#Millie finishing filming back in may???

[chirpsythismorning]

Nick from 8flix you’re scaring me 😳

[themaresnest-dumblr]

Stranger Things Thoughts

The other half won’t approve, but as your humble narrator has access to binge watching the entirity of ‘Stranger Things’ from start to finish, decided to see what the fuss was all about.

First impressions?

It’s kind of a crossover between the video game Half Life and Goosebumps, and get the suspicion it was aimed at the Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Stephen King fans type target market.

It’s definitely a ‘binge watch’ series - just don’t see how it would have survived as a traditional one hour and one episode a week to hold people’s attention span, as some of the cliffhangers are weaker than train station cafe tea.

Will is really Fiver from the film version of Watership Down. Or Harry Potter’s scar. Just the scar.

Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp were definitely recruited for reasons other than their acting abilities (ie. appealing to Jimmie Savile/Mrs Robinson types), because both are incredibly piss poor. It becomes quiet frightening as the show progresses how often Caleb McLaughlin’s over-the-top angry guy stuff appears to be to overcompensate for both being so insipid. Finn Wolfhard in particular seems to have the acting abilities of a blobfish.

By contrast, Gaten Matarazzo may have a face only a mother could love, but he carries a frighteningly large number of scenes without anyone really noticing it. He’s the Cartman of the gang, but all in a good way. Aside from being the originator of some of their most ‘cunning plans’, he’s the only one who appears to have learned good real life lessons from playing D&D: that is, to succeed against adversity, you need to stick together as a team, each playing to their strengths to compensate for other’s weaknesses.

Millie Bobbie Brown’s acting chops are formidable, but her constant use as a Deus Ex Machina becomes a little wearing after a while. On the other hand, her transformation into David Vanian of the Damned in Season 2 was hilarious.

Natalia Dyer’s jawbone is made from tungsten. There can be no other explanation.

Charlie Heaton is the reincarnation of Déagol from The Lord Of The Rings movies.

That Billy character had the worst case of being closet gay and aggressively in denial about it since Vaas Montenegro in Far Cry 3.

When Will suddened declares that the Big Bad is back in Season 3, right after his fall out with his buds not wanting to be stuck in his D&D timewarp, isn’t it jarring that no one questions it? After all, mega-convenient way of getting the gang back together on his terms, yes?

David Harbour’s Angry Dad routine gets wearing REALLY quickly in season 3.

Why does Winona Ryder’s character give the constant appearence of being a recovering alcoholic?

Steve Harrington’s reaction to Robin admitting she was a lesbian (while turning him down) is ludicrously out of context with what would actually have happened to any woman admitting as much in the 1980s, especially slap bang in the very year the AIDS panic took off in the U.S. (largely after haemophiliac teen Ryan White contracted it via a dodgy blood transfusion, bringing out into the open American’s utterly f**ked up pay-for-blood donation system into question).

Why are none of the kids playing computer games? At all?

The music is meant to be 80s, but they have some real issues with it as much as the supposed 80s clothes and haircuts.

(Here comes the Madame Lee bit, concentrate!)

Season One - It’s Meant To Be 1983, but ....

Jefferson Airplane - 'She Has Funny Cars' and 'White Rabbit'

By the 1980s, Jefferson Airplane were Jefferson Starship, and the drugged out hippies like so many psychedelics and prog rockers had gone down the AOR/Cock Rock route.

By the timeline of 'Stranger Things' the band was falling apart as their brief period of late 70s success burned out - ironically they were to score their biggest hits as plain old post-court case Starship were forced to go even more commercial, with global No.1's with 1985's 'We Build This City (On Rock 'n' Roll)' and 1987's 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' (the latter the theme song to the hit movie 'Mannaquin') - after which they all but vanished. Jefferson Airplane's back catalogue meanwhile was virtually unsellable at this time.

The inclusion of 'White Rabbit' may have been a scriptwriter's brick joke - as during Eleven's brief runaway in season two, she changes her look to one resembling to a remarkable degree David Vanian of the Damned during the period when, in sheer desperation for a hit outside of the UK, the band did a cover of Jefferson Airplane's most famous track (it flopped, as all covers of this song tend to do).

Toto - Africa

The song which has become an internet meme was released in 1984 ... a year after the events of season one.

The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

The other 'theme song' for Season One, played umpteen times during the series. A hit in the summer of 1982, rush released in panic by CBS after the original taster single flopped.

Contrary to historical revision, The Clash were never a major band in the punk era and largely enjoyed only a few minor hits: the major exception was this Mick Jones written track and drummer Topper Headon's 'Rock The Casbah', both for 1982's 'Combat Rock' - when the band had been told by CBS to write a commercially sellable album or have their contract terminated (contrary to the name, it sounds more like a funk record

But by 1983, The Clash were effectively no more: band 'leader' Joe Strummer's ego couldn't handle 'his bass player' and 'his drummer' getting the band's first two truly global selling singles (the two Strummer singles from the album, 'Straight To Hell' and 'Know Your Rights' flopped), and sacked Jones in a fit of pique, after which Headon resigned.

Brotherhood Of Man - Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree

This one is positively embarrassing. Brotherhood Of Man never recorded this song until 2002.

To be fair, a lot of people do get this Brit band (punk's most famous victims: a former Eurovision song contest winner dropped by their record company abruptly after scoring their final No.1 'Figaro' because they were 'old hat') mixed up with Tony Orlando's Dawn, who did the original global hit.

The Bangles - Hazy Shade Of Winter

The Bangles may have covered it in concert, but it was never released on record until 1987.

Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You

From 1981, two years earlier.

Peter Gabriel - Heroes

Oh FFS! Gabriel's murdering of the late David Bowie classic only happened in 2010 for his cover versions album 'Scratch My Back' aka 'Utterly Out Of Ideas'.

Joy Division - Atmosphere

Four years too late, or five years too early, depending on your point of view.

By the timeline of this, nazi bigot Ian Curtis had done the world a favour and hanged himself four years prior (this song was released as a post-suicide cash in, but flopped), and Joy Division had changed name to New Order precisely to cleanse its association with him (ironically they had a mammoth global hit with 'Blue Monday', one of the songs of the 1980s, in 1983, but it never made the show.

A remixed and cleaned up version of 'Atmosphere' was released as a successful standalone single in 1988, as Joy Division's back-catalogue became more critically reappaised with the success of New Order and the moribund far-right no longer being considered a matter of wide scale concern.

Season Two - It's meant to be 1984, but ...

Devo - Whip It

From 1980. Even more ironically, by 1984 the band were virtual pariahs in the United States having 'sold out' their sound for the sake of their New Zealand fanbase (the only place they were ever truly successful). New Zealand wasn't long in following suit ...

Duran Duran - Girls On Film

Arguable. Three years too late - but the song did very heavy rotation in 1983 and 1984 on MTV, bringing them to mass attention, but never became a U.S. hit - it was the follow up, 'Hungry Like The Wolf' which broke the U.S. for them.

The Clash - This Is Radio Clash

Flop single from 1981, except in Sweden where it reached No.9 - a year later.

Shock Therepy - Can Do What I Want

One year too early.

Fad Gadget - Back To Nature

Again, one year too early.

John Carpenter - The Bank Robbery

One of the most infamous show howlers. The song comes from the 1981 movie 'Escape From New York' ... except it never made it to the soundtrack and indeed remained unknown to the general public until making it on a collection of 21st century 'lost' soundtrack tunes.

The best known example of the show's producers self-indulging rather than keeping things on theme.

Season Three -  It's meant to be 1985, but ...

Stray Cats - Rock This Town

Not only was it four years too late, but the band had split two years earlier and were by that time in the zeitgeist regarded as something of a joke - an attempted reunion in 1986 ended in near empty halls and humiliation all round, as by this time more visually appealing bands like King Kurt and The Cramps had taken up whatever rockabilly audience remained.

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight

This walking abortion of a song from a walking abortion of a band encapsulated everything bland and faux about the 1980s, but it wasn't until the summer of 1986 it appeared.

Go-Go's - Get Up And Go

From 1984 - by which time the Go-Go's had messily folded and were already forgotten. By the following year, the success of Belinda Carlisle further hastened their erasure from the zeitgeist, and it’s only in recent years their ‘legacy’ has been reappraised.

Foreigner - Cold As Ice

Those involved in the show seem to have a major hard on for Foreigner, but putting this song, which sound dated enough upon its release in 1977 - never mind 1985 - was beyond belief.

Trevor Jones - The Pod Dance

Taken from 1983's 'The Dark Crystal' soundtrack - just about the only time having a tune vastly out of place song worked, during the painful to watch sequence where Will attempts to get two of his friends to play a session of Dungeons & Dragons, unable to accept that their interests have moved on to girls - Will's timing being especially poor as both are suffering crises in their respective puppy love lives.

Will - already silly looking enough with his pudding bowl haircut - appears utterly ludicrous to the point of disturbing in a purple wizard outfit complete with hat and starry cloak (he looks like the sort of children's entertainer that gets arrested on child molestation charges), trying aggressively to get his friends to care less.

You'd have to go back to the film 'Ghostworld' for a better sequence of watching childhood friends drifting apart, and 'Stranger Things' succeeded in five minutes what it took a whole film to do, and the choice of music was perfect.

By contrast ...

Dame Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again One of the songs of World War Two, especially to armed forces personnel being sent across the world with the very real prospect of never seeing their loved ones again, it's often been used ironically (eg. the multiple nuclear bomb ending of the film 'Dr Strangelove'), it was also the first single to feature a synthesiser (yes, really!)

Its use at the end of the episode where evil Billy has escaped back to the spider monster thing's lair, knowing now Eleven and the rest of the meddling kids are onto them, is jarring.

Possum River - Stand Up and Meet Your Brother

From 1971 - complete self indulgence. Didn't even go with the carnival sequence.

Yello - Goldrush

A full year too early.

Hmmmmm, onward to Season Four, which is all about The Ginger One, well it will need to have a bloody amazing script to pull it off, as she was someone only stomachable in small doses at the best of times ...

[colorisbyshe]

Great Music Released this June (or late May, lol):

Halo by Pendulum & Bullet for my Valentine. No Pendulum's best but if you want some drum and bass with some growling on top, this is that!

The entire Across the Spiderverse Soundtrack is a good mix of poppy hip hop and hip hop-adjacent music. Not groundbreaking and perhaps best in the context of the film but definitely worth investigating. Stand outs are: Am I Dreaming which has excellent use of string instruments, Annihilate which truly does feel eerie and powerful, and Silk and Cologne which has a great dance rhythm. Mona Lisa by Dominic Fike isn't on the official soundtrack but is from the film and it's just good fun. Not reinventing the wheel but it doesn't need to.

Ready for You by She. I've been a longtime fan of She and love his signature sound. Just good electronic/chiptune music.

Tokyo Midnight by My First Story. Just some good jpop-rock that has some hype guitar/drum momentum mixed in.

Goddess by Monaleo & Flo Milli. Misandry anthem. "I said if God is a man, what does that make me?"

I Like U by Tove Lo. Just good dance music, not exceptional but a blast regardless.

Love Groovin' by De De Mouse. Give japanese future funk music a shot, please and thank you.

Janelle Monae released a new album. It's a good album (but perhaps not a great Janelle album) that is WAAY too short and hurt my feelings by splicing some of its best tracks in half?? It's an album that DEMANDS you listen to it front to back (and kinda falls apart if you don't) buuut if you want individual tracks to sample befor ediving in for the 30 minutes of full album joy--I recommend the chill and sensual vibes of Water Slide, the hypnotic grooves of Champagne Shit (although know the song finishes in black sugar beach!), or the rhythmic and intense Paid in Pleasure which will make you want to rock your hips. Know Better is gonna be on high rotation, too.

LISTEN TO THE FEELING BY SHINEE.

Snow Strippers' new album feels a bit like a rave being thrown in the sewers and the muck keeps gunking up the sound system. Glitchy, dark, and yet danceable, this album holds up and reminds me a lot of EDM music of yester-decade. It's a strongly cohesive album, so you can't go wrong starting off with any track but I'm particularly fond of Lacerate, Again, and Under a Siege if you don't know where to start! (This album actually came out in early May but I only knew of Lacerate til recently!)

Wave by Hathaw9y. I have not been able to listen to the rest of the album because this song is just on repeat. If you want a warm cry, I think this simply yet evocative song is for you!

Don't Say Love by Leigh-Ann from Little Mix. Sounds like 2000s british dance pop. Into it. I'm really into pop music... being poppy again.

Miserable by Petit Brabancon, a JROCK group with Dir En Grey and L'arc En Ciel members. If you recognize those names, CHECK OUT THE TRACK!

I'm publishing this early because Shinee is going to get a whole music review when their album comes out. Plus, this post is getting long.

[jerrienelock]

Without You - Sadie Sink

Takes place after the filming of Stranger Things Season 3

Exhausted.

Sadie is exhausted from all her sleepless nights. The sleep she longs for, no longer around, not since you left. She misses your presence, your hugs, your delicate words, your gentle touches. She just wants to be in your arms relishing in your radiant warmth, feeling your loving kisses to the back of her head.

She just wishes you had told her how you were feeling before that fateful day happened.

Splashes of water coat her face, trying to wake herself up, and cleanse her mind of you so she is prepared for her first interview since you left. Sadie shuts the water off, her hands now firmly on the sink. Her gaze locks with her reflection. Her once smooth skin, disturbed with protruding deep purple bags under her broken teal eyes. Her lips automatically dropping into a deep miserable frown, she finds no need for her mouth to break away from that position for it was practically engraved into her skin.

But soon she will have to tear it out and upturn the frown in a mask of joy and perfection. She doesn't want to do that, she just wants to go home and cry into one of your hoodies and not come out for days on end or until filming starts up again.

She should be strong, but without you there it feels like her whole world is slowly falling apart, and just a gentle push can send it tumbling down. You were her rock, her saviour, her superhero that fends off all the bad guys for her.

But now that you're gone, she has to do that all alone.

An interview without you at her side feels so daunting, she won't be able to clutch onto your hands when she feels a slight bit of nerves. She won't be able to rely on you to get through the merciless questions that will only be worse, now that you're gone.

"Sades?" A soft voice calls from behind the bathroom door. Sadie quickly stands up straight and regains her composure just as the door opens to reveal Millie. "Oh Sades," The Fifteen-year-old says sympathetically opening her arms for the redhead.

Sadie instantly buries herself into the younger girl. "I miss her." She mutters into Millie's shoulder.

"I miss her too."

Millie tightens the hug and she stands there holding Sadie with all her might, afraid that if she were to let go the older girl will break down and shatter right in front of her. But she could feel Sadie begin to sob and heave in her arms. "It's okay," Millie hushes the girl, her one hand rubbing Sadie's back delicately.

After a few more minutes Sadie tears away brushing away her running tears, "I got given the camera she would do her diary entries on. Could we maybe watch it later, at my house with the boys?"

Millie nods, "We would love to do that. Now come Sades, we have to go, it's going to start soon."

The interview was the longest two hours of Sadie's life, she wanted to hide away from all the questions and sympathetic looks she had been given throughout. Noah had noticed her discomfort and had his hand placed on hers comforting the hurting redhead all throughout. The rest of the cast had helped with the questions she had found quite hard to answer, the one's involving you, and how she was feeling since your passing.

But now she sits in her living room cuddled into Millie, with your stuffed dog, watching as the boys try to hook up your old camera, all arguing as they figure out what cable goes where. This earns a small smile from Sadie.

Soon the boys get the camera working and instantly your bright cheery face pops up on the TV. Sadie sits up a little straighter at the sight of you, her heart both racing and aching at the same time. Millie pulls the girl closer to her, in a way of further comforting her but also to make room for Caleb who wanted to sit next to the pair while the others sat on the ground in front of the couch.

"Hello!" Your voice exclaims through the speakers. "Welcome to Diary Entry One! I am as you can see on the set of Stranger Things Season Two!" The camera flicks around showing the bustling set before flicking back around.

The cast knew exactly when this first took place, the first day of filming just after they had all met Sadie.

"We got a new girl here as well, her name is Sadie Sink." You gush into the camera, a pink hue evident on your cheeks. "She's really nice... and pretty." You murmur the last part looking off to the side. "Anyways! Let's go see her!" You quickly rush off to where you had been looking at, camera in tow and stop at a then fifteen-year-old Sadie, "Hello bloody tampon, say hi to the camera!"

Everyone laughs, including Sadie who remembers that exact moment.

"What did you just call me?" Sadie questions in disbelief and You laugh, "You heard me." Before Sadie could say anything else, you quickly leave and shut the camera off.

"Hello!" You shout  with Finn alongside you, "This is, drum roll please Wolf boy," Finn drums his hands on his lap, "Diary Entry Two!" You and Finn cheer loudly capturing the attention of some of the crew members behind you. They immediately hush you both as they film a scene involving Sadie and Caleb. You and Finn quietly apologise before making your way over to Dacre who speaks with Natalia and Joe.

"Dacre!" Finn calls out causing the man to stop and turn to them, a bright smile on his face.

"Hello Lacey, Mike. What can I do for you?"

"Can you answer some-" Finn begins but you cut him off abruptly

"Is Sadie single?"

Finn turns to you and the camera wide-eyed. Dacre raises a brow, throwing a quick glance over to Natalia and Joe. "I don't know? Why, are you interested?"

Your voice sounds panicked from behind the camera, "No! I mean, Finn is."

"Y/n!" Finn shouts, "I don't!" He quickly grabs the camera from your grip and turns it to face a laughing you before cutting the feed.

"Oh, so that's how that rumour sprouted. You look so scared," Sadie giggles and Finn sends her a mocking glare.

"I didn't know she was going to say that okay?" He chuckles.

The next video rolls on and it shows both Sadie and you.

You set the camera down in front of Sadie who was busy getting her hair done. She eyes the camera cautiously as the stylist ducks out the way slightly. "This is Diary Entry number three... I think," You sit down on a chair next to her, your stylist moving in to prep your hair. "We are almost finished filming!" You smile and look over to Sadie who does a quick glance at you. "Anyways, it's time."

"Time for what?" Sadie quiers

"Time for the questions silly," You laugh tilting your head back as your stylist  combs your hair. "First question, how has your time on set been?"

"It's been great! Everyone is amazing!"

"Everyone? You sure you don't mean just me?"

Sadie giggles, "Sure."

A few more questions were asked, them mainly being about how she has felt about her time acting and being forced in a room with you and the others. She had opened up slightly about how she felt kind of isolated in the beginning due to everyone already knowing each other until You and Millie kindly took her under your wing.

"Okay last question, do you have eyes for anyone?" You smirk and Sadie goes silent.

"No comment," You gasp.

"What! Sadelyn Sinkhole does have eyes on someone," You lean forward much to your stylests dismay as she pulls you back. "Who is it?"

Once again Sadie replies, "No comment." and you huff.

"I will get it out of you. It may not be today, but it will happen someday."

Sadie's cheeks turn pink and she can't help but hide her smile in your stuffed teddy, reminiscing about how she had ended up spilling her feelings to you not even a day later. To her surprise back then you had reciprocated her feelings and even managed to steal her first kiss, she doing the same to you.

The next video rolls on with you beaming once again in the camera.

"Hello!" You exclaim once again, in the background was the cast in their season two attire watching you with smiles. "This is Diary Entry number four, we have now finished the infamous season two!" The group breaks out into cheers and a round of applause, and you place the camera down on a stand so that everyone was in the frame and move back to go sit next to Sadie, pushing Finn out of the way in the process.

"I can't believe you couldn't tell she liked you!" Finn exclaims gesturing to the action you had pulled. "Your girlfriend literally pushed me out of my seat," He laughs making Sadie snigger.

"So Caleb Mclaughlin." You start, capturing the young boy's attention, "How was it like to kiss the gorgeous Max Mayfield, the infamous MadMax," You tease and the boy bows his head in embarrassment, Everyone laughs and so do you but it was cut short as you began to cough. "You okay Y/n?" Sadie questions and you nod while Sadie not so sneakily brings her hand into yours.

"Wait!" Millie jumps in disbelief her eyes trained at the holding hands, "Were you two a couple then?" She flickers her gaze over to Sadie who turns as red as her hair, "Oh my God! We thought you two got together just before Season Three." Millie smiles slapping Sadie's leg jokingly, "You dirty dogs!"

The entry's continue, this time mostly showing you and Sadie alone. Most of the time, your hands were wrapped around her waist while she holds the camera up at you two in various locations.

"First date!" Sadie exclaims looking lovingly over at you.

*

"Can you see me?" You question trying to look over into the camera to see if you were in the frame- you in fact were not.

* "Sades!" You call out for her from her living room. "I got you something!" The camera flicks down to a necklace with a small pendant in your hand.

While that video shows, Sadie herself glances down at the necklace you had given her and fiddles with it, her heart fluttering in her chest.

*

"Do you think they'll freak out when we tell them?" Sadie questions fiddling with your hand as the camera shows you both walking back onto the set for a reading. You nod, "Oh, most definitely." The camera cuts and then turns back onto an unknowing Millie waiting for you both at the entrance to the reading.

"Y/n! Sadie!- Woah." Millie's eyes go wide as she spots your hands, "Are you two?" She gestures between the both of you. Sadie confirms with a kiss of your cheek causing her to squeal and run in to tell everyone.

* "Hello! And we're back! Season Three of Stranger Things, it's your favourite character Aunt Helga speaking." You laugh at your own words, "I'm joking, it's the best character out of the show, Dustins' sister Lacey. Today we are as usual on our first day back at filming." You cheer, "This is Diary Entry number five."

"Y/n! Where are you?" Dacre calls out in the background, "You have to go get pepper-sprayed in the face!" You widen your eyes slightly, and Dacre appears behind you, "It's just water don't worry."

The camera cuts but then is turned back on to show a smiling Dacre, he flips the camera around and it shows you being dunked in the Henderson's kitchen sink by Caleb and Sadie. "I'm drowning!" You yell out gasping for breaths. "I'd rather you drown than go blind, Lacey," Sadie comments in Max's character. Caleb goes to turn off the tap but instead accidentally turns it on full speed, the water hitting you right in the mouth making you choke and develop a coughing fit. "I didn't mean to literally drown her!" Sadie yells and Caleb throws his hand up defensively, "My hands slipped."

That scene was a blooper itself but yet it was still kept in the actual show.

Many more diary entries ended up being full of bloopers, you hanging with Sadie and sometimes the rest of the crew until it started to change.

There you stand in front of the camera, your hands clutching your chest tightly, "My chest hurts." You croak out, tears swelling in your eyes from the pain.

The cast visibly sit a little straighter at the sight of you.

You stand there for a few more seconds just holding onto your chest before finally you drop your hands down and stand straighter. You furrow your brows, "It's gone. I don't know what it is but it's been happening a lot lately." You announce but quickly shrug it off as you hear your name being called. You grab onto the camera and run out where Sadie is standing waiting for you with a bright white smile. You grab onto your girlfriend's hand and you walk off to your next scene.

Another video rolls on this time showing you setting the camera down in a position so that it showed the set you were on. You are then seen dashing back onto set and getting onto your starting position with Gaten at your side. The video goes on as normal with the familiar star court scene and then all the way to the end, with Dacre having moved it for you to get the right angles where you stand near a casted officer, signalling the end of the filming process.

"Cut," The director yells and cheers are heard all around. You jump up and hug the nearest person to you, this being Sadie and enrapturing her into a joyful kiss before moving on to everyone else.

The mood is noticeably ecstatic and everyone is busy cleaning up, with you having a quick word with Sadie before going to head for your still recording camera, shouting a 'Shut up' to Caleb who had mocked what you said to your girlfriend. Your smile is bright and inviting until it drops to a stone cold expression.

And then you were seen clutching onto your chest, feet staggering and skin paling before dropping to the floor.

"Y/n!" Gaten screams hurtling over to you, just in time to catch you. You weren't moving and the camera shows it, it shows everything happening at that exact moment. It shows Gatens terrified face as he shakes you, trying to wake you up. It shows crew members flying over to you in a hurry. It shows your girlfriend and the others staring at you horrified and worried.

"Someone call an ambulance!" The director yells shoving past all crew members who were just crowded around you. Immediately chest compressions were started.

"Oh God," Caleb murmurs his teary eyes entranced on the TV. He wants to look away but he can't.

Sadie sniffles, her heart aching tremendously at the screen.

Millie and Finn hold a sobbing Sadie in the far corner of the screen, while Noah is seen dashing for the camera and turning it off.

They thought it was the end but another clip rolls and a bloodshot eyed Sadie Sink appears in one of your hoodies, holding your stuffed dog close to her chest. She was in your dressing room, it was known by the pictures you had placed on the walls of your family and the cast behind Sadie.

"Hi Y/n," Sadie croaks out, voice breaking instantly. She can't speak, her throat hurts and her tears just flow out coating your stuffed animal with her tears. "I miss you. It's only been a few hours since you left us, but I miss you so much." She brings your hoodie to wipe away a few of her tears, "I just want to say I love you."

Sadie can't look at the video anymore, her heart aching in great amounts in her chest, her bottom lip quivering noticeably. She turns and shoves her head directly into a saddened Millie who immediately takes her into her arms. Sadie wishes it was you instead.

She can still hear her own shattering voice in the video, each word breaking and every sentence ending with a cry. A cry of mourning. A cry for you. A cry for you to just come back and tell her you're not going anywhere. A cry for her broken heart.

Sobs wrack Sadie's body and a loud cry exits her making the crying cast members cast looks of sorrow, heartbreak and pain at her.

The video proceeds and Sadie is now still sat in your chair, this time not saying anything. Your stuff dog is latched to her chest, her chin sitting on top of the toy while she runs little patterns on her knee- something you would do to her when you felt nervous in interviews or big events. And then the door quietly opens and Sadie is seen turning back abruptly, her head shaking furiously.

"No, no, no, no," She sobs as your dad steps foot into the trailer there to retrieve your stuff. "Please can I keep the camera, please!" Your dad shakes his head sadly, tears in his own eyes as he reaches down to grab hold of the device.

"Please!" Sadie begs, "I can't live without her. I can't live without seeing her!"

The camera cuts off.

***

Masterlist; celebrities

[yahnnieee]

Part 2

-Rianne

I woke up the next day, the sun beaming out, the curtains are slightly open making the room lit up with sun. I sat down in the edge of the bed and drank some water from my tumbler. After I went to the bathroom to get ready. It was 7 am and I'll be meeting the cast on 8, after taking a bath. I took my luggage and took some Clothes. Black dress that is above my knee, black knee high boots, beige coat and black Gucci shoulder bag . I don't put makeup, just tint. I looked in the full body mirror. I took my phone and wallet and walked out of my room, I knocked in the next door waiting for Aidan to open it. After a few seconds the door opened and a head peeked out I tilted my head I opened the door and sat down on his bed.

"Are you gonna take like a whole Century to get ready?" I asked raising a brow, he looked at me his face scrunched up while taking a light washed polo.

"Shut up!" He whined and put on the polo, after a few minutes he was done he put on his shoes and we both head out. Walking out of the building we tried not to put all attention on us we saw Leo and Carson waiting for us they walked closer to us and escorted us to a car waiting, after a few we were on our way to the place where were going to meet up.

-Louis

It was the day I'm going to be meeting the rest of the cast for 'Princess's secret Side' I knew Millie was going to be there along with Finn and some other friends, but we don't know who is going to be the Main starring cast along side me. I got ready wearing a black polo with black ripped jeans and hoodie over it. I went out while looking at Rianne's insta account. It's weird since she normally post new things everyday but she hasn't since yesterday. My sister greeted me before I completely got put of the house and hoped in the car. After a few we arrived in the place. I got out and walked inside and to the place where everyone was in. I entered the room and got greeted with chattering.

"Hey" I greeted and everyone looked at me. Millie smiled and got up wrapping her arms around me pulling me in a hug, Millie has always been this sister figure of mine, after a while the director of the film went inside and we all sat down in silence.

"So, you are all going to be part of our core cast alongside 2 of this actor and actress. So let me introduce you who is going to be the Brianna Wang" Our director greeted us and explained he looked at the man in black beside the door and said.

"They may come in" the guy opened the door and 2 figures came inside. My heart then started beating rapidly seeing the girl, it was Rianne... And her brother Aidan.

"The Gallagher siblings will be Brianna and Ace Wang" The director explained, everyone was silent for a sec but then Finn stood up, walk up to them and spoke.

"Hi! I'm Finn, it's nice to meet you" Finn introduce himself to the siblings stretching his arm out for a hand shake. Aidan took it and smiled, Sadie who was sitting next to me stood up and run towards Rianne smiling in the process. She stood infront of her and stretched it put for a handshake. Rianne took it and smiled.

"I'm Sadie... I know you.. I follow you in Insta" Sadie said and looked down.

"Nice to meet you Sadie.. I know you too, I watched Stranger Things and fell inlove with your character" Rianne replied, her voice calm and soft. Millie stood up and walked over to her too,

"Millie Bobby Brown, nice to meet you Rianne" Millie said smiling.

"Omg!! Hi Millie! I'm a fan by the way" Rianne said excitedly.

"Aww!! So sweet of you, I luv u too" Millie said pulling Rianne in a hug.

"Come on sit here" Millie said and walked over to me, Rianne then sat down in Sadie's previous seat her brother also sat down next to Jaeden. After settling everyone looked at our director as he speak.

"So since filming starts in a few weeks you'll be hanging out more so that you'll be closer and you know don't get akward, and also Louis and Rianne, try not to get akward. If you can" The director said pointing at me and Rianne. She nodded and looked towards her brother who was sitting across her. After a few more discussion our director said his goodbye and left us here. Silence creep out in the room making a thick air of akwardness.

"Wanna go get Starbucks?" Sadie asked braking the silence. Rianne nodded and they both stood making everyone look at them.

"What?" They both said in Unison making everyone grab there things and stand up. I stood next to Rianne, she was about until my shoulders since she was pretty tall, she looked up at me and blushed? Maybe I'm just seeing things.

"Let's go?" She asked Sadie

"Yeah Les go!" Sadie said and went out of the room followed by us, Rianne and my hands would brush from time to time making my blush really lightly. After a walking for a few minutes we were out of the building, we went inside a Limo that was waiting and hopped inside.

-20 minutes later

We got out of the limo and to the mall.

"So let's go in pairs?" Millie asked glancing at everyone, we nodded and started pairing.

Louis x Rianne

Millie x Sophia

Caleb x Sadie x Gaten

Jaeden x Wyatt

Jeremy x Chosen

Noah x Asher

Aidan x Avi

We then went our own ways, Millie and Sophia going in Louis Vuitton, Caleb, Sadie and Gatten went to get Starbucks for us, and the rest I don't know where they went. Rianne and I didn't really know where to go so we're just walking somewhere we don't even know.

"So?" I asked breaking the silence. She didn't answer

"Where'd you wanna go?" I continued asking.

-Rianne

I was lost in thought, till I heard Louis' voice I snapped out and looked at him.

"Yea? Sorry I was lost in thought, mind asking what it is again?" I asked.

"I said where do you wanna go?" He asked.

"Sketchers, I wanna look at some rubber shoes" I replied. He nodded and we both walked towards Sketchers.

"so you like rubber shoes too?" Louis asked out of nowhere.

"I mean yeah there comfy" I said smiling a little. After talking we continued walking and reached the store, I went inside and looked at the displays, I felt someone's eyes on me so I looked back and saw Louis staring at me. I walked closer to him and poked him.

"Hey, you good?" I asked poking him. He snapped out of his trance and looked at me.

"oh yeah sorry.. you done picking?" He asked, I shook my head and replied:

"Nah, half of the displays, I already have it... I guess we should find the others" I replied and started walking towards the exit, Louis catched up and started making jokes making me giggle and laugh. My phone then dinged making me pick it an spooked who texted me. It was Aidan, I opened the message and saw

'Girl,Where you at? Millie said we should meet up in Starbucks'

'K sure'

I put my phone back in my bag and looked at Louis.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Brother, he said ' Millie told us to meet in Starbucks' and so we'll be able to order." I replied and started walking towards Starbucks. After a few while we reached the store and saw the others sitting in the couches. They waved at us and we started walking towards them.

"You guys ordered already?" Louis asked.

"No, you didn't give us what we should order" Sadie said making us thinks again... She was right we didn't tell them what to buy..

"what's yours, Girl?" Sadie asked looking at me.

"Oreo Frappe" I replied, Sadie looked at me and said:

"Is that Frappe with Oreos?" I nodded and she started asking the others. After she walked away with Caleb. I lay my head down in the table since I was tired, it was now 6:43 pm and I'll be going back to the hotel after 3 hours. after a few Caleb and Sadie came back with our drinks. We chatted and talked while drinking, after finishing our drinks we all went out and I thought no fans saw us... I was wrong. Teens started running towards us asking to take pics and autographs. I let them do there thing and after what seemed to be hours they were done. we all continued our way around the mall strolling and just talking about things and stuffs.

-After 2 hours

After 2 hours of walking and talking we were now finally going back to our hotels.

"Guys we'll get going now" Aidan said and stood next to me, since he was 2½ inches smaller than me I put my forearm in his shoulder. He looked at me and glared.

"You really are embarrassing me!" Aidan said and took my arm off his shoulder, we then heard giggling from the casts. I looked at them and smiled shyly then look away. After saying our goodbyes both Me and Aidan got picked up by Leo and Carson.

-After getting home

I got out and walked towards my room and plopped myself down the bed. I went to the bathroom to shower and do my skincare routine. Minutes after I was done, I walked out of my bathroom to my bed and got ready to sleep it was now 10 pm and I do normally sleep at this time and I was pretty tired. I lay down and play some water sounds and stared in the ceiling.

'Filming starts next week... Better not start falling more inlove with Louis' I said in mind and started slowly falling asleep.

[tabloidtoc]

Life & Style, April 26

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Khloe Kardashian is a total fake

Page 1: Lady Gaga in a wedding dress on the set of House of Gucci in Rome

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: The Top 10 SAG Awards Looks -- Mindy Kaling, Jamie Chung, Amy Adams, Sarah Levy, Kerry Washington

Page 5: Kaley Cuoco, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Morales, Viola Davis, Lily Collins

Page 6: Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen celebrated their 12-year anniversary, posting heartfelt tributes to each other on social media, but their relationship hasn't always been so rock solid -- Tom admitted that Gisele has made a lot of sacrifices for their marriage and she hated living in Boston because she had no friends there and felt so alone because Tom was never around; things got so bad they sought counseling, which was the wake-up call that Tom needed -- he promised to make changes and he agreed to quit the Patriots and sign with a team in a location that was more desirable to Gisele and Tom stuck to his word and he came the new quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and since moving to Florida, Tom and Gisele have never been happier and they have date nights every week and always make sure to communicate -- it wasn't easy, but they're both really proud of how far they've come

Page 7: After multiple delays, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc have finally filmed the highly anticipated Friends reunion special and they all got really emotional when they saw the set and being there brought back so many fond memories -- it's the first time in 17 years that fans will get to see the entire cast together since the show went off the air in 2004 -- afterwards, everyone went to Jen's house for dinner -- each of the stars was paid $2.5 million to appear in the special

* Throwback -- Dolly Parton in 1965

* Biggest Spenders of the Week -- Bobby Flay, Aaron Rodgers, Vanessa Hudgens, Angelina Jolie

Page 8: Drew Barrymore revealed that, after three divorces and a string of failed romances, she's sworn off marriage altogether -- Drew doesn't need a man to feel complete and she's happiest hanging out with family and friends -- if the right guy comes along later down the line, great, but for now, she's content with being single

* Becoming one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood has gone straight to Ana de Armas' head -- the cast and crew are often left waiting for the actress to emerge from her trailer on the set of the new action thriller The Gray Man -- Ana's got a lot going on and she's juggling several different projects, as well as photo shoots and phone calls with her team and people don't stay mad at her for too long, but they have nicknamed her Ana de Diva, but she isn't upset by the scathing moniker because she's a big name now, and with that comes a lot of responsibility and the way she sees it, there are worse things than being called a diva

Page 10: The Week in Photos -- Orlando Bloom got a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny

Page 11: Jennifer Lopez in jeans at a photoshoot for InStyle, Priyanka Chopra dancing around her backyard in a bright yellow dress

Page 12: Animal Tales -- Gilles Marini posed for a pic with his African grey parrot Anya, singer Madison Beer leaned in for a kiss from a caramel-colored stallion, Kate Beckinsale's feline Clive seemed less than thrilled when Kate strapped him to her chest in a carrier

Page 13: Kaia Gerber and her precious pooch Milo snuggled up in bed, Malin Akerman and a goat

Page 16: Stars Behaving Badly -- Lisa Vanderpump let her parched dog drink from her water glass at a restaurant in West Hollywood, Maisie Williams went topless under a translucent jacket while shooting a new TV series about the Sex Pistols in London, HGTV Design Star host Allison Holker used a megaphone to give out instructions to Property Brother Jonathan Scott on the show's finale, Calvin Klein wasn't worried about stains when he shoved a pile of spaghetti into his mouth at West Hollywood's Mauro Cafe

Page 18: Say What?! Helena Bonham Carter who turns 55 in May, Chelsea Handler who admits she consumes mushrooms almost every day, Olivia Munn who is the proud pet parent of rescue dogs Frankie and Chance, Melissa McCarthy on doing her own stunts in Thunder Force, Brian Tyree Henry on Godzilla vs. Kong co-star Millie Bobby Brown

Page 20: Pete Davidson has officially moved out of his mother's home and into a $1.2 million luxury high-rise condo on Staten Island, and it's all thanks to his new girl girlfriend, Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor -- the Saturday Night Live star showed off his two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom bachelor pad during a Zoom call -- Phoebe is a down-to-earth girl, but she doesn't want to date a man who lives in his mom's basement and she thinks Pete's mom, Amy, is awesome and says it's a great thing that they're super close, but being in a long-distance relationship is difficult enough so Pete and Phoebe need some alone time when they're together, which was almost impossible with his mother hanging out upstairs -- Pete knew it was time; he just needed that gentle nudge

Page 21: Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell were spotted in NYC together, sparking speculation that the former Bachelor couple have rekindled their relationship -- the pair parted ways while the show was still airing after photos of the graphic designer at a plantation-themed college party in 2018 surfaced on social media -- Rachael made a mistake but she owned up to it and was willing to learn from it and it didn't change her feelings for Matt or vice versa and Matt was in love with Rachael too and he couldn't just turn those feelings off so no one would be surprised if they decided to reconcile

* Michael B. Jordan's girlfriend Lori Harvey was left reeling over photos of the actor sharing a smooch with Chante Adams on the set of their new movie A Journal for Jordan -- of course, they were just shooting a scene for the film, but Lori was still annoyed and she asked Michael about it, and he brushed it off and explained it was part of the job but Lori still has her suspicions and she's been thinking about dropping by the set just so she can keep a very close eye on them

Page 22: Cover Story -- Khloe Kardashian living a lie -- devastated by an unretouched photo leak, Khloe faces claims she's a body positivity hypocrite as she demands the viral image be taken down

Page 26: Alex Rodriguez to Ben Affleck: Back off my fiancee -- Ben gushes about ex Jennifer Lopez in a new article and A-Rod isn't happy about it (not quite Bennifer yet :)

Page 28: Prince Harry overwhelmed with work -- Harry struggles to adjust after trading his cushy royal role for a variety of normal gigs -- though his job for BetterUp is primarily remote, added stress comes in the form of Harry's Spotify and Netflix deals, plus growing charity work -- Harry finds all of his new, non-royal titles fresh and exciting, but while he's a great person, some in his inner circle say Harry's kind of dumb and worry whether he can handle the pressure

Page 30: Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli life after prison -- reunited following months spent behind bars, Lori and Mossimo try to pick up the pieces -- prison definitely took a toll on Mossimo and he doesn't expect sympathy, but he's still struggling to adjust to what he went through; it really broke him down and forced him to reevaluate his life

Page 32: Who Lives Here? Lil Nas X

Page 34: Entertainment

Page 35: Star Review -- Jonathan Van Ness

* As Seen On-Screen -- Meghan Markle wore a dark green coat while walking through Archie's Chick-Inn during her CBS interview which was J. Crew's Perfect Lightweight Jacket

Page 36: Go Green at Home -- reduce your carbon footprint even more with these eco-chic essentials, because our planet can use all the help it can get

Page 37: Beauty Crush -- get Jurnee Smollett's look from her makeup artist Emily Cheng for the SAG Awards

Page 38: Spring Beauty Must-Haves -- these product picks aim to reign as new-season favorites -- Camila Mendes

Page 40: Diva or Down-to-Earth? Rihanna bagged her own haul at Bristol Farms in Beverly Hills -- down-to-earth, Shay Mitchell worked from home with help from her most trusted assistant daughter Atlas -- down-to-earth, during a photo shoot in Malibu Brooke Burke got a makeup refresh from a personal primper -- diva

Page 42: Social Stars Posts of the Week -- Sofia Vergara sneaking Heidi Klum a chip on the set of America's Got Talent, Neil Patrick Harris finished the first season of The Irregulars while quarantining in Toronto, Jared Leto pretended to pluck the moon straight out of the sky during a masked outing in Italy, Beyonce treated her daughter Blue Ivy to a meal at Nobu in Malibu

Page 44: Horoscope -- Taurus Gigi Hadid turned 26 on April 23

* They're Not Together, But They Should Be -- Capricorn Charles Melton and Virgo Zendaya

Page 48: What I'm Into -- Kameron Westcott of The Real Housewives of Dallas

[kaypeace21]

i LOVE your analysis especially byler ones so please don't take this as hate, it's the last thing i want to do. but while i love the byler theories do you actually think the duffers are smart enough to realize the potential/brave enough to follow through on the relationship. bc tbh i think our viewpoint is skewed i don't think anyone but byler shippers see the canon possibility. and also it really seems like m/leven is going to be endgame? just wanted to know more of your thought process

Even if byler never happens- I’m 100% sure mileven won’t be endgame XD. Regardless of byler, Mike and El are just not going to happen. (Even if they’re ‘dating’ in s4). I could try to explain the reasons why I think byler will be endgame though. I’ll give the cliffnotes version. This will probably be a mess- because focusing on all the reasons isn’t as good as analyzing , each reason as it’s own separate post, in depth). 

Why mileven isn’t endgame

- The duffers said, while filming ST, El was supposed to die in s1 (glad that didn’t happen). And this was also their plan when pitching their show ‘Montauk’ (later retitled ST), saying that the hypothetical  s2 sequel would be about the boys returning to their town 10 years later. Mileven was never ‘planned end-game’. They also describe mileven kissing but never mention the word ‘love’ like how Jancy was described in the Montauk pitch. Nancy’s bio says “ she will experience love for the first time.”  But when they describe mileven, they say, “If Mike is the Elliot of our show, Eleven is our “E.T.” Like that’s … not romantic, Duffers. And if it was supposed to be … WTF did you guys watch the same film? 0-O

- In the byler centric s2, the Duffers kept mileven separated. And the mileven kiss wasn’t written in the show. Millie pretty much said “they had to do it.” Much to Matt’s confusion but then the Duffers agreed. And used ‘every breath you take’ (a song about divorce), and just by coincidence their 2nd back-up  song was also a song about a divorce? Nah, they were trolling.

- Most of the women (Nancy & Max) in the show critique Mileven saying Mike treats her as if she’s stupid, can’t take care of herself, or as she is a possession. 

-in the first ep of s3 almost all the guys (who had/have gfs) Hopper, Lucas, and Dustin all criticize the mileven relationship and think it’s unhealthy.

Hopper says “ They’re spending entirely too much time together… It is constant.It is constant! Okay? That is not normal, that is not healthy! ”

Lucas mocks Mike, saying “ Oh El, I wish we could make out forever and never hang out with any of our friends.”

Dustin says when they flake on him, “It’s bullshit, I just got home!” (insert Nancy calling Stancy ‘bullshit’)

and before this  Dustin talks about Romeo & Juliet (while mileven is out of frame). R&J is all about the dangers of not knowing the difference between love and infatuation. Juliet after Romeo is banished just complains about how in love/sad she is but never pursues looking for him (sound familiar)? R&J claimed that they were in love with each other after knowing each for a few days and deciding to get married-sabotaging the closest relationships they had with their friends/family (all in the name of ‘true love’) . Similarly Mileven thought they were in love after only a week of knowing each other, and the second they are reunited they start dating and spend all their time with each other. El is allowed out of the house (and her friends are allowed to visit), but El hasn’t interacted with Max nor Will? They spend almost everyday in her room just making out. Mike puts very little effort into integrating her into his life or as part of the group. The only time they go out- is for Mike to show off El to Dustin like a possession- then before El can even do the boding activity with the group (with the radio tower)- Mike convinces her to leave to make out. They are both complicit in this and they both bring out the worst in each other and they make each other blinded to their loved ones’ feelings.

- El literally asks Max “How do I know what I like?” Do I have to explain why this could be problematic? She even says “I don’t know”, when Max asks if Mike is a good kisser.You can call me ‘ableist’ my abused-autistic ass will disagree. But El is not ready for a romantic relationship! it makes perfect sense for El to be confused by the distinctions of romantic, platonic, and familial love- when the first 12 years of her life she didn’t receive any form of love , PERIOD! And she is not like normal abuse victims (she has never had proper socialization with peers her own age or even adults).All she had was television. She latches herself on to anyone who is kind to her (something I used to do). Without Mike she used Max as a replacement almost immediately, and even starts repeating/mirroring the things she says (specifically coping phrases from her …over 6 times!). She’s also susceptible to doing what others say or want her to do, “dumping his ass” (with Max’s validation and encouragement). El might love Mike but I don’t think it’s romantic, she latched on to the first person that was kind to her. Before their first kiss she asked Mike “Will you be like my brother?” And she’s hurt when he says “no”, asking “Why not?”. He then kisses her (she watches a lot of soap operas and she assumes it must be ‘romantic love’). You’re telling me that if she was ‘in love’ with Mike she would have been that happy over dumping him? I’m not saying El is dumb for not being able to discern these things (I think people without such backgrounds may still struggle with this concept). But it makes perfect sense for El to be confused by the distinctions of various loves or even the differences between ‘crushes’ , ‘physical attraction’ and ‘romantic love’ 

- In the last ep El asks about what he said at the cabin to Max, specifying “you talked about your feelings?”. He says and I QUOTE “Oh! Oh, yeah that.Man, that was so long ago. Um…”  and starts to scratch his head. Then he excuses what he said at the cabin, saying it was “in the heat of the moment stuff and we were arguing… I don’t actually remember. What did I say exactly?”  

Now either he legitimately forgot! Or he lied! You know the thing that broke them up in the first place! The one thing that El holds as her most important value in life- honesty. And he lied- about something as important as his romantic feelings?!  Make up any excuse (about being shy/character flaws all you want), but this isn’t real life- it’s fiction (everything is done for a narrative purpose). That wasn’t an accident ( mileven wasn’t “written out of character”- like milevens claim,  the duffers were criticizing the ship on purpose) .And the fact he lied again! Wouldn’t bode well for a long term relation with each other. The whole season, criticized their romantic relationship ! That wasn’t a coincidence neither was the fact he looked confused by her confession, and kept his eyes open the whole time and didn’t kiss her back . 

And as she smiled and walked away, he looked confused. That wasn’t a directing mistake, like so many milevens are claiming! You really think they wouldn’t make sure their ‘fav ship’ didn’t have a good final kiss? 

 Especially since it was right after a romantic Jancy scene (which was directed amazingly)- where Nancy even mentions Mileven- to make us compare the 2 pairings romantic scenes even more. 

* I know I sound like an assh*le but I’m just annoyed. I’ve always censored my byler posts trying not to offend/criticize mileven. I never cross tagged my byler meta with the hashtag mileven (never will, cause it’s rude). But (without sounding pompous) my byler posts generally gets reblogged a lot- and now the milevens have seen my posts (and are sending lots of hate my way) and worst of all they’ve invaded the byler tag. Today I saw 2 posts in the byler tag saying. “We’re delusional” and “stupid”- and also in the same posts they say they “feel attacked” by us.Um… there’s a difference between byler shippers privately criticizing a ship without bothering mileven shippers (and only tagging it byler) . Versus Mileven shippers  tagging things byler (and ranting about the ship and it’s shippers). Loved the comment about how Mike can’t be bi cause “he loves El too much”.I think Mike is probably gay and in denial. But, um that’s not how being bi works- didn’t know  bi people love women and men ½ as much as the gays/straights. Thanks for informing me (rolls eyes for eternity).So kid-gloves off, nothing left to lose! Time to compare the ships.

‘The breakup’ vs ‘fight’ parallel

comedic vs dramatic! The casual sunny day vs the dramatic framing of the storm (a romantic trope) . The ‘break-up’ being a scene with multiple onlookers vs the fight being with Will and Mike only (making it more personal/intimate).  ‘Cold as ice’ playing after the mileven breakup vs the sad instrumentals playing during the byler fight. The comedic after-math at the mall. El and Max laughing, and another joke being made as the bus leaves.El’s happiness vs Will’s heartbreak.

Mike’s drastically different expressions after their fights. He looks regretful with Will, and almost annoyed with El dumping him.  The fact Mike apologized right away more than once to Will, and ran into a storm to apologize a 2nd time. But with El he just lies to cover up the first lie, and then after the break-up he just complains/lounges on the couch (not taking any responsibility). He literally says about El “Why is she treating me this way? What did I do to deserve this? What did I do wrong?”.( He lied and made her feel “like garbage”!) Then he burps and laughs about chips- and makes sexist comments. Neither EL nor Mike are heartbroken by the breakup.

But when he angers Will (by him trying to finish the game early), he immediately tries to de-escalate saying softly “I was just joking- c’mon, let’s finish the game”. But when Will just yells back (much to Mike’s confusion) he doesn’t dismiss his feelings as irrational (like he wrongfully did to El) but chases him to the garage-  and begs him to stay since it’s raining.

In the garage, Mike immediately apologizes saying “I said I was sorry, alright. It was a cool campaign.” But after this, they fight and Mike runs into a storm to apologize a second time , and says to Will’s door “ WILL! I’m sorry I was being an asshole. Can you just come outside and we’ll talk? WILL!” He immediately takes responsibility and apologizes. And he’s desperate to resolve things. And when they find him outside castle Byers he just asks  (Mike’s catchphrase) “Will, Are you ok?”

Shed scene ( “best thing I’ve ever done” vs “the most important thing in the world to me”) parallel

When Mike says to El  “you’re most important thing to me” in the pool shed. El doesn’t even acknowledge the comment (and neither should the audience- cause the words were empty). She completely ignores his words, and responds by asking him about his previous comments. Asking whether Hopper was right about them spending too much time together.

I didn’t edit (or delete any scene after his proclamation) this is how fast it was delivered ! The framing of this mileven scene was not cinematic or heartfelt, and neither was the delivery from Mike. He’s not crying, trying to reach her with proclamations of his genuine feelings. There’s no dramatic music, framing, lighting or shot composition. And El just responds and cuts his supposed ‘true feelings’ off- only to agree with Hopper and says “ she should spend time with her own species.” And if this ‘romantic moment’ wasn’t already undermined enough. This is when Mike realizes she was spying on him , and feels wrongfully violated (something she doesn’t apologize for,  saying “I make my own rules” . He even brings this up in a later episode (this clearly bothered him)!

Juxtaposed to the MUCH longer byler scene. A literal single tear falling down his cheek as Mike , recounts the first day they met. Mike being in the back drop of darkness only his face being illuminated (having him appear like a guiding light to Will). Saying “ I felt so alone and  so scared… but you were alone too” (alone together/crazy together) .  He then talks about asking Will to be his friend, and then he pauses and breaks eye contact , before looking him in the eye and smiling (lost in the memory) saying softly “you said yes, you said yes.” (cough like saying yes at a wedding).

So, after he says “you said yes, you said yes.” It’s important to mention that he takes a deep breath and breaks eye contact again, (looking down and to the side) as he says this line. Subconsciously, I believe he knows this line is romantic and he’s too afraid to say it to his face. Only flicking his eyes up to look at Will  after he finishes the entire sentence, and to gauge Will’s reaction.

This whole monologue is only of tight shots of just their faces (their bodies aren’t shown like in the pool shed scene). This is a personal moment between them and them alone- and the fact we zoom in on their faces (expresses this to be important emotionally) . And when we see Will’s reaction to Mike saying “it was the best thing I’ve ever done”. We just see Will’s face only- no music is playing and all we hear is  Will’s whimpers and Mike crying in the background.

“ Blank makes you Crazy” vs “ Crazy Together parallel

When Mike tries to confess his “love” to El he says “Well they do say it makes you crazy”… much to El’s confusion.He has to try to explain it a second time to El- who just gets even more confused, by his ‘confession’. Saying “you never heard that expression? Like blank makes you crazy … like the word (love)?”

But when Mike says he “feels like he’s going crazy” Will immediately responds with “Me too”. Mike even smiles at the comment. So that moment in s2 means more than we think, when Mike (with tears in his eyes) smiles at Will’s comment and asks them to go “crazy together”.And when Will responds back “yeah, crazy together” (who also has tears in his eyes). They even linger on the moment as they just smile and stare at each other.

Mike is in denial, and may not even realize he loves Will, but he knows subconsciously that he does. He heard the phrase “love makes you crazy and that damn stupid”, 100′s of times and that’s why he said that phrase to Will. And why it made him so happy when Will reciprocated , by saying “ yeah. crazy together.” In addition to why we see them both go from happy, to immediately upset over the conversation.The scene was already romantically coded in s2 (but the scene in s3 re-contextualizes the whole thing) . Mike thinks “love makes you crazy” , and he asked Will to go ‘crazy together’ with him. And When Will is at castle byers looking at the Halloween pic of the 2 the day Mike said that, Will cries and calls himself “stupid” (4x). Can’t get more obvious… Like look what the duffers did! 

El and Will’s opinions on Mike (Parallels)

-When asked if Mike was a good kisser,  she just said “I don’t know he’s my 1st boyfriend.” (implying she’s thinking, at least subconsciously, of having other boyfriends ,who are not Mike in the future).  But when Mike pretty much asks’ if Will thought they’d never get girlfriends, and spend the rest of their lives with each other’.Will just sadly responds “yeah, I guess I did. I really did!” Unlike, El, Will always saw Mike as his future, his forever.

-And when Mike says “it’s just a break” , Max says “No it’s not!”, and we see El laugh along with Max’s comment. She is not heartbroken at the idea of never getting back together with him, romantically. Right after they break up she was laughing, reading comics, and playing games with Max.

But Will is devastated over the fight! And out of all the memories in Castle Byers it’s the Ghostbusters photo from Halloween that causes Will to pick up the bat and start destroying everything. That was the night that Mike agreed to go “crazy together” with him. He tears it in ½ right in the center where Mike and Will are. He was so stupid to think it meant anything. The “crazy together” scene, that Mike initiated in s2 was always meant to be romantic. Not only because of Will’s reaction to the photo in s3, but because Mike in s3 says “They do say it makes you crazy…blank makes you crazy.”  Which is exactly what happens to Will, as he has his breakdown.Castle byers was built on a rainy night , the same day Will’s dad left, when Will was 5 (the same age he met Mike). And lonnie called him a “queer” and a “f*g” and forced him to do “normal things” like baseball to have him “be more of a man”. And then on a rainy night, after Mike says “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”… what does Will destroy castle byers with? A baseball bat! The fact Will has a baseball bat (despite in s1 saying he does not like baseball) in Castle Byers, surrounded by things he loves: drawings, d&d, art supplies, a microscope, comics- just shows what an impact Lonnie’s problematic conditioning and abandonment had on him. He used a baseball bat to destroy something he loves -castle Byers, and symbolically he was trying to reject his feelings for Mike using Lonnie’s old tactics of fixing him.

- Also, El doesn’t even seem to appreciate when Mike acts like his true self (goofy/like a kid). She laughs when Max complains he talks too much. Rolls his at his jokes with the cpr-dummy, covers his mouth and tells him to stop when he tries to joke and sing, ignores him when he gets excited about talking about dinosaurs. Which relates to my next point

The only characters who’s character bios focus on ‘escaping’ through d&d is Mike and Will.

Will in the Montauk pitch was described as having “sexual identity issues… LIKE MIKE , Will ESCAPES through fantasy gaming where he can be himself, uninhibited.” Like what is Mike escaping from… being a nerd? Because they could of said ‘like his friends’. And no it’s not because they’re best friends- they even specifIed in Lucas bio he’s “ Mike’s best friend” (which was even mentioned in s1).

.In Mike’s character description it says “ bullying and near-crippling insecurity. He has never had a first kiss, much less a girlfriend.He ESCAPES his insecurities through reading fantasy novels … retreating into his own vivid imagination. The Dungeon Master of his Dungeons and Dragons group, he writes sprawling adventures with fantastical monsters.When he finds himself on a real adventure, facing real monsters, he will discover a courage he didn’t know he had. By the end, he will even kiss a girl.”

*Interesting that Mike uses D&D  to escape his insecurities about not having a gf (retreating into his imagination). While Will (who is somewhat aware of his sexuality) uses d&d to escape and be himself uninhibited. They’re foils in a sense- using d&d for opposing reasons.

So the s3 fight about d&d games has a lot more meaning 

Mike equates heterosexual romance with ‘growing up’ and his feeling for Will as something childish he has to grow out of.When they fight over d&d. Mike says “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”, then he tries to ½ apologize only to say, “I’m not trying to be a jerk. Ok? But We’re not kids anymore.” He pretty much explains, this is just the way things are-boys fall in love with girls, get girlfriends, and that’s just a part of growing up (heteronormativity).  And tells Will “I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? We were just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?” And poor Will who is probably more aware of his feelings just responds. “Yeah. I guess I did. I really did.” And after this Mike rushes to Will’s house and apologizes saying he was an “asshole.”When he tries to say he loves El . It was very forced. He can’t even use the world love or explain his feelings, “A feeling … yeah, like, something… like OLD PEOPLE say it sometimes”.

He can’t even describe love and what his “feelings” entail for El , he then says  “Yeah, like something , like old people say it some times. He doesn’t even say it back in the last ep, when she confesses. It’s all talk, but no feeling, it’s just a part of becoming an adult in Mike’s mind.

In the last ep before the mileven kiss, he even invites both El and Will over for Christmas saying “ And Will too… we could all have new presents to play with and… *scoffs* Sorry, that made me sound like a 7 year old...  ”

And it’s implied in the last ep (before the mileven kiss),  because of the 3 month breakup Mike is back to liking d &d. When Mike sees Will put his own d&d book in the donation box he stops him.

Mike: “WHOA, dude that’s the donation box.”

Will: “ I know, I’ll just use yours,  when I come back. (pause) if WE still want to play?”

So then Mike asks, shyly …

Mike : “Yeah, but what if you want to join another party?” (cough- girls , the other ‘species’, or just someone else: girl, guy or otherwise)

Will: “Not possible.” (Will will always love Mike- insert Mikes immediate heart-eye reaction to this comment).

I think people don’t notice what the subtext is here- regardless of his intentions, Mike broke Will’s heart. He made him feel “stupid” for ever thinking he ever had a chance with Mike. He always saw Mike as his forever, but Mike shot any hopes of that down in the garage. Will doesn’t trust his own instincts. Mike could straight up flirt with him in s4/5- and Will would dismiss it as his imagination. He essentially said ‘he’ll always love Mike- but if something is going to happen. It’s up to Mike to initiate it’.

Mike was queer coded since ep 1 (and he’s more queer coded than Will)!

 I LITERALLY thought (in s1) Mike was queer before Will!

- 3 rainbow references. Mike in s1 in his basement has a red heart being propelled by a rainbow sign. We see this again in s3 as a drawing. Mike also stands next to Will behind a rainbow apple poster in s2. Forbidden fruit + rainbow = queer forbidden romance. Also the apple poster was in the AV Club and at that time the rainbow apple-mac sign was suspected to be in reference to for Alan Turning (the gay ‘father of computers’).

In s1:

- 4 separate characters said El looked like a boy, but Mike doesn’t care! Even one of the men thought El might be the missing ‘Byers boy’. When El loses her wig , Troy said “she doesn’t even look like a girl” to the cops. But Mike just calls her “really pretty”

-Nancy says “I thought you were acting weird, but I thought it was because of Will” And Mike responds “I thought you were acting weird too I thought it was because of Steve … Do you like Jonathan now”?” Nancy: “No, do you like Eleven?”. They literally compared the explicit love triangle between Steve/Nancy/Jonathan to the Will-Mike-El dynamic!

- Mike literally uses gender inclusive pronouns when talking about crushes using the word “someone” (3 times), and embarrassing himself because he can’t articulate the difference between friendship and romance. When he could of simply given the 80s heteronormative  answer of ‘when a boy likes a girl’.

Mike: “ you go to school dances with someone.

You know someone that you like”

El: “a friend?”

Mike: ‘not a friend uh … uh someone like a” (gives up and kisses her)

-Mike’s mom said “ What’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I just … want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to HIDE anything from me” (she even emphasizes the word ‘hide”  (which is heavily queer coded)

- when Will ‘dies’, “we can be heroes” by David bowie (a bisexual singer) plays,   “And we kiss as though nothing could fall and the shame” is the lyric that plays when Mike returns to his house and cries in his mother’s arms over the ‘death’ of Will. Do I have to explain how ‘kissing and shame’ are queer-coded . And how such a lyric is oddly romantic- if we’re supposed to see their bond as nothing but platonic XD

-his dad jokes “Absolutely not” *turns to wife* “our son with a girl?”.

- when Lucas makes fun of his crush on EL, Lucas gets down on one knee  and says “ I love you so much, will you marry me?” and literally 1s later, we’re introduced to the bullies and the idea (for the first time) that Will is ‘gay’, and Mike is in the forefront of the scene and unlike his friends he is THE ONLY ONE physically assaulted as they cause him to fall face first into a rock (like a gay-bashing) .  They leave Lucas and Dustin unharmed. Even though Lucas just proposed to another guy- which should have gotten him a beating by the homophobic bullies.

It’s supposed to subconsciously hint Mike is queer like Will, and likes Will. The first interaction with the bullies, they mention Will being ‘gay’ right after they mention Mike’s crush on androgynous El and have a guy propose to Mike. Mike says to “ignore them” ( the homophobic remarks) but is assaulted anyways. And when asked what happed he doesn’t want to tell El the details cause he’s ashamed .

2nd time the bullies talk about Will, Mike is once again in the forefront, unlike his straight friends who are in the background . But this time Mike initiates the confrontation), as the bullies say Will is “flying in fairyland with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay”. Mike was literally on the verge or tears at this comment (despite being happy a few moments earlier , telling the others to ‘act sad’ because they’d look suspicious other wise). But this is the comment where Mike snaps and pushes Troy back (because he took it personally/wanted to defend Will).

The framing of Mike once again being in the front and snapping at the homophobic remarks ( gifs don’t do it justice, just rewatch the scene -Mike eyes water at the remarks). Then the last time the bullies appear , Mike jumps off the cliff and “flies like a fairy” (like Troy said) thanks to El . Troy at the police station even uses the word “fly” not levitate.

-Mike sneaking out to find Will, as Steve sneaks in to Nancy’s. They both even make eye contact (and pretend not to have seen each other).

- they share dinosaur toys , in s1 and 2 they appear to be the only ones with dinosaur toys.

- The s1 mom hug scene where Mike feels he lost Will is paralleled in s3 - signifying how he lost him a 2nd time.

- Mike in the 1st ep being the one to insist on looking for Will in the rain (callback to s3). But he never went looking for El when he saw her through his window? Even when Mike saw Will’s dead body, the second he heard his voice he convinced his friends to help rescue him!

- You remember the binder (from s1) that Mike keeps, filled with 100s of Will’s drawings, and how he caresses the drawing after thinking Will was dead. That’s totes platonic.

- Mike in s1 proclaiming “I’m the only one who cares about Will!” Seems like something a kid with a crush might say ( because obviously his other friends care about Will). But he thinks he cares the most. He was even the first to worry about Will not showing up to school, the first to suggest looking for him while speaking to Hopper, and when Hopper and his parents say ‘no’ he sneaks out anyway (and is the first to suggest forming a search party). The first to believe he was alive after seeing his dead body.The only boy to have a scene dedicated solely to him mourning Will.  Mike being the only boy to stay awake at the hospital, and the first boy to see and hug Will. The only one to have a private one on one talk before Will goes missing. The only one who was literally given 100s of Will’s drawings. And yet Dustin says Lucas’ is Mike’s best friend? So what does that make Mike and Will?

In s2:

- Will in all 3 seasons identifies as a wizard. But in s2 Mike (the paladin) says Will is a cleric. Meaning this reflects how Mike actually feels about Will. In d&d, they have similar moral values, powers, and generally need and depend on each other in the lore of d&d. Paladins have similar healing powers to clerics, but clerics have stronger healing abilities - which is interesting since Mike has always been viewed as the protector. But to Mike Will has helped him (maybe deal with the loss of El and other trauma) , just by being there. And if Mike says Will is a cleric,despite Will still identifying as a wizard in s3, it shows how deeply Mike actually feels about Will. It shows he views Will as one of the only people who understands him and views him as a healing presence and his moral compass.

“ strength of conviction gave many paladins a sense of common fellowship but did not always endear them to others. In many cases, paladins did not get along quite as well with other non-paladin adventurers, with the exception of clerics with similar beliefs.”

“A Paladin tries to hold to the highest standards of conduct, but even the most virtuous Paladin is fallible. Sometimes the heat of emotion causes a Paladin to transgress his or her oath (of honesty, courage, compassion, honor ,and duty). A paladin who has broken a vow typically seeks absolution from a cleric who shares his or her faith or from another paladin of the same order. After a rite of confession and forgiveness, the paladin starts fresh.”

This proves Mike knows he treats Will special/different than his other friends- and unlike a relationship with El (they are still individuals who are not dependent on each other). And Mike thinks being with Will quite literally makes him a better person. Juxtaposed with how him being in a romantic relationship with El made him blind and apathetic to those closest to him .

- All the mileven s1 parallels vs byler s2 parallels were ALL initiated by Mike. If the parallels were meant to show a one sided love triangle (on Mike’s end). They would of made Will the instigator not Mike! Parallels can be watched here , start at 6:50)

-Mike initiated the “crazy together’ line- and in s3 he said ‘blank makes you crazy’. So subconsciously he knew the line had romantic connotations.

-Mike initiating the hand hold (with a zoom in shot) and in the show this is only done for romantic pairings. Also Mike being the one to initiate the ‘arm thing’ which is generally romantic. But in s3 , Lucas also does this, saying “I am spending quality time with my girlfriend’

-Mike saying, asking him to be his friend was the “best thing I’ve ever done”

-Mike constantly following Will around, asking if he’s okay or biking to his house to check on him in s2 . In s3 running out to chase Will to the garage and apologizing, and running into a storm to apologize a 2nd time.

YOU SEE A PATTERN! Mike is whipped! And is the one constantly chasing and pursuing Will, not the other way around! Before s3, people always portrayed Will as the (stereotypical- problematic trope of a) sad-pinning-gay in a one sided love with Mike. It’s like people didn’t even watch the show (and just assigned tropes/stereotypes they wanted, that weren’t actually there). Will (probably too shy or scared to- because of homophobic taunts) never initiated a single byler moment- it was ALWAYS Mike!!! If people were actually objective, they would of thought it was Mike who was the one pinning!

- Which brings me to Mike literally pinning! Mike forcing Will to dance with a girl (who has a rainbow hairclip), but you literally see Mike’s shocked expression like  ‘what,why’d I do that ?’ And after this, they show Dustin looking sad about Max/Lucas dancing and then they have Mike get into the frame (next to Dustin) and look sad when Will/girl are dancing in the same exact frame as Max/Lucas. As they switch between these last 2 shots.

the cannon Spotify playlists-called ‘Mike’s basement beats’- These are character playlists that Spotify and St worked on together after s2.

-his first song is “small town boy” an 80s LGBT anthem about living in a small town and being queer and bullied. Every band member was openly gay.

-his 11th song is ‘don’t you want me’ from a “celebrate your gay pride” album

* But queer people are “delusional” for thinking Mike isn’t straight? And are told to “open your eyes and watch the show” (that was an actual quote in the byler tag). Ok? Take your own advice, then! XD

One of the Duffers cited inspirations for ST is SUPER GAY (and what they based the byler dynamic off of).

In the Will comic, Will throws an old 1970s book called “house of stairs” at the demorgorgan. And in a later chapter Mike and Will just read together at the library (just silently reading together, enjoying each others’ company-totally not a romantic cliche).And Mike warns Will the book ‘could have spoilers’ for the d&d campaign. Also look at this byler-centric cover :)

  Peter (Will) is shy, quiet ,initially a pushover, and gay-coded.  And as a coping mechanism he has psychological-breaks with reality where he thinks of his best friend from the orphanage, Jasper (Mike) . Another kidnapped boy, named Oliver (who looks just like Jasper/Mike) is also queer-coded (but a violent-sociopath). And, unlike Jasper who actually wanted to protect/take care of Peter -Oliver starts to gets a sick thrill out of making Peter dependent on him (which Peter catches on to pretty quickly). Oliver was insistent on being the only one to ‘wake’ Peter from his episodes (just like how Mike did for Will, in s2), except Oliver calls him pet-names like “sweetheart, baby, etc.” 

And again to prove it’s queer-coded I’ll read some of the (shortened) quotes, in the order they were written. These are quotes from Peter (Will’s) pov talking about his childhood best-friend Jasper (Mike) .  

-“his room. His and jaspers room.  Jasper looking up from his desk, smiling glad to see him. Jasper saying . Something very important. The most important message, the secret message.  He couldn’t hear him . But jasper keeps smiling , keeps talking . What was the message, jasper? What was the message? The dream had been beautiful at the beginning, terrible at the end, but he longed  to be in it again. If only he hadn’t awakened.”  

-“Jasper sitting on the bed and taking off his shoes ,smiling, ‘you’re okay pete, you’re better than a hundered of those slobs put together. Tomorrow I’ll tell them so myself‘ jasper’s strong, hard body as he got into bed ,so different from peter’s. Strong, to protect him to take care of him. Jasper, who always took care of him”.

-“He wanted to think about oliver it  it was like having Jasper back again. It would disturb him to see Oliver go off with Abigail… the rejection quite painful. It had never been like that with Jasper…jasper.

-The room they shared with rainbow colors, murmuring comforting words to him , enclosing and protecting him. He let himself drift into it, the rainbow hues dimness.”

-“No one ever depended on him. It was he who always depended on others, on Jasper. jasper, who had always taken care of him. Jasper…”

later he admits his feelings for Jasper to Lola/el. Lola and Pete are plantonic soulmates. The only reason why they survive and don’t succumb to their dark and violent urges/psychological brainwashing is because of each other. Lola has  brown hair and eyes and has a buzzcut and is heavily implied to be a lesbian (as she is the only girl in the group who is not fooled by Oliver’s ‘nice guy act’. Which makes the other girls ‘suspicious’ and alienate her). Also this was written in the 70s… she has a buzzcut and is said to “look like a boy”. It’s not that subtle! There was a reason that the author whose first name was WILLIAM (was suspected to be gay/bi when he was alive)!  XD

-Peter says “ he was my friend we were always together . Jasper his name was jasper .in the dream he’s taking care of me’. Now he was beginning to cry, his throat constricting and tears welling up in his eyes .’taking care of me … he always took care of me… taking care of me, and , and … and loving me’. ‘”It was the best time in your life’ she murmured’. ‘Yes’ “

* cough protective childhood friend, rainbows, ‘best time of your life = best thing I ever did.

S3 ending (byler centric ending)

When we first see Mike during the Hopper mologue, the moving truck leaves. “Like you’re pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night (d &d)”…  (the last thing they talked about was Will visiting to play d&d and their fight this season started because of a disagreement about d&d.)

Then Mike looks back at the Byers house (just lingers there and looks back as his friends leave) like how Will did seeing Mike hold hands with El and leave .  “But I know you’re getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I’m being really honest, that’s what scares me. I don’t want things to change.”Mike , like Will “doesn’t want things things to change”. He doesn’t want his  his feelings of friendship to become romantic in regards to Will,  it “scares” him (especially in rural 80s Indiana). Right after Will cries,  it immediately switches to Mike hugging his mom- to mirror the time he thought Will died in s1 “So I think maybe that’s why I came in here, to try and maybe stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were.” He goes back to his mother for comfort, like he did the 1st time he lost Will. But also to reverse back time, to s1, before he realized his feelings for Will were romantic.  When things were simpler. 

“But I know that’s naive. It’s just not how life works. It’s moving, always moving, whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s sad. And sometimes, it’s surprising. Happy.” (byler endgame)

Will (in s2) even says everyone treats him like ‘freak/ that something is wrong with him’ (purposely leaving out Mike from the discussion). And then when Will disparages himself as a freak,and Jonathan agrees but asks Will, ‘who would he rather be friends with-  David Bowie (who was openly bi since the 70s) or Kenny Rogers’? And when Will says Bowie, Jonathan agrees saying “see, it’s no contest”.

So,  it’s just another coincidence that when Will ‘dies’ (in s1) a David Bowie song (‘we can be heroes’) plays. And as Mike hugs his mom, mourning Will -  a romantic lyric from the song plays during the hug?“And we kiss, as though nothing could fall. And the shame”  (which is heavily queer coded)?

And then in the last ep (in s3) Mike mirrors this scene in s1, hugging his mom, since he feels like he’s losing Will all over again. And right after the hug (‘we can be heroes’) plays again!?  I’m not saying byler is endgame. But- WAIT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’M SAYING! XD

These men literally invented ‘hetero-baiting’ (with Robin & Steve) and you think they’re going to queer bait?!

Also, if Will was a girl named ‘Willow” no one would call byler ‘delusional’ ! Even the most casual viewer would say it’s obvious they’d end up together in the end!

If the witness said about El in s1 , “ same height… it could be the Byers girl”, instead of ‘boy’ (pointing out the resemblance).  Mike only meeting El cause he was looking for Willow. Proclaiming “i’m the only one who cares about Willow!” . Mike getting into fights and getting upset (almost crying) about the bullies insulting Willow. Mike only getting angry at El when he thinks she lied about Willow being alive. Mike being the only boy who has a scene dedicated to his loss of her (with the same romantic lyrics playing). Mike having a whole binder of her drawings and caressing one of the drawings, after he thinks she died.  Mike being the only one of her friends to stay awake at the hospital, waiting for her to wake up- so he can see her and hug her first. People probably would of started shipping it the second Willow stared at him and was the only one who didn’t lie to him, in the first ep! Another parallel to El!

If Will was Willow, the majority of the fandom would be byler shippers. Think about it! . Mike having s2 byler scenes that are identical to s1 mileven scenes, and then additional unique byler scenes. Mike staying by Willow’s side 24 hours a day for several days (not even changing clothes), carrying her out of the hospital, grabbing her hand (with a zoom in shot),constantly asking her if she’s okay at least 5-7 times, putting his arm around her twice, being the only one who could tell something was off with her (and it wasn’t her normal type of quiet). Calling and running all the way to her house and banging on the door to check on her, desperate. Watching her sleep cause he’s so worried. That shed scene reminiscing about how they first met in perfect detail, saying “I asked, I asked if you wanted to be my friend. You said yes, you said yes. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. (like a marriage proposal)”  The “crazy together” scene. Them being close since they were 5 vs the girl he knew for a week (but is somehow in love with?). In s2 if Mike sadly watched Willow dance with another guy , while Dustin does the same to Max. Forget it- everyone would already know mileven would be doomed to fail.

And again think about s3 if Will was a girl.They parallel the (comedic) mileven breakup vs (the sad/serious) byler breakup. Then Mike just complains and burps on the couch vs apologizing to Willlow multiple times/even going into a storm to apologize a 2nd time (and to ‘talk’). Willow having a breakdown over the fight vs El laughing and high five-ing Max after.The shed vs the pool shed scene- “best thing I’ve ever done” vs “you’re the most important thing in the world to me”, “blank makes you crazy’ (as El stares confused) vs “crazy together’ (where Willow says ‘yeah, crazy together’). Mike going on ‘movie dates with Willlow all the time’ right after making out with El. The last mileven kiss where Mike has his eyes open the whole time,  and doesn’t kiss back. And saying he doesn’t remember saying  “I love” you to El (and doesn’t say ‘I love you’ back). Right after having a talk with Willow about playing games when she comes back (the crux of their fight). Mike getting excited that he’ll be able to visit El and Willow on Thanksgiving and them visiting him on Christmas (those are holidays where family usually introduces their S.O.) Having the last scene of Mike,  be him looking back at Willow’s house, and have that whole monologue about “feelings changing”, and then he goes to hug his mom like the s1 byler scene where he thought Willow was dead, signifying he lost her again. And that’s not even all the scenes- and every time byler won by a landslide. If Will was a girl, we wouldn’t be ‘delusional’! It would be obvious writing on the wall, that Mike would eventually choose Willow over El by the end of the series.

But since they are 2 boys, we’re delusional, because queer kids don’t exist … apparently.

*S3-I’m not repeating my literal essays but they’re probably better than this post so here are the links to pretty much all my s3 byler meta.  (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

gif credit: 1st few have the name stark in the gifs, 2nd byler gif (found on wheheart.com- user dream_daisy, not sure if they also have a Tumblr , 3rd livelovecaliforniadreams, 4th &10th Cath-avery, 5& 6th unknown, 7-9 eggogorgon . Tell me if you know the unknown one so I can give credit , please.

[theficplug]

{My Boyfriend Does My Makeup with Trevante}

{The YouTube Series}

Warnings: none , fluff

Trevante  finally had some time off after his latest film had wrapped and although you were both private about your relationship. You decided to give your boos (your viewers) something special for 307k. 

"Welcome to or back to my channel my boos. I have a special guest today. Everybody say hello to my boo bear. Who agreed to do the My Boyfriend Does My Makeup Challenge with me. Say hey baby." You say to him as he flashes his pearly whites at the camera and you can already tell you're going to have to filter the thirst comments. 

"Hey , I'm uh Trevante y'all probably have seen me in a few things. If I seem like that familiar face that you can't put a name to. That's why. Also looking forward to playing some characters that don't die halfways through." He says jokingly at the end before giving a shy awkward little nod to the camera. 

You take his hand in yours and nuzzle closer into his side to get him to relax a little. 

"What I think a lot of people don't know is that even though he's always in front of the camera. He's also kinda shy and doesn't like a lot of attention on him, but unfortunately for you baby is that BOI WE FINNA BE ON YOUR ASS IF YOU MESS IT UP." You say jokingly as you set out all of the makeup and a little cheat sheet to tell him where everything goes. 

You watch him break into a smile and throw his hands up.

"Ye of little faith. That hurts bae." He says pretending to be hurt with his hand over his heart dramatically. 

"I'm only joking. I believe in you. Gimme kiss?" you ask before he pokes his lips out for you to press a soft kiss to his lips. 

"Alright , I'm ready. Today we're gonna use the Fenty foundation? We're just gonna take Miss Riri's stuff and rub it in, all over the face. You don't really need a sponge or brush or any of that. That's all to get you to spend more money." He says to the camera as if he knows what he's doing. 

You try to hold in your laughter while looking at the camera and shaking your head.

"You're doing good Tre. I feel prettier already. What's the next step?" You ask him as you watch him work. His tongue slightly poking out as he's concentrated on getting your face to look "right". 

Sometimes you just get caught up in how beautiful and kind he is. He always takes care of you and tries his hardest to be involved in anything you're interested in.

"I feel you eyeing me while I work and lemme just say it's highly distracting ma'am. I'm a professional." He says jokingly before giving you a quick kiss. You tug at his bottom lip before kissing him again.

"SHE GETTING DEMONETIZED Y'ALL. We gotta keep it pg." He says before working his way down the little cheat sheet you've left him. 

"If you poke me in my eye. I'm swinging." You say to Trevante as he grips your chin gently while trying to apply eyeliner.

"Y'all see how she be treating me? Gon beat my ass in front of all of y'all like that.  Lemme stop before that's all over Twitter. Shhh, stop fidgeting let me get it right. " He says and you can feel the felt tip going past where the little flick needed to stop. 

"How do I look baby?" You ask as you batting your eyelashes at him and watch his face scrunch slightly at messing it up.

"Hollup it's whopped on that side. Give me a wipe from over there please. . . You said earlier that you wanted to ask me some questions." Tre says to you not bopping along to the soft music playing in the background.

"If you could not love me in this way anymore. Do you think you could love me in a different way? Because you know how when some people break-up. It's so traumatic for them that they can't bare being around the person that they were with because the love there is different." You ask the heavy hitting question that came from an insta sticker. This man was actually a giant teddy bear and pouting at your question.

"For the record I ain't going nowhere. This man put a ring on it." You say giggling and waiting for his response.

"I love you in all ways , always. You know that. But, I'm tryna think about what you're asking. You're saying if weren't together no more. Could I still love you? Absolutely, we were friends before even getting together. When we met in the makeup trailer. I knew that you were going to be important in my life. And that I was gonna love you in some way. But I am grateful that I get to love you this way. I get to love you romantically , emotionally, spiritually, and (cover your ears kids) physically. I'm in love with you." He says before giving the camera a wink and blowing a kiss at them. 

Your jaw drops slightly at his response. You could not be more in love with this man if you tried. You thought to yourself before leaning in to kiss his nose and then all over his face and finally his lips. 

"Damn, I mean I think I like you or whatever." You say to his as he smacks his teeth and shakes his head while laughing at your response. 

"I'm in love with you too Nemour. I only had 3 questions picked out. So here's my second one. When is the wedding? Someone on Instagram asked." You say to him as he nods 

"We have a date and it's in my fiancee's favorite season and that's about all I can tell you on that. But I'm sure when it's all said and done she'll put a cute little video package together for y'all." He says as he applies highlighter to your nose and you look at him before bursting into laughter.

"Of course. I promise my boos will be included into the wedding somehow, but Y'ALL lemme bring the camera in please look at how this man got my nose looking like a Christmas ornament. We're going on a lil date right after this. I'm finna be looking shhmmooking hot." You say sarcastically and he couldn't even stay pressed as he breaks out into laughter with you. 

"Okay so you're on the last part of my routine which is lips. So before you start I'll ask one last question from Twitter. It says what was our first impression of each other." You smile at the question remembering exactly what he was wearing and everything.

"Well I met you while working on the set of Predator. I was like damn okay lil chocolate drop. Can I get your number? No, but really I thought you were beautiful and funny and just like full of light. There were some early morning call times where I was just grumpy as hell and had to wake up at like 4am and have to hang off fake plane for who knows how long. But there you were in the trailer already dancing around to this one throwback song and giving everybody positive morning affirmations.

Just getting shit done too. I was just standing there watching you in your element. Your lil fro bouncing side to side as you swayed around getting all of your supplies together. And I remembered you ordered everybody breakfast with like Uber Eats or something. Your energy had me hooked from the start. I think I'm more of a morning person now because of you." He says as he picks out the lipstick color.

"You never told me that! That's so sweet boo bear. I was just trying to make everybody feel better 'cause those were some long ass hours. Trying to add all the lil scars and makeup and everything so early in the morning was a lot. But I got to spend more time with you so I wasn't complaining. My first impression of you hmmm. I think I was shocked at how beautiful you are! Wait , wait lemme explain. I've seen you before on that one Tyler Perry show as Ramsey before you got killed off. And just like when I found out you were going to be in that film. I was nervous as hell. And when you walked into the trailer with your beanie almost over your eyes and your headphones on like you were too cool for school. I knew I had to play it cool. I just like sauntered over to you and offered you a breakfast plate. It worked though. Cause you was grooving to Brandy too. After that I realized how you have the driest humor, and yet you are the funniest person I know. I mean like dad joke central with him. He be slapping his knee and everything y'all. But he could've been a whole comedian." You say to the camera and he waits for you to finish before he starts applying the deep plum shade of lipstick.

"My humor may be dry but you still be doing the scatter run when I do the Norbit voice." He says laugh softly at you already about to start wheezing. 

"Done?" You ask him as he sits back admiring his work. 

"I don't think I did too bad. Look" he says handing you the mirror as you look closely

"My lashes barely hanging on and my eyeliner doing the Cha Cha Slide but other than that I think it looks good. You did a good job baby." You say giving him a kiss as he smirks into it. Already getting the big head.

"I'm coming for your brand baby. Multi-talented." He says to the camera.

"Alright and with that I'mma end this video before his head gets even more inflated. I seen some juicer questions earlier but y'all there ain't no tea. We sexy but our own type of sexy. I gotta show y'all the photos from Halloween when we dressed as Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowry from Bad Boys... We're that couple."  You say chuckling softly.

"Alright my boos, y'all know what to do. Like , comment , and subscribe if you want. Turn on the notification bell so you can know when your faves fave post again. Who knows I might get him to do the No Hands Kissing Challenge for 400k. And an OnlyFans video for 1 million." You say half jokingly as it flies over his head for a moment before the lightbulb goes off. 

"I don't know about all that maybe 5 milli. Alright y'all , be kinder to yourselves and stay blessed. Byyyeeeee" He says in your voice as he does your outro and you couldn't wait to just wrap your arms around him and love on him. 

[shemakesmusic-uk]

Getting To Know...

VENUS GRRRLS.

Starting 2021 as they mean to go on, Leeds alt rockers VENUS GRRRLS are about to unveil a big statement of intent. The 5-piece real-talk “queens of riot” haven’t taken their foot off the gas lately, and they’re continuing their release onslaught with a brand-new single. ‘Goth Girl’ is out today via Monomyth Records.

Renowned for causing a ruckus both on and off the stage, the all-girl goth-pop group aren’t scared about going in at full pelt, and their new single is no exception. Delving deep into destroying stereotype boundaries associated with goth culture and witchcraft, this is no-nonsense, raw and empowering work from the band that often shares stages alongside industry heavyweights All Time Low, Anteros, Bloxx and many more.

Featuring a growling bassline, fuzzy guitar work, pounding drum grooves and euphoric synth stabs, the foundations are laid for Grace ‘GK’ Kelly’s ear-piercing vocal delivery. Alongside Jess Ayres (Lead Guitar), Hannah Barraclough (Bass), Grace Stubbings (Synth) and Gabby Cooke (Drums), an inimitable, inexplicable sound is created from a fearless group that are standing up for women in the industry and beyond. With arena-sized choruses and controlled chaos from the get-go, ‘Goth Girl’ and Venus is the only way to start the new year.

We had a chat with the band about 'Goth Girl', what they've been up to, what they have planned next and more. Read the full Q&A below.

Hi girls! How are you? What have you been up to? How has the pandemic and lockdown affected you as a band?

"Hey, we are all plodding on, trying to keep busy during these uncertain times. As a band, the pandemic has effected our plans significantly. Before the pandemic, we had plans in place up until Summer 2021, this however has been changed significantly. We had a bunch of festivals and tours lined up alongside heading into the studio to record a bunch of music. With the lack of touring thus lack of income, it has became increasingly difficult to get into the studio (alongside restrictions). We are hoping when it’s safer to do so, we can get into the studio so we can release more music throughout this year before getting back on the road."

You are starting 2021 off with a bang! Please tell us all about your fab new single 'Goth Girl'.

"'Goth Girl' was born while our lead singer, GK, was sick with Laryngitis. We'd had to cancel shows because she was so sick, and she was pretty disappointed and angry with herself despite there being nothing anyone could do! But while stuck in her room she wrote the skeleton of the track. Once we all got back together to rehearse, we finished the structure, changed some things around, and refined it; adding our own own bits of composition. When we went in to studio at SugarHouse, we further reflected on the song with our producers, and made some rhythmic tweaks as well as changing around some sections. 'Goth Girl' celebrates friendships. 'Goth Girl' is an outward discussion; particularly on the stereotypes of Goth Culture and Modern Witchcraft. It's a topic close to our hearts and something we wanted to share our own experiences on, as that outward discussion that takes place in 'Goth Girl' happened between us when we started getting closer as friends. We often on reflection have realised that it could easily be about ourselves when we were in our late teens and meeting for the first time as a band, the sisterhood and care we developed for each other has grown and this song most definitely celebrates that."

We love your sound and aesthetic. Who/what has the biggest influence on your music and style?

"As a band, the riot grrrl movement is what brought us together and heavily influenced the birth of Venus. It has influenced us in principle, and encouraged us to celebrate and empower each other instead of succumbing to the patriarchy that's designed to pit women against each other. Bikini Kill will always be a huge influence of ours, it was playing 'Rebel Girl' that brought us all together musically as a band and set the foundations for us sonically. As time has gone on, we've definitely stylistically moved away from Punk/Riot Grrrl, musically speaking I would say we're more in the Alt-rock bracket now, especially with the use of synth. But I must say in retrospect, Riot Grrrl wasn't as inclusive as it could've been and lacked a lot of black voices. We want to take this moment to speak about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, as without her paving the way for women in rock and roll we, again, wouldn't be where we are today!"

Please take us through your songwriting/creative process.

"Our songwriting and creative process is forever changing. We write music in very different ways, sometimes a band member may demo a skeleton track and bring it to the table, we will then go into the rehearsal space as a collective and add to it from there. During the pandemic, we have started sending demos to one another and we record our individual parts from our homes. We then discuss the changes in a group chat or call. In the past, songs like ‘Amy’ and ‘Freaky Friday’ came to fruitation from improvising in a rehearsal space. It really just depends where we are all at and how creativity decides to visit us."

Finally, what's next for you guys? Will there be a video for 'Goth Girl'? I expect you're eager to get back to gigging again when it is safe to do so?

"There will be a music video to follow the release of 'Goth Girl'. We recorded this months ago so it will be great to finally have it out there. As a band, we directed the music video and it was filmed and edited by Declan Creffield. We really wanted to have a concept behind this video rather than just having a performance led one so we are excited to release it. When it safe to do so, we have a bunch of music lined up that’s ready to record so we will be heading to the studio. We are hoping to release some more tracks later this year - building onto something bigger. We are very excited to get back to gigging when it is safe do so, we are hoping to get some socially distanced shows in the summer so keep an eye out for rescheduled dates!"

VENUS GRRRLS · Goth Girl

'Goth Girl' is out now.

Photo credit: Milly Hewitt

[alitheamateur]

A Taste of Home-Chapter 4

Warnings: Fluff. Language. 

The door to the creamery pulled open with ease beneath his ample muscles, and you wondered if he had ever accidentally broken things unaware of his own strength and abilities. The place was a new addition to the corner since you had last walked these streets, but was there ever such thing as ‘bad ice cream’?

“What’ll it be, Ms. Calvert? How about you save us a seat, and I’ll order?” He pulled out a black diner chair from a round table in the farthest corner of the quaint place. “They do have a mocha flavor that I would highly recommend though.”

You realized your hood was still up on your noisy raincoat even now inside, but you casually stalled removing it in his presence afraid your witchy, tangled locks would frighten him.

  “I’ll take your word for it then.” You handed him some cash you thought enough to cover your scoop, and he scoffed, pushing it back at you with super-hero reflexes.

“Your money is no good here, Mills. Don’t even think about it! Let me treat you, will ya’? I can’t take the risk of a tabloid snapping a pic of Steve Rogers letting a lady pay. You’d ruin me.”

God, he was all too much. The shit-eating, almost satanically handsome smile, added to his already chiseled, yet soft face. And the way he would chew on his lip like it was a popping piece of bubblegum nearly made you want to cry. We won’t even discuss the charm, though.

When his backed turned to you, your let your loose hair escape from under the cover of your coat, and Dodger watched you with judgement at your feet.

“How’s it look, boy? We don’t want your dad running the other way, do we.” You used the blank face of your phone to give yourself a once over, and applied some drug-store chap-stick to your lips for precautionary purposes, of course.

Chris paid the server, and gracefully carried your two scoops, his own, and a special treat for his canine companion over to you attentively. Placing one delicious treat in front of a very eager dog, he scooted the other empty seat closer toward your side of the table.

“A sweet for a sweetie.” He served you, releasing a breath of relief when he sat. He attempted a straight face, trying to make the line work, but lost his nerve and puffed out an uncontrollable laugh.

Sure, it was ridiculously overused, and probably classified as grounds for hysterical heckling to most. But, the cutesy compliment seemed to somehow pass off as endearing coming from someone such as he. So, you just thanked him, and laughed alongside.

“I should thank you again, Chris. For what you did with your friend, and the magazine. It was so beyond generous of you.” You licked the contents off the upside-down spoon between your lips bashfully. “But… I mean… I guess I’m just trying to figure it all out. How did you know? About what my blog even consisted of and stuff.”

He wasn’t making eye contact, but you could see the shadow of his lashes flutter into a smile as he played more with his treat than ate it.

“Okay. Confession?” He answered, leaning in closer to you. The chill of his breath from the bites of ice cream he had taken in felt like ice blended with fire across your face.

He had hired a PI to follow you and track your phone records for the last week. And he had searched the web history of your laptop seeing the fashion vlogs you kept up with, but also discovered all the times you had Googled his name?

You gulped.

“I have a fake account on social media, and I’ve followed you for a year or so now. Your mom sent a Christmas card and your picture was on it. Made me think about how I hadn’t seen you in so long. So, I searched you, found you, and I’ve sort of had a little insight into your life since.” The point of his tongue poked into his cheek, as he scratched a light graze through his hair. Appearing ashamed, or uncomfortable for some reason.

“Why a fake account, Chris? I mean, I would’ve loved to hear from you, silly.”

“There are all sorts of those people online pretending to be celebrities, and asking for money ‘n shit. I don’t ever want my friends to think they’re getting scammed under false pretenses. Thought it just the best idea, ya’ know.”

Dodger had finished his cup before it had even slightly melted, and a sticky, sugary sheen had settled into his whiskers. He rested his head on folded paws, closing his eyes due to the probable brain freeze.  

“In turn, that’s how I knew you were so damn talented, Amelia. You work hard, and I just think you should have something to show for it. Especially after that assho-“

“Wait.” You broke in. “What exactly do you know about that asshole?”

Laying it all out on the table, well most of it, and clearing the air of any falsified details that were embellished along the towns game of telephone seemed the mature decision.

Chris cleared his throat, and stretched, resting an arm over the back of your chair, appearing to get comfortable for whatever confessions to come. You could feel his hand almost reach out to pet over your back, but he pulled away frightened it may be out of line.

“Well, I heard… Mhmm…. I heard that you ran into his office one day in a jealous rage after he had hired a very…endowed paralegal. And when you just wouldn’t give up the feeling you had about him sleeping with her, he kicked you out. Then, you saw him out with the same bimbo a week later.” He closed his eyes, his face uncomfortable at the awkward timeline of your less than lucky turn in your relationship.

You palmed your own miserable face, exasperation and defeated mortification written on your every piece of reddening flesh. You felt shameful tears trickle before you could halt the unbreaking emotion.

“That’s what people are saying? Truly, that is what’s going around? I thought you said you heard everything from my mom, Chris?”

“I only heard you were getting a divorce from her, sweetheart. I didn’t get the rundown. That little tidbit I heard from my sister.”

The story had become much more potently twisted than you had ever expected, and it seemed somehow even from another state, your ex, Ben, had taken stance as the innocent party in matters. This jumbled wheel of false information would take much more effort than you were willing to give to clear up.

“God, no. No, no, no, no, no! That’s beyond the truth, Chris. I was afraid the story had been misconstrued, but not to this level. I literally saw him on his knees over top of her. Naked. In the floor of his office with his tie around her wrists…” You wiped your eyes, as if somehow the entire disaster would disappear if you could clear your frazzled, blurry sight.

“Welcome to my life, Millie.” The man huffed.

Here you had the gall to complain about a little nonsense murmuring around the neighborhood, and in the last year Chris had been in the scummy tabloids linked to several women, partying ‘too hard’ after a spilt, and deemed and ‘ass man’. Who really had it worse here?

“I don’t know how the hell you do it. I’m sorry. I had no right to complain whatsoever.”

He peeped to his left out the store-front window, only moving his eyeballs.

“Well, you’ll find out exactly what it’s like when that shithead with a camera standing out front slaps us on his headline tomorrow.”

Sure enough, carelessly in the middle of the street, stood a long-haired man in a ballcap, snapping pixelated images of you two seated in the dim corner of the café.

“I can see it now.” You announced, spreading your hands like examining a marquee sign. “Captain America spotted with unimpressive blonde woman at downtown creamery.”

Chris gestured a smile, but boldly reached up the squeeze the back of your neck under rain dampened hair. “Blonde, maybe. Unimpressive? Gimme a break, Millie. Don’t play fuckin’ bashful with me.” His subtle massages over the heat of your neck had you squirming in the seat below you. Maybe, you were pretending it was his leg. But that’s nobody’s business.

He saw something apparently you did not. Was there a memo you had missed?

“If you don’t know what the hell that dimply little devilish smile does to people, then you are sincerely misusing a weapon of mass destruction. Calvert.”

“Me?!” Some harlot buried inside of you possessed your body, and you scooted your chair an inch or two closer to him, punctuating your flirting with a squeeze to his thigh. “How about you put those oceans on each side of your nose away, Evans. And fess up to those lash extensions, will ya’?”

He wanted to kiss you. Or his tongue did anyway as it played and begged circles around his own lush lips. But not here. Not yet. Not for the world to see and break the internet.

He ruffled his hair, clearing the lumpy mass of battling self-control in his throat. You smiled, purposely, adding to his obvious already demise.

“Amelia fuckin’ Calvert, A trip you are, my dear.”

As he stood up, gathering the empty cups of sugary cream, he noticeably adjusted himself nearest his screaming manhood, and your eyes abandoned all loyalty to catch a glimpse. You followed him in standing, scratching a head over Dodgers head who had already risen to catch his owners’ heels.

“If it weren’t for this guy, I don’t think I would’ve accepted your dessert invitation. How could I say no to him after he spent his hard-earned allowance on that beautiful rose?”

“Well, I’m glad you two troublemakers have taken a liking to each other. You can keep him company some when I leave in two weeks.” Chris held the door open for you, carefully grazing the small of your back.

“Leaving?” No doubt he sensed the dread in your voice.

“Yep. We start filming on the 28th, so I’ll be wheels up the day before.”

The rain had passed on for the day, and Dodger was curious and keen to investigate every puddle planted on the sidewalk. He shifted too abruptly to the right, nudging your legs. You toppled, and tripped over your own feet towards Chris’ bubble, and he caught you by the hand. He didn’t have to do so by lacing his fingers into yours, or lingering there as long as he did, but you wouldn’t dare utter an objection.

“So, I expect you let me give you that tour of the house before I leave…..”

Mental note: Use your every dime of savings to buy the most lush set of lingerie on the continent.

Oh, you wretched, nymphomaniac. Don’t flatter yourself.

“What. The. Shit.”

Your lady-like cursing confused the flamboyantly kittenish man stepping in unison beside you, and he followed your suit to halt.

“Chris…” Your head hurt already from the deep v of your inquisitive brow. “My car, Chris. Where is my car?”

He looked upward at the street signs, double-checking that his distracted mind hadn’t discombobulated his sense of direction, and you had taken a wrong turn along the way. You immediately searched the deep pockets of your crossbody for your phone, and cringed, dropping your head back in defeat seeing a text from your once husband.

Shithead: Just getting all my affairs in order before we sign the divorce papers. Ooops, so happens your car was in my name.

“Mills. Talk to me. What’s happening?” Chris searched your face for some clue.

“I’m now carless. Along with homeless, and for the most part jobless. All thanks to my so overly generous husband, it seems.” You didn’t feel a shred of hurt, or pain, or sadness. But your dignity, and pride? Man, talk about shattered with an atom bomb.

“Not if I have anything to say about it, you’re not. Come with me. Let’s play with this son of a bitch a bit, shall we.”

As if you already didn’t want to mount him in the broad daylight….

TAGS: @eap1935 @mollybegger-blog @miidailyinspiration

[clericbyers]

Byeler* Made a typo

OH OK hjgkjh I wasn’t sure I was like ???? hhhhh I’ll answer you here though

I really don’t know? I simply have no idea how they would handle byler as a couple ... I don’t particularly agree with everyone hell bent on it being a last scene of the series sort of thing like w andi mack because again, I’ll say this always: stranger things can’t happen without mike loving will as much as he does. because of that, their relationship is a core part of the show and the way the duffers resolve it at the end of the show is very important. I would expect byler to be up front and center in the same manner it was in st2, maybe even more as focus is geared toward them actually doing something about their feelings for each other. And while we all complain about Netflix and possible censorship for the sake of raking in views, Netflix is still open to having shows with lgbt+ main characters, and if the original pitch for ST included Will having sexual identity issues and Netflix agreed to that, (granted the show was thought to be only one season back then so that aspect of Will may have theoretically never been resolved anyway but also ST was greenlit for a second season p quickly after release) then I can’t see why the duffers wouldn’t be allowed to finish telling that story.

In all, I expect (and would prefer) a solid resolution and a firm confirmation as much as we’ve had with other couples in the show. I understand the idea that we might not get that, I really do, I still feel like sometimes this can’t actually be a serious possibility (as in the show’s main couple turning into byler) but eh idk I guess I’m on the upside so I’m more positive about this? The writers’ acc doesn’t help either what with all their clues and hints. I’m just conflicted because the story isn’t finished yet and it’s kinda , insulting to not allow the writers to finish their story and already be shitting on / complaining about the possibilities?? I think it’s also because ST is influenced by what fans want and what the cast has wanted (millie and the snowball kiss—which happened because she felt the fans wanted it—and maya changing the story so robin was lesbian) so anything can happen and that is frightening because perhaps nothing is set in stone for anyone. (Also, when writing shows the whole show typically isn’t written in full before filming starts, only like the first half and the actors know their characters secrets/storylines or whatnot, so even when filming new things can occur which is why sometimes you get a change in plotlines or smth halfway through haha) So everyone talking about the ways ST can all go wrong (esp after we got ST3) is preferred rather than the ways the story can go right, in at least this section of the fandom.

But I’m right now of the firm belief that at least mike and will’s relationship is pretty set in stone and is planned to be dealt with properly.

send me a ☕️ and a topic and I’ll share my opinion on it!!

[kathyprior4200]

Helluva Boss (Remix)

Not too far away from Pentagram City lay a shady place in the bowels of Hell. “Welcome to Imp City: est. 1981” was posted on a worn wooden sign with a white painted eye toward the top. Under a crimson sky, a wide array of buildings made up the city, some with spikes on the roofs. Downtrodden imps of various colors and sizes mulled around the streets and ghettos. Mugging, sex, drugs, poverty, and murder were common aspects of their everyday afterlives. Indeed, being considered “lesser demons” and the “lowest of the low,” not very many had opportunities granted to them.

Well, save for a unique family of imps, trying to get their business running.

 Just who were these imps?

   A nearby screen showed old fashioned numbers ticking down, 3, 2, and 1. Blitzo, a red and white faced imp, appeared on stage in front of purple open curtains. “Hi there, I’m Blitzo, the “o” is silent, and I’m the founder of I.M.P.” He put out his hand and the logo appeared above it. The “M” in I.M.P. looked like imp horns, black and white in color. Down below were the words “Immediate Murder Professionals.”

Blitzo spoke again. “Are you a piece of shit who got yourself sent to Hell?” A picture of Blitzo with a mustache and two black top hats over his horns was grinning evilly as a building burned in the background. The sign nearby read “Orphanage for elderly, blind, and newborn dogs.”

“Or are you an innocent soul who just happened to get fucked over by someone else?” The next image showed Blitzo in a white angel costume, throwing away a Styrofoam coffee cup in the garbage in an office.

In the next shot, Blitzo held up a sign which read “Some guy who hired us!” A buff horned red demon wearing a white Ohio shirt stood not too far from the camera, a 666 News billboard in the background. He punched one fist into his hand.

“After lovingly killing my wife for fucking a delivery man, you can imagine my surprise when I wound up here, after the state of Ohio killed me. I really wish I could stick it to that yapping charter who saw me hiding the body!”

Blitzo appeared again, this time with his fellow imps Millie and Moxxie in the background. A white-clothed altar with a mirror and skulls on it was in the very back. White candles were spread around the room. The two imps were sitting at a pentagram drawn on the floor. Blitzo held a blue Satanic ritual book in his hand.

“Well, luckily for you, thanks to our company’s special access to the living world…”

He waved his hand and a flaming portal appeared in the center of the room, causing Moxxie and Millie to scatter.

“…we can help you take care of your unfinished business by taking out anyone who may have screwed you over when you were alive!” He happily fell through the portal on his back.

 Then the musical jingle started:

 “When you want somebody gone

And you don’t wanna wait too long

Call the Immediate Murder Professionals”

  “Whether grenade or cyanide

We’ll make it look like suicide

The Immediate Murder Professionals”

 “We do our job so well

‘Cause we come straight up from Hell…”

 “We’ll kill your husband or you wife

We’ll even let you keep the knife,

 The Immediate…Murder…Professionals.

 Kids die for freeee!”

  A white person appeared with a thought bubble of his enemy with a red x. A demon fell to the floor and the person looked up. The I.M.P. logo appeared, Millie with a spear, Moxxie with a gun and Blitzo in the middle, spreading out his arms to make an “M.”

Fast paced shots flashed through the ad.

 Moxxie throwing a grenade out a window as his companions grinned.

Blitzo hanging a person in an office building while Moxxie watched. Millie held a piece of paper in her hand.

 Then more killing scenes flashed: Blitzo electrocuting a person, Millie using a mace, Moxxie choking his victim.

 Blitzo led the way through a portal to Earth, Millie and Moxxie following. Moxxie tripped on a book and landed on his face while the others posed. They then stood shocked…at the people in a church staring at them.

Millie killed a naked couple with a chainsaw while Blitzo looked greedily at a woman’s underwear.

Blitzo repeatedly stabbed someone else tied up.

The three imps used more methods to kill Earthlings: Medieval torture racks, shark attacks, fire and gasoline, pillow suffocation, crushing someone to death with a grand piano, electrocution in a lab…

 “Kids die for freeeee!” ended the ad.

 Moxxie and Millie sang a murder love song in their living room before the meeting. Moxxie played on his purple guitar as Millie watched him with love in her eyes. It reminded them of the good times when they would shot at demons together in the streets, drag a bloody sack behind them and when Millie got a grenade as a present and used it to blow up a building.

  “Oh what a thrill when the crimson starts to spill

And my Millie goes in for the kill

She takes away my breath

She’s the angel of death for me

Oh Millie

Queen, it’s like a dream

When I hear her victim start to scream

Get him out of the sack

She’s a maniac for me

Oh Millie

When the blood starts dripping down the sides

And the bodies start to fall from the skies

My heart skips a beat

When my Millie’s guns a blazing in the night

That’s in love

She makes the murdering fun for me

A lottery for all the wins of Hell

It’s for her that I fell…”

 Both of them hummed before Moxxie finished,

  “Of all the imps in Hell…

Millie joined in, “It’s for him that I fell…

“Oh Millie.” They leaned in for a kiss.

  They paused. Moxxie yelled, while looking out the window. His boss, Blitzo was pressed against the window with a video camera. “Are you fucking filming us right now?!”

Moxxie sighed, as a smiling Blitzo held up a sign which read “Meeting in 20 min: nice job banging yo’ wife!”

     Just before the meeting, the head imp, Blitzo walked into the receptionist room.

“Blitz!” called Loona, the hellhound, holding a bone shaped phone in her hand. “That clingy rich asshole’s on the phone! Says it’s urgent and wants to talk to you!” Then she added in a lower voice, “Sounds a little DTFy.” (Down to Fuck)

Blitzo spilled water on himself as he talked with Moxxie by the water cooler. “Oh god that was one time! We wouldn’t have access to the living world…if I hadn’t slept with that privileged asshole!”

“You what?” Moxxie asked in disbelief.

“Blitz!” Loona barked in outrage.

“I heard you already!” Blitzo yelled. He stomped into his office and picked up his red cell phone. He played with little bobble heads of his imp coworkers, Moxxie and Millie. Signs were tacked to the wall, reading: “The Incredible Blitzo! One night only! Tickets now at the Big Top!”

 “So…” Blitzo beamed nervously, “What can I do for you, Stolas?”

The owl overlord replied, lounging on his couch in a royal red robe and a crown.

“Remember that time when I told you that a political candidate was causing problems on Earth? That he tried to convince the world that global warming existed?”

“Yes?” Blitzo answered.

“And that it does, but more people die when nothing’s done about it? Oh, how lonely I felt.”

“That make sense,” Blitzo said.

“But now…” he hooted in laughter. “There are tons of new sinners coming down here every day! I just had a feast and a murder party several nights ago. I wondered why a horde of people arrived and it’s because of a disease called the coronavirus! My, it’s the best thing to ever happen since my wedding with my queen Melody and my darling daughter Octavia’s graduation from flight school. Oh, how marvelous!”

“Well…I’m very happy for you, sir,” Blitzo said. “I hope that…corn-ah virus does its thing.”

Stolas sighed. “My wife wasn’t happy with me, though. She said you fell onto a cake in the middle of a lunch with the queen and the royal officials. What did you say to her?”

“I said…sorry I fucked your husband.” He gulped.

A tense silence.

Blitzo examined his chest and arms. “I still have the talon scars and peck marks to prove it.”

“And she also said that you stole one of my books, is that true?”

“No! No way!” Blitzo lied, with a nervous laugh. “That was another imp long ago. Can I tell you how great it felt…sleeping with you?”

“Indeed,” Stolas agreed with a contented sigh. “Your sharp horns and claws ruffling through my feathers, and my talons and beak exploring your multicolored flesh…”

“Oh fuck a dick…” Blitzo muttered.

Stolas’ eyes grew red. “Don’t get into trouble, Blitzy. When I’m angry…or excited…which I am…I become hungry. Want to know what happens? I want to choke on your ****lick your *****, tear through your **** leave you screaming as I ***** as you scream like a fucking baby!”

Blitzo hung up the phone, the words reading “creepy mouth: aka one night stand bird dick.” and smashed it with another old phone. He threw the pieces into a blender and mixed it up.

“Here, eat this,” he told Loona who walked in and drank the red liquid.

“And you know that bridge over the freeway?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“Shit off it. It’s time for the meeting, let’s go.”

   The imps currently resided in a tall office building that seemed to stand out among the other structures. Along with spikes jutting from the roof and sides, there were a pair of giant black and white imp horns attached to the sides of the building for decoration. The lights inside near the top floor were on.

Posted on a door were the words “IMP Headquarters” with “IMP Meeting in Progress” written on a piece of paper taped to the door, a smiley face off to the side.

On a white board was a bar graph and a line graph, the line graph pointing lower at a drawing of a raging horned demon. “Fix this shit!” was written in big bold letters that took up much of the board. “Blitzo is the best, by Blitzo” was scribbled off to the side. Several tall chairs with spikes jutting from the top boarders were set near a brown table in the center of the room. A white pentagram was drawn in the center of the table.

 Up front, a black, white, and red colored imp paced back and forth, sprouting long curved striped horns: Blitzo. He wore black fingerless gloves with what looked like a yellow eye design on each glove. He was dressed in a slender navy blue business suit with light red buttons. A small round pink pin with black eyes and a stitched mouth was attached onto a red undershirt below his slender chin. What looked like a black two-clawed print mark lay over his red forehead. Along with sharp teeth, the imp has red iris eyes with yellow sclera. Like a typical devil, he also had a red pointed tail. He had four red finger-shaped claws on each hand.

Blitzo began to speak, pacing back and forth. He looked toward his audience of two imps and a hellhound sitting on chairs around a table.

“All right, now I know business has been…a bit slow, lately.”

He mentioned to the board at the downward sloping line. “In fact, there seems to be less people seeking out our services; 1,056 in comparison to the 1,066 from last month. We’ve basically spiraled from the True Blue Market to that of the Raging Bull.” He pointed at the roaring demon head drawing on the board.

“Shouldn’t it be the Bull Market is good and the Bear Market is bad?” said a voice.

“Loona, nobody cares,” Blitzo said. He continued.

 “Any decrease could spell disaster for us, not to mention how lots of people use our services and yet look down on us.” Blitzo cleared his throat and spread out his hands. “Now, I’m not saying it’s, *cough* Moxxie’s or anyone’s fault…”

Moxxie raised his eyebrows. The serious imp had a red face, yellow eyes, white hair framing his face and stripped horns jutting off to the sides in slight curves. He wore a large red bow-tie and a navy blue suit. White freckles were present under his eyes.

Blitzo continued, “…but let’s discuss how we can improve. Now does anyone have any ideas on how to get business drumming up again?”

Millie, the bubbly demon raised her hand. She had a red face, messy black hair with a white flower patch near the top, and short black horns with faint white stripes. Her eyes were also yellow and she wore a black top, black torn pants, high heeled shoes and a little black choker around her neck. Her eyelashes extended past her face.

Millie waved her hand and beamed, eyes shining. “What…about…a car wash?!”

“This is Hell, Millie, no one cares about cars being clean here, okay?!”

 Just then, there came a coughing from the other room. A small cyclops demon with hot pink hair with a patch of yellow opened the door and walked in. She brushed off soot from her hot pink skirt and waved at the group, who stared in surprise.

“Hi, I’m Niffty! It’s nice to meet you. Are you part of I.M.P.?”

“Uh yes?” Blitzo replied, unsure of what to make of this random maid.

“Oh great, because one of my friends sent me here to investigate, he’s a busy chap, you know, and oh so dreamy!”

She darted around the room and began removing cobwebs from the windows. “It looks like there are two men, a woman and a dog here, a nice balance.”

Loona, the grey hellhound glared at Niffty, narrowing her red eyes. “What was that, you little shit?”

Loona had a red cell phone in her clawed paws, the back of the phone displaying a black upside down cross. She wore a grey top with black strings in the shape of an inverted pentagram. A spiked collar was around her neck. Her pants were dark and torn, with a white crescent moon on them. Her feet were bare and her hair and tail were thick with white and dark fur.

 Niffty stopped in her tracks. “Now, did you guys need any cars to be washed?”

 Blitzo shook his head. “We don’t have any cars here, we’re broke as fuck.”

Millie stared at Niffty and cupped her own cheeks with her hands. “Oh my Satan! She’s so adorable! Can we keep her?!”

“No!” Moxxie and Loona said at the same time. The two workers then glared at each other.

Moxxie crossed his arms. “We’re in the middle of a meeting right now. Do you mind?!” He pointed to the door.

Niffty laughed nervously, “Oh okay, sorry about that, hehhehheh. I’ll be outside if you need me!”

She scurried out of the room.

 Blitzo paused for a moment, then said, “Oh right! Ideas for our company!” He waved his hands, his eyes shining. “How about a billboard?!”

Moxxie crossed his arms. “We can’t afford a billboard, sir.”

Blitzo rushed over and held Moxxie in a headlock. His voice was rushed and sarcastic, “So helpful, Moxxie, I’m really glad you’re in the room right now.” He shoved Moxxie away.

Blitzo stared in frustration. “Have you guys forgotten what service we provide?!”

He picked up a remote and turned on an old fashioned TV.

After static appeared on screen, the footage showed the group killing off individuals.

Blitzo bashing a red demon’s head with a mullet.

Moxxie shooting a blue person tied up to a chair.

Loona grabbing a red person in her mouth and shaking the person side to side like a wolf.

Millie beheading a blue person with a spear and laughing.

  Blitzo watched with a relaxed smile on his face, holding up a blue bowl of popcorn. Loona sat on the table, popping popcorn pieces into her mouth. Millie perched on the table, enjoying the show, but Moxxie stood off to the side with a grumpy face.

Posters hung from the walls, one showing Blitzo and his two sisters, Tilla (an imp with long black hair) and Barbie Wire (a smiling imp with ram-like horns.) It was a picture of them at a circus, the banner reading “The Amazing Imp Siblings!” Blitzo remembered the good times he had with them when they performed on stage. Barbie Wire would balance on a tightrope, holding a pole with flames on either end. Tilla tamed and evaded manticores, dragons and other beasts that were released into the arena. Blitzo would sing songs about murdering people and they would all pose and bow at the end as the crowd cheered.

That was before Blitzo moved on to form I.M.P. recruited Moxxie and Millie, and adopted Loona.

 Blitzo moved his hand toward his chest and sighed with content. “Ah, those were good times.”

Moxxie spoke up as Millie ate a piece of popcorn. “We don’t need any reminding, sir, considering you blew most of our salaries on an obnoxious TV ad last week, one that you then additionally paid to have run for a full three hours on a channel, nobody watches!”

Blitzo turned his head, insulted. “Hey, uh, excuse me?” He stood up. “What’s “obnoxious” about a super fun jingle, all right? It’s a fun distraction when an advertisement’s spitting bullshit.” He walked across the room.

“People love musicals, sir,” Millie added.

Blitzo smiled. “Exactly, Millie, and we’re basically doing a musical.” Blitzo did jazz hands before pointing rapidly at Moxxie with a scowl.

“Are you gonna crush my musical theater dreams like my dad did?” He lowered his head.

“Sir…” Moxxie began, but his boss cut him off.

“Because right now, all I see is just my dad’s asshole talking to me, crushing my dreams of being, who I truly am inside.” He turned his head away.

Millie leaned in toward her husband and spoke with a teasing tone. “Are you trying to crush his dreams, Moxxie?”

“I…what?” he asked, looking at her. Millie leaned in close and stuck out her tongue, tail curling. “I thought I knew you.” Moxxie rolled his eyes; his wife loved to annoy him.

Blitzo turned back to Moxxie, tears in his eyes. “I can’t believe you, Moxxie. And after I made you Employee of the Month.” He held a picture of Moxxie with his mouth open in a roar, snake tongue showing.

 Moxxie threw up his hands, “Okay, sir, I’m sorry, but a commercial jingle is not comparable to musical theater. Nobody actually likes the jingles.”

“I liked it!” Millie pipped up.

Moxxie turned to her, finger shaking, “Do not…do not agree with him in front of me.”

 Loona sat, bored, playing on her phone. Moxxie’s head appeared on the screen but was crushed by a weight and then blown up by a bomb. At one point his face was sliced in half as “boom!” flashed across the screen.

 “Remember that actual scene we shot for our commercial on Earth?” Blitzo asked.

 Moxxie got a flashback. “Oh, right. I shot that boy who was walking around licking strawberry ice cream. It was an accident.”

 “And did you know those human nurses and the doctor who beat up the kid on a stretcher and shocked him?”

 “Yes,” Millie said rolling her eyes. “I still remember my line as that pink haired nurse. “Doctor, he’s not responding.”

“Who ordered a stat?” Moxxie repeated, dressed up as a blue-haired man.

Millie laughed, “Then I beat him up and Moxxie said, “It didn’t do anything.”

Blitzo added, “Then I walked in and said “Damn it! We’re not losing another one! “Clear!” Then I shocked him and he somehow survived. I was like “Wow that actually worked.”

 Millie then explained that the three of them sat in the waiting room, with their costumes off. In a separate shot, Blitzo had imitated the human doctor by saying, “He appears to be in stable condition, but he’ll need surgery. Now what kind of insurance do you freaks have?” Then Blitzo said, “The fuck is insurance?”

 Moxxie sighed, “…and then the real doctors came in and kicked us out and we fell back into Hell. Personally, I felt like those scenes were confusing and very risky!”

 “It was brilliant!” said Blitzo. “We all did a great job, and it was in the human world. Why not cover up Moxxie’s mistake with a theater scene?”

 “You’re so dead!” Moxxie seethed, clenching his fist.

 “I know. We’re in Hell. No big deal,” Blitzo replied.

 “But are you sure the doctors were us or where they actually dumbass humans who didn’t know what they were doing?”

 “How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Blitzo replied. “How did that kid manage to survive being shocked so much? Why is it that music logic works on some and not on others? Why even have a Hell that’s a modern paradise and a shabby shithole at the same time? We might as well be in a large cartoon circus being mocked at by other beings.”

 Millie gasped. “Did you just break the 4th wall?”

 Blitzo winked. “Gotta practice my theater skills at some point.”

   Moxxie spoke, hands forward in front of him. “I’d like to go on record and say that incident with shooting the kid was Loona’s fault. Dispatch is supposed to give us the right info on the target. It’s very simple.”

 “Oh sit on a dick, Moxxie,” Loona replied without looking up.

 Moxxie stuttered angrily, looking for a comeback. “You sit…sit on a…a…do your job!” He slammed his palm on the table.

 Blitzo scolded him. “Hey, now we don’t blame our screw-ups on Loona, okay? She didn’t do anything wrong.” He hugged her and nuzzled his head against her cheek, the hellhound growling at him to get off.

 Moxxie stared in disbelief. “Are you kidding me, sir? She’s awful!”

 Lonna looked at her phone. “The other day, right? I answered the phone and said “Hello, I.M.P.” Millie was yelling, “My husband got stabbed!” and then I hung up. Wasn’t my problem. My Hellhound Monthly magazine was much more interesting.”

 “Don’t forget about my adoption anniversary gift I gave you,” Blitzo said, scratching his neck.

 Lonna seethed. “Don’t remind me. It wasn’t a cure for syphilis, I didn’t want it, and it so happened to be black spiders, crawling all over me!”

 “Again, I’m sorry about that,” Blitzo said.

 “God damn it, apology not accepted.”

 “You should be thankful that I rescued you after your hellhound family kicked you out,” Blitzo remarked.

 Loona’s ears twitched. Millie stared nervously. “I was perfectly capable of fending for myself,” barked Loona, looking up from her phone for the first time. “There was nothing special about them, other than all the alcohol, meth and drugs they took. My parents never cared about us. I mean, they sent off my other siblings to work for other overlords and were never seen again. Perhaps I was fortunate enough to not have to deal with them.”

 Blitzo had tears in his eyes. He hugged her again. “Well, at least you’ve got me, Moxxie, and Millie as your new family!”

 Loona hid a smile and just bared her fangs. “Get off of me before I bite your face off!”

Blitzo stepped back.

 Loona then smiled and looked at Moxxie, a look of mischief in her red eyes. “At least it was funny when Moxxie got that weight loss ad.”

 “Why would anyone send me that?!” Moxxie argued.

 “Come on, you know why.”

 “I’m not chubby, thank you very much! Not to mention, you were the one who ate my avocado salad lunch! How rude.”

 “But why would you drink on a workday?” Millie asked.

 “I was hungover from that morning, dumbasses!” Loona said to Moxxie and Millie. “I already told you that. I was getting tired of your petty talks and assaults. I kicked a baby in a carriage and caused some destruction to let out some steam. Felt good afterwards.”

 Blitzo mentioned to Loona. “Look, back to the topic. The point is, Loona is a valued member of our family and we don’t get rid of families.”

 “We aren’t a family, sir,” Moxxie pointed out. “You are the boss. We are the employees. You treat her like she’s some troubled teenager. She’s more like a meth-addicted homeless woman you let man the phones.”

Loona flipped him the bird.

 “That is offensive,” said Blitzo, walking to the window, pulling open the blinds. “Without homeless people, I wouldn’t have half the joy and laughter I do in this life.”

  Outside, a homeless imp with a broken horn and ragged grey clothing held up a sign that read “Monee helps. Satan Bless.” An imp woman with black clothing and little bat wings blushed at Blitzo who waved and did a playful raise of eyebrows before closing the blinds.

 Moxxie crossed his arms. “While we’re on the subject of “family,” can you stop finding me and Millie outside of work?”

“Come on, it’s not that big a deal,” Millie said.

 Moxxie’s eyes grew wide. “Excuse me…what?! He was in our fucking fridge! He was spying on me while I was asleep. And worse, he fucking filmed me and you while we were singing and about to kiss!”

 Blitzo giggled. “I still have it on camera.”

 “It’s fine, honey,” Millie replied to Moxxie, patting his shoulder. “The “spoiler alert, butter’s spoiled!” was a funny use of wordplay Blitzo used.

 “No way,” Moxxie countered. “I had a great dream about my parents being murdered and Blitzo interrupted it.”

 “I was just curious,” Blitzo responded.

 “Just…stop…doing that,” Moxxie growled.

 “I don’t see what the issue is,” said Blitzo. “Something you don’t want me seeing?” A mischievous silly look crossed his face.

 “No!” Moxxie spat.

 “Your baby weiner havor?” Blitzo asked, another term for a small dick.

 Loona giggled under her breath.

Moxxie was fed up. “Sir, what you say and how you act is totally INAPPROPRIATE!”

 Millie pulled him down gently. “Calm down, Mox, you’re gonna have another panic attack!”

 “I AM CALM!” he yelled.

Millie rubbed his head and soothed him. “Shh, there, there.” Moxxie whimpered.

 Blitzo spoke again with a childish grin, making a hole with two fingers and tapping the opening with one finger. “Look, I don’t judge the boring couple stuff you do outside of work hours, so don’t judge me.”

 Veins popped out of Moxxie’s yellow eyes. “Oh I do judge you, sir. Quite a lot, actually.” He crossed his arms as Millie gasped in horror.

“Mox, he’s our boss!”

 “No, it’s fine, Millie,” said Blitzo with a wave of his hand. “Your husband is just…how do I say this without being offensive…retarded.”

 “Does immaturingly insulting me make you feel better about your sad, single, life?”

Blitzo leaned in toward Moxxie. “Yes it does, actually.”

 Loona appeared to agree, because she added to Moxxie, “The only reason you have a wife is because you’re easy to manage.”

Moxxie gasped. She had called Moxxie submissive.

“No he’s not, you turd!” Millie yelled, holding up two middle fingers.

 “Do not talk to my assistant that way!” Blitzo demanded. “She’s sensitive!”

“Yes I am!” Loona barked.

 Then a squeaky voice sounded from nearby: “You guys are fucking assholes.”

Everyone turned and stared at a boy wearing an orange shirt with a planet on it. He had brown hair, a blue baseball cap on and was connected to a monitor.

 Blitzo pointed at him. “Oh shut up, kid, you’re lucky to witness this.”

 Moxxie pinched his nose and sighed in frustration. “Ugh, this company’s such a mess!”

 “Did someone call me?” Niffty’s voice rang from the hallway. She opened the door a crack. “I can clean up any messes you may have!”

 “No!” Moxxie called. “Go away!”

 Niffty slowly closed the door.

 An awkward silence…

 “Alright, let’s get back to talking about my outfit!” Blitzo said out of nowhere.

“Nobody was talking about that,” Loona mentioned.

“Which is why I’m trying to get that ball rolling, so how does it look? It’s good, right?”

 The kid pointed his finger at Blitzo. He ripped off the wires from his stomach.

“It was hell pretending to be paralyzed so you fuckshits wouldn’t kill me, but now? I want that. I want death. You!” he pointed to Blitzo. “You’re a selfish, greedy clown. And I’m a kid! We’re supposed to like clowns…even the creepy ones!”

 Moxxie scoffed. “Hey now, that’s not very…”

 The kid cut him off. “If I wanted to talk to a spineless jackass, I’d rip out your spine and ask you some shit.”

 Moxxie shivered in fear.

 “That’s my husband you’re talking to!” Millie yelled.

 The kid snickered. “That’s your husband?! I figured you for a slut, but I didn’t know you needed it that bad!”  

 Millie fumed at her husband being called ugly and weak. To think that she would have sex with anyone else at random…

 “And you!” The kid pointed at Loona.

 “Yeah? What about me?” Loona asked.

 The kid crossed his arms. “Nothing. I don’t talk to dogs. I’m a cat person.”

 Loona whined.

 “Wow,” said Blitzo. “You know, kid, you kind of are a piece of shit.”

 “Oh you gotta admit, he’s good,” Moxxie muttered.

 A ding came from Loona’s phone. She smiled. “Oh fuck guys, I just got a text from our client. Guess he was the right target after all.”

 “Who?” Blitzo asked.

 “Him.”

 “Me?” asked the kid.

 “Yep,” she confirmed.

 “They wanted us to kill an actual child?” Blitzo asked.

 “That’s what they’re saying,” Loona said.

 Blitzo grinned and twirled a gun in his hand. His job just got more fun and easier. “Well Christ on a stick, I guess there is a god!” He fired and shot the boy in the chest. He flopped down dead in a pool of blood, smoke and sparks lingering in the air.

 Blitzo spoke about I.M.P.: “You know folks, with this company, I really wanted to prove that we’re capable of doing the same things anyone else can, like killing people. So from us here at the Immediate Murder Professionals group, we promise to settle your unfinished business or your money is gone and you’re never getting it back and you can write us a bad review but we’ll play dumb to it because it’s Hell and no one fucking cares.”

 Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie kicked the dead kid on the floor, enjoying themselves. Loona snapped a picture with her phone. After the imps left with the body, Niffty came in and gasped.

“Well, time to clean this up. What a mess!” She hummed a happy tune as she mopped up the blood at rapid speed.

 Blitzo and Moxxie wore gas masks and green suits as Blitzo sawed off the boy’s arm and Moxxie sawed his chest, organs spilling out into a sack below. Millie tossed an arm into the sack and Loona helped hold open the sack. Moxxie dropped the boy’s severed head inside and shared a loving smile with his wife.

 Etched in red graffiti on a dumpster behind them were the words “Devil,” “Hell,” “Happy Hotel,” and “I’m always chasing rainbows.” A pentagram, and wide smiles were also doodled on the surface.

 Blitzo embraced the entire group in a forceful hug, knocking the phone from Loona’s hands.

“You know, even though this kid was a target, he’s still a child. It’s important that we’ve handled this going forward, respectfully.” He wrapped his long tail around the group, all of them smiling genuinely. For despite all their problems, they were still a company family.

   Back in the human world, a crying blonde mother wearing a pink shirt and a necklace held up a paper saying “missing boy.” Below in large letters read on the news: “Mom sucks at drawing own kid!”

 The mother spoke into the microphone, “Please, if anyone has seen my little Eddie…”

She gasped as a sack dropped into her hands. She and the news reporter looked up to see a smiling Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie through a portal up above.

 “You’re welcome!” Blitzo called with a wave before the portal closed.

The mother looked inside the bag and screamed. “My son! He’s dead! NOOOO!”

   Back in Hell, the three imps laughed out loud.

 “We did the right thing,” said Millie.

 “Yep, at least now she knows what happened to her kid,” said Blitzo.

 They turned around and spotted Niffty finishing up mopping the floor and walls. The water in the bucket was crimson red.

 “What the…?” Moxxie asked in disbelief. “Why is she still here?!”

 “Oh, hi, your back!” Niffty said. “Just in time too! I’ve talked with my friend and he’s coming over to chat with you.”

 “We don’t have time for any more chit-chat,” Moxxie spat. Loona sat in a chair, staring at her phone. “Whatever.”

 There was a knock on the door.

 “Oh here he is!” Niffty squealed and opened the door.

 Blitzo and the others saw a black and white scowling cat demon with red wings. He wore a small top hat and a large red bow tie. His wings had card symbols on it: diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs.

 “Oh hello, Husk!” Niffty greeted as Husk slouched in.

 Husk narrowed his eyes at Niffty. “Alright, you said that these imps had an underground stash of cash and booze. Where is it?”

 Blitzo shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re broke.”

 “Husk,” said Niffty. “Don’t let this shabby town fool you. There’s loads of treasures hidden in plain sight.”

 Husk looked around as the imps shook their heads in confusion.

“You’re a fucking liar! You thought it would be a big ho-ra to trick me into following you? To meet these clown imps and to find there’s no booze at all? You think I’m some kind of fucking joke?!”

 Niffty just shrugged. “Well, it got you here and that’s the important thing.”

She darted around and shook the imp’s hands. “It’s so nice to meet more friends. It gets a bit boring at the hotel.”

 “What hotel?” Moxxie asked.

 “The Haz…Happy Hotel, of course! The one that princess Charlie runs to help redeem sinners.”

 Blitzo and the others looked at each other, then burst into laughter, while Husk scowled.

 “What? That’s the craziest shit I’ve ever heard!” Blitzo giggled, pounding on the desk. Even Loona howled in laughter.

 Blitzo wiped tears from his eyes. “You’re telling me that Hell’s princess decides to turn sinners into do-gooders? Next thing you know, she’ll make the homeless rich. And I like homeless people too much to let that happen.”

 Moxxie face-palmed. “Why would royalty do something so pointless? If the princess wants to help out, then she should help us imps and hellhounds. We may be hellborn and above sinners, but we’re still treated like scum based on where we live and how easy it is for others to get us into service!”

 Loona nodded. “For once, I agree with him. And I could care less about what she does.”

 “Well, if you ever want to visit…”

 Moxxie glared at Niffty. “No. Thanks.”

 Millie sighed in defeat. “Aw, Blitzo, are you sure we can’t have her around? Or at least visit the hotel?”

 Blitzo stared into her wide pleading eyes and shook his head with a sigh. “I’m afraid Moxxie is right. As fun as it sounds, it’s too risky for us to go there by ourselves. At least not without weapons. Besides, we have work to do here.”

 Niffty mentioned to Husk. “This is my friend, Husk. Though he wasn’t the one who wanted us to come here.”

 Husk scoffed. “I’m no one’s friend. It was annoying enough to get dragged out of the bar and into this shady shithole of a city. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Niffty and that crazy…”

 Husk paused and stared at the hellhound, with wide eyes.

 Loona took out a dark brown bottle marked with three xs on it and took a drink.

 “Is that hard booze?” Husk asked.

 “Yep,” said Loona.

 “Can I have it?”

 “No.”

 “Hand it over, bitch!”

 Loona growled, “Shut it, pussy!”

 Husk hissed. “Fuck you!”

 Loona held up two fingers.

 “Oh you did not just go double on me!”

 “Sure did.”

 “Okay then,” Husk said, swiping the phone from Loona’s hand.  

 “HEY!” Loona barked, spitting out her drink. She got up from her chair and chased Husk around the room. The sounds of cat screeches and dog barks filled the room.

  Hey, Husk!” Blitzo yelled. “Do not insult my assistant!”

  “What ya gonna do, boss man?” Husk called, leaping onto the table, Millie jumping out of the way. Loona threw a book at Husk, who ducked. The book instead hit Niffty in the face, sending her flying across the room and against the stripped wall. “I’m okay!”

  Moxxie face-palmed as he watched the chaos. “I might as well quit, but I don’t have any other means to support myself.” Millie embraced Moxxie who whimpered again.  

 Everyone yelled, adding to the chaos.

 “ORDER IN THE OFFICE!” Blitzo yelled, pounding his hand on the table.

 “MY PHONE BACK, JACKASS!” Loona snarled loudly.

 “GET ME RICH OR I’M LEAVING!” Husk added.

 Niffty cleaned up the room, muttering to herself.

 Millie practiced singing out loud, trying to drown out the noise. “INSIDE OF EVERY DEMON IS A RAINBOW…”

 “HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW THAT SONG?” Loona asked her.

 Moxxie covered his ears. “WOULD EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP FOR ONE…”

 A sudden screeching sound brought the yelling and erratic activities to an abrupt halt.  Everyone winced at the sound, which vanished as quickly as it came.

 “What was…that?” Blitzo asked, shaking his head.

 “Dunno,” Loona said. “Sounded like somebody testing a microphone.”

  A very slow “Shave and a Haircut” knock filled up the silence. It came from behind the door that led to the hallway.

 Loona and Husk froze, maws open in mid-brawl. Moxxie raised his eyebrows and suddenly started to shiver. Millie and Blitzo suddenly felt an oncoming sense of dread. Husk crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Niffty, however, clapped her hands in excitement. She took some steps forward, but froze at Moxxie’s glare.

 “Do not answer the door,” Moxxie whispered in a harsh tone.

 Niffty stared in confusion. “Why not? He’s my friend.”

 Moxxie narrowed his eyes.

 “From the other side!” Niffty emphasized.

 “Just don’t go any further.”

 Niffty grinned and tiptoed closer to the door.

 “No, no, no,” Moxxie breathed, moving his hands across in a signal. “Stop right there.”

 Niffty stopped and slowly reached her thin black hand toward the round handle.

 “Oh for Lucifer’s sake!” Blitzo announced, walking toward the door. “It’s Niffty’s coworker. How bad can he be?”

 He opened the door and grinned. “Hi I’m Blitz…”

 His eyes widened and his face fell.

 “…o.”

 Blitzo stared at a towering tall demon wearing a tattered red dress coat with vertical thin stripes. Burgundy colored pants covered his legs and ended in red patches along the ends. He wore black dress shoes with red deer print marks on the soles. His undershirt was red and had an upside down black cross as part of the design. A black bow tie was displayed below his slender neck. One of his four clawed hands held a red vintage microphone staff.

 Blitzo stuttered, at a loss for words. Fear was constricting his throat. He stuttered as he looked up at the man’s face, “Welcome…”

 Blitzo stared at the man’s red and black hair, with large deer ears and antlers. His large red eyes blinked to life from a pale face. A monocle gleamed under his right eye.

 “…to…”

 The man displayed a grin of sharp yellow teeth, his smile too wide to be considered natural.

 “…I.M.P…”

 The demon opened his mouth, “Hell…”

 Blitzo slammed the door, catching his breath. He opened it a crack…

 “…o!”

 Closed it again. “Guys…” he began.

 “What?” Moxxie asked in frustration.

 “I think we need to move away. Niffty, could you please send your friend away? He’s giving me the creeps.”

 Niffty shook her head.

 “Don’t let him in, sir!” Moxxie said. Husk nodded in agreement.

 Millie gasped, “That’s a rude way to treat a guest!”

 “Okay then, do you want to open the door?”

 Millie gulped.

 Blitzo sighed and opened it again.

 “May I speak now?” the man asked.

 “Sure, whatever,” Blitzo muttered.

 The overlord swooped into the room. “Greetings fellow sinners! I’m Alastor but people call me the Radio Demon. I heard from my little darling Niffty that you imps are part of an assassination organization, yes?”

 Blitzo took a deep breath and cleared his throat. A smile appeared on his face, now that he was feeling confident. “That’s correct, good sir! I’m Blitzo and I’m the founder of the Immediate Murder Professionals, I.M.P. for short.”

 Alastor laughed. “What a clever name! I.M.P. run by imps! And who are your associates?”

 Blitzo mentioned to the other imps, “This is Moxxie and Millie.” Millie waved and blushed while Moxxie glowered.

 Loona looked up from her phone.

 “…and this is my sweet daughter, Loona,” Blitzo finished.

 Loona growled and snapped her teeth at Alastor, causing him to take a step back. Retaining his composure, he continued. “That little maid is Niffty, and that cat over there is Husk. I saw your commercial on the picture show and was intrigued. Murdering people in gruesome ways…a classic form of entertainment! It even makes my methods look standard. All thanks to Niffty for finding your location.”

 Niffty smiled and waved.

 “Next time, don’t mention Imp City in the ad,” Moxxie spat at Blitzo in a low voice.

 Alastor walked slightly closer to Blitzo, leaning in. “Is it true that you have access to the living world?”

 “Uh…yes?” Blitzo answered. He felt Alastor’s fingers make their way along his curved horns. Despite himself denying it, Blitzo felt his cheeks go pink.

 “And you can create portals? Splendid, indeed. There’s no other being in Hell who can do that.”

 “Smooth liar,” Husk muttered from a distance.

 “That’s right!” Blitzo replied. “Our company has special access to the living world due to our abilities. I may have also stolen a Satanic ritual book from a bird dick overlord several days ago. Top secret.”

 Moxxie’s face turned purple, he made the hand signal for “zip it!” to Blitzo, but of course, he wasn’t paying attention.

 Alastor smiled and put a finger to his lips. “Rest assured, whatever happens here, stays here.”

 He waved his hand and two bottles of booze appeared in front of Husk.  

 “You might think you can keep getting away with bribing me like that…” Husk said, narrowing his eyes, “…but we both know you can!” He picked up a bottle and started drinking. Loona snatched the other one.

  “What exactly are you doing here, anyway?” Moxxie demanded to Alastor.

 “Why I’m here to help out your company, of course! I’m already involved in helping Charlie with her hotel, so I figured I could expand my horizons.”

 The Radio Demon walked over to Millie. “Hello, dear, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 He gently kissed her red hand, making her giggle.

 Moxxie slapped his hand away. “No one touches my wife, you got that?”

 Alastor just shrugged and walked toward the table.

  “Don’t you walk away from me, Mister!” Mooxie stood from his chair and walked over to him. He pointed at his chest, making the demon’s smile more strained. “You look like a shady showman to me, so listen here. You have no business whatsoever in interfering with our company. Or messing around with my coworkers and my boss. So, don’t go around harming anyone here, or we’ll kick you out of our office…or just slice you to bits, Dapper Deer!”

 Alastor just laughed softly. Millie and Blitzo walked over to calm Moxxie down.

 “If I wanted to hurt anyone here…” Alastor said…

 He then spoke in a creepy tone: “I would’ve done so already.”

His eyes turned into red moving radio dials and the air filled with radio static and floating red voodoo symbols.

 He shook his head and the sensations ceased. His eyes returned to normal. “So, now let’s talk about how I can help you out.”

 “What?” Millie asked.

 “How can I be of assistance? You want donations? Promotion? An upgraded outfit?”

 Blitzo scoffed, “My outfit is great enough as it is. But… you said something about promotions?”

  Alastor nodded. “You ever feel like your work goes unrecognized?”

 “Yeah,” Blitzo replied. “People do come to us a lot to murder people, but…”

 Alastor tilted his head…

 Blitzo continued, “…but the imps and residents here look down on us. Not to mention even the sinners brush us aside like we’re trash. That’s why we’ve kept to ourselves a lot. We imps have to stick together…and hellhounds, too.”

 Loona rolled her eyes.

 “But your company is so unique, and with such special access, I don’t know why others would look down on you,” Alastor mentioned. “Whoever those horrible people are…who are they?”

 “My asshole father,” Blitzo said. “He’s kept me from achieving my musical theater dreams.”

 Alastor placed a hand on Blitzo’s shoulder. He spoke in his sympathetic tone, reserved for making others feel at ease.

 “Oh, believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve loved singing and music ever since I can remember. And my dad…well it’s a long story, too tragic to go into. Have you ever thought of…killing the person in your way? It’s surprisingly simple, and you of all people should know.”

 “I…um…”

 Moxxie nodded. “I had a dream that my parents were being murdered, and I wanted to get back to that.”

 “What if I told you…there was a way for your dreams to come true?”

 “That’s impossible,” Moxxie scoffed.

 Alastor appeared behind him, from his shadow form, making him jump. “I don’t think so! I can do so many things for your cause.” He stood in front of the three imps. A flaming bag of money appeared in Alastor’s outstretched hand, in front of Blitzo’s eyes. It changed to fiery silhouettes of Blitzo, Moxxie, and Millie dancing to the clapping of a crowd coming through his microphone. “This may seem like a bit much, but so far, you’re a well-established company.” The I.M.P. logo appeared in his hand before he closed it. “I could improve you ads, extend your business to Pentagram City, all under my protection. Imps won’t have to be the lowest of the low ever again.”

 Blitzo and his associates looked at each other, lost in thought. Alastor’s grin grew wider.

  “Do you really want to give up this golden opportunity?”

 Moxxie paused. Blitzo found himself shaking his head. Millie smiled at Niffty and Husk nearby.

 Alastor turned to leave. “Well, it was worth a try. I could give you some time to think about it…it was only a suggestion.”

 He slowly walked toward the door. “3…2…1…”

 Blitzo’s eyes went wide. “No, no, wait! Don’t leave.”

 Alastor turned his head, smile wide. He turned back to them and held out his right hand. “So, do we have a deal?”

 “No deals!” Moxxie yelled, pulling Blitzo away. “There’s something shifty about this guy. The stuff he says is too good to be true.”

 “You sure about that?” he asked. “Perhaps I need to persuade you a little more…”

 He snapped his fingers and the table and pictures vanished. The room turned a dark purple and the floor became wooden like dance floor. Deer antlers and voodoo symbols lined the walls in neon colors. The posters now showed deer with black bloody circles in place of eyes. Alastor’s outfit changed into a red suit, with a red top hat with pins sticking out. Soon, everyone was wearing attire from the early 1900s: dapper dresses and round hats of purple, green and yellow for Millie, Niffty, and Loona, and suits of light blue, white and black for Blitzo, Husk and Moxxie.

  “Take it boys!” Alastor called, snapping his fingers. Shadow spirits emerged from a newly created portal in the ground. One played a saxophone, one a trumpet, and the other played the drums.

 A jazzy remix of the I.M.P. jingle played. Moxxie and Millie danced and spun around in the spotlight as the music played. Husk and Moxxie glared at each other in a corner. Niffty smiled and danced along, while Loona stared at her phone again.

 Alastor mentioned for Blitzo to come on stage and sing with him. Blitzo blushed and slowly made his way next to him.

  Alastor sang through his vintage microphone, which lit up.

   “When you want somebody dead,

And you wanna poke fun at their head

Call the Immediate Murder Professionals

 Whether homicide or genocide

We’ll make it look like suicide

Immediate Murder Professionals

 We do our job so well

‘Cause we come straight up from Hell

We’ll kill your husband or your wife

We’ll even let you keep the knife

 The Immediate…Murder…Professionals

 The song was followed by an electro swing solo and a repeat of the verses.

Blitzo was lost in a blissful trance as he and Alastor spun around in a dance.

 They both stopped to catch their breath as the music slowed to a relaxing jazz melody.

 Alastor held out his right hand. “What’d you say? Won’t you shake a poor sinner’s hand?” The area around him glowed an eerie green and a strange wind gusted.

 Millie ran over and eagerly shook his hand. “I accept! Thank you for your help!” In the shadows, Moxxie was pulled toward Alastor by black tentacles wrapping around his waist.

 Blitzo stared at Alastor’s hand in front of him. Common sense told him to stay far away from this demon.

 But Millie had shaken his hand already…and he did offer to help them…

 Blitzo’s musical dream was just beginning, and so was his company. Why back out now?

 He slowly moved his hand closer, hovering over Alastor’s fingerless glove- covered hand.

 Loona’s eyes grew wide. Her fur stuck on end and her instincts kicked in. She could smell deceit and evil coming from the demon. She hadn’t thought it would go this far. For the first time, she placed her phone down on the ground. “Blitz!” she called.

 Blitzo briefly looked behind Alastor…and saw his adopted daughter…with fear in her eyes for the first time. He was sure he was dreaming. There was no way magic like this could exist, and surely his daughter wouldn’t show this much concern for him.

 But then again…Blitzo could create portals to Earth, so anything was possible.

 “Anything is possible,” said Alastor, as if reading his thoughts.

 “Don’t do it!” Loona barked. She raced over to Blitzo…only for Husk and Niffty to block her. Husk’s eyes and Niffty’s eye glowed red. “Ahh, the fuck?!” Loona exclaimed, in shock.

 Blitzo’s shaking hand inched closer…

 Moxxie’s hand was forcibly guided to the demon’s other hand by the tentacles…

 Loona growled and swatted Husk and Niffty aside with her paws.

  Blitzo’s hand touched Alastor’s at the same time Moxxie’s did.

“Noooo!”

  The Radio Demon cackled in triumph as Blitzo and Moxxie shook his hands. All three imps briefly opened their eyes wide, all glowing red. Small streams of evil black energy from their souls traveled from each of their mouths and into Alastor’s staff. Husk and Niffty stood up and stared at each other…for this had happened to them as well. All five of them stood still like soldiers, each with too-wide grins on their faces as static and symbols filled the air. The static was overwhelming to Loona’s ears, and she soon passed out.

   Then suddenly, the room and everyone’s outfits returned to normal. Everyone’s eyes cleared, and the portal and tentacles vanished.

Moxxie and Blitzo removed their hands.

 “What…just happened?” Blitzo asked.

 “Something amazing,” Niffty said.

 Loona sat up and rubbed her head. “I think I just had another hangover.”

 Husk had already thrown up after all the dancing and spinning.

 Niffty sighed. “Let me clean that,” and rushed off.

 “Well, I’ll say that was quite entertaining!” Alastor said. “Look.” He pointed to a radio which hadn’t been there before. Blitzo listened and he could hear the jazzy version of the I.M.P. jingle being played. A low announcer voice said, “Call the Immediate Murder Professionals! Founded by the Incredible Blitzo, and his associates Moxxie and Millie….and Loona too.”

 Loona raised her middle finger.

 “Call 1-800-666-Hell or go online to I.M.P. .com today!”

 Alastor grinned. “It’s now been broadcasted all over Hell…and it should appear on the Picture Show very soon!”

 “Wait, Picture Show?” asked Millie.

 “He means the TV,” Blitzo replied.

 Alastor grinned. “Well, I’d love to stay, but I’m a busy man. Good luck with your business. Come along, Niffty, Husk.”

 Niffty scurried over and opened the door for Alastor. Husk gave one final “fuck you,” to Loona and Moxxie before leaving.

 “By the way…” Alastor said as he reached the door. “Since I’ve helped you out, it only seems fair that you help me out as well. Don’t be alarmed if you’re suddenly summoned to help me out in my various conquests of Hell.  Loona, your services are not required.” Loona grunted in response before he finished, “Consider my deal as an inevitable new career for you…”

 His eyes turned into dials again…

 “…as my slaves.”

 His eyes turned fully red once more. “Ta-la for now!”

 He waved goodbye and the door closed behind him, everyone staring wide-eyed. No one noticed that the Satanic book had disappeared…

  The imps didn’t believe that was the case…

 …until one day, they were transported outside near the Hazbin Hotel. Their auras glowed red and their bodies became dark shadows. They surrounded Sir Pentious’ blimp, giggling as dark power flowed through their veins. The tentacles wrapped around the blimp and the shadow imps scattered before the vehicle exploded in a cloud of pink smoke. Charlie, Angel Dust, Husk, Vaggie, and Niffty watched in horror as Alastor stood with a sinister grin on his face.

 The group walked back to the hotel as Alastor talked about his mother’s jambalaya. With a snap of his fingers, the “Happy Hotel” words on the roof changed to “Hazbin Hotel.”

 “Stay tuned,” Alastor finished with low laughter.

[alcalavicci]

Jill’s timeline of Dean, 1936-1979. She said something about working on an 80s timeline too but I didn’t find it: 

Robert Dean Stockwell was born on March 5, 1936, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles.

His father was Harry Baylis Stockwell, age 30, an 'artist' employed by motion picture studios. His original birthplace was Missouri. His mother was Elizabeth Margaret Veronica, age 24, a 'housekeeper' employed at home. Her original birthplace was New York. This was her second child. [Me: Jill somehow got his birth certificate. I guess this was in the days before they got a lot more secure about who got birth certificates?? Either way, it’s not really something I approve of because that’s applying genealogical methods to a living person, which genealogists generally frown on doing.]

1953 - 1956: The mystery years. Jill: “Dean left college in the spring of 1953, and disappeared for awhile until he showed up doing live television in 1956. When interviewers asked him what he had been doing, he spun quite a fanciful tale. There is no way for any of us to know how much is true, and how much he was making up. According to him, he changed his name several times, and began an odyssey of traveling across country doing odd jobs and living with the laborers of the land (Woody Guthrie, anyone? Bob Dylan also made up his own past when he hit New York. Must have seemed quite romantic at the time). “Dean says that he worked in the mailroom of a large company in New York....but when people began to figure out who he was, he hit the road. Worked on the railroad in Texas....in Mexico.....worked as a fruit picker.....worked in a bakery in New Orleans.....eventually ended up in New York again, and decided to try acting once more.

Jill: “Here are a few facts I've been able to find: Dean attended the University of California in Berkeley from 1952 to the spring of 1953, when he dropped out. His brother Guy was attending the university at the same time, and when Guy graduated (probably 1954), he became a schoolteacher in northern California. A former pupil of Guy's recalls Dean coming into the classroom occasionally to read Shakespeare to them (how cool would that be?). Also, Dean himself has stated that he was in 'northern California' when James Dean was killed in an automobile accident (which was the fall of 1955).

“Because of these few facts, I get the feeling that Dean was with Guy during a lot of these 'lost years.'

“However, he definitely was in New York during 1956, as that is where the live TV shows were originating from that he appeared in. He attended a few classes at the Actor's Studio, which is where he met Suzanne Pleschette. Since she is a real person, I will take that fact at face value.

“The rest is a mystery.” [K: I think there’s some truth to Dean’s claims- he was in NYC during the summer of 1955 and acted in a religious show, The Wise in Heart, to get money to go back to LA, according to Nature Boy. Nature Boy’s author confirmed this was pulled from a magazine interview with Stockwell. So, between the summer of 1955 and up to fall/winter 1955 at the earliest, spring 1956 at the latest, he was with his brother in Northern California, working as a logger, before going back to LA. Between spring of 1953 and the summer of 1955? I’m sure he found work elsewhere, was recognized there, moved, changed jobs, and that’s why he went through so many, but he may have exaggerated as well. After moving to LA, Dean soon met Berman. They had certainly met well before 1957- Dean wrote a poem that mentioned Berman’s son Tosh blowing out the candles on his 21st birthday cake.]

1957: A new adult Dean Stockwell emerges. Sometimes Dean says he went back to Hollywood in 1956, but another time he stated he returned to Hollywood on his 21st birthday, in order to collect the money that had been held in trust for him (it wasn't very much.......I'm thinking around $25,000, but I'd have to look that up). Dean turned 21 on March 5, 1957.

This is the period when Roddy McDowall took that photo of Dean's that shows up on the mantel in the QL show "M.I.A." [Me: Dean doesn’t look that young in the picture, based on his hair. I’m thinking the picture that’s in Roddy’s art book was taken around this time, while the MIA picture was taken in the early 1960s.]

There is so much happening between 1956 and 1957, that I have a feeling he was traveling between New York and Hollywood, rather than staying put in one place. He makes his first film as an adult, a western, titled "Gun for a Coward." "The Careless Years" will follow that one, plus countless appearances on TV dramas, plus a run in a Broadway play "Compulsion" with Roddy McDowall from late 1957 to early 1958 (while rehearsing for Compulsion, he appears in live TV dramas from New York........he was busy!).

Also, in 1957, he began to hang out with the beatniks living in Topanga Canyon, above Los Angeles. His address is listed as an apartment building in Hollywood (there's a photo of that building in our Files section), but he eventually buys his own home up in the canyon (I have no idea what year).

Dean states in the recent Neil Young biography that he spent a lot of time with the artist Wallace Berman and his family, and that Berman's revolutionary way of thinking was a profound influence on him. Berman was an avant-garde artist who worked with collages and symbols, often incorporating Hebrew letters (having to do with the Kabbala). When Berman's art exhibition was closed down due to obscenity, it was Dean Stockwell who bailed him out of jail (this was still 1957).

1957 - 1959: This is the period of time that Dean is hanging out at Jazz clubs, and is referred to as a Hollywood Hipster (with the likes of another child star, Bobby Driscoll), when he's not being compared to the late James Dean. He shows up in a documentary about the 'Beats' in California (a film I would love to get my hands on. :-) It's also the time when Dean's name is being connected to quite a few Hollywood starlets (Janice Rule, Diane Varsi, Ina Balin, Suzanne Pleschette, Sandra Dee).

1959 - 1962: At this point, almost every interview/article about Dean Stockwell centers on his relationship with another quirky personality, Millie Perkins. They were young, they were different from the mainstream, they were 'hip' without being obnoxious, and they made a cute couple. It's difficult for me to even figure out what else Dean was doing at the time, because everything centers around his marriage to Millie (1960 - 1962), and their efforts to hide from the press. They are married shortly after he finished "Sons and Lovers" and are going through a divorce by the time of "Long Day's Journey Into Night."

A brief glimpse into Dean's character is provided by Katherine Hepburn, during the filming of Long Day's Journey - he showed up for filming on the first day, an outdoor scene, without a coat during cold weather. That bothered Kate so much, she went out and bought him a coat, and had it there for him the following day. The director stated that Kate Hepburn had a soft spot for heavy drinkers. Apparently Dean arrived for work with a bottle of vodka close at hand. Sounds like he was getting a bit of a reputation.

1963: This is when Dean runs into Dennis Hopper again (they first met in New York in 1957, through their mutual friend Roddy McDowall). They become lifelong friends. Dean is mentioned in 'Andy Warhol's Diary' as being one of the guests at a party at Hopper's house, with Russ Tamblyn and Suzanne Pleschette. [Me: According to Semina Culture, this is also around the time when Dean met his longtime girlfriend Toni Basil.]

A photo of Dean from these days was taken by Dennis Hopper, and can be found in our Files, as well as in the Photo Album on our Website. [Me: That picture- with the egg on Dean’s face- was taken in 1965.]

1965 - Makes frequent appearances as a continuing character on the TV series "Dr. Kildare." Stars in a black and white film shot in France, titled "Rapture."

1966 - creates a short art film titled "Moonstone" with his artist friend George Herms

1966 and 1967 - in a sense, we can call these 2 years as 'lost years' or 'mystery years' also. Only called that because Dean's life at the time cannot be discerned by movies or TV appearances. Instead, we find Dean creating collages for Art Showings, living in Haight-Ashbury (verified by the beatnik poet Charles Plymell, who became a friend of his at the time), and perhaps sojourning in London for awhile. While in Haight-Ashbury, he attends parties at Plymell's apartment with the likes of Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg. [Me: There was Mr. Paracelsus, Who Are You? early around this time, but after that, nothing until late 1967.]

1968 - appeared in the psychedelic hippie movie "Psych-Out"; according to sources, the only actor in the film who actually lived in the Haight district at the time. But not for long, because now he's reappearing in Topanga Canyon with Russ Tamblyn, and eating breakfast at the local restaurant there. He befriends the female owner, who introduces him to her new boyfriend - Neil Young.

Also starred in a British TV mystery drama (which puts him in London, if only briefly). [Me: This was Thirty-Minute Theatre: Before Breakfast.]

Also made appearances on The Danny Thomas Show, and FBI.

Finishes the decade by performing (most charmingly) in a Bonanza episode....... and writing a screenplay titled "After the Gold Rush." Introduces George Herms to the music of Neil Young during an acid trip.

1970 to 1973 = Dean continues to make short art films with his friend George Herms. Also makes a short documentary about the making of "Breakaway," which was an art film created by the artist Bruce Connor, starring Dean's girlfriend at the time, Toni Basil.

1970 = stars in the film "Dunwich Horror" with his friend from the 1950's, Sandra Dee. Asks George Herms to paint the hieroglyphics on his torso for a scene in the film.

1971 = Joins his friend Dennis Hopper and other "Misfits of Hollywood" in Peru for the making of Hopper's film "The Last Movie." LIFE Magazine does a cover story about Hopper down in Peru, and stories circulate about the wild times on the set. Hopper spends a year editing the film, but Universal refuses to distribute it. The title of the film is almost prophetic regarding Hopper's career. [Me: His stepmother Nina Olivette passes away this year.]

Also in 1971, Dean stars in two television movies - "Paper Man" and "The Failing of Raymond."

1972 = stars in a low-budget biker-on-the-road flick titled "The Loners." The press release for the film states that Dean Stockwell has 'been living in England.'

1973 = Stars in "The Werewolf of Washington." Dean later says that the script was funny, but he knew by the very first day on the set that he was in a stinker.

1974 = Appears in a play in Albuquerque called "Relatively Speaking," and tells an interviewer from the local paper that he is tired of being typecast as a murderous lunatic who guest stars on television dramas. He would like to try comedy. [Me: There’s a 1972 newspaper article about Win Place or Steal that says he’d love to do more comedy, but I think his first comedic role as an adult was in his 1964 episode of Burke’s Law.]

Also around this time he is showing up in Taos quite a bit, getting drunk and stoned in bars with Dennis Hopper. But even though he was getting quite a reputation in Taos (and not a good one - Dean quotes, with good humor, a person saying "I always thought Dennis Hopper was the biggest asshole in Taos - until I met the other guy....,"), that isn't his entire existence. He is also still living in Topanga Canyon above Los Angeles, and the magazine "Fighting Stars" does a cover story on Dean about his newfound interest, Stickfighting.

Dean comes across in the interview as an eager, enthusiastic man, younger than his stated age (the photos that accompany the article look like a man in his 20's instead of a man approaching 40), who has discovered the martial art Stickfighting after appearing in a low-budget film in the Phillipines. He is so involved with this sport that he brings his instructor over from the Phillipines, Remy Presas, to stay at his house. He also tells the interviewer that he really doesn't care if he never acts again, as long as he can be involved in this martial art.

At the same time, though, Dean is happy to give his blessing to an official Fan Club, started by a woman named Geordie James (whom our member Claire was corresponding with at the time). Dean even telephoned Ms. James when he returned from the Phillipines, and he sounded just as eager and enthusiastic over the phone as he comes across in the magazine interview. Alas, there was a fire at the home of Ms. James, and the Fan Club never got off the ground.

1975 = stars in another low-budget film, this time a comedy, titled "Win, Place or Steal," with his friend and Topanga Canyon neighbor Russ Tamblyn. [Me: This was filmed around 1972.]

Also in 1975, spends a fastpaced summer with his friend David Bowie, who was living in Hollywood at the time. Bowie recalls making the club scene with Dean and Dennis; Iggy Pop remembers them visiting him in the mental hospital.

1976 = Does the photography/artwork for the cover of Neil Young's album "American Stars 'N Bars" (9 years earlier, Dean had contributed a photo of the artist Wallace Berman for the cover of the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" album).

Also, in 1976, Dean and his girlfriend Toni Basil accompanied Dennis Hopper to the Cannes Film Festival for a showing of the independent film "Tracks," which both Dean and Dennis had appeared in. According to the gossip columns, there were parties on the beach from dusk to dawn, and it was here that Dean meets his future wife, Joy Marchenko. They begin a 5 year correspondence.

1977 to 1978 = Toni is very active in the punk rock scene, and the artist Bruce Conner makes a documentary about punk rock clubs in California, with her in it. Toni introduces Dean to the band Devo. Dean makes a tape of their music and gives it to Neil Young. Then Dean takes Neil to a club to see them.

1978 = Probably the beginning of the breakup with Toni, as she begins an affair with Devo's bass player. Dean moves in with Russ Tamblyn, still up in Topanga Canyon. During a frisbee game with Russ and Neil, the idea for "Human Highway" takes shape. Joined by Dennis Hopper and Devo, they begin filming a movie which will ultimately take 5 years to complete, and will end up being completely different than the original conception.

Stories circulate about the wild times on the set, which began as simple outdoor shots filmed around Taos, New Mexico, but which will end up being a very expensive studio set created by Neil Young's imagination.

1979 = Dean appears in Las Vegas doing comedy dinner theater ("Come Blow Your Horn"). Also directs an avant-garde play in Los Angeles called "Man With Bags," starring Russ Tamblyn (this is where our member Claire gets to meet him). A few weeks later she gets to meet him again at an art exhibition of George Herms' work, which includes a showing of Dean's film creation "Moonstone." A good time was had by all.

[dweemeister]

Best Documentary Short Film Nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards (2020, listed in order of appearance in the shorts package)

The Academy Awards may be finished, but I haven’t yet completed my annual tradition of reviewing all of the nominated short films for this year’s ceremony – this omnibus review will do the trick. Thankfully, the Oscars will revert back to their traditional last Sunday in February date next year (at least until 2022). 

For the first time ever, I write an Oscar-nominated short film package review with a bias and – if you wish to phrase it – a conflict of interest. As a member of the Viet Film Fest 2019′s Curatorial Committee, I helped select Walk, Run, Cha-Cha for the film festival’s selection in early October. I am not at all affiliated with the production itself, but as a Viet Film Fest selection (a unanimous selection, mind you) I couldn’t help but feel proud of the film’s success.

Also, give these five films recognition for their fantastic titles.

Life Overtakes Me (2019, Sweden)

First identified in Sweden in the 1990s, Resignation Syndrome sees a psychologically traumatized child entering a catatonic state that could last for weeks, months, or years. It is considered a dissociative disorder that has only been affecting refugee children and adolescents who are going through an extended period of immigration limbo. Since Resignation Syndrome’s identification in Sweden, cases have been reported among refugee children who had been transferred from Australia – where asylum has been divisive to the nation’s politics for decades – to the now-defunct Nauru Regional Processing Centre (many refugees, hoping to be Australia-bound, are still on Nauru and statistics on how many children have Resignation Syndrome are not accessible) and in Greece. Life Overtakes Me, co-directed by Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas for Netflix, concentrates on the plight of Sweden-residing refugee children with Resignation Syndrome and their families. Many of these children in Sweden are from across Eastern Europe and the Middle East – some hail from as far as China’s Xinjiang province, home of the persecuted Uighur minority.

One doctor in the film describes the state of one child to her parents: “Your child is laying here like Snow White because everything is so terrible around her that this is a way of protection.” Life Overtakes Me, however, never adjusts its focus from explaining Resignation Syndrome. This is where it frustrates: neither the families nor their children are framed as being anything else than either the family of a child with Resignation Syndrome or a child with Resignation Syndrome. There is no discussion about the contemporary European migrant crisis, nor on the medical progress on understanding the complexities of the disorder and how to treat it. After depicting a child with Resignation Syndrome and another one, Live Overtakes Me has expended its see-it-to-believe-it aspects, becoming a tedious watch. 

My rating: 6/10

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) (2018, United Kingdom)

There have been a number of nominees (and winners) in this category in the last decade that sometimes feel like a shameless plug for a non-profit providing wonderful things for an underserved group abroad. Carol Dysinger’s Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), an A&E film, at times falls into that trap. The film documents Skateistan, a Kabul-based non-profit established in 2007 that administers a school for boys and girls (41% of the students are girls; the film will exclusively concentrate on the girls because of how contentious educating females was and is in Afghanistan), as well as the skate park attached to the school. In conjunction with their typical school subjects, skateboarding teaches the girls courage, resilience, and creativity. The film juxtaposes their beginners’ curiosity – examining closely their boards, playing with the wheels, not prepared to be balanced on a skateboard while rolling along without a teacher’s assistance – with their hardscrabble lives outside the school’s high (for safety reasons) walls.

Though these girls may not be competing in the Olympics (given that skateboarding is a new Olympic sport) anytime soon, the joy that skateboarding gives them is apparent. “I don’t want to grow up, so I can skate forever,” one girl says. If only. This is where Learning to Skateboard (If You’re a Girl) separates itself from the sports documentary/narrative film and becomes profound in a way I have not seen described by others who have seen the film. Similar to the fine and performing arts, sport is a medium of individual expressivity. An entry into ESPN’s 30 for 30 series can describe to a viewer the tactical dominance of the University of Miami’s (Florida) football team; I can also relate how the 2003-04 Arsenal (“The Invincibles”) played teams off the soccer field in becoming only the second team in English history to finish the top division’s season undefeated. But to those who are not engrossed in sport (or do not possess knowledge about the mechanics of a certain sport), it is difficult if not impossible to understand how those aforementioned teams played their games as a form of self-expression. By taking gender, a shade of politics, and Afghanistan’s history, it is easy for any viewer to see how – through skateboarding – these girls can express themselves in ways they could not anywhere else.

My rating: 8.5/10

In the Absence (2018, South Korea)

On the night before April 16, 2014, the Korean ferry ship MV Sewol departed Incheon for Jeju. The next morning, the ferry capsized and overturned. There were 172 survivors, but 301 passengers – mostly high school students who followed the captain’s orders to stay put, even as seawater started flooding the interior – and three crew members perished. The captain and other crew members disembarked during the rescue operation. Yi Seung-jun’s In the Absence documents, minute-by-minute, the actions of the disaster that sealed the fates of survivors and victims alike. Incorporating stock footage and Korean Coast Guard/government/civilian rescue diver recordings, Yi’s film portrays the desperation of the rescuers and the incompetence of those commanding them. The tragedy, from the moment that the crew recognized the danger of the situation, unfolds over several hours – enough time for a government response. Inexplicably, passengers were instructed to remain in place despite their inquires and the office of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye forbade all rescue boats from approaching the ferry until President Park herself gave orders.

Many of the documentaries – in short and feature-length – on the Sewol disaster follow the families of the deceased or the guilt among Coast Guard or civilian rescuers in not saving the victims in time. There are elements of both within In the Absence. Where Yi’s film diverges from those previous entries, however, is in its chronological precision in its first half and how seamlessly it transitions between the personal and the political (the film posits that the Sewol disaster response was a contributing factor to President Park’s removal, even though Park’s impeachment and eventual conviction had nothing to do, ostensibly, about the disaster) in the second half. From the committee hearings investigating the particulars of the government’s disaster response to the night of President Park’s removal from office, In the Absence packs an emotional wallop few documentaries of any length could achieve. One can see, etched in the faces of the victims’ parents, profound relief that someone is being held accountable for the disaster. That relief, though, is forever entangled with the fact that their loved ones are lost to the deep.

My rating: 9.5/10

NOTE: In the Absence can be viewed on YouTube as of this review’s publication.

Walk, Run, Cha-Cha (2019)

Chipaul (or just “Paul”) and Millie Cao were childhood friends in Vietnam (of Hoa descent) in the midst of wartime. During their childhood, they were enamored with American rock-and-roll and other popular music from the West – says Millie: “I love Bee Gees. And I can sing all Carpenters song [sic].” Chipaul’s family, who ran a business, saw the necessity to flee the country because of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s hardline attitudes towards political opponents – the Communist Party’s sins are too many to mention. Laura Nix’s Walk, Run, Cha-Cha, distributed by The New York Times, does not concentrate on war nor the fact that Chipaul and Millie, now married and living in Southern California after finding each other again (figuratively) through dance classes, are among the millions of Vietnamese-Americans – a community of refugees and their children and grandchildren – who have overcome cultural and linguistic barriers to make the United States their home. First and foremost, Walk, Run, Cha-Cha is a love story partially told through their passion for dancing. The film never loses sight of that.

Because this is a love story, there are those who might claim that Walk, Run, Cha-Cha is too slight a documentary short film to be taken seriously. That erases the fact the fact that when Vietnamese-American people or fictional characters are portrayed in Western cinema, they tend to be defined by a short list of tropes: the war-weary victim of war, an ineffectual gangster, or a nerd (this lumps in Southeast Asians with those of East Asian descent). Here, Chipaul and Millie are not defined by their pasts. Their dancing is not some act of overseas rebellion against the current government of Vietnam. Their family get-togethers do not ruminate over how difficult it was to sponsor Millie to become a permanent resident to the United States, but instead contain lighthearted conversations about the music they grew up listening and singing – endearingly a bit off-key – along to. Beyond the film’s requisite interviews, we see them in personal and recreational settings. Though perhaps not the strongest of the year’s nominated documentary shorts, Walk, Run, Cha-Cha flows the most poetically. Its final scene is perfection.

My rating: 8/10

NOTE: Walk, Run, Cha-Cha can be viewed on YouTube as of this review’s publication.

St. Louis Superman (2019)

Bruce Franks Jr. has spent his entire life in the greater St. Louis area. He has experienced firsthand incidents of gun violence (in general) and, following the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown’s death ignited a series of protests in Ferguson and brought to prominence the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement – formed to call attention to systemic racism (and especially police brutality and racial profiling) against black Americans. In a sort of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) for this certain context, Franks becomes a community activist in the wake of Brown’s death and is soon elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2016. This MTV-produced film directed by Sami Khan and Smriti Mundhra is St. Louis Superman is a tad conventional in its biographical approach. The demands of being a state legislator and a family man are a curious balance to strike, and Franks is obviously not fully prepared – who would be? – to manage the expectations of his newfound role as public servant, father, and community leader.

It is fascinating that St. Louis Superman elects not to dive too deeply into politics, that Franks, a Democrat, highlights gun violence in its totality rather than police brutality towards black residents. Perhaps this is a political calculation, noting that Missouri’s legislature is majority Republican as is its current Governor. The film handles the personal adjustments made between Franks’ legislative career and his personal life, but whiffs – with the exception of the rap battle against a rival candidate for his seat – on juxtaposing how being a legislator invariably affects the nature of his community activism. Where St. Louis Superman succeeds is in its respectful portrayal of Franks as a man still nursing the wounds of having witness his nine-year-old older brother’s shooting death, and how this has driven him to where he is now. Franks, citing his mental health’s deterioration after the deaths of his godson and best friend in 2018, resigned from the Missouri House of Representatives in 2019. His career is a microcosm of the political struggles of African-Americans appealing to the decency of a seemingly unreceptive numerical majority, waiting and pressing the case of equal treatment in the eyes of the law.

My rating: 7/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

From previous years: 88th Academy Awards (2016), 89th (2017), 90th (2018), and 91st (2019).

[tabloidtoc]

OK, October 19

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Pregnant Princess Eugenie betrayed by her own dad -- Queen Elizabeth bans Prince Andrew from delivery room 

Page 1: Big Pic -- Lea Michele and husband Zandy Reich enjoying a leisurely stroll with their son Ever in a stroller in face masks 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 3: Contents 

Page 4: Demi Lovato moving on -- a heartbroken Demi is picking up the pieces after splitting from her fiance Max Ehrich 

Page 6: When Kris Jenner shocked fans with her announcement that Keeping Up With the Kardashians was ending she didn’t explain why she decided to pull the plug on the show after 20 seasons but now she’s gearing up for a big TV interview in which she’ll reveal the real reason she’s calling it quits which is ironically because there’s too much drama going on with her family and she wants to see her children happy again 

Page 7: It’s a good thing Taylor Swift has been sheltering in place at her Nashville farm and not at her posh pad in New York City where bullets were flying outside her $18 million Tribeca townhouse during an armed robbery at a sneaker store next door, after just one season on The Talk Marie Osmond has been unceremoniously given the boot because her ex-cohosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood threatened to quit unless she was canned because they felt Marie didn’t bring anything to the table and just made it difficult for them to get their ideas across plus they thought she was too refined and too nice and too polished, Emma Stone’s recent hush-hush wedding to Dave McCary has her ex-boyfriend Andrew Garfield crying the blues and ever since Emma and Dave were spotted wearing matching wedding bands Andrew has been telling people that he’s happy for Emma but everyone knows that deep down it must be devastating for him because she was the love of his life 

Page 8: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars are chic in suits -- Emily Blunt, Sandra Oh, Gugu Mbatha-Raw 

Page 9: Olivia Palermo, Charlize Theron 

Page 10: Who Wore It Better? Lily-Rose Depp vs. Kaia Gerber, Mj Rodriguez vs. Kat Graham 

Page 11: Brie Bella vs. Kyle Richards 

Page 16: News in Photos --  Gwen Stefani modeled one of the new styles from her L.A.M.B. eyewear collection while shooting a campaign 

Page 17: Brie Larson and her boyfriend Elijah Allan-Blitz wore masks at a grocery store, Drew Barrymore posed on the set of her new talk show, Katie Holmes and boyfriend Emilio Vitolo Jr. had dinner with his dad Emilio Vitolo Sr. 

Page 18: Kidding Around -- famous parents can’t get enough of their mini-me’s -- Prince William and sons Prince George and Prince Louis, new dad Artem Chigvintsev and his son Matteo, pregnant Ashlee Simpson enjoyed a day of shopping with daughter Jagger 

Page 20: Wells Adams out on a run, Keo Motsepe and Anne Heche take a selfie, Alessandra Ambrosio spending a day at the shore 

Page 21: Arnold Schwarzenegger and his girlfriend Heather Milligan took their two-wheelers out for a spin 

Page 22: Farrah Abraham clad in a patriotic bikini in Venice in California, Olivia Jade and boyfriend Jackson Guthy on a dinner date 

Page 23: While guest-hosting the Ellen show Stephen “tWitch” Boss created a TikTok video with wife Allison Holker and guests Addison Rae and Derek Hough, Irina Shayk served looks for designer Nicole Benisti’s Fall/Winter 2020 campaign 

Page 24: At the Hometown Heroes Live Music Festival Snoop Dogg honored his late friend Tupac Shakur with fellow headliner Nelly, Helen Mirren stunned while attending Prince Albert II’s Monte-Carlo Gala for Planetary Health, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly 

Page 25: Ireland Baldwin getting her tresses dyed back to blonde, Kaley Cuoco filming a scene for her show The Flight Attendant 

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers’ historic home -- the spouses of 10 years are calling time on their marriage and saying farewell to their L.A. hideaway 

Page 28: Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich’s divorce is off 

Page 29: Ryan Gosling will turn 40 in November and there’s just one thing he wants for his birthday -- baby No. 3 with longtime girlfriend Eva Mendes because he loves being a dad and is eager to grow their family and Eva is totally on board and the couple who already have two daughters would be thrilled to have a baby boy, after quarantining in Big Sky in Montana for months Justin Timberlake is itching to get back to work in L.A. but his wife Jessica Biel doesn’t want to let him out of her sight -- while Jessica likes the slower pace of Montana Justin is bored as hell but Jessica wants Justin around to help with their son Silas and their new baby boy but everyone knows she’s afraid Justin will go back to his old habits

Page 30: Rebel Wilson’s romance with hunky new businessman beau Jacob Busch is heating up and the two have been inseparable since she returned to L.A. last summer after shooting a TV series while Down Under -- they hang out at her house cooking healthy meal and exercising and go for hikes in the canyons and Jacob is wonderful and generous and sweet and he loves her sense of humor, Kim Kardashian is close to ending her marriage to Kanye West but she’s holding off on filing court papers until she finishes mapping out the details of her post-divorce life, Oh Baby -- these couples secretly welcomed little ones -- Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski welcomed their second child which was a boy, Billie Lourd and Austen Rydell welcomed a boy named Kingston Fisher Lourd Rydell, Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix welcomed a son named after Joaquin’s late brother River 

Page 32: Cover Story -- Princess Eugenie’s royal baby drama -- the mom-to-be is worried her disgraced father Prince Andrew will steal the spotlight for all the wrong reasons -- Queen Elizabeth is set on making sure that Eugenie and her great-grandchild are spared any future embarrassment caused by Andrew because she’s had enough of his reckless behavior -- Prince Andrew is crushed by Eugenie’s decision to keep him out of the delivery room and is hoping she’ll reconsider 

Page 36: Sandra Bullock -- wedding and baby and a tell-all -- she is planning for a family-focused future and ready to clear up rumors from her past 

Page 38: Parenting the Pandemic -- Ex Factor -- these former couples may have their differences but they make it work for the sake of the kids -- Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson 

Page 39: Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead, Anderson Cooper and Benjamin Maisani, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck 

Page 40: Interview -- Demi Moore -- the star talks about her bravest roles including her latest in the pandemic thriller Songbird 

Page 42: Primetime Babes -- how this fall’s hottest stars stay in tip-top shape -- Gabrielle Union, Hilary Swank, Nicole Scherzinger 

Page 43: Lily Collins, Nicole Kidman 

Page 46: Style Week -- Becky G’s new collection of sunglasses with Dime Optics 

Page 48: What’s Hot Right Now -- be a trailblazer this season in a statement-making jacket -- Iskra Lawrence 

Page 49: Mad for Mascara -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley 

Page 50: Think Pink -- shop these pretty items that support breast cancer awareness month 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A with Candace Cameron Bure 

Page 58: Buzz -- VanderBump Rules -- Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor the latest Vanderpump Rules couple to announce they are expecting celebrated the news at a gender reveal party and among these guests were current costar Lala Kent and their former castmate Stassi Schroeder both of whom are also pregnant 

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Jane Fonda recalling the time she told Kim Kardashian West she had a beautiful butt, Millie Bobby Brown on doing arts and crafts during quarantine, Drew Barrymore revealing her experience on the dating app Raya 

Page 61: Catherine Giudici joking about how her life revolves around poop with three kids, Sharon Stone on how she was madly in love with Robert De Niro before the two starred in 1995′s Casino, Chace Crawford joking about the time he turned down an offer to become a Chippendales dancer 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Libra Cardi B turned 28 on October 11

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Julia Garner 

[geek-gem]

Why I'm not taking the criticisms of Godzilla KOTM 2019 seriously?

It's because for some reasons I learned that some folks may not know what they want. Yet it's also because they complained about this with the last two movies.

Just a heads up I just got done with the tags after writing all of this. I'm sorry if I sound ignorant or just mean. Just a warning if I sound like that.

I'm sorry if I sound ignorant in this post but I just wanna make this now. So you've seen the Rotten Tomatoes score or heard of it. I'm on the website it's 40% with the critics and 86% with audiences. I just took out the screen but yeah it's that. Again like I say a lot make your own opinion when you see a movie. Because Rotten Tomatoes is an aggregate but also there's other reasons why I'm not taking this seriously. It's not just RT ether.

The reason I am not taking it seriously again was the complaint of the humans thing. Just like everyone like I'm with everyone going what the fuck at the critics complaining about too much monster fights and not focusing on the humans much. Because we were are so ready for the Kaiju/Titan fights.

But also these were the same critics and other people who fucking complained about Godzilla 2014 and Kong Skull Island. Especially on the stuff about the human characters.

I'll be honest it's been years since I've seen Godzilla 2014 I like the film. But seeing the final fight last night on YouTube and thinking about the film. It's not my favorite Godzilla film. I appreciate the film getting the Godzilla franchise in the lime light for American audiences again after the 1998 film.

While I don't hate Ford Brody(played by Aaron Taylor Johnson) yet when I look back at him. I understand and I remember reading this on a wiki about the thing soldiers gonna keep their emotions in check. Even if he was played by Aaron Paul(Breaking Bad reference because lots of people like Up From The Depths said they were expecting Heisenberg vs Godzilla I don't blame them), I feel Ford could of been written better. Especially the whole dynamic with his family.

Again it's been years since I've seen Godzilla 2014, maybe the next time I watch it. I might enjoy it more. Maybe I might like some things I didn't see the first time.

With Kong Skull Island I feel was an improvement. With more interesting characters and the films tone as well.

But I'll be honest I fucking despise hearing comparisons to Bayformers. Because I'm gonna sound ridiculous you don't know the shit me and other Transformers fans have went through with those films. I never saw the 5th in theaters anyway.

I never finished Jeremy Jahns review, I never finished Chris Stuckmann's review I think. It's been two years since those were released. Especially during a video with Chris Stuckmann and Flickpick I think about fans, Chris didn't seem to not like Kong Skull Island a lot. Yet I should understand people want more from a movie.

Now we have Godzilla King Of The Monsters 2019, it's fucking awesome, and we have people bitching about the human characters and they're wasn't more focused on them.

You see what I'm seeing. Listen I'll admit when I look back at the film. There are a lot of human characters, some get shorter roles I'll admit. But I liked the cast.

In fact like I said I feel KOTM 2019 is my favorite of the Monsterverse. While the story is more simple, there is some development but it's not a whole lot. But I really enjoyed Kyle Chandler's performance as Mark Russell and even his development as well. I loved Vera Farmiga as Emma Russell, I loved seeing Ken Watanabe returned as Ishiro Serizawa, and I liked some of the other characters too. Especially Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell and I have never seen Stranger Things despite I've heard the praise. She surprised me or something.

Honestly I think everyone did a good job with what they had. I do feel some had their roles shorter than others. Such as O'Shea Jackson Jr's role.

But I feel when I think about it the film had a balance. With Titans and humans, I admit I was looking forward to Ghidorah and the other Titans too. But I didn't mind the human cast and I don't mind seeing a lot of them come back. I felt invested which may sound ridiculous. Such as characters like Chen, Rick, Sam, and whoever else.

Yeah we are gonna get some new characters in Godzilla Vs Kong but some of the KOTM 2019's cast will be there too and I'm freakin happy. Because it's years of build up to this match between Godzilla and Kong and I'm glad we have some familiar faces in the movie.

I'm gonna sound hypocritical but I didn't mind Ford. I feel his story is done. Besides people would probably bitch about him coming back. But also unless Johnson is still doing this he does this one movie once a year because he wants to be with his family.

But again I liked the humans in KOTM 2019. I'm excited for Godzilla Vs Kong. Whether it be the last film in the Monsterverse God I hope not, or it's a awesome film setting the next stage.

I'll admit I hope Adam Wingard(the director of Godzilla Vs Kong) makes a better and even more awesome movie. One that satisfies fans like me and other fans and others who weren't satisfied with the last film. Especially what I read of what he said about the film and him wanting people to take it seriously. It's on Wikipedia I checked back on it.

Ether way I really did like KOTM 2019. While I understand the criticisms and I should understand why people are critical. Off topic thing I'm just fucking sick of the MCU getting all this fucking praise.

While I appreciate things the MCU has done. I'm fucking tired of it having such an effect on the industry where I wonder if it's the reason why certain films aren't exploding at the box office. I just want that universe to take a year break but they aren't gonna.

Sorry I ranted right there. I wanted to get that off my chest.

Anyway again excited for Godzilla Vs Kong, hopefully we get more of the Monsterverse.