#not to say david has a Bad voice. just that william's is better

[girlwiththegreenhat]

today is william daniels 98th birthday so im taking this opportunity to say we were so fucking robbed. we were so robbed with the "haha kitt is a computer he cant sing" shit because the man's got a DAMN good voice. you gave michael a musical episode. let the car sing.

[dominimoonbeam]

Hi, first I wanted to say that I really love your writing and thank you so much for sharing it.

You're amazing and so talented and you made me addicted to your writing. The way you write characters is so real and your way of writing scenerios in general makes me so Invested in the story.

Another thing, I don't know if you accept requests and if you don't feel free to ignore it:

Can I please ask for Sam comforting darlin after a long week when they basically shut down from stress? (Can you tell I'm projecting?😅)

Please don't feel pressured to do it, I know you're working on a lot of stuff now too so maybe just keep the idea for the future?

Anyway I wish you a happy rest of your week, take care of yourself and rest if you need to!

Anon! Thank you so much for all the kind words! You're not the only one needing some comfort and care lately! I think something about this season has been rough for people for a bunch of different reasons, myself included. I've got you! Or at least, I tried. Hope you like it! And I hope things turn up and go smoother for you soon!

Sam/Darlin comfort fic below the cut. Will probably reread and post it on ao3 later on.

<3

They were tired.

Dead tired. Like they wished they were dead. No, no, that was bad. They didn’t wish that. They just… It had just been such a long fucking week and it felt like everything was going wrong. Nothing big enough that they could point it out or complain. Just, off. And they hadn’t been able to sleep. And it seemed like the longer it went, the longer they hid it well enough that no one pressed for an explanation they couldn’t begin to come up with, it got heavier rather than lighter.

When they got home that night from a job, they were actually relieved Sam wasn’t back yet. The last thing they wanted to do was to drag him down with them. God, he deserved so much better than them. They tossed their keys on the side table, toed off their boots, and hung up their jacket. The side of their face throbbed. They’d gotten hit with a fucking bat. David thought their cheekbone was broken and had only finally allowed them to go home because he knew Sam would take care of it.

Darlin sat down in the big chair, their favorite chair, and told themself they’d just sit for a minute. And then they’d shower, see if their face was really that much of a mess, and if it was, maybe they’d drag their ass over to the clinic and get a healer there to fix it. They felt bad making Sam patch them up all the time, but they also hated the idea of anyone else touching them let alone mending them.

They could put an ice pack on it. Maybe the swelling would go down on its own.

They sank back in the chair and closed their eyes. Just a minute.

-

Sam was still at the Solaire house when he got a call from David.

His heart always lurched high in his chest when he got a call from David, his first thought always that frantic fear that something had happened to Darlin. Why else would David call him instead of Darlin or instead of using the group chat?

Sam stepped away from the big table of squabbling younger vampires and a very amused William.

“David?”

“Hey Sam,” David said, voice gruff but easy, instantly relieving that tension in Sam’s chest. “I just wanted to check in and see how they’re doing.”

The tension was back. “What?” Darlin had been off for almost a week, barely talking but not willing or ready to tell him why. He wasn’t sure they knew themself, not yet. But somehow he didn’t think that was what David was talking about.

The pause stretched. “Are they not home yet?”

Sam was already grabbing his jacket and waving heading for the front door. “They might be, but I ain’t. Why?”

David sighed. “Sorry. It’s not an emergency, Sam. The job got rough and they took a bat to the face… I would have taken them to a healer but they insisted—”

“Yeah,” Sam said, nodding. Of course, they would. “I’m heading home now. I’ll let ya know when they’re patched up.”

He called Darlin in the truck but they didn’t answer, which conjured a mess of panicked thoughts. What if they’d passed out behind the wheel? The thought of his Darlin in a twisted wreck was hard to push away and almost immediately replaced by other tragic imaginings.

He exhaled small relief when he saw their car in front of the house.

The front door wasn’t locked. Darlin never locked it when they were home. And there they were, asleep in the big chair. He sighed and put his keys down with theirs. Another step inside and their eyes opened. Well, one opened, the other was swollen shut.

“Damn…” Darlin winced as he closed the door. They sat up with some effort. “Sorry, I think I fell asleep… What time is—”

“Don’t you dare stand up,” he warned when they were starting to tip forward. He was already in front of them, gently catching their shoulder to ease them back. He kept his voice in a low hush, thinking their head had to be hurting inside and out. “You shoulda called me, Darlin.” He knelt beside their leg, carefully fingering hair out of their face. The bruising was new, like it had only just begun, and the swelling was bad. It looked like their cheekbone was broken. “David said you got hit with a bat?”

Darlin sighed, shoulders slumping. “I wasn’t paying attention and this guy… Yeah.”

Sam clicked his teeth to keep from snarling at the idea of ‘this guy’ whoever the hell he was. He reached toward their face but they caught his wrist and pulled it gently down to their heart instead. “I’ll be gentle,” he promised, surprised.

Darlin smiled weakly, eyes already closed again. “I know. You always are, cowboy. But I don’t…” They sighed, their smile gone. “I don’t want to cost you anything right now, you know?” Their voice had gotten small, like they were far away inside themself.

Sam kept his hand to their chest, feeling their heartbeat through his palm. He leaned against their thigh, so they’d feel him right there next to them, practically leaning into the chair with them. “You never cost me anything,” he whispered back. “Healing you is a privilege. It makes me feel like there’s something I can do for you. I love you, Darlin.”

Their face pinched, not a wince but close, and he thought if they opened those eyes, they’d be teary. His other hand stroked up the side of their thigh, squeezing them gently. “Tell me what it is,” he said gently. “Tell me what’s going on in your head.” He said it quietly, like it could be just between them.

Darlin sighed and he heard all the exhaustion and strain in that breath. “I don’t know. I just… It’s been a bad week. It’s everything. I just feel… Everything. And I’m tired and I hate myself and I can’t… I can’t take things from you when I feel like I’ve got nothing to give.”

Sam watched them the whole time they choked out that barely audible confession. They’d never told him these things, but they didn’t shock him either. They hurt, because he never wanted them to feel like that, but they didn’t shock him. “Do you trust me, Darlin?”

That good eye opened enough to look at him, surprised. “Of course. I love you.”

He stroked his thumb against their collar, above their heart. “I’m going to heal you and then we’re going to take a bath. You can talk or you can relax. We’re going to get some well needed sleep and I’m going to order your favorite food. And every step of the way, I’m going to remind you that you’re incredible and all the reasons I love you, all the reasons your pack loves you, and all the reasons my clan loves you. You get to feel however you feel, Darlin, but that voice in your heart telling you bad shit, that’s asshole is lying.”

A tear rolled off Darlin’s lashes, even though their mouth was set in a stubborn line, like they refused to acknowledge it.

He reached up slowly, so they could stop him again if they needed to argue about this more, but he also couldn’t leave their face like that. His fingertips brushed the edge of the bruising and Darlin’s eye closed as that warm magic slid through their skin, spreading out. The delicate bone in their cheek healed and the swelling went down.

They exhaled relief when they opened both eyes and blinked at him.

He could see an apology building in their eyes, trying to form on their tongue. He took their face in both hands and leaned in, touching his forehead to theirs the way he’d seen the pack do. “Trust me,” he pleaded. “I ain’t ever going to lie to you, Darlin, and we’ll get through bad weeks together.”

Darlin stayed tense for another few seconds, like they might push this comfort away, but finally they sagged. Too tired maybe?

Sam smiled when they tipped their face into his, brushing a soft kiss against his lips. He kissed back and then pulled them to their feet to lead them to the bathroom. He had to make a dash back to his jacket to send a text off to David, telling him Darlin was fine but they were taking tomorrow off.

[popculturebuffet]

Next for MTV animated originals, favorite character from the 1998-2016 era: Celebrity Deathmatch, Super Adventure Team, Downtown (created by the same guy behind Motorcity), Station Zero, Spy Groove, Undergrads, Clone High (which bounced between MTV for season 1 and Max for seasons 2-3, being a victim of the chaos of Max with a cliffhanger ending), Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, DJ & the Fro, Popzilla, Good Vibes, and Greatest Party Story Ever. Skipping 3-South since it was covered in WBA asks.

I know this is a lot with 12 shows, but I'm sure you didn't see several of them so maybe it evens out and saves me the extra ask followup.

Noticing how MTV sorta just gave up on animated originals after 2003 aside from the brief revival attempts in 2009-11 with DJ & the Fro, Popzilla, Good Vibes, and the revival of Beavis & Butthead (though none lasted long) and in 2016 with Greatest Party Story Ever, with the future revivals of Beavis & Butthead and Clone High being on other networks or streaming instead of MTV. This is now the second network of animation (after The Hub/Discovery Family) I covered where they gave up on producing their own animated originals after a certain point.

Okay so let's go. I haven't seen Super Adventure Team, Downtown (Though it's been on my radar a LONG time), Station Zero, Spy Groove, DJ and the Fro, Popzilla, and Greatest Party Ever. I"m also adding Where my Dogs At? because why not. Also I do find it intresting as they gave up, they TRIED again in the late 2000's.. but most of those shows died because MTV2 gave up after 5 seconds. or because they needed to be sent back to the stygian pit they were spawned from like the Celebrity Deathmatch reboot. Speaking of CD

Celebrity Deathmatch: I've actually covered this show on here. And this show is.. eh. Not bad, I get why it has fans and it has a lot of stone cold steve austin. Plus Vince Mc Mahon gets killed at one point, something we can all celebrate. It's just not my speed as it relies heavily on me carring about a bunch of celebrties which varies. There are ones I genuinely do care about, but even then I don't track their lives. Keith David is god tier to me but I generally don't follow his personal life. Let him have a life outside of being one of the greatest voices in human history. He's earned it. I'm not immune, i'm human after all. But I don't get the joy some do after zinging a celebrity unless their that level of asshole. I can say though I respect the original and the revival, which I had to review, is one of the worst things i've covered. And when you remember what's at the bottom of that bar

Undergrads: SO COME AND TALK TO ME, ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN... this one I remember largely because I had the dvd in college. Wish I still did. One of my early amazon purchases. Good stuff.

The show itself is decent, albeit focused on the wrong character as main man nitz is your standard oblivoius guy chasing after a girl while another girl fawns over him. It was to the point I forgot.. how good everything else was. Gimpy (A name that will likely be changed for the movie) can be annoying at times but his hammyness helps him, Cal is fucking god tier himbo, and thent heirs my faviorite.

Rocko is if they took Homer Goes to College and made it a series, a stupid frat bro whose in a frat who doesn't have the time or patience for his hyjinks. Rocko plays off everyone else well, paticuarlly cal who he hates and is just likeable enough to understand why Nitz puts up with him. Nitz works better as Rocko's straight man than in his own love triangles and shit.

This was a solid series worth a review or revisit down the line and i'm glad you brought it up as looking it up... had me find out their making a movie. Funded in 2018, planned for this year. And it's creator Pete Williams FOUGHT for years to get the rights back or do a revivial coming close in 2004 but MTV shut down the proposition. He then had to swim through a sea of lawyers to get the rights back as not only does viacom have high turnover for lawyers but kept lowballing him.. despite having oft forgotten they even OWNED the show

But he got the pre productionf unded through kickstarter, full production started two years ago and odds are even if it's not this year this film WILL happen and honestly.. when it does I pledge to review it. I liked the original well enough, i'm curious how they wrap it with the movie, and frankly it feels nice to reward this much effort. The show came and went here but it was MASSIVE in canada. Thank you Canada for this and so many other national treasures.

Clone High: WAY WAY BACK IN THE 1980S SECRET GOVERMENT EMPLOYEES DUG UP FAMOUS GUYS AND LADIES AND MADE AMUSING. NOW THEIR CLONES AS TEENS WERE FROZEN, THAWED OUT DECADES LATER WHY, LEARNING LAUGHING SHARING JUDGING, TIME TO LAUGH SHIVER AND CRY. CLONE HIGGGHHHHHHHHHHH.

Look my love for this show isn't a secret. I was excited when the reboot came out, and while season 2 was bumpy season 3 was an excellent return to form. The original run was fantastic satire of 2000's teen dramas while the max run again started bumpy but got real good as it went. Plus it gave us confucious. Hopefully they get the chance to end it.. again. Clone HIgh is a genius pile of great jokes, great performances and great satire. The revival I feel is mostly on par. Season 2 had some growing pains to get through, but i'm understanding as it was essnetially season 1 again and the new characters had to find their rythm. It's fantastic stuff. easy faviorite is scudworth, who steals the damn show every time he shows up.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series; Another one to watch. I saw it a bit here and there as a kid and i'm curious about it now as it's an intresting artifact, following up JUST the first Rami film and then going in it's own direction. As such it's in a weird and intresting position in spider-man canon as one of two adaptations to take heavily from the movies (The other being of course friendly neighborhood which is just flat out in an alternate MCU)

Good Vibes: Was okay. It's a pretty standard teen sex comedy, which of course teen me enjoyed. But Josh Gad does a good job as the lead, there's a few nice gags and unlike a lot of the shows here it got a proper ending at least. Nothing exactly stand out, but nothing horrible either. Just kinda there but I still remember it for ti's theme song and ok go episode.

[tangent101]

Let's look at this from another angle.

I don't think that William yells at alt-Chloe very often (unless it's when alt-Chloe says she wants to die). It's Joyce. You notice who is staying away from everyone? Who is isolating herself while Max visits? Who is smoking in the house while her daughter is on ventilation.

Joyce.

William still has a job. Joyce has two. (Honestly, it's a tad odd that both are still home when Max is there, though it could still be early in the morning and they're getting ready to leave for work.) And you get the impression that Joyce is playing a waiting game. She's given up on her daughter. She's waiting for her to die.

How many times has Joyce yelled at alt-Chloe or said things when they are alone that makes alt-Chloe feel like it's all her fault? That she got into that accident and didn't have the dignity to just die and now she's dragging her mother and father down with her.

We have multiple hints throughout the game that Joyce is abusive toward her daughter. We have how she always takes David's position and has ready-made excuses for his hitting Chloe and basically dismisses Chloe's grief over William. Honestly, how is that going to be any different in the William-lives timeline, with a daughter who is disabled and needs all this extra help to survive?

Joyce had no problem with blaming Chloe for David abusing her. No doubt her own emotional and psychological abuse of Chloe likewise led Chloe to thinking she was to blame for everything, because everyone sees Joyce as a saint and Chloe as a devil. It's to the point that Chloe tells Max that Joyce is more important than she is, so go back in time in hopes of maybe saving her mom.

You have to know that this is the little voice in the back of Chloe's head, in Joyce's voice, telling Chloe she's not good enough, that she does everything wrong, that she deserves everything bad that happened to her. That is the voice that said "you should die so Arcadia Bay lives."

And in the AU setting of LiS2 with Chloe being alive and Joyce being dead, David is in a better place, and his relationship with Chloe is not nearly as horrible as it was in the first game. Joyce is poisonous and I can't see this not being the case in the William Lives timeline.

It’s a really interesting note on Chloe’s character that she admits to acting like a brat to give her parents an excuse to yell. 

Both the Chloe of this universe and our main universe have huge self-esteem issues. Alternative Chloe seems to resent herself for being alive because she sees it as hard work that isn’t worth it. Main Chloe feels consistently abandoned and discarded by everyone she loves. This is after Max left, William died, Joyce pulled away, and Rachel died all in five years.

So I think her admitting to “giving people a reason to yell,” has implications that carry over to our Chloe.

It makes me think that part of her strained relationship with Joyce was because she would give a reason to yell. After all, her self-worth is so low that she feels like she deserves that. Of course, as her parent, Joyce should have known better than to take the bait, and that fact that Chloe’s mind goes to “Oh! I should give my parents a reason to yell because they deserve a free pass to go off at me.” at all is really worrying.

This dialogue is just…man it’s rough and I hate the implications for how sad they are. 

[holdontohopelove]

oh my god i found this in my drafts

Actual things I have said/thought/screamed/scared my dog with while marathoning 11 seasons, 2 movies, and 218 episodes of the X-Files.

(In no particular order)

“I hate this fucking show.”

“I love this fucking show.”

“JESUS CHRIST Mulder is saying my last name. I’m swooning.”

“This fucking show. Oh my God.”

“Oh honey.”

“Uhhhhh the vibes with this undressing scene are...what?”

“Somebody’s JEALOUS.”

“My sexuality is Scully in a utility shirt screaming at people.”

“What the fuck is this show?”

“No. Dogs are off limits. We do not mess with the dogs.”

“Fuck no fuck no fuck no. I am not about that life.”

“YAS QUEEN”

“This is literally the best episode of any television show ever written” (all things lol)

“Mulder. Yesss. Mulder.”

“AGHGHGHGH GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS”

“THE FUCK IS THAT?”

“I can’t with this?”

“How did people watch this shit live?”

“OH MY GOD OH MY GOD”

“Seriously, 90s people had way more patience. How did they go months on these cliffhangers?”

“Jesus Fucking Christ.”

“Light cream cheese. This episode is pure fucking gold.”

“Scully in a headset. I dig it.”

“Oh. Ohhhhh” (heart eyes, hands clasped)

“Gillian Anderson’s voice is a genre all its own.”

“God this show. Every bi’s dream.”

“Scully demonstrating to Tea’ Leoni how to sprint in high heels is GIVING ME LIFE.”

“This fucker.”

“Gillian Anderson’s hair this season is ON POINT.”

“Scully being fully over Doggett is a whole ass mood.”

“Wow. Boobs. Just...wow.”

“God, the hair. Mulder really missed out on good Scully hair bc Jesus.”

“Wait. What?”

“I can’t with how OOC this all is.”

“Is...Reyes hitting on Scully at literally zero hour of this baby’s birth?”

“This is...a lot to process.”

“I demand a rewrite. Mulder would not have missed this baby’s birth.”

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.”

“New credits? No. False. Cancelled. Fuck you all.”

“I’m over this.”

“This fucking season.”

“THAT LITTLE SMILE OMG.”

“So many filler episodes.”

“Doggett and Reyes...I could get behind this. I guess”

“No no no no no no no the pain.” (William omg)

“DAVID DUCHOVNY IS BACK IN THE CREDITS AND I AM LIVING FOR THIS.”

“MULDER.”

“This episode actually doesn’t hurt as bad as I planned.”

“TO SEE A MAN ABOUT THE TRUTH.” (Screaming)

“OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA.”

“Same, Jimmy, same.”

“‘On the net?’ This is not how we talked in 2016.“

“They are SO married. I will never not be convinced of this.”

“An analogy: X-Files edition: My attraction to Scully in the original run is to my attraction to Mulder in the revival.”

“He really did get better with age. Jesus. I’d get that.”

“OMG she is making heart eyes at him.”

“This is not as dire as I thought.”

“Low cut blouse much? Holy fuck.”

“Wow we are really jumping right back into this. It’s like no time has passed.”

“Well, no time has passed...Season 9 wrapped an hour ago in this house.”

“I feel rabid.”

“FUCK.”

“Why would Scully work anywhere BUT a place called Our Lady of Sorrows?”

“Scully’s literal whole life is Our Lady of Sorrows.”

“Fuck she just stabbed that girl. Calm down, Scully, Christ.”

“Revival Scully is not at all soft and I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“Y’all need a lot of fucking therapy.”

“This show is really one long, giant trauma.”

“I’m going to need a detox when this is all over. Seriously.”

“The dog is literally judging me.”

“DAMN RIGHT YOU’LL NEVER HAVE A NORMAL EXISTENCE. Look at these two morons.”

“God this show...absolutely no hope.”

“ORIGINAL CREDITS FTW”

“YES YES YES YES YES”

“All the throwbacks, give me all the throwbacks.”

“This...is actually amazing.”

“Why did people hate the revival?”

“Coming directly off the pain of Season 9 that was never addressed, this is absolutely so well done.”

“How can there possibly be ANY ambiguity left about Scully and Mulder?”

“They have literally referred to William as Mulder’s child multiple times.”

“FUCK.”

“This is...a lot to unpack.”

“Mulder’s hair has taken a novedive since MSI”

“His fuckability is going down while Scully’s is climbing back up.”

“I’ve been waiting 23 years to say that. DEAD. BURIED. CREMATED.”

“Who are these fucks?”

“That face. I cannot.”

“Really, why did people hate this?”

“This is completely tolerable compared to 8/9 angst.”

“I am absolutely living for this. ABSOLUTELY. LIVING. FOR. THIS.”

[scarlet--wiccan]

I like tommy and David together for the elaborate fanon couple people have built up (I know you’ve pointed out that shipping two people based on a kiss wasn’t consensual on either side isn’t great and I wholeheartedly agree—I think more people ship them as a “pairing the spares” type thing since most of the other YA chars have more popular/canon ships, not everyone’s read the other things the characters appear in, and noh’s weird since V2 ends on an unflattering note for him and he looks so much like tommy on panel) and I’m not inherently against the idea of them being together in canon. Like during emperor hulking it was kind of perfect because neither of them were doing anything so they just kind of threw a bone to their fans (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). I want their relationship to mean something if it’s going to be a thing but X-Factor is just not handling it well and this really isn’t the time for them to be together if they can’t deal with it.

I’m not sure there’s a good way to resolve the issues there but if there’s a story about them in Pride the week before the issue Tommy’s at the hellfire gala (in what looks like a surprise?) I’d love if they like. Broke up in Pride. I’m not sure how well that’s go over given the theme of the issue but if they actually discussed the issues in their relationship, even if they unrealistically reconciled a week later, I’d feel a lot better about it. Although their relationship is already so bare-bones they could just as easily show them getting together, or no significant landmark at all…

I think the best case scenario at this point is tommy would feel like David’s keeping him at arms length for some reason and the reason is revealed to be the pretender thing, which he didn’t want Tommy to find out about at all. So when tommy finds out he’s pissed but David still buys into it on some level because the propaganda is working overtime on krakoa and he was depowered himself and I assume he doesn’t know Wanda if he’s even met her so they fight and break up over it. But next issue tommy shows up at the hellfire ball and they both say they’re sorry and something about actually getting to know each other’s parents, maybe tommy gets to say something rude to prof x or someone. Not ideal but it’s the best I can see happening because I can’t see them suddenly shifting to have tons of sympathy for wanda (even this much is a stretch) and I’d be worried about people acting like David is the villain in this situation for being conflicted (like when he kissed teddy and people acted like he was the devil when that was really out of character and just biphobic writing in general)

Dunno if David's actually met Wanda, but he's been in a room with her at least once-- he crossed paths with her and the Kaplans in Young Avengers, but they didn't speak and the parents were all under Mother's control at that point. I can't remember what David was doing during AvX, but he might have been around when Wanda and Hope were having their whole shindig.

Anyways, you're 100% correct and I agree with you completely-- I like David and Tommy together in theory, and their dynamic was cute in YA, but there is literally no substance to their relationship as it stands. That's mostly a problem because it doesn't do any favors for Tommy, who is a criminally underused character, but it's particularly dissatisfying right now because Krakoa presents external factors (pun intended) that should be getting in the way, or at least giving them things to work through-- but no one is acknowledging that. Tommy, specifically, is denied interiority and seems to have been washed clean of his backstory and other relationships, which, like, sucks.

I'm looking forward to their story in Marvel's Voices: Pride. I don't know if it's going to be set in the present day, or if it'll be a flashback to how they got together, but I am hoping it'll add some substance to their relationship. I've talked about this a little before, but these characters are both young men of color who have each recently come into their bisexuality-- and for Tommy, this might actually be the point of realization. That right there is a love story that I desperately want to read, so I'd be happy just to see their first date or their first real kiss. It'd give me a reason to root for this couple when the Krakoan dust settles, and it'd give Kieron a chance to make good on how poorly he handled David's kissing streak, and Tommy's character in general, the first time around.

I like the story idea you suggested, although I'm not sure Williams would be able to squeeze all of that into one issue of X-Factor. If this relationship is going to work going forward, I at least need to know that David and the other mutants that Tommy is socializing with have a clear understanding of the Decimation, are aware of the conflict that Tommy being on Krakoa represents, and would have his back when push comes to shove. If not, well... the other shoe has to drop, and I want serious emotional payoff.

[teamhook]

AO3

FFN

Okay, so this is it guys! I’m so excited. I want to thank the @cssns and my lovely patient amazing beta @ultraluckycatnd and I could never ever forget my artist @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713​ because she is awesome!

Belle and Will arrives in Storybrooke the next day. They are promptly met by Rioga Mary Margaret and her husband David.

Mary Margaret smiles fondly. "We insist you stay with us. There's no better place for you and your companion."

"Oh, no, I couldn't impose. The visit is so sudden," Belle counters; she has no idea if they are privy to any details about their visit.

David's blue eyes study the pair. He knows the visit has to do with Killian. Part of him wants to know the details, but he knows there is a reason they weren't informed of all the details.

Belle and Will share a look that was all too common between couples that shared the bond of True Love.

Will leans into Belle's space. "Lass, I don't think this is a good idea."

David scoffs. "Mr. Scarlet, it doesn't take wolf ears to hear your disagreement with accepting my wife's invitation. Look, let's show our cards. We know you are here at the request of Killian Jones. That is the reason we are willing to look the other way. You two will come and go as you please, no questions asked."

Mary Margaret and Belle look on as the men talk.

Belle says softly, "I'm truly sorry, we're only here to help. Sadly, I cannot share more than that."

Mary Margaret gently pats Belle's hand. "I understand, we both do. We have learned to trust Killian and Emma's gut. If they feel it's better for us to not know the full details of your visit, we accept that decision."

Belle smiles. "Thank you."

"However, I do insist on offering our hospitality; it would be safer." Mary Margaret raises a brow.

Belle sighs. "Alright. we accept."

Will turns to look at Belle, shakes his head, and is met with narrow eyes. He mutters, "bloody hell."

Hidden away, the Norn observed the Savior and the wolf, the familiarity remaining between the pair. She had watched them inspect the location she had told him about. She had wanted to find him there alone, but he had shown up with her. This was more difficult than expected. She needed the Savior out of the way; perhaps a deal was in order. The Norn smirked wickedly. It seems a trade was in order to satisfy her needs.

Emma and Killian aren't surprised at Emma's parents' hospitality towards Belle and Will. Killian is conflicted because the plan was to keep the Royals out of the equation, but he had to admit it was the most secure place in town.

Will and Killian talk in hushed tones, their voices barely a whisper that they have no trouble understanding because of their wolf hearing. They had decided to go on a tour of the woods to find exits and to figure out the best way to enter the Norn's lair.

Will wants to just bust in and go for the vial, but Killian tells him they have to be smart. Will is not happy when Belle sides with Killian after they discuss the options.

Emma is silent; her gut tells her that Killian is right. They need to be smart, but she wants it over with too. She is a little reckless herself.

Will scoffs. "I know how to bloody plan a heist. I've done it before, and if I may add, I'm good at it. You came to me mate. If you didn't think I could pull it off, you should have chosen a different thief."

Killian runs his hand through his hair. "Scarlet, I'm not saying you can't do it or aren't good enough, but that hag is not like anyone else you have crossed. If you get caught, she could easily turn you into some sort of weed." Killian looks at his friend. "She will turn you into a Thistle or something, and we will not be able to confront her without admitting to knowing the reason you were there."

At night, Will dresses quietly. He opens the door to his room. He looks out, the hall is dark but quiet. He smiles and exits.

Once he reaches the woods, he sheds his clothes and transforms. His wolf takes over as he runs to the Norn's home.

He sniffs around and takes a careful step in front of him. He enters the home without any problems. He shifts back to his human self. He is going to need thumbs. He carefully walks around naked. No noise or creak is heard. He smiles as he opens the cabinet. He whispers to himself 'there you are'. He is about to get the vial but before he does that, he notices a small vial with a hair not far from it glowing dimly. He thinks, interesting. Both vials have a similar glow to them that might go unnoticed by someone with regular sight. He finally goes to grab the vial. His wolf guides him to the correct vial, butas he is about to grab it, he is interrupted by a tsk.

"Tsk, tsk. Aren't you a bad pup? Don't you know stealing is not an honorable profession? I'm afraid I'm going to have to teach you a lesson." She throws a vial at him.

Will freezes in place, his quick reflexes failing him.

The woman approaches him. "What am I going to do with you? Hmm." She goes to the cabinet with a smirk in place.

She looks at Will up and down. "You know, I'm in my right to do whatever I choose to do to you, thief. The possibilities are endless." She walks around him. "Should I take something precious away from you? Or perhaps turn you into something? Decisions, decisions. Will you tell me why you decided to rob me? Or are you willing to take your punishment alone?"

Will glares at her.

Emma wakes up in a cold sweat. She gets out of bed, her shirt drenched. She grabs her phone from the nightstand and automatically dials Killian's number.

He answers on the first ring. "Emma, is everything alright?"

She sighs. "I just wanted to hear your voice. I have a bad feeling."

Killian stays quiet.

"Love, I made a promise to you. We will find a way."

"I know, I just can't shake this feeling that something is going to go wrong and I will lose you all over again."

"Love, you will never lose me. I love you. I know things are different right now, but we will find our way. I feel it."

Emma sniffles. "I know. I just can't shake this feeling. We are not going to let her win."

"Aye, I know."

"So, do you really think this plan will work? I like Will, but he is a little reckless."

Killian laughs. "He is reckless, and that's the reason I thought he would be a good choice for the job."

"Alright, if you think this will work, I trust you. I know you have all this experience in plotting and stuff but sometimes you just have to take a risk," Emma says.

"There's my reckless girl. Love, we need to have hope."

Emma snorts. "Now you sound like my parents." She smiles to herself. "So today, Will is going to break in. How will we get her to leave?"

"We could tell her we need to discuss the fact that the trees near the toll bridge are dying. She will jump at the chance to do something about it."

"Hmm, who would have thought the Norn was a nature nut?" Emma snorts.

"Aye, that's part of her. That's the reason she lives in that old tree trunk. Think of her as Mother Nature."

Belle wakes up and quickly dresses. She goes to knock on Will's door, but is met with silence.

She knocks again. "William, are you decent?" She waits for a reply and nothing. She slowly turns the doorknob and enters the room. She looks around; the bed is made and it is eerily quiet. Will is not the type to be so neat. She mutters, 'damn it' and bolts from the room.

Belle finds Emma's room after asking one of the staff. knocks hurriedly.

Emma opens the door and is surprised to open the door to what appears to be a distraught Belle.

Belle enters the room. "Emma, Will is not in his room and I don't think he slept on his bed." Belle is walking circles around Emma.

Emma closes her eyes. "Do you think he went out to clear his head, maybe have a drink?"

Belle turns to Emma. "He doesn't like to drink while on the job. He enjoys his rum like Killian, but not when he is working."

"Do you think he went out and tried to pull the job by himself? With no backup or with the Norn in her home. Is he that reckless?"

Belle smiles. "He is that reckless and I think he felt we had no faith in him. He would do something like that to prove himself."

Will laughs at his predicament. The hag had sneaked upon him, he didn't smell her. She was a tricky one and he had learned that the hard way. He was tied up with some sort of vine, but at least she had dressed him. It was humiliating enough being caught with his pants down. He looked around. She hadn't decided on his punishment yet. He would not snitch, though. He rhythmically moves to test the restraints. He could try a transformation but the hag was crazy; he has no idea if the vines have an enchantment or something else. He takes a whiff and there is no scent. He sighs; maybe he should have listened to Jones.

"Tell me pup, are you ready to talk?" the Norn asks.

Will huffs. "Lass, I'm a thief and I just wanted to be able to claim I stole from the Norn. That's all, bragging rights." He spits and glares at her.

She stares him down.

Will smirks.

"Alright pup, have it your way. But you will have to wait. I have pressing matters to attend to." She smiles sweetly and goes to her cabinet.

Will tries to see what she is doing.

"Ah-ah, no peeking pup." A magical barrier blocks his view. She grabs the vials that she had been using for her glamour potion. This will be her last attempt. The hair was almost gone. She mixes the ingredients and twirls the vial as it turns to a glowing shade of gold. She drinks it. Her hair turns strawberry blonde and her eyes became blue. As she took in her appearance, she shrieks in anger. It didn't work! She didn't look bad, but it was not the image she wanted, and it was the last of the Savior's hair. This was her last attempt, so it had to work. She had been thinking of ways to lure the Savior back to her lair and offer her a deal.

Emma and Belle had come to the same conclusion: Will had gone on the heist alone. Emma had suggested for Belle to go get Killian and they would meet in the woods.

Emma sits in her car waiting for Belle and Killian to arrive but she was starting to feel restless. What if by the time they got there it was too late for Will? She thought to herself 'idiot', but she couldn't blame him. She was annoyed at all the huffing and puffing about strategy and all that shit. No, she is done with that Hag. She gets out of her dad's truck with a chainsaw in hand and starts making the trek back to the Norn's house.

Emma finds the old tree easily and with a smile on her face, she turns on the chainsaw. She's about to take a swing at the tree with the chainsaw when she is thrown back by an energy ball.

Emma stumbles back and drops the chainsaw. She stands up, shaking off the unexpected attack ready to face the old Hag, but is instead met with a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, Savior. Surprise!" she says as she readies for another attack. "Are you here for the pup?"

Emma shakes her head. "I'm here to take back something you stole."

"Isn't that something. I have a pup waiting for his punishment because he wanted to steal from me, and now you're here to take back something that was offered to me in exchange for saving your life, might I add."

The Norn eyes Emma. "Savior, I shouldn't make an offer, more of a deal really, but I'm willing." She lowers her arms to show there's no threat.

Emma stares at her with a raised brow. "A deal? I don't think so. After the way you tricked Killian? Who did you trick for their youth, because last time I was here, you didn't look like this."

The Norn laughed. "Oh, thank you for noticing, Savior. I look good, don't I? But we're not here to talk about how good I look. I said we could make a deal in exchange for your wolf's love passion. You drink this," she says with a smile on her face as she taunts Emma with the vial.

Emma looks at the purple-ish liquid. "What about Will?"

"Oh, is that the pup's name, Will?"

Emma's eyes blink as she points at the vial in the Norn's hand. "What is that?"

"A simple potion. You willingly drink it and all your problems go away. Your wolf gets his love passion back. The thief, Will, goes free, and no one knows your mother's part in this mess. Do you accept?"

"What will happen to me?"

"Nothing nefarious, you simply sleep."

Emma eyes the vial. "How do I know you will keep your word? You tricked Killian after all, and if I'm sleeping, how will I know you kept your end of the deal?"

The Norn smiles. "Ah, you would have to take my word."

Emma laughs. "How about you let Will go and he can take Killian's love passion with him. Once I know they're safe, I drink your purple thingy."

The Norn paces for a second. "How about I let the pup go with the vial but as soon as they're out of sight, you drink the 'purple thingy' as you so delicately put it. Remember that wolves are fast. Deal or no deal?"

Emma's mind drifts to Killian. He did this for her, so why not make the same kind of sacrifice for him? He was worth it. She smiles and extends her hand. "Deal. I want to see Will and the vial free from you before I put this to my lips."

The smile that graces the Norn's face should give her second thoughts, but she braves on.

"My, my Savior. You have no idea how happy you have made me. Alright, come with me." The Norn waves her hand and the tree trunk transforms into the entrance to her home. They walk in and soon, Emma's eyes land on Will sitting in a chair with vines holding him still.

"Now, pup, Will is it? Alright, your savior here has made a deal in exchange for you, and this." She opens a cabinet door and holds up the vial. "Is this what you came to steal? It doesn't matter now, does it?"

Will's eyes land on Emma while he is shaking his head. Emma simply smiles and mouths the words 'I have to, I love him'.

The Norn waves her hand and the vines drop to the floor. "Alright pup, here. Take this with you and go."

Will hesitated for a second after grabbing the vial and transformed as he ran, holding the vial carefully in his muzzle as he makes his way through the woods.

The Norn turns to Emma once Will is out of sight. "My part is done, now it's up to you. Drink it."

Killian and Belle arrive at the point they were to meet Emma. Killian takes one look around. "Bloody hell." He starts running as he sheds his clothes. Belle is running after him as fast as she can.

Killian has a good start and now has picked up both Will and Emma's scent. He picks up speed, his heart feeling an urgency to get to her.

As soon as Will is out of view, Emma takes the vial and drinks it.

Emma drops to the floor unceremoniously and the Norn kneels next to her. "Ah Savior, your wolf will get his passion back, but it will not be for you. He will fall at my feet, or should I say, Eloise Gardener's." She smiles at her work. When she is about to wave her hand for the tree to provide an eternal coffin for the blonde Savior, she is pushed away from her by a wolf she would recognize anywhere. The blue eyes hold her in place and with a snarl, he transforms back. He drops to his knees next to the Savior. As his tears fill his eyes, he carefully pulls her in his arms and lowers his lips to the crown of her head as he takes her in. "What have you done, you bloody reckless woman? You will be the death of me," he whispers to her. "I love you, I will always love you." He kisses her lips in a chaste kiss that emanated a rainbow light that spreads out, causing an explosion as the tree trunk breaks apart by the force of the light magic. The Norn, blinded by the light, stands in place as her magic escapes her and transforms her into a snag.

Will had run into Belle as they felt the wave of magic hit them. He transforms instantly. He gets up and looks for the vial, only to find it broken. He mutters, "Bloody hell, what was that?"

Belle had fallen backward by the impact but rose up without a problem. "Ouch. I don't know, but I don't think it was anything bad. I mean, I don't feel it was dark." She sighs. "Will, why did you not wait for us? Did Emma find you?"

"Aye, and she made a deal with the Hag. And you all think of me as reckless. I told her not to, but she is a stubborn one. Belle, how am I going to tell Jones I lost his love passion after his love made a deal to save it?"

"What do you mean?"

He shows her the broken vial. "The impact of that magic broke it."

Belle sighs. "Oh no."

Will finally realizes he is naked in front of Belle after he notices she isn't maintaining eye contact. Bloody hell. He looks around for something to cover himself with.

Belle smiles timidly as she points at Killian's discarded clothes. "I think you can wear Killian's. He shifted as soon as he noticed Emma missing. Do you think he got there in time?"

"I don't know. Come on, let's find out. I'm sorry for making this worse." He looks down as they walk back to the Norn's place.

Emma opens her eyes slowly. Killian is holding her so close to him. She breathes him in. "Hey, what's wrong? Who died?" She smiles as she pushes him away to see his face.

His eyes widen and he gives her a big smile. "Bloody hell, woman. Are you trying to kill me? Why don't you ever listen?"

She snorts. "I never do and you love me for it. So what happened here?"

Killian looks around and it seems like a bomb had exploded. He scratches behind his ear. "Darling, I don't know. I thought you were dead and I kissed you and then-"

"True Love's Kiss!" A voice says, startling them.

Emma and Killian look at the source, only to find Belle and Will.

Belle smiles. "This is a rare magic, so it makes sense. Emma, you are the Savior, and you and Killian share True Love."

Emma smiles. "But he doesn't have his love passion, so how?" Her eyes land on Will. "Do you still have the vial?"

Will turns away. "It broke when the impact of that blast hit me. I fell and the vial fell out of my muzzle as I transformed back. I'm sorry."

Killian looks down and he turns to Emma. "Love, I think that it's back. I-" He blushes., "I'm having thoughts and urges that I have been lacking as of late."

Emma looks at him with disbelief. "Are you sure?"

He laughs. "Aye, I'm sure. I want to show you just how much I love you."

Emma laughs and tackles him, kissing him all over the face.

Belle and Will clear their throats as they leave them alone.

"So you really like me, huh?" Emma teases Killian.

"Aye, I do." He smiles lovingly.

The smile fades from Emma's face as she looks around. "What happened to the Norn?"

Killian looks around as well and spots an eerily human-like tree that has a stench he is familiar with. The smell is diluted, but he would recognize it anywhere. "Love, I believe that is her."

Emma gets close to the tree and smiles. "Alright, how about some firewood?" She goes looking for her chainsaw which she finds on the floor. She lifts it up and when it starts after a couple of tries, she gives Killian a wink and chops down the tree with a wide smile on her face.

A few weeks after the disappearance of the Norn, Will and Belle leave to return to Sherwood Forest.

Killian and Emma return to their normal life and in a quiet moment, Killian gets on one knee and asks the love of his long life to be his wife, who simply replies, I thought you'd never ask. With those words, their happy ending begins.

tagging:

@rumdrum91 @itsfabianadocarmo​ @xsajx @hookedonapirate @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @seriouslyhooked @profdanglaisstuff @let-it-raines @revanmeetra87 @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @kymbersmith-90 @branlovestowrite @thejollyroger-writer @shireness-says @ilovemesomekillianjones @thisonesatellite @thesschesthair @winterbythesea @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @superchocovian @lfh1226-linda @artistic-writer @thislassishooked @shardminds @winterbaby89 @xhookswenchx @ultraluckycatnd @gingerchangeling @laschatzi @wellhellotragic @xemmaloveskillianx @courtorderedcake @pirateherokillian @optomisticgirl @darkcolinodonorgasm @sherlockianwhovian @andiirivera @djlbg @nikkiemms @jennjenn615 @scientificapricot @officerrogers @imlaxdris71 @therealstartraveller776 @kday426 @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713   @donteattheappleshook @spacekrulesbians​ @lassluna @carpedzem @captainodonoghue @killian-will-do​ @jarienn972​ @tehgreeneyes​ @demisexualemmaswan @queen-serena88​ @swanslieutenant @tiganasummertree​​​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​​​​ @bethacaciakay​​​​ @ohmakemeahercules​​​​ @jrob64 @klynn-stormz @mariakov81 @sals86 @elizabeethan @brooke-to-broch @hookedonhiddles @onceratheart18

[sambergscott]

your son is going to love you

Summary: Peralta dads are cursed, destined to have terrible relationships with their sons. When Jake finds out *he's* going to have a son, he spirals. Amy helps.

goes without saying that if you haven’t watched 7x10 yet maybe don’t read this

She wakes up at 2am needing to pee.

She’s been waking up needing to pee a lot lately.

It’s like their baby has no respect for her sleeping pattern, perfectly honed over the years to maximise productivity, while still fitting in the full 8 hours of sleep needed a day. Their baby doesn’t care about the 8 hour recommendation, he laughs in the face of scientists. With the bad back and heart burn and constant kick, kick, kicking of her bladder, she’s averaging 4.7. She thought babies didn’t start keeping you up all night until they were born but, oh, how wrong she was.

She pats her husband to wake him up and come keep her company. If she’s awake because of their baby, then damn it, he’s going to be awake, too. But he’s not there, leaving her hand awkwardly patting a bare mattress.

“Jake?” She murmurs groggily, sitting up and switching on her bedside lamp. She’s half-expecting him to be sitting in the armchair playing Mario Party on his Switch (he has become a little bit addicted in the last few months and it wouldn’t be the first time she’s found him trying to beat Wario in the early hours of the morning) or have left a note beside her bed that he had a lead on a case and needed to go in with a scribbled ‘love you’ underneath and a lopsided heart. The armchair is empty, but there’s a light on down the hall and since there’s no way she forgot to turn it off before bed (she triple checks), she figures that it must be Jake.

Forgetting the whole reason why she woke up in the first place, she grabs Jake’s hoodie from the floor for warmth and pads into their living-kitchen-dining area. It’s the open plan-ness that made her fall in love with the apartment upon first visit and submit all her paperwork as soon as she was out the door. It’s the open plan-ness that would make the Property Brothers proud and the dumb people who go on that show foam at the mouth with jealousy. It’s the open plan-ness that allows her to see her husband straight away, snacking on the unfinished party food.

(Apparently people don’t feel like eating after a man cuts his thumb off and spurts blood everywhere. Who’d have thought?)

There’s a weird, pensive look on his face that draws her towards him.

“You OK, babe?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he responds. He pops a tomato from the salad bowl in his mouth, then another, then another.

She narrows her eyes. He never eats tomatoes unless they’re in ketchup or on top of a famous Sal’s pizza. Something is wrong.

She thinks back on their day, mentally rewinding the events from waking up to the morning briefing to their private sex reveal in the break room and finding out they’re having a boy (the empty cake box and blue frosting around Scully’s mouth was very surprising indeed). They were both floating on Cloud 9 all afternoon, came home and Zoomed the entire family, falling asleep on the couch around 9.30pm because pregnancy is exhausting.

Nothing particularly awful stands out.

Unless...

“Are you thinking about your Grandpa?”

He’d been so excited to see him again, so excited to reunite Walter Peralta  with Roger, The Admiral with the Captain. To be honest, Amy was less than impressed. He’d been nice enough to her, asked her about her job, about the baby, small talked about the weather. But he never asked her about Jake, probed about the 20 odd years of his grandson’s life that he’d missed out on. Which is frustrating because she has a lot of embarrassing stories ready to tell and a whole photo album of Jake on her phone. He couldn’t care less about Roger or Jake, storming out of the sex reveal party after calling his son a screw up and turning off his phone so they couldn’t get in contact with him. He’s a selfish dick and her husband deserves better. Still, he won’t be thinking about what a monster Walter turned out to be, he’ll be finding ways to blame himself that yet another father walked out of his life again.

He nods silently and she leads him to the couch.

“Talk to me, Jake.”

He releases a shaky breath. “The Peralta’s are cursed.”

“With devastatingly handsome good looks?” She half-jokes, trying to lighten the mood. Because, hello, her husband is hot; she constantly overhears other women in the precinct talking about his glow up and it would be impossible to ignore the female attention he gets in bars and even just walking down the street before he scratches his face to show off his wedding band and wraps one arm proudly around his wife’s shoulders. She’s seen the pictures of a young Roger Peralta, too, and with that charm smile... she gets it.

“Thank you,” he smiles briefly, “but no. Peralta dads are cursed with terrible relationships with their sons.”

“That’s not going to be you,” she says without hesitation, without a shred of doubt.

“How do you know?” He launches into a scathing personal indictment that leaves his cheeks stinging with tears. “I’m immature, obsessed with my work, messy, always late. My dad was never around when I was a kid. I don’t even know what dads do with their sons! And what if it’s in my genes? To be a crappy dad, abandon my kid like a dozen Peralta fathers before me. Your parents still don’t think I’m good enough. You didn’t even like me at first. It only makes sense that our baby would hate me, too.”

“Woah, babe. Slow down. Let’s unpack that one at a time.” She wipes away his tears with his hoodie sleeve and squeezes his hand. “First of all, you are way more mature now than you used to be. We bought a family friendly Sedan. You read parenting books. You were eating fruit, like, two minutes ago.”

“Tomatoes are fruits?”

“What? Yes, how do you not - not the point.” She shakes her head. “And so what, you enjoy your job. That’s a good thing, Jake! Do you understand how rare that is? You’re doing the thing you love while providing a decent income for our family. And besides, I’m way more obsessed than you. I have FOMOW, but that doesn’t mean I won’t love our kid more than anything. And as for the messy, late thing, if I can look past it because of how much I love you, so will our son.”

“Love you, too,” he mumbles.

“Now onto your point about not knowing what dads do, that is a straight up lie and we both know it, Peralta. You’re always hanging out with Charles and Nikolaj and Lord Knows Terry doesn’t shut up about all the activities he does with his girls.”

“I know what they do when I’m around, but what do you do when it’s 5am and they won’t go back to sleep?” He frets. “At what age do you introduce them to Die Hard? In Cry Hard With A Vengeance,” he quotes the parenting book she originally bought him as a joke but has kind of become his Torah, “Bruce Willis says right away, but what if he’s not ready to understand the complex plots? What if he prefers Timothy Olyphant to William Atherton? Oh my God, what if our son doesn’t think Die Hard is a Christmas movie?”

He’s spiralling and it’s a good job he’s with the only person who can truly calm him down.

“I think Bruce Willis is just trying to promote his franchise and that we’ll be watching more Paw Patrol than Die Hard for the next few years, babe, but I’m sure when he is old enough, he will love the movies as much as you.”

“Right,” he agrees, “you’re totally right. Action thrillers aren’t very baby friendly. I’ll just watch it on mute with subtitles.”

She laughs, her eyes crinkling in the corners. She loves him so much. Which segways them nicely onto his final two points.

“My parents do love you. Sure, they’re critical, but that’s just the way they are. They’re the same way to all of us. My mom complains to everyone she meets about how I can’t cook, how Tony hasn’t settled down and made her any beautiful grandbabies yet, even Perfect David faces her wrath when he goes a week without phoning her. If the worst thing my mom has to say about you is that you’re below average in height, you’re doing OK. And as for me apparently not liking you at first, I did like you.”

He furrows his brow. “But you said you found me annoying and difficult to be around.”

“Yet I didn’t ask to switch desks, continued working cases with you and went to Shaw’s whenever I was invited.” She stares at him pointedly. “If I really found you difficult to be around, I wouldn’t have stayed. I thought you were cute and funny and good at your job and yeah, you were annoying too, but,” she shrugs, “it never put me off.”

“So what you’re saying is that you had a crush on me first,” he grins.

“No. You obviously had a crush on me back then, too. What I’m saying is that I love you, our son loves you and you’re going to be a great dad.”

He blushes, ducking his head. “My dad said the same thing. About our son loving me.”

“He’s right,” she replies. “I feel him kick every time you get home from work, every time you sing to Taylor Swift in the car, every time I mention your name. Why didn’t you believe him?”

“I don’t know, still nervous about the curse, I guess.” He twists his wedding band on his finger.

Amy bites her lip. “Are you not excited about us having a boy?”

She has to ask. His excitement looked genuine in the break room, but it’s no secret that he was hoping for a girl. A mini-Amy, he said. While she’s always been more accustomed to boys considering the Santiago’s have, like, a million of them, Jake couldn’t get over the image of a little girl in dresses and doing ballet and with long, dark hair that he eventually learns to braid.

“Of course I am,” he’s quick to assure her. “Stupid excited. Never been more excited for anything. Not even the Ninja Turtles reboot. But still... nervous.” He rubs his hand over his face, muffling his voice. “Everyone is assuming what kind of dad I’m going to be. Whether I’m going to be good at it or not. To be fair, the only person who doubted me is that murderer I arrested last week, obviously not my biggest fan. Everyone else is convinced I can do it. What if I can’t? What if I’m genetically wired to be a bad dad? What if I disappoint you and our baby and Charles who has been dreaming about this forever?”

“Jake,” she softens her voice, pulling his hand away from his face, “the fact you are so worried about being a bad dad proves that you will not be one. Nor could you ever disappoint us.”

“But you’re my wife. You have to say that.”

“I would never have married you and become your wife if I thought you were the kind of person who could abandon your kid,” she promises him. “You have been perfect so far, dealing with all the vitamins and over-scheduled sex and washing my clothes when I sweat through them and holding my hair back when I’m being sick. You’ve been to every doctor’s appointment, read every binder, bought me every weird food craving. You hang out with the bump every night, talking and singing to it. I know you’re going to be a great dad, Jake, because you already are one.”

She kisses him and it’s soft and tender and filled with love, only interrupted by the kick, kick, kicking of their son.

“Hey,” Jake says in his best authoritative dad voice/John McClane dealing with German terrorists voice (he’s been practising in front of the mirror following Bruce’s advice), pointing a warning finger at the bump. “I’m going to kiss your mom as much as I want, Peralta. I loved her first.”

Amy giggles, stroking her fingers through Jake’s unruly curls. His bedhead is always wild and it’s maybe her favourite thing in the entire world. She silently sends a message of her own to their son to inherit his dad’s hair. And eyes. And handsome smile.

He kicks again as if to say ‘OK, mom’.

And then she really needs to pee.

[buddha-in-disguise]

Discourse, Supergirl and fans.

The Supergirl situation with William Dey, is far more than about William Dey per se.

I touched on this when I first posted about David Harewood.

What I have seen, and I am still seeing is while some SuperCorp fans were annoyed about the preview for episode 12, this was also coming from a diverse section of the fandom. That David (and others) have singled out the SuperCorp fandom is both unfair, and unhelpful. But that is a different discussion altogether.

So - I am going to repeat and expand on some of what I wrote at the time to try and explain why I, (and others) have found Supergirl to be really problematic at the moment.

First of all: There is no doubt Supergirl currently has a diverse cast, inc. LGBTQ representation. 

However, all the diversity in the world means absolutely nothing if a program is seemingly only playing lip service to the characters. 

Compare and contrast with Legends of tomorrow. They have 6 women. 2 Muslim superheroes (a TV first). 5 characters are LGBTQ, including Charlie; who is recognised as gender fluid. 4 people of colour. The lead is a woman, who is bisexual, in a canon relationship with a lesbian, and is a superhero. 

They do this without it being made a big deal of, enjoyed by LGBTQ and heterosexual audience alike. But it is a huge deal for many because of that diversity, and just as importantly they haven't overloaded the cast numbers, so they all get good solid storylines through a season. A season that is also shorter than Supergirl. 

Legends are an example of how you can put in a diverse minority cast, without it becoming forced or cumbersome. It isn't without fault sure, but no program is. 

So where is Supergirl going wrong at the moment? 

Let's use William, as the crux of the problems are best shown with his character, but it isn't limited to him. I will put first - this is absolutely *not* a criticism towards Staz Nair, who I respect (& like, as far as one can from limited SM interaction). All too often the accusations are made that if you don't like a character, you hate the actor. That is categorically not true for me, nor others I've seen posting about this. Of course if anyone does hate on the actor, that is not okay.

So, back to William. I get the reason he came along in regards to Russell and so the Andrea connection. That story made sense.  What hasn't made sense - William being used as a journalist, when Nia is right there! Nia has barely had any screen time, and virtually none as a journalist; you know - her actual job. I'm not sure what the minutes on screen ratio has been this season between the two, but it has felt completely slanted towards William as a viewer, at least until now. 

First instead of Kara and Nia investigating Leviathan after William was 'exposed' in the earlier episodes, now Nia is sidelined again, because they want Kara to team up with William to investigate Lex.

Why? Why do they need that journalistic pairing, when Nia - who as a Superhero, is better placed if danger from Lex occurs. But no, they're making it about Kara having to work with William because Lex threatened to kill him. Plus Nia was being mentored by Kara. Is she no longer being mentored by Kara? Are they a team? Even if the mentoring has ended, Nia is still not being utilised as a journalist.

I am utterly baffled as to why they feel this arc makes any sense. Moreso when an already established character gets sidelined. 

I'm also getting tired of seeing anyone who sees these valid opinions about current storyline as being trolls (or the comments all SuperCorp fans are just outright haters. No - SuperCorp fans are a large diverse group, that have incredible artists, fanfic writers, and social media users. Many also multi-ship. To place a blanket statement about a whole fandom as large as SC, is hateful. All fandoms have some who are problematic, but to single out an entire group is not right). 

So back to my thoughts. An episode can have some great aspects to it, but it can also be highly problematic to some fans, & receive valid criticism or valid opinions for it. For example, the latest episode of Batwoman. The Alice/Beth story was great. The acting superb. What I found worrying was the way they made Sophie feel guilty for legitimate reasons why she had led a closeted lifestyle. That lifestyle is valid, for Sophie and many LGBTQ people, and for good reason, including keeping some people safe from harm. I felt it was a clumsy attempt for Alice to get into Sophie's mind; it could've been tackled other ways, so it felt wrong they used her sexuality as a way to achieve that. Being closeted for many literally keeps them alive. So that was one hell of a poor choice in my opinion. Yet others have made perfectly credible counter arguments that it showed the difficulties faced by many LGBTQ people. So, great episode, valid criticism/opinion from both points of view. It also highlights you can have excellent episodes, but they can have legitimate issues.

Nor does differences of opinion, as long as it is respectful, makes those voicing them a bully, no matter how much you disagree. 

At the end of this, if you don’t agree, and your opinion makes you say something that is intentionally hurtful (directly or indirectly to a person or group of people), it's a bad thing. The key word being intentionally. We all make mistakes, and responses that could've been better, & we all need to be aware of that, but if it is an intended attack, don't be surprised if others call you out for your behaviour. 

So now what in regards Supergirl?  

I know ultimately that this show is about Supergirl, but it is also about those around her as family & friends. I understand there are only so many minutes in one episode. What I don't understand is why those precious minutes are going to a character, when they have one perfectly placed to do the same role. Why they have to potentially explore another relationship, when we have one canon relationship, one canon on/off again relationship & one relationship that while isn't canon in terms of romantic, it is a big story in terms of best friends, all seemingly sidelined. Which brings me to the Kara fighting for Lena's soul aspect. Again, I am not seeing a lot of fighting for anything, except more and more fans fighting themselves and cast. 

Then you just need to look at the dislikes that teaser was given on YouTube, and compare them to previous ones. I've attached screenshots to show this.

A serious misjudgment was made by someone on how that teaser would be received, and again I will stress, this dislike hasn't just been from one area of fandom, but multiple areas. For many it wasn't just about William, but the culmination of unease that has built for a few episodes. A prime example of the straw that broke the camel's back. If you are solely focused on one area of fandom for this discourse (as many blame SuperCorp fans), you need to step back and recognise you are not allowing yourself to see the whole picture. To focus solely on one thing, rather than acknowledging the wider audience are saying this, does not make you the better fan. To dismiss it as trolls, is being dismissive of good, regular fans with legitimate questions or concerns. It is insulting to many of us.

I will be honest, I had high hopes for this season. I also knew it was likely going to be pretty confusing at times since it was given as 'our Black mirror season' and 'nothing is as it seems.' I accepted that.

However, all it seems at the moment is a jumbled mess from pre and post Crisis. They just doesn't appear to be any cohesion at all, which is making it really difficult as a viewer. Add in the changes post Crisis and it feels even more of a mess.

Of course, they could bring in more cohesive elements soon, but considering that we know episode 13 is 'It's a wonderful life,' and Alex Danvers in a later episode is wearing a Super suit - I just sense this whole 'nothing is as it seems' side we appear to be getting isn't changing any time soon, & with episodes running out, with so many strings running through at the moment, it feels really discombomulated. If by seasons end, they pull it off and you can look back and see how it's played out as a whole, I will be the first to say well done for that part. 

I do though think right now Supergirl feels chaotic beyond expectation, and no end in sight. I feel there have been too many character additions this season (particularly Andrea & William) that is taking screen time away from Kara, Alex, Nia, Lena, Kelly et al.

It feels like a mess of unnecessary pairings and the crux of the story seems to have been lost in the midst.

That is causing confusion for fans, that is also beginning to become frustration. That frustration is spilling over. Add in the genuine and extremely legitimate concerns over the LGBTQ issues that have arisen (again from far more than just SuperCorp fans), and the frustration has built even more. 

I can only hope the next couple of episodes address some of this and not complicate the mess further. 

Whatever happens, Supergirl is not doing well in terms of a storyline that is gripping for fans, that is now top heavy with regulars, taking screen time from established characters, and a social media blunder that has so far only exacerbated the simmering uncertainty being felt by many.

It might improve, and I sincerely hope it does, but they are edging into the potential for the anger felt by fans to become an all out riot if they don't stop and see where valid criticism is being given. If this season continues on in this vein, then there is going to be huge swathes of fans drifting away. The concerns are legitimate. I wish it could be seen as that.

[tangent101]

More thoughts on writing LiS

So. One trick someone has stated is that to work through a scene, write a summary. Thus when trying to work through a scene leading up to the “awkward dinner” but you have problems coming up with the wording, it’s said to block off a section. For instance:

[insert thing on what Max's parents do for work. Thoughts - seeing Arcadia Bay was a fishing town, Ryan probably was a boat mechanic. Wild thought - what if Vanessa has a degree in Library Science? Check to see what their salary would be. Retail is another option.]

The problem is? Story flow. All this does is tell me what happens there. But there is no ebb and flow to the story. My next line was going to be this from Chloe:

"Yeah, that's nice, but can't you interrogate her while she's eating? Look at her, she's famished! She's not eaten all day!"

But it doesn’t work. Why did Chloe say that? What led up to this? How does it work? At least with dialogue, sometimes you need those elements leading up to it. Otherwise you have a shoehorned conversation that is jarring and fails to let things pick up from there. 

So let’s look at what led into this with Max trying to diffuse an argument between Chloe and Joyce:

"Nice save, kid. You're still smart. So Chloe said you're attending Blackwell now?" She sighed and tsked at me. "I had high hopes for Chloe at Blackwell, but she had to... well, I'm sure she's told you."

Fucking... my eyes narrowed and I tried to lessen the venom in my voice as I responded. "Yeah, I did. I don't keep secrets from Max. And you know? She didn't get in my face about it, or try to shame me about it."

"Um. What are you making, Joyce? It smells divine!" Max interjected.

Joyce turned back toward Max, seemingly grateful for the distraction. "I made a batch of cioppino. David will be off work soon and I thought it would be nice for us all to sit down for dinner and get reacquainted. It's a shame your parents didn't stick around, it would have been nice to connect with them again."

Max shrugged apologetically. "They wanted to try and get home before it gets too late. They have work in the morning."

Chloe is already in an adversarial mood, and it’s related to Joyce acting disapproving toward her daughter - especially as Max is back, and Max is everything Joyce thinks she wants in a daughter. Quiet, obedient, unlikely to get into trouble. Chloe is most definitely not that. 

So how do we merge the two? Well, first we know that Chloe knows Max hasn’t eaten all day. She even jokes to Max (just before her argument with her mom starts) that Max is just there for her mom’s cooking (Chloe having invited Max to dinner and hearing Max’s stomach gurgle). And rather than letting Max and her grab food (before Step-Douche shows up to inevitably ruin things) Joyce is making small talk.

The next step is ensuring this remains in Joyce’s voice. It’s easy to put words into a character’s mouth, but if you’re not careful it can be difficult to differentiate them. And it’s not just a few key catchwords. Sure, Chloe uses “hella” all the time but near the end of LiS we even have Max starting to use “hella” once or twice. It’s more the context and knowing how a character talks.

For instance, Max is frequently more passive and ambivalent in her dialogue prior to Rewinds. You can think of the Rewind as Max going “okay, this is what I should have said” and rewording things (and to be honest, LiS would have been better done if we had frequent instances of Max choosing entirely different lines of dialogue because she thought things out, Rewound, and spoke that new phrase - and even moments of her goofing up and needing to Rewind to fix it!). Chloe is more confrontational in her comments and dialogue. She is more action-oriented and active. And Joyce? Joyce is more “maternal” in some ways but also tends to talk down to Max and Chloe. She’s the adult and they’re kids. She even coaches her own need to explain her actions as such. Take this moment:

Joyce: I was hoping you could be a good influence in her life now...

Max: I will be. Promise. I know things were hard for you and Chloe. I feel bad I didn't call. Now my folks are in Seattle and I'm all alone at Blackwell. It's my karma.

Joyce: You did the right thing. You moved forward with your life. I did, after William passed on. Chloe...Chloe chose to stay angry... Anyway, I hope we see more of you. Chloe needs an old friend again.

She’s telling Max what to do. But more, she’s explaining away her own actions. She married David so quickly after William’s death because she was moving on and it was for the best. So Max not calling? Was doing the right thing. It doesn’t matter that it hurt Chloe - that both of them hurt Chloe. They were right and Chloe is wrong and her anger is wrong.

Looking at that, it’s clear seeing what the conversation could turn out as, and also why Chloe starts getting angry because this is how Joyce talks to Chloe all the time. Her own anger and frustration is ignored because Chloe is the child and Joyce is the adult and the adult is always right.

“I’m glad to hear they’ve gotten back on their feet. I know you didn’t want to move away, but you needed to move forward with your life. I did, after William passed on. Chloe...” she stared at me sadly, “Chloe chose to stay angry.”

Yeah, talk about me like I’m not here. No, don’t say anything. We don’t need to fight before we get noms... I clenched my jaw and somehow forced myself to remain silent. 

“So, what are they doing for work? Did your mom finish her degree to become a librarian?”

Okay fuck this bullshit...  "Yeah, that's nice, but can't you interrogate her while she's eating? Look at her, she's famished! She's not eaten all day!"

And now we can see how this flows. 

Blocking off text can work, mind you. But it’s best if used for concise points rather than to put off entire parts of progress. You can also use a specific series of characters to point it out. For instance: 

“So, what are they doing for work? Did your mom finish her degree to [>What degree does Vanessa go into?<]”

Thus when you do a Search for incomplete sections, just search for the [> string of characters, and know that <] closes out that thought sequence. That way, the dialogue continues to flow and you don’t pause to research specific points... but also don’t just postpone a certain bit of dialogue that could end up impacting what other elements are mentioned.

[bobbystompy]

91 Quotes I Enjoyed From 2020

Below are my favorite quotes from 2020. Though most occurred throughout the year, some took place before but were encountered during.

1) “You don’t have to be new to make new.” - Rick Rubin

2) “He put the beat on and go to sleep then wake up with a verse.” - The Lox

3) “Every opinion is bad.” - Blink-155

4)

(via Twitter)

5) “At the start of every disaster movie, there’s a scientist being ignored.”

6) “Be brave enough to suck at something new.”

7) “Comedy is the only job you can have where you can use everything you know” - Robin Williams via Dave Chappelle

8) “What’s the worst swear word where you live?” - Josiah Hughes

9) “Cookies are a really great way to get everybody to like you for a short period of time” - YSAC

10) “The worst dancer at a wedding is the one who’s not dancing.” - John Mulaney

11) “I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself running out of one." - Kobe Bryant

12) "A good movie begins as you're walking out of the theater" - Ethan Hawke

13) “When I was young and starting in cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart which is, 'The most personal is the most creative.’ That quote was from our great Martin Scorsese.” - Bong Joon-ho

14) “Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow” - River Phoenix via Joaquin Phoenix

15) “Thank you -- I will drink until next morning.” - Bong Joon-ho

16) “Men will bury their emotions for decades and then take it all out on children tubing while they drive the boat.” - @krauter_

17) “They help you with the dumb face stuff, but they don’t tell you how to fix it” - Adam (Nate’s friend), on having older sisters

18) “We all had our connections, but it’s not the details themselves that matter, it’s the feeling behind them. There are a million coming-of-age tales. Lady Bird’s secret sauce is how deeply its creator gave a shit. The older I get, the less I care about anything but the sense of a filmmaker’s personal connection to the material. It doesn’t matter what it’s about, what genre it is, or whether it’s genre at all. I only really care that it feels like something the filmmaker had to tell me, and that it was that filmmaker in particular who had to tell it. It has to answer the ‘why are you telling me this’ question, and not just why are you telling me, but why are you telling me.

Lady Bird is a movie that feels like only Greta Gerwig could’ve made. And it’s only because it’s so specific to her that it can be so meaningful to so many people.” - Vince Mancini

19) "I have cast some lonely votes, fought some lonely fights, mounted some lonely campaigns. But I do not feel lonely now.” - Bernie Sanders

20) “Ever hear a Beatles song you haven’t heard before?”

21) “Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standardism of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall. I have the feeling that drinking is a form of suicide where you're allowed to return to life and begin all over the next day. It's like killing yourself, and then you're reborn. I guess I've lived about ten or fifteen thousand lives now.” - Charles Bukowski

22) “You shouldn’t have to hear a band to know if they’re good or not” - Josiah Hughes

23) “I was raised by OGs.  Some of you were raised by IG.  I understand.” - Ice-T

* * *

[Here is where I note the line of demarcation that was the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the US, pushed forward by Tom Hanks’ announcement, the NBA and NCAA shutting down, and, then, the nation itself.]

* * *

24) “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” - Vladimir Lenin

25) "Taken together, this is a massive failure in leadership that stems from a massive defect in character. Trump is such a habitual liar that he is incapable of being honest, even when being honest would serve his interests. He is so impulsive, shortsighted, and undisciplined that he is unable to plan or even think beyond the moment. He is such a divisive and polarizing figure that he long ago lost the ability to unite the nation under any circumstances and for any cause. And he is so narcissistic and unreflective that he is completely incapable of learning from his mistakes. The president’s disordered personality makes him as ill-equipped to deal with a crisis as any president has ever been. With few exceptions, what Trump has said is not just useless; it is downright injurious." - Peter Wehner

26) "Epidemics have a way of revealing underlying truths about the societies they impact." - Anne Applebaum

27) “A funny thing about quarantining is hearing your partner in full work mode for the first time. Like, I’m married to a ‘let’s circle back’ guy — who knew?” - Laura Norkin

28) 

(Jojo Rabbit)

29) “The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. - Deadwood: The Movie

30) “All bleeding stops eventually.” - Deadwood: The Movie

31) “Our Father, which art in heaven… / Let him fucking stay there” - Deadwood: The Movie

32) “It’s like a power outage, but we still have power” - Ryen Russillo, on the pandemic

33) “Whenever Sox baseball returns, it’ll be weird to not have Farmer on the call any more. The relationship between a fan and longtime announcer is always built in the little moments. One afternoon, he’s the soundtrack as you clean the garage. On another night, he’s your bookmark for the game as you stand in line for churros or walk down the ramps at Sox Park to try for better seats in the 100 level. A voice like Farmer’s becomes so familiar that you only really notice when it’s no longer there.” - Kevin Kaduk, on the passing of Ed Farmer

34) 

(via Twitter)

35) “In my songs, I try to look through someone else’s eyes, and I want to give the audience a feeling more than a message” - John Prine

36) “Observe everything. Admire nothing.” - Generation Kill

37) “Trump, by that definition, has always been a wartime president -- always willing to sacrifice people he doesn’t know to things he only sort of cares about” - David Roth

38) "Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen." - Michael Jordan

39) "Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can't reach." - Hunter S. Thompson

40) “Airlines sending me “we’re in this together” emails. When my suitcase was 52 pounds I was on my own.” - Mike Dentale

41) “Sometimes you can be the worst source of your own story” - Ryen Russillo

42) “Family is not necessarily blood, but instead who you would bleed for.”

43)

(via Twitter)

44) "This is the deal that Jordan made, knowingly or unknowingly — that he would trade everything he had for everything he wanted. And then, when he won all those things, he found that he had nothing but that.” - David Roth

45) “I’m brand loyal, but the brand doesn’t matter” - Caitie Miller, on why she doesn’t like generic peanut butter

46) “NOBODY shitposts Gene Hackman!!” - Mark Dehlinger

47) “When a man concludes that any stick is good enough to beat his foe with—that is when he picks up a boomerang.” - G.K. Chesterton

48) “You can be appalled forever, but shocked only once.” - Jeff Weiss, on early Eminem

49) “Whether I’m pessimistic or optimistic, the fight’s the same” - David Simon

50) “Freedom can never be completely won, but it can be lost.” - Bernard Simon

51) “Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands.” -Kareem Abdul Jabbar

52) “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist -- we must be anti-racist.” - Angela Davis

53) “Start as close to the end as possible” - Kurt Vonnegut, on creative writing

54) “You can’t stay woke all the time — that’s insomnia.” - Dr. Cornel West

55) “No, I get it. I’ve dated a lot of Geminis.”

56) “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” - John Krakauer, Into The Wild (via Tyler Keller)

57) "I couldn't show them my For You because it's pretty much just lesbian stuff and depression memes" - Maggie Loesch, on showing TikTok to her coworkers

58) "It's 1 a.m. in Slovakia and I've already had one bottle of wine and I don't know how long this press conference will go, so good luck to me." - Marian Hossa, following his NHL Hall of Fame announcement

59) “All I want in life is to go on an Anguilla group trip” - Mandy Gilkes

60) “You miss old friends when you don’t see them, but you miss them more when you do.” - Chuck Klosterman

61) “The only way to appreciate the present is to pretend it’s already the past.” - Chuck Klosterman

62) Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth Until they've faded, but trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back At photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked

(”Everybody's Free [To Wear Sunscreen]”)

Second time that essay’s been quoted on this list.

64) "I mean, it's just human nature to suck up to the people above you, crap on those beneath you, and undercut your equals” - Brian, Family Guy

65) “You never quit a job. You quit a manager.” - Brian Bedford

66) “All the pictures in my house are of people I’m not friends with” - Tracy Cunningham

67) “In order to leave something behind, you have to leave.” - Dr. Herman, Grey’s Anatomy

68) 

(via Twitter)

69) “You can obsess about death if you don’t have to obsess about dying.” - Brendan Kelly via “White Noise”

70) “If it’s right to do, it’s wrong to wait.” - Andy, doorman 

71)

72) “When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

73) "America is mostly people who’ve never left their state saying we have the best country in the world." - Billy Wayne Davis

74) “A writer is someone who knows at least 80% of their writing sucks.” - Gabe Hudson

75) 

(via Twitter)

76) “You’re dead twice” - Brendan Kelly

77) “Perfect is the enemy of good” - Voltaire (via Zach Lowe)

78) “I don’t want to be a savior, I want to be a mirror.” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

79) “I get bad Twitter FOMO but not real life FOMO. That just goes to show I need to get off the Internet.” - Josh Thomas

80) “Is there anything you love in life that you engage with seriously that you don't also engage with humor?" - Sam Sutherland, on his relationship with Blink-182

81) “My favorite genre of music is my friends' bands" - Josiah Hughes

82) “Let’s fall in love like both our parents aren’t divorced.”

83) “Seabiscuit may be the only earthling that was on both sides of the stamp.” - Brendan Kelly

84) “There’s no shame in coming in second, except in, like, wars.” - Family Guy

85) “I feel like I experience writer’s block 100% of the time, and when I do write, I have impostor syndrome.” - Phoebe Bridgers

86) “We teach based on what we most need to learn.” - psychologist on Grey’s Anatomy

87) “Having too many choices is the leading cause of stress” - Grey’s Anatomy

88) “I think we've all gravely underestimated the extent to which this year has changed all of us, permanently” - Kelli Maria Korducki

89) 

(via Twitter)

90) “I wonder if people understand why they don’t have polio” - Sandra E. Garcia

91) “Ending songs is terrible, so let’s keep singing” - Dave Hernandez

[nerianasims]

Billboard #1s 1977

Under the cut.

Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. – “You Don’t Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)” -- January 8, 1977

They will be happy with each other as they are, not needing a "star." It sounds literal, like they think most people only want to have relationships with celebrities. It's got some bounce and a beat, but it's very light and not poetic at all. Meh.

Leo Sayer – “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” -- January 15, 1977

Shouty falsetto. It might be disco if it were faster. I am not listening to this whole thing, because it will give me a headache.

Stevie Wonder – “I Wish” -- January 22, 1977

One of the greatest musical intros. It's a funk song about nostalgia, wishing for childhood again, and I normally hate that. But the music is amazing.

Rose Royce – “Car Wash” -- January 29, 1977

This was an intro song for a movie of the same name. I had no idea. I just thought someone decided to sing about working at a car wash randomly. The song is a little bit Motown, a little bit disco. It's fun.

Mary MacGregor – “Torn Between Two Lovers” -- February 5, 1977

It's slow, it's soppy, and it's about how she's cheating on "you" with someone else. She truly loves you, but she's not gonna stop seeing the other guy, whom she loves too. It sounds like she wants to try this whole poly thing she's heard about. But is the guy she's singing to gonna be okay with that? Probably not. Most people aren't. Maybe though. I don't care. For being about a subject that should be heartrending, this song sure is boring.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – “Blinded By The Light” -- February 19, 1977

This version made it to #1. Bruce Springsteen's original didn't even make it to the charts. This version is really bad -- it sounds like a recitation surrounded by goop, not a song. Bruce Springsteen's version is one of my favorite songs. I am going to sulk now.

Eagles – “New Kid In Town” -- February 26, 1977

Huh, an Eagles hit I've never heard before. This is about fame, how everyone loves you at first, then forgets you when the next big thing comes along. They try to shoehorn some stuff about romance in -- "Will she still love you when you're not around?" -- but it doesn't really flow. Also the song sounds like it should be playing in the background of a cabana. Fittingly for a song worried people will forget them, I have already forgotten this song.

Barbra Streisand – “Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen)” -- March 5, 1977

I listened to this song for 30 seconds. No more. I cannot stand Barbra Streisand. I don't think I'd like this song anyway, as it's glop, but maybe a different singer could have made it tolerable.

Daryl Hall & John Oates – “Rich Girl” -- March 26, 1977

Rich girls get picked on while rich boys are the ones who usually get away with everything. This song was actually originally about a rich guy, too. It would have been better. It's still good musically, but it misses the mark. Not that rich girls don't also get away with plenty, but compare and contrast what happened to Paris Hilton for her venial sins, versus the entire existence of Donald Trump.

ABBA – “Dancing Queen” -- April 9, 1977

ABBA was a good group. They were hated on, and now they're more likely to be exalted. They didn't deserve the hate (save it for the Bee Gees), but they're not the second coming or anything either. They were just a good, fun group. This song can be danced to, but it's a song more about dance than a dancing song. It's a rare song observing a young woman dancing while identifying with her, rather than lusting after her. "You can dance/ You can jive/ Having the time of your life." It's good.

David Soul – “Don’t Give Up On Us” -- April 16, 1977

The narrator did something really bad last night. Cheating? Worse? Now he's telling his lover not to "give up on us." As soft as the song is, "tell" is the word, not "ask." And he doesn't apologize once. Also, David Soul was a professional actor, but there's no worry in his voice; he's nothing but smooth and assured here. Blech.

Thelma Houston – “Don’t Leave Me This Way” -- April 23, 1977

It's disco with a large dose of Motown, or Motown with a large dose of disco. Either way, it works. Everything lines up with precision, and then Thelma Houston comes in over all of it with huge emotion. The contrast is sort of fascinating. Oh, and her huge emotion is that she wants sex. "Then come on, satisfy the need in me/ 'Cause only your good loving can set me free." She's not begging, but she's not exactly commanding either. It's really good.

Glen Campbell – “Southern Nights” -- April 30, 1977

It's Kidz Bop honky tonk. That's probably not fair; Glen Campbell grew up in a family of poor sharecroppers in Arkansas. But it's what I hear. It's happy clappy, and scrubbed clean of anything real.

Eagles – “Hotel California” -- May 7, 1977

Whatever you think this song is about, it's not about that. The Eagles wrote it with a mish-mash of stuff in mind, but mostly trying to be ambiguous. What that means is that whatever you think this song is about, it is about that. It's a choose your own adventure psychological horror song. I love it. It makes me happy in that way that good poetry and good music do -- and this is both.

Leo Sayer – “When I Need You” -- May 14, 1977

This song is cheese. Absolute, unadulterated cheese. But it's not bad cheese. It's a good solid cheddar. It's slow but not too slow, soft but not too soft, and it manages some interesting percussion. And Sayer sings like he means it. It's about missing his lover while he's on the road, and he imagines she's with him to get by. "When I need you/ I just close my eyes and I'm with you." It sounds kind of like a Broadway ballad. It's enjoyable.

Stevie Wonder – “Sir Duke” -- May 21, 1977

A song about Duke Ellington, which is a subject I approve of. Stevie Wonder also lists a few more legends, including one of my favorites: "And with a voice like Ella's ringing out/ There's no way the band can lose." It's a love song to music itself. It's sort of big band, sort of funk, and sort of Motown, and it works. The lyrics do get too repetitive for me near the end, though.

KC & The Sunshine Band – “I’m Your Boogie Man” -- June 11, 1977

It's a wordplay on the "bogie man" monster. But the boogie man wants to show up and give you whatever you want whenever you want however you want. Sexually. The song actually has more lyrics than most KC & The Sunshine Band songs, but it's still a song to dance to. Not to have sex to. But for dancing? Yep, it's good.

Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams” -- June 18, 1977

YAY! Okay so I have no interest in Fleetwood Mac without Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But when they joined in 1975, Fleetwood Mac became truly great. And this song is from Rumours, which is their best album (forged out of a hell of a lot of intragroup pain), and written and sung by Stevie Nicks, who was their best artist. My parents played this record and their previous self-titled one all the time. I didn't fully understand the songs when I was a kid, but I loved them. As I grew old enough to understand them, I loved them more. And now I love them more than that. I can't analyze this song. I love it too much.

Marvin Gaye – “Got To Give It Up (Part 1)” -- June 25, 1977

At first, he was uncomfortable at parties and didn't want to dance. But then he loosened up enough to dance, pretty obviously as a way to pick up chicks. There's the horrible line "Let me step into your erotic zone." The music is experimental. Marvin Gaye's falsetto is fine, but it's still a falsetto the whole damn song. And there are people making party noises in the background the whole time. I find this song painful.

Bill Conti – “Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky) -- July 2, 1977

You know this instrumental, you've heard it tons. It's a good movie theme -- I think. It's hard to say, when it's something that's been so often present in so many different contexts in my life.

Alan O’Day – “Undercover Angel” -- July 9, 1977

The undercover angel is a make believe woman from a sex dream. At the end of the song, he's telling "you" that you remind him of the undercover angel, so you must be meant to be with him. It's an extended "I've seen you in my dreams" pickup line. It's so dumb.

Shaun Cassidy – “Da Doo Ron Ron” -- July 16, 1977

This is an excruciatingly boring cover of The Crystals' classic 60s girl group song.

Barry Manilow – “Looks Like We Made It” -- July 23, 1977

He's singing to an ex. They both "made it" because they found other people. Until "Looks like we made it/ Or I thought so till today/ Until you were there everywhere." If they get back together it's not going to be easy, because they'll be leaving relationships that seem happy. I don't think they'll get back together -- besides, she may not feel anything for him any more. It's a more complex song than it sounds. And Barry Manilow sure can sing. I wish he'd gone with the jazz songs he preferred, but then he wouldn't have been hugely successful. He decided to pull the rhinestone cowboy trick, and I can't blame him. He did make the soppy 70s charts more tolerable than they would have otherwise been.

Andy Gibb – “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” -- July 30, 1977

For instance, without Barry Manilow, Andy Gibb would probably have had more hits. Gibb's voice is thin. If you're going to sing a line like "Oh, if I, if I stay here without you darlin' I will die," you need some power and drama behind it. This guy sounds like he's trying to sell kitchen tile. It's a relatively fast song, but the beat is somehow irritating too. Blech.

The Emotions – “Best Of My Love” -- August 20, 1977

It starts with a blast of horns, and then a blast of singing. Then the chorus is quieter than the rest, which is weird to me. I can't put my finger on why this song bores me, but it does.

Meco – “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band” -- October 1, 1977

A disco mashup of the Star Wars theme with the cantina band theme. That happened. I love John Williams' music and I think he deserves credit for at least half of Star Wars' success. But I think this remix sounds extremely dumb. Someone slowed down the cantina band theme a couple years ago and that sounds very noir and cool. This doesn't.

Debby Boone – “You Light Up My Life” -- October 15, 1977

The person who wrote this song was completely and absolutely terrible. But Debby Boone isn't. She's a Christian singer, but seems to be one of the nice ones, not the wingnut fundie ones. Anyway, she wasn't a Christian singer in 1977 (though she was Christian). And she had a good voice. But she sings this song painfully slowly. It sounds like she comes in after where she's supposed to come in and then draws out the notes longer than she's supposed to. I don't know if that's her or the song itself. I sped up the song to 1.25 and it's a little more palatable, but it's still bad. It's a trudge. I don't feel lit up after this.

The Bee Gees – “How Deep Is Your Love” -- December 24, 1977

It's not falsetto, though Barry Gibb does go uncomfortably high some. But it's still very bad. It's a string of bland cliches over bland music. And the weird 70s male romance song entitlement: "And it's me you need to show/ How deep is your love?" Shut up.

BEST OF 1977 -- "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac  WORST OF 1977 -- "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco. People really would disco to anything, huh?

[love-pyramus]

I

RACETRACK: In 1899, the street of New York City echoed with the voices of newsies, peddeling the newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst and other giants of the newspaper world. On every street corner you saw 'em, carrying the banner, bringing you the news for a penny a pape. Poor orphans and run-aways, the newsies were a ragged army, without a leader, until one day when all that changed.

(The movie title appears. We see the outside of the Newsboys Lodging House. Inside, Kloppman, the owner, enters the bunkroom, finding the boys still in bed.)

KLOPPMAN: Boots! Skittery! Skittery! Skittery!

SKITTERY: Wha..I didn't do it!

KLOPPMAN: What do you mean you didn't do it? Will you get up? When you get up, it's time to get up! Snitch! Get up! Get up! Everybody's sleeping. They sleep their lives away these kids! The presses are rolling! Sell the papers, sell the papers! Come on, come on. You dreaming about selling papers?

JACK: Mmmmmm? What's the matta with you?

KLOPPMAN: What's the matter with me?

JACK: What's the matta with you? Wanna..go..back..to..

KLOPPMAN: Come on! (gives him a shove)

JACK: Get away from me, you're mad!

KLOPPMAN:  Haha. Get up boy! Come on. Alright! Carry the banner! Sell the papers!

(Racetrack looks around for his cigar, noticing that Snipeshooter has it)

*Start Song*

RACETRACK: That's my cigar!

SNIPESHOOTER: You'll steal anudder!

KID BLINK: Hey bummers, we got work tah do!

KID: Since when did you become me mudder?

CRUTCHY: Aww, stop your bawling!

NEWSIES: Hey, who asked you?

MUSH: So, how'd you sleep Jack?

JACK: On me back Mush.

MUSH: Ha ha. Hear that fellas? Hear what Jack said? I asked Jack how he slept and he said 'On me back Mush'

CRUTCHY: Jack, when I walk, does it look like I'm faking it?

JACK: No. Who says you're faking it?

CRUTCHY: I dunno. It's just there's so many fake crips on the street today, a real crip ain't got a chance. I gotta find me a new selling spot where they ain't used to seeing me.

MUSH: Try Bottle Alley or the harbour

RACETRACK: Try Central Park, it's guaranteed

JACK: Try any baker, bum, or barber

SKITTERY: They almost all knows how to read

KID BLINK: I smell money

CRUTCHY: You smell foul!

MUSH: Met this girl last night

CRUTCHY: Move your elbow!

RACETRACK: Pass the towel!

SKITTERY: For a buck I might!

NEWSIES: Ain't it a fine life Carrying the banner through it all? A mighty fine life Carrying the banner tough and tall Every morning, we goes where we wishes We's as free as fished Sure beats washin' dishes What a fine life Carrying the banner home-free all!

(The newsies leave the Lodging House and head towards Newsies Square)

Summer stinks and winter's waiting Welcome to New York Boy, ain't nature fascinating When you'se gotta walk? Still, it's a fine life Carrying the banner with me chums A mighty fine life Blowing every nickel as it comes

CRUTCHY: I'm no snoozer Sitting makes me antsy I likes living chancy

NEWSIES: Harlem tah Delancey What a fine life Carrying the banner through the slums

NUNS: Blessed children thought you wonder lost and depraved Jesus loves you, you shall be saved!

PATRICK'S MOTHER: Patrick, darling Since you left me, I am undone Mother loves you God save my son!

(Sung in counterpoint)

RACETRACK: Just give me half a cup

KID BLINK: Something to wake me up

MUSH: I gotta find an angle

CRUTCHY: I gotta sell more papes

VARIOUS NEWSIES: Papers is all I got Wish I could catch a breeze Sure hope the headline's hot All I can catch is fleas God help me if it's not Somebody help me, please..

(End counterpoint)

NEWSIES: If I hate the headline, I'll make up the headline And I'll say anything I hafta 'Cause it's two for a penny, if I take too many Weasel just makes me eat 'em afta

(Sung in counterpoint)

1. Look! They're putting up the headline They call that a headline? I get better stories from the copper on the beat I was gunna start with twenty but a dozen'll be plenty Tell me, how'm I gonna make ends meet?

2. What's it say? That won't pay! So where's your spot? God, it's hot! Will ya tell me how'm I gonna make ends meet?

(End counterpoint)

NEWSIES: We need a good assassination! We need an earthquake or a war!

SNIPESHOOTER: How 'bout a crooked politician?

NEWSIES: Hey, stupid, that ain't news no more! Uptown to Grand Central Station Down to City Hall We improves our circulation Walkin' til we fall!

(Sung in counterpoint)

1. Still we'll be out there Carrying the banner man to man! Yes, we'll be out there Soaking every sucker that we can! See the headline Newsies on a mission Kill the competition Sell the next edition While we're out there Carrying the banner is the...

2.Look, they're putting up the headline They call that a headlin The idiot who wrote it must be working for the Sun Didja hear about the fire?

3.Heard it killed old man Maguire!

2.Heard the toll was ever higher

3.Why do I miss all the fun?

2.Hitched it on a Trolly

3.Meetcha Forty-Fourth and Second

2.Little Italy's a secret

3.Bleecker's further than I reckoned

2.At the courthouse

3.Near the stables

2.On the corner someone beckoned and I....

(The Delancey brothers, Oscar and Morris, enter.)

RACETRACK: Dear me! What is that unpleasant aroma? I fear the sewer may have backed up during the night

BOOTS: Nah, too rotten to be the sewers.

CRUTCHY: It must be the Delancey brudders.

RACETRACK:  Hiya boys!

OSCAR:(to Snipeshooter) In the back, you lousy little shrimp. (Oscar throws Snipeshooter to the ground. Jack goes to help him up)

RACETRACK: It's not good to do that. Not healthy

JACK: You shouldn't call people lously little shrimps, Oscar, unless you're refering to the family resemblance in your brudda here.

RACETRACK: 5-1 that Cowboys skunks 'em. Who's betting?

JACK: That's right. It's an insult. So's this

(Jack knocks Morris' hat off his head. The Delancey's chase Jack around the Square. David and Les enter and watch until Jack bumps into them.)

DAVID: What do you think you're doing?

JACK: Runnin'!

NEWSIES:  (Sung in counterpoint)

1.It's a fine life Carrying the banner through it all A mighty fine life Carrying the banner tough and tall See the headline Newsies on a mission Kill the competition Sell the next edition What a fine life Carrying the banner!

2.Would you look at the headline You call that a headline? I get better stories from the copper on the beat I was gonna start with twenty but a dozen'll be plenty Would you tell me how'm I ever gonna make ends meet Hitched it on a Trolly Meetcha Forty-Fourth and Second Little Italy's a secret Bleecker's further than I reckoned By the courthouse, near the stables On the corner someone beckoned! Go get 'em Cowboy! You've got 'em now boy!

(End counterpoint)

NEWSIES: Go!

WORLD EMPLOYEE: These is for the newsies!

(The newsies line up for their papes, congratulating Jack on beating the Delancey's)

MORRIS: See you tomorrow, Cowboy

OSCAR: You're as good as dead, Cowboy

JACK: Oh Mr. Weasel.

WEASEL: Alright, alright! Hold your horses! I'm coming, I'm coming.

JACK: So, didja miss me Weasel? Huh, did you miss me?

WEASEL: I told ya a million times, the name's Wisel. Mr. Wisel to you. How many?

JACK: Don't rush me, I'm perusing the merchandise Mr. Weasel. The usual.

WEASEL: 100 papes for the wise guy. Next!

RACETRACK: Morning your honor! Listen, do me a favor, spot me 50 papes? I got a hot tip int the fourth, you won't waste your money.

WEASEL: It's a sure thing?

RACETRACK: Yeah. Not like last time.

WEASEL: 50 papes! Next!

CRUTCHY: Heya Mr. Wisel.

RACETRACK: See anything good this morning?

WEASEL: 30 papes for Crutchy! Next!

JACK:(to Les) You wanna sit down?

DAVID: 20 papers please. Thanks.

RACETRACK: Look at this, 'Baby Born With Two Heads'. Must be from Brooklyn.

WEASEL: Hey, you got your lously papes, now beat it!

DAVID: I paid for twenty. I only got nineteen.

WEASEL: Are you accusing me of lying kid?

DAVID: No. I just want my paper.

MORRIS: He said beat it!

JACK: No, it's nineteen. It's nineteen, but don't worry about it. It's an honest mistake. I mean, Morris here can't count to twenty with his

shoes on. Hey Race, will ya spot me 2 bits? Another 50 for my friend.

DAVID: I don't want another 50.

JACK: Sure you do. Every newsie wants more papes.

DAVID: I don't. I don't want your papes. I don't take charity from anyone. I don't know you. I don't care to. Here are your papes.

LES: Cowboy. They called him Cowboy.

JACK: Yeah, I'm called that and a lot of other things, including Jack Kelly, which is what me mudder called me.what do they call you kid?

LES: Les, and this is my brother David. He's older.

JACK: No kidding. So how old are you Les?

LES: Me? Near 10.

JACK: Near 10. Well, that's no good. if anyone asks, you're 7. You see, younger sells more papes and if we're gonna be partners, we wanna

be the best.

DAVID: Wait. Who said anything about being partners?

JACK: Well, you owe me 2 bits right? Well, I'll consider that an investment. We sell together, we split 70-30, plus you get the benefit of observing me, no charge.

DAVID: Ah-ha.

JACK: (mocking) Ah-ha.

CRUTCHY: You're getting the chance of a lifetime here, Davey. You learn from Jack, you learn from the best.

DAVID: Well, if he's the best, then how come he needs me?

JACK: Listen,I don't need you, pal,but I ain't got a cute little brudder like Les here to front for me. With this kid's puss and my God-given talent, we could move a thousand papes a week. So what do you say Les? You wanna sell papes with me?

LES: Yeah!

JACK: So we got a deal?

DAVID: Wait. It's got to be at least 50-50.

JACK: 60-40, I forget the whole thing.

(David holds out his hand. Jack spits on his hand and reaches for David, who pulls his arm away.)

JACK: What'sa matta?

DAVID: That's disgusting!

(By this time, the rest of the newsies have gotten their papers and are moving out into the street.)

JACK: The name of the game is volume, Dave. You only took twenty papes. Why?

DAVID: Bad headline.

JACK: That's the first thing you gotta learn. Headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes. You know, we're what holds this town together.

Without newsies, nobody knows nothing.

(A girl hurries past and the newsies take off their hats and make a few comments)

SPECS: Baby born with three heads!

(The newsies begin to yell out various headlines as the spread out over the streets. We go into Pulitzer's office where Pulitzer is reading the headline. Also in the room is Jonathan, Seitz and another World employee.)

PULITZER: 'Trolly Strike Drags On For Third Week' and this so called headline drags on for infinity.

EMPLOYEE: News is slow, Mr. Pulitzer. The trolly strike's all we've got.

PULITZER: Well, that's all Mr. William Randolph Hearst has too, but look how he covers the strike. Look! Look!

EMPLOYEE: We'll get a new headline writer, sir.

PULITZER: Steal Hearst's man. Offer him double.

SEITZ:  That's how he stole him from us. It's not the headlines, Chief. The circulation wars are cutting into our profits because you spend as much as you make trying to beat Hearst.

PULITZER: Then we need to make more money. You do not penny-pinch when you're in a war, Seitz. Victory means everything. Now, when I created the world... what is that deafening noise?

JONATHAN: Just the newsies, sir. I'll go have them quieted.

PULITZER: Never mind the newsies. Where was I?

SEITZ: Creating the world, Chief.

PULITZER: There's lots of money down there, gentlemen. I want to know how I can get more of it...by tonight.

(We are now in the streets of New York. Jack and David roam through the crowds.)

DAVID: Extra! Extra! Trolly strike drags on!

JACK: Extra! Extra! Ellis Island in flames!

DAVID: Wait, where's that story?

JACK: Thank you sir. Page 9. Thousands flee in panic. Thank you. Much obliged to you ladies.

DAVID 'Trash Fire Next To Immigration Building Terrifies Seagulls'??

JACK: Terrified flight of inferno!! Thousands of lives at stake!  Extra! Extra! Thank you sir. Extra! Extra!

(Les enters)

JACK: Hey, you start in the back like I told you? Ok, show me again.

LES:  (coughs) Buy me last pape, mista?

JACK: It's heartbreaking kid. Go get 'em.

DAVID: My father taught us not to lie.

JACK: Well, mine told me not to starve, so we both got an education.

DAVID: You're just making up things. All these headlines.

JACK: I don't do nothing the guys who write it don't do. Anyway, it's not lying, it's just improving the truth little.

(Warden Snyder enters and see Jack. Les re-enters)

LES: The guy gave me a quarter. Quick, give me some more last papers.

DAVID: Wait, wait. You smell like beer.

LES: Well, that's how I made the quarter. The guy bet me I wouldn't drink some.

JACK: Hey, no drinking on the job. It's bad for business. And what if somebody called the cop on you?

DAVID:  (pointing to Snyder) Is he a friend of your's?

JACK: Beat it! It's the bulls!

LES: All this over one sip of beer?

(Snyder chases Jack, David and Les through the streets, and into a building. They run up the stairs and get to the roof. Without stopping for a second, Jack jumps off the roof, leaving David and Les alone. Jack's head pops up and David and Les join him on a ledge just as Snyder enters.)

SNYDER: Sullivan! Wait til I get you back to the Refuge!

(Jack leads David and Les a little more, when David pulls him to a halt outside Irving Hall)

DAVID: I'm not running any further.

(Jack leads the two brothers inside.)

DAVID: I want some answers.

JACK: Shhh!

DAVID: Who was he and why was he chasing you? And what is this Refuge?

JACK: The Refuge is a jail for kids. That guy chasing me was Snyder, the warden.

LES: You were in jail?

JACK: Yeah.

LES: Why?

JACK: Well, I was starving, so I stole some food.

DAVID: Food?

JACK: Yeah, food.

DAVID: He called you Sullivan.

JACK: Well, my name's Kelly. Jack Kelly. You think I'm lying?

DAVID: Well, you have a way of improving the truth. Why was he chasing you?

JACK: 'Cause I escaped.

LES: Oh boy! How?

JACK: Well, this big shot gave me a ride out in his carriage.

DAVID: I bet it was the mayor.

JACK: No, Teddy Roosevelt. You ever heard of him?

MEDDA: What's going on there? Out! Out! Out!

JACK: You wouldn't kick me out without a kiss goodbye, wouldja Medda?

MEDDA: Oh Kelly. Where ya been, kid? Oh, I miss seeing you up in the balcony.

JACK: Hanging on your every word. So Medda.

MEDDA: Yes.

JACK: This is David and Les.

MEDDA: Hello.

JACK: And this is the greatest star of the vaudeville stage today, Miss Medda Larkson, the Swedish Meadowlark.

MEDDA: Welcome, gentlemen.

JACK: Medda also owns the joint.

MEDDA: Oh, what do we have here? Oh, aren't you the cutest little thing that ever was? Yes you are.

LES:  (cough) Buy me last pape, lady?

MEDDA: Oh, you are good. Oh yes, this kid is really good. Speaking as one professional to another, I'd say you have a great future.

JACK: So, is it alright if we stay here for a little while, Medda? Just until a little problem outside goes away.

MEDDA: Sure,stay as long as you like. Toby, just give my guests whatever they want.

ANNOUNCER: And now gents, the moment you've all been waiting for. The sensational songbird. The Swedish Meadowlark, Miss Medda Larkson.

(Medda goes on stage. Jack, David and Les watch from backstage.)

MEDDA: My lovey dovey baby I boo-hoo-hoo for you I used to be your tootsie-wootsie Then you said 'tooldle-dedoo' I miss the hanky-panky Each nighty-night til three Come back my lovey dovey baby And coochie-coo with me!

(After the show, the boys go outside)

JACK: So, you like that?

DAVID: Oh,I loved that. I loved it. It was great. She is beautiful. How do you know her?

JACK: She was a friend of me fadder's. Come on, Les, you wanna shine me shoes for me?

DAVID: Oh, it's getting late. My parents are going to be worried. What about your's?

JACK: Nah, they're out west looking for a place to live, like this. (Pulls out a Santa Fe brochure) See, that's Santa Fe, New Mexico. As soon as they find the right ranch, they're gonna send for me.

LES: Then you'll be a real cowboy.

JACK: Yup.

(Fire and loud crashes are heard. The boys run and see a riot breaking out. A group of men are beating up another man.)

DAVID: Jack! Why don't we go to my place and divi up. You can meet my folks.

JACK: It's the trolly strike, Dave. These couple of dumb-asses must not have joined or something.

DAVID: Jack, let's get out of here.

JACK: So, maybe we'll get a good headline tomorrow, Dave.  Look at this, he slept the whole way threw it.

(Jack picks up Les from the bench where he fell asleep. They enter David's house.)

ESTER: My God. What happened?

DAVID: Nothing, mama. He's just sleeping.

MAYER: We've been waiting dinner for you. Where have you been? (David puts a pile of coins on the table.)

MAYER: You made all this selling newspapers?

DAVID: Well, half of it's Jack's. This is our selling partner, and our friend. Jack Kelly, my parents. And that's my sister, Sarah.

MAYER: Ester, maybe David's partner would like to join us for dinner. Why don't you add a little more water to the soup?

(He kisses her. She shoves him away playfully)

ESTER: Mayer!

(After dinner, they talk as Sarah clears the table.)

JACK: So, from wat I saw today, you're boys are a couple of born newsies. Can I have some more?

SARAH: Yes.

JACK: So with their hard work and my experience,I figure we can peddle a thousand papes a week and not even break a sweat.

MAYER: That many?

JACK: More when the headline's good.

SARAH: So what makes the headline good?

JACK: Oh, you know. Catchy words like maniac, or corpse, umm..lovenest, or nude. Excuse me. Maybe I'm talkin' too much.

MAYER:  Sarah? Go get the cake your mother's hiding in the cabinet.

ESTER: That's for your birthday tomorrow!

MAYOR: Well, I've had enough birthdays. This is a celebration.

DAVID: I'll get the knife.

SARAH: I got the plates.

DAVID: This is only the beginning, papa. The longer I work, the more money I'll make.

MAYER: You'll only work until I go back to the factory, and then you are going back to school, like you promised.

SARAH:  Happy birthday, papa.

MAYER: This is going to heal, and they'll give me my job back. We'll make them

(Les stirs, but doesn't wake up in bed.)

LES: Come back my lovey dovey baby And coochie-coo with me!

(David and Jack start laughing)

ESTER: And what is this David?

(The boys try to stop laughing, but can't. Scene:  LATER THAT NIGHT, on David's fire escape)

JACK: So, how'd your pop get hurt?

DAVID: At the factory. It was an accident. He's no good to them anymore, so they just fired him.

(Mayer appears at the window.)

MAYER: David, it's time to come in now.

DAVID: Alright. Jack, why don't you stay here tonight?

JACK: Ah, no, thanks. I got a place of my own. But you're family's real nice, like mine.

DAVID: See you tomorrow.

JACK: Alright.

DAVID: Carrying the banner.

JACK: Carrying the banner.

(David goes inside, leaving Jack alone on the fire escape. He looks in the window and see the family together.)

JACK: So that's what they call a family Mudder, fadder, daughter, son Guess everything you heard about it's true. So you ain't got any family Well, who said you needed one? Ain'tcha glad nobody's waiting up for you? When I dream on my own I'm alone, but I ain't lonely For a dreamer, night's the only time of day When the city's finally sleeping When my thoughts begin to stray And I'm on the train that bound for Santa Fe And I'm free Like the wind Like I'm gonna live forever. It's a feeling time can never take away All I need's a few more dollars And I'm outta here to stay Dreams come true Yes they do In Santa Fe Where does it say you've gotta live and die here? Where does it say a guy can't catch a break? Why should you only take what you're given? Why should you spend your whole life livin' Trapped where there ain't no future Even at seventeen Breaking your back for someone else's sake If the life don't seem to suit ya How bout a change of scene? Far from the lously headlines And the deadlines in between Santa Fe Are you there? Do you swear you won't forget me? If I found you would you let me come and stay? I ain't getting any younger And before my dying day I want space Not just air Let 'em laugh in my face, I don't care Save a place I'll be there So that's what they call a family? Ain'tcha glad you ain't that way? Ain'tcha glad you got a dream called Santa Fe?

(Jack ends up outside the Lodging House. As he enters, he meets up with Racetrack)

JACK: Heya Race.

RACETRACK: Hey Jack.

JACK: How was your day at the track?

RACETRACK: Remember that hot tip I told you about? Nobody told the horse.

(Pulitzer, Seitz and Jonathan are sitting it Pulitzer's office.)

PULITZER: I know we need to make more money. That's why we're here, to find out how to make more money.

JONATHAN: I have several proposals. First, to increase the paper's price.

PULITZER: Then Hearst outsells me and I'm in the poorhouse. Brilliant, Jonathan, brilliant.

JONATHAN: Not the customer's price. The price to the distribution apparatus.

SEITZ: Charge the newsies more for their papers? Bad idea, Chief.

JONATHAN: Very well. My next proposal, salary cuts. Particularly those at the top.

SEITZ:  Very bad idea, Chief.

PULITZER: Wait. What do the newsies pay now? 50 cents for 100 papers? If you raise it to 60 cents..

JONATHAN: A mere tenth of a cent per paper.

PULITZER: Multiply by 40, 000 papers a day?  7 days a week?.

JONATHAN: It definitely adds up, sir.

SEITZ:  If you do this, every newsie we've got will head straight for Hearst.

PULITZER: You don't know Hearst like I do, Seitz. As newspapermen, he and I would cut each other's throats to get an advantage. But as gentlemen, as businessmen, if also see eye to eye on certain things. Now, if we do it, Hearst and I, if we do it, then the other papers will do it.

SEITZ: It's going to be awfully tough on those children.

PULITZER: Nonsense, nonsense. It'll be good for them. Incentive, make them work harder, sell more papers. They'll look on it as an advantage.

(Outside the World building, the newsies have gathered. Jack joins them)

KID BLINK: They jacked up the price! You hear that Jack? Ten cents a hundred! You know, it's bad enough that we gotta eat what we don't sell, now they jack up the price! Can you believe that?

SKITTERY: This'll bust me, I'm barely making a living right now.

BOOT: I'll be back sleeping on the streets.

MUSH: It don't make no sense. I mean, all the money Pulitzer's making, why would he gouge us?

RACETRACK: Because he's a tight wad, that's why!

JACK: Pipe down, it's just a gag. So, why the jack up Weasel?

WEASEL: Why not? It's a nice day. Why don'tcha ask Mr. Pulitzer?

KID BLINK: They can't to this to me Jack.

RACETRACK: They can do whatever they want. It's their stinkin' paper.

BOOTS: It ain't fair. We got no rights at all.

RACETRACK: Come on, it's a rigged deck. They got all the marbles.

MUSH: Jack, we got no choice, so why don't we get our lousy papes while they still got some, huh?

JACK: No! Nobody's going anywhere. They can't get away with this!

LES: Give him some room, give him some room. Let him think.

RACETRACK: Jack, you done thinkin' yet?

WEASEL: Hey! Hey! Hey! World employees only on this side of the gate!

JACK: Well, listen. One thing for sure, if we don't sell papes, then nobody sells papes. Nobody comes through those gates until they put the price back to where it was.

DAVID: You mean like a strike?

JACK: Yeah, like a strike!

RACETRACK: Are you out of your mind?

JACK: It's a good idea!

DAVID: Jack, I was only joking. We can't go on strike, we don't have a union.

JACK: But, if we go on strike, then we are a union, right?

DAVID: No, we're just a bunch of angry kids with no money. Maybe if we got every newsie in New York, but...

JACK: Yeah, well we organize. Crutchy, you take up for collection. We get all the newsies of New York together.

DAVID: Jack, this isn't a joke. You saw what happened to those trolley workers.

JACK: Yeah, well that's another good idea. Any newsie don't join with us, then we bust their heads like the trolley workers.

DAVID: Stop and think about this Jack. You can't just rush everybody into this

JACK: Alright. Let me think about it. Listen. Dave's right. Pulitzer and Hearst and all them other rich fellas, I mean, they own this city, so do they really think a bunch of street kids like us can make any difference? The choice has got to be yours. Are we just gonna take what they give us, or are we gonna strike?

LES: Strike!

BOOTS: Keep talking Jack, tell us what to do!

JACK: Well, you tell us what to do Davey.

DAVID: Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect our rights.

JACK: Hey listen! Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect the rights of the working boys of New York! Well, that worked pretty good, so what else?

DAVID: Tell them that they can't treat us like we don't exist.

(Begin Song)

JACK: Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we're nothing. Are we nothing?

NEWSIES: No!

DAVID: If we stick together like the trolley workers then they can't break us up.

JACK: Pulitzer and Hearst, they think they got us. Do they got us?

NEWSIES: No!

DAVID: We're a union now, the Newsboys Union. We have to start acting like a union.

JACK: Even though we ain’t got hats or badges We’re a union just by saying so And the World will know!

BOOTS: What’s to start somebody else from selling our papes?

JACK: Well, what’s wrong with them?

RACETRACK: Some of them don’t hear so good!

JACK: Well then we’ll soak ‘em!

DAVID: No! We can’t beat up kids in the streets. It’ll give us a bad name.

CRUTCHY: Can’t get any worse.

JACK: What’s it gonna take to stop the wagons? Are we ready?

NEWSIES: Yeah!

DAVID: No!

JACK: What’s it gonna take to stop the scabber? Can we do it?

NEWSIES: Yeah!

JACK: We’ll do what we gotta do until we Break the will of mighty Bill and Joe!

NEWSIES: And the World will know And the Journal too! Mr. Hearst and Pulitzer Have we got news for you! Now the World will hear What we’ve got to say We’ve been hawking headlines But we’re making ‘em today. And our ranks will grow!

CRUTCHY: And we’ll kick their rear!

NEWSIES: And the World will know that we been here!

JACK: When the circulation bell starts ringing Will we hear it?

NEWSIES: No!

JACK: What if the Delancey’s come out swinging’ Will we hear it?

NEWSIES: No! When you’ve got a hundred voices singing Who can hear a lousy whistle blow? And the World will know That this ain’t no game That we got a ton of rotten fruit and perfect aim So they gave their word But it ain’t worth beans! Now they’re gonna see what ‘stop the presses’ really mean And the day has come And the time is now And the fear is gone

BOOTS: And their name is mud!

NEWSIES:  And the strike is on

BOOTS: And I can't stand blood!

NEWSIES: And the World will..

JACK: Pulitzer may crack the whip but he won’t whip us!

NEWSIES: Pulitzer may crack the whip but he won’t whip us! And the World will know And the World will learn And the World will wonder how We made the tables turn And the World will see That we had to choose That the things we do today Will be tomorrow’s news And the old will fall And the young stand tall And the time is now And the winds will blow And our ranks will grow And grow and grow and so The World will feel the fire And finally know!

NEWSIES: Strike! Strike! Strike! (etc.)

JACK: We gotta get word out to all the newsies of New York. I need some of those….what’dja call ‘em?

DAVID: Ambassadors?

JACK: Yeah, right. Okay, you guys, you gotta be ambastards and go tell the other that we’re on strike.

KID BLINK: Say, Jack, I’ll take Harlem

RACETRACK: Yeah, I got Midtown.

MUSH: I got the Battery, Jack.

CRUTCHY: Hey, I’ll take the Bronx.

JACK: Alright. And Bumlets, and Specs and Skittery, you take Queens.  Pie Eater! Snoddy! East Side! Snipeshooter, you go with ‘em. So, what about Brooklyn? Come on, Spot Conlon’s territory. What’sa matta? You scared of Brooklyn?

BOOTS: Hey, we ain’t scared of Brooklyn. Spot Conlon makes us a little nervous.

JACK: Well, he don’t make me nervous. So you and me, Boots, we’ll go to Brooklyn. And Dave here can keep us company.

DAVID: Sure, just as soon as you delivery our demands to Pulitzer.

JACK: Me? To Pulitzer?

DAVID: You’re the leader, Jack.

JACK: Well, maybe the kid’ll soften him up.

(Jack and Les enter the World Building. The newsies cheer)

NEWSIES: Strike! Strike! Strike! (etc.)

(The newsies go off in different directions. Denton enters and approaches David.)

DENTON: Hey, what is the strike? What’s going on?

DAVID: We’re bringing out demands to Pulitzer.

DENTON: What demands?

DAVID: The newsies demands. We’re on strike.

DENTON: I’m with the New York Sun. Bryan Denton. You seem like the kid in charge. What’s your name?

DAVID: David

DENTON: David. David as in David and Goliath? You really think old man Pulitzer’s going to listen to your demands?

DAVID: He has to. (Jack and Let thrown out the door.)

JACK: Well, so’s your old lady! You tell Pulitzer he needs an appointment with me!

LES: Yeah!

(Jack, David, Les and Denton are sitting in a booth in Tibby’s Restaurant.)

JACK: So this snooty mug says to me, ‘You can’t see Mr. Pulitzer. No one sees Mr. Pulitzer.’ Real hoity-toity, you know the type?

LES: Real hoity-toity.

JACK: So that’s when I says to him, ‘Listen, I ain’t in the habit of transacting no business with office boys. Just tell him Jack Kelly’s here to see him now!’

LES: That’s when he threw us out.

DENTON: Does he scare you? You’re going up against the most powerful man in New York City.

JACK: Oh yeah, look at me. I’m trembling.

DENTON: Alright, keep me informed. I want to know everything that’s going on.

DAVID: Are we really an important story?

DENTON: Well, what’s important? Last year I covered the war in Cuba. Charged up San Juan Hill with Col. Teddy Roosevelt. That was an important story. So, is the newsie’s strike important? That all depends on you.

JACK: So my name’s really gonna be in the papers?

DENTON: Any objections?

JACK: Not as long as you get it right. It’s Kelly, Jack Kelly. Oh, and Denton? No pictures.

DENTON: Sure Jack. (Jack, David and Boots start across the Brooklyn Bridge.)

DAVID: I’ve never been to Brooklyn, have you?

BOOTS: I spent a month there on night.

(Jack and Boots lean over the side and scream at the top of their lungs.)

DAVID: So, is this Spot Conlon really dangerous?

(The boys get to Brooklyn. There are a lot of tough looking boys.)

BROOKLYN NEWSIE: Going somewhere, Kelly?

(Jack pushes past him. David and Boots follow.)

SPOT: Well, if it ain’t Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.

JACK: I see you moved up in the world, Spot. Got a river view and everything.

(The two boys spit-shake.)

SPOT: Heya Boots. How’s it rollin’?

BOOTS: I got a couple of real good shooters.

(Spot takes the marbles and takes out his sling shot.)

SPOT: Yeah. So, Jacky-boy. I’ve been hearing things from little birds. Things from Harlem, Queens, all over. They been chirpin’ in my ear.  Jacky-boy’s newsies is playing like they’re going on strike.

JACK: Yeah, well we are.

DAVID: We’re not playing. We are going on strike.

SPOT: Oh yeah? Yeah? What is this, Jacky-boy? Some kind of walking mouth?

JACK: Yeah, it’s a mouth. A mouth with a brain, and if you got half a one, you’ll listen to what he’s got to say.

DAVID: Well, we started the strike, but we can’t do it alone. So, we’re talking to newsies all around the city.

SPOT: Yeah, so they told me. But what’d they tell you?

DAVID: They’re waiting to see what Spot Conlon is doing, you’re the key. That Spot Conlon is the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York, and probably everywhere else. And if Spot Conlon joins the strike, then they join and we’ll be unstoppable. So you gotta join, I mean... well, you gotta!

SPOT: You’re right Jacky-boy, brains. But I got brains too, and more than just half a one. How do I know you punks won’t run the first time some goon comes at ya with a club? How do I know you got what it takes to win?

JACK: Because I’m telling you, Spot.

SPOT: That ain’t good enough Jacky-boy. You gotta show me.

(The boys go back to Newsies Square, where the rest of the newsies wait.)

RACETRACK: Jack. So, where’s Spot?

JACK: He was concerned about us being serious. You imagine that?

RACETRACK: Well, Jack, maybe we ought to ease off a little. Without Spot and the others, there ain’t enough of us, Jack.

MUSH: Maybe we’re moving too soon. Maybe we ain’t ready, you know?

SKITTERY: I definitely think we should forget about it for a little while.

JACK: Oh, do ya?

SKITTERY: Yeah.

RACETRACK: Yeah, I mean, without Brooklyn… you know?

JACK: Spot was right, is this just a game to you guys?

(Begin Song)

DAVID: Open the gates and seize the day Don’t be afraid and don’t delay Nothing can break us No one can make us Give our rights away Arise and seize the day!

DAVID AND NEWSIES: Now is the time to seize the day Send out the call and join the fray

DAVID: Wrongs will be righted if we’re united

DAVID AND NEWSIES: Let us seize the day! Friends of the friendless seize the day Raise up the torch and light the way Proud and defiant We’ll slay the giant Let us seize the day

Neighbor to neighbor Father to son One for all and all for one! Open the gates and seize the day Don’t be afraid and don’t delay Nothing can break us No one can make us Give our rights away Neighbor to neighbor Father to son! One for all and all for one!

(The circulation bell begins to ring)

JACK Anybody hear that?

NEWSIES No!

JACK: So what are we gonna do about it?

NEWSIES: Soak ‘em!

(The newsies and the scabbers have a stand off. 3 scabs join with the newsies, but then a bug scab comes up against Jack. He tries to get by, but can’t. The newsies start soaking the scabs, who eventually run away. They tear up the newspapers. Jack starts making faces and blowing raspberries at Weasel, Oscar and Morris through the distribution window.)

MORRIS: I’m gonna crack your dome!

(The tearing of newspapers continue. A delivery cart is pushed onto it’s side. Weasel calls for the cops, who enter blowing whistles.)

JACK: Cheese it! Cheese it, it’s the bulls!

(All the newsies run, except Crutchy, who doesn’t notice)

RACETRACK: Crutchy! Scram! Scram!

(Crutchy starts to leave, but is blocked in by cops. He turns to find the Delancey brothers behind him. They knock his crutch aside and drag him away. Denton has been watching all of this. THAT NIGHT- Jack and David walk to the Refuge. Jack has a rope in his hands)

JACK: So here it is. The Refuge. My home, sweet home.

DAVID: How can you be sure they sent him here?

JACK: How can I be sure the Delancey’s stink? It’s just how things work, you know? An orphan gets arrested, Snyder makes sure he gets sent straight here, so he can rehabilitate him. The more kids in the Refuge, the more money the city sends to take care of them, the more Snyder sticks it in his pocket. He’s here.

DAVID: So how come you brought the rope?

(A carriage exits the Refuge. Jack and David hind in the shadows. As the guard talks with the nuns, the two boys sneak by. On the roof, David lowers Jack, who has the rope tied around his waist. Jack gets level with the window.)

JACK: Steady. Steady, Dave. That’s good.

(Jack knocks on the window. A boy around Les’s age opens it.)

TEN PIN: Hey. Cowboy. You miss the joint?

JACK: What do ya say, Ten Pin. You got a new guy in here. Crutchy.

TEN PIN: The gimp? I’ll get him for ya.

JACK: Hey Crutchy.

(With the help of a boy, Crutchy limps to the window.)

CRUTCHY: I don’t believe it. What are you hanging around here for?

JACK: What do you mean what am I hangin’ around here for? You know who’s on the roof?

CRUTCHY: Who?

JACK: Dave.

CRUTCHY: Is that Dave? Heya Dave! How ya doin’?

DAVID:: Shhh.

JACK: Listen, Crutchy, go get your stuff. We’re gonna get you outta here.

CRUTCHY: Well, actually, I ain’t walking so good. Oscar and Morris kindda worked me over a little bit, you know?

JACK: They hurt you? Don’t worry about it. Me and Dave, we can carry you outta here.

CRUTCHY: I don’t want nobody carrying me, you hear? Hey, Dave! You know, they still talk about how Jack rode outta here on that coach.

DAVID: Oh, yeah. Teddy Roosevelt’s, right?

CRUTCHY: You already heard the story.

DAVID: You mean it’s true?

CRUTCHY: Of course. Hey! Cheese it!

(Snyder enters and inspects the room. Jack swings to the side, out of site. As Snyder is about to look out the window, Crutchy grabs his arm.)

CRUTCHY: Mr. Warden Snyder, sir. You know, I was thinking. I’d just like you to know that when you were taking a nap this afternoon…

(Crutchy leads Snyder away from the window and Jack leaves. THE NEXT MORNING- Pulitzer, Weasel and Seitz are inside Pulitzer’s office.)

SEITZ: I don’t think they’re just going to go away, Chief.

WEASEL: Mr. Pulitzer, sir, just give me the means and I’ll take care of them for ya.

PULITZER: I’ll give you whatever means you require. I want this nonsense down with once and for all.

SEITZ: Chief…

PULITZER: Shut you mouth, Seitz

(Weasel and Seitz leave. Snyder looks out the window to the square where the newsies have gathered.)

NEWSIES: Open the gates and seize the day Don’t be afraid and don’t delay Nothing can break us No one can make us Give our rights away Arise and seize the day

(The boys dance in the square and block the entrance to the World building. A delivery cart rushes through. The newsies and scabs have another stand off.)

DAVID: Alright. Everyone remain calm.

JACK: Let’s soak ‘em for Crutchy!

(The newsies charge towards the scabs, who retreat. A large door opens and big men with clubs and chains come out)

RACETRACK: Jack! Jack!, the Crib!

(the men form a circle around Jack so none of the newsies can help him. The gates shut and Denton can’t get in to help.)

OSCAR: Heya Jacky-boy (Jack faces a man with a chain. Outside, Denton tried to get in.)

DENTON: Aren’t you going to stop them, sir?

POLICEMAN: Move along, mister.

(Just as all hope seems lost for Jack, a bunch of newsies appear on the rooftops, including Spot.)

SPOT: Never fear, Brooklyn is here.

MUSH: It’s Brooklyn!

(The newsies start to soak the Crib, the Brooklyn boys using their sling shots. Racetrack throws his hands in the air and sit on a ledge….)

RACETRACK: Hey, I give up. Alright, alright. I give up.

(…then kicks the guy *you know where*)

JACK: Hey, Spot!

(Shots of Newsies punching the scabs. First Racetrack, then Jack, Kid Blink and another. Skittery get hits and falls back. Newsies catch him)

DAVID: Are you alright?

(Before he can answer, the newsies push him back up and he punches the man back. Spot opens the gates and the Brooklyn gang join. They force the Crib back. The newsies cheer and tear some more papers. Denton enters with him camera.)

DENTON: Jack! Boys! Freeze! Freeze!

JACK: Alright guys

(Denton takes the picture. Jack is the only one ready for it. The others all have weird expressions on their faces. The picture turns black and white and appears on the cover of the New York Sun under the headline ‘The Children’s Crusade; Newsies Stop the World’. NEXT DAY- The newsies are in Tibby’s. Denton enters with the paper.)

DENTON: Hey fellas. Hey, hey! Big time.

BOOTS: What you got there Jack?

SPOT: Where’s me picture? Where’s me picture?

BOOTS: What’s that? That all about us?

MUSH: Look at that Jack. You look like a gentlemen

JACK: Will you get your fingers off me face?

SPOT: Where does it say my name? Where’s my name?

JACK: Will you quit thinking about yourself?

DAVID: You got us on the front page!

DENTON: You got yourselves on the front page. I just got to make sure you stay there.

SKITTERY: So what. You get your picture in the papes, so what’s that get you, huh?

MUSH: What are you talkin’ about?

JACK: Shut up, boy. You been in a bad mood all day!

SKITTERY: I’m not in a bad mood!

RACETRACK: Glum and dumb. What’s the matta with you?  You get your picture in the papes, your famous. Your famous, you get anything you want. That’s what so great about New York!

(Begin Song)

MUSH: A pair of new shoes with matching laces

RACETRACK: A permanent box at Sheepshed Races.

SPOT: A porcelain tub with boiling water

KID BLINK: A Saturday night with the mayor’s daughter!

RACETRACK: Look at me I’m the King of New York! Suddenly I’m respectable Staring right atcha Lousy with stature

JACK: Nubbin’ with all the muckety-mucks I’m blowin’ my dough and goin’ deluxe!

RACETRACK: And there I’ll be Ain’t I pretty?

RACETRACK & JACK: It’s my city I’m the king of New York!

BOOTS: A corduroy suit with fitted knickers

LES: A mezzanine seat to see the flickers

SNIPESHOOTER: Havana cigars that cost a quarter

DAVID: An editor’s desk for our star reporter!

NEWSIES: Tip your hat He’s the King of New York!

DENTON: How ‘bout that? I’m the King of New York!

NEWSIES: In nothing flat He’ll be covering Brooklyn to Trenton Our man Denton

KID BLINK: Making a headline out of a hunch

DENTON: Protecting the weak

RACETRACK: And paying for lunch

DENTON: When I’m at bat Strong men crumble

RACETRACK: Proud yet humble

DENTON & RACETRACK: I’m/He’s the King of New York

NEWSIES: I gotta be either dead or dreaming ’Cuz look at that pape with my face beaming Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it But I was a star for one whole minute! Starting now I’m the King of New York!

DENTON: Ain’t you hear? I’m the King of New York!

NEWSIES: Holy cow! It’s a miracle Pulitzer’s crying Weasel? He’s dying! Flashpots are shooting bright as the sun I’m one hifalutin’ sonuva gun! Don’t ask me how Fortune found me Fate just crowned me Now I’m King of New York! Look and see Once a piker Now a striker I’m the Kin of New York! Victory! Front page story Guts and glory I’m the King of New York!

(The newsies cheer and gather around a table)

JACK: So, let’s have some ideas.

DAVID: Well, we gotta show people where we stand

JACK: Yeah, so we gotta stay in the papes.

DENTON: My paper’s the only one printing any strike news so far

JACK: So, we should do something that’s so big the other papers’ll feel stupid if they try to ignore us. Like a rally. A newsie rally with all the kids from all over New York. It’ll be the biggest, loudest, noisiest blow-out this town’s ever seen!

DAVID: We’ll send a message to the big boys

RACETRACK: Geesh, I’ll give ‘em a message.

(A waiter brings a tray of cokes. Each newsie grabs a glass.)

JACK: There’s a lot of us, and we ain’t going away. We’ll fight until damn Doomsday if it means we get a fair shake.

DAVID: Hey, guys. To out man Denton.

NEWSIES: Our man Denton!

(The newsies lift their glasses in a toast. IN THE REFUGE- Crutchy knocks on Snyder’s door and enters.)

CRUTCHY: Heya Mr. Snyder. How was your supper?

(As he begins to put the plates on a tray, Crutchy notices Snyder looking at the paper, particularly at Jack’s picture.)

CRUTCHY: Hey! That’s Jack. He looks just like himself.

SNYDER: You know this boy?

CRUTCHY: No.

SNYDER: You have a very famous friend, this Jack. Do you know where he lives?

CRUTCHY: I never heard of him, honest! It’s this brain of mine, it’s always making mistakes. It’s got a mind of it’s own. Can I get you anything else, Mr. Snyder? Good bye Mr. Snyder.

(Crutchy leaves, realizing his mistake. THAT NIGHT- The newsies are making signs for the rally. Dutchy’s sign says ‘STRIKE’)

DUTCHY: So, did I spell it right, Kloppman?

KLOPPMAN: Very good, very good.

(Snyder enters and starts going through Kloppman’s book)

KLOPPMAN: Excuse me. Can I help you?

SNYDER: You have a boy who calls himself Jack Kelly? I wish to see him

KLOPPMAN: Jack Kelly? Never heard of him. Never heard of him. Any of you boys ever hear of a Jack Kelly?

SPECS: That’s an unusual name for these parts.

(Jack enters, but Swifty stops him and points Snyder out to him)

RACETRACK: Oh, you mean Jack Kelly. Yeah, he was here, but he put an egg in his shoe and beat it.

SNYDER: I have reason to believe he’s an escaped prisoner, possibly dangerous.

KLOPPMAN: Oh, dangerous? I better look in my files. This way please.

(Kloppman distracts Snyder and Jack exits. The boys hold up signs to hide him)

RACETRACK: Give to the Newsies Strike fund, Mister?

(Snyder hands Racetrack a coin. THE NEXT MORNING- Sarah wakes up and looks out the window. She sees Jack on the fire escape)

SARAH: Did you sleep out there all night?

JACK: Yeah

SARAH: Why didn’t you wake us up?

JACK: Well, I didn’t want to disturb nobody. Besides, it’s like the Waldorph out here. Great view. Cool air

SARAH: Go up on the roof.

(Jack leaves so Sarah can get dressed. While he waits, he boxes with some stockings and steals a tomato off a plant. Sarah enters with a basket.)

SARAH: Are you hungry?

JACK: Yeah

SARAH: Good. I made you breakfast

(She lays down a clothe and gets the food and milk.)

SARAH: Papa’s so proud of you and David. You should hear him talking about Jack Kelly, strike leader, who occasionally takes his meal with us.

JACK: Well, this is one strike leader who’s gonna be very happy when it’s all over and I can get outta here and go to Santa Fe. I mean, there’s nothing for me to stay for, is there? You know, you should se Santa Fe, everything’s different there. It’s all bigger. The desert, the sky, the sun

SARAH: It’s the same sun as here

JACK: Yeah, it just looks different

SARAH: I should get ready for work

JACK: Sarah? I’m just not used to having whether I stay or whether I go matta to anybody. I’m not saying it should matta to you. I’m just saying, well, does it? Matta?

(Pulitzer is in his office with the Mayor, the Police Chief, Snyder and Seitz. He is looking at the paper and has Jack’s face circled.)

MAYOR: Of course, the city is very concerned that this event doesn’t get out of hand. But…Chief?

CHIEF: We can’t just charge in there and break it up, Mr. Pulitzer. We’ve got no legal cause.

MAYOR: Legal cause.

PULITZER: Would the fact that this rally is organized by an escaped criminal be cause enough, mayor?

MAYOR: Escaped criminal?

PULITZER: A fugitive from one of your prisons, mayor. A convicted thief. Been living at large for some time under the allis of Jack Kelly. What’s his real name?

SNYDER: Sullivan. Francis Sullivan. Your honor. I would have caught him before now, but..

PULITZER: You know Warder Snyder, don’t you mayor? I believe you know him because you appointed him.

MAYOR: Yes. Well, if this boy’s a fugitive then the chief can quietly arrest him.

PULITZER: No, no, no, no! Not quietly! Not quietly! I want an example made. I want this rabble he’s roused to see what happens to those who would dare to lead. They should see justice and action.

MAYOR: Arrest him at the rally?

PULITZER: By the way, mayor, a few friends for cards tonight. Newspaper friends. Billy Hearst, Gordon Bennett. Perhaps you’ll join us.  Talk about the coming election.

MAYOR: I’d be honored.

(Newsies are gathering outside Irving Hall. Inside, Jack, David and Spot are on stage. Jack quiets everyone)

JACK: Carryin’ the banner!

(The newsies stand up and cheer.

MEANWHILE- In Pulitzer’s study, men are sitting at a table, playing cards. Pulitzer leads the mayor around the table)

PULITZER: You know Gordon, mayor. Mr. Bennett of the Tribune. Mr. Taylor of the Times. Of course, you know Mr. Hearst. This is a new member of our little group, Mr. Gammon. He just came back from Europe. Mr. Gammon owns the New York Sun.

(Back in the theater, Jack is giving a speech.)

JACK: So, we’ve come a long way, but we ain’t there yet and maybe it’s only gonna get tougher from now on. But that’s fine, we’ll just get tougher with it. But also, we gotta get smart and start listening to my pal David, who says ‘stop soakin’ the scabs’.

RACETRACK: What are we supposed to do to the bums? Kiss ‘em?

SPOT: Any scab I see I soak ‘em. Period.

DAVID: No, no. That’s what they want us to do. If we get violent, it’s just playing into their hands.

SPOT: Hey, look. They’re gonna be playing with my hands, alright. 'Cuz it ain’t what they say, it’s what we say. And nobody ain’t gonna listen to us unless we make ‘em.

(Newsies in the crowd take different sides and start to argue.)

JACK: You got no brains. Why we starting to fight each other? It’s just what the big shot’s wanna see. That we’re street rats! Street rats with no brain’s. No respect for nothing, including ourselves! So, here’s how it’s gonna be. If we don’t act together, then we’re nothing. If we don’t stick together, then we’re nothing. And if we can’t even trust each other, then we’re nothing.

KID BLINK: Tell ‘em Jack!

JACK: So, what’s it gonna be?

RACETRACK: We’re with you Jack.

JACK: So, what about you, Spot?

SPOT: I say that what you say is what I say.

(The spit-shake. All the newsies cheer. The curtains open and Medda enters. The cheering gets louder.)

MEDDA & NEWSIES: High times, hard times Sometimes the living is sweet And sometimes there’s nothing to eat But I always land on my feet So when there’s dry times I wait for high times and then I put on my best And I stick out my chest And I’m off to the race’s again!

MEDDA: Hello, newsies. What’s new?

(Outside, the Crib and police are gathering. Snyder enters)

MEDDA: So your old lady don’t love you no more So you’re afraid there’s a wolf at your door So you’ve got street rats that scream in your ear

MEDDA & NEWSIES: You win some, you lose some my dear, Oh… High times, hard times Sometimes the living is sweet And sometimes there’s nothing to eat But I always land on my feet So when there’s dry times I wait for high times and then I put on my best And I stick out my chest And I’m off to the races again

MEDDA: I put on my best!

NEWSIES: I put on my best!

MEDDA: And I stick out my chest

NEWSIES: And I sticks out my chest

MEDDA: And I’m off

NEWSIES: And I’m off

MEDDA: And I’m off

NEWSIES: And I’m off

MEDDA: And I’m off

ALL: To the races again!

(The police block off the entrance to the theater. Denton sees Snyder and tries to keep him busy)

DENTON: Excuse me. Aren’t you Warden Snyder? Bryan Denton of the Sun. How do you do, sir?

(David sees Snyder and tells Spot)

DENTON: I heard about your wonderful work with the children and I wondered if I might get an interview with you

(David rushes through the crowd to Jack)

DAVID: Jack! Jack! It’s Snyder!

JACK: What?

DAVID: It’s Snyder. Right there!

(Denton tries to distract Snyder one more time. This time with his camera)

DENTON: Let me get that correct. That’s Snyder, as in snide? Smile sir!

(The flash blinds him for a minute, then he blows his whistle.)

JACK: Medda, thanks. I gotta run.

(Cops come in and the newsies scatter. Jack take’s Sarah’s hand and pulls her through the crowd. Racetrack gets Medda to safety and start to leave)

MEDDA: No! Stay with me!

(A huge man kicks Racetrack in the stomach and punches him out. Medda breaks away from her maid and slaps the man)

MEDDA: No! No! For God’s sake! He’s just a child! Can’t you see that? Racetrack!

(Medda is pulled back and Racetrack is dragged away. Jack and David get Sarah and Les to safety. Then turn back to fight. Everywhere they go, they are surrounded by cops or the crib. By Medda’s swing, they meet up with Snyder. David sits on the swing.)

DAVID: Push me!

(Jack shoves David, who hits Snyder in the face.)

DAVID: Get out of here! Go!

(Jack runs as David and some other newsies hold Snyder off. Jack and Kid Blink run outside and find they are surrounded by cops. One of them grabs for Jack, but Kid Blink shoves him away.)

KID BLINK: Beat it!

(Jack runs back inside. Kid Blink gets hit with a club and is dragged away. Jack starts to run up the stairs, but a man meets him at the top and punches him in the chin. Jack falls back and is caught by cops. THE NEXT DAY- the newsies are in court.)

BAILIFF: All rise. All rise. Court is now in session. Judge E.A. Monahan presiding. MONAHAN: Are any of you boys represented by council? No? Good, that will move things along considerably.

SPOT: Hey, yer honor, I object!

MONAHAN: On what grounds?

SPOT: On the grounds of Brooklyn, yer honor.

(The newsies crack up laughing. Monahan bangs on his desk.)

MONAHAN: I fine each of you five dollars, or two weeks confinement in the House of Refuge.

RACETRACK: Whoa. We ain’t got five bucks. We don’t even got five cents. Hey, yer honor, how ‘bout I roll you for it. Double or nothing?

MONAHAN: Alright. Move along, move along.

(Denton, David and Les enter)

DENTON: Your honor, I’ll pay the fines. All of them.

DAVID: Hey, you fellas alright? Where’s Jack?

DENTON: Look, we’ve got to meet at the restaurant. Everybody. We have to talk.

MONAHAN: Pay the clerk. Move it along.

(Jack is lead in, handcuffed)

JACK: Hey fellas!

RACETRACK: Hey, Cowboy! Nice shiner!

JACK: Hey, Denton. I guess we made all the papes this time. So, how’s my picture look?

DENTON: None of the papers covered the rally. Not even the Sun.

BAILIFF: Case of Jack Kelly. Inciting a riot. Assault. Resisting arrest.

SNYDER: Judge Monahan, I’ll speak for this young man.

JACK: You two know each other. Ain’t that nice.

MONAHAN: Just move it along, Warden Snyder.

SNYDER: This boy’s real name is Francis Sullivan. His mother’s deceased. His father’s a convict in the state penitentiary. He’s an escapee from the House of Refuge where his original sentence for three months was extended to six moths for disruptive behavior.

JACK: Like demanding we eat the food you steal from us.

SNYDER: Followed by an additional six months for attempted escape.

JACK: Attempted? Last time it wasn’t an attempted escape. Remember Snyder? Remember me and Teddy Roosevelt? Remember Roosevelt and the carriage?

SNYDER: Therefore, I ask that he be returned to the House of Refuge.

JACK: What? For my own good, right? Move it along? For my own good and for what he kicks back to you!

SNYDER: I ask that the court order his incarceration until the age of twenty-one, in the hope that we may yet guide him to a useful and productive life.

MONAHAN: So ordered.

LES: No!

(Jack is led away. Snyder follows, then turns and smiles at the judge. LATER- The newsies sit in Tibby’s. Denton enters. They greet him)

DAVID: Why didn’t the Sun print the story?

DENTON: Because it never happened

RACETRACK: What do you mean it never happened? You were there!

KID BLINK: You wrote it!

DENTON: It’s not in the papers, it never happened. The owners decreed it not be in the papers, therefore… I came to tell you fellas good bye.

DAVID: What happened? Did you get fired or something?

DENTON: No, I got reassigned back to my old job as the Sun’s ace war correspondent. They want me to leave right away. The owner thinks I should only cover the really important stories. Wish me luck fellas. At least half of what I wish for you. They don’t always fire. I would be black balled from every paper in the country. I’m a newspaper man. I have to have a paper to write for. This is the story I wrote about the rally. I want you to read it at least. This should cover it

(Denton pays the waiter and leaves. David crumples the story up and throws it on a table)

DAVID: We get Jack out of the Refuge tonight. From now on, we trust no one but the newsies.

(The newsies get up and leave. Les uses Denton’s article to wrap his unfinished hot dog in. THAT NIGHT- David, Les, Mush, Kid Blink, Racetrack and Boots sneak into the Refuge’s gates. Kid Blink had a rope.)

DAVID: That’s the window where we saw Crutchy

(They are about to move when they see Snyder leading Jack into a carriage.)

LES: It’s Jack!

MUSH: Where they takin’ him Dave?

DAVID: Only one way to find out. I’ll meet you guys at the square. Racetrack, watch him.

(David hides in the back of the carriage, which goes to Pulitzer’s house. Seitz is waiting outside for them.)

SEITZ: Get him inside

(Snyder takes Jack’s arm and leads him in. David pulls out the pin that attaches the horses to the carriage. INSIDE- Seitz leaves Jack in Pulitzer’s study. Pulitzer enters.)

PULITZER: Sit. Know what I was doing at your age, boy? I was in a war. The Civil War.

JACK: Yeah, I heard of it. So, didja win?

PULITZER: People think war is about right or wrong and not power.

JACK: Yeah, I heard of that too. I don’t just sell your papes, Joe. Sometime I read ‘em.

PULITZER: Power of the press is the greatest power of them all. I tell this city how to think. I tell this city how to vote. I shape it’s future.

JACK: Yeah? Well, right now I’m only thinking about one future, and that’s mine.

PULITZER: So am I boy. I have the power to see you stay locked in the Refuge

JACK: And I have the power to break out again.

PULITZER: Or, I can see you released tomorrow, free and clear, with more money in your pockets than you can earn in three lifetimes.

JACK: Are you bribin’ me, Joe?

PULITZER: No

JACK: Well, it’s been real nice chattin’ with ya, Joe. But I got to be goin’ now.

PULITZER: You listen to me, boy. You just shut your mouth and listen to me! You shut up and listen to me for once! No game I’m playing.  You work for me til the strike’s over, and it will end, boy, make no mistake, with or without you. Then you go where ever you want to buy a ticket for. Away from the Refuge, these foul streets. Free. With money to spend and nobody chasing you.

JACK: We must have you scared pretty bad, old man

PULITZER: I offer you freedom and money just to work for me again. To your friends, I won’t be so kind. Now, you’re partner, what’s his name? David. I understand he has a family. What do you think the Refuge will do to him? And it will be you who put him there. And all the others, after all, you’re their leader. Go back to the Refuge tonight, think about it. Give me your answer in the morning.

(Jack leaves. As he is being taken outside, Snyder lets go of him for one second)

DAVID: Jack! Come on! Come on!

(Jack slides down the railing and jumps over it. He and David take off)

SNYDER: After him!

(The driver whips the horses, who take off without the carriage.)

SEITZ: Don’t worry. He’s got no place to go

(David and Jack run into an alley. Jack slows down)

DAVID: Come on! Keep running!

JACK: You shouldn’t have done this, Dave. They could put you in jail

DAVID: I don’t care

JACK: Come here. What about your family? What happened to them if you go in jail. You don’t know nothing about jail. Now, thanks for what you done, but you get out of here

DAVID: I don’t understand

JACK: I don’t understand either, but just get outta here!

DAVID: No!

JACK: Go!

(David turns slowly and walks away. Jack leans against a wall.  Suddenly, he’s leaning against a wall in the Refuge.)

JACK: Santa Fe My old friend I can’t spend my whole life hidin’ You’re the only light that’s guidin’ me today

(Crutchy opens a little slot in the door. He has a potato)

CRUTCHY: Psst! Jack! Look! I snitched it off Snyder’s plate while I was serving him. It’s the biggest one. Oh, Mr. Snyder was eating good tonight. You know the stuff that we don’t ever get? He got potatoes, olives, liver, bacon, sauerkraut. And guess what I done to his sauerkraut, huh?

JACK: So, what’d it get ya?

CRUTCHY: Oh, anudder three months, probably, but you can’t let ‘em get you, right Jack? That’s what you always said...

JACK: We was beat when we was born

(Crutchy frowns and closes the slot)

JACK: Will you keep a candle burnin’ Will you help me find my way? You’re my chance to break free And who knows when my next one will be Santa Fe, Wait for me

(The newsies are picketing outside the World building.)

NEWSIES: Stop the World! No more papes! Stop the World! No more papes! (etc.)

(The police form a barricade. Some of the newsies start to fight amongst themselves.)

DAVID: Race! Help me! I need some help!

RACETRACK: Alright! I ain’t deaf!

SPOT: Hey, hey, hey! Break it up. Hey, Race, come here.

(Weasel leads Jack out. He’s in a new suit)

RACETRACK: What?

SPOT: Just tell me I’m seeing things. Just tell me I’m seeing things.

RACETRACK: No, you ain’t seeing things. That’s Jack. What’s he doing?

SPOT: He’s dressed like a scabber!

MUSH: Jack? Jack, look at me, will ya? Come on, it’s me, Mush. Look at me. What are you doin’, Jack?

KID BLINK: This ain’t happening. This can’t be happening. What are you doin’ Jack? Come on, what are you doin’?

BOOTS: Come on. What is this? Where’d you get them clothes?

WEASEL: Mr. Pulitzer picked them out himself. A special gift to a special new employee.

SPOT: He sold us out!

RACETRACK: I’ll give you a new suit! You bum! I’ll soak ya!

SPOT: Hey, hey, hey! Let me get my hands dirty. Come here you dirty rotten scabber! Traitor!

(Some newsies pull Spot away. David stares at Jack)

WEASEL: Aww. You wanna talk to him? Come on, come on. Sure. Got right ahead.

(David walks up to Jack)

DAVID: So, this is why you didn’t escape last night. You’re a liar! You lied about everything. You lied about your father being out west, ‘cause he’s not out west! You didn’t even tell me your real name!

JACK: So? What you wanna do about it Dave?

DAVID: I don’t understand you.

JACK: Oh, so let me spell it out for ya. You see, I ain’t got nobody tucking me in at night, like you. It’s just me, I gotta look out for myself.

DAVID: You had the newsies..

JACK: Oh, what’d being a newsies ever give me but a dime a day and a few black eyes? You know, I can’t afford to be a kid no more, Dave.  For the first time in my life, I got money in my pockets. Real money. Money, you understand? I got more on the way and as soon as I collect, I’m gone, I’m away. Alright?

DAVID: Well, that’s good. That’s good because we don’t need you! We don’t need you! All those words you said, those were mine.

JACK: Yeah, but you never had the guts to put them across yourself, didja?

DAVID: I do now

(Dave starts to go back to the newsies, then turns to look at Jack again.)

JACK: What’sa matta? Got a problem?

(David rushes towards Jack, but Weasel and a few policemen pull him away.)

WEASEL: Maybe you’d like a new suit of your own, huh?

DAVID: Never! Never!

WEASEL: Get outta here! Get outta here!

DAVID: I’m not like you!

(The cops surround Jack so the newsies can’t get him. The newsies watch him go.)

SPOT: Traitor!

KID BLINK: You make me sick!

BOOTS: I trusted you!

RACETRACK: Seize the day, huh Jack?

LES: He’s foolin’ ‘em, so he can spy on ‘em or something. Yeah, yeah, that’s it. He’s foolin’ ‘em!

RACETRACK: Yeah, he’s spying on then, kid.

(Sarah is going through a pile of lace. She finds Les’s old hot dog)

SARAH: Les. What is this?

LES: Savin’ it

(He takes the hot dog and leaves the article in Sarah’s hands. She looks at it.)

SARAH: David. It’s Denton’s article. ‘The Dark Truth; Why Our City Really Fears The Newsies Strike’ by Bryan Denton. ‘Last night I saw naked force exercised against mere boys, the newsies, who were…’

(David climes out the window, slams it, then storms off the fire escape. THAT NIGHT-Weasel leads Jack to his new bedroom, the basement of the World building.)

WEASEL: One trick, Cowboy, and it’s right back to the Refuge. Please.

(He throws a dust covered sheet to Jack.)

WEASEL: Ah. You gonna be requiring anything this evening?  Huh? No? Aww..tick tick. Well then, I ought to be saying good night.  Remember, on trick and I go straight to Mr. Pulitzer.

(He exits, leaving Jack alone. MORNING- Jack goes to collect his papers. Oscar and Morris come up behind him.)

WEASEL: Sleep well Cowboy?

OSCAR: Come with us Cowboy. We’re gonna go fix you’re pal, Davey. Fix him so he can’t walk.

MORRIS: Shut up

(Jack starts to go after them.)

WEASEL: Ah! Lift one finger and it’s right back to the Refuge. Next!

(Jack picks up his papers and leaves. LATER THAT MORNING- Sarah is walking to work with Les. She has a basket full of lace.)

SARAH: Morning LADY: Good mornin’, dear.

(Oscar ‘bumps’ into her)

OSCAR: ’Cuse me, Sweetface.

(She continues to walk with Oscar behind her. Morris steps out in front of her.)

MORRIS: Where’s your little brother, Tootsie? Where’s little Davey?

(Sarah tries to get by, but the brothers push her around.)

LES: Leave my sister alone!

(He shoves Oscar. Morris holds onto Sarah while Oscar pushed Les into a puddle.)

SARAH: Stop it! Leave him alone!

(Oscar shoves Les into a pile of baskets. Sarah shoves Morris away.)

SARAH: You stupid ape.

(She punches him, but it doesn’t hurt him. She runs into the alley. The brothers catch her. David sees Les and helps him up.)

DAVID: What’s the matter? Are you alright?

LES: I’m alright, I’m alright. Help Sarah!

SARAH: Run Davey!

OSCAR: Yeah, run Davey. We got the best part of your family right here.

(David tackles Oscar.)

SARAH: Let go of me!

(Morris throws her to the ground. Oscar punches David)

SARAH: Stop it! Les! Stop, you’re hurting him! No!

(Morris pulls out a pair of brass knuckles and puts them on.)

SARAH: Leave him alone!

(Oscar continues to punch David. Les runs to Sarah. Jack is walking down the street near the alley.)

SARAH: Stop it! Leave him alone!

(Jack hears her cries and runs, dropping his papers as he goes. Oscar holds David as Morris gets ready to hit him with the knuckles.  Jack comes up behind Morris and punches him. David gives Oscar an elbow in the stomach. Jack throws Morris into a box)

JACK: Get over here.

(Jack grabs Oscar)

JACK: Remember Crutchy?

(Jack head-butts him and he falls near Morris. Jack goes to help Sarah up)

JACK: You alright?

SARAH: Yeah.

(The hug briefly)

SARAH: David!

(Jack goes to David and checks him out before helping him up. Oscar and Morris finally get up.)

MORRIS: You’d better run, Cowboy. We’re gonna tell uncle Weas. You’ll be back in the Refuge before suppertime!

OSCAR: Run, you lousy coward, run!

(Jack starts to go after them, but Sarah stops him. Les runs to the end of the alley.)

LES: Go one! Get outta here! Don’t come back! You hear me?

DAVID: What? You couldn’t stay away?

JACK: Well, I guess I can’t be something I ain’t.

DAVID: A scab?

JACK: No, smart.

(The four of them go to Denton’s apartment. Jack knocks on the door. Denton opens it.)

JACK: Did you mean what you wrote here? ‘Bout all these sweat shop kids listening to me?

DENTON: I don’t write anything I don’t mean. Come on in. I’m just packing a few things.

(They enter. David closes the door.)

DENTON: So, yes, I mean it. The city thrives on child labour. A lot of people make money that way. They’re terrified that the newsies strike will spread.

JACK: Well, there’ really not much chance of that as long as they got the power

DENTON: Sometimes, all it takes is a voice, one voice. Then a thousand. Unless it’s silenced.

JACK: Why can’t we spread the strike? Have another big rally and get the word out to all the sweat shop kids? Why not?

DAVID: What are we going to do? Print an ad in the newspaper?

JACK: No! We’ll do better than that. We’ll make our own paper. We tell ‘em they gotta join us. Isn’t that a good idea?

DAVID: Yeah, it is. But what do we know about printing a newspaper?

JACK: Nothing, but our man Denton…

DAVID: Yeah, but our man Denton has something more important to do. He’s going to be an ace war correspondent, right Denton?

DENTON: Alright. Where do we start?

(They sit at a table)

JACK: Alright, we gotta move fast. Now, we’ll need the newsies to circulate.

DENTON: There’s something else that we need. We need a printing press.

JACK: Just so happens I know a guy with a printing press.

(Jack, Sarah, David and Denton enter the basement of the World building.)

SARAH: You’ve been living here?

JACK: Shh. They’re right above us. Weasel catches us here, we’re all in the slammer.

(Jack uncovers a press)

DENTON: Alright! A Platen press. Looks like old man Pulitzer never threw anything away.

DAVID: Is it going to work?

DENTON: It better. We have a deadline.

(They start printing their papers.)

DENTON: This is the story you wanted to write, well tonight is the night that you can

JACK: Just get this done and by dawn’t early light you can finish the fight you began

DAVID: This time we’re in it to stay

SARAH: Think about seizing the day

JACK: Think of that train as she rolls into old Santa Fe   Tell her I’m on my way

NEWSIES: See old man Pulitzer snug in his bed He don’t care if we’re dead or alive Three satin pillows are under his head While we’re begging for bread to survive Joe, if you’re still counting sheep Wake up and read ‘em and weep You’ve got your thugs With their sticks and their slugs Yeah, but we got a promise to keep Once and for all Something tells me the tide will be turning Once and for all There’s a fire inside me that wont stop burning Now that the choices are clear Now that tomorrow is here Watch how the mighty will fall For once and for all!

(Jack hands bundles of papers to the newsies. Denton and Jack crawl out the window.)

DENTON: It’s awfully nice of Mr. Pulitzer to let us use his press

JACK: Yeah, I just hope I get to thank him for it someday.

(The newsies spread out and hand the papers to various work kids.)

NEWSIES: This is for kids shining shoes on the streets With no shoes on their feet everyday This is for guys sweating blood in the shops While their bosses and cops look away This is to even the score We ain’t just newsies no more This ain’t just kids with some pie in the sky This is do it or die This is war! Once and for all We’ll be there to defend one another Once and for all Every kid is a friend Every friend a brother Five thousand fists in the sky Five thousand reasons to try We’re going over the wall Better to die than to crawl Either we stand or we fall For once Once and for all!

(Denton is with Teddy Roosevelt, who has just read the Newsies Banner)

ROOSEVELT: Disgraceful, Denty. Those poor boys.

DENTON: I thought you’d feel this way, Governor.

ROOSEVELT: And I did nothing, until now

DENTON: Good.

(They shake hands and Roosevelt is handed his hat and walking stick. LATER THAT DAY- The newsies have gathered around the Horace Greeley statue None of the work kids have showed up.)

MUSH: So, when's the others coming, kid?

JACK: They ain’t coming. Ain’t gonna be nobody but us.

SNITCH: Come on, Jack.

SPECS: Have hope, Jack.

(Les walks away from the group.)

LES: When the circulation bell starts ringing, will we hear it?

RACETRACK: Nah. What if the Delancey’s come out swinging, will we hear it?

LES: No!

RACETRACK: That a boy!

WORK KIDS: When you’ve got a million voices singing Who can hear a lousy whistle blow? And the World will know!

(Work kids come in from all directions. The newsies cheer. Spot enters, leading in all of the Brooklyn kids.)

SPOT: Brooklyn!

NEWSIES & WORK KIDS: The World will feel the fire and finally know!

(Everyone cheers. The newsies and Sarah make their way threw the crowd.)

WORK KIDS: Strike! Strike! Strike! (etc.)

(The newsies make their way to the front of the World Building.)

RACETRACK: Dear me. What have we here?

(Seitz and a group of policemen are by the entrance, looking out into the crowd. INSIDE- Pulitzer is at his desk. Seitz brings in Jack and David. Jonathan grabs his arm and whispers.)

JONATHAN: It’s awful. Everyone’s calling. Mr. Hearst, and Mr. Bennett, and the mayor in such awful language. The city’s at a stand still and they all blame the chief. It’s like the end of the World, only I didn’t say that.

(Jack and David go to Pulitzer’s desk, where Jack pulls out a copy of the newspaper.)

JACK: Extry, extry, Joe. Read all about it.

PULITZER: I promised that if you defied me, I’d break you. I’ll keep that promise, boy. Now, I gave you a chance to be free. I don’t understand. Anyone who doesn’t act in their own self interest is a fool.

DAVID: Then what does that make you?

PULITZER: What?

JACK: Oh, this is my pal, Davey. The Walkin’ mouth

DAVID: You talk about self interest, but since the strike, your circulation’s been down 70%. Everyday you’re losing thousands of dollars just to beat us out of one lousy tenth of a cent. Why?

JACK: You see, it ain’t about the money, Dave. It Joe gives in to nobodies like us, it means we got the power. And he can’t do that, no matter what it costs. Am I right, Joe?

PULITZER: I sent for the police. They must be here by now. Send them in, Seitz

JACK: I’m not going back to jail, Joe. Look out here. Right out here is where the power is.

(Jack opens the window. All the kids are still yelling Pulitzer covers his ears)

PULITZER: Close the window! Close the window! Go home! Go home! Go home!

JACK: I can’t hear you , Joe!

PULITZER: Go home! Go home to your mothers and fathers! Go home!

JACK: I don’t hear ya!

PULITZER: Now you listen to me!

JACK: Maybe you should listen!

PULITZER: No, no! You listen to me!

JACK: No! You listen!

PULITZER: Close the window and shut up!

JACK: There’s a lot of people out there and they ain’t just gonna go away. They got voices now and they’re goin’ be listen to. Putting them in jail is not going to stop them! That’s the power of the press, Joe.

(He closes the window. Pulitzer takes his hands away from his ears)

JACK: So thanks for teaching me about it.

SEITZ: Those kids put out a pretty good paper there Chief.

(Pulitzer picks up the paper and reads it.)

PULITZER: I ordered a printing ban on all strike matters. Now, who defied me? Who’s press did you use to print this on? Who’s?

JACK: Well, we only use the best, Joe. So, I just want to say, thanks again.

(Outside, Seitz’s opens the gates. David starts to come out, Jack is behind him.)

SPOT: Hey, fellas, they’re over here!

(The newsies gather around and start asking questions.   Jack bends over and whispers in Les’s ear.)

JACK: The strike’s over. We beat ‘em.

(Jack lifts Les onto his shoulders and look out towards all the children.)

JACK: We beat ‘em!

(The crowd cheers. All the newsies hug and pat each other on the back Weasel, Oscar and Morris put on their hats and leave. A paddy wagon pulls up. Snyder is sitting in the front seat with two cops.)

LES: Jack! Jack, it’s the bulls. It’s the bulls. Let me down!

SWIFTY: Down Jack. Get down!

KID BLINK: Hide Jack

DENTON: Jack, it’s over. No, no. You don’t have to run. Not anymore. Not from the likes of him. Come on, Come on.

(A cop opens the paddy wagon and the kids from the Refuge come out. The last one is Crutchy. A cop leads Snyder into the paddy wagon. Crutchy taps him on the back.)

CRUTCHY: Ah, remember what I told ya, Mr. Snyder. The first thing ya do in jail, make friends with the rats. Share what you got in common.

(Snyder climes in. A police officer is about to close the door.)

CRUTCHY: Officer, may I please?

POLICE OFFICER: Sure kid.

(Crutchy hands his crutch to a kid. He slams the door and locks it. He gets his crutch back and goes over to Jack and the others.)

JACK: Heya Crutchy.

DENTON: You won’t be seeing much of him anymore. Say goodbye Warden.

NEWSIES: Goodbye Warden!

(The paddy wagon pulls away)

CRUTCHY: Oh, Jack, you ought tah seen it! He comes stormin’ into the Refuge waving his walking stick like a sword and he’s leading in this army of lawyers and cops.

JACK: Who comes stormin’ in?

CRUTCHY: You know, your friend. Him! Teddy Roosevelt

(the newsies are amazed)

DENTON: The Governor’s very grateful that you brought this problem to his attention. I said you might need a lift somewhere. He’d be happy to oblige. Anywhere you want. And this time, you ride inside.

JACK: So, can he drop me at the train-yards?

DENTON: Yeah, if that’s what you want.

(They make their way to Roosevelt’s carriage. Jack shakes his hand and climes in. Boots throws Jack a bag. David, Les and Sarah watch sadly. The work kids follow the carriage as it leaves, leaving the newsies alone. The circulation bell begins to ring.)

MUSH: Try Bottle Alley or the harbor

RACETRACK: Try Central Park, it’s guaranteed

CRUTCHY: Try any banker, bum or barber

KID BLINK: They almost all knows how tah read

BOOTS: Summer stinks

SKITTERY: And winter’s waiting

SPECS, BUMLETS & SNIPESHOOTER: Welcome to New York

SNODDY, PIE EATER, SWIFTY, ITEY & JAKE: Boy ain’t nature fascinating

NEWSIES: When youse gotta walk

(The newsies line up for their papers. David is first in line. He slaps down a coin.)

DAVID: Hundred papes.

MUSH: Alright Davey.

(The newsies hear cheers and turn to see the carriage returning. All the work kids are following.)

MUSH: Dave, he’s back!

JACK: Thanks for the advice, Governor. Like you said, I still got things to do. Besides, I got family here.

(He gets out of the carriage and gives Les his cowboy hat. All the newsies yell and talk at the same time.)

JACK: So, how’s the headline today?

DAVID: Headlines don’t sell papes, newsies sell papes.

JACK: Come here, Davey.

(Jack holds out his hand. David spits in his and shakes it. Sarah makes her way through the crowd. Her and Jack kiss. All the newsies cheer and yell. The carriage pulls away, with Roosevelt and Spot in it. Spot tips his hat and waves as he leaves.)

SARAH: Bye Spot!

JACK: Go back to Brooklyn ya hear!

(David, Jack, Sarah, Les and Crutchy follow the carriage. Denton shakes David’s hand, then goes to the side and starts writing. The newsies, with their papers, dance as they leave.)

GROUP 1: It’s a fine life Carryin’ the banner It’s a fine life Carryin’ the banner It’s a fine life Carryin’ the banner It’s a fine life Carryin’the banner

GROUP 2: You got ‘em, Cowboy You showed ‘em how boy! You got ‘em Cowboy You showed ‘em how boy!

[producingtrashycontent]

Might I ask you for a bit of William x Mereoleona scenario? Maybe with pirate x navy person dynamics? Or maybe with them just being dressed in those costumes for a halloween-like event?

Of course you can ask!!! I love this ship! I read a few chapters of One Piece while writing this, so if you get One Piece vibes, that's why. (Excuse my cringy as hell title. I couldn't come up with one.)

Not All Pirates Are Bad

Captain William Vangeance never regretted his life as a navy officer. He always believed pirates were the scourge that terrorized the people of this world. He had lost many friends to pirate attacks. One day, he swore to himself that he would become a navy captain to help people in need. Pirates were devils. Whenever he imagined them, he saw them with little horns on their head and tails with points in the shape of an arrow.

     Recently, a group of pirates had been causing trouble on a nearby island, so William gathered up a few of his subordinates and set sail towards Kiten Island.

•~•~•~•

     William removed the mask on his head and held it close to him. That mask was given to him by someone he looked up to. He was never letting it go, even if it looked a little tacky. He had painted it to match his navy uniform. Now, the mask blended with the rest of his crew and was nearly unnoticeable. Placing his mask on his nightstand, William rolled onto his bed. It would take a week to reach the island, and his crew had already been at sea for 2 days. Life at sea was hard; William was lucky to live on dry land for the most part.

     A gentle knock on William's door interrupted his thoughts. His personal aide, Alecdora Sandler, stepped in a moment later. "Captain Vangeance. A ship has been spotted on the horizon coming from the direction of Kiten. What shall we do?"

     "Identity the vessel. If it's a navy ship, simply pass it. If it has any markings of a pirate ship, warn me and be ready to fight."

     It was only a few moments later when something crashed into the water near the stern of the ship. That's where William's room was. Alecdora didn't even need to warn him. He knew this was a pirate ship attacking. Grabbing his pistol off his bed, William bolted for the door. William also grabbed his sword, which had been sitting by the door, and slid it into his scabbard. World Tree Magic was no good on the open sea, but William slid his grimoire into its pouch just in case.

     By the time William arrived on the deck, the other ship was close enough to identify it as a pirate ship. The setting sun slowly covered the other ship as a cloud floated in the distance, and William caught a glimpse of the other ship's flag. It was the flag of the Crimson Lion Pirates. Known for their dual abilities of fire magic and swordsmanship, the Crimson Lions were one of the most feared pirate crews on the sea today. Unfortunately for William's crew, they were facing a headwind that gave the other ship the speed it needed to reach the navy ship.

     It barely moments later when the Crimson Lions made their way across the gap between both ships. Pistols went off, swords clashed, and fists flew. A pirate ran towards William with his sword outstretched. William dodged and hit him with a punch that sent him flying overboard. Shaking his wrist out, William froze when he heard someone mention his rank behind him.

     "Where's your captain?" A feminine voice growled.

     "I-I would never tell..." a voice whimpered in response.

     "Tell me where he is, or I'll shove this sword up your ass!"

     "He's right there!" The blond navy officer pointed in William's direction. The woman holding him threw him overboard and stormed over to William.

     "David!" As William leaned against the railing to reach for David, the woman pressed herself against William and held a sword up to his neck.

     "Move or say anything wrong, and you're dead. Now, I want the Navy's map of this area. It's bound to have all the islands and towns that the Navy is supposed to protect."

     William moved back slightly, and the woman pressed herself against him even harder than before. William swallowed when he felt her breasts press against his back. He was never good with women, especially with spirited ones like this.

     "Answer me!"

     William let out a shaky breath. "What if we talked about this over some drinks?"

     "Haha! You're really something, captain. Trying to convince me not to pirate." The woman removed her sword from William's neck for a moment and pointed at the pirates that were beginning to outnumber his men. "These men are pirates. Part of being a pirate is raiding ships. Do you really think you can give pirates money and think they'll be satisfied? Pirates find joy in raiding ships. Now, if you don't want you men to be slaughtered, then take me to where your maps are."

     "O-ok." William began formulating a plan to escape and fight back when the barrel of a gun was pressed to his head.

     "I know you were thinking of escaping and fighting me. This pistol is loaded with ammo and backed by my Fire Magic. If you even think of escaping, I'll blast your head into mush. And don't forget that I'm the strongest fire mage on my ship, so even an injury to the foot may leave you wounded for years to come."

     Wait, the strongest mage on her ship? I know that Captain Fuegoleon is scarily strong, but there were rumours that his sister was even stronger. Could she be-? William whipped around to face the woman. She was shocked that he did that, but she didn't hesitate in cocking the pistol.

     "Wait! Please don't shoot!" William shot her a look that caused her to make a few weird faces before settling on a furious face. "You're Mereoleona Vermillion, The Uncrowned, Undefeated Lioness, right?"

     "It's been a while since someone lived long enough to identify me."

     "You also said something that I found weird earlier. You said that this was your ship and these are your men. Isn't Captain Fuegoleon captain of the ship?"

     Mereoleona let out a sigh. "Yes, but my idiot brother was injured a month ago, and he's hasn't woken up since."

     "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I hope he recovers fully."

     "You hope he recovers?" Mereoleona raised an eyebrow. "What kind of Navy Officer wishes good health on a pirate captain? Shouldn't you be happy that he's injured?"

     "Well, I'm not the type to wish ill will upon others, even if they're my enemies."

     Mereoleona raised an eyebrow. He's definitely an odd one. He may be nice, but he's still a Navy Officer. I still need that map!

     "Take me to the map!" Mereoleona ordered him.

     "Um, of course."

•~•~•~•

     "This is exactly what we needed." Mereoleona rubbed her hands together before gently picking up the Navy's map. "It has Nean Island and all of its trade routes. That's perfect."

     "Why would you need Nean Island's trade routes?" William asked. "Granted, they have the best healers around, but they're by no means wealthy."

     Mereoleona frowned. "That's none of your business, Navy Boy."

     "I'm sorry if I prodded too much..."

     Mereoleona stayed silent. It looked as though she wanted to say something. After a few silent moments, she spoke. "I've had my men raiding Navy Ships for medical supplies. You already know that my brother is injured. He hasn't woken up in so long, so I'm worried he won't get better. I know this is a stark contrast to my reputation and usual personality, but I can care too. He's my little brother after all."

     William's eyes widened. "Oh, so you want Nean's trade routes to raid their medical supplies and possibly enlist a healer to help your brother. You really are kind at heart."

     Glancing off to the side, Mereoleona scoffed. "Don't go telling people that."

     "My lips are sealed."

     Mereoleona grabbed a rope lying in the corner of the room. "I'm gonna tie you up with this so it doesn't look like we cooperated for a moment. I don't have a desire to kill you, so I'll let you off scot-free this time."

     "I can't argue with that logic." William smiled. "Tie me up."

•~•~•~•

     When Mereoleona and William arrived on the deck, Mereoleona took on her fearsome side again and dragged William out onto the deck. She let out a high-pitched whistle that got the attention of her crew.

     "Alright you imbeciles! Let's head out before these weaklings call for reinforcements!"

     "Yes ma'am!"

     Mereoleona grabbed William and leaned close to his ear. "Um, thanks for the map. I'll hold off attacking any Navy ships that you're on."

     William smiled. "And how will you know I'm on the ship?"

     "If I see you on it after I invade the ship, I'll leave."

     "Well, I feel very safe now."

     Mereoleona gave him a hard shove that nearly threw him off balance. As he stumbled, William wasn't sure if he imagined the rosy color on her cheeks or if it was a trick of the light. It was hard to see at dusk.

     As the Crimson Lions left with their stolen goods, Alecdora released William from the ropes binding his limbs together. William walked to the side of the ship and leaned on the railing as he watched the Crimson Lions' ship sail away. He caught a glimpse of Mereoleona ordering her men around. Leaning his head against his fist, William watched Mereoleona and her ship disappear into the horizon. He wasn't sure what this fluttery feeling in his chest was, but William was sure it would lead him back to Mereoleona. He was sure of it.

     William sighed. "I guess not all pirates are bad..."

[thisbentleyplaysqueen]

Aight so none of you asked but here’s my Percy Jackson series fan cast

This is the first one I’ve ever done so I have no idea how this works. Also, I like the idea that the children be unknown actors so I only did the adults! Let’s get started!

Sally Jackson

Jennifer Hudson!!! The absolute queen! I think she would make an awesome Sally Jackson mainly because I love her acting and she deserves better after Cats.

Gabe Ugliano

David Cross. Honestly I’m not sure why I thought he would be a good Gabe...I think it’s because he was the bad guy in Alvin and the Chipmunks and that kinda stuck with me. I think he could pull off “jerk face step-dad”.

Chiron

Michael Sheen! Honestly the beard gives me ‘mentor that has been around for thousands of years and is honestly trying to keep this sixth grader from being killed by a “kindly one” on a field trip’ vibes. Also, he can do American accents (Prodigal Son is a great example). Not sure how he’d look as a centaur because my brain will not allow me to view that, so we’re just flying blind here.

Mr. D

So I’ve been a big advocate that Danny Devito should play Mr. D because if you listen to “Another Terrible Day” from the musical, to me that just screams Danny Devito. He could so pull it off!

Hades

Keanu Reeves just seems like he would be an awesome king of the underworld. He would threaten to trap Percy and his friends and I would clap just because it’s Keanu. Gah, I love him.

Poseidon

I don’t know if this is because I associate him with Aquaman or what, but honestly I want to see Jason Momoa as God of the Sea! Also, he could wear a Hawaiian shirt, chill and vibe, and wouldn’t have to go through the dangerous process of having abs on screen, so it would be great for him!

Zeus

GAH! Just... let me see Jeff Bridges as the King of the Gods! Look at him! I may know him as the Dude, the mentor from the Giver, and Kevin Flynn, but I would love to see him as an uber serious god who’s pissed because some kid stole his lightning bolt (we kinda saw that in the Giver and when Kevin Flynn Saw Some Things in Tron: Legacy, but I would like to see more).

Athena

I love Stephanie Beatriz, and it would be really cool to see her as the Goddess of Wisdom who does not approve of Percy, especially when it comes to her daughter. If not her, then I definitely would recommend Adria Arjona. In fact, now that I think about it, I would love to see her as Athena over Stephanie (but I love them both).

Hermes

I really think Tyler James Williams would be a cool Hermes. Also his ending in Whiskey Cavalier (where he presumably died or was kidnapped but we don’t know because it got cancelled) shows he deserves better. I would love to see him in this role!

Apollo

Will Smith would be an awesome Apollo! That scene from “The Titan’s Curse” where Apollo is driving his car across the horizon? I just see Will Smith. He would be so much fun!

Artemis

I just remember that in most scenes Artemis is portrayed as a young girl, about the same age as her Hunters. When I thought of that, all I saw was Erin Kellyman from her role as Enfys Nest in Solo. I would love to see her as Artemis!

Hera

I love Octavia Spencer and she serves “Queen of the gods” vibes at all times. I’m here for it!

Ares

Gonna be honest, this was my brother’s suggestion but I think Terry Crews would be a pretty cool Ares. I’m just curious about how he would pull of the biker vibe...

Aphrodite

I know in the book it says her appearance is always changing and I honestly do not have the strength to assign what actors would make a good Aphrodite so we’re just gonna skip this one.

Hephaestus

I love The Rock, and I would be happy to see him in any role in this series, but my brother suggested Hephaestus and I think it’s a pretty cool idea.

Aunty Em/Medusa

Honestly every time I thought about Medusa, I just thought of the White Witch lady from Narnia, so Tilda Swinton it is.

Mrs. Dodds

I honestly have no idea. For some reason, I can’t think of an actress that can pull off a southern accent that matches my image of Mrs. Dodds. So.....we’ll just move on.

Crusty

Ned Dennehy played Hastur in “Good Omens”, and he did such a good job of making my skin crawl. Those vibes are needed for Crusty the bed seller/ apparent child torturer.

Charon

This is another pull from “Good Omens” but Brian Cox did such an amazing job as Death! His voice just mixed with how I thought the ferryman of the Underworld, so bring him back for another death-related role!

And finally...

Kronos

Okay, so my brother made a suggestion of Andy Serkis as Kronos (since he is mainly just a voice character and ends up taking Luke’s form in the books if I remember right), and I could definitely see that! He voiced Snoke in Star Wars, and was the crazy white villain in Black Panther, but also (because I’m a total nostalgic) I just thought of someone who I could see voicing Kronos that I love so much....

BRUCE BOXLEITNER! For those who don’t know him, he’s mainly known as the voice of Tron in literally ANYTHING in the Tron franchise. He’s got this deep voice that would work so well for Kronos. Also, I miss seeing him in things that I deeply enjoy. Miss you king.

And that’s about it! Thanks for joining my excited rant. 

[maxbegone]

Prompt #76!

#76: “I wouldn’t change a thing about you.” 

Patrick has a big family. David knew this, of course, he met a bunch of them at the wedding back in September. But there were cousins who couldn’t make it and aunts and uncles who weren’t well enough to travel. Plus he’d seen all of the photos on the mantle the first time they visited Patrick’s childhood home together.

But this was somehow much more overwhelming. They’re at the Brewer’s for a family barbecue-slash-birthday celebration for Clint. He helped Marcy in the kitchen as much as she would let him until she turned to him, handed him a glass of wine and told him to go enjoy himself as she pushed him toward the back door.

They were sitting together on the outdoor couch with two of Patrick’s cousins - Mark and…Ian, David thinks - when one of Patrick’s aunts comes over.

“Mind if I sit with you boys?”

Patrick gestures to a vacant chair. “Of course, Aunt Val.”

She gives David a tight smile when she gives him a once-over. He feels immensely out of place. Patrick must sense it because he wraps his arm tight around David’s waist and pulls him closer.

Patrick warned him about his Aunt Val that morning when Clint mentioned she was coming. She’s very set-in-her ways and very old fashioned. She didn’t even come to the wedding. David’s made a good impression on the rest of the Brewer clan - at least he thinks. But this woman wasn’t going to even let him try.

“You know, I really am just so sorry I couldn’t make it to your wedding,” she says flippantly. “My hip was just bothering me all over again, and the drive would have made it worse.”

David angles his head to look up at Patrick who’s squinting and looks a little defensive.

“Really? That’s too bad, we would have loved to have had you there.”

Aunt Val shrugs. “Yes well, I saw the pictures that William took.”

“I don’t get how Uncle Will was able to go to and leave you home,” Ian says (he has glasses, that’s how David remembers). His tone is a little sarcastic. “What if you fell again?”

She waves him off. “Eh, I was fine. Besides, he’ll never turn down a drink and a free meal. Besides, I’m not related by blood, so what does it matter?”

The wink she aimed at them didn’t sit well with David.

Patrick hums. “So, what did you think of the wedding? You know, from the pictures you saw.”

“Well you just looked so handsome, Patrick.” She turns to David next. “And Davis you looked…very nice as well.”

“It’s David,” Patrick corrects, and David pulls his cardigan tight around himself. “And I think he looked beautiful on our wedding day.”

“How’s everyone doing over here?” Comes Marcy’s chipper voice. She’s carrying a tray of raw veggies and dip.

“Oh we’re good, Marcy dear,” Val smiles wide. “We were just talking about Patrick’s wedding. I do, however, think the skirt David wore was a little…unconventional, don’t you think?”

Patrick stiffens under him. David refuses to look anyone in the eye and at this point he’s feeling really uneasy.

“Val, that’s not fair,” Marcy defends. “You have no right in saying that.”

“What, I’m just expressing my opinion! Am I not allowed to do that?”

“David is a part of the family, Val. More than you have been or ever will be.” Marcy’s tone is biting. “You may have married my brother, but have absolutely no right being demeaning to my wonderful son and wonderful son-in-law in my house. My boys looked very handsome on their wedding day, and if you don’t have anything kind to say about that then you can take your bitter, sorry self and go elsewhere.”

Val stands with a huff. “If that’s how it’s going to be, then.” She walks off clearly annoyed.

Patrick shakes him a bit. “You okay?”

David nods slowly, brows raised high on his forehead. “Mh. Yeah.” David shakes his head. “I’m going to run to the bathroom.”

He wipes his palms on his jeans as he stands. David crosses the yard as quickly as he can with his arms folded over his chest. Instead of the bathroom, he makes immediate headway for Patrick’s childhood bedroom-turned-guestroom.

David looks at himself in the mirror. He’s wearing a Neil Barrett cardigan, a white t-shirt adorned with a little red heart decal on the left side, ripped black jeans and his usual hi-tops. He rips the cardigan off and tosses it onto the bed. David opens the closet to see everything Patrick hung up and just stares at it.

Maybe he could just wear one of his sweaters and then he’d fit in better with the extended Brewer family. Even the bitter ones. It’s taking everything in his power not to tear up right now.

A soft knock comes from the door and David looks up to see his husband. Patrick closes the door behind him.

Patrick loops his arms around his waist. “I’m sorry about her,” he whispers into David’s cheek.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s really not.”

“It’s not. You’re right, it’s not.” David swallows thickly and looks up at the ceiling. “You know maybe if I dressed a little more conventionally, she’d like me. I was thinking that maybe I should just put on one of your shirts and go back outside so she doesn’t gawk at me anymore.”

“Listen to me. My Aunt Val doesn’t like anyone,” Patrick states. “And if I’m being honest, not many people like her. But my family loves you, David. I love you, my parents love you. She’s just a rude old woman who married into the family late in life and believes that she has a right to say whatever the hell she wants.”

David presses his forehead into Patrick’s shoulder with a deep sigh. “Yeah, but I married into your family, too.”

“See, the difference there is that you’re not a bitter old woman,” Patrick teases. “And hey,” he nudges David until he’s able to look him directly in the eye. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I love you, David. I love how you dress, I love who you are which is unapologetically yourself.”

“I’m a little apologetically myself,” is David’s deprecating response, though he’s smirking a bit.

“You know what I mean.” Patrick’s eyes are soft and warm, and David kisses him.

“Thank you,” he whispers. “I love you.”

Patrick rubs at David’s bare forearms. “Are you alright to go back out?”

He nods, “Yes.”

“Good. Now…” Patrick pulls off his green crewneck and tosses it onto the bed. He picks up the discarded cardigan. “If you’re not going to wear this,” he pulls it over his own t-shirt. “Then I will.”

David smiles disbelievingly at his husband. “You’re going to give Aunt Val a heart attack.”

“I’m sure she had one when she found out I was marrying a man,” he states and David’s a little amused. “And if you still want to be a little understated, you can wear one of my shirts.”

David instead walks over to the closet and pulls out his black hoodie with Lover spelled out in shiny red sequins across the chest. He tugs it over his head.

Patrick winks at him and laces their fingers together. “Let’s go freak her out a little bit.”

When they walk back outside hand-in-hand, Marcy and Clint are smiling at them, Marcy with a certain glint in her eye. Patrick turns to press several kisses his cheek just to spite Val who’s looking at them both disapprovingly.

Patrick pulls away. He says, “I love my husband!” loudly as he marches back over to where they were sitting before. David loves his husband, too.

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