#i'm going to watch when harry met sally for the second time and maybe do the tl parallel set cause i went nuts when i picked up on stuff

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

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#i'm going to watch when harry met sally for the second time and maybe do the tl parallel set cause i went nuts when i picked up on stuff #i lost my sh*t when they were singing Oklahoma

[auteurdelabre]

Losing our Minds Together (Part 3) Dad!Joelxf!Reader

Part 3

Summary: Forget when Harry met Sally, this is when Frank met Bill… plus some other important stuff

Rating: 18+ (for future chapters)

Word Count: 3.2k

Pairing: Dad!Joel Miller x f!reader (no use of y/n, no physical descriptions) , Bill x Frank, Ellie x Riley, Tommy x Maria

Warnings: This is saccharine slice of life with smut and a Softish!Joel. You have been warned. There is smut, but when it gets to those chapters you will have plenty of warning.

A/N: I hope you like it and if you do please reblog and all that good shit. Thanks y'all!

masterlist

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Ellie comes for sweet tea three times in the following week. Only approaching when she sees you out in your yard, either sun tanning or trying to make your backyard look presentable.

You won't admit it, but Joel's prettying up of his yard makes yours look like shit. It propels you off the couch to mow your overgrown lawn and trim the bushes that separate your yard from his. It makes you power wash your driveway and consider painting the house before you remember you don't have the money for that.

When Ellie stops by, hovering on the property line between your two homes like a lonely ghost you always greet her with a "hey honey". After the second time, she stops cringing at it. 

You never deny her request for sweet tea; never tell her that you're too busy. But you do involve her in what you're doing when she asks during a task.

"I'm pulling weeds today kid," you tell her, Fanning your overheated face. "I'll trade ya some sweet tea for some weed pulling."

She smiles, already clamoring over to you. "Deal."

Ellie gets down on her knees, grunting in the sunshine as she helps you pull weeds one afternoon. 

Joel watches this, fingers parting the blinds as he watches you smile behind your sunglasses, waving Ellie over. 

She talks a bit during these times with you. Not much and never about life before the move. Usually just stories about books she wants to read or television programs she's watching. 

She complains that Joel is always up early wanting to unpack and get their house ready. That he always insists she eat breakfast, even if she's tired. That makes you smile softly. You wonder why he's Joel and not Dad, but you don't press. 

She talks about feeling lonely here and that you're the only one in the neighborhood who isn't "weird". You try not to be too flattered by that (but you are). 

You find out from Marlene that her daughter Riley is at camp for the next week when the two of you get your mail at the same time. You mention Ellie and their ages and Marlene agrees to encourage Riley to set up a play date of sorts. 

"Or whatever teenagers do now," she says with a shrug that has you smirking. Marlene is one of the cooler people on the block.

When you see Joel in the backyard the next morning you consider telling him all of this. But you don't. 

You still don't know what you think of him. 

///

There is just something about Bill.

Something that makes Frank go weak in the knees. Is it his serious countenance? The single minded way he goes through life? The fact that he doesn't give a shit about what others think of him? 

Maybe it's all of that. Maybe it's the focus he has for whatever his task at hand might be and Frank imagining how that focus would translate into the bedroom. 

Whatever it is, from the second Frank watched Bill first come into the coffee shop and he mumbled out an order for a "normal coffee, none of that whipped cold brew fancy shit", Frank was gone. 

Obsessed with the man's steely gaze looking out from almost cherub-like features with his wide eyes and delicate nose. Frank thinks he has facial hair because of such features, hiding the soft round of his face behind a beard and sandy hair he needs to tuck behind his ears. 

Frank has never had trouble finding men to warm his bed and spend his days with. Frank is handsome, fit, dresses well. The nature of his job meant there were no shortage of creative men who loved fiercely. 

Bill is so single minded. He knows exactly what he wants and how. Frank just knows that when Bill loves, he does so long and deep with that same focus and drive. Frank just knows that his kind of love abides all seasons. 

He decides that today he's going to go to the cafe around the corner. He's going to ask Bill how he is. Something subtle. Something casual.

He's just desperate for an interaction. 

///

It strikes you as hilarious when you head out the next week to go to Frank's gallery and notice Joel's front door open. It's not the fact that the door is open that strikes you as funny, more the collection of women gathered outside of it. 

Kathleen, Marlene and even a neighbor from down the street you don't even know.

Apparently the news going around is that Joel wears no wedding ring and no wife or girlfriend has been seen in the vicinity. Subsequently they've all come to spy the latest bachelor armed with casserole dishes and painted on smiles. 

You see Joel's grinning face chatting with these women and you realize you had him pegged correctly right from the start. 

Self centered egomaniac.

The kind of person that waltzes up to a stranger with their hands full and asks for bags. The kind of man who loves the attention of these women desperate to inject their dull suburban lives with a bit of intrigue. 

You pull yourself into your car, your eyes hidden behind sunglasses and glancing over to the far window of Joel's house to see Ellie looking glumly out of it. She isn't staring at anything in particular, just sort of zoning out, but her eyes look troubled. She looks lonely. You recognize that look. 

The look you used to wear when you were her age. You sigh, pondering a moment before getting back out of your car. You saunter across the lawn, your eyes hidden behind oversized sunglasses. 

Your neighbors greet you with tacit smiles as you come up behind them. Their eyes fall to your empty arms bearing no welcome-wagon-type offering. 

"So this is where the party is," you offer drolly. The women smile, some laughing softly. Joel looks truly taken aback to see you here willingly. Every other time he's seen you you've ignored him. 

"We're just welcoming Joel here to the neighborhood," Kathleen says matter of factly. "That's just how some of us were raised."

You roll your eyes behind your sunglasses but Joel darts his eyes to the smug looking woman. 

"She already introduced herself," Joel states firmly. "First day I got here in fact."

"Really?" Now it's Kathleen's turn to look put out. You raise a curious brow behind your sunglasses at Joel and he grins.

"Yep. Sure was memorable."

You feel your mouth fighting not to curve into a smile at that. You turn your attention to why you came over in the first place. 

"You mind if I take Ellie on a little adventure?" 

Joel for the first time since you've met him looks anxious. His mouth thins and he darts a look at your car. 

"I'm a safe driver and you know where I live." You let your mouth curl into a smile at that. "But I understand if it's not okay."

The women seem to be observing this interaction and have gone quiet, eyes ping pointing from you to Joel and back again as he considers. 

He stares at your car a long time before his dark eyes move to your face. He blinks and then nods before he's turning to call out over his shoulder. 

"Ellie? Neighbor's here. The artist."

You raise a brow curious at that. You hear the padding of feet and Ellie's pinched face appears around the corner. When she sees its you it relaxes into a sort of shy tight-lipped grin.

"Hey."

"Hey you wanna come to an art gallery with me? Help me pick some stuff up?"

"Hell yeah."

Ellie is already pulling on her sneakers. You smile, tilting a nod at Joel. The other women are offering hellos to Ellie, but she ignores them and you can tell they're irritated at your intrusion.  You’ve messed up the flirty flow they had going on.

"Don't worry, I'll have her home by supper," you call over your shoulder at a pensive looking Joel. "Unless I sell her off."

Ellie smiles at this and you make sure she's buckled in before you back out of the driveway. She gives a wave to Joel and the image of him surrounded by women with casserole dishes grows small in the rearview mirror.

"Looks like the whole welcoming committee came out," you say with a wry grin as you turn the radio station to something without static. 

"Yeah. Fucking annoying."

"I bet."

"Is it always like that?"

"Like what?"

"Neighbors bringing food?"

"Only when the neighbor is hot, male and single," you say with a laugh. "When Shelton moved in with his wife all they got were a wave and a nice to meet you."

Ellie wrinkles her nose at the thought of Joel being considered "hot". She looks out the window, watching as downtown Austin eventually comes into view. 

"You bored?"

"Kinda."

"You're a kid. Should be exploring."

"That's what Joel says," Ellie sighs, leaning back in the seat. 

"Why do you call him by his first name?" 

"Cuz I'm adopted."

Your surprised by this. With their dark eyes and strangely similar demeanor you'd never have guessed she wasn't biologically his.

"And he's only been like, a dad to me for three years." 

This surprises you even more. 

"We don't have to talk about it," you offer and Ellie seems to relax at this . She nods, easing back into her seat.

///

When you arrive at the gallery with a teenage girl in tow Frank is impossibly sweet. He comes out into the gallery as you enter, bright smile on his face. 

"And who is this? Are you a fellow artist?"

Ellie shrugs, embarrassed in that classic teenage way that wants attention but feels humiliated when it's given. 

"We're working on it," you tell Frank with a wink. "For today she's just helping me pick up that stuff I brought to the kiln."

"That's just great," Frank gushes. "Did you bring some of that new stuff you showed me too?"

He's talking about that big piece you made in a fit of anger. That canvas currently hidden under a towel. The one you don't like looking at for too long because it hurts your stomach to look at it too long. 

"Nah," you shrug. "Wouldn't really go with the rest of the exhibition."

Frank fixes you with a concerned look. "Your choice."

"This place is amazing."

You both glance over to see Ellie wandering the gallery, her eyes wide as she views the current exhibition.

"I'm gonna go grab my stuff from the kiln," you tell Frank. Your voice rises. "Ellie I'll be right back. You take your time wandering."

Frank watches Ellie slowly going through the gallery, eyes widening when she sees something she likes. When she leans forward to read the bio of one artist, Frank, ever eager to share his love of art with the younger generation saunters over, hands in his dress pants pockets. 

"Jan Cruzant," Frank says. Ellie nods, eyes flitting behind him to where a large abstract sculpture rests. 

"I really like this one too," Ellie says, pointing to it as she and Frank approach it. "Jan whatever her name was so this one?"

"No that's a Stephenie Granatta. She made this of two female lovers she had," Frank says patiently smiling, falling into the old traditional teachers way of his. "She says there's nothing more beautiful than a woman's form in a pleasured state."

He watches as Ellie's cheeks go a deep red before realizing that perhaps this was too much information for a teenager. She mumbles something about sculptures before moving back to look at a more neutral landscape piece.

Thankfully you break the awkward silence by kicking open the door to the studio, your arms full of finished pieces in a heavy cardboard box. Your face is slick with sweat.  

"Frank! Why is it so fucking hot back there?"

"Broken AC," Frank says with a frown. "Been out since Thursday."

"Something is in the air," you grumble. "Mine's out at my place too. But you actually have money! Why is yours still out?"

"Repair guy isn't in until next week."

"So get someone else," you insist, your hair sticking to the back of your sweating neck. 

"Apparently the building operates off a very old system," Frank frowns. "Needs a special kind of repair guy."

"You should ask for a deal on this month's rent," you grouse, hefting the box into your other arm. 

Frank snaps as if remembering something and he goes to his office. Ellie wanders over to you just as Frank re-emerges with a white envelope. 

"I totally forgot, one of your pieces sold this morning," Frank tells you. "After commission that's $500 for you."

Ellie's eyes widen. Five hundred dollars? That's so much money! 

"Well this sounds like a celebration," you say taking the envelope excitedly from Frank. "What's say we head to the cafe for some lunch? My treat for once!"

///

The three of you are halfway through your sandwiches and drinks when Bill comes walking into the cafe. Frank is the first to notice and he freezes up, the conversation about the latest movie he's seen grinding to a halt. 

"Frank? What's wr-" you glance over your shoulder to see where his eyes have gone.  Ellie turns in curiosity and soon all three of you watch Bill with a newspaper under one arm grab a coffee from the barista and head to a small table. 

"Who's that?" Ellie asks curiously. 

"Frank's crush. He loooooves him," you coo from beside Ellie, the two of you giggling gently as Frank's face flushes and he lifts his cup to his mouth, making his rosy cheeks even rosier.

"Shuddap." 

"So if you like him why aren't you talking to him?" Ellie asks after taking another bite of her lunch. 

She doesn't have any real experience with romance, never really liked a boy enough to want to date one. She doesn't get what all the fuss is about. But Frank obviously likes this guy. She can see it in the soft way he looks at the man. 

"Tell me you've at least said hello," you insist, eyes sharp. When Frank gives a non-committal shrug you sigh and stand abruptly. 

"Fine. I see I'll have to play Cupid myself."

"Don't you fucking dare," Frank warns you, but you're already moving from the table winking over your shoulder as you approach Bill. Ellie grins at your back, fascinated at the complicated lives of grown up romance.

Frank feels his throat tightening as you approach Bill, forcing his eyes to his drink. He can't watch. You sail up to Bill's table, smile wide and voice sweet as sugar. 

"Hi, Bill is it?"

The man doesn't look up from what he's reading in the paper. You notice it's a review for a local theatre troupe

"Do I know you?"

Oh shit. Your smile falters only a moment. You point to his coffee mug where "Bill" has been scrawled on the lid in felt. His light eyes dart to it and he nods, satisfied with the explanation. Whew, close one.

"This might sound weird but I was just wondering if you knew anything about air conditioning units?"

You see the back of Bill's neck flush a soft pink immediately at this attention. He’s a quiet man who wanted to come in for a quiet coffee so he could quietly read his paper.  His light eyes dart to your face and then back to his rustling newspaper.  

"A little. Why?"

"It's just my friend was just curious. His unit is broken and he really needs it fixed."

"And who's your friend?"

"Frank. The guy who owns the art gallery around the corner? He's sitting right over there." 

His light eyes travel to where you point and Bill, who had previously looked so irritated at being disturbed suddenly flushes a beet red, so red that he's almost glowing as he forces his eyes back to his coffee. 

You feel delight blooming in your chest because this right here is the only sign you needed. 

Bingo.

"I wouldn't normally ask, it's just he's desperate and-" you want to say more, you want to set things in motion but Frank has gripped you by the upper arm and jerked you back to your table. 

“Excuse us,” he says quickly to Bill before tugging you into your seat and thrusting himself into his own. He leans his head down at you across the table, his voice low. Ellie is trying not to giggle behind her emptied cup. 

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I figure he's a mechanic, he might know how to fix ancient AC units."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever-"

"You uh, you needed someone to look at your AC unit?"

You watch as Frank raises his head and blinks up at Bill who has come to stand next to your table. Frank swallows thickly and you and Ellie smirk covertly at one another before you both stand.

"We gotta get going, excuse us." You tilt to give Frank a kiss on the cheek goodbye before moving your mouth to his ear. "I've set the pins, you knock 'em down." 

Frank wants to wring your neck. All he wanted was to say hi to Bill. An easy, achievable goal. And now he's standing there looking delicious. 

The two men watch you both leave before an awkward silence descends. It's Frank who breaks it, feeling the need to explain. 

"I'm really sorry about my friend," Frank says laughing awkwardly. "She uh, she can be a lot sometimes."

Bill stares at him as if analyzing him. It makes Frank look away embarrassed. 

"S'fine," Bill finally shrugs. "She just cares about you."

Frank is surprised by this insight. He nods, giving a nervous smile up at Bill who is folding his newspaper under his arm again. 

"Uh, would you like to take a seat?" Frank asks, trying to sound confident. "We can talk about that AC repair if you’re interested."

Frank tries not to blush when Bill gives a soft smile and nods.

"I'm Frank," he says extending a hand as Bill sits across from him at the table. Bill looks at Frank's hand, almost studying it. 

"Bill," the stout man says, taking Frank's hand in his meaty paw and shaking. "Nice to meet you, Frank." 

///

Ellie never enjoyed being around grown-ups. Not before Joel and Kimberly. They welcomed Ellie into their home and gave her a life that felt safe. One where she didn't have to worry about hoarding food under her bed. One where she didn't have to worry about foster parents who threw broken bottles and covered up her bruises when the child protective services arrived. 

One where she had a sister who was her polar opposite and yet she never felt more comfortable around. A sister that sat for her sketches, a sister who helped teach her to swim, a sister who could have been so jealous at the split attention from her parents but never was. 

And now, Ellie finds, you have an air about you that so much like Sarah. Auden how you look or how you act, but just in who you are. A cheery sort of lightness that amuses as well as cuts through the bullshit of everyday life. Like a child wearing an adults body for fun.  

"You think you could be my teacher?" Ellie asks you as your old car sputters home to rancher street. "Joel would pay you. He said he wanted me to join a class."

You know this is a big ask for the girl. You've not known Ellie long but you can tell she's a girl that doesn't ask for much. Doesn't lay her heart on the line like this very often. 

"I charge thirty an hour for private lessons," you tell her. 

"Okay."

You smile at her eagerness. You'll have to check with Joel of course but this doesn't seem too awful an idea. A bit of extra money for you, some time spent doing art for Ellie.

"Alright then. It's a deal on my end but I gotta talk to your D- to Joel."

Ellie smiles and the sight of it makes you grin right back. 

///

Joel watches you coming up the steps with Ellie, the two of you chatting companiably. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about you since this morning. The effortless way you are with his daughter despite barely knowing her. 

He watches the swing of your hips and the curve of your body as you approach.

"Brought her back in one piece and even fed her," you tell him with a smile. "Although with all the casseroles this morning maybe I shouldn't have."

Joel laughs, looking to your face. He doesn't know why but you wearing sunglasses makes him feel... Something. It's mysterious having your eyes hidden from him. He never knows exactly what you're thinking. 

Ellie gives you a farewell wave before disappearing inside to use the bathroom. You turn your eyes on Joel deciding now is as good a time as any. 

"Was wondering if you had a sec?"

"Sure," Joel says, face a little uncertain. He wonders if he should invite you inside to his messy house. "You wanna come in for a drink?"

"Sure."

You follow in after him, glancing around at all the cardboard boxes. Many are half unpacked, furniture still askew in the new place. Some things are leaning up against walls and you notice the take out boxes with a smile. 

The furniture catches your eye and while Joel goes to the fridge to grab you two beers you take a chance to observe some pieces up close. 

"I like this," you tell him as you drag your hand over the coffee table. "Looks hand carved."

"It is," Joel says nodding, looking like he's going to say something else but doesn't. "Beer okay?"

"Sure."

You take the chilled bottle from him, taking a small swig and holding in a grimace. It's a bad brand, too hoppy, but you don't say anything. Wouldn't do well to insult a potential lead. 

Joel sees you've taken your sunglasses off and now he takes a moment to really look at you, under the guise of drinking. 

Pretty. Very pretty. 

Guilt immediately washes over him at the realization. He shouldn’t be thinking you’re pretty.

Ellie returns from the bathroom wiping her damp hands

"Can I have one?" She grins when she sees you and Joel holding beer bottles.

"There's a coke in there with your name on it," Joel tosses back. 

You hold in a smile at the banter. Joel is annoying for sure, but he's sweet with Ellie.  

"Did you ask yet?" Ellie says coming up to you, coke in hand.

"Not yet."

"Alright now I'm a bit concerned," Joel observes wryly. "This sounds suspiciously like the beginning of a scheme." 

"No scheme," you promise crossing your fingers theatrically. "Just something that Ellie and I were talking about in the car. She wanted to see if you’d go for it and I’m here to answer any questions you might have."

"Okay," Joel says slowly, the suspicion clear on his tanned face. The three of you still standing in the kitchen like some Western shoot-out. Joel crosses his broad arms over his chest as if preparing for the worst. 

"Ellie wants to know if I can teach her art," you explain. "Private lessons in my studio."

"Really?" Joel looks stunned by this. His dark eyes go to his daughter. Ellie nods, smiling brightly.

"You said you wanted me to join a class."

"That I did," Joel nods, scratching absently at his facial hair. He looks concerned. "I'm starting work next week so I won't be around during the day."

"I know."

"That means you're responsible for getting yourself there on time."

"I know."

"That means eating breakfast before and finishing chores when you get back."

"Joel, I know."

Joel's mouth breaks into a grin and for a moment you can't look away from the little dimple in his right cheek. He turns his warm gaze on you. 

"How much do you charge?"

"Thirty an hour," you reply, forcing yourself to take another swig of the beer. "I usually suggest at least once a week with a three hour block."

"Seems fair," Joel nods. "I've seen your set up. Seems like you got a lot in there."

"You been peeking in my windows?"

Ellie smirks as Joel begins to sputter a response. Joel feels the tips of his ears go pink as you laugh. 

"I'm just teasing," you say, eyes merry. "I know you can see everything from outside. I like the natural light from the big windows so I never close the blinds. My own fault if people are curious." 

Joel visibly relaxes. For a moment he was terrified you thought he was a creep. He doesn't want you to think that. For some pathetic reason thinks he wants your approval. He finds he really wants you to like him.

"Well I think you two have a lot of casserole to get through and this beer is terrible," you say handing the mostly full bottle back to a smiling Joel. 

"So, next Wednesday at my place work? Twelve until three?"

Ellie looks at Joel who nods. She grins happily up at you. 

"Yep!"

"I take cash or cash," you tell him. "And don't worry about supplies just yet. Let's see what you like first before you go buying everything in the art shop."

"Great," Joel says, meaning it. He can't remember when last Ellie looked this excited. 

"Alright, see ya then,” you say cheerfully giving a two-fingered salute. Joel and Ellie watch you leave, seeing your figure slant across the lawn through the window. 

Ellie can’t help but notice that the way Joel is looking at you is awfully similar to the way Frank was looking at Bill. 

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #bill x frank #ellie x riley #joel miller fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #joel miller smut #dad joel miller #joel miller #soft!joel miller #soft!joel #neighbors #enemies to lovers

[trungles]

Regarding your winter romcoms: just wanted to say you have truly IMPECCABLE taste in films (which is to say that we have the *same* movie taste), and it makes me love you/your art all the more. Any other suggestions? Ultimte favorite films? Do share!

HELLO, it has been a hot dang minute since I did one of these, and I'm pretty sure this question was dropped into my inbox closer to Christmas of 2022. So. Thank you very much for your kind words, anonymous, and apologies for the very long delay!

This is a fun question, though, so I really wanted to answer it eventually. Forgive the typos, grab your popcorn and your Red Vines (the best licorice-ish candy, I WILL FIGHT YOU no I won't but I love them), and let's go through my favorite comfort-watch movies. They're mostly rom-coms and coming-of-age movies for teens.

As a general caveat, I am not a big movie person at all. I know basically nothing about film. You will find no sensitive critique or analysis here. My favorite movies are all VIBES. I'm also not a big horror/thriller/bloody violence sort of person, so I don't watch many of those, which is weird because a goodly number of my dearest friends are horror film buffs. Also, I have made it a habit, in my adulthood, to go watch movies that I wasn't allowed to watch or didn't have access to as a kid. I'm a first-and-a-half generation immigrant to the United States, so my way of getting comfortable with American culture was to sort of approximate its vibes by absorbing its popular culture almost anthropologically? So in this post I'll maybe go over why I like it, and I might mention some of the things that have not aged super well because, as I'm sure you know, every single thing ever made cannot help being a product of the time it was made. I believe in being able to watch these things critically, enjoying them as they are, understanding that everybody's mileage may vary, and that not everything I like will be for everyone. I'm mostly including this bit because it's internet and people don't always know how to simply disengage with things they don't like.

In my Winter Movie post, I recommended The Holiday, When Harry Met Sally, Single All the Way, Moonstruck, and While You Were Sleeping, so I won't go over those again. Let's kick this off with something to help manage everybody's expectations.

The McG-directed Charlie's Angels movies, 2000 and 2003. Both of them.

I actually saw the second one first. It was one of the first PG-13 movies I ever saw in theatres, and it sort of just imprinted in my psyche, I think? They're just fun. They're real fuckin' fun. Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Drew Barrymore have great onscreen chemistry, and the cheesy wire-fu sequences are so ham-fisted that they delight me. These movies know exactly what they are, and they're very up-front about being Movies, particularly the second one where every scene seems to have an Old Hollywood pastiche. The first one has a bit of very odd brownface moments that I did not love upon rewatch.

Singin' in the Rain, 1952

I saw this movie for the first time when I was in middle school, and I was absolutely obsessed. It was the very first time I realized that the movies had its own histories, and that there was a transition of culture when there was a change in technology. Also, I just loved watching Gene Kelly dance, for gay reasons. Plus, Rita Moreno is in it for a split second, and she's divine.

Clueless, 1995

This movie rules, I don't know what else to say. It's a fantastic Austen adaptation, and while I was too young to catch this in the 90s, it felt great catching up with this one as an adult. I think it also helped me contextualize what other kids were into in the 90s, so I retroactively feel less isolated from my peers. It's a weird sort of magic. It's also strange to me, in hindsight, that in 1995 there was an enormous hit teen movie where there is a gay character who is treated incredibly lovingly for the time? Like, no gay trauma, no homophobic bullying, no nothing. He's just there, and he gets folded into the rest of the story and remains important to the main character's life? I'd have loved that as a kid.

Shanghai Noon, 2000

The year 2000 was an incredible time for goofy action comedies, and this one was formative for me. It's extremely silly and embarrassing to admit, but this movie was the first time I learned about how Chinese railroad workers built the transcontinental railroads in the later 1800s. I first saw it as a rental from the local video store, and my parents let me watch it because my dad liked Jackie Chan movies. It's... very 2000 in its treatment of racial politics, but you could reasonably argue that not too much has changed since.

The Princess Bride, 1987

I don't need to explain this to anyone.

Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994

God, you can see the accent on Hugh Grant's mouth. I don't know why I love this movie as much as I do. I came to it a bit later in my teen years, and I'd watch it again every few years. It's grown on me more and more as the years go on. It's the only British-American ensemble production that I really latched onto, and it's in no small part because the supporting cast is so much fun to watch.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I watch it probably three or four times a year. Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star as two showgirls who embark on a cruise to France to work around the machinations of an old millionaire who refuses to let his son marry Monroe's character. It's got that iconic Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend number, and it has one of the best third-act thesis statement speeches I've ever heard in any era. It's a great old musical.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, 2008

This is a gem that I missed back in 2008 because I was graduating high school at the time and had other things going on (being queer at a Catholic high school in the 2000s sucked ass, btw, let this ol' geezer tell ya). Frances McDormand plays a conservative governess who can't hold down a job because she, being a preacher's daughter, is a morally upright Amelia Bedelia. Out of desperation, she scams her way into becoming the social secretary for a bubbly young actress played by Amy Adams, and they spend a wild and heartwarming day together where Frances McDormand's character navigates wartime, friendship, and romance. This is also the movie that made me develop an embarrassing crush on Lee Pace (not because Lee Pace is embarrassing, I just hate having crushes on famous actors because I know, at the end of the day, that they're just weird theatre kids who have money now). It's based on a novel written in 1938, and it's aged surprisingly well.

Sailor Moon SuperS, 1995

I borrowed the VHS for this movie from the library as often as I could in the second or third grade. It was the one movie I had memorized in my brain to the extent that I could just recite the dub to myself whenever I wanted. Plus, Chibi Moon was my favorite (do not @ me, I will fight you).

Waiting to Exhale, 1995

I don't know how I caught this one as a kid or which channel aired it, but Waiting to Exhale–starring Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon–was something I saw pieces of when I was way too young to understand any of it, and it was a joy to revisit it as an adult. I've since seen it a few times. This endlessly gif'd scene pictured above is every bit as cathartic as it looks, and the soundtrack is incredible.

The Mummy, 1999

Yeah yeah, this is an incredibly unsurprising and safe pick, but the movie is so much damn fun, and Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz have the most belligerently bisexual energy ever shared between a heterosexual pairing. I don't know how else to explain it.

Sister Act 2, 1993

I saw this one on TV a lot, and I watched it from top to bottom every single time. I don't think I've ever actually seen the first one.

Adventures in Babysitting, 1987

I found this movie incredibly delightful, and I'm pretty sure I watched it in adulthood because I was looking for this movie I'd only seen in bits and pieces on TV as a kid or something. It stars Elizabeth Shue and a very young Anthony Rapp. Plot-wise, it's very much like Lord of the Rings if Gandalf were a plucky teen girl and the hobbits were a bunch of literal children. I'm not kidding. It's also an 80s movie about a bunch of white suburbanites who have adventures in Chicago, so there are a couple cringey moments, but by the standards of its time, nothing wildly egregious. Bonus points for a surprise appearance by strapping young Vincent D'Onofrio.

Pretty in Pink, 1986, and Some Kind of Wonderful, 1987, double-feature.

I put these two together because they're the same movie, but gender-swapped. They're both written by John Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch, so they have the same very ineffectual Reagan-era flattening of class consciousness. They're about a poor girl/boy protagonist who falls in love with a rich boy/girl. The protagonist develops a richer relationship with their beleaguered father character and develop a better understanding of themselves, kind of. John Hughes teen comedy-dramas are significant, I think, because they're some of the first blockbuster teen movies that took teens and their feelings seriously, wrote from their perspectives, and courted teens as an audience (for all kinds of historical and economic reasons between the 70s and the 80s, I'm sure, but I'm no expert). They're also more watchable than some of the other John Hughes teen movies; Sixteen Candles is basically unwatchable to me.

Porco Rosso, 1992

I told myself I could only pick one Ghibli movie for this list, and this is it. Porco Rosso might be my favorite Ghibli movie, which might seem like an odd choice for me. Like a lot of millennials who were teens when Spirited Away came out, I got really into the Ghibli catalogue in the late 2000s but had seen some Ghibli movies much earlier in my life. My first was technically Grave of the Fireflies. I was eight, and came away with the notion that if I left my little brother alone, who was five at the time, the adults around us would just let him die, so I had to watch him as carefully as I could. I became an incredibly anxious and overbearing older brother very early. Next, I'd see the Buena Vista release of Kiki's Delivery service, so I have a soft spot for all the Sydney Forest pop songs they inserted in the 90s dub of that movie. By the time I watched Porco Rosso, I'd seen most of the rest of the Ghibli catalogue, but it really stood out to me. Most of Miyazaki's protagonists are girls, but this one is a kids' feature about a middle-aged man with a pig's head. In hindsight, I think I loved it because it is one of those rare children's narratives that conflates femininity with practicality and masculinity with frivolous ostentatiousness. It's worth a watch!

Say Anything... , 1989

This is one of those teen movies where they take small, mundane problems and make them enormous, which I sort of love as a storytelling tool. John Cusack plays Lloyd, a high school underachiever who falls in love with the valedictorian, and you watch him experience true internal motivation for the first time in his young life. It's very cute! I think the thing this sort of teen movie gets really right about being a teenager is you don't really have a sense of scale for your problems at that age because all your problems are just problems you're encountering for largely the first time. Ione Skye's valedictorian character experiences a pretty devastating family issue with her father, but it's flattened into the same strata as her anxiety about flying, her first breakup, and her feelings of isolation and remove from her peers. Plus Lili Taylor is in this as Lloyd's best friend character, and she's great, just like in the next movie on this list...

Mystic Pizza, 1988

I couldn't decide which gif I wanted to use for this movie, so I just picked two. It's another slice-of-life teen comedy-drama, and it's real cozy. The performances from all the young actors are fantastic. Lili Taylor, Annabeth Gish, and Julia Roberts are great in this, plus you get to see strapping young Vincent D'Onofrio again, which is a treat. He gets to do a lot more in this one. At this point it's worth noting that 80s teen movies are obsessed with romances among young people across different social strata, and true to the Reagan era, the movies like to impress upon its audiences that hating rich people is the same as hating poor people (cue heavy eyeroll). This honestly explains a lot of things to me about today's political discourses, I think.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before, 2018

I enjoyed this Netflix movie so much that I watched it 16 or 17 times in the month after its release. It's fine, I'm fine. I don't know exactly what it was. I love rom coms. I've seen a ton of high school romance movies, and this one hit me really hard for some reason.

And that's everything I could come up with off the very top of my head. I think I hit something like 20 movies up there? Whew! That's my evening, but it was the only thing I could focus on for more than an hour at a time today.

#ask trungles #movies

[diamondcitydarlin]

I think its pretty telling that Loki is shown running to Mobius immediately after his romantic rejection from Sylvie, and filmed in the style of When Harry Met Sally no less!

omg yes I believe Kate admitted that in an interview and if you watch the scene from the original film it is very easy to see the cinematic parallels of Loki's run to/looking for Mobius and Billy Crystal's to Meg Ryan lmao, down to the relieved/enamored look he gets when he finds the object of his affections. And the walk of determination towards them. That last scene of Loki running to Mobius was intentionally filmed and directed to be romantic, so that much is indisputably canon. (Loki can't just start launching into feelings stuff tho because there's that whole oops we broke the multiverse thing...)

it also makes me think of Loki's line in the first interrogation, "for nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret. there's a fork in every road, yet the wrong path always taken."

then mobius clarifies, "you said nearly every living thing, so I'm assuming you don't fall into that category?"

And then Loki changes the subject and deflects back to the TVA being a circus and calling Mobius a clown lmao (loki: it's clownery, your honor. the clown jumped out just now) but it does make one wonder if this line isn't meant to foreshadow Loki's own romantic missteps. it would certainly be an opportunity of growth for his character to realize that he is not in fact immune from making mistakes, trusting the wrong person, projecting an ideal on to someone that doesn't actually exist (also maybe just having been enchanted) and that's okay. he runs so hard from his own flaws rather than try to face them head on and if this is what's going on, it forces him to do that

and it's not as if he's wronged Mobius necessarily and deserves narrative/karmic punishment or something. in fact I guess that's kind of the point and what makes this scene so romantic and heart-wrenching as he's running to mobius not to apologize for anything but because I think he's come to realize just how much Mobius means to him and how much he must mean to Mobius. I mean also obviously yes to tell him the bad news, but one cannot deny that look of utter relief and adoration Loki gets when he finally catches up with him. Mobius is his safe place. Even when the worst thing that could have ever possibly happened, happened, for a split second when Loki sees him again everything's okay.

he's tried giving all of himself to someone and, as I'm sure he's feared for most of if not all of his life, it bit him in the ass. In most cases I would think this would make Loki regress back from being emotionally vulnerable altogether, but his relationship with Mobius is such that he doesn't hesitate to make himself vulnerable again. He makes no effort to hide how grateful he is to be with Mobius again and how terrified he is of what's coming.

but yeah man that whole vibe of better understanding what love really is by experiencing what it is not and desperately running from the mistake to the person they now realize was the right choice all along !!!

and for what it's worth in my HC/interpretation it's not like Loki had no feelings or interest at all for Mobius and is being opportunistic, I don't think it's like that either. for most of their time together Loki gives me the impression that he is mostly oblivious (maybe willfully so) to anything mobius feels for him once they get past the animosity of their situation, but it is difficult for me to explain Tom's facial expressions for instance in the cafeteria scene outside of a character's facial journey of starting to fall in love with the person they're talking to.

the thing I think makes the difference in Loki's 'choice' at Roxxcart is when Loki attempts to diffuse the argument between Mobius and B-15. He's successful at convincing them he needs an opportunity to earn their trust (B-15's specifically, he doesn't doubt at this point he has Mobius'), but Mobius answers this attempt with, "Why is it always the people you can't trust are always saying 'trust me'?" To me, it seems a little teasing more than anything, but Loki seems...taken back. Perhaps it's hard not to take the comment personally when Mobius was just starting a fight with one of his Hunters over where Loki should be, specifically because he can't trust Loki not to be properly supervised.

I could see this kind of disillusioning Loki about whatever he feels is forming between him and Mobius (the full extent of which I don't think he's totally conscious of yet, as Tom says, 'Mobius loves him, but Loki doesn't want that yet' because he doesn't even totally know it's what he wants lmao) and if there were any faint hints of a fantasy of something, Mobius has made Loki feel like he doesn't even trust him so, perhaps that settles it? I mean, if he can't even trust me at this point to walk around a store then what was I even thinking imagining we might-...

So, in that sense perhaps his choice to follow Sylvie through the door is, in part, a bit spiteful? He does look a bit that way in Mobius' direction right before he jumps in, a conflict of not really wanting to leave him and then deciding he'd better because what he'd like to have with Mobius is not what he's going to get. Ever. Mobius is TVA through and through. Loki really said BLOCKED -AND- REPORTED.

I think, in a really lame way that could've been a thousand times better, Loki did end up getting both a boyfriend and a girlfriend as the early rumors or whatever said he would

#lokius #if im going to ship all three of them i have to pretend sylvie is enchantress #and i know that is not a popular hc either BUT #it's not that i don't want to ship them a little and sort of do but i tend to favor chaos twins

[tastic-blog]

So, inspired by a recent first time viewing (how did i make it this long? No good answers) of The Holiday, I now present to you my Christmas gift to the internet 

A Comprehensive Ranking of Romcom Sweaters by Sadness

Join me in an exploration of the knitwear of these dreamy eyed seekers of love, hearts full and arms covered! Their faith: true. Their choices: frequently bad. Their necks: cold.

Two notes before I begin! First- a lot of my very serious research came from the When Romance Met Comedy series of essays by @carolinesiede This series is one of my favorite things on the internet and you should all check it out

Second- my love for this genre is deep and sincere, as is my love for sweaters. Those who dismiss either out of hand may see themselves out.

OK LET'S DO THIS

0/10 Clueless

 

None percent sadness. Your hair is thick and shining, your schemes are manifold and successful, Daddy's sucky Italian roast is doing exactly what you intended. Let your arms bask in the sun in your sweater vest of youthful triumph.

(Note- the presence of sweaters in teen romcoms are rare. Sweaters are for olds. A teen wearing a sweater is generally a nerd, a cynic, or a cynical nerd. Just another reason why Cher Horowitz is an icon.)

1/10 When Harry Met Sally...

Only a slight tinge of melancholy. Sure, Sally's been on some bad dates recently and she could probably stand to get laid. But it's autumn in New York and she's a fucking avatar of emotional well-adjustment. The sweater is perfectly fitted and perfectly tucked. God, she's in such great shape. 

+100 bonus points for Crystal serving proto Chris Evans in Knives Out realness

2/10 While You Were Sleeping

This ranking may appear controversially low, as Lucy Eleanor Moderatz is pretty fucking sad. She is alone at Christmas. Her beloved father is dead and she's fantasizing about an asshole she sees once a day from a public transit token booth. But you guys. This sweater. I've been searching for this sweater since 1995. It's enormous, yet beautifully shaped. It's the platonic ideal of coziness. SHE CAN LITERALLY HIDE PRESENTS IN HER SLEEVES. Sandy B is getting a break on the rent and peak Bill Pullman is about to lean over her, she's doing fine.

3/10 Bridget Jones Diary

Not great, but not precisely sad. Mark Darcy is at a shitty party wearing a dumb sweater and is about to thoughtlessly fuck up his romantic life. But his parents aren't the most embarrassing in the room, and he's got wine and gherkins. Things could be much worse. 

4/10 Practical Magic

 

The sadness of Sally Owens is legion, but she cried in her PJ's and she's got more pressing concerns now. She's got daughters to take care of and a thriving skincare business to run and an undead rapist to send to hell. This is a sweater that acknowledges that your sister is a glamorous fuck up with terrible taste in men, and then is ready to get down to business. It's lightly fitted, with the breathing room for serious magicks. 

(Maybe rethink the hair clips tho)

5/10 (500) Days Of Summer

 

This is where things start to take a turn for the more majorly sad. Tom is pretty pathetic. This is the saggy, washed out cardigan of a man who thinks that liking The Smiths is a meaningful character trait. It needs to be lain flat to dry, and so does Tom. But he still gets up in the morning, puts on a tiny tie, and goes to work. His depression is functional, and so is his sweater.

6/10 The Holiday- Cammy D edition

Amanda is sad in the way that only the thin, unhinged, and inexplicably wealthy can be. She has no friends. She doesn't know how to pronounce esophageal. The pristine whiteness of this cable knit is terrifying; the reckless abandon with which she waves a glass of pinot in front of it, even more so. You know that shit is dry clean only. Truly, a sadness touched with insanity.

7/ 10Love Actually, Colin Firth

The heaviest, darkest, most turtley-necked sweater to wear on a sadness vacation, sorry writer's retreat, in fucking France. What kind of whiny sack falls in love with someone with whom he cannot communicate at the most basic level? She's in her underwear, he's in an itchy monstrosity 3 sizes too big. This plot line can eat me like that collar is eating his chin.

8/10 Breakfast at Tiffany's

Who gave Holly Golightly the right to be so sad and look so good?? I spent my twenties sobbing on dozens of fire escapes and never came close. In a movie of iconic fashion, this sweatshirt is pre-American Apparel nonsense. Her soul is empty, but her hamper is apparently full because that's some laundry day shit. Her sad sweater is so sad, it trudged north and grew a depressive turban companion. 

9/10 High Fidelity and Love Actually 

 

Aka the asshole division. Above, a terrible boyfriend turned into a worse ex boyfriend in the worst fucking sweater I've ever seen. It's a Cosby sweater.  A COSBY SWEATER. And below, a creep who turned filming his best friend's wedding into an opportunity to stalk and who keeps that video WITH THE REST OF HIS REGULAR VIDEOS AND IS THAT A DETACHABLE COLLAR?? At least Rob exhibits some growth, Stalker McGee over there gets a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the ass from his movie. These guys are jerks and their sweaters are terrible.

10/10 The Holiday- Kate Winslet edition

 

The nadir of sartorial desperation. Like its wearer, Iris' sweater has given up. It has no color, no shape, and no options. It is a formless mass that won't even keep your neck warm, thereby necessitating The Stringy Scarf of Sadness. It is literally a sweater in which to contemplate suicide. Thank god Eli Wallach is waiting in the wings, because this is as bad as it gets.

Ok, I'm gonna go watch While You Were Sleeping. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT

#romcom #the holiday #love actually #when harry met sally #clueless #500 days of summer #high fidelity #practical magic #while you were sleeping #sweaters #sweater weather #Youtube