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alonely-dreamer · 5 years ago

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The Valuable Sun | Chapter 8

Summary: Brooklynne Stackhouse is Sookie and Jason Stackhouse’s little sister. Like her older sibling, she is a telepath, but her powers are far more stronger and far more uncontrollable than her sister’s. After a series of murders in Bon Temps, Sookie takes it upon herself to investigate, taking her younger sister with her in a club called Fangtasia, where they meet vampire and sheriff Eric Northman.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+ (language, violence, blood, sexual assault)

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 8014

Schedule: Chapters 9 to 12 are available on my Patreon for early and instant access.

Masterlist

Brooklynne was lying unconscious on the ground of the basement of the church, in the wired cage where Sookie, Hugo and herself had been locked in for a couple of hours. Her hands were tied painfully behind her back and a piece of tape was covering her mouth. Hugo and Sookie also had their hands tied but they were free to talk and shout for help like they had been doing for the last two hours. When they understood no one was coming to help them, not even Bill to Sookie’s concern, Sookie started to call for Godric whom she knew was somewhere in the basement with them. She kept an eye on her little sister, making sure she was breathing every five minutes or so. Hugo’s claustrophobia made Sookie stay away from his thoughts, not wanting to get anywhere near them.

When Brooklynne woke up, she was confused and in a lot of pain. Sookie tried to reassure her, apologizing for not being able to remove the tape, which made it hard for Brooke to breathe. Her fear caused her heart to beat faster, and she wished she were able to breathe through her mouth.

“Breathe in, breathe out, slowly,” Sookie instructed her. “When Bill gets here, he’ll give you his blood and heal your leg, everything’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

But Bill never came. They waited all night long, Brooklynne falling asleep and waking up over and over again because of her leg pain. Around 10 in the morning, Steve and Gabriel came down to talk to them. They looked pretty proud of themselves.

“She needs a hospital!” Sookie told them. “Her leg might be broken, and she might have a concussion!”

“I will admit, things got a little out of hand last night, and I apologize for that. I’m not the monster that the vampire-loving media makes me out to be.”

“You’re right. You’re worse. She could die!”

“But that is your fault, not mine,” he said. “After all, you dragged her into this. You’re the one loving a vampire, aren’t you? She’s just an innocent girl following her big sister around.”

“Screw you, you hateful…”

“Ah,” Steve interrupted her, raising a finger. “Now, now, there’s no need for that. All I want from you is a couple of answers. And then, I’ll be more than happy to feed you breakfast and send you on your way.”

“What do you wanna know?” Hugo asked.

“Shut up!” Sookie breathed out.

“Sookie, we need to get out of here. Tell them what they wanna know?”

“I want to get out of here, this wasn’t supposed to happen, just tell them what they wanna know, I want out. Out!”

“Her name is Sookie Stackhouse, her sister is Brooklynne Stackhouse, and I’m Hugo Ayers.”

“Hugo, no!”

“We were sent here by the vampires of Area 9 to find their sheriff.”

“Sookie Stackhouse,” Steve repeated in a whisper, looking pale like he had just seen a ghost. “From Bon Temps?”

“How do you know where I’m from?”

“You’re Jason Stackhouse’s…” he paused, then swallowed, anger filling his veins, “sister. Am I right?”

“How do you know Jason? He’s got nothing to do with this!”

Steve took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but failing. “The bastard, the traitor, the Judas!”

“Come on, Gabe,” Steve said before they left.

“Nice work!” Sookie reprimanded Hugo.

“Hey, we sat here all night waiting for your boyfriend to show up. You can go on and play damsel in distress all you want, but I’m getting us out of here. Think of you sister. She needs a hospital, now!”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“Barry!” Sookie called, making her sister frown. “Barry, can you hear me? You’ve gotta help me. I need you to go to the hotel and find Bill Compton and tell him I’m at the Fellowship of the Sun church in the basement. The sheriff is here somewhere and I’m in big trouble. Please, don’t ignore me, this is a life-or-death situation. Please!”

“Do you think he can hear you?”

“I think he’s our only shot.”

Hugo was getting worse. He kept pacing around, shouting for them to come back.

“Hey! Hey, I need to use the bathroom! Hey! Come on, let me out of here!”

“Hugo, this is not helping. Just, sit down. Try and rela-“

She stopped when his thoughts invaded hers. Images of him praying with Sarah and Steve, of him spying on Isabel at the summit, of him telling Sookie’s plan to Steve over the phone. She gasped.

“You? You’re the traitor!”

He didn’t even try to deny it. He looked relieved he didn’t have to hide it anymore.

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“But… why?” Sookie couldn’t understand it. Isabel loved him, and from what she had previously heard, he seemed to love her too.

“I used to be just like you. Thought I was a real emancipated thinker. Especially when Isabel took me to bed. And the sex was… amazing,” he chuckled. “The best I ever… well, you know. It’s addictive, isn’t it? To be desired by something that powerful…”

“I’m no addict.”

“No,” he shrugged, “I guess you wouldn’t know how your life changes to suit them. You start missing work, can’t get up in the morning, can’t stand to leave them after dark… Before you know it, you’re somebody you don’t even recognize.”

“So you went to the Fellowship because you can’t control yourself?”

“I begged her to turn me. It was the only way we could be together as equals. But see, they don’t want us to be equals. No, she’s just been using me. The same way that Bill’s been using you.”

“You don’t know Bill,” Sookie snarled.

“I know he and his friends are having you do their dirty work. And you even let them drag your sister into it! A telepath’s gotta be a real trophy for a vampire, but two? That Eric vampire really seemed interested in Brooklynne, I saw the way he looked at her, even Isabel said so.”

Sookie gave a look to her sister, who, despite the pain and the fatigue, tried to stay awake.

“Eric’s gonna end up making her his, and she’s gonna end up like us. Thinking he cares, but he doesn’t. He just wants to use her.”

“Shut up!”

“All they care about is their own kind. Okay? That’s why I joined the Fellowship.”

“So if the Newlins care so much about you how come you’re still in here?” she asked, and he had no answer for her. “Face it, Hugo. You’re nothing but a fangbanging traitor to them.”

“Gabe?” Hugo called. “Gabe, she knows everything. You can let me out know!” But no one came. “Hey, come on, let me out!”

“Yep, you’re so all-fired important to them, aren’t you?”

Hugo didn’t reply, he stared at the door, waiting for someone to come in. But no one showed up.

They spent the rest of the day in there, with no food, no water, no one else coming to ask questions. The lights on the ceiling were shining hot, or maybe it was just the pain that made Brooklynne sweat, but right now she felt like she was frying under the sun.

Gabriel eventually came in, around 8, according to Hugo’s watch. He looked furious, and he was alone, still wearing that stupid blue sweatshirt with a sun on it. His lip was cut like someone had just punched him in the face.

“Gabe,” Hugo said, relieved, thinking he’d come to free him. “What happened to your face?”

Gabriel didn’t reply and approached the cage with a set of keys in his hand.

“Listen, she knows everything. Which never would’ve happened if you hadn’t kept me here with two mind readers.”

Gabriel opened the door in silence.

“Yeah, I hope the reverend knows that I’m gonna need protection now.”

Gabriel stepped inside, seized Hugo by the shirt and punched him in the face, making him fall over, Sookie gasp and Brooklynne wince.

“You want protection, you fangbanging sack of shit?” Gabriel said before he kicked him in the stomach.

Sookie said nothing as she positioned herself in front of her sister, shielding her from whatever Gabriel had came in here to do.

“How’s that for protection, huh?” Gabriel asked as he kneeled near Hugo, taking him by his shirt and punching him once, then twice. “Here’s a little more protection for you.”

“Stop it!” Sookie shouted as she launched herself at him.

She tried to kick him, there was nothing else she could do as her hands were tied behind her back. He got up easily, pushing her against the wall. Brooklynne’s muffled screams echoed in the room. Gabriel turned around, putting his hands around Sookie’s neck.

“You and your moron brother think you can make an asshole out of me?” he growled. “That’s what you think, uh?”

“Get your filthy hands off me!” she choked.

“What’s wrong? Your own kind not good enough for you?” he asked. “Lucky your sister didn’t follow in your footsteps,” he said as he threw her on the floor, and she landed near Hugo. “I’m gonna show her what a good decision that was.”

Brooklynne watched with big eyes as he made his way to her. She tried to push herself against the wired wall, her foot sliding on the floor, again and again as if she’d eventually move. Her screams were stopped by the tape and didn’t leave her throat. The big man seized her by the shoulders and pushed her down on the floor. She kicked him as hard as she could, with her good leg, but he slapped her once, then twice as she didn’t stop. She kicked and screamed and kicked and screamed but he wouldn’t stop. His hand landed on her shirt, his sweaty knuckles touching her cleavage. He ripped her shirt, both halves hanging on each side of her body. Every time she kicked, he slapped her, but she wouldn’t give up.

“Leave her alone!” Sookie shouted as she recollected herself, but Gabriel ignored her. He easily pushed her away when she tried to get him off her sister.

But Gabriel did get off Brooklynne. It just wasn’t thanks to Sookie. Brooke watched with wild eyes as he was held above her by a kid, a vampire no doubt, given his strength. She breathed heavily as she sat back up against the wires, with difficulty and pain. Gabriel was being choked by his sweatshirt from which he was being held.

“Godric?” Sookie breathed out.

The vampire’s eyes travelled from Sookie to Brooklynne, though they didn’t stay long there, and she was grateful he looked away as she was sitting there, in her bra, unable to conceal herself.

“Godric,” Gabriel pleaded, “it’s me!”

But whether he recognized him or not, Godric didn’t care. Appalled by what the human had done, and was about to do, the vampire broke his neck, letting his lifeless body fall on the ground.

“You should not have come,” was all Godric said.

Screams could be heard from upstairs, and Sookie and Brooklynne knew another vampire was present.

“Bill!” Sookie said, happy at the possibility that he was finally coming for her.

“No,” Godric shook his head. “I’m here my child. Down here.”

“Eric.” Brooklynne thought.

“Eric?” Sookie asked silently. “Godric’s Eric’s maker?”

The blond vampire appeared suddenly in the basement, instantly falling on his knees to his maker’s feet.

“You’re a fool for sending humans after me.”

“I had no other choice. These savages, they… they seek to destroy you.”

“I’m aware of what they have planned. This one betrayed you,” he said as he pointed at Hugo who was still unconscious behind him.

“He’s with the Fellowship,” Sookie explained. “They set a trap for us.”

A cry of pain escaped Brooklynne which drove Eric’s attention. Maybe he hadn’t seen her before, or maybe he was too focused on his maker to notice anyone else was there.

“This one needs medical attention,” Godric said.

Eric stood on his feet, his eyes moving from Brooke’s body to Gabriel’s, who was lying at his feet. He frowned, a trace of rage appearing then disappearing from his face. Brooklynne, who was still scared out of her mind, tried to move away as he approached. He removed his black leather jacket which he used to cover her. He then removed the tape from her mouth. She took a deep breath as soon as she could.

“Her leg is broken,” Sookie told him.

“My blood will heal you,” he said as a way to ask her permission.

She looked at him with fear in her eyes, pain on her face. She was panting and confused. All she wanted was to go home.

“Please,” is all she managed to say. She looked terrible, as pale as he was, and as tired as ever.

He bit his wrist and positioned himself behind her, feeding her his blood with one hand, while he removed the rope with another. She took a shaky breath as he removed his wrist from her mouth. She brought her fingers to her sore wrists, one, then the other, before she wiped the tears away from her cheeks, and brought her hands to her chest, to Eric’s jacket.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she moved her legs and felt no pain whatsoever.

She quickly slid her arms in the sleeves of the jacket and concealed herself in the cold black leather. She was still trembling, despite Eric’s blood. The physical pain might have gone, but it didn’t make her forget what she had just been through.

An alarm went off as the lights started to flicker.

“Save the humans,” Godric ordered Eric.

Brooklynne gasped as she felt Eric’s hands move under her thighs. He scooped her up in his arms and she was too weak to even fight the idea of him carrying her around. She rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, enjoying the coldness of his body.

Eric stopped before Godric, waiting for him to follow him.

“Go on.”

“I am not leaving your side until you…”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Come on, we have to go,” Sookie insisted.

“Spill no blood on your way out,” Godric ordered, which obviously went against Eric’s initial plans.

He sighed before he left the basement with Sookie and Brooklynne.

“What took you so long to find us?” Sookie asked as they walked up the stairs. “Where’s Bill?”

“We didn’t know where you were. A human named Barry told Bill he had a message from you, I don’t know where your boyfriend is. He hasn’t come out of his room since you left.”

“Brothers and sisters, we are on lockdown,” Steve’s voice came out of the speakers. “Women with children, please, take them to our classroom buildings. Men and able-bodied women, security will provide you with stakes and silver just outside the chapel. Our Soldiers of the Sun are on their way to protect our church, but safely evacuate the building now. Brothers and sisters, the hour is upon us.”

Eric and Sookie reached the top of the stairs, where they hid behind the wall and watched as Steve’s followers exited through the front door.

“I could have you out in seconds,” Eric said, though he wasn’t about to disobey his maker.

“There’s kids out there!” Sookie protested.

“Well, those humans wouldn’t think twice about hurting us,” he said, which made Brooklynne shiver. He looked down at her, but she was looking away, staring at nothing in particular.

“Why didn’t you tell me Godric was your maker?”

He looked down at the telepath standing beside him, wondering if Brooke had told her or if she had guessed. “Don’t use words you don’t understand.”

“You have a lot of love for him.”

“Don’t use words I don’t understand.”

He looked back towards the hall where the only humans remaining were three “guards” in shorts with silver chains around their neck and a stake in their hands. He gently put Brooklynne down who was reluctant to let him go.

“Trust me,” he whispered in her ear as he saw the confused look she was giving him.

Eric left them and stepped inside the hall, making his way towards the three guards.

“Oh, hey, y’all,” he said with a grin. “How’s it going?”

They didn’t reply as they looked at the stranger walking towards them with confused looks.

“Steve sent me over to man the exit here. I think I can take it from here.”

“By yourself?” one of them asked with concern.

“Yeah.”

“You’re big and all, but there’s a vampire on the loose.”

“Where’s your stake?”

Brooklynne shook her head as she rolled her eyes. She stepped out of the shadows, making all four men look at her. She didn’t give them time to say anything before she helped Eric out of the silly situation he had put himself in.

“Sleep,” she said, and the three humans instantly fell on the ground.

They had kidnapped her, broken her leg, tried to rape her. She was pissed and she wasn’t going to stay behind while Eric was trying to find a way to get them out of here.

“Thank you,” Eric said, impressed, before he opened the front door.

But they weren’t out yet. A group of humans was coming their way. The front door wasn’t going to be their exit.

“Eric, through the sanctuary,” Sookie told him.

She led them through the empty nave.

“Where’s the exit?” Eric asked.

“Back that way.”

“There are several exits, actually,” Steve said as he appeared near the altar. “For you, the easiest one takes you straight to hell.”

“Brooklynne,” Eric asked but she didn’t have time to work her magic because the Soldiers of the Sun were coming through every door, filling the room. There must have been around fifty of them.

“Let us go!” Sookie said. “Save yourselves, no one has to die!”

“The war has begun, you evil whore of Satan,” Steve told her. “You vampires cast the first stone by killing my family. The lines have been drawn. You’re either with us or against us. We are prepared for Armageddon.”

“You’re insane,” Brooklynne told him.

“The vampire you’re holding prisoner got away. He’s a sheriff. He’s bound to send for help.”

“I’m not concerned with Godric,” Steve shrugged. “Any vampire will do for our grand celebration, and we got one right here.”

Sookie and Brooke looked up at Eric who was looking around. There were too many of them, and if he were to leave with both sisters without spilling any blood… he’d end up dead.

Eric, resigned to his fate, took a step forward. Brooklynne instinctively seized his hand, trying to stop him. He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. She released his hand.

“I’ll be fine,” he told her.

“Brothers and sisters, there will be a holy bonfire at dawn.”

Brooklynne watched as Eric let the reverend silver him to the altar, each chain burning his skin.

“There’s too many of them. I can’t hypnotize them all.”

“What else can we do?”

“I don’t know. I could try just stopping Steve.”

“They’ll think you’re glamouring him.”

“Then what can we do?”

Sookie didn’t reply. She didn’t have an answer.

“Don’t touch me!” Brooklynne shouted as a man tried to put his hands on her.

Eric growled in pain as he turned his head towards her, despite the silver chains around his neck.

“Get your hands off my sister!”

“Easy brothers,” Steve said. “They can’t go anywhere. You see,” he told them all as he went to stand behind the altar where Eric was immobilized. “A few ounces of silver can betray a child of Satan to the world.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Sookie shouted. “How can you people listen to him?”

“I…” Eric tried to say. “I offer myself in exchange for Godric’s freedom. And the girls’ as well.”

“That’s noble. But they’re just as culpable as you are. They’re traitors to their race. The human race. They hardly deserve mercy. Maybe I should tie them to you so you can meet the sun together.”

A loud noise came from the hall, as if something heavy had just fallen, or maybe it was the doors banging on the walls. The Soldiers of the Sun gasped as the doors of the sanctuary opened and Bill stepped inside.

“Sookie!”

As Bill started to make his way towards his girlfriend, Steve took a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at her head.

“One move, vampire, and I shoot her.”

“If you shoot her, everyone here will die!”

“Put the gun down you moron,” Brooklynne growled, and he obeyed.

“Stop doing that!” he whined. “You see! She spent so much time with vampires she’s learnt their tricks!”

“Let them go, now!” Bill ordered the reverend.

Steve sighed. “Honestly, what do they see in you two?” he asked the sisters. “Soldiers, some silver chains for our friend, here.”

“Don’t, he’s done nothing to you!”

“Sookie, I will be fine!”

“Newlin!”

Every single person in the nave looked up towards the second floor, where Jason was perched on the balcony. He had a gunshot aimed at Steve and he shot the reverend in the hand, making him drop the gun he was holding.

“Let them go, fuckwad!”

“Ow!” Steve shook his injured hand. But it wasn’t blood dropping on the floor, it was… paint.

Jason shot again and Steve stepped back as he was hit by a bullet of green paint, right in the middle of his forehead. His people gasped as they stepped back, the distraction allowing Bill to get close to Sookie. He took her in his arms, then inspected her for any injury. Jason was stopped by three men who took his guns away.

“Son of a bitch!” Steve groaned in pain.

As the Soldiers scattered, Brooklynne took the opportunity to get to the altar and free Eric of his chains.

“Let’s go,” she told him.

But Eric wasn’t going anywhere. His fangs were already out when he got off the altar, taking Steve by the throat and pushing him down on the stairs.

“Eric! Do not kill him,” Sookie said.

“Kill him!” Jason shouted. “Kill the motherfucker!”

“Go ahead,” Steve said. “Murder me. Murder us before God! We are willing to die!”

Brooklynne didn’t need to read their thoughts, to know these people weren’t willing to die at all.

Noises from the hall could be heard suddenly and the doors of the sanctuary were opened by a vampire once again. Stan appeared, followed by a few vampires.

“Steve Newlin,” he said as he walked in with a few friends.

In less than half a minute, the church was surrounded by creatures of the night.

“You have pushed us too far,” the vampire continued. “You expect us to sit on our thumbs while you round up your men to come lynch us? We’ll kill you first.”

Steve’s people gathered together, now outnumbered, clenching their stakes and their silver chains.

“Same way we did your father,” the vampire finished with a smirk.

“Oh God, no,” Sookie breathed out.

“Murderer!” Steve choked, trying to get up, but in the impossibility to do so because of Eric’s grip on his throat.

“Destroy them. All of them,” Stan ordered the vampire.

Brooklynne gasped as she saw all the vampires seizing at least one human in supernatural speed. Eric let go of Steve, and made his way towards her, putting her under his protection, making sure no vampire would mistake her for a target.

“We have to go, now!” Bill shouted.

But they didn’t have time to go far, as even before anyone had the chance to get hurt, they were interrupted by a higher power.

“Enough!” Godric called from where he was standing above them, on a wooden beam above the doorway. “You came for me, I assume. Underling?” he asked Stan who growled, then sighed.

“Yes, sheriff,” the vampire in the cowboy hat rolled his eyes.

“These people have not harmed me,” he told them. “You see? We can coexist. Mr. Newlin, I do not wish to create bloodshed where none is called for. Help me set an example. If we leave you in peace, will you do the same?”

“I will not negotiate with subhumans,” he said, kneeling on the ground, untying his tie. “Kill me.”

“No!” a woman from the crowd begged.

“Do it! Jesus will protect me.”

“I’m actually older than your Jesus. I wish I could have known him. But I missed it,” Godric shrugged before he disappeared from where he was standing.

He appeared suddenly behind the reverend, seizing him by the nape. His sudden emergence made Brooklynne and Sookie jump. The two thousand-years-old vampire made Steve stand up on his feet.

“Good people,” he said, “who of you is willing to die for this man’s madness?”

No one replied, of course. Steve watched as his followers stepped away, not just from the vampires, but from him too.

“That’s what I thought,” Godric nodded. “Stand down, everyone.”

Stan’s vampires obeyed, to his dismay.

“People, go home. It’s over now.”

“Oh, thank God, Bill,” Sookie breathed out as she hugged her boyfriend.

“It’s all right. You’re safe now,” Bill whispered.

Eric looked down at Brooklynne who was watching everyone leave. She was still wearing his jacket which she had closed. It was way too big for her. He brought a hand to her face, gently taking her chin between his cold fingers. The sudden gesture made her look up at him in confusion. He could see she was tired, relieved, but still extremely uncomfortable.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She tried to cross her arms over her chest, but the giant jacket made it impossible. She moved away from his gentle touch as she looked down.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. An obvious lie.

“Please, don’t leave me,” Steve started calling after his people.

Godric let him go, and he fell to the floor.

“I daresay my faith in humankind is stronger than yours.”

Newlin didn’t reply, he just watched the last of his people leave him behind.

“Come,” Godric instructed his progeny.

Eric gave another look to Brooklynne, who didn’t look back. She tried to walk down the stairs of the altar but tripped on the second step, the heel of her shoe breaking under her. She was sure she’d hit the floor hard, but Eric caught her right on time.

“Alright,” he sighed as he scooped her into his arms once again.

She was too weak and too exhausted to blush at the situation. She just rested her head against his chest as she closed her eyes, hoping for a little peace.

“Sir,” Stan said as Godric approached him. “After what these humans have done to you?”

“I said come,” was all Godric said to him before he walked out.

“Sookie, Brooke.”

An out of breath Jason appeared, relieved his sisters were alright. He gave Sookie a long hug as he sighed.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Will you please forgive me?”

“What were you doing with those people? You out of your mind?”

“Yeah, I was,” he nodded. “Just… that son of a bitch sucked out my brain and planted all his own babies in there,” he said, gesturing towards Steve who was trying to get up from the floor.

“You know nothing,” Steve told him. “On the final day of reckoning, we’ll see who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.”

Jason laughed as he approached the reverend. “I reckon I’ve already been to heaven. It was inside your wife,” he said, enjoying the look on Steve’s face before he punched him.

Sookie gasped. Bill took it upon himself to separate the two of them.

“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m fine.” He then made his way to Eric to whom he gestured to give him his sister. “I’ve got her.”

“I’m fine,” Eric told him.

“Give me my sister, vampire,” Jason said in a threatening tone, amusing Eric.

“Jason!” Sookie reprimanded her brother.

Brooklynne moved away from the vampire’s chest, stretching her arms towards her brother who happily welcomed her into his arms.

“What happened to her?”

“That Gabe guy,” Sookie said and she could tell her brother knew him well, “he tried to… well…”

“Son of a bitch,” he growled. “Where is the motherfucker? I’m gonna kill him!”

“He’s already dead,” Eric informed him.

“Oh,” Jason nodded. “Good. D’you kill him?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Godric saved her,” Sookie said.

“That’s good. That’s good,” he nodded. “Let’s go.”

They all walked out of the church, leaving Reverend Newlin alone with his thoughts, and his hate.

***

It was loud and surprisingly warm in Godric’s house where a party had started. Brooklynne was standing near the fireplace in the middle of the room, looking right into the flames, hearing everything that was being said to Godric, who was sitting in his chair, facing a line of people waiting to welcome him back. Jason, for some reason, was one of them.

“I just wanted to say I’m real sorry for what the Fellowship put you through. And I wanted to thank you, for helping my sister.”

Godric stared in silent for a moment, which Jason understood as a dismissal.

“You helped save many lives today, Mr. Stackhouse,” Godric said as Jason was about to turn around. “Please know you have friends in this area whenever you visit.”

“Thanks, man, but uh… I don’t know if I’ll be wanting to come back any time soon.”

Godric gave him what could have been an attempt at a smile before Jason practically ran out of there. He turned around and walked away and almost ran into Eric who was leaning against the brick wall of the fireplace. Brooke watched as the two exchanged words.

“Hail the conquering hero,” Eric said sarcastically, but sarcasm wasn’t a language Jason Stackhouse understood.

“Oh, no,” he chuckled. “I’m no hero.”

“No, you are in this town,” Eric insisted. “But in my area we know you well as a buyer and user of vampire blood,” he said and all colors drained from Jason’s face, “and that’s a very grave offense.”

“Yeah, listen, I don’t do that no more.”

“All things considered, however… we’ll call it even.”

Jason smiled, relieved, and nodded, ready to get the hell out of there, but Eric stopped him.

“But you won’t be doing it again,” the vampire continued, leaning forward.

“Yeah,” Jason nodded.

“No,” Eric shook his head and Jason imitated him.

“No, got it.”

“Good boy. Run along,” he let him go and Jason couldn’t have left faster. Eric smiled, amused by the eldest Stackhouse.

“Thank you,” Brooklynne said from where she was standing a few feet away. A human wouldn’t have heard her in the loud room, but Eric was no human. “My brother’s an idiot, but he means well.”

Eric made his way to her, noticing her red cheeks, probably because of the heat coming from the fire.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks to you. I feel… odd.”

“Vampire blood will do that to you.”

“Sookie said your blood was stronger because you’re older. Is that true?”

“It is,” he nodded. “But you’ll be fine.”

“I know,” she said, looking back into the fire.

“Have you eaten anything?”

“I’m not hungry,” she told him, not moving her eyes away from the fire.

“Come on, you’re going to ruin my jacket if you keep standing in this heat,” he said as he pulled her away.

He took her to the opposite end of the house, a kitchen, as white as the rest of the other rooms. The isle was big, separating the room in two. Eric opened the fridge and Brooklynne was surprised to see regular food among the bottles of Tru Blood.

“Godric has food in his kitchen?”

“As sheriff he needs to accommodate other vampires and that includes their humans.”

“Do you have regular food in your house?”

“I don’t have a house,” he said, taking a box out of the fridge and giving it to Brooklynne.

As soon as she took it, he put his hands on her waist and made her sit on the counter with supernatural speed, the sudden movement making her gasp.

“Don’t do that,” she complained.

“Eat.”

She opened the box to find small pieces of carrots inside. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Carrots?”

“I don’t know what humans eat.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Do I?”

“You watch TV,” she shrugged. “And you used to be human too,” she said as she brought a piece of carrot to her mouth.

“A thousand years ago.”

“I still think you know more about humans than you say you do. You just want people to think you don’t care.”

“I don’t care.”

“That’s probably why you’re making me eat carrots right now.”

He sighed, stepping back and leaned against the fridge, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I hear they’re good for your eyesight,” he said, making her laugh.

It felt good to laugh, after the two horrible days she had just spent. She needed to laugh, to relax. She needed food, she needed a shower, she needed a bed.

“Now that your blood is in me… Can you know where I am at all times?”

“I can feel you,” he nodded. “If you’re scared, I’ll know where to find you.”

“Does that… does that make me yours?”

“Not unless you want to.”

Did she want to? Sookie would kill her.

The sudden silent coming from the other room invaded the kitchen and made them curious. They returned to Godric and found a crying Isabel standing above Hugo. His face was badly bruised from Gabriel’s beating earlier that night. He was kneeling at Godric’s feet, waiting for his judgement.

“He’s the one who betrayed us,” the vampire said.

“Hugo. He is your human, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Do you love him?”

A tear of blood fell down her cheek as she sniffed. “I thought I did,” she cried.

“It appears you love him still,” Godric said, surprisingly unbothered and calm.

“I do. I’m sorry. But you are my sheriff. Do with him as you please.”

“You are free to go,” Godric said, surprising the entire room.

“What?” Stan growled from where he was standing near the fireplace, behind Isabel.

“The human is free to go,” Godric repeated firmly. “And do not return,” he told Hugo. “I fear it is not safe for you here,” he continued, his eyes falling on Stan.

“This is a travesty,” the cowboy said.

“This is my verdict,” he told him. “Eric,” the vampire called on his progeny who took a step forward. “Escort them out. Make sure he leaves unharmed.”

“Yes, Godric,” he nodded, before he made his way towards the stunned human who could barely believe he was getting out of that house alive.

“Thank you. Thank you, sheriff,” Isabel said with a bow.

Brooklynne watched them leave and saw Jason step out of the house with Bill. She frowned, joining her sister in the other half of the room.

“What is that about?”

“No idea,” her sister shook her head. “What are you doing with Eric?”

“Talking,” she shrugged.

“You know what will happen now that you’ve had his blood, right? You’ll think about him more than usual, dream about him…”

“I know. You told me. So did he.”

“Just be careful, okay. Bill thinks he wants you to be his.”

“Yes, he’s asked a few times.”

“What?” Sookie breathed out. “You didn’t say yes, did you?”

“No…”

“Brooke, he kidnapped and tortured Lafayette for three weeks! He’s not safe to be around!”

“He also saved our lives today.”

“Because his maker made him do it.”

“He’s nice to me, okay?”

“Of course he’s nice to you, he wants you! But that doesn’t mean he’s a nice person!”

“Hello there,” a woman dressed in a long bright red dress, too fancy for this party, interrupted them. “I’m Lorena.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sookie,” she smiled at her.

“Mmh,” Lorena nodded. “Yes. You are what all the fuss is about.”

“Excuse me?”

“Aren’t you a morsel?”

“I’m sorry. Who are you?”

“Well, we have a mutual friend.”

“Bill?”

“That’s right. Funny he never mentioned me. I practically made him what he is today.”

“Lorena!” Bill called as he appeared in the room, hurrying towards the two sisters and his maker.

“Oh, hello, darling,” she smiled at him. “I was just getting to know your plaything. You always did like to prey on the innocent. The little sister is more to my taste, though,” she grinned and Brooklynne took a step back at the look she was giving her, making her grin grow bigger. Brooklynne’s back met with Eric’s chest, and she looked up at him as he put his hands on her shoulders. Lorena ignored the Viking, just like he stayed silent. He was curious to see what was going to happen next, he just wanted to make sure Brooklynne wouldn’t get caught in the middle of it.

“Bill, is this your maker?” Sookie asked.

“She released me years ago. She no longer has any hold over me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” she breathed out a laugh. “We had two marvelous nights in your hotel room.”

“What?”

“Did you know your boyfriend hit me over the head with a 52-inch plasma television earlier tonight?” she asked, bringing a hand to the back of her head. “Everyone says they’re so thin and light, but let me tell you when wielded properly, it’s quite a weapon.”

“You did?” Sookie asked Bill.

“Lorena, you need to leave,” Bill told his maker.

Every single person in the room, human or vampire, was watching in silence as the three of them argued.

“I hope he doesn’t pull the same shenanigans with you. There’s no excuse for domestic violence.”

“What she has failed to mention is that she was holding me prisoner.”

“We were just catching up is all. You must have been worried sick, wondering where he was. I admit it got a bit… heated. But you know how old lovers can get sometimes,” she said, bringing a hand to Bill’s face.

Sookie stopped her, taking the vampire’s wrist in her hand. “Do not touch him,” she snarled.

Brooklynne saw Stan chuckle from where he was standing a few feet from them.

“My, we’re feisty too,” she told Sookie who released her wrist. Lorena started laughing. “Aw. You’re no more than a blood bag. You cannot win this.”

“I’ve already won. Bill chose me and yet you still won’t give up. Don’t you have any shame?”

“Sookie, stop,” Bill begged, knowing this wouldn’t end well for her.

“I’d listen to him. Run away, little girl. William and I love each other.”

“She’s insane,” Brooke told her sister silently. Sookie scoffed.

“You’ve gone mad,” Bill told Lorena as he seized her by the arms, pushing her away. “Get out, now!”

“Maybe you do love him,” Sookie decided it to push it for some reason. “Who am I to guess? But he doesn’t love you. He never has, and that we both know.”

Bill was trying to keep Sookie away from Lorena. The vampire let her fangs out with a growl.

“Take those words back or they shall be your last.”

“We’re leaving,” Bill said as he put his arms around Sookie, trying to take her away.

“Go find someone else, you fucking bitch!”

“Sookie!” Brooke breathed out but Eric tightened his grip on her shoulders, not hard enough to hurt her, but enough to make her understand that this wasn’t her fight.

“You’ve lost this one!” Sookie spat at Lorena.

The vampire pushed Bill away from Sookie, sending him flying to the other end of the room, before she took the telepath by the top of her dress and pushed her down on the counter near them. Brooke knew Eric was about to intervene because he let go of her shoulders, but someone else got there first.

Godric stopped Lorena who was about to bite Sookie, stopping Eric and Jason from intervening. He grabbed the vampire by the throat and moved her away from the telepath.

“Retract your fangs,” he ordered and she silently obeyed. “I neither know nor care who you are, but in this area, and certainly in this nest, I am the authority. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sheriff,” she said, and he let go of her.

“This human has proven herself to be a courageous and loyal friend to our kind. And yet you treat her like a child does a dragonfly, pulling off wings for sport. No wonder they hate us.”

“She provoked me.”

“And you provoke me. You disrupted the peace in my own home. I could snap you like a twig. Yet I haven’t. Now, why is that?”

“It’s your choice.”

“Indeed it is. You’re an old vampire, I can tell. You’ve had hundreds of years to better yourself, yet you haven’t. You are still a savage, and I fear for all of us, humans and vampires, if this behavior persists,” he said, not so much for her but for the entirety of the room. “You,” he told Bill. “You seem to know her.”

“Yes, sheriff,” Bill said, clearly unhappy by it.

“Escort her from the nest,” he instructed him. “I wish you out of my area before dawn,” he told Lorena who slowly made her way towards the exit, followed by Bill.

“Thank you,” Sookie told Godric who nodded before he returned to his chair without another word.

“You know what,” Brooke told Eric, “I get what you meant when you said you couldn’t have asked for a better maker.”

The vampire chuckled.

“Who the fuck was that?” Jason asked as he joined them.

“Bill’s maker,” Sookie answered.

“His what?”

“Bon Temps’s your area, right?” Sookie asked Eric. “If she comes to attack me, you could stop her?”

“She’d be smart not to,” the vampire nodded.

“What the fuck?” Jason breathed out.

“What?” Sookie asked.

“That’s Luke. From the Fellowship,” he said, as he pointed towards a man whom they recognized from the church. “What is he doing here?” he asked as he left his sisters to go to him.

He was wearing a big black coat, which was odd considering it was warm outside.

“Stay away from me Stackhouse.”

“What the hell you doing?”

“Just go,” he pushed him away. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Once, twice. Then finally spoke up. “Excuse me, everyone. If I could have your attention,” he called, and everyone appeared in the room, Godric, Isabel, Stan… “My name is Luke McDonald. I’m a member of the Fellowship of the Sun. And I have a message for you all, from Reverend Steve Newlin.”

He opened his coat, showing the chains of silver he had around his chest, wooden bullets attached to it, and a black box, ticking, with a red light flickering. A bomb.

Brooklynne and Sookie gasped as they saw what was under Luke’s coat. Half a second later, Luke blew himself up in a deafening and blinding explosion. Brooklynne felt herself fall though the movement started before she heard the explosion. Her back hit the ground violently and something heavy fell on her as a wave of heat passed over her. Her ears were ringing but she could still hear the screams and the cries. It took her a moment to realize what had just happened and to recognize that it wasn’t an object that had fallen on her, but a person.

“Eric,” she whispered.

He groaned in pain, unable to move. She did her best to move away from him, but he was too heavy. His head was resting on her shoulder and his hair caressed her cheek.

“Eric,” she whispered again. He was too heavy, she couldn’t breathe.

“Sookie, Sookie!” she heard Bill call.

“I’m here,” her sister replied from the other room.

Godric appeared and crouched down near Brooke, gently turning Eric on his back, freeing the telepath.

“I covered your sister,” he told her. “Both your siblings are fine.”

“Thank you,” she said in a whisper.

“He has pieces of wood and silver in his back, will you take care of him?” he asked. “I need to tend to my people.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

She tried to sit up, but felt dizzy, the ringing noise still in her ears. She kneeled as she faced the vampire immobilized on the ground. She gently turned him over, apologizing as he growled in pain. She removed the silver and wood from his back, some of the wounds closing up as soon as the foreign objects were gone, but not all.

“Thank you,” he growled as he sat up with difficulty.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re not healing.”

“I need blood,” he said, locking his eyes with hers, silently asking.

She hesitated. But he did just save her life, how could she refuse? Besides, she did want to help him. He gave her his blood, why couldn’t she give him hers?

She brushed her hair away from her shoulder, giving him access to her neck.

“Are you sure?” he asked, which surprised her.

“You just saved my life.”

He nodded before he let out his fangs. She swallowed as she saw them. He cupped her right cheek in his left hand, bringing her closer to him. His right hand moved across her back and rested on the right side of her waist. She felt his cold breath on her neck and his fangs graze her vein before she felt them pierce through her skin. A small cry escaped her. It wasn’t as painful as she’d imagined. She barely felt the blood leave her body, but she felt his cold lips slightly moving on her skin and his tongue licking around the two bleeding puncture wounds. She didn’t realize she had placed a hand on his arm as she waited for him to let her go.

He drank for a minute, it seemed like an eternity. He slowly released her, carefully removing his fangs from her vein, stroking her cheek with his thumb, once, then twice, before he moved away completely. She brought a hand to her bleeding neck as he licked his lips.

“Thank you,” he said before he bit his wrist. “Drink, it’ll heal you.”

“Are you sure?” she frowned. It seemed counterproductive.

“Yes,” he nodded as he brought his wrist to her mouth.

She felt her wound close as his blood fell down her throat. She didn’t need much and didn’t want to take more than she required. She pushed his wrist away as she felt the pain completely vanishing from her neck.

“Thank you.”

He stood up, and she took the hand he was holding out to her before he helped her get back on her feet. They both looked around, taking in the damage the explosion had done. Godric’s living room was completely destroyed. A few vampires had died, given the puddles of blood around the burned room. A few humans too. Isabel and Godric were helping the survivors recover, helped by Bill, Sookie and Jason.

“I can’t believe they’d do that…”

“Really? I’m not surprised at all.”

“Eric,” Godric said as he appeared before them. “Please, bring your human back to the hotel.”

“She’s not mine,” Eric corrected his maker.

“Apologies,” he told Brooklynne. “Please, bring back Mr. Compton and his human too. The brother as well.”

“What about you?”

“I need to sort things out here. Isabel will help me. The sun will be up in less than an hour. Please, rest, and we will talk tonight.”

“I can help…”

“Yes… Please, help her and her siblings. I’m sure they need to rest as much as we do.”

Eric nodded. “I will see you tonight.”

“You will,” Godric assured him before he walked away.

“Come on,” Eric told Brooklynne. “Let’s find you sister.”

*********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87

#true blood #fanfiction #fanfic #eric northman #sookie stackhouse #bill compton #jason stackhouse #godric #eric x oc #eric northman x oc #eric x reader #eric northman x reader #imagine #reader #oc

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nandostateofmind · 5 years ago

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Judas..........

Friends....Forgiving Those Who Sold You Out for 30 Pieces of Silver....

Some of the people i have loved the most have been the ones who have hurt me the most. The amount of love you have for someone is directly proportionate to amount of pain their betrayal hurts you. Only those who you truly love can truly hurt you. There are those who do something to you and never forgive them because if the trust you once had for them. This isn’t about someone cheating on you that’s a physical thing and when it comes to sex people tend to make poor decisions unfortunately. I’m talking about the end of a friendship where you mourn the person they once were to you. Long story short God forgives i don’t. Actually God never forgave the devil he still down there in charge of roasting people for all of eternity so maybe me and God on the same page on this one I’m not sure I’m not well versed in the Bible.

First there’s my younger sister Angela. She had a rough life. Tougher than most involving a bunch of things that are not my story to tell. But she always had sticky fingers and didn’t mind lying. I loved her though. She was my sister and we shared a million laughs and great moments together. Despite me never forgiving her the loss of her really does hurt me more than anyone else because i would never thought i would be the victim of her. I had a big argument with her a week or two early where i repeatedly called her a bitch which is extremely out of character for me but i was immature and made a mistake i still regret it despite the fact she robbed me weeks later. She was pregnant at the time. I was going to drive my sister home to her new apartment along with my older brother. I left my tuition money, exactly $1550 on the dresser with my diamond bracelet, a technomarine watch with the diamonds in the bezel, a broken gucci link bracelet, and a techno master watch worth like $1500. I went downstairs to prepare to leave with her and her boyfriend to the Bronx to take them home when she went back upstairs. I didn’t think anything of it. Generally speaking i was constantly careless with my jewelry around my house because i had no reason to feel anyone would steal from me. So when the following day i couldn’t find my jewelry i figured i just left it elsewhere. Then i started to piece together the truth. My broken bracelet would’ve been there i couldn’t wear a broken bracelet. My tuition money was missing $50 I guess leaving the rest was a kindness on their part to allow me to go to school that semester. Then the rechnomaster watch didn’t have diamonds so if you weeent aware of what you were looking at you would assume the watch with the diamonds was worth more. Then that pit of my stomach feeling came over me and i accepted that my jewelry and $50 was gone.

Then comes to one of my high school best friend whom i had known since 6th grade, Andrew. We were together everyday. Had a million stories and laughs together and when i had beef he showed up to fight for me and vice versa. He was my most trusted advisor when it came to my high school sweetheart. He knew us both was both of our friend and he hooked us up as a couple. At some point during college we were working together but we stopped talking because he felt i did something or other wrong, what that was exactly i don’t know because he never actually told me he just distanced himself and i understood that that was the case so i gave him the space he clearly wanted. Shortly after this my high school sweetheart and i had a huge fall out where we stopped talking for a year or so. Then one day of out blue he calls me the day after i went on my first date with my wife. I was feeling my wife immediately so much so that i truly feel it saved me from making a huge mistake. He called me and told me he wanted to reestablish our friendship i was elated. I called my wife who was then my girlfriend and told her about my situation and how happy i was because i regretted our falling out. I got dressed and headed to Andrew’s house. I took my knife which was very normal for me at the time. It’s winter i arrive to his house and he is wearing a durag and tank top and as opposed to inviting me in or talking there he invites me down the block to a dead end street. This worried me like this dude trying jump me? Rob me? I was confused so before we could make it there i stop and say what’s going on? He pauses and proceeds to tell me he slept with my high school sweetheart and that he was uncertain of the reaction he would get so he was preparing to fight if i took a swing at him and he didn’t want it to happen in front of his house. I proceeded to explain i met someone new and no longer cared, congratulated him his new baby. I said to myself i can never be his friend again but I’m going to jump him for the disrespect (my friends at the time wanted to jump him). He tried to reach out a few times but i didn’t respect that our former friendship wasn’t enough to make him not cross that line. So i couldn’t forgive that i still hold a grudge my value system is such that i wouldn’t ever mess with my friends ex, especially if it was his “love of his life” at the time. So no i don’t forgive it i don’t want that girl and i don’t care what she does but because of who he was to me makes me not forgive him because i clearly wasn’t being held in that status as i held him I’m offended by that and so therefore i won’t let it go in terms of having a relationship with him ever.

Finally and the situation that upsets me the most because of the deception involved. This dude Raymond aka Pito was like big brother to me while my brother and i had issues. He protected me from bullies in the park. Took me every where with him. Taught me basketball and sports generally introduced me to a lot of music he was family to me. I had heard the rumors that he had begun using coke. At some point during this he asked me to borrow $50 i explained i don’t lob money because that ends friendships. After a few months of not speaking to him my sister tells me that he has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Due to this i answered his call. He begins crying on the phone and tells me about his illness and that he is never going to see his children again. I then arrange to see him so that he can meet my newborn son. While he came to my home i took off my platinum, gold with diamond wedding ring and left it with my watch on a computer desk. He stole the wedding ring. I searched for him for weeks i write him eventually and begged to tell me where the ring was so i could purchase back my wedding ring and he wouldn’t tell me and he wouldn’t respond. I was ready to do whatever to this man. It took me a week or two to calm down enough to remember i had a growing family. He wrote me messages eventually asking me to forgive him because he had found God. I just felt nothing but disgust towards him let his new found God forgive him because there will never be forgiveness from me. People tried to defend him to me and i told them i truly hope he gets the stomach cancer he claimed he had because that’s how disgusted i am by him. I’m a good person i feel and i am reasonable but he is forever dead to me because that ring represented my love and my wife and my family and he violated that. There’s no coming back. He is Judas, he took the priceless in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. god forgives i do not. And i never will. I pray i never see him again in hopes i never risk all that i have in exchange for revenge. Hopefully that prayer gets answered.

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fullregalia · 5 years ago

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chef’s kiss (from daddy).

Like a sad sack Kendall jonesing for something better than park coke, I am already missing the presence of Succession in my life and so blogging and discovering the Vanity Fair podcast will have to stave off my season finale withdrawal. Upon listening to Slate Money’s Succession podcast season finale episode with guest Tamar Adler, I felt like I wanted to think more about the role of food in the show in general. “Thank you for the chicken” may just be the most iconic Tom Wambsgans line Succession has had so far, and there are so many (uncut) gems to choose from (“Just checking the till here, Mark, and it seems you're short a few million,” and who could forget this poetry: “king of edible leaves--his majesty, the spinach.”) The way the show traffics in excess, while also showing us how the Roys eat, but are never truly nourished, is a fascinating lens through which to see how these characters live. [Ed. note: I started writing this all the way back in October, and got sidetracked with school--in the interim, Eater published a great article ranking the dinner scenes in the show.]

If you were to ask me what the stand out food scene in season one is, I’d immediately answer Tom and Greg’s dinner with the ortolan course. It’s such a nouveau riche flex (but maybe it’s an old money flex too? I don’t hang out with ortolan eaters of any socioeconomic status!) and a silly one at that, but it’s fitting that Tom and Greg--of “you can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs” fame--are the ones to make a big deal over an elaborate dinner, because they’re the outsiders. While many of the show’s episodes are centered on a grand meal as set piece, it shows how commonplace formal, catered dinners are for the Roys. When you’re a billionaire, going out to dinner is probably more of a nuisance if you could just eat something decadent prepared for you in your own home.

By season two, it’s almost as if every episode plays some sort of food-as-metaphor role as the grand meals function as plot points more frequently. From episode one, “Summer Palace,” we start off with Logan trashing an entire seafood feast to order a bunch of pizzas (that don’t even get touched) at their Hamptons house. To the Roys, this kind of waste doesn’t upset anyone, and what’s even more interesting is Logan is totally fine with the idea of ordering pizzas. This weird highbrow/lowbrow liminal space that the Roys occupy is so fascinating to me. Billionaires are out of touch and weird, sure, but they act so artificially chummy, like the way Nan Pierce presents herself, for instance. While rationally I understand Logan demanding that his staff order a bunch of pizzas, I also cannot imagine a billionaire being like, “order a bunch of pizza instead of this lobster!!” (Clearly this is a bit of shades of Warren Buffet garbage palate happening here, billionaires: they’re just like us! #wealthtax.)

But Logan is in no mood to waste neither food nor time in episode three, when they all go hunting and we are introduced to the world’s most insane Exterminating Angel cosplay also known as Boar! On! The! Floor! (!!!) No sausage gets left behind as this dinner party devolves into yet another opportunity for Logan to humiliate and belittle his family and colleagues. As Troy Patterson notes of Logan Roy, he’s carnivorous in every way. Lest you forget, though, the Roys love their beverages more than they appreciate food, and in this episode Connor introduces us to hyperdecanting and Logan views Roman out of touch with the common man because he can’t say how much a gallon of milk costs. Another highbrow/lowbrow moment: this season has made the clash of Logan’s upbringing with his children’s lifelong privilege much more of a thematic presence. (Do we think Shiv has ever ordered pizza delivery? She has worked on political campaigns, but strikes me as a “no thanks, I don’t have time for lunch” kind of staffer.)

Food waste runs in the Roy family, it seems. There’s this funny little moment when Roman goes to management training, picks up a sad looking danish, takes a bite, is disgusted, and puts it back. Oh Romulus, you are such a jerk, but I love your weird ways. One of the things I noticed this season about Roman on his “leadership journey” was that he seemed to teetotal more and more--perhaps as a result of witnessing his brother’s substance abuse issues--it seems as though as he becomes increasingly serious about taking over the job of CEO, he’s been drinking more Perrier and green juice.

As the season continues, the meals keep coming: when the Roys dine with the Pierces at Tern Haven, Nan has this bizarre moment of performative hostess mode when she presents a roast her housekeeper made to the guests as her own? It was such a weird scene, and so telling of who Nan Pierce is: she loves to appear as a homespun, generous person, but clearly is not just a “simple billionaire” who gets her hands dirty in the kitchen. The façades continue to crumble as the evening goes on as the Roys snap at one another, though somehow the disastrous dinner isn’t enough to halt the deal from happening (yet). It takes a weekend in Argestes, with lunches not eaten and dinners walked out on, for that deal to fall apart.

While the big set pieces of season two’s grand dinners reveal to us the cruel and illusory tendencies of our characters, the most revealing--and effective--use of food (or lack thereof) was Shiv and Roman’s visit to their mother in “Return.” We know that the younger Roys’ mother is cold, but in this episode we see just how withholding she is. Before we get to Lady Caroline’s, Roman makes a joke about eating muddy trout and filling up on mustard; on the plus side, we have a funny scene at a convenience store with Roman and Shiv looking completely confused by how normal people snack. It’s clear that Caroline does not have a healthy relationship with food--Harriet Walter says that was part of her backstory for the character--and she serves them pigeon with shot and feather not cleaned off. She cannot nourish her children, literally or emotionally. (lol at my *extremely incisive* commentary and psychoanalysis.) Later in the evening, while talking to Kendall in the kitchen, she cannot bring herself to have a heart-to-heart with him. In the New York Times’ review of the episode, Noel Murray says: “That’s one powerful symbol for life as a Roy. One parent hollers for protein. The other serves inedible meat.” These rich kids just can’t catch a break from their parental nightmares!

Succession shows its characters’ damage through their total lack of intimacy or vulnerability. It is not your usual HBO show with gratuitous nudity; besides Roman and Gerri’s .... situation, there’s not really sex on this show. The only way that the Roys derive pleasure is from money and the flashy status symbols that come with it (hello, mega yacht!). The scenes with food become the most emotional because it’s the closest they get to physical or emotional closeness in many ways. But the Roys don’t do emotional closeness; I think one of the cruelest--and funniest--examples of this is when Shiv, Tom, Roman, and Tabitha have dinner together and all Shiv and Roman can do is dunk on Tom for his bad suits (Roman: “You look like a divorce attorney from the Twin Cities,” and: “I’m sorry but like, what the fuck? You look like a Transformer. What’s wrong with your body, man?”).

All this brings me to the denouement of Season 2, in which we also reach the apex of Tom’s frustration with his terrible in-laws mistreatment of him, and the aforementioned “thank you for the chicken” line. First: Logan Roy is out here on a MEGA YACHT eating a chicken wing with some big Ricky Rozay wingstop energy. Second: Tom cannot bring himself to confront Logan, even if he finally vented his frustrations to Shiv; all he can do is stuff his face (it’s not love, Tom!! I learned the hard way!!!) and walk away. Third: all the yacht meal scenes are great--just a complete pile-on of courtiers backstabbing and badmouthing each other (Tom calling Karl a “sausage thief”) with a few genuine moments of emotional honesty. Connor drinks wine at breakfast. Greg, accustomed to quaffing rosé, fears he will be sprinkles on the sundae of a Tom sacrifice. Roman defends Gerri! The look Roman and Kendall exchange when the sacrifice is made. Roman, who is “widely known as a terrible person,” in general becoming the MVP of the latter half of the season, even asks to talk to his siblings “normally.” A request that they summarily mock him for. Succession season finales have major “Water, water, every where / Nor any drop to drink” vibes.

We end the season with Kendall giving daddy Roy a (Judas) kiss after a figurative last supper on the boat, and what’s next is ripe for further scenes of familial drama. Let’s hope there’s similarly rich protein for us in Season 3, I’m already hungry for more.

#succession #food #lol #tv #demi you genius #kiss from daddy

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lillaxtrigger · 6 years ago

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Faded land: Chapter 9

The blistering sun bakes down upon the wastelands from the clear blue skies as Clara climbs up a towering incline. With most of her journey having been taken on foot upon countless miles this past month, she wonders how her legs haven’t given out by now. With very little breath to spare, she wishes for something that can get her through the wastelands faster along with refreshing her supplies, like a vehicle of some sorts, hopefully something with good mileage and air conditioning. Anything would work really, no matter how daft the concept might allude. Managing to drag herself atop the steep hill, she rises from the cracked grounds to lay her sites upon the city before her.

Columbus. From her point of view she notices something odd about the buildings in the city. There weren’t really as many of them broken as she anticipated. Sure, there were the city’s fair share of destroyed establishments, but for the most part, Columbus seemed to be normal. Even a couple of the sky scrapers looked not a day old. Looking over the entirety of Columbus, her hunger pushes her towards entering the city.

She walks to town, finding the streets below her feet to be free of cracks. The roads beside her looking to be just as repaired. Even the dirt looks to be gradually be supporting grass and tree saplings as she enters. The scientist then spots something dash along the corner of her eye and approaches to investigate. Around the corner, she finds people walking along the pavement streets, not overcrowded or in disarray like the last city she visited. Boy was that a cluster fuck. No, what really catches her attention was what the people traveling along the roads were traversing with. Animals, not just any animals, mutant beasts of all shapes and sizes the people were riding as steeds. Most of them were fused chimera’s of two or more animals. Seeing this network of traveling mutants racing along the roads both astonishes and overwhelms the scientist. Remembering her recent encounter with mutated animal life, she proceeds with cation.

As Clara slowly traverses through the patched up streets, she looks overhead to witness several people hanging around the buildings via ropes and sashes being supported by mutant beasts atop the roofs, patching and repairing any damages they’ve sustained. It seems like these people are taking an active effort to fix their city rather than let it rot. Good on them. Before she could progress gazing upon the working repair committee and their valiant efforts, Clara feels her stomach rumble out in utter protest. The hunger being painful enough to make her groan aloud. One wayward repair man hears the young ladies cries of hunger from below and slides down, asking her: “What’s the matter, little lady? Ya feel sick?” “So hungry…Haven’t eaten in days...” “Oh...Well, there’s a soup kitchen right around the corner. Sure they’ll be able to serve ya some grub.” the worker tells her, pointing over towards the corner behind him. “Here, let me take ya over-”. He turns back to find the girl had seemingly vanished. Thought confused, he shrugs off the affair and climbs back up to his patch job repairs.

A bowl of beef stew steams before Clara as she sits upon one of the tables beside a couple of unfortunate souls. She lifts up a spoonful of the soup with a piece of hearty potato’s to inspect for any odd discoloration or shape. Can’t be two careful after all, not after the incident on that weird as hell farm. Hmm...Looks okay. Color a normal shade of blonde. Sharp cut, but overall natural. She takes a light sip of the meaty juices that the mixture was submerged in. Yep. This is normal ass beef stew. Tasty ass stew too. So tasty in fact, that she can’t help but take the bowl and loudly scarf the stew down her empty gullet. Such a rather unpleasant display makes the people sitting beside her scoot away, not wanting any of the scientists flying drips to land into their soup. Finishing the stew, she puts down the bowl to take in a deep breathe and blow out a hearty sigh. “Ahh. That’s the good stuff.”

She returns the bowl back to a nearby dish rack, wondering to herself: “Now, what to do about food.” Just then, a colorful poster depicting a man riding atop a mutant steed like the ones she saw outside draws her attention. Under the rider was a description pertaining to an events of sorts relating to said picture. “Come ride in the annual Columbus mutant steed race. Winners shall receive a lifetime supply of canned goods for there spoils. Sign ups is at the Magmor Ranch…Hmm...”

Somewhere in the city, Clara arrives upon a wide fenced ranch. The middle of this giant fresh cut field is fitted with a practice track, riders racing through the dirt roads upon their mutant animal steeds. Though the doubt of mutated animals being safe to touch has shortly been buried, the site of them still freaks her out quite a smidge. A small phobia she’ll have to overcome quickly if she wants to participate. Looking about, she finds a white building besides the fenced off racetrack and enters.

Within, she finds a crowd of people standing about in the lobby, mingling to one another. At the end of the hall, she finds a clipboard with a bunch of names scribbled upon a grid sheet of paper. Assuming its the sign up sheet, she takes the pen on the side and tries to sign her name, but there was a small problem. Nearly all of the positions have been filled, counting nearly 30 people. She wonders if there’s even any room left on the paper to sign. But at the very bottom, she spots a single empty slot. Good thing she got here just in time, or she might have been outta luck. Without a single moment to hesitate, she quickly signs her name within the square slot. What now, she ponders. Will she be provided with a steed of her own? What kind of freak of nature will she have to mount? Questions that begin to swell as she looks about for any kind of official help on the matter.

The scientist then spots a man over a counter filing paper work. An employee? She swiftly approaches the counter and grabs the attention of the office worker. “E-Excuse me.” she utters. The man looks over the counter and finds Clara awaiting his attention. “Hello, miss. What can I do ya for?”. “Um, I just entered in the races and was wondering if there were any animals left for me to ride?”. “Ehh...I don’t really know...One second.”. The official turns away from his client, asking out loud towards his fellow employee: “Hey, Judas! Do we have any more trainers left?”. “Not sure. Have you tried Isabel?” the fellow employee questions. “I think she’s already taken.”. “What about Rico. No one’s had him for years.” another employee mentions. “Oh yeah. Forgot about him.”. Turning back to Clara, he tells the scientist: “Kay, turns out we do have one more trainer left. Rico, the one that lives across town.”. The employee rips out a piece of paper from a wayward notebook and jots down what looked to be an address. “Here’s his address. Fair warning. Guys a huge prick. You sure you don’t wanna wait until next year?”. “Can’t. I’m a very busy girl.” as she takes the scrap of paper.

Asking for directions towards the address in question leads her down a rather old and barren part of town. Much in contrast towards the part of Columbus she entered from, the streets she walked on were crumbled and full of cracks in turn with the ill crossed roads beside her. The buildings and homes that were still standing didn’t look like they had much time left before they collapsed. Typical post apocalypse affair in all honestly. Maybe the cleanup crew hasn't gotten here yet. The few residents that lived around here led her towards where this Rico guy might be staying.

Aside from the complete abandonment of the neighborhood, she finds the address she had been searching for. Only one house on the street stood that wasn’t in shambles. And even then, it didn’t look all that presentable. Well, there really isn’t anywhere else this Rico guy could live around here, really. Has to be his place. Approaching the shack, the front door suddenly swings open. Out from the doorway stood a man with clown make up on, aiming a pistol towards Clara’s head. “Stay the hell away from my shack!” he roars. She backs away from the armed carnie, falling upon the shattered streets as she holds her hands high in the air. The scientist wondering how many times its been that she’s been on the opposite end of awaiting fire arms and came out unscathed thus far. Quite a number of lucky breaks, isn’t it? The scientist hopes that this encounter won’t be any different, but doubt creeps into her mind as the man before her seems to be leaving not the best impression. “I’m fucking sick of you riders coming over and tearing up my home! I’ve had it!”. “A-Are you Rico?” the scientist wonders. “Who hell wants to know?”. “My name is Clara. I’m wanting to enter the race.” she answers the clown. The man lowers his weapon, an astonished looked was painted alongside his clown make up. The surprise quickly turns into laughter that echoes through the broken neighborhood. The laughter ceasing, he asks: “Alright. Who the hell put you up to this? Was it Manfred? Fucking dick. No no, gotta be Oppela. That bitch always had a sick sense of humor. Maybe it was Derack. That asshole doesn’t know the meaning of the word stop.”. “No one put me up to this. The guys over that the ranch told me to come here. Saying you were the only trainer left.”. Hearing her answer, Rico groans, adding: “Of course. What else could it be?”. The clown man turns back towards the inside of his home, telling his guest to: “Come on in. Fill you in on the details.”. Watching the supposed trainer go back inside, she picks herself of the cracked concrete and cautiously follows the man in.

Coming inside, the scientist found the inside almost as decrepit as the outside. The furniture within looked old and torn up, being vaguely repaired at the least to keep from breaking down. Waving through the air was a strong musk mixed with a vaguely rotting scent. How does this guy live like this? Clara takes a seat upon the fragile sofa, hearing the wood and springs within loudly creaking. She feels like just the slightest impact could snap it in two. “So you that desperate to enter the race, are ya? You sure you don’t wanna wait til next year and try your luck with a different trainer?”. “I don’t really have much choice. Gotta get supplies and get outta town as fast as I can.”. “On the run, huh? Alright then, come on. Let me show ya your steed.”. “A-Already? You haven’t even introduce yourself or apologize for aiming your gun at my-”. “Kid, we got three days til the big grand prix. We need to speed this shit along, asap. Come on.”. “Jeez, fine.”.

The clown leads the scientist out towards the back of the withered shack, where out stood a tiny stable. Looking inside, she find the mutant steed she would be riding with in the race, a large bear spider. Its eight fuzzy legs attached to a big, but skinny body that boasted a grizzly head with slumbering six eyes. “Oh my god!” Clara exclaims. “Yep. A genuine bear spider. She’s a real beaut alright.”. Rico crouches down to the sleeping ursa arachnid and gently shakes her head. “Come on Angelo. Time to get up. We got a new rider for ya.” he gently tells the bear spider. Angelo slowly opens her six eyes, gazing upon her trainer and the person that’d be riding her. Letting out a soft groan as she rises from the dirt, her legs wobble as she tries to stand, like a newborn deer fresh into the world. Hearing the mutant ursa groan much louder, Rico pulls out a can of food as he comforts the starving beast. “Sh sh shh. I know your starving. Gimme a sec”. Using a pocket knife, the trainer cuts open the can of beans and feeds them to Angelo, to which the beast swiftly devours, her trainer holding the can as she eats. After the contents are quickly consumed, Rico drops the can and asks the bear: “You feel better?”. The bear spider gives a satisfied growl in response. “Good. Good.”. Getting back up, the clown man turns to Clara, commanding: “Okay. Snap to it.”. “Excuse me?”. “Gotta get on the beast.”. “You want me to ride that?”. “Well duh, you gotta ride it. How the hell are ya supposed enter the race if you can’t even get on the steed?”. Clara looks towards her potential steed, seeing Angelo's beady eyes staring right towards her. Slowly starting to take the approach, she reluctantly reaching her hand out towards the mutant bears head. “Come on, kid. She ain’t gonna bite.” Rico impatiently blurts out. “Gimme a second! Last encounter with a mutant animal didn’t go so well for me, okay.”. As her palm closes in towards the mutants head, Clara braces herself by tightly shutting her eyes. Her grasp fills with fuzz, she opens her eyes and finds that Rico was right. This beast is completely docile. She shifts her grip towards Angelo’s neck, feeling the fuzz trickle through her palm. This gives her the gumption to try and mount the ursa arachnid. She slowly climbs up upon Angelo’s back, seating herself on the leather saddle placed atop the beast. From her view, she towers over the trainer, the top of her head grazing the roof of the small stable. It almost make her feel, powerful, mounting such a fearsome looking monster. “Wow.”. “First time riding a steeds?” Rico guesses. “First time riding...anything. I’ve never even driven a car before, much less a mutant animal.”. “Congrats. Time to ride.”. “N-Now?”. “Yeah now. Gotta get Angelo in shape by the time the race rolls around and get you up to speed on riding a steed.”.

In the streets out in the front of the clowns home, Clara was trying to keep her balance atop the bear spider as they rode along the crumbled roads. The trainer reluctantly watches as Clara tries to forcefully turn Angelo, tugging the ropes along her mouth, but having no luck as the ursa simply shakes her about. “Come on! Just turn already!” the scientist complains, her steed groaning in refusal. The bears constant struggling eventually makes Clara fall of her back upon the cracked concrete below. “Agh! Ow! What’s the matter with this bear spider? I can’t get it to go anywhere I want it to.”. “She” is just fine, kid. It’s you that’s whats the matter.” she hears Rico say, the clown staring her down over head. “What do you mean by that.?” Clara wonders as she gets back up from the pavement. “I mean that you can’t force Angelo around like a car or a truck. Its a living creature, like you and me. You gotta respect her as one, ca-peesh!”. “Oh...Guess you have a point there. Sorry.”. “Try telling her that?” Rico demands, pointing towards the mutant steed in question. The ursa’s gaze shifting away from the two in a huff. The scientist approaches the mutant beast, putting her hand on Angelo's side and apologizing with: “Uh, s-sorry...About being too rough with you. I’m just not used to riding, well...Anything really.”. Hearing this, the steed pivots her head slightly towards her rider. “I’m promise not to be as rough when steering you around, alright?”. With that, the mutant ursa fully turns, answering with an appreciative groan.

Getting back atop the bear spider, she grabs hold of the ropes as she seats herself upon the saddle. “I didn’t realize that riding a steed would be so hard.”. Clara remarks. “Gotta build trust with her first. That way, she’ll listen to ya. Got it.”. “I think so.”. The scientist gazes forward, seeing the broken road ahead. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, she asks the steed beneath her: “Okay girl. Let get a move on.”. On command, the ursa arachnid goes forth, slowly crawling along the cracked streets. Upon coming towards the end of the road, the scientist commands her steed to: “Now, lets turn around.” she asks, pulling the rope to the left. As instructed, Angelo turns away from the end and back towards Rico. Seeing how slow they’re going, she gently whips the rope, giving the order to: “Kay. Let’s pick up the pace.”. With slight gusto, the bear spider speeds up, its many legs scrambling at a brisk pace. Clara sees them quickly approaching Rico upon the side of the road. A little too quickly. Oh god! Too fast! They’re gonna crash into him! The scientist pulls hard on her steeds reins in an effort to break. Both rider and trainer worried about the potential accident, they yell out towards the ursa: “Stop!”. Angelo grinds to a halt, her head inches away from Rico’s clown face. All of them let out relieved sighs upon dodging such a close call. “Phuw...sorry about that. Didn’t realize how fast she could pick up speed.”. “It’s alright. Happens to all of us. I think we should maybe take this whole practice somewhere a little more open.”. “Like where?”. “Don’t know. You’re choice, I guess.”. Thinking for a second, her mind immediately goes towards an obvious choice. “I think I might know a place.”.

Guiding both her new steed and its trainer, she takes the two back to the ranch, many a riders racing through the dirt track around the establishment. “Here we are. Should get in a ton of practice riding around here. Ya know, I didn’t notice before but some of the mutants here actually look kinda cool. There’s a rabbit wolf, a rhino cheetah, lion pig, gorilla kangaroo, gecko zebra, horse crocodile, monkey frog. Rico, are all the animals around here chimera’s like this?”. Looking over towards the trainer, she finds him to frightened to respond, simply giving a horrified glare. “Uh...Rico…You okay?”. “What...the...fuck is wrong with you!?” he curses. “What?”. “Why in the ever loving piss stains did you bring us here of all place!?”. “I thought it was a good place to practice.”. The ursa arachnid lets out a frightened groan, its 8 legs gradually backpedaling away from the dirt track. “This is absolutely one of the worst places we can possibly practice! We need to book it hell outta here right this fucking second!”. “Alright, Geez. Don’t need to be so pushy.” Clara sasses as she turns the spider bear around. “We gotta hurry, before anyone notices we’re-”. “Rico?” someone wonders. “Son of a bitch.”.

Clara turns around, seeing one of the riders eye them from behind. It was a punk looking rider atop the rhino cheetah that was racing through the track a moment ago. It’s muscularly tone legs and sharp horn could decimate anything it would swiftly charge through Between its horn, the beast eyes coldly stare at the three, Angelo beginning to inch away in fear. Quite the deadly adversary. “What the hell are you doing back here?” the punk threatens. With a sigh, the clown man unenthusiastically responds with: “Hello Derake.”. “Who’s he?” The scientist wonders. “That is the Derby Champion.”. “Four years running, you mean. You wanna tell me what a jackass like you is doing back on the track?” “Not really. Just about to leave actually.” he responds, heading towards the exit. “What’s you’re hurry for?” someone laughs as they cut them off from the way out.

Angelo comes to a sudden halt as she was faced with a scaly stallion. Blocking their way out was a kooky looking woman dressed in what would normally be way too much green leather. However, the overboard attire did match the fierce crocodile horse she was mounting. A bite from its sharp set of teeth would leave anybody in a bleeding mess. “You guys just got here and party’s just getting started.”. The horse gator under her gives a deep growl, making Angelo back way. “Whoa whoa, who’s she?” Clara questions. “Oppela. Silver medal.” Rico answers. After a sinister giggle, the croc rider wonders: “And who’s this cute marshmallow you managed to sucker in?” Looking towards Clara, she asks her: “Let me guess, he bribed you, didn’t he?”. “Well actually-”. “I don’t bribe people, Oppela. What would I even bribe her with?”. “A fair point. You live in such a squalor.” somebody with a distinguished accent points out.

Turning back, they set their sites upon a well suited aristocratic man atop an ape kangaroo hybrid. The mixture of the upper body strength of a gorilla spliced with the lower of a kangaroo made for such a powerful combination and it knew this. The chimera proudly puffs its chest in dominance, standing atop its toes. “It’s a miracle you’ve managed to survive for as long as you have.”. “And he is…?” Clara tries to fish for answers. “Manfred. Stuck in 3rd place.” Rico throws out. “At least I’m ahead of the curb. You’ve barely managed to scrape your way out of last.”. “Hang on, what?” The scientist wonders, turning towards the trainer. “He didn’t tell ya toots? Old Rico here’s never managed to snag a win in his career.” the punk stated. “Always close to dead last. It’s so pathetic.” the leather woman adds. The clown man can’t help but look away, wordlessly confirming their accusations. As their laughter dies down, the aristocrat returns the question at hand, saying: “I believe there’s still a question afoot here. Young lady, why exactly did you choose Rico of all participants?”. “Uhh-”. “Yeah, come on. Fess up. What he do to ya?” the Derake wonder. “Nothing, I-”. “Then what’s the deal here?” Oppela pushes. “Um...” Clara stall, looking back towards Angelo’s trainer. She turns back towards the other riders, admitting: “He...was the only one left.”. The riders surrounding them awe in realization with Derake adding: “There it is.”

“Young miss. I suggest you quit now. Riders under Rico’s employee do not last very long.” Manfred suggests. “Can’t really quit. Gotta win the prize and split town.”. “Well then, guess we gotta make you quit then, do we.” Oppela tell her. “Excuse me.”. “You heard what she said. Either bail or we’ll make you bail.” Derack corrects. The riders surrounding threatening them inch closer, boxing them in. “See, this shit is why I didn’t wanna come here. Got any more bright ideas?”. Rico sarcastically questions. “Just one.” Clara answers. Turning towards her future attackers, she tries to distract them with the question: “Hold on a minute. Before you guys beat us like a meat processing facility on overdrive; Answer me this: The three of you obviously really good. But tell me; Who among you is the best?”. This old trick can’t possibly work. They’d have the brains of dead sea monkeys in hopes of them actually falling for it. But what other option is there? She’s got nothin left. “Ha ha. That’s a fucking easy one. It’s me.” Derake respond. “Hold on a second. That’s a load of BS, man. It’s gotta be me.” Oppela rudely retorts. “Sorry, who the hell is the derby champ again? That’d be me bitch.”. “We’ve all been champion at one point, Derake. Simply owning the title isn’t a measure of worth.” Manfred cuts in. “Alright asshole. How many times have you won?”. “Certainly more than either of you.” Manfred answers. “Really? Cause last I remembered, you’ve only won 4 times in your whole career. I on the other hand got 7 wins under my belt.” Oppelo counters, breaking the box that they were using to trap their victims. “That’s cute. I’ve been in the game longer then either of you and all that really doesn’t even come close to my 10 winning, with a 4 years winning streak bonus!” the punk boasts. As the three rivals prattled on with their horrendously clashing egos, Clara, Rico, and Angelo use the opportunity to attempt their escape, crawling their way towards the exit. “I can’t believe that old shitty trick worked.” Rico remarks. “Honestly, I’m just as surprised as you are.” Clara adds. In their ramblings, Derake glances over and notices their prey escaping, breaking the entire debacle by shouting: “Hey! The fuck do you think you’re going!?”. The others take notice, their scowls locking on them. “Shit! Bolt it!”.

Ditching the stealth approach, they rush towards the exit in hopes of making a swift escape. Oppela speeds right around them and blocks their only way out, her horse croc threatens with its sharp set of fangs. Manfred jumps towards their direction, threatening to crush them under his beasts heels. Angelo dashes out of the way of the gorillaroo’s strong kick. Feeling the earth tremble beneath their feet, they glance back and witness Derack lunging towards them. They barely escape the strong charge, feeling the raw power behind the rhino cheetahs dash as it passes. Clara looks around and sees nobody coming to their aid. The other riders and the officials simply watching as this pursuit plays out. Looking towards the exit showed a couple of them even shutting the ranch gates, trapping them withing the enclosure. What’s the matter with them? Why are they letting this happen? Why is nobody helping? Questions that race through Clara’s mind as she formulates a plan of escape from their pursuers. Finding a jumping fence coming up, Clara asks the trainer: “Suppose Angelo can’t jump right?”. “Not really, no.”. She opts to go around the brittle fence, hearing the sound of breaking wood behind them, which catches Rico’s attention.

Alarmed, the trainer pulls on Clara’s shoulder to grab her attention, warning: “Uh, kid. Rhino cheetah’s inbound.”. She looks over the trainers shoulder and finds that his warning was correct. Derack was catching up fast. Looking ahead, she nears the edge of the ranch fencing. Beyond the open fields laid the rest of the city. She could probably lose their pursuers if she manages to escape the enclosure. Swiftly, she turns away, leaving Derack to crash into the picket fence. Peeking back, she finds the blunt impact of charge to buckle the fencing. Another punch like that should be more than enough to break through.

She plans to come around again, when her turning is halted by Manfred, nearly jumping upon them. Looking up, Clara sees the aristocrat, bouncing high in the air for another stomp. “I fancy myself a good hunt.” he declares as he plummets towards them. She weaves Angelo around the track to avoid the hopping mutants. Dashing away from the gentleman bouncing assault and running through the race track.

They see Oppela and her horse croc riding up ahead, threatening to run them over. Clara looks back, seeing Manfred ready for another jump. An idea pops into her head. She faces forward, both Rico and Angelo wearing looks of concern, as if worried why their rider wasn’t slowing down. “Uh, kid. Think you might wanna hit the breaks.” he warns. “Both of you gotta trust me on this. I got an idea.”. “Does that idea involve us not ending up being chewed alive like a tasty meat stripe?”. A panicking whimper escapes from the bears maw as they drive ever closer. Oppela coming up, they see the horse croc to be exposing its sharp teeth. “Come on, little marshmallow, I wanna take a bite outta ya!” the leathery woman demands. Closer and closer both riders come, Clara waiting for the right moment as the opposing mutant readies to bite. Once they were close enough, Clara makes an immediately turns away from the gaping maw of the beast, narrowly dodging its clasping maw. Oppela turns her gaze towards Clara as she passes by, witnessing the scientist taunting her with her tongue out. “Grr, god dammit!” she curse. Manfred sees his leathery rival riding near as he plummets down towards her. Unable to stop his descent, he tries to instead warn her by shouting: “M��lady! Look out!”. But by the time Oppela notices him, it was far too late. Both their mutant steeds collide with one another, resulting in quite the inter species crash. “Yes!” Clara cheers. “Damn!” Rico astonishes.

They’re short lived celebration was halted when they hear the sound of heavy stomping behind them. Looking back, Clara sees Derack passing though his rivals, chasing them once more. “So, is part of your grand plan too?” the clown man questions. “Kind of. Just need to lure him back around.” the scientist answers. She then makes a sharp turn and dashes towards the charging mutant. “Not this shit again!” Rico shouts. This game of chicken however had far less risk, because Clara didn’t wait until the last moment to move aside. Instead she dashes away beyond the rhino cheetahs sharp horn and sets her sites upon the buckled part of the fencing. Looking back, they find Derake skidding across the grassy fields of the ranch to make a quick turn back towards his prey. Clara then stops Angelo right in front of the broken fencing, the usra’s trainer asking her: “What the hell are you doing? We gotta charging rhino cheetah coming up on our asses fast.”. “I know. Just gimme a second.” Clara stresses, turning her steed towards the right of the fence. “You really like putting me through this anxious bullshit, don’t you!?”. Both of them observe their punk pursuer approaching, quickly closing the distance. While the scientist remains a little nervous, both the trainer and the ursa arachnid are thrust into an utter shutter on the thought of being flattened like a Sunday morning breakfast pastries cover in bloody syrup. Clara’s moment was near, now was the best time for her to take action. “Now!”. She urks Angelo forward, dashing her out of the lunging beasts charge. Just as she predicted, Derack crashes through the enclosure, giving them their means of escape. Clara doesn’t waste a single moment with her exit, dashing quickly out from Magmor ranch. Dashing away as punk rider witnesses them in the midst of their escape. As Oppela and Manfred pick themselves and their steeds out of the crash, they hear their rival ordering them to: “Get up, you assholes! They’re getting away!”. Quickly, the riders mount their respective steeds and join Derack in his pursuit.

Crawling away from the ranch, they quickly find themselves racing through the streets, passing by countless other mutant driver in their escape. Rico looks back to find their three pursuers turning the corner and racing after them. He then looks down upon his beast and finds Angelo to be tiring out, her legs losing their luster. “What now, genius? Angelo here’s running outta steam and those bastards are still gunning for us.”. “You said Angelo was part spider, right?”. “Yeah. What of it?”.

Their pursuers witness them turning the corner around an apartment complex. The riders quickly follow and find their prey to have vanished, only seeing the setting sun in the distance. “The hell did they go?” Derack screeched. “They seemed to have vanished. Not a trace of them left to investigate.” Manfred concludes “You sure they pissed off down here?” Oppela asks. “I swear I saw them turn this way.”. “Perhaps your vision deceives you, Derack. Your years fleeting with your site.”. the aristocrat snarks. “What’d you say, you little piss ant?” the punk growls. “Guys got a point, mate. You did say you’ve been in the game longer than any of us. Maybe your age is finally catching up with you.”. Both rivals bombard the rhino rider with both snotty and maniacal laughter. “Shut the hell up.” Derack hollers in a huff, all three of them parting from the chase.

Unaware for any of them, their prey had been clinging high above the building right next to them. Angelo’s paws stick towards the apartment complexes brickwork like quick drying brick cement glue. Clara and Rico perched atop the beasts side to keep from falling off. “How long could he do this?” the trainer questions. “You mean you never thought once to try this?” Clara asks. “No. I always thought Angelo’s paws were too smooth to stick to anything.”. Crawling down from the wall, the scientist then asks the clown man: “Kay, now I got a question. What was that hot mess about?”. “What was what about?”. “That stuff back at the ranch. Why did everyone just stand and watch while those bastards attacked us!? On top of that, why did they attack us in the first place!?”. “What are you, new in town? This shits been a part of Columbus for over 37 years.”. “I literally just got into town today.”. “God dammit!”. The clown inhales a massive breath and exhales before explaining: “Alright, I hate explaining shit, so I’ll make this history lesson brief. Basic gist is that since gas for cars got scarce, people shifted towards riding these mutated animals. Lot less of a hassle anyway, kind of. They use them for everyday life and have help Columbus to get back on its feet into a working society. Racing them has become such a celebrated sport around here that it draws in more of a crowd than a religious holiday bonanza blowout special. As expected, winners are looked up to as heroes while losers are treated as dog shit. Which is why I’m not exactly the winner of any popularity contests around here.”.

Rico makes her get off the bear spider so that he take the reins. “Alright, see ya tomorrow.” he says just as he’s about to leave. “Wait!” Clara shouts. The clown comes to a sudden halt, peeking back towards the scientist, asking: “What is it now, kid?”. “Ehh, well. It’s kinda funny. I don’t really have anywhere to sleep, per say. I was hoping that maybe I could stay at your...” she awkwardly urges. Upon hearing this, Rico goans aloud, reluctantly offering her with: “Fine, I’ll let you crash at my place.”. “Yes!”. “But I ain’t feeding ya, got it? Barely got enough for me and Angelo here.”. With that, the trainer leaves the scientist to her own devices, who was wondering where she might stumble upon more food.

Exiting from the soup kitchen, she licks her lips as she rubs her warm stomach, mentioning: “Ahh, soup kitchen food never tasted so good.”. Coming down from her satisfaction, she begins to ponder with: “Still. I can’t keep going back and forth through town just to grab a bite. I need to refresh my supplies. But how? I don’t have any money. Do they even use money around here.” As if of sheer happenstance, a wagon full of canned goods passed by the scientist, whose eyes catches the cargo as it travels down upon the road. The scientist drops the whole money notion entirely and smiles in favor of a far more sneakier method. She really didn’t really have any cash on hand anyway, if they even used currency, that is.

The humble wagon puller stops upon the back of a small market, the rider mounting of her steed to unload her cargo. Clara peeks around the corner, waiting for the chance to swipe just one box of the canned goods. Some people take a couple of the boxes and head inside. Almost half of them are gone. Her moment passing, she sneaks forth towards the wooden wagon, careful so that no one spots her. Peeking into the back, she swipes one of the boxes and flees with her new coveted set of prizes.

She hides within a nearby alley, peeking around the corner to check if anyone followed her. Looks like the coast is clear. Clara looks upon her spoils. A single box of goods containing approximately 12 cans. Jackpot! This should be enough to last her days on end. A little bit of a heavy load, but the scientist is ecstatic from her ill gotten gains. But guilt begins to weight on her consciousness like a slab of crushing pavement. Not from the stealing, no. The shame from thievery long being numb. What truly burdened her mind was a statement left by the animal trainer in his departing words. “Barely got enough for me and Angelo here.”. Those words plant within her sympathy that begin to sprout. He is letting her stay at his place for the night. Suppose it’s only fair to share her newly appropriated goods.

Trekking back to the shack, Clara finds the inside to be relatively empty, accompanied with only the glow of the dim ceiling light illuminating the living room. She doesn’t seem to notice Rico anywhere. Maybe he’s tending to Angelo? Or maybe he went to sleep, who knows. Just in case, he hollers for the trainer to come out. “Rico? You in here? I brought home a surprise.”. Even though her words echo through the home, they fail to bait a response.

Entering the kitchen, she looks out through window towards the backyard. She finds Angelo snug within her cute little stable, but still doesn’t see any sign of her trainer. Where is he? The scientist jumps when the lights come on without warning. She quickly turns around and finds the clown once again starring her down with his loaded pistol, grabbed in only a shirt and his underpants. “Whoa, hey! It’s just me! Just, p-put the gun down!” she urges him. Complying, Rico groans out load, asking her: “So, do you normally just barge into peoples homes like this? Cause that’s the quickest way to get a bullet lodged in your brains.”. “Uh, sorry. Thought you wouldn’t mind if I just myself in. It was getting dark. “Oh really? Guess that makes things okay then, don’t it? Honestly, your lucky that I’m letting you stay here.”. “Oh, a-about that. I wanted to share something that I found, with you. Just a way of saying thanks for not making me sleep on the streets.”. She lays the box of cans atop the dining table in the middle of the kitchen. “Ta da!” she presents. Rico takes a closer look at the scientists gift, immediately assuming: “You stole this. Didn’t you?”. “What? No. No. I never do something like that. Come on, man.” she tries to deny. Although the guilt of stealing has long been numbed, getting caught was another matter in of itself. Her insincere chortling quickly diminishes as she finds her host staring at her with a disbelieving glare. Clearly, he’s not buying any of it. She drops the act with a defeated sigh, insisting on asking him: “How did you guess?”. “Probably should have took the cans out of the damn box first. That’s a dead giveaway.” the clown elaborates. “You’re not gonna rat me out?”. “Nah, long as you didn’t get caught, I don’t give a shit.”. “Wow, um...Okay, neat.”. Although she wondered why the trainer was so lenient, she counts her luck and refuses to press on. “So, uh where do I sleep exactly?”. “You can sit your ass on the couch for the night.”. “Whoo, thanks.”.

Clara gently rests herself upon the rickety sofa, careful not to break her temporary bedding. Although she’s thankful that it isn’t the cold hard ground, she struggles to feel comfortable against the itchy texture of the couch. Sitting up, she requests to her host: “You don’t got a blanket, do you?”. “This look like a five star hotel to you?”. “Not even one?”. “I only have one.”. From above, a piece of the roof crashes upon the scientist, making her look up towards the ceiling as she rubs her head. The roof has obviously seen better days, countless chips and cracks decorate the ceiling like broken glass. “God. This place is a war zone. How can you live in such squalor?”. “Don’t really have much of a choice. This is all the Colombian government will give me.”. “What?”. “Remember how I said how derby racing ties to popularity, ties into social statues too. Those closer to first are better off, while those near dead last are left to with next to nothing. Don’t even give me enough to feed me and Angelo. It’s why she’s so skinny.”. “So, the government here expects you not only to live and take care of Angelo, but to try and win with what little you’re given with?”. “Yep, even if there were only two racers, they lean more towards the first.”. “That’s…Bullshit!”. “Yep. But that’s the way it’s always been here. These people take derby racing seriously over the well being of others. Its why I always steal food whenever I can. If the they’re gonna try and screw me, I have no problem screw them back”. “Oh…”. That would explain how he knew about the stolen cans. “Well, why can’t you just, quit and get a different job?”. “Can’t. Not without risking Angelo.”. “What do you mean?”. “I don’t know what they’ll exactly do to her if I quit. Likely process her for her weird bear spider meat or something.” Rico concludes, looking towards the kitchen window. Clara join his gaze towards Angelo’s stable. “I can’t begin to fathom the guilt I’d feel over it. It’d to much for me to bear...Nn, no pun intended.”. “Well, how bout this. If I win, then I’ll split the prize with you. Nearly a lifetime supply of food should last you and Angelo a long while.”. She hears the clown give a light chuckles, snickering with: “Good luck with that. Competitions borderline deadly.” Rico sees the scientist laying down upon his broken sofa with a gloom sigh. He tries to lift her spirits by offering: “Tell you what. How bout I pick somewhere for us to practice tomorrow.”. “Like where?” she wonders, looking towards the trainer with a questioning stare.

Upon the morning, they arrive towards a wider, largely desolate part of the city. The larger fair of buildings around them remind Clara of lot of the homes on Rico’s streets, broken, withered, lack of color, could topple any minute, same business really. Only difference were the much more wider roads and crosswalks sharing the same motif that made the perfect track. A much larger course than the one over at Magmor ranch, if not as clean or up kept, but thankfully not as populated with clearly overcompensating douche bags. “Ta da...” the clown presents with little enthusiasm. “What’s with this place. Has the clean up crew not got here yet?” Clara guesses. “Not really. Can’t figure out to get ride of the bigger buildings without it turning into a safety hazard. No one ever comes here. Which makes it the perfect place for us to practice.”. “You want me to race around here?”. “Yep.”. The trainer hopes off the bear spider, patting the beasts side as he tells the rider: “Now get to it.”. Staring out towards the streets ahead, she worries about the exact integral structure of some of the buildings. “Are you sure this place is safe?”. “Kid, we can’t worry about safety when we’re on a deadline here. We got two days til the big race. Gotta get in as much practice as we can before them. Beside you won’t gotta worry about safety during the race anyway.”. “Why?”. “See, thing is, you won’t just be outrunning the competition. You’ll be fighting them back for your life.”. “What!? They’’ll be gunning to kill me!? How is that allowed!?”. “Do I really need to explain the whole derby being more important than human life thing again?”. “Well, why didn’t you warn me about it sooner!?”. “God, sorry. Figured that the whole fiasco at the race track might’ve tipped you off by now.”. Upon being given this harrowing news, Clara growls aloud, echoing through the empty block. Her frustration dying down, she gives an exhausted sigh, wondering: “Can I least get a weapon to defend myself?”. “Does it look like I have any weapons on hand?”. “What about that pocket knife you carry?”. “My can opener!? Hell no! I ain’t risking losin that!...Hang on. You’re still going for the race knowing it’ll be a bloody Mary bath house ? Why?”. “Like I said back at the track, need to refresh supplies and get back on the road asap. Figure this might just be my fastest shot.”. “That much in a hurry, huh? You late for a date with death or something? Gonna catch a moving then go out to eat before 69ing each other at the end?”. “Gee, Rico. You’re such a gentleman. It’s so heartwarming how much you care.” the scientist sarcastically remarks. “Talked long enough. Time to get in some practice.”. “Fine.”. With nothing else left to discuss, Clara sets off towards the broken roads ahead.

The long stretch of cracked concrete, she figured it was safe to test how fast her steed could crawl. “Alright girl, lets she how much horsepower you got.”. The rider whips the bear spiders reins, making the ursa speed along throught the once might urban jungle Her legs rapidly crawl through the streets, carrying both of them through the streets at a surprisingly astounding speeds. The decayed buildings around them were starting to blur in their galloping sprint. Winds blowing upon the scientist face, her hair riding along the ongoing draft. The cooling breeze felt so good, tempting her to shut her eyes as she basks in the peaceful sense that the acceleration brought. Before she could fully grasp such an amazing feeling, she notices the turn quickly approaching. She snap out of her euphoric daze and swiftly pulls the reins in an effort to prevent a potential accident. Clara manages to turn about just in the nick of time, Angelo tilting upon the sudden turn. Both of them regain their balance, the mutant ursa planting her feet firmly on the concrete. That was way too close. A second too late and both of them might have wound up becoming gruesome graffiti art with excessive amounts of red. It might be of best interest to keep herself free from distractions as much as possible when riding atop such a swift beast. A thought that crosses her mind as she continues down the ruined roads.

The block ahead of them looked far more decrepit then the rest of the neighborhood. Whole chunks of concrete road risen and fallen under the exposed dank sewer lines below. No man nor beast could practically hope to cross this horrid mess of dilapidation. She thinks about stopping, ready to pull back in the reins of her mutant steed, but something ahead catches her eye. Next to the destruction was a set of sizable buildings. In need of repair, but look stable enough. Nearing the hole down to the sewer line, she steers her arachnid towards the architect in question without halting her forward momentum. Just as she had hoped, Angelo latches onto the outer walls of the buildings, quickly crawling through their decayed surfaces. Successfully crossing over the abhorrent example of property damage, the scientist steers her steed back towards the ground and continues through the district.

The next obstacle Clara could see obstructing her path was a rather large, and toppled piece of architecture. It’s shattered and pointed rubble laid astrewn across the cracked concrete block, not a single space to squeeze through. The scientist wonder that perhaps she should brake and find a different route. But why stop now? She has Angelo climb through the broken mess of the hefty abode, the bear spider crawling along bits of rough concrete. Seemed that no matter how severely rough the rubble had become, the fuzzy arachnid could rush right through with little to no ramifications. Angelo has been proving to be full of surprises. Wonder what else she might be capable of?

Both of them loop back around towards where Rico had been awaiting. They stop right next to him, Clara mentioning: “Hey Rico, uh...So how many laps do you figure I gotta go around.”. “Laps? Oh uh! Actually, it be best if you pick different routes at random each lap. That way you be prepared for whatever random course the race is set up on.” “Random course? What do you mean?”. The trainer gives out an exhausted sigh, halfheartedly explaining to her: “Every year, the committee maps out a different route around the city. The only way racers know the where to go with is blue tape set up along the roads, informing both riders and citizens of the designated racetrack.”. “Wait, the whole city? I have ride around all of Columbus in one go!?”. “There are checkpoints that you have to stop at, but basically yes. Why do you think I want you and Angelo to get in as much practice as possible. We gotta keep the training train rolling, here. Go on, get moving!” he demands. Upon this new bit of news, she has Angelo hustle through the streets.

They burn the rest of their daylight practicing, taking little breaks every other hour. The sun setting betwixt the cracks of the distant buildings, their shadows blanketing Clara and Rico as they ride atop Angelo back home. This time, instead of the soup kitchen, Rico offers the lady dinner, the best he could muster anyway.

At the dinner table, Rico whips out his pocket knife and carves out the lid of the can. The trainer sets the can in front of his guest, presenting with a lackluster: “Bon appetit”. Looking within the can, viewing the dull noodle concoction of soup and chicken. “Chicken noodle soup?”. “Yep. Came from the box of cans you stole.”, Stabbing the top of his can, he lifts up the can of soup like a glass, declaring to her: “Welcome to socioeconomic disparity.”. Rico then downs the contents of his can like a can of beer. Probably wishes it was beer too. Clara looks down upon her lightweight dinner and thinks that a far less poisonous option for a beverage might spice up the night and soothe the nerves all at once. “You got any water?” she asks him. “Some. Why?”.

Filling two mugs with fresh clear water, the scientist deludes their drinks with the tea from her backpack. Both of them taking swigs of the homemade brew, they breathe out with a much needed relief. “Oh, man. I needed this shit. So damn good.”. “Yep. Haven’t felt like this in days to be honest.”. “I haven’t in fucking years. Where did you get this stuff?”. The scientist jumps from her seat, obviously not wanting to tell him about the less than ideal scenario she had to go through. “Uh...you know...some-somewhere.”. Rico shrugs, slouching upon the dining chair with with another sigh. “I’m going to sleep so good tonight.”. Now that both of them were far more relaxed, Clara grabs the trainers attention with: “Hey, um...Now that you’re not as...pissed, I’ve wanted to ask something that’s been bugging me.”. “Fire away.”. “What with the clown getup? Did you run away from the circus.”. “Pfft, I wish. Some assholes broke into my home one night and covered my face with permanent paint. Is why I keep a loaded gun stashed around.”. “My god. Just-Why? I-I mean, know you can’t quit, but why did you get into such a harsh job in the first place.”. She hears her trainer laugh mildly, swishing his tea around with a single hand. There’s a hint of an underline tragedy within the chortling, like a sort of self pitiable disposition. Oh god, this gonna be so depressing, isn’t it

He stops sloshing the mixture with his mug, staring down upon the reflection as he lets out a weary sigh. “I did this to my own stupid ass.”. “What do you mean?” she pries. “I got into training steeds thinking that it’d be an easy gig. Feeding, riding, cleaning, the usual. Thought it didn’t sound that hard…I was so fucking wrong. I wasn’t prepared for how demanding raising a mutant beast could be. The competition and government don’t help either.” Looking out towards his steeds outside, he continues with: “What’s worse is that I just didn’t dig my own grave, I dug Angelo’s too. Poor girl deserves better than me. Why the hell didn’t I just take the stupid store clerk job?”. The scientist could here her hosts irregular breathing, as if he was trying to keep from breaking down into tears. He composes himself long enough to drink the rest of his tea, getting up from the dining table to head down the hall. “Thanks for the tea. I’ll see you in the morning.” Rico finishes as he walks into the darkened hall. Clara can’t help but pity the guy. He really screwed himself over. Taking one last swig of her tea, she heads for bed, determined to get in all the practice she can tomorrow.

Back over at their practice course, the morning sun rises behind the horizon, brightening the twilight sky. On the road, Rico had riden Clara down towards the track, who was still very tired, leaning backwards in such a way that she’s barely able to stay on. “Alright, were here.” he grunt them. With a very audible yawn, she utters to the trainer clown: “5 more minutes, papa. I was having a nice dream about this pretty la...” the sleepy scientist mumbles. He hops off the ursa’s back, points towards the road ahead and orders her to: “Now get to it.”. “Okay, chokey, bok-bokey...” she murmurs as she rides off, Angelo exhaling a much louder yawn.

After a lap, the rider begins to awaken, shaking the sleeping daze out of her system. “Ugh...I miss coffee so much. I’d kill for a cup of joe.”. She starts to tilt back in her half wake lull, flopping herself upon the lower back of her beast. Upon impact, she hears this wet gushing sound that makes her jump back up. Now fully woken, she notices Angelo struggling to moved forward, the arachnid dragging her paws through the concrete. Clara looks back, surprised to see a thick white silk that came out from the bears backside towards an opposite building “Huuuh?”.

After bringing Rico over, he starts to inspect the string closely, twanging the silk like a banjo string. “Hmm...”. “So, you had no idea that she could do this either?” “Not really. No. Damn stuffs as strong as steel wiring though.” the trainer admits, pulling upon the string to test its strength. No matter how hard he pulled on the webbing, it would not even splinter. “Geez, no wonder you come dead last all the time.”. “Shut up and help me pull on this.”.

Grasping hold of the sticky string, all of them pull away from the opposing building with all their might. A piece of the architecture that the string had caught was pulled out from the bottom, making the entire structure crumble down. The dust settling, nothing was left of the complex but countless rubble. Angelo’s webbing was not severed from the piece that was pulled out, unfortunately. “Well shit.” Rico astonishes. Rico begins to pull the leftover string out of Angelo’s backside. Amazed by the strings durability, Clara begins to conjure all kinds of scenarios for its utility, the vast options opening up to her. “Wow. I bet I could do all kinds of crazy stuff with her webs.” she declares. “Probably. Best to mix it in with your racing practice. Ya need as much as we can get, seeing the entire town will be against you.”. The trainer takes the string out, shaking of the sticky webbing from his hands. “Oh great. Thanks for the motivation. Can’t wait to arrive at the starting line with the whole city.”. “Oh they won’t just be booing you. That’s for sure.”. “Oh what now.” Clara worries. Hearing the trainer sigh, she hears Rico start to explain: “Okay, I probably should have warned you about this from the start. That’s kinda my bad. But see, every year during the race, its very common for people to bet loads of good on racers.” “Not seeing the bad so far.”. “Thing is, those gamblers will do anything to make sure their bet wins. Setting up deadly traps, hired snipers, exploding decoys, all to thin out the competition.”. “You’re kidding, right!? How the hell is “that” legal!?”. “Technically, it’s not. But beyond the checkpoints, there ain’t enough security around to stop them.”. The scientist lets out an upset groan, realizing how much of the odds are stacked against her.

Along the makeshift course, the scientist has her steed come to a halt, pondering how far Angelo’s webbing is able to shoot out. But how to make her spit out her silk, she wonders. Thinking about how the sticky string was shot out the first time, she decides to reenact the first incident. Clara pats the spiders lower abdomen and sure enough, the silk launches out from the ursa’s backside once more. She watches the white webbing go quite a long ways, reaching nearly half a mile along the stretch of road. The tethering attaches itself to a complex upon the opposite side. Clara is about to pull the string out, but wonders if there is a much faster way to detach from the webbing. She scans through one of her steeds legs, going down towards the ursas feet. Dismounting from her beast, she gives Angelo’s paws a much closer exam. Noting the very sharp claws at the end of them, she wonders if their strong enough to cut through the silk. Angelo herself turns, as if curious what her rider might be trying to do. The ursa witnesses Clara take her claws and use them to cleanly severe the bears spiders own webbing. “Ha ha!” the rider exclaims, Angelo letting out a surprised grunt upon this discovery. It seems even the mutant beast is taking those steps towards self discovery. After that learning experience, she wonders how the newfound stick silk can be utilized. A thought popping into her head makes her snap her fingers. She climbs atop her steeds and continues down the broken roads.

Upon coming to a pair of opposing buildings that looked stable enough, Clara finds it the perfect grounds for her test. She guilds Angelo’s to climb toward the side of one of them, spitting out the ursas silk upon a sturdy part of the wall. The scientist then guilds her steed towards the opposing complex without cutting off Angelo’s tether, having the bear spider attach the other end to its wall. Crawling back, she finds the string of webbing stretching along the opposite ends of the streets. Clara pulls back on the sticky silk and finds it to be quite strongly flexible, plucking it like a readying wood ward instrument. Given the flexible durability of the webbing, it could be quickly setup for use of an on the fly trap or a makeshift slingshot. Slingshot. Hmm… The scientists decides to put a new theory into action.

Using what strength her beast could muster, Clara made Angelo pull back on their setup as far as it would go, the silk stretching quite a ways before beginning to fracture. “Alright, ready?”. The bear spiders shows clears signs of worry about where this might be going. Once the signs of splintering start to show themselves, Clara gives her beast the command: “And...now!”. Angelo reluctantly loosen her footing upon the cracked concrete, the string flinging them high into the air.

Their velocity sends them a far ways through the blocks, gliding high into the air over several low bearing architectures. It isn’t long though before they find themselves hurtling towards a towering complex. Clara knew if they didn’t find someway to stop soon, both her and her steed would find themselves to soon be recent example of the dangers of aerial shenanigans. She spots a building ready to pass through and acts fast, making Angelo shoot out a string towards the wayward abode. Attaching itself to the complex, the flexible silk begins to slow their careen. Both of them come mere inches away from the building before being flung backwards. They’re thrown back towards the attached architecture, Angelo mistakenly severing her own string in their midair tumble. That slight error makes them fly out of the building reach, instead plummeting towards the streets below.

Angelo on a panic, Clara waits for them to near the row of buildings below until she has her shoot out another string. Once close enough, she pats the beasts back side, silk shooting out towards one of the torn apartment complexes. They swing through the streets on the white tether, Clara hanging on tightly so not to fall upon the pavement. Reaching the ark of their swing, another idea pops into the scientists head. She takes her steeds claws and severs the silk, making them once again plummet towards the ground. Once more, the mutant beast launches her sticky webbing upon another piece of architect, both her and her rider swing into the air. Just like before, once reaching the ark, she makes the ursa severe her own webbing. This repeats to a point where they’re swinging through the destroyed district like a famous spider themed hero of sort, only without as much cuddly fuzz or overabundance of limbs. Beyond the distract, Rico couldn’t help but watch both of them rise and fall behind building after building, a wondrously confused gaze painted across his makeup covered face. After several swings, Angelo cuts her string as they near the ground, crawling through the streets to of shoot any leftover momentum. Once they slow to a halt, the rider is left with an adrenaline fueled excitement, while the steed is left in a panicked shake. The feeling of swinging through the streets with the wind in her hair leads her to declare aloud as she adjusts her glasses: “That...was...intense! Imagine how fast we could go using your webbing. We’d destroy the competition.”. In here excitement, she only now starts to hear the whimpers of her steed, looking down as she find it covering her eyes. “Oh...I...guess that might have a bit much for you, huh”. Her steed stirred in a fright, Clara dismounts from Angelo’s saddle and jumps in front of the bear spider. She bends down upon the crouching beasts, comforting with: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through all that at once. But you heard what Rico said, we gotta practice this for the race. So why don’t we dry up our tears and get back in there.”. But all her steed could muster as a response was a scarred whimper. Hearing this, Clara lets out a sigh and instead promises with: “Okay. How about we just take baby steps, instead. Nothing extreme like the slingshot. How does that sound?”. Angelo begins to uncover her eyes upon hearing the promise, slowly rising from her whimper. Standing once more, the scientist mounts her steed again, asking her: “Now, lets start off with that building over there.”. The ursa starts climbing up towards the complex in question, ready to give practice another go.

The last day of practice beginning to fade, Clara and Angelo swings out from behind the corner on a white tether. The ursa slashes the webbing loose to glide forward through the streets. Before they hit the ground, the arachnid spews out another string of silk towards another building and swing across the broken block. “Yeaheah!” the beast rider cheers, her beast letting out an optimistic groan. It seems that with enough practice, the ursa began to feel comfortable with the idea of swinging about through the streets. Seeing Rico on the sidelines, they land upon the ground within a swing and run out any leftover momentum, coming to a slow crawl upon reaching the trainer. “So, still think I don’t stand a chance or what?”. “Psh, you’re gonna need a hell of a lot more gumption and a little luck if you’re actually aiming to win.” Seeing her disgruntled glare, the clown then adds: “Buuut...You might just pull a miracle outta your ass yet, who knows.”. “Gee, Rico. I’m so thankful for your support. You’re my sturdy rock in the midst if this hellish storm of doubt.” she responds with mountains of deadpan sarcasm. “Don’t mention it. Now lets get going. Need a lot rest for tomorrow.”.

With Rico taking the reins, they start to head out as the sun began to set. On their way back, a passing wagon full of canned goods catches Clara’s eye. She tucks on the back of the riders shirt, grabbing his attention with: “Hey, Rico. Check that out.”. The trainer glances towards the wagon, questioning: “Yeah, whatta bout it?”. “What you say we dine as Kings tonight?”. “Ha ha. You gotta plan cooking?”.

The common wagon hauler stood atop his humble bullquana, riding through the patched roads in a relaxed galloping crawl, thought the waning twilight begins to worry him. It won’t be long til the night encroaches, and with it numerous thieves, ready to plunder his precious cargo. He’s gotta get to the store to drop off this sweet loot fast. He stops by a large alley, the opposing buildings casting the space in a black blanket of cold ominous shadows. The perfect shortcut. The rider begins his descent down the alley, finding a lot more room through then he first thought. It’d make a fantastic one way street. Maybe he could suggests as such towards city board. Halfway down, the hauler begins to relax. The light from the setting sun at the end contrasting against the darkness being quite the relieving backdrop. The man takes a comforting sigh upon it all, describing it as: “Beautiful.”. That calm suddenly snaps away when he feels something tug at his backside. Turning around, he finds one piece of his cargo being pull away through the air by a white string of sort. Oh hell no! The rider quickly backs out of the alley, determined to skewer whatever scoundrels dared swipe from his wagon. Out from the alleyway, he finds his precious large box of cans being plundered by a couple of hooligans scuttling atop a weird bear thing. There gonna get an ass full of bullquana horn when he catches up to them. Eagerly, he charges straight for the thieves, disregarding any public safety in his pursuit for justice. Justice dammit! Many a riders and passerby jump out from the bullheaded cargo haulers dash in hopes of not getting flattened. Swerving through street after street, the constant barrage of mutant beasts in the way makes it hard to see his target, but he is absolutely certain that they’ve turned the corner. Following his potential victims, he is drawn into a dead end, the twilight illuminating through the chain link fence. Although he looks hard, he can’t find his prey anywhere, the only thing of note around being the empty box the cans came in. Where the bleed piss did they go!? They couldn’t have broken through the fencing, its still in one piece. Did he misjudge his pursuit and took the wrong turn? He starts to turn about, but finds the police atop their steeds blocking his path. Oh perfect! Maybe they can help with recovering his goods.

Atop one of the building, Clara, Rico, and Angelo all watch as the reckless bullhead driver is dragged away by the authorities. Their fresh plundered spoils wrapped up nicely within Angelo’s silky white strands. “Good girl. Good girl!” the trainer praise their steed, Angelo herself letting out a happy groan upon being given well deserved scratches behind the ears. Looking down upon the alley, the scientist finds the wagon they plundered out to have been left behind, its precious cargo left for the taking. She turns over towards the clown, asking: Hey Rico. We got room for a few more boxes?”. “Oh hell yeah.”.

Night finally falls upon the city of Columbus, all of them drag their spoils back to Rico’s broken abode. Dozens of cans litter the backyard as everyone lays on the back porch after engorging themselves to their feast. Each one of them groan out. “Uhh...That was good. I haven’t eaten like that in weeks.” Clara maons out. “I haven’t in literal fucking years…Hey, kid?”. “Eh he?”. “That crazy ass tea the other tea might have made me leak personal shit that I wouldn’t have said otherwise.”. “You did almost cry.”. “Yeah...Almost. Anyway, think its fair to pry some info outta your head tonight.”. “Alright. What are you asking?”. “Why...Why the hell are you in such a hurry to get outta here? Why the hell are you wanting to enter a race you know might get you killed?”. Clara stood from her slouch, answering with hesitant: “Well to be honest...I trying to find someone?”. “Who? An old fuck buddy?”. “No. No. Nothing like that. I mean I’m trying to find him so that maybe I can fix this huge mess that we made. Last I heard of him, he got snatched up by Canadians and flown over the border. I don’t know what he might be doing with them, or worse, what they might be doing to him. Its why I gotta bolt it to Canada asap.”. The scientist hears the clown man laugh, watching him get up from his laughter filled slouch. “The hell so funny?” she objects. “You’re wanting to get through the northern border? Border patrol there is insane. You think you’re the first person to try? Those Canadians will eat you alive.”. Rico lets is laughter die down when he sees his statement have saddened the poor girl. “Um..well...Aside from the couple that do manage to sneak in, not many people make it through. You probably need a miracle to pull it off. And from what I’ve seen. You’re damn good at pulling off miracles.”. The scientist lets a soft chuckles escape her lips, returning with: “Thanks. You know, you’re not as bad as I first thought. Just some guy that took a wrong turn in his life. Hope that I can stay on the right path on mine long enough to fix this mess.”. “Eh, don’t worry. You got a good head on your shoulders. Sure you’ll do better then my stupid ass did.”. After that statement, the trainer rises from his wooden porch, stretching his arms out as he announces: “Alright. Let’s all haul our asses to bed. Got a big day ahead of us.”. Both Clara and Rico head inside, Angelo drags herself towards her stable. All of them rest up, for tomorrow will truly be quite the tussle.

#faded land #lillaxtrigger

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frontmezzjunkies · 6 years ago

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Keira Knightly. Colette

Movies To Be Excited About This Fall, 2018

By Ross

I love going to the movies, I really do, but the frontmezzjunkies theatre train has really taken me on a wild ride these past few years far away from the movie theaters, but I hope as the fall approaches, I will find my way back to the movies, especially after discovering my new favorite movie theatre in Brooklyn, The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at City Point. Not only do they respect the film, have great parallel themed pre-shows, with very strict noise and phone rules, they also serve me beer and cocktails directly to my comfy seat throughout the film! It’s the best place ever, and I hope to see all the following films there, if I can, or else I’ll just have to watch curled up on my couch streaming them into my living room. Here’s a list of the ones that caught my eye when going through the EW.com fall preview list (click on the film title for a preview):

Now I must admit a lot of these films are not blockbuster material, and many are female centric, which might say a lot about me, I guess, but who could not be intrigued by these two female star-heavy productions: Lizzie starring the glorious Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart. It’s twisted and seductive, with two strongly constructed female leads, so when the axe falls, I hope I’m watching (Directed by Craig William Macneill; Release Date: 9.14),. Then there is the finely corseted Colette with the stunning Keira Knightly in the lead. Many say she is giving the performance of her career, and from the clip it appears they might be right. Co-starring the magnificent Fiona Shaw and the handsome Dominic West, the sumptuous story is a must-see on my list (Directed by Wash Westmoreland; Release Date: 9.21). Both are centered around amazingly interesting characters and each sound like they have been given a specific viewpoint that could really produce something very special.

Robert Redford. The Old Man & The Gun

One can’t deny the legacy that Robert Redford has created around himself, his work, and his independent film festival, so to hear that The Old Man & The Gun will be his final acting project makes it especially inviting. Add the phenomenal Sissy Spacek and the talented Casey Affleck, who rocked my world with his performance in “Manchester by the Sea”, into the mixture, and we have a film that will definitely draw me to the cinema late September as if held at gun-point (Directed by David Lowery; Release Date: 9.28). It seems sweet and intimate, and Spacek is such a talented natural beauty, partnered with the Sundance Kid, that watching them converse has got to be pure heaven. Another one that intrigues, but I am doubtful whether I will actually be able to sit down in a movie theatre to see it, is the frighteningly creepy, The Nun, starring the young and so familiar looking, Taissa Farmiga, sister of The Conjuring film’s star, Vera (Directed by Corin Hardy; Release Date: 9.7). I can’t imagine gathering up the courage, as scary films, well, just plain scare me, tremendously and uncomfortably. I think it has something to do with why I love film and theatre so much. When done well, they have the extreme ability to enter my heart and soul, and make me feel whatever they want to, easily and fully. To invite in the feeling of being terrified, is just that, terrifying, and why would one want to do that to oneself? As I found watching the preview almost too much for my senses. Suspense is a different thing, though. I can handle a twisty spine-tingling adventure, but one that sets out to frighten and startle is just that. In spades. So I’ll probably pass, even though I was hypnotized by the clip.

Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Joan Plowright, Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Judi Dench.

More to my speed are these two documentary films: Hal, a film about the legendary filmmaker, Hal Ashby, who balked at convention and won when he created the classic film “Harold and Maude” (Release Date: 9.7), so “if you want to sing out, sing out“. The 1971 film was a surprisingly epic exploration of death, aging, and embracing the life we have, and even though I saw the film decades ago starring the phenomenal Ruth Gordon (Golden Globe nominee), it still resonates and inspires, so to learn a bit more about the maker is just too irresistible. Secondly, there is a delicate little documentary film about a group of legendary ladies gathering for tea and conversation, called Tea With the Dames. And to no one’s surprise, it brings together Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Eileen Atkins, and Dame Joan Plowright to do just that, drink tea and chat, and who doesn’t want to be invited to that table? (Release Date: 9.21).

Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga. A Star is Born

One of the more compelling big starry pictures being released is the remake of A Star is Born, with first time director Bradley Cooper reinventing the classic Hollywood tale, and this one I can’t wait to attend. The clip shows an impressive and surprising musical turn by the handsome and talented Cooper (Broadway’s The Elephant Man), playing the troubled singer, battling his own fame and addiction. His singing and performance feels beautiful, simple, and excitingly well sung, stripping away his movie star sparkle in order to find new life in the role, and in the young lady talent he discovers. Donning the ingenue cap that Janet Gaynor (1937), Judy Garland (1954), and Barbra Streisand (1976) all once did too much acclaim, Lady Gaga attempts to show us she is more than the ‘monster’ and ‘American Horror Story‘ adored celebrity and star that we have grown fond of, and from what is being said of the two, they might have created something that is forever “Evergreen” and worthy of our movie dollars. (Release Date: 10.5)

Colin Morgan, Rupert Everett. The Happy Prince

There are a few titles coming up this fall that feel almost theatrical and stage-worthy, or at least feel inspired by the stage. The first being, The Happy Prince which was written and directed by its star, the fantastic Rupert Everett who I had the pleasure of seeing play the fascinating Oscar Wilde once before in The Judas Kiss. This time around, the film explores the same Wilde man but begins during the final years of the writer’s exile and imprisonment for “gross indecency”. “Love is everything” to Wilde, and he pays the price that one shouldn’t ever have to. Emily Watson and Colin Firth co-star alongside the lovely Colin Morgan as the man centered in Wilde’s eye. (Release Date: 10.10). Peterloo is yet another film coming from the mesmerizing Mike Leigh that seems important and worthy of our attention. It’s a gorgeous looking period piece about the 1819 massacre that left a dozen protesters dead at the hands of the British government. If it lives up to the master who wrote and directed the film, and is anything as gripping as the preview, it’s a battle that should not be missed (Release Date: 11.9).

Chris Hemsworth. Bad Times at the El Royale,.

Starring the Tony winning Cynthia Erivo (Broadway’s The Color Purple) and the incredible Jon Hamm, Bad Times at the El Royale, along with co-star Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth checks in to a ’60’s motel that straddles the California and Nevada state line. With The Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard as head check-in man orchestrating it all, and the cast of cinematic pros arriving one by one, the premise is sure to be an exciting and strange stay at the El Royale for all of us, that is if the preview is any indication. It seems destined to thrill with its unconventional and twisty crime thriller structure, but the chance to hear Erivo sing, well, just about anything, is definitely worth the cost of a movie ticket, and then some (Directed by Drew Goddard; Release Date: 10.12). Beautiful Boy saunters into the field looking like quite the heart-breaking tale of a young man in trouble. He is played distraughtly by the talented Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me By Your Name“), driving fast into a collision with his father, played by Steve Carell doing all that he can to save him from himself. The clip suggests an anguished ride, hopefully to salvation, but it most definitely will bring tears to my eyes, I’m guessing, and I can’t wait (Directed by Felix van Groeningen; Release Date: 10.12). In the less intimate style of story telling, there is a period piece starring the amazing Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. First Man takes a realistic, almost documentary-style glimpse at the men (and women) who all played a role in the expedition to the Moon by NASA (Directed by Damien Chazelle; Release Date: 10.12). Not exactly my kind of picture, to be honest, unless is manages to be something more than a history lesson layered with an overly glorified public relations piece about the Apollo 11 project.

Timothée Chalamet. Beautiful Boy

I’m more interested in The Guilty, the Danish filmmaker’s tense feature debut centering on the adrenaline rising experience of an emergency-call dispatch operator who must find the way to save a kidnapped woman from certain death (Directed by Gustav Möller; Release Date: 10.19). It seems crisp and solidly unromantic in a way that Hollywood rarely is, strongly compelling in its coolness. Or maybe the interesting movie of the fall will be the modern noir film starring Anne Hathaway (Public’s Grounded) and Matthew McConaughey, Serenity. It seems that there might be little of that in this captivating tale of a fishing-boat captain being seductively convinced by his ex-wife to feed her current husband, played by the sexy and scary Jason Clarke, to the sharks. Will he bite, or will he be bitten in the process? It’s hard to guess, and if the style and the story mesh, then I’m biting (Release Date: 10.19). If that’s not your cup of moody tea, there is also a Ben Foster-led drama, with the actor, who was pretty Stella-tastic in St. Ann’s Streetcar Named Desire, starring in the double-crossing Galveston. The dark film is centered on a violent and dangerous hitman who rescues a young woman, played by the enigmatic Elle Fanning, who had been held captive (Release Date: 10.19). It might just be the thrill of the fall, if it’s a dark violent road you want to travel down.

Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. Bohemian Rhapsody

For me, the real film of the fall is all about Queen. Not director Steve McQueen, who has made the compelling and fun looking Widows, starring the amazing Viola Davis, the powerful Michelle Rodriguez, and Tony winner, Cynthia Erivo (Broadway’s The Color Purple). A capper tale that looks to be so much more than just a heist (Release Date: 11.16). Nor is it, McQueen, the biographical documentary about the life and career of fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen (Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui; Release Date: 8.20). The film I most desperately want to see is the film about the one and only, Queen, Freddie Mercury. And his electric rise to fame. His story is being told in Bohemian Rhapsody, starring the well cast Rami Malek (‘Mr. Robot‘) as the genius himself. This is the movie that I didn’t know I wanted to see until I heard about it a few weeks ago. That song, and that band had a dramatic and powerful impact on my life. Queen was the first big stadium concert I ever saw, sometime back in the 1980’s at the CNE Exhibition in Toronto, Canada. I also fondly remember meeting and sitting next to him one hot summer’s night in Ibiza, Spain telling him that story after being introduced to the legend by Elton John. He was most gracious and charming, celebrating, what turned out to be, his last big birthday gathering, and I’m still honored that I had that moment. That being said, this band’s story just has to be as thrilling a ride as it was for these gentlemen to skyrocket to stardom, and I. CAN. NOT. WAIT (Directed by Bryan Singer; Release Date: 11.2).

Boy Erased

On a more current and dramatically important framework, centered around a similar theme that was just recently explored in “The Miseducation of Cameron Post“, Boy Erased arrives. Starring the compelling Lucas Hedges (MCC’s Yen, “Manchester by the Sea“) the film chronicles a young man coming out hard against the tightly held ideals of his parents, played by Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe who try to “strike this demon down“. The story, based on the true tale of a son sent to a Christian gay conversion therapy camp by his religious parents seems to be as strongly captivating as the timely “Miseducation..” was, but possibly more family focused as we watch the tattered family cut the ties that bind, only to witness the strength and power of motherhood. It should be disturbing stuff, and my hopes optimistically ride high on the shoulders of director, Joel Edgerton (“Bloodlock“) to make this tale as strong and assuringly real as this boy’s tale deserves, rather than creating something too rose-colored and sappy. This topic needs a harsh light shined upon it with a relentless vigor, especially with what is happening in the real world today (Release Date: 11.2). Hedges(“Lady Bird“) is also starring in the powerful Ben is Back with the pretty woman, Julia Roberts this time as his concerned mother. A Christmas story, somewhat, about drug addiction, recovery, and hope, penned by Peter Hedges, father of the star, and author of “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and “About a Boy“. With a tough-love spewing graveyard scene, this potent film will most likely pack a punch, highlighting the struggle of personal shame and the upending power of maternal love – yes, that again. It seems to be the story of the fall (Directed by Peter Hedges; Release Date: 12.7).

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Now that I am once again fully hooked on the Potter/Rowling universe, thanks to the miraculous play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child currently casting its magic spell on Broadway, I’m thrilled and excited for another trip to the world of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. And with the return of the wonderful Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl“), and the addition of the talented Jude Law as Dumbledore and the ever and always fascinating Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, what else is there to do but fly as fast as your broomstick can get you to a movie palace that is showing the new installment. “I’m scared, Professor Dumbledore“, scared that it won’t live up to expectations, but without a doubt I will cross my fingers and wands as I can’t wait to be swept up again by Newt and his mischievous beasts, especially the adorable newborn Nifflers (Directed by David Yates; Release Date: 11.16). Aquaman, on the other hand, is one of the many larger than life installments coming out of the DC universe that doesn’t thrill or excite me. I’m not a big comic book/superhero film fan, and although it stars a very appealing Jason Momoa as the fantastical man of the Ocean, I doubt I’ll swim too quickly over to his deep blue sea, even with the addition of the handsome Patrick Wilson (Broadway’s Barefoot in the Park) as his brother and nemesis, King Orm, and the stellar Nicole Kidman adding yet another caring mother role to her growing list of cinematic mothers (‘Big Little Lies‘, “Lion“). But if it’s on a plane as I fly over the Atlantic, maybe I’ll take the dive and give it a try,. Time and tide will tell (Directed by James Wan; Release Date: 12.21).

Aquaman

There’s the strange-looking Suspiria, based on a 1970’s Dario Argento’s horror film starring Dakota Johnson, with the real draw, naturally, being the phenomenal Tilda Swinton playing the dance teacher Madame Blanc to Johnson’s dancer. The young ballerina travels from Ohio to attend a prestigious and unusual dance academy in Berlin only to find a great deal of avant-garde expressionistic movement, dreamed up by the film’s choreographer Damien Jalet. It is impressive and dementedly creepy, dripping in the feeling of blood and violent shenanigans at every knotted end. It looks like a terrifying and bizarre journey, one that I’m not so sure I’m going to take (Directed by Luca Guadagnino; Release Date: 11.2). Much like the new chapter for Lisbeth Salander, now played by Claire Foy from ‘The Crown‘. The jury is still out just how interested I am to return to this new Swedish territory that is based on David Lagercrantz’s 2015 novel,. This is the first book to be written since Larsson’s 2004 death, having Lisbeth resurface as The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Directed and re-harnessed by Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe“), the heroine looks a bit different, but the Swedish Millennium series hacker stays true to her complicated twisted Dragon Tattoo’d soul even if she doesn’t register as stone cold as the previous one. But it might just be enough to get me back in the theater seat to witness her revenge upon all the men who deserve it.

Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie. Mary Queen of the Scots

The kind of women that I’m really interested in though are the two battling it out over the ruling of England and Scotland in Mary Queen of the Scots. The royals, Queen Elizabeth I, played by Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya“), and her cousin and rival, Mary Stuart, portrayed by the always fascinating Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird“) are given a revisionary slice of the monarchy to gallop into war with. The film looks gorgeous and just like the famed Friedrich Schiller’s, Mary Stuart (a powerful play that I hope is making its way to Broadway soon), director Rourke has fashioned a dynamic face-to-face confrontation between Mary and Elizabeth, a scenario that never actually happened, historically speaking. If the two ladies find true emotional complexity in their historic, and totally fabricated, confrontation, then I shall be very pleased (Directed by Josie Rourke; Release Date: 12.7). Another real-life female trailblazer, the incredible Ruth Bader Ginsburg, played by the sweet-faced Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything“) arrives on Christmas Day in Mimi Leder’s biopic On The Basis of Sex. with a lovely supporting turn by co-star, Armie Hammer (2ST’s Straight White Men). The script chronicles the early years and magnificent rise of RBG, showcasing the life and legacy of this fascinating U.S. Supreme Court Justice, played out with humor, grace, and humanity, the qualities that helped make this woman the fierce defender of truth that she truly is. Long Live the Queen RBG (Directed by Mimi Leder; Release Date 12.25).

Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali. Green Book

With an intriguing rear-view mirror vantage point, Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic“) plays a working-class Italian-American bouncer who gets hired to drive a wonderfully well-spoken and talented African-American pianist, portrayed by the glorious Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight“) on a performance tour through the 1960’s American South,. In the powerful Green Book, sure to elicit a strong emotional response, this seemingly beautifully created atmospheric piece is looking to drive the conversation forward about what it means to be an African-Americian in this country at that time, and in our present convoluted time (Directed by Peter Farrelly; Release Date: 11.21). Another one to watch out for, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Shoplifters is a quietly touching drama about a family of thieves and a young girl that wanders into their clan. Legendary director, Hirokazu Kore-eda is determined to steal into your heart and present an thought-provoking alternative to what it means to be in a family of one’s own (Release Date: 11.23).

Matt Dillion. The House That Jack Built

One can’t even start to express the insane oddity of the compelling film by Lars von Trier that casts Matt Dillion as an unapologetic serial killer in The House That Jack Built, co-starring a perceptive Uma Thurman (Broadway’s A Parisian Woman) as a woman who should have followed her gut instinct. It’s loud, shocking, and bold, with a strong dynamic intensity. And although it gives the impression that it might be hard to watch and definitely not a feel-good kinda film, one would be as unwise as Uma’s character, to expect anything but exciting and heart-pounding from this iconic film master (Release Date: 12.28). Roma, one of the many great films to be making its debut at the New York Film Festival, seems to be another strong visually arresting piece from an exciting filmmaker. This one comes from the keen eye of Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity“), but unlike Lars, his black and white period piece is a simple and understated autobiographical exploration of his own middle-class family living and breathing in 1970’s Mexico City. Further up north, Andrew Garfield (Broadway’s Angels in America) stars as a confused doe-eyed neighbor in David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake . Garfield looks perfect as he struggles against himself to find out what happened to that pretty girl who sparked fireworks that one starry night but was gone in the morning (Release Date: 12.7). It has a satisfying edge and feel as the film dives into a strangely symbolic mystery that boarders on erotic obsession.

Emily Blunt. Mary Poppins Returns

But the one that is most exciting and terrifying to the young boy who lives forever inside this grown man, the one that fills him with wonder, nostalgia, but also nervous angst, is the much-hyped and discussed re-hiring of the most enigmatic nanny of them all. Mary Poppins Returns with Emily Blunt slipping into the proper turned-out shoes immortalized by the practically perfect Julie Andrews 54 years after she disappeared into the skies once her work was done. Lin-Manuel Miranda (Broadway’s Hamilton) is also on board, helping fill the slot that Dick Van Dyke dutifully did. But it’s really the next generation Banks family home that once again needs Mary’s wise magic and love. It’s the film of the holiday season that could inspire a new generation with intelligence, compassion, and joy. Or it might just depress us all if it turns out to be a sad disappointment. It’s a high bar to fly over, thanks to the dark P.L. Travers’ children’s books and the gloriousness of the 1964 Disney film, but here’s hoping it is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or else director Rob Marshall (“Chicago“, Broadway’s Side Show) will have a lot to answer for (Release Date: 12.19).

Good luck to one and all, and I hope to see you at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema grabbing a pint or a cocktail, and silencing your cellphones for the feature presentation.

#frontmezzjunkies talks about the #Movies To Be Excited About This Fall, 2018 #fallfilmpreview #fallmoviepreview Movies To Be Excited About This Fall, 2018 By Ross I love going to the movies, I really do, but the…

#a star is born #bohemian rhapsody #Colette #fall films #fall movie preview #Lizzie #mary poppins returns

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