#song: hard knock life from annie (2014)

[castiel-kline]

someone get this kid an ICE PACK

for @akozuheiwa <33

Krel Knockout Stats:

- By my count, there were 41 total Krel knockouts in 3B!

- 19 of those knockouts were in season 1; 22 of them were in season 2

- Krel hit the ground, wall, or otherwise sustained a head injury in 18 of 26 episodes — in other words, about 69% of 3Below episodes

- Race to Trollmarket features the most Krel knockouts (8) and Ill Gotten Gains comes close behind with 7

- Concerningly, 10 knockouts were because of someone Krel trusts: 2 by Steve, 3 by Vex, and the other 5 by Aja

- About 9 knockouts were Krel’s own fault, because he either jumped into danger (literally) or because he simply fell over

[lovinglapislazuli]

I was thinking how Narcistoru truly had a Rouxls Kaard moment in ep 23, so I made this! He really showed up, aimed to impress, spectacularly failed and then left, iconic

Video description: Footage from episode 23 of Delicious Party Precure edited with the track “Rouxls Kaard” from Deltarune and the song “It’s a hard knock life” from Annie (2014)

[noperopesaredope]

A Dumb, Pointless, Random, Relatively Biased Review of Annie (2014)’s Music

I have no idea what I’m doing. This will be a halfway biased review. I say halfway due to the fact that I will be comparing them to the original movie’s versions, but I also liked some of the musical choices they made. There will be the occasional commentary about the visuals if I find something particularly good/bad. Just remember, this is a very subjective review. It will not be technical or scholarly. It will all be based off my personal opinion.

(Warning: This review is REALLY long. Continue at your own risk)

Anyways, onto the nonsense.

1#: Overture

I literally don’t care about overtures. I’m not sorry I’m skipping this one’s review.

2#: Maybe

Okay, so this one is one I have some things to say about. I personally do not like it and it is far less memorable. If the OG movie didn’t exist or wasn’t a cultural touchstone and I watched this reboot, I would not remember this song. I think what made the original so memorable as a song is how absolutely heartbreaking and emotional it is. This one is a little too...whimsical? It doesn’t have a fitting tone. Sure, it is them day dreaming about their parents, but it’s original and more effective purpose was to show that they truly are orphans. They desperately wish for a family to call their own and parents who love them. In the original, Annie sang it to a little kid as what was basically a lullaby and a comfort. This new one just...doesn’t work for me. Also, it relies too heavily on the background instrumentals, which end up taking over a little too much near the end and ruin the peaceful aspect it could have kept, undermining any and all emotion without even allowing a swell.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is, that what made “Maybe” work in the original was its tone and narrative purpose of showing just how tragic and miserable Annie and the orphans’ lives were, and makes Mr. Warbucks’ fostering of her that much more wonderful and impactful to her. She needs this, and it makes the song truly beautiful. This cover doesn’t do any of that, and therefore doesn’t really work from a narrative or musical structure.

3#: It’s a Hard Knock Life

(Warning, this is gonna be a bit of a long one)

I’m very conflicted about this one. I have a few major complaints, but I also really liked one thing about it. I’ll get to that though. First, I want to get my gripes out of the way.

Okay, so one thing this movie consistently does is listen to kids with what I assume are relatively good and strong voices, and then it says “let’s autotune the crap out of them.” It’s trying to modernize the music, right? And what’s the most major aspect of 2014 mainstream music? Autotune, obviously! So they decided that literally every child needed to be autotuned regardless of their musical talent. Because of course. The thing about “It’s a Hard Knock Life” is, that it really doesn’t need autotune, whether or not they kids sound great or not. They just need to sound like kids, which is something that apparently this movie doesn’t get. But enough about the autotune because enough people have complained about that. I just wanted to address the autotune once in this review before never really complaining about it again.

My smallest complaint is that the kids aren’t really all that miserable, or at least, this song doesn’t actually show that they are living “a hard knock life.” This and “Maybe” are meant to establish how absolutely crap it is to be an orphan, and the original really showed it. When they said “no one cares for you a smidge when you’re in an orphanage,” it felt more like “if you died right now, no one would care.” It was legitimately brutal and they seemed like child workers. The OG really sells it. This doesn’t really do that. I think they should have maybe done something different than just cleaning to show how the kids were suffering. More hard labor. But that’s actually my smallest complaint about this song.

My biggest complaint is the visuals and dancing. “It’s a Hard Knock Life” (1982) was kind of a masterpiece, not just because of the singing (which was pretty good), but mainly because of the dancing. You would see this kids performing straight up acrobatics and amazing feats of the human body, like it was extrodinary. And this new version did not do that. It does not have any of the spectacle or fun that the original had. It’s dancing is a disappointment to me and I’m disowning it forever.

But despite all this, I keep relistening to it. I actually like it as a song. And it’s all because of the one thing this song does really well, that this movie does pretty well. The background instrumentals are really amazing. Whoever composed them, I applaud to you. You honestly saved this whole song for me. I really love the instrumentals here, as they truly do capture the spectacle of the dancing in the original. I think if this song just had the original actors and visuals with the new instrumentals, it would be one of my favorite song sequences of all time. The dancing in the OG and the instrumentals in the remake would go fantastically together and excentuate each other really well. But alas, it could not be so, which will forever disappoint me.

4#: Tomorrow

I’m not gonna complain too much about the autotuning again, but I will say, they really didn’t trust this girl with her singing, and that takes down the musical power of this song. This song relies on the power of the singer’s voice, and they didn’t really let her use her natural voice powerbelting the final note, which I know she can do. It just brought the song down in quality because of the autotune.

But, I did notice a small visual element in this sequence. In the windows, there would be reflections of people having fun with their kids, but when it cuts away from the windows, you would actually see an inanimate object, showing that Annie simply imagined it in her head. But it’s still a pretty clever and occasionally subtle visual representation of her desire to have a family with a parent (or parents) who loves her. I think something like this would have worked slightly better in “Maybe,” but honestly, it doesn’t matter. I still liked that little visual element.

5#: I Think I’m Gonna Like it Here

I’m gonna be honest; I liked this version better than the original. No offense to the original, but it felt kinda like a less good version of “Be Our Guest.” But this one is a bit more fun to me, and Annie, the social worker, and Grace Farrell’s goofy dancing together was really charming and fun. It also really established Grace and Annie’s mother-daughter relationship really well for me. Like, they were bonding, and Grace was sharing Annie’s excitement and wonder, joining her in the fun because she understands the joy this kid is experiencing. It’s just really cute and fun to me, and I liked how it sounded.

6#: You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

Sia’s autism move ruined most of her songs for me personally, so I automatically fell weird about her singing it, but I have a few other reasons I don’t completely like this one. One, it’s a popstar cover of it, and two, it’s not sung by a kid. These two elements together make it lose it’s charm. The original was nice because it was basically a cute song you would legitimately heard a kid sing, with their sweet and optimistic encouragement making it all the more lovely. It also shows a bit about Annie’s character. Like with “Tomorrow” and “Maybe,” it shows that no matter the circumstance, Annie tries to remain optimistic and encouraging towards everyone. Having a popstar cover it in the background just makes it kinda okay I guess.

7#: Moonquake Lake

Okay, fine, I liked this one. I was moving in my seat while it was playing. Fine, you got me, it was pretty good, I’m going to move on now.

8#: Little Girls

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Usually, in order to make “Little Girls” work, the singer basically needs to sound like Carol Burnett and have that quality to their voice. They need to have some musical theater and 1920s to their voice. Cameron Diaz is not Carol Burnett, and she does not sound like Carol Burnett. She has a bit of a pop aspect to her voice. Also, the song generally wouldn’t work in a modern music style. But they managed to make it work. How? By changing the lyrics and main melody. Honestly, this changed version fits better with this specific version of the character as well. 

1982 Hannigan was an older lady who has probably been working one of the hardest possible jobs in the world without any help for what has likely been at least a decade or two. She longs for her glory days, and has gotten really tired of this job. Even kindergarden teachers can get tired of their job, and she never really gets a break, not even when the day is done. It’s a full time job, and it’s honestly understandable that she’d dislike or even hate kids at this point. Her version of the song really captures this, and fits her character well.

2014 Hannigan is a lot younger, probably in her early 30s at most. She is at the end of her more golden years, and has entered an age where you are expected to settle down and or have your life together (doesn’t mean you will or need to, it just means that that’s the expectation). She is probably a bit new to this whole childcare thing, and isn’t really ready for kids. She feels like she just missed all her chances to do something more with her life, or that she’s still living out some of her golden years fostering kids she hates in a place she barely likes. She wants to do something more, but she just can’t seem to. This song captures that.

This isn’t a knock against the actor, but I don’t feel like Cameron would have been able to put off the original. But she pulls this off really well. I honestly think this was a good choice in this case. They made a slightly different song that fits the actor and new character rather than haphazardly trying to make the actor sound like someone she isn’t and the song sound off.

#9: The City’s Yours

This song was okay, I just personally didn’t like it. It was the only one to really make me cringe. I’m sorry. I don’t feel like getting too into it. I can’t really figure out why I don’t like it. But it’s okay.

#10: Opportunity

Okay, this is probably my favorite song in the film. It actually made me pretty emotional for some reason and sounded really really good. I also think this is where they used the least autotune on the actress, and she sounds a lot better because of it. Also, the instrumentals are absolutely fabulous. This one is just really pretty to me. It’s the most emotionally impactful song, and its cuts to Jamie Fox’s reaction actually make it a lot more sweet. He’s getting attached, and actually starts to care about Annie a lot more. He’s proud of her. And it show what Annie is thinking and feeling about her new situation and in this moment. She didn’t have any opportunities before, and now she has so much more than before. It’s just all really great and I like it.

#11: Easy Street

I’m sorry you two, but you didn’t stand a chance. “Easy Street” only works in it’s original style and context. Changing it would be a sin. I can’t even really get mad, it just wouldn’t work no matter how hard they tried. But then they changed some of the lyrics and music. And unlike “Little Girls,” it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work at all. This was born to fail for me, and oh did it fail hard. They should have just recreated the original exactly the way it was and changed absolutely nothing about it.

#12: Who Am I?

Cameron Diaz owned this song, and I actually really liked her acting in it. It was basically her song. But then they added the other two, and it just kinda became meh for me. I really only remembered Cameron and also feeling immense disappointment at the rest of it.

#13: I Don’t Need Anything But You

Okay, this was a great ending song. It was very celebratory, fun, cute, and really funny. It had some fun jokes and was basically just everyone skipping off into the sunset. I liked it.

--------

Anyways, that’s the end of the review! I’m tired or writing all of this. This was incredibly dumb and I’m sorry. This better get some notes because I worked far harder on this than I should have. Again, I’m sorry about this review.

[littlepetbee]

rules: we’re snooping in your playlist. put your entire music library on shuffle and list the first 10 songs and then choose 10 victims.

tagged by my love @sunsetcurvecuddles <3 THANK U

me so bad by tinashe

strangers by jonas brothers

beside you by 5 seconds of summer

it’s the hard knock life from the annie (2014) soundtrack

white horse by taylor swift

say it by rihanna

nice2knoU by all time low

wildflower by 5 seconds of summer

my songs know what you did in the dark by fall out boy

back for you by one direction

hmm i’ll tag @tocquevillagepeople @seeinhindsight @rexbasileus @alexenglish if you guys want to!!!!!! no pressure as always :)

[sorry-but-no-sorry]

Don't know if I'm bothering you or not but... quick, give each of your oc's (like hurricane squad and Kamileo) theme songs! (Ps, I love your art! It just looks awesome from every standpoint I can think of)

Quick !

Hurricane Squad:

- It’s tough to be a god , Annapanstu cover

- It’s a hard knock life , 2014 Annie

(I need to develop each of them more to give them a proper playlist later on 😬)

Kamileo:

- Sexy , Mean Girls Broadway musical

- Bamboozled by Toroi

- I’m something Else by SomethingElseYT

(Self-insert/Daydreaming) Senator Reah:

- I can’t stop singing , teen beach movie

- Ulysse by Ridan

- I’m coming Home by Skylar Grey

- The other side , the greatest showman

Soon-to-be SW Oc that i have the concept of but still I need to develop bc it’s currently just an homework assignment:

- Bad Blood by Taylor Swift ft Kendrick Lamar

- Miracle by TheScore

- The Wolf by SIAMES

All I have so far, this was fun

Might update !

[thedollarcrate]

50 Best Albums (That I Own on Vinyl) of the Decade

It’s hard to comprehend how much transpires over the course of a decade or wrap your head around how long (or short) of time that really is.

But what better way to try than to make a list!

Now, I know “Best of” lists like this one are inherently subjective – and probably say more about their maker’s preferences than actually reflecting the best music released in a particular time period. And, I’ll be the first to admit that the list below is incredibly limited, and that I need to widen my exposure to more artists and genres.

But hey, this is all in fun.

So feel free to debate, pick apart or share your own favorite albums from the past decade. But before you dive in, just a few quick points for context:

-I only ranked albums I actually own on vinyl released between 2010 and 2019, which limited my choices to about 170 records.

-I only ranked new music released this past decade, so no reissues or older material released for the first time (sorry Prince’s Piano & A Microphone and Originals).

-I first started buying vinyl around ’09-’10 and started off purchasing mostly new releases before my habits shifted and I started looking for older records. This shows in the list below – nearly a quarter of the albums below were released in 2010 and almost 70% from the first half of the decade.

And we’re off…

50. Centipede Hz, Animal Collective (2012)

Let’s be honest, it was impossible for Animal Collective to top a universally acclaimed and era-defining album – and it was unfair to expect them to. But maybe the continuous onslaught of bizarre and eclectic music found on Centipede Hz was just what we needed after all.

49. Singles, Future Islands (2014)

So much more than Sam Herring’s pelvis busting dance moves and “Seasons (Waiting On You),” every track on Singlesbursts with life and heart pumping  energy. To quote Letterman: I’ll take all of that you got.

48. Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph, Frog Eyes (2010)

I don’t think I’ll ever understand Carey Mercer’s lyrics, but I’m certain I’ll never tire of getting lost in his hidden words and knotty melodies.

47. Leaving Atlanta, Gentleman Jesse (2012)

Thirty seven minutes of Pure Power Pop Perfection (note the capital “Ps”).

46. Burst Apart, The Antlers (2011)

If there’s another album with a song titled “Putting the Dog to Sleep” that is as haunting and beautiful as this one, I don’t want to know about it.

45. Carrion Crawler/The Dream, Thee Oh Sees (2011)

With John Dwyer churning out record after record in the ‘10s, it should come as no surprise that at least one landed on this list (and they’re all great). Garage rock. Surf rock. Post-punk rock. Psych rock. Noise rock. Rock rock. I don’t care what you call it, Thee Oh Sees put the pedal to the metal on Carrion Crawler/The Dream, taking you for a wild ride that never lets up.

44. 1989, Taylor Swift (2014)

Irresistibly catchy, everyone needs to satisfy their pop sweet tooth every now and then. 1989 is so sugary, it might just give you a cavity or two.

43. City Music, Kevin Morby (2017)

The city. The countryside. A beach. Aboard a train. At the pearly gates. It doesn’t matter where you listen to City Music because Kevin Morby’s jams will immediately transport you to your own laid back, happy place.

42. Remind Me Tomorrow, Sharon Van Etten (2019)

You’ll regret it if you keep waiting to listen this powerhouse – and powerful – synth-soaked record.

41. You Want It Darker, Leonard Cohen (2016)

It doesn’t get much darker, bleaker or sparse than this, but I wouldn’t want it any other way from the masterful Leonard Cohen.

40. American Dream, LCD Soundsystem (2017)

Retirement never sounded so good.

39. Capacity, Big Thief (2017)

Quietly captivating, mesmerizing and elegant, Big Thief knock you out without you even realizing it.

38. St. Vincent, St. Vincent (2014)

Annie Clark’s shapeshifting album won’t only shred your face off, it somehow makes you feel smarter, too.

37. Before Today, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (2010)

So, so weird and so, so good.

36. Expo 86, Wolf Parade (2010)

Like #50, Wolf Parade might always live in the shadow and expectations of a towering classic, yet somehow Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner still continually craft eccentric and bombastic rock albums. Expo 86 is no exception, and it is an underrated classic in its own right.

35. Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves (2018)

Like a sunset or sunrise, Golden Hour radiates beauty and warmth with each of its glowing tracks.

34. Yuck, Yuck (2011)

Despite their name and its hideous album cover, there’s nothing gross about Yuck’s infectious indie rock.

33. Play It Strange, The Fresh & Onlys (2010)

I once saw The Fresh & Onlys play at a tiny club in D.C. It might’ve been the loudest show I’ve ever been to – my ears rang for days. This record is just as rollicking, hazy and good as that show was loud.

32. Natalie Prass, Natalie Prass (2015)

There’s a reason “Welcome to 1979” is stamped in tiny letters on this vinyl’s inner ring – it’s silky smooth, filled with impeccable soft ballads and finely tuned jams – and just a tinge of funk.

31. I Am Easy To Find, The National (2019)

Few bands matched the consistent output of quality albums in the ‘10s as The National. They had one heck of a run, and I Am Easy To Find was a fascinating way to end it – a 21st rock album that felt more complex and expansive than anything they’d done before.

30. Melodrama, Lorde (2018)

Everything a pop record should be and then some – bold, breathtaking and exuberant.

29. Just Enough Hip To Be Woman, Broncho (2014)

If you can’t tell from its playful title, this pop rock album wants nothing more than to have fun – and it succeeds on every level.

28. Avi Buffalo, Avi Buffalo (2010)

Sometimes all you want is a light, sunny and meandering album to wash over you and get lost in, and this one will do the trick every time.

27. Hippies, Harlem (2010)

Imagine a band practicing inside a garage inside a garage inside another garage and you’ve got Harlem. This is garage rock to the max – and at its rambunctious best.

26. Puberty 2, Mitski (2016)

It’s hard to describe Puberty 2. Sure, it might sound like simple dreamy indie rock, but it ebbs and flows in unexpected ways that leaves you guessing where it’s heading next.

25. mbv, My Bloody Valentine (2013)

Picking up right where they left off – even if it was more than a decade later – My Bloody Valentine reminded everyone why they are the masters of reverb soaked shoegaze.

24. A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead (2016)

Even after all these years and albums, Radiohead still found a way to reinvent themselves and push the boundaries of rock music – and our expectations of them. With gorgeous arrangements and slow-burning, tension filled tracks, AMSP proves that even Radiohead can still take risks – and proves rock bands can make quiet, intimate songs sound epic. Oh yeah, and it has “True Love Waits.”

23. Art Angels, Grimes (2015)

Grimes gave us the future of pop music before most could even envision it. This laid the groundwork for all the challenging and intricate – and danceable – pop music that would follow. And it still sounds ahead of its time.

22. Meet Me At The Muster Station, PS I Love You (2010)

The first sounds out of Paul Saulnier’s mouth on Meet Me At The Munster Station aren’t words at all but two short, ecstatic yelps. And this same boundless energy and passion bleeds through on every fuzzy, raucous second of every track. Did I mention there’s a song called “Butterflies & Boners”?

21. More Than Any Other Day, Ought (2014)

You really ought to listen to Ought if you aren’t already. Tim Darcy and co. sound a bit uneasy, paranoid and self-aware, but they make the most minute challenges sound so exhilarating and life-altering – even the struggle deciding between two percent and whole milk at the grocery store.

20. Lemonade, Beyoncé (2017)

All hail Queen Bey.

19. Twin-Hand Movement, Lower Dens (2010)

This album sounds like 2 am on a dark, rainy Saturday night – in the best way imaginable.

18. Tomboy, Panda Bear (2011)

You can always count on Panda Bear to make hypnotic, loopy electronic music sound so breezy and effortless.

17. Modern Vampires Of The City, Vampire Weekend (2013)

I don’t know why, but I want to dislike Vampire Weekend so much. But that’s impossible when their music is so damn good and every note sounds so neat and perfect.

16. Past Life Martyred Saints, EMA (2011)

Just do yourself and listen to this album please.

15. The Archandroid, Janelle Monáe (2010)

Blending too many genres to count, this is what I imagine music sounds like in space.

14. Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens (2015)

I’ll let you know how I feel about this one after I stop crying.

13. The Suburbs, Arcade Fire (2010)

It’s everything you either love or hate about Arcade Fire. Grand, sincere and sweeping rock that swings for the fences with every guitar chord, drumbeat and horn blast. I love it.

12. Silence Yourself, Savages (2013)

Savages grab you by the throat and never let go – this is one intense album.

11. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes (2011)

This might be the epitome of ‘10s indie rock – and for good reason. Introspective, sensitive and searching for some greater meaning, Robin Pecknold holds nothing back and lays it all out on Helplessness Blues.

10. Kaputt, Destroyer (2011)

Dan Bejar is an enigma and seemingly reluctant rock star. I saw him perform an acoustic set where he spent a majority of the time playing with his back towards the audience (although in fairness, it was at a free outdoor show on a college campus with people mostly chatting obnoxiously over him), and yet it’s as if his creativity requires him to constantly release new albums and show them off. Kaputt is as equally strange and mysterious – and just as creative – as its maker.

9. Black Star, David Bowie (2016)

Take away the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding this album’s release and it would still be in the top tier of David Bowie’s extensive catalogue. Experimenting until the very end, Bowie morphed into something entirely new one last time. Part jazz, part rock and part I’m not sure what you would call it, the results were once again out of this world. He couldn’t give it all away, but we’re sure thankful for what he could.

8. Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)

Shedding the cabin in the woods vibe, Justin Vernon took a giant leap forward with Bon Iver and made ‘80s soft rock popular.

7. Celebration Rock, Japandroids (2012)

Perhaps the most aptly named album on this list, no other album exudes the joy of making music and rocking out with your buddy than this one. It’s hard to believe all that noise and energy comes from just two people.

6. Burn Your Fire For No Witness, Angel Olsen (2014)

Angel Olsen’s hypnotic and seductive vocals, lyrics and guitar suck you in immediately, mesmerizing you from the first gentle strums to the peaks and valleys of “Lights Out” and “Stars” all the way to the closer’s pulsing drumbeats and majestic piano.

5. Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard (2015)

Oozing with cool, sexy and confident R&B funk, D’Angelo returned after 14 years with an instant soul masterpiece.

4. The Monitor, Titus Andronicus (2010)

It says a lot when a band can a.) make an hour plus punk rock record b.) loosely base it on the Civil War c.) quote Abraham Lincoln d.) close it out with a 14 minute track inspired by a famous naval battle and e.) still make you want to listen to it over and over and over again.

3. Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs (2014)

The rare album that can feel vast and ambitious and yet deeply private and personal all at once. You really will get lost in these soaring songs.

2. Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter (2010)

At times perfectly melodic and structured and at others feeling on the brink of falling apart, Halcyon Digest is a paradox – sounding peaceful, bright and idyllic while also peering over the edge into something darker. This is a remarkable record from a remarkable band. If not for the abrupt end to the darkly beautiful closer “He Would Have Laughed,” Halcyon Digest sounds like it could go on forever.

1. Let England Shake, PJ Harvey (2011)

A stunning, thought-provoking, and moving – not to mention endlessly listenable – transcendent piece of art about life and the Great War. PJ Harvey doesn’t hold back on the brutality and absurdity of armed conflict, and the album’s devastating closing track – “The Colour of the Earth” – will linger in your mind long after the record stops spinning. As powerful today as it was eight years ago, this album will remain timely and important for years – and decades – to come.

[tedddy-exe]

Jonathan.

Jonathan

[Inspired off the movie Annie 1982. This book is an H20VANOSS. Other ships will be included]

 Characters replaced

Annie – Jonathan

Sandy – Squirrel

Molly – Bryce

Pepper – Ryan

 [All other characters will be the same, others have been added. I’d like to say this story is in between 2010 to 2014.]

Chapter One

‘Maybe’

Jonathan sat up on the window sill in his room, he lived in Hudson St. home for boys, the light from the moon shined into the room and on Jonathan’s face showing off his scattered freckles around his face and short but curly hair, tonight he had tied some pieces into a braid. It was late and he couldn’t sleep so he did what he was best at upon the window sill. Singing.

“Maybe far away or maybe real nearby...He may be pouring her coffee, she may be straightening his tie! Maybe in a house all hidden by a hill. She’s sitting playing piano, He’s sitting paying a bill!”

Jonathan looked the window with a slight grin, with his finger he drew a smiley face on the window.

“Betcha they’re young, Betcha they’re smart, bet they collect things like ashtrays, and art!

Betcha they’re good. Why shouldn’t they be?

Their one mistake”

Jonathan looks back into his room looking at the other kids asleep, his smile flattened a little.

“Was giving up me…”

He turned back to the window.

“So maybe now it’s time, and maybe when I wake. They’ll be calling my ‘baby’, maybe”

Jonathan looked up to the stars, it was one of his many favorite things. He raised his hands towards the moon and pretended to grab it. Bryce started struggling in his sleep, moaning and turning. Jonathan looked to him and climbed down from window sill and rushed over with a worried look.

“Jon, Jon, Jonnn, Jonathan!!” the seven-year old called out while sitting up in bed tearing up. The older by 9 years sat next to Bryce, pulling him into a hug, Jonathan put one arm around his shoulder and his other onto his hair stroking it, Bryce just grabbed Jonathan’s waist crying silently. “Shh, its okay. Everything’s gonna be alright, there there” Jonathan placed a quick kiss to the crying child’s cheek “it only a dream Bryce, it’s alright”

Ryan had by now awaken and grumbled “How am I supposed to get any sleep around here” He threw his hands up in the air from where he was laying in bed. “its only a dream. Everything’s alright.”

Ryan crossed his arms and turned his head in bed to looked at the two hugging. “Bryce shouldn’t be in this room!” He soon got up walked along the other beds where the other boys slept “He’s a baby!” standing on top of them as he went across “He cries all the time”.

“OW!” one called out has Ryan stepped on their head, he stood on an others ankle, they cried out in pain too. The other moved out the way in time “Come one!” they called out to Ryan for ruining their sleep.  

Ryan then smirked, “He wets the bed”

Bryce quickly stood up from the hug Jonathan was giving him and cried out “I do not!”

The boys Ryan woke pushed him off the bed he was standing on and started hitting him with pillows they slept with, while shouting out things.

“Stop we’ll get in trouble!” One called out in a panic of Miss Hannigan coming in, but they continued shouting and hitting.

Jonathan soon stood up “Stop it”, He walked over swinging his arms to look tough “Cut it out”

He pulled Ryan away from the other boys “I mean it!” he pulled a pillow away from one of the boys “Do you want Miss Hannigan to come in here?”. He pulled one of the boys again, motioning him to go back to his original bed, He looked towards another boy and glared “Go back to bed”, they did.

Ryan stood up from the bed he was sitting on and put his hands on his hips, pouting his lip and leaning over Jonathan, since he was taller. “Now” Jonathan whispers, “Or you’ll have me to deal with” He said bring up his fists. Ryan scoffs “Oh blow it out your old wa-zoo!” and he goes off back to bed, Jonathan returns back to Bryce, getting him to sit back into bed. Jonathan cuddles back up into him “close your eyes, think about your folks” Jonathan smiles at Bryce, Bryce returns the smile. “You’re the only one that really has folks” Bryce says sadly playing with Jonathan’s amulet, “Mines are dead”. Jonathan smiles again “Think, about the folks that want to adopt you, they want a little boy with blond hair and blue eyes!”  

“Betcha he reads, Betcha she sews, maybe she’s made me a closet of clothes!”

All the other boys who have settled back into bed listen to Jonathan’s signing.

“Maybe they’re strict as straight as a line, don’t really care.

As long as they’re mine...”

One of the boy’s mutter “Oh my goodness”.

“So maybe now this prayer’s the last one of its kind…please won’t you come get your ‘baby’”.

Step, step, step.

Jonathan silently gasps and hugs Bryce closer. A shadow appears in the doorway, the shadow simulates someone taking a drink from a bottle, the shadow gets closer as the person walks in, and its no other than Miss Hannigan, she switches the light and stumbles further into the room. She stares all of them down, “Did I, hear singing in here?” Miss Hannigan runs her tongue over her teeth. She walks over to the front of the beds, her bottle that contained whiskey moving around in its container.

“Alright? fine”, She leans over one of the beds “Since were all so” She grabs the blanket one of the boys are hiding under, “Wide awake!” She pulls the sheet off from him. Everyone starts to moan, “Get up, get out of bed” She motions them to move. She throws another blanket from the beds while the other boys get up colleting their clothes to change “Clean up this mess, get dressed!”.

She points to the ground, “And this room better be regulation before breakfast, my little pig droppings, or kill, kill, kill!”

Jonathan arose from Bryce’s bed “But it’s in the middle of the night” He gave her a confused look. Miss Hannigan mocked him repeating what he had said, “But it’s in the middle of the night” Miss Hannigan then proceeded to grab Jonathan’s shirt and bring him close to her face, Jonathan went against not looking at her, “And if this floor don’t shine like the top of the Chrysler building, your backsides will, Y’understand?”.

All the orphans gulped and answered, “Yes, Miss Hannigan”

Miss Hannigan looked at all of them and turned to Jonathan again, “What do we say, Jonathan”

Jonathan gave a fake smile “I love you, Miss Hannigan.” She rolled her eyes, “Why any kid would want to be an orphan is beyond me” She let him go and Jonathan jumped off the bed and onto her foot, “UARGHH”, Jonathan rushed away with the other boys, laughing and giggling.

Everyone in the house by now were up. A song they all knew very well was always sung during cleaning. Jonathan made sure to teach every single one, so they didn’t feel so bad when tidying up around the forsaking home.

Jonathan set up the cd player and plopped in the disk, he had sat it on the window next to the stair where most of the boys were starting to clean, A boy passed by carrying a bucket of soapy water and a sponge, the music started to play.

One boy was scrubbing the wall but gave up and kicked it, another was falling asleep on the bannister, the kid passed them both and found Ryan flat on his stomach on the stairs cleaning it, Ryan pulled himself forward down the stairs, Jonathan sat at the bottom, hand on chin, he looked back up to them, “it’s the hard knock life for us”.

Kids from upstairs looked over the bannister shouting/singing down, “It’s the hard knock life for us!”

Jonathan looked up to all of them, He smiled and continued “’Stead of treated”. They sang back “We get tricked!”

Some boys started sliding down the bannisters, Jonathan’s smile became brighter knowing they weren’t as sad as when they were told to get up, “’Stead of kisses”, Once again they sang back but louder “We get kicked!”.

Everyone ran through the corridors, singing proudly along with Jonathan, Ryan looked annoyed, He caught someone watching instead of cleaning, He grabbed them by the shoulder and then clapped. They got right back to work.

In another room. Lads were sweeping and two other messing about, one of them ground holding up the other one upside down while kicking their legs.

“It’s a hard knock life! Got no folks to speak of, so it’s a hard knock row we ho”

People jumped up and down from tables.

“Cotton blanket” Jonathan could be heard from outside the room, the many in the room replied “’Stead a wool”. They all continued as Jonathan passed the room. “Empty bellies, ‘stead of full”, They waved around sheets. A whistle was blown, and Ryan pushed the sheets away glaring at them all.

In the kitchen the music could still be heard. They males passed around the plates around the table. Jonathan came through the doors holding a stack of plates and placed them onto a trolley. He sighed, “Doesn’t it always feel like the wind is howling?”

Jonathan spins around on the trolley passing two boys who continued the lyrics, “Don’t it seem like there’s never any light?”.

Jonathan had moved the trolley next to the sink for washing the plates where Bryce sat, they both sang together “Once a day, don’t you wanna throw the towel in?”

Jonathan threw the plates into the sink, Ryan slipped on the water that jumped up, he looked to Jonathan and swung his fist in a circling way to threaten Jonathan. Jonathan backed up with an ‘ooh’. Ryan grumbled, he moved into the onion room with Jonathan where boys were crying from sorting them out, He shook hid head and surprisingly started to sing along too, he sang- “It’s easier than putting up a fight”

Jonathan smiled at him, “No one’s there when your dreams at night are creepy! No one cares if you grow or shrink! No one dries when your eyes get wet and weepy.”

Everyone else started singing again, Ryan picked up a bucket of water another boy opened the door that led to the outside metal stairs and walked in front of Ryan, “From all the crying you would think this place would sink!”, Ryan threw the water “at the boy getting it all over him.

“Ohhhh!” Boys started climbing the metal railings, more water been thrown over and clothes getting beat to dry.

Jonathan and some other boys started wiping the floors. They all stood on both knees and when back down again with the beat laying on their chest’s hands to cheeks “Empty belly life!” They all rolled and reached for the air before kicking their legs while sitting on their bottoms “Rotten smelly life!” They all stood and jumped, and Jonathan swung with cloth around before dumping it on the ground.

He picked up a bucket and poured it down the stairs he walked down, Bryce sat at the bottom of the stairs, “Santa clause we never see”, Jonathan sat next to Bryce a step up, “Santa clause, what’s that? whose he?”. They both stood and headed back upstairs, “No one cares for you a smidge, when you’re an orphanage. It’s a hard knock life”, Everyone sang together. Ryan came around again with his whistle, everyone started heading up stairs. They all spoke the each other, they all also had to step over the boy sleeping on the steps of the stairs, some laughing at him, some shaking their heads.

Bryce was behind them all, He whistled at the sleeping boy and imitating Miss Hannigan, he grabbed his arm and spoke “You’ll stay up till this building shines like the of the Chrysler building!”, Bryce then procced to pull him upstairs.

Everyone but Bryce sang again, “Kill, kill!” Bryce became to be Miss Hannigan again, “Yank the whiskers from her chin”. Bryce pushed them out the way “Little pig droppings!”, some kids pretended to stab pins, “Jab her with a safety pin”. Kids circled all around little Bryce “Rotten orphans!”.

One kid holed a bucket towards him, “Make her drink a Mickey Finn”. Bryce ran away, “Nobody loves you.” The boys from behind laughed “We love you Miss Hannigan!”

Bryce walked into a room with beds and started to giving orders, “Get to work! Strip them beds!” Boys jumped and tumbled from the beds taken the sheet. All of them picked up pillows hitting each other, feathers flew all around the room becoming white, Bryce went into the next room. “Scrub that floor! Polish my shoes!”, the other boys crawled after Bryce trying to grab his shoes. One by one the boys started getting into single line “And I mean”, They headed up more stairs, “NOW!”. They were back at their rooms.

 Everyone started to sing again, “it’s a hard knock life for us, it’s a hard knock life for us!”, One boy started to push a laundry basket, “No one cares for you a smidge”. More boys jumped on the bed as others pulled the sheets from under them. “When you’re in an orphanage”, Everyone started to bundle the sheets into the laundry basket. Jonathan climbed onto the bed and got ready to jump, jump into the laundry

“It’s a hard knock life, it’s a hard knock life! It’s a hard knock life!!!”. Jonathan then jumped into the basket of sheets as all the other boys put in the other sheets covering Jonathan.

They all started speaking to get Jonathan out, “Get him outta there” “Get out” “Were gonna get killed”.

Jonathan peaked out a little and whispered, “Cover me up”. Ryan grunted “All you ever do is run-away”, Most of the boys badgered off by now, “oh my goodness, oh my goodness” a young boy cried, one older said “She’ll put you in the cellar with the ghosts!”, another hesitantly responded with- “You’ll get whipped again, you’re gonna get us in trouble” .

Bryce was a little upset and was making noises. “Bryce shut up” Ryan waved him off and the investigated the basket “I’m going to tell”, Jonathan laughed “And I’m going to rearrange your teeth!”.

Miss Hannigan came around the corner blowing her whistle, Jonathan whispered again “Stomp on her feet!”, all the boys turned to stood in front of the laundry basket. She was clearly still drunk from earlier, swaying, “What are you all doing here, standing?” Some shrugged “Your supposed to clean the kitchen and the bathroom before lunch, my little pig droppings! And if ya skip a corners, there will be no lunch. And we’re not having hot mush today.”

The boys cheer until Miss Hannigan blows her whistle.

“We’re having cold mush.”

They groan. “What?!”, the orphans stop and reply “We love you, Miss Hannigan”. She sighs “Wonderful”

She looks around, looking around for Jonathan. “Where’s Jonathan?”. Bryce looks at her “He had to go to the bathroom…”. Miss Hannigan scoffs and waves her hand about mocking her “He had to go the bathroom”.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and a voice could be heard calling out “Miss Hannigan! Miss Hannigan!”. Miss Hannigan gasped “Oh, Mr. Bundles!”, she ran away to get the door.

The boys laughed and repeated her “Mr. Bundles!”

Mr. Bundles gave up calling her name and walked over to his van, he was apart of a cleaning company. He opened the doors to his van, The door to the home for boys opened and out cam Miss Hannigan. She smiled “Yoo-hoo”, Mr. Bundles waved “Yoo-hoo”.

She laughed and swung her necklace in her hand and walked up to him, making him back up into his van. “Its time for a tumble with a bundle”, Mr. Bundles shook his head. “Not today Miss Hannigan, I’m behind- Oh!” Miss Hannigan and turned him around taking off his hat “My schedule I mean!”

“But our schedules in the storm of passion, Mr. Bundles just so much flatsawn and Jackson!” She grabbed his face in order to kiss him, but he pushed her off “Oh, Miss Hannigan, please!”.

The orphans came out pulling the laundry basket with Jonathan inside. One of the boys called out for Mr. Bundles, “Mr. Bundles!”. Miss Hannigan groaned, “What are you doing out here?”. They replied, “Helping you, its heavy stuff”. Mr. Bundles smiled “Yeah, it’s a lot heavier than usual-“ Bryce hit Mr. Bundles, “Shh!”. He got the message.

“Why it shouldn’t be, what’s in there?”. Mr. Bundles walked over to her, “Miss Hannigan, Miss Hannigan” He pulled her down in his arm “oh yes?” She asked, “Your just my type of woman” He kissed her neck, “Miss Hannigan” And kissed it again looking behind him after to make sure the boys were getting the laundry basket in alright.

“That’s it, Miss Hannigan.” He walked away to close the doors of the van. Miss Hannigan shouted out as he got into the drivers’ seat, “I’ll be right here!”. She then blew her whistle and the boys ran back in. The van that contained Jonathan inside started to drive away.

[multifandomvids98]

The Avengers Humour | A Hard Knock Life

Another video up on my YouTube channel.

"Hello there! Welcome back to my channel :)

I thought maybe I should do a Marvel Humour Video, sorry if it isn't as funny as it seems. I had no ideas on what to make, so this is just a last minute put together which means there is no planning or thinking it through with this video. But I do hope you all enjoy :)

I upload every Saturdays, I don't have the exact time I upload but it would be on Saturdays.

If you liked it click that 'Like' button and Subscribe. Share the video around if you wish too.

Make sure your notifications are on so you know when I upload next. Let me know what you all think.

I hope you all enjoy :) And thank you for watching :)

Stay tuned for more content like this...

Scenes from:

The Avengers Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: Civil War The Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Song: It's A Hard Knock Life (Annie 2014 OST) Artist: Eden Duncan-Smith"

[wickedweeklywonders]

Movies to watch

-virtigo -green room

-gangs of new york -drive -the master -interstellar -django unchained -cannibal holocaust -audition -apocalypse now -natural born killers -gummo -300 -gladiator -phantom of liberty -enter the void -tree of life -8 and a half -the mirror -resevoiur dogs -mishima -slaugter house 5 -the sweet here after -inside luan davis -dead of night -before the ring -basic -last year at mariumba -go -mr nobody -hero -j f k -rashmon -5 by 2 -eternal sunshine -irreversible -memento -peppermint candy -casino -melancholia -eve -good fellas -citizen kane -amande chord -nashville -short cuts -babble -21 grams - paris jai taime -AJAMI -the godfather -the fountain -the atlas -dias de gracias -intolerence -woyoming for men -before sunset -Broke -1993 -high noon -jaws -neighbors -young and beautiful -the raid -ginger snaps -the nice guys -the shallows -ginger and rosa -frank -sinister -predestination -another earth -chappie -enemy -the girl king -the danish girl -hush -chicago -sucker punch -spy -the boy -carrie -lights out -wolf of wall street -Apocalypse Now -Childhood of a Leader -the fugitive -under seige -coal miners daughter -the client -no country for old men -hope springs -cobb -miami connection -upstream colour -tickled -kingdom of heaven -hoffa -the producers -blazing saddles -young frankenstein -minority report -shaun of the dead -the kingdom of dreams and madness -the story of jt leroy -hunger -alien -boogie nights -primer -children of men -127 hours -zombie man -lights out -jason bourne -dances with wolves -memoires of a geisha -ex machina -the witch /the vvitch -battle royal -star wars series -the departed -moneyball -oceans eleven -pretty woman -edge of tomorrow -hercules -muppets movie series -the fugitive -disco pigs -peaky blinders -breakfast on pluto -girl with the pearl earring -the wind that shakes the barley -following -momento -mr man -anthropoid -when the wind blows -friends of H -west world -cloverfield -chronicles of riddick -pitch black -the blair witch (2) -30 days of night -event horizon -pandorum -Blade -amityville horror -children of the corn -hell raiser -night of the living dead -dawn of the dead -survival of the dead -day of the dead -psycho sequels -final destination -army of darkness -texas chainsaw massacre -resident evil -paranormal activity sequals 4 and 5 -the omen -28 weeks later -hostel -fright night -sinister -sausage party -moana -pk -ran de basanti -about elly -the chaser -godzilla -dredd -oceans 11 -true grit -10 to yuma -footloose -the departed -thing -the fly -cape fear -brave heart -what a way to go -25th hour -annie -good fellas -weird science -wallstreet -point break -all that jazz -the apartment -resevoir dogs -royal tanonbombs -river runs through it -true romance -colour of night -rocky -first blood -back to school -raging bull -full metal jacket -vanilla sky -dogville -big fish -virgin suicides -planes trains automobiles -shattered glass -the last seduction -12 angry men -network -before the devil knows ur dead -the killing -paths of glory -ace in the hole -the rules of attraction -sulivans travels -oh brother where art tho -that thing you do -dog tooth -lobster -make this town go round and round -payback -the 5th eye -after the storm -all these sleepless nights -another country -apple pie -aquarius -as i open my eyes -author the jt leroy story -bacon and gods wrath -being 17 -beware the slenderman -bleak street -burden -captain fantastic -certain women -chevalier -dont call me son -the butterfly effect -the eagle huntress -endless poetry -figure -the first monday in may -the first the last -green room -happy hour -the heart of the matter -high rise -julieta -les demons -long way north -lost and beautiful -love song -the lure -michael smither the portrait -neruda -the pissy tits street gang/ -personal shopper -the qeen of ireland -the red turtle -sixty six -suburra -tanna -ten years -a touch of zen -under the shadow -variety -when two worlds collide -the wounded angel -zero dark thirty -the killing joke -sicario -napoleon dynamite -north by north west -aqua marine - nu pogodi -MARIE ANTOINETTE -SPICE GIRLS -13 GOING ON 30 -BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS -CLUELESS -THE CLIQUE -LIZZIE MCGUIRE -southbound -once -kubo -the lobster -neighbors -nice guys -ex machina -morgan -cash only -creative control -low and behold -embers -kicks -dont think twice -sleep walk w me -the strangers -joy -american hustle -imagine you and me -life partner -the abyss -dr strangelove -bronson -cool hand luke -the good the bad the ugly -once upon a time in the west -lolita -gilda -goodfellas -dirty harry -sexy beast -M -laurence of arabia -young frankenstein -the producers -bonnie and clyde -suffragette -the danish girl -nathan barley -the lobster -cloud atlas -im not there -bright star -brideshead revisited -paddington -lilting -holiday -ginger snaps -blaire witch 2 -we are what we are -southbound -green inferno -knock knock -they look like people -hush -the hallow -the darkness -the other side of the door -the boy -the forest -the nightmare -the houses october built -the visit -sinister -eden lake -honeymoon -the lazarus effect -starry eyes -the village -the sacrement -american mary -the woman in black 2 -haunt -all the boys love mandy lane -tale of two sisters -uninvited -true lies -the revenant -operation avalanche -fear -boogienights -rumble fish -something wild -manhatten -mad max originals -great gatsby original -the champ -midnight express -the deer hunter -eyes of laura mars -lenny -lifeforce -the black cauldren -desperately seeking susan -purple rose of cairo -arrival -hocus pocus -what lies beneath -a dangerous method -like crazy -jeff who lives at home -young adult -stand by me -gone with the wind -the third man -lost in translation -la dolce vita -me and you and everyone we know -harold and maude -departures - The Librarians -Warehouse 13 -The River -Paranormal Witness -american horror story - Specter -Splinter -The Autopsy of Jane Doe -american horror story -star wars - Session 9 - The Call of Cthulhu - Martin - Cemetery Man - At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul - Let’s Scare Jessica to Death -Ouija -Silent Night, Deadly Night -Only God Forgives -Amelie -The Royal Tenenbaums -The Tempest -Upstream Color -Event Horizon -From Dusk Till Dawn -The Devil Inside -Below -Hush -return of the living dead -the town the feared sundown -30 days of night -the invitation -the woman -my bloody valentines -grabbers -invasion of the body snatchers -the gift -12 angry men -anomalisa -young frankenstein -ex machina -das boot -under the shadow -blackfish -the bicycle thieves -city of god -old boy -downfall -holy motors -blue is the warmest color -i am love -beyond the hills -a hijacking -lore -the great beauty/ -the hunt -amour -Transsiberian -Robot & Frank -the bay -celeste and jesse forever -like crazy -perfect gateway -europa report -hard boiled -el mariachi -the hunt for red october -apocalypto -super 8 -close encounters of the third kind -melancholia -upstream colour -primer -buried -primal fear -sicario -the gift -bound -millers crossing -the firm -jackie brown -almost famous -american psycho -high fidelity -AI -memento -city of god -million dollar baby -children of men -the departed -this is england -zodiac -boys in the hood -men of children -shawshank redemption -the departed -on the waterfront -snatch -my cousin vinny -true grit -big lebowski -hunger -the naughty nineties -lucky number sleven -guildernstern are dead -grand budapest hotel -inglorious bastards -the third man -double indemnity -true romance -resevoiur dogs -hateful 8 -the master -the lion in winter -doubt -glengarry glen ross -steve jobs -the big chill -magnolia -end of tour -coffee and cigerettes -my dinner with andre -before sunrise -primer -before -end of watch -you can count on me -house of games -manhatten -the nice guys -heist -get shorty -lethal wepaon -kiss kiss bang bang -lock stock and two smoking barrels -withnail and i -in bruges -seven psychopaths -casablanca -the apartment -the girl on friday -the big sleep -horse feathers -duck soup -animal crackers -kind hearts and corronets -monty python -day of the triffids -assault on precinct 13 -chinatown -the invaders -nightmares -fear and loathing in las vegas -dr katz professional therapist -the big sleep -leviathan -earth vs the flying saucers -american graffitti -things to come -terror vision -the dain curse -brazil -the towering inferno -the third man -dead ringers -dark star -midnight cowboy -spies like us -get crazy -the dirty douzen -little shop of horrors -the man who wasnt there -rumble fish -gleaming the cube -fruitvale station -dancer in the dark -cries and whispers -in the mood for love -oceans eleven -the gold rush -spartacus -gladiator -platoon -do the right thing -saving private ryan -swingers -marathon man -nightcrawler -happiness -10 cloverfield lane -anomalisa -do lavon -room -waltz with bashire -blower -inside lou and davis -blow up -a serious man -mirror -synochechy new york -stalker -spring summer fall winter spirng -gataga -the fountain -devils rejects -half baked -jupiter ascending -devils advocate -the abyss -the accountant -american honey -iron fist -ipman -dragon -green hornet -chocolate -kungfu hustle -the man from nowhere -awake -creep -the girl in the photographs -beneath -honeymoon -let us prey -the houses october built -starry eyes - Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -Amelie (2001) -Withnail and I (1987) -Do the Right Thing (1989) -Hairspray (1988) -The Virgin Suicides (1999) -Morvern Callar (2002) -American Psycho (2000) -Life is Sweet (1990) -Barry Lyndon (1975) -The Riot Club (2014) -Samsara (2011) -BBC Panorama: Inside North Korea (2013) -The First Movie (2009) -Lessons of Darkness (1992) -Wadjda (2012) -From Russia with Love (1963) -Meek’s Cutoff (2010) -Selma (2014) -Moana (2016) -Tale of Tales (2015) -A Matter of Life and Death (1946) -Two Days One Night (2014) -Leviathan (2014) -The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) -A Clockwork Orange (1971) -Ed Wood (1994) -Final Segment: The First Movie (2009) -man on the moon -magnolia -beginners -wet hot american summer -hot rod -airplane 1 and  ii -blazing saddles -dr strangelove -steamboat bill jr -when harry met sally -my cousin vinny -the jerk -the discreat charm of the bougousie -pineable express -theres something about mary -monty python football -young frankenstein -inglorious bastards -rat race -weekend -in bruges -animal cracker -naked gun -the naughty nineties -spaceballs -harold and kumar -planes trains and automobiles -super troopers -his girl friday -ace ventura -doubtfire -high fidelity -anchorman -caddyshack -best in show -some like it hot -top secret -hot rod -this is spinal tap -the producers -22 jump street -bruce almighty -office space -city lights -project a -kung fu hustle -duck soup -pork pie -lego batman -fences -hidden figures -moonlight -it comes at night -cure for wellness -kedi -i dont feel at home in this world anymore -the lure -okja -john wick -trainspotting 1 and 2 -baby driver -it -hell or high water -the bad batch -split -the belko experiment -the accountant -lion -embers -under the skin -stalker -adaptation -the taking of deborah logan -noroi -invisible 2: chasing the ghost sound -the good neighbor -they look like people -monkey bones -the searchers -shane -forty guns -high country -high plains drifter -the ox bow incident -rancho notorious -winchester 73 -unforgiven -the assissination of jesse james -one eyed jacks -outlaw josey wales -pat garret and billy the kid -butch cassidy and the sun dance kid -high noon -tombstone -my darling clementine -true grit -rio bravo -the man who shot liberty valance -the shootist -the wild bunch -el topo -hell or high water -lonesome dove -paris texas -mccabe and mrs miller -a bullet for the general -the great silence -fistful of dollars -once upon a time in the west -sholay -tears of the black tiger -good the bad and the weird -sons of great bear -the proposition -sukiyaki western django -black god white devil -whity -yojimbo -shanghai noon -red sun -serenity -big trouble in little china -serenity -from dusk till dawn -cow boys and aliens -my left foot -spotlight -hush -magic -dead of night -may -hannibal rising -red dragon -youree next -the step father -halloween -night of the living dead -john wick -counte of monte christo -the sacrement -the wicker man -the craft -are you afraid of the dark -wayward pines -texas chainsaw mascare -invasion of the body snatchers -alien -jacobs ladder -return of the living dead -the thing -audition -the mist -martyrs -let the right one in -monty pythons meaning of life -cemetary man -the frighteners -bill and teds bogus journey -the adventures of barron ma -skyfall -a few good men -training day -the last of the mohecans -the omen -

[lovinglapislazuli]

Butler's hard knock life

I've had this idea in mind for a while, he went through a lot XD

ID: Footage of Butler from Tropical Rouge Precure set to the song “It’s a hard knock life” from Annie (2014).

ID: Spezzoni di Butler da Tropical Rouge Pretty Cure montanti sulla canzone “It’s a hard knock life” da Annie (2014).

[ifuckinglovestvincent]

BBC: A strange encounter with St. Vincent

By Mark Savage BBC Music Reporter

3 October 2017

“Are you ready for this?” St Vincent’s press officer is making small talk ahead of our interview, on a scorching hot summer’s day in London. “Sure,” I reply. I’ve listened to her new album. I’ve made copious notes. I’ve jotted down about two dozen questions. “No, but are you ready for this?” he asks. “I’m not sure what you mean.” “Oh, you’ll see.” Sounds ominous… A few minutes later, a cloaked woman appears and, without speaking, leads me by the hand into the street, through a fire escape and into a bare concrete room. She gestures to a billboard-sized poster of St Vincent, which has a non-disclosure agreement at the bottom. I sign it in pink felt tip, and am led to a prefabricated wooden cube. The monk woman unbolts a door, barely big enough for a medium-sized Labrador, and I stoop through. Inside, the walls are bright pink. There are two pink standard lamps, with pink light bulbs, placed in opposite corners. And there, sitting at a cheap wooden table, is St Vincent, playing ambient guitar music through her iPhone. Her hair is, I think, painted blue and cut in a close bob. She makes unwavering eye contact as we shake hands and the door is shut (locked?) behind me. “Wait til the paint fumes get to you,” she deadpans. “It’ll be really awesome.” As she describes the room - “it’s like a psychedelic womb” - the 34-year-old sips a drink through a bendy straw that’s been moulded into the word “No”. “That’s in case there’s a yes or no question. We can just save time.” This, I suspect, will not be your average interview. St Vincent is here, ostensibly, to promote her new album MASSEDUCTION (that’s “mass seduction”, not “mass education”). It’s the follow-up to 2014’s St Vincent, an expectation-defying art-pop record that cemented Texas-born Annie Clark as one of her generation’s greatest guitarists. If anything, the new record is even better - pitching wildly between jittery electronics and despondent ballads as Clark exposes her feelings on sex, drugs and sadness. “It’s an incredibly sad album,” she says. “Quite manic and painful. "I listen to it, and some points of the album are so sad it makes me laugh. It’s just so tragic. But that’s human life.” The first single, New York, is a disarmingly simple ode to lost love. “New York isn’t New York without you, love,” she sings over lonely piano chords, with the pulsing heartbeat of the city submerged deep within the mix. “It’s a kind of dance song that you listen to in your bed and cry,” she says. New York is one of several break-up songs on the album. It’s safe to assume they’re about Cara Delevingne, the elaborately-eyebrowed supermodel she dated for 18 months until last September - but Clark isn’t going into specifics. “Songs are Rorschach tests,” she deflects, referring to the inkblot psychological tests. “The interpretation of the song, or the feeling of the song, has more to do with the listener than it does with my intention and I’m fine with that. "But that song’s a love letter to New York, certainly, and to me it’s a composite of so many people and so many experiences in New York.” The album also continues the saga of Johnny, who first appeared on St Vincent’s debut album, Marry Me. Back then, she pleaded to be his partner, singing, “Let’s do what Mary and Joseph did / Without the kid”. By her fourth record, though, they were distant and estranged, as he embraced New York’s party scene. In the latest instalment, Johnny is dependent on drugs and living on the street. When Clark crosses his path, he accuses her of abandoning him. “What happened to blood. Our family?” he hisses. “Annie, how could you do this to me?” It’s heartbreaking, and savagely self-critical - but Clark won’t say whether it’s based on a real person. “Everybody’s real and everybody’s a composite,” she replies. It seems evasive. It is evasive. But the singer is a thoughtful, considerate interviewee. She seems to taste the questions, chewing them over before answering. Her responses are precise, but never abrupt. So why, then, are we talking inside a bright pink Tardis? The point, Clark explains, is to put both of us “in uncomfortable positions”. “You’ve done a million interviews. I’ve done a million interviews. There’s only so many times you can repeat your Wikipedia page to someone. "So what happens if we shake that up? Maybe you and I react differently, and that’s interesting.” What actually happens is that we spend 15 minutes talking about the process of being interviewed. She winces as she recalls a journalist quizzing her on the time she played New York while dressed as a toilet. “I had just made a horror movie,” she says, referencing her short film Birthday Party, “and this was a costume from it”. “Then I had an interviewer say to me, ‘Was that some Freudian display, as if you feel you’ve been pissed upon?’ "I was like, 'Wow, that says a whole lot more about you than it does about me.’” Principally, though, she’s bored of being asked the same old questions. “I’ll give you an example!” she says, grabbing her phone and scrolling through a series of about 30 voice memos. “I get asked to justify my existence as a woman in music all the time, so here is an example of something I might say.” She clicks play and sits back in her chair, arms crossed. Her voice, in a bored monotone, emits from the speaker. “Being a woman in music means being asked about being a woman in music. And when you ask me a question about being a woman in music, what you’re really doing is presenting me with two very tired narratives, and asking me to choose one of them. "The first one goes like this: I am a victim, and now is the time to list, in great detail, my many grievances in order to assert my place in the hierarchy of victimhood. "Or you’re asking me to defend now, in words, as if my work wasn’t enough, why I deserve a spot at the table. "I refuse to participate in either narrative.” Her protest duly noted, we proceed to safer ground. Clark notes that her new album was finished exactly 10 years after her debut was released, and marvels that she’s made it this far. “I’ve been happy every place that I’ve been - and every place that I’ve been, I felt like I had made it. Even when I was playing pizza parlours, or clubs in London for six people - three of whom were listening - I was like, 'I’m playing in London!’ "So for me, it’s been a constant, irrepressible desire to make things.” Making this album with Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lorde), she employed the absurdist tactics of her idols David Bowie and David Byrne, placing “motivational phrases” on the music stand as she sang. One, shared on Instagram last year, simply read “dead meat.” “Sometimes, when you’re doing vocal takes you have a pad and pencil there so you can make notes, and I’d subconsciously written 'Dead Meat’. It just made me laugh that that was whatever was coming out of my brain at that time.” Her Freudian scribbling had no impact on the song, though. “Self laceration is just another form of ego. It doesn’t really help,” she insists. “I’ve learned that the hard way. Trust me, it’s not that usable. You really have to get out of your own way, especially when singing.” And that, it transpires, is what really motivates her - the “meditative state” she achieves while making music. “I need it. And I realise I need it when I haven’t done it for a while and I feel very agitated. "You know, it’s like some people get really frustrated and angry and they’re like, 'Oh, I need to have an orgasm!’. And then you do that and you feel so much better. It’s just that easy.” At that moment, the cloaked woman knocks at the door and our time is up. “Thank you very much, it was a pleasure to meet you,” says Clark. “You too,” I reply, expressing relief that I didn’t trigger any of her “stock answers”. “You’ve done well!” she laughs. “You passed! Bye!” St Vincent’s album, MASSEDUCTION is released on 13 October.

[ Source ]

[wardenmages]

i was just looking at my watch later list on youtube and i just,, it’s so beautiful

1st and 2nd for writing references/to re-watch, 3rd is a really good gmv 10/10 would recommend [link], 4th is just a compilation of connor getting the shit kicked out of him while “hard knock life” from annie (2014) plays, i have no excuse for the 5th, and i was going to make a dbh joke post with the robot hell song i’m just not all the way there lmao

[eveybronlin-blog]

and the wisdom to know the difference...

It was starting to feel muggy out...like spring, but with winter’s heavy moist air not yet ready to leave. Jonathan and I tried not to fill the few days of reprieve from everyday routine in New Orleans life. Mardi Gras meant plans were always open to change and if something came up that sounded better than what you had going, you didn't hesitate to join. But what was best about being in the city at this time, besides the early spring weather, was Jonathan’s own ease in how he approached things. I needed that. Without it subtly shifting my own attitude, I’d be anxious and worried over everything and nothing all at once. But Jonathan never made me feel like I had to answer for anything, and we never had to rush or worry. When we had been together lately during the day -and evenings when we decided to head out- we spent the time just strolling around, stopping for coffee here and there, and making our plans up as we went along. He seemed to know everyone. This was nice, but I’d learned him well enough by now to know how much he appreciated being alone. This is how we found ourselves walking back home after a long afternoon with his friends, completely enjoying the quiet between us while people-watching - my favorite parts of Mardi Gras.

------------------------

I couldn’t remember the last time I was this tense while driving. I kept shaking my hands out when they cramped up on the steering wheel. Luckily the traffic gods were feeling benevolent, and the drive hadn’t been too bad. I figured another 20 or 30 minutes, and I’d be in New Orleans.

I had only been down a couple times to meet with Leo. She’d been down here that whole time, and I never knew it. At least I assumed she’d been here. I wasn’t sure about anything concerning her really. Was I ever?

Garett’s words kept replaying in my head. Drowning out whatever song was playing on the radio. Drowning. Thanks, Subconscious. He swore to me that Clea was doing better and had returned to work, but I still couldn’t bring myself to let her know what I was doing. The sight of her collapsing wasn’t one I wanted to repeat any time soon. I’d fill her in later. Maybe. If there was anything to tell.

---------------------------

On our way back, Jonathan had suggested we stop in one of the small shops on Magazine owned by a friend of his (of course) and after introducing us, she walked me through the shop grabbing “this and that” for me to try. She mentioned something about a “glass of wine and a hot bath” being “the cure for anything - especially a broken heart,” and I just looked to Jonathan quizzically - he motioned back silently that he had no idea what she meant. Maybe she just knew? I thought I'd done a good job of keeping everything below the surface. But maybe she was like Clea - she certainly seemed to be the sort who knew how to read someone. Once my bag was full, I went to pay and she pushed my money back to me, “Pay it forward,” was all she whispered my way as she took my hands in hers. It was almost too much. Jonathan put an arm around me and thanked her for me as he walked us out to the street.

Once we were home, he offered to take Sully for a walk while I went upstairs to put my things away. I thanked him again - and once again, he gave me the look that said “stop thanking me” - I was learning. Slowly. After hanging my beads from the banister, I made it into my room and shut the door. I took each little treat out carefully and laid them on the bed - after picking up Darius’s photos strewn out over the blanket and laying them back near my pillow.

I'd given up on putting his pictures anywhere else. They always ended up on the bed anyway - Annie was persistent. I'd taken to telling her some of my more favorite memories of Darius, hoping that would oblige her but I think I just encouraged her. Sometimes it made me feel better to share them...sometimes not so much. Today I wanted to enjoy my memories though. I grabbed the one of him and I that we took together while laying on the floor one night and carried it to the bathroom. Propped up against the bar of lavender soap I just opened, I left it alone as I scattered out the rest of the creams and lotions I'd been given. I walked back to my bed to get one of the candles - vanilla - and sure enough, when I walked back in the bathroom, his photo was flipped over and lying flat and facedown. Written on it was the date - the day we’d moved in together. 2014. God...had it been three years? I knew the answer. I just wished I could change it away. I'd left him a different man than he likely was today. And even then he was more of a man than I deserved… suddenly a loud smack came from the other room - I walked back in to investigate and sure enough, the box of all the saved letters and cards were flipped off the shelf again. “You know this would be a lot more fun if you could actually pick things back up, right?” I said upward, glancing around to the empty room as I picked some of my things up. The curtain breezed softly and seconds later my door slammed shut.

“Does Jonathan ever have to deal with Annie like this on his own?,” I wondered… “or am I just lucky?” I held tense for a second...waiting for a response that didn't come. That's fair. She's probably gone now.

I hesitated to go back downstairs but I wanted to try out this “wine and hot bath” suggestion. I figured I could clean the mess up off the floor while my water ran, so I walked back and started the bath before walking quietly downstairs to get a glass of wine. I looked around the kitchen but saw neither Sully nor Jonathan. The tub upstairs was huge - I had plenty enough time to have a small-ish glass before pouring another and going back upstairs with it. I leaned back against the counter as I slowly savored that first glass and listened for signs of life...or afterlife. Nothing. Perfect.

--------------

I took my time once I got into New Orleans. Checking the gps on my phone. Adjusting for parade route closures and detours. I knew I was close, but parking was a problem. I decided to park on a small side street and walk the rest of the way. It would give me time to think and figure out what I was gonna say.

Who was I kidding? No matter how much time I had, was never gonna find the right words. What do you say to the woman who vanished as soon as you proposed?

The Garden District was a really cool place to walk around. So much so I almost missed the house. What a house. It looked like something out of a movie. I triple checked the address and shoved my phone in my pocket.

I decided to walk around the corner and check out the house from other angles. Yeah. I was procrastinating. Maybe I was hoping to catch sight of her from a distance. Enough to see her and know she was ok, but not have to face her or my feelings. No such luck.

I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. I walked up to the front porch and knocked on the door.

----------------

I was half-way up the stairs with a second glass of wine when I heard the knock. I assumed a friend of Jonathan’s was stopping in to look for him, but I honestly didn't know where he'd gone - I had figured he was in the yard with Sully but, I don't know, maybe not. I rushed up the stairs hoping whoever it was wouldn't mind waiting a minute and hollered as I reached the top step, “Just a minute!”

After placing my glass down and turning the water off, I picked it back up, propped Darius’s picture back up...again...and grabbed my glass before stomping back down the stairs, “I’m coming!” I made it to the door quick enough to take a sip of wine before I swung the door open a bit too forcefully - but still smiling, “Sorry, Jonathan’s not h-...”

-My glass slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor, glass and wine splattering everywhere...the room suddenly started to shrink and the floor lifted from under my feet-

“Oh god...oh my god...Darius…” The last thing I felt was my stomach leaping to my throat as I started to fall-

-------------

A dog barking behind me caught my attention. The next few minutes were a blur.

Her voice.

A crash.

The dog again.

A man’s voice.

My instincts kicked in as I saw her fall. Something shoved her...hard against me as I moved to catch her. I cradled her to my chest and felt a hand push me towards a parlor of some sort.

“No, Sully! Stay!”

I hurried over to the sofa and laid her down. So pale. Thin. Too thin. She weighed nothing when I picked her up. My heart sped up in my chest as I looked around.

Shitshitshitshitshit

Now what?

Shit.

-----------------

The ceilings are much higher than I remembered...blink...my first thought - then, oh my god, I have to clean up the glass…

I started to sit up, but the room still felt like it was shrinking...I blinked a few more times and refocused my eyes and my thoughts...oh my god...Darius

He was next to me, brushing my hair out of my face, looking back and forth between me and Jonathan...Jonathan was telling him something but I couldn’t make it out. I turned my head and the room spun...closing my eyes helped, but I wanted to stay awake in case he wasn’t really here and it all faded away once my eyes closed.

I tried sitting up again, onto my elbows...our eyes stayed locked and I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to. My eyes burned as I gave into my tears...the last time I felt like this...I didn’t know. I didn’t know what I felt.

--------------

Everything told me to leave. Get the hell out of here and just drive. I hadn't felt like this since….since I fell in love with her. But now. Now I felt exactly like the monster she worked so hard convincing me I wasn't. First Clea, now Evey.

I didn't want to touch her. I swear I didn't. If I touched her, it meant she was here. If I touched her, it meant she rejected me.

I watched as my hand reached out and brushed the hair from her eyes. That's when she opened them. I jerked my hand back. Her eyes locked on mine. I heard a voice. That guy she was staying with? I have no idea what he said. All I saw were her eyes. And then her tears. Soon I couldn't even see those as my eyes, my face, my chest burned from tears of my own.

------------

I didn't know what to say, what to do. I'd done this. This was all my doing.

But he was here…

And I couldn't figure out what to do with that. I wanted to reach out and cry with him. For us to collapse into whatever it was. But the air felt as fragile as my glass on the floor and I didn't know if I’d break anything else.

Jonathan had stepped out. It was just us.

“Darius,” I started as I sat up and shifted myself onto the floor, “I'm so sorry.” My words tumbled out in fragments, broken by my tears, “I didn't…I thought,” ...I...I...I - always about me. Look what I've done… “I don’t deserve you…didn't,” I sat back on my heels and let the weight of my sin sink inside of me as I watched him weeping. I couldn't reach out to him. I wanted to, but I didn't deserve to. Wiping my face on my sleeve, I realized this may be the last time I’d see him, and I just broke even harder, sobbing as I took his rings from around my neck and tried to hold them out, clutching them in my hand too tightly to let them go. “I never deserved these,” was all I could get out, almost a whisper. “...didn't deserve you.”

My stomach wanted to leap from my throat. My head was still spinning and I couldn't hold my own weight up anymore...I slid off my own feet and fell at his. I just laid there and cried with my face against the bottom of his jeans...he smelled like home.

----------------

I finally understood Clea’s collapse. I hated it, but I understood it.

Tears continued to burn my eyes as I listened to her….confess? Apologize? Breakdown?

Voices. My head was filled with voices. “Who the hell does she think she is telling you what you deserve? What kind of lame response is I’m sorry? Sorry for what? Meeting you? Making you think you could ever be in love? Taking off without a word? Putting Clea through hell? WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE SORRY FOR?”

My hands shook as I fought the urge to rip my hair out. I couldn't do this. Couldn't give in to the anger eating away at my gut. It bubbled up like lava threatening to spill out all over the floor until I thought I wa going to dry heave.

The voices sounded like the people I grew up with. I couldn't really call them my parents.

They weren't my parents. It was biologically impossible. I still remembered telling her about it all. How I tried to block out a lot of it. The confusion. The investigation. How they found the other kid. Their "real" son. On paper anyway. How they tried to contact the family and see him, but the other family refused. Through a lawyer no less.

How they never treated me badly. Not really. How they never intentionally made me feel like a stranger...until puberty hit. That's when everything got worse. Happy 12th Birthday! You're even more of a freak now! How they thought I was trying to run away. How they tried grounding me, but every time that itching started I found a way out.

Finally the only voice in my head was mine.

ENOUGH!  

Everything was so quiet. No dog. No voices. Just…..her sobbing. Her breath catching in her throat. She was a puddle at my feet.  

Oh god, Evey. My Evey.

I slid off the sofa and wrapped myself around her like a blanket. It wasn't just her sobbing any more. The harder I cried, the tighter I pulled her against me. My tears soaking her back. Soon we were a tangle of arms, legs….and tears.

------------------

Time must have passed, but I couldn't have known how long. 5 minutes? 20? An hour? We just fell apart into one another for what felt like an eternity of time paused. I didn't even notice Darius holding me until he pulled me so tightly into himself - as if either of us might run away from all of it if we let go.

Suddenly I noticed the quiet. My hair, wet from both our tears, stuck to my face as I buried myself into his shirt. My hands were wrapped into the fabric so tightly - like I might fall if I let go. I couldn't feel the rest of me...just his arms and legs wrapped around me, his face buried in my neck and hair, his breath - finally slowing and warm on my skin. We both just sat still, our breathing slowing down together and yet neither of us letting go.

I didn't want to speak. I didn't want to break what was happening between us because if I did - I knew he'd leave. We’d be done for good.

Until he showed up...I'd had this false hope that I hadn't even recognized. Like I thought I could go right back and pick up where I left. I'd been a selfish fool.

And I was so afraid he'd see me for what I was. Horrible. Undeserving. Not worth it.

I just inhaled the air around us. That scent that had drawn me into him so long ago. It still possessed me. Made me calm. Made me whole. I couldn’t explain it the first time I inhaled it and I still couldn't now.

I couldn't let go. I kept myself wrapped into him. One hand stayed tangled in his shirt while my other fingers loosened their grip and found their way to his hair. I wanted to feel him… to know it was real that he was here. My fingers laced into the thickness of his hair, pulling his head closer to my own, finding their way to touch his skin...the nape of his neck...behind his ear...his cheek… I couldn't say anything that felt worthy of his forgiveness. I just wanted him to stay.

“I…,” I began, in a whisper into his shirt, taking a deep breath from his own air to carry me as I tried to word what was coursing through me, “I was afraid.” He flinched. I let my hand fall from his cheek into my lap and I tried to not give into my worst fears…

“I was wrong. I don't feel like...I have never felt like I deserved you. And I don't know how,” my tears choked in my voice again, hoarse now from all of it, “I wanted all of it. All of you.” My hand found its way to the rings around my neck and twisted them as if they would spill out the words for me, “I just didn't know how…you never gave me a reason to not trust you but everything inside me told me I didn't deserve any of it...and,” the words poured out that had been stuck in my mouth for the last three years, “I have always wanted to be your wife,” his arms tightened around me, “But I didn't know how you could want me.”

I shut up. I deserved no more of his patience and I didn't want to anger him no matter how much I deserved it. He had every right to push me away and get up and leave. And I would never have blamed him if he chose to. This was all my doing. This was all my fault.

I buried myself into him and ignored the voice that told me I deserved to be left. I just breathed. I ignored it and breathed. His scent still entranced me. I know I would never feel at home away from him. And I may never have him this close again. I just needed to breathe.

--------------------------

I grew still as she spoke. Exhausted and drained.

When she said she was afraid, I couldn’t help it. I flinched. I thought at first she was afraid of me. That she was telling me I was the monster I feared I might be. But…..it wasn’t me she was afraid of. It was herself. I don’t know why or how she learned to feel that way, but I knew that it wasn’t something I could fix. None of this was. No matter how much I wanted to. No matter how much I loved her.

When her words were spent and she fell silent except for her ragged breathing, I kissed her forehead lightly. The air around us felt so fragile. I was afraid to break it.

The hard floor was pressing against me relentlessly. I needed to move. I slowly and carefully scooped her up, her face still buried in my chest, and moved us to the sofa. I sat heavily with her cradled in my lap, my arms around her. I wasn’t even sure if she was aware we had gotten up.

“Evelin.” My voice was low. My cheek resting against the top of her head. “I can't do this. I can't make everything better. Nothing I say or do is likely to change your mind about how you feel. I don't have that kinda power.”

“When you first met me, I was like a stray animal you nursed back to health. And you did. You helped me accept my nature. But then….,” I stroked her back. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or just breathing deeply to stop from breaking further. “Then when I was no longer that injured stray. When I was just a guy who happened to be a shifter falling in love with you. I don't think you knew what to do with me.”

I exhaled softly and squeezed my eyes shut briefly. “I’m not blaming you, Evey. Neither of us did anything wrong. There's obviously stuff you brought with you that lived with us. Stuff I couldn't see. Stuff I don't know about. Stuff that followed you here. I guess it got in the way of us being like other couples. When I proposed….,” my voice trailed off. Did anything I said make sense?

---------------

“I was just a guy who happened to be a shifter falling in love with you.”

“I don't think you knew what to do with me.”

For the longest time, I’d been the strong one for him. He was right.

I pulled my legs in tightly to my chest and leaned closer into his arms. I waited for him to say anything else…

“When I proposed….”

I never faltered in my devotion to who Darius was. I just didn’t want to be the one to ruin him.

“I was afraid,” I sniffed, then found my voice a bit better, “I was afraid I would ruin you...us. Who you are was always there.” I spoke up firmly for the first time, “You were never a ‘stray’ to me. Never.” I let myself rest a moment, the tension in my shoulders fell. His head grew heavy on mine and I relished in how close he was…

“That ‘stuff’,” I forced my shoulders back down as they crept up tightly, “I didn’t see it either. And, no, you can’t make it better. I don’t expect you to.” breathe…

“Once we, once you were ‘better’ - and I never saw you as needing to be better - but once you felt ‘better’, then it all came up,” my fingers found his shirt again and tightened into it. “I ran away because...that’s what I’ve always done. And,” I used his shirt to wipe my eyes, no more tears, but sore and tired, “If not for…” the lump was back in my throat. I had to tell him. He must already know. Clea. Of course. “If Jonathan hadn’t stopped me, I would have...I would have run from all of it for the last time.” He suddenly felt like rigid stone beneath me. If he’d have let me, if his grip around me had loosened, I’d have moved out of fear of whatever I was doing to him. But I couldn’t. He wasn’t letting me go.

“It’s all out there now, Darius. I can see it. It’s horrifying and hurtful and it eats at me and…” breathe… “and I, I just see it now. And I don’t know. Seeing it makes it real and being real makes it seem like...something I can fight back against. I know you can’t make it better. You can’t change my mind, Darius. I know that. I couldn’t change yours...you did that.” I didn’t know where this was coming from...but clarity hit me like a brick, no, clarity had lifted a ton of bricks off of me. “None of what I felt was my fault - just like your own...abuse - none of it was ever our fault. Do you understand that for yourself? I didn’t, Darius...I am still getting there...but I can see now that none of it was because of me. And I should never have had to figure out any of this anymore than you should have had to for yourself...but I am...I will.”

My shoulders were back down, relaxed. He was less so, but also less rigid.

“I don’t know what to tell you that you don’t already know at this point. I never stopped loving you,” I rested my face against his chest and rubbed my cheek against him naturally, inhaling him ...marking him. “I don’t know why you’re here,” I said it...he would answer and leave...I fought against what felt like the truth I deserved when I hoped for more... “but you are. And...I’m a mess. And I don’t know what’s ahead.” I needed to shut up. “But I still love you.”

---------------------

I didn’t want to hear her say it, but she did. She admitted her attempt. Maybe I needed to hear it.

I felt helpless. She was weighed down by so much. Just...so much.  

She didn’t know why I was here. That at least was something I could work with. Even if she didn’t like the answer.

“I’m here because I needed to see you for myself. To see why Clea had such a haunted look in her eyes before she collapsed on me.” She stiffened at the mention of Clea, but I expected that. “To see if what she told Garett and what Garett told me was true.” I cleared my throat. “Which you already admitted.”

“I didn’t come here to take you back or to reconcile. I do love you, Evey. I’m just not sure where we go from here in light of...everything really. We can’t go right back to where we left off. We’re not the same people. So much has changed. That doesn’t mean we can’t get there eventually. This isn’t the end for us. I promise.”

----------------------

His words sunk in me like a weight I couldn’t lift.

For all the holding, I suddenly felt very alone. He was right, of course. I mean, what was I expecting? I suppose...there was this part of me that held on to what had been. But “We’re not the same people. So much has changed…” He was right.

I wasn’t the strong one. I was fighting, but it was him now who had the most strength.

I believed his promise. I forced myself and believed it. All the voices inside of me repeated what I had learned ...promises are just good intentions...and good intentions are lies we tell ourselves to not feel guilty. But I needed to believe him. And god I wanted to. But the warmth I thought I’d carried...the hope...felt like it was sinking and taking me with it. And I wanted so badly to stay above that flood...I had only just tasted air, I can’t drown now…

I didn’t feel anything that night. Which is why I wanted it to end.

Now...I felt everything. Which is why I was so afraid it would.

“I understand.” ...hollow.

but… he loves me. Listen he said it. He said it.

“You love me?” ...words to my greatest fear. You have to believe him.

I wanted so badly to just feel warm again. The shivering wasn’t because I was cold. “I have never felt this close to losing everything even in all the time I was gone.” Reality was intruding like a violent wind. “I never expected you to wait. I didn’t expect...anything. I hoped. I mean,” my voice betrayed what my body was certainly already making clear, “I hoped. I believe you. I’m trying so hard to believe you. I just...I don’t know how to fix any of this. And I’m so sorry I ruined it.” Still shaking, I reached up, lifted the rings from around my neck and peeled open his hand after holding it so tightly. I dropped them in his hand. “I don’t know if I should still have these.” I bit back tears I didn’t want to have, “I still want them. I have always wanted them. There was never a ‘no’...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” and there were my tears again. Why couldn’t I just be? Why did I have to be so stupid and difficult? “But I shouldn’t have them unless...no, until the offer is still there. It’s not the end, I know. But I can’t hold you to something that isn’t the same offer. My answer was ‘yes’. It would still be ‘yes’. But...it’s not fair for me to pretend the question still stands.”

I was going to throw up.

-----------------

“Evey, let me tell you a story. Humor me.” I set the rings aside and focused on her. She was already pulling away, but I wasn't ready to let her go. Not by a long shot. I shifted until her back was against my chest. My arms around her to let her know I was there, but not so tight that she was trapped.

“Once upon a time a few years ago, a girl became a boy's whole world. He was too naive to wonder if she wanted marriage and a family. He was going through stages he should have hit in high school. Everything was new to him. It was kinda new to her, too. They were a little backward,” I grinned as I rested my cheek against her hair.

“At least they were together. That was probably more than a lot of people had. He worried that he was supposed to get down on one knee and propose, but he wasn't sure. They were making up their own steps up as they went along. Moving in together made logical sense and felt like a really good idea. So they did.”

I wasn't sure if she could “hear” what I was trying to say. “We never did the things we were supposed to in the order they were supposed to be in, Evelin. This isn't that much different. We are not like anyone else. Just like we did back then, we’ll make up our own steps, ok? Our own music. Our own dance. You just need some time to figure things out. To learn who Evey is now.”

----------------

“This isn't that much different. We are not like anyone else.”

His chest felt solid against me as he held my weight. After everything had finally fallen out of me, he held me up. I was less than I was before, but more than I think I ever was...and that didn't need to make sense to anyone but me. And it did.

I let my weight fall into him. He was calmer just as I was. Everything was out there now. Nothing hidden. No pretense. No assumption. And, I think, it felt like we didn't...maybe we didn't need each other.

“...we’ll make up our own steps, ok? Our own music. Our own dance.”

Maybe we didn't need each other anymore, but maybe for once we could just want each other.

“I'm not sure where to start,” I said, softly as I let my hand slip into his. “I've said everything I -” I bit my lip, considering my words carefully, and graciously, still holding my hand, he said, “I'm listening.” “I think I've said, I mean everything is out there now. You know everything,” I continued still cautiously thinking through each word as his finger traced along my arm. “We made up our own steps before because neither of us had ever done any of this before. I'd never been in love before either.” I could feel his quiet smile as his cheek rested against me. “Yeah, I do need to figure some things out. I have some things to work out that I don't expect you -or Clea, or Jonathan, or anyone else- to fix. But I feel just like...by just saying that out loud I feel like I'm already starting to do that. I'm not hiding from that part of me anymore.”

He didn't say anything to that. He just sat there holding on, not letting me go, just letting me rest in him.

“This house isn't ‘home’ for me,” I said, sort of just thinking aloud at this point. “But Jonathan’s giving me time to figure all that out. I'm in no rush. For once. And honestly, that's such a strange place to be. I've always felt like I had to have a plan - or an escape. And for once I don't. And that's honestly the calmest certainty I've had in my life - apart from our time together, apart from you. So, I'm with you; I don't know what order we do anything in.”

I looked up at him, he seemed content with that answer. I smiled and answered his silence, “Yeah. Exactly.”

He'd given me everything I needed to trust him. Then and now. I twisted myself until I was resting against him with my cheek against his chest and my nose nestled just under his neck. The safest place. The calmest place. I didn't need to slow my breathing at this point. It just did. “I know what I want. I want this. I have always wanted this,” I shook my head slightly at my own words. “I just didn't know how,” I smiled slightly, for the first time since everything transpired, “and I am probably...no, I am certainly...backwards. But...if you still want to make up the steps as we go along, I would be grateful for the chance to try.”

-----------------

“ I mean everything is out there now. You know everything.”

I didn’t though. Not really. I had no idea what it was in her past that drove her to this dark place. That drove her to run from everything and everyone all the time. I mean she was acknowledging that there was a problem and that she was ready to deal with it. I was all for that and would support her in any way I could.

Now wasn’t the time or the place to push her on it or probe any deeper. I wasn’t a religious person by any means. No real experience with organized religion, but it seemed if anything right now was a perfect time for this at least. I closed my eyes and mentally repeated lines I’d heard more than a few times.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

“Nothing wrong with second, third or fourth chances, Evey. Maybe you need some of your own stuff to make this place seem more...comfortable? Your bosses let me stay for way longer than they should have. We packed up all your stuff you left behind and moved it into a storage place. They’re paying for it. I’m sure they’d be happy to hear from you. Send some of your things even.”

I lightly stroked her back in time with her breathing. Slow and steady. “I was gonna suggest I return George to you, but I think I heard a dog? Not sure how happy he’d be with one living here. He and I moved back into my old place.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. “I come down here from time to time with work now. So if you need anything dropped off, I can do it. No problem.”

---------------------

“That’s Sully, Mio’s dog.” I hadn’t heard him in a while, Jonathan must have taken him out for a walk. I appreciated the privacy. “I’m glad George is with you. I think he should stay with you. I don’t have anything permanent yet myself - and he’s probably at home with you.” I was thinking through my options - something I hadn’t done much of until recently because I hadn’t had any to think through, or at least, I hadn’t given myself any.

“I think what’s best for me at this point is to be nearer to people I know. Who know me - even if it’s been a while. People I trust,” I said, looking up and catching his eye. “I have work here I can keep up until I figure things out, but I’m going to reach out to Ken and Tony and see if any of the apartments they have are available. If they have my things, I know they’ll be glad I finally reached out.” Unfortunately I think they were almost used to me popping in and out like this...at least I didn’t have many things to store. “They’ve made it clear I always have a place to stay with them - and work. So, I’m not really worried about my options. At this point it’s just figuring out what I actually want and when…” I trailed off in thought. I knew what I wanted. My fears at this point were how welcome I’d be back in Bon Temps. Just because people care for you doesn’t mean they necessarily are ready to have you around more. I knew that as well as anyone else. I’ve loved people who I couldn’t stand to have around.

“I’m going to discuss it with Jonathan. I’ve appreciated his advice since being here - he’s objective. That’s so helpful. But I need to be ‘home’, and...I haven’t had that since, well, a long time.” He sighed and I couldn’t tell if he was growing tired, just relaxed, or if there was anything else there behind it. “Darius, you made it clear we have time. I have time, I mean...us. That there’s a chance. But…” I tried reading him. It’d been so long. It was hard to tell how he was responding to me. And he was right, he was a different man. My brain and heart were in a struggle over wanting to know what he wanted from all of this...and not wanting to push out of my own selfishness. I had so much to learn. “What I’m getting at is...what do you want? I’m not looking for something in stone. I don’t mean it like that. I just want to be clear so I’m not pushing you or in the way...if I did come back.”

-------------------------

What was Mio’s dog doing here?

“George has only recently stopped looking for you. But he’s welcome to stay with me until you’re ready for him.” I wasn’t sure what I expected when I drove here. Not after talking to Garett. I guess I knew...or at least hoped she’d eventually come back to Bon Temps. If she didn’t say goodbye for good and leave all of us behind one last time. I never really thought about when this would happen. I didn’t think when I came here actually. I just drove.

What do you want?

What did I want? “What do I want? That’s a really good question. I’m not sure I have an answer. At least not a clear cut one. I want you to get healthier. Physically,” I took her hand and placed it on her side where I could feel her ribs, “and emotionally. I’m not sure what that looks like or means or how. But that’s what I want most of all.” My thoughts were a bit of a jumble in my head.

“I’m not ready to live together again. Not yet. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to come back to Bon Temps. I just think we both kinda need to have our own space while we start figuring things out together.”

If this was going to work between us, I needed to be perfectly honest with her. With myself. Not sugar coat things or tell her what I thought she needed to hear. “It’s not if you come back, Evey. It’s when. You do need to be around people who know you and care about you. I’m not sure you’ll ever feel….not alone...until you do. I figure it might be why you’re here with this guy Jonathan and not at your own place.”

I reached for the rings and turned them over in my hand above her lap. “Maybe….maybe you should keep these. Wear them on the ribbon. Kinda like a reminder that I’m still here. Something physical you can touch and see if you need to, and I’m not around. Even when you move back, I still have responsibilities down here. Clea has family down here. So one or both of us might not always be around.” She seemed to think about that, but made no move to touch the rings. “Please? It would make me feel better knowing you still have them.”

---------------------------

He understood - thankfully - that I needed to be near people who cared, but that I needed to figure some things out for myself. We'd made our own steps before - and this was one we needed, both needed, now.

Breathe

I took the rings from his hand, they were warm just from his holding them a moment. I wish I knew what this step was, but whatever it was, I wasn’t ready for it. Not like this. He wanted me to have them. To remember him when he wasn’t around. Something to hold on to when I didn't have him or Clea, and I understood what he meant, but I wondered if he knew the memories I attached to them. I don't think I could ever see them as anything less than what he had offered them to be from the beginning. And wearing them that way now felt like less. I didn't want them as just a reminder of him.

“I have never not wanted these, Darius,” I said as I placed them back in his hand and closed his hand around them. “And I will want them - still want them - again.” A part of me couldn't believe what I was doing in the moment, but a larger part of me knew it was what I wanted. “But I don't want to wear them around my neck as a reminder of you. They could never be less than what they were to me and that's how that would feel. I haven't worn them on my hand because I had never given you the benefit of a real answer. I have been wearing them as a touchstone to you - to us - but I’ve just been walking around with a question hanging from my neck and I don't want feel that way any longer,” I paused, trying to read him...but I couldn't. “And I can't lie and pretend that's not how you didn't walk around for a long time after I left. And I'm sorry - I will always be sorry for that.” He still had his hand against my back, still stroking, softly...I took that as a good sign. At least, I needed to. “But I don't want our rings back until you - and if you - want me to wear them as you did the day you first offered them to me. I'm taking a chance I may not get them back. I know that. But I don't want them any less than how you intended them for us. And I’m leaving that to you, on your terms, your time.”

I let out a long breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding in. He was right. I needed to be in a healthier place. I was starting towards it. And I didn't want us in some sort of limbo while we both waited for whatever that would look like. I needed to get to know him as the man he is today. And I needed to get to know myself. We needed to learn one another again.

“Please understand I'm not saying no to you. I'm trying to say ‘yes’...I want to say ‘yes’, but I want us to have a fresh start. I'm giving myself that. That's all I'm asking for right now from you. I love you. I still feel completely bound to you; I can't undo that. I am praying my saying all this doesn't push you away - if anything I hope it lets you know I'm taking you being here, right now, very seriously,” I leaned back against his chest again, listening for his heartbeat to see if I could gather if he was as calm on the inside as he was letting me read he was on the outside. But I couldn't tell. His warmth was enough for now and I rubbed my cheek against him. I'd take what I could get - I deeply loved him. I knew that more than anything now. I wasn't going to screw this up again. Not for either of us. I just hoped I wasn't going to lose whatever this was now.

We both deserved to love one another as deeply as we wanted to - without any sense of obligation to whatever we had once been. I loved him - us - too much for either of us to settle for less.

How strange it is when you start to realize you have value despite what you believed...and that because you do, you don't want to burden anyone with the need to affirm your worth. You only want to share their love.

That's what I wanted from him. To share his love, his life, all of it. If he offered it - in time - I wanted it. But I wasn't going to force the offer or let him think I expected it regardless of everything that transpired. And I definitely wasn't going to let it stay on the table between us.

[musicaltheatretrivia]

Songs Sampled from American Musical Theatre: Mama Said by Lukas Graham

Danish band Lukas Graham released this single June 23, 2014. It samples the melody from Annie’s ‘It’s The Hard Knock Life.’

[gwen-or-something]

Welcome to part 1/1 of things from my childhood that where never explained to me and are now things that I have looked up only to find that they are terrible things that a child should never hear about: The Series

For this episode we will be looking at 'A hard knock life' from Annie (1982). In this song there is a line where the female orphans are singing about all the ways they would slightly harm Miss Hannigan. One of these ways is that they would 'maker drink a mickey finn'. A mickey finn, if you didn't know, is an alcohol based drink that is also lined with incapacitating drugs, to make the drinker (usually without their knowledge) pass out.

This was used in date-rape. This was a movie about the 1920's made in the 80's. Also the 2014 remake does change this and that is very good. However they replace it with 'send her to the looney bin' this is another can of worms entirely.

Long story short: Date-rape drug reference in a PG movie from the 80's. I repeat PG.

[londontheatre]

l-r Lola Moxom, Ruby Stokes, Madeleine Haynes who will alternate the role of Annie, with Miranda Hart who will play Miss Hannigan, photo credit Matt Crockett

Rehearsals began today, 24th April 2017, for the West End production of Annie at the Piccadilly Theatre. Joining the previously announced Miranda Hart who will play Miss Hannigan are Alex Bourne as Daddy Warbucks, Holly Dale Spencer as Grace Farrell, Jonny Fines as Rooster and Djalenga Scott as Lily.

The title role of Annie will be shared by Madeleine Haynes, 13-years old from Hadley Wood, Barnet, Lola Moxom, 12-years old from Rochester, Kent and Ruby Stokes, 12-years old from Hampshire. They will be joined by three teams of young performers who will play the girls in Miss Hannigan’s orphanage (see below). Amber, a 4 year-old Labradoodle, will play Annie’s dog Sandy.

Completing the company will be ensemble members Keisha Atwell, Sophie Ayers, Bobby Delaney, Nic Gibney, Patrick Harper, Ben Harrold, George Ioannides, Megan Louch, Benjamin Mundy, Ben Oliver, Heather Scott-Martin, Anne Smith, Kate Somerset How, Katie Warsop and Russell Wilcox.

Annie begins previews at the Piccadilly Theatre on 23 May 2017 with opening night on 5 June 2017. The production is initially booking to 6 January 2018. Children’s tickets will be half price for Monday to Thursday performances (see listings information below). The production, directed by Nikolai Foster, is produced by Michael Harrison and David Ian.

Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery and torment at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck changes when she is chosen to spend Christmas at the residence of famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…

Annie has Book by Thomas Meehan adapted from the comic strip Little Orphan Annie, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin. The West End production will have sets and costumes designed by Colin Richmond, choreography by Nick Winston, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Richard Brooker and orchestration and musical direction by George Dyer.

Miranda Hart is best known on television for her hugely successful, semi-auto-biographical and multi-award-wining BBC sitcom Miranda which ran from 2009 for 3 series and 2 specials. She was the recipient of a BAFTA nomination, an NTA Award and two TV Choice Awards for her performance as Chummy in the BBC television drama Call the Midwife. In 2014 she completed her first sell out stand-up arena tour My, What I Call, Live Show culminating in five shows at London’s 02 Arena. As a best-selling author her first book Is It Just Me? was the biggest selling non-fiction hardback of 2013 winning Non-Fiction Book of the Year at The National Book Awards. She followed this in 2014 with The Best of Miranda and last year released her third book Peggy and Me. Her theatre credits include Cruising for The Bush Theatre, Come Out Eli for Battersea Arts Centre, All About Me for Soho Theatre as well as multiple appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her film credits include Spy, The Infidel, Magicians as well as upcoming The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018).

Alex Bourne’s (Daddy Warbucks) theatre credits include Mama Mia! and Rocky Horror Show on tour in the UK, Midsummer Songs at the New Wolsey Theatre, Kiss Me Kate for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, The Witches of Eastwick at the Watermill Theatre, We Will Rock You and Beauty and the Beast at the Dominion, Chicago at the Adelphi, Grease at the Cambridge Theatre, Showboat for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Opera North and Annie on tour in the UK.

Holly Dale Spencer’s (Grace Farrell) theatre credits include Sweet Charity at the Royal Exchange Theatre, White Christmas for West Yorkshire Playhouse, American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre, the title role in Holly Golightly for Sadler’s Wells, Kiss Me Kate for Chichester Festival Theatre and the Old Vic and Annie on tour.

Since graduating from the Guildford School of Acting in 2010, Jonny Fines’ (Rooster) theatre credits include roles in Nikolai Foster’s production of Grease at the Curve, The Sound of Music on UK tour, I Love You, You’re Perfect…Now Change! at The Union Theatre, Avenue Q and Annie on tour.

Djalenga Scott’s theatre credits include Grease and An Officer and a Gentleman both directed by Nikolai Foster at the Curve, West Side Story and Annie on UK tour, Batman Live on tour in the US, Chicago at the Garrick Theatre.

The role of Molly will be alternated by Aurelia Borrelli, eight years old from Saunderton, Buckinghamshire, Ellicia Simondswood, eight years old from Lower Morden, Surrey and Nicole Subebe, seven years old from Romford, Essex. The role of Tessie will be alternated by Jessica Cartledge, ten years old from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Scarlet Grace, fourteen years old from Northaw, Hertfordshire and Dora Yolland, ten years old from Southend-on-Sea, Essex. The role of Kate will be alternated by Shani Roberts, nine years old from Braintree, Essex, Emily-May Stephenson, ten years old from Swadlincote, Derbyshire and Maisie Thorn, ten years old from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. The role of Pepper will be alternated by Drew Hylton, eleven years old from Loughton, Essex, Eva MacLaughlan, ten years old from Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire and Charlotte Ross Gower, fourteen years old from Sittingbourne, Kent. The role of July will be alternated by Nancy Allsop, fourteen years old from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Carla Dixon, thirteen years old from Wimbledon, London and Isabelle Methven, thirteen years old from Harpenden, Hertfordshire. The role of Duffy will be alternated by Kya Davis, nine years old from Slough, Berkshire, Nicole Dube, twelve years old from Colchester, Essex and Kathryn Whetter, ten years old from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.

Foster’s production arrives in the West End 40 years after the original Broadway production opened in 1977 and received seven Tony awards including the Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The last West End production of Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1998. In 1982, Annie was adapted for the big screen directed by John Huston with a cast including Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Albert Finney and in 2014 a further feature film was released, directed by Will Gluck, with a cast including Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. The much-loved score includes the classics It’s A Hard Knock Life, Tomorrow and Easy Street.

Piccadilly Theatre 16 Denman St, Soho, London W1D 7DY Dates: Booking from 23 May 2017 to 6 January 2018 Press night: 5 June 2017 at 7pm

http://ift.tt/2oY2hjb LondonTheatre1.com