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itsjackgilbert · 4 years ago

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Situation Comedy

INSCRUTABLE MUSIC-VIDEO GENIUS MAKES MOVIE. IT'S VERY GOOD. INSCRUTABLE FILMMAKER DOES MAGAZINE INTERVIEW. IT'S VERY BIZARRE. A VERY SMALL GLIMPSE INTO THE INSULAR WORLD OF SPIKE JONZE, WHERE MAKING AWESOMELY STRANGE FILMS, WEARING FAKE PENISES, AND GETTING BEAT UP (SORT OF) ALL ARE PART OF THE SCENERY

BY ZEV BOROW

"He came to visit me once and when he first arrived I got a phone call that I had to come pick him up because his car had been impounded because he'd been chased by, like, ten cops on bikes after he drove his car onto these little fairgrounds and did a bunch of doughnuts. So, then I had to drive him around all weekend." — Three Kings director David O. Russell

"Actors are more consistent. They tend to land their tricks." — filmmaker Spike Jonze, on who is easier to direct, actors or skaters.

"He wanted his brother to be in Three Kings, so he shot an audition tape with his brother doing the Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct, crossing and uncrossing his legs. It was the weirdest fucking thing I've ever seen." — David O. Russell

I meet Spike Jonze at the production offices of his new movie, Being John Malkovich, which is a bizarre comedy about a love triangle between three people who find a secret portal into John Malkovich's head behind a file cabinet in an office building where the ceilings are four feet high. John Cusack and Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener are in it. So is John Malkovich. It's really good and weird and funny, though not always in that order. Spike Jonze directed it.

Jonze is 29 years old and sort of famous for directing some of the best music videos ever made: the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"; Fatboy Slim's "Praise You"; Weezer's "Buddy Holly"; Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet"; and other really good ones, too. He's also made some excellent commercials and two interesting short films. However, mostly because of the exceedingly cool videos he's done for, mostly, exceedingly cool people, Jonze has also become famous for being exceedingly cool. A wide and deep selection of the hippest people alive dig Jonze. They are his friends. This past July Jonze married actress, filmmaker, and fellow sort-of-famous person Sofia Coppola. Tom Waits sang at their wedding. Tom fucking Waits.

Jonze is small and wiry, with the body and demeanor of a skateboarder, which he is. He is relaxed, unfailingly polite, and has a voice suggesting a 15-year-old boy. When we meet he is wearing a T-shirt and scuffed-up $350 Marc Jacobs shoes. He tells me he's supposed to meet with Knox, an as-yet-unknown guitar player, to discuss ideas for his video and invites me along. But first we go to buy a big bag of cat food for his cat.

Jonze says Knox plays "sort of country-funkabilly-Prince-like music...really beautiful stuff." A friend gave him a tape, he says, and he fell in love with it. We get lost trying to find Knox's house.

When we finally arrive, Knox says he was asleep because Jonze was supposed to arrive hours ago. Jonze says he's sorry, that it must have been his assistant's fault. Knox is tall, with short, dark hair styled vaguely pompadour-ish. His apartment is small. Neil Young in on the CD player. An acoustic guitar rests in the corner.

"I'm the only one in the band, so I do the whole gig," Knox says. "My old man was a guitarist and my mother was, like...well, she was a capable pianist, not great. I'm from Tenness–Knoxville–that's why I go by Knox. My mother ahd a baby two years before me, a little boy, and it died at birth, and I am, like, the copy of that kid. And my little brother almost died at birth 'cause of me, so it's kind of all cyclical. But I'm still tweaking it. So, uh, what kind of ideas do you have?"

Jonze talks about making a video that's not very commercial, about something that's cool in and of itself.

Knox: "I just don't want it to be cute. Don't take this as an affront, but some of your videos are...cute. The 'Buddy Holly' thing was little fucking cute. I was thinking more of an early John Cugar-type of thing. Like 'Jack and Diane.' Maybe with some of the words on the bottom of the screen."

Jonze: "Uh, cool.... But it’s also cool to do something maybe not as literal.” He asks Knox if he wants to be in the video. Knox says maybe just his face, as a child.

Jonze says he could come over with a video camera and they could try some stuff out.

Knox: “Like what?”

Jonze: “Well, I don’t want to just throw stuff out.”

Knox: “Well, I’m not going to steal your stuff.”

Jonze laughs, sort of. There is an awkward silence.

Jonze: “How about a video with Xeroxes, just as a cool medium?”

Knox: “Yeah, well, that sounds schticky. Xeroxes are schticky.”

Jonze tries to say something about form. Knox says he likes “the Jazzercize” video Jonze did.

Jonze: “‘Praise you.’ Cool.”

Knox turns toward me and says he doesn’t think Spike looks very into it. Jonze says he doesn’t want to do anything he’s done already. He asks Knox if he saw the video he did for Sean Lennon.

Knox: “Nah. That guy’s too fuckin’ avant garde for me.”

Jonze: “No, I’m not saying that. It’s just I don’t want to make something silly out of your song, but at the same time....” He trails off.

There’s a tense silence, then Knox turns to me and asks if I have any ideas for videos. I tell him I don’t. Knox says “fuck,” loudly.

Jonze: “Look, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do, and if you don’t really like my stuff maybe we shouldn’t work together. I like working with people who are....”

Knox: “Yeah, well...fuck.... Well, if you come up with some ideas, any ideas, call, but I just...shit.”

Jonze: “I should go.”

Jonze gets up. Knox begins to pace. Then he screams, “Fuck!” and throws a small wooden chair Jonze had been sitting on against the wall. It shatters.

Jonze: “Dude, chill.”

Knox: “I think you better leave!”

Jonze: “I was just....”

Knox: “Just fucking leave!”

Then Knox pushes Jonze into a wall, hard. I think to myself: Spike Jonze is about to get his ass kicked. Then, like a panther (or jaguar), Jonze jumps at Knox. They hit the floor. Jonze is on top of Knox, throwing punches at his head. After about 15 seconds, I pull them apart. Knox gets up and screams, “Wait right fucking there!” and runs into a back room. Jonze looks at me and says, “Let’s get the fuck out of here!” and runs out the door, fast.

Knox jumps out from the back room, glowering and holding a baseball bat.

DRIVING AWAY, JONZE MUSES ABOUT HOW “HECTIC” things got with Knox. He repeatedly pushes his face toward the rearview mirror and asks if I think his eye looks swollen. It doesn’t. He says nothing like that has ever happened to him before, except once “with Everlast, but it never got physical.” We pull into a 7-Eleven and he gets a juice and some Advil.

I try to ask some more questions about the movie. “I’m apprehensive about talking about it at all,” he says, “because I feel like it’s going to cloud someone’s opinion. You think about all the movies you had preconceived notions about, about all the ones you read stuff about until you were sick of them before you even saw them.

SPIKE JONZE’S REAL NAME IS ADAM SPIEGEL. He isn’t interested in talking about why, or when, he started going by Spike Jonze, or how much it has to do with Spike Jones, the 1940s band leader, but it’s probably related to the fact he grew up hanging out with a lot of competitive BMX bikers similarly fond of pseudonyms and alter egos. He was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, a well-heeled suburb of Washington, D.C., where his mother enjoyed photography and his father enjoyed being the scion of an extremely successful family-owned catalog company. Jonze is the middle child (younger brother; older sister) and was into skateboarding, photography, lots of Dischord-era punk rock, and, most of all, BMX.

In the mid-’80s, BMXing’s popularity was exploding, and Jonze was spending much of his time at Rockville BMX, a legendary retail and mail-order BMX shop in nearby Rockville, Maryland. At age 15, he accompanied the Haro pro-BMX team on a summer tour of the U.S., serving as part-time roadie, contest announcer, T-shirt salesperson, and using an old 35-millimeter camera, team photographer. By the time he was 16, he was writing and taking pictures for skate and bike magazines. At 17, immediately after finishing high school, he moved to Torrance, California, to work at Freestylin’, the sport’s preeminent glossy. There, he met Mark Lewman and Andy Jenkins, two kindred spirits.

“We were all living together in this apartment across the street from the magazine’s offices, in the Valley, which was like the epicenter of the skateboarding and BMX world,” says Lewman, who was 18 at the time and is now a creative director at Lambesis, a San Diego–based advertising agency that deciphers youth culture. “We’d skate to work, ride ramps, listen to Black Flag and Eric B. and Rakim, and get into adventures drinking Night Train, being weird, and stomping around downtown L.A.”

They’d also make zines. First, in 1991, Homeboy, then, two years later, Dirt. Clever and funny, they became popular with the 25-and-under, proto-extreme-sport, punk/rap-inclined hipster set. During this time, Jonze also started getting hired to take photos for magazines such as Details and Interview. And he began filming skateboarding videos, including one particular deft collaboration with ‘80s skate god Mark Gonzales titled Blind Skateboard Video.

One night, backstage at a Sonic Youth concert, Gonzales gave a copy of that tape to his friend Kim Gordon, who dug it so much that she asked Tamra Davis–who had just directed her first film, Gun Crazy, and had yet to become the wife of Beastie Boy Mike D.–to work with Jonze on shooting some skateboarding segments for Sonic Youth’s video for the song “100%.” He was 21.

Jonze has always lived in something of a rarefied world inhabited by bikers, skaters, emerging rock icons, and movie stars. Even so, he notes, he first met the Beastie Boys through his sister. She and Adam Yauch met in traffic school. The Beasties and Jonze share an appreciation for the absurd. Yauch and Jonze used to do things like rent police uniforms so they could direct traffic in Manhattan.

A few short years after “100%,” Jonze was established as America’s preeminent director of unusual music videos. This fact seemed to bore him. In 1998′s Fatboy Slim “Praise You” video, the one with the dancers in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Jonze credited the direction to Richard Koufey and the Torrance Community Dancers. To this day, Jonze denies having been a part of it. Earlier this year, a typed letter arrived at the Spin offices vehemently demanding Spin retract its report that Jonze directed the video. It was signed Richard Koufey and included a detailed résumé for Koufey that stated he was a dancer in the “Thriller” video, the “Love Shack” video, the film Dirty Dancing, and something called “Dancextravaganza” at the opening of a Dellamo Fashion Center.

IN ADDITION TO BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, Jonze has another movie coming out, one in which he acts. It’s called Three Kings and was written and directed by David O’Russell. The two met when Jonze hired Russell to help him write a script for Harold and the Purple Crayon, which was to be a partially animated adaption of the children’s book, and Jonze’s feature-film debut, but never made it into production. Jonze costars in Three Kings with George Clooney, Ice Cube, and Mark Wahlberg. They play four U.S. soldiers who try to steal a secret cache of Kuwaiti gold at the end of the Gulf War. It’s a different, very sharp war-genre picture. Jonze plays a redneck private who is the sidekick of Wahlberg’s more seasoned soldier.

“I’d never really acted before,” Jonze says. “A few little things with friends, but nothing serious. And it’s not like I really want to get into acting. But David was really into me doing it, and Mark was especially supportive. In some ways I feel like I had no right to do it. But it was a lot of fun.”

Russell recalls Jonze’s commitment to the project. “He stayed in character a lot on set, and I think he eventually regretted it because Mark started beating the shit out of him as if Spike was really his tagalong sidekick. We tried telling Mark to go easy on him, but he was in character too. I think Spike was upset that that was happening.

AMONG THOSE IMMERSED IN THE CULT of Spike Jonze, the Weird Al prank is infamous. As partially recounted in an issue of the Beastie Boys’ zine, Grand Royal, Mike D. and Russell Simins, the drummer for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, interviewed by Weird Al. During the interview, they got the conversation to come around to the Beatles. Precisely at that moment, they had Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono walk by and staged something weird and funny. No one at Grand Royal can remember exactly what happened, but it included Spike Jonze dressed up as a waiter.

I didn’t know of the Weird Al prank until weeks after meeting Jonze. As such, I spent a good portion of my evening immediately following the Knox vs. Jonze incident breathlessly telling friends all about their fight, until a friend, a longtime skater, looked at me and matter-of-factly said: “He staged it.”

Two days after the fight I go to meet Jonze for lunch, and, even though I’m not sure, I tell him I now that the afternoon with Knox was staged. Jonze demurs. “That would be gnarly” he says. “Maybe we should come back to this topic after lunch.

We pull into a Carl’s Jr. Things between us are slightly tense. I keep pressing him on the issue as we walk into the restaurant. Jonze doesn’t say anything until he’s just about to order at the counter, then he says we should walk outside. I follow him into the parking lot toward a parked black sedan. There is a guy in dark sunglasses sitting there, sipping on a Coke.

“Dude, it’s off,” Jonze says. “We’re busted.”

Jonze then reveals that he’d “planned something” for right there, right then, at the Carl’s Jr. We all had back inside the restaurant, where Jonze begins walking around the seating area and tapping on what appear to be lonely Carl’s Jr. diners on the shoulder. There are four of them, strategically placed; two have video cameras hidden on them, on has a regular camera. Two of them, including the guy from the car, who is Jeff Tremaine, the art director of the skateboarding magazine Big Brother, are wearing hidden microphones.

“This was going to be an all-out assault,” Tremaine says. “I was going to walk by and bump into Spike and my drink was going to fall all over me. And then I was going to get all jacked at Spike and knock some shit on him and get into a fight.”

“I was actually going to take a punch this time,” Jonze says, “but I was also going to bite down on some blood pellets.” He shows me two small capsules of fake blood. “I wanted the whole article to be about how I keep getting my ass kicked.”

“I was going to knock over the salad bar,” Tremaine says. “We were going to have the whole thing on tape. I twas going to be a turkey shoot, like Kennedy.”

“You are all extremely fucked up,” I tell them.

Jonze says he started planning for it late last night and tells everyone he’s sorry he didn’t go through with it. Tremaine tells Jonze that he was excited to punch him. Then, everyone tells me some stories of previous pranks, the best of which is described as simply the Hard-On One. It goes something like this:

The guy who played Knox yesterday–a friend of Jonze’s who also pulls stunts like getting himself hit by a car (for a Big Brother photo shoot) and shooting himself with a gun while wearing a bulletproof vest (for fun)–puts on a pair of flimsy gym shorts, out of which sticks a large, fake rubber penis. Then, he goes out and gets into a pickup basketball game. Next, he walks into a guitar store, where, when a salesman hands him a cord to plug in, the salesman is pulled toward the fake rubber penis. After that, he makes a quick stop at a karate studio, from which he is quickly removed. Finally, he goes to get measured for a tux, where, according to Jonze, the tailor exclaims [in a thick Indian accent], “What? You always run around with your dick sticking out?”

“It’s amazing,” Jonze says. “We’ve got the whole thing on tape.”

After Carl’s Jr., Spike lobbies me to concoct a wild, made-up story with him, one I could submit in lieu of the article. He’s got some funny, clever ideas for it, too.

“SPIKE DIDN’T GROW UP WATCHING A TON OF FILMS or even TV,” says Kim Gordon, who has known Spike ever since he worked on “100%.” “So he’s not tied to any sense of history image-wise, the way most people are. He just has a real instinctual feel for what people like. And he’s willing to try absolutely anything.”

“I think he kind of looks at everything like it’s a chance to take a golf cart and make it go 60 miles per hour,” says his old friend Lewman. “It’s always been about having a really good time.” Even so, by all accounts Jonze is meticulous, tireless even, whether it concerns a feature film, or taking down a Carl’s Jr. salad bar. His willingness to go to almost any lengths to maintain the integrity of any project–no matter how seemingly small, trivial, or twisted–is nothing short of spectacular. It is probably the one quality that best portends him making very good movies for a long time. A vast portion of Jonze’s creative energies are consumed by these tiny, hysterical performances that will never make any money, that are solely for the benefit of himself and his like-minded friends.

“But it’s not about being weird for weird’s sake,” Lewman says. “I mean, Malkovich is a movie that, at its heart, is about something everyone can relate to–desperately wanting to be someone else.... I think a lot of how [Jonze] looks at the world might come from skating and biking. You do that as a kid and you don’t look at things normally. You look at a hockey rink and see a place to skateboard. You look at a bench as a thing to do tricks off of.”

I SEE JONZE ONE MORE TIME. HE MAKES IT OBVIOUS he’d rather I not write about the Knox and Carl’s Jr. pranks. Further, he mostly turns off my tape recorder any time I start to ask him anything. He tells me he doesn’t know what to do because he doesn’t want to come off as a guy who is lucky enough to make cool movies with big stars but is all petulant about talking to the press. He tells me again how anything he says as far as explanation of his own work is less interesting than someone’s own interpretation of his, or any, movie. About an hour passes. I ask him to name some of his favorite movies and filmmakers.

“I like stuff that is unpredictable in terms of tone,” he says. “I like Tim Burton, The World According to Garp, Being There, all the Coen brothers’ stuff. I feel really lucky to even have the opportunity to try to make those kinds of movies.”

I ask about his movie, about what Malkovich was like.

“He’s just amazing. Really genuinely eccentric. He heard about the script and contacted us, loved the idea. It was weird because he plays himself in the movie, but it’s not really him, it’s the script’s idea of him. Whenever I see him do the Dance of Despair and Disillusionment, I’m like, this guy is my hero.”

The Dance of Despair and Disillusionment is reason alone to see Being John Malkovich. In the movie, John Cusack plays a puppeteer who enters the body of John Malkovich and forces him to give up acting for puppeteering. At one point, Malkovich acts out the dance he wants to be his ultimate master-puppeteer work, the Dance of Despair and Disillusionment. Just out of the shower, he acts it out in a towel. David Fincher, the director of Seven and Fight Club, fellow former music-video director, and close friend of Jonze, calls it “up there with Butch and Sundance jumping off the cliff, as far as greatest movie moments ever go.”

I try to get Jonze to talk about other things, videos, his commercial work. (Jonze often shoots commercials, the most recent being Lee Jeans’ “Buddy Lee” spots.) He won’t. A few days later, we talk on the phone. He asks how I’ve decided to “handle” the article, says he knows I’ll write “something good.” The next day, I call him back, ask him to clear up some factual stuff, dates he worked on things, how he first met certain people. He’s not into it. But, before we get off the phone, he does answer one question.

Me: Where did the idea for the “Sabotage” video come from?

Jonze: “Australia.”

#spike jonze #spin magazine

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noramoya · 5 years ago

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#ThrillerLiveCloses #ApprovedByMJon2009

“Right now our world has been turned upside down, with a pandemic that is changing our way of life. It is affecting us all, financially, emotionally and socially. For me it has resulted in THRILLER LIVE closing prematurely (and permanently) in the West End, as all theatres around the country have been shut, in the public’s best interest. Myself and the rest of the team totally understand and respect that we must all practice social distancing, working together to beat this virus. But yesterday was a very sad day as I joined the cast, crew and other creatives at the Lyric Theatre for one last time. We wanted to come together to say goodbye to each other at the theatre that had become our home for the past 11-years. Ironically we were just two more performances away from becoming the 11th longest ever running show in the West End. Still to be 12th, and the longest ever running show at the Lyric Theatre is an incredible achievement. Another thing the coronavirus has shown us is that we never know what is around the corner and we shouldn’t take what we have for granted. Through hard times, we get to see what matters most and what we really need to value.

One of our cast members said that leaving the Lyric Theatre was like losing a loving partner. And that is partly true, in that sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have until it is gone. But I am sure that each and every one of the Thriller Live cast and crew will go on to great new ventures, just as previous associates have. It’s been an INCREDIBLE journey which has formed great friendships, partnerships and even relationships with babies to boot! For me it seems that things have gone full circle. For it was 30 years ago today (20th March 1990) when I first met the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and he inspired me to see a world of endless possibilities. He showed me humility, kindness and a laughter like I’d never heard before.

We were at Record One Studios where he was free and at his creative best, producing the ‘Dangerous’ album. Watching a genius at work, who since the age of 5 had been perfecting his craft to become the world’s greatest ever entertainer was a true privilege. And then came an invitation to lunch at Neverland. That was the most memorable weekend ever. I’d never seen a landscape and home so beautiful. A place where Michael could dream peacefully, and one could lose themselves in magical abandonment. Which I did playing on the arcades, riding on the funfair and watching movies in the theatre. Just before I left, as I walked out the oak door, Michael said come back anytime. And I did, at least once a year - return to Neverland, as did many lucky fans, and various charitable organisations that Michael opened his doors for, because he loved to give, help and see others happy. That was the Michael Jackson I knew - a humble, innocent soul, who also happened to be one of the greatest artists of all time. There are many, many other stories that I have shared over the years, and fans and friends will know. Each one of them still as colourful in my mind now as it was when I first lived them. I thank Michael for those memories, and even though he is gone, it has never felt like a goodbye.

From all of us at “Thriller Live”, we want to Thank everyone who came to see the Show in the West End. We are Grateful that we could keep Michael’s Legacy and Music alive through the production and cá look forward to continuing touring the world in years to come. Now here follows a long, long list of thanks to just a few of the many people who made the show possible in the West End. There has been literally hundreds of people involved on and off the stage, so apologies that I can’t list everyone, but each of you are just as important in making this show a special part of West End history ! Producers Paul Walden & Derek Nicol, Mark Strange – General Manager, Ginette Sinnott – Head of Marketing, and everyone else at Flying Music (past and present) – thank you for believing in the show and all you have done to make it a worldwide success.

•Gary Lloyd our amazing Director & Choreographer. I could write a book about his character and talent, so please go read his own ! John Maher our meticulous Musical Director extraordinaire. • Every single band member past and present including Damien Cooper, Oliver Latka, Ryan Alex Farmery, Adam Kovacs and Mike Bradley - the greatest compliment you can pay these guys, is that some audience members still ask if the show is ‘live’. Yes! Applause when screen goes back and our musicians are revealed ! • Yasmin Yazdi, Jo Dyce, Rose Wild and Aisling Duffy – our fierce Resident Directors and Assistant Choreographers whom over the years have put hundreds of cast members through their paces. • Sharon Speirs and Caroline Stroud, our two long running and outstanding Company Managers over the past 11-years. And thank you to others who stepped in. • Nigel Catmur – Lighting Designer, Chris Whybrow – Sound Designer, Jonathan Park – Set Designer, Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum – Costume Designers – thank you for making this show look and sound so great ! • Our hard-working crew – Dawn Harvey, Paul Bond, Glenn Jenkins, Sophie Kemp, Kelvin White, Bill Dimeo, Matthew Giles, Alice Johson, Sara Markwick, Gemma Tucker, Melissa Cooke, Karli Can Heerden, Inca Jaackson, Rosie Woods and Jo Conlon – thank you for being there every day and making the show possible. • Not forgetting dozens of former crew members from Becky Potts and Jessica Plews to Craig and Kate Garratt and many, many more. • A big shout out to Haydon Eshun and John Moabi, our longest running West End cast members. These two guys are stage legends, whose performances did Michael proud every single night. • Respect to Kevin Wilson PR for keeping our name up in lights and doing it always with the utmost enthusiasm. • Thank you to Debbie O'Brien Casting – the talent we have seen over the years has been incredible including Zoe Birkett, Hayley Evetts, Maria Lawson, Samantha Johnson Carter, Cleopatra Madonna, Britt Quentin, Alex Buchanan, Jerome Singer, Trenyce Cobbins, David Jordan, MiG Ayesa and so many more outstanding vocalists ! • We have also been blessed with hundreds of amazing dancers since 2006 and through to the end of this West End run. They, with the singers and musicians are the life blood of the show, which relies, not on massive production, but pure heart and soul to deliver the energy, authenticity and chemistry that was part of Michael Jackson. �� Thank you Nica Burns at Nimax for giving us a home for 11-years, and all the staff at the Lyric Theatre for looking after us, and over 2 million audience members throughout the years. • Massive appreciation to Kerys Nathan, our original Director & Choreographer from 2006-2008. You’ll always be a part of the show. • Thank you to every single cast member from the original West End cast featuring Ben Forster, Roger Wright, Denise Pearson, Ricko Baird, Kieran Alleyne, Layton Williams (OFFICIAL), Sterling Williams, Lewis Davies, Kamilah Beckles, Christabelle Field, Elliot James, Earl Perkins, Emily Rumbles, Dannielle Rothman, Sean Williams, Ashton Russell, Ross Sands and Jordan Darrell, to our last with – Wayne Anthony-Cole, Vivienne Ekwulugo, David Julien, Miles Anthony, Florivaldo Mossi, Lauren Gore, Filippo Coffano, Leslie Garcia Brown, Deavion Brown, David Devyne, Mitchell Eley, Ike Fallon, Eliza Hart, Gabriela Hernandez, Amelia-Annie Layng, Arnold Mabhena, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Oskarina O'Sullivan , Shola B Riley, Triple Calz, Cannon Hay, Isaiah Mason, Ishaan Raithatha and Messiah Unusudimi. • To everyone on our suspended touring production, and all those before which has seen us visit over 34 different countries, thank you, thank you and thank you again. We will see each other hopefully soon as we continue this journey. Until then stay safe, and don't eat too many pies, there is only one costume budget. •Apologies too many not named above, some whom I greatly admire and some whom I am proud to now call friends, you are all in my thoughts.

Lastly, and most importantly – thank you to MICHAEL JACKSON ! “THRILLER LIVE” is your Music, your Artistry and your Magic ! Thank you for your Inspiration , Love and Humanity . 🙏🏼

Dreams do come true — Adrian Grant .

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writemarcus · 4 years ago

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Black LGBTQ+ playwrights and musical-theater artists you need to know

These artists are producing amazing, timely work.

By Marcus Scott Posted: Friday July 24 2020, 4:56pm

Marcus Scott is a New York City–based playwright, musical writer, opera librettist and journalist. He has contributed to Elle, Essence, Out, American Theatre, Uptown, Trace, Madame Noire and Playbill, among other publications. Follow Marcus: Instagram, Twitter

We’re in the chrysalis of a new age of theatrical storytelling, and Black queer voices have been at the center of this transformation. Stepping out of the margins of society to push against the status quo, Black LGBTQ+ artists have been actively engaged in fighting anti-blackness, racial disparities, disenfranchisement, homophobia and transphobia.

The success of Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play, Donja R. Love’s one in two and Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo’—not to mention Michael R. Jackson’s tour de force, the Pulitzer Prize–winning metamusical A Strange Loop—made that phenomenon especially visible last season. But these artists are far from alone. Because the intersection of queerness and Blackness is complex—with various gender expressions, sexual identifiers and communities taking shape in different spaces—Black LGBTQ+ artists are anything but a monolith. George C. Wolfe, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Robert O’Hara, Harrison David Rivers, Staceyann Chin, Colman Domingo, Tracey Scott Wilson, Tanya Barfield, Marcus Gardley and Daniel Alexander Jones are just some of the many Black queer writers who have already made marks.

With New York stages dark for the foreseeable future, we can’t know when we will be able to see live works by these artists again. It is likely, however, that they will continue to play major roles in the direction American theater will take in the post-quarantine era—along with many creators who are still flying mostly under the radar. Here are just a few of the Black queer artists you may not have encountered yet: vital new voices that are speaking to the Zeitgeist and turning up the volume.

Christina Anderson A protégé of Paula Vogel’s, Christina Anderson has presented work at the Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Penumbra Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons and other theaters around the U.S. and Canada. She has degrees from the Yale School of Drama and Brown University, and is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and Epic Theatre Ensemble; she has received the inaugural Harper Lee Award for Playwriting and three Susan Smith Blackburn Prize nominations, among other honors. Works include: How To Catch Creation (2019), Blacktop Sky (2013), Inked Baby (2009) Follow Christina: Website

Aziza Barnes Award-winning poet Aziza Barnes moved into playwriting with one of the great sex comedies of the 2010s: BLKS, which premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2017 before it played at MCC Theatre in 2019 (where it earned a Lucille Lortel Award nomination). The NYU grad’s play about three twentysomethings probed the challenges and choices of Millennials with pathos and zest that hasn’t been seen since Kenneth Lonergan’s Gen X love/hate letter This Is Our Youth. Barnes is the author of the full-length collection of poems the blind pig and i be but i ain’t, which won a Pamet River Prize. Works include: BLKS (2017) Follow Aziza: Twitter

Troy Anthony Burton Fusing a mélange of quiet storm ‘90s-era Babyface R&B, ‘60s-style funk-soul and urban contemporary gospel, composer Troy Anthony has had a meteoric rise in musical theater in the past three years, receiving commissions and residencies from the Shed, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company and the Civilians. When Anthony is not crafting ditties of his own, he is an active performer who has participated in the Public Theater’s Public Works and Shakespeare In the Park. Works include: The River Is Me (2017), The Dark Girl Chronicles (in progress) Follow Troy: Instagram

Timothy DuWhite Addressing controversial issues such as HIV, state-sanctioned violence and structural anti-blackness, poet and performance artist Timothy DuWhite unnerves audiences with a hip-hop driven gonzo style. DuWhite’s raison d’être is to shock and enrage, and his provocative Neptune was, along with Donja R. Love’s one in two, one of the first plays by an openly black queer writer to address HIV openly and frankly. He has worked with the United Nations/UNICEF, the Apollo Theater, Dixon Place and La MaMa. Works include: Neptune (2018) Follow Timothy: Instagram

Jirèh Breon Holder Raised in Memphis and educated at Morehouse College, Jirèh Breon Holder solidified his voice at the Yale School of Drama under the direction of Sarah Ruhl. He has received the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award and the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, among other honors. His play Too Heavy for Your Pocket premiered at Roundabout Underground and has since been produced in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Des Moines and Houston; his next play, ...What The End Will Be, is slated to debut at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Works include: Too Heavy for Your Pocket (2017), What The End Will Be (2020) Follow Jirèh: Twitter

C.A. Johnson Born in Louisiana, rising star C.A. Johnson writes with a southern hospitality and homespun charm that washes over audiences like a breath of fresh air. Making a debut at MCC Theater with her coming of age romcom All the Natalie Portmans, she drew praise for empathic take on a black queer teenage womanchild with Hollywood dreams. A core writer at the Playwrights Center, she has had fellowships with the Dramatists Guild Fellow, Page 73, the Lark and the Sundance Theatre Lab. Works include: All the Natalie Portmans (2020) Follow C.A.: Twitter

Johnny G. Lloyd A New York-based playwright and producer, Johnny G. Lloyd has seen his work produced and developed at the Tank, 59E59, the Corkscrew Festival, the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and more. A member of the 2019-2020 Liberation Theatre Company’s Writing Residency, this Columbia University graduate is also a producing director of InVersion Theatre. Works include: The Problem With Magic, Is (2020), Or, An Astronaut Play (2019), Patience (2018) Follow Johnny: Instagram

Patricia Ione Lloyd In her luminous 2018 breakthrough Eve’s Song at the Public Theater, Patricia Ione Lloyd offered a meditation on the violence against black women in America that is often overlooked onstage. With a style saturated in both humor and melancholy and a poetic lyricism that evokes Ntozake Shange’s, the former Tow Playwright in Residence has earned fellowships at New Georges, the Dramatist Guild, Playwrights Realm, New York Theater Workshop and Sundance. Works include: Eve’s Song (2018) Follow Patricia: Instagram

Maia Matsushita The half-Black, half-Japanese educator and playwright Maia Matsushita has sounded a silent alarm in downtown theater with an array of slow-burn, naturalistic coming-of-age dramas. She was a member of The Fire This Time’s 2017-18 New Works Lab and part of its inaugural Writers Group, and her work has been seen at Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Playwright Playground and the National Black Theatre’s Keeping Soul Alive Reading Series. Works include: House of Sticks (2019), White Mountains (2018) Follow Maia: Instagram

Daaimah Mubashshir When Daaimah Mubashshir’s kitchen-sink dramedy Room Enough (For Us All) debuted at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in 2019, the prolific writer began a dialogue around the contemporary African-American Muslim experience and black queer expression that made her a significant storyteller to watch. She is a core writer at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis as well as a member of Soho Rep’s Writer/Director Lab, Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers Group, and a MacDowell Colony Fellow. Her short-play collection The Immeasurable Want of Light was published in 2018. Works include: Room Enough (For Us All) (2019) Follow Daaimah: Twitter

Jonathan Norton Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Jonathan Norton is a delightfully zany playwright who subverts notions of post-blackness by underlining America’s obscure historical atrocities with bloody red slashes. The stories he tells carry a profound horror, often viewed through the eyes of black children and young adults. Norton’s work has been produced or developed by companies including the Actors Theatre of Louisville (at the 44th Humana Festival), PlayPenn and InterAct Theatre Company. He is the Playwright in Residence at Dallas Theater Center. Works include: Mississippi Goddamn (2015), My Tidy List of Terrors (2013), penny candy (2019) Follow Jonathan: Website

AriDy Nox Cooking up piping hot gumbos of speculative fiction, transhumanism and radical womanist expression, AriDy Nox is a rising star with a larger-than-life vision. The Spelman alum earned an MFA from NYU TIsch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and has been a staple of various theaters such as Town Stages. A member of the inaugural 2019 cohort of the Musical Theatre Factory Makers residency, they recently joined the Public Theater’s 2020-2022 Emerging Writers Group cohort. Works include: Metropolis (in progress), Project Tiresias (2018) Follow AriDy: Instagram

Akin Salawu Akin Salawu’s nonlinear, hyperkinetic work combines heart-pounding suspense chills with Tarantino-esque thrills while excavating Black trauma and Pan-African history in America. With over two decades of experience as a writer, director and editor, the prize-winning playwright is a two-time Tribeca All Access Winner and a member of both the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group and Ars Nova’s Uncharted Musical Theater residency. A graduate of Stanford, he is a founder of the Tank’s LIT Council, a theater development center for male-identifying persons of color. Works include: bless your filthy lil’ heart (2019), The Real Whisperer (2017), I Stand Corrected (2008) Follow Akin: Twitter

Sheldon Shaw A playwright, screenwriter and actor, Sheldon Shaw studied writing at the Labyrinth Theater Company and was part of Playwrights Intensive at the Kennedy Center. Shaw has since developed into a sort of renaissance man, operating as playwright, screenwriter and actor. His plays have been developed by Emerging Artist Theaters New Works Festival, Classical Theater of Harlem and the Rooted Theater Company. Shaw's Glen was the winner of the Black Screenplays Matter competition and a finalist in the New York Screenplay Contest. Works include: Jailbait (2018), Clair (2017), Baby Starbucks (2015) Follow Johnny: Twitter

Nia O. Witherspoon Multidisciplinary artist Nia Ostrow Witherspoon’s metaphysical explorations of black liberation and desire have made her an in-demand presence in theater circles. The recipient of multiple honors—include New York Theatre Workshop’s 2050 Fellowship, a Wurlitzer Foundation residency and the Lambda Literary’s Emerging Playwriting Fellowship—she is currently developing The Dark Girl Chronicles, a play cycle that, in her words, “explores the criminalization of black cis and trans women via African diaspora sacred stories.” Works include: The Dark Girl Chronicles (in progress) Follow Nia: Instagram

Brandon Webster A Brooklyn-based musical theatre writer and dramaturg, Brandon Webster has been a familiar figure in the NYC theater scene, both onstage and behind the scenes. With an aesthetic that fuses Afrofuturist and Afrosurrealist storytelling, with a focus on Black liberation past and present, the composer’s work fuses psychedelic soul flourishes with alt-R&B nuances to create a sonic smorgasbord of seething rage and remorse. He is an alumnus of the 2013 class of BMI Musical Theater Workshop and a 2017 MCC Theater Artistic Fellow. Works include: Metropolis (in progress), Headlines (2017), Boogie Nights (2015) Follow Brandon: Instagram

#Black #Black LGBTQ #LGBTQ #Playwrights #Musical Theatre #Musical Theater #Writers #TimeOut #timeoutnewyork #Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #Write Marcus #WriteMarcus #Theater

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walterfilmmemorabilia-blog · 5 years ago

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10 LGBTQ Performers in the 1970's

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community against a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Wikipedia

What followed in the 1970’s was a rising tide of LGBTQ performers that “came out” to express their unique take on music, theater and sexual (transgender) identity. Here are 10 of those performers and a brief look at what they contributed to the movement and to our culture. Click on the image to learn more about the performer.

JAYNE COUNTY

As rock’s first openly transgender singer, Jayne Rogers (born June 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career spans five decades. While dressed in female attire from the beginning of her career, County transitioned to female in 1979, becoming Jayne (as the above poster illustrates).

She made her first performing appearances as Wayne County in Wayne County and The Electric Chairs. In 1969 she appeared in Jackie Curtis’ play Femme Fatale. County considered Curtis a major influence on her career and persona and County is widely considered an influence on David Bowie –– County’s Queenage Baby number was the prototype for Bowie’s Rebel Rebel. Even more notable was her play, World – Birth of A Nation, which was set in a hospital and dealt with male castration –– evoking both transgender surgery and her mixed feelings about men, both gay and straight.

After seeing the play, Andy Warhol cast her in his play Pork. She went on to appear in the film The Blank Generation (1976). Back and forth between New York and London, she settled in Atlanta Georgia. In 2018, County debuted a retrospective show of visual art in the New York City gallery, Participant, Inc.

County’s life and art is considered an inspirational influence on John Cameron Mitchell’s transgender rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

JACKIE CURTIS

“Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier,” so said Andy Warhol. Andy was right. Jackie Cutis (1947-1987) was a true original. Long before he became one of the Pop master’s superstars. Curtis distinguished himself by appearing (alternately) as a James Dean-like male and a Jean Harlow-like female in Off-off Broadway plays of his own devise in which he and his friends appeared:

Glamour, Glory And Gold, co-starred Candy Darling, and Robert DeNiroin his first New York stage appearance;

Vain Victory, also starred Darling with Warhol and Jack Smith star Mario Montez;

Amerika Cleopatra featured a thin barely-known Harvey Fierstein;

Femme Fatale, starred Patti Smith, Jayne County and Penny Arcade; and

Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit toplined Holly Woodlawn. These were all makeshift, wildly tossed together affairs having little to do with plot and character but tons to do with exhibitionistic self-expression.

Outside of such Warhol films as Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1972), Jackie’s most notable screen appearance was in Yugoslavia agant-gardist Dusan Makvejev’s W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism – a film about sex researcher Willhelm Reich, creator of the so-called Orgone Box. Makvejev felt Jackie presence in the film added a lot to his view of Reich’s sexual theories.

DIVINE

Born Harris Glenn Milsted in 1945, this life-affirming, overweight transvestite was re-named Divine (after the hero/heroine of Jean Genet’s Our Lady of the Flowers ) by the writer-director John Waters, who discovered her right down the block from where he lived. Through his films Waters turned a lonely overweight kid from Baltimore into one of the biggest (in every sense of the word) of all underground movie stars.

In Waters’ comedies, Pink Flamingoes, Female Trouble, Polyester and Hairspray, Divine redefined what it means to be a movie star. Waters called him The Most Beautiful Woman in The World and if you’ve seen Divine on stage of screen you’ll know why; for like his idol, Elizabeth Taylor, Divine was overwhelmingly sui generis.

While beloved for his films, Divine was a prolific LGBTQ performer on stage and in nightclubs. This above poster memorializes one of them . In this particular show — Vice— Divine appeared with many of the members of the legendary San Francisco drag troupe, The Cockettes.

Sadly, Divine (now a gay, transgender icon) died in 1988 of respiratory problems, days after the opening of his greatest acting success, Hairspray. Those lucky enough to see his club appearances also recall Divine for numbers like this —

CASSELBERRY & DUPREE

Mixing Reggae, Country and Gospel, Casselberry and Dupree are a dynamic lesbian duo who have performed with Harry Belafonte and Whoppi Goldberg, They appeared in the Oscar-nominated Art Is and the Oscar-winning The Times of Harvey Milk. The early 70s was a great time for Sapphic folk music, featured as it was at such venues as Lilith Fair. Jaqué Dupree and J. Casselberry offer a stellar example of it in: CASSELBERRYY AND DUPREE “TWO OF US”

CHARLES PIERCE

Charles Piece 1926-1999 was what might be called a female impersonator (he called himself a Male Actress) who found favor with audiences both straight and gay with his knowing impressions of Bette Davis, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead and Carol Channing, Such impersonations were quite traditional for a comic performer of this sort. But as can be seen and heard in this clip of his rendition of Katherine Hepburn, Pierce kept pace with the blossoming LGBTQ movement with many of his zingers evidencing a keen awareness of the difference the out and proud LGBTQ movement had made in a straight-dominated world.

Headlining a production of Applause was a real tour de force for Piece as this musical version of All About Eve gave him leave to do Bette Davis (star of the original film) and Lauren Bacall (star of the musical remake) at the same time.

JUDITH ANDERSON

Stage and screen star Judith Anderson (1897-1992.) best remembered by the general public for playing the sinister lesbian “Mrs. Danvers” in Hithcock’s Rebecca (1940) and “Ann Treadwell” the socialite who’s keeping Vincent Price’s “Shelby Carpenter” in Laura The latter was quite low-key in that the character was straight, whereas “Mrs. Danvers” was a full-force lesbian.

Despite the obvious she was married twice. Her first husband was an English professor, Benjamin Harrison Lehmann. They were married in 1937 and divorced in 1939. Then, in 1946, she married theatrical producer Luther Greene. They divorced in 1951. Of these marriages Anderson said. “Neither experience was a jolly holiday.”

While Sarah Bernhardt had famously performed Hamlet in the late 19th century, few actresses have ever tried it. Taking it on at an advanced age, as Anderson did, was quite novel. Doing it when she did, put Anderson in league with the avant-garde gender-benders of the early 70s like Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn.

CRAIG RUSSELL

Craig Russell, born Russell Crag Easie in 1948 in Toronto Canada, this female impersonator carved out a considerable career for himself doing such stars as Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead and Mae West — having come to know the last-mentioned personally as he briefly worked as her secretary in Los Angeles. Many LGBTQ performers of this genre did impressions of these stars. But there was an edginess to Russell’s work clearly influenced by the rise of the gay rights movement.

He toured widely, appearing in Las Vegas, Hollywood, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Sydney, to the delight of a variety of audiences. But he won a special place in the hearts of the gay ones, as shown in the 1977 comedy-drama Outrageous in which he plays a character largely based on himself.

Interestingly, Russell — who always identified himself as gay — was bisexual. He fathered a daughter, Susan Allison, in 1973, and in 1982 married his closest female friend Lori Jenkins. The marriage lasted right through to the end of Russell’s life in 1990 when he died from AIDS complications.

SYLVESTER

Sylvester James Jr. (1947-1988) was born in Los Angeles, but first came to public attention when he moved to San Francisco and joined the legendary gay hippie performance troupe The Cockettes. A genuinely original singing talent Sylvester showcased a high, shimmering falsetto and a variety of styles encompassing gospel, disco and cabaret. His look was utterly androgynous. While he sometimes appeared in “drag” he most often sported ensembles suitable to both genders.

Wildly popular in San Francisco he performed solo shows at the city’s opera house. When he died from AIDS complications the entire city mourned, along with everyone else who came to know the man and his music.

STEVEN GROSSMAN

Steve Grossman (1951-1991) a gay singer-songwriter of the early 1970s whose album Caravan Tonight (1974) is distinguished as being the first album dealing with openly gay subject matter released by a major record label, Mercury Records.

He died from AIDS leaving his Joni Mitchell-inflected songs, recorded much in the style of singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, opposed to the then-current glam Bowiesque fashion of openly gay artists. Among them, “Out” is a deeply moving coming-out song directed to his Father mother and brother.

OUR GUEST AUTHOR

DAVID EHRENSTEIN

Born in 1947, David Ehrenstein has been a film critic and political commentator since 1965, writing for such publications as Film Culture, Film Quarterly, Cahiers du Cinema, and the Los Angeles Times. His books include Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-2000, The Scorsese Picture: The Art and Life of Martin Scorsese and Cahiers du Cinema — Masters of Cinema: Roman Polanski .

Blog is originally published at: https://www.walterfilm.com/10-lgbtq-performers-in-the-1970s/

It is republished with permission from the author.

#LGBTQ #old hollywood #actors #actresses #hollywood #vintage movies #movies

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doomonfilm · 5 years ago

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Memories : The Best Films of the 2010s

Only a few years into my tenure as a film blogger, and I’ve been tasked with a monumental undertaking : ranking the top films of the last decade. Reflecting year by year is a journey in its own right, and with things like recency bias to take into account, plus the dice roll of blessing and curse that perspective and time bring to older films, I knew that this would be memorable at best, and stressful at worst.

That being said, I don’t claim to have seen every movie, so I know that there are some ‘glaring’ omissions. I am always open to recommendations for films I should watch (for the purpose of blogging on them or otherwise), but DOOMonFILM has always been about my personal experience as a film fan, first and foremost. Discussion is welcome, and constructive criticism will always be considered, but this is one man’s opinion.

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THOUGHTS ON THE DECADE

The 2010s, despite moments of controversy in terms of diversity, turned out to be surprisingly forward-thinking in hindsight. On more than one occasion in the decade, the film of the year (in terms of awards or in terms of critical/public reception), as well as highlight films of each year, were made by foreign directors. Women and minorities also managed to be recognized in front of and behind the camera at what seemed like a higher rate. Newer technologies were embraced, such as pushes forward in new cameras or directors opting to shoot on devices as small as iPhones, leaps forward in special effects, and a multitude of movies given the iMax treatment. A handful of directors happened to put out multiple movies throughout the decade, and a few of those in that handful managed to make multiple award-winning and widely accepted films. Marvel left such an impact on Hollywood, and the worldwide movie industry, that DC was forced to try and follow suit, and mergers with Sony and Disney were top tier news for months on end. Actors like Scarlett Johanson, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others, solidified themselves as box-office legends, while actors on both sides of their career (first-timers and those in the twilight of their career) found success throughout the decade. All in all, it was a decade that continued to make me happy to be a movie fan, and as hard as it was to do, I managed to find 100 films throughout the decade to rank.

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100. It Comes at Night (dir. Trey Edward Shults, 2017) 99. Kick-Ass (dir. Matthew Vaughn, 2010) 98. The Peanuts Movie (dir. Steve Martino, Andy Beall and Frank Molieri, 2015) 97. Everybody Wants Some!! (dir. Richard Linklater, 2016) 96. Upstream Color (dir. Shane Carruth, 2013) 95. Avengers : Age of Ultron (dir. Joss Whedon, 2015) 94. John Dies at the End (dir. Don Coscarelli, 2013) 93. Doctor Strange (dir. Scott Derrickson, 2016) 92. Keanu (dir. Peter Atencio, 2016) 91. Free Fire (dir. Ben Wheatley, 2017) 90. Upgrade (dir. Leigh Whannell, 2018) 89. Chappie (dir. Neill Blomkamp, 2015) 88. American Ultra (dir. Nima Nourizadeh, 2015) 87. I, Tonya (dir. Craig Gillespie, 2017) 86. Boyhood (dir. Richard Linklater, 2014) 85. The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir. Wes Anderson, 2014) 84. La La Land (dir. Damien Chazelle, 2016) 83. Ex Machina (dir. Alex Garland, 2015) 82. Nightcrawler (dir. Dan Gilroy, 2014) 81. Sicario (dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2015) 80. Looper (dir. Rian Johnson, 2012) 79. The Killer Inside Me (dir. Michal Winterbottom, 2010) 78. Hell or High Water (dir. David Mackenzie, 2016) 77. End of Watch (dir. David Ayer, 2012) 76. Django Unchained (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2012) 75. Thoroughbreds (dir. Cory Finley, 2018) 74. Chronicle (dir. Josh Trank, 2012) 73. Melancholia (dir. Lars von Trier, 2011) 72. Black Mirror : Bandersnatch (dir. David Slade, 2018) 71. Detroit (dir. Kathryn Bigelow, 2017) 70. BlacKkKlansman (dir. Spike Lee, 2018) 69. Black Panther (dir. Ryan Coogler, 2018) 68. I Am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck, 2017) 67. Straight Outta Compton (dir. F. Gary Gray, 2015) 66. Kubo and the Two Strings (dir. Travis Knight, 2016) 65. It Follows (dir. David Robert Mitchell, 2014) 64. Logan Lucky (dir. Steven Soderbergh, 2017) 63. Get Out (dir. Jordan Peele, 2017) 62. Booksmart (dir. Olivia Wilde, 2019) 61. Beats, Rhymes & Life : The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (dir. Michael Rapaport, 2011) 60. Lady Bird (dir. Greta Gerwig, 2017) 59. Moonrise Kingdom (dir. Wes Anderson, 2012) 58. The Cabin in the Woods (dir. Drew Goddard, 2012) 57. Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky, 2010) 56. Captain America : The Winter Soldier (dir. Joe Russo, 2014) 55. If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins, 2018) 54. Avengers : Infinity War (dir. Anthony Russo, 2018) 53. True Grit (dir. Ethan and Joel Cohen, 2010) 52. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (dir. Martin McDonagh, 2017) 51. Whiplash (dir. Damien Chazelle, 2014) 50. Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster, 2019) 49. Journey to the West : Conquering the Demons (dir. Stephen Chow and Derek Kwok, 2013) 48. Sorry To Bother You (dir. Boots Riley, 2018) 47. Mid90s (dir. Jonah Hill, 2018) 46. Logan (dir. James Mangold, 2017) 45. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2017) 44. Phantom Thread (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017) 43. The Hateful Eight (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2015) 42. Exit Through the Gift Shop (dir. Banksy, 2010) 41. The Irishman (dir. Martin Scorsese, 2019) 40. Suspiria (dir. Luca Guadagnino, 2018) 39. The VVitch (dir. Robert Eggers, 2016) 38. Dogtooth (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2010) 37. The Lighthouse (dir. Robert Eggers, 2019) 36. Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland, 2018) 35. Drive (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011) 34. Beyond the Black Rainbow (dir. Panos Cosmatos, 2012) 33. The Favourite (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018) 32. Searching (dir. Aneesh Chaganty, 2018) 31. Tangerine (dir. Sean Baker, 2015) 30. Snowpiercer (dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2014) 29. Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2013) 28. Dunkirk (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2017) 27. Blade Runner 2049 (dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2017) 26. Baby Driver (dir. Edgar Wright, 2017) 25. Joker (dir. Todd Phillips, 2019) 24. The Neon Demon (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) 23. Spider-Man : Into the Spider-Verse (dir. Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti and Rodney Rothman, 2018) 22. The Shape of Water (dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2017) 21. The Social Network (dir. David Fincher, 2010) 20. Frances Ha (dir. Noah Baumbach, 2013) 19. Under the Silver Lake (dir. David Robert Mitchell, 2019) 18. Mad Max : Fury Road (dir. George Miller, 2015) 17. Good Time (dir. Josh and Benny Safdie, 2017) 16. Mandy (dir. Panos Cosmatos, 2018) 15. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2019) 14. Her (dir. Spike Jonze, 2013) 13. The Lobster (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015) 12. Inherent Vice (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014) 11. The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)

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10. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (dir. Joe Talbot, 2019)

I saw this film as the decade was winding to a close, but it made easily one of the starkest impressions on me of any film-going experience I can recall. The movie looks amazing, the score and soundtrack are powerful, the acting is rich and dynamic, San Francisco is as beautiful on film as it is in real life, and the thoughts that arise from the narrative presented are the kind that hang around and result in personal changes that matter. A shining achievement from a stellar year of film.

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9. Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2010)

If Christopher Nolan wasn’t already considered top tier prior to Inception, any doubters were left floored at the close of this masterpiece. For a story that could have easily been way too convoluted for standard audiences, the visuals, direction and pacing guide us through the madness perfectly. For anyone interested in dream depictions on cinema, for fans of stellar action, and for the smart people who know the quality that comes with the Nolan name, this one was a no-brainer.

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8. mother! (dir. Darren Aronofsky, 2017)

After being a bit on the nose with Noah, in terms of a film on religion, most directors would take that as a sign to move on from the topic. For a director like Darren Aronofsky, however, the next step was to seemingly go back to your mind-scrambling roots, dig deeper symbolically, narratively and metaphorically, and come back to the table with one of the most divisive and controversial films of the decade. mother! will clearly be a film ripe for analysis for years to come, and for as subjective and deep an experience as the film is, this reflection is welcome, as it serves to enrich future viewing experiences.

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7. Uncut Gems (dir. Josh and Benny Safdie, 2019)

How long does a film have to be out to be considered one of the best of the decade? In the case of Uncut Gems, I will allow recency bias, as it is clearly evident at the beginning of the closing credits that the film is special and will resonate for years to come. The Safdie brothers already had a classic under their belt with Good Time, and throwing that Sandler magic into the mix only amplifies their heightened and immersive style.

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6. The Florida Project (dir. Sean Baker, 2017)

There are a small fraternity of directors that put out their first films and follow-up films in the 2010s, and while examples of possible award snubs can be found for these directors, there was one clear-cut case of oversight : the 2017 lack of recognition for Sean Baker’s immaculate, beautiful and moving The Florida Project. While Tangerine was certainly the loudest of warning shots a first time director could provide, the amount of growth, nuance and confidence found in this follow-up deserved multiple awards, not just an acting nod for Willem Dafoe. Perhaps Baker’s next film will bring him the recognition he deserves in terms of awards, but he’s already made a clear cut name for himself.

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5. Hereditary (dir. Ari Aster, 2018)

I rediscovered a love for horror films in the 2010s, and a key reason would be the emergence of director Ari Aster. Upon seeing trailers for Hereditary, I knew that it would probably scare the life out of me, but the taste of the story given was so gripping I had to see it. The fact that the trailer was so powerful, only for the movie to unfold in ways that I never would have imagined or discerned from the trailer, was one of the most rewarding film experiences of the decade. Toni Collette also gave a performance for the ages.

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4. You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynne Ramsay, 2018)

It’s arguable that Joaquin Phoenix may have had the strongest decade of any actor, and for my money’s worth, he was at his best in You Were Never Really Here. Much of the angst presented was previously explored in The Master, and as great as Joker is, it’s essentially the DCEU version of You Were Never Really Here, tonally and in terms of specific elements. Nobody short of the Safdie brothers are making movies that look, sound and feel like this one, and the unfortunate practice of human trafficking hitting the news forefront makes this film as timely as it is sad.

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3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (dir. Edgar Wright, 2010)

Hands down the coolest film of the decade. Not since Who Framed Roger Rabbit? had so many elements that I loved from other properties managed to find their way into the same movie, and the way that the gumbo was prepared and served was pitch perfect. As my friend Erin stated after we viewed the film, ‘If you watch this movie and don’t like it, I don’t think we can be friends’. Some of my favorite sequences of any film are in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and this is the EXACT kind of film I look forward to one day sharing with my children.

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2. Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, 2019)

Another recent film that made an instant impact. In terms of topics like honesty, entitlement, and family dynamics, nothing I can think of in recent memory is touching Parasite. The parallels between the two families presented are perfect both visually and in the performances, and with each new bit of information presented, much of what you were previously presented is immediately recontextualized and put into question. This film, from front to back, is one of the most gripping journeys a filmgoer can take.

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1. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014)

Easily my favorite film of the decade. This is the closest thing to a song-poem that I’ve ever seen presented on film, and it’s heartbreakingly beautiful. Nothing else released in the decade looked or sounded like this film, and the way it meta-reflects on Hollywood, Broadway, superhero films and the importance of actors is equal parts hilarious, thought-provoking and wonderfully frustrating. The film answers enough questions it posits so as to not completely confound the viewer, but it leaves enough open-ended so that repeat viewings are rewarding. A true achievement of film, regardless of decade.

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la-fille-en-aiguilles · 6 years ago

Text

Future Looks Good

Ben Barnes x Female Reader

A/N: This week has been really tough on me. I’m bloody submerged with clients’ requests, journalists’ requests, and on top of that everybody seems to think I’ve got a magical solution to all of their problems... Whatever. All of that to tell @benbarnesescape that i’ve only survived all this shit because I kept reading her Ben Barnes’ stories every night before I went to sleep. Thank you for the inspiration, darling, because I’ve been dealing with some serious writer’s block lately... Go check out her works, you won’t regret it!

Word count : 1417

Warnings : none

God I’m such a sucker for that Billy Russo look. Goddamn.

Ben friggin Barnes. Was he ever going to stop leaving you speechless everytime you thought it was a good idea to watch a movie he starred in? In your defense, you’d only seen two : and that’s because you weren’t given much of a choice. As much as you would rather go grab a couple of Spritz’es with your friends on Friday night, movie premiers were an obligation. Especially when your face – and body – took 80% of all the screening time.

Your apartment was glowing on the inside, Annick Goutal candles emanating warmth and woodish smell. Here and there you could spot a pillow, a wool blanket and a couple of soft furs scattered on the carpented floors. Britt had left early tonight – she had an early exposition tomorrow at the gallery, which you were thankful for, to be honest.

Five episodes of the Punisher were frankly a lot more than you could handle.

It all started quite innocently, when you thought about it. Britt came over with a nice bottle of Chardonnay and stories to spill about her ex. Indeed, it has been three weeks since she became single and you both had been enjoying it to the fullest – as a matter of fact, this was so far the only evening you decided to stay in. Once your sushi order had been devoured and the second bottle of wine had been opened – Cabernet d’Anjou this time – you were stupid enough to ask what Britt wanted for dessert.

‘Eye-candy, obviously,’ she smiled at you mischeviously, already switching from some random music channel to Netflix. Your entire body had literally gone cold at her statement.

‘Britt,’ you began warningly. ‘We are not watching the Punisher’.

‘Fuck yes we do’, she exclaimed, a happy smile blooming on her lips. Seeing you wince slightly, she sighed. ‘Oh come on Y/N. You have no idea what you’ve been missing. This is like the greatest rave you’ve been invited to and for some reason you choose to ignore the invitation!’

Raising your eyebrows at her quite picturesque metaphore, you glanced at the screen, where Netflix offered you to stare at your friend Benjamin Barnes until you couldn’t bear seeing his sinfully handsome face anymore.

‘You know I don’t watch movies with my friends in them,’ you finally said. ‘Especially where my friends play murderers or bastards.’

‘Barnes is a bastard alright. Being that hot should be illegal,’ Britt smirked at you, pushing the red play button. You groaned, serving yourself another glass of wine. This was bound to be a long night.

You weren’t wrong. The clock just struck three in the morning, yet you still stared at your MacBook’s screen massaging your temples.

Just as you predicted, none of this little TV series binging was going to do you any good.

As soon as you met Ben for the first time, you promised yourself you were never going to fall for him. You guys had hit it off right away, getting along like a house on fire. Your chemistry on the screen was indeniable, and since you were extremely comfortable with each other, you accepted to act out a romantic relationship in a couple of steamy movies, including David Robert Mitchell’s new Bonnie and Clyde narrative. If you were going to be honest with yourself, it was right around that time that you realized you might have crossed that dangerous line. Without even noticing at first, you started falling for the man, admiring those beautiful sparks in his chocolate eyes, his easy and heartwarming smile, the way he cared for you in all those little ways, bringing you coffee, running back to his trailer to fetch you a sweater, taking you out for dinner when you learned that you failed an important audition.

Luckily, just when you realized how fucked up your feelings towards your best friend were, he was casted in the next big gig of Patty Jenkins. You had to temporarily part ways and you haven’t seen him for more than five months now.

This was doing your crazed heart so much good you started to think straight like a normal person again.

Until this fucking Punisher movie night.

So now, circling the rim of your glass with your pinky absentmindedly, you stared at Ben’s twitter page. You didn’t even know what brought you here, but you also knew you’d been staring at it for an hour now. Your dizzy mind, filled with flashing images of Billy Russo shagging that beautiful actress, begged for some stupid, irrevocable action.

Exhaling slowly, you clicked tweet. You fingers tapped the words against your better judgement, and it wasn’t long before you hit send.

Staring at the screen, your heart beating double time, you watched your tweet hit a hundreds of likes, retweets and ‘ahhh’ comments per minute, the sentiment of terror growing in your chest.

Scanning the tweet that you wrote, you gulped down the remainders of white wine from your glass. Had you just singlehandedly undermined the future of your friendship with Ben?...

Y/N-Y/L/N @y/n_y/l/n 2 min

I know I’m late to the party and all that but… #holyshit @benbarnes, who is that hot guy named Billy Russo that you’ve been hiding from me for so long? When are you going to introduce us to each other?

By the time you finished re-reading your tweet, it spread like plague, judging from the number of retweets. Your home fell silent, nothing perturbing the heavy atmosphere, but the sound of your computer cooling down.

Biting your bottom lip so hard it hurt, you clicked back to Ben’s twitter page, mentally cursing yourself for being so stupid. Damn Britt and damn her eye-candy cravings…

And then your heart dropped. 1 new tweet, was all it took for you to start sweating profusely. Barely remembering how to breath – God you were pathetic – you clicked on the notification.

Was it his answer to you? If it was, was it as poignant and mocking as you knew Ben could be sometimes?

Sweet baby Jesus, what have you gotten yourself into?

Your lips raw and blood-red by now, you braced yourself for the worst…

Ben Barnes @benbarnes 1 min

Oh thank God, @y/n_y/l/n, the pretty boy has been bragging about you for months now. How does tomorrow sound? He said he’d pick you up around seven-ish. He also says its a date.

You blinked, dumbfounded, re-reading his answer again. And again. And again.

Jesus Holy Christ on a bicycle! Ben friggin Barnes had just asked you out?!

Hold your horses, Y/N, you commanded to yourself, feeling your cheeks turn red. This must be some kind of joke… He wasn’t even in New York these days!

You suddenly felt a pit in your stomach starting to grow, bitterness making its home on your tongue.

You should have known better than to put yourself out there like that. This was worse than any mockery Ben could have come up with, this playing along for the public image thing…

If only he knew how much you ached for him all along…

Your attention switched back to your computer, your screen going alight. Another tweet on Ben’s page. Telling yourself nothing could be worse than what you were going through right now, you clicked on the notification – again.

Ben Barnes @benbarnes 1 min

What do you want me to tell him, @y/n_y/l/n? I ought to say, he’s looking pretty threatening with this gun he’s aimed at me, but I know you can turn him into a kitten just by saying yes. Don’t tell him that though, he’s afraid of showing his soft side.

A lump in your throat was hard to ignore as you laughed quietly, covering your mouth. Was Ben serious? Your best friend Ben, your partner in crime Benito Barnsoia, is actually asking you out on a date, being all nervous and basically telling you you’re the one?!

Excited smile quickly becoming a part of your normal physique, you typed an answer, short and simple.

Y/N-Y/L/N @y/n_y/l/n just now

@benbarnes, I am a sucker for guns. And kittens. But don’t tell him that. Seven sharp. My place. It’s a date.

Your laughter broke the silence of the room, resonating in its walls. Slamming your computer shut, you put your elbows on its surface, staring into the dimness of the room, you heart beating softly.

A date with pretty boy Billy Russo.

If he was your future, than damn it looked good.

#ben barnes #ben barnes imagine #ben barnes x reader #ben barnes oneshot #billy russo #billy russo x reader #the punisher #young sirius black #sirius x reader #the punisher imagine #x reader #My writing #writers on tumblr #imagine #one shot #celebrity imagines

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callunavulgari · 5 years ago

Text

Scrapbook 2019 | Pt. II

Reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read one hundred books this year (on track, currently at 76), finish five video games (FIN), write something novel-length (not so much) and write something original (technically done? don’t know if I want to count a snippet that didn’t even hit 1k). These last two goals CAN be combined (I might try NaNo this year, so we will see).

Part I: January-July.

MOVIES

August

American Graffiti

Toy Story 4

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Aquaman

(Spirited Away)

The Grinch

Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus

John Wick

Alita: Battle Angel

(Jaws)

Jaws 2

The Dark Tower

September

(Avengers Endgame)

IT: Chapter 2

(Kull: The Conquerer)

(Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)

October

Lego Movie 2

Roman Holiday

(Monster’s Inc)

(13 Ghosts)

Addams Family

November

The King

BOOKS

August

Red, White, and Royal Blue | Casey Mcquiston [Fin]

Nevernight | Jay Kristoff [Fin]

David Mogo, Godhunter | Suyi Davies Okungbowa [Fin]

League of Dragons | Naomi Novak [Fin]

The Magpie Lord | KJ Charles [Fin]

Witches of Lychford | Paul Cornell [Fin]

The Gunslinger | Stephen King

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter | Alexis Hall [Fin]

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | Gail Honeyman [Fin]

The Way of Kings | Brandon Sanderson

September

The Way of Kings | Brandon Sanderson [Fin]

The Gunslinger | Stephen King [Fin]

Educated | Tara Westover [Fin]

Middlegame | Seanan Mcguire [Fin]

Eye of the World | Robert Jordan

Harrow County Vol. 1 | Cullen Bunn [Fin]

Harrow County Vol. 2 | Cullen Bunn [Fin]

Harrow County Vol. 3 | Cullen Bunn [Fin]

Harrow County Vol. 4 | Cullen Bunn [Fin]

Harrow County Vol. 5 | Cullen Bunn [Fin]

Exhalation | Ted Chiang [Fin]

The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Alix Harrow** [Fin]

Through the Woods | Emily Carroll [Fin]

To Be Taught, If Fortunate | Becky Chambers** [Fin]

The Eye of the World | Robert Jordan [Fin]

Chilling Effect | Valerie Valdes [Fin]

October

We Are Where the Nightmares Go | C. Robert Cargill [Fin]

Horrorstor | Grady Hendrix [Fin]

Feedback | Mira Grant [Fin]

Ninth House | Leigh Bardugo [Fin]

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo | Taylor Jenkins Reid [Fin]

Monster of Elendhaven | Jennifer Giesbrecht [Fin]

Mirrormask | Neil Gaiman [Fin]

The Darkest Part of the Forest | Holly Black [Fin]

We Set the Dark on Fire | Tehlor Kay Mejia [Fin]

November

The Gilded Wolves | Roshani Chokshi [Fin]

Words of Radiance | Brandon Sanderson

PODCASTS

August

The Magnus Archive Eps 11-63

Alice Isn’t Dead Ep 5

September

The Magnus Archive Eps 64-94

The Adventure Zone | Episode 5

October

The Magnus Archive Eps 95-159**

Welcome to Night Vale

Alice Isn’t Dead Eps 6-10 + bonus episodes

TANIS Ep 1

The Penumbra Podcast

Zero Hours**

November

The Penumbra Podcast

The Magnus Archive Eps 160

TV SHOWS

August

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural

Another Life

She-Ra s3

Steven Universe s5

Glow s1

(Gravity Falls s2)

September

Carnival Row

Sherlock s4

Fruit’s Basket

October

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural s6

Leverage s1

Fruit’s Basket

November

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural s6

VIDEO GAMES

August

Witcher 3 DLC: Blood and Wine (40 hrs)

September

Control (20 hrs)

Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World: Icebourne

Link’s Awakening (23 hrs)

October

Monster Hunter World: Icebourne

Link’s Awakening (30 hrs) [Fin]

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (10 hours)

November

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (10 hours)

DELIGHTFUL FIC

August

In These Frozen and Silent Nights by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | “You know me,” Shane says, “I love a good cabin. I’m a cabinhead.”“I’ll show you cabin head,” Ryan rebuts without thinking, and then he turns his face into the pillow to stifle a nervous snicker. “Oh shit, wait, that’s—”

Warm My Bones by blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 12k | Shane isn't meant to go into heat, but he does.

and only then we'll know if it was worth to become a ghost by Spooks | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 8k | It has never been easy, convincing Shane of the existence of the supernatural. It doesn't become incredibly much easier once Ryan becomes a ghost himself.

#blessed by thehoyden | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 9k | Of course Shane would rather not work; he’d like it to be like the good old days, and who wouldn’t? But a demon’s gotta eat, and he can’t even get a discount on his rent because it turns out it’s a lot harder to influence faceless companies with ominous dreams. Ergo: gainful employment at Buzzfeed.

i think i'm still turning out by the_tenerife_sea | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 6k | Shane is starting to think Ryan is using him for his baby, considering how much he’s already talked her up to all of their coworkers and friends.

never tell me the odds by Wildehack (tyleet) | Wolf 359 | Doug/Hera | 9k | “I tried Star Wars," he says, adjusting the phone under his neck, "and it was way underwhelming.”

Alien Reacharound by Edgelord (lostlikeme) | Invader Zim | Zadr | 3k | “You’re telling me the only way I can get back into my body is some kind of…” Dib gesticulates while he searches for the right words. “Alien reacharound?”

Find Me Somebody by raiining | Good Omens | Adam/Warlock | 11k | “You left me,” he said. “You both left me, for him. And I can’t even blame you, because I’d have left me for him too.”

and you're trying not to tell him by lymricks | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 4k | Whatever. They don’t talk, is the point, and Billy doesn’t need to finish all these big, deep, tragic sentences in his head. He needs to know if Harrington can’t swim.For lifeguard reasons. It’s his job, all right?

See Your Colors by lj_todd | The Dark Tower | Roland/Walter | 2k | The first time Roland laid eyes on Walter was the first time he saw color.

Straight Martinis by dreamfleet, mezmerize | Kingdom Hearts | Axel/Roxas | 5k | The obvious choice. (Or, cocktail parties are boring and hot waiters are fantastic distractions.)

September

gold, when you find me by mmtion | The Flash | Iris/Barry | 53k | It's not that Iris hates The Flash, per say - more that she hates writing about The Streak in a weekly, pun-heavy comic based on The Flash.

From friends to this by Ever-so-reylo (Ever_So_Reylo) | Star Wars | Reylo | 3.6k | Ben has never been good with words; Rey, it seems, doesn’t mind learning his language.

wear it well by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Sara, Shane/Sara | 5k | “Are Ryan and I dating? Or— something?”Shane looks up from his paperback, an eyebrow raised. “Babe I think you’re asking the wrong person.”

never gets old by brawls (brawlite), ToAStranger | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 31k | WIP | Falling in love with a cam boy named KingSteve isn't the smartest thing Billy Hargrove has ever done, nor is it the most healthy -- but the good choice is rarely ever the fun choice, and Billy is all about living life fast and loose.

Gift Trapped by andavs | Teen Wolf | Sterek | 19k | There was a massive box, wrapped up prettily with red paper and a green bow, totally eclipsing the small Christmas tree Laura set up on his coffee table. The thudding heartbeat was coming from inside.

To the Sun by blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | 17k | Life is weird. Ten years after Unsolved ends, Shane’s married with a kid and Ryan accidentally bumps into him at a gas station in Illinois.

Tag Team by blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | 14k | Ryan participates in a charity date auction, much to his chagrin. Sara and Shane try to help.

October

only then i am human, only then i am clean by Macremae | EOS 10 | Ryan/Akmazian | 4k | There had never seemed to be a reason why everyone on station wanted to bang the living daylights out of Ryan. It was just... a thing. Space is black, stars are bright, and Ryan Dalias is attractive to literally everyone. The universe continues as normal.Except now it's laughing it's ass off, because turns out there was a reason after all.

(Almost Cool by blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 30k | While filming the Yuma Territorial Prison episode, Shane gets bitten by what he thinks is a bat. Spoiler alert: it's not.)

low lays the devil by Spooks (agonizer) | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 19k | Keeping Ryan Bergara alive and safe is a full-time job, and Shane Madej has his work cut out for him.

Scratch by L1av | DBH | Hankcon | 71k | There's a virus killing androids. Hank and Connor are tasked with finding out what it is and why it's being made. When the virus is unwillingly uploaded into Connor's system, he learns there may be a desperate reason why androids want it. He can feel pain. And he likes it.

Ask a Compelling Question by TeamHPForever | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jon Sims | 2k | “What are you thinking about?” Jon asks, his voice edged into a snap.Martin’s mouth opens and, entirely without his permission, words spill out. “I was thinking about what it would be like to kiss you.”

a clean break by Wildehack (tyleet) | The Magnus Archives | Georgie/Melanie | 1k | Georgie’s phone rings at work, and she almost doesn’t answer it.

ways to save the world by Wildehack (tyleet) | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jonathan | 19k | “I left you,” Martin says softly.

Where Airy Voices Lead by Harvey_King (Delphi) | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jon | 4k | Five unsubstantiated encounters between Martin Blackwood and Jonathan Sims, and one that was captured on audio cassette.

the shape of your comfort, molded with care by ivelostmyspectacles | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jon | 6k | “You didn’t like the sex, did you?”

Out Of His System by platoapproved | Raven Cycle | Noah/Ronan, Kavinsky/Ronan | 2k | Noah gives Ronan a quick and nasty handjob while dirty talking to him about Kavinsky, because that's what friends are for.

i'd bury diamonds just for you by desastrista | The Bright Sessions | Sam/Damien/Mark | 9k | Mark is photographing a band on tour, Sam is working at the AM, and Damien is still struggling to adjust to life without his abilities

strange bedfellows by spookykingdomstarlight | Star Wars | Finn/Kylo Ren | 4k | “Alas, the storm is come again! My best way is to creep under his gaberdine. There is no other shelter hereabouts. Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past.” - The Tempest, Act II, Scene II

The Denial Twist by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 35k | Or, the one where Shane and Ryan have some really weird dreams and perhaps, eventually, some sex.

November

The Sun Dog by ambiguously | Star Wars | Finn/Ren/Rey | 5k | Finn and Rey, with their semi-prisoner Kylo Ren, attempt to meet up with the Resistance on a planet that has been taken over by monsters.

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

August

billy hargrove | fairly local.

(Marvel) MCU || In The End

battle royale [iw + endgame]

Multifandom || Can i keep you?

roman godfrey | bad guy.

Mr. Sandman | Multifandom

September

Iron Man & Captain America || Legends Are Made

Quentin & Eliot || There's a door somewhere

glitter & gold [bungou stray dogs amv]

(Marvel) Thor | Worthy

MARVEL || What if the Storm Ends? (collab w/ djcprod)

Marvel || I'm Only Human

DISNEY'S Motivational Video

(SW) Darth Vader | The Good In You

(Marvel) Peter Parker | Legacy

MultiFandom || Way Down We Go [200K]

Marvel || Destruction

October

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt [Geralt Of Rivia] Tribute

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Tribute ''Swallow Song" [HD]

►buzzfeed unsolved; GhostBusters™

👻 Buzzfeed Unsolved in Nutshell [IG edits]

👻buzzfeed unsolved; calling all the monsters

Dishonored GMV (Outsider tribute) - Dark Matter

Dishonored GMV Honor for all

Preacher ][ Play Dirty

【Assassin's Creed ｜Odyssey】Wires

👻 The Buzzfeed Unsolved Crack

👻 2 Unsolved 2 Crack

Pennywise | Toxic

2023 - Trailer (1917 Style)

Crowley Good Omens Cosplay Tik Tok Compilation

Joker

(Death Note) Yagami Light | The God of the New World

REYLO || WICKED GAME

Multi-Horror || Where is my mind?

November

MARVEL/DC - Runnin

THE WITCHER | MAIN TRAILER | NETFLIX

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

August

It’s All Coming Back to Me Now - Celine Dion

Walk Through the Fire - Ruelle

Remember When - Bad Wolves

The High Road - Broken Bells

Hey Look Ma, I Made It - Panic! At the Disco

Season of the Witch - Lana del Rey

The Void - Muse

Dancing On My Own - Robyn

Lanterns Lit - Son Lux

Fire With Fire - AlicebanD

Hungover in the City of Dust - Autoheart

Everything I Need - Skylar Grey

Liquid Smooth - Mitski

Think - Kaleida

Swan Song - Dua Lipa

September

Eleventh Dimension - Julian Casablancas

Talk | Khalid

Interstellar soundtrack

Bird Song | Juniper Vale

For the Dancing and the Dreaming | Erutan

Paradise Valley | Honey and the Sting

My Hallelujah | Autoheart

Witchcraft | Vian Izak, Juniper Vale

Furthest Star | Dirt Poor Robins

October

Lots of ghost ambient music

The Ocean | Linnea Olsson

Play Dirty | Kevin McAllister

NFWMB | Hozier

Me and the Devil | Soap&Skin

Rhiannon | Fleetwood Mac

In the Woods Somewhere | Hozier

Wet Black Leaves (playlist)

The Cruel Prince

Pas De Deux - Michael Abels

Beach Walk - Michael Abels

I Got 5 On It (Tethered Mix) - Michael Abels

POSTED FIC

August

no more dreaming like a ghost | KH | Axel/Roxas | 813 words | He is in the kitchen, the stove top still warm under his thighs, and everything smells of cherries. The pie is cooling on the windowsill, the sun slanting in warm and buttery, and it is like a dream. A memory. A wish.

Cheers | DBH | Hankcon | 6,368 words | “Are you coming in or not?”Connor blinks, jerks his eyes up and away from those hands and-The bartender has blue eyes. They match the spinning LED at his temple perfectly.

September

N/A

October

bury a friend (try to wake up) | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 1,587 words | Steve digs up Billy’s body on a Tuesday.

won't be too soon 'til I say... goodnight moon | KH | Riku/Sora | 4,549 words | The house was built in the fall of 1882.

you'll never know what hit you | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 5,379 words | "C’mon, ghost,” Shane urges. “Make all my dreams come true. Fuck me up, fam.”

make this chaos count | EOS 10 | Ryan/Akmazian | 724 words | “You really should stop looking for me,” Akmazian tells him, fingers creeping across Ryan’s ribcage, mapping the architecture of his ribs.

eat you up whole | The Witcher | Geralt/Regis | 2,527 words | “How many mouthfuls do you think I could take from you before it had some effect?” Regis whispers, lips against his throat. Geralt can feel the pinprick of fangs. “Four? Six? Ten? More, even?”

forget the horror here | DBH | Hankcon | 4,390 words | “Hello,” the android says, it’s chest heaving, the gleam of its heart brighter, bluer than before.

summoning demons (and other bad first date ideas) | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 3,868 words | “If I let you out of that circle,” Ryan says, slowly. “Are you going to eat me?”

Itch | The Magnus Archives | Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims | 1,440 words | The boneturner takes from him two ribs - one for him and one for Jon.

the salt water sting | Dishonored | Corvo/Outsider | 2,163 words | The ship wrecks several hundred miles off of the coast of Karnaca.

a skeleton of something more | SGA | Rodney/John | 3,072 words | “John?” he murmurs, still coasting on the pain. His head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton, if cotton were also made of glass.

in the woods somewhere | Teen Wolf | Derek/Stiles | 4,570 words | Stiles buys a house in Virginia.

Wake Up | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jon | 550 words | “If you wake up,” Martin tells him, experimentally. “I won’t go through with it. You can tell me what a stupid idea it was, and we can laugh about it, and everything will be normal.”

Pas de Deux | KH | Axel/Roxas | 506 words | Roxas doesn’t remember what the sky looks like anymore.

try to wake up | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 1,226 words | They do not, in fact, bone down and praise Satan.

too late to come on home | LoZ | Gen | 1,391 words | “You look familiar,” the boy says in his strange, haunting voice. “Are you lost?”

patron saint of the lost causes | Harry Potter | Draco/Harry | 4,203 words | “Can’t you just, y’know,” he waves a hand and makes an obscene gesture, his cheeks flaring red. “Shag it out?”

wouldn't you like to see something strange? | Teen Wolf | Sterek | 1,571 words | “I’d say you make my heart pound, but well…” Stiles nods meaningfully to his chest, where if you look hard enough between the slots of his ribs, you can see the lump of muscle that once was his heart, pointedly not beating. “You know.”

the night is softly, sweetly calling | Teen Wolf | Sterek | 2,938 words | Here’s the thing that Stiles never tells the Hales: his mother was strange too.

Haunt | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 1,486 words | Ryan couldn’t remember a time when the world didn’t believe in ghosts.

bite my tongue, bide my time | PJO | Nico/Percy(/Annabeth) | 1,376 words | “What’s wrong with you?” Nico asks, cowering when Percy places a gentle kiss on his collarbone.

Bird Song | Raven Cycle | Ronan/Adam, Gen | 1,445 words | On a dreary Sunday in early January, Ronan dreams himself a pair of wings.

kiss me hard until you're done | Star Wars | Reylo | 3,082 words | He looks up at her from under heavy lids, dark hair sweeping forward to frame his face. “May I have this dance?”

beauty in the dissonance | Marvel | Tony/Loki | 1,411 words | When Tony dies, it isn’t for forever.

like real people do | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 2,808 words | “I’ve got the sight, man,” he says with a small shrug. “And look, I feel for you. You’re dead and I’m not, and that sucks, but unless you’re planning on doing something about it, I’d really appreciate it if you could stop feeling me up and let me get back to sleep.”

i'd rather drown in your ocean | Naruto | Itachi/Shisui | 1,630 words | The Uchihas are an odd sort. Everyone says so.

catch your breath | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien/Sam | 2,588 words | Mark had never assumed in a million years that he would ever see Damien again. He hadn’t factored in zombies.

Nightmare | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jonathan | 1,424 words | “All right,” he says, taking Jon’s still outstretched hand. “Let’s give the dream what it wants.”

dreaming of the crash | Gravity Falls | Mabel & Dipper | 484 words | When the end of the world comes, they’re under the bed.

don't we love it now? | Kingdom Hearts | Sora/Riku/Kairi | 1,784 words | When Kairi is eleven years old, she gets lost in the woods.

all this, and love too, will ruin us | Star Wars | Reylo | 1,102 words | Rey is awake to watch the sunrise

November

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

August

N/A

September

N/A

October

Not October 8 | Wolf 359 | Hera & Jacobi | 652 words | When they land on Earth, Hera spends a week in a box.

FANMIXES/GRAPHICS

August

N/A

September

#heather says what #scrapbook #heather writes

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crispsevans · 6 years ago

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Films in 2019

Woah, it’s been a while since I actually wrote some reviews to my seen movies. My current count is at 21/150 for 2019, 12 out of 21 seen in theatre.

filmpage - filmlist - suggest a film

CAN CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Vice (2018)

seen in theatre production country: USA OV: english seen version: german Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carrell Director: Adam McKay Plot summary: The story of Dick Cheney (Bale), an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush (Rockwell), reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today.

Review: I went to see this one before Oscar night, so I actually have seen most of the nominated movies of the year.

I don’t know how much of this movie is actually true, but I left the theatre quiet shocked, because somehow most of those things just passed me. It may be, because I was a child when Bush and Cheney ran the US politics, but looking back a lot of it made sense to me.

Now however much of it is true, it was a very ... entertaining movie. I really love McKay’s style of directing and story telling, also the cinematography and the final cut of the movie were really good. Bale’s performance is outstanding, as always, and I am still mad he didn’t win that Oscar.

If you’re into political movies this is a Must-See. Rating: 4,5/5

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

seen in theatre production country: USA OV: english seen version: OV Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant Director: Marielle Heller Plot summary: When Lee Israel (McCarthy) falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.

Review: This was part of the Oscar night double feature that I attended.

SUCH A POSTITIVE SURPRISE!!!!

Never heard of Lee Israel before, since this movie is based on her own book. I was so curious to see which role it was that brought McCarthy to her Oscar nomination and I was pleasantly surprised by her performance and also by Richard E. Grants performance in this movie. It was so serious but had so many funny moments - it’s a very authentic piece of film. I loved it a lot and is such an underdog movie. Very entertaining and well played. I also loved the color grading of this film. Rating: 5/5

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

seen in theatre production country: USA OV: english seen version: OV Starring: KiKi Jayne, Stephan James, Regina King Director: Barry Jenkins Plot summary: A woman in Harlem (Jayne) embraces her pregnancy while she and her family struggle to prove her fiancé (James) innocent of a crime.

Review: Also part of the Oscar night double feature.

Very good and very important movie, though I had the feeling it could’ve been a little shorter. I have not read the book this film is based on so I cannot judge how good the adaption actually is, but I enjoyed watching it. Some serious issues are talked about in this movie, but at the same time it has so much love in it. Also a lot of naivety, but that’s probably because of the age of the protagonists. Rating: 4/5

Anon (2018)

streamed on Amazon Prime Germany production country: USA / Canada / Germany OV: english seen version: OV Starring: Clive Owen, Amanda Seyfried Director: Andrew Niccol Plot summary: In a world without anonymity or crime, a detective (Owen) meets a woman (Seyfried) who threatens their security.

Review: I still don’t really know what to think about this one to be honest. It was part of the 99ct-Prime Deals over here in Germany and I’m usually really into futuristic movies like this, e.g. I loved “In Time”, which was also directed by Niccol and the reason I really wanted to see this one.

The entire atmosphere of this film was very dark and mysterious. I don’t really know if I understood the movie right, to be honest, not because I don’t know what they’re saying in the movie but some scenes were kind of a mystery to me. Rating: 3/5

Isn’t It Romantic? (2019)

streamed on Netflix Germany production country: USA OV: english seen version: OV Starring: Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson Plot summary: A young woman (Wilson) disenchanted with love mysteriously finds herself trapped inside a romantic comedy.

Review: I had high hopes for this one (I love romcoms), but I was let down completely. It was over the top, tried to be super funny when it actually wasn’t and I just sincerely didn’t like it very well. Poorly written, I’m sorry.

I loved the fashion of the movie though and another plus for Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth, because I love them anyway.

Rating: 2,5/5

Captain Marvel (2019)

seen in theatre (twice, soon thrice) production country: USA / Australia OV: english seen version: german Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Plot summary: Carol Danvers (Larson) becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

Review: SALTY AF AND I FREAKING LOVED IT.

I can see why so many men dislike this movie, but I loved it so much, because it’s so salty and Carol is the hero we deserve. Here we go, new strongest avenger. Who’s Thor and who’s Hulk? HAVE YOU SEEN CAROL FLYING THROUGH SPACEEEEEE????

Loved the message of this film so much, probably my most favourite Marvel movie with Black Panther. Higher, Further, Faster BABY. Carol as a character is a very strong woman, not giving up ever since her childhood. Very inspiring character and character development.

I had literally zero expectations, because I really disliked the trailers. They don’t do this film justice. If I wasn’t into the MCU already, I wouldn’t have joined after seeing those trailers. But what a shame it would’ve been, if I hadn’t seen it. Shoutout to my friend to paid my ticket the first time and went to see it with me again like two days later lol. Yes, I saw it two times already and I plan to see it a third time in OV - can’t wait for that one.

Also Goose is the best thing about this movie.

Midway through the film I saw the twist coming, though, but I really liked it. Would I see it again? A billion times yes. Rating: 5/5

The Imitation Game (2014)

streamed on Amazon Prime Germany production country: USA / UK OV: english seen version: OV Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Mark Strong Director: Morten Tyldum Plot summary: During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing (Cumberbatch) tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.

Review: I missed seeing this one back in 2014 when it hit theatres. So I was very happy when it was part of the 99ct Prime Deals and I got it immediately. I wasn’t let down, what a great movie. I did a little research and even though the movie is different to Turing’s actual biography written by Andrew Hodges, I really liked it a lot and Cumberbatch’s performance is really amazing. His portrayal of Turing came across as very authentic and believable.

Cracking a code is really a thing of impossibility for me so it was very interesting to see the process of cracking Enigma. Turing’s legacy still lives on ‘til this day with every new computer that is build - we really owe him a lot. It makes me sad to have found out he most likely committed suicide after his hormonal ‘therapy’ that he had to go through.

Very touching.

Rating: 4/5

Monsieur Claude 2 (2019)

seen in theatre production country: France OV: french seen version: german Starring: Christian Clavier, Chantal Lauby Director: Philippe de Chauveron Plot summary: Claude (Clavier) and Marie Verneuil (Lauby) face a new crisis. The four spouses of their daughters, David, Rachid, Chao and Charles decided to leave France for various reasons. Here they are imagining their lives elsewhere.

Review: Sneak monday, luckily we only paid 2,50€ this time.

This film is a disaster, building up on ‘humor’ that is based on homophobia, sexism, racism and many other bad things. I did laugh, but not because I thought it was funny, but because there was so much reality in it that I used the laughing as a way to cover up my disbelief in this.

If people seriously think this is funny then I don’t know what’s wrong with them, I’m sorry. I don’t know if the intention of the movie was to actually show people how stupid it is to be THIS political incorrect or if they were actually thinking this is genuinely funny. However, just don’t watch it - it’s a waste of time.

Half of a point for the beautiful french countryside shots and the whole location setting plus the fashion in this movie.

Rating: 0,5/5

#films2019 #reviews

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lilacmoon83 · 6 years ago

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Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 162: Pillowtalk

The ride to the hospital was a blur for Snow, as she rested her head against his chest, while holding a cloth to the knife wound in his side. It wasn't bleeding anymore, so that was good and gave her hope that it was minor. He was lucid and had a clear head, so she was sure they'd be on their way home soon. She texted Regina to tell her they were okay and she had texted back, saying she was going to close up and drive the kids home, promising to stay with them until they got there. She couldn't wait to tell their babies that their daddy was back. Come to think of it, there were other things she couldn't wait for and one of those was getting her husband alone. As if sensing her thoughts, which she was sure he did, considering they were damn near telepathic, he smiled coyly at her and kissed her forehead. A million other things were still running through her head though. For some reason, it seemed both she and Charming remembered everything about the night of the curse, except anything concerning Emma. Those memories still seemed to be blocked and that scared her. Not knowing where one of their babies was or what had happened to her frightened her to the core. She knew he felt the same and felt him squeeze her hip. At least she was no longer alone in any of this. She had her husband back and now her best friend too. They would figure this out...she had hope now.

Rogers dropped them off and they went into the hospital, hand in hand. He had called Dr. Aeson on the way and asked again for her discretion. She had told them to go to exam room four on the fifth floor and so they did, anxiously awaiting a daughter that wouldn't know them. But that didn't matter. Just seeing her would bring them both comfort.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Jenna said, as she entered the exam room.

"No problem...thanks for agreeing to do this," David replied.

"Oh...you're not alone. You know, I usually can't treat patients with others in the room, unless they're a spouse or family," she mentioned. David nodded and still held her hand.

"It's okay...she's my wife," he stated. Jenna's brow furrowed, as she looked at his chart.

"But it says here that you're a widower," she responded. He sighed.

"Yeah...it's really difficult to explain and it's going to sound crazy, but that file is wrong. She's my wife and she's not dead," David said. Jenna looked at the other dark haired woman.

"You're telling me that you're Margaret Nolan? Because I remember that story in the paper. Margaret Nolan was killed when Professor Jenkins drove his car off a cliff with her in it," Jenna recalled. Snow sighed.

"I know...it's really complicated. But he's right. I'm his wife and I'm not dead," she responded. Jenna sighed and put the clipboard down.

"Okay...I want the whole story or I'm walking out this door and you can find another doctor," she said sternly. They exchanged a glance and started explaining what the could, minus the things about the curse.

~*~

Jacinda entered their apartment that evening and tiredly dropped her bag on the floor. It smelled wonderful, but that wasn't unusual, for her best friend was a fantastic cook. But when she spied the mounds of flour, sugar, and ingredients sitting just outside the kitchen, she knew something was up.

"What's going on?" she asked her best friend, as she peered into the kitchen.

"I'm making my famous beignets," Sabine answered.

"I see that...by why does it look like you are making them in bulk?" Jacinda questioned.

"Because we are making them to sell and if everything goes as it should, it will put us on the path to financial freedom," her best friend answered.

"Okay...but you and I have day jobs. When and where are we going to sell these?" Jacinda asked.

"From your restaurant," Sabine answered simply.

"Sabine...if my boss finds out, he'll fire me," Jacinda argued.

"He won't find out. Victoria thinks she can raise our rent and push us out. We're going to show her differently," Sabine responded.

"Where did you get the money to buy all these ingredients?" Jacinda inquired.

"Don't freak out. I used the rent money...but we'll make it all back, ten fold," Sabine reasoned.

"You used the rent money?!" Jacinda exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Relax...we can do this. Please help...this will work," Sabine pleaded. Jacinda sighed.

"If it doesn't, we're screwed," she reminded. Sabine smiled.

"All the more reason for you to help. Come on," she pleaded again. Jacinda rolled her eyes.

"I really hope you're right," she said, as he rolled up her sleeves and prepared to help.

~*~

As they finished their abridged explanation, Jenna stared at them like her head was spinning.

"That's some story," the doctor mentioned, as she patched David's minor wound.

"We know what it sounds like, but it's all true," Mary insisted. Jenna chuckled.

"Yeah, it would have to be. I'm not sure you could make that up," she joked.

"So...you're the woman I did the DNA test on?" Jenna surmised.

"Yes...and I want to thank you for that. Without that, David wouldn't have been able to prove that Mr. Stavros isn't my brother and would have locked me up again. Not to mention that he would have sent my son off to boarding school overseas," she replied.

"I'm glad I could help...it just seems like this Mr. Stavros is willing to go through a lot of trouble to hurt the two of you," she mentioned.

"Let's just say...I got on his bad side when I exposed him for doing illegal things years ago and he paid me back, ten fold, by taking away my family," David said vaguely.

"So there was no crazy Professor?" Jenna asked.

"Oh there was...but I somehow survived that accident, but with amnesia. Stavros got to me first before David could find me though and locked me up," Mary explained. Jenna shook her head.

"And you don't want people to know that you're really Margaret Nolan yet?" she asked, trying to understand.

"The less attention, the better. He already sent a thug after our daughter and until I can prove it was him...it's for the best. He may still try to come after us as it is," David said.

"Well, as with the first situation, you can be confident in my discretion," she promised.

"Thank you...but I want you to be careful too. Your discretion is for your own protection. I don't want that man coming after you too," Mary said, as she took the other woman's hands. But then she realized what she had just done on instinct and awkwardly pulled away.

"I'm sorry...we just don't want anything bad to happen to you either. Please be careful," Mary implored. Jenna looked at them both, unable to shake the feeling that they were familiar somehow.

"Thank you...I'll be careful. I promise," she said, as she picked up David's chart.

"Just make sure you change his bandage in the morning, but the knife wound is superficial so it should be fine in a day or so," Jenna said.

"Thanks again," David said. She nodded and left them, as Snow sighed.

"She probably thinks I really do belong in that mental hospital," she lamented.

"Hey...no, even without her memories, she would never think that," he admonished.

"And you don't have to worry about our little angel...because I've already put an undercover detail on her," he added. She smiled. He always did everything in his power to protect them. She melted into him, as he put his arms around her.

"I still can't believe it...I'm afraid that I'm going to close my eyes and you'll forget me again," she confessed. He kissed her forehead and then her lips, before pillowing her against his chest.

"I hate that man for what he did to us...to you, but I'm here now, my darling and I'm not going anywhere," he promised, before kissing her again.

"Come on...let's go home," he said. She smiled and hooked her hand on his elbow, as they headed out to meet Rogers to get a ride home. She leaned her head against his arm and knew they still had so much to figure out. But the road ahead was no longer as daunting as it was, for she had him back and she knew they could do anything together.

~*~

Enchanted Forest 3

After stopping the curse, time seemed to pass in a blur for Henry and Ella. They helped Tiana and Eudora rebuild their Kingdom, which Lady Tremaine had nearly brought to ruin. Tiana was crowned Queen and Henry and Ella married a couple years after that. Their family from Storybrooke attended both occasions, though for those from Storybrooke, mere months passed, while it was years in the magical forest that Henry had come to call home.

In that time, peace reigned in both Storybrooke and Tiana's Kingdom. Not long after Henry and Ella were married, they welcomed their daughter Lucy and it was a joyous occasion once again for their family, one that both Snow and Charming were present for. And though time did not pass the same in both realms, they watched their great granddaughter grow up with pride. By the time Lucy was ready to turn eight, barely two years had passed in Storybrooke, but the whole family planned to attend the event at Tiana's palace just as they did every year. But this year, there would be even more to celebrate…

"Okay...keep your fingers crossed," Aphrodite told Alice, as they prepared to enact yet another spell, hoping to cure Killian's poisoned heart.

"I don't know why...nothing ever works," Alice said dejectedly.

"Starfish...this is going to happen," Killian told her, as he stood a safe distance away with Emma and Rumple.

"Why is this time any different?" Alice questioned.

"Because Belle and I traveled to the edge of realms for the ingredients for this spell. This time...it's going to work," Rumple insisted. Alice softened at that. She had developed a special bond with Rumple when he began teaching her to control and use her magic, along with Emma and Regina's assistance.

"Yes...Hermes was confident that this will be the one too. The edge of realms if a very unique place. If anything is going to cure his heart, it would likely be something from there," Aphrodite agreed, as her hands glowed.

"It doesn't do any good if we don't have that all important ingredient of truest love mixed blood," Regina mentioned.

"Sorry we're late!" Snow called, as she and David arrived, hand in hand, out of breath and looking a bit disheveled.

"Seriously?" Emma complained. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you two, it's the middle of the day," she chided.

"Yeah like the time of day is going to stop us," David joked, as he put his arms around Snow's waist from where he was standing behind her. Her cheeks colored, as he smiled at her slyly.

"Okay...we don't need anymore mental visions than we're already scarred with," Emma griped, as they stepped toward the cauldron where the spell was brewing. Aphrodite had already added the special healing root that they had found in the edge of realms. Snow carefully pricked her finger and then Charmings, letting drops of their mixed blood fall gently into the billowing cauldron. There was a poof of white smoke, which was a good sign and the mixture turned an iridescent color.

"Now...we just need to cleanse the heart," Aphrodite said. Killian braced himself, as she extracted his heart from his chest as gently as possible and dropped it into the cauldron. He felt a little lightheaded and David and Emma steadied him, as the spell worked to cure him. Finally, the smoke fell away and the spell dissipated, as she extracted his heart from the cauldron.

"Well?" Regina asked the Goddess, who smiled.

"The poison is gone…" she announced, as she put it back in his chest. Killian looked up and then at Alice, as he opened his arms. But she was afraid to go near him still.

"It's okay, starfish," he urged.

"He's right...it's okay," Jade added, as she prodded her girlfriend forward. She did so and Killian pulled her into a hug, with no pain or discomfort.

"Papa...you're cured!" she exclaimed. He laughed and hugged her tightly.

"I don't know how to thank you...everyone…" he said, as choked up a bit. Snow swiped a tear away, as David held her close.

"We're just so glad you can hug your daughter again. I can't imagine what it would be like not to be able to do that," Snow sniffed, as she hugged Emma.

"Looks like we're going to have more than just Lucy's birthday to celebrate this year," David added, just as portal opened up and deposited Leo back in Storybrooke. Snow smiled, as they ran to greet their son with hugs.

"I missed you too, Mom. I was only gone two weeks," he teased. She smiled.

"I know, but you know me. I always miss my babies. How is Elsa?" she asked. He grinned.

"Amazing," he said, as he glowed with that look of love that she knew all too well.

"I thought she was coming back with you?" David asked.

"She was...with Anna and Kristoff, but they had a minor matter of state to deal with first, so they're going to meet us at Tiana's palace in a few days. I left them a couple beans," he explained.

"Well...I say we all go to Granny's to celebrate," Snow said. They agreed and in just a few days, they'd be leaving to visit Henry and celebrate Lucy's eighth birthday…

~*~

Hyperion Heights

When they arrived home, Regina was waiting for them, but the kids were already asleep as it was getting late.

"Hey...thanks for bringing them home," Snow said.

"Are you kidding? I loved it...I missed them both so much," Regina replied and then realized what she had said aloud. David smiled.

"It's okay...you're not the only one that woke up tonight," he revealed. She gasped and hugged them both.

"How?" she asked.

"I'm not sure...I was already having dreams about the past. I guess my thing is getting injured always brings back the memories," he joked.

"Wait...how did you get yours back?" he asked.

"Oh yeah...I ran out of the bar before you could tell me," Snow added.

"Ah well...that was our friend Ivy Belfry or should I say Drizella Tremaine," Regina said. Gods...how was she going to tell them what she remembered and they clearly didn't.

"Wait...why would she want you to get your memories back?" David questioned. Regina shrugged.

"I'm not sure what her ploy is exactly..." Regina said, as she looked at them and how they glowed with happiness. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin that. She knew she had to, but not tonight. No, she was going to give them this night and tomorrow with their youngest children. They deserved that. The reality of what she needed to tell them needed to be revealed, but first she wanted to see if someone else was awake. She suspected he was and if that were the case, it only made sense for the four of them to team up.

"It's hard to say with her," Regina added.

"Regina...what aren't you telling us?" Snow inquired and Regina met her eyes.

"It's complicated and it's getting late. It's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow," she replied, as she quickly made her exit.

"That was weird," David muttered.

Snow cocked her head curiously and then shrugged. Normally, she would insist that Regina tell them whatever she needed to, but to be honest, she had been waiting a very long time for this moment. She shivered, as she felt the heat from his body behind her. She nearly wept, as she felt his lips on the nape of her neck and his arm that hooked around her waist. She turned in his arms and crushed her lips against his.

"Since the moment I woke up in that mental hospital and realized we were cursed again, I dreamed of this moment. For two long years," she cried, as he swept her into his arms and carried her purposefully toward the bedroom. They would be getting very little sleep and neither of them cared in the slightest.

Once they were sequestered in the bedroom, they undressed each other with quiet intensity and the passion that had been brewing between them was finally unleashed. Their first bout of lovemaking was intense and desperate, with her writhing beneath his hard body, as he pumped feverishly into her. But on this night, one bout was far from enough and a second ensued closely after the first, this time with Snow riding atop him almost frantically, driving him into her body with sensual gallops. She had been without him for two years and she was determined that their lovemaking would continue all night. It wouldn't make up for the absence of the last two years, but it was definitely a start. She was sure they were running on pure adrenaline by their third bout of sex. But it did not stop them from making love again, though this time was much slower and with a soul searing intensity.

As he sank into her again, she hummed in pleasure and slid her hands into his hair, gently running her fingers through it. They stared into each other's eyes and their shared heart pounded in sync. No words were spoken, but their eyes and heart spoke volumes. For them, this went far beyond physical and always had. They had always been so in tune with each other; a love that had always been on another level than most and that not even a curse could tear asunder. Being one in heart and mind already made their connection awe-inspiring. So when they became one in body too, it was nothing short of purely magical and almost ethereal. His thrusts this time were slow and languid, as he glided deeply into her each time.

She lay writhing beneath his undulating body, legs splayed around him. With every thrust, he hit her sweet spot and slowly pushed her to the edge. As she neared her climax, her mewls grew in volume and she raked her nails along his naked back, as her entire body trembled beneath him. He had her right at the edge and her cries became whimpers, as her body begged to come. She was beside herself, her mind clouded in the ecstasy that was him taking her. His slow lovemaking was expertly extending her pleasure in a way only he could do for her. Charming was an expert in all things Snow and her pleasure was his delight. He could make love and fuck her for eternity and she would never get enough of this man.

And she was determined to have him for eternity, despite that they had just been separated yet again by a curse. But he had found her again and she finally felt alive once more.

Without Charming, there was nothing but misery for her, as dramatic as it sounded. No one but them could quite understand what it was to be them though, but then no one really knew what it was like to be with someone who literally shared half of your heart. No one else knew what it was like to hear the beating of your own heart inside the chest of another. It was a level of intimacy that was unmatched. Even when they weren't making love, their intimacy with just simple looks and touches was almost indecent to gaze upon. So it was no wonder that sex between them was mind blowing and beyond anything that should be possible. But that was just them. Snow and Charming. Two halves of one whole. Her pleasure was his and his was hers.

And watching her come apart in his arms was a delight he would never get tired of. Snow...beautiful Snow, emerald eyes dark with love and lust for him...only for him. Red lips parted, as short pants of air were inhaled and exhaled. Her body writhing and glistening with perspiration, her back arching and aching for his touch. Her round, full breasts pressed against his chest and the moan she made when he put his hands or lips on them was one he wanted to hear forever. But the best part...thrusting inside her. It was an indescribable pleasure that he would never take for granted and a great satisfaction to know that he would be the only one to ever be inside her; that it was him that made her dripping wet and cry out wantonly. Gliding into her slickness with slow pumps and feeling her tightness clenching around his cock, quaking and begging for release, was a feeling he wanted to feel for eternity and would.

"Charming…" she whimpered, as she teetered on the edge still and her teeth grazed his neck where she had marked him again.

"Oh baby please…" she cried, begging to come. He could never resist such a command and gripped her hips, gently angling her and thrust sharply into her. Changing the angle and pace only increased the volume of her cries, for Snow was never quiet when being fucked. He was close too...it was almost painful, as he slammed into her, abandoning his slow pace for much faster one, rocking the whole bed as he did. When her orgasm finally hit, he swallowed her scream with his kiss and she moaned into his mouth, as her body trembled violently. When he finally released her lips, she was starting to come down and lay sated, as her husband sought his own. He was only seconds behind her and she felt completion, as he erupted inside her, singing her name as he always did.

When he finally pulled himself from her depths, she almost whimpered at the loss. Their need for each other was akin to their need for air and always had been.

After, simply held each other in the afterglow, marveling at how they were here again finally. Another curse, but their love had broken through again, as it always did. This time though, they weren't just in a new land. They weren't isolated with just their people this time. They were surrounded in a large city with people from this land that thought they were just stories. That thought magic wasn't real and that true love was a thing of fairy tales. But they were quite real and here in this city, in the past, no less and neither of them of them could surmise at how they were going to break this curse, much less return to a future Storybrooke. But for now that didn't matter in the moment. They were together, as they were meant to be again and that gave them comfort, despite all the uncertainty they were facing.

"I'm so sorry, my darling," he whispered finally, as they lay spooned together. She quirked her eyebrows and turned to face him.

"For what, my love?" she asked, as he gently caressed her beautiful face, wondering how he had survived the last two years without this.

"I keep promising you no more separations and it just seems to be that one promise I'm not able to keep to you," he replied. She tilted her head and kissed his forehead.

"Charming...none of this is your fault," she admonished. He nodded.

"I know...but it still doesn't change the fact that it happened again," he lamented.

"They took our babies away from us...or tried to. If it hadn't been for Summer's bubble, we have no idea where Bobby and Summer would have ended up," she said, shuddering at that.

"I remember Regina pleading with her to use her bubbles...and we were all crying. Leo and Eva were there...but where was Emma?" he wondered. She looked at him tearfully.

"I don't know...that's what scares me so much, Charming. What have we blocked out? Where is Emma?" she wondered, as he cupped her face in his hands.

"I don't know...but we will find her, I promise," he said, as he kissed her forehead. She relished his arms around her and they finally allowed pure exhaustion to take them.

~*~

Roni stormed into the Hyperion Heights precinct and past the desk Sergeant, despite him calling out to her. She found Weaver's office and barged in.

"Good evening to you too, Roni. To what to I owe this unexpected and rather rude visit?" he quipped.

"Cut the crap, Gold," she hissed.

"Gold?" he questioned in confusion, making her roll her eyes with a sigh.

"Look...you might as well just drop the act. I'm awake and so is David now. And we both know Snow has been awake for a while too. It's time the four of us work together to figure this out," she said, as Weaver stood up and turned his back to her, just as Cassidy Gold poked his head in.

"Oh...sorry, I didn't know you were with someone. I need to talk to you," he said.

"Come in...whatever you need to say can be said in front of this woman," Weaver replied, as he entered the office.

"Roni...this is Cassidy Gold, the mole I've embedded in Clayton's security," he introduced. She raised an eyebrow and shook his hand, before looking back at Weaver.

"Cassidy Gold?" she asked in amusement and he shrugged.

"What did you need to see me about?" Weaver questioned.

"Clayton had a pretty intense meeting with his attorney earlier. I couldn't hear everything through the door, but he was definitely irate about something," Cass informed.

"His attorney?" Roni questioned.

"Yes...Mr. Nick Branson. You may be familiar with him under another name though," Weaver said, as he showed her a photo and her eyes widened.

"Jack…" she muttered.

"Uh yeah...so I got the impression Nick had done something that Clayton didn't approve of," Cass added.

"Thank you Mr. Gold...that will be all for now. Return to your post per normal," Gold said, as he handed him a roll of bills and the former thief made his way out.

"The murder David is investigating...this is Jack, isn't it?" Roni asked once he was gone.

"If you're asking if she was one of Gothel's...then yes," Weaver replied, as he showed her the photo. Regina sighed.

"Did you tell them?" Weaver questioned.

"Not yet…" she answered and he made a snarl of frustration.

"You can't coddle them...you need to remind them what happened that night," he growled.

"I know! I know what I need to do! I just thought I'd give them one night together, before I drop that bomb," she growled back and he sighed.

"If Mr. Branson is back to his old ways...then we're all in danger. Anyone with magic. David must be aware of that at least, as he has already put a detail on Dr. Aeson," Weaver said.

"What about Leo?" she asked.

"He's Luke here...and I put a detail on him earlier. Alice as well," he replied.

"Good...and Gothel? She's here somewhere I assume?" Roni asked. He nodded curtly.

"Belfry is playing right into her hands like the fool she is," he replied.

"Then she'll be my next stop...tomorrow," Roni said.

"Tread lightly. Now that so many of us are awake...it is going to raise the stakes," he reminded.

"You mean that now that we're aware...we might all have to accept the fact that we may never see Storybrooke again, at least our Storybrooke," she muttered. He looked at her.

"Let's not go there until we have to," he said quietly and she stood up, as she prepared to go home herself, though she doubted that she would sleep a wink and knew her former mentor wouldn't either.

~*~

The next morning, waking in each other's arms was pure bliss, despite knowing how much they had to still figure out. But it didn't matter, for being together made every problem seem more manageable. Despite their intense reunion the night before, they had engaged in an encore early that morning and were now bathing in the afterglow, but not without laughter.

Snow continued to giggle, as she lay nestled against his chest.

"I can't believe we did that," she said and he laughed.

"I'm just surprised that it hasn't happened before now, but I guess it makes sense. This bed isn't as well built as the one we have back home," he joked.

"Charming...we broke the bed! What are we going to tell the kids when they see this?" she asked. He chuckled.

"They'll be fine...we scarred our older ones and they turned out okay," he teased, as pinched her rear. She playfully smacked his chest.

"You're not taking this seriously," she chided and he laughed harder.

"Not really...I mean, like I said, this should have happened long ago. We just have a better built bed back home," he replied.

"We should be proud of this, you know…we broke the bed during sex. That's goals," he added. She giggled, as their lips met again, before she managed to pull herself away and out of bed.

"Come on...the kids will be up soon. We should make them pancakes and tell them the good news," she said, as she put her underwear back on and then one of his shirts, which she was very long on her and he loved it. She looked incredibly sexy in his clothes. He got up too and put on his sleep pants, along with a sleeveless gray shirt. He put his arms around and kissed the back of her neck, as they stumbled out into the kitchen. She giggled, as their lips met again, before they started getting stuff out to make breakfast. That was how Bobby found them moments later. His mother cooking bacon and whisking eggs, while his father made pancakes.

"Morning Mom," he said, as he sat at the island.

"Morning sweetie," she replied, as she glanced at her husband.

"Morning buddy," David said.

"Morning David," he answered. David finished the pancake he was cooking and then went over to to their son, as he put his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Not David...Dad," he told him Bobby's eyes widened in surprise.

"Dad?" he squeaked. David nodded and the boy dove into his open arms, making Snow tear up instantly.

"I'm so proud of you," David said, as they finally pulled back. Bobby sniffed.

"For what?" he asked.

"For finding me...for bringing me to your Mother so I could save her from Clayton. We wouldn't be together right now if it wasn't for you being so brave," he replied.

"You really remember?" Bobby asked. David smiled and kissed his hair.

"Yeah...I really do and we're going to find a way to fix everything, I promise," David replied.

"I missed you, Dad," the boy said.

"I missed you too," David replied.

"Daddy...you remember?" Iris asked, as she came down the stairs in her leotard for dance practice later.

"Yeah peanut...I got my memories back," he confirmed, as he hugged her and then she hugged Snow.

"Now...let's have breakfast," he said, as they finished the food and sat down at the table together. They ate together and conversation flowed almost like it would have as if they were back home, despite that they were still missing three family members. Soon, they finished and they were cleaning up when there was a knock at the door. Not really thinking anything about it, Snow answered and the woman behind the door looked incredulously at her with mouth ajar.

"Can I help you?" Mary asked.

"Um...I'm Linda McGowen…this is Mr. Nolan's apartment, right?" she asked.

"Oh yes...you must be here to pick Iris up for practice. She should be down in just a minute," Mary replied, suddenly realizing what she must look like to this woman. She was still wearing David's shirt and they both had sex hair. She had to hold back a laugh, for the disappointment on the woman's face was palpable. Iris hurried down the stairs with her duffel bag and David hugged her.

"We'll pick you up after practice, peanut," he said, as he kissed her head.

"Thanks...bye Daddy," she called, as she hugged Mary at the door.

"Bye sweetie...see you later," she said, as Iris exited the apartment, with the gawking Ms. McGowen following her. Snow giggled and closed the door, as she turned to her husband.

"Oops...I daresay we're about to be the item of gossip among the other parents today," she mentioned. He winced.

"Yeah...we're kind of a dead giveaway on what happened last night," he muttered, as he put his arms around her from behind.

"Mmm...do you think it was the sex hair or me wearing your clothes that tipped her off?" she joked. He chuckled.

"Probably both...but it might have been the hickeys on your neck too," he whispered in her ear, as they swayed together and she spied their son occupied by his hand-held video game.

"We're going to clean up, honey and then we'll go do something," she called, as she led her husband toward the bathroom.

"Okay," Bobby called back, not paying attention to his parents at the moment, which was probably good.

"Are we showering together?" David asked, as she led him there.

"What do you think?" she countered playfully, as the bathroom door closed...

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #OC Charmings #season 7 #AU #Snowing centric season 7 #Hyperion Heights #Roni #Rogers #Weaver #Glass Believer #romance #adventure #finding you always #the epic continues

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troubledontlast1 · 3 years ago

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God closed the lion's mouth for Daniel. He parted the Red Sea for Moses. He gave Sarah a baby. He comforted David in the wild. He gave Solomon wisdom. What makes you think God won't help you? Trust God always! #godwillmakeaway The crossing of the Red Sea was a mighty miracle that happened 3,500 years ago, and it is an illustration of how God leads His people to situations which look impossible from the human perspective, so that we will live by faith and He can show His power. Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life, where, in spite of all you can do, there is no way out, there is no way back, there is no other way-but through? Then wait on the Lord, because He is about to bring you through the situation you never thought would ever change. He is about to save you from the thing you do not have the power to save yourself from. What a Mighty God we serve! #godofmiracles God did not move the Red Sea, He opened it. He will help us find a way through our problems. #godoftheimpossible 🔥Subscribe to my YouTube channel and podcast,��🏾"Uplift Past Crossroads"👈🏾🔥 Befriend me on Facebook/LinkedIn = Sean Christopher Jenkins 🔥Follow👉🏾@troubledontlast 👈🏾IG/Twitter/Snap/TikTok for more🔥 Turn on Post Notification - Like - Comment - Share - Save repost @b_bibledaily_ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ . . Follow my other Instagram accounts: Subscribe to YouTube(in bio)👉🏾@my_daily_bible👈🏾 Subscribe to podcast(in bio)👉🏾@upliftpastcrossroads👈🏾 YouTube👉🏾@upliftwithdrj👈🏾 Fashion👉🏾@glamourmeetsgq👈🏾 . . 👤 Tag a friend who would like this page ⬇️ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ #godcan #godcandoanything #godwill #nothingisimpossiblewithgod #nothingisimpossibleforgod #withgodallthingsarepossible #withgodeverythingispossible #withgod #withgodanythingispossible #withgodnothingisimpossible #godwillfightforyou #godwillprovide #godprovides #withgodallispossible #godwillmakeawaywhenthereseemstobenoway #godwillmakeithappen #godwilldoit #godwilldoitagain #godmakesaway #anythingispossiblewithgod #everythingispossiblewithgod #godwillturnitaround #godspecializes #godwillbringyouthroughit #godwillcomethrough #wallsofjerusalem #redsea (at Nashville, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW101xQFmWH/?utm_medium=tumblr

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justanoutlawfic · 7 years ago

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Scrabble: Chapt. 10

Story Summary: Mary Margaret and David are two best friends who desperately want a baby. One night, over a game of Scrabble, she suggests they have one together.

Chapter Summary: Mary Margaret and David thought they had 5 more weeks to prepare for their child. It seems Emma has other plans.

A/N: So, this is the last official chapter. The next will be the epilogue! Thank you all for supporting this story and for showing it so much love. :) This was my first Snowing slowburn and I loved every minute of it. If you have anything you want included in the epilogue, just lemme know!

Also on AO3

The next few months seemed to fly by in a blink of an eye. Mary Margaret’s stomach continued to expand and the loft seemed to get smaller by the day. However, David was working hard on making sure that they’d have a new home before the baby came or shortly thereafter. He had hired Leroy Jenkins to be the contractor on the project and helped out whenever he could, though he also spent a lot of his free time searching the best places for animals and making sure that they’d arrive by the time Mary Margaret would be off maternity leave. He had already made sure that Regina could find a replacement for him in time and felt that Graham would be suitable for the job.

Mary Margaret spent the summer searching for the perfect furniture to fill their new home. While she had been able to sneak in some of her own pieces in the loft she rented, most of its own furniture came along with it and she had never been a fan, so it was time to really get into it. She and David had decided on a lot of soft blues and whites. George and Leopold had kept their childhood homes dark, sterile. They didn’t want that for their family, they wanted it to feel warm and inviting. For Emma’s nursery, she had decided to go with a swan theme. Ever since she got pregnant, she just felt a calling to them, like it was meant to be. It’d be simple, with grey walls and all white furniture. She had picked up a plush swan rocking horse for when her daughter got a little older. Belle had helped her build the perfect library, filled with books for all ages.

They had Mary Margaret’s baby shower in August and all of their friends attended. Neither of them had any biological family anymore, but they didn’t lack for a family period. Their friends helped them stock up for their daughter and were clearly so happy for her arrival. Even Kathryn and Jim came (the former sporting a baby bump of her own), with a swan mobile as their present. Regina was kind enough to help them store everything until their new home was ready to move into.

Before they knew it, leaves were falling off the trees and a familiar chill had come over Storybrooke. It was October again and it was hard for David to believe that it had been over a year since they had begun the process of becoming parents. Emma was due to be born in 5 weeks and it felt like the pregnancy had gone by so fast. The box for her bassinet was in the corner, since they knew the house wouldn’t be ready until the first week of December. Before David left for work that morning, he had promised Mary Margaret that he’d get it done by Halloween, which was still 8 days away.

Mary Margaret walked around the loft, trying to keep herself busy. It was a Saturday, which meant no work and all of her friends were busy. She was going through her nesting phase, where everything had to be just so. As she folded up some more onesies she got, she felt a stab of pain and frowned. That morning, she had woken up feeling weird, but brushed it off to Braxton Hicks, her doctor said she’d start feeling those. However, they were starting to get worse. Slowly, Mary Margaret rubbed her stomach.

“What’s going on in there, hmm? You doing okay?”

There was another sharp stab and she lowered herself down in a chair, rubbing her stomach. It kept up for a few more minutes, with Mary Margaret moaning in pain until finally it subsided. After it passed, she realized that she was wet, which made her frown. Pregnancy had screwed up her bladder, but normally she had at least a feeling that it was coming. She managed to work her underwear down and then realized something.

That wasn’t pee.

She knew that water breaking wasn’t like in the movies, with a huge gush of water or anything, but she hadn’t expected it to be so subtle either. She noticed that she had also lost her mucus plug, which only meant one thing.

She was in labor, 5 weeks too early. Instantly, panicked settled in. At her last appointment, the baby had been 4 pounds. That was far too small. There was no way that she could be going into labor so early!

Trying to collect herself, she grabbed the phone and quickly dialed David. He picked up on the fourth ring, which didn’t help her anxiety.

“Miss me already?” He asked with a chuckle.

“David,” she panted, her voice filled with fear. “My water broke and I…I lost my mucus plug.”

“But it’s…it’s too early.”

“I don’t think she cares about that. Please, come home, we need to get to the hospital.”

“I’m on my way.”

David had gotten back to the loft in 5 minutes, a scary thought considering the station was 10 minutes away on a day with no traffic. Mary Margaret didn’t have time to think about that though. David’s eyes went to the bassinet in the corner, why had he insisted on waiting so long to set it up? They didn’t even have a hospital bag packed or anything.

They drove to the hospital in no time, calling Mary Margaret’s doctor along the way. While she was being examined, David stepped out of the room to phone Gold.

“Mary Margaret’s in labor.”

“But she’s only 35 weeks.”

“I know.” David frowned. “We didn’t have anything ready, we rushed here with just her purse. Would it be possible for you guys to go and get a bag ready for her?”

“Of course, of course.” Gold paused for a moment. “It’s going to be okay.”

“It’s too early. I’m trying to be brave for Mary Margaret, but I’m scared.”

“Gideon was born 8 weeks early and look at him now,” he pointed out. “Healthy as can be. Emma’s going to be fine.”

David took a deep breath. “I sure hope you’re right.”

“Keep us updated and we’ll bring the bag once the baby is born.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Just keep breathing. Emma is Mary Margaret’s child, she’s a fighter, she’ll be fine.”

“I know.” He sighed. “I know.”

David hung up and headed back into the room, finding Mary Margaret looking panicked.

“I’m 8 centimeters dilated.”

“What?!?”

“Those Braxton Hicks I thought I was having all morning…they were the real deal.”

“Oh my God.” He looked over at the doctor. “Will the baby be okay?”

“As of right now, she looks to be in upper 4 pound range. We’ll have to monitor her once she’s born, but we’ll see. I’ll be back in a half hour to check on you.”

Tears fell down Mary Margaret’s face. “David, this is all my fault.”

“Hey.” He lowered himself onto the bed. “No, it’s not.”

“If I had figured it out sooner, maybe they could’ve stopped it…if I ate better, maybe she’d be bigger…”

“You are the healthiest eater I know. You took your vitamins, none of this is your fault.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be okay, our daughter is going to be just fine.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you’re her mother. You are the toughest person I know.” He pecked her lips. “She’s a fighter. In 13 years, she’ll be scaring the shit out of us, in 16 we’ll be arguing over when she’s old enough to date-which isn’t until she’s 50 by the way…”

Mary Margaret couldn’t help but smile at that. “I think 16’s a good age.”

David playfully rolled his eyes. “We’re going to watch her graduate high school, go on and get an amazing career, eventually fall madly in love and start a family of her own or maybe she’ll adopt a bunch of cats. Either way, we are going to get to see her grow up. Our daughter is too tough to let some stupid odds get in her way.”

Slowly, his girlfriend nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“What else am I here for?” His lips brushed against her forehead. “Now come on, let’s get ready to meet our little girl.”

It only took another hour for Mary Margaret to reach 10 centimeters. She clung to David’s hand, sweat pouring down her face as she pushed. She was in so much pain, yet that couldn’t even be her main focus. She wanted her baby girl to be born happy and healthy. Her mind drifted to her mother for a moment, who had often spoke of Mary Margaret’s own birth. Eva had gone into labor unexpectedly during one of the worst snowstorms that the East coast had ever seen. The roads were closed and there was not enough time for her to get to the hospital. Eva said it was the scariest moment of her life, but thinking about her daughter’s bright future had kept her through it. Mary Margaret knew she had to do the same and unlike her mother, she’d be there to watch her baby girl grow up.

“One last push, Snow!” The doctor called out.

Mary Margaret dug her fingernails into David’s palm as she let out another scream, pushing as hard as she could. She felt a moment of relief, knowing the baby was out. Yet, there was suddenly silence. Mary Margaret held her breath, knowing that wasn’t a good thing.

Cry, sweet girl, cry. She thought to herself, as if she could will the baby into doing it.

After what felt like an eternity, finally cries filled the delivery room. David and Mary Margaret let out simultaneous sighs of relief and soon, the baby was being placed on Mary Margaret’s chest. She looked down at her, tears pouring down her face.

Mary Margaret had held plenty of babies in her lifetime, but none that were as tiny as her daughter. Emma squirmed on her chest, covered in gunk and all that, but Mary Margaret still thought she was the sweetest thing in the world. An overwhelming sensation of love filled her heart as she looked into her eyes. This was her baby, her daughter. The child she had fought so hard to conceive and waited on, prayed for. Finally, she was here and it wasn’t what Mary Margaret had imagined, it was more.

“Oh my God.” Tears fell down Mary Margaret’s face. “She’s perfect.”

“She’s an angel,” David whispered.

His finger stroked his daughter’s tiny cheek and he felt tears fall down his own. He was a father, a father to the most precious baby girl there ever was. His heart was swelling up with love and protection, he would never let a single bad thing happen to this tiny being, who now depended on him for everything in life. This beautiful baby girl would depend on him, look up to him. If she preferred men, he would hopefully be the role model that she looked at. He had dreams for them, daddy/daughter dates, sneaking ice cream and having serious talks about the future. All his life, he had dreamt of having a son, but now he had his daughter and he wouldn’t trade her for the world.

David kissed Mary Margaret’s forehead. “Thank you for her,” he said, softly.

“No, thank you. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

Eventually, a nurse came and took Emma to clean her up. The new parents were left feeling suddenly empty and nervous, not wanting her out of their sight. They were briefly distracted by her delivering the afterbirth, but then they were back to waiting for her to be returned to them. Emma was cleaned up and weighed, before being wrapped up in a blanket and walked back over.

“Well, I’d say you have a miracle baby here,” the nurse said. “She’s 4 pounds, 10 ounces and seems to be breathing fine on her own. As long as things stay this fine, I don’t think she’ll need any NICU time.”

Both let out another simultaneous sigh of relief and the nurse gave the baby to David to hold for the first time. He carefully held her, clearly scared.

“You’re not going to drop her,” Mary Margaret assured him.

“What if I break her? She’s so tiny, I’ve never held a baby so tiny before.”

“You’re fine,” she assured him. “Look at her, she’s not crying, she’s completely happy in her daddy’s arms.”

“Daddy,” he repeated. “I’m a daddy. I…I still can’t believe this is real.”

“I know. We’ve been talking about this for over a year and finally…well…here she is.”

“She’s amazing.” He sat back down next to her and his eyes returned to his daughter. “She’s definitely an Emma.”

“Emma Ruth Nolan,” Mary Margaret agreed. “Her name means whole…and that’s what I feel right now.”

“So do I.”

Soon, Mary Margaret and Emma were moved to a new room where they’d stay for the next few days for observation. They had plenty of visitors, the first being Gold and Belle. They had swung by the store and got Emma a few preemie outfits since they doubted she’d be able to fit into her newborn right away. Kathryn and Jim came not long after, with news that they were having twins, a boy and a girl. Ruby and Dorothy followed Ashley and Thomas. One person they hadn’t been expecting…Granny. She didn’t come until long after everyone else had and smiled at the two as soon as she entered the room.

“She looks like the two of you,” she mused.

“All newborns look the same,” David said.

Granny shook her head. “Well, she looks like the both of you. Anyway, I came here to bring you two a gift.”

“Granny, you already got us all those clothes,” Mary Margaret protested.

“Oh hush, this is something I do for all the babies.”

David took Emma from Mary Margaret so she could open the present. She gasped at what she found inside, a beautifully woven baby blanket. Most of it was white, but it was trimmed in royal purple ribbon. “Emma” had also been stitched in the corner, in the same color as the ribbon.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Every child needs a proper baby blanket.”

“Granny, thank you so much.” She leaned up as much as she could without feeling any pain to give her a hug. “I have a feeling that Emma is going to love this when she’s older.”

Granny nodded, taking in the picture before her. “You two fit,” she said, finally. “You flow well together. I’m just glad you stopped being idiots in time for the baby to be born.”

Mary Margaret and David laughed, supposing she was right. Soon, Granny was gone and it was just the two of them again. Emma began fussing in her father’s arms and Mary Margaret held out her own to take her, knowing she was ready to eat.

“I don’t think she’ll have a problem gaining that weight,” she said. “She’s always hungry.”

David smiled, sitting back down beside her. “A chip off the old block.”

#scrabble verse #snowing #snowing au #mama snow #mama snow au #daddy charming #daddy charming au #charming family #charming family au

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where-is-carmen-sandiego · 5 years ago

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Book List 2020

Congratulations, by the Way by George Saunders

The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Readling Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

The Group by Mary McCarthy

Catch-22

Gone by Cathi Hanauer

The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveny

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandrew Dumas pere

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

What ever happened to baby jane? by Henry Farrell

The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers

Big Fish: a novel of mythic proportions by Daniel Wallace

Lost Girls: an unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The Penguin Book of Witches edited by Katherine Howe & a Penguin Classic

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Not a fan. by Kyle Idleman

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Allegiant

She's Come Undone by Wall Lamb

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Pride and Prejudice-Jane Austen

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Dune by Frank Herbert

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Asylum

Sanctum

Magpie by Michael James

The Lost Girls by J. Baggett, H. Corbett, A. Pressner

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (also David & Golliath and Blink)

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

A people's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Discipline and Punish by Michael Foucault

Stiff by Mary Roach

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Jungle

Ada or Ardor

Under the Banner of Heaven

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Water for Elephants

Go Ask Alice anonymous

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David F. Wallace

The Eskimo and the Oil Man: the battle at the top of the world for America's Future

Kabloona: among the Inuitt

The Psychopath Test: a journey through the madness industry by Jon Ronson

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

Keep it Shut by Karen Ehman

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Help

Heaven Is for Real

American Sniper

12 Years A Slave

jose saramago: death with interruptions

the good girl by mary kubica

defending jacob: by william landay

the omnivore's dilemma by MIchael Pollan

thinking fast & slow by daniel Kahneman

discipline and punish by michael foucault

still by mary roach

second life by s.j. watson

luckiest girl alive by jessica knoll

her by harriest lane

the memory box by eva lesko natiello

is everyone hanging out without me? (and other concerns) by mindy kaling

why men don't listen & women can't read maps: how we're different and what to do about it

don't worry, it gets worse: one twentysomethings (mostly failed) attempts at adulthood: alida nugent

mwf seeking BFF: my yearlong search for a new best friend**** 20-something, 20-everything: a quarter-life woman's guide to balance & direction girls in white dresses**

adulting: how to become a grown-up in 468 easy(ish) steps the defining decade: why your twenties matter-and how to make the most of them now**** 　

the phantom tollbooth norton juster will grayson, will grayson-john green & david levithan

a suitable boy-vikram seth

invisible monster-chuck palahnuik

slaughterhouse give-kurt vonnegut

she's come undone-wally lamb

the song of achilles-madeline miller

the glass castle- jeannette walls

11/22/63= stephen king

the speechqriter a brief education in politics by barton swaim

hand to mouth living in boostrap america by linda tirado

****choke by Chuck Palahniuk ***

pedigree how elite students get elite jobs married sex by jesse kornbluth

after i do by taylor jenkins reid

everything changes by jonathan tropper

heartburn by nora ephron

good in bed by jennifer weiner

love the one you're with by emily giffin

compromising positions by susan isaacs

damange by josephine hart

us by david nicholls

women in love by d.h. lawrence

the witches-roald dahl

the haunting of hill house-shirley jackson

20 books to read in 20s the sun also rises-ernest hemingway t

hinking, fast, and slow by daniel kahneman

a heartbreaking work of staggering genius-dave eggers

the country girls by edna o'brien

the minotaur takes a cigarette break by ssteven sherrill

**** the secret history by donna tartt ***

pulphead by john jeremiah sullivan

the beauty myth by naomi wolf

slaughterhouse-five by kurt vonnegut

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

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stargleeksil-blog · 7 years ago

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Criminal Minds S06E21 “The Stranger” review - or more aptly named, funny and twisted in the same episode? Hells yes, we’re back on track XD I love this!

Episode 21 – The Stranger

Hey everyone! So last time was uberly weird, and depressing and emotional ... I need a reprieve, so let’s hope this has slightly more humoristic scenes with my three faves (Derek, Spence and Penelope) and more Rossi sarcasm, because I need it direly.

Let’s see what happens.

“Unnecessary. There’s too much blood and gore and ew.”

And that is why me and her are so perfect for each other.

“Garcia, it’s a slasher film. How do you do a slasher film without violence?”

“You imply it.”

“Baby the movie is called Slice 6. What were you expecting?”

“A refreshing beverage with a twist of comedy.”

“I’m gonna have nightmares for a week.”

“With everything that we do and see on a daily basis, that got to you?”

“Listen, newb, you may be all Sigourney Weaver ass-kicking tough, which is awesome, but the mystical mavens of innocence like myself jump at things that go bump in the night.”

So I don’t need to even comment on this, because the dialogue does it for me XD

“Why are you worried? I’m sure that Morgan will protect you.”

“As long as he’s not jumping out of his chair like a prepubescent schoolgirl.”

WHAT?!

“The only reason I jumped is ‘cause you guys woke me up.”

“How could you sleep during that?”

“Easy. You drag me out after a 12-hour workday … for what?”

“You telling me that girl didn’t know the unsub was waiting for her upstairs?”

“Come on.”

Oh my tough puppy.

“Villain.”

“What?”

“In movies, unsubs are called villains.”

“My bad.”

I LOVE THIS SHOW SO FUCKING MUCH!

“Still, it’s totally unrealistic. No one should be walking through ha dark alley by themselves at night.”

“Ahem, hello.”

“Ah. No one should be walking through a dark alley without a Derek Morgan by their side.”

Oh lordy, this show is awesome.

“What we didn’t see coming is the Slicer’s brother was in the closet.”

“Frightening.”

Ah, the sarcastic Rossi.

“He betrayal consumed him and he sent his brother to his own private hell.”

Oh my god, just look at him so happily describing a horror movie. I balk at those.

“Speaking of horror …”

“What’s Strauss doing here?”

“Whatever it is, I cast my vote on ‘no good’.”

I love my goddess XD

“I left them on your desk last night.”

“This really isn’t the time for another evaluation.”

So Strauss is being the regular bitch and trying to get Aaron to do an evaluation on himself? And to have everyone take it again? I’m going to smack this bitch.

So three girls in college, who look eerily alike, were murdered ... yikes.

“As it stands right now, I’m coming up empty.”

“Their apartments were spread throughout the city, so … no fingerprints at the crime scene.”

“The unsub uses gloves.”

“He’s organized.”

“Forced entry at all the apartments. Back door, patio door, living room window.”

“The homes were wrecked.”

“Clear evidence of a struggle.”

“He’s creating a scene.”

“He wants to inflict fear not only in his victim but in whomever finds the body.”

“Could be a message to the local PD. ‘Look what I can do’.”

“He’s killed three women in under a week. San Diego PD wants us on the scene as soon as possible.”

Stephen King: “Sometimes human places create inhuman monsters.”

Dang, Mr. King, just dang.

“Our unsubs has a type and a temper.”

Yeah, he’s angry at brunettes. Seriously creepy (I’m brunette :O)

“Amber was getting ready for her bath. It would have been an easy target for a sexual assault, but none came.”

“That’s highly unusual for this kind of unsub.”

“You know, extreme violence in physical aggression is in its nature sexual.”

Again with the hot people talking about sex.

“That’s true, but as a substitution for the sex act.”

“This guy could be impotent. He can’t perform, so that’s why he goes all out for the kill.”

Again with the sweet ‘innocent’ people talking about sex.

“If he’s targeting female college students, we need to make sure that campus officials are informed if they haven’t been already.”

“We also can’t rule out other students and faculty.”

Insert Reid’s immense knowledge about San Diego college layout ... that’s a lot.

“Each girl lived off-campus and was attacked in their apartment.”

“That’s pretty high-risk.”

“Less risky if he’s stalking them in advance, running layouts and routines.”

“Between classes and part-time jobs, they’d be home sporadically at best.”

“Which tells us they’re not victims of opportunity. He targets them, then stalks them to know where they live and when they’re gonna be home.”

“Morgan, you and Reid go to the last victim’s apartment. Seaver, interview the roommate. Dave and I will go to the medical examiner’s.”

“Well, there’s no secure parking.”

“I rode a bike when I was in college.”

“That’s ‘cause you weren’t old enough to drive, Einstein.”

Oh my god, the Reid-Morgan bromance teasing is back. I love those two so fucking much.

“I could drive. It’s just the government wouldn’t issue me a license until I was fourteen.”

Oh, schooled!

“A lot of places for the unsub to hide out here.”

“Yeah, he could have easily grabbed her when she passed through here.”

“Yet she made it all the way to her apartment.”

“Where she should feel safe, but then he took that from her.”

“The number of stab wounds increases with each victim, yes?”

“Did the strike indicate any medical knowledge on the part of the unsub?”

“He hadn’t built his confidence yet.”

“He’s improving quickly.”

“He made the struggle last longer because he wanted her to suffer.”

“So now he’s starting to enjoy it.”

And I’m about to upchuck the strawberries and banana

“I’m Agent Derek Morgan. This is Dr. Spencer Reid.”

“He jimmied the lock on the window.”

“I guess he needed the privacy to complete the torture.”

“Well, most sadists like to kill on their own turf. This guy didn’t risk taking her to a secondary location.”

“Maybe something happened which makes the location of the kill significant. Look.”

“That’s something new.”

What is?

“He’s smearing the blood on the walls, exhibiting more control and rage over his victims, taking pleasure in the kill.”

Ew!

“It looks like he’s taking his anger out on women who represent someone he knows.”

“Yeah, like Edmund Kemper. He most likely can’t confront his true target yet, so he’s going after women who look like her until he can build up the confidence to complete his endgame.”

“So she wasn’t into the college scene.”

“Academically or for money?”

“Do you know where she heard about the part-time work?”

Craigslist ... yikes.

“The first victim, Monica Shanley’s, BFF reported that they were talking on the phone and hung up just before Monice stepped inside her apartment.”

“What does that get us?”

Phone time with the sexy goddess?

“Well, some neighbors heard loud screaming coming from Monica’s apartment at 11:12 pm.”

“At 11:15 they called 911.”

“11:26 cops arrived.”

“He’s able to strike, kill, and get out in less than 14 minutes?”

That’s one fast sicko.

“How’d it go?”

“According to her roommate, Amber worked odd jobs to make ends meet.”

“Could be where she met with the unsub. Garcia, get us a list of jobs that Amber worked the last few months, and look for personal checks she might have deposited as under-the-table payments.”

Oh, you smart Italian stallion.

“Copy that.”

“The unsub stalks his victims. He knows their routine.”

“He could attack them anytime they’re alone, even in their cars, but he chooses to attack them in their homes.”

“And waits for them to bolt the doors before he strikes.”

“He wants them to feel safe before he takes that away from them.”

“It’s about making them feel powerless in their own personal space.”

“So it’s physical and psychological torture.”

No shit.

So he killed a babysitter. Yikes. Poor baby.

“We profiled that he gets off by striking inside the victims’ homes. Why did he kill her here?”

“That’s a big change in MO.”

“Maybe Laurie had a roommate, so the unsub figured he’d have more time on the job.”

“Did he hurt the child?”

Thankfully, no.

“I’ll talk to them. You two go in.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, I’m David Rossi with the FBI. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“And how did you meet her?”

Again with the fucking Craigslist.

“How many people did you interview?”

“Did she talk about any boyfriends or say anything that may have raised an alarm?”

“And how long ago was that?”

So she had a boyfriend up till a month ago. Yikes.

“With an infant in the room, Laurie would have been at her most vulnerable.”

“Look at this.”

“He felt compelled to organize the supplies.”

“Look.”

Now, if it weren’t for the blood, I would have so many images of Daddy!Derek.

“Do you think the unsub fed the kid?”

“Then he stabs Laurie, so the kid probably starts crying.”

“Maybe he gave the kid the bottle in order to keep him quiet.”

“We might be looking for someone with a deep-rooted abandonment issue.”

“One who identifies with the child.”

“Or maybe the baby crying interfered with his enjoyment of watching the babysitter bleed out?”

“Well, either way, caring for the child would be psychological torture for Laurie.”

“Reid. Look at that.”

“She’s got several missed calls and a few texts from social networking sites.”

“‘What’s with the photo? Halloween isn’t for months’.”

“Speak, boy wonder, behold my might.”

“Garcia, the latest victim Laurie Burgin was writing something on the internet last night. Can you figure out what it was?”

“Yeah. I was just tweeting myself. Uno momento.”

She tweets? Damn. I love this woman.

“Oh, God. Reid.”

“She managed to take a picture of the unsub before she died.”

Oh shit.

“Can’t really make it out.”

“I can tell you more. Laurie’s account was active two hours after that photo was posted.”

“And continued posting status updates after she died.”

Shit. That dude is fucking sick.

“‘Feeling faint at heart.’”

“‘All alone and too scared to cry.’”

“All right, this isn’t good. He’s mocking his victims now.”

“He sat here tweeting while Laurie bled to death.”

“All right, baby girl, listen. I need you to go through Laurie’s accounts. See who was following her and see who was messaging back.”

“On it.”

“All right, let’s get out of here, let’s get back to Hotch.”

“We got a photo and we got a profile.”

“Thank you, Garcia.”

“We’re looking for a while male in his early 20s.”

“And because he’s stalking his victims, we believe that he either works out of his house or a part-time job.”

“This unsub strikes in the home rather than the outside where he could more easily abduct his victims.”

“Now, this tells us that his social skills are most likely lacking and he may not have the confidence to talk to women.”

“His confidence with killing, however, is growing. He’s gone from hesitant strikes in the victim’s home to painting the walls with blood.”

“Our unsub is developing a taste for the kill. And his victims share similar features and backgrounds.”

“And we believe that they represent someone whom the unsub thinks has wronged him and he’s taking out his rage on them.”

“Because the unsub shows signs of one neat aspect and started killing suddenly and effectively with no break, we believe he was recently incarcerated or institutionalized.”

“Look at men who got out a month or so ago. Their records will show a history of violence, anger toward women and/or symbols of authority.”

“We need to warn all young women to be hypervigilant, especially in their online acquaintances, but also with service workers, maintenance staff, and deliverymen.”

Hey! Assholes, don’t make fun of my superheroes!

“No, but tell them to double-check IDs, call dispatch before they let anybody inside.”“Panic is inevitable, but we still need to keep everyone informed. Uniformed officers are posting warnings across campuses.”

“Now, since the Jenkins family found Laurie online, we believe the unsub may be using similar methods …”

“Profiles, job postings, anything that gives a little too much information that the unsub could use to hunt his victims.”

“And time’s not on our side. We think that he’s already got his next victim in his sights.”

“The account tracks back to an email address he created yesterday morning, IP address leads to a public terminal. That’s where the trail ends.”

“What about the Jenkins house?”

“He was tweeting with her prior to the assault.”

“The unsub hacked into the Jenkins’ Wi-Fi network.”

“Pretty smart for a guy who’s been locked up.”

“Yeah, he has gotten good at covering his tracks. How are you doing on a list of criminal records and releases?”

“Oh, right, that. Okay. I searched local college students, which is a lot, and I’m a masochist, so I went ahead and included military personnel because San Diego has a big naval and marine presence.”

“Combine those with those two pools and he’s swimming in criminal infractions.”

“All right, filter out sexual assault and lewd behavior.”

“Filtering at the speed of light, sir.”

Someone give her writers all the awards.

“And what about background financials on the victims? Is there any evidence of jobs being performed under the table?”

“Actually, in all cases there were personal checks deposited from several accounts, most under $100.”

So babysitting isn’t that financially beneficial.

“All right, send a list of account holders, and, Seaver, when you get them, start making phone calls.”

“What am I looking for?”

Another brain? Because you’re looking at babysitters, activate those neurons.

“Any victims who might have worked as babysitters.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Shit. Fucking Strauss is sticking her nose in everything. Fuck.

“We’ve delivered the profile and the locals are canvassing the area. Did you call for a field update?”

“How’s that?”

Wait. So now he has to run an assessment on himself? Isn’t that against protocol?

“My orders were to assess the team.”

“Is that an order?”

“Ma’am, with all due respect, we’ve got four women dead and we’ll probably have another one by the morning.”

“She’s relentless.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Did he get another babysitter?”

You bet your ass he did.

“Who’s that?”

“They were locked in here all night?”

“I’ll meet you guys inside.”

So he locked the mom and the baby in the beddroom while he killed the babysitter and daddy? Fuck.

And now he’s just the cutest little puppy thing ever comforting that lady and being the most amazing hunky thing ever.

“Hello, Amy. My name’s Derek Morgan. I’m with the FBI. I understand you’ve been through a great ordeal. I’d just like to ask you a few questions if that’s okay.”

Oh my cutie polite puppy.

“Did you happen to see the man who came in your home?”

“It’s okay. Take your time.”

“Did you hear anything while you were locked inside?”

“Jake suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. The sitter, Lily, got the brunt of it.”

“She could be the one he’s been after all along.”

Wasn’t that the whole point of this? He hates brunette babysitters?

“I don’t know. This guy’s meticulous. He plans everything out.”

“Then why didn’t he know the Ellisons were returning?”

“I think he did. I mean, the unsub was watching the house. He knew that they came home, but he just didn’t care. He adapted.”

“He went after the biggest threat first. He eliminated Jake in order to gain control over Lily and Amy.”

“There are two initial points of attack, one in the hallway outside the nursery and the other one here. Yet, both bodies ended up together.”

“Look at the way they’re posed, directly looking at each other.”

“He wanted them to watch each other die.”

“I think it’s more than that. This change in behavior could be the piece that we’re missing.”

“This guy knew the Ellisons were home, but he struck anyway. He could have taken out the entire family, but he chose to spare the mother and the child. Why?”

“With the Jenkins, the unsub actually fed the baby. Here, he spared the mother and locked her in a room with her son. It’s likely he’s protecting the children.”

“The addition of Jake Ellison caused the unsub to change his methodology.”

“For the first time he posed the bodies, and he’s also sexually violated one of the victims.”

“Okay, we have a father posed to look at a dying babysitter and a mother and child protected upstairs. That’s a pretty clear message.”

“Garcia, search for local women who died in their early 30s and they’re survived by a husband and at least one son. Go back 10-15 years. Cross that with new marriage licenses filled by surviving husbands.”

“The unsub’s always been troubled, Garcia, so look for youthful offenders who would have fit into the sociopathic triad.”

“Okay, I’ve got a few.”

“What about …”

“Here’s one. Greg Phinney, Chula Vista.”

“He was put into juvie when he was thirteen for … threatening his stepmom with a knife.”

“What do we know about the stepmother?”

“Kate Jones, aka the second Mrs. Phinney. Married Greg’s father a year after Greg’s mother was killed in a car accident. Greg was 11 at the time.”

“Mr. Phinney died four weeks ago.”

“Is there any evidence that Kate worked in the Phinney home before the mother’s death?”

“Oh, the plot solidifies. Kate cited additional income as caregiver on her tax returns when she was a college student. Payments trace back to the Phinneys.”

“Kate filed numerous reports against Greg for violent behavior, experimentation on animals. Greg’s father finally put the kibosh on things when he was seventeen, had him institutionalized.”

“Greg was released two weeks ago.”

“Just before the killings started.”

“Garcia, where’s Greg Phinney now?”

“Yeah, that’s a good question. Oh, dear …”

What?

“Greg Phinney, FBI. Open the door!”

“He’s not in here.”

Captain Hot and OBvious.

“The bedroom’s clear.”

“Baby girl, can you tell me why Greg Phinney’s laptop has an employee login screen?”

“Well, lover, I have been doing some digging.”

“Did you know that he’s been working part-time as a data entry clerk at the San Diego Register?”

“If he was in an institution, where did he get the time to find a job?”

“Uh, he didn’t even have to look. This job is part of his work-release program. And twenty hours of internet privileges will go a long way.”

“That’s how he finds his victims. He browses the classifieds. Did he have access tos the customers’ personal information?”

“Oh, honey, he entered it.”

“That must be Kate Phinney.”

“Well, he’s obviously built up the confidence to confront her.”

“Garcia.’

“Reading your mind. Calling the others.”

I love those two.

“Greg’s not at home, so he’s probably already at Karen’s house.”

“Kate’s the object of his hostility. He’s gonna take his time.”

“Let’s light ‘em up. I’m sure he knows we’re coming.”

“Dave, take some uniforms and find the back door. I’m gonna try to get inside and talk to him.”

“You think that’s gonna work?”

“I don’t think Kate gets out of this any other way.”

Oh boy, what are they gonna do now?

“Greg Phinney, this is Agent Aaron Hotchner. I need to talk to you about your demands so you can let Kate go.”

So he’s a serial killer without demands? Well, that’s weird.

Wait. He’s blaming Kate in all of this? Why?

“What has she done?”

“Greg, I think this has more to do with your dad than it is about Kate.”

“Your dad put you away.”

“Greg, I need to ask you a very important question. Do you want to live?”

Well, that’s seriously worrying.

“I think you do. And if so, you need to let me in the house. Otherwise I can’t guarantee that you’re gonna walk out of there.”

“Seaver, I want you to come in with me. Leave your firearm here.”

“Be compassionate and sympathetic to him. Let him tell you how Kate betrayed him and how much you understand his devastation.”

Heh, he’s pissed he brought in Seaver. But he can smooth his way into anything, can’t you, Hotch?

“I know, but I thought if we talked inside we could work this out ourselves.”

“No guns.”

No guns? Have you lost your marbles?

“As long as you’ve got a gun, if one of the agents outside has a clear shot, he’ll take it.”

Sneaky Rossi.

“I don’t have a line of sight.”

“Tell me what you want Greg.”

“Don’t you really want Kate to apologize for making your dad forget your mom?”

“Unless the next words out of your mouth are ‘I’m sorry’, I don’t want to hear anything else from you.”

WHOA!

“I understand, Greg. I do.”

“She took care of you. You trusted her. And then she betrayed you as soon as your mother was gone.”

Spider-Rossi! (Flexibility and stuff)

“It must have crushed you when Kate married your dad.”

“How did it make you feel, Greg?”

“You felt betrayed, didn’t you, Greg?”

“Ask her the question, Greg. Go ahead. Ask her.”

Wait. So this whole fucking thing was about him being in love with his babysitter-turned-stepmom? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?

No. Fucking. Way!

“Bring in backup.”

“No. I had to be aggressive towards you in order to gain Greg’s trust. None of this is your fault.”

Aw, that’s nice of you, b;ondie.

“Greg has always been troubled. Losing his mother and then his father made him even more unstable. Sometimes we do everything right and we still lose. Greg was a sociopath and there’s nothing you could have done to change that.”

“Good work, agent.”

“Hey. Nice job, kid.”

I love Rossi so fucking much!

Adrienne Rich: “Every journey into the past is complicated by delusions, false memories, false namings of real events.”

What the fuck does that even mean?

“Why, uh, why the interest in the well-being of my team?”

“What kind of concerns?”

“What’s going on?”

So Erin has problems and she needs to go away? Finally.

Heyo! So this episode had everything! Humor, sarecasm, banter, cutie patooties making me smile, and then that whole bit iwth the unsub being a total nutcase. Just what the Dr. Spencer Reid ordered XD I have faith in this show again XD

Alrighty, I gotta go finish up the reviews for this season and get cracking on seven (holy shit, where has time gone?)

Thank you so much for the ever-surprising support!

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