#I CAN DRAW EVERY OTHER CHARACTER EXCEPT FOR RIZ

[haven-gum-rockrose]

This is gonna be me when I'm posting a fuck ton of screenrecordings of fantasy high in a bit

im hope im not just your tumblr mutual but your [Autistic about a certain media that you're not into] mutual

[montgomery-moods]

General Headcannons for the Bad Kids (Fantasy High) for 🪨 Anon!

Adaine:

• Put a spell on Riz's string he uses for clue boards so it never runs out.

• Really, REALLY likes cats. Especially calico cats. Always wanted one, but her parents refused.

• Loves listening to those 24/7 lofi streams, especially while studying.

• Likes soft perfumes like peach and flowers.

• Played piano for a long time throughout childhood, but began to hate it. Now only teaches herself songs she likes.

Fabian:

• Likes wearing jewellery, especially rings.

• As well as being captain of the bloodrush team, he's a member of the swim team.

• Plays Animal Crossing with Adaine a lot.

• Does not know a single nursery rhyme, as he was brought up singing sea shanties.

• Dressed up as a pirate for almost every Halloween, except for the one year he went as a mermaid.

Fig:

• Loves climbing things. Will climb most trees and sits in windowsills high up.

• Puts rings around her horns to look cool.

• Loves sour candy.

• Makes her own earrings out of mementos from important moments.

• Learned how to read tarot in middle school because she thought it was cool. Now gives the party readings for fun.

Gorgug:

• Loves to do art. Will doodle in margins of school notes and on scrap paper. Mainly draws flowers.

• Can and will carry his friends at any point. Will pick up Fig and put her on his shoulders, and gives Zelda piggyback rides.

• Writes poetry/music in his free time.

• Loves baking with his parents. They did it when he was younger, and now likes to make treats for the party.

• Is banned from playing Uno at game nights after he entered a rage when Fabian +4-ed him

Kristen:

• Makes friendship bracelets for the party; one out of knotted and braided threads, one with beads in their favourite colours with their initials, and one with flowers and grasses.

• Takes polaroid pictures of the party all the time.

• Stops by the Applebee's House every so often to give her brothers toys/gifts.

• Loves getting her hair played with. She always lets Tracker braid her hair, or gets Adaine to put it in an intricate style.

Riz:

• Really good at Beyblades.

• Keeps anything and everything that could be helpful in his briefcase of holding. This includes snacks and water, bandages and other medical things, and pads/tampons.

• Forever stealing the other members clothes, usually Gorgug's hoodies or Fabian's letterman jacket

• Hates putting sugar or any sweeteners in his coffee.

• On the very rare occasion that he sleeps, he curls up into a little ball. He refuses to admit this fact, especially to Fabian.

Bad Kids (as a group):

• Play Mario Kart together very often. Gorgug has never won.

• The aux cord has been banned in VanBoat, as it leads to too much chaos and conflict. The only exception is if it's only Fig and Gorgug together.

• They all tried to teach Gorgug some Elvish for missions, but he could not pick up anything.

• Everyone went to the opening of the LGBT student union to support Kristen, without telling her. She got confused and thought they were all coming out at once.

• Riz and Gorgug once both got stuck in a pit of mud, and Fabian got stuck trying to get them out. He had to call The Hangman, which also got stuck.

I loved coming up with these! Honestly was going to do more, but thought five for each was enough. Hope you like them! As always, please let me know if you need anything changed. And please let me know if you want more for any other characters/situations!

[noladyme]

La Cuervo - Chapter 25

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on, on Mayans M.C., are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambiguous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

25.

After their middle of the night conversation and subsequent make-up sex, Nina and Angel got a few hours of sleep.

The sound of the birds in the tree outside, and a hard knocking on the front door, woke Nina up. Turning her head, she saw that Angel was still sound asleep, with Bug nuzzled up in the crook of his neck. Finding the sight too adorable to disturb, Nina quietly crawled out of bed, and put on her sleeping shorts, and one of Angel’s shirts. Putting a bit more weight on her pained leg than she’d been able to a few days earlier, she made her way to the front door, and looked out the peep hole; before opening.

“Good morning”, EZ said; holding up two paper cups of coffee. “He’s still sleeping”, Nina said, and moved so he could enter. “In the bed?”, EZ asked disbelievingly. “He told you…”, she muttered. “He’s my brother. He told me you guys weren’t doing so good… But, you’re better now?”. “We’re working on it”, Nina shrugged. “I’ll go get him, so you can give him that”. She nodded towards the coffee. “No, this is for you”. EZ held out a cup for her, and she took it confusedly.

She limped over to sit on the couch, and lit one of the cigarettes from Angel’s pack. Bug slipped out through the crack of the bedroom door, and when he saw EZ, he hissed. “What the hell is that?”, the prospect asked. “Bug… Her cat”, Angel grunted, as he came out after the cat; rubbing his eyes. He’d taken time to put on sweatpants and a beater. “Our cat”, Nina reiterated. “It looks… sick”, EZ said, giving Bug’s one and a half ear and skinny body a hesitant look. Angel walked over, and gave the cat a quick scratch behind the ears. “He’s a fighter”, he said, and went over to sit down next to Nina.

EZ sat down on the recliner, and looked down at his own coffee. “I would have gotten you one, but I didn’t know if you’d already left”, he muttered at Angel. “It’s good bro”, Angel said, and nabbed Nina’s cigarette. The prospect gave Nina a half smile. “It was kind of a peace-offering. You’ve been staying away from the clubhouse”. “I’m not mad at you”, Nina said. “I’m just… I don’t know if I’m ready to face Bishop and Taza”. “Taza hasn’t been around either”, Angel said. “You guys didn’t… He’s ok, right?”, Nina asked worriedly. She was angry, but she didn’t want Taza hurt. “We haven’t done anything to him… But we have a vote later today”, Angel said. “We need to decide whether he and Bish’ are keeping their posts”. “Why?”, Nina guffawed. “Because they went behind the club’s back; pulling that shit with you and Palo”, Angel said. “Bishop has stepped down temporarily, until we decide what to do. He’s been around, but Tranq’s taken the head of the table for now… He ain’t president material, though”. “And Taza?”, Nina said. “If we vote Bish’ back in, I’m guessing he’s gonna want him back as VP… If we let Taza come back at all”, Angel said.

EZ took a sip of his coffee, and leaned forwards; giving his brother a hesitant look. “Where do you stand on all that?”. Angel took a deep draw from the cigarette, and blew out the smoke while shaking his head. “I’m not sure, man…”, he admitted. “As prez’ and VP, I didn’t ever have a problem with them before. But they lied to the club… And this shit was personal to me. They put Nina in danger”. “You don’t have a problem with Taza being…”, EZ said, trailing off. “It’s called gay… homosexual… He likes men. You can say it”, Nina scolded him. “Yeah, I can say it…!”, EZ exclaimed. “It’s just one of those rules I’ve had trouble dealing with. I follow the club on a lot of things; but that…”. Nina gave him slight smile; happy that he felt like she did. “I don’t have a problem with that”, Angel shrugged. “No one should”.

Taking sip from the cup, Nina then traded Angel the coffee for the cigarette. She took a deep drag, before stubbing it out. “Well, it looks like you have stuff to do today”, she said. “I guess me and Bug will just hang out here”. The cat came over to brush against her good leg. He’d been good with leaving the pained one alone. “Hank wants you at the clubhouse…”, EZ muttered, giving her a hesitant look. “He sent me to get you… We didn’t know if you and Angel were talking”. Nina sighed. “I don’t know… EZ, all that shit that went down…”. “That’s why he wants you there”, EZ said. “He wants the club to hear your side, before they take the vote”.

Looking up to meet Angel’s eyes, Nina found nothing but warmth and support in them. “I’m not gonna make you do anything. It’s up to you, ma’”. She took the cup from him, and emptied it; before getting to her feet. “I’m gonna need more coffee…”, she grunted, and limped in to the bedroom to get dressed.

---

The scrapyard seemed like a completely different place to the last time Nina had been there. There was tension in the air, as EZ and Angel – with Nina behind him – rode up to the clubhouse. Chucky gave her slight wave from the front office, when they passed it.

Coco and Gilly came down from the porch to greet them as they arrived, and Nina gave both of them a warm hug. “Are you ok?”, she asked. “I know there was at least some fighting the other day…”. “We’re good, niña”, Coco said. “How’s the leg?”. “Much better”, Nina said. Letting Angel put his arm around her waist, they all walked up to the porch, and into the clubhouse together.

Inside, the rest of the charter – except for Taza – were spread throughout the room. Bishop sat alone by a table in the corner; and gave her short look. He almost looked embarrassed. Hank walked straight up to Nina, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for coming”, he said warmly. “We need your take on all this”. “I don’t know what you want me to say… I’m not happy about what happened”, Nina said. “We just need you to be honest”, Riz said, having come over to join them. “Shouldn’t come as a problem…”, Creeper muttered sarcastically, and stubbed out his cigarette. Nina frowned confusedly in his direction. “Where are we doing this?”, Angel asked. “Templo…”, Hank said. “And we should get to it. We got Reaper incoming soon”. Nina swallowed thickly. Being in the room with Bishop was hard enough, but having to face Filip was something she hadn’t been prepared for. “It’ll be ok, cuervo”, Angel said below his breath. The nickname struck her as odd at the moment, but Nina decided against challenging him on it; and simply let him lead her into templo. EZ stayed behind in the bar area, looking worried, and prepared for anything to happen.

Letting his hand brush against his usual chair, Hank went to sit at the head of the table. He looked very uncomfortable with his current station. “Please…”, he said, and gestured for Nina to take the seat at the other end of the table. The rest of the Mayans took to their own seats; with Bishop taking the one furthest from his regular seat. This meant he sat just around the corner of the table from Nina, making her unable to ignore him. Angel shot her a comforting smile, before looking to his temporary president.

Seemingly waiting for someone else to begin, Hank finally realized that was his job; and cleared his throat. “I guess… we should get started”, he said. “Nina; thanks for coming. I asked the prospect to bring you, because we have an important vote coming up; but we need to know what to base our decision on”. Riz let Hank out of his misery, by taking over. “We already heard from Bishop. He let us know that you weren’t aware of his and Taza’s decision to go behind our backs…” “Yeah, they behind our backs, but so did she…”, Creeper interrupted. He looked hard at Nina. “You might not have known the real plan, but you went against the club’s decision; and snuck off to do your own shit”. “Sure, but she’s not a member of the club”, Gilly said. “Pretty damn close”, Creeper said.

Angel looked at Creeper; the promise of a serious beating almost written in neon over his head. “What are you trying to say? You wanna punish her?”, he said. “I didn’t bring her here to get…”. “I’m just telling it like it is”, Creeper said. “Nina tricked me in to letting her sneak away”. Bishop chuckled slightly. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so easily tricked…”, he said. “Careful, Bishop”, Riz said. “You’re the one on trial here, and Creep isn’t wrong”. Nina threw up her hands, and sighed. “Why don’t you just get to it then. Punch me around, and degrade me to toilet-cleaner. I’ve been through much worse lately!”. “Everyone calm down!”, Hank said. “Nina, you did go against the club. You broke our trust…”. “At the time, you didn’t even know Bishop was in on it; so, on top of that, you went against the president’s direct orders”, Riz said. Creeper nodded in agreement.

“Ok”, Nina said. Every face at the table turned to her. “What? You wanted me to apologize? I was trying to save your asses”. “Technically, she did”, Coco said. He grabbed a cigarette from his back and lit it; before sliding both the pack and his lighter down the table to Nina. She took one of the smokes, and lit it; sending Coco a slight smile. “If we’d gone to war with VM… fuck”, Coco said, visibly shuddering. “We voted for war”, Creeper said. “You didn’t seem like that’s what you wanted at the time…”, Gilly said. “But that’s how this shit works!”, Creeper said. “This club is a democracy…”. “El Padrino was in on it”, Angel said. “At the end of the day…”. “He doesn’t call the shots here”, Riz said.

Nina took a deep drag of her cigarette. “Riz… I’m sorry you’re angry that I went against the club by going with Taza. I’m not gonna apologize for actually doing it, though. If the plan he told me about had worked out, it would have been the best move for your club. That’s a fact you can’t deny”. Unable to come up with a reply, Riz shrugged in something resembling agreement. “It didn’t work out, though”, Creeper said. “That’s not my fault”, Nina retorted. “And honestly, I think your butthurt mostly has to do with the fact that another woman managed to trick you”. “Nina…”, Angel said warily. Creeper’s expression grew saddened. “If you’re talking about Camille, you’re right. She got to me. But that was just a fling with a hangaround…”. His brows furrowed, and he shook his head defeatedly. “You’re family… You were supposed to have our back… My back. Not lie to me”. Nina swallowed thickly, feeling choked and ashamed. “You’re right… I’m sorry for lying. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t trust me anymore; but I understand it”. She sighed deeply. “I’ll take whatever punishment the club decides to give me”. “There won’t be no punishment”, Angel said. “If there is, I’m out of here”. “Angel!”, Nina exclaimed. “Nah, mami… They ain’t touching you”.

“We’re not going to punish Nina”, Hank declared. “She’s right. Taza’s fake plan would have been a good move; and she did what she did to help the club. She wasn’t a part of the official vote, and she’s not a patch. She doesn’t owe us to follow orders; and she didn’t owe us to try to help the way she did”. He looked deep into Nina’s eyes. “You risked your life for the MC… Thank you”. Angel relaxed in his seat. “I get what you’re saying, but…”, Creeper began. Hank slammed his fist into the table. He looked angrier than Nina had ever seen him; but then again, digging through her memories, she’d never seen him angry. “I’ll be happy to take it to a vote; but even with Angel stepping out for being biased, it still looks like punishment will be off the table”. Creeper raised his hands in defeat, and leaned back in his seat.

“If no one else has anything to say, then let’s get to why we’re here”, Hank said. “Nina, what’s your view on what happened the other day?”. Nina took another drag of her cigarette. “Taza called. He said he had a way of avoiding a full-blown war, and asked me to meet him; so we could go see Palo”. “Did you know he’d told Palo that he would hand you over?”, Riz asked. “Yes…”, Nina said, meeting Angel’s eyes for a short second. Anger ghosted his face, but he held his tongue. “He told me we’d be able to reason with Palo, and I thought so too. He seemed about to go for it as well, but… He said he wanted his pound of flesh; and that’s when they brought in Angel”. “Which wouldn’t have happened if…”, Bishop began. “Fuck you, Bish’!”, Angel said. “You ain’t president right now. I’d be happy to show you around the cage…”. “Angel!”, Hank said. “Nina, please…”. “Palo wanted me to shoot Angel, but Bishop and the rest of them arrived in time to…”. She couldn’t finish the sentence; feeling tears welling up. “Taza killed Palo, and that was it”, she finished, and wiped her eyes. “And how do you feel about being lied to about what the real plan was?”, Riz asked. “Come on, Riz…”, Coco said. “I’m not trying to stir shit up, man”, Riz said. “We asked her to come here, to tell us about her experience with all this”. “Yeah, but this ain’t Oprah”, Gilly said. “It’s fine… I’ll answer”, Nina said. “I feel like shit. My decision to go with Taza on this, was based on me not wanting anyone else to get hurt… But Sala was shot, and Palo’s neck was slit right in front of me”. She stubbed out her cigarette. “I might be safe from VM and Palo, but it came at the cost of even more lives… Daniella; Camille; Sala; Palo… Those were all because of me, and what I did to Gael in that alley two months ago…”.

Self-hatred washed over her, and she got her feet. “I don’t think you should punish Bishop, or kick Taza out of the MC… All of this is my fault. I’m sorry I came here and messed up your club”. Ignoring the pain in her leg, Nina stormed out of templo. EZ and Chucky – who’d come in to the clubhouse, while she was in templo – gave her confused looks, as she ran out of the clubhouse, and slammed the door shut behind her. She sat down on the stairs, and buried her face in her hands, letting her tears fall.

The door opened and closed behind her, and she looked up; confused to see Creeper sit down next to her. “This isn’t your fault, Nina”, he said. “I thought you were pissed at me…”. “I was… I am. But not because I think you’re to blame for all this. You worried me… us. Putting yourself in danger like that…”. He sighed deeply. “The thing about you going behind our backs… You’re a part of the family. I expected you to act like a patch; but that’s not fair. We won’t let you wear a cut, so I can’t assume that you’ll act like you are”. “I’m sorry for tricking you”, Nina croaked. “I should never have come here… You lost your president, your VP… You almost went in to full on war!”. Creeper put his arm around Nina’s shoulders. “We haven’t decided on Bishop and Taza yet”, he said. “And war with the Vatos has been under way for a long time. Even before you got here”.

Nina sighed, and looked intently at Creeper. “Don’t punish Bishop and Taza. Don’t take away their flashes”, she said. “They had to make a quick decision; and they wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t think they were doing what was best for the MC… Just because they’re leaders, doesn’t mean they’re infallible. Give them a chance”. Creeper narrowed his eyes at her. “I know Angel said you were smart; but that was almost sage wisdom”, he smirked. “Where do you get it from?”. Nina let out a soft laugh, and wiped her eyes. “I knew a guy who had to make a lot of hard decisions”, she said. “Some of them were really shitty, but they all came from a place of love for his club and his family”. Creeper pressed a kiss to her forehead; then got to his feet, and helped Nina up to stand. “I’ll tell them what you said”, he smiled. “But I won’t use words like infallible. I don’t think half of them know what that means”. There was the sound of glass shattering from inside the clubhouse. “You should get back inside. Gilly’s physically holding Angel down in there”.

He supported her weight back to the door, and opened it for her. Chucky was sweeping up a broken beer bottle, and Angel was struggling to get free from Gilly’s grasp on his arms. Nina walked over to him, and as Gilly let him free, Angel wrapped her into his arms. “Are you ok?”, he whispered into her ear. “Yeah… I’m ok”, Nina said. “He…?”. “We’re good. Really”. She got on her toes, and caught his lips in a warm kiss. “Go vote… Make good decisions”. Angel nodded, and stole another kiss from her, before following his brothers back in to templo.

Nina limped over to sit down by a table, and blew out a deep breath. After four days of hiding at the house, eating microwave dinners, and cursing her own inability to cook; she was overjoyed when EZ came over, and placed a Tupperware box in front of her. “Gaby?”, she asked with bated breath. “Uh huh”, EZ smiled. “I’m serious, Ezekiel. I will marry her myself, if you don’t!”. The prospect let out a warm laugh, and sat down next to her, producing two forks. Chucky came over with two cold cokes for them, before going over to count the chairs in the room, for some reason. “Chuck? What are you doing?”, EZ asked. “I need to make sure we have enough seats for the wedding”. Nina laughed, feeling herself brighten up slightly.

They were seated, eating straight out of the box, and trying to keep each other’s moods up, when the door opened, and Taza stepped inside; his cut hung over his arm. He nodded solemnly at them, and walked over to the ornate door of templo; seemingly taking a deep breath before stepping inside, and closing the door behind him again. “What do you think that means?”, Nina muttered. “I don’t know…”, EZ said. “Hopefully it’s good news”. He noticed Nina’s strained expression, and squeezed her shoulder. “Are you ok? I know you’re not happy about how things went down…”. Nina sighed. “You all keep telling me I’m family… But they forced me to be a part of something I was trying so hard to avoid. Is that how you treat kin?”. “If family doesn’t know what’s best for them, then maybe… yeah”, EZ said. “Palo wouldn’t have let you go. You’d be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. Hurt feelings; you can get over shit like that. But death is kind of final”. “Maybe… But I wish they’d told me the truth”.

They sat in silence for a long moment. “Is you dad mad at me, for stealing his truck?”, Nina asked quietly. “You parked it by his shop. He was ok”, EZ replied. “Yeah, but…”. “Nina, you make Angel happy; and pap’ sees grandkids in his future”, EZ chuckled. “You can do no wrong in his eyes”. “I’m not pregnant!”. “Not for lack of my brother trying, I’m guessing”, EZ smirked. “We’re not having this conversation!”, Nina said. Ezekiel shrugged in surrender. “Just… If you do make me a tío, don’t let Angel name the baby”. “Why?”. “He named your cat Bug!”, EZ laughed. Nina punched his shoulder. “That was me…”, she pouted.

The door to templo opened, and Hank stepped out, giving them a warm smile. Bishop came out behind him, and they gave each other a warm and very masculine hug. “Thanks for taking the gavel when needed”, Bishop said. “Thanks for taking it back”, Hank smiled. “That chair is uncomfortable”. Nina couldn’t help but smile, and Bishop met her eyes; giving her a half smile in return.

The rest of the Mayans emerged from the room, with Taza coming out lastly; wearing his cut. Nina let out an audible, relieved gasp. Getting to her feet, Angel went over to support her. He let her lean against him, as she walked up to Bishop and Taza. “It looks like we have you to thank for keeping these flashes”, Bishop said. “I think we’ve got more than that to thank you for”, Taza smiled softly. Nina shook her head. “Just… trust your family with the truth in the future. It might be painful, but it’s the better way out”, she said. “Alright”, Bishop said. “Still; thank you…”. Nina grinned at him. “You’re fishing for a hug again, aren’t you…?”. “Yes he is”, Taza said.

Nina put her arms around the president, and hugged him tightly. He gave as good as he got, and turned to whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry, mija…”. “I forgive you”, she replied. Taza was next, and Nina gave him a short kiss on the cheek. “I forgive you too, Scarecrow”. Taza pulled back, and looked down at her. “I’m not that sharp on my Judy Garland, but I’m pretty sure the line is I’ll miss you the most… Are you going somewhere?”. “Nah”, Nina said, and looked around at the faces of her family. “There’s no place like home”.

There was a rumbling of bikes outside, and EZ looked out of the window. “SOA”, he said. Nina took Angel’s hand, and let herself be tucked into his side. “Better break out the Jameson”, she said. “Can’t Chibs drink anything else?”, Angel asked. Nina sighed. “It’s for me…”.

---

Happy, Tig and Rat came through the door, and made a beeline for Nina. It was a clusterhug, that ended with her having to waving her hands in the air, to be allowed to breathe. Once released from their grasp, Nina looked behind them with a confused expression. “Chibs?”, she said quietly. “Outside…”, Tig said. “Did you vote yet?”, Nina asked hesitantly. “What vote?”, Happy asked. “You think we’d take the chance to let Tiggy be president?”. Rat visibly shuddered, and Tig smacked the back of his head; making the younger biker let out a yelp. “We get why he did it”, Tig said. “We didn’t like it, but… He’s not the first SAMCRO president to make decisions behind the club’s back, to protect a family-member”. “That’s what he was doing. You know that”, Happy said. Nina sighed, and began moving towards the door. Rat grabbed her arm to halt her. “Rat, I’m sorry for tricking you, but…”, she began. “No… I get it”, he said. “I just wanted to say; don’t be too hard on him. He loves you”. Nina nodded, and went outside.

Filip was leaning against his bike, when she came down from the porch. “Hi…”, she said quietly. “Hello… I didn’t want to come inside, if you didn’t want me there”, Filip said. “It’s not my house”. “Yes, it is”, he smiled softly. Limping halfway over to him, Filip hurried over to grab Nina’s arm. “Is that leg not doing better?”, he asked. “Yeah. I’m just cutting down on the painkillers”, she said. “Good… That’s smart. But you shouldn’t overexert yourself”.

He led her over to lean against his bike. “How angry are you?”, he asked. “Very… You knew how I felt about the bloodshed… Too many people had died already”, Nina said. “But I understand why you did it. You were trying to protect me”. “I really was, luv’”, Filip sighed. “But it’s like you didn’t respect me enough to make me part of the plan”. “I respected you too much, Nina!”. Filip grabbed her hand, and held it tightly. “You’re too good for decisions like the ones we had to make that day… And what you said about Jax…”. “I shouldn’t have brought him up”, Nina said. “No, you were within your rights to”, Filip said. “But… I think he would have made the same decision, little sister. Anything to keep you safe”.

Sighing deeply, Nina pulled at Filip’s hand, to make him wrap his arms around her. She threw her own arms around his neck. “I love you, big brother…”, she croaked. “But don’t ever lie to me again, or I’ll stab you in the balls with a rusty screwdriver”. “That’s oddly specific”, Filip muttered. “I wanna make sure it’s extra painful”. “Fair enough”.

He kissed her temple, and together they made their way back to the clubhouse.

---

“That’s a long ass ride to take, just to come see me”, Nina said, as she sat on Angel’s lap, surrounded by her SAMCRO brothers. Apparently, the Mayan felt that they’d spent too much time apart in the last four days, and after she came back inside with Filip, he hadn’t left her side. “We never left”, Happy said. “We’ve been staying at Vicky’s… It’s quite comfortable there”, Filip smirked. “Venus good with that?”, Nina asked Tig. “We’ve been doing facetime”, Tig winked at her. “I don’t need any of Vicky’s girls, when I got a woman at home waiting for me”. “You thinking about putting a ring on that?”, Angel asked. “She wants to fully transition first”, Tig shrugged. “I told her, I don’t care, but it’s important to her”.

EZ came over with a tray of shots. “What’s this?”, Rat asked. “Mezcal”, EZ said, and shot a smirk at Nina. “In that case, I’m out”, she said. “Just plain old tequila, then?”, Creeper asked, and set down a full shot glass in front of her. Nina rolled her eyes, and picked up the glass; cheering with the bikers. “It is time for us to go, though”, Filip declared, once he’d finished his drink. “We have a business to run”. “Wouldn’t want the line in front of the shop get too long”, Angel smirked. “People need their ice-cream”. “We do milkshakes too”, Rat smiled brightly. The rest of the Sons laughed at their endearingly naïve brother, and got to their feet.

Saying goodbye was less melancholic this time around. Nina managed to avoid completely soaking Angel’s shirt, as she hid her face against his chest, after waving goodbye to her Charming brothers; when they drove off the lot. Chucky, on the other hand, had to take a few minutes to himself in the garage. Coco went after him, and they emerged moments later, with Chucky wiping his eyes, as Coco muttered encouraging words in his ear.

After they all went back inside, Bishop cleared his throat. “Yo. Listen up”, he barked. “It’s time to get back to business around here. We’ve got a few runs to prepare for, and the yard looks like shit”. “It’s a scrapyard, jefe”, Coco said. “It’s supposed to look that way”. “Let’s take the day off”, Taza said. “We can get back to it tomorrow”. Bishop grunted in agreement, and the Mayans all looked like excited frat boys. Creeper and Gilly got to work, calling in some hangarounds for an impromptu party.

Nina – tears dry, and peaceful at heart – got on her toes, and kissed Angel��s cheek. “You can stay… I’m not really in the mood for partying”, she muttered. Angel snaked an arm around her waist, and brushed his lips against his ear. “Nah… I’ll go with you. The only party I wanna go to, is in your panties”, he hummed. “You’re so eloquent”, Nina chuckled. “So elegant…”, Angel nodded, and squeezed her butt; before quietly leading her out the clubhouse.

---

“Ow!”. “Sorry, mami… Maybe try turning the other way”. “My hair is stuck in the handlebars…”. “There… You’re free”. “Someone might see!”. “No, we’re good… Fuck! Don’t stop moving like that”. “Ok, yeah… Wow… Angel, please…”. “Fuck, yes! Put your foot on the fender… That’s right. Take it!”. “I’m so close… Angel!”. “You gonna come?”. “Uh huh… Holy, shit… Harder!”. “Me too… You feel so good…”. “Yes!”. “Oh fuck… I’m coming…! Ahh… Shit, I love you…”. “Te amo, papi… Wow. That was…”. “Uh huh…! I can’t believe we pulled it off…”. “Yeah… Now we just gotta figure out how to get your bike out of the front door again”.

---

To be continued…

tags: @cole-winchester @doloreschanal

[weekendwarriorblog]

ED’s 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions – The Actors

Listen, I’ve been analyzing and making Oscar predictions for almost 20 years now, and just because I’m no longer considered worthy of being a Gold Derby expert, that’s really just their loss, because I still plan on covering the Oscars whenever and however I can. 

I don’t have to go further down into the well of this expanded season and how we’re still nearly three months away from knowing the Oscar winners. I’ll just start with the actors, as the title might suggest, since I feel it might be easier to cover those four categories then getting into all the nitty gritty that goes into some of the other above the line categories. (And you just know I’ll cover any of the artisan and technical categories over at Below the Line.)

What’s always interesting about the performances that get attention is that they often follow very similar routes, and sometimes, a good actor gains momentum from having a great script or even a good make-up and hair team.

LEAD ACTOR

I feel that every year, this tends to be a crowded field, and maybe more this year than ever, but it tells you how many movies are still being led by men, and that’s not just in front of the camera but also behind it.

Kingsley Ben-Adir - One Night in Miami There’s a little confusion about which category this talented and still relatively unknown British actor playing Malcolm X in Regina King’s historical drama should be placed, which is only going to be compounded by the Golden Globes and SAG nominations. Ben-Adir is indeed great in the role, giving us a very different take on the black activist then Denzel Washington’s performance in Spike Lee’s movie, but by being put in lead means he’s facing much tougher competition, including…

Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

The late Black Panther actor tragically died last year leaving us with two final performances in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloodsand George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The latter is where he’s likely to get the nomination (and many think the win) because his role as the brash trumpet-player Levee who butts heads with the title character, played by Viola Davis, makes the movie so unforgettable. It seems likely that the Academy might want to honor Boseman with a posthumous Oscar, and his performance here is good enough that it won’t seem like a token if they award the Oscar to Boseman.

Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal

Ahmed is an actor who has been getting more attention with every role from starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler to his starring role in the HBO limited series The Night Of, for which he won an Emmy and was nominated for a Golden Globe. His role as a metal drummer losing his hearing in Darius Marder’s drama shows another side to the actor who really goes to some extremes in terms of emotions. It’s a fantastic performance that almost guarantees him a nomination, and we’ll have to see if Amazon Studios has the clout to move him into the frontrunner’s field.

Anthony Hopkins - The Father

Based on his own stage play, Florian Zeller’s drama about a man suffering from dementia, played by Hopkins, has all the elements and backing that could get Hopkin his second Oscar nomination in a row after last year’s The Two Popes. Personally, I wasn’t too big a fan of the movie, and though Julianne Moore finally won her Oscar by playing a woman with dementia, I’m not sure this is that great a role for Hopkins, so best he might do is get another nomination.

Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods

That brings us to another actor who has been gaining much respect from his peers over the past few decades and whose starring role in Spike Lee’s latest movie has been gaining him new respect among the critics.  One of the top critics group, the New York Film Critics Circle gave Lindon their top award, as did the National Society of Film Critics, as did Boston and Philly. That’s a lot of clout right there, which will help the Netflix film get a lot more traction.

Gary Oldman - Mank

One of the performances expected to be front and center during Oscar season is the Oscar-winner’s latest real-life portrayal, having won that Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour a few years back. This time, he plays classic Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz who fights alcoholism and Hollywood critics as he co-writes Orson Welles’ 1941 film, Citizen Kane. Besides being about old-time Hollywood and a classic film – which plays well to the ego of Oscar voter -- Mank also teams Oldman with director David Fincher, who has directed probably half a dozen or more actors to an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Mank is getting as much love from the critics some expected and that could ultimately hurt the movie if it doesn’t connect with the industry people it portrays, although Oldman has a good chance at sneaking into nominations.

Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth – Supernova

Two brilliant performances come from the previous winner Firth and the one-time nominee Tucci, who play long-time lovers dealing with the latter’s terminal cancer in Harry Macqueen’s well-reviewed drama. The movie missed out on getting any critical love, so it’s really up to SAG to give either actor a push. Unfortunately, they’re both so good in the movie they might cancel each other out.

Steven Yeun – Minari

One of the most beloved audience-pleasisng movies going all the way back to last year’s Sundance Film Festival is Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiographical family drama, and Yeun’s performance has gotten quite a bit of attention as it follows his rise to serious actor legitimacy that began with the Korean drama Burning a few years back.

A few others in the mix include Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (a Golden Globe nominee for sure), Tom Hanks for News of the World (ditto?), Lakeith Stansfield for Judas and the Black Messiah, John David Washington for Malcolm and Marie, and Tahar Rahim for The Mauritanian, but they all need to up their game, especially the latter two which are opening later in the season.

My nomination predictions: Ahmed, Boseman, Hopkins, Lindo, Oldman (The last three seem to be the most vulnerable to be replaced by Ben-Adir or even Yeun, who have roles in far more popular movies.)

LEAD ACTRESS

By comparison, there aren’t nearly as many actresses up for this category, and that’s somewhat telling that this seems to be the case every year. In fact, there’s only five or six actresses that I can see being nominated, and then it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the win.

Andra Day – United States vs. Billie Holiday

One of a couple amazing musical biopics about great women from music history, this Lee Daniels drama based on a tough period in the acclaimed singer’s later life reminds me a bit of last year’s Judy and others. Early critical takes on the movie were pretty negative, but there’s no denying that the singer, making her feature film lead debut no less, really embodies the title character and shows so many different sides as Daniels directs another Oscar-caliber performance. The question is whether Oscar voters can get past the tougher aspects of the film and Holiday’s life to fully appreciate Day’s work. Being on Hulu in late February will make sure that Academy members are seeing it while filling out their ballots.

Viola Davis - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Davis won her first Oscar for supporting Denzel Washington in his adaptation of an August Wilson play, and she’s back in another Wilson adaptation. For this one, she’s in a far less recognizable role with elaborate costumes and an actual horsehair wig and dental prosthetics that give even more weight to her performance of the “Queen of the Blues” recording in Chicago in the late 1920s and not putting up with guff from anyone, whether it’s her manager or her brash trumpet player, played by Chadwick Boseman.

Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman

Giving a head-turning performance that includes an unforgettable (but hard to watch) 20-minute labor sequence, Kirby has already impressed her peers with her work on Netflix’s The Crown, as well as her scene-stealing in the 2018 action movie Mission: Impossible – Fallout. This drama by Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó’s gives us another look at the actress, but the biggest hurdle Kirby is facing is that her co-star Shia Labeouf (who is also quite good in the movie) has been accused of horrible behavior and essentially cancelled, even by Netflix from its awards and marketing campaign for the movie. Will that hurt Kirby chances or will Oscar voters be able to focus on her craft?

Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman

That brings us to a thriller that normally might not be considered Oscar-worthy except that mostly everyone who sees this movie loves it and is blown away by the performance Mulligan gives, which shows so many sides of the actress previously nominated for one of her early roles in An Education (which also premiered at Sundance!).  Few people aren’t impressed by Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut, and people will continue to talk about the movie and its shocking climax in the months leading up to Oscar nominations. Expect SAG and Golden Globe nominations leading up to her inevitable second Oscar nomination.

Frances McDormand – Nomadland

Although the two-time Oscar-winning McDormand stars in Chloe Zhao’s drama, which many people are already considering the frontrunner for Best Picture, some might even feel that McDormand’s performance is better than the two for which she won Oscars, it feels like this nomination is a given and many Oscar voters might prefer to draw attention to the newer talent in this category. But no one should be surprised if McDormand pulls out another surprise win on Oscar night without doing any of the campaigning others always do.

Zendaya - Malcolm and Marie

Another late arrival in this extended Oscar season is this movie from Sam Levinson, the writer/director whose HBO series Euphoria made the singer/actor best known for playing Mary Jane in the recent Spider-Man movies the youngest Emmy winner. Her role in the tough drama about a couple either will connect with Oscar voters or will hit way too close to home, so this might put her right up against Andra Day for that fifth slot.

Oddly, there aren’t nearly as many possible contenders in this category except for the other veteran, Sophia Loren, starring in her son’s Italian film, The Life Ahead; Amy Adams in Hillbilly Elegy, which suffers from horrible reviews; Kate Winslet in the mostly forgotten Ammonite or Meryl Streep in The Prom, although the latter of those is likely to be a Golden Globe Musical nominee and go no further.

My nomination predictions: Day, Davis, Kirby, McDormand, Mulligan (Zendaya seems like the spoiler but it seems unlikely she can win a nomination over five five flashier roles.)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

This is going to be a really interesting category this year, since there are three or four movie that have three to five (or more!) great male roles that have brought so much to those movies we’re likely to see them making waves in the SAG Ensemble category even if not all of them can get individual attention via supporting nominations.

Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods While Boseman is likely to get more attention for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, some critics groups have also been giving the late actor attention for this relatively small flashback role in Spike Lee’s movie, although it’s not nearly as showy or memorable a performance compared to Delroy Lindo.

Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7

Speaking of what could be a SAG Ensemble frontrunner, Aaron Sorkin’s recreation of the famed government case against a number of 60s activists accused of inciting a riot (sound familiar?) features a number of strong performances, but the actor getting the biggest push (and doing the rounds, as they say) is the star of Borat who plays Abbie Hoffman in the movie and seems to really be flexing his dramatic muscles. The only thing that might hold Cohen back are his co-stars and voters who might not be sure who to push for the film.

Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah Some might feel that Kaluuya’s performance as Black Panther Fred Hampton – a far more minor role played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Trial of the Chicago 7 – should have been deemed the lead, since it is a movie about how Hampton was set up by an undercover FBI agent, played by Lakeith Stansfield. Kaluuya already was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Jordan Peele’s Get Out (in which Stansfield had a minor role), but the performance he gives in this could certainly put him over the top with Oscar voters.

Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami

One of the most memorable performances in Regina King’s narrative feature debut is this Tony-winning Hamilton star in his performance as legendarly soul singer Sam Cooke, as he butts heads with Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Malcolm X (see above), but with him being put into lead, it seems like Odom is likely to get the most love from SAG as well as Oscar voters, which puts him into direct competition with Kaluuya.

Paul Raci - Sound of Metal A name that isn’t very well known but is sure to be an actor we’ll see more of is this actor who has been mainly taking small roles on various TV shows for many years but as Riz Ahmed’s mentor in coping with his loss of hearing, Raci is likely to get some love as well, although he would really have to step up his game and get out there more.

David Strathairn – Nomadland

Chloé Zhao populated her acclaimed movie with many non-actors that come from the nomad community depicted in the film, and while much of the attention is rightfully put on Frances McDormand’s lead role, Strathairn’s supporting performance gives the film true heart. If nominated, this would be Strathairn’s first Oscar attention since starring as Edward Morrow in George Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck.

Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Frank Langella - Trial of the Chicago 7 The big problem with the large ensemble cast of Sorkin’s movie is that there are so many great performances all working from his sure-to-be nominated screenplay, and no one can seem to decide which of the great actors is the best. Rylance already on an Oscar in this category, Abdul-Mateen is a hot upcoming star, and Langella is a veteran who has only been nominated once 11 years ago for Frost/Nixon. It feels Langella’s performance as the judge in the case is the most memorable, but these three might cancel themselves out especially with Cohen in the running.

Then we get to a lot of decent performances that might be hard to make a mark with so much competition in this category including Trevante Rhodes in United States vs. Billie Holiday, Charles Dance in Mank, Glynn Turman and Colman Domingo for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (with the same issue as Trial of the Chicago 7 acting against flashier performances), and the problematic candiates: Jared Leto in The Little Things, Shia Labeouf in Pieces of a Woman, and James Corden in The Prom.

My nomination predictions: Cohen, Kaluuya, Odom Jr, Raci, Strathairn (One of the last two seems the most likely to be bumped by a second Trial actor.)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Welcome to this year’s “problematic” category, not because there aren’t many great actresses giving supporting performances that any filmmaker or actor would kill for, but more because two of the movies have issues, either in term of bad reviews or a problematic co-star.

Maria Bakalova - Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Sacha Baron Cohen’s surprise sequel wasn’t just praised for his decision to tackle COVID and the current American government but also for the performance by Bulgarian newcomer Bakalova as Borat’s daughter who keeps on being put into awkward situations to get laughs. Bakalova performs supremely, holding her own against the veteran Cohen in many scenes with many people leaving the movie awed by Bakalova.

Ellen Burstyn - Pieces of a Woman

Another acting legend, Ellen Burstyn, returned for Kornel Munduczo’s drama, playing the meddlesome mother of Vanessa Kirby’s character, who tries to push for a lawsuit after the latter loses her child. Like many great supporting roles, this one is almost exclusively about one memorable scene and monologue by Burstyn that was partially improvised, but there’s still that Shia Labeouf in the room that might sour voters’ desire to give Burstyn her first acknowledgment since Requiem for a Dream twenty years ago.

Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy

A few years back, we nearly saw Glenn Close win her first Oscar for her performance in The Wife but she was snubbed in favor of Olivia Colman’s memorable role in The Favourite, which helped put the prolific British actress onto many radars even before she took over the lead in Netflix’s The Crown. Close is back with another memorable performance, this one playing the cranky Mawmaw in Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy.  The movie was obliterated by critics who refuse to give Close her due for what she brings to the movie.  I don’t think that will be the case with the Golden Globes or SAG and not even the Oscars’ acting branch, all whom should nominate her again.

Olivia Colman - The Father Although much of the attention for Florian Zellers’ adaptation of his own play has been put on Anthony Hopkins’ performance in the title role, there’s still quite a lot of love for Colman, who looks to once again hijack Glenn Close’s Oscar chances, even if this role isn’t nearly as showy or memorable.

Amanda Seyfried – Mank

People seem to be all over the place in terms of their feelings about David Fincher’s Mank, his first movie since 2014’s Gone Girl, but there’s a general sense of love towards Amanda Seyfried’s portrayal of old Hollywood starlet Marion Davies who seems to be a bright and shiny counterpoint to Oldman’s title character. I’m not sure she can win but has enough support for her first nomination.

Yuh-jung Youn -- Minari

There’s a lot of great performances in Lee Isaac Chung’s family drama but the one that the critics seem to be drawn to the performance by this Korean acting vet who plays the eccentric grandma who mostly brings laughs to the film. I don’t think either SAG or Golden Globes will pick her and the absence of the Chinese grandmother from The Farewell being nominated last year makes me dubious Ms. Young will get nominated either.

As with supporting actor, there are quite a few outliers who could sneak in, and we’ll be looking towards the SAG and Golden Globe nominations to see if there’s any consensus for any of the following.

Without going into further details, others in the mix include Olivia Cooke in Sound of Metal, Saoirse Ronan in Ammonite, Helena Zengel in News of the World, Jodie Foster in The Mauritanian, and possibly Dominique Fishback in Judas and the Black Messiah. As with the lead actress vis-à-vis lead actor, there just aren’t as many

My nomination predictions: Bakalova, Burstyn, Close, Colman, Seyfried (This seems like a pretty strong roster that should be able to navigate through SAG and Golden Globes, with the two oldest actresses having to overcome the hurdles of co-stars and/or critics. Who knows? Maybe Bakalova will win it.)

Hopefully soon (but probably after Sundance) I’ll offer my predictions for the screenplay categories, director and Best Picture, but look for the Golden Globe nominations to be announced on February 3, launching this year’s Oscar race in earnest.