#and the kids laugh and are like har har very funny and robins like no where did you get this picture

[imthursdaysyme]

If I said Luchador Steve harrignton,,

[pinkeos]

Dad!Sunday Headcanons

Warning/s: None and no mention of reader's gender, whether the kids are adopted or your own is up to you

Notes: our internet is deadge so imma post this real quick from the neighbor's wifi, hopefully it gets fixed soon😭

ena the order told me that sunday is a dad to twin boys, it's real it's legit not clickbait

we all know he likes to have control over things, so it'd be funny to see dad!sunday struggling to control the boys with how rowdy and mischievous they are

like, if he wasn't busy with work, he'd be carefully watching over the kids like a hawk, making sure they don't do anything risky both to themselves and to others around them. please, he'd rather attend a meeting with the boys next to him rather than leave them unattended, trying to ignore the amused looks he was receiving from the other family heads

dad!sunday would consider buying those child harness thingy after that one time the boys were with him in the hotel lobby, he only looked away for a bit and when he turned back to them, they were already running about bothering guests with their shenanigans

when it was you, though, the boys were so behaved he thinks they've been possessed. turns out, they just really love bullying their father

they're so full of energy sometimes that dad!sunday would have trouble keeping up, especially when he's just finished with his duties. he couldn't be any more grateful whenever you'd guard him while he rests so that the boys wouldn't climb over him (they once tried to throw his halo like a frisbee)

as much as they agreed on things, there were still days they couldn't agree on one thing and bickered quite a lot. dad!sunday would have to pull them away from each other lest they throw hands and scold their ears off about their behaviors and that they should love each other because they were family. these scoldings often lasted so long that the boys agreed they wouldn't fight as much or their ears might just actually fall off with how much he talks

all the childish shenanigans aside, dad!sunday is actually very proud of his little boys. they're smart like him, and even displayed a sense of leadership, and they're kind (when they're not feeling like they're invincible that is)

and they love their auntie robin so much, too! whenever she was around, they'd be glued to her side because they seldom see her with her being a touring singer and all. they also love her because she brings them sweets and trinkets from planets she's visited

they're also very protective, like when he's not able to be around you, dad!sunday can always trust the boys to watch over you

dad!sunday is such a family man (no pun intended)

it was one of those days that sunday could relax, with no agenda and nothing to worry about. surrounded by his loving family in the garden as he sipped tea with a smile on his face

the boys weren’t too far away, playing tag with their laughs and giggles echoing in the background as he shared how his days have been with you

while you were conversing with your husband, one of your children tripped and fell face first against the grass. this cut off your conversation as he began to sob while his brother laughed at him

sunday was quick to approach them, getting on one knee to gently help the boy back to his feet, “are you alright? what happened?”

“he fell!” the older one grinned.

“oh there, there.” you cooed, picking up the boy in your arms as he pointed and sobbed about his scrapped knee

sunday turned to his other child with a sigh, “you shouldn't laugh at your brother. he was hurt, wasn't he? you should have helped him up.”

the boy frowned, looking down, “sorry, father…”

sunday shook his head, tenderly holding his boy’s hand in his gloved one, “you shouldn't apologize to me, but to your brother.”

the halovian guided the child to where you were cleaning the other boy’s knee, comforting him. sunday couldn't help how proud and joyful he was as he watched the older twin apologize before they hugged.

“thank you.” he suddenly spoke up as he turned to you, a smile on his face.

“for what?”

he held your hand and kisses the back of it, “for having this family with me.”

before you could reply, two voices interrupted you.

“ew!”

“father is so sappy!”

it took only one look from sunday before the boys scampered off, giggling.

[liljakonvalj]

I watched Disney's Robin Hood tonight, and here are some of my highlights:

This movie is so FUN. Even as an adult who has seen this movie so many times I laugh out loud multiple times when watching it

Prince John being fooled by The cross-dressing Robin Hood and little John because he cannot fathom the idea of Female robbers

Everything about their heist is fun- but especially kissing away the ring jewels, the entire conversation between Robin and prince John, Prince John's reflection in the ball, sir Hiss being stuck in a basket and the thieves colliding when running out with their bounty

We're really shown how wicked the sheriff is, stealing coins out of the cast of a cripple, the birthday gift from a kid and a beggar

Robin is very good with kids and gives the birthday boy a bow, arrow and even his own hat

Turns out both Marian and her Lady in waiting Kluck are also terrific with children and their little playing with the children is absolutely adorable

Marian having a wanted poster of her beloved in her room is so funny to me, I cannot get over it.

Robin being a horrible cook because he is thinking about his lady love 😍

The cartwheels he does when he hears that the winner of the archery competition will get a kiss from lady Marian!❤❤👌

Also he has zero chill during the competition. Someone with brain cells might think that he should mess up a couple of the shots to be more inconspicuous, but not him.

Cleaving the sheriff's arrow with his own is a Legendary TM moment though

The little turtle cheering for his dad was adorable. I really enjoyed the looks of all the contestants too!

Robin and Marian's love confessions when he's been found out 😭

Little John is literally saving the day multiple times during the aftermath of the contest while wearing a crop top. Also him just vibing with the prince, or "PJ", is a testament to his acting skills.

After the fight breaks out Robin and Marin agree to marry, where to go for their honeymoon and discuss their future number of children (robin:"We'll have six children". Marian: "no, a dozen at least") They both have zero chill and are so hot for each other, it would be sickening if i didn't love it so much

Lady Kluck literally being Player of the Game during the fight, every single thing she does is a win

The entire fighting sequence is a joy from start to finnish

The song "Love" while Robin and Marian just walk around in the forrest talking and being well ... in love 😭��❤

The scene with the warerlillies, fireflies and the flower-ring while they gaze into each others eyes is the textbook definition of Romance

Much of the animation in A Phoney king of England is borrowed from earlier movies, but I like the little game I make of trying to remember wich animations are from which movie

I also like Friar Tuck's little theatre setup and Robin using his bow as a, well, bow when playing the violin

The song becoming such a hit in the town that Prince John raises the taxes even more, resulting in several people being put in jail (The jail part is not a favourite but the song being a hit is)

Friar Tuck absolutely losing it when the sheriff steals from the box for the Poor in his church.👏👏

The double take Robin does when he hears his friend is to be hanged on the morrow, first out of character then in character as the beggar.

(In the swedish version Trigger, who is suspicious of the beggar remarks that "han har en räv bakom örat" lit. trans ="he has a fox behind his ear" which means that he is up to something. I thought it was a fun pun considering Robin is a fox)

I view the whole breaking into the castle sequence each Christmas (as is tradition) but I always forget how much from the movie they cut out of the Christmas show

(The whole sequence with Robin masquerading as Nutsy, John freeing the prisoners and about half the fight/flight when they escape is cut from the Christmas show)

Trigger being unable to properly secure his crossbow is a great running gag. He calls his crossbow "gamla Bettan" in Swedish- probably translated: "Old Betsy". I wonder what he calls it in other languages?

And each time I watch I lament that Robin gets too greedy, just leave that last money sack that the prince is cradling in his arms!!

Robin (and little John) turning around to fetch the little bunny is so in character and kinda heartbreaking because Robin almost dies

Robin is really fearing for his life - especially in the burning tower

Robin's face after his escape and Skippy claims that he could've swum double the distance

Was the ending rushed? Yes. Do I care? No.

[mrvdocks]

Plus One Finale

Summary: You and Steve make up. Steve plans for the future ahead.

A/N: We finally made it to the end, thanks to everyone who read it and liked it and reblogged it. :))

@mochminnie​, @80strashbag​, @artsymaddie​, @har-rison-s​, @theblueslytherin​, @prettysbliss​, @deliberatequeen​, @fl0ating​, @crystalyn-aurelia​, @itsbabybat​, @bellasymph​, @hawishima​, @hvtelcalifornia​, @stevexharringtonx​, @fisherbrookphotos​, @revangeline​

He paced back and forth in the hallway of the animal clinic, somehow both muttering to himself and racking his head for some way to reply other than the incredulous reaction he just gave you.

You squeezed your eyes shut and shook your head. You knew it, you knew it was too soon to say. 

You cross your legs in an attempt to stop the distracting bouncing of your leg and ease your nerves. 

Sure he just confessed he loved you and apologized, but now that you could possibly be pregnant? What if that was the dealbreaker?

“Steve.” You call, attempting to break him from his trance.

He mutters more, going much too fast for you to understand. 

“Steve!” You exclaim, unable to take the suspense.

He stops and turns to face you, visibly shaken. You exhale shakily, trying to keep yourself steady emotionally.

“Listen, if what you said earlier is true, then this is nothing.”

“This is nothing? (Y/N) we’re bringing someone else into our messed up lives. What if we’re terrible parents?”

You stand and take his worrisome hand in yours, “So we don’t have the best model. That’s fine! They’re not the ones raising this kid, it’s us. It’s you and me.” 

He bites his lip in thought, eyes falling to his feet. You felt your heart race as you tried to decipher his emotions. You loved Steve, kid or no kid. But this was something you two needed to face. 

“I don’t know. I - ” he shrugs. 

You try not to remember the last time he shrugged and what followed. 

“You and I don’t need to make a decision so quickly. We can sleep on it. Alright?” You try to be comforting, smoothing out the lines on his disheveled shirt.

He seems to relax at this and nods. You nod in conclusion.

“I’ll be back.” He says, letting go of your hands and walking down the dimly lit corridor. 

“Where are you going?” 

He won’t leave you, right? 

“I have to do something. I’ll see you back home.” 

He leaves in a rush. It hit you then. Home. You were dreading returning to the apartment all this time because you were afraid of the confrontation. 

You had planned on coming back sure, maybe yell at him or take Mickey as you’d promised, but the thought of having to confront his issues and your own made your stomach do somersaults. And not in the good way. 

But it seemed to turn out fine. You sighed. 

You and Steve barely got by as it is. Robin’s leave put more strain on both of you to come up with rent money. Neither you nor Steve were too content in your career choices, and God knows the place would get cramped with a kid. 

It was hard to be an optimist in these trying times but you tried to hold out hope. Maybe things would get better. After all, you had new friends, you’d made new connections. Who knows where that would take you. 

You wondered what your sister would say. For once, you valued her input in this. 

Honestly, the thought of the future from this point on made your heart race. 

Steve was capable of growth…..right?

Once Mickey was cleared to go home, you let out a breath of relief you didn’t realize you were holding. Things felt a lot lighter, it was a weight off of your shoulders. Though a tiny pebble by the name of Steve remained. 

You carried your dozed pet out in your arms in the early hours of the morning, choosing to walk it home and avoid another Danny encounter. 

It was a chilly week in November. The crunch of the leaves under your feet wasn’t enough to rouse Mickey awake but you kept count of how many you stepped on.

You don’t recall how long it took you to get home. It was most likely the autopilot in you flipping on, your head just too worried about other things at the moment. 

You just know you’d made it home without a scratch. You kick away the pile of mail at the foot of your doorstep and take the extra key under the mat. Once you’re inside, the warmth of the radiator kicks in, letting your body relax after the tensing up of your muscles to keep warm outside. 

You lay Mickey down in his makeshift bed, the foot tub with a mix of yours and Steve’s old shirts. He grumbles in his sleep, his tiny tongue peaking out in lazy and unconscious movement. 

You shake off Jonathan’s coat and drape it over your body like a blanket and collapse onto the couch, too lazy to curl up into your own bed. 

You shiver as you run your hands over your arms and cup your hands together to blow air into them. The tiredness from walking and overall excitement of the day weighed over you from the way you felt your eyelids start to fall. 

You blink once, twice, and then fall asleep just in time to see Mickey kick and stretch his paws in his sleep.

Steve pants as he reaches the door of the room at the hotel his father’s staying at. He’d been too hasty to berate his future stepbrothers once he saw what they’d done to Mickey. 

He knocks rapidly on the door, seeming like a madman to the couple who’s just leaving their own room and staring at him. He composes himself, zips his jacket up, and gives a faint nod as they pass him.

His dad opens the door a second later. “Hey kiddo, what’s with the commotion?”

“She’s pregnant.” Steve regurgitates your confession to his father. Don’s mouth falls open slightly. 

He closes it and stammers. He turns to check on the kids in the room, seeing them preoccupied with the tv. When the coast is clear, he closes the door behind him and stays with Steve outside in the hallway. 

“I - that was fast.” Don chuckles, feeling flustered for his son. “What did you tell her?”

“I ran here to tell you!” 

Don’s hand comes up to pinch the bridge of his nose in disappointment.

“So you’re telling me, the girl of your dreams, the one you’ve been miserable over breaking her heart, just told you she’s pregnant and the first thing you do is leave her and run to me??” 

Steve understands the gravity of the situation but he is stuck on the thought that he needed all the advice he could squeeze out of his father.

“Basically.” He says simply.

Don sighs. “What’s the problem, then?”

Steve’s shoulders slump. “I don’t know how to be a dad. In case you haven’t noticed I didn’t have the best model.”

Don nearly rolls his eyes. 

“Is that really the reason, or is there another?”

Steve stays silent, contemplating while his eyes scan every inch of the hallway from the detail on the carpeting to the colors. 

“I guess….I’m not happy with where I am right now. I’m pushing thirty in two years, I’m a bartender, everyone I know got married and I just feel like I’m out of time. But Dad, this girl. She - she’s everything I’m not. She’s spontaneous and funny and sarcastic and - I don’t know, sometimes I just feel like she could be doing so much better than me.”

Don places a hand on Steve’s shoulder and gently shakes him. “Hey, don’t say that. You’re a Harrington, you’re a catch!” 

Steve half smiles at the encouragement. 

“Steve, everyone progresses through milestones differently. No one knows what they’re doing. And if we’re being honest, I think you just have to find what you like and hold onto it. Something that makes you want to get out of bed every day and just take all of the bull that life throws at you because, at the end of the day, that something is always going to be there. Have you found something to do that for you?”

Steve nearly dissociates altogether as he falls deep in thought as his father speaks. His mind reeling the montage of memories his brain concocts like film. 

He sees you the day you walked into the apartment and into his life, covered in dirty water from being sprayed by a taxi on the curb and taking it in stride and making jokes about it. He sees you dancing in the kitchen to god awful music he’d grown to love in a big shirt and long socks. He sees the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh hysterically at the prospect of trying to help him find dates. The image of you sitting near the radiator with a book in hand and your thinking face. 

He thinks these past few months might’ve just been the best ones he’s ever had. Before he went and ruined it. 

He didn’t think he would experience something like this after Nancy. He thought he could just run away from Hawkins and leave the bad memories there, but they crept up on him when he least expected it. His fear was not your fault. 

He was done running and he was ready to grow. 

“Yeah,” he nods. “I think I do.”

The phone ringing off the hook startled you awake. You sit upright, finding Jonathan’s coat at your feet and Mickey pawing at the phone cord. He wriggles his head side to side when he finally gets the cord in between his teeth. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” You mutter to yourself. You pick Mickey up with swift ease and pull the cord out of his mouth to pick up the phone.

“I’m up.” You announce somewhat sleepily into the phone.

“Good! I have news!” Nancy’s rapid-fire voice comes through and alerts you awake.

“Wait! I did it, Nance! I told him!”

“Oh, what did he say?”

“He….kind of took off.”

“He what?!” 

“Okay to be fair, a lot has happened in the past,” you glance at your wrist to see you’ve been asleep for a while. “Five hours? Geez.” 

“Okay, okay. Well, we don’t have to worry about this anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“The tests! They’re faulty! They’re recalling them for false positives or something. I don’t know but Kali just called to tell me.”

“Oh….” You trail off. 

In a way, you're very relieved. And yet also a little disappointed. But very relieved.

“What’s wrong?” Nancy senses something’s off. “I figured you’d breathe a little better if you knew the truth.”

“No I am,” you say, cradling Mickey in your arm like a mom with a baby on her hip. “I don’t know, I guess I kind of made my peace with it.”

“Oh, well hey, maybe it’s a good conversation starter for both of you.”

You lean against the wall where the phone hangs, letting your furry son sit on the counter. “Yeah maybe. I mean, it was all too fast anyways.”

“Yeah! You have lots of time. Just take baby steps. I think slow and steady would put yours and his mind at ease.”

You had to agree. Time had to heal all wounds. You two had to start again, without interruptions. 

You finish talking to Nancy, reassuring her that you’d need to get over the first wave of shock and tell him when he turned up. She offered to go over but you’d declined. When everything’s over, you collapse onto the couch again, slumping as far as your back would let you. Your stomach protruding a little from under your tee. You roll up the lower half of your shirt and let it sit above your belly button. 

You prod your fingers at nothing, feeling odd and a little bit silly at the thought that there would be a little person in there. 

Mickey whimpers. 

“Looks like you’re the baby still.” You chuckle, scratching behind his ears.

The peace and silence are broken by the door swinging open to reveal an out of breath Steve. You straighten up immediately and pull your shirt down. 

“Are you okay?” You ask, making a pass to reach for him but he sticks a hand out for you to wait as he regains his composure. 

“I’m….fine…..just have to….talk...holdonaminute.”

He’s visibly sweating, beads of sweat on his forehead. He looks like he just ran track. His pants come to a slow until he’s back to normal. He puts his hands on his knees and it takes everything in you to not make an old joke for the sake of the seriousness of the situation.

He stands up straight, keeping his eyes trained on you, and with a softness in them, you feel at ease.

“I quit my job.” He says finally.

Your eyes widen. “You what?”

The confession hung in the air, settling in like the warmth of the radiator. He rushes to you and kneels before you can leap up off the couch and takes your hands in his. 

“Hear me out. Before you get mad, just hear me out.”

“Okay.” 

“I’ve done a lot and I mean a lot of reassessment about you, me, everything. If we’re going to do this, I want them to be proud of me. I want to be there for them as much as I can be. I’m starting over. At 28.” 

You stifle a laugh but release it when Steve takes the initiative to laugh at himself. 

“So….what are you going to be doing now?” You give his hands a squeeze, utterly terrified at the plunge he’s taking.

He looks as if he hasn’t planned that far ahead besides quitting. “I….don't know. But it’s, um, kind of cool. I get to see a bunch of different jobs. Find out what I really like.” 

“And, what’s that?”

“You.” He smiles, the sight of it sending butterflies free in your stomach. “I like you. So, so much. You’re not hard to get at all, you’re hard to earn. I’d take that over any messy, drunk bridesmaid.”

You tilt your head, feeling the corners of your lips lifting and before you know it, you’re grinning like an idiot.

“And that’s why,” he says, his right hand leaving yours and digging into his pocket to bring out a plastic ring from the bubble gum machines in the laundromat downstairs, “I’m jumping in, all the way.”

“Steve…” You’re nearly speechless. “Oh my god, what are you doing?”

“I know it’s not perfect or big or shiny. But this is just a placeholder for now. I’m all in if you are.” He holds the ring with the pink gem in his fingers, waiting for you.

Maybe it’s the fact that ever since you started to see him in a different light since the start of the year, you’d determined that you’d follow him anywhere. Whether he’d have you or not. Even with his moods and awkwardness and clumsiness. He’d been scored on your heart. You’d marry him with paper rings.

“I’m not pregnant.” You reveal.

His face softens. “What?”

“Nancy called earlier before you came. The tests were faulty. I just wanted you to know that so that wasn’t the only reason you decided to do this.”

It was and wasn’t the reason. But in all honesty, he didn’t think he could bear to stomach the idea of not being with you or the image of you with someone else. He also doesn’t think starting over with someone else was the best idea, you two had been through so much in two years. You shared a particular connection. One that he now realizes he had been looking through seas of beige and silvers and golds. 

“It’s not,” he titters, “I don’t care that we don’t have the meet-cutes or the chance run-ins. That’s not what love really is. I thought it was more complex but it’s so - simple. It’s about being comfortable with someone and wanting to hang out with them as long as it’s humanly possible….and just not trying to mess it up the way I did.”

Your heart swells. This is love for him. This is him planting his foot in the sand and not running away when the sea rushes for him. Anyone else would’ve ditched him the moment things got ugly. But you were nothing if devoted.

“Yes, Dingus. I’m in too.” You nod, overjoyed as you feel your eyes get watery. 

Don & Mary’s Wedding

December 25, 1994

Hawkins, Indiana

“Okay, okay, how does this look?” Steve asks, fixing his tux for the fifth time that day. 

You roll your eyes. “You look fine babe, honestly. We’ve ironed the jacket out twice. Any more and I think you’re going to set it on fire and then you’ll upstage the bride.”

Steve snorts, fixing the knot on his tie. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous. I can’t mess up the speech.”

You fix the starchy collar of his shirt. “I’ve heard it many times and I think you’ll do great. Just don’t think too much about it.”

“You don’t think it’s too late to back out?” 

“I think,” You pull him by his tie close to your face to tease him. “If you can get through this, you can either have the best after-party experience or you can get the new fridge.”

Steve purses his lips, conflicted. “We do need a new fridge.”

You playfully smack his arm as you feign offense. 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He repeats, enveloping you in a hug. 

“Whoa, whoa, easy on the goods.” You say, smoothing out the easily crinkled fabric of your dress. 

“I’m always easy on them.” He jests, slipping in innuendo that you still find yourself blushing to.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go before they start guessing why we’re late.” 

You climb onto his back and ride him piggyback all the way to the elevator. He goes over his speech one more time as you descend and tries to tell a joke at the end that doesn’t stick the landing. 

You arrive just in time, settling at the table next to the newlyweds. You pat Steve on the shoulder, give him a glass, and wish him good luck. “Go get ‘em.” 

He kisses you tenderly before he goes up on stage, feeling like a teen again the way his senses go crazy when he kisses you. He fumbles his way up the stairs to the microphone making you hold back a laugh. He composes himself a second later.

“Hey everyone! Thanks for coming. I’m Steve. Most of you know me as Don’s son. And if you’re wondering why I’m up here giving his best man speech, so am I.”

The crowd of family and friends laugh in unison.  

Steve fixes his footing and his grip on the champagne glass tightens. 

“The truth is, I put up a pretty big stink about all of this. I didn’t want to do it. To me, a second marriage was ill-advised. I mean, my parents’ divorce was pretty hard to swallow. But also, I just didn’t get it. I believed in things like fate and love at first sight, that once you found the one, that was the ballgame.”

He scans the crowd, passing familiar faces like Jonathan and Nancy, Dustin and Suzie, Robin and Kali, each one helping take the pressure off just a bit. He stops when he lands on you, your warm smile and thumbs up making him feel better.

“But the truth is, if you spend your whole life looking for something perfect, you wind up with nothing. See, there are many innings in this ball game and I don’t think it's about good timing or fate. It’s about trying not to mess up.”

He locks eyes with you for the last part.

“But you will mess up. No matter how hard you try, you’ll get in your own head. But if you can learn from your mistakes, you might just end up with something...even better.”

“I’d like to raise a glass,” He says, raising his cup along with everyone else. “Dad, Mary, congratulations.”

The guests applaud as Don is overcome with emotion and wipes at his happy tears and takes his son in a bear hug. Steve is taken aback by the sudden strength of his father and nearly drops his glass.

The party goes off without a hitch. Steve actually partakes in the festivities with pride and even makes an attempt to get to know his stepbrothers. He laughs at their awful attempts at jokes and bestows some girl advice when they ask him about you. Jonathan, Nancy, Robin, Kali, Dustin and Suzie all congratulate Steve when they find out what the pink stone on your finger means. You meet Steve’s mom for the first time, a charming and lovely woman who is eager to show you loose baby pictures in her clutch and embarrassing stories.

You wait on the sidelines watching as the new Harrington family take their family photos. Mary and Steve talk in what seems to be a sincere and sweet conversation. Don is trying to bribe the rambunctious kids with sweets if they can sit still for the photo. Jonathan glances from them to you.

“Hey,” He asks from behind the camera. “Why aren’t you in there?”

You open your mouth to justify it until Don speaks up.

“He’s right. What are you doing there? Come in! Come in!” He waves you over with encouragement until the entire Harrington gang begins to beg for you to jump in.

“Come in sweetie!” Mary cheers.

You’re about to make your way until Steve leaves the group and carries you over his shoulder. Jonathan smirks as he takes multiple photos, taking advantage of the candid moment. Steve’s stepbrothers singsong about you two kissing in a tree. The Harrington party make a mixture of sounds and cheers as Steve puts you down and wraps his arms around you in a prom pose. You go with it, feeling like you belonged in this crazy puzzle with other people. The little kids make a disgusted sound when you peck Steve on the cheek.

He kisses the top of your head in return and gives you a squeeze. 

For the first time in his life, Steve’s not afraid of the future. 

[yasbxxgie]

Comedy legend Paul Mooney will forever be linked with longtime friends Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle, but he's racked up an impressive career outside those fruitful collaborations, both as a writer for shows like In Living Color and as an influential stand-up comedian. Mooney's early show-biz career included stints as a ringmaster for the Charles Gody Circus and a performer with the incendiary anti-Vietnam War "FTA" (Fuck The Army) troupe alongside Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and Peter Boyle. A chance meeting with Pryor irrevocably shaped Mooney's career; he began writing for Pryor, in a fruitful partnership that led to classic comedy albums, performance films, and the Pryor-directed autobiographical drama JoJo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. As a writer on The Richard Pryor Show and In Living Color, Mooney gave big breaks to acts like Robin Williams, John Witherspoon, Sandra Bernhard, and Jim Carrey. Mooney recently experienced a surge in popularity via his prominent appearances on Chappelle's Show in the popular segments "Ask A Black Dude" and "Negrodamus." The A.V. Club recently spoke with Mooney—whose new comedy DVD is titled Know Your History: Jesus Was Black… So Was Cleopatra—for a rambling, digressive conversation about misbehaving primates, Richard Pryor, the N-word, and being asked to host on the DVD Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes.

The A.V Club: You have an archetypal story, in that you ran away from home as a teenager to join the circus.

Paul Mooney: Oh yeah. I go down in black history, I was the first black ringmaster. This is way before the Black Circus and all this stuff, back in the day. It was called the Charles Gody Circus. We had all the animals from television: Gentle Ben, the cross-eyed lion, all that stuff. You're probably too young. Daktari was a hit then. The black man that starred in that, I forget his name, 'cause I'm getting old. I don't have Alzheimer's, I have "sometimer's": Sometimes I remember, sometimes I don't. They used to think I was hep, and they called me "Hollywood."

AVC: Did you run away and join the circus because you were unhappy at home?

PM: I quit my job. I was working at Joseph Magnin's in Century City. I was working with Candy, Aaron Spelling's wife Candy. Aaron used to come in all the time to see her. She had this big engagement ring, and I said to her, "Who's that ugly white man that keeps coming here to see you?" She said, "I'm going to marry that ugly white man."

AVC: Was it a big circus? Did they have a freak show?

PM: It wasn't like Barnum & Bailey, or anything like that. It was just a circus, a miniature little circus. We'd go to different places and perform.

AVC: Did you enjoy the circus life?

PM: I found out how they tortured the animals. No wonder circus animals do what they do: They tortured them. And you know the only ones they can't control? It's the chimpanzees. You can't control them. That's why you never see a gorilla in a movie, because the gorilla may decide there'll be no filming. Yeah, but the elephants and all this other stuff, they train everything else. They torture them. That's why they do the same thing, over and over night. That part, I didn't like.

AVC: What did you like about the circus?

PM: I liked the kids coming and all that. It just made the kids so happy.

AVC: Were there circus groupies?

PM: Oh, of course! They used to follow the circus around. Yeah, of course.

AVC: How did you make the transition from being a ringmaster to doing comedy?

PM: I was a ringmaster, and I was funny. I was doing comedy before. I just did that to make some money. I was a shoe salesman, I worked at Joseph Magnin's, an expensive store in Century City, and it was good money. Let me tell you something about Hollywood you may not know. Back in the day, we did everything we could to pay the rent. We didn't give a damn. There was a lot of us that did The Dating Game, we were married or we were with somebody, we still did it because it was scale, and we had to pay our phone bill and our rent. I also worked for Playboy for five years. I did Playboy After Dark.

AVC: Really? How was that?

PM: It was great. I know all the dirt. Barbi Benton, Hugh Hefner's girlfriend, she had just met me. Her daddy was a doctor. Janice Pennington, from The Price Is Right, and Lindsay Wagner, The Bionic Woman, we all come out of Playboy. Oh, it was great. We got to know everybody, we got to meet every star. Every star that there ever was came to the mansion. It was the place, it was the thing. The big thing was the Playboy Mansion and the Playboy Club, and Laugh-In, that was during that time. That was the big deal. Sinatra, everybody, came to the private clubs and to the Mansion.

AVC: Did you do stand-up comedy at Playboy After Dark?

PM: No, I wasn't doing comedy. I was one of the pretty people.

AVC: You were there just to stand around and look good?

PM: Yeah. We were there just for the party, to dance and all that stuff. We were like atmosphere. Hang out with Hef and go on the private jet with all the bunnies. That was back in the day. But I was still doing stand-up when I wasn't on the show. And I was writing for Richard.

AVC: What was your early stand-up like?

PM: I found myself at the clubs. What's the little Jewish lady's name? What's her name? I just saw her again, she's so funny, she was so funny back in the day. I'll think of her name in a minute, I'm getting old. It was at Ye Little Club, where we all used to go and perform. That's how I met Sandra Bernhard when she was 18 years old. And I told her she was a cigarette come to life. And that's before full lips were in. They used to call her "nigger lips." She had those big lips, and they were just jealous of her. That's why they used to put lipstick on those little tiny lips of theirs. I told her, before it's all said and done, big lips would be in. And my prediction came true. Joan Rivers! It was Joan Rivers. She used to come in all the time at the Ye Little Club. That's where she got her start. We all used to go in there and work out.

AVC: Richard Pryor's early stand-up was a lot more conventional, a lot more in the Bill Cosby mode. And then he moved into a different direction. Were you, basically, the same kind of comedian back then that you are today?

PM: No. I learned all my tricks at Ye Little Club. I found myself working there because I wouldn't have my friends come in. I'd just do what I found myself. I worked it out there. It was always there. It was always a nuclear bomb, I just wasn't in control of it. And from working in that club, and working by myself, and taking all the yes and nos, all the "We like you, we don't like you," I found out who I was.

AVC: You learned how to harness your gift?

PM: Yeah. Then I held onto who I was. When you know who you are, you know who you are. That's the real dangerous thing in Hollywood, because they all want to create you and mold you. They have Frankenstein syndrome here. But as in the Frankenstein story, the monster always hates the doctor.

Did you ever see the black-and-white original Frankenstein? Okay, the doctor has all the dialogue, you know: "You think I'm crazy? I'll show you crazy. I created it with my own hands!" He talks throughout the whole movie, am I right or wrong? Frankenstein said one thing—less is more. "Aaaah!" And all you remember is the monster.

AVC: In the early '70s, you toured with FTA, which stood for Fuck The Army.

PM: With Jane Fonda, Peter Boyle, and Donald Sutherland. That was my second time around, because I came out of Second City with Peter Boyle. We toured all over the United States. Avery Schreiber was our director. And before that, I was with the improvisational group in San Francisco, the first black improvisational group. It was called the Yankee Doodle Bedbugs.

AVC: What was it like touring the country with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland?

PM: It was the best. She was very smart, and very pretty. I loved being with Jane.

AVC: Was she as divisive of a figure back then as she would become? Were people angry about her message and her politics?

PM: She was right. She was right. Since then, she's been saying she was used, but she wasn't. She was used by God. Because her daddy being a movie star, and all this other stuff, they wanted to kill her. They wanted to murder Jane Fonda. I was right there with her. They did not like it, they didn't like that white woman that had everything, talking up against that war, which she should've. That war, we shouldn't have been there, just like we shouldn't be in the one we're in now. People don't want to hear the truth, they never do. They wanna live in some kind of fantasy. And then when they get caught up in it, they start being in denial because they don't want to be wrong. She was right in doing what she did. She was right in bringing all the attention and all the controversy to it, because we needed that. America does not like losers. Look how we treated those soldiers who came back from Vietnam. Because they lost. America likes winners.

AVC: Because you were a part of something radical and overtly anti-war, were you subject to a lot of harassment?

PM: Not really. I only did that because I believed in it. So, majority doesn't rule. One person can change the history of the world. It wasn't Harriet Tubman and her cousins, it was Harriet Tubman. And people just have to have the chutzpah to make that stand. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything. Everyone doesn't have that in them. It's pretty sad, but that's the way it is. People do many things for many reasons. Sometimes, what you do you have no control over, because it's predestined. It's gonna happen in spite of you. There's nothing you can do about it.

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AVC: How did the soldiers respond to your performances?

PM: Oh, some loved it. Some didn't. Because they were caught up in it. They were part of the war. Some people hated it, they hated us. They could have killed us. And I understand that, too, because you don't want to feel like you're doing something wrong, that you're risking your life for nothing. You don't want that feeling. Look at the Vietnamese. What a hell of an audition for a manicure and pedicure. That war, what a hell of an audition.

AVC: What was your first impression of Richard Pryor? When did you first meet him, and what were you thinking?

PM: I was living with my half-sister, who was the first black diva on the cover of Vogue, French Vogue. She was the first black woman that was ever put on the cover of any white magazine. You can go to the library, you can look her up. We were living in a cheap hotel on Sunset, and it was during the Motown days. Tammi Terrell was a good friend of my sister's back in the day. Gladys Knight and The Pips, everyone came because they had had no money. They all stayed at our cheap place, slept on the floor, wherever. Richard was dating a girl that was working at the telephone company. She was moonlighting, what they called it at night, dancing go-go at the Whisky with my sister. And Richard came by. I'd heard about Richard Pryor. It was during the mid-'60s and that hippie shit, he said "Let's all get in the bed and have a freak thing." It was like Bob, Ted, Alice, and Lassie in those days, where everyone got in the bed together. And I threw him out of the room. And in his book, he says, "I didn't know that was Paul's sister, I never would've said that." Then two weeks or two and a half weeks later, I went to a Trini López concert in West Hollywood, and Richard was there. We met, had a drink, and the rest is history. And also his first white wife, Shelley, the first one he married because he had a child already, she was working at a theater as a ticket girl where I was assistant manager, the Tiffany Theater on Sunset Boulevard. We just hooked up, and the rest was history.

AVC: What was your working relationship with him like? Did you write together? Would you bounce ideas off each other?

PM: It was like Lone Ranger and Tonto, Lucy and Ethel, any group that you can think of. Bonnie and Clyde, that was us. We were the perfect marriage, because I was Richard's biggest fan. When you listen to all Richard's old albums, you'll hear me laughing.

AVC: So how would you work together in terms of writing?

PM: It's so funny. When I met Richard, he was probably 28, 27, somewhere around there. He once stood in front of a TV set and said to me, "Do you think I can act? I want to be an actor." I said he was the best actor that I know, I said, "You're an Academy Award performer." He said, "What makes you say that?" I said, "You've convinced everybody you're not crazy." And he started laughing. Shelley Winters gave him his first movie role. He played a hippie. Wild In The Streets.

AVC: What was it like writing for Richard Pryor during his first appearance on Saturday Night Live?

PM: I was Richard's black writer. Richard took me everywhere. We went there and we wrote that. All of that stuff, all that stuff that's classic. That's what they call it, "classic." Yeah, but it's interesting, isn't it, that they call it a classic? I find it so interesting, because there was no such thing as a black comedy writer. They flew me into Miami and cross-examined me like I was trying to get over the border.

AVC: Who cross-examined you?

PM: Lorne Michaels and all the little big shots.

AVC: Is it true that Richard Pryor didn't get along very well with Chevy Chase?

PM: Oh no. Chevy Chase, he wanted to knock his teeth out. He was the golden boy.

AVC: It seems like everyone kind of hated Chevy Chase at that point in his career.

PM: Yeah. It was all crazy. First of all, Richard was on the drugs. He was getting high. Everybody on that show was high. They were all addicts. I should have turned them all in, because I don't do drugs. I was slow. I should have turned them all in.

AVC: Was it pot, mainly? Was it cocaine?

PM: Coke. Coke. You're naïve. It was really cocaine. Weed too. It was secondary. It's like smoking cigarettes. But they were into that coke.

AVC: So why didn't you do drugs? That's relatively unique in the comedy field.

PM: I've been around a lot of drug addicts. Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, all of 'em. I don't do drugs. Because my grandmother raised me. I think like an old, black, Southern woman. If I'd have done coke, I'd probably be cooking pancakes.

AVC: Do you think Richard Pryor was satisfied with the way his film career went?

PM: I think that Richard was an Academy Award performer. I think that he picked the wrong scripts, because he was really a good actor. But the drugs had a lot to do with it too, I think. And choices, it was unfortunate. But Richard was like a little boy, really. That's one of his plusses. He had the heart of a little boy.

AVC: Do you think genius and self-destructiveness go hand in hand?

PM: It comes with the territory. There's a yin for the yang. There's a price that people pay.

AVC: You've vowed to stop using the N-word.

PM: I won't be using that, no. That's a no-no.

AVC: What was the reasoning behind that?

PM: Well, Michael Richards, his meltdown. His nervous breakdown is what did it.

AVC: How so?

PM: Well, it was something else. I heard about it, and then I saw the video, and it freaked me. I'm not easily freaked. And the way I used the word, I was an ambassador for the word. The way I used the word, I was a part of it too. It became an equal-opportunity word. All the little white kids, all the little Latin kids, the Asians, the Mexicans, they were all using it. And it shouldn't be equal opportunity. Even though some people say "We use the n-a, not the n-e," it doesn't matter. A goat's a goat. Whether you sauté or barbeque it, it's still a goat. And there were layers to his breakdown, to Michael. I've known Michael for over 20 years. There were layers to it. This came out of Michael. Michael's a victim of America. There are a lot of white people who have this stuff inside them. It just takes the right situation to bring it out. White America should take responsibility for it like I'm taking responsibility for it. I'm not saying it. You have to say no to it. I was married to the word, I was the ambassador for the word and now I'm not saying it any more.

AVC: Didn't Richard Pryor stop using the word at some point as well?

PM: Yes, but when he said it, I couldn't see the n-word for the trees. Richard went to Africa. I hadn't been to Africa. He said he didn't see any N-words there, so when he got home, he said he wasn't going to say it any more. He was touched. Now I'm touched. You can't pick when you're touched. You can't pick the time. It just is. It's the reality. What it is, is. I can't change the past. I can only deal with the present and the future.

AVC: Why do you think the word continues to have such power?

PM: It's because of the way it came about. That's why. I understand why people don't want to give it up. It's like Richard's old joke: "Let me check my penis to make sure you haven't taken that."

AVC: Has it been difficult weaning yourself off the N-word? You used it very, very liberally in your last special.

PM: I'm backing off it now. I have to tell you a story. Whoopi Goldberg called me when all this was going on, and said, "Paul, you're the ambassador for the N-word, but I'm going to have to ask you for a week pass. I have to cuss some black folks out on Friday, but after that, I won't say it any more." That's a true story, and I gave her a pass because she asked for one. I haven't used it. I did a show with Dick Gregory in The Lincoln Theater in D.C. I've been doing shows, being onstage for two hours, two-and-a-half hours, and I haven't used it. I'm a creature of habit, and I have an N-word jones, but I've figured it out. If I ever have an N-word jones, I'll just say "Arnold Schwarzenegger." He is my governor.

AVC: You're strongly associated with Dave Chappelle, whose stand-up seems strongly influenced by your own. Would you describe yourself as a mentor to him?

PM: There are a lot of people I've influenced, a lot of people I've worked with. I've worked with the best, from Moms Mabley to Redd Foxx to Flip Wilson to Bill Cosby to Eddie Murphy to Richard Pryor to Sandra Bernhard to Robin Williams to Johnny Witherspoon… Chris Rock, Chris Tucker. I've worked with them all. The king of comedy is dead. Richard Pryor was the king of comedy. The rest of them are the king of copycats.

AVC: Were you at all angry at Chappelle for ending the show so abruptly?

PM: No. That's his show. That's not my show. They asked me to host some "lost tapes" or something. I told them no, If Dave doesn't approve it, I don't want to do it. You have to have some loyalty somewhere. That was his choice and his show. I wasn't angry about that. It was a smart move. It put him on the A-list. And then he went to Africa. He did what white people have been telling me to do for years: go to Africa. So that really caused controversy. And he turned down that money. That stressed people out. Millions. People in America worship money, and a white man's face on a green piece of paper does not make me wealthy. My health makes me wealthy. I used to work at a hospital, so I know the real deal.