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hypo-critic-al · 4 years ago

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Korean Frankenstein musical is quite good!

(MY SUBJECTIVE REVIEW)

After two musical adaptations, which are Frankenstein: a new musical and Frankenstein metal opera, I have discovered, not a secret of life as Victor did, but another very nice adaptation of Frankenstein! It’s name is "프랑켄슈타인 뮤지컬" or simply "Frankenstein musical".

I was watching Frankenstein a new musical stuff on YouTube when I stumbled across a Korean Frankenstein video with English subtitles. Maybe I can give it a watch, I thought...

And oh dear, I wanted more!

I don’t understand a single word of Korean but thanks to a few subtitled songs and Google Translate on my side I got to understand some parts of a plot.

Before I explain the plot I have to say that this is a very interesting and fresh take on the book. If you want to know my thoughts on it and what it is about, then you can read further.

(SPOILERS)

(warning! This story talks about murder, abuse of all kind, suicide intention, incest marriage, and other topics that may be triggering and unpleasant for you. You are free to scroll past this post if you want to avoid reading about these. Thank you.)

(The photos used in this post are from various sources, productions, actors etc. They are used to illustrate and show how the musical looks like. I don’t profit from using them.)

THE SCRIPT: Overture plays and we see a man in a lab leaning over a body on a table. Voice of a man and woman try to stop the said man from doing anything further but then a lightning struck outside of a lab and a body on a table sits up.

The whole story begins here:

It’s 1815, Napoleonic Wars are coming to their end, we meet one Henry Dupré: soldier surgeon and body grafter. He values the life of the others, it’s so precious to him that he doesn’t heal only soldiers from his side, but also his enemies. For this, a crime of espionage, he is to be executed and shot.

However, at the last minute, a soldier from higher ranks stops this. It is no one else than Victor Frankenstein. Victor takes Henry to his lab where he presents him his research and a reason he saved Henry: to create a strong, perfect, possibly immortal human soldiers from dead bodies.

Henry is sceptical at first, he doesn’t want to play God, but later agrees and joins this experiment.

The war has ended, the lab is closed before they could finish their project, so both of them are coming to Victor’s hometown: Geneva. People are celebrating the end of the war at the castle of their Mayor Stephen, Victor’s uncle. People are dancing and chatting and soon they start to spread rumours about Victor. Victor’s older sister Ellen and her cousin who also is Victor’s fiancee Julia are trying to prove rumours wrong but it’s too late. Victor leaves the event and goes to Frankenstein’s mansion.

Meanwhile, Julia is sad at the fact that Victor is cold and ignores her, but she still has hope that he will love her like he did before the war.

Henry and Victor continue their experiment in the old Frankenstein’s mansion, but Henry sees that people of Geneva don’t like Victor and hate the name of Frankenstein, so he asks Victor’s sister Ellen about it.

She then tells him a story of their family:

When they were children there was an epidemic. Their mother got ill and their father, a doctor, was unable to cure this sickness. He was so desperate that he started to believe in alchemy and the medical practise of the Middle Ages. Their mother died and young Victor, full of grief and denial, dug up his mother’s body and secretly tried to bring her back to life. Superstitious people, seeing that Frankenstein’s father used strange medieval remedies and seeing the grave of his wife empty, start to think that Frankensteins are witches. They burned down their castle and while escaping, Victor’s father sacrifices his life to save Victor.

Ellen and Victor go to live with their uncle Stephen and their cousin Julia and since then Victor is obsessed with life-creating. Once, he tried his theories and reanimated dead Julia’s dog, who became savage and feral afterwards.

Uncle Stephen doesn’t like Victor and decides to send him to study abroad. He then became a soldier and we know the rest of the story.

Victor is unable to reanimate a body, it seems that the brain cannot withstand the electric current and he needs to find a fresh brain. While drinking at a bar with Henry, Victor’s butler Runge, who was helping them with their experiment, tells them, that he has promised money to a mortician if he provides them recently dead body. However, it seems that a money-blinded mortician killed a young boy whom Victor knew and now wants more money in exchange for the boy’s brain. Victor lost his temper, killed the man and escaped. Henry takes the blame and is soon to be executed.

Runge, Julia and Ellen know the truth about his experiment and Victor’s crime but they doesn’t want to lose him. He tries to tell the court that he is a killer, but Stephen denies it, saying Victor is insane and ill after the war, so the court dismisses his testimony and Henry is sentenced to die under a guillotine.

Victor asks Henry in jail why he sacrificed himself and Henry says that Victor must live to fulfil his dream and that he must finish his experiment in a memory of him.

After his death, Victor takes Henry’s head and uses it as a last part of the Creature whom he brings to life. Runge and Ellen are amazed to see the reanimated Creature but Victor is crazy, he believes that he resurrected Henry.

However, they see the Creature move around weirdly, trying to come closer to his creator. This freaks Runge out and he attacks him, thinking the Creature wants to strangle Victor. Monster tried to defend himself, bit the butler’s neck and Runge died.

Frustrated Victor, seeing that this isn’t his Henry but feral Creature, wants to shot him but the Creature escapes the lab.

Three years later, Victor and Julia are celebrating their wedding. He is still anxious and thinks about Creature. Mayor’s servants then rush to him, announce him that his uncle, Mayor Stephen, has disappeared.

Victor distances himself from guests and that’s when the Creature appears before him.

Monster, who read Victor’s diary, which was in coat which Creature have grabbed before his escape, blames Victor for Henry’s death, he argues that he didn’t want to be created, left alone and later almost killed. Then he tells his story to scared Victor:

The Creature was running from Victor and after some time he found a village. He couldn’t overcome his hunger and decided to eat a dog. Turns out that the dog was of Eva, the wealthy owner of a fighting field and she sends her arena warriors to capture the Creature.

(This is where Google Translator began to fail, so I had to deduce things. When there is something I couldn’t understand, I put a question mark after it.)

The Creature sees Catherine, a servant in said fighting field, being attacked by a bear(?). He kills it and Eva, seeing Creature’s amazing strength, doesn’t punish him, instead she enlists him to her fighting arena as one of the gladiators.

Creature’s whole purpose is to fight with other fighters. Eva and Jacques, Eva’s husband, are constantly punishing and verbally abusing him.

The only person that shows sympathy for Creature is Catherine, who is also abused by her masters, fighters and other people from the arena, to which she was sold at a young age. She cleanses his wounds and she dreams of escaping away, to the North Pole, where there are no people to abuse her. Creature is fascinated by her story and wants to run away, too.

One day Fernando, creditor of the arena, promises that he will free them out of debt if the Creature wins against his fighter. He then approaches Catherine, promising her freedom if she adds strange medicine to Creature’s water. She is blinded by a promised freedom and does so.

The Creature is defeated in a fight, but Fernando’s plan is revealed and Jacques announces that the next day Catherine will die in the arena.

Monster is left alone, miserable, angry, longing for love and thirsty for vengeance and revenge upon his creator, he sets the arena on fire and finds Victor in Geneva.

Creature here ends his story and announces that this is the beginning of his revenge and escapes. Victor learns soon after that his uncle was killed and the court blamed his sister Ellen for murder. He arrives too late, Ellen is already hanged.

He then takes her body with intention of reanimating it, his lab is however destroyed by a Creature. Victor pleads Creature to kill him, but the Creature laughs, telling him that revenge is not over yet.

Day, when Victor feels the Creature would come he gathers people with guns in front of his house to kill Monster as soon as he appears. Suddenly, they hear Julia’s scream inside the house. Victor knows who to blame, and cries, asking why the Creature killed her and not him. Creature, who is standing near Victor tells that if he wants to avenge his dearest ones, he can find him in the North Pole.

While running there, Creature is regretthing his sins and while looking back at his life he finds a young boy lost in the woods. He calms the crying boy by telling him a story of a man who fought against God by creating life. The boy is curious and says that the Monster in the story is the Creature telling him this tale. The creature is annoyed by further questions, pushes the child into the water and continues his path to the Arctic.

Victor, from the last strength, reaches the Creature and fights with him. Creature stabs Victor’s leg with a knife and Victor shoots the Creature. Creature then says that because of a leg injury Victor won’t leave the Arctic and by following him to the Arctic he basically just punished himself.

The Creature dies, saying that justice was done and calls his creator "my friend". Victor sees that he is the one responsible for his tragedy, he was successful in revenge but at the expense of losing everything, and calls his creation, the last thing that somehow cared for Victor Frankenstein, his friend. He then slowly dies with his Creature in his arms.

—————————

Whew! This took me longer than I wanted to. First my draft got deleted, then again...

This musical wasn‘t directly sticking to the source material, but it is referencing it pretty often. For example, character of Henry Dupré was inspired by Henry Clerval, Julia=Elizabeth, Ellen is falsely acussed of murder as Justine was, instead of burning down a cottage of DeLacys, Creature burns down a fighting field etc. And is Runge a parallel for an Igor? I think he is.

Victor and Creature stay pretty similar to the book. Victor’s actions are affected by his pride, he doesn’t care about morality, God, etc. His actions may come from love of those he lost (his mother, Henry...) but he is careless and revenge blinds him that he slowly destroys himself. He may fight against God, but he faills to take responsibility.

Also, how could he think he would revive Henry by stitching his head to a creature’s neck? That’s dumb! Victor, I know you want your boyfriend back, but that is awful.

The Creature wants to be loved but instead he is hated everywhere he goes. He reads Victor’s diary and is mad at him, he doesn’t see that although Victor tries to make strong corpse soldier but he doesn’t know the thought process behind it and a fact that Victor tried to revive Henry by making the Creature.

So the Creature shows him a simple revenge plan: Runge attempted to kill me – I killed him. You are resposible for Henry’s death – I kill your uncle. You are responsible for my creation – Ellen dies. You tried to kill me and abadoned me – I kill Julia. Now if you wanna take this further and destroy yourself even more, come to Arctic.

And Victor does. And monster uses the same logic later, too. They both thought of stopping this chase to Arctic stuff but they were blindly following their rage for one another which resulted in their death.

I can’t judge things further because I didn’t watched full show.

But the music is pretty much fantastic! Just epic. I don’t care very much for flaws If a musical has great music.

Also if you look at actors, singing, dancing, costumes... I feel like a lot of money went into this musical. And a lot of money have returned from tickets. I think I read somewhere that this is considered the best original Korean musical in Korea. Because other musicals that are this popular are Broadway musical productions.

This may be a clichè for someone but I truly enjoy smart double acting roles. Not the ones like: okay, we don’t have enough actors, let’s make this one play another role. No, not like that. I like those meaningful ones. Kinda what Hamilton did. Here it is too. You see, it is obvious that the actor playing Henry plays later the Creature. A person whom once Victor adored is now a person whom he hated the most. And actor of Victor plays role of Jacques in second act. Isn‘t this cool? A person who rejected him is now a person abusing him. Every named character plays another role similar to the one in first act. I think Eva is played by actress of Ellen, Ellen stands by Victor’s side and agrees with everything he says. That’s also Eve’s relationship with her husband Jacques, played by actor of Victor. Soft, loving Julia is Catherine here. Actor of Runge plays the role of Jacques’ servant. Etc., etc.

One thing I didn’t like much was a difficult story. I know that Korean audience may have different taste, but to me, a Western listener, it was a bit confusing plot. They added unnecessary stuff to it, changed some things and sometimes it’s really confusing. (Hey! That’s what Jekyll & Hyde did! They left only key things from the book and changed everything. And this musical is comparable to J&H then. It’s not Frankenstein: a new musical that is similar to J&H, it’s this! This is a Frankenstein adaptation that follows the story path of J&H. That’s interesting.)

And I didn‘t mind this, but couldn’t they left the names unchanged? Why couldn’t Victor’s fianceé have a name Elizabeth? And why you have Jacques and Eva? You could have one character, only Eva for example. Jacques is just here, slapping the Creature (the only reason for having them both is their double acting roles, which I understand). And there is Ernest erasure as always. And no Robert Walton, too! They cut this character. The more I look into it, the more I feel that this musical was made by someone who liked Jekyll & Hyde.

(END OF SPOILERS)

To sum up, this musical appears to me as a nice, original take on the original book. It has interesting parallels to the book, references it throughout this show, and takes inspiration from Frankenstein movies. It feels like a blow of fresh air.

The music is very likeable. If you like Wildhorn-ish kind of stuff like I do, then this is, I don’t know, it feels more complex and confident than what I am used to. Maybe you won’t like it, maybe it becomes your favourite musical, this is just my opinion.

And don’t get me started on singing, acting, costume design, sets, choreography... it’s beyond perfect and I think that the West musicals should take notes.

I have talked about some stuff a bit more in a spoiler section but I have to say it here too, this musical has a very interesting take on Victor/Henry relationship that later affects Victor’s actions and his relationship with the Creature. It’s very heartwarming and creepy at the same time.

I think my sole obsession for countless days (I haven’t listened to anything else than these since last March) that are Frankenstein: a new musical, and Jekyll & Hyde musical have a new opponent. New March, new me (It’s still just Frankenstein tho).

So, pros and cons:

PROS:

-good music

-good acting

-good singing

-referencing the source material

-nice take on Victor/Henry relationship

-I like reasonable double acting roles

-simply it’s good

CONS:

-name change of main characters

-no Robert and Ernest (I know, but not even Walton is here!)

-tiring and long story

-unnecessary/bland female characters

-foreign language

I rate this musical 8,25/10. I still haven‘t seen it whole, so I can’t really judge it objectively.

I assume there is no full recording and I can’t find a script either. If anyone has an English or Korean script/bootleg, please, let me know : )

Here is a recording of a few songs performed at a musical press conference, you can set an English subtitles if you want to know the words:

youtube

Here is a link to the full Korean album, not all songs were recorded on the album:

And here is an animatic that makes me cry ;-;:

youtube

I apologise for bad grammar, stupid reasoning and other things.

I hope you didn’t mind me sharing this musical with you, I like this show and I haven’t seen any people talk about it in Frankenstein (book/musical/etc.) fandom, so I made this post to share it with you.

Have a nice day : D

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minervacasterly · 4 years ago

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Queen Mary (I) Tudor -The Woman behind the Legend of 'Bloody Mary'

"As Mary continued to face Protestant treason she became even more ruthless, with the infamous burnings intended to eliminate what she perceived as a stubborn and destabilising minority. In our context we see Mary's actions as those of a fanatic. In her context she was eliminating fanatics, and of the most dangerous kind, incorrigible rebels against God and queen. But Mary also had to work positively, to build a future, and this unravelled in the face of her infertility and declining health. She failed in her ultimate duty to produce a child and this meant, once again, that the wider family was key to the future. Mary's preferred choice as her heir, was Margaret Douglas, could not compete with the claims of Henry VIII's second daughter and, as Elizabeth took note, it was the knowledge that she would succeed her sister that fueled the disorder and rebellion against Mary. With the loss of Calais in the last year of Mary's life it would be easy for her enemies to paint the young, Protestant Elizabeth's accession as a brilliant new dawn. It is as such that it is still projected. Mary remains associated with her late seventeenth-century sobriquet 'Bloody Mary', and an infamous recent advertisement for the London Dungeon depicted her face transforming into a demon-zombie. Elizabeth, by contrast, has been played in films by a series of beautiful actresses: Elizabeth is ever Cate Blanchett, fairy queen, to Mary's bitter, grey-faced Kathy Burke. Yet these sisters were neither simple heroines nor villains. Both were rulers of their time and we can only understand Elizabeth if we see, as she did, what the Tudor sisters had in common and how she could learn from Mary's example. Most significant for Elizabeth was the fact that Mary's Protestant enemies had sought to redefine the nature of a 'true' king. They argued that religion was more important than blood, or victory in battles -a true king was Protestant- and that all women were by nature unsuited to rule over men. Elizabeth's response was to offer her ordinary subjects a theatrical representation of herself as a 'true' ruler: the seeds of which had been sown by Mary herself in her speech during the Wyatt revolt, in which she is a mother who loves her subjects as if they were her children. Here was a female authority figure accepted as part of the divine order." ~Leanda de Lisle, TUDOR

"The blackening of Mary's name began in Elizabeth's reign and gathered force at the end of the 17th century, when James II compounded the view that Catholic monarchs were a disaster for England. But it was really the enduring popularity of John Foxe which shaped the view of her that has persisted for 450 years. Attempts to soften her image have been made, but their tendency to depict her as a sad little woman who would have been better off as the Tudor equivalent of a housewife is almost as distasteful as the legend of Bloody Mary. To dismiss her life as nothing more than a personal tragedy is both patronizing and mistaken. One of the main themes of Mary's existence is the triumph of determination over adversity. She lived in a violent, intolerant age, surrounded by the intrigues of a time when men and women gambled their lives for advancement at court. Deceit, like ambition, was endemic among the power-seekers of mid-Tudor England who passed, in procession, through her life. Pride, stubbornness and an instinct for survival saw her through tribulations that would have destroyed a lesser woman. Her bravery put her on the throne and kept her there, so that when she died she was able to bequeath to Elizabeth a precious legacy that is often overlooked: she had demonstrated that a woman could rule in her own right. The vilification of Mary has obscured the many areas of continuity between her rule and those of the other Tudors. Today, despite the fact that much more is known about her reign, she is still the most maligned and misunderstood of English monarchs. For Mary Tudor, the first queen of England, truth has not been the daughter of time." ~Linda Porter, THE MYTH OF BLOODY MARY

"Foxe's account would shape the popular narrative of Mary's reign for the next four hundred and fifty years. Generations of schoolchildren would grow up knowing the first Queen of England only as "Bloody Mary", a Catholic tyrant who sent nearly three hundred Protestants to their deaths, a point made satirically in W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman's 1930s parody 1066 and All That. Mary's presence in a recent survey of the most evil men and women in history is testament to Foxe's enduring legacy. But there is, of course, a different Mary: a woman marked by suffering, devout in her faith and exceptional in her courage. From a childhood in which she was adored and feted and then violently rejected, a fighter was born. Her resolve almost cost her her life as her father, and then her brother, sought to subjugate her to their wills. Yet Mary maintained her faith and self-belief. Despite repeated attempts to deprive her of her life and right to the throne, the warrior princess turned victor and became the warrior princess turned victor and became the warrior queen. The boldness and scale of her achievements are often overlooked. The campaign that Mary led in the summer of 1553 would prove to be the only successful revolt against central government in sixteenth-century England. She, like her grandfather Henry VII and grandmother Isabella of Castile, had to flight for her throne. In the moment of crisis she proved decisive, courageous, and "Herculean" -and won the support of the English people as the legitimate Tudor heir. Mary was a conscientious, hardworking queen who was determined to be closely involved in government business and policy making. She would rise "at daybrea when, after saying her prayers and hearing mass in private," she would "transact business incessantly until after midnight." As rebels thereatend teh capital in January 1554 and she was urged to flee, Mary stood firm and successfully rallied Londoners to her defense. She was also a woman who lived by her conscience and was prepared to die for her faith. And she expected the same of others. Her religious defiance was matched by a personal infatuation with Phililp, her Spanish husband. Her love for him and dependence on her "true father", the Emperor Charles V, was unwavering. Her determination to honor her husband's will led England into an unpopular war with France and the loss of Calais. There was no fruit of the union, and so at her premature death there was no Catholic heir. Her own phantom pregnancies, together with epidemics and harvest failures across the country, left her undermined and unpopular. Her life, always one of tragic contrast, ended in personal tragedy as Philip abandoned her, never to return, even as his queen lay dying. In many ways Mary failed as a woman but triumphed as a queen. She ruled with the full measure of royal majesty and achieved much of what she set out to do. She won her rightful throne, married her Spanish prince, and restored the country to Roman Catholicism. The Spanish marriage was a match with the most powerful ruling house in Europe, and the highly favorable marriage treaty ultimately won the support of the English government. She had defeated the rebels and preserved the Tudor monarchy. Her Catholicism was not simply conservative but influenced by her humanist education and showed many signs of broad acceptance before she died. She was an intelligent, politically adept, and resolute monarch who proved to be very much her own woman. Thanks to Mary, John Aylmer, in exile in Switzerland, could confidently assert that "it is not in England so dangerous a matter to have a woman ruler, as men take it to be." By securing the throne following Edward's attempts to bar both his sisters, she ensured that the crown continued along the legal line of Tudor succession. Mary laid down other important precedents that would benefit her sister. Upon her accession as the first queen regnant of England, she redefined royal ritual and law, thereby establishing that a female ruler, married or unmarried, would enjoy identical power and authority to male monarchs. Mary was the Tudor trailblazer, a politiccal pioneer whose reign redefined the English monarchy." ~Anna Whitelock, MARY TUDOR: PRINCESS, BASTARD, QUEEN

Furthermore, as the country shifted from Catholicism to Protestantism, people began to find it easier to vilify her. During the Victorian age, England was at its height. People would say that the sun never set on the English Empire, and as a result, there was a growing sense of nationalism. Previously beloved figures like Queen Elizabeth I, Kings Edward III, Henry V, among others, were no longer kings and queens for people to admire and look upon but national symbols of pride, who were almost god-like. Edward III's victories against the French, Henry V's conquest of France, Elizabeth's Protestantism and victory against Spain with the Spanish Armada and other Catholic rivals, were extolled, and glorified, while Mary I's foreign ancestry was looked down upon. Ironically, all of these monarchs were also foreign in one way or another. You can say that Queen Elizabeth I wasn't because her parents were English, but what about her paternal ancestry, or her maternal one? No matter which way you look at it, she had foreign ancestry as much as any monarch. In fact, the Victorian era's own monarch, was of foreign descent as well! Victoria wasn't even an English name. She was named after her mother, Victoria of the Saxe-Coburg clan who was German and she married her cousin, who was also German. It was very common for royals to marry other royals, which meant that their offspring would be of foreign descent. In Mary's time this wouldn't be a reason to look down on her, on the contrary, she could point to her royal ancestors, be they foreign or not, with pride as a sign of how much royal blood flowed through her veins, making her eligible to be her father's heir. But as it has been pointed out before, times change and with it, so does our view of every historical figure.

#Queen Mary I of England #Tudor History #16th century #dailytudors

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grigori77 · 4 years ago

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Movies of 2021 - My Pre-Summer Favourites (Part 2)

The Top Ten:

10. ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE – one of the undisputable highlights of the Winter-Spring period has to be the long-awaited, much vaunted redressing of a balance that’s been a particular thorn in the side of DC cinematic fans for over three years now – the completion and restoration of the true, unadulterated original director’s cut of the painfully abortive DCEU team-up movie that was absolutely butchered when Joss Whedon took over from original director Zack Snyder and then heavily rewrote and largely reshot the whole thing. It was a somewhat painful experience to view in cinemas back in 2017 – sure, there were bits that worked, but most of it didn’t and it wasn’t like the underrated Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, which improves immensely on subsequent viewings (especially in the three hour-long director’s cut). No, Whedon’s film was a MESS. Needless to say fans were up in arms, and once word got out that the finished film was not at all what Snyder originally intended, a vocal, forceful online campaign began to restore what quickly became known as the Snyder Cut. ��Thank the gods that Warner Bros listened to them, ultimately taking advantage of the intriguing alternative possibilities provided by their streaming service HBO Max to allow Snyder to present his fully reinstated creation in its entirety. The only remaining question, of course, is simply … is it actually any good? Well it’s certainly much more like BVS:DOG than Whedon’s film ever was, and there’s no denying that, much like the rest of Snyder’s oeuvre, this is a proper marmite movie – there are gonna people who hate it no matter what, but the faithful, the fans, or simply those who are willing to open their minds are going to find much to enjoy here. The damage has been thoroughly patched, most of the elements that didn’t work in the theatrical release having been swapped out or reworked so that now they pay off BEAUTIFULLY. This time the quest of Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to bring the first iteration of the Justice League together – half-Atlantean superhuman Arthur Curry/the Aquaman (Jason Momoa), lightning-powered speedster Barry Allan/the Flash (Fantastic Beasts’ Ezra Miller) and cybernetically-rebuilt genius Victor Stone/Cyborg (relative newcomer Ray Fisher) – not only feels organic, but NECESSARY, as does their desperate scheme to use one of the three alien Mother Boxes (no longer just shiny McGuffins but now genuinely well-realised technological forces that threaten cataclysm as much as they provide opportunity for miracles) to bring Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) back from the dead, especially given the far more compelling threat of this version’s collection of villains. Ciaran Hinds’ mocapped monstrosity Steppenwolf is a far more palpable and interesting big bad this time round, given a more intricate backstory that also ties in a far greater ultimate mega-villain that would have become the DCEU’s Thanos had Snyder had his way to begin with – Darkseid (Ray Porter), tyrannical ruler of Apokolips and one of the most powerful and hated beings in the Universe, who could have ushered the DCEU’s now aborted New Gods storyline to the big screen. The newer members of the League receive far more screen-time and vastly improved backstory too, Miller’s Flash getting a far more pro-active role in the storyline AND the action which also thankfully cuts away a lot of the clumsiness the character had in the Whedon version without sacrificing any of the nerdy sass that nonetheless made him such a joy, while the connective tissue that ties Momoa’s Aquaman into his own subsequent standalone movie feels much stronger here, and his connection with his fellow League members feels less perfunctory too, but it’s Fisher’s Cyborg who TRULY reaps the benefits here, regaining a whole new key subplot and storyline that ties into a genuinely powerful tragic origin story, as well as a far more complicated and ultimately rewarding relationship with his scientist father, Silas Stone (the great Joe Morton). It’s also really nice to see Superman handled with the kind of skill we’d expect from the same director who did such a great job (fight me if you disagree) of bringing the character to life in two previous big screen instalments, as well as erasing the memory of that godawful digital moustache removal … similarly, it’s nice to see the new and returning supporting cast get more to do this time, from Morton and the ever-excellent J.K. Simmonds as fan favourite Gotham PD Commissioner Jim Gordon to Connie Nielsen as Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira and another unapologetic scene-stealing turn from Jeremy Irons as Batman’s faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth. Sure, it’s not a perfect movie – the unusual visual ratio takes some getting used to, while there’s A LOT of story to unpack here, and at a gargantuan FOUR HOURS there are times when the pacing somewhat lags, not to mention an overabundance of drawn-out endings (including a flash-forward to a potential apocalyptic future that, while evocative, smacks somewhat of overeager fan-service) that would put Lord of the Rings’ The Return of the King to shame, but original writer Chris Terrio’s reconstituted script is rich enough that there’s plenty to reward the more committed viewer, and the storytelling and character development is a powerful thing, while the action sequences are robust and thrilling (even if Snyder does keep falling back on his over-reliance on slow motion that seems to alienate some viewers), and the new score from Tom Holkenborg (who co-composed on BVS:DOJ) feels a far more natural successor than Danny Elfman’s theatrical compositions. The end result is no more likely to win fresh converts than Man of Steel or Batman Vs Superman, but it certainly stands up far better to a critical eye this time round, and feels like a far more natural progression for the saga too. Ultimately it’s more of an interesting tangential adventure given that Warner Bros seem to be stubbornly sticking to their original plans for the ongoing DCEU, but I can’t help hoping that they might have a change of heart in the future given just how much better the final product is than any of us had any right to expect …

9. SYNCHRONIC – writer-director duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are something of a creative phenomenon in the science-fiction and fantasy indie cinema scene, crafting films that ensnare the senses and engage the brain like few others. Subtly insidious conspiracy horror debut Resolution is a sneaky little chiller, while deeply original body horror Spring (the film that first got me into them) is weird, unsettling and surprisingly touching, but it was breakthrough sleeper hit The Endless, a nightmarish time-looping cosmic horror that thoroughly screws with your head, that really put them on the map. Needless to say it’s led them to greater opportunities heading into the future, and this is their first film to really reap the benefits, particularly by snaring a couple of genuine stars for its lead roles. Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) are paramedics working the night shift in New Orleans, which puts them on the frontlines when a new drug hits the streets, a dangerous concoction known as Synchronic that causes its users to experience weird localised fractures in time that frequently lead to some pretty outlandish deaths in adults, while teenage users often disappear entirely. As the situation worsens, the pair’s professional and personal relationships become increasingly strained, compounded by the fact that Steve is concealing his recent diagnosis of terminal cancer, before things come to a head when Dennis’ teenage daughter Brianna (Into the Badlands’ Ally Ioannides) vanishes under suspicious circumstances, and it becomes clear to Steve that she’s become unstuck in time … this is as mind-bendingly off-the-wall and spectacularly inventive as we’ve come to expect from Benson and Moorhead, another fantastically original slice of weirdness that benefits enormously from their exquisitely obsessive attention to detail and characteristically unsettling atmosphere of building dread, while their character development is second to none, benefitting their top-notch cast no end. Mackie is typically excellent, bringing compelling vulnerability to the role that makes it easy to root for him as he gets further out of his depth in this twisted temporal labyrinth, while Dornan invests Dennis with a painfully human fallibility, and Ioannides does a lot with very little real screen time in her key role as ill-fated Brianna. The time-bending sequences are suitably disorienting and disturbing, utilising pleasingly subtle use of visual effects to further mess with your head, and the overall mechanics of the drug and its effects are fiendishly crafted, while the directors tighten the screw of slowburn tension throughout, building to a suitably offbeat ending that’s as devastating as anything we’ve seen from them so far. Altogether this is another winning slice of genre-busting weirdness from a filmmaking duo who deserve continued success in the future, and I for one will be watching eagerly.

8. WITHOUT REMORSE – I’m a big fan of Tom Clancy, to me he was one of the ultimate escapist thriller writers, and whenever a new adaptation of one of his novels comes along I’m always front of the line to check it out. The Hunt For Red October is one of my favourite screen thrillers OF ALL TIME, while my very favourite Clancy adaptation EVER, the Jack Ryan TV series, is, in my opinion, one of the very best Original shows that Amazon have ever done. But up until now my VERY FAVOURITE Clancy creation, John Clark, has always remained in the background or simply absent entirely, putting in an appearance as a supporting character in only two of the movies, tantalising me with his presence but never more than a teaser. Well that’s all over now – after languishing in development hell since the mid-90s, the long-awaited adaptation of my favourite Clancy novel, the origin story of the top CIA black ops operative, has finally arrived, as well as a direct spin-off from distributor Amazon’s own Jack Ryan series. Michael B. Jordan plays John Kelly (basically Clark before he gained his more famous cover identity), a lethally efficient, highly decorated Navy SEAL whose life is turned upside down when a highly classified operation experiences deadly blowback as half of his team is assassinated in retaliation, while Kelly barely survives an attack in which his heavily pregnant wife is killed. With the higher-ups unwilling the muddy the waters while scrambling to control the damage, Kelly, driven by rage and grief, takes matters into his own hands, embarking on a violent personal crusade against the Russian operatives responsible, but as he digs deeper with the help of his former commanding officer, Lt. Commander Karen Greer (Queen & Slim’s Jodie Turner-Smith), and mid-level CIA hotshot Robert Ritter (Jamie Bell), it becomes clear that there’s a far more insidious conspiracy at work here … in the past the Clancy adaptations we’ve seen tend to be pretty tightly reined-in affairs, going for a PG-13 polish that maintains the intellectual fireworks but still tries to keep the violence clean and relatively family-friendly, but this was never going to be the case here – Clark has always been Jack Ryan’s dark shadow, Clancy’s righteous man without the moral restraint, and a PG-13 take never would have worked, so going for an unfettered R-rating is the right choice. Jordan’s Kelly/Clark is a blood-soaked force of nature, a feral dog let off the leash, bringing a brutal ferocity to the action that does the literary source proud, tempered by a wounded vulnerability that helps us to sympathise with the broken but still very human man behind the killer; Turner-Smith, meanwhile, regularly matches him in the physical stakes, jumping into the action with enthusiasm and looking damn fine doing it, but she also brings tight control and an air of pragmatic military professionalism that makes it easy to believe in her not only as an accomplished leader of fighting men but also as the daughter of Admiral Jim Greer, while Bell is arrogant and abrasive but ultimately still a good man as Ritter; Guy Pearce, meanwhile, brings his usual gravitas and quietly measured charisma to proceedings as US Secretary of Defence Thomas Clay, and Lauren London makes a suitably strong impression during her brief screen time to make her absence keenly felt as Kelly’s wife Pam. The action is intense, explosive and spectacularly executed, culminating in a particularly impressive drawn-out battle through a Russian apartment complex, while the labyrinthine plot is intricately crafted and unfolds with taut precision, but then the screenplay was co-written by Taylor Sheridan, who here reteams with Sicario 2 director Stefano Sollida, who’s also already proven to be a seasoned hand at this kind of thing, and the result is a tense, knuckle-whitening suspense thriller that pays magnificent tribute to the most compelling creation of one of the best authors in the genre. Amazon have signed up for more with already greenlit sequel Rainbow Six, and with this directly tied in with the Jack Ryan TV series too I can’t help holding out hope we just might get to see Jordan’s Clark backing John Krasinski’s Ryan up in the future …

7. RAYA & THE LAST DRAGON – with UK cinemas still closed I’ve had to live with seeing ALL the big stuff on my frustratingly small screen at home, but at least there’s been plenty of choice with so many of the big studios electing to either sell some of their languishing big projects to online vendors or simply release on their own streaming services. Thank the gods, then, for the House of Mouse following Warner Bros’ example and releasing their big stuff on Disney+ at the same time in those theatres that have reopened – this was one movie I was PARTICULARLY looking forward to, and if I’d had to wait and hope for the scheduled UK reopening to occur in mid-May I might have gone a little crazy watching everyone else lose it over something I still hadn’t seen. That said, it WOULD HAVE been worth the wait – coming across sort-of a bit like Disney’s long overdue response to Dreamworks’ AWESOME Kung Fu Panda franchise, this is a spellbinding adventure in a beautifully thought-out fantasy world heavily inspired by Southeast Asia and its rich, diverse cultures, bursting with red hot martial arts action and exotic Eastern mysticism and brought to life by a uniformly strong voice cast dominated by actors of Asian descent. It’s got a cracking premise, too – 500 years ago, the land of Kumandra was torn apart when a terrible supernatural force known as the Druun very nearly wiped out all life, only stopped by the sacrifice of the last dragons, who poured all their power and lifeforce into a mystical gem. But when the gem is broken and the pieces divided between the warring nations of Fang, Heart, Spine, Tail and Talon, the Druun return, prompting Raya (Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran), the fugitive princess of Heart, to embark on a quest to reunite the gem pieces and revive the legendary dragon Sisu in a desperate bid to vanquish the Druun once and for all. Moana director Don Hall teams up with Blindspotting helmer Carlos Lopez Estrada (making his debut in the big chair for Disney after helping develop Frozen), bringing to life a thoroughly inspired screenplay co-written by Crazy Rich Asians’ Adele Kim which is full to bursting with magnificent world-building, beautifully crafted characters and thrilling action, as well as the Disney prerequisites of playful humour and tons of heart and soul. Tran makes Raya an feisty and engaging heroine, tough, stubborn and a seriously kickass fighter, but with true warmth and compassion too, while Gemma Chan is icy cool but deep down ultimately kind of sweet as her bitter rival, Fang princess Namaari, and there’s strong support from Benedict Wong and Good Boys’ Izaac Wang as hard-but-soft Spine warrior Tong and youthful but charismatic Tail shrimp-boat captain Boun, two of the warm-hearted found family that Raya gathers on her travels. The true scene-stealer, however, is the always entertaining Awkwafina, bringing Sisu to life in wholly unexpected but thoroughly charming and utterly adorable fashion, a goofy, sassy and sweet-natured bundle of fun who grabs all the best laughs but also unswervingly champions the film’s core messages of peace, unity and acceptance in all things, something which Raya needs a lot of convincing to take to heart. Visually stunning, endlessly inventive, consistently thrilling and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, this is another solid gold winner once again proving that Disney can do this kind of stuff in their sleep, but it’s always most interesting when they really make the effort to create something truly special, and that’s just what they’ve done here. As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the studio’s finest animated features in a good long while, and thoroughly deserving of your praise and attention …

6. THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINES – so what piece of animation, you might be asking, could POSSIBLY have won over Raya as my animated feature of the year so far? After all, it would have to be something TRULY special … but then, remember Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse? Back in 2018, that blew me away SO MUCH that it very nearly became my top animated feature of THE PAST DECADE (only JUST losing out, ultimately, to Dreamworks’ unstoppable How to Train Your Dragon trilogy). When I heard its creators, the irrepressible double act of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs), were going to be following that up with this anarchic screwball comedy adventure, I was VERY EXCITED INDEED, a fervour which was barely blunted when its release was, inevitably, indefinitely delayed thanks to the global pandemic, so when it finally released at the tail end of the Winter-Spring season I POUNCED. Thankfully my faith was thoroughly rewarded – this is an absolute riot from start to finish, a genuine cinematic gem I look forward to going back to for repeated viewings in the near future, just to soak up the awesomeness – it’s hilarious to a precision-crafted degree, brilliantly thought-out and SPECTACULARLY well-written by acclaimed Gravity Falls writer-director Mike Rianda (who also helms here), injecting the whole film with a gleefully unpredictable, irrepressibly irreverent streak of pure chaotic genius that makes it a affectionately endearing and utterly irresistible joyride from bonkers start to adorable finish. The central premise is pretty much as simple as the title suggests, the utterly dysfunctional family in question – father Rick (Danny McBride), born outdoorsman and utter technophobe, mother Linda (Maya Rudolph), much put-upon but unflappable even in the face of Armageddon, daughter Katie (Broad City co-creator Abbi Jacobson), tech-obsessed and growing increasingly estranged from her dad, and son Aaron (Rianda himself), a thoroughly ODD dinosaur nerd – become the world’s only hope after naïve tech mogul Mark Bowman (Eric Andre), founder of PAL Labs, inadvertently sets off a robot uprising. Cue a wild ride comedy of errors of EPIC proportions … this is just about the most fun I’ve had with a movie so far this year, an absolute riot throughout, but there’s far more to it than just a pile of big belly laughs, with the Mitchells all proving to be a lovable bunch of misfits who inspire just as much deep, heartfelt affection as they learn from their mistakes and finally overcome their differences, becoming a better, more loving family in the process, McBride and Jacobson particularly shining as they make our hearts swell and put a big lump in our throat even while they make us titter and guffaw, while the film has a fantastic larger than (virtual) life villain in PAL (Olivia Colman), the virtual assistant turned megalomaniacal machine intelligence spearheading this technological revolution. Much like its Spider-Man-shaped predecessor, this is also an absolutely STUNNING film, visually arresting and spectacularly inventive and bursting with neat ideas and some truly beautiful stylistic flair, frequently becoming a genuine work of cinematic art that’s as much a feast for the eyes as it is the intellect and, of course, the soul. Altogether then, this is definitely the year’s most downright GORGEOUS film so far, as well as UNDENIABLY its most FUN. Lord and Miller really have done it again.

5. P.G. PSYCHO GOREMAN – the year’s current undeniable top guilty pleasure has to be this fantastic weird, thoroughly over-the-top and completely OUT THERE black comedy cosmic horror that doesn’t so much riff on the works of HP Lovecraft as throw them in a blender, douse them with maple syrup and cayenne pepper and then hurl the sloppy results to the four winds. On paper it sounds like a family-friendly cutesy comedy take on Call of Cthulu et al, but trust me, this sure ain’t one for the kids – the latest indie horror offering from Steven Kostanski, co-creator of the likes of Manborg, Father’s Day and The Void, this is one of the weirdest movies I’ve seen in years, but it’s also one of the most gleefully funny, playing itself entirely for yucks (frequently LITERALLY). Mimi (Nita Josee-Hanna) and Luke (Owen Myre) are a two small-town Canadian kids who dig a big hole of their backyard, accidentally releasing the Arch-Duke of Nightmares (Matthew Ninaber and the voice of Steven Vlahos), an ancient, god-tier alien killing machine who’s been imprisoned for aeons in order to protect the universe from his brutal crusade of death and destruction. To their parents’ dismay, Mimi decides to keep him, renaming him Psycho Goreman (or “P.G.” for short) and attempting to curb his superpowered murderous impulses so she can have a new playmate. But the monster’s original captors, the Templars of the Planetary Alliance, have learned of his escape, sending their most powerful warrior, Pandora (Kristen McCulloch), to destroy him once and for all. Yup, this movie is just as loony tunes as it sounds – Kostanski injects the film with copious amounts of his own outlandish, OTT splatterpunk extremity, bringing us a riotous cavalcade of bizarrely twisted creatures and mutations (brought to life through some deliciously disgusting prosthetic effects work) and a series of wonderfully off-kilter (not to mention frequently off-COLOUR) darkly comic skits and escapades, while the sense of humour is pretty bonkers but also generously littered with nuggets of genuine sharply observed genius. The cast, although made up almost entirely of unknowns, is thoroughly game, and the kids particularly impress, especially Josee-Hanna, who plays Mimi like a flamboyant, mercurial miniature psychopath whose zinger-delivery is clipped, precise and downright hilarious throughout. There are messages of love conquering all and the power of family, both born and made, buried somewhere in there too, but ultimately this is just 90 minutes of wonderful weirdness that’s sure to melt your brain but still leave you with a big dumb green when it’s all over. Which is all we really want from a movie like this, right?

4. SPACE SWEEPERS – all throughout the pandemic and the interminable lockdowns, Netflix have been a consistent blessing to those of us who’ve been craving the kind of big budget blockbusters we have (largely) been unable to get at the cinema. Some of my top movies of 2020 were Netflix Originals, and they’ve continued the trend into 2021, having dropped some choice cuts on us over the past four months, with some REALLY impressive offerings still to come as we head into the summer season (roll on, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead!). In the meantime, my current Netflix favourite of the year so far is this phenomenal milestone of Korean cinema, lauded as the country’s first space blockbuster, which certainly went big instead of going home. Writer-director Jo Sung-hee (A Werewolf Boy, Phantom Detective) delivers big budget thrills and spills with a bombastic science-fiction adventure cast in the classic Star Wars mould, where action, emotion and fun characters count for more than an admittedly simplistic but still admirably archetypical and evocative plot – it’s 2092, and the Earth has become a toxic wasteland ruined by overpopulation and pollution, leading the wealthy to move into palatial orbital habitats in preparation for the impending colonisation of Mars, while the poor and downtrodden are packed into rotting ghetto satellites facing an uncertain future left behind to fend for themselves, and the UTS Corporation jealously guard the borders between rich and poor, presided over by seemingly benevolent but ultimately cruel sociopathic genius CEO James Sullivan (Richard Armitage). Eking out a living in-between are the space sweepers, freelance spaceship crews who risk life and limb by cleaning up dangerous space debris to prevent it from damaging satellites and orbital structures. The film focuses on the crew of sweeper vessel Victory, a ragtag quartet clearly inspired by the “heroes” of Cowboy Bebop – Captain Jang (The Handmaiden’s Kim Tae-ri), a hard-drinking ex-pirate with a mean streak and a dark past, ace pilot Kim Tae-ho (The Battleship Island’s Song Joong-ki), a former child-soldier with a particularly tragic backstory, mechanic Tiger Park (The Outlaws’ Jin Seon-Kyu), a gangster from Earth living in exile in orbit, and Bubs (a genuinely flawless mocapped performance from A Taxi Driver’s Yoo Hae-jin), a surplus military robot slumming it as a harpooner so she can earn enough for gender confirmation. They’re a fascinating bunch, a mercenary band who never think past their next paycheque, but there’s enough good in them that when redemption comes knocking – in the form of Kang Kot-nim (newcomer Park Ye-rin), a revolutionary prototype android in the form of a little girl who may hold the key to bio-technological ecological salvation – they find themselves answering the call in spite of their misgivings. The four leads are exceptional (as is their young charge), while Armitage makes for a cracking villain, delivering subtle, restrained menace by the bucketload every time he’s onscreen, and there’s excellent support from a fascinating multinational cast who perform in a refreshingly broad variety of languages. Jo delivers spectacularly on the action front, wrangling a blistering series of adrenaline-fuelled and explosive set-pieces that rival anything George Lucas or JJ Abrams have sprung on us this century, while the visual effects are nothing short of astounding, bringing this colourful, eclectic and dangerous universe to vibrant, terrifying life; indeed, the world-building here is exceptional, creating an environment you’ll feel sorely tempted to live in despite the pitfalls. Best of all, though, there’s tons of heart and soul, the fantastic found family dynamic at the story’s heart winning us over at every turn. Ultimately, while you might come for the thrills and spectacle, you’ll stay for these wonderful, adorable characters and their compelling tale. An undeniable triumph.

3. JUDAS & THE BLACK MESSIAH – I’m a little fascinated by the Black Panther Party, I find them to be one of the most intriguing elements of Black History in America, but outside of documentaries I’ve never really seen a feature film that’s truly done the movement justice, at least until now. It’s become a major talking point of the Awards Season, and it’s easy to see why – director Shaka King is a protégé of Spike Lee, and together with up-and-coming co-screenwriter Wil Berson he’s captured the fire and fervour of the Party and their firebrand struggle for racial liberation through force of arms, as well as a compelling portrait of one of their most important figures, Fred Hampton, the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the BPP and a powerful political activist who could have become the next Martin Luther King or Malcolm X. Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya is magnificent in the role, effortlessly holding your attention in every scene with his laconic ease and deceptively friendly manner, barely hinting at the zealous fire blazing beneath the surface, but the film’s true focus is the man who brought him down, William O’Neal, a fellow Panther and FBI informant placed in the Chapter to infiltrate the movement and find a way for the US Government to bring down what they believed to be one of the country’s greatest internal threats. Lakeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You, Knives Out) delivers a suitably complex performance as O’Neal, perfectly embodying a very clever but also very desperate man walking a constant tightrope to maintain his cover in some decidedly wary company, but there’s never any real sense that he’s playing the villain, Stanfield largely garnering sympathy from the viewer as we’re shamelessly made to root for him, especially once he starts falling for the very ideals he’s trying to subvert – it’s a true star-making performance, and he even holds his own playing opposite Kaluuya himself. The rest of the cast are equally impressive, Dominique Fishback (Project Power, The Deuce) particularly holding our attention as Hampton’s fiancée and fellow Panther Akua Njeri, as does Jesse Plemmons as O’Neal’s idealistic but sympathetic FBI handler Roy Mitchell, while Martin Sheen is the film’s nominal villain in a chillingly potent turn as J. Edgar Hoover. This is an intense and thrilling film, powered by a tense atmosphere of pregnant urgency and righteous fury, but while there are a few grittily realistic set pieces, the majority of the fireworks on display are performance based, the cast giving their all and King wrestling a potent and emotionally resonant, inescapably timely history lesson that informs without ever slipping into preachy exposition, leaving an unshakable impression long after the credits have rolled. This doesn’t just earn all the award-winning kudos it gained, it deserved A LOT MORE recognition that it got, and if this were a purely critical rundown list I’d have to put it in the top spot. As it is I’m monumentally enamoured of this film, and I can’t sing its praises enough …

2. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT – the biggest surprise hit for me so far this year was this wicked little indie suspense thriller from writer-director Kyle Rankin (Night of the Living Deb), which snuck in under the radar but is garnering an impressive reputation as a future cult sleeper hit. Critics have been less kind, but the subject matter is a pretty thorny issue, and if handled the wrong way it could have been in very poor taste indeed. Thankfully Rankin has crafted a corker here, initially taking time to set the scene and welcome the players before throwing us headfirst into an unbelievably tense but also unsettlingly believable situation – a small town American high school becomes the setting for a fraught siege when a quartet of disturbed students take several of their classmates hostage at gunpoint, creating a social media storm in the process as they encourage the capture of the crisis on phone cameras. While the local police gather outside, the shooters discover another threat from within the school throwing spanners in the works – Zoe Hull (Alexa & Katie’s Isabel May), a seemingly nondescript girl who happens to be the daughter of former marine scout sniper Todd (Thomas Jane). She’s wound pretty tight after the harrowing death of her mother to cancer, fuelled by grief and conditioned by her father’s training, so she’s determined to get her friends and classmates out of this nightmare, no matter what. Okay, so the premise reads like Die Hard in a school, but this is a very different beast, played for gritty realism and shot with unshowy cinema-verité simplicity, Rankin cranking up the tension beautifully but refusing to play to his audience any more than strictly necessary, drip-feeding the thrills to maximum effect but delivering some harrowing action nonetheless. The cast are top-notch too, Jane delivering a typically subtle, nuanced turn while Treat Williams is likeably stoic as world-weary but dependable local Sherriff Tarsey, Rhada Mitchell intrigues as the matter-of-fact phantom of Zoe’s mum, Jennifer, that she’s concocted to help her through her mourning, Olly Sholotan is sweetly geeky as her best friend Lewis, and Eli Brown raises genuine goosebumps as an all-too-real teen psychopath in the role of terrorist ringleader Tristan Voy. The real beating heart and driving force of the film, though, is May, intense, barely restrained and all but vibrating with wounded fury, perfectly believable as the diminutive high school John McClane who defies expectations to become a genuine force to be reckoned with, as far as I’m concerned one of this year’s TOP female protagonists. Altogether this is a cracking little thriller, a precision-crafted little action gem that nonetheless raises some troubling questions and treats its subject matter with utmost care and respect, a film that’s destined for major cult classic status, and I can’t recommend it enough.

1. NOBODY – do you love the John Wick movies but you just wish they took themselves a bit less seriously? Well fear not, because Derek Kolstad has delivered fantastically on that score, the JW screenwriter mashing his original idea up with the basic premise of the Taken movies (former government spook/assassin turned unassuming family man is forced out of retirement and shit gets seriously trashed as a result) and injecting a big dollop of gallows humour. This time he’s teamed up with Ilya Naishuller, the stone-cold lunatic who directed the deliriously insane but also thoroughly brilliant Hardcore Henry, and the results are absolutely unbeatable, a pitch perfect jet black action comedy bursting with neat ideas, wonderfully offbeat characters and ingenious plot twists. Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk is perfect casting as Hutch Mansell, the aforementioned ex-“Auditor”, a CIA hitman who grew weary of the lifestyle and quit to find some semblance of normality with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), with whom he’s had two kids. Ultimately, he seems to have “overcompensated”, and his life has stagnated, Hutch following a autopiloted day-to-day routine that’s left him increasingly unfulfilled … then fate intervenes and a series of impulsive choices see him falling back on his old ways while defending a young woman from drunken thugs on a late night bus ride. Problem is, said lowlifes work for the Russian Mob, specifically Yulian Kuznetsov (Leviathan’s Aleksei Serebryakov), a Bratva boss charged with guarding the Obshak, who must exact brutal vengeance in order to save face. Cue much bloody violence and entertaining chaos … Kolstad can do this sort of thing in his sleep, but his writing married with Naishuller’s singularly BONKERS vision means that the anarchy is dialled right up to eleven, while the gleefully dark sense of humour shot through makes the occasional surreality and bitingly satirical observation on offer all the more exquisite. Odenkirk is a low-key joy throughout, initially emasculated and pathetic but becoming more comfortable in his skin as he reconnects with his old self, while Serebryakov hams things up spectacularly, chewing the scenery with aplomb; Nielsen, meanwhile, brings her characteristic restrained classiness to proceedings, Christopher Lloyd and the RZA are clearly having the time of their lives as, respectively, Hutch’s retired FBI agent father David and fellow ex-spook half-brother Harry, and there’s a wonderfully game cameo from the incomparable Colin Salmon as Hutch’s former handler, the Barber. Altogether then, this is the perfect marriage of two fantastic worlds – an action-packed thrill ride as explosively impressive as John Wick, but also a wickedly subversive laugh riot every bit as blissfully inventive as Hardcore Henry, and undeniably THE BEST MOVIE I’ve seen so far this year. Sure, there’s some pretty heavyweight stuff set to (FINALLY) come out later this year, but this really will take some beating …

#movies 2021 #zack snyder's justice league #synchronic #synchronic movie #without remorse #raya and the last dragon #the mitchells vs the machines #pg psycho goreman #psycho goreman #space sweepers #judas and the black messiah #run hide fight #nobody #nobody movie

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nitannichionne · 4 years ago

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Leading Lady, Chapter 15: (Almost) Sex in Seattle (A Henry Cavill Cast Fic)

Chapter 15: Almost Sex in Seattle (Kitara POV)

I was missing him already.

Shane had to go back to Los Angeles for screen and makeup tests. I was stuck in Seattle alone for a bit and then Phoenix, but he said he'd be back by Friday for the Saturday con in Phoenix. I was planning on leaving for Phoenix that night. I kept closing my eyes remembering when he left.

"Don't look like that," he smiled at me.

"Look like what?" I asked him as he left his luggage at the door and strode to me and took me in his arms.

"Ah, that's it," he murmured, rubbing my back gently. "I'll only be gone a few days! Everything will be fine--" he tilted my chin up so that our eyes could meet. "promise." He kissed my forehead, the tip of my nose, and stole a quick peck on the lips. "Admit it."

"What?"

"You're going to miss me." He tickled my sides. "C'mon, say it."

I looked up at him. "I am going to miss you." I felt my throat tighten.

"Aww," he gave me an extra squeeze . "I'll let you know when I land."

"Okay."

He chuckled a little, shaking his head at me. "A month of Saturdays."

"What?"

"We've been on this tour about a month of Saturdays," his expression was one of humor as he raised an eyebrow at me. "First you were running from me, now you seem like you're running to me." When he saw my discomfort, he shook his head at me. "Hid a present in the apartment."

"What?"

"I will bet you don't find it before I land in L.A."

"I bet I will!" I loved games. He knew that.

"To the victor goes the spoils!"

"What...spoils?" I gave him a squeeze.

"Heh." He turned on his heel. "Better find it."

I hastened behind him and held him again, kissing the middle of his back, and he turned to look at me. That kiss was pure instinct, I just did it. I was embarrassed.

"I'll never get out this way," he shook his head, caressing my cheek. "Missing you already." He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, kissed me like he did that day in the guestroom in San Diego. I was breathless when he let me go. "Better?"

I couldn't talk.

"Time's ticking," he smiled, and walked out the door.

I stood there for awhile, just thinking of him. This time I picked a house I absolutely wanted to stay in, but it was a one bedroom cottage. He practically dared me to rent it, almost suggesting that living in such close quarters would be...risky:

"I am perfectly capable of being a gentleman, but I am not perfectly capable of sleeping on a couch," he said with a mischievous smile.

"So, we share the bedroom?"

"Why not?" he asked. "Is there a problem?"

The question hung in the air, the perfect dare, and I agreed.

Little did I know that living in close quarters with him would be so...enticing. Watching him come out of the bathroom in a towel because he forgot something or watching him sleep because I was such an early riser were perks that I'd've damn near paid for. Watching his reaction when I did the same was something. He would stop what he was doing, and I could feel his eyes following me around the room. It was as if he was touching me with looks.

Our days were sort of touristy. I wanted him to see the U.S., and there were honestly parts I hadn't seen either. We saw the needle of course, but the highlight of the week had been Snoqualmie Falls and Winery, not for the sights or the wine, but the fact that we almost crossed the line there:

"God!" I half whispered, half hissed as he braced me against the cave wall and squatted to lift me. My legs went around him instinctively, didn't think about it for a second. We were kissing as if we would never see each other again. I started sucking his tongue, tasting wine in his mouth from the first set of tastings on the tour, and he pulled back with a groan to nibble my lips because I had some strawberries and champagne earlier.

"Shhh..." He managed to push my tank top back, and when his mouth closed over my breast, I bit my lip, but the cry vibrated in my throat. He licked my neck and then went back to what he was doing before. We were grinding against each other, fully clothed and risking being caught. I was shaking, gasping because I knew in that moment, I wouldn't stop him from doing anything. The need was almost painful, my hips kept moving up and down on him for some kind of solace, and he moved with me, his breathing ragged in my ear as he nipped it.

It was the sound of other tourists in the distance that made us stop. He slowly released my legs and slid my body down his so I could feel all that I had missed. I whimpered softly nuzzling his chest as my feet touched ground.

"You," he panted. "Are a dangerous woman."

"If I am, it's entirely your fault."

The nights were the best. We had s'mores on the firepit, an American camping snack, sinful concoction of chocolate and marshmallows on graham crackers. We were both trying to watch our diets, so we only had one each the first night we did, and shared one each night after. We even roasted beer brats on the fire. We lounged in the hot tub almost every night, watching movies or listening to music on our phones or laptops. And then there was the making out--or snogging. We couldn't seem to help that, not after we'd toured Snoqualmie...

I snapped from the memory. I had to find this present!

I started in the yard. We'd spent a lot of time there. By the time the sun was high, I knew he didn't hide it there at all. I stopped to eat lunch, frustrated. He could be landing soon!

I looked over at Zeus, who was barely awake in his basket bed, and I was sure I was the one that got him up with my racket. "Some help you are!" I grumbled. He stood and...he tinkled! Tinkled?! "Zeus?" I looked at him, and thought I saw something flicker from around his neck. I immediately hit the floor in a elbow plank for a better look. "Oh, my God!" I squealed and crawled over. "Zeus, you wonderful little mutt!" I laughed, picking him up. Hooked on a ring to his tags were charms-Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle, but there was also a key? "Oh, my God!" I scrambled for the bedroom and started going through drawers which were mostly empty. "A key means a box. I got charms, Zeus! That means a bracelet, I know it does!" I looked under the bed, pulled off the sheets and pillows, this was an all out ransack. He was landing soon-I didn't have much time! "Damn it!"

My cell started playing Hungry Like a Wolf, and I rolled my eyes. I clicked on my earpiece and kept searching.

"Hello?!" I was looking under the bed.

Shane's laughter held triumph. "Ha, I knew it!"

"I found the charms-cute by the way-" I got to my feet. "But this isn't fair!" I'm looking for two things! Charms and a bracelet, right?"

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"But, sweetie, you overlooked it."

I stood still. Overlooked it? I backed out of the bedroom, grabbing the phone on the way. I was here, with the dog..."Oh, my God!" I heard him laughing as I returned to Zeus's bed, and pulled up the pillow he had been laying on. And there under him was a box, a flat jewelry gift box with no lock. I was confused. I opened the box and pulled out the charm bracelet. "Oh, Shane, it's beautiful." I breathed. "But what is the key for?"

"Let a man have a secret or two."

"Sha-ane!"

"Darling, that's it...for now." he chuckled. "Ride's here, talk you later."

I sighed, "Alright, be safe."

He laughed softly, making my heart flutter. "You too. Cheers."

I sat there on the couch, and began assembling my gifts. Oh, it was more beautiful than I thought. I lifted my hand to the light, admiring the sparkly thing, and I swallowed hard, tears in my eyes. I had ten more cities with him. Ten. Oh, God, what was I going to do? I took a picture of my gift, sending it to Laura immediately. My cell played Vogue by Madonna, and I picked it up. She'd gone to the concert recently, so I changed her ringer. "Oh, Lala!"

"Hey, what's up? Nice sparkly, by the way," Laura said. "Been shopping?"

"No."

"Oh...is that a gift?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well, damn, honey, what's wrong?" she asked. "I mean, I'm guessing it's from Shane?"

"Yes!"

"Falling, are we?" she asked teasingly.

"He's too good to be true, Lala," I said, looking at my bracelet. "He's..."

"Don't ruin this, Kiki," Laura warned. "Maybe he's just an overdue gift from the universe."

"Lala."

"Things are finally working your way after so long," Laura said softly, her voice feeling like a hug. "Your books are flying off shelves and sites. Two are in the works for movies with no one better than your dream guy, and don't deny that he is, it's pointless with me. Go with the flow, hon." There was silence. "Kiki, I mean it."

"I know, I know you're right," I breathed. "We shared a bedroom this week, you know."

"Yes, I know," her mischievous voice returned. "How's that going?"

"Not...yet."

"I'm going to say this one more time," Laura said sternly. "Go with the flow, see where it goes. You will either end up happy as hell or with a hell of a memory. Is that bad?"

I didn't answer. "Thanks, Lala."

"Anytime, hon," she said gently. "See you in Vegas. It's your first panel."

"What?"

"They've got a panel of writers who went from digital to screen," she said happily. "You're in, and yes, bring that man with you, he's good for you."

@mistress-of-ward @summersong69 @griscka75 @kebabgirl

#henry cavill #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill fanficion #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill smut #henry cavill fluff #august walker #captain syverson #clark kent #geralt #sherlock #superman #walter marshall #will shaw #witcher

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afaimsarrowverse · 4 years ago

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The 14 Creepiest Arrowverse Villains:

Yes, this one should have been made for Halloween. But after the year we just had, let’s take comfort in the fact that were are not forced to ever meet this guys here on the street in the dark. While two of the villains on this list had rather big seasonal arcs, I specifically disqualified characters from here, have proper motivations and character arcs as well as villains, who are creepy but at the same time quite a lot of fun. This why you won’t find Alice, her Mouse, Ramsay, Eobard, the Trickster, Mallus, Neron or even the Thinker here.

This list mainly consists of people we want to put back in the box, they got out of, until not seeing them at least for a season or so, and who we want to yell at: „What’s wrong with you!“ while they are on screen.

14. Toyman Senior (Winslow Schott Sr., Supergirl, Henry Czerny)

Technically this one should not be on this list, because he was redeemed in Season 5, however that happend after his death and on Earth Prime rather than Supergirls Original Eart,h so we will ignore that for now (also I wrecked my head whom from „Supergirl“ to put on here, so I overlooked that on purpose). Toyman is more creepy as a concept than in reality. He blows up kids (and other than the Trickster is no fun at all while he is doing it), threatened the life of his son to get his wife to leave him and did God knows what else to said wife and son. And did not even stop terrorizing people after his death. Can you imagine growing up as Toyman’s son? Poor Winn, you truly deserved better!

13. Bug Eyed Bandit (Brie Larvan, Queen Bee, The Flash, Arrow, Emily Kinney)

Yes, it’s because of the Bees. Because she controls Mechanical Bees that sting and kill people! I am sorry, but what’s your problem, can’t you just kill your enemies like a normal person, Brie? Not to mention the whole Felicity-thing, because yes it’s totally normal to go around and kidnap and threaten to get what you want and then try to murder again. I still do not get why they let her into the Young Rogues anyway, but then … most members of that gang were all wrong, weren’t they?

12. Garfield Lynns (Arrow, Andrew Dunbar)

Most of us have tried to forget about Season 1 Episode „Burned“ for several reasons. But the villain of it is also one of those. Because, yes Mick was a Pyromanic as well, but for more complex reasons. Garfield Lynns was a fire fighter who started burning people and ended burning himself to death because of reasons and … well let’s be honest, he was nuts and burning people is not cool at all!

11. Jake Simmons (Deathbolt, Arrow, The Flash, Doug Jones)

That’s what you get, if you hire a creature actor (no offense, Doug, we love your work!) to play a psychopatic villain. Occasionally kind of fun, yes, but mostly Simmons is crazy and creepy, and we never liked him very much, but crucial Captain Cold killed him with a flimsey excuse, which no one ever bought, and let’s put it that way: If Leonard killed him just like that, there had to be something wrong with him in a big way, and yes, the hints were there, so, yeah, what a creep.

10. The Mist (Kyle Nimbus, The Flash, Antony Carrigan)

A former Mob Hitman that looks like that and can turn into Mist. Do I have to say any more? I would take Victor Szasz over this one any day. Because Nimbus … well you would not want to meet him during a misty night, would you?

9. Murmur (Michael Amar, Arrow, Adrian Glynn McMorran)

This one actually cares about his grandma, I will give him that, but SOMEONE SEWED HIS FUCKING LIPS TOGETHER! So you don’t really like looking at him, and he kind of went over board after he was pressured into joining Damien Darhk with, you know, killing everyone and joining HIVE, who as you recall planned to end the world as wen know it, so what about everyone elses grandmas, they can just die or what? No, Mister Amar, there is quite a lot wrong with you, that’s for sure.

8. Everyman (Hannibal Bates, The Flash, Various)

That one could be a tragedy, but well, he got so mixed up and wrong in the head, that he became a danger to everyone else. He is creepy trapped between shapes and he is creepy in other shapes because … you don’t just go around and kiss random women, who think you are somebody else. That is just wrong. But Bates is kind of mostly wrong, so, yeah.

7. Anthony Ivo (Arrow, Dylan Neal)

Ivo is Sara’s Personal Case of #Metoo, which really should be enough to earn him a spot on this list, but there is also his habit of keeping people in cages and the whole „You have to choose, whom I shoot dead!“- thing and all of that is only the tip of the iceberg. Not even Dylan Neal can stop me from wanting to scream at the top of my lungs: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! at Dr. Ivo.

6. Nocturna (Natalia Knight, Batwoman, Kayla Ewell)

We all know the story how Nocturna was not allowed to show up in the Animated Batman Series in the 90s, because she was considered too disturbing (Morbius on the other hand was allowed to show up in the Spider-Man Cartoon but had to … undergo some changes, which made a perfectly good vampire into the creepies cartoon-villain ever unleashed on kids and scarred me for life, but that’s another story). Here she finally is, and yes, she is rather disturbing. Because she acutally knows very well that she isn’t a vampire, but still strings her victims up and bleeds them out, after biting them with laced spikey teeth. It would be kinky, if it were the least bit sexy, which it totally isn’t, so yeah, put her away for good please.

5. Vandal Savages Hawk Creatures (Legends of Tomorrow, Various)

Season 1 of „Legends“ was quite different than what came after, but „Night of the Hawk“ was an early highlight. While it was kind of a parody, being Season 1 it still played it straight for the most part, which resulted in an episode with the vibe of „American Horror Story“: We are in on the joke, but it’s still Horror. No wonder, after all Joe Dante directed this one. Vandal Savage turned poor teenagers into hawklike monsters, that no one would want to meet … ever. So yeah, thanks, but no thanks.

4. August Cartwright (Ethan Campell, Batwoman, John Emmet Tracy, Sebastian Roche)

Oh, God, that guy. So his mother wasn’t particulary ... nice, but that is no excuse to kidnap, gaslight, and brainwash a young girl, keep that girl’s mother’s head in a fridge for years, turn said girl into a slave and get her to make facemasks out of actual human face! Nor is that any excuse for fear-gasing your own son just because you are mad at him. Or anything in any way related to face-stealing, ,killing, identitiy theft, or anything else Dr. Cartwright has ever been up to. Like, seriously it has been a long time a character that desevers to be hated that much has been on our televions screens. Creepy Creep!

3. Duela Dent (Batwoman, Alessandra Torresani)

Female Slashers have become kind of a common trope in fiction by now, but Duela is kind of different. Suffering from a pretty extreme version of of body dysmorphic disorder Duela sees beauty through a different lense than the rest of the world (we will never forget what she deems to be her face being perfect, even though we desperatly want to). So yeah, she slashes faces, mainly her own, is out to punish people, who force beauty ideals on her and othes, and somehow has no problem with … donating her face to Alice. … Can someone please get that poor woman help, I mean, seriously?!

2. Rag Doll (Peter Merkel, The Flash, Troy James, Phil LaMarr)

He did make Joe West throw up. And not only him. Rag Doll is plains disgusting. So disgusting actually, that the producers dialed him back in Season 6 and used more CG and less pratical „Troy James freaks us out“- bending. But while he could be fun all elongaty, we actually prefer him as his creepy original Season 5 Self. He is demented, wears a creepy mask, acts creepy, and we really don’t want to see him do his stuff but can’t look away at the same time. I have no idea why he was in the Young Rogues either, because he is really mainly creepy – und would be the Overcreep on this list, if it weren’t for….

1. The Dollmaker (Barton Mathis, The Broken Doll Killer, Arrow, Michael Eklund)

I am still amazed to this day that they were allowed to make this episode. You have to remember „Arrow“ had been only on for one Season at this point and „The 100“ was still about to premier. The CW was yet to change it’s image. Still they somehow got to made the Dollmaker-Episode, which left us disturbed to this very day. What Mathis was doing to his victims …. Well not only Quentin got nightmares about it. Poor Laurel went understandable full addict after almost being made into a puppet by him. So, Rag Doll might look creepier, but the Dollmaker is one of this Serial Killers we never want to even hear from again. It’s really no wonder he was an one-off, like I said, I am still amazed they were even allowed to make the episode on Network Television let alone The CW at all.

#Arrowverse #Creepiest Villains #Arrow #The Flash #Supergirl #legends of tomorrow #Batwoman

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m00nlitknight · 5 years ago

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librarian helper

fandom: IT (2017) pairing: henry bowers / goody-two-shoes reader word count: 1,635 warnings: none to really point out? henry being henry?? summary: Oh, how one tires of stagnant days. extra: my favorite part of this is when richie said 'mullet-boy bowers' im iconic. i also finished this at like 3am pls b gentle i hope i wrote henry ok! feedback is highly appreciated, thank you for reading!

archive of our own link.

Monday mornings in Derry weren’t ideal, regardless of the context. Teens awoken far too early for their own good, forced to come to grips with the reality that it was the first day back from the weekend. Trudging through the crowded student body and longing for the day to be over just as soon as it was to begin. A variety of feelings made the air heavy and thick with a concoction so truthful to the high school experience; frustration, exhaustion, and the underlying scent of yearning.

Few an individual found themselves bragging of the weekend’s extracurricular activities, cackling with an unusual vigor and energy unlike the rest of their near-ghoulish peers. Others were sitting on the ground, rushing through their assignments with adrenaline only just granted to them; oh yes, the heart-stopping experience of forgetting that there was homework.

Fortunately, you’d hadn’t found yourself in that predicament this morning, having thoroughly done your homework on Friday night. Best to do it then push it off and forget it; your own philosophy. Not to say you hadn’t found yourself in the same situation in times past, nor were you above those whose memory’s had failed them.

Quietly you step up to your locker, opening it and glancing down to your left, where Richie Tozier was currently scribbling nonsense down on what you assumed to be Government. You hummed, putting your things away quickly and retrieving what looked to be the same assignment - some stupid worksheet the teacher assigned, no doubt some kind of busywork. Your class truly had no grasp on the concept of being ‘quiet,’ which annoyed you to no end.

You squatted down to his level, with his pencil not even ceasing as you set the paper in his peripheral. No teachers were at their morning posts yet, either that or the ones who were supposed to be there simply didn’t care to be there.

“Oh - uh, shit, how much?” His eyes shifted from you to the paper quickly as he fumbled to reach for something - likely his wallet.

“Nothing,” Your voice leaves you laced with amusement as you push the paper into his grasp. “Just don’t get caught with it, please.”

“Aw, c’mon! You can’t just hand it the fuck over for free, man, that’ll mean I owe you a solid.”

“Just consider it on the house, Tozier. It’ll be fine, you don’t owe me.”

“Okay, okay, but don’t come hollerin’ when you suddenly need a favor from ol’ Richie, alright?”

You hum in affirmation, turning back to your locker and beginning to sort through the things that would be needed for the day to come. Around you, energy began to rise, individuals of the student body reanimating through social interaction. The morning sun may not have been enough to revitalize them, but it appeared that the promise of teenage-to-teenage interaction was.

Richie finished his work with your worksheet quickly, shoving it back in your direction with a toothy grin. “Thanks, dude, you’re a fuckin’ lifesaver, I swear.”

“Like I said, it’s nothing! Do you need help with anything else? You know I have a basically free second period in the library.”

“Nah, thanks for the offer,” He seemed to finalize, standing up to go through his own locker. “I’ll make sure to send my dumbfuck friends your way if they happen to need any tutoring, though.”

You release a laugh through your nose, head shaking as you did so. Richie looked to you with a momentary smile, only to have it fall when he looked passed to the people around you.

“Alright, don’t panic,” naturally, you felt a little alarmed as a grimace crept onto his features. “ but I think you have a momentary peepin’ Tom right now.”

“Uh ... what ... do you mean?” You couldn’t help the faint caution and apprehension crawling into your voice.

“Mullet-boy Bowers is staring at you like ... really intensely,” he turned to you once again, putting an not-so-reassuring hand on your shoulder. “If I were you, I’d get the fuck outta dodge right now.”

With that, he stepped around you, maneuvering through the hallway - likely to class - and leaving you by your lonesome and, unfortunately, vulnerable. Quickly after his departure, the bell rang shrill overhead, signaling the beginning of class as students begrudgingly made their way to their first hour classes. You made yourself among their ranks, gathering your things to hopefully outrun ( or walk in this case ) any physical advancements the fellow student could’ve had on you.

The classroom’s door frame never felt more welcoming as you stepped foot into it, releasing a breath of comfort. Most of the class had yet to filter in, meaning there was more reign to choosing whatever seat you wanted. With a hum of appreciation, you step further in, choosing a seat not-too-close and not-too-far back for your liking, sitting down and preparing for class.

You keep your attention focused on your notebook for the beginning as classmates make their way in, sitting in various spots around the room and leaving you by yourself. Booted footfalls make their dreaded way over to you, finding themselves seated to your right. Sudden fear prickles your skin, suddenly making the room too warm and too cold at once while your shoulders tense. For the love of god, be anyone, anyone other than who you thought it was.

The seat creaks, likely with the weight of its occupant leaning into your vicinity. “Did’ja get the homework done, girlie?” You can almost hear the smirk in his whisper, as though he’s a wolf bearing his maw to a sheep. You tense further, shaking your head as you unconsciously lean further into the empty space you have right.

“S’funny...swear I saw you givin’ it to Trashmouth ‘fore class started,” The seats to your front and back were occupied by others, quite possibly remaining individuals who found an alliance with Henry. “Always thought’ch’re a good girl...be a shame if someone fucked that up for y’huh?”

Blackmail? That didn’t really seem like his style, then again it didn’t quite seem like you were being offered a choice of any kind - especially if he had the man power of his goons with him.

“So what’s it gonna be, huh? We ain’t got much time,” his voice transcribed his annoyance as your mulling was cut short, sliding the paper into his vision as he diligently scribbled the answers down. Across the room you caught the eye of Richie, quickly looking away in shame. You nearly miss the amused “s’what I thought,” murmured from Henry as he finishes the work quickly, shoving your desk with a bark of laughter.

The class continues on with its usually snail-like pace, much to your dismay as you keep your eyes locked on either the clock or your notebook. In front of you sat Belch Huggins, likely to his own humor since you were no longer able to see the board, and to your back sat Victor Criss who was able to sneak in an early nap. Through the paperballs being spat at or thrown at you from your right, you couldn’t help but feel that this was in some way better than having Patrick sit nearest to you - even if he was still creepily staring into your shoulder from behind Henry with what you could only guess was that irking grin. God forbid it was his expressionless face, that churned nervousness in your gut.

The bell rang once again overhead, signaling your freedom to the library as you scrambled to gather your things and rush passed before you had the chance to get cornered. Dumping what you had in your hands in your locker - you figured it would be for later you to organize - you did your best to scamper to the library unseen.

It seemed to have worked for the most part, aside from the bemused glances you garnered from teachers. Only momentary, they shrugged it off as you being a good kid in a hurry. As you entered the vicinity, you released another sigh of relief. If there was one thing you knew, it was that Henry Bowers wouldn’t be caught dead in a library. You didn’t really worry about his friends either, they were probably busy giving some unfortunate soul a swirlie, or whatever.

“Always on time, aren’t you?” The librarian, Ms. Andrews, rhetorical question was met with a beaming smile from you. “I’ve written things down for you to do, I’ll be in and out today helping the bookkeeper in the office.”

With a timid nod, you walked over to what she’d assigned you to do, looking through the short list with a thought of reaffirmation. Checking books back in, sorting back through them, and putting labels on new ones. You didn’t think you’d get through it all in the allotted time, though you were sure she’d been aware. Despite the world’s slow pace of going digital, Derry managed to lag behind - leaving you and your school with the unfortunate continuation of the paper system instead of being able to have the use of a computer.

“I’ll be back soon, dear, you know where where everything is,” she rounded the counter top before stepping out of the room, heels clicking loudly on the linoleum outside the carpeted room. A few moments later, the sound of boots made themselves apparent on the floor outside, going unnoticed by you as you began working on what had been assigned to you.

Looking up, your eyes met the smug gaze of Bowers himself - to which you tensed up once again. It stayed like what for an uncomfortable amount of time, the stuffy silence broken by the likes of you.

“Didn’t think you’d be a fan of the library,” you murmured, closing the book and setting it on the cart to be replaced.

“Wasn’t really, ‘till a lil’ birdy told me where my favorite bunny hangs out fer her second hour,” A sly smirk crawled onto his features as he watched you grimace over the use of the pet name.

He stepped forward, watching a physical flinch from you occur whilst he leaned his elbows onto the counter. It was stupid of him to get worked up over watching you squirm like that, but he had to admit there was definitely a feeling that came along with it. Leaning onto the counter, he gazed into your face. “What’ya say to us peelin’ outta here, goin’ and havin’ some actual fun?”

You fell silent at the question, blush darkening your features all the way to the ear. Unable to keep eye contact, you glanced to the pile of books that suddenly seemed way more interesting. “I’d say,” your voice came out so much more fragile then you’d meant it to as you looked back into his eyes. “Take me to dinner first.”

At your rebuttal, he found himself at a momentary loss for words, his own cheeks dusting with a faint pink. His smirk faltered, before returning at full force. “Can’t a man get a taste first, then?”

“ Uh, ” your mouth went dry, eyes suddenly widening. How could he be so forward?

“What’ll it be, doe-eyes?”

With a glance around the vacant library, you looked to him again. “Follow me.”

His smirk turned wolfish as you led him to the vague-privacy of the bookshelves. Once the doorway was out of sight, and the two of you were tucked away into a corner, you looked to him. “We’ll have to be quick...and quiet.”

He stepped to you, only partially caging you in with one hand. “I can do quick, but I can’t promise quiet, bunny.”

“W-we can’t do much,” you stammer, face flushing as he lowered himself to your neck. “I’m n-not that easy!” You squeak when you feel his lips press against your jugular, putting an embarrassed hand to your mouth.

“Thought we had to be quiet,” he chuckled.

You put your hands onto his face, dragging him backward to press a chaste kiss to his lips. Quickly, he swatted your hands away, coming to rest his own on your waist as you replaced your hands onto his shoulders. The kiss escalated to eyes being closed, lip nipping, and heads turning for a better angle.

You gently pulled away, in turn his hands beginning to roam your mid-section with curiosity as you caught your breath. When he brushed a certain spot, you couldn’t suppress a giggle, much to his amusement as he began to brush it intentionally.

“Henry!” You giggle, putting your hands on his chest to push him away.

“Y’know, I like the sound of my name on your lips, doe-eyes,” He pressed a kiss to your lips once again before pulling away completely. “Maybe you’ll be sayin’ it with more gusto tonight, huh?”

Your face flushes, eyes widening again. “Oh - oh! Uh, maybe..?”

“Meet me durin’ lunch, we’ll talk then,” and with a wink, he set out of the library.

#henry bowers x reader #henry bowers imagine #henry bowers #it 2017 fanfiction #it 2017 #anyway #reader insert

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marksburyscripts · 4 years ago

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Season 1, Episode 5-- Heartwrench

Google Doc

[Henry’s hospital room. Day. There are no longer the sounds of life support.]

VICTOR

...You’re sure it’s okay?

HENRY

Yeah, it’s fine. Whatever helps. Record away.

VICTOR

All right. Thanks.

HENRY

...You don’t have to be nervous, you know.

VICTOR

I’m not.

HENRY

Then why are you doing that?

VICTOR

Doing what?

HENRY

You’re clenching and releasing your hand, and you’re rocking a bit in your chair. Both of which you do when you’re nervous. Seriously, how long have I known you? [Beat.] No, you don’t have to stop.

VICTOR

Oh thank God. [Beat.] ...How’re you feeling?

HENRY

Like I’ve been in a coma for the better part of a year. But lucid, so that’s an improvement, I guess.

VICTOR

Right. Right, yeah.

HENRY

...You know we’ve gotta talk about this, right?

VICTOR

Henry, shouldn’t we wait until you’re--

HENRY

No. We’re doing it now. While you’re recording. ...Victor, please tell me that I’m remembering wrong. Please tell me that I’ve just got some real bad brain damage and it’s fucking with me. That I didn’t walk in on some… first attempt at reanimating a fucking corpse.

VICTOR

[Mumbled] Second.

HENRY

Excuse me?

VICTOR

It was a second attempt, I’d done it before.

HENRY

Jesus Christ.

VICTOR

Also it’s not technically reanimation. If it had been a single body, sure, but I used materials from several donors--

HENRY

What the hell is wrong with you? In what fantasy could you ever see that turning out well? That’s the kind of shit that horror movies are made from!

VICTOR

I’m sorry, I--

HENRY

You were stupid! You were stupid, and reckless, and you didn’t think about the consequences!

VICTOR

I know, I just--

HENRY

Oh my God, that’s what the fire was about, wasn’t it? That had something to do with it. You freaked out, and you tried to burn the evidence. So what, you figured you’d risk more lives then, too? What if there had been people in there, Victor, what then?! Is that what attacked me? And did-- Did Justine really kill your brother? Or was that part of it, too? You have people’s lives on your conscience, all because you wanted to fuck around and find out if you could--

VICTOR

I just wanted my mom back, okay?! I know I fucked up. Believe me, I don’t need any more reminders. But I-- I had my reasons, it wasn’t just some ego trip.

HENRY

[Calmer now] ...Does Elliot know?

VICTOR

I’m sure he figured it out, yeah.

HENRY

What’s that supposed to mean?

VICTOR

Oh. Oh God, they didn’t tell you.

HENRY

Tell me what?

VICTOR

...Henry, Elliot’s dead.

HENRY

Oh God. God, I…. I’m so sorry, I…. How’s your dad taking it?

VICTOR

Well, considering he died two days later, I’d say not very well.

HENRY

What?

VICTOR

[Getting more and more distraught] He’s dead too, Henry. Him, Elliot, my mother, Billy, Justine. Everyone is dead, and I have been so alone and so scared, and I have no idea what I am supposed to do.

HENRY

...Hey. C’mere. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m just stressed, I shouldn’t have said all that shit.

VICTOR

You have every right to.

HENRY

No, being a dick won’t fix anything. Plus, you’ve obviously been through hell. Your glasses look like you were just at a 4Chan meetup.

VICTOR

[Laughs] I don’t know what that means.

HENRY

It means you need to get some damn lens cleaner, how the hell can you see out of those thing?

VICTOR

Just used to it, I suppose.

HENRY

You hear from Evelynn at all?

VICTOR

Take a guess.

HENRY

That’ll be a no. You try talking to her?

VICTOR

Of course not.

HENRY

...So you’re upset that you’ve been alone, yet you haven’t even tried to get in contact with your sister?

VICTOR

Look, I don’t need a lecture right now, okay? I get enough of those from Dr Walton.

HENRY

Wait, you’re seeing Dr Walton? Like, Robert Walton? Kinda short, always has a bow tie?

VICTOR

Yeah…? Do you know him, or…?

HENRY

Sort of, he was a guest speaker for my Abnormal Psych class during undergrad. He seems good.

VICTOR

Yeah, I suppose.

HENRY

How much you tell him?

VICTOR

I’m not sure I could tell him what happened even if I wanted to.

HENRY

...What happens when you try?

VICTOR

Don’t. Don’t do that.

HENRY

Do what?

VICTOR

That. You’re trying to… diagnose me.

HENRY

No, you’re my friend and I don’t have a license to practice. That’s illegal. I’m… offering informed advice.

VICTOR

Yeah, well, I’ll save you the trouble. Clinical depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and paranoid personality disorder. Though that last one is debatable. I might be missing some. Come back when you finish your Ph.D, Clerval.

HENRY

[Softly] Jesus…. [Trying to lighten the mood now] Doing it then it would be even more illegal. Then we’ll have two criminals here. [Beat.] Sorry. That wasn’t as funny as I expected it to be.

VICTOR

No. No, it’s fine. You’re not wrong. [Laughs] Should’ve seen what it was like trying to find a job with an arson charge. I’m lucky I managed to get the one I have.

HENRY

Yeah? What job’s that?

VICTOR

I’m over at Harris’ down on Main Street.

HENRY

Holy shit. The great Victor Frankenstein, the mad genius, the Prometheus of the 21st century, is selling discount hardware.

VICTOR

Well, I don’t actually sell anything most of the time. I’m customer service. Mostly returns, taking phone calls, fun stuff like that.

HENRY

You’re fucking with me. You hate talking on the phone.

VICTOR

And I hate my job. But if they’re willing to give a felon minimum wage, who am I to argue?

HENRY

Hey man, whatever works. I do have one more question, though.

VICTOR

Okay?

HENRY

Is that the hoodie I lent you that day?

VICTOR

Oh, um, right, yeah. I-- I was going to give it back, but then you-- You know, and then I was just so distracted, between worrying about you and the police hounding me--

HENRY

Hold on, police?

VICTOR

Oh. Right. They, um… They thought that I did it for a while. Elliot, too.

HENRY

Oh God.

VICTOR

I mean, I can't blame them. I've got a record, and that's a lot of people close to me who--

[The door opens. Both men are silent for a moment.]

HENRY

Hello…?

VICTOR

Sorry. That’s probably me.

HENRY

What?

VICTOR

Things have been… weird. It’s a long story.

HENRY

You built a person out of corpses, and I’m bedridden for who knows how long. I’ve got all the time in the world for the details.

VICTOR

...Ever since I…. Ever since the fire, things have been… happening around me. I know how this is going to sound, but you need to believe me, okay? Ever since I… made it… it’s like…. I don’t know. It doesn’t even really make sense, I-- The two concepts aren’t even remotely similar, I--

HENRY

Hey. Hey, breathe for me, okay?

VICTOR

Okay. Okay, sorry. ...That was the first night that I experienced something that I was unable to explain. Granted, I wasn’t exactly in the best mental state at the time, so for a while, I figured that it must have been a hallucination. I’ll be honest, sometimes I’m still able to convince myself that it was. But I know it’s not.

VICTOR (Cont.)

Sorry. Sorry, let me back up. [Sighs] The… first signs of life came at 1:15 AM. The rise and fall of the chest, the flicker of movement behind the eyelids. Whether or not there was cognitive function had yet to be seen, but… I suppose you know how that turned out. It was at 1:16 that everything started to go downhill. When I realized what I’d done, when-- when the possible consequences hit me all at once. The wrongness of the situation, I…. I almost didn’t hear it. Or-- No. No, I didn’t hear it so much as I felt it. I felt a voice throughout my body, in every single nerve, clawing its way into my subconscious. I-- I couldn’t make out what it was saying, but… I got the sickening feeling that it was proud of me. Proud of what I’d managed to achieve. Whether or not anything happened for the couple months that I was in the hospital afterwards, I can’t really say. I was in shock, I couldn’t tell you what was real and what was hallucination. Honestly, you’d probably be better at figuring out if anything odd was happening during that time, you were there. But what I can tell you is that it never stopped. Sometimes the TV would turn on in the middle of the night blasting static, a couple times I woke up in the morning to find my glasses outside on the windowsill. Then there are the more… sinister ones. Beings that aren’t quite human, there one moment, gone the next. Or sinking, terrifying senses of dread that lead up to disaster.

HENRY

So… you’re seeing ghosts?

VICTOR

No, obviously not ghosts, ghosts don’t exist. Jeeze, you sound like Elliot. [He laughs, but it fades] ...Not ghosts. But… something. Something that found me that night and hasn’t left me alone since. It’s all connected, I know it is. I just need to analyze everything. You know me, I work with data and research. If I can get the evidence, I can work out what’s going on. I even ended up setting cameras up in my house, but… they always freeze up whenever something happens. Typical. Either that or-- Or I don’t even have it happen myself, sometimes it’s other people who--

HENRY

Wait. Other people?

VICTOR

Yes. But it’s not like I want it to happen, it just does. I usually don’t even know them. I just… hear about them on the news, or sometimes they tell me themselves if I happen to run into them.

HENRY

...And strangers just tell you about all the creepy shit that happens to them?

VICTOR

...Sometimes, yeah.

HENRY

...You know what, I’m not going to even pretend to be surprised.

VICTOR

Honestly, that’s how I deal with it. So yeah. There you go. Spooky.

HENRY

...Do people get hurt because of it? [Victor doesn’t answer] Shit…. Well then. That settles it. I guess we’ve got work to do.

VICTOR

What?

HENRY

I said, we’ve got work to do. Maybe you’re content wallowing in self-pity while creepy shit radiates off of you, but I sure as hell won’t sit on my ass as it happens.

VICTOR

Henry--

HENRY

I know what you’re doing. You’re treating it like some punishment. Like you deserve it. Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t. And neither does anyone else. You fucked up, yeah. And I’m not going to lie, it’s going to take some time for us to get back to the way we were. But it’s like you said. You had your reasons. You didn’t mean for it all to go to hell. And you didn’t kill them. So you and me are going to buck up and--

[He is cut off by a sound of pain as he moves]

VICTOR

Hey, whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. We'll figure it out. We have time to plan, take action, whatever we need to do. But right now, what you need to do is rest. I'll wash the hoodie and bring it back first thing tomorrow.

HENRY

Nah, you keep it. It suits you, I can always get another. Plus, who the hell knows where you've been the past year?

VICTOR

[He laughs. This time it feels genuine] Asshole.

NEXT EPISODE➝

#Season 1 #Epsiode 5 #Victor Frankenstein #Henry Clerval

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ghost-nabbers-imagines · 5 years ago

Text

A Family: Part 2.

So this story is set in the past but not in the 80s. I think phones could send videos over message in 2003? So let's say that

Larry and I made our way back into the apartment finding Lisa starting dinner. Hearing us come in she turned around a warm sympathetic smile on her face. "So what's the verdict?" She asked. The two of us walked up to her Larry's arm still around my shoulders. "I think were gonna have and raise the baby." I breathed out feeling Larry squeeze my shoulder in support. "I'm sorry mom we were always careful I promise." Larry said letting go of my shoulder. Lisa wrapped her arms around both of us. "Its ok. What matters now Is that the baby is taken care of and has a family that loves them." She smiled.

When we pulled away from the hug Lisa light smacked Larry on the back of the head. "However that's for not talking to me about any of this." She Said jokingly making both Larry and I laugh. "Oh and (y/n) dear I called your parents and convinced them to come over tonight so we can all talk." She continued before turning around to return to cooking. I sighed taking a deep breath. Larry gave me a reassuring smile and the two of us helped Lisa cook.

Soon enough Ash, Todd, Neil, Chug, Maple, Sal, Henry, and my parents had all joined us. The whole group sat around the coffee table eating the spagheti and meatballs that Lisa had prepared. Everyone was laughing and talking genuinely having a good time. Everyone except my parents who were just kind of listening to something Henry was saying. "I'm gonna go grab some more water." My mother said excusingherself. "I guess I should grab dessert. Larry dear you want to clean up the plates?" Lisa asked getting up from the table and following my mom who had an annoyed look on her face. "I'll help." I smiled getting up.

Larry and I started collecting dishes before entering the kitchen with our moms. Lisa was putting the finishing touch on a pie. Larry started to wash off the dishes as I scraped the food into the trash. "(Y/n) do you have your keys with you? I left something back in the apartment." My mother asked. "Yeah they're in my bag in the living room." I explained beginning to dry the dishes Larry was washing.

My mom walked into the living room and a few minutes I heard her yell my name. Larry, Lisa, and I turned around with the same expression on our faces. "(Y/n) where'd you leave the test?" Larry asked. I frowned pushing the door open to see my parents arguing the pregnancy test in her hand.

"You're pregnant?" My mom asked angrily. "Y-yes I am." I said timidly. "How could you be so stupid? How many times have we had this conversation?" She yelled her face practically as red as a tomato. "This isn't her fault. We didnt mean for it to happen." Larry spoke up wrapping his arm around my shoulders again. "He's the father?! I knew we shouldn't have let you come over here so much!" My mother yelled.

"Now Mrs. (Y/l/n) there's no reason to yell. Lets sit down and talk about rationally." Lisa said calmly. "Dont tell me to be rational! Because of your negligence my daughter is pregnant!" She yelled back. "Mom this isn't Lisa's fault just please calm down." I responded making my mom glare towards me."You're dead punk!" My dad yelled running towards Larry. Larry dodged running out of the way. Henry got up trying to hold my father back.

"We're getting this taken care of tomorrow!" My mother insisted. "Mom we're keeping the baby. I know it's probably not the smartest choice but we're not comfortable giving it away and I dont want to abort it." I explained standing in front of Larry. Both of my parents were fuming. "You don't get to make that call you're only sixteen!" My father shouted. "Let's go (Y/n) now. We need to go home talk about this just the three of us." My mom insisted. I shook my head now noticing the tears that were falling down my cheeks. "Mom Larry is just as much a part of this!" I tried to insist. "I don't care our family needs to talk this over now. " my father insisted. I knew it was no use arguing so I turned and hugged Larry. He hugged me tightly in return before pulling away a couple inches."Its ok just talk to them and explain things. Text me after." He said kissing my forehead while pressing a hand on my belly. I smiled and was dragged out of the apartment by my parents.

When we got back to ours they practically threw me onto to couch. My father went into the kitchen where I couldn't see him and my mother stayed to lecture me.

"Are you crazy what were you thinking?"

"I didn't do it on purpose mom. And I got lucky that its Larry's I mean he wants to be there for both of us."

"You are not having that punk stoner's baby. He'll run out and leave you both behind just like Jim did to him and Lisa!"

"He wouldn't do that!"

"Really? Because it sounds like you two aren't even together as it is. You think that's suddenly gonna change now that you have his spawn growing inside you? And if it does do you really want him to love you out of obligation?"

"Larry isn't like that mom!"

She let out a bitter laugh shaking her head. Although I knew she was just trying to get to me the word obligation spun around my head. She had a point Larry and I weren't even dating. My father reentered the room handing me a cup of tea. "Drink that its Addison tea. It sounds like we all need to take a deep breath." He explained. I took a deep breath and sipped the warm comforting liquid. My parents continued to talk to me about how abortion would be the best option for me. "We have a very powerful friend that could pay for the doctor to come to his house and take for it. The whole thing would take less than 2 hours." My father explained. I continued sipping my tea not really listening to what they were saying. I knew what I wanted.

As i listened to their speech I felt my eyes getting heavier like I was suddenly really tired. I tried to speak but couldn't. My vision was going dark and I could feel my body slipping onto the couch. "We're going to fix this." I heard my father say before I lost consciousness.

-Larry's pov-

I paced around my room for what felt like the millionth time once again checking the time. "She'll message you dear give it time. They have a lot to discuss." My mom said trying to comfort me. I sighed sitting on the couch running my hands through my hair. "But they were so mad when they left what if they do something to her or try to send her somewhere. I have a bad feeling about this." I ranted biting my lip anxiously. My mom smiled at me sympathetically as she went into the kitchen to make something to drink.

I checked my phone again, still no message. Something was wrong I knew it. A distant sound coming from my room made me jump, it sounded like my walkie. I ran into my room grabbing the device to hear Sal's voice on the other end.

"Larry! Pick up man hurry!"

"Sal what's wrong dude?"

"Its (y/n) I'm pretty sure I just saw her parents sneaking out her unconscious body. If we hurry we can still catch them!"

"Fuck ok hang on! Make sure they dont leave!"

I grabbed my red hoodie and barely stepped into my shoes rubbing out into the living room. "Mom I need to borrow the truck! (Y/n)'s in danger!" I yelled grabbing my moms keys. "What? What happened? She asked confused. "No time to explain have to save her!" I called out running out of the apartment. I met with Sal in the parking lot who was ducking behind the truck.

I could see (y/n)'s parents getting into his work van and it looked like she was in the backseat passed out. "What the fuck did they do to her?" I growled under my breath. Sal and I quietly climbed into the truck waiting for them to pull out of the lot before starting after them. There was only a car between us so hopefully they couldn't see us. My fingers were pale white as I gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I swear to god if they hurt her or my baby." I growled suddenly feeling immensely angry that they were taking her.

"It'll be ok Larry we'll save her." Sal tries to assure me putting his small cold hand on my shoulder. I nodded letting out a shaky angry breath. We weren't driving for very long in fact it was a really short drive which all though it isn't uncommon in Knockfell still surprised me. "They pulled into the church." Sal pointed out as the van pulled up behind the church. "Why would they bring her here? I mean you can't pray away being pregnant." I said confused pulling the truck into the front parking lot. Sal sent a text to Henry and my mom letting them know where we were and send help.

The two of us carefully climbed out of the vehicle sneaking into the building. The main hall and service room were both empty but we began to hear some noise from the basement. We crept closer to the top the of the stair case hidden behind the doors. We could see (y/n) laying on a metal table with a machine hooked to her and her arms secured to the table. Her mother was standing by her head soothing her hair back. A man dressed as a doctor was standing in the corner working on some tool while Mr. (Y/l/n) and a man I couldn't place were talking. Sal took out his phone from his pocket and began recording.

"Thank you for your help. We didnt know who else could fix this problem."

"You came to the right place. Many young sinners have been helped in this basement."

"So no one will know what took place here tonight?"

"No. I understand that this choice is just as much against the bible as premarital sex but this community does not need a teen mom walking around especially not carrying the spawn of that Johnson boy."

"Thank you father Phelps. We dont know where we went so wrong with her."

"Let us pray now before Doctor Victor performs the opperation."

Sal and I turned to look at each other shocked and horrified. "Father Phelps that's Travis's dad the preacher." Sal pointed out. I nodded in response. Sal sent the video clearly showing father Phelps with (y/n) in the background, to Ash briefly explaining what to do if we didnt call her in an hour. We were about to creep down when a hand touched my shoulder. I jumped spinning around to see my mom and Henry. The four of us walked down into the basement just in time for their prayer to finish.

"Let her go!" I shouted startling the group. "This isn't any of your business child. The world does not need another Johnson child in world. Especially not one parented by two children." Father Phelps explained motioning for the doctor. "Mrs. (Y/l/n) you know she doesn't want this why are you forcing her to do this?" My mom asked taken back by their cruelty. "Stay out of this Lisa. This wouldnt have happened if she hadn't been around your deliquant son." Her mother spat.

"We're going to solve this problem before it becomes a problem so if you don't mind I'm going to have the doctor begin." Mr. Phelps said snapping his fingers towards (y/n)'s unconscious body. The doctor grabbed a large needle moving towards (y/n). "Don't you fucking touch her!" I yelled running to her side. Her father grabbed a hold of my arms trying to pull me away. Henry tried to go to my aide but was stopped by father Phelps. "Wait! I have footage of you standing in front of (y/n). I've already sent it to some friends of mine and told them if they didnt hear from us in an hour to send it to everyone in town. I dont think it would be good for the community to see the preacher committing such an act." Sal threatened showing the clip on his phone.

Phelps glared at Sal staring into his eyes threateningly. "Are you threatening me boy?" The older man growled. Sal stood strong. I continued to struggle against (y/n)'s father and my mom tried to stand in between (y/n) and the doctor while arguing with her mother. "Do you really think they'll believe the town freak over me?" He scoffed.

"L-larry?" I heard (y/n)'s timid voice call from the table. I yanked myself from the man's arms ran to her side. "Its ok baby . I'm here. I'm not gonna let them hurt either of you, I promise." I assured her placing a kiss on her forehead. "Now that you're awake I'm sorry to say this will hurt a lot more than it would have." The doctor said filling the large needle with a weird looking dark red liquid. "Normally noone would believe me you're right, but the whole school already knows (y/n) is pregnant. If you do this the whole town will know that she got rid of it and that Father Phelps knew it happened. Let Larry and Lisa take her home and you can still get out of this." Sal said being the more logical friend. "That's right one of the girls heard me talking about it in the gym locker room with Ash the next thing we knew everyone was talking about it."( y/n) said weakly. "I'm sorry Mr. (Y/l/n) if it's already out theres nothing I can do. But this isn't over, you young sinners are going to get what's coming." Father Phelps said signaling to the doctor who cleaned up his bag of tools and followed the preacher out.

"I've had enough of this if he won't take care of it then I will! Her father yelled grabbing the needle which had left behind as well as a knife had. I stood in front of her glaring down at the cruel man in front of us. He lunged forward with the knife and I moved to tack him. The knife caught my arm but we both fell to the floor. He kicked me off him before grabbing for the knife again. "You hurt either of them and I swear to god!" I shouted.

"What's it gonna be parents of a pregnant girl who kicked her out or parents of someone who the whole town thinks is a murderer?" Sal asked looking between both parents. "Phelps will throw you under the bus to protect himself so dont think he can protect you." Henry added. "Let's just go (fathers name)." Mrs. (Y/l/n) said grabbing her husband's arm. "You're gonna regret this Johnson. I'll make sure of it." He spat before the two exited the church.

I turned to (y/n) and began helping my mom remove the restraints. The second her arms were free (y/n) hugged onto me still shaking. "Thank you." She kept repeating as she hid her face in shoulder. I could feel her soft tears hitting my skin. I held her tightly trying to soothe her. "Its ok you're safe now. I'm not gonna let them hurt either of you." I promised before pulling away from the hug. I slipped off my hoodie and helped her put it on.

"We should take her to the doctor make sure whatever they gave her didn't harm the baby." My mom pointed out. I nodded putting an arm around (y/n)'s back and the other under her legs. She smiled her beautiful smile wrapping her arms around my neck. I lifted her off the table following the others out. We decided that Henry was gonna take Sal home and mom and I would take (y/n) to the doctor. I thanked Sal and (y/n) gave him a weak hug thanking him well before they drove off. Mom drove the truck while I sat in the passenger seat (y/n) in between us but mostly on my lap. "Thank you guys so much. You literally saved me. But father Phelps is probably going to be after you all now." She said in a quiet almost guilty voice.

"Hey you're family there was no way in hell we were letting them hurt either of you." My mom assured her. "And fuck father Phelps. After what he tried to do to you hes lucky I'm not after him now." I said with an angry tone. (Y/n) cuddled more into my side making me wrap my arms around her. "I'm gonna protect both of you (y/n) I promise." I told her kissing her forehead. My mom smirked at me as we we pulled into the hospital parking lot.

With the exception of dirty looks from several nurses the checkup went fine, both my girl and my baby were ok. The minute the doctor said those words out loud I let out a breath I didnt even know I was holding. "Thank God." My mom breathed out. "Just take her home and let her sleep off the drug. And make sure she stays hydrated." The doctor told me before leaving the room. My mom walked out to ask a couple last questions while I helped (y/n) get dressed.

"Larry there's something I think we should talk about."

"Sure what's up?"

"I know were were just screwing for a bit of fun but now that there's a baby what do you want to do about us? I mean please don't feel obligated to be with me because I'm carrying your child. I really dont want that I just figured we should probably talk about it."

"Of course I want to be with you. And it has nothing to do with obligation. I've liked you for a long time. When we were really drunk and slept together the first time I thought I'd finally be brave enough to ask you out but then the next morning you offered to just be friends with benefits so I chickened out and agreed. I wanted you not just someone to fuck."

She smiled brightly at me hugging me tightly. "I take it you'll be my girlfriend then?" I joked laughing making her giggle and nod into my shoulder. "Well baby mama slash girlfriend." I teased making her lightly shove my shoulder. I helped her down from the table and kept my arm around her as she wobbly walked out into the waiting room where we found mom by the doors. "Let's get home and get some rest it's been a long day." She smiled warmly. We climbed back into the truck and we'd barely pulled out of the parking lot before (y/n) was dozing off on my shoulder.

"So have you guys talked about your relationship at all? I mean it's going to be effected by the baby."

"Yeah actually we just had that talk. I want her to be my girlfriend. I mean I've pretty much been in love with her since I met her."

"You love her?"

"Shit I mean yeah I guess I do. Yeah i love her. Although I should probably take her on a real date before I tell her that."

"Well I guess since shes already pregnant it would be ok if she moves into your room with you. Just please try to cool it Lar Bear."

"Ok mom I will and thanks for letting her stay."

"Even though I'm way too young to be a grandmother it will be nice to have a baby around the apartment again."

"I hope I can be the kind of father this baby deserves. Not like I have very much to go off of."

"You're not your father sweet heart. You're already doing a great job. But in speaking of fathers I do think you and Sal should go pick up her clothes and stuff tomorrow. She shouldn't go back there alone."

"Hell no shes not going back there alone. They arent going anywhere near her or our baby."

Pretty soon we were back at the apartments and I had gotten (y/n) inside and on my bed. I replaced her skinny jeans with a pair of my sweatpants that could be tightened on her waist. The legs hung loosely on her but at least she was comfortable. I laid next to her in bed holding her while tracing my fingers across her belly.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to either of you kid I promise. And I'm gonna stick around and be there for you. You're not gonna grow up without a dad like I did."

~Lex💛

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trickkombowerskru · 6 years ago

Text

The Locker Next To Mine-Patrick Hockstetter Imagine

Request: No here is the 14th day of the 25 days of trickkombowerskru! (yes I know I’m late I apologize, but I have been swamped with catching up with things plus finals, and it is now past Christmas meaning I didn’t catch up when I wanted to, but I do have all the hcs I have to post for this event after this written, I just have 4 more imagines to do) which goes to the amazing @pattycake-hockstetter and she wanted a oneshot with something like where the reader and Patrick Hockstetter have lockers next to each other and they progress to friends through a handful of interactions

Warnings: None

Well that was some of the worst news you could possibly receive. You had just been told, or rather warned, that this year your locker would be located next to the infamous Patrick Hockstetter's.

You had managed to avoid him this long and the last thing you wanted to do was get onto his radar. You heard the stories of all the girls he ended up there, how he would stalk them, flirt with them, get handsy, and how the ones he finally wore down he would fuck and throw away.

Your locker being next to his was unfortunately a way to paint a big red target on your back for him to see. You manage to stay hidden for about two weeks , maybe catching a glance from Patrick here or there, but overall succeeding in your goal. But of course everything had to come to a halt and today was time for your luck to run out. Taking a deep breath you get to your locker opening it and quickly throwing in your books, grabbing your supplies you would need.

You noticed Patrick was at his as well, doing god knows what, and you'd definitely didn't want to look over and see. You close the door and make your way out of there as painlessly as you possibly can, sliding into your seat in math beside your friend Kelsey.

"Hey girl."

"Hey. Let me just say I am so sorry you got stuck next to that."

"I know it sucks."

"What kind of stuff do you think he has in there? Have you seen it?"

"No and I'd really rather not."

"Oh what if you broke in? It'll be a good way to see."

"Yeah it'll be a good way to see my body in a casket when he kills me for looking through his stuff," you warn her.

"Awww come on dude. Aren't you at least a little curious what he hordes in there?"

"Not really. I am trying to stay off his radar. And breaking into his locker would do everything to put me in the center of it."

"Just think about it."

You roll your eyes, but give her a "Fine" to get her to drop the subject.

The class ends and you get to your locker, and to your unfortunate surprise Patrick is leaning against his, looking in your direction. As if he's waiting for you.

You try to ignore him grabbing all you need, but as soon as you finish he shut the door closed, making you jump a bit at the noise.

"Ya know next time you plan to go through my stuff, maybe don't do it in a class you have with my buddy," he says ending in a chuckle making you curse at yourself that Kelsey had to open her big mouth in a class you forgot you shared with Victor Criss.

"I was never actually going t-"

"Oh believe me Sweetheart I know. You were too scared I would kill you," he cuts in adding another horrible nasally laugh making you on edge.

"Because you believe all that shit about me. You don't even know what I have and haven't done. So how would you know if I bite or not?"

"I-"

You know Patrick could practically smell your fear.

"Relax I'm not pissed."

"Y-You're not."

"Well I won't be....if you tell me your name."

"Y-Y/N," you say and curse at yourself yet again for still stuttering.

“Y/N.....I’ll see you around.”

“Sure,” you agree, saying anything you need to to get him to leave.

He walks away over to his fellow assholes and you breath in relief, hoping that it was just a one time exchange , but you figured it wasn’t.

You now always felt his eyes on you, even if he was’t speaking, it never lessened the uneasiness. A week later he spoke again turning to you, with that creepy smile of his.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You got pen?”

“Oh....Uh yeah.....,” you say rummaging through your bag.

“Here,” you say giving one to him.

“Thanks,” he ends with a wink to you.

He takes it and walks away heading down the hall to whatever class he had,

A few days later you two speak again.

“Did you do the homework for Snoresinger’s class?,” he asks referring to Miss Moresinger’s math, the only class you two actually shared

“Yeah. I mean I fell asleep before finishing and sped through the second half this morning before I left, but I did it.”

“Good enough. What did you get for 7 and 12 ?”

You look through your locker seeing the paper,”

“7 I got X=36 and 12 I got ab=124″

“Cool. Thanks,”

“I didn’t think you actually did homework,” you joke

“Yeah like I said the first time, there’s a lot of shit you don’t know about me Princess,” he tells you after scribbling down the answer, making you cringe.

“You don’t like being called Princess, do ya Princess?”

“Even if I answer to that question, either way, I know you’ll still call me Princess.”

“Well maybe you know some things about me after all. Thanks for the answers Princess,” he smirks.

You roll your eyes as he walks off, well at least he was being friendly. well as friendly as Patrick could be anyway. You didn’t question it, but thanked God you didn’t end up on his “hump em and dump em” list.

Over the next few weeks small conversations take place here and there, gradually lowering the levels of anxiety being around him used to bring you. Your next full conversation however doesn’t happen until almost the end of the month.

“Hey Princess, I saw you and your little friends out on the field a few days ago, never took you for a stoner.”

“I’m not I only smoke after a big test and sometimes at parties.”

“Well it looked like good shit. Would ya help me and the boys out and tell me your dealer?”

“It’s Jesse,” you say with a slight smile.

“No shit?” he asks kinda shocked since Jesse seemed like the last person who would be a dealer.

“Yeah, you gotta show him the money up front for him to hook you up, but he does work in tandem so if he’s too busy you can also get it from Ellie or Riley, same shit for the same price.”

“Awesome, I’ll be sure to have Vic look into that for us.”

You nod as you head off to your next class of the day.

Patrick is waiting for you about a week later leaning on your locker door.

“Holy shit Princess,” he says chuckling at the end.

“What?”

“That weed....God Damn.”

You laugh at this as he moves off your locker door.

“Just for that tip off I think you should come hang with us later, you already got in good with the boys,”

You laugh again assuming he’s kidding.

“”Oh you’re serious?”

“Sure am Princess what do ya say?”

“You want me to hang out with you and your gang?”

“Why not?”

“Well for one thing look at me,” you say gesturing to yourself and your seemingly “wouldn’t hurt a fly” appearance.

“Two I’d really really rather not get hit on by Henry, and three could you imagine the shit that would get spread around?”

“Oh please since when do you give a shit what people say?”

“I’d rather not get labeled as a gang slut,” you tell him honestly

“You won’t.”

“Only girl hanging out with the 4 of you? I totally would.”

“Oh come on Princess, if it makes you feel any better no one would say it to your face,”

“If I say yes will you stop?”

He just laughs.

“I don’t have to kick the shit out of anyone do I?,” you joke.

“Nah we were just gonna drive out to the quarry and fuck around, maybe get drunk, or smoke the last of our stash.”

“I have been under a lot of stress lately, and that does sound pretty nice.....fine “

And you did, you had an awesome time surprisingly, finding out that you could drink both Henry and Vic under the table.

Not knowing that that day would be that start of an odd, yet beautiful friendship between you and the 4 toughest guys in school, basically becoming a 5th member of the gang.

#it 2017 #the bowers gang #patrick hockstetter #patrick hockstetter imagine #patrick hockstetter x reader #owen teague

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welllpthisishappening · 6 years ago

Text

The Period of the Long Change (13/15)

It’s quick. One second she’s standing there and everything is fine and then Emma looks up and it’s not. It’s awful. And the lights are too bright and there are too many rooms and too many opinions and her phone won’t stop ringing because everything seems to be changing all at once. She’s never been great at coping with change. But, maybe, if she can just figure it out and stay right where she is, with Killian Jones, captain of the New York Rangers, at her side, it’ll be alright.

It’s slow. One second he’s standing there and everything is fine and then Killian’s breath catches and it’s not. It’s terrifying. And the noises are too loud and there are too many questions and he can’t find the right answers to any of them, not sure how to cope with everything changing all at once. That’s never really been his forte. But, maybe, if he can just figure it out and stay right where he is, with Emma Swan, director of New York Rangers community relations, at his side, it’ll be alright.

It’s another season and another challenge and Emma and Killian are both struggling to get over the boards.

Rating: Mature Word Count: Still somewhere around 8K because symmetry is important AN: Hey, thanks for reading. It’s real nice. Here’s some fluff.

Also on Ao3 and FF.net and Tumblr if that’s your jam.

“Swan.”

“Don’t talk, you’re distracting me.” “I’m distracting you?”

Emma stopped abruptly, head tilted to the side and she was ready for the smirk, anticipated it, could feel it practically boring a hole into the side of her head the entire time she’d been pacing, but that didn’t make it any less effective and he absolutely knew it.

The smirk was absurdly powerful.

Killian arched an eyebrow.

And that was like some kind of level up in the video games Roland and Henry spent hours playing.

Emma clicked her tongue, shoulders slumping when she huffed out an exhale and she had to keep blinking because the smirk was absurd and the lights in that doctor’s office were far too bright. Like they were trying to tell her something.

She hoped it was something good.

Or, at least, not bad.

She would have accepted either.

She was really hoping for good.

“Maybe the distraction is a good thing,” Emma mumbled, moving forward when Killian pulled himself to the end of another examination table and she probably wasn’t supposed to be pacing. But she was fairly certain her legs didn’t care about the rules or regulations or how goddamn bright those lights were because she kept moving and pacing and hoping.

She was brimming with hope.

And want. But want sounded far more selfish and she didn’t want for her, didn’t care about any of that, just wanted this to be good and possibly great and great felt even more absurdly selfish.

“You didn’t call yet,” Killian said, not a question, a statement and an understanding and the absolute truth.

Emma shook her head deftly, lips quirking when one of his hands landed on her hip and she didn’t realize she was that close to him already.

Her legs should have been studied.

They were probably doing something miraculous.

She hoped the world didn’t waste its undoubtedly limited supply of medical miracles on her restless legs. That would have been absurd.

“I haven’t had time,” Emma lied. She’d had plenty of time. She’d had more time than she could remember having in seasons and that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but it was pretty damn close and she was stalling because the deadline was looming and she’d have less time again next week.

That was a confusing sentence.

She was stalling. That was the point.

And Killian absolutely knew.

Strangers on the street probably knew at this point. Ruby had definitely been talking about it to Merida, hushed conversations the day before that ended as soon as Emma turned the corner.

“Why?” Killian pressed, tapping a finger on the side of Emma’s jeans.

“Why haven’t I had time?” “No.” She sighed again, drooping slightly but that only made it easier for him to work his arm all the way around her and this could not have been appropriate doctor’s office behavior. Not when there were diagnoses coming and announcements practically hanging in the air already and-- “How does your head feel?” Emma asked, ignoring whatever he did with his eyebrows when she tried to change the subject.

“It’s like you didn’t even try, Swan,” Killian mumbled. He tucked his thumb under her chin, lifting her gaze back up to his and she couldn’t really think when he did that. He knew that too.

“Rude.” “You want to circle back around to the actual part of this conversation I’m interested in?”

“Absolutely not. Answer my question.” He laughed softly, a quick brush of his lips over hers and Emma didn’t try to chase after him, but that worked about as well as the whole lying thing had and they were going to rip the table paper again. She hoped it offended Victor.

She was kind of mad at Victor still.

“I’m fine, love,” Killian promised, and she squeezed one eye shut trying to listen for the hitch in his breath, the same tell Matt had when he promised he hadn’t tried to get on the ice at practice, but there wasn’t anything there. His voice was calm and even and something bordering close to confident, which was an exceptionally dangerous look on Killian Jones, captain of the New York Rangers and whatever word that wasn’t advisor because they weren’t allowed to use that word and he hadn’t skated yet, but he’d stood on the ice the day before.

Progress.

Or baby steps.

Or something.

Possibly a miracle.

If Victor would ever show up and tell them anything.

And Matt had absolutely gotten on the ice at practice the day before too.

“Yeah?” Emma asked, absolutely hating how small her voice sounded to her own ears. The smirk disappeared almost immediately, softening and possibly warming her entire soul, which might have been the real miracle, honestly, and Killian’s hand landed on her cheek like there were magnets in loved.

“Yeah.” “But, like, for real?” Killian laughed again, fingers pushing into Emma’s hair and he didn’t tug her forward exactly, but the intent was clear and she would have gone willingly anyway. That felt important. “For real, love,” he said.

“Because you’d tell me, right?” “Yes.” “I’m serious.” “Swan,” Killian grinned, and she wasn’t sure if he even realized his thumb had started moving, but it was and there were goosebumps on Emma’s skin and she kind of wanted to start pacing again. She needed to make a list of things she had to do before the deadline.

There had been some rumors about Husinger.

She should have asked Ruby about that when she saw her gossiping with her assistant.

“How come you haven’t called Tink yet?” Killian asked, a smile on his face when Emma scrunched her nose. “And don’t tell me it’s the schedule. It’s not. I know it’s not.” “How do you know that? You’ve been trying to fix a shitty power play for the last two weeks.” “And surprisingly enough that doesn’t mean I don’t have room in my head to worry about you too. Also they scored last game, so I think that proves my point.” “Which is?” “I honestly have no idea,” Killian admitted, and maybe the genuine smile was more effective than the smirk, but it also might have been whatever he was doing with his fingers and Emma kind of wanted Victor to take a little longer so they could keep flirting.

“It’s all Scarlet’s talked about for the last two days. And it was a good goal. I don’t know why he wasn’t shooting from the circle before.” “Because he’s a defensemen. So he’s only ever played point, but he’s got enough strength on his shot that he could score on that one-timer more often than not. He just has to change his mindset. Think about scoring before he tries to punch someone.” “Seems ineffective on a power play.”

Killian hummed, a flash in his eyes that had been decidedly absent over the last few weeks and the butterflies in Emma’s stomach didn’t make sense, but she knew he’d be good at this and maybe she was a little proud.

It was bigger than that – more important and supportive, but she’d never actually gotten that refresher on the English language from Mary Margaret. Maybe that’s why she was avoiding talking to Tink.

And she was, like, at least eighty-five percent certain Merida was screening her calls again.

“You don’t have to be worried about me,” Emma said, suddenly remembering that word being used and she hadn’t been trying to yell. But the words seemed to fly out of her, a bit sharper than she intended, and Killian’s eyebrows jumped.

“No?” “You are injured. We are in a doctor’s office.” “For potentially good news,” he pointed out. “No headaches in like...three weeks?” “Why don’t you know that? Shouldn’t you know that? God, should I know that? I probably should have been keeping track, right?”

She tried to pull away, to start pacing again, but Killian’s left hand moved and he’d twisted his leg around hers at some point, effectively cementing Emma to the spot. “It’s really not fair that you’re still that strong,” she mumbled. “You haven’t even worked out in weeks.” “I’ve been paid to play sports for awhile now, love, I think it takes some time for muscle mass to just disappear.”

Emma rolled her eyes – mostly so he didn’t see the blush in her cheeks, but that was like telling him to not notice mistakes on the power play and she really wanted them to win later that night. In several different ways.

The flirting was obviously messing with her head.

“See,” Killian grinned. “You can’t even argue it. You know, Swan, I think you’re vaguely attracted to me.” “Vaguely.” He did something absurd with every single inch of his face, shifting eyebrows and quirking lips and the color of his eyes should have been illegal. “And,” he added softly, “Red mentioned we might be able to get back to a regular PT schedule if things go well today.”

Emma blinked. “What? When did she say that?” “After the game on Wednesday.” “And you just figured you’d mention that now?” Killian sighed, eyes falling closed and head close to crashing into Emma’s collarbone when it dropped forward. “It wasn’t some secret, Swan,” he muttered. “She wasn’t sure. It depends on today and what that specialist says and how the several dozen tests I just endured play out.” “I don’t think that’s how you wanted to phrase that.” “Probably not.” “And it really wasn’t several dozen tests. You’re incredibly dramatic.” “Yeah, that may be true.” “It’s absolutely true,” Emma said, brushing hair away from his eyebrows and she couldn’t stop whatever her heart did when his breathing evened out as soon as her fingers moved across the back of his neck. “It’s going to be ok,” she whispered. She didn’t know who she was trying to convince. It might have been her. It might have been those strangers on the street who knew she was avoiding talking to Tink.

She didn’t look up – absolutely could not because that would only lead to making out in the doctor’s office instead of just flirting in the doctor’s office – but Killian’s hand moved, fingers tracing up her spine until everything seemed to settle and Emma knew he was smiling at her.

“I know it is,” he said. “No matter what they say.” “That was dramatic too.” His hand shook slightly when he laughed, an uneven pattern that was actually almost more comforting than anything else. “I know it is,” Killian repeated. “You want to talk about this phone call you’re avoiding now?” “Not really.” “You’ve got to call her, Swan.” “That is incredibly stupid.” Killian chuckled, lips ghosting over her temple and the top of her hair and Victor was probably avoiding them now. There was no way any of this should take this long. “Is Merida screening your phone calls and emails again?” Killian asked.

“I’ve got some very strong suspicions.” “We should probably buy her something at some point, don’t you think?” “Like the entire island of Manhattan?” “It’d run much more efficiently then.”

Emma nodded, stepping in between his legs when he moved and they were treading far too close to making out than was entirely responsible. His fingers had shifted under the hem of her shirt at some point.

“Way less traffic on the West Side Highway,” Emma mumbled, burrowing into the crook of Killian’s shoulder.

“They’d build her a statue in Times Square. Right next to George M. Cohan.” “I have no idea who that is.” “Honestly?”

Emma leaned back, eyebrows furrowed and confusion practically radiating down her spine, but Killian’s eyes were still impossibly blue and Matt was going to try and get on the ice before the game that night. They were both the world’s biggest pushovers.

And Will kept sneaking him on.

Maybe Will was just irresponsible.

“Do you know who that is?” Emma asked skeptically, but that was a stupid question because, sometimes, she was certain Killian knew everything and then some and Victor must have been curing several different diseases in the time they’d spent waiting. That was the only excuse for how long they’d been in that room.

Killian nodded. “Composer, actor, probably a bunch of other words. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen that movie.” “What are you saying to me, right now?” “Swan, you’ve been in Times Square before.” “Not if I can help it.” That worked another laugh out of him, an easy grin and fingers that were probably possessed or something less awful-sounding than that and Emma didn’t remember resting her hands on his thighs, but she could feel the muscle even through the jeans and they needed to get out of that doctor’s office.

“Mrs. V and Ruth should probably get together and compare record collections at some point,” Killian said. “Although Ruth might be a little more wild than Mrs. V is entirely prepared for.” “That’s the most ridiculous sentence I’ve ever heard.” “It felt ridiculous while I was saying it, honestly.” “Does Mrs. V have some kind of record collection? Is that where this is going?” Killian nodded. “Exactly that. And a penchant for old Hollywood movies, of the musical variety.”

“God, do you think she just like...floats on a cloud at all times? I do not understand how she is a real person.” “That seems like a compliment.” “It was,” Emma promised. “We should buy them a gift too. I felt like shit for forgetting their Casino Night tickets.” “Honestly, it’s probably for the best that you did, Swan. They would have been stunned we snuck out before it was over.” Emma blushed before she could control the heat in her cheeks, lips tugged back behind her teeth and eyes a bit wider than usual. She was going to shave Killian’s eyebrows off in the middle of the night.

“Are you sure about this, Swan?” he asked, any trace of laughter forgotten when they abruptly turned into the serious portion of the conversation. Emma’s eyes got wider.

“I have no idea what you’re asking me.” “The job. Are you sure?” “Crystal. Or, no, that’s the wrong cliché, right? That doesn’t make any sense.” “I think the context clues helped.” “So, then, yeah, I’m one-hundred percent sure,” Emma said, meaning every word, but it was clear Killian was still a bit cautious and a little worried and he was worried about her. That wasn’t right at all.

She wasn’t the one with trauma.

“Because you could…” he started, trailing off when Emma shook her head. “You’ve got to at least let me finish the sentences, love.” “I don’t,” Emma argued. “Not when they’re sentences we’ve already said and I'm just being an enormous coward about it.” “That’s the part that worries me.” “Worry about your power play, coach.” “Don’t let Gina hear you use that word, it’s probably against my contract.” “And probably won’t make a difference if Victor ever decides to show up.” Killian licked his lips, eyes tracing over Emma’s face like he was looking for something very specific and it was almost too obvious he found it when he kissed her. Hard. She didn’t quite sigh against him, but it was awfully close and she was still kind of swooning over that press conference, even the thought of it leaving her a little lightheaded and kind of dizzy and this all needed to work.

They needed to win later.

And indefinitely.

“Thank you,” Killian said, pressing the words to the curve of her jaw. Emma hadn’t been expecting that.

“What?” “Thank you.” “No, I heard you. I just...don’t get it.” He stared at her incredulous, disbelief etched into every bit of his face and the laugh he let out was as surprised as he’d ever sounded. “Swan,” Killian breathed, shaking his head and blinking and Emma got the distinct impression he was trying to convince himself she was still there. “This is...well, the whole thing has been God awful hasn’t it?” She let out a shaky laugh, only slightly frustrated at the tears in her eyes and whatever her pulse was doing. “Yeah. I’d really love if we didn’t do this again.” “That makes two of us. But you are…” He inhaled, sharp and a little unsteady and the goosebumps were everywhere now. She assumed there was no air conditioning in that doctor’s office. “Everything,” Killian finished. “You know that? Everything.” “You are on a drama roll,” Emma muttered, mostly so she didn’t dissolve into some kind of tear-stained puddle. Killian practically beamed. “Absolutely true. It’s probably the effects of the MRI.” “I don’t think that’s how it works.” “I’ll ask Victor.” “He’ll lie to you.” “Isn’t that against some kind of oath?” Emma shrugged. “Probably. I’ll call Tink later today. But let it be known, for posterity and bragging rights or whatever, that I’m doing this before the deadline.” “The day before.” “Still counts.” “It does,” Killian agreed, brushing across her cheek and the side of her neck and Emma wasn’t entirely in control of whatever her teeth did to her lower lip. “If I say thank you for all of this again are you going to call me dramatic?” “It would be.” “Then I won’t do that.” “Yeah, don’t do that,” Emma muttered. The smile was tugging at the ends of her mouth though, calm and home and hopeful all rolled into one, enormous feeling that felt a bit like her own personal sun sitting in the pit of her stomach.

The drama was, apparently, catching.

“I am though.” “God, that’s still doing it. You’re just using different words. And that’s stupid.” “Stupid?” Killian echoed, Emma nodding emphatically. “How do you figure?” “Because we’re a team, right?”

He didn’t freeze – she could still see his shoulders moving and his chest moving and he must have moved his arm because his fingers laced through hers, thumb landing on top of her laces like he’d discovered another metaphorical magnet. He didn’t smile either, though, just stared at Emma like she was the world and the universe and something to be thankful for.

Indefinitely.

“Yeah,” Killian said, but it sounded like a promise and Emma was dimly aware of the door opening behind her. “We are.”

“Are you guys kidding me?” Victor asked sharply. “You’re in someone else’s office.” Killian didn’t look away from Emma. “Be a better doctor then.”

“That has nothing to do with any of it. And I am a fantastic doctor.” Emma opened her mouth, several pointed and slightly inappropriate opinions sitting on the tip of her tongue, but Victor sighed loudly and Killian had to press his head into her shoulder to stop from laughing too loudly. “Yeah, yeah, that’s hysterical, Cap. You’re the funniest man in New York, you know that?” “At least in the Tri-State area, Victor, give me a little credit.” “After the shit you’ve put me through in the last month? Absolutely not.” “Ok, there’s no need to be a complete ass about it,” Emma muttered, and Victor looked properly abashed at that. Killian kissed her cheek.

“Victor, what’s the name of the oath you took?” Killian asked. “The one not to be a complete and utter dick.” “That’s not what I agreed to, Cap.” “Maybe you should have. You know we have to get back to the Garden at some point, right?”

“Strangely enough, yes, I am aware of the schedule.” “Really not selling it.” Victor glared, narrow eyes and thin lips and the lights reflected off the stethoscope around his neck. Emma was going to strangle him with it. “Hippocratic,” he bit out, pushing on Killian's shoulder like that would get him to do anything. They were probably just going to scowl at each other for the rest of the day and Emma would never call Tink back.

That didn’t seem like a particularly bad option.

And, really, she wasn’t sure why she was avoiding it.

She meant what she said. She didn’t want the job, wanted home and this team in some kind of never-ending absurdly fairy tale type of way, but her phone seemed to be taunting her now and she’d finally started to be able to breathe easier.

She’d slept perfectly for the last two weeks. And slightly imperfectly after Casino Night, but that was neither here nor there and also kind of nice and she was only a little worried she and Matt were going to do damage to Mary Margaret and David’s ears in the team suite on Wednesday night. They’d both cheered very loudly for that power play goal.

Selfish.

That was the word for it.

She didn’t want to shake the metaphorical boat or start worrying again and it was all easier to ignore than acknowledge and she wanted to know what Ruby was talking to Merida about.

Husinger had been a healthy scratch on Wednesday.

“Ah, shit that’s what it’s called,” Killian muttered, jerking Emma out of her own thoughts and she was only slightly surprised to find there was still a conversation going on around her. “I can't believe I forgot that.”

“See, not nearly as smart as you think you are, Cap,” Victor grinned. He sank onto the edge of the desk in the corner of the room, making some noise of approval when there was another knock on the door and the specialist from before was back.

She didn’t have a stethoscope around her neck.

“Your bedside manner could use some work, Victor,” Emma said, twisting when Killian tried to pull her closer to him It was a strange balancing act – she was still standing in between his legs and it probably wasn’t all that professional, but Emma was still considering strangulation methods, so she figured she was losing whatever professionalism battle they were all staging.

It might have just been her.

Killian kissed behind her ear. “Stand down, love.” She huffed, but didn’t say anything else and Dr. Tocorro smiled when she glanced at both of them. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Jones,” she said. “Mrs. Jones.”

Emma nodded, butterflies doing something entirely different than they had during the flirting and she hoped her heartbeat didn’t sound that loud in the office. That would have been embarrassing. Tocorro didn’t move. Victor didn’t move.

This was absurd.

“So, were we just going to stand here or…” Emma muttered, Killian’s laugh lingering in the air around her and possibly working its way into her. His hand tightened around her waist, a hold she’d almost forgotten was there.

That seemed important.

And also kind of absurd.

“We do have a game later,” Killian reasoned. He glanced meaningfully at Victor, met with a pointed eye roll, and Tocorro dug the toe of her shoe into the linoleum floor under her. “And,” Killian added. “A kid who very much wants to get on the ice before the game.”

“I knew it,” Emma said, not quite yelling and not quite turning because Killian’s arm was still there and she wondered if he maybe was secretly working out still. She’d have to ask Ariel about muscle mass later.

“The kid’s got a hell of a wrister,” Victor muttered. “I think he stunned Jeff the other day.” “How do you know that?” “Very chatty team and an even chattier athletic trainer.” “Naturally.” “You guys hear about Husinger yet?” “What?” Killian sat up a little straighter, palm flat on the curve of Emma’s opposite hit and Tocorro looked incredibly uncomfortable. “What do you know, Victor?” he demanded, but they didn’t have time for rumors or gossip when there was a specialist standing in front of them with news could that could change everything.

Tocorro coughed politely, head tilted and eyebrows lifted in unspoken question. Emma bit her lip. “I do have some news,” she said lightly, Emma’s heart lurching in her chest. Killian mumbled something, some kind of promise or guarantee he couldn’t make even if there hadn’t been headaches in a week.

“Don’t look like that, Cap,” Victor said. “It’s fine.” Emma tensed. “What?” “Fine,” Victor repeated, taking his time on all four letters like that would make the word sound less important or possibly more important. The most important felt a little too dramatic, but it had been that kind of day.

“Well,” Tocorro amended. “Fine is a bit of a--” “--What?” “Swan,” Killian muttered, but her hair hit him in the cheek when she shook her head. They were the least professional adults in the entire NHL.

“An answer, Victor.” “Actually, it’s got to be me,” Tocorro said, a small smile on her face as she waved one of her hands through the air. The other was holding a clipboard that felt more official than anything else. Emma nodded. She hoped she nodded. She wasn’t sure she had.

“With everything that happened,” Tocorro explained, “the final decision has to be an independent source. Obviously I’ve consulted with Dr. Whale and even the staff in New Jersey, but the league can’t afford another mistake or misdiagnosis and, well, as I said--” “--It’s got to be you,” Emma finished. She needed to stop interrupting people.

“Exactly that.” “So?” Killian asked, an obvious and forced calm in his voice. Emma’s lip was bleeding. She was going to have to call Merida if they were going to be late. “What’s the exact, not quite fine part?” Tocorro took a deep breath, stepping further into the room and Emma felt her shoulders straighten, trying to line up to the importance of the moment or simply fight against the sudden tension in the air.

Killian’s hand tightened. She rested hers on top.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say fine,” Tocorro started. “But it’s...optimistic.” “What is?”

“The diagnosis. And the future.” “You’re really going to have to be more specific than that,” Emma said, frustrated when the sentence turned pleading and Victor almost looked at her in sympathy. “Please.”

“Concussions are dangerous things. Possibly the most dangerous part of this game because there’s no discussion about them. There are helmets and hits and everything should be fine, even when grown men are throwing punches at each other.” Tocorro stared pointedly at Killian, the heat on his cheeks obvious when Emma didn’t turn around. Her legs wouldn’t move anymore.

That seemed ironic. And kind of annoying.

“I’m worried we’re not getting to the almost fine part of this,” Killian said. “And I haven’t punched him again, so I don’t think that’s the issue.” Tocorro shook her head. “It’s not.” “Then…” “Then I wouldn’t call you fine yet, Mr. Jones. I think you have potential.” “To?” “Play quite a bit of hockey still.”

Emma snapped her head around so quickly she was momentarily worried for the state of her neck, biting the side of her tongue in the process and there was too much blue in Killian’s gaze when he gaped at her. The muscles in his throat moved when he swallowed, shoulders shifting when he took another deep breath that seemed to use all the available oxygen in the room.

“If we take our time, Cap,” Victor mumbled, and Emma didn’t think before she kicked at his outstretched ankles. “God, fuck, Emma, stop it.”

“I am honestly going to murder you with your stethoscope,” she warned. “Where did you go to school? Why do you have a job?”

Victor paled, and Tocorro might have gasped, which was pretty fair. The whole thing was kind of...harsh, but Emma’s heart wouldn’t slow down and she couldn’t catch her breath and she’d been so goddamn worried.

She couldn't see through the tears in her eyes.

“Swan,” Killian muttered, but she squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head and it felt a bit like Peggy. It didn't matter. She was entitled to her quasi-breakdown after everything. “It’s ok, love,” he continued, moving his thumb across her cheek and just under her lower lip. “It’s going to be ok.” Emma nodded, eyes still closed and she could practically hear his smile when her head fell back to his shoulder. They were probably making Tocorro uncomfortable.

“What does all of that mean?” Killian asked. He had to sit up straighter to actually look at the doctor, Emma masquerading as some kind of ragdoll while she let him support most of her weight. Her legs were honestly the worst part of her body. “There was concern I wouldn’t be able to play again,” he said. “How did that...did something change?”

“You listened to the rules,” Victor said quietly. “Emma, I swear to God, if you kick me again, I’m going to make you wait outside.” “Yeah, I’d like to see you try,” she growled. He didn’t say anything else. She took a deep breath, jumping next to Killian and letting his arm wrap around her shoulders. “Seriously though. Playing quite a bit of hockey sounds incredibly optimistic.” “That’s because it is,” Tocorro nodded. “But as Dr. Whale so bluntly pointed out, Mr. Jones wasn’t exactly following the rules in the last few weeks.” Killian clicked his tongue, cheek pressed against the side of Emma’s head and maybe the Hippocratic Oath should include a shorter medical explanations.

“Concussions aren’t simple,” Tocorro said, ignoring Emma’s not-so-quiet huff when she started repeating herself. “They’re difficult enough to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. It’s, more often than not, a waiting game, particularly with post-concussion syndrome. And it’s encouraging to hear that Mr. Jones hasn’t suffered anymore headaches or vision issues in the last three weeks. The MRI looked positive, there hasn’t been any sign of other issues--” “--What kind of other issues?” Emma asked sharply.

“Swan.” “What kind of other issues?” she repeated.

“Some post-concussion syndrome suffers experience anxiety and memory issues. Concern about what’s going on with their body and the future and how to deal with the symptoms. But, as I said, Mr. Jones clearly isn’t. Still knows how to work a power play even off the ice.” Emma blinked, Tocorro’s smile wide and knowing. “Yeah,” she muttered, and Killian’s lips brushed over her hair again. “That’s definitely true.” “The concern a few weeks ago was that the fight would have reaggravated the issues we were dealing with originally. But there was no sign of another concussion and no sign of any symptoms since then.” “Which means more hockey?” “That’s up to Mr. Jones.” “What?” Killian asked. Tocorro didn’t flinch.

“Up to you. And your family, of course. You’ve suffered concussions in the past, yes?” Killian nodded. “Multiple injuries like this are dangerous. Incredibly. But I do believe sitting for the rest of the season, limiting contact on the ice--” “--I can get on the ice? Skating?”

Tocorro nodded. “Probably not for a few more weeks. I want a full month of no headaches, no spotty vision, no further symptoms, but, yes, I think that’s possible.” Killian sighed, breath warm on Emma’s neck and just behind her ear. She squeezed his hand tightly. “You said injuries like this were dangerous though,” she said. “What...what does that mean?” “It means it’s not something you should hide from team staff. And that if it happens again, I can’t guarantee anything. But, for right now, as long as things stay the way they are, there’s no reason why Mr. Jones won’t be able to play next season. I think we’ve waited long enough for another Cup, don’t you think?”

Emma’s mouth dropped, and Killian’s laugh sounded as honest as she could remember hearing it. “I thought you were supposed to be impartial?”

“Oh, I am. But I’ve been around this sport for a very long time and dealt with a lot of athletes and a lot of families and…”

She trailed off, shrugging slightly like that explained anything. Emma was worried she was suffering from oxygen deprivation.

“She’s saying you guys exist on another level of athletic type support,” Victor said.

Emma shook her head. “Do you think before you speak?” “Not when I’m so consistenly frustrated with Cap.”

“You have to be careful, Killian,” Tocorro said, a sudden return to serious and proper that made the whole thing feel incredibly official. “You’re playing with something that’s very important and another hit like the one you sustained in Jersey could really keep you off the ice for the rest of your life. Do you understand that?” “Crystal,” Killian said. Emma smiled.

“Good.”

There were more instructions and physical therapy schedules that Ariel had probably come up with the night before and Emma nearly forgot whatever gossip Victor knew about Husinger. It was difficult to worry about that when Killian kept pulling her back to his side and nodding intently every time Tocorro told them something and his mumbled thank you in Emma’s ear as soon as they slid into the backseat of a cab didn’t feel quite as dramatic anymore.

It felt like everything.

Which, honestly, was good considering the rest of her day.

The Husinger rumors seemed to be spreading like several different types of metaphorical wildfires – trade talks ahead of the deadlines and discussion on the subReddit about Arthur’s preferential treatment or so said David over a string of text messages that were mostly just caps lock and exclamation points Emma was so distracted she almost forgot it was an hour before puck drop when she heard a knock on her door.

Mary Margaret smiled at her. And Matt was already talking. “Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom,” he shouted, running into her office and leaping into her lap and it kind of hurt to have the wind knocked out of her, but it had been that sort of day too and she hugged her kid far too tightly.

“What? What? What?”

“I scored on Jeff!” Emma didn’t lean back, was far too aware of the precarious state her chair was in, and Mary Margaret’s smile widened. “Killian took video,” she said, stepping through the open doorway and sinking into the chair across from Emma’s desk. “It might have been the single most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. Barring that thing Leo did last night.” “I thought we weren’t comparing children.” “At least within age-type reason.” “Ah, of course,” Emma grinned, but the whole conversation was a little surreal already and Matt did not seem hindered by the shirt his face was pressed into. He just kept talking. “Mom,” he whined, and Emma did her best to look entirely serious and entire enthusiastic and she was definitely the second one. “Who let you on the ice, Mattie?” That got him to stop talking. Mary Margaret was going to sprain her face muscles. “Dad?”

Silence.

Relative silence. Mary Margaret tried not to laugh.

“Reese's, that was awful,” Emma muttered, but her eyes never moved away from Matt’s face and he was wearing another Jones jersey. “And why are you up here? Where’s David? Oh God, is David talking to Killian about the subReddit stuff because I really don’t know if he can deal with that.”

“Of course not.” “Then…” “Am I late?” Ruby shouted, barreling into the office with what appeared to a bottle of actual champagne in her hands. Emma couldn’t move her head quick enough.

“Late for what?” “Mom, Mom, Mom,” Matt said quickly, pulling on the front of her shirt and she needed to put her jacket back on before she went to the suite. No one was answering her questions. Mary Margaret might have been answering Ruby’s.

“No,” she said. “She definitely hasn’t done anything yet.” Ruby tilted her head. “How can you tell?” “Because she’s talking about subReddit stuff.” “Aw, Em, you’re not supposed to look at that. Hey, mini-Jones,” she added. “I heard you wrecked Jeff during skate this afternoon.” Matt nodded, although Emma was fairly certain he had no idea what wrecked meant. “Mom, Mom,” he yelled again, and she inhaled deeply eyeing him with something she hoped looked vaguely authoritative and slightly maternal. Her phone was ringing. “Can we go on the ice again later? I want to race Rol again.” “Again?” Emma echoed, Ruby wincing when she glanced her direction.

“Your husband is a great, big giant pushover. And Scarlet is even worse.”

“Don’t tell him that. He’ll take personal offense to even the idea.” “Please, I know that.” She sat down, somehow finding an inch of space on the arm of the chair Mary Margaret had commandeered. “You know what else I know?” “No, but I’ve got a very strong feeling you’ll tell me in detail soon.” “I know you went to the doctor’s today.” Emma’s eyes widened, the the threat of her own headache lingering at the base of her skull, but Ruby didn’t look deterred and Matt was blissfully unaware, still shouting about racing plans and wrist shots and that was definitely champagne. “And,” Ruby continued. “I know that Ariel was very excited and possibly crying and you guys didn’t want to make a big deal before the game, which is nice, but also kind of stupid and--” “--God, get to the point,” Emma sighed.

“We know that you haven’t actually called the league back about this job,” Mary Margaret said quietly, an unexpected hint of judgment in the words.

“So we’re here to fix that,” Ruby announced. “With emotional support and very expensive champagne.” Emma lifted her eyebrows, trying to read the label and scoffing when her gaze landed on the first few letters of Korbel. “Very expensive, huh?” “Well, depends on who you ask.”

“And I’m asking you?” “Obviously,” Ruby grinned, leaning forward to nudge Emma’s blinking phone towards her. “End of the month, Em. And we’re super psyched you’re not leaving.” “But, like, way more sincere than that,” Mary Margaret corrected.

Emma chewed on the side of her tongue. That was a mistake. “How do you know I’m not leaving? Also, technically, I wouldn’t have. It was New York based.”

Ruby made a noise in the back of her throat, an obvious disagreement that was almost as offensive as calling Korbel very expensive champagne. Mary Margaret sighed. “You know what we mean,” she said. “Leaving us. Collectively. And we know because if you wanted to do this, you would have already.” “Plus you were totally freaking out about Cap,” Ruby added. “Like. Freaking out.” Mary Margaret swatted at her side, another sigh and Emma kind of felt like she’d chugged all the shitty champagne in front of her already. “Understandably,” Mary Margaret said. “We were all kind of freaking out. Collectively. Again.” “This is heavy-handed, Reese’s,” Emma accused, but it was also pretty goddamn nice and the kid in her arms was talking about power play success rates like he was the coach of the New York Rangers.

Maybe eventually.

Maybe.

Hope was as nice a word as home.

“That’s the only way she knows how to operate,” Ruby reasoned. She tapped on Emma’s phone again, ignoring Mary Margaret’s tongue click and Emma’s eye roll and--

“No time like the present, right?” Emma asked.

“I mean, technically, it should have been last week, but you and Cap snuck out of Casino Night. So it’s almost understandable that you were distracted. And I suppose beggars can’t be choosers when dealing with the power of true love.” “That wasn’t heavy-handed?” Mary Margaret balked.

Emma shook her head. “That didn’t even make sense.” Ruby growled, low in the back of her throat and it probably would have been menacing if she weren’t popping the top on the champagne, bubbles overflowing and Matt’s laughter seemingly permeating the air and they were going to win the night.

The world owed them this game.

Or something less lame.

“Cover your ears, mini-Jones,” Ruby instructed, and Emma wasn’t at all surprised to see him do just that. “The sooner you make this shitty phone call, the sooner you can drink this shitty champagne in celebration of...I don’t know, happiness with your very devoted friends and then you and your husband can tell us how the doctor’s went today. Deal?” Emma swallowed, mouth suddenly dry and eyes determined to set some kind of blinking record, and she knew she nodded when her hair moved on the back of her neck.

Tink answered on the third ring.

And the Rangers won – a lopsided victory over the Sabres that didn’t mean much of anything because they’d fallen out of the Wild Card standings in the last two weeks and the playoffs weren’t so much a goal anymore as some potentially impossible feat, but the power play didn’t look like garbage and none of it mattered when they all piled into the restaurant that night.

“So, uh…” Will said, slouched in one of the booths with an empty plate nearby. Roland was on the other side of the table, curled into a ball in the corner with Matt against his side, both of them very clearly trying not to fall asleep.

Killian glanced at Emma, one side of his mouth tugged up. She shrugged. “What, Scarlet?” he asked, moving into her space and those magnets were really starting to get distracting.

“Are we allowed to ask questions or is that against the rules?” “Oh my God, Scarlet,” Robin groaned. “We talked about this.” “You did?” Emma asked.

Anna nodded. “In detail.”

She refused to give Peggy up for most of the game, and her arms must have been aching by the final whistle, but they were all a little worried about what Peggy would be able to knock over if her feet touched the ground at any point. Killian kept mumbling baby thief under his breath all night.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Killian said. “It’s not exactly a secret.” Phillip made a contradictory noise, quietly when Aurora flicked her fingers on his chest, but David did the same thing and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like subReddit rumors. “You’ve got to stop looking at those,” Emma said.

“Where would you get your information from?”

“Probably the actual NHL players I know. And the team I work for. And, you know, the actual NHL player I’m married to.”

She’d never heard an actual explosion, but there’d been several close calls in Emma’s life – most of them seemed to revolve around that stupid hockey team and the even more stupid players, all of whom were far too involved in each other’s lives and successes and it kind of felt like the walls were shaking.

Killian laughed.

Ruby was arguing with Eric about being behind the bar. His champagne was probably better than whatever they’d had in Emma’s office.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Robin stammered, waving his hands in the air. “Was that a confirmation on both things?” Emma nodded. “It might have been.” “Em,” Will groaned, sliding down the bench until his feet were back on the floor. “Are you serious right now? Straight answers. Both you and Cap.”

“You keep making that face, Scarlet, I’m not going to know whose the four-year-old, you or my actual kid.” “That seems to suggest I’m also your kid in this scenario.” “No, because that’s weird, but sometimes…” “Ah, don’t finish that sentence. Please.” She smiled, gasping loud enough she definitely woke up Peggy as soon as Will’s arms wrapped around her and it was difficult to breathe. “You and Cap are both incredibly stupid, do you know that?” Will muttered, but the sincerity was honest and his arms were tight.

“If that’s a compliment, I think you might have missed your mark a little.” “That’s because I’m frustrated you didn’t actually answer my question.”

“Seems to be a trend, honestly,” Emma mumbled, glancing over her shoulder, but Ruby brushed her off and Eric was already lining up shot glasses.

She waited a moment for her lungs to recover before turning back towards Killian, an unreadable expression on her face that made Emma’s pulse pick up and the butterflies in her stomach returned, fluttering and flapping metaphorical wings and he bent his knees before Matt collided with his legs.

They were very well practiced.

“When?” Killian asked softly, and Emma knew he couldn’t actually say the word louder, the threat of a shake in his voice and possibly his soul and they were going to ruin the psyche of everyone in that restaurant when they inevitably started making out.

“Before puck drop.” “You didn’t--” “--Win first, right?” Emma shrugged. “Everything after that.”

“Emma.” “Nah, c’mon, that’s really stupid.” “You’re the most eloquent person I know.” His expression didn’t change – still staring at her like several universes and every single trophy the NHL gave out and neither were doing much to help the butterfly army in her stomach, but they’d been doing this long enough that she was almost used to it.

Or probably would be at some point.

She hoped not.

“What did she say?” Killian ask. “Did you talk to Tink?” “She was super pissed,” Ruby muttered, grabbing a shot before Eric or anyone else in the restaurant could stop.

“No, she wasn’t,” Emma argued. Killian lifted his eyebrows. “She wasn’t. She was...not super pleased, but I’m...I mean I kept ignoring her calls, I think she knew she was fighting some kind of losing battle.”

Killian didn’t nod, not exactly, but his tongue darted between his lips and Emma could feel his smile when his mouth landed on hers. Hard. Again. There were more shouts the longer they stood there, jeers and cheers and a few whistles that were either Will or Roland and Matt had started swatting at both Emma and Killian’s arms at some point.

“Absurd upper body strength,” Emma mumbled, somehow standing on tiptoes with an arm slung over Killian’s shoulders. “I know, Mattie, I know. We’re paying attention to you now, kid, I swear.”

Matt grinned at them – a look that was almost identical to Killian’s and someone’s phone shutter snapped. It might have been everyone’s phone shutter.

“Whatever,” Will grumbled when Anna pulled his phone out of his hand. “I think you’re just jealous I’m going to get more likes than you, little Vankald.” She stuck her tongue out. “Emma was right. You are a child.” “Can we actually get some confirmation here?” David yelled.

“He’s law enforcement,” Robin added. “You’ve got to listen to him. Those are the actual rules.” “That’s not true at all,” Killian argued, but his smile was still far too similar to the kid clinging to his side and Emma had more or less resigned herself to the swooning at this point. “You want to go first, Swan or…” She shook her head. “Yours is way more exciting.”

“Swan.” “Oh my God, one of you,” Ruby groaned, still holding a bottle in one hand.

“Fine, fine, fine. Ok. So, uh, we went to the doctor’s today.” There was a chorus of boos and more jeers and several shouts that they’d all stolen from the crowd at the Garden. It was absurdly endearing. “You guys are all horrible people, you know that?” Killian yelled.

“Nah, you don’t mean that, Cap,” Will promised, resting his forearm on Roland’s shoulder. “Get on with the goddamn story, though. You still going to power play us?” “You are terrible journalist.” “That’s why I’m scoring one-timers now.” “Oh my God.” “Jones,” Regina snapped, and her frustration might have been the only reasonable one. He winked at her.

“We went to the doctor’s again today,” Killian repeated, a look Emma recognized as discipline as soon as the peanut gallery started to groan again. They stopped immediately. “And nothing for the rest of the season, but I’m going to…” He took a deep breath, wrapping one arm around Emma and the other under Matt’s legs and it was all so absurdly, stupidly perfect it was almost ridiculous. “I’m coming back next season.”

Will might have jumped and Robin definitely whooped, Phillip sagging slightly against Aurora like he was exhaling any sense of stress and worry and Emma understood that. Her gaze barely lingered on them though, flashing around the restaurant and finding the face she was looking for far quicker than she expected.

There was probably a reason for that.

There always was.

And he’d probably volunteered to stay in the team suite so Mary Margaret and Ruby could ply her with shitty champagne.

David nodded once when Emma looked at him, smiling softly and easily and she almost didn’t hear Matt’s question.

“Dad,” he whispered, burrowing against Killian’s chest like he did when he was little. Emma bit her lip.

“Yeah, Mattie.”

“Can we practice again soon? I think I can shoot that one’r.” Killian scoffed, but it was kind of a laugh and kind of relief and Emma understood that too. He looked at her, eyes a bit glossier than usual and her fingers kept tracing over the name on the back of Matt’s jersey.

“Of course, kid,” Killian promised. “Of course we can.” And for the first time in weeks, Emma knew it would happen. “I love you,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to her hair.

“I know. I love you, too.”

They toasted more than once, emptying bottles and ignoring any idea that this was against the rules of a regular season, and by the time they climbed into the backseat of a different car, two sleeping kids draped over both of them, Emma was ready for the feel of Killian’s hand in hers and the muttered thank you in her ear.

#cs ff #captain swan #captain swan ff #captain swan fic #cs fic #blue line change #when i was a kid #my parents used to get korbel for fancy holidays #and i always thought it must have been the most expensive thing in the world #so that's a fun fact about me

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junk-yard-hearts · 6 years ago

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Poly Bowers Gang HC’s

o lookie lookie

Belch (I prefer calling him Reg or Reggie to Belch tbh)-

· I see Reggie as more of the enforcer within their group dynamic.

· The other guys can get kind of carried away and he’s the first to tell them to leave you the hell alone if he thinks they’re making you uncomfortable

· After a thorough fucking he’s the one who’d gently kiss your temple and tell you how good you were

· He always lets you sit in the front seat and glares over his shoulder at the others when they whine about it. As far as he’s concerned, it’s HIS car and you deserve the front seat, dammit. (He actually just wants to watch the sun hit your face and keep you away from Patrick)

· The other guys give him hell because he’s so sweet on you but he just can’t help how much he adores you awe

· The others laugh because you would never call him Belch and he blushes every time you call him Reggie

· He’s the one you’d call after all your best friends stood you up for your girls-night-in sleepover plans. He’d hear your disappointed voice and the sniffles and sigh. He shows up at your house 20 minutes later with the fuckboy squad in toe.

· You ask if he’d do a face mask with you and he looks panicked as fuck

· But the second you hit him with those lovey eyes, he relents

· The other guys sit around and snicker as you apply cerulean goo to his face but he couldn’t care less because the smile on your lips is everything to him tbh.

· Henry tells him he’s such a girl, and Belch hits him with some “a real man would do anything to put a smile on his girl’s face” shit and Henry just slinks tf away

· He drives you to school every day, and sometimes when your parents aren’t home, he comes in and eats breakfast with you and helps you finish getting ready.

· He helps you pull your hair back and ties your shoes for you awawawe

· Always opens your car door for you

· You wear his t-shirts to school after spending the night with him and he gets all heart-eyed and thinks you look so cute.

· He sees you in your faded jeans, with a bow in your hair, and his ratty Judas Priest shirt on and his cheeks get all hot cause he just thinks you’re the cutest.

· For his birthday, you go to his house while he’s at work and you and his mom cook him his favorite dinner (chicken parmesan and fettucine), and you and the gang hang up a banner and surprise him.

· You didn’t have much money so you made him a cassette mix tape and take them to the bakery on main street for cupcakes, and you all serenade him right there on the sidewalk outside the shop.

· He tries SO HARD to keep up with your friend drama because he likes that you come to him to talk but fuck, you have so many friends. Who’s Trish?? Where tf did Emma come from? When the hell did Lisa come into the picture?

· Takes care of you on your period like his mom told him to.

Victor

· Vic is the one you go to about your friend drama and knows exactly what you’re talking about.

· “Oh my god who does Lisa think she is talking to Gemma about you like that? I��ll kick her ass idc.”

· Says goodbye with a firm slap on the ass

· Smiles at the tiny squeak you make every time he slaps the ass

· Always gives you candies out of the pockets of his vest

· He says he keeps them to put a smile on your face and you know he stole that shit

· Loves to rest his head in your lap and let you play with his hair

· He gets this blissed out, barely conscious look when you gently scrape your nails across his scalp

· Stares in slack-jawed appreciation when you wear those little skirts that sway when you walk

· When you’re having a bad day, he paints your nails

· He notices you getting nervous and scraping the polish off and just grabs your hand away and squeezes it.

· Smacks Patrick over the head for making lewd comments about your body in public

· “Dude, watch your fucking mouth, she’s a lady.”

· You have study hall together, and you sit with your Walkman cassette player in between you, listening to KISS and holding hands, and reading your English class assignments

· KISS is so not his cup of tea but he doesn’t mind them.

· He knows you love them so he sits put and listens anyway

· He learns all the words to all the songs on Smashes Thrashes and Hits from how often you listen to it.

· You two smoked weed together and the guys found you laying outside staring at the clouds together being sappy

· But he kicked their asses for making fun of it

· You bleach his hair for him because he tried to do it himself and got burns on his head

· You teach him how to put coconut oil through his hair to prevent burning, damage and uneven processing

· Henry and Patrick laugh and look on, telling him how soft it is to dye his hair.

· You turn around and tell them how harsh and dangerous bleach can be to the body and offer to put some on THEIR heads.

· They scurry tf away

· He loves to watch you masturbate, and loves when you wear lingerie for them.

· When you and your boyfriends crashed a party, they went off to torture some people but you and Vic were making out on the stairs while all the girls with crushes on him watched

· He lowkey loves showing you off at all times

· For Christmas you made him the coolest sneakers he ever saw

· You bought a pair of canvas kicks from the thrift store and spent hours painting them, and he fREAKED when he saw them

· He loves when you wear that peachy smelling lipgloss but he always ends up with shimmer all over his mouth and the guys laugh at him. Worth it tho.

Henry

· You tell him you got your nails done and he gets this “The fuck are you tellin’ me for?” look on his face.

· You frown. He realizes you just want him to act interested and suddenly he’s like AH YES, THE NAILS, THE FINGERNAILS YES THE NAILS ON THESE PARTICULAR FINGERS ARE LOOKING MIGHTY SPIFFY TODAY YES INDEED

· He notices you painted them his favorite color and has to physically restrain himself from squealing like a schoolgirl because he loves that you love him lmao

· Talks a major talk about what a ladykiller he is but the first time you take your clothes off and he sees your body in only soft lingerie he just stares in awe and appreciation

· He thinks you don’t know (but you definitely know) he stole one of your silky pink camisoles and keeps it stuffed under his mattress.

· He actually wasn’t being pervy, he holds it to him when he sleeps and breathes in that precious smell of delicate perfume and something distinctly you and it blisses him out no matter how stressed he is.

· Always puts his arm around you in public or holds your hand

· When its cold and you didn’t wear a jacket to school, he scolds you because he’s concerned for your health and comfort, and puts his jacket around your shoulders.

· Will beat someone up just for looking at you wrong

· Always is the guy who says he needs to “Defend your honor”

· Its endearing but can be a bit much.

· Always hitting Patrick for disrespecting you

· Always being hit by Reggie for disrespecting you :^)

· Is 90000% outraged when you confess an insecurity

· “What on god’s green earth would you hate your tits for?! Have you fuckin seen them? Your body ‘so fine I’m havin to chase off every man in this damn town, cause they all want my girl.”

· I think he’d be that boyfriend who if you wore a low cut shirt in public would walk around with his hand covering your cleavage cause that shits his eyes only thank you very much.

· “Only yours?” you’d tease. “Damn straight.” he’d reply. “But what about Belch? N Pat n Vic?” you’d say, laughing. “OK, now listen here.”

· Is totally fine sharing you but constantly refers to you as HIS girl.

· Likes you to know who’s in charge.

· One time you sucked his fingers clean after he fingered you and he is still recovering tbqh

· Also one time you called him daddy in public and he came in his fccuccking pants.

· You didn’t know what to get him for his birthday so you just had him over to spend the night and wore pretty underthings and had a night just the two of you.

· You cut his hair. You’re always begging him to let you cut the fucking mullet off but he just won’t hear of it. He thinks he looks badass.

· His hair is really soft tho and you put the mullet into a tiny braid and giggled endlessly.

· He just quirked his eyebrow up at you and asked If he looked sexy.

· Lives for validation

· Tries to offer you aftercare but lowkey useless at it

Patrick

Patricks are the dirtiest

· Rarely allowed to be alone with you

· Loves to say creepy shit just to watch you squirm

· By far the most dominant and thinks aftercare is stupid lmao

· He likes that you somewhat want to impress him

· JEALOUS as hell of how much Henry adores you

· And really, how much they all adore you

· One time he got the sense that you might actually be real

· Which freaks him out, and he can’t shake the feeling

· He compensates for this by going out of his way to make you uncomfortable

· Says creepy shit in public

· Puts his hand up your skirt at the lunch table

· More or less only touches you because he’s allowed to

· He likes your hands a lot, he likes holding them, he likes when you touch him with them because they’re so gentle and soft

· Comes and visits you at night because he just likes to be near you

· At first it was unsettling but now you’re used to it and know he won’t try anything

· As scared as everyone already is of the whole gang,

· They’ll never fuck with you because Patrick is too damn scary

· You had a one-on-one night once

· The next day, the gang came over to hang out and you had welts on your chest from where Patrick dripped candle wax on you, bloodied bite marks on your collarbones and were limping

· Belch punched him in the fucking face

· He knows you probably liked it but the idea of Patrick getting too carried away without anyone there to stop him worries him

· (I honestly think he’s just always looking for reason to punch Patrick lmao. If asked why, he’d shake his head and say “that boy ain’t right” mister fuckin hank hill)

· He likes to brush your hair which is weird to the other guys but you seem ok with it, so…

· The first time you met his mother she was visibly shocked that someone actually wanted to spend time around him yikes lmao

· You wear one of his rings on a necklace because it slides off your fingers

· Gets the roughest with you during sex and the guys are always wary of the fact that you actually seem to enjoy it.

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andrewuttaro · 5 years ago

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New Look Sabres: GM 30 - VAN - Never Easy

6-5 OT Loss

It’s never easy with these guys is it? They gave us just enough Thanksgiving hope to make us think this season wasn’t already over. A shockingly weak Atlantic Division was the gravy beside a turkey of early winter belief. Well maybe send a check for it to Josh Allen because I don’t know if our hope is coming from this team or if it’s a biproduct of the football team’s success. Even when it’s close, even when they force it into overtime, this hockey club drags us hard. Tyler Myers gets a two-point night including a go-ahead goal? This game felt like it was being written for us; written in just a way to give us the full range of emotions. We got the former Sabres scoring, we got Marcus Johansson scoring a goal to resurrect himself, we got Victor Olofsson being the hero we knew in October and getting a powerplay goal! We even got an OT winner… that was iced as the football kickers say! It was a drama, a dramatic tragedy. These guys could’ve gotten two points tonight, but they had to settle for one. Hey, at the end of the day the regular season is like a good streaming show. Every episode has its moments and the overarching narratives are what keep you coming back. The Sabres current overarching narrative is a Jack Eichel point streak that has now reached twelve games straight! That’s the longest of his career and accompanied by some pretty stellar gifs out of this one. Speaking of coming back, how about those Canucks jerseys? I got confused at times because at a quick glance they look like the Sabres primary home jerseys. So the Canucks actually wore two throwback jerseys begging the question why the Sabres… nope, okay I’m going to resist the urge to distract from this game. It was actually rather fun if I say so myself.

This team is resistant to making it easy. It’s funny to say that two games removed from demolishing the New Jersey Devils but throughout it’s rare to see a complete performance from these guys. The Sabres went in ebbs and flow for the whole first period but it was more ebbs than flows if you know what I mean. Right after a decent stretch of O-Zone time Jordie Benn the angry leprechaun airmailed a puck into the neutral zone where Josh Leivo managed to out-maneuver his guy and go in on Hutton to draw first blood. The Canucks were dominating in every category except 5 on 5 high danger scoring chances in the first and even that was 50/50. I don’t think I’d want to say the home team could’ve scored even more in the first but it was another less than stellar period for Buffalo. The Jake McCabe – Zach Bogosian pairing was so terrible I’d like to rant about it but that feels like beating a dead horse at this point. I do trust Krueger to rotated Colin Miller back in, I do not however trust Jason Botterill to move the piece necessary to allow him to ice the best D-Core. That debate is a little too tired for a Saturday night though. I’d rather roast those ugly V jersey throwbacks the Canucks wore for warmups. Meh, I’ll save it for the P.S.

The second period wasn’t as bad. It did however start with the visitation of the ghost of Christmases past. Vancouver was buzzing around Hutton when a Tyler Myers move drew Hutton a little further out of his net that you probably want. Antoine Roussel took advantage and put them up 2-0. More on Mr. Myers later. Mere minutes later Johan Larsson had the puck behind Thatcher Demko in the Vancouver net and put out front for a charging Kyle Okposo. Okposo, back surprisingly quickly from another concussion, snuck that one in, 2-1 Canucks. That response felt big and it was only amplified two minutes later when Rasmus Ristolainen got a quick pass from Victor Olofsson on a Vancouver delayed penalty. He launched one of his trademark rockets we might hopefully miss real soon and suddenly the game was tied. This was a very encouraging chain of events after the comeback came too late in Calgary the other night. This time we were treated to some real fun hockey for a little bit: back and forth and wow, isn’t it nice when our team doesn’t suck or rock, they just entertain us?

As soon as that thought was ticking through my head Josh Leivo struck again. It was a neutral zone turnover courtesy of Marco Scandella and this time Elias Pettersson was involved. Once again, there was some comeback in Buffalo and finally a powerplay goal by way of Mr. October Powerplay Victor Olofsson. It was a pretty one-timer too within the last minute of the middle frame. It would be 3-3 going into the third period and the script writing unto this point was interesting, it felt like we were due for something really trash or really nice in the third act. Turns out we got both. On a play that started all the way back in their own zone, Tyler Myers and JT Miller come streaking in on Hutton and Miller gives Myers a gorgeous assist to slam in a real banger, 4-3 Canucks… wait for it… shorthanded! That’s some real trash, friends. Does that feel bad? Well how about another for Antoine Roussel, 5-3, guess whose an all-star now? Make it happen Vancouver, you can vote nine times a day! Now, here’s something to ponder: What if I told you 2014 NHL All-Star Zemgus Girgensons would play into yet another comeback? Funny joke, eh? This is a comedy, but it’s based on a true story like Tag. LOL. Yeah, Girgensons did it at 12:05 of the third period and once again made it a one goal game. Keep it close guys! Hell, you can win it too if you want! Unfortunately this entertainment was not a comedy… if it was it was a dark one. No, this was a tragedy when all was said and done.

The seven remaining minutes of regulation were not without excitement. Pettersson almost scored a true slapper for the ages and the boys wearing blue (not Vancouver because remember, they’re wearing those awful black skate jerseys) kicked into gear for the late equalizer. In the last five minutes or so Buffalo really found their stride forcing the Canucks to only have the option of icing it to get a break. With 58 seconds left Marcus Johansson gets the puck way out at the blueline and rips a shot through the woods and five hole to find the equalizer. Skinner-Johansson-Asplund is a sneaky good line. Weirdly enough Johansson has been the worst part of it lately so hopefully this big goal gets him going again. I’ll be honest I’d feel a little wronged as a Canucks fan. The refs called this game with endless penalties for Vancouver. It was almost like these refs really wanted to see how bad our powerplay is. This one was settled in OT. This overtime period was weird AF. Henri Jokiharju got called for tripping a Canuck and effectively iced a Jack Eichel game winning goal. I’m not saying it was unfair seeing it back again but perhaps the refs felt they had some making up to do. OT Powerplays are cardiac experiences. Jack Hughes almost scored a dozen times before JT Miller scored a high rocket Hutton couldn’t get his glove to. 6-5 OT Loss, the Sabres were in it the whole time and got a point for it but, damn that felt like an opportunity missed. It’s never easy, even when it’s fun.

I think the hockey gods took umbridge with my suggestion the Sabres could get 4 out of 6 points on this trip. Between the embarrassing 45 or so minutes in Calgary and the final result tonight in Vancouver we’ve got two points… and I kinda feel that maybe it for us before the next time we see them at home. Have you seen Conor McDavid lately? Hell, have you seen Leon Draisaitl lately? If the game Buffalo wins on this trip is Edmonton I am going to look like a real clown. If it happens though I will be proudly making balloon animals. Like, comment and share this blog. For us bloggers there are no loser points in engaging our readers. Maybe tonight respond to this post with an emoji describing how this game made you feel. Do a whole a dramatic tragedy with emojis! I’m feeling festive. With tomorrow’s lineup of games for Buffalo teams it will be incredible of we get one win out of our teams this weekend. Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. Okay so the Canucks have never had a good jersey. However the Skate jersey and the flying V are a special kind of tacky. If aliens had to represent visually what popular culture was in the 1980s they could really just show that ugly rag.

#buffalo sabres #Hockey #blog #NHL

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minervacasterly · 4 years ago

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The caricature of Margaret Beaufort:

From pop culture POV and the POV of those influenced by it, this powerful matriarch is all of the following: Religious nut case! Bitch. She killed the princes in the tower! Old and ugly! Screw her! She and her son were the worst thing that happened to England!

And yet her son became the founder of a dynasty that reigned for more than a century and continues to fascinate us. Now on to the real Meg Beaufort. In the White Queen she is all this and that but the real Meg was no religious nut case and she certainly didn't plan the murder of the Princes and you can debate me countless times on this but there is no concrete evidence that she did! Richard had more than enough motive and opportunity to kill the Princes and oh wait before I get the Ricardians on my case, I don't hate Richard. I actually find him interesting, I wouldn't find him interesting if he was perfect. Richard had learned from his brother's mistakes but made mistakes of his own. If he produced the boys then that would've propelled them to sainthood and the last thing he wanted was a cult was already building around Henry VI. What happened with this last monarch is fascinating and you might be wondering -hey! Isn't that the guy they smothered with a pillow in the White Queen? Yeah, that's the one. Except there are so many theories abounding to his death. The first one comes from Bettini who wrote three weeks after the Lancastrian king's death that it was Edward NOT Richard who gave the order. At the time the blame was solely pinned on Edward, so let's not confuse contemporary sources with secondary. Rous and Vergil writing in the Tudor period pinned the murder on Richard and even early Ricardians say that he did it, but with one major difference -*under* Edward's orders. If this is so, one thing we can all agree, if Richard gave the order or personally took care of Henry, it was all done under his brother's command. But this backfired, soon people were attributing all sorts of miracles to this guy, he became more famous in death than he had ever been in life. Edward tried hard to suppress this cult but he couldn't and Richard did the next best thing. If you can't beat them, join 'em! He cashed in on the cult and officiated a reburial of the dead monarch and started all new kinds of celebrations for him but people still talked as they always do. Now if he had produced the dead children as he and his brother had done with the Lancastrian king, then it would've been chaos, complete and utter chaos!

Margaret Beaufort's sole aim up until the princes disappearance in the summer of 1483 was to gain back her son's lands and bring him back safely. She was forced to give him up before after the Lancaster line had been wiped out from the face of the earth by Yorkist forces, ending to some historians' view, the wars of the roses in 1471. Margaret would not see him until the aftermath of Bosworth in 1485. She had little to worry about the first years of his exile, he was with his uncle Jasper, his father's brother. They intended to sail to the French court, a court his uncle knew very well but landed in Brittany instead because of the bad weather. Brittany was not on good terms with the French and they had their fair share of enmity with the English so it served the Duke well to have two valuable English hostages, one who had a considerable (if debatable) claim to the English throne via his mother. Edward attempted to coax the old Duke into give up his charge and while the Duke never believed Edward's intentions, some of his ministers did and those who didn't just wanted to cash in on the juicy rewards. Henry was an intelligent youth who was far from the serious and mama's boy he's depicted in today's fiction. He loved to laugh, play, joke and gamble. But he was aware how valuable he was and at one point feigned sickness and took sanctuary in a church when he suspected his future voyage to England was a hoax -which it was -and that small trickery on his part saved him.

By 1480, Margaret had more than enough to worry, but she wasn't giving up on her son's legacy. With Edward's promise to marry him to his eldest daughter, Margaret continued to rely on the faith that gave comfort to so many women in this period, and Edward's promise, albeit a fake one, was something she never let go of. The accession of Richard and Anne changed all that. Always an opportunist at heart, she tried to curry favor with the new regime. Whether she agreed with it or not -we will never know but her husband was an official in Richard's government and she had more than enough reason to believe that Richard would grant her her request to bring her son back. After all he was more busy convincing everyone his brother had never been legally married to Elizabeth and securing his position. But surprise, surprise for Margaret and everyone involved. Her life was never easy, it was one obstacle after another and this was no different. The boys' disappearance changed everything and Buckingham's rebellion gave her a chance she had never considered before. Her moment to shine had come. She was no longer looking to bring her son back as a mere earl but as a king so she started plotting with the queen dowager through her Welsh doctor. After a lot of plotting and intrigue and tragedy at Richard's court, her son's shining moment came and thanks to the defection of his stepfather from Richard's camp to his side, he won. There is a famous myth that his stepfather, Thomas Stanley found the crown in a thorn bush but this is likely Tudor propaganda. Richard's treatment afterwards was one that's always given by the victor to the loser, stripped of all his clothes and shamefully paraded, he was then written as the worst monarch that ever lived.

And while I do agree there needs to be a better assessment of Richard, doing the same to Margaret and Richard is just as dumb. She was born in 1443 and a year after, John Beaufort, her father and Duke of Somerset died. Many said at the time that it was because of suicide because of his terrible leadership in France. Truth or not, Margaret was now a wealthy heiress and her wardship was widely sought after. William de la Pole, the crown's favorite tried to marry her to his son, but after he was murdered, at only nine years old Margaret was brought to court to swear that she never intended to marry his son. Later she rewrote history saying that it was because of a godly vision that told her that it was her destiny to marry Edmund Tudor and establish a great house, that she denied it. Margaret married at only 12 and Edmund Tudor, anxious to get his hands on her wealth, didn't bother to wait. He impregnated her less than a year after and she gave birth in January 1457 when she was months away from being 14, to her only offspring. The birth damaged her, she never had any children with her other spouses. She had a happy marriage with her next spouse, Henry Stafford and they celebrated their anniversary in big style every year and even housed Edward IV in their hunting lodged in one occasion. This doesn't sound like the power hungry, vindictive Margaret of TV. And that's because she wasn't! She was very learned and founded and refounded many colleges, chief among them: Christ's College which had previously been God's House and St. John's in Cambridge. Aware that only the privileged few could attend these institutions she voiced her concerns in 1479, and her attempts bore fruit when Wimborne College was established posthumously in 1509, which was later renamed Queen Elizabeth's school. She also established the Lady Margaret Beaufort Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge in 1502 and the first women's college in Oxford was named after her.

In spite of her joy of seeing her son crowned, she could not help herself. Fisher and many contemporaries described how she cried -a clear sign of a woman that doesn't care about power- and when asked why, she responded because she had lived through so many kings and princes who had been murdered and killed in battle. Who knew if her son was next or if his reign would last. She cried the same tears of grief on her grandson's joint coronation with Katherine, fearing that his reign would face the same troubles.

Margaret passed away days after in 1509, after a long life of hardship and triumph.

#history #tudors #dailytudors #margaret beaufort

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starburstonlayaway · 5 years ago

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for @elizabroadwaytrash and i

Current word count :

40,813

Basic summary:

Tyler and Ethan’s family goes through a lot of changes following their marriage. They lose people, take others in, and new journeys are ventured on every day, no matter how scary or exciting.

Title? WIP? Alternate titles?

“Leave a Message.”

Yes, it is a work-in-progress.

I don’t believe we had any alternative titles, and if we did, I do not recall them.

Favorite character and how they are introduced:

Tyler. He’s introduced at the beginning of the first chapter, seen before anyone else.

Favorite ship:

Rose/Victor! I haven’t gotten to writing their relationship and build-up, but from our plans and how we’ve designed Victor’s character to be, I’m excited.

MC’s biggest mistake:

Rose is probably more of an MC than the others, despite it being a Tyler/Ethan fanfic.

Her biggest mistake was probably refusing to give up on Carter. While he was her boyfriend, his actions toward her (and later, Jazzy) were unacceptable after she came out to him. She isn’t to blame at all, but it’s definitely the thing she regrets most.

Inspiration:

A webcomic on Webtoon called “Always Human.” The comic explores the events happening to the girls Sunati and Austen throughout the course of their relationship. Beautiful art, realistic problems (despite being set in a futuristic utopian society), representation, and well-written romance. I wanted to incorporate these factors into LaM to make it similar to a story I enjoyed very much that left an influence on me.

Underrated character appreciation:

Jazzy! Rose’s best friend. Even in the separate story where she’s one of the main set of characters, she’s still very overlooked. She’s very upbeat and friendly, with lots of knowledge on wlw pop culture and history!

A few favorite dialogues:

“I’m ready, but we’re not in a rush or anything.” “Of course we’re in a rush, you slut! The sooner you guys get married, the sooner you have kids, and the sooner I’m an uncle!“ “Aren’t you occupied enough as it is? If you’re so involved in the idea of having a family, then why haven’t you and Jack had any kids of your own yet?“ “Don’t roast us like this.”

(spoken angrily) “Hey, Mister, that’s my soup!”

“That’s Amy! She’s probably Chica and Henry’s favorite out of all of us, but WE SHOULD REALLY SHARE CUSTODY OF HENRY.”

“Uh, I like to read, mostly, but watching older cartoons is also fun.” “Ooh. What cartoons do you like?” “My current favorite is Adventure Time!” “Adventure Time is considered an older cartoon now?” “Guess so.” “Damn, we’re getting old.” “We’re already old, dude.” “Thanks I feel worse.”

“What kind of cancer is it again?” “Leukemia.” “The survival chances of that aren’t terrible.” “Wow. Thanks.”

“You punched Jazzy?! You fucking punched Jazzy?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you punch someone for standing up to you when you were the one being a dick?!” “She wouldn’t get out of my face—” “I don’t wanna hear that bullshit! Carter, you can hurt me all you fucking want and I won’t care, but you’ve crossed the fucking line. Jazzy is the only person that’s been nice to me all year. She’s supported me and loved me no matter what, something you never fucking did!” “What the hell are you—” “We’re done, Carter! I never want to see your ugly transphobic douchebag ass again!”

MC moodboard:

N/A

MC’s fondest memory:

Probably when she was adopted. It was the most exciting day of her life, and lead down a journey of self-discovery.

In close second is the day she became friends with Jazzy. She was there for her when she needed her most.

Songs that remind of LaM or the characters:

“What About Us” by P!nk, probably definitely because it’s the song I used for Tyler and Ethan’s first dance.

“Leave a Message” by gnash, the song I named the book after! This one doesn’t need much of an explanation.

“Party Tattoos” by dodie. I plan to use this song in the closing chapter, sung by Rose.

Enjoy torturing the characters?

Not really, but I do it anyway. Good for character development, which there’s a lot of. But I don’t enjoy it, no. I love the characters in this book like my cat and dogs: with all my heart.

MC’s biggest fear:

Being unaccepted. This fear makes itself evident after what happens with Carter. Her mother’s reaction enforces this more.

Goals:

To finish LaM by the end of sophomore year, editing and all.

To be proud of the finished product.

To use this book as a reminder that I can do it. I can write.

Characters’ secret talents:

Ethan, despite not playing for many, many years, still excels at playing the ukulele. This becomes not so much of a secret later on in the book.

Rose is surprisingly good at tic-tac-toe. Not necessarily a talent, but definitely something she’d want you to note.

Turned into a media? Cast?

Seeing as LaM is a piece of fanwork, I don’t believe I would turn it into a media.

If it was to be a media, however, along with Tyler Scheid and Ethan Nestor to play Tyler and Ethan, as well as Mark Fischbach, Amy Nelson, and Kathryn Knutsen to play their friends, a few choices I would make would be to cast Janet Mock as adult Rose Scheid and Elliot Fletcher as adult Adrian Garcia.

MC’s basic morals and general beliefs:

Rose’s number one moral is to never make someone feel shut out. Having been rejected (as well as accepted) many times in her life, she knows that she never wants anyone to feel like that, and makes an effort to be the reason.

How MC found out the tooth fairy doesn’t exist:

She never really believed in it, to begin with.

Best name:

Jasmine “Jazzy” Hinojosa-Mills.

Least favorite OC:

Carter. Abusive transphobic asshat that left Rose with lots of insecurities and trauma for years to come.

Snippet:

Mark really had gone all out with making the altar just like Tyler had wanted it to look. The arch was made out of ebony wood that had been painted white with golden accents. Flowery vines were twirled all around the wood, the flowers colors of black, grey, purple, and blue. The chairs surrounding the aisle were all made of the same wood as the arch, the cushions blue and grey. Both Ethan and Tyler’s family alike filled those chairs, chattering away with one another. Tyler quickly scanned the side filled with Ethan’s relatives, and wasn’t surprised to see Ethan’s aunt and uncle were not present. He hoped to god that Ethan wouldn’t notice. The guests quieted down and turned their heads to look at Tyler, and he felt put on the spot. Most of the guests smiled at him, others clapped quietly. He could see that two people in particular were both smiling and clapping. Seeing Jack and Kathryn so supportive of him was majorly comforting to Tyler. He exhaled, and glanced at Mark behind him. Mark was already smiling, and nudged his head towards the arch. Tyler walked down the aisle and received praise from just about everyone sat in chairs. He high-fived Jack on his way to his place next to the officiant. The lady smiled at him, and he returned the gesture. She opened her book as Mark took his place next to Tyler, gazing over his friend’s tux and wiping off some dust quickly. Mark gave Tyler a thumbs-up, and Tyler couldn’t stop smiling. Now that he was actually out in front of the guests and standing where he was meant to be, his nerves relaxed. In fact, every thought he’d ever had in doubt of this marriage before that moment vanished, as soon as Ethan walked out.

WIP representation:

LGBT

Tyler/Ethan

Rose is trans

Jazzy is pansexual with two moms

Adrian is trans with two moms

Marcus has two dads

POC

Rose and her mother are black

Adrian and his mama are Mexican

Disabilities

Marcus has leukemia (cancer of the white blood cells)

Standalone or part of a series?

Standalone. Although I suppose you could call it a spinoff of one of our other works, the reader does not need to read that series to understand this story.

Biggest character development:

Definitely Rose. Seeing as the story follows the changes through most of her life, there’s a big difference in her character comparing the first chapter she is introduced to the closing chapter, where she takes center stage.

People who know of the WIP:

My co-writer, Caroline. Though I’ve done most of the writing, Caroline and I brought the idea for this story to life together, creating a unique cast of characters such as Jazzy, Rose, Adrian, Marcus, their families, Victor, Rose’s mother Aaliyah, and Ethan’s uncle Zane. Without her, the story would not have been written in the first place.

The lovely readers on AO3. I’ve uploaded chapters of the WIP onto there, updating at least once a month. It feels good to be putting some of my work out there for other people instead of just keeping such a joy all to myself. Of course, this is just a personal opinion.

Characters’ annoying habits:

Jazzy’s very short-tempered. Make one wrong move, anyone could get shouted at, lectured, maybe even a blow to the face.

Marcus feels a lot of self-pity and spite. He wishes his parents wouldn’t baby him so much just because he has cancer. This, later on, leads to him participating in multiple illegal activities to antagonize them.

Adrian grows to be more selfish as he gets older, even going out of his way to go into the military and disappear from Rose’s life out of the blue one day without telling her. He later regrets this.

Rose has plenty of autophobia to go around. After her mother gave her up to the orphanage at a young age and Carter’s abuse towards her in her late middle school years, followed by Adrian’s sudden leave after high school, she always fears being alone or abandoned by the people she cares about.

Tyler and Ethan both never seem to recover from the grief of their first child’s loss. This makes them closed off to people who ask about the incident, and could sometimes bring them back to their depressive state.

Very last three lines (with context):

“Unsure was she on how to approach this. She’d felt it since that first night she met him, but it’d grown more and more out of hand since. They’d also became closer as friends, even now sometimes hanging out without the needed assistance of Marcus and Jazzy by their sides to ease the tension.”

Context: Rose had just come to the conclusion she had a crush on Adrian.

Characters: Based off IRL people(through looks, personality, or habits)?

Tyler, Ethan, Amy, Kathryn, Mark, Jack, Chica, Henry, and all of the parents in the story are based off IRL influencers. The characters have only been switched and changed a bit, as well as the relationships, of course, to fit the story.

Impossible friendship:

Carter and Jazzy. Don’t really need to explain it if you’ve read the work. They hate each other’s guts more than anyone, and they could never kiss and make up. As characters, they aren’t the types to do that at all, especially with each other.

Am I proud?

Yes. Leave a Message has been my most dedicated piece of work so far, and I’d say I’m well on my way to reaching my personally-set deadline next year if I keep it at the rate I’m going. Not to mention the characters and plotlines are exciting and realistic, in my own opinion. There’s still a lot left to be written, but I’ve got everything planned out. I don’t plan on stopping until I’m finished with it.

#i mainly just posted this instead of keeping it in my drafts for Caroline to see #delete later lol

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