#if that makes sense? but she will still be okay with mike and abby calling her vanessa

[murdaughter]

@goodjobsport said: "look at us, back where we started."

a sad, crooked smile crosses emily's lips. "we don't have to go in if you don't want to." the pizzeria looms over them, holding a different meaning to her now than she ever could have imagined. it had once been an oasis, then a place of decrepit memories, of fear and family and wistfulness and guilt. but now this is the place that she died. the place where her father killed her. she's alive, sure, but she hadn't been, for a few moments. that counts, she thinks. horribly, it makes her feel better. makes her one of his victims in a way that feels more real. like dying is a rite of passage, like she owes it to the kids, the other victims. and she does. when emily looks inside herself, she knows she does. "i just don't want to bring abby there if..." a deep breath shudders out of her. "if the kids are gone. and if--" she chokes back a wounded sound. when she speaks again, her voice is impossibly small. "if he's there."

it's a fear she rarely acknowledges. with the kids, it's a little easier. the thought of losing them had been painful, but with the pizzeria so completely out of reach, she'd had no hope of seeing them. emily has elected to believe they've been able to move on, to rest. she hopes so dearly that that's true, that they haven't had to be without her, that they aren't in pain. but if her father is there... her only hope is that he went with the suit. that his unfinished business is died to that damned thing and not the place itself.

the police–– the real police–– had been involved while she was comatose. mike had been the one to explain most of it to her; how with the revelations she'd provided about afton's crimes, a more thorough investigation had been carried out. the place was mostly cleared out, but the building still stood and technically belonged to her now. it's been months since the trial, all of which is a blur. it almost feels like everything must have happened to someone else–– not her, not emily, but vanessa. like someone she was in a past life.

standing here, though, it's all too real. back where we started. he isn't kidding.

[lucky-bucky-boy]

omg local baker who Mike has baking abbys bday cake but he has a crush on her ????

Oh my God this is so cute to me. I wanna run a coffee shop/mini bakery and this is just perfect and beautiful omg

I'm writing this with the idea that fnaf happened but didn't *happen* like no one died lmao

~~

Mike wasn't sure what to expect. At all.

It had been an incredibly tough year, each day somehow becoming more rough than the previous. From mom passing, to job hopping, to Aunt Jane trying to get the courts even more involved. Despite all that, he did his damndest to not let it affect Abby.

He knew in some aspects it was inevitable. A young child losing a parent was never easy; she heard his grumbling and arguments with Aunt Jane, the comments about not being able to pay Max, found papers he should have hidden a little better

But birthdays and holidays were sacred. That he made sure of.

So, against his pride and better judgement, he had asked Aunt Jane for a little help throwing Abby a birthday party. She was more than happy to, surprisingly, with the agreement they come up for Thanksgiving this year. And begrudgingly, he agreed.

That's how he ended up at the doorstep of a brick townhouse closer to the city, a paper in his hand with an address scrawled in his Aunt's too neat handwriting. She'd given him a list of stores and things and places and people to get everything from in order to throw a "proper birthday party."

He did a double take on the numbers and street address, making sure they matched and still slightly confused as to why he was at a person's house and not a store. With a shrug and a tired sigh, he knocked on the door, the scurrying of animals evident inside almost immediately followed by a "shush" as he heard another door shut before the one in front of him went to open.

He didn't know what to expect, and sure as hell didn't expect to have a girl a little younger than him open the door, an apron on and covered in flour. She looked almost frazzled for a moment before shutting the door behind her, eyes moving from the curious furry creatures to the man now in front of her.

"Hi, sorry," she sounded almost as tired and exasperated as he did, "been a busy day, and my lovely little fur-babies have been noisy."

She wiped her hands on her apron, "I - I don't think we've met before." Her eyebrows were scrunched, confusion etching into her features.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. I'm Mike. My uh- my Aunt Jane suggested you to me. Told me you make the best cakes and cupcakes and gave me your address to place an order."

He could see the cogs working in her brain as she tried to pin poin who he was talking about, "Oh! That's right, she gave me a call the other day to make sure I'd have the time. You need the order for next Saturday, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah, next Saturday at noon."

"Perfect, yes. Come in, we'll fill out the forms and get everything set. My pets are actually in the front room so you don't have to worry about them."

A cup of coffee, a curious conversation, and too many forms later, Mike felt like he was in a dream. The girl sitting across the table from him was captivating, a sense of excitement and passion he longed to have and admired. There was a sweetness to her, something he was sure he'd be able to taste in more ways than just her baking skills.

"Okay," her voice cut through his thoughts, "So, we're doing 24 cupcakes, half chocolate and half vanilla, then a 9 inch rounch cake with mint chocolate. And it's rainbow, fairy, unicorn, princess themed. Does that all sound right?"

He chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, sorry I couldn't give you more specifics. She's sort of all over the place and it's a surprise party."

"Oh no, don't worry. I'm going to have fun with this. Does she like glitter?"

He nodded again before taking a quick sip of his coffee. "Yeah, yeah. She loves glitter. Her favorite thing to do is draw as well."

"Perfect. Well, Mike, you're definitely more pleasant than your Aunt," she laughed softly, standing up and placing the form in a little file holder, "But don't tell her I said that. I'll send her the bill tomorrow. I hope Abby loves the cake."

Mike stood up, a tinge of disappointment that their interaction was coming to an end so soon. "I'm sure she will. She loves sweet." He sat his coffee cup in the sink. "So uh, when should I pick up the cake?"

"Oh! Don't worry about it. Jane invited me to the party so I'll just bring it all with me, I could use the networking with other parents so it works out."

His eyes widen some, lips twitching up into a small smile. "Okay, cool. I'll uh, I'll see you next week." He hesitated for a moment before grabbing a rogue napkin and the pen he was using to fill out the forms, quickly scribbling something onto it.

"Here," he handed her the napkin, "My number in case uh, in case you wanna talk more." He paused for a moment, watching her eyes scan the numbers, "For the uh. The cake. The party."

She giggled softly, looking at him as his features began to blush. "Yeah. For the cake and the party."

He chuckled anxiously, "Thanks again. I'll see you later." Mike let himself out before he could make himself even more embarrassed, standing on the porch for a moment after he closed the door behind him, unaware that the sweet baker was inside quietly squealing over the poorly written number.

[outlandish-dreamer]

hai ^u^ um i was wondering if you had any toddler / baby regressor vanessa headcanons from the fnaf movie ? :00 or anything about her hehe , i'm an introject of her and i've been looking for some stuff :33

I do actually!! She's been on my mind a lot recently, so here's what I have for her :D

(I'm probably going to include some of my other headcanons just because I feel like they fit here as well if that's okay!)

Baby Regressor! Vanessa

She's not quite sure what her age range is, though she does know it's pretty small. Mainly because it's before she can remember all the things that happened with her family, so with being pretty young at that state, it's between 0-3.

Very independent, "I can do it myself !!" I feel like she wouldn't really care about having a caregiver, like it's not something she thinks she needs, but won't say no if it happens.

Because of that, she has trouble letting her guard down around others when she's regressed (mainly Mike). Feeling that vulnerable around someone else reminds her of when she was a kid, so it's hard for her to trust that he won't do anything to her.

Dealing with the trauma of everything is hard on someone that's as small as she is. Her brain doesn't know how to process it all and it takes a toll on her both mentally and emotionally. Sometimes she just cries and doesn't know why, but aside from that, she's not really an explosive or overly emotional kid. Mainly a little bit more sensitive than anything.

Is a little nervous when it comes to him acting like a sort of parental/brother figure towards her. She hasn't experienced that in a long time and ever since she's worried it would turn out just like her relationship with her father. That she'll be rejected, taken advantage of, or forced to "grow up."

Mike, being the ever-patient guy he is, wishes he could get rid of those feelings for her. He'd never hurt Vanessa and despite how much she questions it, he still reassures her that he won't.

Will tag along with him anytime she can. He's pretty much the one person she trusts with this and will take up any chance to be around him. Since she's content to pretty much sit and sleep or watch, he doesn't mind.

He also gets much more protective over her when she's little. It could be something as small as seeing a bug in the house or crossing the street, but whatever it is, he's making sure she's alright. That's his baby and though he's still figuring it out, he'll do anything for her.

Very tired kiddo, but hates sleeping alone. She spends most nights (if they aren't with each other) on the phone with Mike or falling asleep together (which happens more often than the former.) And he, having a similar problem, is cool with it either way.

Has a plush bunny (and later on, all the other animatronics) that she keeps with her at all times. It's small enough to fit in her pocket, so she can bring it in to work whenever she's having a rough day.

While her skills aren't as good as they normally are, she still loves to draw with Abby when she feels old enough to. Most of the time they're just scribbles and she's proud of it either way.

S O many forts. It's not even funny. They're her favorite spot to be in and there's no stopping her and Abby from building them.

Speaking of which, it was difficult in the first place to tell Mike about her regression, and it was even more so when it came to Abby. She was a kid and Vanessa didn't expect her to understand it, plus she worried that it would freak her out. They didn't exactly say it was that, but they pretty much put in a way that made sense to Abby. And she didn't mind, she was actually happy to have someone to play with, even if it wasn't someone exactly her age.

She never had a ton of pet names growing up, so Mike takes advantage of that. Mainly variations of her name like "Nessa", and he calls her ones he finds silly or funny. Like "Peanut" or "Munchkin." He does have a favorite though and ends up calling her "Little Lady" most often.

Much more comfortable with PDA/touching in general when she's little. Even if it's just small, subtle things like holding each other's pinkies or holding hands. It helps her feel safer to know that someone else is there like "Hey, I got you." And it helps both her and Mike open up more to each other by doing it.

the DNI banner credit goes to @geekgirl-33, I hope it's okay that I used it!

[mrslankyman]

Where is my Mind?

Mike Schmidt x (fem) Reader

Mike walked into the busy mall. A usual Saturday. Everyone scurrying around trying to get to the store they wanted. The food court surprisingly wasn’t as busy. It was only 9 am though.

So he clocked in and got onto his shift. Which consisted of just walking around and making sure no one was stealing. The grey ‘Security’ button shirt was growing a little hot.

He wished for a day without the penetrating head ache he had. He feared when he walked by people they saw right through him. A tired and dead ended man. Fighting to keep his sister and fighting even harder to convince her he was alright.

Truth be told he was far from alright. Between the threat of a court case and the fact he was behind on rent he sure as hell wasn’t gonna catch a break anytime soon.

For some reason though he always had enough pocket change to visit the ice cream shop in the food court. So that’s where he headed.

Was it too early for ice cream? Maybe.

Walking through the food court he made his way to the ice cream shop. Spotting the girl who always had a smile on her face. It sickened him slightly at how happy she could be. Though in a way he liked her smile.

“Hello Mike. What will it be today?” That friendly voice cooed. She always had that happy ring in her tone. “Just plain vanilla. In a cup.” Mike answered pulling his wallet from his pocket. Flipping it open and going to get the cash out.

Meanwhile Y/N made the ice cream. Swirling the vanilla icecream into the cup. She’s seen Mike quite a lot. He always made his way over to get an ice cream. Everyday, every week. She wondered if he had a major sweet tooth or if he never got ice cream as a kid and now that he could he’d get it everyday. Either one sounded like Mike to her. Though she barley knew him.

“Here is your plain vanilla icecream in a cup.” She held out his sweet treat to him. As he held up the $2.20 to her. She took it and smiled. He always had exact change. It surprised her. Well it used too. Till he did it everyday.

“Food courts not so busy today.” Mike turned around to her. He was planning on leaving and just sitting at one of the tables. Eat his icecream and then slug around. “Yeah.” The man gave a look around before debating. He didn’t like talking to people.

“You ever thought about trying another flavor besides vanilla?” She asked so smoothly. So happily. So friendly. Why was she talking to him?

He looked at her. If his tired eyes didn’t make her realize he didn’t wanna talk his resting bitch face sure did.

She slowly looked away. She knew he didn’t talk much. He didn’t even chat with his work buddy much. Why would he talk to her?

She just longed to make a friend. Truth be told her and Mike were similar in that sense. She graduated high school, watched all her friends go off to some great career, and here she was. Working at an ice cream shop in a mall.

Here Mike was. Both parents dead and raising his little sister. Still holding onto the hope of revenging his dead brother. He didn’t have friends. None that knew him well at least.

“I think I’ll stick to vanilla.” Was all he said as he walked off.

Y/N stared off at him. He made his way to a table and sat down. Eating his icecream.

——

2 weeks

——

Perhaps it was the fact his Aunt decided to give a nasty call. Or how Max couldn’t baby sit that day. Abby was getting dressed to go with Mike to work.

His boss knew his position. So he reluctantly agreed. Abby was cheerful about getting to go. Mike was annoyed on the inside. He loved his sister but..

He only had enough pocket change for one icecream.

——

“Okay what flavor do you want Abby?” Mike asked looking down at her. She stared up at the menu of flavors. “Strawberry!” She gave a wide smile. The corner of Mikes lips raised as he saw her smile. She was the only thing he even cared about anymore.

“Go have a seat and I’ll get you it.” He instructed. She headed off to find a place to sit. Mike walked to the cash register to order.

“The usual today Mike?” Y/N asked in her normal happy tone.

“Ugh no, a strawberry.. cone today.” He said looking at her. Noticing the smile creep on her face he gave her a puzzled look.

“Something other than vanilla I see. Mixing it up a bit?” She giggled and grabbed a cone. Wondering what the change in flavor was for.

“No, it’s for my sister. I brought her with me today.” He answered slightly afraid. Even that small detail he thought would drive her away.

“Oh you have a sister! How nice.” She turned around with the cone in hand. “What’s her name?” She curiously asked as Mike paid. “Abby, she’s over there.” He hesitantly pointed at his sister. Who sat at a chair looking at Mike. She noticed his finger pointing at her so she waved. Giving a bright smile at the girl talking to her brother.

To her of course it seemed like the two were friends. Maybe even more. She always wondered what it would be like if her brother met someone. Would he be happier? She always noticed the way Mike looked after talking to people. They looked at him with disgust and he looked down with shame.

The only girl she saw him talk to was Max. Max didn’t seem to be his type. If he had one that is.

“Yeah I had to bring her today. Baby sitter canceled.” Mike turned back to the girl. After seeing Abby smile he couldn’t brush off this girl. He didn’t need his sister seeing that he had terrible social skills.

Though she already knew. Partly she did. She didn’t fully understand but she knew Mike had a hard time with things.

“Aw, you know. If you have to do stuff I can watch her. I get off in 30 minutes. Early day today.” She offered with a smile. That smile never left her face when she talked to him. He wasn’t used to this.

Should he let her in? Give her a chance to get to know him and his sister? She seemed nice. He’s talked to her for about 2 months now. Over icecream though..

“Okay.. yeah. That be nice.” He nodded. He regretted his decision already. She was excited to get to know Abby.

——

So it became routine. Well getting an ice cream for Abby did. Before Mike left his shift Y/N would bring over a strawberry cup of ice cream. For him to take home to Abby. He lived only 5 minutes away so he figured it wouldn’t be too melted.

She enjoyed the time with Abby. Learned a lot about her and a little about Mike. How he was reserved and Abby had never seen him talk to someone so much.

That made her blush slightly. Mike treated her differently than he did others?

Perhaps it was the longing for a friend. Or the fact Mike felt somewhat different when he was around her but sometimes he came by even when he wasn’t getting ice cream.

Except today.

Today was different. No Mike. At least not at the ice cream shop. Y/N would look around. Trying to catch a glimpse of the man. She would see him walking around the food court. He never looked over at her. Never even walked over.

Did she do something? The other day was fine. She tried to recall what could have made him him give the cold shoulder.

——

“You really think that vanilla is the best flavor? I’m telling you try something new.” She giggled as she handed Mike his vanilla cup. “I’m not so sure I wanna try something new.” He gave her a look. He was slowly opening up. Besides that basic resting angry face she got a quizzical look.

“Oh come on. Super Rue is good. It’s like hmm I don’t know I just know it’s good.” She leaned against the register a little. Giving a smile. She never saw Mike smile. She could never get it out of him.

“Yeah I’m sure it is.” Mike grabbed his wallet and went to give her the cash. She reached out. Her fingers brushed Mikes. She wouldn't think much of it. But this made her heart skip a beat. She looked at him for a second. He also looked at her. His eyes displaying a show of emotion he had never seen on his face. So it was hard for her to pin point what it was. She could tell it wasn’t bad.

Perhaps he just hadn’t touch someone’s hand before really. Must of been the case by the way his cheeks flared up and he awkwardly held his ice cream. She put the change in the register and Mike gave a curt good bye. She couldn’t even answer before he was off.

__

Though that wouldn’t give him a reason to give a cold shoulder.. would it?

It would. Mike went home that night and couldn’t stop the feeling he had in his stomach. Was it butterflies or was it the feeling of dread?

He couldn’t lie to him self. Talking to her everyday had made him feel something. Though it wasn’t that deep. Till his hand touched hers. In that moment his stomach did flips. His face grew red and he was afraid she’d see through him.

See the feelings he had pushed down. He didn’t wanna burden her with his life. She only served him ice cream everyday and smiled because that was her job. She didn’t really mean anything.

Sure she enjoyed hanging with Abby, enjoyed talking to him he assumed. She always tried to drag the conversation out. Perhaps that was her way of being friendly though.

Far from it. If he only knew how anti social she was outside of work. Even in work when any other customer came up she didn’t care to hold too long of a conversation with them. They just weren’t Mike.

So she sat their and waited her whole shift. Waiting for him to come by and ask for a plain vanilla cup.

He didn’t.

He wasted his whole shift trying to ignore her. He walked through the food court to get lunch. Forcing his eyes to not look over at the small ice cream shop. It was hard but. He needed to shove those feelings away.

He didn’t want her to see him. What would she think of him? That he was crazy? She’d likely judge him for his past and try to fix his future. He didn’t want fixing. He wanted someone to understand.

His mind isn’t some happy place. He was corroded with doubt and unforgettable memories. He wanted someone to understand those. While also being able to see him.

He never let anyone see him for that to happen though.

He was doomed to live in his mind and never get out.

——

1 week

——

Perhaps it was annoyance. Anger. Or the fear she was gonna lose Mike for good that Y/N clocked out of her shift right before the mall closed. And headed to securities small office. Where Mike had to clock out at. He couldn’t escape her this time.

Mike headed to the office. Opening the door and slipping inside. As he turned his eyes widened. Y/N stared at him. With that look. That look that everyone gives him. The angry, annoyed, and shameful look.

“Why have you been ignoring me?” Her words sliced through him like daggers. He never heard her use this time before.

He didn’t respond. He simply pushed past her and clocked out. He didn’t wanna talk. He didn’t wanna see her. He was afraid. Afraid he’d give him self away.

“Mike.” Her voice cut through his thoughts. Her hand grabbed his wrist. Those butterflies caught in his stomach. Her hands were warm..

He turned to her. His face giving nothing away. Though on the inside his head was racing a mile a minute this time it wasn’t from a head ache.

“Answer me.. please.” Her tone was soft, her eyes weren’t those angry annoyed ones anymore. They were sad. Sad. Something he’d seen before. Pity.

He didn’t want pity.

“I don’t need to tell you anything.” His cold answer made her frown. Sure he was standoffish. But this.. wasn’t the Mike she knew.

“Come on. You just stopped showing up one day and no matter when I try to call you over or say hi you just walk by. What is up?” He could see tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

Was she crying over him? This was new.. no one ever cared if he didn’t talk. No one cared if he didn’t reply. So why did she?

“Why do you care?” Was the only thing he could think of as a repose. Though truth be told he truly wanted to know why she cared.

“Because..” was that it? Because? No good reason? He should just go. She just wanted to pity him. He wasn’t special. He should’ve known-

“Because we’re friends aren’t we?” Those friends. That one word. Friends? Didn’t she know what she was doing to him? To just be friends.

“Friends?” He asked looking at her. Her hand on his wrist moved to his actual hand. She held his.

That electric feeling coursed through his body. His face turned red. She was going to see through him if she didn’t leave.

“You’re my friend Mike.. aren’t you?” She asked her voice so soft.. so inviting.

“I don’t know..” he said closing his eyes. Hiding him self in the darkness of his closed eyelids.

“Look at me.” She said luring him to open his eyes.

“I’m afraid..” he squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.

“Afraid of what?” She stepped closer to him. Wanting to understand him.

“Myself.. you.. everything.” Not as direct as she hoped but she understood.

“I get it..but Mike you don’t have to be afraid to me.” She put her hand on his cheek. This made his eyes open. He looked at her. His face red, his eyes had that look.. of longing. Her touch made him feel something he had never felt before.

“Are you afraid of me?” He asked her quietly.

“No Mike.. I’m not afraid of you. I’ll never be afraid of you. The only thing I’m afraid of is vanilla being the only flavor ice cream you like.” She offered that light hearted joke and for the first time in for ever. She made him smile. A real smile. His lips curled up and his teeth shown through.

“I love your smile.”

He wasn’t afraid anymore. How could he be? This girl made him smile. Not some half assed smile he’d give to please someone.. a real smile.

So maybe she’d love his mind too.

[lopsicle]

I’m going to rant about this because I need someone to rant about this too.

The Fnaf movie did Cassidy so dirty.

First of all, they decided to turn her into a boy for seemingly no reason other then it’s easier to understand who possesses who, but I think it would still be clear to have a girl possessing a male animatronic, audiences are gonna get that. It also helps prove that Fnaf really cannot write female characters, Charlie was fucked over in the book series, Vanessa’s entire character revolves around breaking free from Glitchtrap which is a plot point we were somehow still on in Help Wanted 2, and Cassidy is criminally underutilised. Elizabeth and Baby are the only solid written characters, and even then Baby is fucked over by the books. They do have some okay characters, like Cassie, Abby and Movie Vanessa but even then, they’re either under-utilised and we don’t know much about them, or their stories aren’t finished yet so it’s hard to comment on them.

Second of all, adding onto the point of characters being under-utilised, where was Cassidy for the whole film? She is the one of the most important spirits of the entire franchise and in the film, he is the one to communicate with Mike but he’s never part of the group. Same with Fritz honestly, those two are excluded for seemingly no reason but Cassidy wasn’t even there for William’s death. Sure, he stood in the doorway in the movie but in the games, she was directly responsible for springlocking him and they couldn’t even let her have that, they gave it to the cupcake.

And third of all, why the fuck did she try to kill Abby? I get that the movie had the whole plot point of the spirits not knowing William had killed them but even then, Cassidy is an incredibly vengeful spirit. She knows what’s it like to have her life ripped away from her so carelessly and cruelly and she’s yet a-fucking-okay with trying to springlock Abby. Just comparing movie Cassidy to game Cassidy shows just how awful movie Cassidy’s character writing is.

Cassidy shows up, he talks with Mike and says he’s going to kill his sister, shows up at Abby’s house, kills her aunt, lures her to the restaurant, attempts to springlock her which is just an agonising death, isn’t there for killing William and just stares at him.

Now if we compare this to the Cassidy in the games, she was most likely killed via springlock failure caused by William, yet still tried to help his family. She actively spoke with the Crying Child and Michael, showing she’s not just blinded by revenge, she was a genuinely kind person. Her being the one to springlock William makes so much sense narratively because it was the same way he killed her, and makes the moment so much more impactful. From then, she helps to put the Crying Child to rest and presumably the rest of the Missing Children, in some theories about the lore, she even communicated with Henry and helped him. And of course, she is the one who sets up UCN to torture her killer, making him live through every mistake of his life. But this doesn’t allow her to rest, or anyone else and we can interpret that she let him go due to the story, ‘The Man in Room 1280,’ where William’s corpse explodes, implying he was set free and the cutscene where Cassidy faded into the dark. AND EVEN THEN, the Princess from Princess Quest is called ‘Cassidy’ in the files, showing that she is still here and trying to help Vanessa because she is a good person.

Movie Cassidy is none of these things and only served to make Cassidy even more unknown as a character. She is so misused by the games, by the franchise and deserves better because she is my favourite and deserves a proper character after everything she has done.

Also obviously, don’t send hate to the actor of movie Cassidy, he’s like nine

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

FNAF Movie Theory: William Afton Is The Blonde Ghost Boy's Puppet

[Note: Mature Readers Only and if you haven't watched the FNAF Movie, don't read this until after you watch it first.]

the original title for this was "FNAF Movie Theory: Garret Is The Crying Child & Blonde Boy Is Vanessa's Brother" but the whole William Afton is that Blonde Ghost Boy's Puppet seems to work better, even if I end up talking about the whole Blonde Boy being Vanessa's brother first along with Garret being the Crying Child of the Movie...

okay, as weird as it might be and now everyone has to agree about this theory...but I think Garret in the FNAF Movie, might be the Crying Child, and the Blonde Boy could be William "Billy" Afton Jr. for all we know.

is it strange for me not to view William Afton in the movie as being like a counterpart of the one from the video games, that ends up in that room and try to hide in a Spring Bonnie suit from those Ghost Kids....and it being the same room that looked like it has three arcade games, which could be Princess Quests.

and the William Afton that ends up trying to hide in the Spring Bonnie Suit, is William Afton II the son of the true man behind the missing children incident, William Afton Sr.

the blonde boy who is in the movie, and who does the speaking unlike the other children, there is something suspicious about him.

like it turning out he is the one who took Garret's life, in the same way The Crying Child's Brother and his Friends did by accident in the mini-game.

the reason why Garret could of been kidnap in the woods, by William Afton Sr. could be because he was to replace the son he lost.

and just like the Original Crying Child from the game, Garret ends up meeting the same fate, but by just the Blonde Boy who I'm still gonna call Billy for now...

Vanessa might of been his sister, who can't remember having a brother because she has blocked most of her memories of her having a brother and what he did to their youngest adoptive sibling...

even if children are normally innocent, the Blonde Boy aka "Billy" could be a acceptation.

even if the whole Blonde Boy who controls Golden Freddy turns out to not be William Afton Sr.'s Son...

it could still turn out he played a part in manipulating the other children and even William Afton in the movie.

it might be possible even at close to the end of the movie, it is hinted that William Afton is not the true mastermind and he was being controlled by that Blonde Ghost Boy who is the one who had took the lives of those children in the movie and had made William Afton do it.

why else would the Golden Freddy not go into the Pizzeria with Abby...?

because he had to go get William Afton and have him put on the Spring Bonnie Suit and make him go to the Pizzeria to stop Mike from trying to stop Abby from becoming like the rest of the children.

William Afton is a Puppet and being controlled and the reason why the children that control Freddy and the others may not be truly at rest, because that Blonde Ghost Boy is still around and even if William wants help from him because of the pain he is in, the boy only has this dark and uncaring look, possibly almost emotionless as he closes the door and leaves William Afton, and possibly tries to use Vanessa as his next puppet.

I don't know if I'm the only one who has become suspicious of that ghost boy, and it being possible he has been manipulating the other children this whole time as well as using William Afton as a Puppet...

the only ghost child that speaks and acts as a type of leader of the group, is the blonde boy who uses illusion on Mike when he makes him see the family he lost but the love for the family he still has left that is Abby, brings him back to his senses.

it isn't even Mike's Mom, Dad or Brother that is truly speaking in that dream and illusion, it's all the Blonde Boy Ghost's doing.

he likely looked into Mike's memories and used his powers to make it seem they be for Mike giving Abby to the Ghost Children.

the Ghost Children that control Freddy, Chica, Bonnie and Foxy are being manipulated, and so the Blonde Boy Ghost likely talked the Ghost Child that controls Freddy, into luring Max into that room.

they should of kept the dog in the movie, maybe the dog could of tried to keep Max from going inside the pizzeria...

the dog could end up being adopted by Mike and Abby in the end.

and yeah, the blonde boy who controls Golden Freddy being a evil child and having used William Afton as a puppet would be a interesting plot twist for a future FNAF Movie

and the Golden Fredbear that the Blonde Ghost Boy has control of, was likely there before Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy...

so the blonde boy was likely the first before the other children, possibly a year or months before the other children go missing.

but the movie tricks you into believing the blonde ghost boy had lost his life around the same day as the other children.

and the imaginary friend of Abby's is possibly Garret or maybe even Charlie.

even if it turns out that ghost boy isn't a Afton, he could still end up being the true villain who uses Afton like a Puppet to get more playmates, and if Mike didn't take Abby to work, then that Blonde Ghost Boy wouldn't of found out about Abby from the other ghost children who do care about Abby.

and it's possible even they can be controlled by the one who controls Golden Freddy, even if they may still have a bit of free will, but it's possible those children weren't for the plan to turn Abby into one of them when that blonde boy mentions it so he had to take control of them to make them turn Abby into one of them.

plus the blonde boy might not be working alone, and there is two ghost children that has control of Golden Freddy.

the blonde boy goes to get William Afton, while the other stays to make sure to control the other children and make them turn Abby into one of them.

not everyone has to agree about the theories in this.

but I'm still gonna view that ghost blonde boy as the true manipulator who not only used William Afton as a puppet but also the other children as well.

so no matter how many times I end up watching that FNAF Movie, I'm still gonna find that Blonde Ghost Boy who controls Golden Freddy as very suspicious and hiding a very dark secret.

and yeah the theory would also mean that the William Afton is technically the scapegoat for that blonde ghost boy, even if the ghost boy made William Afton take lives with his own hands, even if he was being controlled like a puppet for that Blonde Ghost Boy who we don't really know the name of but it might not be Cassidy, even if the name is gender neutral, because the chance of it being Cassidy is very small and it could turn out the Blonde Ghost Boy could have a different name, which maybe we will learn in a future FNAF Movie.

[vampiresbloodx]

I'll never leave your side, ever.

Vanessa (fnaf) x Reader.

Word count: 1,327

Trigger warnings: angst, stab wounds, hospitals, fake relationships (hehe), fluff fluff FLUFF. Mutual pinning, yearning so much YEARNING. SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR THE FNAF MOVIE!.

A/n: here's part two of everybody knows I'm a good girl, Sheriff. Please go read part one before reading this or none of it would make sense <3 might make this into a mini fun series, cuz I love Vanessa sm.

The first time you saw Vanessa in the hospital with a breathing mask around her, you almost threw up. 

It reminded you of seeing your mother in the hospital and you hated it. Even if she wasn’t the best mum, she was still your mother. 

The nurse surprisingly enough had let you come in at least every single day that you could, knowing that Mike, the dude you had met who carried Vanessa out of there (thank god) and managed to get some help before it was too late. The doctors said it could have been worse, but the stab wound wasn’t too fatal to be fixed, the only issue is that she just hasn’t woken up yet. 

It has only been awake, you couldn’t even sleep right at your home knowing the state Vanessa was in, so you just somehow convinced the workers to let you stay in her room to look over her while she’s unconscious and be there for when she wakes up.

Mike comes to visit, with his little sister that you met called Abby, she was nice and seemed to like Vanessa a lot, you didn’t know how good she was with kids, it only made sense, she was a ray of sunshine after all. 

But you just couldn’t wrap your head around one thing, why was Vanessa stabbed in the first place? And what the hell was she doing at Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria?.

In all the conversations you’ve had with the blonde, from late night talks to tipsy talks at the bar, to small convos in her car on the way home, she has never once brought up that place. 

You remember hearing about it when you were a kid, from those in your classroom who would brag about how cool it was that they were going to it for their birthday, your family never had the money to do those kinds of things, big parties, you were always jealous of them. 

But maybe it might have been a good thing you’ve never stepped foot in that restaurant before.

You just don’t know what type of connection Vanessa has to that place. Mike wouldn’t even tell you or even bring it up, neither would his sister, they looked rough, what could have gone down in that place that had left them so messed up like that? You didn’t even know if you wanted to find out or stay oblivious. 

There was a soft knock coming from Vanessa’s door as you looked up, seeing a nurse standing there with papers in her hand and a glass of what you assumed was water. 

“Mx. Shelly?” she said, walking into the room, “I thought you might be thirsty, here, drink, this must be a rough time for you, I’m sorry.” 

Oh yeah, another thing. In order for you to be able to get let in to even see Vanessa, you had to fake that you were her wife, of course, it worked, they weren’t assholes about it which was good. 

You took the cup of water, taking a sip, you didn’t realize how dry your throat was. 

“Thanks” you smiled. 

She nods, giving you a sympathetic smile. 

“Sorry if I seem like I’m being nosy, stop me if I am” she chuckled nervously, “I just didn’t expect Sheriff Vanessa to be in a relationship, let alone married.” 

“I understand the confusion, well, we had to keep it a secret, to ourselves, you know? Not everyone is accepting of same sex relationships.” 

She nodded. 

“I get that. I also um have a girlfriend myself.” 

“Oh?” this catches your attention. 

“Yeah!” she beams, “she also works here. She’s great.” 

“I’m happy for you.” 

She looked between you and Vanessa in her bed, still sound asleep. 

“Anyway, I’ll let you two be alone, let me know if you need anything, okay?.” 

“Will do.” 

Once she left, you reached out to grab Vanessa’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. 

“Please wake up soon. Don’t leave me.”

–

Two weeks have passed. 

You didn’t even try to ask Mike any more questions of what happened that day Vanessa was hurt. 

All you cared about was seeing her awake again. 

And hopefully she can quit her stupid job. 

Or at least take a break.

You knew how stubborn she was though. 

But you’ll take your chance. 

It was close to 3AM when you woke up, hearing a mumble, a groan, you couldn’t really tell what it was, if you were hearing stuff. But then you saw it, no, felt it. 

Vanessa was awake. 

She was alive. 

Her hand twitched in your hold as you gasped, getting up from your chair as your eyes met hers, she seemed to be struggling on getting her words out, but you took off the mask, shouting for the other nurses that worked nightshift to come and help. 

God she was alive. 

And you couldn’t be happier. 

“Vanessa? Vanessa? Hey, it’s me” you said, trying to sooth her panic as her heart rate had picked up on the monitor, the nurses were doing their procedure, you just let them do whatever they had to do. You were just relieved to see Vanessa and her eyes open, staring at you. 

She grabbed your hand, after the nurse made her drink some water, she pulled you in closer.

“Is Abby okay?” she asked, of course, the first thing she talks about is if anyone is alright, even if she was in the hospital. 

You chuckled. 

“Yes, Abby, she’s okay.” 

She breathed a sigh of relief. 

Vanessa looked exhausted, leaning back down on her bed as she grabbed another cup of water. 

You had so many questions that you wanted to answer, but you knew you could wait. 

“How did they even let you stay here? Isn’t it family only or a spouse?” Vanessa asked, raising an eyebrow at you when she saw you look away from her gaze. 

“Um well, I sort of told them I was your wife.” 

“You what?” she let out a laugh, but then groaned out in pain and stopped as she gripped at her stomach. 

“I can’t believe you did that.” She said with an amused smile, shaking her head. 

“You’re not mad at me?” you asked. 

“Why would I be?.” 

“Because I haven’t even taken you out on a date yet and now the whole hospital thinks we are married,” you teased. 

She chuckled. 

“Oh really? You wanna take me out?” she asked, a blush forming on her cheeks.

“Yes, I really do.” 

She grabbed your hands again, bringing them to her lips as you watched her press a kiss to your knuckles, you shivered under her touch. Wanting more. 

“I’ll keep you to that.” 

–

Another few days passed and you never not once left the blonde’s side, not even when she insisted you go home and get sleep in a proper bed, you argued against that. 

She found out there was no arguing with you when you were set on something, it seems like you two had a lot in common. 

But Vanessa knew she had to come to truth about what really went down at the restaurant, that got here in this bad state in the first place, she just wasn’t sure how to even begin, how to word it right, how you’d react, but she cared about you, liked you a lot, and you liked her back, it was clear you weren’t going anywhere anytime soon, even with how tired you looked from the lack of sleep, Vanessa saw how much you worried about her, it made her heart swoon. She loved that feeling. It was rare that she ever got this close to someone or let anyone be close to her.

Eventually she will tell you, who she is, why she was stabbed, who mike and abby was, but for now, she wanted to just be with you, the only place in the world where she felt safe.

[somerandomdutchfangirl]

Okay so i have calmed down a bit (that is a lie) (i have not) (in the slightest) (but i need to vent some thoughts and this is the place i'm doing that in so y'all can suffer with me 🥰)

This is probably not going to make much sense so. You've been warned for random tangents and unorganized thoughts

Since i'm gonna be talking about the movie (obviously) there's gonna be spoilers under the readmore!

(I am so normal about this movie) (i really am not)

Okay so set design? The animatronics??? 100/10 the animatronics look kinda soft ish i get why abby would hug them so much.

(Also is it abby or abbey?? I've been looking at the subtitles for nearly 2 hours i feel like i should know how to spell her name by now but alas i dont 😭 so if i write it wrong; no i didn't)

I also know i probably would be terrified as a kid but that might just be because i'm european and we don't have restuarants with animatronics here (at least not in the places i've been to). A n y w a y

Got some genuine scares out of the balloon boy jumpscares, still hate his guts tho <3 10/10 mike turning that mf around the second he sees him is such a mood

The animatronic killing screens, while mostly off-screen were amazing. Max's death,,, holy shit. Me and a friend went "was that the bite of '87" in unison lmaoo

Also. Matthew patrick is a bitch ass motherfucker liar. Me and my friends were theorizinf in the car back already bc my friend swears up and down golden freddy/cassidy was in the movie but my other friend was like "but he's stuck in suit mode in the games???" Save to say the movie differentiates from the games a bit lmao

Speakinf of- Vanessa being William's daughter. I did see that one coming, Vanessa acted incredibly sus and cagey with her knowledge so yeah. Dunno how i like it yet, i'd also have lived for the family drama of William being Mike, Garret and Abbey's dad but that wouldnt make sense with the kidnapping plot.

ALSO THE FUCKINF. THEME MUSIC?? Whatever it's called that played with the title card. It's such a bop, it's my new favourite song and it's gonna be stuck in my head for weeks (positive)

The springtrap scene? Amazing. Some friends were talking about wantinf more screams but honestly? Being in so much physical pain you cannot scream anymore? Is so much better in my opinion. And the little movements afterwards? Like the shaking, i forgot what it's called- phenomenal.

And like with the first deaths of Max and her gang i was like "wait how did Mike not notice the blood/bodies?? How are the animatronics spotless?" Got explained with Vanessa being in on the plot. I was legit afraid Abbey would be scarred for life. Also how did they clean up the aunt situation? Since i'm assuming she's hella dead. How did mike handle that. Did mike even handle that?? Also the poor lawyer man 😭😭 give that man a hug and a raise, jesus christ

Bro i swear the cinema had a collective "OH MYGOD YES, YESSS" moment when The Living Tombstone came on. Like come on

I probably still missed a lot and might have made some mistakes on some of these and i dont even know if this makes any sense but hey! All i know is i had a good time, the movie is amazing and my autism is autism-ing at catasprophic levels dkwmfkemdk

I JUST WENT TO THE FNAF MOVIE WITH SOME FRIENDS AND

HOLY SHIT

The autism is definitely autism-ing

Like

AAAAAAAAAAAA

[staceymcgillicuddy]

okay wait also before i go to bed: babysitters club au please. bonus points for including at least one ridiculous outfit description here. triple bonus if the outfit includes a jaunty beret with like a sequined tiger appearing to leap from chrissy's forehead at some point. (sorry for plagiarizing u, ann m. martin. probably.)

YES EXCELLENT. OKAY. My brain immediately went to mapping the characters onto their BSC counterparts and then this happened.

Nancy Wheeler as Kristin Amanda Thomas. I will not be taking comments at this time.

Chrissy as Mary-Anne Spier. HEAR ME OUT, because I know Chrissy is aesthetically the Stacey BUT Mary-Anne is quiet and reserved until you piss her off and then she turns into Little Miss I Love Myself and gets sassy haircuts and is the only member of the BSC with a boyfriend AND if she's Mary Anne I can kill off Laura.

For Claudia Lynn Kishi, I'm going back and forth on El or Will, because El has a very unique sense of fashion, and would probably do well with some of Claudia's canonical outfits, while Will is a talented artist who probably needs his own phone line since he keeps breaking his mother's when he calls her from the Upside Down.

Argyle as Dawn Read Schafer because he has long hair and is from California and some people find him annoying but I like him.

Steve as Anastasia "Stacey" Elizabeth "Boontsie" McGill because if he was from New York City he'd probably talk a lot about being from New York City. Also he probably has the nickname Boontsie.

Barb as Mallory Pike because Mallory is a horse girl and Barb gives me big horse girl energy. (Also lol that Mallory doesn't have a middle name? I guess her parents forgot? I don't really care for Mallory.)

Max as Jessi Davis Ramsey because nobody on Stranger Things is canonically a dancer BUT Jessi was cool and precocious and hung out with older kids while being suave, just like Max.

Erica as Shannon Louisa Kilbourne because she gets. shit. done. and you can't spell America without Erica. Seriously, though, Shannon was a high-achieving mfer with no patience for fools.

Eddie as Logan Bruno SIMPLY for Mary Anne proximity but also because I think making Logan a metalhead would be the most interesting thing that anyone ever did for Logan's character.

Robin as Abby Stevenson because she showed up late in the series, stole my heart, and is definitely a lesbian. Abby also doesn't have a middle name, so that's fun.

This leaves me with Lucas, Mike, Jonathan, and Dustin if I'm doing main cast. SORRY, KIDS. Let's see how many "other" characters I remember from Stoneybrook.

Lucas as Sam Thomas because Sam seemed cool and was kind of a jock but still had time to flirt inappropriately with Stacey, but in this universe we'll say it's APPROPRIATE flirting with Max-as-Jessi and Lucas-as-Sam is 11 not 15.

Mike as Trevor Sandbourne because IIRC Trevor dated Claudia for a while which works if you are a Byler OR a Mileven shipper, which probably says a lot about why both those ships are fun!

Jonathan as Bart Taylor because of the Nancy proximity, only instead of coaching a kid's softball team, he takes pictures for the yearbook and Nancy, in addition to running the BSC, a softball team, solving 70 mysteries, and going on many trips around the world in various Super Specials, is also the editor of the yearbook.

Dustin as Janine Kishi simply because Janine was a geek who liked computers and shit, and Dustin enjoys such things. I'm sorry, Dustin! The BSC did not have as many nerd tropes as I needed!

Bonus:

Angela as Cokie Mason because fuck her

Jason as Alan Gray because Alan is the closest thing the series has to a real dick

Billy as Robert Brewster (if you're into Harringrove and subscribe to my Steve-as-Stacey theory) because they dated.

Anyway, this took FAR longer than it should have and I am like 30% proud of it. Please be gentle.

[talesfromthesnogbox]

A Love Story in 10 Parts

Summary: After Eddie and Richie fell in love, how did they not see their daughter falling for her best friend? 

“They’re taking bets on when Sam and Maggie are gonna get together.” Bill piped up, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Stan spluttered. “Excuse me?” 

“I have to say man, your kid is a real Cassanova.” Mike raised his eyebrows watching the two sway.

Word Count: 7,974

Notes: This is a continuation of "Richie Tozier and the Birth of His Child". You don't have to read it to know what's happening, but there's a few nods back to it! The fic is the brainchild of my headcanon "what if Reddie's kid fell in love with Stanpat's kid?" Anyways, I've plopped in two references to two of my favourite mid-2000's movies, 10 points if you can find them! Enjoy!

Tagging: @richietoaster

AO3

A Love Story in 10 Parts

I

The house was clean, the fridge was stocked, and six month old Maggie was nearing the end of her nap. Perfect timing as her aunts and uncles of the Losers club were finally coming down for a late baby shower.

“Hey Eds, you have the dip—”

“For the veggie platter? Still in the fridge.”

“And the wine—”

“Shiraz is on the counter, Moscato is in the fridge chilling. There’s some beer and cider chilling as well.”

Richie nodded, taking stock of the kitchen, pristine for the first time since Maggie’s arrival.

“Good, good. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?”

Eddie chuckled. “Well the guest of honour is getting her beauty rest.”

Richie grinned. “Right, can’t forget her. No, I’m forgetting something that’s right under my nose… or rather it will be in a second.” He leaned down to kiss his fiancée. “Can’t forget to tell you how much I love you before the others get here.”

Eddie frowned. “You’re gross.” He muttered just before the doorbell rang.

“But you love it!” Richie called out in a sing-song voice, rushing to let his friends in.

Unsurprisingly, it was Stan and his little family to arrive first.

“Stan the man! Welcome dude, come on in guys.” He caught little Sam’s eye, but the boy quickly shied away.

“Hey Sammy, do you remember who that is? It’s Richie!” Patty asked, brushing the boy’s hair back.

“Chee.” The boy whispered, sending Richie into a fit of giggles.

“Oh my god he’s huge! How’s it going little buddy?” Richie waggled his finger in front of the 18 month old’s face.

“You know, ever the explorer. Just like his mum.” Stan said waltzing into Richie and Eddie’s house. “Where’s the little princess?”

Eddie chuckled as Stan mocked Richie. Ever since Maggie was born, Richie had become so attached to her. He’d taken to calling her his “little princess” in their group chat. None of the other Losers quite understood it, not even Eddie really, but it was entirely endearing to watch how enamored he was with his daughter.

“Just you wait till you have a girl Staniel, then you’ll get it.”

“I somehow doubt I will.”

Richie ran off to collect Maggie, and when he came down, he had a full house.

“Wow, you all showed up on time!”

The Losers chattered and giggled, all catching up with the others, passing Maggie around.

The infant was already in love with Beverly, of course, being her biological mother, but she was also quite taken with Mike. Eddie had to admit, the man had a gift with children.

While Mike held Maggie, Bill couldn’t help but notice that Sam had become rather interested in the little girl.

“Mama,” he whispered, “baby.”

“That’s right sweetheart. Would you like to see the baby?” Sam nodded and turned on his mother’s lap to face Mike.

Mike turned Maggie, and the moment her eye caught Sam’s, a wide smile took over her face.

Bill chuckled at the two youngest Losers as he looked between them. “How did she somehow make Trashmouth’s smile adorable? I just don’t get how she’s Richie’s kid and so cute.”

“Looks like someone else thinks she’s cute too.” Mike said glancing pointedly at Sam.

“Aww, Sammy’s got a crush!”

Richie scoffed. “Please, I will not tolerate any heteronormativity in this house. He’s not even two.”

Stan rolled his eyes, while Patty let out a snort.

 II

 Two and a half years went by, and the Toziers were finally tying the knot.

The day had come, and everything was perfect. Both Eddie and Richie had custom suits made by the one and only Beverly Marsh-Hanscom, and little Maggie even got her own Marsh Original. She couldn’t stop twirling in her little white flower girl’s dress, looking back in the mirror every time she caught a glimpse of the oversized bow fastened to her back.

“Why do you have flowers?” Sam, now four years old, asked her, poking her arm.

“Because I’m the flower girl. I have to put out the flowers so Papa can find Daddy at the end of the aisle.”

“Well why do I have to carry rings? What if I want to carry flowers?”

“Because you’re the ring bear. You have an important job.”

“Why is it a ring bear?” Sam asked, playing with the flower crown on Maggie’s head.

“I don’t know, I don’t make the rules.”

The girl turned around when she heard a gasp coming from behind her. “Wow sweetheart.”

“Papa!” Maggie squealed, running into Eddie’s arms.

“You look like a princess.” He kissed her forehead. “Have you gone to see Daddy yet?” She shook her head no. “Well you should go see him before it’s time to start.” Eddie put her down and watched her run off in her little tulle skirt towards the other little room across the hall where Richie was.

“Daddy!” She ran right into Richie, hugging his leg.

“Hey my little princess, let me take a good look at you.” Maggie flashed a signature Tozier smile up at her dad, and it brought tears to his eyes. “Wow, look at how beautiful my little baby is.” He picked her up and the tears started falling.

“Oh my god Trashmouth, don’t tell me you’re crying again.” Bev walked up to Richie, pressing a kiss to Maggie’s cheek and handing him a handkerchief.

“Daddy, don’t cry, why are you sad?”

He sniffed. “I’m not sad baby, I’m happy, these are happy tears.”

“Dry your eyes bridezilla, the ceremony is gonna start in a few minutes.”

Richie gave Maggie one last kiss on the cheek and she ran to meet Sam again in the hallway.

The music started, and the crowed “aww’d” as the two walked down the aisle. Maggie, being an absolute ham, smiled with her rosy cheeks dropping rose petals in her path until her and Sam reached the end of the aisle.

There wasn’t a dry eye at the ceremony as Eddie walked down the aisle towards Richie. Richie’s parents held onto Maggie’s hand tight, but as Eddie began to approach the altar, she let out a wail.

“Maggie?” Both Eddie and Richie looked her way to see the girl sniffling, her shoulders moving, but no tears falling.

“Maggie are you okay baby?” Richie bent down to caress her face.

“Yeah Daddy, I’m happy crying!” the congregation laughed, and Richie kissed her cheek before rejoining his groom at the altar.

The ceremony was short and sweet, and Eddie came by to pick up Maggie in his arms before walking back down the aisle with his new husband. The little girl smiled as she saw her basket of rose petals left behind for Sam on her chair.

Photos followed the ceremony, and just as Richie had suspected, Maggie was totally in her element. She was a Tozier through and through, dramatic, witty, and absolutely adored being the center of attention. She listened to everything the photographer said, even didn’t complain when Sam left a wet kiss on her rosy cheek in one of the snaps.

Sam’s favourite part of the day came a little later… the dancing. This was both Maggie and Sam’s first wedding, and neither child had experienced the joy of an open dance floor.

Sam pulled her into a slow sway as Richie and Eddie took to the floor for their first dance, and as much as the Losers wanted to watch Richie and Eddie finally get their happy ever after (and their shit together, it took them entirely too long to come to their senses about how they felt towards each other), they couldn’t take their eyes off the two kids on the dance floor.

“Something tells me this is foreshadowing for the future.” Mike whispered to Bill, Ben and Bev.

“You think?” Bill took a sip of his beer.

The four of them watched intently as Maggie rested her cheek on Sam’s shoulder.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Ben laughed.

“But if she’s anything like her dads, and her godfather, she’ll be sixty before she says anything to him.” Bev poked Ben’s side.

Ben glowered at his wife. “They won’t end up like those two idiots. Stan had a ring on Patty’s finger before they even finished college.”

“What did I do now?” Stan and a mildly pregnant Patty took their seats at the table.

“They’re taking bets on when Sam and Maggie are gonna get together.” Bill piped up, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Stan spluttered. “Excuse me?”

“I have to say man, your kid is a real Cassanova.” Mike raised his eyebrows watching the two sway.

“Alright, I’m gonna need another drink.”

 III

 Stan, Patty, Sam and their youngest Abigail had all moved down to Santa Monica shortly after the Tozier wedding. Maggie loved showing her best friend Sam (and new friend Abby) all the fun things they could do at the beach.

Now that Maggie and Sam were older, about to start 9th and 10th grade, all the adults agreed the beach was great for their independence, especially since Richie and Eddie had just bought a big house that backed onto it. The teens could have their privacy, and Eddie could make sure they were safe without hovering too much.

Usually Maggie was the first to get the door when she knew Sam was coming over, but today, it was Eddie that answered.

“Hey Sammy, I think Mags is sitting out on the deck.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks Eddie.” The boy wandered through the house and out the backdoor to find his friend with her head in her hands.

“Maggie?”

“Don’t look at me, I’m hideous!”

Sam frowned. Maggie wasn’t hideous; sure he teased her about the size of her teeth, and her unruly brown hair, but she was fourteen and in her awkward stage… and far from hideous in his humble opinion. He and his family had gone to visit his grandparents in Maine for the month of July, and he was anxious to see her and catch up. He’d really missed his friend, awkward stage and all. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She turned to him with tears in her eyes, tears that had been obscured by a pair of tortoise-shell glasses.

“Hey, you got glasses!” He rubbed her shoulder. “They look good.”

“No, they don’t! I look like such a freak.”

“Oh come on, wearing glasses doesn’t make you a freak, your dad wears glasses.”

She looked up to him, shooting daggers through her eyes.

“Okay, you have a point, your dad is kind of a freak. But hey, who called you a freak?”

“N-nobody.”

Sam’s heart broke at how quiet the stuttered word was. “Seriously Mags, who called you a freak?”

She was silent for a moment. “Liam Donahue.”

Liam. I’m gonna kick his ass. Sam thought, seeing red. He lived down the street from Sam and Maggie, and in summers past, he’d hung out with the two of them. He’d all but disappear once the school year started up again, but neither of them really cared, they just liked having people their age to hang around with on their break. “W-what happened?”

“Well I asked him this morning if he wanted to grab lunch with me after my appointment, and he said yes. But when I met up with him at the diner, he… he…”

Sam pushed her hair away from her face. “What’d he say Mags?”

“He laughed in my face. Told me I looked like a four-eyed freak. I guess one of the girls from the soccer team told him I had a crush on him a-and he got spooked.” She sniffed, rubbing her eyes under her glasses.

“What an asshole.” Sam shook his head. Why couldn’t Liam see what a great girl Maggie was? She was smart, unapologetically herself, witty, absolutely adorable… he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t have a slight crush on his best friend. “You’re not a freak Maggie, you’re my best friend. Don’t listen to Liam and those other dickheads, you’re way too good for him.”

“Really?”

“I promise. Now come on, I think I saw your dad brought stuff home for s’mores.”

 IV

 The conversation Richie had overheard about that jackass Liam Donahue was now years behind them, and the Tozier couple was now leaving their daughter behind at Berkeley. The first hour of their five-hour drive back to Santa Monica was quiet, but as soon as hour two hit, Richie became a blubbering mess.

“I just can’t believe we just moved her into college. College Eddie!”

“Yes, Richie, that tends to happen after kids turn 18.” Eddie was sad to see their daughter go too, but he trusted her, and he knew that despite all the worrying he did before she was born, they’d raised her well.

“B-but what if… what if something happens? What if someone tries to hurt her, or what if she gets homesick and wants your homemade pizza?”

“Rich you’re starting to sound like my mother.” Richie’s blubbering halted. “Maggie is a smart girl. We’re only a phone call away from her, she isn’t that far, and besides, she’s got Sam with her.”

Sam had taken a year off between high school and college to work and save up money for school. When he’d found out both he and Maggie had gotten early acceptance to UC Berkeley, everyone was over the moon that the two best friends would be together.

“Sam’s been good to her Rich, he won’t let anything happen to our Mags.”

Richie nodded. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your little princess will call you all the time.”

As always, Eddie was right.

Maggie made sure to check in every night, whether it was through their family group chat, weekly FaceTimes, or simple texts, but one Friday evening, Richie didn’t hear from her.

“Eds, did Maggie text you last night?” Richie asked, snuggling his husband closer in their bed on that lazy Saturday morning.

“No, why?”

“Nothing, I just haven’t heard from her.” Richie frowned and pulled out his phone, texting her privately. Hey my little princess, I miss you. Everything OK?

It wasn’t until noon that he heard back from his daughter.

“Hey princess, are you alright?” He answered the incoming FaceTime call. She looked like hell.

“Yeah… no… not really… I’m pretty sure I have a wicked hangover.”

Richie laughed out loud, taking in her ruffled appearance and the dark circles under her eyes. “Yeah, college will do that to you.” A weight lifted off his shoulders as she giggled along with him. “Big party last night?”

“Yeah dad, it was wild. Now that midterms are over, I think we all needed to let loose.”

He nodded in agreement. “You’re partying responsibly though, right?”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Yes dad, I knew my limit and stopped within it.”

“That’s my girl.”

“Hey dad… is pops around by any chance?” Her eyes shifted downward suspiciously.

“No, we’re having the Losers over tonight so he popped out to grab some snacks. I can get him to call you ba—”

“No! No, it’s fine. I just… something happened last night and I’d rather him not really know right now. You… you know how he is.”

Richie’s heart sunk, but he kept a straight face to not alarm her. “Yeah, yeah I know. What is it sweetie?”

“Well… I um… I kind of… kissed Sam… last night.”

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. “Oh… is that right? A-and how do you feel about that?”

“I dunno, I mean, he’s my first kiss, he’s my best friend. What if… will things get weird?”

Richie shook his head. “You can’t think of it that way. Things will only get weird if you let it get weird. Have I ever told you about my first kiss?” She shook her head. “Well, surprisingly enough, it was with pops.”

She scoffed. “What? I thought you guys didn’t get together until you were like… 25 or something.”

“We didn’t, but it was a spin-the-bottle situation. Bill threw a party, and he was really trying to impress this girl, so he started spin-the-bottle, and of course, I landed on short and angry. We kissed, my heart soared, but we all thought he was straight, so I played it off as a joke rather than telling him how I felt.”

“So I should play it off as a joke?”

“No! I mean, if you don’t have feelings for him, then don’t say anything about it, but if you do… you should tell him sweetie.”

Maggie sighed. “But… but dad… what if he doesn’t like me back?”

Richie’s heart swelled. As much as his little girl growing up so fast saddened him, it was sweet that they could share the experience of being in love with their childhood friend. “That’s the risk you take when you put yourself out there. It’s your choice, you don’t have to say anything now, or tomorrow, or even a month from now, but if you really like him, I think you should tell him. Trust me, I think his answer will surprise you.” Richie knew for a fact that his answer would surprise her. He saw the way they looked at each other, Richie may have been blind to his own love life at his daughter’s age, but now that he was past that, he could clearly see how much Sam cared for her.

“Thanks dad.”

Richie kept his lips sealed tight when Eddie returned, he even didn’t say anything when their friends arrived, but Richie couldn’t be trusted with a secret around alcohol.

“How are the kids doing at school?” Mike asked after spilling the beans on the woman he’d met while travelling in Vancouver.

“Sam’s great, he loves his program!” Patty gushed.

Richie chuckled. “Yeah, Mags is great too. Even better after last night though, right Staniel?”

Stan looked at him confusedly. “What?”

“Mags and Sam? Sharing a little smoochy smoochy time?”

“Wait, what?” Both Eddie and Stan shouted. Patty and the rest of the Losers couldn’t contain their laughter.

“You t-totally called that at their wedding!” Bill high-fived Mike as their laughter died down.

“Oh fuck, I was not supposed to tell you that.”

 V

 Richie was lucky that the Losers loved him enough to keep Maggie’s secret. Nobody had spoken a word about it, at least not until the Christmas break the next year.

Their 19 year old had only been home for all of two days, but Richie was already dreading bringing her back to Berkeley.

“You’re so dramatic, she doesn’t go back until January, Rich. Get some sleep, it’s three in the morning.”

Richie yawned and started to doze off when a thump coming from Maggie’s bedroom made them jolt up.

“Mags?” Richie was out of bed in an instant, with Eddie hot on his feet. They burst into their daughter’s room, only to find out she wasn’t alone.

“Sam?”

He spluttered. “Uhhhh, hi Mr. Tozier… Mr. Tozier.”

Maggie groaned as the lights came up and the two tried to hide how disheveled they (and the bedsheets) were.

“Care to explain why you’re in Maggie’s room, without a shirt, at three in the morning?” Eddie crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating in a pair of boxer briefs and one of Richie’s old tour shirts.

“Well, um… you see…”

“Dad, pops! Stop it! I invited him over.”

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re shirtless, Sam. Unless this has something to do with what happened last year?” Eddie’s eyebrows raised.

“Last year… Oh my god, dad did you say something?”

Richie winced. “Sorry sweetie.”

“Ugh!” Maggie let out a huff of frustration. “Dad! How could you?”

“I know, I’m sorry I fucked up, but you shouldn’t be… sneaking around Mags. I thought we could talk about this kind of stuff.”

“I’m sorry Dad.”

Eddie shook his head. “Put a shirt on Sam, I’m calling your dad.”

Sam followed Eddie out of the room, his head hung low. Richie stayed back for a second and threw a quick thumbs up at Maggie. “I’m proud of you for saying something to him sweetie, but next time, please don’t sneak around, just… ask if he can stay the night.”

“Really, you’d let my boyfriend stay the night?”

“Well… no, I wouldn’t, but hold on, boyfriend?”

She blushed. “Yeah, we um, we got together when the semester started.”

Richie’s heart swelled. As disappointed as he was that she kept something like this from them, he couldn’t help but root for her. “You can tell me about it later, I’m sure we’ll be spending all the time in the world together while you’re grounded.” He kissed her on the head and joined his husband downstairs.

Stan was just as grumpy as Richie thought he’d be when he and Patty arrived.

He looked at his son, a tired expression on his face. “You, car, now.” Sam skittered off past his parents towards the car.

“I’m so sorry guys, he must’ve snuck out after we went to bed.” Patty shook her head apologetically.

“It’s fine guys. Sam’s a good kid, I think it was more Maggie’s persuasion that got him over here if I’m being honest.” Eddie laughed. “Man that whole intimidation thing was fun though.”

The four adults spluttered trying to contain their laughter at the situation.

“So… they’re dating?” Stan questioned.

“Yep, since September it sounds like.” Richie confirmed.

“Fuck, that makes us in-laws, doesn’t it?” Stan rubbed his eyes.

“Fuck! That means Bill and Mike were actually right!” Patty shook her head.

 VI

 After that fateful December night, Sam became an even more permanent fixture in the Tozier household.

Maggie had never dated at all before Sam; everything was new territory to her, and to her parents. She now had this dreamy eyed look on her face on nights where she facetimed them after he’d left, and her Instagram was filled with pictures of the two of them, smiling and in love.

“They look rather cozy in that one, don’t you think?” Eddie pointed out, looking at her Instagram story over his shoulder.

“Yeah… they do. Do you think they’re being safe?”

“What? The hell do you mean—” Eddie’s brow furrowed.

“Well I never taught her about protection, I thought you had that covered!”

“I—” Maggie’s face popped up on his screen as her facetime request came in. “Fuck. Hi sweetie!”

“Hey pops, hi dad. Sam just left, I thought I’d see what you two were up to.”

“You’re being safe, right?”

Eddie’s eyes widened and he playfully slapped his husband’s chest. “Richard! You… you can’t just—”

“Dad!”

“What! It’s a valid concern, Stan would kill me if he became a grandfather at the ripe old age of 35.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, 35 sure.”

“Well honey, you have a boyfriend now, you know you can call us if you have any questions… or if you need anything… some snacks, a condom…” Richie baited.

“Yes, because you two know so much about hetero sex.”

“Hey, I was a closeted comedian until I was 25, I know plenty about heterosexual relations.”

“You do?” Eddie eyed him carefully.

“Okay… so I’m not a great liar, but I’m a great listener and I have Bev on speed dial.”

Maggie giggled. “Thanks dad, but I think I’ll leave the girl talk to mom, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, sweetie. Your dad and I are always here if you want to talk, but we understand if you’d rather talk to Bev about this stuff.”

“Thanks pops.”

Richie and Eddie took everything Maggie threw at them growing up in stride, but were so incredibly thankful for her and Bev’s strong bond, especially once she became a teenager. They did all the hard lifting, explaining everything, and doing all the research to teach their girl, but Eddie will always remember the panicked phone call on that rainy Sunday morning standing in the drug store staring at a wall of tampons, and could never thank Bev enough for her help.

 VII

 But of course, Bev couldn’t always be around to help.

Richie and Eddie were having a quiet Saturday morning brunch when they heard their front door slam. Their 24-year-old Maggie rushed up to her room, bag in tow, which was unusual, considering she and Sam had an apartment not far from them.

Shortly before graduation, the two of them had moved in together. Eddie loved Sam, he really did, but ever since that point, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’d seen it for himself with many college friends of his… college relationships don’t always last. So when he heard that door slam shut… he had an idea of what was happening.

Eddie shot Richie a look, I’ll get her, and followed her up the stairs.

“Hey, hey baby, what’s wrong?”

“Hi pops… sorry for barging in, I just needed to get out of the apartment.”

“Don’t apologize, you know you’re always welcome here sweetie. Now tell me what happened.” He sat down beside her and rubbed her back as she leaned into him. Hot tears hit the collar of his t-shirt, and his eyes met Richie’s, now standing in her doorway. Eddie motioned him over, and he joined the two on the bed, patting his daughter’s hair.

“It’s Sam… he’s been so distant lately, and secretive. He gets so anxious every time I try to bring it up, and he brushes me off. Today he just… he just snapped. Went into our bedroom and shut the door, he didn’t even say anything. I think he’s hiding something from me, I think he’s cheating on me.”

The two fathers let her cry it out, until she was done with the tears. Maggie fell asleep in her childhood bed, and they left her to sleep it off.

Eddie let out a huff once they’d reached the main floor. “Man, she’s really heartbroken.”

“This is crazy, you know? I never saw those two breaking up.”

“Rich, he’s her college boyfriend, sometimes relationships just… run their course.”

Richie rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know that, but he was just here last week asking for my blessing to propose.”

Eddie looked at his husband incredulously. “WHAT?”

“What do you mean ‘what’?”

“You didn’t think to tell me about this, what?”

Richie scoffed. “Shut up, I so told you about this. Remember, we talked about it before bed on Monday… ohhh, your stupid talented mouth totally distracted me from telling you about that. Right.”

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you let me blow you when you were sitting on that information!”

“To be fair, you do tend to suck my soul through my dick, and it’s too good to pass up in the moment babe.”

“You’re disgusting!”

Just then, the doorbell rang. The two of them got up to see Sam on the other side.

“Hey Sam, I don’t really think it’s a good time—”

“Eddie, please, I need… I need to talk to her.” His hands shook as he pulled the little velvet box from his pocket. “I just… I was planning to do it this weekend, and I had this whole plan but then things started falling through one by one, and I wanted it to be perfect, I just got so stressed out—”

“Sam?”

The three men looked towards the top of the staircase to see Maggie standing there, tears in her eyes.

“Mags… please…” He fumbled with the box opening it and tuning out the three collective gasps heard by the Tozier family. “I love you, I love you so damn much, since we were kids.” He moved further into the foyer. “I’ve wanted this forever, from the first time we kissed, I knew you were it for me. Maggie Tozier, I love you, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

Richie let out a choked sob, and Eddie knew he had to drag his husband away. He heard muffled voices talking lowly as he and Richie moved into the living room to give them some privacy, but it was only minutes later that a girlish giggle and a simple three letter word broke the room’s silence.

“Yes!”

Eddie met Richie’s eyes, tears now clearly welling up in both of them as they thought back on their own little love story. They had been older than Maggie and Sam by a few years, but god, they were just as stupid, and just as wrapped up and in love with each other.

“That’s our little girl, baby.” Richie pulled Eddie closer, and kissed the crown of his head.

“Yeah Rich, she’s all grown up.” Eddie wiped his eyes and moved away from Richie’s embrace. “I think I’ve got a bottle of champagne lying around from our anniversary, good time to crack it open.” He smiled as he rummaged about the kitchen.

 VIII

 Eddie was a totally hands-on wedding planner, but he wanted nothing to do with the dress. Dress shopping didn’t hold good memories for him, and he didn’t want to put a damper on Maggie’s day. Luckily Richie was practically bursting at the seams with joy at the thought of wedding dress shopping with Maggie.

The day of Maggie’s bridal appointment had come, and Richie had never felt more out of his element. The Beverly Hills shop was beautiful, soft grey walls, luxurious couches in front of huge mirrors and pedestals. Gowns lined the walls, and Richie suddenly felt panicked.

“Hey sweetie, you okay?” Bev grabbed his hand, and he nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“I know it’s hard seeing her grow up.” Bev smiled at him, and joined Patty and Abigail admiring a dress with a beautiful satin skirt.

Maggie was whisked away into the dressing room while her “entourage” took their seats, and minutes later she emerged. The dress wasn’t anything grand, it was a simple gown with a poofy skirt and a sparkly belt. The girls let out soft coos, showering the bride with compliments, but Richie was silent.

“Dad? What do you think?” Maggie turned around and met her father’s eyes, only to realize they had misted over. “Dad! You said you weren’t gonna cry today!”

Bev burst out laughing, pulling her best friend close and kissing his cheek. “Oh, be nice to your dear old dad, he just has a lot of feelings.”

“Sorry sweetie, you just look so beautiful.”

Patty pushed his hair back from his face. “Aw Rich, I can’t believe you made me lose fifty bucks to my husband.”

Bev gasped. “Patricia Uris!”

“Damn Patty, I thought you knew me better than that.”

“Well I thought you were gonna hold it together Trashmouth.”

The group agreed that while the dress was beautiful, it wasn’t the one for Maggie, so back to the dressing room she went.

Maggie tried on four more dresses, none of which were winners. It had been a long day, and the group was nearly ready to leave, but one dress in particular caught Richie’s eye.

It was simple, but beautiful. “Hey Bevvy, what do you think of this?” His large hands looked clunky against the delicate lace appliques, the dress was soft and flowy, and he thought it ticked all the boxes on his daughter’s wish list.

“Oh Rich, it’s amazing. I know the designer, why didn’t I think of putting her in something like this?”

Richie raised his brows. “Hey Mags, before we leave, could you just humour me and try this one on?”

The four of them took their seats on the couch when Maggie emerged in Richie’s dress looking like an absolute dream.

“Oh my god baby, you look incredible.” Bev was up right away, fussing with Maggie, fixing the dress, pinning her hair into a messy, fashionable bun and adding a veil.

“Dad?” She turned around, tears welling up as she met his eyes (which of course, were also watering).

“Mags.” His voice broke. Richie stood—the pedestal she stood on and her heels making her just above eye level with him—and took her hands. He stared at the girl, no, woman that stood before him, and didn’t even care when he heard the clicks of Bev’s and Patty’s phone cameras going off. “Maggie sweetie… wow.”

“I think this is my dress dad.”

 IX

 The next nine months flew by faster than anyone was prepared for, and soon enough, the day came where Margaret Tozier would be wed to Samuel Uris.

“We should get out of bed. She needs to get to the venue to start getting ready.” Richie lie wide awake on that beautiful Saturday morning beside his husband, who promptly smacked him on the chest.

“Shut the fuck up and go back to sleep, it’s six o’clock in the morning.” Eddie groaned and rolled away from him.

“But like… there’s so much shit to do, Eds. The flowers are going to be arriving soon, and the centerpieces, we can’t forget to put the seating chart up at the reception and help set up the favours table, and the photographer—”

“Doesn’t show up until noon. The ceremony starts at four, Rich. Florist won’t show up until one at the venue, and Mike and Bill already said they’d go help set up the ceremony space while Ben shows them the reception hall. Photographer shows up here at noon and another to Stan’s house around the same time. Mags and Bev will head to the venue for twelve-thirty with your mom, Patty and her mom, and the bridesmaids will get ready there. We show up at two-thirty for photos with our tuxes and a shitload of tissue. We’ve been over this babe, we got it down.”

Richie huffed out a breath, but nodded, turning on his side to spoon Eddie. “What would I do without you?”

“Drive yourself mad.”

He laughed. “You know my mom is giving Mags the diamond earrings she wore on her wedding day as her something old?”

“That’s beautiful, Rich. Bev told me she’s going to give her the brooch she had in her hair at her wedding for her something borrowed. Mags wanted to put it on her bouquet.”

Richie kissed the back of Eddie’s head. “I love that, she should have something of her mother’s with her. The dress is new, and her shoes are blue, so that covers the rest of it.”

“Perfect.” Eddie yawned. “Can you believe our baby is getting married today?”

“Not one bit. Remember when I accidentally spilled that Bev went into labour on a radio show?”

“Yes, you idiot. Oh god, you’re totally going to bring that up in your speech, aren’t you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Richie snickered. “Of course I’m bringing it up, Stan was the first one to visit.”

“I forgot about that, he was, wasn’t he? Who would have thought we’d be here right now?”

“Crazy, isn’t it Eds?”

The two drifted off to sleep for a few more hours before Eddie’s alarm went off. They snuck down the stairs as quietly as they could to not wake Maggie, and prepared her a pancake breakfast spread. She’d spent the night at their house, not wanting to see Sam until she was meeting him at the altar.

“Morning baby girl, it’s your wedding day.” Eddie crept into her room, Richie following with the tray.

Their daughter greeted them with a watery smile. “I love you two so much.”

Richie set the tray down on her side table and jumped into bed with her, cuddling his girl to his chest as tears streamed down his face. “We love you too sweetie, I can’t believe how grown up you are.”

Eddie scootched into bed on her other side, stroking her hair lovingly. Once the tears had dried, and breakfast was eaten, Maggie got down to business.

“Mom just texted me, she’ll be here in an hour to pick me up. I’m bringing the veil, jewelry and Sam’s ring, but can you guys bring the dress and shoes? They’re both in the hall closet downstairs, all together in the garment bag.”

“Absolutely honey.”

“Perfect, I’m going to run a bath. Shoo, go relax or something!” Maggie gave them both kisses on their cheeks and pushed them out of her room.

Just as scheduled, Bev and the photographer arrived and snapped a few pictures of the strange little family in their home before the girls were whisked away to the venue. After the few minutes of chaos, a peaceful silence washed over the two.

“I definitely expected this morning to be crazier.” Richie huffed, playing with Eddie’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah I feel quite… relaxed.” Eddie stood, pulling his husband up with him. “Come on, we’re jumping in the shower before we put our tuxes on.”

“Together?” Richie gasped. “But Edward… I’ll see your… thingy.”

“Oh no, not the thingy.” Eddie deadpanned and dragged him up the stairs. “Get your mind out of the gutter Tozier, we’ve got important shit to do today.”

One (almost) uneventful shower later, the two of them were buttoning up their shirts and lacing their shoes. “God damnit Rich, Bev will kill us if we’re late.”

“Relax babe, we’ll be at the venue in plenty of time, it’s only two.”

He glared at Richie. “Yes, but I want to be able to actually walk my daughter down the aisle, asshole, my legs are still shaky.”

Richie snickered. “Hey man, you started it. Can’t get enough of this magical dick.”

“Fuck you. Let’s go, don’t forget your jacket.”

They locked the door and buckled their seatbelts, but as Richie pulled out of the driveway, Eddie shouted. “Wait! She asked us to grab the dress.”

“Fuck, right! Hold on, let me run up to her room to grab it.” Richie sprinted inside quickly, but when he got to Maggie’s room, there was no dress in sight. “Eds! She definitely took it with her. It’s not here.” He told his husband, wracking his brain to figure out where she put it.

“No she didn’t Richie! I saw them leave, she had her veil and jewelry box, no garment bag. She specifically asked us to bring the dress and shoes.”

Richie looked around her room perplexed. “But… but she has to have it… it’s not here.”

“Fuck.” Eddie looked around panicking. “Fuck! She’s gonna kill us!”

“Hey, Eddie, hey, calm down, we’ll find it.”

“No Richard, we won’t find it and our daughter’s entire day is going to be ruined, and it’s going to be all my fault! Maybe we should have got out of bed at six like you said we should, Richie I’m such an idiot, I have to call her, we have to tell Bev, she’ll know what to do, she’ll know someone who can whip up a dress in an hour—”

“Eds! Babe take a breath, please, you’re freaking me out here. Maggie told us where it was, try and think back.”

“She said a closet, but you said it’s not in her closet! Get back in there and check again.”

“Woah man, I’ve been out of it for too long, you can’t make me get back into the closet.” Richie joked.

“Shut the fuck up asshole, save the jokes for the toasts. I’m going to look again, you go look downstairs.”

The taller man nodded in agreement and kissed his husband’s forehead. His eyes scanned the open concept main floor of their home, looking for the glaringly obvious giant white garment bag and blue box, but couldn’t see anything in plain sight. He checked the spare bedroom, his office, dining room, cupboard, but nothing came up. Finally, he had one place left to look: the hall closet.

Richie felt his breath leave his chest and his heart stutter as he opened the closet to find exactly what he was looking for. “Eddie, search party is off, it’s down here!”

“Thank fuck!” Eddie came careening down the stairs and grabbed the shoebox as he dashed out the door.

When the two arrived, Bev was waiting outside, arms crossed angrily. “Oh my god finally! She was freaking out in there, thinking something had happened to you idiots.”

“No, we uh, couldn’t find the dress.” Richie said sheepishly. “But hey, we got it!”

“Thank god, she was getting anxious. Now come on, the photographer wants a few shots of you helping her get ready.”

Stepping into the room was like stepping into organized chaos. Maggie’s friends paraded around the room in floral silky robes helping each other with their hair and makeup, and finally towards the back of the room, Maggie was in the makeup chair, the artist putting the final touch of lipstick on.

Eddie could tell that Richie was already getting choked up. “You look beautiful Mags.” He held his hand out to the taller man and squeezed it, bringing him closer.

“Wow.”

“Dad!” Maggie blushed. “I haven’t even put my dress on yet, stop it.”

“We’ve got that here for you by the way.” He offered the large garment bag over to her.

“Perfect timing. Can you get mom to come help me into it? I think the photographer wants to shoot you two helping me with the buttons.”

“Of course, we’ll give you some space.”

The next hour was filled with a flurry of activity. The photographer perfectly captured Richie’s face glowing with pride as he laid eyes on his daughter in her dress for the first time since he helped her pick it out. The small family shared a moment together when they could hear everyone shuffling into the ceremony space, right before they would walk her down the aisle.

“We’re so proud of you sweetheart, you’ve grown into such an incredible woman, and I know you and Sam are going to be so happy.” Eddie laced his arm through Maggie’s and kissed her temple as they walked towards the aisle.

“Pops, stop it, you’re going to make me cry!”

Richie sniffed on her other side. “I’ve got extra tissue if you want.”

Finally, the three made it out into the open air of the ceremony space overlooking the water. Gasps could be heard from the congregation as they all took in how incredible she looked, but Maggie only had eyes for the man at the end of the aisle.

Richie caught Stan’s eye as they approached the arch, and even he had a tear in his eye watching his best friends walk their daughter, his now daughter-in-law, down the aisle to his son.

The ceremony was beautiful. Much like at his own wedding, sniffles cut through the silence between the vows, this time, it was Richie instead of Maggie.

The reception was just as incredibly beautiful as the ceremony was. All the losers took their seats at their table together and watched the newlyweds share their first dance.

“Dude,” Mike piped up to Bill, “you owe me $20.”

“What?”

Mike rested his hand on the table, palm open. “$20, I told you this would happen.”

“When did we make this deal?” The rest of the losers snickered around them.

“At their wedding.” Mike nodded to Richie and Eddie. “Those two were dancing, but those two were the cutest couple I’d ever seen.

“I really can’t believe you put a bet on our kids man.” Eddie shook his head and took a swig of his wine.

“Oh I can, we put a bet on your husband and I lost.” Patty giggled, leaning into Stan.

“When did you put a bet on my husband?”

“Dress shopping, I bet he would break down the second he saw her in a wedding dress, Patty thought he’d keep it together.” Stan kissed his wife’s cheek. “What were you thinking?”

“Yeah honestly Pats, he made some easy money there.”

“Who said it was money we bet?” She threw the table a wink and stared at her husband bashfully.

“Woah Staniel the maniel!”

“Alright, alright, chill out, we’re at my kid’s wedding, remember?” Stan knocked back the rest of his drink and stood up. “Let’s go, we’re all doing shots.”

 X

 The next two years saw Maggie and Sam travelling the world. Sam had really made a name for himself as a veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo, and Maggie as a documentary filmmaker, and luckily, their jobs happen to clash when National Geographic offered them a contract travelling the world documenting wildlife foundations and rescue practices.

The holidays were hard without the two of them there; this holiday would be especially hard as Mike and Bill and Ben and Bev would all be gone as well. Eddie was preparing a small thanksgiving dinner for himself and Richie plus Stan and Patty; it would be quiet, but it would still be nice. Besides, Maggie and Sam were due to skype in during dessert.

“Have you heard from them yet?” Patty asked, taking a sip of wine.

“Yeah, Sam said they were going to call in around seven—” Eddie was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. “Hold on, that’s actually Mags right now. Hey honey, how’s it going?”

“It’s great! But kind of bad news, our service is really bad around here, we may have to push our skype.”

“No worries, wish you guys were here, we made too much food as usual. Whereabouts are you now?”

“Pops? Pops you there? You’re breaking up?”

“Maggie? I can hear you just fine, what’s going on?” Eddie’s heart thrummed in his chest.

“Hold on, let me move into a better reception area.”

The call hung up, and Eddie’s heart sunk. “Mags?”

Suddenly, keys jingled in the front door, and in stepped Maggie and Sam.

“Oh my god!” Richie led the way as the four of them ran to greet their kids in the doorway. “How did you guys get here? How long have you been planning this?”

The questions continued through dinner. Maggie and Sam told them all about the places they’d visited to their parents who listened with open ears.

“Sounds beautiful darling. Hey Stan, we brought that really nice bottle of merlot, why don’t you break it out? Maggie you’re gonna love it, I promise.”

“Oh.” She blushed. “T-that’s okay Patty, I’m a little jetlagged, I’m afraid wine might just put me to sleep.”

“Nonsense, I insist! You’ll sleep like a baby tonight.”

“No, um, mom it’s probably not a good idea if she drinks the wine.” Sam stepped in looking around at the four sets of skeptical eyes that sat on him.

A sudden wave of realization fell over the room. “Maggie?” Richie whispered, looking at his daughter, already feeling the tears stinging his eyes.

“We wanted to surprise you to let you all know that you’re going to be grandparents!”

Everyone jumped to their feet to crowd the couple, cheers of delight echoing throughout the dining room.

“How fa r along are you?” Patty asked.

“Ten weeks, we actually came back to see my doctor and figured it was a good time for a pit stop in to tell you all.” Maggie stood proudly and lifted her shirt. Sure enough, her abdomen was swollen ever so slightly. “You okay there dad?”

Richie blinked. “Y-yeah! I’m more than okay, I’m going to be a gr-grandpa. Holy shit.” He sniffled and immediately broke down. “My baby is having a baby.”

“Oh come on you big old sap.” Eddie rubbed his back, chuckling at his husband, but his voice was also thick with emotion.

“I think grandpa needs another glass of wine.” Stan said, reaching across the table to fill Richie’s glass. “Shit, that makes me grandpa too… three grandpas.”

“Luckiest kid in the world.” Maggie whispered adoringly.

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

Secret Identity

I one hundred percent blame this on @magellan-88 for sticking the thought in my head. I’m sure it was you, but if it wasn’t you’ve plot bunnied me with things before so take the blame. Then I watched Ghostbusters, and this happened. Edit: it was @mywildestdreamings fault, though I'm still pretty sure Maggie had something to do with it.

“So you just work there, in a pair of eyeglasses and a different hairdo and no one has figured out you’re Superman?”

Clark shook his head. “People believe what they want to believe. They can’t imagine the mild-mannered, slightly stuttering, occasional fraidy cat Clark Kent is Superman.”

“That’s incredible.” Thor crossed his arms and peered out over the city of New York. “People truly don’t see it?”

“Sometimes they look at you funny, but the human mind is very good at dismissing things that don’t make sense.”

Thor turned to the other floating superhero who’d been passing through on his way back to Metropolis and held out his hand. Clark gripped his forearm tightly, and Thor returned the gesture. “Thank you, my friend. Fair thee well in your city.”

“And yours, Thor of Asgard. It is... nice to know I am not the only alien on Earth any longer. But keep that brother of yours out of trouble for a while?”

“I make no promises,” Thor chuckled as Clark flew away. He hung there thoughtfully for some time, thinking about secret identities. What would he need to do to fool the public into thinking he wasn’t himself?

“I’d need a new name.” He stroked his beard and frowned. “And a shave.” His hair was already cut shorter than the people were used too. “Yes,” he smiled. “I can do this.”

***

The other’s had all laughed at him when he said he was going to develop a secret identity, but he wasn’t deterred. He was so undeterred he was standing outside the round door of the shop above the Chinese food place. From the smell, he wasn’t certain he would ever want to eat there.

He adjusted his glasses, accidentally sticking his finger in his eye. Sure he didn’t have to clean the darn things anymore - how did Clark put up with them - but he kept poking himself without the barrier of the lenses. He also felt ridiculously underdressed. The purple shirt and maroon tie were one thing, but the uncomfortably tight jeans with the rolled up cuff and the shoes Tony had call “loafers” were another. Then there were the green coat and the “man bag,” but he let those go, figuring it would help throw people further off the scent.

He wasn’t Thor anymore. Now he was Kevin.

He gave the wood frame a tentative knock. It looked not at all sturdy. The woman with the reddish brown hair looked up, and Thor smiled as he walked in the door. “Hey, uh, I’m here about the receptionist job?” That was a simple position, right? He couldn’t possibly get in too much trouble, and to make sure no one recognized him, he deepened his accent.

Natasha had snorted and commented that he sounded Australian, whatever that meant, so he'd thought it successful.

She turned flustered. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Now he was flustered.

The blond with the yellow glasses murmured, “Is this a big ol' robot,” while grinning at her colleague.

The first woman made an odd sound. “What?”

He shifted uncomfortably but forged ahead. Was the woman daft? “The receptionist job, um. It was in the paper here.”

“You’re hired!” she said and laughed, still flustered.

He grinned a little, realizing she was attracted to him in his secret identity. Was that common? He hadn’t thought to ask Clark if he had that problem. But then Thor was the God of Fertility. Sex appeal just... happened.

Another woman walked in, shorter, darker, wearing a pair of glasses not at all dissimilar to his own, right past him as if he wasn’t there and joined the first woman. “Okay, hey. God, you’re all sweaty. I think I got it. If there’s something strange in- ow,” she huffed when the first woman jabbed the brunette in the side and motioned toward him. “Oh. Kevin, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Abby. We spoke on the phone,” she smiled and held out her hand.

“We did.” Thor smiled back and relaxed a little, shaking it before adjusting the strap on his annoying bag. At least one of them seemed to have a brain.

“Hello there. Okay.” She turned back to the first woman.

“Kevin, oh. That’s a manly name. My name’s Erin, with an E, for everything you want.”

Odin’s beard... What was he getting himself into?

“Okay,” Abby said, clearly dismissing her weird friend. “Well, we should probably, probably get started. Erin.” She motioned her friend over. “Erin, do you want to join us?”

“Yes,” Erin sighed. “Erin... I’ve got some questions.”

He could practically hear her panties melt. Thor tried not to sigh in exasperation as he followed Abby, and was followed by Erin and the blonde to a table. This could be a very long day. Shrugging out of his coat, Thor placed it on the back of his chair with his bag and sat facing the three women.

Abby flipped open a notebook. “Okay, here we go, let me just get to my notes, um, okay. First off I just want to say-”

“You know,” Erin interrupted, “we should probably start with a very important question that we’re asking all of the applicants, um, you know, are you seeing anyone, uh, right now?” she smiled oddly.

Abby cleared her throat and made as if she were pushing up her glasses but really elbowed Erin in the shoulder.

“Um, seeing anyone?” Had the woman no grasp on how to be subtle in her inquiries?

“Yeah, just for business purposes,” Erin murmured.

“Business purposes only,” Abby muttered.

He decided now was a good time to play dumb and gestured at the ladies. “I’m seeing all three of you in front of me.”

Abby laughed and raised her hands. “Just forget she even asked. If she did, that would be illegal.”

He liked this one. Loyal, but not inebriated by her base instincts. “So forgotten.”

The blonde shifted to lean across the table. “Uh, Jillian Holtzman Radio Times. Uh, what have you been doing with your whole life?”

“That’s a great question,” Erin agreed, her hand lifting to stroke a finger along her jaw.

Abby appeared utterly exasperated.

“Oh, well, um lots of different jobs, um,” he reached up and scratched the corner of his eye, forgetting about his lens-free glasses. “I did the,” he held up finger quotes, “actor thing, uh, works alright.” He adjusted the frames.

Abby made a T sign with her hands, which, thankfully, Thor new from the many times Tony had made the same gesture. “Just real quick, um, can I ask why no, no glass?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Shit! “They just kept getting dirty, so I took them out. Don’t have to clean them anymore.” He fiddled with them a little and tucked them back on his face.

“I gotta try that in mine,” Abby murmured, but he could tell she thought he was a blithering idiot.

Well, if he were going to be labelled pretty and stupid, he would play pretty and stupid. “Would it be okay if I bring my cat to work sometimes? He has major anxiety problems.”

“You know what?” Abby twisted her fingers together, appearing apologetic. “I would love to let your cat live here with you, but I have a pretty severe cat allergy.”

Time to go for broke. He fought to keep his face serious. “Oh, I don’t have a cat. It’s a dog. His name is my cat.”

Both Abby and Erin looked at him in confusion, while Jullian seemed highly amused. “Your dog’s name is my cat?” Abby clarified.

Thor smiled a little. “Mike Hat.”

“Your dog’s name is Mike, last name Hat?” Erin asked.

He could see some of the attraction fading right before his eyes. Loki would be in stitches if he were here. It was a trick worthy of his brother. “His full name is Michael Hat.”

Abby made a small gesture with her hands, clearly a little confused and uncertain how to deal with him. “I can’t say that I’m allergic to dogs so...”

Thor shrugged and looked down at the table. “Yeah, that’s alright. He lives with my mum.”

“Well, then we have that figured out.” Abby and Erin looked back down at the notebook. “One down, no cat.” Thor chewed on his bottom lip, finding this far more amusing than he should. “But you know what, I say let’s jump ahead, ah, Kevin,” Abby pointed with both hands at him while looking between her two co-workers,” dabbles in web design, and I asked him to throw together maybe a couple of logos for us.”

“You wanna...?” he asked. Peter had given him a crash course in the art of design, and he thought he’d done alright on their primitive Midgardian technology.

“This is your moment,” Abby said. “Pull it out.”

“Ooh,” Erin murmured only for Abby to throw her a glare.

“You’re like a lawsuit waiting to happen,” Abby hissed at her.

Thor fought off another snicker as he opened the laptop and turned it toward them.

“Here we go, okay.”  Abby leaned closer.

“So,” he cleared his throat. “What do you think of that?”

The female ghost had enormous breasts, as seemed to be the way with all Midgardian feminine media design. He wasn’t quite sure what these ladies did, but it had something to do with ghosts, and as they were female, he thought they would appreciate his effort.

“Oh.” Erin looked shocked.  Abby looked impressed but speechless. “Yeah. You do see how this might make us look bad, right?” Erin asked, her face contorting into a grimace.

“Uh... is it the boobs you don’t like? Cuz I can make them bigger,” he offered.

“I can see them, yeah,” Erin murmured.

Jillian’s expression morphed to mirror the other two women. “Ghost tits was my nickname in middle school.”

“Is that right?” He smiled and nodded. It was always good to humour the crazy ones.

“I can definitely see them. You know what I think?” Abby held up her hands. Thor noted she spoke with them quite a lot. “It’s not always about the end result; it's about the journey.”

“Well, uh what about this?” He gave the screen a click, bringing up the next image.

“Oh, ahh,” Erin pointed at the screen. “I think that... I think that that’s already a thing.”

He bent to look at the screen. “What? Seven one one?”

Abby’s teeth were slightly gritted. “It’s seven eleven.”

“Oh, well, I’ve got other options.” He clicked through to the next picture.

“Please,” Abby muttered.

“Haha! That’s one is my favourite.” He grinned broadly.

“Uh, I think you might have made a mistake, I don’t think that one’s for us,” Erin said.

“Oh, no. That’s for you.” He really was beginning to think this one had very little brain. “You know, I just thought that the floating hot dog implies that the ghost is holding it.” He lifted his hands in a demonstration.

“Ah,” Abby sighed, bringing her linked fingers to her chin. “Your work is more cerebral than I expected.”

“I still have so many questions about that choice,” Jillian added. “The first one is why a hot dog?”

Thor gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. I just like ‘em.”

Abby huffed a little gasp of surprise.

“Both food groups, all in one.” He held up one hand and then the other. “Dogs and buns.”

All three women looked at him with smiles and nods. Clearly, he was making a positive impression.

“Um, those are great,” Erin nodded. “We‘re actually going to, um, discuss everything just for a second so could you,” she pointed toward the corner, “go stand over there? We just need to talk for a moment.”

“Sure.” He smiled and pushed to his feet, wandering toward the fish tank.

“Don’t listen,” Erin laughed strangely.

“I won’t.” He covered his eyes just to drive home his less than smart persona, then went and messed around with the counter and the fish tank. Yes, he could listen if he chose to, but it felt wrong to do so as Kevin, so he patiently waited for their verdict.

He wondered why there was a phone in the fish tank. “You know an aquarium is a submarine for fish,” he said offhandedly when he caught them all staring at him. Then wandered over to where a gong hung on a stand.

The mallet was right there. He’d never been one to pass up the opportunity to swing a hammer and smacked the gong. When it rang loudly, he quickly covered his eyes again, sticking two fingers from each hand through the frames of his glasses. “God that’s loud, huh?”

“That’s loud,” both Abby and Erin agreed.

“Kevin?” He looked up to find Abby smiling at him. “You’ve got the job.”

“Welcome aboard!” Erin added.

“Cool! Can I bring my suitcases up?”

“Yup, you sure can,” Abby nodded.

Great.” Thor headed out the door, wondering if it was common on Midgard to live where you worked. Jane had. The Avengers did. And now here with the strange science ladies.

Least he’d packed a few suitcases just to be safe.

***

And that’s how Thor ended up the receptionist for the Ghostbusters. Though I guarantee Roland wouldn't have possessed him.

[beepbeeprichiellc]

17, 24, 31, 45

17. “Please.”

24. “Are you drunk?”

31. "Are you jealous?”

45. "Make me.”

The fire was well fed, reaching upward towards the sky with outstretched arms. People were scattered throughout the field, huddled in small groups or sprawled out on cars with bodies pressed tightly. The so called event was well advertised, almost the entire body showing up and partaking in the festivities. It had been Beverly’s idea to go, having found a flier pinned on her dorm door, and the others just followed right along. Richie had been forced-well more like dragged-along with his friends, the outing was supposedly going to “cure” his broken heart but all it did was make the hole in his chest ache. Two weeks ago the love of his life had ripped his soul from his body and crushed it under her four inch heels.

So here he was leaning against his truck, loathing in his self pity. Every now and then one of his friends would stop by and console him but would turn tail the moment they realized that they were getting nowhere. Currently he was with Stan, both of them nursing their beer due to having volunteered as the designated drivers. His friend was talking about something unimportant, the words going in one of the trashmouths ears and out the other. Usually, Richie would be a better friend but due to his current break up he was finding it hard to keep up the charade when all he wanted to do was go home and curl up into a tight ball.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Richie blinked, suddenly aware of Stan’s judging stare. “What?” He sputtered, crashing back down into earth with a autiable bang. “I-I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

Stan snorted, “Seriously Rich, you need to get out of this slump. It looks real bad on you.” It was a little harsh, coming from one of his closest friend but it was warranted and sharp. “You’re driving everyone crazy, I know you like the girl but-”

“Liked?” Richie laughed, the feeling painful in his bones. “I loved her! She was the one okay? The one I was supposed to be with forever! You guys just don’t understand, I mean when was the last time you-”

“Choose your next words carefully.” Stan warned, pushing his body off of the truck and turning his body towards him in one swift motion. “I know you are hurt but we are trying your best to help you. For fucks sake Richie we have all been listening to you rant on about Abby but guess what? She was a fucking bitch!”

“Take that back!” Richie hissed, a burning anger bubbling just under his skin. “Take that back right now!”

Stan looked as if he had been slapped, stepping back and breathing fire. “No. She cheated on you with your roommate! In your bed! Why are you still hung up on her? God, Eddie’s been throwing himself at you for years and yet you still chase after these bimbos with an IQ of a rock. For fucks sake you-”

“Eddie’s been what?” Richie cut, shaking the buzz from between his ears. “What did you just say?”

“Uh-” Stan started, swaying slightly in confusion. “What?”

“You just said that Eddie-” But Richie didn’t finish because at that moment Stan bolted, dropping his beer and running swiftly walking through the cars towards the fire where the others stood. Whatever he said then made Beverly punch him in the arm and Mike throw his hands up in the air. It would’ve be considered amusing if not for the sinking feeling it left in the trashmouths gut. Lifting himself from the truck he turned to follow, but stopped the moment a slurred voice called out to him.

“Hey R-Richie, did-did you see that? Stan ran a-away.” Richie turned to watch Eddie giggle into his hand, a half empty beer still in between his fingers. The small boy looked like shit, his usually put together look was torn apart, his clothes askew and his hair a curly mess. When he looked up to Richie his eyes were dulled and distant, a glimmer of pain hidden behind the deep pools of chocolate. “W-what’d you do? Insult his b-birds? You kn-know he’s sensitive about th-them.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Pfft.” Eddie took one final long drink from his bottle, tossing it to the ground beside his feet. “Na, little Eddie Spaghetti can’t party, didn’t you hear?”

The words burned Richie’s ears, it had been an echo of what he had said earlier out of anger. Everyone had been pressuring him to go to the bonfire and Eddie had piped in with his opinion so of course-being the amazing friend he had been lately-Richie bit his head off. “Listen Eds, I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just with the whole Abby thing I’ve been kinda-”

“Please.” Eddie whined, covering his ears. “St-stop talking about th-that whore. I hated h-her so fuh-cking much.” It had been the first time he had spoken bad about Richie’s ex, the words both harsh and loud. “I kn-knew she was no good. I t-told Bill that, jus-just ask him. I said-I said, this girl is going to bruh-break Richie’s heart a-and he s-said that it wa-was none of my buis-business and th-that you had to fuh-fuck up on your own.” He laughed, the dunken sway he had intensifying making him slam into the side of Richie’s passenger side door.

“Fuck, Eddie stop-”

“Make me.” He challenged with determined eyes. “Oh w-wait you can’t! Bec-cause you are too b-busy screwing a-around with everyone e-else to n-notice-” There was no fishing, only giving a heavy sigh and a burp instead. “Whatever, do-doesn’t matter.”

“Eddie?” Richie whispered, “Are you-” Eddie’s head rolled against his shoulders, breaking their eye contact. “Hey, look at me Eds.” The trashmouth reached out, grabbing hold of his friends face rather firmly, one hand on each side so not to hurt him. The action seemingly made Eddie melt, his body leaning against the warm touch. It took all Richie had not to pull away in surprise. “Are you jealous?”

Eddie’s eyes snapped open, his body jerking away as a sense of sobriety washed over him all at once. “N-no, I’m n-not-” He shook his head, stepping away from where Richie stood. “Why would y-you even ask-” There was a snort, a forced chuckle, and a crackle in his voice. “So st-stupid.”

“Is it?” Richie asked, feeling suddenly bare and vulnerable. “I mean ever since I started dating Abby you’ve been distant and then we broke up and-then you were there again, like nothing had happened. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before you-you lov-”

“Shut up!” Eddie yelled, the sudden change in his demeanor making Richie jump. “Sh-shut up okay? Y-you don’t kn-know shit.”

“What don’t I know?” Richie couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t let it go until his friend admitted what they both now knew. “Tell me Eddie, tell me the truth.”

“The tr-truth?” Eddie repeated, the slur dripping from his tounge. “You wa-wanna know th-the truth? The real t-truth?” Tears welled in his eyes, his lip quivering and arms folding inward on themselves. “I’ve b-been standing by fuh-for fifteen years, w-waiting for you to n-notice me and you h-havn’t! I only exist when it’s co-convenient for you! ‘Oh Eds, I l-love Abby, nuh-no Mark, no Ch-Christine”” The names were spat in disgust, right at Richie’s surprised face. “D-did you ever e-even realize? R-realize that I was the o-only one who was th-there to pick you b-back up when those lovers b-broke your heart! N-no matter how bad it hu-hurt I was there!”

“Eds I-”

“Hey, is everything okay over here?” It was Bill, because of-fucking-course it would be. Richie looked around and noticed that the party had stopped, everyone’s eyes turned towards the two of them, obviously noticing Eddie’s screaming voice. The attention burned his skin, but not as much as Eddie’s scorching glare. “What’s going on.” Bill’s hand snaked around Eddie’s shoulders, the protective gesture speaking volume. Eddie leaned into the touch, dropping the eye contact and biting his lip in shame. “Eddie?”

“I wanna go h-home.” Eddie muttered under his breath, staggering backwards in Bill’s arms. “Please, I ju-just wanna-just wanna-”

“Alright.” Bill breathed, pulling his friend close as if to shield him from the trashmouth. “I’ll take you home.”

“No, Eddie don’t go.” Richie whined, reaching out for his friend only to have it fall back to his side when they stepped out of range. “I’ll take you home, please I just want to talk.”

Eddie glanced up once more, the pain in his eyes agonizingly recognizable. “I’m duh-done talking.” And with that he left with Bill, swimming though the sea of people and fading away from Richie’s line of sight. The party staggered onward, leaving Richie in the dust.

Eventually Stan made it back over to him, hands in his pockets and face turned downward. “Yeah, so how’d it go?”

Richie groaned.

[veryangryhedgehog]

Battle Plans,” an Ede Valley story by Hedgehog.

Doug laughed, shaking his head. Then he looked down at Jilli, her arms wrapped around him as they lay on his bed, and frowned. “Wait, you’re serious?”

“Yes. We’re going to take over the school. Abby and Victor and I. Maybe Gil and Sonia too, but I haven’t talked to them yet.” Though the words emerging from her mouth sounded utterly insane, the tone with which she said them was no harsher than if she was commenting on the weather.

“You know this sounds crazy, right?” Doug sat up. “You can’t just ‘take over a school’. Even in normal circumstances it wouldn’t make any sense, let alone here.”

Jilli faced him, her slim waist glowing in the afternoon light. “Do you want things to stay as they are?”

“No...” he admitted, looking down. “But if you try to change anything, she’ll kill you.” There was silence. Jilli didn’t need to ask who “she” was.

“The way I see it, what I’m doing right now isn’t living anyway.”

She made to stand, but Doug grabbed her hand. After struggling weakly for a second, she let him pull her back to him. He gripped her tight there to his chest. He knew it was stupid, but he was afraid that if he let go for just one second, that she would just disappear.

“This isn’t going to change my mind,” she said.

“I know,” he mumbled into her hair. “And before you say, I know this won’t either.”

Doug nudged her face upwards, towards his, and kissed her. They had kissed before, of course, small, stolen things in the heat of the moment, but never before like this. It was soft, at first, both a little unsure of the feeling of their lips pressed together, then it became harder, more desperate.

He pressed her to him, his hand firmly on the small of her back. Jilli ran her fingers through his hair, his scalp tingling at her touch, and Doug felt his heart beating very fast. She was real, and warm.

It was an eternity before they finally pulled apart. Jilli stared at him for a moment, the look on her face impossible to place.

“I... I don’t...” she shook her head. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, and then they were kissing again, feeling their breath on each other’s faces, entangled together.

“Help me,” she breathed as he kissed her neck. “Help me free us all. Please.”

He pulled away, looked down at her pleading face. She was scared. He could see it in her eyes. “If you kiss me like that again I’d do anything. But no can do, I’m afraid,” he glanced down to the metal band around his wrist. “I never told you what this does, did I?”

Jilli shook her head.

“If I take one step out of line, or I’m off campus for too long, then bzzt,” he gestured, and laughed as Jilli twitched. “I get a nasty little shock.”

It took her a moment of staring at the glowing metal before she seemed to understand. “This is why,” she touched it gingerly, “this is why she needs to die. What she’s done to you? What she’s done to all of us? It’s unforgivable.”

“Sure it is,” he shrugged.” But do you really think you can do something about it?”

She peered into his eyes with her icy blue ones. Doug felt himself freeze at the sight of them. He simply couldn’t help staring.

“I’m going to try,” she said simply.

Sighing, Doug shook his head. This whole thing was insanity. Then again, he could say the same thing about his life in general, so really, this wasn’t anything new. The world was almost becoming predictable in its lunacy.

“Alright,” he said finally. “I don’t know what I could possibly contribute, but I’m with you.”

Not even a second went by before her arms were around him, and his bare chest was wet with her tears. “Thank you, thank you so much,” she breathed. “I don’t think I could do this without you.

“I need you.”

~~ o ~~

The world was falling apart. Everything was falling to pieces and no one would tell Mike anything. Okay, maybe the world wasn’t really ending; he might have been feeling that way because he’d only gotten a total of about three hours of sleep in the last four days.

But he couldn’t sleep. There was a ticking clock now. He had to figure out who the Director was and what she—if she really was a she—was doing to Jilli before she did something crazy. But there was nothing. Nothing. Every book jumped over the subject like clockwork, every leaked article was heavily expunged.

He skipped his classes, chugged Red Bull—which he’d previously written off as disgusting, until he’d found that it truly did give you caffeinated wings—and practically lived in the library. The only person who was there more than he was was Abigail.

Said student librarian seemed increasingly concerned about his well-being. “I think that’s enough studying for one night,” she said one evening, well past midnight, as she rather forcefully pushed him out of the table his butt had practically molded itself to. “My, that must be some project.”

“But—” he protested. “I need... I need—”

“What you need is to get some sleep. This would be the worst time to catch a cold.”

“Five more minutes,” he begged. “Please.”

She sighed, sitting next to him. “I know this isn’t for some school project,” she said. “Literally every amateur detective has used that excuse. Why are you really here?” He opened his mouth, but she answered her own question. “Is it because of Jilli?”

“Did you know she had a session the other day?” Mike leaned forward.

“What?” Abigail blinked. “That can’t be right. Jilli’s one of the sanest people at St. Adelaide’s.”

“I think the Director did something to her, that why she’s... saying crazy things.”

There was a second’s pause as Abigail processed this information. “If that’s true... why, I can’t even imagine. And that must be why you’re researching St. Adelaide’s, to find out who the Director is.”

“Wait, how did you know that?” Mike asked.

“I’m the librarian,” she smirked. “I keep track of my books. And I’m sure by now you know as well as I do that there’s not even a single line about the Director in any of those books.”

His head fell to the table in defeat. He was so tired. “Of course.”

“Did you ever think that maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong places?” Abigail tilted her head.

“The... wrong places?”

Shrugging, Abigail pushed her round glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I mean, you don’t need to just stick to books when her office is right down the hall.”

Mike sat back up. “Are you suggesting breaking into the Director’s office?”

“Well, if Jilli has anything to say about it, the Director will be deposed in a matter of days. So, does it really matter? Of course Jilli will want to see what’s in there.”

“But then it will be too late!”

“Will it?” Abigail leaned on her arm. “Honestly, I’m a little curious what happens if she does succeed.”

“You want me to use Jilli...” Mike began slowly, “to save her?”

“Sure, that’s one way to put it,” Abigail smiled. “Now I think it’s time for both of us to go to bed.” She grabbed his arm and guided him to the door. “I have a feeling that the next week might be the longest of our lives...”

~~ o ~~

Gil was also studying, but unlike Mike, he knew what he was looking for. Back in Atlantis he’s had a grimoire with all of the spells that he knew. Some had been inherent to him, of course, his space-hopping and control over the elements, but a lot of the most finely-tuned spells needed time and ingredients. He’d never bothered to memorize these, partially due to his own narcissism in his own abilities. But now he was discovering that without the grimoire, he was essentially crippled. So he’d had to start completely from scratch.

Spending the last several years reconstructing his grimoire had been tedious, time-consuming work, but it had given him something to do as this new body grew and became stronger. He had to be prepared, for just as he was gaining strength, the Truth would be as well.

The other thing that had occupied the last few years of his life was tracking down the blasted thing. He’d gone back to the cave on the coast several months after he’d been freed, but the abomination had disappeared. Either it had gotten out by itself, or much more likely, someone had helped it. And if someone was under the Truth’s sway, the world was in trouble. Whoever it was, they had managed to retain their individuality thus far, seeing as the world still hadn’t ended, but they wouldn’t hold out forever.

Which was why he needed to find it as quickly as possible. He’d found a surprising ally in the form of the internet. At first, it had seemed such an alien host of eldritch complexity that he avoided it like the plague. But then in the sixth grade english class the education overlords had deemed paramount to his further growth, a project had required him to do research for a laughable essay about “you favorite animal,” and he’d discovered that it had its uses. Eventually, with the help of some rather strange characters he’d met on a forum, one of whom insisted she was a dragon, he’d managed to track the Truth to an American suburb called Ede Valley. From there, it was only a matter of acting strange enough to get himself sent to the school there. For Gil, that hardly proved a challenge.

And now he was here, and something was coming; he could feel it. Gil was running out of time. He needed Muirne. But regardless of how many books he read, how many forums he inquired upon, he couldn’t find any usable information on his and Sonia’s condition. According to one witch—who he was mostly positive was legitimate—it was unprecedented, even.

He’d never told Sonia about it. He didn’t want to scare her. Truth be told, she more often scared him. She told him of dreams and ghostly appearances. It was Muirne. She was trying to get in, just as he had. But he didn’t know how to help her.. And there was that small part of himself, the one he told himself wasn’t there at all, that didn’t want to watch Sonia go. All he could do was watch the struggle.

He was close to giving up.

~~ o ~~

Victor glanced around his dorm room, filled from wall to wall with gizmos and gadgets. Jilli had filled him in on his part of the plan, and now he was digging through the bits and pieces of his past constructions, trying to distinguish what would actually be useful.

He had his older stuff in the far corner of the room, at least, the things his parents had deemed safe enough for him to take. These were mostly bits and bobs off of much bigger machines, Rube Goldberg-esce inventions. As a kid he’d dreamed of having machines to do everything for him, so he could sit and play video games all day. Of course, he’d eventually grown out of that phase, and he’d scraped several of his past attempts for parts. This stuff was mostly useless.

Progressively towards the other wall, the machines began to evolve into more robotic machinations. At first they were more helpful—over there on top of his dresser was a drone he’d modified to whisk eggs—but more and more they became more... well, deadly. He didn’t really know why that’s where his mind always went. His mother claimed his “degeneration” was caused by violent video games, but no one else he knew had put down Call of Battlefield 4000 and proceeded to make a death chamber in the basement.

Not that he ever intended to make use of it. He just wanted to see if he could get it to work.

Of course his parents had flipped. That was the first time he’d been taken in for an exorcism. Victor shuddered to himself. He didn’t like to think about that afternoon.

In fact, now that his mind had gone down that road, he found that this whole side of the room was making him queasy. He’d found some good stuff that he could install quickly; that would be good enough for now. Besides, he needed to go down to the shop to modify a few things. He might as well spend some time on his ongoing project.

It was that first exorcism that had gotten him thinking about life and the creation thereof. Again, he wasn’t insane, or unstable, just curious. He wanted to see if it was possible. Could something so crazy really exist?

He didn’t feel quite normal again until he was down in the shop with his lab coat on. Victor took a calming breath, and reached down to pull back the sheet which covered his project...

Until he heard the door open with a metallic cha-chuck, and let the plastic fall again.

“Victor?” came an unmistakable voice, and Victor relaxed, even smiled a little.

“Hi Abby.”

She peeked her owl-like visage around the door, and seeing that he was alone, slunk inside. “How’s the preparations?” she asked, grabbing his arm.

Oh god. She was touching him. She had done this before, of course, but every time his heart did the same esoteric series of leaps in his chest. And now he was going to start stuttering, or his voice was going to crack, or something even more embarrassing was going to happen.

“It’s g-g,” he cleared his throat. “Going well. I’ve got almost everything I need. Just a few modifications, a-and I’ll install most of it tonight, after the teachers have left for the day.”

“What about those creepy psychiatrists, though?” Abigail blinked up at him.

She was worried about him. Victor was pretty sure he was going to start floating off the ground soon.

“Gil’s offered to ‘give me some cover.’ Though I’ve got no idea what that actually means.”

“Good,” Abigail smiled. Then, she reached up to touch his cheek, and he downright froze. “That means you have a free minute then.”

Only one thought ran through Victor’s mind as she pressed herself against him:

Oh shit.

~~ o ~~

They were all assembled in Jilli’s dorm room. It was a bit cramped, Abigail was literally sitting in Victor’s lap, but they had all managed to squeeze in somehow. Jilli glanced around the room, taking stock of what she had to work with. Gil and Sonia: distractions. She didn’t know exactly what they had planned, but she had to admit that together they were rather distracting. Victor: incapacitation. His job would be to dispose of the psychiatrists that worked as the Director’s hands. Abigail: look out. She’d keep everyone updated on the operation’s progress. Doug: emotional support and sounding board.

And then there was Jilli. While all of this was going on, Jilli was going to find that bitch the Director and take her down.

Jilli opened her mouth to lay all of this out, when there was a knock at the door. Everyone froze. They couldn’t have been found out. There was no way. No one said a thing for the longest time.

“I know you’re in there,” said a voice from outside. “Come on, let me in please.”

Relaxing, Jilli let out the breath she’d been holding. It was only Mike. She stepped over Gil and Sonia—who were sitting on the floor—and opened the door a crack.

He began speaking before she could even open her mouth. “I want to help.”

Oh no. She had been afraid of this. Though Mike was that much younger than the rest of them, Jilli couldn’t help thinking of him as much more... well, innocent. Maybe it was because he wasn’t absolutely fucked up like the rest of them. He still had a chance to get out of this unscathed.

“Mike,” she began. “I don’t know...”

“Come on, please,” he begged. “If you keep me out of the loop I think I’ll go insane. If you all might die tonight, or worse, I wanna at least go down with you all. You’re my friends.”

Jilli looked back a Doug, who had stood, and was only a step behind her. He paused, and then, finally, looking exhausted, he simply shrugged.

“Alright,” she said. “Come on in.”

“Thank you,” he smiled, but it wasn’t until she opened the door fully that she was how rough he looked. His skin was pale and sallow, which made the large bags under his eyes stand out even more. His eyes themselves were red and bloodshot, and his hair was tangled and stood up at odd angles, like he’d ran his hand through it for days straight.

Doug sat back down, and made space for Mike on the bed. Jilli readied herself to speak again. She was so nervous. This was ridiculous, she’d sang in front of hundreds of people before, so why was it so hard to lay out her plan for school domination to a few of her friends?

Okay Jilli, she told herself. Here you go.

“Alright everyone,” she said. “Here’s what we’re going to do...”

[ahouseoflies]

Best Films of 2017, Part III

Part I is right here. Part II is right here. Let’s keep it moving. PRETTY GOOD MOVIES 67. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Matthew Vaughn)-  Exactly, eerily, as good as the first one. Make a hundred more of these stupid candies and wrap them individually in wax paper. 66. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (Chris Smith)-   As a movie about the effects of fame: 5 stars As a movie about the inherent lie of acting: 4 stars As a movie about making a movie: 2 stars As a well-structured documentary of its own: 1 star 65. The Wall (Doug Liman)- War movies often topple under the weight of their messages, but that's not The Wall's problem. To his credit, Liman is worried about making this a thriller first, even as he's showing off the competency of the soldier at its center. There's no music, and the camera plants you subjectively in Sergeant Issac's field of vision. (The John Cena character is named Shane Matthews, but he ain't even SEC). Even at 80-something minutes, however, the film feels long, telegraphing its way from one plot point to the next, and its dark ending comes off as a too-clever shrug. If your movie is about the war, then make it about the war. If it's using the war as a backdrop, then make it about something. 64. Fist Fight (Richie Keen)- Once you start thinking about its logic on any level, it falls apart. (The whole reason schools are bad is that they can't find good teachers, so why would they be so intent on firing the ones they have?) And it's full of fake problems. (Oh my God, he might not make it to his daughter's talent show in time!) But this worked for me overall. Some jokes fall flat, but there are so many that you can just wait for the next one to land, particularly if it's from the salty mouth of standout Jillian Bell. The script, full of meticulous callbacks, creates a full, satisfying arc for the protagonist as well. 63. Brad’s Status (Mike White)-  A confused movie that is an easy, sort of Italian watch in the way that it so literally spells out its emotions. Even five years ago, this tale of a middle class White man's entitled bellyaching would have been told straight. Now it exists only because it weaves into the narrative people who check the Stiller character's privilege. Because the character's jealousy is communicated so truly and fiercely, it almost seems as if Mike White wants to tell a story but knows he shouldn't. That sounds like faint praise, but it's a fascinating experience. 

62. Beach Rats (Eliza Hittman)- For about an hour, this felt like a movie I had seen before. "Oh, why can't I get it up? I, uh, must have had too many drugs. Definitely not because I'm gay 'cuz I'm not." It was, due to the underplayed performances and the careful composition, better than some versions of that movie, but not by much. Then, the last leg of the film gets mission-focused. Without giving anything away, rather than being just about heterosexual performance, it becomes about homosexual performance and heterosexual performance at the same time. The protagonist is challenging his straight friends within the rules of what they've determined and outside of them. Those layers pile on until the bravura final shot. I just wish it had hooked me sooner. 61. I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (Macon Blair)-  I preferred the Encyclopedia Brown fumbling at the beginning to the violent consequences at the end, but I realize that's how amateur detective movies work. I probably would complain if the film didn't open up in scale. The story is fairly simple, which, coupled with an assured visual style that is open to mystery, suggests that Macon Blair might have a real future as a director. He's not trying to do too much. Lynskey is absolutely perfect by the way. 60.  Life (Daniel Espinosa)-  Cool enough at the beginning and the end to excuse a few logical missteps in the middle. Still, without giving anything away, I'm recalling a fork in the road in which the film could have gone the easy, dumb way, and it went the more difficult, realistic way. I hadn't seen Espinosa's other movies, but he shows an assured hand here, especially with the rapturous gore. I can't say the same about Ryan Reynolds, who sleepwalks through a role that might as well be called You Know, a Ryan Reynolds Type.   59. The Zookeeper’s Wife (Niki Caro)-  It goes pretty hard for PG-13, and there isn't much wrong with it--the passage of time gets haphazard in the second half maybe. But personally, I think I'm all good on Holocaust stories. 58. Landline (Gillian Robespierre)- It's basically a Woody Allen movie if Woody Allen had an affinity for rollerblades instead of bad jazz. Most of the laughs come from the '90s milieu; in fact, I'm not sure if this movie would even be a comedy without the setting. Despite some of those easy laughs (and some laborious ribbon-tying at the end), the screenplay does a few difficult things well. I'm thinking in particular of a scene in which Falco and Turturro have to confront and punish their daughter. We've already been told that she gets forced into the bad-cop role, and he skates above the fray as the favorite parent. But to actually see that dynamic in action during this scene, which begins with him whispering that the mother is coming, is kind of thrilling. The performances are good: Slate is dialed up to a higher pitch than she was in Obvious Child, and newcomer Abby Quinn comes through when asked to carry long stretches. At first, I wondered why John Turturro had signed up for such a nothing part, but as his arc blossoms in the film's second half to become a quiet MVP. He gets to remind us that no one else can play an unrealized sad sack quite like him. 57. The Unknown Girl (Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne)-  I wish I had a unique take on this, but everyone else is right: It's a minor work from great filmmakers. There's some real psychology here--a woman in transition sublimates her upward mobility into a search for truth. And as a mystery, it works fine. But there's a tedium and a distance, despite the usual Dardenne tricks, that keeps it from hitting home. 56. The Glass Castle (Destin Cretton)-  There are too many characters in real life too, I guess. Far less focused than Short Term 12, The Glass Castle is an admirably sincere piece with some powerful sequences, but it gets way out of hand in the last twenty minutes. Recommendations for a movie that finishes with the point "It's okay to hate your dad"? 55. The Disaster Artist (James Franco)- James Franco reveals himself to be a workman-like director, a brilliant actor, and the best real-life brother of all time. Having a James Franco performance like this but giving top billing to Dave Franco is kind of like eating birthday cake but giving top billing to the plate. Playing a clown-fraud like Tommy Wiseau exposes an actor to artifice. Commit too much, and it's a stunt; commit too little, and it's a wink. I don't know exactly how he does it, but James Franco walks the tight-rope precisely. Dave Franco, playing a nineteen-year-old for some of this, is in over his head. If you've ever seen a well-done amateur Shakespeare adaptation, you know the electricity that comes from the company's freedom, when they realize they can do what they want with this supposedly sacrosanct work. So imagine how much fun professionals are in re-staging a work that is objectively terrible. At its worst, The Disaster Artist feels like a trifle. At its best, however, that feeling of putting-on-a-show is what comes across well.

54. Manifesto (Julian Rosenfeldt)- I knew this was various incarnations of Cate Blanchett--a homeless man, a conservative housewife, a broker--performing artistic manifestos. But I didn't know the most clever twist, which is that the manifestos are blended into one another, so that a line of Marx alternates with a line of Tzara with a line of Soupault. That dynamic approach brings to light how confrontational and immature all of these types of writings are, not to mention the collaborative spirit most of those writers had. Your mileage may vary based on your tolerance for intellectual bullshit, but I scratched my chin contentedly. The pairings of the manifestos to the settings are clever, and my favorite was probably a eulogist talking about dadaism at a literal funeral. As artificial as what I'm describing sounds (and yeah, by the eighth or ninth one, you'll check your watch), Blanchett finds an observational truth. The performative posture of a schoolteacher, the pause for fake laughs of a C.E.O., the paper shuffle of a news anchor: She remains the real thing. 53. Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)-  Now that I have taken a shower to wash off the movie's bleak grodiness, I appreciate its solid plotting and grindhouse super-sizing. Like Bone Tomahawk, Zahler's previous film, Brawl in Cell Block 99 takes about an hour to get where it's going. (The inciting incident is technically at 1:08.) I assume the fat is there to develop the protagonist, but I think about twenty minutes could be shaved off. Zahler's rhythms might make for an excellent TV show, but something about that '70s exploitation poster makes me think we won't find out. 52. Columbus (Kogonada)- Columbus wrestles with the balance of information and inspiration. The Cassandra character prevents the Jin character--I'll ignore the gross name symbolism--from looking a date up on his phone because she wants to be able to recall it herself. Earlier than that, the Jin character tries to impress her with knowledge of a building, but she blows him off when he admits that he memorized it from a book he had read earlier in the week. Would that thought be somehow more pure if he had retained it over years? I think that type of calculus is what the film is concerned with, so it makes sense that it centers on architecture, an art of identity as much as it is a science of measurements, an expression as much as it is a utility. If the paragraph above makes it sound as if the movie is up its own ass, running on Sundance fumes through its meth subplot, then you'd be right. I had just enough patience to admire it as a promising debut. 51. The Book of Henry (Colin Trevorrow)- Colin Trevorrow's best film is always compelling--for different reasons in the compassionate first half than it is as it's careening off the rails in the final third. But it's always compelling. You can't complain about all studio movies being the same, then not appreciate something this fundamentally godless and bizarre. 50. Kong: Skull Island (Jordan Vogt-Roberts)- People rag on the DC Universe films for being too serious and dark, but there's no limit to how dark a movie can go as long as it's balancing that mood with something else. Vogt-Roberts gets that, and Kong: Skull Island is a cut above most of these entertainments because he has a deft handle on tone. The film can get scary because it's so silly and fun at other times. Plus, if you have Jackson, Reilly, and Goodman selling your lines, they can be as dumb as you want. Even if the other sequences never reach its level, the first helicopter setpiece is dope, in part because the actual fighting of the monsters is dynamic. Skull Island is pretty far from Brazil, but Kong's chokes, holds, and throws owe a lot to jiu-jitsu. It seems like a consistent piece of design at least. Can we talk about Tom "The Tight Sweater" Hiddleston though? Vogt-Roberts has no idea how to introduce him properly, but he is an absolute zero in the role that is supposed to be heroic. The script doesn't do him any favors--the American army is taking orders from this British mercenary because...--but he is a vacuum of charisma. He's not dangerous in any way, and his blah blah my dad died backstory is delivered with no conviction. I don't get it. 49. T2: Trainspotting (Danny Boyle)- It's a perfectly pleasant experience to see these characters twenty years later--Boyle has a few nostalgic tricks up his sleeve--but "pleasant" is a backhanded response to something as vibrant and essential as the original.There's a meta-reading of T2 that admits that everyone involved is struggling with the same issues as the characters, but even that is kind of like returning to your middle school and realizing that the basketball rims weren't actually that tall. And how do you mess up the music?

48. Brigsby Bear (Dave McCary)- There are some huge ideas on Brigsby Bear's mind. The weight of nostalgia versus genuine affection is there. Caring versus pitying is there. Then there's the idea that drives it: If you're the only person who appreciates a work, does that diminish it in some way? How important is collective experience to art?Those ideas are suggested by the screenplay by Kyle Mooney and Kevin Costello, but they aren't wrestled with directly. Especially in its structure, Brigsby Bear is more conventional than its mysterious introduction and Mooney's bonkers comedic sensibility would have suggested. 47. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)- Three Billboards flew by for me, and I loved Sam Rockwell's iceberg of a performance. But I was held back by the same elements that hampered Martin McDonagh's other work. There's some profundity lurking in the Harrelson voice-over, and you can't tell me that you didn't get the chills from McDormand's raw scream as her son holds her back from putting out a fire.But it's over-written in the first half--"HOW RESPONSIBLE ARE WE FOR OTHER PEOPLE?" might as well be on a storefront on Main Street. And McDonagh, a real poet of the profane at his best, is so willing to go for the easy joke that he undoes a lot of his own subtlety. Even before the dreadful final five minutes, there's too much plot and too many characters.Perhaps it's an issue of expectations--this would have been a satisfying video store find back in the day, but I'm not sure something so out-of-control should be up for All the Awards.   46. Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadignino)- For me, this is Guadignino's third straight film in which an emotional urgency underneath never quite equals the lush, meticulous, yet inert exterior wrapping. That being said, Chalamet's performance forces nothing, and the character is a uniquely novelistic creation: knowing everything, practicing mystery, but wearing his confusion on his sleeve. Despite an overall shapeless quality, the film brings everything home in the poignant moments near the end. One of those moments is a five-minute "it gets better" speech by Michael Stuhlbarg. By that point I think most of my audience was willing to go there, but I hesitated to buy it. You can't spend two hours being a movie about what isn't said, then switch over to a movie in which everything is laid out on the table. Then again, that's my exact Guadignino problem. 45. Battle of the Sexes (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)- Dayton and Faris show as little tennis as possible because they don't know how to make it look interesting. Carell sleepwalks through his role. There's a lot of "Here's plot point A" type dialogue. We're told about King's dedication to the game, but we aren't really shown it. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a Clinton-Trump allegory, and Dayton-Faris expected Clinton to win like everyone else did. But Battle of the Sexes still goes down smooth, mostly because of the tender love story between Billie Jean King and Marilyn Barnett. In fact, every time the film cut to something else, I wanted more of those women discovering each other. I'm a student of Movie Stardom, so I've given Emma Stone her due as a Movie Star. But this is the first time I forgot I was watching Emma Stone. The scene in which Billie Jean and Marilyn meet is an impressionistic, sensual haircut. Marilyn calls Billie Jean pretty, and based on the complicated reception of that compliment--a stumble but not a stammer--you can tell Billie Jean didn't get that much. As written, King is a strange mixture of inward flailing and outward tenacity, and Stone breaks hearts with it. It's not often that one performance can give a movie a reason to exist, but that's why they play the games. 44. King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword (Guy Ritchie)- It's hard to remember a film more uninterested in its own storytelling, and it's even harder to remember a time when I saw that as a strength. If nothing else, the permanent fast-forward button that Guy Ritchie holds feels like a fresh corrective against other self-serious origin legends. I say "origin," but this movie actually feels like a trilogy unto itself, with the excellent initial twenty-five minutes covering about thirty years at a breathtaking pace. The score, which incorporates human breath, makes that literal. Ritchie fashions King Arthur into a scrappy orphan story, so there's a bit of his underdog imprint, but he also sort of assumes that we know the basics of the King Arthur story and yada-yadas a lot. Merlin gets mentioned only by name, Excalibur never gets named, and Arthur literally cuts in line to pull it out of the stone. By the end some of the visuals look like Killer Instinct for the N64 with a code to turn CGI embers all the way up. But I prefer this to the three-hour version that the studio accountants no doubt expected to receive.

43. War for the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves)- For better or worse, this movie plays for keeps. Aided by Michael Giacchino's second masterpiece of a score (after Up), the film lets the action speak for itself, going for long stretches without any dialogue. It culminates in the exact go-for-broke ending that I keep asking for. But am I the only one who feels a bit of cognitive dissonance with these movies? The audience I saw it with applauded at the end, but it's hard for me to buy in that way for something that is so dour and self-serious while also being goofy. Like, I'm really supposed to learn about the lessons of work camps from CGI apes? The commitment behind the apes' design is admirable--how has this series not won any effects Oscars yet?--but is the storytelling strong enough to transcend those tricks? It's novel, but I'm not sure it's new. Matt Reeves crams the film with Apocalypse Now allusions, and though I was thoroughly entertained, I couldn't help but think this was Apocalypse Now for people who will never see Apocalypse Now.

[nataliecrown]

4x01 Recap - Echoes (The 100)

Alright folks, it’s time. My show has returned, and I am throwing myself back on this ride with wild abandon.

I’m adopting my Discussapalooza style from here on out. Which is to say that this recap is going to be very long. If there are any sections that you’d like me to pull out and post seperately, let me know. Otherwise, you have been warned - I like to go in depth.

We ready? LET’S GO.

Octavia feels right from the get go

  First     we need to talk about how stupid the Polis tower is, from a practical     standpoint. It’s one of those choices where this show went for BIG BIG BIG     without thinking of anything else. It is DUMB that they all got down     without incident with the elevator out. And like...next episode they are     back up there again??? AGSAJSABHFSAF.

Anyway,     the little wobble that Octavia has as we see her climbing down the last     chunk is hilarious to me because I feel it’s the only acknowledgment the     writers make to the ridiculously death defying feat they all just     accomplished? ANYWAY.

We     then get all the emotions when Octavia runs to Indra, and this     relationship means the actual world to me if I’m honest. When you look     back at how they started, and the genuine affection and respect between     them now - particularly from Indra’s side - it’s actually incredible. Plus     I am just STRAIGHT UP EUPHORIC that Indra is still around.

Their     interaction regarding Pike is really subtle, and I love it. As much as I     am sad to have lost Mike Beach (though he continues to be the absolute     best), I also really do not have an issue with Octavia killing him. He     executed Lincoln, and this world is messed up. I enjoy Octavia’s ‘I waited     until it was over line’ even though it’s only just true (she almost     screwed everybody over beforehand when she couldn’t control her urges),     but I think the delivery is spot on. It was a struggle for Octavia to hold     back. In the end, she needed it to be over. And Indra’s nod? Mostly, I see     understanding there. But I’ll keep an eye on where these two go this     season, because maybe there was also a little bit of sadness? We’ll see.

 Bellarke instantly blow my mind

  HONESTLY.     I’m not exaggerating when I flail over them standing next to each other.     It’s actually iconic at this point. STAND TOGETHER ALL THE TIME PLEASE.

Polis     is a mess. Would be super great if it would just...get blasted out of     existence sometime soon? *innocent emoji*

I     LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEIR OCTAVIA INTERACTION. I’M GONNA LIST WITHIN MY     LIST.

1. I     love that Clarke is looking to make him feel better, despite everything     else on their plates. That’s the first thing we get from Clarke in Season     4 - her reassuring Bellamy.

2. I     also love that Bellamy isn’t racing after Octavia to check in, to follow     up, or even just to keep an eye on her. We see this throughout the     episode, and I’ll talk about it more, but I really feel like the Blake     relationship is going to step up in a big way, and in a way that it needs     to. Bellamy is going to step back from Octavia, not from lack of love, but     from the perspective that she can take care of herself. And maybe, for the     first time in Bellamy’s life, he can lift a little of the burden of     responsibility off his shoulders (I mean, that’s a joke     obviously...because the world is ending, but you know).

3.     AND when Clarke mentions that people will believe Pike had it coming,     Bellamy responds with ‘maybe we all do.’ His head almost snaps around when     Clarke says it, and it’s clear that he’s thinking if Pike deserved it,     then so do I.

Okay,     so moving on. We’ve known for a long time that Clarke was going to tell     Bellamy before everyone else. I want to point it out again though.     Because.

It’s     Bellamy that suggests they hold back on sharing the end of the world news     until they have more facts, and Clarke points out that he’s afraid of how     people will react. Meg and I have just shared our podcast recap of 1x04,     so the episode is vivid in my mind and I LOVE how this moment calls back     to that episode. Back then Bellamy told Clarke ‘be smart about this’. She didn’t     listen, and things went a bit tits up. It was the end of that episode that     Bellamy and Clarke became partners with ‘from now on, we make the rules.’     And we see their evolution presented here. Clarke listens to Bellamy.

THEY     ARE STANDING VERY CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER JUST SO YOU KNOW.

Bellamy     loves to drop in shit jokes in terribad situations. I love it. It’s like     he’s constantly trying to lighten the weight on Clarke’s shoulders. Like     he cares for her happiness or some shit.

So     Clarke listens to Bellamy as he reassures her. It’s step by step Clarke,     one thing at a time. We get down, we go home, we figure it out (hey,     remember the 3x16 script revealing to us that Clarke thought of Bellamy as     she pulled the lever? And remember how she said ‘we’ll figure something     out, we always do.’ It’s a little bit like this sort of moment was EXACTLY     what she imagined) and we survive. We get a long shot of Clarke’s face     when Bellamy finished talking, and it is all about her looking at him and just     being so grateful for him. She needs him, more than anyone (yes, I     believe more than she needs Abby and yes I believe more than she needed     Lexa - sue me).

‘Thank     you, for keeping me alive.’ SO AFTER THE FLAILING IS DONE, there is a ton     to unpack here. Most obviously, Bob is a master of his face. Like, he does     the whole I AM TAKEN ABACK thing so goddamn well. There’s also a sadness     to Clarke that Eliza carries in this episode. She’s tired, and she’s     mourning, and she’s scared. It’s beautiful to me that she took this     moment, looking up at this stalwart beside her, and said those words. We     see her thank Raven later too, and I wonder if this is perhaps the legacy     of Clarke’s S3 arc. Love is weakness is truly gone. Will we see her be     more open in general now, knowing that they might all be dead in six     months anyway?

I     talked about this already, but I’ll go again because lbr this recap won’t     have anywhere near enough words in it if I don’t (L O L). I think we can     take this thank you in its most literal sense, which is probably how     Bellamy takes it. By that I mean that Clarke is thanking him for his solid     work in 3x15 and 3x16, and then for all the other times that he has     stepped in to save her. But I also think it throws back to her pulling the     lever in 3x16 again, especially when you consider the script. In that     scene, Clarke essentially chose life or death for everyone. It was     thinking of Bellamy that gave her the strength to survive. He doesn’t know     that, and he probably never will, but without him ALWAYS doing what he is     doing in this very scene Clarke might have chosen differently.

No     wonder they stick to each other like glue.

‘You     don’t make it easy.’ *giggles*

  I     like the confirmation that the people Lexa killed in the CoL are dead IRL.     I wonder if this is just put in there to tie up a loose end, or if it’s     going to be relevant later?

I     also like the spinning shot of Bellarke because I am who I am, and I am     not ashamed.

  CREDITS!     I always thought it was spelled Zach tbh. Surely they wouldn’t put a typo in     the credits for an actor’s name though? Right? RIGHT?

 Arkadia kru!

  THIS     SCENE WAS SO CUTE. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. I’m like, give or take about     Marper, but their shuffle dancing was adorable.

Jasper     skidding in and pleading the chip was also adorable, but I’LL GET TO     JASPER LATER.

RAVEN.     HI RAVEN. HOW ARE YOU RAVEN. I LOVE YOU RAVEN.

Anybody     else notice that Raven is almost a little bit S1 Clark in this moment? The     others are taking a moment to chill, and savour their success. Raven is     all business. We’ve all heard that Raven is going to have more of a     leadership role this season, and I am already getting those vibes.

The     moment between Jasper and Raven is wonderful and heartbreaking. Their     scenes together last season were so lovely, and I really buy her checking     in on him as she does here. I also think everything about Jasper in this     moment is hella complex. I think he is happy that Raven is okay,     but I also suspect he is incredibly jealous. He looks at her and her     injury, knowing that she has ‘been through more than anyone’, and he sees     how capable she is, how helpful she is, AND ALIE upgraded her brain on top     of that? It must make him feel even worse about himself, even more     useless. He’s beating himself up for not being as good as she is. But it’s     not a competition, Jasper. It’s different people that deal with things in     different ways. Oh my god I’m talking to him like he can hear me. YOU’LL     BE OKAY JASPER.

‘There’s     nothing like a little pain to remind you that you’re alive.’ LET ME WEEP.     Also, NEVER say this to a person suffering from chronic pain. HOWEVER, as     somebody that does suffer from it...I adore this line. I know that might     sound like a contradiction, but this is the sort of shit that is inspiring     when coming from the right source. And Raven is that source. She made it     out, she survived. She can put things in perspective. Her pain is her     choice, her life is her choice. AH.

‘Wish     I could get an upgrade’ OH JASPER. I have complicated feelings about     Jasper in this episode. I’ll get to it later.

RAVEN     CHECKING THAT THE OTHERS HAVE LEFT AND THEN LETTING HERSELF REACT TO HER     PAIN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. THANK YOU SHOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I     refuse to speculate about Raven’s face fading into the skull, simply     because a world in which Raven dies is not a world that I believe will     ever exist. So I ain’t worried.

 Bravenlarke Rises

  Fucking     Jaha.

Kane,     you’re very kind. But ‘what have we done’? I don’t know if you can really take     any of the blame for the CoL.

Kabby!     Standing! People stand so well on this show.

Abby’s     mum senses tingle, and we get some more classic Bellarke/Kabby because     this show knows what it’s about and it’s FINE VESSELS.

And     then BRAVENLARKE RISES. Bellamy and Clarke step away from the adults to     chat to their BFF and there is SO MUCH HERE. MY GOD THIS RECAP IS GOING TO     BE SO LONG I AM SO SORRY. I CAN’T BELIEVE ANY OF YOU WILL READ THE WHOLE     THING. YIKES.

Also     worth noting: Kabby observing Bellarke as they walk away.

FIRST     AND FOREMOST - Raven wants to know if everyone is okay, AND ASKS AFTER     CLARKE. And then CLARKE THANKS HER. You guys, we have been so goddamn     deprived of Clarke and Raven. GIVE ME ALL OF IT PLEASE.

Clarke     thanking Raven is also nice from the perspective that the show is     acknowledging that Clarke wouldn’t have pulled any lever without Raven’s     smarts.

ALSO,     CLARKE PUTS BOTH HANDS OVER BELLAMY’S. NOTE THIS SHIT DOWN. I LIVE.

Bellarke     split up here for no other reason than to set up the following scene with     Echo, which honestly makes me laugh a lot.

ROAN     IS ALIVE. I mean, this isn’t news but let’s YAY over it anyway.

Okay,     so Echo grabs Clarke and Abby is all GASP and then from a million miles     away Bellamy storms over, and the FURY in his face honestly gives me     shivers. The point, the being held back by Kane, the ‘Bellamy, don’t’.     Everybody in this bar knows in their own way that threatening Clarke is     liable to set Bellamy the f off. And when you add the Echo/Gina to it all,     it becomes ever more intense.

Much     catching of Clarke. Much standing close.

 Setting up the politics

  Okay,     so Echo is not about Skaikru and Azgeda have the numbers to back up their     ire. Kane makes a lovely attempt at defending Clarke, but it doesn’t seem     to faze Echo at all. We then meet random ambassador with spectacular eyes,     and we then lose random ambassador when Echo slits her throat. I have a     bit of an issue with this scene if I’m honest, because it feels a bit     contrived. Echo JUST had a sword to Clarke’s throat, and no argument     actually won her over. Yet she happily murders random ambassador? I’d     argue that Echo spares Clarke because Bellamy is there and she feels     residual guilt for what happened at Mt Weather...but then, she seems more     than happy to see Clarke murdered later so that doesn’t add up.     Essentially, I see the writer’s hands at work here.

‘Looks     like saving the world will have to wait.’ *giggles* Also, HOW CLOSE ARE     YOUR FACES HONESTLY.

  Fucking     Jaha.

Oh,     hey Murphy! Nice to see you and your sass. And also nice to see you agree     with me on the fucking Jaha front.

This     Memori scene is super cute. I love the reminder that Emori was essentially     banished by the grounders because of her deformity. I love Murphy calling     his people his people, and thinking things are different now. I love how     earnest and honest her is with her. And her acceptance. BUT THEN I GET     SAD, BUT I’LL GET TO THAT LATER.

 Family Gathering

  So     Abby sees Kane look at his crucifixion wounds, and we all remember that he     was crucified because he wouldn’t let them hurt Abby. Paige nails Abby’s     guilt, and the whole exchange is wonderfully tender. The best part of this     scene is Clarke watching it happen. I love her little smile. She wants her     mum to be happy, especially if the world is ending in six months. I also     think there’s a little sadness in her expression. We can’t forget that     Clarke was reunited with Lexa literally...what..an hour or so before this?     I’m sure she’s thinking of Lexa here too.

KINDRA.     The hug was everything.

Bellamy     returns to Clarke’s side.

Octavia     is SO SASSY IN THIS EPISODE MY GOD.

There’s     a shot where Bellamy looks across at Clarke when she says ‘we have to save     Roan’ that I really enjoy. Just thought I’d point it out.

Abby’s     motherly intuition tells her that Clarke knows more than she does, but     before Clarke informs the group she looks to Bellamy. He nods. THEY ARE A     TEAM. And the truth is out there. They can’t afford a fight, nor do they     have time for it. They need to save Roan and form some sort of     truce with Azgeda if they have any hope of saving the world.

  FUN     FACT I actually did not at any point twig that it was Octavia in the bag,     and that Jaha was in on the team effort. I truly thought he was just off     doing some weird shit by himself. So I guess...I was pleasantly surprised?     Good...good for you, Jaha?

Can’t     say I was too emotionally impacted to see him get beat up though *shrug*.     I mean, it wasn’t pleasant but whatever.

 Bellamy, the Leader

  Personally,     I do not believe that Becho will happen. What I do see is the writer’s     using Echo, and their history, as a means to bring Bellamy back to the     forefront as a leader. Others have already mentioned the parallel to     Clarke and Lexa here, and I totally see it. Because Echo will only deal     with Bellamy, the show is allowed to pull back from just Clarke as     representative of Skaikru. It’s actually pretty clever, and gives Bellamy     a ton of agency outside of his partnership with Clarke. So, kudos.

GUYS     I WAS JUST SO PLEASED WITH OCTAVIA THIS EPISODE. All the pre season stuff     made it sound like she was going to be off on her own, and doing her own     murderous thing. But her murderous thing is totally for her people! I love     it! And yes, it is completely implausible that Octavia is suddenly a     highly skilled ninja. I absolutely agree. But also, whatever. I accepted     her sudden level up back in S2. I’m over it.

ABBY’S     REACTION TO OCTAVIA’S MURDERS WAS HONESTLY AMAZING. I LAUGHED VERY HARD.     More Abby/the Blakes please and thank you. Make the family complete.

Okay,     so Murphamy lives. I love how Emori says she doesn’t like this, and     Murphy’s reaction is IT’S OKAY, BELLAMY IS RIGHT THERE. And then as he     approaches, Indra has to TELL BELLAMY TO PAY ATTENTION. Ahaha. Amazing.

CAN     WE TALK ABOUT INDRA AND BELLAMY FOR A SECOND? LIKE. The last time they     were alone together, Bellamy was chained to a wall and she hated his guts.     And I mean, she probably still sort of hates his guts. But wow, progress.     And progress on Bellamy’s part too. I actually think it says a lot for his     self worth that he can stand there with her on such a level. It probably     helps that his dad, and her BFF, is there too but still. IMPORTANT.

‘I     know how you feel about her, but you can’t lose control’ was clearly put     in to remind people that are less obsessed than us that Bellamy has a     pretty solid reason to hate Echo. Much like we understand Octavia’s quest     for vengeance re. Pike, we could understand Bellamy feeling the same here.     But Bellamy has come out of S3 in a much better place than he started it,     that’s for sure.

‘That’s     probably because you’re not an idiot.’ Oh, Murphy.

AND     THEN I GET REALLY SAD YOU GUYS. Bellamy gives Murphy his gun, in a     throwback to S2 and like...I just....I GET it. It’s totally in character     for Murphy to look at this situation brewing, to think of Emori, and to     say screw it. IT TOTALLY IS. But I was really, really looking forward to     Murphy being back with the group. And EVEN MORE THAN THAT I was looking     forward to Emori meeting the group! Clarke and Emori scenes. Raven and     Emori scenes. Bellamy and Emori scenes. GIVE IT TO ME. So I can’t help but     be disappointed with Murphy here. And I really hope Memori aren’t off on     their own for long. Maybe Murphy will have a change of heart? Maybe Memori     have started back towards Arkadia? Maybe they will bump into Bellarke on     the way? DOUBLE DATE?

‘I     GOT THIS’ means everything, as does Bellamy’s power strut. HE’S BACK IN     THE GAME. I’m sure he’s still full of self loathing, but it’s not     crippling him like it was. He is finding his self worth again.

I     actually don’t find it at all surprising that Echo seems to genuinely care     for Bellamy’s opinion. She saw his courage and his strength and his     compassion in Mt Weather. He saved her and all of the others that were     trapped there. He is a good, in her eyes. But as Bellamy says, it’s not     that easy. At the end of the day, Gina died because Echo betrayed Bellamy.     You don’t just apologise for something like that. And while I don’t     personally care for Gina (so so so scandalous - note: I care that the     writers created the character just to kill her, but it was so obviously     going down that way that I never formed an attachment. Sue me) her memory     won’t just disappear.

Bob     nails this scene by the way. He told the others that he had this, and he     does. He IS control. But you can still see his anger in the stiff way he     holds himself, the furrow of his brow, the occasional gulp, and the     deliberate way that he talks.

OH     LOOK. OCTAVIA LOVES HER BROTHER AND DOESN’T WANT HIM TO DIE.

Bellamy’s     reaction to the Trikru massacre is ALSO on point, and I like that Echo had     no idea he was there. She almost looks a little bit excited by it. Murder     clearly turns her on.

‘The     alternative is war. Is that what you want?’ makes me think of the Bellarke     fight in 3x05 and I had to mention it because if I am feeling these     emotions, you should be too.

Oh,     btw, during all of this Clarke and Abby are trying to save Roan. I bring     it up because I LOVE THE MOTHER/DAUGHTER BONDING IN THIS EP. GRIFFIN LADIES     FTW.

And     then we see the sliiiiightest break in Bellamy’s composure. Echo turns to     leave, and he grabs her arm saying ‘I wasn’t done talking’’ and the     delivery does things to me. But then, oops. Bellamy is on the floor with a     knife at his throat. And the ANGER. The ANGER in his eyes. OOF.

OH     LOOK. OCTAVIA LOVES HER BROTHER AND DOESN’T WANT HIM TO DIE PT II

‘Abby     will come through.’ Kane’s faith in her is beautiful

OH     LOOK. OCTAVIA LOVES HER BROTHER AND DOESN’T WANT HIM TO DIE PT III

I     hate writerly contrivance, so I hate that Roan wakes up just as Echo is     about to chop Clarke’s head off. It’s dumb. Don’t be dumb, writers.

ABS.

CLARKE     give the guy a second before you pounce.

Also,     thank you so very much for hiring Mr McGowan. You did me a solid.

I’m     Niytavia for lyf but noting Octavia’s take no BS ‘we just saved your damn     life’ juuuuust in case.

 Sex and giggles and SADNESS

  The     Marper scene is cute. Like...I don’t know, it came out of nowhere so I’m     not emotionally invested. But I want both characters to be happy, so yay.

Raven     interrupting them eternally is my fave. Her delivery of ‘we’re all gonna     die’ is also my fave.

Okay,     let’s tackle Jasper being about to kill himself. It’s clear that the     writers were going to kill Jasper off in S3, but decided against it. Cool.     I’m glad. So why go for an attempt of suicide here after the lovely Jonty     scene in the S3 finale? Because it’s not just that they postponed the     storyline, because Jasper DOESN’T kill himself. It’s NEW story. I’ll jump     ahead now to Raven revealing the radiation truth to them (kinda loving     that ALL the delinquents know btw) and Jasper’s reaction. I personally     kinda like it? I mean, I’m withholding judgement until I’ve seen more. But     in this episode alone? I like that he has  a different reaction to     the others, and that - weirdly - knowing that he’s doing to die makes him     want to live? The thing that stops me getting really excited is being     fairly convinced that Jasper WILL die this season, but if they handle the     death right (I still have faith) then I might actually like this arc? I     JUST DON’T KNOW BASICALLY. (Jasper’s soundtrack theme is so haunting and     wonderful).

Devon     is really knocking it out of the park btw.

  I’m intrigued     by what will come of Echo and Roan. I’d pin Echo as the season’s villain,     but from Tasya’s interviews it doesn’t seem to be what’s coming.

Will     Roan cauterise his own wounds with blades once per season? Excellent.

Stupid     crown.

Down     to learn more about Roan’s family though. Siblings? Grandpa Theo?

 Hell in a cell (not really an apt subheading, I just wanted to use it)

  All     right, let’s do this.

The     conversation between Abby and Clarke is important on so many levels.     Firstly, these two haven’t had such a moment in so long. It’s just plain     nice to see. It’s also INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to see Clarke talk about her     love for Lexa, in a room full of people, and to have her mother just smile     and understand. It ain’t no thing, and that’s quality representation for     so many people.

I’ve     also already mentioned that while we’ve had months to get over 3x16, the     events we witnessed have JUST HAPPENED in the shows timeline. Seeing Lexa     and then losing her again is fresh in Clarke’s mind. I mean, she hasn’t     even had one night to sleep on it. Of course, she’s upset.

AND     I talked about this in Season 3 but I will never understand why so many     people give Clarke shit for being attached to the chip. I know we’re all     different, but it’s really quite normal to attach emotional significance     to objects. In this case, I’d say it’s particularly justified.

The     camera then hops to Kane watching Bellamy, and then closes in on Bellamy’s     face. I’ve seen all the different interpretations, so here’s my take.

Overall,     I think Bellamy is feeling compassion and empathy for somebody that he     loves. He doesn’t want Clarke to be sad or hurting! It hurts him to see     her that way, and to not be able to help. I do think that there is a layer     of something else there though, but I’m loathe to call it jealousy.     Jealousy sounds so...so negative. I am very much in the camp that Bellamy     is aware, on some level, that he is in love with Clarke. But I also     believe that he isn’t remotely thinking about it ever actually happening     between them, and he’s okay with that. So not jealousy as such...but a     twinge, let’s say. A slight twisting of the stomach and a twinge of the     heart.

I’ve     also seen the suggestion that he’s looking towards Octavia, and eh. I     mean, perhaps. But for me the most important thing about this scene is     that the writers chose to include it, and chose to showcase it in the way     that they did. I think if they wanted us to know that Bellamy was thinking     about Octavia, we would have seen a shot of her after Bellamy. We didn’t.     Which tells me that the intention of the scene was for us to connect     Clarke to Kane watching Bellamy to Bellamy reacting to Clarke.

In     which case - SQUEE.

And     then we get my absolute fave moment, because it was one of the few     Bellarke scenes that wasn’t spoiled in one way or another - and that is     Bellamy’s freak out when Echo takes Clarke. There’s honestly not much to     say at this point. Obviously, he’d react that way. Obviously, Bob would     nail it. But I’d like to draw attention to the writer’s intention once     more here. We get a brief shot of Abby’s reaction, but the majority of the     scene focuses on Bellamy’s reaction. Important.

 Clarke, Crown, Chip

  ‘It’s     always something with you, isn’t it.’ ‘This will be good.’ LOL FOREVER.

I     can’t wait for Clarke and Roan to be BFFs.

‘Science     is our only hope’ HEY IT’S LIKE THE REAL WORLD.

Clarke     giving up the chip is a lovely scene. She does it for the sake of all, and     ultimately I doubt it was that much of a struggle for her. Mostly, I think     it makes her sad. Poor Clarke.

I     also do think this a symbolic closing of the door re. Lexa. Which isn’t to     say I don’t think she will be mentioned or referenced again this season,     but it will be sporadic and only in relation to pushing forward other     relationships or story arcs.

THE     COALITION IS FORMED.

Until     another Nightblood ascends? Where you at Luna.

Once     again, we get a shot of Bellamy taking in Clarke’s reaction to the flame.     The two of them are so in tune, it’s ridiculous.

We     also get a shot of the woman who shouts out during Roan’s speech, and then     Indra looking around. So...Indra’s daughter, yes? If not her daughter,     then somebody significant. VERY excited to meet her next episode. And I’m     intrigued as to how she might interact with Octavia.

 The youth inherit the earth!!!!!!!

  So     the last scene with Echo bothers me just because I think Echo’s line about     trust is stupid after everything she has done, at such an early point.     Like...maybe if you had just saved his life (something I feel will     inevitably happen at some point this season) and that just makes the scene     feel really obvious. I am adamant that there will be no romance here, but     I do see a future where the show will take Bellamy towards forgiving her.     Please show, handle this well.

On     the other hand, if I hadn’t read Tasya’s interview, I might take Bob’s     delivery of ‘I doubt it’ as the final nail in the coffin, and confirmation     that this is done. It’s cold, collected. Perfect.

Family     pow wow!!

Octavia     sass and then, ‘this is serious, O’ and again I sense a different Bellamy     here in relation to Octavia. Further emphasised by his leaving without     insisting on a hug, or even a lingering look. It’s like...he’s there, and     he’s observing, and he’s contributing...but the relationship between them     is on her now. Or something.

This     is emphasised again by the parental goodbyes to Bellarke. Clarke and Abby     is lovely as ever, so now let me turn to the scene between Kane and     Bellamy.

I     was surprised to see there was so much ‘controversy’ over this scene. I     definitely did not take it as Kane admonishing Bellamy, or Kane implying     that Bellamy did not deserve to live or that everything was Bellamy’s     fault. I very much took it as Kane speaking from past experience, and     knowing that Bellamy has a tendency to blame himself. It’s advice from the     heart, and well meaning.

That     being said, it has all the subtlety of being smashed in the face with a     frying pan. That’s my issue with it. It reminds me of Bellamy spelling out     his arc to Pike in 3x16. I was okay with that one because fandom last     season had proven that it needed to be spelled out. I was hoping we could     do away with such over explaining this season though.

I     would have much preferred Kane placing a hand on Bellamy’s shoulder, the     two of them nodding at each other, Kane saying ‘take care of yourself’, and     then A GODDAMN HUG.

When     Kane says ‘you’ll deserve to survive’ and Abby looks up at him - HEY     SEASON 1 THROWBACK I SEE YOU.

Bellamy’s     ‘I hope so’ is really important to me. He WANTS to live, to survive, to     earn happiness again.

The     shot of Clarke witnessing the moment is ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. again,     they are just so in tune with each other, with their emotions, with their     headspaces. Slay me.

Anyway.

So.

Like.

The     shot of Clarke and Bellamy walking away framed by Kabby!!!!!!!!!!!

‘THE     YOUTH INHERITED THE EARTH.’

I

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I     ALMOST THREW MY LAPTOP WHICH WOULD HAVE SUCKED CAUSE I JUST BOUGHT IT

WHAT     KIND OF EPIC SHIT

I’ve     always said that Bellarke will usher in a new age on earth, but     like….YOOOOO I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SO EXPLICITLY STATED ON SHOW.     FUCKING YES.

I     also LOVE Abby’s ‘they have six months to save it.’ Gone are the days of     her trying to step in and be an adult for the children. Kabby are stepping     back. They are keeping an eye on the politics of things. Saving the world?     That’s for Bellarke and the delinquents.

‘SO     WHAT NOW, PRINCESS?’

Look,     here’s the deal. I am so okay with Princess coming back in this moment.     FIRSTLY, after an episode which really emphasises the S1ness of Bellarke     in so many ways, the use of the old nickname really drives that home. But     it also drives home how far they have come since then. It’s a light     hearted moment, a joke, a tool again for Bellamy to lift Clarke’s burdens.

(Plus,     Jason recently confirmed that the whole point of the Princess nickname     between Bellarke was Han x Leia inspired so like HOW CAN I NOT LOVE THAT.)

AND     IT WORKS. She is so clearly surprised, and delighted by it! She struts,     she smirks! Walking out of Polis with Bellamy calling her Princess has her     feeling all kinds of badass.

And     I also love how lots of you have pointed out the contrast between everyone     else, even Kane, calling her Wanheda. I LOVE IT AND I AGREE. Before Polis,     before the grounders, Bellamy was there - and he’s still there now.

Fucking     Jaha.

  Oh     hey, radiation. Sweet. Also, Egypt. People. World. Countries. LET’S GO     SOMEWHERE.

 SO THAT WAS MY RECAP. WHO’S STILL HERE WITH ME? NOBODY? GOOD.

I CAN’T WAIT FOR 4X02.

[protectorsofthewood]

Abby and Wendy - Episode 38

THE STUDENTS AGAINST FOSSIL FUELS EVENT

Lluvia woke Phoebe and Abby at 7:15am. “Alex went out for breakfast treats,” she said. “He’s really trying to please you. We’re both hoping to see more of you.”

In ten minutes, the group crowded around the kitchen table, pouring coffee and eating bagels and egg salad, with sliced apples on the side. Isaiah seemed happy, looking forward to meeting Sharon on the River Queen at 10am.

Alex barely ate or talked at all, spending all his time sending and receiving messages. “I promised Sara and Amy we’ll meet them at Hamilton Hall twenty minutes. They want to have a meeting around the STAFF table on that hill overlooking the entrance. People are hyper.” The group hurried through their breakfast, gulped their coffee, and gave Isaiah hugs and encouragement. Alex was still answering texts. “It looks like the rain will hold off until evening,” he said. “Come on, let’s do this.”

A cool wind was blowing on a gray, overcast day. They hurried across the campus to a building far from the dormitories. A wide lawn and flower gardens surrounded this formal old building that used to be the university president’s mansion. Evansville College was about a hundred and fifty years old. Alex was taking his role as an activist and their host very seriously. He’s doing it all to impress Lluvia, thought Abby.Well, more power to them. I think I’m jealous.

They walked up a long path on rising ground, and suddenly found themselves on a small hill with a wide view of Hamilton Hall and the river beyond. Part way down the hill a convenient level spot was bustling with a crowd drinking coffee around a folding table. Students were talking, texting, and calling friends to get them out of bed. When they noticed Lluvia, Abby, Phoebe, and Alex everyone turned to stare. Phones disappeared. Sara called to them, and made introductions as they arrived.

“I know we all have questions for our guests,” she said. “We’d love to chat, but let’s put that off until after the event. We have details to cover... As I was saying, we’ll have five campus security to help us. Most of you know Little John, who will be the boss.” Sara turned to Abby, Phoebe, and Lluvia. “That’s John Little, head of security. He’s big and strong and in charge, so his presence should be enough to stop any disruptions. Sorry to say this over again, but our responsibility today is to actually have a discussion and make sure people can be heard and understood. So, we don’t want signs, chanting, and nasty comments. Please, point out disrupters to security, and they will do their job. We need this crowd to hear what the trustees are saying. If no one hears them, Professor Richardson’s reply will make no sense. Our goal is to become a part of the decision-making process. That will take winning the respect of the crowd, and the wide world through the press and social media. Any questions?”

Students and faculty had been arriving as Sara spoke. Reporters had come early and taken the space in front. A WBCS crew set up video cameras and sound equipment. Abby noticed older men in suits passing by a security guard into Hamilton Hall.

Alex spoke up. “After what you’ve said, I feel a bit guilty seeing our banner with my print hanging between those two trees. Shouldn’t we all avoid signs?”

“We’re sponsoring this event,” Sara replied. “We’ll answer questions, we have a first aid kit, we’ll be able to assign security. So, people need to know who we are and where we are.”

“Got it.”

Sara turned to Abby. “Having you here today is both an advantage and a disadvantage. I’m sure your presence will be noticed. People will want to talk to you, and some may want you to address the crowd... What would you like to do?”

Abby was sure of her answer. “I just want to be here and listen. I will not address the crowd or give interviews.”

“Good, very wise. I’m assigning Little John to stay with you as much as possible. Stand close to your friends, and be firm. Okay, it’s... almost 8:45. I see Professor Richardson and his colleagues over there. I’ll have to speak to them. Sometime soon I’ll have to open the event and introduce Jay Wellington, Dean of Students. Other questions?”

“What happened to Amy?” someone asked. “I don’t see her.”

“I’m not sure, but you know she always has a good reason for what she does... anything else? Well, talk to each other, feel free to bring up any questions later. There’ll be no rain, don’t worry. Give me your hand! Thanks everyone!” They all clustered together and slapped hands held high in the air like a sports team before the game.

Two students arrived with fresh coffee, apples, and bananas. Another arrived with bagels. The table became crowded. Time went by. STAFF members combed the area, reminding people to pick up any debris from their surroundings. After half an hour the crowd began to separate off into small groups. Some students were looking impatiently at the time, checking their email, texting, talking on their phones. A few were hurrying off to other appointments.

Sara sent her staff around promising a surprise in a few minutes. Ishmael, George, and Eddy carried instruments down to the stage, moved a few chairs aside, and set up a small amplifier. George tried out the microphone set up behind the podium. It was already turned on, clearly intended for the trustees to use when they were ready to explain their decisions.

The band made themselves at home and began to tune up. Students jostled for seats near the stage, and got back on their phones to call their friends. Sara appeared on the stage to say a few words.

“Friends, students, and faculty! We’ve been preparing for this event since last spring. Let’s not lose patience. We are determined to see this dialogue take place, right here, today. We’ll wait as long as necessary. Please remember, we’ve been hoping for years, decades, to see any progress on the climate crisis, species extinction, and the related issues that threaten the future of our world. So, stay right here and support our right to influence where the trustees invest our money. Do we want Evansville College to be dependent on an income that contributes to the destruction of our future?”

The crowd roared. Sara had caught their attention.

“And to make this waiting-time special for all of you, we have three members of the Thunder Rolling Band to play new songs, music you’ll be hearing for the first time.”

People clapped and cheered. Sara left the stage and Ishmael and George moved close together at the mike. Ishmael – smiling and waving to friends in the audience – said: “It’s great to be here! George and I just finished this song last week. This gathering today – and all our efforts – are small steps to deal with the global emergency. We wrote this song with that in mind. It’s called, We All Know Why.”

George played the chords, and Eddy found the rhythm on the conga drums. Ishmael joined in with a harsh, jabbing lead guitar solo. George began to sing:

We live near a river that goes roaring by It’s in our streets and houses, sometimes people die Things have changed around here, things have changed, Do you know why? You think our children gonna live here? You oughta hear them cry

Our family’s on a farm that’s generations old You know we’re proud to be here for a hundred years I’m told But now it’s strange, it never rains Do you know why? You think our children gonna live here? Well you oughta hear them cry

Fishing for a living’s not an easy job I know We’ve been working at it for a century or more But now the fish are gone, they’re all gone Do you know why? You think our children gonna live here Well you oughta hear them cry

This used to be a quiet town till the wild fires came Everyone is homeless now, we all feel the pain Everything’s changed, it’s strange Do you know why?

You think our children gonna live here Don’t you hear them cry?

All over the world it’s been happening slow But now it’s on our doorstep and everywhere we go The slow death coming, it’s coming And we all know why Where you think our children gonna live now? Don’t you hear their cries? Hear their cries All over the world, hear their cries

During the song the huge double doors opened just a few feet, and out stepped a pale thin man in a dark suit. He looked over the crowd, listened for thirty seconds or so, and retreated back inside. Meanwhile the song ended. The audience was silent for a moment and then shouted for more. The band spoke a few words together, and George played a chord. Suddenly the doors opened wide. A handsome man in his thirties, wearing jeans and a brown sport jacket, quickly approached the microphone. Ishmael and George stepped aside. Eddy carried his drums off the stage.

The man gave a broad smile, thanked the band, and nodded to the audience. “Hello students, faculty, and guests! Most of you know me, I’m Jay Wellington, Dean of Students. Sorry for the delay.” He smiled again at the very large crowd, which had been growing over the past twenty minutes. “The trustees have asked me to make a request. It’s just a suggestion that might help us understand each other and work together. We realize that a discussion with so many people will be almost impossible, so we’re inviting one or two of you to speak to the board inside, and then report the substance of the conversation back to all of you. Perhaps one student and one faculty member would be appropriate? Sara, I know your group is sponsoring this... event? Rally? Perhaps you can choose a faculty member to accompany you to the discussion?”

Sara walked up to the microphone. Jay Wellington held his ground in front of the mike, forcing Sara to nudge him to the side. She stood so that she could address him and the audience at the same time.

She spoke slowly and clearly to absolute silence. “Jay, thanks for inviting me. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well in the four meetings that were necessary to plan this... gathering. We call it a ‘gathering’ of students, faculty, and trustees. You’ll recall that we specifically planned to have a public... a public conversation that could be understood by anyone wishing to attend. Of course, we don’t expect our audience to all enter the discussion. But we did agree that they should be able to hear it and make their own judgement on the issues we are trying to resolve. We agreed that at least the executive committee of the trustees would actually appear and publicly announce their position. Then a faculty member and a student would have a chance to reply, followed by an opportunity for questions. Also, the trustees promised to hand out a written summary of their position. Hopefully we’ll see that before the meeting is over.”

Jay Wellington stepped away from the mike, motioning to Sara to have a few words on the side. But Sara held her ground, refusing a private conversation. The Dean returned to the mike, but had lost his smiling, affable manner. He couldn’t keep a note of anger out of his voice.

“I’m sorry you’re being so difficult. You know I’ve been doing my best to reconcile these very different... sometimes conflicting interests and goals. In situations like this a compromise may be the best we can do.”

As he paused there was an undertone of whispers and a shaking of heads from the audience. One voice shouted, “Let me get this straight. Who’s being difficult?”

Sara immediately chided her audience, reminding everyone of their commitment to civility and mutual respect. In the silence that followed Jay Wellington gave a weary sigh and shook his head. “I’ll do my best,” he said, but his voice implied a sense of hopelessness. He walked off.

Meanwhile Abby struggled with her own fears and conflicts. She longed to find a way to greet George and hopefully talk to him at least a little bit. Her intuition told her it would be nice for both of them. But she noticed people watching her, pointing, and making comments that she couldn’t quite hear. Fearing it was all in her mind, she was overjoyed when Little John, over six and a half feet tall and very formidable in his campus security uniform, moved over and stood next to her.

“Better stay with me,” he whispered.

She gave a sigh of relief. But still... she thought. It’s not just the crowd. There’s muttering like what I heard underground. Wendy warned me not to follow it... but why am I hearing it now, so far from the tunnels under Hidden Valley? I’ve got to get my mind off this!

But every time the Dean of Students spoke she could hear vague murmuring in the background, like a multitude of lost souls. I can’t take this! I’ve got to get out of here. The throng pressed in upon her as more and more people arrived, moving forward to hear what promised to be very riveting theater. Little John seemed to sense her nervousness, and patted her on the shoulder.

“Weird people arriving, but don’t worry,” he said. “I can handle it.” He held an oversize phone in his hand and occasionally spoke, giving instructions. Abby heard him say, “Yeah, send extras. Looks like something’s developing... Not sure, we’ll see.”

Her agony increased as the crowd waited for the next act. Finally, two security guards pulled open the enormous double doors, and four trustees in dark suits made their entrance. They barely glanced at the audience as they took seats behind the podium. Jay Wellington introduced them, but the murmuring inside Abby’s mind had become so loud that she couldn’t concentrate on their names. The Dean of Students stepped off the stage and began to talk to a group of professors that included Roberto Richardson.

The pale thin man rose and slowly seemed to float over to the mike. It was hard for Abby to guess his age. His thin hair seemed colorless. His features had no expression, manifested no emotion. His voice was flat, but his dark eyes darted around like little animals with a life of their own.

“I’m Bill Sandman, chair of our fiduciary committee. It’s our job to evaluate our investments and financial commitments, and do our best to fulfill the needs of Evansville College as presented to us by the administration and our executive chairman. Naturally, the financial security of the college is our highest priority.”

He paused, as if he expected some comment. “...our highest priority,” he went on. “My task is to make sure that we are faithful to the interests of this college. We cannot cede this responsibility to anyone. While we welcome the opportunity to listen to the ideas and recommendations of students and faculty, it remains our job, and our job alone, to make decisions to increase the endowment of Evansville College. But within those strict constraints there is some flexibility. I think you’ll find that Donald Irving, our investment advisor, can present opportunities for us to work together.”

No one clapped, or made any noise at all. People looked around as if confused or disoriented. Then a younger, more expensively dressed man rose from among the seated trustees, and walked confidently up to the microphone. He glanced at his watch and nodded to the crowd. “As Bill said, my area of expertise is the evaluation of our investments and the need, at times, to make changes. We have a substantial endowment, but our yearly expenses grow rapidly. We must be careful to generate an income that increases every year. Our scholarship fund, the salaries of our faculty, the maintenance of our physical plant, and the necessity of building dormitories as our college expands... I’m sure you can understand that fulfilling all these needs is not an easy task.

“I want you to know that we do consider environmental and moral issues when we invest. We already have restricted ourselves from new investments in fossil fuel corporations, as well as many enterprises with negative social impacts, such as the manufacture of assault rifles. Our annual report is available to the public for each year that passes. I must say we are proud of our strategies and our outcomes. After hearing from a faculty member and a student, I’ll be happy to take any questions, and hope we can share ideas for the benefit of all stakeholders in Evansville College.”

Bill Sandman walked over and joined his colleague at the mike. “Thank you, Donald, for all your help and years of service. Perhaps this would be a good moment to hear from a faculty member.” He nodded in to the group of professors and other staff. People in the crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, unable to believe that what they had heard was all that the trustees were offering. But Donald Irving took a seat, as Roberto Richardson said a few words to his colleagues. Then he spoke to George, who gave him a microphone attached to the amplifier used by the band.

“Please,” he said. “Bill or Donald, come back to the microphone. Let’s speak together and try to clarify this complicated subject. Hopefully we’ll make some progress.” The trustees hesitated and spoke in low undertones.

I can’t stand this! Abby was in a panic. What am I going to do? The murmuring and jabbering had grown louder, and become a wave of incomprehensible gibberish. She couldn’t tell what noise was coming from the audience and what was in her mind.

I’ve got to get out of here!

Donald Irving walked back to the mike, and Roberto joined him on the stage. “I understand that this is a confusing subject,” said Roberto in his most gentle manner. “I hope we can find a place to begin that we all agree on. I suggest that there are both objective facts and moral obligations facing all of us here at Evansville College. Let’s try to agree on these facts and obligations, and proceed from there.”

Roberto waited, as Donald Irving surveyed the crowd anxiously and looked at the trustees on either side of him and then at his audience. He gave a reply in a halting, uneven voice, full of long pauses:

“I think... we’ve already presented... the relevant facts and obligations. Our responsibilities and obligations to the needs of the college define this whole discussion. But perhaps... if there are questions... then...”

Roberto interrupted during another long pause. “Yes, thank you, we do have many questions. For example: Do you agree that the recent findings of the United Nations Intragovernmental Panel on Climate Change qualify as facts? If so, I hope we can agree that these findings create moral obligations for all of us.”

Donald Irving shook his head in frustration. “This line of questioning is really out of bounds. I have no expertise in science. It would be presumptuous, outside of my professional competence, to make a judgement on these findings. Any serious changes in our criteria to evaluate investments would have to come from the college president and the executive board.”

“Then perhaps we are speaking to the wrong people today. Are you saying that the climate crisis has no bearing on investments? Surely you will be examining the trends in energy technology in order to estimate future growth and returns on investment.”

“Yes, of course.” Donald was looking nervously at the trustees seated on both sides of the podium. Abby felt that he wanted one of his colleagues to rescue him from this loathsome predicament. “As I told you,” he continued, “we’ve already made a commitment to avoid further investments in fossil fuel corporations.”

“I understand. Was this commitment made for financial or ethical reasons?”

“Professor Richardson. I’m not here to be interrogated. I think the trustees have made their position quite clear. It’s time for you, representing students and faculty, to make your position clear.”

“Believe me,” the professor replied, “I understand that this is a stressful subject for all of us. I’m happy to change gears and speak directly to the audience. Thank you for your patience with my questions.”

Donald Irving nodded and sat in the row of chairs flanking the podium.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” began Roberto, “I want to thank all of you for your patience as well. I’ll present our position as briefly as I can.”

Staff and security were struggling to keep the audience quiet, as people tried to move around and talk to friends. Abby was aware that both students and adults were trying to approach her. Little John had engaged two other security guards to shield Abby. Lluvia and Phoebe politely but stubbornly warded off intruders. Feeling her heart beating and her breathing becoming a pant, she looked at the ground and met no one’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Roberto began his statement. “It’s very difficult for a complex community like Evansville College to make important decisions together when the participants are starting from different premises. The overwhelming majority of the students and faculty do accept the reports from the United Nations panel as facts and dire warnings. There is agreement among our most prominent scientific leaders that we have slightly more than ten years to make major changes in our global carbon footprint. If we fail at this task, irreversible changes will impact our globe, and change life on earth in devastating ways. I realize that there is a small minority who disagree, but if many doctors say that you have a dread disease and must make changes, and another doctor disagrees, you’ll probably make the changes to be on the safe side. And here the stakes are not just one person, not just one species, but all life on earth.”

The professor paused. The audience had become silent. No one moved.

“These scientific reports really exist. The research is real. The scientific community is real. We ignore them at our peril. These are facts. Now I’ll try to outline the moral issues. Here the discussion enters an area you can call spiritual, or religious. For example, there are social justice issues because – so far – climate change impacts poor countries and communities more than wealthy ones. The wealthy have a moral obligation to change this cruel and unfair crisis, and... they have the means to do so. Our various religions have strong words about our willingness – or lack thereof – to help those who suffer. Do the spiritual traditions of humanity matter? We ignore them at our peril.”

The audience clapped and cheered. Bill Sandman rose and spoke in Roberto’s ear. The professor stared off into the distance for a moment, and then said: “Bill tells me we’re running out of time. I don’t want to take any time that should be given to a speaker from the student body, so I’ll sum up our position. It is universally acknowledged that humans have created technology and power that can destroy all life. Do we have a moral obligation to life on earth? Do we have a moral obligation to the generations of humans, and of all species, waiting to be born? I believe we do. This moral and spiritual commitment must become the starting point for any discussion of investments, politics, and the decision-making process of any reputable organization, corporation, government, or institution. This is a universal challenge, affecting the way we live. It must be the first priority. After the collapse of civilization, what will our loyalty to Evansville College be worth?”

The audience cheered and clapped. In great agitation, Donald Irving rose and elbowed Roberto away from the mike. “I’m sorry, but I must bring some common sense to this dialogue. We also have an ethical obligation – right now, at this moment – to heat people’s homes, run a transportation system, put food on the table, run a university! All our myriad obligations do not disappear like magic because of a United Nations report. For example, our environmental groups on campus want to ban fracking. But we heat our dormitories and classrooms with fracked gas! And we have no solutions in place to banish fossil fuels, and will not have solutions for three decades at a minimum.”

“May I reply?” asked Roberto in a mild, very calm voice. “Yes, please do, if you can.”

“For the sake of discussion, let’s assume it will take three decades to become carbon free. No one is proposing banishing all fossil fuels tomorrow. We are proposing a path toward running our whole economy on renewable fuels. There are many options already in use that can be quickly expanded under the right conditions. Wind, solar, geothermal, and biogas come to mind immediately. We also need major changes in agricultural methods, and we need to expand forests and wild areas.”

Roberto looked over the audience. He seemed to stand up taller, and raised his voice: “We must begin to do these things now. We have wasted decades, and now we face an emergency. Let’s look at biogas for a minute. We know we can make fuel from organic waste, fuel that can substitute for fracked gas in important ways. Landfills of organic waste have a large carbon footprint because they emit methane into the atmosphere. We can take all that organic waste and make biogas and compost. It’s being done all over the world. Right now we pay to landfill the organic waste, and we allow the valuable methane to escape. We have the knowledge and expertise to do better. Why not invest in that?”

Roberto turned to the trustees to his right and left. “I’ve read the annual report of Evansville College. I estimate that about twenty percent of the endowment is invested in corporations that make money directly from mining and selling fossil fuels, and there are many more with an indirect relationship to fossil fuels. Why not sell those stocks and reinvest in renewable energy?”

Donald Irving eagerly took the mike. “Do you know,” he asked, “what would happen if all universities and pension funds followed your advice? I’m sure most of you have no idea. Such a policy would destroy our infrastructure. I would be fired for doing anything so stupid.”

“Okay... then as I understand it...” Roberto spoke softly, without hostility, “all the hundreds of endowments and pension funds that have already disinvested from the fossil fuel industry, or are doing so gradually, should already have bankrupted our country, even the whole globe. But that is not happening. Why do you think that is?”

Bill Sandman hurried to the mike again. In his flat voice, conveying no feeling at all, he said: “Thank you very much, Professor Richardson. We’re grateful for your ideas and suggestions. And now its time to hear from a student.”

The crowd was shocked. The trustee’s dismissal of Professor Richardson, a popular and respected faculty member, was unexpected and rude. But Sandman’s tone of voice was so void of any emotional cues that it was almost hypnotic. No one knew how to react. Abby struggled again with the endless sound of muttering, as if a million Bill Sandman’s were speaking.

Conversations broke out among small groups. The crowd expected Sara to take the stage, but the seconds flew by. Abby began to hear her own name, a sort of chant that grew in volume, and continued to grow until she fell into a major panic. She became aware of an argument between Little John and a woman. Turning her head, she saw Zoe pleading with Little John.

“Let me hear her,” Abby told him. “She’s with us!” Little John let her approach.

“It’s that Jerry Norris and a bunch of hired hands,” whispered Zoe. “They’re trying to create a mess, or make you look bad, or something. End this delay. Do something fast!”

Suddenly Sara joined them and said, “Abby, I’ve changed my mind. Please, go on stage and say something. You must, or we’ll have chaos. Just thank the crowd, tell them about the STAFF meeting tomorrow night in the student center. Thank Roberto. Even our friends are caught up in this outburst. You can’t walk out now, and I can’t fill your shoes. They want to see you.”

Abby put her face in her hands.

Sara leaned over and spoke in Abby’s ear. “This crowd is angry at the way the meeting is ending. They’re hoping for some inspiration. Come on, we’ll both go on stage.”

Abby had an idea. “Little John, Lluvia, wait for me right at those giant doors. After I speak we’ll escape through Hamilton Hall.”

Little John nodded. Abby rose and stepped up onto the stage. Sara took the mike and said, “We’re honored to welcome Abby Chapman to Evansville College, and to our student group. We hope to see her more often, and hope to visit her groups in Middletown and Rivergate.”

Sara looked at Abby.

A long round of applause rang out. Students raised their cell phones at arms length and snapped pictures. Oh, help me... thought Abby. I have no idea what I’m doing! She looked out on the vast crowd and saw friendly faces. The atmosphere became warm and welcoming. She found a few words that felt right.

“I’ve been wanting to come here for weeks.” Her voice rang out over the crowd, and all were silent. “So many here in Evansville have welcomed us, and we feel at home among you. And we’re eager to join you in events to come. I’m thinking particularly of the climate change conferences coming up in River City. I love it that we’re all living along the river, and I’ve dreamed of creating an armada of boats to travel to River City for the United Nations conferences. So, I hope we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. To the reporters and media people out there, I apologize for not granting interviews, but I’ve been overwhelmed and just need to be quiet for a while and stay with friends. We have others here today to represent Middletown and Rivergate.”

The crowd clapped and cheered. This was just the sort of thing they needed.

“So...” Abby continued, “our gratitude to all of you, and especially to Professor Richardson, STAFF members, the Thunder Rolling Band, and the trustees, for having the courage to work together and begin this conversation. I have just one request: Please continue this dialogue. I say this to all of you: Don’t give up. Remember: We’re all relatives.”

She bowed her head to thunderous applause, and then turned and joined Little John and Lluvia at the doorway. He escorted them inside and past the security guards. They hurried down a long hall paneled with dark wood.

Abby felt very secure with Lluvia and Little John. He clearly knew where he was going and what he wanted to do. Luvia was calm and seemed to be enjoying herself. They passed by a wide door that opened onto a large conference room. Paintings lined the walls. A well-dressed group including the trustees were talking and sampling an assortment of breakfast food on an enormous oval table. Abby glanced in and met the eyes of two women. Both were trustees of the United Church of Middletown. They froze in shock for a moment.

“Come on, come on!” hissed Lluvia. Abby tore herself away. They ran down the hall to catch up with Little John.

“Don’t stop like that,” he whispered.

They quickly descended two flights of stairs to a bare basement. He waited for them and asked, “Where do you want to go?”

Lluvia explained the way to Alex’s house. Little John unlocked a little used door and stepped outside. “The coast is clear,” he said.

He led them on small paths screened by trees, and soon they were off campus.

“Where are we?” Luvia asked.

“Let’s hurry,” he replied. “They might know about your house. Do you have the key?”

“No, but somebody might be there. If we’re locked out we’ll go straight to the dock. We’ll leave by boat.”

“Got it. I’ll keep anyone from following you right away by boat.”

Abby recognized the row of small brick houses. In a moment they rang Alex’s bell. He opened the door, they entered, and he closed it immediately. “They’re staked out in the archway across the street. What are you going to do?”

“Alex, this is Little John. He’ll escort us to Lluvia’s boat.”

“Ah! Excellent. Here’s your backpacks.” He looked at Abby. “I put something extra in yours.” He looked back at Lluvia and gave her a long hug. “Next Saturday,” he said. “Please come.”

She nodded happily.

“Come on,” Alex told them. They went out the back door, into a nearby yard, and came out on a back alley. Alex waved as the three fugitives continued almost at a run. In what seemed like no time at all they came out on the docks. Lluvia’s boat was now low in the water at low tide. She climbed down and started the electric motor. Soon they were quietly making their way upstream. Little John waved and gave them a thumbs up sign. They blew him kisses.

The Protectors of the Wood Eco-Fiction Adventure Series is an illustrated story of a group of teenagers who save the world from climate change. The themes include the power of relationships, realizing leadership, good versus evil, and the coming of age.

These teenagers find out who they are while dealing with the climate emergency and the conflicts that surround them in Middletown. The two main characters, Phoebe and Abby, work together to find solutions within their communities. 

The story begins with Phoebe coming home from college and discovering shocking changes threatening Middletown. A gigantic corporation threatens to destroy the land, legends, and heritage of her family and friends.

Phoebe and Abby unravel the secrets in their small town, and realize that they are all connected to a global conflict. They feel that all their hopes are in danger of being lost. They discover that they have the unique gift of seeing visions through DreamStone, a gem found deep under the vast forest preserve.

While searching for the secrets of DreamStone and their identities, Phoebe and Abby risk their lives to save the beautiful world around them called home.