IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS ONLY THE OCEAN

DESCENDANTS: THE RISE OF RED ( 2024 )

The Bear 3x01

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The sounds of the motion alarms being triggered had pulled the two men away from their lunch. Bill immediately grabbing his shotgun whilst Frank checked the cameras – a girl, young, being pursued by a large group of men. Whilst the pair tried to not get involved with outsider drama, it was difficult to ignore when it was outside your gates.. and when the victim was a poor young girl. Bill's morals may be shaky, but it didn't sit right with him at all.

Immediately, the couple was making their way to the gate. The girl's screams echoed in the distance, like an animal caught in a trap. A helpless sound, one of primal fear and desperation. Without hesitation, Bill raised his shotgun and aimed at the man closest to the fence. Then the next, and the next –

Frank, hands trembling, put in the gate code as fast as humanly possible. Barely waited for it to open before he pushed through, zeroing in on the girl. Gaze darts to her limping leg, the blood on her clothes as he grabs her as gently as possible, helping her back inside.

The last of the shots ring out, an eerie silence falling over them as Bill lowers his gun, gates closing with an affirming rattle. The couple exchange a look, a silent conversation. An ' are we really doing this? ' before Frank inhales sharply, kneeling down beside the girl.

Reaching out to touch her was a rookie mistake and he instantly pulls his hand away. Shushes her gently, holding his hands up to placate her. " I'm sorry, that was a poor move on my part, you don't need to apologise. " Frank keeps his voice soft, light. Concern fills his features at the sight of her injured leg. " That looks like it hurts – we have medical supplies, can patch you up if you'd like. Give you a bite to eat, somewhere to sleep, at least until you're better? " He gives her a choice - doesn't want to push her into staying with them, not if she's uncomfortable. " Or we can call some friends we have in the QZ... they could come get you, take you to shelter there. Your choice, no pressure. "

@fracturals x Bill & Frank She had been about to touch the fence so she could climb and run when the man had slammed into her, her fall making him tumble forward and hit the fence for her, electrocuting him with an unexpected explosion. But just when she thinks she can at least keep running she's grabbed again and lets out a blood-curling scream, adrenaline making her fight back and fall down with the other man.

She shrieks again, horrified, knowing his friends are coming, her flamethrower is empty, uselessly weighting on her shoulder, but she still tries to crawl away. She's never been so happy to see someone's head get blown off - though yeah, she's definitely adding that to the list of nightmares that also make her scream like that - and looks for the culprit, finding two men at the other side of the fence. They are also strangers, but beggars can't be choosers, and she doesn't even really get to beg for help because the one with the shotgun starts taking people out just like that. The other one, though, the other one opens the fence and comes to get her, looking worried. She's stunned, almost falling but held up so she can run on her injured leg, blood everywhere - hers, theirs - and terrified, but they let her in. They let her in. She barely realizes she's crying as the sounds of the fight die down, and her first reaction when one of their hands come too close to her again is to protect herself from the blow. The second one is to say "Sorry" because it can't be nice to be treated like savages when they just saved her, and "Thank you."

WandaVision 1.07 / Agatha All Along 1.02

ALADDIN (2019)

dir. guy ritchie

The thought of Ellie cutting his hair nearly gave Joel a heart attack – as much as loved cared for her, he would not trust that girl with scissors. Especially not near his head. Probably end up losing an eye or being bald, and he didn't know which was worse. Shaving wasn't exactly reassuring either, but not as much could go wrong there.

" I'm still handsome then ? " Joel jokes, raising his eyebrows as much as he could. It was more for her benefit than his, wanting to push through the pain and make this all seem less scary for her. It wasn't like a simple stab wound this time – he'd been beaten, his kneecap broken, stabbed in the neck... by all accounts, Joel should've died in that cabin.

Somehow he didn't. Somehow Ellie managed to get him, and a terrified disoriented Dina, back to Jackson. God, his kid was a force of nature. Joel couldn't be more proud, even with the fog of the painkillers pumping through his system. Thank fuck the girl... Anna? Andy? Abby? Yeah, Abby sounded familiar. Thank fuck she hadn't given Ellie the same treatment.

Despite all common sense screaming not to, Ellie's words cause Joel to give his leg an experimental shift. The sharp agony that shoots through his kneecap and down his leg make him hiss, face scrunching in discomfort. " Yep. Hurts like a bitch, " he wheezes in confirmation. Honestly, what else did he expect? The painkillers were good but they weren't miracle workers.

Her question prompts an internal assessment of his body. Other leg, while stiff, was pain free. All ten fingers could twitch, as far as he was aware. An attempt to turn his head was cut short at the tugging of stitches - a pleasant reminder that he very nearly didn't make it out alive.

" I'm good, kiddo. Most of me's workin', and if I've still got my good looks then we have nothin' to worry about, right? " Joel reassures her, shifting his hand so he could squeeze hers in return. " Just might be outta commission a lil' while longer... head hurts a ton, but eyes and ears are the same. "

He nearly makes a joke about Ellie being a nurse, but the fingers running through his hair distract him. He blinks away the exhaustion that tugs at him from the soothing motion. Injuries be damned, he refused to cut this time with Ellie short.

" What about you? She didn't hurt you or anythin' right? Or Dina? How'd you get us back here? " The questions blur together, whatever meds they had given him sapping away his usual verbal filter, much to his chagrin.

"Oh, I'm great," she answers sarcastically, "Catching up on my reading. You know me." He looks so injured. There is no other way to express it, because even the first time he was dying around her he didn't look so roughed up, so beaten, yet when he looks at her now he looks ten times better than back then. There is a light in his eye, like the fact that she's there means he's okay. Fucking Joel, she's mad at him because she can't be mad at him. But she gets it, she does. He's the first person who didn't leave her, and he keeps not leaving her, and normally that would be enough for her to be alright, if only the moment when Abby had stabbed him wasn't burned into her retinas, if only she didn't see him die every time she closed her eyes.

"I cut your hair. Nah, I'm kidding. I helped a nurse shave you and I shaved you once... Had to make sure you didn't look too terrible when you woke up. Don't wanna scare Dina. I kept the Joel-look." She can't ask if he's alright, she knows he can't be - or at least, not any more than pain killers can allow him to be, but she has so many questions about Abby. She needs to know before she goes to get her. "Your knee is gonna hurt like a bitch to fix, but you are out of danger, by the way. Doctors said you'll live. Obviously." She's not always touchy-feely, but in this case she feels it's justified, to carefully brush his hair with her hand, a comforting move to clash with her forced carefree tone. "But... does everything work? Can you still feel everything, can you see and hear the normal way? 'cause... I don't know how much you remember but you took some hits."

i really need to get back into the writing groove

PEDRO PASCAL as Joel Miller THE LAST OF US | When You're Lost in the Darkness