The sweet justice of American fracking ruining Native American's water supply causing all the Americans who drink it to turn into zombies while Native Americans remain immune. There's so many layers to that. Hell, that sounds like real life right now.

Blending that with the newfound Native American power of fuck the white man v. no lets help them a la Xavier v. Magneto split.

It was a great idea and concept, but those unique parts were not leaned into hard enough while dumb shit zombie fight sequences we've seen a million times took center stage instead.

Run Lola Run I haven't seen this since 8th grade. It's a short and sweet movie that gives another great take on the Chaos Theory. The soundtrack is phenomenally good. Not minimalist, but still 90s german techno af.

Doom Patrol I saw the DC logo on the opener and almost turned it off. "No no no I heard Brendan Fraser is in it give it a shot." Kept watching, opening sequences talking about "You're sick of comic book heroes we know! So we made comic book heroes who are SCREW UPS!" And I thought… Misfits? Misfits was great…

15 minutes later: It's just more comic book hero bullshit. Fuck that.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post I can't relate to this at all other than to endlessly bang my head against the wall and again point out how fucking incongruent these religious fuckers are and what they do to people. I kept thinking back over and over to Dead Poets Society.

#film

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bahamutgames · 1 year

Text

AFTERTHOUGHTS - ROUNDUP ROUND 3

April + May 2023

NON Nintendo Switch Online Edition!!

Alright kind of a slow day today but I have a BUNCH I still would like to get done. So I'm taking a small break by writing some thoughts on some games I beat recently. I haven't been doing a TON of gaming this month cause I've been busy doing work or getting screwed over and in my down time I've been going out a lot, hanging out with friends, and not playing too much. I am currently chipping through my next RPG and I'm ALMOST done with it. As well as random small itch games I've been playing and tweeting about on my twitter. But hopefully when I break through this current RPG and finish up some work I can play more stuff more regularly soon.

Pizza Tower (January 26, 2023) - PC

So, something you may not know about me is that I am actually a HUGE Wario Land fan. Like, a MASSIVE Wario Land fan. I've played them all, and I also played and adored Wario World and Master of Disguise even though they're not exactly the same. But yeah I fucking love Wario. And lately I've been really really excited with the wave of Wario Land-likes we're receiving! This and Anton Blast (which looks SO amazing I seriously cannot wait.)

I wasn't able to pick this game up right away but thankfully I had a friend buy it for me which means the absolute WORLD to me for real. And I gotta say, I had a great time with it! It feels awesome to play, gameplay feels wonderful and additions to the formula like combos and parrying is SUPER cool! And of course traditional Wario Land fare like form changes and the general moveset feels great and while I generally am not crazy about beating levels as quick as possible I feel like the moveset is really good for speedrunning in a way that makes it feel nice to speedrun even for someone like me who isn't into it much.

Of course the sprites are so cute, I love the art style. The characters are cute, I appreciate there being multiple playable characters too that was also a great addition. Enemies are cute, the levels look great and colorful. Bosses are all very cool looking and REALLY fun to fight for the most part. The soundtrack is great, I loved the story. I loved the format and the context behind finding stuff like toppins and paying for boss doors. It's all very cool and feels like a wonderful return for Wario Land.

It's small but I also appreciate Peppino himself for being an old middle aged man with body hair as the cool protagonist who gets shit done and like has a huge hero moment at the end where he saves everyone. I ADORE Warioware but a big issue I had with it is that it kinda removes Wario's coolness factor and his strikingly heroic moments from Land and just makes him... yknow... a greedy fat guy and that's IT. So it's nice to see a fat character being more than that again.

It's been a bit since I played it so I don't remember a ton of my complaints. Off the top of my head the biggest issue I had was that the boss fights are WAY too long. They last forever, you have to do them twice. And then they end on a minigame where if you fail you have to do the whole fight over. It's so annoying and makes each one a total chore where otherwise they'd be REALLY cool. Also I know they're not meant to be scary but I did not care for the screamers in that one level at all. They did not do it for me lol. Lastly, this might be a weird way to start this post. But I know this game had a racist enemy design in it. If it's what I think it is, it's a stereotype of indigenous cultures which has been removed from the game from my understanding. But still. This sucks. It's something we see in indie games WAY too often. Too many indie games feature enemies like this. And I know a lot of old AAA games had this too. But it's not okay. And it's something that really really baffles me that indie devs STILL think it's okay to have enemies like this. Stop it.

Aside from that, great entry in the Wario-Land like genre. Was a blast to play (an Anton Blast aha) while also adding a ton of original stuff to make it stand out. I hope to see more and I hope its popularity leads to even MORE Wario Land type games and more games with cute scribbly art styles.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (March 31, 2023) - PC

A much smaller april fools game that also took me a bit to play. But DAMN am I happy I did. This game was a TON of fun! You never see fake games made for April Fools that are like... yknow... actual games you can play! And this was such a cute and fun little game I really shocked by how much of a good time I had with it!

Usually I'm not super into point and click stuff but man this game was SO cute it didn't bug me at all. Fantastic writing, tons of Sonic characters who aren't written to be jokes (I love seeing this becoming a trend again), fantastic and silly references to the whole series (THERE WAS A FUCKING SONIC RIVALS REFERENCE!! THAT'S SO COOL!!!!!) The art is FANTASTIC, the music is nice, I was really surprised at how good and fun the story was? Like towards the end it becomes a real story with real stakes and a pretty moving ending which was SUPER cool to see! Also it had actual gameplay scenes with real timing and platforming? Which was SO surprising but totally welcome!

I really don't have much negative to say? It was free and it's a small april fools joke that ended up being really cool! I loved the outfits for each character (rouge is so hot) AND it introduced a new super cute and hot Sonic Milf! So I say, it's pretty fucking amazing, actually!

Rocket Knight Adventures (August 5th, 1993) - Sega Genesis

This was a game I didn't really have any intentions of playing, but a friend of mine has been asking me for a bit now to check it out. And after playing Ristar and realizing I've been missing out on a TON of Genesis games my whole life, and a total rando telling me I NEED to play this game. I just snapped, I couldn't not. How could I ignore it after all this praise? So here I am! After finally playing Rocket Knight Adventures!

And my verdict? Yeah it's pretty cool! I like the world it takes place in, I like the character designs (Rocket in particular is VERY cute), I like the sprites and music. This is all around just a pretty dang fun game! I liked the gimmick of being able to charge up your jetpack and dash around. And I feel like it does honestly make pretty good use of it unlike Ristar and Pulseman which I talked about before. My only real complaint is that I think the final bosses kinda suck and are a bit of a chore. But I am a sucker for like, edgy rivals who use the same powers as you.

I will probably check out the sequels when I get the chance, though I've heard they're not SUPER great. I would love a new entry eventually that really goes hard into the rocket stuff and maybe has even more shmup levels cause of course I loved those aha.

Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (December 14, 2001) - Gameboy Advance

And last but not least for now, Super Mario Advance 2! If you know anything about me, you know that Super Mario World is one of my all time favorite games! I ADORE the SNES original as in addition to just being a great game, it's actually the first game I've ever played (or at least have memories of playing). And despite the fact the first time I beat Mario 2 & 3 was with the GBA remakes, I had never tried the remake of Super Mario World on GBA until now! But I gotta say, yeah these are great ports!

Super Mario World is just great on its own so of course it's a good game. I still love the sprites, they're washed out here because of the lack of backlight way back when it came out. But I think the new color scheme is nice and still works. I LOVE the music still and it sounds really nice in the GBA soundfont. And there's a lot of really good changes here too! Stuff like a serious playable Luigi, a more serious exit tracker, and having the Dragon Coins function more like Star Coins in NSMB are all GREAT changes that should have been there from the start. But even stuff like additional cutscenes, voice clips (which I LOVE), small sprite fixes on Peach and Yoshi, and the cute fun way enemies roll away with funny sprite rotations when Yoshi spits them out are ultimately not needed but are great changes!

I sort of rushed through this playthrough but I mean, it's Super Mario World, so I wouldn't be surprised if I end up playing more of it and play more levels that I didn't give a shot soon! This is a great port and I still continue to LOVE the Mario Advance games so much! I'll probably have to play it more to see but if I ever get around to 100% completing it I could see this potentially being the ideal way to play Super Mario World which is CRAZY to think about! Good port!

#2023 #thoughts #roundup

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hawkinslibrary · 2 years

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😩😩😩😩😩

#also answered another comment asking if it was coming soon saying #'define soon'#no word on if the ost itself will also be split into two volumes though #maybe it is and vol 1 is done and coming 'soon'#idk idk idk #all i've heard is bits and pieces but it sounds soooo good and i just want to hear it in full #i'm absolutely greedy with this soundtrack #i want it all even unreleased tracks immediately #no but it's definitely gonna be worth the wait #and i guess hearing it for the first time while watching won't be so bad #it's gonna distract me though and it'll bother me until we can put titles to those sounds #i'll also miss the last bit of speculating that usually comes with the titles #i just really want this soundtrack lol #i am out here checking for news on it every day lmao #lex talks

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boop-le-snoot · 4 years

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PARTY FAVOURS | CHAPTER 5

Rating: Explicit.

‼️TW: Reader is EIGHTEEN! Recreational drug use, smoking and alcohol consumption, deeply internalised self-loathing, very questionable moral standards. Daddy kink taken half-seriously. BDSM themes in later chapters - explicit content will come with it's own TWs. FIRST PERSON POV.

Summary: You're Peter's classmate, a child of rich and famous but uncaring parents. Getting paired up for a lengthy project with the boy was an interesting turn of events and you don't know whether to feel blessed or cursed when you develop, seemingly, a perfectly normal, harmless crush on Tony Stark. Fueled by feelings of inadequacy and boredom, your life spirals out of control - and you're lucky your newfound friends are there to pick up the pieces even if you cannot find it in yourself to believe these amazing human (and not so human) beings voluntarily give you more than a fleeting glance and an offhanded thought. And they brought cake!

A/N: Revenge is sweet but a well-timed dick joke is sweeter. xoxo gossip girl. Please supervise one Bucky Barnes on the internet. Questionable music taste. Detention is the price we pay for justice. Bruce Banner is too precious for this world, too pure.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem

Beta read by the lovely and patient @miscmarvelwritings ! 🎶🎵I love you biiitch ain't ever gonna stop loving you biiitch 🎵🎶

"Initiate phase one," I added a growly undertone to my whisper, holding my phone inconspicuously, as if I was making a simple phone call. There was no answer but I didn't expect one: I was testing the voice recorder app that I had downloaded for the sole purpose of documenting and relaying the inevitable fall of one Flash Thompson.

Making my way through the crowd of students during the busiest time of the day, I made the most intrigued and outraged facial expression I possibly could. Spying my targets, I leaned against a nearby wall, putting a hand over my mouth in fake outrage, keeping my eyes wide and trained on the opposite wall. Just as I had predicted, the two sophomore girls started giving me side-eye by minute two of my staring and finally approached me as I contemplated the wall for whole five minutes.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" The brunette asked, her blonde friend hanging a step back.

"Yeah, totally," I mumbled. "I'm, like, shook beyond imagination, but nothing, like, bad."

The girls traded a curious look, seemingly coming to some sort of conclusion. The greedy gleam in their eyes had me internally cheering. "What happened?" The blonde one asked, coming closer.

"I'm not sure if I should tell that to anyone," I stammered, watching them bodily move forward. "Well, okay, I can't keep quiet. But you must never, ever speak of it or I'll get expelled or something," I said nervously. They both nodded so rapidly it reminded me of Funko Pop figurines. "You know the senior guy, Flash? Brown hair, kinda hot?" Again, they both nodded, conspicuously grinning. "I think I just saw him in the closed girls bathroom on the third floor with, like, some brunette from Ms. Johnson's History class," They both gasped. Predictable. "But that's not the worst! They were like, y'know," I made an obscene gesture with my hand and they instantly covered their own mouths with their palms in shock. "And the chick was like 'is it in yet?' and he was like 'yah' and I just closed the door and ran, oh my god I hope they didn't hear me," I squealed at the end, playing the part of a mortified teenager.

All three of us giggled uncomfortably for a moment. The blonde girl stared at me suspiciously. "And what were you doing there?"

I faked a nervous stammer, looking around briefly and showing them my lighter for a moment. They both gasped and nodded in recognition. "Don't tell anybody or my mom is going to have kittens," I pleaded. Both of them nodded solemnly, noticing their own group of friends approach. I used the brief moment to get lost in the river of pupils and by the time they turned around to introduce me, I was already at the opposite part of the hallway.

For the time being, everything seemed peaceful. There were a few giggles and side-eyes directed towards Flash Thompson but nothing out of the ordinary. He was disliked by most of the student population even if nobody dared to admit it outright. I took care to walk around without my earbuds for the day and pulled out my phone to record the most interesting conversations around me whenever I caught the tell tale signs of a gossip mill beginning to run its course around the school.

"Oh my god, I heard about this girl that was caught fucking Flash in the girls bathroom and she literally said 'is it in yet', can you imagine the shock, jeez!"

"Some chick literally just rejected Flash because his dick was too small."

"Rebecca from AP chemistry told me someone saw Flash's micropenis. Poor guy!"

"I wonder if his girlfriend dumped him because he can't do shit, I mean, he doesn't look like the type to eat the kitty."

Those were just the highlights of the Friday afternoon. Come the weekend and the news of Flash's unfortunate condition will make the rounds through every single group chat that the school has and by the time Monday rolls around, nobody will have a clue who started the rumour in the first place. I had to carefully select the girls who were to distribute the rumour and I was happy with the outcome: Marissa and Layla with their squad of chatty, bored rich girls were the perfect choice. I thought they would jump at any opportunity to cause drama and I was right.

It was sufficient to say I was bristling with pride as I cut and compiled the audio track from today's school day before sending it to the group chat.

Clint, Peter and Natasha appeared online as soon as the message delivered and I was delighted at their response. Romanoff's kind words, specifically, made me all warm and mushy inside. I didn't resist the feeling, basked in it even as I did a happy dance around my room. Peter's nonsensical string of emojis was another point of laughter for me.

It wasn't exactly the smartest way to go about killing Thompson's reputation... Alas, simplicity is the way to success when it comes to large crowds of teenagers. That tiny little vindictive part of me was very much looking forward to the weekend and the results of the inevitable distortion of the rumour I had started. Who knew, maybe by Monday Flash Thompson would not only have a micropenis but horns and hooves as well.

Near bedtime, I had all the avengers send me their regards and thumbs up. I answered the flurry of texts as quickly as I could but there was no point in keeping up with ten or so people constantly streaming their questions, opinions and comments.

I settled on a single easiest response: pulling my dad's old uni sweatshirt over my tiny lacy pajamas to preserve some modesty, I settled in front of my mirror, turning on my Bluetooth speaker to play "Boss Ass Bitch". In true gen-z fashion, I put on my best resting witch face and solemnly lip-synced to the song's eponymous chorus. My eyeliner was sharp enough to cut paper and my prismatic highlighter glittered enigmatically in the cold light of my blue lava lamp.

The response was, once again, delightful and I genuinely belly-laughed at the adults' attempts to meme after Peter. His blushy face emoji started a whole nother conversation that I didn't participate in but watched from the sidelines with glee, snorting every time his friends and mentors gently teased him about the very obvious crush he harboured on me.

Seeing Peter starting to go absolutely nuts, I interjected with an offer (more like a dare) of a lip sync battle. He jumped on the bandwagon, immediately going offline to undoubtedly film an epic video of what I thought would be dorky-dancing to some hipster song. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a pre-recorded tik tok video of him and Ned fighting with lightsabers while mouthing the words to Fergalicious that played over the Imperial March.

Weirdos. I still followed him on the app, though, it was pretty funny.

Bucky interjected with a very well executed rendition of "Bring Me to Life": he was wearing his full Winter Soldier get-up, complete with an AK-47, dramatically serenading Steve who looked seventeen shades of done with his partner's antics. Wanda's following twenty second voice message consisted of nothing but pure hysterical laughter, summing up everyone's reaction to the video. Bucky was going to go viral one of these days...

Obviously, I had good competition and nobody else seemed to want to participate so I rearranged my surroundings a little bit and stood up at my full height and swapped the old sweatshirt for a cute crop-top hoodie. My thigh-highs were on display and with my make-up, I looked like a proper internet e-girl. I leaned against the mirror as I mouthed along to the song with my best interpretation of the famous Lucifer smirk, seasoned with a tiny bit of angelic innocence: "Doctor, doctor, give me the news, I got a bad case of loving you..."

Needless to say, I won the competition. Eventually Wanda joined in, looking menacing and ominous with her dark clothes and Natasha's red hair flashing somewhere in the background; even Tony did a round (AC/DC as his soundtrack of course) with one of his Iron Man suits but nothing beat my stunt and the reaction that it caused.

I had accidentally called out Bruce with the choice of my song and his teammates gave both of us a lot of cheeky comments about it. We relented and flirted with each other a bit as the conversation flowed into more mundane discussion; I said my good nights somewhere between Tony's bitching about the hobbies of my generation and my nightly skincare routine. The little green heart that I'd become accustomed to over the past few weeks greeted me just as I was about to lock my phone.

Bruce was really too precious for this world. My crush on him was different than the one on Tony, it mellowed out in comparison. I wanted him to hold me, to stroke my hair, to call me his darling and wrap me up in one of those dorky button-ups that he insisted on wearing in spite of Tony's unwanted, however very valid, fashion advice.

For all that's worth, the scientist probably knew or at least suspected and had the good grace to play along just enough to satisfy my deep need for attention... Without crossing any actual lines. It was frustrating, it was disappointing but I had virtually nothing to complain about. Besides, I didn't want to lose the quirky friendship that we had. Banner was, probably, the least judgemental person I knew and I wasn't about to trade that for an awkwardly stolen kiss.

Monday and Tuesday passed in a flurry of giggling and snorting every time Flash walked by. His girlfriend broke up with him, very publicly, accusing him of cheating and he didn't even deny it - just insulted her and stormed off, leaving even his friends looking lost and clueless. I started dragging Peter and his two pet nerds along with me just about everywhere I went in case Thompson decided to do something stupid again. If judging only by the looks he was throwing our little company, he was on his way to figuring out who began nibbling at his reputation.

The week was coming to an end and the rumour began dying off, slowly. That just didn't sit with me, I wanted the fucker gone. Due to the obvious time constraints, I approached MJ regarding Peter - after a brief argument, we came to an agreement regarding Peter's safety should I need to leave him alone in the hallways or at lunch.

I needed to do this alone so if I got caught, I won't drag them down with me. Granted, I would probably get something like a suspension and the school will attempt to call my mother (she never picks up) but that's about it. That's where her reputation comes in handy-people consciously avoid dealing with her, she can be that unbearable.

But first, I needed to get a teacher that's on my side. After carefully considering the candidates, I settled on my Social Studies professor - he taught the college-level classes and was overall a very chill, nice dude. And he disliked bullies with a flaming passion. So it didn't take me long to work him into a righteous fury - just a quick chat over a cup of tea in his homeroom and a few pictures of Peter's bruised face, complete with my own pleading puppy eyes. We agreed Mr Davies would "accidentally" leave the teacher's lounge unlocked during third period and I would sneak in. The plan wasn't foolproof but if it worked, not only Flash, but also his whole misogynistic, bigoted family would go down.

As I was leaving, Mr Davies looked up at me with a bright smile: "Give them Hell, alright?" And I suddenly noticed he was, in fact, very attractive. The smile brought out the fine wrinkles around his mouth, the crow's feet around his eyes - he smiled a lot. Silver strands mixed in with the wooden brown of his hair.

I let my eyes slide over him briefly before baring my teeth in return. "I owe you one," I don't know what possessed me to say that. My mouth really had a mind of its own sometimes. The room suddenly became hot.

"Sure," He replied, totally oblivious.

On Friday, I made myself a small nest in the empty classroom opposite the teacher's lounge and sat waiting for the signal from Mr Davies - he'd tap on the door once and I'd quietly go inside the teacher's lounge, retrieve Thompson's file and make my way back to the empty classroom to grab my backpack and carry the file to my locker for further examination.

The first part went successfully and I managed to snag Thompson's file. It was heavy and hefty, all the evidence of his rowdiness compiled into one flimsy plastic folder. There were A LOT of pink slips and I rejoiced internally: at least there was a paper trail of his exploits. The principal didn't do anything about it which was... If not against the rules then at least frowned upon; the plan was to take copies and anonymously submit them to the school board prompting at least an investigation into the blatant disregard for Flash's immoral and illegal behaviour.

On my way back I stumbled upon the principal herself which got me not only a stern talking to, but a whole detention for skipping class. Whatever, I was too elated from potentially ruining the life of a dumb fuck who ruined my friend's face.

Surprise came in the face of Mr Davies, who, having heard the commotion in the hallway, stepped out of his class and saw me being lectured by the principal.

"I'll take her for the detention," I heard the familiar voice behind me. The principal nodded solemnly and I had no choice but to sigh in resignation. "Three thirty, be here," He nodded to me, walking back, looking way too smug for his own good. So I wasn't the only one excited about the successful completion of stage two of my nefarious plan. Cue evil laughter.

#tony stark x reader #tony stark x y/n #bruce banner x y/n #bruce banner x reader #stephen strange x reader #Stephen Strange x y/n #bun writes #party favours #author doesn't advocate for small dick jokes but tbh the abusive fucker deserves it

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caranfindel · 5 years

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Recap/review 14.11: “Damaged Goods”

THEN: Oh, good, we're going to have a Nick episode. I was hoping for that. (NOT.) Michael is trapped in Dean's internal walk-in. Billie has bad news related to that.

NOW: Nick interrogates a demon about another demon named Abraxis. The name sounds a little familiar and I waste a few seconds wondering where I've heard it before, but then I realize it's the demon who killed Nick's family and this has been Nick's entire focus and that's how little I care about Nick and his quest, that I couldn't even bother to remember who he was after. Anyway, he learns that the hunter who last dealt with Abraxis is in Hibbing. Oooh, who else do we know in Hibbing?

Title card!

Dean is packing. Books about angels. Tools. Work gloves. I was a little afraid we were going to ignore last week's horrifying revelation, and Dean would just sit on that information for a while. But he's wearing his Red Shirt of Bad Decisions, so we know the shit is going down tonight! \o/

He leaves the storeroom and kind of looks down the hallway, which is really insignificant the first time you watch this episode, but on rewatch you realize what he's thinking right here, and that he doesn't ever expect to see this hallway again... but I'm getting ahead of myself. He goes into the library, where Sam is quietly studying in the darkness (is that a new shirt? I like it). He ignores it when Sam asks how he's feeling. Dean tells Sam he appreciates that he's trying to help him, and Sam's all, yeah, what else would I do? He asks if Dean wants to join him, and they have this conversation.

Actually, I thought I'd go for a drive, you know, just me and Baby, long stretch of road. And figured I'd make it a two-fer, go see Mom at Donna's cabin.

Yeah, yeah, that sounds great. Be good to see them. Just let me find a stopping point and get packed up.

Actually, I was, uh, I was kind of hoping for some one-on-one time with Mom, if that's cool.

Yeah. Sure, yeah. Whatever you need.

And I thought this conversation was going to break my heart, because Sam clearly does NOT think this trip sounds great, but he's going to go anyway because it's what Dean wants/needs to do, and then Dean rejects that, and Sam's little face is going to do me in. And on rewatch, it kind of seems like Dean is stalling here, like he can't bring himself to leave (but again, I'm getting ahead of myself) AND THEN THIS HAPPENS.

Dean comes around behind Sam and HUGS HIM and says "take care, Sammy" and I'm just WHAAAAT. NO THIS IS NOT RIGHT. THIS IS SUCH A BAD, BAD SIGN, SAM WINCHESTER, AND YOU KNOW IT.

And also, there goes the rest of my heart.

Cut to Mary at the aforementioned cabin, talking to Sam on the phone. She says the cabin's been quiet since Bobby took off for a few days. The old "I need a little space after killing the ghoul version of my dead son" thing. Happens to the best of us. Sam tells her he's worried because Dean's acting so weird, and mentions the hug. Mary says "that's sweet," proving that she doesn't know her sons at all. Really, Mary, you've witnessed ONE hug between them. ONE. Sam points out that they don't hug unless it's "literally the end of the world," which isn't quite true. It would be more accurate to say "unless one of us is dying or just came back from the dead," which is slightly more frequent than the end of the world Either way, Mary assures him that everything will be fine. But as Sam's talking to her, he's walking through the storerooms in the bunker and he sees some books are missing.

(Sidebar: Why are these books kept in the storeroom and not the library? And why are regular tools apparently kept with supernatural paraphernalia? Couldn't that cause problems? What if a MoL novice was sent to Storeroom 2 for a reciprocating saw and he couldn't figure out why a saw would reciprocate or what that would look like and he came back with something he dug out of a curse box instead? I'm seeing all kinds of potential OSHA violations here.)

Now we see Dean enjoying a messy burger. Oh, he's with Donna! I love Dean and Donna, y'all. She tries to ask him about himself, but he keeps deflecting. Which doesn't fool her at all, and she finally says "just wondering if you've run out of ways to ask me how I'm doing, so as to avoid me repaying the favor." She knows about Michael, because of Sam. "What, has he got a freaking newsletter," Dean grumps. But I'm glad to see Sam's been talking to his support system, because in the past, he's not done that as often as he should.

Dean ends the conversation with the typical "I'm fine" nonsense and gives Donna one of those big hugs where he looks absolutely stricken while she can't see him and then plasters on a smile when they pull apart, and you KNOW how I love when he does that. He pulls away and says "I'll see ya." But it's pretty obvious Dean is on his farewell tour and never intends to see Donna again. It's also pretty obvious that Donna can tell something is up.

Dean pulls up to the cabin, which is seriously in need of some work on the roof, and immediately hears gunshots. It turns out to be Mary murdering some pumpkins for target practice. (SHE'S STILL GOT THAT LOCK OF TOO-LONG HAIR.) He tells her he wants to stick around for a couple of days, which surprises her. She suggests they call Sam to join them, but he says he wants to be "a little greedy with my Mom time." No, Dean, that's not suspicious at all. Jesus. (Or, as someone pointed out, Sorry Sam, but Mom was MY gift.)

Mary pushes it, and Dean comes right out and says "I don't want Sam here," and again, Dean, that's not suspicious at all. How is someone who lies professionally such a BAD liar? He explains his mood away by claiming to be hangry, even though he just finished the best burger in all of Minnesota, and tells Mary he wants the one thing she can cook, something called Winchester Surprise. She heads out to the grocery store, and doesn't suggest that the son who drove all this way to see her would want to ride along. Or maybe she does, and he refuses, and they just didn't show us that part. Anyway, the important thing is, Dean's alone and he has work to do.

He gets his bag out of the Impala and strides purposely into a large shed decorated with pictures of topless guys with 70s porn 'staches. The first one reminds me a LOT of Doug 2.0, so I laugh when Dean says "Well, Donna certainly has a type." Yes she does. He finds an 8-track player, of all things, but is interrupted by a sudden burst of Michael banging on his door. The tape he chooses is the Guess Who, and the song is "No Time Left For You," which I've never liked (lots of experience with 70s music here, kiddos) but it seems appropriate. And then he gets to work, and if you thought Sam soldering last week was hot, you're in for a treat. Let's forget our annoyance with the soundtrack and concentrate on how much we appreciate Metalworking!Dean, complete with welding helmet and safety goggles, under the watchful eyes of several shirtless moustachioed cowboys.

Mmmm, yes, we do appreciate it.

(Sidebar: Where did all this metal come from?)

Meanwhile, at the grocery store, we get a fake-out where we think someone threatening is accosting Mary, but it's only a friendly employee. And we also see that Mary puts her grocery bags in the bed of her truck? So not only does she not know how to cook, but she doesn't even know where to PUT FOOD? I.e., IN THE CAB?

He says buying food is new for her, because she usually buys whiskey, pumpkins, and crossword puzzles. Damn, Mary, it really seems like things aren't going well out there at the Love Shack if you're spending all day drinking, shooting pumpkins, and doing crossword puzzles. I'm gonna go ahead and call it - Mobby is doomed. She tells him she has family in town, which I expect to turn into the inevitable oh no, this guy is a demon and now he knows Dean is there.

But I'm exactly wrong. Nick pulls up in the creepiest windowless van possible and asks the guy if he knows where Mary Winchester is. Because why wouldn't he? Why wouldn't Random Grocery Store Guy know where everyone in Hibbing Minnesota, population 16,361, resident or guest, lives? Random Grocery Store Guy pretends he doesn't know who she is. Good for him.

(BTW, the fastest route from Lebanon to Hibbing is about 12.5 hours. But it's all interstate and I suspect either Winchester would take the route that uses more state highways and is 13.5 hours.)

(Sidebar: Yes, when I open Mapquest, Lebanon is always in my Recents. Is that not normal?)

Apparently Nick decides he'll just cruise the greater Hibbing area and try to find her, because we seem him after nightfall driving his creepy van. A police car drives by, and then turns around and pulls him over. He makes sure his stolen angel blade is in place and hides a paperclip somewhere on his person before the officer gets to him. Oooh, it's Donna!

She cuffs him and tells him the van's been reported stolen, but she also reveals she knows he's looking for Mary, and don't like the way she lays all her cards on the table like that. Let him think you're just arresting him for a stolen car, Donna. Don't let him know you're onto his Grand Scheme. He says his name is "Nunya" and then "Eat Me" (oooh, is he related to the Eat Me Sam met a few seasons ago?), but she's got some kind of mobile fingerprint scanner. Does this thing exist? She discovers who he is, but while her back is turned, he uses his paperclip to get out of the cuffs. They fight, and she seems to have the upper hand, but he gets her taser and that's the end of that.

Love Shack. When Mary pulls up, Dean is outside by the door to the Shed of Mysterious Building. He lies about what he's doing out there and carries the groceries inside, to where the table is set and he wants to help her cook (THIS IS NOT OKAY) and she FINALLY realizes something is up. (Also, Dean, we know you're not a terrible cook. Don't lie just to make your mom feel better.) She quietly talks to Sam from upstairs (though not quietly enough, Dean totally would have heard her in the real world) and agrees that something is going on. Sam tells her about the missing items and says he thinks he should come up, but she says to give her more time. WHY, MARY. WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE PERSON TO ADDRESS THIS AND NOT SAM. WHY DO YOU INSIST ON KEEPING HIM 13.5 HOURS AWAY. WHY. It doesn't matter, because when Sam hangs up, we see he's already on his way. YES. THAT'S MY BOY.

Dinner. Dean tells a funny/tragic story about their childhood and Mary gets a case of The Sads, realizing how much she's missed and "how much the two of you just..." Just everything, Mary. They just EVERYTHING. Together. Without John, without you. AND STILL YOU THINK SAM SHOULD SIT IN THE BUNKER AND LET YOU HANDLE THIS. DAMMIT, MARY.

Anyway. Dean says her being alive has meant "everything to me, and everything to Sam." He claims to appreciate this wonderful time they're having, but he falters when he says "there's no clouds on the horizon." Because it's a LIE. She tells him he can talk to her about whatever he's going through, and he says "Everybody keeps asking me how I am. And how I am, is I don't want to talk about it. Please."

Oh lord, his face.

Later, as he snores gently on the couch, we see Mary tiptoe downstairs and outside, to check out what's happening in the Shed of Mysterious Building. (Sidebar: Dean sleeps with one arm flung behind his back, which I think we first saw in No Escape, and I always thought it was an odd and fake-looking way to sleep until I realized I actually do that sometimes myself.) She looks through the books and things and figures out what he's doing and it must be bad because she says "no, no, no." Meanwhile, Donna is waking up inside her own cruiser. I wonder why Nick left her alive?

Dean wakes up to the sound of a ringing phone. It's not his, it's Mary's. Donna is calling to warn him about Nick. But it's too late, because when Dean goes outside, Mary isn't there. But Sam is. "Hey, whoa, easy!" he says, facing down Dean's gun, and that tickles me for some reason.

Creepy van. Nick whines to Mary. He found email from Mary in Donna's phone, giving the address of the Love Shack. He thinks Mary knows where Abraxis is. She does - the demon is trapped inside an Enochian puzzle box in a storage locker, locately conveniently in or near Hibbing. I don't care about any of this.

At the Love Shack, Sam blames himself for Nick running around like a free madman, because of course he does. Donna's APB gets a result - the creepy van has been spotted outside Grand Rapids. Donna says that's 30-40 minutes away, but Grand Rapids is actually 11.5 hours away from Hibbing. Maybe there's a little town called Grand Rapids near Hibbing. A town so small that Mapquest doesn't even know about it.

(I KNOW. NO ONE CARES. MOVING ON.)

Nick gets the Enochian puzzle box (yeah, this scene goes on FOREVER and I'm skipping a lot here, is anyone complaining? nope didn't think so) and wants to release the demon so they can talk. Mary points out that the demon needs a host to talk, and it can't be Nick and it can't be her, and she flashes an anti-possession tattoo as explanation. So drills the box open and Nick forces the storage locker employee to be the host. Abraxis says he'll tell Nick why they killed his family if he kills Mary slow and bloody.

While this is happening, we see Sam and Dean on that 30 minute/11.5 hour drive to Grand Rapids. Sam looks despondent, and they have this conversation:

Say it. I can see you want to. Might as well go ahead and say it.

All right. Nick is not a project. He's not a freaking puppy. He was Lucifer's vessel for years.

I know that, Dean, I thought -

You thought he'd what, just walk it off? Come on, man, you're not that dumb.

It's not about being dumb, Dean, it's called compassion. Look, what happened to Nick could have happened to me. It almost happened to me. You change one little thing in our past and that WAS me! Lucifer wearing ME to the prom. Besides, since when do we give up on people? Since when do we just cut people loose?

Well, maybe you need to learn, okay? Because when people are past the point of saving, maybe you need to learn to walk away.

Ouch. I hurt for both of them. Poor Sam, seeing himself in Nick and wanting to save that guy the way he wishes someone had wanted to save him. Having faith in Nick's potential the way he wanted someone, anyone, to have faith in his own. And Dean obviously isn't talking about Nick, at least not there at the end, because we've heard it from Dean before, talking about himself. I can't be saved; walk away.

The guys arrive at the storage locker just in time to stop Nick from killing Mary slow and bloody. Nick scratches out the devil's trap that's holding the demon, and Abraxis immediately tosses them around and tells Nick he was chosen completely at random. Damn, Nick is as whiny as Lucifer was. (I wonder who influenced who? Discuss.)

Dean tries to quietly exorcise the demon, but Abraxis flings him against a shelf and we get a flash of skin. But before he can start killing anyone, Nick stabs him with the stolen angel blade. Then Nick acts like he's going to stab the others if they don't let him escape, so Donna shoots him in the leg. Dammit, Donna, this was the perfect opportunity to kill him. He already killed one person, and he was threatening to kill the rest of you. It would have been a clean shoot. Instead, Mary punches the wounded whiny baby and Sam does a wee little version of his glorious post-exertion huff.

Outside, Sam gives Nick a sad, confused look.

Why?

I needed the truth, Sam. I needed revenge for my family. You would have done the same thing.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't help you, I'm sorry I didn't know how.

It's not about you, Sam. It was never about you. You couldn't fix me because I didn't want to be fixed. I was never broken.

Yeah, Nick, you are. I don't feel sorry for you, Nick. I feel sorry for the people you hurt, the people you murdered. The people whose faces will haunt you every night for the rest of your life. You can burn.

FUUUUUCK. That's cold as hell and it's not like Sam Winchester at all and I love it to pieces. He's finally given up on this asshole. But it's finally time to move away from the B plot, and Mary tells Dean she saw what he was building in the shed. She knows what he's building, she knows what he's planning, and the three of them ARE going to talk about it. And if he doesn't tell Sam, she will. So, you finally think Sam's input is important, Mary? Good to know.

When the sun rises, we're back at the Shed of Mysterious Building. Dean is showing Sam what he's done. He calls it something like a "maloch box," which I'm sure is spelled wrong. It looks like a giant coffin (yeah, about that...) Nothing can escape it, not even an archangel. Sam knows what they are but says they're impossible to build, and Dean's all, "not so much." And then they have this conversation and I'm sorry (no I'm not), but I had to transcribe the whole thing.

That's your plan? You want to be buried alive?

Buried's not safe enough. Plan is, pay a little hush money, charter a boat to take me out to the Pacific. Splash.

You and Michael, trapped, together, for eternity.

Yeah.

You do realize how insane this is, right?

It's the only sane play I've got. Michael gets out, that's it for this world. And he will get out.

How do you know that for sure?

Because I do. Because I can feel him, in my head. That door is giving. I can feel it giving.

There has to be another way.

There's not, okay? There's... Sam, you've tried. Cas has tried. Jack. And I love you for trying, but none of it's going to work.

But we don't know that!

Yeah, we do.

What?

Billie. She paid me a little visit. She said that there's only one way that this ends right. And this is it. This, right here. This box. So she gave up the special recipe and all I had to do was the work. It's fate.

Since when do we believe in fate?

Now, Sam. Since now.

So, you came out here, to see Donna, to see Mom, on some what, some sick secret farewell tour? You were gonna leave, and you weren't even gonna tell me. Me. Do you realize how messed up that is? How unfair that is?

I didn't have a choice! Sam, you're the last person I could tell, the last person I could be around, cause you're the only one that could have talked me out of it! And I won't be talked out of it. I won't. I'm doing this. Now you can either let me do it alone, or you could help me. But I'm doing this.

...

All right.

Oh, guys.

Well, I've got to admit, Dean's prophesied horrifying death was a letdown. First, because it wasn't even new - it was basically the same fate Death offered him when he had the MoC. Worse, sure. Being locked in a box with an angry archangel rather than floating in space and having some kind of dream life, never a good option. (ASK SAM. HE KNOWS.) But mostly because it didn't live up to his reaction when he first read Billie's book. I was sure (and I wasn't alone) that his tearful reaction meant it was going to involve something horrible for someone he loves (SAM). But this? The Dean we know would have reacted the way he did when Rowena told him he had to "be the bomb" in order to destroy Amara. Yeah, this sucks, but I always knew it was gonna end ugly, so, whaddya gonna do?

(Sidebar: This brings up an interesting question. I know an angel's vessel is immortal, but would Dean still be immortal even though Michael was trapped inside his head? Would the fact that Michael wasn't in the driver's seat stop him from keeping his vessel alive? Or would the angel's grace do that all on its own?)

But oh, guys. This scene. THIS SCENE. These two. Dean saying I love you for trying. Dean at the beginning, chin up, so defiant, so defensive because this is exactly what he was afraid of - telling Sam, and having to stick to his plan. (He's probably remembering the last time Sam talked him out of this very thing, kneeling on the floor in front of him, agreeing to support the plan for Dean to lock himself up with the Mark of Cain forever, looking up at him with the puppy dog eyes and nodding to accept that Dean has to cut his head off in order to prevent him from undoing that act; or maybe he's not actually remembering that but now I am, goddammit guys, I need a minute.) And Sam realizing that last little hug was Dean's last planned goodbye, and being so angry and so hurt, and the way he looks so young there at the end, when he stops and finally says "all right." I know we've seen this before but IT STILL GETS ME. EVERY DAMN TIME.

(Sidebar: Did Dean leave Sam a note? Is it in the bunker somewhere? Because Sam's last conversation with his father was the old man saying I don't know why we always fight, now go away and his last conversation with his brother would have been I want to go visit Mom without you. Discuss. Fanfic it. Come wail with me about it.)

(Also... Dean's farewell tour didn't include Cas? Jack? Jody?)

Well. Happy 40th birthday, Dean Winchester.

Worst. Birthday. Ever.

So, this episode? Too much Nick. Not enough Sam. Things that did not live up to expectations. But also, things that were wonderfully unexpected. I've seen worse, my friends. What did you think? And please help me stay unspoiled, thanks!

#spn #14.11 #spoilers #tv recaps #review #season 14 #things that are not ok #sam winchester #dean winchester #dean’s red shirt of bad decisions

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nekky-nek · 3 years

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Disney Movie Marathon #29 The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

Look at that out first major sequel! (No I am not talking about all the straight to VHS and DVD ones... well maybe one day but that day is not today). I know I've at least seen parts of this movie but I don't think I've ever seen this one in full. But I'm looking forward to it since a lot of these Renaissance movies are amazing

Story: I don't think I brought this up with the previous Rescuers, but we don't talk enough about how the main kids in their movies can canonically talk to animals. They have conversations. Anyway storywise it was pretty good but I felt like we could've trimmed the bits with Wilbur the albatross since it felt like it halted the movie. Yes it was funny to see a bunch of nurse and doctor mice try to help him but it lasted longer than it needed to. The Rescuers are better when we focus on the rescuers and how their actions or they themselves are affected by the narrative. Great setup meeting the main child, his motivation to save animals, what the poacher is all about, and how the Rescue Society get involved.

Characters: I thought Bianca and Bernard were cute enough but now I really enjoyed them along with the cast they meet along the way. I liked how they met another mouse to help them across Australia and added to any shenanigans Bernard had to mentally deal with. Medusa and McLeach would get along great with their greediness and their trigger happy hands. Or maybe that would be a disaster. I just realized they both had reptilian pets. There was this lizard that was there for comedy relief and luckily we only see him when the kid is caught by the poacher. His whole thing also could've been trimmed a tiny bit.

Art/Animation: Rescuers got a budget. They're starting to get more ambitious with their 3D software and you can tell they're still figuring it out since it's mostly basic shapes of sweeping cityscapes, but they are using it to have more fun with the camera. Their backgrounds absolutely shine when they're painted. The way they color and clean their animation is so smooth now. You can tell the money they got off Little Mermaid went into this

Songs: not a musical this go around but I liked when the score used more Australian sounds to go along with the soundtrack. I wish there was more of that.

#nek watches movies #disney movie marathon #the rescuers down under #disney #long post #text post

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noodlecupcakes · 7 years

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Eleven

I got tagged by these wonderful ladies whom I both adore @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash and @jeffreydeanneganstrash

Gonna put a read more as theres 22 questions in total for me to answer

@flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash questions

1. Do you have any pets? If so, what species, and what are their names?

I don't have any pets myself, but my boyfriend has two amazing doggos called Tilly and Charlie

2. Your favorite place that you’ve traveled to?

Florence, Italy. Unfortunately it was a stop off location for a cruise so I only got to spend a day there with a very rushed tour, so I would really love to go back for a proper holiday.

3. What are you currently reading?

It by Stephen King but I would like to point out that I do NOT want to fuck Pennywise

4. One thing that you’re currently looking forward to?

Walker Stalker London 2018, I'm a greedy bitch and have two photo ops with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and I'm so excited to meet him again. I will go into cardiac arrest if he remembers me.

5. Where do you hopefully see yourself in 5 years?

Perhaps engaged to my other half @mk-vi (no pressure daddy), and hopefully in a much better job

6. Your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Hmmm, I think I would have to say Strawberry or Milky Way

7. What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever received?

Write for you, if your not happy with your work then there's not much point

8. Favorite brand/chain/type of coffee?

I don't like coffee, or hot drinks for that matter

9. One thing you never leave home without?

iPod, I have to have music

10. Name 3 things (can be physical, emotional, etc.) that you love about yourself.

1. My boobs. Pride and joy baby

2. My sense of empathy although this does involve crying at multiple books/tv shows and movies

3. How persistent I am when it comes to writing. I gotta get a chapter out at least once a week unless something comes up.

11. If you were to recommend one published book/series for me to read, what would it be?

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO SERIES, (just the first three, we don't talk about the new trilogy) by Stieg Larsson. This is like my all time fav series of books to read. Lisbeth Salander is strong independant woman goals.

And now for @jeffreydeanneganstrash‘s questions

1. Was there a book or movie that you read/watched that truly disappointed you? If so, which book/movie and why?

I think Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice was absolutely unreadable garbage, yet the movie was soooo good. The book is just given such an awful format, it's not a pleasure to read, its more of a chore. If your recalling memories I don't want the whole damn book to be you reciting them. Maybe lets do some time jumps and you write out the actual memory.

2. If you could travel back in time, where would you go?

Hmmm, I’ve always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt so probably then, although Im sure I wouldnt last long at all.

3. What is your favourite quote or song lyric?

Quote: Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee - Agent Dale Cooper - Twin Peaks

4. Who is you least favourite “popular” celebrity and why?

Any of the Kardashians like what are they actually famous for again?

5. When there’s something strange in your neighbourhood…who are you gonna call?

The fucking police

6. Would you ever play with a ouija board?

FUCK NO. I’VE WATCHED TOO MANY HORROR MOVIES TO BE SMART ENOUGH TO NOT EVEN GO NEAR ONE.

7. If you could be a part of any T.V./Movie universe, which would it be?

Oh jesus fucking christ. *flops* How can I pick one? As much as I would like to say The Walking Dead I honestly don't think I would survive. So maybe Gotham or Steven Universe

8. Do you prefer mornings or nights?

Nights as my brain activity seems to go through the roof and thats when I find it easiest to write.

9. Can you name 11 things that are around you?

1. Empty plate

2. Sweet wrappers

3. Phone

4. iPod

5. Pens

6. Notebooks

7. Printer

8. Multiple colouring books

9. Colouring pens and pencils

10. Sunglasses case

11. Nail clippers.

10. Black or white?

Black

11. What is the soundtrack to your life?

Hmmmm probably a mixture of Sempiternal by Bring Me the Horizon and Electra Heart by Marina & the Diamonds

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