#I always felt like Nick would have been one of the suspects Nancy got the closest to bc of the nature of that relationship and the tag-team

[whodunnitmafianostalgia]

Endings (part 4)

.

.

“Hey.”

Nancy looked up in surprise, recognizing the voice instantly. She would have known him even if she hadn’t called him two days ago—he wasn’t a person it was easy to forget. “Hey!” She shot to her feet.

Nick Falcone gave her a little wave from the doorway, and a tired smile. He looked a bit rough, a fading bruise on his head, a big bandaid on his cheek, bags under his eyes, but not too bad, and she was relieved to see it. She still didn’t know all the details of the things that had gone down at the complex, so she hadn’t really known how bad off any of them specifically would be. Nancy hurried over to him and hugged him, and Nick returned the greeting. She hadn’t seen him in…was it actually—could it really be five years? Six?

“It’s so good to see you—not like this, but, in general,” said Nancy, releasing him so she could see him again, “It’s been so long—I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of—”

He waved the concern away. “Don’t worry about it. Nobody keeps up. But you? You actually remembered to send me a post card every Christmas. You know how few people still send Christmas cards period, even to their family? Most people I meet on the job don’t even save my number.”

“Yeah, well—but we were,” started Nancy.

“A team,” agreed Nick, then, with a wink, “Partners in crime?”

“—My friend was kidnapped!” defended Nancy, grinning.

“I know,” said Nick with a matching grin.

“Still, it’s really good to see you,” said Nancy, straightening back up. And it was. A lot of the time, she…never saw people again, after cases. Even though she would have liked to. She was a traveler in people’s lives, there one week and gone the next. Somehow, she rarely seemed to hit the same island twice. And she didn’t like that, she really didn’t. Nancy cared about people pretty easily, but not in a way she thought was cheap or surface-level. She just genuinely enjoyed establishing connections with other human beings. And. It was sad, to not see them again. That was how life was, sure, and for everyone to some extent, but. She went so many places, and made so many friends, and she ended up missing all of them. And Nick had been not just one of the people she’d helped, he’d been a case partner and a trauma-bond friend.

“Yeah, yeah. I missed you too,” he said, all the warmth and playfulness and familiarity that had been there before back so easily, like it had beeen six days and not six years. That was...really nice to hear.

“How are you doing?” asked Nancy, “Really?”

Nick shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Physically, I’m fine. I have some bruises, and a cut on my cheek that might scar, but that’s the worst of it. It’s weird to come out of all that with nothing that’s gonna leave more than a little mark, but, looks like that’s how it’s gonna be for me.”

“And…” said Nancy, “…Uh….”

“Mentally?” asked Nick sympathetically, “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to ask me that either. I could be asking you the same thing though. From what I’m gathering the past two days, he was your friend, right? And a pretty close one.”

Nancy nodded. Was? “He is,” she said, because even saying nothing would have felt like a betrayal she wasn’t ready to commit.

“You okay?” asked Nick.

“No, but you didn’t answer my question,” said Nancy.

He smiled kind of sheepishly. “Did I not?”

She shook her head.

“I’m fine,” said Nick, clearly lying blatantly.

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay. Honestly, I have no idea,” said Nick, giving in and amending his statement, “Everything is just. Surreal. I guess I’m lucky to be alive, and I should feel good about that, right? But I don’t feel anything about it at all.”

“Yeah,” said Nancy quietly.

“He’s here somewhere?” asked Nick, glancing around the hospital’s open main foyer, like he might see him, and didn’t want to.

“Yes. Upstairs,” said Nancy, “They’ve got some psychologists trying to work with him who’ve been in and out all day, and armed guards that are a constant, so, you don’t need to...” worry...

“They got any idea what is wrong with him?” asked Nick kind of awkwardly, “It was…He wasn’t lying, right? There is…something wrong. I mean—beyond killing people—wrong-wrong-uh—PTSD, dissociative episodes kind of something wrong stuff.”

“Yes, very,” said Nancy, “But are you sure you want to hear about this? I understand, if—”

“—I want to know,” said Nick, looking like he meant it, “I’m gonna wonder forever if I don’t.”

Right. You were…sort of friends. Not with him, but with...’Alec’. She had. She had just…no idea what to say to Nick at all. What could she even try to say, to explain any of this? It was so much, and so exhausting--just the version of today she was dealing with. She couldn’t even begin to understand, right now, what Nick’s version of the last month had been like.

“…Can I see him?” asked Nick quietly, expression a hard read, “—Not talk to. Just, I...feel like until I actually see he’s locked up somewhere under armed guard, I’m not gonna really believe it. And. It might seem…in bad taste, to you, but the others would probably like a photo of that. –Not to gloat. Just. Nobody feels really safe right now. Even right by a station full of cops.”

“…Right,” said Nancy, overcome with a pang of sadness. She understood. It make a lot of sense, and it wasn’t in poor taste, it was just hard. “Sure. He’s out right now anyway, so he wouldn’t even have to know. I’ll show you.” She motioned him to follow her, and Nick came, sliding his hands into the pockets on his big brown jacket, and looking around the hospital curiously as they went.

“You still doing detective work, rescuing kidnapped girls?” asked Nick with an only barely forced smile, catching up and keeping pace with her, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“Yeah, sort of,” said Nancy, returning his smile with an even more exhausted one, “I’ve been working one case for three years now. But, sometimes someone local needs help, and I’ll be working two cases, and it’ll be like old times, and that’s really nice.”

“You’re some kinda do-gooder, but I get it,” said Nick carelessly, “We all got our own wars to fight. Causes to win. They just look a little different to each of us.”

“Yeah,” said Nancy, actually feeling a little better. It had been a long time since the case in Missouri where she’d met him, but they’d been good friends, even if their relationship had started out with her yelling at him and accusing him of kidnapping. Look—I was having some kind of day—Maya was gone, and everyone was stonewalling me and being a huge pain—him too. I was mad. Still. By the end of it, he’d been almost her partner on the case, and they’d saved Maya together. He’d bought her enough time to get it done. “What about you? Still a Human Against the Destruction of Illustrious Theaters?”

Nick snorted. “You know I am,” he said proudly, “That and running with about five other causes.”

“Should you be doing six at once?” asked Nancy.

“Hey—You don’t get to lecture me about doing too much,” said Nick.

“Fair enough,” agreed Nancy with a smile.

They reached the second floor, and Nancy wove through halls, finally finding Frank’s room. It was in a corner, by itself. One thin window a human couldn’t possibly fit through, about eye level, and looking in from the hospital to the room. No external windows at all, just solid concrete walls. There were several armed guards at the door, which still felt strange. But. It has to be like this right now. You know that.

Nancy held up her ID. They knew who she was, so it was just a formality, but it paid sometimes to go by the book.

“Who’s he?” asked one of the guards she knew by now was named Guozhi. After three years, Nancy wasn’t bad at Mandarin, but the guards knew English, and had been generous and started just assuming that was the best bet with the people coming in and out of the room all the time, and they weren’t wrong. It was only going to get worse, with the people Nancy already knew were flying in from the US to try to help deal with this.

“This is Nick Falcone,” answered Nancy, nudging Nick with her elbow. He quickly pulled an ID out of his pocket and held it up. The guards were familiar with the situation, and would already know who that was, so they’d know the name.

“I don’t have to go in,” said Nick, almost nervous, “I just. Wanted to…see.” The guards gave a nod, and Nick stepped past them and to the side, near the wall to the room, and looked in the little window. His face was almost impossible for her to read. Maybe she didn’t have any right to be prying right now anyway, trying to guess what was going on. Nancy decided not to try, and just stepped up beside him and looked in too.

Frank was asleep. Ned was in there, waiting with him, back to the window. Reading a book, but not very well. Every couple seconds, he would glance over at Frank, and then keep going. Not able to focus enough to probably be actually comprehending anything in the book at all. Oh Ned, I’m so sorry, thought Nancy, meaning it, and feeling bad, but feeling worse that as bad as she felt for him, she was so much more glad and relieved that he was there. That he’d come with her, and stayed with her, and she hadn’t had to do all this alone. I’m some kind of terrible girlfriend, I guess… She loved him so much. She had to find some way to tell him that, and that she was sorry it had been like this, and she was glad he’d stayed, but there was so much going on right now, she barely had the energy to get up and walk around.

“So. …What happens now?” asked Nick, expression still closed off and a hard read, taking in the scene in front of him.

Poor Frank, thought Nancy, watching herself for a moment. They had strapped him down, wrists, chest, waist, ankles. With a blanket over, it wasn’t so awful to look at, but she could still see the cuffs around his wrists. She still knew. And he was so pale, sweating, and moving fitfully, like he had the first night he’d been safe with them in Shanghai, and all the nights for two weeks after. They were trying out a drug, to see if it would help him, and God, she hoped it would. Nancy didn’t like to be here. It was hard to bear. But not being here would have been worse. It. It was so strange to be talking to Nick like this too, especially now, right here by Frank—she wasn’t really sure what to say. She was still feeling like Frank was the victim in this, well, not the, a, but. To everyone things had happened to…? I don’t think I’ve really even begun to process it, thought Nancy, placing her fingers against the glass, Not really. Because I haven’t had to see a body. But Moira? Mom’s best friend? She was…like an aunt to me. We were getting really close, the last few years. And Lou was a thief, but he was just a stupid college student. Connie? She wondered if anyone had let Daryl know yet—if they’d still even been together. I did such a bad job of keeping up with people, she thought again mournfully, Maybe if I hadn’t, something would have been different. I’d have known they were gone. I could have stopped it, or something. And Alec—the real Alec? She wondered. Was his sister still out there somewhere, like he’d hoped? The one he’d been searching for so tirelessly, for years, and years, far past when anyone else would have given up? What would happen to her now, if she was, with no one left out there in the world to find her…

“Now?” echoed Nancy, glancing over at Nick, “He’s going to finish getting evaluated, and hopefully get a diagnosis from some psychologists, and then treatment. And, somewhere while that’s all happening, it’ll go to trial. I don’t know when, yet. I’m…Technically, his next of kin is his father, Fenton, so, when anything happens isn’t really up to me.”

“Is he here?” asked Nick.

“No,” said Nancy, removing her hand from the window slowly and letting out a breath, “Fenton’s getting in late tonight, though. It’s…been hard.”

Nick nodded, and studied Frank for a few more seconds in silence, then straightened up. “...Kinda surprised he really did it.”

“Turned himself in?” asked Nancy.

Nick nodded.

“You didn’t think he would?”

“I don’t…think I knew anything, one way or another,” said Nick tiredly, staring past her at nothing.

“…I’m really sorry,” said Nancy quietly, watching him.

“It’s not your fault,” said Nick, meeting her gaze again, “You didn’t ask him to do it. Unless there’s something I don’t know, he came after us because we knew you, not because you told him we were problems. Right?”

“No—of course not,” said Nancy, horrified, “—We were friends! I—” He was grinning at her. “Oh, you were teasing me.”

“Yeah,” said Nick.

“Still,” said Nancy, glancing back through the window. Not really sure which of many things she’d been wanting to say.

“…What did he say?” asked Nick.

Nancy glanced at him.

“Anything that—made more sense than what he told us?”

“…I don’t really know exactly what he told you,” said Nancy.

“Okay, but you said ‘very’—very wrong. Why ‘very,’” said Nick, “Like I said, I want to know. Not one thing that’s happen the past month makes sense. If there’s a way to understand all that, I…I need to.”

“I can…tell you what I know,” said Nancy, feeling bad, taking in the look on his face, “But you might be better off waiting for the psychologists to be done. Or to at least have a primary diagnosis. We don’t have anything in writing yet at all. I wouldn’t want to…Like you said, he’s my friend. I’ll do all the guessing I feel like helps me, but I don’t want to guess for someone else. You deserve real answers.”

“I want what I can get,” said Nick, “You knew him. That’s more than I’ve got. What do you think?”

“About…why he did it?” asked Nancy. She glanced at Frank for a few seconds, and then back at Nick. “I’m…not a psychologist.”

She could see very plainly that he still wanted to know. Desperately. And she understood that. She would have been asking anyone who’d known more than her, even without having to suffer through the version of it Nick had. If she’d just…been home, living her own life in River Heights, and gotten a call, and Joe had been here, she’d have been asking him. Trying to get him to make sense of it for her, because any step closer was better than where she was right now.

“Okay,” said Nancy, taking a breath, “But. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I’ve been spending all the free time I have trying to research, and understand, and I’m good at that, it’s—it’s kind of my job, but. I know really I’m just…guessing. And that’s all. I believe him, though. I know him. I’ve known him for years. And I think he told me the whole truth when he got home. He’s…he’s different, and at the same time, I know he’s still the same person he’s always been, and that’s so hard for me to understand. I’ve been trying. Torture…from everything I’ve been able to read up on, it’s designed kind of above all else to destroy someone’s sense of self. And their sense of safety, and trust, and any kind of security or understanding they had in the world at all along with it. People all develop cognitive framework for understanding the world when they’re growing up—how to categorize things, their idea of a just world. Self-identity, society, personal relationships. But. When you get tortured, everything the person torturing you is doing is about destroying all of that. It damages your brain. You go through too much to suffer and be able to really stay the same, on even a…a physical level, and the damage breaks neurological connections. You have to form new ways to think about the world, to cope, to just survive, and you spend every day with people trying to make it so you can’t even remember how you used to think about yourself and life before. There’s a lot of stuff about the aftermath of torture, and about anger, and anxiety, and so much about paranoia. Cognitive deterioration.”

She let out a slow breath. Even with all the time she’d spent the past two days, she still knew so little, and yet somehow everything she did know felt really impossible to explain anything like quickly to someone else.

“But I believe him,” she said again, watching Nick’s face, “I think he didn’t know what he was doing. Not the real him. I think he was doing what he thought made sense, but what he thought made sense was what going through things I can’t even imagine for two years made him think. It wasn’t what he wanted. He was out of his head, and out of control, and there was no one there to stop him, but I don’t think he ever really wanted to do it. Somebody else conditioned him to be like this. And then, somewhere along the way, he came to his senses enough to realize that, and so he stopped, and tried to get help. I just. Wish it could have been sooner…”

Nick had been listening in silence, and he looked away when she finished, thinking. A very far-away and set look on his face.

“You don’t have to listen to this, though,” said Nancy, feeling bad, thinking about the trauma he’d been through over the past month or so, “You don’t have to feel sympathetic. –You don’t have to think sympathetic. You don’t even have to wonder. You can just go home, and you should. None of this excuses anything that happened to you, or the rest of them. Nobody could ask you to try to be generous about that.” He had just—he had said he wanted to understand, so, she had been…trying. But. I’m sorry if I just hurt you more.

“Yeah,” said Nick, glancing back at her. He cleared his throat. “So. He’ll go to trial in a few weeks or something?”

“Or something,” agreed Nancy, “You’ll probably be asked to be there—all of you, to testify. But if you, or any of the kids, or—any of the others can’t handle it, I think you can talk to someone and have a written statement submitted. Or a video, or something.”

“I know,” said Nick tiredly, “They already talked to us about that.”

“Oh,” said Nancy.

For a moment, Nick glanced back into the room again, watching the unconscious person inside, then he turned to Nancy and straightened up. “Do you know what he’s pleading?”

“What?” said Nancy, genuinely confused for a second, “—Oh. Guilty. He wants to plead guilty, to whatever charges get brought. He’s been in and out of it since getting here, but he was really set on that. I…He does feel awful. I don’t—I’m sorry, if you don’t want to know things like that that, tell me, and I won’t say them again. But if it…makes any of this any more…bearable, or something. He wants to pay.”

Nick held her gaze for a second, and then smiled kind of sadly, and shook his head. “You’re fine. I think I just want to know as much as I can.” He turned and took a few steps back towards the stairwell, and then paused and turned to face her again. “We’re around. All of us are staying in town, together, for the moment. Uh—separate rooms, because there’s some drama. Lori and Niobe tried to kill Grigor a few days ago—”

“They did what?” asked Nancy, horrified.

“It’s—it’s so complicated,” said Nick, very exhausted, taking a little travel notepad out from a pocket and scribbling on it, “But uh. We’re all in the same hotel, for safety. Because none of us are ever gonna feel safe in a room alone again.” He’d been trying to joke, and flashed her a grin, but it was too hard to laugh at that. Too soon. And it had been too soon for him too, and she could see it. “It was as close to the police station as we could get,” continued Nick more soberly, “I’m in 114 and 116—adjoining rooms, with Grigor, and Dylan, and all four of the kids. Niobe and Lori are across the hall and one down in 117. Henry kind of just, drifts. Between all three rooms. If you want to find any of us, that’s where we’ll be.” He tore off a sheet of paper and handed the address out to her.

“Thank you, Nick,” said Nancy, taking it. “Ned and I haven’t even booked a place yet. I’ve got an apartment, a bit of drive from here, but technically in town, so I’m not even sure if it’s worth it to get a hotel. We might just sleep here in chairs for the moment…But uh. Whatever we end up doing, I’ll text you, in case any of you want to reach us.”

“Sure,” said Nick.

“It was good to see you again,” said Nancy.

“You too,” said Nick with a real smile for a second. He turned to go.

“Do you…need your picture?” she asked, feeling a little sick.  He turned back around. “For the others?”

“…Right,” said Nick. He gave the room a look, and then glanced back at her. “No. I changed my mind. They’ll have to take my word for it.”

“Okay,” said Nancy, not pressing him on why.

Nick hesitated in the hallway, though, absently opening and closing his fist, caught in indecision. Agitated. I wonder if he wants to ask something, but he thinks I won’t want to help?

For a few more seconds, he was silent, debating whatever he was debating in his head, and then he made his decision and glanced over at her. “You should talk him out of that.”

“What?” said Nancy, not sure what any part of that sentence had been referring to.

“Pleading guilty,” said Nick. He met her gaze, and he seemed tired, and sad, but firm—sincere. Beyond that, she couldn’t read him at all. She felt like that was the way he wanted it, too. “Having spent the last almost two months with the guy, and knowing what I know now—the things I saw him do in that place? If there’s ever been a case where someone really deserved to plead not guilty by reason of insanity? This was it.”

“…” She had wanted to say “You really think he’s insane?”, but, when she had looked for her voice to do it, all it would say for her was, “Yeah,” because she’d known it too, and just hadn’t wanted to say it out loud, but she couldn’t say that, so she couldn’t answer him at all.

Nick waited for an answer she couldn’t give for a second, then smiled at her. “If you want someone to testify to that, I’ll do it. You know where to find me.” He gave her a nod in goodbye, and then started down the stairs.

“…You would help him?” she asked.

He stopped on the third step down, and turned to glance at her over his shoulder.

“After everything he did to you?” asked Nancy. She wanted to help Frank. God, even, even after the things he’d done—the people she…she had lost too, in ways. Especially Moira. But…Nick had never known him before. It was different. To him—to all of them, except maybe Lori, he was a complete and utter stranger.

Nick glanced away, and stuffed his hands into his pockets, then shrugged. “I don’t think it’s…’helping.’ That would be trying to get him out of something he deserves. I just think you’re right. I think he killed four people because he got tortured somewhere for two years and lost his mind. It’s the only thing that could possibly make sense, even a little, after the way things fell apart—how elaborate it all was, but how poorly planned, how much things went off the rails. Him turning himself in. I’m not a doctor, or a lawyer, or a cop. I don’t ‘know’ what’s right, I guess legally, or ethically, or scientifically speaking. And I can’t claim to. But it seems like it…it should at least be different, you know?” He glanced at her again, “Than what you’d call justice for someone who just wanted to do all that. That’s why we put murders in categories, right? Premeditated, heat of the moment, manslaughter. ‘Crazy’ isn’t a full category on its own, that I know of anyway, but. It isn’t the same as the others either. I…just want whatever happens to be the right thing.” He met her gaze again and tried to smile.

“That’s…really good of you,” said Nancy.

“No,” said Nick, looking at the ground. “I’m just tired of watching people die.”

Die?

Oh no.

Everything changed. She felt her blood run cold and the urge to vomit suddenly. No, no, no. She’d been living here for three years now—she’d known that, but somehow she’d missed it. Somehow Nick Falcone had realized it first. She was so used to American laws, and American ways of doing things, she hadn’t even remembered to think about it, but Nick was right. Oh God, he was right about all of it. Everything that had been done, every death, it had all happened on Chinese soil, and unless there was some way Fenton could get him extradited—

The knowledge she had had and simply not looked at before slammed against her skull, and Nancy felt the floor of the building cracking under her feet and things collapsing around her, and she knew it was in her head, but it didn’t matter. It was going to be real enough.

How. How could I have forgotten this? He’s right. God, he’s right. China practices capital punishment. It’s got the highest number of death penalties handed out of any country in the world. It’s passed down as a common sentencing in criminal trials here. Especially for. …Drug trafficking. And. Murder. Murderers often get sentenced to death. By lethal injection…or gunshot.

[stereotvpes]

class fight.

summary: jason dean is a complication for heather chandler. a nuisance. a problem. she cannot lose veronica to him. she needs to regain control.

but plans can always backfire.

warnings: graphic violence, major character death

A/N: hi!! this is my first fic, i hope everyone enjoys it!

Hanging out with the Heathers was never Veronica’s favourite thing to do.

Sure, they were her friends, but she didn’t really like them all that much. When she walked with them, it was like putting on a different skin. Veronica could never fully be herself: she’d run the risk of being Heather Chandler’s verbal punching bag for the week. Chandler was fierce and predatory, like a hawk, or a lion. She had sharp, watchful eyes that seemed to criticize her every move, never afraid to bite. God forbid Veronica befriended anyone outside of Chandler’s little circle.

But with JD, it was different, like a teenager rebelling against a parent. With JD, Veronica could push aside the petty things in life, like what skirt Nancy Stevens was wearing or how there was another college party next week. He gave her the courage to do things she’d never had the guts to. She had deep conversations with him, talking about the stars and what the future would look like until she fell asleep in his arms, his coat smelling like cigarettes and gunpowder.

 When Heather Chandler began to notice that Veronica was slowly drifting away from her group, a wave of fury washed over her. What did Veronica see in that loser, anyway?

Chandler couldn’t really explain why she was so upset at the fact. Maybe it was because Veronica said she had sworn off high school boys, and that was a lie. Or maybe it was something deeper— Veronica’s complete indifference of what the school thought of her, how Chandler felt almost jealous that she could never be Veronica Sawyer. Chandler had spent ages trying to impress Veronica, but to no avail. So how come this little twerp managed to catch her eye in a day?

 She had to put it to an end.

It started off with simple daydreams— poisoning Jason Dean and hiding his body where he’d never be found, Veronica crawling back to her looking to be comforted. Or maybe burning him alive in one of his father’s abandoned construction sites, and being a shoulder for Ronnie to cry on.

Then, one day, when she came back from school, she grabbed the address book from the top of her dresser and flipped through it casually, as if she planned to visit an old friend. His address was easy enough to find— who didn’t know Big Bud Dean’s Construction? Her parents weren’t home, which was expected, so Chandler headed out again after printing out the address carefully in her swirly handwriting on a piece of red stationary. 

When she knocked at the door it swung open almost immediately, JD standing at the door with a smug look on his face and motor oil smeared on his shirt.

“Well, well, well,” he said, giving a half-bow. “Didn’t expect to see you here, Heather... Duke, is it?”

“Chandler, thank you very much,” Heather sniffed, only slightly offended. She suspected he got her name wrong on purpose. There wasn’t a person at school who didn’t know who she was. “Can I come in?”

“Why, of course,” said JD, unusually courteous. He opened the door wider and walked her into the living room, where a TV spoke in muted tones and a motorcycle wheel covered in motor oil sat on the coffee table. “What brings the occasion?”

Shit. Shit! What was she doing? She had no plan, not even a weapon! Chandler could feel herself breaking into a cold sweat.

Regaining her composure, she said, “It’s about Veronica. We... need to talk.”

“Ronnie, huh? What’s the problem? Is she spending a little too much time away from the kingdom?”

So he was mocking her! Hearing Veronica’s nickname come from his mouth made the anger bubble up inside her. She started to narrow her eyes— then stopped, and smiled sweetly at him.

“Actually... could I get a glass of water? It’s been so dry out, I can almost feel myself being fossilized.”

“Sure, the glasses are in the kitchen, second cupboard to the left.” JD turned away from her, focusing on the motorcycle wheel again.

Chandler ventured through the living room to the kitchen, trying to ignore a picture of a young JD and his parents on a nearby shelf. She filled a glass with water, gulped it down, and took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to be rid of him once and for all.

She quietly pulled open drawers until she found what she was really looking for: a kitchen knife. Holding it behind her back, she called, “Hey, JD, do you think you could give me a hand? I can’t seem to find the glasses anywhere... and you’re the host, I mean— shouldn’t you be getting me water?”

Chandler could hear JD give a huff of annoyance, tools clanking as he set them down on the coffee table. He walked in, wiping his hands on his shirt, seeing the glass on the kitchen counter. He stopped, raising his eyebrows at Chandler with irritation.

“Looks to me like you found them just f-“

Chandler lunged at him with the knife, aiming for his stomach. JD’s eyes widened in surprise, but his demeanor hardened again when he caught her arm just in time. She struggled against it, desperately trying to nick him or at least scare him bad enough that he would leave Veronica alone.

No such luck. JD was a lot stronger than someone who looked so lanky would seem. They were caught in a silent gridlock. As one arm held hers with the knife, something cold pressed against her temple. Chandler looked up in horror to see the same pistol that JD had used a few days ago in the cafeteria against her forehead. Even if it was filled with blanks last time, she wasn’t taking any risks.

As she relaxed, so did JD— only slightly. Instead of looking angry, he had an emotion on his face that made him look much scarier: exhilaration.

“Alright,” he panted, stepping away, still pointing the gun at her. “This isn’t about Veronica, is it?”

“Yes, it is,” Chandler insisted through gritted teeth, still gripping the handle of the knife tightly and pointing it at him. “I want you to break up with her. If you’re even dating her at all. She doesn’t belong with someone like you.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“She said it herself before you got here,” Chandler spat venomously. “That she’d given up on high school boys. She should be at college keggers with me, not going on long walks at the beach with you.”

Chandler couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. This kid had a gun pointed at her, and she was the one making demands. She almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“You’re... jealous?” JD raised an eyebrow, half amused and half suspicious.

“I’m not jealous— I’m doing what’s best for her. Which is getting rid of you.”

JD chuckled lightly, no mirth in his eyes.

“Sure, okay. Look, why don’t we make a deal?” His hand was steady on his gun, as if he’d done this a million times before.

“Like what?” Chandler’s voice shook slightly.

“I’ll pretend that all this never happened, and let you leave, but only on two conditions: if you continue to let Veronica spend time with me, and you forget all this happened, too. Hell, I’ll even make sure she still has lunch with your little clique. Deal?”

There was no doubt in JD’s voice that he was going to get what he wanted, deal or not. Chandler lowered the knife a slight increment.

“Deal,” she said, feeling as if she had just sold her soul to the Devil himself.

And just like that, JD looked normal again. Almost.

“Great!” he said. “I’ll show you out now.” He guided her out of the house with the pistol pointed at her. “And you can leave the knife on the counter— unless you plan on making some lunch.” He grinned at his own joke. “Goodbye, Heather Chandler,” he said, shutting the door in her face.

Chandler walked home stunned, sure he would keep his promise, but unsure of what was to come.

As soon as he shut the door, JD began to pace around the room. He couldn’t fathom what possibly could’ve driven that girl to try to murder him. It wasn’t friendship, that was for sure. Unless... unless.

Unless she felt the same way about Veronica as he did.

The realization hit him fast, disgust balling up his fists. Stupid. Stupid! He didn’t want another body on his hands, but he knew he should’ve killed her right then in his kitchen. There was no way he and Chandler would be able to coexist in peace if she felt the same way about her that he did.

 He was going to have to break their deal.

 The weeks went by smoothly as JD created his plan, with Chandler truly seeming to have forgotten their unusual meeting and Veronica completely oblivious. He was much more prepared than Chandler. All he had to do was wait for an opportunity to jump.

It finally came the morning after one of Veronica’s rendezvous at a college party. JD had seen the lights on in her room and crawled in through the window, listening to her rave about how she wanted Heather Chandler out of her life.

It felt like it was too good to be true to JD, as if it was a sign from God that his plan was ready to be put in action.

So, the morning after, he tagged along with Veronica to check up on Chandler.

 When Chandler heard footsteps inside her house, fear rocketed through her. Was JD finally here to finish her off? She had had more than a few sleepless nights, with nightmares of Jason Dean breaking into her house and strangling her or shooting her through the forehead (with her corpse looking like a mess!). But she heard Veronica’s voice laughing at his, so she relaxed and feigned sleep. He wouldn’t try anything with her around.

So when JD brought the cup into the room, she assumed that it was that awful concoction of milk and orange juice they were giggling at in her kitchen. When she saw it was blue, she rolled her eyes, thinking they found some food dye to mess with her. She wasn’t going to let JD make a fool out of her again, especially in front of Veronica, so in one last attempt to prove herself to Veronica, she downed the cup in one go.

Immediately after she swallowed a gulp, bitterness stung and burned her throat. She felt like her throat was closing up on her, and she dropped the cup, grabbing at her throat frantically and trying to say something, anything. This is it, she thought. This is when I die.

Struggling to breathe, she choked out, “Corn... nuts,” and blacked out, falling onto the glass table as the darkness engulfed her.

Veronica stood in silent shock, hands going over her mouth. “I just killed my best friend,” she said shakily.

“And your worst enemy,” JD added.

As they slowly pieced together what to do, with JD feigning surprise and shock, she forged the note and turned to leave the house. JD had already left, waiting impatiently for her in the car. But right before she left, something on Chandler’s vanity dresser caught her eye. It was a crumpled-up note, the stationary the same as the one Veronica used to write Chandler’s suicide note with. She unfolded it, smoothing out the creases.

JD’s address was printed on the first line of the paper in Chandler’s discernible flowery handwriting. Veronica frowned in confusion. She looked at JD, out of his line of sight from the car, and pocketed the note.

She never mentioned it to JD, or anyone else, after that day.

Veronica turned to look at Heather Chandler’s lifeless body on the shag carpet. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and fled out of the house.

[daretosnoop]

The Final Scene Review:

Atmosphere/Layout:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Nancy Drew games do a stellar job at placing the player within the game. FIN is often given the due credit of being one of the best atmospheric games. The artists effectively portrayed a theater that is long past its prime. Everything is tattered and dusty. Things are old and rusty. How long has that popcorn been sitting there? Or that bubble gum? Who knows? It’s gorgeous! It’s incredible how they manage to make the theater so nostalgic to the player despite it being fictional. It really reminds you of old buildings that are destroyed to make way for corporate offices or businesses. It’s one of the few Nancy Drew games that sets the tone right from the start – dangerous and fast-paced. Maya’s kidnapping sets in the urgency, but right from the start players are required to navigate through an abandoned and creepy backroom only to pop out of a closet. It’s these two scenes that really hammer into the reader that this game is playing no nonsense. It’s like that moment in all horror movies/games where the characters realize this is for real. It really makes sense for the stage rooms to have a bunch of junk lying around here and there because it’s been abandoned. Allowing Nancy to look at them just continues to hammer that in. I mean, did anyone else feel slightly grossed out at the sink with a plunger in it? You really resonate with Nick Falcone’s commitment of protecting America from becoming Generica. Despite its dilapidated state, I’m pretty sure we all can agree that the theater commanded a presence. This game reminded me of the old Scooby Doo episode where they go to the puppet theater and are haunted by that creepy puppet master. And just like the Scooby doo gang, you always felt like someone was watching you—especially in areas like the underground basement and the main theater room.

Music:

Another stellar masterpiece. I don’t think there is a single track I hated. Each title retained the jazzy elements of the theater’s ritzy days, yet there is always something creepy intermixed within it. It really set in the feeling that someone was following you around. Tracks like “Lobby” and “Maya” really brought this feeling home, especially at end game when the danger music is playing and it intermixes with Maya’s theme. OMG, when that music started playing, I really got chills and started to become frantic. I forgot that the axe and hammer don’t work on the ice cube cupboard, which made me waste time. I actually finished this game with seconds to spare because I didn’t know that time didn’t stop when you read the letters.

In terms of little noises, I loved the sound of the doors as you opened it and the rustle of the curtains as you moved them aside. The noise the key make makes and the papers on Nick Falcone’s desk!

Characters:

Nancy: I think everyone agrees that FIN Nancy is a Nancy we rarely ever see. She is taking no crap from anyone. Not only does it reinstate the sense of urgency, but it also shows a Nancy who refuses to be pushed around by others. I mean, not one character dumps their chores onto Nancy! Well Nick Falcone sort of does, but Nancy has the option of calling him out on this!

Simone Muller: Ah, who can forget the best introduction lines ever, “I’m going to have to call you back, someone just stepped out of my closet”. That one line gives you everything you need to know about Simone. She’s busy, has no time for strange occurrences, and doesn’t let anything get in the way of her plans. I love her rudeness, especially when you combine it with Brady and the book he’s reading on “being your own self”. The fact that she refuses to talk to Nancy until the end of day one enforces that “I’ve got no time for you” managerial, Hollywood attitude. One thing this game does well is in making each character suspicious. There is no object or goal the characters are trying to attain, but rather, the game focuses on the lengths they would go to in order to satisfy their desires. Simone wants to make Brady famous because that would make her rich. Thus, from her dealings with Brady’s fans and the floral card, it makes sense that she might kidnap Maya. BTW, I just want to say how amazing this game is by making all the suspicious evidence be everyday items. For Simone, it’s messages and a floral business card. In other words, the suspicion is put on the character’s motives and their personality, as in, how they would achieve said goals.

Brady Armstrong: Total Hottie, am I right? Oh wait, wrong game. Out of the 4 suspects, Brady is the weakest because he really has no reason to kidnap Maya. Even if it was a publicity stunt it wouldn’t be him doing the kidnapping, Simone would make sure of that! But the plot twist they gave to his character was really cool and unexpected. It did bring some new questions, but within the context of the game, it was really great because it took the character with the lowest suspicion rate and made him super suspicious! I know some people might feel like it’s random and came out of nowhere, but I disagree. Brady is shown to have qualms with the amount of control Simone has over his life, not to mention his own fears of a waning career (which btw, nicely ties in with a theater past its prime theme). After Joseph, he shows the most amount of concern for Maya but it feels superficial, like it’s for a press. Later you see him reading the assert yourself book which builds his confidence not only to get out of Simone’s grasps but to go down a different path. Finally, he keeps everything in an office briefcase. It’s a subtle growth, but it’s there.

Nick Falcone: Probably the person the game wanted you to think is the most suspicious because Maya’s kidnapping falls right into his plans, and his past borderline illegal activates to preserve the theater. Honestly, even knowing the true criminal, I think the game did a good job at making Nick suspicious. He gives off the aura of one of those people who make you feel included and then next thing you know you helped someone out in a crime. One of those I’ll be nice and make you trust me, but I have ulterior motives and don’t trust you types. And yet, the game did something so clever with his character that connects him to the real criminal. You see, Nick is relatively nice to Nancy and actually works alongside her a bit, kind of like someone else we know. It’s a clever trick to make Joseph’s eventually reveal seem less jarring because the game has already shown a nice character who is extremely shady.

Joseph Huges: One of those tragic yet scary villains. You really sympathize with his desire to save the theater and his desperation. I felt really bad when the note about his brother’s death was discovered. He’s nice, but the game uses his niceness against you. He’s always there when you need help (he’s watching you). He tries to help you find Maya (he’s making sure you don’t find her before the demolition is due). He’s definitely one of the more dangerous villains because of his desire to be your friend. And yet, I kind of felt like they weren’t intentionally trying to hide this side of Joseph. One of the most obvious things about Maya’s kidnapping is that it would require someone to have intense knowledge of the theater’s layouts, and out of all the characters, Joseph has the most. So from the start, the finger was already on Joseph, but either his “kindness” makes you forget it or makes you deny it because it’s hard to believe. I still wonder if his denial confrontation is intentional or not, or a mix of both. It’s hard to say, he’s definitely a villain that’s exhausted. But it certainly made him one of the best, if not the best, villains in the series.

Puzzles: This game had a nice balance between the puzzles and game. The puzzles weren’t super complicated but they nicely integrated with the theater. I mean, it really wouldn’t make sense for a theater to have complicated puzzles here and there. I think the most complicated puzzle would be the one to get access to the magician’s room. The only puzzle that was a disappointment was using the keys in the attic to get past the door. There were so many keys and they were of similar colour which just made everything chaotic. The end game puzzle was hilarious because it wasn’t a puzzle at all. It was just a magic trick, yet it worked because of the setting! Simone’s phone was a little daunting because I didn’t know what the objective was. I knew you had to put the number from the lipstick card, but where and how wasn’t clear. I kind of guessed a few times then got it.

This game really hammered in the magical phrase “Appearances can be deceiving”.

One funny thing was with the electric door. I forgot to look into the chest to get the rubber gloves, so when I came to the electric door I started to improvise. Instead of going back to get the gloves, my brain went “Well, wood isn’t a good conductor of electricity so if we use the magic wand which is most likely made of wood as a stick and press the numbers with it, we should be good”….. I had to hear Nancy’s scream 3 times before I remembered the gloves.

There were a lot of phone calls, but I like talking to people and gathering bits of clues here and there and having to put everything together. Also, I loved Houdini’s cousin’s morbid humour, LOVED IT!

Graphics:

They show their age here and there, but like the theater, sometimes old is gold. This game doesn’t have little animations that are unique to the character. You could argue for Simone and Joseph as they both had something that was related to their work, but neither revealed much about their character. Graphics is something you can only talk about with the later games, but this game still provided unique angles like Joseph’s head peering into the trap door/magician’s room area.

Plot: It was fantastic. Everything is high stakes and instead of receiving help, Nancy receives reluctance and incompetence. No wonder she tags alongside the villain, he’s the only one who tries to help.

The only thing that I don’t completely get is why Brady felt threatened by Maya. So what if she exposes the fact that he’s the owner of the theater? How does that affect his popularity? If anything, planet Tinseltown would make a bigger dent in it.

Overall, loved this game. 10/10

[lostsoulobsidian]

She likes detective stories

ElongSue fanfic, Ralph Dibny/Sue Dearbon (kind of, implied I guess). The Flash CW

After an interview with Sue’s former boyfriend, Ralph thinks about her and he's shocked to notice he's starting to see her as something else than a case.

It hadn't been easy, getting an appointment with Mr. Wladon. He was quite busy, being the head, in Washington, of the consulate of Modora, a tiny but wealthy republic in Eastern Europe. 

He was also the man whom Sue Dearbon had had her most serious relationship with, according to her parents.

Ralph had had to call to the consulate several times, but his secretary kept giving him the round around, because he was a nobody, until he decided to throw discretion away and say it was about Sue’s disappearance. After that, the secretary rushed to call him back to make an appointment.

Once he was, at last, at his magnificent (and maybe a bit pretentious) office, he got to study the guy. Bito Wladon was a handsome, well dressed and dark-haired man, with a fancily trimmed beard and almost as tall as Ralph himself. Obviously, that young lady was used to have only the finest in everything - clothes, jewels... and boyfriends.

"Mr. Dibny". He greeted, extending his hand to him; his English had a weird accent. "My secretary informed me that you want to talk about Susan Dearbon. I-I didn't know she was missing. I thought she was on a trip across Europe''.

Sue's parents had spread that excuse around for all the not-so-close friends, relatives and acquaintances for the sake of discretion. Starting a nationwide search when she could have just fled for her own will would have entailed a scandal for both the Dearbons and Sue herself.

"When was the last time you saw Miss Dearbon?"

"In July of last year, when we broke up. We went separate ways since then."

He sharpened his senses. Being dumped is a good motive for revenge.

"I know this could be a little personal to ask, but why did you break your relationship? Was it a mutual decision or...?”

Wladon seemed embarrassed but answered anyway.

"She did break up, but it was my fault. I... proposed to her, I think before she was ready. Maybe I scared her. She said she was sorry but didn't want to tie herself down to anyone."

"Sorry to hear it", Ralph tried to sound sympathetic.

"I knew she didn't believe in marriage, but I had to try. She is the most amazing woman in the world, and I would have been the luckiest man if she had accepted me. But I doubt there’s someone so lucky. She never got too attached to anyone. She’s a free spirit".

For some reason, Ralph started to feel uneasy.

"Do you know if she had enemies, anyone who would want to harm her for some reason..."

"I don't think she has enemies; she is the kind of person who everybody likes. But she might have gotten into trouble".

"Trouble?", Ralph raised his eyes from his notebook. "Could you explain that?"

"Well, she has a thing for detectives".

He blinked in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, she likes detective stories, mysteries. With passion. She has read all the books about mystery and crimes, and has watched every movie and show with detectives, especially the noir genre. Though her favorite are the ones of The Thin Man series."

"The Thin Man?"

"Yes. You know, the classic films with William Powell and Myrna Loy. They are her favorite movies."

"The Thin… all right". Ralph wrote the title on his notebook. He didn't know whether it would be useful but knowing his target's thoughts and preferences could help him to track her steps.

"She liked this detective thing so much that she liked to play it in the real life. She used to think her life as a mystery, adventurous story; and see herself as a detective amateur."

"Like Nancy Drew, you would say?", Ralph pointed out.

"Sort of", Wladon nodded with a smile. "She used to see hints for crimes or conspiracies everywhere and liked to follow the tracks she considered to be the most important, like it was an actual investigation", he recalled. "Her friends and I didn't mind that hobby of hers, it was one of her little eccentricities that made her so special. But now I think she might have run into something dangerous. Maybe, a real crime."

"I see", Ralph answered. "Do you remember something she could have said about those so-called 'investigations' of hers? Anything remarkable?"  

"I don't know, she liked to follow up so many seeming clues... I remember once she told me she thought there was a dark, criminal organization wherein the highest echelons were involved. I didn't pay her much attention; she was always with those conspiracy theories. I'd wish I had listened to her so I could provide you with more details. I don't know whether she was right or wrong, but I couldn't forgive myself if something has happened to her."

Should he follow up on that "dark organization" track? Maybe he should gather more information from other sources. Until that, it seemed too vague for centering his investigation on it.   

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Thank you for your time, Mr. Wladon."

Ralph was quite sure that Bito Wladon was not responsible in Sue Dearbon's disappearance. Husbands, boyfriends (including former husbands or boyfriends) ... used to be the first suspects when a woman went missing, and usually not without a reason. Ralph's instincts didn't use to fail him. He used to know, just looking into the suspect's eyes, whether they were innocent or guilty. Many times, the husband or boyfriend was the culprit, like Regan Gimlin.

But that was not the case. Wladon's eyes didn't show guilt nor fear. He seemed to be ambitious and condescending, sure, and there was something in his eyes that Ralph didn't like, but he felt it had nothing to do with Sue. He seemed truly worried about her, maybe a bit more than worried. If he had to, Ralph would had bet that he was still in love with her.

Maybe he didn’t like him simply because he was a politician. Ralph had never liked politicians.

He turned to leave, but Wladon called him:

"Mr. Dibny?"

"Yes?" He turned again to him.

"Please find her and make sure she's safe".

"I will", he promised.

His suspicions were correct: Wladon still loved his ex-girlfriend and couldn’t cope with having lost her. Ralph couldn't blame him, though. He would have felt the same if he were in his place. Not that he would have the chance of knowing how it would be like, ever. He never was able to make work his relationships with regular girls, so a top-class one like Sue Dearbon would never even look at him.

That night, he looked again into the file of his case. He took a photo of his target and looked to it for a while. It was a pretty recent one, maybe from a couple of months before she went missing.

He had to admit she was quite attractive. No, she was gorgeous: her dark hair framed an angel face, and she had beautiful blue eyes and a cheerful, sweet smile. Her features were classy and somehow fragile, the kind that made you want to wrap her in your arms forever, to protect her. And something in her eyes was inviting and defying at the same time.

"A free spirit", Wladon had said.

The kind of girl who could drive any man crazy.

The kind of girl who could become any man's dream.

"She has a thing for detectives..."

He shook his head. What the heck was he thinking? Those thoughts were out of character for him. He was a professional, and she was his target. Nothing more.

He would have to be careful or would end up like the guy from that classic movie he watched ages ago... Laura, it was called. In that movie, a detective investigates the murder of a pretty, classy woman (not very different of Sue Dearbon), and he obsesses so much over her that he ends up falling in love with her memory...

(Later, it was revealed that she's alive, but that was not the point).

Sue Dearbon was not dead, he could feel it. She was alive somewhere, but she surely was in trouble, like Wladon said. Why else had she vanished with no trace, nor telling a thing to her worried parents.

She was alive somewhere, waiting to be found. Waiting to be rescued.

And he was the right person to do it.

"She likes detective stories"...

He searched for The Thin Man first movie and found it in one of those TV on demand channels. The main characters, played by Powell and Loy, were Nick and Nora Charles, a married couple who investigated mysteries together. The story was a little predictable and Ralph solved the crime much before the end of the movie, but he liked it. It was quite funny, and the Charles' relationship was couple goals.

But later, when he went to sleep, he had quite a weird dream. He was in The Thin Man universe, he was Nick Charles, and Sue Dearbon was Nora, his wife. And, just like the Charles, they lived an adventurous life, investigating mysteries together. And they were madly in love.

He woke up abruptly, sweating on his futon. Even more than usual.

"What the..." he muttered astonished. "Stop with this nonsense, Ralphie. Now", he ordered himself.

That dream was totally stupid, of course. But somehow it made appear a strange feeling of longing in Ralph's soul that didn't go away for a long time.

TRIVIA:

Bito Wladon, in DC comics, is the ruler of Modora and the villain Sonar. In The Elongated Man miniseries (1992) he's the main antagonist and in Justice League Europe issues #46 to #50 he even tries to steal Sue away from Ralph to make her his consort.

It is stated that Ralph and Sue Dibny characters are inspired in Nick and Nora Charles, from The Thin Man book (by Dashiell Hammett, 1934) and its subsequent film adaptations, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

[dwtspd]

DWTS S24 W7: Movie genres night!

Sorry for the late review. I didn’t have the time to watch the show earlier this week.

It’s movie genres night, which is a fresh twist on the occasional movies night. It feels like forever since we have had a proper opening with dancing. Also it’s kind of part of ABC/Disney’s advertising plan for Descendants 2. I liked the first installation of Descendants but I didn’t think it was big enough to promote on DWTS. It doesn’t really cater to the main demographic. Also, I thought Disney week would have been a more apt theme to promote the movie on (speaking of, when will we have couples dance to Descendants songs for Disney week?) Then again, they did promote Teen Beach 2 a few seasons back, and that movie was a total flop so...yay Descendants!

We also had the immunity challenge, which makes eliminations harder to make sense of because it grants immunity for an elimination based on the previous week’s scores but gives you extra points that count towards next week’s elimination (which is based on this week’s scores.) Kinda loopy.

lastly, Mandy Moore sits in for Julianne who is still on the Move tour. I’m pretty bipolar about her work - I like some and think some are absolutely boring or overrated. I also associate her more with SYTYCD (whoops. Where’s Ruby Castro to mix up shows for me?) I thought she [insert opinion].

Bonner and Sharna Western Paso Doble Len says this dance was “made for Bonner” and Bonner himself seemed pretty excited. I disagree though. Paso requires a lot of intensity in the movement that Bonner still is not comfortable bringing to the table. I think his best moment was when he was dancing with the two Britt/any troop members. The actual dancing also took really long to start. I also disagree with CAI - Bonner isn’t graceful helLO. The moves also felt very disjointed between the complicated staging and side characters. 7-7-8-7 T29

Nancy and Artem Romantic Tango It’s nice seeing Nancy have a good-going week this time. Nancy looked great in that red dress. Artem choreographed a very good dance full of content. I thought the song was a tad too fast and Nancy could have been a bit sharper in some moves. But she had very nice lines, very pretty. 9-9-9-9 T36 Artem is really happy.

Simone and Sasha Silent Film Charleston This dane was so cute! It suited Simone and Sasha really nicely. Loved how Sasha managed to incorporate so many tricks while not loosing sight of the charleston style. The backdrop projection was a great touch. Same with Len - should have more swivel. I don’t see what’s wrong with being on “autopilot” - like Simone said, at this point, they’ve rehearsed so many times that the dance would be muscle memory (or “natural” as Simone puts it). I’m sure that’s what it’s like when she performs her gymnastics routines at the Olympics. I think Mandy was trying to say that Simone needs to connect more with her partner/the audience/reality but kinda misphrased it. 10-9-9-9 T37 I thought they deserve at least one more ten.

And now for a very evil interruption to promote Descendants 2. I’m not a fan of Mal’s (Dove Cameron) new wig, and her dancing was kinda tame next to the other three leads. Sofia Carson (Evie - girl in blue) stood out in particular, but sounded autotuned in the soundtrack. Also it was pretty obvious that the music was pre-recorded and everyone was lipsyncing. The new song sounds great, and I loved that they threw in the techno section from Rotten to the Core with the original choreography.  Cameron Boyce (Carlos - guy without the slouchie hat) looks particularly good with the longer hair.

Descendants and Descendants 2 are both directed by Kenny Ortega who should totally guest judge DWTS again some day.

Now back to the show.

Nick and Peta Action/Spy Argentine Tango Nick plays a spy tasked with impersonating Maks. No not really. I think Nick’s posture was wonky at times but as Len said his confidence was also there. i feel like the mistakes kinda took away from the aura he was trying to bring as a spy. The costume also didn’t help - it looked like he was a random dude helping Peta the spy. 8-8-9-9 T34 i think those 9s were too much. Mandy and Bruno shouldn’t be giving nick the same score as Simone.

Rashad and Emma Horror Paso Doble So Rashad is a ghost who was a serial killer who danced with the dead bodies of his victims. Sounds like something you hear on a ghost-hunting movie. The CGI lightning was soooo fake. At  the beginning I noticed Rashad’s footsteps were kinda heavy and I’m not sure if that was part of his zombie-like character. It got better as the dance went on. Overall this dance was fantastic though! 9-9-10-9 T37

At this point, Erin pointed out that Rashad and Simone were tied in contention for immunity and Emma, playing along, asked “what happens now?” That Erin said “We’ll see what happens when someone gets a perfect score” seems a bit suspect. Like the producers already planned in advance that someone must get a perfect score. Just putting that out there.

David and Lindsay Sci-fi Salsa That’s actually not as big a tongue twister as you think. “Sci-fi salsa”. Hilarious package. I liked the song. Need to check it out. Not a lot of hip action disguised by the robotic movements. Lots of salsa. A small hip hop section at the end. 8-8-8-8 T32

One of the troupe guys looks like Tom Felton on The Flash.

Normani and Val foreign film Argentine Tango Normani hurt her back this week - presumably from trying to learn tricks for the AT. But I think it might be a thing from travelling - you don’t get to sit and sleep in very healthy positions all the time so it could have already put stress on her joints that got worsened by the rehearsals for the AT. This was the first dance from Normani in a while that I felt was actually as good as the judges said it was. Normani’s feet - particularly her toes - were not pointed. But that kinda applies to everyone. I feel like they didn’t really capture the idea of “foreign films” apart from the fact that their song was a foreign language cover of “Perhaps perhaps perhaps”. Like, I dunno, even western films are dramatic. TPTB could have given them something more distinct. 10-10-10-10 T40 predictable, but I can live with this one.

I always like the sort of “trailer” they make for the dance-off. LOL at Nick’s “I like Laurie Hernandez better”.

I’ve listed the dance off pairs as [celeb who picked opponent] vs [celeb who picked style]. Except for the last pair because they don’t get to pick anything.

Simone vs Nancy Chacha Just as well, because neither ladies have done jive or rumba (if I remember correctly). The camera work was a total mess during this dance-off. They cut away from Simone too late after it was her and Sasha’s turn to dance alone, then cut back to Sasha counting time before Nancy’s part ended. I think they should go back to the format where one couple dances first then the next couple goes. Also makes it easier for viewers to see both couples’ full dances. Plus, it gives couples space to use the whole dance floor so the dancing doesn’t feel so on -the-spot. I thought Nancy looked more at ease in the style but had simpler steps, while Simone was did some harder steps but looked a bit stiff and jerky here and there. I like both couples but I would personally give this to Nancy. Simone x4 form judges, Simone wins America’s vote 63%

Rashad vs David Jive “Rashad who do you want to dance against?” “Err, nobody.” hahaha. Anyway, has Rashad done ANY of the dance-off styles? Nevertheless, it was obvious he was going to win. His dance was full of content while David started his section alone with Lindsay off time and had more “filler” moments. Is it a coincidence that they both ended with the same pose? Also, I went “awww” when Sasha and Emma kissed then chortled really loudly when David went in for one too. Rashad x4 from judges, Rashad wins America’s vote 54%

Bonner vs Nick Rumba Bonner caught my eye at the beginning - not sure if it’s the camera angle, but I saw Bonner doing more while Peta was just kinda dancing around Nick. However, I feel like Nick had more fluidity. I saw really great hip action towards the end. Bonner had more memorable choreo and a trick that started out well but he lost balance and stumbled very obviously. I would have given this to Nick. Bonner x3 from CAI, Len and Mandy, Nick x1 from Bruno. Bonner wins America’s vote by 62%.

Normani’s already safe. also safe are Simone, Rashad and...Bonner. Last person safe is David, so Nancy and Nick are eliminated. I’m sad to see Nancy go. Not entirely shocked. More surprising is that Bonner survived. He must be getting lots of votes. He won America’s vote by a pretty big margin against a Bachelor contestant. Granted not the most popular Bachelor, but Bachelor contestants have been known for staying on the show past their due date thanks to a rabid built-in fan base. Plus, Sharna is really popular. This means Bonner and Sharna could shockingly knock someone out of the top four or three.

Note that next week’s elimination includes scores won from the dance off:

Normani - 43 Simone/Rashad - 40 David - 32 Bonner - 32

I might do some data analysis and share the results here soon.

ETA: I did some calculations and it looks like Bonner might not pull off a shocker next week as I first thought.