#thinking about naming dispatch andy…..

[metamatronic]

i think they hate each other and are also in love

(for my content, i’m choosing to believe that dispatch’s blatant digs/insensitivity are not meant to be taken literally, and that he and arnold instead have years worth of very dry banter between them. this causes the M1 to mistake their relationship as malicious and mimic as such, which is when arnold starts suspecting something is wrong)

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: FLASHBACK

The first season of 9-1-1 isn’t as highly praised as other seasons but on a rewatch I think there are some pretty solid episodes. For today’s edition of 911: Flashback, I will be focusing on the season 1, seventh episode “Full Moon (Creepy AF)” which originally aired on February 28. 2018. The episode was written by Adam Penn and directed by Maggie Kiley. So, without further ado, let’s get creepy AF!

Quick Recap

I forget how much VO is used in the earlier episodes. At the top of the episode, we get some narration from Hen Wilson who talks about the effects of the moon. Regarding the moon she says, “It is said to increase fertility, create chaos and cause people to do things they would never normally do”. Hen’s assertion serves as the thesis for this episode as we will see quite a bit of births, chaotic situations, and a few of our mains act out of characters. We next see Hen and Karen getting ready for bed. Karen has got the fever and requires some sexual healing, but Hen is in no mood to play doctor. She wants to rest up in preparation for tomorrow’s full moon. Karen worries her and Hen are experiencing LBD (Lesbian Bed Death something she implies all lesbian couples succumb to eventually. Hen assures Karen she is getting everything she needs but Karen tells her she’s been in relationships that have been more like sisterhoods and wonders that if her and Hen aren’t having sex, are they even a couple. Look, I’m not a lesbian nor have I ever navigated a lesbian relationship, but I think Karen’s views on relationships in general are a bit myopic. Does she realize asexual people exist? Anywho, Karen thinks her and Hen’s relationship is boring AF.

We move from Henren to Buck who is back at work after nearly choking to death on Valentine’s Day. Buck is on the phone with Abby and the two are talking about the full moon. Buck believes a full moon will bring out the freaks but Abby, being the Dana Scully to his Fox Mulder, doesn’t believe all the full moon hype. After their conversation, Abby gets a call from a woman named Nora (played by Jenny O’Hara) who says there’s a man standing outside her house. She starts to panic which causes a medical emergency. Hen, Chimney and Athena arrive at the woman’s house. While Hen and Chimney tend to Nora, Athena around the house for any signs of an intruder. Hen notices there are footprints inside the house and discovers that when standing in front of the window, the glass door behind her creates an optical illusion. The man who Nora saw standing outside her house was inside. Creepy AF!

Over at dispatch, Abby gets a call from a woman reporting an intruder in her home. Abby hears the woman get killed over the phone which is traumatizing to say the least. This is directly followed by one of the brighter moments of an otherwise dark episode. Bobby and Buck head over to a yoga studio where a woman who is six months pregnant is stuck in Locust Pose. While they both tend to the woman, three other women go into labor. Bobby and Buck end up delivering two of the babies, but the third woman’s baby is breached so she is taken to the hospital. Buck cites the full moon as the reason why all three women have gone into labor at the same time but like Abby, Bobby is a non-believer. This scene was funny AF!

We head back over to dispatch where we see Sue Blevins consoling Abby. Detective Andy Marks (played by Colby French) meets with Abby and asks to listen to the call. He tells her they’ve arrested the estranged ex-husband of the woman who was murdered but Abby is not convinced they have the right person. Detective Marks downplays Abby’s concern and assures her the ex-husband is the one responsible. When he leaves, Abby listens to the call again and listens to another call where the victim called in previously. She picks up on how the woman responded to her ex-husband versus how she responded to the intruder. The woman seemed annoyed by her ex-husband but genuinely fearful of the intruder further proving the person who killed her was not her ex-husband. Again, creepy AF!

We then get the trio of Athena, Hen, and Chimney responding to a disturbance involving a crazed man eating another man’s face. Athena tries to get the man to stop but he charges at her and Hen. Athena uses her taser, but the man is unphased. He then starts advancing towards Athena and Hen, resulting in Athena using multiple bullets to dispatch him. Athena hates that she’s killed someone, but Hen assures her she has her back. While Athena gives her statement to a couple of detectives, Hen gets a call from her ex, Eva (played by Abby Brammell) who informs Hen she is out of prison. Eva asks Hen to come over to her hotel room, but Hen sees Athena approaching and tells her she has to go. Athena, knowing her friend, tells Hen that was not Karen on the phone. Athena asks if everything is good at home, but Hen is evasive and tells her she appreciates her concern, but her and Karen are solid. Hen is delusional AF!

Abby plays both calls for Detective Marks, but he seems undeterred. I really like how Abby stands up for herself and refuses to let him just write her off. After he leaves, Abby calls Athena who is on desk duty until further notice and enlists her assistance regarding the murdered woman. Athena pulls up a complaint filed by the woman on her ex-husband and the witness was someone who shares the same name as Nora. Abby puts together that the witness is Nora’s daughter. Abby calls the daughter under the guise of checking on her mother. Abby brings up the victim, whose name is Katheleen Blake, and Nora Jr. tells her that Kathleen saved her life. Nora Jr. tells Abby that Katheleen runs a support group for survivors of domestic violence. She also says that Katheleen is the one who gave her the courage to finally leave her abusive husband. Abby asks for Nora Jr.’s address and tells her that she believes Kathleen was attacked by Nora Jr.’s ex-husband. Just then, Nora Jr. goes to look outside and sees her ex looking exactly how he did when he was inside her mother’s house. Abby dispatches the police to Nora Jr.’s address but they are not quick enough. The ex-husband makes it inside the house, but Nora Jr. is not the woman she was when they were married. She makes quick work of him with a baseball bat and lets Abby know she and her mother are okay.  Nora Jr. is badass AF!

We get one final emergency involving a couple. Bobby and Buck arrive at the couple’s home where they discover Connor (played by Pete Ploszek) is experiencing severe pain in his abdomen. Paul (played by Sean Maher from Firefly) thinks his husband is being overly dramatic but Connor assures him his pain is very real. In the ambulance, Buck notices what looks like a string hanging out of Connor’s boxers. Turns out it’s a tapeworm brought on by Connor eating way too much sushi. Buck, having once tended bar at a surf beach in South America, knows a lot about tapeworms and tells Bobby and the couple that he has to be very careful removing the tapeworm because if he breaks it, it will crawl back inside Connor and regenerate. This is my favorite scene of the episode, maybe even my favorite scene of the series. The banter between Buck and Bobby and the couple is absolutely hilarious and a nice way to break the tension after the conclusion of Abby’s heavy storyline. Buck manages to get the tapeworm out without breaking it and puts it in a bag. He then hands it over to Connor and says, “Congratulations, Connor. It’s a boy.” Disgusting AF!

At the end of the episode, Detective Marks apologizes to Abby and thanks her for helping solve Kathleen’s murder. Athena finds out the face-eater from the park wasn’t on any kind of substance. Hen goes over to Eva’s hotel room and the two of them have sex. I guess she didn’t need her rest. And then, Buck and Abby have sex for the first time. The final scene is Hen sitting on the beach looking very remorseful for her actions.

Observations

How did that girl get into the claw machine in the first place?

Buck is good with kids as evidenced by his immediate report with the girl trapped inside the claw machine.

Buck is basically Wikipedia. They play him as a himbo, especially in the earlier seasons, but he’s honestly one of the smartest characters on the show.

Buck still has his tracheotomy scar, and Chimney still has a scar from the piece of rebar that went through his skull. Score one for continuity!

In future episodes we see Chimney and Hen work side by side with Bobby, Buck and eventually Eddie but in this episode, we see our paramedics working separately from our firefighters.

Buck tells Bobby he’s dated like 50 yoga instructors, and you know what, I believe him. Although, I think Buck is one of those people who conflates sleeping with someone with dating.

We get a Terry sighting this episode! I really like the character, and I wish we got to see more of him.

This episode marks the first appearance of Detective Andy Marks. I have written about his second appearance in the “Fight or Flight” episode from season two.

Poor Athena has been placed on desk duty twice this season. At least this time she wasn’t antagonizing a teenager.

We get a glimmer of bisexual Buck this episode. He really hits it off with Connor and the two bond over what type of rice they like and their workout regiments. Buck is also very at ease around the gay couple which you wouldn’t exactly expect out of someone like him.

Connie Britton is an attractive woman, but I wonder why they play down her looks. In this episode she’s giving Rachael Leigh Cook in She’s All That with the glasses and frumpy attire. It feels weird that the show seems to think that she’s the lucky one getting to hook up with Oliver Stark when it’s the other way around.

This episode is a reminder of why the character of Abby didn’t work for the show. Other than Buck and occasionally Athena, Abby feels very isolated from the overall cast. I think the writers made the right choice by making her replacement related to one of the main characters from the jump.

Hen cheating on Karen is one of the reasons why I believe most viewers have trouble watching season one episodes. Every one of our main characters are so different from how they are portrayed in season two and going forward. Seriously, in what universe would anyone choose Eva over Karen?

Funny Moments

Moment #1: Hen talks with Athena after the cannibal bath salts attack.

Hen: “Everything all right?”

Athena: “Yeah, well, it is for now. I mean, so far, no one’s questioning whether or not it was justified. Hell, I wasn’t gonna let that monster eat my face.”

Moment #2: Buck and Bobby are speaking with Connor and Paul.

Buck: “You guys eat a lot of sushi?”

Paul: “He does – about four or five times a week.”

Connor: “I try to go carb- and fat-free as often as possible.”

Buck: “Ah, same here. You guys ever try brown rice pasta? You know, it’s not that bad.”

Connor: “You know, it’s a little gummy for my taste.”

Buck: “I see that.”

Connor: “Hey, what’s your body fat percentage?”

Buck: “I swing between, like, 50…”

Bobby: “Okay, can we finish the most interesting conversation of all time later?”

Moment #3: Buck removes a tapeworm from Connor’s butt.

Bobby: “We’re almost to the hospital – they’re gonna remove that with the proper instruments, put him on some albendazole, and then we call it a night.”

Connor: “No, please no. I can’t take those drugs. They’re toxic. They put me on Flagyl for diverticulitis once, and it gave me severe heartburn and turned my pee burnt sienna.”

Buck: “I’m sorry, burnt sienna?”

Connor: “It was brown! Okay? It was dark brown.”

911 Lore

Hen used to date Eva but somewhere along the way the latter got put in prison; Hen’s indiscretion will have a lasting impact on her relationship with Karen.

In this episode, we see the shift from Buck being a total fuckboy to someone who actually values women beyond what they can offer him sexually.

This is the first instance of showing how first responders have certain superstitions regarding the job, and it won’t be the last.

This is the first time we see Buck be intimate with a woman without a firetruck being involved.

Sue and Terry have been here from the very beginning but where is Josh? I know Bryan Safi came onto the show during its second season but in later episodes he talks about knowing Abby and has been at the dispatch center for over a decade.

As I mentioned earlier, season one is not highly regarded by the fandom, but I don’t think you could just go without watching this season. We learn so much about our main characters and knowing where these characters are coming from will help you appreciate their evolutions in future seasons. This episode is also a reminder that Abby Clark was a complex character. She’s so much more than the woman who broke Evan Buckley’s heart. I really wish we got her for one more season. I wonder if she and Maddie would’ve gotten along. At least we will get some closure with the character a couple of seasons from now. Overall, this episode was enjoyable from beginning to end. I loved the scenes featuring Bobby and Buck the most. I like seeing Bobby be a little less tightly-wound. Bobby unburdening himself a few episodes ago really took a lot of pressure off him. I also enjoyed the main storyline involving the stalker. That particular plot reminded me of American Horror Story which both Connie Britton and Angela Bassett were a part of. My least favorite part of the episode was Hen cheating on Karen. Again, knowing where things go in future seasons, I just can’t picture the Hen from future seasons risking her marriage for someone like Eva. I think the writers are trying to show that these characters, while lovable, are flawed human beings. I think they could’ve demonstrated that without Hen doing one of the worst things ever. I really had fun talking about this episode and I look forward to talking about more season one episodes. Until next time ..

[oh-three]

Station 19 S7E5:

Oh, Maya, we love you.

The way the crew didn't respond to anything until Andy announced that Theo resigned.

Nooooo, not Crisis One.

Maya apologizing to Beckett (ayyy, we love character development) >>>

"Just because your last name is Herrera doesn't mean you have to lead from his shadow." I missed this side of Maya. Also, what an awesome quote. I miss Pruitt, but she's right.

Warren, you are not going the Sullivan route. Warren, tell me you're fucking not. I never thought he'd do this. Maybe he does need to take a step back.

Ayyy, Dispatch Jack!! Good for him. He still gets to help people, even if he's not in the field the way he used to be.

Never occurred to me they'd take a call in this tower.

I do not want to be Vic right now. I could never do that job.

Y'know, it's been a while since we've had such a big fire. I do miss those episodes.

And there goes the fucking medkit.

Ayyy, Theo got a new job fast. And in the same field. Good for him.

Beckett, give a warning next time, man. Like, sooner. What the fuck.

Travis having a moment and being scared for Warren, regretting fighting with him. I knew he wasn't really upset with him. Because he's right, they never fight. I hope they don't kill Warren off like this. He's earned the right to be able to retire/

Not Carina being reminded of her brother 😭

Warren asking how Sully wants to propose, because he wants to talk about something exciting in what might be their final moments 😭

Stu is great, just wanted to say. Best person to have with you in this sort of situation.

"Hey, Gibby…I'm gonna need you to help look after our little girl. Alright? And tell Miranda…she was worth waiting for." 😭 😭 😭

EXPLOSION, NO.

Please, please only be unconscious.

Damn, those extinguisher spheres are fucking neat.

AYYY, THEY MADE IT. THANK FUCKING GOD.

It's hasn't been long enough since Dean for us to lose someone else.

Oh, fuck, the ring. Why did you even take it on call.

Oh, neat, Ross found it.

Beckett and Maya having a heart to heart >>>

"I will always have your back." 😭

Vic having a freak out on camera…that does not look good.

Andy having to play bad guy and send Vic home is rough, and definitely hurts everyone a bit, but it was the right choice. She is lucky she didn't get fired on the spot.

hugs Carina

God, Sully's hands are huge.

LMAO, SHE STILL LET HIM PROPOSE. The fact that she knew the ring came from him in the first place is fucking hilarious 🤣

AYY, SHE SAID YES.

Theo still coming to the ceremony despite resigning says everything. He didn't resign because of Andy, not at all. He's one of her biggest supporters, has been since they met, always will be. ❤️

Vic better not do a spur-of-the-moment thing and quit. I don't think she would, but people do things unlike themselves when they're emotional.

Ayyy, Jack's there. And he's recording it 😭

looking back on the series with nostalgia on how far the station and Andy have come

She deserves this. I'm so happy to see her here.

Fuck, the flashbacks read my mind. 😭

THEY'VE ALL COME SO FAR.

[cevansbrat0007]

A Good Lesson

Summary: You are Andy’s baby girl, whether you like it or not. Read the sequel, Laying Down the Rules. Andy Barber x Black!Reader

*Warnings: Protective Andy, Angry Andy, Spanking, Daddy Kink, Light Smut, Possessive Behavior, Cursing, Bratty Reader, Punishment, Pet Names, Minors DNI

A/N: Takes place early in my Growing Pains Series. As always, I’d love your feedback, so please let me know what you think. Semi-proofread. Not beta’d. All mistakes are my own. ___ You were in an absolute panic. You knew you’d parked your car here. Right here. And you’d only been in the bakery for, like, ten minutes. Oh, god…what were you going to do? You needed to call the police and then you needed to call your boyfriend. That was the tricky part. Andy had warned you about this particular part of town. In fact, he’d forbade you from even stepping foot in this neighborhood. Which had been weird to you because you’d been coming to Chanelle’s Sweet Treats your entire life. He just didn’t know that. If he knew the truth about where his favorite danishes and lemon squares really came from, he’d hit the roof.

But now it looked like you didn’t have much of a choice. It wasn’t like you could walk home or anything. Pulling your phone out of your purse you quickly dial 911.

You quickly run the female dispatcher through the details of what happened and where you were located. As an aside, you also may have let it slip that you were currently dating the local District Attorney, thinking that might prompt a faster response. Understanding, the woman let you know that a car would be out to you soon. 

You: “Alright, thank you. I’ll keep an eye out. In the meantime, I need to call my boyfriend.

Dispatcher: “Understood, ma’am. Call back if you need us.” 

You thank her and then end the call. Steeling yourself, you prepare for the next conversation. Blowing out a breath, you decide to just dial his number and get it over with. Yes, he’d be mad. But you were out of options. 

“Hey baby,” he answers on the second ring. “I was just thinking about you. My meeting ended early and I wanted to take you to lunch. There’s a new Pho spot that just opened by my office. And I know how much you like Vietnamese.” Your stomach grumbles at the mention of food. You two had only been together for four months but he already knew you so well. 

You bite your thumb, still not wanting to drop the bomb. “Um, about that, honey. Ordinarily I would love to, but uhh…someonemighthavestolenmycar”. You ramble out as fast as you can. 

“Please tell me you’re joking right now!” Andy yells. You heard something clang to the floor. Probably a paper weight. “No, I’m afraid I’m not.”

“Are you alright?! Did you get carjacked? Fuck!”

“Yes, I’m okay. And no, I wasn’t held up or anything.”   

“Jesus fucking Christ, where are you, baby? I’m coming to get you right now.” You bite your thumb again. Maybe you should have called an Uber. Or a Lyft. 

“Don’t be mad, but I’m at 105th and Crenshaw. I was picking up some of those lemon bars you like. I swear I was only away from the car for just a few minutes. I’ve already called 911 and they’re sending an officer out. I’m just going to go back into the bakery until they get here and maybe they’ll give me a ride home.”

“I’ll be to you in less than 20 minutes. You wait inside there for me.” His tone is short and clipped. Fuck, he was angry. “But Andy, the cops will be here any minute and -”

“And I will speak to them when I arrive. I’m the fucking DA and if they know what’s good for them they will wait for me. You stray even a foot from that bakery and I will happily whoop your ass. You got that, Y/N?” You stare at your phone for a moment. Andy had never spoken to you like that before.

“Um, okay.” You mumble back, feeling the tears threatening to fall. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sure you are.” He fires back as he packs up his briefcase. “Stay fucking put for me, baby.”

Of course, the officers make it to you before Andy does. But when they find out he’s the District Attorney they agree to wait. Andy arrives in less than 12 minutes. You know he sped the whole way to you. 

You watch as he exits his vehicle, six-feet of pure muscle decked out in a suit and tie. He looks positively delectable. The first thing he does is take you into his arms, his bearded face pressing a kiss to your lips. “I’ve got this.”  

He proceeds to handle everything for you, barely letting you get a word in. His body is stiff and unyielding - the vein in his forehead is prominent and throbbing. Once he’s given them both all of your information, he dismisses them. You’re teetering on pins and needles as you hand him the box of pastries you’ve been holding for ages. “These are for you, baby.”

“Thanks, Y/N.” Andy proceeds to dismissively toss the box into the backseat of his car and then opens your door. “Get in, sweetheart.” He grits out through clenched teeth. “Fair warning, I’m pretty upset right now. I’m going to try not to take it out on you, but we’re going to go to lunch and then I’m going to take you home. We’ll discuss this then.”

“Andy…” You lean in to press your forehead against his. “I said I was sorry.”

“I get it, but I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. You know how I feel about this neighborhood, how many folks my job has forced me to put away. The reason I didn’t want you coming here was because I knew that there were so many people who would jump at the chance to hurt the girlfriend of the DA. And yet you came here anyway.” He scrubs a hand over his eyes before putting the car in drive. 

“Andy, I’ve been coming down here since I was a kid. Plus, I’m plenty safe. I bought a gun and everything.” The tires screech to a halt. Making you jerk.

“Did I hear that right, sweetheart?” He chuckles softly, but there is nothing funny about it. “You bought a weapon and didn’t tell me? Is that what I just heard?”

“Um, I’d like to amend that statement if I could.” God, you were fucking this up. 

“Too late, Y/N. Where is the gun? Give it to me now.” He holds out his hand expectantly. “When did you even learn how to use one? Do you even have the safety on?”

You feel your eyes roll before you can stop them. “Yes, I’ve been taking classes when business is slow. And yes, the safety is on. The gun is staying in my purse where it belongs.”

“Okay, okay.” He smacks his hand against the steering wheel, accidentally honking his horn in the process. “You know what, sweetheart? Since you don’t want to cooperate like the good girl I know you can be, we’re going to get something to-go, and then I’m going to take you home and wear your ass out.” He runs his hand through his brown locks. “That’s what we’re going to do.” 

“Huh? I don’t understand.” You say, pushing at his broad shoulder. “Did you just threaten to…punish me?” He chuckles again. The lack of humor in his voice makes you nervous.

“You’re in so much trouble that you don’t even know it, Y/N. You lied to me, telling me that those little confections I love came from down the street. You disobeyed me when I told you not to come over here. You bought a gun without a word. You willingly put yourself in harm’s way. And you don’t think Daddy has a right to be pissed?” Andy’s large hand wraps around your neck, squeezing gently. “I am fucking livid right now, baby.”

“Andy, please. Wait a moment.” You whine as he pulls into a local deli he knew you both enjoyed. “Get out of the car, honey. We’re going to order a couple of sandwiches and then I’m going to take you back to my place. I’ll sort you out there.” He grabs his keys and exits the car, while you sit there in shock. 

Had your affectionate, loving boyfriend just said he was going to punish you? And had he really called himself your Daddy? 

He jerks your door open. “Let’s go, sweetheart. I’m anxious to feed you and then get you home.” Andy runs his hand through your hair. “You sure you’re not hurt, honey?”

“No, I’m not hurt. But I sure would like some clarification in regards to what you were referring to just a little bit ago.” He blinks at you, his teeth grazing his bottom lip. “You said you were going to spank me, as if I’m not grown. And you called yourself my Daddy. Where is this coming from? Tell me before I get out of this car. Please.”

“Y/N, if you don’t know that you’re my baby by now then I haven’t been doing my job. You’re my favorite person on the entire planet, you’re my best friend, the love of my fucking life.” He kisses your hand. “You are precious, but you need to learn to listen to me though. I know things you don’t, things that will keep you safe.” Andy gently pulls you out of his car.

His hands cup your face. “I’m not your father, and I’m not trying to be. But I will take every precaution to keep you safe. If you don’t hear me when I say things, then I will make sure your bottom feels it as a reminder. And I will always kiss it better.” 

You balk at him, unsure of what to say. Yes, you were triggered. Why did this turn you on so much? Why did you feel your pussy gush at his words? This was a whole new world you were navigating. You silently let him lead you inside, where he orders you both a turkey club.                          

His with mayo, yours without, substituting oil and vinegar on your behalf. Snagging two bags of chips and couple cokes as they wrap up your orders, he pays for them and then picks up the bag before walking out the door with you in tow.

The two of you decide to eat in the car, which gives you time to process what he’d told you earlier. You lick your fingers when you finish, not feeling the least bit ashamed of appearing uncivilized around him. “That was tasty,” you mutter as you take another sip of your Coca-Cola. “Now that we’re no longer hangry, how about we go back to your house and just talk about things? This whole concept is super new to me.”

You’d only read about it in the romance novels you had downloaded on your Kindle.

“We can talk about it all you want when your panties are around your ankles.” You look at him with worried eyes. “Yeah, something tells me you’re going to start feeling real chatty.”  

Eventually, you pull into his driveway - something you’d been dreading. “Let’s head inside, baby.”

“Andy, I’m - I’m scared.”

“Don’t be. I’d die before I’d ever hurt you. I know you’ve never been spanked. You’re a good girl. We’ll take it slow.” You stifle a sniffle at that. No, you hadn’t been spanked before.

You sit in your seat, clutching your half empty bottle of soda until he comes around to your side to open the door. 

“Here’s what you’re going to do for me.” He murmurs into your ear. “We are going to walk in this house and you are going to go to the living room. You are going to bend over and take your panties off for me - but no bending your knees. But I want to see that pretty pussy, baby. And then I’m to guide you over my knee, understand?” 

You sniffle again, feeling way out of your depth. “And then you and I are going to talk. I’m going to use my hand, and only my hand to spank you. And when we’re through you’re going to give me that gun. Have I been clear enough?”

“Yes.” You whisper. 

“In a case like this, I would like you to respond with a yes, Sir, or a yes, Daddy.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He smiles at you, a look of pride on his face. “I’m not trying to take your fire from you, or break your spirit, sweetheart. But you scared the fuck out of me today. I need you to understand how I feel about this.” His thumb traces your lower lip, his eyes bore into yours. You are the only thing on his mind.

Andy helps you out of the car - no yelling, no screaming. It’s honestly something you’re not used to. When you’re inside, you do as he asks. You remove your panties, letting him get a generous look at your traitorous pussy. 

Could you really go through with this?

“Baby, I’m going to bruise this curvy little bottom. And I’m sorry for that. And then I’m going to make this pussy cry. It’s my job, you know?” He sits down on the couch and smiles. “And I’m serious about my work.”

“C’mere and lay down, Y/N. I think it’s time Daddy taught that ass a good lesson.” 

You whimper softly as you lie over his lap. His big hand immediately reaches between your legs to rub your wet cunt. “I think my baby is anxious for her spanking, no?” Andy rumbles.

“No!” 

“How about we check-in when we’re done, hmm? Let’s start with fifteen. Now just hold on to my leg, sweetheart.”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

END   

[mercurygray]

Dispatches from the groupchat: Marines in the ETO 😏 aka Ack Ack and Eddie in Normandy. Juno xx

This is just a little bit of light nonsense.

"Lieutenant Jones, you're going to get us into trouble."

It was Friday, and the bar was busy, and Eddie Jones was smiling at something - or someone, more likely - across the room, sipping his beer like he wanted someone to notice. That would have been well and good in London, but they weren't in London, now, and about as far off their home turf as it was possible to get.

Eddie looked innocent. "What did I do?"

Andy snorted. "Not what you did - more what you're thinking about doing."

"And what's that when it's at home, Skipper?"

"Asking one of those girls to dance."

Eddie scoffed. "It's a free country, isn't it? And you were thinking it too, I know you were. That tall dark-haired lieutenant looks like she's about your size."

Andy could only sigh - the lieutenant in question was very pretty, with the distinct air of a girl he probably could have danced with at Bowdoin about her, but he wasn't really in the mood. He could, however, spot at a glance the girl Eddie was thinking about - eight months on their training course had taught him a lot about his second in command's likes and dislikes. "Don't tell me - the sergeant with the brassy hair who keeps looking this way."

"Man's got eyes, doesn't he?" Eddie said with a shrug, smiling a little wider when the aformentioned sergeant met his eye again, gaze mischievous over the top of her beer. "We're all fighting the same war."

"But not with the same service," Andy observed. "They're Army - paratroopers, even. And I don't much feel like getting jumped by their friends." The rest of the bar was packed with soldiers, including a large number wearing jumpwings and the same shoulder patches as the girls. This was supposed to be a quiet weekend away from school, and he didn't really want to spend it finding out if Devil Dogs could beat Screaming Eagles in a fight.

"Aw, I think we could take 'em, Skip," Eddie said with a grin, "Retreat, hell, we just got here."

It was just like Ed to quote that at him, especially when there were girls involved. But Andy never got to talk him down - the girls, it seemed, cared as little for retreating as Eddie did.

"Are you just going to keep staring or ask us to dance, sailor?" the shorter of the two asked with a look that would have taken all but the most seasoned salt by surprise. "I never thought the Marines were one for being shy."

"Was just waiting for the right moment," Eddie replied, all easy charm and loose smiles. He'd explained it, once, at the bar on a Friday after one of the other operatives on their course asked him how it was that women just seemed drawn to him. Hell, isn't anything special. Just smiles and waiting. It was true, though - more women stopped for more chats with Hillbilly than anyone Andy had ever known - and he'd played three sports in college.

"And do those curls of yours come with a name? My mother told me never to dance with men I hadn't been introduced to."

It was a good thing Eddie liked his women forthright - other guys wouldn't have tried that on. "Jones, miss. Edward Jones, at your service. And this here's -"

"Andrew Haldane."

"Billie Mitchell," the brazen bronze announced. "Not to be confused with the Air Corps. And this Molly."

"Mahoney," her friend added, shaking Andy's hand after he'd offered it.

"Well, Lieutenant Jones?" The one called Billie held out her hand, and Eddie was only too glad to take it. Andy did the same for her friend after half a moment, feeling like a heel that he hadn't been quicker on the draw. Girls noticed things like that, and he had a feeling this pair didn't miss much.

The radio was broadcasting some sort of Command Performance concert, Glen Miller or Harry James running through a high-energy dance number, a soloist warbling about doing the jive. "I'd apologize for Billie but I'm not sure it's necessary," Molly offered, once they were on the floor and had picked up the beat. "Your friend doesn't seem to mind."

"Eddie's never one to pass up a pretty girl -and truth be told, he was heading in the same direction."

"And you, Captain?" He tried not to look guilty as charged. "If you were hoping to get in with Lieutenant Warren, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. She's not likely to take a shine to Marines - they nearly sent her on a warbond tour with one."

"So that's the famous Amazon." Now that she'd said it he could place the face, seen on a dozen different recruiting posters and nearly every major magazine. She looked a little different, away from the spotlight. Pretty, certainly, but nothing worth stopping the war over. "Can't say I had any special designs on anyone - God's truth," he added, when she looked ready to call him a liar. "I'm just here to keep Eddie out of trouble."

"Good luck with that," Molly said with a smile, glancing over at the two of them, Billie tucked up neatly into Eddie's tall, spare frame, closer than two bodies who'd just met ought to be. "Trouble is Billie's middle name."

[optimistic-dinosaur-nacho]

could you make a call platonic! andy barber imagine? the reader is an officer and is andy’s best friend. the reader is the one to arrest jacob and they get into an argument about it. it would be great if you could do that and you can also change it up a bit if you’d like but that’s just a summary (you can also decide wether you want them to make up or not) -ty 🙂

Platonic!Andy Barber x Fem!Reader

Thanks for dropping in and your request! It really means a lot. 

Warnings: Angst, Language

~~~

The morning had just started and you were gonna stop by a friends house before you go into work. You stopped by the cafe to grab a few cups of coffee before driving over in a police car.

You pulled up and saw someone step out. Taking the coffees you walked up and noticed it was Jacob. “Good morning, Jacob,” You spoke. The boy stops and shoves his hands in his pockets and forced a smile.

“Hey,” He says, you looked around, “Is your parents still home?” You asked. He nods his head, “Yeah, they are.”

You smiled at him, “Do you need a ride to the school? If you give me a second I can take you-”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll take the trail. Thank you. See...See ya,” He says. You grinned at him as he walks down the street and you walked up to the porch. Andy and Laurie were good parents. You never doubted them once. Andy was your friend for a long time. You probably knew him more than Laurie did. Which you didn’t brag about.

You reached the red door and knocked on it. 

It took a few minutes before someone opened the door. “Y/N,” Laurie sounded surprise, she looked almost frightened. You smiled, “Hey, Laurie. I just wanted to come by, see how you guys are doing. You know...” You shrug.

Andy comes in view over Laurie’s shoulder and his face drops, “Hi,” He said. Laurie smiles, “Do you want to come in?”

“Sure, I can’t stay for long but I just went by the cafe and grabbed you guys coffee?” You showed them the cups and they both grinned. “Thank you, please come in.” You walked in and placed the tray on the counter. 

Andy was in his usual suit and tie. You smiled at him, “I’m sorry to hear about Ben. I only saw him once or twice around the school.” Andy nods and hung his head low.

“We barely knew the parents and Ben but... it’s hard,” He says. You nod, “I hope Jacob is doing good, how was he?”

Laurie looks at Andy, her arms were crossed, “He’s doing okay. At least what he said.” 

You nod again. “Well... if there’s anything I can do. I’ll do it. I should head back to the station.” Andy nods, “I was gonna go there. Once you get there, I’ll be in a few minutes. I got to drop something off,” Andy looks at Laurie again and you smiled.

“Sure. I guess I’ll see you there. Bye, Laurie.”

“Bye, honey. Thanks for the coffee,” She says. You smiled, “Of course.” You gave Andy one last glance before heading out the house over to your car. Turning on your car, you glanced at the house one last time before driving down the street over to the station.

.

You stopped in the front and hopped out, meeting Pam Duffy. “Officer L/N,” She says.

“Duffy.”

She grins at you before taking you up the station, “We got a guy, named Leonard Patz. He might be tied to the case, but we’re unsure.”

“Who asked for him?”

“Your friend. Andy,” You look over to mention of his name. Pam opens the door for you, giving her a small thanks as you walked in. You let Pam go first when someone called you over. “I’ll be up there in a minute,” You said, Pam nods and goes up the stars.

.

“Y/N. You made it,” The man says, you stood by and looked at the cameras with the guy. 

“What’s his deal?” You asked.

“He’s assaulted a kid in the library, grabbed his junk and so here we have him here,” He replied, “Grabbed him from his work.” You look up to him and he looked very uncomfortable. Like a dog with its tail between its legs. 

You hear someone walk in and Andy comes in, “Morning.” The man in the chair nods, “Hey, morning.” Andy drops his jacket on the chair, “How’s it going?” He asked.

“Well, they got him to admit to being in the park the morning of. And that’s it so far.” Andy glanced at you, “How’s your morning so far?” He asked with a grin.

You sighed, “Long, but we’re getting there.” Andy smiles at you and his eyes dart over to the door causing you to look over.

“L/N, we just got called in for that search in the park. You coming?” The officer asked. You straightened up, “Yeah. I’m coming.” 

Andy looks over to you, “You’re on the search?” He asked.

You shrugged, “They’re mostly calling all officers in for it, so you’re going after... this. I’ll be there.” He nods with a grin. “I’ll see you there then.” You smiled as you walked away. Andy watched you disappear from his view.

.

“Officer L/N, the cop we’ve all been waiting for,” An officer calls, you walked over with a grin. “Anything yet?” You asked, the man looks around to the group of people with bright orange jackets. 

“Not much, yet, but we still have time.”

You look out to the forest and saw them kicking and bending over through the leaves looking for weapons or any signs of evidence they could use. You watched them, waiting for someone to blow the whistle. 

The K9 also in the search, sniffing through the brush. 

“Well, well, well... Look who came,” Someone says, you look over and spotted Andy’s black Audi car. You walked up as he stopped the car and rolled the window down. 

He leaned over to see you. “Hey, Andy,” You say. He smiles at you, “Any luck so far?”

You sighed, “Not yet, but we still have daylight left.” He looks around and glances at you, “Okay if I hang out here?” You held your hand up and dropped it, “Wherever you want.”

“I’ll just block your car in,” He jokes grinning at you. You smiled, “You do that, I might have to tow your car, Mr. Barber.” He smiles and rolls his window up, leaving you with a grin as he finds himself a spot in the road.

“You and Barber?” Dave asked, you walked over, “What about us?” You asked.

He grins, “Nothing.” You looked over and scoffed, “Whatever you’re thinking you’re stupid. I think you got the wrong coffee, Dave. Making you see things. Him and I are friends, don’t get any ideas.”

Dave holds his hands up and grinned, “I wasn’t even thinking.” Andy comes up with his hands in his pockets. He grinned up at you, “Morning, guys.”

“Mr. Barber,” Dave says.

Andy stands by you and he looks over, “Anything on Patz?” You asked. He looks out to the forest, “Duff’s saying he may not be the one but they’re just not looking hard enough.”

You tilt your head, “Well, maybe give it a few days. Once we find that knife, we’ll find out who it is.” You felt Andy shuffle next to you and sighed.

You all waited for something to be found or happen.

Andy was leaning on the car as you all waited. You glanced over your shoulder and spotted someone walking up. You leaned off it, “Is that Rifkin’s father?” Andy turns and follows your gaze.

Andy walks over to him and you watched from the distance. Dan Rifkin was Ben’s father, the kid who was murdered. He looked like he was upset, crying. You didn’t like that how tensed him and Andy were.

You could barely hear them but you knew it wasn’t good when Dan walked away and Andy immediately pulled out his phone.

Who was he calling?

You see him put down the phone and you walked over. “Andy? What happened?” You asked, looking over to Dan storming away. “I have to go,” He said.

You followed him, “Andy, tell me what’s going on?”

“Officer L/N!” Another officer calls, you stopped and Andy continued to his car. You watched him drive away and you turned to the officer who called you. “What?”

“We got a dispatch. They found the suspect.”

“Who is it?”

“Jacob Barber.”

.

You drove to the Barber Residence and you checked the clock. It was 30 minutes after Jacob had just left school. You tried to reach Andy but he never picked up his phone. 

What’s his son got to do with Ben Rifkin’s murder? If you were the one to arrest his son. It would not end well. You loved Jacob. You took him to school sometimes. You hung out with him and he liked having you at the house for dinners. 

You reached the house to find other police cars. You stepped out and rushed over. The police brought their attention to you, “You know this family, right?”

“Yes, have you found Jacob?”

“No, we waited here for almost an hour. School ended 30 minutes ago,” You closed your eyes and muttered, “Shit.” You rubbed your forehead. “What’s going on now?”

“Duffy is coming with a warrant, we’ll be searching the house. They said they found a fingerprint on the body’s sweatshirt.” You shook your head. Everything was happening at the wrong time for you. This family was too happy to just have it crumble at their feet.

You just have to let it happen. It’s part of the job.

.

You stayed at the house in case Jacob did come home. You’d be the one to reassure him since he knew you. 

Everyone was looking at you because you knew the family more than they did. 

You knew the kid. The chief could possibly put you on leave for that reason. You hear a car zoom through and Andy pulled up half way in his driveway. The officers started to follow him.

“Mr. Barber,” The officer calls, Andy ignores him and rushes up. “Sir! You know this house is frozen-” Andy turns and points.

“You got a warrant, yet?” The officer doesn’t speak, “Yeah, I didn’t think so. It’s my house. I have a right to go inside.” You were the one who was gonna talk to him and reassure him but Duffy pulls in. “Andy!”

The man turns to Duffy who got out with the warrant in hand. He sighs and pulls away. You see her speak to him as you stood by the officers. To you it was hard to watch. 

Andy opens the front door and he says something to her before she nods at the officers. They all go in and you were the last one to go up his porch.

He looks over to you. “I’m sorry,” You said. He looks over and sighed. “I’m sure you are,” He says. You glanced at him and sighed. Andy never sounded like that. The tone he had wasn’t welcoming. 

You took that as a ‘go away’ sign and turned away. Walking back to your car to head back to the station.

“Dispatcher, what units are available for the search of Jacob Barber?” You stopped and looked down at the comm in the center console. You sighed and pulled it up to your mouth.

“10-4,” You say, changing the gear and drove off. Andy watched you go, dropping his head and sighed.

.

After multiple calls to Jacob personally. You drove around for hours. Your windows rolled down to either call out to Jacob or hear sudden sounds. Andy called you multiple times, but you never picked it up. 

It was getting dark and you heard on the radio, they found the knife. You started to feel worried. If that knife has some trail of Jacob’s print, it could end there. You look over to the elementary school and thought to check there.

You got out with a flashlight and walked over to the play structure. You shined the light over the obstacles. “Jake? Buddy. It’s Y/N,” You called, walking further. You hear shuffling and turned the light to the swings. 

You turn to Jacob who sat on the swing. You walked forward, “Hey, bud.” You saw the tears fall down his cheeks as he looked up in fear. You took out your cuffs. You hated to do this to him. 

“I have to put these on you. Can you do that for me?” He stands up and you smiled at him. “Hands in front,” You cuffed his wrist but kept them a bit loose so it didn’t hurt him.

Taking him to your car, you gently sat him in the back. You grabbed his bag as well and dropped it in the passenger seat.

You turned on the car, “People have been looking for you. I was getting worried, Jake.”

“I didn’t do it,” He said. You look over in the rear view. “Do what?”

“Kill Ben. I... I didn’t do it. I just found him. He was just lying there on the ground and... I thought maybe he was hurt so I went over to pick him up... then I saw the blood and his eyes were open and...” He shifts and the tears stream down his face.

“I got scared and I ran...”

“And you didn’t tell anyone?” You asked, he lowers his head and shakes it. You frowned, “Why not?” He pierces his lips to prevent himself from breaking down in tear, you just nod.

“Okay.”

“I want my dad,” Your hand stops at the ignition as you stared forward. “Please... I want my dad...” He says. You closes your eyes and turned on the car, driving your way to the station.

.

You walked in the station and the other officers reached for Jacob. “Please, be careful with him?” You asked they nod at you and Jacob looks over to you. “Don’t worry, your parents are coming.” He turns away and followed the officers as you let out a sigh.

Never in your life arrested a best friend’s child. It was hard. It’s like all the trust just crumbles at your feet and you can’t find the ways to pick them up and fix.

You wanted to wait for Andy. If Duffy told him you found him and arrested him, he might not even talk to you. 

You hear someone walk in and you turned to face Andy and Laurie. “Can I talk to you?” Andy asked. He sounded pissed. You looked at Laurie who was more worried than angry. He looks over to her, “Wait here, honey.” You followed Andy outside.

He meets the bottom of the stairs and turns to you, “What the hell are you doing?”

“What?” You asked.

“You arrested my son? What kind of friend does that?” He almost shouts. You stared at him in disbelief, “Andy, that was my job! It’s the law.”

“I don’t fucking care about the law, he didn’t do this.”

“I didn’t want to arrest your son. I love Jacob, you know that.”

“But you did it anyway,” He said. You scoffed, “If you have a problem of the arrest of your son, you can talk to the chief. That’s the law. So I suggest you understand them and let me do my job.”

“You’re ruining his life!”

“He ruined it himself if he’s the suspect!” You shout back. You watched Andy’s shoulders drop and he shakes his head. Andy drops his head and walks around you, heading back up the stairs.

He left you in the dark. You shook your head and placed your head in your hands and choked a sob. You walked back to your car and drove back home. 

.

The next day, you didn’t call in for work. They asked you to be at the courthouse with the reporters. You rejected it and stayed at home. There was no reason for you to go to that court for Jacob. You didn’t want to be there and see Andy.

You regret what you said. It was fucked up. If Jacob wasn’t guilty, it would been worse. If you were... You didn’t want to think about that.

The news was showing the Barber family on the screen. You turned it off once you saw their faces and did things around the house. No calls from anyone throughout the day. 

Possibly one from your mother. Hearing about Andy and his family. It was nighttime and you were just about to go to bed. The  TV was on and you turned it off. The sound of walking was heard outside your yard.

You peaked through the curtains and didn’t see anyone. You hear your backyard light get triggered by the movement outside. You walk over and slid the door open.

You stood out and crossed your arms. “Hello?” You called, you turn back and grabbed your gun. You saw someone walk forward and you sighed.

“Jesus...” You whispered. Andy comes out in the darkness. He saw you with the gun in hand and sighs, “Sorry.” You placed the gun on the counter and crossed your arms. 

“What are you here for?” You asked.

He looks down at his feet and walks forward, “I wanted... I wanted to say I’m sorry.” He looks up, his hands in his grey jacket as he steps closer. “I shouldn’t have gotten upset. I was just scared.”

You nod at him, “I’m sorry, too. For what I said, I--I didn’t mean it.” He was close as you thought. He pressed his lips together and formed a grin. You forced a smile on yours and sighed. “Friends?”

He smiles, “Of course.” He watches as you lean forward and wrapped your arms around him. He sighs softly and hugs you back. “I might talk to Duffy about the Patz case.”

“I thought he wasn’t their priority now?”

“He is to me. There has to be some connection to him. I might need your help sometime,” He said. You sighed against his chest. “Just don’t get me fired. They almost put me on leave because I knew your son.”

“They might. But it doesn’t stop us from defending Jacob.”

~~~

Some ending there, could’ve been worse but thank you for that request!

TAGS:

@jtargaryen18 @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @chrisevans-imagines @princess-evans-addict @bucksgoat @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @ifuseekamyevans @rororo06 @patzammit @axen-gers

[lia-jones]

Growing Stronger - Chapter Thirty-Six - The Father of the Bride

They say one of the hardest days in a man’s life is the one when he gives his daughter away to another man. And Jeremy was travelling into that dark night alone, without any one to advise him. His father never had the same experience; Jeremy’s sister never got married. Not that his father would care or even be present should his sister get married. In fact, Jeremy was sure his father was the reason his sister never married in the first place.

Fortunately, that wasn’t his daughter’s case. She had had the example of a happy family, one that he had raised with love and understanding, hoping to break the cycle of abandonment. Although her experience before Victor was enough to send anyone on a one-way trip to celibacy, that wasn’t his Andrea. She was strong, resilient, and had within her a joy of life many spend a lifetime trying to obtain. She was insightful and hopeful, and that gave her the truly rare ability to see beauty in everything. Apparently, such had been the case with Victor. Where everyone else saw coldness, she saw light.

Although Jeremy and Victor were very different men with very different backgrounds, he could see so much of him in that remarkable young man it was almost funny. Yet, he could never exactly figure what it was that he found so similar. The realization dawned on him at the rehearsal dinner, when he saw Gregory interact with his son.

A deadbeat dad is a deadbeat dad, no matter the social status. That night, he had seen in Gregory’s eyes the same contempt he saw in his own father’s, and in Victor’s eyes the exact same blend of hurt and defiance that he was sure oftentimes he had in his own. And in that moment, Jeremy was absolutely certain that Victor was the best husband Andrea could find: a man who had experienced rejection and pain, but was driven enough to create a life full of love and understanding for himself and the love of his life.

Jeremy sighed and rolled out of bed. This was way too much contemplation before coffee. Plus, he hated to wake up without Mariana, and he could really use her that morning. She would surely and quickly put an end to his useless internal monologue, either offering kind words or simply telling him to get his lazy ass out of bed.

Well, his lazy ass was out of bed. Now what?

What does the father of the bride do?

As he stepped into the cold shower, he pondered about what was expected of him that day. What the heck is the role of the father of the bride? In short, absolutely nothing. He comes forward with a check to pay for the wedding and takes a little stroll down the aisle. Since Victor was a multimillionaire, the stroll was all he had. Jeremy scoffed, accidentally getting a little bit of shampoo in his mouth, pairing with his bitter thoughts: a lifetime racking his brain on how to properly raise a girl and on the most important day of her life, all that was required from him was to be able to walk a straight line. Even a sobriety test could be more interesting.

Getting out of the shower, he noticed a new notification on his phone. A text from his wife.

Have you seen Andy?

To aggravate him even more, Mariana was at Andrea’s room, to help her put on the dress, dote on her, calm down any eventual wedding jitters, leaving him to his own devices. Him, he had no job. Not only was he losing his daughter that day, he had to feel like a useless bum too.

His stomach growled. Maybe it was just hunger putting him in a bad mood. Time to put on some clothes, look for Andrea, and get some grub.

He had just shut his bedroom door when he heard a loud thump at the end of the hall.

“Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!” Andrea fumbled to get herself off the ground, her cheeks red as tomatoes.

He watched her awkwardly walk down the hall, a knowing smirk on his face. The bride’s room wasn’t that way, the groom’s was.

“Woke up early to walk the dog?” He jested, knowing this would make her blush even more.

“Sorry, Dad, no time to talk!” She quickened her step, going for the stairs.

“I was going to say don’t keep him waiting, but it looks like you didn’t!” He joked again, only to be ignored. He didn’t care, though, laughing at his own joke.

Ok, that seemed to be taken care of. At least both bride and groom would be relaxed before the ceremony. Well, as much as they could be. It was time for breakfast.

It was clear to Jeremy that Terry and Mina loved Victor like he was their own child. He was aware that all the preparations depended on Victor’s money and the wedding planner’s taste, but there was an additional and special care in everything Mina and Terry did for him, one that wedding planners can’t replicate, one that is only given to a son. This would remain unnoticed by a lot of people, but to a parent, this special attention was plain to see.

“Good morning.” He announced himself, as he entered the dining room.

“Good morning, Mr. Jones.” Mina greeted him from the kitchen, as she dispatched two trays of food, probably for the happy couple. “I will be right there with you.”

Soon enough, she arrived with a plate filled with bacon, eggs and pancakes, placing it on the table, in front of him.

“Have all the others had breakfast yet?” He asked, seeing himself alone with Mina in the dining room.

“Yes, everybody is already busy with their tasks, they came to eat really early.” Mina was about to leave when Jeremy stopped her.

“Care to sit with me for a quick coffee? I don’t like eating alone.” He asked, feeling weird about having a meal on his own.

“Your granddaughter is so beautiful.” Mina commented, sitting next to him. “So playful and always smiling! Victor loves her, I have never seen him so fascinated with a  child before.”

“Yeah, that one has him wrapped around her little finger…” Jeremy chuckled. “All of us, really.”

“It’s just so sad that Andrea…” Mina trailed off, a concerned look on her face.

“It is.” Jeremy frowned, remembering her pain during that dreadful year. “A farewell gift from that abusive piece of shit.” He cleared his throat. “Pardon my English.”

“No, those words are appropriate.” Mina supported him, almost as enraged as he was, making it clear she cared deeply about his daughter. “It just infuriates me to see these two kids, with such big hearts, go through so much. My Victor acts tough, but in the end, he is still that small little boy that just wants a little affection. At least they found each other. Andrea seems to love him very much.”

“Oh yes, she does.” Jeremy nodded. “That one will love on him until she’s blue in the face.”

“My heart breaks for him today, to tell you the truth.” Mina was misty-eyed, her voice somewhat strained. “It’s the most important day of his life and his father can’t be supportive. And surely he must be hurting, thinking of how his mother didn’t live to witness his special day. It’s like he is being abandoned all over again.”

Jeremy’s thoughts drifted back to his own wedding, in Portugal, away from his friends and family. There was something that cheered him up on that day though: a postcard from his aunt, with some money and his mother’s ring and the words You got this, kiddo. Be happy .

Jeremy smiled confidently at Mina.

“He has someone. He has a mother right here. The one that loved him and nurtured him for years. And that’s the one he needs.”

Well fed and in a much better mood, Jeremy marched to his bedroom. He was wrong, he had a job after all: to be a comforting voice. That was usually Mariana’s job, but she was so busy tending to their daughter and the other bridesmaids that she wouldn’t have the time to work her magic. That day, such a daunting and important task seemed to fall on him. He hoped some of his wife’s wisdom had rubbed off on him.

He took out his wedding suit and put it on, checking himself in the mirror. He was a far cry from the boy he was thirty five years ago, although one thing remained: the look of happiness in his eyes. He was looking for his cuff links when his wife stormed into the room, already wearing her own formal dress, her hair and makeup perfectly done, yet a livid look on her face.

“Where were you? I have been calling you!” She reprimanded him.

“Oh shoot, the sound was very low, I didn’t hear it.” He grimaced, looking at his phone. “Why? What happened?”

“ Filho da puta, arrogante de merda! ” She swore in Portuguese, which was rare for her. Something very wrong was going on. “Gregory is not coming to the wedding. Apparently, his reputation is more important than his son. And your daughter is on the verge of a panic attack, because that producer had the fucking brilliant idea of telling her about the dozens of reporters writing articles about her wedding!” She held her husband’s face, looking him in the eyes with determination. “Our kids need us, Jer. Did you bring that special brandy?”

“To open with Victor after lunch, yes. Why?”

“Forget lunch. He needs it now.” She shook her head with sadness, probably name-calling Gregory in her mind. “Jer, he needs a father.”

Jeremy didn’t need to be told twice. Bottle of brandy in hand, he ran to Victor’s room. He suddenly felt as infuriated as his wife, picturing himself punching Greg square in the jaw for being such a prick, both for  Andy and Victor. Not even on his son’s most special day, he couldn’t avoid a scene? He had to let his son down once again?

He found Joshua pacing nervously outside.

“Oh, thank God!” His son sighed in relief. “I honestly don’t know what to do! His old man was here, they had a huge fight. I had to grab Victor, he was on the verge of punching his father. Fuck, the things he was saying about Andy, I felt like punching him too, but then I remembered what mom said.” Joshua took a deep breath to calm himself down. “After that, he wouldn’t touch his breakfast, Goldman had to threaten to call Andy if he didn’t eat. He’s completely shut down, Dad. He’s barely talking, just sits there, lost in thought.” He looked at his father with angry eyes. “I honestly don’t know if he’s well enough to get married right now. He looks… broken.”

“Don’t worry, son.” Jeremy patted his son in the back. “I got this.”

Jeremy knocked on the door, and as soon as Goldman opened it, he signaled for the assistant to wait outside. He found Victor already in his wedding suit, sitting on the sofa, staring at the floor.

“You look tired, son.” Jeremy started, pretending not to know what was going on. “That’s what you get for sleeping with the bride before the wedding.” He joked, not getting a response. “Or wedding jitters kept you up?”

Victor suddenly looked up, his face expressionless. Jeremy could see the pain in his eyes, though.

“I’m fine.” He answered with a flat voice.

“Well, I have something that will make you feel more than fine.” Jeremy placed the bottle on the coffee table with a loud clunk. That definitely caught Victor’s attention.

“A Rémi Martin XO?”

“A wedding gift to calm your nerves.” Jeremy went to the food table. “Let me get two glasses.”

“Feel free to help yourself.” Victor slid the bottle further from him. “It’s too early for me to drink.”

“Son, you need this more than I do.” Jeremy poured some brandy into a glass, handing it to his son in law. “You may fool your friends out there, but you can’t fool me. Drink. It’ll help.”

He watched as Victor took a sip, letting the brandy sit in his mouth, swallowing after with a satisfied exhale.

“Magnificent.” Victor observed the brandy in his glass. “Are you sure you want me to have it?”

“Of all the people I know, you are the most worthy of it.” Jeremy chuckled. “Andrea or Joshua wouldn’t appreciate it correctly. I would be casting pearls to swine.”

After a brief moment of silence, both swirling the brandy in their glasses, Jeremy decided to jump in and address the matter at hand.

“How are you feeling, son?” He carefully observed Victor.

“I’m fine.” Victor answered, his voice hinting his frustration. “Why does everybody keep asking me that?”

“It’s a big day, after all. We tend to look back, make a quick review of where we’ve been, how far we have come. The people we miss.”

With a sigh, Victor put his glass down on the coffee table. But didn’t utter a word.

“How most things won’t change, no matter how hard we try.” Jeremy offered again, hinting at Victor’s relationship with his father.

Victor smirked bitterly, looking at him. Still, not a word.

“Mari and I were much younger when we got married, I was 25, she was 22. Her family didn’t accept our relationship, so we eloped in a city nearby and got married without anyone’s consent. I could see she was upset not having her family there. I was actually relieved to not have mine.”

His son in law looked at him, surprised. With a weak smile, Jeremy continued.

“As you may have already noticed, Mari and I never talked much about my family to my kids. To be honest, I don’t even know if they are dead or alive. My father was an evil man that left us for another woman. My mother was a weak-minded woman who could never stand up for herself or her children. The moment he left, I had to start working to feed our family, in a winery in Napa Valley. That was how I became an oenologist, my boss helped me in every way he could to give me a steady path.”

Jeremy kept his eyes on the table, unwilling to let past emotions take hold of him.

“The day I got married was the happiest and the hardest in my life. As I looked at the woman by my side, there was a feeling of dread inside of me. I felt alone, unprepared, just a kid. I had no real experience of what a healthy marriage was. My father was an awful husband and a lousy father, how could I be any good at it? I was afraid to repeat his mistakes.”

“Yet, you didn’t.” Victor concluded by himself.

“No, I didn’t.” Jeremy shook his head, feeling proud of himself. “All it took was a look at the woman I loved, standing by my side, smiling at me, and I knew I wasn’t alone. When you stand at that aisle, and you see Andy walk towards you, mark my words, you’ll feel invincible. Nothing else will matter. You’ll know that you love her with all your heart, and even feeling unprepared, there is nothing you wouldn’t do for her.”

“There isn’t.” Victor looked Jeremy in the eyes, his expression assertive. Jeremy knew that look too, it was the one he had on his wedding day.

“I know.” He assured the young man. “That life you leave behind will seem like a mirage when you lead the one you chose for yourself. Don’t let it weigh on you now. You’re almost there.”

“Thank you.” Victor said in a low voice, seemingly touched by the story.

“And I need to see about a bride!” Jeremy downed the rest of his brandy, making a face. “On second thought, this brandy might not have been such a good idea. Maybe don’t drink it all.”

Not giving another word to the men waiting outside, he strode to his daughter’s room, feeling very good about himself. His job here was done. Time to see how beautiful Andrea looked.

She was breathtaking in that dress. Jeremy couldn’t care less about dresses, but even he had to notice the beautiful work in the halter neckline, lined with beautiful stones and covered with lace. It was like nothing he had seen before, a true work of art. Becoming a Lee sure had its advantages.

Not that Andrea cared though. She was still somewhat anxious with all the media outside, all the girls surrounding her, trying to reassure her.

“No way I’m going out there! We’ll have to get married inside.” Andrea concluded, panicked.

“It will be ok, you’ll do fine.” Mariana stroke her back, comforting her.

“No, it won’t! Everyone’s eyes will be on me, I’m going to embarrass Victor!”

“You are not, Andy. It’s just a short walk to the carriage, and then to the aisle. We’ll be with you every step of the way, you’ll do fine.” Diane chimed in.

“And I have instructed the photographers to be as discreet as possible, you won’t even notice them, I promise.” The short producer offered. But Andy wasn’t listening anymore, her mind reeling with fear.

“Oh my God, I can feel myself sweat, I’m going to have pit stains in my dress.” She fumbled with the skirt of her dress. “And it’s too long for me to walk anyway, so I’m surely going to trip on it. I’m going to faceplant on the floor, and every magazine will have a picture of it to remember it.”

“No, you won’t. I will be holding your arm the entire time, remember? Just like I held you when you were learning to walk.” Jeremy spoke up, stealing Andrea’s attention.

“Dad?” She looked up, seeking his support. The same look she had in her eyes like when she was just a child, and still needed him. Jeremy felt his heart swell with joy.

“Remember, Mari?” He spoke to his wife, as he took his daughter’s hand. “This one could talk even before she could walk. And she was so scared of falling.”

“You would only stand and walk if we held your hand.” Mariana continued to talk. “Your father would hold your hand, keeping you straight, while you took your first steps. It took a while to convince you that you were safe, but eventually you walked on your own.”

Andrea smiled, and Jeremy could almost see her, so little, blonde curls jumping up and down as she tried to steady herself.

“You know, as you and Josh grew up, I always thought you’d be the one that needed protection the most. Especially after a few years. Josh was a lively kid, full of spunk and surrounded by friends, while you spent your days pressing the keys of that piano, by yourself. You seemed so fragile and lonely to me, and oftentimes I wondered if you had a hard time making friends, since Josh was the only one you'd play with. But then you had your first recital.”

“I remember that day. I was so nervous.” Andrea recalled, seemingly more relaxed. Mariana left the room with the bridesmaids, probably wanting to give them a moment.

“I remember you walking to that stage, so small, and playing masterfully, getting a look of awe from everyone. That’s when it hit me. What I was seeing wasn’t a small girl isolating herself, but instead someone who, at a very tender age, was already working tirelessly to achieve a goal. You weren’t hiding from the world. You were preparing yourself to face it.”

“Dad…” His daughter was misty-eyed, smiling at him.

“For some years, my heart relaxed.” Jeremy continued. “I consistently saw you work towards your goals, and in the meantime you made friends, a tight circle. No one could ever make you give up what you wanted. Until that scumbag.” He paused, relaxing his fists, that he had unwillingly clenched while he spoke. “There is no greater pain than to helplessly watch your child fade away, lose her spark. But once again, you proved me wrong. You got to your feet, you overcame your trauma and healed from the abuse. You got your doctorate, an outstanding career, a good man to start a life with. You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever known, stronger than me. I have no words to describe how proud I am to be your father.”

“I’m not stronger than you.” Andrea blinked a few happy tears away. “I am strong because of you. Because you always saw worth in everything I did. Because you always believed in me.”

“Hurry up, guys.” Mariana peeked into the room from the door. “The groom is ready. It’s time.”

“Well, I believe some photographers won’t stop you now.” He stood up, taking Andrea’s hand. “Let’s go. There’s a nervous young man anxiously waiting for you.”

“Victor is nervous?” She smiled at him, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

“Oh yes. I had to get him slightly drunk.” Jeremy chuckled at the scolding look in his daughter’s expression. “Don’t worry, he’s sober enough.”

He left the mansion proudly, Andy by his side, holding his arm tight. There were sounds of flashes, of pictures being taken, but she kept her eyes on him, confidently, like she did so many years ago. They climbed into the carriage that would take them to the wedding venue, and she looked serene, sure of herself, happy. The same expression she had when facing so many trials in her life. She was ready.

As he walked down the aisle with his precious daughter, Jeremy’s chest felt warmer with a sudden realization: he wasn’t giving away his daughter, because she wasn’t his to give in the first place. She had always belonged to herself, following her own path, focusing on her own dreams, making her own choices. Jeremy was simply privileged to hold her hand as she bravely took her first steps towards a brilliant future.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #464

Top Ten Feelgood Moments in Movies

Serendipity’s a funny thing, isn’t it? I’ve been planning to make this week about feelgood films since, oooh, late November maybe. I mean, we’ve had enough misery since 2016 to last us an entire Middle-Earth Extended Edition boxset. We need our Pelennor Fields moments wherever we can get them, and Joe Biden being sworn in as President is a good a moment as any right now. So anyway, that was the plan, and then along comes good old Empire magazine with a month dedicated to top cinema moments. They’re not all feelgood, to be fair – there’s the chestburster scene from Alien for a kick-off – but it’s one of those instances of curious synchronicity. What I’m saying is, I didn’t rip them off, okay? This was percolating since the Tangerine Nightmare lost Georgia.

Anyway: feelgood.

This was surprisingly hard, because the moments that I cherish aren’t always feelgood. Even in Lord of the Rings, even in the Pelennor Fields, the whole Ride of the Rohirrim stuff is laced with tragedy. The best bits of those films – “Fly, you fools!”, “For Frodo,” “I can’t carry it but I can carry you,” “Go away and don’t come back” – they’re all melancholy, aren’t they? It’s a saga about people being heroic under duress, and in those cases quite often people don’t make it back all in one piece. Think about Pixar, what are the great moments? “Thanks for the adventure, “So long partner,” “Take her to the moon for me” – they’re all about loss. Or rather, new joy from loss, hope from despair, that kind of thing. They’re terrific, they always make me cry, but they’re not exactly feelgood if you know what I mean.

So here we are. Moments of utter joy, that’s what I’m after. Heart soaring, tears pouring, euphoric moments of extreme happiness. I’ve tried for the most part to avoid joyous moments of excess: there’s one explosion and one bit where a dude gets stabbed in the face, but for the most part I’ve eschewed “feelgood violence” for want of a better word. These are scenes that are supposed to make you smile.

And y’know what? We could all do with smiling more in this day and age.

Good luck, Joe and Kamala. Do a good job. Take us to the moon.

(P.S. spoiler alert for, well, pretty much every film in the list)

“Happy birthday, Aunt Lucy.” (Paddington 2, 2017): after ninety minutes of watching Paddington bring out the best in everybody just by existing, we all feel he deserves a happy ending. And everyone pulls together and gets it for him. Everyone he’s helped, everyone whose life he touched, they’re all there, leading Paddington – and us – to the door. As an adult, you know what’s coming; kids are less sure. But it’s a joyous moment of nothing but true happiness. Two CGI characters hug with such sincerity you can feel the warmth from the screen, and then comes those last words – quiet, whispered, almost thrown away. It’s perfect.

“When you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” (When Harry Met Sally, 1989): romcom endings are very hard. You’ve navigated a couple’s relationship, generally speaking you’ve split them up in act three, and now they need to get back together in a big, extravagant way, that undoes the plot machinations that separated them. No one does it as well as Harry here, delivering a soliloquy on what it means to be in love, loving a person’s quirks and foibles and how they occupy your mind, ending with that superb line. Sally says it best: when he says stuff like that, he makes it impossible for us to hate him.

“On your left.” (Avengers: Endgame, 2019): Captain America stands alone, battered and beaten, his unbreakable shield broken. The vast armies of Thanos stand before him. He faces certain death, and the probable destruction of everything. He grits his teeth, tightens his shield straps, and then… Sam Wilson’s voice, delivering a line from several films ago, a moment of levity and shared continuity. His friends arrive, slowly at first; Black Panther, the Guardians, Spider-Man. Legions from across the cosmos. “Is that everyone?” asks Doctor Strange. “You wanted more?!” replies Wong. And then giant Ant-Man bursts through a building, with Hulk and co. An army of good from across the galaxy to face the forces of evil. Cap calls forth Mjolnir (and that moment was so nearly my choice), and then… “Avengers… assemble.”

“That’ll do, pig.” (Babe, 1995): Babe is one of those films that’s mostly joy: feelgood throughout, really, despite moments of drama or sadness. But after some nail-biting scenes as Farmer Hoggett and his piggy bud do their sheepdog act, we have a moment of angsty silence before the crowd goes ballistic, cheers everywhere, women crying, top marks. And then very softly, oh-so-tenderly, Hoggett’s great catchphrase. It’ll do. It’ll always do.

“Indiana… let it go.” (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989): a film built on witty repartee and full-throated spectacle, Crusade lingers in the memory due to the subtle character work between father and son. They mend their fractured relationship over the course of the movie, but it’s really symbolised when Henry saves “Junior” at the expense of rescuing the Grail, calling Indiana by his chosen name for the first time in the film. It’s a great character beat, and is followed shortly afterwards by the protagonists literally riding off into the sunset.

“I am no man!” (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003): as I alluded to above, the Rings trilogy is full of incredible moments of awe, pathos, tragic heroism, and bittersweet joy. But arguably the biggest cheer is reserved for when Eowyn of Rohan dispatches the Witch-King of Angmar courtesy of a Shakespearean loophole in his whole “no man can kill me!” schtick. Coming between the awe-inspiring Ride of the Rohirrim and the death of Theoden, it’s a terrific punch of joy and satisfaction.

“E.T. phone HOOOOOME!” (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982): E.T. is another of those films full of joy, but it’s also tinged with sadness. Melancholia bleeds into the film like sunlight through Elliot’s blinds. E.T. himself spends half the film getting sicker and sicker, until he appears to die, all pale and cold-looking. But then! The flower comes back to life! His heart glows bright red, visible through his weird hyperbaric chamber/coffin thing! Elliot flings back the lid, and E.T. barks his catchphrase euphorically. God, it’s great.

“Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.” (The Shawshank Redemption, 1994): it’s a bit of a grim watch, Shawshank; this isn’t a Paddington-style joy-fest. Andy is wrongfully impression and then spends twenty years being brow-beaten and abused before making his escape. But what an escape; not just the audacity of it – not just the fact he gets out at all – but how he ingeniously tunnels his way out over the decades, steals the warden’s ill-gotten money, exposes the scandal at the prison, and – as Red says – crawls through a sewer. It’s a beautifully put-together scene, everyone getting their just desserts and deserved rewards, and is capped off shortly after when Red himself is released and gets to retire alongside his friend.

“You’re all clear, kid, now let’s blow this thing and go home!” (Star Wars, 1977): I almost had the mothership explosion from Independence Day on this list, because I remember how much that impacted me as a teenager; seeing the baddie aliens get theirs was just great. But really it’s a replication of this, the grandaddy of all “beating the bad guys” big bangs. Luke, whiney teenager from nowhere, ends up flying an X-Wing against the evil oppressive Empire’s mighty Death Star. When all hope seems lost, Han Solo returns, proving his heroism, knocking Darth Vader for six and leaving our hero free and clear to use the Force, Luke. Cue phenomenal fireball. Joy!

“I’m singin’ in the rain…” (Singin’ in the Rain, 1952): musicals are joyous, aren’t they? A proper old-fashioned feelgood sing-song can be transcendent. “Singin’ in the Rain” – as in, the song/dance number – is about a bloke so bloody happy that he doesn’t care if he gets wet. It’s a euphoric statement of intent, a declaration of both love and supreme serenity in and of itself. And as a piece of cinema, it’s all that and more; an escalating dance routine, as the music soars and the camera lifts up, and we take in the splendour of this one bloke kicking in puddles. It’s daft, it’s funny, and it’s just, well, feelgood.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Old Guard (2020)

The Old Guard features cool action scenes and pretty good performances. All that’s missing is some imagination. Much more that could’ve been done with its premise but the missed potential's not enough for me to discourage you from seeing it.

For centuries, mercenaries Andy (Charlize Theron), Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) have helped those they could. As immortals who heal from any wound, they jump into conflict until they realize someone has learned their secret. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. They’ve just discovered another like them, an American marine named Nile Freeman (Kiki Layne).

All of these movies with immortals and still, we hear the same old song. “There’s no point loving anyone because you’ll outlive them”. “The world has stopped caring, so have I.” “The world/people never change.” You'd think Andy would be a little less grim. She’s literally lived through the emancipation of slaves, and the women’s suffragette movement. Despite having three friends to hang out with - immortal friends she CAN form a lasting bond with - she's wallowing in her misery. You could do so much with the time they've been given but all they’ve learned to do is kill people more efficiently. You’d think at least one of them would’ve squirreled away enough money to cure cancer or solve world hunger by now but this is not that kind of movie. It’s about not one, but FOUR Wolverines mowing their way through legions of baddies until they have a kill count higher than WWII. Fair enough. Charlize Theron is more than capable of delivering when it comes to stunts.

To give the movie credit, there are some innovations here and there. The quartet are immortal but still feel pain. They know first-hand there are things far worse than death. Such a fate may await them. With the help of former CIA operative Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), pharmaceutical executive Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) is getting dangerously close to the group. Bad news for them. Either he has the best benefits package of any company in the history of ever, or he’s turned his staff into fanatics. No one bats an eye when they’re told they’ll be vivisecting people alive - without anesthetics. Even when faced with piles of dead co-workers, his goons eagerly jump into the fray. I know we’re not supposed to think about it too much. They’re just supposed to be blocks our heroes dispatch in creative ways but can’t we have cool action and a smart story?

Try not to focus too much on the missed opportunities. There’s good stuff here. For instance, two of the 5 immortals are in a gay relationship. It’s treated like it’s no big deal but it will be to certain audiences, particularly if this spawns a franchise. Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli have good chemistry. Their characters’ love makes you care about them. And then they get to pay their assailants back with violence. That’s pretty cool. (September 24, 2020)

[21stcenturyyfoxx]

Sabotage: Chapter Four

Warnings: violence, death, dark.

———————————————————

Fiery knocks rapped against the door.

Keanu set you down softly, your feet touching the cold tiles.

A sigh erupted from your mouth.

He kissed your forehead lovingly, a smile adorning his lips.

He turn the knob, opening the door to reveal Andi standing there; her face contorted into pure madness.

Keanu instinctively moved to push you behind him, his arm snaking behind his torso to wrap around your back; pushing you completely against him.

“Andi you need to go.” He said sternly, his eyes actively scoping the female in front of him for any sign of danger; dread eating away at his gut. He knew something was planned in her head.

“You really think... you can do better than me? Being with that simple minded... freak.” She said through gritted teeth, her body language spoke volumes.

She was angry, psychotic in movement. Like a mad dog stalking it’s prey.

Keanu placed his free hand out in self-defense to calm the woman.

“Don’t talk about her that way.” He warned.

“You’re going to regret leaving me, Keanu.” She smiled.

You stood behind him, anger seething through your veins.

You didn’t have time to react before Keanu pushed you out of the way.

A shot rang loud, echoing through the house.

You heard a thud, shutting your eyes tightly; you reached for Keanu, to feel his body.

Your eyes ripped open to reveal his body laying on the floor, flashes of red swirled around him.

“Ke...” you began but were shortly cut off by another shot.

This time you fell to the floor, grabbing your stomach tightly.

You felt nauseous, light headed and a warm feeling around your arms.

Blood.

You looked up, searching for Andi; she had fled.

”K-Keanu?” Your mind raced with adrenaline as you crawled to him, laying by his side; your hands curled around his larger ones.

“Please...” you begged at anything, anyone, who could hear you.

You reached for his phone that was tucked in his back pocket; hitting the emergency option that appeared, bypassing his lock.

“911, what’s your emergency?" The operators calming voice slowed your heart down; or maybe it was the wound taking its final place.

“Send an ambulance to 1660 Azalea Street, please?” You groaned.

“My, my friend and I, we’ve been shot. The suspect fled the house, her name is Andi Taylor, she’s 48.” You groaned out, describing Andi to dispatch before fading into darkness, uncertain and terrified.

———

You woke up, a tight feeling in your chest.

The last thing you remembered was hearing a loud popping off noise, a burning sensation in your chest and collapsing. Your eyes fluttered open; your chest still having remembrance of the restricted feeling.

“Mr. Reeves, you’re awake.” A high pitched voice rang through your ears rather loudly. Your eyes adjusted to the face of a nurse looking at you sweetly.

Hospital. Andi. Shot. Y/N!

Your mind traced back the events of the night, you neglected to notice the doctor had stepped into the room.

“Keanu, hey, you gave us a scare.” Daniel said as he patted your hand.

Daniel had been a close friend since the night of losing Ava... then Jennifer... and now...

“Where’s Y/N?” You asked tiredly.

“She’s in a room upstairs, she’s stable.” Daniel said matter-of-factly.

“Can I see her? Please?”

“Sure thing, bud.” He nodded, addressing a nurse to take Keanu upstairs as soon as possible.

——

The room smelled of fresh bleach, the smell made you nauseated. Your hands guided over the fabric of the hospitals bed sheets.

The door crept open, your eyes focusing on the figure approaching your bedside.

Keanu took your hand, squeezing it tightly, reassuringly.

“How’s the most gorgeous girl in the world?” He smiled softly.

You began sitting up, your stomach had a tight pull due to the stitches. Keanu placed a hand on your arm.

“No, lay down.”

“I want to hug you.” You said weakly.

Keanu laughed softly, leaning down carefully to wrap his arms around you. His hug soothing every worry you had before that point.

“We get to go home today.”

“How long has it been?” You asked.

“Two weeks.” Daniel said interrupting you and Keanu.

“Keanu here, has slipped into a coma.”

“You, Y/N, were just exhausted. You slipped in and out of sleep and consciousness.” He said.

“However, all is well. Here are your discharge forms. No strenuous activities for at least six weeks.” He mused, chuckling to himself as he took the papers with him out of the room.

Keanu blushed a sweet hue of scarlet; his hands still fitting into yours perfectly.

“Lets go home, yeah?” He said turning to you.

“Yeah...” You said turning to him, a smile caressing your lips.

——

The cab halted at the front of Keanu’s house, both of you taking a sharp inhale at the sight of crime scene tape.

You had been warned that some things had to be ripped up due to the amount of blood shed.

“Maybe we should go back to my place?” You cautioned.

Keanu nodded, it wasn’t like he couldn’t just buy new clothes or items he needed.

“Yeah..” He said plainly.

Once you two got to your place, you took a few steps before Keanu; until he grabbed your arm with a pointed gaze.

The door was cracked.

“Would anyone have a key?”

“No. Nobody has a key to my house except you.”

“It went missing a while back when I was with... her.” He said ‘her’ through gritted, angered teeth.

Keanu drew a breath as he steadied you out of the way, giving you a quick kiss to the temple.

He opened the door with a loud creak of the hinges. Damn door.

His eyes adjusting to the light, the smell of blood mingled in the air.

There laid your dog, Gothika, a sweet Doberman, about three years old. She was your protector and confidant.

She had been shot in the head. Keanu choked down saliva and sadness as he cautiously made his way, checking the rest of the house.

He noticed, on his way back through letters dancing across the wall.

He glanced over, anger ripping through him.

“Be forewarned — I’m coming after you.” Was scrawled across in what he could only assume was Gothika’s blood.

Andi had been there in the last few days.

Keanu would be damned if she ever got close to Y/N ever again. He didn’t care what happened to him.

—

Y/N had took it hard about her beloved Gothika. She didn’t care about the threat Andi had wrote, just as long as it was cleaned off her wall.

The locksmith called, locks securely changed with new keys for her and Keanu.

She laid in bed, wrapped in Keanu’s strong hold — fast asleep.

Keanu, however, couldn’t sleep.

He was plotting.

Revenge was on his tongue.

Tags: @mikaneonox @fanficsrusz @krazycags01

[lokilickedme]

(Okay, I’m going to do this in probably 3 parts because it’s long)

So The Department sorta happened because I wanted to get back into a regular weekly-updating online fic because, frankly, two reasons:

1) I’m worn out/exhausted/a bit burned out from working on novels and very little of anything else for the last year and a half, and

2) I crave/need the instant validation of the comment section at AO3, which you don’t get when you write a book :/

So I called a break, put away my manuscripts for a couple months, and am just indulging in some fun writing for a little while.  And since I wanted something new (sorry WIPs, your time will come again) this is what we ended up with.

I don’t remember exactly what made me go with the police department premise.  The potential for assholery and rampant egomania, most likely?  Well, you know I love that shit when it hides something slightly more noble underneath...and I think I wanted a big ensemble cast because I just adore the dynamics that can occur in groups of disparate personalities who have known each other for a long time.  That way they interact when they know each others’ secrets and there’s that one person new to the group who isn’t in on any of the jokes?  Good stuff right there.

I do remember that the first ideas for this story came to me during the Professor Jeff’s Super Science Show at the library (yeah your guess is as good as mine on that but it happens literally every time).  But if I’m being honest, I’d say it probably had more to do with Benny Hill than anything.  I have this bad habit of sitting on the couch with my laptop on my knees, headphones on, head back, inventing scenes in my head that go along with whatever music I’m listening to.  I’ve got this one insane playlist full of goofy tunes my 7-year old has requested for staging Thomas The Tank Engine crash scenes (don’t ask) and on this particular night that’s what I was listening to because why not.  On that playlist is a 30-minute loop of the Benny Hill Theme.  And all I could see in my head was a foot chase on ice and snow between a female officer, an out of shape Chief of police, a giraffe-legged office assistant, and a probably methed-up wannabe criminal who didn’t actually do anything major but was running anyway because he was bored.  It struck me funny and I toyed with the idea of sticking it into something I already had started, because I do love me some chaotic slapstick.

So the next day I’m driving the boys home from the Super Science Show and I’ve been playing around with it in my head again, and it’s taking shape into something that I know I’m going to have to work with.  We pass the Pupuseria Virolena Salvadoran restaurant downtown, and I start laughing because I’m suddenly hearing David Tennant trying to say that in his Scottish accent.

On the spot I named him Hawk and made him Captain.  And now we have one of our characters, and by the time we pull up in our driveway ten minutes later I’ve got stuff needing to be written down right now.

(the rest is under the cut for length)

Chapter 1 - Prologue - Your Boatload of Bad Decisions Has Left The Harbor

I was so anxious to get into the story but it needed an introduction, or else Greta being in this podunk town wouldn’t have any weight.  So we’re introduced to our heroine, who isn’t so much a heroine as just a decent if slightly too self confident special division officer who had some bad luck.  It’s not elaborated on yet in the story, though it’s heavily referenced multiple times that she disobeyed an order and made the decision to continue a high speed pursuit that had been called off by her superior officer, the above-mentioned Captain Hawkins, whom Greta has something of a relationship with (yeah they’re screwing, what of it).  And in the wake of that decision, Greta’s partner is killed and she’s brought up on charges, suspended, ordered to counseling, and finally shipped off to a small town in Minnesota so she can keep working while her final fate is decided by an investigative committee back in LA.

The opening chase scene was written from things I learned when I was a kid and my dad did vehicle tweaks for the Fort Worth police department from his auto shop.  The officers used to hang out drinking Cokes and telling stories while dad made (possibly illegal) modifications to their cars.  I was there a lot, sitting under his work bench with my books and pencils, listening to everything and remembering it all.  And I thought it was so damn cool.  So here we are.  What else was I gonna do with that information?  Might as well put it to use if it’s gonna be taking up real estate in my head for all these years.

For the record, I really liked Greta’s partner Joe and hated to kill him - but we needed a catalyst, and the cheerful best friend who sings Italian arias during chases while joyfully blasting out windshields is always gonna be the loser in the goner lottery.  For once the male hero dies to further the female lead’s storyline.

Heh, take that Marvel.

Anyway, sorry Joe.  There will be more about you in later chapters, so...gone but not forgotten.

Chapter 2 - Minnewhatever

This part starts out with the last bit of backstory we need to proceed.  Hawk sending Greta off to Minnesota, a place whose name she never does remember or say correctly.  She doesn’t figure she’s actually going to be there long enough to bother learning it, but Hawk informs her that her exile is likely to last at least a year, and he gives her very little reassurance that she won’t be serving every minute of her sentence.

Greta’s feeling a little betrayed here.  She and Hawk have been sort of a thing for a while, friends and colleagues and lovers, but he’s washing his hands of the entire situation and she’s left angry and a bit bereft.  But she still figures he’ll do something to get her out of it, if she’s patient and behaves herself in the new place.

Fast forward to day one in Weemeetwa.  While drowning her aggravation in a bottle of the good stuff, Greta meets her first new acquaintance and decides to just go with the cranky fuck-it attitude that she’s been harboring since the incident, gets shitfaced, and goes home with the guy.  This might have been a dual-purpose shag; Greta’s still feeling betrayed and abandoned by Hawk, so it’s a screw-you that he’ll never find out about - but that doesn’t stop it from feeling good in a vengeful sort of way.  Plus it’s cold and she’s alone and the guy - Andy, a tall sweet longhaired cutiepie with an Irish accent - is all too willing to buy her a drink and take her home for some cuddles.

In the morning Greta wakes up in a strange place full of groaning regret and ends up giving Andy a ride to the station.  She doesn’t count on seeing him again, so there’s no breath wasted on goodbyes.

Chapter 3 -  A Logging Truck, A Mountain, and A Blonde Walk Into A Bar

Now we meet most of the department.  Creeley, a gruff roughhouser with a rude streak forty miles wide, Sarah, the only other female in the department and possibly the only person alive who can keep the boys under control, Kevin, the quiet dispatch agent with an impressive mountain impersonation skill, and finally (for the moment) Chief, the slightly too good-looking and highly put-upon boss of them all.

I knew I wanted Tom Hiddleston to play Chief Tommy Davis.  This is Kong Skull Island-era Hiddleston crossed with The Night Manager, with a handful of extra pounds around the middle and a frustrated sigh that goes on forever.  He’s meant to be an ex hockey player who was waylaid on his way to the major leagues, so he’s strong and sturdy, but an injury benched him years ago and a career in small-town law enforcement has put him a bit to pasture.  Middle aged, somewhere between 40 and 45.  He’s got some stuff in his past but he’s happy now, for the most part, just living his life watching over the town.

Jason Momoa is Bobby Creeley, for obvious reasons.  I knew I wanted a rowdy, rude, loudmouthed team member that’s always crossing everyone, but who everyone knows will be there no matter what if anything goes down.  He’s instantly Greta’s nemesis from the moment she walks in the door.  Gigantic and shaggy with a permanently amused nature and a fear of literally nothing, he’s simultaneously everyone’s best friend and worst enemy.

Sarah Lancashire has been finding her way into a lot of my fics lately as side characters, so it’s no surprise she ended up here as Sarah Pearl.  Steely, tough, and highly immune to the idiocy around her, Sarah is the worn out voice of common sense that the department is running perilously short on.  She’s also my first and foremost girl crush, and I’ll admit right now that I wrote an AU ending almost immediately that involved Sarah and Greta ending up together.  It would be natural to assume Sarah would fall into the default role of mom to the group, but there’s a whole lot of oh hell nope wrapped around that trope.  She would set them all on fire if anyone would let her have some matches, but Chief made a rule against that a long damn time ago.

Dave Bautista has been hanging around the back door of my muse stable for the longest, just minding his own business and waiting his turn, but I never really had any place to stick him.  Well Drax, your time has come baby.  I chose him to play Kevin Saylor based on his GoTG scene in which he tries to convince the crew he’s invisible.  And that’s Kevin, in a nutshell.  Huge and intimidating but quiet and intensely matter-of-fact in manner, he’s in charge of dispatch and immediately inspires Greta’s hatred of using the radio.

My first (and really only) faceclaim for Greta Morley was Zoe Saldana, but I waffled briefly for a couple of weeks, trying to cater to a few readers who told me they wanted to imagine themselves in the role.  I planned to stick with that, and I tried, I promise I did.  But every time Greta opened her mouth I heard Zoe, and by the time she went on her less than fleet-footed pursuit of Wilson with the longsuffering Andy by her side, she was locked in.  Greta’s harboring some serious regret and raw emotional wounds from her not too distant past, and some time out in the American Midwest should be a much needed recovery sabbatical.  Should be.  But isn’t gonna.

Speaking of Andy...Andrew Hozier-Byrne was and is the only person I ever considered for the role of Andy Burns.  Too tall, too clumsy, too cute, too sweet, just a whole bunch of too everything - he was perfect for the role and I may or may not have written it exclusively for him.  Okay yeah, I wrote it exclusively for him.  Andy’s the local cryptid, nobody really knows a lot about him.  He may or may not be a drug dealer.  He may or may not be officially employed by the police department.  He may or may not be Irish or hypoglycemic or a blackout drunk or as goofy as he seems.  Nobody really knows, and to be honest nobody really cares, because if you need it done Andy can do it...if he can remember you asked him to do it.

So Greta has arrived, for better or for worse.  Cree immediately starts in with the sexist remarks and butchering her name, a favor she returns by embarking on what will become a neverending trail of obliterated mis-renderings of the town’s name.  Creeley and Kevin kick off another of many running gags by arguing over whether or not anyone knew she was coming, and before things can get too stupid, Chief makes his first appearance.

And now things start to get interesting.

To be continued at chapter 4, Randy Andy and The Chief of Weemeetwa

@whatevervivie

[dherzogblog]

songs/19

“I listen so you don't have to”

Hey everyone, we’re back! enjoy some music and musings from the last year

Make sure to click on there bold type for music links and extras!

Lizzo- Juice Lizzo burst into 2019 with a hit song, huge album and wildly successful tour. The “pudding in the proof “. Easily the catchiest tune of the year with an irresistible Bruno Mars 80′s funk vibe, She has the kind of star power and charisma that makes her appealing to just about everyone, including your aunt, who no doubt will be grooving to this on bar mitzvah dance floors for years to come. Blame it on her juice.

Jen Awad- Hungover

Big voiced, post Amy Winehouse soul singer blames it on the juice too. Maybe she was with Lizzo the night before?

Charley Crockett- How Low Can You Go?

Multi ethnic Americana singer/songwriter delivers one of my favorite albums of the year where he effortlessly moves from country to blues to soul. He also recorded one of my favorite country covers of the year (see bottom of this blog for more info on that). His girl is breaking his heart (blame it on the juice again?) on this R&B styled song from a non album single.

Durand Jones and The Indications-  Circles

More sweet 70′s soul, quiet storm style. The swirling strings and Delfonics harmonies would sound perfect coming out of the 8 Track player in your Pinto.

Dr.John- Such A Night (1941-2019)

A true music renaissance man. Starting as a teen in the studios of New Orleans, he learned his trade at the feet of the masters, playing R&B, jazz, and blues with equal skill and feel. The good doctor, (AKA Mac Rebbenack) went on to become an unlikely rock star in the early 70′s with his psychedelic and voodoo inspired Night Tripper alter ego. His long career found him playing several roles along the way, session man, producer, and The Big Easy’s unofficial funk ambassador. I picked this live version of the song because: A. He’s backed beautifully by The Band, B. It’s one of my favorite performances from The Last Waltz, and C. The live setting let’s you hear him stretch out a bit on the keyboards. I watched him perform many times, headlining or sitting in with others at Jazz Fest. No matter what the setting, he always fit right in and found the groove. Piano man, sideman, shaman, there was only one Dr.John.

Van Morrison - Early Days

Like Dr. John, Van’s been around long enough to recall the birth of rock and roll. Throughout his career he never stopped paying tribute to his roots and those who inspired him. You can hear it in his musical references, cover tunes and name checks. At The Hollywood Bowl in October I got to see an unusually joyous performance as he wistfully traced a lifetime of musical influences across R&B, jazz and blues. His latest release is an unabashed love letter to those good old days, three chords and the truth.

Spiral Stairs- Fingerprintz

Scott Kannberg is one of the co-founders of Indie rock legends Pavement. But truth is I never took much of an interest in them. I happened to read about his solo project where he mentioned listening to a lot of  Van Morrison and Nick Lowe while recording. That seemed like a  good enough reason for me to check it out. There are familiar ‘fingerprints” on this one, as you can definitely hear him channeling Van.

Vampire Weekend- This Life

Hardly anyone is ambivalent about Vampire Weekend. Their preppy east coast look, and sleeve wearing, dad rock influences make them polarizing at best. Doesn’t matter to me, I like their catchy hooks, bone dry lyrics, caribbean rhythms, and ringing guitars.This is easily the sunniest song about cheating I ever heard.

The English Beat- Whine and Grind/Stand Down Margaret Ranking Roger (1953-2019)

in January of 1980 England was in the grips of 2 Tone mania, the pop music movement that came dancehall crashing out of the UK Midlands, and for a brief black and white checkered moment, dominated the British charts. At the center of the scene were The Specials whose founder Jerry Dammers launched the 2 Tone label and created the blueprint for it’s sound, inspired by the Jamaican music he heard as a kid. These bands (including The Selecter and Madness), combined ska, reggae and punk that launched a brief music and fashion movement. They dressed in a mod black and white style making the look nearly as important as their sound. For most of these bi-racial bands, the goal was to make you dance AND think, with lyrics focusing on social and political issues affecting young people in Thatcher’s Britain. The track here is a good example of that.

I arrived in London on a traveling seminar ready to check it all out, as a college radio DJ I was already a fan of The Clash’s punky reggae. and I had read several dispatches from the British music tabloids like NME and Melody Maker. First chance I got, I was off to a record store where I stood at a listening station to hear The Special’s debut LP.  I was instantly transformed into a card carrying 2 Tone fan boy. As a student, without much money with a long trip ahead, I couldn't afford The Specials album, but I did buy a 45 by the label’s latest signing, The Beat.

The A side was a cover of Smokey Robinson & The Miracle’s “Tears Of A Clown”. It took a minute to get used to hearing the Motown classic played in their energetic ska sound. The tune ends with Ranking Roger “toasting” over the track reggae DJ style, not something heard much outside of Jamaica back then. Side B featured Roger taking lead and riding over a bouncy stop and start rhythm titled “Ranking Full Stop”. It was an instant 2 Tone classic, and I now had a new favorite band.

The Beat (AKA The English Beat) after just one 2 Tone single, were given their own Go-Feet label and releasing a full length album later that year. Their songs seemed to have a slightly more authentic Jamaican sound than the others, dubbier, upbeat and fun. In addition they dabbled in world music and afropop long before it became chic. I saw them perform on their first US tour in Boston later that year.

As the 2 Tone moment waned back home, the group quickly focused on the American audience, touring constantly in the process. The Beat were definitely the band most committed to breaking in the states and nearly did. By the third album, they gained some traction at US radio (particularly here in LA at KROQ) and played the US Festival, but it was too late. The band was already fracturing. Lead singer Dave Wakeling and Roger left unceremoniously in 1983 to form the short lived and mildly successful General Public, while bandmates Andy Cox and David Steele formed the much more successful Fine Young Cannibals. despite some huge hits, they too were short lived.

The original band never reunited. Roger and Wakeling performed together as The Beat for awhile, later each forming his own version. Roger in the UK and Dave in the US. Dave’s version tours constantly to this day. The 2 Tone label didn't last long and the music never truly caught on here. Ultimately suffering the same fate as other short lived UK music fads like Glam Rock or The New Romatics. Their impact was strong enough though to fuel the much maligned ska third wave of the 90′s, and bring Jamaican music a bit farther into the mainstream. All that really remains are the three great studio albums and the memory of their exciting live shows.

I booked the band on a CNN talk show in 1982. I remember they seemed frustrated and were already hinting at a challenged future for the group. Less than a year later they were done for good. I recall desperately wanting them to succeed, bringing my favorite band and the 2 Tone music to the masses. It’s hard to imagine there was a ever a time in your life when a pop group could break your heart like that. 

Foe me and other recovering rude boys/rude girls, the music endures, as does the message.  And today when I hear them streaming into my ear buds, I still want to “move my likkle feet and dance to the beat”, which for the dearly departed Roger I have to think, was always the point.  #loveandunity

The Special- Vote For Me

Politics and social issues remain front and center as the 2 Tone founders return with their first album since the 80′s. Reunited for many years now, this current version of the band boasts more original members of The Fun Boy Three than the original The Specials. That did not stop them from delivering a totally respectable and relevant effort. You can hear dark echos of their classic "Ghost Town” on this dubby tune no doubt inspired by Brexit.

Eddie And The Hot Rods- Do Anything You Wanna Do Barrie Masters (1956-2019)

in 1976/77 Eddie and the Hot Rods stood at the intersection of pub rock and punk as one scene fizzled, and the other burned down everything in its path. The Hot Rods had the classic straight ahead sound of the pub bands plus an attitude that leaned forward into the energy punk would embrace. They enjoyed a brief moment of UK chart success before literally falling into the cracks of the pop music scene. This song, one of my all time favorite singles, sum them up perfectly. Drawing a straight line from Graham Parker to The Clash with a touch of a classic Springsteen working class anthem. In other words....perfect.

Beach Slang- Tommy In The 80′s

When I first saw the title of this song immediately assumed it was a Beach Slang’s tribute to The  Replacements guitarist Tommy Stinson . And even though Tommy himself plays on the track, it is not about him! In fact, it’s actually a tribute to obscure 80′s power popper Tommy Keene. I remembered the name from my MTV days, but honestly had to wiki him for clarification. Despite all these references, the whole thing sounds more inspired by “Jessie’s Girl” than either Tommy. 

The Cars- My Best Friends Girl Ric Ocasek (1941-2019)

Truthfully. I was never a big Cars fan. But in my college days before digital music, you listened to whatever the radio played. And in Boston, they played The Cars a lot. It wasn’t long before they rose from local heroes to national charts toppers. They didn't have the bluesy street cred or swagger of hometown legends Aerosmith or The J Geils Band, but they were our very own neighborhood rock stars. Drummer David Robinson lived in the building next door to Noreen on Comm Ave, and it was always kinda cool to see them strolling around Back Bay or hanging out at a club. Their sound was little cold and metallic for me, but you couldn't deny they crafted pretty great pop and new wave singles. They were omnipresent sound of my college days. The hits literally followed me to MTV and NYC in the 80′s where I often spotted Ric and Paulina strolling hand in hand in Chelsea. This classic love triangle was always my favorite with it’s Tommy James like guitar at the top, handclaps, and unforgettable hook. The band disbanded long ago, but like the classic American automobiles, these songs were built to last.

The Neighborhoods- Don’t Look Down

The Cars were the only Boston group of the era to truly make it big, but that late 70′s scene boasted several other talented bands who scored label deals including: The Nervous Eaters, The Rings, The Paley Brothers, Robin Lane and the Chartbusters, The Fools, The Real Kids, The Stompers, and Mission Of Burma. Later on, The Lyres, The Neats The Del Fuegos, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Murphy’s Law  all managed to find the big time. It was a great time for local music back then. A city filled with students, plenty of clubs to pack on weekends, and college and commercial radio stations willing to play local bands. There were many good acts around town then, and my favorite, without a doubt, were The Neighborhoods. A young, brash power trio led by charismatic lead singer David Minehan. They played a ferocious brand of power pop/punk that would leave their audience breathless. I was certain they were destined for stardom. In the spring of 1979 they released their debut single “Prettiest Girl” on a local label and massive airplay on both college and commercial radio followed. They instantly became the hottest band in town, poised to become the next band from Boston to make it big. But it never happened. Bad luck, poor management and infighting derailed all the momentum. Before you knew it, the gritty street quality that was The ‘Hoods trademark was pushed aside by the synthesized sound of MTV. Over the course of the 80′s and into the 90′s they managed to release some pretty good albums on a variety of indie labels, but it never came together for them. The band reunited and gigs occasionally but hadn’t recorded for many years until right now. Forty years later, the neighborhood may not look the same, but their sound and spirit somehow survive. I suppose there’s something tragic and romantic about a great band lost to time, remembered only by the few who saw them way back when. They really were great, but I guess you had to be there.

Jesse Mailn - Meet Me At The End Of The World Again

New York’s favorite son, soul survivor, and street poet Jesse Malin is back. He’s been around long enough to understand that “When it all blows up, when it all goes down, when it makes you sick, but you’re still around” is victory in itself.  It’s the only life he knows, so what can a poor boy do? 

Brittany Howard- Stay High

This is from Alabama Shakes lead singer's excellent solo debut, unselfconsciously celebrating private moments spent with a lover on this  rootsy and gentle ballad. Her soulful falsetto conveys the kind of lustful bliss you might expect from Al Green or Prince. 

Mississippi All Stars- Mean Old World

Bear with me. This one is tangled up in the roots of several southern rock legacies and is going to take a minute to unpack. The All Stars are led by Luther and Cody Dickinson, sons of legendary Memphis musician and wild man Jim Dickinson. They decided to cover T Bone Walker’s Mean Old World,  a blues number once recorded by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman as part of the historic Derek And The Dominos sessions. The track, featuring their dad Jim, did not make the original release but was later unearthed on an expanded reissue. Still with me?  So, as a bit of a tribute, the guys recorded their own version of the tune and invited Duane Betts, son of Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts to record an Eat a Peach inspired guitar run at the end.

And oh yeah, Jason Isbell is on it as well.

Got all that? 

Samantha Fish- Kill Or Be Kind

Have seen Samantha live several times over the past few years. She’s a very good blues/rock guitarist, vocalist and an exciting live performer. On the sultry “Kill or be Kind” she gives her lover an ultimatum. Fun fact: One of my son’s best friends from high school (Kate Pearlman) wrote two tracks on the album!

Jade Jackson- Bottle It Up

Second album from this promising up and coming alt country artist. She’s on the super cool Anti label which providing immediate credibility and her albums are produced by Social D frontman Mike Ness. And when she’s not on the road she waitress’s at her parent’s restaurant in central California. I’m not sure you can get any more country than that.

The Highwomen- Redesigninig Women

Inspired by The Highwaymen of Willie, Waylon, Johnny and Kris, this all female country “supergroup” quartet is out to break the stereotypes in country music with some really fine songs. While the male Highwaymen banded together to rescue careers in decline, these women (Brandi Carlisle, Amanda Shires, Marren Morris, and Natalie Hemby), are all on the rise. This song is lot of fun.

John Prine- Unwed Fathers

John Prine is back with a remake of his heartbreaking tale of teenage pregnancy. He’s joined this time Margo Price. I got to see Prine live this fall at the beautiful Anson Ford Amphitheater here in LA. His simple, plain spoken lyrics and songs are timeless. I attended the show with my pal David Kissinger who observed that despite health issues, “Prine remains an national songwriting treasure and his performance was as life affirming as you’ll ever see.” Can’t say it any better than that.

Shovels And Rope- Mississippi “Nuthin

Ever wonder whatever happened to that perfect couple from high school? You know, the high school quarterback and the prom queen? This one ain’t “Glory Days”. Our QB peaked in high school and never makes it back to the end zone again, plus he's tortured by the success his old flame enjoys. His anguish and desperation are palpable in this barn burner of a song whose vocals draw inspiration from June & Johnny and John & Exene.

The Delines- Eddie and Polly

Eddie and Polly are young and in love, and doomed. Vocalist Amy Boone’s world weary vocals always sound like it’s 3AM. This one won’t do much for your holiday spirit, but it’s haunting melody might stay with you throughout it.

Yola - Love all Night (Work All Day)

Love the one your with is (at least after work) is the basic idea on this track from this UK performer’s debut long player. Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, the collection is full of excellent retro soul-folk. There was a fair amount of buzz in front of the release and she more than lives up to it including a nomination for a Best New Artist Grammy. 

Mavis Staples + Norah Jones- I’ll Be Gone

First recorded effort form this duo. A bittersweet ballad that softly and soulfully looks ahead to a final salvation. But Mavis ain’t done yet. She’s still going strong, recording and touring constantly. She knows she may be running out of time, but there’s still work to do. And whenever she’s finally ready, you can be sure she’ll take us there.

Hope you and yours are well.  The Herzog’s wish you the best and look forward to seeing you in the new year.  For those of you who made it this far, thank you. I’ve got a bonus playlist for you. Artists you like playing songs you love:  covers/19 Enjoy.

peace,

Doug

Los Angeles, December 2019 

[obiternihili]

Ngo writes for the National Review and Quillette. Spins stories such as a hit and run into a group of BLM protestors as antifa attacking an old man. ( https://katu.com/news/local/driver-plows-through-protesters-in-downtown-portland | https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-leftist-mob-polices-portland-1539298766 ) . In the aftermath of that, right wing groups started protesting around Portland which led to what should be understood in democratic countries as normal outcomes of protest; groups A and anti-A arguing in the streets, occasionally breaking out into brawls in the same way drunks do in bars or sports fans do in parking lots. https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2018/10/13/portland-streets-descend-into-bedlam-again-as-proud-boys-and-antifascists-maul-each-other/

And because apparently now “militant” means throwing a milkshake, despite the A groups being known for literally killing people, despite far-A groups being known for stockpiling weapons. An informal, completely unorganized aesthetic some informal counter-protestors with all the coordination of football brawlers get the militant label while the people they’re reacting to, people who nakedly want to overthrow democracy and commit human rights violations discriminating against and deporting a reasonable chunk of the country, despite being nakedly in bed with explicitly white nationalist groups and pushing their agenda, one gets the label militant and the other doesn’t. Gee, I wonder why?

At this point I’m largely going to plagiarize the article I’m using as a middle man. Sorry I just figure if I lead with the source instead of putting the text down as is you’d dismiss it instead of considering the fact that the article draws its information from such horrifically communist tabloids as “a local sinclair broadcaster” or “the wsj” “ It didn’t end there. The flash march created new viral moments. A video of a left-wing activist harassing a woman claiming to be a 9/11 widow was posted days later to The Daily Caller, which was cofounded by Tucker Carlson. (The woman appears to have lied about being a 9/11 widow.) Efforts to doxx the man hurling invective resulted in a professional skateboarder from Portland being falsely identified and inundated with death threats. Eventually the man in the video was identified, which started a new round of harassment. One source says the social service agency that fired him over the video “was flooded with hundreds of harassing calls and Facebook messages that were explicitly racist and threatening to harm and kill staff.”

Carlson credited Ngo with publicizing the videos. Ngo was a bit player, but the incident bolstered him. The incident was an example of a disturbing media model for the Trump era: opportunists using biased reporting, social media, and wild accusations inflame vigilante and digital mobs to target “enemies” such as the media, Democrats, and left-wing activists. Figures like Carlson and Ngo reap followers, prominence, and income from the outrage and threats of violence. But to keep the ratings and the money flowing, the outrage machine must be cranked ever louder, risking greater violence.

One political organizer in Portland who has received death threats stemming from Ngo’s work says, “It’s an arms race for money, and the narrative isn’t the point — the grift is. The larger, more offensive thing you can do, the system rewards it.”

This appears to be Ngo’s model. He uses social media to push biased opinions in conjunction with selectively edited videos that play to the bigotry of his audience. His followers get worked up, and this is often followed by a deluge of threats against his subject.

[source] has talked to six people in Portland, including journalists, political officials, and activists, who described harassing messages and threats of violence resulting from Ngo’s work or political involvement in Portland. Friends of two other activists claim they went into hiding after Ngo spread their names and they became targets of harassment. Some individuals who’ve tangled publicly with Ngo are reluctant to go on the record. They say they want to avoid the “trauma” of being subjected to a new round of death threats.

In fact, Ngo appears to rely on people not speaking up about his effect on them. He often writes of how activists won’t talk to him or they take down social media profiles after he focuses on them, seeming to imply they have something to hide. What he doesn’t mention is many say they are doing so to avoid harassment and threats of violence.

Madison, a Portland activist who tracks Ngo, says, “Ngo signals this is a person that should be targeted, should be harassed, and should be threatened. Andy puts a target on them and that results in the person being doxxed. Andy is giving people explicit permission to unleash hatred and violence on people. He absolutely knows what he is doing.” 

Ngo is so intertwined with the specter of violence [writer I’m plagiarizing] encountered it after just a Facebook post.  [writer I’m plagiarizing] wrote a post with the headline, “Andy Ngo is no journalist.” The post was shared by notorious right-wing figure, Carl Benjamin, aka, “Sargon of Akkad,” who has been featured on Ngo’s podcast and was banned from YouTube for repeatedly “joking” about raping a British Labour MP. In the comments on Benjamin’s post were calls for violence against [writer I’m plagiarizing], Antifa, and others. Within hours  [writer I’m plagiarizing] started receiving threats directly, such as “You’re a bunch of retards and it will be a glorious day when you all are dealt with,” and “You are a disgraceful liar. If you or anyone of your ilk throws even a fucking tissue at me or my family watch what the fuck happens to your family lol.”

Now this model threatens to turn deadly. On June 29, Andy Ngo was attacked in Portland while videoing a Patriot Prayer rally heavily outnumbered by Antifa. A video shows him being punched, kicked, and hit with coconut milkshakes and silly string by masked individuals. Within minutes, videos of the attack and of a beaten Ngo narrating the incident were picked up by right-wing media such as Breitbart that have a dodgy relationship to facts. Headlines screaming brutal assault, vicious assault, and vicious attack by Antifa on Ngo were pumped out.

The sensationalism breached the mainstream with CNN’s Jake Tapper sending out an ill-informed tweet above a video of Ngo being attacked, writing, “Antifa regularly attacks journalists; it’s reprehensible.”

In a bizarre twist, the Portland police threw fuel on the fire by tweeting that some milkshakes thrown on June 29 “contained quick-drying cement.” The police never provided evidence and observers, including journalists, noted that many counterprotesters drank the milkshakes, making it extremely unlikely anyone could have laced them with concrete. But amplified by conspiracy theorists like Jack Prosobiec, the tweet went viral, whereupon right-wing media turned the disinformation into fact and the mainstream press treated it as a credible assertion. The police tweet incited the Right further and the group that made the milkshakes was deluged with death threats. It culminated in the city being flooded with death threats. Days after Ngo was attacked, City Hall was evacuated after a bomb threat. One source inside City Hall says the mayor’s office received “insane vitriol” and every office was receiving threats, including almost 100 harassing calls that tied up emergency service dispatchers.

Far-right figures responded to the June 29 attack on Ngo with graphic threats, and plan to hold an “End Domestic Terrorism” and “End Antifa” rally in Portland on August 17. Such is the level of far-right anger that many in the city fear the rally could become another Charlottesville, or worse — given the anti-Latino murder spree in El Paso and other foiled white nationalist plots since then.”

Here’s a point where I mildly disagree with the writer I’m plagiarizing:

“ To be clear, the attack on Ngo should be condemned. It serves no political purpose, and the Left should not be attacking media makers, even if they use dicey methods.”

Ngo doxxes people and sicks his far right buddies on them, and it’s known he doesn’t do the due diligence to make sure the people he’s targeting are actually guilty. If you think it’s wrong when left-wing adjacent people on tungle or twitter do it, it’s still wrong when right wingers do it, holy shit. If you think it’s dangerous, the type of action that gets people lynched, you’re right! Fuckers like him and Milo need to be silenced. Yes, legally it’s unfeasible to do this without opening people up to loosing their freedom to publish or accuse; which is what movements like antifa serve to do - they do the dirty work the law cannot do so the law doesn’t have to break over every item-line exception to the necessarily clumsy, overgeneralized, poorly thought out “““principle”““ put into place. It’s the same sort of deal as wide-eyed idealistic and overly-narrowly focused deontic reasoning and utilitarian thinking, you know, the ethics that actually deal with consequences and reality.

Does it break the law? Yes. Does it violate principles? Yes. That’s the point - the principles underlying this shit aren’t fundamentally different mechanically speaking from the principles that lead to people’s hands being chopped off for stealing a snickers bar or because they didn’t want to live as a serf or why people are content with sending ethnic minorities to concentration camps because the Party said so. A principle that doesn’t have the nuance or flexibility to recognize when it needs to let other principles take the lead is a bad principle; you’ve fetishized it.

Of course there are other issues too. If you’re not comfortable letting Nazis throw milkshakes too you should be comfortable with people getting arrested for it. But of course fuck all because the cops take one side in all of this, lying about wet cement mix as seen above, so this principle needs to be nuanced for the fact that some people receive more violence from law enforcement than others.

It’s late, I’m tired, lazy, mad, and exhausted. At some point before the last paragraph I was going to ask for evidence of antifa kills comparable at all to the number of far-right kills in the last decade in America. Because it’s a valid question that’s rarely answered. Because again antifa have all the organizational structure and systematization of belief as drunks at a bar. But I can’t remember my rhetorical point.

Continuing.

“Some Antifa activists in Portland also admit the attack played into right-wing hands by elevating him.

That is exactly what’s happened. Trump has beatified Ngo as one of his sinless followers — “A single man standing there with a camera who never got hit and never hit back before in his life” — under assault from the “evil” Antifa full of “sick, bad people.”

But it would also be a mistake to see Ngo as an innocent or as a journalist, considering that whoever he turns his camera, social media, or pen on is at significant risk of being inundated with violent threats from the far right.

Shane Burley is author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It, and a Portland-based journalist who covered the June 29 rally. He says, “I would never condone what happened to Andy Ngo, but I think there is a reason why he got in a conflict with protesters and dozens of other reporters present seemed to be left alone.”

Burley says, “One way to think of Andy Ngo is he is part of a far-right mediasphere that creates victimization narratives of conservatism and profit from it. It’s all about the embattled American man who is under siege at every turn, whether its trans children, immigrant criminals, anchor babies, or dangerous college campuses. ‘They are all out to destroy us and our values.’ It’s an entire infrastructure that’s moved from commentary like National Review to populist media hucksters drumming up a controversy. Ngo doesn’t seem to have many real journalistic credentials, and any he does is from creating controversy. He gets in the Wall Street Journal and New York Post from being a conservative celebrity. His actual reporting is very infrequent and sparse.”

Ngo adds a new element in facilitating violence, intentionally or not. Burley says, “He appears to target ideological opponents, which can make them fair game for harassment and violent confrontation.” The scale of the threats keep escalating. Now Portland is bracing for the August 17 rally.

                         Killing in the Name of Free Speech?                                      

For the last few years, the far right has used fascistic language about “cleansing” Portland, while its brawlers wore T-shirts proclaiming themselves kindred to South American death squads that killed thousands of leftists in the 1970s. But in advance of August 17, the language and memes from the far right have become more extreme. They’ve posted dozens of threats on social media pledging to kill Antifa and naming left-wing activists in Portland who should be shot during the End Antifa rally.

Individuals affiliated with Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys talk of wanting to “slaughter” Antifa. Others have posted hair-raising images of a Portland activist and his partner with crosshairs over their faces and the words, “End Domestic Terrorist’s [sic].” Another image is of a knife cutting the throat of an antifascist with blood spraying out. This is especially ominous. In April 2017 white supremacist Jeremy Christian attended a Patriot Prayer in Portland and threw Nazi salutes while yelling “Die Muslims!” Weeks later Christian allegedly slashed the throats of three men, killing two, after they came to the defense of two black teenage girls, one wearing a hijab, whom Christian threatened by saying, “Go home. We need America here!”

One organizer of the End Antifa rally is Joe Biggs, a former staffer at Alex Jones’s Infowars website who has “encouraged date rape and punching transgender people.” He shared an illustration for the rally of a Proud Boy punching an antifascist, warning, “Free speech was fought for and paid for with blood. It will not be lost for anything less!” Biggs, whose Twitter account was suspended recently, used the platform to advise his followers to bring guns and declared “DEATH TO ANTIFA!!!!!!”

After the FBI visited him, Biggs now says “he wants a peaceful demonstration and has told his followers to keep their weapons at home.”

But that may be too little, too late as the far right is encouraging potential mass shooters to come to the rally. Recently, Haley Adams, a provocateur in Portland who told a reporter last year, “Damn straight I support white pride,” said on Facebook she “couldn’t wait” to meet Thomas Bartram on August 17. Bartram is an Infowars fan who showed up in El Paso days after the anti-Hispanic massacre and was briefly detained after allegedly brandishing a gun and trying to enter a migrant solidarity center. The center claimed police did not search Bartram’s truck that was decked out with violent pro-Trump images, saying “he has rights.” After being released, Bartram told media he was headed to the End Antifa rally.

What connects these dots is Andy Ngo. He even did his bit to stoke right-wing paranoia in El Paso. In a July 29 tweet Ngo included an image of a flyer about an immigrant rights “border resistance tour.” Ngo claimed stick figures on the flyer represent “border enforcement officers being killed & government property fired bombed” as part of a plot by Antifa to “converge on a 10-day siege in El Paso, TX.” It’s been retweeted more than 11,000 times and hundreds of comments endorse violence against Antifa. Four days later Patrick Crusius allegedly killed twenty-two people in an El Paso Walmart in “response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

                         Gateway Bigotry                                      

Ngo’s ascendancy began as an editor at the Portland State University newspaper, The Vanguard. At a university interfaith panel convened in April 2017, Ngo tweeted a brief video claiming, “the Muslim student speaker said that apostates will be killed or banished in an Islamic state.” The entire clip shows the student gave a long answer in response to a hypothetical question about Quranic law. The panelists stressed they weren’t experts, and the Muslim student later said “he may have misspoke.”

Ngo’s tweet was picked up by Breitbart. The Vanguard fired him days later for a “dangerous oversimplification that violated very clear ethics outlined by the Society of Professional Journalists.” The Vanguard said Ngo’s actions “placed a PSU student in significant danger.” Ngo twisted his termination into an article for The National Review, “Fired for Reporting the Truth,” which the student paper said was a “misrepresentation” that resulted in “unjust threats” against them.

Critics see this episode as establishing a pattern in Ngo’s work: using charged language and selective facts on social media that stoke bigotry, putting his subject at risk of harassment while boosting his own reach and status. It worked because in 2018 Ngo graduated to writing a “racist” and “massively Islamophobic” travelogue to two Islamic communities in England for the Wall Street Journal.

But it’s in the city of Portland and state of Oregon that Ngo calls home where the most damage has been wrought. Zakir Khan is board chair of the Oregon chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization. Khan says of Ngo, “That guy is obsessed with us.”

Ngo has tweeted dozens of times about CAIR, saying it “has done PR for terrorists & their families.” He characterized CAIR’s representation of the surviving child of the Muslim couple who committed the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino as advocating for “the terrorists’ orphaned baby.”

Recently, in a sprawling New York Post opinion Ngo claimed a “suspicious rise” in gay hate crimes in Portland fits a pattern of hoaxes. (Ngo found space in his 2,100-word article to quote a member of the Proud Boys, which experts call a “gang” notorious for violence, as “the most welcoming organization that I have ever been a part of.”)

Khan says, “We are seen as experts on hate crimes reform, so I questioned Ngo’s groundless claims of ‘hate-crime hoaxes.’ He is not an expert in the field.” Ngo responded by accusing CAIR of “terrorism” and “terror.”

After the exchange with Ngo, Khan says, “We received dozens of threatening and harassing messages. We weren’t able to log them all.” One post that tagged Ngo, as well as Michelle Malkin (who signal boosts Ngo and started a “Protect Andy Ngo” fundraiser after the June 29 attack that netted him nearly $200,000), read, “CAIR IS HAMAS! If you stand with your Muslem neighbors; prepare to die with your Muslem neighbors. We will take our country back![sic]” Ngo frequently claims that Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza, is connected to CAIR.

The irony of all this is that after CAIR challenges Ngo’s claim of hate crime hoaxes, he responds with what could be considered hate speech, accusing them of terrorism. This appears to have incited his followers to threaten and harass CAIR, actions which might qualify as hate crimes.

For his next act, Ngo joined Quillette where he is a “sub-editor.” Described as the voice of the intellectual dark web, Quillette published a report on May 29 claiming fifteen reporters who cover the far right were really “Antifa journalists.” According to the Columbia Journalism Review, the article by “estabished right-wing troll,” Eoin Lenihan, was picked up by the neo-Nazi Stormfront website within a day, and a day after that a video was uploaded to YouTube containing “imagery of mass shooters intercut with images of the [Antifa] reporters.” The names of the journalists were put on a list called “Sunset the Media,” while the video ends with a notorious neo-Nazi saying he won’t “disown” anyone who kills the reporters.

Two journalists, including Shane Burley, wrote of the unnerving effect of being put on a Neo-Nazi death list. Another targeted journalist wrote that Quillette had crossed the line from being merely reactionary to “reckless endangerment” and bluntly stated that its list “could’ve gotten me killed.”

The article was so shoddy, Lenihan was suspended from Twitter. But Ngo promoted the article and more significantly continues to promote it — just as eight months after the fact, Ngo continued to claim that striking the protester from the Patrick Kimmons march is really evidence of Antifa taking their anger out on an elderly man.

In at least one instance it appears Ngo has doxxed activists himself. During May Day 2019, Ngo published a YouTube video that included him talking to members of the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America who were tabling for “Hands Off Venezuela.” The entire time Ngo points his camera at a sign-in sheet, not the person he is interviewing. In the video the sheet is digitally blurred. However, Connor Smith, a Portland DSA member, provided a still from what he claims is an earlier version of the video. The still includes a watermark of Ngo’s twitter handle, “@MrAndyNgo,” exactly the same as in the YouTube video. Eleven names can be seen on the sign-in sheet, including Smith’s, all of which have visible email addresses and six of which include phone numbers. Smith says at least one person on the list received threatening messages such as “Die commie.”

Smith claims it is a common right-wing tactic to doxx people on social media like YouTube and Twitter and then delete the offending material before it is removed for violating the platform’s rules. He says this cat-and-mouse game achieves the results the far right is looking for. “I’m sure some fascist has put all our names and phone numbers in a list.”

Ngo is more of a symptom, however.

Ngo couldn’t exist without social media companies which turn a blind eye to right-wing violence because having to monitor their platforms for hate speech would cut into their profits. Ngo also needs Murdoch-owned media such as the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, and Fox News that allow him to masquerade his bigotry as journalism. These outlets, in turn, are amplified by the larger landscape of mainstream media, which often fail to distinguish between fact-based journalism and pro-Trump, white nationalistic propaganda. Add in police who collaborate with the far right and weak political leaders, as in Portland, and you have all the conditions needed for opportunists like Andy Ngo to grab the spotlight.

Ngo is just the latest inflammatory right-wing agent in Portland who’s tried to vault to the big leagues. Before him was Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson, who has seen his ranks of violent white nationalists dwindle due to infighting and long-overdue arrests.

Way back in 2016, before Gibson, was another media provocateur, Michael Strickland. Strickland shot his YouTube career — which mainly featured him doxxing and harassing local activists — in the foot after he pulled a gun on a Black Lives Matter protest while being armed with enough ammunition for a massacre.

That’s not to say the Left should ignore the likes of Andy Ngo or even Tucker Carlson. They are both the cause and effect of white nationalism and the violence that comes with it. Their synergy is also a reflection of the complex digital landscape. Legacy media like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and even Fox News need Andy Ngo just as much as he needs them. They gave him a platform not for his shoddy reporting and tired bigotry, but for the audience he’s amassed, even if it’s a digital lynch mob.”

[boss-hoody]

A Kingdom Hearts 3: world-by-world review I guess

when I say “Area” I mean parts of the world separated by loading screen OLYMPUS Consisting of 3 areas, Olympus had itself a major upgrade from its past appearances. The Colosseum is nowhere to be seen, (same with the underworld), and has been replaced by a large town and Mount Olympus itself. The third area you visit in Olympus is “realm of the gods”, and the presentation of this area’s entrance was a legitimate “Stop and look at how pretty this is” moment The gameplay in this world was pretty varied, as it served as your tutorial world, teaching you the various forms of movement and combat the game has to offer, as well as showing you early that enemies can have elemental weaknesses. Story wise, Sora is there to ask Herc’s advice on how to regain the power he lost and ends up showing up at the wrong (right?) time as Hades has finally put his 18 year plan into action and released the titans (All four of them this time)

The (very nice) cutscene that brings us into this world is also the one and only mention and appearance of Final Fantasy characters (Cloud and Auron) in the entire game’s story, which is extremely disappointing and a mark against the game as a whole. 4/5

TWILIGHT TOWN I was really looking forward to jumping back into Twilight town, exploring the streets, the tunnels, and all that again. But sadly, Twilight town, while receiving an aesthetic upgrade, only consists of 1 area consisting of Tram common (Now called “the neighbourhood), the forest and mansion, and a single tunnel connecting them (the hole in the wall is gone). There is no exploration of the mansion.

Its also home to the cooking mini game

2/5 (1 point for cooking mini game which is surprisingly fun, and 1 point only because of the atmosphere created by the NPCs and music)

KINGDOM OF CORONA This world is where the game really sines for the first time. Olympus was great, but it was clearly designed as a tutorial area, and Twilight Town lacked anything resembling gameplay content, but Kingdom of Corona makes up for that quickly with a vast forest and a small lively town to explore. Rapunzel constantly wanders off to look at things, which create a number of small character moments and not-quite-mini games you need to do to progress and also helps to make Sora seem more involved. The dancing actual-mini game in the town square was pretty fun once I got the hang of it and realized the symbols on the floor corresponded to buttons based on color, not shape.

Story wise it was a bit janky. The story follows the plot of the movie (Unlike Toy Box, which seems to take place somewhere between Toy story 1 and 2), but Sora becomes separated from Flynn and Punz a couple times, and story progresses without him or us present. At some point Flynn told Rapunzel his real name apparently? And Flynn was knocked out and tied to a boat but we never see it happening. He’s just suddenly tied to a boat an unconscious. Rapunzel’s healing hair comes out of nowhere, as does the song sung to make its magic work. When she rubs her hair on his wound and starts singing as he lay there dying, you might be extremely confused if you hadn’t seen the movie. And by “Might” I mean “WILL”

This world did something interesting with its music that I wish Toy Box had done. When you enter a certain area of the forest, the music (and battle music) change to suit the atmosphere of the area. It was a small touch but it was appreciated and missed once I got to Toy Box...

This is also the first world where we encounter the Nobodies.

4/5. It loses a point for the janky story, but everything else was great

TOY BOX Consisting of two areas, Toy box becomes massive as soon as you leave Andy’s room. It was bizarre running around in a photo realistic suburban street as a tiny toy, (and the fact that you’re a toy in this world is the only reason I like it) and the toy store, Galaxy Toys, is a massive 3 floor area full of toy mechs (seriously they spawn in with regular enemies, you can end up with 5 of them on you very fast).

The mech gameplay was surprisingly fleshed out for a one-world wonder. There are three types of mechs, red, blue, and purple, and they seem to work in a rock-paper-scissors type of deal. Purple has an advantage on red, red has an advantage on blue, and blue has an advantage on purple. Each of the mechs has a different amount of health and firing speed to balance them out further.

The world loses points with me however due to the fact that an instrumental version of “You’ve got a friend in me” is playing throughout the whole world. It became grating very fast and its still stuck in my head.

3.5/5

MONSTEROPLOUS  Taking place almost entirely in doors, this world feels a lot like Kingdom Hearts 2 in the worst way (Hallway, arena, hallway), broken up by rail segments. The “arena” sections at least try to keep things interesting though, with one becoming a  “the walls are a hazard” type of deal. This world introduces us to the Unversed and is actually the only world where they appear, so there’s not many of them.

The battle music in this world was also great. I don’t know, there was just something about it that jived with me.

Story wise, this world takes place after the first Monster’s Inc movie. Sully is the CEO, and laugh energy is the new hotness. Randal is back thanks to his new friend and literally wants to make all children suffer chronic depression forever because, while its not as strong as laughter, sadness is a far more abundant form of energy or something.

Other than that, there’s not much to say about this world. Its not bad, but its not great

3/5 (the fact that it has its own story instead of following the plot of the movie earns it an additional point.

ARENDELLE This was the first world where it really felt like “Disney shenanigans”. Sora was just kind of there while the plot of Frozen happened, and like with Tangled, the story progressed without Sora or us present, and again, if you hadn’t seen the movie, you’d be lost. Unlike tangled, it lacked little character interactions to at least make Sora feel connected in some way.

The boss in this world was a combination of amazing cinematic attacks and a rehash of Scar in KH2, and your Disney buddy for this world was a legitimate surprise.

I enjoyed the reindeer Heartless in this world too. Not only do they take huge damage from fire, but it also melts their antlers, preventing them from using their annoying attacks. However Donald the super-genius would often hit them with Blizzard which would give their antlers back...

2/5

THE CARIBBEAN  This world. THIS FUCKING WORLD Its so good. Its perfect. Its like its own game There’s a huge ocean full of little islands to explore, the under water combat WORKS and is FUN. The primary heartless you’ll run into under water is a fish that changes color, and is weak to a different element depending on said color, giving you something to think about while fighting it. You can just wale on it if you want, or you can use magic and work out its weakness to dispatch it quickly.

You get your own pirate ship. SORA FINALLY LIVIN THE DREAM! The pirate ship can be upgraded for more health and canons by finding white crabs (Can’t explain how that works without spoilers), it has its own reaction commands that devastate enemy ships, OH and there are ENEMY SHIPS. SHIP BATTLES. SHIP ON SHIP COMBAT

Again tho, like with Tangled and Frozen, the story likes to progress while Sora is off dicking around. However, the supporting characters do a better job of explaining what happened while Sora was AFK than anyone in Corona or Arendelle did. The fact that Sora is already familiar with most of the cast thanks to KH2 also helps this along a bit tho. Sora doesn’t feel completely tacked on despite being completely tacked on.

This world suffers even more severely from what it suffered from in KH2 tho. That being IT IS EXTREMELY JARRING AND IMMERSION BREAKING TO SEE CARTOON-ASS SORA, DONALD AND GOOFY CHILLING OUT WITH HYPER REALISTIC JOHNNY DEPP AND CO

Despite the negatives, the gameplay of this world makes up for all of it

7.5/5: Too much water

SAN FRANSOKIO The story does what Kingdom Hearts 3 worlds haven proven to do best and does its own thing. Sora arrives in San fransokyo some time after the events of Big Hero 6. Hiro has built a new Baymax but is still torn up about the original his brother built being lost to the void, and now weird robot heartless are attacking (Hint: Bring thunder) Sora makes fast friends with the crew (as he tends to do) and through helping them with the heartless, gives each member ideas on how they can upgrade their gear.

The world consists of 2 areas. Hiro’s garage, and downtown San Fransokyo, which is basically mini spider-man PS4. While in Hero’s garage, you can choose to explore the city during the day or night. Heartless do not appear during the day, so if you just wanna run around and explore, find treasure and hidden mickey’s, hit the town during the day. But if you’re looking to level up (and this is the final world with enemy spawns so you will be) then you should hit the town at night.

While the downtown area is small (especially just coming off the open seas of the pirates world), it makes up for it in both verticality and density.

4/5 (Extra point added for the presence of Thigh queen Go Go Tomago)

100 ACRE WOOD Its a single area with 3 almost identical mini games, it’ll take you about 20 minutes to get through, there’s a keyblade at the end, 0/5

KEYBLADE GRAVEYARD This is the final world of the game and serves as the site for the final battles with the organization. Its basically a series of arena matches where Sora teams up with one or more of his friends to take on multiple members of the organization at once. It dominoes into the final conflict with the 3 main Norts. Young, Heartless, and Nobody all at once while Old man watches and throws Keyblades at you occasionally. 

Gameplay is all boss combat. Story is all PLOT

5/5 on both counts

THE FINAL WORLD Okay no THIS is the final world. Literally. Its entirely main plot based so I won’t go into any actual detail. It consists of a single room which is a giant cube puzzle (Not like the movie “Cube”, like you’re standing on a big cube thing). Which would be SUPER cool if it weren’t for the fact that Sora’s flow motion abilities completely break it.

Plot wise 5/5 Gameplay wise 1/5

SCALA AD CAELUM OKAY NO THIS IS THE REAL FINAL WORLD FOR REAL A city located in the past, this is the site of the true final battle with Xehanort and his 12 selves. you go up against the 12 all at once (they seem to share a health bar tho so its not that bad) as they utilize their own weapons (Xigbar’s guns, Marluxia’s scythe, etc, etc) to just honestly beat the hell out of you. A small section of town serves as your arena, making this perhaps the most geographically diverse fighting arena in the game’s history.

Once those naughty bois are shut down, Xehanort is like “Wanna see something cool?” and tosses you into a legitimately disorientating arena for the beginning of the final showdown between peace boy and naughty grandpa

There’s no gameplay here outside of combat and plot but its a 5/5 none the less

FINAL THOUGHTS This game was at its best when it wasn’t rehashing the plots of the worlds it visited (Tangled, Frozen, Pirates), but either doing its own thing (you know, the Kingdom Hearts plot?), creating new plots set in the worlds visited (Big Hero 6, toy Story, Monsters Inc.) or somehow doing a combo of the 3 (Hercules)

I found it EXTREMELY disappointing that all traces of original Square Enix characters are just gone. We get a single mention of Cloud and Auron in an exposition dump at the beginning of Olympus and thats it. And before you mention the main Nomura OC cast: they’re owned by Disney, not Square.

The game wrapped up pretty much all the major plot points and answered a lot of long standing questions, but also didn’t answer one question in particular that I’m sure has driven a lot of us into the depth of insanity. It also posses a couple new questions, such as “Who?” and “How?” and “What the fuck?” 

Overall, this game is at its best when its focusing on the main plot, with everything in between feeling more like filler... So a standard Kingdom Hearts game.

In the end, despite the lack of FF, and the falling into disney shenanigans, this was a great game and an excellent ending to the dark seeker saga. Going forward, I hope the future games (and there definitely will be future games, this is by no means the end of Kingdom Hearts) don’t do what this saga did and spread the plot over 200 games on 200 different consoles over 200 god damn years. If thats the case I think KH3 will be my jumping-off point. However, if they’ve come to their senses and choose to release the next saga of games like normal human beings instead of depraved madmen, I am 100% on board. However, seeing as Nomura is a depraved madman (see FFXV development for details) I am extremely cautious in my optimism.

Final score from me is 4.5/5: WHATS IN THE BOX?!

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: LONE STAR REACTION

This reaction is for the season 4, fifth episode "Human Resources" which originally aired February 21, 2023. This episode was written by Molly Green and James Leffler and directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá. Spoilers ahead!

***LAST TIME ON 9-1-1: LONE STAR***Carlos finds held captive by a serial killer and his mother. TK and Gabriel join forces and investigate his sudden disappearance. Carlos almost dies after he is injected with a lethal dose of morphine. TK revives him and the serial killer and his mother are taken away by the cops. Meanwhile, Owen meets up with Sgt. O'Brien and he learns he is indeed one of the good guys. The two of them are kicked out of the Honor Dogs and the FBI no longer has use for either of them. We end the episode with a hooded figure, presumably Andy, building a bomb using the stolen ammonium nitrate. 

Now that we're all caught up, let's discuss episode five - HUMAN RESOURCES.

We begin the episode at a remote location where we see several department store mannequins positioned around a parked yellow school bus. Our hooded, bomb-building, wannabe terrorist from last episode uses a detonator to blow up the bus while Mozart's "Lacrimosa" plays ominously. A hiker (Nick Hope) happens upon the scene and is immediately shot dead.

Title card!

We next head over to the 126 where we see Owen trying to convince a man named Mitch (Jamison Webb) to purchase his motorcycle. Mateo pipes up and tells Mitch that motorcycles are called donor cycles due to the high mortality rate of their owners. This dissuades Mitch from making the purchase and he walks away much to Owen's disappointment. Marjan asks him why he's selling the bike considering he's only had it for three weeks. Owen tells her that he's ready for a new challenge. Hopefully his next challenge doesn't involve a white supremacist group or terrorism.

Owen says he has another potential buyer stopping by and tells Mateo to keep his mouth shut. A young woman walks up and comments on his fine-looking machine. Owen tells her that she would look smoking hot on his bobber. The woman (Amanda Payton) introduces herself as Asha Fulton - the department advocate from the Professional Standards Division of the Austin Fire Department Internal Affairs. Also known as Human Resources. HR. Yikes! It's not a good look sexually harassing the person who is coming to investigate a recent complaint lodged against the 126, Owen! Asha tells Owen she wants to speak with him privately. 

At the 9-1-1 dispatch, Grace receives a call from a little boy named Linus (Mason Bloomberg) who is struggling to get through his homework. In an absolutely adorable scene, Grace teaches him a mnemonic device to help him remember his multiplication tables. We get to hear Grace sing and I must say she has a lovely voice which is not entirely surprising since Sierra McClain comes from a family of singers. Linus thanks Grace for her help and the call comes to an end.

Meanwhile, Asha sits down with Captain Strand and asks him about the culture at the 126. Owen tells her that he maintains a professional, diverse, and inclusive environment and challenges her to take a look forself. Asha then brings up the 126's reputation for having a 'cowboy culture'. Owen thinks she's referring to Pearce Risher (Andy Favreau) - former paramedic at the 126. What follows is a hilarious montage featuring each of the 126 firefighters and paramedics being questioned by Asha. The scene is very reminiscent of the police interrogation scene in the 9-1-1 episode "Ocean's 9-1-1". Tommy refers to Pearce as a "disgruntled prima donna whose departure was mutual". Owen calls Pearce a 'coward' and Judd refers to him as a 'jerk'. Asha asks if name-calling is part of the culture at the 126 and Nancy asks if she's referring to 'lard-ass' which is a reference to the episode "Impulse Control" (season 3, episode 14) where a character named Al (Larry Joe Campbell) got stuck in a drive-thru window and the 126 used pig fat (lard) to pull him out. 

During the line of questioning, Asha asks Paul if they know each other and Paul says he doesn't believe so. Asha asks Owen if there are any other instances where an insult or slur was directed at someone in the field. Mateo mentions a call where Owen called someone a "woman-beater cuck". This is a reference to the episode "Spring Cleaning" (season 3, episode 17) where a woman and her kids were accosted by her abusive ex-husband. There's a pretty funny moment where Nancy attempts to explain what a cuck is and then Tommy comes behind her and says that Owen only called the man that because he was trying to goad him into punching him so the cops would have an excuse to arrest him. Poor Asha! She must be so overwhelmed by hearing all of this information! TK then says that Owen would never do anything that stupid again. 

When Asha asks if there is anything else she should know about, Marjan talks about how Owen has rebuilt the 126 twice and how he brings out the best in all of his firefighters and therefore if he has done something wrong, his intentions were good. Asha then drops the bomb that the inquiry is not about Captain Strand - it's about Marjan. Marjan, like myself, is confused as to why a complaint was filed against her. We are then reminded of the events of this season's second episode "The New Hot Mess" where in the opening scene, the 126 responds to an emergency involving a woman's mobile home being hijacked by her ex-husband. Marjan recounts the steps she took to rescue the woman. She talks about how she repelled out of a helicopter, crashed through the woman's ceiling and pulled her out. Asha reminds Marjan that while attempting to get the woman out of the trailer, she called her a "crazy lady. Asha asks Marjan why she felt the need to use language like that and Marjan says that she was trying to get her to move along so she could get her out of the trailer. Asha says the woman felt unsafe during the rescue. Marjan scoffs at this information and Asha reminds her that the term 'crazy' is a slur and that as a first responder she should be invested in the emotional well-being of the public just as much as the physical well-being. Asha tells Marjan that jeopardizing emotional and/or physical well-being is a serious offense. Marjan asks if she's in trouble but we don't get an answer right away. 

Back at the 9-1-1 dispatch, Grace gets another call from Linus who is attempting to make macaroni and cheese but burns it. He is worried about getting in trouble because the casserole dish he is cooking in belonged to his great-grandmother. Grace asks if anything is on fire and Linus tells her that everything's okay aside from the burnt macaroni and cheese. Grace is relieved and tells him that he shouldn't be cooking by himself. Grace asks Linus if he has school today and he tells her that his mom stayed home because she has another headache. Linus's mother, Janet (Hayley Chase) comes into the kitchen and chastises him for calling 9-1-1 for a non-emergency. While speaking to him, her words are noticeably slurred and Grace picks up on this. Janet takes the phone from her son and apologizes to Grace on his behalf. Grace assures her that everything is okay. At the end of the call, Grace seems bothered by the interaction.

We head back over to the 126 and see the crew debrief after Asha's questioning. They all hope that Owen is not in trouble but Marjan tells them that she's the one who is in trouble. Marjan tells them about her calling the woman they rescued 'crazy' and the funniest part of this scene is that Nancy responds by saying 'that's crazy'. Judd asks Marjan what her punishment is. Marjan tells him that she won't know anything until the Internal Resources board has had a chance to review all of the facts. She tells them all that her punishment could be a slap on the wrist or something worse. Marjan starts to spiral a bit by saying that she had no right to call the woman 'crazy' since she is not a mental health expert. She's justifiably upset because she's worried that everything she worked for is about to be flushed down the toilet. Owen hears her going off and tells her he wants to have a word with her. 

Owen tells Marjan she needs to be very careful about what she says because he doesn't want her to end up in even more trouble. It's weird hearing Owen say this considering most of the controversy surrounding the 126 is a result of something he has said or done. Owen tells her that he's been where she's been and has ended up in the crosshairs of HR before. Marjan points out that she called someone a mean name and Owen punched out the deputy fire chief - Billy (Billy Burke). Right on, Marjan! Owen tells Marjan there is good news and that good news is that they want to meet with her and him at headquarters to discuss the matter. Marjan wants to know how this is good news and Owen tells at least this means they're not going to drag the process out. Owen tells her that he has her back. When the alarm goes off, Owen tells Marjan to stay put at the firehouse. Marjan is angered by this but Owen tells her that he doesn't want anyone in the field whose head isn't completely in the game - which is understandable. I see where Owen is coming from but I also see Marjan's side as well. Before he hops on the firetruck, Owen tells her to be in her dress uniform at five o'clock. As the truck leaves, we see the guy from the beginning of the episode standing outside of the firehouse. 

After the commercial break, the guy heads into the firehouse and asks Marjan if Captain Strand is around. She tells him that Owen is on a call and asks if there's anything she can help him with. He asks if she's Firefox and he tells her he's a big fan. He tells her that he started following her on Instagram shortly after the attack on the capital the previous year. He asks if the 126 was there and she says yes. He then comments that the 126 always seem to be involved in the big emergencies. He then tells her he's a veteran of the Army and that he wants to submit an application to the 126. Marjan tells him they don't have applications but she can get him an interest card. While she leaves to go get it, the guy takes one of the radios. Marjan hands him the information and he thanks her before leaving. 

Back at the 9-1-1 dispatch, Grace goes to talk to her boss, Sara Ortiz (Michelle C. Bonilla). Grace tells her that Linus McKinley called back again. She tells Sara that Linus was not at school and that his mother was asleep in the other room while he was attempting to cook macaroni and cheese. Sara asks Grace what she's thinking. Grace plays the 9-1-1 call and points out that Linus's mother was slurring her words. Grace then tells Sara that she pulled Janet's file and saw that she had a DWI six years ago. Sara asks Grace what she thinks they should do. Grace suggests doing a wellness check but Sara points out that doing so could result in child services being called in which could then lead to a myriad of other trouble for Linus and his mother. 

Marjan and Owen meet with Asha, Lila Geralds (Ashley Rae Spillers), and Lila's ex-husband, Mitch (Jamison Webb). Lila announces that she and Mitch have decided to reconcile and they are not interested in destroying Marjan's life. Owen is here to ask the important questions. He asks how Mitch is not in jail considering he kidnapped Lila and put the 126 and the general public in danger when he decided to drive their mobile home down a highway. Mitch says that he was given a fine. Marjan takes a moment to provide a heartfelt apology to the Geralds however they want her to make a public apology via her Instagram while also tagging their GoFundMe. Owen objects to this but Marjan tells them that she has zero issue with posting the apology on her Instagram. However, she does take issue with asking her followers (her 5 million followers) for money. The Geralds tell her that's okay but if she refuses to follow through with their demands, they have no problem continuing the legal process. I hate them!!!

Marjan looks at the video the Geralds have made for their GoFundMe and tells Paul, Mateo, and Nancy she feels conflicted. Paul and Mateo think she should just make the video and tag the GoFundMe but Nancy thinks she should take a stand. Paul and Mateo point out that Marjan was the one who drove to Owen during the snowpocalypse last year to shame him into signing the apology letter and how her situation is the same. Marjan points out that it's not the same because she's actually apologetic whereas Owen wasn't. Paul reminds her that the 126 needs her but Marjan tells him that her followers need her even more. She tells him that so many of her followers are young and they look up to her and they respect her for being exactly who she is. She's worried about compromising her integrity.

We head over to the Ryders' residence and see Grace, Judd, and Baby Charlie who is just so adorable. While Judd relays the story of how Marjan got in trouble, Grace seems distracted. Judd gets her to open up about what's bugging her. She tells him about the two calls she received from Linus and how his mother was slurring her words on the call. Grace wants to check in on him but is worried about child services getting involved. Like Marjan, Grace is trying to figure out if she should follow her intuition or follow protocol. Judd being the good husband he is, suggests that she follow her intuition. He tells her to go check on the son and if everything's okay, then it's no harm, no foul. 

Grace drives over to the McKinleys' house with Judd and Baby Charlie in tow and Linus answers the door. They hear Janet collapse in the other room and Grace goes to check on her. She finds Linus' mom unconscious on the floor so she calls the 9-1-1 and then calls Tommy. Tommy asks her to check to see if Janet's pupils are responsive. Grace turns on the flashlight on her phone and checks to see if Janet's pupils react to the light. The right eye is responsive but the left one is not, which is a sign of a stroke. Judd takes Janet to the car and the five of them, including Linus, drive to the nearest hospital. I have to say, it was interesting seeing Grace, who is usually cool as a cucumber during an emergency, panic. She even snaps at Tommy which is very out of character for our favorite Lone Star dispatcher.  

At the hospital, we find out that Janet is going to be okay. They were able to remove a blood clot and restore blood flow before any permanent damage was done. The doctor tells Grace that she and Judd were able to get Janet there in the nick of time. If they had showed up 20 minutes later, it would have been a completely different story. Grace is relieved and she apologizes to Tommy for losing her cool. Tommy is such a good friend in this scene. She doesn't hold it against Grace because Grace is human and she was in a situation she typically would never be in. 

We next see the creepy guy from earlier being given a tour of a renovated apartment. The building's owner (Aaron Coleman) asks him if he's married. The guy responds by saying he is married and has a son who is 6 years old. Putting two and two together, this has to be Sgt. O'Brien's nephew, Andy, who went missing after he joined up with the Honor Dogs. Andy (Brennan Keel Cook) tells the owner he's not interested in purchasing the space after all but he does manage to open one of the windows before he leaves. The 126 respond to a fire at the same apartment building where we last saw Andy. Marjan and Paul enter the building via the top floor and they find a man who is refusing to exit the building. His actions are very similar to Lila Gerald's which makes Marjan second-guess herself and her actions. Paul ends up knocking the guy out so they can carry out of the building. Hopefully he doesn't end up in HR! By the way, it should be noted that while the 126 was responding to the fire at the apartment building, Andy was watching the whole thing unfold from the safety of his car. 

Speaking of Paul, he goes to see Asha to talk to her about Marjan. He tells her that Marjan is his best friend and that he is there to file a complaint. He tells her that what the department is demanding of Marjan is not an apology. It's extortion. He tells Asha that the Geralds are simply trying to make money off of Marjan's name. He says that Marjan is one of the best firefighters he has ever known. He begs her to do the right thing. Asha tells him that she's going to leave her tablet "unattended" while she leaves the room. Paul reads the confidential email Asha drafted in defense of Marjan. Asha tells him that five minutes after she hit send, the AFD called her to tell her they are not interested in a lawsuit from Lila and Mitch Gerald. So, either Marjan gives in to the Geralds' demands or else she will have to face dire consequences. Paul thanks Asha for going to bat for his dear friend. 

Asha finally remembers where she knows Paul from. They were in the same sixth grade class. Back then, Paul knew her by her first name - Jasmine. When she moved to Texas she started going by her middle name, Asha. She said she had an identity thing which Paul says he can relate to. He asks her how she remembered him and she tells him she never forgets a smile. Asha tells him that he hasn't changed a bit and my, oh my can I feel the chemistry forming between these two! Hopefully we get to see Asha in the near future because my boy Paul needs some lovin'!

Marjan films her apology video for Instagram but rather than tag the Geralds' GoFundMe page, she calls them greedy opportunists. She goes on to say that she cannot work for a place that forces her to compromise her integrity. Her final statement in the video is that she is resigning from the Austin Fire Department. Marjan shows the video to Owen and he tells her that she shouldn't post it. She tells him it's too late. Owen tells her that he's mad at her but more than anything he's so proud of her.

In the final scene of the episode, we see that Marjan has purchased Owen's bike. He hands over the keys and we watch as the rest of the 126 says goodbye. Paul looks especially saddened to see her leave. Marjan tells TK that no matter what, she will be back for his and Carlos' wedding. Seeing Marjan hug Nancy was especially touching because it made me realize just how close these have gotten over the last few seasons. Paul tells Marjan that he loves her and she tells him that she loves him, too. Marjan puts on her helmet, gets on the bike, and drives off into the proverbial sunset. 

This episode was a nice palate cleanser to all of the terrorism, kidnapping, and serial killer drama we got in the first four episodes. As much as I love Owen and TK and Carlos, it was nice to see them take a step back so we can focus on Marjan and Grace. I love the message of this episode. Sometimes in life we have to go with our gut, even if it means putting our reputation and livelihood on the line. Even though Marjan had to quit the fire department to follow her intuition, it was nice to see her family support her decision. 

I don't know how long Marjan will be gone but I suspect she'll be back sooner rather than later. I hope they don't try to replace her like they did Chimney on the OG series. It would be nice if we got to see the others learn how to cope in her absence. Something tells me that Marjan will come back just in time for the culmination of the plot involving Andy and all of the ammonium nitrate he stole. Hopefully Marjan doesn't blame herself when she realizes that she invited him into the firehouse. I'm so anxious to see what happens next. The first third of the season has been wonderful. I hope the next two thirds will be just as great! Until next time ...

[cloudsspoke]

Reason why Shinhwa is Problematic group

So last nite when I scrolled over twitterland, i stumbled upon this tweet from one of shinchangs that I followed, 

and curiosity kicked me in, and i searched to know what happen and found that this girl from that fandom questioning the legend status of shinhwa on her tweet, and not only that she also said shinhwa is problematic group, after she found the post from this tumblr page offensivekpop.tumblr.com that referred to shinhwa-suju’s indian dance during shinbang and fact that shinhwa used many n-word for their songs.

I am all okay if not everyone willing to acknowledge Shinhwa as LEGEND. The title will be forever as a subjective matter, its up to personal preference. Reason to call a group LEGEND will be different cuz we can see it from many point of view. Eventho generally speaking SHINHWA and other KPop 1st gen group deserves to get the LEGEND title, and no one should questioning why or throw the should they question.

But what makes me itchy is, to call Shinhwa as problematic group because of the weak reason stating the indian dances and n-word. Its all happened in the past duh. Why still digging it? If wanna accuse shinhwa, better to give more valid, strong, legitimate reasons. And for indian dance itself, did it sparked controversy too back then, 6years ago when JTBC aired that eps? I dont think so. Was there any articles like from soompi, koreaboo, allkpop, dispatch and other salty medias? I googling it and the only one who brought it and took it as offensive was this anonymous person who submitted to the offensivekpop itself (x) . And about the usage of N-word. Duh. I dont wanna start write abt this. Cuz isnt the main reason why I write this post.

So, left aside the girl from that fandom who called Shinhwa as Problematic group, for me myself, I can add more reason if I want to justify the girl’s statement...

SHINHWA is SURE A PROBLEMATIC GROUP.. They have this 20years together.. And from stories which came from their own mouth make me admit if shinhwa def have problem with their behaviour.. And why is that?

1. They rejected the idea of SM recycled the group if 2nd jib happened to be failure too, and agreed to end their idol career and cont pursued their education. How can a rookie group thinking like that? So problematic ever since day 1.

2. They never care to listen to what people said when they insisted that they are still 6 members, that Andy still be the part of Shinhwa when people were delighted to see Shinhwa as a perfect 5-members idolgroup.

3. Try watch their HEY COME ON messed up performance for KBS. What on earth ? Who the hell do they think they are?? If this wasnt an act that show how problematic they were, then for me its a valid proof of how snob they were. Sigh.

4. Again, they rejected the renewal contract from SM because they knew some members didnt get it, or they knew SM treated them unfairly. As problematic as it may sound, Shinhwa loves to put themself into a problematic situation because of their stubborness. How dare they were to be the 1st group who left big agency like SM? Did they know the risk and consequences??

5. And how about the fact that Shinhwa members peed behind the tree and waved their hands to greet fans who saw them did this? And how can they always bragged over their drunk stories? Bragged that they won the sexy dance competition? Seriously, Shinhwa? Are you immature or crazy or what ? Ah, no. Problematic. No wonder if other fandom sees you as a problematic group.

6. And dont let me start to talk about how heartless, how cold the way Dongwan treats sasaeng. Sprayed them with coldwater? Throwed them with stuffs? Scolded them for 2hours? Forced them to do physical workout like sit up, etc as a punishment for keep on coming to the dorm? Cmon, dude you are idol. Thats not how you treat fans!

7. Another reason to accuse Shinhwa as problematic group can be seen from the earlier days of how they did an interview. Its a total chaotic. Ruckus. Commotion between members here and there. Shouting for no reason. Nonstop bickering over silly stuffs even when they knew the camera recorded everything. None from members gave serious answer and showed their respect to the host/VJ/reporter. Shinhwa always play with themself, no matter they were, be it in stage, behind the stage, in the midst of interview, photoshoot, you named it. 

8. Dont forget the fact that Shinhwa is the only group ever released seminude photobook. Like. WHAT THE HECK? No idols showed their butt to the fans so confident like Shinhwa. Such an exhibitionist. And they were also the one who started the beast-Idol trend. Showed off their abs during Only One. Ugh. Dongwan’s choco yummy abs. Ugh.

.........

Im sure other than 8 stuffs that I already wrote above,  there are still many legitimate reason out there that we can use to accuse Shinhwa as problematic, one big crazy old-idol group. But call us blind, we still love them that much, in fact we love Shinhwa because of that reason. If other fandom failed to see the good in Shinhwa, unable to see how precious Shinhwa is, then let them have that salty oh-so-wrong opinion towards Shinhwa. We, Shinhwa Changjos, just stay together protecting uri oppadeul, just like what Dongwan said, that SHCJ is the Knight of SHINHWA. That we will do everything for the sake of SHINHWA. Cuz we know, world outside SHINHWA is a dangerous one. So we choose to stay inside Shinhwa.....